Chapters Chapter 1 : Prepared For War
Tact Logistics, a unicorn commander in the royal army with a grey coat and black mane, knew this would come. Celestia has declared war on YakYakistan. He already had a crew for the war, and Shining Armor himself approved their military authority. It was him, his wife Jagged Dagger who was a unicorn with a white coat and black mane, a young, small recon mare called Cloaked Eyes who had black everything, a brainiac by the name Hacksaw with a red coat and blonde mane and tail, and a large special warrior commando by the name of Sharpened Blade who had a brown coat and blue mane. They already had their equipment, supplies, and armor. They were all trained to the elite level of combat, but Blade was by far the best warrior. Tact was not armed, but Dagger had her namesake, Eyes had wristblades, Hacksaw had a sword with motorized blades along it like a chainsaw, and Blade had a large axe. They were all killers, and wouldn't hesitate to do so at any time. They also each had their own safety words and numbers, as the changelings were sure to take advantage of this. They also had their weapons charmed with holy properties, as monsters from Tartarus may get caught in the mix. The youngest of the group, Cloaked Eyes, still retained the ability to feel fear without the presence of immediate danger. Jagged Dagger let her motherly instincts kick in, as she was still just 16. Tact heard her cry herself to sleep every night, but couldn't blame her. He did the same until he was 24. Hacksaw constantly modified Sharpened Blade's Axes to the point where now they could shoot beams of electricity out of the tip. The blades spun. Blade still let him just do it, because he was one of the few who enjoyed killing. No doubt in a few days, there would be many without complete sanity. You didn't have to be a master tactician to tell that there would be mass suicide very soon. Tomorrow, the Yak army marched on them, and an ambassador has been sent to Chrysalis's hive. That was a week ago, and said ambassador was obviously either seduced, or dead. The borders have been fortified, and their job was to make sure that the borders held.
Tact spoke up, having formulated a plan. "Attention." After they all looked to him, he continued. "To recap. The plan is to lead them all to the middle. That's where our defenses are the best, where we have the most firepower. However, The rest of the border mustn't be disturbed. A species as logical as the Yaks will bring a small siege team somewhere else on the border, where they will be promptly eliminated. Once we arrive within Yak attention, and they proceed to destroy us, they will be trapped and destroyed from a distance. Shining Armor's shield spell is 2-way, so when he casts it, it will be a slaughter of an army. We can end the war before it begins. Am I clear?" He received confirmation from each teammate, then continued. Now, they will very obviously have a similar idea. So when we see a group of them on their way to us, we free them from this world. Let's go." They all rose from their assorted place, and went to follow him. There was only slight feeling of emotion, coming from the poor recon pegasus Cloaked Eyes. It was fear. It was justified as well. Tact led them to the relatively large carriage waiting there for them, and before they knew it, they were at the large, pristine, white wall that was the border. they exited in a single file line, and Tact went over the plan with Shining Armor.
"That is a very cruel, difficult, and effective plan. You are an evil genius, but I have to say that it's flawless. The entire wall was teeming with fear, sadness, anger, and worry. It was off putting. He didn't let this distract him from his goals, however. He went back down the stairs. of the fortification, and grabbed his team to follow him out of the large, Reinforced Iron gate. It slammed shut behind them, and they were on their way. It was a long walk along a barren wasteland of dirt and snow. Sooner than expected, they encountered the enemy task force.
"Duck!" Cloaked snapped quietly, and they were all behind a rock. The enemy was much to close for comfort. Tact made to nudge Hacksaw, but he already had something covered in barbed wire and razor blades. Tact nodded, he threw it back, and the blades and wire flew off the small pad, cutting off the legs of the 2 yaks. The blood and bone shards were scattered across the floor, the enemies spread on the floor shrieking in pain as life was drained from them. They just lay helpless, slowly dying in agony. They could have something to get back at the group in their packs like Hacksaw had, so they just stayed behind the rock. That kind of paranoia is what kept most of them alive this long. The shrieks of the yaks echoed through the badlands, piercing their ears. Once it stopped, they came out to see what they had done. The bone fragments, stained with blood, were everywhere. The blood had sprayed around, and was still spraying. It hit Eyes across the face, and around the muzzle. She moved back and made to wipe it, but Sharpened blade made to stop her.
"That's your first enemy blood stain. Wear it proud. Keep it as a trophy until the battle is won. It will earn you respect among the military." Blade gave his 2 sense. She licked around her mouth, and made a sour face. "That's the taste of the blood of your enemies. Remember it as the taste of victory, little one." He rubbed his hoof through the mare's mane, then pat her back. They continued, and reached their goal shortly. Hacksaw pulled a bulky device that took the entire left saddlebag, aimed the hole at the horde, and pulled the trigger. It launched a large, yelloy flare at them, which blew up with a surprisingly large radius. That's Hacksaw. There was a launching of blood, and flaming bits everywhere, then a large uproar. He put in another shell, and launched again. As the horde was closer, he ended up getting some blood on their coats, but not much. They took off running, the device back in the bag, and barely made it back in time. Tje gate closed behind them, barely, and Eyes collapsed. She was shortly followed by Hacksaw, but more from the insanely loud hit on the double-layered iron bars. They managed a sizable dent, but then there was a pinkish sky around them. Tact smirked at them, and the volley of arrows came down on them. He was the arrows pierce skulls, brain going everywhere, the arrows piercing shoulders and severing legs. He heard the bone shatter, the blood going everywhere. Cloaked Eyes was near the point of throwing up, mainly due to the fact that a Yak had charged at her as the arrow shattered through his head and the brain went all over her, some in her mouth. That almost made Tact laugh, and he was looking away to hide a huge smile. The others were doing the same.
