21) Defence of an Empire
Work had been going well to prepare the Crystal Empire for the coming attack. As the metal was gathered, Exodus had called for the rest of his team to meet with him, and the four of them got to work setting things up. The plan was to use whatever metal the ponies had to construct crude versions of the defence turrets seen around the Tower.
“You sure these are gonna work?” Procor asked, looking over one of the twelve turrets they had built so far.
“They should,” Exodus’ Ghost replied, “I have built them with the schematics used by the Vanguard. They won’t be as effective as the ones at the Tower, but they should at least make the Cabal think twice about attacking again.”
The Ghosts had been synthesising the components needed from the metal they had available. Multiple metals were missing that were needed to make them at their top efficiency, so the Ghosts had to improvise a lot to make them functional. This left them looking fairly ugly, but they worked.
Another hour later, and two and a half turrets, the Ghosts received a ping from the orbiting guardian ships, “The Cabal are on the move again.” Kervis’ Ghost called out.
“They coming here?” Kervis asked, still carrying a beam of steel.
“Yeah, same three carriers. The remaining seventeen are staying at Manehattan.”
“Makes sense, actually.” Exodus said, “According to the Val, they use those seventeen to carry a lot of their cargo and prisoners. They wouldn’t want them to come under harm if they intend to use them.”
“Well, we have these turrets, where are we aiming them?” Elana questioned.
“We’ll give the Ghosts control of them. We fitted them with a way of running on light, it’s not ideal, but these ponies don’t have electricity. I’m sure they’ll come up with a plan.” Exodus said.
Elana nodded at what he had said, helping Kervis place the steel beam to support the newest turret. They likely didn’t have time to build another, so they got to work using the last of the metal to reinforce the constructed turrets.
As they had been building, the Princess and Prince had come down from their castle to watch them. They didn’t step in to help, which was fine as the Guardians and their Ghosts were easily capable of building on their own, but they did help keep curious ponies away.
“I can’t believe we are under attack again,” Cadence muttered sadly, looking over one of the finished metal constructs, “It seems like every year something awful happens here.”
“Hey, we always find a way through it,” Shining said, giving his wife a hug, “This time, we have help and early warning. We have a much higher chance of making it through this one.”
“If you say so.”
Over with the Guardians, they had just finished placing the last of the metal when Kervis’ Ghost spoke once more, “The Cabal will be here shortly, we need to be ready asap”
“We should be okay. Elana, you’re our sniper, we need you up high.” Kervis commanded, looking over at the Hunter. She gave a short salute and began running towards the castle, her ship flying down and picking her up, dropping her off at the safest point she could find on the spire.
“The rest of us need to split up. Make sure you don’t go too far from the turrets so our Ghosts can keep control of them.” The green Titan continued.
The team gave their various responses of confirmation and spread across the city, leaving Kervis with the royalty, “Lastly, are either of you capable of shielding the castle?”
“I am, I could shield the city if that would be better.” Shining said, standing up.
“No, just the castle.”
The two of them looked at him aghast, “But what about the ponies? They will surely be killed!” Cadence exclaimed.
“If you want your ponies to be safe, move them all to the castle and shield it. If you make a shield around the city, not only will the turrets be useless, but we also won’t be able to aid in the defence. Concentrating the shield around the castle will not only protect you two, but it will protect quite possibly the last building in the country that ponies look to for hope,” Kervis said, summoning his pulse rifle. “Now I need you two to figure out what you are going to do and go do it. I hate speaking to royalty like this but we simply don’t have time for this.”
The duo looked at each other briefly before nodding and running into the city, calling for as many guards as they could. With them out of the way, Kervis began his run through the streets, finding an area he could defend that was a reasonable distance from the rest of the guardians.
“Here we go again...”
- - -
The War Mage leader walked slowly through the ranks of War Mages that had rallied at the Crystal Empire. As part of the Guardians’ plan, they had moved away from the Empire a little, and at their signal, would rush through the streets to surprise attack the footsoldiers the Cabal would send.
