Author's Note
This story is an ongoing collaborative effort between myself and fellow author and friend of mine on this site Akula966. Most of the story is inspired by the events of Call of Duty Black Ops, mostly the idea of a captured hero and a former enemy turned unlikely ally fighting against someone who wronged them both.
Some events in this story will parralel events in the game, but we have learned from a previous mistake and intend on keeping the story unique while capturing the ideas taken from the source.
Enjoy, Akula and I have been working on a collaborative story for the better part of a year and both of us are excited to start this.
Heart Of War
"Wake up Miss Velocity."
The pony in question grogily responded to the call, only to be alerted by the fact that she was strapped down.
"No need to be afriad.
"Why am I here?! Who are you?!"
"Who I am is not important miss, what is important is what I'm asking you..."
"You have no right to ask me anything prick! I don't answer to whoever you are. Now let me go."
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that, as you have been suspected of working with enemies to Equestria. As such, we need... "
"You talking about Akula?! Is this what this bullshit is about? If he was an enemy he would have already..." Viral's rant was cut short by a sharp pain that eveloped her entire system. Her shriek echoed throughout the massive room.
"Yes, Miss Velocity, this is about your...acquaintance. The temporary pinch you just received is a little motivator to get you to cooperate with our efforts. As you're already familiar with, the changeling's are currently Equestria's greatest threat. After looking into your history and finding several key events where you were within close proximity to Akula we have deemed you a threat to the kingdom. However, we can cooperate...surrender the location of your accomplice and we shall let you go, clearing your name in the process. If you don't, we will slowly increase the pain of your experience."
Viral let out a chuckle through the pain.
"Me, enemy of the kingdom? You must not know who I am."
"On the contrary, we have a detailed record of your time in the military. This includes a state in which you were M.I.A for several months."
"That shit show? You don't even want to know what happened."
"We will find out, even if we have to use more...invasive methods. Boot up the infiltrator, we're gonna dive into her."
3rd Day of the 7th Moon, Year 1032
Viral Velocity deployed alongside team 2 to retrieve report from forward scouts 5 kilometers from the Changeling/Equestria Border that broke contact with command.
"V, you should see scared Griffin's get when they hear one of these things go off. Makes me laugh every time." Came a snarky remark from one of the veterans in the squadron, brandishing the rifle he was outfitted with.
"Easy for you to say when you're not the one fresh out of boot camp." She responded to the veteran in her battalion. Indeed she was only in her early twenties.
"Seems like the more places we go the more things stay the same V." The voice of another responded to her words. "Eventually you'll get the routine. Everything we come across fights hard or runs scared."
While originally not intending to join the armed forces, the crimson Pegasus was inclined to fight as war began with the Changelings. Once an ally that helped quell enemy forces was slowly turning into Equestria's biggest threat.
The former queen had been overthrown long before and the Changelings became a new ally for them under Thorax. All was peaceful until a small uprising brought upon a new age of conflict. Thorax had been replaced by a new more threatening leader known only to the Equestrian's as "Drago". While his identity was mostly unknown, he was certainly a threat none had seen before. Arming them with weapons some could only dream of, or in this case have nightmares.
Viral was among the youngest in her group, as most of the soldiers in her squadron were in their late 20's to early thirties. Most of them had some experience at least, though none were prepared for what was coming.
They were being sent in as reinforcements after a call from a scout squadron 5 clicks up the road. They were nearing the border of what was considered enemy territory, and the scouts had failed to report back at any time over the last few hours.
The team was 20 strong, most armed with automatic rifles or submachine guns with a few MG's for support. They weren't expecting a long firefight. For Viral, she was a designated submachine gunner, being an agile Pegasus.
The squadron leader, a green earth pony stallion and the oldest of the team signaled for the team to halt. Up ahead, the tent that had belonged to the Scout team lay, though the ponies that were occupying it seemed to not be present.
"We're close," He said. "Eyes up, and watch for movement."
Just as he finished speaking, a rustle in the bushes was heard. Those who we're closest to it aimed their weapons, but most relaxed when it turned out to be one of the Scouts. It was their own leader, who seemed to be in ok condition. She seemed to be surprised by the presence of the squadron.
"Oh, my mistake. We weren't expecting any backup."
The squadron leader was quick to respond.
"You failed to report back to base Lt. Flash, so we were sent to pack you folks up."
"Yeah..we ran into radio trouble. Alloy should be inside working on it."
Convinced that the problem could be resolved by fixing a simple radio issue, he went to enter the tent with a couple soldiers. Viral leaned back on a nearby tree facing away from most of the team. Little did she realize how close she would have come to perishing.
As the group of ponies opened the tent flap there was a noticeable click that brought every pony to attention. Suddenly, the tent exploded from planted explosives. Those who survived outside the blast zone raised their guns, but We're soon put under fire from all sides including the disguised Changeling who had set the trap.
Viral immediately was brought to attention herself, standing cover behind the tree she laid upon. Suddenly in front of her she was charged by one of the enemies surrounding the squad. She met the blue bug face to face locking her hooves with the other as it hissed in her face with razor fangs. It glowed as it did under Thorax, but it was well known by many that Thorax was no longer in command of these bugs.
