The Lost Soldier

Ray lifted himself over the side of the basket and felt his feet sink into the cloud before completely stopping. He slowly put his ruck sack down, leaning it against the balloon. Ray assumed that his stuff would stay on clouds, but he wanted to be sure.

“It’s still pretty cold up here…” Ray told Rainbow Dash. He rubbed his arms together for some warmth before asking, “So where will I be staying?”

“Right in here,” Rainbow Dash replied as she led Ray into her respectably large cloud house.

They entered the house and immediately turned right. Inside was a bed, a closet, and a drawer. All were made out of the same white fluffy material used for the pegasus’ home. Ray looked around, wondering how the houses kept their shape so well. He quickly unpacked his gear and looked out from his window. The sun was already setting, giving the sky a soft orange color.

“So what do you want to do, Rainbow Dash?” Ray inquired as he organized his few belongings.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before replying, “You know, I do have some questions I want to ask you if that’s okay with you,” she said, shifting her weight slightly.

“Sure, but can we do it outside?” Ray asked as he zipped his rifle bag closed. “I want to watch the sunset.”

With a cock of her head she replied, “Why? You can watch it any day.” Ray sighed.

“When your life is full of terrible things, you tend to start to notice the small pleasures in life. It’s something that keeps my head together. I also have to warn you that you might not like what you hear; I myself don’t like some of the things I’ve had to do, but they were necessary,” Ray replied as he walked outside.

When Rainbow Dash joined Ray, she found him already sitting with his back against her house and staring at the
sunset. She trotted over to Ray and sat down next to him.

“So where do you want to start?” Ray asked, not turning his head away from the view before them.

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment and then found her first question.

“You keep saying that you’ve ‘been through worse.’ What do you mean by that?”

“Heh, I have so many examples of terrible things I’ve been through. What to start with?”

Ray slowly drew in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the forest. He smiled contently and silently exhaled.

“So, how much longer till the meeting?” Ray asked.

“About three hours,” Janet replied.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap. Wake me either in half an hour or if I start snoring.”

“Sure thing, Sergeant,” Janet responded. “Wait, you snore?”

“Nope, but now would be a terrible time to start,” Ray joked with a wry grin on his face while he settled down into the
grass. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, a high-pitched scream filled the air. A plume of dirt exploded upwards about 100
yards from their hide.

“Radio. Now,” Ray hissed. Janet fumbled with it for a moment before turning the device on and pressing the call
button.

“Spartan Command,” she began quickly, “this is Raptor 1-1. We just got hit with an artillery round, over.”

“Damn it!” A voice crackled over the radio as more rounds started to fall. “We’ve been trying to reach you for half an
hour. Get out of there Raptor!”

“Rodger that, heading towards emergency exfil point.”

“Extraction via Osprey will arrive in fifteen mikes. Don’t be late.”

“Got it,” Janet said as she turned to Ray. “Sergeant, let’s go!”

“What’s wrong?” Ray asked as he crawled out of the hide and followed Janet.

“I don’t know, but it sounds urgent.”

“Okay,” Ray said thoughtfully, “there’s no way we were spotted on our way in, so the only thing I can think of is a
leak.”

“You really think it was a leak, Ray?”

“That’s all I can think of right now, but let’s get to the exfil point before we think about this anymore.”

As the two ran through the forested area, the shelling suddenly stopped. Ray and Janet stopped running, surprised at
how suddenly the explosions around them had died out.

“Get down,” Ray whispered, and both of them slid down onto the ground, becoming near invisible. The two all but held
their breath for a moment while they waited to see what would happen. They didn’t have to wait long.

A mechanical whirring filled the air as a disturbing amount of helicopters filled the skies.

“It’s a leak,” Ray hissed.

“How do you know?” Janet shot back.

“We’re on hit lists for multiple terrorist organizations and governments. They wouldn’t waste this many resources if it were just some snipers. But that’s not what worries me,” Ray replied. “What worries me is, the best way to kill a sniper is with another sniper.”

Janet checked to see if her com set was off before she spoke again.

“Ray, can I be honest with you right now? As a friend, not as your partner?”

Ray checked to see if his com set was off as well before he replied.

“Yep, off the record. No one else is listening.”

“So you two were close?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You tend to become close to the people that you risk your life for,” Ray replied with a smile.

“I’m scared,” Janet whispered.

“Don’t worry,” Ray replied. “So am I.”

“Really?” Janet asked, not expecting a response like that. “The always calm and collected Ray? Scared?”

“That’s exactly it,” Ray shot back. “I can be calm and collected when I am scared; it’s a great talent that has saved me
more than once.”

Ray scanned the area in front of him for any signs of snipers. He saw nothing moving, so that meant either there were
enemies only behind them or they were good overall.

“We have to be at the LZ in fifteen minutes right?” Ray asked.

“Yeah,” Janet answered.

“We’re gonna have to run.”

Jets shot overhead followed by a sonic boom and the sound of guns filled the air as several helicopters spun around
and smashed into the ground.

