The Darkness I Call Home

Shut your eyes when it begins….

After meeting and escorting the Princess at the U.N and the subsequent aftermath,  the SOG team had shifted into high gear, guarding High Value Individuals and escorting Equestrian VIP’s to and from meetings across the portal.

When nine months ago, after what had been dubbed “Black Monday”, and would go down in history as one of the worst attempted terrorist attacks in the history of both worlds. A team of Salafi Jihadists attempted to detonate a suitcase nuke at the border crossing, only to be narrowly thwarted by Royal Guard and Marine units. It had been too close a call, moreover, it highlighted the need for…countermeasures.

The U.N had proposed a new unit, composed of the best and brightest personnel from LE, Intelligence, and Military organizations and elite units of the Equestrian Royal Guard to form a cross border Counter- Terrorism, Smuggling and Immigration team unlike anything seen before. With the blessing of the Royal Sisters, the Equestria Task Force was born. When memos started circulating the office asking for volunteers, Brian, and his old team had jumped at the chance.

When the bomb went off Brian had been asleep in his room, the ETF’s Director, a former FBI Agent by the name of Jeff Mills, had arranged for a number of stay behinds, Volunteers to take up residence in Canterlot indefinitely. They’d put them up in the lavish Prancing Pony hotel five blocks from the embassy. Near enough to the marketplace to feel the blast, Brian had strapped his gear on, rousted his teammates and ran towards smoke and screams. That had been five hours ago.

Brian picked his way through the ruined street with the practiced steps of a man who’d spent his formative years on the battlefield. Covering his face with a well worn black and grey keffiyeh in an effort to lessen the coppery scent he was all too familiar with and the acrid smell of smoke from the still burning fires that permeated the air. The square had been devastated by the blast, carriages lay shattered and strewn across the cobblestone streets, blood- darker now that the blast was a few hours old- stained the walls ,sidewalks.

The worst part were the things he recognized, as he walked, the tip of an ear, maybe a patch of burned skin with the ghost of a ponies mark still barely visible mixed in with the debris. A weak cry stopped him in his tracks, he spun, searching for the source, heart rate jacked, knowing any survivor wouldn’t have long.

“I heard you! But I can’t see you!”  he called

Again the cry sounded louder this time, from one of the storefronts to his left, it sounded like a foal… Brian broke a few records getting to the blown out window, he vaulted over  the low frame and  into a crouch to avoid a fallen beam.

“help”

His heart broke as he heard the small voice call again, “C’mon sweetheart, keep talking, help me find you! MEDIC!” he called out the window as he stalked forward, scrabbling over the debris that littered the floor of the building.

“Help me”

Brian spun and there, trapped under a partially fallen wall, was a young colt, couldn’t have been more than eight or nine. Brian rushed to him and began digging at the debris.

“Hang on little man, MEDIC!... I’ll get you out of there! Just stay with me!”

The little colt coughed, he was shivering violently, eyes staring off into space. Shock had started to set in, the fact that he’d survived this long was a miracle.

"Talk to me buddy, what's your name? I'm Brian"

"S-Stout Shield, I want my mommy"

Tears were welling up in Brian’s eyes as he shoved the last piece of debris out of the way and pulled the colt free. Brian wrapped him in his keffiyeh trying desperately to warm the little guy up.

“Stay with me buddy and we’ll find your mom, I promise. MEDIC!”

He pulled the bundled up child into his lap , holding him close to his chest, rocking him softly. Shouting from just up the street snapped his focus to the window, “IN HERE! HURRY!” he shouted even though his throat felt raw.

“Mommy?” the small voice called from his lap.

Brian looked down at the little colt, staring up at him with cobalt blue eyes, his breathing had become shallow and ragged. Brian hugged him close and rocked him softly, ”Hang on buddy, help’s almost here”. Almost as if on cue two Marine Corpsman and a Unicorn Medic crashed through the door at the front of the shop.

He didn’t hear them, his whole world was the deathly still colt laying in his lap…

“....Sir?”

Brian’s head snapped up startling the Corpsman standing over him.

“Sir? We can take it from here” the Sailor said gently, offering his hand to help Brian off the blood stained floor “We’ll make sure he gets home”.

The other two looked shellshocked, staring at the unmoving bundle in his lap, Brian knew that if he didn’t get up he’d spend the rest of his days in that burned out shop, holding that little guy, wishing with all his heart for a sign of what he so desperately wanted to be true.

Nobody ever said life was fair.

Ten minutes had passed since Brian had handed over the colts body to the medical team and headed on his way. Outlined in the smoke up ahead was the silhouette of a man..Ken was already waiting for him and  turned at the sound of his footsteps, Brian was still in shock and could only offer a small wave as he stepped up beside the older man.

“Been helping triage casualties and…” Ken’s voice cracked, faltered and failed.

Brian  placed a hand on his mentors shoulder, simultaneously checking his own emotions, there would be plenty of time to mourn later.

Ken took a deep ragged breath and composed himself, albeit barely. “Blast crater is ten feet across, EOD puts the size of the device at  five to twelve pounds, KAUERIT they think, Austrian SEMTEX, packed with ball bearings rubbed in anticoagulant.” his voice cracked again, but he held it together.

Brian felt like he’d been punched in the gut, revulsion then rage threatening to overtake him. Anticoagulant shrapnel was sickening, it kept blood from clotting and turned normally minor wounds into fatal injuries, He’d seen it before… Devices like that were advanced, too advanced for many of the groups that openly protested Human- Equestrian cooperation, who the hell did this? His thoughts were interrupted as a group of Royal Guard medics and Marine Corpsman ran past towards a series of hastily erected tents, hauling stretchers loaded with injured from the surrounding buildings.  A man strode through the chaos towards the two former Marshals and extended his hand to Ken.

“Ken Rooker? I’m Ryan Pace, there’s been a development sir, I’m to escort you two to the CP, my vehicle is just around the corner”

Ken shook the man’s outstretched hand, “Lead the way”

Brian fell in step beside Ken and the new arrival as they double timed it past the Marines and ETF SRU Operators guarding the

perimeter, Brian met Ken’s eye and the look they shared spoke volumes.

"We’re gonna kill these motherfuckers”

The ride to the Command Post was uneventful, save for the young colts face that wouldn’t leave his thoughts….