Friends until the bitter end: Reanimation

When we hunt we kill

Nothing is safe nothing is sacred

We are blackwatch

We will burn our own to hold the red line

It is the last line to ever hold.

-Blackwatch creed.

BOOM!

The reality of the situation outside then slammed home again to the occupants of the room who now once again looked to Raptor who now lifted his riffle up resting the stock of the Morita against his shoulder as the rest was in the air.

"Everyone shut up and listen you are going to fall in behind us. Axe, Mickelson, Patton go scout a way to the main hall." the prince began only ordering the Blackwatch troopers. The prince now had a different air about him. It was foreign to Blackwatch troopers but all to familiar to the royals in the room it was the air a ruler protecting his subjects, they all felt it and now the young alicorn felt it two. He and his troopers were the only ones who could defend the city, and Lamar knew it. But if they couldn't defend it they sure as hell would by the civies and Royals enough time to evac.

"YES SIR!" three Blackwatch troopers saluted before sprinting out the doors Side arms in hand.

"Everyone else, Armory double time. then report to action stations." Lamar ordered before reaching down and retrieving his mask and goggles and set them in there rightful place despite the fact he didn't have to. The blackwatch troopers stormed out of the room as General Templar finished relaying orders to the changeling guards, and other guard captains finished there orders. Leaving Lamar, Starnes, Valencio and Lachlan as the only truly armed ones in the room.

"You heard me the first time, we're not being paid by the hour. Lets move people!" the prince yelled now holding the Morita in both hands before walking to the door as the wedding goers stood from there seats.

"Stay close. Starnes, Lachlan take the rear. Valencio you and I have point." Lamar said getting a mix of a "yes sir" from starnes and a "your will be done" from Valencio and Lachlan.

"Lets move!" he yelled as he burst threw the door followed by the 50 or so others.

The castle was a buzz with activity as blackwatch troopers ran or flew about. The wedding goers watched Blackwatch troopers hastily readying there weapons. The distinctive 'click click' of there unique weaponry rang threw out the castle. The dragon king and his queen, Changeling queens, and other delegates wondering desperately what was happening, and what had happened to the peaceful equestria they had once knew. They heard a series thudding noise as they watched passed a window and saw what looked like streaks orange light steak into the sky. And saw the distinctive silhouette of airships taking off from the docks. The group of 54 reached an exposed battlement leading to the main hall and both heard and saw the distinctive screech of the 330nd's F/a- 87 talon 2 fighters screaming over head, followed by the slower Vtol gunships and Rayzorbacks.... then the wonderbolts the local native equestrian (Air force).

'Looks like Greys on it.' Starnes thought as he smirked behind his Nanosuit's mask. Upon entering the main hall they saw that it was full of civilians, nobles and non nobles alike. There were standard blackwatch troopers, Royal knights and guards, Changeling legionaries and centurions  running or buzzing around.

"Stay here. I have troops to lead." Lamar orderd the 50 consisting on the royals, his wife and wedding goers.

"Look its the prince! Whats going on..." were only a few of the calls they could be distinguished among the chaotic din of the vast room.

Lamar nodded to starnes who ran over to a bust of celesta and proceeded to bring his fist down crushing it and pressing a button concealed with in. It was at this point that the ponys of Canterlot continued to see first had what there security tax which had taken effect ever since Raptor was integrated had been paying for. All of a sudden yellow lights descended from the ceiling and began rotating casting cones of golden light into the room. The many pillars in the room rotated in place turning a full 180 revealing jacket and Exo ports which the troopers ran to and immediately began suiting up. Entire low mounted murals split down the middle before retreating into the walls revealing a series of weapon racks which the unarmed troopers took gratefully. Lamar received a ping and threw a holo-disk on the ground which unfolded and showed a life sized red image of a blackwatch trooper firing her weapon over a stone pillar somewhere in the city.

"Report trooper." Starnes ordered.

"Sir these things have over run our primary barricades. Gagh!" the trooper stated before being shot and flying off screen. Another trooper took the mares place obviously a former human judging by his manner of speech.

"Sir, Ceph hybrids it looks like, I think posable genetic manipulation. Private look out!.. Fuck." the trooper said before firing off a few rounds before ducking back down.

