Through the Eyes of the Unfortunate (Chapter 2: Malthusianism)
Author's Note
This is a series of small stories that take place in an alternate universe, in which nations such as Equestria, Changeling Kingdoms and Griffonia (Griffon Empire) are about as modernized as we are. Long story short, the Equestrians are in a war with both the Griffonians and Changelings due to border disputes, sanctions, political and public strive, rough economic times, ect.
These short stories will show the many perspectives of different ponies, Griffons and Changelings as the war rages on. Some are yet to be completed.
Through the Eyes of the Unfortunate (Chapter 1: No Better Angels, Dark, OC, Gore, Alt. Universe, Other)
No Better Angels
Griffonian Invasion of Equestria
Day 11, 1:14 AM
Corporal Laslev
Ghastly Gorge, 46 miles from Ponyville
7th Motorized Rifle Platoon
“One week. One week and we’re already halfway from reaching Equestria’s own capital. After years of planning and very little resistance, we inch ever closer to victory. With such little resistance from when we first arrived, we did not expect much soon after.”
“Then as we proceeded into these damned forests, they just kept popping up to attack us then retreat away into the wilderness, wearing us down slowly. Like the cowards they are.”
“We have been here for the past two days, fighting each and every single Royal Guard that has decided to fight against us. The only thing separating us from them, is this damned gorge.”
"Caltrop has already decided we do not have enough power to push through the sides of the Gorge. We would have done so otherwise, if we had not lost our two BMPs because of damned land mines."
“ ‘Ghastly Gorge’ the Equestrians call it. I see nothing ‘ghastly’ about it.”
“But it sure is fucking huge.”
“Our Platoon has no artillery aside from some light mortars that can barely even reach the other side. This is the easiest way to Ponyville, therefore the easiest way to capture or kill Equestria’s most powerful weapon.”
“The Elements of Harmony?”
"Yes, The Elements. It is nothing more but a suicide mission at this point.”
Laslev chuckled and shook his head, closing the journal he was writing in, “Despite promises for reinforcements, this is all we are getting. One aging BMP and a platoon of weary soldiers who are already whining for their mothers."
“Do not get off track. Let’s just focus on getting past this place and into the Everfree.” The leader of the platoon, Caltrop, spoke up, gaining most of the attention of the soldiers inside the trench.
"Any word from the armored platoon, Kardev?"
The radio Griffon shook his head, setting down the radio and pulling out his canteen, "Nothing so far. I have been trying for the past two hours. Chances are, they probably fell victim of whatever Guard forces are in the forests."
Caltrop shook his head and sighed, standing up and grabbing his AK-74M beside him. As he did, one of the privates spoke up, his voice somewhat shaky, "The Equestrians themselves must know we are in little position to fight. We really should pull back until we can muster up more forces."
"So what?" Another private spoke up, glaring at his comrade, "you think we will get back to the FOB without casualties?"
"It is better than just waiting around to be bombarded! Who knows if the Equestrians have called in their own artillery? Air support?"
"I would rather go out fighting then be picked off by cowards in the bushes!" This was supported by multiple cheers of agreement.
Caltrop raised his claw and clamped it into a fist, which automatically silenced everyone. The tension was growing by the day, Griffons split between wanting to go out and fight, to try and break through the lines. While the other half was a bit more logical, wanting to pull back to their FOB and muster up more power, thought at the risk of being completely wiped out by the Guards in the forests.
"I know you all want to get out of these trenches and that is exactly what I plan to do."
After a couple seconds of silence, he continued, taking a deep breath, "I have come up with a plan to break through the Equestrian defenses. We can no longer wait for our armored platoon to come through now, after three days with no contact. We must act now, else we be bombarded where we stand."
"My plan is that we use the remaining rounds of our mortars to try and act as a distraction. Half of you will stay here, the rest of us will try and flank from the east into their own trenches. The BMP will also provide suppressing fire as soon as we run out of mortar shells."
A bit of mumbling rose as the Griffons took this all in. They knew that if they stayed put without doing anything, they would make for easy targets. They also knew that if they tried to head back, they would become victim to the same fate that fell upon half of their platoon as well as the armored platoon.
"...I agree. Let's do this."
"I see no other way, honestly."
"At least we go fighting!"
The mumbles soon turned to talks of mutual agreement between a majority of the Griffons, bringing a proud smile to the platoon leader's face.
"Very well. Now, who-"
Caltrop was cut off as a massive explosion rocked the outside of the trenches, sending most of the Griffons off their feet as the shockwave hit them with massive force. Screaming was heard outside as dirt, rock and debris fell onto the trench. A Griffon engineer stumbled into the entrance of the trench, covered in heavy injuries and blood pouring down his face, a quarter of his upper beak missing.
