DISCLAIMER!
I'm getting really tired of this shit… -.-
Three chapter update guys, just sayin...
Eric stood on the mountain overlooking Ponyville and the Everfree. The meat puppets had not been needed, the undead had began marching towards Canterlot as they were being prepared. Sapphire wanted to know how he was able to predict the movement so easily, but he didn't say, causing suspicion to arise. She stood beside him, gaping at the sheer number of enemies. "This really is like Thermopile." She commented, her eye and Eric's display showing the number rise to thirty thousand. "With only three thousand ponies," she stopped, finally losing her cool. "There is no way we can win!" She held her palms against her temples, trying to force back the terror.
"We do what we planned two months ago," Eric said, pulling her to her feet and slapping her on the face. She snapped out of her daze, rage building inside. "We hold the line here until the city evacuates. Then we pull out to Canterlot. Then we wait until the army breaches the walls and make our last stand as humans, protecting Celestia until out last breaths." Sapphire nodded, saluting him. He returned the gesture.
"It's been an honor to fight beside you, Firebird." She said, dropping her arm. She hadn't saluted anyone or knelt to anypony since arriving with her stepbrother. Eric knew this was the greatest respect she could give next to her life. Eric nodded and picked her up.
"And you, Bolts," he said before launching into the air and carrying her down the mountain and into the pass. They landed as the sun crept behind the range, the shadowed pass becoming dark. "Talon!" Eric called into the mass of Phalanx formed ponies. Each one held a shield in their left hoof, a spear in their right and a sword at their waist. It was primitive, but bound to be more effective against unarmed combatants like the zombies. Mat ran up and saluted, his eyes a glowing blue with yellow flecks filling them as his energy rose within him. "How long is the trek to Canterlot from here?" Eric had a plan to free himself of the shadow god, but it needed time to pull off.
Mat looked at him with green eyes for a moment, before blinking and returning them to blue. "At their current pace, a month," he shrugged. "Give or take a few days. If your planning what I think you are, it has to happen exactly after we teleport back to Canterlot." Eric nodded and dismissed him. Eric wore the red striped of leadership among the sea of steel and gunmetal. He turned around as the first of the undead came around the curve. They filed forward into a formation, readying their attack on the fresh meat before them.
"Strife is ready," Leoj said beside Eric. "When you command, he will launch every weapon in his control at a designated target." Eric nodded and dismissed him also. He stood before the ranked earth ponies, ready to give the defense orders.
He paced toward the center of the formation, preparing to rally their morale. When he reached the center, he turned to face them. "Today, we fight to protect what is ours," he began, his voice amplified tenfold over the loudspeaker as he walked up and down the line. "You will give no quarter to them! You will show extreme prejudice when ranks are broken! If a rank is broken, do not, I repeat not, follow the one before you into the fray! Hold this line to the best of your ability, and retrieve your spear when it is lost! If you do break rank, pull your sword and attack! Remember your training, and you will make it out of this alive! Come home with your shield, or on it!" Eric stopped pacing and faced the legion of ponies before him. "Give them nothing!" he raised a fist into the air. "But take from them everything! ARU! ARU!"
The reply was louder than the speech. The ponies slapped their spears against their shields, stomping their hooves on the ground and shouting "ARU, ARU, ARU!" Behind Eric, a solitary zombie lunged. Eric released a rod from his armor, grabbing it and activating the blade of plasma. He turned, swinging the dagger up into the skull of the zombie. He brought the body down, removing the blade and cutting the head from the body. He held it up in the air, facing the enemy and roaring a battle cry before throwing it into the mass of rotting enemies.
The first wave of zombies charged as Eric took to the sky. From his point he watched as twenty zombies impacted on the shields of the ponies, pushing the first seven ranks back. The ponies lashed out with their spears, landing death blows to the enemies they had tossed back from them. The first rank took their position again, readying the line once more.
Another wave charged, this time containing fifty enemies. The mass of disease impacted, knocking over the first two ranks and pressing against the third. The zombies stood on the shields of the ponies, unaware of the death that awaited them. The forty ponies on the ground rose their shields, casting the zombies off from the mountain side towards the cliff to the right. As the last one fell from the cliff face, the ponies stood. The second rank had raised their shields, but the first was too slow. The entire visible enemy charged toward the ponies, killing three of the twenty unshielded ponies. They followed Eric's advice, dropping their spears into the zombies and drawing their swords. They fought through as best they could, but Eric could see their number dwindle.