"It's not funny!" Came the annoyed reply, taking their minds off the slaughter. All except Tact. He believed the only thing worse than death, was averting your eyes from those you kill. Dagger was cleaning the brain from Cloaked's eyes, and just face in general. It was nice that something lightened the mood, but not for Tact. Everyone was having a good time as they left, poking fun at eachother, and they left their commander to his witness. Jagged turned the attention to Hacksaw on their way to the main room.
"Nice thingy you had back there."
"Which one?"
"Both were impressive, but that explosion one was amazing. Where do I get one?'
"You have one. I just use it for you. We all have one." They shared a chuckle, then Sharpened Blade spoke up.
"No, really. I want one of those blade-bomb thingys you used on those 2 yaks. That was amazing."
"I have a few somewhere back at the warehouse, I just needed some field testing."
The worried response came from Jagged Dagger. "They weren't tested?"
"Nope. Worst that could happen is we have to send Shapry here berserk on 'em."
"Hey! I risk my life every time I have to fight. Just because I'm the best at it and I like to doesn't mean that I want to more than I have to." They all went silent at that, all of them knowing and have accepted the fact that they might die any day, and were ready. This doesn't mean that they would ever give up, but they knew the job risks of being commandos. This was just a very grim reminder of what they all signed up for. It was a long moment, then Tact entered the now grim room.
"We did good today. Hopefully this will convince them not to attack. This may do so, but it may just aggravate them. In hindsight, I ask myself. What have I done?"
Author's Note
Shit is about to go down on a major scale of fans.
Chapter 2 : Operation Insurgency
It has been a year since the first strike, and the pony retaliation. It all began when the Yaks destroyed trade routes, and threatened to storm Equestria unless they got what they wanted. Twilight Sparkle, the closest thing they had to a warrior princess and arguably the best tactician in the world, didn't take to kindly to this. Same for all of the princesses, but all they did was give Twilight all the authority they could, and let her do whatever she wanted. This led to the retaliation, which Tact's team spearheaded. Now, the two races were in full out, bloody war. The suicide toll is in the hundreds by now. Foals are being butchered. Assassins are being sent everywhere, and now the changelings want to budge in. This was not the time, nor place for them to pipe up into another invasion. Tact Logistics, Jagged Dagger, Cloaked Eyes, Hacksaw, and Sharpened Blade have orders to suppress the changelings. If it means alliance, or blood, they had their orders. The train has arrived at the badlands, and it was time for them to go. Hacksaw felt it necessary to bring specialized gadgets.
"If it gets messy in there, just remember to get behind me. I have the gear." There was a general affirmative, and it was a silent trip. They arrived at the stone arch entryway into the mountain, marking the hive. Tact gave the first order before they passed through.
"Activate crystals." The crystals around their neck were to identify eachother and deactivate changeling magic, so no spells or disguises for them. They entered, instantly being spotted by all changelings within. All eyes were on them. Dead silence. They were all armed, so no one dared intercept. They uncomfortably walked through the fortress until they reached a set of stairs leading to the queen.
"What are armed ponies doing in my hive?!" Tact, being the leader, responded.
"We need help. The Yaks and ponies are going to exterminate eachother, and the Griffons and Minotaur are readying for war. Fight with us and the Griffons against the Yaks and Minotaur, and your army would be the most loved thing next to Celestia herself. It is in your best interest, as you could be immortal for a time if you take up arms along side us. You would be rescuing your food source from certain death as well. What say you."
The queen didn't take long to respond. "I say the Yaks have tried to lay siege to my hive multiple times. Give us a secure location, and we will help you."
"We already have space reserved, as well as fully charged love crystals. Take your army, in its natural form, and fly over Canterlot. A flare will come from the cleared area. We, however, have to stop by the Griffon kingdom as to plan our next assault. Would you like to be part in it?"
"We would love to."
The Griffon board room was well guarded, a guard at every corner and on either side of the door. They were armed with metal claw extensions and bladed feather tips, as well as magic wing armor. There were a few decorated soldiers around the table map. They all had the standard gold, aside from a notably large one with purple armor. Griffons shared a military color scheme with ponies, so this was the royal guard captain of the griffons. He was accompanied by a nondescript, unarmed griffon wearing only the green commander cap. She had a full, authoritative voice.
"So, do we have the changelings accompanying us on this?"
"Yes. They seem more than ready to butcher the enemy, who turns out to have been trying to destroy their hive this whole time. An ally with a reason to fight is a good ally to have."
"Agreed. So, what's the plan?"
"We feed the changelings, they commit genocide, no one dares mess with us in the future. That simple, at least for our end."
"So, we don't have to bring in any extra firepower?"
"Maybe the wonderbolts for quick extraction of any discovered changelings."
"We can take care of that. We're griffons, we carry our prey all the time. By the way, do you want any Yak?" The griffon held out what must have been a fried leg. Of course, Sharpened Blade answered before Tact had a chance.
"I do." He took the base of the leg, and bit into the top where the meat was. His eyes widened, and what may have been a smile crossed his face, which was now buried into the leg. "Can I eat the bone?"
"No. Not unless you wanna choke." came the Griffon's response.
"Back to the topic of the changeling invasion. What should we call it, instead of that mouthful it is currently?"
"Operation Insurgency. You got a better Idea?"
"Nope." No other suggestions came, so they went with that.