"TH-THEY HAVE HOWITZERS! THEY DESTROYED OUR BMP, WE-"
Another explosion rocked the trench, this time a bit further away. By this time, a majority of the Griffons began grabbing whatever weapons they could, as well as taking positions on the mortar. Two Griffons quickly took their injured comrade to the small makeshift medical bay area, while Caltrop yelled at the top of his lungs at the mortar crews.
"SHOOT THOSE ROUNDS AS FAST AS YOU CAN! WE CAN NOT LET THEM FIRE ONTO OUR MUNITIONS!"
Another explosion, this time below them hitting the very bottom of the Gorge, barely missing the mortar pits, who were already beginning their counter battery fire, firing and loading as many shells as they could, both under the fear of being hit by a shell, while also fueled by the anger of seeing their comrades die.
Although several of the mortars barely made their way towards the Equestrian trenches, it did seemingly cause a delay in the artillery fire. Griffons quickly took their own weapons and began to fire back at the Equestrian soldiers, who were also firing back shots.
Laslev quickly ran down the trenches, clutching his AK-74M as he tried to find a good spot to join his comrades in returning fire. As one of the privates kneeled to take position, he was hit with a round, going into his heart as he collapsed, clutching his chest. Laslev looked down at the private and quickly put his arms behind the private's arms, pulling him back with him towards the medbay area.
Another massive explosion caused him to lose his balance and let go of the dead private, falling quickly onto his back as he tried to quickly recover. He noticed that the mortar pit down at the trenches was now completely destroyed, as well as any Griffon that was next to the pit. He then looked over to the Equestrian trenches, where he could barely see some of the soldiers taking a net off of a previously hidden Mark-19 auto-grenade launcher.
He slowly got on one knee and aimed his AK-74M at the soldiers, missing several times, while the MK19 gunner was already firing directly into the trenches farther down, causing chaos withing the Griffons and causing them to quickly cease their fire and run for their lives.
As the MK19 set its sight on him, one of the soldiers that were loading more ammunition onto the gun pointed up into the skies, and yelled. The gunner then looked up as well, before they were both suddenly engulfed by a powerful explosion.
The sound of a jet engine screamed from up above as Laslev noticed the outline of a SU-25, flying beyond the Equestrian trench, which was now exploding and engulfed in flames.
The ammunition depot on the Equestrian side then exploded as well, more than half of the trench now completely unrecognizable as the SU-25 made a second pass, this time using its guns to tear through the top cover of the trench.
Griffons in the trench yelled, ranging from yells and cries of happiness to relief and pride. Laslev then sighed softly as a Ka-50 attack helicopter flew right above the Gorge, the pilots firing the main gun into what remained of the trenches, while Caltrop stood next to him, patting his shoulder.
"This is just a temporary relief. We still have a war to fight."
Through the Eyes of the Unfortunate (Chapter 1: No Better Angels, Dark, OC, Gore, Alt. Universe, Other)
Author's Note
The very first short story revolves in a certain OC named Checkerboard, by Rootie being found in a cardboard box a-la My Little Dashie style, found at a guy's doorstep. Some random, odd, but cute events ensue as the person takes care of the shy, but affectionate Unicorn.
A Box Full of Checkers (Fluff, OC, Random)
"And now back to our regularly scheduled programming." The announcer on the television spoke, but it was then shut off when the guy grabbed the remote and pressed the red button, letting out a sigh.
"There's never anything good on here. At all."
He walked out of the living room and went into his room, dropping his backpack onto the floor and letting out a groan, stretching his arms out wide and yawning. "Same shit, different day..." He said to himself, almost limping to his bed as he plopped down face-first onto the covered mattress.
His hair covered some of his face, his eyes closed, before he opened one eye and noticed his Xbox One controller right in front of him. Taking a couple more moments, he reached out for it and slid himself back up on his feet, cracking his neck.
He pressed the power button on his television and sat himself down on his recliner chair, pressing the middle button on his controller and turning on his Xbox One console. When it loaded, it showed the menu screen, along with a copy of PayDay 2's Crimewave Edition ready for him to play.
He then moved his controller to hover over the game before pressing 'A'.
About 5 hours later...
"Get da fuck up!"
"Get the fuckup!"
"Get da fuck up!"
"Get the fuckup!"
"Get da fuck up!"
"WILL YOU GET THE FUCK UP?!" He yelled as he and someone else tried to revive his downed teammate in-game by shouting at him. The teammate simply stared at him as his time went up and he went into custody.
"Wolf is now in police custody!"
"Fuck you too!"
He then let out a sound of utter frustration as he stood up, reached over and shut off his Xbox One, therefore leaving the rest of his teammates to fend for themselves in a virtual bank infested by hundreds of heavily armored policemen.
