Invasion

Whole New World
Chapter 15
Invasion

The forest around Dano was a blur as he focused on the overgrown path he was sprinting down, occasionally dodging low branches as he ran. The wooded segment of the trail was quite short, and the survivor found himself bursting out of the foliage after a minute or two. Dano picked up speed once he hit the rolling plain this side of town, and before he knew it the survivor had reached the outskirts of Ponyville.

Dano sprinted through town towards Fluttershy’s house, but stopped dead in his tracks when the town center came into view. A large group of locals stood in a semicircle with the statue at the center of their focus, and Dano guessed there were around 200 people standing in the square. An ominous feeling washed over the survivor’s brain as he moved toward the group to investigate. Dano pushed through the crowd as quietly as he could until he reached the front of the pack. He stood and observed the scene in front of him, his eyes taking in everything that moved.

A middle aged woman with bluish grey hair stood next to the fountain in a black and white suit. Black heels covered her feet, and a black skirt covered her legs to above the knee. Under her dress coat was a white dress shirt with a blue-green neck piece that appeared unreasonably poufy. Reading glasses rested on the tip of her nose, and her deep blue eyes were filled with wisdom beyond her years. Dano guessed that she was the one in charge of the town if not by the confidence that was evident in her stance, but by the fact that she stood alone in the center of the crowd.

The woman was in the middle of a conversation with a man in a brown suit and black dress shoes. From his position Dano could see that the man had stark white hair which was slicked back. Two black streaks ran from his temples back, and the pair stood in a way that Dano couldn’t see the man’s face. He stood with his arms crossed and all his weight on one leg, as if the conversation bored him half to death.

The mayor and the man weren’t the only the only people in the center of the crowd. Standing behind and to the right of the man was another wearing military fatigues, an M4 slung over his shoulder. A red beret sat atop his shaved head, and the overall suit of green and brown camo was dirty and unkempt. Seven other men dressed the same stood on the far edge of the town center by a military style transport truck. The locals had not moved close to the squad, and it explained why they only took up half of the square.

Every one of the soldiers had something covering their heads, and a rifle in hand. Most of the head gear was combat helmets, but one was wearing a New York Jets baseball cap. Along with their head gear the soldiers all had tinted protective eye wear, so no one could see their eyes. The sight of their unkempt uniforms as well as the eye wear made Dano uneasy, and it made him think of an unorganized rebel group fighting in some jungle.

After Dano had fully taken in the situation he finally began to listen to the conversation being held between the mayor and the man.

“… a fourth of our food supply is just too much.”

The mayor spoke with a bit of annoyance in her voice, as if she had been saying that line for a while now.

“Listen lady, you either take the deal or I take the food.”

The man had a tone of extreme boredom as he spoke.

“Your deal is unreasonable.”

The mayor protested.

“That isn’t my problem.”

The man’s tone didn’t change.

“We aren’t accepting your offer, you can take your leave now.”

The mayor said with finality.

The man sighed before holding his hand out in front of the beret toting soldier, and without pause the soldier removed his side arm and placed in in the man’s hand. Dano watched as the suit took the weapon, pointed it at the mayor’s head and pulled the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.

The mayor’s head snapped back as the bullet pierced her skull, drove into her brain and blew a larger hole in the back of her head. Her body crumpled into a pile of flesh immediately, and a pool of blood began to spread from the holes in her skull. The crowd didn’t know how to react to the sudden violence that had taken place, and Dano could feel the vibe of complete shock emanate from everybody around him.

After killing the mayor the man handed the pistol back to the soldier, and he took it back as if rehearsed. Without missing a beat the suit stepped over the mayor’s body and climbed on the wall surrounding the fountain. Still unable to see his face Dano could only glare at the back of the suit’s head as he spoke over the town center.

“Listen up!”

The crowd put all of their attention on the man who had just butchered their mayor.

“Seeing as your little mayor was being a dumb bitch, I will leave it up to you morons. My associates and I have a deal for you. Either you can give me a fourth of your food yield, or I can start killing people. Does that sound good?”

The man’s voice echoed over the silent square.

“I will take that as a yes.”

As the man stepped off of the fountain and turned to walk back to his truck Dano got a clear view of his face. A small white beard that ended in a point decorated his chin and matched his white, bushy eye brows. These features were strange, but Dano paid them no head. He instead stared at the blood red pupils and oversized upper right canine the man sported.

Dano’s face contorted into a scowl as he realized the man was Discord’s avatar, and he had to hold himself back from charging him that instant. Instead the survivor stared at the avatar as he walked away, the beret wearing soldier marching behind him. Dano was about to leave before he noticed that Discord had stopped in front of his team, said something and moved away towards the passenger’s seat.

The squad, including the one with the beret, fanned out into a semicircle in in front of their truck. The beret wearing soldier unslung his rifle, and Dano watched with wide eyes as he pointed it at the crowd along with the rest of the squad. Common sense barked at the survivor to find cover, and just as he turned to escape the coming chaos the beret toting man yelled.

“OPEN UP!”

