Once a Soldier always a soldier

Contact

“Holy shit.” was the only thing I could say at the destruction from my view on the chopper. Pillars of smoke columned into the sky burning the air with the smell of fire and death from the burning town. I could not take my eyes off of it. I looked down at the ground and I could see tiny dots everywhere. Even if I’m not from here. They have taken me in if I liked it or not. “Those fucking changelings are going to pay.” I said, not realizing that I said it out loud.

“Same here, Parker.” Shield said. I turned my head to my friend shocked at the reply. I do not want anybody or pony reading my mind.

“ETA three minutes.” the pilot said over the radio.

“Parker, this is going some real shit. From what you have told me you are specialized in  unconventional warfare. Put that to good use.” Shield said as he charged his rifle.

I sighed. Well, this is going to be f-. I couldn’t even finish the thought as AA began to tear at the chopper. “CONTACT!” the pilot screamed as he tried to avoid the AA. But, it was a wasted effort as the chopper took a direct hit to the tail rotor. The dashboard lit up like a fucking Christmas tree. “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is SIW-9248 we are going down. I repeat we are going down.” he yelled. The chopper began to go into a tailspin. I held onto the strap as best I could with hoofs. The worst damn time not to have fingers. “BRACE FOR IMPACT!” was the last thing I heard before I was rocketed out of the chopper as it hit the ground. The chopper began to tear apart sending gleaming pieces of metal death toward me. A small creator created trail in my wake as I smashed into the ground hearing a crunch. I stopped in my creator, the pain came as it in waves from my sides and back. I could hear voices as the world faded into black.

“Someone get a medic!”

*************

My eyes opened up to see a world of darkness and felt depressing. What the hell is the place? The world around me was as black as the darkest moonless night. But, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness and began see a little. I put my hand to my face to see if I can see it. Wait? MY HAND?! I looked my the five fingers covered in scars from my life in the woods including the one from the run in a cougar. I looked at my left…hoof?  “What the hell is going on here?” I said looking at the two limps of different species. I looked around confused of where I am. I looked to my left and saw a single floating window. I tried to walk closer to it be I was stuck in place. I looked at my feet and saw that I was tied to a standing table. But, for the oddest reasons only my feet were tied to table. I bent over and untied the leather straps and stepped off. I could feel the rubber thumped of my combat boot under my right foot and the hard clop of my left pony hoof. I looked to window. As I started toward the window I started to hear voices.

“Are you sure that his mind can’t hear us?”

“Yes, while we are in this part of his mind he can’t hear us.”

“Ok, but he is not ready. Even with his combat skills, he is not ready for his role in all of this. But, I am just happy that he survived the crash.”

“Me too. I just hope that he will figure out his role in this world or it will…” I stepped closer to the window and the floor under creaked under my hoof. The voices stopped cold in their tracks. “His mind is awake! Alpha protocol four!”

When it said that my body all of sudden went limp and the world went into a darker black.

**********

I shot up in a gasp. My body was covered in a cold sweat. I could still feel the pain but, it wasn’t as agonizing as when I crashed. I looked at my…hoofs.  I looked at them disappointed. I sighed. I looked farther down and saw myself covered in bandages. The plush support on my body told me that I was laying in a cot. I looked up to see the most surprising thing I have ever seen. A griffin with what looks like a… laser rifle? Please God please don’t tell me I am in the war before the wonderful world of fallout. But, as I looked closer, it was the very rifle. That is just fucking great. I want one. I tried to get up and move but, the pain exploded in my body like sledgehammer hit me square in the chest.

The griffin looked at me with worry in her eyes. Before her eyes showed what looked like joy when for some odd reason my wings poof out. I saw the griffin chuckle and… wink at me? What the hell is going on here and why do I feel fucking horny out of the blue? One moment I was being shot down and now I am covered in bandages with griffin mental hitting on me. I looked at my wings and back at the griffin with the laser rifle. Yepy kai yay, I am the one race that show everyone around me that I have a fucking hard on.

The griffin opened a door to reveal another one at the door. The griffin was scarred and young but, his eye says that there is an experience behind each of those scars. Note: do not piss him off. He walked up the edge of my bed.

“I see that you are finally awake.” his voice was kind of low but, not threatening. Wait? Finally?

I just stared at him confused. “I know you must have some questions but, let me tell you that you are safe from the battle.” he sat down on the sit next to my bed.

“Where the hell am I?” was all that I said.

All he did was chuckle. I looked around then, looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. “Did I miss the clown or what?”

I could tell that he almost laughed at the joke. “No, it is just you are the first of your team to ask that question.” my eyes went wide. “but, then again I only have your friend that was in the chopper when it crashed. The pilot died on impact.” A little piece of me wanted to just jump out of the bed and pay my respects. But, he knew the dangers of this job.

