A Growing Chasm

by Qwertyquail

When a young stallion discovers a criminal detention facility on the moon, he is sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment because he found Equestria's best kept secret. But when he escapes five years later, he is a changed stallion waging war on the monarchy with an army of machines. Rated M for gore and violence.

13. Chapter 13

A/N. Chapter 13, still on Pinkie's story and that song was the right thing for that scene. Hell yeah! That may have been one of my best successes ever. Right then, down to business with the next battle. Battle for Los Pegasus! This is going to go on for a long time, possibly 2000 words because I have a huge storyline worked out for this and it may go on for a little longer than usual but I don't intend to make Pinkie's story 3 chapter but I may have to.

Chapter 13

It has been one week and 5 days since the tests on the helicopter and we had been teaching so many ponies. The days had been long and the work had been stressful but we had succeeded and there were now about 100 teams of 5 ponies to fly the helicopters that the factories had been turning out with all haste. There was only one problem. SAMs would take out any heli in one hit and so we disabled ours but the enemy didn't disable theirs. We had a problem, we needed anti-missile technology. Flares were good but only worked on heat seekers, the real nasty ones were the guided missiles. They needed shooting down manually and so every helicopter had a team of pegusi armed with scoped rifles to take out guided missiles and it worked most of the time; only one in ten missiles got through but the enemy would be trying harder than us to destroy our advantage. Every pilot we talked to was scared of the same thing. The Monster was what scared us the most, It could take us down in so many different ways or kill us all whilst we were still inside the helicopters. It was not a nice though to sleep on when we would be taking off at 6 A.M. to assault Los Pegasus.

The crack strategists at the base came up with a plan to zap all the foot soldiers with magic so that they could walk on clouds and so we could stage an attack with our entire force rather than with less than a third. Each heli could take a maximum of 20 ponies standing and the team of five flying. The idea was to defend the helicopters until they could drop the troops and then the helicopters to provide close air support for the soldiers on the ground. The combatants would then in turn, destroy the SAMs and allow the pegusi teams to disperse from the helicopters and join the fight in the air. The time was 7 P.M. on the day before the attack. We had no idea whether the enemy knew about our invention or our plan and we were so nervous none of the crews could sleep.

We were woken the next morning after only 4 hours sleep at 5 A.M to prepare the helicopters and I met with the rest of my team, the test crew of Lyra Heartstrings, Sweetie Drops, Jim Beam, Raven and I, running to where our heli was resting. It was the original and it had much sentimental value to us. We had also equipped it with some custom designs that had no place on the machine. We had got Jim to do some work to create a pair of "wings" on the sides under which lay 10 Air to Air missiles and a bomb hold containing 20 small bombs for ground targets. As he was an engineer, we persuaded him to learn more about the engine and when he had we upped the power on it so as to lift all the extra weight. This larger engine required a larger fuel tank and so we added one with a fuel port on the inside so that it could be refuelled from the cabin. We had to carry 4 full jerry cans to get off the ground. We checked the heli over for fuel leaks and engine damage and when we were satisfied we got some breakfast. A plate of hay and a cup of water was all we received. We killed the time by thinking up what we would do if the Thing attacked us. The alarm rang for the lift off and we jumped to our feet. We started galloping towards the helicopter and I looked around to see Lyra… Not Lyra? Her eyes were the wrong colour, a moderate cerise in oppose to her normally amber eyes. I was confused so I called to her. "LYRA!" I yelled, "ARE YOU REALLY LYRA?" she gave me a questioning look and stopped. "Why do you ask?" she inquired. And then, right in front of my eyes Lyra's eyes changed colour from their previous cerise to their normal amber. "What?" I was shocked.
"It's a genetic mutation, when I run sometimes my eyes change colour. It's totally baffled doctors but my grandfather had it and he lived way into his older years so it's not life threatening," Lyra told me, "Now, get in the heli!"

"The personal channel for your helicopter is the same as your serial number. You are the ponies that will retake the city and you are the citizen's last hope. Our intelligence tells us that the enemy intends to level the city tomorrow morning. We need to have secured it by then. You may begin your attack. Over and out." The message came loud and clear over channel 0. Jim flicked his headset off and turned around in his seat. He addressed the trembling soldiers standing in the middle of the heli. "YOU ALL NEED TO HOLD ON BECAUSE LYRA LIKES TO ROLL AND WE AREN'T GONNA IF YOU FALL, OK!" he yelled at them. They nodded in reply. Jim Flicked his headset back on. "Let's roll."

