Thread 51: Stories 1-15

Thread 51 archive: https://archive.moe/mlp/thread/20740272
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 Silence hung through the streets of the City of Gold, broken only by the far away sounds of the gigantic beast crushing another ship in the pirate fleet that sought to destroy it. At the steps of the great central tower, Brahmos locked eyes with the stallion that had so brazenly challenged him, his followers looking on incredulously.

Then he erupted into a deep laugh that rattled Pommel's ear drums.

"YOU challenge me?" Brahmos boomed, "Did my sound beating drive you mad, you loathsome pup? Have you developed a wish to join this old fool-"

Brahmos held up the severed head of Evergreen.

"-in the deepest darkest pit of hell?"

"...no, I just seriously want to kill your psychotic, murdering, slaving, pale ass," Pommel replied matter of factly, his eyes narrowing.

"Ha! And how do you claim worthiness to challenge me for my leadership? You are a mere guardsman, a pup at that, you have neither the capacity to lead nor the martial prowess to even hope to best me in combat, you-"

"Tackled you off the side of Tortoiga, or did taking the world's largest belly flop make you forget?" Pommel cut him off, gaze steely, fighting to keep his composure. He knew how Brahmos worked, he knew he had to attack his pride until the bull charged.

"Oh yes, that was quite a show," Brahmos sneered, "That proved nothing and merely served to anger me enough to chase you here. Now all that stands between me and the power to conquer not just the Marebbean, but possibly the world as well, is you!"

Pommel grimaced, 'Okay,' He thought, 'Oooookay, not working so far, try something else.'

So he laughed. He laughed hard and loud, threatening to double over and careen down the stairs with the heaving of his body.

"L-lad," Rat said from behind him from within the doorway of the tower, "This ain't no laughin' matter!"


"Wait...wait...you mean he's SERIOUS? Oh wow, let me laugh even harder," Pommel wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye, inhaling to do just as he said.

"What's so damnably funny, you obnoxious runt?" Brahmos growled.

Pommel smirked inwardly to match the one on the outside.

'Toro, motherfucker.'

"What's so funny?" Pommel asked, "You thinking some oversized seafood and bunch of scurvy-ridden bandits and inbred greyhounds is going to conquer a lemonade stand, let alone the world!"

Brahmos glared, "Your insolence is growing tiresome."

"And your ignorance is just getting more and more hilarious," Pommel retorted, "You want to know what's waiting for you outside of this backwater? Huh? I'll tell you. There are seven-count 'em-seven goddesses ruling Equestria now. Celestia -I'm sure you know her-, Luna -returned rom her banishment after one thousand years, and no less powerful than the day she was sent away-, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence...okay, let's count her for like half, but then there's Princess Applejack, Princess Rarity-"

"Yor makin' those names up!" Someone shouted from the throng.

"-And Princess Fluttershy, who became a Princess with help from the GOD OF CHAOS, DISCORD!"

There came a murmuring from the crowd, eyes cast incredulously towards one another.

"But you'll never even see them, wanna know why? Because there's the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, who can be anyone, who feeds off love and once KO'd Celestia herself. Guess who's got her race boarding in the Canterlot Castle ballroom? Then there's Shining Armor, the ex-captain, now EMPEROR-ok, Prince, but come on, that title doesn't work- of the Crystal Empire. He only went and fought TWO Changeling Queens, Chrysalis and Chitania, who can grow to the size of a damned building! Wanna know how I know about the last one? Because she ATE ME! But guess what!? You'll never even see THEM, wanna know WHY!?"

Pommel began to walk down the stairs, a maddened look in his eye that he wasn't entirely sure was acting.

"Because there's the A-Team, four of the biggest badasses in all of Equestria, Spike, a dragon that wields a cannon in just one hand! Diamond Tiara, a filly that can tote around a weapon twice the size of your own and at least ten times as destructive! 42 and 77, the two best changeling warriors Chrysalis has to offer, one will punch your head right off your shoulders, the other can stick his knife in your back before you even realize your right hand man's acting funny! But hey, guess WHAT, you'll never even SEE THEM! WHY YOU ASK!?"

Pommel was inches away from Brahmos' face, staring eye to glaring eye with the behemoth. With each of his next words, he jabbed his hoof into that stark white chest.

"Because you're too scared of one measly. Little. Guard."

Brahmos axe came down, clashing against the ground where Pommel had once stood. The unicorn grinned from where he'd landed further up the stairs, his body tensed and ready for the next move.

"I will destroy you!" Brahmos roared.

"For the record, I think that's a 'challenge accepted'!" Pommel shouted, turning tail and running back towards the doors, "RAT, GUYS! GET AWAY FROM THE DOORS, HE'S COMING THROUGH AND HE'S PISSED!"

There was a roar behind him, the sound of a reckless charge that was heralding Brahmos' mad charge towards him. The fight, as it was, was on, and now all he had to do was survive.

=====

"And now -watch yer step- th' damned fish creatures and harpies are out there, slaughterin' and eatin' anythin' they can find," Daw grunted as she helped Shoals down the steps of the watchtower, laboring to keep the injured stallion from falling, "Guess we should count ourselves lucky this place aint' got windows aside from th' tip top, eh?"

