Don't run, you'll just die tired.
The northern rain fell on Iron Gladius as he kept a damp cigarette in his mouth as a means of comfort. The rain did nothing to soothe him and the rest of his soldiers. Nine of them, nine, steadfast and brave members of the Equestrian Army kept eyes on the surrounding trees for their Stalliongrad contact. Who would then take them across the boarder, a good thirteen miles away, and into the more… fairer society. There was just two problems, the contact was running late, and their small outpost only had a limited supply of food. Enough to last for, at most, one more day.
“Target in sight, have you made it around the camp?”
One of the defectors, Ready Steady, approached his fellow, and shivered in the cold as he spoke.
“Yes, I’m in the thicket across from you. You can take the first shot, I’ll get the ones that don’t have sufficient cover.”
“Iron,” Ready Steady asked his friend, “You think they’ll like what we’ve brought? The weapons?”
“Alright, target selected and mission is a go.”
“Roku. Go. Shi…”
“They will, once they can reverse engineer an Equestrian rifle. Trust me Ready, soon we’ll be on our way to the to-.”
“Feuer!”
When the first shot rang out in the camp everypony froze for a split second and Iron watched in shocked surpirse as Ready’s head snapped back.
“Sniper! Get to cover, now!” Iron shouted and the group scrambled to get behind crates and sandbags.
"Hit, searching for the next target"
“Did anypony see him?” Iron cried as he fumbled to strap a firearm to his leg.
He looked back at where Ready lay, or more specifically, at his head. It looked like a popped grape, with a small hole where his nose should have been. Then he noted that one of his number was going to lift his head up to have a peak at where the shot must have come from.
“Stay down boys, he wants you to give him an easy shot!” he tried to raise moral, then yelled out, “This is a waiting game, son. We can wait, got a whole lot of reinforcements from Stalliongrad on their way!”
"Shageki!"
Iron grinned at his men from his hiding spot, only for another shot to ring out. And one of his subordinates heads slammed into a weapons crate, this time from the opposite end. His head too was split apart and so was his horn, which was splintered from the impact.
“Shit!” he cursed as he scooted himself between two piles of sandbags, just as one of his Pegasi panicked and tried to make a break for it.
“Screw this!” he yelped and shot up into the air just before the first sniper took another shot.
The pegasi’s eyes went wide as the bullet penetrated his armor and tore through his belly.
"Serves him right, foolish verräter."
Flare Fire hit the dirt with a wet thud and just as he did, one of his friends wanted to rescue him.
“Leave him, stay in cover! Flare, don’t move! You’ll bleed out faster if you move!” Iron ordered, though more so for the unhurt ones, he knew a fatality when he saw one.
He thought fast, and got an idea as the rain
“Shock, take off your helmet and use it like a mirror over the crate. Tell me if you see him,” Iron said in a hushed tone before he cautioned, “There are two of them. One east, one west. Be careful, use the tips of your hooves.”
The Pegasi, Shock, did so as Iron crawled into a tent and looked for what he needed to get out of the situation, smoke bombs.
"They're trying to get my location. Relocating."
He crawled back to his position and whispered, “Shock, you see him?”
"Understood, switching to burst."
Shock, stared into his helmet and carefully looked into the surrounding forest. Then he saw it, a glint in the underbrush.
“I see him, Boss. Fifty yards away, ground level,” Shock answered.
Iron nodded and whispered, “Listen up, there are six of us and two of them. Here’s the plan, I have three smoke bombs, and five rounds in my pistol. I set off two bombs, Shock, Oak, and Boost will get the guy on the ground and hold position. Then Trail, Side, and I will perform an aerial sweep to flush the other one out. We get him, then we cross the boarder, understood?”
Everypony nodded and Iron broke the seal on one bomb and threw it in the direction of the first shooter and another in the opposite direction. The six defectors rocketed in opposite directions! Shock burst out from behind the smoke, and made an indirect approach for the glint.
He veered to the right then back left, just before the trees and zoomed to the now visible telescope. Shock stopped, and his eyes widened as he realized that the telescope was simply laying there atop a rock. This was a trap, and he flew right into it.
“Oak, Boost, get-“ Shock began as he hovered, but it came too late.
