Chapters Getting the Crew Together
[Duran's POV]
Quickly gathering up supplies, I was rather thankful that I was home alone at the time. Sure, I'm going to drop by the school before we set off, but you can never be too cautious.
"You almost done?" Mark asked, popping his head through the door.
"Gotta get another set of reinforced cammies and I'll be." I replied, shifting through all of my clothing to find the set I'm looking for.
"Don't forget the spare boots." With that suggestion, Mark went out, probably getting in the Humvee. Finally locating what I was looking for, I put the items into a duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder, grabbed my rifle, loaded a magazine, cocked it, and was out the door.
There was a squad of changelings and a certain 'Cheeselegs' (by what Mark calls her) waiting at the Humvee.
"What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Mark asked, spreading his arms a little.
"Celestia demanded that I send in a squad to execute you for 'treason'." She commented.
"I take it you saw through her bullshit?" Mark said, leaning against the hood and looking at the Queen.
"Rather easily. She said something along the lines of murder, and I know that you'd only kill in self defense." She answered.
"Yea, she's the murderer. Killed one of my men, released vile excuses for humans into the castle with the intent to kill Dawn and I, and most of the night and death guards are dead." Mark growled, crossing his arms.
"I have a few 'gifts' for my allies, should you accept them." Cheeselegs said, causing Mark to stand straight.
"Depends on what they are." He said. With a nod of her head, another changeling walked forward and bowed to Mark.
"I'm at your service, master." She said.
"Cut the master shit and we'll get along." Mark replied instantly. "So, you're giving me an aide? What about the others?" With another nod of her head, a small group of changelings appeared out of nowhere.
"They are a squad of my Rangers." She said.
"That's hilarious. I'll take 'em." I said, startling the both of them.
"What do you mean by them being funny?" Chrysalis asked, narrowing her eyes a little.
"It's not an insult. I so happen to be a Ranger myself." I replied, looking over the changelings that moved to my side. "What're your names?" I asked. They gave off some fucking numbers, causing me to sigh.
"Give 'em codenames." Mark said. I nodded, and pointed to them.
"Striker. Silver. Wolf. Boomer." I said from left to right. They all nodded in acceptance. "We have one more member on our team, and I don't really know where he is at the moment."
"Can't you smell his pheromones out?" Wolf asked in confusion.
"We don't have specific scents, Wolf." I said. "We have names, faces, hair and skin tones to go by. His name's Callum, and his skin color is dark brown like mine. Go and find him, everyone. Wolf, stay with me." I ordered. They saluted and flew off, looking for the only black man in Equestria.
[Gallan's POV]
I waited for Pinkie to tuck the Cake Twins into bed, fiddling with a pouch that contained a magazine for my BAR.
"They're so cute when they're like this." Pinks whispered as I gently closed the door and followed her into our room.
I still cringe when I look around it, but Pinkie did make it to where it was less pink.
"Pinkie, I have something to tell you." I sighed, sitting on the bed.
"I already know." She grimly smiled. "Mark came by earlier and asked if I was still loyal to Princess Celestia, even after what she did." I feared her answer until she hugged me.
"Thank you." I whispered, releasing a breath I didn't know I held. We shared an embrace that lasted quite a while, until somebody knocked on the doorway.
"I hate to rush you two..." Mark quietly said, looking around while a bug-pony thing stood behind him. "But we need to get moving. Dawn's bought a shop in town, and we're making it the main headquarters."
"So does this mean that you all won't leave Ponyville?" Pinkie asked as I collected my weapons and strapped them onto my person.
"Only when we have to." He sighed. "And I'm also keeping them until all this schisse is over; too risky for any of you to interact. Twilight's in town and she's still with Celestia."
"I promise that I'll come back home, Pinkie." I whispered before quickly kissing her.
Before she could call out, we were outside and piling into the Humvee.
[Third Person]
"So, this is it? Why the fuck's it named Sand Dune's Fireworks Emporium ?" Duffy asked once everybody appeared in the main HQ.
"My pony form's name is Sand Dune. Nobody in town except the Apple family and you know about her being me, and I'd like to keep it that way." Mark answered before pounding a fist into a seemingly random brick. It slid inward and showed a hidden staircase.
"Seems antique." Gallan commented as Mark used a torch (flashlight) to light the way down.
"But effective. Can't allow you all to be seen in the shop too much, so I asked Dawn to install this." Mark replied. The alicorn in question was already there, along with Luna, Williams, and half of the night/death guards that made it out of Canterlot.
"What's the sitrep?" Dawn asked without looking over.
"Twilight's on Celestia's side, but she's the only Element to do so." Doppel answered for Mark.
"I take it Chrysalis refused to side with her?" Luna asked Doppel, who nodded.
"My Queen is preparing the Delta, Rangers, and SEALs for war." She replied. Duffy looked confused.
"She has the same type of warriors that we have?" He asked.
"Sir Mark has told me what his military considers Delta and SEALs. Ours are named differently, but since I'll be working with Sir Mark, I'll reference them as he would. He also said that both of our Rangers are the same." Doppel answered.
"Sir Mark?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Chrysalis knighted you?"
"It's either calling me Sir Mark or calling me Master." Mark grunted, walking over to the map. Looking down at it, he had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"What is it?" Blake asked, before looking too. What he saw also rendered him speechless.
"Is that a map of America?" Gallan asked, peering over Mark's shoulder.
"Gentlemen and ladies..." Mark began. "The plans I had have changed. We're fighting on American soil now." He then looked at Dawn and narrowed his eyes.
"What?" Dawn asked.
"I have one question for you." He began, before taking a deep breath. "WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT WE'RE STILL ON EARTH?!" He yelled in a voice that would put the Royal Canterlot Voice to shame, because Luna actually shrunk back, and she was the master of the RCV.
"It's not like I saw a fucking map while I was trapped in America!" He yelled back.
"How far are we in the future?" Blake asked before Mark could continue. Mark was growling a little, but this was understandable.
"If I had to guess, I would say about a billion years." Dawn finally answered, pacing a little. "Our archaeologists have found several pre-Alicorn ruins, and that puts it back five hundred thousand years, at least." His horn flared and several photographs appeared on the map. Mark looked at all of them, and there was one he quickly identified.
"What's over this building?" He asked, showing it to Dawn.
"Canterlot, several miles under the mountain. We're roughly ten hours away from it if we walk the entire way. Why, what building is it?" He replied.
"This is the White House, perfectly preserved." Mark sighed, flipping through the rest. "Fucking capital of the United States and Celestia's sitting her ass right over it..."
"So, what now?" Gallan asked.
"Kill Celestia and her forces. The main objective hasn't changed, but we have one minor advantage." Mark said.
"And that is?" Luna asked.
All of the Americans answered.
"We're fighting on the homefront."
Author's Note
For those who don't read the comment section; this is not tied fully in with the fate of Marine in Equestria; this is an alternate universe to it. And I will admit, it is a bit cheesy.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. "Alright, bring 'em in." I said to Dawn half an hour later, folding my arms.
"What are they, again?" He asked, closing his eyes.
"Three Black Hawk helicopters, three Little Bird helicopters, three Panther tanks, and two more Humvees." I replied.
"Got it, Mark. I'll need add air conditioning for the tanks later, because this might take a lot out of me." He said as his horn flared up and one started materializing. Never seen him summon anything before, so it was very interesting to watch. The tank just kinda phased in like mist at first, getting more solid as it came closer to being here fully.
"Where's Schmidt? Be best for him to talk to them first..." I muttered, and as if on command, he appeared with Luna. "Right on time, Schmidt! Dawn's bringing three Panthers, so when the assault on Las Vegas is over, you can take them back to Germany to reverse engineer them."
"That's the plan." He nodded, walking over next to it in his greatcoat and cradling his MP40. Damn, dude looked more like an SS than infantry.
When the Panther finished appearing, several people inside shouted in German, causing Schmidt to hop onto the top and shout back.
"This better work..." I muttered as the hatch on top flipped open and a head popped out.
"We're on the same side!" I shouted at him, causing him to nod and speak with the rest of the crew below.
"Any news from the Fatherland?" Crew Member 1 asked as he lifted himself out. I took a moment to look over the tank, and hid a smile when I saw an MG42 fixed onto it.
"Germany has fallen, but this is the future. New Germany is back to an industrial powerhouse, and she needs your help." Schmidt told him.
"Why should I trust you?" 1 asked as he was handed an MP40 from another crew member.
"Because I am the leader of the First Reich." He growled a little.
"Then I live to serve you, sir." He said, hopping off and scanning the area. I'm now very glad we decided to do this outside of town.
"How well do you speak English?" I asked him, shouldering my weapon (MP44/StG-44).
"Not very well, unfortunately. None of my crew can even understand it." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
"That's gonna be a little bit of a problem..." I muttered, before nodding to Dawn.
"We're bringing in two more Panthers. Could you move your tank over there?" Dawn asked, pointing to a spot that I marked earlier. He nodded, shouted some commands into the tank, and with a small roar, it lumbered forward.
"What do you mean by 'bringing'?" I guessed he was the crew chief by the way the others were listening to him.
"Magic exists here." Was all I explained as another Panther started appearing. Crew chief watched with wide eyes as we repeated the action twice, while Luna had to help Dawn once he started to wear out.
"I can't bring in anymore..." Dawn wheezed once we got the third tank into position. "And... Luna can't either..." He added, about to collapse.
"Alright, let's call it a day." I said, patting his back before turning to the crews idling around me.
"Leave one man for each crew at your tank!" I ordered. They nodded and each of the crew chiefs stayed, while the others gathered around me and Schmidt.
"Follow us to the town we're outside. No shooting unless we fire first." Schmidt ordered with a glare. They saluted and followed us, loyal until death to the Fatherland.
[At HQ]
"So, what are we looking at?" One of the gunners asked as the rest set themselves up in some bunks.
"We're in the future, just so you know right now." I said, before pointing at the map. "Humans who have been killed in action have been appearing here for the last few years, starting with me."
"So, what happened to the Fatherland?" He asked.
"The Third Reich fell when Hitler committed suicide in 1945." I answered. "Japan surrendered several months later due to the United States being forced to use two weapons of mass destruction. After the war, Germany was split in half."
"How do I know you're not lying?" He asked.
"What's your name?" I questioned.
"Pvt. Granum Vil." He replied.
"Well, Private Vil, I'm an American soldier roughly sixty years after you died." I answered. "I'm half German, which is why I'm able to fluently speak our language."
"I'll buy that." Vil finally said. "So, why did you bring in some armor?"
"Because the human race is at war with a genocidal maniac. Kind of like what Hitler did against the Jews, but more of an entire race than religion."
"Where do I start helping?" Good, that's what I wanted to hear.
"We start by attacking Las Vegas at six thirty tomorrow morning. With luck, we'll catch these assholes with their pants down. Since their ponies, it'll be metaphorical pants." I grinned, tracing a few paths.
"What's the plan of attack?" Another gunner asked, placing his MP40 on the edge of the map.
"The tanks will hit here," I started, tapping the west part of the city. "You'll be under the command of Schmidt. My strike force will flank from the east several minutes later. The death guards will strike from the north, while the night guards will catch them from the south. With luck, we won't lose too many men."
"And what of the changelings?" Dawn asked, slowly moving to stand next to me.
"They'll be with all of us, spread out through the ranks." I answered.
"What numbers are we looking at?" Vil asked.
"Roughly two hundred day guards are in the city at any time." Dawn answered. "Since Celestia expects us to hit Canterlot, she might withdraw most of them, but it's always good to bring more than you need."
"I'll also add two Humvees to your group." I said to the gunners. "But only if the magic users in our group can get them here in time." I added after a moment.
It was about time for us to go to war.
Author's Note
all them italics.
"First thing I want to know." I told the crews as our ghetto army assembled near the three Panthers, the unicorns starting to help Dawn and Luna bring in what they can. "Is how thick your armor is."
The crew that was brought in first answered first. "We have 120mm armor with a 75mm main gun. There is an MG42 with completely armor piercing ammunition that serves as our machine gun." The chief replied as I observed it for structural weaknesses, besides the rear armor of course.
Hopping up, I quickly checked the inside before grunting in satisfaction.
"It'll be perfect for the job." I said, before pointing at another crew. "Your armor rating."
"80mm armor plates with two MG32s for the anti-infantry role." Their crew chief answered. I nodded to the third.
"Tiger II, with 175mm armor plating, 105mm main gun, and two MG42s for the anti-infantry." The third one proudly said, causing me to do a double-take. I couldn't help but grin. And wonder how the fuck I didn't notice that it wasn't a Panzer IV until now.
"I was simply hoping for three Panthers. Seems we have one that's better." I said, before whistling at Cavalier.
"Sir?" He questioned, doing a pony salute.
"How well do you know mechanical shit?" I asked, folding my arms and looking down at him.
"My father's a blacksmith, and I've picked up on some things. I know a spell or two concerning metal. Why?" He answered, looking a little confused.
"We gotta get some of the mechanical problems on this tank outta the way." I replied, beckoning the Tiger II crew over. "Point out the parts that give you the most trouble, he'll fix them." I told them. They nodded, and luckily one was able to speak some English. I left them to their devices and turned to look at how Dawn and the others were doing. Already, there were the other two Humvees, three parked Little Birds, and a Black Hawk was appearing as I watched. Duffy was having a shouting contest with the pilots and a Vietnam era soldier that had a broken M16 at his feet.
"Oi!" I shouted, throwing an empty magazine at the arguing idjits. I struck the 'Nam soldier in the chest and simultaneously shut them up while drawing the attention to me. "We're on the same fucking side! Stop arguing and listen to the damn man. That's an order." I said, giving them a view of the star on my collar. They reluctantly stopped their bickering and allowed Duffy to explain what the fuck was going on.
"We're ready to move out, sir!" Vil told me, giving me a Nazi salute. I nodded and turned to Dawn.
"Time for the adjustments." I told him, going over to the changelings that were grouped around Callum and Duran.
"We're all ready." Duran said, getting to his feet and going towards a Humvee.
"Nope, you're on a Little Bird." I told him, shaking my head. "I'm putting what'shisface over there in the Humvee with Callum and Duffy. You're with a squad of Chrysalis' Rangers." I ordered, jabbing my finger towards a Bird.
"I've been on worse assignments. Least I know how to pilot a helicopter." He said, going over to the pilot of the one I indicated.
"Sir?" The pilot said as he walked over.
"Go on to the HQ and get some rest. You're pulling guard duty. One of the changelings around here will show you where you're being posted." I told him. He saluted me and vice versa.
"What's your name, soldier?" I asked the 'Nam guy.
"Staff Sergeant Dusk, sir!" He said with a salute. I frowned a little.
"JUST Dusk?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sadly, yes sir. I was an orphan before I enlisted." He sighed.
"Alright, I have nothing against that." I said, before leading him to the original Humvee. "You're on the comm. unit, alright?"
"I read you, sir." He said, sliding in. I jogged over to one of the Black Hawks and grabbed a scoped M14 before checking the ammunition in the magazine. I watched Schmidt unsling his Kar98k and climb onto the Tiger II.
"This is Blitz Alpha." Schmidt's voice rang out on all secure channels. "We are ready to go."
"This is Blaster Alpha." I said into the comm. unit I had sitting next to me. "All choppers are ready." Indeed they were; the rotors were ready and we were half a foot off of the ground.
"This is Compy Alpha." Dusk's voice said, his group inspired somewhat by the book Jurassic Park. "Both Humvees ready to move out." We were leaving one at Sweet Apple Acres, just incase Sunbutt decided to send in a scout.
"This is Stealth Alpha." A changeling Ranger said. "We're all ready to go."
"Night Leader here." Cavalier said. "All Night Guards ready to commence attack."
"Death Leader standing by." A Death Guard pegasus by the name of Evasive said. "Ready to commence attack on Las Pegasus."
"This is Blaster Alpha!" I shouted. "Green light! I repeat, green light! Operation Blitzkrieg is a go!"
"FOR THE NEW LUNAR REPUBLIC!" We all (save for the new arrivals) shouted at the same time.
My men've died in one war, and now they must fight in another. I will not let them down.
Author's Note
Yes, I know the armor thickness may be incorrect. I don't really care that much.
"One minute!" The pilot shouted, causing me to make sure that my M14 was fully prepared. My energy sword was fully functional, too. Ahead loomed Las Pegasus, and I could already see that Schmidt's team made good time in getting there. There were several flashes of light and a faint boom with only moments in between them.
"Blaster Alpha, this is Blitz Alpha, come in." Schmidt said over the radio.
"This is Blaster Alpha, what do you need?" I replied.
"Simply a warning; there happens to be a large concentration of unicorn guards and gryphon mercenaries." He explained as the MG42s of the Tiger II roared in the background.
"Copy that. Over and out." I said, before nodding at the pilot.
"Rope out! Drop now!" He shouted, and we were spurred into action. My group consisted of Delta changelings and two SEALs changelings, but they dropped like bricks and hit the ground running. I had to go down via rope, and I was forced to grit my teeth at what I saw.
About thirty yards ahead, Duran's Little Bird touched down, and a magical missile promptly smashed into the cockpit, blowing the entire thing up in a magical explosion. I hoped to God he didn't even have time to feel himself die before he was burned to a crisp.
"Goddammit!" Dusk shouted as the Humvee he was in swerved to avoid another missile. The Black Hawk above me flew off to provide sniper cover from Duffy.
