Operation Harvest

MINES

(Part 2)

The miner’s shouts echoed in the great valley sending a few loose rocks tumbling down the sides.

‘Right!  Yeah!  No no to the right I’m saying you’re right!’  The huge drill was being slowly turned left to face the carberrium wall, its mechanisms kicking into gear.  The six ponies watched from their vantage point on a hill as it started to spin and develop an increasing glow of red until finally it was too bright to look at.  It broke through the thin layer of rock and impacted with the carberrium.  From there its speed was drastically reduced, and the noise it made was unbearable; a high pitched screeching sound permeated the air.

‘I suggest we get to the offices!’ Shouted Banna over the drill.

‘Offices?’ asked Twilight.  ‘What are you talking about?  There aren’t any offices...’  When she turned to face him she could see that, only 100 metres from where they were a dropship was setting what seemed to be two large metal containers, one on top of the other.  It was amazing what the off worlders could do.  First flying without wings or magic, then drilling through undrillable rock, now this?  It was like its own form of magic, a special kind that didn’t actually use any magic.  ‘Oh, er right.’  They all followed Banna and Amax to the offices and he knocked on the door.  It slid open, a miner sticking his head out.  His grey overalls mixed in with the grey walls of the inside.

‘Good day sir.’ He moved aside to let them in.  They stepped inside, and when the miner saw the six ponies his mouth dropped.

‘Something wrong?’ Asked Amax while he placed his helmet on the desk.  He shook his head and walked back to his seat, mouth still agape.

‘This place is absolutely dreary.  Everything I’ve seen from, where did you say?  Gleya was it? It has all been so dreadfully bland!  You really should put some colour into these things.’  Stated Rarity who was poking one of the foamy sound proof walls.  The door shut and it became almost silent, though the vibrations of the drill could still be felt.  Banna turned to the six ponies and gave them a humourless smile.

‘Well, now for the real work.  I’m going to have to write a few reports to my CO, then I’ll be waiting for the enemy to do something, which they probably won’t because they never do.  I’d suggest you all rest or a read a book, in fact, here.’  He pulled out his data pad and found a suitable ‘film’.  ‘You can all watch something.  This one is called the ‘News’, and it’s about important things that happen in the galaxy.  This one is a few days, old.  I haven’t watched it yet, so shout if there’s anything wrong.’  He propped it up against a stack of books on his desk, then sat down, ready to write.  All the ponies assembled around the slate and watched it.  At first it was black, then it started, a man sitting behind a desk coming into view.  He was wearing a simple suit with a red scarf around his neck.

‘Good alltime, this is Station 21, presenting live from orbit around Treyax.  In local news, a 50 trillion Credit heist was stopped as police smashed through the barricades in the factory they were holed up in using a tanker.’

A shot of the factory was shown, its chimneys and towers bigger than anything the ponies had seen, bar a mountain.  It then cut to a line of 13 or so people with their hands bound.  Each was wearing a flak jacket and tattered clothing.

‘The culprits were given 20 different life sentences and no parole.  Also, in local news, the galaxies largest cake was made...’

Pinkie Pie’s head perked up.

‘with a diameter of two kilometers.  Is that crazy or what?’

The girls all looked rather amazed at the landscape picture and nodded appreciatively while Pinkie jumped up and started bouncing again in a very, VERY excited fashion.

‘Wow,that’sareallybigcake!Banna,doyouthinkyoucouldtakemetoseethecakeIwouldbeyourbestfriendforeverpleasepleasepleaseI’llthrowyouapartyforeverydayofyourlifeandthensomethoughthatmightbepointlessbecauseyou’dbedeadahwellatleastpeoplewillrememberyou!’  Banna looked at her, wondering what the hell she had just said.  After working it out, he answered.

‘Sorry, but Treyax is too close to occupied territory.  Besides, I can’t leave, I’m in the army.’  She looked slightly downtrodden.

‘Oh, okay.  That’s fine I guess.’  Although she was about as bearable as a migraine, she was growing on him and seeing her sad didn’t exactly make him feel good.

‘Tell you what, if you want I could find out more information about it, maybe get a few pictures and videos.  If you’re lucky I could get you a piece.’  She beamed.

‘You could do that!?’

‘Sure.  That’s the beauty of mail order for you.’  She launched herself on him and hugged so hard it was draining the blood from his head.

‘Ohthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!’  He plucked her off of his neck and set her down.

