Operation: Stripped Dragon
The year is 2020, and Equestria titters on the brink of war. Pony kind has created more than just magic, but modern weaponry. Bringing some of the genius minds together, ponies have created weapons ranging from automatics, explosives, tanks, even armored battle chariots. Soon modern weapons were used by all nations, spears replaced with guns and battle saddles, arrows replaced with missles. Every sentient species were creating new technology with the help of magic and hard work. However, even with all these powerful achievements, war was inevitable. For now, the world holds its breath, and waits.
Canterlot Castle 0900 hours
The war room; this is a place where the monarchs of Equestria meet with the highest ranking officers in the military to discuss battle plans. For a while, this place has been almost empty due to the peace in Equestria, now with the rise in modern arms, the four princesses and the 6 generals discuss on the future of Equestria and the world.
“Every nation is on the rise, modern weapons are being developed and the world is getting dangerous. I can smell a war brewing.” said a blue furred earth pony with an ocean colored mane.
“Gen. Ocean Breeze, my I remind you we are here to discuss facts, not on your instinct.” nickered a red furred unicorn with a brass colored mane. An angered look appeared on Ocean Breeze’s face after the unicorn’s insult.
“Gen. Brass Hoof, please, even if it is what he believes, his point of view is still valuable to this council.” said a grey furred Pegasus with an Iron colored mane.
“With all due respect, Gen. Iron Wing, we are here to discuss the facts and decide the future, not on how we feel.”
“Generals please!” Yelled from across the table was the sun princess herself, Princess Celestia.
“Gen. Brass Hoof, you are correct, we are here to discuss the facts, but Iron Wing is right, every general’s point of view is important.” The three generals stopped their arguing and lowered their heads. “My apologizes your majesty, and my apologize as well Gen. Breeze.” said Iron Hoof. After everyone calmed down, the princess to Celestia’s left, Princess Luna, speaks up.
“Gen. Red Wing, your report.” A crimson Pegasus with a wild orange mane started to speak. “Well, from my reports, there might not be a chance of war, but there are tensions occurring in the Zebra Republic, especially with the Ultra-Elitists rising to power.”
“Aren’t the elitist the ones whose goal is to rebuild the former Zebra Empire?” said the purple alicorn princess named Twilight.
“Yes your majesty, this may cause some tensions with the griffons and the independent nation of Trotorgia, but right now they are dealing with rebel uprising.” said Red Wing.
“Probably caused by the Zebra Elitists.” thought Iron Wing. Cadance noticed the look on Iron Wings face that showed he had something on his mind. “Is something on your mind Gen. Iron Wing?”
“This may seem like a hunch, but I don’t think that the rebellion and the rise of the Elitists is a coincidence.” Brass Hoof made a small gruff, but Iron Wing ignored him.
“Now if that is it, it is time to move on to our next agenda. Twilight, you have the floor.”
“Thank you princess, I know that some of you do not think that war is brewing, but me, Iron Wing, Ocean Breeze, and a few other believe that something is about to happen, so I have devised a plan for future endeavors.” said Twilight. Her horn lit up and a device with a gem imbedded in it lit up and displayed a symbol. It looked like a pony skull, but the jaw looked like a mask than an actual jaw. The skull like symbol had a unicorn horn on it and a Pegasus wing on each side.
“I propose the creation of an elite group of pony soldiers. These ponies will be from every military branch and division, so every general will have a say on who will take part in this organization. These soldiers will embody the virtues of a true soldier, as well as several virtues of harmony. They will be deployed on peace keeping and covert operations.’ After hearing Twilight’s proposal, every general was discussing among themselves on this idea. Soon, Gen. Brass Hoof spoke, “this is very interesting your majesty, but isn’t there anymore you can tell us about this “elite division” of yours.” Gen. Iron Wing spoke up before Twilight did. “This handful of elite soldiers will be the tip of the spear, the first line of defense. Equipped with the latest battle field technology and trained in the latest tactics of covert warfare. They will strike swiftly, silently, invisible.