She held off the blade it attempted to stab her with, turning the bug against the tree and forcing its presence off her before firing a burst of 9mm into its upper torso and dropping it. She went to look at regrouping to support her squad but soon realized with dread the situation she was in.
19 bodies lay in front of her eyes, most of which were coated in burns from the explosion and the rest riddled with bullet wounds. Her entire team was wiped out by a perfect ambush….and now she was staring into dozens of guns pointed in her direction. With no hope of surviving if she fired, she did the most logical thing and set the gun down slowly as two of them approached with AK-74s drawn.
She was disarmed and tossed over onto her face, but she was thankful to not be forced to see her own dead as she was escorted away. For the mare, a long journey was on its way, as she was now a POW in what would soon become all-out war.
"You really want to know the hell I went through while I was gone?! Huh? You have no idea the fucking time I went through under those cockroaches hold."
"Where did you end up?"
"Chert Vozmi. Fucking moshpit of bugs and whatever they considered hostile. I was an outcast among war veterans, enemies to their country, all sort of messed up individuals. I lost track of the time I spent, fuck I was ready to call that place my grave...but I wasn't going to lie down and die like a wimp."
"Is this where you met Akula?"
"Heh, yeah. Called himself the Demon Lord, an old loyalist of Chrysalis' old hive. Big pain in the butt for Drago he was, but Akula didn't enjoy being betrayed by his hive. He had had enough of that from Thorax."
"Thorax was a great asset to Equestria during his reign, we know of instances where Akula attempted and failed to bring his queen back into power. Drago was power hungry, he didn't want any others taking his claim to the throne."
"He held a grudge, and while I was ready to give up he found a way out of that hole."
If Viral had ever felt like she was in Tartarus, this was the moment where she felt like she had actually descended there.
The mare had lost count of how many days had passed since her squad was ambushed by changeling forces. Being the only survivor, she was taken prisoner by the bugs and tortured for information. But being relatively new, there was nothing that Viral knew that the changelings wanted to know. No amount of torture would break her, as the pegasus had nothing to give in the first place.
But when the mare was sent to where she was to be held, Viral wished that she was still being tortured.
She was sent to the hellish Chert Vozmi Gulag, the most evil and tough work camp in the changeling gulag prison system. Prisoners in the camp were both changeling and pony, with some other species held there. Prisoners of war, political opponents to King Drago, dissidents, enemies of the state and even common criminals. Conditions were more than what flesh and blood could survive, guards were everywhere, punishments for not completing work adequately or speaking up were brutal and constant malnourishment led to many deaths of prisoners. No creature had ever escaped from the camp.
And to make matters even worse, violent fights broke out often and ponies were often violated by the more insane prisoners. Not a place one would want to be sent to.
Day to day life for Viral was just a struggle to survival. Ever since she arrived, her life had changed from what it once was in Cloudsdale. Now, days were long. During the day, she was chipping at rocks, pushing heavy loaded carts and chopping trees for wood in order to meet unrealistic quotas. She had been beaten by the guards multiple times, even if she didn’t do anything wrong. Viral figured that the reason behind her consistent beating was because she was a pony; an enemy of the changelings and of their King.
Even her fellow prisoners were against her. Particularly, a changeling group called “Bratstvo” (meaning The Brotherhood in the native changeling tongue) and their leader Max. This group always seemed to find her in the camp and on multiple occasions, had attempted to sexually assault the mare.
She had been able to fight the insane bugs off, but the constant beatings and malnourishment was beginning to take its toll on her. She wished that she was dead. But she didn’t realise that salvation was coming for her, from an unlikely source…
That fateful day started off like any normal one. This time, Viral was mining in the tunnels for coal alongside a few other prisoners. The long hours, the beatings and the lack of nourishment was weakening the mare day by long day. It felt like she was about to work herself to death.
Then, the short and sharp piercing whistle of a whistle signaled the end of the day’s work. Immediately, pickaxes were dropped and carts were abandoned as the prisoners immediately left the tunnel to get back to their quarters.
Viral dropped her pickaxe and caught her breath, looking down the tunnel where all the others had fled to. She was all out of energy and about to pass out. But now, it was time to regain only a small part of her needed minerals with some rye bread and wheat porridge.
But as she began to stumble towards her quarters, she got jumped from behind by a changeling prisoner she recognised all too well. The scar on his left eye and the cracked fangs were the things that gave away that Max had pinned her.
Viral tried to shake the shapeshifter off, but she was too weak. And it didn’t help when two of Max’s fellow gang members appeared and held her down. There was no hope for her now.
“Did you think that I would let you go so easily, pony?” Max rhetorically asked the mare, forcing a knife (which was nothing more than a serrated piece of metal) against her neck.
“Fuck you, cockroach. Just leave me alone!” Viral snapped, still trying to free herself from the grasp of the changelings, only to get the cold and rough blade pressed more into her throat.
Max just hissed at Viral and moved her tail out of the way of her flank, getting a look at the mare’s flank. It was clear to all that was there what was going to happen. “I’ve always wanted to know what a pony feels like to take. You’d better enjoy it, pony. Because you’re going to be there for quite some time,”
Viral didn’t say anything in response, just closed her eyes and waited. Waited for her cherry to pop against her will.
