War, Friendship, and Crisis: The Tale of a Torn World

The drop ship was almost to Ponyville. It traveled through the dimensional portal, and it was in Equestria's atmosphere. Ponyville became visible from the fires and ships littering the area. Demons populated the entire landscape. Entire armies were marching along the plains, warships cruised to the site, and vehicles of warfare crushed foliage on their way to the battlefield. A nearby anti-air cannon blasted the drop ship, destroying its left wing and thruster. Red lights flashed and sirens blared Inside the ship.

"Mayday, mayday!" the pilot shouted as the ship spiraled out of control. "We've been hit by demon artillery! We have five of the Elements of Harmony aboard the ship!"

"Hang on, fellas!" an eager and bloodthirsty soldier yelled to his comrades. "We're gonna have a welcoming party!"

The soldiers activated their thruster packs and opened the ramp. Wind rushed into the ship as the soldiers fell out of the ship. War cries and shouting were quickly dissipated as the soldiers jumped off the ship. The five ponies were terrified. Fluttershy was hyperventilating, Pinkie was screaming in her seat, and the other three braced for impact.

"You five gotta jump!" the co-pilot warned to the quintet. "Youll die with us if you stay in here!"

"Well, I'm outta here then." Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and glided out of the ship.

"Are you nuts?" Twilight screamed hysterically. "I can't free-fall like that!"

"Then teleport down!" Pinkie said as she urged Fluttershy to fly out of the ship. "I'll be down there safe and sound, girls!" She turned her attention towards Fluttershy. "You have to fly out if you want to survive!"

Fluttershy jumped out with her wings wide open, and Pinkie Pie entered free fall. Applejack grabbed the spare parachute and hopped out of the ship. Twilight was the only pony on the ship now. She activated her teleportation spell and disappeared into the air.

•—————•

Twilight reappeared in her treehouse. She felt a little disoriented, but she was still healthy and able to move around. She remembered that the Elements of Harmony were still in her case. She opened the case and levitated all of them out the front door. She galloped outside with the bundle of charms and examined the scene. Rainbow Dash landed on a nearby house, Applejack crashed into a pile of hay, Pinkie was already bouncing around, and Fluttershy was looking around on the street. Fire consumed some of the buildings, but they weren't as wild as the first battle's flames. Déjà vu struck Twilight like a speeding truck, but she shrugged it off and rushed to her friends with the Elements of Harmony. She placed every single one of them onto her friends. The element for Rarity was placed into her saddlebags for later.

Three demons also rushed into the scene. One of them carried a special laser rifle, and the others carried bucklers and short swords. "They're over here, sarge!" the rifle-wielding demon shouted. "I got the unicorn. You two, get the earth ponies!"

The two demons rushed over to Pinkie Pie first. She pulled out her party cannon and shredded them with killer confetti. The rifle demon pretended that didn't happen and chased Twilight Sparkle. She fired a magical blast at the demon, but an invisible barrier absorbed the blast. The demon fired three purple blasts at Twilight and hit her successfully. No laser wounds were created, but Twilight felt, weak. Her magic was drained by the blasts!

"It works!" The demon held up his weapon and giddily danced. "Now let's set it to 'kill mode'."

Twilight galloped towards the hay. The demon attempted to follow her, but he was blocked when Rainbow Dash confronted it. She fired her guns and shredded the demon to bits. After a little conversing and questioning, the quintet regrouped. Their communications chips buzzed with static as they examined the area.

"Twilight Sparkle," General Solk ordered briefly, "we have the location of the last member. They're in an approaching fortress."

Rainbow Dash's face donned complete terror. "Did you say, approaching fortress?"

"Yes, I said that. It just crushed part of the Everfree Forest under its feet, and it's heading this way."

"How are we going to fend of an entire fortress?" Twilight questioned in pure hysteria.

"We have checkpoints were anti-air cannons have been placed. We can hijack those checkpoints and aim them at the fortress. There are a total of three of these locations in Ponyville. The first one is at Sugarcube Corner."

