//-------------------------------------------------------// Equestria at War:Dark Days -by markweiland2- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 "Vendetta" //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 "Vendetta" Rainbow dash wakes from her unconscious state her head throbbing with pain as she tries to figure out where she's at. Her vision settles and she finds herself in a fountain filled with dead Shadowmarines, ravens feasting on the corpses. She gags as the stench of rotting corpses fills her nostrils,she tries not to puke as the stench is overwhelming. She glances up at the sky to see dozens of formations of Solar Empire bombers flying to bomb their targets somewhere in the New Lunar Republic,the sound of gunshots and ponies screaming fill her ears as she remains lying on the ground trying to drown out the horrible sounds. A Solar Empire S-72 slowly rumbles by the fountain,unicorn soldiers riding on the sides and the back of the tank as it rumbles by. Out of nowhere a Solar SS unicorn climbs over the side of the fountain almost standing right above Rainbow dash. She stays absolutely still not moving a muscle as the enemy pony looks around the fountain for any survivors, the enemy pony raises his PR-40 and slaughters two survivors with a 20 round burst from his assault rifle. The unicorn walks over to the bodies and mocks one of them to see if their still alive but the bodies don't move and the unicorn moves on climbing back over the side of the fountain. Rainbow dash begins slowly crawling through the fountain trying not to be seen by the enemy soldiers,she tries to spread her wings but a sharp pain shoots through her left wing she looks down to see her left wing is broken as she can't move it at all. She grits her teeth as she wraps the wing in a bandage so it doesn't move while she crawls,she continues crawling through the fountain thinking she's the only pony alive until a body in front of her moves. "shhh, I need your help do as I say and we can avenge this massacre." the unknown Shadowbolt says to her as they crawl to the front of the fountain. the Shadowbolt sets his rifle down beside him as he leans against the fountain wall. Rainbow dash crawls next to him and leans against the wall glancing over the wall to see only a couple of Solar SS ponies walking around the area. "with my foreleg injured it means I can no longer fire my rifle but you will do it for me,take my rifle and watch the road." the Shadowbolt says to her. she does as the Shadowbolt says and takes his rifle,she aims down the scope to see a officer car driving up to the building in front of them. "the scumbag in the car is General Deathstriker,he's the pony behind the cold blooded murders of the citizens of the New Lunar City,for weeks I have hunted him and luck alone has saved his wretched life! Sniping your enemy is just like killing any one of your enemies fire at the wrong moment and your chance will be forever lost we must be patient giving away our position now this fountain will be our grave. Now load your rifle hold your fire until the bombers are directly overhead the sound of the engines will drown out your shots." the Shadowbolt says to rainbow dash as he passes her an 8 round magazine. She quickly loads the magazine into the rifle and slides the bolt forward loading a round into the chamber. She looks up as she hears the sound of planes approaching suddenly a large formation of bombers fly over them the sound of their engines are ear splitting loud as they fly by. "SHOOT NOW!" the Shadowbolt yells. She aims down the scope and spots her first targets,she takes a deep breath and slowly exhales,she pulls the trigger. Her first shot goes straight through the first pony's head and into the chest of the other one killing them both in one shot. She quickly loads another round and searches for another target,she spots two Solarmacht ponies standing by a destroyed tank she takes aim at the one on the other side of the tank and fires. Her second shot blows the head clean off the enemy pony sending brains and bone fragments everywhere, she loads another round into the rifle as she pulls the bolt back and slides it forward quickly taking aim back down the scope she spots the other enemy pony and steadies the rifle,she inhales and exhales slowly and pulls the trigger hitting the pony in the chest killing him instantly. "K-9 unit coming down the street! Straight ahead!". The shadowbolt yells. She aims down the scope to see the K-9 unit coming down the street not noticing his dead comrades. She fires and kills the enemy in one shot but the dog makes a beeline sprint straight at her,she quickly loads a round into the rifle and takes aim she pulls the trigger killing the dog just in time before it jumped into the fountain. She scans the street for any more enemies and lowers her rifle as she doesn't see any more enemies. "you are a natural marksman pony but we aren't out of the woods just yet its time to close in for the kill." the Shadowbolt says to her as he compliments her on her sniping skills. but just as they leave the fountain an armored patrol comes around the corner,they take cover behind a flipped over car before the enemy patrol sees them. "crap! Armored patrol quickly this way before they discover their dead". they quickly run over to a shattered window by a near by building and quickly climb into the building. As they walk through the bar the Shadowbolt is saddened as he memories race through his head. "this place once echoed with the conversations of lovers and loved ones but not anymore,mark my words comrade one of these days things will change we will take the fight to their country,to their people,to their wretched blood." as they continue to cautiously walk through the bar another armored patrol comes down the street they hide behind some pillars waiting for the armored patrol to pass but a dog in the patrol jumps on the window and barks viciously. "they found us! Hit the floor!". they dive to the floor and flames fly over them as they crawl on the floor trying to escape the flames of the flame throwers. The entire bar is caught on fire as the flames burn out of control scorching the wooden building. They quickly run upstairs as flames continue to burn out of control the smoke stealing their breath as they run,a fiery wooden board falls on rainbow dash knocking her down to the ground,she tried to lift the pile of boards off of her but the boards burn her hooves. "come on I need you alive! This way quickly!". The Shadowbolt yells as he lifts the boards off of her and tosses them aside. they continues to run until an armored car outside starts firing at them bring the building down on top of them as they make a mad dash to a hole in the wall, rainbow dash dives out the window and lands on the streets below,she looks back behind her to see the Shadowbolt fly through the air as the building explodes. He flies acouple of feet away from her and lands hard onto the pavement. He doesn't move as he lays there knocked out,rainbow dash's heart sinks as three Solarmacht ponies come around the corner one of them armed with a flamethrower, the Shadowbolt reaches for his assault rifle but the enemy kicks it away and kicks him in the face. Just as their about to set him on fire gunfire comes out of nowhere and kills the enemy ponies. A platoon of Shadowmarines arrive and help the Shadowbolt off the ground. One of the Shadowmarines realizes rainbow dash. "Rainbow dash?! We thought u were among the dead in the massacre of the town square!" "she was....among them but not one of them." the Shadowbolt says to fire streak. "were about to assault the communications post just ahead of here". "good doing such a move will leave the enemy not being able to call for help" says the Shadowbolt. as the platoon breaks off to attack the communications Shadowwing with rainbow dash on his back flies to a vantage point overlooking the compound. just as they reach it gunfire can be heard as the platoon of Shadowmarines attack but the fight doesn't go in their favor as tanks and armored vehicles fire at them killing them all. "there is nothing we can do for them now focus!". Shadowwing yells. she aims down the scope and spots a group of Solarmacht ponies at the door of the compound guarding somepony in the middle of them. "there he is! The coward is hiding behind his soldiers like shields! Put a bullet in his head!". suddenly General Deathwing breaks from the group of his guards and makes mad dash to his officer car. "big mistake!".rainbow dash yells. she pulls the trigger and her shot tears into General Deathwing's head his brains splattering all over the street. "ha ha ha!!! Excellent shot Rainbow dash! You are an excellent sniper!". Shadowwing compliments. suddenly an enemy tank cranks its turret around and aims its cannon straight at them and fires, they dive to the ground and the round explodes where they were at a few seconds earlier. They make a mad dash to escape the building that is now taking heavy fire from enemies all around them. They reach a hole in a wall with a river 4 stories below them. "go rainbow dash jump!" Shadowwing yells. they jump into the river below them and disappear into the murky water with a big splash. That was the last time rainbow dash saw Shadowwing for awhile as she got captured by a group of Solarmacht unicorns when she swam to shore.