Chapter 10 - Rage Against the Machines
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Canterlot:
Minutes ago
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Tension grew in the streets. Nervous ponies watched from a distance at the dirigible ominously floating before Canterlot castle, and royal guards briskly shuffled back and forth through the air and across the roads.
Within a mile of the city’s main entrance, in one of the primary barracks, was Cloud Zapper, faced away from the closed door, a sword in his hoof. He held it pointing up, staring intently at his crystal-clear reflection in the blade.
The smooth brown leather of the longsword’s grip was split evenly by a golden ring, ending with a half-oval gold pommel. Its gold crossguard curved gently upward, the center point dotted by an upturned, almost-teardrop-shaped piece on each side. Sunlight ran down the blade, making it shine.
Cloud Zapper closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “Be worthy, Cloud.”
The door suddenly burst open to a shouting voice: “Private Zapper!”
Jerked from his thoughts, the startled colt spun around to see a white mare with a blue mane, her stern eyes drilling into him. “What are you standing around for?! We’re expecting word from High Command at any moment! Move it, on the double!”
“Y-Yes, Lieutenant Aegis!” With some fumbling, Cloud Zapper slid the sword back into its scabbard. Clutching it to his side with his wing, he briskly followed Aegis out the door.
As the pair made their way down the street, Cloud Zapper saw other members of the Militia rush to and fro, directing the citizens in similar fashion. Under the polished stern typical of the Royal Guard, there was something else in their faces. An anxiousness he hadn't seen in his fellow guardsponies until now. But then again, when was the last time an unknown ship loomed over the their heads?
Returning his focus ahead, Cloud Zapper saw somepony who made his throat tighten. Gatekeeper marched in their direction. Cloud Zapper noted the air of quiet confidence to the general. Despite the ever-mounting air of uncertainty and worry growing in the civilians and even some of the guards around him, he maintained the visage of a cool and consummate professional. Cloud Zapper fell in at Aegis’ side as they reached him.
“Lieutenant Aegis, reporting!” Aegis said, coming to attention and saluting. Cloud Zapper silently mirrored her.
Gatekeeper nodded to her. “At ease.” His eyes lingered on Cloud Zapper a moment before he addressed Aegis. “Is your first sergeant unavailable, Lieutenant Aegis?”
“Currently overseeing troop placement, general,” Aegis answered. “Private Zapper is one of the unit’s best flyers. Quite fast at delivering messages, so I prefer to keep him nearby.”
The corner of Gatekeeper’s lip curved up. “I see. How is your progress?”
“Well underway, sir. As per your instructions, we started evacuations as soon as our sentries spotted the unknown ship approaching. Sectors three through six have almost entirely cleared out, but sectors one, two, and seven are experiencing delays. School areas, sir, and more overall congestion. It’s slowing down civilian movement.”
The conversation was interrupted by a peagasus guardsmare with a pale turquoise coat flying in, landing beside the three and saluting Gatekeeper. “Third Private Guardian Angel reporting in, general! Update from Commander Dawn Stride.”
Gatekeeper inclined his head. “Proceed.”
“The command center is nearly up and running. The Mystics and our backup garrison within the castle are armed and ready.”
“Good.” Gatekeeper turned, looking out to Eggman’s airship in the distance. “Tell Commander Dawn Stride that she’s to maintain her squadron’s current position. The Mystics’ core directive is to defend the castle. Keep the bulk of her division within the palace walls.”
“At once!” Guardian Angel replied before flying back the way she came.
“Captain Stilleto has two platoons stationed within half a click of the enemy’s position,” said Aegis. “Do we have the go-ahead to engage?”
The general paused a moment before answering, “No.”
Aegis let her puzzlement show. “…‘No,’ sir?”
Gatekeeper’s head was lifted to the skies above Canterlot, his eyes riveted on a thick, spread-out set of clouds hanging due east of their position. “We’ll need as many medics as possible, with no less than two dozen at the main underground junction beneath the castle grounds. All units closest to the city’s edge are to hold their current position. We also need a full accounting of the number of ponies in the city, with particular attention to how many are in the districts closest to the unknown vessel.”
“Yes, sir…” said Aegis, frowning.
Cloud Zapper decided to risk chiming in. “Permission to speak, general?”
“Permission granted.”
The young pegasus weighed his words carefully, trying to ignore the ‘What are you doing?’ stare Aegis was giving him. “Um, if I could be so bold, sir… do you not also want us to get an accurate scope of the enemy’s numbers too?
The aged unicorn’s focus stayed on the clouds for a moment longer before he spoke. “Our first priority isn’t the number of enemies… but the number of ponies we have to protect.” His dusty blue eyes met Cloud Zapper's. “Don’t you think so?”
In that moment, the towering unicorn seemed to stand that much taller. Cloud Zapper snapped to a salute and stood as straight as possible. “Y-Yes, sir!”
A small smile tugged the corner of Gatekeeper’s lip before he returned his gaze to the clouds. “Private Zapper, let’s see if the lieutenant’s faith in you is well placed. Report to your colonel immediately. All battle units are to move back to sectors one and two, away from sector seven.”
“If I may ask, sir,” said Aegis, “do you suspect the enemy will not attack us there?”
She saw Gatekeeper’s navy eyes squint. “It seems we’re about to find out.”
If either Aegis or Cloud Zapper had questions, they were soon answered. Through the clouds came a giant mass—a battleship in the shape of a blue wasp. Muted gasps escaped their lips as it descended towards the city towards sector seven, the very center of Canterlot. Just as Gatekeeper had predicted.
Within moments, uncanny figures they could only assume as hostile forces began dropping from the wasp ship’s abdomen section. The attack had begun.
A sudden source of light pulled Aegis’ attention from the air. A circular swirl of gold light opened up in front of her. ‘Portal magic,’ she realized. She looked back and realized it was Gatekeeper, his glowing horn marking the invocation.
“With all speed, Private Zapper,” Gatekeeper said, a solid emphasis in his voice. “Lieutenant Aegis, return to your unit immediately. It’s time.”
Without another word, Aegis took off back towards her station, and Cloud Zapper galloped through the portal.
Gatekeeper let the portal fade away, then used another spell to summon two objects. The first was, summoned his golden-gilded helmet, fitted with curved extensions rising from the top, inlaid with the etchings of antlers. The second was a two-hoofed greatsword too long to be worn at his side, its guard featuring symmetrical curved extensions that also resembled a stag’s horns. He set his helm prepared himself. “Now it begins.”
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Canterlot:
Now
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Heavy, clanking steps heralded the army of Egg Pawns that marched through the Canterlot streets, orange armor and polished weapons glinting in the light of the sun.
To the ordinary citizens, there was no time to question what these faceless abominations were. No time to consider what cruel twist of fate brought this soulless horde to bear upon their home and community.
There was only time to scream. And run.
And so they did.
Not unlike any herd of frightened animals, the ponies turned tail on the invaders and fled, galloping as fast as their hooves could carry them in the opposite direction of the approaching automatons.
Egg Pawns leveled arms in the direction of the retreating Equestrians. Metal fingers retracted into their limbs to form the neat holes of arm cannons; neon-blasts of energy hammered out. The laserfire whizzed past the fleeing Equestrians, missing bodies and heads by inches, slamming into structures, toppling or blowing apart whatever they struck.
More of the metal minions filled the streets, spreading out in every direction. One carrying a bazooka over its shoulder took aim and fired. With a deafening blast, the rocket cut through the air at an angle across Tribune Lane, travelling thirty yards before crashing through the window of the renowned donut shop. Fire and rubble in equal measure erupted from the windows, scattering shattered glass and leaving the establishment in wreckage.
The blast knocked several ponies in close proximity to the ground. A pair of Egg Pawns grabbed two by the withers. Above, teams of Flappers carried Capsules suspended from cables, descending and lowering the large containment units to the ground before dispersing. The door of one Capsule dropped open as the Pawns approached with their struggling captives and unconcernedly tossed them inside. The panel locked and sealed, trapping the Equestrians within and leaving to resumed the hunt with the rest of its cadre.
One pair of ponies—a gray-purple unicorn stallion and a lavender Earth mare with tall, puffy hair—veered down an alley on the right in their attempt to escape. A trio of Moto Bugs greeted them, brandishing their bladed arms.
Ponet and Lyrica Lilac screamed, turning on their heels and racing back the way they came. They only got about five meters before they found themselves floating off the ground. A purple and light blue robot hovered above them. Its UFO-like body and set of two long arms that ended in spiked disc shapes almost made it resemble a jellyfish. The Klagen held the pair between its arms, the ring-shaped waves of a tractor beam keeping them suspended.
More Klagens neared from the opposite direction, preceded by a bevy Moto Bugs. Whatever groups of ponies had tried to stay together broke apart and scattered; increasingly desperate to evade the swifter wheeled Badniks, they were easily snatched from the ground by the jelly-fish like drones.
Lyrica grabbed helplessly onto Ponet’s leg, screaming desparately “Somepony, please help us!”
Their captor paid the mare’s wails no mind, levitating towards the other side of the street where another newly-arrived Capsule sat.
A blue beam of energy abruptly shot through the Klagen’s single eye. The floating robot lurched and wavered, sparks geysering from the smoking hole. Its tractor beam deactivated, dropping the ponies. A deep blue aura enveloped the couple and the robot, restraining the Klagen’s flailing body while gently lowering Ponet and Lyrica to the ground.
The two watched as Princess Luna stepped past them, her eyes fixed on the artificial army with a look of righteous fury. With a jerk of her head, Luna threw the damaged Klagen with tremendous force towards a set of Badniks to the left. It spun and smashed into a group, destroying six of its brethren.
“Flee, my subjects!” Luna called to Ponet and Lyrica. “Flee to safety!”
The two did just that, racing towards the castle.
Luna’s face hardened and she swung back to face her enemies. Dozens of Egg Pawns and Moto Bugs closed in around her. She pawed the ground, teeth bared as her horn glowed bright enough to illuminate a better part of the city block.
One of the nearing Egg Pawns reached out to grab her—a pair of arrows through its hand halted the attempt. The minion looked at its hand, then to its left from where the shots had come. The last thing its photoreceptors perceived was the tip of a sword that stabbed through the center of its face, and the angry scowl of the bat pony that wielded it.
Umbra kicked her rear hooves into the Egg Pawn, knocking it over and backflipping away. ‘Their armor’s strong’, she noted, ‘and their bodies are heavy.’ Even with all the momentum from her flying charge, it had been difficult to make that stab. As her greaves smacked the ground, she held her stance, hesitating. Hacking recklessly at these things would be pointless, and run the risk of damaging her sword.
She swept her eyes to the left, sighting another Egg Pawn that had raised its arm cannon in Luna’s direction. A springing leap born of pure instinct brought her to the droid in an instant. A fierce, downward crosscut almost severed its arm at the elbow, and a hard kick put the Badnik on its back. ‘But their joints and thinner sections of their limbs are vulnerable.’
A beat of her wings brought her backwards, landing directly between the squadron of Badniks and Luna. She faced her body parallel to her princess, shielding her. Her sword pointed threateningly at the soulless army, her lips pulled back in a snarl. “You won’t even touch the princess.”
Four Pawns came forward, only to be blasted aside by a magenta beam of magic that sent them clattering across the cobbled street. The caster, Shining Armor, twenty feet from their position, reared up on his hind legs and raised his still-glowing horn to the sky. His magic aura doubled in both size and brightness; both preparation, and a signal.
A chorus of shouts responded to his call—a battle cry that shook Tribune Lane.
Dozens of royal guards poured in behind him and swept forward to meet the invaders. Their captain led the charge, shooting beams at every robot in sight.
Two squads of sixteen total pegasi swooped from above, loosing spears that found their marks on seven Egg Pawns, two Moto Bugs, and three Klagens. Only four of the Egg Pawns fell, the strikes to their shoulders and limbs not enough to take them out; but it did leave them vulnerable to the vanguard of lance-wielding Earth ponies that ran a good chunk of the mechanical squadron through.
Like a well oiled machine, the Royal Guard rolled into action, pressing back the enemy. Teams of two came to the aid of civilians, escorting them off the road. One pair of guards brought their followers to the edge of the sidewalk between buildings. While one pony watched the rear, the other unpinned his medal and pressed it to the ground in front of the alley.
A spot of color flickered on the concrete, and a slab of the ground rose up at an angle, revealing stairways that lead underground.
“Inside, quickly!”
The civilians wasted no time in following their escorts down the stairway and into the catacombs, leaving the chaos of the battle behind. The other guard teams repeated the process throughout the street, swiftly filing the Canterlot citizenry down the escape routes.
Recovering from the Royal Guards’ initial wave of attack, the Egg Pawns returned fire, their plasma shots lighting the air and blasting apart the surroundings. The display of weaponry and the plumes of fire shook the guards’ morale. Advancing units slowed to a stop, surprised and alarmed at the strange, dangerous enemy force.
“Don’t let up, troops!” Shining Armor’s voice brought the hesitant back to the moment. “Push them back!” Their captain’s words steeled them against the uncertainty. They shook the fear away, drew their weapons and rushed forward.
“All units in sector six,” Shining Armor shouted over the melee, firing another beam at a wily Moto Bug, “close-range weapons only! Unicorns, check your fire! We’ve got civilians mixed with bad guys! Fly units, your priority orders are search and rescue! Get our ponies off the streets!” He barely ducked a plasma burst fired back at him. It had been so narrow a miss he could smell the plume on his helmet burning. “And watch out for their projectiles!”
A platoon of pegasi guards flew overhead and veered left and right to carry out the order while the remaining troops engaged the Badnik army, weapons ready as the two sides clashed. Hooves kicked out at grasping metal hands. Ponies dove for cover as bullets and lasers whizzed through the air. Swords and spears clashed against steel shells.
One lone Earth stallion, having abandoned his lance in the unmoving remains of an Egg Pawn, drew his sword and faced off with another of the steel golems. He dodged the Badnik’s punches and clothesline-like arm sweeps, retaliating with hacks and slashes, but found himself unable to do significant damage to its hard body. His cuts left mostly shallow scratches that occasionally sparked, at worst.
Growing frustrated, the stallion sidestepped a hammer blow that cracked the pavement, darted behind the Egg Pawn, and delivered a hard buck to its back, knocking his more cumbersome foe onto its face. He reared up, and summoning all his might, drove his sword down into the thing’s back with a shout. The Egg Pawn flailed and sparked. Its movements grew sluggish, and four seconds later, it went completely limp.
The young private Greenbay allowed himself a pleased smile; it faded when he found himself unable to pry his sword from the defeated enemy’s body. He pulled, strained and groaned, trying to free his weapon.
He didn’t see the lance-wielding Egg Pawn coming up behind him. Only when its foot kicked a loose fragment on the ground did he turn his head; only when the Egg Pawn had its weapon raised high for a fatal blow did he realize the danger.
Greenbay saw his life flash before his eyes. The Badnik’s lance swung down… and collided with the magenta hue of a force field cast by Shining Armor. Surprised, Greenbay let go of his stuck sword and fell back onto his haunches.
Coming to stand beside Greenbay, Shining squeezed his jaw, grunting as he held back the Badnik’s pressing strike. “Watch your six, Private!”
Greenbay swallowed, partly relieved to have been saved, partly mortified at having his captain bear witness to his negligence. “Y-Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”
While he continued to hold back this new Egg Pawn, Shining Armor used his magic to, with some difficulty, remove Greenbay’s sword from the previous one’s remains and return it to him.
An arrow suddenly whizzed from somewhere out of view and struck the lance-wielding robot in its arm joint; it sparked and went slack. Taking the opportunity, Shining dropped the shield, spun around and kicked hard with both legs, putting the Badnik on its back several feet away.
Some twenty feet up the road, Night Flare lowered his bow. His shots confirmed what he saw his sister pull off moments before. “All units be advised,” he said into the communication apparatus in his hood, “these things have tough armor, but it’s weakest at the limb joints. Make them your point of attack.” He approached Shining Armor, regarding the slain Badnik. “They won’t be too threatening without any arms or legs.”
Shining Armor glanced in Night Flare’s direction. He had to give Night Flare his perks, able as he was to land those accurate shots while still suffering a concussion. “Nice shot, Lieutenant.”
Night Flare chuckled. “I can still handle the small fry.” His gaze shifted, taking on a touch of concern. “But you’re gonna have to take the lead on that one.” He pointed a hoof past Shining’s shoulder.
Shining turned around and sighted a new Badnik approaching. It looked much like the other orange Egg Pawns; this one however was gold in color with a pointed crest on its head. The long javelin and heavy spiked shield it carried made Greenbay gulp.
Glaring it down, Shining lowering his head. His rose-colored aura formed again, the ethereal magic deepening and solidifying. A long point extended from his horn. The rest spread around his head until it formed a solid construct—a mask-like cover for his head and face, and an elongated javelin more than three feet in length stretching out from his horn.
The ‘unicorn fencing spell,’ as it was commonly called. A magical armament for close combat.
The Egg Knight smacked its javelin on the front of its shield, and prepared to charge.
“Captain Armor!”
Before anypony could make a move, a pair of white and brown pegasi stallions—who Shining Armor recognized as his squadmates Spearhead and Stalwart—charged in front of them and attacked the Egg Knight.
As Stalwart brought his sword to bear from the front, striking repeatedly at the robot’s pike arm, Spearhead swung wide to attack the Badnik’s flank. But the Egg Knight burst forward, ramming Spearhead with its spiked shield. The pegasus went down screaming, blood seeping from two wide gashes in his armor at the side and shoulder.
Stalwart, stunned by the sight, caught the broad side of the Badnik’s lance to the side of his head. He staggered, almost looking drunk, until he crumpled to floor.
Shining Armor gasped. “Stalwart! Spearhead!”
Turning, the Egg Knight reacquired its first target and bulled towards him.
Night Flare drew three explosive arrows and shot them in quick succession directly at the robot’s face. The Egg Knight merely raised its shield. The trio of explosions did nothing to stop its charge, forcing the three ponies to dodge out of the way. But by using its shield to guard itself, it created a momentary blindspot.
Shining Armor, incensed at seeing his squad members wounded, was quick to take advantage of it. Darting to the right of his foe, the unicorn stabbed out with his magic at an opening. The Badnik shifted enough to miss the full force of the lunge. Shining’s pointed construct missed, only managing to cut off a piece its right shoulder. Shining sidestepped a shield bash, but failed to guard against another sweeping blow from the robot’s lance that caught him full in the side. His magic dissipated as he was sent tumbling. Only another set of arrows fired by Night Flare kept the robot from going in for the kill.
As the archer reached for another arrow, a familiar twinge of pain made him grab his head. “Damn, not now…!” The effects of his concussion lingered; he couldn’t follow up.
Shining Armor pushed himself back to his hooves, ignoring the scrapes to his knees and shins. Luckily, his armor had protected him from any real damage. Reactivating his fencing spell, he ducked the Egg Knight’s next swipe and parried a set of thrusts. He kept his position and attacks honed on its right side, where its defenses were weakest. Timely arrows from Night Flare kept its troublesome shield-bearing arm occupied, forcing the robot to block them, keeping it from bringing the more dangerous weapon to bear.
The battle continued in the same rhythm: duck, parry, parry, sidestep, thrust, repeat. Shining began to realize that the automatons, while dangerous, seemed limited in their tactics and attacks. It was as if they could only execute a preprogrammed set of attacks and movements, with little ability for improvisation. The repetitive sequences could leave them open.
Glancing over to his ally’s face, he could tell Night Flare understood that too.
When his foe’s next set of strikes came, Shining deflected the first two as he had, but lifted his head to catch the third in a block, holding fast against the droid’s lance. Inevitably, predictably, his foe turned his attention to the left to guard against Night Flare’s arrow with its shield.
At that instant, Shining shifted his weight backward, and with two graceful moves, hooked the Egg Knight’s pike right out of its hand and flinging it through the air. Seizing on the opening, he lunged forward with all his force. His magic javelin struck the left side of the Egg Knight’s chest cavity, piercing all the way out its back.
The robot stood motionless and the captain savored his victory.
Then it caught him about the throat in a steel fist.
Shining Armor gave a choked gasp of shock, only able to briefly wonder how the thing could survive as the Egg Knight raised its shield to bash his skull in.
But then Greenbay sprang in behind the Badnik. With a two-hoofed grip, he jumped up and swung his sword as hard as he could at its left arm, severing it at the elbow. Its shield fell to the ground along with the arm that still clutched it.
The Badnik looked at its dismembered arm and shield on the floor, then to the sparking stump that remained. Its grip on Shining’s throat went slack and it fidgeted oddly, apparently unable to compute the chain of events. Without a second thought, the unicorn turned and planted his back hooves into the robot’s chest, knocking it onto its back, where it stayed flailing.
Shining held his throat, sucking in much-needed air in the small moment of rest. He spared Greenbay a glance. “Thanks for the… assist, Private,” he said, his breath ragged and irregular.
The stocky Earth pony merely smiled and saluted.
“Waaaahahahahaaaaaaaa!”
A new source of commotion drew their eyes. The panicked mass of white and purple that was Rarity galloped madly through the now guard-occupied stretch of Tribune Lane, a group of four RhinoBots chasing her as she wailed. “Will somepony PLEASE help meeheeheeheeeeeee!”
An arrow arched through the air and struck the ground behind Rarity as she ran—blue, with a crystalline appearance. Within moments, the ground was coated over with ice, spreading out from the arrow’s landing point. Rarity’s wheeled pursuers rolled right over it, wobbling and falling with heavy thuds onto their sides. The frozen floor had left them helpless.
Night Flare cracked a smile. “Caution to all rampaging robots: slippery road ahead.” Again he cringed mid-laugh, bringing up a hoof to massage his aching head.
Life Line and the seven other residents of Ponyville came rushing forward, gathering near Shining Armor and Night Flare. Rarity raced to her friends and threw her hooves around the first available pony—that being Applejack.
As the slightly disgruntled farm pony and her friends tried to calm the blubbering fashinoista, Life Line immediately went up to Night Flare, who was in noticeable pain. Her face scrunched up in disapproval. “I told you. I told you not to overdo it!” she scolded, jabbing a hoof in his face. “What were you thinking rushing out ahead with Umbra and the others?! What if you’d caused a hemorrhage?! You know you’re in absolutely no shape to fight!”
A sparking pop of blue behind them marked the appearance of Luna. “I agree with the Sergeant, sir Night Flare,” she said to the archer. The Wonderbolts came in from behind her, hovering above her. “You have served admirably, but you are in no suitable condition for a battle such as this. Return to the palace and seek medical assistance.”
Night Flare’s expression soured. “I don’t like the idea of sitting on the sidelines while we’re under siege, your Highness.”
“And you will endanger more than yourself if you refuse to rest,” Luna countered. “If you wish to be of assistance, pass along your observations of the enemy to command. Whatever information we can glean concerning their forces will be paramount if we are to survive this day.”
Night Flare clicked his teeth. He looked over the battle unfolding in the distance, analyzing. He glanced up, his eyes hanging on some clouds that had drifted lower in the sky. “In that case, maybe there’s one more thing I can assist with here.”
Following his gaze, it didn’t take Luna long to understand her lieutenant’s idea. Lifting herself ten feet in the air with a single wingbeat, she made her voice echo with the full volume of her Royal Canterlot voice. “FALL BACK! ALL SQUADRONS FALL BACK BEHIND FIRST STREET!”
As quickly as possible, every individual and team of guards broke off their respective skirmishes and retreated.
Night Flare swung to Spitfire. “Captain, bring down that set of clouds for me!”
Spitfire met his eyes and nodded. She zipped up, Soarin and Fleetfoot following. The trio climbed into Canterlot’s airspace and reached the clouds in seconds. The Buzz Bomber transport’s descent from behind its cloud cover had brought some small vestiges of its hiding place down to the lower altitudes. Fleetfoot and Soarin banked to both sides of the three clouds, gathering them while Spitfire took the one at the front. They gathered the white clumps together into a larger mass before positioning themselves over it, bracing their hooves on the cloud and carrying it back down towards the street.
Nightflare snatched another ice arrow from his quiver. He notched it, took careful aim and fired directly at the cloud. “Incoming!”
His shout signaled the three Wonderbolts to break off as the arrow struck home into the fluffy mass. In seconds the cloud started to freeze and expand. Sharp, uneven spikes emerged from its entire surface area until it was a huge, solid mass protruding jagged edges in every direction. Its weightless hover became a slow descent, and then a rapid plummet towards.
The craggy iceberg slammed into the Second Street intersection with a loud crash, crushing many Badniks beneath it.
Luna smirked. Her lieutenant’s quick thinking had reduced the immediate enemy’s numbers, and the wall of ice now blocked off the entire lane of Velites Avenue. Their approach was cut off.
‘For now…’
She swung to Shining Armor, determined to make the time she had bought them count. “Captain Armor, the western district has been completely overrun. You and your troops retake it. Push back these aberrations. Do not allow them to breach the castle. Should anything get past Second Street, turn them back or turn them to scrap iron.”
The unicorn gave a firm nod. “Aye aye, Princess!”
Before he could leave, Twilight rushed over and threw her hooves around him in a firm hug. “Please be careful out there, Shiny…”
He patted her back and offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, sis. We’ll have these overgrown dolls wrapped up before you can say ‘ladybugs awake.’” He whirled, ushering his medic. “Life Line, let’s go!” As the mare fell in close behind her departing captain, he raised his voice over the area. “Company, form up! We’re moving out! I want a headcount five minutes ago!”
Rainbow Dash glanced over at Twilight. “Ladybugs awake?”
Twilight blushed. “It’s an inside thing… T-There’s no time right now, I’ll tell you later!”
Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire returned and landed in front of the group. Luna faced Spitfire and said, “Captain Spitfire, you and your team are to assist in the rescue of any civilians still in harm’s way. Be swift, and be mindful of foes in the skies.”
“Understood!” Spitfire spread her wings and took to the air with the rest of the Wonderbolts.
“How can we help, your Highness?” said Twilight.
Luna looked at her sternly. “An unknown and powerful enemy has appeared before us. We must counter it with our full capabilities, and our most powerful means of defense. You and the other Bearers are to retrieve the Elements of Harmony. Return with them to the castle and we shall use them to drive this infernal horde from our city.”
“What about the demon?” piped Rainbow. “And Princess Celestia? They’re both somewhere in the middle of all this, with that thing doing who knows what to her! We can’t just leave her behind!”
Luna tensed her jaw, keeping a firm grip on her emotions. “My sister can take care of herself for the time being. There are more pressing matters to deal with now than one creature. The safety of Canterlot… nay, of all of Equestria may hang on today’s outcome.”
She fixed her gaze to the path ahead. The Badniks were already breaking through the ice. She stepped forward, away from the group. “Quickly, friends! Retrieve the Elements! Our guards shall cover you on the way to the tower! There’s not a moment to lose!”
“But Princess, what about you?” Spike asked worryingly, looking as reluctant to leave her behind as the mares.
“Worry not, young drake,” Luna assured. “I will be just fine. Leave these unsightly ghouls to me. Now, go!”
Her last word carried a finality that spurred the hesitant seven of them to action. Twilight scooped up Spike with her magic and placed him on her back as they all galloped off.
All except for Rarity, who was smacking one of the downed RhinoBots with a broken off piece of rubble. “Take that, you ruffian! And that! And that, I say!”
“RARITY!”
Jolting at her friends’ combined shout, she cleared her throat with a blush and quickly went along after them.
The center of the ice wall exploded into mist and fragments, and the Badniks advanced through the gap. As the horde approached, Luna half turned and shouted for the guards to stay back.
Closing her eyes, she focused her magic. A small orb of white light formed in front of her. The orb grew and took on a linear shape, small extensions branching outward at the lower half of its mass. Moments later it was fully formed and the light disappeared, revealing an ornate broadsword. Its dark gray handle was inlaid with a spiral groove, its base ending in a silver, egg-shaped pommel. The upper area above the grip curved inward, then back out into an oval rain-guard; from this extended a pair of small dark blue wings that formed the crossguard. The gleaming blade tapered towards its middle, burgeoning into a wider and heavier tip. It was a stellar work of craftsmanship. As beautiful as it was deadly, specifically designed for battlefield combat.
Luna levitated the sword before her face and let her eyes drift over it, a touch of melancholy in her expression. She appeared to study it not unlike one would the face of a friend long thought gone, but whose return was a presage to inevitable violence.
The ground ahead rumbled. The smaller robots parted to avoid being crushed as an enormous Moto Bug two stories tall rolled towards Luna. Its head-mounted, double-barreled cannon trained on her; its blue photoreceptors shone menacingly.
A hard luster filled Luna’s eyes. Cyan orbs gleamed like polished steel. Without an ounce of fear, she stepped forth to meet the monstrosity. She swept her broadsword out to her side. Power gathered within her, matching the steady growth of volume in her voice.
“You come to my home. Threaten my subjects. Hurt MY sister?!”
The cobalt glow around her horn flared into a raging flame-like aura. The blade of her weapon also glowed, radiating energy of the same blue color.
“By all my stars in heaven… I SAY THEE, NAY!”
Luna arched her sword above her head and chopped it straight down in one dynamic stroke. From it came a crescent blade of pure magic as large as the Moto Bug. The blue wave cut the air, one of the tips leaving a foot-deep furrow in the ground as it flew towards the Badnik. It sliced through the steel mass like a hot knife through butter and continued on into the distance, destroying any and all Badniks in its path. The giant Moto Bug fell apart into two even pieces, cleaved in half.
Angling her blade before her, Luna lowered her head into an aggressive stance. The mindlessly-obedient army advanced on her. With a cry, she leapt into the fray, sword held high for the attack.
