Chapters Anvil Gate. No POV.
War. Humans are no strangers to war.
"Incoming!"
BOOM!
An explosion went off in the courtyard of Anvil Gate, a gear wiped some dirt off his face and helped up another gear. This gear was no ordinary Solider, he is an Onyx Guard. His armor was black as a starless night except for a paint job on his chest, it was the Crimson Omen symbol, on his lower back were extra pouches for supplies and a canteen and he had his commando knife on his left chest plate. His helmet in hand so his face was shown, he had white skin, dark red hair that was turning gray, and a scar on his left eyebrow and another on his right cheek, and dark brown eyes. This is Sergeant Johnny Rico.
"Get up, Private! You ain't dying yet!" Rico shouted, bringing the Gear up to his feet.
"Sergeant!" Rico looked up and saw Bernie up on the gate "Get your squad up here, now! We need every single solider we have!"
"Got it! Alpha Squad! Get your shit and meet up on the wall! We gotta push these grubs back!" Rico gave the order to his squad over the comms.
"Copy that, sir." Soon three more Onyx Guards showed up, their armor the same but with a little flare to match their taste. One Guard changed his colors from black to the standard dark blue color of regular COG soldiers, a Kuri knife on his left shoulder, he had blue goggles on his head, tan skin, short gray hair, and had a soul patch on his chin, he carried a black Lancer and a Gnasher Shotgun. James Ramirez.
Next Gear had the same black armor as Johnny but had the words "Hope" on his chest, he had brown skin, dark blue eyes, a shaved head, and a cross tattooed on his left eye, he also had a helmet with red optics on instead of blue, he had a black Lancer and a UIR sniper Rifle, Markza, pained dark blue, and dangling just off his scope was a little steel bracelet that had the words "Faith" engraved in it. Joseph Castillo.
The last Gear wore the black armor but his armor was more bulkier, had a neck guard, and more broader shoulders. He had white skin, white hair, black eyes, and a burn COG symbol on his left cheek. He carried a Lancer and a Boom shot cannon. George McGraw. This is Alpha Squad.
"Come on, Alpha! We gotta get top side and help at the front lines! Joseph, get up on one of the towers and provide cover!"
"Yes, sir!" Joseph put on his goggles and ran up towards the ladder, climbing his way up to one of the towers.
"James, George! You two are with me! Let's move!" The Squad of Onyx Guards rushed up the ladder, Johnny using his chainsaw bayonet to cut through some flaming wooden debris to clear the way. The three made their way to the front lines and they looked on to see a massive army of Locust right at their doorstep.
"George! Man that Torika!" George strapped his Lancer to his back and manned the turret, revving it up as he fired down at the Locust
"Come and get some, you assholes! Eat lead!" George fired down on some Boomers and Grinders, making sure they couldn't deal heavy damage to the gates or two his comrades. Johnny and James ducked behind cover and fired down at the incoming Locust, bullets flying so close to them that they could feel it graze their faces and armor. Joseph reached the top of one of the towers and took position, taking out his sniper rifle and taking a deep breath
"Lord in Heaven, guide my hands. Let my aim be true. Let me send these demons back to Hell." Joseph prayed as he fired down at some of the Locust snipers. Blasting off their heads before they could even lift their guns.
"Joseph, target those manning the siege beasts." Johnny ordered him, Joseph zeroed in his scope and aimed at the siege beasts, targeting the gunners and taking them out.
"George! Focus fire on those Brumaks!" George turned the turret and fired at one of the Brumaks, taking out the wrists guns. The Brumaks roared in anger and fired its rockets at George
"Oh shit! Incoming!" George quickly left the turret and rolled away just as the rockets hit where he was, killing two gears that were caught in the blast. James ran over and helped George up
"Come on, you big bastard. You ain't dying yet." James and George took cover alongside Rico and open fired down at the incoming Locust. George used his Boomshot to take out a small pack of wretches. Then a pair of grapples caught on the wall
"Grapplers! Take them out!" Rico and his Squad were quick to run to the hooks and shot them off, but one drone was able to climb up. Roaring as he brandished his Hammerburst. Until George grabbed the drone by his arms and kicked the drone off the wall, the force of his kick and the grip on his arms were so powerful that the arms of the drone were torn clean off. George scoffed and tossed the arms over the wall
"Damn stinking grub." He groaned. Joseph took down another Grinder and soon aimed at the Brumak.
"May my aim be true. May my hand be steady." Joseph prayed as he took a deep breath, the Brumak took notice of Joseph's presence and roared, aiming its rockets at him "My faith is unwavering. My rage... Unquenchable." Joseph waited until he saw the finest flash from the rocket before pulling the trigger. The bullet flew through the air, hurtling towards the rocket. The bullet came in contact with the tip of the rocket and it exploded, creating a chain of explosion as the other rockets went off, soon blowing up the Brumak to a smoking pile of meat.
"DIE YOU DAMN FUCKING DEMONS! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" Joseph screamed out in unadulterated rage. His screams the sounds of bullets were all he could hear as he fired down at more Locust. Until he heard the clicking sound of his empty Markza that he finally heard his Sergeant's voice
"JOSEPH!!!" Joseph looked up just in time to see a catapult hurling towards him
"I'm coming, Emily." Joseph closed his eyes and accepted his death. A massive explosion erupted as the tower Joseph was on collapsed, coming down on the wall.
"Nooo! Goddamnit! You fucking grubs! I'll kill all of you!" George screamed as he fired another Boomshot at a squad of drones.
"We have to get off this wall! Now!" Rico ordered as he grabbed and pulled George back, the three Onyx Guards retreating back to the inner courtyard.
