The Battle of Stableton

Lightning watched as everypony seemed to be talking nearly all at once, all (except Lucky and probably Ashen) wanted to take back the town but right now, a plan hadn't been put together. At least, nothing farther than what Techno offered. When Cross' voice came over his pipbuck, his mood was suddenly shot down severely. But also, his anger began to rise. "...Unbelievable. I can't believe they managed to get past our defenses..."

As Starry commanded the team, all Lightning did was give her a nod. Double checking over his ammo, he had about half a clip left in the SMG right now and about two more clips after that. His pistol only had one clip. He would just have to make do with what he got. "So what's the plan, guys? Are we going with what Doc said? We can't just rush in there guns blazing. That'll be suicide. As much as I like to take back the town, I like to know that whatever we do is going to go right."

Resisting the urge to yell out, Kestrel tied the make-shift sheet off into a tight knot. It would not be slipping anytime soon. Letting out a low grunt the Gryphon pushed himself up onto his feet again and secured his newly acquired rifle. He would go back for his other rifle later, for now there was a war to win outside.

Pushing his head outside the door Kes scanned the road, then glanced down to his wrist at his Pipbuck. The map said that he was near the town square, only a few alleys and roads to move down till he got there. There could be a healer there, but was it worth the risk?

Damn right.

So with his task in mind Kes set off, moving towards the town center. He did not take the straight forward route though. No. Kes stuck to the alleyways and shadows as best he could. He had a good ways to go before he would be close to the Square. As an added measure of security Kes activated his EFS system, using its HUD to try and find out where possible enemies were. 'Green Bars for friendly/Neutral persons and Red for threats' the technician had said to Kes when he got this little toy.

He better not have been lying.

Kira did actually jump now when the pony materialised in a flash this was something she was not used to happen, of course there was a lot this that she was not used to but that was probably the reality of war.

"What no?!" She answered his first and only question with confusion as it came up so quick but still there was just something wrong here with the way he spoke and moved that just scream that all he said was not all true. But what did she got to lose if he actually tolled the truth. She followed him behind the cover that she expected that he had been hiding behind earlier.

"Techno, there's no way I'm gonna sit on top of that billboard firing from afar while Cross is roaming around Stableton freely! And Flash, guns a' blazin' might not seem like a good idea, but there are ponies being slaughtered right this moment! Every second we waste might cost us another life! So let's not keep waiting around, let's keep moving!" Starry stomped her hoof authoritatively.

She looked down at Ashen Coat to speak to him. "Are you gonna be on your feet soon? Because we've got to get back to town, and I want to know if your'e coming with us."

Lightning shook his head and murmured under his breath, "I can't believe this." Letting out a sigh, he knew that if they did try to run in guns blazing, they would be torn apart easily and quickly. They already knew they were around. That means they'll be waiting for them. "We're going to be walking into a trap! They already know who we are...well...you at least. They'll be waiting for us to do something! If we just run in there, we'll be slaughtered! What's the point of trying to save somepony when you're dead?! We have to slow down. I want to get back in there too and blast every slaver in there to bits. But there's no way we can stop an army with what we have here! I seriously think you reconsider the plan!"

"Their army is crumbling, Flash! We've already killed five, goddesses know how many the rest of the militia have killed. There aren't that many of them. I counted just under thirty when I was in their camp!" Starry explained, "and don't think I'm not expecting a trap, I've run afoul of Cross's tricks before! I know what to expect."

"Whatever happens," Lucky started, "Everypony be careful, alright? We've only got so many meds, and very little ammo. Stick together and watch each other's asses, or we'll lose more than our home tonight."

He screwed the cap back on his flask and replaced it to it's pocket. He reloaded his rifle, and cocked it as well.

"Now, get a plan set up quick, before they just decide to come kill us. I'd prefer not to get shot too many times more."

Ashen turned from Starry and to his Pipbuck, the medical readout informing him that his legs were healed enough to walk on, but still were in fairly bad shape. He'd probably only manage a limp, at best.

