Chaos now!

CHAPTER 2

THE MISSION

About an hour later, Kark and Rainbow Dash arrived at Base Camp. They swooped down to land a few feet away from the command tent, where the pony that was their Commanding Officer established his headquarters.

He had his back turned to them while he was going over a map that was laid out before him on a table while a Lieutenant pony was pointing out some stuff to him. They couldn’t hear what was being said between the two of them, but Kark guessed that they were formulating a plan of attack to reconquer some lost territory somewhere in Equestria. When Kark saw the cutie marks the C.O. and his Lieutenant had on their flanks, he instantly knew who they were.

“General Macintosh, sir!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she saluted. “I’ve returned from my mission, and I’ve found-“

“Well, I’ll be!” Lieutenant Pipsqueak said in disbelief when he turned and saw the dragon.

“Karkovahce!” Big Macintosh cried when he turned and saw who was standing before him.

He immediately came forward to embrace the big dragon. “Well, bless me! Ah thought it was a long shot sendin’ Rainbow Dash to find you! I honestly thought you were dead!”

“Rumours about my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Kark smiled in response.

Big Mac chuckled.  “Well, you bein’ here is livin’ proof that those rumours were wrong. Nice work, Lieutenant!” He said to Rainbow Dash.

“Thank you, sir!” she said as she saluted.

“And look at you! A full fledged General!”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac said proudly.

“And you’re a Lieutenant now, Pip?”

“Righto!” Pipsqueak said with equal pride.

Kark shook his head and laughed in disbelief.

“But please, come inside mah command tent! There’s a lot we have to go over.” Big Mac said as he gestured.

Kark, Rainbow Dash and Lieutenant Pipsqueak followed Big Mac inside. When Kark entered, he noticed that it was equipped with a few comforts, and the only furnishings were a few tables, a hay cot and an old tape player. “Make yaselves at home! It’s not much, but it’s mah home away from home! Kark, would ya care for somethin’ to eat or drink?”

“No, thanks.” Kark politely refused. “I had breakfast before I left Canterlot.”

Big Mac smiled. “Of course. Then let’s get down to business, shall we? Ah’m sure ‘Bow’s already told you that the tide of the war has changed. We’re winnin’ back the territories we’ve lost when the Doggies and Griffs first attacked.

“Recently, though, Army Intelligence gave us some valuable info that could just help us win this war!”

“Meaning?” Kark asked.

Big Mac adopted a serious look. “We may have found Princess Celestia.”

Rainbow Dash gasped. “Really!? Where!?”

“Deep inside Diamond Dawg territory.” Big Mac said in answer.

Rainbow Dash’s heart sank.

“Is she being held prisoner?” Kark asked.

Big Mac nodded. “By Discord.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Great! Just great! He’s bound to kill her, once he’s had his way with her!”

“Ah don’t think so.” Big Mac admitted. “You see, when the Dogs and Griffs freed Discord from the stone statue that was his prison, they wanted him to use his chaos magic to help them win. But what they failed to realize was that Discord only takes orders from Discord! Intel says that he’s keepin’ Celestia as a toy, or plaything, to do with as he pleases; and that he has no intentions of killin’ her. Truth is: they want him dead just as much as we do!”

“You have proof of this?” Kark asked.

Big Mac smiled and nodded. “We do. Pip, can ya play that tape for Kark?”

Pip saluted and went to turn the tape player on.

“Intel intercepted these transmissions from deep inside Diamond Dog territory. It’s been confirmed as Discord’s voice.” Big Mac said.

The tape started with an announcer quoting the date the message was intercepted. Then, when Kark heard the staticky voice on the tape, he instantly knew that it was the cocky draconequus he had faced before. “I watched… uhh… Snailz… crawl across the edge of a straight sword. It’s my dream. It’s my nightmare. Snailz crawling across the edge of a straight sword, and surviving.”

The announcer came on again and announced the date the next message was captured before Discord spoke again. “They must kill them. They must incinerate them. Pig after pig, cow after cow, village after village. And they call me an assassin. How is it when the assassins accuse the assassin? How many ponies have I been forced to kill since this war began? One hundred for sure. But that’s nothing compared to the countless thousands they’ve killed so far, with hundreds more dying each day.”

“Now here’s the kicker!” Big Mac said.

The announcer came on again giving off the date the latest transmission was captured. “I have her! I finally have her! She who makes the sun rise. Dear, sweet Princess! We’ve shared so much together. So many fond memories. And now, you’re mine. Forever mine!”

Pip then stopped the tape player, since it was the last message received.

“Those nonsensical messages tell us that Discord’s finally lost it!” Big Mac said. “He’s gone insane, even for Discord. Now, he’s escaped into the Diamond Dog Fiefdoms with a ragged army of followers who worship him and the ground he walks on like some deity. He’s out of control!”

Kark nodded after a few moments. “Okay. I believe you. But what’s that got to do with me?”