"All personal! They breached the main gates! Retreat to the inner courtyard!" Bernie's voice rang over the intercoms.
"James! Stay on the catwalk and provide us with cover! George, you're with me on the ground." Johnny gave out their orders and the two gears did as they were ordered. James took behind cover as Johnny, George, and other gears took position. The Locust horde storming through the gates
"Open fire!" Hoffman shouted as they all rained bullets on the incoming Locust
"For the Queen!" A Theron Guard hissed, firing a Torque Bow, hitting a Gear in the arm
"Ahhh! Get it off! Get it off me!" The Gear screamed before blowing up into pieces. George stood from behind cover and fired his Lancer, aiming for the Theron Guard
"Come here, you slimy bastard!" George shouted, hitting a few drones as the Theron Guard kept running, soon ducking behind an exploded truck for cover. Locust Grenadiers then rushed in carrying Gnasher shotguns
"Move out!" A Grenadier shouted to his squad as they rushed in, killing a few Gears once they were close enough. One Grenadier made a beeline for a downed Gear but was quickly gunned down by James
"You ugly motherfuckers! Keep hitting them!" James shouted as he and some other Gears gave the ones on the ground support.
"Reavers!" A Gear shouted as two Reavers landed down and let out a blood curling screech. The Gears all open fired at the two Reavers but they fired rockets and the gunner on the two Reavers fired down at them. George took out his Boomshot and fired at one of the Reavers, exploding right in its face, it screeched out in pain and was then blinded due to the explosion. It roared and started shooting rockets randomly, blasting at the catwalk
"Oh shit! Watch out!" James rolled away to avoid getting blown up the the catwalk was blasted down. James rolled down and landed on the ground, groaning as his ears were ringing. He looked to the side and saw his Lancer a few feet away from him, James slowly crawled over to his Lancer only to see it get kicked away by a Locust Drone, the Drone roared as he raised his Lancer and aimed to cut James down, but James quickly rolled over and pulled out his snub pistol and started shooting. The Drone raised his Lancer to shield his face as the bullets hit the gun or his chest, due to the Drone's unnatural anatomy it was able to take the shots. The chainsaw bayonet revved up and the Drone charged at James, bringing down the Lancer on him. James grabbed the Lancer and held it back from him. James grunted as he used all his strength to keep the chainsaw from sawing him in half while the Drone laughed and mocked him. James let one hand go and then kicked the Drone over his head, rolling back to his feet. The Drone got back up and roared but James tapped his chest, the Drone looked confused until he looked down and saw a drag grenade strapped to his chest
"Uh oh." Was the last words the Drone spoke before blowing into bloody chunks. James laughed as he got back up, dusting himself off and turned around, only to be sawed in half by a Lancer. The Theron Guard laughed as he then kicked James lifeless corpse away. Rico and George killed one of the Reavers and looked over to see the Theron Guard standing over James, their eyes widened and their blood ran cold as the Theron Guard looked over, and the two swore they saw that ugly bastard smile.
"Noooooooooooooooo!" Rico let his rage take control as he charged at the Theron Guard but the other Reaver fired a rocket at Rico and sent him flying back. Rico groaned and looked up to see the Reaver standing overhead. It screeched loudly and raised one of its clawed tentacles, bringing it down on him. Rico expected to die until he saw that George had jumped in and took the hit
"George!" Rico cried out, George coughed up blood and smirked, bringing up his Boomshot with one hand. The Reaver roared to intimidate the Battle hardened Onyx Guard, but George just said one word in the face of death
"Boom." George fired his Boomshot right into the Reavers' mouth and it exploded, knocking George back. Rico crawled over to George and removed his helmet, looking down at the badly injured Gear. George took off his Cog tags and handed them to Rico "N-N... Never... Forget... Why we... Fight..." George gasped before his eyes went dark, lifeless. Rico gritted his teethes and put George's Cog tags into his pouch and grabbed his Lancer.
"GrrrrAAAAAARRRRRGH!" Rico roared as he ran towards the incoming Locust horde, firing at them and dropping them like flies, he threw a frag grenade at a fuel tank, blowing it and a good small hoard of grubs. Rico revved up his chainsaw bayonet and charged at a Locust, shoving the spinning blades into the Locust and flipped him overhead, firing into another Locust. Bullets flew and more and more Locust fell to the enraged Gear. A torque arrow flew past Rico's head and he turned to see the Theron Guard, the two locked eyes and started shooting at each other, Rico was running towards him until Hoffman called out to him
"Sergeant! We gotta fall back! We're making our last stand!" Hoffman shouted, Rico cursed under his breath as he saw the Theron Guard run back to the Horde. Rico groaned as he retreated back to the last gate, seeing Hoffman, Bernie, and other Gears setting up for one last stand. Rico grabbed a Mulcher and set up behind some sandbags as the Gate exploded and Locust started charging in "Open fire!" Bullets flew and blood was spilled, Rico mowed down numerous Locust with the Mulcher
"Get some! Come on, get some you damn grubs! This is for George! And James! And Joseph!" Rico took down a Boomer who fired after death, killing a few of its fellow Locust. Soon the Mulcher ran out of ammo and Rico switched back to his Lancer, seeing the Theron Guard the two fired at each other once more.
