My Little Shazbot: Friendship is Going Fast

Chapter 2: Those Who Came Before Us

We were coming in for the Command Center proper with the enemy converging on all sides. I had long since ran out of ammo for my turret, and had resorted to firing out of the turret with my Eagle pistol. Supersonic near-instant hitting rounds, but each one only had a chance to take down one of these monsters if it hit one in the eye.

"The lower levels! Go in that tunnel!" The CO ordered us, and as I paused my rapid pistol fire to duck down into the turret and glance at the view screens, I saw that the tunnel in the ground was partially concealed in the shadow of the pylon supporting the aqueduct.

I lurched forward and smacked my horn and my helmet against the screens, and grunted in pain as we went down a steep incline. The cockpit suddenly went dark, as there was no light underground, but the enemy was still very much audible, with several having followed us down the rabbit hole, so to speak.

"Everyone out, grab some primaries out of the cargo of your Beowulfs! Rarity, we're in Service Duct 2, keep circling around and clearing them from around it. Alright, RD out." I clambered out of the hulking tank that was only a meter from the ceiling, using my jets to land on the ground on the soft side. It was hard metal, and my hooves made soft, clipped noises as I headed for the back of the vehicle.

I had never been so glad to be back on solid ground. It doesn't matter if that were only a few inches off the ground, it was a journey through my deepest and most horrible nightmares...

"Turrets out, take a breather newbie!" The insane pink mare who had been the driver of my hell-raising circus ride was holding a yellow submachine gun, tapping her back hoof on a small auto-turret that was aimed at the sound of Shrike cannons and the horde of savage adversaries.

Was I really shaking that much? To be expected, I guess. Real combat is nothing like the organized team-based fighting the Academy had taught us to expect. But of course it hadn't been; the Academy was nothing more than a series of scrimmages in-between the Tribes and their affiliates.

"Here, make yourself useful. You prefer a disc or a buster? Hmmm, all we have for busters are Dust Devils..." Dust Devils? Oh, hell to the yes. For those unfamiliar with the slang used out here in the Wilderzone, Dust Devils are a special variation of the Arx Buster. While both fire a trio of sticky grenades whose fuses only light upon contact with an object, the Dust Devil has a much larger explosion radius. It's commonly used on peaceful worlds as a mining tool, as the radius is predictable, and because the ignition material is less volatile, and less dangerous to store.

...But I need a real-world tried and true setup here.

I sighed and nodded to the pink mare, looking past her into the rear compartment of the fighting vehicle, quickly piecing together the best set of weaponry I would be able to carry. What I found surprised me.

A Stealth pack, a silenced sub-machine gun similar to the pink mares', sticky grenades, and throwing knives that explode on impact.

"I have to say, the shroud looks good on you! We missed out on names before. I'm Pinkie Pie. I like to party, have fun, make friends, and blow the shit out of enemies of the Diamond Sword. You?"

Pinkie Pie. How fitting. She's...energetic, at least. Unlike the orange mare who I'm going to conclude is Applejack, who is staring at the ramp coming down here with a Heavy Bolt Launcher and a dumbfire rocket launcher, she's trying to enjoy life a little. I can respect that.

Before I could respond, however, the twitchy pony held her gun behind her with one hand and pulled the trigger, sending a balanced breakfast of lead into a 'Derm that had been hiding underneath the tank. Now that I thought about it, her little auto-turret had been beeping and not in an active scan mode, meaning it had a target lock. Wow, she's perceptive.

She must have seen my expression, because she laughed heartily as she reloaded. She even had fun while switching magazine, throwing the long thin rectangular object into the air and catching it in her gun neatly.

She looked to me as she deposited a second auto-turret on the side of the tank, set to watch for targets we couldn't see.

"Now then, your name, before we're up to our ears in uglies again?"

So casual...don't tell me this is just another day for them. I don't think I could take this madness. I'm no Griever, I could never...well, I don't want to say never, because war makes people do things they thought they'd never do.

I pushed that from my mind as I leaned against the tank, shaking my head, feeling the fabric of the head shroud graze ever-so-slightly on my horn.

"Uh, yeah, my name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle...in the Academy I was the top dueler, preferred loadout of Spinfusor and Spare Fusor, primary team role of stand Defense, my implant set was Rage and Quick Draw; my current implant set is Stealthy and Survivalist."

She nodded, while tapping her feet in time to some unknown tune she no doubt was playing to herself in her head.

"Yeah, you've probably noticed that real warfare against the Derms isn't anything like Academy scrims. I see you're using a cloaking setup; good idea, we'll need an ace in the hole if we're overrun-"

She was cut off by the screeching of metal against metal behind us.

