The Og Nag rampage up the bodies of dead comrades and storm over our walls. Limbs get hacked off and fall to the ground as they clash with Taraskan steel. Our soldiers yell in agony as they swipe and slash at anything that moves. Every Og Nag that lands, runs towards our buildings. Zaran was most likely planning to have his soldiers hide everywhere they can, then hit us when we're vulnerable. Perhaps even go for a small kill when we're not paying attention. This was quickly becoming a mess with no real backup plan.
As a little monster lands and tries to rush past me, it takes a swing with its sword at my legs. I swipe and deflect his attack, then grab him by the throat and slam him to the ground. With one solid stomp of my boot to his head, he's gone. I look back at Lucretia who stumbles around while holding the sides of her head.
"Lucretia!" I call out. "Stop focusing on keeping us all connected! Just do what you can to slow down the Og Nag!" She's able to stand up straight and I no longer feel everyone's presence. Honestly though, it was a waste of energy to keep us tied together. We all knew the plan, and everyone knew their place.
Emeris jogs over to me, covered in sweat. "We can't keep this up! We built this base to give us plenty of room and time to breath, not to be in constant melee! We have to find a way of securing that wall or we're done for!"
I stare back at the bodies that pile up all over again and our infantry that are gradually slowing down. Lancercore stands in the back, wide-eyed and shuffling in place. The main wall even had Garges beginning to climb over. I motion for Lancercore to move up. Their commander runs up to me while glancing hesitantly at the staggering height of these monsters.
I point to both towers. "We've lost control. Take your guards and push the towers over. Then have your strongest lacers kick them so they're flushed against the walls. If we can create a new choke point, we may be able to salvage this." She salutes me with a hoof, then runs back to her guards and starts assigning ponies.
Emeris watches her and crosses his arms. "We still need to find some way of pushing them off the wall. I mean Zaran could literally fill the entire base with dead Og Nag. We have to hold them outside, not in."
I place my hand on my hips and shake my head at the ground. "We tried that, our reloading teams are the only ones who can, and they get hammered. How do we move all of those Og Nag with no magic and without getting smashed by Zaran's...artillery?"
A screech startles me briefly. I have just enough time to duck while swinging my sword, cutting a rather tall Og Nag in half who dared to rush me from the shadows. An arrow rushes past my head and nails another assailant in the head who tried his luck, but oddly kept quiet this time.
"Emeris, I don't suppose we could fit a Growler with some kind of large...shovel could we?"
He shakes his head slowly. "First off, we'd need time to craft it, then we'd have to mount it, get it here, and use it. Doubt we'd be able to push that many bodies away regardless."
I kick a severed head as hard as I can. There was no way to win, just to hold out. Even if we held them off for a bit and retreated, what then? Where do we go?
Spitfire lands in front of me. Her eyes are deep and sunken. "Sir...I have a plan. I think we can clear the wall and wipe out a bunch of Og Nag. If we time it correctly, we can make a mini tornado. Our fliers circle around at specific points. Combined with some magic from unicorns, we can create a cyclone strong enough to lift and toss units. We usually use it to clear debris after a nasty rainstorm, but there's no reason it can't work here."
Emeris stares at me with his eyes stretching in fear. "If we do that, you will all be vulnerable. If Zaran counters...we'll lose all of our recon ability as well as our best trained pony troops. If we don't, we lose the base. This is...I don't know sir."
The metal tower behind me drums loudly as I beat into it with my fists. Risk all my air reconnaissance in one huge maneuver. They'd be in the air, so it was somewhat safe, but they'd be exposed and there was no way to help them. As I try to ponder our decision, Zaran forces my hand. My men on top of the towers scream, as Og Nag bodies start taking out the ballistas on top. It takes several tries, but only one body with plenty of force is enough to dislodge the ballista and the soldier.
One of my people lets out a brutal shriek, right before he hits the ground flat on his back. His hands clench a few times and he begins to get up. I take one step towards him, then the crunching of the tower he was on, snags our attention. Og Nag after Og Nag slam into the side of the tower so hard, it falls over. My soldier looks at me and reaches his hand out to me, right as he's crushed. These towers had been upgraded with metal. There was no point in trying to dig him out this time.