Click
The two looked at their rifles to see they were out of ammo. The two glared at each other and then charged forward, revving up their chainsaw bayonets. Ignoring the hail of bullets flying by mere inches away from their bodies. Their saws clashed and sparks flew, the two opposing forces trying to overwhelm the other as much as they can. The Theron Guard slowly pushed Rico's lancer to the side, trying to make him lose balance until Rico headbutted the grub and kicked him. Rico then tackled the Theron Guard and started beating his face in
"You bastards took everything from me! My home! My family! My brothers! Now! I'm going to do the same thing to you, assholes!" Rico roared as he raised his right fist high and brought it down like the Hammer of Dawn in the Theron's head, smashing it to blood pieces. Rico panted heavily and stepped off the now dead grub and took out his Gnasher, seeing the rest of the Horde still coming. Rico took in a deep breath and charged forward, blasting Locust soldiers to bloody chunks flying around, the Locust took notice of the elite solider killing their comrades and focused their fire on him. Rico's armor held off most of the bullets but it could only hold out for so long. Rico bashed his shotgun against a Drone and jumped on top of a Boomer, shoving his shotgun into its mouth and blasting off its head. Rico ran towards some more Locust drones until he got shot in the chest by a Longshot, his armor was already near the breaking point and that was what pushed it off the edge. Rico gasped in pain as he felt the hot piece of lead in his chest, but he gritted his teeths and kept on fighting, when he ran out of ammo for his Gnasher he pulled out his combat knife and started slashing. Stabbing a drone in the head and slitting another's throat. Grinders stepped forward at him and Rico laughed, giving them the finger
"Fuck... You..."
"Grind!" The Grinders fired their mulchers and Rico was soon filled with bullet holes, falling back he gasped and coughed up blood. It was over... They lost... Until he saw something wash all over them. Rico, with what little strength he had left, sat up as much as he could to see that the Locust were... Dying! They were falling like flies as the strange aura wave washed dall over. Rico let out a weak smile and fell back
"We... Did it... It's finally..." Rico let out one last sigh before... Passing on.
Rico's POV
I gasped as I was suddenly hit with a burst of energy. Gasping as I sat up and touched my body, checking to see that I was alive! Wait, I'm alive? I looked down to see I was still wearing my Onyx Guard armor, next to me I saw my weapons, a Boltok pistol, and a couple of frag grenades. I reached into my pouch to see if I still had George's Cog tags, luckily I did.
"George... James... Joseph..." I slammed my fist on the ground as I cursed the fact that I was alive! Why?! They deserved to live, not me! I stood up and felt something a little off, I felt... Stronger? Like I had a lot more energy than I did before. I heard the sounds of a river nearby and grabbed my weapons, running over to the river I knelt down and took off my helmet. I then gasped at what I saw. It was... Me! Well, obviously, but I was younger! I looked like I was in my early to mid twenties! I touched my face to make sure it was real, and oh baby it was true!
"I don't know what the fuck that thing was, but I love it! Killing the grubs AND restoring my good looks? Hell yeah!" I laughed until I realized something I should've before. I was at Anvil Gate, not a forest. And we didn't have a river either, it was night time here too while back at Anvil Gate it was just the beginning of Sunrise. I put on my helmet and tried to radio in someone
"Colonel Hoffman, respond."
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
"Bernie, you there? This is Alpha One, Sergeant Johnny Rico. Please respond."
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Crap. More static. Well, wherever I am I sure as Hell ain't back on the Mainlands, at least not back at Anvil Gate that's for sure. I took out my canteen and drank the cool water until it was empty, filling it up I poured some over my head to try and help me regain my focus. Shaking my head and refilling the canteen I put on my helmet and started walking, until I heard the sounds of... A firefight! I didn't know who or what it was that was shooting, but it's the only thing I knew the sounds of so it was my best bet to find someone who could help me. I ran off towards the sounds, making sure my weapons were locked and loaded in case I needed to fight.
"It never ends..."
NO POV
Overhead, far from prying eyes, a figure looked down at the Sargent as he ran through the forest. A sad, pleading look on the figures face as she clasped her hands together
"Please... Please help my little ponies..."
Author's Note
For some added ref of the Onyx Guard armor here it is. Also, George's armor is inspired by Redburns armor from Gears of War Tactics
Redburn's armor
RICO'S POV
I ran through the forest as I followed the sounds of gunfire, expecting to see fellow Gears locked in a firefight against the Locust.
"But didn't the Locust die?" I thought you myself as I remembered back to what happened before, seeing the Locust drop like flies from some strange wave. And I remember... Dying. I did die, I know I did. But how the hell am I... Not dead? I shook my head, couldn't think of that right now as I ran. I started hearing shouting and took cover behind a fallen tree, looking over I saw a firefight, having been in plenty to know one when I see it, but the ones who were fighting were unlike anything I have seen. The place seemed to be a fallen castle of some sorts, it was in ruins yet there were sandbags placed for cover, and on some parts of the castle I saw there were some turrets and snipers. I looked and saw people wearing yellow, purple, and makeshift armor. Only they weren't people, at least not normal people, they had hands, legs, sure, but their faces looked more like a horse than a person. Not to mention that they were really colorful, it felt like a kid splashing paint in my eyes the more I looked at them. What's weirder is that some had these weird horn things on their heads, others had wings, but some had none. Their weapons looked really different than the guns I saw, but they still seem to shoot well enough.
I looked over to see what they were fighting and saw these black creatures firing at them. They wore black and dark purple armor, looked similar to the colored horse people, but were black in color and had both horns and wings, they looked more like... Like...
