First Strike
“What do you think it means?” Spike asked, gesturing back to the radio tower behind them.
“I don't know Spike,” Twilight admitted. “The zerg have no need to monitor their periphery using such non biological means.”
“You said you fought mind controlled zerg in the past though, right? Like, ones with metal bits in their brains?” Applejack offered.
Twilight shook her head. “This isn't like that I’m afraid. Those zerg had bulky helmets and cybernetic enhancements. These are completely natural.”
“I d-don't know about th-th-that,” Fluttershy interjected.
The trio turned to where Fluttershy was crouched over the body of a zergling, its body partially scorched during the fight. Staring down at the thing it wasn't readily apparent as to what Fluttershy was talking about, but then Twilight looked a little harder. Then she noticed that the corpse had an underdeveloped front limb, while one of its eyes was almost too big for its socket.
“These couldn't have happened due to the fireball,” Twilight remarked.
Fluttershy knelt down, and with her sharp three fingered hands, tore open the zergling’s midsection. With dexterous and surprisingly strong fingers the pegasus pulled apart the thing’s ribcage and began inspecting the half cooked organs inside. It looked like a gorey mess of blood and viscera to most but to the infested pegasus, it was anything but.
“Zerg tissue growth accelerated to dangerous degree. Mutations rampant,” Fluttershy murmured to herself. “Organ failure all but inevitable.”
“What does that all mean?” Applejack questioned.
“Unsure,” Fluttershy replied. “Rapid growth suggests panic on the part of the queen in question, either that or experimentation. Manipulation of essence brutish, and subpar.”
“I assume the rest are like this one?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy stood back up and wiped her hands on a towel handed to her by a zergling. “If preliminary visual inspections are true, then yes,” she turned to Twilight and immediately frowned. “W-why would they d-d-do this?”
“I don't know,” Twilight admitted. “Though it seems to me like they don't have a talented spinner and are learning the old fashion way.”
“Trial and error,” Spike muttered, giving the corpse a kick.
“They are still dangerous, even if their combat potential has been lowered somewhat,” Twilight continued. “Either way we have a mission to complete, and a city to liberate.”
“Right. I’ll get everyone moving,” Spike offered.
“It shouldn't be long until we’re done taking samples,” Twilight offered.
With that, the two parties dispersed, with Twilight and Fluttershy rejoining Zecora near one of the creep colonies nearby. Spike and Applejack meanwhile, made their way over to the edge of town, where the survivors had been gathered. Far from the true zerg, they were being guarded by the mostly relaxed but still vigilant infested soldiers.
“Status,” Spike asked.
“Everything’s green here commander. Civies are unhurt, just like they said they were, and the APC is on approach,” Lock Jaw offered.
“Thanks for the hand by the way,” offered the stallion Spike immediately recognized as Short Wave. “I don't know how they didn't find us.”
They one hundred percent could have found them if they tried. Marching Orders mentally offered. They werent even that well hidden and by what I’ve been able to gather they went house to house abducting everyone else in the town.
Spike eyed the small group of still shaken ponies closely, seeking out any clue as to the mystery of why they had been spared. There wasn't any readily apparent reason for it all, but Spike was able to pick up on a few small details. One, there was a group of ponies detached from the rest, the seven creatures staying as far from Spike as possible.
Peering a little closer, Spike was able to see that they were easily the least surprised, or panicky of the bunch. They eyed their saviors closely and without fear, as if they had expected this entire turn of events. Not only that but they seemed to all have a cutie mark related to combat in some way or another.
A cartoonish explosion, a crosshair, a sword, a twinkling star symbolizing magic, all were half hidden by rags or clothing. Spike had access to the eyes of everyone nearby though so it wasn't difficult to peice together what they were. Accessing the recent memories of his squad and their interactions with the survivors confirmed that the other group had been quiet the entire time.
Spike strode forward with a smile on his face, arms spread wide “greetings,” he opened. “I hope your brief incarceration has not left you too shaken.”