But within seconds, the only thing she heard was a loud screech. She opened her eyes and moved her head to look around at Max and what she saw surprised her.
The changeling that was attempting to take her was now just standing above her, his face in a permanent state of utter shock. And sticking into his back, was a pickaxe blade. With a sickening squelch, the pick was forcefully removed from the changeling’s back and he fell over, lifelessly. The death of their leader had scared the other two changelings off. Viral's body visibly recoiled as she witnessed the violent act, even if whoever had done it had seemingly saved her from a very long and painful day on her stomach.
She looked up at her savior, and froze in fear. This was a changeling as well, but not one of the new hatches. It was one of Chrysalis' hives, his black skin the most prevalent feature. His wings were cut off his back and he oozed with dried blood from his time in the gulag as well as fresh blood from the bug he had just killed.
At first Viral had been grateful, but now feared a much more painful and quicker execution at the hollow hooves of a more violent, experienced, and seemingly brutal or even demonic changeling. Yet, what he did next took her by surprise.
The bloodied changeling didn’t swing the pick into her tummy and kill her, no. He held a hoof out to the mare. “Are you alright?” He asked, surprising Viral even more.
Viral was hesitant, but seeing as he more or less saved her life, or at the very least wasn't going to kill her there, she took it as he pulled her onto her hooves.
"I'll be fine, but I've been better." She admitted. "Bastard has been trying to ride me for the better part of my time here. I'm starting to think KIA would have been better than this hole."
“That’s just Max. Horny and evil as fuck. And yes, KIA is a much better status than being sent here,” The changeling stated, as he dropped the pickaxe coated in changeling blood onto the floor. Viral just nodded to agree with him, but the changeling knew that something was up. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
“Of course I don’t!” Viral snapped, “Ever since I got here, all of you goddamn cockroaches have either tried to kill me or ride me. And my mother told me to never trust a changeling. Why should you be any different?“
“You’ll have to stick around with me and find out,”
The mare just scoffed at him and said, “Yeah, sure,” Viral then turned around to leave, but the changeling then spoke again.
“Then how about a quid pro quo?”
Viral stopped and turned to face him. “A what?”
“Quid pro quo,” The changeling said again, “You tell me things, I’ll tell you things. I’ll go first,” He then slowly trotted up to Viral, then whispered into her ear, “I have been planning a breakout from this hellhole for months now and I now have the final piece of the puzzle. And I know for a fact that you do not want to stay and slowly work to death,”
The fact that this bug had an escape plan that he had been working on made Viral light up. She knew that if she was to stay in the gulag for any longer, she would definitely die. And if there is any chance that she would be able to get out of the camp, she was definitely taking it.
“You have an escape plan?” She asked, slowly turning her body around to face her savior. He just simply nodded, causing Viral to smile. “I think I feel a change in the wind under my wings,”
The changeling smiled and held out his hoof, “I’m Akula,”
“Velocity. Viral Velocity, though in this line of work fame isn't exactly suitable. Most ponies called me double V or just straight up V, less of a mouth full when I'm being told what to do.” Viral clenched her teeth a bit. "Though back then it was more of a friendly suggestion for helping out, not a do or die sort of situation. You have no bucking clue how much I want out of here, dead or alive."
Akula just put his hoof back down and said, “That makes two of us. I’m tired of seeing my brothers and sisters starve and work themselves to death. This place will burn before I’m through,”
With that, the pegasus and changeling began to leave the mining tunnel. But on the way to the ‘dorms’, they struck up a conversation. “How did you end up here?” Akula asked.
“I was captured by changelings on the battlefield. How else?” Viral answered, with a hint of sarcasm.
“I need specifics, Viral,” Akula stated.
“Please, just call me V,”
Akula paused for a second. “Huh, alright then, V. What events led to you being sent here?”
Viral let out a breath, before telling her story…
“I was only fresh out of bootcamp when I was sent to the frontlines. I was never planning on joining the military, but the war changed that. I was in a squad of 20, most of the others were veterans or amateurs, leaving me as the only rookie in the team.
We were sent to the front to check out a scout team that had failed to report back to HQ. Me and the team were sent in to check it out. It was supposed to be a routine job. Just investigate what was going on with the scouts and their equipment. It was anything but simple.
Turns out, that the issue was nothing more than an ambush. The bugs had already killed the scout team and were using them to draw in ponies. I was the only one who survived, as I was nowhere close enough to the tent to be either blown up or shot while lying down. Even then, I was surrounded and captured.
The bugs tortured me for information, despite the fact that I had nothing to give. Still, I never gave anything up and I got shipped out here. Although, I wish that I was still being tortured than being stuck here,”
“...And that's my story,” Viral finished up, as the pair sat down next to an open fire, the glow of the flames lighting up half of both of their faces.
Akula, deep down, felt for this pony. Sure, her kind did take his lover away from him and ruined the hive, but this new hive was not any better than the reformed ‘weak’ changelings. He knew why Drago threw him down here, along with many of his fellow loyalists.
And being left behind by her own kind was low, even for the ponies. Akula had heard enough from V about making her case. He was ready to help her bust out.
