Chapter 15: Destroying The Weapon
The group of eight fliers shot out of their cannons at blindingly fast speeds. The metal griffons in the air couldn't react in time to take them down. Soon enough their momentum decreased and they began to fly towards the battleship. Gilda led the way with Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, and Twilight Sparkle following closely behind her. Grayback and his team flew around them and fought off the many griffons that tried to bring the foursome down. Gilda and her team needed to get inside of the battleship so that they could destroy it but they needed Grayback and his team to provide support for them. Thankfully the four criminals were quite skilled at taking down the metal griffons.
Chunker used her brute strength to demolish the army of drones. Her massive muscles were more than a match for the metal armor on the robot griffons. The muscular pegasus laughed cheerfully as she took down griffon after griffon. Meanwhile Monochrome used her brains rather than her brawn during the fight. Her tactical style of fighting allowed her to trick the metal griffons and cause them to collide into each other. Psyke's horn glowed a bold fiery red and he laughed maniacally as he shot bursts of fire at his enemies. The red alicorn was clearly enjoying the task. Thankfully the griffons were made of metal and they weren't real living beings so they couldn't feel any pain. The psychotic pony took down a number of enemies as he did his part to protect the foursome on their way to the battleship. Grayback used his natural strength, his claws, and his fighting skills to defeat even more of the griffons. He made sure that not a single one of them would harm Gilda or the others. He might not like Gilda but he needed to make sure Equestria won this war. Being in Canterlot Prison was much more preferable to being held captive by Grifforia.
The battleship kept spewing out more and more griffons. Majority of the new arrivals focused on the eight fliers while very few went down to ground level. It was clear that Gilda and the others entering the battleship was not something that Grifforia wanted to see happen. The battleship kept sending griffons in massive swarms that circled the group of eight. Even with their tremendous powers, Grayback and his team could barely protect Gilda and the others from the metal griffons that flew all over the place.
Meanwhile the battle on the ground was still going strong. The ponies who had been in charge were leading their troops against Grifforia's massive array of metal griffons. They were all determined to make sure that Equestria won this war. Applejack used her hind legs to knock out a couple of griffons while Rarity's magic kept her enemies at bay. Spike was using his superpowers to their fullest extent as he blasted every metal griffon that he saw. The young drake was determined to protect Rarity and the others from Grifforia's wrath. Trixie Lulamoon's horn glowed as she fought off the griffons. The showmare was definitely skilled in the field of combative magic.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie laughs at this pathetic attempt." Trixie shouted as she struck down another griffon. "Do you really believe that piles of metal would be enough to counter The Great and Powerful Trixie's magic?"
"Come on y'all." Applejack encouraged her friends. "We have ta do our part ta save Ponyville and all of Equestria."
"We cannot allow these ruffians to get the best of us." Rarity shouted in agreement as she attacked another griffon.
Equestria's army battled bravely against Grifforia's army of griffons. The ponies of Ponyville had a lot riding on the outcome of this war. They were going to fight with every bit of strength that they had until the very end of the war. The army of metal griffons fell one by one as Equestria's army of earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, griffons, and dragon kept battling fiercely to defend their lives and country.
Back in the air Gilda was looking for any opening that she could use to get inside of the battleship. She and her three friends needed to get inside of the weapon so that they could destroy it. Grayback and his crew were doing everything that they could to defend the foursome until they made it inside of the battleship. The army of metal griffons swarmed around them as they tried to find a way in. Grayback and his team took down more griffons which caused the doors on the underside of the battleship to open.
Seeing her opportunity, Gilda flew straight at the opening with her three friends following right behind her. The massive army of griffons tried to stop them but Grayback and his team weren't going to let that happen.
"Come on you worthless junk heaps." he shouted. "Catch us if you can."
Grayback flew and a good amount of griffons followed him. Psyke, Chunker, and Monochrome flew away from the big battleship and the remaining griffons followed them as well. The way to get inside of the battleship was now wide open for Gilda, Rainbow Dash, Lightning Dust, and Twilight Sparkle. The foursome took one glance at the battle behind them before they flew inside of the battleship. The doors closed behind them and they were now inside of Grifforia's weapon.
A shiver of fear passed down the foursome. This was an extremely dangerous place for them to be in. They were now inside of one of the deadliest machines ever created. However there was no turning back for them now. They had a mission and they needed to complete that mission. The group of four walked through the gray metal halls of the ship as they searched for the four weak points. The hallways of the ship were completely empty which just gave the place an even more intimidating and unfriendly atmosphere to it. Finally the foursome approached a point where they had to separate and travel down four different paths.
"Good luck guys." Gilda said.
"We'll be meeting right back here." Rainbow Dash told them.
"Let's take this pile of junk down!" Lightning Dust declared.
"And be careful everypony." Twilight Sparkle warned them.
With that, the foursome separated and walked down their own paths. Fear settled in with each and every single one of them. Fear that they would get hurt. Fear that the others would get hurt. All of them were afraid of the dangers that would be undoubtedly waiting for them inside of the ship.
Twilight Sparkle made her way down an empty hallway with its steel gray walls and white tiled floor. The purple alicorn was very nervous about the situation. She calmed herself by thinking of Trixie which did wonders on her very troubled mind. Twilight Sparkle kept walking until she reached the room where she would plant her device. The dark metal door opened and she was soon face to face with ten emotionless, metal griffons all staring at her. The purple alicorn's horn glowed with her magical aura and she began to fight.
Lightning Dust strolled down another empty hallway which lead downwards to her destination. The daredevil pegasus pony kept up a brave face in an attempt to ward off the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety that was threatening to overcome her. Lightning Dust did her best to shake off all of her nerves. She needed to keep a cool head about this situation.
