Burning Night (Part 1)
Stormcrasher was a very content equine, to say the least.
The dark blue stallion swiveled around in his chair, a smile adorning his face. He stretched his wings as far as he could, while swishing his black tail back and forth for no other reason than that he was content. His eyes glanced over the speakers before him, his wall from the conflicts of the world.
What little conflict there was anyway. Sometimes he wondered why Equestria even had an army. It wasn’t like there were any warring kingdoms that would dare invade; their princesses were much too powerful for that. It did make sense, in a way, but he still couldn’t come to terms with it. The army wasn’t like what it once had been, when all the nations under many names had been at war with each other. Now it existed merely as a sort of protectorate, a way to protect the stability of the already peaceful nation, and to make sure that everypony was happy.
And he was content with that.
He’d joined the army as a sort of failsafe, after failing all attempts to get into any other forms of a job. The Equestrian Army was very happy to get any ponies to sign up for it; the Royal Guard was much more interesting after all.
Then again, he had no desire to do that. For him, he was more than happy with sitting behind these monitors, watching the missions that others took unfold. For him, joining the army had been a double bonus; it was a well-paying job that required virtually no work from his position, and it gave him bragging rights for his friends. After all, when didn’t it sound cool when you said you’re in the army?
In all honesty, Equestria had only been in any real danger a grand total of three times in the past few decades or so, which he actually found to be a high number. And every time, it had been the same group of six ponies that had saved the day (more or less). He wondered how they’d reacted to that; six mares, never having fought a day in their lives, being suddenly thrust into battle. No doubt it must’ve been tough for them, but then again, they were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the only army Equestria would ever need. No need for him, or the real army, to do anything.
There was no doubt in his mind that Equestria would remain the way it’d been; peaceful, just the way he liked it.
Today, however, he was on a mission. He was surprised that they’d assigned him to it after only for a few days in, him being a relative ‘rookie’. He figured it was because of his talent; what he lacked in physical ability, he made up for with his knowledge and prowess with electronics. The talent in question was itching, which he quickly remedied with a scratching of his circuit board cutie mark.
His mission wasn’t even that hard; it didn’t even require him to use his talent. Monitor the progress of a unit of ponies sent to investigate... something. He wasn’t quite sure what they were doing, but he did know what he had to do; check in with the team every now and then, and let the machine do the rest.
Deciding it was time for one of the routine checkups, he lazily extended a foreleg towards one of the many buttons. One of the speakers whirred and crackled with a fuzzy sound before it settled into a clear tone. Keeping his hoof on the button, he cleared his throat before speaking.
“Come in, Equest one, come in. This is Stormcrasher, checking in, over.”
The speaker next to the button sputtered a disgusting sound, proving that the machine the army had put him in charge of was way too old for its own good.
“*zzzzz* This is Equest 1 reporting *zzzzz*,” emanated a garbled voice from the machine. It was very much like the machine that had produced it.
Stormcrasher held back a squeal. He’d always wanted to use that kind of spy-pony talk when he was a colt, and though the dream had receded into the very back of it mind, the desire had never really faded. He would consider himself a colt at heart.
“How are things on your end?” he asked the voice.
“Progressing smoothly. We are en route to the target, and will arrive in approximately ten minutes. Stand by.”
“Got it, got it.” The chair bent backwards as he reclined, propping his back legs on the table with the speakers while using the other two as a sort of makeshift pillow.
The machine whirred in the lack of spoken word for a fleeting second, before the gruff voice cut back into the stale air of the small room.
“Kid, you seem awfully calm about this. You remember what the mission today is, right?”
Stormcrasher’s eyes popped open at the realization that he did not, in fact, know what the mission today was. What he did know was that hell awaited him if his superiors should learn of that fact.
“Yeah, sure. It’s, uuuh…” A million thoughts ran through his head, none of which were the right one. “You’re mission is, uh…” He scrambled around the panel, looking for the manila file that contained the information that would save his life.
After shoving a good number of papers onto the floor, the one with the desired red mark appeared. He quickly flipped it open, and read the summary at its top.
“Uh, November 15,” he spoke verbatim, trying to make it sound professional. “Mission: Investigate the source of an untagged distress falcon from the village of Marelin. That mission?”
He could hear a soft collision of hoof on head on the other end, coupled with a much louder sigh.
“Kid, you’re going to have to start listening to the briefings if you ever want to survive in the military. You think you’ll be able to check a folder whenever you get an order to suit up?”
“No sir, but I…”
“I can tell ya this, son. You won’t be able to hide behind that machine of yours all the time. This ain’t fun and games, kid, this is the military. You’re gonna have to shape up or ship out, got it?”