The operation had an unseen flaw, which was now blowing up in their face. The Yaks were prepared, and had magic anti-changeling lamps everywhere, apparently. Before anyone knew what was happening, the entire Yak army was at the border where their first invasion party was killed. Instead of a century of them, there were very many legions, and Minotaurs everywhere. It was Tact's job to make sure this didn't happen, and he failed. Now, he had to make this right.
Author's Note
Time for bloody death time.
Blood was everywhere. Tact was up in the middle tower, the sky has turned orange, the Wonderbolts and Griffons are dropping bombs, Minotaurs are throwing boulders, everyone was dying. Cloaked Eyes had seen some things, she had one of if not the most messed up past. Her own mom had tried to kill her until she had to kill her just to survive. Her dad was arrested for mass murder, and would have killed her as a hostage if she didn't stab him in the arm. But this, everywhere she looked, death. She could almost be considered a friend of death, but this was too much when combined with the shattering feeling in her spine. She snapped as she was plunging the spear of a dead guard into the shoulder of a Yak when it snapped, and almost got her skull shattered by his hoof. She felt a warm set of legs around her as she was thrown back. Then, Jagged dagger plunged her namesake into his neck, and pulled it out and sliced the forelegs off another one. She was always like the mother she always wanted. The one who wouldn't kill her, but who would kill for her. She had been through too much, and it had all caught up with her. She was frozen. The world kept moving around her, but she couldn't catch up no matter how hard she tried. Jagged was now carrying her on her back. Her back hurt more then everything she had ever felt together, both physical and emotional. She had never broken a bone, but she could tell that her spine was in two. The pain was too much, and she passed out.
"NO!" Dagger just saved Eyes from death, but her spine might be broken. Poor pegasus. She spun, the blood of the 2 Yaks coming off her coat, and sliced through half of another Yak throat. She was then faced with a real problem. A Minotaur was charging right at her and Eyes, and Eyes was in no shape to move. She charged back, jumping off Yak backs, ans landed around the Minotaur's shoulder, swinging around and slicing his spine via his neck. There was a roar of pain, and she plunged the dagger into the opening she had just made and held it there until they were on the ground. There was a bellow from behind, so she spun to come face- to-knee with another one, just to have her muzzle broken with a kick. The Minotaur was about to stomp her, but got overrun by 3 Griffons. There was then a large boulder coming down on her, but a transparent pink wall came up, wedging a tiny hole in between it and the boulder right where she was, saving her. Once again, saved by one of Hacksaw's many contraptions. It was all she could do to not start crying from the pain coming from her dislocated muzzle. Sharpened Blade was carrying her out before she knew it, and she saw Hacksaw doing the same for Cloaked Eyes. She couldn't talk, or she would have. Curse this godless battle. Them being now safe, she allowed herself to let the pain take her into a comatose state. In other words, she passed out.
"Eyes! Dagger! Talk to me!" Came Blade's worry.
"Eyes has pulse."
"Don't die on us! Not now!"
"Dagger's alive too. We have to get them to Tact. Come on!" Hacksaw picked up Eyes, and Sharpened did the same for Dagger. They sprinted to the gate, but it didn't open. So, Hacksaw used his wing to get a device from his bag. He pulled out a device that could lift anything, as long as someone was strong enough to pump it up. He set it up, then gave control of it to Blade. "Pump this petal!" Blade put his hoof on the petal, and started pumping furiously. The lifting platform and gate made contact, and the gate began to lift. The extending spring cleared enough room for Hacksaw to fit with the mare on his back, but Blade was about a head taller, so he passed Dagger under on her back, then went back to battle. Hacksaw went to work stabilizing them both with syringes he had put aside in his bag of tricks. Good, they would both be alive as long as they would need. He was greeted by a paramedic, who layed some supplies around.
"What's wrong with them?" He instantly recognized Nurse Redheart's voice, but now was not the time.
"Older one obvious. Younger, I'm not sure."
"Spinal snap. Give me what I say, when I say. Got it?" He quickly nodded, and got next to the white mare. "Brace." He gave the wooden brace. "Bandage." He gave, and she moved to Jagged. She thought for a second, then opened Dagger's mouth. He could see blood pooled inside, and a tooth was floating in said blood. "Give me the hose, then turn on the metal device in the other bag." He gave her the end of the plastic hose, and opened her bag. He saw multiple knobs.
"Which one?"
"The one on the bottom. Hurry!" He turned the knob, and the device started up. There was a low growl, and the tube filled with red. There was a loud slam as the door burst open. Tact ran through, landing right next to the medic.
"What happened?!" An uncharacteristic spike of emotion in his voice.
"Minotaur broke her muzzle. Griffons probably killed him by now." Came Hacksaw's answer.
"And Eyes?" The emotion was gone now.
"Yak broke her spine, another might have cracked her skull. In that order, I might add.
"Where did she get hit in the head?" Came Redheart's voice.
"aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Came the screams of falling cyan wonderbolt, with a damaged wing from a flying boulder. She, along with 2 more fell. One of them had taken the hit straight on, the other of the 2 had damaged a wing. A yellow mare, with broken tinted goggles was the one who took it head on. A white stallion, along with a cyan mare with a rainbow mane, damaged a wing. The hit was dead on and unseen, and they all took a bad fall. No doubt more broken bones from it. There was a group of Yaks closing in, so he jumped in and swung his ax, cutting off one head and through another. The third one nearly shattered his arm, but was blocked by his ax. Then, he spun the ax and hit the Yak square on the face, spinning it back. He then jumped, and brought the ax down on his spine. The 3 pegasi were now behind a nearby rock, and the cyan mare known as Rainbow Dash seemed to take the least damage through it all. He ran over.
