Sledgehammer gasped as he struggled to back away from the horde of Sombra's Undead. No matter how many would stand against them, no matter how many would choose to fight for the flame of Equestria, they just kept coming. It didn't matter how many had lain down their lives to stop their march, they just tore them apart and put them back together in a suit of armor to march onward.

He looked out across the battlefield and stared in horror as he watched his friends were eviscerated at the ends of crystal spears. One poor bastard managed to survive having his foreleg chopped off and was carrying it in his mouth as he hobbled towards the back of the battle before three Undead tackled into him.

Sledgehammer was convinced now, seeing the carnage unfold for himself, that this war was already lost.

He felt the ground reverberate as a Crystal Golem approached.

\\\\\\//////

Soarin' grunted as he body-checked another Undead pegasus into the side of the strange thing that had crashed. He made sure to position himself in such a way that the Undead's head would take the brunt of the impact, and grimaced when he heard the sickening snap of its neck. He couldn't stand the thought of killing before, but now he had no choice in the matter. It was kill or die.

As the Wonderbolt banked away from the strange metal thing, he had to wonder what exactly it was. Princess Celestia herself had said that it was imperative that Sombra and his army be kept from retrieving it.

A glance down told Soarin' that the owners held a similar sentiment.

The thundering echoes from their strange rifles was a constant theme to this battle, firing faster than any weapon that he had seen deployed by either side thus far. The creatures below made short work of the Undead that tried to charge them head-on, and now the Wonderbolts had received orders to clear the skies.

A tackle from below sent Soarin' into the side of the metal structure, colliding on top of his left wing. As bones snapped, he tried to scream before a hoof met his face. He saw a dark grey mask peer into his soul through its green slits, a hoof pressing against his throat as the Undead denied him precious Oxygen. Before Soarin' could formulate a retaliation, however, a gunshot went off and part of the Undead's head burst apart, splattering blood and grey matter onto Soarin's uniform.

Just as Soarin' began to process what had happened, he felt the sensation of free falling.

"I gotcha!"

An arm wrapped around Soarin' before he felt his momentum shift into a swing. Whoever was holding onto him was slowly lowering them down before he faded into unconsciousness.

\\\\\\//////

Joshua grunted as he let the blue-clad creature onto the ground near other ones wearing gold.

"He's all yours," he said before grappling away from them.

"Pilot, we're going to get overwhelmed out here!" Lieutenant Smith called over the comms. "We need heavier firepower before these damn crystal Titans get through our lines!"

"Copy that, Lieutenant. KD, I need you outside now."

"Affirmative, Pilot," the Titan responded.

"EO, gonna need your help out here too," Jessie said.

The Pilot switched out of the comms before he gripped the side of the Charlatan and reloaded his sidearm before kicking off.

\\\\\\//////

"Get out of the way!" Limestone Pie shouted as she pushed a few Guards back.

Where they had been standing, a Crystal Golem slammed its morphed arms into the ground. As it pulled back its spiked appendages, blood and the body of another Solar Guard came off of it, the unicorn gasping before the Golem flung him off of its fist.

Limestone grit her teeth before she charged at its stubby legs. The Golem swung a clubbed arm in her direction before the earth pony rolled to the side before reaching its knees. Limestone beat her hooves against its leg with every bit of strength she could muster, yet it only sported a few cracks by her tenth punch.

The leg she wailed on was lifted before the Golem slammed its underside by Limestone, the force throwing her back before she tumbled into a jagged rock.

The earth pony cringed as she felt something in her barrel snap, but pushed it aside as she gripped the boulder with all of her might. Dirt and insects fell off of the massive stone as she unearthed it.

"Eat this!" she shouted as she let the stone fly.

It connected with the center of the Golem's body, shattering apart as the crystal menace stumbled back, a few cracks spreading over its surface. A few seconds passed, however, and the fissures were sealed once again. It turned its bright spot to Limestone before she turned around and galloped.

'Celestia buck me to the moon!'

Just as Limestone had cursed to her Princess, she heard a blaring horn fire off in the direction of the strange metal thing.

\\\\\\//////

Sledgehammer looked up to see that a Golem was descending upon him. It slowly trudged forth on its stubby legs, slowing down as it morphed its left arm into a morning star. He prayed that Celestia would look after his family, that they would be able to move on after his death, and that Equestria would survive this terror.

Before the bludgeon could come down, however, the ground shook intensely behind him before something massive blocked his vision.

"Engaging hostile," a loud monotone voice said.

A giant Golem bounded over Sledgehammer's still form, turning about to slam an elbow into the midsection of the Crystal Golem. He heard the sound of metal impacting and gaped in shock as he watched a metallic Golem attack Sombra's creation. It spun about after it landed its blow, the impact knocking away half a meter of enchanted crystals over its core, before leveling a giant rifle into the wound.

Thunder echoed from the weapon as energy burst forth from the weapon, incinerating the Golem's core before the metal one kicked it away. Seconds later the Golem's magic core detonated before the remnants of its body fell apart.

Sledgehammer looked up to the metal Golem in awe, breath held as its midsection seemed to open.

Suddenly, one of the strange creatures soared into the opening. The Golem closed around it as it shouldered the massive rifle as its voice rang.

"Pilot mode engaged."