But, regardless, he slowly shifted his body and got on his hooves, standing up on four shaky legs. He managed to get a good balance and walked around a bit, making sure his legs were actually ready. When he was satisfied, he turned to Starry.

"I can walk, but I don't have a weapon. My prism rifle is still sitting in the town after Cross threw me out of it, and I'm sure he's taken it." he informed her.

"Well, if you need a weapon, then there's a hunting rifle right next to you, courtesty of that Slaver over there. Admittedly, it may not be in the best condition, since he only managed to hit two things, and that was a hoof and a corpse, but it's here, and with a couple bullets left."

Shutter said, as he slipped out the ammo he looted from the corpse and placed it next to the rifle that had still been at his feet.

"And I don't think we have much of a choice in tactics anymore...we have to break back into Stableton and stop those slavers ASAP, even if it means blowing up one of our own barricades to get at those gits! I'm ready to move at any time, but we're going to need all of us if we want to cut through what remains of those slavers on our way!"

“You’re… probably right.” Bakewell admitted as Scrap suggested heading to another settlement. She really, really didn’t want to abandon Stableton like that. The very idea felt as though it was blatantly against everything that the mare had been since leaving the Stable, and what would the other ponies think? That she had abandoned them?

But she had just promised this unicorn that she wouldn’t leave him. She had to get him to safety, especially since he definitely wasn’t going to survive on his own. He could barely even move! Even a stray Bloatsprite could mean trouble for him, right?

Bakewell gave in. She was overthinking it, that was all. Scrap had definitely been fighting in Stableton, assisting the wounded unicorn and getting him to safety was her duty from a soldier to another soldier or something. They would understand. Think less, act more. Worry later. It’ll all work out.

“My pipbuck map is a bit sparse in terms of other settlements, so you’ll have to stay awake and direct me with yours, okay?” She flattened herself out onto the ground and crawled over next to Scrap, ignoring the sickening feeling of his personal kiddy pool of blood. “You’re going to have to climb onto my back, I’ll just kinda shove myself towards you as you shove towards me and you’ll hopefully end up on my back without injuring yourself even more so that I can carry you. It’ll be like a ponyback ride! Your parents gave you those, right? Take your time, but remember that med-x wears off, and I suspect that you’ll want to be as close to actual healing as possible when that happens.” She directed. A small bit of her brain tried to tell her that improperly carrying ponies with 60% of their bones broken was a bad idea, but there didn’t seem to be much else in the way of better options.

Lightning sighed and said, "Alright. I'll trust you on that, Starry. If you truly think you know what this...Cross Roads is planning...then I'll be right behind you as we go into battle." He would look over at the city, seeing the dark smoke rising as some of the buildings burned. "We don't have much time. You guys get moving. I'll see if I can't scout ahead and report back. We need to know what they are doing inside the city before we can make our attack. Good luck guys. Stay safe."

Flying a little higher but not extremely high, he was only flying about 20 feet in the air now. Lightning brought up the map of Stableton and noticed a cliff which, if he was lucky, he could fly to. It should give him a good enough view of what the slavers were doing and where they are. Flying over now, he flew fast but low, making sure that he wasn't making too much sound with his wings.

(Rolling for flying to the cliffside stealthily and hovering. Sneak: 44. +8 for skill)

The member 'Lightning Flash' has done the following action : Chance Roll

'Chance Roll' : 8

Trails gritted his teeth and put his shoulder into the comatosed giant. His head went into a fog instantly and he had to fight to stay upright. Slowly the mountain slid to the side and fell off of the mayor. The mayor gasped as they breathed unrestrained at last. Trails shook his head, tryingto clear away the fog.

"Let's get going." He growled. "And it'd be great if you could use your bracelet to call in a medic."

Following Bakewell's instructions and after several minutes and failed attempts, Scrap managed to crawl on to Bakewell's back and position himself so she could see his pipbuck screen in case he fainted.

"Ok, then. There's a small place a bit from here...don't know if they've got a doctor but at least they'll have enough chems to dull the pain...I'll try and stay awake to direct but if I pass out I set the marker to it so you can find it."