"You 3 okay?"
"Does it look like we are?" Rainbow was the only one who would talk. the yellow one was unconcious, and white stallion was in no condition to talk, with a completely shattered knee and backwards leg.
"Good point. Sorry I asked. I'm guessing you can't move?"
"If you carry one, I can get the other. I landed on my back, my legs are fine." This roused a pained groan from the stallion.
"Speak for yourself."
"Just shut up and get on my back." He trotted over, and lay down by the injured Wonderbolt. As he half crawled his way on, he saw Rainbow lift the yellow one onto her back, noticing how the wings are bent into a tangle of twists, turns, and a dead career as a Wonderbolt. No wonder she was so snappy. She was resisting the urge to go into a coma by trying to keep at least an honorary position in the Wonderbolts. He could feel the pain of Rainbow lifting somepony on to her back.
"Hey, I can carry 2. You go ahead." With that, the other pegasus was on her back and he was running to the gate as fast as he could without dropping anypony. He dodged around the bodies, disembodied bones, and random large chunks of flesh. He was targeted by a Yak, then the Yak was picked up by a Griffon and he just kept going. It was really hard to carry 2 pegasi through an active warfront. This was all-out war. Death was everywhere, and it was literally taking all his energy to avoid it himself. He finally reached the gate, where 2 griffons took the Wonderbolts on his back, and a 3rd one picked him up. They placed him on the wall, and he ran down to the gate where Rainbow was crying her eyes out, but it probably wasn't from the pain. Her wings were just being finished being bandaged with a brace on each one. There were bleeding spots where the bone pierced through the wing in several places. The other 2 Wonderbolts were asleep in the corner. Raindow, at the sight of him, looked away instantly, going silent and wiped her face. When she looked back, you couldn't even tell in the slightest that she had been crying.
"Relax. We're all elite military operatives here. We know how it is. Do your thing." With that, rainbow went back to her crying over her career.
"I'm up, anyways." Jagged Dagger was awake, and very terrible at talking. She slurred her words brutally.
"You sure you should be talking? It doesn't sound healthy."
"It isn't." Came Redheart into the conversation.
"So, what happened to Eyes?"
"Turns out, a simple version is that she has a broken spine, 2 cracks around the break, a major concussion, and a really bad coma. Not sure if she'll make it through. Luckily, she's not a unicorn. We can use magic to help, but no guarantees." That sent a grim wave of silence, then Tact walked into the room.
"How exactly did the best wonderbolts of history wind up half-dead from Yaks and Minotaurs?"
"Boulder came out of nowhere. Not our fault." Rainbow responded. Another wave of silence.
"I should probably go back to doing my job." Blade was quickly followed by Hacksaw.
"Me too. I have some pretty awesome stuff I still haven't used." With that they left into the now fading battle.
Author's Note
Shit can turn from awesome to completely fucked. That is what just happened.
Chapter 4 : The Zebra Tribe
The warfront was beginning to die down. There were more bodies here than even Twilight would be able to count. What brought the sense of certain doom was the absolute forest of Yaks coming over the mountian, maybe even more there than the first wave. The guard was near out of troops, but the Yaks were about to destroy Equestria. Tact, however, wasn't exhibiting the feeling of doom. He was eerily calm and collected for looking death in the face. What was keeping him this way? Possibly the giant black swarm coming up behind them, which turned into millions of changelings. There was at least 10 times more here than when they attacked the castle that one time. Yet, the Yaks kept coming. This would be even more bloody than the first battle. Well, the changelings were sure to win this. They were all completely charged, so each could at maximum turn into a dragon. What came of this would be great. At least, the wall would stand at the end. At most, they would exterminate the Yak army. Win either way, so why worry. Still, something nagged his mind. The Equestrian forces were pulling back, as to allow the changelings room to part the enemy population.
Tact said what they all needed him to. "Let's go. Our job is done." They grouped up, a cart with cushions on it held the injured. Blade said what everyone was thinking.
"It's a wonder all of us are still alive. I honestly expected some of us to die." They took the cart ride back to Ponyville in silence. They were quickly joined by more survivors, and soon every guard who wasn't on the wall during the battle was in a convoy with them. There was 150 alive at very most, and a lot of the injured looked as if it was only a matter of time before death. It was actually not too hard to count how many ponies were walking. 67. The army started off at 5000. This is what a war does to a country. There would be so much sadness tonight, and Hacksaw wasn't sure the population could take much suicides after this. It couldn't be too good in YakYakistan, considering that they were about to get destroyed by what may be hundreds of hives of changelings. Everyone was either crying, emotionless, insane, or unconscious. For the first time since he was 7, Hacksaw was actually beginning to tear up. His team was like a family, and 2 of them nearly died. One of them probably will. It was nearly dusk, and everyone was tired. They were just entering ponyville, and instantly were greeted by medical workers. They took the most severe, and Eyes was one of the first when they saw the blood-soaked back brace and head cast. Rainbow also went. The Inns were full within half an hour or so, so Princess Twilight offered the team the castle, as well as everyone else who didn't get a room, which happened to be many of them. The moon was black that night, even if the mood schedule said otherwise. Hacksaw followed Tact, along with Dagger and Blade, into a relatively large room with 5 beds. He saw the batpony guards take positions through the window. They all just got into bed, wordless. Hacksaw couldn't get to sleep, however. He had never seen so much blood, death, and just horribleness in all his life as he did today. He got up, went over to the door, and grabbed a little circular container. He turned it, opening it, and getting a pill out of it. He had to use this sometimes, and had learned how to use pills without water. He then closed the container, put it back, and went over to his bed. He got back into bed, and swallowed the sleeping pill.
