Making amends for past mistakes, part 2, and the shots heard throughout Equestria

DATE- CLASSIFIED
TIME- IRRELEVANT

(The road to good intentions is often filled with strife, no matter how hard you try to continue to do what is right, you will eventually fail, we all do.)

Me and Harmony had just gotten done when a worried voice came in over the speakers on the train. (Uhhm Ruby, you and Harmony might want to hurry up and get done, we are being followed and they don't seem content to follow too much longer.) I made my way to the back of the train to see just who was following us when I got a rather shocking surprise, griffons, not just griffons but a few pegasi were indeed following us and keeping up I might add. Before I could judge intent, it was made quite clear by the shower of lead pouring down onto the train.

(GET THE FUCK DOWN EVERY PONY!!, WE ARE BEING SHOT AT!!) Was all I could manage before the train was forced to a stop. We were surrounded, no way of trying to fight them off, and in the middle of a dessert. I along with Harmony disembarked the train to confront our attackers only to stop in our tracks. There before us in the dim glow of dawn were at least 10 griffons, along with what struck the most fear into me than the griffons, it was an almost complete wing of not only pegasi, but the Ponyville air force wearing their N.C.E patches clear as day for all to see. (Stop right there where you are in the name of the mighty Princess Celestia and submit to an id check. If you do not comply we will be forced to shoot.) The griffon leader sauntered up to me a gleam in his eye as if he was waiting for a battle and got beak to snout with me, leveling his eyes on mine he said, ( Well look who we have here boys, if it aint that pretty mare who used to fight alongside the Major. Allow me to introduce to you my merc team lil filly. He said to me in a mocking voice as if he was trying to get a rise out of me, standing still and holding my ground I allowed him to continue. (The name is Grim, as in Grim Reaper and these are the Soul Reapers. We are mercs, however we differ from most mercs in that we will take jobs too difficult for the N.C.E, jobs they need done quickly and quietly.

He went on to say that due to us switching sides the N.C.E were now considering us enemies and had orders to shoot us on sight. (Wait a minute here; you have orders to kill us? From whom did this order come down and I would like to see those orders soldier!) The leader of the wing of pegasi trotted to where I was as he did my unit braced itself for defense at the first sign of trouble. (I am Capitan Wind Chaser of the Ponyville air defense division, and we are under orders. I do not wish to shoot you Ruby, but if you give me a reason to I will. I know who you are; the Major would have a heart attack if he knew about this act of treachery!) Look here captain, I along with my unit are on a strict time limit as of right now and have no time for any of this, the lives of several hundred ponies is hanging on us making it to Saltlick City and to stable 35. If you plan on killing us then get it over with but I do warn you, doing so will result in an act of war and the full force of the N.L.R will be brought to bear upon you, and you will lose. I am acting upon a request from a former Stable Tech pony named Digger if you don't believe me that is too bad for you, but I will complete my task, with you dead if need be!!)

One could cut the air with a knife it was that thick, the sounds of weapons being brought into firing position could be heard along with soft swearing from all 3 sides, the griffons readying for a bloody battle, knowing that it was about to get very ugly I had my medical ponies retreat to the relative safety of the train, Black Widow and her team were on high alert knowing that they were far more armored than the Ponyville pegasi and were ready to do the unthinkable if need be.

(BLAMM,, BLAMM!!) The first 2 shots seemed to come from nowhere, almost as if they were an accident until the one thing I had feared this whole time came true. (SHE'S DEAD!!!!, WHY LUNA WHY!!) One of my ponies had taken both shots from a shotgun to the chest and was on the ground, not quite dead but it wouldn’t take much time unless she got help. All hell had broken lose and shots were being fired almost indiscriminately by both sides to start, after several seconds of this it became more organized and concentrated. I tried to have it stopped by trying to talk to the Pegasus leader but to no avail, his head exploded just as I got to him. (WHAT THE HELL EVERY PONY, STOP FUCKING FIREING DAMN IT!!!) Yelling didn't help at all, the griffons suddenly finding themselves outnumbered left the frightened wing of pegasi to defend themselves and took off leaving their helpless charges to their fates.

Black Velvet the newly commissioned captain and leader of a squad all her own was leading them to flank the ground bound pegasi seeing as they suddenly forgot they could fly in the panic and hail of gunfire, when she was struck in the chest by a machine gun round sending her into a puddle of blood surrounded by the enemy who quickly executed her right in front of us. (YOU FUCKING MONSTER!! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT, YOU DO KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE DON'T YOU? THIS MEANS WAR!!, AND THE DEATH OF YOUR UNIT, YOU HAVE SEALED YOUR OWN FATE, NOT ME, I TRIED TO BE CIVAL BUT YOU WANTED IT LIKE THIS, I HOPE YOUR HIGHER UPS WILL BE HAPPY WITH THIS!!!!) I screamed at the pegasi who were now taking to the air only to be shot down by Black Widow and her team.

The battle went on for almost 3 hours seeing as we were fighting pegasi and Black Widow was more content on letting them wear themselves out in the sky rather than having to chase them she sat on the ground with us as we watched the wing of former allies postpone what we all knew was going to be the end of this. I gave them a chance to see just what their actions had done and tried to see if they would see reason, but it was no use, they fought to the last and in the end we beat them into submission surrounding them, or what was left of them on the ground. Knowing what the major would say they tried to beg for forgiveness but I heard none of it, and had them bound and placed on the train, I wasn't like them, and had mercy on them, I would not go down as a cold blooded killer as they would.

As we accounted for our own losses, 4 in total I felt a sudden chill go up my spine. We were now at war with the N.C.E, and it was an act of aggression on their part that had sparked it. Stripping what we could off the dead on both sides, we quickly had services for those we had lost in this first of many battles against our now true enemy.