Shadow slammed down next to Slice at an angle, tossing Slice onto his side, hard.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Shadow screamed. “And you have a box of more shells!”

“So what?” Slice yelled back as he scrambled to his hooves to respond to Shadow's aggressiveness.

“FIRST OFF!” Shadow growled. “You didn’t ask permission. That is a huge flaw. SECOND! You may have set off a trigger, giving the Super Ponies reason to attack. This place may now have gained a lot more value. THIRD! They may never have realized that these are guns or that they work. If they push, and we have to leave, they now know the guns work and can turn them against the city!”

“I get what you were trying to do,” Shadow continued, lowering his voice. “I get the testing and tinkering, but you just jeopardized everypony here! You have to think further ahead. It may be more than the Super Ponies that heard that as well. Give that some thought as you figure out how to dismantle these and transport them.”

Slice sighed. “I am sorry Sir. I didn’t think Sir. I know how they need to be dismantled and can put them back together. I will put the box with the others and see about assisting elsewhere, like the docks at the city.”

“No Sergeant,” Shadow ordered. “We need you here. They have things covered there. You would only be in the way. And we need to have you here for when they attack. Report to Sergeant Thunder, under his command.”

“Yes Command Sergeant Major Sir,” Slice replied, saluting.

When Slice had left, Shadow left out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t needed to ever get so forceful or put his foot down as a commander. And he didn’t like it.

Shadow looked at the gun. There was a lot of rust on the ground. Firing the gun had shaken it all free. It was amazing that it still worked. Shadow picked up the case and examined it. No clear issue with the breach, the ignition was perfect. After all these years and rust, things seemed fine.

Storm found Shadow before he left the area.

“You put Slice under Thunder,” Storm said with a good dose of humor. “His idiotic choice was, well idiotic. If I had known.”

“I know,” Shadow replied. “Lets move forward. Your work?”

“Terminals are taken care of. I can open any vaults and secure them. I have also secured what is stored in each vault. Except there is a mini vault inside Vault 5. I have no idea what is inside.”

“Have you uncovered anything about the Naval Academy or a Stable?” Shadow asked.

“No, nothing,” Storm replied. “But I barely have explored things in their terminal system and these terminals are primarily for vault access. I will look into things more.”

“If you can, do,” Shadow replied. “We can not afford to waste time on it though. There are more important matters. Like this secret vault. Lets go. At this point, you are the only one who I trust that I can pull.”

“Nor?” Storm asked following Shadow.

“No point is pulling him away just yet,” Shadow answered.

They stepped into the fort and took the personnel elevator down to level five. Storm quickly opened the door through the terminal. Vault 5 was full of 16s, all armor piercing high explosives by the look at the markings.

“Judging off of the other vaults, that is where it should be,” Storm said tapping the wall. “No terminal. Nothing”

“Well, this is probably the only key,” Shadow said holding it up. “Time to find the keyhole.”

They combed the wall, finding nothing. Nor was called in and the third vault was opened. Nothing showed up.

Shadow stepped over to the intercom.

“Captain, I need you to run a message for me,” Shadow called.

“The Captain here.”

“I need a word for word message sent to Sergeant Thunder.”

“Of course. Real military fashion,” The Captain replied.

“Tell Sergeant Thunder to meet us in Vault 5 and to bring Master Sergeant Apple Slice.”

“Understood Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare.”

Shadow turned to the others. “I want to field promote Sergeant Thunder to Master Sergeant.”

“It is a good promotion,” Storm smiled. “Field promotions might be in order for all, except for Slice.”

Shadow just shook his head. “Fool.”

Thunder and Slice arrived and began to assist.

“I can’t find anything,” Slice shrugged. “Are you certain this isn’t just a wall?”

“Have you ever known me to be wrong?” Storm asked, playfully offended.

“Alright, alright,” Slice replied. “I fucked up and let it get the better of me. But this is not conductive to us.”

“Fine,” Shadow sighed. “For now.”

“You opened the first two vaults with a key card and key. Storm now has terminal control. Where did you find those?”