Dagger woke up, the sun piercing her gaze through the window. Her muzzle already hurt. Fucking wonderful. Everything hurt. Physically, at least. Emotionally, everything threatened to kill her. Any normal pony wouldn't be able to take this, but she had a reason to keep going. Not only her husband, Tact, or Eyes, but they all carried the world on their shoulders. There would be time for suicide after the war, if Eyes didn't make it. Life wasn't fair, but it never has been. There was something she had always wanted to do, but she might never be able to. This was her family, she was their family. The fact that it was so bad when one of them faced death might be a good thing. It would make them realize just how much they loved each other. There was something else nagging at her mind, and it wasn't her muzzle. She knew all to well that Tact knew it perfectly well, but the world might come to an end. If the Yaks win, there won't be enough of them to recover, and they would die off. Same for ponies, unless something is done fast. The only option was the most unholy, evil, most dangerous thing that they could do. It in itself might end the world as well. They would have to seek help from Tartarus. Tact obviously had a better plan, however, and she would hear it today.
Everyone was awake. They were all gathered in the middle of the room in front of Tact in a line of three, a space open for a missing fourth. Tact was going to reveal his master plan.
"Now, the obvious situation to come as close to assurance the world will survive is freeing the creatures of Tartarus. However, we are all forgetting a race that lives across the 2nd most unholy place known, if my source is correct. Across the Everfree, is Zecora's mighty tribe of Zebras who could turn the tide of the war. We all know how both sides are just fighting a losing war, and the world is facing an end. This is an operation that only we may be able to complete, but as we all know all to well, we are short a vital member. But I believe in us. We have to do this. For Eyes." Another grim silence, and he led them out of the room, and out of the castle. They left without a word, all armed and ready for whatever may lay in the forest. They reached the edge of the Everfree all to soon. They entered without hesitation, making their way around various roots and plants. They were sure to stay clear of poison joke, and other nearly ironic, comical plants. Any of them could end up being fatal. They reached Zecora's hut, and passed without a word. They spent a lot more time until they came to a cave. They decided to take the night there, until a Timberwolf made it's presence known. Blade drew his ax, delivered a swing into it's core, and the twigs collapsed. There were no more, which was odd. They just set up camp, and crawled into their sleeping bags.
It was a short, undisturbed sleep. Hacksaw got up first. He woke his comrades, and they were on their way again. Time went by fast, and before they knew it, they came up on huts right outside of the vegetation. They were greeted by a male zebra, armed with a spear, necklace, and a jewel of some sorts.
"Stop right there. What are you doing this far out here, pony?" The large guard inquires, no malice, but genuine curiosity in his voice.
Tact responded. "We request aid from your mighty tribe. Our world threatens with it's end through war, and we need more power. You are our last resort, and we hate to impose. But If we don't, we have to go to the most unholiest creatures we know, and that may end us by itself."
"Come with me, our Chief will have your answer." They followed him, through what must have been the largest metropolis they had ever seen. They then, after a few hours, reached a large crystal ball with a doorway leading within. "This will save us 3 months of travel. Follow." They entered, and were enveloped in white light. They were in what looked like the same place, but the outside was different. They exited, and instead of fortified huts they were faced with 3 to 10 story buildings everywhere. Only the guards and the obvious foreign zebras had very much muscle, the rest were dressed fancily and were dainty in their build. They followed the guard to a giant tower at the center. They entered, and followed him up the insane amount of stairs until they reached a relatively nondescript room at the top. The only thing worth note was the throne with the oddly familiar elderly female zebra in it, wearing a golden crown with a green gem in the center. That, the odd coolness, and the illuminated bars built into the ceiling, providing the light.
"Who do you bring into my presence, guard?" The chief inquired, a certain note of kindness in her voice.
"These are pony travelers from across the Everfree region."
"What is it you need, my friends?"
Tact began to explain for the chief. "We come pleading for military assistance. Our world is bordering militant destruction, as the winning force will not be able to recover from their losses. We truly hate to have to turn to your people, and completely understand if you turn us away, but we beg of you," Tact, for the first and hopefully last time in his life, keeled. "Please, help us."
The chief seemed deep in thought for a moment, then she spoke. "How many soldiers do you need? We have 50 billion currently on duty. For the Everfree, the optimal for us to spare would be 10 million." Tact absolutely beamed. A wave of worry was washed away from them, replaced by a wave of concrete relief. Without hesitation, Tact responded to that.
"That is the best news in the history of our world. Equestria may be just a dot compared your population, but if you ever may possibly need help, we are forever in your dept. 10 million will be much more than enough.
"Anything for those who help my sister, Zecora, with her research."
"Your sister is the rhyming brewmaster of the Everfree?"
"She kept her rhyming habit?"
