Gunsmoke

by Wanderer D

Chapter 26: Glory

Cadance gasped, falling back against the wall, breathing heavily. "Finally, the straps are on."

Lemon Zest nodded, taking in deep breaths as she kept her worried eyes on Sunset's body. "Will those be enough to hold her?"

Cadance nodded, letting a breath out slowly. "The straps will keep her from flailing and falling, but there's nothing we can do about the damage she's suffering through her link." She tiredly pushed herself away from the wall and stumbled up to Sunset. "Her whole body is one big bruise... two of her ribs are broken, the rest... well, they're barely better. I don't dare turn her around to check her spine right now... I'm hoping that keeping her like this will keep the damage from spreading... she's lucky she didn't puncture her lungs."

Lemon Zest gulped and nodded. "I-I'll go get Twilight... maybe she can do something on the computer to lessen the connection or something..."

Cadance watched Lemon Zest run out of the room and shook her head, sitting down on one of the chairs. Sunset's breathing was ragged, but otherwise normal. No gurgling sounds, thankfully.

In all her life, she hadn't really expected to have to deal with anything like this. When she was a young girl, her fantasies about magic and being a superhero had been natural. Endearing to her parents, and later on to herself when she recalled running around the house with "glitter bombs" shouting about the Power of Love as she threw it at the dog, the coat hanging behind the door, the mailman when he surprised her... but magic was scary when it was real.

How Twilight, Celestia, Luna, the Shadowbolts and so many others could deal with it so casually was... well, scary as well. Sunset at least had the excuse that she was, in reality, a winged unicorn of considerable power... and yet. And yet, thinking about things that way was also scary and was giving her a mild headache.

"Oh my gosh..." Zest's voice reached her.

Cadance sighed. "Oh great..." She muttered, standing up and heading over to the other room. "Zest, what's going on? Where's Tw—" her eyes widened when she saw Twilight with a Nervegear on her head. "Oh no. Oh nononono..."

"We're in trouble," Zest whispered, "Aren't we?"

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash gushed, lowering the unconscious Flash Sentry next to her so his back was against the wall. "It's Surgeon!"

"Oh my," Rarity risked peeking over the piece of wall they were currently hiding behind. "It is him. And I believe that gentleman running out of the smoke is Coyote."

"And um... Lion..." Fluttershy said, pointing at the large man with the minigun. She and Applejack set Bulk Biceps flat on his back next to Flash.

"You girls seem awfully well informed about Sunset's gunslinging friends," Principal Celestia muttered, narrowing her eyes. She deposited Soarin next to the other two boys and frowned. "But if they're here that means..."

"That I'm here too," a new voice said from above and behind them.

The group turned in surprise, staring at the woman crouching on the edge of the second floor.

"Black-ops armor, black coat, helmet, blue pony tail, and a dark blue scarf!" Rainbow Dash listed, eyes glistening. "Nightmare Moon!"

"You shouldn't be here," Celestia spoke up, glaring at Nightmare Moon. "You know how dangerous it is!"

"How does Principal Celestia know Nightmare Moon?" Applejack whispered.

"I don't know, but she reaaaally doesn't look happy to see her!" Pinkie piped up. "I wonder why?"

The ground shook again and the group huddled behind the wall. Nightmare Moon, for her part, raised her sniper rifle and kept her eyes on the monster.

"I said you shouldn't be here!" Celestia called out again, sounding almost angry and drawing their attention back to her.

"You know I wouldn't let Mirage face this on her own when I can help," Nightmare Moon replied evenly.

"At the risk of your own life?" Celestia asked. "What do you think I would do if something happened to you?"

"And what if I didn't take the shot and Mir—Sunset died?" Nightmare Moon retorted. She gulped, following the movements of the monster with her rifle. "One shot, Celestia. Just one shot could save her life. I'm not going to stay behind and let her die."

"Do you even know where to shoot?" Celestia asked. "I'm fairly sure you've never fought something like that!"

Nightmare Moon did not answer for a few seconds. "Even if she wasn't here," she said, "you know both she and I would come here to rescue you. To rescue them," she motioned with her head towards the Rainbooms and unconscious students. "All of the others below. It's our responsibility to keep them safe, Celestia."

Rainbow Dash shook her head, watching Celestia bite her lip, before she looked up at Nightmare Moon. "The girls and I can cast the shield spell again, I think. We should be safe."

Nightmare Moon smirked. "That's good to know, Rainbow Dash," she said, lowering her rifle and glaring at the monster. "Be ready to do so. Everyone else lies behind this part of the building. We'll bring down the monster before he reaches back here but if things get nasty, you Rainbooms cast your spell."

"Will do!" Rainbow Dash promised, raising her fist confidently while the others behind her nodded. "Wait." She lowered her hand slowly. "How do you know my name?"

Nightmare Moon smirked then crouched, ready to move away.