Getting back to the griffin in front of me. “If I may ask? But, who are you?”

“Aw, how can I be so rude. My name is Guawd but, if you can’t say that as most can’t, you can just call me rotor.”

“Ok? Rotor my name is Pa- Nightwing.” I held out a hoof and he shook my hoof. “But, I got one question?” he took a sip from a flask. The sweet scent of rum came from it.

He looked at me from his flask. “Ask away.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” It was his turn to cock his eyebrow.

“Why did you save me and my friend?”

“Aw, because you my friend are very special. Very special indeed but, you also are going to me meet my employer. Now, get the hell up before my patience runs out.” his voice went cold I looked at the griffin guarding my door and she nodded. To hell with it. I twisted my body grunting in the pain as Rotor walked to the door but, stopped and turned to the griffin guarding the door. “Make sure that he goes where he is needed, Blitz.”

“Y-yes sir.” she stuttered. Her eyes wide with fear as he left.

“You better or you will join your brother.” his voice was like cold as concert in winter and as hard as a steel blade. Note: This is a cold hearted motherfucker and I am going to have deal with him later.

Blitz came to my bed and began to help me up on the verge of tears. Goddamn it, why… why do I have be a fucking good guy. Fuck me. I looked up to see that she is putting a syringe filled with a green liquid into my left foreleg. The pain started to subside. I looked up at her. She was forcing a smile. “What happened to your brother?” I said with the kindest voice I had, which sounded like a cat scratching on a blackboard but, what can you do?

She looked at me with some doubt but, said nothing as we left the infirmary. The corridor was made of metal and concrete with a mixture of stone on the walls. It was giving off a eerie feeling as we made our way further into the… temple, facility or what ever the fuck this place is.

“He was executed.” She said flatly with a single tear rolling down her cheek. “Because he was a minute late on delivering the last person that was sent into the place that you’re going into.” I was too shocked at the small story that to realized that we are at a metal door that has seen little use. There were markings and symbols covering the door. I… I did not like that place and I am going to run when the moment comes but, I have to find out where in the Sam hells I am.

The door opened with a dull clank as it fell into the floor spewing dust into the air. I coughed and put a hoof to my mouth. Shit, I better not get the black lung or I am going to jab someone in the throat. I coughed as I entered the room with Blitz close behind. The door closed with another dull clank. The inside of the room was completely black except for a green fire that lit a small portion of the back of the room in a eerie green light. That wasn’t the creepiest part. There was a small hooded figure sitting behind the fire facing me. The figure nodded at Blitz. What the hell did that mean? I found the answer by the end of Blitz’s rifle sending me into a blacker abyss. Well shit.

********

My eyes opened and I looked around the room that I was in. It was a dreamless knockout but, something felt off. I sat up and realized that the pain from my wing and other injuries was gone. I looked at the small pile of hay that served as my bed. The room was about the size of  good size about 15 feet by 15 feet but, I was not alone. There was a figure that standing in front of a open door that lit the room. Without a word the figure motion with a hoof to follow and stay quiet. I got up and saw the my kit was laying next to the door with rifle and body armor. I got to my kit and picked it up with my teeth. Something was off about this, I couldn’t put my finger on it or hoof what ever the hell I’m supposed to put on it. This was too easy, in a place filled to the brim of armed griffins with  laser rifles and I’m going to trot around like I own the place? Where the hell is Shield?

“If you are looking for your friend I suggest that we move quickly or they will kill him just to teach you a lesson.” the figure said as I put the last strap on my vest. Rifle and sidearm in holster.

“Well, we got no time to waste then.” I said following the figure to the outside of the cell to see that I was in some serious shit. The walls were covered in blood written words and symbols that I could not read. The figure trotted down the hall to a door. That used to be guarded by the looks of the dead guards they didn’t see the figure until it was too late.

The figure unlocked the door and cautiously trotted out looking in both directions. I continued to look at the walls at the symbols. This is some creepy stuff. Is this a dream or real the pain is gone but, I can feel the ground beneath me and the cold around me like mist. I looked at the figure and just before I could say a word the figure said “we all need help but, is it me who is will help you or is it the other way around?”

What the hell is there a rhyming zebra here?

******

An hour later.

“What the fuck is going on?! The fucking griffins are helping the Changelings!” I yelled the cave that me and Zecora were hiding in echoed my voice. I looked a Shield as he laid unconscious on the floor of the cave.

“Yes, what you say is true even when I say there is more.” she said. I. AM. NOT. GOING. TO. GET. USE. TOO. THAT.

“Wait you say there is more and can you please cut the rhyming that is messing with me.” I asked.