Dano heard the sound of eight fully automatic rifles fire in unison, and the screams of the local’s right after that. The survivor threw himself on the ground as the people in the crowd tried their best to escape the hail of bullets. Dano could hear rounds wiz overhead as well as impact on the dirt nearby, but by far the most horrific and terrifying sound was of a bullet impacting on flesh.

Just as sudden as the shooting started it ended, and Dano peaked up to see the squad moving to the rear of the truck and climbing in. Discord had already moved into the cab, and was waiting for his team to load up. Dano could see a half grin on the avatar’s face, as if he enjoyed the carnage. The truck started with a roar, and the survivor noticed the driver messing with something on the dashboard before putting the vehicle in gear and backing out of Ponyville.

Despite the slight peak in curiosity that Dano felt watching the driver his mind quickly snapped back to the world around him. The survivor stood and looked around to see that most of the crowd had fled, except for those who had been wounded and their loved ones.

Dano’s mind went into survival mode, and he began to take control of the situation.

“DOCTOR!” Dano yelled at the top of his lungs.

The survivor didn’t know if the Doctor was in the square or not, but to his relief the physician came jogging over to him from across the open area in the same attire as the survivor had last seen him.

“You need me?”

The Doctor’s tone was dead serious, and Dano noticed that the physician’s hands were already bloody from trying to help people.

“I need you to grab an assistant and get ready for surgery.”

The Doctor blinked.

“I haven’t performed surgery in years.”

Dano gave the Doctor a hard look.

“Then you better start remembering.”

The Doctor cursed before walking away, and calling to a woman who was leaning over someone Dano didn’t recognize.

“Redheart, come with me.”

Dano watched the Doctor walk away, and he put the physician out of his mind. He had a job to do and there wasn’t any space in his brain to worry about the Doctor. The survivor took a deep breath to calm his nerves before moving to the closest wounded local and getting to work.

Dano sat hunched over on a brown upholstered couch that dominated the center of the Doctor’s family room. He was staring at his hands, which were covered in the dried blood of a dozen and a half people he had saved hours before. Dano had moved from person to person, evaluating them before carrying them to the Doctor’s house. Once inside the Doctor would begin surgery, and Dano had moved faster than the physician had fixed them up effectively making the living room the survivor sat in a waiting area. Once everybody was inside Dano became the Doctor’s second assistant, and finished the day pulling bullets out of locals.

Dano didn’t think or feel as he worked. His mind was too busy concentrating on the task at hand to process his emotions properly, but as the survivor sat staring his red hands the feelings came along with the images of the day. Four people had died including the mayor. Dano’s mind’s eye moved from face to face of the deceased.

Aloe had been hit in the heart, killing her almost instantly. Dano had found Lotus holding her twin in her arms as tears rolled down her face. The survivor had pronounced her dead on the spot, and moved on without another word.

A man Dano did not recognize had been shot three times in the gut. The musician known as Wind Whistler told the survivor that his name was Caramel, and that he was her boyfriend. Dano carried the unconscious Caramel into the Doctor’s office, where the physician said he couldn’t save him. Too much of the wounded man’s intestines had been shredded by the rounds that pierced his body. The Doctor gave Caramel some of his dwindling supply of morphine, and moved on to the next patient. Caramel died a slow death in the arms of his girlfriend as he finally bled out on the Doctor’s kitchen table.

The most tragic of the fallen was the teenager Dano knew as Scootaloo. She had been hit in the back of the head as she ran away, and was killed instantly. Dano found her with her two friends holding the body of their friend as they cried. The survivor moved on to the next local, but not before looking into the now dull purple eyes of the teen.

Dano blinked back tears as the images of the fallen dragged painfully slow through his conscious. Following the deceased came the memories of the wounded and the survivor watched them go with the same feeling of sadness gripping his heart.

Spike had caught a round to the left knee, and Dano found him being held by his caretaker. The teenage boy was crying in pain, and Twilight was trying her best to keep her foster brother calm. Dano knew from when he first saw the wounded knee that Spike was never going to walk the same again no matter how well the Doctor did in surgery. The survivor told Twilight to carry Spike to the Doctor’s and she did so without hesitation.

Vinyl Scratch had taken a bullet to the right shoulder, and despite the pain managed to keep from breaking down. Octavia was kneeling next to her wife, squeezing her hand as the musician tried to keep herself together as she watched her loved one writhe in pain. Dano had ordered the two to walk over to the Doctor’s for treatment after helping the DJ up and the survivor could have sworn that Octavia had thanked him, but he was already moving on to the next patient both mentally and physically.

An older woman who was introduced as Cup Cake had been hit in the right side of her waist, and Dano had found her being cared for by her husband, which he learned was named Carrot Cake. The husband was trying his best to keep himself under control as he helped his wife. Dano had helped move the older woman to the Doctor’s office where Carrot was not allowed to enter. As the survivor walked out of the door he heard the husband begin to cry silently as he awaited his wife’s return.

Rainbow Dash had been grazed on the left side of her face, and with the lack of blood she seemed to be ok when Dano inspected her. The problem was that she couldn’t move her jaw without extreme pain, and the survivor guessed the round must have fractured the jaw bone as it skimmed it. Soarin helped Rainbow Dash get to the Doctor as Dano moved on.