"Another thing sir. its not just these things out here looks like there were some changelings that weren't to happy about the alliance. And one more Ga! Sorry sir. FALLBACK! FALLBACK!" the stallion yelled after being shot in the shoulder. The image continued to broadcast as they watched swarms of Changelings and strangely armored ponys with three thick tentacles sprouting from the backs of there armor then last they saw the one thing they never wanted to see again. A Male unicorn Stallion dressed in the same armor as Starnes came into view before pointing to something off screen as he walked before stopping stomping on the Holo-disk.

"Dark Sword." Celestia said.

"Alright Boys and girls lets go make some noise!" Lamar yelled as he reteaved his Bow from Lewis who arrived with Cass now fully equipped.

"HOOAH" the blackwatch troopers bellowed over the chaos of the room.

"Lachlan, Valencio stay with the royals. keep them safe." Lamar ordered

"Yes my lord" the two said in harmony pressing there fists into there chests in salute.

They then watched there defenders leave the room threw the door. The door threw which they could see the capitol of equestria burning now defended by a faithful few against insurmountable odds. The door closed leaving only a few Blackwatch troopers to direct the evacuation and now proceeding to direct the refugees toward the, royal airships, escape vtols and escape pods.

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Outside in the courtyard it was an eary calm sttraikeing contrast to the hell going on all around them. They could see the 330nd had eather retreated, been shot down, or moved to escort. luckily there were still gunships flying there heaver armor being designed for this kind of warfare.

"GREY KNIGHTS TO ME!" Lamar yelled into his radio. And both in and around the pieces thought to be new statues came to life rallying on the prince.

"This is bad." Starnes said he had fought the CEPH on earth during the war.

"No shit." Lewis retorted.

"At least they can only come at us from one side. since there is a cliff behind the castle." Cass said checking her MP-45.

"Its gonna be a slaughter house." Starnes said confidently.

"ya but for which side?" Lewis said before activating his radio as he watched the last of the ships leave the docks.

"threat, threat, threat. This is Shaka actual to all blackwatch personnel, Fall back to the castle repeat Fall back to the primary sector. Operation Red Line is in effect." Lamar ordered coldly. the order echoing in the castle through the speakers and escape ships.

Blackwatch troopers began a not so steadaly stream threw the door of the magicly rienforced outer wall. The majority of the troopers were uninjured or lightly wounded after all the CEPH dont take prisoners. And quickly got into fighting holes and behind baracadeds some made of sandbags, others steal, and others were simply large rocks, or overturned statues. Starnes reached into a pouch and retreved a detonator and upon receving a nod from Lamar preceded to hit the switch.

'bo,bo,bo,bo-booom!'

Entire sections of the city were destroyed in large explosions created by the TAC Grenades buried under parts of the city. The Nuclear grenades were meant, on earth to be used against Goliaths and other large infected creatures, or large Ceph vehicles. But now they served as weapons of last resort, Revenge weapons in case the capitol city were to fall like it was now. Operation Red Line was a reference to the creed that all blackwatch troopers lived by killing most of the blackwatch squads that hadn't made it to the safe zone as one final act of defiance to the enemy. The device however deactivated after use as a one and done weapon, it meant that the troopers here in the Primary sector were safe from vaporization. Now the troopers in the Primary zone stood waiting until the castle was finally evacuated so they too could evacuate.

"Status on evac?" Lewis asked over the radio.

"30 percent sir. just buy us some time." a voice over the raido said.

"just keep everyone calm and keep them moving." Cass said. she knew that if they couldn't hold the Ceph here at the courtyard there plan would then be to fall back into the fortress that is the castle, bar the gates and bug out. There it was the sounds of the enemy at the gate.

"LOCK AND LOAD!" Raptor yelled as the courtyard began resonating with the sounds of safeties being cliched off and other weapons being readied

Troopers aimed there weapons, jacket operators crouched low pointing both arms at the gate one arm of the jacket held an assault riffle the other a grenade launcher, the two back weapons unfolded and aimed them selves as well. The AST operators aimed there hurricane HMGs at the gate, there shoulder mounted rocket launchers primed and ready. Two of the remaining gun ships lowered them selves between two towers the others ether shot down or escorting evacuating air ships. The four tank crews moved there machines turrets into position loading Flacchets and canister shells into there main guns, and spun the roof mounted remote Magpalm throwers into place. Snipers prepared to pick out targets, Designated javelin teams prepared to devastate enemy heavy infantry. And riffle teams in the windows of the castle facing the court yard prepared to unleash automatic death upon any airborne threat or ground based targets.