As much as he wanted to protest the idea of him actually having to suit up, or that of being called kid, he could tell the pony behind the voice wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Yessir!” he said shakingly.
After no response from the voice again, he drew a long breath, making sure the machine wouldn’t relay it to the others. That was the one thing that he’d hoped he wouldn’t have to experience; a scolding from a stereotypical drill sergeant.
A few moments of silence passed, all the while with the stallion paying extra attention to the monitors. Whatever it was that was in the chief’s voice, it compelled him to pay extra attention to the situation.
The speaker whirred to life once again, but the voice that came from it was different.
“Don’t sweat it, bud. The chief’s just a bit worried is all. This is his hometown, ya know.”
It was much more soothing, yet still boasted authority. Stormcrasher wasn’t sure if he should respond it. Doing so once had already landed him in deep trouble.
“I… I didn’t know that, no,” Stormcrasher spoke hesitantly.
“Well, that’s the thing about the chief. He won’t admit, but what he’s doing right now is very personal to him. This mission means a lot, and we need everypony to be at 100% focus to make sure it goes smoothly,” the voice replied.
“Oh, I see. Umm…. Equest…”
“It’s alright, you can just call me Polearm.”
Wow, a formal introduction. No doubt the chief would be yelling at one of them soon. Might as well talk to him while he could. Besides, he had a few questions he wanted answered.
“Polearm, what do you think about the situation?”
“The mission, you mean?” the voice said.
“Yeah. Why do you think they would call an entire squad out here on a mission like this? You think something’s actually happened?”
“Well, I really hope that nothing’s happened. Actually, I’m pretty sure that nothing has happened. The falcon didn’t have any message attached to it, so it probably just got out of its coop. This kinda stuff happens all the time, you get used to it.”
“All the time? Does a squad get sent out every time?” he asked, his curiosity rising.
He heard a sigh from the other end. “Yeah, we do. It’s sad, really. The army doesn’t have anything better to do than to check up on little messups like this. I suppose I should be thankful for that, though.
“What do you mean by that?”
“What I mean, is, I’d much rather be at peace, and be bored than be busy saving other ponies’ lives, or my own.”
Stormcrasher could agree with this guy. He hadn’t joined the army because he liked violence or anything; in fact, he wasn’t sure why a guy like this would join at all. Maybe he had the same reasons he did.
“Though, we do more than just reconnaissance missions. Occasionally we’ll be sent to quell a disturbance, usually when something big wanders a little too far from the Everfree Forest for its own good.”
“Wait… that stuff actually happens? I hadn’t thought…”
A soft chuckle filtered through the speaker. “You scared of those kinda things, kid?”
He scowled, despite the fact that nopony could see it. “No! What do you think I am, a foal?”
“I’m just messin with ya, chill out. To answer your question, we might have to exterminate some pesky timber wolves, or maybe a hydra now and then.”
Stormcrasher’s eyes almost fell out of his head. “Do you guys really go up against those kinds of things?”
“Yeah, although those opportunities are far and wide. You never hear about them because we put them down quickly and efficiently. Mostly it’s just stuff like this.”
“Still, though…”
“What was that?” the voice demanded.
Stormcrasher cringed. He’d only meant to say that to himself. Stupid machine. Then again, this guy had been nice so far. He could trust him. None of the others could hear him anyway, that he was sure of.
“Wh-what I meant to say was, I don’t know why you’d go if there was any chance of something really bad happening. I’m not scared, but I’d prefer not to be in a position where my life could be at risk.”
“Hmm,” hummed the speaker. It seemed to Stormcrasher that what he said had actually interested him. “That’s an interesting thought. I guess I feel like I have a country that lets me live every day to the fullest, so I gotta pay it back somehow.”
“That’s commendable.”
“Really? Cuz I think it sounded cheesy.”
The two stallions laughed in unison. This was a relief. He’d begun to think that there would be no amiable part of the army. For once, he was happy to have been proved wrong.
“So, do you have a family?” Stormcrasher asked, much more laid back than before.
“Well now, that’s a bit of a personal question.” Before Stormcrasher could apologize, he resumed. “But yeah, I’ve got a family. My foal was just born the other day. I’m a proud father now.”
“Oh, congrats.”
“Thanks. I wasn’t there to see it, but my wife’s been sending me pictures. I’d show em to you, but you're a bit far away right now.” He paused. “You know, thinking back to what you said earlier, I guess that’s another reason I joined.”
“What’s that?” Stormcrasher asked.
“My family. They give me one more reason to stay in the army. Gotta protect the ponies you love, ya know?”