She cleared her throat. “Yes, sorry that is just how I… normally talk.” she said a little slowly. I can not imagine how somepony (Damn it) can speak like that normally. “But, yes there is more. When you came to this place. Celestia felt something that was coming off of you, like it was some kind of energy. She wanted to see what it was. When Shield gave you the mental training, Celestia felt a spike in this energy. She thinks you are dangerous, Parker. But, as long as you stay on our side she feels safe. Even, with her army she feels that she needs you. But, that one part. The other is that the Changelings are going to try something. They are starting to withdraw troops from Appleloosa, with almost without a fight.”

I froze when she said that. Fuck me with a unicorn’s horn on a Tuesday. I nearly chuckled at that. But, withdrawing troops without a fight, it stinks of a trap. “Zecora you need to radio in and tell them DO NOT ENTER THE TOWN.” she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I sighed. “They probably have the place rigged to explode the moment a certain amount of ponies are inside.”

She looked worried when I said that. Shit. “Ok, Zecora please tell me that neither Luna or Celestia are not there.”

“No, but Shining Armor is there over looking the relief effort.”  Fuck. Without saying a words she pulled out two rifles out of bag she was carrying and threw one to me. Then, she got on the radio and said “Copy, this is striped death, and I need to talk to you Armor!” she let go of the button and heard static. I placed a magazine in the rifle and charged the rifle.

“This is Armor and I copy you Striped death, what’s wrong?”

“Are you in Appleloosa, right now.”

“Yes, why we are help the victims of the atta-”

I took the radio out her hoofs and pressed the button. “Armor get the hell out of there and as ma-”

I couldn’t finish before the radio went dead. I pressed the button again. “Hello?” I looked up at Zecora.

“Bad luck seems to follow you, where ever you go doesn’t it?” I chuckled at that.

I was about to answer before the sound of hard shell and talons against stone echoed through the cave. I looked at Shield then, at Zecora. I sighed and shook my head at the floor of the ground. “Don’t reminded me.” I said just as the first Changeling came around the corner only to get a bullet to the head. Fuck me and my luck.

Bullets ripped up and down the cave with a few lasers here and there. Zecora and me dove behind a couple of pillars that were already getting riddled with small craters with a few burned spots. “Take these!” Zecora yelled almost drowned out by the gunfire, tossing a bag. It landed at my hooves. I went through it quickly. Black armor with four frag grenades shaped like apples. Now, she gives it too me. I quickly replaced my worn out armor for this new black one. I stuffed my old one in the bag, while taking out the grenades. I bit the pin and threw the frag. Just to say it landed right under a griffin. I swear the thing said fuck just before it blew taking it and two changelings with it. Three down, seven to go. I slid out of cover aiming down the night vision red dot and fired. Two three round burst into two changelings. One went down but, the other kept fighting. I kept firing at more targets wondering why that changeling kept fighting even with three bullets to the chest. Zecora took down three that were getting too close with her bare hooves. I looked at her fallen rifle and saw that the stock was destroyed.

Two griffin and two changelings were left but, theses were tough. They knew how to use cover and fucking grenades but, not like the one that killed Hog. What these were plasma or energy. Now, it is time for a finishing finally. I bit into two frags and tossed them at the wall that they were hiding behind. I saw one get thrown back but, exploded in the air sending shrapnel right into my right shoulder. The last one they could not find until it exploded right up the lead griffin’s ass. I thought it was over until I saw the one changeling that JUST WON’T DIE! It staggered until it fell on the ground. Dead. Thank God. Zecora and me came out of cover to see that we had forgot Shield on the ground in the cross fire but, the lucky bastard wasn’t even scratched. I looked at the Changeling that survived my shots. Its eyes were still open. I just realized that its eyes were green with small pupil while the others were solid blue. I am going to have ask Luna about that later.

“Hey, Zecora where are we anyways?” I said looking at the four enemies that she took down with her bare hooves.

“We are a three days walk from Appleloosa and without any friendly forces for about twenty miles we are going to hunted down like animals.” she said flatly. I chuckled at that. She seemed to irritated by that. “What the hell is so funny? Huh? We are being hunted down like animals.”

I took a deep breath from chuckling again. “Nothing, it is just that I’m used to that. If I hadn’t came here in this world, I would be in this exact same situation we are in right now. So, I’m not laughing at the situation, I’m laughing at the irony of it all.” I walked up to the dead commander Changeling. I knelt down and took his pistol. It looks like a plasma pistol from Halo. Fuck, were in the hell are they getting this designs? I put it in my new armor rig. A nice trophy for the way back home. I froze when I thought of that one word. Home. It has been what? Five days, a week? I sighed and looked my pack that was now on my back. They had taken my supplies, and original grenades. Fuck.

“Alright, Zecora grab Shield and lets get the hell out here.” I said putting the sling of the rifle around my neck and put Shield’s front right leg round my neck and Zecora did the same with the other side. I sighed. “This is going to be a long walk.”