"Come on you apes, You wanna live forever!?" Lamar yelled as he jumped into cover down from the top of the stares. The Grey Knights took up positions near to there prince pointing there various weapons at the gate from behind cover. Some had stranded OSMGs, others had bulky double barreled versions the prince called Strom bolters a fitting name, One had what looked like an vulcan bolted to there wrist and was pointing in the general direction of the gate. Two Knights held large bulky Bolter HMG with large magazines attached to there backs took up positions at the door to the castle. The gate burst open and first wave of griphons and changeling who entered first were meet with a sea of glowing blue eyes with a few specks of glowing red amung them.

"Cc-c-c-c-coo--come on now. ll-ll-l-l-l-lelel-let-lets be resonable." A griphon said throwing its weapon down immodestly and holding its talons out as other griphons and changelings streamed in behind the first group stopping dead in there tracks.

"fire at will!"

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Was last thing those pore fucks heard before four torrents of burning "Napalm" covered there body's before thousands of bullets tore them to shreds. The next wave of cannon fodder, like the first was almost immediately turned to flaming paste, then the third, the fourth, the fifth, on and on until the pile of corpses stacked high enough to make a large hill. A grizzly pile of dismembered corpses and honorably maimed enemy combatants still writhing in agony as the combined weight of the pile slowly crushed them. The monument to Blackwatches severe lack of grace and respect for the dead raising high enough to from another wall to replace the gate the first wave had brought down.

The stench of the dead, dying, and damned surely had to be awful but none of them knew because they all wore gasmasks, the blood now stretched out from the gruesome display in long thick rivers filling the fighting holes of the first two tanks up to the bottom of there chaises. There were however a few casualties in the line lucky changelings who managed to get off a beam or burst or two before being mulched.

"Status report!" Lamar yelled over the radio.

"75 percent complete. sir." a new voice said a mare this time the voice sounded close but distant, this was not a blackwatch trooper a knight perhaps. It was obvious she held the mike eather backwards or upside down.

"Excellent." Lamar said before a terrifying scream filled the air.

"There." Lewis said pointing to the top of one of the only tall buildings left standing after Red Line. there on top of the sloped roof a hand gripped tightly around a flag pole was the unicorn Dark Sword. The burning eyes of the his nanosuits visor cut threw the night air before he watched Celestias former star pupil raise his hand in there direction followed by another screech. after which all firing stopped and the field grew silent.

"This is where the fun begins." Starnes said taking a shot at the unicorn only for the round to strike nothing it simply passed right threw. A hologram.

Blue blobs of searing hot plasma streaked threw the air destroying one of the tanks a sole member of its crew climbed out screaming covered in mag palm flesh melting armor cauterized to his flesh.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH, AAGH,AAAAAAAAH, HUUUUUGGGHSASSHATA!" They all watched the young stallion He was just out of boot camp his mother had allowed him to join while he was still in high school. He pulled his side arm and shoot himself in the head.

The pile of bodies then exploaded outward as a large mutated pony emerged from the cloud of plasma smoke and blood. It posesed two thick tenticals sprouting from its back where wings had no doubt once been. And wealded a large cilindrical object placed over and around its right wrist with two triangular pieced on its side forming a kind of shield with the weapon. The other arm while not as big was coverd in an armored skeletal looking claw.

The native equestrians and indeed the few members of the royal guard that remained behind knew what it was as the armored glowing eyed pony moved forward lifting its arm and firing another three round burst of plasma at the tank to its right, before the walking tank itself was destroyed by one of the remaining two tanks. two Strange craft soured over head resembling large silver and red wasps and began engaging the two Vtol gunships that had been the ground troops only advanced warning system. More plasma mortars arched over head destroying some of the emplacements, vaporizing ponys and changelings alike or simply blowing them to peaces.

It was then that the enemy began streaming in, a partial wave of multi colored, Pinch rifle welding ponys. The Blackwatch troopers looked to there leaders for guidance but unfortunately many of the squad leaders were ether dead or were Naturals themselves and thus stared in shock at the sight of these mutants. Then the voice of reason rang out over all radio frequencies the voice of the prince issuing the order, rallying the troops in the process.

