Sins of Harmony

Volume 2: Enemies Unbound

Chapter 53: Manehatten Siege I, Callous Hunt


21st June, 1006 ANM

Late Afternoon/Early Evening

Manehatten, downtown, Centurion Royal Hotel.

Floor 15, room 10

The city below was in chaos, as the water was loud even from 15 stories up.

Fortunately, the city fared better than many of the vilages in the January Tsunami earlier this year did, the strong concrete, brick and/or steel constructs mostly holding together.

The hotel the Princesses and their associates had been in was near the waterfront, and they unfortunately had a clear eye view of the wave surge as it crashed onto the tourist beach, and through the streets.

Many ponies and others in the streets had seen it crash over the harbour walls a mile away, and smartly began to run, heading for the tallest building they could.

They had gazed on as some beached fishing, tourist boats, and even a medium sized tanker were first to be hit by the water surge. Any boats big enough to not be swamped by the wave surge were slowly carried towards the skyscrapers that lined the city waterfront.

A few miles west, the wave was funnelled through the city's river mouth, deeper into the industrial area. The wave didn't get very far through here, losing most of its energy on the waterfront.

However, the wave surged up to 2 miles inland in places, the narrow city streets and roads actually helping it spread further by focusing the flow like some demented pipeline network.

The city's coastline, up to 2 miles inland, was swamped, cars and carriages floating, and debris floating everywhere in the currents between the skyscrapers and smaller buildings.

As the waves became calmer over the next 20 minutes, and the sight of civilians on the ground swimming to better perches became common.


A guard came up into the penthouse suite, calling out:

"Your majesties, its no good. The ground floor's flooded, and anypony that got inside is taking up the second to third floors."

Celestia already knew a lot of ponies in the city would need help, but sadly, they had to wait until the waves had retreated to be of any true help.

The guard returned to his post, while Luna had called to any pegasus guards:

"Fliers, we'll help anyone we can out of the water. Come with me!"

"We'll come too!"

Twilight called out, her state significantly changed from before the Tsunami hit. In truth, she was well aware that this was more important than her grief, and it took hr mind of that grief as well.

Spike had similar sentiments, and called as he stomped into the living room, wings flexing: "Any we save will help."

Celestia saw Ohmen and Lucius still overlooking the city, with Razak standing beside them, calling out: "Looks like you're not the only ones with that idea!"

Indeed, already pegasi, and Unicorns on a purchase of ground or building not in water, were helping others in the water still out however they could.

Wordlessly, Luna flew out, with Twilight following closely. Two other guards followed, with Spike bringing up the rear.

"Wait!"

A brief cry came, as Flash stumbled out onto the terrace, taking into the air as well. He'd been in the bathroom, only just hearing them getting ready to take off as he exited:

"You could've told me you were leaving! I just got out of there!"

Celestia almost laughed at Flash's rush, but she had important matters to deal with.

Cadance looked at Shining Armour worriedly: "You think they'll be alright, Twilight seems oddly better all of a sudden."
"Its because this helps distract her. And besides, there are others that could use their help anyway." Shining deduced, his sister's behaviour not unexpected by what he'd seen from others as a guard. Making oneself busy helped cope with grief, or at least bury it for the moment.

Celestia arranged: "You two fly to any centre in the city, a place where organisation to try and prepare for the recovery will be. They'll need help planning recovery."

Shining Armour nodded, while Cadance replied quickly: "Yes Auntie!"

Cadance flew past the Hephaestus trio on the balcony as she took off, while Shining Armour kept an eye on her. He'd teleport periodically to keep up, but he paused at the sight of the trio on the balcony still observing.

"Aren't you going to help?"

"Yeah, but somewhere not really covered so far." Razak muttered. Gazing about, Lucius suddenly frowned, as he noticed something in the harbour:

"What's that? Coming in through the waters?"

Celestia heard this, and came out to see also on the balcony.

A large series of ripples and some larger single surges came in, submerged but visible by the trails they left. They, whatever they were, swam into the city through many different streets, fanning out to cover every street flooded by the waters.

A sight of a massive water spray out in the bay confirmed it, a very large form surging through the harbour parallel with the waterfront.

A dark form, hard to distinguish details from, swam submerged, parallel to the beachfront. In the distance, a second large mass in the harbour was seen.