But before he could tell the mare his plan, V spoke first. “So, what about you? How did you end up here? From what I heard, Drago has been welcoming unreformed changelings with open arms since he took power,”
“Don’t believe everything you are told,” Akula quickly stated, before telling his story…
“Loyalty to the queen was a must for surviving in the old hive. You had to be willing to follow her into the depths of Tartarus for her and worship her whenever she demands that you do it. Me, I was closer to her than most. Ever since I split my egg in the nursery hive, I fell in love with Chrysalis. I obeyed her without a second thought, killed who she needed dead, seduced who she needed smitten.
But on the same day that I lost my wings, she made the decision to make that love for her a bit more personal. I became the queen’s consort. All of my brothers and sisters now bowed to me and my queen. All of the younglings looked up to me and I became the… I believe the term “poster boy” is going around in Equestria these days. And I fought during the invasion of Canterlot, alongside my lover. One pony guard happened to get too close to me and I… gave him what he deserved. As a result, that pony’s blood spilt onto me, which is the dried up blood you see on me now.
After that, all ponies feared me. They said that I was like some sort of ‘demon lord of the changelings’. With me at my queen’s side, Equestria should’ve been mine and her’s. However, some group of the Elements of Harmony had found us out. Collaborating with the ponies is a betrayal to us changelings, treason against the queen. But that didn’t stop Thorax from usurping her from the throne.
Like many that were truly loyal to the queen, I ran as far away from the hive as I could and never looked back. I knew that I would be back to exact my revenge. I found fellow brother and sister changelings who were truly loyal and we fought on, despite the odds. And us being shapeshifters, hiding and fighting in plain sight was in our blood. The tasks we accomplished and the wounds we inflicted on the Equestrians should have earnt us a hero’s welcome when Drago seized power from that traitor, Thorax. But Drago had no need for heroes.
I should have seen his betrayal coming. He knew that I was a dangerous changeling to have around, same with my loyalist forces. That I could dethrone him and bring Chrysalis back at any time. He wasn’t having any of it.
My more loved and experienced squadmates Drago had executed, while the rest of us were sent here. I’ve been here for months, watching my friends and kin die at the hooves of my former comrades. But I know this place, and that ‘king’ will come to regret placing me here,”
Viral was quite a bit shocked at Akula’s story. He had fought to serve his queen, only to lose her and the whole hive he created. And when he returned to his kind, he was only disrespected and betrayed. That had to hurt.
“I want to get out of here as much as you do, Viral. And it looks like we both have a common enemy,” Akula explained, knowing how the mare was feeling about his story.
“Yeah, Drago and the rest of the changelings loyal to him,” She agreed.
“We both need to get out. And now that you’re here, I can set the plan into motion,” The demon changeling stated, moving in closer to Viral’s ear.
For the next few minutes, Akula explained the breakout plan to her and the part she needed to play. And Viral’s wings immediately perked up upon hearing all the details. It seemed that Akula really had planned for this day very well. And knowing that he had this all planned out, made the mare even more happy.
“Did you understand all that?” Akula asked, just to be sure. Viral simply nodded. “Good, all you need to do is wait for the day to break tomorrow and wait for the signal. Just sleep well tonight and I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow,”
"I'm sure you know what you're doing better than I am, but if it gets us out of here I'll be ready." Viral stated.
Akula smiled and stood up to leave. He then patted Viral on the back and said, “Hang in there for just tonight. And then, we’ll burn this place to the ground,” And with that, Akula disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels.
Viral got up off her flank, put out the fire and climbed into her bunk and laid down. She rested her head on the wood and did her best to get some sleep. She was just too excited about getting to break out of that hellhole.
Out of One Hell, Into Another
Author's Note
I'll get it out of the way, yes this chapter is very similar to the Vorkuta mission in the game.
We tried our best to make it stand out from that mission, and we believe the added stakes and unique differences separate the two. This will be it for some time, but stick around. More will come eventually.
Out of One Hell, Into Another
"So this is how you met him..."
"Shut up with this! He saved my flank metaphorically and physically. He's never been a threat to me, or to Equestria! Now let me... AHHHHHHH!"
"That's enough! I already warned you. You both were held captive at Chert Vozmi, one of the largest and most secure camps the Changeling's had active. How did you escape?!"
"Heh....why don't you ask the demon who did it. It was his plan.
Time And date unknown
Viral Velocity and Akula under imprisonment at Chert Vozmi encampment in the Changeling Kingdom
Viral was already on her way to her first shift, though with an extra eye out for whom she was looking for. She had no idea when Akula was going to end up next to her, she wasn't even sure if he was in the same part of the camp, but sure enough he soon came down his own tunnel as his own group mixed in with Viral's all heading to their designated locations.
As the group's merged, Akula intentionally bumped Viral enough to jostle her. In mock retaliation, she kicked him in the side with her back hoof.
"Watch where you're going, cockroach! It’s not like you’re much any better than half these poor bugs!"
Viral gave him another kick for good measure, making it seem like she was irritated with how oblivious he was. Soon enough Akula got seemingly pissed and threw his own punch before grabbing her and putting her on her back.
"You think you're tough huh? HUH?! You will break, little pony!"
He then threw one more punch at her while she was down, enticing a cheer from the other changeling prisoners around them. Distracted by the shouts, Akula did not see Viral's own punch coming which knocked him onto his flank. He chuckled slightly.
"You hit like a hatchling!"