He would’ve agreed with him, but frankly, he didn’t know much about that. He rarely ever contacted his parents anymore, and love was even farther out of reach than him becoming captain of the royal guard.
“So what about you, kid. Why’d you join the army? Judging from what the chief said to you earlier, I guess you didn’t really pay attention in the briefing.”
Only now did Stormcrasher realize how much of a fool he’d made himself in front of the six or seven other stallions there.
Then there was this other stallion. He wanted to know about his true motives, which were much less exemplary than his. Stormcrasher debated to himself for a few moments whether he should tell him, his reason settling on yes.
“Well, I didn’t think that it was that important.”
“And why’s that?”
He made sure one last time that the machine was tuned in to only their relay. “Because it’s just another mission. It’s nothing special. You guys probably don’t even need me. But, hey, as long as I’m getting paid, I don’t care.”
“Don’t need you?” He bellowed a hearty laugh. “That’s funny!”
“Huh?”
The speaker paused in its noise replication for a fleeting second, before the stallion on the other end resumed. “What you said. The truth is, you couldn’t be more wrong.”
“How am I wrong?”
“Nowadays, technology is overtaking strength. Ponies like me will soon be worthless. But you, kid, you’re the kind of pony that’ll survive. You’ve got a talent for machines; why else would they put you there and not here with the rest of us?”
“Well, I guess, but that doesn’t mean that you guys need me. To be honest, I’m not even sure why I’m here.”
Polearm sighed. “Look, you’ve got an important job, maybe even the most important. It might not seem like it, but you've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. There’s a reason you’re getting paid for what you think is just sitting there. You’re what tells HQ if anything goes wrong on this mission.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I know that that’s what the machine’s for. Besides, nothing’s going to go wrong, right?”
Instead of an immediate answer, Polearm hesitated in his response. “I don’t know about that. I’ve been here for while, but even I haven’t seen half of the stuff the chief has. Missions that were supposed to go off without a hitch got sidetracked by things he never saw coming.”
“I’ve lost many men to that carefree attitude,” the chief interrupted. “So quit chattin and pay attention, the both of ya!”
Both he and the other stallion answered in unison. “Yes sir!”
It was a long wait until something happened.
Stormcrasher sat in that small electronic filled room, thinking. An eerie silence had taken hold of the scene, leaving only the mismatched sound of leaf under hoof to fill the room. The machine would occasionally interrupt with a whirr or crackle now and then.
Stormcrasher wasn’t much of a thinker; he’d be the first to admit that to anypony, but the last words that had struck a chord with something. Important; how the hay was he important? He wasn’t even sure if he qualified as an actual soldier, and yet the chief and this Polearm fellow were treating him just like that.
And Polearm’s eerie premonition. Those were the kind of things you’d see in movies, or you’d hear your mother say to tell you to be careful when you went out with your friends. In the case of the latter, that usually meant nothing. Then again, the situation he was in was more like the former, where saying those lines basically meant something bad was going to happen.
He wasn’t scared, though. Not, at, all.
The darkness in that room seemed to grow with every passing minute; whether this was a result of him becoming more tired or what, he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure whether it was morning or night; what he did know was that he should’ve been asleep at that moment. The idea was becoming more alluring; it would be the first time sleeping on his new job.
“Why else would they put you there and not here with the rest of us?”
Those words. They wouldn’t vacate his head, no matter how much he pleaded or begged, and they always seemed to resurface at the oddest of times. What the hay did he mean by that anyway? That they thought he was important? It was a downright lie, and he knew it. They viewed him as nothing more than a desk monkey who was good for nothing more than making sure a machine did what it was supposed to.
So what had made Polearm so different?
In relation to the other stallions on that mission, the differences between them were small. It might’ve seemed stereotypical, but Stormcrasher could tell from just his voice. He was a paragon brute, complete with a deep voice that made mares swoon and little stallions like him green with envy. He hadn’t met this guy in person, but the vision his imagination was conjuring was that of a large beefy stallion, complete with the weapon of his namesake.
This same stallion had broken the long bout of silence, merely to chat with him. The first idea that came to him was that it had been out of boredom, and that Polearm had just viewed him as a way to pass the time. After all, what other purpose could a guy like Polearm have with a little guy like him?
But then, why had Polearm been so friendly?
He had to have known of the chief’s animosity to talking, yet he’d done it anyway. He’d risked getting yelled at, simply to console him. And perhaps that was the biggest mystery. In the aftermath of a scolding by the chief, he’d immediately gone to his side, chatting with him to get his mind off of it. Stormcrasher’s image of this stallion would have only added to the ridicule, as he was sure at least one of the others there had done. But Polearm had even gone so far as to talk about his family, a very personal subject for anypony, and had then proceeded to attempt to change his views on his position, saying he was ‘important’.