"Heh, y'got that right, Jackie," Shoals grunted, "Damned shame about Evergreen, best damned captain I ever sailed under."

"Aye," Daw sighed, "Me too."

"...he was the only captain you ever sailed under," Shoals pointed out.

"Speaks to his quality that I didn't jump ship then, aye?" Daw smirked a bit.

"Heh, true true," Shoals winced as they started down another flight, "Damnation upon this place, should the lad actually make it back to Canterlot, I hope he gets the whole lot of his Princesses to lay waste to this hell hole."

"It'd be a sight better than what Brahmos intends to do with th' place," Daw agreed, "Damned if I know how we're going to overcome him. He ain't th' type to just let a bunch of dumb animals, monsters or no, get in th' way of something he wants."

"So what do we do?" Shoals asked, "Aside from go out swinging swords 'til we get our heads cut off too."

Daw remained silent, trying not to look at the hobbling stallion.

"...well fuck me with a broomhandle, speaks to our luck this is how it ends," Shoals grumbled, "At least I-...hey, you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Daw cocked her head to one side, listening for a sound.

"I heard some kinda shoutin' from down there..." Shoals grimaced, "Y'don't think..."

Daw grit her teeth, "They're probably banging on th' door already, c'mon, think you can go faster?"

"Aye, aye, it'll hurt like a bastard, but I'll do my best."

Thus their efforts were redoubled.

Pommel sprinted across the golden antechamber of the watchtower, at the tail end of the crew of the Regret as they ran to the opposite side, almost arranging themselves in a semi-circle fashion against the walls, weapons raised, at the ready. Pommel came to the great focusing lense that took up the center of the room and turned, his muscles tensed, his jaw set, thanking Faust above he hadn't had anything to drink in a while lest his true feelings on what he was doing run down his leg. For a few moments, the doors remained merely cracked, slid open just enough to allow Pommel easy access in and out.

Thunderously the massive form of Brahmos smashed through them, his cronies coming close behind, the minotaur coming to a stop at the edge of the lense, the molten hot fury in his eyes mirrored by his stance, his posture...but mostly the axe he threw directly at Pommel head, which the unicorn barely managed to duck out of the way from, the handled grazing his horn, leaving it to hurtle through the air and clatter to the steps of the central throne on the other side of the room.

One of the accompanying Diamond Dogs moved to charge in towards guard, but quickly found his neck slammed into by Brahmos’ elbow, crashing down onto his back in a daze.

"STAY PUT!" The minotaur roared, drawing his other axe and throwing Evergreen's severed head to the fallen dog, "THIS ONE IS MINE!"

Pommel glared at the brute, "Come and get m-Oof!"

Pommel's retort was cut off by a the massive frame of Brahmos barreling towards him, a force comparable to a Friendship Express train that sent him sprawling onto his back, his vision blurring, up and down momentarily losing meaning as he tumbled to the ground. However, he kept enough presence of mind to keep his momentum, clumsily rolling out of the way of the descending axe blade that came crashing down on the floor instead. Pommel scrambled back up to his hooves quickly enough to duck a sideways swipe from the axe, twisting as he crouched low to turn and slam his two back hooves into Brahmos' abdomen, sending the minotaur stumbling back.

A cheer rose up from the crew of the Regret as Pommel widened the distance between himself and the pirate king, his horn beginning to glow as two circled each other, looking for an opening to strike next.

"An amateur's mistake," Brahmos taunted the pony, "A real fighter would have pressed the advantage."

"Well, an old friend of mine told me a real fight-" Pommel cut himself off by blasting a bolt of magical energy towards the hulking minotaur, which the muscular brute deftly dodged-

-in time to face down the same axe he'd thrown a few moments ago, hurtling towards him via a telekinetic spell from Pommel. Brahmos jerked, his frame attempting to sidestep the weapon as it flew to him. But even as he did, the connected with his shoulder, cutting a gash on flesh that began to stain the white arm red as the now bloodstained axe clattered to the ground. The minotaur's teeth gritted together as he winced in pain, jerking his head back towards his opponent in time for the guardsman to slam into him like a cannonball, sending them both to floor.

Pommel's speed came to the fore against as he quickly set about trying to pin the bull and slam his forehooves onto that pale chest, every ounce of weight augmented by the force of gravity in a concerted effort to cave the enter cavity in. Sadly, it held firm, and though he was pleased by the sudden violent wheeze from the minotaur, Pommel soon found himself mirroring the sound as he Brahmos' forehead smashed into his own chest, sending him rolling back and away from the giant.

Pommel shook his head, getting up on shaky legs as Brahmos also found his footing, advancing with his reclaimed axe held high by the unbloodied arm. Pommel's hooves scrambled across the gold as he backpedaled, a wild look in his eyes to match Brahmos's own as they faced off, Brahmos with his bloodied arm, Pommel with his chest already forming a discolored bruise. Brahmos roared, charging forward once again, just as Pommel's horn glowed, and a bolt a magic shot forth again, catching the blade of his axe and knocking it from the pirate king's hand.

