Risk Of Epic

Breathe In

    The Royal Guard outpost near the Everfree forest was buzzing with activity, the two dozen ponies stationed there sprinting from one end of the walled complex to the other, gathering supplies, donning armor and sharpening weapons. Sparks from the whetstone flew up into the air, drifting upon the gentle wind. They had received word of a massive creature manifesting itself nearby from their scouts out in the Everfree. The air in the camp was filled with the barking of orders from the commanding officer deployed there.

Scope In

    One pony stopped for a moment, looking out past the low walls of the outpost. It's funny really. To an experienced sniper, time moves in slow motion even at break neck pace, but when you stop completely, for even a moment ...

Bullet In

    ... you're as good as dead. The ultrasonic rail rifle round created a sonic boom around itself as it smashed into the head of the unaware guard, the large caliber of it tearing the upper half of the jaw off. The result was the body wobbling uneasily for a moment, before collapsing in a geyser of blood spurting from the lower jaw, flooding out as if it were a monsoon.

    A pony nearby yelped in horror. A splitting pain came from his eardrum, the sonic boom having deafened him. The entire camp froze, every single guard stopping for a second, trying to make heads or tails of where the strike had come from.

Breathe In

    Suddenly, the frenzied action of the camp returned in full force, with several guards barking orders to the squad of unicorns to throw up a barrier around the small camp. The air began to smell of blood, the waterfall of it gushing from the corpses neck to blame. A medic dashed over to the cadaver, knowing it was too late for him, but wanting to inspect the wound none the less.

Scope In

    Two unicorns accompanied the doctor, throwing up another, smaller shield around the three of them, as the medic bent down, trying to locate the projectile. He levitated his instruments, delicately picking away at the utterly ravaged remains of the neck. Bone had been ripped right off, and muscle has been shredded like tissue. Tendons had snapped like cheap rubber bands, and blood continued to envelop the pony. His fur began to soak with the stuff, turning his white coat a crimson red, contrasting morbidly with each other.

    Finding the railgun slug lodged deep in the back of the neck, the unicorn plucked it out with his magic, holding up to his eyes, the bullet spread out and crumpled, and caked with sticky flesh, dripping blood. He rotated it, trying to look for something he couldn't quite put his hoof on.

Bullet In

    Another ear bleeding wave of sound exploded through the air, causing several ponies to wince in pain, clutching their ears. The bullet spiraled with efficiency towards the medic, the velocity and force of it punching straight through the force field. The round was fired in such a way that it shredded through the heads of all three guards, the first one's head completely exploding in a shower of gore, splattering the other two ponies with grey matter. The medics head was the next target of the impossibly powerful slug, ripping open the side that it entered, the tendons snapping easily, and the bones becoming nothing more than pulverized dust.

    The flesh of the head hung awkwardly as the stallion toppled over, his helmet in blood soaked fragments on the ground. The final victim was granted a much less spectacular death, the bullet simply ripping through his eyes, popping them like overfilled water balloons. Overcome by the sheer amount of pain and shock from having the entirety of one of his senses torn away instantly, the final guard slumped to the ground after wobbling uneasily for a moment, gasping for help.

Breathe In

    At this point the remaining unicorns were encasing the entire complex in a magical barrier, in an attempt to defend themselves from the unseen threat. Wave after wave of pulsating energy was poured into the shield, the aura of it rippling like that of an aurora borealis.

Scope In

    A pegasi sergeant was gathering his squad, ordering them to pile inside the stone armory building. The dozens of guards shouted at each other, some of them on the verge of vomiting upon seeing the mangled remains of their long time friends. A few of the guards called out for forgiveness, while others still prayed to Celestia for protection.

    The surge of ponies rapidly disappeared inside the small stone building, with no windows to be seen. The cobblestone was mossy and overgrown with ivy, the smokestack billowing light grey smoke. The sergeant beckoned to the unicorns to hurry up and get inside, waving his hoof frantically, his nervous eyes darting around scanning the tree tops and foliage.

Charge Up

    An audible whirring noise could be heard, although it was faint and muffled. The fearful guards dropped their barrier as they rushed back towards the crammed stone building, the sergeant frantically ushering them inside, cold sweat beginning to run down his coat. He noticed something strange for a moment, almost unsure of if it was even there. A slight distortion of light mesmerized him, the last few unicorns dashing inside without a second thought. But the sergeant lingered for a moment too long, tilting his head trying to make sense of the distortion.