The small group of ponies glanced nervously about themselves, mostly at one pony in particular. That same individual took a step towards Spike, a wary smile on her ashen face.
“No. Thankfully my squad are a bit more used to it then the civilians are,” she opened, voice clearer and more confident then her expression would otherwise convey.
“So you are soldiers then?” Spike asked.
“Ahh yes. We were on a bit of R and R when the fighting began,” the mare scowled. “Unfortunately we had left our gear with the local command.”
“I told you we should have insisted on keeping it,” hissed a tall, slender stallion.
“Not much we can do about that now,” murmured the mare.
“Its for the best. If you had been out there fighting you’d likely be dead right now,” Spike replied.
“Or we could have helped turn the tide,” muttered a rather bitter member of the small group.
“Shut it,” barked the mare. “We kept the civics safe and thats all that matters.”
“The APC will bring you to the closest confederate outpost. Hopefully next time you have a chance to lend a hoof,” Spike offered.
The group glanced over to where the low, brick shaped vehicle trundled down the street in their direction. It wasn't long before it stopped nearby and began to open its back, revealing an empty bay waiting to be filled.
“I hope so to. Thanks again,” offered the mare.
The survivors all made their way over to the armored personnel carrier, with the civilians being aided by the small squad. As Spike watched them go, he was approached by Lock Jaw and Marching Orders, the pair observing the departing ponies as closely as he was.
“You don't think that was it. Do you?” Lock Jaw inquired.
“No,” Spike replied. “I can only read their surface thoughts but they were clearly telling only half truths.”
“They may be sabatuers,” offered Marching Orders.
“Maybe. Either way we don't have the time to deal with them at the moment. Flag them for inspection with the local confederate outpost and let them deal with the headache,” Spike replied.
“It will be done commander,” Lock Jaw declared.
“Good, now lets get this campaign moving again. We’ve spent too much time just sitting around,” Spike retorted.
“Aye commander,” Marching Orders remarked.
Together the trio trotted back over to where they knew Twilight and the rest of their forces were waiting. In the distance, the APC rounded a corner, and disappeared from view, speeding off into the night. With the civilians out of the way, the rest of their zerg forces made their presence known, emerging from the deep shadows to rejoin their infested comrades. As silent as death, the combat group made their way back to where Twilight stood alongside Zecora and Fluttershy.
“Find anything interesting?” Spike asked.
“Sort of,” Twilight muttered. “The zerg were indeed deformed in some way or another. Even the buildings were in a similar state, with the fire rate of the sunken colonies being noticeable hindered.”
“I was wondering why we werent getting hit harder,” Spike added.
It will be a kindness to kill these wretches. Zecora remarked.
“So, what's the next town called again?” Applejack inquired.
“Supply point delta charley,” Twilight answered. “Not the most descriptive name, but then again it was never intended to be anything more then a simple outpost.”
“As the needs of Mar Sara grew, so to did these little outposts. Either way we should move quickly. If those were indeed civilians left behind by accident then there is a chance there are other survivors,” Lock Jaw offered.
“Not likely, but we can't rule it out,” Marching Orders added.
“True. Spike. You’re leading the op from here. Tell us how were doing this,” Twilight declared.
Spike cupped a hand over his chin and began to pace back and forth. “They know were coming, but they were also disorganized and seemed to think they had more time before confederate reinforcements arrived.”
“So if we hit them hard and fast, we should be able to maintain the element of surprise at least slightly. For even if they managed to get the word out, they’ll still have to get into position,” Spike concluded, pointing towards the train tracks. “We go straight at them, full speed ahead.”
“You heard the man, full march!” Twilight bellowed.
With a few quick mental commands, and a short conversation over the radio, things were set in motion. The zerglings, freshly out of the vats, and with new wings, began to run alongside the tracks towards the next town. Those who had not had their speed dramatically increased by the addition of new appendages, quickly piled into the APCs.
