Titanfall - The Equestrian Frontier

Chapters

Choices
Fate
All Is Fair...
Complications

Choices

The stallion crossed the rusting metal walkway, taking everything in his stride. The sound of his hoofsteps were the only noise that could be heard, as he entered the spacious docking bay of the ship. His hoofsteps continued to echo, as the crowd of ponies below him sat in silence, their eyes never leaving his figure. Stepping onto a small raised platform, the stallion took a moment to observe his surroundings. He couldn't help but notice the state of disrepair the ship lay in, sighing softly to himself as he noted the hundreds of broken cables thrown about the place. And yet, thousands of ponies were sitting there content. Each one of them promised something. Something the stallion now had to talk about. The old Earth Pony had never been much of a speaker, but he was strong. His powerful figure dominated those near him and many gladly followed him. But what he intended to do now, was bigger than him. Bigger than anypony. Facing the crowd, he closed his eyes and licked his dry lips in anticipation. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak.

"My fellow Earth Ponies." He said. "All of you. Every last one of you is here for a reason." His voice was gravelly and hoarse, yet had a captivating quality to it. "Finally, ponies have created the technology with which we can traverse the stars. While some stayed behind, we dare to face this new frontier. A promise of wealthy new lands and prosperous civilizations awaits us." He paused, nervous to continue. "But, will history repeat itself as it has so many times before? Will we, the Earth Ponies, be shunned away and left in the dust of others? For thousands of years, my friends, we have slaved the fields of Equestria, happily bringing food to the tables of thousands. But what have we ever got in return?" The old stallion's words began flowing more passionately as he was whisked away by the heat of the moment. "Suffering is what we've had! The Unicorns and Pegasi we called our friends have looked down upon us for eons. We are merely an asset for them to exploit! How many times have they genuinely thanked you for your work? How many times have you laboured endlessly on your crops just for them to ask more of you? Well, no more I say!

Murmurs of approval spread through the crowd, some of the ponies urging the speaker on. The stallion's face lit up with approval at the sight, gesticulating dramatically as he continued. "If we continue down the current path, these...new lands will merely take the shape of Equestria. If we want to be free from the chains of labour, then we must act at once! You all stood here before me because I promised you something. Something that only this Frontier can offer us." He paused dramatically, letting his words sink in. "Freedom!" He raised a hoof in the air, the uproar from the crowd almost deafening as they cheered him on. Hooves stamping in approval echoed against the dull, grey metal of the walls.

Applejack sat alone in her small room, listening to the speech on a small radio. She continued to sit staring at the wall, taking in it's decrepit features. The years of rusting took it's toll on a lot of the ship. Her sad emerald eyes shifted to the cabinet on her left, eyeing the gun that lay atop it. Sighing, she snatched it and brought it closer to her. It was barely even a gun, an improvised carbine built out of various metal pieces glued together. The words Faithful and Strong messily engraved in the barrel. She groaned, letting the weapon drop from her hooves and returned to staring at the wall.

Her door opened with a small hiss, a bright pink pony taking up the door space. She barely recognised her orange friend as the mare continued to sit on her bed gloomily. Mustering a smile Pinkie sat beside her, the bed creaking in response.

"What's with the long face, miss gloomy-pants?" She shuffled closer to Applejack, putting a hoof around her neck. Applejack sighed and moved further away from her.

"You know what." Applejack said quietly, putting her face in her hooves. "It's this stupid war, Pinkie. I don't think anypony left home for this unless we're counting our illustrious Commander Strongleaf." She rolled her eyes, laying her head against the wall behind her.

"Well you aren't helping yourself by listening to that speech constantly, Applejack." Pinkie replied, following the other mare's example and laying back against the wall. Both ponies sat there in silence for a while. Pinkie often glanced at Applejack, hoping for some response. All she saw, however, was the mare continually staring at nothing. Dropping her head, Pinkie thought about what to say next. "Do you think we'll ever see our friends again?" Her voice clearly cracked a little as she tried to block out the painful truth.

Applejack closed her eyes, biting back a harsh response. "What do you want me to say? Judgin' from how things are, it could be years before it'd even be safe enough to merely contact Twi or Dash." Applejack could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "As for Fluttershy and Rarity...how should I know? It's taken us years to even get out here. To travel back to Equestria, why, it would take ages."

Pinkie sniffed, rubbing her eyes with a grimy hoof. "I know. It's just...I miss them, Applejack. I thought we'd be together forever." The pink Earth Pony felt the first tears rolling down her cheek. "We pinkie promise'd."