‘Yeah sure, anytime.  Now keep watching, I’ve got work to do.’  She returned to her position and resumed watching with her carefree expression.

‘...ecause they didn’t look where they were going.  Now, for the last item of the report, the battle analysis.  Over to you Hurel.’

Again the camera cut scenes, this time to a man wearing the same torso armour as Banna, something the ponies noted.  He was standing in a ruined building, the weather very dreary.

‘Thanks Brob.  This is Beyrin Pass, the site of an especially vicious battle.  The front  stretched for 250 kilometers with heavy casualties on both sides.’

He started walking and left the building coming out into what seemed to be a make shift military medical station.  The wounded soldiers couldn’t be seen, probably all inside because of the cold.  Men ran to and fro, mainly fro, which the girls found fascinating to watch, especially Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie who hadn’t been to the base and therefore hadn’t seen a lot of them in one place.  Gunfire was prominent and jets raced overhead, the roars causing even the miner to look up from his work.

‘As you can see, the army is in full retreat, and this little medical station is one of the last to pack up and leave.  In fact, just up the path there...’

The camera panned right to show a hill, soldiers running up it and an absolutely gigantic column of smoke coming into view behind it, the ponies gasping at the sight.

‘...soldiers are holding off an advance by the Anteeists.  They can’t retreat because they know that, if they break all the wounded here are going to be killed.’

Banna started taking notice.

‘Hey, Jim, if you could just, yeah, just so you folks at home can get a shot at what it looks like.’

He jogged up the path and adorned a helmet that he had tied to his belt.  The camera was angled towards the ground now so they could see just how muddy it was.  Some of the soldiers were stuck in it and their friends were dragging them out of the pits before they could be swallowed by it.  The sounds were getting louder now, the hill’s cover becoming less and less.

‘And here...’

Banna switched the pad off before they could see anything potentially damaging.

‘What did you do that for?  It was getting to the good bit!’  Complained Rainbow Dash.

‘Sorry, but you can’t see that scene, it’s too violent.’

‘Aw come on!  It must be something awesome, like a comic or one of the Wonderbolt's shows.’  He sighed.

‘Look, you would have seen a large plain and lots of explosions and fighting and it would all be very sad so you can’t see it.’  Fluttershy made herself smaller.

‘That doesn’t sound very nice,’ She said hiding behind the desk at his rather tame description.

‘It isn’t.  In fact it’s very scary, you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.’

‘I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t handle!’ Boasted Rainbow Dash, the others raising their eyebrows at her.  Banna started removing his armour.  It was getting very hot in the small office.

‘I doubt it.  You’d be killed, so please if the opportunity arises don’t try.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yes.  It’s too dangerous.’

‘Well how about I prove it to you?  I’ll fight you right now.  You challenged me remember?’  He looked at her in disbelief.

‘No, you don’t want to do that, besides, I didn’t challenge you, you jus-’  She hooved him straight in the crotch, Banna keeling over in surprise.  He was completely silent and lay on the floor clutching at his wound.  Amax got up instantly and helped Banna to his seat, the soldier’s face a picture of empathy.  Rainbow Dash laughed mockingly.

‘Come on, I thought you were too tough for me.’  She waited for him to respond, or attack or something, but he did nothing.  Nothing at all.  Instead he sat there breathing in and out slowly, taking care not to move the slightest inch with his eyes closed.  Finally, after a minute of silence he said one thing.

‘Bugger.’  The cyan Pegasus was getting impatient.

‘Come on, what’s wrong, why won’t you do anything?’  She came closer but Banna stuck his hand up and muttered something incomprehensible.

‘You hit him in his privates,’ Pointed out Amax.

‘What do you mean privates?’  Twilight whispered something to her and Rainbow Dash turned red, then looked quite guilty.  ‘Oh.  Uh, I’m sorry about that...’ She said quietly.  Banna pointed at the desk.

‘What’s that?’ Asked Amax, ‘You want a pen, no, your data pad!  No? Oh, your armour.’  He picked up the heap and handed it to Banna who very gently put it on, taking special care with his crotch covering.  He took a few more deep breaths then spoke.

‘You are... forgiven...’  She was a little bit more cheered up, but him still being in pain made her feel bad.

‘Well at least we know I can take one of you, right?’ She said coming closer again trying to brighten the mood.

‘Don’t!  ...come any closer, I might do something I’ll regret later.’  All the ponies looked around awkwardly, trying to find something to occupy their minds with.

