One shot is all it takes...........
....to royally screw things up.
"..........once you have eyes on, you are to contact me. Is that understood?" The soldiers were paying rapt attention to the admiral. This was the full briefing, with all information unclassified. They had tracked three entry paths on to the planet, landing in three separate locations. The first scan was a bust, just a smoking crater in the desert. The second was a smoking hole in a canyon. The third was a damaged shuttle, registered to the Friendship Of Magic.
That ship was legendary amongst the fleets, one of the few true 'ghost' ships. The admiral's earlier mission had been declassified, and they at first thought it was a joke. At least until they saw the results of the planetary scans. "You will be split in to five teams. Team Alpha will secure the bigger crash site, and locate the black box. Team Bravo will head to the shuttle, and scout out the local city that we scanned. Team Charlie will scout out the city on the mountain. Teams Delta and Echo will secure the smaller crash site and the neaby town."
"Ma'am, I have a question."
"Yes liuetenant?"
"Is it really him? I mean, I can understand why you want to find him, but for it to actually be true....it would be nothing short of an act of God. I don't know about you, but I don't believe in that shit. Give me something to shoot and I'm happy."
"Yes, it would be an act of God, wouldn't it? Or perhaps there is something else here at work. You know as well as I do that our very notions of existence changed when we encountered other species, and what they could do." She turned round and type commands in to a terminal, a hologram appearing with different creatures on it. "The dominant species on this planet seems to be quadrupeds, close to the ponies that humanity had on Terra a thousand years ago. There are also some other creatures, from our very old legends. We have confirmed the existence of Griffons and Minataurs, but their territory is nowhere near our locations, so we shall avoid them for now."
Another soldier, a clear rookie, spoke up. "Ma'am, where does the SOS signal come from?"
"It comes from the damaged shuttle, why do you ask?"
"Well, it doesn't make sense to send only one squad there, Surely that is where we should concentrate our searches? And what about the Solar Reich?"
"A good point, however thermal scans show the shuttle is empty, and low on power. I would like to think that he would seek out help as soon as possible, as there is no way he would be able to fix that vessel on his own. The Solar Reich will be providing support from orbit, and keeping an eye on our blind spots. You have twenty four hours to prepare, and report to your designated launch tubes. Now, get ready."
The entire room stood and saluted, speaking in unison. "Yes ma'am!" They all turned to fitler out, except the lieutenant and private that had asked questions. They just stood their studying the map. The admiral took note of thier shoulder patches, a sniper's rifle placed over a flaming comet, a smirk playing across her features.
"So, you're both from the 105th? I have a separate job for you." The map changed and a new area was highlighted. It was a small section of forest just to the east of the city on the hill. It changed to a thermal video instead of a image, and a small orange blob appeared. The video zoomed in, and it refocused in to the shape of a human lying on the floor. Another blob appeared form the trees and laid down next to the other one. "That was taken by a recon drone when we arrived on the edge of the Chaos Region three weeks ago. And this one was when we entered the system four days ago."
I sat back against the cave wall catching my breath. This had to be one of my best ideas since the water balloon cannon, and Luna loved our little games. She did get pissed off about losing all the time, and every new game brought more and more guards. This time I had ran out of ammunition, so all I could do was try and evade them till the sun went down.
I closed my eyes as my heart slowed down, and smiled. They wouldn't find this cave, that was for sure. I had been careful to hide it from those who didn't know it was there. I wouldn't be so sure of that. I snapped my eyes open, looking at the darkness. The last time I had a voice in my head was.......Hello, my little target. Fuck. Before I could move, I heard the sound of compressed air being shoved through a small valve, and felt an impact hit the wall behind me. Buck! How do you fire these things?
I took off running out of the cave, turning to see Celestia start flying. I pushed myself even faster, but she appeared in front of me in a flash. I came to a stop starring at the barrel that was pointing at me. Celestia smiled and repeatedly pulled the trigger, covering me in bright pink paint. "HA HA, WE HAVE WON!!! Better luck next time." Well, all bets were off. I raised my own rifle, which had been refilled by Discord standing off to the side, and pelted her coat, once more covering her in pink.