"Talon, Bolts, on me!" he shouted into his radio before diving in, his mini-gun releasing a wave of hot lead. Mat and Sapphire joined him as he guided the ponies away from the carnage. "Get them to the back Talon, tend to the wounded and rejoin me! Bolts, defend them until he has them to safety!" Eric stared down the one hundred zombie detachment, his plasma blades flaring to life just before the launchers armed. "Attack!" he cried, charging into the fray.
Eric sliced with the blades, blasting the heads off of any that stuck to them with the launchers. He impaled and crushed, burned and slashed. He used the equipment to full effect, him and Sapphire having cleared the field as a two trolls lumbered into view. The trolls towered over them, being as broad as a dragon and twice as vicious. They had gray, bumpy skin and reeked of stagnant sweat and rotting meat. Eric roared as he charged towards the lead troll, knowing the ponies would be devastated by the two. He pilled the knife he had used earlier, jumping into the air with a boost from his thrusters. He dug the plasma blade into the trolls thigh, launching two bolts of plasma into its knee from his boots and separating the lower half at the joint. Eric pulled the blade from the monster, rising into the air as the creature tumbled down the cliff.
Sapphire heard Eric roar as he charged the monster, watching him quickly dispatch it and rise into the sky, pelting the other with lead from his guns. She knelt and activated the launcher in her right leg. The beast swatted at Eric, distracted long enough for her to line up a shot. She fired, the pop signaling Eric to move away. The 40mm grenade landed in the beast's head, right between its eyes. It exploded, black gore spraying the field and landing on both of them. The monster stumbled forward, falling from the cliff and following the other to the bottom.
They retreated into the ranks of ponies as another wave approached. They heard the crashing of steel as they entered the medical bivouac. Strife was levitating fifteen spears, waiting on him to order the launch. "Have you changed you mind yet as to why you're fighting?" he asked. Strife remained silent, focused on his task. The two walked farther into the camp, stopping among the five wounded ponies. One was having the stump of a leg cauterized, screaming in agony from the burning. There was another having his torso wrapped and another being injected with the serum Eric had developed. The bones snapped into place as the needle was removed, the pony seizing up on the cot and screaming to his gods for relief.
"An ugly sight, isn't it?" Nurse Redheart asked as she finished stitching up a gash in a ponies side. "I would have thought this place would be filled before now," she said, dropping the stitching needle in an alcohol bath. "But they all want to return to the field, fight for their home." She looked up at him. "You are their leader now, Firebird. They would overthrow the princesses for you and are dedicated to fighting here until they die." She walked away, pushing a cart of supplies. Eric sat on a cot, taking off his helmet and running a hand through his now shoulder length hair. It had been two months since Dash was taken, two months of slogging through gore and guts to fight enemies that were meant to be a distraction from the real goings on.
"Two fucking month of this and I'm worshiped as a god," he muttered shaking his head. "These ponies are crazy." He looked up to see Mat carrying a colt that was barely of age back towards the teleportation station. Eric clenched his jaw at the sight of the limp pony. He had blood on his hands. Not just that of the enemy, but also every pony he had led into combat that had died. He was barely past his twenty fourth birthday and already he had nothing but death to look forward to each day. "I am tired and sick of war," he said, looking up at Sapphire through his bangs. She seemed to find humor in the statement.
"General Sherman," she said with a chuckle. "He was quoted with that after burning many a confederate U.S. city." Eric stared at her with out humor. "Sorry, couldn't help myself," she defended. Eric put his helmet back on and patted her on the shoulder as he passed. She knew what it meant, back to the line.
Eric took to the sky as she jumped her way along the mountain side. Above the field, he could see that two ranks had broken, only this time they were winning. They had formed a wall of shields and were forcing the enemy back to the edge. "ARU! ARU!" he called out over the field. The ponies responded in kind, putting a surge of energy into their defensive. They rushed forward, tossing the zombies over the cliff with their shields. One pony lost his footing, sliding off the edge. Eric rushed down, catching the falling pony and returning him to the field. "What's your name son?" he asked before placing him back with his rank.
The pony beamed at Eric's act of heroism towards him. "Ensign Iron Hoof, Sir!" he Said, hefting his shield as Eric gave him a red shafted spear. Eric nodded, looking back among the dead for the previous rank leader. He took off his helmet and set it on Iron's head. The red bristles standing up in the center of the dome.