I cup my hands around my mouth and call out to the other ballistas. "Get down! Get down now!" Two out of seven infantry make it down. The nearest one to me has to do a desperate leap. Two unicorns snag him in midair with magic and float him to the ground. The second, who's a few towers down, quickly scales the outside and gets to the floor right as his ballista is torn off by bodies.
Everyone else gets taken down with the ballista or falls with the tower. Another one of my infantry tries to jump for it, but his foot catches the ledge. He doesn't go straight like he wants and slams his head into the catwalk of the wall on his way down. He's dead from head trauma before he hits the ground.
A pair of hands spins me around and it's a terrified soldier. Her eyes are full of tears.
"Sir! The Og Nag that made it over! They're lighting themselves on fire inside the towers!" My last two ballistas are stuck on top as flame creeps up the inside. Spitfire glares confidently, hunches over and leaps into the air. As she flies to my soldier, he panics and jumps to her. With a surprised scream, she collides with him in midair. In a panic, he latches onto her left wing. They both scream as they hit the ground. Several ponies run over to her. As soon as I arrive, it's clear she's out of commission. Her wing looks like it's popped out of its socket, her eye is closed with a severe cut and her left leg is reversed at the knee.
Her eyes are wide with shock, but her mouth is silent. She's picked up with magic and carried to the back of the base. Soarin and the rest of the Wonderbolts are about to leap for it when I raise my hand. Soarin sees me and motions for the rest to stop.
"Soarin, stay under cover! It's too dangerous to go airborne right now!" His face contorts angrily, but he nods.
A deep, sinister chuckle drags us back to the wall. Upon the piles of bodies, stands an Og Nag in fully custom armor. It had to be a few inches thick at least and was fully complete except for a helmet. His eyes glow red and his mouth forms a creepy grin.
"I must say, this has been fun Lucretia, but now it's time to show you what real psychic prowess looks like!" Dozens of Og Nag storm over the wall at once. Their eyes glow just like his. They dart in numerous directions, not taking straight paths anymore. They bolt past everyone and go straight for Lucretia. She sticks her arms out, as if she was trying to push everything away. Her eyes shut, and she starts screaming. Og Nag all over quickly draw their weapons and plunge it into their chest or throw themselves onto sharp debris. There's no denying that more and more of those little freaks get closer no matter how fast they die.
I draw my weapon and call out to everyone as I run over. "Form up! Protect Lucretia! We're falling back! Soarin, it's now or never!" Soarin salutes to me from underneath a nearby catwalk and they race past us, gaining as much distance from the incoming bodies as possible. He meets up with several other pegasi and they take to the sky in a large group.
As I turn back around, a smaller Og Nag jumps for my face wielding a dagger. I grab his hand with mine and get a good grip on his throat. I use his momentum to slam him head-first into the ground. He dies instantly. Everyone who is left, surrounds Lucretia and we fall back in a large group. We slay endless scores of monsters who get through. An Og Nag as tall as me with those same glowing red eyes, runs up snarling and slashing with his weapon wildly. His eyes strobe with gold right before his head explodes violently.
Another Og Nag decapitates an ally to his left, before slamming his sword into his eye. They keep coming though, more and more. It doesn't take long before I'm severing limbs and skulls as fast as I can, while still staying in formation. Lucretia screams desperately from the middle of our group. "I...I can't! There's just too many!"
Emeris lets a few arrows fly and nails an Og Nag in the knee. The creature tumbles to the ground, tripping several others behind him. Emeris calls over his shoulder to Lucretia. "Can you just tell them to stop or something?! You don't have to kill them, just slow them down!" Lucretia shakes her head in frustration. "If I stop controlling them, they go right back to attacking us! I don't know if it's genetic or if Zaran has just too much influence!"
Two Og Nag rush me. I hurl a dagger into one and shoulder slam the other in the chest. His sword scratches the back of my chest piece. I hit him in the face so hard, it crunches his skull in and he falls to the ground. The wind picks up and a sharp whistle keeps vibrating through the air. To my left, a large tornado starts spinning across the ground towards our base. The whistle turns into a roaring storm, as the entire cyclone brushes over our left wall. Bodies gradually get lifted, make a few circuits inside, then get hurled out.