"Grubs." I hissed in anger as I then heard screaming, looking over I saw a kid, no older than maybe ten years old, being held by a man with yellow skin, orange hair, and was bleeding from his head. It seemed to be the father of the child as the father winced in pain while holding his child close to his chest behind some rubble. I've seen enough. These people needed help and these grubs needed to die! I checked my surroundings and saw that these black bugs were using the trees as cover and the darkness of the night to stay hidden, only the flash of gunfire could be seen. I carefully snuck my way behind the grubs and took out a frag grenade, throwing it at a small group of them huddled together and watched as they were blown to bits
"What the hay?!" One of the grubs shouted out before I riddled him with bullets, so these fuckers could talk, huh? Then I'll make sure they're all screaming! I fired my Lancer and swapped behind cover to make it seem that it was more than one person firing.
"What is that thing?!" One grub asked while firing blindly, only to be take out by the ones they were shooting at before. I smirked under my helmet as I saw one of the grubs moving ahead to try and find me, so I decided to rev up my chainsaw and saw that fucker in half. His blood was a green color instead of red, gross. I rolled over to another fallen tree as the grubs kept firing at me, the bullets grazed against my armor but I returned fire at the grubs, soon seeing some of them fly up high
"Okay, that's just bullshit now!" I shouted as I had to fuck behind cover as they fired down at me. I glanced up and saw a streak of... Rainbow? Fly up and saw the flying grubs start to fall with their throats slit. I got up from behind cover and moved up, gaining more ground as the grubs were getting hit from both sides and even in the air. One of the grubs flew at me and tried to bite me, but he broke his fangs against my armor
"Did you just fucking bite me? You bitch!" I headbutted the grub and revved up my chainsaw bayonet and sawed off his head . Kicking his headless corpse away as I turned back to see that they were all now dead. I stepped out from the trees only to get shot in the chest, luckily it didn't penetrate my armor "Hey hey! Check your fire, asshole!" I shouted, seeing all of them now with their guns drawn at me.
"Stop right there!" One of the horse people said, a female by the sounds of it. She had blonde hair tied in a ponytail, light orange skin, freckles on her face, and a cowboy hat on her head. She wore armor that seemed to be made out of leather with a iron breastplate and boots. I felt something poke against my head and glanced back to see a barrel of a gun aiming right at my head. The one holding it was a female with blue skin, rainbow hair and tail, and... Wings? She had wings, guess that explains what I saw killed those flying grubs.
"Is it a Changeling?" The blonde asked the blue one
"Don't think so, but if it is it's one I ain't ever seen before." The blue one said while eyeing me up and down
"Take a picture, it'll last longer. I ain't no grub, I'm a Gear." I told them but they just looked at me with a puzzling expression on their faces
"A what?"
"A Gear? A soldier of the COG?" I looked at them to see if they understood what I was saying but got the same confused look on their faces "Where am I?" The blue one and blonde one eyed each other before nodding, the blue chick lowered her gun and walked towards the others, motioning me to follow her. At least now I can get some answers, plus not getting shot at was a nice change of pace. I followed the blue and blonde chicks inside the castle and got a better look at it from the inside, inside there were crates and a couple of supplies such as medicine, food, and weapons. I saw many more of the horse people all running about, from what I could see there were a mix of actual Soldiers and civilians, I could tell them apart from their armor and how they held themselves up. All eyes were on me as I followed the two women deeper inside
"Ah'm Applejack, that there is Rainbow Dash." The blonde chick, now named Applejack, introduced. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at their names
"Seriously? That's your names?" I asked, there was no way that was there real names, it had to be nicknames.
"Well what's yours, big guy?" Rainbow glared at me
"Sergeant Johnny Rico, Alpha Squad." I introduced myself, having a small sense of pride, only a bit.
"Sergeant? You were in the army?" The two stared at me as their expression became a bit lighter
"What branch were you in? Secret Service or something? I never seen armor like yours before, not to mention someone as huge as you other than the Princesses, and that's only in height." Rainbow Dash said as I saw her staring my muscular build.
"In a way, I was part of the Onyx Guard, an elite program of only the best of the best in the COG." I explained
"The COG?" The two stared at me with questioning looks
"The COG... Coalition of Ordered Governments?" Now I was getting confused, did they not know about the COG? Even on neutral islands people knew about the COG, hell, people still remembered the UIR!
"Follow us." Once more I followed them up some stairs and into what I believe to be the war room. There was a large circular table with a large map, some chairs around the table, and boards filled with what looks like battle plans and routes. Inside I saw a man with white skin, white as snow, two different shaded blue hair, and a horn. He wore purple armor with gold outlining his armor, he also had a scar on his chin
"Captain Shining Armor." The two chicks saluted to the man, guess he was the one in charge
"AppleJack, Rainbow Dash, boy am I glad you two were here to help push back those Changelings." Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief
"It wasn't entirely us, sir. We had some help, he's a soldier too. A skilled one at that." AppleJack looked over at me "He flanked the Changelings and was able to dispatch a good chunk of them while we boxed them in." She recapped the events from the battle. Shining Armor walked over to me and looked up at me, I was about a good six inches taller than him.
"You're not any solider I ever seen before."
"He says he part of the "Onyx Guard" whatever that is." Rainbow added
"Onyx Guard? We didn't have anything like that back in the army."
"Mind if I take a look at this map?" I asked, walking over to the large map I looked at it with a puzzled look on my face, the map was... It was fucking weird. There were names of some places but the names were unlike anything I've heard about "Manehatten, Appleloosa, Fillydelphia, Ponyville, where in Sera's name am I? Where's Anvil Gate?" I asked them but, once again, they looked at me like I was crazy
"We never heard of Anvil Gate." Shining said
"Where are you from?"
"Anvil Gate, but originally I'm from Jacinto."
"What?" I stared at them in shock as they didn't even know this! Then I decided to ask something that has been on my mind
"... What's the name of this country?"