Tact and the chief, Azurat, were on a first name basis, and Hacksaw could tell that in the future if they ever need help form the Zebras again, it would be them who go to request. There may also be many social visit. They might even get one of those crystal ball things in the base. Well, the chieftan and Dagger were getting along decently enough as well. Before Hacksaw knew it, he and Blade were being escorted to the armory. That was what made them exited. He was going to get a sneak peak at what an extremely advanced technological society. Time to do some electronic dissection. They were lead into a room with some pretty amazing looking stuff. There was what looked like a bow, but there was a contraption that-STUPID! How had he not thought of this?!?! It was a bow that fired automatically. He immediately grabbed his notepad, and wrote down 'crossbow-bow that fires with a button, or trigger.' He then looked to his left, and saw the more complex machines. A projectile launcher that looked like it was supposed to face up, then bring the projectile down. No doubt it was meant for long range destruction, and he was already working on one. Then, he got an idea. He wrote 'self-propelling explosive launcher' Ingenious! Then, a smaller zebra wearing goggles, and giant bags on his back and flanks. Obviously the genius behind this.
"You like what you see?"
Blade, having no appreciation for good tech when he sees it, gave a rude and preposterous responce. "Eh."
Hacksaw managed to salvage the situation. "He's just the berserker. He doesn't know revolutionary terrific technology when he sees it." He received a grin form the inventor, then continued after a slight pause. "Hey, I have to compliment your genius. I also have an idea for this." He gestured to the tube meant for long distance destruction.
"Yes? My mortar?"
"What if, and I'm not saying you should abandon this design, but it gave me the idea for a self-propelling explosive launcher. The ordnance would be a pain to make, but i happen to have a tested version of one on me at the moment." He pulled out the bulky cube he used to get the Yak legion's attention.
"You are a genius, you know that? You bring anything else for me to look at?"
"Never leave home without my blade bombs." He pulled out one of the bombs he used on the team of yaks on their first strike. "Do not, I repeat, do NOT, press the button in the middle. You'll kill us all brutally." The zebra held it carefully eyed it for a moment, then gave it back. He carefully put it back in it's case, then pulled out a smoke bomb. "This one won't kill us all horribly, but it will blind you with a flash, then let smoke all over the place. Also not fun if received or used improperly." He gave it to the zebra. "You can keep that one, I have more and their re-loadable." He dug in his bag, and got the long metal magic projector. Magic projector in the sense that it projects magic, not that it IS magic itself. "Do you have a testing field somewhere?"
"Yes we do. Follow-"
"Bring some heavy firepower. I wanna test this thing's limits."
"Whatever you say. Not my fault if I break something."
"Your on." Hacksaw followed the zebra down the staircase, back to the ground floor. They went through to an insanely colossal coliseum.
"It's a multipurpose pit. Wonderful, isn't it?"
"The room in here is as big as Celetia's castle!"
"Your ruler?"
"Yeah. She tries, she never wanted to war and tried to avoid it at any cost, but she failed. Luckily, I have some pretty wonderful things. Like this!" He flipped the lever at the bottom of the thin pad, threw it about 50 feet away, and made a pink, transparent wall.
"That's what you brought us here to show me?"
"Give it a test, why don't you?" He pulled something out of his bag, and it was one of the crossbows he say, but bigger. It was on a stand, and a large box under the loaded arrow. He set it up, grinning, and aimed it at the way. He then held the trigger down, and a volley of arrows harmlessly bounced off Hacksaw's magic wall. This continued for a second, then he stopped. With a frown, he set the arrow turret aside as Hacksaw made a note, and pulled out a red stick with a wick at the top. He then pulled out a small metal box, then made a fire with it on the wick. It began to burn down, and he tossed it at the wall. It bounced off the wall as the fire made it's way to the base, and blew up with an alarming explosion. It nearly launched the notepad from Hacksaw's hooves, and nearly knocked him over, but his wall still held strong.
"WHAT?!" Came the frustrated exclamation from the zebra, who obviously pulled something he thought would be overkill failed. All Hacksaw could do was prevent himself from laughing. "Okay, okay. It's going to be like that, then?"
"The only thing to ever break through was something called the Bass Cannon. One of my friends, a Dj named Vinyl Scratch, invented it."
"Vinyl? White coat, blue mane, purple shades?"
"Yeah. You know her?"
"If it takes something like that, I'll be right back." With that, the zebra left. It must have been a minute, then he returned pulling a cart behind him. "It's no Bass Cannon, but it should do." He aimed a very large device mounted to the cart at the wall. He connected a very large wire to a green container, then flipped a switch. A large burst of green came from the hole in the device, and stopped at the shield. Hacksaw literally burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. He couldn't even see straight. He just beat an inventor that was at least 10 years ahead of him in the battle of inventions.
"You think it's so funny? Let's see you beat my wall." The laser was gone, and there was a blue wall next to his. He shrugged, grabbed a blade bomb, and tossed it to the other side of the wall. The loud crack of the blades off the wall echoed through the stadium, but it held. He pulled out the explosive launcher he flaunted earlier, and launched it at the wall. It hit his wall, there was a large bang accompanied by a cloud of smoke, and it was still there. The blue transparent wall that he had to break to win this duel. He pulled out a small iron rod with a black box at the end. He pulled out the heavy stand, latched it into the ground, kicked the backup spikes into the ground, mounted the small trinket, and pressed the button on the top. A tiny laser spurted out of the tip for a second, then the blue wall blew up into nonexistence. He threw a grin towards the other inventor.
"Okay, you win. However, can that break yours as well?"
"Yeah, I like the explosions. It's awesome." Blade added his 2 sense into the conversation.
"Of course not, My wall is too good." He readjusted the turret to face his wall, then pushed the button again. It launched the tiny laser, then there was a colossal explosion. Much bigger an explosion, as how it was designed was to put the more power the denser and harder the substance, and his wall was still there. It was faltering, but it held.
"You two done? We're leaving." Hacksaw jumped at the sound of Tact's voice.
Blade responded for him. "So, we get something worked out?"