“Top floor, the Colonel’s office. Under his desk he had a combination safe. The poor fool had to have it scratched under the desk. Small and in reverse, but still had to scribble it. I got lucky to find it.”

“Anything else in the safe?” Storm asked.

“A 44 Magnum like the one I just bought,” Shadow nodded. “Along with some ammo. And… a large file about the workings here, the ship yard, the fleet and the naval academy, with a mention of a stable. Stable 50, right by the academy. A lot of redacted.”

Shadow pulled the file out. “Basically useless. Just to pose questions that it can’t answer. No word on this vault though. Or any of them. But I believe that this, actually holds a mention of the secrets within. Somewhere in the deep dark castle of the black blocks.”

The Intercom was opened. “Command Major, Red reports multiple explosions in the preemptive minefield.”

“Thank you,” Shadow replied. “They can handle it out there for now. Keep me posted.”

Shadow looked at Thunder.

“For now they should be fine,” He confirmed.

“The other vaults had small key latches,” Slice continued. “Indistinguishable against the stone. And the key cards readers were barely there. It is a very small key.”

“Key!” Shadow said darting out of the vault.

Shadow swiped the card to pop out the door. It only had one key hole. Shadow inserted it and turned it once to open the main door. He turned it again. The sound of the inner vault doors opening started up a minute later.

“One extra turn, cleverly hidden,” Shadow chuckled.

The vault was against the wall, so the door swung in and flush with the wall, not sticking out at a 90 degree like the main doors. They made it obvious Shadow was to head in first. Shadow looked at the metal cases along the wall. He wiped off the top of one and he took a deep breath in a vein attempt to keep his heart rate stable. A blue, seven pointed star was on the top.

“Fuck,” Storm swore. “Well, this is mission information The Captain was not aware of.”

“Megaspells,” Shadow sighed. “Both in aerial bomb configuration and 16 inch guns.”

“How can you tell? Slice asked.

“These are shielded containers,” Storm replied. “The only reason you shielded special ammunition was for megaspells.”

“And they have 6 inch shells,” Thunder added opening another case.

“We can’t leave these here,” Storm stuttered.

“We can’t take them out,” Shadow shot back. “These are locked deeper inside for a reason.”

“They are secure and shielded here,” Thunder replied. “They should stay locked in here. I know we can seal this much more securely and we don’t have to worry about emissions.”

“I know we should,” Slice said picking a 6 inch shell up.

“PUT IT DOWN!” Shadow ordered.

“Sorry,” Slice replied setting it down carefully.

“Thunder,” Storm called. “Take the Sergeant and retake your post.”

“Yes Sir,” Thunder replied.

Storm outranked Thunder by leagues and he followed the simple order. He didn’t want to be nearby these things any longer than he had to. And it got Slice out of the way. They didn’t trust him right now.

“What kind are these?” Nor asked. “There are no emissions of any kind. Are these really Megaspells?”

“No idea what type,” Storm replied. “But these warnings do indicate that they are at least spell enhanced bombs and shells. Any files? Anything?”

“I will check out in the main vault,” Nor said backing out of the area.

“Are you going to leave me too?” Storm asked. “Afraid?”

“Fuck yeah I am afraid,” Shadow chuckled. “One of these goes off and we all die. The city and even more. But no, we have a problem to solve here.”

“The Zebras had a spell,” Storm said thinking. “Balefire it was called. They were able to get it to be used with a small portable launcher. By what we know, Equestria never obtained that technology. Well the small, portable version. They replicated the big one. It was the main type traded back and forth.”

“What exactly do you know about Megaspells?” Shadow asked as he set a shell down.

“Everything the Enclave has,” Storm replied. “But these are not Balefire. Or that pink cloud. These are blue. Or distinctly marked with a blue heptagram.”

“We need to find out,” Shadow replied. “And we need to keep this secret.”

“Nor,” Storm called.

“Yes?” Nor asked, only poking his head around the corner. “Access the terminal and see what you can mine.”

“Mine?” Nor asked confused.

“Sorry, plug into the terminal and begin mining data through Matrix Omega. It is in your suit.”