As the Princess of the Night threw herself into battle, the remaining collection of Day Guards watched in awe. “Holy shit…” Greenbay remarked, staring at the two halves of the giant Moto Bug.
While the Day Guards looked on or continued to move about the impromptu encampment, Night Flare galloped past the ranks towards castle. The quicker he got to the command post, the quicker he could pass along information on their enemy, and hopefully help them all survive this mess.
Suddenly, he jerked to a stop, as if realizing something for the first time. He turned his head left and right. “…Where’s my sister?”
Gilded Avenue was in flames.
Tongues of fire swirled atop the buildings, leaping from one rooftop to the next. Homes and outlets, their structural foundations made fragile by the blazes raging within, collapsed under their own weight, throwing up billowing clouds of ash and debris. This once beautiful suburb where Canterlot’s elite made their roost now looked like something akin to Hell.
In the abandoned streets, Eggman’s mechanical army roamed unfettered. Camerons—turtle-like robots with powerful back-mounted cannons—lumbered about. Red-bodied, yellow-beaked Egg Walkers resembling ostriches stalked around them. The metallic birds jumped through the remains of melted windows in search of targets to capture and launched missiles from their beaks at yet untouched homes, touching off even more loud bursts of fire.
As the squadron proceeded along its programmed route, the foremost Egg Walkers registered a new target approaching from dead ahead.
Celestia looked upon the scene with revulsion. Countless moons of work, many more of content and peaceful living, lost. Her capital was besieged. Once again her ponies faced the threat of a malicious invading force.
This would not stand.
But there was one thing Celestia could take comfort in; one single solace that brought slight relief from the turmoil roiling around her. For the first time in nearly four decades, she would face an enemy on the field of battle. Enemies not of flesh and blood. Enemies without pause, without pain, without souls. Enemies she needn’t hold back against.
Finally, a chance to cut loose.
All poise and grace, the First Princess of Equestria strode forward.
The wave of Eggman’s forces—forty Egg Walkers, and six Camerons—immediately went into offensive measures. The metal ostriches let out distorted trills and charged. From above, a group of more than fifty Buzz Bombers and Balkiries swooped down towards her.
Three of the ground-stationed Camerons targeted Celestia and fired, loosing green bullets of energy from their cannons.
Celestia didn’t even break stride as one of the bolts exploded twelve feet in front of her, the only change being the whipping billow of her mane and tail and the dust she felt sprinkle onto her chest. The second round flew past her right shoulder, missing by five feet and slamming into the ground four yards behind her.
But the last shot was right on target.
Celestia simply lit her horn. With a casual flick of her head, she turned the shot aside. She felt the heat as it flew past her left; heard the blast as it blew a hole in the street eight yards back. She brushed the specks of debris off her chest with her wing and eyed the robot horde.
“My turn.”
A simple upward gesture of her horn lifted the entire Badnik army off the ground, directly into the path of the incoming flyers. Explosions riddled the sky as the robots smashed into each other. Metal hunks bits of broken parts showered down onto the road.
As the smoke cleared, Celestia could make out two larger objects in the distance. As they drew closer, she perceived them as airships of a sort. Their rounded hulls and bulging eyes gave them the appearance of blowfish. A hatch from the bottom-center of the foremost ship’s hull swung open; another troop of Egg Pawns came marching out, descending two by two down onto the street.
Celestia frowned. That wouldn’t do.
With a thought, her golden aura took hold of the Egg Pawns and lifted them off the ground and back up through the hatch from which they came, shutting the door behind them. Fixing on the transport, Celestia drew on the depths of her power and extended her grasp over the entire dropship, stopping its approach cold. She looked past it to the second ship still high in the air and froze it as well. With a gesture of her head, she pushed the closest transport up and backwards at the same time she compelled the one behind it to fall forward. The two ships closed and crashed together.
Imploding metal ruptured the power cores of each ship, and another set of explosions rocked the area. Celestia had to glance away from the bright, erupting fire. More remains of ship and robot alike scattered along the ground as the harsh flare faded.
Celestia gazed ruefully at the steel fragments that lay across the suburb and at the lacerated chest cavity of an Egg Walker that lay a few feet in front of her. Marvels of technological wonder made only to fulfill a selfish desire. She shook her head with a disappointed sigh. “What a waste.”
“Attention all units! Attention all units!”
Celestia’s head perked up as a familiar voice sounded in her mind—Commander Dawn Stride. It seemed the telepathic communication spell was up and running. Later than she thought it would be…
“We’re losing ground in sector three! Repeat, we are losing ground in sector three! They need help over there!”
Celestia looked west, her next destination was confirmed. She focused her magic and prepared to warp herself to that position.
Cheep cheep!
Celestia paused at the peculiar noise that caught her ear. She turned her head back to look around, scanning the road, the sidewalk, the burned-out remains of this district’s buildings. But there was nothing there. “Perhaps it was my imagination…” She shook her head and made ready to teleport again.
Cheep! Cheep cheep!
Okay, now she was sure she heard something. She turned around fully and stepped forward, looking from side to side for the source of the sound. “Hello? If someone is there, please show yourself,” she said urgently.
It wasn’t until her hoof accidentally knocked into the cracked torso of one of the Egg Walkers did the sound repeat itself, this time more frantically. Cheep cheep cheep!
Surprised, Celestia bent her head down to inspect the scrap closer. What was left of the Badnik’s body sported a huge crack. Quirking a brow, she used her magic to carefully pull the metal body apart, slowly widening the crack. When it was fully opened, her eyes went wide. “What in Equestria…?”
To one panicked mare—a bluish gray unicorn with deep navy hair—it was all she could do not to join in the chaotic chorus of screams around her. As her heart hammered, her legs carrying her as fast as she could will them, all she cared about was finding an escape.
From the corner of her eye, she kept close watch on her sister, Sunshine Smiles. Too close, in fact. She never saw the danger ahead.
Emerging from an alley several blocks away, a Cameron tromped into the open and fired its cannon. The wave of plasma shot across the street, between other ponies that threw themselves to the ground, or stopped and slid enough to miss the laser. Moonlight Raven never saw it coming until green flashed before her eyes. The bolt struck a building to her left and her world went spinning.
At first Moonlight didn’t understand the garbled sound in her ears; the almost welcoming lassitude behind her eyes; the bitter, salty taste on her tongue. Slowly, she noticed she couldn’t quite move one of her back legs. She felt the ground against her cheek; recognized of the taste of her own blood.
Then the pain hit.
It took every ounce of her will to choke back a scream.
There was the muffled sound of somepony calling her name. She knew that voice, yet for whatever reason, couldn’t remember who it belonged to. She tried to stand, but an odd heaviness prevented her; a weight, and a particularly sharp pain in the center of her back.
The weight lifted and she heard wood and stone clatter on the floor next to her. A hoof took her by the chin and turned her face upward. She saw Sunshine’s face. Oh yes, she must have been the one to scream.
Her sister’s hair was messy. An ugly bruise was forming on her dirt-covered right cheek. There were tears in her eyes. Had Moonlight been able to conjure the thought at the moment, she might have understood that she must have looked to be in even worse shape than Sunshine to trigger such a reaction.
“Don’t worry, Mooney,” Sunshine said, her clipped and shaky voice betraying her rising anxiety. “You’re gonna be fine. Everything’s gonna be just fine. We’re gonna get to the safe zone, find you a doctor, and—”
A gun-toting Egg Pawn suddenly appeared before them. The two could only look up helplessly at the mech and its eerie, unnatural smile. Sunshine whimpered in abject terror as the Badnik leveled its arm at them, and the black hole of its cannon alighting with neon blue.
In that moment, Moonlight understood they were both about to die.
With what little strength she had, she turned her sister’s tear-soaked face away from the robot, hiding Sunshine’s face in neck. She wrapped her hooves around Sunshine and held her tight; a final comfort in their last moments. At least, in the end, they’d have each other.
But the end never came.
There was no pain of a death blow, no plasma that would burn through skin and flesh and bone; only a strong gust of wind that came as if from nowhere, and the clangor of metal being torn apart.
Sunshine and Moonlight lifted their heads and opened their eyes. They didn’t see their executioner. Only a street littered with broken metal parts that used to be the army of menacing robots. The ponies around them looked as perplexed as they were.
Eventually, Moonlight found the strength to utter, “What… just happened?”
Surrounded by a horde of enemies, Cloud Zapper fought for his life.
More than his life. Every thrust of his blade, every whirl of tempered steel was a strike in defense of peace, of the rights of ponies everywhere to live freely and without the threat of harm.
He was fighting for the home he loved. For Equestria itself. Not least of all, for the pride that had been passed down to him.
But it wasn’t pride that the normally-spirited colt felt now. In this moment, as he fought with all his might against the invaders, he felt something else entirely. It welled in his gut and crawled slowly, forebodingly up his spine as more and more metal monstrosities swarmed from all directions.
Fear.
Fear for his fellow guards who faced this mysterious force alongside him; fear for the besieged citizens of Canterlot; fear for the small group of frightened ponies holed up in an inn not; fear that all his passion and training wouldn’t be enough to save his home—or himself.
It had all happened so fast. Just as the general had predicted, another ship resembling a giant blue wasp emerged from the clouds that had been concealing it. It descended over his unit’s position and poured out the swarm of living iron statues. They came like a wave, overwhelming his cadre and flooding through the streets.
Like the other guards, Cloud Zapper heard the telepathic message from command outlining the weak spots on these robots’ bodies. But even as his blade separated limbs from torsos and left sparking gapes in steel shells, there were just too many. For each he cut down, two more took its place.
The battle left a swath of destruction; two tall major building complexes ahead of Cloud Zapper’s position were now piles of rubble. His unit had been driven far from their original location. Now his comrades were defeated and captured, held prisoner in the enemy’s strange containers. The entire unit wiped out, save for him. So many of these golems filled the streets he couldn’t even see the capsules holding his friends anymore.
Minutes ago they received word of a contingent of the Inquisitors that was supposed to been coming to bolster their position, but they were nowhere to be found. A particularly frequent number of explosions and laserfire from the southwest led him to assume their backup had been pinned down.
So here he stood, alone against an army of Badniks, covered in sweat and dust. His armor was marked by several pockmarks where laser shots had hit their mark. Despite the lingering pain, despite all odds, still he fought. Taking off the leg of another Egg Pawn, he glared resolutely at the looming army.
He would protect Equestria—with his life.
Using his natural agility, Cloud Zapper circled around the grasping hands of the next set of Egg Pawns, hacking at their legs. As the pair went down, a cluster of laser bolts forced him to spring away. A loud blast went off; panic lanced Cloud Zapper’s heart. His wings carried him up off the ground moments before the missile from a bazooka whizzed past his previous spot, traveling and exploding somewhere off to his right. Cloud Zapper had seen one of those weapons nearly incinerate half a dozen ponies when it struck the nearby ground. He dreaded what would be left of him if he took a direct hit.
Cloud Zapper sighted a slowly-crawling Caterkiller several meters behind the shooters. Deciding he’d prefer whatever the worm Badnik had in store to the gun-touting Egg Pawns, he went for it instead. Sailing in a loop over shooting Egg Pawns, he curved down towards the Caterkiller and cut across the snarling Badnik’s face. As it flailed, sparks fountaining from the gash, Cloud Zapper whirled around in midair and bucked its towering frame toward the four gunners. All but one were crushed underneath the Caterkiller.
More lasers streaked his way and Cloud Zapper swerved to avoid them; he wasn’t quick enough. One shot caught him near the base of his left wing. He went down with a cry, his sword falling away as he hit the street.
Squeezing his teeth together, fighting through the pain, Cloud Zapper willed himself up. His left wing hung limply at his side; he could barely move it. Another burned circle marked the point of shot below his wing.
From the air, a pair of Flappers flew in from behind Cloud Zapper and targeted him. Breaking formation, they swung to opposite sides of his position on the street, banked suddenly, then converged on Cloud Zapper, raining down streams of electric plasma. The colt darted right and backwards to avoid the electric streams, lunging for his sword as two Egg Pawns charged. He grabbed it in his teeth with barely enough time to duck under the first’s haymaker and counter with a cut that sliced apart its knee. He spun to face the other, but a swing from its lance struck his blade so hard it jarred the sword from his mouth. It spun away through the air and pierced into the ground five yards away.
His body hit ground. Reflexively, his hoof grasped his aching jaw. He tasted iron in his mouth. It was all he could do to scramble behind fallen pieces of a destroyed structure for cover as more Egg Pawns fired at him. The Flappers took station above the others and the ground units moved in.
Cloud Zapper swallowed, his nostrils flaring in hard breaths. A cold dread crept up his spine; grim realization this might be it. But against fear, pain, and the sounds of chaos around him, he gathered his courage and stood. This was his duty. His destiny. And he’d follow it all the way to the end.
But first, he’d need his sword.
When the sound of gunfire pounding his cover stopped, he made his move. He leaped from behind the rubble, screamed a battle cry and charged. If nothing else, he would go down fighting.
But as if from nowhere, a streaking shape blasted through one of the Flappers, a blue ray of light trailing the air behind it. The shape hit the ground, swerved back around and sprang into the air to similarly take out the other Flapper at speeds so great they were both destroyed before Cloud Zapper realized what had happened.
The spinning blue ball hopped to the top of a hill of crumbled architecture, bounced once on the peak, then landed into the unfurled shape of a creature that stood with its back to Cloud Zapper and the Badniks. With a quick pivot Sonic faced the robots below with a straightened pose, smiling with an index finger held upright, wagging it at the Badniks.
Only belatedly did the stunned colt recognize him.
The Egg Pawns immediately forgot about the pony. Their unnatural voices intoned in unison, “Hedgehog: priority one!”
Sonic chuckled. “Isn’t it great to be wanted?” A jump took him off the rubble and into the air above the gang of robots. Curling his body, he dropped down with a slam that burst apart a third of them in one swift motion. A blinding series of homing attacks quickly turned what remained into bulks of scrap metal scattered about the road.
Cloud Zapper stared in baffled awe as the strange biped that so easily wiped out strode towards him. His shock doubled when Sonic offered a hand out to him with an accompanying friendly smile.
“Up and at ‘em, kid. There’s a whole lot more where those came from. You hurt?”
His previously shocked face warmed. He took Sonic’s hand, standing with the hedgehog’s help. “I… I think I can still move.” He cringed from the new pain in his chest, but still managed a smile. “Thanks a lot. I seriously thought I was done for.”
Sonic smiled in return, rubbing his nose.
The sound of weapons firing made both of them look down the road. Sonic’s face hardened. He recognized those particular types of Badniks menacing the distant ponies. They would need help. Sonic noticed Cloud Zapper’s sword stuck in the ground just as the young stallion was making his way towards it. It took him a second to get there first.
“Mind if I borrow that?” He pulled it out of the ground and was gone before he could hear a reply, leaving Cloud Zapper feebly reaching out after him with a bewildered expression.
“H-Hey!”
Half a mile away, the mixed numbers of the Militia and Inquisitors fought like hell against Eggman’s forces. Pegasi swooped from above and Egg Pawns fell, polearms sticking out of their sparking forms. Earth ponies pulled together the bodies of fallen Badniks into piles, wincing as bullets rattled against the steel carcasses and whizzed over their heads. Unicorns took cover behind the makeshift barricades and returned fire with beams of magic, their cohorts of other species doing so so with crossbows.
Mixed into the guards were panicked civilians. A number of tunnel entrances along the street had been destroyed or blocked by fallen rubble or Badniks, forcing some to linger in the street, doing everything they could to keep far away from the combat.
One Earth stallion wore a helm that covered his entire face, featureless except for the openings for his eyes. His armor was replete with marks of battle; dents, gashes, and singed spots from laserfire decorated the gold plating. He stood among the robotic remains of his foes, his hoof vised around a war hammer. It was shorter than the average polearm, only about three feet in length; compact and sturdy, designed for easy carriage and greater maneuverability while not sacrificing blunt effectiveness.
Four Egg Pawns converged on the stallion, pikes in hand. Left and right he laid about, caving in the first robot’s chest, tearing through the leg of a second. As he parried an attack from the third, the fourth jabbed its lance straight into the pony’s masked face. His helmet went skittering across the ground. Grit Vigil staggered for half a heartbeat before spinning and slamming his war hammer into the Egg Pawn’s face, feeling the impact in his hooves as metal crunched through metal. He wrenched it free, oil erupting from the gash as the Badnik fell.
Grit sprang backwards to dodge the final Egg Pawn’s lance, running to retrieve his weapon. He grabbed it just in time to shunt aside the incoming lance thrust and jabbed the Pawn in the face with the butt of his hammer. As the droid stumbled back, he buried the weapon’s spike in its face.
“Squad 2, flank the ranged ones!” he shouted. “Stick close to the melee ones! Don’t let the shooters catch you in the open!”
Another Egg Pawn four yards away leveled its blaster at him. In a moment of sheer instinct, Grit grabbed the still-standing corpse of his most recent foe and swiveled behind it for cover. The robot rattled as laser bolts rapped against its back. Grit tensely held his non-living shield in place, silently hoping it would hold long enough to keep him alive.
His hope was answered; the juddering let up. Wasting no time, Grit turned and bucked the dead Egg Pawn with all his strength. He was galloping forward even as it sailed through the air and crashed into its compatriot. The still-functioning Egg Pawn flailed and pushed, trying to get the inert unit off. The first fall of Grit’s hammer removed its gun hand. The second crushed in its face.
Grit loosed a heavy grunt as he stood still, breathing deeply to slow his pounding heart. Incidentally, his eye was drawn to the firearm lying on the ground by the Badnik’s limp fingers.
At the corner of Canterlot Theater, Life Line administered medical aid to a pegasus stallion who’d been shot down. A round of enemy machine gun fire had caught him in the wing. Her steady hoof and assuring words managed to keep the agonizing private steady enough for her to begin dressing the strange wound.
“Easy, there. You’re gonna be all right.” The bleeding finally stopped enough for her to cease her healing spell and wrap a piece of gauze around his wing’s radius. Her magic couldn’t completely mend the shattered bone, but she had stopped the bleeding enough to secure the wound.
A shout issued from somewhere around the corner, followed by a harsh metallic thud. Roancoat came sliding across the ground into the alley with the pair.
“Look out!” The private cried, pointing fearfully at the trio of Egg Pawns approaching from behind.
Turning to face them, Life Line stepped forward fearlessly. She quickly cast a ray of magic onto the ground behind her, just in front of Roancoat and the wounded private.
“Surrender, organic,” the foremost Egg Pawn droned. “You will bow to the Eggman Empire.”
Life Life moved suddenly, ducking and sliding between the legs of the first Egg Pawn and slammed her hooves into its back, knocking it onto its face. She spun around the second one’s grab and struck with hard, pin-point-accurate blows to its elbow and knee, staggering the droid. The third swung at her, but she skillfully parried the blow, ducked between its legs and reared to full height, lifting the robot and sending it up and over her. It flipped through the air and crashed into the second Egg Pawn, both joining the first on the floor.
They wouldn’t be getting up. They flailed vainly, stuck to the ground by a sticky pink substance; a gum-like trap lain by Life Line. The unicorn turned half turned, scowling at the helpless mechs. “Not today.”
The two stallions marveled at her work. “Wow, Sarge… That was incredible!” said the private.
Roancoat nodded agreement. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a medic with moves like that.”
Life Line smirked. “You’ll find I’m almost as good at making wounds as I am at mending them.”
Their small reprieve ended quickly; more Egg Pawns advanced on their location.
“Think you’ve got enough fancy moves for the both of us?” Roancoat asked.
Before Life Line could answer, flashing red lines of laser bolts speared through the four approaching Badniks, dropping them. It was Grit, raised on two legs, the liberated gun of a fallen Egg Pawn in hood, pumping shot after shot into the steel assailants.
“Over here, freaks!” Grit let off another burst of shots, ducking and sprinting as the mechs returned fire and gave chase. He galloped left, leaping over a pile of scrap metal and rolling into the space between two buildings to avoid the shots. The pursuing Badniks soon filled the alley’s entrance, taking stalking steps towards the lieutenant.
Girt backed up slowly. They had him cornered. No way to escape.
Or, that’s what he wanted them to think.
“Now!”
On Grit’s signal, a pair of pegasi appeared from the rooftops and dove down into the alley. Grit stood to his hind legs, allowing his fellow Inquisitors to scoop him up off the ground and carry him up and over the Egg Pawns’ heads.
The bots wheeled around, only to see a trio of unicorns waiting behind them. The two mares and one stallion let loose blasts of magic, shooting the walls to either side of the Badniks. The walls burst apart and collapsed, burying the robots in a cascade of bricks and mortar.
As Grit’s squad members placed him back on the ground, the Earth pony loosed an aggravated noise. “How many more of these things are there?!”
A burst of plasma flew between their heads, close enough that Grit could feel its heat. Dozens of Egg Pawns and Egg Knights pushed forward, their superior-ranged arm cannons and thick shields forcing the guards to give ground.
“Too many, sir!” The stallion answered, pulling more fallen robots into the makeshift barricade that shielded them. A plasma bolt grazed his helmet and he jolted back. The pair of unicorn mares took position behind the steel corpses, answering the enemy laserfire with beams of their own.
Life Line, Roancoat, and Ripcord came dashing in on the left, the latter a step slower than the other two, joining the rest of Grit’s team at their cover spot. Anxiety was painted on their faces. Roancoat cringed as a plasma burst rocked their cover. “We can’t keep this up! We’re being overrun!”
A cry of pain came from above. A pegasi mare came careening down from the air, crashing roughly to the ground a few yards behind the group. Her body shuddered painfully as she tried to move. “M-Medic!”
Life Line was in motion before the mare called for help, arrived to her in seconds. Tending to her, she saw the left side of the mare’s armor had an ugly singed mark. The armor had partially melted, and she could see blood. ‘It barely protected her,’ she realized. An inch in any other direction and the result may have been fatal. And if the melted steel seeped in too deep…
Grit put his stomach to the floor as beams whizzed mere feet over his head. He rumbled a curse under his breath. Things just kept getting worse. But he’d be damned if he didn’t go down fighting. He rose and was taking aim with his commandeered weapon when a blue blur flashed from right to left through the rows of Badniks.
To the surprise of all the guards, Sonic slid in from the left in front of the ponies, his back to them. Two seconds later, every Badnik hand that held a weapon fell away, sliced cleanly off.
Sonic glanced down at the sword he held, weighing it in his hand. He was amazed. It was so light, yet it cut through the robots’ heavy armor like it was nothing.
He looked back to the ponies and shouted, “Try it now!” Then he whooshed away, extending his sword arm as he dove at a new line of Badniks with a Spin Attack, wheeling through them like a veritable cyclone of steel-flashing death.
The ponies looked at the now handless robots before them.
The robots shrank backward.
The ponies smiled ominously.
“Take them!” Girt bellowed. He bounded over the mound of slaughtered Badniks, leading the newly-spirited guards into a charge. Grit ducked under a punch from an Egg Pawn and swept it onto its back with a single-leg takedown, jumping on top of the prone droid and pumping laser bolts into it until it stopped moving. His comrades descended on the crowd of their now defenseless enemies, reducing them to piles of inert scraps in a quick and feverish manner.
The last of the retreating robots were at last struck down. Cheers rose up from the guards.
“Finally,” Life Line breathed, “a ray of hope.”
Sonic came rushing in again, coming to a stop in front of Grit, Life Line, and Roancoat. The latter and a few of the other guards readied their weapons.
“There’s more bots coming in from the south,” Sonic said, ignoring the hostile looks. “You’ve got some bystanders trapped in a wrecked motel and one guy holding his own in front of it. Get down there and help him out.”
The ponies didn’t move, regarding Sonic with vigilant uncertainty.
“And why should we take orders from you?” one suspiciously asked.
Sonic may have been about to reply when somepony gave a shout. “Heads up!”
From the west, two Cannon Flappers approached from the air. Ponies had to dive and scatter to avoid the rounds launched from their under-hanging cannon barrels.
Sonic hurled his borrowed sword like a javelin. It flashed through the air and pierced one of the Flappers between the eyes. He jumped and used a Homing Attack to strike down the other, vaulting backwards and landing on top of the first. Pulling the blade free, he drove it deep into the Badnik once more and leaped off. He landed on the ground exactly two seconds before the ruined Flappers did.
The entire incident was over in less than ten seconds.
Sonic shot the cynical guard a look, bounced on the balls of his feet for a second, and dashed off.
The ponies gathered themselves again, watching the hedgehog fade into the distance. Five seconds later, Grit Vigil broke the silence.
“Squads Two and Three, head south! Back up our guy and get any other ponies below ground. I want a team of unicorns for extraction. Militia, use these dead… ‘bots’ to make barricades at every block going north and south from 23rd to 27th Street. I want this place ready for the next wave!”
He swung to Roancoat. “I’m leaving you with Bravo Squad. Put some sentries on the roofs and set up a perimeter to at least 28th.
Roancoat smirked. “You say that like you’re going anywhere without me.”
They stood and looked at each other for a moment. But Grit gave in, smiling thinly. “Get things cleaned up here, then rendezvous at the motel.”
Roancoat nodded and raised his voice to directed the remaining squads. “You heard the lieutenant! Bravo Squad, eyes in the sky! Militia, fortify the area! Get us ready before the next wave hits! And somepony get those tunnel doors clear!”
Grit strode forward and the two Inquisitor squads formed up behind him. The stallion that had challenged Sonic, with some hesitation, obeyed the order and went to join the rest of his Militia unit.
“All medics, report in front of the theater!” Life Line’s voice issued over the crowd. “Reds and yellows, to me! Anypony who can’t fight, get below ground!”
The two squads obeyed and followed after Grit’s team. The remaining guards swiftly went to work moving the scraps of Badniks and solidifying their position, recovering weapons and linking back up with their own squad members. Pairs heaved at the Badnik corpses blocking the tunnel doorways, reopening the entrances began to be unblocked one by one.
A sentry atop a roof corner suddenly called out, “Enemies to the west!”
“Oh, for bucks sake…” Life Line groaned.
“Not to worry! The cavalry has arrived!”
A new voice turned the ponies’ heads. A tall and brawny unicorn arrived on the scene, a rectangular greatshield fixed to the front of his armor and a squadron of Militia ponies at his back.
“Impeccable timing, Lieutenant Rush Wrecker,” Life Line greeted him. “Where’s Captain Stilleto?”
“Handling things in sector five,” the tall unicorn replied. “She sent us to back you up.”
“Wasn’t sector five totally flooded with these things?” one medic stallion remarked. “She sent you here while she takes them all on alone?”
“Trust me, Private,” Life Line said with a knowing smile, “it’s not the captain you should be worried about.”
“All right, that’s enough jaw flappin’!” Drawing a flanged mace from his belt, Rush Wrecker held it high and hollered to his troops. “Come on, boys! Let’s give ‘em Hell!”
A chorus of shouts went up behind him and the unit charged. Rush Wrecker was the first to meet the robots, blasting them with punishing strikes from his mace. “FEEL MY WRATH, ROBOTIC SCUM!”
Life Line and her medic partner watched with morbid fascination. The latter gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Spirited bunch, aren’t they, sarge?”
Life Line shook her head. “You have no idea…”
Back near the motel, Cloud Zapper was currently being squeezed by a crying mare. A tall pink unicorn had managed to pull herself out of the partially-collapsed inn. One of her hind legs was bleeding, her mane was a mess, and her coat was covered in spots of dirt. She clung tightly to the young private, sobbing uncontrollably.
“T-This is awful!” Top Tier moaned. “We’re all gonna diiieee!”
It was more than a little awkward for Cloud Zapper. “Um… No we’re not, ma’am,” he offered, patting her back. “It’s all going to be okay. There, there.”
With a gust of motion, Sonic arrived back in front of the two ponies. “Backup will be getting here any minute.” He pointed at the almost-flattened building. “Are there any more guys in there?”
It took a second for Cloud Zapper to find his tongue, looking uneasily between the hedgehog and the heiress glued to his neck. “Y-Yes, but they’re in a basement underneath all this. I don’t think anypony’s hurt, but they can’t get out.”
Top Tier’s crying subsided enough for her to perk her head up. Her eyes bugged when she saw Sonic.
“Keep them calm and don’t have anyone else move,” Sonic said. “Don’t want any more of this thing coming down on their heads.” He glanced at Top Tier, a teasing smile playing on his lips. “Play nice with your dashing savior, ‘kay?”
Both ponies blushed.
Sonic spun Cloud Zapper’s sword to a reverse grip and held it out to him. “I believe this is yours.”
Cloud Zapper’s face brightened. He eased out of Top Tier’s grip and accepted it back.
“She’s a real beauty,” said Sonic. “Cuts so well it makes it easy. Terribly well balanced, too.”
Pride swelled in Cloud Zapper’s heart. “Yeah, she’s… really special.”
“You take good care of her. Now, I’d love to hang around, but there’s a couple hundred more evil tin cans to smash.” Sonic dabbed two fingers at the ponies and got ready to make tracks.
“Hold on!”
Sonic hesitated at Cloud Zapper’s voice, turning back. Him and Top Tier were looking at him strangely.
“Everypony’s talking about you… the Blue Demon. They said you attacked us. That you tried to kidnap Princess Celestia. Yet, here you are… helping us fight.” The young pegasus swallowed, steeling his nerves. “I wanna hear it from you! Are you friend or foe to Equestria?”
Sonic held his gaze for three seconds before smiling. “You’ll have to decide that for yourself.” And then he was gone, leaving the two ponies alone.
High above the road, on top of the nearest building, Celestia watched.
For all the violence and pandemonium that beset the streets of Canterlot, one soul remained blissfully unaware of it all.
