The Great Warby OnocarcassChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1 ~~~~~~~~~~0100 Hours, Snow Fall 13, 3783 (Las Pegasus) Pegasalian Capital~~~~~~~~~~ “I’ve got my eye on a group of three tangos just ahead of your position” said Gilda looking through the scope of her newly acquired L-76 (Raptor) sniper rifle while also fighting the chill that came to the city of Las Pegasus every winter from her perch high atop Osirus Tower. She was deep inside of hostile territory providing over watch for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Soarin who were attempting to infiltrate a building across the street. It was a standard Intel grab op to discover the enemies military, naval, and aerial capabilities. “All right” Responded Rainbow Dash over the comms from the roof of the Havok Building. Princess Luna couldn’t have picked a more miserable day for the mission than the one they currently found themselves in. Temperatures hovered around 34 degrees Fahrenheit. That coupled with the torrential downpour of rain made the already depressing atmosphere about the city that much more prominent. “I’ve got em” stated Gilda confidently setting her sight on right pegasi’s head. Normally this shot would be too difficult for even the greatest of snipers to risk due to the low visibility. But Gilda had a secret weapon. Thermal sights made it possible to see a target through thick smoke, fog, or even the most inclement weather in the former province of Equestria. Rainbow Dash squinted against the rain barely making out the shapes of three guards directly ahead, just as Gilda said. As soon as she had begun to make their forms more clearly each in order from right to left crumpled under their weight landing on the ground dead. Seeing that it was safe to move forward Rainbow Dash stood up and made her way over to the bodies followed closely by Fluttershy and Soarin. By the time they reached the bodies, blood had begun to pool around their heads. “And that’s how we get things done” crowed Gilda already knowing what the answer would be. Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit. Gilda had changed a great deal since the incident with Pinkie Pie a couple of years back. According to her, after she ran off from Ponyville she made her way back to the town of her birth, Grifaux back in Leaglia. Her attitude had gotten her very few friends and she lived a lonely life on the street. But she never forgot her old friend Rainbow Dash and when she learned of a war breaking out in Equestria she packed her bags and immediately enlisted. To her surprise she was accepted even despite being a griffon and was placed in Kilo 2 under the command of Major Lyra Heartstrings. She rose through the ranks quickly and eventually became the second in command. But then during a mission in The Badlands her team was ambushed, all with the exception of herself, Lyra, and Cheerilee were killed during the attack. The three of them suffered at the hands of a brutal earth pony by the name of Scourge until only Gilda remained. Cheerilee was killed by a guard while being brought to another torture session. And Lyra, Lyra couldn’t take it anymore she grabbed the gun of a guard a ended her own life a few days later. Eventually Gilda had given up hope of escape until one day The cage door opened and a familiar voice sounded from the doorway. It was Rainbow Dash she had been sent in to eliminate Scourge but instead got to watch as an angry Griffon tore out his throat. After that Rainbow Dash had gotten Gilda, the only surviving member of Kilo 2 transferred to her squad and Gilda spent the rest of her life so far trying to amend things with Dash and her friends. “Looks like your job’s done Gilda” joked Fluttershy “you would be sort of conspicuous in a building of nothing but pegasi” “Yeah, but that’s why I’m a sniper and not an infiltrator” Gilda paused before continuing “Hey Dashie how in Equestria are you gunna blend in?” Rainbow Dash had thought of this before but never figured it out until she asked Fluttershy. She was the only Pegasus in the world with a naturally rainbow colored mane and tail, the solution instant mane dye. She would have to apply it once she was inside so it wouldn’t wash out in the rain and it would remain that color for the next 24 hours. Of course she didn’t like the idea but she was a soldier and as a soldier it was her duty to complete the mission, no matter the cost. “Alright you two go inside and head to your objectives” said Dash without answering Gilda’s question “I’ll go on in once I’ve hidden the bodies” Fluttershy and Soarin both nodded before they made their way inside the building. Rainbow Dash admired the two of them. They were the perfect kind of couple. Clearly in love but not to the point where you want to barf. Putting the thought aside Rainbow Dash drug each body individually behind a ventilation duct were they would be out of sight from any aerial patrols. Then the rainbow maned Pegasus quickly stepped into the building. The door lead to a staircase which went all the way down to the ground floor stopping at each of the 65 floors. Rainbow Dash’s sigh of relief was short lived as she shook the water from her body. Now came the worst part of the mission. She reached into her backpack for the can of instant dye and brought it around to her mane. The process of changing her rainbow colored mane and tail to a deep crimson was only about a minute. But it seemed like an eternity to Rainbow Dash. Once she was done Rainbow Dash checked her mane and sighed. Under any other circumstances she would’ve never dyed her mane because of how awesome it truly was on it’s own. Rainbow Dash shook the thought out of her head and made her way down to floor 58. This floor was the floor that scans indicated that Dr Yuri Cloud’s office was located on. Dr Yuri Cloud was responsible for the development of the Arosak ballistic missile near the beginning of the war. He also happens to be one of the most trusted of Onyx Shadow’s advisors so his office could hold many important documents. The hallway as could be expected because of the fact that it was just about 1:30 AM only had a small personnel presence. There were two armed guards patrolling the hallway and a single civilian making his way toward the elevators. Rainbow Dash made her way down the hallway attempting to not draw attention to herself. She reached Dr Cloud’s office just as the two guards disappeared around a corner so she was able to slip inside undetected. The office was a decent sized office with a desk and a handful of filing cabinets. A laptop sat on top of the desk next to some pictures of the doctor’s family and friends and a pencil sharpener. However the only source of light was the slight amount that filtered in through the shades on the window from the city outside. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to start collecting files she heard the door knob begin to turn and she instinctually dove for cover underneath of the desk. From her position she could hear the door as it slowly creaked open followed by a sudden blindness as the lights flicked on. She got her Colt-6 Revolver prepared in case she was found. She could hear hoof steps moving across the room toward the desk. But just as she was about to spring out and eliminate the threat she heard something get picked up off the desk followed by the sound of hoof steps exiting the room. Rainbow Dash stayed under the desk until her breathing returned to normal before moving to the file cabinet. She wanted nothing more than to leave after that close call and quickly scooped up all of the files out of the first drawer followed by the second and third. After she was done with the filing cabinets she had to get the files off of the laptop. She instead took the whole laptop and placed it into her backpack along with the files. “Let the eggheads deal with this” she muttered under her breath. This was one of the few times Rainbow Dash had been truly frightened on a mission. She didn’t usually show fear because that was how a leader was meant to be, strong and unwavering. Once she was done Rainbow Dash made her way out into the hallway and quickly made her way back to the staircase. But she was stopped by a voice from down the hallway. “Halt!” called one of the guards making his way over to Rainbow Dash “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do” stated the second Pegasalian guard as they reached Dash’s position “What” asked Dash as the two guards attempted to restrain her Rainbow Dash pulled her revolver out but she wasn’t quick enough. As soon as she had her revolver up to shoot she felt an explosion of pain in her leg causing her to fall to the ground. She looked down to see a bullet hole with blood pooling around her right hind leg at just about thigh level. She had been shot before but for some reason they it never hurt as bad as it did now. Every little movement of her was like an explosion of pain which shot all the way up her leg. To make matters worse when she looked away from her leg she found herself staring down the barrel of an M4A1 assault rifle. “I uhh” choked Dash “Save your breath” stated the guard holding the gun “I know who you are, Rainbow Dash” “But how?” asked Dash attempting to block out the pain “Oh you don’t remember me?” responded the Pegasus a bit of menace in her voice “maybe this’ll jog your memory, Wonderbolt Academy” Rainbow Dash was instantly aware of who the Pegasus standing over her was “Lightning Dust?” “Ding Ding Ding, look who’s suddenly smart” “Why, why are you doing this” asked Rainbow Dash on the edge of crying out in pain “It’s all your fault” Lightning Dust explained “I was always better than you, better than the others, better than even the Wonderbolts themselves and you went and ruined everything, you got me kicked out and crushed all of my dreams, but you know what now I get to right that wrong say goodbye Rainbow Dash” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and waited heart pounding for her inevitable demise. She heard a gunshot followed by a second and then silence. She almost had herself convinced she was dead until she heard hoof steps making their way toward her and she opened her eyes. Before her eyes was the dead unmoving body of Lightning Dust with a pool of blood steadily forming around her body and down the hallway she could just make out the fuzzy form of the other guard. She felt light headed and her vision was fading in and out of focus. Then she heard voices but they seemed far away and she couldn’t make out what they were saying. What she did become aware of was that she was being carried. She was in this state for a few minutes but it seemed like a much longer period of time to her. She finally regained her hearing around the same time that she noticed a feeling of cold raindrops and she could see the lightning flash through the sky. “Gilda get your ass over here” called Soarin taking a commanding tone of voice that was uncharacteristic for this happy go lucky Pegasus “Rainbow Dash has been shot and she needs immediate medical attention” “Alright I’m on my way” responded the Griffon all of her cocky, sarcasm gone from her voice “Soarin” coughed Dash trying to get his attention “Hey, Fluttershy she’s awake” called Soarin “shhhh, save your strength you’ve lost a lot of blood” “Is she going to be ok?” asked Fluttershy her fear for her friends life showing clearly in her voice “She’ll be fine” said Soarin reassuringly “don’t worry RD you’re gunna be fine” Rainbow Dash was now fully aware of her surroundings as well as the pain in her leg. The pain was worse now than it was and Rainbow Dash wished she had a stim to take the edge off at least. She looked up to see Gilda fly overhead and land directly in front of her. For the first time Rainbow Dash could remember Gilda had a worried look on her face. “Alright Dash” said Gilda scooping up her injured leader and friend in her arms “I’m going to get you home safely you here” They all took off from the roof of the building. The tough Griffon still trying to find her true self, the shy, skittish Pegasus who was learning to trust in her own abilities, the all around nice guy who could take charge when push came to shove, and the injured Pegasus who was trying to learn what it truly meant to be a leader slipped off into the stormy night. Chapter 2 ~~~~~~~~~~0230 Hours, Snow Fall 13, 3783 (Vernyl Nuveya) Formerly Ponyville~~~~~~~~~~ “Sensors indicate only five hostiles in the area” said Big Macintosh confusion clearly shown both in his tone and the look on his face “well I guess at least our job will be easy” Mac had been confused at the purpose of their mission since it was given to them two days ago but had never gone out and openly questioned it’s necessity, primarily because as only the third highest ranking member of his squad he didn’t have the clearance for such a inquiry. The other reason being that he had longed to see what had become of his former home, he hadn’t seen it since his enlistment, everything he did know came from Fluttershy’s account of the Pegasalian attack and even that didn’t sum up the utter devastation he saw in front of his eyes. Only a hand full of buildings were even recognizable Sugar cube corner being the only building to suffer minimal damage and the Carousel boutique still discernible despite the entire backside of the building lying as a pile of ruble. When his group consisting of himself, Vinyl Scratch, and his sister Applejack had first arrived he had spent about ten minutes attempting to find the Library only to discover it as just another pile of ruble to add to the ruin around them. “So we just kill those five and do a little recon” stated Vinyl “that is the mission, right Mac” “That’s the mission they gave me” said Mac even though he himself had trouble finding a justifiable reason behind it “even if it is a completely illogical mission” “I’m sure there’s something more to it” stated Applejack shifting her ZB-45 in her hooves “have they ever sent us on a pointless mission before?” Big Macintosh pondered the question remembering their mission to Vvarlyn Base in which two squad members Spitfire, and Fleetfoot had been captured by the Unicorians, they had been sent in despite the overwhelming hostile force simply to retrieve a base data mainframe that only held the record of the events which took place in that base, it seemed like a waste of energy even if they hadn’t lost anypony, but the fact that they had just made it not only pointless but far more costly than anything in the mainframe could hold