Let Loose the Dogs of War

*BANG*

Another gunshot echoed past Trebass' ears. Thunderlane fell on top of Trebass, a patch of blood began to leak onto his white coat.

Trebass pushed Thunderlane off of his body. He got up to face his saviour. Braeburn stood there, smoke emanating from his machine gun's barrel.

"Pathetic, may Princess Celestia herself damn you to hell." Braeburn cursed the now dead body of Thunderlane.

"They had his family Braeburn!" Trebass shouted.

"It doesn't matter. He betrayed his nation. So he betrayed his own family." Braeburn turned his back to Trebass.

Trebass simply sighed, as he followe Braeburn back to the palm tree. By the time the two stallions arrived, Deviree had just awoken. It seemed that she had slept through the entire fight, which would have been for the best.

"Good morning you two!" Deviree greeted them with cheeriness.

Her voice was like a refreshing splash of water to Trebass' face, since he had been confronted with so much hatred and despair recently.

Braeburn handed Deviree on of the six (6) ration tins that he had found the other night, he also handed her one of the three (3) flasks of water."

Trebass reached for one of the tins and opened it. He slowly ate the beans and rice, then washed it down with a flask of water.

Braeburn simply sat there, motionless.

Deviree and Trebass finished their rations. Braeburn decided to save his rations for later. The three of them set off to the north. They walked for about an hour, Trebass could see a large archway in the distance. The archway connected two large large desert walls.

"That's Nightmare's Gorge, a railroad track runs over the archway. The train should be coming around right about now." Braeburn explained.

Trebass stopped, and turned around. He could hear a loud rumbling behind him. The ground beneath him began to vibrate, the pebbles shook violently. Five (5) tanks rolled in from behind the hills. They approached the three ponies quickly.

"How did they find us again?!" Trebass began to run towards Nightmare's Gorge with Braeburn and Deviree.

"They must have heard the gunshots from earlier!" Braeburn galloped faster and faster as the tanks were speeding up to them.

"What gunshots?!" Deviree asked.

"We ran into... an old friend earlier this morning." Trebass looked back at the tanks.

The tanks began to fire shells at the three of them. Braeburn arrived underneath the archway. He heard the sound of a train traveling towards the archway quickly. Trebass and Deviree caught up with Braeburn.

"There are too many take down with two grenades! What are we gonna do?" Trebass asked.

Braeburn looked up at the archway above him. A thought crossed his mind. He didn't like the idea he was getting, but it was the only way.

He pulled Trebass to one side, away from Deviree, and lowered his voice "I'm going to blow up the archway."

Trebass backed away, "But... Won't tha-" He was cut off.

"I know what will happen to me. But you have to take Deviree and get out of here. I'll take down the archway and you get her to the nearest military base north of here." Braeburn looked at Deviree, she was keeping an eye on the tanks that were approaching.

Deviree turned to them, "What's the plan guys?"

Trebass and Braeburn both looked at her with saddened faces.

"What's the matter? They're getting closer!" Deviree trotted over to Braeburn.

Trebass grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her away.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" She tried to release herself from Trebass' grip, but he didn't give in.

"Braeburn help!" She called out to her partner, but he simply turned away and started walking towards the archway.

Braeburn began to scale the inside of the archway, he reached the top and rested on a ledge that stuck out from the cliff.

He could see Deviree, still crying out to him.

"Are you crazy?! You'll kill yourself!" Deviree panicked, Trebass was still restraining her.

"We have to go. Now." Trebass pulled her away from the archway.

"No! I won't leave him!" Deviree pulled out her revolver from it's hollister, Trebass smacked it out of her hoof.

"Why are you doing this?!" Deviree looked at Trebass with teary eyes.

The white unicorn said nothing, and resumed pulling her away.

Braeburn placed a grenade on the ledge he was sitting on, then grabbed onto  a stalactite that hung from the bottom of the archway.

The entire bottom of the archway from littered with stalactites. He leaped from stalactite to stalactite all the way to the other side of the archway. By the time he had reached the other side, the tank were just beneath him and Deviree was out of sight.

"Now I have no regrets." Braeburn pulled out his rifle and aimed at the grenade the he had placed on the other side of the archway.

He pulled the trigger, and a bullet was sent flying. A large explosion caused half of the archway to collapse.

He took out his second (2nd) grenade, then pulled the pin. The detonation obliterated the rest of the archway, along with Braeburn.

Trebass and Deviree watched from a distance. Deviree broke down in tears, as Trebass saluted his friend that had sacrificed himself so that they could fight another day.

Debris and rubble completely blocked the tanks from proceeding any further.

"We need to hurry, they'll send infantry to climb over that rubble soon." Trebass rested a hoof on Deviree's shoulder.

They began to trek north. For hours, they said nothing. Complete silence filled the air as the two looked at the sandy road. They made their way out of Nightmare's Gorge, and out into the open.

Trebass could see something small in the distance, it was shaped like a cube and black. It looked like they had found the military base Braeburn had instructed Trebass to take Deviree to.

The base was too far, it looked like they would have to rest the night. It had taken them the entire afternoon to escape Nightmare's Gorge, and it looked like the sun was already setting. They decided to make a fire for the night, then continue in the morning.

Trebass glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read, "Twenty-Four (24) Hours Remain"  He sighed, then realized something. The Eyeglass was still at the crash site! It was clear that the sight was too far back for him to make it in a day. Plus, the Diamond Dogs were still back there, what was he going to do?

The two collected branches from dead bushes to create a small fire that would last them the night. The sun had already set, and the moon was just about to rise. For the longest time, neither of them spoke a word. But Deviree spoke up.

"Why did you agree to his plan? And why did you pull me away from him?" She asked, quietly.

The wolves howled in the night, but Trebass ignored them. "I guess I just don't like seeing mares getting hurt. And his plan was the only way we could escape."

"But there could have been another wa-" Deviree never finished her sentence, as Trebass leaned in for a kiss.

Their lips collided, and the crackle of the fire was the only sound in the middle of the desert. Even the wolves paused their howling for the two lovers underneath the moon. The stars themselves began to twinkle in applaud for them.

With their eyes both closed Trebass climbed on top of Deviree. His horn glowed, then the fire perished into ash. No pony could see the acts the two were comitting. For Trebass, it felt like the night had lasted forever.