A white unicorn strolled blithely down Glamour Avenue. She wore a pair of white and turquoise headphones, bobbing her head to the rhythm in her ears, totally deaf to chaos. Every step along her path, every swish of her spiky cobalt-and-cyan-striped tail was in sync to the beat. She strolled along without a care in the world, singing to herself.
“♪Buh duuuh, I’m howling at the moon, and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon. Buh buuuh, whatever did we do to make you take our world awaaaay? Duh duuuh, are we your prey alone alone, or are we just a stepping stone for taking back the throne? Duh duuuh, we won't take it anymore, so take your tyranny awaaaay.♪”
Vinyl made a mental note to give Neon his props for this latest release. It had been a hit with audiences. Catchy, too.
She was jolted out of her reverie when a pony shoved past her. Her headphones were knocked sideways, her purple sunglasses almost jerked off her nose, and very nearly fell over. Once she regained her balance, rearranged her shades and put her headphones down around her neck, she turned back to shout after the pony.
“Hey, keep your eyes on the road, would ya?!”
She wasn’t expecting a bunch of terrified shouts to answer her from the front, nor the stampede of ponies of all ages and sizes that went barreling past her. Bringing up the rear was a wrinkly elderly mare, her spring green eyes full of fright as she fled past the DJ. “Ruuun! Everypony run for your lives! It’s the rise of the machines!”
Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “What’s got their tails in a twist?”
An impact tremor strong enough to shake her body an inch off the ground answered. Vinyl turned to the sight of an Egg Hammer towering over her.
And now she was painfully aware of the very real danger she was in. Her glasses slid down, showing her magenta pupils, shrunken with fear. She gulped as the enormous robot stared down at her menacingly, cautiously stepping backwards. “Uh… easy there… Nice huge, terrifying, big-hammer-having golem…”
The Super Badnik took another thunderous step forward and Vinyl fell back on her haunches, shivering. She’d suddenly wished she’d joined the crowd in running away. As the Badnik lifted its hammer, she covered her head and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it would be quick. ‘Sorry Tavi, you’ll have to have movie night without me!’
But instead of the snuffing crash of a giant hammer, Vinyl felt a strong pair of limbs scoop her up off the ground, and rush of air whistling through her ears and mane.
Confused, she opened her eyes to the weirdest thing she’d seen all month. A blue and peach face with a thin black nose and sparkling emerald eyes looked down at her. The figure wore a smile that was distinctively boyish.
“Well, that could have ended badly. You all right?”
It took a few seconds for Vinyl to realize she was just staring with her mouth slack. She caught herself and nodded.
“Good.” Sonic placed her down gently. Turning his attention back to the Egg Hammer, his grin grew a touch fiercer. “Follow those other guys to safety. I’ve got dibs on the Hammer Bro.”
As he ran back towards the bot, Vinyl lingered for a few moments. Her eyes fixed on Sonic as he went, her lips curving into a wolfish grin. “Mmm… hello, good lookin’.”
The Egg Hammer primed for battle as Sonic rushed it. The blue hero flexed his fingers, grinning in anticipation. “Breaking out the Super Badniks, huh? You’re really going’ all out for this, aren’tcha doc?”
The mech brought its hammer crashing down with a blow strong enough to send up a billow of dust. When it cleared, Sonic sat atop the hammer’s up-facing side with a cheeky smirk. “Missed me,” he singsonged.
The hammer lifted and Sonic rolled backwards, landing on his feet. The Super Badnik reeled back and took another swing at him. Sonic moved as a blur to the other side of the street, avoiding it. Leaning his hand on a fire hydrant, he faked a yawn and looked at his fingers. “Try again, big guy!”
He dodged a horizontal swing with a backwards leap, flipping at the arch of his jump. “Over here!”
He tucked into a ball and spun, shooting forward as he hit the ground and springing at the Egg Hammer’s chest. To its credit, the giant robot deflected his attack with its weapon’s handle. Sonic bounced off and over the Super Badnik, landing behind it in the center of the road. “C’mon, you can do better than that! Swing, batta-batta-batta—”
A set of crashes issued from the other direction.
“—swing?”
Three more Egg Hammers stomped from around the surrounding street corners. The four giants encircled Sonic, rearing back to crush him.
“…Yeah, okay, this one’s on me.”
All four hammers smashed down, the combined impact making everything within a hundred feet shake.
A few blocks away, a manhole cover pushed out from where it lay, and Sonic emerged. “Hedgehog. Noun. A burrowing animal.” He hopped out and dusted himself off. “That was a lucky break. Now, where am I exactly?” Looking about, he found himself in an alley. And judging from the fainter sounds of the giant footsteps, he was a considerable distance from the four Egg Hammers.
He was about to head back on the open road to continue the fight when faint sound caught his ear. A soft, subtle sound; like the wind catching a loose cloth. Then something metallic; a quick, sharp hiss.
Sonic’s eyes widened. That one he recognized—sword!
He jumped and rolled forward just in time to avoid the saber that pierced the spot where he’d been standing. Catching himself in a kneeling stance, Sonic whirled to face his attacker.
Who he saw surprised him.
Umbra’s eyes brimmed with rage and ill intent. She flourished her sword in a sweeping motion, its straight blade glinting dangerously. “You’re mine, hedgehog!”
On Royal Avenue, the battle had taken a turn for the worse.
The shattered remnants of Ironhide Company were in full retreat. This particular unit of the Militia was mostly comprised Earth ponies, primarily meant for close-quarters combat. Even with the information broadcasted of where to target the two-legged robots that made up most of the army, the automatons proved difficult opponents. Spears were broken. Swords stuck in metal limbs and joints, leaving their wielders open. Even with a deployment of unicorns from the Mystics division sent in to assist, their armored foes had pushed the cadre to the breaking point.
Then the heavy artillery had come out—the choices were run or die.
What now amounted to less than a single full platoon was forced to flee north on Royal Avenue. Lasers chased the ponies as they fell back to their cover spot: a raised three-foot stone wall that stretched across the road. Little more than two blocks now stood between the approaching army and the castle wall—the last line of defense.
A pair of stallions bounded over the wall. Their captain, green coat and orange mane, turned back long enough to hurl a spear at the coming robots, not bothering to watch it land as he dove behind it as well. Laser bolts punched into the stone he’d just been on the other side of. Beside him was a young unicorn mare, belly to the ground, shivering in fright. Another explosion rocked the ground so hard half the remaining guards lost their footing.
“Sturdy Pike to command!” the captain said into his helm as fragments of stone pelted him. “The enemy has broken our line! We can’t hold them back, we need reinforcements!” He grabbed another spear and hurled it at the approaching line. It ended its distal arc by embedding itself in the shield of a Solid Pawn. The Badink’s marched with unimpeded synchronization with its rank, gray and orange metal filling the street from sidewalk to sidewalk.
“Private Firma, what are you doing?!” Sturdy shouted at the unicorn beside him. “Pull yourself together! Fight!”
Petra Firma barely met his gaze. Her mouth moved, but made no noise.
The row of Solid Pawns separated, making a space through the middle of their ranks. A giant, spiked ball rolled through. A gray robot with an armor visor and spikes on its head and shoulders balanced on top, juggling bombs as it rolled towards the ponies.
There were shouts of warning and frantic calls to retreat. Sturdy Pike yanked Petra by the hoof and ran, the pair getting just far enough to avoid being incinerated by the blast that blew the wall open and set the road ablaze. A nearby fountain with a statute of an alicorn’s likeness was destroyed, water pouring over the street.
Sturdy dragged himself up, his ears ringing. The situation seemed hopeless. He never saw the Egg Bommer’s next attack until he turned. The bomb fell right towards him.
But it stopped midway, hanging in mid air and shining with a pink-white aura. The projectile went hurtling back to its source. The string of fireballs that followed reduced the Bommer and a large chunk of the Solid Pawns behind it to slag.
Sturdy Pike turned to the sound of hoofsteps, and his expression became one of stunned realization. “Commander Dawn Stride!”
A lithe, cream-colored unicorn mare, her mane a mix of pink and blue, stood over him. “Allow me to lend a hoof, Captain.” She snapped to Petra. “Private Firma! Bring up another wall! Give us more cover!”
Petra didn’t respond, still shaking on the ground.
“PETRA!”
Dawn Stride’s shout finally made her open her glassy eyes. The Mystics commander’s face held fire, but also compassion. “I need you. Your fellow guards need you. Do not abandon us.”
Something in her voice loosened the veil of fear that choked the younger mare. With some hesitation, she rose to her hooves. “Y-Yes, ma’am!”
Dawn Stride nodded and activated her comm. “Squads 3 and 4, fall in behind my position. Take cover behind the barrier and wait for my signal. Squad 7, that battle meditation should have been going yesterday. S Company, take position and stand by. Hold your fire until I give the word.”
Just then, a Solid Pawn fired its gun. A laser bolt whizzed through the air towards the back of Dawn Stride’s head. Before Firma could scream a warning, Dawn Stride leaned her head to the side without even looking back. The burning plasma sailed past her helmet and struck the upper wall of nearby home.
Dawn Stride turned to face the army, grim purpose in her eyes. “Private Firma, get that wall up on the double,” she ordered before marching forward, alone.
Petra look worriedly after her for a few seconds before gathering herself and sparking up her horn. She raised her head, grunting from exertion. The ground in front of her cracked and a slab of rock rose up in front of her. Covering the entire road and twice the height of the first, it completely hid her and everything else from view, leaving only the commander and the enemy.
Dawn Stride sighted the water flowing over the street from the shattered fountain. Igniting her magic, she lifted it off the ground, drawing it to her as a swirling torrent. The torrential stream wrapped around Dawn Stride’s body, hovering in the air before an exertion of her will sent it out at the robot army in one huge deluge, catching the Egg Pawns up in the wave.
At that moment, a fresh feeling of energy washed over Dawn Stride. She smiled. Her Mystics’ battle meditation—a spell that allowed an individual or group of unicorns to give strength to the bodies, minds, and spirits of those around them—was now active. Smiling, the Mystics commander cast another spell, unleashing a stream of lightning into the water. With Squad 7 bolstering her intent, the electric current fried the robots all the way through to their delicate circuitry. Dawn Stride waited until their smoking bodies ceased to move before she dropped them.
But the battle was far from over. She could more Egg Pawns heading her way; and they weren’t the only ones. From above, a wave of Buzz Bombers descended. The wasp robots aimed their stinger-mounted blasters at Dawn Stride and fired.
The commander scarcely reacted, moving calmly forward, stepping from side to side around the bolts as if they were in slow motion—as if she knew exactly where and when they would land.
Behind her, she sensed several familiar signatures. She felt Firma’s energy flare. A space in the wall of rock opened up, and the eighteen unicorn mares of Squads 2 and 3 filed in behind her.
‘Perfect timing.’ Dawn Stride knew their counteroffensive wouldn’t work on that many enemies over so wide a space. They had to thin their numbers—starting with the air units. She swung her head to the ponies behind her. “Phoenix maneuver!”
In perfect coordination, three of the Mystics drew out three round, flat objects inlaid with carved symbols—charms. They sparked and produced burning flames as they hit the ground. Their next evoked spell manipulated the flames and made them grow. The fire came alive, swirling and coalescing, taking on the winged shape of a phoenix.
Dawn Stride sat and focused her own use of battle meditation to further empower the spell. The burning bird construct, already having a ten-foot wingspan, grew large enough to encompass nearly the entire space between the buildings. With shriek, it flew into the Buzz Bombers, engulfing them all in its mass of bright fire. They all fell from the sky, their smoking and melted husks clanging as they hit the ground.
Still, the Solid Pawns marched forward, bearing down on the forward group of Mystics with their gunfire. “Fall back!” Dawn Stride ordered. “Drive them back to First Street!”
Her Mystics quickly withdrew behind the rock barrier. Their commander let off a few more beams at the Badniks before following suit, Firma shutting the gap as she passed through and joining in the retreat.
It wasn’t long before the Solid Pawns blasted through the stone wall. As they filtered through, four of the Mystics unit plus Dawn Stride pooled their energy into a force field covering the pony-filled stretch of the road. The other Mystics charged their magic as lasers pounded against the barrier.
Dawn Stride focused all her will on helping her team to maintain the spell. “Hold… Hold… Wait for it…” When the last Solid Pawn moved past the intersection and the entire group was between the nearest buildings, she gave the order. “Now!”
The adjacent windows flew open and the unicorns of Squads 2 and 3 sprung their ambush, showering beams down onto the robots. In the same moment, Dawn Stride and her squad dropped the force field and opened fire. The Mystics were so augmented by their allies’ battle meditation, caught the Solid Pawns with so many bolts of magic, that the Badniks’ shields, shells and all were left skewered and quartered by the volleys.
As the last one fell and the firing ceased, Dawn Stride swept her gaze across the battlefield until she was sure she detected no motion. “That looks like the last of them. Well done.”
As the Mystics and Militia celebrated, a new voice came issued in her ear. “This is B Company calling any available reinforcements! We’ve lost position in sector two! The enemy’s heading straight up Mane Street!”
Dawn Stride felt her throat tighten. That would take them straight to the castle. She quickly put her hoof to the side of her helmet, linking into the communication spell running through all the guard’s helmets. “Aerial units, stand by! We’ll prepare an ordinance to—”
“Belay that order,” a sturdy baritone said over the comm line. “I’ll go myself.”
Sonic yelped as half a meter of steel almost took off his foot. He sidestepped a thrust that would have pierced his heart, and ducked a slash that would have opened his throat. “Hey, cool your jets a second!”
His pleas fell on deaf ears. Umbra bore down him with all the relentless fury of a rabid predator hatred staining her face. She slashed at him with a double stroke at him, left and right. Sonic ducked the first cut and jumped away to clear the second, flipping and landing with enough distance between them.
“Y’know, I’m not trying to kick your butt, but you’re really acting like you want me to.”
“Shut up!” She lunged at him again, a backhanded crosscut aimed for his chest. “I’ve always succeeded in my missions,” Umbra rumbled, shaking with rage. “I’ve never failed my princess… until YOU!”
Dodging another swing at his face, Sonic gave a half-hearted push kick to her side, shoving her away and hopping back another five feet. He wasn’t so much trying to fight her as trying to keep space between them for long enough to get through to her. “Hey bat girl, I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but I’m not who you need to be worrying about right now! The doc and his robots is gonna tear this whole place apart!”
Umbra bared her fangs. “That hairless ape and his golems change nothing, and your cheap distractions aren’t going to save you this time. By order of Princess Luna, you are an enemy of the state. Our garrison will deal with the invaders, and I’ll deal with you.”
“You’re off your belfry if you think you can beat him on your own! And I haven’t done a thing to any of you!”
“Do you think I’m a fool?!” Umbra barked. “You infiltrated our city! Broke into Celestia’s personal courtyard!”
“By accident!” Sonic yelled back. “I already told the fly team, none of that was any of my choice! I was sucked into this place of pastel horses by one of Egg-brain’s traps!”
“Which still didn’t stop you from you willfully avoiding custody and injuring several ponies,” Umbra countered.
“I told you I don’t do well with cells and chains! What would you do if first thing out of a wormhole a bunch of jackboots tried to lock you up?”
“Irrelevant.” Umbra’s voice deepened into finality. “Your position is dubious at best. As far as the princess is concerned, you are still a threat.” A shadow fell over her eyes. “To say nothing of the fact you humiliated me.” She angled the tip of her sword to point at Sonic’s face. “I’m taking you in. In one piece, or several.”
Umbra lunged forward, her wings carrying her and her saber raised high for an overhead cleave. But Sonic’s patience had run out. Faster than the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them and slammed a sidekick into Umbra’s chest before the blow came even close to falling. The hit loosed Umbra’s sword from her hoof, sending her through the air and driving her back into the stone wall behind her. Holding the pose, leg still extended, Sonic reached up and caught the falling sword.
Umbra panted haggardly to replace the air driven from her lungs, cursing under her breath. Twice now that thing had disarmed her; twice he’d struck her quicker than she could even see. Chest hot with anger, Umbra snapped her face up, only to perceive the flash of her own blade driving into the wall, inches from her left cheek.
She froze. A sudden, brief cold gripped her heart. She glanced left and saw her reflection in the steel. That could have been her head. Her eyes shifted forward and met the fierce expression of the hedgehog standing over her.
“Since you seem to have a hard time listening,” Sonic said sharply, “maybe this will get the point across: if I really wanted to mess you up, I could have done it every step of the way before now.” He let his words marinate a few more seconds, then pulled back, also pulling her sword from the wall. He rested the back of the blade on his shoulder, holding it ready just in case Umbra tried to pull a fast one. “Like I said, you’ve got bigger worries than me. I’m not the one who’s trying to do you harm.” He pointed his left index finger out towards the streets. “They are.”
Umbra’s stubbornly held his gaze for a long moment. Finally, she followed his hand and looked out at Canterlot. She saw the crumbled remains of buildings and multiple columns of black smoke rising into the air. She smelled the tinge of burning wood; heard the explosions and screams and tremors of the giant mechs roaming about.
The anger in her face ebbed. Her eyes unfocused, as if reliving unpleasant memories through the fire and destruction before her. Then her mind came back, and she looked back at Sonic sourly. “And I’m supposed to believe all of you showing up here at once is just a coincidence?” Her voice was full of suspicion and mistrust. “You clearly know that hairless creature. You could just as easily be his accomplice.”
Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, cause trying to shoot your own ‘accomplice’ dead in front of a captive audience makes so much sense.”
Umbra suppressed a scoff.
“I’m not your enemy, bat girl. You wanna throw down, that’s fine with me. But I can’t fight Egg-breath’s army and you at the same time. You’ve seen what his contraptions did. What they can do. You guys can’t beat them on your own, and I can think of a few thousand lives that’ll be in danger while you’re busy chasing a grudge.” He took on a disapproving look. “What would your princess think of that?”
An unreadable expression swept Umbra’s face. She didn’t reply.
Sonic lightly tossed Umbra’s sword, caught it in a reverse grip, and stabbed it into the ground in front of her. “Clock’s ticking, cap’n. Either stay here wasting time, or help me save lives. Your call.” He turned around and dashed off, leaving the Night Guard captain behind.
Umbra stayed where she was for a long while, staring at her reflection in the blade. She grit her teeth as the thoughts and emotions warred in her mind; the duty of the oath she swore to Princess Luna, the shame of her first ever failure, the grave reality of the invading force.
She had a choice to make—one ironically clarified by the same being that had humiliated her.
Before she could make a move, a platoon of bat ponies suddenly landed around her. A male with silver eyes and a spear with both a straight and crescent blade stood at the lead. “Captain Umbra,” he greeted in crisp acknowledgement.
Umbra regarded him. “Sergeant Dusk. I didn’t call any backup.”
“Lieutenant Night Flare did, ma’am,” Dusk replied. “His orders were to rendezvous with you and await your command.”
Umbra clicked her tongue. He would.
“We’re needed out there, Captain. What’s our next move?”
Umbra was silent for another long moment. Her eyes closed in tense thought. Then they opened and she picked up her sword.
Sonic didn’t look back as he ran. The ground rushed by beneath his feet, a blur of motion as he bee-lined for the closest Egg Hammer. The towering mech loomed in front of a two-story home with the image of an hourglass on its front. More important was the blue-and-white-maned unicorn Sonic could see trapped on the rooftop. A swarm of Egg Pawns battled with guards in the surrounding area, keeping them cut off and unable to help.
On the opposite end of the rooftop, Minuette was shaking like a leaf, screaming as the giant robot reached to try and grab her. She made every effort to keep as far away from the giant steel golem as possible. Growing tired of the fruitless effort, the Super Badnik lifted its enormous hammer swung it through the side of her home. Wood, bricks, and dust erupted in a billow over the street. The impact jarred the mare’s body so hard she fell over the side of the collapsing rooftop. Minuette shrieked and covered her eyes, not daring to look at the upward-rushing ground.
But Sonic shot over the crowd of bots and bodies, flying through the air and catching her in the nick of time. He slid on the soles of his shoes as he hit the ground and came to a short stop.
Now aware of the lack of plummeting or fatal collision with the ground, Minuette lifted her head. “I… I’m alive!” She looked to her savior through teary eyes. “Thank you! You saved my life!”
Sonic flashed her a smile. “It’s what I do.”
The ground shook as the Egg Hammer took a step towards the two, cocking back its weapon for another strike. Sonic held Minuette more firmly and readied himself. “Hang on tight!”
The robot swung again, but the thunderous blow hit only the ground as Sonic leaped high. Ignoring Minuette’s squealing, he landed back on the upward-turned side of the big hammer and sprinted up along the handle, jumping up to and then off Super Badnik’s shoulder to the street behind it before it could respond.
Breaking into run, he carried Minuette about forty feet westward. Catching view of a team of guards, he skidded to a stop in front of them and plopped his passenger down in front of the surprised ponies.
“Get this gal somewhere safe. Cool? Cool!” He zipped away before the trio could even speak or fully register what just happened.
Meanwhile, the Egg Hammer had lumbered further east, and the Egg Pawns had advanced in the opposite direction, forcing back the guards. As the group was overwhelmed, their sergeant called for a retreat, but the order came too late for one Earth pony stallion who was knocked to the ground by the blunt side of an Egg Pawn’s lance. It lined up its weapon was for a finishing strike and lunged.
Dropping from seemingly nowhere, Sonic landed on top of the lance, driving the tip of the forward-thrusting weapon down. The javelin put a shallow canyon in the ground, stopping inches from the stallion’s torso instead of piercing through his armor and ribcage.
He glanced at the lance, then back to the robot. “Point.”
A swift kick knocked it from the Egg Pawn’s hand. “Set.”
And a dropkick sent the droid rolling down the street. “Match.”
He kipped up from the ground and looked over his shoulder at the stunned guardstallion, nodding in the other direction. The pony got the message and scrambled off the floor, following the order to fall back with the others.
Now it was just Sonic and a street full of hostile robots. Just the way he liked it.
“Priority one: destroy—”
“Yeah, yeah, ‘destroy Sonic the Hedgehog.’” In a burst of speed he charged into the Badniks, carving through them with kicks and Spin Attacks. The guards looked over their shoulders at the melee as they fled.
“Holy crap, did you see that?!”
“This is better than any movie in the history of ever!”
Several blocks to the west, the streets were emptying out. Organized planning and quick movement on the part of the Royal Guard had gotten most of Canterlot’s citizens out of the danger zone. By now the southern most districts were completely evacuated. From the southern main entrance to downtown, nearly all of the civilians had been evacuated.
Floribunda was not one of them.
She galloped down the crater-ridden road of Quaestor Avenue as fast as her hooves could carry. With every step she sank deeper into the morass of panic and despair that choked her mind.
“Honey Sweet! Honey Sweet!”
One moment her daughter and her were entering the School for Gifted Unicorns’ for her recital, the next a horde of frightening machine-like beings descended on them.
She couldn’t remember all what happened; it came in flashes through her mind. The monsters blasting their way into the building. Ponies running. Screaming. In the onrush that followed, Honey Sweet’s hoof was pulled from her grip. The last thing she saw of her daughter was her fear-stricken face, the high-pitched squeak of her voice as she cried out for her mother the last thing she heard her say.
By some miracle, Floribunda had avoided capture. She prayed the same was true for her daughter, sprinting through the empty, burning district to find her.
“Honey Sweet, where are you?! Can you hear me?!”
Something inside one of the passing homes blew up. It fell towards the street, collapsing on its side, throwing a blinding wave of dust. Floribunda squeezed her eyes shut as it swept over her, ambling forward.
“Mama!”
Floribunda gasped. It was her daughter’s voice. Faint, but nearby. She lifted her head, trying to peer through the eddying cloud. “Honey Sweet! Are you there?!”
She slipped on a loose piece of broken glass, scraping her foreleg on the pavement. Ignoring the spike of pain, she pressed on as fast as she could, following the rising sounds of crying. “Honey Sweet? Honey Sweet!”
Floribunda turned left at the next corner, and there she was, curled up in the middle of the road. She was only a few yards away, but a burning pile of rubble separated them.
“Honey Sweet!”
The filly raised her head, trying to blink away her tears. “Mama, help me!”
“Don’t you worry, baby! I’m coming!” Scanning the ground frantically, Floribunda sighted a hooked piece of metal debris. Grabbing it, she tried to dig a path through the heap to her daughter. Her success was slow and minimal.
Honey Sweet hugged herself. A spark of hope steadied her heart. Her mother would get her out of here, and they’d both be free from this nightmare. Then she felt the earth shake rhythmically beneath her, and the sound of huge footsteps.
She turned. The sight of an approaching Egg Hammer swallowed up that spark in an tsunami of dread.
“Run away, Honey!” Floribunda wailed, the tears coming as a cascade, her heart about to beat out of her chest as she dug frantically at the pile. “Run! Now!”
But her cries fell on deaf ears. Honey Sweet sat rooted in place, staring up at the enormous mech and trembling, too frightened to move. As the robot prepared to flatten her, the filly squeezed her eyes shut, vainly covered her head with her hooves and screamed. “MAAAMAAAAA!”
The Egg Hammer brought two-tons of steel crashing down hard enough to put a crater in the ground and shake the entire block. The bone-splitting noise of the impact and the proceeding storm of dust drowned out Floribunda’s mournful shrieks. The Super Badnik raised its hammer again to inspect the pulverized remains.
But there was nothing underneath.
Floribunda, now a twisted jumble of grief and confusion, heard the sound of a thud and a soft scraping to her right. She looked and saw Sonic thirty feet away on the same length of the split-intersection holding Honey Sweet safely in his arms.
“Phew! Talk about cutting it close.” Sonic looked at the filly he’d rescued. For a moment she gazed up at him, stupefied. When the shock wore off and she realized she was safe, she started crying out of sheer relief.
“Don’t worry, kid,” Sonic said, ruffling her mane. “No one with flesh and blood’s getting hurt on my watch.” Another tremor crash shook the ground as the Egg Hammer turned, having not yet spotted the hedgehog. He aimed a frown in its direction. “Except for the jerk with the ‘stache.”
A tearful Floribunda was overjoyed. Unthinkingly, she called out. “Honey!”
The Egg Hammer’s frame paused and rotated. Its photoreceptors fixed on her. Floridunad’s joy turned to horror. In seconds, before she could get any reasonable distance away, the big Badnik was in motion. With surprising speed, it stomped through the rubble blocking the path and cornered her against an apartment complex in a few bounding steps. It raised its hammer and Floribunda prepared for the end.
Abruptly, a small rock hit the Egg Hammer in the face. Puzzled, it turned its head in the thrown stone’s direction. It noticed a small pony with a red hat in the second-floor window of a depot.
“Hey, you overgrown windup doll!” Able shouted. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”
Turning completely around, the Egg Hammer focused on Able and moved towards him.
“…Which… it just occurs… isn’t me.”
When the robot got within three steps distance, Able jumped out of the window, catching footing on the outstretched branch of a tree. Another quick hop took him to the ground. He had to make another wild leap before the Super Badnik’s hammer caved in an entire vertical section of the building with a swing of its hammer. He bolted down the sidewalk and the Egg Hammer marched after him. Right into position.
“Now, guys!”
On signal, Gable and Fable popped out from the sides of another second-floor window, paint cans in hoof. As the Egg Hammer passed, they threw the can’s contents at it. Sloshes of purple and white paint flew out, covering the Egg Hammer’s head and upper body. The mech halted its charge, stumbling as it tried and failed to wipe the intrusive chemicals from its photoreceptors.
Gable grinned. “Nailed it!”
Excitement turned to fear as the Super Badnik’s hammer grazed the building, shaking the room.
“Now, let’s get outta here before we get hammered like nails!” Fable quavered.
Without pause, the two jumped out of the window one by one, landing softly in an awning below them and quickly clambering down to street level. They joined Able and sprinted to where Floribunda was. Fable grabbed her by the hoof. “Come on, run!” The shocked Floribunda didn’t have time to form words as she was pulled along. As the Egg Hammer flailed, it struck the ground with its weapon. The shockwave rattled the earth, and a pieces of a decimated structure broke off, falling towards them.
“Heads up!” cried Gable.
A blue streak flashed over their heads and smashed the debris to pieces before it touched them. Sonic landed on his feet and turned to the four, setting Honey Sweet down. The filly stumbled about on her tiny hooves, dizzy spirals in her eyes. “Stop the ride, mama… I wanna get off…”
“Honey!” Floribunda ran to her, squeezing her child in a tight hug.
“She’ll be just fine,” Sonic said, giving Floribunda a cheeky look. “Now move it or lose it, Duchess. You’re not pretty enough to save twice.”
Slightly hysterical, Floribunda looked at him, grateful tears smearing lines mascara down her face. “Bless you, stranger… Bless you!”
Smiling, Sonic glanced at the triplets. “I saw what you did, kids. Gutsy move.” He nodded his approval. “Now, get out of here. Leave the rest of the hero-ing to the professional.”
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” piped Fable.
As the group galloped away, Gable turned back to call over his shoulder, “Kick his butt, blue guy!”
Sonic turned his attention to the Egg Hammer. “That’s the plan.” As the Super Badnik wandered down the road, still trying to clear its vision, he dropped to all fours and started to spin.
Rainbow Dash peered down from fifty feet above the ground. She could see the forms of her six friends, visible to her as small, brightly-colored masses. Her eyes swiveled back and forth, taking in the battlefield Canterlot had become. The scene was pure chaos.
She welcomed it. This was just what she needed to kill her boredom.
Ahead, she spotted a Badnik resembling a dragonfly drifted into her line of sight. Grinning, she picked up speed and flew towards it, stretching out her hind leg for a karate kick. “Hyaaaaaa!”