"Wait," Celestia spoke up, raising to her feet. "Promise me you'll be okay. Promise me that you won't get hurt, Luna."

Nightmare Moon shook her head. "You know it's not polite to call me by my real name when I'm like this."

"Promise me," Celestia asked again.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes. "I'll try. Rainbooms," she ordered, opening her eyes again with a resolute look. "You'd better cast your shield!"

And she was gone.

Rainbow Dash looked from where Nightmare Moon had been standing to Celestia, then back up. "Is there anyone, anyone here that is not secretly some sort of crazy gunslinger? Is Professor Cranky secretly The Surgeon?"

"I would hope not," Celestia quipped. "He'd be fired. He's supposed to be watching the students."

"I-I just... I just—" Rainbow Dash threw her hands in the air. "Gaaah!"

"Easy there," Applejack spoke up. "We need to keep an eye on that there critter, if any of Sunset's friends need help, we need to be ready to do so."

Rainbow Dash slumped, but nodded, picking up her guitar. "Sunset and I are going to have a long talk after all of this," she promised as she started playing and a shield formed around them.

"I dig the new looks," Surgeon said as he ran side-by-side with Mirage. "Pony ears suit you. The fire wings and horn are nice touches too. The long hair... I'm not so sure about. Easy to pull in a fight."

"Thanks." Mirage rolled her eyes, then veered right while he went left.

"Clearly the creature's face is a weak point," Surgeon continued over the radio. "But we need to figure out any more moves it might have. It looks the type to have an area attack at some point."

"Nothing so far," Mirage replied. "But be careful, it's much faster than you might think. It almost one-hit me."

"Damn. Noted. Still, you managed to get one of his four health bars down to... three fourths before I shot it. Not bad for a solo try."

"Not worth the attempt if it wasn't about to kill my friends back there," Mirage retorted.

"Let's find where we can do the most damage and leave ugly's face to Nightmare Moon's rifle," Surgeon said, shooting his shotgun point-blank at one of the monster's knees.

"Wait, that's new!" Mirage shouted when the monster seemed to crouch low. "Watch out! I don't know what this new attack does!"

The pair quickly ran away from the monster, Surgeon giving orders to the others to keep back and brace themselves for whatever was coming.

The creature suddenly jumped up, almost hovering for a few seconds as it rolled into a ball, spinning before slamming onto the ground with incredible force. The world around them shook and displaced air threw debris in all directions with incredible force, managing to lift them up their feet and send them reeling.

With powerful flaps of her wings, Mirage forced herself to stop before lowering to the ground after some panicked seconds. "I should've taken Rainbow Dash up on some basic lessons..."

A radio message interrupted her muttering. "Lion here, Coyote, Collar and I are fine, Mirage, Moon, Surgeon, do you read?"

"Mirage here, I'm okay."

"Moon here, I'm fine."

"Surgeon here, using stimpack, but fine. I guess that's all of us?"

"Yeah," Lion replied. "I was the last one through."

"Well then, we'll have to make do," Surgeon stated.

"What's the plan?" Mirage asked.

She could almost hear the smirk. "Oh, I have an idea."

Rainbow Dash watched as the Lion and Coyote ran away from cover, running parallel to the monster and shooting, drawing its attention away from the school. Mira—Sunset and Surgeon would jump in and out, shooting the monster at point blank, then backing up in the same direction that the other two were going.

"What are they doing?" she asked.

"They're kiting the creature..." Celestia said, peeking out. "They must have a plan."

"Kiting, right, whatever that is."

Celestia rolled her eyes and looked around, spotting Nightmare Moon crouching on top of what remained of the roof, waiting patiently. "I don't think they intend to finish the monster there, however, or Nightmare Moon would have changed positions."

"Ah didn't know you knew this much about gamin'," Applejack said, giving Celestia a look. "Are y'all gamers?"

Celestia chuckled. "I'm not, but watching Luna's shenanigans while playing is a surprisingly good way to pass time. While I don't enjoy playing the types of games she plays, watching is another matter, and it helps us have something besides school and being family to chat about. I learned a lot about gaming strategy and terminology just by watching."

The group kept a wary eye on the fight and were surprised when all fighters broke away from it and ran around the monster and back towards the school.

"What are they doing?! They're leading it back here!" Rarity gasped.

"Relax, it's all part of the plan," Collar said.

"Oh well then, that makes it—the hay did you come from!?" Applejack screeched.

Pinkie giggled.

"I heard you girls could create shields... get ready for it." Collar grinned, raising his fist. He glanced at the approaching monster. "Just a couple more steps..."

"What's that thing you have in there?" Applejack asked.

Celestia's eyes were wide, however. "Girls! Cast the shield! Now!"

Such was the desperation in her voice that Rainbow Dash was already riffing her guitar. She felt the magic flow through her and the others and a small, magical dome appeared over them just as Collar pressed the red button on the small tube he was holding.

