Author's Note
Constructive Criticism blah blah blah Why you Disliked blah blah blah One of my first stories.
You get the Gist.
Hell on the Horizon
"As a kid. I always Imagined what fighting would be like. Not as they do in Movies, with the hours of Coreography. But raw, unedited War would be like. I imagined it to be awesome, a thrill like no other, to fight and Win and Lose and Draw and Retreat. . . Oh. How i wish, that i was right." -Leroy Walsh. 2037.
I stare up into the Morning sky. Watching the odd cloud make its way overhead, and the Ocasional Pegasi using it to conceal themselves for Recon.
How long has it been? At this point ive forgotton, but what i do know is that after this fight. Im going home.
Why the fuck did i even Volenteer for this stupid war anyways? Its not like i owe the Ponies anything.
The steady racket of my Vehicles tracks grinding against the rock coated ground and tossing them behind us, and the noise of the Bradelys Engine was comforting to me. If we were hit, we could still move.
Too many lost that way, due to Engine Failure.
Taking my eyes from the Blue above, i level it out and scan the Terrain for anything for my Brain to make fun of.
. . .
Aaaaand nothing but Rocks, Dust and Sad. Christ this was boring, and my Crewmates weren't helping with it either.
Guess i can't blame them though. The anticipation in the air is so thick i could grab it with my hands.
SCRRRT{Button up Walsh}SCRRRT
Comes the voice of my Vehicle Commander. Glen.
I take a few more seconds to soak in with Sunlight i could, before kicking out one foot from below me and landing on my Custom seat. Extra Padding. Reaching up i grab my Hatch pull it shut before locking it.
{This is it boys. OP begins in One Minute, you all remember what to look out for. Bugs with the sacks, Ones with the big horns, any Static implacements and anyone trying to hit us. Good luck and god speed Metal}
That was the Group wide band. Us and the Three other Bradelys all got the same message from Glen.
Glen was from Brisbane, City in southern Victoria Australia. Born a City boy and raised like one too, but he was alright. A Captain aged 25 and alot more Strategicly aware than the rest of the Eleven men spread about the four Vehicles.
Our Driver was Noah. A guy from Rooty Hill NSW Australia, same as me, who joined the War for the Bonuses it would bring after the fighting was over. Never expected this War to be an ACTUAL FIGHT though, so that was a bit of a shock to him.
For the first Month being Deployed, he was FUBAR on several occasions. Freezing and not complying with Orders, but now he was a Soldier, tried and true. And one of if not THE best Driver in the Whole. . . Group. Alright he's above Average give the guy a break.
. . . And for the life of me i just can't remembe why i joined this bloody Conflict.
"WALSH!" Comes a scream from my side, which makes me jump.
"What what WHAT?!!" I half shout back at Glen. Annoyed that he practically yelled into my ear.
"Christ mate get you bloody head into the game will you! Command just gave the go ahead, Bombers will clear a path for us. Get the guns ready to fire, Rog?"
"Rog" I affirm. Leaning forward, i look at my Screen, seeing the outside world again. I go through several checks. Including Thermals, Dry Firing the Main Weapon to test responses aswell as the Tow and Smoke Launchers.
"Green across the board sir. We are ready for a fight."
"Copy. Driver, pull up to the crest of the hill. Keep us low."
"Yea boss i gotcha." Noah says.
My whole body lurches forwards by a few Inches. Going from a Fast clip to a Weapons ready speed caused the whole Vehicle to rock.
Meter by Meter, we rolled towards a slight hill. A bump that went in either direction as far as the eye could see, surrounding what i assumed was a drop.
As we pulled up to the bump. Im proven correct in my asumption.
A Ginormous. Fucking. Crater. Sat not a few Meters ahead of us, and while the slope was Gradual, the lip of the hole was at a Vertical Incline. And atleast three meters tall, just by guessing.
At the centre of the Worlds Anus. Sat a single spire, Easily a Kilometer or. . . Three in height, and maybe a Kilometer in Diameter, which thinned as it got taller.
". . . Holy fucking shit." I said. Mirroring what the rest of my Crew must of felt. Hell maybe even the whole damn Army! "Were Assaulting THAT thing!?! That's insane!"
"Yea. That's it alright. The Changelings Capital hive, above the above. . . Christ help us, just how many are there left?" Glen balks, stupefied at the Sheer Mass of building infront of us.
"All Callsigns, i repeat All Callsigns. This is it Fellas. Today is the day that we Finish this goddamn war, and go back to Earth. It has been a long, and tiring road that we have all Traveled. The Finish line is waiting for us boys, let's cross it and get Drinks later. It'll be on me."
. . . That was the Commander.
Our Illusive Leader. The one who Volunteered to take over this whole Operation, and lead the Thousands of men to Victory.
Eh. For a British guy he was alright.