"Equestria." Shining Armor said, I stared in disbelief as it finally dawned on me. I'm not home. Hell, I'm probably not even on Sera anymore! I took off my helmet and they all gasped as they saw my true face
"What the hay?" AppleJack stared at me as she stared at my face
"What's wrong with your face? Why's it flat?" Rainbow Dash clearly speaks before thinking
"The fuck happened to your face?" I shot back as I groaned "This may be hard to believe, but-"
"Sir!" A man with yellow and a bit of white skin, or maybe it was fur? He had a bit of a beard tied up neatly and wore glasses
"Sunburst, what happened?" Shining Armor asked
"The squad you sent to take out the crystal that's jamming out transmission, they're pinned down! They're getting hammered!"
"What?!"
"One of the members was able to get back, he told us what happened!" They all rushed out and I followed behind them as Shining Armor began gathering up his gear
"Where is he?"
"He's in the medical wing, he was shot while running back here." Sunburst said, we walked down the halls as I could see the true state these people were in, there were perhaps at least a hundred or so people here, many of which were children, they were all malnourished, beaten, and on their last leg. It reminded me of back home. We made it to the medical wing and I saw this young... Is that a fucking dragon?! It was a Dragon with purple scales, green spikes along his head and back, and he was bleeding profusely from his side.
"Spike!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack rushed over to the injured dragon as Shining Armor stepped forward
"What happened out there? What happened to the others? Are they safe?" Shining Armor kept asking question after question, there must've been someone he cared for out there
"W-We... We were heading towards the town hall... Wanting to plant some explosives to take down the crystal jamming out communication, B-But... We got ambushed, W-We retreated back to the A-Apple's homestead to hold out. T-Twilight... Told me to run back and get reinforcements... B-But I got hit while running... I-I'm sorry." Spike coughed weakly as groaned loudly in pain from having bullets taken out of his wound
"Damnit! We need to send help." Shining Armor said
"B-But sir! They found our location, what if they send another armed force here? We barely have enough ponies here able to fight, let alone barely enough munitions and supplies to hold out ever since our supply line was cut off." Sunburst told him as Shining Armor tighten his fists
"I'll go." I stepped up as all eyes were on me
"You? Alone? Are you crazy?" Applejack asked while looking at me with a raised eyebrow
"I don't know much of what's going on, but I do know enough that you all need help. I have plenty of combat experience so I ain't over my head, plus I need to look for my team, if I'm here then so are they." I said, my team had to be here too if I'm here, and I wasn't about to leave them behind in this place. Shining Armor was in deep thought after hearing my offer to help and he finally agreed
"Fine, Applejack, go with him to lead him to your old homestead. But be careful, I can't afford to loose anymore ponies." Shining Armor said, a somber look on his face. Applejack nodded and saluted him before turning towards me
"Follow me, partner." Applejack loaded up her rifle and led me out of the medical wing, I followed after her and soon we started running through the forest. As we ran I figured it was not a good time to ask some questions about what is going on
"What the hell happened here?" I asked her as she looked at me confused
"Where in Celestia's name have you been this whole time? Living under a rock?"
"For conversation sake, let's say yes."
"... It was seven years ago, me and mah friends were in Canterlot when suddenly Queen Chrysalis, matriarch of the Changelings, teamed up with King Sombra and the Storm King. They came out of nowhere and hit harder than a train, they attacked every major city in Equestria, Manehatten, Appleloosa, Fillydelphia, even... Even Ponyville. We fought back as much as we could, but we were in a time of peace and the Princesses didn't really see much need for a major military force, so when the war started we lost countless lives. Canterlot and a few camps are all that's left, we ain't heard much from the the others such as the dragons or Griffons, but since we haven't seen them here our best bet is that they are still able to fight back against them." Applejack explained, so this place is also in a major war. Great, out of the raging flame into the even bigger raging flame. I need to find my team fast, there's no telling what kind of threats awaits us here and it's better to face them together. We reached the edge of the forest and I followed Applejack as she left us down a path, from the small prints and dirt I assumed that this was a secret path they had made in order to get around undiscovered.
We walked for a little bit and eventually I saw a large acre of land of destroyed trees as well as the decaying remains of bodies. We rushed over behind some fallen trees and over in the distance I saw a small battalion of changelings firing at a house while muzzle flashes could be seen coming from inside the house.
"Ah hay, they're pinned down and we're too outgunned." Applejack cursed under her breath as she saw the situation. I looked around and saw that the Changelings were only stationed at the front of the house, I then looked over and saw a barn and started to form a plan
"There anything in that barn we could use?" I asked Applejack
"Ah don't think so, maybe a tractor and an old truck, but ah'm not sure-"
"Here's what we do. We sneak inside that barn, if even one of those vehicles you mentioned are in there we fire it up and plant some explosives on it, I have some grenades that might work, we then drive that into the enemy's line of fire and have it detonate. I'll gain their attention on me while you sneak around the back of the house and get everyone out of here." I explained
"Are you mad? You can't take on that many on your own!" She quietly shouted at me
"Trust me, what matters now is getting those soldiers out of there." I told her, I needed to find my team but I knew that if any of my team were in my shoes they would do the same. Applejack seemed to finally agree as we snuck out way around and made it to the barn, inside there were some blood stains on the ground and walls and a couple of bullet holes. There was also an old red pick up truck that has clearly seen better days. I walked over to it and popped open the hood, the engine was rusty but somewhat intact, the coolant and water was damn near empty though.