Applejack brought Pinkie in closer, gently stroking her mane. "I know we did sugarcube. I'm sure that, one day, when all of this craziness is behind us, we'll be together again. Just like when we were younger." There was no denying the two ponies had aged quite a bit on the journey to the Frontier. It was a long and tiresome flight and it was visible in the faces of the dishevelled ponies that wandered the corridors of the ship. While Pinkie seemed to remain as bubbly and bright as she was when she was younger, Applejack showed clear signs of getting older. Her golden mane had slight hints of grey in it and bags had begun to form under her eyes. Pinkie still died a little inside each time she saw her friend in such a state.

Holding Applejack close, Pinkie calmed herself slightly, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hoof. "I just don't understand how you do it, Applejack." She looked up at the mare. "For years, you've fought for the militia even though you don't agree with all the fighting. I just...can't comprehend why."

Applejack looked at the floor, thinking of a response. "Well sugarcube, I figure that the sooner the war ends, the sooner things return to normal. If I do my bit, I can bring it all to a close even quicker. Honestly, I have nightmares about the things I've done. I try my best to avoid going for the actual ponies on the ground, focusin' on takin' out the unicorns magical robot thingy's instead." Applejack stared at the gun on the floor again, wincing at each painful memory it brought back. "But there are times when my hoof is forced." The sound of gunshots rattled through her brain, the mare lost in the many bloody memories she had of the frontier.

They both continued to lay on Applejack's bed as the hours passed by, ignoring the dozens of commands and speeches blasting through the speakers. Pinkie finally broke the silence. "I HATE the new frontier."

"So do I, Pinkie." Applejack agreed. "So do I." Pinkie nodded sullenly, slowly heading towards the door. Offering a weak smile goodbye, she left the room, leaving Applejack alone with her thoughts. Applejack eyed the small radio beside her, tentatively pressing the replay button. Static blared out of the small device, the fuzzy voice of the stallion once again being the only sound in the small room.

Applejack hunched on her bed, listening in, staring at the dull, grey wall.

Fate

Raw steel and iron sparkled as the setting sun reflected off the dozen or so militia ships entering the planet's atmosphere. The ships groaned in protest as the pilots took them through the thick cloud cover. Every loose bit of metal shook and rattled and the soldiers inside latched on to whatever they could to stay on all fours. Eventually, they tore through the clouds and the battle-torn Angel City came into view. Acrid, black smoke bellowed out of the buildings, distant explosions echoed across the surrounding deserts.

From her view on the ship, Applejack could just make out the black dots of pegasus fighters blockading the city. She squinted her eyes, leaning further into the window to snatch a better look. She just about ducked her head out of the way of a wayward bullet as it smashed through the ship. It whizzed past her head and narrowly missed the pilot behind her. Still in shock, she tried to regain her composure, returning to her position. Applejack's heart was already racing, adrenaline building up in her body. She reached a hoof back to bring her visor down when she was interrupted by a friendly nudge on the shoulder. She quickly twisted round to see Caramel behind her. He offered a smile and mouthed good luck to her. Applejack nodded in return, activating her visor.

"Get ready! We're almost there!" An Earth Pony at the ship controls called out in a gruff tone. The ship continued to shake as more and more gunfire began to be directed at their ship. "We're gonna have to make this quick!" He called out again, bringing the ship low across the city border.

Applejack's mind went reeling as her HUD activated in her visor. I'll never get used to that! She thought angrily, gnashing her teeth as she tried to adjust her focus on the thousands of messages popping up all over her field of view. She looked over to the pilot who signalled the five minute mark with his hoof. Applejack checked over her armour and equipment for the umpteenth time. She carefully slid her carbine out of it's sheath and clasped it in her hoof. Without the levitation magic the unicorns possess, the Earth Pony Militia had had to alter the design of their weaponry to suit their own needs. Feeling the cold metal in her grasp, Applejack shuddered and let out a deep sigh. Here we go again... She shut her eyes momentarily and prepared herself.

In an instant, the ship groaned to a halt, shaking as explosions riddled the sky. The end of the ship creaked open and a freezingly harsh wind blasted into the ship. Fighting back against it, all of the pilots inside dashed for the exit, leaping into the air. Applejack followed Caramel, holding her breath as she leapt away from the ship. She looked down to see the cracked road beneath her coming up quickly to greet her. With a quick look over her HUD, she activated her thruster pack, almost winding herself as she was sharply stopped in mid-air and flung back upwards. With the added momentum, she eyed the nearby rooftop and reached out her forehooves. Applejack grunted as she grabbed onto the smouldering stone and lifted herself up.