Flamelight was also with them. He had been given a suit of guardian armour from Exodus’ Ghost, as well as a top off from Elana. He was there to help coordinate the armies, as he was the only one with a radio linked with Odium. Chrome had decided to stay with the guardians, apparently joining Elana on the spire not long after she had gone up there.
“Flamelight, we have Cabal inbound.” Kervis said through his mic.
“No problem, we’re ready. Just say the word and we’ll come running.” The pegasus replied, speaking slightly louder so the Mages could hear him.
“All right Mages, this is your time to prove yourselves!” The Mage leader called out, “Some of you have been training years for this, and now you will put that training to the test. Many will die, do not think that you are invincible. But if you die, you die for Equestria!”
The Mages gave cries of agreement, some raising their weapons in the air, others firing off small pulses of magic. The thought of death meant little to them, each one of them willing to die for their country if it meant saving the ponies that lived there.
The next few minutes were spent with the Mages idly talking with one another. All of them were prepared for the upcoming fight, even those that had never seen combat before, so when the Cabal carriers came into view, they barely batted an eyelid, quickly moving into their positions.
“This is it!” Their leader called, Flamelight standing beside her, “As soon as the Guardians give the word, we charge!”
It took some time, but the Cabal craft eventually came into range to begin firing upon the city, houses being blasted apart by the powerful weapons. As chunks of crystal fell down around them, the Mages brought up their shields, their eyes focused on the two ponies at the front.
Many decimated homes later, the enemy deployed their ground forces. Masses of drop ships, escorted by fighters, swarmed down to the city, dropping Cabal forces throughout the city. The Mages were barely able to prepare as hundreds of Cabal moved upon them, waves of bullets sailing from their weapons.
“Hold strong, Mages! We attack only when we are called,” Their leader shouted over the gunfire, her own horn lit up in the hopes of bolstering the magical shield that surrounded them.
The wall around them was beginning to fade as Flamelight’s ears picked up a familiar voice, “Flame, we need some support down here. How quickly can you get the Mages to us?” Kervis asked.
“We can leave now, and be there in a few. Just hang on.” Flamelight replied, looking over at the Mage leader, “We’re needed, let’s get out there.”
“’Bout time.” She muttered, closing her connection to the shield and firing a bolt of magic at a nearby soldier, its armour being decimated by the blast, “Mages! We charge!”
The shield collapsed instantly, a wall of magical bolts flying forward into the ranks of Cabal. A few Mages took shots when the wall fell, but the majority of them pushed forward, switching to the middle of the group if they ran low on magic. They had a couple of Mages in the middle that were supplying magic to those that needed it, keeping the entire group armed as they made their push.
A few hundred Mages made their way through the streets, splitting up into groups to reinforce the guardians. Each group had a Mage supplying magic, while the ponies around them slaughtered the Cabal relentlessly. Many ponies fell as they made their way towards the humans, their dead bodies being left behind, but as each group reached the guardians, it became clear they had enough ponies to hold off the attack for a long while.
“We need to hold these streets. I’m not going to let another city fall!” Kervis called through his comms, his Hammer of Sol shining brightly as he smashed it into a nearby Cabal soldier.
“No issues with that so far. The turrets are doing some work on the incoming fighters, and their carriers have already taken a beating from them.” Exodus pointed out, drawing the Titan’s head upwards for a second. Huge fires were raging across the front carrier, and many fighters were being shot down by a combination of the turrets, Elana’s rifle and stray magical bolts from the Mages.
The defence was going well, and for the first time since their arrival, it looked like the guardians were going to win.
That is, of course, until the universe remembered who exactly it was that was winning.
“Holy fuck,” Elana whispered, looking through the sight of her Devil’s Dawn.
“What’s up, Elana?” Procor questioned.
“Guys, I… I have a sight on a huge Cabal. I think it’s the Primus.”
“What?!”
- - -
The Primus walked quickly towards the city, his heavy weapon swaying slightly in his arms as he moved.
“Ah, this city will be a wonderful forward base, don’t you think?” He said, looking down at the Colossus beside him.