"KILL THEM KILL THEM ALL!"

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The escape ships holding the fleeing equestrians and delegates of other countries exited the castle docks and when the ships drifted out around the vast structure. And the occupants of the (royal love) heard the decree of the Prince over the recently added radio thanks to the crews lack of understanding of Blackwatches equipment.

They had heard opening shots before they reached the outer decks or Windows. A chorus of distant pops and streaks like fire crackers, the heavy almost drum beat sounds of automatic grenade launchers firing, and the shearing sound of Huricane and typhoons ripping threw the air, the raspberry-esk sound of the Vulcan mini-guns, sound of the explosions, distinctive yet foreign sound of Bolter and other Orion ballistic weaponry, and the strange sound metallic pewing weapons they had never even glimpse.

When they reached the windows and outer railing of the top decks and observation balcony's. They could see first the city in flames its once proud demeanor Spires and statues, buildings almost as old and as new as the capitol it self were ether on fire or lie destroyed. Bodies litter the streets of this once proud town, the bodies of griphions, changelings, and ponys alike. some guards many civilian, and spotted around were over run blackwatch barricades there once proud defenders lie sprawled on the ground. Many in positions signifying that they had fought to there last breaths propping themselves against walls, there barricades, or with there back to one another ether in circles or by twos. Many wandered how many of these ponys had family's and how many were of them were conscripts from prisons, or former mercenaries, in the end it didn't matter they had all died as equals.

When the airship drifted to port around a large spire the court yard came into view. First the outer wall and pile of bodies sprawled every ware a majority of which were griphons and changelings obviously used as cannon fodder by this new enemy the one beautiful grounds stained and slick with blood, illuminated by fire and spot lights. Next they saw the enemy among the body's of the dead using them ether as cover or shields. Others simply used the holes made the now three destroyed tanks for cover. Others still surged towards the still unseen firing line of blackwatch there must have been hundreds of them all together firing blue streaks of light towards the castle while streaks of smoke from rockets and occasional orange streaks of light from tracer rounds came fourth to meat them as more stormed threw the grizzle gate. And they saw beams of blue energy fused with lightning streak from cir ten buildings in the city arching over the gate and explode, as snipers on other buildings picked valiant defenders.

Then they saw them,  as the crafts rounded first they saw the many muzzle flashes of the troopers guns. The the troopers them selves firing into the horde. There were so many Troopers fighting to give them time to escape by destracting the enemy. There were so many examples of heroism amung them but a few troopers stood out to the on lookers. First was a pare of troopers a stallion and a mare standing back to back firing there rifles twisting around one another to cover there blind spots as the enemy swarmed around them almost like a dance. They watched as one of the mutated ponies charged at them with some form of melee weapon on its arm but they could not see for sure do to there distance. but they watched the stallion vault over the shoulder of the mare kicking the mutant in the head staggering the beast while the mare slashed its neck with her arm bayonet showering her mask with orange blood, before a member of celestias Knights teleported between the two and teleported them back further into the lines of blackwatch before a bolt of plasma blew the knights head apart.

Next was the lone Tank, the mighty war machine surged forward and out of its fighting hole turret firing pointblank into the crowd of enemy combatants tearing them to shreds. The flame thrower on the top spinning spouting gauts of searing hot magpalm in all directions. As the 60 ton vehicle crushed mutants under its treads before a ball of blue white arched threw the air towards it. They heard the warning over the ships radio and watched the hatch on the top open in time for only one mare to leap out as the ball struck blowing the tank to peaces as another tried to escape. As the mare struck the bloody field she flared her wings and attempted to take flight only to be pulled back down by four mutants. As they began stabbing and shooting her she pulled the pin of a grenade and the five of them were blown to peaces.

In a ditch a group of five Blackwatch Jacket users in a crater were effectively quad welding weapons firing both of there arm mounted weapons as there back weapons flared to life. They watched as one of the Jacket Troopers dashed sideways to punch a mutated unicorn crushing its head with the front of his weapon mount as the Jacket didnt have hands only flat metal plates covering the front of the hand controls. they saw a mutant ram its weapon into the gut of one of the five before blowing a hole in his back. Another Jacket user sprinted over to the group firing his wrist rifle at the group of mutants that had fallen upon them killing them and allowing the five Jacket troopers to retreat before being shot and falling still.