"Nice work holding that rank together corporal," he said as he took back up to the sky. "All of you! Follow this colts example! Do not rush blindly at the enemy! Form a defense and hold them off until you can make it out safely!" Eric turned and raised his fists, firing into the advancing wave of enemies with his small caliber rounds. He landed perfect headshots with each one, causing the monsters to fall over each other. The sounds of snapping necks could be heard as they tumbled forward. "Hold the line!" Eric cried as he rose into the sky.
Steel clashed onto flesh and bones split as the enemy impacted on the wall. Eric took this chance to observe the troops. Their original three thousand ponies had dwindled to a little over twenty-five hundred. Rising further, he observed the enemy. They were moving a dragon up before the next wave, setting up to charge with the hundred foot beast. 'I hope we can hold out until the city is cleared,' he thought as the number held fast at twenty five thousand zombies on hold. Eric began to hatch a plan, he readied the 40mm rifle on his right shoulder, flying to a mountain side away from the fight and landing. He knelt down onto his hands and knees, crawling towards the edge of a cliff before grasping the outcrop he was on.
"Load high explosive incendiary rounds," he said as the targeting system singled out the Trolls and Dragons. He had fifteen rounds for twenty targets. Eric clenched the outcrop in his hands as the massive rifle launched a round toward a dragon with a thunderous report. The round released four fins, flying along a set trajectory. The round impacted just below the upright dragons jaw, bursting in its neck and detaching the head. He continued until his ammo was depleted, taking out all the dragons and half of the trolls. "I guess that will have to do," he said, readying an overcharge in his launchers and releasing the globs of plasma into his hands.
He leapt into the sky, diving towards the ground and bursting into Mach two before pulling up toward the encroaching horde. Eric tossed the globs into the army, firing two more out of his boots before back flipping and flying away. The four blobs exploded in a massive fireball, sending a troll and a hundred zombies into the air, their bodies burning and melted from the heat. He made a round about pass, checking the line before raising his palms. He released a torrent of supercharged energy into the enemy, emptying his remaining mini-gun rounds. His HUD flashed a heat warning, forcing him to fly away to the line again.
The first two ranks of soldiers had surrounded a manticore, walling it in and jabbing at it with spears. Eric watched as it batted at the ponies, knocking a couple back before they returned with their shields raised. "Talon," he called over the radio. "I hear you have a thing against manticores." Eric cut the line, watching as a green and black spot launched over the ranks and landed hard on the beasts head, driving it into the ground with a thud. Mat grabbed the monster behind its jaws, reaching up and tearing off its tail as it tried to sting him. He tossed the stinger away, digging his claws into the beasts jaw and pulling hard. Eric watched as the super soldier ripped the manticores massive head from its neck, casting it into the approaching wave of zombies and bowling half of them over the side of the three hundred foot cliff. "You might wanna try for a spare," Eric joked over the radio as Mat grabbed the dead creatures tail and spun it around. He released the body into the remaining wave, sending them and the corpse over the edge with the rest.
"Eric," he heard Mat call over the radio. "Me and Sapphire can handle this here, the ponies trust us. Go search the Everfree like you wanted. Aerial observation shows that the undead have left the forest and are all converging here." Eric nodded to the man and flew off. He had heard tale of a zebra that lived in the forest named Zecora. If she was still alive, he had to get her out.
Eric landed outside a hollowed tree, the forest seeming to try and swallow him. "This place gives me the creeps," he said to himself. Eric walked up to the door, finding it whole and unlocked. He walked in, getting hit in the face with something extremely hard. His optic systems were out for the moment as the suit repaired itself. "Sonar now!" he said, sending out pulses into the room. The area was mapped quickly, Eric looking around for the assailant. "Zecora. I'm here to help," he said into the room over the speaker. "I'm here to get you to safety."
Eric was hugged suddenly by a zebra with a Mohawk and gold rings around her neck. "Thank the Gods you have come," she said, letting go of him. "I thought for sure that my life was done." She spoke in rhyme, which made Eric feel uneasy. "Quickly, let us go," sh said again. "How long the dead will be away, I do not know." Eric nodded and picked her up.
"Hold on tight," he said before launching into the air. He flew as smoothly as he could, rising above the trees and hilltops. "I have to get you to the refugee camp in Baltimare," he informed. "It isn't too far from here, but when I drop you off I have to leave. The soldiers are waiting for me."
