Valiant Struggle wasn't all that old when that fateful letter had come in the mail. He had just graduated high school two weeks before in fact. He was staying with his parents for the summer before going to college in Canterlot, but those plans were about to be canceled. Valiant got up from bed, bleary eyed, and went down to the kitchen for some breakfast. Valiant's mother, Buttered Biscuit, was already busy cooking as he plopped himself down at the table. Valiant's mother then promptly put a plate in front of him. On it was a pristine waffle, covered in powdered sugar.
"I made 'em just the way you like 'em, honey. Eat up!" she said, with a beaming smile.
Valiant began to quietly eat his waffle while his mother resumed her cooking. Valiant was an earth pony and had a deep blue coat that was the color of the ocean with a Straight and simple turquoise mane that had streaks in it the same color as his coat. He was was average sized for a young stallion and he had bright green eyes that almost lit up. His cutie mark was a sword and shield that he had acquired by defending a classmate from a bully. Valiant was always ready to defend the people he cared about despite getting a beating every now and then. He had decent enough grades, though they were good enough to get him into a college in Canterlot.
As was the usual routine, Valiant's father walked in the front door with the mail. He haphazardly tossed it on the table and took a sip of his coffee. He gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek and sat down for breakfast.
He looked over at Valiant and said, "Hey son, there's a letter for you."
Valiant looked over at the letter and his stomach dropped. It had the official equestrian military seal on it. Without looking at it, he knew he had been drafted. A draft wasn't common in Equestria, but there was a war against King Sombra and the Crystal Empire. It had been raging for six months and it was already taking a heavy toll on the Equestrian military. King Sombra was relentless and his army seemed infinite. Valiant opened the envelope as if it were a scab, and took out the letter inside. It was a draft letter, just he had feared.
"Oh, No," He muttered to himself as he put his hoof in his face.
"Aww, what's wrong sweetie?" his mother cooed.
She then looked at the draft letter and look of dismay and horror spread across her face. Valiant's father went over to comfort her, taking a look at the letter in the process. He was left speechless. The orders were to ship out tomorrow morning. Most of his friends had already been drafted, so there weren't many goodbyes to say. The rest of the day seemed like a haze to Valiant. His mother was constantly fretting for her son's life and his father had no idea what to do. Valiant went to bed that night feeling like there was a knife in his gut.
By 7 O' clock the next day, he was on a train to boot camp. The ponies on the train were mostly young and there were mixed feelings going around. There were plenty of ponies who were eager to get on the battlefield and take the fight to the Crystal Empire, whereas others, Valiant included, were terrified of what waited for them on the front line. As the train came to a stop at.the Everfree military base, Valiant felt like he was in a dream. Was this really happening? Had he really been pulled away from his home and future? Did he have to confront the reality that he was going to war?
Valiant was given a buzz cut and issued a uniform and rifle. He was assigned to the 68th infantry and headed toward his barracks. The barracks were small metal buildings, with both the exterior and interior unpainted. Each soldier had a simple bunk and a footlocker along with any personal effects they brought with. As Valiant was getting himself in order, the door to the barracks burst open with a crash. A purple unicorn with a purple mane that had two streaks of even more purple walked in. Her eyes were of course purple.
"TEN-SHUN," she barked.
Valiant and the rest of the unit stood straight and looked forwards.
"Now, you worthless parasprites had better listen up!" She barked, "I am sergeant Twilight Sparkle and I am in charge of you for the next ten weeks. You may have heard of my reputation as a mean bitch. That is exactly what I want! War sure as shit isn't nice, so neither am I! Some ground rules. If I catch you smoking, drinking or otherwise ingesting a controlled substance, you're running three miles. If I catch you fucking, kissing or otherwise getting intimate, both of you are running three miles. If I catch you out past curfew, you're running three miles. If you disrespect a superior, you're running five miles. I train only the best, only those who will stand up for their country and fellow pony. Now I have a very important lesson for all of you. Your weapon, the A23 Assault Rifle, chambered for a 5.56 millimeter round, capable of both semi- automatic and full automatic fire, is your best friend. It is made of fine Equestrian steel, and you will be fucking proud to wield it. So proud, in fact, you'll clean it every single day, lest you be unpatriotic scum who wants latrine duty. Dismissed!"
As Valiant sat back down on his bed, the stallion next to him turned toward him. He had a bright red coat and a yellow mane.
"Whoa. She's a real piece of work," He said.
"Shhh!" Valiant said with a panicked look on his face, "Don't talk shit about the sergeant! C'mon man, you heard what she said about disrespect."
"Hey, I heard a rumor about why she's like that. Heard she had a chance to be a student of the Princess herself, but she screwed up some big test. Been bitter ever since and war gave her something to do."