“Right,” Nor nodded.

“A program designed to pull out information on megaspells?” Shadow asked.

“Yes,” Storm nodded distracted.

“How much do you know about the reaction of megaspells?” Shadow followed up.

“Not to much. That was information we were lacking. Theory mostly. It has always been a lot of theory.”

“Can you theorize about these?”

Storm thought for a bit. “Balefire was an explosive with necromantic bits, hence the ghouls. Pink cloud was a poison gas. But these physical bombs are intriguing. These would hold a spell for release, much like our Novasurge battle rifles. They are meant to connect up with a harness...”

“In that box,” Shadow pointed.

“That the Pegasus would release,” Storm continued. “Which means as powerful as these have to be, they must be on a timer trigger to allow for the pony to clear. A bomb is a bomb, but these 6 inch shells are not big. And there are what, ten times, the number of 6s.”

“No, there are 160 16s, each cannon can fire ten,” Nor called out. “First thing I did was count. There are approximately 300 6s, or 25 per cannon.”

“I bet these 6s were going to be rolled out onto the battlefield using mobile cannons and Cloudship guns,” Storm continued. “The Raptors use 12s, not 16s or 6s. But the coastal defense guns can fire these. Assuming they were going to be more mobile, I bet these were going to be…”

Storm froze, stuck in mid thought.

“Harnesses,” Storm said starting back up. “The only non shielded box.”

Storm pulled the box off the shelf and dumped them onto the floor. A small case plopped out from the bottom. Storm opened it.

“Papers regarding these,” Storm smiled.

Storm set them down and quickly threw the harnesses back into the box and shelved them.

“Seal those three cases and let’s go,” Storm ordered. “We can not allow them to know of these.”

Shadow hit to button to seal the inner vault and it sealed back up like it was apart of the wall.

“We can read these safely later,” Storm announced as he tucked the case away in his bags.

“So far, nothing,” Nor reported.

“Unplug,” Storm said, answering Nor’s silent request.

“Nothing, no indication,” Shadow ordered. “If anypony asks, we had difficulty getting the fifth open. I will verbally relay that to Thunder and Slice.”

“I will take a quick look at these,” Storm said. “Just to make sure we can leave them securely here.”

“Understood,” Shadow nodded.

Shadow headed up and out the front doors.

“There you are!” The Captain called out. “Its late, but we have lunch. Fresh food. I trust everything has been fine?”

“Yes, thank you,” Shadow replied. He was extremely thankful his helmet was on to hide his face. “I have something to ask Thunder, I will join momentarily.”

“Everything alright below?” The Captain pressed.

“Just trying to find some information,” Shadow sighed. “And the bottom vault was being a pain. It has been successfully unlocked and relocked until we get to it.”

“Good,” The Captain smiled.

Shadow trotted off quickly to the defense line. It was easy to get Thunder and Slice alone. They took their helmets off.

“Listen. As far as anypony is aware, Vault 5 was giving us trouble opening,” Shadow ordered. “If we are asked about any more delays or discussions, we were discussing odd puzzles we get from bits and pieces here and there from files and terminals. Direct them to me if that line of discussion is pursued.”

“Understood,” Slice replied immediately and saluting.

Slice was doing what he could to shape up after his earlier choice. Thunder just nodded his head. They had received fresh food and were about to start since Red Team was almost done.

Storm and Nor were at the docks with the others, helmets off and chatting as if nothing was wrong.

“Good, you joined us quickly,” Storm smiled. “Fresh food. From the farms.”

They chuckled.

“What are you insinuating,” A pony yelled aggressively.

“Hold your tongue” Shadow barked. “Nothing against you or your hard work. We were laughing about me and my home. As well as some inside jokes.”

“Stop griping!” The Captain ordered as well. “I’ve caught the chatter. If they can do all this, its worth listening to him about farming. There is more to life than just being a soldier of their kind.”

“A soldier of what kind exactly?” Somepony asked.

The Captain sighed. “I mean doing their job, exploring out here and trying to survive so their families can survive. It is dangerous out here and more so since they know nothing of the area. But they have a life outside of this exploring assignment. Families. Homes. They have other experiences and trainings.”

