You Are Never Out Of The Fight

As Celestia, Luna and the Mane 6 were all in the lobby of the hospital waiting for Doctor Cloud to give them a report on how Isaac was currently doing, Luna spoke up.

“It was just awful, one moment he was perfectly coherent and the next he’s vomiting blood everywhere.”

Luna’s bottom lip trembled a little bit as she tried to get her breathing under control. After seeing her little sister in such distress, Celestia walked over to Luna and began to comfort her with a loving hug.

“I feel so bad for the poor guy.”

Twilight said out loud to everyone,

“I wonder if we could access his mind to see what he went through so that way we could get more insight as to what’s troubling him.”

At that statement, Luna’s ears perked up slightly and she said.

“That could work young Twilight.”

Celestia looked down at her younger sister and said,

“I don’t know if that’s wise dear sister.”

Luna backed away from her sister abruptly and looked up at her with an almost desperate look upon her muzzle.

“If we don’t know what he went through, we cannot possibly sympathize with him in the coming future.”

This caused Twilight and the others present to nod in agreement with the Princess of the Night. Celestia chewed on her cheek in thought, before sighing heavily,

“I guess you do have a point, Lulu.”

With that being said Luna said,

“Alright everypony, take a deep breath and try to relax.”

And with a bright flash of light all of the ponies present within the lobby of the Ponyville Hospital collapsed onto the floor and entered the mind of Isaac Bowens.

July 21, 2021
0400 hours until deployment
Location: Korangal JSOG Base, Afghanistan.

Sitting in the briefing room, I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes and sipped at my cup of coffee while I listened to Commander Christensen - Field Operations Commander - debrief the entire room that was present.

As I listened closely to what he was saying, I took a moment to glance around the room to see if I could recognize any faces. At the far left of the room I spotted Woodson and Schultz flipping through their folders as they occasionally glanced down, following the Commander’s instruction about the upcoming operation.

Upon glancing to my right a couple of chairs down, I saw Jacob intently staring at the Commander and occasionally writing down notes in his folder as well.

“Fuckin’ Jacob, always writing shit down. Fucker could write a book if he wanted to.”

I said this to myself with a slight smirk upon my face,

“Something funny Bowens?”

I heard the Commander say from the front of the room.

This made me turn my head towards the front quickly and I stammered out,

“N-no, Sir.”

The Commander gave me one last look of annoyance before continuing the debriefing. With my attention towards the front I listened more intently than before,

“Now, the SEAL team entering the mountainous region in the east, will consist of these members.”

The Commander paused and went to the next slide. Upon viewing the next slide, I saw a picture of myself along with three others that I knew too well.

“Lieutenant Morris Woodson, Chief Isaac Bowens, Petty Officer Jacob Ford and Petty Officer Andy Schultz.”

The Commander paused again before going onto the next slide,

“All four of you will be dropped here.”

He said as he pointed to a red dot on the map,

“When you make contact with this point, you will proceed to checkpoint Modelo and after that Dodger and so on.”

The Commander paused and turned to survey the room to see if there was any confusion, when he saw none he continued with the presentation.

“Once you guys reach objective Heineken, you will set up a position for surveillance. Your target is Muhammed Ishmael, a notable characteristic of his is the fact that he has a scar running from his right cheek to his forehead.”

The Commander turned and looked at everyone in the room again.

“If you guys make contact with the enemy, a Quick Reaction Force, or QRF consisting of Rangers and SEALS will be put on standby to assist you if that happens.”

He then took a deep breath and sighed,

“Woodson will be the lead on this mission, Isaac will be the Field Medic and Support Gunner, Jacob will be the Primary Sniper and Andy will be the Radioman for this operation.”

The Commander looked from left to right and said,

“Any questions?”

When no response came from the crowd present, he said,

“Dismissed.”

And with that everyone present closed their folders and exited the briefing room. As I found my way outside into the desert outcrop of our base I was stopped by Jacob,

“Hey man, you think that we’ll be alright up there?”