Was it going to work? Could we really retake the wall? The screeching of another Og Nag snaps me out of my hope. Before I can impale him, he jumps on the soldier to my right and stabs him in the neck. I nail the little freak in the stomach with my blade then use it to throw him to the ground. My soldier grabs his wound and gurgles with gaping eyes. I push him towards the center with Lucretia and another soldier fill sin his spot.
We keep falling back, slowly moving towards the rear of the base to buy ourselves time. Once that wall gets clear, we can't be stuck in an ocean of Og Nag. It would be easier to charge forward, decapitating them as we go, as opposed to breaking out of a Death Circle, something no Taraskan battalion wants to find themselves in. It's just too easy to make one mistake and get a sword through the belly when you're surrounded by swarming Og Nag.
The tornado crosses over between us and the wall. Wind pounds my helmet, making it impossible to hear. I don't shield my eyes, as the Og Nag at least have their backs to the wind.
"Hold here! We need to be ready to retake the wall the moment it's clear! Keep Lucretia safe at all costs!"
Right on que, Lucretia screams at the top of her lungs. "Watch the sides! They're taking our walls of dead Og Nag and using them on the sides as ladders! I can't stop them all, there's too many!" We rattle in place as a vicious pounding comes from the wall to our left and right. Sure enough, all the impaled Og Nag we had set up to use as choke points, were now being used to flank us. While we were holding up on the inside, they had taken spears and reinforced those dead walls. Now they were perfect ladders. Dozens of heads start poking up around the wall.
Emeris growls angrily in place. "We just found a solution to the wall and now it's too late?! This is ridiculous!" I watch them begin to pour over the walls, using our wooden walkways as a nice, safe place to jump down on. I pound on my shield a few times, signaling everyone to form a shield bunker. "We don't have to hold them for long, just long enough! Let the cyclone clear the wall, then they'll hit everything else! We're playing for time, not kills!" A loud, angry cheer erupts and Taraskan steel clashes with Og Nag flesh.
I hand my shield to the unit behind me and skulk my way to Lucretia. She sways back and forth as her head drapes over. Two soldiers hold her upright. I stare at them on confusion. "Why is she so tired?" Lucretia points behind us to Lancercore, who has their own problem. Their eyes glow gently with gold and they take turns charging incoming Og Nag, then retreating so the second line behind them can rush. They're able to spread out their charges so there's always room to gallop.
I nod several times, knowing Lancercore was helping take the blunt of their forces. Every time the Og Nag tried to hit us from all three sides, Lancercore would bait them then impale with lancers. The moment the gold fades from their eyes, I look to Lucretia who completely collapses to the ground. Was she seriously scouting the Og Nag, killing them and directing Lancercore at the same time?
Screams erupt from the ponies, as a few of their units hesitate right before goring an Og Nag and that's all it takes. A pony rears back and screams a, as an Og Nag jumps onto his snout and stabs him in the neck. Before anypony can help him, he's rushed by several others. With a gap in his line, there's no one stable enough to call out orders. The next lacer rush is a slaughter.
The small hole triples in size, as spare Og Nag can now flank the lancers, stabbing them in the flank and hacking off limbs when they try to run and turn their backs to the Og Nag. With a sizable opening in their ranks, the monsters rush in. Big Mac charges out of the group, plowing through each little freak with ease. He doesn't slow down and is quickly followed by several other lancers. I cock an eyebrow, wondering what his game is.
Big Mac runs up the stars to the walkways and slams through the Og Nag who jump down. He keeps going, followed by three single-file lines of guards. Any Og Nag he misses, gets trampled mercilessly. I now see a flaw in how we trained them. Humans are meant to stand still, ponies aren't. We didn't utilize their impulses. We trained them to fight where they were, a human tactic. Ponies were much more dangerous when they run in full armor. Unable to be caught and building up tremendous force, each hit is almost a guaranteed kill or at least decommissioning the unit they hit. It only takes a few minutes as Lancercore does a full circuit, annihilating droves of monsters without even flinching. They wanted to run, so they are, and it couldn't be better.