I spun around, seeing the supposed end of the tunnel rising up, revealing the dimly lit service corridor of a design popularized by The Children of the Phoenix.

"C'mon Sparklies, get on the Beowulf! We need to get inside before that door closes!" Pinkie Pie slammed the cargo hold shut, grabbed her turrets, re-magnetized them to the tank itself, before diving into the cockpit. I used my jetpack to land on the front, crouching down so that the main cannon was clear.

I could see the orange mare, who had been standing next to the door the whole time, lumber inside and stop within the threshold.

The tank lurched into reverse and we drove towards the entrance. As we approached, I noticed that there was a re-supply pad on the ground; as we drove over it, the clanging indicated the main cannon had been topped off with rounds. Alas, the pads would not fill the ammo for the turret, as they were stored in the top of the chassis, not the bottom.

We finally got inside the lit portion, and not a moment too soon.

A thick flow of Bioderms came down the ramp, growling with the menace of a thousand blood-hounds, of which they were, only slightly more intelligent, and much more intimidating.

"Safety Close Sparkles, keep your head down!" I did her one better, jumping off the tank and throwing a Sticky Grenade down the tunnel, watching as they ran over it.

BOOM.

I saw the tank rock backwards as the round was fired, and I saw the tunnel be unable to withstand the sudden outward explosion of the round, the grenade, and the bodies being thrown about from said explosions. The tunnel ceiling caved in, blocking us off from the enemy before the meter-thick blast doors shut in front of us.

"You know, you just blocked our only means of escape."

Turning around, I saw someone whom I wouldn't have thought to see outside of a history book, much less in the battlefield, wearing a suit similar to the CO, and carrying a rifle that could probably take off the head of a Predator from a couple thousand meters. Behind her were about half a dozen Diamond Sword Doombringers, large hulking stallions that wore thick armor and had chain-fed machine guns similar to those from the Beowulf tank mounted to their backs.

"C...C...Colossus Celestia!" Pinkie Pie had emerged from the cockpit, falling to the ground for a graceful bow. I did the same, but felt slightly more dignified about it.

"Rise, little ones. It is not the end of this world, or any others, but only makes our objective of holding our position and forcing the enemy out of the base proper no longer an option, but a complete necessity."

I noticed Applejack was still standing in the shadows of the door. She hadn't bowed to Colossus Celestia either...well, maybe she couldn't, considering she too was wearing Doombringer armor, though of a different, and much less lustrous color.

"Are you all of our reinforcements? We were hoping for slightly more..." The Colossus didn't sound angry, only slightly pondering.

She was a legend. Her skills in the Arena during the war against the Blood Eagle in the years preceding the emergence of the Bioderm threat were unequaled since then. She was a crack shot with anything you threw at her, and she alone popularized the literal Diamond Sword weapon that was now the standard melee weapon for any foot soldier. It was during the 4th Battle of Tartarus that she killed an enemy officer by dropping out of a Havok above the cloudline and bisecting him as she landed. She proceeded to escape by hijacking a Grav Cycle from the enemy staging area and rode all the way back to the Diamond Sword outpost that had been established more than 10 clicks away. All while dodging mortar fire from a dozen Juggernauts.

I decided to speak to the living legend, hoping I didn't sound stupid; Pinkie Pie was still trying to use her helmet for something, and Applejack was not looking directly at the white unicorn pegasus.

"Ummm, our CO and one other pony aren't here...they're outside...I think her name is Rarity, she's flying a Shrike...and the leader of this group is named...Rainbow Dash...I think." Too slow and unsure of yourself. I need to fix that.

At the words Rainbow Dash, she looked directly at me.

"Don't be scared, my student. Rainbow Dash, you say?...She must have something up her sleeve...very well, we should head to the defensive line we formed." Wait, she knows the CO? How? I didn't see a rank on her...or anyone else, actually. Is she actually someone of rank? She seemed much too informal to be anything higher than a Tech Specialist...maybe a Captain at the highest.

Colossus Celestia and her honor guard turned and made their way down the passage that was obviously made for vehicle use, so I climbed onto the tank while Pinkie Pie matched the speed of the group in front of us. Applejack finally moved, using her boots' jump jets to land on the rear of the vehicle, causing the hover-tank to sag towards the back, before it compensated for the extra weight.

I turned to the larger mare questioningly. She was looking directly at me.

"I know you're gonna ask a couple things, newbie. I don't want to talk about it, okay? Long story short, I messed up, bad. Another thing I know you'll ask is everyone's rank. Well, out here in the Wilderzone, rank is based off of killcount, but them there 'Derms breed like rats, so basically everyone is at least a Sergeant, 3rd class. Except Fluttershy, of course. She's still a Sworn Sword."