"Who else was in that fucking helicopter?!" I shouted into the radio at Dusk.
"Duran and a squad of changeling Rangers." He yelled as the gunner fired the fiddy. I swore as I dove behind a rock to avoid losing my face.
'KIA Rick Duran. I have a letter written by him that goes to the school teacher in town.' I mentally told Doppel, popping my head and arms out of cover to halfassedly snipe.
'Right away, Mark.' She replied. When I stopped to reload, I already had a kill count of seven guards and three gryphons. I couldn't help myself as my thoughts switched to what would happen if Doppel should be captured by Celestia.
All I have to say, is that we'll find out what cyanide will do to a changeling. Thank Colgate for taking out one of everyone's molars and putting in a fake one; if any of us should get captured, we all have strict orders to rip the fucker out at the first opportunity and commit suicide. Better than hemorrhaging information to the enemy.
I snapped back to reality in time to shove my M14 in the way of a flaming sword. I came out unscathed, but the gun was cleaved in half, therefore rendering it useless.
"Sumbitch... Come at me." I growled, drawing my energy sword and falling back into a defensive stance. The gryphon grinned at me and twirled his flaming sword.
"With pleasure." He said before leaping forward, using his wings in an unfair advantage. I blocked the sword with mine, half surprised that it didn't just fall apart by the blade. Not letting him take advantage of my surprise, I sucker punch him where the spleen would be on a human.
I kept pushing against him, scoring light cuts at the expense of having to put out three fires on my cammies.
"Sumbitch fuck up already!" I growled, kicking upwards and hitting him square in the jaw. While he was stunned, I switched my sword out for a shield, laughed when it actually worked, and bashed his face in.
Panting heavily, I looked over his unconscious form as several changelings dragged some bound and gagged guards over to me.
"We captured them after managing to shoot off their horns, sir." The squad leader said as they unceremoniously dumped them next to my catch of the day. After a moment, I recognized them as one of the groups that went in with Schmidt.
"How's it going, Mark?" Dusk asked.
"Got several prisoners. Need a Black Hawk for extraction." I answered. "How're you doing?"
"Just fucking peachy! Engine fucking died on us and we're in the middle of a bloodbath." He growled.
"I'll call for it myself." I told him, before switching to another secure channel and clicking twice.
"What do you need?" Duffy asked over the sound of a few gunshots.
"Prisoner extraction." I replied, looking around as I changed my shield back into an energy sword.
"Copy that. We're en route. Pop a flare." He said. I grabbed the flare on my belt, popped the cap off, and tossed it near us.
"One of you stay with me, the rest rejoin the battle." I told the changelings who were patiently waiting for orders. One stepped forward while the rest flew off.
"Any of you even much as twitch, he's blowing a hole in your face." I said to the unicorns, before going to Duran's wreckage.
Half an hour later saw Duffy, a changeling, several captured and hornless unicorns, an unconscious gryphon, a crispy Duran, and I heading back towards Ponyville.
"Jesus..." I muttered, slowly stroking the charred remains of Duran's hair as if it'd bring him back to life.
"There was nothing you could do, Mark." Brandon quietly said.
"I could've told Dawn to not bring in anybody else." I whispered, before putting Duran's helmet to mine. "But I did, and he paid the price."
"You couldn't have known he'd die like that and you know it." He firmly said.
"It still doesn't make this any better. Anyone could've died, and he was one of the unlucky ones." I grunted.
"At least you care about your men, Mark." Brandon said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "In my opinion, any leader worth his salt cares about his men. You didn't just decide to throw us at a wall and hope for the best, not caring who died or why." He added.
"Sounds kinda like my CO back in Afghanistan." I muttered, keeping a lookout for day guards with Duffy's M24.
'I delivered the letter, Mark.' Doppel said. 'Cheerilee was in school when I slipped it under the door, so she won't read it until after you get back.'
'Do you think you can fix him up a little? Make him look less like a charred primate and more like a sleeping human?' I asked.
'I can do my best. Restoration magic isn't my strong suit, but I'll do my best.' She answered.
'Good. I don't want Cheerilee puking when she sees him again.' I said before sighing, thumping my head against the side.
God, I hate war.
Author's Note
KIA, Rick Duran. Won't be the last.
Stepping off of the helicopter in the POW camp, I sighed as I put Duran's body over my shoulders, grunting a little under the weight.
"You don't have to do that, you know." Duffy commented.
"Process the prisoners." I muttered. "And get the gryphon checked on, I don't know if I gave him brain trauma or not."
"Aye aye." He replied, and proceeded to lead the unicorns out, being helped by the changeling.
'Doppel, I'ma need a cloak to get through the town.' I told her. A pop later, and I was in the underground war room, being stared at by a few humans, changelings, and ponies.
"...Or teleport me. Either way." I sighed and put Duran on his bunk, doing my best to not fuck his body up anymore than it already was. I also noticed that the map had been moved from the table and pinned to a wall.
Half an hour later, I snapped.
"GODFUCKINGDAMMIT!" I shouted, throwing my helmet and it became a lethal projectile as it flew down the barracks.
"What the buck?!" A reserve yelled in pain as I strode over to the map, looking over for our next attack.
"Are you well?" Luna hesitantly asked. In return, I gave her a glare that I only rese- No, having those thoughts would only make this worse.
"I'm just FUCKING peachy!" I sarcastically growled. "Shut the fuck up, I'm looking for a place to liberate." Luna recoiled as if I had slapped her physically; I bet a billion bits nobody had the balls to say that to her before.
"Mark, taking it out on Luna isn't going to help you any." Dawn said as he stepped up next to me.
"Would you rather I beat myself raw? Because that's the other option." I grumbled, slamming my head against the wall. As I tried to do it again, I found that my head was encased in a silvery aura.
"No. You couldn't have known what would happen. It could have been your helicopter rather than Duran's." Dawn half yelled.
"Well I fucking ordered him to pilot that damn scrap heap!" I yelled back. "I had a trained pilot for it already, and I told him to pull guard duty!" I then sighed. "It was a big fucking mistake, and Duran paid for it with his life."
"You can grieve for your loss later." Luna hesitantly said once she noticed that I was unable to yell anymore. "Right now, we need you to lead us into battle."
"Right..." I sighed, and Dawn let me go to return to the map. "First off, we don't have enough stores of food to last us if we're also going to hire mercenaries. We need to occupy a farm town. Or two."
"I reccomend Appleloosa, if humans are able to eat apples." Dawn offered. Luna said something about a peach town down near where Florida was. Glancing down briefly, I noticed they had a city named Maneami. Joy.
"We'll go after Appleloosa first, since it's only fifty miles from Las Vegas." I said, before looking around for something. "How many ponies live there?"
"Roughly a hundred, about a third are Apples." Applejack answered, causing all of us to look up in surprise. Doppel was standing next to her, a somewhat sheepish look on her face.
"How the hell did you know we were down here?" I asked, smiling for the first time that day.
"Pinkie." Was all that she answered.
"Right. Anyway, if there's only a hundred ponies, we certainly won't be expecting that many in guards." I said, turning back to the map. "Hand me the radio, will you?" Doppel did as I asked. I clicked three times; that was for Schmidt to answer.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Send about a third of the forces about fifty miles south." I said. "From the map I'm looking at, there should be a farming community called Appleloosa."
"How many do you want to stay behind and garrison Las Vegas?" He asked the million dollar question.
"A Panther, a Humvee, a few squads of Night and Death guards, and a regiment of changelings." I answered. "The rest of them return to base to rearm and prepare for another attack. If this all goes well, we'll have two farming communities under the NLR banner by the end of the week."
"Roger that. I'll be leading the forces into Appleloosa if it's fine with you." He answered.
"Bro, you're the leader of another nation. Make your own damn decisions." I laughed.
"With all due respect General, we're operating on American soil. Therefore, you're in charge, not me." He replied. I sighed and lightly thunked my head against the wall.
"Our men need somebody to lead them. I'm going to be doing some stuff that require my expertise, so you're in charge. Please, don't get any of my men killed. You know that I care more of them than the changelings, as the drones are pretty much weapon fodder." I finally said. I hated saying that, but that's pretty much what they're born to do.
"Roger that. Blitz leader out." Schmidt said, before turning off.
"What does fodder mean?" Applejack asked as Doppel handed me a clipboard that I mentally asked for while talking to Schmidt.
"Food. Picked up on the word while watching Star Wars . Great movie series, I'd recommend it if you guys had any of our DVDs or books." I replied, looking down the list of stuff. Nodding, I motioned at a changeling.
"Sir?" He asked after giving me a salute.
"Can you teleport yourself and somebody else?" I asked, walking down to the armory with him and Applejack in tow.
"Yes sir." He said with a nod. I grinned and opened the door, before dragging out my old ass suit.
"What're ya getting that fer?" AJ asked as I started suiting up.
"Reasons. Go get Duffy and Dash, and bring 'em back. I'll explain when the five of us are together." I said. AJ relucantly nodded as I started looking around for what I'd need.
[Half mile outside Canterlot]
"You know this is a stupid idea, right?" Duffy quietly said over his walkie talkie.
"With this being the only railroad to the bloody castle, it's gonna hit them since most of the nobles don't like walking long distances." I answered. "And any military airships going in and out of the area will be blown out of the sky. "
Bless Dawn, Luna, and Chrysalis for bringing in five A-10 Warthogs. I'm being held for giving each of them a kiss later, when I'm outside of AJ's range of detection.
"Celestia wi-" Duffy started.
"Will wonder what the fuck they are. I know for a fact she doesn't really know what in God's name a tank is. She only knows what it can do and what it looks like." I cut him off. Poking a final wire into the brick, I nodded and stood up.
"Teleport us to Duffy's position." I said, and we disappeared with a flash of light.
"Still think this is a bad idea..." Duffy muttered as he got down on his stomach, watching the tracks.
"This blast is dedicated by the USMC, proving that even after the human race has been extinct, that we cannot keep from blowing shit up!" I remarked.
"Poetic." Dash sarcastically said, before I pushed the little red button. A small chunk of ground and railroad ceased to exist as the C-4 detonated into a beautiful mushroom cloud.
"We safe back here?" The changeling asked, a little nervously.
"Yea, the cloud pattern is tellin' me exactly what's happening." I replied, before comically opening an umbrella and putting it over my head. All of them looked at me like I was insane. "Shrapnel's gonna be little shards of metal and rock shooting straight up in a shotgun pattern. Anything that flew above th-" I was cut off by a day guard pegasus scout slamming into the ground, almost into the crater. "Like that. Shrapnel's sliced him all to hell, and the only thing that would survive that shit would be our vehicles or a dragon. Anyway, we might have some of it blown our way pretty soon, but the only way they'll hurt is if they get in your eyes." I finished. About-facing, I nodded to the changeling, who started charging his horn.
"What about me, Duffy, an' Dash?" AJ asked.
"Keep yourselves out of sight. Duffy knows the drill already, so listen to him. Him and Dash will be staying behind for a couple of days to drive off anybody wanting to repair the tracks." I answered right before disappearing.
"Now that the railroad is out of the picture..." I muttered, crossing off 'blow the fuck out of the tracks' on my shit-to-do list.
"We can begin going after the peach farms." Dawn finished.
"What was the name of it again?" I asked.
"It's in Alabama." Was all he said, before using a pointer to slap right the fuck where Birmingham was.
"Jesus H. Christ..." I muttered. "That's where a bunch of racial shit in the South happened, if I remember correctly. Alright, how many ponies are we looking at?" I asked, looking around for somebody to give me an estimate.
"Three hundred or so. That's thirty guards, and most of them are pegasi." Chrysalis answered. When we all looked at her, she shrugged. "There's a hive colony a mile south of it. I do not know the name, just the location."
"Figures..." I muttered, before grinning. "Pegasi can be fast, but even for Dash, it would be difficult to get out of the way of a bullet."
"How many are going, sir?" Dusk asked, walking over to me.
"A Humvee and a Little Bird. A few squads of changelings can ride in as flies or something." I answered.
"Got it. I'll go get the troops prepared." He said, before rousing several people from their sleep.
[0130]
"Go go go!" The pilot shouted as we touched down. We jumped the last foot down to the ground, and I brought up my M60.
"Nobody saw us." John Jamesson whispered as he brought his M4A1 up to his shoulder, looking down the sight.
"Good. Makes my job a lot easier." I muttered, turning my M60 into an RPG-7. "Open any window in the barracks for the guards, so I can put a rocket in it." I muttered into the radio.
"Roger that." Gallan answered as I moved at a crouch, using any available cover and the shadows to my advantage.
"Window in the main barracks is open, sir. Ready to plug in a grenade or two." He said after a tense silence..
"I'm doing that myself." I answered. A single click answered me as Gallan stealth rolled past me.
Boy's been learning from Pinks, that's fosho.
"...There are some things that I will never be able to understand." Another SEAL, chap named Ryan Andrews, muttered.
"Same here, Andrews." I answered, putting the RPG to my shoulder and letting it off. A rocket propelled grenade flew in through the window and slammed into something. An explosion sounded as a ball of flame burst through the opening, possibly torching everything inside.
"Andrews, breach and clear." I muttered.
"Sir." He said, going over to the front door, pulling the pin on a flashbang before kicking the door down and tossing it in. After a second, he slipped inside.
A moment later, I was suddenly on the ground. I barely had the time to figure out that I had been shot in the lung before John's face appeared in my dimishing sight.
"Sloppy, but I don't have what I really came in with." He sighed, before putting the pistol in his holster. "Celestia sends her regards." He chuckled darkly, before smashing his boot down on my face.
[Unknown time and location]
John's first mistake was letting me live. The second was not tying me up. And the third was not ripping out my cyanide filled molar. Bitch is gonna get it.
At the moment, all I had on me were my cyanide molar (which I ripped out and stuck in a pocket) and my bare hands. For a Marine, the second hand is overkill.
"Time to figure out where I am..." I muttered, looking around for something to indicate where I am. It was pretty easy; I'm in a fucking cell. Possibly in Canterlot, but I'm not sure.
"Hey, you're awake, right?" Ryan whispered from a cell next to me.
"Yea. You rip out your molar?" I replied, crouching as closely as I could to him.
"It's in my shirt pocket. Do we use them on ourselves?" He asked. I had to think for a moment.
"Only if they start trying to make you hemmorage out information." I answered.
"Got it." He whispered as a guard came in.
"No talking!" She shouted at us, hitting me in the chest with the shaft of a spear. I grunted in pain and fell on my ass, before I felt myself get dragged out. Looking over at Ryan's cell, I knew that he was feeling like shit from the way he looked.
'Doppel.' I tried contacting her, but I got nthing in return.
'I'm all alone.' I thought with a frown. I felt something I haven't felt since I've come here.
Fear.
The fuckers are torturing us. Looking around me as I was strapped to the table, I realized I wasn't the first to be mind raped. They were dragging three corpses away, two humans and one changeling. The humans, my men, had used their cyanide capsules like I had told them to, because their faces looked sorta melted away from the inside. I'm guessing their gums and teeth dissolved when they bit the tooth.
Don't know if it was cyanide or the mind rape that killed the changeling, but I honestly don't want to find out. I was thrown onto a table and strapped down, before a light blinded the fuck out of me for a moment. When I was able to see again, the view was exactly like that from the alien DLC for Fallout 3, save for the things about to stick something in me were ponies, not aliens.
"Let me the fuck go!" I yelled, squirming in my bindings.
"Let's see if this won't kill him like the others." One of the unicorns absentmindedly said, completely ignoring me. I snarled as he brought his horn to my head and cast some fuckery.
Pain. Jesus Christ all of this pain. I'm betting I know exactly how my men died, it's one of the only complete thoughts I could get through. Except I didn't let them know what was killing us. My jaw was clenched so hard I felt a few teeth crack. In a spasm, I noticed that my wrist bindings were a little too big to properly fit, an error on their part.
So, fighting through the pain, I slowly forced my hand into my pocket and grasped the tooth in a subconscious act. I then punched the unicorn probing me in the face, forced his mouth open, and broke open the tooth. The cyanide reacted almost instantly; he started choking and gargling, before slumping over my chest, completely dead.
Not wasting any time, I savagely ripped his unneeded horn off and impaled one of the 'interrogators' in the right eye, also killing him instantly. The third had the time to let out a yell, while standing very close to me. As he went in to gorge me with his horn, I twisted out of the way, grabbed his neck, and twisted it a full 145 degrees.
Chuckling darkly, I finished unstrapping myself and proceeded to rip off the other two horns. Ryan was getting one as a weapon until we could find ours. I was keeping the other two as trophies.
"If Celestia's promoting torture, I'll let my men keep trophies of their kills if they wish." I muttered as I retraced the route back to the holding cells.
"What happened?" Ryan asked once I stealth rolled my way back.
Gallan ain't the only one whose been learning from Pinkie.
"They tried to mind rape me until I hemorrhaged information that they wanted. When I got there, they were removing several bodies. The three humans had bit into their molars while under the pressure of the pain, and I'm not sure as to what killed the changeling. Thankfully, they think that the torture they're doing is what's killing us." I explained while I looked around for the keys.
"The keys are in the desk." A guard told me, stepping into my vision as she morphed back into a changeling. "Shiv of the Night Guard, reporting for duty." She said with a salute.
"Good to have you, Shiv." I said, taking out the keys and unlocking each and every cell. I swear, Ryan almost unclenched his anus to the point of soiling himself (that's bad for a SEAL) when a naga slithered out of the largest cell at the end.