Her hoof struck the Dragonfly on the crown of its head. A peel not unlike a giant bell rang out. The Dragongly veered off its course, crashing into the side of an apartment building. Two seconds later, was hovering in place and clutching her leg.
“Owww!” She whined in pain, rolling around in mid air. “My hoof!” In hindsight, maybe kicking something made completely of metal hadn’t been the smartest move.
She had little time to reflect on her blunder. Four Buzz Bombers zeroed in on her. She saw them coming, angling out of the way of a laser blast in the nick of time with a yelp. Powering through the pain in her hoof, she took off through the sky, the Buzz Bombers chasing close behind.
“Okay… so much for that idea.” She glimpsed around to the surrounding structures as she flew “Time to improvise!”
She pumped her wings, racing through the air like a jet as she took the Buzz Bombers on a high-speed chase. She veered around a turn and turned up, sailing over the towers and rooftops. “Come on, Dash,” she mumbled. “It’s just like the race through Ghastly Gorge.”
Peering back from the corner of her eye, she spied the Buzz Bombers on her tail, taking note of their positions. Looking forward, she sighted a pair of close-together towers in the distance. She flapped her wings harder, taking the robots faster and faster towards it. At the last moment she tucked her wings and slipped through the small gap, avoiding the towers. An explosion told her one of the Buzz Bombers wasn’t so lucky.
She caught the thin tip of a passing tower with her hooves and used it to swing back around, blasting past the other wasp robots. “What’s the matter! Can’t keep up?”
Rainbow waited for the metal wasps to turn back around to follow her. To her surprise, a small, barely-visible projectile of some kind shot one of them in the head and it went down, crashing onto a roof. But she didn’t have time to think about where they came from. She had to swoop and spin to avoid another set of lasers, yelping as one of them singed some end strands of her tail.
“Hey! Watch the merchandise!”
When the final two Buzz Bombers got within twenty-five feet, she went into a hard nosedive. The wind whipped through her mane as the ground rushed towards her. She pulled up, curving enough to avoid crashing—but it had been close. She heard a clang behind her and looked back to see smoke and sparks sputtering from one of the Badnik’s abdomens. It hadn’t been able to make that tight turn.
Seeing her chance, Rainbow Dash twisted around and shot up into the sky at a forty five degree angle as fast as she could, then came down directly above the Badniks. Putting all of her force into a two-hoofed stomp, she slammed her hind legs against the damaged Buzz Bomber, making it crash into the one flying below it. The two bots spun out of control and ploughed into the road below, destroyed on impact.
Rainbow panted, adrenaline roaring through her. Her heart pounded in her ears. Her hind hooves were numb, but they didn’t inhibit the wide grin that lit up her face. “Aw yeah, that’s right! In your stupid face!” Savoring the moment, she went into a mid-air victory dance. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh! Yeah, I’m coolest! Nah, you can’t touch this! Nuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh!”
She was so caught up in her celebration, she never noticed danger approaching until a she heard the heavy thud of a footstep right behind her. She stopped chanting and turned, but it was too late. The paint-smeared Egg Hammer had its weapon raised for a swing.
Rainbow’s breath caught in her throat; cold reality seized her. The blow would break so many of her bones. It’d be a miracle if she survived.
But then there was a crash; the sound of another impact. One that made the Egg Hammer jerk in place. A millisecond later, a round, rapidly-spinning mass of blue burst out from the Super Badnik’s chest cavity. The Egg Hammer was left with a large sparking hole in its center. It stayed stationary for another two seconds, then pitched forward onto its face with a heavy slam.
Sonic unfurled from his curled form and landed on his feet, pausing a moment to look at the blue pegasus. “Watch your back, bluebird!” he called over his shoulder before dashing down the road to the right.
Rainbow’s jaw worked, but no words came out. She stayed where she was as quick play of events gelled. She’d let her guard down. She’d almost died. And worst of all, that alien criminal had been the one to save her. That last realization burned more of a fire in her gut than her near-death experience. Her teeth pressed together, a growl forming in her throat.
She was about to chase after him when a scream came from up ahead. She looked across the way and saw an Egg Pawn with a pony in its hands, moving towards a waiting capsule.
She had to choose: go after the alien, or rescue her fellow ponies.
She growled to herself, hesitating for only a moment to cast one last look in the direction Sonic had run. “You got lucky…” Then she dove for the robot.
Sonic walked away from a group of exploding Badniks, nonchalantly brushing dust off his shoulder. He shot a cursory glance at the wreckage behind him, then faced around to the scores of robots before him.
“A hundred down, a thousand more to go.”
As he got ready to charge, a shadow crossed overhead. Four armored bat ponies swooped down on the Egg Pawns at the front of the group, raking them with their bladed gauntlets. Two more groups came in fast at the Badniks’ flanks.
Among them, Sonic spotted Umbra, dropping in behind an Egg Pawn and slashing the back of its knees. Quick as a cat, she darted forward. As she passed another droid she whipped her sword in a low sweep that hewed through its leg, dropping it. Her saber swung in diagonal arcs, severing the vital components of several Egg Pawns’ arms. Kicks as fierce as they were precise beat back the automatons, allowing her fellow Night Guard to swarm over their damaged quarry.
Sonic had to admit, he was impressed. The colorful bat girl moved like a panther, and that straight sword seemed an extension of herself. Jumping and somersaulting away to give himself some breathing room, he landed at Umbra’s back. He glanced back at her, giving a low, approving whistle. “Well okay, Sarah Connor. Not bad at all.”
“Stay focused, hedgehog,” she responded curtly.
Smirking, Sonic jumped high for a set of Homing Attacks, taking out another string of Badniks. Four more Egg Pawns swarmed him as he landed. Dropping low onto his hands to dodge their pikes, he pivoted onto his back and spun in a rapid break-dancing-style wheel, slamming his attackers with hard kicks across arms, legs, and torsos that sent them scattering.
Umbra jumped over the lance that thrust at her, slicing its wielder’s arm as she flipped over and landed behind it. Out of the blue, a second lance struck across the face. Her helmet went flying and she hit the ground. Right as the Egg Pawn raised its pike for a killing blow, Sonic shot across the battlefield swift as the wind and sent it sailing away with a flying kick.
“Don’t slow down now, bat girl!” he called puckishly before rushing to his next target.
Hissing a curse to herself, Umbra rose. Ignoring the blood coloring her lips and chin, she sidestepped the reaching arm of another Egg Pawn and twisted left into a reverse sweep that sliced through its knee joint. Another lance aimed at her right side; Umbra let her wings carry her over it, taking a reverse grip on her sword and driving the blade down through the robot’s eye.
The rest of Umbra’s teammates were making short work of their enemies. Dusk’s spear impaled a Caterkiller’s head. The blades on several members’ hooves slashed at every pair of mechanical eyes in sight, leaving the blind robots vulnerable to coordinated attacks by other pairs.
Sonic watched them work with a satisfied expression. It seemed like they had things handled here. He turned to the captain as another Egg Pawn fell to her blade. “There’s still the Super Badniks and the drop ships to take care of. You guys handle the small fry, I’ll take go to take care of them.”
Umbra jade eyes fixed sternly on him. “I still don’t trust you.”
To her annoyance, Sonic only showed a smile. “Wasn’t asking you to.”
Snorting as he went rushing off, Umbra steeled her grip on her saber and threw herself back into the fight.
Applejack slammed her hind hooves into the back off an Egg Pawn, clearing the path out of an alleyway. “This way, y’all!” The rest of her friends minus Rainbow Dash filed out.
Twilight gulped as she lead the group quickly along the sidewalk, her heart beating like a drum. The pandemonium engulfing everything
But she couldn’t falter now. They had to succeed. The princesses were counting on them. Fixing her eyes ahead, she make out a trace of Canterlot Tower’ pointed yellow top.
“We’re almost to the Tower! Just a little further!”
“Twilight darling, look out!”
Rarity’s warning came a second before Applejack tackled Twilight out of the way of an Egg Pawn’s lance. The robot lifted its pike from the cracked ground and turned towards Fluttershy and Rarity, bearing down on the two screaming ponies.
Spike threw himself between his friends and the Badnik, sucking in air and loosing a burst of green fire into the Egg Pawn’s face. It staggered back, swiping an arm about, which gave Twilight enough time to recover and seize it in a telekinetic grip. With a sound of effort, she chucked the robot across the street. It smashed into the wall hard enough for bricks to collapse onto it where it stayed, buried and flailing upside down.
“Nice toss, Twilight,” said Applejack. “And quick thinkin’ there, Spike.”
“My hero!” Rarity cooed, rewarding the little dragon with a smooch on the cheek.
Spike blushed, chuckling. “I-It was nothing.”
“Come on,” Twilight urged, “we’ve gotta get to the Elements of Harmony before—”
Fluttershy let out a shriek. A small army of Badniks had found them, cutting off their escape from all sides.
“—we’re surrounded…”
As the robots closed in, Rainbow Dash abruptly returned, dropping down at the head of the group next to Twilight. She pawed the ground, ready for action. “Come and get some, you freaks!”
Just as violence seemed imminent, an array of multi-colored beams rained down from the sky onto the Badniks. Royal Guard unicorns leaped down from the backs of the pegasi that carried them, landing amid the robots and going on the attack. They took down several of the Egg Pawns in the time it took for the robots to realize what was happening. As the Badniks turned to engage them, a team of Earth ponies swept in from around the corners, putting themselves between the Egg Pawns and the Ponyvillians.
Fifteen seconds later, all of the Badniks lay defeated.
Surprised by the sudden turn of events, the six stood still as a the pinto first sergeant and masked lieutenant of Bravo Squad approached. The latter removed his helmet as they neared.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Grit Vigil said, nodding acknowledgement. He gestured to himself and his pinto partner. “Lieutenant Grit Vigil, First Sergeant Roancoat. We’ve been sent to escort you to Canterlot Tower.”
Twilight released the lung full of air she didn’t realize she was holding. “Thank you, Lieutenant… you couldn’t have come at a better time.”
“Indeed,” Rarity purred, giving Roancoat a onceover. Roancoat, for his part, merely gave an amused smile.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash, accompanied by shouts. Another Egg Hammer stomped from around the corner. The Super Badnik fixed its sights on the ponies, turning towards them.
Pinkie Pie trotted out to the front. “Okay, everypony. Follow my lead.” She then proceeded to scream and run for her life.
Grit slid his helmet back on and drew his war hammer. “Scatter! Weapons free!”
The Equestrians darted in different directions as the mech stomped forward. Unaffected by crossbow bolts and sword cuts that peppered its frame, it’s huge leg fell towards Applejack.
“Whoa, Nelly!” The mare had to dive wildly to keep from getting crushed underneath the Super Banik’s foot.
A moment later, The Egg Hammer was suddenly hit by a barrage of strikes across its body, accompanied by what appeared to be a rainbow hurricane. “No! Body! Hurts! My! Friends!” Rainbow Dash struck the bot again and again, but her blows had little effect. A sweep of the Super Badnik’s arm sent her sailing away.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight cried as Rainbow crashed through a door. As she motioned to go after her friend, the Egg Hammer turned its gaze on her.
Anger flared in Twilight, her horn sparking. Staring down the bot, she channeled her magic and blasted it with a barrage of magenta beams. The mech raised an arm to defend itself, stepping back under the pressure. Applejack joined in on the fray and bucked hard at its legs. Rainbow Dash came roaring back, using a sledgehammer she’d picked up from somewhere to strike the Egg Hammer again and again on the head.
Twilight upped the ante, intensifying the magical blasts. “Fall down, fall down, fall down!”
The nearby royal guards rose, watching in amazement as the three heroes pushed the Super Badnik back.
“Protect the Elements!” shouted Roancoat.
The Inquisitors joined the renewed attack on the metal titan, launching spears, crossbow bolts and magical rays of their own. Grit pulled out the gun he had taken and sprayed the Egg Hammer with laserfire unti it was empty, but still the mech would not fall. Another swing of its hammer turned aside the entire volley and tore the ground asunder. Nearly all the Inquisitors were scattered across the road. The blow grazed Rainbow, who hit the ground and rolled to a stop in front of Twilight and Spike.
“No!” Enraged, Grit snagged another Egg Pawn’s gun off the ground and broke into a gallop, firing at Egg Hammer’s head.
Fluttershy clutched herself, trying to suppress her rising terror. “Nothing’s working…!”
“If we don’t take that thing down, it’ll devastate the main force,” said Roancoat.
Rainbow Dash got up, flaring out her wings. “Then… we keep trying!” But she cringed, the pain keeping her from doing so.
“Look out!”
The hammer fell again. Rainbow and Roancoat sprang away in the nick of time. Twilight reappeared in a purple spark on the other side of the block, Spike clutched against her chest and Fluttershy beside her. The Egg Hammer stomped after Grit as he continued to shoot at it.
Spike clambered down from her grip. Fluttershy, too scared to watch anymore, flattened against the ground and hid her head beneath her wings.
“What are we supposed to do…?” Twilight said into the wind. “How do we stop it?!” Panic rose in her chest. She started to hyperventilate.
“Aim for the head!”
Twilight paused at the sudden distant voice. She looked about, trying to find its source. A tug on her brought her attention to Spike. He was gazing at something and pointing up. Twilight followed his claw and was surprised to see Sonic standing on the edge of the roof, waving his arm.
She hesitated; at least until another Egg Hammer strike shook the ground. Twilight saw Grit lift of his hooves and go down hard.
“Come on!” Spike implored. “What have we got to lose?!”
Grit kept firing as the bot bore down on him, but after one round the gun clicked. Empty.
And in that instant, Twilight decided to act. A flex of her magic froze the Super Badnik mid-windup, preventing it from crushing Grit. “Rainbow Dash!” she cried out, straining as the Egg Hammer trembled, resisting her hold. She could hardly believe how strong it was. “Get him… out of there!”
Within seconds, a multi-colored streak came and whisked Grit out of the way and dropped him back on the sidewalk with Roancoat.
“A-Applejack! The knees!”
Quick on the uptake, Applejack galloped behind the Egg Hammer, jumped and kicked it as hard as she could in the back of its knee joint. The robot’s leg buckled.
Roancoat caught on to the plan. Saying to his lieutenant that he’d be borrowing it, he grabbed Grit’s hammer from its holster and raced after Applejack, shouting to his unit, “Bring it down!”
He leaped and hit the same spot with Grit’s weapon. Several consecutive charging strikes from pegasi Inquisitors finally brought the Super Badnik down to its knees. The unicorns cast glowing ropes of energy, snaring it by the shoulders as Earth ponies helped them pull. More pegasi capitalized and pushed down on the Egg Hammer’s back until it collapsed on its hands and knees.
With the Egg Hammer finally restrained, Twilight released her freezing spell. She closed her eyes and focused, pooling her energy, focusing all of it into a single point in her horn. Her aura grew steadily brighter, more powerful.
The Egg Hammer fought against the guards’ hold. Its jerking movements pulled a couple unicorns off the ground and pushed away a pegasus at its back. Roancoat’s hooves slid across the ground as he to hold on to his squadmate’s coil. “Keep it together, boys!”
Spike anxiously swiveled his head back and forth from Twilight and the Egg Hammer, fidgeting in place and pulling on his ears. “Hurry, Twilight! They can’t hold that thing forever!”
Twilight made a sound of exertion, straining to keep the sheer amount of power under control. The light around her horn was so big and bright now that it almost eclipsed her face. “Almost… there…!”
With one dynamic movement, the Egg Hammer forced itself upright. The pegasi pushing against its back went careening away, and half the guards lassoing it were pulled off their hooves and slung across the road.
But they’d given Twilight all the time she needed. The glow of her magic was so bright it almost hid her from view. She lowered her head, and with a shout, fired the full-power blast directly at the Egg Hammer.
Magical energy disintegrated polymer alloy, burning through the mech and continuing off into the sky to explode into a beautiful shower of sparks. The Egg Hammer, its head gone and half of its upper torso melted through, remained still for several moments, then dropped to its knees. Its hammer slipped from its grip, and the Super Badnik fell forward and slammed to the ground, function ceased.
Twilight wobbled, a silly-looking smile spreading across her face. “There we go… Easy… peasy…” With a groan of both fatigue and relief, she fell to the ground and promptly lost consciousness.
Sonic stood on the roof’s edge, watching the magical fireworks display. The Equestrians’ triumphant shouts warmed him. He’d held himself back as they fought the Egg Hammer, ready to intervene if necessary, but still wanting to see what these ponies were capable of.
He was pleasantly surprised. Even with his small intervention, the average creature taking down a Super Badnik was no small feat. ‘Maybe I sold these ponies a little too short,’ he considered as he stepped and dropped off the roof.
He landed in a narrow alley. As he stepped out and rounded the corner, he unexpectedly found himself muzzle-to-barrel with the business end of a gun.
A lone Egg Pawn had stumbled upon him. It had caught him completely off guard.
“Target acquired. Eliminate target.”
Sonic was too stunned to react; to even move. The droid’s finger curled towards the trigger.
And then a hoof tapped it on the shoulder.
The Badnik and the hedgehog turned their heads, observing a small, wrapped gift box sitting on the ground a few feet away. That was when the strangest thing Sonic had seen since coming to Equestria happened: a sentient blob of cotton candy popped out of the gift box, riding on top of a baby-blue cannon.
“Surprise!”
Sonic wasn’t exactly sure what happened next. He heard a weird “squeak” and saw the cannon fire a mass of something that blasted the Egg Pawn through the side of the building beside them.
Sonic cautiously leaned over to view through the almost cartoonish, Egg-Pawn-shaped hole in the wall. It lay in a heap inside, sparking and moving its limbs weakly. It was covered in a sticky pink substance that seemed to glue it in place.
“Bubble gum cake batter!” Pinkie Pie chirped, holding out a pink-frosted cupcake the size of a melon. “Wanna try? They’re fresh!”
Sonic just… stared.
“Oh well, more for me!” She popped the cupcake in her mouth and gobbled it up happily.
This one, Sonic thought, didn’t seem like she was playing with a full deck. But she had saved his neck, so he supposed he should be grateful. He smiled with some effort. “Cool trick. You should do parties.”
“Thanks!” Pinkie said. “And I already do!”
He scratched the back of his head. He sighted another mass of robots down the road. Looking at the pink pony’s cannon, he got an idea. “Hey, could I ask for a favor?”
Pinkie looked him over, putting a hoof to her chin as she thought about it. “Hmm… Sure! Whadda ya need, Mr. Needlemouse?”
The nickname made Sonic crook a brow, but he chose not to make an issue of it. “What’s the highest setting on that cannon there?”
Twilight awoke to the sounds of her friends’ voices. The stress of those terrifying moments and the drain of such a powerful spell had taken everything out of her. Her legs still felt like jelly. But at least the danger had passed for now.
She opened her eyes to see her friends standing around her, worried for her health and amazed at what she’d done all at once.
“That was amazing, Twilight!” Spike gushed.
“Indeed, darling,” Rarity concurred. “You continue to surpass all expectations.”
Applejack motioned them back a bit. “Easy, sugarcube. Don’t crowd the girl. Let her catch her breath.” She took Twilight’s hoof to help her up. “Gotta say though, you really came through with that flashy spell, Twi. Can barely believe how much ability you’ve got sometimes.”
“I… couldn’t have done it… without you girls,” Twilight replied, panting.
“Yeah, did you see that thing?” Rainbow bubbled, barely able to contain herself. “It was all ‘Ruuuuh!’ And I was like ‘Yaaaa!’ And then you were like ‘Shooooom!’”
“Impressive work, all of you,” Roancoat said as he joined them. “You’ve done Equestria proud. We’re honored to defend her by your side.”
Rarity giggled. “Oh Sergeant, you’re too kind.”
Abruptly, the distant sound of a familiar cannon sound rang out.
“Uh… everypony heard that, right?” asked Rainbow.
Rarity frowned. “If I’m not mistaken… I believe that was Pinkie Pie’s party cannon.”
Applejack’s head pivoted left and right. “Say, where is Pinkie Pie?”
In a sudden defiance of physics, said pink pony popped out from underneath Applejack’s hat. “Present!”
Her friends gave her funny looks as Grit Vigil neared the group. Another guard also trotted over, reporting to the lieutenant that the area was secured.
“Troops to the south also confirm that the sector is clear,” said Roancoat. “We’re beating them back.”
“Good,” Grit replied. “Easier to do our job. Let’s get a move on now, ladies.”
The group was in motion to the tower right away, the members of Bravo Squad sprinting along with them.
Gatekeeper hacked his way through the Badniks like a one-pony army. Moto Bugs, Egg Pawns, Caterkillers. It didn’t matter what type of robot he faced; one after another met swift ends by the general’s greatsword. He cut the last one down and wheeled, angling his blade towards the next wave. Six yards away and closing.
Light suddenly flashed over Gatekeeper’s head. A chain of explosions set off among the Badnik ranks. Plumes of fire the color of a newborn star leaped into the air, painting the area with a blue glow.
Gatekeeper registered hoofsteps and glimpsed to his right. The pony who now stood beside him wore black and gold armor. Golden greaves fitted each leg, and a medal of two swords crossed over a blue and white flame adorned her chest. She was taller and more slender than the average mare, with bright amber eyes, a light blue coat, and pale cyan hair, her tail tied in a thick braid.
“Afternoon, general,” she greeted with a warm smile.
Gatekeeper returned the look. “I was hoping to see you today, Colonel Fotia.”
The pleasantries were interrupted by the clanking of their nearing enemies. Fotia faced them and summoned her magic, her horn generating a bright blue aura. The glow soon changed, grew thicker, emitting flickering wisps. Fotia thrust her head out unleashed a torrent of blue fire that burned over the robots. Moving her head from side to side, she swept the stream of super-hot flames over every Badnik in sight.
The attack proved effective. Half the robots caught in attack fell. Her fire couldn’t immediately burn through their steel hides, but the heat could melt their delicate electrical wiring.
“Hold your fire, Colonel,” Gatekeeper interrupted, gesturing to their blue-hot frames. “Their metal bodies conduct heat. For every one you slay, you make another more dangerous.”
Annoyance flitted across Fotia’s face. “Fine.” With a steady draw, her curved longsword sang from its sheath. “The medieval approach it is.”
Gatekeeper rested his own blade over his shoulder. “Been awhile since we did this. Still up for it?”
Fotia smirked, flourishing her weapon. “Just try to keep up, old goat.”
Gatekeeper exhaled a laugh. “The older the oak, the stronger the wood.”
Fotia moved first, breaking into a gallop to take the fight to the Badniks. Her blade flickered left and right in intricate patterns almost too quick to see, carving deftly through her opponents, leaving limbs strewn about the floor and deep, sparking gashes in their bodies. She worked her away around the robots with expert twirls, vaulting over a spear thrust and slicing through the attacking Egg Knight’s back as she came down.
Gatekeeper strode into robots’ midst, his enormous blade flashing left and right. The weight of the weapon seemed nothing to him. He employed his fearsome power and long reach to beat back entire waves of robots, cleaving Egg Pawns in two with carefree ease.
A cannon shot rang out; only reflexes born of years of training enabled Fotia and Gatekeeper to leap apart and away in time. The ensuing explosion consumed at least eight Badniks caught in its range and put a smoking hole ten feet across in the street.
Swinging their heads around, the two sighted a six-wheeled tank. It was mostly gray. Blue circles on its shapes protruded spikes, and were outlined by orange lines. A robot with a dark face and round, red and yellow torso sat in the uncovered driver seat, operating the large, front-mounted cannon that leaked smoke.
“Colonel, take out that cannon!” Gatekeeper raised his right hoof to physically grip his sword. “Leave these to me.”
The mare nodded, taking off towards the tank.
An under-hoofed Gatekeeper’s sword sent one Egg Pawn through the air and crashing into its cohorts. A thrust of his long blade pierced all the way out the next one’s back. Rearing up, he kicked it away with his front hooves and pulled his sword free, holding it straight out in front and spinning in a complete circle. Six more Egg Pawns fell to his blade. The general grabbed the dead scraps with his magic and hurled them back into the crowd.
Another Egg Knight came at him from the right, stabbing out with its lance, and a bird-like Egg Walker rushed at his left flank, jaws snapping. Gatekeeper side stepped the first, smacking its legs with the flat of his sword to trip it onto its face, and beheaded the Egg Walker with a sweeping horizontal cut. He turned, stood to two legs and sank his blade to the hilt in the Egg Egg Knight. Two Moto Bugs wheeled to Gatekeeper’s turned back; he knocked them away with a buck of his hind legs. Pulling his sword free, he took a defensive stance as the horde fell on him again.
Fotia galloped straight for the Egg Bomber Tank, weaving through Badniks and skillfully avoiding attacks. Egg Pawns took aim with their laser guns and fired; she leaped and ducked so that the bots only succeeded in shooting each other. At thirty feet she could make out the tank clearly. She saw the Eggrobo piloting the tank look directly at her; saw its hands work the controls, making the wheels turn and aim its cannon barrel towards her. Fotia was determined not to let it get off another shot.
She powered up her magic, this time launching, glowing, blue-white fireballs at the tank’s pilot. They flew with impressive speech and exploded in bright flashes like firecrackers upon reaching their target. The Eggrobo raised an arm in front of its face, stunned from the blinding spell.
The distraction bought Fotia enough time to get within range. She drew her short sword, jumped onto the shoulders of an Egg Pawn and used it as a springboard to leap high into the air. Igniting her smaller blade with a concentration of blue flames hot enough to make the air ripple, she hurled it at the Eggrobo. The blue-glowing blade pierced the robot’s face; it fell from its seat to the ground just as Fotia reached the tank.
Coating her longsword in fire, Fotia climbed to the Bomber Tank’s cockpit and stabbed her blade into the control board. She let it burn its way free of the sparking panel and jumped over it, slicing through the cannon barrel. As she landed, the barrel hit the ground with a loud peal. The tank was now fully disabled.
The sound of clashing steel reached her ears. Time to rejoin the general.
Bolting back the way she came, Fotia saw three Egg Knights attacking Gatekeeper. But try as they might, Gatekeeper warded off every strike. As he released a wave of magic that pushed the robots back, Fotia came vaulting over him. The colonel twisted her hips in midair, coiled her hind legs, and snapped her hoof out to drive a heavy kick into one Egg Knight’s face. Spinning off the force of her first kick, her hooves struck the other two, and she landed gracefully as their backs hit the floor.
Gatekeeper regarded her. “I didn’t teach you that.”
Fotia glanced back at him. “No.” Her horn alit, and she reached out to snare a rising Egg Knight and two Egg Pawns. A move of her head pulled them off their feet and towards her. Her blade flashed twice and the robots joined their companions on the floor with a fresh set of cuts. “But you did teach me that.”
Gatekeeper smiled like a proud father. “You were my best student.”
The ground rumbled under their hooves. From the north and south, a giant Motobug and a third Egg Hammer loomed.
“Two big ones coming in, three and six o’clock,” alerted Gatekeeper.
“I see them.” Fotia flourished her weapon, the blade singing as it ignited in blue flames.
Gatekeeper’s eyes lingered on the burning sword. “Since when do you carry an Uru blade?”
“Two years ago. Timberwolf incident. Fillydelphia outskirts.” Fotia swept her gaze back and forth to each of the giant Badniks. “Any preference?”
Gatekeeper considered. “The ladybug.”
“As you wish.” Steadying herself with a breath, Fotia paced towards the Egg Hammer.
From the west, the Egg Pawns stepped aside to let the giant Moto Bug pass through their ranks. Its glowing blue eyes fixed on Gatekeeper. Atop its head, another Egg Pawn aimed a mounted machine gun turret at the general. Gatekeeper ignited his horn, and as the turret opened fired, a rift opened in front of him, absorbing the hail of bullets. A twitch of his will opened another hole on his right, redirecting the Moto Bug’s barrage at the smaller Badniks and drenching the eastern street in gunfire.
Only big one remained now. It brandished its bladed arms and rolled towards Gatekeeper. The general manifested another portal behind himself, stepping back and disappearing into it. As the Moto Bug stopped to search for its vanished target, Gatekeeper reappeared from another portal that opened up behind it. He raised his greatsword and channeled magic into it. The steel shone and a twenty-foot-long blade the color of the sun flared out. With one powerful crosscut, Gatekeeper bisected the Motobug, Its upper half fell to ground, crushing its Egg Pawn gunner beneath it.
In the distance, Fotia wasn’t having as much luck with the Egg Hammer. Its crushing strength and uncanny speed kept her on the defensive, constantly trying to stay out of range of the fall of its hammer. The Super Badnik’s tough alloy armor seemed unaffected by her fire spells. The most she could do was dance around its blows, shooting fire between her dodges. While failing to harm the Egg Hammer, this method at least kept her alive.
That is, until she dodged one low swing grazed a microsecond too slow, and the giant mallet clipped her left foreleg. Fotia slid roughly, muttering a curse. Somehow she stayed on her hooves even as pain stabbed through her; but now her she couldn’t even put weight on her leg.
The Egg Hammer, faster than ever, followed up with an overhand slam dodge. This one she couldn’t dodge.
“Damn!”
Golden light flashed over Fotia, and there was a loud crash. It took her a couple seconds to recognized the shape—one Gatekeeper’s portals. Stepping out from under it, she witnessed the Super Badnik standing still, the top half of its hammer vanished through the yellow and black hole. The hammer’s face was smashed into the top of the robot’s head, extending out from another warp gate that hung in the air behind it. Its fingers loosed and dropped the mallet. It fell to the ground and lay still.
As Gatekeeper approached, the colonel offered a grateful nod.