“Like what?” Salt Waters asked kindly. “You can easily find out what we do and probably know half of our jobs.”

“Farming,” Shadow smiled. “Very harsh circumstance in my district. But we did all we could to feed ourselves in the community and more importantly, everypony else that we could. Turnips were my family’s crops.”

“And we were the first in the area, called a homestead. A lot of prestige and other social nuances I was beginning to learn about being a homestead. Over two hundred years of experience passed down from generation to generation.”

Shadow sighed. Thinking about home brought up so many emotions. He wanted to go home, wanted them to be pleased. But was he even pleased with himself?

“And recently,” Shadow continued slowly. “My father and his best friend traveled days to help a failing community. They had no irrigation and lost that technique. It took them days to reteach them. But it was a farming community that was in major trouble. They were on the verge of their crops sliding, destroying most, if not all, of their oat crops.”

“But that doesn’t say much about me, only my home,” Shadow finished.

“It says a lot,” Salt Waters replied. “About how much you care. We have seen that twice now. It also says you know what you are talking about when it comes to farming.”

“Thank you,” Shadow blushed. It was the first time he had blushed in front of them. “They did their best to equip even me with all the knowledge on how to farm. And more importantly, how to live and care for others. The wasteland here can make that easy to forget.”

“What about you two?” Salt Waters asked Nor and Storm.

“Oh,” Nor said clearing his throat. “Well, I lived a boring, normal life. I was always enthralled by the natural sciences. Weather, chemistry, physics, and such. It is normal to send foals to a specialized school if they desire it, so I was sent to a school that prepared me to be a scientist, and landed me here.”

“I have nothing special like the Command Sergeant Major,” Nor continued. “Parents, a sister who is married with three foals, but no Pegasus special in my life. I kept my head in the clouds, literally. I love weather and clouds most of all and have spent a lot of time on them.”

“Three foals?” Storm asked. “The population limits?”

“Population limits?” Salt Waters asked.

“We have limited resources,” Shadow stated. “A generation or two without restricting how many foals are born and we would starve. As well as lacking raw resources. Reconnecting with Equestria should fix that. Maybe not immediately, but it will. We just have to find the way and figure out what is going on here culturally and more importantly, scientifically. Like these Super Ponies.”

“Yeah, well my family is powerful and smart,” Nor admitted. “More than I let on to the team. I want my own way, not what my family gives me. My sister's foals, the first two proved to be brilliant, so they were given permission to have a third. For the betterment of all.”

“I got yelled at a lot,” Storm said taking control of the conversation with a chuckle. “Sergeant Slice pulled appliances apart to understand the mechanisms that made them work. I was pulling them apart to understand wiring and then into the software and coding itself.”

“We didn’t know each other until a few years ago when we assigned to the same unit, but we had basically the same backgrounds. We both went to a mechanic and tech school, similar to the science school Sergeant Nor went to. Both of us grew up learning mechanics or technical aspects because we were good at it. It was our duty, like it was Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare’s to farm.”

“Sergeant Thunder,” Shadow picked up. “I am pretty sure his family was all military and a long line. So he knew nothing else. Our late Lieutenant, he was a medic because he grew up with a mother who was a doctor. I am the only pony who was not raised in a way that reflects the specific role we have on this assignment.”

“Wonderful,” Salt Waters smiled. “We should get back to work. It was a good break. It was good to get to know the ponies inside the armor and under those masked helmets.”

“Agreed,” Shadow smiled. “The food was wonderful.”

“Good, then tomorrow we can introduce you to a local delicacy we were told to withhold,” Salt Waters stated. “The Governor was afraid it might be… too wasteland for you. You do not have to sample if you do not want. I know it is certainly odd.”

“And you will leave us in suspense until then,” Nor chuckled. “Fine. We have a job to do and not be distracted.”

“Shadow,” Storm said. “I need to speak with you, in private.”

“I went too far, didn’t I?” Nor chuckled. “Sorry.”