“Go! Go! Go!” Ray shouted.

Janet shot forward and Ray turned about, bringing his rifle to bear. He looked through the scope and searched for the
snipers now that things had been shaken up a bit. Movement in the foliage caught his eye, and he fired a round into it. He turned
back and took off running, quickly catching up with Janet.

“What were you doing?” she shouted over the chaos of the battlefield.

“Hopefully slowing the snipers down. If not, then making them angry.”

A bullet whizzed past Ray’s ear. Almost immediately, another round hit a tree next to him. Ray took a split second to
glance where the round struck before taking action.

“Behind the trees now!” Ray ordered.

“You think it’s safe?”

“Just do it!”

Both operators darted behind some suitable trees.

“They are using a smaller caliber round,” Ray explained. “Maybe a .223, so just don’t get shot in the chest or the
head. We gotta move before the other helos zero in on our position. Go!”

Ray lifted his rifle and searched for the other sniper. He looked around the area near where he shot who Ray
assumed was the spotter. The area looked different, so he assumed the sniper had already moved. Ray took off running once
again, the two approaching a clear area.

“How close are we?” Ray shouted.

“300 yards and 5 mikes till it gets here!”

Ray glanced back after two minutes and saw several ATVs in the distance. They were approaching much too quickly
for Ray’s liking.

“Faster, go fast-”

Ray plowed into the ground suddenly as he ran. He tried getting up but his leg wouldn’t support his weight. Ray looked
down and saw a bullet hole about six inches below his knee.

“Ray?” Janet asked as she turned back.

“Go! Just go!” Ray waved her off.

“Oh no Ray, you’ve saved my life too many times for me to leave you.” She grabbed Ray and began dragging him
towards the LZ.

“Fine, I’ll cover us,” Ray replied as he began to shoot the drivers of the ATVs.

Something slammed into his chest and knocked the wind out of him. He let out an involuntary grunt as he struggled to
get his breath back.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, body armor.” Ray gasped.

The Osprey flew overhead as Ray felt another round pierce his right arm. He lowered his head just before another
round deflected off his helmet. Ray’s ears rang at the impact.

“Go… faster…”

“Hold on, we’re almost there,” Janet panted.

Ray felt three more impacts to his chest and could tell by how much it hurt that some of his ribs were broken.
Desperate to at least buy some time, he pulled out his pistol and fired in the general direction of the sniper.

“I think he knows that he is using to small of a round,” Janet commented.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

A large portion of dirt exploded just to the left of Ray’s leg.

“Ha, idiot forgot to check his variables when he changed to his .50,” Ray snickered after the loud report of the rifle
died down.

“Did you just say .50, as in .50 caliber?”

“Yep,” Ray wheezed.

“Well, we made it anyways.” Janet said as she dragged Ray into the Osprey. A few other United States soldiers
climbed aboard as well.

“Close the ramp, now!” Ray commanded.

The ramp rose agonizingly slowly.

“Get this bird in the air now!” Janet shouted at the pilot.

The Osprey started to lift up, but before it did a large hole was gouged into the closing ramp. A warm and wet liquid
sprayed onto Ray’s face.

“OH GOD SOMEONE HELP ME!!!” someone screamed as something landed in Ray’s lap.

He looked down to see a severed forearm resting on his legs.

“Calm down, calm down,” Ray immediately told the young man who had been shot. “Janet, get the med pack!”

She rushed over with the box and opened it, allowing Ray to rummage through its contents before grabbing a
tourniquet and handing it to her.

“Tourniquet now! Come on let’s go!”

Janet kneeled down to the soldier who was on the floor now and fastened the tourniquet above where the arm was
severed, about half way up the forearm.

“Hey kid, look at me,” Ray said gently. “You’re going to make it, you hear me?”

“Ray,” Janet said, “lemme-”

“Not yet,” Ray interrupted. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” came the weak reply.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get to go home after this and show off to all of your civie friends your battle scar,” Ray joked.

The young airman let out a weak laugh.

“You hang in there buddy,” Ray assured him. “Okay Janet, give him some morphine.”

As Janet administered the painkiller, Ray looked at his leg. It was bent in an abnormal angle and for a moment Ray
felt sick to his stomach. He gritted his teeth and repositioned it correctly. Once the stars stopped dancing in front of his eyes,
Ray cleaned and bandaged the bullet hole. Finally, he put on a splint to keep the bone in position. The process took only a few
minutes, but it felt like days to Ray.

“Did the guy make it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, we were able to stop the bleeding fast enough and, all in all, it wasn’t the worst place to get shot.”

“Wait, so he was eighteen? That’s way too young of an age for someone to die.”

Ray got a far-off look as the mare said those words. “Yeah….”

“Ray, are you okay?” Rainbow asked worriedly.

“Oh, that’s right,” Ray replied suddenly, “I never told you how old I was…”

“Yeah, so? I’m sure you’re much older than eighteen.” Rainbow Dash commented.