They watched a group of silver armored troops utterly devastating the hordes. there armor glowing and switching between blue, red, and yellow. Two of these troopers wielded the turrets of overrun emplacements firing the large caliber weapons into the crowds around them. they watched as they all glowed yellow before sprinting with blistering speed and leaping over a group of regular troopers firing there weapons at the mutants below them saving the squad before joining the rear line.

They watched a single regular earthpony trooper with red stripes in his armor standing before an entire line of defenders as his allies died around him. firing into the horde with his rifle. They watched a mutant nearing him retrieve a burst point blank and fall dead. Another came then hoping to kill this defender only to retrieve an arching strike from the butt of his riffle falling to the ground face first beside the trooper who turned and pressing the muzzle into the things back and firing. The trooper then preceded to throw his spent rifle into the face of a third mutant staggering the attacker, pulling and firing his side arm. The beasts glowing right eye exploded from the round fired by the trooper. He continued firing before leaning down and snatching up a rifle from a fallen comrade and began duel welding the weapons reloading by slamming his empty weapons into slots in his EXO's armor. They could here his voice over the radio as he gestured with his pistol while still firing with the rifle tucked under his arm.

"The courtyard is lost! Fall back!, Fall Back into the castle!" they heard as he and the other stranded troopers began to slowly backpedal some falling blown off there hooves by the incoming fire. They watched the remaining troopers begin backing up as the troopers who had been silent until now began opening fire. As the ones in the court yard began splitting off into contained groups and started to fallback by squads into the now open door. And none to soon as they watched a particular mutant standing out this one was large, bulky even. It raised its right arm and they watched the its large clawed armored hand shift and change until it was replaced by a large three pronged device. Then almost as soon as they were about to utter something they watched in horror as the three prongs began spinning before unleashing a torrent of blue energy bolts into the retreating blackwatch.

"DEVESTATOR!" they heard before it fired its weapon tearing the offending blackwatch trooper to peaces.

The last group to retreat were the Knights and there prince. The prince whose armor was glowing blue was firing his large riffle in one hand making large caliber holes appear in the mutants he shot point blank. While the other arm was replaced by an rock like structure with claws on the inner part where his hand would be the ones who knew him knew it as a Hammerclaw as he had called it. The young alicorn currently had a mutant impaled through the back and was using it to block incoming blue energy.

"GREY KNIGHTS! WE stike with the fury of the richus!" the distinctive voice of one of Raptors knights yelled over an open channel.

"DIE CEPH MUTANT!" they heard another yell as they watched the one they assumed had yelled the phrase as he plunged his halberd into the jaw of a mutant before lifting his arm and firing a burst from his wrist weapon into the advancing crowd as he, his prince, and brothers fell back.

Unlike the blackwatch troopers they had been watching before these titans were easy to spot and irreversibly more detailed as they watched the death they brought. They were disciplined and organized unnerving in there retreat which didn't seem as much of a retreat but more of a focused backward moving slaughter, as they formed a V shape funneling the mutants towards two knights armed with large turret like weapons.

"DIE!" another yelled as he charged the aptly named devastator who shifted the spinning weapon into a large claw. The two titans of death began a deadly dance of swipes, and stabbes. The Devastator in a demonstration of possessing higher intelligence than expected grabbed the knight by the collar and delivered a powerful headbutt staggering the knight back. In response the knight shifted his grip on his halberd to straight under the hilt of the sword like blade and stabbed forward in an attempt to impale his opponent. The devastator with brutal efficiency sidestepped the attack, garbing the Knights sword arm bringing its cannon to bare in the process. And in a gout of gore the knight upper body was blown to peaces as the Devastator fired point blank into the aptly named Grey Knights chest. The Devastator stepped on the knights helmet crushing it under hoof as it began firing back at the other Knights and remaining troopers.

"AAAGH!" they heard as one of the knights had its arm disintegrated by a blue explosion. The other knights and prince were around the wounded Knight in an instant firing on the enemy, as another knight with a strange device on his forearm began administering first aid before dragging the knight followed by the others into the magically strengthened door of the castle. Leaving those unfortunate enough to be left outside the massive doors to there fate as it closed.