The imaged blurred before becoming a new one. There were more orange blobs, the smaller one running running away from them. They watched as it disappeared somewhere and the larger group went on by. After around ten minutes the small blob came flying out, a slightly larger one following.
It suddenly snapped to a normal view, and they saw the small one was indeed a human, and the one following was a large pony. It slowly spread some wings and took off, getting closer. There was a quick flash and the pony appeared in front of the human. The screen snapped off, and they both turned to look at the admiral. "Yes, that pony just flew. And apparently has teleportation tech. Your task is to find a good spot, and recon that forest. If you find him, then keep track. Do not let him out of your sight, is that understood?"
They took the two datapads being handed to them, and nodded.
"....ma'am, we have eyes on. We have him." The two snipers were on a ridge overlooking the forest. The had seen a male human running amongst the trees, a pistol in his hands. The private kept track of him whilst the lieutenant watched the clearing where they first saw him. He was about to turn away, but movement at the tree line caught his eye. A white pony emerged, wearing a golden helmet and saddle. Three more appeared, matching the first. They had to be soldiers. He then saw glowing around their heads, and zoomed in. They had horns, meaning that there were unicorns here as well.
Another shape moved from the trees, large than the others, and with wings. He noted that this was a different one from the other day, having a dark blue coat instead of white. He decided it looked female, and watched it's mouth open and close, before the soldiers turned and looked around. He clicked his radio again. "Uh, ma'am? These ponies can talk."
There was a burst of static and the admirals image appeared on his HUD. "What do you mean?"
"I just watched one give orders out. Wait.....they have rifles. I think....they are hunting him."
"You are to make sure he is safe. Do not fire unless you have no other choice. We do not know what they are capable of. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am." She disappeared from the screen and he went back to watching the ponies, tracking as they followed the path the human had taken. After half an hour the ponies had caught up, surrounding him. The large blue female walked up to him, rifle raised. The lieutenant clicked his radio again. "Ma'am they have got him! I'm uplinking you to my vid, so you can give us orders." He hit a button on his scope so that they could see. "Do we have a shoot order?"
"...."
"Ma'am?" The large pony moved closer.
"....take the shot."
"Yes ma'am." He pulled the rifle closer to his shoulder, took a few breaths, and pulled the trigger. "Shot taken." Back at the temporary camp, every human was watching the screen, hoping that he would get out safe, and somehow back to them.
I was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily and looking at the ponies around me. Luna stepped forward with a smirk on her face, rifle aimed at my chest. "Well, looks like we win again. You're going to have to think of something else to beat us in now!" She stepped closer, rifle lowering a little. She wouldn't shoot me there.......would she?
Before I could ask, I heard a loud boom, followed by a loud whistling. A second later Luna screamed, falling to the floor. I ran forward, and rolled her over. There was a bullet wound on her left, so I checked her right. If it had just gone in, she might make it through.... it wasn't to be. It had gone right through, and her right side was a mess. I pulled her into my arms. "Luna, stay with me. We'll get you through this." Her hoof came up and weakly stroked my cheek.
"F-f-f-find them.....make them pay." Her eyes closed and her horn started glowing. "I...give you all of my magic. It is the last thing I have to give. Guards, return to the castle." The ponies flashed away, leaving me with a dying Luna. "Alec....." She had managed to open her eyes, and I could see the pain in them. But there was also something else. "Alec.....I.....Love you..." I pulled her into a kiss as she drifted away, her full magic coating my body.
"Luna......I love you too." Once she was still, I gently laid her on the ground, standing up and looking round. There was a ridge not too far away, and it was the only place it could have come from.
"Er, ma'am, I think we just made a big mistake." Even in the camp, they heard the roar. That forest was ten miles away. The screens still showed him, but something was different, an aura of blue surrounding him. He then took off, running straight for the ridge. The gathered troops heard the admiral's voice.
"Get out of there, now!"
The screen changed from a rifle scope to a helmet cam as they turned and ran. They kept going, not slowing once. The telemetry from their ship showed they had seven miles to go, and parallel screen showed a thermal scan. He was almost upon them. The helmet cam stopped and the lieutenant turned to help the rookie who had tripped over a tree root, and they went to carry on, but it was too late. He had caught them. A wave of whispered horror went through the camp as they saw him up close. Every breath was punctuated with a growl as he strode forwards. The two soldiers pulled out their sidearms and fired, emptying the clips into him.