Again their rest was short lived. Metallic clanking drew their eyes to the south. Another mass of robots a hundred yards out approached.
“They’ve brought in reinforcements,” Fotia said, wincing as she moved.
Gatekeeper stabbed his sword into ground. “Then so will we.”
Casting his magic, he opened another portal behind them. As if on cue, fresh rows of Militia guards—Fotia’s own 51st Battalion—emerged through the warp, ready for battle. Gatekeeper directed one of the arriving unit’s medics to tend to Fotia. As the stallion took Fotia aside and tended to her injured leg, the general drew his weapon from the ground and held it forth.
“Attack!”
Charging forward with the Militia at his back, Gatekeeper swung his sword in an arc that felled five Badniks at once. The Royal Guards gave their general wide berth as they joined the fray, fighting with all they had against their enemies. Spears, swords, and offensive spells were unleashed in impassioned fervor.
Gun-weielding Egg Pawns let loose with their blasters on the company’s exposed flank; in a spark of light, Celestia appeared between the shots and her guards. At the speed of thought, she summoned a wall of yellow energy to absorb the bolts, then retaliated with a streaming beam of power that cut down the robots.
Luna swooped down from somewhere above, beheading an Egg Walker and landing in one swift motion. She smote five more as she spun around bullets, hewing them apart as she sprang over pikes and flamethrowers. As Luna beheld the scores of Badniks surging towards the ponies, she swung around and caught sight of Celestia on the other side of the battlefield.
“Sister!”
A shared glance brought comprehension. Moving as one, the alicorns leaped to the middle of the street at the front of their army. Pooling their energy, they unleashed it at once as a unified shockwave of blue and yellow, scattering dozens of robots like leaves in a hurricane.
The thinning Baniks numbers gave a respite. The outer units of the 51st and the princesses destroyed most of what remained. But as the guards caught their breath, a familiar pod floated into the airspace above.
“Don’t get too excited, troglodytes!” came Eggman’s voice. “Those were the easy ones!” He pressed two buttons on the Egg Mobile’s control board. Balls of light gathered in the space below his floating pod, and more than thirty Rollers, Caterkillers, and Buzz Bombers materialized.
The front line of guards hesitated. Some took cautious steps back.
“I must admit, you beasts of burden have more fight in you than I anticipated.” Eggman said contemptuously, running a finger through his moustache. “I’m almost impressed. But no matter. Before this hour is through, you will all kneel before your new master.”
Fotia appeared back at the front of the ranks, sword in hoof. “Never!” She waved her it to motion to her troops. “Thunder Javelin!”
Given new resolve at their colonel’s presence, the guardsponies responded. The unicorns making up third of the vanguard quickly moved to the front of the ranks. With their magic they produced electric currents and shaped them into six-foot-long, spear-like forms.
“Fire!”
On command, the soldiers shot the sparking constructs into the robots. The spells pierced through ten, sending out shocks that disabled many more. But even as half of the initial group fell, the Badniks kept coming.
Pulling her sword free of her most recent opponent, Luna let her frustration show. “Ugh! Is there no end to these abominations?!”
Crushing an Egg Walker’s head under her hooves, Celestia came to her sister’s side. “Hold fast, Luna.”
Eggman looked down on the unfolding melee, suppressing a grimace. It turned out these ponies didn’t fall quite as easily as he expected. This area, and others he’d observed as the battle raged, had become either contested or were already back into pony control. But he shook off any concern. He still had enough powerful units to make due. And when his ace in the hole arrived…
Tthe invisible barrier around the Egg Mobile suddenly flashed to life in a white gleam. Three crossbow bolts bounced off of it.
“What?” Eggman turned to the direction of the shots. One undamaged building still stood in the distance; a tall shop with three yellow-topped spires and towers. There was faint movement in one of the towers’ windows.
“Ha! Nice try.” Drawing a laser gun from below his ship’s control board, Eggman aimed for the spire and pulled the trigger. A magenta beam shot across the air. It traveled into the tower’s window and the entire upper portion exploded in fire. The rear wall was blown out and the spire collapsed.
Taking a moment to admire his grim handiwork, a flash of blue flames around the pod’s barrier drew Eggman’s attention to the ground. Fotia glared up at him, fire swirling around her horn.
He scoffed. “You think you your little fireworks display is any threat to me? Let me show you real firepower.” Eggman brought his pod about, moving the Egg Mobile away from the street and activating his communication relay. “Battleship two, into position. Bring your main cannon to bear.”
Fotia’s swift swordplay put two more Egg Pawns on the ground. She reared up on her hind legs, holding her flaming blade high like a gleaming torch. “Push them back!” The Militia surged forward, fighting with all their strength, all their valor. One bot after another continued to fall until the force went into a hasty retreat.
Gatekeeper observed as the Badniks pulled back. Fotia paused as she passed by him. “We can keep going, sir! We have them on the run!” But Gatekeeper’s hoof stopped her before she went any further.
“They’re not retreating.” The general’s expression was grave. His gaze was directed to the air. “They’re clearing the way.”
Fotia frowned, looking up. The Buzz Bomber ship was positioning overhead, angling its abdomen-mounted cannon to point towards them. Panicked realization seized her.
Eggman listened to the cries to retreat for just a moment, and then gave the order: “Vaporize them.”
In the instant before the ship fired, Celestia and Luna appeared at the front of the guards, casting their magic to put a combined force field over the street. The huge plasma blast hammered out and met the barrier. There was a ground-heaving blast and sweltering wind. Most of the ponies were hurled to the ground. The princesses strained against the force, using all their might to protect their subjects from certain doom as the scorching blast wave melted windows and devastated walls. But they had moved seconds too late; the spell hadn’t fully formed. As the ground beneath them cracked, so did the force field. It shattered, and the violent torrent of heat and pain consumed Mane Street.
Celestia’s world spun. A jumbled conglomerate of disjointed sounds echoed in her ears. Eventually the universe came back to her. She lifted her head and beheld the aftermath.
Her sister lay a few yards away beside a bush. Her movements were faint. The moon-adorned ornament around her neck was gone, and dark red smeared the blue fur of her chest.
Behind them, the bodies of their loyal guards littered the streets. Some barely moved, in obvious pain. Some appeared not to move at all.
“It burns you, doesn’t it?”
That arrogant voice ignited an inferno in Celestia’s heart. The thundering footsteps of an Egg Hammer marching towards her and a Blowfish Transporter appearing distinctly in the background were almost lost on her as she fixed her sights on Eggman.
“For a millennia you’ve sat on high, having dominion over your own little microcosm. You allowed yourself to think you were the masters of your fate. To believe that you have power. Only to be reminded what real power is.”
Celestia’s glare held the fury of a thousand burning suns.
“It’s almost a shame. You may have even stood a chance if your methods weren’t so woefully primitive,” Eggman went on, shaking his head. “I mean, honestly. Armaments centuries out of date. Total lack of strategically-placed defensive weapons. Not even anything as basic as an outer wall. Utterly pitiful.
“To say nothing of the poor choice of rock you’ve built your capital upon. I’m curious, whose ill-advised decision was it to build your nation’s capital into the side of a mountain? Truly, this one city is a monument to all your failings, as a rulers and a species. Tasteless, suboptimal, and so architecturally unsound. All it would take is one impact of sufficient magnitude, and the whole thing would come crashing down.”
There was a dangerous gleam in Eggman’s eye. “Maybe I’ll do just that after I’ve crushed you. Teach the rest of your puny race the price of defiance.”
The Super Badnik’s hammer fell towards Celestia. It halted a two-thirds of the way through its swing before she could act, illumined in blue magic.
Luna held the bot in her telekinetic grip, her face smoking with fury. “OVER MY DEAD BODY!” A flex of her will lifted the Egg Hammer off the ground. Her magic aura spread out to envelop the entire robot. Eggman watched in disbelief as Luna compressed the mech, crushing twelve tons of steel alloy like paper.
With a surge of power, Luna hurled the mangled ball of metal through the air. It flew upwards until it slammed into the Blowfish Transporter. The violent collision struck deep enough into the dropship to hit the power core, setting off yet another searing blast that rocked the city, consuming the final ship and Egg Hammer.
The Princess of the Night turned her glared on Eggman, the torrid wind of her handiwork whipping her ethereal mane like the angry tail of a ferocious beast. “You think you are the first with dreams of conquest to threaten this land? Hardly! You are but another petty tyrant destined only to become a meager footnote in the annals of history! You will fail, you will fall, and Equestria will forget ever having been made to endure your noxious presence!”
A golden hue extended over the guards as Celestia cast her Aura of Vitality, healing and reinvigorating them. Her loyal soldiers began to rise.
“I’ll die before I let Equestria fall to the likes of you!” Fotia said, drawing both her blades.
Spurred by their leaders words of defiance, the other guards joined, their resolve firmed.
“You think a few tin cans and a light show will scare us?!”
“This is our home! You won’t get it without a fight!”
“I don’t care how many crummy places you’ve conquered, you’re not getting this one!”
As the ponies’ voices rose up in tandem, Eggman’s mouth tightened. Color rose in his face. “Obstinate horses!” He swept his hand to signal to his army. “Destroy them!”
Celestia came close to her sister as the next wave approached. “Cover me.” With a nod from Luna, she disappeared in a golden pop of sparks.
Luna held her broadsword in front of her, pointing it at the army. Her eyes glowed white, and blue constructs in the shape of her sword formed around her, shooting away into the robots. The barrage of magic blades kept the full force of the Egg Pawns at bay while the guards tangled with those that avoided the spell.
Eggman measured the situation. He hadn’t checked on the display of the invasions progress for quite awhile. Taking away what the damage the hedgehog would likely have done by now, this particular area was far less inundated with Badniks he’d figured it would be. He gave a light shrug. Probably a few more scattered pockets of resistance slowing progress. Nothing to be concerned about. But just to be on the safe side, he again turned on communications to thee bridge of his Buzz Bomber ship.
“Battleship two, circle about to the west and fire again,” he ordered grinning confidently. With his Badniks in full combat with the equines, this next bombardment would wipe out them too. But it would be a small price to pay for eliminating this bothersome group. Perhaps one of their feeble rulers too. He waited eagerly for the battleship’s next cannon blast to destroy them all.
And waited. And waited. But nothing happened.
Annoyed, he slammed the control button again. “Command bridge, did you hear me? I said fire!” Still, no response. “What’s going on up there?!”
Swinging around, Egmman saw that Buzz Bomber ship was indeed shifting. But not the way he ordered. It was slanting left. Sinking lower. Then he noticed two things: first, the ship was glowing in golden light; second, a figure now stood on the edge of a roof fifty feet from his position.
Luna unleashed a shockwave of blue power that separated what remained of the Badniks from her guards. Her breath was coming harder now. Sweat ran down into her eyes. This battle was beginning to tax her energy. Looking over her shoulder, she saw similar among the Militia. The 51st looked weary. Some were injured. Even with Celestia’s invigorating spell, they couldn’t keep up this pace for much longer.
Then she noticed a few of their heads turn upwards. Their eyes widened, exclaiming and pointing into the air. When she looked to see, a thin smile graced her lips.
Celestia was pulling the battleship out of the sky. The ship groaned and shrieked with terrible sounds, bending and smoking under her power. Her magic crushed its wings into gnarled shapes, denying resistance as the Solar Princess willed it to fall. It turned as it careened downwards, forcefully repositioning it to come down belly first, away from nearby structures.
Luna sighted Celestia on the vantage point. Even she was surprised at her older sister’s herculean display of might. But she also knew manipulating such a target required as much control as it did strength. If the huge ship crashed at too great a velocity, it could go sliding through miles of homes and businesses—worse, too hard an impact could even risk upsetting the magic barriers shielding the underground tunnels where Canterlot’s citizens now took refuge.
“Slowly, Tia. Slowly…”
As the battleship’s head dipped below the top of Canterlot’s tallest buildings, Gatekeeper’s voice echoed: “Brace yourselves!”
Metal mandibles touched ground first, splitting a ten-foot line into the street before joined by the rest of the ship’s massive bulk. It slammed the ground with the force of a localized earthquake. Even with the distance, the sheer force of the impact was felt by everypony.
The base of a half-destroyed spire suddenly cracked and fell towards Gatekeeper, but Luna caught it with her magic before it crushed him, dropping the chunk safely on the ground away from him.
Metal split the earth with a terrible sound as the giant wasp scrapped along the road, plowing forward even as Celestia heaved with all her might to halt it. Crumpled wings tore gashes into sidewalks and ground-level windows. The side of its abdomen blew a huge corner out of the Canterlot library.
Celestia’s horn shone brighter as she willed the ship to stop. It neared the train station even as its speed reduced. Slower, slower it dragged, the mandibles carving through pavement and dirt, meeting and pushing through the wood flooring. Then, mercifully, the ship came to a stop, the eye of the wasp head touching the purple roofing’s edge with a soft tap.
Celestia breathed relief and released her aura. Moving the huge ship with nothing but her mind had made her draw deeper into the well of her power than she had in many, many years. All her muscles ached. In spite of it, despite her wings groaning in protest, she lifted herself off her perch, descending with the grace befitting a princess to the place she previously stood.
Her eyes opened and fixed on Eggman, who looked back at her with a mixture of shock and anger.
“I told you, doctor. Equestria will never submit.”
Spitfire zoomed through the air, a small purple filly in her hooves. The terrified little pegasus clutched tightly to her, shaking and whimpering with fear.
Spitfire hardly noticed it. She had bigger problems—like the two Buzz Bombers on her heels. She swooped lower, the wasp Badniks following along. She spotted a Cameron forty yards ahead. Watching her pursuers from the corner of her eye, she dove towards it.
“What are you doing?!” came the filly’s frightened shout.
Spitfire smiled confidently. “Saving our hides.”
At the last moment, she spun herself out of the way. The Cameron’s cannon blast sailed past her and consumed both Buzz Bombers in following blast of heat.
Their destination in sight, Spitfire dipped and came to a stop right at the tunnel entrance where Soarin and a pair of worried looking ponies—the girl’s parents—waited.
“Violet!” Cardinal Point cried.
“Mom!” Violet Spark wriggled out of Spitfire’s grip and ran to hug her mother.
“No time to celebrate!” Spitfire shouted. “Go, go, go!”
Cardinal Point thanked them both and scrambled down the catacomb entrance with her daughter. Once they were out of sight, the door lowered itself closed, sealing the way in.
“What’s the status on friendlies, Clipper?” Spitfire asked.
“Almoner Avenue to 32nd Street is all accounted for,” Soarin replied. “Now we’ve just gotta focus on saving our own skins.” His eyes caught movement behind her. “Behind you!”
Both were fifteen feet in the air by time the shot from another Cameron whizzed underneath. Ahead, more Balkyries were incoming. “Break!” On Spitfire’s call, the two zoomed away in opposite directions, and the Balkyries split into two groups of four chasing each.
Spitfire jetted forward, spinning and looping to outfly the aerial robots. But no matter how she curved and wheeled, she couldn’t shake them. She spoke into her radio as she looped backwards. “I’m gonna need some help here! Four bogies on my tail, I can’t ‘em off me!”
“Captain!” She head Fleetfoot’s voice issue into her ear. “Bank left on your next corner! Bring ‘em right down 29th, and don’t slow down!”
She glanced anxiously back at the robots. She didn’t know the plan, but she’d trust her second-in-command. Six seconds later, she made the turn onto 12th Street. She saw Fleetfoot eighty yards ahead, her own set of Balkyries on her tail.
“You in the mood for chicken, Captain?”
A fierce grin lit Spitfire’s face. “Fried or baked?”
Both mares picked up speed, as did their chasers. The space between them ate away. Fifty yards. Thirty-five. Twenty. At ten yards distance, both mares veered right, whizzing past each other and nimbly through the hordes of their chasers. A set of fireballs from the not-so-nimble Badniks slamming into each other followed in their wake.
The pair looped and landed down on the street. “Perfect as always!” Fleetfoot beamed. The two bumped hooves, only for Fleetfoot to cringe at a jolt of pain in her hind leg. She looked back, sighting a singed spot on her right thigh. “Or, maybe not…”
Soarin, Misty Fly, and the other Wonderbolts came to join the two. There were smiles and pats on the back until their captain realized something.
“…Where is Fire Streak?”
The group tensed.
“I thought he was with you guys,” said Soarin.
Swallowing, Spitfire cued up her headpiece. “Hot Top, come in!” No response. “Hot Top, report! Do you read me?” Still nothing.
High Winds gulped. “You don’t think…”
“We have incoming!” Fleetfoot warned, pointing to a set of eight RhinoBots approaching from the right.
“Sweet bleeding Luna… How many of these things are there?!” Silver Zoom complained.
“Stay focused, Cotton Grass,” said Spitfire. She took a breath, steeling herself before turning to Fleetfoot. “Flatfoot, go with him up top. You’re our eyes in the sky. Take it easy on that leg of yours. I want everypony making it home in one piece.”
Fleetfoot grimaced, clearly unhappy at having to sit things out with a teammate missing, but didn’t argue. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Clipper, Dizzy, with me. Everypony else, find Fire Streak.” The slip of nickname usage betrayed Spitfire’s worry for their teammate. “The three of us will hold this spot until our backup gets here.”
“If they get here,” Misty Fly grumbled.
Spitfire either didn’t hear the comment, or chose to ignore it. “You got that, Clipper?”
Soarin didn’t reply.
“…Clipper! Do you read me?” She wheeled around and was surprised to find him staring off into space.
“Uh, Captain…” Soarin began, a strange uncertainty lacing his voice, “did Canterlot get a second, fast-moving, comet-looking sun?”
Spitfire’s brow knitted. “Clipper, what the hay are you… on…” Following Soarin’s gaze, her words petered and eyes widened at the sight of a blue mass sailing through the air towards them at something resembling terminal velocity.
“Hit the floor!”
The Wonderbolts dove for cover exactly two seconds before the blue object came screaming through like a cannon ball, tearing through the Rhinotanks so fast that the chain of explosions only came after it slammed through another wall.
The pegasi steadily rose and peered at the landing site.
“What the heck was that?!” exclaimed Fleetfoot.
Cautiously, the team stepped and hovered closer to the smoking hole. Stone fragments and dust rolled out from the breach as something came forward. Out of the smoking hole stumbled Sonic, holding his head and looking dazed. “Oy… Did anyone get the number of that bus…?”
“You!”
Shaking his head to clear his sight, Sonic became aware of the Wonderbolts now blocking his path, and the less-than-pleased looks in their eyes. He sighed. “And the familiar faces just keep comin’…”
Spitfire lowered her head aggressively, her hoof pawing the ground. Sonic raised his hands, showing his palms. “Easy there, Phoenix Force. I’m not looking for a fight.”
“Should have thought of that before you decided to show your face here again,” Spitfire growled.
With most of the Bolts’ attention on Sonic, only High Winds saw a lone Balkiry coming in hot from the south road—with Soarin directly in its sights. “Soarin, look out!”
The Badnik was only ten feet away before Soarin saw the danger coming. No one could react quick enough—no one but Sonic. With a well-timed Homing Attack, he deflecting it away in the nick of time and landed smoothly.
“Well, that could have ended poorly.” Dusting off his shoulder, he eyed the small army converging from down the street. “And still a bajillion to go.” Glancing at the Wonderbolts, he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the robots. “Mind if I take it from here?”
The pegasi stared at him, baffled.
“You… What… Why…”
“Yes, those are words,” Sonic said in response to Spitfire’s stammers, stretching out his legs with side lunges. “Which I’ll take to mean ‘no.’”
Spitfire finally found her voice. “What’s your game, hedgehog?!” she demanded.
“Kind of a long list,” Sonic quipped. “No time to get into it now.” He rolled his shoulders and bounced on the balls of his feet, warming up like an athlete prepping for the next burst.
“Quit messing around!” She growled, stomping her hoof. “What. Are. You doing here?”
“Trashing robots. You haven’t noticed?”
“…Why? Why are you helping us? You’re a criminal! We tried to capture you! You smacked my team around!”
Sonic nonchalantly waved a hand back and forth. “That was yesterday. Come on, keep up.”
Spitfire was too baffled to respond before the hedgehog went into motion. None of this made sense.
Her mind was drawn back to his exchange with that ‘Dr. Eggman’ creep at the start of all this, which. She had watched it from just out of view with the rest of her team. She ran every interaction she’d had with the hedgehog, every word he’d ever said to her back in her mind. All of it hinted to a rather uncomfortable realization.
She watched as Sonic made short work of the robots. Jumping over, kicking, tearing through them with that spinning maneuver. Another thought touched her mind: the sheer ease of how he dismantled these oversized steel puppets; the same foes that had her and her fellow Equestrians on the ropes. And there was a single crystallizing moment where Spitfire understood just how much the hedgehog had been holding back against them.
If he could do that to these steel golems, then if he really wanted, what could he have done to the guards? To her team? To her?
It would have been so much easier for him to put them in the ground. But he didn’t. And now, in spite of all the attempts to capture him, vilifying reports, and ill will, he was here. Saving their hides.
Soarin came to stand beside her. “So… still think the general’s theory was so crazy?”
Silence was Spitfire’s reply. She looked at the ground, chewing the inside of her mouth.
Five more Badniks came at Sonic. Rollers. Blue, armadillo-like robots that could perform a high-speed rolling maneuver their creator likely took from the Blue Blur himself. They shifted into their spherical forms and barreled at him in a line. A Spin Dash of his own wiped them out them out in short order. He smirked over his shoulder at the wreckage.
“Ha! Accept no imitations.”
A shout of distress from above drew his attention. A Wonderbolt he recognized—the one with orange and white in his mane—had been caught by a Klagen that was now flying away with its quarry. Moving like the wind, Sonic rushed in their direction with enough speed to let him jump to and run along the side of the connected buildings on his right, taking himself high enough to leap off and destroy the Klagen with a Homing Attack, freeing Fire Streak.
Bursting into in an aura of blue as he landed, his forward charge took out fourteen more Moto Bugs and Rhinotanks. Seven more Homing Attacks quicker than an eye blink destroyed just as many Egg Walkers. Ahead, three Caterkillers flanked a set of Camerons, with another horde of more than fifty Egg Pawns at their backs. Sonic dodged around the Camerons’ cannon shots, blasting straight towards the massive horde.
Having met up with their rescued teammate, the Wonderbolts gaped at what he was doing.
“He’s going straight for that entire squadron!” Silver Zoom exclaimed.
Misty Fly snorted.“He’s lost it. He’s got no chance against that many at once.”
Exactly one step away from the forward-most Badnik, Sonic braked and veered off, running in a continuous circle around the mechanical turtles and caterpillars. He was so fast, he was only visible to the Wonderbolts as a faint blue streak.
“Take this!”
His breakneck speed produced a whirlwind that lifted the Caterkillers and Camerons into the air and flung them around violently. The blue cyclone grew in size, its twisting vortex moving around and sucking the rest of the Badniks off the ground. It thrashed them about, hurling into the distance, into buildings, and into ground. Many slammed into each while wrapped up in the tornado, smashed to pieces even before they hit the ground.
Then as quickly as it came, the twister was gone.
The Wonderbolts dumfounded. Sonic now stood alone in the middle of the street, surrounded by the broken scraps of what used to be the robot army, appearing admire his handiwork. Cautiously, they made their way towards him.
Soarin, putting himself at the front of the group, gave a low whistle of approval. “Nice.”
Sonic half turned, regarding him with a brief smile. He decided this guy was his favorite among the team of flyers. “Thanks, but it won’t be enough.” He pointed up to the bigger wasp-like mech up in the sky. “As long as that battleship is there, more of these guys are gonna keep pouring out faster than any of us can smash ‘em.”
“That thing is huge!” High Winds gasped. “How are we supposed to stop it?”
“I can take care of that,” said Sonic, “but I’m gonna need your help.”
All of the Wonderbolts looked at him with varying emotions.
“And what makes you think you’re gonna get it?” Misty Fly said with an edge of spite.
Sonic huffed in exasperation. He was getting a little tired of having this conversation with every pony he met. “You guys do see the place getting torn apart, right?” He gestured broadly to the city around them. An explosion from a stray missile, close enough to make the entire team jolt, underlined his point. “All you have to do is get me up there. I’ll handle the rest.”
Misty Fly’s eyes narrowed. “And we’re supposed to just trust you?”
“Only long enough to save your home.”
Spitfire stayed silent. She stared at Sonic from where she hovered. Her trust for the hedgehog was negligible at best. But she couldn’t deny the dire straits they were in right now. He’d already shown he could take out these invaders with ease. Not to mention his actions appeared to refute most of their initial suspicions. Still…
She looked over to Soarin, who nodded emphatically. She pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep sigh. Time to be the captain. Lowering herself down to the ground, she looked the hedgehog right in the eye. “What’s your name, Quills?”
“It’s Sonic.”
Spitfire gazed at him for another long moment, seeming to take his measure. Then she very calmly walked up to him…
…and smacked him upside the head.
“Ow!” He cringed, instinctively grasping the sore spot. “What that heck…!”
“That’s for making us look like idiots.” She followed up by slugging him in the gut with all her strength. The air left Sonic’s lungs. He barely managed to stay standing, hunching over and holding his stomach. “That’s for not keeping those grubby paws to yourself.”
Sonic couldn’t manage words for a minute; only weak exhalations and groans of pain. Finally, mercifully, his lungs remembered how to function. When he had a breath and the pain lessened enough, he lifted his head, a scathing remark on his lips. “Oh, now that’s just—!”
To his surprise, Spitfire had turned, giving him her side. She had her wings splayed, looking at him expectantly. “Well, what’re you waitin’ for?” she smirked. “We’ve got a job to do. Hop on.”
Sonic stared incredulously for a moment. He forced an exhale and shook his head, muttering something about ‘crazy ponies’ to himself. He braced a hand on Spitfire’s withers then hopped onto her back.
Spitfire flexed her wings as she let his weight settle in. She was surprised how light he was. “Hang on tight.” She shot a look back at him. “And you better not try any more funny business!”
Sonic smiled thinly. “Don’t worry. I’m not sure you four-legged girls are my type.”
Spitfire laughed with effort before propelling off the ground and taking flight. Soarin and Fleetfoot were at her sides in a second.
Sonic held her mane tightly as they climbed up and up into the sky. In virtually no time, they were coming in to the battleship’s underside that still continued to rain down Badniks.
“All right, hedgehog! You’re up!”
Taking his cue from Spitfire, Sonic propped himself up to on her back, knees bent. As she swerved underneath the giant Buzz Bomber’s abdomen, he leaped up in a spinning ball through one of the ship’s open hatches.
He landed in a crouch among the scores of Egg Pawns, grinning like a madman. “Heeeeere’s Sonic!”
Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Spitfire quickly reconvened with the rest of the Wonderbolts below. They stayed hovering in the airspace around the rooftops, watching with tense anticipation. Before long, a series of explosions wracked the wasp-shaped ship from the inside.
“Yeah, that’s showing ‘em!” Soarin whooped.
Fleetfoot seemed to realize something. She turned to Spitfire. “Hey Captain, how did he say he was gonna get down?”
Spitfire stiffened. “He… didn’t.”
A much bigger explosion suddenly ripped through the battleship, tearing it apart and engulfing it in one last brilliant ball of light. Burning wreckage went everywhere as the Wonderbolts now watched with alarmed confusion at what became of the hedgehog.
Then they spotted a spiky, blue and black ball falling down through the air. It bounced off top of the nearest building, springing off the shrinking rooftops as it neared the ground. The flight team made their in its direction and met ground level just as the blackened form of Sonic rolled into the street and unfurled into a seated position. He was covered in soot, and patches of his fur and quills were slightly charred, but he was okay.
“That was soooo much fuuun, guys…” he said, his eyes loopy spirals.
Spitfire and most of the other Bolts chuckled. She approached and offered out her hoof. “You sure are something, ‘hog.”
“I have been told.” Sonic took it, standing up with her help and dusting himself off. “Anyway… that should make the rest of the job a whole lot easier. I’ll go mop up what’s left of Egghead’s forces. You guys check if there’s anyone left to rescue and head back to whatever safe cover you have. Tell your princess with the multi-colored hair the rest is on me.” And then went whisking away.
Fleetfoot pursed her lip as she watched him go. “What do you make of the Blue Demon now, Captain?”
Spitfire didn’t respond immediately. “…A little more than before.” She looked about, skimming the demolished dregs of the battleship. “I’ll say this, I’m glad he cares more about smashing them than us.”
Misty Fly grimaced. “For now.”
Celestia kept her eyes trained on Eggman. The doctor was seething, furious at the battleship’s destruction. Disaster had been averted, and now one of his strongest weapon had been neutralized.
But not without cost. Celestia’s breath came harder. The sheer effort of tearing the ship from the sky had drained her significantly. She glanced at Luna; her coat was slick with sweat, looking even more tired than she was. Her loyal gaurds were at their limit, and there were still more robots…
“Your Highness.” Gatekeeper’s voice brought her back. The old stallion stood beside her, calm as ever. “Word came in from Commander Gale Force. They’re ready.”
The news firmed Celestia’s next decision. “Evacuate everypony back to the palace. Luna and I will cover your retreat.”
Nodding, Gatekeeper about faced and sparked his horn. At the rear of the squadron, the golden circle of another warp opened across the entire street. “Fall back! All troops, fall back!” The guards obeyed as quickly as physically possible. Those slowed from injury were helped onto the backs of the healthy who carried them through the gate.
Eggman laughed. “There, you see? In the end, you run like the frightened little animals you are!”
Luna growled, stepping forward and raising her sword, but Celestia reached a foreleg in front of her. “Do not let him bait you, sister. Come.”