Storm and Shadow shook their head and walked off towards the coastal defense guns.

“I have barely had a chance to look into them,” Storm said when they were in the clear. “But they are megaspells. They are known as Star Dust. Hence the seven pointed star, or heptagram. They are not inert, but do require a trigger. The impact will do that. The bombs have a timed internal impact device that can be synchronized so that the city can have the bombs dropped onto it and then detonated all at once.”

“What are we talking about here?” Shadow asked, trying to control his breathing.

“I need more time. An hour or two,” Storm stated. “I should be able to get the answer before we open Vault 5.”

“Make it so,” Shadow replied. “Get me that information.”

Shadow went inside the fort and watched as they systematically removed the shells from vault three. Their speed was impressive. The day was getting longer. The fourth vault was opened at the start of the evening. It would be a late night.

“Command Sir,” A pony said walking over. “The others are looking for you.

“Thank you,” Shadow smiled.

Storm met him at the top.

“Thunder needs to see us first,” He smiled.

They trotted off to the defense line.

“Good,” Thunder said trotting out to meet them. “They are amassing their numbers. I believe it will be a night attack. Most of the mines you dropped have gone off, but they may have been destroying them from a distance. The others strongly want to stay.”

“I will consider things,” Shadow nodded. “But Storm has a report for me that may prove critical to the answer.”

They stepped further away so the two of them could talk. Storm took a deep breath before beginning. He was very factual to hide his fear and move through it in a quick, but thorough report.

“Star Dust. Test records indicate there is no residual effects after they detonate, which is different than any other megaspell. It has two stages. The first is the initial explosion. Extremely volatile, hot and deadly. It is not a small one either.”

“That is where stage two comes in. A concussive blast that is four times as powerful and at least four times as large. It would destroy buildings and cause instant death by anypony caught in it’s radius. It would be felt at non lethal strengths for a mile or more after that. There would be no external marks, only internal damage. That is assuming the subject is not thrown into something to cause external trauma.”

“The blast is a blue explosion and blue sparkling dust falls calmly after all the destruction. The sparkles are helium residue, by it is burned up quickly as it all settles down. Just enough to sparkle.”

“A sixteen inch shell could destroy half of Baltimare. The crater made in Fillydelphia is much deeper than what Star Dust would cause, but the radius would be bigger. The concussive blast would kill any inside if it did not destroy a building.”

“Many of the skyscrapers could withstand being hit with the blast starting at the middle of the zone, but anypony inside would still be too fragile to survive. That isn’t equating for the debris field that would be projected into them as well. Even inside, glass and anything else would buckle, break, crack, shatter, and be tossed about at deadly speeds. Dull or no edge objects could easily cut or even be driven through a body.”

“Storm,” Shadow said as he finished taking it all in. “Are there more?”

“I do not believe so,” Storm replied. “This took considerable skill and effort to even make a bomb. A 6 was a lot, and the 16s, well only three unicorns were making them. I do not believe they had more time or were able to teach any other unicorns to conjure Star Dust.”

“The conjuring was on a ship out in the sea, which would come in after each session to drop off the shells and allow the unicorns to rest. The vessel was called the Polaris. It carried a minimum crew and was stripped to make the ship the most optimal for the conjuring of these spells. I do believe it is the one that is poking it’s bits out of the bay there.”

Shadow nodded. It was low tied, so there were some antennas and half of a bridge poking out of the water a ways out from the fort’s docks. The bridge was pointing out of the bay, and that put the rear at docking off the long arm of the docks. It was most likely the Polaris.

“Chance any of them are below the water?” Shadow followed up.

“Little,” Storm replied. “They followed a typical work day schedule from what I could see. At the time that Baltimare was hit, the ship would have been heading out to begin conjuring. But they would not start until a mile or more out from the shore.”

“What would a bomb or 6 do?” Shadow asked.

Neither could look at the other. They just stared off out to the sea.

“A 6 would take out a few blocks, but it’s primary role was naval combat. A near hit by a single shell would at least severely cripple the target, while a direct hit would probably be enough to sink even the Shining Armor. The location would matter. It would require a low enough strike to rend open the hull below the water line, just as any other shell would. The difference being the size shell is small, more portable and you can be at a closer, more accurate range.”

“To destroy Dry Dock City, you would need two or three strikes to effectively kill everypony, since it is a long city spanning all of the dry docks. Two more directly at the ships and then the whole place would be rubble. The size is a major limiter for power.”

“The bombs are small. Bigger destruction than what we dropped, even Thunder’s 50s, but that is a block or two. Hence why they were to be linked up and synchronized. Then they would exponentially increase in their abilities. The spell builds on itself if the explosions are close enough. And with their naval cannons, they could easily drop multiple shells onto the same spot at once, timed from different ships even.”

“We can not let these out,” Shadow said stating the obvious. “And it looks like the only ones who knew they were here at Fort Strong, and died. And with little to no open records anywhere else.”

“I do believe so,” Storm sighed. “That is somehow comforting.”

“It should be,” Shadow chuckled. “We know where they are. We know they are safe. And we know that nopony else can find out and access them.”

Shadow picked up his helmet. “Thunder is going to need us. The light is almost gone.”

“Plan?” Storm asked as he put his on.

“Probably going to put up a forward line of the minefield,” Shadow replied. “Us. A wall to repel them and keep our final card hidden.”

They walked back to the defense line.

“Thunder,” Shadow called out over their coms. “Do you think we can handle things ourselves?”

“It is a strong force,” Thunder replied. “But yes.”

“We are ready to open Vault 5,” The Captain added. “Does that have any bearing on the situation?”

“No Sir,” Shadow replied. “How soon till the docks are cleared?”

“Probably two more trips,” The Captain replied. “These 16 inch shells are big. They take up space quickly.”

“Nor, can you handle opening the vault?” Shadow asked.

“Yes, Storm gave me terminal access.”

“Stand ready there,” Shadow ordered. “The four of us can handle things here.”

Shadow looked around. “Gather those fire barrels and lets get fires roaring. It will blind them to our positions behind them and give us light to see them.

Half of them hurried off to begin the task. It was over fairly quickly.

“Sure up your defenses,” Thunder ordered. “But we will not be provocative in any fashion. We have a little more work to do.”

“I can’t track them at this range,” Shadow stated after a while. “We have too much distance. I also can’t I get an accurate read on their head count. Its between ten and fifty, but I am learning towards thirty.”

“Thirty is a dangerous number,” Storm replied. “Can we hold them?”

“Here, yes,” Thunder replied. “Most would fall prey to the minefield. I would prefer to not let that happen, yet. Thinning their numbers would be best. If they break through the minefield, these ponies might be training militia, but their armor is little and we would have trouble with a retreat.”

“Right,” Shadow nodded. “We need to play that card carefully. It is a strong one, but can be very weak.”

“I do not want to test how strong it is,” Thunder replied. “But I feel that it is an insult to them. They are eager, but skilled.”

“Then we let them fight,” Shadow replied. “Thunder, how does this sound. The assault begins and we take our place in the middle, to shield the minefield. When the pressure begin to be too much, we back out and let the defense line do their job.”

“And third then,” Thunder picked up. “Is the retreat of the defense line, for us to hold while they safely board and depart. The minefield can handle the final departure.”

“Exactly,” Shadow nodded. “Relay the plans and prepare the team. Slice, fall out and wait by the docks. Hopefully we can do the cannons, but they will need you on deck, ready. Nor, your team should be able to handle it without you leading. I will need you and you guns here.”

“Team,” Thunder addressed. “Nor and Storm will be on the flanks, opening up with the miniguns. Shadow and I will be opening up with more accurate fire while you, Nor and Storm, keep them at bay and their heads down.”

“Understood,” Storm replied. “Preparing mentally for this. I am not used to the minigun.”

“Just breath,” Thunder coached. “Your job is not to kill, but to keep their heads down and at bay, enough for us to put a round or two into their heads.”

The Captain touched down next to them.

“I have ammo for you,” He announced. “I know it fits your guns. We have been holding it here for your use.”