“And what is this band of cowponies called.”
Iron Wing shot Brass Hoof a stern, serious look, then said in a low voice, “The Ghosts.”
After that, nearly every general and the other three princesses was willing to give their support for the creation of this project, starting the creation of an organization that will save thousands of lives and will stay around for years. “The Ghosts” have been born.
The Big Apple, a new age metal ship whose purpose is transportation of the new model flight chariots as well as serve as a mobile command post for the Ghosts, sailed across the great ocean with its escort of destroyer class ships. The shift from wood to metal ships had caused a jump in modern warfare, creating new types of cannons and transport possibilities for Equestria’s Navy. Standing on the starboard bow of the ship was an orange furred earth pony with a blond mane. She had freckles on her face and she wore a BDU shirt and a Fedora. Her name was Applejack, one of the vice directors of the Ghosts. Applejack stood at the bow, think about the decision she had made to take part in the Ghosts. It had been six months since Twilight asked her to take part in the organization. Twilight chose her in particular to be a vice director due to her honesty towards her friends and other ponies. Such a proposal had left her conflicted, if not still. On one hoof, she wanted to help her friend, on the other hoof, she wanted to stay and help her family with the farm. It wasn’t until her brother came to her and told her that he was getting married that she made her decision. After the wedding, Big Mac told her that his bride would be helping them on the farm. After that Applejack told her family that she will accept Twilight’s proposal and help with the Ghost Project. Applejack wasn’t the only one of Twilight’s friends asked to take part in the Ghosts. Twilight had invited Rainbow Dash for her loyalty and Rarity to design Kevlar Armor for the Ghosts. Now here they are, making this small idea become Equestria’s elite task force, yet it still bothers Applejack that she had to leave her family and farm.
“Applejack, maam, the teams have assembled in the conference room.” said a pony officer. Applejack turns around and walks up to the officer. “Okay, let’s get this started.” Today is a big day. Today is the Ghost’s first mission, something to make Applejack even more nervous.
The conference room was filled with three teams, and several other Intel officers. Each of the teams composed of two soldiers. The first team, team Alpha, had a dark grey Pegasus with a light olive green mane and he wore an eye patch on his right eye, and the other was a unicorn, with a white coat and a black and blue mane. The second team, team Bravo, had an earth pony, well built with a brown coat and a lighter brown mane, and a Pegasus with dark green fur and an aqua mane. The third team, team Charlie, had a unicorn with a swamp green coat and a desert colored mane, and an earth pony with a sky blue coat and a light grey mane. These six ponies are the first soldiers of the Ghost, chosen from different military divisions and trained in the latest covert tactics. The soldiers waited patiently, passing the time by conversing among each other. When Applejack entered the conference room, the Pegasus with the eye patch got up and yelled, “CO on deck!” Every pony got up and stood at attention as Applejack trotted past them. She wasn’t keen at how other soldier treated her like she was high up (even though she is), but she is going to have to get use to it if she continues to become part of the Ghosts.
“At ease Ghosts.” said Applejack. After that all the soldiers relaxed and sat down on the benches in the conference room.
“Greetings everyone, and let me welcome you all as the first Ghosts of Equestria. You all have been chosen based on your military record, your code, your loyalty, and honesty to be the best of the best the Equestrian Military has to offer, and I look forward to continue to work with you.” she stumbled a little, still nervous about her position and speaking in front of trained military soldiers who have been warriors a good part of her life, and just 5 months ago, she was what they would call a civilian. Applejack fought her fear and doubt, and continued on.