"Fucking Cloakers..." He muttered, setting his controller aside and rubbing his eyes due to the strain. "This game is such shit now... why do I even fucking bother."
He looked down at his backpack, filled with many of the assignments and work he was assigned at his college. Thinking about all of the papers he was given during the weekend... all he had to do... with only so much energy left to it all...
...
"Nah."
As he made his way out of his room to prepare himself a cup of ramen, the doorbell rang, along with a small thud. He leaned over to look outside at whoever was out there, but only caught the glimpse of some man in a black and white suit running towards what looked to be an blacked-out sedan, before the man quickly climbed into the back seats as the vehicle began to speedily drive away, the man not even giving a second glance over to the house.
....
"Well, I guess I should do my work."
He quickly turned to make his way to his room and start on his assignments, a bit shaken up at what he just witnessed, until he heard what he thought to be a small, almost inaudible whimper behind the door.
He quickly turned back around and stood behind his couch, raising his eyebrow. "Hello?... Someone out there?" He called out. After getting no responce, he grew impatient and cautiously made his way towards the door.
He hears a bit more shuffling noises and keps his ear to the door, before hearing another small whimper,this time much more audible.
"Is it a kid...?" He asked himself.
Taking a silent, deep breath through his nose, he grabbed the doorknob and quickly swung it open. He kept himself in a sort of an aggressive stance, before looking around, noticing nobody. He then looked down..
...where an opened cardboard box was right below his, in front of his feet. Inside of the box is what shocked him the most.
His eyes met and locked onto the big, soft eyes of a very small equine, its hooves resting on the edge of the box. He immediately noticed the look of utter terror and shock in the equine's eyes. He just stood there, contemplating whether this was all imaginary or if he was still in the real world.
He didn't speak, but his eyes broke away from the terrified glance of the equine. He the noticed how tiny it was, no more than the size of a small house cat. He also noticed the odd color of its fur, a light shade of yellow, along with its somewhat big, fluffy brown and with a white strip, as well as on its tail, which looked identical to its mane in color and look.
He had a strong feeling that this definitely wasn't a horse or a long he's seen before... Not by the looks. He wasn't no expert, but he knew that the shape of its muzzle, eyes, and color that it wasn't... Normal. From what he knew anyway.
The part that really confused him the most was that it had a small horn on the top of its head. Several thoughts raced through his mind at a million miles per second, who is this animal? Is it even from here? From earth at all? Some sort of experimental animal? He did remember the strange blacked out van and the man that rang on his doorbell....
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden whimper from the small pony. He noticed that its entire body was shaking, clearly out of fear, since the weather was anything but cold.
"....hey... Uh... pony? Unicorn?..." He spoke quietly to it, noticing that its eyes got significantly wider when he spoke. "...are you seriously a Unicorn?..." He muttered, crouching down slowly. He then reached his hand out cautiously towards the pony
The response the pony had was something he somewhat expected. The pony quickly moved to the very back of the cardboard box, clearly untrusting and scared of his hand and him in general. It let out a loud whine of fear, and he noticed some colorful sparks light up suddenly from its horn.
"Holy shit..."He said mentally to himself, quickly standing up and raising his hands, showing the Unicorn that he wasn't going to do anything.
"Woah, hey! I'm not gonna hurt you! I swear!" He said to the Unicorn. It stopped whatever it was trying to do with its horn and looked up nervously at him, "This... Thing can understand me then? Jesus, what is this day turning into...?"
"I won't try anything... I don't know if you can understand me..."
The Unicorn kept looking up at him, giving a very shy nod.
He slowly crouches back down to seem less intimidating "...I won't try anything... I don't know how you got here or why... But if you let me, I can try to help you in any way I can..."
"...."
"...you have every reason not to trust me... But the fact is... I don't think you'll last too long out here on your own... plus, I have some food and somewhere you can rest."
"..."
The Unicorn keeps its silence for several moments, but it nods, looking down and avoiding eye contact.
He smiled warmly, moving himself a bit closer. The Unicorn looked at him nervously "Uh... I'm going to carry you inside... alright? I won't touch you or anything. It... doesn't seem like you're injured."
The Unicorn looked away and gave a small nod, still shaking, but not as much as before. Taking a breath to calm himself, he placed his hands on the sides of the box and lifted the box with ease, making the little Unicorn inside look side to side nervously.
"Hey, it's okay... I won't drop you or anything. I'm not that clumsy." He said with a small chuckle. The Unicorn just steadied itself with its hooves as he walked back into the house with the box, closing the door with his foot. The Unicorn sat up cautiously, looking around the living room and the decorations, along with the other furnishing.