"It may still be able to run." I said as I took out the rest of my grenades and planted them on the back of the truck. I looked over at Applejack and saw her kneeling down while brushing her hand against the dry bloodstains on the wall, this place must've had some bad memories for her. I walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder
"Those soldiers need us. We gotta move, soldier." I told her, I knew she was hurting, but we had to focus on the mission. She can grieve another time. Applejack walked over and opened the car door, opening the glove compartment she pulled out the keys and tried turning on the car
"Come on, come one." Applejack turned the keys one more time and the engine roared. I opened the barn doors just a bit and saw that the grubs were slowly closing in on the house
"We gotta move fast, they're closing in!" I said as we got in the truck, Applejack then slammed on the gas and burst through the barn doors. The Changelings saw us and turned to fire at us.
"Jump!" Applejack shouted as we both then jumped out of the truck, it kept rolling towards them and then exploded. Taking out a good chunk of them but there were still a lot more still alive. I took cover behind a tree and fired back at them
"Get inside the house and get them out of here! Sneak out through the back!" I ordered Applejack
"Ah ain't leaving you!" Applejack said as he poked out behind a fallen tree ad shit a Changeling in the head
"That's an order, soldier! Get those men out of there and back to the base!"
"But-"
"Don't you see? They're gonna need you!" I moved behind cover and shot down two more changelings "I'll be fine, besides." A Changeling charged at me with a bayonet but I quickly knocked his rifle out of his hands and sawed him in half "I'm kinda enjoying myself!" Applejack looked at me and cursed as she ran back inside the house. I watched as she ran inside and I groaned as bullets flew pass my head, I fired back and then had to reload. Loading my Lancer again I kept firing, still fighting as I saw them slowly closing in on me. So this is it, huh? Died once and about to die again not long after coming back. I just hope my team are ok
"I'm going to take all you motherfuckers down with me!" I let out a war cry as I poked behind cover and started shooting. Then I saw a Changeling get his head blown off, then another, and another.
"Hope you fuckers are hungry! All you can eat bullet buffet is open!" An explosion rang out as a Changeling screamed out in pain from missing his legs only to be then have a new hole in his head.
"It... It can't be..." I gasped as I looked over and saw.... Them. My team... My team!
"Sorry for the wait, Sarge!" I saw James run up beside me, Lancer locked and loaded as he fired at a group of Changelings "Something was jamming our comms so we had to switch to short-range radio."
"I know, listen, there's some people here who may be able to help. I know where they are, but we gotta take out these grubs first! Everyone, retreat back into the house, we'll make a stand there and take these fuckers down!" I ordered, switching to short-range comms
"Castillo, you continue laying down covering fire!"
"Yes, sir. Fate has brought us together again." I couldn't help but chuckle a bit as me, James, and George all rushed back into the house and took a stand. Seeing the Changelings try to rush us only to quickly get gunned down. George moved upstairs and used his Boomshot to blow these fuckers to hell while me and James stayed down and fired out the windows, Joseph did quick work of those that tried to flank us or take off in the air.
"Retreat! Retre-" Joseph picked off the last of the now retreating changelings, but with his deadeye accuracy Joseph made sure none of them escaped.
"Good work, boys, but we gotta move. We made a lot of noise and I don't wanna stick around and find out what else these grubs got up their sleeves. Follow me, double time!" I ordered as we ran out the house, meeting up with Joseph
"George, catch." I tossed him his COG tags and smiled "Good to see you boys again."
"Good to be back, sir." George said while putting on his COG tags
"You can't get rid of us that easily." James joked as Joseph chuckled
"It seems that God couldn't tear us apart." I nodded at him and started leading my squad back to the base, remembering the route I took with Applejack as we covered our tracks to prevent any of the grubs from following us. These fuckers want a fight, Alpha Squad will give them a war.
NO POV.
Sergeant Rico and his team all ran back towards the castle, Joseph made sure their tracks were hidden or gone to avoid the Changelings from following them. Rico led them through the gates of the castle and towards the war room where he saw Shining Armor talking with a mare. The mare had purple fur, dark purple mane with a light purple highlight, and had a horn.
"You shouldn't have run off like that! That was reckless of you!" Shining Armor scolded the mare
"I thought we could make it! I read the battle plans and studied-"
"You aren't a soldier!" Shining Armor slammed his hands down on the table, he calmed down a bit after he saw that Alpha Squad was stand there
"We interrupting something?" George asked
"There's more of you?" Shining asked while looking at the three new members
"This is George McGraw, the team's heavy weapons expert and intelligence, good combination of brains and bronze. This is James Ramirez, our scout, he has a keen eye for finding weak points. This is Joseph Castillo, our sniper and holy man. He's also a damn good tracker and is the best sniper there is." Rico introduced his team "This is Shining Armor, from what I could tell he's the one in charge here."
"For this base, yes, our real leader is Princess Luna. She's hold up back at Canterlot, our last stronghold in Equestria." Shining then walked over to Alpha Squad "I'll be honest with you all, we're losing this war. Our supplies are low, we don't have enough abled bodies to fight, let alone those with any combat experience, and our morale is low. We need a win, even just a small one." Rico looked at his team and then back at Shining
"There was mention of something jamming our comms, right?" Rico asked
"Yes, we located it at the city hall but it's heavily guarded. There are changelings posted all over the perimeter, not to mention snipers, heavy turrets, as well as a few diamond dogs as their shock troopers." The mare explained
"This is Twilight Sparkle, she's our intelligence officer, NOT a soldier." Shining Armor shot a quick glare at Twilight
"Were you able to get a find the crystal?" Rico asked Twilight
"N-No, but considering how well fortified it is it's our best assumption."
"Alright, Alpha Squad, new objective. We head to city hall, you, Twilight, you're coming with us." Rico told her
"Absolutely not, out of the question!" Shining Armor protested "She isn't a soldier!"