It hadn’t worked well, but at least it was progress. The actual process of getting Scrap onto her back proved harder than she expected, and his positioning didn’t feel at all secure. It was probably only due to a small miracle that Bakewell had managed to stand back up without him instantly sliding off. It would have to do; any moment spent without med-x’s pain dulling effects would probably be complete misery for both parties. Bakewell decided that leaving home in its time of need while being covered in another pony’s blood in a crawling-paced race against time was more than enough misery for one day.

The mare gave one last look towards Stableton, before officially starting her journey. The weight of carrying an entire other pony combined with the careful pace she was forced to use to keep from accidently throwing poor Scrap off proved to make her movement much slower than she would have liked.

“Can you guess the first thing you’re doing after we un-break all of your bones? Time’s up. The answer is “going on a diet.”” Bakewell teased in a friendly manor as she carefully trotted towards assistance. This… was going to take a while.

Kes had allowed his pip-buck to lead him closer and closer to the towns square, keeping low and still whenever a red blip appeared on his EFS HUD.

Around ten minutes after he had started this little hike a new color of blip popped up on his HUD, this one a bright green in appearance.

Normally Kes would prefer to be on his own. But with his wings out of the equation for now, and a literal war going on, the gryphon would willingly take what help he could get.

Checking his Pipbuck one final time he began to move. Dashing across a street and into another alley using the Green Blip to guide him from there. 10 steps forward, then left, 15 forward, right, 5 forward again. The blip was glaring brightly now, signaling that Kes was right next to the individual that it had marked as friendly.

Not that he noticed it.

You see Kes's Pipbuck had lead him into a rather wide alleyway, more like a street in all honesty, but that was not what had caught the gryphon's attention. No, Kes had instead locked his cold, predatory gaze on the large, slumbering from of what could only be a dragon.

Lightning made his way over to the cliff wall as he literally began conscious of his own breathing. His nervousness began to show as he continued to hover under the cover of the wall. "Ok...ok...get a grip. I got to see what's going on." He flew a little higher, peaking over the edge to see if anypony spotted him. "Looks clear..." he murmured as he flew just a tiny bit higher, looking down at the city below.

What he saw, he didn't like at all. "Oh boy..." Buildings burning, injured ponies....dead ponies. Lightning scanned his eyes over the city, mentally noting the position of some of the slavers on the wall. He also noticed a large amount of activity by the town square. "That must be where they are holding the mayor..." He wished he could see what remained of the town's militia but if they were holding the town square, it's more than likely they either killed them or they captured them.

"Time to go." Pulling a mid-air backflip, he quickly zoomed away from the cliff, flying in large zig-zags in case anypony was trying to track where he was going before going back to Starry and the rest of the team. Coming to a hover over them, Lightning grinned and said, "I got a pretty good look inside. They haven't spotted me or at least, they haven't tried to stop me. Most of their forces are in the town square. There are couple on watch on the wall. I'm not sure how many are in the buildings but I think if we move quickly, we can pull off a successful attack."

Sparks hacked and coughed up the remneants of a grenade. He stumbled to his feet, using a nearby trashcan as a crutch. His vison was a bit shakey and he could feel how much heat he had lost in the time he was drugged.

Bit by bit, he managed to get farther out of the alleyway before stumbling into something, wheezing all the way. He'd live, he would just be miserable in the mean time as he staved off drowning from his own fluids.

He looked to the sky and saw an unusual sight, one he had not seen in a long while. Then he remembered where he was, a battlefield, a warzone, a place of death and carnage. Spark Fire hugged the nearest bit of cover, and slithered his way to the center of town. Perhaps Silver would be there, or at least somepony with some directions.

Stealth +11

Apparently the slumbering dragon that he had run into was not as sleepy as Kes had originally thought. He was however not exactly in the best shape possible.

Kes was no doctor, nor was he the most perceptive individual around, but the way the dragon stumbled about and struggled to keep moving made that fact abundantly clear. Someone had done a number on him that was for sure.