"I am in your debt." The snake/fish person said to me, crossing his arms over his chest and bowing a little.
"Then come with me and fight." I requested. He nodded and slithered after me as I looked around for our weapons. When I did, Ryan, the changeling (who morphed into a copy of me), and I stocked up on firearms, ammunition, and grenades while the naga picked up a fucking twelve foot sword as if it was a foam one.
"What's the plan?" Ryan quietly asked as I looked checked over the remaining grenades and a brick of C-4.
"Let some of the others provide a distraction while the rest of us escape." I answered as I ghetto'd up a timer for the brick.
"That's not very honorable, monkey." The naga rumbled.
"I'm human, not monkey." I shot back. "Besides, even if we all escape, some won't make it to the nearest NLR outpost if they had to fight for it." As I said this, one of the changelings keeled over. The others (mainly changelings and ponies) did their best to revive him, but their efforts were in vain.
"Look at him!" I shouted to all of the prisoners, who turned to look at me. What I found out later, was that a few actual guards had arrived and were listening to me too. "He is the victim of Celestia and her guards! Victim of the Solar Empire!"
This got everyone's attention. I smiled a little and continued.
"Join the New Lunar Republic!" I offered. "We're working to dethrone Celestia and bring unity among every sentient species. We're already allied with the changelings, and most humans who still live here are on our side."
"What would happen to us if we don't join?" A Diamond Dog asked. I glanced at the door for a split second, and saw a female guard subtly nod to me.
'Seems that some of Celestia's guards don't like this schisse.' I thought.
"Unless you join the Solar Empire, absolutely nothing." I told them. "We'll do our best to get you home, but until we win, don't expect many relief supplies to be handed out to you all willy nilly."
"Come over here and collect weapons if you're with us!" Ryan called out. At this moment (while everyone else was distracted) three guards came in, and lightly tossed their helmets to the ground near my feet, in a non threatening way.
"Celestia's system has long been corrupt." The mare from earlier said. "If you do what you say you aim to, we'll be glad to switch sides."
"We're pledging loyalty to you until death." A pegasus said.
"We'll see." I said before frowning.
"What is it?" A changeling weakly said.
"It's nothing important. I'm just missing my weapons from before." I dismissed.
"Alright!" I called out to everyone once they settled down. "I need seven able fighters, save for the naga." The Diamond Dog, two half starved changelings, and four pegasi stepped forward.
"What I'm asking of you is potential suicide." I warned them. "I won't say anything if you all back down."
"We pledge loyalty to the Queen and her allies until death." The two changelings bravely said.
"I lost my pack to the white ones." The Dog spat, glaring at the three ponies behind me.
"We're all with the NLR, ready to serve the Princess of the Night until death." The pegasi confirmed.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." I muttered. "Alright, I need you seven to provide a distraction." I explained, taking a map from one of the (now) ex-guards. "Do enough damage here," I said, pointing a spot out, "and it'll bring them coming. Distract them until the explosives over there set off. When that happens, get your asses out of here through any means necessary. Should all go well, we'll meet up outside the wall, and hopefully have a few vehicles to exfil us."
"When do we start?" The Diamond Dog asked. In response, I kicked the door down.
"NOW!"
Changeling Gear and More Plans
I finished the device (after spending half the night awake, fiddling with it), now I had to test it out. Which is why I was currently in the hospital, talking to the changeling that was admitted yesterday.
"You want me to try on this device of yours?" The changeling, code name 'Bubba', asked. Somewhat eagerly, might I add.
"Yes, Bubba." I answered while checking the mask a final time for flaws. Thankfully, both male and female changelings (aside from Chrysalis, but that's because she's bigger) have the same facial structures, so I was able to mold it against Doppel's face. She seemed eager to help me, too.
I made a mold for Chrysalis' equipment, but I haven't had the time to make it yet. During the mold creating, I had a heavily discussed topic; her changelings need to stop calling me King. She reluctantly agreed and told all of them to stop over a telepathic message.
Since, (according to Chrysalis) Bubba and Doppel have joined my hive, they've been excluded from that order.
"Are you sure this will work, my king?" Bubba asked as I strapped him in, lifting his front up a little.
"I'll admit; I had to jury rig half the damn thing, and was half asleep. And I'm also not an expert in SCUBA equipment, but I did a pretty good job with the stuff I had on hand." I confessed, before nodding and releasing his body.
"I'll do this for you, King Mark!" He exclaimed as I slid the mask into place. As soon as I gave him the go ahead, he started sucking on a tube that lead into the twin tanks strapped to his belly. After a moment of sucking, his eyes widened in surprise as a pleasently warm liquid flowed into his mouth.
"It works!" He exclaimed after he finished swallowing, pushing the mask down to his neck.
"Keep it on ya. With work on the final design already being funded, we'll need the data coming from your trial run." I suggested. Being one of my soldiers in my hive, Bubba took that as an order. "Try walking around."
'Jesus, that sounded like every video game tutorial ever.' I couldn't help but think. Once he got down a slightly awkward walk, the two of us left.
"So, what was that liquid?" He asked as we walked down several hallways.
"Cum." I answered, my mind on other things. Namely, Applejack's presuasive way of making me sleep.
"W-What?!" He blushed deeply, probably thinking it was mine. Once I realized what I said, I preformed a facepalm that would make /b/ proud.
"Shit, sorry. My wife had sex with me last night to make me go to sleep." I apologized. "The fluids are mere salt water. Gallan had done an experiment on a willing Doppel a few days ago and it works the same as love does."
"How has Queen Applejack been treating you, sir?" Bubba asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"Better than Celestia has, that's for damn sure." I answered. "...And Obama did when I was back in my true time." God, I haven't even thought about that black dude for four years. Everyone back home said he was a shitty president, but then they went around and reelected him. Fucking American logic.
"Who's Obama?" Bubba asked as we left, heading towards the Emporium . Half of the damn town knew where the HQ was, but what they didn't know is that we have two HQs in Ponyville. The other one was under Dawn's basement.
"One of the leaders of this country, but like a billion or something years ago." I answered.
"Equestria?" Bubba asked.
"Nope. This is, to me and all of the humans, the United States of America." I answered, before pointing at the hazy image of Canterlot. "Right under that mountain and a billion pounds of dirt, rock, and other crap is the capital. Washington DC, where Obama ran the country. The building is called the White House, and it's been standing there ever since I left the time of 2012."
"Did anything happen to the White House?" He asked while we continued strolling.
"A few times, besides new Presidents living there." I answered. "The first major event was the British, Blake happens to be British by the way, burned it down to the ground."
"Do you want me to do something about him?" Bubba creepily asked.
"No? That was about 200 years before either of us were born, Bubba, and he's my ally now. It's all water under the bridge concerning our countries." He seemed a little disappointed. "Hey, what do changeling hives do about invading hives?" I asked to take his mind off of killing Blake, probably brutally.
"We crush them." He answered without missing a beat.
"Then that's what we have to do with Celestia and her troops." I answered with an evil grin. Bubba's grin matched mine as we took the hidden stairs going into the war room/barracks/mess hall/training grounds/errything else.
"What's with the grins?" Doppel asked, a little confused.
"Nothing important." I answered, before going over to the map. Apparently, there was two new colors; my 'hive'(grey) and Schmidt's German ponies (black).
'Well, I'm screwed over because it's official; I'm a fucking king.' I couldn't help but sigh, before shaking my head. Winning comes before my negative emotions.
"What's with the tanks strapped to Bubba?" Doppel asked after noticing them.
"New battle kit for changelings." I answered. "It's why I used your face as a mold, remember?"
"Uh.. Yea." She hesitantly replied, blushing green.
'Oh Jesus...' She fucking heard, or saw, me and AJ going at it.
"Alright." I said, shaking my head. "Any suggestions on where to strike besides Canterlot? We need to throw off Celestia's predictions on where we'll strike next."
"Cloudsdale?" Doppel suggested.
'That... Might be a good idea. Only pegasi and changelings can fight there, unless in a chariot, airship, or helicopter.' I thought, before nodding.
"Alright." I nodded. "Chrysalis' changelings and the night guards will be the main force, with the humans providing sniper support and death guards as combat medics." I planned out.
"And what'll we be doing, King Mark?" Doppel asked, looking at me.
"Well, since we're only using pegasi and changelings in Cloudsdale (and a Black Hawk for two snipers), the ground forces will be en route to New York." I answered. At that moment, Ryan stepped up next to me.
"How many are assaulting Manhatten?" He asked, while Doppel and Bubba lowly growled.
"Only leaving a skeleton crew to keep up the HQs and POW camp." I answered. "For what Schmidt's sending, only he can answer. I don't run his troops." Looking at my changelings, I rolled my eyes.
"What's with them?" Ryan asked, also noticing.
"They're, so far, the only two changelings in my Hive." I answered. "Stand down, he isn't a threat. Boy just broke out of prison with me, if he wanted to plug a bullet in my ass he would've done so already." They relucantly did so, going back to my side.
"Hive?" Ryan asked in confusion.
"Aye. Almost all of the changelings you see are a part of Chrysalis' hive. Doppel and Bubba are mine. Striker, the only changeling in Luna's Night Guard, is a part of Luna's hive." I think, anyway. "A hive has to have a King or Queen leading it, and that's why Striker keeps calling Luna 'Queen' instead of 'Princess'."
Don't think she understands why, either. Might have to tell her before she snaps and hurts him or something.
"Ah, I see." No he didn't. He left a moment later to go alert the humans.
"I'll go alert the changeling troops." Doppel said, teleporting off in that changeling-only way. With the green fire and all that.
"Bubba, go send a message to Schmidt." I said, writing down something in half-assed German for him to read.
"Yes, m'lord." He said, taking it with a somewhat awkward bow, before teleporting off too.
"Wonder what's down in South America..." I muttered, rubbing my chin as I stared at the map of the world.
"It's all uncharted, and for good reason." Dawn answered, walking over to me. "Take most of the desert area in Africa, for example. 20 foot or so flesh eating worms burrow underground, ready to eat whatever poor sod decides that it's a good idea to go deep into the area."
"Sounds like the movie Tremors..." I muttered. "How come they don't go after the Zebra villages?"
"They got smart and built on rock formations." He grinned.
"DEFINITELY sounds like Tremors." I said, shaking my head. "Anyway, I just sent a message to Schmidt via changeling. I need your pegasi to start kitting up, cause all of 'em are going to Cloudsdale."
"And what of Luna's?" He asked as he started chargin' his horn.
"Same. And the grounders are going to New York. Leave a skeleton crew to keep things running smoothly." I answered. He left with a nod and a pop, leaving me relatively alone.
"Alright, Fuhrer Schmidt is sending in about fifty squadrons of German pegasi." I muttered as I read the reply that Bubba handed to me. "And for the ground assault, ten squadrons of pegasi and some reverse engineered tanks..." I finished with a nod, and looked around at the men standing behind me.
"Orders?" Steve asked, snapping to attention.
"Pick someone and go with them on the Black Hawk to provide sniper support in Cloudsdale." I answered. "Most of the rest of us are taking Manhattan in a few days."
"How come we're sending in so many pegasi and changelings?" Callum asked as I picked up some magazines and distributed them between Steve and the Gryphon I took down about a week ago. Dude's name was Ryan, and apparently he's a mercenary. Dawn pounced and recruited him, and he's gonna be Steve's spotter.
Guy also has a healthy craving for bacon, so he ain't all that bad.
"Who's in charge while you're gone?" Callum asked.
"You are, since you're staying behind." I answered. He looked like he was about to protest, so I stopped him. "Listen Callum, I know you and Duran are from Manhattan, but I have a good reason for doing this."
"Then tell me." He demanded.
"It's because you're from New York that I'm making you stay behind. You might blunder up and lead your squad into a trap because of the feelings for your home state." I then smiled a little. "Alabama was pushing it for me, because I'm from Florida. Any insertions into Florida won't feature me, because I have deep feelings from it."
"And the fact that ya had a family 'bout as big as mine doesn't help, does it?" AJ asked from behind me. I couldn't help but smirk a little.
"Hell, with the way my family was, I'm not jumping into France, England, or Ireland either." I added.
'Hopefully it won't come to that.' I silently added. Callum sighed and nodded. I smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder.
"I got a good idea; take some leave and spend some time with Ditzy." I said, before turning to my assembled men. "That goes for all fo you when we get back! We'll take a few days off so you can regain strength!"
"HOORAH!" They all shouted, pumping weapons into the air. I smiled a little, and looked at Dawn as he ran his scrawny ass at me.
"What is it?" I asked when he skidded to a stop.
"A nation that none of us, until now, have heard about decided to join our cause." He said, panting a little.
"Where is it located?" I asked as Doppel flittered around, giving people supplies.
"China, which is why we didn't really know about it until now. The NLR outpost in Russia received a courier group in the form of a couple of gryphons." He answered. I nodded, and looked over a message he handed to me, only to realize it was in Latin or some shit.
"How come you guys haven't been able to notice it? Send in a fucking pegasus to scout out the damn area or something. I would've done it." I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Because of these damn things." He answered, giving me a photograph that instantly reminded me of my pet back in time.
"How big are these fucking camel spiders?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because, Jesus... And I'm wondering why the fuck they're in Asia instead of Africa, since I don't remember that much sand and heat in Asia..."
"Big enough to take down you." He answered. I simply raised my eyebrow, considering that a fully grown one could take me down if it got me right. "...They're as big as me."
"Jesus Christ..." I sighed. "How territorial are they?"
"Considering the one scouting party Celestia sent in years ago came back half dead, very. It helped that they told us to stay the fuck away or they'll wipe out any forces we sent." He answered. I swear to God...
"Whelp, that's all we needed." I said, throwing my hands in the air, while sending the paper flying. "Fucking sentient camel spiders..."
Sighing, I turn to him again. "Alright, what types of forces do they have?"
"45 ships, Destroyer class." He said, and I had to remember they were all ass-backwards in technology, so they have sailing ships. "All of them have three sharks for escorts and underwater combat."
"Shark people?" I questioned, and he nodded. "Figures..."
"15 Infantry Divisions, each with 30 troops. All of them contain a mixture of diamond dogs, naga, and the spiders." He continued.
"Alrighty." I muttered.
"And 4 'wings' of air forces. All of them are gryphons." He finished. I nodded in thanks and got a piece of paper from Bubba, who scribbled it all down in changeling writing.
"What's the group's name?" I asked as Bubba teleported away.
"The Valkyrian Coalition." Dawn answered as I walked over to the remaining Panther.
"Sir?" The gunner asked, being the only one outside at the time.
"Tell 'em to start heading on to New York." I ordered. He nodded and got inside, shouting something.
"We're moving out!" I shouted, and got another round of 'Hoorah!' as everyone who was going got onto vehicles, teleported, or flew off.
"I'll see you in a week." Dawn called after I manned a minigun on one of the two Black Hawks going north.
"Take care, and watch after Doppel." I replied as Bubba teleported back, brimming with anticipation.
"Will do, soldier!" He gave me a salute as we took off.
[Bubba's POV]
"So, what's it like to be a changeling?" King Mark asked me while we were waiting to arrive at our destination; 'Man'hattan. After he asked, several of the others leaned forward as well, possibly to learn of a different being's mindset.
"Uh..." I began. Come on, say something smart! "Different?" I would preform a facehoof if somechangeling else said that. Even though it's hard to answer something when nochangeling's asked it before.
"Nobody's asked before?" The King asked. When I shook my head in response, he laughed a little. "Take your time then; we'll be arriving at 2400 hours and that's eight and a half hours away." He said. I nodded and carefully lied down near the King, ready to protect him to the death.
"For starters (and the first thing I could come up with), we don't eat, in a normal sense of the word." I said after a moment of silence.
"What do you mean by that?" One of the humans asked, curious.
"While you all," I said with a look at the humans and ponies in the 'Black Hawk', "eat solid foods, we eat emotions. Particularly positive ones, because the ones who've eaten negative emotions usually don't last long."
"How come?" He asked, giving me a reason to look grim.
"The ones who eat anger go insane, something that I've heard from King Mark is called a 'roid rage' in your time. Sadness is just completely sour, like a lemon." I answered.
"What's a lemon?" One of the ponies, a pegasus (for some reason, she's in the helicopter with us) asked. King Mark answered for her.
"It's a citrus fruit, kinda like an orange but yellow and sour as fuck." He answered, before glancing at my tanks for a second. "And changelings can also 'eat' salt water. For some reason, it's just like emotions to them."
"A creature that can injest that stuff? That's new..." The human who asked me what I ate muttered. I felt offended at being called a mere creature, but held my tongue.
"Can the shit Huka, or when we get back to HQ, you're cleaning the latrines until you cannot taste the difference between shit and french fries. And then some more." King Mark snapped, surprising the buck outta me. Nochangeling's ever stood up for the sentients before, aside from other sentients.
In case anyone is actually able to read this, changelings have specific classes they're born in. Drones are foot soldiers, Sentients are able to think independently and mostly act as squad leaders(which I am), Intelligentsia, who are the scientists and mainly spies (Doppel), and obviously Royalty changelings. King Mark, though not a changeling, is a Royalty.
"I meant nothing my that." 'Huka' said, moving his hands up in some sort of gesture. King Mark grunted and looked down at me, while I softly grinned up at him.