What fleeting sense of accomplishment Pommel gained from his attack was soon destroyed, as the loss of his weapon did little to halt Brahmos' charge. If anything, it emboldened the angry bull to press onwards with far more vigor than before, smashing into Pommel and grabbing him by the mane. Pommel was vaguely aware of his world becoming blurry as with one motion, Brahmos lifted him and slammed him headfirst into the solid glass floor beneath. He groaned, barely having time to register the enormity of his pain before he was slammed down again...

'That's some head trauma,' 32's voice remarked within his mind, a pinpoint of conversation in his unfocused and painful thoughts.

And again...

'You're bleeding, like a lot.'

And again...

'Was that a tooth?'

And again.

'That was a tooth...tell me, how did your plan account for getting your ass kicked...unless...heh, clever boy.'

He was lifted again, battered, bloodied, he could feel his face swelling from the many impacts. One more would put him out, and only a few more after would reduce his brain to a fine jelly. He'd be dead, yes, but with him would die the one person on the island the gem creature had deemed worthy to do...whatever it was it wanted to do. With his death, there would be a grinding war of attrition between the monstrosities of the island and Brahmos' forces, until one destroyed the other and found themselves in ruin.

It was a nice thought to die to.

Except...he didn't...

'Aw shit, I think he's on to us,' 32 muttered.

He was hauled up to Brahmos' face, like a misbehaving kitten, unfocused eyes meeting the gloating sadistic cruelty of the minotaur's.

"Did you think I would be blinded to what I required?" Brahmos asked, a glimmer of satisfaction in his voice, "This duel ends when one of us dies, but I decide when that happens. Now, you will tell me how to control this beast, or I will take you apart piece by piece by bloody little piece."

Pommel groaned, but soon found himself dropped to the ground, slowly attempting to get up, only to receive a kick to his ribs that sent him rolling onto his back in a fit of coughs. Pommel's pained moaning only intensified as Brahmos' hoof pressed down onto his chest, looking up at the looming form above through squinted eyes.

"How do you control the beast?" Brahmos asked.

"No..." Pommel managed between ragged breaths, "Won't...tell..."

"Wrong answer," Brahmos growled, raising his hoof and bringing it down on Pommel's cheek.

Pommel shouted wordlessly in pain, writhing on the glass floor as Brahmos casually followed, a sadistic smirk on his pale features.

"Useless filth," Brahmos' deep voice pounded into Pommel's head, managing to cut through the pain throbbing throughout his body, "You accomplish nothing with your insolence. How do you control the beast?"

Pommel panted, he could feel his eye starting to swell shut, he shook his head, "Y...y'll haaf t'kll...me..."

"In good time, now come on, get up," A set of Brahmos' fingers began to grip Pommel's mane, another set, his snout, his mind screamed to do something anything.

So he bit one of the fingers...through one of the fingers.

Brahmos' cry of pain echoed throughout the tower, the bellow of a man-no, a beast in pain. He stumbled back, looking almost awestruck at the stump of a digit that remained on his hand as blood oozed from the wound, covering another expanse of alabaster in crimson.

Pommel had tasted blood before, specifically his own. In the sparring sessions with the guard, in his trials against the simulated troll, the training with Daw. He'd heard stories long ago, that there were warriors who became mad at the taste of blood, heightening their senses and dulling away pain, becoming a maddened unstoppable juggernaut.

The instant urge to vomit told Pommel he was not one of those. He spat and wretched on the floor, leaving the finger to flop onto clear glass ground. He slowly began to get up, his vision swimming, his legs weak, he looked up...

To see the extremely pissed off minotaur's non-injured hand going to grab his mane, yanking him like a misbehaving colt up into the air, eye to eye with him.

"So your goal...is to die..." Brahmos' voice was hollow, a rasp of fury as he held the unicorn's thrashing body, "Then let me make it so."

Pommel crashed to the floor once again, but he soon found his body torqued upward, one set of fingers grabbing his neck, the other the tip of his muzzle.

"Your insolence has robbed you of a quicker demise," Brahmos intoned, "I'm going to rip your very head from its shoulders, slowly, you will feel every vertebrae crack apart, ever tendon snap, every blood vessel fray. Die with this knowledge, I WILL control this creature, even without knowing what you know, and I WILL personally hunt down everyone close to you and destroy them. This world will become mine, as it always should have been."

"BRAHMOS!"

The words cut through Brahmos' monologue, leaving the two combatants to look towards its source: the blue pegasus mare standing on the stairs, a unicorn stallion limping by her side. He eyes were wide with a mixture of anger and shock, her body tensed, wings flared out as though she were set to pounce forward into the fray herself.

Brahmos smirked, "What did I tell you, little bird? Did I not say your protectors would fall? How many more, hm? How many more will you produce before you realized none can match me?"

Pommel's mind raced, looking into Daw's eyes across what may as well have been an impassable chasm. He realized, for all his plotting, all his planning...he didn't want to die, not like this. But if she made to help him, Brahmos would kill him and be ready for her in an instant. If she waited, Pommel would be put through an agonizing torturous demise before her very eyes. She couldn't save him, nor could the surrounding crew...