Within the hour, Eric had dropped Zecora at Baltimare, taking forty-five minutes because he couldn't go too fast. On the return, he kicked it into overdrive; reaching speeds in excess of mach four. He buzzed the path, strafing the enemy with plasma bursts as he went. Eric landed in the battleground as another wave approached. "With me!" he yelled, signaling the first four ranks to break and follow him in. Eric activated all of the plasma blades he had, scoring the ground as he ran into the fray of a hundred zombies. Eric was met by Iron Hoof and Leoj, hacking through the mass with their blades. Eric stabbed into in the forehead of a zombie, slashing down into another's neck. He leapt forward, kneeing one in the head with his spikes.
Leoj and Iron Hoof stood back to back, letting the enemy come to them. They slashed through the masses, decapitating an enemy with every blow. Leoj downed another enemy, raising his Webley and firing it in the classic form, holding his rapier by his side. He emptied the chamber, opening it and releasing the spent casings. His gauntlet loaded another six rounds before ha began firing again. Iron Hoof slashed up into another zombie, splitting it open from the neck up. "We can't hold them!" He called to Eric who was firing his barrels into the halved enemy force. "Sir! We need to fall back!"
Eric fired his weapons, every one. He had been surrounded in the fray, over a hundred zombies now closing in on him. he watched as the bolts of plasma and small caliber bullets decimated their target, only to be replaced by another. "Fall back!" he yelled. "Fall back and take up rank again!" Eric searched through his weapons for something useful, something that could turn the tide of a lost battle. "C'mon, give me something," he coaxed the systems while kicking back a zombie that got to close. He found something as the wave of undead piled onto him and knocked him over.
"Shit," Mat muttered as he watched the mound of undead assault their prey. He just watched Eric get overrun and covered, not lifting a finger as it happened. "First three! On me!" he called out to the ponies before beginning to advance. He stopped when he felt the ground shake. "Avalanche! Back, Back!" he yelled as he backed away from the mound. A bright light shone through the gaps in the undead before the mound of corpses burst into flame. Eric stood up from the circle of ashes taking to the air before flying over the edge of the cliff.
"This should hold them," he said to himself before planting a dozen plasma charges to the mountain side. Eric rose above the mountain, counting the number of zombies left. There were ten thousand more alive, still outnumbering the remaining thousand ponies. "this is Firebird to all call-signs," he said over the radio. "Pull out, I repeat, pull out and back to Canterlot." He turned around, flying back to the tents. He landed among the rush of ponies trying to get back to the teleportation site, turning to watch as four trolls lumbered around the bend. He waited until they were above the charges, detonating them and entering the circle drawn out by the twenty unicorns. The mountain shook, sections of the path falling away under the approaching monsters. The entrance to the pass collapsed, blocking the remaining forces from sight before a white light engulfed the soldiers.
"You want me to what?" Celestia screamed in her throne room. Eric stood before the Alicorn with his helmet at his side. "You suggest that I remain behind while the undead beat on my door? What kind of fool do you take me for Firebird?" She stared at him, watching as he refused to flinch or yield.
"It is all part of the plan," Eric explained. "The leader conversed with me about its intentions to return Luna into Nightmare Moon," he lied, trying to gain her cooperation. "When the undead attack Canterlot, they will also attack Night forge. The precautions put forth by Shining Armor shall prevent that from bearing fruit to them, thus leaving all of the forces in the area to come to the abandoned Canterlot. When the time arises, the leader will show itself and we will kill it." Eric shuffled in place, adjusting the weight of his armor. Sometime during the battle, a balance connection must have been loosened. The suit liked to drift to the sides when he walked, now resting on his right shoulder and throwing his weight off. He righted it with a shrug, making a mental note to fix the malfunction.
Celestia leaned back in her seat, contemplating his plan. It seemed fluid enough to bypass any countermeasures. "Fair enough, knight." She said with a nod. "I shall remain behind while my sister goes to Night Forge and stays behind Shining Armor's barrier." She stood and turned toward the room her sister slept in. "But," she said, stopping in her tracks. "I want you, Eric, to examine the area and make sure that there is no possible way that barrier can be breached other than by brute force." Eric bowed, turning and walking out as Celestia went to inform her sister.
"Eric," he heard a pony call when he left the castle walls. He turned around, looking for the herald. He spotted Keith and Twilight approaching from the east, followed by the other Element Wielders. He waved to them as they walked toward him through the crowd, smiling and seating himself on the stoop of a boarded house. "Eric, we've been trying to get in touch with you ever since Rainbow Dash told us about you two," Twilight said, giving him a hug. "I'm sorry about you having to go through this." She finished, patting him on the back before stepping back.