inside of it. “Well I’ll tell you the answer” stated Applejack not waiting for Big Mac’s response “no they haven’t” Vinyl sighed “can we just get this over with, I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to” “All right” said Mac “you guys have authority to engage any targets you find, just get this done quickly and quietly” The three ponies headed off in toward different hostile signals with Big Mac choosing to head toward Sugar Cube Corner. He picked his way carefully over the debris pile that used to be the house he believed to have once belonged to Berry Punch, although it could have belonged to anypony for all he knew. As soon as he was over he ducked himself behind an overturned carriage checking his surroundings carefully to avoid detection. He peered around the side of his cover to see two Pegaslian soldiers each carrying R1-37 (Braziers) rather nasty SMG’S that came with built suppressers. Big Mac knew his Auzerbiunch assault rifle stood no chance of hitting the pair of hostiles at this distance, to his luck there was a low brick wall just close enough for him to kill both pegasi from just to his right. He slung his weapon and got down so low that his belly brushed the ground and slowly army crawled his way out of cover. Keeping his eyes on the Pegasalian soldiers he made his way slow and steady toward the wall he was trying to get to. He got to the half way mark with no complications when a bit of movement from the left enemy soldier caused him to freeze in his tracks. The Pegasalian turned around scanning the area for any sign of trouble all the while Big Mac lay there perfectly still praying the enemy soldier would turn his gaze away soon. A few more seconds passed before Mac’s prayers were answered and the Pegasalian turned back to his partner. Sighing with relief Big Macintosh resumed crawling toward the wall he had been heading toward. Once he was there Mac poked his head and weapon above the wall. He knew he would have to react fast once he had killed the first hostile to prevent the other from escaping, they could fly after all. He set his sights centered on the back of the Pegasus standing on the right’s head and quickly tapped the trigger changing his aim before he was sure the first target was hit sending another controlled burst into the other Pegasalian’s skull. He was rewarded by both enemy soldiers dropping almost simultaneously. Big Mac stood where he was for another minute until he was certain no other hostiles were coming. Once completely satisfied he was safe to move he made his way over to the two bodies and relieved them of their grenades and ammo while also taking one of the hostile soldiers SMGs. Once he had all the supplies he could take without being slowed down he continued on his way toward Sugar Cube Corner. The rest of the walk toward his destination was relatively uneventful until he reached the building that used to belong to the Cakes who currently resided in New Kingston with most of the Onocarcan’s their son was a private in Echo 7 who were currently fighting in Northern Unicoria, Their daughter had sadly been killed in a battle just outside Dodge Junction. Once Mac had reached the rear wall of Sugar Cube Corner his motion sensor alerted him to a large hostile force inside the building, this puzzled him because his initial sweep of the area showed a total of only five hostile in the entire town. Adding even more to his confusion his sensor showed two blue dots inside the building signaling friendlies, for a moment he grew concerned that Applejack and Vinyl had been captured until he noticed their dots moving up behind him followed by the duo appearing on top of a ruble pile and quickly making their way over to Mac. “Yo Macintosh” stated Vinyl “what’re we still doing here, we’ve already seen that you’ve killed the last two enemies, you know you should really work on hiding bodies” Big Macintosh gave the Unicorn an unamused look “check your radar” he stated bluntly “Woah” said Applejack that’s a lot of enemies “what ya’ll reckon they’re all do’in In there” Big Mac took a communication decoder AKA eavesdropper out of his backpack and placed the cylindrical device on the ground near the wall. He started hitting buttons and twisting knobs on the eavesdropper until a voice came through its speaker. “Bring out the prisoners” barked somepony inside the building “it’s time for them to die” “My pleasure Sergeant” responded another pony A few moments passed before the sounds of hooves being dragged across tile came in through the device. “You two should have given us the information we asked for” said the sergeant in a menacing tone “If we had you still would have done this” responded somepony Big Mac froze he knew that voice but there was no way it could be who he thought. “Well you’ve made your choice” stated the Sergeant “any last words” “Just get it over with” responded the same voice as before Mac knew for certain the voice belonged to one of the ponies snatched from his team at Vvarlyn. “That’s Spitfire” said Applejack putting Big Macintosh’s thoughts into words “we have to get in there” Springing quickly into action the team of 3 ran to the front door of the building and got set up to breach. Applejack tossed a flash bang in through a window just before Mac put his hoof into the door moving into the building. All three Delta members quickly took cover behind a sideways table and opened fire on the Pegasalians inside the building with them. Big Mac shouldered his Assault Rifle and sent out three controlled bursts taking down two Pegasalians along the way. As soon as the battle had begun it was over and the room was covered in the bodies of just over twelve Pegasalians. “You two go check on Spitfire” ordered Big Macintosh making his way toward the limp form of Fleetfoot. Once Mac was over to Fleetfoot he noticed a bullet hole in the side of her head. Still he placed his hoof on her neck checking for vital signs but not receiving any. His heart sank knowing they may have been to late. “She’s dead” stated Mac somberly “How’s Spitfire” “Damn it” stated Applejack “we weren’t fast enough” Big Macintosh was stood there unmoving. He had been filled with hope that they might be able to save their friends just to have it all torn away. It seemed as if a dark cloud hung over the three Delta members as they bowed their heads in silence to honor their fallen comrades. “Alright” said Mac picking up Fleetfoot’s body on his back “let’s get out of here” Applejack gathered up Spitfire’s body and followed her brother outside to a clear area just big enough for extraction. “Chopper 6-12 this is Delta 6-3 my team and I are ready for extraction” “I read you loud and clear” responded the chopper pilot “I’m on my way ETA 3 minutes” The chopper arrived right on time and circled the area a few times kicking up debris with the rotor. As soon as it was on the ground Mac and his team stepped inside setting the bodies of their friends down. “Take us back to HQ” said Mac to the pilot The chopper’s engine whirred as the large metal vehicle lifted its way into the air. The chopper suddenly shifted into a forward motion causing it’s content to shift slightly. And Big Macintosh entered into his thoughts letting the outside world melt away. “I should have been faster” he sighed “maybe I could have saved at least one of them” “Oh Mac” whispered Applejack pressing her head against her brother’s “there’s nothing you could’ve done” Big Macintosh just sat there with his sister unable to think of an appropriate response from his place deep within his own mind. And the only noise to be heard was the beating sound of the choppers rotors as they flew off leaving an ever shrinking Ponyville behind them. Chapter 3 ~~~~~~~~~~ 0720 Hours, Snow Fall 21, 3783 (New Kingston) Onocarcan Capital ~~~~~~~~~~ It was a frigid, snowy day in the city of New Kingston. It was the kind of day that made everypony stay indoors unless they had a very good reason for being outside. Well that is with the exception of Pinkie Pie. Every day that snow was on the ground was akin to the best day of her life. She was by far the most lively of the members of Delta 6 and even made routine trips to the infirmary to cheer up all of the wounded ponies there. Even Rainbow Dash was able to enjoy when Pinkie came round. It was a welcome relief from an otherwise boring day of lying in a hospital bed and listening to the sounds of the machines around her. “And then the Viking said no that’s not a Chevy it’s a fjord” said Pinkie rounding off her joke and laughing hysterically in front of Rainbow Dash who was watching from her bed. “Uh Pinkie I have a question” said Rainbow Dash a confused look on her face “what’s a Viking?” This wasn’t the first time the pink earth pony had confused Rainbow Dash with a joke about something that nopony knew about and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. “Oh silly” laughed Pinkie in response to Dash’s question “you know what a Viking is” “Uh actually I have no idea what it is” stated Dash looking even more puzzled now than ever. Pinkie Pie was just about to explain to Rainbow Dash what a Viking was when the room door opened drawing their attention. It was Dr House the Doctor who had been assigned to take care of Rainbow Dash. “Well miss Dash you’ll be pleased by what I have to tell you” said Dr House walking over to the injured Pegasus “you are now well enough to go back to your quarters but” “Oh thank goodness” said Rainbow Dash cutting off Dr House “you have no idea how good it’ll be to get back to work” “Now hang on just a moment” stated the doctor a look of amusement appearing on his face “I cleared you to leave the infirmary, not to go out on any missions” “But why not” argued Dash getting out of the bed and stumbling a little “see I’m fine” “Miss Dash” stated Dr House rather sternly “you still need to strengthen up a bit before you’ll be ready to resume your job in the field” Rainbow Dash sighed. She knew the doctor was right even if her pride would never allow her to admit it. “Pinkie Pie” sighed Dash “can you help me to my room upstairs” “Oaky Doky Loki” said Pinkie Pie pressing herself against Rainbow Dash’s side, ever glad to help a friend in need. The whole way up to her room Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn everypony was staring at her. She felt helpless just like she had once as a child, the feeling she had vowed to never experience again was here and unavoidable. What would the others think, that she was weak and defenseless just like the old Rainbow Dash. Anyway she couldn’t do anything about it. If she tried to walk to her room on her own her leg would give out and only make the situation worse. Despite how long the journey seemed to stretch out for her and Pinkie eventually made it to her room. She lay down on her bed and Pinkie left to go entertain the others in the infirmary again leaving Rainbow Dash alone in her room. A few minutes went by which seemed like hours to the Rainbow Maned Pegasus before something broke the silence of her room. It was Gilda who walked through the door followed by Applejack and Rarity. “How ya feeling Dash?” yawned Gilda clearly exhausted from her new duties of running the squad while Rainbow Dash was recovering. “Better” responded Dash “and at the rate I’m at I should be ready to reassume command of the squad in a few days” “Why on earth would you want to go back to work in the field?” Asked Rarity shock showing in the tone of her voice “you could have died! And now you want to go back out and do it again as if nothing ever happened?” Applejack rolled her eyes and responded to Rarity’s outburst “of course she will, she’s a fighter and there ain’t nothing gunna stop her from getting her job done” “Well obviously” responded Rarity “but she could always take a job in ops with me” “No offense Rarity” said Rainbow Dash “but that sounds just awful” “Now that’s the Dash I remember” joked Gilda remembering their days as kids in jr speedsters, She still hated that chant but it had always been worth it to make her friend happy. “Well I need to get back to ops” stated Rarity clearly displeased with her friend’s choice to remain in the field “Big Macintosh is being sent on a recon mission with Pinkie Pie and somepony needs to monitor those two” Rarity left the room followed by Applejack clearly to go see her brother and friend before their upcoming mission leaving Rainbow Dash and Gilda alone in the room. “Your job is a lot harder than I would’ve guessed” said Gilda chuckling a little. “Yeah” responded Dash “but it’s a rather good job for me” “Well if that’s your thing, but don’t you ever get overwhelmed by all of the random crap that command sends your way?” “I used to” confessed Dash remembering back when she first took over control of Delta 6. Back then there were only 3 squad members: Herself, Big Macintosh, and new to the squad Gilda after they rescued her from captivity during an assassination mission in Hykidos City. She had almost relinquished control of the squad to Big Macintosh but her never give up attitude had kept her going and eventually after the squad became a 4 pony team with the addition of Soarin she found a way to cope with the responsibility of leading a squad. “How’d you do it?” asked Gilda breaking into Rainbow Dash’s thoughts “It just got easier as time went on, I made a system that worked for me and it got easier” “Well I don’t think it’s a job I’m very fond of” confessed Gilda “don’t get me wrong, second in command is a job I can both do and be proud of doing, but I don’t think I’m ready for your job just yet” Rainbow Dash shook her head “you do know that I’m gunna be alright?” she said with a bit of humor in her voice “you won’t take on this job for a good while now” “I guess so” said Gilda cheering up a bit “well I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll see ya in a bit bye” Gilda walked out of the room leaving Dash alone once again. ~~~~~~~~~~ 1400 Hours, Snow Fall 25, 3783 (New Kingston) Onocarcan Capital ~~~~~~~~~~ A thick fog enveloped the city of Appleoosa decreasing visibility by such a great amount that Rainbow Dash couldn’t see more than about 10 feet before images blurred into the mist. Even though this should have been a happy time for Rainbow Dash finally being out in the field after a few days of a recent tragedy during the mission of Big Mac and Pinkie Pie cast a dark shadow over the team leaving them completely drained of spirit and even Rainbow Dash had begun to doubt her teams strength. Not allowing herself to dwell on the subject Rainbow Dash continued onward toward her meet up point with Vinyl Scratch.