The world went white for a fraction of a second before the blast slammed against the shield, straining it, but Rainbow Dash could feel their magic was much stronger and the dome held. Once the blast had passed, the Rainbooms lowered the dome and stared as the monster slowly rose once more, smoke coming from its burnt underside.

Just as it reared back to roar, a loud bang from just above them made them cringe, and they looked up to see the monster's arms fly to its face as it disintegrated.

"Well done, Moon!" Collar called out to the sniper, who gave them a thumbs up.

Mirage saw the HP bars on the monster drain almost completely when the blast happened. She was already as low on the ground as she could make it, but it was undeniable, even if the monster had another attack of any sort, the damage was done.

"Moon!" Surgeon's voice came up in the radio. "Now!"

Mirage almost didn't look in time. The bullet slammed into the face of the monster, deleting completely the last bar. The creature reared back, its arms waving, claws searching for a head that was no longer there.

It began to pixelate... they had won!

A pulse.

Mirage's eyes widened. She had felt the world pulse around her. Things froze for a solid three seconds, all of her friends were standing static in the middle of shouting, celebrating or staring... all except her and the monster.

The pixelation stopped as it suddenly ripped in half, dropping the heavy armor to the sides and gigantic, gossamer wings emerged from its back. The soft skin under the armor—which had been the target and victim of Collar's explosives—darkened and thickened, becoming chitin. From the stump of its neck, just as time started moving again, an ant-like head emerged at the same time the arms became pincers.

Mirage felt ill. She fell to her knees, staring at the monster, almost unable to comprehend what was happening. From its design alone, and the skull next to its bars, she knew it was beyond their abilities.

"What the hell?!" Surgeon shouted on the radio as if to add insult to injury, the bars filled up again.

"That's not possible!" Nightmare Moon whispered, still loud enough to be heard on the radio.

"How are we going to stop this thing?" Collar asked, the shock in his voice clear for all to hear.

"Any plans, Surgeon?" The Lion asked.

Surgeon just shook his head.

"Well then, maybe I can be of assistance," a new voice crackled in.

"Avalon?" Mirage whispered. "What..."

"Be ready," Avalon replied. "We've been busy on this side. I need all of you to gather around it and keep it distracted. Even Nightmare Moon. Let me know when you are all within a hundred feet of it."

Surgeon and Mirage shared a look before the former smirked and cracked his neck. "Well, she is a member of XCOM."

Mirage, despite everything, chuckled at that and found the strength to stand up. "You heard her, guys. Let's give this guy a hard time."

The Lion's minigun blazed fire on the rejuvenated monster, glowing red as heat accumulated on its barrels. Collar, Mirage and Surgeon sped around, shooting it and taunting it so that it wouldn't move away, and it took Nightmare Moon a few seconds to reach them, plasma blade ignited and ready.

"Now, Avalon!"

Above the monster a huge portal suddenly materialized. Mirage and the others stared in open awe at it as it suddenly slammed down, enveloping the monster and all fighters in less than a second.

Rainbow Dash and the others watched Nightmare Moon jump from the building and land running straight towards the monster.

"What do you think they're planning?" she asked. "Can they even beat that thing? It just came back from the dead!"

"I'm sure they have a pl—" Celestia's observation was cut short when the monster and gunfighters all disappeared in a gigantic, but familiar-looking portal.

Slowly the air cleared and the forcefield that had appeared around the school grounds faded out of existence, letting the wind, sound of birds and sunlight through unhindered.

"What the..." Applejack muttered.

Celestia shook her head before her eyes widened. "We need to go to the computer lab!"

The transition was seamless.

The moment she regained her senses, Mirage was assaulted by the deafening sound of thousands of guns going off at the same time.

The monster screeched, trying to take flight only for several rockets and grenades to hit or land on its back, causing massive explosions and forcing it to stay down.

She felt someone grab her and she was pulled back and forced to wade through hundreds of gamers, as what seemed to be all of the American GGO server's gamers did their best to waste the monster in the middle of Glocken.

Once she had been pulled out, she found herself in an alley, her back resting against the cool metal of the structure and a worried Avalon and fidgety Thunderbird staring at her.

"W-what happened?" Mirage finally asked.

Avalon smiled. "While you were gone, Thunderbird and I started sending messages to team leaders, and spreading the rumor that an event monster might land here soon... with possible unique items and quest-only achievements."

"Y-yeah," Thunderbird grinned uneasily. "Having a member of XCOM gave it some credibility." He hesitated and gulped. "L-listen, Mirage... I'm sorry I didn't go to the real world to help, I wanted to but I was terrified of dying out there..."

He stopped when he felt Mirage's hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked up.