Was he telling the truth?
He shook the thoughts out of his head. If only he had a good book to keep his mind off these thoughts. He sighed, reclining back in his chair. As he laid his head back into the cushion of the chair, something with the machine caught his attention. The volume of the machine had suddenly increased, and the clear tone had turned into a garbled mess of sonance.
Curious, Stormcrasher pressed the button that would get him in touch with the chief, the one who would have answers to this sudden mystery.
“Equest 1, come in.”
It took a few seconds for the chief to respond. “Copy, Stormcrasher.”
“What’s going on over there?”
“There’s a tower of smoke coming from what we believe to be the target destination. We’ll arrive in less than two minutes. Stay on stand by.”
The stallion felt a chill run up along his spine. Towers of smoke didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Curiosity motivating him, the stallion did what he was told and flipped the switch that would keep the relays of all the members on. He could now tell they were shouting orders at each other, the most prominent of that being the chief’s voice. To keep a closer tab on the situation, he grabbed a pair of wireless headphones, switching another lever to change the signal to them.
Their hoofsteps became much more hurried. He could hear leaves rustle under their hooves as they ran to whatever it was out there. He inched closer to the speakers, as if it would hurry the time and get him his news faster.
All at once, the noises stopped.
“My god…” the chief spoke, softer than the rookie had imagined he could.
“What’s happening?” Stormcrasher yelled again.
The chief spoke up immediately, but it wasn’t directed at him. “You two, set up a barrier to contain what’s left of the it. Make sure it doesn’t spread. You three, get some rainclouds and put out what’s left. Polearm, you come with me to search for survivors. Regroup in the square at twenty one hundred hours. Move, move, move!”
Stormcrasher couldn’t take it any longer. He switched relays to Polearm. When he did, he heard hurried breaths.
“Polearm, do you read!”
He was afraid he would be ignored again, until the familiar voice came on. “Copy that.”
“What’s the situation over there?”
“The village. It’s been burnt to the ground!”
At that moment, Stormcrasher’s fear fell over him. He didn’t want to believe it. He really didn’t want to believe that those were the words he’d just heard. It couldn’t have been right; no, it must’ve been the machine or something. It was old, it could easily mistranslate a word or two.
Reason had other plans for him. What Polearm had said made perfect sense with the hysteria that the unit had exhibited before. The tower of smoke now had a viable source. There was no denying it.
He didn’t want to believe it, but he had no choice.
“Stay on the line! We might need more men if we can’t handle this.”
Stormcrasher swallowed hard, fear eating away at him from the inside. Hundreds of questions materialized in his mind, none of which he knew could be answered until the unit actually went in and investigated. He thought it would never happen, but for once, he wanted to be out there where the action was, if only to get his answers.
“You’ve got an important job…”
The words flashed through his mind at just the right time. Now wasn’t the time for him to wonder what he could be doing. He had a job he had to do here. Studying it carefully, he examined the various buttons and levers of the machine, making sure it would record everything that they said from now on. This was an important event, after all, and he was the one in charge of eventually relaying it all to HQ.
After checking the machine, he tuned in, sat straight, and waited.
An hour passed, seeming much longer to Stormcrasher than it should have; apprehension had a way of doing that. It had gotten progressively faster as time had gone on, as the treatment of the crisis had become more fluent. The two unicorns had quickly and efficiently kept the fire from moving outside of the village, before moving to aid the three pegasi on putting out what was left. They’d worked like a well-oiled machine, not individually, but as a unit.
The same could not be said for the two earth ponies of the squadron. The chief and Polearm had had no luck in locating any survivors, much to their dismay. Still, he had to give them credit. They’d remained vigilant, not giving up despite the growing number of burned down houses that they’d entered, only to return empty hooved. Even so, Stormcrasher had expected at least a few survivors to turn up. They’d searched every house, every store, yet nopony had turned up.
Nopony alive, at least.
The squad members had gathered back in the square, now safe from any fire. Stormcrasher still monitored the situation, if only in sound.
“How’d it turn out?” one of the ones he didn’t know by name asked.
Polearm and the chief let the question disappear on his lips, answering only with silence.
“Oh, I see…”
The chief cleared his throat before resuming. “In any case, good work, everypony. Now that the fire has been contained, I want you all to…”
The sound came from nowhere. It was the most horrible thing Stormcrasher could ever fathom. It was a deafening roar, ear-piercing even after being muted by radio waves. Stormcrasher tore his headphones off in lieu of becoming deaf. From what he could make out, it was like that of a dragon, but much deeper and savage. It was loud enough to cut into the inner workings of the machine, releasing a high-pitched noise that cut through the control room.
