The Patriarch chuckled. This was ridiculous. If it weren't for those two damned humans, he would've blown this "Queen" to her grave by now. Instead, he'll have to get tactical. He aimed downward and shot a rocket just short of Celestia's range, causing for a large cloud of smoke to arise between the humans and Celestia, and the Patriarch.

The three began to coughed, allowing for the Patriarch to move in. He jumped right for Celestia, slamming his chain-gun arm right into her side. She was thrown into a nearby wall as Lewis shot both his barrels at where the sound had come from. The pellet shot peppered most of Kevin's back, he fell forward due to the immense power of the shot.

Unfortunately, the power, and some bad footing, caught the handicapped man off-guard as well. Lewis tripped onto his back. Upon hearing the gun shot, Skully jumped to the floor to attempt to dodge any stray fire. As he jumped to the floor, the dust had begun to settle. The Patriarch saw the DJ lying upon the floor from his high stature.

He rammed his foot down on Skully's back with only a small portion of his power, making sure that his spine wasn't snapped. No, he wanted this one for later, any other prisoners would be optional, but he wanted this one definitely.

Skully screamed out in pain, Lewis jumped up to see where the scream came from. He was luckily directly behind the Patriarch, he took the time to pop out the empty shells from his weapon. Kevin heard this sound and turned to the Corporal. Lewis jammed two more shells in hastily as the towering beast slowly walked towards him.

He thrust the barrels directly under the Patriarch's chin. The Patriarch only stopped. He looked right into the pitiful human's eyes.

"Do it!" He screamed. Lewis screamed a weak war cry as he pulled the triggers and sent the beast flying backwards. He stood staring for a moment as the body of the esteemed scientist lay unmoving. He, too, chuckled. Skully slowly moved to his feet and limped over to Lewis' side.

"Is it really over?" Skully asked.

"Maybe, but there's still the-" Lewis was cut off by a gurgling cough.

"I've taken rockets, trucks... Hell, I've even taken an artillery shot, but you think a fuckin' shotgun's gonna do me in. God damn, you must really underestimate me. It's kinda funny." The Patriarch sat up. If one were to stand above the beast, one would see a clear view of the floor beneath him through his head.

"I have to ask, how much of me do you really think is still organic material? Sixty? Forty? Ha!" He then pulled out a bright red syringe and jammed it into the part of his jaw that was still attached to his head. At a surprisingly fast rate, the bone, muscle, and skin began to regrow where the damage had originally been done.

The fresh skin looked odd upon the green and damaged body of the Patriarch. Soon after, though, the skin began to rot away and mold began to grow at a similar rate to the growth of the skin, turning the same color as the rest of his body until eventually slowing down and finally stopping, the "wound" now blending in perfectly, as if nothing had happened. The Patriarch rose.

"Now," he continued. "easy way," he cracked his knuckles, "or the hard way?" he spun his chain-gun slightly. Skully scratched his chin for a moment.

"My way." Skully then lifted his pistol up and shot a single round, smashing through the upper-left part of the beast's eyesocket, the sheer pain of the shot knocked him off balance and made him stumble back to the ground. Skully then turned and ran for the entrance doorway, Lewis following suit. The Patriarch roared as he jumped to his feet. He began to run after them, but was soon tackled by some unknown being.

As he was thrown onto his back he came face to face with Celestia herself. Her horn glowed a light blue as she stared into the eyes of the Patriarch. As he was about to say something, then a powerful force smashed his face. The crunch of bone stung her ears, a noise that she hadn't needed to hear in ages, something she certainly didn't miss.

Through the immense, unnatural pain, the Patriarch punched Celestia off of him with his claw-hand. He quickly lumbered to his feet and faced where the Princess had landed. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found. His head snapped from left to right, searching for his foe.