Without having to worry about the zergligns, there was just barely enough space for everyone inside the vehicles. Though cramped, Spike set up an impromptu command station, Lock Jaw sitting on his right, and Marching Orders on his left. The pair offered tactical advice, and the use of their magic respectively, allowing the dragon to swiftly plan things out.
First order was to leave behind a small skeleton crew to gather up the larger samples of the buildings as well as a few of the zerg corpses. The tiny handful of forces would be barely enough to deal with even a single enemy squad, but that didn't matter. With hostile forces directly ahead of them they were unlikely to go around, as they had no reason to do so.
Still, it was a risk, though one Spike was willing to make.
With that out of the way he reaxamined his surroundings, starting with the scrying sheet showing off their assault force. Sure enough, the zerglings were more then keeping up with the APCs, even when they hit flat ground and opened up the throttle. The half flying, half running creatures were incredibly nimble, able to avoid every obstacle they came across. The personal carriers werent quite so well off, though there were few craters, or natural barriers that they couldn't simply ignore.
Thankfully for them It was mostly a flat expanse of blasted wasteland all the way to the horizon. A horizon which was beginning to grow oddly bright at least when compared to the rest of the night sky. Spike’s first fleeting hope was that the sun had finally risen, but he pushed that swiftly from mind.
Nightmare Moon must die first. Spike reminded himself.
Looking a little closer, Spike could see that fires flickered in the burned out rubble of what had been a thriving community. Clustered around the tracks, a series of large warehouses gave way to residential buildings and structures meant to facilitate the population’s needs. Each one different in purpose, though similar in how damaged they were.
“Is that… gunfire?” Spike muttered, peering a little closer.
Staring at the scrying sheet, Spike was able to pick out the distinct appearance of tracer rounds flying up into the night sky. The lines of bright orange streaked through the darkness like macabre fireworks. Though sporadic, they were consistent enough to make Spike begin to wonder, a bit of doubt worming its way into his mind.
“Theres no way there are still holdouts,” Marching Orders muttered.
“Its not… impossible,” Lock Jaw remarked.
“We can't discount the possibility,” Spike stated as confidently as he could muster. “Though it is like a trap, we must take the bait…. Right?”
It is your call Spike, but for the record I do agree with you. Twilight mentally added.
Spike took a steadying breathe and nodded. “We’ll dismount right near that hill. It should provide us cover in case they counterattack.”
“A smart move. Even if it doesn't seem likely,” Marching Orders remarked. “I don't see any defensive structures, or troops lying in wait. Though the town is so dense, and tightly compacted that you could hide an entire army in there and you wouldn't see them till it was too late.”
Can you sense anyone inside? Spike asked, directing his thought at Twilight.
No. Replied the infested unicorn. I’m facing another wall of psychic static but its not as powerful as last time. Telepathy will have limited range, but my powers will be unaffected.
A novice then. Or they are attempting to draw us in first. Spike offered.
Unlikely. Zecora chimed in. This feels like they are putting everything they have into it.
“Were here,” offered a staticy voice over the radio.
Spike waved his hand, dismissing the conversation. “We’ll reexamine that assumption after we’ve had a chance to better anylize our foe. For now, we move.”
Marching Orders and Lock Jaw nodded, the pair readying themselves for the ensuing dismount.
A short few minutes later and the small group was standing in long columns within the shade of a small hill. The zerglings needed only a moment to relax and stretch before they were ready, giving time for everyone else to fall in. Once that happened, Spike split everyone up into familiar groups, with zerlings out front, and ranged squads behind them.
After glancing to Twilight for confirmation, the pair exchanged a nod, and the charge was commenced. The most eager of the zerglings were swiftest out of the gate, charging forward along the left side of the track. The rest of the army group did their best to stay relatively close to that front line, weapons in hand, but not yet raised.