After a few moments, the sound faded, and the voices of the stallions once again took over. However, they were not like they’d been before. The machine now cut out bits and pieces of their speech, and the speech itself was much more garbled.
“*whirrrrr* what…*whirrrr* that !*fzzz*”
The machine before him started to sputter and crackle, delaying their words. Yet, he could tell there was something off about their tones, even through the machine.
The cold sweat from before crept back, crawling underneath his skin like a icy snake.
“ It’s coming *zzzzzzz* get aw-!*zzzzzz*”
Only now, he heard a new sound. Destruction, the noises of stone and wood breaking under a mighty force, a juggernaut.
“It’s useless, retr…”
The machine emulated sound, of that he was certain. It copied sound, and that was all he had to work with.
So the sounds that followed were all his imagination had.
“Aaa, Aaaugh, AAAAAAUGH!!! *crrrrkllllleee*”
His eyes widened.
“SOMEPONY, HELP M- *bzzzzzz*”
The thumping in his chest threatened to break through his breastplate.
“No, no, no, no, NO- *whirrrrrr“
His pupils shrank in fear of that which they could not see.
“Aaaauuugghh!!! No, get awa- *thisshig rrerk*”
His entire body shook.
That horrible roar.
And the machine became silent.
“No! No no no no no no!” He pressed every button he could, forgetting about what each one actually did. “There’s gotta be somepony there. Somepony, anypony, do you copy?!”
He waited. He waited forever, for some glimmer of hope that he so desperately wanted to appear. He would give anything, anything at all for a single sound from that machine that would put an end to this nightmare.
But the machine remained silent.
Silence. That was all that existed. Even when he threw himself forward, tears streaming out of his eyes, it felt silent. What he muttered, near silent. Even his thoughts were silent.
“No… this was a checkup… this wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just a checkup…” The tears he’d been suppressing broke through the dam, flowing onto the table. “It was just a checkup…”
His form remained in that position, not moving, for an indiscernible amount of time, repeating that single statement.
“*whirrrrr* Stormcrasher… *whirrrrrrr*”
A voice?
“ *whiirrrrrriiiiiiiii* Stormcrasher, do you copy? *whiiirrk*”
A voice! It was soft, but he wasn’t dreaming, at least he hoped he wasn’t. They weren’t dead, and it was familiar.
“Polearm! Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s…” The sound of fervent coughing filled the speaker. “… me.”
“What happened to the rest of the unit?” he asked hurriedly, his mouth not able to keep up with the sudden influx of thoughts. “What happened to the chief?”
“The chief’s dead. I’m the only one left.”
Those weren’t the words he wanted to hear. “A-are you sure?! No-none of them survived?”
“Yeah, and…” The stallion on the other end cried in pain, sending Stormcrasher cringing back in a pseudo-mirror of the feeling. “Shit… I’m not gonna last much longer,” he continued, much weaker than before.
His last words took a few moments to register with Stormcrasher. “Wha… What do you mean you’re not gonna last much longer? What happened?”
“I don’t… COUGH!… know. I managed to get away from that thing, but I’ve got a huge piece of wood in my chest.”
“I-I can help! I’ll send backup, they’ll…”
“There’s no time for that,” he shouted. “They’d never make it in time.
“Then you have to get out of there! I don’t care what you do, just get as far away from that village as you can!”
He heard a soft chuckle. “Is that an order?”
“Stop joking around! C’mon, I know you can do it! You’re gonna come home, and, and, a-and see your kid!”
“If only that were true,” he said, voice weakening by the second.
“No, you’re gonna make it back! What about your family?! You can’t just…”
“Kid… my wife knew about this when I joined. She knew there was a chance I wouldn’t come home one day.” He grunted. “I was prepared for this day when I signed up. I don’t regret anything, except that I won’t get to see my foal grow up.”
Stormcrasher was on the verge of tears, his last hope quickly deteriorating before his ears. “No… NO! I won’t let you talk like that! You’re gonna make it back, okay? Just stay with me!”
“There’s no time for that! If you don’t want my death to be in vain, you need to tell General Vulcan exactly what I’m going to tell you. He’ll know what to do”
“Polearm…” He wanted to cry out, like doing so would fix everything. Yet all he could muster was softness. “No…”
“I’m gonna say these words once, and only once. You listening?!”
Stormcrasher felt water well up in his eyes. “O-Ok, I’m listening…”
“You need to tell him that-“
*whiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*