Luna had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping, but she relented. She about faced and flew towards their waiting exist and Celestia followed suit, the pair gliding over the guards’ heads and through the portal.
As the tail end of the 51st vanished through the warp, Gatekeeper alone remained. He put a hoof to his helm and gave the order. “Gatekeeper to Gale Force: bring the rain.” When the princesses and the last few ponies passed through portal, Gatekeeper did as well, and the magic winked out of existence.
Badniks advanced through the empty street, their master floating overhead in his pod, cackling. “That’s right! Flee! Cower before the might of the Eggman Empire! Prostrate yourselves before me, and I may yet show you an inkling of—”
A sudden shadow from overhead made Eggman look up. “—mercy?”
High above, a mass of figures blotted out the sun. An entire company of Aerial guards swooped over Mane Street, the formation condensing narrowly enough to fit the small airspace between the rooftop edges over the entire street. Eggman suddenly perceived something—a great many things—falling towards him.
His throat tightened. Dive bombers!
With a panicked noise, he slapped a control on his Egg Mobile seconds before a plethora of objects collided into his pod’s protective barrier. Thick metal pikes more than two feet long, with vaned tails and jagged tips. Flechettes. They rained down on Eggman and everything within the three square blocks of his position, accurately confining within the buildings for maximum accuracy.
When the light of day returned, when the pounding finally stopped, Eggman poked his head out from the Egg Mobile’s floor. The pod and himself had been protected from the barrage by the shield generator.
His army didn’t fair nearly as well. The fletchettes had pounded and bored through the Badniks as easily as they did the paved floor. The pikes lined the pavement like freshly-sprouted grass. The remains of his army were barely visible among the metal stalks.
Eggman’s hand tightened into a shaking fist. His teeth grinded together. “You worthless equines… You dare deface my glorious creations?! You dare to defy me?! You—!” He breathed, tightening the grip on his anger. “You’re going to pay for that insult with your pathetic lives. This feeble resistance changes nothing! I still have an entire battalion with which to destroy you all!”
Behind him, a familiar voice spoke. “Yeah, about that.”
Eggman stiffened. He swung around in his pod to see Sonic standing below. The hedgehog stood one foot on the disembodied head of a Caterkiller, his crossed arms leaning on top of his raised knee, and a smug look plastered on his face. “You might wanna check again, egg-for-brains.”
Not liking his archenemy’s tone, Eggman forewent a reply and punched in a few buttons on the Egg Mobile’s controls. When the reading of his army layout popped up, his jaw fell open. Nearly all Badniks were offline. A small handful of Flappers, one backup group of Egg Pawns, and his specialized units remained. Everything else had been destroyed.
“What?!” He grabbed his head, appalled. “How?! How is this possible?!”
Sonic chuckled. “Guess you didn’t know your enemy as well as you thought.”
Outrage burned in the mad scientist. He slammed another button a subsequent row of lights appeared below. His last batch of Egg Pawn reinforcements warped onto the scene. “All remaining units concentrate on the hedgehog! Bring me his head, or it’s the furnace for all of you!”
The space inside the walls of Canterlot Castle had quickly filled with royal guards. The most seriously injured were placed on makeshift beds under tents, receiving treatment. Those still able to move shuffled, maintaining the area as their commanding officers ordered them about.
The royal sisters stepped towards the command center, a canopy situated over a large table that projected holographic images of the city. It was here that the guards could monitor and direct the wide battle. Gatekeeper and Dawn Stride stood at the head of the table, joined by a few officers from the various Royal Guard divisions, including Shining Armor, Fotia, and Night Flare. The Aerial commander, Gale Force, glided in and touched down at the holotable’s edge right as Celestia and Luna reached them.
“What’s our status, Commander Dawn Stride?” said Celestia.
“The enemy force has largely been destroyed,” Dawn Stride answered crisply. “But it hasn’t come without cost. There’s extensive damage throughout the city, particularly in downtown of the middle district. And our own forces took quite the beating. The 51st of the Militia vanguard got the worst of it.”
“I can attest to that…” Shining Armor commented, massaging his sore shoulder.
“Casualties…?” Luna asked with a hint of dread.
“Lots of injuries throughout. A hooffull are in critical condition. But by the grace of Harmony, nopony’s died.”
The two shared a sigh of relief.
“Let us ensure it stays that way,” said Celestia. She looked at Gatekeeper. “General?”
“Not to worry, your Highness,” Gatekeeper said, his tone indicating he was comfortably ahead of her. “All available medics have been gathered, and the castle wall has been fortified with additional troops.”
“Princess Celestia!”
Hearing a familiar voice, Celestia turned to see Twilight sprinting towards her. Not far behind were her friends, accompanied by Grit Vigil and the rest of Bravo Squad.
Smiling, Celestia lowered her neck as her student came to her, sharing a warm embrace. “Oh Twilight, I’m relieved to see you’re safe.” After their embrace, Celestia looked to the Inquisitors. “Well done, Lieutenant.”
Grit saluted and motioned to his team. The Inquisitors wordlessly followed him and departed.
“What happened?” Twilight asked Celestia after their embrace. “Where did the dem—” she caught herself before she finished the word, “that creature take you?”
Rainbow zoomed up to her. “Yeah! What did that freak do to you?!”
Celestia shook her head. “Nothing that you didn’t see yourselves.”
Luna frowned. “Did he say anything to you?”
“Only for the rest of us to stay out of danger. He insisted on dealing with this ‘Eggman’ himself.”
Puzzlement showed across the ponies’ faces.
“I… don’t understand,” said Rarity. “What does that mean?”
“I suspect it means we’ve been very mistaken about this whole ordeal,” Celestia intoned. “But there’s no time to dwell on it now.”
Noticing her brother, Twilight’s face light up and she cantered towards him. “Shining Armor!” She was ready to throw herself onto him, but Night Flare stepped between them.
“Maybe save the hugs for later,” he said. “The captain’s not feeling too hot right now.”
Twilight paused. Then she saw her brother’s armor scraped and singed in places, as well as the scattered bruises and bandages across his body. Her ears flattened. “Shiny, you’re hurt!”
“Who, me?” Shining chuckled. “This is nothing. One hot bath and some painkiller and I’ll be good to go.”
His brave front earned a laugh from Night Flare and a small smile from Fotia.
Luna stepped up quickly. “Commander Dawn Stride, what’s the progress on withdrawal?”
“All forces have been brought into the safe zones,” Dawn Stride answered. But then she noticed something—a set of yellow dots on the display hanging in the air above downtown. “No, wait. The Wonderbolts are still out there.”
“Well, isn’t that ironic. The supposedly brisk flying team holding things up?”
The group’s attention shifted to the new voice. Another guardstallion approached the table. He was a tall and lanky unicorn dressed in red and gold armor.
“Captain Vainglory,” Celestia said by way of greeting. “Your team performed excellently finding and escorting my student and her friends. You’re all to be commended.”
“‘Always loyal,’ your Majesty,” Vainglory said with a bow of the head. “The Inquisitor way.” He turned his eye to the table. “Now, what’s this about Captain Spitfire and her slipshod crew slowing things down?”
Rainbow took umbrage with the captain’s unthinking choice of words. “Hey! The Wonderbolts are not slow!” She would have charged straight at Vainglory if not for Applejack grabbing her by the tail.
“Easy, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack said, yanking her down to the ground. “Simmer down, girl. How many guards are you gonna go startin’ things with today?”
While Rainbow grumbled, Dawn Stride igniting her horn, adjusting and redirecting the communication spell broadcast through all the defense personnel to come through the table itself. “Captain Spitfire, this is Commander Dawn Stride from central command. Do you read me?”
Spitfire’s voice issued from holotable. “Copy, Commander. We’re about a hundred yards from the enemy leader’s position.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Vainglory snapped. “Stop wasting time and get after the last ship!”
“Negative,” Spitfire responded. “I think our boy in blue has it covered.”
Her words drew odd looks from the ponies.
“Repeat, Captain?” said Luna. “You have the Demon in your sights? Where is he?”
“Less than fifty yards due south of that Eggman creep.” Everypony could hear the grin on her lips. “He is kicking all kinds of ass down there.”
As the others exchanged puzzled looks, Dawn Stride invoked a scrying spell. A funnel of faint light rose up from the table, creating a circular window projecting an image. The image showed a clear view of the street. All of them had a clear and crisp view of Sonic handling what remained of the Badnik forces. The Equestrians watched him punch, kick, and Spin Dash his way through the few Egg Pawns that were left.
“Yeah, I’d say the blue guy’s got this covered,” Night Flare commented. “Maybe we can all just sit back and watch while he finishes up.”
“Absurd!” Vainglory barked scornfully. “We’re to entrust our own security to an alien criminal? Your judgment is hardly befitting an officer, Lieutenant Night Flare.” He turned to Celestia. “Your Majesty, this is our opportunity to end this. I strongly suggest launching a strike against the enemy flagship.”
Shining Armor carefully raised his hoof. “I’m all for doing what it takes, but our guys are pushed to their limit. We can’t manage another forward assault.”
Vainglory snorted. “Don’t have the stomach for war, boy?”
Shining Armor gave a small jolt, taken aback at the callous remark. Shock quickly sparked into anger.
“Is there truly a need for that, Captain Vainglory?” Dawn Stride put in before Shining could retort. “Captain Armor has a point. Our available forces are already stretched thin. There are more wounded than able-bodied, we don’t have the numbers.”
“We don’t need an entire battalion,” Vainglory insisted. “One team for a surgical strike will be all that’s necessary. From your own reports, Commander Dawn Stride, we know the enemy minions have a weakness to high-output, lightning-based spells. While those freaks are focused on each other, we have the perfect opportunity to strike back with an assault from the Aerial division, which has been mostly uninvolved in the battle. Your Mystics can prepare a cloud to use, and they can deliver the payload.”
Dawn Stride paused to watch the image of Sonic using a Spin Attack to split an Egg Pawn in two. “And you would suggest sending our ponies do as such even as our guest appears to have things well in hoof?”
Vainglory shook his head. “Of all ponies, I wouldn’t expect to hear such things from you, Commander.” He eyed the image of Sonic and Eggman, his lip twisting. “Those abominations have invaded us, ravaged our city, and put the lives of countless ponies in jeopardy. This cannot be allowed to stand! We of the Royal Guard have a duty to this nation. We must demonstrate our ability to defend it for all Equestria to see.”
“I agree with Captain Vainglory,” Gale Force said. “We can’t trust that thing.” She faced Celestia and Luna. “We’re at your call, your Majesties. Only give us the word.”
Celestia’s lip firmed in thought. She glanced to Gatekeeper for corroboration. The general had a hoof to his beard, as if weighing heavily on the idea, but he gave no clear indication of being for or against it.
“It may be prudent to err on the side of caution,” Luna suggested.
For a long moment, Celestia gazed at the holotable. Then, she inclined her head to Gale Force. “Very well, Commander. You may proceed.”
Gale Force nodded and cued into her helmet. “Captain Wild Shine, bring a squad to rendezvous at the command center. We’ve got an ordinance for you.”
Eggman scowled as Sonic finished off the final Egg Pawns, the last dregs of his army exploding into a black cloud. “Bah! Where the devil is EG-918?!” He hit a button to cue his Badnik comm channel. “All remaining Flapper squadrons, full retreat to the south!” He knew a few Flappers wouldn’t be any match for Sonic. No sense wasting them here.
He didn’t have much left, but it was all he needed to destroy his nemesis once and for all.
Sonic stepped through the smoke towards his nemesis. Once again it was just him and the doctor. “It’s over, Eggman! Your transports are trashed and your Badniks are busted. You’ve got nothing left.”
Eggman’s jaw clenched. He may have been about to respond when something on the left caught his eye. His grim expression was replaced by a small smile. “I still have enough left for this.” He pressed the comms button again. “Flapper squadron two, change course. Attack direction west.”
Sonic frowned. ‘What’s he up to now?’ Peering over his shoulder, he saw something unexpected: a team flying royal guards flying overhead, pushing a cloud and heading straight for him and Eggman.
‘What are they doing? I told the princess to pull them back!’
Then Sonic saw the Flappers in the distance. What looked like twenty of them flew as one mass in a south direction away from the city. But then half the group changed direction, now coming towards him and Eggman.
They were going to intercept the ponies.
Sonic moved without thinking, making his way to and up the side of a building. He shouted out, “Take out those flyers!”
The ponies heard his call. A mare at the head of the group in green and gold armor swiveled her head around and caught sight of the Flappers. Her eyes widened and she broke formation, bee-lining for the squadron.
From her side, Wild Shine unfurled her signature mace. The spiked metal ball crackled with white electricity, and she unleashed her wrath on the Flappers. One by one, with shouts and heavy swings, she sent the robots crashing to the ground.
Only one got past her. She banked left to chase after it, but a beam fired from Eggman’s gun shot her down. She shrieked in pain, her body crashing onto a roof.
Almost swearing, Sonic streaked across the side of an apartment. The last Flapper was just about to reach its target. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the hedgehog leaped through the air.
The Badnik passed over the cloud.
His streaking form smashed through it.
Half a second too slow.
A stream of electricity shot down into the guards’ cloud. White-hot lightning crackled off of it in waves, its white mass darkening ominously. One of the ponies could barely scream ‘look out’ before a storm of deadly bolts erupted from the cloud in every direction.
By pure force of will, Wild Shine appeared in front of her team and raised her mace in defense. The bolts that came in her direction struck the spiked ball of her mace instead of her, drawn in and absorbed by her weapon in a spectacle of dancing lightning. The desperate move shielded her and some of the others.
But it didn’t completely save them. The captain was driven back hard against a wall by the force. Jagged lines of energy caught half her squad, cutting zigzag lines and punching burning holes into the surroundings. Stone and glass exploded. Ponies screamed, their flesh turning temporarily translucent as the lightning ripped through their bodies. A pegasi’s physiology awarded them a certain tolerance for electricity, but amplified by the Baniks’ laser, it was beyond what they could withstand.
Wild Shine heard the screams, but she didn’t see the rest. She couldn’t see anything beyond the harsh glow of her mace’s as energy poured into it. For agonizingly long moments she held her mace fast against the force of the lightning, until finally the stream relented.
After what seemed like an age, the blinding white in Wild Shine’s vision faded, the world around her slowly swimming back into focus, blurred shapes sharpening until she could see again. She looked upon the scene with horror. What she could see of her squad resembled little more than charred corpses strewn throughout the road. The Egg Balloon lowered from its previous safe height, casting a shadow across the team.
And through it, the madman responsible laughed.
A shout of hate, raw and jagged, burst from Wild Shine’s throat. She charged, fully prepared to take to the air and paint the cobble with Eggman’s brain. She only got a few steps before Sonic appeared at her side, restraining her.
“Hold it!” Sonic had to keep a tight grip to hold the raging captain back. “You’re playing right into his hands if you rush in there!”
“Let go of me!” Wild Shine screamed. “Let me go! I’ll tear that bastard apart!”
“Save that energy for helping your team!”
Wild Shine went still. Her head jerked in the direction her squadmates. The five on the ground were moving now. A couple of them were trying to stand. The other four had shown up from wherever they had escaped to, trying to help the injured.
“Get them out of here before it’s too late!” Sonic implored. “No more of you have to get hurt today!”
Wild Shine trembled through noisy breaths. Seconds seemed like hours as a storm raged in her mind. Somehow, she came back to herself, and she grew steady enough that Sonic let her go. She rushed to where her squad lay. The unharmed squad members gathered the ones that couldn’t fly onto their backs. Wild Shine took up two.
Her wings spread, but she made one more quick turn to Sonic. “Make him suffer.”
Sonic watched as they spread their wings, heading back in the direction of the castle. Then turned a burning eye on the doctor. “You’re gonna pay for that, Eggman.”
“Bold pronouncements as always,” the villain scoffed. “They didn’t end so well for you last time, did they?”
Sonic’s fist clenched at his side. “Nothing left for you to hide behind this time.”
“I hide from nothing, rodent,” Eggman ground out. “Come on, then! Let’s settle this once and for all! Just you and me!”
Sonic grinned. That he’d be happy to oblige. He burst forward.
He only got halfway to Eggman when a hard boot planted into his cheek and sent him tumbling across the ground. Catching himself, he jerked his head up to Eggman. With a malicious smile, the doctor showed him his hand. “Had my fingers crossed.”
Scowling, Sonic heard a clank behind him, rising and turning to face his new attacker. The sight made his eyes stretch wide.
“Shadow?!”
The form of his rival standing before him left Sonic stunned. But as he stared, he noticed something was off. ‘Wait…’ On closer inspection, he noticed the Shadow before him had yellow stripes atop his quills instead of red. He also appeared to lack a mouth.
Two more sounds of impact came from behind him; another pair of yellow-striped ‘Shadows’ dropped in to the right and left.
“What the…?”
As he sized up the trio, a glint from above caught his eye. Atop the structure, a shiny, chrome-colored being with his rival’s likeness looked down on him. Then he saw another. And another. Another. The left hand of each was replaced with a gun. The quills, wrists, and boots of these four sported different colors: blue, orange, green, and pink. The lookalikes lined the structures around Sonic, perched atop the buildings like birds of prey. Their cold, unfeeling eyes bored into him with the promise of ill intent.
“Ah yes, it occurs you never had the chance to see these models for yourself,” Eggman said, pushing up his glasses. “Allow me to introduce the instruments of your demise: the Shadow Androids!”
Sonic looked back and forth, bringing up his guard. He loosed what could have been a laugh. “That’s really the best you can do, Egg-breath? More rip-offs?”
“Improvements!” Eggman declared confidently, stroking his moustache. “What was once an entire legion has been streamlined and optimized into the seven units you see before you. With some redesign, a few modifications, and perhaps ironing out a glitch or two, they’ve now been brought to optimal efficiency.
“All seven have been fitted with beyond-advanced processing units.” He made a motion of his hand to the silver Androids. “The latter four have been upgraded with weapon systems with you in mind.” Then he gestured to the yellow-striped ones. “The three models around you have been particularly programmed with an emphasis on close-quarters-combat. Nearly identical to their progenitor in terms of physical attributes and capabilities. The perfect killing machines. I’m eager to see how they perform against you.”
Sonic didn’t falter an inch. “All right then, let’s test ‘em out!”
Picking the android in front of him, Sonic closed the distance between them in a burst of speed and slammed his fist into its gut. It jerked from the force, bringing a smile to his face.
It promptly disappeared as his eyes shifted down. The android had caught his fist, stopping him cold. Against Sonic’s effort, it slowly forced his fist down and away in a display of strength, then retaliated with a sharp left hook to the jaw. Sonic was knocked off his feet sent skidding on his back. He managed to turn his backward slide into a roll that ended him on one knee.
Eggman smiled, satisfied that at the early results. Just then, his attention was drawn to a light on the Egg Mobile’s control panel winking with a repeating chime. “Well, it’s about time.”
Back on the ground, the yellow Shadow Androids again encircled Sonic in dark blurs of movement, two in front at the left and right, one behind. The other four took up new positions on the high ground of ledges, low rooftops, and one jumping down to stand atop a pile of rubble.
Sonic’s face firmed as he looked around at the deadly droids with new eyes. He pulled himself up, wiping a small trail of blood from his lip. “All right… so they’re a little tougher than I thought. A little dicey, but still doable. Matter of fact, kind of underwhelming for a final boss.”
As he picked the next android to go for, all of Ducal Boulevard started to shake. It almost made him lose his balance.
“W-Whoa! What’s that?!”
In the tunnels underneath Canterlot, ponies gasped and shrieked as the walls trembled. Dust sprinkled down from above, making some fear that the ceiling would cave in on their very heads, while royal guards urged them not panic.
In one corner of the underground section, a group of them nervously around.
“Something strange is going on…” Donut Joe said, swallowing.
Another stallion stepped away as sand sprinkled down over his head. “Uh, this place is reinforced, right?”
“It’s supposed to be,” Moonlight Raven croaked, glancing around ponderously through her heavy bandages. Sunshine Smiles held her hoof tightly, whimpering.
Violet Spark shivered, huddling against her parents. “Mom, dad, I’m scared! What’s happening?!”
Cardinal Point held her tighter. “Don’t worry, dear. It’s going to be okay, everything is going to be okay…”
From the deepest depths of the catacombs to the furthest city limit, all of Canterlot shook like a leaf. Houses and establishments rocked on their foundations. The tremor even reached the palace command center where as the Ponyvillians, princesses and officers held on for dear life.
Spike grabbed onto a nearby column to keep from falling over. “What is going on now?!”
“IIIIIIIII doooooooon’t knoooooooow!” answered Pinkie, vibrating across the floor in a manner not entirely due to the earthquake.
“There isn’t a fault line within a hundred miles of here!” Vainglory said over the clamor. “Whatever this is, it’s no natural occurrence!”
Luna’s eyes widened, something dawning in her mind. “Celestia! The earthquakes from this morning—”
“Were not earthquakes at all,” Celestia finished grimly. “They were a trail. And the trail ends here in Canterlot.”
The rumbling grew stronger. Then, in the center of the city’s middle level, the ground bucked. Ponies turned their eyes towards downtown. Pavement cracked. Wide fissures split the road, and the ground fell away, briefly forming a deep crater, before erupting upward with explosive force. Chunks of earth and clouds of dust went flying. Eyes bulged and jaws dropped as something enormous crawled up from beneath the city.
Sonic swallowed. A shadow loomed over him. From the dust emerged a giant robot that dwarfed even the Egg Hammers with its size. It was four-legged, square-faced, with a thick tail that still reached down into the tunnel it had emerged from.
“Actually, little spikeball,” said Eggman, “this is the final boss.” His pod lowered into the machine’s head-positioned cockpit, and a sphere of reinforced glass slid up around him, completing the docking sequence. “Behold my latest masterpiece: the Egg Gila!”
The metal titan’s eyes flashed to life and it roared; a terrible, unnatural scream that rattled entire buildings.
“One of these days, I’m gonna stop shooting my mouth off…” Sonic mumbled. He tensed as the Shadow Androids assumed battle stances.
“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” Eggman asked, his voice full of mockery.
Sonic took a breath, brushed his thumb across his nose and smirked. “Y’know, for a second there… yeah. I kinda did.”
A forward thrust of Eggman’s hand preceded his command: “Kill him!”
And the eight hedgehogs moved at once.
==============================
3:21 PM
Manehattan: Equestria Daily HQ
==============================
“What do you mean you won’t run it?!”
Bloviate’s voice rattled the office. Most of the other newspaper ponies stayed zoned in on their work, wisely choosing to avoid looking in his direction. A few brave souls dared to peer over at the war of words raging between Dossier and Bloviate j just outside the latter’s office.
“It’d be premature, boss.”
“Pre- Premature?!” The editor-in-chief’s shouts got loud enough to pop eardrums. “Are you out of your mind, Doss?! Are you out of your skull?! An army of metal who-knows-whats kicks in our front door, Canterlot is going up in flames, and our demon is right smack dab in the middle of it! And you think running a story on the little blue devil is ‘premature’?!”
“Exactly.”
“…Doss, you have exactly ten-point-three seconds to tell me something I understand before you’re sent to report on yeti business in the Frozen North!”
Ever the beacon of composure, Dawn Stride reached behind and pulled a folder off of her desk. She drew five newspapers out and laid them on the counter before Bloviate. “‘Blue Demon Attacks Canterlot.’ ‘Monster Runs Loose Across Equestria.’ ‘Creature from Tartarus Escapes Custody – Royal Guards to Blame?’ ‘New Monster Terrorizes Equestria.’”
“Do you have a point besides reading off from the competition, Doss?” Bloviate barked impatiently.
Dossier waited for him to pause before she went on. “Canterlot Chronicle, Applewood Reporter, Daily Corral, Fillydelphia Gazette. From the moment our two-legged star showed up, every major paper in the country has been running the same thing: ‘Blue Monster Bad.’”
She stepped to the side of a room to where a television was set up on a round table and turned it on. The Equestria News Network was playing an intense report live from Canterlot, with footage of Egg Pawns and the Royal Guard locked in combat rolling on the screen.
“But according to sources, including our own, that army has been battling against the guards arrived in Canterlot before our alien. There was no sign of him before those giant puppets started to tear the place apart, and we have eyewitness accounts of him and the guards fighting alongside each other.” As if to make her point, a guardstallion on the TV was knocked down and almost impaled by an Egg Pawn’s lance when Sonic landed on top of it from out of nowhere, saving the stallion’s life. “Just like that.”
More of the staff stole glimpses at the two. Some watched the TV broadcast with interested focus. Bloviate still appeared less than moved. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, either our demon enjoys warzone death matches in hostile territory, or we don’t have the full story. Running what we have now would give an incomplete picture.”
“Don’t be stupid, Doss!” Bloviate marched to the TV and jabbed his hoof at the screen. “You know what that is? That is a happy accident at best, and a shallow PR attempt at worst. You think it’s any coincidence that all these freaks showed up at the same time? I don’t care who got here a couple hours earlier, the only thing that matters is what’s going on now! And right now, Splash also has it on good authority that demon boy and the invader’s head honcho were chatting it up in broad daylight. I’m telling you, they are all in this together!”
“There’s no proof of that, sir,” Dossier challenged.
“There’s all the proof we need! And every minute we don’t spend capitalizing on that is a minute the ponies of Equestria go without knowing truth about these menaces! Trust me when I tell you that freaks like these are all cut from the same cloth!” He took a swig of his coffee. “Our boys in gold are out there fighting for their lives, and you wanna hold back on the thing that started all their trouble to begin with!”
“Mr. Bloviate.” There was the faintest hint of edge in Dossier’s voice. “You just explained how the conversation between our ‘demon’ and the invader’s leader started. Funny you don’t recall the part of how it ended: with him saving Princess Celestia from getting shot.”
For once, Bloviate didn’t immediately fire back.
“Not only did our alien save Celestia, you, me, and everypony here just watched him save the life of another guard. That directly contradicts the crux of what every news organization has claimed about him so far. We who provide Equestria with its information have a responsibility to make sure that information is accurate. More than anything, we have a duty to avoid the two most crippling flaws of our industry: sensationalism and laziness. Jumping on the blue menace bandwagon would be easy. Taking a dive for sales and ratings would be easy.” Dossier’s hoof extended to the newspapers on the counter. “But judging from what’s happening right now, there’s the very real possibility it would be as misplaced, and ultimately, inaccurate as every headline I read off.”
She paused, letting her words settle before she dropped her final point. “Do you want us to be remembered as just another set of chumps who got it wrong by jumping the gun?”
The entire office was dead silent. Bloviate looked like he was fuming in place. At some point, he said, “You’ve got one hour. One! If you and Splash don’t bring me something that’ll hold the top spot for a whole month, it’s gonna be both your flanks!”
Dossier rolled her eyes when he turned his back. “You’re truly generous, Mr. B.”
The other office ponies gradually stopped their gaping and eased back into their work. Wallflower, standing nearby, carefully slinked over. “Um…. Wow. That was… something.”
Dossier’s lip curved up. “My lawyer mother would always say there are three sides to every story: your opinion, the other guy’s opinion, and the truth. Your opinion should always try to match the truth.”
“Maybe… but now you’re on the hook if the truth doesn’t end up being what you think. Is it smart to take that risk?”
“There’s nothing to risk,” Dossier said evenly. “I’m sure there’s more to this whole thing.”
Wallflower pursed her lip. “What makes you so sure?”
“Reporter’s instinct. You pick it up over time.” Dossier gazed back at the TV. “We’ll see if they were right soon enough.”
Wallflower joined her in watching the war playing out on screen. “I hope they are for your sake, Dossier.”
==============
3:32 PM
Canterlot
==============
Gunfire, explosions, and colored streaks played across the holotable’s display as the Equestrians watched the battle unfold. More and more nearby guards flocked to the command center to see. Some pegasi flew up to try and get a view from the sky.
“Unreal,” a Mystic mare whispered. “This is totally unreal…”
“Shouldn’t we be in there too?” a pegasus stallion asked.
Night Flare raised an eyebrow at him. “You honestly think we could keep up with them?”
“…Fair point.”
The Ponyville residents watched with rapt attention. “My word…” Rarity muttered.
Applejack leaned her head sideways to Pinkie Pie. “This it, Pinkie? That there doozie you were talkin’ about?”
Pinkie put her hoof to her chin. “Hmm…” Another wave of powerful shudders shook her. “Nope, not it.”
If Twilight’s mouth would have gaped open any wider, she could have swallowed a Parasprite. “This… isn’t the doozie? What in all of creation could be doozier than THIS?!”
Spike gulped. “Why do I have a sinking feeling we’re gonna find out sooner than later?”
Luna stepped away from the table, peering out at the Egg Balloon. “The fiend’s airship still flies. We can use the remaining Aerial units to—”
“No,” Celestia interrupted firmly.
Luna blinked. Had she misheard? “…‘No’? What do you mean ‘no’?”
“No other guards are to engage the enemy,” the older alicorn affirmed. “We will let our stranger face them on his own terms from here forward.”
Everpony stared at Celestia. Luna looked at her older sister as if she had lost her mind. “Of all the… Do you understand what you’re saying, Celestia?!”
“What I now understand is that this goes far beyond us.”
Twilight blinked, frowning. “What do you mean, Princess?”
Celestia watched the eight lines of movement rip by the holoscreen’s projection before she answered. “This blue stranger knew what this ‘Eggman’ was capable of. What he intended for us. It’s clear to me now that the battle playing out before our eyes is only a small part of a war that’s raged longer than any of us could know. Time and again we’ve tried to intervene, and each attempt has ended with our ponies hurt and the problem no closer to being solved. Let us interfere no longer.”