Eric shrugged, wobbling in his seat as the armor shifted again. He reached down to his leg, pulling out the cylinder and activating the suit's compression function. "It's ok, Twilight," Eric said, lifting the chest piece over his head and looking into it, there was a suspension strap that had split halfway through. "It gives me something to fight for," he told them, pulling the strap from its fittings and tossing it aside. "If that thing had told me it had killed her, I would have lost it and burned the whole place down in a fit of insane rage." The ponies seemed to be surprised that anything other than a Draconiquis or an unintelligent monster could have so much anger in them.
Twilight and the ponies laughed nervously, save for Keith. "You're just trying to make light of the situation, right?" Twilight asked. Keith lowered his head, awaiting Eric's inevitable reply. Eric simply shook his head as he tightened a bolt inside of his chest piece. He slipped it on and prodded a few areas of the suit until it fit correctly. He pulled the cylinder and pressed it in without turning it, letting it cover his body once more.
"Not at all," he said as the suit quieted. All the ponies but AJ gasped in surprise, Keith walking away and standing from the conversation. "I'm not a peaceful being, girls. Humanity is possibly the most violent race in the universe." He pulled out an Allen Wrench, tightening a few lugs on his gauntlet and elbow. "But, that being said, most of us are extremely just. We don't like it when another being kills for fun." He switched hands and worked on his left arm, noticing a missing lug. "So the good humans, are only really violent so they can protect the weak from the evil madmen." They seemed to understand. "I just can't wait to wrap my hands around that sick being's neck and choke the life from it."
Twilight turned around and walked to her husband, noticing he was looking kind of down. A white unicorn, Rarity if he remembered right, walked up and gave him something. "I thought that I might make you something interesting," she said, opening the bag she had set at his feet. She pulled out a white cloak with a hood. It looked to be big enough to cover a small car. "Now before you say no, this is not just a cloak." She draped it over his shoulders and pulled the hood up. "Pull it shut." She said with a smile.
Eric gave her a strange look, but did it anyway. He grabbed the edges of the cloak, pulling it around himself. His body vanished within a second, the hood wrapping around to cover his face. He could still see out of the fabric. "Woah," he said as he let go and it returned to normal. "How does it work? I made something like this once, but it was burned up in a lab fire." Rarity smiled and lifted the article from his shoulders.
"I enchanted this for you," she said as she cinched the bag shut and set it on his lap. "I know you aren't much for fashion, and I decided I could be helpful and still give you a little something with some style. I though white would look good on you," she said, sighing. "I know it does on Leoj." Eric had to suppress a smile, hoping she didn't have a crush on Soarin's boy. Rarity was about to give him a hug, but noticed the zombie blood that still caked his chest. She returned to all fours, extending a hoof instead. Eric chuckled and thanked her, shaking her hoof before she went to go join Twilight and Keith.
A pink pony approached him next. He stared at her and she stared right back. They stayed like that for a moment before a wide grin spread across the ponies face. "Hiya!" she said in a cheery voice. "I'm Pinky Pie, normally I would be throwing you a party but this is different." She rummaged around in her saddlebags and produced box, one foot by one foot. "I made you this for saving Fluttershy, she's one of my bestest friends and I'm so happy you got her away from that mean old Chrysalis." Eric took the box from her and opened it.
Inside was a double layer cake with white and red frosting. Written in red frosting was the words 'Thank you and welcome to Equestria!'. "I know it's no excuse for not giving you a party, but I had to make you a little gift." The present made Eric smile. This had been the most normal thing he had seen since arriving here. It reminded him of how his mother would bake a fresh cake for him on his birthday, smiling the whole day just for him. "I hope you enjoy it," Pinky added, giving him a hug. Eric held his arms out before returning the hug.
She went to join the others as the purple and green lizard from some of his dreams. The lizard smiled and held out its claws. "Hey, I'm Spike." The obviously male lizard said. Eric shook with him, getting a jewel the size of his fist afterward. "I had Twilight enchant this for you." He explained. "It's supposed to show you where you're needed the most, and it also can lead you to what you want more than anything. Just hold it flat in your hand and follow the point." Eric held the gem in his palm, letting it turn around before pointing in a single direction. He followed the point with his eyes, seeing it pointed to Applejack. She was scuffing her hoof in the dirt, looking down nervously.