And Let Loose

    The distortion shimmered slightly, as an energetically charged gauss round swirled toward the entranced pony. A trail of faint purple tailed the round, as it streaked past the guard, impacting just inside the doorway of the armory, the door still wide open. With a bright flash of light, and an ear drum bursting shockwave of sound, the stone building exploded in a  shower of destroyed cobblestone and organic matter.

    The ponies inside had been completely mutilated, with seared limbs and torsos crashing down amongst the shower of stone and melted armor. Heads of the guards rolled gorily around, some of them being crushed under the falling rocks, splattering their contents onto the soil which hungrily lapped up the blood and bodily fluids of the deceased.

    As the dust finally began to settle, the internal aromas of the guards wafting through the air, a group of but three stallions remained.

    "I-I ... I don't want to die yet, Audacious ... I ..." one pegasi said, clutching his stomach. It had been torn open by the blast of the shot, his intestines beginning to spill out. He tried to force them back in, but the adrenaline his body provided was far too little to accomplish such an agonizing task. A unicorn, his leg severely mangled, with bits of his femur protruding, spoke in a reassuring, yet pained tone.

    "It's .... I ... It'll be fine ... we just, we just gotta ... " His heartbeat quickened as he dragged himself over to his gravely injured friend. " We're gonna make... I promise… promise you're gonna go home. Gonna ... Gonna get you all patched up…” He coughed, the phlegm containing blood and flecks of bone. “...and looking right as rain." The pegasi clutching his stomach winced, another wave of agony wracking his body, his sense on fire.

    "Y-Yeah ... I just ... aghhh" He grunted in anguish, the life in his eyes slowly dimming. He resumed the conversation, with a grim and desperate tone, grasping his friend's hoof with his own blood stained one. "Just .... tell, tell Star Gazer ... tell her ..." His hoof went limp, sliding off of Audacious. With his final breath, the dying pony managed to whisper hoarsely " ... I love her ..."

One By One

    With that, the pony's heavy eyes fell shut, all color and life draining from his already pale face. Audacious knelt over him, his mouth agape, unable to accept the sudden death. He turned slowly, the other remaining pony who had been whimpering a few moments before, but had since fallen silent. Dragging his crippled body over to the guard, he looked into the glossy eyes of the corpse, his face still contorted in an expression of unbearable pain.

They All Fall

    With a somber expression on his face, Audacious gently lifted his hoof over the pony's eyes, closing them quietly, the only sound present, the dim crackling of the purple fires that had begun to smolder. Seared flesh and impossible amounts of blood were strewn across the devastated outpost, the sheer sight of it alone enough to make one vomit, not to mention the horrid smell of burning flesh and organs. Bone shards had impaled themselves in the ground, their marrow oozing steadily out onto the moist, and blood soaked soil.

Until Nothing Is Left Standing

    Audacious removed his dented and pierced helmet, cuts on his damaged face leaking blood profusely, matting his pale blue coat. He let the helmet drop to the ground, the piece of wrecked metal sinking in slightly. He tried to stand, barely able to stand uneasily on three legs, letting his mangled leg dangle, still pouring blood, and filling his nostrils with its metallic scent.

    "TAKE ME! BUCKIN' TAKE ME DAMN IT!", he screamed in anger and sorrow, tears streaming from his eyes. Everyone he ever knew, or had even been friends with, had been ripped from him in the course of a minute. He pounded his chest angrily, exposing it for a fatal strike.

Nothing At All

    A purple blur arced through the air, landing just in front of Audacious, and throwing him off balance. The earth pony stumbled backwards, onto his mutilated leg, twisting the bone even more, the muscle fibers shredding inside his limb.

    A tall figure, encased in sleek and pristine purple armor glared down at the enraged guard through his bulbous visor which was tinted a light purple. He tilted his head slightly before responding to Audacious' invitation to kill him.

    "No. Death is too good for you," he said, his voice cold and harsh. With a sudden burst of speed, the Sniper bent down low, and launched a punch at Audacious' jaw, the impact knocking him out cold. Blood began to trickle slightly from his mouth, but he would live.

    The vox system integrated into the purple figure's helmet began to crackle, the sound of static all that rang through. The man stood up, tapping his helmet, and securing his railgun tightly on his back. Several seconds later, a packet of data was received, the visor automatically displaying it for the user. It read:

    From: COMMANDO

We've located the Colossus. Initiate Monsoon Protocol?

    With a swift thought, the onboard AI read the humanoid's thoughts, quickly replying with a single word.

    From: SNIPER

Proceed.