Lieutenant Pipsqueak was the one who spoke next. “Your mission is to proceed up the Non River in a Navy patrol boat. Pick up Discord’s trail from Doe Long Bridge, find him, and infiltrate his team by whatever means necessary; then terminate his command.”

“Terminate his command?” Kark repeated, almost to himself.

“With extreme prejudice.” Pipsqueak said flatly.

“This mission is above top secret!” Big Mac announced. “Ya cain’t let anyone know what you’re mission is. No sense givin’ anypony a false sense of hope until we can recover the princess and bring her back safely. Since you’re not officially part of our Army, you’re the logical choice. Think of it as bein’ our ‘hired gun’ so to speak. Rainbow Dash will accompany you. She’ll be leadin’ the mission. Nopony else can do it!”

“You’re wrong!” Kark immediately said. “Why not send Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and their friends with their Elements of Harmony!? They defeated him before with their powers! They can do it again!”

“Easier said than done, mah dragon friend!” Big Mac admitted. “As far as we know, Twi and ‘Bow are the only two ponies of the six left alive. And for all we know, the others are long dead!”

“Besides” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “The jewels we need to harness our powers were hidden inside a cave far away from here in an area still controlled by the Diamond Dogs. It’s too dangerous to try and recover the jewels now!”

Kark shook his head. “No! I refuse to believe that! I won’t accept the fact that Dash and Twilight are the only ones still alive!”

“Mah orders are final, Kark! Ah strongly suggest you do as I say, or I’ll send you back to Draconia to face justice at your courts quicker than you can say ‘tarnation’!”

Kark let it all sink in for a few moments before finally nodding his head. “All right. But let me state for the record that once this mission is over, I don’t want another one.”

Big Mac smiled briefly. “Trust me, when it’s over, you won’t want another one.”

Then he turned his attention to Rainbow Dash. “And as such, ah’m promotin’ you to the field rank of Captain. It’ll be your responsibility to keep Karkovahce alive until he completes his mission.”

Rainbow Dash snapped a salute. “Aye aye, General!”

A clanking sound was heard from outside.

“Ah!” Big Mac said. “Right on time! Ah have a surprise for you, Kark. Follow me.”

He led everyone outside where some ponies were standing next to a full suit of armour big enough for Kark to fit in. They snapped at attention the minute they saw General MacIntosh.

Kark gasped at what he saw. “My old suit of armour!” he exclaimed as he reached down and felt an arm plate. “I thought I lost this! Where’d you get it!?”

“We found it off a Griff we shot down in mid air.” Big Mac said. “He was wearin’ it.”

Kark shook his head. “Incredible!”

“It’ll be ready for you by tomorrow. You’re welcome to spend the night here. We’ve prepared quarters for you. You and Dash’ll leave first thing in the morning. Let me show you where you’ll be sleepin’ tonight. All right, everypony, carry on!”

“Aye, aye, sir!” they all said simultaneously as they snapped a salute.

Later on that evening, Rainbow Dash came to visit Kark in his quarters after she had finished her duties for the day. Until curfew, they spent time talking about the things they liked best, namely flying tricks and techniques, and about Rainbow Dash’s time spent with the Wonderbolts before the war began.

Rainbow Dash was in unusually high spirits, despite the gravity of the mission we were about to embark on. Before the war started, she finally became a full- fledged member of the Wonderbolts, and participated in many shows. She was also a member of the Royal Guard Reserve, and went into training a weekend a month in preparation for when she may be called into action. Looks like that training paid off!

She also finally won the heart of Soarin, the male Pegasus who was the Captain of the Wonderbolt team, and they married soon after. When all Hell broke loose, Soarin was shipped off to the main Pegasus attack force whose primary mission was to lead bombing raids on enemy targets. I assumed Rainbow Dash had followed him; but here she was, grounded. This raised a burning question.

“If all pegasi are part of the bombing raids, why aren’t you up there with them?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “A few months after I joined them, I took a bullet in my right wing. It shattered my main wing spine. It took me about two months to heal. When I checked out of the hospital, I was reassigned to the ground forces. I can still fly pretty fast, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do another sonic rainboom again.” She looked sad.

“I’m sorry.” Kark said sympathetically.

Rainbow Dash smiled slightly. “I still have the scar.” She said as she lifted her wing to show what remained of the bullet’s entry wound in the middle part underneath her wing spine.

It was a nasty scar, all right! When I was younger, I once snapped one of my minor spines on a thick tree branch. I healed in just two weeks. That was nothing compared to the kind of injury Dash sustained. When she said she’d never be able to do another sonic rainboom, I believed her.

The sound of a nearby trumpet brought Kark out of his reverie. “Curfew! Better head to my sleeping quarters.” Rainbow Dash said as she got up to walk out. “Good night, Kark!”

“Good night.” Kark replied.

He went to sleep shortly after. Tomorrow, their mission started; and there was no turning back from it!