Journal of a Warbound Soldier

A day at the firing range paid off big time. Not only did I get to spend a little bit more time with my new favorite gun, the SCAR-L, I met a trio of friends down there as well. They seemed like cool ponies, though I am not all too sure if the feelings were mutual on their end.

I’d headed to the indoor range to work on my accuracy a bit, and boy, was I surprised to find out the variant of the SCAR rifle I had fallen in love with during basic was available to be tested. The only price was that every gun brought out into the room needed to be cleaned out thoroughly when I finished.

All of it was worth it though, for sure. My accuracy improved just slightly, according to the bullet hole-riddled paper target when it returned to me at the press of a button. That wasn’t exactly what attracted those ponies’ attention however. As it turned out, few soldiers preferred the SCAR over an M16 or M4, much to my shock. Mainly due to cost because it is a newer type of rifle.

The stallions strolled over once I had finished and waited for the target to move closer, and we talked for a short bit. We discussed guns and gear primarily. In my awkwardness, much of what had been drilled into my brain in boot camp threw itself out and left me puzzled throughout the whole conversation. They picked at that, of course. Why wouldn’t they? Judging by how they looked and acted, surely these ponies have been in for a few years at least. That’s probably what worsened the situation.

But my awkward self didn’t push them away like I’d expected. Rather, they introduced themselves?

The supposed ‘leader of the pack’ was Spectrum Burst, a stallion an inch or two taller than myself. According to him, he is just a ‘few months from making sergeant’. Him saying that brought rolling eyes out of his buddies. He preferred any type of service rifle, whether it be the M4 or M16A1.

His right-hoof, Deuce, was the largest of the three and also the quietest. That was, up until now. His weapon of preference was the M249, or the SAW.

Finally, the unicorn, Longshot, the supposed greatest markspony of the trio, and his own unit. Not he nor Spectrum went into detail of what that title meant, or what he had done to earn it. He also never admitted his weapon of preference, leading me to the theory that it was classified to the lower classes of soldiers, like myself.

I don’t know, perhaps I am just being paranoid. Like I said before, they seemed like interesting ponies. Maybe it did not go as horribly as I strongly believe. I’ll have to find out soon enough, I guess.