"Yikes. I kinda don't blame her then."
"Yeah. I'm Crimson Ember by the way."
"Good to meetcha, I'm Valiant Struggle."
"Lights out!" Yelled Sergeant Twilight.
Every morning, Valiant was woken by the sound of a bugle and Sergeant Twilight's yelling. He'd stand at attention with the rest of his unit as she inspected their rifles. One morning when she got to Crimson's gun, she shoved it right back into his grip after a quick look.
"Is this what you call clean?!" She yelled.
Crimson just stammered and said, "Uhh, well I um ah, don't..."
Valiant decided to step up and say, "With all due respect ma'am, I saw him clean his gun with my own two eyes. He cleaned it right next to mine."
Valiant stood tall, trying not to tremble as Sergeant Twilight marched right up to him. She gave him a long, hard look that seemed to pierce Valiant's soul.
"Good job," She said. She then addressed the entire unit, "I said I trained only those who stand up for their country and fellow pony and only this young stallion did so, because the rest of you are apparently a bunch of chicken shit parasprites!"
After inspection, it was time for our morning jog. The sergeant rode in a jeep of course. Valiant and the rest of the unit began the marching cadence of the Royal Equestrian Army, first Sergeant Twilight and then the unit.
"I don't know what I been told!"
"I don't know what I been told!"
"But Granny Smith is mighty old!"
"But Granny Smith is mighty old!"
"Sound off!"
"One, two!"
Valiant had to jog every morning, no matter how terrible the weather was. Aside from the daily regiment of calisthenics, Valiant learned to shoot, fight, drive a jeep and be a soldier. Sergeant Twilight was hard on everyone and she was more than keen to punish anypony who broke her rules. He made quick friends with Crimson Ember though as they went through boot camp together.
Boot camp was over the next day and Valiant and Crimson were in the mess hall. The food there was a mile worse than his mom's cooking, but he learned to live with it. Valiant was thinking about what would happen when they got to the front lines. It had seemed like it hadn't existed and all there was to his military service was doing push-ups and getting yelled at.
"Hey Valiant," Crimson ate his food.
"What?" he replied, coming out of thought.
"We're shipping out soon and I just want to tell you I've got your back."
"Well, the feeling's mutual."
That night wasn't too different from the one before Valiant came to boot camp. He felt like there was knif in his gut, but this time it was different. This time, he felt prepared.
The Battle of Quarry Junction Part 1
Valiant Struggle was in the back of an APC carrying him out to Quarry Junction. He had been deployed straight out of boot camp the day before and he had been on the road with only a stop at the base outside of Quarry Junction for orders and gassing up the APCs. Quarry Junction was a vital railroad station that kept supplies coming into various fronts and had recently been attacked by the Crystal Empire Army, or CEA. The officers with the defense force were Lieutenant Pinkamena Diane Pie and her sister Maud, both of whom were acclaimed war heroes. The war effort could be struck a serious blow if Quarry Junction were to fall.
Valiant sat with his rifle ready and he could hear the battle in the distance. Next to him was Crimson Ember, who was sweating a river. They were going straight into the battlefield and neither knew what to expect.
"Hey Crimson, you ready?"
"Fuck man, ready as I'll ever be."
Lieutenant Pinkamena was on the same APC as them and got up to say a few words.
"Alright, we're coming up to the hot zone. Stay steady and keep your cool and you just might make it out alive. We crush them hard and we crush them fast."
"OORAH!" Yelled the rest of the soldiers.
The APC came to a stop just outside of a residential area. The door opened and everypony rushed out. Valiant took a look at the battlefield and it looked like hell. There were huge clots of soldiers on both sides that were shooting at each other and diving into cover while firing blindly at the other side was all Valiant could do.
"Go! Go! Go! Move up! We can't let them take any more ground!" Yelled the Lieutenant.
Valiant clambered out from the rock he used as cover and joined his unit in the charge. He ran forward yelling and saw a CEA soldier come out of seemingly nowhere. He panicked and acted on reflexes and gunned him down, moving on with no time to go think about it. He saw Crimson about 20 feet away and tried to veer toward him. Suddenly an artillery shell came down near Valiant and he was knocked on his side into a ditch. Before he could get all the way up, another CEA soldier tackled him. This time, Valiant got a good look at what they looked like. Their helmets and body armor were black and jagged, with a red crest on the top of the helmet. What was most unnerving was the green glow that came from their eyes. Valiant pulled out his knife jabbed in the direction of the soldier. It was intercepted mid-stab and Valiant pushed as hard as he could. The soldier was stronger and was slowly pushing the knife back, but gunfire ripped through his flank. Valiant looked over and saw Crimson standing over him.
"I told you I got your back," Crimson extended his hoof out.