I scoffed slightly while hitting Jacob on the arm in a joking manner,

“We’re fuckin’ Frogmen Jacob, we’ll be just fine. I mean what are a couple of Haji’s with AK’s gonna do to us, huh?”

Jacob glanced at the ground before smirking at me,

“Ya know...You always know what to say to make me feel more at ease, Isaac.”

With that being said, Jacob walked towards the armory and went to get geared up for the mission.

“Why do I feel as though something isn’t right?”

I said to myself in my head. I scratched at my beard briefly and then shrugged this particular feeling off before making my way towards the armory.

When I arrived at the armory I found my other team members filling up their packs with various types of gear.

“Hurry up Chief, we need to be loaded on the helo in about thirty minutes.”

Woodson said, I then grabbed my rucksack and began to fill it with extra water, a med kit and extra mags as well.

When that was finished, I grabbed my tactical vest and put it onto my chest.

“Ready?”

I heard Jacob say to me. I looked over to him, grabbed my rifle and put my boonie on my head before saying,

“Yeah, let’s get this shit done and dusted.”

Jacob nodded at me and we both made our way outside of the armory to our other two team members that were waiting for us.

“Make sure that you have your night vision NODS ready for this op. Looks like they’ll be dropping us under the cover of darkness.”

Woodson said to all of us. All of us then reached into our packs and fixed our NODS onto our heads.

“Alright guys, let’s go.”

Woodson said and we began to jog towards the Chinook Helicopter that was waiting for us. When we got on board the helo, we all strapped in and waited patiently as we lifted off of the ground.

When the helo took off from the base, I heard Woodson say into his mic,

“Sally wants me to buy her a fuckin’ Arabic Horse as our one year anniversary gift?”

I looked over at him suddenly and said,

“You realize how much those cost, right bro?”

Woodson shook his head slowly,

“Holy shit man, I mean the cheapest ones are about 15k at the very least.”

Jacob said to Woodson, this comment made Woodson’s eyes widen slightly.

“15 fuckin’ grand?!”

He said in a shocked tone. This made the rest of us chuckle,

“Don’t worry Woody, I had to buy Cindy a new car for our anniversary gift. I’m still paying the fucker off as we speak.”

Andy said to us.

“Fuck that shit man. It pays to be single.”

I said into my mic, which made Jacob fist bump me.

“Single for life brother!”

Jacob said, which made me smirk slightly.

“I don’t think that’s a good thing brother.”

I said to him, this only made him chuckle. As the conversation died down, I found myself staring out one of the windows of the Chinook and at the Afghan sunset.

“If it weren’t for the fact that we were currently at war, I’d enjoy this a little bit more.”

I said to myself. As we approached our impending destination I heard Woodson over the mic,

“30 seconds out guys.”

I then made sure that my rifle was chambered and we all stood up from our seated positions. When the Chinook came to a hover over our LZ Woodson and Andy threw the ropes down from the back of the Chinook.

“Andy and I will rappel down first and establish a small perimeter, you two will follow shortly after us.”

I gave Woodson a thumbs up and watched him rappel down the rope and onto the ground with Andy following him. When they were secured on the ground I grabbed my rope and looked at Jacob, he only nodded at me and we both rappelled down as well to join our team mates.

When we both touched down, I ran over to my perimeter spot and flipped my NODS over my eyes soI could see better in the dark.

*Spartan 0-1, Eagle 1 out.*

The Chinook pilot said,

*Copy, Eagle 1. Have a nice flight, over*

Woodson said over the radio and with that being said the helo left the area, leaving us in complete silence. When we made sure the surrounding area was clear, Woodson gave the all clear for us to start our journey to Objective Modelo.

When we arrived at Objective Modelo, Woodson took a knee and said,

“Everyone, take a short break to get some water in you. Andy, let Spartan Base know that we have made it to Objective Modelo.”

Andy pulled the radio off of his back and began speaking into it,

“Spartan Base, this is Spartan 0-1 we are Modelo, I repeat we are Modelo.”