The static building up in her ears momentarily cut off as the gravelly voice of Strongleaf rang in her ear. "Alright, pilots. I don't even need to say why this operation is crucial; if we gain a foothold in this city, we have a chance to move in on the IMC base in New Fillydelphia. Once we do that, we begin our journey towards a free frontier for all Earth Ponies!" Dozens of voices replied in unison before cutting off. "Applejack." The mare's heart skipped a beat in surprise as the stallion addressed her directly.

Applejack paused "What is it, sugarcube?" She replied, biting her lip. I swear if he sends me on another assassination assignment...

"Our sensors are picking up a HVT near you-"

"Now let me stop you right there, hon'." Applejack leapt on to the next rooftop in front of her, charging past one of the unicorns' spectres to the left of her, hitting it's head with the butt of her gun to make sure it didn't shoot her in the back. As sparks flew out of it's face and its gears ground to a halt, Applejack started running again, satisfied with her work. "You know how I work. I don't kill-"

"Applejack, you've told me plenty of times." Strongleaf interrupted her, the stallion's voice had a touch of sincerity to it. "But this is important. From what we can guess, it's a unicorn lieutenant-

"Fine." Applejack groaned, anger building up inside her. She didn't have time to argue with him for the hundredth time. "Just tell me where to go."

"Head south of your current location. Use the rooftops and you should be able to avoid the bulk of their soldiers, just watch out for pegasi." The radio cut off before Applejack could reply. She let out a scream now she was off the radio, cursing her misfortune. I hate the new frontier. She grabbed a spectre's head, tearing it clean off with her hooves. More sparks flew. I HATE it! She boosted into a window, landing squarely on her hooves and darting down the corridor. Her hoofsteps reverberated off the walls of the building as she galloped into the living room. At hearing a loud gunshot beside her, she slammed herself against the wall, peeking around the corner. Her HUD glowed a brilliant red as it marked out the unicorn sniper in front of her. She edged her way into the room slowly, making sure to mask the sound of her hooves on the frayed carpet as much as possible. She moved up behind the young unicorn stallion, breathing heavily as she raised her carbine up tentatively.

Come on Applejack, just take the shot. She bit her lip, her hooves shaking. He's the enemy! Just take the shot! The more she thought about it, the more she shook, her heart beating rapidly. With a shaky sigh, she dropped the gun and twisted round. She bucked the stallion hard, sending him flying out of the window. She quickly rushed to look outside and breathed a sigh of relief when the unicorn groaned. Desperate to not get caught, she darted out of the house and boosted onto the next building. While she didn't like the war; hated it in fact, she found her nerves calmed and her mind soothed when she was gliding around the battlefield. Back in Ponyville, she'd often watch the pegasi jealously, wishing she could join them in the air. And now she could.

While small in numbers compared to the IMC, the militia had the power of Earth Pony engineering on their side. Over years and years in the frontier, they'd developed a multitude of tools. The two main successes being the thruster pack and the EPM's signature Titans. Even after fighting for years in the frontier, Applejack was still dumbfounded by the bipedal mechanical beasts that towered over everything on the battlefield. Their menacing designs struck fear into their enemies and it took many soldiers to take one down. Coincidentally, Applejack struggled to keep her footing as a Titan powered past her. The pilot inside offered a friendly wave to her before continuing on his rampage down the streets. The surrounding buildings continued to shake for a good few minutes before Applejack deemed it safe to continue.

Blasting past more spectres patrolling the rooftops, the mare ran and ran, her breath becoming shallow as the adrenaline of battle began to dissipate into exhaustion. Gratefully reaching her destination, she took a moment to sit on her rump and take a breath. Her HUD flashed thousands of warning messages across her eyes, her head aching in response. She shut her eyes, blocking everything out. She sighed and took off her helmet, welcoming the fresh air and cool wind racing through her mane. Sweat ran down her face, each drop glistening in the sunlight. Her ears still rang from the constant radio chatter and static she had grown used to. For the first time in a while, she could make out the sounds of ponies shouting and could clearly hear every earth-shattering explosion around her. Opening her eyes again, she trotted across the rooftop, observing the platform nearby.