He looked down at the Unicorn and smiled "Guess you really like how the place looks, huh? It's nothing special like a mansion, but a home is a home."
The Unicorn looked up at him, and for the first time, he actually saw a hint of a smile on its face.
He then set the box down on the kitchen table as the small Unicorn looked around and up at him. "It's alright. You can jump out if you want."
The Unicorn put its hooves on the corner of the box, looking down and hesitating for a moment, before it suddenly jumped, its hind legs tripping over the top of the box, making him fall lightly onto the table top.
He quickly reacted and went to grab the small Unicorn, before stopping himself. He just looked at the Unicorn, noticing that its mane was covering its entire face. It then snorted, blowing some of his mane to the side and exposing his muzzle, before using his hooves to clear his mane to the side, pouting a little.
He chuckled lightly "Guess you're not that big yet, huh?" He grabbed the box and turned it, looking at the front of it, reading the label. It had no address, no location, not even the same of the packaging company. All it had was a simple name written in black, bold letters.
Checkerboard
"That explains the red checkerboard piece on his flanks, I suppose." He thought to himself, then turned towards the Unicorn.
"...Checkerboard, huh? Well... You don't exactly look like a checkerboard." He chuckled. The pony still refused to look back at him.
"...So... Is that your name? Checkerboard?"
The small Unicorn nodded.
"...are you a guy... Er, a colt?"
Another nod.
"...do you have any idea how you got here?"
"...."
"....do you know who those guys were? In the suits?"
"..."
"....did the hurt you?"
Checkerboard didn't answer, but he noticed that he looked sulk. He decided to stop asking him those kinds of questions and change the subject a little.
"...are you hungry?"
The Unicorn nodded again, his tummy rumbling surprisingly loudly as he squeaked shyly and blushed. The man laughed a bit and gently petted his mane, seemingly comforting Checkerboard, "Well, I don't exactly have any hay around here...anything you'd like from the fruit bowl?" He pointed at the bowl behind the Unicorn.
Checkerboard slowly walked up to it, inspecting it all over and sniffing the contents a little. The bowl consisted of two apples, three pears, a banana and one mango. He didn't even glance towards the apples nor sniffled them, although he did lick one of the pears a little, before moving on.
He nibbled on the banana, before he set his eyes on the single, fresh mango. He then quickly began to nibble at it, eating voraciously as the man smiled, "Guess I'll need to buy more mangoes."
"Well, at least I know what you like now," The man smiled and pet the Unicorn, who blushed a bit but didn't stop eating his way into the mango's core.
He then stood up and quickly went to the bathroom, sighing loudly and turning on the faucet. He then cupped both of his hands under the stream of cold water and splashed his face multiple times, shivering a bit as he blindly reached for a towel on the racks beside the sink, drying himself off as he looked at himself in the mirror, breathing deeply as his mind went blank, except for one single thought that echoed through it head.
"...how did I get caught up in all of this."
30 minutes later...
"Well...I don't know if this is as comfortable as you'd like, but it's really all I have." The man spoke down to the Unicorn, who was pawing softly at the pillow and small blanket on the floor, before looking up at the man, "I mean...not like I was prepared to have a Unicorn appear in my house."
"I'm gonna be quite busy tomorrow, so uh...I hope this will suffice somewhat. I hope you'll sleep comfortably, Checkerboard."
The man went to turn off the light and quickly got into bed, wanting to hope that this was all some sort of odd dream, hoping he would be able to somehow sleep it all off and wake up to the life he's been used to, without such an unexpected fastball thrown at him.
Late in the night...
Checkerboard slowly woke up with a small gasp, shaking as he quickly looked around him, saddened that, despite how crazy it all seemed, none of this was a dream. He was still here. In this strange being's home.
He softly cried for a while, wanting to hope that this was still some bad dream. That he'd be back home soon.
...
Checkerboard looked up at the bed that the man was sleeping in. He could hear him snore softly. He then looked down at his makeshift resting place, before jumping up, his hooves clinging desperately at the spot between the bed frame and mattress.
He slipped and fell back onto his pillow.
The Unicorn whined, but was determined not to give up just yet. He tried a second time, successfully pulling himself upwards and able to use one hoof to cling to the top of the mattress, where he used all of his might to climb up, his hind legs kicking frantically until they were able to get a hold on a random ripping in the mattress, which served as a perfect place for him to give himself the final push upwards.
He panted quietly, silently prideful of himself about being able to climb on top of the bed, beside the man. He took a closer look at him and noticed he was sleeping with his backed turned to him. The tiny Unicorn then softly walked beside the man's head, giving his lick a very tiny cheek before curling up on top of his head, only getting a soft snort from the man in response.
Checkerboard then closed his eyes, doing his best to dream himself back home.