The two rejoined the charge and rushed through the chaos of the battlefield. The gunfire and yelling blended into a haze as the two ran into oblivion, charging blindly at the enemy.
"GRENADE!" came a yell from somewhere.
Valiant skidded to a halt and dropped behind a ruined wall as he heard the sound of the grenade exploding near by. Valiant looked and saw enemy fire coming from a collection of buildings from across a river several hundred feet away. He had lost Crimson and he began to think about what was really going on. He was in the middle of a real war and had already killed somepony. Valiant was panting and sweating and he suddenly became aware of the cuts and scrapes on his body. He just stared, not daring to poke his head out for fear of it getting blown off. He looked and saw bodies everywhere, but one ten feet away seemed to be breathing. Valiant crawled over to him and saw he was bleeding out bad.
"H-hey kid," he gasped, "Water, that's all I want."
"Sure thing buddy," Valiant said as he handed the dying soldier his canteen.
The soldier shakily grabbed it and took a gulp. He then let out a tired sigh and let his head fall. The soldier took a wheezing breath and looked over at Valiant.
"Kid, do me a favor and take these explosives," He said before letting out a rattling cough. "Take 'em and collapse that bridge. It was my job before I took a bullet in the gut. I want my last duty to be carried out."
Valiant obliged and picked up the explosives. The bridge in question was one spanning the river and demolishing it would cut off the advance. It was up to him now to carry out the job. He'd have to cross through a lot of enemy fire, not to mention get under the bridge to blow it up.
"One last thing kid," the soldier handed a pendant to Valiant. "I want you to take this. My father gave it to me, but I don't have any family to give it to. You seem like a good kid and I want this to go to someone who deserves it. Please, fulfill a dying pony's last wish."
"Of course I would," Valiant said as he took the locket.
"Thank you. And promise that when it's your time, give it to someone else who deserves it," The soldier said with his dying breath.
"I promise," Valiant said with a somber heart.
Valiant took the pendant and took a look at it. It was a circle of silver and shined like the sun. There was an engraving of the Equestrian flag on the front and on the back was "Semper Filly," the motto of the Royal Equestrian Army. He quickly put in his pocket and moved on.
Valiant wasn't just blindly shooting at an enemy anymore. He had a duty to carry out now. Valiant looked towards the bridge and saw it was unsurprisingly swarming with enemies. Then he saw the real obstacle. There was a tank parked right in the middle, its booming shells thundering across the battlefield. There was one possible weakness though. Under the bridge was a large drainage pipe, and it looked like a pony could fit through. If he could find a way through it, he'd be in the perfect position to blow the bridge.
Valiant quickly scanned the ground and saw a sewer grate he could use. He pulled off the grate and climbed in, hoping nopony noticed him. He dropped down into cold, rank water that was up to his flank, trying not to get the explosives too wet and the pungent smell of the sewer immediately hit him. It was like a being right next to a rotting corpse, which for all he knew he could've been. Valiant flicked on his flashlight, illuminating the stone tunnel in front of him. The sewer was about fifteen feet wide and the ceiling was a few feet higher than Valiant. There were sporadic patches of moss on the walls and he could hear the battle above him. He heard what sounded like thunder off in the distance and figured it was the tank.
Valiant began slogging through the sewer and heard a faint scratching noise. He checked to see if wasn't any of his gear and he heard it again. Valiant readied his gun and continued towards the sounds of the tank. Valiant heard the scratching sound and it was louder.
Valiant snapped towards the direction of the sound, pointing his gun, "Who's there!? Show yourself! I swear to Celestia, I'll shoot!"
Valiant began to walk even more slowly, pointing his gun at every drip and creak that came from the old sewers. There were all manner of dangerous creatures in Equestria that could be lurking in the tunnels. Valiant's mind was racing and he began to panic. He had heard tell of a terrible, unknown monster that lurked in a cave downstream of Ponyville and who knows what could lurk in this old sewer?
The tunnel began to slope upwards and to Valiant's delight, out of the rancid water. He came into a circular junction with several tunnels leading into it. Then the scratching sound came again, but it was now accompanied by a low growl. Valiant twisted around towards the tunnel where the sound came from, readying his gun. As the growling sound drew closer and closer, Valiant began shaking. He saw a pair of glowing eyes but was too paralyzed with fear to run.
Then the beast finally came into view. It was a timberwolf, worn and raggedy, yet still deadly. It had likely come from the nearby wooded area seeking refuge from the battle above. Valiant screamed and fired wildly at the monster. It lunged at him, leaving a gash in Valiant's flank. He swore as tried to right himself before it reared itself for another strike. Valiant heard another growl and turned to see the timberwolf charging. Just in time, he was able to fire off a few rounds. The bullets hit their mark and the timberwolf staggered back. Valiant aimed for another shot, but when he pulled the trigger all he heard was clicking. His gun was dry and there wasn't any time to reload.