“I think it will take some fixing up, but yes, I have to agree, my Primus.” The Colossus responded, looking over the ruined homes in the distance.
“Hmm, why are those defences still active?” He queried, looking over at the rounds flying from the ground, and slamming into their carriers.
“The guardians seem to have built them to be incredibly durable. They are firing with a high level of precision, eliminating our air-to-surface missiles and damaging our hull, meaning that we can’t fire upon them with the carriers’ weapons. The Threshers that get some shots off on them barely do anything before they are taken out.” The Colossus explained, ignoring a sniper round just barely missing them.
“Well, I do hope they keep the majority of the city intact, the crystal it is made of seems useful.” The Primus said, kicking a large chunk of broken crystal out of the way. They were just arriving at the outskirts of the city when a red glow from the castle spire caught his attention, “Seems they have sniper support.”
“Yes sir, it isn’t doing a whole lot, but they have eliminated quite a few Threshers.”
“Be sure to get a few missiles on that spire. If we can’t destroy their turrets, then we will destroy their eyes.” The huge Cabal ordered.
They were now in the city, pushing past the swathes of soldiers that were busy decimating everything that wasn’t nailed down. A few minutes passed before they reached a clearing within one of the streets, a lone Guardian fighting there. There were piles of pony bodies around him, each wearing a robe of a different colour. The guardian himself appeared to be a Warlock, throwing grenades into the crowds to soften them up, and finishing them off with a few rounds from his rifle.
“This one is mine,” The Primus growled, stomping forward and stowing his weapon on his back. His movements quickly drew the human’s attention, and it began firing upon the towering leader with everything it had.
But the Cabal didn’t arm their leaders with weak plating, and the metal that surrounded him absorbed the damage easily, the Solar light barely touching him. He reached the Warlock quickly, punching him down and kicking him into a nearby building.
“-Pathetic-,” He growled in their language, watching with hate filled eyes as the Guardian stood slowly, “-You think you can stop us with your weapons and pony allies?-”
He walked over, paying no attention to the slew of cracks coming from the bodies he walked over, “-We gave you a chance to leave, and yet, here you are.-”
The impact of his fist sent the Warlock sailing back once more, a new building taking the brunt of the force.
“-Your kind doesn’t deserve to live. When we return to our home, I swear, I will send everything I have to that disgusting planet of yours and wipe it clean of the scum you are.-”
The Warlock rose once more, sparks occasionally flying out from the tears in his robes, “-The Traveler will stop you.-” He muttered, looking up at the Primus.
“-Ha! That useless marble? The only thing it does is give you strength, but you will never know true power, nor will you know the true pain of death. Instead, you hide behind this… artificial strength that has been bestowed to you, silently praying for it to fix your problems, while doing little to solve them yourselves.-”
Va'aull finished it with a kick to the human’s chest, mashing him against the wall once more. The sparks were much denser now, yet he still looked up, “-You… will… fail-”
The Primus laughed at that, standing tall over the guardian, “-Fool, I’ve already won.-”
He rammed his fist into the Warlock’s face, his body going limp as life left him. With the deed done, Va'aull turned to face the rest of his soldiers, “Find his machine and crush it! Do not allow him to come back!”
- - -In orbit above the planet- - -
“What sort of situation?” Churchill asked.
“The planet is under attack from an alien race, and the forces we have on the ground are unable to defend it. I used my emergency protocol to bring you online, as this alien race presents a significant risk to our continued presence on the planet.” Elizabeth said, sending up the data she had gathered during the centuries she had been there.
“I see.” He muttered, looking over the new data he had been given. A few minutes passed before he spoke again, “I assume you have provided our forces with the beacons we need?”
“No. I was unable to give them anything, what with the state of the bunker. You will have to use the WarSats to fire.”
“Elizabeth, without the beacons the chances of me missing are extremely high. Are you sure this is our best option?”
“Yes. I understand the risk, but the chances of this planet being destroyed if we do nothing are far higher. We must do something before the last of our forces are eliminated.”
Churchill gave a pause, thinking over the options he had. If he was off by even a millimetre, he could fire upon their allies, something he knew they couldn’t afford, but it was likely that they would die if they didn’t receive help regardless.