(Cue song: Android Porn by Kraddy. YouTube link: watch?v=AoN2wYKAdpM)

The helicopters rose into the cool morning air, stirring up great dust clouds from the desert base at which they were stationed. Soon, the group of helicopters were in sight of the city and the attacks began. The M1919's were not effective at that range but the enemy SAMs were and we were bombarded by the constant explosions of the missiles being shot out by our pegasus defenders. When the enemies came into range, the firing began. The noise was tremendous and enemy pegusi were plummeting, torn to shreds by the 30mm calibre bullets. I was screaming and shouting at them, but the real fight came when we clashed. Our M1919s were swivelling in all directions and raven had to work hard to restock us with 250 round belts every time we ran low. The muzzles of our guns flashed and jumped. The bullets flew all over the place, some hitting, some missing and some impacting on other helicopters. We broke through the ranks of the enemy before we had taken too much fire. When we were clear, we saw what we had dreaded. The Monster was coming at us because we had been the first to break through the melee that was the battle behind us. The joint on the M1919's were just manoeuvrable enough to get an almost clear shot on It. The 30mm calibre bullets missed most of the time but we got 1 or 2 hits in, just enough to weaken it so we could pass. It missed us by 3 meters. We then set our sights on the landing area.

(End song: Android Porn by Kraddy)

We put the soldiers down and took off, covering them and taking out any snipers we saw. We came over an SAM launcher and dropped three bombs on it, totally disabling it and killing all in the vicinity. By now some of the other helicopters had dropped their soldiers off but quite a few were taken out in the combat behind us. The enemy pegusi were returning to the city, probably to defend the skies and we met them with full force. Lyra was an expert pilot, even without hands and with her expertise we took very little damage from the enemy. But we were about to face something none of us could have prepared for. We felt a jolt on the back of the heli and I looked out to see the Monster standing on the tail. "You shot me," It said with a twisted smile on Its face, "Now I'm going kill you." Without further ado the Thing jumped the rotors and landed on the nose of the helicopter, unbalancing it and tilting it forwards. It smashed the glass and yanked Lyra out of her seat. "I like your cutie mark, do you mind if I TAKE IT!" The nanomites flowed out of the port on Its mechanical leg and formed 5 fingered hands. Lyra looked on with shock and what o thought as a little bit of envy. It pulled a knife out from underneath its wing and started to cut, all the while the heli fell. Sweetie was trying to regain control but to no avail. Lyra screamed in pain as the knife cut through the skin and muscle on her flank. When it came free, blood flowing down Lyra's leg, It put the piece of skin in a pouch hanging from around Its neck. "Do you mind if I take this," It said, motioning towards Lyra. "I think I will." It took off, further unbalancing the helicopter.
"Sweetie," I yelled over my headset, "You OK, You need any help?" I could see that she wasn't OK and that she needed help but I asked anyway. "I think I'm fine but I need some help." Came the reply. "Jim, you're the best qualified for the job, get onto it!" I yelled at him. When he got there and looked over the controls we came up against a problem. "Guys," he spoke quietly over the headset, "We're almost out of fuel…" Raven checked the jerry cans.
"All empty," was the observers view.
"Put us down over there and we can try to take some fuel from a crashed heli," was my idea, "It is really dangerous and will probably come out fruitless but whatever happens, we will find Lyra."

The helicopter was empty of fuel; it had all been burned off by the flames. We despaired for we knew we would probably never find Lyra without a heli. Without a heli… I had a revelation, "We need to find another teams helicopter," I said to more confused faces, "in a landing helicopter there's fuel. Ours still has a weapons cache does it not?"
"Umm, I think I does." Informed Raven.
"Good, pick up a weapon that you know how to use and defend the group," I said "we're going to find a helicopter." Luckily for us, a helicopter landed only 50 meters away from our one and we galloped over to it. They almost took off because they saw a group of armed ponies charging towards them at full speed but I managed to get the attention of a Ponyville resident, All Aboard the conductor. I cantered over. "We need your fuel to find our pilot, Lyra." I told them. He looked confused. (Why is everypony confused when I'm around?) "We need all the fuel left in your tank, and the jerry cans in your hold." said Raven.
"We don't have any jerry cans in our hold." said their inventory manager.
"Did you read the manual for the hold?" asked Raven.
"Umm, no I don't think I did," returned the other inventory manager.
"You have jerry cans in your hold, along with a small weapons cache and the ammo for your M1919s. We need those cans and we have our own to fill with the fuel in your tank. Our mission has priority over yours and so we are taking the fuel in this helicopter whether it be with your permission or over your cold lifeless bodies," Whispered Sweetie Drops, anger burning deep into her soul. This seemed to do the trick as the crew soon let us take the jerry cans and slice the fuel tank. With about 30 minutes of fuel we took off again to find Lyra. Sweetie wasn't as a pilot as Lyra was but she could keep us from crashing. The source of the information of where Lyra was being kept was unexpected as the Beast itself told us where It was keeping her. "You see that building over there, right in the centre; that is where your friend is being kept. I haven't killed her yet and my hoof is beginning to itch with anticipation. I might slip with my knife so be quick." It left very quickly after that and we couldn't follow its path.