'So you'll simply need to save yourself, dummy,' 32 said flippantly within his head, 'Remember what I said? Situational awareness. Where are you? Where is he? What can you do he wouldn't expect?'

Pommel closed his eyes, vaguely aware of Brahmos' speech continuing, a timer on his thoughts. Suddenly, it hit him, one last shot, one last chance to stop the minotaur's victory. Slowly, ever so slowly, he wiggled his head, pointing his horn to the underside of Brahmos' jaw. His horn lit up, he blasted out the biggest bolt of magical energy he could right into-

Thin air.

Brahmos laughed, "Nice try, you imbecile, but I'm afraid your aim was off."

"Who...said...I was aiming...for you?" Pommel grinned as Brahmos' eyes went wide, the minotaur looking upwards as the bolt traveled up and up and up to the very top of the tower.

To the gem.

Pommel summoned as much strength as he could muster and jerked out of the giant minotaur's grasp, diving forward as the gem took the power of the bolt into itself, glowed bright...

And returned it a hundred fold.

"NO-!" Brahmos' panicked shout was cut off by a beam of luminous blue energy enveloping him. His skin was roasted with heat far beyond any oven, the hair on his head and lower body catching aflame, internal fluids bubbling and boiling within his skin as all that he was, his bones, his organs, his very being was immolated in magic flame. Then in the next instant the flames died, and all that remained was a pile of ash on the ground.

Brahmos was no more.

Pommel stood, his body trembling as he stepped towards the ash, glaring down as he stood over it, lifting one hoof up and bringing it down on the pile.

"Best...in...the...world!" He mumbled out, then fell onto his side.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Chaos.

The creature living within her had no such concept, of course. It had no idea what chaos even meant. To it, there was simply spread, and not spread.

And this here, of course, was the s͜͝p҉̛r͢͢e̷͠ą̸d͞.

They descended as one perfectly uniform, a single mind with many limbs, all moving to the tune that only they could hear. All of them as one...

Except herself, of course.

She, for reasons that even now escaped her, was allowed freedom, the ability to see and to think. It was this ability, this rare gift, that let her muse of the irony of it all. At last, she had fulfilled her Queen's desires, she had brought the invasion to Canterlot just as she swore she would. Her promise kept, even after her end. Sure, it came from above, rather than below, but it came all the same. It would have been funny... perhaps in another life.

More than one looked at her, questioned why she was unlike the others no doubt. Let them. It wouldn't matter, in the end. Nothing matters in the end.

Nothing could stop it.

Nothing....
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 >AJ

Scritch scribble scratch scritch

>...event of....fall back....deposit....refugees.....crop rotation.....

Just keep writing, keep the orders flowing.

Scribble scritchitch scritch

Send it out like the others, under the door.

Scritch scribble scribble scribblescribble

>Keep.....Out

Just in case the other 5 warning sheets you sent before weren't enough.

>...Uhhhhhrrrrrhhh....what next?.....gotta....gotta.....

Spread?

>No...fuck off...Nnnng....!

The fungus recoiled at the surge of magic, but a lot more hesitantly than before.

Can't hold it off... it's going to win.

>Arana...please tell me you made it....please oh please... help me.

She bumped her head at the back of the door, trying to regain some composure, her eyes were worn, her hair in spits and furts unraveling, her own fur slightly paler orange than normal.

>Countin' on you... countin' on Twi too... They can fix this...she always..can...
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 >Vekir
"Rarity"
'Cordies'

>Hallo ponies!

'SCREEEEEE!'

>GOODBYE PONIES!

With every bit of energy available to her bouncy frame, the armor clad creature known as Vekir sprinted down the halls of Canterlot Castle, her expression of abject terror obscured by her helmet. Reflexes honed through a childhood of dodging shadows in the dark, vicious predators, and hungry relatives came to the fore once again, put to use in squirming and skittering away from the red-covered forms of the infected.

>Forward backward backward forward, dance my brother dance...

Vekir's song came out under her breath as she feinted to one side and dived to the other, dodging the screaming lunge of another infected pony and allowing her to continue her flight.

>Forward backward, side to side, catch them in a trance...

She swung around to her left and slipped into another hall, skittering like a bug as she kept low and as out of sight as one can manage in a bright blue exoskeleton. Just had to find a hiding spot, that was all, find a hiding spot just like in the caves.

>These beasts so blind, they have no minds, so wait no for your chance...

She hunkered down as another infected rushed past her small corridor.

>Forward backward backward for-

Something slammed into her from behind, sending her tumbling end over end into a wall, she groaned on the ground, shaking her head.

>Ungh...

Through blurred vision, she saw the advancing figures of the infected, ready to finish what they had started...

>But if your leg its jaws have kissed, well then dear brother, you will be miss-

'GET AWAY FROM HER YOU RUFFIANS!'

A bolt of purple magic slammed into the small Morlock's assailants, blasting them back. Vekir looked up in time to see her savior.

>Aha! Princess Rarararartis!