"We're going to wipe those filthy Yaks off the face of the world."
The resident inventor responded before Hacksaw as well. "Your half of the world, at least. We already handled our Yak problem."
Author's Note
This is where things get not-so-death-blood but still not go-happy-fun-time either,
Chapter 5 : Life's a B, Death's Her Sister
Everything was numb. Last thing Cloaked eyes remembered was a sharp pain in her spine, being thrown away, and a head pain. She was now bound in a bed, a soft beep of a heart monitor still going, the pale light from the window as it lit the hospital room. She now felt a large brace up her spine. No one was there, so she just lay in peace. she must have been there for nearly an hour, and almost fell back asleep when she heard the small squeak of the door, and a red pegasus stepped through. Hacksaw. He silently made his way to the bedside, and Eyes decided to not move and hear what he has to say.
"Hey, Eyes. I think we finally did it. 10 million Zebra warriors are invading YakYakistan as I speak. I just wish you were here to see it. You know, you should see Tact. It's tearing him apart that he let this happen to one of his team, and were like a family. He cares for you, me, and Blade like kids, you know. Same with Dagger. And it's all I can do not to call them mom or dad. It was nicer when you were always lightening the mood. All I can do is make a verbal klutz of myself, but it makes people happier, so I do what I have to. You kept the balance within our family, you know. I met Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and Soarin yesterday. All of us got an autographed poster for, well, saving their lives in the same battle that did this to you. I got 2 though. I know your favorite was Rainbow dash, so I got an extra with her on it. I can't really do much else for you at the moment, but Tact is really falling apart. But, he's nothing compared to Jagged. She's actually locked herself in a room. I hope you wake up soon." Eyes felt a large roll of paper begin to nuzzle next to her, and grabbed it. Hacksaw jumped, and let out a yelp.
"Thanks, You know me so well. Do I really mean that much to the team?"
"Firstly, you scared the absolute living fuck out of me. Second, of course you do. Dagger just went into her room after the Visit to the Zebra tribe. You should have SEEN it! It was literally half of the world turned into a- I'm not sure there's a word for something like that. It's a giant city. I had an absolute field day in their armory. did you know there's a type of bow that fires when you pull the trigger, and it's rapid?"
"That's you. Not even 10 minutes since we've met after the whole coma thing, and you're already gushing over your new gadgets."
"Sorry, but I can't help it. An automatic crossbow!"
"Shush. You wanna go free Dagger from her room?"
"Just how long were you awake?"
"Nearly an hour before you showed up."
Here it was. The old iron gate into the mansion. The white cast the hospital had given her up along her back was contrasting horribly with her all black coat and mane. It was an extravagant place, to say the least. A gate on a bush wall with concrete in it and a path leading to a colossal white mansion it had a very grim vibe, and seemed almost dead. That was something Eyes had to fix. She never realized the impact she had on everypony else. Hacksaw opened the gates for her. She slowly walked up the path, careful not to damage her back any. When she began going up the walkway, she felt a certain sense of home return to her. She was before the tall double doors now, and they too were opened for her by the engineer. She found her way to the staircase, and carefully made her way up her hoofsteps were still slightly shaky, but she made her way up. She was then guided to a door, which Hacksaw knocked on.
They then heard a muffled "Go Away." from Dagger.
"Fine then. I'll just go say hi to Blade." If she really did that, she might get her back broken by a hug. There was a muffled thump, and hoofsteps to the door. The door swung open-
Dagger woke up, sweating. She was in her room, and it was barely morning. She was now sitting up. Then, as reality sank in, she fell back. It was a dream. Just a dream. Even if it was only a dream, it had more reality than reality itself. Everything had only gone downhill since she died, except for the fact that the war was pretty much won. Yaks were nearly extinct, and Minotaurs ran away when they saw where this was going. The zebra forces stayed for a day, decimated the Yaks, and left. It was wonderful. There were still the near cataclysmic casualties and the fact that less that 100 soldiers out of nearly 3,000,000 were unharmed. Even Shining Armor nearly got pummeled. They would have to all move closer to Canterot to survive as a species, just so no new threats can appear. The changelings weren't worse off, and neither were the griffons. Chrysalis and the Griffon King both moved into Canterlot, at least for the time being. Unlike whenever they won any other battles, or wars, there was no celebration. They were war heroes, however. They along with the 3 wonderbolts they had rescued have been offered rooms at the palace, and seats for the royal dinner tonight. It was too early to think about dinner, as it was time for breakfast. There was food already prepared, so she just opened the fridge and grabbed a sandwich. She didn't want to admit it, but she took a liking to the meat back in the Griffon kingdom, so she made a sandwich with some and saved it for whenever. She needed a pick-me-up right now, so now was as good a time as any other. She just sat in the kitchen, eating in the dark, sad silence. She finished duly, and began her way to the hospital where Eyes had been transferred to from ponyville. She got a carriage once she was out of the gate, and just arrived at Canterlot Hero Hospital. She entered, and walked up to the service desk.
"Hello? How may I help you."
"Here to see Cloaked Eyes." That made the mare behind the desk pause, fake smile instantly out the window.
"I'm sorry, but-" She trailed off. Dagger has had her life thrown into a lava pit 3 times over and off so many cliffs, but this was one of the absolute worst thing she could have ever thought of. "She, well, passed away last night." Dagger, barely holding herself together, just turned and left. The carriage was still there, and she was home in what felt like a split second. Crying on her bed. The world darkening around her to the shade of Eyes's coat and mane. All she could do was move on. But, damn, she was even more than a daughter. It was insane, how fast can take a few lives and just flip them into a fiery pit of death. Normally, she would come out stronger, but this was too much. She grabbed her namesake, rolled over onto her back, and paused. Life as she knew it was over. She plunged the dagger into her throat, and life itself was over. Only the trickling blood to comfort her.