"Can you shoot?" Rico asked Twilight
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Can you follow orders?"
"Yes."
"Then congratulations, you're a soldier now. You're going to lead us to city hall and we're going to blast that crystal to bits."
"I'm the ranking officer here, not you!" Shining Armor glared at Rico while getting in front of him
"With all due respect, "sir", but take a look around. You said it yourself, you need a win. And right now you have a chance to get a win, we have plenty of experience in war, and no offense, but you clearly don't know all to tell about it." Rico said, from what Applejack told him Equestria was a world of peace, never having seen all-out war on this scale in centuries. While Rico had no doubt the Captain could handle himself in a fight, he wasn't nearly experienced enough to handle these kinds of situations. Shining Armor glared at Rico, but deep down... He believed in what he said. Before all this all Shining really knew of battle was the changeling invasion of Canterlot and a few skirmishes. Shining sighed and looked away
"Fine. But she had better come back, you hear me, Sergeant?"
"Affirmative, sir. Twilight, go get geared up, we'll be leaving soon."
"Yes, sir." Twilight saluted before heading off, Rico turned to Shining Armor and spoke
"Sister?" Shining Armor was surprised that Rico was able to figure that out but he nodded "I'll make sure she comes back safe, you have my word." Rico told him before walking off to brief his team on everything he knows so far.
The rest of Alpha Squad were stunned to see that not only were they alive, but that they were transported to a whole nother world.
"Thrown out of a war only to be thrown into another? This is some bullshit." George scoffed "Least these fuckers aren't as tough as the fucking Locust."
"But at least the Locust couldn't fly without a Reaver or a Gas Barge. So what's the plan, sir?" James asked while polishing his Lancer
"We can't get back home far as I know, and these people need all the help they can get. Saddle up, Alpha, we're in for another war." Rico said, his squad all shook their heads and groaned, but were at the very least glad that they weren't alone in this world.
Twilight Sparkle stood at the gates of the old castle and saw Alpha Squad marching over to her, as Alpha Squad marched everyone there eyed them with wonder and hope, hearing about how they had saved Twilight and her squad's life and took down the onslaught of changelings.
"Everyone ready?" Rico asked
"Yes, sir!" His squad and Twilight all said
"Then let's go, I'm ready to kick some ass." Rico said "We better move fast while we still have the cover of night to our advantage, Twilight, lead the way." Twilight nodded as they all ran out and headed for Ponyville, this would be the first time Alpha Squad actually walked through this town, and they could see that the destruction of war was the same as in their world. They saw buildings and houses in shambles, the streets having small craters from explosions, blood, and even a few bodies of ponies.
"They attacked Ponyville about two months ago, the attack happened so fast that we weren't able to launch a successful counter attack until it was too late." Twilight explained with a somber look on her face as they traveled through alleyways in order to stay hidden "This war... It's been Hell..."
"No, it hasn't." Joseph said as he knelt down and picked up a small stuffed pony doll that was smeared in dry blood, and next to it... Were the bodies of a mare clutching a small filly.
"The buck do you mean? Look at around you!" Twilight silently but angrily shouted at him
"War isn't Hell, because at least in Hell the innocent are spared." Joseph said as he gave a quick prayer before laying the doll back down next to the filly.
"Enough chitchat, Twilight how far are we?" Rico asked her
"Not too far, but there's snipers hiding inside the buildings, they picked us off when we first tried to break in." Twilight told him
"Alright, Joseph, you find a vantage point, George and I will draw out their fire. James, you and Twilight try to find a way to sneak inside. We'll keep these grubs busy." Rico ordered
"Are you crazy? We need all of us together." Twilight protested
"I'll be sure to take that under advisement, kid. Now move it." Rico ordered her as his squad moved out. Joseph searched around until he came across a fairy large house with an attic, kicking in the door he had his Lancer drawn just in case, he slowly made his way upstairs and made sure to clear the rooms. Inside the master bedroom he came across an elderly couple that were holding together in their arms... And a pistol in the man's hand. Joseph removed the pistol away from them and covered their bodies with the blanket
"Your love was strong, you hearts stronger, and you will find eternal happiness in paradise. Rest in peace." He prayed as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Joseph pulled down the ladder leading to the attic and climbed up, seeing no one was hear he headed to the window and opened it, pulling out his Markza he used the scope to look to see his squad
"Got you in my sights, sir." Joseph said over the comms, a bit of static was heard but he was still hearable.
"Copy that, you located any of the snipers yet?" Rico asked while poking his head out from behind a corner. Joseph surveyed the area and checked the rooftops and upper floors of buildings
"Four snipers spotted sir. All on rooftops. I believe I see City Hall, it's the most fortified building there."
"What do you see?"
"I see about five turrets, two at the front doors with guards standing by near sandbags, two on the roof, and one in one of the windows posted up high. I count a dozen guards around the building." Joseph described as he adjusted his scope
"Alright, Joseph focus fire on those snipers, take them out first. After that me and George will head out and draw their fire, we'll keep them busy at the front." Rico and George ran out and hid behind buildings and destroyed debris, Rico glanced up and searched for Joseph, soon he saw him and raised his hand. Signalling him to begin. Joseph took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, he had one of the snipers in his sights and soon fired, shooting him right through his head. The shot rang out and caused all the changelings to go on full alert, which then made Rico and George begin thier assault on the city hall. George used his Boomshot to fire at one of the gunners manning the turret, it was near some ammo some when the explosion hit it created a bigger explosion and the ammo to begin firing off in multiple directions, killing and burning some nearby changelings. Rico fired his Lancer at some changelings that were firing from inside the building
"James, get moving. We'll hold them off." Rico ordered as he fucked behind cover as the turrets fired down at them.