Coming to a decision, he loaded a single round into his main cannon, the WarSats around him providing him with overhead images of the fight on the surface. Three alien craft were flying near a large city, the one at the front clearly taking a large amount of fire.
Taking aim, he charged the weapon, silently praying his calculations were correct, and with a moment of hesitation, he let the shot fire.
- - -
“Guardian down,” Kervis’ Ghost said for the second time. He was barely holding up against the waves of hostiles, and it was clear the others weren’t faring any better. As he threw his hammer forward, ignoring the explosion it created, he called out to the final Guardian still alive with him, “Elana, you alright?”
“I think so. Chrome has been doing a good job keeping them off of me, but I’m running out of ammo, and the synths you guys gave me are pretty much out.” She responded, firing another round into the head of a Cabal soldier.
“Just hold on for as long as you can. The more we kill here, the better chance the ponies have of beating them back.”
The fight continued for some time, the two remaining guardians doing their best to keep the Cabal away from the castle. The defence was going well until a new roar sounded out near Kervis.
He was barely able to turn before being hit from the side, sliding across the ground and coming to a stop near one of the castle legs.
“Just as weak as the others,” A deep voice commented, bringing Kervis’ head around. A huge Cabal was walking over to him, the armour plating looking like that worn by the Cabal Primus.
The Titan jumped to his feet and summoned his hammer once again, backing up from the Primus. He kept his head on a swivel, searching for an opening to either run, or flank.
“I will never understand your need to protect what isn’t yours,” The Primus said, getting far too close for Kervis’ liking. The human swung at the Cabal’s leg, hoping to trip him, but was stopped by a huge hand grabbing his arm, raising the human up into the air, “But I do understand the ways of killing you.”
With that, he grabbed Kervis’ body with his other hand and tore his arm off, the human screaming in pain as the limb fell away from him, the hammer disintegrating.
“You made a valiant effort today, I must admit,” The Primus said, grabbing Kervis’ other arm, “But it is clear you lack the ability to fight us. Why you still try is beyond me.”
The intense pain racking through the Titan’s body doubled as his left arm was torn off, his body being dropped down to the ground and crumpling. He was barely able to lift his head, the pain clouding his mind as the Primus stood over him.
“We will return home, regardless of the Cabal you kill. And there is nothing you can do to stop us.” He said, raising his fist. Without a word, he brought it down, crushing the Titan’s head, and killing him instantly.
The Primus gave a short command to the soldiers around him, each giving a shout of confirmation and spreading out, many of them moving towards the entrances into the castle. None of them giving the Titan’s body any attention as it became ash, disappearing before them.
- - -
Shining Armour and Cadence were working hard to keep the shield around the castle strong, but with the sudden barrage of fire it was taking, even the two of them combined couldn’t resist it.
“T-Twilight, get the ponies and teleport them away from the city.” Cadence whispered, her eyes clenched in focus.
“But how will you two get out?” She asked, looking over the two ponies before her.
“We’ll be fine, Twily. Just go.” Shining said, his voice wavering.
Twilight was about to insist that she stayed when a huge explosion rattled the castle. They turned to look out of a nearby window to see something none of them could fathom.
There, up in the sky, one of the carriers was falling to the ground, a pillar of smoke still visible that had descended from the sky, and passed right through it, leaving a crater in the ground below it.
The shot was clearly enough to devastate the craft, as the engines that kept it in the air cut out, leaving it helplessly plummeting.
“What was that?” The purple alicorn asked, watching as the ship crashed into the ground in a burst of flames.
Before an answer could be given, a second explosion sounded, this time on another Cabal carrier. The pillar of smoke signified it just barely missed, tearing through the side of it, but still did enough to force it to move and stop it firing upon the city.
“Have the gods finally turned to us?” Shining whispered, watching in awe as the second craft tried desperately to stay stable. The only ship that hadn’t been hit was the one at the front, which was barely staying aloft after the damage it had sustained from the Guardians’ turrets.