I clench my fists and yell loudly with the rest of my people. The tornado hits the wall and it starts raining bodies everywhere. Most corpses are flown clear of the base, with a few exceptions. Emeris hammers on my shoulder pad excitedly. "Look, they're doing it! We can hold the base!" I scramble to the one remaining tower we have. Taking the steps two at a time, I get a chance to examine the merciless tide of Og Nag. As far as the eye could see, endless monsters covered the landscape. Zaran had spread them out in every direction but the back of our base. Even though Big Mac and the rest of Lancercore were running circles of death, the Og Nag kept climbing. Emeris was right, Zaran could literally fill our base with dead Og Nag and still have plenty to take Canterlot.
I start shaking and a single tear creeps its way down my eye. It never ends. There's always more Og Nag, always more death, always knocking on the doors to hell. Even the bodies around the walkway were piling up. The Og Nag weren't rushing to get in. Zaran was sending enough units at us to keep us going at full speed, but not so many that he would lose scores. Lancercore, the Wonderbolts, even Taraskans were going to wear out eventually.
Emeris and another soldier look up at me, expecting to see my excited reaction. I simply sheath my sword and casually walk down the stairs. We went into this fight not expecting to come out of it, but it didn't feel as noble anymore. That fire in me that burned for combat, had sizzled. Two hours. We had lasted for two whole hours while the princesses needed days. Zaran didn't care about the lives of his units, but we weren't going to just waste them for the sake of it. Zaran never held back and we were about to see more of his tactics.
I don't even look up as the screams from the Wonderbolts slam into the base and echo off every wall. Arrows whistle from the Og Nag and coat the inside of the tornado. My walk is slow and morbid, as dead pegasi plow into the dirt, kicking up dust and blood everywhere. They were coated in arrows, as they got swept up in the storm and made a few circuits, eventually nailing the ponies in flight. Each unit that hits the ground, looks like a pincushion, probably hitting more arrows as they fall through the cyclone.
I look up at the tower behind me as it comes crashing down. My mouth hangs open and there's no time to dodge. At the last second, Lucretia screams my name and tackles me. I roll across the ground and the deafening clang of metal dazzles me momentarily. Lucretia's screams of torment snap me out of it. She clenches her eyes and pounds on the ground with her fists. Tears stream down her face and her wails of agony are unbearable. She instinctively claws at the dirt, trying to free her legs.
She shrieks over and over, eyes bulging, and her cheeks turn a dark red. Emeris runs to my side with a few soldiers and we start trying to lift it just enough to free her. We grab metal beams and start sliding them under. After getting a few pieces to use as a fulcrum, I put all my weight on the beam and hear it groan just barely. Lucretia grabs my right wrist and slaps it over and over while calling my name.
She points with wide-eyes across the base. A single Garge with no armor looks at us and starts charging. Its jaws are bizarre. Its head was similar to a crocodile, with a mouth that sticks out at least four feet, holding rows of jagged teeth. It's deep, red iris' lock onto me with a disturbing focus. In its hands, are two axes, but they're highly detailed and have probably been sharpened heavily. This was no ordinary Garge, this was one bread for a single purpose: to hit us when we were vulnerable and ensure at least a few good kills. With a full swing, there'd be no blocking it. Our shields would be like lumber to that thing.
My mouth hangs open. I go for my weapon, but Lucretia grabs my arm again. She does her best to speak between excruciating sobs. "You...you have to...go! He'll...kill us all! Just go!" She sobs pitifully. There's a figure standing behind me. I draw my weapon and whirl around, almost beheading them. Towering above me, was Versa. My sword stops with the point just at her throat.
Versa points at the beam I'm using. "You all need to put your weight on that single piece, not spread it out. You don't need to lift the entire tower, just the part she's under." Her voice is calm, but unusually compassionate.
Lucretia looks up to her, still with tears flooding out. She shakes her head and tries to speak, but all she can do is scream desperately. Versa takes a knee beside her and takes off her helmet. Versa's skin is a dark brown, with black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her eyes are a devastating green. Breaking from her typically cold expression, she sets a hand on Lucretia's shoulder.