"What are they?"

Ohmen asked, afraid to know the answer. The 2 large shapes in the Manehatten harbour were one thing, but the hordes of unseen underwater shapes were another.


Manehatten, Cob condo estate

Garnet wasn't taking chances:

"Have it ready before I get there! And move all assets inland! I don't care if the waters didn't reach the warehouse, get all the equipment away and at least half a mile inland NOW!"

Getting his last small bag of essential supplies, Garnet looked out the window of his condo tower.

He was on the 8th floor, but could see the water hadn't reached the tower. The Cob condo estate was away from the waterfront closer to the docks, and the warehouse district, than the waterfront areas that had been most affected.

But worse, the chaos caused by the water swamping most areas along the oceanfront and even the Henson river waterfront areas, had ground all public transport to a halt. The only transports left open were for emergency services, already mobilising to try and combat the flooding damage in most of the south and western waterfront or riverside areas.

Garnet would have to go on foot, but he was damned sure this wasn't a natural event.

"Its looking for us."

Tyree hissed, and he began to mentally argue as he ran down the stairs, within a minute out into the streets, amidst other moving or arrived ponies. A diamond dog of dark red fur was ignored amidst the natural disaster.

"I know. But, we came prepared."

"Yeah, Cloudsdale wasn't a complete failure it revealed something we suspected."

Garnet secretly was thankful he'd carried some of the stolen weapons used in Cloudsdale as spares with him to Manehatten, just in case retaliation by the Entity occurred. It was now the only truly confirmed thing to disrupt it.

Maybe it could be key to weakening the Entity if this Tsunami was its death throes trying to get Garnet in revenge.

If.

At a speed akin to a galloping Pony, Garnet ran through the streets, feigning panic as he made his way down the roads he'd normally drive down. He weaved through the throngs of arrived ponies or stopped road blockades for due emergency vehicles, the obvious reasons he had to run.

But he'd once made a 20 mile run within 3 hours, with only some tiredness and mild panting. He could manage a 3 mile run/sprint, his genetics allowed it.

Tyree had been a psychological side effect of the experiments Garnet had when he was 7, but his enhanced strength, speed and intellect were expected, and succeeded.

The diamond dog ran through the city streets, onwards to his last hope against the oncoming force.


3 minutes later

Manehatten, downtown, waterfront flood areas.

Caarim had remained on the hotel tower, watching from afar, acting as an observer. Meanwhile, Ohmen had magnetically levitated down to a lower rooftop, and Lucius had flown in his dark aura to the same rooftop.

Now only 2 stories above the water, they had come close to some one of the swimming shapes.

Off to the side Ohmen saw a pair of earth ponies struggling in the water, clinging onto a bus shelter roof. Using some nearby metal as grabs, he used his magnetic manpulation, his magic replacement, to lift them out onto the dry roof above.

Behind him, Lucius made his move, his red glowing horn firing a black magic aura wall into the street, blocking the path of one of the unknown objects.

"Got it! Ohmen, grab it, let's see what we've got!"

Lucius's yell got Ohmen's attention, as he used the same metal strips to wrap around the mass underwater, hoisting it out of the water.

As soon as it broke the surface, it began to thrash in an attempt to get free, water flying everywhere, almost metallic droning howls sounding from it as Ohmen held it aloft above the water.

It had a rocky body, but long, glowing segmented tentacles of sorts. It was unmistakeably an Entity drone, but a variant of its shape.

"You mean these are?" Lucius dropped the dark barrier across the street water in shock, as he saw another one swimming on a further away flooded street.

Releasing the thrashing drone, Ohmen saw Razak flying overhead, having seen it all.


An unheard signal spread across the city, only to the hordes of a hundred or so Entity drones swimming through the flooded city streets. Behind them, larger forms swam into the city, ready to take the search further inland.

But now, it would begin its systematic search.

All across the city, jumping out of the water like salmon up a waterfall, the drones leapt out, their more squid-shapes changing to become the Urchin shapes seen in Canterlot. Their spikey legs and arms clung or pierced enough the walls of the buildings to begin climbing.

Projecting out like a rocky form of a slug's eye stalks, sensory nodes began to comb, with a variety of senses, every building the drones were ascending.


"Stay back! Don't get near them unless they make a move!"