Applejack was one of the worst Dano had seen that day. Three rounds moved upward across her right thigh in a forty five degree angle, and another bullet had pierced her right bicep. Dano had found the farm girl surrounded by her cousin, brother and friend Rarity. Big Mac’s demeanor was as calm as ever as he tried his best to stop the bleeding with his hands with Braeburn helping. Rarity was a mess as she consoled her close friend by holding the farmers hand as Applejack dipped in and out of consciousness. Dano ordered the group to move Applejack into the Doctor’s house, and they did as they were told as Dano moved away to another person.

Dano couldn’t hold it in any more as the images of a dozen more people he did not know moved through his mind, all of them hurt in one form or another. Guilt clawed at his chest as tears fell into his still open hands, rehydrating the blood covering them. He was supposed to defend this town, to save its people, but he had failed. Four names were etched into his conscious forever. The Mayor, Caramel, Aloe, Scootaloo. The names echoed over and over in the survivor’s brain as the images of the dead and the wounded replayed in his skull.

Dano felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and hold him tightly. The survivor opened his eyes to see the Doctor sitting on the couch next to him, a blood stained white apron covering his suit. Dano returned his gaze back to his hands as the Doctor spoke.

“You did well.”

The Doctor’s voice was soft and soothing.

Dano only nodded slightly at the praise, for he did not feel he deserved the acknowledgement. After a long silence in which the Doctor did not loosen his embrace or move away the physician spoke again.

“What are you going to do about this Dano?”

Dano was a bit shocked at the question, and he looked the Doctor in the eye.

“What makes you think I’m going to do anything?”

Dano’s voice was gruff.

“You don’t seem like the kind of person to let this happen to your friends.”

The Doctor’s voice was dead serious as he moved his hand in a wide arc toward the rest of the living room.

Dano followed the hand and took in the room around him. The meager furniture had been moved and replaced by cots for those to hurt to move, save for the couch. The survivor saw Carrot Cake hunched over his unconscious wife, Soarin sitting with his back against a bare wall with Rainbow Dash holding on to his arm for dear life as the pain in her jaw spiked, Big Mac, Braeburn and Rarity sitting by the cot that held the unconscious Applejack and several more people in various states of hurt.

Each person awake had locked their eyes on Dano as they listened to the conversation between the physician and the survivor. Dano retuned his eyes to his hands and looked at the blood one more time before he felt a rage build in the back of his head.

The blood on his hands was not his fault, but Discord’s. Righteous fury burned in the survivor brain as he made a solemn oath to any god who would listen. Discord will pay. Dano balled his hands into fists before he responded to the Doctor, his voice full of the rage he felt.

“I am going to hunt down and annihilate the people who did this.”

Dano felt a vibe from the Doctor that felt slightly soothing, as if the physician knew exactly how he felt.

The Doctor released Dano and stood.

“I suspect you want to leave as soon as possible, so I will go get packed.”

Dano’s gaze shot up to the Doctor to see a small grin on his face.

“You didn’t think you were going alone. Ponyville is my home too.”

Dano opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by a glare. The survivor sighed before another voice came from across the room.

“I’m coming too.”

Dano looked to see Soarin staring at Dano, determination in his eyes.

“So are we.”

Dano shifted his gaze to see Braeburn nodding in agreement with his large cousin.

“And so am I.”

Dano looked to see Carrot Cake speak without tearing his eyes away from his wife.

The survivor didn’t know what to say. The people he had only known for a few months were willing to follow him into harm’s way to protect their homes. They were willing to sacrifice for their loved ones, and the thought inspired Dano. A small smile crept across the survivor’s face as he stood.

“Do you really want to do this? Because once we start there is no going back.”

Dano watched the five men nod in unison.

“Alright. We will be leaving tomorrow, if you are not in the town square at the crack of dawn I am leaving you behind.”

Without waiting for a response Dano looked at Big Mac and Braeburn.

“I want you to bring your four-wheeler, we are going to need it.”

Big Mac gave a curt nod before Dano decided it was time to leave. Without another word the survivor let himself out the front door, and found himself looking over the courtyard that the shooting had taken place. Dano heard the rumble of thunder in the distance, and looked up to see dark storm clouds moving toward him. The survivor was happy to see the clouds. The rain will wash the blood away.

Dano moved off of the Doctor’s stoop and began to walk home. The rage in his mind had not subsided, but instead condensed and settled in the back of his mind waiting for a moment to lash out at those responsible for its creation. The survivor chuckled darkly as he walked. If only Discord knew what he had just brought down upon himself…

Wow Invictus... that was kinda dark
it has a dark rating for a reason
Is his mind always like this?
no, other times he thinks about sex
logic!
what?
we are in the presence of ladies
I'm not going to lie to them, even if they are ladies
Logic sounds like a true gentleman
that is the reason i ignore him....

oh boy
blood and gore
and chaos
hope you enjoyed
dont forget to rate and comment
that is all
kthanxbai