Pinkie gasped in shock. "These meanies are taking over my home? They are not going to be smiling from this!"

Pinkie rushed over to Sugarcube Corner in anger. The other four ponies followed in pursuit to the shop. A blockade of dark stone and neotitanium cut their journey short. A new demon was sniffing around the area. Unlike the others, it was a hunchback with large fists. There was no visible mouth, and six horns protruded from its head. A forked tail whipped around at its rear end, and it walked on two powerful legs. The demon looked over to the quintet and growled inhumanly. It began to run towards them.

"What is that thing?" Applejack's face shifted to curiosity and fear. "It doesn't look friendly, but it's pretty interesting."

Twilight looked over as she prepared a magical blast. "I don't know, but I'm going to destroy it before it destroys us."

She fired the raw magic at the creature. It grunted in pain, but it kept rushing towards the five ponies. Rainbow Dash fired a barrage of lasers at the demon, damaging it moderately. It pounded its chest as it confronted Pinkie Pie. It threw punches from the left and right, but she dodged them easily. She did the same to the demon, but it shrugged them off as nothing. Twilight fired another magical blast at the demon, this time knocking the demon to her left by a few yards.

The demon twitched as it hit the ground. Its body sprouted multiple spikes, and its tail turned into a mess of needles. The horns on its head grew longer as a long, twisted mouth formed on its face. Multiple fangs and a forked tongue were revealed as its face split apart. Its fists opened into deadly claws. The demon then got back on its feet, but it wasn't hunched anymore. It was almost on all fours at this point.

"Huh, that's new." Rainbow Dash noticed the unique demon's form as she flew backwards.

The demon sprinted towards Twilight this time. It leaped into the air and held out its claws, but it soon found itself in a patch of dirt and gravel. Twilight had teleported again, but she used a short range variant of the spell this time. The demon readjusted its aim and leaped at Pinkie this time. She rolled under the demon while it was in the air and pummeled it front hooves when it landed. The demon felt nothing and swung one of its brawny arms behind its back. The demon threw Pinkie into a nearby house, causing a dent as she smashed into the wall.

Twilight realized the weakness of this demon. Pinkie's physical attacks were pretty powerful, but this creature wasn't phased from them. However, magic damaged the creature badly. Twilight charged a fire blast this time and aimed for the demon. It noticed the sudden abundance of an illuminating red and turned towards her. It gnashed its teeth ravenously and crawled toward her. She fired the blast, setting the demon ablaze with both flames and rage. It roared while charging towards Twilight. The demon leaped into the air once again, this time pinning her down.

Fire crept from the demon's body and walked along Twilight's coat. The creature's powerful claws scraped at her flesh while pinning her forlegs on the ground. Twilight couldn't move her lower body because the demon positioned its feet on top of her hind legs. The creature snarled inches from her face. The flames kept swimming along her body, cooking and burning everything they touched. Twilight closed her eyes and winced to not see what what going to happen to her.

The demon twitched and growled as laser blasts smashed into its back. Twilight felt the weight put on her legs vanish. The demon turned around and leaped at Rainbow Dash. She kept firing laser blasts into the creature. She flew backwards and watched the demon flop onto the ground lifelessly. The flames died down as the creature dissipated into a cloud. The body disappeared with the fire and left nothing behind.

Twilight got back on her hooves and examined them. Punctures in her flesh were bleeding, and the fire that was still on her caused bad burns all over her body. She used a spell to eliminate the fire and asked for a cupcake. Pinkie hopped over to her and handed the usual orange and yellow cupcake selflessly. Twilight Sparkle munched on the treat and felt her body rejuvenate. Burns dissolved into her skin, puncture wounds closed up, and the searing pain trickled out of her body. She felt healthy and alive again.

Twilight shifted her attention to the metal wall. "How are we going to get past that?" She looked to her left and right. Even more steel walls blocked the path to Sugarcube Corner. "There's no way around it!"