Chapter 1 ~~~~~~~~~~0100 Hours, Snow Fall 13, 3783 (Las Pegasus) Pegasalian Capital~~~~~~~~~~ “I’ve got my eye on a group of three tangos just ahead of your position” said Gilda looking through the scope of her newly acquired L-76 (Raptor) sniper rifle while also fighting the chill that came to the city of Las Pegasus every winter from her perch high atop Osirus Tower. She was deep inside of hostile territory providing over watch for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Soarin who were attempting to infiltrate a building across the street. It was a standard Intel grab op to discover the enemies military, naval, and aerial capabilities. “All right” Responded Rainbow Dash over the comms from the roof of the Havok Building. Princess Luna couldn’t have picked a more miserable day for the mission than the one they currently found themselves in. Temperatures hovered around 34 degrees Fahrenheit. That coupled with the torrential downpour of rain made the already depressing atmosphere about the city that much more prominent. “I’ve got em” stated Gilda confidently setting her sight on right pegasi’s head. Normally this shot would be too difficult for even the greatest of snipers to risk due to the low visibility. But Gilda had a secret weapon. Thermal sights made it possible to see a target through thick smoke, fog, or even the most inclement weather in the former province of Equestria. Rainbow Dash squinted against the rain barely making out the shapes of three guards directly ahead, just as Gilda said. As soon as she had begun to make their forms more clearly each in order from right to left crumpled under their weight landing on the ground dead. Seeing that it was safe to move forward Rainbow Dash stood up and made her way over to the bodies followed closely by Fluttershy and Soarin. By the time they reached the bodies, blood had begun to pool around their heads. “And that’s how we get things done” crowed Gilda already knowing what the answer would be. Rainbow Dash chuckled a bit. Gilda had changed a great deal since the incident with Pinkie Pie a couple of years back. According to her, after she ran off from Ponyville she made her way back to the town of her birth, Grifaux back in Leaglia. Her attitude had gotten her very few friends and she lived a lonely life on the street. But she never forgot her old friend Rainbow Dash and when she learned of a war breaking out in Equestria she packed her bags and immediately enlisted. To her surprise she was accepted even despite being a griffon and was placed in Kilo 2 under the command of Major Lyra Heartstrings. She rose through the ranks quickly and eventually became the second in command. But then during a mission in The Badlands her team was ambushed, all with the exception of herself, Lyra, and Cheerilee were killed during the attack. The three of them suffered at the hands of a brutal earth pony by the name of Scourge until only Gilda remained. Cheerilee was killed by a guard while being brought to another torture session. And Lyra, Lyra couldn’t take it anymore she grabbed the gun of a guard a ended her own life a few days later. Eventually Gilda had given up hope of escape until one day The cage door opened and a familiar voice sounded from the doorway. It was Rainbow Dash she had been sent in to eliminate Scourge but instead got to watch as an angry Griffon tore out his throat. After that Rainbow Dash had gotten Gilda, the only surviving member of Kilo 2 transferred to her squad and Gilda spent the rest of her life so far trying to amend things with Dash and her friends. “Looks like your job’s done Gilda” joked Fluttershy “you would be sort of conspicuous in a building of nothing but pegasi” “Yeah, but that’s why I’m a sniper and not an infiltrator” Gilda paused before continuing “Hey Dashie how in Equestria are you gunna blend in?” Rainbow Dash had thought of this before but never figured it out until she asked Fluttershy. She was the only Pegasus in the world with a naturally rainbow colored mane and tail, the solution instant mane dye. She would have to apply it once she was inside so it wouldn’t wash out in the rain and it would remain that color for the next 24 hours. Of course she didn’t like the idea but she was a soldier and as a soldier it was her duty to complete the mission, no matter the cost. “Alright you two go inside and head to your objectives” said Dash without answering Gilda’s question “I’ll go on in once I’ve hidden the bodies” Fluttershy and Soarin both nodded before they made their way inside the building. Rainbow Dash admired the two of them. They were the perfect kind of couple. Clearly in love but not to the point where you want to barf. Putting the thought aside Rainbow Dash drug each body individually behind a ventilation duct were they would be out of sight from any aerial patrols. Then the rainbow maned Pegasus quickly stepped into the building. The door lead to a staircase which went all the way down to the ground floor stopping at each of the 65 floors. Rainbow Dash’s sigh of relief was short lived as she shook the water from her body. Now came the worst part of the mission. She reached into her backpack for the can of instant dye and brought it around to her mane. The process of changing her rainbow colored mane and tail to a deep crimson was only about a minute. But it seemed like an eternity to Rainbow Dash. Once she was done Rainbow Dash checked her mane and sighed. Under any other circumstances she would’ve never dyed her mane because of how awesome it truly was on it’s own. Rainbow Dash shook the thought out of her head and made her way down to floor 58. This floor was the floor that scans indicated that Dr Yuri Cloud’s office was located on. Dr Yuri Cloud was responsible for the development of the Arosak ballistic missile near the beginning of the war. He also happens to be one of the most trusted of Onyx Shadow’s advisors so his office could hold many important documents. The hallway as could be expected because of the fact that it was just about 1:30 AM only had a small personnel presence. There were two armed guards patrolling the hallway and a single civilian making his way toward the elevators. Rainbow Dash made her way down the hallway attempting to not draw attention to herself. She reached Dr Cloud’s office just as the two guards disappeared around a corner so she was able to slip inside undetected. The office was a decent sized office with a desk and a handful of filing cabinets. A laptop sat on top of the desk next to some pictures of the doctor’s family and friends and a pencil sharpener. However the only source of light was the slight amount that filtered in through the shades on the window from the city outside. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to start collecting files she heard the door knob begin to turn and she instinctually dove for cover underneath of the desk. From her position she could hear the door as it slowly creaked open followed by a sudden blindness as the lights flicked on. She got her Colt-6 Revolver prepared in case she was found. She could hear hoof steps moving across the room toward the desk. But just as she was about to spring out and eliminate the threat she heard something get picked up off the desk followed by the sound of hoof steps exiting the room. Rainbow Dash stayed under the desk until her breathing returned to normal before moving to the file cabinet. She wanted nothing more than to leave after that close call and quickly scooped up all of the files out of the first drawer followed by the second and third. After she was done with the filing cabinets she had to get the files off of the laptop. She instead took the whole laptop and placed it into her backpack along with the files. “Let the eggheads deal with this” she muttered under her breath. This was one of the few times Rainbow Dash had been truly frightened on a mission. She didn’t usually show fear because that was how a leader was meant to be, strong and unwavering. Once she was done Rainbow Dash made her way out into the hallway and quickly made her way back to the staircase. But she was stopped by a voice from down the hallway. “Halt!” called one of the guards making his way over to Rainbow Dash “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do” stated the second Pegasalian guard as they reached Dash’s position “What” asked Dash as the two guards attempted to restrain her Rainbow Dash pulled her revolver out but she wasn’t quick enough. As soon as she had her revolver up to shoot she felt an explosion of pain in her leg causing her to fall to the ground. She looked down to see a bullet hole with blood pooling around her right hind leg at just about thigh level. She had been shot before but for some reason they it never hurt as bad as it did now. Every little movement of her was like an explosion of pain which shot all the way up her leg. To make matters worse when she looked away from her leg she found herself staring down the barrel of an M4A1 assault rifle. “I uhh” choked Dash “Save your breath” stated the guard holding the gun “I know who you are, Rainbow Dash” “But how?” asked Dash attempting to block out the pain “Oh you don’t remember me?” responded the Pegasus a bit of menace in her voice “maybe this’ll jog your memory, Wonderbolt Academy” Rainbow Dash was instantly aware of who the Pegasus standing over her was “Lightning Dust?” “Ding Ding Ding, look who’s suddenly smart” “Why, why are you doing this” asked Rainbow Dash on the edge of crying out in pain “It’s all your fault” Lightning Dust explained “I was always better than you, better than the others, better than even the Wonderbolts themselves and you went and ruined everything, you got me kicked out and crushed all of my dreams, but you know what now I get to right that wrong say goodbye Rainbow Dash” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and waited heart pounding for her inevitable demise. She heard a gunshot followed by a second and then silence. She almost had herself convinced she was dead until she heard hoof steps making their way toward her and she opened her eyes. Before her eyes was the dead unmoving body of Lightning Dust with a pool of blood steadily forming around her body and down the hallway she could just make out the fuzzy form of the other guard. She felt light headed and her vision was fading in and out of focus. Then she heard voices but they seemed far away and she couldn’t make out what they were saying. What she did become aware of was that she was being carried. She was in this state for a few minutes but it seemed like a much longer period of time to her. She finally regained her hearing around the same time that she noticed a feeling of cold raindrops and she could see the lightning flash through the sky. “Gilda get your ass over here” called Soarin taking a commanding tone of voice that was uncharacteristic for this happy go lucky Pegasus “Rainbow Dash has been shot and she needs immediate medical attention” “Alright I’m on my way” responded the Griffon all of her cocky, sarcasm gone from her voice “Soarin” coughed Dash trying to get his attention “Hey, Fluttershy she’s awake” called Soarin “shhhh, save your strength you’ve lost a lot of blood” “Is she going to be ok?” asked Fluttershy her fear for her friends life showing clearly in her voice “She’ll be fine” said Soarin reassuringly “don’t worry RD you’re gunna be fine” Rainbow Dash was now fully aware of her surroundings as well as the pain in her leg. The pain was worse now than it was and Rainbow Dash wished she had a stim to take the edge off at least. She looked up to see Gilda fly overhead and land directly in front of her. For the first time Rainbow Dash could remember Gilda had a worried look on her face. “Alright Dash” said Gilda scooping up her injured leader and friend in her arms “I’m going to get you home safely you here” They all took off from the roof of the building. The tough Griffon still trying to find her true self, the shy, skittish Pegasus who was learning to trust in her own abilities, the all around nice guy who could take charge when push came to shove, and the injured Pegasus who was trying to learn what it truly meant to be a leader slipped off into the stormy night.
Chapter 2 ~~~~~~~~~~0230 Hours, Snow Fall 13, 3783 (Vernyl Nuveya) Formerly Ponyville~~~~~~~~~~ “Sensors indicate only five hostiles in the area” said Big Macintosh confusion clearly shown both in his tone and the look on his face “well I guess at least our job will be easy” Mac had been confused at the purpose of their mission since it was given to them two days ago but had never gone out and openly questioned it’s necessity, primarily because as only the third highest ranking member of his squad he didn’t have the clearance for such a inquiry. The other reason being that he had longed to see what had become of his former home, he hadn’t seen it since his enlistment, everything he did know came from Fluttershy’s account of the Pegasalian attack and even that didn’t sum up the utter devastation he saw in front of his eyes. Only a hand full of buildings were even recognizable Sugar cube corner being the only building to suffer minimal damage and the Carousel boutique still discernible despite the entire backside of the building lying as a pile of ruble. When his group consisting of himself, Vinyl Scratch, and his sister Applejack had first arrived he had spent about ten minutes attempting to find the Library only to discover it as just another pile of ruble to add to the ruin around them. “So we just kill those five and do a little recon” stated Vinyl “that is the mission, right Mac” “That’s the mission they gave me” said Mac even though he himself had trouble finding a justifiable reason behind it “even if it is a completely illogical mission” “I’m sure there’s something more to it” stated Applejack shifting her ZB-45 in her hooves “have they ever sent us on a pointless mission before?” Big Macintosh pondered the question remembering their mission to Vvarlyn Base in which two squad members Spitfire, and Fleetfoot had been captured by the Unicorians, they had been sent in despite the overwhelming hostile force simply to retrieve a base data mainframe that only held the record of the events which took place in that base, it seemed like a waste of energy even if they hadn’t lost anypony, but the fact that they had just made it not only pointless but far more costly than anything in the mainframe could hold inside of it. “Well I’ll tell you the