The Valhalla Cascade: The Arrival

I

Twilight’s squad was stuck in Sunset Plaza facing off with a pack of Dogs. The opposing sides were hunkered down on opposite sides of the shopping area and for the past quarter of an hour they had been in deadlock, groups of three’s and fours vying for superior positioning over their opponents. The one piece of good news was that they had found Shining Armour and his personally trained commando’s, who had were about to overrun when Twilight had arrived.  It was not helping matters that the magic damping from the dogs had increased to the point that even Twilight could barely eke a spell out.

“Hey Twiley.” Shining Armour grunted, sliding through pile of rubble and behind the wall in which Twilight and Fluttershy was sheltering as energy bolts burst overhead. The cat and mouse like confrontation had been so intense that the sibling hadn’t been able to reach each other.

“I like your new friends.” Shining Armour said as there came a clatter and a shriek as Erwin pulled a Dog through an air vent before its comrades could react. The ‘converted’ Xenomorph had racked up an impressive kill count throughout siege. The dense urban surrounding made it easy for him to creep up on and dispatch unwary Dogs even if some of his natural kamikaze-like aggression had been removed by Fluttershy’s influence.

“He’s such a good boy.” Fluttershy said as the ripped-up remains of the unlucky Dog dropped from the Ceiling in front of them, eliciting an odd look from Twilight. “Even if he did want to kill us before.” Fluttershy added sheepishly.

Before Shining Armour could question this Twilight cut in. “Look, Shining, Do you know how close the enemy forces are to the Castle?  We think Jack is going to try and breach the inner Citadel and free the thing locked in the vaults.”

“Last time I checked over the radio Commanders Hurricane, Phalanx, and Thalia were holding off a good chunk of their total forces at the castle battlements with eveypony else spread throughout the city. But even if he does get through I’m way ahead of you sister, I left an elite commando squadron to keep the Vaults secure.”

There was a sudden commotion. Three Commandos’ had hidden themselves in the debris at their position and hidden in wait. Sure enough three Dogs had taken the opportunity to move up having seen the apparently empty shop. The second the Dogs had turned their backs the Commandos had burst from the rubble like spectres, knives clenched in-between teeth. Two knives found their target and plunged into jugular blood vessels but the third Dog was a fraction faster. The

Commando’s knife was deflected down and lodged in the Dogs chest. Fatally wounded the Dog clamped both hand onto the Commando’s back and with a flash of heat fused on, the Dogs features began to bubble and warp with heat. Realising what was about to happen, the Commando roared and burst from the shop dragging the dead Dog with him, who now glowing as fire was shot from its mouth and ears.

A flurry of projectiles peppered the Commando as he charged across no-man’s land, but he shrugged them off like they were gnat bites. He let out a final cry of “For Equestriaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!” and threw himself into the enemy positions. The Dog fused to his back erupted, the kamikaze mechanism turning him into a ball of plasma. The firestorm rushed outwards incinerating everything about it. The commando’s flesh was stripped from his bones instantly and Twilight was slammed against the wall as air was sucked from the atmosphere to fuel the fireball. When the blistering heat stopped the ponies looked round at the devastation. The Dogs had all been incinerated and by some miracle the plasma burst had burnt out just short of the ponies. They stood in numb shock for a moment, silent at the Commando’s final act of heroism.

Face tear stained, Twilight turned to her brother, “I’m so sorry Shining, those elite commandos you left to guard the Vaults? They don’t stand a chance.”

II

The twenty members of Commando Group Omega winced as something detonated outside. They were deep inside the castle, so the proximity of the explosion was deeply worrying.

“We should be out there.” Phoebus muttered flapping her bat-wings nervously. “They need us out there.”

“Relax.” Prince Blueblood said, patting her back. “The Dogs may have taken us by surprise but if it were anything like the Changeling invasion we’d know about it by know.”  It was still vaguely odd for Phoebus to have royalty as a squad mate, especially the infamous Blueblood. But, to give him his due, he was a good fighter but was brilliant at recon and predicting enemy movements. Despite having been an absolute arse for the majority of his life; a few years back he’d sat down after the famous Grand Galloping Gala incident and said to himself “Blueblood, what are you doing?” Since then he’d thrown himself through military training with a gusto that had boarded on demented. Despite the initial hostility shown my...well...everyone, most had eventually admitted that he was a changed Stallion.

Phoebus was drawn out of her recollections by a sound echoing down the corridor. As a bat-pony her hearing was far more acute than the others. Blueblood noticed her cock her head. “Something coming?” Blueblood asked suddenly alert.

“Tapping.” Phoebus said, “No...Footsteps?! It’s definitely not a pony!”

In an instant the 20 commando’s were ready. Weapons poised as the tapping footsteps grew louder and into the audible range of the other ponies.

Then he was there.

