Soldiers: Skyfall

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is Cadet Blaster, Wonderbolt Academy is under attack, i say agian Wonderbolt Academy is under attack...heavy casualties!"

"Blaster come on we gotta go! They're almost here!"

"Alright, head for the northeast fence. it's our only chance!"
--Distress call from Wonderbolt Academy.

Date: August 9th 1666 CC
Time: 13:04
Name: Trotter
Location: Grid Tango-Delta-Three-Five ,Third Ring, Everfree Forest

“Go! GO!” Recruit Silver yelled as the three recruits galloped through the underbrush of one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Trotter pushed through a small bush ignoring the scratch it gave her legs as adrenaline dulled all pain as well as her earth pony endurance that had served her well in the more physical aspects of their first year of training.

Behind her ran unicorn Recruit Bluey and bringing up the rear was Silver, another unicorn. The three of them had been dropped off separately in the forest 2 days ago as their first survival exercise with the standard kit of a pistol, one extra mag, a meal bar and a very simple map with the goal of reaching an extraction point. The three of them had been lucky to run into each other and combine their maps as each one had different details. The only real knowledge of things they had was instructors would be moving through the forest tracking their progress….Trotter assumed that was the burst of automatic weapons fire they had heard several hours prior.

“What the hell are those things!” Bluey yelled.

“I don’t know, some sort of addition to the exercise?” Silver said back.

“They didn't look like anything i've ever seen…” Bluey said.

“We will worry about it later, keep moving, we are almost to extraction!” Silver urged them on.

Trotter mentally steeled herself, just a few more meters…..

The three burst from the tree line into a clearing and skidded to a stop.

Before they lay the scene of a battlefield, unmarked green jumpsuits of recruits lay scattered with dots of ponies in full combat armor with small bits of brass sprinkled in for good measure and beyond them was the burning husk of a transport helicopter that looked as if it had attempted to take off.

“Wh…i…..i don’t think this is part of the training….”Trotter breathed.

“O…okay remain calm….maybe we can find a radio or….or something…..” Silver said.

Bluey swallowed hard as the three started to walk toward what had been their salvation.

As they reached the first body Trotter caught movement from the helicopter as a large armored figure stepped around it and she froze as everything moved in slow motion.

First its strangely shaped head turned towards her. Thenit turned its body. Its strange rifle coming up.

Then she was hit from the side as a beam of energy burned through the area she'd just been standing.

“Come on!” bluey yelled as he got off her dragging her from her paralyzing shock as he pulled her to her hooves and the three were running once more.

They reached the treeline just as another energy bolt shot at them and barely missed Silver as he dove behind a tree.

“What do we do now!” Trotter yelled.

“We have to try to get to another extraction; there has to be one still operational or find an instructor!” Silver yelled over the sound of their hoofalls and the sound of that thing crashing through the underbrush behind them.

“We need to lose that thing first!” Bluey yelled.

Trotter focused on running forward, as the earth pony it was easier for her to move through the plant life and make a bath for the others. Just had to put one hoof in front of the other….

She broke through a line of bushes into an area that was devoid of everything but thickest trees and a large mound of dirt in the center and Trotters training had her already moving to avoid the mound of dirt they'd all read about in training.

She was so focused on avoiding the mound of dirt she didn't see the root of one of the trees and in a second her face met the dirt. She lifted her head spitting out the fine dirt that got in her mouth.

“Come one get up!” Silver said as he got beside her starting to help her up as they could hear the thing still pursuing them.

A moment later the earthen mound exploded as another of those things crashed through it, as another came from where they'd been going.

S”hit!” Silver cursed as he let go Trotter getting between her and the one who came through the earthen mound as he drew his sidearm firing two shots a moment before an energy bolt struck him in the chest sending him back over the still prone Trotter as his magic feld with the end of his life dropping the side arm to the ground as trotter couldn't keep a scream of horror from escaping her lips as her friend died right in front of her.

The three alien things closed in on the young recruit as she was trying to process everything.

Then the ground began to shutter starting where the mound had been and radiating outward and a second small red insects began to pour from the mound that had been the entrance to their hive flowing like water towards the closest of the three alien creatures which didn't have time to really react before the swarm of Everfree Ants belgian crawling up its legs in such numbers it was quickly becoming impossible to see. It had enough time for a shot as it fell backwards into the army of ants letting out what would only be described as a scream of pain as the ants began chewing their way through the armor it wore and the flesh beneath it.

The other two turned and belgian firing at the swarm as it flowed towards them with great speed reaching them in seconds and beginning to consume them as well.

The swarm flowed towards Trotter who knew she didn't have a chance, not while she was on the ground, the first of the aliens mound was already half its original size.

Suddenly a wall of blue magic appeared between Trotter and the Everfree Ants stopping them in their tracks for the moment as Bluey was by her side horn glowing. “Come one!” he said, helping her up as he winced the ants pressing on the shield attempting to break through.

“but….But Silver….” Trotter stammered out.

“There is nothing we can do for him now.” Blue said holding the downed recruit’s dog tags and before Trotter could respond he was running and dragging her behind him as the shield was starting to fail. He only let Trotter go as she got her hooves under herself and started galloping harder than before.

“Go GO!” Bluey yelled as his shield spell failed and the two recruits ran into the forest.