Spike walked over to Twilight, climbing on her back. Fluttershy floated up to him, her demure expression unchanging as she gave him a box with holes in it. "I-it's a puppy," she said quietly. "I- I thought you might want a pet, s-so I picked the sweetest little Doberman I had." She lifted the lid off, revealing a sleeping dog no older than a month. "Rainbow Dash told me about how you like dogs, and I thought maybe you would want one. If it's ok with y… Oh my goodness!" Eric pulled her into a soft hug, causing her to blush slightly.
"Thanks, Fluttershy," he said, letting her go. "But I can't take care of the puppy right now, I have to go make sure Night Forge is safe soon." He closed the box carefully and gave it back to her. "Would you take care of the little guy for me?" he asked her. "I really like him, I just need somepony to watch him for me until I get back." Fluttershy smiled and nodded, floating over to her friends with the puppy. Eric stood up and lifted his helmet into his hands, the gifts secured in pouches across his stomach. He walked over to AJ, Kneeling down to eye level. "What's wrong, cowgirl?"
She looked up from the ground, bags heavy under her eyes. "Can Ah talk to y'all in private?" she asked. Eric looked back over at the others and nodded. He followed her about a hundred yards away and stopped in front of her. "Ah have ta ask y'all somethin'," she said, seeming to be on the verge of tears. "Mah brother, Big Macintosh, rejoined the Peacekeeper Corp when them darn creatures started raiding our farm." She paused, gaining her composure again. "He was lost durin' the guardin' ah Night Forge. His buddies came back and gave me his helmet, tellin' me he went in to check out a cave and it was the only thing they found. Ah now he's alive, Big Mac's too stubborn ta die. Ah think them monsters took 'em and are holdin' him pris'ner." She scuffed her hoof on the paving stones again.
"Ah made y'all somethin for savin' Fluttershy too," she reached around into her saddlebags and pulled out a round, cloth wrapped object with her teeth. She laid it on the ground in front of him and carefully unwrapped it. It was a curved plate of metal, just like the faceplate on Eric's suit. It was hand hammered and looked like a skeleton's face. She reached into the other bag and pulled out another one. This one was shaped like the back of his helmet only with a human skeleton motif. It was Damascus style, the ripples of dark carbon weaved between the white metal. Eric picked them both up, turning them over in his hands to make sure they were functional. They were, the display seeming to be the same as the one he currently had.
"Ah made those for ya," she said. "Ah hammered the metal myself at the forge in town. It ain't what Ah'm best at, but Ah'm pretty good. It comes from makin' plows and farm tools over th' years for the orchard, ah guess. Ah made 'em out o that tit'num stuff y'all seem to like so much. So it won't rust or get worn down by the weather." She looked him in the eyes. "Ah had the feller with the claws put them techno doo-dads on it, so it should work good'nough ah guess. Go on, try it. all ah want in return is for y'all to bring mah brother home ta be buried at th' farm." She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Stay safe, Eric. Ah don't want y'all ta disappear too." She turned around and walked back towards the group of ponies.
Eric put the helmet together and slipped it over his head. The display flashed to life, bringing up the usual information. It worked better than the one he made, the visual feed being lightning quick and not blurring when he turned his head. Eric stood up, taking the helmet he made and firing a burst of plasma into it to fry the tech it held. He dropped the ruined metal in a trash bin, walking over to the ponies. "Hey Applejack," he said. "I'll get him out of there, don't worry." Eric walked over to Keith. "You take care of these girls, Jarhead," he said. "If any of them get hurt on your watch, I'll have you court marshaled." The pony smirked, knowing he was joking. "I have to go, you girls take care." Eric backed up and waved to them, taking off as they waved back.
Eric landed in Night Forge, a section of dark wood, swamp and mountains. "I didn't think anywhere could be this dark at noon," he said to himself. Eric brought up his radio and set the sonar to map out the area. "Shining Armor, come in. This is Firebird, over." he waited and viewed the map in his helmet. There were caves galore, but one caught his attention. It seemed to tunnel deep into the mountains.
"This is Shining Armor," the reply came. "Welcome to Gloom County," the unicorn said. him and Eric had talked about entertainment some, Eric bringing up an old comic strip in the newspapers. "Luna told me you would be here to check out the surrounding area before the undead arrived. Carry on Firebird." Shining Armor cut the link. Eric followed the map to the cave of interest. It was set in a small mound of earth, looking more like large warren than a cave. He pulled the silenced assault rifle from his thigh, releasing the latches. He unfolded the stock and pulled down the handle, locking them into position before loading. He pulled the action, letting it go. His sonar picked up several hollow objects in the cave as he attached an EOTech sight to the top rail. As it singled out creatures from fluctuation points, he attached an ultraviolet laser, an underslung shotgun, and an infrared flashlight to the carbines forward rails. The display was marking living obstructions now, marking them as round yellow points on the map.
Eric turned on his Infrared sensors and stepped into the cave, his rifle raised as he stalked through the hole. The Mini-gun slid back over his thrusters along with the 40mm rifle, giving him more maneuverability as he activated the floodlight on his rifle. The cave lit up with a gray light, looking like an old black and white TV display. The HUD marked five targets around a few corners, continuing its process. Eric walked around the main entrance, looking for any clues as to Big Macintosh or any other living ponies. He found some tracks that seemed rather large for a pony, deciding they must be Big Mac's. he followed them quickly into the cave, finding they stopped at the first turn. The tracks picked up again, now drag marks leading deeper into the cave.
Eric ducked out from cover, looking into the tunnel. There were two zombies stumbling in the dark, just like the map said. He fired bursts of three into their skulls, brains and bone bursting under the force of the 30-06 rounds. He entered the narrow tunnel fully, finding it a perfect murder hole. 'If I was a crazy god, I would definitely give my minions machine guns here.' Eric thought as he peeked around the corners. They faced opposite directions, perpendicular to the one he was on. Eric looked at the tracks, finding they continued to the right. He turned the rifle up and down the tunnel. There were two more zombies away from where he needed to go and one more where he needed to go. Eric stalked to the other half of the tunnel, holding the rifle in his right and readying a burst of plasma with his left. He gained a lock with his launcher and sighted in the rifle. He fired twice into the pair, launching the burst after they wee finished. The sound of sizzling flesh filled the tunnel as Eric followed the tracks deeper.
He had killed over fifteen zombies since entering, having navigated the tunnels until he was under the mountain ranges. He was on the horns of a dilemma now, the tunnel he was following having become a honeycomb of paths. Each one had the same drag marks he was following, leaving him to pick his brain for a decision. He was thinking about following them all, but his HUD gave him an alert. The sonar had founded two living marks, ten hostiles surrounding them. He pulled the gem Spike had given him and thought about his promise to AJ. The stone pointed directly to where the sonar indicated. Eric was about to put the stone away, but had another idea.
Eric held the jewel in his palm, shining the infrared light on it. He thought about Dash now, the stone turning and facing the same way. 'Jackpot,' he thought, joy filling him. But a moment later it hit him like a brick. 'Oh shit,' Eric had found the shadow god's lair, and he was going back on their deal if he tried to release her. the HUD made another message. The tunnel behind him lead directly into Night Forge Castle, apparently going unnoticed in a forgotten recess from its days as a haven for the commoners during war. He put the stone away, sitting against the wall and flooding the area in IR light by activating the flashlight's bulb function.
He had a chance to save his love, rescue a friend, and save a city. But if he did those things, the shadow god would kill him, Rainbow Dash and most likely all of the ponies in Equestria. "To kill a god," Eric sighed into his helmet. The idea didn't seem so farfetched. There are many a legend of men killing deities and immortal beings, usually through trickery of exploitation of a magical weapon. But Eric was a normal man, with normal weapons. He was no Perceus, he was no Hercules, nor was he magically inclined in any way, shape, or form. All he had was a suit of armor, bullets, plasma and steel. "the one thing they all shared," he mumbled, trying to find it out. "They all had Divine help,"
Eric laughed at the idea, there was no way he could do it. he didn't even believe in all powerful gods and goddess that could raise the sun, bring back the dead or any of… "Wait," he remembered what Keith had said. Eric had been touched by two gods. "Maybe all hope isn't lost," Eric said as he began to work his way to the tunnel that he needed to collapse.
Alright! So what do you guys think, Good enough? I sure hope so. Sorry about the sparse updates, I'm planning on posting two or three each time and updating twice a week if possible. No longer having Internet at the house means I don't get on often.
Leoj Clocktum and Little Strife are property of and used with the permission of Timefather64.
Mat and Sapphire are property of and used with the permission of Bahamut Crisis Core.
Night Forge is property of and used with the permission of Najee.