answer” stated Applejack not waiting for Big Mac’s response “no they haven’t” Vinyl sighed “can we just get this over with, I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to” “All right” said Mac “you guys have authority to engage any targets you find, just get this done quickly and quietly” The three ponies headed off in toward different hostile signals with Big Mac choosing to head toward Sugar Cube Corner. He picked his way carefully over the debris pile that used to be the house he believed to have once belonged to Berry Punch, although it could have belonged to anypony for all he knew. As soon as he was over he ducked himself behind an overturned carriage checking his surroundings carefully to avoid detection. He peered around the side of his cover to see two Pegaslian soldiers each carrying R1-37 (Braziers) rather nasty SMG’S that came with built suppressers. Big Mac knew his Auzerbiunch assault rifle stood no chance of hitting the pair of hostiles at this distance, to his luck there was a low brick wall just close enough for him to kill both pegasi from just to his right. He slung his weapon and got down so low that his belly brushed the ground and slowly army crawled his way out of cover. Keeping his eyes on the Pegasalian soldiers he made his way slow and steady toward the wall he was trying to get to. He got to the half way mark with no complications when a bit of movement from the left enemy soldier caused him to freeze in his tracks. The Pegasalian turned around scanning the area for any sign of trouble all the while Big Mac lay there perfectly still praying the enemy soldier would turn his gaze away soon. A few more seconds passed before Mac’s prayers were answered and the Pegasalian turned back to his partner. Sighing with relief Big Macintosh resumed crawling toward the wall he had been heading toward. Once he was there Mac poked his head and weapon above the wall. He knew he would have to react fast once he had killed the first hostile to prevent the other from escaping, they could fly after all. He set his sights centered on the back of the Pegasus standing on the right’s head and quickly tapped the trigger changing his aim before he was sure the first target was hit sending another controlled burst into the other Pegasalian’s skull. He was rewarded by both enemy soldiers dropping almost simultaneously. Big Mac stood where he was for another minute until he was certain no other hostiles were coming. Once completely satisfied he was safe to move he made his way over to the two bodies and relieved them of their grenades and ammo while also taking one of the hostile soldiers SMGs. Once he had all the supplies he could take without being slowed down he continued on his way toward Sugar Cube Corner. The rest of the walk toward his destination was relatively uneventful until he reached the building that used to belong to the Cakes who currently resided in New Kingston with most of the Onocarcan’s their son was a private in Echo 7 who were currently fighting in Northern Unicoria, Their daughter had sadly been killed in a battle just outside Dodge Junction. Once Mac had reached the rear wall of Sugar Cube Corner his motion sensor alerted him to a large hostile force inside the building, this puzzled him because his initial sweep of the area showed a total of only five hostile in the entire town. Adding even more to his confusion his sensor showed two blue dots inside the building signaling friendlies, for a moment he grew concerned that Applejack and Vinyl had been captured until he noticed their dots moving up behind him followed by the duo appearing on top of a ruble pile and quickly making their way over to Mac. “Yo Macintosh” stated Vinyl “what’re we still doing here, we’ve already seen that you’ve killed the last two enemies, you know you should really work on hiding bodies” Big Macintosh gave the Unicorn an unamused look “check your radar” he stated bluntly “Woah” said Applejack that’s a lot of enemies “what ya’ll reckon they’re all do’in In there” Big Mac took a communication decoder AKA eavesdropper out of his backpack and placed the cylindrical device on the ground near the wall. He started hitting buttons and twisting knobs on the eavesdropper until a voice came through its speaker. “Bring out the prisoners” barked somepony inside the building “it’s time for them to die” “My pleasure Sergeant” responded another pony A few moments passed before the sounds of hooves being dragged across tile came in through the device. “You two should have given us the information we asked for” said the sergeant in a menacing tone “If we had you still would have done this” responded somepony Big Mac froze he knew that voice but there was no way it could be who he thought. “Well you’ve made your choice” stated the Sergeant “any last words” “Just get it over with” responded the same voice as before Mac knew for certain the voice belonged to one of the ponies snatched from his team at Vvarlyn. “That’s Spitfire” said Applejack putting Big Macintosh’s thoughts into words “we have to get in there” Springing quickly into action the team of 3 ran to the front door of the building and got set up to breach. Applejack tossed a flash bang in through a window just before Mac put his hoof into the door moving into the building. All three Delta members quickly took cover behind a sideways table and opened fire on the Pegasalians inside the building with them. Big Mac shouldered his Assault Rifle and sent out three controlled bursts taking down two Pegasalians along the way. As soon as the battle had begun it was over and the room was covered in the bodies of just over twelve Pegasalians. “You two go check on Spitfire” ordered Big Macintosh making his way toward the limp form of Fleetfoot. Once Mac was over to Fleetfoot he noticed a bullet hole in the side of her head. Still he placed his hoof on her neck checking for vital signs but not receiving any. His heart sank knowing they may have been to late. “She’s dead” stated Mac somberly “How’s Spitfire” “Damn it” stated Applejack “we weren’t fast enough” Big Macintosh was stood there unmoving. He had been filled with hope that they might be able to save their friends just to have it all torn away. It seemed as if a dark cloud hung over the three Delta members as they bowed their heads in silence to honor their fallen comrades. “Alright” said Mac picking up Fleetfoot’s body on his back “let’s get out of here” Applejack gathered up Spitfire’s body and followed her brother outside to a clear area just big enough for extraction. “Chopper 6-12 this is Delta 6-3 my team and I are ready for extraction” “I read you loud and clear” responded the chopper pilot “I’m on my way ETA 3 minutes” The chopper arrived right on time and circled the area a few times kicking up debris with the rotor. As soon as it was on the ground Mac and his team stepped inside setting the bodies of their friends down. “Take us back to HQ” said Mac to the pilot The chopper’s engine whirred as the large metal vehicle lifted its way into the air. The chopper suddenly shifted into a forward motion causing it’s content to shift slightly. And Big Macintosh entered into his thoughts letting the outside world melt away. “I should have been faster” he sighed “maybe I could have saved at least one of them” “Oh Mac” whispered Applejack pressing her head against her brother’s “there’s nothing you could’ve done” Big Macintosh just sat there with his sister unable to think of an appropriate response from his place deep within his own mind. And the only noise to be heard was the beating sound of the choppers rotors as they flew off leaving an ever shrinking Ponyville behind them.