"Don't worry," Mirage said with a smile. "I understand, and I don't think less of you. Asking for others to risk their lives is not fair to anyone, and even though you stayed behind, you helped Avalon arrange for this... thank you. You two probably saved the people I cared about. There was no way we could have defeated that thing without help."

"We might need even more help," Nightmare Moon's voice said from above them. The group looked up to find her standing on the edge of the building, eyes narrowed as she watched the fight.

"What do you mean?" Avalon asked as the trio climbed on top of the building.

When Mirage took a look at it, she felt the blood drain from her face. "Oh no. How is that possible?"

"I don't understand!" Avalon cried. "With so many gamers firing at it, it should be dead by now!"

"But... its first health bar hasn't even gone down a third of the way!" Thunderbird whispered. "What kind of resistance does it have?"

Mirage closed her eyes. She could feel it. The pulsations, just like in the real world. She opened her eyes. "Magic. It has an ultra high difficulty boss-level magical protection in a game where there is no way to punch through that."

The creature's pincers swept at ground level, destroying hundreds of players and sending others flying, making enough room to start beating its wings. As soon as it started hovering, another portal large enough for it opened above, with the clear sky of the real world above it.

"Oh no, you don't!" Avalon cried, extending her hand. Magic flew out of it, crashing onto the portal and reducing it, but not closing it together.

The monster screeched and started to glow.

"I-it's fighting me!" Avalon growled. "I'm doing all I can to close it, but we need to beat this monster somehow!"

"But if bullets and lasers and explosives don't work... what does?" Nightmare Moon asked, taking aim and shooting at the monster to no avail.

Mirage took a deep breath. She looked around Glocken, smelled the gun smoke, the oil and powder. She took in the sounds of guns, the presence of her friends... slowly, she reached behind her, pulling out Luna.

The modified Mateba wouldn't be enough, of course. But that wasn't the reason she needed it now. Gulping, and with deliberate steps, she walked up to Nightmare Moon and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Mirage?" Nightmare Moon asked, looking down at her.

"Here," Mirage said simply, handing her the gun.

"What, why are you giving me—"

She didn't finish the question. Mirage had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. She let Nightmare Moon go slowly, relishing the feel of her lover. "It was always meant for you," she confessed. "I love you."

"Mirage, wha—"

Luna, Thunderbird and Avalon stepped back when Mirage's flaming wings materialized behind her. The blazing horn on her forehead formed again and she slowly hovered up above the roof.

"Mirage!" Avalon shouted in a panic. "Don't do it! You will die in the real world! Your avatar can't handle that! It almost killed you the first time!"

Mirage felt like her chest was being constricted.

She tore her eyes from the slowly comprehending group, and before they could formulate any sort of call or warning, she shot up into the air, cutting the radio and flying as fast as she could to float between the monster and the portal.

She looked down at the creature as it engaged the crowds of gunslingers below it. Ironically enough, it's large bulk was preventing some of the more dangerous weapons down there from hitting her at all.

"Open log," she whispered, and the recording light turned on in her field of vision. "Dear Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rainbooms, friends... Luna...

"It's funny how life throws us curve balls just when we think we're finally getting ahead. I found new friends... I think I found finally the words needed to mend old friendships... I found love... a sense of belonging beyond a single circle.

"I learned that friendship is like a kaleidoscope of sorts. For each person, each friendship, each love there is a million details that make them unique, and when you shine the light of friendship on them, you can truly appreciate how beautiful they all are.

"It took some time, but I finally learned it. Thank you, Princess... thank you all... thank you Luna... for your love. Your friendship... and your light."

She closed her eyes. "Your faithful student, friend... beloved. Sunset Shimmer." She opened them. "Log off."

The magic coursed through her body, burning, tender, ice-cold, angry, happy... it poured out of every pore in her body, enveloping her in a swirling, blazing aura of magical fire, glowing a deep orange. Her wings grew, becoming light, and more light solidified into a single, perfectly beautiful horn upon her forehead.

The aura flowed down her arm, infusing Twilight and her laser gun, which began to slowly disintegrate as the magic overpowered them.

Nothing in this world was designed to withstand pure magic.

She glared at the monster below, screeching, flapping its wings, swiping and killing the other gamers' characters. Making a mess of this world she had come to think of as a third home. She looked up, to the blue sky, the ruins of Canterlot High. She could imagine her friends and fellow students. If she didn't do something, that thing would really kill someone.

Mirage took a deep breath before swooping down towards the monster, a roar of defiance escaping her mouth as she shot both guns for a single, massive burst of energy that obliterated the monster's defenses and cut through it as if it were nothing.

The monster exploded into pixels just as her guns did the same.

But she didn't have the energy to worry.

She couldn't feel the air.

She couldn't smell the smoke. Or the oil. Or the gunpowder.

She couldn't hear the sounds of the city.

But she could see, on a building, a figure shouting something, hand extended towards her.

And then there was light.

And darkness.