"Lead the way!" Heartburn announced. She would have wished to spend more time with the downed diamond dog (and maybe even save his hands), but the healing of multiple is worth more than full restoration of one. Not being a master in diamond dog psychology, she had no idea what trauma losing his hands might leave on him. "We should probably get moving soon before the bugs begin learning where the holes in our defenses lie. Let's go, let's go!"
Severed Heart's horn burned with a dark purple flame, and a dread mist exploded in the alleyway. The bugs, startled, scatter in different directions. Some dashing out into the grounds around the Armory, which were immediately met with gunfire from the diamond dogs and ponies around it. Mary Sue's first shot misses, twanging off one of the stone walls in the ruined city. The scattering caused more bugs from the surrounding alleys to pour in, and just as they were coming into close range, a thunderous roar rattled the city. The very ground shook and threw everypony to the ground. Before anyone could gain much for bearings, the bugs had fled, taking any corpses they could get their mandibles on in their hasty retreat. Driller growled and stood up, shaking a hoof and yelling. "That's right, run! I'll tear ya apart if ya come back!" The anti-climactic ending left ponies and diamond dogs alike who were half-engaged more than a little confused. The ruins they had control of were no longer as safe. With the outer wall ruined, some rebuilding was in order, but... Why?
Severed Heart surveryed the area around her, and found to her complete and utter dismay that it hadn't seemed as if she had killed anything. She pouted and whimpered, "My...my offer...*sniff* my offer was not accepted... G-Great Sandro...hates me..." She wiped a tear from her eye as she trudged toward the other diamond dogs. "I've...I've failed. I'm nothing but a miserable failure..." She sighed. "Does anypony know...*sniff*...who is behind the attack? Or...*sniff*...why?"
The unprintable slurs and cursing continues as Mary Sue fires of another shot over the bugs' heads. Waving a hoof in the air and screaming at the top of her lungs for each and every creature to go home, stay at home and to perform various degrading actions involving each other or land mines. Preferably both, apparently. Breathless and now parched, Mary sits and checks her weapon. Mainly looking for any sign that it was falling apart more than anything else. Weapons are rare these days, any you find are likely about to fall apart. Either it's been put together from scrap or it's had to sit around for a long while, collecting rust. She's seen a decent gun go for a pretty hefty sum time and time again. She listens in on the conversation, still checking the gun: "Why would anypony be behind a few bugs breaking in? We got food and they don't. No conspiracy or hairy-fairy-deity stuff, just survival. It's happening all over the place."
Heartburn's eyes squinted accusingly as the bugs ran off. "They might be collecting for another wave... diamond dog! Go back and get your ally to a medical center, I need to find a tally of the wounded." Heartburn left the dog and ran into the open. She had to take as much advantage of the silence as possible. The bugs would most certainly come back eventually, seeing as they were winning in the first place. "Is anypony or dog injured!? Bring injures to me immediately!" Seeing the familiar coat of Shattered Heart, she galloped in the direction of the diamond dog group to find her in a state of dismay. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Seeing her ally galloping toward her, Severed Heart smiled a little. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" Upon hearing this, Severed frowned again. "N-n-n-... NO! NOTHING HAPPENED! That's the problem! He hates me, Heartburn! Great Sandro refused my offering!" She slumped down to the ground in a heap. [size=-2]"He refused my offering..."[/size]
Heartburn blinked a few times after hearing Shattered Heart's plight. "Refused your-" Heartburn frowned. She was making offerings to her deity in the middle of a siege? "I assume you mean San- The Great Sandro?" She kicked her hoof in the dirt. She didn't kill anything. What a horrid thing to be depressed about! Heartburn smiled as convincingly as she could. "I'm sure he, uhh, was just saving your powers for a future event! He wants you to kill something bigger in the near future! Yeah, that must be it!"
Severed wiped her nose with her forehoof and looked up at Heartburn. "You...you really think so?" *sniff* She slowly stood up and looked at her companion with hopeful eyes. "Yes. Yes, that must be it! Heartburn, you're brilliant!" She grinned broadly and before Heartburn could react, she leap upon her and embraced her tightly. "Thank you so much! You are so very correct! I will sacrifice something larger, and more worthy of Sandro's glory! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Ladies, ladies! Can we let you get back to your room first?" Mary calls, half-smirking before blowing down her gun barrel. She pops the ammunition back in it's place, snapping the lid shut. "Now, how about a straight answer? Mind telling me who'd want this place levelled? Let's keep it to specific people. The hundreds of armed nut-jobs out there wanting what we got is a given."
"It was from the Paradise." One of the guarddogs said, looking down at Mary. "Our food run team used to go into the paradise and bring back food so we could sustain ourselves here. They'd get attacked now and then, but only in small numbers. Those things have never left their home to attack us though." He dropped his weapon by the armory and grabbed a hold of his arm with a growl. "I saw 'em drag away most of their kills... or the ones we killed." Wincing, he turned. "Gonna... head to the doctor's place."