'Vekir, where've you been!?'

>I was searching for a trash can for to purge into.

'...okay, we'll discuss why a lady shouldn't do that later, but for now, come with me, we need to get somewhere safe.'

>AT ONCE! HURRAH!
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 >SA
"Celestia"
'Guards'
~~~~

The chaos that rained upon them was something no training, of any kind, could ever prepare them for.

Their red splotched, diseased faces were bad enough.

Their hollow, dead eyes were even worse.

But it was their faces...

'S-SUNNY!'

Their faces is what really drove the fear into every heart like a pike of fire.

'Damn it man, stop it! It's not her!'

'Fuck you, that's my little sister over there! That's Sunny!'

'IT'S NOT HER!'

'THE HELL IT ISN'T!'

As the creatures swarmed, many a faces were recognized, family, friends, lovers, all so familiar, yet twisted.

And against it all, they had to fight. They had to strike back, they had to harm those they had once cared for and many times swore to protect. Because there was no choice.

This thing offered none.

Through it all, colorful bolts would rocket out, shields forming at precise moments and sending any creature it came across soaring away, while leaving the ponies untouched.

>Keep the left perimeter tight! Unicorn guard, suppressing fire on the aerial fighters! Pegasi, get ready to drop the bombs!

Even with his words barking out over the screeches of the invaders, many still struggled, stumbled, panicked. They still acted as if every one was a fresh rookie, despite their years behind them.

>... damn it.

"Worry about your past performance later, we have an invasion to repel!"

He gave a brief nod to the alicorn who strode beside him, her own magic casting in every direction, bolts of power sending waves of them careening away in flashes of white. They stood proudly together, two massive waves of magic shooting out in every way to keep the waves from crashing against them.

But there were too many...

>I have an idea!

She grunted, firing off another bolt at a divebombing pegasus just before it could reach the guard.

"Better make it fast!"

>I'm going to need your help.

She looked back to him, the twinkle in his eye telling her everything she needed to know right away.

"Whatever will your wife think?"

>Celebrity exception, remember?

Normally, she would be most amused by that.

But if ever there was a time, this was not it.

"Come on!"

She turned to face him, just as he did the same to her. He had to crane his neck up quite a bit in tune with her own craning down, but eventually their horns touched, and their power could be unleashed.

It was not as when he cast out the changelings so long ago. They had to be careful, directional, knowing full well that Twilight was doubtlessly toiling away with a subject of some kind she would of course wish not to be sent away in this critical moment.

Instead, it was as if it were a single shield a soldier would carry upon their side, broad, and massive, but focused.

With a boom of power, it swept forward, crashing against the infected while harmlessly passing over the soldiers, and with their combined powers those turned were cast away, out of Canterlot and into the air.

For a moment, they felt almost... triumphant to see them go.

And yet, their hearts sank when as one, they seemed to stop on a dime, floating in the air by more than just their own power and the momentum lost instantly.

Without so much as a beat to catch their breath, they resumed the charge.

>...That worked way better last time.

Reality, it seemed, did not care.

As if they were a tsunami against the shore, they crashed on the soldiers that held the line.

Once more, the battle resumed.

And above it all... she watched.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Spike
"77"
'007'
~~~

Chaos.

Pure, undiluted, unrestrained, chaos.

...And that wasn't referring to the zombies.

'THIS IS AMAAAAAZZZINNNNG! AHAHAHAHAHAH!'

Explosions rippled through the innards of the castle, leaving deep gouges in the walls that were once so pristine. Somehow, the hordes of mind eating monsters was not as much as a concern of accidentally being consumed in a blast.

>WILL YOU CALM DOWN!?

"Show some restrain, ling!"

But he did not, he just kept firing away.

'THIS IS SO SATISFYING! After all these years of sneaking, careful planning, oh so meticulous needs not to so much as move a table a touch in the wrong direction, THIS IS AMAZING!'

>...

"Hey, you wanted him on the team."

>I mean, it's technically a smart choice, he's doing pretty good all things considered.

"Effective in the most general sense, I suppose?"

>Wish the shield had lasted longer. I wasn't ready.

"We seldom are."

>...Wow, he is just really going at it.

'AHAHAHAHAHAH!'

"Diamond Tiara will be most irate, she will think we are replacing her."

>Nahhhh... he isn't proclaiming himself god-king of the world, totally different.

"Point."