"Keep cool Lightning." she told herself firmly as she walked. "You've faced worse than this."
Lightning Dust kept walking until she came upon the room that she needed to destroy. With a look of bravery in her golden eyes, Lightning Dust opened the door and charged straight at the ten metal griffons that were waiting for her.
Rainbow Dash was moving swiftly down the path to the room that she would be in charge of demolishing. The light blue rainbow maned pegasus was determined to destroy this weapon. Her mind wandered towards Gilda and the kiss that the two of them had shared just before embarking on this mission. Rainbow Dash tried her best to stay positive and confident in herself and her friends. The rainbow maned pegasus knew that the four of them could do this. She reached the end of the hallway and entered the room where ten metal griffons were waiting for her. With a look of fierce determination on her face, Rainbow Dash attacked her enemies.
Gilda was making her way to the end of another hallway. Gilda's path was leading upwards towards the control room of the battleship. The brown and white griffon kept her face clear of all emotion as she moved swiftly and silently to her destination.
This is crazy. she thought to herself. I just gotta keep going. I can't let them down. Especially not Dash.
At the thought of her new marefriend, Gilda's determination was doubled. She quickened her pace and soon enough she reached the room that she had been waiting to find. The door to the control room opened and Gilda made her way inside where she was confronted by ten metal griffons.
The foursome battled ferociously against their opponents. They used their speed, strength, and brains to take down the metal griffons that tried to stop their mission from being successful. Twilight Sparkle shot a bolt of magic at the last griffon and it went down. She quickly planted the device in the room and left. Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash had also beaten their enemies, set up their objects, and were now making their escape. Gilda took down the final griffon and then she made her way out of the room. The foursome met up back where they had split up and they nodded to assure each other that everything was going according to plan.
The foursome made it to the hatch at the bottom just as it opened up to allow more griffons to join the battle. Gilda and her friends darted past the twenty griffons and escaped into the sky. They flew through the air and were spotted by Grayback and his team. The group of eight retreated from the battleship and landed on the ground. Gilda pulled out a switch and pressed a button on it.
Instantly, Grifforia's battleship exploded into a gigantic fireball. The four devices had been planted in just the right places which caused the entire weapon to be engulfed in flames. The metal griffons that were still inside were quickly incinerated. Thankfully there were no living beings hostile or friendly inside of the battleship. The weapon was nothing more than a great big fireball. However the fireball was now plummeting towards Ponyville much to the panic of all of the citizens within the town.
"It's gonna crash!" Lightning Dust shouted.
"We're done for!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Suddenly Psyke stepped forwards and pushed his way between the two fliers.
"Pardon me ladies." he said. "I got this."
The psychotic alicorn's horn glowed as the fireball was surrounded by a bright red magical aura. Psyke concentrated and then the fireball flew towards him and was absorbed into his horn. The ponies cheered wildly for him but then they realized that there was still a large amount of griffons to take care of. Grinning a bit, Psyke took aim and started firing blasts of flame towards the metal monsters.
"Another one down." he cheered as he struck down a griffon. "Another one gone. Another one bites the dust."
One by one the metal griffons were demolished by Psyke's fire. The ponies cheered for the red alicorn as he defeated their enemies. Psyke cackled with mad laughter as he defeated more and more griffons. Finally the last metal griffon fell and the red alicorn grinned proudly at his handiwork. Pinkie Pie suddenly ran right up to Psyke and hugged him.
"That was cool!' she shouted enthusiastically as she spoke at a fast pace. "Well not cool because fire isn't cool it's hot. Fire's hot right? Oh Psyke you're really really really warm."
Psyke grinned a bit as he listened to the pink pony's rambling. He touched a bold red hoof to his horn and felt the heat that was radiating from it due to the fire he had launched at the metal griffons.
"My horn must be like two hundred degrees." he said. "But that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit."
"Really? Mr. Fahrenheit?" Gilda asked sarcastically. "And who actually calls you that?"
"Really nopony." Psyke admitted in response. "I just made it up 'cause I liked it. You guys nailed it in there. You took that thing down. You guys are like Killer Queens or something."
The whole crowd laughed and they were in high spirits now. Grifforia's secret weapon was now gone and their army had been defeated. Everypony was in a really good mood. Gilda and Rainbow Dash were close together with small blushes on their faces. The duo kissed and then Pinkie Pie bounced over to them.
"Ooh!" she shrieked. "Are you guys gonna get married? I can't wait. I'm so excited! Can I be a bride's mare? Please?Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?"
"Pinkie they only kissed." Twilight Sparkle told her. "I think it's a bit too soon for a wedding."
Gilda and Rainbow Dash grinned at each other and they decided to humor Pinkie Pie a little bit. Gilda looked at the excited pink pony and spoke to her.
"Tell ya what Pinks." she said. "If me and Dash get married you can be my best mare. How's that?"
Pinkie Pie's sky blue eyes widened in sheer amazement. She couldn't believe what she had heard Gilda say.
"Really?" she asked in an astonished tone. "Really really really?"
"Couldn't think of anypony better." Gilda told her honestly. "If it wasn't for ya Dash wouldn't even be talking to me."
Pinkie Pie let out a high pitched squeal of excitement as she hugged Gilda. The whole town was waiting for Grifforia to surrender to them so that the war would finally be over.
Unfortunately for them, there was still one more battle to be had before the war would end.
Author's Note: There are three music references in this chapter. Can you find them? Also before anyone asks I do not have plans on writing any wedding stories between Rainbow Dash and Gilda or any other pairings. I just don't know enough about weddings to make a good story.