“Welcome to Trotorgia gentlecolts, I hope you all got some shuteye on the flight on the Big Apple, because now that we are here, we have a lot of work to do. Here’s the situation: we’ve been deployed at the request of the Trotorgian government to help deal with Zebra rebels on the Zebra Republic’s border. We will be operating in the Northern Zebra region of the country. The region is 1000 square miles of villages, small towns, and backcountry. The Zebra rebels have been fighting the Trotorgian government, threatening the unified peace between the Zebra and Griffon citizens of the country. To make matters worse, the attacks have been escalating. The Princesses and several other nobles believe the Zebra Republic engineered the rebellion as an excuse to annex the country. Our mission is to cut the legs out from under the revolution before it can begin.” Applejack turned to one of the Intel officers and gave her a nod. The office, which is a unicorn, lit up her horn and fired a beam of light into a disk with a blue crystal. The crystal lit up and projected a map of the local region.
“Our first mission is a raid on a rebel base in the Cockeyed Mountains. A rebel leader named Zora has been attacking convoys across the Bouford River. You will need to take out her guard post first, and then approach the main camp. You will find Zora in the caves atop of the hill where she’s set up a command center. Take her alive, and remember, she will not surrender unless all her troops are eliminated, any questions?”
“What if we can’t take her alive?” asked the patch-eye Pegasus.
Applejack wanted to avoid this, but in the end, it was inevitable. “If you can’t…….then eliminate her.” It was difficult for the words to come out. Applejack was known as a tough pony, but she was still honest and kindhearted and was not fond of killing unless the life of her friends and family were at stake. “Anymore questions?” she asked. No one else spoke up. “Alright, be ready to leave in ten minutes.” She said with as much resolve as she could. All three teams stood up and saluted, and Applejack saluted back. Every pony left getting ready for their first mission.
Cockeyed Mountains 1030 hours
The transport chariot rumbled smoothly as the pilot guided it through the sky. The passengers were eager, waiting for the drop, well not all of them. The Pegasus with the eye patch sat quietly, thinking the Intel at hand and what tactics to use. He stopped thinking for a moment and turned to the brown earth pony equipped with a light machine gun strapped to a saddle. The pony was tweaking with the sight on his gun and the visor on the right side of his helmet.
“Hey Brutus, still having trouble with your machine gun?” asked the swamp furred unicorn who is now wearing a guilly suite and had a camouflaged bolt action sniper.
“No Camo, just making sure that the sight is just perfect. If my shooting eye is going to jump from my face to my guns sight, I need to make sure I can unleash Tartarus and not feel like my eye is literally coming out of my skull.” said Brutus as he gave a cocky smile.
“Well be careful with that, HUDs are still in the prototype phase and the cost a lot of bits, so don’t break it with your ruff hooves. I am nervous every time your shoulders are close to it, Celestias sake they are huge.” said the unicorn with the white coat. Every soldier let out a giggle and Brutus gave the unicorn a sly smile.
“And what, leave it to you? Bright, your magic is so crazy that the flashes you make would put the sun to shame. I’m more scared of being behind you when the bullets fly than any fault in my HUD.” Every pony was laughing and Bright gave Brutus a grumpy look.
“Alright mares that’s enough.” said the patch-eyed Pegasus. “We were chosen by our generals as the best of the best, and we are going to work together as a team. If any of you fillies say otherwise, then let me be the first to show you out the door.”
“HOOORRRRAAAHHHH!!!” yelled every soldier.
“Pilot, how far are we from the insertion zone?”
“Just one more click Alpha Leader Locust.”
“Alright mares you know our objectives: take out the main camp, secure the caves, capture the target, and head to the extraction point. Let’s show them what we Ghosts are really made of.”
“Sir yes Sir!”
“10 seconds till we are over the insertion zone.” The doors on the sides of the chariot swung open, revealing the vast forest of the Cock-Eyed Mountains. As the chariot hovers over the insertion zone, the pegasi fly out of the chariot while the earth ponies and unicorns slide down ropes attached to the chariot. As each team assembles the chariot takes off, leaving the scene.
“Seems quiet enough.” said Brutus.