'AHAHAHHAHAHAHA!'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Dash
"Fluttershy"
'Pinkie'
~~~

>SCREW YOU!

The thing screeched before being tossed into a wall.

>SCREW YOU!

Another one shrieked as it was hurled off Canterlot's cliff.

>And screw ALLLL KINDS OF YOU!

Four of them went flying that time.

>PINKIE PIE, REPORT!

The pink party pony paused powerfully popping persons pithy.

'Well, we're boned! And not in the fun way!'

>...Thanks, Pinkie, way to keep the morale up. Fluttershy?

The terrified ex-pegasus just shuddered in fear, hiding underneath a park bench while shaking so hard the seat itself was vibrating.

>Not using those chaos powers, gotcha.

"I-I'm sorry..."

'She can't even stand NIGHTMARE NIGHT, and you want her to fight these things!?'

>Well excuse me, I didn't get a super powerup like everyone else!

'Neither did I!.... I don't think.'

>Hence the problem!

"P-please stop yelling."

>Sorry, but I need to be heard over the SCREECHING HORRORS FROM BEYOND!

"O-okay..."

>PLEASE tell me Twilight is going to fix this!

'Well, if not... at least we'll have a lot of friends?'

>..

'...I'm trying here, this is hard to make not horrible.'

"I appreciated the effort."

'Glad someone did...'

>On the positive side, it's not like the Wonderbolts would be any worse off.

"..."

>...I'm trying too.

"That one was just mean."

'Yeah, Dash. Leave that stuff to me.'

>...AND FUCK YOU TOO!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >PD
“??”
'??'
~~

The ride in her airship was almost pleasant, really.

~DEVOUR! DEVOUR! THIS IS YOUR FINAL HOUR!~

...Even if she could only find rock stations on the radio.

>Of fucking course this happens... probably that dumbass “Poncho” corporations fault. Yeah, probably experimented on a frog or something and boom, zombies. Dumbasses. Every one of them. Now I've got to wait for someone to deal with these things, gather the survivors together, start a new... huh, I suppose I do have quite a bit of infrastructure with my base. Medicine, food, weapons... hey, maybe if they fail I'll head out and start grabbing survivors. Yeah, start over, with me at the head of it all. This could work, I'm liking this already. This could-

A distinct SLAM of her airship's door froze her blood right in her veins. The magical cloak was still on, and she should have been too high up for pegasi to fly...

>Damn, they must've evolved again!... No matter.

With a few simple pushes of a button, her armory opened up, revealing quite the impressive collection of weapons.

>...I'm feeling... you.

Prototype torch, supposedly able to push out a welding flame three feet in front of her. Bit heavy, but effective, if it lived up to the hype.

>Yeah, you'll do.

She waited patiently as she heard the footsteps run towards her cockpit, the distinct CLANG CLANG CLANG of something running down the corridor. Closer... and closer...

When it got just close enough, she decided to save whatever zombie had managed to get onboard the trouble. She slammed her hoof onto the button to open the door, and unleashed hell.

>AND A FUCK YOU TOO!

The hallway was bathed in flames from the canon, ones so hot she felt her fur singe just from being in the vicinity. But even still, she did not let up, not until she was certain she would be staring at nothing but charred coal when she finally let up.

When she finally did, she saw charred something... just not what she was expecting.

“...Hi, boss!”

Her jaw dropped as she stared at the almost meek looking dragon looking back at her from the hallway, an almost comical scorch mark behind him embroiled on the wall. Off to the side, she could juuuust barely make out a ponies hoof from where he had been propped up against the wall, away from the fire.

>...Motherfucker.

“So, uh, just... just gotta know for future reference, those ours? The whole... screechy... horrible things, I mean. Are they ours? Did we do that?”

She stared at him for a long, long period.

Then promptly smacked him in the head with her torch.

“OW!... Not ours, gotcha.”

>Why...

Furiously, she started beating him in the head.

>WHY OF ALL THE FUCKING AGENTS IN THE FUCKING WORLD WITH MY FUCKING ARSENAL DO I GET STUCK WITH YOU TWO DUMBASS MOTHERFUCKERS!?

“T-the language isn't-OWOWOWOWOW!”

Eventually, her limbs grew tired from the painful beating, and she stopped.

>...The FUCK is wrong with him!? Is he infected!? I SWEAR IF YOU BROUGHT AN INFECTED PONY ON MY AIRSHIP-

“N-no! No no, boss! None of that!”

'I-I'm fine...'

“See? Totally not... well, he's not, like, all red and SCREEECH, if you know what I mean.”

>...

“Screeching was not necessary, got you. I'll keep that for future reference. But, you see, me and him were fighting those things, TOTALLY trying to protect your building of course, doing our jobs and all that-”

>Poorly, apparently.

“...Right, well, point is that he kind of... lost his arm.”

>...

“Sorry, foreleg, right, still learning pony terminology-”

>Give me one fucking reason I shouldn't toss you out of my airship right now and open fire if you even THINK about trying to come back in.

“...Uh...”

>You don't think I'll toss a crippled pony out and watch him fall? I'll do it.

“You know what? I do not doubt you.”

>And yet, there are still no reasons you are speaking.

“...Well, I mean, I'm a pretty thick meatshield? If those things come at you, lots to chew through... dragon scales.”

>...

“And I mean, Flash has a self destruct built in, right? That'd buy you some time. So, we're useful like that, in addition to the fighting.”

>...At last, you start to figure out how this works. I'm honestly impressed.

She jutted her hoof to the side, pointing down the hall.

>Infirmary is over there, get him patched up enough to be jerky if we need it, other than that, stay as far away from this cockpit as you can.

“R-right.”

'Thanks.'

>Also, fair warning, I WILL be re-evaluating you both for your positions in the coming months. Fair warning, normally performance like that tends to end with re-assignment.

“...To where?”

>Secretarial work.

“Oh...”

'T-that doesn't... doesn't sound so bad.'

“Yeah. I mean, it's bullshit because we're fighters, not paper pushers, but you made it sound terrible-”

>Secretarial work for higher officials.

“...Okay? So, bigger workload?”

>You could say that.

“...Oh.”

>Starting to put it together?

“Yeeeeahhh...”

>Your insurance does not cover lube, cough medicine, or injuries via leather whips, by the way.

“You know, I kind of figured.”

>Get the fuck out of my sight.

With that, the door slammed shut.

“...We still under contract?”

'S-she can apparently self destruct me, and didn't say she couldn't do the same to you.'

“...Considering zombies.”

'Right there with you, buddy.'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >AJ
~~~