The drill seemed to be very unprotected.  He expected at least a platoon, but now that Roger thought about it, why would they bother on a planet where there was very little threat of attack?

‘Hey Ryfin,’ he radioed to the APC, ‘Take Sefrin and go down there.  See if you can do something about that drill.’

‘Copy that.’  Sefrin got up from behind some carberrium and got into the APC using a side door.  The APC drove down the side of the valley using the least steepest part, its friction wheels keeping it from sliding down.  He went back to watching the unarmed miners.  There were 20 that weren’t inside the drill , or the offices that had been dropped off and absolutely no visible soldiers.  The dropship was unoccupied.  They didn’t see or hear the APC coming, their attention focused entirely on the drill and making it run.  ‘Sir, they’re unarmed, what should we do?’  He wasn’t in the mood for prisoners.  Prisoners meant paperwork, something which he wasn’t fond of.  How would he be able to go out onto the field if he was swamped with as menial a task as writing?

‘No, no prisoners.  Kill them, let ‘em run, I don’t care.’

‘Roger that.’  The personnel carrier made its way to the excavation site.

Banna had gotten back to his report while Amax entertained the guests trying not to mention the fighting.

‘You see, the ship is mechanical, so that’s not alive even though people call them birds...’

‘Got it,’ nodded Fluttershy.

‘...and it doesn’t have a gender despite pilot’s inclinations to call them “she”.’

‘So we call the flying machine over there a she?’  Suggested Pinkie Pie.

‘I suppose you could refer to it as that, yes.’

‘Interesting... but how does it work?’  Twilight asked.

‘I don’t know anything about that, though I can tell you that it uses a mixture of rotors and rocket fuel.’

‘Rocket fuel?’

‘A flammable solid and liquid oxidiser.’

‘My my, I see you’ve been learning big words Amax,’ observed Banna looking up from his report.

‘Yes well I do do things in my spare time,’ he retorted, ‘anyway, where were we, ah yes.  Basically we don’t use animals for most of the things we do...’

‘Or magic.’

‘...yes that to...’

‘You eat them,’  Rainbow Dash pointed out.

‘...there’s that as well.’

‘So, you ever eaten any animals Amax?’ She asked, genuinely interested.  The other girls wanted to know as well.

‘W-well of course.’

‘What kinds?’

‘Oh, all kinds, chicken, beef, lamb, khlyton-’

‘Have you ever eaten pony?’

‘What? No we don’t tend to eat horses or related species, though I think the lieutenant over there has eaten zebra.’  Banna coughed at the last part very loudly.  They all gasped.

‘You have!?’ They said in unison giving him wide eyed looks.

‘Thank you Amax, for that nice bit of information.  I think there’s a few toilets that need cleaning back at the camp, and I’m sure Canterlot must have some to not to mention the thousands of helmets that need a good polishing.  How about I offer your services to the princesses when we go back?’  He abruptly stopped his stifled laughed and became quiet.  ‘In answer to your questions, yes I have eaten zebra, but it was a long time ago and where I come from zebras don’t speak.’  They didn’t answer him, but they did give him suspicious looks apart from Fluttershy who still stuck by her ethos of ‘that’s the way the world works’.  ‘Well I can see you- woah.  What was that?’  They all looked at eachother.

‘Uh, what was what?’ Asked Applejack.

‘Can’t you feel that?’

‘I don’t feel anything.’ Said Amax.

‘Exactly.’

‘I don’t see ho-’  His features hardened.  ‘How long has it been sir?’

‘About seven minutes since they started the drill.’  They nodded to each other and grabbed their weapons, Banna limping slightly to the door.  As soon as Amax opened the door he shut it again.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘We have a situation sir.’

‘What did you see?’

‘It’s an Anteeist APC sir.’  So much for no fighting.

‘Ah shit,’ Twilight flinched at this, ‘We have to get out of here.’  He looked around for another exit.  There was one exactly opposite to the entrance which they all left through including the miner.  Outside the dull drone of the APC’s engines were they only sound, broken only when it fired its gun.  The offices obstructed their view of the drill and subsequently the armoured carrier.  Banna peeked his head round and could see that the APC was firing at the drill which was still pretty much intact (It was, after all, made from carberrium) though the dents in its sides were becoming more noticeable, and it wouldn’t be long before it caught fire and was destroyed for good.  It had its own little fusion reactor, so if it went, everything in a few miles would go with it too, however he noticed that they were shooting solely at where the motor itself was in the hull of the drill, so obviously they knew what they were doing.  It had left the dropship alone, maybe hoping to secure and perhaps strip it for spare parts.  The other thing he noticed was that the cave they had looked at earlier was only 30 metres away from them.  All the ponies looked very scared, and Fluttershy was clinging to Rainbow Dash (though it looked suspiciously the other way round).