Not soon after, a guard came to investigate the ruckus, attempting to see why there was a fuss. Akula cursed at him in his native language, this infuriated the guard and caused him to start beating on him. Viral regained her composure, grabbing a rock that lay next to her.
She got back on her hooves, pulled the guard off Akula and hit him with the rock, the blow hard enough to shatter the bones in its skull and instantly kill the changeling guard.
The deed done, she put her hoof down to help Akula onto his hooves again.
"Akula,"
He pulled himself back onto all fours with her help before patting her on the shoulder.
"V… every journey begins with a single step. This is STEP ONE!" He shouted to the other prisoners as he claimed the keys he knew the guard would be holding.
"Secure the keys!" They exclaimed triumphantly.
"Now we take our freedom! We take Chert Vozmi! And we burn it to the ground!"
He then gave Viral the Shiv Max had used to attempt to rape her, and the pack race on into the tunnels to start their breakout. The first guard to come down the tunnels and investigate what was going on, ended up with Viral's shiv lodged in its neck as it collapsed into a gurgling heap, blood spewing from the wound.
Old Viral would’ve been horrified by the violence of the kill. But this Viral didn’t care. She was done playing by the rules, she wanted out. This was likely her only chance she would get to escape, and the mare had months worth of venting to do on the guards.
No matter how many guards came down the tunnel to stop them, the massive horde of prisoners duelled their former kin to the death, all in an effort to keep the others moving. Viral constantly saw prisoners struggle with some of the guards, as Akula and the other prisoners began to cry out the steps to freedom.
Step 1 was already accomplished, as the prisoners now had access to the keys. But there were still 9 other steps to go. Those steps were:
Step 2: Ascend From The Dark
Step 3: Bring Down The Forest
Step 4: Take Back What Is Yours
Step 5: Awaken The Swarm
Step 6: Skewer The Alicorn
Step 7: Wield An Iron Hoof
Step 8: KILL THEM ALL
Step 9: Freedom
Viral knew that they had a lot of work to do before they would be free of the camp. But they all knew that with their spirit and determination, victory would be theirs.
As Viral rounded a corner, there came the sounds of struggling. Emerging from another tunnel, was a massive white griffon with an extremely strong build, holding two changeling guards under his strong arms. Despite their struggling, the two guards had their necks snapped by the griffon.
Akula stopped running and pointed to the griffon. “Viral, may I introduce to you – Tank, the Giant of Griffonstone,”
“Glad to have you on our side, Tank!” The mare greeted, as she followed Akula and the rest of the prisoners to a nearby elevator. Akula opened the door to the elevator and the prisoners stepped in, lastly joined by Tank after the griffon had taken a nearby pickaxe for himself.
Akula started up the elevator and the metal box began to climb up the shaft towards the light, completing Step 2. But as the elevator slowly climbed into the light, a fellow changeling spotted Viral and asked Akula about her. “Akula, are you sure we can trust this pony?”
“With my life,” Akula replied, “She is not so different to any of us. We are all soldiers without an army. Betrayed… Forgotten… Abandoned. In Chert Vozmi, we are all comrades,”
The changeling beside Akula nodded in agreement for the Demon Lord spoke the truth. Sure, the changelings and ponies were on the opposite sides of the wire, but down in Chert Vozmi, that wire was no longer there for them. They were now all friends and allies, whether pony, changeling or other.
The elevator began to approach the top of the shaft, bright light from outside evident in the distance. Suddenly, there was a gunshot. At the top of the shaft, a group of escapees had cornered a guard against the elevator doors. However, the guard was armed with a PSM handgun, while the prisoners only had their bare hooves. That gunshot heard earlier, was the lone guard killing one of the prisoners that got too close.
However, neither the escapees nor the guard saw the massive crowd in the elevator coming up. The group in the elevator moved aside to let Tank through, as he readied his pickaxe. The moment the doors opened, the griffon moved out, lowered his pick and swung it into the changeling’s abdomen. The blow teared into the guard’s bowels, spilling out a ton of blood and killing the changeling instantly. After killing the changeling, Tank threw the pickaxe and the guard stuck on it aside and rushed to help with the big metal door that led to the courtyard.
As that happened, Viral armed herself with the PSM and three extra mags off the dead changeling. Now that she was armed, she felt ready and rushed over to the group.
“Stay vigilant, my comrades! We have to cross open ground before we reach the guard tower!” Akula exclaimed, working the controls to open the metal door.
Viral rushed up to him, with her PSM in hoof. “Akula, rushing a heavily-armed guard tower with only one pistol among us is suicide!” She exclaimed.
“Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice, V,” Akula told her, “We changelings know this better than anypony,” He then turned to his comrades and shouted, “Prepare yourselves!!!”
Viral took a deep breath and readied herself for what was about to happen. This was it, the moment she would see the light in months.
Akula pressed a button and the massive metal door slid open. The fellow prisoners rushed out into the light, only to be gunned down by the HMG in the tower that needed to be brought down. Akula, Tank and Viral rushed out into the open, taking cover from the tower behind a coal cart. The tower attempted to gun them down, but the trio was too quick and the heavy metal plating on the cart resisted the bullets that slammed into it.