“I think this is something else...” Twilight said, looking up in the sky, “But I’m just glad it’s on our side.”
- - -In orbit above the planet- - -
///Second shot confirmed hit – Glancing blow.\\\
///Loading third round into chamber…\\\
“Elizabeth, are we able to get Frame support to them?” Churchill asked as the third shot was aimed, the crosshairs painting over the now damaged carrier.
“We have a couple of storage zones in the area. I will send the forces I can, though the ones further away will take longer to arrive.” The AI replied.
“Don’t bother with anything further than the bunker, they won’t make it in time. As long as we can pull the bulk of their remaining forces into the surrounding areas, I should be able to make use of it.”
There was a long silence as Elizabeth began sending Frames to the city. As she worked, Churchill fired his third round, the shot managing to clip the carrier’s engines and subsequently bringing it down, bursting into a cloud of fire as the hull drove its way into the earth.
///Third round confirmed hit – Target eliminated.\\\
///Loading fourth round into chamber…\\\
‘I really hope they are doing alright down there’ He thought to himself, switching to the WarSat feed to await the Frames.
- - -
“What was that?” Va'aull roared, staring in shock at the burning remains of what was his carrier.
“It seems the Guardians have a machine in orbit. It was deactivated until now, so we didn’t see it as we arrived.” A Flayer explained.
“Get the final carrier out of here, and call for my drop ship.” He commanded, walking towards the edge of the city.
“Sir, we’re retreating?” The Flayer questioned, running to keep up with his leader.
“Yes. Get all remaining forces away and onto the carrier. When that is done, alert the other carriers of what happened, and request reinforcements.”
The Psion nodded and moved away towards the communications area they had set up. The Primus was furious, but he could already tell that level of firepower wasn’t something they could easily take on. He had to hope that the final carrier was still able to move quickly, as the troops still on the ground needed a way to leave.
“Sir we have new hostile contacts!” A soldier reported through the short range comms.
“How many and where from?” Va'aull said in response.
“Too many to count. They are moving from various points around the city.”
The Primus growled in anger, “Get the carrier on it, keep them away until our forces have left the area.”
“Yes, sir.”
‘You may have won this round, Guardians,’ Va'aull thought to himself, looking up as his large dropship flew in, ‘But you will not win this fight.’
Sorry for the delay with this chapter, Destiny 2 took a lot of my time, but now that the hype has worn off on me, I can get back to writing.
Not a huge amount of stuff to say in this one. We are coming up on 1K views, which is a number I didn't even consider this story ever reaching. I am aware that about 80-90% of those views are only on the first and the sixth chapter, but it still gives me motivation to know that people have at least given the story a chance.
And before anyone freaks out, no, the guardians are still alive, don't worry. Normally that would be something reserved for the next chapter, but after what happened with Kalis, I'm being a bit more careful with these things.
If any of you would like to join me in Destiny 2, or join the clan me and Chrome Shield are building, feel free to message Echo the Pony, or request to join the clan Hooves of the Fallen. (We are only on the Xbox One, sorry Playstation and PC)
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, feedback is appreaciated.
Stay awesome! 
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How was destiny 2, was it good?
8426275
It's pretty enjoyable, actually. I'm liking it so far.
8426303
Do you liked those new subclasses also?
8426321
I have no issues with them. They removed the OP warlock self-res, and gave the bladedancer some actual use, and they haven't removed the Ward of Dawn, so I'm happy.
Nice job. Raining death from above on the Cabal was really cool.
I haven't had much opportunity to play D2 yet, but tomorrow, I'm binging on it.
8426347
Thanks, I really enjoyed writing that section
And you really should, It's a great game to sink hours and hours of time into.
nice work as always
8426331
Ok
8426378
Thanks
Awesome chapter. Wish I could join you in game but I'm a PS4 guy.
8426603
Thank you! I'm sorry about the whole console thing but I simply don't have the money for a PS4 and the controllers hurt my hands (I have really big hands).
8426677
I'm glad you managed to get through th hurricane alright then. Hope the chapter was a way of forgetting about it.