S͠p̶rȩa͞d

She ignored that ringing in her head as best she could. It wasn't words, per-say, more like a feeling she just instantly connected to the phrase, a desire more than a command.

S҉p̧r̛e̴ad͞

She kept ignoring it, hoof furiously scribbling on another piece of paper. Even as much as she shook, she held firm, making it meticulous, clean, legible. No confusion due to splotchy writing on her account, no sir.

S̶p̶r͝e͜ad̷

>Shut up already.

She didn't know who she was talking to, or if it could hear her at all, she just needed to say it.

Spr͞e̢a҉d͢

The screeching in her ears reached a fever pitch. It had already been loud before, but now, for some reason, it was absolutely deafening.

>Ah'm not gonna stop cause o' you. Ah'm not done yet, no ma'am.

S̷pr҉ea͝d

>You see this right here? This here form is fer' reconstruction o' destroyed property. Thisin' here? Homes fer' those who can't go back to theirs. This one? Free therapy, provided by us. Ya'll ain't gonna leave so much as a scratch when yer' gone, Ah'll see ta' that.

Spr̷ea̸d

>And yer' gonna be gone, Ah'm sure o' that. Ya'll can't win. Yer a fungus, a piece o' plant. Ah'm s'posed ta' be afraid o' you? Ah'm supposed ta' obey you? Ah'm not takin' orders from no weed.

Spr̷ea̸d

>Yer' gonna lose, just like everyone else. Yer' gonna lose, Twi's gonna win, that's gonna be the end of it. Even iffin' we can't fix me, we're gonna fix everyone else. Yer' gonna lose.

At last, the feeling left her. The screeches did not grow silent, but that feeling....

"You cannot stop the Ś̴̷͡p͟͏̢̢͝r̷͘é̵͡a̢̧̡̛҉ḑ."

Her head jerked back, looking all around for the voice she had heard as clean as day, a feminine voice to be sure, and it was like it was right here in the room with her, right here...

But there was nobody...

>... You ain't gonna win.

The thing within herd did not, likely could not, feel fear.

...But she could.