It was now that i began to hear a Dull roar. The sound of Incoming hell.
"Acting Noise Cancelation." Glen announced, as he reached over to his left. Apon flicking a switch, all noise ceased. . . no literally, all noise. Handy little thing that the Equestrians installed into our Bradely, we needed it because of our Main Gun. I mean, we were right underneath it afterall.
I waited for nearly a minute, and finally i saw them. B-52 SForts, dozens of them. All heading for one target.
I saw, thousands, literally THOUSANDS of bombs fall before me. And the vibrations, no, the EARTHQUAKE that followed the absolute CHAOS was. . . breathtaking. In a sick, fucked up way. It was almost beautiful.
The hull shook with the tonnage dropped. And i felt my skeleton rattle from the inside, my whole body felt tingily. . . And i felt sorry for the poor fuckers the bombers were hitting, anything that was on the outside was completely obliterated. But the spire remained, and as the smoke cleared, i saw just how little the bombs had.
The structure was in perfect condition. But the ground AROUND the structure, had sunk about three meters. Creating a ditch, which the Infantry would have to inevitably cross.
After a few minutes, all hell broke loose.
Out of no where, thousands of green bolts of light arced through the air, and the ground around where we were parked caught alight with Baelfire. A vile thing that only douses with Holy Water.
We were struck, multiple times infact. But the hull held, Ceramic plating somehow negated this Violation of so many Geneva convention rules it was sad.
The initial strikes had been blown by both sides. Now the real battle would commence.
Like a kicked Fire Ant hill, Changelings poured out of the Spire. In their thousands, they carpeted the spire in a thick wave of carapase and Despiration. Hurtling themselves at us, all the while flinging their foul magics at us, some couple took to Flight.
And as they approached. I lowered the Main Gun.
You see, our Bradely was special. Our Brad was one of the last to be shipped out to Equestria and had some. . . modifications done to her, as the 25mm main cannon previously equipped to this Brad was deemed to not have "Enough Firepower to counter the sheer weight of numbers the enemy could throw at us".
"Walsh. Let's see if we've brushed our teeth today." Glen said with a grim tone.
Gripping the Joystick. I let out a huff.
"Allah. Let your breath make the enemy run in terror." I spoke.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT
The 5.56 chambered Minigun, our vehicles replacement weapon, ripped out a burst of flames. And hundreds of rounds flew at the encroaching hoard.
So did the other four Minigun equiped Bradely's.
Bullets tore at the armoured shells of the Changeling horde, ripping whole swaths of Infantry apart in seconds. But even as bodies began to pile into meter tall mounds, the wave of bodies came at us furthermore. Our own Infantry finally decided to get involved, and Hundreds of Carl G's let their HE rounds loose, sending plumes of changelings tumbling thorugh the air alongside RPG's. AT4's. Hell even that old Sharinga Four tube launcher. . . i think that was its name anyways.
Machine Guns of all types and calibre, NATO or otherwise let loose their own hailstrum. Adding to the sheer chaos of the Bradely's, 25mm or otherwise.
I must of killed a good thousand of these bastards, and yet they still come. An unrelenting horde of Chitinous Hooves and Insectoid wings and Magic.
I had sustained my fire for a good minute by now. Thanks to our Pony Allies none the less, as they had placed a kind of Cooling spell on all of our Miniguns and Machine guns to prevent overheating, and special portals that connected to vast stockpiles of ammunition to make sure our mounted weapons never ran out of ammo. Still kept two drums of ammo though. Just in case.
The flow began to stem, and Glen was barking madnes through his headset. I couldn't hear him, but i could feel my back vibrate just a bit more than it normally would, so i just assumed he was talking.
Magic was weird.
Noah had his own Machinegun too. Mounted just to the right of the steering wheel, it allowed him to freely manipulate the mounted SAW in a Sixtie Degree arc. A specially made modification we had done ourselves at Noahs request.
They had begun to Retreat. All of those outside who wern't a sharp paste turned tail after two minutes. Two. Minutes. That's how long it took us to break their Moral and route.
Now thoroughout this whole Battle. Our Ponies aiding us were busy at work, Unicorns preparing Mass Teleportation circles for Hundreds of Infantry to be ported to a Specific location. Pegasi firing from above with their own (albeit smaller) weaponry, magically enhanced bolt action Rifles that only they could weild, rained down bolts of magic. Exploding on impact and desintigrating an oppenent in a second or two. And Earth Ponies dug pits for Soldiers to hold up in after the battle was won, aswell as cook food and prepare medical equipment for the inevitable casualties we accumilate.
Once the Bugs had retreated back to their Spire, an entire Brigades worth of Infantry along with a few 25mm Brad's were Teleported to just infront of the Spire. Already in place behind the Vehicles, the Inf followed the Brad's towards the Spire. Taking heavy fire along the way.
Spotting exactly where those shots were coming from. I launched a TOW at the area.