He then felt an odd feeling in both his knees, somewhat of a tinglig, but then somewhat of a pressure, as if his nerve cells had decided to swell up and push on the cartilage the covered. Only seconds later his knee caps shatter in a *snap*! The Patriarch fell to his decimated knees as a blue aurora had disintegrated from them. He turned to where the sound of hooves clapping against the floor was approaching him. As he saw the Princess charge, she jammed her horn directly into his left eye socket, going clear through his head.

He roared once again as he grabbed Celestia's face with his claw hand and pushed her from his wound. He then grabbed her and lifted her to eye level and stared angrily for a few short moments. Soon after, he threw her at the wall behind them. She hit the wall with a loud *bang* and went limp once again. She had once been a fine warrior, but that time was long past her.

The Patriarch approached her body, evil intentions in mind. Fortunately, a certain guard pony had chosen to stick around. Seeker jumped on the Patriarch's back and bit his neck with all the power he could muster, seeming like more of an attack dog than a royal guard with any esteem. But then again, he had to do all he could to help the Princess.

Angered, the Patriarch swiftly grabbed Seeker by the back of his neck and slammed him onto the ground. He lifted the pony up, again, and slammed him on the ground, again, this time, the sound of bones snapping clear in the air.

He tossed the pony to the side and continued towards the injured princess. The barrel of his chain-gun had begun to spin. He lifted it towards Celestia as he heard a distinct *cling*, he looked downwards and saw a primed grenade at his feet. He sounded off a roar just before the combustion had consumed him and flung him wildly into the air.

Once again, his body hit the ground in a limp fashion. Skully and Lewis took this time to run to the princess.

"Bloody Hell, are you alright?" Skully said as they helped Celestia to her hooves.

"No time to talk! Run. Run! RUN!" Lewis yelled frantically, he pointed to the horde of clots that were struggling through the doorway. They always seemed to show up just as the Patriarch needed them the most. Lewis loaded two more shots into his gun, Skully readied his pistols. Lewis fired into the horde, only striking a few in the front though, something seemed off. He ran at the group and began to yell, firing another shot.

Skully's mouth gaped open for a few moments. "Get back here ya damn idiot!" Skully yelled to the Corporal, he still continued, though. Celestia, still injured, walked towards the horde as well.

"This seems to be the only place to-" She was cut off as a rocket soared past the two. Skully looked back to see the Patriarch roaring behind his gnashing teeth. He spun his chain-gun and opened fire. Skully pushed Celestia to her side and jumped behind a pillar. Lewis heard the sound of his weapon and ran behind a Clot, grabbing it by some of the skin on its neck and using it as a meat shield.

As the other Clots approached him, he lifted his steel toed boot up and kicked the first clot square in the gut. By this time, the Patriarch's barrel had heated to unstable temperatures. He roared again and pressed another button on his arm. A few seconds later he seemed to disappear into a transparent shroud similar to his own daughters, the Stalkers.

Under this cloak, he rushed to Celestia's position and swung his chain-gun at her. She rolled so that it missed by only a few inches, catching some fur in the various, loose bits and pieces of the rusty gun. She jumped up and kicked the Patriarch square in the chest with her hind legs, propelling her forward, slightly, and knocking him back.

The Patriarch recovered from the blow a few seconds later. During this time, Lewis had lifted the bullet ridden meat-shield with his good arm and bashed it against a few other Clots, basically turning it into a battering ram. As he went through the group, one clasped its claws upon him ripped him from the momentum he had gained in that time.

Tripping over one of the bodies, Lewis fell back-first into the horde. The Clots had begun to bend over Lewis, wanting to bite and rip at the Corporal, but a blade swiped clean through them. Survivors looked up to see the DJ recovering for a heavily powered attack. They pounced at him, but he purposely fell to his back, maneuvering his feet under the first Clot and launching it to the wall behind him. After the Clot smashed with the marble wall, Skully pulled out his 9mm pistols and aimed them at the advancing horde.

During this time, the Patriarch had fully recovered. Angered more so, he smashed his foot at Celestia. She quickly dodged, causing him to burrow his leg into the marble flooring. He jammed his claw under some of the loose flooring, pulled it over his head, and threw the debris at the princess.