After a short pause we all heard,

“Copy that Spartan 0-1.”

On our end. As I was sitting down on a rock, I opened up my canteen and took a nice gulp out of it.

The refreshing water hit my dry lips and made me feel like a new man in a way,

“So, Woody.”

I said, this caused Woodson to turn to me,

“We on schedule with our checkpoints so far?”

Woodson nodded and said,

“Our next objective is Dodger and after that is Heineken. Once we reach Heineken, we’ll post up and take some photos of Ishmael.”

I nodded my head in affirmation and took another sip of my water.

“We’ll head out in two minutes guys, so make sure that you’re ready.”

Woodson said to us, we all nodded to him and continued to replenish our spent fluids.

“Fuck me man, I didn’t think that the mountains of Afghanistan would be so rough on my body.”

Andy said to Jacob and I.

“Suck it the fuck up brother, we’re Frogmen. We can survive anything.”

I said to him, Jacob nodded in agreement.

“Well guys, we should probably pack up and get prepared for the next objective.”

I said to the two.

They both nodded in agreement and packed up their belongings for the journey.

In the treeline behind the four SEALs sat everypony, watching in awe at the previous events that played in front of them almost like a live action movie.

“I can’t believe that these four men managed to hike all that distance in a short amount of time.”

Rarity marveled out loud into no one in particular.

“They did it tha hard way.”

Applejack said with pride.

“Not to mention those bucking cool metal objects that brought them into the area!”

Rainbow Dash said in amazement. Celestia had her arms folded across her chest and said,

“If these beings possess such technology and capable soldiers, I’m afraid to see what happens in a situation of combat.”

She said as a chill ran up her spine. Celestia then glanced at her group that was present and smiled slightly as she saw her prized pupil Twilight Sparkle vigorously attempting to take down some mental notes about what she had seen so far.

As the four of us came up to our final objective, I walked up to Woodson and tapped him on the shoulder.

“LT, I think that we’re at Heineken now. We should stop and post up to get some surveillance.”

Woodson looked back at the other two men that were with us and then nodded at me.

“I agree, Isaac.”

Woodson then took off his pack and took a knee on the ground, he then unzipped it and stuck his NODS in, being that it was no longer night. He then wiped the sweat off of his forehead and said,

“Andy, notify Spartan Base that we’ve reached Heineken and that we’re getting prepared for recon.”

Andy nodded and slung the radio off of his back. Woodson looked over at Jacob and said,

“Jacob, I want you to go and find a nice perch for you to post up at.”

Jacob nodded and said,

“Roger that, LT.”

before moving into position. Woodson then looked at me and said,

“I want you to take your camera and binoculars and build a hide sight on that ridge below us that’s overlooking the village.”

Woodson then paused and said,

“I’ll be joining you shortly over there.”

With that being said, I moved into position and began making a hide sight out of the foliage that was around me and within an hour, I was all set.

Laying down in my hide sight, I pulled out my binoculars and camera and began overlooking the village below our position.

“C’mon you rat bastard, where are you at?”

I said to myself while scanning the village below. As I continued to observe the village, I saw the Afghan people that were inhabiting it were just going about their normal lives. All of a sudden, Woodson came into my hide sight and laid down next to me.

He took a deep breath and pulled out his binoculars before saying,

“You find this Ishmael bastard yet?”

I turned my head slightly from my binoculars and glanced at him briefly,

“Nothing yet man.”

Woodson then looked through his binoculars and said,

“Get comfortable Isaac, I think we’re gonna be here for a while.”

I sighed slightly and said,

“Y’know, being a Navy SEAL and all I would’ve thought that I’d see more action.”

I then pointed down towards the village below and said in an annoyed tone,

“Not watching some Haji civilians go about their daily routines.”

Woodson smirked slightly and said,

“Amen to that brother.”