Looks of varying uncertainty were shared among the other Equestrians. Of them all, Luna showed the most discontent. “You would truly have us sit by and do nothing, Celestia?”
“We have done our part, Luna. The citizens are safe and most of the invading army has been defeated. Now we allow fate to play its hand.” Her face adopted an unreadable look. Let them fight.”
Sonic flew through the streets like a rocket. The Shadow Androids burned after him on their hover shoes, the three yellows closing in at his sides and rear.
Sonic eyed them. These bots were fast. But he was willing to bet he was faster. Smirking, he pulled ahead of them with a burst of speed.
The units registered their target escaping and employed countermeasures. The orange and green Androids leaped from the rooftops, locked onto their target and fired a set of missiles. Sonic continued racing down Baroque Street as the projectiles closed. The road ahead split into two diversions, a row of structures lining the two-way path.
Sonic saw his chance. He jumped towards the wall, bouncing back the opposite way and using the one of the missiles like a springboard to keep going. As he curled and spun, the explosion behind him blowing him forward with added momentum, and he threw axe kick at the foremost android that dropped like a sledgehammer.
The Android raised its arms in an X, catching the heavy blow, and Sonic backflipped away. He sensed movement from behind as he landed; he reacted, swiping with a backfist. The second Yellow caught it and squeezed tight, restraining him for the split second it took for the third to drive its knee into his gut.
The blow drove the air from Sonic’s lungs. His assailant stepped out of the way for Yellow #1 to crack him across the jaw with a left hook. The grip on his hand released; a diving kick sent him screaming away. He didn’t feel solid ground again until he crashed through a brick wall.
Two seconds later, he came roaring back faster than any of the Yellows could react and slammed his knee into one’s eye. The force took it off its feet and it went skittering across the ground.
Sonic swung a roundhouse kick at Yellow #2’s head; it ducked and darted back. Yellow #3 burst in with a haymaker; Sonic blocked it. A fierce exchange of parried blows too quick for normal eyes followed. The Android leaped over a hook kick and backflipped away. Sonic didn’t get to press attack; the blue and pink gunners descended and opened fire, forcing him zigzag around a stream of bullets.
The green one suddenly dropped in from behind, bashing the blue hedgehog over the head with its heavy cannon arm. Sonic’s face almost hit the concrete, but he rolled with the impact, ending in a crouch. Green leveled its cannon at him. He instinctively jumped away; it didn’t fire. Only followed him with its soulless red eyes.
Sonic didn’t understand until a cold hand grabbed him his neck from behind, suspending him off the ground. Before he could think to react, two Yellows were all over him. His ribs, his chest, his jaw. Multiple blows rained down on him in the blink of an eye. He felt a grip around his ankle, the sensation of flying through the air, and the painful crack of another wall that brought him to a stop.
Sonic opened his eyes, groaning. The Yellows approached slowly. He noticed the middle one’s left eye was marred by an ugly crack that sparked randomly. Must have been the one he hit before. He pulled himself out of the side of the Equestrian barracks, shaking off the dust.
He had to admit, these Androids were tough. They could take a hit and give it back just as hard. Their tactics had cunning beyond any ordinary Badnik. And their coordinated movements seemed overwhelming.
‘This is gonna be tougher than I thought…’
Orange and Green leveled their cannon arms at him; alarm spurred knee-jerk movement. He hurtled out of the way before missiles consumed the entire barracks in a surge of flame. Rubble and Equestrian armament was thrown in all directions, and a thick plume of smoke spread over the nearby area. The yellow trio spread out and advanced, surveying for their target.
Sonic appeared from the cloud behind one of them, holding a Royal Guard’s sword and ready to take off the Android’s head. ‘You’re mine!’
The blade sliced through the air, but the Android ducked in a flash, dodging the strike.
A kick drove into Sonic’s ribs before he could vocalize his surprise. It sent him sprawling, hard cobble scraping his side. Catching himself and snapping to his feet, Sonic stared at the robot.
‘How in Chaos’ name did he dodge that?! I know he didn’t see me coming!’
His ears caught a sound; racing footsteps. From the left came the scarred Yellow #1, sweeping a kick at his feet. Sonic jumped over and it took a reverse-handed grip on the sword, ready to pin the doppelganger to the floor. A Spin Attack from the Yellow #3 caught him in the back before he could. Pain shot him and again he was spent sliding across the ground, dropping the sword. A boot kicked him hard in the side and he went rolling all the way to the next intersection.
Cringing, gripping his tender ribs, Sonic struggled to right himself. His face lifted to the three black and yellow assailants. Something was wrong. They weren’t just fierce fighters, it was more than that. Their attacks were synchronized. Almost simultaneous. But how?
As he raised his head, a glint of light caught his eye. He squinted in its direction.
Then he saw it. The orange and silver android stood fifteen yards away, watching him.
A set of buildings imploded into dust and the Egg Gila emerged in front of him, a block’s distance away. “Oh, did I not mention the Shadow Androids’ linked photoreceptive matrix?” Eggman’s voice gloated through the Gila’s intercom. “Their field of vision is connected and shared. What one sees, all of them can see. Sneak attacks won’t work as long as even one spots you in time.”
Sonic hissed his teeth. “Terrific…”
Yellow #1 bulled towards him. As Sonic raised his guard, it vaulted over him, Yellow #2 filling the empty space in a flash. He could barely guard the hard right punch. Another low kick from #1 swept out his back foot, and a back kick from #3 took him off the ground and sent him colliding into a street light hard enough to break it. His knees met concrete a moment before glass bulbs shattered against it.
Pure instinct made him lift his head. He saw the blue Android in time to throw himself sideways, out of the way of its automatic gunfire. He rolled, bullets missing him by inches. Missiles fired. His legs reacted. Fire consumed the block.
With ground-shaking steps, the Egg Gila came through the column of smoke and flame, an unnatural shriek bellowing from its mouth as went after the hedgehog, now fifty feet from where the blast had been.
As quick as he could, Sonic ran and leaped to side of a nearby building, bounding off and sailing overhead, high enough to avoid the Gila’s charge. But as he bounced off its back, its long tail cracked like a whip. He was sent flying through several buildings.
The Equestrians collectively gasped and cringed as they watched what happened.
“Ooh…” Pinkie moaned. “That really looked like it hurt.”
Rarity held a hoof to her lips. “It’s over…”
“Hold on!” Spike protested desperately. “We don’t know that!”
Celestia subtly chewed her lip. She swung to Dawn Stride. “Find out, Commander.”
Obeying, Dawn Stride shifted the scrying spell. The image of the Egg Gila melted away, replaced by a view of the inside of some ramshackle building. Sonic lay on his back, half covered in what looked like ruined remains of costumes. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t moving. For a moment, the Equestrians feared the worst.
“Wait!” said Night Flare, pointing. “Look.”
Sonic’s body twitched. His eyes opened, and he slowly lifted himself off the ground.
“I’ll give the hedgehog this,” Spitfire half laughed, “he can take one hell of a beating.”
Twilight gulped. “But will that be enough to stop those things?”
“Okay… at what point… did I lose control here?” Sonic thought out loud, sitting up gingerly. His… everything hurt. His back was the worst. And there was a ringing in his ear.
“Up and at ‘em, Sonic… Day’s not gonna save itself.” Ignoring his body’s complaints, he pushed off the floor and to his feet, checking himself over. “Nothing missing… nothing broken, somehow… and not seeing any stars. Just a whole lot of ‘ouch.’ Small mercies.”
He walked to his entry point and peered outside. He’d landed in a second story of a big building. Judging from the big purple marquee out front, it was some kind of theater.
No sooner did Sonic hop down from the broken-open second floor did the Shadow Androids appear before him, Yellows on ground level, the four silver ones on the opposite roof. Grumbling something not-so-family-friendly, he slowly to the left. He moved cautiously, hoping not to trigger the next attack just yet.
Behind him, Eggman’s mechanical lizard turned the block corner, cutting off his escape. “You’re looking a bit ruffled, friend,” came the doctor’s contemptuous voice. “And here I thought this might still be a challenge.”
Sonic half turned to the Gila, spitting on the ground. “Don’t let the bruises fool you, Eggman. I’m just getting warmed up.”
The Shadow Androids moved in, darting along the narrow part of the road overlooked by the purple canopy—right where Sonic wanted them. He shot up, moving as a streak of light, bouncing from the left wall to theater marquee and back down at the Yellow on the right. His flying kick sent it careening into the forward-standing doppelganger.
Yellow #1 lunged, intending to drive its fist through the hedgehog’s head. An instant later it stood motionless, arm outstretched, its target gone.
It whipped around. Sonic stood several feet behind, arms crossed with a confident smile. The scarred Android shot forward to attack. Again, Sonic disappeared a moment before its punch made contact. It kicked for his head; Sonic caught it.
“So, Eggman built you guys to be as tough as Shadow, huh?” He spun like a top, twirling the robot a dozen times in a second and hurling it through the air at the pink gunner perched above. “Good thing I’ve got the edge in speed.”
Pink ducked out the way and sprang from the roof, gunfire hammering out. Sonic dodged backwards through an alley and escaped.
“After him!” Eggman shouted.
All four silver Androids pursued. Emerging onto the next street, there was no sight of their target. They stalked the block, searching. Hunting.
Pink passed the front door of another establishment. The door exploded; a blue comet careened into Pink, putting it through the wall on the other street side.
Blue whirled and let bullets fly. They followed the target’s dash into a store, punching through windows and walls. Orange and Green held forth their blasters and blew the shop apart with a triple shot of missiles. They approached the burning heap, before abruptly leaping away to dodge a blue Homing Attack from above.
Sonic hissed his teeth, running for cover as bullets from Blue and the recovered Pink chased him. One of them must have seen him coming from the second floor. He zoomed up the walls, catching the edge of a balcony, flipping to the ledge and jumping. Gunfire nipped at his heels every step of the way. He landed on the roof; the gunner Androids joined him seconds later, firing after him in a bounding chase across rooftops.
Then the green Android appeared ahead of him, buoyed by its propulsion shoes, and fired.
“Ah!” Instinctively, Sonic ducked into a ball. the rocket passing a mere foot over him. Pink and Blue had to weave around the ensuing blast, and Sonic’s spinning form careened into Green, sending it to the ground while he smashed through the windowpane of another establishment.
In moments, the gunners dropped down in front of the café and unloaded their guns into it. Bullets sprayed across every veritable inch of the place. Tables, chairs, walls, display cases, even the hanging shingle adorned with a heart-stamped teacup was shredded apart.
When the pair finally seemed satisfied, they ceased fire and stepped into the shop, guns held ready. Their metal boots stepped over broken glass, behind the register, over the small floor rug as they hunted for Sonic. But they found nothing. Calculating that he might have escaped through a back entrance, they quickly made their way out.
After they were gone, the small rug lifted up and turned over as a trap door flipped open from beneath it. Sonic poked his head out from the small cellar, breathing a sigh of relief. “Lost ‘em.” He lifted himself out, staying low and scanning the outside street. None of the Androids appeared to be nearby.
And then it suddenly got a lot darker outside. He noticed a fast-moving shadow zip across the sidewalk.
“…Nertz.”
The Egg Gila crashed down head-first through the tea shop, completely flattening the entire building, everything in it, and two more adjacent structures as the momentum from its running leap made it to slide. A sweep of its claw and tail destroyed another set of stores for good measure.
From the cockpit, Eggman surveyed the wreckage for a body. He spotted the hedgehog against collapsed against the side of a wrecked wall. He wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or not. “You’re looking tired, hedgehog,” he jeered. His mech stalked towards Sonic, snarling balefully.
Sonic pushed himself up with a deep breath. “Just need… a second to catch my breath.”
“Hold still. You’ll never have to take another!”
Another giant steel claw came crashing down, missing Sonic as he jumped. Landing on the Gila’s leg, he darted up its body to the head.
“Maybe I’ve been aiming at the wrong bot!” It took him one second to land several Homing Attacks on the Egg Gila’s shielded canopy, rattling Eggman. To the villain’s horror, the reinforced glass cracked.
“Annoying little gnat!” Eggman grabbed a lever and twisted. The Gila immediately went into a roll, destroying another two blocks worth of structures.
This time, the doctor sincerely hoped Sonic would be crushed underneath.
More and more royal guards gathered to balconies and edges of the castle. They stared out at the raging metal behemoth and the destruction left in its wake in awe and terror. Those watching the crisp projection at the holotable looked just as grim.
“Our beautiful city…” Luna said in a despondent whisper.
“Will Canterlot even survive this?” one of the officers asked aloud.
The only one who seemed unaffected was Pinkie Pie. Inexplicably dressed in a cheerleading outfit, she danced and shook her pom-poms as the image of Sonic trading blows with two of the Shadow Androids played in the scrying spell. “Rock ‘em, sock ‘em, knock ‘em mean! Smash those bots to smithereens!”
Everyone looked at her, probably asking themselves if the she was touched in the head.
“You can’t think of a single more productive thing to do right now?!” Shining Armor asked fiercely.
Pinkie gave him an odd look. “Can you?”
Shining opened his mouth and raised his hoof like he was about to retort. But as he thought about it, no answer came. He closed his mouth, rubbed his chin in thought, then huffed. “You win this round…”
Pinkie pumped her hoof in victory.
The battle between the eight hedgehogs grew more intense with each second. Every blow and counterblow was responded in turn. Flesh and metal blazed at almost invisible speeds.
Eventually, the momentum began to shift.
Through the exchanges, Sonic realized the Shadow Androids had a flaw. As deadly as they were in close combat, they were still machines. And like nearly all Eggman’s machines, they had sequences. Patterns. And Sonic had started to pick up on theirs.
Initial attacks from the Yellows almost always began in the same way. Fierce frontal barrages from the first, followed by a calculated trip or knockdown by the second meant to break his footing; both diversions meant to open him up for the third to strike him from behind or at an exposed flank. By slipping from one side to the other, keeping the doppelgangers in front of him, and occasionally flipping over their heads, he could put the fight on his terms instead of theirs. Fight them in turn rather than all at once.
The Yellows also had another tell. They’d flip or jump backwards to give their gunner counterparts room to shoot at him without getting caught in the crossfire. By timing his movements with their own, he would know when to break off his attacks and evade. The bullets and missiles were getting easier to dodge.
It wasn’t perfect. Every so often they did something unexpected to throw him off. More than once he’d almost gotten shot, and he still hadn’t manage to get another solid hit on any of the Yellows since breaking the first one’s eye. But he was getting closer. He could feel it. He just had to keep playing it smart. Anticipate and disrupt their patterns. Use their strength against them.
As he vaulted over a kick from Yellow #2, kicked off its head, and shot forward with another Homing Attack that laid out Orange, a suspicion in his mind was confirmed. However Eggman had designed these Androids, the silver shooters were far more prone to physical attacks. Maybe they lacked the same close combat programming as the Yellows. Their response to offense was only to get distance and shoot more, always needing backup when facing him alone.
One that Blue wouldn’t have.
He’d gotten out sight again; waited behind the wall of a blown out shop as they searched. When the blue gunner wandered too close, he jumped out and seizing it from behind in a hold, tying its left arm behind its back and wrapping his free limb around its gun arm. It struggled and pulled and tried to hit him however it could, but Sonic held fast.
Blue sprayed more bullets in desperation—just as Sonic wanted. With his body weight and arms he redirected the gunfire at the other incoming Androids, forcing them to duck and flip to avoid being shot. Then he jumped up, the Blue still in his grip, spinning several times in midair, releasing and hurling it away before he touched back down. It crashed somewhere behind him.
Sonic glanced back to check if Blue was down when he noticed the wall in front of him take on a odd bluish shine—indicative of a strong source of light to his back.
Without even turning to perceive the danger, Sonic threw himself to the right just quick enough to miss the laser that vaporized the ground he’d stood on. It continued on through the wall and half-a-dozen streets worth of buildings. A deafening blast and fireball rising up in Canterlot’s lower section punctuated the attack.
Swinging around, Sonic saw the Egg Gila facing him. Smoke leaked from between its bared teeth. “Hmph, there must be a few glitches in the mainframe,” Eggman growled. “That should have taken 3.2 less seconds to fire.”
Sonic rose, dusting off his shoulder. “A bad craftsman always blames his tools. And yes, that includes tools of destruction.”
There was an odd moment of pause before Eggman responded. “Oh… so you need something better, do you?”
Something about the doctor’s tone gave Sonic a sinking feeling in his stomach.
“Well, if that wasn’t enough for you…” Eggman raised lifted his right hand, holding up familiar cyan gem. Sonic’s breath caught in his throat. A Chaos Emerald! “Let’s kick things up a notch.”
Eggman pulled a lever on the underside of the control panel. A square space on the console opened up, revealing a new slot. He pressed the Chaos Emerald into it
The Egg Gila roared, shifting its position until its head and tail lined up directly with its spine. Locks on the back of each foot dug into the ground to brace it. Its jaws opened and a barrel extended from its mouth, and three pointed poles extended from each side of its head, almost giving the impression of a frill. As the engines whined, particles of light began to collect around the barrel’s tip.
As the scene played out, looks of confusion spread among the ponies gathered around the holotable. Questions of what this was and what the metal monster was doing spread among them. No one seemed to have an answer.
But Spike had an entirely different reaction. The little dragon was hunched over, shuddering uncontrollably. “Twilight…!”
Everypony looked concerned at the little dragon. Rarity rubbed her hoof across his back, trying to soothe his sudden ailment. Twilight was at his side in a moment. “Spike? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know!” His voice was high and tight. “It feels like I’m standing on top of a speaker turned up to eleven! What’s happening?!”
Celestia leaned her head in at the projection of the Egg Gila’s head, squinting. “It must be that strange glow. What kind of power is that…?” It wasn’t until she glanced at Dawn Stride that she began to fear.
The steadfast, professional commander of the Mystics looked horrified. “No… He can’t… That’s way too much energy! It’s enough to send all of Canterlot tumbling off the mountain!”
Everyone gasped.
“He couldn’t!” Rarity squeaked. “He wouldn’t! …Would he?”
Rainbow Dash whipped around and flew up into the air. Holding her hoof above her eyes, she stared out at the white light near the Egg Gila’s head, watching it grow brighter and brighter. She saw the electric crackles around the monster’s mouth. She had unsettling flashbacks to the previous night.
Even so, she barely believed what Dawn Stride had claimed. She had to be exaggerating. “There’s no way… right?”
Sonic ran.
He uttered no words. Not one more joke or wisecrack escaped his lips. For the first time since he got to Canterlot, he was devoid of humor.
He just moved. Past broken and leveled edifices. Up the sides of homes. Across roofs and up further still to the top of the tallest structure he could find. From here, he could see the eastern edge of Canterlot less than a quarter mile away. The rolling green hills of the surrounding landscape stretched out before his eyes.
He turned back to face Eggman’s monstrosity. Whatever damage this new weapon could do, he could at least divert it away from the city from here. Ignoring the quick beats of his heart, he sank into a ready stance, and waited.
Seconds that seemed to last eternity ticked by. Bolts of power crackled between the support extensions on the Gila’s neck. The light from the charging weapon grew so bright that it resembled a star.
Inside the cockpit, the control chimed and an electronic voice spoke. “Power laser energy level: 100%.”
Malicious intent lit Eggman’s face. “Get a load of this.” He pressed another button and the cannon fired.
Ponies would go on to describe the event with an array of colorful metaphors. A glow brighter than the sun. A ghastly pulsating radiance. A star of historic power, among others. One expert called it a light that bored its way into you. A sight seen with more than the eye, that stayed in your vision long after it passed.
It would live in infamy. The day the very foundations of Equestria itself were rocked to the core.
From her place in the air over the palace, Rainbow Dash had a perfect view as the white stream of power spewed from the Egg Gila’s Mouth. She watched as the beam streaked over Canterlot, bathing the entire city in light. It vaporized the targeted building and continued out over the city’s eastern edge. Only when it was more than a mile clear of the cliff edge did it curve downward and make impact in the forest below.
No scrying spell was needed to observe what followed.
The explosion could be seen for miles. The fierce light more blinding than the laser itself forced Rainbow Dash to cover her eyes. Seconds later, a shockwave ripped through the city. The terrible sound eclipsed any thunder crack, blowing Rainbow through the air. She tumbled head over hooves, screaming. She hardly perceived the hard thud of flesh on flesh.
It was like the end of the world.
When the ground stopped shaking and the dust finally settled, Rainbow perceived sounds of distress and pain. She opened her eyes and saw a stallion she didn’t know lying on the ground in front of her. Maybe the pony the shockwave had thrown her into, maybe not. She saw her friends and other guards strewn across the platform, struggling to get up.
A voice spoke out. It was Luna’s. “Is… Is everypony okay?”
Spike was on his back, claws held to both sides of his head. “My ears aren’t…”
Pushing up to her hooves, Rainbow looked around. The castle interior was in shambles. Walls were cracked. Windows were shattered. Dust and scattered objects littered the floor. Everything else had suffered extensive damage.
Seeing her friends were at okay, Rainbow checked back over to where that beam had landed. Her mouth fell open and she stared out city edge in abject horror.
Celestia’s voice came as stunned whisper. “By the Elders…”
Miles upon miles of the landscape outside of Canterlot had been destroyed. An entire swath of green forest was now nothing more than charred field. Hills no longer existed, completely flattened. On the peripheral edges of the blast area, skeletal trees burned with intense flames.
“No… way…” For once, even Rainbow Dash was lost for words.
Fluttershy was in pieces. “The forest… All those animals…” She slumped to the floor, her eyes brimming with tears. “G-Gone…!”
“Commander Gale Force! Aerial squads to the blast zone!” Celestia’s impassioned voice jolted everypony to attention. “Put out the fires before they spread!”
Gale Force took a moment to come out of the shock, but found her nerve. “Y-Yes, ma’am!” Cuing into her helm, Dawn Stride called for three platoons of her division, taking off to join in the effort.
That done, Celestia pivoted to Dawn Stride. “Damage report?”
Dawn Stride gulped and expanded the holotable’s view of Canterlot. “It… doesn’t look like there’s any. The shockwave shook things up, but that’s about all.”
“Just got word on the troops underground,” Shining Armor spoke up. “Scared the citizens something fierce, but nopony is hurt. The shields still hold.”
Applejack swallowed hard. “So, uh… what happens the next time that thing goes off?”
Sonic was splayed across another roof several blocks away. Propped up on his elbows, he stared out at the burning aftermath, a hollow look on his face. “Eggman… what have you done?”
He heard the earth-shaking stomp that signaled the Egg Gila’s approach. Hesitation burned away; his eyes flashed angrily. Springing up, he whipped around towards the approaching mech, leaping from the roof to the street. His gaze stayed firmly on the round cockpit in the center of its head. It stopped at a hundred yards, and the Shadow Androids took position on the structures around it.
“Lucky dodge, hedgehog,” Eggman said from inside the Gila. “But I assure you, your luck is about to run out.” His fingers ran over a few buttons, restarting the targeting system. “The rest of the Chaos Emeralds might be lost for the time being, but I’ll only need one to finish you.”
The Egg Gila howled. The engines of its primary weapon began to whine.
Sonic stood his ground. “You’re wasting your time, Eggman. You couldn’t even hit me with that thing when I had my back turned. That gun might be big, but it’s way too slow.”
Eggman pushed up his glasses. “Perhaps…” His eyes shifted, and an unnerving smile spread across his face. “But I don’t believe that matters at the moment. Take a look behind you.”
Sonic frowned and looked over his shoulder. His blood went cold.
About eighty feet away, there was a half-collapsed storefront. He could see the shapes of panicked ponies inside, banging on the one visible window, before more rubble fell and blocked it.
“You can avoid this next attack if you want,” said Eggman, “but if you do, those little equines there will be reduced to atoms.”
Sonic’s glared at Eggman, his fist squeezing so hard his knuckles popped. “Why, you rotten piece of…!”
Eggman drew himself erect with a haughty air. “I told Celestia that if she stood in my way, I would return her kingdom to the dirt. Prepare yourself to join them.”
The Egg Gila’s jaws again opened again and it began to charge.
Sonic’s mind raced. Not enough time to get them all out of there before it fired. Looked around frantically, he spied the blue and yellow uniforms Wonderbolts hanging in the air.
“HEY!” He jumped up and down, waving his arms. That seemed to get their attention. “Get them out of there! Now!” he shouted, pointing at the toppled building.
The Wonderbolts seemed to get the message. Within seconds they were jetting down towards the trapped ponies. Knowing they now had help, Sonic turned back to the Egg Gila. Particles of light were gathering around the end of its cannon.
He weighed his options. Drawing Eggman’s attention elsewhere probably wouldn’t work, not with those Shadow Androids waiting in the wings. Even without them, it wouldn’t matter. Eggman would see right through the bait. Maybe even vaporize them anyway, just to spite him.
He had no choice. He had to face the next shot head on. And there was only one move in his arsenal that would give him the slimmest chance of surviving. He just hoped it would still work all the way in another dimension.
Crouching and balling himself up, Sonic went into a rapid Spin Dash. But this time, he didn’t release it; he kept spinning round and round. Smalls orbs of cyan light began materializing in the air around him and coalescing into him.
Eggman looked at the cannon’s reading. Power laser energy level: 68%.
Spitfire heaved away another piece of rock out of the way. Her team was worked fast, finally clearing enough debris to form a small opening out of the flattened building. The only thing that could reach through the crack was the small, grasping foreleg of a young foal.
“Come on, boys!” Fleetfoot shouted. “Push!” Her, Fire Streak and Silver Zoom finally succeeded in pushing a large slab enough for one of the ponies inside to slip through. A filly with a bright orange mane and flowing, white and tangelo hair squeezed through the thin opening right before another mass of debris caved in, blocking off the moments-old escape.
“Dammit!” Fleetfoot swore.
Soarin heaved up another big stone and tossed it away. “We’ve gotta keep digging!”
Realizing the futility, Spitfire tuned her headset. “Spitfire to command! We’ve got ponies trapped under a collapsed store, and we’re staring down the end of that dragon-looking thing’s cannon! We can’t get all this stuff away before it fires again! We need help! Now!”
Tense moments of struggle passed before a spark of light answered their call. Celestia stood before them. “And you shall have it.”
With casual ease she lifted the near ton of crumbled stone and wood with her magic, clearing way for the ponies inside. Among the first to scramble out were a weeping Floribunda and terrified Honey Sweet, followed by Able, Fable and Gable. Next came a distressed Silver Frames, a dirt-covered Citrus Blush, and a panicked North Point.
High Winds counted as they came. “Seven, eight, nine… is that everypony?”
“Wait!” cried Citrus Blush. “Where’s Cayenne?!”
“I’m here!” a final voice called. A yellow-coated unicorn with a tangelo mane came out, limping badly. One of her hind legs looked severely swollen. “Augh… my leg…”
Fortunately, Celestia was on the job. She lowered her horn and cast a healing spell.
Sonic’s rotating form was now entirely bathed in light, the energy of the gathering orbs reaching their zenith.
Eggman observed from the Gila’s cockpit. “So, meeting me head-to-head to give the ungulates time to escape, eh Sonic?” He shook his head. “A stratagem as predictable as it is pointless. You’d have more success stopping a water cannon with a mesh door. But if you think you can block the raw power of a Chaos Emerald alone, you’re more than welcome to try!”
Power laser energy level: 93%.
At last Sonic came out of the spin, shining from head to toe in a teal light. He raised his head to the Egg Gila without a trace of fear.
Energy level: 98%
Eggman held his hand over the trigger, fingers twitching with anticipation. “And now, my favorite part of the game…”
Sonic took an angle half step back, readying himself. “Ready…”
100%
“Sudden death!”
“Go!”
Two streams of light blasted toward each other. The collision sent twisting bolts of energy in all directions.
Only when her subjects wound was healed did Celestia look back towards the two bright flashes, watching the clash with the same awed trepidation as her subjects.
“Oh, your Majesty,” Cayenne said with relief, “you have my eternal thanks!”
Celestia’s eyes didn’t turn from the clash. “Your gratitude may be misplaced, my little pony.” Without another word, she teleported them all away.
Twilight and her friends didn’t even acknowledge when Celestia, the Wonderbolts, and the rescued ponies zapped in behind them. Their eyes were glued to Dawn Stride’s display.
Sonic had taken the Egg Gila’s power laser head-on. His legs were a blur. He held his arms out in an X shape, guarding himself. The strange aura that surrounded his body appeared to have saved him from instant incineration.
“Holy crap…” Night Flare uttered. “That attack blew up half the forest, and he stopped it with his bare paws.”
Applejack gulped. “Anypony else feeling a might bit out of their league right now?”
No one answered. Not until Twilight uttered something in a horrified voice. “He’s being pushed back…”
Sure enough, Sonic began to lose ground. He slid further and further backwards under the laser’s force. Strain was plain across his face.
“That thing’s too strong!” Spike exclaimed. “He can’t hold it back much longer!” He swung to Twilight. “Twilight, we have to do something!”
The six heroines stared at him.
“Darling,” Rarity began, “I understand, really… but what are we supposed to do against that?”
Twilight looked around frantically before her eyes settled on the necklace around Rarity’s neck. “The Elements…” She looked at the hologram, racking her brain. “Maybe… Maybe we can use them to protect him! If we act fast, we might be able to stop that beam.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash blurted. “You wanna use the Elements of Harmony to help that thing?! Have you lost it?!”
Celestia raised a hoof. “Even Luna and I may not be able to stop a blast that size from harming the city.” There was a subtle urgency in her voice. “Assisting him may be our best chance at defeating that beast.”