"Lucretia, you've taught me how to be free, how to express what I feel. Because of you, I found my voice. Words that had been long silenced, were mine to harness. I'm proud of the warrior you have become, despite having every disadvantage. I have spent too many hours staying silent, but there is no changing that now. I wanted you to know I spent my last hours telling Hurrand exactly what I think of him, just as I've always dreamed. Take care little one, I will miss you." Versa puts back on her helmet and sighs while standing up. Lucretia screams "No!" over and over again, in that sad, desperate tone while crying. She claws at Versa's ankle but is ignored. Versa takes a few steps away and stares down the charging Garge.
"Raiden, take care of Lucretia and do not forget our deal. I shall buy you as much time as I can." Versa pounds her fist into her other hand then takes off towards the Garge.
Emeris whispers in astonishment behind me. "All this time, I coulda sworn she was pure evil."
Versa's feet kick up dirt as she sprints to the beast.
I turn to Emeris. "Do you...do you think she really-"
Emeris shrugs with complete confusion. "I mean it's freakin' Versa, but that's an Assassin Garge, I mean...if anyone can, it's her. No one's ever soloed a Garge without an element though."
Right before Versa and the beast make contact, he cocks his arm back and brings down his ax. Versa darts just barely enough to dodge but keeps moving forward. She leaps to the left as the Garge tries to send her flying with a kick. Before his leg even has time to replant itself, she charges forward and gives her best haymaker to the side of his other knee that he's using for stability. As she gives a second punch to the same spot with her other arm, the creature howls angrily. His tongue flinches in the air from his gaping mouth. He instinctively picks up his left leg but is met with Versa simply switching directions and giving another straight punch to the side of his right leg.
He howls with rage again and backs up. Versa doesn't give him a chance to get free and dashes for his legs again. He tries to swipe at her with an ax but has to stop short or risk cutting off his foot. He howls as Versa jumps onto his leg and starts hammering the side of his knee over and over. He slams his ax into the ground and tries to grab her. The moment his hand is a few feet from her, she leaps off and grabs his pinkie finger. She holds onto the very end with one hand and gives a brutal uppercut to his knuckle with her other hand. Even from back at the tower, we flinch from the nasty pop that fills the air. Versa doesn't even celebrate and is immediately back to slamming her fists into the side of his knee. He roars angrily then tries to snap at her with his mouth.
With timing that had to be anticipated, she leaps forward so fast that the Garge doesn't even have time to move his head. With his jaws between his legs, Versa sails by his face and slashes his eye with her gauntlet spikes. She keeps moving forward and is completely clear of his reach. He pants furiously but keeps his good eye locked on her. His one hand that still holds an ax, has the same eye slashed to ribbons. Getting an accurate swing when you're blind on that side, was going to be challenging.
He limps towards Versa and swings a few times. She quickly leaps backwards, but still keeps her entire focus on him. An Og Nag jumps out of the debris behind her and tries to grab the back of her head. She ducks without looking and sails under his arms. Right as the Og Nag lands, she wraps an arm around his neck and snaps it. She ducks as the Garge sees an opening and almost cuts her in half with an ax. The dead Og Nag goes sailing in two pieces across the grass.
Versa starts circling him to the right, staying just out of range of his ax, but close enough where he can't resist taking the occasional cautious swing at her. He gets one last blow in, but stumbles forward. Versa dashes at his already weakened right knee and gives it a furious drop kick. It makes a sickening pop and the monster howls. Before he even has time to grab her, she jumps up to his elbow and rams her footlong knee spike into it. The moment it pierces through, she drops down and gives another straight punch to his last knee. It cracks loudly, and he has to hunch over on all fours.
Versa runs to his jaw, grabs onto it and uses it as a ledge while she swings her body up and onto his back. She raises her arm and bends it, letting the downward spike from her gauntlet point straight down at the Garge. She slams it as hard as she can into the back of its head. He lets out a furious howl and rears back. Versa, unable to grab anything in time, gets thrown into the debris of a tower.
The Garge, seeing his chance, grabs both his axes and starts cleaving up the tower where Versa had landed. Pieces of metal get sheared off like butter and his weapons pass through it as if cutting through water. In just a few seconds, he's made several incisions. He picks up what remains of the tower with both hands and peers inside. He spots a large hole in the back and before he's even realized he's made a mistake, Versa comes sprinting from several feet away and runs up his chest. She grabs onto the top part of his jaw and before he can pull away, she drives her left elbow spike straight down into his skull.