Fluttershy. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but at the same time, I didn't know where it was from...

"Applejack, you know I hate killing. I have to say sorry after I shoot someone, even if its' a Bioderm!" Our comm channel came alive, and only then did I realize there was another tank behind us, its' sound masked by the louder hum of the taxed field generator.

Where had it been when we came down here? Oh, right, it had pulled into the corner, where Applejack had climbed out. I need to pay more attention. So this Fluttershy hated killing, absolutely abhorred it, but was tangled up in this war? I don't know if that's ironic, or just plain sad. What kind of promise did she make herself that brought her to do this? Or perhaps she's just a masochist.

"Fluttershy, I know you're hating every second of this, but it still means a lot tah the rest of us that you didn't let us go and play the hero while you stayed and tended to the HERC fleet all alone...speaking of which, who did you even manage to get tah take on that mighty big task?" Applejack's voice was slightly muffled and sounded deep as it rebounded off the edges of her enormous armored head section. That could also have been the fact that the hum from the Beowulf moving down the labyrinthine passages slightly obscured everything.

"Well, you know, I managed to enlist the help of a drifter who rolled into town right before you guys left for Basic Training. He was this cute little baby dragon, who claimed that his caretaker had just been selected to join the ranks of those uppity ups in the Tribal Academy in Canterlot. I let him live with me, and he had a knack for associating with the HERCs, so right now, they're in his care. His name is Spyke; a nice little bundle of joy, he'll be fine."

I almost fell off the tank onto the ground, accidentally firing my gun into the ceiling a few times as I regained my balance, causing the Colossus and her guard to stop and look back at us.

I shook my hoof at them and jetted over to the other tank.

"Did you just say Spyke? My best friend Spyke? There's no way-" I sat down on my haunches. I had thought him to have simply left and gone somewhere far away. He had claimed that I betrayed him when I chose to go to the Academy over staying in Canterlot with my family and him. But I couldn't...the Academy was such a prestigious place...though now I'm coming to find out that prestige didn't mean much out in the Wilderzone.

"Woah now newbie, hold your Tribals, how do you know this character?" Applejack hadn't moved, as I bet it was too much effort, but her helmeted, featureless face was turned to me. That was almost a 120 degree turn, which was quite impressive considering the bulk of the armor.

Taking a deep breath and putting my arm around the barrel of the cannon, I tried to relax as our small convoy started to ascend a small incline.

"One day I found a dragon egg while working in the data archives in Canterlot. Someone had left it in the returns bin, and while I was working, it hatched, and the newborn dragon came to recognize me as its' caretaker. His name is Spyke, and while he can be pretty lazy sometimes, he's a great friend and helped out alot around the house when the archives became too busy for me to handle alone.

We had a big argument when I couldn't have him board with me at the Academy, and he told me some nasty things, and we left off on a bad note...It's good to hear he's okay though..."

Before anyone could reply, the incline ended and we entered a large room full of people, clustered around a few large devices in the middle of the room. In the very center sat the Generator that would, in normal circumstances, power the bases' assets.

A wave of mutters washed over the two-dozen odd ponies, mostly stallions, at our arrival.

Still, all of them bowed to the Colossus upon her arriving in the middle of the room, as to do otherwise was disrespectful.

"Despite the power that a pair of main battle tanks gives us, this is not the true advantage given to us by reinforcements. There are two other ponies fighting to gain entrance to the base, even now. One of them is an old friend, and I am highly confident in her ability to assist us in achieving victory here today." She turned to look at us, especially the turrets that Pinkie Pie had affixed to the sides of the hover tank.

"I request that your Technician begin conducting repairs to our Generator. It was severely damaged in the last Bioderm suicide attack; they managed to get inside this room and critically damage the main core. We shut it down to negate further damage, but no one here is in a Technician gearset, and the backup Generator powering our Repair Gun dispensaries was also disabled, we have been unable to leave this section of the base for the better part of an hour. No doubt the enemy has taken over the rest of the base, and it will be an uphill battle to recapture it."

Pinkie Pie was out of the tank in the blink of an eye, skiing over to the large dormant power cell with the synonymous yellow Repair Gun in hand, starting to repair dead circuits and reconstruct the portions of the large capacitor that had been destroyed entirely.

Something dawned on me, however, as I looked around the room. There were several Base Turrets set in the room; no doubt they would raise to an active position once the Generator was activated. There was also a massive door that appeared to be wide enough to fit two Shrikes side by side in with room to spare.

I skied over to a blue pony who was cleaning her laser pistol, using a small piece of fabric to make the glowing green indicators shine.