Rainbow Dash was unconvinced. “And then what, Princess? Even if he does beat that egg creep, what’s to stop him from coming after us as soon he’s finished? We’d just be making it easier for him!”
“I agree wholeheartedly with Miss Dash,” Vainglory said. “Handing over our most powerful means of defense to a disreputable cretin? It’s madness.”
Rarity pursed her lip. “Rainbow Dash does raise a valid point…”
“Would you open your eyes?!” Spike’s sudden outburst surprised them all. “He helped us! He’s still helping us! He came all the way back here just to keep that maniac from hurting us! He even helped us take down that giant thing with the hammer! I don’t care what kind of demon everypony’s calling him, he’s out there fighting for all of our lives right now! We can’t just let him die like this, we’ve gotta save him!”
The little dragon seemed close to tears. Rainbow and Rarity recoiled and a silence fell over the group. Then Applejack stepped forward and broke it.
“It’s true… I saw it with my own two eyes. Us, the guards, we were all taking a lickin’ from that there hammer giant. We wouldn’t have beaten it if it weren’t for the blue fella telling Twilight how. And y’all saw him save us and Celestia at the start of all this.” She took of her hat, a reflective look in her eye. “Maybe… we all got the wrong idea about our so-called Blue Demon.’”
“He wasn’t mean when I saw him either,” Pinkie Pie added. “Doesn’t seem like a bad guy to me.”
Rainbow threw her hooves into the air. “Oh, come on! So we’re supposed to just hand the strongest magic in Equestria to him and hope for the best?!”
“If that blast goes through, it won’t just incinerate him,” Dawn Stride emphasized. “Whatever’s left of Canterlot will take its final resting place at the bottom of the mountain. Thousands will die.” Her gaze swept the rest of the group. “Including most of us.”
Several ponies swallowed hard.
Gatekeeper’s rich voice spoke up. “When you’re surrounded by fighting, sometimes you have to choose sides. From everything I’ve witnessed, I will gladly take the Blue Demon over this Dr. Eggman.”
“We don’t have to give him the Elements’ magic,” Twilight said after a moment, more to Rainbow than anyone else. “All we have to do is protect him and Canterlot from that blast, then let him finish the rest of the fight.”
The other heroines seemed adequately convinced. All eyes turned on Rainbow Dash, the last holdout. She had a look of consummate displeasure, but the writing was on the wall. Choosing a spot in the corner to glare at, she muttered a response. “…Fine.”
Sonic pushed with every ounce of strength he had. But he was fighting a losing battle against a weapon channeling the near limitless power of a Chaos Emerald. He’d done the only thing he could think of to save those ponies. But now, it didn’t even look like he’d be able to save himself.
His aura was giving out under the cannon’s unstoppable force. His gloves began to shred and burn, his arms singing and bleeding.
“Ah… No good…!”
Eggman leaned over the image on his screen, his face screwed up in malevolent delight. The day he had long waited for was here. The hedgehog would die, by his own two hands, right here in front of him.
“You lose, hedgehog!”
Twilight glanced over both her shoulders to her friends, all of them gathering in a row on the balcony’s edge. “Is everypony ready?”
“Ready Freddy!” chirped Pinkie Pie.
Applejack tensed her shoulders. “All set, sugarcube.”
“Ready…” Fluttershy murmured.
“Go ahead, darling,” said Rarity.
Rainbow Dash snorted unenthusiastically. “Let’s get this over with…”
Twilight turned her focused to the bright light in the center of the city. “Then let’s do this!” She shut her eyes and called on her magic, reaching out with her mind to tap into the Elements’ power.
One by one they each levitated off the ground, the gems within their necklaces and crown glowing radiantly. Reaching a critical level of concentration, Twilight's eyes lit up with pure magical power, and a blast reminiscent of a sonic rainboom erupted from the gathered ponies. The rainbow beam of energy arced into the sky and dove down into the middle of Canterlot, straight to Sonic.
Sonic opened his eyes as a strange came over him. An odd flux of color looped around his body. “What… is this?” The pounding in his heart began to slow. A small shine came to his pupils. He felt his pain and stress lessen. These bands of light… they were cool. Soothing.
He didn’t understand what was happening. He was still locked in a life-and-death battle, and he was definitely a lot closer to the latter than the former. Yet as this strange energy flowed through him, none of that seemed to matter.
He felt… calm. Refreshed. At peace.
The Gila’s power laser warped and crackled. Without warning, the energy shot upwards in a dramatic burst, a column of white light extending upwards into infinity
Eggman reeled back from the explosion’s light. His genius engine of destruction even impressed himself. “I did it! At long last! The hedgehog is no more!”
A ping of his control board interrupted his celebrating. “Activity confirmed in blast epicenter,” the robotic voice said.
Eggman eyes bugged. “What?!” He slapped the controls, cuing the viewing screen to zoom and enhance. As the laser faded away, his mouth dropped open.
At the center of the blast zone stood Sonic. His eyes were closed, his head bowed. His left hand, raised to the sky with an open palm, slowly fell to his side. His quills appeared to stand stood more rigid than before. A crystalline aura with hues of pink and white emanated around his body. As the hedgehog stood straight, his most striking change was reavled to be in his expression. The look on his face was one of deadly seriousness, and shining silver replaced the green of his eyes.
Eggman frowned, his mind replaying recent events, calculating odds, reaching conclusions. The flash of light… there was no shockwave or fire in the aftermath. That was no explosion. The beam had been… redirected somehow?
The ponies watching through the scrying spell were completely blown away. No one had any clue what they were looking at.
“Sister…” Luna started. “This aura. Is it…?”
Celestia gave a slow, solemn nod. “The power of the Elements of Harmony. But in a form nothing I’ve seen before…”
As the six Ponyvillians returned and beheld the aftermath, Rainbow Dash wheeled on her friend. “Twilight! What did you do?!”
“I… I-I don’t know!” Twilight stammered. “This isn’t what I was trying to do at all! The Elements’ magic was only supposed shield him! But he’s absorbed it all somehow!”
Suddenly, Pinkie started spazzing in a bunch of random contortions until she finally stopped. She looked across her frame before gasping. “That’s it! This is it! That’s the doozie!”
Everypony stared at her.
“So… what does it mean?” asked Spike. “What happens now?”
No one had an answer.
Eggman's fist pounded on his pod’s control board. “I will kill you as many times as it takes! Power laser, begin energy recycle! Shadow Androids, what are you waiting for?! Kill him now!”
Sonic vanished. No blurring, no streak of blue light. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.
The green Shadow Android’s head burst apart. Alloy shell and circuitry crumpled under the force of a flying kick from Sonic, who’d appeared in their midst. He moved so fast the other Androids didn’t notice him until the husk of their brother hit the ground several yards back.
As Sonic flipped backwards off the force of his kick, the Androids moved on him. Orange was the next to attack, leveling its rocket arm and firing. Sonic hardly acknowledged it. He moved fluidly, confidently, with terrific speed, spinning around the rocket and closing on Orange. He threw a punch that Orange met with its left fist. The explosive impact removed the android’s entire arm and a chunk of its upper body.
Sonic vanished again; a Yellow android’s boot crushed into the dirt he once stood on. It snapped its head to the left, its marred eye sighting the hero ten yards across the way. Its rocket boots blazed a trail of fire as it burst after him.
When it got within two yards, Sonic moved with a godly display of speed, appearing behind it in an instant. In the next, an invisible blow drove the metal copy into the ground.
Sonic raised his hand, gazing at his right palm, then across his left arm. Perhaps he didn’t recognize himself, appraising the new power that flowed through him.
Or perhaps it was the power itself appraising its new vessel.
Yellow #1 was slow to rise. Turning to Sonic, its face was even more damaged, some of the circuitry around its busted eye now exposed.
“Remarkable,” Celestia breathed as she watched the scene.
Night Flare stepped close to the table’s edge. “Before, it was all he could to just to keep up with those things… now he dances around them and takes down two with a single blow.”
“His fighting style has completely changed,” Fotia observed. “He isn’t just faster. Nothing is wasted in his movements. I can’t even sense his transitions.”
“Indeed,” Gatekeeper echoed. “He was already an impressive warrior, but it seems the Elements’ magic has taken him to a completely different level.”
As the Equestrians looked on and murmured among themselves, Rainbow Dash remained silent. Her teeth clenched tightly. She was watching it with her own eyes, but the hedgehog’s actions felt unreal.
Who was this guy?
Yellows #2 and #3 raced across the sides of buildings, leaping down at Sonic for another attack. Sonic merely raised his hands towards them. Their punches stopped cold an inch from his palms, blocked by some invisible force. An outward flex of his fingers produced an even greater force that blew them both away.
“G-1 and G-2!” Eggman’s projected voice boomed. “Don’t just stand there! Light him up!”
The two remaining silver Androids appeared on the middling ledges of the structures around Sonic. At once, they targeted him and opened fire.
Sonic didn’t even glance at them. He calmly turned around and walked forward. The gunners’ onslaught rained down from both sides, coming within inches, but not a single round touched him. As if he could sense and anticipate every shot without thinking or fear. His gaze stayed focused on the Yellows as he walked forward through the storm of bullets, appearing not to care about the barrage. A stray bullet shot toward his face; he backhanded it away without even looking.
Eggman couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Impotent rage bubbled in him like a kettle close to boiling point. “What are you lugbrains aiming at?! Kill him! KILL THE HEDGEHOG!”
The gunners ceased their fire and all three Yellows darted in from different directions. Sonic stood motionless, fists balled and arms at his until the moment the three Androids unleashed their assault.
Then, when the first punch nearly reached his face, he moved.
The Yellows assaulted him from all fronts. Their strikes, movements, and combos were executed perfectly, yet none of their blows touched Sonic. He dodged and parried their blows with perfect ease. The Androids attempted their mixes of feints and distractions, but Sonic had answer for every lunge and strike. He glided across the battlefield as the Androids whirled around him in a cyclone of kicks and punches, appearing so relaxed that it looked like he was dancing.
A low kick swung for Sonic’s ankle; he casually lifted his foot out of the way at the same time he blocked a chop aimed at his neck. He leaned his neck to the left, letting a punch aimed for the back of his head fly harmlessly over his shoulder. His elbow slammed into that Android’s gut. As it slid back, he suddenly burst into the air, avoiding a pair of kicks from the other two. All three quickly followed him, their rocket boots letting them fly up after the hero. They came at him from every conceivable angle.
And still they could not touch him.
To the Equestrians, even with the hedgehogs’ movements clear and sharp like a high-definition plasma TV, the speed was blinding. There seemed to be dozens of strikes per second.
“Land sakes,” Applejack murmured. “They’re all so fast… its makin’ me dizzy just trying to keep track of ‘em.”
Fotia observed the combat closely, appearing to have an easier time of it than most. “His movements are so fluid… like art in motion. Before he struggled, but now he can even fight all three of those skilled doubles evenly.”
“More than evenly,” said Gatekeeper. “He’s already won.”
Several faces turned to the general, evincing confusion.
“Look closely. Every time the hedgehog avoids one of those things’ attacks, he retaliates with a faster, sharper, and more accurate blow. It’s only a matter of time before he defeats them.”
As the others watched, they began to see that Gatekeeper was indeed correct. Sonic blocked the Yellow #1 as he dodged the other two, his counterattack further marring its eye before it could get its guard up. A pivot and a kick. A duck and punch. More and more, Sonic executed his offense and defense in the same motion. The Androids could no longer keep pace.
“That’s amazing!” Spike cheered, hopping up and down. “They’re no match for him now!”
Night Flare smiled. “Like I said before, the blue guy has this covered.”
Luna was dumbfounded. “But how? He’s not even an Equestrian, let alone a pony! He is he able to channel the magic of the Elements of Harmony? Such a thing is impossible!”
Through the chattering of the others, and the continued extemporaneous dances and cheers from Pinkie Pie, few noticed Shining Armor leave his place at the the table, his face set firm with displeasure. He swiftly made his way to the closest entrance to the tunnels to prepare his unit. No matter how this fight ended, it wouldn't stop him from doing its job.
Sonic flexed himself straight and roared. A blast of power released from his entire body drove all three Yellows to the ground. Three vicious impacts sent up just as many plumes of dirt.
From atop a vantage point, Blue sighted Sonic and lined him up for a shot. The hedgehog instantly appeared right in front of it, his back to the Android. It briefly evinced surprise before the back of Sonic’s fist smashed into its face, careening it through a thick wall.
Sonic looked over his shoulder and saw the trio of Yellows charging. He thrust out his fist and a pressurized blast of air fired out. The shockwave caught up two Yellows, blowing them away with the force of a small explosion. Yellow #1 eye managed to see the attack coming and sidestep it, but as it closed on Sonic, the hero disappeared again.
His fist tore open the Android’s mouthless jaw. It flew backwards, only for Sonic to reappear behind it in a crouch, driving an upwards kick into its back that sent it airborne. The last thing the robot’s photoreceptors perceived in its last seconds was Sonic’s form waiting above, curled in a ball and spinning rapidly as it neared.
The axe kick that crushed into its head was too fast to be seen.
Yellow #1 slammed back down to the ground almost instantly, the sound of its crash akin to a bomb. It lay motionless on the ground, debris eddying around the crash site, its head split in two.
Sonic was in already in motion, flying towards the Pink as it futilely tried to shoot him down. A barrage of Spin Attacks from ten directions at once reduced it to a heap of shredded metal.
Within seconds, the two remaining Yellows reappeared and rushed him from behind. The split second #2 got within range, a wheel kick from Sonic bisected it at the hip.
That small moment gave Yellow #3 time to close the distance. With all its force, it threw a punch intended to cave in Sonic’s face.
It barely grazed his quills; Sonic ducked, responding with a punch so fierce his arm plunged straight through the Android’s gut. For a moment, both stood stone-still. Sonic withdrew his fist, rising to his feet as the final Yellow Android fell. For another even longer moment, he regarded the ruined copy in silence.
By sudden instinct, he shifted to his right. Bullets whizzed avoiding bullets fired at his back. He turned to see the Blue on the ground. It dragged inch by inch, aiming its shaking gun arm at Sonic, striving to fulfill its programming even with its dying spark.
Eggman squeezed his head between his hands. “How can this be?! How is he doing this?!” His fingers punched at the controls. “What is that?! Tell me what that light is!”
The AI’s voice spoke up: “Unique energy signature detected. Tracing.”
An arrow popped up on the side of the screen, blinking and pointing left. Frowning, Eggman controlled the Gila to turn. The arrow disappeared as his sightline lined up with the Canterlot Castle, showing a flashing dot of a source somewhere within its walls.
“Zoom and enhance!”
Several cuts later and the edge of the palace wall appeared in the display’s footage. It showed six of the ponies he vaguely recalled from before gathered together on the edge, both princesses and a small reptile behind them. The display highlighted the five necklaces and crown the mares wore in red, isolating the images and moving them to the right.
“Similarity to hedgehog’s new radiation: 100% match,” said the AI.
Veins pulsed in Eggman’s head. It was their fault. Those pathetic, weak creatures continued to defy him. “You… you…!” His hand slammed down on another button. “Lock on to those measly ungulates and fire!”
The AI chimed again. “Error: Power laser energy level only 38%.”
“Then divert power from the rest of the Gila!”
Shaking the ground with a footstep, the Egg Gila roared. Gears and pistons from all over its body whirred as it faced towards Canterlot Castle. It firmed its feet and opened its mouth, and began to power up. Pops of blue sparks flickered from random points on its body as it firmed its feet. It opened its mouth, its frill-like support poles and cannon extending, particles starting to collect.
Energy level: 45%
47%
52%
The Gila’s system overloaded. The control board burst with sparks, making Eggman reel back and shield his eyes.
100%.
At the castle’s base, Night Flare was the first to realize the danger. “He’s aiming this way!”
But there was no time.
Eggman’s fist slammed the firing mechanism. “DIE!”
As Sonic crushed the final green Android’s head under his boot, the Egg Gila fired. He whipped around to see the beam streak towards the palace.
The ponies looked on in horror at the onrushing stream of death.
“Twilight!” Applejack shouted desperately. “The Elements!”
“It’s too late!”
Far too late. Twilight perceived the voices of ponies behind them. Vaguely heard their hooves strike the ground as they fled. Saw the translucent blue and yellow of Celestia and Luna who’d appeared in their midst, trying to form a barrier in time. It didn’t matter. The spell wouldn't be half way finished before the beam destroyed the platform, the palace, half of the mountain, and all of them along with it.
But a streak of light even faster than the laser outstripped it, getting to them first. In front of the ponies appeared Sonic, floating mere feet away from where they stood at the wall’s edge.
The beam closed fast. Sonic merely stared it down.
He held out his right hand. The beam made contact.
And stopped firmly.
The laser, with all its city-destroying power, fueled by the infinite vista of energy from a Chaos Emerald and several times the size of Sonic’s body, stopped dead in its tracks. The wind roared, power warped and flared, zigzags of the lethal energy crackled about, but the beam would go no further, stopped by an invisible barrier in front of Sonic’s open palm.
The Equestrians could to little more than look on, mesmerized.
Sonic’s white-gloved hand squeezed into a fist, and to the never-ending shock of his audience, he flew straight into the beam. He passed through the wave of lethal energy without harm, the energy effortlessly giving way before him as he closed rapidly on the point of origin.
A moment later, a pink-white streak shot through the Gila’s head. The stream of power firing from its mouth sputtered and died. The mech roared, a small explosion lighting up the inside its mouth.
Then it happened again, from its neck. Then its chest. Then the rest of its limbs.
Sonic landed on Mane Street in a crouch. As a more and more fireballs erupted from its failing body, the Egg Gila gave on last ear-piercing roar before the entire robot exploded. Canterlot shook for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
Sonic stood to his feet. The energy around him, as if knowing the task was complete, slowly faded away. His quills hung normally, and the light disappeared from his eyes. He’d won.
He raised and looked at his left hand, now holding a cyan gem. The Chaos Emerald was in his possession.
Sonic closed his eyes, allowing himself a deep, calming breath. “It’s over.”
“This isn’t over, hedgehog!”
Sonic’s eyes snapped open as he registered Eggman’s voice. He looked up to see the Egg Mobile flying away jitterily, a large slash torn in its front by his coup de grâce.
Eggman hung over the side of the sputtering pod, apoplectic with rage. “You’ll pay for this! This entire world will pay for your defiance! I promise you this isn’t over! We’ll meet again!”
Sonic smirked as the Egg Mobile receded from view. “And I'll kick your butt again. Banter, rinse, repeat.”
He looked again to the emerald clutched in his hand, his face reflective. He thought about what Eggman said before. ‘If this one is here…’
The clacking of hoofsteps derailed train of thought. He looked about to see a platoon of Royal Guards forming a cordon around him. Sonic forced an exhale, tucking the Chaos Emerald into his quills. “We’re still doing this, huh?”
Shining Armor marched to the front of his platoon, eyeing Sonic with a hard gaze. “Don’t move, Demon! We’ve still got business to settle with you.”
Tired as he was, Sonic managed a cheeky smirk. “What’s the, matter Pointy-Head? Still mad that I left you in the dust?”
Shining Armor grit his teeth. “Why, you arrogant little—!”
“Stand down, Shining Armor.”
Sonic and Shining Armor’s heads swung to behind the young captain. His platoon lowered their heads and parted as Princess Celestia made her way towards the pair. By now, more ponies had begun to slip out onto the street. Twilight and the others drew nearer, staying some ways behind with Luna. Hidden staircases opened up, allowing Canterlot residents to slowly file back out, looking on as things unfolded.
“But, Princess…!” Shining Armor tried to say.
Celestia raised her hoof to silence him. “You’ve done enough, Captain. Leave this to me.” She stepped past him and strode towards Sonic.
Sonic swallowed as the approached. ‘Princess…’ His eyes flicked to her wings, horn, and crown. This must have been the other royal sister he’d heard about. ‘Celestia’, if he recalled. He also recalled how his last meeting with Equestrian royalty had gone poorly. He tensed his legs and flexed his hands, ready to move.
But he noticed something much different about her presence compared to Luna’s. Her gait had a calm, fluid grace to it. Her body language held confidence. Poise. And her eyes… they showed the most tranquil expression he’d ever seen; the perfect image of a wise, motherly sage. It made Sonic relax his guard.
Celestia stopped a few feet in front of him. For a long moment, the two faced each other. A pin drop could have been heard in the silence, all eyes on the hedgehog and the alicorn.
Then Celestia smiled. “Words cannot express my gratitude, stranger,” she said into the stillness. “If not for your brave actions, Canterlot would almost certainly have fallen today. You’ve shown tremendous courage in the face of danger and uncertainty, and as a result, saved countless lives. Including my own.” If everyone present wasn’t already stunned, Celestia blew them all out of the water by bending a knee and bowing her head to Sonic. “Equestria can never repay the debt it owes you.
Shock was plain across all faces—none more so than Sonic. He half expected her to have him thrown into a cell again. The last thing he had expected was to have the all-powerful ruler of Equestria bowing down to him. It was… a little overwhelming.
“Uh… don’t worry about it Your Highness,” he said, showing one of his palms. “Stopping that wacko doc and his hostile takeovers is something I do at least every third week.”
Celestia lifted her head. “Is it now?” There was a definite playfulness in her voice. “So you have a penchant for saving the day?”
Sonic chuckled, scratching his ear. “Oh, I know my way around a robot army or two. All part of the hero’s job description.”
The entirety of the other ponies plus one dragon remained speechless. To say the turn of events was unexpected was a gross understatement. Everyone watched the scene with a mix of amazement and intrigue.
Well, almost everyone.
Rainbow Dash felt her jaw tense. What was going on here? Why was the princess bowing down to this freak? Now she was striking up small talk? Growling to herself, she decided to to take matters into her own hooves. She zoomed up to the hedgehog and got right in his face.
“Alright, enough fooling around! It’s time you answered some questions! Who…and what, are you?!” She demanded, glancing over him now that she had an up-close view.
He seemed even more bizarre than anything shed heard or seen before. Cobalt blue fur with matching quills on his head and back, peach-colored stomach and forelimbs, a thin black nose on a peach muzzle, and emerald-green eyes that put even Applejack’s to shame. And what was with the shoes and gloves?
Sonic drew back, momentarily taken aback by the pegasus’s sudden outburst. Straightening himself out, he smiled, crossed his left leg over his right, rested his right fist on his hip, and pointed at himself with his thumb.
“I’m Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!”
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Oh boy, it's here time to read!!!!
Great chapter
Celestia’s lip firmed in thought. She glanced to Gatekeeper for corroboration. The general had a hoof to his beard, as if weighing heavily on the idea, but he gave no clear indication of being for or against it.
Repeated it twice
It returns!
And finally the Equestrians have their heads on straight.
wow... 45k? it'll take me a while to read that... and I'm gonna enjoy it
so that's why it took so long to get out
you were busy writing a novel in the space of a chapter
also, this felt like an ending
is it the ending of the first story arc?
lastly, great chapter
Man oh man, this chapter...besides the amount of work it took, the whole battle was intense, and amazing. I can totally picture all the events that transpired in my mind. How much the Equestrian Army fought, were being pushed back, and with the help of sonic, gained ground. And finally finished them all off, and to top it all off, Sonic might have achieved a new form thanks to the elements. But it appears imo not fully complete...just a thought I had while reading the fight near the end. And lastly, Sonic got an emerald from the Doc, this might be the next arc in this whirlwind of a story: The Emerald Hunt Arc!!! But yeah, overall an awesome end to the first arc, can't to read the next one.☕
I was so excited to see this get an update that I neglected to check the length and I'm barely halfway through the chapter...
I've read entire multichapter fics shorter than this one chapter.
o_o
Hello to you too, Fujitora. Glad that someone appreciates the gravity of the situation. >^_^<
10873450
And thank you for reminding me of this, I need to make a little edit in the author's comments. I just have to credit the person who gave me a layout of the royal guard divisions to work with.
10873478
I now understand why Tarbtano only updates The Bridge once in a blue moon. And most of his chapters totally eclipse this one in length. I can't imagine doing this that often. 😵 Never again, if I have any choice.
10873484
😉 Now just imagine him saying it in Michael Clarke Duncan's voice.
10873325
Yes indeed. A new stage of the adventure begins.
Hot damn that took a while take a nice long break dude. Great fights by the way. Nice fan DBS fan moment.
Absolute fantastic SSD
The battle was intense and awesome.
I really like the OCs hope to see them again in the future chapter
The interaction between Sonic and the equestrian (especially Umbra and the Wonderbolt) was well done
2 and a haft years waiting for the next chapter and I'm not dissapointed
You deserve a break from this chapter hope to see you in the next chapter
huh neat and also double neat at the same day of sonic 30 anniversary symphony happy birthday sonic
10873567
Hey, it's only been about one and a half. Lol
Great Chapter it was worth the wait, I'm looking forward to future chapters. Keep up the amazing work.
Not gonna lie, that was a LONG ass wait. That being said the devotion to the whole long fight as well as the length of this whole chapter made it damn worth it. And as expected I also greatly enjoyed the all the great reference dialogue. But as much as I enjoyed this chapter, one of the things I've been most eager to see is when Sonic and all the ponies finally get together to hash it out and fill in all the blanks about each other, such as explaining to Celestia and the other ponies about the bird Celestia found and the implied ramifications. Not to mention the chaos emeralds and the potential threat they pose. The reactions alone will be priceless. Which makes the fact that the chapter is over and we have to wait for the next update all the more unpleasant. So please . . . please, please, please . . . try not to take a year and a half to update again. This story is just too goooood.
10873729
Don't you worry. Those kinds of things aren't as complex to write as a city-wide, multiple-angled battle. The next chapter won't take anywhere near as long. After a bit of relaxation, of course. I've earned it after this final all-nighter.
10873744
It is well earned
Nice nod towards Dan Turpin and "Apokolips...Now".
First arc?
Nice.
I always thought it was "Mr. Needlenose" until a few years ago. My mind was blown.
you're a pretty evil bitch if you're just gonna let him die, you know that right?
10873729
I'm really interested in the interactions between Sonic and the Equestrians(especially Umbra and her brother and the Wonderbolts) also. Cause while the day is saved, so much animosity between them still lingering. So a chapter to have Sonic warm up to them all will hopefully happen, and also gives Sonic the chance to tell them his stories, adventures, the emeralds, and his friends.
I really thought she was gonna say “By the elder gods”
I was able to read all of this chapter in a day. Oh boy, 45000 words in a single chapter is insane! Now I’m excited for more. Shadow will appear soon right? Your thumbnail is practically screaming at me xD
10873370
The way you described her mental state at eggman threatening to murder her little ponies I assumed she was in a "Shoot to kill" Mentality at least for a bit
It was sure worth the wait
I see idw references...........teach me your ways master
10874308
Ho ho, well not to spoil anything, but that plays into to some other aspects of Celestia's character to be further explored. As I eluded to someone else who asked about it before chapter 10 was published, there was a particular reason Celestia failed in that instance. Maybe I could have hinted towards it better, but I wanted to save that reveal for the Egg Gila's ultimate weapon. But at least she wasn't down for the count afterwards. I've never enjoyed either one's show portrayals in that regard. One of my favorite parts in this most recent chapter was giving her and Luna a chance to cut loose and get their shine. And in fairness, the more explicit "I'm gonna kill them all" didn't come until after she was on the ground.
10874711
Watch and learn, young student.
10874040
Watching AfroSenju has rubbed off on me, lol. We'll call this first juncture the Fugitive Arc. Appropriate for blue boy's status up till now.
10874019
Spoiler alert: it won't be the last.
10873325
Maybe the end of an arc, but the story is hardly finished, we still have no clue who is the third mystery character (still betting on Tails)
10874796
Oh god. If you kill off someone we grow to love, it better show mucho respect!
SWEET MERCIFUL BUDDHA WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?
DUDE THIS WAS SOOO AWESOME!!! 
SOOO WORTH THE WAIT 
You did great with this man seriously this is one of the best chapter I have ever read in a fanfic period 
rest all you want and you need because holy man this fanfic is way to good and this was just the first arc can't wait to see what else is on store 
That was a journey. And I'd be a damn liar if I didn’t say that I enjoyed every second of it! I can tell the chapters to come are gonna be fun! Keep up the awesome work dude!
10878286
No problem 👍
I only noticed it because I have been trying to teach my goddaughter how to play chess. Once I noticed it I googled fool's mate and figured I should let you know.
By the Moon! That! Was! So! Awesome!!!! I love how you have Best Pony finally getting him to say that line at the end. That has to be one of the most epic battles I've ever had the pleasure to read. I hope you have more planned for this story. You're definitely getting a follow from me.
45k words that's one hell of a update
Keep her going man killer stuff
*Insert Knight of the Wind here*
“Oh cool, the story updated. Man, I’ve been waiting a while for-“
*45,000 words*
*stares*
“.....Welp, may as well open a can of Pepsi and heat up a Hotpocket. I’m gonna be here a while.”
Wow that was the longest chapter I've seen
Oh well it was super fun a least
Keep it up I'm hooked
Are these Badniks not powered by animals? Eggman was talking earlier about using the ponies to power his machines, so he clearly still does it...
Edit: Just read a bit further, and thankfully this is addressed. Darn me and my impatience!
Nice reference.
"It's no use!"
10989478
Read the story's description
10990711
I was making a shipping joke.
Admittedly, it wasn't a very good one, but still.
10990224
OH GOD D—
I wonder if we will see metal Sonic.
Hey, this story is great and man I just can’t stop reading it. So I’m been meaning to ask, when will the next chapter come up, it has been a while and I’ve been wanting to see what happens next.
Will there be other Sonic Characters other than Sonic and Eggman in this story?