Author's Note
Prepare for a time skip.
Chapter 6 : Buck Father Time, And His Rules
It has been about 5 years since the suicide of Jagged Dagger, Tact Logistics, and Cloaked Eyes. The only thing that kept Blade going was that Hacksaw gathered the greatest scientific minds in history. Twilight Sparkle, Rom, and the zebra inventor from when they went through the Everfree. They had been working on something ever since. Today, though, he was being called into the basement of the mansion with them. The dreary concrete walls and bright lighting were not a good combination for fashion, but great for concentration. What was more intresting was the giant metal contraption with a chamber inside it.
"What's that? Some kind of time machine or something?"
"You could say that." Came the smug reply from Hacksaw.
"Wait, what? Isn't that like impossible or something?"
Twilight responded in her own way. "We managed to isolate a pure particle of time and stabilize it. We then experimented with the fabric of reality and a time spell from Starswirl The Bearded, and we found out how to bring matter to any point in time. Seperate units of matter could potentially be ripped apart or merged in the process, however."
Hacksaw translated."She means that we toyed with reality and magic. It will either kill or merge you with anything or anyone you bring with you, not that you will."
"Wait, when exactly did you decide I was going?"
"Into The Northern War where Eyed died. You have to save her."
"I have to go back into that hell hole of a blood bath. Sure, why not? Not like I won't completely die horribly."
"All you have to do is save Eyes. Do that, and you'll fade out of existence painfully. Tact, Dagger, and eyes will all be fine. Do it for them." Blade was always the tough one, and definitely the most qualified for the job. He shrugged, and walked into the red chamber. The metal door slid shut behind him, and lightning crept around the walls. He stood, ready for whatever he saw next.
After a giant portal opened in front of him, he stepped through. He was now seeing Eyes run at a Yak with a spear from a dead guard. He ran as fast as she could, but not at her. At the Yak behind her. He grabbed a spear on his way over, and stabbed through his skull, the blood spraying all over him. The satisfying crunch of skull ringing back into his ears. The long lost bloodlust was back. Everything was red, and he assumed he was adding to it. He was just happily slashing away, and managed to kill between 4 and 7 Yaks before a Minotaur was charging at him. The one that broke Dagger's muzzle. A wicked smile crossed his face as he charged back, and caught the kick. It nearly picked him off the ground, but he pulled the Minotaur down to the ground. He then stomped the Minotaur's face. His hoof penetrated through the skull, the blood getting all over his hoof. The shattered bone cut his hoof up, but he wouldn't be around much longer, so he didn't worry about the mixing blood. He found a spear on the ground, and went to town tearing a line through the Yak army. Before he could get 2 steps, he just started to fade out. On instinct, he tossed the spear right between the eyes of a Minotaur, but then ceased to exist.
Tact couldn't wrap his head around what he just saw. A 5 year older Blade came through a blue tear in reality, saved Eyes's life, and devastated more than 3 times his job plus an extra Minotaur when he faded out of existence. Maybe he came from the future to save Eyes, then just had fun with the rest of his life. Maybe it was bloodlust, maybe insanity, but definitely the same thing as the current time period Blade. What mattered was that Eyes was alive, and fine. This was too close, and Tact suspected that a certain timeline was one where Eyes had died. The rest of the war played out, generally chaotic, blood-soaked, godless, and just horribly. When the Yaks died down, and everything seemed like it was coming to a close, another wave of Yaks appeared to rival the now appearing collection of hives of Changelings. This could only go badly. All Pony and Griffon withdrew, leaving only the soldiers on the wall. All members of the crew were back, relatively umharmed. The Wonderbolts were here as well, Spitfire all but dead and Rainbow crying over a dead career. She was lucky to have just survived, but she just lost her Wonderbolt Captainship, her right wing, and innocence. There was blood staining the ground, littered with corpses, limbs, bones, and organs everywhere. Tonight would be nightmares for everypony who witnessed the current events, and now the Changelings were about to be tossed into their own war. They were about to leave, before there was green and blue blood everywhere.
Life had been scary for a moment, but the Zebras just withdrew from decimation of the entire YakYakistan populous. Hacksaw was happy with his inventing, Tact and blade were somehow discussing pottery at the moment, and Eyes and Dagger were locked in a rather pleasant conversation about subtlety.
"You know, Tact would have pushed me away in an instant if he had any idea that I had some silly schoolfilly crush in him. I still find it funny how good we turned out together, and if I just came out and said anything about how I really felt, we might not even know eachother."
"Once, I had been hired to assassinate a crimelord down in Los Pegasus, you know, the only land pegasus city. And I was lucky he had a black fetish."
"Did you really, do that?"
"Of course not! I slit his throat before he could touch me. Then, I snuck out the window. Easy as that. He was filthy!"
"I know how that is. I had to get into a gang of diamond dogs to get some royal jewels back, I didn't like how close I was to rape by the end of it. Actually had to fight my way out." This conversation was taking a turn for the slightly awkward, and more so with the now expanding silence between them. Here goes normal life. Equestria's at the brink of extinction, the Yaks are dying out, and Tartarus is untouched. Soon, the changelings would be a threat, but that is a different story.
Author's Note
Now, family life. No more blood. Not right now, at least.