He just stood there and took it. They thought he was done, but then his wounds closed over and he roared at them. In the command centre, the admiral looked on with shock. "No.....how can he be alive?" They watched as he leapt forward and grabbed the rookie around the throat, squeezing. The lieutenant charged forward to help, but was thrown back against a boulder by a very powerful kick. He couldn't get back up in time, and was force to watch as he lifted his other arm and started to crush the privates helmet.
The screams from the feed cause every soldier to cringe. There was absolutely nothing they could do for him. The one they had come to rescue walked over to the lieutenant, forcing the privates pain filled face against the camera. He was forcing them to watch as he slowly killed him. After a thirty seconds of agonising video, the privates head finally caved, collapsing upon itself, bits of skull and brain bursting in all directions.
He then pulled one of the lieutenants legs straight, before standing up and stamping down on the knee. More screams made them cringe as he did the same to the other leg. They could tell from the camera angle that the lieutenant was now proped up against the boulder. "Who," The voice made them all wince. It was harsh, dry, and empty of all emotion except anger and hatred. "Took the shot?"
"Me."
"Where.....is....your....camp?" Every word was punctuated with a snarl.
"I'll never tell you."
"I.....think," he drew a knife out from his belt. "That you will." The lieutenant screamed as he sliced in to his chest. He stepped back and admired his work. "Now, which way?"
"Lieutenant, tell him." The watched on the screen as he put up his arm and pointed. The admiral's voice came across the camp tannoy. "This is no longer a rescue mission. Sgt Luckes is dead. When that thing gets here, do what ever you have to do to kill it." The screen went dark as the camera was ripped way.
I looked at the soldier with disgust, ready to end his life when a flash went off behind me. I turned to see Celestia look at the scene with horror. "Alec.....what have you done?"
"I am carrying out her last wish. She wants me to make them pay." She came over and stared at the soldiers chest.
"Alec.....why have you carved Luna's name in to his body?"
"He's the one that killed her. And now I'm going to kill the rest."
"Perhaps there is another way. Maybe we could....."
"NO! I AM GOING TO KILL ALL OF THEM, AND YOU CAN NOT STOP ME!" Celestia whiped around, her horn glowing. It didn't help her. I leapt forward and pinned her to the ground. "If you are not going to help me, then stay out of my way. If you get in my way, then I shall just remove you." I could see the look of defeat in her eyes as she nodded. I got off her and allowed her to stand.
"What do you need?"
"Search for their camp and put a shield over it, nothing in, nothing out. Except me and him. Then head to Luna's room and open the letter marked 'Lunar Contingency", and follow the instructions."
"Very well. But one more thing." I turned back to her as her horn glowed, and a sword appeared. It was midnight blue, the same colour as Luna's coat. "This was hers a long time ago. I think she would have wanted you to have it. Good luck." She stood on her hind legs and embraced me, giving my cheek a kiss and then teleporting away. I turned back to the lieutenant and picked him up, then started walking.
It had gotten dark. The troops in the crater could just see the moon poking over the edge. A large dome of energy was above them, and they had tried to fly out of it. The smoking wreckage of a dropship dissuaded any further attempts. Every single person inside was armoured up and carrying a weapon. The admiral had been standing outside like that since the video feed went dead. The moon started to rise higher, and they could see a shadow at the top of the canyon.
Something was thrown in, landing right at the foot of the admiral's post. She walked down to see what it was, coming across the barely alive body of the lieutenant. His body had been ravaged. Nearly all his bones were broken, there were multiple slice wounds over him, and carved in to his chest was the word 'Luna'. A roar from the canyon lip drew her attention.
He was stood there, a sword raised above his head. He slowly walked forward, down the only path in. He passed through the energy field with no problem, and they could hear the growling. This was it. "Everyone.....open fire!" Hundreds of guns lit up where he was standing, and after they had exhausted theirs clips, they reloaded and waited for the smoke to clear. Once it did, they took aim again, ready to carry on firing. But there was nothing there.