We went in all guns blazing; the M1919's were mowing down enemy clones right in the middle of the city as we charged towards the city hall. We landed, the machine guns still doing their job of shredding enemies and tearing through armour. When there was nothing but blood and chunks of skin and flesh lying on the floor, out team disembarked from the heli carrying our weapons. There were two pistols, a submachine gun and a shotgun. We stormed the building, we were merciless and anything or anyone in our way was killed or destroyed by our rage. It was all consuming, and burned deep within our hearts and minds. We took on floor after floor of military command centre, taking out hundreds of clones and machines. We cleared the penultimate floor and found the stairs leading up to the top floor. We hadn't found Lyra yet so this was where we expected her to be, along with the Monster. We burst through the last set of doors to find Lyra tied to a chair in the middle of the room and nopony else around. The Monster was hanging in one of the corners and it closed the door behind us. "Welcome friends," it spoke softly, "To Inmate 74's house of FUN."
"Let my friend go!" yelled Sweetie Drops.
"All in good time, hahaha." Chuckled the Thing. It dropped to the floor and we all raised our weapons. "Untie her or we open fire," threatened Sweetie.
"Oh, I'm so scared," it said. The Beast moved to behind Lyra's chair and looked to be untying her but within seconds it was there with a knife pressed against her throat. "Fire and I can kill her before the bullets hit me," It said menacingly, "Drop the guns or I will kill her." It sighed, "My threats are all the same and it irritates me!" I put my gun on the floor and motioned for everypony else to do the same. Sweetie was the last to let go of her submachine gun and when she did the Beast smiled. "Good, now we can play." It took a set of bloody hooves from a saddlebag and placed one on each of our groups head. I took this opportunity to evaluate Lyra's condition. She looked in pain but all her body parts were there except from the cutie mark It had cut out. "If any of the hooves drop, you all die," it said to us all, "fun all around." It then went over to Lyra's other flank. "You know that I need a full set dear." It said to Lyra pulling out Its knife again. It then went forward and cut out the skin and muscle around and underneath Lyra's one remaining cutie mark. "I always liked lyres, I think they sound… good. Good for BURNING!" Lyra writhed in her chair but the roped were too tight. It took the two pieces of partially blood stained scraps of skin and with a match, burned them until they were ashes and then threw the ashes out of the window. "ASHES to ASHES, dust to dust- Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return." It quoted. In this time, me and my team had come up with a plan. Jim threw the hoof into the air and Raven bucked it into the side of the Monster's head. It rushed over to them but the hooves had only been a distraction as me and Sweetie had picked up our weapons and started firing, covering Jim and Raven. We moved over to Lyra and Sweetie untied her. "Can you run?" I asked looking worriedly at her blood soaked legs and the chunks missing from her legs. "I'll be fine." Lyra said. We started running but Inmate 73 had other ideas. It chased us, roaring in its rage. If it had been thinking straight, it could have shot us. "Go for the legs," I told Sweetie. She hit them and it fell to the floor. It looked at them with hate burning fiercely in its eyes. "I will find you, and when I do, you will regret this." It said. We got out and to the heli without difficulty and we anticipated an attack that never happened. We took off and flew to the base that we had set up underneath the city. There was a hospital there and Lyra was taken into care. She was told that she needed a skin graft and she accepted, knowing that she would never have a cutie mark ever again.

A/N. Was that last bit a little sad, because I think it was. Umm, I have no idea what to say, almost 3000 words for a chapter but I had to get all of that in. it felt like an obligation to Lyra for some reason. Anyway, Rarity next and it's all about mining and other stuff like that so prepare to be bored and ready the earmuffs for the whining is coming…