She had dodged a little too late, the debris scoring at hit on her right flank, propelling her to smashing into a pillar to her left. The Patriarch lifted his foot up with an immense amount of strength, kicking up more debris that smashed into the weakened horde of Clots that was occupying the humans.

As the chunk of rock hit the group, Lewis went into a fighting stance in front of a Clot. As it mindlessly approached, he grabbed its arm, pulled it down, and smashed his knee into its face. Its nose caved in, Lewis took this moment of overkill and grabbed the Clot, he then forced it into another advancing group.

Celestia's mind began to drift at that moment, she was not as conditioned as she thought she was. This was an enemy far more advanced, in power, technology, even style. It seemed that she wasted her time holding back until the climax of the battle, she needed to fight dirty, to use tabo forces to deal with this invader.

The Patriarch then grabbed her body the neck and lifted her to eye level once again. He tilted her head a little to the left, and again to the right.

"Hmm," he began, "your skull will make a perfect chalice!" He laughed as he smashed the princess directly into the ground. The cracking of tile and bone rang through all the ears of the combatants in the room.

"Princess!" Skully yelled. He noticed that the Patriarch was occupied with admiring his own cruelty, so he took the opportunity to jump onto the deranged being's back. He slid his blade under the Patriarch's neck and pulled back, using it as a makeshift garotte against the beast. He pulled with all his might as the blade very slowly inched its way through the monster's throat.

But, in one swift movement, the Patriarch grabbed Skully with his claws and smashed him onto the tile flooring in a similar manner as Celestia.

"You! Fucking! BUG!" The Patriarch yelled as he lifted his foot above Skully. Just as he was about to smash his foot down, a large collection of energy collided with his upper-half. He flew into the wall across the courtyard, being smashed into the wall and leaving an indent as though it was a throne made of marble specially for him.

Opposite of the Patriarch was Luna and a squadron of her own royal guard, all unicorns with a glow in their horns dying down.

"Sister!" She yelled as she ran over to Celestia. The guards forming a magical barrier on the door so as to prevent any unwanted entry.

Luna ran to her injured sibling, aiding her to her hooves. Luna gazed at her beaten sister. Her coat was bloodied and in ruin, her horn had large chips missing from it, and most of her formal wear was now strune about the floor of the courtyard. Droplets of blood were coursing down the sides of her mouth, it was a sight she would have never guessed from her own sister, her own flesh and blood. Seeing a being centered solely on finding peace for everyone, even her own enemies, so terribly beaten and bruised, made Luna sick by the thought of it alone. Though, the sight didn't help either. Still, miraculously, through all this, Celestia still managed to keep a calm and gentle voice when talking.

"We must hurry sister." Luna said in a hasty manner, slightly thrown off by this horrific sight. "The monsters are overrunning the castle. We have no idea where they all are coming from. All static defenses are seemingly useless at this time."

"Okay," Celestia said, she looked down, trying to form a plan as quickly as she could. "I have a private carriage, something that should be able to transport all of you. You should go to Ponyville, my student, Twilight Sparkles, will be able to help you. Not only will her wit and intellect be useful, but her access to the Elements of Harmony will surely be useful in this time of need." One word from that speech bothered Luna.

"You mean all of us, right sister?" Celestia looked down. "You need not stay here a battle this force! The guard will surely be able to contain it! The castle is lost! There is no reason to stay here!"

Celestia sighed, "I am sorry, sister. This creature is far too powerful for our simple guard to withstand alone, my fleeing will both slow you down and have even more reason for the Patriarch to chase all of us. I will stay and stall him the best I can." The place where the Patriarch had landed was now rumbling and cracking. "You must go, NOW!" She yelled with an authority that still roared with power and control, something that seemed to be lost in the world around her now. Luna nodded, her eyes clasped shut and began to wet as she turned towards the exit.

The guards saw this and brought down the barrier. Skully walked over to Luna and put an arm around her.

"I'm sorry, I really am." But she had none of it. She instead shook him off and continued her walk. Lewis had walked over to, and picked up, the unconscious Seeker, he was badly injured.

"We're gonna need to get him to a medic." Lewis said.

"Noted, we shall hurry then." Luna said solemnly, looking back one last time to her sister, who had now fully risen and stood in a regal stance. Through all the pain, she still looked as a beacon of hope in the battle ground. Luna felt sad, but at the same time happy. Disgusted, but at the same time in awe. In fear, but at the same time in comfort. Seeing something so badly weakened, yet still so graceful gave her the slightest bit of hope, something she needed to walk through that door.

The group ran through the hallways, they headed for Celestia's own chambers, where the private carriage was stored. As they reached the stairs, she couldn't help but feel a pain in her neck, she shrugged it off and traveled onward. The war cries of Equestrian guards and the sound of rusty blades cutting into skin sounded the entire trek up.

As they reached the highest landing, they came to a small runway with a gilded chariot awaiting them. Two royal guards hooked themselves up to the chariot and two more charged a spell right by them. After firing the spells, the two guards attached to the chariot sprouted ghoulish wings and readied themselves for the trip.

Lewis looked out to the land ahead of them. He could already see specs, limping through the creeping darkness. The sun looked odd, he could've sworn it was well into the morning. But then again, who knows how this Planet works, or even this very dimension. He shook his head to the thoguht of trying to grasp the concept of what was before him, he forced another thought to cloud his mind. He spoke under his breath. Not even in a land as pure as this is safe from that damn bastard...

=================

As the others left the courtyard, Celestia took a stance in front of the Patriarch. She had begun to charge an unknown spell. A forbidden spell. As her horn began to glow, the Patriarch threw a piece of rubble at the Princess.

It missed, the Patriarch then threw more pieces. Half in an attempt to stop her, the other half out of sheer want to see something in pain. Only one large chunk had hit her, she held her stance. The Patriarch roared, he stepped back to his feet. He ripped one fianl chunk of rock from the wall. He slowly approached the princess as she still continued to charge her spell, the process slowed by many factors.

The Patriarch lifted the rubble above his head. "Your time is done." He said as he brought it down on Celestia's neck. As she stumbled from the attack, the Patriarch grabbed her. He lifted her above his head and squeezed her neck with all his force. Fluids began to squish as she coughed and gagged.

The Patriarch took one last glance at his victim's face, riddled with pain, sorrow, and agony. He cracked a smile and began to giggle crazily as a thought came into his head.

"You look tired." He lifted Celestia's body over his head with both his arms. "I guess you need a BREAK!" He brought the princess down upon his knee, putting all of his force into the attack. The sound of bone shattering ripped throughout the castle. This sounded different to the Patriarch, though. It sounded... odd. It sounded like bone, yet didn't at the same time. He couldn't put his finger on the noise he heard and he finished off the Princess. Even the most poetic figure would be at a loss of words for the sound they would've heard had they spectated the fight.

The Patriarch paid no mind to the ordeal, though. He had triumphed again, something that was expected of himself by now. He smiled. He looked out to the horizon, the sun was upon it, but not rising. It was as if something raised it, but stopped mid-raise and let it fall, like a novice painter showing off his work in a busy store window, but then being stricken by the fear of judgement, and then uickly swiping it into a dusty basement, never to be seen again..

The Patriarch chuckled to himself yet again.

The monstrosity stood, looking out to the dying sun, the fallen ruler still in his clutch, slumped upon the ground. All other light had fallen from the castle, allowing for only the falling star to have the priority of view. The sound of the last few dying screams echoed into his ears, something he thought he would never hear again. He savored it, it was a sick, cruel melody to himself.

His chuckle grew; first, it was only slightly louder. Then it grew to a light laugh, then a full one, then a hearty laugh that echoed through the castle, then, finally, he was roaring with crazed laughter. He roared pure joy as he watched his children bleed out from the castle into the country side. He saw them heading outward to the other towns in sight, he saw them head in every direction. Once again, the infection was spreading...