The sound of gun fire from inside the base caused them all to turn around, just in time to see a few people thrown out of a sixth story window. Next he came, carrying something on his back. He landed amongst the troops, and the nearest ones turned to fire, but they didn't have a chance as he leapt forward and started cutting his way through.
The admiral couldn't believe it. No human, enhanced or not, could move that fast, that strong, and yet be nimble enough to dodge bullets. But there he was, doing just that. A section of his personnel file flashed across her vision '....can be extremely stubborn, double so when he knows he is right.' The officers around her were barking orders, trying to get the troops in to some sort of coherent group, but it was very difficult when entire squads were disappearing in an instant amid mists of dark red. They noted that his path was bringing him to the platform, and abandoned it as he jumped atop it.
The admiral just stood there staring at him as he approached, the once blue sword now stained blood red. On his back was something that should have been secure. The base reactor. There was a warning light flashing. A very specific one, that warned of meltdown. He didn't care if he died, but he'd take them all with them. He grabbed the admiral by the throat and lifted her from the ground. "Why? Why did you kill her?"
"We....thought...she was going to kill you!"
"THEY WERE PAINTBALL GUNS!!!! WHO GAVE THE ORDER?"
"I....did."
"Then....you will die now." Her eyes shut in pain as he pushed the sword through her all the way to the hilt, before dropping her to the floor. He took the reactor off his back and placed it in front of her. There were two switches. One would cause the explosion first, one would stop it. She tried to reach for it, but he grabbed her by the arm and lifted her into the air.
"Please....don't do this. I......I'm came here to help you!"
"Help? You made things worse! Why couldn't you leave me alone?"
"Because.....a family helps each other. I.....am Admiral Sarah Luckes." He dropped her to the floor, stepping back in shock. His breathing got faster as he stared at her. He closed his eyes and calmed down, before opening them and crouching next to the reactor. He locked his eyes with hers as his hand hovered over the switches.
"You acted with out the full story. You caused great pain. You TOOK A LOVED ONE AWAY FROM ME!
"I....I'm sorry, I didn't know!"
"You ARE NOT A LUCKES!" He flicked one of the switches.
Celestia stood on the balcony, looking towards the mountains. Luna's body had been brought back, and was on her bed whislt she was prepared for burial. Surrounding Celestia were the Element Bearers, facing the same way. Even at this distance they could hear the sound of battle echoing. There was a bright flash as the moon gained a twin for a moment, which faded away into nothing. "Goodbye Alec, may the stars guide you." She turned to the ponies next to her. "My friends, we face a difficult time. There is a battle looming, one we cannot avoid. From this moment on, I have need to ask you to do many things. And some of them will not be good."
The six looked at each other with unease, and Fluttershy stepped forward. "If it is for the defence of Equestria, then, um.......sign me up." The others nodded their agreement. Celestia smiled down at them and lowered her head across Fluttershy's.
"Then from this day forth, you are no longer Fluttershy, Bearer of Kindness. You are General Shy, of the second battalion of Equestria. A new army is to be trained. Every colt from the age of eighteen will do mandatory training and two years service. They will then swear an oath to return when needed. This position is open to mares if they wish to do so."
A pony in full armour walked on to the balcony, saluting to Celestia. "We do not know when this battle will come, whether tomorrow of a century from now, but we must be ready for it. To train them, I leave that to the only pony who has ever beaten me in games of strategy. He even taught Shining Armour what he knows. General, are you ready?"
"Yes ma'am. And I would also like to over my services once more, auntie." The Bearers mouths dropped open as they noticed the crest upon the armour, two compasses upon each other.
"And they are most welcome Genera Blueblood." A large white envelope was floated over. "Now then, let us prepare the Lunar Contingency."
Author's Note
Yeah, another reason I've been slow with the real story. I had this pop into my head and needed to get it out there. Rest assured, this is more of an alternate chapter to what will happen. Some bit will stay, some bits will go.
And I've had to download Chrome to my tablet,, because of some strange reason, every time I hit the backspace key to edit something on my in built browser, it would close it. Weird, huh?
So, tell me what you think.
Now, back to my bath......Luna! A Loofah is not designed to go up there!!! But.....it does feel kinda nice.