"Shattered Heart, I suggest we make our way back to our living quarters, if they still stand," Heartburn said. Turning towards Mary, she said "You can come with if you wish. I'm sure lots of buildings have been levelled."
"Hurray. Broken masonry, dust and easy sniper positions." Mary said with all the enthusiasm of a wet weekend. She looks from Heartburn to the armoury. And then from the armoury to Heartburn. If she had to hear about another story about bullets being in the wrong calibre gun there would be fire and no responsibility for her actions. "Sure, why not? An extra pair of eyes might keep you alive."
Severed's eye twitched when Heartburn called her "Shattered". [size=-2]"Second time..."[/size] "I would like to check up on our assistant, too. She didn't come with us when we...*sigh*... When we repelled the attack..." Severed didn't feel so bad about Sandro refusing her offering. Heartburn's words had comforted her slightly, but she was nonetheless disappointed with herself. She resolved to, when she had time, to make an entry in her journal to that effect.
As the trio returned to the still standing old school house, (which was far from the side of the city the invasion occurred from,) they saw a white unicorn with a violent mane and eyes to match with a cutie mark that was just a swirling bolt of violet lightning. Yes, that was Violet Ray. Two Hearts surely knew her, even as she seemed to know about next to nothing about the art. She did have an interesting talent though... raw energy blasts. Despite the ability to obliterate large chunks of rock, it was a surprise she survived this long. She trotted over to meet the others half-way. "Oh thank White Heart, I'm so glad to see you unharmed! I was ensuring the safety of our new home and our stuff and uhm... none of the attackers made it here." She bounced a little. "Oh! Were they raiders or monsters? Did they have any new guns? Salvagable parts? Were they tasty? Tell me!"
Severed made a slightly disgusted face at the mention of White Heart. After she had decided to follow Sandro, she couldn't bring herself to really respect any other deity, especially one that shared her name... She sighed and then smiled slightly. "It's certainly a relief that the attackers didn't make it here." There'd be no place to return to... "They were monsters. Little, rocklike beasts with scythes for legs. I..." Severed made a face. No sense in beating a dead horse (Unless it's a lich. Sandro does not abide liches). "We did not kill any. Strangely, they ran after one of the Diamond Dogs bellowed at them..."
Silver did not care for what had happened. He had been organizing his bedroom (or what passed for one around here) when a very strange, very violent creature had entered and tried to destroy his well-kept quarters. Naturally he couldn't just blast the thing. After all, it was possible that it was important to someone else at Iron Gate. Maybe it was their pet; it did seem like something some of the inhabitants would enjoy. More importantly, though, a fight would mean his room being absolutely demolished. And that was unacceptable. So he encased it in a barrier. As it turned out, that wasn't as easy as he'd thought it would be. The creature, upon realizing it was trapped, immediately began smashing itself recklessly against the shield. This put Silver in a bit of a conundrum; he could not leave the room to get help, but he needed help if he was to get this...thing...out of his living area with minimal damage. So, as much as he hated to, he had to...shout for help.
The large bug hissed and growled as it tore apart everything trapped with it, attempting to intimidate Silver with its overwhelming strength. He got a really good look at the large green arthopod. Standing on four hind legs, it had two limbs that were acting as arms with crushing hands on the end. Then another set of limbs at the top with large crescent scything blades for arms. It had a head similar to a horned beetle, and a tough carapace. When the loud noise emminated from outside, it turned to the window and stopped its rampage for a pause. Just in time for the exhausted Silver to shout for help. It turned to him for a few heartbeats before suddenly turning and applying its full force to the bubble, smashing the barrier, and sending the backlash into Silver, knocking him back. The creature tore another section of the wall apart with its claws, and exploded through it with a forceful lunge! The other ponies heard this. Like a delayed occurrance after the bugs ran, an explosion occured nearby, followed by a loud screech, a few gunshots, and some yelling. Violet Ray looked Severed Heart, shocked. "Ran when a diamond dog bellowed at them?"
Silver simply lay where he'd fallen, hurting too much to get up. Whatever had just happened had definitely NOT been the bug-thing at work, or at least it had made it excited or panicked enough to use it's full strength. That was just running absently through his subconscious, however, as most of him was busy feeling like he was dead.
Severed nodded at Violet. "That's what it seemed like. There was a loud noise that shook the ground. Then, one of the diamond dogs shouted in triumph when the bugs ran away, like the whole thing was planned." She then cast a wary glance at her assistant. "But...you seem to have another theory?" Then, her ear perked up at the sound of a screech. Then when the gunshots rang out, she hung her head and sighed. "At this rate, I'll never find an offering worthy of Sandro." She straightened up and turned toward where the screech came from. To Violet, she said, "I am going to investigate. Maybe there are more."
"I'll come with, Sha- Heartburn caught her tongue and blinked twice. She threw a hoof onto her forehead and let out a large, almost hysteric chuckle. "Hah! And to think all this time I've been saying your name wrong! How funny... and inappropriate of me." Heartburn cleared her throat. "Anyways, I'll be coming; just because you want to sent things to Sandro doesn't mean that I can't prevent a few unnecessary deaths."