>You won't...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Cadence
"42"
~~~

This was not going according to plan.

>O-owwww...

The poor thing stumbling after the solider bug was barely going above a slow trot, at best, nowhere near the top speed run that had been planned. Of course, that plan had hinged on her carrying Cadence upon her back and running at full tilt.

But, it seemed, she had not properly compensated for the speed in which some of them could descend at. Speeds that should have very easily shattered their pony bodies like twigs.

But it seems that the threat of being broken like fine china held no sway to these creatures, and as such the stone like defense of the castle was entirely useless. They had broken through the ceiling in an instant, and were upon them in seconds.

They were beaten back several seconds later, for the record.

But while she could batter and beat them all with quite a powerful force, she could not do the same and also carry the alicorn with her. As such, she could only carve a path, and little else.

>J-just go on ahead, I'll c-c...

If she were the type, she would have busted a gut laughing at the mere thought.

"Continue at your own pace, this is of no concern to me."

Her hooves turned even the strongest of them into blurs when they collided, not so much as a one even nearing the pink fur.

>A-are you sure?

Normally, she would not be this unsteady, this unsure. But the break had been sudden, violent, something she could not have foreseen or defended against. Her mind, and her body, were a haze.

"Of course. Do not worry, princess. Continue at your own pace, and we shall be home soon enough."

>T-that would be nice...

And so, she continued down that hall, inching her way to the portal that could send her far, far away from this.

And with every step, the niggling fear that burning in her muscles was going to become too much to bear crept ever closer.

"You will be home soon... I promise."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >PD
"Fizzle"
'Flash'
-Xtreme Droids-

"Hey boss?"

>What?

"There's something on the manifest here about the ship having droids?"

>Excuse me?

"Yeah, no real reason listed except 'For when PD comes around."

>...the hell could I come around for...whatever, they could be useful, so why don't you be that for once and go turn them on.

"Aye aye!"

>...never do that again.

Fizzle runs off.

'Why would you only have three robots on your airship?'

>I don't know, this was a recent addition, I was GOING to have a personal security and maintenance force of rotating legions of the latest and greatest droids to come out of our labs, but I had to launch it before we could build them all...three...three droids...does it say who had them shipped here?

'Some guy named 'Bottom Line'?'

>...oh fuck.

"Hey boss lady, I turned the droids on!"

>TURN THEM OFF!

"What? Why!?"

>TURN! THEM! OFF! Before they-

-MISSILE! ASSAULT! DROID!-

-Arctic Rescue Droid!-

-Orbit...Adventure...Droid.-

>...Faust damn it.

"Heh, kool."

'...did, did you somehow manage to SAY cool with a k?'

"Huh, guess I did."

-MISSILE! ASSAULT! DROID!-

"Oh I'm gonna like you guys!"

>*incoherent scream of rage*
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Velvet
"Nightlight"
~~

>...

"Just like old times... except no vampire."

>So sorry reality could not bend it's fabric so your past power fantasy could be relived in the exact same way, and this particular apocalypse was slightly different from what you hoped it would be.

"...This is because I drank all the orange juice, isn't it?"

>WHY PUT THE CARTON BACK IN!? I don't pick it up when I see the carton, you know I don't! If it's empty, throw it away!

"Is now really the time?"

>YES! ABSOLUTELY!

"Okay..."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Poindexter
"Crystal Guards"
~~

"Okay, so, say it again."

>I'm going to try to ask her to go to a convention with me. Just as friends!

"PFFTTHAHAHAH!"

>Stop it!

"Look, sorry man, but it's obvious you're huge on her, why not just ask her out?"

>Chrysalis.

"...ooooh.."

"Yeah, I see the problem."

"But what's she going to do, really? You're the prince's best friend."

"Seriously, you've got less to worry about than a dragon in a match factory."

>Look, she's scary, okay!

"Oh, we know."

"Trust me, you don't watch her lay waste to an entire armada solo and not see why she's scary."

"But you know, love's worth it!"

"Love is HUGE!"

"It's the biggest thing!"

"The BIGGEST thing!"

"Even bigger than THE thing!"

"Your thing."

"It is the most important thing in the world, right now, right this second."

"NOTHING is more important right now than going up to her, and just GOING for it, you know?"

"I mean, yeah, you're thinking 'I've got time', right? But hey, maybe you don't."

"Nothing's really going on, but you never know."

"Just GO for it, man!"

>...Y-you really think I should?

"Totally."

"Do it, man, for her!"

"Go for it!"

>...M-maybe...

"Aaaaagh!"

>Why do you guys care so much?

"Our princess is the princess of LOVE! It's kind of our thing."

>...Well, I mean... what's the worst that could happen?

"There you go!"

"GO FOR IT!"

>...Man, I really hope Chrysalis is having a good day, or I am fucked.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >32
"Reggie"
'Q'
-Arana-

>Dum diddly dum...waiting waiting waiting...patiently. Super patiently. I..okay, come on, Gun Club, Brother, someone come along already!

"*Chitter*"

>Oh don't give me that, the apocalypse is no excuse to be tardy.

'*tink*?'

>Hmph, not my fault they don't know about the voice in my head's timetable.

"*chitter*"

>Oh hush up and eat the leftover brownies I found in their pantry.

"*chitter*?"

>It's not stealing if we're their guests, which we are, whether they like it or not.

"*chitter*!"

>Oh that's rich coming from the cockroach!

There came a banging at the door, shaking the changeling out of his argument. Cocking his head to the side he traipsed away from the table and to the door, putting his ear to it.

>Hmm...now let's see. I can entertain three possibilities, my friends, number one: It is the Gun Club and they forgot their keys. Number two: These creatures Princess Twilight called Cordyceps are much more polite than I was lead to believe. Or number three: Someone smelled the re-heated brownies.

"*chitter*?"

>I have heard legends of these brownies, Reggie, I suspect good and honest folk would come running.

There came another banging.

>Hmm, they seem quite impatient, shall we?

'*tink*'

Slowly, almost daintily, 32 unlocked the door and opened it, poking his head out to behold...

The small spiderling on the other side.

-...-

>...Hello.

-H-hi...-

32 lifted up the tray.

>Brownie?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >High Roller
"Blues"

>Keep low and keep quiet.

"I'm keepin' I'm keepin'."

The two stallions crawled on their bellies on the side of the road, trying their damndest to avoid drawing attention to themselves. The now quite pale pegasus stallion moved with a practiced liquid grace, every movement calculated to minimize sound. He was as silent as a prowling jungle cat.

Blues was trying his best not to faceplant into the mud.

"How close are we getting to the hospital, man?"

>We're getting closer as quick as we can considering our current circumstances.

"C...come on, whatever's going on, we can at least get on the road. What if we just booked it to the hospital."

>We have no idea of the true nature of our predicament, Mr. Noteworthy. I am not in the business of going into a situation guns blazing.

"Then why'd you impersonate a Guard?"

>...heh...

"Did...did I just make you laugh?"

>What can I say, nothing more humorous than a truth stated bluntly. Now come, if we quicken our pace just a bit, I think we'll get there before the hour's out.

"You don't think she'll have escaped by the time we get there?"

>We're looking down the barrel of some form of apocalypse and she's in a hospital. My friend, Lucy dearest is in Candyland.

"...who the hell is Lucy?"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________