Valiant heard the boom of the tank firing off another shell and looked in the direction of the sound. There was a light coming through the grate at the end of a short tunnel. The bridge! He began to run as fast as he could down the tunnel. The wound on his side burned but he had to keep going. He gave the grate a hard shove and pushed it off. Valiant hurriedly activated the explosives and threw them up under the bridge. The timberwolf was almost on him but there was no way out. If he jumped into the river he'd drown and he couldn't climb up. The situation seemed hopeless. The timberwolf was only a few feet away but its roar was drowned out by a deafening boom.
The explosives had gone off and collapsed the bridge, caving in the tunnel in the process. The timberwolf had been crushed in cave-in but Valiant was trapped. He wasn't seriously hurt, but he couldn't get his leg out from under a rock. Valiant slammed his hoof down in frustration. He had gone too far to die now. Valiant took out the pendant from his pocket. He then remembered the promise he'd made to the dead soldier. Now all he could hope was that whoever found his body put it in the right hooves.
Valiant heard a crashing sound echo through the sewer that was slowly getting louder. He hoped it wasn't another monster coming to finish him off. As it got close he heard shouting. Could it be CEA soldiers? Suddenly the rock in front of him was demolished seemingly instantly. When Valiant saw who it was his heart was filled with relief. It was Lieutenant Pinkamena who had punched through the rock. She quickly demolished the rock pinning his leg.
"C'mon Private, we're getting out of here," She said, helping Valiant up, "I need a medic!" She yelled behind her.
A medic and two other soldiers went over and put Valiant on a stretcher. The medic administered a quick shot and wrapped a bandage over the gash on his side. Everything faded as Valiant slipped out of consciousness.
Valiant groaned as woke up in a medic tent with a pounding headache. He was in a medic tent at the base outside of Quarry Junction. Two nurses noticed and one left the tent while the other walked over to his bed.
"Whu- what happened?," Valiant said groggily.
"You've been out for a day and a half. Lieutenant Pinkamena and her team pulled you out of the sewer and got you back to base. You're lucky that wound wasn't to deep and didn't get infected. It's healed nicely and you should be up by tomorrow. Also, we found this in your pocket while we treated your injuries." The nurse gave Valiant the silver pendant, "Now, Colonel Northstar will want to see you."
Colonel Northstar was the officer overseeing all operations at Quarry Junction. He had been stationed there before the attack and had taken command of the defending forces. He was well respected and considered a brilliant tactician. They said if anyone could hold Quarry Junction, it was Colonel Northstar.
As the nurse walked away, Valiant heard a rock song blaring from outside,
"Some folks are born, made to wave the flag,
Ooo, their sun and moon,
And when the band plays 'Smile, smile, smile,'
They point their spells at you, lord,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no Canterlot stal-lion,
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate stal-lion,"
The song then abruptly cut off. An older pegasus wearing sunglasses and an officer uniform came through the tent flap. His coat was a gold hue and his short, military mane was a color similar to that of a mahogany tree with streaks of gray. His face was slightly wrinkled, but other than that he looked as fit as any other soldier. This was definitely Colonel Northstar.
The Colonel snapped off a crisp salute, "You know that song, son?"
"No, sir," Valiant replied, attempting to return the salute.
"That's Fortunate Stallion and it's a classic. Private, you did a damn fine job out there, damn fine. Thanks to your actions, Quarry Junction may have just been pulled out of the hydra's mouth. The CEA advance has been cut off and they're running scared, all because of you.
"Thank you, Sir. I carried out my duty to the best of my ability."
"Son, that's a mile beyond duty, and I admire that. Now, I have a proposal for you. I could have you home by next week with a Purple Heart and probably a few other medals that'll make mom proud of you, but I think you can be a hell of a lot more useful. You're capable of a lot and I think you'll be able to do even more with experience. Y'see, there's an armor depot a few klicks out and they got tanks, troop transports, the works. If we can take it out, this fight is more or less won. It's too far behind enemy lines to attack in force, so the best we can do is send a small strike team. Son, I want you to be on that team. We can getcha some expensive magic treatment and have you combat ready by tomorrow. It's your choice though."
Valiant took a minute to mull it over. He had already gone through a lot and that was just his first battle, but the threat King Sombra posed was an entirely real one and he couldn't let him win. Then Valiant thought about how he hadn't even signed up. He had been drafted into a war he didn't want. Then again, maybe he was right for war. Valiant knew what he had already accomplished and who knew what more he could do?
Valiant took a breath and said, "I'll do it sir."
Colonel Northstar let out a pleased chuckle, "That's what I like to hear son."