Luna yelled. She'd seen how dangerous these drones could be, at least how fast they were. Not strong in armour, they were numerous, and had many arms.

Hovering impatiently, having rescued a few dozen ponies in the water already, and seeing a few unfortunate drowned forms, all they did was look on as the drones began climbing up skyscrapers all around them. Like a plague, they sprang up from the flooded streets to crawl up the sides, searching from the outside for whatever they wanted.

It had been pieced together already what happened:

"They did this, the tsunami, they caused it!" Spike was stressing.

"Yes, but why?" Twilight wondered. She was tense, having seen what these things could do. But the Entity had what it wanted, having drained those unfortunate 3 already.

Why was it here?

A distant rumbling was heard, and a cry came from above as a guard saw something in the distance:

"The highway bridge, its being destroyed!"


Having submerged right beneath the city's largest bridge, one of the two larger shapes had been obscured as red projectiles fired up, similar to the ones used in Cloudsdale a few days ago by that aircraft.

Cars fleeing the city in the traffic jams were sunk, but the large mass swam on, on a path to cut off any transportation routes that Garnet may use.

The Entity was being thorough, even at the cost of dozens or hundreds of civilians on the bridges.


Manehatten, residential tower block.

Just 2 blocks away from the place where Luna and the others watched cautiously, a family of ponies had backed away as an Entity drone, like a curious animal, had all but smashed through the window to poke around.

In the corner, cowering at the strange creature, the father Unicorn aggressively shone his horn in a threat: "Get out of here!"

The urchin drone looked up, its sensor stalks angling towards the family in surprise. Uncaring, it shuffled further into the apartment, but that was when it happened.

The father fired a stun beam at it, shocking it back on its hunches:

"GET BACK!"

The urchin shook slightly, and then stood very still looking right at his family. But the defensive attack registered as a potential threat to the drone.

A bellow vibrated, and its form suddenly leapt at them like a snake attacking a prey animal.


Inside a few distant tower blocks on the waterfront, sounds of violence escaped as a few windows began to smash, and brickwork flew from a few places on a tower as some drones had begun to fight.

Other drones across the city sensed the violence, and like a swarm of bees acting as a collective, they began to take more aggressive search methods.

Inevitably, the citizens took this badly.

Across tower blocks and skyscrapers, Entity drones were either defending against citizens pre-emptively attacking them, or they were pre-emptively attacking more dangerous looking civilians or service groups, such as those with weapons, or Unicorns.

Within seconds, as fast as the Entity drones had comprehended the civilians meant them harm by them trying to preserve themselves, a full scale urban war had begun to spread.

However, what was key was that the conflict began to end in a building as soon as the drones perceived their target wasn't in the building they were searching.


Beginning to fly back, firing spells at the Entity drones scuttling down the skyscraper, or some even managing to jump to the next building and through the windows, Luna yelled for the drones to be hit:

"They're fast but weak!"
Around her, a burst of green fire erupted, but proved ineffective against a pair of drones' rocky bodies. Spike quickly decided against fire, and began to fly in to take them head on.

"Princess! We need to get these things off the buildings!"

Flash Sentry yelled. he was out of his Element, as it took much of his strength to tackle just one drone off the building into the water 5 stories below. He was sure that the rock bodies meant bruises or broken/fractured bones where they physically hit them were expected.

A blue wave of energy flew out, a repulsing blast from Luna sweeping a good half dozen drones off the side of another building.

Flying too close, Spike yelled as a drone had designated him as a threat, leaping off a nearby building wall to wrap around him like a rocky Venus flytrap in midair. Growling as he struggled to get free, Spike splashed down into the 4 foot deep water, the little depth only doing a little to ease the impact.

His head submerged, Spike knew it was trying to drown him, but he fought back. Rolling and thrashing wildly, he ripped one tendril off and flipped the drone off his body, before leaping back into the air. Shaking his wings of the water, Spike saw Twilight come beside him as she fired off a spell at a distant pack of climbing drones on a nearby skyscraper:

"Spike! Go to Princess Celestia, we're getting nowhere! We can't stop all of them with all our others dealing with the flooding already!"

Panting, Spike flew off back to the hotel, where Princess Celestia was in a focused state.


Manehatten, downtown, Centurion Royal Hotel.