He falls back lifeless, pulling Versa with him. As he hits the ground, it sends Versa sliding across the grass head first into a small pile of wood. She gets off the ground and holds her right shoulder while looking over his corpse. She shakes off the pain and strolls over to us. Emeris gawks at her as his arms hang to the side. "You...you just took on a Garge by yourself without even having an element?!"
Versa crosses her arm and snorts quietly. "I am Taraskan. My hands are weapons and my mind is like artillery. I do not need one of your elements nor do I want one. She uncrosses her arms as purple bolts start pouring out of her hands, lighting wooden debris on fire upon contact. She examines her palms and a light purple fog comes pouring off them like cooled smoke. "What is this?!"
Emeris chuckles to himself. "That's an element. Welcome to the club."
Versa clenches her hands and grumbles. "This feels like cheating. I do not like it."
A Garge jumps over the debris behind her and tries bringing an ax down on Versa's head. Without even flinching or looking, she casually catches the blade in her hand at borderline instant speed. Everyone stands still, as the bewildered Garge uses both hands to try and jerk his weapon free. It doesn't even budge an inch as if it were encased in stone. Versa cocks an eyebrow and snaps it out of his hands with a quick tug. She tosses it in the air gently so the handle lands in her hand. With a perfectly fluid toss, she hurls the ax so hard, it smashes straight through the Garge's skull and cuts clean through the wall behind him, ending up who-knows-where before we can even see it leave her hand.
Versa examines her hands again and cocks an eyebrow. "This is...acceptable."
Another Garge tries the same swing. She catches it in her hand but flies forward and slams the rear spike of the weapon into the beast's forehead, despite him using every ounce of strength to stop her. The handle shatters just above his grip and the rest traveling with Versa's hand. His eyes go wide, and his mouth hangs open. He lets go of the weapon and falls to his knees, eventually collapsing backwards. Versa stares at him, before narrowing her eyes at the rest of the Og Nag who come charging at her.
At dazzling speeds, she socks an Og Nag as tall as her in the chest. He rockets through all the units behind him. Before his feet had even left the ground though, Versa has already slammed her fist into three other approaching Og Nag. As if several thunderstorms were going off at once, Og Nag go flying with a nasty crack and slam into something that typically can't take the hit.
A Garge runs at her and tries to leap with gaping jaws. Versa is under him in a flash, grabs the underside of his breastplate and slams him head first into the ground with one hand almost effortlessly as if she was having a pillow fight with the world. He hits so hard, his upper body condenses in on itself, leaving his legs to flinch randomly from his torso as if he was now a plant.
Before another Garge can even make up its mind of what to do, Versa sends it flying into the wall with a supercharged kick. The wall cracks and splits open. Like spiders, even more Og Nag pour in through the opening. Emeris shakes me from behind. "She's destroying the base! Even if she survives, we won't! What do we do?!" There was no denying that her strength was unfathomable. I pull out my horn and sigh before giving one long blast before a short, defeated sounding one.
We make our way to the back and Versa is all over every adversary that even comes within thirty feet. Two units carry Lucretia who is completely unconscious. Big Mac and what was left of Lancercore, follow us closely. As we exit through the rear gate, there's a Growler waiting. Versa must have brought it here. I can't even muster the energy to show surprise that she could pedal an entire Growler by herself.
As soon as everyone is loaded up, we're off. Versa sits beside me and the purple crackling is gone. She falls over and collapses on the floor. Emeris looks over at her then meets my gaze. "Do you think Zaran did this to wear out our elements before his actual final attack? I mean my element won't wake up, Lucretia will be unconscious for a day, Versa will probably be out for a few as well. I mean, that's it. Now it's up to alicorn magic."
My eyes wander around the cabin and count the humans. Twelve. There are only twelve of us left. I pull off my helmet, hold it in my hands and let out a scream I've never had before. The moment my lungs are out of air, I hear the sound of thousands of laughing Og Nag, followed by my nickname.
"King of the dead! King of the dead! King of the dead!" they squeal.