"So, is it odd that I can somewhat sense your emotions?" He quietly asked me after a moment, leaning down a little.
"Not at all." I answered, glad to be of use to my King. "It's a psychic link between you and your subjects."
"Huh. Thought what I was able to do with Doppel was just a spell or some shit." He muttered.
"It is, but Queen Chrysalis decided to make her a part of your hive instead. Since she is an Intelligentsia, she has the ability to talk with you using her mind." I answered, before deciding to continue before he said something. "The psychic link affects your subjects from Drone all the way up to other Royals. Since Queen Applejack isn't a changeling, she is the first Royalty changeling to not have this happen."
"How does it affect... Whatever your class is?" He asked.
"My class is a Sentient changeling. Sentient changelings have the weakest psychic bonds to the Royal changelings, as all they are is a voice in the back of our minds. Royals usually use this to relay messages throughout the hive. Drones, on the other hand, have the most powerful psychic bonds. With the right commands, a Royal could completely control a Drone." I explained.
"Great... This thing is like a mind control machine and a radio in one bundle..." I heard him mutter.
"What's a radio?" I asked. From what I recall my former Queen calling her, Yellow Quiet answered instead of King Mark.
"It allows somepony to talk with somepony else over a long distance." She explained.
"I still don't like that Fluttershy and Applejack came with us..." King Mark muttered.
"Do you want me to protect our Queen?" I quietly asked.
"N-... Actually, yes. I would feel a lot better if you did, considering that if I was protecting her, I might get distracted." He said, nodding a little at Fluttershy. "And our combat medics will be protecting you, Fluttershy."
"I'm pretty sure Celestia wouldn't tell her guards to hurt me..." She quietly answered.
"Considering that she more than likely knows you're with us, she might. Or to capture you and throw you in prison for treason." He answered. Fluttershy frowned and returned to looking out of the side, her mane billowing in the breeze.
Half an hour later, I broke the silence.
"We are also a lot less squishy than all of you." I said, getting stares from everyone.
"What do you mean by that?" A pony asked.
"Carapaces." King Mark answered. "Changelings are like insects. From what I've seen with them fighting in Las Vegas, the only easy way to kill them is through the mouth or eyes. Everything else, for them, has to be forced in."
"With your projectiles, we wouldn't really stand a chance anyway." I added.
[Mark's POV]
After another ten or so minutes of silence, I decided to try something that I've seen a lot (and narrowly avoided being forced to do); song magic.
So, as one of the most peaceful ponies I know in the chopper was with me, I played Dead Bite by Hollywood Undead. Plugged in speakers that I borrowed from somebody, and just started playing, with no warning at all.
It was funny as hell; when the song started, Fluttershy instantly took on Danny's role.
"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite." She softly sang, before music solo. When J3T started, Bubba took over.
"Johnny 3 and he's dipping in the 4 door. 44 and it's pointing at your window. Ain't a good shot, here come four more. Getting hot so I play in the snow. In a town made wicked, made from these wicked things. See the dead on the cover of a magazine. See my smile, it was born from amphetamines. Better duck, 'cause it's war on my enemies! Oh God I think I lost it, oh no. Lost some who wanna watch the rest go! A mad man when I'm mixed with soco. And who would a thought a man could sink to so low. Who wants to die from the Mossberg shotty?! Puttin' holes in the hotel lobby! All you fake bitches are just another hobby! And I'll let you dig where I dump your body!" He half shouted, and the singing went back to Fluttershy. Just from seeing the humans' faces, I could tell they were all deeply amused.
"What would you do if I told you I hate you? What would you do if your life's on the line? What would you say if I told you I hate you? I got somethin' that'll blow your mind, mind!" She kept going, and I could feel the horror she's feeling without looking at her. I felt a tugging and knew it was inevitable, so I continued.
"You know I got a grenade, and it's got your name on it! Imma spit on your grave, and engrave a dick on it! People say I'm insane and to put the brakes on it! Let me buy you a drink; how 'bout a roofie, gin and tonic? Yeah, Charlie Scene seems to be so hated! It's just me being intoxicated! 'Cause being sober's so overrated! Hollywood Undead, what have you created? I know that we have never really met before but tell me, does this rag smell like chloroform? You know that I'm the reason people lock their doors! But, I got nothing but time so Imma wait on the porch! You got nowhere to run, so don't try hiding! 'Cause I'm known to be like Jack Nicholson from the Shining! Yeah I'm breaking your door down so don't try fighting! Yeah, you gotta keep 'em dead or the dead keep biting!" Jesus Christ, I think I only breathed once during that. Turns out this infernal song magic makes you almost immune to the air requirements. Anyway, Fluttershy picked back up.
"What would you do if I told you I hate you? What would you do if your life's on the line? What would you say if I told you I hate you? I got somethin' that'll blow your mind, mind!" She thought she was done, but oh no.
"Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite. Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight!" After she was done, nobody continued on for some reason. That is, until a voice came on over our radio.
"Sir, Applejack just started spontaneously singing. And it's fucking creepy." Allan, a Marine Master Sergeant, said from the Humvee. I repressed a snicker.
"Yea, let her do it. Song magic and all that. She's singing a part from Dead Bite, by a band after your time." I answered.
"Affirmative, sir." He sighed, and clicked off.
Whelp, AJ got J-Dog's part. Fukkin' hilarious, since it was mostly about death. And it was freaking the fuck outta everyone in the vehicle.
Anyway, when AJ finished below us, Fluttershy picked back up.
"What would you do if I told you I hate you? What would you do if your life's on the line? What would you say if I told you I hate you? I got somethin' that'll blow your mind, mind! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite. Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the dead bite. Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight!" With Fluttershy's end, the song came to a close.
"...Please, never make me sing something like that again..." Fluttershy quietly asked, causing all of us to burst out in laughter. I quickly had to explain that we weren't laughing at her before she started crying.
"Honestly, I'm more surprised AJ had to sing J-Dog's role instead of someone else in the chopper." I answered. Fluttershy shuddered a little and returned to looking outside.
"...What's a 'shotty', amphetamines, roofie, gin, and tonic?" Bubba asked me.
"Shotty is a nickname for a shotgun, amphetamines are drugs, roofie is a dose of straight up alcohol, and a gin and tonic is a type of alcohol." I explained. He knows what a shotgun is, so he didn't ask about that.
For the rest of the flight, we took turns singing songs and (unintentionally) creeping the fuck outta Fluttershy.
Somebody else in the NLR is a spy for Celestia, because there were a lot more guards than we were expecting. And the rest of the troops were still half an hour away, not even counting the German forces, who have to either teleport or cross the Atlantic to get here. So, it was ten humans, five changelings, two civvies, five death guards, and three night guards versus five hundred day guards.
I honestly don't expect getting out of this unharmed, especially since a scout (who promptly took a bullet through the head after reporting), reported that John Jamesson was leading the forces against us.
Normally, I would never fuck with a SEAL. But I have to this time. With all of us mostly tired; the smart ones took a nap and woke up when we saw the city on the horizon.
Author's Note
Note: I do not own the band Hollywood Undead, Danny, Charlie Scene, Johnny 3 Tears, J-Dog, the lyrics, or the song Dead Bite. I only own a copy of the album.
Fight for Manehattan, Part 1
"GodDAMMIT !" I shouted as we raced to whatever cover we could find. Not even ten steps and I was forced to pick up Fluttershy, since she stopped, looking on in horror as a changeling melted from a lucky blast.
"Take cover where you can!" Huka shouted to the others as we piled behind buildings. A few frightened civilians ran past us.
"Bubba, come here!" I shouted, looking around for my radio.
[?'s POV]
Racing out past the odd looking ponies and bipedal monkeys, I stumbled a little and hit the ground hard.
"I got you!" One of the monkeys said, helping me to my feet as the metallic stick spewed fire out of one end with deafening cracks. As I turned to thank him, to my horror his foreleg started turning to ash as he screamed in pain.
"Just go!" He yelled, gently shoving me with his remaining foreleg.
"Covering fire for that filly! If you can hear me, get to the line of Day Guards!" A voice shouted, but it wasn't coming from him. Rather, it was coming from his left shoulder, out of a black box.
"Thank you..." I whispered, before running at the line of white stallions in golden armor. They must've thought I was running to hurt them, because a few lowered spears at my body.
"Let her through! Can you not see the look on her face?!" A guard shouted, running out to help me through. We were quickly enveloped, and a second later my mother burst through and embraced me, much to my embarrassment.
"I was so worried!" She bawled, while I weakly grinned at the guard who helped me through, who was chuckling lightly.
"The evacuations are taking place about a hundred meters behind the line." He told me, pointing a hoof down the street to a crowd of other ponies.
"Let's go, sweetie." Mother said, causing my ears to flatten against my head in embarrassment.
"Moooom!" I moaned in fake agony, before trotting alongside her.
[With Mark]
"They're through!" I called out, gaining a sigh of relief from several men. That included Allan, who was groaning in pain and had a death guard pressing a washed hoof against his nub of an arm. Luckily, the wound was instantly cauterized.
"Sir, may I make a request?" He asked, looking up at me.
"Go ahead." I answered, crouching next to him, while looking for day guard scouts to put rounds into.
"When we get back to base, could I quit?" He chuckled a little, causing me to laugh.
"Yes, you can. With a Purple Heart and Medal of Honor, to boot." I answered, smiling. "You did more than the Marines required of you, just by being here."
"How many people do you have?" Huka's voice came over the radio, although he could've just shouted, being in an alley across the street.
"Seven, but Allan's down." I answered. I could hear the frown in his voice.
"And the locals?" He asked.
"They made it to safety." I said, sighing in relief.
"That's good. When are we going to pull off the assault?" He asked while I tasked myself to fire off a bullet, causing a 5.56mm round to burst through the skull of a now dead pegasus.
"When we get some goddamn reinforcements!" I couldn't help but shout, pulling the pin to a smoke grenade and tossing it down the street. On the other side, Huka did the same, and we had some smoke cover to regroup.
"Three at a time, get into the trinket shop!" I shouted, ready to put bullets into anything that broke through the cover. "Cover your group and you'll make it out alive!"
"Alpha, go!" Huka shouted, causing two changelings and Applejack to race across the street.
They got halfway before a laser went flashing out of the veil of smoke, heading towards Applejack.
"No!" I shouted, but a changeling raced through and intercepted the deadly projectile, barely, and went down hard.
'Fuck it.' I thought, helping the changeling into the building, helped by AJ.
"Thanks." I said, sticking the muzzle of my M16 out of the door frame and letting a few rounds go flying in retaliation. To my satisfaction, I heard a scream of pain.
[?'s POV]
"Let's get going." I whispered, walking away from the lifeless corpse of a day guard, flicking some blood off of my hoof.
"Right behind you." The changeling that was named Bubba whispered back, slightly adjusting the tanks strapped to his chest. As we sneaked away, a stray 'bullet' went zipping past, catching a few strands of my tail.
"They're getting bold, aren't they?" I muttered as we hurried into an alley.
"The NLR, or the SE?" Bubba asked as we looked around to see if we were followed.
"The NLR. The humans need to tone down the firing just a bit; nearly lost my flank." I answered, finding what we were looking for.
Knocking on a nondescript part of the wall, a piece of it slid away to reveal a set of eyes.
"Password?" A stallion quietly asked.
"It's me, goddammit. Open the fuck up." I answered without missing a beat.
"Password accepted." He answered, and a door opened up, revealing a tired looking batpony.
I'm not talking about Luna's night guard, I'm talking about an honest to God bat pony.
"It's good to see you, General Mark." He said with a small grin, allowing the two of us inside.
"So, what forces do you have?" I asked, looking around the room. A few tired batponies looked back at me.
"About a dozen." He answered, waving a mare over. "This is Echo, Lt. Colonel and second in charge."
"How long do you think you'll last down here?" I asked, nodding to Echo.
"Two more days, at the most." She yawned out, revealing a nice set of fangs. I frowned, but nodded anyway.
"Hate to ask you this, but what do you all eat?" I asked, switching back to human form and cracking my back. Both of them flinched from the sudden light, but didn't comment otherwise.
"Blood and fruit, sir." The sentry answered, eyeing me a little.
"We have a lot of IVs back at base, your majesty." Bubba answered. "Fruit too, but the blood packs are more plentiful."
"Would your lot be willing to join the NLR?" I asked Echo, since I didn't know where the batpony in charge was.
"Absolutely. And I'm speaking for everyone when I say that." She instantly answered. In response, I held out a hand to shake.
After the shaking of hand/hoof was complete, I cracked my neck and poked my head out of the entrance.
"What do you see?" Bubba asked.
"Nothing, and I hope to keep it that way." I answered, before looking at Echo. "Get yourselves ready to help us when night falls, and we'll provide support for you."
"Aye aye!" She said with a grin and a salute, before lifting off and heading back towards where she came from. I looked at the sentry and nodded, before exiting with Bubba.
Behind us, the wall returned to normal, and we were alone once again.
"Where are they?!" A voice shouted, and I knew that we were found out.
"Goddammit..." I muttered, crouching behind a dumpster as Bubba turned into a fucking mouse.
It didn't help that I had forgotten to turn my radio off.
"GET US OFF OF THIS FUCKING STREET!" Huka's voice rang out into the alley. "How long until the fucking reinforcements get here?! WE'RE FUCKING PINNED DOWN, GODDAMMIT!"
"Of all the times..." I hissed, cocking my weapon and became ready to kill some sumbitches.
[With Huka]
"We're five minutes out!" A voice, Ryan Andrews, replied, causing me to swear.
"We don't have five minutes!" I shouted into the radio, letting off a few bullets from my Famas and taking care to not let it overheat.
"We're doing the best we can, dammit!" Ryan yelled back.
"We've got too many fucking wounded, most of which are critical, to fight back effectively!" I snapped, tossing a grenade and hugging the back of the wooden display case that I was taking cover behind. An explosion was followed by several screams of pain, indicating that I at least wounded four day guards.
"...Repeat, we have two A-10 Warthogs scrambled and en route to your location. ETA, thirty minutes... copy?" Another voice called out over the radio.
"I copy, dammit!" I said. "Just tell them to avoid hitting civilians and us!" I requested, gunning down several cocky guards.
"Roger, over and out." The guy said, clicking off.
"We got two A-10's inbound! ETA thirty minutes!" I called out across the shop for everyone to hear me.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Allan shouted from his position behind the shop's counter. A moment later, a grenade sailed from his position and went through the shattered display window.
All in all, we were running out of ammunition (save for my weapon) and grenades, and we haven't even hit the two minute mark yet.
"Conserve your ammo, fire at only what you can hit." Gallan said as his BAR fired the last bullet in the current magazine. "Same goes for magic! We can't have you guys pass out on us now!"
"Yes sir!" A small round of voices called back, making me frown.
"We're probably not gonna make it, aren't we?" Allan quietly asked. In response, I tossed an M9 at him and brought down a unicorn who was charging a spell.
"You see any assholes come in from the door behind us, bring 'em down." I said, before turning my attention back to the front door.
"...Aye aye." He sighed, and flicked the safety off.
"You're lucky the bullets didn't pierce your vest." A death guard said as she peeled off my combat vest, making me groan in pain. We were in a quickly thrown up tent on the edge of town, where all of the wounded were being put in. I'm saddened to say there's more than five, but I fully expected this to happen.
"It sure as hell feels like they did..." I muttered, looking around at the others who were injured. There was about twenty, mostly covered in magical burns. Some were forced amputees from the mortars, too. Luckily the A-10 pilots were doing their job and razing only day guards to the ground with bullets and not missiles. Everyone paused for a moment as they heard the Warthogs going around for another pass near us, guns barking out bullet after bullet a moment later.
"The only real concern is from the blood loss due to the wound in your hand." She commented after a moment, using her magic to wrap my torso up in soothing bandages. "Now, what's your blood type?"
"O+, shaken and not stirred." I answered. She chuckled and levitated an IV over to me, complete with needle and stand.
"You're just lucky we have an abundance of O+." She told me, hooking me up before working on my hand. "Bullet is lodged in your palm, so I'm gonna have to take it out."
"Do it. Don't want the bastard in longer than it has to be." I said, steeling myself. She smiled sweetly and ripped the fucker out, while I did my best to not bite my tongue off with my incredibly manly yelp.
"I'll whip you up a margarita later." She promised, giving my forehead a small kiss before wrapping my hand up and going on to the next patient. Then came AJ, who looked really worried about me.
"Ah'd buck you in the chest for gettin' hurt an' scarin' the livin' daylights outta me, but Ah think ya had 'nough pain for a day." She told me, lightly hugging my torso. I chuckled weakly and hugged back, wincing a little.
"It'll take more than a few bullets to keep me down and you know it." I muttered into her ear.
"Ah know Sugarcube, ah just don't want to see ya get hurt..." She sighed.
"No wife wants to see their husband in a casket. What really kills me is that I don't know if my men will be going home with the flag or not back in their time." I frowned, actually starting to ponder this.
"Is now a bad time?" Bubba quietly asked, coming in through the tent flap.
"Not really." I answered, slowly sitting up with AJ still in my lap. I dominated a corner of the tent all to myself, not allowing them to put me on a bed since I wasn't critically injured.
"Why are you on the floor, m'lord?" He asked as he walked over, head tilting in confusion. His head was halfway mummified because of the bandages, which were slowly turning green thanks to his head wound.