“Too quiet.” said Locust as he looked at the scenery before him. There were a lot of trees and rocky cliffs, good for cover. “Alright, all teams, activates your HUDs.” The sound of clicking was in the air as every soldier flipped down their HUDs and activated them. Locust began to activate his HUD and displayed his map. “Bravo team, move straight 60 meters; Bright Flash and I will be at your nine. Charlie you got our six, we are going to need your eyes on your sniper looking farther ahead, am I clear?” Every pony nodded. “Alright let’s move out.”
Each team made their way through patches of dense trees and bushes, moving quickly, but tactical, keeping an eye out for enemy rebels. The advance continued until each team heard Camo on the radio. “All team hold your positions, contact in enemy bunker 60 meters forward.” All teams halted and began to hide in the large patches of trees and bushes. Locust then took flight, reaching the upper parts of the trees, but stayed hidden. Locust then pushed a button on his tactical vest and his M14 rifle popped up from his saddle and rested on his fore hoof shoulder. Looking down his sights, Locust saw the enemy bunker with a single soldier in it. Locust looked at the situation and began to prepare a strategy.
“Alright, Bravo, there is a large rock at your seven. Move to the left of it. Camo, keep your scope on the target and wait for my order to engage.”
“Roger that Alpha leader.” Bravo team broke into a crouch and began to move, keeping their heads down and moving through cover to avoid detection. “In position Alpha leader.” said Brutus.
“Camo, you are clear to engage.” The sound of Camo’s sniper echoed as he put a bullet through the rebels head. “Goodbye.” said Camo.
“Bravo, advance on the enemy bunker, Camo, watch their backs. Bright and I will move on the left side of the rock.” Bravo team moved from their position into the open, making their way to the bunker, while Locust and Bright move in from behind. Little did they know that there was a rebel sniper with his sights set on Brutus. High on a cliff behind a wall of sand bags the sniper, holding a dragonov model sniper in his hooves, looked down his sights and saw two soldiers running in the open. Holding his breath and steadying his aim, the Zebra fired.
Brutus stops as he hears the sound of a sniper and the dirt that kicks up right next to his forehoof.
“Sniper!” yelled Brutus. He and Ocean Blast picked up the pace and sprinted to the bunker while sniper shots flew all around them. They dove into the bunker, moving to the far back to stay out of the sniper’s field of view.
“Camo, Bravo is pinned down, see if you can find that sniper!”
“Negative Locust, look at your map on your HUD.”
Locust activated his map and began to understand why Camo asked him to look. Two red markers were moving in from behind the bunker, straight towards Bravo team. Some would panic, but Locust was famous for his level head.
“Camo, take out the two rebels moving towards Bravo. Thunder Cloud, find the sniper. Judging from the shots, he must be high up on the cliffs.”
“Roger that.” Camo nods to the sky blue Pegasus pony, then looks back down his sniper and resumes firing at the two rebels. The first one to go down was the one on the right side of the bunker, putting a bullet in his chest. The second one began to fire his AK model assault rifle in Camo’s direction, but none of the shots were close to hitting him. Camo’s second shot injures the Rebel, hitting him in the side, and the third finishes him off, striking the rebel in the chest. Meanwhile, Cloud moved along the Cliffside, keeping an eye out for the sniper. He soon turned around the corner and noticed muzzle flashes behind a series of sandbags along the Cliffside near a grassy hill.
“Alpha leader this is Cloud, the sniper is at your third, 40 meters high on the cliff. He is hidden, crouched behind a wall of sandbags.”
Locust peeked around the side of the rock, following Cloud’s coordinates of the enemy position. Locust got a quick glance at the sniper before reatreating behind the rock, avoiding the sniper’s bullets as they knock off chunks of rock and dirt.
“Cloud, take out the target, that sniper has us pinned down, but we will keep him distracted.” said Locust.
“Roger Alpha leader.”
Cloud crouched and steadily moved forward. The sound of rifle fire echoed, signaling Locust keeping the sniper busy. Leveling his M4 saddle mounted rifle, Cloud switched his firing mode to single shot, leveled his sights on the sniper, and then fired. The bullet stuck home, striking the sniper in the head, and bringing him down.
“Kill Confirmed.” Said Cloud
“Good work Cloud. Bravo, are you guys okay?” asked Locust.
“We have an excess of adrenaline and our psyche is probably scarred.” said Brutus angry.
“Good to know.” Locust activated his map and started placing markers on a nearby hill.
“Alright, all teams regroup and rendezvous at the top of the hill. I have placed markers on your map”
“Roger”
After regrouping, the three squads continued their advance on the enemy camp with little to no resistance. Soon, Locust raised his hoof in the air, signaling the team to hold position. Locust then activates his radio, giving orders to Bravo and Charlie on what to do next.
“Alright, everyone activate your maps, here’s how we will clear the enemy camp.”
Locust began placing markers on the map while giving commands.
“Camo, you and Cloud will take the left side. You will be the first to attack, drawing in the enemy. Brutus, you take the front, keep the enemy suppressed. Bright and I will move in from behind, flanking the enemy.”
Every soldier was on the move. Bravo moved forward, staying low to avoid detection. Charlie moved to the far left going through trees and bushes to find high ground. Alpha took to the left, ducking and moving behind large rock formations as they get closer to the camp.
“This is Bravo, we are in position.”
“Team Charlie in position.”
After coming out of a group of trees, Locust and Bright found a small hill, giving them a good vantage point on the camp. Once on the hill, Locust could see everything. The camp composed of four tents, all placed in a circular position. There were thirteen soldiers; some were on guard, others were just doing anything to past the time. “Camo, do you have eyes on the camp?” Locust asked. “Part of my view is limited because of the rock formations and tents, but I have eyes on seven enemy soldiers.”
“Good enough, Charlie you are clear to engage. Draw the enemy away from me and Bright.”
Camo held his sniper in his telekinetic grip and fired. The first shot struck a rebel in the neck, killing him. After a few more shots, Zebra rebels began to fire in Camo’s direction, and several more got to cover. Brutus and his partner Tide got up and attacked the enemy from the side. Brutus’s body shook as he fired large bursts from his LMG battle saddle, keeping the enemy suppressed and killing those unlucky. The plan began to work as the enemy was distracted and suppressed. Locust took flight while Bright advanced behind one of the tents.
“Alright Bright, show these rebels what your cutie mark represents.”
Bright’s horn began to glow white, prepping a spell to cast on the Rebels. With the enemy suppressed and distracted, no one noticed him or Locust in the sky. Soon, Bright came from behind the tents and his horn fired a ball of magic, which soon exploded in a bright light, blinding the remaining Rebels. With the enemy blinded, Locust flew down, firing his saddle mounted rifle every time he dove down, and killing the remaining soldiers. Then, there was silence, Brutus had stopped firing his machine gun to avoid hitting Locust, and Camo and Cloud had stopped when they couldn’t see anymore targets. What broke the silence was Locust’s voice on the radio.
“Alright colts, the camp is clear. Let’s get to those caves and capture Zora.”
“Ah man the rush of adrenaline from shooting this machine gun makes me hyper.” Brutus’s conversation passed the time and killed most of the silence as the Ghosts make their way to the caves.
“I know you haven’t stopped talking about it.” Tide grunted.
“Stow it mares, we are approaching the caves, so keep your voices down.” said Locusts. He looked at his map again, getting a field of how far they are from the entrance.
“Camo, move around the rocks, see if there is anyone near the caves.”
Camo’s horn began to glow as he casted a spell that turned his fur and mane to match the patterns on his guilly suit.
“Oh, so that’s why they call you Camo.” said Brutus. Camo got on his belly and started to crawl round the corner of the rock. He slowed down as soon as his HUD flashed a red dot on his sensor. Peeking around the corner, Camo saw two rebels, one near each entrance.
“We have two rebels, one near each of the entrances. I think we should try the stealthy approach.” said Camo.
“I got this.” said Brutus
“With all due respect, you are not exactly the stealthy type.” said Locus
“You’re right, I am a dead give away with this on.” said Brutus as he began to take off his battle saddle.
“What are you doing?”
“Trust him sir, I have served with Brutus under general Brass Hooves, and even to my surprise, he can be a stealthy soldier.” said Thunder Cloud. After Brutus was done taking off his saddle he crouched down and made his way to the first soldier. Once Brutus is behind the rebel, he wraps his hooves around the soldier’s head and breaks his neck. Soon Brutus makes his way to the next soldier, but stops when he hears a loud crack. Looking down, he notices he stepped on a twig, and the noise was loud enough to alert the guard. The guard turns towards Brutus and raises his gun. Thinking that this is end, Brutus braced for the worst, until he hears something fly past his head and sees the object nailed in the rebel’s head, causing him to fall over dead. Brutus got closer and noticed that the object that flew past him was a knife, which is now embedded in the zebra rebel’s skull. Turning around, Brutus notices that Locust is behind him, his wing outstretched as though he threw something with it.
“How did you…”
“Not bad Brutus, but watch your step next time.” Locust said in an emotionless tone as he folds his wing. Brutus said nothing, just trotted back to retrieve his saddle. After making sure that no alarm was set off, the Ghosts gather near the west entrance of the caves.
“Charlie, Bravo you guys cover the exit and watch our backs. We don’t want any surprises. Bright and I will move in and capture the target, but radio silence until we have cleared the caves.” Locust said in a whisper. Every team gave a nod and Locust and Bright made their way into the caves.
“Bright, were going to Night Vision.”
Bright’s horn lit up as he pulled out a pair of night vision goggles from his pack. As he places his goggles on, Locust reaches his hoof up till he touched his helmet and pulled down his night vision goggles. Soon, a soldier out on patrol comes down a ramp in the caves, out on patrol. The soldier is quickly shot down, and Alpha team made their way to the ramp, but stop when they hear bullets hitting the rock walls near the ramp.
“Bright give me a grenade.”
Bright then hands Locust a grenade with his telekinesis. Locust held the grenade in his left forehoof and pulls the pin. He then throws the grenade at the wall where it bounces and lands right in the middle of two rebels. After hearing some colorful language, the grenade detonates, killing the enemy soldiers. The two Ghosts make their way up the ramp and head down a rocky hallway. The hallway led to a room lit up by lanterns and Locust could see the far left side of a board that looked like it held a map.
“There’s bound to be a few guards around Zora, and they know we are here.”
“Should we try the flash maneuver like we did at the camp?”
“No, I can’t maneuver well in this tight of spaces.”
“Then you should hear about my plan B, because I have been working on a new spell.”
Locust turned his head and gave Bright a stern look with his one good eye.”
“Indulge me.”
……………………………………………
She knew it, the enemy is right at her door step and they are closing in. Zora just had two guards; each at the two entrances the lead straight to her. She starts to panic; there must be a small army, ready to rush at her, and kill her. Soon, she heard a noise. Quickly, she turned and saw a rock, rolling right towards the first guard. The guard took a small look at the rock and turned his head back to the hallway before him. Zora, however, leaned forward to take a closer look at it. She noticed that the rock was glowing bright, and was getting even brighter. Soon, she started hearing a loud humming noise, and then it hit her.
“Get down!”
Zora dove behind a table as a large flash burst from the rock, blinding the other two. The flash was small and short, but it gave just enough time to keep the two dazed for Locust and Bright to break in and take them out. Zora began to stand up, dazed from the flash and rush of adrenaline. As soon as her vision began to clear, she sees two pony soldiers, a pegasus and a unicorn, each armed and ready to fire, but they did not shoot. Zora had not seen nor heard of these soldiers before. They wore what looked like the new model armor; tactical vests and BDUs, but these were different. The models were not like that of standard Equestrian military and the patches on their tactical gear was something she had not seen before. The patches had what looked like a pony skull, but the jaw looked like a mask than an actual jaw. The skull like symbol had a unicorn horn on it and a Pegasus wing on each side.
“Zora, surrender, your guards are dead, and we were ordered to take you alive.” said the Pegasus.
Zora looked around her and sees the two dead zebras on the ground. She wanted to go for one of their guns, but it would take her to long to get the saddle off any of them. Zora wanted to fight them, to die in the name of equality, just like they promised her. She turned her head and saw a small piece of paper, hidden, underneath a much larger paper. After knowing where that paper was, Zora lowered her defenses and said, “I surrender.”
……………………………………………………………………
After hearing Zora’s surrender, Bright went to work in cuffing her hooves while Locust was looking for what Zora had stared at a minute ago. Locust shuffled through the papers, sorting through maps, reports, and information on all the convoys that were attacked, till he noticed a small piece of paper that started falling to the ground. Locust quickly caught it with his wing, flips it over and sees it is not just a small piece of paper, but a photo. Zora was in the picture, smiling as she held a zebra filly in her hooves, and standing next to her was a male zebra, probably in his late teens. It was Zora’s family, but Locust did not see a father in the picture, wonder what happened to him. Locust tucks the picture away in his vest and walks towards Bright and Zora.
“How fast can she move in those?”
“Not very quick, she can probably jog, but won’t be able to sprint, so we are going to have to be careful in how fast we move.”
“Duly noted, so we’ll move at her pace until we reach the extraction point.”
Locust took another look at Zora. She had said nothing since they captured her, and probably won’t say anything now.
“Alright, all ghosts we are breaking radio silence. We have the target, so let’s get out of here.”
Gun fire echoed in the cave. Locust could make out the sounds, from Camo’s sniper, to Brutus’s machine gun. Locust could also make out AK fire as well. Reinforcements had arrived, and they are knocking at their door.
……………………………………………………………………
The attack was swift, though not completely unexpected thanks to their sensors. Brutus spotted the first soldier and shot him. Soon more came, driving them to take cover near the cave entrance. Now they are pinned down and the enemy is closing in. They have taken out three soldiers, but there are still a few more rebels. Locusts came down the ramp, only to jump back to avoid getting shot.
“Is everyone alright?!” Locust yelled with a small hint of worry in his voice.
“No injuries sir!” yelled Cloud. Locust gave a small sigh of relief, and then proceeds to yell again.
“Brutus, what in the name of Tartarus is going on!” yelled Locust.
“We got enemy reinforcements sir, came at us in storm and drove us to the entrance.”
“Grenade!!!!” Camo yelled as a Rebel threw a grenade. The explosive flew through the air and is about to land next to Brutus, but stops in mid air, surrounded by a white aura, and is suddenly thrown back, its detonation killing the one who threw it. Brutus turns around and sees Bright’s horn glowing white.
“I guess I owe you an apology from the remark I made during the flight here.”
“I’ll let it pass once we get out of here.”
“What is the plan boss?” asked Tide as he fires his rifle at the remaining rebels. Looking at his map, Locust saw that there were only two rebels left. He also noted that there is another entrance farther to the right of the cave.
“Camo, I need you to move around on the right side of the cave, there is one more entrance you can get to and snipe the remaining enemies.”
“I think I can get out of my cover, but I am going to need cover fire.” said Camo.
“I’ll give you covering fire, but you are going to have to be quick. Ready, BREAK!”
Camo dove from his cover spot while Locust came out of his, firing burst from his rifle at the enemy, keeping them supressed. Luckily, Camo reached the ramp before the enemy had their chance to fire back. Camo made his way through the caves and reached the other entrance. Using his magic, Camo not only changed his fur color, but also the color of his guilly suit to match the stone walls of the caves. Getting down on his belly, Camo rested his sniper on his right forehoof and zoomed in on the Rebels. Once he had his sights on them, he fired two shots, each hit their mark.
“Alpha Leader, all Rebels are down, we are clear, I repeat, we are clear.”
“Good work, regroup with the rest of the team and we will move out.”
“Roger”
Locust let out a small sigh of relief before returning to his near emotionless state and turned to the colts under his command.
“Bright, how is the prisoner?”
“She’s still here and no injuries sustained.” said Bright. Locust walked up to the Zebra, she still was not talking. Ever since they had captured her, she was speechless, and she had not given anyone other than Locust eye contact. Locust stared at her with his good eye, and she gave a look back. After a few minutes, Brutus let out a cough.
“Sir, I think we should leave.”
Straight himself, Locust went back to his emotionless state and nodded in agreement.
“Right, Cloud, radio for evac, we are leaving.
The Big Apple, Tactic Operations Room
Sky Eyes, a true example of all the hard work and collaboration from unicorns and earth ponies. With the help of unicorn magic, the giant cameras rotate like how Celestia raises and lowers the sun. With earth ponies guiding the cameras, unicorn use special towers to amplify their magic so they could use move the Sky Eyes from a far distance. It was thanks to these that Applejack and several other personnel could view the progress of the mission from the Tactic Operations Room. The room contained many screens, showing the battle field to the number of officers in the room. Applejack sat in her chair, nervously watching the Ghosts as they carried out each objective. It wasn’t until the Ghosts started to leave the caves that she was finally able to relax a little.
“This is Charlie 2 calling Big Apple; we have the target and are ready for evac.”
One of the comm officers spoke up, “Roger Charlie 2, the hover chariot is on its way, evac in t-minus 10 minutes.
Gen. Steel Wing was also in the Intel room, wanting so see firsthand how the first mission would go. This in turn made Applejack more nervous again. Even though Steel Wing greatly supported the creation of the Ghosts, it was scary to have one of the high ranking generals in Equestria’s military. The general seemed to notice this.
“If you are trying to hide your nervousness, I suggest you try a little harder.”
“Forgive me general, but it is hard when this mission decides our task force’s fate and you are here to see it all, which I may ask, why are you here?”
“What, can I not see the progress these brave stallions are making? That, and if this all goes well, I get a chance to rub this a little in Brass Hooves’ face.” The general said in a humorous tone. Applejack did giggle at that a little, and the talk was able to calm down her nerves a little as well.
“Director Applejack, General Steel Wing, the team has cleared the extraction zone and are onboard the chariot back to base. I think we did it?” said another officer. Everyone in the room let out a cheer and gave a round of applause. Applejack let out a sigh of relief while Steel Wing smiled and nodded his head. The general stood in the middle of the room and made a speech. “Congratulations to every pony for your hard work and a job well done. I have no doubt in my mind that all of you were perfect for the Ghosts, since it is thanks to you all that the Ghosts will stay active.” After his speech, every pony let out a round applause for the general. The general took a bow before leaving the room with Applejack.
“Director, I am placing Zora in your hands. You will be responsible for holding her for questioning.”
Applejack leapt back in surprise. “Sir, to be honest, I don’t any of us are trained or have any experience in interrogation.”
“Nonsense, I have full faith in you Applejack!” the general responded in a cheerful voice.
“but sir….”
“Look Applejack, if you are thinking that we are expecting you to use violence and threats to get her to talk, you would be incorrect.” For a minute, Applejack didn’t say anything.
“You have a friend named Fluttershy, and she is the bearer of the element of kindness, am I correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“Well, let me tell you something an old stallion told me. Sometimes a small act of kindness and a little of what someone truly wants, can be more powerful than any kind of persuasion, and sometimes, you know what they want without even having to ask them. Have a good day Applejack, if Twilight trusts you, then so will I.”
To be continued
Author's Note
First story, so right now, i am open to any critism