“I’m fourteen,” he said bluntly.

“What?” Rainbow Dash nearly yelled. “That’s not right! How can your race send kids out to die?”

“I’m a teenager,” came the reply. “Anyway, my country doesn’t technically do it. I volunteered for an organization that
is not part of any government. We just fight for what we believe is right, and that often involves taking assignments from various
governments, but we aren’t part of any of them.”

“What about your parents? What did they think of you volunteering?”

“I’m sure they would be proud, if they were alive.”

“Oh…. I’m sorry Ray,” Rainbow said softly.

“No no, it’s fine, you didn’t know. They were part of the same organization,” Ray explained. “I never learned how they
died.”

“So,” Rainbow Dash said, attempting to change the subject, “how did you meet Cassandra?” She winced when she
realized what she had just asked.

Ray leaned back against the house and smiled.

“Heh, you aren’t gonna qualify to join,” Ray heard someone snort.

“Yeah, you’re too young!” another voice teased.

Ray entered the shooting range to figure out what was going on. Three men were gathered around in a group.

“What’s going on in here?” Ray demanded.

“None of your- oh Ray, uh I didn’t know it was you,” one of three adults said.

“Too young huh?” Ray replied with a grin. The three had separated, allowing Ray to see a scared and embarrassed
young girl standing at the firing line with a rifle. “She looks the same age as me, and I joined a year ago. Now look at me: top
physical scores, highest accuracy in sniper training, and at least one hundred confirmed kills already. Now get lost.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Lance Corporal,” one of them whimpered as they left the range.

“Idiots,” Ray murmured, then turned to the girl the men had been teasing. “Are you okay? What’s your name?”

“I’m fine, and I am Cassandra Ohearn,” she answered shyly. The girl looked at Ray oddly for a moment. “Did I hear
them call you Ray? As in Raymond James?”

“I see my reputation precedes me,” Raymond commented with a smile. “Do you need help? It looks like you’re having
trouble.”

“I’m just a bit unsure...”

“Well, show me what you’ve got first.”

“She wasn’t the best physically,” Ray explained, “but what she lacked in strength, she more than made up with
mentally. She definitely made a good choice when she decided to become an officer. I thought that was the last time I would see
her, but, lo and behold, she was best in her class, just like me.”

“Wait,” Rainbow interrupted, “you were the best in your class?”

“Well, yeah, some people think I’m the best,” Ray said, “but I’m sure someone out there is better…”

“You never told any of us that you were the best.”

“Rainbow Dash, it’s one thing to say that you’re the best flier in Equestria, but it’s another to say that you are the best
killer,” Ray replied tersely.

“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow Dash said quietly.

Ray noticed he could see his breath and shivered. The sun had set some time ago, and the temperature had dropped
like a rock.

“Cold?” Rainbow teased.

“A little,” Ray admitted with a smile.

“Here.” Rainbow Dash scooted closer to Ray and folded her wing around him. She was surprisingly warm.

“Wow, how are you so warm?” Ray asked.

“Well, pegasi basically live way up here, so I guess we adapted. That and I have a nice fur coat to help!”

“That makes sense.”

Ray looked up at the dark night sky and saw many bright stars, many more than he was used to seeing.

“It’s not often you get a view of the stars like that,” Ray murmured.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “It looks like this every night.”

“Wow, I’m jealous. My planet is so polluted in some places you can’t see any stars.”

“Humans sound terrible,” Rainbow replied with a hint of disgust.

Ray chuckled. “Most are. There are very few good people on Earth, and I’m glad to be able to call some of them my
friends.”

There was a short pause between the two friends.

“I have one more question. Why exactly did you join this group? It sounds really, really dangerous.”

“I had nothing left,” Ray explained. “No parents, no known relatives, nothing. I was just about to be put into a foster
home until I decided to join this group. I wanted to become a better person and help my country... My planet too.”

Rainbow nodded. Being her last question, the two just began to talk about various things until the soft blue pegasus
had fallen asleep on Ray’s shoulder. Ray sat quietly for a while, staring into the starry sky. He wished that he could stay in
Equestria forever and not have to return to the wars of Earth. His brief talk with Twilight, however, had reminded him that this
wasn’t possible.

“God? Is there a real reason I’m here? I just made a wonderful new friend and now I’m going to lose her just like I did with
Cassandra. Worse still, I don’t know how she’ll take it when I tell her I have to leave.”

As Ray thought, he realized he had never really been the same since Cassandra had been killed. Only now did he
really feel like he had a year ago and even though it would hurt to lose Rainbow Dash, he knew that this “vacation” to Equestria
had been the thing he had needed since then.

He pat the top of Rainbow Dash’s head. “Thanks,” he whispered and soon fell asleep.

Thanks for reading everyone! Have any feedback? Feel free to leave it in a comment/review. I’m not quite sure about OC requests, ‘cause I have a feeling that there might not be room as this story begins to draw to a close. Hope you enjoy these final chapters, they should be quite interesting.