"I would rather one of my own men take a bed because they were hit harder than me. Same goes for the civilians." I answered, cracking my neck. "Now's a good time as any, I suppose. Who did we lose in this clusterfuck?" I asked, accepting the clipboard he pulled from somewhere and looked at a list.
Killed in Action
Wounded
I frowned when I saw five more civilians on the list than I wanted, but in war time you can't really direct where bullets went after they left the barrel. Luckily, none of them were hit by us, only the carelessness of the day guards.
"The hell's Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Daisy doing here?" I muttered as I passed back the clipboard, causing AJ to gasp.
"Are they alright?!" She asked, being friends with all three of them.
"Only moderate magical burns." Bubba explained. "By tomorrow the only thing that'll be left is the memories."
"That's good to hear..." She sighed in relief, before turning back to me. "An' how long are ya gonna be back in Ponyville this time?" She asked, her eyes narrowing a little.
"At least a week. Celestia can't send guards in after us because they'll get spotted as soon as they leave Canterlot." I answered. "I'm giving my men a one week pass to do whatever they want, as long as they keep a weapon on them at all times to be safe." I added, wincing a little as I shifted.
"An' what about the others?" She pressed. I couldn't help but chuckle; my mare was determined to get good answers out of me.
"Dawn and Luna are doing the same thing." I told her. "Fuhrer Schmidt and Queen Chrysalis have plenty of troops to continue engaging the day guards on the home front and eastern front, while our Chinese allies press in from the western front."
"Ah guess that's alright..." AJ muttered, before snuggling into my lap some more. Bubba left us alone while AJ started sleeping, the last seven and a half hours catching up to her. I couldn't help but smile as I scratched her ear.
"We're ready to move out." Blake said, opening the tent flap.
"Not for the wounded. Some of them are only alive because of the IVs." I shook my head. "Let the capable leave while the German forces stay as garrisoning troops."
"Aye aye." He said, turning around and leaving me to get some sleep of my own.
Getting shot takes a lot out of ya.
The next morning, I and several others (along with all of the civilians) were cleared to leave. Stepping out into the morning air, I frowned at the destruction I saw that marked the battle that took place. In the distance there was a boom from time to time signifying that a Cheetah tank had stumbled across resisting day guards.
"What's going to happen now?" Daisy asked of me, fidgeting at a small pile of ashes in front of her.
"You're going back to Ponyville, along with the rest of the NLR." I honestly answered. "Between Chrysalis and the German forces, we have more than enough personnel to hold Manehatten."
At this, I remembered something important. I turned to Bubba, who was pretty much being my shadow.
"Sir?" He asked, snapping to attention.
"Did Fluttershy leave with the majority of the forces yesterday?" I asked, hoping that she did. At his nod, I sighed in relief and pulled out my iPod. "At this point, I really need some Hollywood Undead." I muttered, getting on a Black Hawk with about four other ponies and Allan. Dude wasn't going to be fighting again, but he lived to see another day.
'Let's see who gets who...' I thought, selecting We Are.
"We are, we are! We are made from broken parts! We are, we are! We are broken from the start! And our hearts, our hearts! They were beating in the dark! 'Cause we are, we are... We are made from broken parts." Turns out, I was Danny this time. When J3T rolled around, Sunshine Smiles was selected.
"If you can lose it all then welcome to Broadway! Silicon dreams and your name on the marque! And I can hold it up but I hold it up hardly! It's hotter here in hell but it's gettin' real dark see! So all you sick and the bitterness of the lonely! To all you overdosed and you miles of coke fiends! And every step another step you're walkin' on my dreams! And every breath another breath you're breathin' when I breathe! I watch them all come gotta watch the rest go! I'm married to the DEVIL in the city of ANGELS! So come all you wicked to the world of the empty! I know I need it all so baby don't tempt me! I'm knocking on your door, nope nobody sent me! Just checkin' on you bitches like I'm checking this check sheet! So put your hats on lohner don't get soft! You can see God when I take my mask off!" He sang, probably wondering what the hell a few of the words meant. After he took a breath, it was my turn again.
"We are, we are! We are made from broken parts! We are, we are! We are broken from the start! And our hearts, our hearts! They were beating in the dark! 'Cause we are, we are... We are made from broken parts." Next, but not really surprisingly, came Applejack.
"The fame is your best friend, you love it no questions! Beating down the door is the face of rejection! And once again it's a tragedy anthem. We never wanted more, we never needed your blessing! Who could give a fuck about a kid with a dream? 'Cause stories aren't told about the ones unseen! With a gleam in his eye, his middle finger to the sky! Crooked smile on his face, he doesn't think he can die! So grab a pick and an axe, 'cause we try we CRY! Into the bottle of jack we die inside! So when you look into his eyes. Watch ya see now! Murder the monster you've made and watch him bleed out! We're in a life where it's kill or lose! Just lie motherfucker 'till you hear the truth! From under the street, through the gutters of youth! Just cry! Motherfucker, yeah I'm talking to you!" AJ finished.
"We are, we are! We are made from broken parts! We are, we are! We are broken from the start! And our hearts, our hearts! They were beating in the dark! 'Cause we are, we are... We are made from broken parts." I grinned when I remembered that I would be singing with AJ next.
"No one! (From the city of angels!) No one! (An empty vessel of devils!) Can take away what's ours... (Is there no one to save us?) (Through my eyes see the world you gave us!) No one! (From the city of angels!) No one! (An empty vessel of devils!) Can take away what's ours... (Is there no one to save us?) (Through my eyes see the world you gave us!)"
"We are, we are... We are made from broken parts! We are, we are! We are broken from the start! And our hearts, our hearts! They were beating in the dark! 'Cause we are, we are... We are made from broken parts."
""We are! (From the city of angels!) (An empty vessel of devils!) We are, we are...(Is there no one to save us?) (Through my eyes see the world you gave us!) And our hearts, our hearts... (From the city of angels!) (An empty vessel of devils!) We are, we are... (Is there no one to save us?) (Through my eyes see the world you gave us!)" We finished, and I grinned a little bit.
"Well, that was enlightening, wasn't it?" I cheerfully asked, grinning some more.
"It was sumthin'..." AJ muttered, but couldn't help but grin back. "Ya'll need to sing some more. Ya have a good singin' voice."
"I know I do." I replied, settling into my seat and closing my eyes to take a nap.
Song magic takes a lot out of me sometimes...
Author's Note
DISCLAMER: I do not own We Are by Hollywood Undead! Credit goes to Danny, J3T,and J-Dog for the singing!
More Planning and a Break
The next morning, I had a question of dire importance to ask AJ.
"Why are there a lot of mares living on one stallion's house sometimes?" I asked her as we ate breakfast in town, me as Sand Dune. She choked on the bite of veggie omelet she had in her mouth.
"Why're ya askin'?" She asked after pounding her hoof against her chest a little.
"Just curious." I said with a shrug, taking another bite with the fork I was levitating. AJ took a moment to compose herself before answering.
"They're a part of a herd, Sugarcube." She explained. "A herd usually consists of two to four stallions and up to fifteen mares, all in a relationship with each other."
"Kinda like some of the religions back home." I replied, poking at my food as I frowned a little.
"What's 'religion'?" AJ asked, and another voice I didn't want to hear said the same.
Without turning around, I knew that AJ was glaring at Twilight Sparkle, who somehow came up behind me without either of us noticing.
"What're ya doin' here?" AJ spat.
"I've came to apologize..." Twilight said, and I could feel true remorse and sorrow in her voice. AJ sighed and nodded.
"Ah'm not the one ya should be apologizin' to, Sparkle." She said, pretending to not know where I am.
"I'm sorry for not noticing that Princess Celestia was corrupted, Mark." Twilight said to the back of my head.
"Sorry or not, you sided with a murderer and a tyrant." I shot back, turning around to glare at her. She was tearing up at the eyes, and it didn't make me feel any pity. "Though... She probably brainwashed you over the course of ass amount of years."
"That's what Dawn said..." She muttered, looking down. "He removed the spell Celestia put on me, and showed me what you all went through back in your old lives."
"So you could see how we actually are." I muttered, looking at her. "Look, I don't forgive you (yet), but I could use you."
"How?" She asked, looking at me in confusion.
"Spy on Celestia for the NLR." I told her. "We already have spies for her in our forces, let's get a mole or two in hers."
"Won't Celestia notice?" AJ asked from behind me.
"Not if I pretend to still be on her side." Twilight answered. "Dawn said he masked the spell being taken away, so Celestia wasn't notified. And I can give you some information right now." She added, causing me to lean forward a little (and stop myself from falling face first onto the ground).
"Go ahead and tell me." I said, smiling grimly.
"Two pieces of information; I know who one of the spies is, and somebody strong has sided with her, and neither are humans." She whispered. "The spy is Flint Record, a pegasus who's job is being a DJ."
"Go on and get some people to arrest Flint, Doppel." I called out to a mare who was sitting a few tables away.
"Right away!" The mare replied, vanishing into green smoke that shortly dissipated.
"And the one who sided with her is Discord, but more forced than by choice." She finished, causing me to look confused.
"Why the bloody hell would Discord join Celestia? She's the one who put him in the Canterlot Gardens as a statue." I muttered, scratching my chin with my fork.
"Chaos." Applejack answered for Sparks. "Just imagine how much he's makin' just by sidin' with the person everybody least expects."
"Add the fact that after he joined her side, she promised to not seal him back into stone because he helped her, only as long as he didn't cause too much chaos." Twilight added.
"That makes complete sense." I said. "I would do the exact same thing if I had the right mindset."
"Why do ya say that?" AJ asked in confusion.
"Humans are some of the most chaotic things to exist." I answered. "And being bribed with wealth or other things by your captors to leak information or join their side happened all the time. Hell, I've shot a former Marine before because he joined forces with Bin Laden's terrorists." AJ frowned as I turned around to eat some more eggs.
"And before you ask sooner or later, it's hard to accurately tell what a human is thinking." I said, sensing Twilight about to ask.
"I was going to ask if you wanted me to pay for your breakfast." Twilight said.
"Nah, I got it covered." I said, putting a hand(hoof)full of bits onto the table.
"Well... If you need anything, just ask." She said, before trotting off.
"...She's lyin' 'bout bein' on our side." AJ said once the purple mare was out of earshot.
"I know." I said with a smirk. "As soon as she opened her mouth I knew." Leaning back in my seat, I watched the ponies for a while. "Good think Mark said I was allowed to act as him while he slept in the barracks."
"Ya do a good Mark, Ah'll give ya that." AJ said as we left the cafe.
"I'll see you later, my Queen." I said with a bow, causing her to blush.
"Ya don't need to do all that formality stuff with me, Bubba." She answered, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"I know, my Queen." I answered, walking off while leaving her outside the cafe. I knew that nochangeling in Ponyville would attack her, and any day guard who appeared would either be shot down or incapacitated and imprisoned.
Looking around once, I changed back into my natural form and cracked my neck, before going into the Emporium.
"Password?" A sentry on the other side asked.
"Giant spiky dragon dildos from Bad Dragon." I recited like Mark told me to. A giggle from the other side sounded out as the wall rose into the ceiling, revealing a batpony on the other side.
"I still want to know why the General wanted to make that the password." Lt. Colonel Echo said as we descended the stairs.
"Said something about being a product on a website." I answered, drinking a little salt water.
"What's a website?" She asked.
"Hell if I know." I replied with a shrug. We continued walking down until we entered the main barracks hall, and Echo left me to go back upstairs.
"How was your morning, Bubba?" King Mark asked from the map sheet, glancing over my way.
"Queen Applejack is doing well." I answered with a small bow. "And Twilight Sparkle thought she could appeal to us by saying that Dawn had turned her over to our side."
"Hell, I was going to leave to do that right now." Dawn said with a surprised look. I was about to answer when a scuffle sounded in the stairwell, and everyone grabbed either gun or spear and aimed them at the entrance. Down came a pegasus, whom I assumed was Flint Record, with a bag over his head.
"What's this?" King Mark questioned Doppel, who had him by a wing and had thrown a bag over his head.
"Traitor." She answered. "Before you ask, I picked his memories first to see if what Twilight said was true. He's not a follower of Celestia, but a follower of Discord." Half of the night guard hissed.
"Discord's free..." Dawn muttered, before pointing Doppel deeper into the hall. "Mark's if he's free this is serious."
"What do you mean by that?" King Mark asked.
"He's the spirit of Chaos." He answered. "If he wanted to, all of our bullets would turn into pudding. Spears into candy canes. Swords into chocolate bars."
"So we beat the day guards to death with candy." King Mark grunted. "I see your point. Any ideas on how to fight him?"
"We can't fight him." Dawn sighed. "The best way to fight him is to not fight him. It'll make him doubt working for Celestia."
"Some sort of reverse psychology bullshit..." King Mark nodded. "Alright. Bubba, go spread the word. After you're done, visit me in my office and I'll debrief you on this morning."
"Aye aye, sir!" I said, giving him a salute that he returned. As I trotted towards some of the others, King Mark turned to Doppel, who came back from putting Record into the jail cells.
[Mark's POV]
"Flint Record is contained and has been searched for hidden weapons and tools." Doppel reported, giving me a salute.
"Good." I said, nodding. "I want a full report of the incident by tomorrow morning."
"There a reason you're being so lenient?" She asked.
"We're taking a break." I answered with a shrug, turning back to the map. At the moment, the Chinese was pushing into Nevada, while Schmidt's forces were completely occupying the northeast and proceeding to take the south. As I watched, a small farming town in Florida went from red to black, indicating that Schmidt took them down as well.
"How's that railroad going?" I asked Dawn after a moment, tapping the tracks that I blew the fuck out of.
"Still down." He answered. "Both the snipers we have posted there and the twin A-10s passing over every four hours have kept engineers away."
"Good." I muttered, before sighing. "We need to get this war over with already. I feel like this will turn into both a civil war and the Vietnam War if we don't hurry up and win."
"What do you propose?" Dawn asked.
"Contact Chrysalis, Schmidt, and whoever runs the Chinese; we're assaulting Canterlot at the end of the week." I said, cracking my back. "Tell Luna when she wakes up, so she'll be able to get her troops ready as well."
"I'm already on it." Dawn said, writing crap down on three scrolls at once.
Assault on Canterlot, Part 1
On the dawn of the seventh day, God rested. Sadly, we cannot, since this is the day we're attacking Sunbutt in a move that will determine the rest of the war. Rather quickly, at that.
"The forces that Valkyrie Vythica Ravenwater have lended us are here." Dawn said early in the morning, waking me the fuck up.
"How many?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing the shit outta my eyes.
"A wing of gryphons, and four infantry divisions." He answered. "All in all, we're looking at 78 gryphons and roughly forty diamond dogs, forty camel spiders, and forty naga."
"They under my command?" I asked, standing and going over to the armory to kit up.
"More or less, unless Ravenwater appears." Dawn said, waving his hoof. "And Chrysalis also has problems of her own at the main hive, so she couldn't send as many troops as she wanted."
"How many of her changelings do we have, without counting the ones already here?" I asked, inserting a key and twisting it. I had to wait a moment for the door to unlock, listening to the many mechanisms twisting and turning on the inside.
"Fifty, but they're all SEALs changelings." He answered as the door slid open, allowing me to get at my gear.
"Fifty SEALs could take on all of Canterlot, if they were humans." I muttered, opening my locker. "...Think I should wear my newly ventelated suit?" My bomb suit had recently been upgraded with air conditioners (spells) so I wouldn't overheat, and made lighter while still fully protecting me from explosions.
"It's your choice." Dawn said, pulling on some armor of his own. "I'll be in the main charge into the castle, so I need to get suited up too." He commented as he armor'd up. Watching him, I could tell why he's not worn it until now; dude looked scary as fuck in it. Think of death putting on pitch black armor over his cloak, and a helmet that pretty much made me almost shit myself. After armoring up, he grabbed a wicked-looking scythe and looked at me.
"...Right." I said once I shook off the feeling of ohfuckimsodead and continued putting on my suit. Once I finished, I turned my M60 into an MG42 and slung a strap across my shoulders, making sure I didn't hit myself in the face with the extended bi-pod. I grabbed some potato mashers and pineapple grenades, put them on my body, and put my helmet on, activating the air conditioner spell.
"Let us go." Dawn said with a voice that sent tendrils of cold and foreboding down my spine. We left the barracks and Dawn promptly made Fluttershy have a heart attack and race out of my store.
"What was all that 'bout suga-" AJ started asking, but saw Dawn and promptly froze. Dawn sighed and simply walked past her, causing her to shudder and glance at me. "Who was that?"
"That was Dawn." I answered, causing her to look a little ashamed of herself for being scared of a friend. "A scary as fuck Dawn, at that." She looked a little relieved that she wasn't the only one who was scared shitless of him.
"Where'ya goin' all dressed up an' such?" AJ asked, shaking her head and looking at me.
"Ending this war." I sighed, cracking my back. "We're about to assault Canterlot. A-10s have been reassigned to soften up their defenses for the ground troops to get in easier."
"Are ya goin' to kill everypony?" AJ asked, narrowing her eyes a little.
"Only the ones who attack us first. Or high up nobles, on Luna's orders." I answered.
"Why the high up ones?" AJ asked as we walked outside and into the morning light.
"All of 'em are on Celestia's side, and will pretty much stage a coup while Dawn and Luna are rebuilding the country." I explained.