Oak and Boost had, instead of taking an indirect approach, headed straight and set something off. The concussion blast knocked Shock into a tree and fall to the ground. He breathed hard as he stood on shaky legs then stumbled over to where his friends were. Shock knew though that there was nothing he could do as he stared at the bits and pieces of them.
Shock’s heart sank and a tear went down his face as a low hiss traveled into his ear from behind. He turned, but couldn’t see anything. Then another, this time it was above him. His eyes traveled up a tree trunk and honed in on a large mass that hung from a branch, and could only tremble as the shooter slowly unfurled it's wings as it took aim with it’s un-scoped rifle and fired.
"Targets eliminated, circling to you."
Iron Gladius’s pulse nearly doubled in frequency as he dove down into the trees and narrowly avoided the traps that were waiting all around the area. Iron growled in annoyance at that, he’d lost too many good stallions to these two cowards, and he’d be damned if they were going to get the best of him.
Iron landed in a tree and scanned the area carefully, watching for any reflection of light that would give away the snipers position. He squinted when he saw a light brown dot in the underbrush and his eyes widened just before the sniper let loose a shot. He darted his head behind a tree as not one but three bullets flew past and tore into Trail Back.
Iron turned to look at his friend as he writhed and gurgled on the ground for a moment before the sniper put him out with a shot to the head. He winced at the sight and fought the urge to gag at the pulp that remained of Jet.
"Boss, we can do this, use your smoke. We still have one left," Side Sweep said, which brought Iron's attention back to the objects of his ire.
Iron nodded and lowered himself, even more-so than he was at the moment so that he was back to back with Side.
There was no way to get out of this, he realized after a moment of thought. And with that, everything began to fall into place. The Stallions were not coming, his whole team was dead, and these two had rigged it all up that way. His breathing became shaky as he did what needed to be done.
Iron steeled himself and used his hind legs to spring off of an unprepared Side.
His fellow Pegasus let out a yelp as he was kicked into the open and was greeted by a short burp of fire.
Iron grinned as he gained airspeed and altitude. He felt the rush of the wind and the sun on his face as his wings propelled him through the air, until he heard another shot and screamed as his right leg jerked up and wrecked his flight pattern.
Iron spiraled for a few seconds, until he hit the ground and tumbled end over end till he hit a crate. The Pegasus grunted in agony as he tried to get his bearings, only to cry out as the leg that had his pistol on it was broken. Irons vision swam as he saw them come out of the forest.
The sniper aimed his weapon at him, and for a moment Iron thought that he would simply execute him. That was until he heard a voice over his shoulder.
“Major Iron Gladius, you are under arrest for desertion, theft of government property, and treason,” another pony said from behind as he placed the business end of his rifle at the back of Iron's head whilst the first pulled out a pair of wing cuffs.
***
The crystal empire’s train station was deserted as the prisoner was loaded into the back car, with three ponies going along with him.
The MP, Cpl. Blackjack had just finished securing the prisoner with the help of his two companions.
“Thanks for helping to get him,” he said to two Thestral who simply nodded in fatigue.
They were just about to enter the car when an armored guard spoke from behind.
“Corporeal, can I borrow those two for a minute? Got somepony that wants to talk with them,” the guard said as he pointed at the pair.
“Sure, thanks again guys,” Blackjack thanked again as the two followed the guard to the next car.
The two muttered back and forth, confused as to who wanted to see them, only to quiet as they entered the dining car. There, at the opposite end sat Princess Luna who beamed at them with a smile.
Stürmischen Morgen and Tsuyoi Kaze both saluted their princess before she beckoned them forwards.
“Stormy Morning, Strong Wind, please sit, there is much that We shall discuss. But first, please order whatever you want, the two of you must be famished,” Luna invited as they sat down, opposite of her.
A waiter came to take their orders, and departed as soon as he did so. Only after this did Luna speak again.
“You both have served Us well in dealing with the traitor. You shall serve Us well again, as We have another mission for you,” Luna said as the drinks arrived, “That is if you’re up to the task.”
“We are ready, Ojo,” Tsuyoi said with pride, as his fellow backed him up, “And perfectly able, whatever the mission entails.”
Luna chuckled at their enthusiasm as their food was placed before them, “Marvelous, marvelous. Then We shall draw up paperwork to get the both of you folded into a smaller unit. Tell Us, what do you know of Ponyville?”