Chapter 3 ~~~~~~~~~~ 0720 Hours, Snow Fall 21, 3783 (New Kingston) Onocarcan Capital ~~~~~~~~~~ It was a frigid, snowy day in the city of New Kingston. It was the kind of day that made everypony stay indoors unless they had a very good reason for being outside. Well that is with the exception of Pinkie Pie. Every day that snow was on the ground was akin to the best day of her life. She was by far the most lively of the members of Delta 6 and even made routine trips to the infirmary to cheer up all of the wounded ponies there. Even Rainbow Dash was able to enjoy when Pinkie came round. It was a welcome relief from an otherwise boring day of lying in a hospital bed and listening to the sounds of the machines around her. “And then the Viking said no that’s not a Chevy it’s a fjord” said Pinkie rounding off her joke and laughing hysterically in front of Rainbow Dash who was watching from her bed. “Uh Pinkie I have a question” said Rainbow Dash a confused look on her face “what’s a Viking?” This wasn’t the first time the pink earth pony had confused Rainbow Dash with a joke about something that nopony knew about and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. “Oh silly” laughed Pinkie in response to Dash’s question “you know what a Viking is” “Uh actually I have no idea what it is” stated Dash looking even more puzzled now than ever. Pinkie Pie was just about to explain to Rainbow Dash what a Viking was when the room door opened drawing their attention. It was Dr House the Doctor who had been assigned to take care of Rainbow Dash. “Well miss Dash you’ll be pleased by what I have to tell you” said Dr House walking over to the injured Pegasus “you are now well enough to go back to your quarters but” “Oh thank goodness” said Rainbow Dash cutting off Dr House “you have no idea how good it’ll be to get back to work” “Now hang on just a moment” stated the doctor a look of amusement appearing on his face “I cleared you to leave the infirmary, not to go out on any missions” “But why not” argued Dash getting out of the bed and stumbling a little “see I’m fine” “Miss Dash” stated Dr House rather sternly “you still need to strengthen up a bit before you’ll be ready to resume your job in the field” Rainbow Dash sighed. She knew the doctor was right even if her pride would never allow her to admit it. “Pinkie Pie” sighed Dash “can you help me to my room upstairs” “Oaky Doky Loki” said Pinkie Pie pressing herself against Rainbow Dash’s side, ever glad to help a friend in need. The whole way up to her room Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn everypony was staring at her. She felt helpless just like she had once as a child, the feeling she had vowed to never experience again was here and unavoidable. What would the others think, that she was weak and defenseless just like the old Rainbow Dash. Anyway she couldn’t do anything about it. If she tried to walk to her room on her own her leg would give out and only make the situation worse. Despite how long the journey seemed to stretch out for her and Pinkie eventually made it to her room. She lay down on her bed and Pinkie left to go entertain the others in the infirmary again leaving Rainbow Dash alone in her room. A few minutes went by which seemed like hours to the Rainbow Maned Pegasus before something broke the silence of her room. It was Gilda who walked through the door followed by Applejack and Rarity. “How ya feeling Dash?” yawned Gilda clearly exhausted from her new duties of running the squad while Rainbow Dash was recovering. “Better” responded Dash “and at the rate I’m at I should be ready to reassume command of the squad in a few days” “Why on earth would you want to go back to work in the field?” Asked Rarity shock showing in the tone of her voice “you could have died! And now you want to go back out and do it again as if nothing ever happened?” Applejack rolled her eyes and responded to Rarity’s outburst “of course she will, she’s a fighter and there ain’t nothing gunna stop her from getting her job done” “Well obviously” responded Rarity “but she could always take a job in ops with me” “No offense Rarity” said Rainbow Dash “but that sounds just awful” “Now that’s the Dash I remember” joked Gilda remembering their days as kids in jr speedsters, She still hated that chant but it had always been worth it to make her friend happy. “Well I need to get back to ops” stated Rarity clearly displeased with her friend’s choice to remain in the field “Big Macintosh is being sent on a recon mission with Pinkie Pie and somepony needs to monitor those two” Rarity left the room followed by Applejack clearly to go see her brother and friend before their upcoming mission leaving Rainbow Dash and Gilda alone in the room. “Your job is a lot harder than I would’ve guessed” said Gilda chuckling a little. “Yeah” responded Dash “but it’s a rather good job for me” “Well if that’s your thing, but don’t you ever get overwhelmed by all of the random crap that command sends your way?” “I used to” confessed Dash remembering back when she first took over control of Delta 6. Back then there were only 3 squad members: Herself, Big Macintosh, and new to the squad Gilda after they rescued her from captivity during an assassination mission in Hykidos City. She had almost relinquished control of the squad to Big Macintosh but her never give up attitude had kept her going and eventually after the squad became a 4 pony team with the addition of Soarin she found a way to cope with the responsibility of leading a squad. “How’d you do it?” asked Gilda breaking into Rainbow Dash’s thoughts “It just got easier as time went on, I made a system that worked for me and it got easier” “Well I don’t think it’s a job I’m very fond of” confessed Gilda “don’t get me wrong, second in command is a job I can both do and be proud of doing, but I don’t think I’m ready for your job just yet” Rainbow Dash shook her head “you do know that I’m gunna be alright?” she said with a bit of humor in her voice “you won’t take on this job for a good while now” “I guess so” said Gilda cheering up a bit “well I’ve got some work to do, so I’ll see ya in a bit bye” Gilda walked out of the room leaving Dash alone once again. ~~~~~~~~~~ 1400 Hours, Snow Fall 25, 3783 (New Kingston) Onocarcan Capital ~~~~~~~~~~ A thick fog enveloped the city of Appleoosa decreasing visibility by such a great amount that Rainbow Dash couldn’t see more than about 10 feet before images blurred into the mist. Even though this should have been a happy time for Rainbow Dash finally being out in the field after a few days of a recent tragedy during the mission of Big Mac and Pinkie Pie cast a dark shadow over the team leaving them completely drained of spirit and even Rainbow Dash had begun to doubt her teams strength. Not allowing herself to dwell on the subject Rainbow Dash continued onward toward her meet up point with Vinyl Scratch.