"Ya seem pretty confident that ya'll get rid of Celestia." AJ commented as I nodded to some nervous looking ponies. I wasn't surprised, since the Chinese spiders were near them. Ugly fuckers, but I loved my pet camel spider back home so I won't hate on them.
"Saying that we might get her isn't the Marine Corps way." I answered. "We will get her, no matter the cost." AJ frowned at my answer.
"Ah just hope ya'll ain't included in that cost o' yers." She said, indicating me to squat down. "Ah don't know how it'd do for the young'un."
"I just hope Applebloom won't take it too hard." I answered.
"Ah ain't talkin' 'bout my sis, but Ah know she'd take it hard, too." She answered, confusing me.
"Wait, what do you me-" And then it hit me like a precision brick. "T-that's impossible."
"Ah'm pregnant, Mark." AJ whispered. "An' Dawn told me that it was definitely yers." I couldn't find an answer, so I pushed up my visor and kissed her deeply instead.
She tasted of apples, of course.
"I'll make sure to do my best to get back." I told her once we broke off to breath. She nodded and stepped back as I looked over my officers.
Standing from left to right were Luna (looking a lot like Nightmare Moon), Dawn, a gryphon, a diamond dog, and Schmidt.
"Gentlemen and ladies." I said, stepping forward with my hands somewhat awkwardly clasped behind my back. "Today's the day we find out how the war will turn out in the long run. Whether we die or Celestia dies, let it be known that both sides will have a hell of a fight."
I looked at the gryphon. "Colonel Darkwing, I'm expecting you and your gryphons to be able to keep the skies clear and to help the A-10s should they get into a tight spot." She nodded. The diamond dog came next.
"Lieutenant Rover, I expect your infantry to be able to deal out as much damage as possible while having little casualties." I said.
"All of my troops are very good at what they do." He said in a voice that sounded like it should be on a naga or something.
"Luna, I'm asking for two-thirds of your ponies to stay back to watch our flanks and cover us as needed." I said. "And we'll need a place to fall back to, in case we're about to be overrun."
"You can count on my night guard, General Mark." She said with an air of absolute confidence.
"You don't even need me to say it, do you Dawn?" I asked once I looked to the ponified Death.
"My death guard's the best combat medics in the world." He said. "They'll take care of any wounded on either side."
"I hope you're able to lead while in battle, Schmidt." I told the German.
"Absolutely." He said. "I've done it time and time again. Just watch my back, and I'll watch yours."
"You got it, Schmidt." I said, lightly punching his shoulder before looking at the lesser officers and squad leaders. They all stood at attention, and I cracked my fingers.
"All pegasi that aren't assigned to vehicles will be working with the gryphons in the air." I told them. "Everyone, it's time to move out!" I shouted, causing everyone to yell various things. A jeep with a .50 HMG on the back skidded to a stop next to us.
"It'll be a honor to have some of you with us, sir." The driver, an Airborne, said. I climbed into the back and nodded at Rover.
"You know how to use one of these?" I asked, pointing at the weapon across my back.
"It's like an automatic crossbow, correct?" He asked as he sat in the passenger seat.
"With a lot more recoil and loud as hell." I answered, unslinging it and handing it over. "Put on some earmuffs or something, because I know it's going to make you go deaf otherwise."
Rover nodded and pulled earmuffs out of nowhere, while the jeep lurched forward and joined the column of vehicles that were heading out of Ponyville. We had one of the original Panthers with us, and it was at the back. All foot soldiers climbed into transport vehicles that were brought in over the week, and we barely had enough room for the lot of them.
"If Celestia doesn't see us coming, she deserves to get shot." Dawn's voice came in over a secure channel.
"Considering we have a cloud of pegasi and gryphons above us, I can see where you're going with that." I replied, before flicking down my visor and cocking the fiddy.
"We're about two hours out, everypony." Luna's voice cut in.
"Luna, you do know that you're being subtly racist by saying everypony?" I asked, raising an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it.
"Hell, I've stopped using everypony, Luna." Dawn said.
"I'll... Try to say everyone from now on." Luna said a moment later.
"Good." I muttered, before looking at a few of the trucks.
"ENEMY PEGASI INBOUND!" One of the A-10 pilots yelled before his radio exploded into static.
"Warthog 2, respond!" I yelled, watching the skies before a boom sounded out. "Goddammit! How in the hell did they get him?!"
"Arrows into the cockpit, sir!" Another pilot yelled. "Enchanted to pierce through the canopy!"
"Fucking..." I muttered. "How many do you see up there?"
"Too goddamn many!" A third pilot shouted.
"That's our cue, gryphons!" Darkwing yelled. "Let's show those bastards what Valkyrians can do!"
"That means you too, pegasi!" Dawn yelled. "Get in close and SHOW NO MERCY!"
The cloud that was above us suddenly kicked into overdrive and flew ahead as fast as their wings could propel them. Looking behind me, I saw Dawn climb out of a stopped Humvee and take off, scythe in his magical grip.
"Luna, you got the ground." Dawn said, racing ahead towards the front of the pack. "Don't worry about me; I cannot take my own soul as of yet."
"Be safe, ya crazy bastard." I muttered, before cracking my neck. Putting the radio transceiver back to my mouth, I gave out another order. "Gunners, if you got a chance to hit a day guard pegasus, take the fucker! That goes for those of you that can put a rifle out of the window too!"
"Roger that, sir!" A bunch of voices called out. The convoy kept rolling forwards, and everyone on the ground braced themselves when they saw two clouds of fliers collide, bodies already dropping out of the sky. Under them were a bunch of day guard infantry, more than likely the first of two or three groups.
"At least they don't have MG emplacements!" My driver yelled as Rover and I opened fire on their line.
"They're just here to slow us down!" I yelled back. "By doing this, the ones in the castle have more time to dig in!"
And then suddenly... "Bail the fuck out!" I shouted, letting go of the fiddy and jumping backwards. Rover and Smith (the Airborne) bailed out with weapons in grip, right before the jeep became a heap of scrap metal. I got to my feet with a groan, firing at a small group of guards running towards us. Smith did the same, while Rover crouched down and started setting up my MG42.
He had enough time to look up before an arrow struck him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground.
"Stay down!" I yelled running over to him and sliding to a stop. Smith rushed over and proceeded to press his hands against Rover's shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Just stay alive long enough for a corpsman to get to you." Smith said.
"I'm on the MG42." I said once I finished setting up, getting on my stomach and grabbing the pistol grip. A few seconds later, the distinctive sound of an MG42 firing came forth as I mowed down everything white and gold in my sight at the knees.
"There's a corpsman for ya." Smith called out after a moment, probably waving the Navy dude over.
"What happened?" A new voice asked.
"Arrow wound." I called out, getting up since I didn't see anymore day guards coming towards me. I knew that there was a lot of fighting going on because of all the gunshots sounding off, but I didn't see anymore guards in range to put a few bullets into.
"Shit, I've had to work on Marines missing legs." The corpsman grunted.
"Think he'll be fine with you, Smith?" I asked, slipping my weapon onto my back and waving at another vehicle.
"I'll keep him safe, sir." Smith nodded as I climbed into the back of a jeep, nodding up at the gunner.
"Get rolling!" I called out, and the jeep lurched forward.
We didn't have much difficulties in getting to Canterlot other than the first wave, but I wasn't going to let my guard down.
"It's qu-" The gunner said, before I punched his knee lightly.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence." I told him. "That brings instant bad luck and we'll end up in an ambush."
"...Alright, spread out, but keep each other in eyesight!" I called out, lifting myself from the jeep and holding my MG42 tightly. All of the troop transports promptly halted and everyone filed out, with the gunners providing cover for some of them.
A camel spider came up with a diamond dog next to him(?), and chittered something at me.
"She wonders what we're going to do about the nobles, sir." The diamond dog translated, causing me to wince a little at wrongly guessing the gender.
"Extermination squads." Wow, I did not just suggest that. "Leave a few squads behind to seek out and assassinate whoever is on Luna's noble list. If a civilian isn't on the list, you're getting shot." I explained. The dog nodded and walked off, telling some of the troops to follow them.
"You seriously said that, didn't you?" Duffy asked, stepping up next to me.
"Yea..." I sighed, but looked around the terrain near the castle. "Go set up on a ridge over there; it doesn't matter as long as you have a clear shot through at least four windows."
"Roger that." He said, before sprinting off.
"How's that aerial battle doing?" I asked Dawn, who grunted in way of reply.
"Shit, but we're kicking their asses. Another one of the A-10s is down, but the pilot popped his chute." He answered.
"Alright, we're beginning the assault on the castle." I informed him. "A few squads are going to be combing the city for the nobles that Luna said were to be killed, so don't kill any friendlies by accident."
"Roger roger." Dawn muttered, shutting off the mike, but not before I could hear a scream and what sounded like something splattering against his armor.
"Time to go!" I yelled, getting cheers and moving vehicles as a response.
Assault on Canterlot, Part 2
The walk up to the castle wasn't very exciting, other than a few screams as the extermination squads found a target.
"They're waiting for us, aren't they?" Blake voiced out, walking alongside me. I sighed for a moment, seeing as we were about ten blocks away from storming the castle.
"God, I hope not." I muttered. "But yes, they are. Hopefully Celestia's doing a Hitler and won't be here."
"Doing a Hitler?" Blake asked in confusion.
"Hitler was hiding in a bunker during the last few weeks of WWII." I answered. "Found with his lover, both dead through suicide."
"Oh. Suicide was too good for that bastard." He sighed, before looking around. "It's too goddamn quiet..."
"Normally, I'd slap you for saying that." I said. "Right now, I'm inclined to agree with you. Think they're planning an ambush on us as soon as we hit the gates?"
"Hope to god they're not." Blake sighed. "I'd rather face them in the throne room. Close quarters, so magic would be all but useless."
"For both sides." I pointed out. "And I bet Sunbutt ordered them to fire upon their own if they need to."
"We've reached the gate; I don't see any guards around." A scout reported.
"Think they've holed up?" I asked.
"I got Shining Armor, that dolt from the wedding, in my sights." Duffy said. "All of them are in the throne room, and they just shut the doors."
"Good work Duffy, keep in touch for further orders." I said, before nodding to everyone behind me. We broke out into a jog and ran through the opened gates, rifles and crossbows aiming everywhere. Nobody.
"Recon team, proceed through the halls to the throne room, but do not engage unless necessary." I ordered, before turning to the giant ass machine. "Micheal, I want you to remain here to help Luna provide an escape route."
"Roger that." Black's voice said.
"Everyone not assigned to Luna or the Valkyrians, follow me!" I shouted. "Oh, and leave the goddamn vehicles here." I added after a thought. About half of the remaining forces followed me as I trudged into the castle as if I owned it, cocking my LMG.
Still nobody around, and it was irking the fuck outta me.
"Alright, I want C-4 placed along wherever you can put it." I called out upon seeing the fuckmassive doors.
"I need two changelings!" Another EOD technician, by the name of Romero, called out, grabbing bricks off of a wagon dubbed 'Rusty'. As the SEALs changelings floated over to him, he passed the bricks out and told them where to put them for maximum 'splosion.
After they did, I had the honor of pressing the big red button after everyone got to cover a hallway down.
"Alright! The throne room's been breached!" I shouted as an explosion rocked the foundations, sending marble, stone, and burning wood outwards very fast. As soon as the dust settled, we swarmed in like ants upon a Dorito's chip.
Celestia was indeed waiting for us. Goddammit I just wanted to fight her guards, not the white bitch herself!
"Take care of the unicorn guards!" I shouted, pointing at a group of unicorns that were targeting the .30 Cal. squad as they were getting set up, while unhooking a potato masher from my belt, pulling the string pin, and tossing it.
"GRENADE!" Gallan shouted, diving behind a fallen marble arch. To Schmidt, Dusk, and Dawn's credit, they took whatever cover they could, while I kept firing, my bomb suit more than enough to protect me from a grenade at thirty feet away. A pegasus picked up the stick end in confusion, right before it went off in his face, sending his burnt and ripped to shreds body flying backwards. Several earth ponies were caught in the blast, most losing their lives while a few simply lost a leg or two.
As they were paying attention to the .30 cal squad, I set up my MG42 on top of a fallen column and started firing. The day guards didn't even know what was cutting them down until they saw me, but by then it was too late. I was cutting down waves of them as they swarmed towards us, being rather accurate against the unicorns. Bullets from me and the squad ripped through the bodies of the day guards, supported by M16s, M4A1s, M1 Garands, a BAR, and an MP40.
"INCOMING!" Schmidt screamed as a golden laser singed past my face, missing by millimeters. Burnt off half of my hair, through my helmet.
"Mark! It's you she's targeting! You've pissed her off even more than I did!" Dawn shouted at me. "Get out of there!"
"Fall back! We can't take on Celestia without Luna's help!" I shouted, firing a long burst of MG42 fire and doing my best to not let it overheat. The unicorns and changelings grabbed whoever they could and teleported the fuck out, while the pegasi flew out of a broken window (Duffy probably shot it out) and the German earth ponies tactfully retreated through our entrance, firing their quickly made firearms. Our two gryphons, Ryan and the night guard one, stayed behind to help us cover their retreat.
About two-thirds through their retreat, Callum was hit by one of Celestia's lasers. I was extremely surprised that he didn't just turn into ash on the spot.
Instead, his right arm and weapon melted into goo not unlike that one unfortunate soldier off of Starship Troopers in the scene with the tanker bug thing.
"You!" I pointed at a SEALs changeling, then at Callum. "Get him out safely!"
"Yes sir!" He shouted, nodded to his squad mate, and together they dragged Callum's black ass out to be evac'd. The rest of the retreat went without too many casualties; I only had to shoot a few guards off of injured changelings.
A minute later, I spared a glance behind me, and did some hand movements to Dawn.
"Alright! The rest of us, FALL BACK!" Dawn shouted, letting off a laser of his own. "Luna's outside waiting on us!"
"I'll cover you all! JUST MOVE!" I shouted, throwing a pineapple grenade and getting some more screams of pain in response. The rest of them nodded and ran to the blown open doorway, covering for me as I went to run.
"WATCH OUT!" Schimdt screamed, but it was in vain as I felt pain erupt from my chest, blood spraying in front of me.
A slender white horn slid from my chest and I was pushed forward. Instead of hitting the ground, I turned around, glaring at Celestia right before she stabbed me again, this time in my left lung. Instead of collapsing, I dropped the MG42 and grabbed the back of her head as firmly as I could, pushing down on it. I felt the shaft of her horn slide even further out of my back, while I evilly grinned.
"You want to know something, bitch?" I coughed out, splattering the inside of my helmet with blood. Couldn't grab my energy sword, so I had to do it the brutal way. Reaching up, I grabbed the base of her horn and twisted my entire body, earning a shriek of pain and a sharp crack, alongside a bunch of gasps. Coughing up more blood, I slid the newly acquired horn out of my mortal wound, and flipped it so I would use the least amount of energy possible.
"You were wrong; and for this, you took 'your little ponies' mates." I coughed out while she whimpered and clutched at her horn nub. Slipping off my helmet, I dropped it to my feet and glared at her for a final time.
"And you've committed a war crime that is punishable by execution." I grunted, standing to my full height. "I AM THE MONUMENT TO ALL YOUR SINS!" I shouted at the groups on both sides. "AND I WILL TAKE THIS SINNER WITH ME TO HELL!" I was surprised I could yell that.
With that out of the way, I swung my arm down using the last of my strength, and impaled her with her own horn. It went straight through where it used to be, and a searing pain went through my body for a split second as a magical explosion ripped through the both of us.
[Schmidt's POV]
"Shit..." I muttered as Mark sacrificed himself to destroy Celestia once and for all. There was utter silence on both sides of the throne room, as our respective leaders perished in a single explosion of magic. Their bodies flew back several yards, Mark's helmet dropping next to his MG42 as it flew off of his face.
"He...He's gone..." Gallan muttered in disbelief. I simply walked forward slowly, going over to the heavily damaged (but still intact) MG42 that Mark dropped. Picking it up, I was barely aware that Dawn had walked with me. After a second, I picked up Mark's helmet, wiping some blood from the cracked visor. I also picked up the hilt of what he called an energy sword, making sure to not press the button while putting it in my pocket carefully.
"Princess Celestia is dead!" Dawn shouted at the day guards. "To continue fighting will be pointless! Stand down and accept defeat, or be destroyed."
"Rest in peace, Mark..." I prayed, making a cross along my chest slowly.
"I can't bring him back. Once was almost too much for his soul; twice would just rip it apart." Dawn sighed, looking at the small crater that the two fallen leaders had left behind.
"I'm going to have to tell Applejack the bad news, aren't I?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"At least you'll have Gallan to help you." Dawn helpfully added, but nodded. "Luna and I have to stay here and rebuild the nation. Send out letters of the day, night, and death guard families who lost a loved one. Build the economy back up, rebuild defenses, etc. I'm sorry to say this, but I simply won't have time to tell her myself, or I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"I understand, my brother." I said, changing the admittedly heavy MG42 into a scoped 'Moist Nugget' as Mark called it. Said something about the fellow /k/ommandos calling that, but I never figured out what he meant. I slid the strap over my chest, turned around, and walked outside, being followed by Gallan.
"We are all brothers in arms." Dawn called out. "This right has been earned in blood. Remember that if you need our help in the future, Schmidt."
"Guess we get to go home..." Gallan said, fatigue threatening to put him to the ground. As I thought about it, I felt more tired than I was a minute ago. Guess getting off an adrenaline rush will do that to you.