‘Right, we’re going to have to make a break for the cave.  On the count of three.’  They all made a show of readying themselves.

‘One.’  Rarity checked her mane out of nervous habit.

‘Two.’  Applejack steeled herself and looked quite determined.

‘Three!’  Banna sprinted to the cave, the ponies overtaking him and Amax thanks to their biological build.  They made it into the shadows and were for the most part safe from the view of the APC which hadn’t seemed to notice them.  ‘Everyone alright?’  He looked up and about.  Everyone seemed to be present.

‘Hey where’s Twilight?’  Asked Applejack looking around the cave vigilantly.  Banna poked his head outside the cave and sure enough there was Twilight still standing behind the offices.  He motioned to her to come but she did nothing, frozen in fear.  The other ponies realised what was going on and tried helping him convince her, but she didn’t respond.

‘We’ve got to do something!’ Said Rarity looking quite flustered, still maintaining her composure despite the situation.  ‘Rainbow why don’t you go get her?  You’re the fastest one here, it would be one second here and back.’

‘R-right, sure.’  She started flapping her wings and lifted herself into the air, then there was a large explosion.  They had destroyed the motor.  Rainbow Dash fell back down to the ground, unable to use her wings.

‘What in the hay is wrong Dash, ya scared?’ The apple farmer asked, picking her up off the floor.

‘I don’t know, they won’t work!’  She said desperately, her wings twitching, but never moving like they should have been.  Banna knew what it was.  She was scared, just like a lot of fresh recruits are.  She wouldn’t be able to use her wings now unless she got over her fear.

‘Hey Amax.’  He said.

‘Yes, sir?’

‘Make sure they find all my remains.’  Amax looked quite confused until Banna ran out of the cave towards Twilight.

‘On our left, soldier!’  Sefrin turned the turret to face the figure running over to the offices and fired on him, but he had turned to late and it was behind the steel offices.  ‘Shoot through the structure, it must be something important if he’s stupid enough to get back out of the cave.’

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Banna put his helmet on, its mufflers lessening the sound of the turret firing.

‘Twilight, come on we have to go!’  He pulled at her, but she was cemented in place by her own fear. She wasn’t going anywhere.  Think Banna think...

‘Hey Twilight.’

‘Yes?’ She responded very quietly.

‘You can do magic?’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you start a fire?’

‘Well of course I can, it’s a very simple spell,’ she suddenly said more confidently, then she returned to her meek self.

‘I need you to do something for me.  It’ll save us both.’

‘What, what is it?’  The wall suddenly blew open sending them to the ground.  He pulled her back up and moved her behind a part that hadn’t been blown open.

‘I need you to start a fire in the fuel compartment! It’s the-’ A rock went flying, launched by one of the more on target shots by the APC and hit him in the head, the man crumpling.

‘Banna!’  Anger washed over her face and she started searching for the fuel compartment he had mentioned.  Using a spell she had learned a long time ago, she prodded at the APC until she found a tank full of a liquid.  That must be the fuel she thought.  Readying herself, her horn started to glow.  First nothing happened, then...

KRAK!

The APC erupted into flames, the back half completely obliterated by the exploding munitions leaving the charred remains of a chair and some crates in its wake.  Twilight shifted attention to Banna.

‘Banna are you alright!?’ He groaned and sat up while the others appeared.

‘Of course I’m alright.  Helmet remember?’ He knocked at it and took it off, smiling.  ‘Now about that APC.’

‘It’s destroyed,’ she stated obviously and sat down on her flank looking at it.

‘Yes I noticed.  Good job, we would have been dead otherwise.’  All the girls rushed up to Twilight, hugging her.

‘That was awesome!  We should do that more often!’

‘Oh I’m just glad you’re alright dear.’

‘Yes, that was very scary...’

‘We should celebrate this!’  Amax walked up more casually to her.

‘I saw that.  I don’t know what you did, but it would be great to have you in our platoon.’  She smiled and thanked him, assuming it was a compliment.

‘I couldn’t imagine doing that everyday it was so-’

THUD

‘What was that?’