As they sprinted towards the ruined city, Spike used his superior nightvision to survey the area a little closer. Sure enough, he could see no mounds of pulsing flesh, no looming shadows ready to spring, or even any creep. There were only the flickering fires illuminating the dark city, and the distant sound of fighting.
“Sounds like its comin from the center of town. Probably the train station,” Applejack offered.
“I think so,” Spike agreed.
As they reached the city’s edge, Spike noted that there was only a single road not completely filled with debris. This made the dragon even more suspicious but with innocent lives potentially hanging in the balance, he moved swiftly and without doubt. His squads came together, zerglings forming an outer shell around the ranged units, with Twilight near the forefront of the spear.
He himself, and his command squad, stayed closer to the center in order to ensure he had sight lines on everyone. The small army moved as they were ordered, slipping into position while Spike nervously contemplated what may be waiting for them. It was a prime spot for an ambush, and seemed designed that way, but it could also have been coincidence. There also didn't seem to be any drag marks, or any indication that this situation was deliberate but he didn't have time to inspect his surroundings.
“Ignore doubt. Stamp it out if you must,” Marching Orders offered.
“Right,” Spike murmured.
The army paused briefly as they entered the city, their sheer numbers forcing them to enter at a staggered pace. The road itself didn't help much as it was just barely wide enough to allow a cadre of ten units to space themselves comfortably. Five of these self contained blobs were broken down, the APCs speeding off to a safe distance to refuel and await further orders.
The moment Spike himself stepped into the shadow of an apartment block, his thoughts grew slightly sluggish. Not enough to impede him significantly, but the difference was noticeable, and uncomfortable to the dragon. Thankfully it wasn't difficult to ignore it, and focus on his units, who he could still feel clearly within his mind. The others shared in his irritation, with the infested most annoyed by the sensation of having their head clouded in such a way.
Pushing deeper, Spike watched the shadowy openings of the various structures closely, imagining foes in each one. His relatively limited psychic power didn't help much in this regard, as he could barely feel beyond the edges of his units. Pushing any further would take significant expenditure of energy, and would distract him too much to warrant the attempt.
Despite his own rising anxiety, Spike saw no danger, and sensed no movement beyond the occasional flicker of a fire. Twilight confirmed this as well, the biomechanical unicorn noting that there were few obstacles, and noone nearby. Meanwhile the gunfire remained semi constant, serving as a potent lure to the convoy of zerg and infested.
“Its like Griffonstone all over again,” Lock Jaw muttered to himself, hands gripping his weapon so tight his knuckles went white.
“Hmmm. It’s not that bad,” Marching Orders retorted.
Spike ignored the pair, and focused on monitoring the situation as they wormed their way deeper into the city. Forced to turn every once and a while upon reaching a toppled building, or blockaded side street, their path was a winding one. The unease grew and grew until finally after nearly twenty minutes of relative silence, they neared the source of the gunfire.
With only one final turn left, Spike ordered a brief halt and turned to Marching Orders. “Can you get a scry sheet over a street over?”
The infested unicorn lit her horn, only to frown when the spell fizzled a moment after being cast. The sheet of magic displayed a fuzzy mess of color before erupting in a shower of sparks.
“Magical jamming. Feels amatuer, but powerful. As if they are making up for a lack of talent with raw strength,” Marching Orders offered.
“Figured as much. Had to try anyway though,” Spike muttered, chewing on a clawed finger. “We should probably scout more.”
Lock Jaw eyed his commander closely, a single brow raising.
“No, you’re right. Gotta stick with the plan,” Spike murmured.
With a mental command, the first group rounded the bend and beheld the battlefield. There at the center of the city on the right hand side of the road, lay a large, sprawling railway station. The main structure had sand bags and various other cobbled together defences filling nearly every nook and cranny visible.
What few ports or holes were left had guns sticking out them, the weapons spitting lead across the way. To where hydralisks, and a few visibly infested creatures were hunkered down in the various burned out structures. Fire was exchanged semi frequently, with little headway being made by either side of the conflict.
