The Path of a Guardian

The stallion could feel his blood pumping faster and faster as the ace of his squad spoke over the PA.  “Alright fillies, our objective is a small village outside the red zone, we need to commandeer this location for our troops to move further into the enemy’s territory.”  Heh, walk in the park...  The stallion gulped nervously.

A small red light began to blink over their heads, it illuminated the dark room allowing each to see one another.

“One minute to drop, get ready fillies!”  The ace turned towards the hatch, all eyes were riveted on the large doors, his heart was pumping at an extreme rate now, he could feel his breath becoming unstable.  Hold it together Astral...

The hatch opened slowly in front of them, they could see all manners of projectiles flying past, even in the light of dusk.  The engines of the airship could be heard from above, making the entire vessel rumble.

“Alright, let’s move!”  Go time!

With that, the ace jumped from the airship and out into the open air, with the squad quickly following behind.  He could feel the adrenaline escalate throughout his body as each one jumped from the hatch and into the fray.  The airship swiftly moved away and back into the conflict with the rest of the fleet as they proceeded to the landing zone.  Pegasi were desperately trying to clear the path for his squad, but they were having to deal with the enemy force as well as anti-air fire.  Several airships were engaging back in forth, providing a stunning display of destruction and awe.

He could barely see the signal from the ace due to the wind stinging his eyes, he ordered for them to tighten up their descent, quickly the group moved into a spear shaped formation.  Not that far away Astral, just a little further.

Some of his fellow soldiers were being picked off because of the shortage in air support to their sector, the pegasi that were there were still dealing with those devilish creatures.  Thankfully the ground was approaching quickly and that was where they were the most effective.  He could already see several large creatures moving about the open ground below, they lumbered slowly towards their designated landing zone, which would provide problems to their offensive.  The ponies not only had to deal with the attack from the air, but the ground as well.

The ace quickly sent out another signal to the troops behind him, four of them veered off from the formation to flank the enemy, their parachutes engaged and they began their maneuver behind the large creatures.

Once the ace gave the final signal the stallion grabbed his red pulley and yanked as hard as he could, a bone shattering halt soon followed as his acceleration to the ground was explosively stopped.  Adrenaline still pumped through him, he knew that this was the most vulnerable point for a paratrooper, they could be easily picked off by both ground and air forces.

Where the hell are they? He looked around in fear, the chill of the battle was setting on him, they were sitting ducks when their chutes were deployed.

The ground was a welcome feeling to the stallion, but it would not last.  The ponies that were sent to stall the enemy were having trouble, the sheer size of their targets caused them to be difficult to take down.  They were large bear like creatures, black as night, and teeth that shined like diamonds.  Their pelts were known to be as thick as iron due to intel from previous engagements, and their only vulnerable region was in the soft tissue of their underside, below the stomach.

His comrades were jabbing the creatures in the sides, trying to get their attention away from the rest of the group.  But the more they agitated the ‘bears’, the more they swung about wildly.

“Alpha move up!  Get below them!”  The ace lead the charge, but before they could advance any further several minor infantry came from the tree line, they quickly formed a shield for their heavy hitters and cutting off access to Charlie in the process.

The ace shouted out, “Dammit!  Bravo, move around, get to Charlie!”

Four bulky earth ponies acknowledged the order by sprinting straight towards the line forming against the ponies.  They jumped over the enemy with ease due to intense training and preparation for engagements such as this, the ponies in the Paratrooper Division were tough, quick, and brutal.

As Bravo engaged the “bears” with Charlie squad, his squad, Omega, was assigned to keep the drop zone clear for any forces coming behind, it might have seemed like a boring task to any other soldier, but in the midst of a battle this was one of the most important jobs for a paratrooper.  They wouldn’t be able to get any reinforcements if the drop zone was compromised.

He could see through the magenta clouds another group of paratroopers dropping from the Leviathan, the fire coming from the ground caused them problems, he grit his teeth in anger as he watched helplessly as the Leviathan was hit by several heavy rounds.  All of the troops in the Paratrooper Division were earth ponies, they could achieve the greatest physical condition of anypony, that is why it frustrated him when he saw his comrades being picked from the sky before they even had a chance to fight.

He sighed, relieved as squads Delta, Gamma, and Sigma landed with a thud, they all looked around alert, ready to engage any ground targets.

A small mare, by paratrooper's standard shouted out to her teams, “Move into the forest, find those anti air installments and take them down!”  All three of the teams nodded as they rushed off from the landing zone and into the dense brush.  She followed her squad into the forest leaving Omega once again by themselves.

He looked around with determination.  Not that much left to do.  Alpha was picking off the last of the enemy line.  Bravo and Charlie finally managed to conquer the last of the beasts, leaving several large corpses in the field.

The ace called to Omega, “Alright, we secured this area, but we need to get to the village, it will provide a sufficient foothold for our smaller airships to supply this region.” Landing, check, assault on the red zone...  He shivered with anticipation.  Only just beginning.

Just as they were about to move out, a sudden roar echoed overhead, they immediately covered their ears due to the ear shattering sound from above. What the hell!

He could barely hear the ace call out, “Dragon!”  Before the area near the LZ was engulfed with hellfire.

Thick smoke quickly built up around them causing the air they breath to become toxic, they coughed and wheezed, their eyes stung from exposure due to the smoke.  The clearing was entirely surrounded in smoke and fire, the ponies hunched low to the ground to have better air to breath, the dragon was trying to hinder them from continuing.

He couldn’t see a solid image of the creature, but it was large, making the bears seem like child’s play, his vision began to blur as the air he breathed became thick and heavy.  His eyes felt on fire due to the intense amounts of smoke and his breath came in a short raspy rhythm.

He heard an aberrant intake of air and witnessed the immensely bright blaze of fire come from the beast, seconds later the clearing was assaulted with the fire.  Immediately Charlie and Bravo were engulfed, leaving nothing but the empty screams of the stallions that were apart of them.

Alpha tried to become steady, the ace charged the dragon blindly, trying to buy time for his troops.  “Omega!  Get the hell out of here!”

Ice in Astral’s limbs stopped him from moving, all he could do was see the enchanting fire from the dragon absorb what was left of the command squad, all that was left Omega.

His comrades quickly ran for the forest, an attempt to regroup with Sigma or Delta, but all he could do was stand there and wait for the end.  The heavy footsteps moving closer to him signaled that the dragon had him in it’s sight.  Helluva way to go huh?

He looked up in fear and acceptance, the dragon looming over him.  Just before the fire engulfed him as well, one thought crossed his mind.  Is this the end?