Some of the prisoners that survived the initial barrage of machine gun fire, rushed over to another cart on the opposite side of the field. Akula and Tank began to push the cart along the tracks, the group on the other side doing the same.
Multiple changeling guards moved out of the nearby buildings in an attempt to stop the escape. But Viral provided covering fire for the groups with her pistol as they used the coal carts to close the gap on the tower. Every single time one showed up, they were given a pistol bullet right between the eyes, courtesy of Double V.
However, once the group had reached the end of the cart rails, the machine gun in the tower had them pinned down. There was no way that V would be able to take down the tower with her pistol and there was plenty of open land between them and the tower.
"That tower's gonna’ rip us to shreds if we don't do something!" Viral exclaimed, as endless rounds bounced off the metal plates of the cart.
"Have a little patience V, step three." Akula responded.
"Bring down the forest." She confirmed.
Akula nodded. "With a little ingenuity, we can turn mere junk into weapons." He pointed towards the other group. Viral looked over there and saw something amazing. The other group with their cart, had assembled some sort of slingshot. Those changelings loaded a Molotov cocktail into the sling and fired the slingshot, sending the cocktail into the tower. But that cocktail was filled with some very powerful high explosive material, as the explosion created by the impact was enough to destroy the supports and topple the tower.
Seeing the tower go down, the prisoners let out a cry of victory. “URA!!!!!! Never lose faith, my friends, NEVER!!!!!” Akula cried out, leading the charge into the area HQ.
“Sweet Celestia!!! What did you put in that bottle to get an explosion that massive?!” Viral asked, shocked that a simple lighted bottle could bring down a tower.
Akula chuckled at Viral's astonishment as he and Tank got off the cart and ran up to the tower. "This took months upon months of planning, Viral! We will not pause; we will not falter! We will be free, or die trying!"
As several prisoners began to climb the fences around the area, Akula led the Griffin and Pegasus into the tower, kicking down the door. Once inside, Akula pointed Tank towards a closed steel door.
"Tank, break open the door to the confiscation room. Viral, with me!" He ordered, as the griffon began to bash the door with all his might. Viral nodded and followed him up a set of stairs. After climbing a single flight, the changeling stopped and turned to the Pegasus.
“V, I need you on the top of this tower. Our comrades in the south need your help,” He explained.
“What about you?”
“In order to achieve victory, we need every creature to play their part,”
"Step 5… Awaken the Swarm." Viral knowingly said, now getting what she needed to do.
"I will rally them to our cause! Go to the top floor. There are still some guard towers that need to be toppled. Tank should have step 4 taken care of."
With a simple nod, Viral found her way to the final floor where two other prisoners had set up a second slingshot. Three towers in the distance were still laying fire on prisoners emptying out of the mines all over the prison. Viral loaded a cocktail into the sling and pulled back.
As that happened, Akula hijacked the site’s loudspeaker and began to recite his rallying cry, “Brave comrades of Chert Vozmi, the time has come to rise against our oppressors! Today, we show these traitors the heart and spirit of true changelings! We have all given our blood for the Queen. We have answered her calls without question or second thought. We gave our lives, our hearts, our very souls for her protection. As loyal servants to our queen, we fought side by side against the pony tyranny. We crawled through dirt, blood and grass to achieve a glorious victory. Not for medals, or glory ...But for what was our queen’s will. We fought for revenge on the ponies, even after her reign fell to the weak Thorax! When the traitor was dethroned, and we returned home, how did our leader repay us? We returned not to the rapturous welcome... but to suspicion, persecution and distrust! In the eyes of our leader, we were already tainted by the scars we had earnt. Torn from the embrace of our hive, we found ourselves thrown in here... this place... this, this terrible place. Here we have languished, with no hope for release. No hope for justice. No hope for revenge. We have toiled in Drago's mines until the flesh peeled from our bones. We have watched our comrades succumb to sickness, disease and starvation. We have been starved. We have been beaten. But we will not be broken! Today, we will send a message to our corrupt and arrogant leader. Today, my comrades... Chert Vozmi - BURNS!!!”
As Akula encouraged the massive horde to fight on, Viral, with the help of the two holding the slingshot took out the three towers, missing a couple shots before understanding the arc and hitting her marks.
She raced down to meet Akula at the confiscation room, who was already retrieving an AK-47 that suited his needs. The other prisoners were arming themselves with the AKM and AK-74 rifles that lined the room. Over to the corner of the room sat Viral's MP5. With a Red Dot Sight, Laser, Grip, and Collapsed Stock. She also grabbed an AK as well, since she only had so much ammo for her MP5.
"Go, arm yourself, comrades. The reinforcements will soon arrive to defend the main armory," Akula ordered, as he funnelled his troops out of the HQ and towards the main courtyard. However, cutting them off was a locked fence.
"How will we achieve step 6?!" One of the changeling prisoners asked.
"Viral has a weapon for the job. Shoot the lock, V."
Viral shot a quick burst that cut the lock in half, then kicked the gate down with authority as the group joined their fellow prisoners, who were now engaged in a full scale firefight with the guards that remained a stalemate. With the help of Viral, Akula, Tank, and the new prisoners, they flooded the guards positions and pushed them back. Inch by bloody inch, the prisoners began to force their way through the yard, towards the main armory. With Akula and Viral leading the charge, nothing could stop them.
“Forward! We will burn this hellhole to the ground! Spare NO ONE!!!!” Akula commanded, as his troops forced their way forward.
Then, over the horizon the sounds of rotors became distinct. Akula knew what it was immediately.
"The chopper is here, good!"
"How is this good?!" One of the prisoners protested.
"Because, it is as we had planned."
"Step 6!" Viral cried out.
"Skewer that fucking alicorn! Let's get moving,"
Up ahead, Viral was cutting her way into a two-floor building, on top of which was a pair of prisoners readying an improvised harpoon to complete step 6. However, they were spotted on the rooftop and the chopper shredded them into minced meat.
Seeing the threat eliminated, the chopper went back to supporting the guards. Viral seized this moment, climbing the stairs. She was the closest to the harpoon.
As she got to the roof, she dived behind the ventilation shaft and retrieved the harpoon. With a deep breath, she got on her bonds legs using her wings to support the counter weight. Lining up a shot and firing the harpoon just as the chopper turned its attention back to her.
It was a spot-on shot, but as the sharp spear buried itself into the helo’s thin skin, the gunner managed to get off 5 shots. The first two tearing into her left wing, third grazing over her shoulder centimeters from vital arteries in her neck, a fourth going through her right shoulder missing the bones and muscles only barely, and the fifth going through her right wing.
Seeing Viral go down, the pilot of the helo began to fly away. But with the harpoon lodged into the rotorcraft and tied to a set of pipes on the roof halted the aircraft in place. The more the chopper struggled against the rope with all of its mechanical might, but the rope held it in place. Eventually, the chopper couldn’t fight the rope any longer and crashed into a building, as V collapsed onto all fours, the harpoon dropping with a solid thud. Akula rushed up the stairs and escorted his pony friend downstairs, but she quickly pushed him off and got on her hooves.
"You okay?" He asked.
"I can walk, I can fight."
"And your wings?"
"Nothing but flesh." She stretched them out to prove her point, and promptly choked on pain. "Misses any muscles or bones. Let's catch up with the others,”
Akula nodded and helped Viral into the building where the main armoury was housed. The pair then arrived at the main hall, where multiple guards were standing their ground against the swarm, using movable cover to counterattack the advance of the rebel prisoners.
But Akula was ready for them to use that cover. “Have no fear, comrades! Flank them!” He cried out, as Viral began to move. She ran towards one of the pillars that held the roof up and took cover behind it. She looked to the ground, noticing one of the dead prisoners had recently left an AK-47 with a GP-25. She mumbled something about excessive force as she picked it up, and loaded the explosive. As the guards used the mobile cover to move forward, she broke her own cover lobbing the explosive round in between the two sets of shields, showering the unfortunate guards in shrapnel.
Dropping the rifle once again to use her SMG, and leading the way up the stairs towards the armory with Akula and half a dozen remaining prisoners right behind her. Another group of prisoners were fighting in the corridor ahead. One called out to Akula.
“They are trying to lock down the armory.”
“Well, stop them.”
They fought their way down the corridor as they began to hear an alarm. Akula quickly reacted.
“They are trying to seal the door.”
The group turned the corner to see the iron door to their next step lowering down, but Tank was able to get a grip under it. He held it up long enough for Viral to slide under and into cover behind a set of control panels before he succumbed to the force. It came down hard, crushing him under its weight.
“Tank!”
“NO!!!!! V, we’re stuck on the other side. Get this door open!”
Not needing to be told twice, she stepped out with suppressive fire and shuffled over to the control room. Once in, she popped the door back open. It was too late to save Tank, but the rest of the prisoners barged in quickly taking out the guards on the upper deck.
They pushed up to the second level and began to spread out, Akula taking point with V not far behind.
“The roof! I hear them on the roof! And they’ve sealed the vault, Akula!”
“It matters little, brother,”
“Step 7,” V began.
“We shall wield an iron hoof, this way.” Akula finished.
With the prisoners holding off the guards from their height advantage, Akula led Viral and some others over to a workshop. As they moved on they spotted more reinforcements arriving in a troop transport. Akula knew they needed to work fast, and quickly found what he was looking for.
“Yes, the blowtorch will suit our needs.” Akula stated, picking it up and rushing back to the vault.
As he picked it up, there was an explosion from the door. Two prisoners watching it opened fire, but they were no match for the armored unit that breached them. They were cut down by buckshot as the armored unit began to move in. Viral suppressed it with 7.62 long enough for Akula to get free of it’s range and quickly retreated to a safe distance as the changeling got to work cutting open the vault. With enough sustained fire, Viral was able to wear down the armored intruder as well as the one that followed him in. She then turned around, taking down three more that were on the roof before regrouping with the others.
She provided close cover as Akula began to cut open the vault, but soon enough more armored troops began to flood in.
“They’ve broken through. Pull back. Pull back!”
They began to slowly pick apart the prisoners as they made their ground towards the vault.
“Akula, you better get that damn thing open! We’re gonna get overrun!” Viral cried out, holding off all the troops that dared to enter her line of sight.
“I’m almost there V.”
With only a fraction of their forces remaining, they held their ground best they could as more and more armored soldiers with shotguns filed in one by one. At this point, Viral was almost certain this was where it would end. The soldiers took far too many shots to take down and by the time it was gone it had taken 2 or 3 prisoners with them.