A million questions ran through Spike’s mind. Were the defenders so successful that the main siege force simply ignored them? Was this a trap? Why had the zerg not crushed them?
Bodies of both sides littered the street, making Spike realize he had not seen any corpses until now. He had noted plenty of signs of battle, including blood stains but until now their had been no tangible physical evidence. Spike brushed aside the grim though and immediately set a plan into motion, ordering the groups to fan out.
Twilight and the others sprung into action, assaulting the dug in zerg troops while Spike moved to establish contact with the resistance. His command squad fell in without question, though they kept their weapons at the ready and pointed towards the train station. Just as Twilight's first fireball slammed into its target, Spike reached the top of the steps and began to approach the main entrance.
There he could see that a great many guns were poking out and at the street, though their weilders were mostly shrouded in darkness. Equine in shape, they didn't fire at Spike’s group, but neither did they drop their weapons entirely. Carefully, Spike approached, a hand on the revolver he had chosen for himself not long ago.
“Greetings,” he called. “We are here to relieve you. Perhaps you could send out your commander so we may better talk strategy.”
The dragon barely finished his offer when his eyes adjusted and he realized something was off. The closest pony, a mare of considerable size, had a large sythellike appendage growing from her neck. The flicker of light granting Spike vision was brief, and a moment later she was too obscured by shadow to be clearly visible.
“Its a trap!” Spike shouted.
The jig was up, and without a word being uttered, the wall of guns opened fire on Spike, forcing him back. Several Zerglings sprinted forward, spending their lvies distracting the defenders long enough for the command squad to retreat. They didn't do so without damage however, Lock Jaw caught a round to the shoulder, Applejack took three to the body and Marching Orders received a scattering of pellets across her face.
Noone was out of the fight just yet however, and with a little luck and a whole lot of teamwork, they were able to pull back. Crouched in a deep crater, Spike looked on in horror, as hundreds of zerg and infested emerged from the various side streets. His army was holding, but pressed on all sides it did not look good, even with Twilight wiping out scores of foes with ease.
“This is why you don't send a child to do a man’s job!” yelled a voice from on high.
Spike arched his neck, looking up to find an infested dragon standing on the roof of the station building. Tall, with wide shoulders a thick jaw, and two enormous horns, the scaled creature was easily three times Spike’s size. The enemy wore a patchwork of armor scavenged from various confederate soldiers and wielded a machine gun usually mounted on tanks in one pair of arms and a greatsword in a hand that had too many fingers.
“I guess I’ll just have to teach you another lesson,” murmured the towering dragon.
The large male’s muscles bulged, revealing how lopsided the dragon truly was, his entire right half visibly larger then the other. Despite his imperfect infestation he was clearly powerful, and he drove this point as he leaped into the fight. Enormous slugs rained down upon Spike and his squad, mostly missing, but forcing the group to focus on finding cover.
Allowing the dragon to hit the ground in front of them, gun still firing even while he brought his greatsword up. A zergling eager to leap to Spike’s defence was turned to mulch, dying alongside the second who was cleaved in half by the dragon’s blade. Still reeling from the sudden betrayal of those he had thought of as allies, Spike fired wildly with his revolver, his shots going wide.
The singular bullet that didn't dly wildly off course bounced harmlessly off the advancing dragon’s armor. This was barely even acknowledged by the towering drake, who strode towards the pack with an almost feral grin on his face. With each swing he cut down another of Spike’s zerg, and with each burst of fire he tore another of Spike’s allies to shreds.
As he frantically reloaded, Spike glanced over his shoulder in Twilight's direciton, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mare. He did, though the sight was not one that made him feel an ounce of relief. Locked in a three way conflict with advancing hordes of infested and their zerg masters, she was single handedly ensuring their flank didn't fall.
“Eyes forward!” shouted Marching Orders.