“Thank you Captain,” Shadow nodded. “We will get to loading those up.”

“You might want unarmored hooves to do it,” The Captain suggested.

“That would be wise,” Thunder replied.

With half a dozen pairs of hooves, it took no time at all for the defense team to load them up.

“I hate the calm before the storm,” Nor sighed. “I…”

“We all do,” Thunder replied. “Battle is always preferable than being on the cusp of battle. One we have control, the other we do not.”

They stood waiting. Watching. Things would happen fast when they started, but for now it was wait and watch.

“Opening up Vault 5,” Slice informed them. “I am preparing to begin the cannon dismantling. I am not much help.”

“Understood,” Shadow replied.

Shadow lost track of time since the sun was gone.

“That is the last of the shells being moved to the docks,” The Captain informed them. “We have three trips, without the cannons. They are beginning to break down the cannons. We are tired. Very tired.”

“What time is it?” Shadow asked.

“About 2100,” The Captain replied. “It has been a very long day with a lot of heavy lifting.”

“Good,” Shadow replied, unsure as what else to say.

“We are loading the last shipment,” The Captain updated them a while later.

“Good,” Shadow replied calmly. “Because this is about to start. They are about to begin the assault. They are like waves, coming up to the shore and moving back, yet to fully attack.”

“Do you need me?” Slice called.

“Stay there,” Shadow replied. “If we are to move those cannons you love so much, then stay there.”

“They are the only thing that wants you to stick anything in it,” Storm jested.

“Here they come,” Thunder replied tensing up. “Launch!”

They launched straight up and fanned out, cruising over the minefield at a high, unseen level. They dropped straight down, shaking the ground. They were greeted by a swarm coming out to challenge them.

“Cross fire!” Thunder ordered.

Storm and Nor opened up with their laser miniguns, forcing all of the Super Ponies to rethink things. They did not like getting burned.Thunder banged away with his GPER, putting lead into the pinned Super Ponies. Shadow was using his Novasurge.

BANG! Down. BANG! Down!

Shadow was knocking down Super Ponies and every so often, they were disappearing into glowing, gooey ash. Shadow’s Novasurge rifle kicked out a spent power cell. It only half ejected, jamming his rifle.

“Novasurge jammed!” Shadow shouted over their coms.

“I’ll get it,” Storm replied.

“Stay focused,” Shadow ordered. “I have this. My GPER is fine.”

Nor’s minigun reloaded. He used the few seconds to fire a rocket. His gun spun back up and continued the assault. There was a noticeable slant in the body line, accounting for the few that got ahead of the others while the gun reloaded.

Shadow switched to his grenade launcher and carpet bombed their front line. It gave them a minute of respite from taking hits.

“Keep it up!” Thunder encouraged.

“Report from the docks?” Shadow panted as he reloaded his GPER. “The beating is starting.”

“Half loaded!” Slice replied. “I am coming to give backup!”

“PHASE TWO!” Thunder ordered.

Shadow was last to launch. Two large caliber rounds slammed into his head right before take off. Shadow flapped erratically back to the line. It was a stumbled landing. Shadow put his hoof to his head to knock his E.F.S. display online. It was only half on.

Shadow felt a pony shake him to get his attention. He fumbled to pull his helmet off. He couldn't find the release and tipped over. Two ponies caught him and his helmet was pulled off.

Shadow could only hear ringing with his helmet off and the lights were blinding. The pain came a moment later. They pressed something against his head and then bound it off.

“Can you hear me?” Nor’s voice finally got through to Shadow.

“I,” Shadow stumbled. “It doesn’t hurt. Is it bad?”

“You are fine, but heading back to the docks,” Nor ordered.

Shadow’s vision focused. One eye, but focused.

“Nor,” Shadow said looking at him. “Not going to happen. How is phase two?”

“Fine. But we have to get you back.”

“No,” Shadow pushed him away. “My accuracy is needed.”

“Don’t be stubborn!” Nor yelled grabbing at Shadow. “You don’t have a reference point to aim!”

“I KNOW HOW TO SHOOT WITH JUST MY EYES!” Shadow said, insulted.

Shadow just sauntered off towards the front lines.

“You do not look good,” Thunder commented. “Ready?”

“Nor said I’m fine,” Shadow yelled back. “But he also said I couldn't shoot without the helmet.”

“Sad day to be him!” Thunder laughed.

“How are our guys with the hits?” Shadow asked surveying the line.

“Fine. Suit damage, but you and I took the main fire. Nor and Storm were laying it down out there!”

“Fuck yeah the were!” Shadow yelled bumping his hoof.

The defense line was putting down a lot of stopping power. They had taken some hits and were dealing with them.

“Plan?” Shadow asked.

“Let them hold them off,” Thunder said pulling Shadow down into cover as a rocket zoomed overhead. “They can handle things. Reload while you can.”

“Right,” Shadow replied.

His Novasurge was still jammed. It couldn’t be cleared in the field like this.He set his last GPER Clip in the slot and pushed the rounds in. Only a quarter fit. He had some breathing room with spare ammo for it. He was planning on using his minigun.

“Shadow, I need you here,” Thunder ordered moving Shadow to the location. “I will be nearby and make sure you leave with us.”

“And you will be?” Shadow asked. “In case it is I who have to drag you out.”

Thunder chuckled and pointed. Only a few yards away.

It wasn’t much longer when Thunder ordered the retreat of the defense line. Shadow spun up the minigun and opened fire. He concentrated on shooting and only shooting. Nothing else mattered. No pain, no fear, just to make sure they didn’t make it to the minefield. He lost track of time. All he knew is that he fired long enough for two reloads of his minigun. When it ran out, it would be out.

“Lets go!” Thunder said sliding up and giving Shadow a quick hit to make sure he got the message.

Somepony opened up with a barrage of rockets to cover their final dash. Although they didn’t need to boats, they retreated to the docks. They were almost done loading the last few pieces of the last cannon.

Salt Waters barked more orders to pick up the pace.

“Back in the boats,” Thunder ordered. “We can’t let you get caught on these docks. Tug boats, man the miniguns and if you can shoot from cover, you are clear to.”

The minefield began to sound off as the Super Ponies finally reached it. The tub boats launched.

“Go!” Salt Waters ordered. “Onto the cargo! It is the only space left!”

They risked breaking the ties to leave safely. Salt Waters barely made it onto the barge after double checking that there was nopony left behind. The Captain flew with them, covering the boats. The tug boats never had to fire a shot, to the annoyance of their passengers. But it was for the best.

Thunder led them in a circling pattern over the boats as they slowly moved. The barge was sitting low in the water and was moving painfully slow. One of the tug boats sped ahead of the others. It was carrying injured.

When they finally docked, willing hooves surged the barge to unload the cannons that were supposed to save their city. Shadow touched down and was immediately called over.

“I am Metal Heart, the resident healer,” She introduced himself. “We need to take a look at that head wound.”

“It’s fine,” Shadow shrugged. “No pain. My helmet got cracked from a round. A healing potion will take care of things.”

Shadow was stopped as he turned around. Metal Heart was using her magic to restrict his movements.

“You have a metal shard sticking out between the bandages,” She struggled to say. She couldn’t do both at the the same time.

“Right,” Shadow said stopping any resistance.

Shadow stepped out of his armor and shook himself a bit. The patter of lead shards dropping to the ground froze him.

“I guess my armor is really beat up,” He chuckled.

“I have your armor,” Nor said trotting up. “Rest up, don’t worry about it. I will begin to mend it, you just heal up. But I think we all have small cuts and bruises from bullet fragments slipping through. You can see that most of my chest is gone and with the adrenaline gone, I feel like I was slammed through a few walls.”

“Currently, you are my worst injury,” Metal Heart said calmly. “Lets get you to my office so we do not have to move you.”

Shadow nodded his head twice. His head was really beginning to hurt. Nor was right, the adrenaline was gone and it was not going to be a fun time.

Next Chapter: Chapter 45 - Recovering Strong Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 37 Minutes