"No time for sleep. Have to tell Applejack." I said.
"I know..." He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "That's the hard part..."
"Gallan!" Luna's voice called out, the princess in question coming towards us.
"Yes, ma'am?" He replied, standing a little straighter. I noticed that Williams was flanking her, although he was using one foot and using her for support.
"What happened?" I asked him, pointing at a severely cut up leg. He looked down at it and chuckled, before answering.
"Smashed into a part of the castle, leg first. Bone's busted, but I'm not in danger of dying from it." He explained. I nodded and looked around, frowning. Gallan must've noticed, and did the same.
"Hey, where's Duffy? He was supposed to meet up with us about now, if we managed to get rid of Celestia." Gallan voiced our thoughts. Williams looked down in both agony and remorse.
"Duffy didn't make it. I managed to kill the unicorn that took his life, but I couldn't save him in time..." He finally said, before groaning in pain. Gallan was at his side immediately, getting him onto the ground with a little caution.
'Shit... Rainbow's going to be very depressed...' I thought, putting my face in one hand before running it through my hair.
"How exactly did he die?" I asked, adjusting my grip on Mark's helmet.
"Rather violently, but not to him." He replied.
[Centered around Duffy, half an hour earlier]
Taking great care, a squad of day guard pegasi swooped down upon the lone human crouching down on a ridge overlooking the entrance hall to the palace.
"You think it's that easy to sneak up on me?" Duffy asked once they got close enough, whirling around and sinking a combat knife deep into one of their eyes, sending blood skeeting from the wound as she died. Letting out a yell, one of her teammates rushed him before he could withdraw the knife.
Dropping the body, he slipped out of the way of the speeding guard, caught him by a wing, and grabbed his head. With a swift and precise movement, he snapped the stallion's neck, twisting the head a full 180.
"Come on! I'm ready!" Duffy shouted as he brought up his M9 and let off a few shots. By then, another squad had come to reinforce the first one, bringing the total up to one more than how many bullets he had left. Duffy did his best to kill them all, but one got behind him and a spear erupted from his chest.
Not even thinking about dying at the moment, Duffy ripped the spear through the hole in his chest and prepared to use it, when a gunshot sounded and the unicorn that had prevously held the spear crumpled to the ground with a hole in the top of his head.
Looking up, he had time to see Williams lose control of his parachute and smash into the side of the castle. Coughing up blood, he looked back down to the gaping hole in his chest, spurting blood wildly.
"I'm sorry, Dash..." Duffy muttered as he sunk to his knees, dropping the spear and dying in a kneeling position.
[Schmidt's POV, present time]
"Where's his body?" Gallan asked.
"Already at the Emporium, with the others." Luna asked, frowning.
"I'll write down the official KIA and WIA list on the train." I sighed, walking off.
[Train Ride]
Humans Wounded in ActionMemento (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart) Staff Sergeant Dusk (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart) Sergeant First Class Fredrick Callum (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart) Private First Class Jeremy Williams (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart) Ryan Andrews (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart) Allan Drake (Medal of Honor, Purple Heart)
Humans Killed in ActionGeneral Mark Durnkinscoff (Medal of Honor) John Jamesson Private Connor o'Drake (Medal of Honor) Staff Sergeant Lex Deurring (Medal of Honor) Master Sergeant Rick Duran (Medal of Honor) Senior Medical Officer Isaac Thompson (Medal of Honor) Private First Class Brandon Duffy (Medal of Honor)
With a sigh, I looked over the envelopes that Doppel had given me with a really depressed expression. They were addressed to the mares that everyone fell in love with, and I knew which ones I was able to burn.
Once we stepped off of the train, I held up a somewhat thick stack of envelopes and set them on fire with Connor's lighter, which only had a little fluid left.
"Dusk, Callum, Gallan, Sergio, Blake, Micheal, and Ryan. May you be with the mares you love..." I whispered, letting go and watching the cinders float away in the breeze. I had letters and bad news to deliver, but it could wait a moment...
Author's Note
Yeah, I know it's short and kinda shitty, but I ain't good at epilogues, even with more practice at writing.
Epilogue
[Several months later]
I spent half an hour looking out the window, wondering exactly where Celestia started cracking. Rebuilding the country and keeping the Gryphons from attacking at the same time kept me from doing this until now. Thank Ce-... Thank Luna that Queen Chrysalis is working with us. She has eased a lot of tension off of our shoulders.
"I think bringing Mark in started it..." I muttered, before shaking my head. "No. It definitely started when Schmidt failed to meet her expectations."
"Are you busy?" Queen Doppel asked, knocking on my open door.
"Not at the moment..." I sighed, waving her in. She flittered over to one of my spare chairs and sat down, shifting a little to get comfortable.
"What's on your mind?" Doppel asked after quitting her shifting, looking at me.
"Wondering why all this happened." I replied, nudging the Element of Magic crown that was sitting on my desk. "Since their friendship broke up because of Celestia's brainwashing of Twilight, the rest don't work anymore. They recently got back together as friends, but they cannot use the Elements..."
"Why?" Doppel was slightly confused.
"They have to always be friends. It's a failsafe I added to the Elements when I helped create them. Celestia knew this, but she probably forgot when she murdered half of the Elements' husbands through her Guard." I scowled, suddenly throwing the crown across the room. It bounced harmlessly on the ground, and I sighed again. "I'm getting too old for this..."
"Can't you quit?" Doppel asked.
"No... But I can die, if I have a son..." That actually gave me an idea, but I had to run it by Chrysalis and Micheal first to see if they'll accept. Since Doppel wasn't born a Princess changeling, my plan wouldn't work with her.
Besides, she's happy with Bubba and her 85 (and counting) nymphs.
"What's that look on your face for?" Doppel suddenly grew nervous.
"It's time I moved on, Doppel." I sighed. "I'm going to your former queen and see if I can get her to bear my child. It's the only way I'll die. This curse of mine has gone on long enough, and I aim to stop it before it consumes my sanity anymore than it already has."
[A year later]
Changelings have weird births.
Chrysalis and Micheal agreed because it would ease my suffering, and now I'm lying on my death bed, staring at my sleeping newborn son, Chrysalis, Doppel, Luna, and Williams as I felt my life ebb from me.
"I have two requests..." I coughed, before continuing. "Chrysalis, you stay out of actually raising him, while Luna and Williams treat them as their own."
"What do you mean by that?" Chrysalis asked, digging for a loophole. I knew that I would.
"I'm basically asking you to be 'Auntie' instead of 'Mommy'." I explained. She nodded, and I looked at my sister and brother. Then I looked at my son's cutie mark.
He had a sword with wings on either side. Thankfully it had nothing to do with death, just protection. I had sucessfully broken the curse set upon my family for hundreds of thousands of years, even if he still recieved his Cutie Mark through my illness, it isn't what I feared it would be.
"His name's Iron Angel..." I groaned. "Let him grow up how he wants to." They nodded, and I sighed in content, as I heard the heart monitor start to flatline.
"Goodbye, my family. I'll see you on the other side when you get there..." I breathed my last, and took one last soul beyond.
My own.
[?]
With a gasp, my eyes shot open. Goddammit, I just couldn't get a break. First I fucking nuke myself with magical energy, now I have to dig my ass out of a hole.
AJ's going to hate me for a while. Least I get to see our child.
About a month after we got everyone settled in (Only one or two incidents where I threatened to blow their fucking head off because of their comments about the ponies), it was a normal day. Well, as normal as Ponyville considers. Also, Schmidt got Scoots to open up and she revealed that she was actually an orphan. He took her under his metaphorical wing, and Dash found out, much to Scootaloo's fears.
Dash is starting to work harder with Scoots to get her to fly. She's doing her best to make a pegasus out of a chicken. Metaphorical chicken, but still.
And Gallan found my iPod (and M1911) when he appeared. I gave him fifty bits in return, causing him to faint for a few minutes. When he awoke, I told him that gold was commonplace, causing him to promptly faint again. Dude was a dirt poor farmer before coming, so I understood that.
Anyway, I was chatting with Schmidt (he's getting better in English, thankfully), when Dawn appeared and, without saying anything, teleported us away.
"The fuck?!" I coughed out, a little smoke coming from my mouth as if we were in a cartoon. Schmidt was brushing ash off of him.
"I need your help." Dawn said, standing over us, his gaze settled on my face. "And I would rather ask as a friend than give an order as your CO." He added as I got to my feet.
"Alright, what is it, Dawn?" I asked, cracking my neck. He took a minute to sigh, before answering.
"Celestia's locked herself in her room. The sun is still rising and setting, and food is mysteriously disappearing from the kitchens, so she isn't dead. I fear that she's finally decided to declare war on you." He said, causing me to lean back in surprise.
"This is... God, I was hoping that she wasn't going to do this..." I finally said, putting my face in my hands.
"What's going on?" Schmidt asked, confused.
"Celestia has more than likely began to launch a campaign against you humans." Dawn answered, starting to pace again as I balled my fists up and put them under my chin, staring at my pistol.
'One bullet at the right time, and she goes down.' I thought to myself.
"It won't be that easy, and you know it." Dawn said, probably reading my mind. Hell, I wouldn't really be surprised if he could.
"How do you know she isn't listening in on us, or preparing to execute us as we speak?" I asked, looking at him.
"She knows German, but I cast a few spells that even she can't break when the sun is at its peak. Discord taught me them, and I've only used them when I really needed to." He replied, confusing us a little.
"Who's this Discord bloke?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A really annoying bugger if you get on his bad side. About three thousand years ago, he was being himself when Celestia and Luna used the Elements on him and turned him to stone. Since I've never had to go after his soul, he's still alive, encased in a statue in the garden outside." Dawn explained. After a moment, his eyes went wide and he whirled to face the door.
"(Are you sure this is the room?)" A masculine voice said from behind it, in a language I never wanted to hear again.
"No... NO! GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!" I shouted, grabbing Dawn and flinging him with a surge of strength I didn't know I had, and hit the deck right as the door blew inwards. Before either of the hostiles could start firing, I squeezed the trigger of my pistol several times and got them in the chests, downing them instantly.
"What the hell?!" Schmidt asked once the dust settled, revealing two men in generic Afghanistan clothing.
"Of fucking course she brought the one group of people America fought that I had to!" I growled, getting to my feet. "And probably the most deadly. Even the Viet Kong didn't fucking use suicide bombers..." I added after a moment, kicking the torso of one of them, before collecting their AK-47s and whatever ammunition they had on them.
"What are you talking about Mark?" Dawn said, peeling himself off of his desk. An explosion happened several floors up, causing some dust to fall from the ceiling and the lights to flicker for a second. Took me a moment to realize he had his office running on electricity.
"Celestia fucking brought in sheetheads." I growled, kicking one of them in the head. "We need to go." Right as I said that, there were several gunshots several floors down, along with a bunch of screaming. "NOW!"
With that, Dawn's horn exploded in light and the familiar sense of being teleported washed over us, and when we reappeared, we were standing outside Dawn's house.
What I found made my blood go past boiling.
"YOU FUCKER!" I shouted, tackling the earth pony day guard that had Doc skewered on a spear, surprising the fuck out of the white stallion. Schmidt took care of Doc while I shoved my knee into his throat, before pressing my pistol against his head.
"H-Human s-scum." He growled, causing me to pull the trigger and send his worthless brain all over the road.
"How's he doing, Schmidt?" I called out, kicking the stallion in the head before going over to the three of them.
"Not good!" He replied, causing me to swear and crouch down in front of him.
"H-Hey..." Doc choked out, getting blood all over his shirt. I looked up at Dawn, and saw that he was looking away with a frown.
"I can't fix this, too much of a risk of missing something and having him bleeding out." He explained.
"Doc... I want you to pray to your God." I somberly said, fishing out the cross he wore and bringing one of his hands around it. He gripped it with a death grip, while smiling sadly at me.
"Is that an order?" He weakly grinned, eyes starting to get that thousand yard stare.
"Yea, if you want to take it that way." I replied, looking around. He nodded, closed his eyes, and started mumbling for a few moments.
He passed away right before Fluttershy appeared, crying openly.
"Dawn, stay here with Fluttershy. Comfort her, because I know I'd just make it worse." I said, before hauling Schmidt away towards the Library.
"What are we doing?" Schmidt asked, stumbling along behind me as I dragged him.
"Sending Luna, Williams, and whoever is still alive and loyal to Dawn and/or Luna orders to get the fuck out of Canterlot." I explained while releasing him to jolt something down. I was able to finish right before getting to the library, and I opened the door quickly.
Half a second later, I shoved Schmidt out of the way as I narrowly avoided a laser to the face, kicking the door shut as I fell onto my ass.
"Never mind!" I hissed, getting him and myself to our feet before sprinting away. I didn't want to die by Titty Sprinkles. As we ran, I withdrew my magical beating stick, said a silent prayer, and thought up of a weapon from Halo. To my pleasant surprise, it turned into an energy sword. I tried getting it to turn into a gravity hammer, but it didn't budge.
"We need to send a letter to Luna and Williams, but I can't get to Spike..." I muttered, looking around. "Celestia already brainwashed Twilight against us."
"Then I guess I can't be with her..." Schmidt said, shocking the fuck out of me.
"You loved her?" I quietly asked, getting a nod.
"I was going to tell her tomorrow..." He muttered, sinking to his knees. All of a sudden, I had an idea.
"Stand back!" I said, already backing up myself and thinking hard as fuck.
"What're you doing?" He asked, right before a light blinded him, and I turned into Sand Dune.
"Ahhh..." I moaned as I stretched my filly body, getting reused to having a horn sticking out of my forehead, which could actually make a good flashbang or a smoke grenade, should the situation call for it.
"You turned into a filly?" Schmidt asked when he could see again, staring at me in shock.
"Yep. I'll be back in a second." I said, before slipping into the library and thankfully avoiding any harmful lasers sent by a pissed off mare.
[Schmidt's POV]
I stood outside, glancing around for any royal guards, when Dawn popped up.
"I have good news. Germany has seceded from the United Equestrian Empire, and they need a leader. You interested?" He asked.
"Why're you bringing this to me? Surely Mark would be a better choice in the matter." I replied, honestly confused.
"You're a pureblood German, for starters. Also, you know how your weapons work. Get a few hundred of them in the right hooves, and we'd be almost unstoppable." Dawn explained.
"...Alright. But we'll need to rename it something. I'm not letting my country be tied to anything Equine. No offense." I agreed after thinking it over.
"I would honestly suggest calling it the First Reich. Germany here is an industrial powerhouse, so building MP40s and Kar98s won't be too difficult. I would think you'd be able to get them to make MG42s if you're lucky." Dawn said, starting to pace in front of me. All of a sudden, my uniform appeared, and I started changing.
"What's going on?" Callum asked, walking over cautiously.
"You're looking at the Fuhrer of the First Reich, Callum." Dawn said, nodding at me as I adjusted my greatcoat.
"You're not going to attack us anytime soon, are you?" He cautiously asked as I stopped fidgeting.
"No. I'll stop the fighting when Celestia's killed." I replied.
"Then I'll need to take you to Germany, and get you ready." Dawn said, and we went to the Fatherland.
[Callum's POV, half an hour later]
"Ditzy..." I slowly said, knocking on Dinky's doorway. She looked over from the sleeping filly, and carefully fluttered out.
"What is it, muffin?" She sweetly asked, as I sat down on the couch.
"I'm going to go away for a while... And I might not come back." I sighed, looking over at her. She gasped and started tearing up.
"Are you leaving me?" She quietly choked out, doing her best to keep from sobbing openly.
"That would be the last thing I would do to you, and you know it." I said, holding my arms out to embrace her. As she settled into the hug, she looked at me.
"Then what's making you keep from possibly coming back?" She asked, and I bet she knew the answer already.
"Celestia's starting to preform genocide against my race, Ditzy." I softly said, running my hand through her mane. I knew that Ditzy was an intellectual pony, so she understood what I meant, even though I doubt they have that word.
"Why would she do that?" She asked, looking at me dead in the eyes.
"I wish I knew. My best guess is because of an extreme prejudice that Dawn accidentally gave her." I answered, looking down.
"Mommy?" Dinky suddenly said, startling both of us. Ditzy looked at me.
"I'll put her to bed. It may be the last time I get to do so." I whispered, getting up and picking Dinky up, causing her to giggle.
[Back to Mark]
Walking back out of the library, I turned human again in time to get a Dash to the face.
"Son of a b-" I almost swore, but realized she simply knocked me to my ass without breaking anything.
"What's going on?!" Dash half yelled, as I saw a few pegasi flying as fast as they could towards our location. Lacking the AK-47s (which I passed off to Schmidt), I activated my energy sword and snarled.
"Your Princess decided it would be wise to eliminate my race." I growled, before realizing that they were death guards instead of day guards.
"Sir!" One of them saluted, while the other looked around frantically.
"You almost got killed?" I asked, deactivating the sword and putting it back in my pocket.
"Yes sir." The other, a mare, replied. She looked relatively unscathed, while the stallion had cuts all over his body. He wasn't going to die of blood loss anytime soon, though. Most of them have already closed up.
"How many made it out?" I asked, while Dash was stunned.
"Roughly three dozen night guards, and twenty death guards, not including us. Most were unicorns, but a few pegasi and earth ponies also escaped." The stallion replied.
"Shit..." I groaned, running my hands through my hair. Gotta shave it again.