Spike spun back around just in time to see Applejack lurch towards the dragon, scythe arms raised high. She was faster, stronger then the others he had faced, and was able to come at him from his sword side. Though she didn't have to worry about being killed by a hail of bullets, she wasn't completely safe as he easily blocked her swipes.
A downward stroke was stopped by a block, followed by a shove that sent Applejack’s shots high. With her one two punch thwarted, Applejack attempted to weave out of reach only for the dragon to lurch forward. A booted foot slammed into her chest with enough force to send the confused hybrid over the lip of the crater and onto her back.
Marching Orders and Lock Jaw were swift to take up her place, shooting or hacking at the dragon while Spike looked on. The minotaur dropped his rifle to his hip and unleashed everything he had on the foe, to seemingly no effect. The attacking dragon had simply too much armor, and too much infested bulk for the shots to peirce deep enough to matter. Marching Orders was in a similar boat, her slim sabre finding no purchase against the mishmash of welded armor he wore.
Lock Jaw was the first to fall, his gun cut in half by by a swipe of his attacker’s sword. A second strike forced the minotaur to abandon his attempt to draw his side arm lest he lose a limb. The follow up stroke would have cut Lock Jaw’s head from his neck, but Marching Orders had just enough time to intervene.
Driving her narrow blade into the crack of the dragon’s defence, she was able to draw her foe’s attention while disabling his gun. Whirling back at her, the towering infested dragon swung his sword down at her head in a powerful cutting motion. A magical sheild sprung up to block it, but was shattered immediately upon the blade meeting it.
Recoiling with a hoof going to her smoking horn, Marching Orders was an easy target. Or at least she would have been had Spike not stepped up and with a bellow, unleashed a torrent of fire. As hot as he could muster, and with every once of strength he had to his name, the flames roared louder then he ever could.
The gout of bright green fire slammed against his foe’s chest and billowed across his form, obscuring him almost completely. Despite no longer being able to see his enemy, Spike pressed on, screaming his indignation into the other creature’s torso. For a moment he allowed himself to feel a tiny sense of victory, though it only lasted an instant.
A hand burst from the fire, and caught Spike in the chin, snapping his jaw shut. His draconic foe stepped out of the flames and tossed aside his half melted weapon flippantly. With mere fists alone he battered Spike with a right hook, then a left, before grabbing the smaller creature by the throat.
“When you get to tartarus, tell em Boiling Stone sent you there,” whispered the larger dragon.
Before he had a chance to snap Spike’s neck, Boiling Stone was sent flying by a blast of psionic energy. Laying on the ground and panting hard, Spike turned to find that Twilight had turned her attention in his direction. With blazing eyes and ethereal bone like wings appearing from her back, the unicorn floated across the battlefield. Each spell or twitch of her hoof destroyed another foe, turning one unfortunate hydralisk completely inside out.
“This ain't over, weakling,” called a voice.
Whirling back in the other direction, Spike saw as the dragon who had identified himself as Boiling Stone had retreated. Falling back into the train station he avoided a flurry of lightning launched in his direction by mere inches. His subordinates were quick to cover his departure, throwing themselves into harms way without a thought to their own survival.
Several more spells and psionic attacks followed the dragon but swiftly petered out when they missed their mark. Twilight's strange aura faded as she approached Spike, features relaxing and allowing her lips to turn up into a soft smile.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Spike bobbed his head. “Yeah I’m-” he coughed twice. “Fine. Just a bit shaken is all.”
“Good,” was all Twilight said.
She then turned and like some kind of god of battle, rejoined the fray, her magic splitting a charging zergling down the middle. In the distance Spike could see Zecora and the others were still fighting, their combined assault pushing back the encroaching zerg. A similar situation was playing out all over the battlefield, with the defenders suffering casualties but not an overwhelming number.
With their ambush broken, Boiling Stone’s soldiers fell back into the shadows while a select few remained behind. Serving as sacrificial lambs, these poor unfortunate infested were discarded by the uncaring hand of their master. The majority of these poor souls were magically disabled or put in stasis by Twilight though a number were killed in the process.
Spike picked himself up and looked over his squad, noting that they were mostly okay. Marching Orders would be nursing a headache for a while, but was uninjured, much like Applejack. The hydralisk hybrid had hit her head on a rock and was standing unsteadily off to one side, eyes rolling around in her skull. Lock Jaw was the worst off, though it took only a few seconds for his inherent zerg healing to close the wound.
“Is everyone alright?” Spike called.
“Just dandy,” Marching Orders muttered.
“Gimme a sec,” Applejack added.
Lock Jaw nodded. “It’ll sting a bit but I’ll be okay.”
“Okay, good,” Spike murmured, mostly to himself.
The dragon turned and watched mutely as Twilight wrapped up the battle by bubbling the final two infested. The pair were barely old enough to have their cutie marks and sported large, unpleasant growths on the sides of their heads. Much like the rest of the enemy infested who been used like cannon fodder by their overlord.
“That could have gone better,” Applejack remarked.
Spike didn't have to look up to notice that the hydralisk was standing next to him. “Its my fault. I walked us right into their trap,” he retorted.
“I woulda done the same,” Applejack declared. “You gotta stick by your principals.”
Spike merely snorted in reply, his face marred by a deep frown.
“For what its worth I thought you had him back there,” Lock Jaw remarked, wincing briefly as he donned a new segment of armor to replaced the damage peice. “Not sure about the whole using fire on a dragon thing though.”
“I enfuse my flames with magic. They shouldn't have been able to shrug it off like that,” Spike shot back, though his voice lacked any conviction.
Sitting quietly, Spike took mental stock of their forces, and the casualties they had sustained during the fight. Twenty one zerglings, four hydralisks, and one infested lay dead on the ground, with twice that many injured. All in all it wasn't a terribly high number, though it still shook Spike to his core.
Trodding silently over to where the wounded were gathered, Spike brushed past them and continued on. To where the dead were piled haphazardly, their bodies lain out in rows not quite as straight as they could be. The dragon stopped at the foot of an earth pony only a little older then Spike himself was.
The infested wore a pained expression on her face, a hoof still clutched against the gaping hole in her chest. Despite the very obvious injury she still looked like she was ready to stand back up and ream Spike out for his mistake. She didn't though, and continued to lay there inertly, blood pooling around her form and trickling down the street.
“It ain't your fault,” Applejack offered in a low tone.
“It was,” Spike retorted, the dragon holding up a hand and cutting off Applejack’s reply. “Don't waste your breathe. I was arrogant and thought that with Twi’s strength we could make out of any trap unharmed, no matter what was waiting for us.”
Spike frowned. “I should have sent someone with wings in first to anylize the situation. Then I should have found or made an alternative path to the train station. We would have likely walked into another trap, but at least that fight would have been from only a single angle.”
Applejack stood there silently, watching as Spike knelt down down next to the body of the deceased pony. Withdrawing a handkerchief from one of his pockets, he draped the fine white fabric over the infested’s eyes. He then stood, and after a moment to compose himself, turned back to the battlefield.
Already Twilight had nearly finished cleaning things up. The various infested they had subdued were gathered in a small group next to the zerg that had been captured. Both werent exactly numerous, barely two dozen in total, with the majority being infested ponies.
We wont be long here. You should gather your forces and begin scouting the next area. Twilight mentally ordered, glancing at Spike from across the way.
He could sense that there was more the unicorn wanted to say, but she held back so as to not distract Spike. The message was clear, and after a moment to gather himself, Spike set out, his mind reaching out to those forces still standing. With a quick command he gathered them up, and had them gather on the larger of the two side streets not completely blocked with debris or broken vehicles.
The mission continues. Spike thought.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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War is hell spike Learn fast or lose yourself And maybe your life
11497644
nah, war is war and hell is hell...and of the two of them, War is a lot worse...
It's hard being the good guys
11497990
Yep
11497832
Both are both...there are things done in war that not even hell does...and vice versa....but both are pritymuch the same bucking thing
....also I bucking love this story so much!!
Please more chapters soon!
A light slap on the face but an important one.
Sometimes you really don't need to deliberately fall into the trap....
11498086
ill let Hawkeye explain the difference...
11498095
I mean....true
I feel like in these scenes, Fluttershy's eyes flip around to the green eyes like Abathur.
Hm, next chapter button is broken. How unfortunate.
Still, pretty interesting story you have going here : ) I'm trying to count amount of enemy factions here, and failing. Will wait for more : )
So... I mostly skipped to this part, can someone tell me what happened to the others? (Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie?)
11550913
Why would you skip all the way here then ask to be filled in? Just read it, lol.
11550916
3 reason.
1. I'm lazy.
2. I'm dumb.
And 3. It's 3 AM here
11550924
You'll find no argument here.
Just got caught up on this story. Still awesome!
11686500
And Twilight shouldnt be an infested zerg hybrid.
11702977
“I think it's implied that Starlight is Abathur”
No. Just no. Fluttershy is clearly Abathur.
I wish I knew more of the lore to say more and I could be wrong but I THINK Starlight is supposed to be who the internet says is named “Ariel Hanson”. At least in the EqG lifeline. I think in Equestria there was another character who was her. Not sure on anything except Twi, Shy, and “Jim Raynor”
11703253
All in all, I'd say we shouldn't try too hard to fit pony characters into premade roles; Twilight has many parallels to the queen of blades to be sure, but she also has this biomechanical armor thing going on and doesn't have the physical wings quite yet. Infested, yet she hasn't had her own will turned against her by the swarm like Kerrigan; more or less distinct from the original.
Although if I had to say Starlight was a parallel to an existing StarCraft character, I'd say it was Zagara; Zerg, cunning, tempermental, thinks she knows best, potentially useful after she gets put in her place.
11550913
Rarity and Pinkie are en-route to Twilight's base. Rarity is unconscious because she's still working out what to do with two souls in one body. Rainbow is with Twi's troops, whether she is on this particular mission or not I cannot say for sure, but she wasn't helping with the dragon so I assume not. Scootaloo is probably off being adorable somewhere.
Everyone else, I think, was mentioned in this chapter.
At this point I'm feeling self-conscious about spamming this fic with comments, but I thought I should say that I love this fic so far and also lay down my predictions of the future in case I turn out to be a prophet.
First, Valerian Mensk the griffon is the secret leader of the daughters of Ironhall. Betrayal!
Second, the mysterious camera feed from the outpost is so the daughters can use the footage to frame Twilight for something she didn't do.
this one is less of a prediction and more of a hope: Twilight eventually catches up to Starlight, Derpy, and the other infested ponies in charge, shows her superiority, and takes command of the entire swarm.
Twilight probably has to fight her way through her fair share of Confederades/Daughters of Ironhall (read: Terrans) on her way to kill Nightmare Moon.
Twilight marries Quick Buck, potentially as a joke, and lives happily, if snarkily, ever after.
As a side note, I find it intruiging that Twilight and friends are still managing to maintain command of their swarm without any Overlords. Granted their swarm has many more self-sufficient, intelligent minds than a typical brood, but we're talking about at least 100 supply worth of Zerglings alone being commanded right now, and Twilight has yet to get any messages about "spawn more overlords" Except for her headache on the way back from killing Pupa.
I guess what I'm wondering is... how much supply worth of units can each of these characters take?
11723196
Sure, main character twi isn't quite the same as the queen of blades, but EQG twi is almost 1 for 1. And obviously everyone isn't an exact copy of starcraft characters because of their personalities not matching. I haven't been trying very hard to the characters together but some of them seem obvious.
Is this story going to be finished?
11826046
Yup! First to go is Born In Light Forged In Darkness, however.