Over my earpiece I heard Andy’s voice come through,

*Guys, the radio is not transmitting through to Spartan Base. We’re in the dark.*

Woodson looked to the side and spoke into his mic,

*That’s alright Andy, just keep trying comms for the time being. Spartan Base knows that if we miss two windows that they need to send the QRF.*

I then clicked my mic on and said,

*Hey Jacob, how’re you holding up in your nest?*

After a brief moment of silence, Jacob came through.

*Couldn’t be more at home than right here Chief.*

I chuckled and replied with.

*Roger that brother, keep me and the LT posted on what you see.*

After about thirty minutes, Woodson tapped me on my shoulder and pointed down towards the village,

“Look to the center of the village, tell me you see what I see.”

I adjusted my body and made myself more comfortable before looking through my binoculars once again. My eyes widened slightly upon what I was seeing,

“My god Ishmael is an ugly son of a bitch.”

I said to Woodson with a slight chuckle.

“We’re right on the money, take some photos of him while you have the chance.”

Woodson said to me, he then clicked on his radio and said.

*Andy, contact Spartan Base and tell them that we have the Jackpot, I repeat we have the Jackpot.*

Andy then responded with,

*Been trying to reach them this whole time, no dice.*

Woodson then flicked his radio off and silently cursed. He then glanced over at me with a look of annoyance upon his face,

“You think that since we’re doing an op, HQ would think to give us a proper fucking radio.”

I shook my head slightly before replying,

“C’mon now, that would be way too easy for us to have working comms.”

Woodson scoffed at my remark before flipping his radio back on.

*Alright guys, change of plans. There is a summit to the east of us about a click out. We’ll climb it and make comms and get the fuck outta here.*

With that being said, I packed up my gear and followed Woodson to our rendezvous point. When everyone arrived, we began our climb towards the summit that would hopefully grant us comms to HQ.

After walking through the rugged terrain for about an hour we finally broke through the treeline, but what we saw in front of us made my stomach sink ever so slightly.

“Fuck,”

I said

“False summit.”

Woodson then looked back at the three of us and said,

“Alright guys, looks like we’re not getting out of here that easy. We’ve already missed three windows with Spartan Base, so now we’re gonna walk towards HQ.”

He then took a sip of water and said,

“We’re gonna get outta here one way or another.”

With that being said, we began to walk back to where we came from. As we were about to get back into the treeline, Jacob stopped all of us by pointing up the incline of the mountain and saying,

“Who the fuck is that up there?”

We all turned to see a man wearing robes and a headwrap staring down at us.

“That can’t be a good fucking sign.”

Andy said as he gave his rifle a once over,

“This mission is compromised, we need to haul ass outta here.”

Woodson said as he looked at each of us with slight worry in his expression.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here then.”

I said as I quickened my pace down to where we came from.

After walking in the direction of HQ for the better part of two hours, Woodson stopped the group so that we could take a short break before continuing.

“Jacob, you watch our rear. Andy, you keep trying comms. Isaac, post up next to Andy to cover him while he attempts to make contact. I’ll go do some recon above us to see if we’re being followed.”

With those orders being given to us, we went to our posts and watched as Woodson made his way back up the steep incline. A couple of moments later, I heard some snapping of twigs to the left of us in the woods. I leveled my rifle and crouched down besides Andy, who was still trying comms but failing.

As I scanned the surrounding area, I saw movement to our left that caused me to tap Andy on the shoulder in a calm motion before saying.

“I see movement in the trees over there.”

I pointed towards our left, which caused Andy to grab his rifle and look over there as well.

“You sure you saw movement?”

He said, I only nodded slowly at his question. To the right of us, Woodson came towards the both of us with Jacob in tow and said in a hushed voice,

“Prepare to get contacted.”

My throat closed slightly and my mouth became dry at his words, I flicked the safety off of my rifle and waited.

“Hey, Isaac.”

Jacob said to me as he flicked his safety off of his sniper rifle. I looked over at him,

“I think I’m about ready to punch in my time card.”

He said to me, I then looked back at Woodson who nodded.

“Do it.”

I said quietly and with that being said, Jacob fired his rifle making a loud cracking noise. At that moment all hell broke loose.