The mares rose, and stumbled out of the crude cage. Speedy wished he had something he could give them for clothing, but for now he had bigger concerns. He pulled out his flare gun.

“I’m going to signal for transport to pick you up and take you someplace safe while we clear out the rest of the camp.” He said. One of the POW mares scowled.

“Fucked that. Give me a gun, I can still fight.” She cracked her knuckles, clearly relishing the idea of revenge. As useful as the other POWs had been through, Speedy worried about the zebras mares though. He pointed to them.

“Someone needs to make sure they stay safe though. I don’t want to risk any of these bastards trying to use one of them as a hostage.” He thought for a moment. “I’ll be right back.” Speedy ran to where he had shot that stallion on the way. He picked up the AK-47 that the stallion had been holding, and brought it back. He handed it to the POW mare that he had been speaking to.

“Here, use this. Stay away from the fighting, and keep them safe.” He said in a commanding voice. The mare seemed disappointed, but nodded. “Once the village is cleared, I’ll fire a flare into the sky. Don’t just come if you see any flare, I’m using them to call in air support. Wait for the one fired straight up.” She nodded, then held the weapon close, and directed the rest of the group back into the woods.

From the sounds filtering in from the ruined village, the fighting was probably mostly done. ‘Still,’ he thought as he readied M16, ‘No reason to take any chances with this.’ His boots kicked up the damp earth as he moved back into the village.

It had gotten eerily quiet, so Speedy moved slowly as he reached the first few buildings. The bodies that littered the ground and the sound of gunfire gave him a good idea of where to go. He headed towards the north side of the village, and made it most of the way pretty quickly.

When he was almost at where the fighting sounded like it was coming from, he saw movement. On one of the nearby trees there was a slight creaking sound. Speedy ducked quickly, and hear the bullet that just barely missed him ricochet behind him. One of the stallions was attempting to snipe anyone trying to reinforce the POWs. ‘This is going to end badly for you.’ He ducked around the other side of the building and snatched a grenade from one of the bodies. After quickly figuring out the arc, he threw it over the building and at the tree. There was a violent explosion, and Speedy could see the blood splatter onto the ground just past the corner he was taking cover by. He grinned viciously, and moved forward again.

The two POW mares were pinned down when he found them. They had been chasing some of the stallions that were attempting to flee the village, when a pair of other stallions came in from behind them. The stallions that had been retreating out into the woods had doubled back, and now the mares were caught between them. They were using a dip in the terrain as a makeshift trench, but it wasn’t going to be effective for long. From the sounds of the gunfire, the mares were running low on ammo, and trying to make every shot count. Speedy figured he could make things easier on them.

None of the stallions had seen him yet, so he circled around, always mindful of potential stray gunfire. He moved through the brush, trying to figure out exactly where the stallions that had been retreating are taking cover. Once he was behind the two stallions, he leveled his M16. Moving the rifle from target to target quickly, he was able to gun them both down before they had any hope of responding. The bodies hit the ground riddled with holes. The other stallions, who were taking cover inside one of the huts at the edge of the village, noticed their comrades fall, but were unable to see what had happened. Speedy ducked as they send out a flurry of bullets randomly into the woods, hoping to hit whoever was responsible.

The mares, realizing that they now had backup, used some of their remaining ammunition to suppress the stallions. Seeing that he was in the clear, Speedy quickly moved farther into the woods, where he wouldn’t be seen, and doubled back into the village. Once he was close enough to the hut that the stallions were in, he chucked another grenade in. He heard their startled yells, but they were too slow to respond. The hut blasted apart, raining debris down on the rest of the town. Speedy grinned, but kept his eyes open for any other stallions. The mares snuck back into the village, and Speedy risked a quick wave so that they could move to his position. They slid into cover next to him.

“Are there any more?” He asked, knowing that, having been held by these stallions, they might have an idea of how many there were.

“There should be one more over by the cages. If you got that one already, then the village should be clear.” She replied.

“Are you sure?” He asked. He didn’t want to risk anything at this point.

“As sure as I can be.” She replied. “Ok.” Speedy pulled out his flare gun. “Area cleared. We are in need of pick up, Thunder.” Speedy said into the radio. He fired the flare into the air.

“Understood, I’ll touch down at your position” Came the response.There was movement, and the three of them leveled their weapons, but lowered them when they realized that it was the other mares and POWs. Speedy stepped out into the opening between the buildings where the helicopter was going to land, and waved them over to where he was. With the group together, he had them all wait by one of the buildings as Thunder set the helicopter down. They climbed onboard, and Speedy did the same as he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Smoke drifted up from the burning huts, and there wasn’t much left standing in the village now. Speedy took a moment to admire the hell he and the POWs had raised, with so little equipment and preparation.

Present day

Nightshade listened to the story with a mixture of amazement and disbelief. When the story was over, Speedy set his now empty beer down, and looked Shade with a grin.

“Damn, you two didn’t fuck around.” Shade said in amazement. Speedy and Thunder both laughed. “I’d love to tell you more, but I think that’s enough for me for the night.” Speedy said, and Thunder nodded in agreement. “We’ll be back at it tomorrow anyway.” He said as he walked out of the bar and into the night.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Theponycaptorproject for writing this chapter.