Floor 15, room 10

The swirling pink and blue portal hung in the centre of the sitting room, as Celestia and Discord focused.

On the other end, Starswirl was first to leap through, carrying the Entity drone fragment in a small case. Behind him, Varkan quickly leapt out, running right past them to the balcony beyond.

Spike arrived just then, but didn't ask a question as he saw the portal begin to fade out of existence inside the sitting room:

"There's too many, and those big ones in the harbour are still out there!"

Varkan was quiet, gazing out at the distance shapes crawling across the skyscrapers. Looking down the balcony, Varkan called out:

"They're coming up!"

Discord hovered out over the building, and saw a handful already beginning to 'scout' the lower levels. Some fighting was already breaking out, again the uncertainty on both sides making it hard to see who struck first.

Celestia began to fly, as she, Caarim and Discord were the only ones here, after Shining Armour had left to join Cadance at city hall, and the Hephaestus members, sans Caarim, had left to investigate the drones before they attacked.

The King cobra had leant out over the building, focusing his mind reading. Blanching, he said quietly:

"There's nothing, just instinct. They must be, like drones of an insect hive or something."

"They're searching." Starswirl said.

All eyes turned to the elder Unicorn, as he said: "I have read enough into this drone, as its fragments flashed with the Entity's plans before the Tsunami occured. It triggered it, small but concentrated, to flood Manehatten, and only Manehatten, to bring its population to a standstill. So it can search for what it wants without worryign that it might leave the city."

Varkan scowled, and commented: "Lets get somewhere safer. I'd actually suggest a building they've already searched."

"Yeah, they seem to leave them alone once they're done." Spike added., landing nearby. Discord looked to Celestia, saying: "What can we do?"

"Discord, fly high up. I need you to have a bird's eye view of these, things. See if anything attracts more of them." Celestia asked. She was commanding now, but the request was more than just authorities.

Planting a quick kiss on her cheek, Discord flew out of the balcony, flying high above the city to begin his observations.

"Let's move!" Starswirl ordered, as he teleported to a building right on the edge of the waterfront. Evidently, it had already been searched by the drones, and abandoned. Not many others were taking shelter in it, so they'd have less disruption.

Seeing him teleport, Celestia offered Caarim: "If you wish."

The cobra slithered around her torso, holding on as she took off with her wingbeats. Pausing, she turned midair, seeing Varkan gazing out at the distant drones still on the other skyscrapers.

"Varkan! Can you fly?"

"Glide. I'm heading inland, I want to see what happens when they get away from the water coverage!" Varkan's reply was curt, and he didn't turn back as he leapt off the balcony, his wing implants flaring out to allow him to roughly fly over the streets.

Celestia sighed, as even though they had bad blood, she couldn't help but notice he'd acted, odd, ever since the attack on Canterlot. Even before Kynok's role, he'd been withdrawn ever since that drone showed itself as his old Wyvern friend.

Flying off, Caarim looked back as Celestia flew away to see the drones just reaching the penthouse of the hotel, poking inside the building before beginning to scale back down again.


All across the areas of Manehatten flooded, there was a presence of drones across the entire waterfront, and beginning to make their presence known in other flooded areas along the docklands, ports, and the waterfronts inland, along the large Henson river area of the city.

A second large bridge had been destroyed by the mysterious, beneath the surface bombardment. These were weapons, the red hued projectiles firing from the underwater mass to destroy the bridges from below.

And onlookers already saw more smaller shapes swarming off them. Evidently, these large shapes were carriers for the smaller shapes.

Meanwhile, the target of these attacks made his way to the warehouse district, to where his assets that might stand a chance of putting a dent in these attacks were.

But the Entity was still merely searching, even if firefights had erupted with it. When it actually sensed it was near its target, or genuinely needed to fight, it had more to call upon.

Even now, it had buried assets across the city it would begin to bring online, some, like the larger forms, very experimental.


In writing large scale conflicts, the openings are usually broad, no direct personal style conflicts yet. Things will escalate later, but lets just sat that this whole scenario will serve to make some characters re-evaluate their views of certain 'antagonists', and their goals.

And some surprises are in store, with the Entity's 'experiments'. And its newfound emotions shall come into play with all of its doings.


As usual, please review/critique as one would.