And after about ten seconds of travel time, the Missile hit its target. And a plume of black smoke erupted from the Hole in the Spire.
I hosed the area just incase anyone else tried the same thing. Not many beings want want to get torn to ribbins by nature, so having something that very much could. Deterred one from making such rash decisions.
Eight hours.
Eight fucking hours it took, for our guys on the ground to clear this monolith of a Stronghold. And the dead and wounded were beginning to pile up in their Hundreds. . . Our most costly fight, being our last at the same time.
I stand at attention on a platform, recently erected, and was only going to be used for one ocassion. Then taken back down.
Though, it was a big ocassion.
Me. My crew. And dozens of other soldiers stand a foot apart at the sides, and two front and back.
We were recieving medals, and recomandations, as well as Scrols that detailed us as being Legitimate, fully fledged citizens of Equestria. As well as the Crystal Empire, and Hipogriff City.
All of us. All Seventy Eight of us. Beign formally addressed by Princess Celestia herself, and presented with our aloted items.
I was the final one in line, and on the Platform, as everyone who got theirs walked off the stage to make room. And i stood in an unwavering stance, dirty from the dust and from my Bradlys tendancy to expell a bit of soot into the Cabin.
She approached me, and a sensation of plesant warmty washed over my body. As much as i want to slump slightly, i don't.
The Princess comes to a stop infront of me. Her radiance, though previously described to me by members of the Mechanized corp, far exceded what i could of ever of imagined. She smiled at me.
"Lance Corpral Leroy Walsh. For your outstanding bravery, and unwavering attitude to aid the Soverign Nation of Equestria. For the act prefromed at the battle of Appleloosa, where in you saved the lived of over a Hundred Ponies and Humans alike singlehandedly from a Platoon of Changeling invaders, with the usage of your Vehicle. I hearby give to you, The Medal of Two Alicorns crossing Horns with splayed wings. The highest form of medal i can give to you, and a symbol of what you represent."
Her horn ignites, and from a box held in her magic, she procures a Platinum medal. With the both Alicorn eyes Embeded with Rubies, the wings made from pure Silver, and Horns of Pure Diamond.
I lean forward, and she slips the medal around my neck. Attaching it at the back of my neck under the colar, i resume my stoic position.
"I also heerby give to you, a Scroll detailing your newfound Legitimancy as an Equestrian Citizen, as well as the Crystal Empire. And Hypogrif City."
Holding out both of my hands, she lays a scroll into them. And i tighten my grip softly. Ensuring i have a stern grip.
"Also. I wish to present you with a gift, one which only i can give to you. And one which i extend in sprit to everyother soldier, alive or otherwise."
I held out my Right hand, as the scroll was in the left.
She lent forward and kissed me. Completely breaking my stoic face, like a Sledgehammer Through dry wall. I did not move however, and after ten seconds she pulled away.
"That. Was my gift to all of you beautiful, brave individuals. Those who without hesitation, lept though to this world to help me, and my people." Celestia beings to. . . tear. . . up. "So many. So many beautiful and brave Humans, have lost their lives for my Country. For my people! And for the future of this world as a whole, though being not your own!!! And i wish i could kiss you all! You have done what would could not, and in an Eighth of the time."
Celestia stepped away from me to the opposite end of the platform. I make to leave, but she asks me to stay.
"Will all of the other recipiants of the Crossed Alicorn medal, please step back onto the Platform."
Not a minute later. Six other recipiants stand to my right, all stiff as boards like me. Though a bit cleaner.
She steps to the first at the left side.
"Please sir. Kneel." Celestia asks.
The Russian Spetznaz member did as asked. And Celestia procured a sword from under her wing, placing the blade on one shoulder before saying "I hearby declare you. Gregory Gretovich. The title of The Baron of Stalliongrad. Should you choose to accept it, you will inherit a Large Section of land. As well as a conciderabl amount of wealth with which you may do with what you desire. You are not ordered to do this, only offered."
The Russian looks completely baffled!
"Y-yes. Princess, i accept." He replies. Only just able to string a line of words together due to the sheer suddeness of the proposition.
With that. She lifted the sword, and brought it to the other shoulder. And after a second, a mark began to appear on his Right hand. Resmbling the Stalliongrad flag.
Down the line she went. Sam Geofry of London, Baron of Our Town.
Baron of Hollow Shades.
Three were some towns I had never heard of before.
And finally. Me.
"Kneel. Leroy Welsh of Rooty Hill."
I comply with her words. Taking a knee, i look to the ground.
I feel the Blades presance on my Shoulder. And my stomach does flips.
"I hearby declare you. Leroy Welsh. The title of The Baron of Ponyville. Should you choose to accept it, you will inherit a Large Section of land. As well as a conciderabl amount of wealth with which you may do with what you desire. You are not ordered to do this, only offered."