Rainbow Dash flew next the wall and mocked Twilight. "Uh, I have wings. I can just fly over it and find a way for all of you to pass."

The other four ponies nodded in agreement. Rainbow Dash flew over the wall and scanned the ground. Five demons were walking around and patrolling the area. Four of them were novice demons, and one of them was a shield demon, a small demon with no head and strong armor. One of the novice demons was standing next to a bundle of explosive canisters. Another was piloting the anti-air cannon and shooting at GEST Corp. aircraft. The shield demon and other two novice demons walked around aimlessly.

If I push one of those barrels to the wall, I might be able to blow it up, she planned to herself. She glared at the demon near the canisters. I don't think that punk is going to let me near them though.

She created a couple storm clouds and hurled them at the demons. Two of them were hit directly by the storm clouds.

"Argh, what was that?" Exclaimed one of the injured demons. It wielded a freezing rocket launcher and wore chain mail all over its body. "Wherever you are, don't think I'm an idiot. I've killed half a person with this baby!"

Rainbow Dash pounced onto the rocket demon and crushed its body. She fired laser blasts at two other demons wielding laser rifles. They were quickly destroyed under the barrage of lasers. The shield demon ran up with its razor-sharp nubs and sliced at her. It missed completely and was crushed from Rainbow Dash's pummeling. She then smashed her hooves into the sides of the cannon demon's head, crushing it into a pancake. All of the demons dissipated into nothing and left their weapons and armor in the area.

Rainbow Dash hovered to the canisters and rolled them next to the wall. She placed seven near the wall in a neat order. After finishing her placement, she rained lasers on the canisters. They destroyed the entire wall as they exploded, allowing the other four ponies to cross safely.

"And that's how you get it done!" Rainbow Dash said cockily while spinning in midair.

"Good work, Rainbow," Applejack praised while giving a thankful smile. She glanced at the cannon in bafflement. "Twilight, do you know how this thing works?"

Twilight also examined the cannon, but wasn't too clear on how to control it. "I don't know, but the other soldiers might." She shifted her attention to Travis. "Travis, can you send in some soldiers to Sugarcube Corner? We've taken control of the area."

"Can do," he chirped.

Four GEST Corp. soldiers rushed into the area after a few seconds. One seized the cannon while the others positioned themselves around the cannon. "You five can go now." One of the soldiers pointed to the collapsed metal.

"Alright, the next location is near the school," Travis informed. "Multiple demon soldiers are currently fending off our troops, and they're winning. We need you five to turn the tables on them.

The quintet acknowledged that information and headed towards the school. They noticed that the demons built multiple fortifications around the school. GEST Corp. soldiers were slowly advancing through the river, but their men were dropping like flies. The bridge was destroyed, and turret stations were placed strategically around the road. The only way to penetrate the makeshift base was either airborne or straight ahead.

Twilight aimed her magical blast for one of the turrets. "I need a clear shot, but that metal will get in the way."

"I can handle it!" Pinkie exclaimed while pulling out her party cannon. She placed a cluster bomb into the cannon and aimed for the turret. As the cannon fired, multiple bombs rained down on the fort. Turrets exploded, metal broke apart, demons exploded into chunks of matter, and soldiers forded the river in triumph. The five ponies advanced as well, blasting and destroying a new variant of demon. These demons were four-legged creatures that scuttled along the ground, biting at nearby soldiers' ankles. They only had four legs and a head with a toothy mouth.

"Those are called leecks," Travis informed. "They're responsible for multiple engine failures and meltdowns."

The quintet invaded the demons' fort. They stormed the inside of the school, and they met several demons hiding from the gunfire. They fired laser blasts and magic blasts, bucked, punched, kicked, and shouted at the demons. One demon sergeant ripped through the ceiling and landed on a desk. He carried a bayonet laser rifle with a motion tracker. He shot himself into the air, cackling as he fired at Rainbow Dash. She dodged the constant blasts while Pinkie snuck behind the occupied demon. She smashed her front hooves into the demon's head, destroying most of its essence. Twilight fired a fire blast at the sergeant, disintegrating his entire body.

"We got control of the cannon!" shouted a soldier from outside the school. "Those dudes didn't even stand a chance!"

"Yeah, they did," corrected another soldier. "They were mowing us down before these ponies shown up." The soldier poked its head at the school entrance and gave a thumbs up to the quintet.

"Alright, there's one more location," Travis informed. "It's all the way at the town hall. Be careful though, we almost have an entire war for that area right now."

The quintet galloped once again to their destination. They encountered a few anti-magic demons and thrasher demons, the same creature that attacked the ponies at the wall, while they pressed on into the town square. They weren't too much trouble, but they still put up a powerful fight. Once they reached the town hall, they discovered that Travis was right.

Bodies littered the road. Soldier heads rolled around the ground while losing their blood. Torsos and limbs were cut and ripped apart everywhere. The pieces were scattered in bloody bunches of viscera. Some soldiers that didn't die yet had gaping wounds and laser shots dotting their body. The demons were winning this fight by a landslide, and their proof was the trio of heavily armored demons armed with submachine guns. They fired countless shots into the crowd of soldiers as they flipped and evaded around the battlefield.

"Can I stay away from these ones?" Fluttershy asked timidly. Twilight nodded a yes, and Fluttershy proceeded to hide behind a nearby building.

Twilight analyzed the situation and created a quick plan. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to fly above the demons and shoot them from above. Pinkie, I need you to sneak behind them and disable their abilities. Applejack, you need to get up close and bash the demons. I'll divert their attention and possibly fire magic at them."

Those four ponies nodded in agreement and began their orders. Twilight fired a few blasts at the demons to gain their attention.

"What just damaged my barrel?" one of them said in a gruff and irritated voice.

"I did!" Twilight used her magic to fiddle with the demon's weapon. All three of the elite demons began firing their weapons at her. She dodged and blocked their attacks wildly. Sometimes, she would even forget that there was a wall near her. Rainbow Dash rained lasers on the elite demons, Pinkie hugged one of them so much that they were constricted, and Applejack bucked one of them into a wall. Two of the elite demons died very quickly, but Applejack's demon was still alive. Rainbow Dash shifted her aim and fired at the surviving elite demon. It fell apart as the lasers shredded its form.

"Good job, ponies!" shouted a soldier while they hijacked the anti-air cannon. The demon that was kicked out of the cannon dissipated almost instantly.

"The entire town is under GEST Corp. control now," Travis informed. "All that's left is the colossal demon approaching the town. It'll be knocked down by our aircraft and hijacked cannons easily, but you need to enter the fortress on its back."

"Wait, what?" the ponies questioned in unison.

"Why the hay is a fortress on something's back?" Applejack asked in confusion.

"I have no idea," Travis answered blankly. He was as clueless as Applejack. "All I know is Lieutenant Vyshnaam is in that fort, and he is leading this entire brigade. He's a very smart leader, so he'll expect you five to enter his fort. Most likely, he's already prepared."

The ground shook as a gargantuan demon entered the mess of smoke. In the direction of the Everfree Forest was a hulking monster with two huge, unblinking eyes. The creature roared as it approached the town. It wanted to do nothing but destroy Ponyville. It wanted to ruin and wreck everything in its path.

A soldier raised out their right arm hastily. "Fire!"

Missiles and laser blasts spiraled toward the behemoth, destroying pieces of its solid body. The creature wailed in pain and hastened its journey to the town. Even though it was almost at the town, too much artillery was being thrown at it to allow any progress. The beast eventually fell to the ground lifelessly. A chunk of the forest was crushed under the demon's massive body. On top of the demon stood a lone fortress, waiting to be infiltrated. Twilight Sparkle, determined to conquer the monsters that caused this madness, readied her quintet and ventured into the trees. They were about to meet what could be their death, but they were too determined to believe that. They were going to end the demons right here, and nothing could stop them.