Seeing that he was being left alone in the alley/street Kes began to follow after the dragon he had located. The gryphon kept as quiet as he could, maintaining a good distance just in case.
His Pipbuck still said that this dragon was friendly, but it always paid to be sure.

After darting down few alleys Kes decided it would be best that his 'ally' knew he was being followed. The gryphon came to a stop and, seeing that no red blips were showing on his EFS, he gave a sharp whistle in the dragons general direction.

Hopefully this wouldn't backfire on him...

Spark Fire still drunkily meander'd from cover to cover, unaware that he was being follow'd. That is until he heard a sharp whistle.

His head still pounded, but worse his throat was too swollen to melt the source of the noise with dragon's fire. He spun on his heels and fell over, perhaps he should have taken things a little easier...

He rose, to his full height, sniffing the air. He quickly found the source of the noise. It was a griffon, a familiar one.

"What do you want stranger, speak quickly or I melt you where you stand." Sparks Growl'd

[Speech to hide the fact he cannot back that up. 22 {+4}]

The member 'SparkFire' has done the following action : Chance Roll

'Chance Roll' : 35

Kes might have believed the giant dragon had he not already seen the evidence that contradicted that statement. The way Kes saw it this big dragon was on his last legs, just barely keeping awake; thus, the dragon's little lie was easy enough to see through. The little growl the big reptile had included also seemed to have no noticeable effect on the gryphons cold, eerily calm expression.

"Bullshit. You're barely standin'" Kes said, calling the dragons bluff, his gravely voice matching his expression perfectly.

He made no sudden moves, nor did he reach for his weapon. He just stood there for a moment, letting the dragon get a good look at him. The gryphon had his wings broken and secured with a sheet, and he was non aggressive. That should be enough to get the lizard to cool down a bit and relax.

Hopefully.

Shutter, Techno, Lucky, Starry, Lightning and Ashen all raced into town. They had been galloping for at least ten minutes, heading toward the mayor's position on their pipbucks. They knew he was in danger, and they had to go and save him.

They were galloping uphill toward the mayor's shelter when a shot forced them to take cover behind a nearby building. There were two very powerful looking slavers behind makeshift cover composed of scrap metal. They stood about twenty feet from eachother, on opposite sides of the street. Both of them were unicorns, and each weilded an assault rifle.

There was an alleyway which led around and behind the barricades, but it was located on the other side of the street, and would require the ponies to dart across where the slavers would have an open shot. Behind the two slavers was the mayor's shelter, in which was Roid Rage, Happy Trails, and Cross Roads.

Both of the slavers seemed content to bunker down behind their cover, and one of them shouted behind him, toward Cross. "We've got company! Stable ponies!"

Cross gritted his teeth, they came, just like he knew they would, only this would be dangerous for them, he really hoped that they could handle themselves.

But he had to maintain the general's trust

"HeartCrusher Squad!!!! Round Up!! Don't just stand there, slap some collars on them!!! Every dead one comes out of your salary!!!"

Cross looked at Roid and the General, but then at Trails, Cross made sure to take his gun, and have Roid watch him, so this could go smoothly.

Roid threw Trails out into the town square with the others.

And with that, Cross began his spell around the three of them

"Snipers!! Cripple them!!!"

(Magic 100, putting up Force field)

Quickly, Shutter dived with the rest of the group behind cover, as he quickly checked his .45 before holstering it again so he could speak clearly.

"Darm it...I don't suppose any of you fine fellows have a grenade on you, do you?"

He asked with a weak chuckle, before letting out a sigh and trying to put on a serious face again.

"...I'm not sure if sneaking up on one of them is an option here...there's nowhere to hide in that straight run to the other alley...and even if I did get past and managed to sneak up on one, that other Slaver will be in a perfect position to give me a few new breathing holes right aftewards..."

He muttered, clearly trying hard to piece together a plan, as he heard the Slavers call out, as well as a familiar voice shouting back at them.

"...Damn it...everything I can think of involves getting to the other side, and without some form of distraction, that'll put us clear in their sights! Do any of you have an idea?"