"Guess that's my target." She groaned, her mind protesting as she put her helmet back on. As she expected, the eight or so ponies in her vision were instantly marked red. She peered closer at the one in the centre, a faint outline of gold surrounding her figure. "Let's just get this over with." With her emerald eyes fixed on the unicorn, she slid down the roof and broke out into a steady canter as her hooves touched the ground. Keeping steady proved difficult as Applejack attempted to avoid the cracks in the ageing road, thousands of weeds seeping out of the concrete. As the platform loomed above her, Applejack gulped and said a small prayer. The same prayer she'd said to herself thousands of times before.

Please let it not be Twilight. Celestia please let it not be Twilight.

Author's Note

Well, I frankly didn't expect to be updating this story so soon; but then again, I didn't expect so many people to like it. So, here it is, I'm very new to writing scenes like this but I hope it was okay for y'all :ajsmug:

All Is Fair...

The next few days were hard on Applejack. The militia was clouded by death and defeats as the fight for the Frontier became grimmer with each passing minute. None of this was helped by her brief encounter with Twilight. What she had hoped would be a joyous reunion had turned out to be nothing. Depressing thoughts tore through her mind constantly, her sleeping patterns becoming more irregular. With each passing day, she seemed to age. Black bags appeared under her eyes, wrinkles beginning to surface quite suddenly.

Applejack stared into her bedside mirror, looking at the mare in front of her with sadness. "Just look at you, Applejack." She spoke softly to her reflection. "Where's all the energy gone? Where's all the strength?" Despite all the questions, her reflection just stared back at her blankly. "Oh, who am I kiddin'?" Applejack crumbled to the floor, sniffling quietly. "The Frontier's finally broken you. All that hope you had to keep you goin'...where's it all now?" She desperately tried to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Nothin's the same...you'd hoped it would be, but it ain't. If this cursed pile of rocks has even changed Twilight, what does that say?"

A hoof rapidly beating against the door shook her from her state. She slowly lifted her head up, still sniffling. "Who is it?" She called out, straightening up a bit in order to look more respectable. A stallion stood in the doorway, a cocky grin on his face. Applejack knew instantly who it was and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What do ya want, Silver?" She sighed, turning away from him "I'm kinda busy right now"

"Oh come on, Applejack!" Silver Moon grinned, slipping in behind her. "I'm sure some company will do you some good...especially when that company is me."

"No, I do not want company" She replied coldly, turning back on him. He was a well-built stallion with a fitting silver coat and white mane. However, his most defining feature was the constant, creepy grin he took up around all the mares. "So why don't you just go already."

"Why would I do that? I can help you calm down, give you a little massage, and then maybe-"

"Get out of here!" Applejack shouted, pushing him out of the room. "I'm done with your constant flirtin'!"

"You can't resist me and you know it!" He laughed as he dodged a punch from Applejack and scurried down the corridor. Applejack was fuming as she stomped back into her room, jumping on to the bed in a huff.

"Idiot." She grumbled under her breath. "I'm gonna rough him up somethin' fierce one day" She curled up on the sheets and closed her eyes. She tried drowning out all her problems to get some sleep. The drone of electronics buzzed in her ear and the sound of hooves on metal meant she struggled to sleep but eventually the world faded away as the stars embraced her.

Complications

The day poured on as the battle continued to rage. The ageing sun soon dipped down behind the skyscrapers in the distance, an orange glow filling the sky. With the beginning of the night came a bitter cold wind. The dust that had settled on the ground was swiftly flung into the air and, like a hurricane, flooded the battlefield. The gales had stirred so much dirt that it worked like a thick layer of fog, visibility being next to none.

The climb up to the platform took longer than Applejack had anticipated, constantly having to switch paths to navigate the complex structure of the supports. As she got closer to her objective, she could just make out the muffled voices above her, hesitating precariously on a thin support beam. She held her breath, awkwardly balancing on the beam as best she could. The metal creaked beneath her, making Applejack wince, praying it would hold. The seconds ticked by, the voices eventually fading into the distance, leaving the wind's howls to fill Applejack's ears. Applejack took a deep breath, measuring up a jump up towards the side of the platform. Grunting loudly, she propelled herself upwards, the beam below her finally snapping and sailing down towards the ground. Applejack's forehooves latched onto the platform and she sneaked a quick glance downwards. Her stomach churned as the reality of how high up she was began to sink in. Shaking away her fears, she heaved herself up.