Just as she was about to jump out and accept her death, Akula got the vault door open. With a little assistance from Viral they made it inside, Viral taking cover by the door.
“V, you might want to get down for this.”
Akula knew exactly what he was looking for, he originally was going to let Tank use it, but that was out of the question. V was too injured to make use of it either. So with little option but himself he grabbed the minigun off the table and turned to face the soldiers that had come to the door.
“Chrysalis sends her regards…”
With a short spin up, he cut through the wave of soldiers. Their armor standing no chance against the large caliber ammunition the minigun carried. When he stopped firing, Viral got back onto her hooves.
“You are absolutely crazy.”
“I’m part demon V, I love spilling blood for my queen[/i].” Akula told her, his tone changing to something more demonic.
Viral just slowly nodded, as Akula carried the heavy minigun through the hole that the armoured Juggernaught guards had blown in the wall. A massive number of troops had gathered out the front and were engaged with what was left of the prisoners.
As Akula stepped out of the building with the minigun in hoof, he cried out to his comrades. “Step 8, comrades!?”
“KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!” Was the thunderous reply of one hundred vengeful unreformed changelings.
The sudden outburst caught the trained soldiers by surprise, but they had more to fear as the Demon Lord spun up his minigun once again. Akula smirked and yelled out, “For honor! For vengeance! FOR THE QUEEN!!!!!”
The moment he opened fire, all hell broke loose. Any guard that was caught in his line of fire was instantly torn to shreds. Trucks that were caught in the firing line exploded in a bright flash, catching all of those standing close to it in the flames. Not even soldiers that had taken the high-ground on walkways and balconies overlooking the field were safe, as the changeling shot at nearby red barrels, causing them to detonate and take out the high points.
More trucks arrived at the battlefield, bringing more troops to hold the line. But these metal machines were instantly turned into coffins, as Akula opened fire on the trucks, causing the to detonate.
Akula then cried out in his native language for his troops to advance, which they complied with. Viral also drew out her AK-74u and pushed forward as well, providing support to the Demon Lord as he continued to spray down any guard that crossed his path.
“Die, all of you!! Disloyal fuckers!!!! This prison will be your grave!!!” Akula cried out, as the group advanced towards a nearby warehouse.
However, as they were nearing the outer walls of the prison the guards made one last desperate attempt to stop them. A large concentration of tear gas was thrown into the swarm, most beginning to choke and momentarily suffocate. Akula figured this would happen, and managed to hold his breath long enough to distant the initial barrage of gas.
But when he saw V beginning to collapse, he dropped the gun and ran to her side, dragging her along into a building out of the gasses reach and shutting the door tight as he waited for the mare to regain her composure.
It took several minutes for Viral to fully come to, by then Akula had found what he wanted.
"The door will not hold them forever V, and with both of our sets of wings of little use we need to figure out a new plan. But, within the confines of this building those unloyal bastards have surrounded us in lies the key to our final step."
With one motion, he pulled the tarps off a motorbike. V slowly got to her hooves to echo his words.
"Freedom."
She grabbed her AK once again, and joined him on the bike as a passenger. With a quick rev of the engine, the Changeling floored it up a makeshift ramp and through the front window as they flew by several guards that had been trying to find a way in. It wasn't long before some began to give chase, along with several trucks and a helicopter.
"They're not letting us go without a fight!"
They began to take fire from the pursuers, Viral returning fire from her seat while Akula focused on his driving, taking a jump and spotting something that caught his eye. A cargo train speeding down the tracks not too far down the dirt path they were on.
V was hitting shots on bikes that were tailing them, but she could do little to the chopper or trucks. Without warning, a flatbed with an DShKM MG pulled out in front of them. With split second reactions, V neutralized the gunner and they pulled alongside. Akula ripped the driver from his seat and tossed him to the ground while Viral got on the gun. It was her turn to wreak havoc.
Her first target was the chopper, which she tore into with the .50 caliber gun and brought it down with no trouble. She then turned her attention to the trucks, and was in the middle of clearing those out when the train pulled along their left side. There was a problem, it was too far away for a jump, but if they missed this chance there was likely not going to be a second.
Akula sped up to match the train, and despite the pain that rocked her body Viral spread her wings to get ready. They got as close to the train as they could before Akula opened his door, but he soon realized he himself could not reach.
"V, I can't make it. You have to jump!"
Pretending she didn't hear that, she pushed herself to hover just enough to keep herself steady. It was agony, but she matched the truck's pace with the train and grabbed onto Akula who was holding the wheel and still accelerating.
"V are you sure about this?!"
"Be free or die trying."
Spotting an open car, she pulled him from the truck in one swift motion and flew them both into the open section. They landed with a thud, Viral rolling over and into the opposite end of the metal wall hitting hard on the back of her head. Akula got up quick and shut the door to keep their escape secret, but by the time he had gotten to Viral she had already blacked out. All of her adrenaline had run out after the action and he needed to rest herself and her wounds.
Akula just gently picked her up and placed her on a nearby sackpile in the corner of the car, before whispering to her. “Sleep well, Angel. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow,” And with that, Akula walked away and sat down himself, keeping watch