Jack paced towards the commando’s each step slow but confident. He sized up each pony in turn. Finger drumming in anticipation he let out a wheezing chuckle before saying “Twenty. Walk away now and I won’t have to kill you. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“We know that a blind gryphon nearly beat you by herself, Yah big bugly weirdo.” a Vanguard Commando said levelling his spear at Jack.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Jack, almost lazily, reached out, grabbed the spear by the shaft, reversed it and stabbed it through the Vanguards’ throat. Blood flowed like a river down the Vanguards armoured weave as he dropped. Jack looked back up and said softly “Nineteen.”

All hell broke loose. Jack moved like a snake striking, his fist snapped out and hit a soldier in the face, blood spraying as the soldier was smashed into the ground.  Two pegasi swept in with gladius short swords slashing, Jack brought up his forearms as a metallic ripple passed along it. The swords clashed against Jack’s long forearms like they were made of steel.

Phoebus cursed and few up into the air, trying to move round the Pegasi to get a clear pass with her rapier. Jack twisted his body and the left pegasus’s sword was sent it plunging into his comrade’s side. Jack’s arm swiped back and back handed the other pegasus so hard that his head was twisted 180°.

“Sixteen.”

The three unicorns armed with bows finally had a clear shot and set out a volley of flaming arrows at Jack, firing as fast as was physically possible. Jack grinned with savage pleasure he weaved between them. He pointed the arm with syringes at archers. There was spring and three of the syringes were launched through the air, but before they could reach their intended targets they ground to a halt in mid-air. Blueblood growled and crushed the syringes telekinetically, his horn sparking as it forced the magic through the damping fields.

“Ohh,” Jack laughed, “Now how did I know you were going to do that? Watch out, that choking gas is pretty flammable.”   The liquid in the broken syringes billowed out as a choking gas that quickly flooded the entire corridor. Jack laughed again a fireball gathered in his right hand.

Phoebus suddenly slammed into Jack. Her sword snapped like a twig against the sheen of his forearms, but the force staggered him back and the fireball went out. Phoebus was grabbed by the scruff of her neck as Jack held her in front of him.

“Bat-pony? How curious.” He mused, “Tell me do you sleep upside-YAH!” Jack yelped with surprise as Phoebus whipped out a hidden dagger and slammed it into his face. The dagger missed the intended target of the organic side of his face but was still scored a hit as buried itself up to its hilt in the largest of the robotic lenses. “Now that was stupid! I’m going to….”

Blueblood suddenly rammed out of the chemical fog and threw himself at Jack with the two bulkiest Earth Ponies in the group in tow.  Jack’s spindly legs buckled as the ponies slammed into him like a freight train. Blueblood was suddenly next to the dazed Phoebus and began firing punches into Jacks face. “DON’T! YOU! DARE! TOUCH HER!” More ponies leapt out of the fog and piled onto Jack.

For one glorious moment Phoebus thought they had Jack beaten as she drew another dagger and swept it at his organic eye. Then Jack let out the haunting, insane laugh and he ‘blinked’. His body turned to smoke and he re-materialised upright, disorientated ponies clinging to his arms, still trying to stab him. Jack took two steps forward, the two Earth Ponies who had knocked him over let out curdling screams as Jack’s point–like feet punctured their spines. Jack ‘blinked again and his smoky arms passed through the wall. When they withdrew they did not bring the commando’s back with them.

Phoebus gasped with dark, cold horror. Only she and Blueblood remained alive. Phoebus had been thrown clear when Jack had teleported. Rolling on the ground she picked up a sword and hurled it at Jack as Blueblood tried to stab his exposed abdomen. Effortlessly Jack slapped the sword out the air and pushed a single needle into Blueblood’s side. Blueblood dropped to the ground, yelling and pawing at the wound. As Blueblood began to writhe in agony Jack turned to Phoebus and began speaking.

“Listen up. I’ve injected him with a solution that causes his blood to start clotting. At its present concentration it’s not lethal but let me assure you it is exquisitely painful. There is a magical barrier surrounding the vaults coded to block non-pony DNA, it will be terribly difficult to dismantle and it take a while for me to break it down. But I can assure you I will succeed and I WILL kill anyone who disturbs me while I take down the barrier. There is however a shut off rune just inside that you could activate saving me a lot of time and saving you, this pony here (who judging from you facial expression is VERY dear to you) and all the other soldiers who try to stop me their lives.” Jack let out a small giggle “Just so you know I have enough of that blood clotting solution left to make this unicorns body tear itself into a fine paste.”

“You’re a monster.” Phoebus said grabbing a sword off the ground. “And I would die ten times over before I betray this land to the likes of you.”

“Last chance!” Jack mocked, striding towards the trembling bat-pony. On the ground Blueblood rolled over and through his convulsing agony shot a fireball at Jack. It burst on his back, staggering him slightly. With a fierce battle roar Phoebus leapt through the air towards a monster she knew in her her she could not hope to defeat.