As she had hoped, the platform was now almost completely deserted, the officers having retreated inside after the winds came in. All, that is, except one. Despite the poor visibility, Applejack's HUD continued to vividly display the golden target ahead of her as she fought back against the winds which attempted to throw her off the side of the platform. Of all the sounds ringing in her ears, her own heartbeat was the loudest. Applejack shook as her target got closer and closer. She took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Surrender, Unicorn!" Applejack yelled, slowly raising her gun to the other ponies' head. Surrender? Really, Applejack? That's the best thing you could think to say? Talk about stupid... The heavily armoured unicorn twisted her head round to face the adversary, taking a step back in shock.

"What are you doing here, maggot?" The unicorn spat out the words venomously. "A little far from your dirt hut, aren't you?" She took a step towards Applejack's trembling form, her visor sliding upwards with a small hiss.

Applejack almost screamed in joy. It's not Twilight! She thought, relieved. She took in the young unicorn's features; cream fur, blue eyes and a heavily stylized chestnut mane. In other circumstances, Applejack would have thought the officer to have been quite beautiful but right now, all Applejack could see was the twisted smile on her rosy lips as she eyed up the Earth Pony.Focus, Applejack! Ya gotta finish the mission...

"You're coming with me." Applejack said calmly, ignoring the unicorn's insults. "You don't stand a chance against me without all your buddies. So how about we do this without bloodshed."

The pony just laughed, closing the distance even further between them. "Oh? You think I'm just going to give up like that?" She grinned, clicking a small, flashing white button on her leg. "You maggots don't even know how to handle a gun. You Earth Ponies are too dumb for everything. Useless trash!" Every word made Applejack wince, but she stood firm, her gun trained on the officer.

"That's a lot of smack talk when you don't even have a weapon." Applejack smiled, prodding the unicorn with the barrel of her gun.

"Oh I don't...but she does." As the unicorn spoke, a bullet tore through Applejack's leg, making her scream out in agony. With her guard down, the unicorn made a swift exit into the cover of the storm. Blood trickled down the farmer's leg, the wound sending a burning sensation through her body. Desperately, she went for her carbine, crawling backwards, her eyes darting around terrified. Like death itself, a shadow emerged from the storm, towering over Applejack's fallen form. The figure swiftly kicked Applejack's carbine away from her, leaving her defenceless on the ground. She flailed her hooves at futilely, the figure dodging every punch. Applejack wanted to scream in anger and frustration. She had been so close. SO close. She allowed herself to breath, trying to think up some form of plan. The figure was unmoving, staring down at Applejack stoically. The unicorn's delay gave Applejack all the time she needed. Activating her thruster pack suddenly, she caught her opponent off guard. She slid through her legs, her hooves outstretched as she neared the carbine. Snatching it up, she turned on the soldier, to find herself also staring down the barrel of a gun. The two ponies stood there for what seemed like an eternity, unmoving.

Applejack finally broke the silence. "The battle's already lost. If you give up now, you can be spared." She tried to reason with the foe, but still neither side budged an inch. "I don't want to kill you. Believe it or not, I don't. One of my best friend's happens to be a unicorn, in fact. I ain't got nothing against your kind." The unicorn began to lower her gun, cocking her head at Applejack curiously. "So let's stop fighting, alright? I won't hurt you, sugarcube." The unicorn took a step back in shock at the word, dropping her gun. "I promise."

"...Applejack?"

Applejack's heart skipped a beat. She recognized that voice all too well. As the dust began to clear, Applejack made out the two hooves reaching up to the unicorn's helmet and take it off slowly. Underneath, lavender fur was uncovered, scarred and muddied by the conflict. As the helmet came further off, a cropped, slightly nerdy fringe appeared, the unicorn's mane being accented with lighter shades of purple to compliment her overall look. A tired smile crept onto Applejack's face and tears welled up in her eyes. "Twilight!"

She almost broke into a full canter, eager to hug her friend after all these years. But she paused. As did Twilight. Despite everything, despite all they had been through together, they were in the middle of a war zone. And caught on opposing sides. They stood, staring at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity. In both their heads, a wave of emotions had overcome them. Despite it all, there was fear in their eyes. After everything that had happened on the New Frontier, things were different between them.

Without a word, they turned their backs on each other, and left to join their ranks. Placing her helmet back on, Applejack swiftly made her exit, still conflicted about the events that had only just taken place. She didn't care about the mission anymore. All she cared about was that she had found her friend.

And everything between them had changed.

Author's Note

I am not dead!!! :derpytongue2: I finally got inspired to write again so please enjoy another chapter of the story :ajsmug:

Please forgive me if it's not up to my usual standard, I haven't written anything in...a while to say the least :ajsleepy: