Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Spear

In their endeavour to get closer to the portal, the ponies had, as they knew they inevitably would, run into soldiers patrolling the area. They had however found if not a solution at least a way to get partially closer, at least close enough to get a better look at things. In trying to avoid the attention of a group of pegasi flying between buildings, they had entered one of them and found it to be empty. It was a tall one, certainly one meant for housing multiple ponies. And so they had climbed up its stairs to the top, and found a bedroom with a window overlooking their destination. It was still a fair distance away, but they had an unobstructed view of what else was there.

The source of the sound they'd been hearing, slightly diminished there due to the elevation, appeared to be an intricate piece of machinery stationed near the centre of a large crossroad, between the portal itself and a fountain in the middle of the intersection. They couldn't get a great look at it from there, but still it gave them a rough idea of what it looked like and perhaps how it functioned. It was composed of a central structure, a vertical, cylindrical shape partway embedded into the ground, surrounded by support sections reminiscing of an insect's legs in shape. The whole thing was made out of black metal and crystal, and it looked like some kind of giant spider, or a mosquito trying to drain the ground itself.

Alongside that and the portal were a number of soldiers, all more heavily armoured than the ones they'd encountered farther inside the city, and a few mutated ponies. Not a massive group, but not a small one either, and the portal's exact position specifically made approaching it harder. None of the streets leading into the intersection faced directly where it was, although a couple led closer than the rest. But still all ways were guarded by soldiers, and a diversion on one side would be unlikely to completely free up the others. There was a possibility of approaching through a building, but being spotted while coming out of it was not unlikely and neither was the possibility of the soldiers having occupied the nearby structures.

Coming in through a building however remained the best plan they could come up with. Going in any other way would have them spotted far too soon, the streets offered no hiding spots and even with a diversion getting close while undetected would be impossible through them. It would possibly be impossible to get close enough to create a proper distraction without being spotted first in the first place. They would certainly need to split up from their constructs to even attempt something like that. The building may have hidden soldiers inside it, but it would far more easily allow the group to deal with them without being spotted by the entirety of the enemy forces.

That all gave them at least a place to start. Picked the building they would try to approach from, they quickly began to leave the one they were in, already planning their path through the city to reach their new destination without being spotted ahead of time. A few minutes would be enough, even less than that at a brisk pace. After getting there, it would be about choosing whether to stick together with their constructs or to already send them another way to set up a distraction. Then they'd enter the building on the side opposite the intersection, and hope they'd get through it safely.