"What in the fuck is going on?!" Dash finally gave in, glaring at the three of us.
"Go find Duffy. Tell him, 'the Sun has Cracked'. He'll know what I mean." I said, instead of explaining. She growled a little, but flew off anyway.
"What else do you have for us, sir?" The mare asked. Right before I could answer, a unicorn of the night guard popped in, swaying slightly, and had a gash running down his flank. His cutie mark was of a grey shield that held a flame, and the shield was surrounded by five light blue stars.
"Help him, get his name, and tell him he's working with me until further notice." I said, before running off to find Duran.
"Why do you guys have so much endurance?" The changeling me panted, struggling to keep up.
"He's SEALs, while I'm EOD. We're basically PT gods of the military, since we gotta be sexy as hell." I answered, poking my head around a corner. At the end of the hallway, a guard's face imploded as a 5.56mm bullet smashed into it. Thankfully, we were able to find silencers to put on the guns, so it was a lot easier to sneak around.
Had it not been for the fact that we were a group consisting of ponies, weak changelings, a naga, and humans.
"Tango down." I muttered, sprinting down the hallway about halfway and bringing my rifle back to my shoulder to cover the others.
"Tango down." Ryan muttered into his radio on his end before sprinting towards us. "How long do we have until the C-4 detonates, Mark?" He asked once he was crouching next to me again, rifle also at the ready.
"Roughly thirty seconds. The way I set it up, this whole damn section is going down." I answered, shooting a window out, and sending a silent prayer to whoever would listen that there would be a lake or something at the bottom. "We're going to have to jump, and I mean that."
"Fuck..." Ryan muttered, before nodding. "Let's get going then. I'm first." Before I could object, he dashed down the hall and swan dived through the window.
"Looks like you boys need a lift." Another SEALs' voice said through the radio that Ryan had. A Black Hawk rotated into position, allowing us easy access to get on board, except for one problem...
"Naga, you realize you can't come with us, right? You're too big to fit on the chopper." I said to him, who nodded.
"I can teleport us to the rendevous, if you wish." A moderately healthy changeling offered.
"That could be suicide and you know it." I replied.
"It's my duty to the Queen to help her allies in anyway possible." He replied. "If I die saving the naga so he can fight another day, so be it."
"You got a lot of guts, I'll give you that." I smiled a little. "Best of luck to you both, now get on outta here. That bomb's gonna blow any second." With that piece of advice, I quickly got my sexy ass onto the Black Hawk as the two winked out of existance, and we buggered out of there as part of the castle imploded.
"...How the fuck did you manage to do that with three HE grenades, a smoke grenade, and a brick of C-4?" Ryan asked after the section stopped caving in.
"Honestly, it just came naturally to me." I answered, leaning back. "As a pony, my cutie mark is of the Corps logo and some C-4 bricks."
"Wait, you turned into a pony?" A changeling weakly asked. Sadly, his wounds were physical, so I couldn't give him nourishment via emotional drain.
"I stumbled upon a patch of flowers known as Poison Joke." I answered. "After getting the cure, Dawn deemed it fit to allow me to keep being Sand Dune, in a sense." Thinking for a brief moment, I closed my eyes as I blinded everyone for a split second. When they were able to regain their senses, they were looking at Sand Dune.
"I'm getting too old for this..." The SEAL from earlier, Lt. McGarrett, muttered.
"You're only, like, 30 or something." I replied with a smirk.
"And how old are you?" Steve shot back.
"37, in my real body. This body's... about 13 or so." I answered. He seemed to shrug and sit back, while I did my best to tend to a dying changeling. I'm not familiar with their body and definitely not a medic, but I did enough to stabilize his ass.
"Thank you... King..." He panted, almost causing me to fall out of the chopper in surprise.
'The fuck is she telling her drones?!' I screamed in my mind. When I got back to base, I'm having a serious talk with Chrysalis regarding her troops. But the first stop was the detention center for the traitorous Day Guards.
[At HQ]
"How many made it out after we nuked the place?" I asked, looking over the newly installed map. It came complete with moving squiggles, representing our troops. There were also names under some of them to represent officers.
At my insistence, we have a Wanted board with only two faces so far; Celestia and John Jamesson. I wanted that fucker dead before he knew what happened, but a guy can dream.
"From the reports at the nearest outpost that came in, two changelings, a pegasus, a Diamond Dog and a naga of all things. All claim that they busted out with you, and the only one I don't really believe is the Dog." Dawn said, looking down at a report.
"Dog's not lying." I told him. "What'd they say?"
"All of them are with the NLR. We have them in the hospital, though the naga was the only one mostly unharmed." He answered. I nodded, and rubbed my chin.
'Wonder which changeling didn't make it...' I thought. 'It's a shame that they died, but I did warn all of them about what could happen.'
"Take me to them." I requested. Dawn nodded and teleported away; and we ended up in Ponyville General.
"It's good to see you in one piece, human." The naga rumbled, log of a sword held loosely in grip.
"And the same to you, naga. Would you mind letting us through?" I asked, smiling a little.
"Certainly." He said, slithering out of the way. He muttered something to Dawn, who merely rolled his eyes.
Once we got into the room, a ball that Dash normally used when she ended up here bounced off of my chest and to the ground.
"Well, I guess I gotta stop." A changeling muttered, before grinning a little. "I'd get up to salute you, but I'm kinda worn out. Hope you understand."
"How'd you survive? From what I've seen, teleportation spells are very hard for normal changelings." I asked, honestly curious.
"I was about to die, but the naga allowed me to take enough of his emotions to continue on." He explained, then tapped an IV. "Just glad that Sir Gallan found out about salt water being exactly like love to changelings. I'd rather take this than drain a pony, honestly."
"Think you want to be on my personal guard?" I asked, grinning a little. This seemed to brighten him up considerably.
"It would be an honor, King Mark!" He exclaimed, then winced a little. "Though, I need to rest for the rest of the day, first."
"You do that." I said, walking out. Time to plan a machine for changelings...
Fight for Manehatten, Part 2
[Jakob]
"One minute!" I shouted as the Humvee bounced us around, making me wish the turret had some damn seatbelts as I was thrown around. "I can see Manehattan now!"
"Roger that! A-10s twenty-six minutes out." One of the pilots answered.
"Thank fucking GOD you're almost here!" Huka yelled, and an explosion sounded behind him. "Know it's too much to ask for, but GET HERE FASTER!"
"We're almost there, too!" Ryan added as this ungodly machine stomped its way to the city. I would say it looks like a Transformer, but this was strictly US technology, by what the pilot says. He came from 2004, and claims that the Pentagon went up in flames, killing him.
Multi-verse Earth, where Bin Laden does 9/11 three years later.
Anyway, I glanced down at Connor o'Drake, who was driving the Humvee with his foot cleanly stomped onto the gas pedal, not letting up for anything other than a complete stop.
"How're you doing?!" The gunner on the Humvee next to us shouted over to me, barrel of the fifty pointing at the city.
"Honestly? I'm nervous! Never took a life outside of a video game before!" I shouted back, before realizing that the gunner was a .30 cal gunner from WWII.
"The hell's a video game?" He questioned.
"Something amazing, but after your time!" I answered. He was gonna reply, but an explosion rocked the Humvee and sent me flying as the front simply disintegrated.
"CONNOR!" I shouted as I struggled to my feet, drawing my pistol. The squad who's gunner I was chatting with a few seconds ago screeched to a halt as I ran over to the flaming wreck. A soldier dragged himself out from under a door that was blown off its hinges, bleeding from multiple lacerations.
"Nonononono!" I muttered, forcing the driver's door open and dragging Connor out, smacking patches of fire out.
"Leave him!" The squad leader of the .30 crew yelled, even as I tried waking Connor up.
"Wake up Connor!" I yelled, tears streaming from my eyes. "You gotta wake up!" I pounded on his chest before mashing my lips against his and forcing air into his lungs. He didn't respond, even as I was dragged away, screaming for him to get up.
[Huka]
"Raptor 3 is down. I repeat, Raptor 3 has been hit. Two survivors, Jakob and Gallan." A voice said over the radio, and I heard Mark swear on his end as bullets hit over his head.
"Roger that. Huka, when they get here, see if you can redirect a squad to my position." Mark said, firing a few bullets before he was forced back behind whatever cover he had. "It's just me and Bubba up here, and I got an ex-SEAL on my ass!"
"John find you?" I questioned as an explosion rocked the shop. Bastards decided it was too difficult to storm our position and were targeting us with magical (and more than likely actual) mortars.
"Yep. Remind me to turn my radio off next time I go behind enemy lines!" He answered.
"Roger that." I said, before switching over to the convoy's channel. "When you get here, be careful; bastards are using magic mortars and it ain't pretty." I warned.
"That's what took out Raptor 3." The guy said. I nodded to myself and hid by the door frame, poking out as carefully as possible to avoid attracting attention.
"A-10s delayed by pegasi patrols. ETA twenty-eight minutes, at most." The lead fighter said.
"Roger that, convoy arriving now." The dude said as a Humvee screeched to a stop, fifty firing at the day guard mortar teams.
"Convoy's here!" I shouted, running from cover over to a mail dropbox, crouching behind it for cover as I supported the gunners.
"About fucking time!" Allan's voice rang out as he worked his way over to one of the Humvees, firing my pistol off at some straggling guards.
"Mark needs a squad!" I shouted, pointing down the street. "He's pinned down about five hundred meters away!"
"Aye ay-" A driver started, but Huka never got the chance to listen to the rest of the response, as a bullet suddenly burst out the back of his head, while his body spun around in a complete 360 before hitting the ground.
"Sniper!" Gallan swore, and ducked back behind the mail dropbox. Everyone took cover where they could, as another bullet whizzed past them.
[Gallan]
"This ain't gonna fucking protect me..." I muttered under my breath, realizing that the sniper had a rifle called a Barrett .50 cal.
"I heard you guys needed a little help." One of the last voices I thought I'd hear at the moment rang out over the radio, before shouting some shit in German.
"Never thought I'd say this, but it's good to see you!" I said into it, edging away from the sides and doing my best to stay hidden.
"What're we looking at?" Schmidt asked.
"Mark's pinned down too far away for us to effectively reinforce him, and we got a high caliber sniper pinning us down." I answered, taking a peek to see if anyone was advancing. Another bullet whizzing past put my head back where I had it a moment ago.
[Mark]
"I hate to ask you of this Bubba, but I really need you to act as a distraction." I solemnly said, looking at him.
"You should know that I would fight to the death in your name, my lord." He answered unhesitatingly.
"And you should know I don't require that of you unless I ask." I shot back, before shifting a little. "But that time is coming up rapidly, and I'm asking."
"How do you want me to go about this?" He asked, shifting too as bullets ping'd around us. From the reports, it was my fucking M60 pinning us down.
"Change into me and start going down the alley away from us." I muttered, slipping my weapon under the dumpster and tossing my only flashbang at the group. When it went off, I turned into Sand Dune.
"With luck, they won't be able to catch or kill you." I finished. "Godspeed, Bubba."
'Mark' nodded, and I heard a weapon hit the alley as he stood up and bolted away, bullets and magic whizzing around him.
I waited for the guards to go chasing after him, and bolted away as a scared filly. They totally bought it.
[?]
Mien name is Iron Fire, a Germane unicorn in the First Reich. The new Fuhrer, Fuhrer Schmidt, had sent my tank squad and several others to reinforce the New Lunar Republic's forces in Manehatten.
"We're approaching now, sir!" The driver called out in Equestrian, all of us knowing that and Germane for our languages.
"Prepare to fire on mien mark!" I ordered the gunner, who nodded and sunk a shell into the chamber.
"Incoming pegasi forces!" The MG66 gunner shouted.
"FIRE!" I yelled, and the distinct boom of our tank shot out, and a building on the outskirts exploded with both magical and physical reactions from the shell hitting it. "Aim three degrees to the left and fire again!"
Boom . "Again!"
Boom . "Buck!"
"What is it, Iron Shods?" I demanded, glaring at the gunner.
"The verdammt gun's jammed!" He swore, clumsily working bullets out of the feed. I shot off a magical beam at a pegasus who was doing a bombing run, hitting the explosive ordinance he was carrying and emotionlessly watched as he became a mass of feathers and blood.
"Fixed!" Shods said, directing his fire at dive bombing pegasi to keep them off of us and the two Cheetah I's behind us, while their MG66's did the same.
"All squads, switch to secure channel Alpha and make contact with the NLR forces!" Fuhrer Schmidt's voice came over our radio, and the operator did.
"This is 103rd Cheetah Tank Divison, reporting in." Iron Telegraph spoke into his receiver.
"Good to hear from you all." An Equestrian accented voice came on. "This is Private Gallan of the NLRA. Do you think you can send a tank after General Durnkinscoff? He requires immediate assistance."
"Sir?" Telegraph asked, looking up at me. I spared a glance back at the other two tanks, before nodding.
"This is Tank Commander Iron Fire. Send coordinates of his last known location and we'll be there." I replied for him. "We're heading in through the east side of Manehatten."
"Due west twenty blocks." Gallan answered. "We're completely on the other side of the city and pinned down, so if we could have a tank come over and support us, that'll be a good thing."
"We're coming in to help you." The Radio Operator for one of the other Cheetah I's told him. "Sit tight and give us any helpful information."
"The sniper has a Anti-Materiel Rifle." Gallan said. "And don't go hitting the buildings near our vehicles; we got collection points for the wounded among them."
"Roger that. Blitz Three breaking formation to help you." The Commander said, and Blitz Three peeled off at about 30 kph. We (Blitz One and Two) continued onward towards where Gallan said General Durnkinscoff was last.
[Sand Dune]
I swear to God (who I don't believe exists, by the way), I'm hearing things because I can hear a pair of fucking tanks coming my way.
"Fucking..." I muttered, slinking around a corner and peeking out. A grey earth pony with a Model 24 'potato masher' grenade over an Iron Cross for a cutie mark and blond mane/tail looked back. We noticed each other, but it took a moment longer on his side since he was walking on his hind legs.
"Germane forces?" I hesitantly called out.
"Ya. And you?" He replied, casually lowering what looked like an Maschinenpistole-40 submachine gun. I held up a hoof, went back behind the corner, and turned back to normal.
"General Mark Durnkinscoff. You guys have a damn good timing, showing up right now." I grinned, but really needed a weapon. "You have anything for me to fight with besides my bare hands?"
"Ein second." He said, before digging around in his jacket for something. "I have a Maschinepistole-1573 for you to use, if you want." He offered.
"Good enough. Toss it over." I said, catching what honestly looked like a Luger. I slid in a magazine and nodded to him, who also tossed over two more magazines and a grenade.
"What's your name, kid?" I asked as the two of us moved down the block.
"Iron Shods." He answered. "My Tank Commander, Iron Fire, told me to try and find you while they went and distracted the enemy forces." So I did hear a pair of tanks.
"What's with the 'Iron' in your name?" I asked, sending an unknown caliber into a day guard pegasus as she swooped down to spear us.
"All Germane ponies have Iron somewhere in their name." He answered, before poking his flank with the MP'40'. "It has to do with the Iron Cross on all of our cutie marks."
"You guys got any Panzerfausts?" I asked as we kept moving, subtly changing the subject.
"We're not the Anti-Armor Divison, General." He said, rolling his eyes. "The only explosives we have are 20mm guns and our Model 29 hoof grenades."
"Huh. They look like Model 24 grenades from my time." I answered, looking at it. "What's different about them?"
"They pack a bigger punch." He grinned. "Half magical, half actual explosive." I nodded and rehooked it to my belt, before ducking as a bullet zing'd past us.
"Found John..." I muttered as Shods hid next to me.
"Who is this John?" He asked as I hugged the wall and unloaded the rest of the magazine in John's general direction. As the empty mag hit the ground, I felt a searing pain in my hand and I hissed in pain, dropping the Maschinepistole-1573 onto the street while withdrawing my hand to my body.
"Ex US Navy SEALs member, who decided to work with Celestia." I grunted, holding my hand as blood leaked from in between my fingers. "And the fucker just shot my hand."
"How far away do you think he is?" Shods asked, unhooking a grenade.
"Too close for you to let that off." I muttered, ripping some fancy ass shirt off of a clothesline and tearing a section off, wrapping it around my left hand. The blood flow slowed some, so I knew he didn't hit an artery.
"What do we do, then?" He asked, scowling a little.
"I'ma grab my smoke grenade, toss it at him, take your knife, and embed it into his throat." I said, doing just that. As the smoke billowed out of the canister I tossed, Shods' knife found it's way into my right hand as I hauled ass towards John. I got shot twice, but kept running, forcing John to backpedal.
"I have not..." I muttered.
"Come this far..." I kept muttering as I drop kicked John, sending my machine gun to the ground.
"To die now." I finished, getting on top of him before he could react, letting out a yell as the blade in my hand found it's way into his throat, just like I promised.
"This is what you deserve." I spat as I slowly got to my feet, Shods helping my legs support me. "And because you're a traitor to your own species, much less your country..." He gurgled as his hand inched towards his sidearm. A sharp crack sounded as a hoof smashed down on his wrist, breaking it. "...May the buzzards enjoy feasting on your carcass." I finished, spitting on him to add further insult.
"You going to be alright?" Shods asked as I weakly slung my rifle over my back as a MP40.
"If we regroup soon, yea." I wheezed, and we walked off towards the sounds of gunfire.