"Excuse me...uh, what's that large door on the other end of the room?" She looked up, her eyes interesting in that they only seemed to reflect once.

"Trixie informs you that those doors lead to the upper levels. They automatically open when power from the Generator is actively running in the system."

I turned back to Celestia, who was watching Pinkie Pie perform her duty with great interest. I approached her nervously, making sure my gun was aimed far and away from her. I could feel the stare of everyone on me.

"Um, I just want to point out that you think the enemy will come down here as soon as we get the Generator working, and that pony over there also said that the doors to the upper levels open as soon as there is working power...I think we should aim the Beowulf cannons at the doors and man the tanks before the Generator turns on."

The enormous white pegasus unicorn nodded a few times before speaking.

"Yes, that would be excellent. Thank you for catching that detail, little one. You're a quick thinker...I like that. Now go, do as you have suggested, there is no time to waste." As I climbed into the cockpit of the Beowulf Pinkie Pie had been piloting,the mysterious Fluttershy, whom I still haven't physically seen, was positioning the floating weapons platform adjacent to the door, about 15 meters away. I did the same, and aimed the large cannon at the door.

Not a moment too soon, as the whine of the generator soon began, and the rushing of feet on both sides of the door began; the troops in the room began to form a line on top of, and around the tanks. I clutched the firing group for the main cannon nervous hooves.

Someone on our side fired a grenade underneath the door when it barely risen off the ground. The explosion on the other side caused the guttural roars to be heard over the sound of the Generator, the tanks idling engines, and the shouts of the soldiers around us coordinating.

Then the whole world turned upside down, as the door suddenly receded into the ceiling fully, leaving the surprised forces on both sides staring in bewilderment at each other. The Bioderms were already covered in blood and gore, as that grenade had exploded amongst them, and they were no doubt not exactly expecting a pair of tanks to be facing them as they came to crush the opposition.

The smart ones tried to run. The others pushed them forward as they came to their doom.

I pulled the trigger on the cannon as Fluttershy, or no doubt someone in the turret, did the same, and the combined force of the pair of high-velocity, high-explosive rounds obliterated the entire front section of their forces.

Those crowded around us open fire as well, assault rifles, plasma weapons, submachine guns, grenade launchers, fusors, bolt launchers, chainguns, rocket launchers, mortars, sniper rifles, laser rifles, and something that sounded somewhere between a cannon of old and a shotgun. Needless to say, the vastly unprepared primitives were quickly cut down under the onslaught of less than three dozen Tribals.

As they stopped coming, or got their wits about them to retreat, a few of the stallions with grenade launchers fired said weapons up into the upper levels, giving them a good message of "don't screw with us".

I climbed out of the tank as the assembled forces moved to disperse. I was quite surprised to find Colossus Celestia lying down on the top of the vehicle, her massive rifle sitting on a bipod attached to the barrel.

She looked up to me, winking an eye and nodding.

"You may think I'm something special, little one, but I'm just another soldier, like you, or like Rainbow Dash. Our lives are no more or less important than each other's, and we contribute the same amount to the ones we care about. Remember that when you have to make tough decisions.

Now, let's press our advantage and win us back some of Forward Outpost Stigma."

I was surprised at the truth in her words, and nodded.

The voice com came on in my helmet at that exact moment.

"bzzzrt-Hey! There's-bzzzzrrrrt-of them! We need-bzzkkkkk-now! The beacon is in place on the-kkkkrrrrrrt-stand on the central building! I repeat, orbital -brrrzzzzk- now!"

Celestia quickly got to her feet, leaving her rifle where it was, nodding to one of her aides. He handed me a pack; a Stealth pack with a larger energy allowance...

"You're already set up for the job, but there's a shield generator that just needs to be switched on...it's on the top floor of the base. This Stealth pack should render you invisible until you reach the shield room, which can be locked from the inside. Turn it on and contact me once you do."

I switched the packs and watched my energy count jump from 110 to 450. This would keep my out of sight for over a minute. Plenty of time.

"See you in a minute, or never." The Colossus laughed gently, which made me realize that everyone here is just as crazy as I thought. No matter, I guess.

I watched myself fade from view as I turned on the Stealth pack. I walked into the energy conduit, which would replenish my energy until I stepped out of it.

I flew upwards until I found an open doorway, and landed inside it.

There was a solid wall of Bioderms in a narrow, tall walkway heading for the staircase.

Sure, it's more sane than anything else I've done all day.

A/N: Here you go, bit longer of a delay than I thought. I'm pretty sure I just skipped doing homework to finish this too, so feel special. No timeframe on the next chapter, either.