THUD

‘Hang on, that’s from the APC,’ said Banna getting his rifle off the floor.

THUD

The hatch of the drivers compartment came flying off its hinges and a burning figure jumped out flailing.  It screamed and started rolling on the floor, desperately trying to put out the fire.  Sometimes Anteeist armour protected the user too well.

‘OHGODPLEASEHELPMEAGGHHHH!’  Banna and Amax watched the burning man casually as though it were a daily occurrence but the mares were horrified by the sight unable to comprehend it; a being burning to death because of Twilight.  The flames suddenly went out, and Banna turned to see Rarity’s horn glowing brightly.  The Anteeist stopped rolling and looked about at his body.  Parts of his flesh had melted and joined with the armour, and most of his exposed skin was charred and black.  He pulled his helmet off, his face singed but for the most part unblemished and got up, reaching for his gun.  It was no longer in his holster, so he went for his knife.  When he tried to touch it he recoiled at the heat, then trying again he pulled it out of his sheath, a look of immense pain on his face.

‘Iuoth pyresh martyli!’  he shouted, launching himself at Banna who fired his rifle, the bullet going clean through his crispy flesh and (the now) soft armour he was wearing.  He turned to Rarity.

‘This is why you don’t put them out!  They’ll just try to kill you!’

‘I don’t understand, why would he do that after I saved him?’ She stammered, shocked by what she had seen.

‘Because he’s an Anteeist, they’re all no good rat shitheads who just want to take our land and enslave us all,’ he replyed hotly.  She looked even sadder and started to cry alongside Twilight who was having a nervous break down.  Fluttershy glared at him (that was new) before tending to her friends albeit very shakily.

‘There, there, it’s okay...’

‘I did that, don’t you see?  I set the APC on fire...’  Banna was used to soldiers breaking down in combat, but this was different.  They weren’t used to the concept of war, in fact he doubted most of them fully understood what it was.  He would have to deal with them now rather than later.  He put a hand on the weeping fashionista’s shoulder.

‘I’m sorry about having a go at you just then.  I was a bit agitated, what with being attacked and all.’  She brought her face out of her hooves.

‘I just don’t understand, why would he try and kill us after I saved him?’

‘You have to understand, he’s an Anteeist.  They don’t give up, and they never, ever get taken prisoner.  It’s just what they’re like.’  Her crying was reduced to a whimper and she stood straight.  A lady was not supposed to slouch.  Banna moved onto Twilight who was babbling that it was her fault and if she had run no one would have gotten hurt.  ‘It was the only thing you could do Twilight.  They would have killed us otherwise’

‘But if I had run with you there wouldn’t be anypo- any one hurt!’

‘Look at it like this, if they were left alive they probably would have gone around Equestria terrorising ponies.  You actually saved quite a few ponies come to think of it.’  She sniffled.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah sure, those APC’s are tough.  They would have killed at least 100 ponies before anything could be done, so you just saved 100 ponies!  You’re actually a hero.’  She smiled a little.

‘I suppose I am...’

‘So stop beating yourself up.  You did the right thing.’  She got off her flank and hugged him tightly.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘Oh, er, you’re welcome.’  All the other girls joined in hugging him.  Banna was starting to become a little scared.  ‘Hey Amax, a little help?’

No no no no NO.  This was a disaster.  How the hell had it even been destroyed anyway?  There had been no sign of any anti tank weaponry, in fact it seemed to have just spontaneously combusted.  When Ryfin had emerged from the cockpit he had readied the rifle to put the poor bastard out of his misery when he was put out by what seemed to be pony magic.  The soldier had proven himself to be a true Anteeist by resuming his attack, not letting himself get taken prisoner and getting killed.  He would have to remember to put him in for a medal.

‘Everyone, we’re getting back to the ship.  Move out.’  There were a few responses and his platoon withdrew from the area.  Roger stayed and watched.  The Gleyans seemed to have made some kind of relationship with ponies, and judging from the hugging they definitely weren’t enemies.  He chuckled a bit as the other soldier and the surviving miner got out two cameras and started taking pictures but stopped when he remembered that they were the ones that had killed Sefrin and Ryfin, though how was still a mystery.  Well, that was for later.  Now they would have to find another drilling spot since this attack would almost definitely mean an increase in the Gleyan’s defences.  Roger put his binoculars away and turned back to the ship.  He’d be getting his revenge later, and those ponies were on the list.