James followed Twilight as they circled around the building, they saw changelings inside through the windows and saw that they were all moving out to defend the front doors
"Let's move." James said as they ran out from behind cover, vaulting in through an open window they had their weapons drawn just in case "Any ideas as to where inside it could be?"
"Best guess is in the Mayor's office." Twilight said before ducking down behind a pillar to avoid the bullets that were unleashed on them, seeing dozens of Diamond Dogs and Changelings inside
"Sergeant, we got hostiles still inside." James said as he mowed down two dogs
"Take care of them as fast as you can, no telling if they already called for reinforcements or not!" Rico said. James looked at Twilight and saw her closing her eyes while ducking behind the pillar, he glanced over and saw that many of the enemies were mostly targeting her. Thinking fast James rolled out from behind cover and fired, moving up to a cough for cover. He killed two more changelings and shouted
"Head down and shoot! I got you covered!" James said as he then threw a smoke bomb "Now! Move up!" Twilight took a deep breath and ran towards James, yelping as bullets whizzed by her. Ducking beside him Twilight poked her head up and fired her gun, James leaned out from behind the couch and shot a dog in the leg, making him fall out of cover and giving Twilight the chance to shoot him. Soon some diamond dogs wearing simple metal armor came charging at them wielding shotguns
"Ah, shit!" James switched to his Gnasher Shotgun and used it to smack away the gun out of a dog and blast him in the head, Twilight tried fire at them but her hands kept shaking and causing her to miss. James saw they were about to blow her apart and ran forward, shoulder bashing a diamond dog and blasting another to bloody bits
"You got any smoke bombs?" James asked as he switched back to his Lancer, Twilight nodded and James grabbed them, throwing them out to cause a smokescreen "Move!" James ordered as he ran forward, Chainsaw revved up as he sawed a few Changelings in half with the blades, Twilight tried to follow behind but kept hesitating and hiding behind cover. It wasn't until the smoke cleared that all the diamond dogs and changelings we're dead
"Come on, we got a crystal to blow up." James said as he looked around, making sure they wouldn't get snuck up on. Twilight gulped and ran out towards James, they ran down the hallways and Twilight led them to the Mayor's former office. In the center of the room they saw a massive black crystal surrounded in a purple-ish aura "Set the charges, quick!" James said as he stood by the door. Twilight pulled out the bomb and planted it against the crystal, putting in a timer she stood up
"Charges set!" James nodded and the two soon ran out of the room, just in time as the bomb went off and blasted the crystal to bits.
"Radio jammer down! Comms are online!" James said while he and Twilight took cover from the enemy as they retaliated.
"Good work, you two. Alpha Squad, fall back. We'll hide in one of the buildings and wait for things to die down, we don't want them follow us back to base. Move it!" James and Twilight both ran and gunned down any enemy soldiers that followed them as the exited out the window they used to crawl inside earlier. They regrouped with Rico and George while Joseph gave them covering fire
"Pop some smokes!" Twilight grabbed some smoke bombs and threw them, creating a loud cloak of smoke for them to use as cover.
"Move move move!" They all ran and took to the alleyways, soon barging into an empty house and remaining hidden
"Joseph, status."
"Leaving bird's nest, taking cover inside what appears to be a gingerbread house of sorts." Joseph said while he hid behind a counter, the building he was in appeared to be some sort of bakery.
"Stay low and keep quiet, radio in if you can move or need assistance."
"Copy that, sir. Joseph put." Rico turned to his team and spoke "Alright, we'll stay here for the time being, we made a lot of noise and pissed off those grubs so we may be here for a while. So rest up, check your gear, and make sure you're weapons are locked and loaded. I'll take first watch." Rico went over to a boarded up window and peeked outside, seeing Changelings and diamond dogs searching for them. James, George, and Twilight all sat to rest, checking their gear.
Twilight couldn't help but glance at them all, eyeing their weapons, gear, and being mesmerized by how efficient and skilled they are
"What you want, kid?" George asked as he leaned against the wall
"W-Where did you all come from? I've never seen anypony like you all before, not to mention the way you fight. Our own soldiers are skilled, but aren't anywhere near as well as you all are." Twilight said. James and George both looked at each other before turning to Rico
"Only need to know information. Nothing more nothing less." Rico told the two, he knew that if they were all going to work together then they should know the truth, but he also knew that they couldn't share everything.
"Well, for starters. We're Gears, we're all trained and bred for warfare."
"Gears?"
"Soldiers. We've fought in the Pendulum Wars, the Locust horde, and even the Lambent wars." James said while leaning against the wall
"The... The what? That's impossible, Equestria never had any major wars such as this before in thousands of years." Twilight said as she assumed they must be crazy or something
"That's because we're not from Equestria." Rico told her
"Then... Then where are you-"
"Shh!" Rico silenced them as he hid, all of them getting down and staying silent. Rico peeked out the window as he saw a squad of Changelings patrolling by, watching as they talked with one another. His finger on the trigger ready in case things went south, then he saw them all run off in another direction, his eyes glued on them until they were out of sight
"Clear. Twilight, see if you can get in contact with command." Rico ordered her as Twilight started to raise in her brother
"Shining? Shining Armor, are you there, over?"
"Twilight? You did it, radio contact has been reestablished! We're sending out word back to Canterlot to try and get the civilians out of here. What's your location, over?"
"We're laying low in one of the houses but were separated from Joseph, we're waiting on Rico's orders, over."
"Rico, you copy?" Shining started to try and call Rico as he responded back
"Copy, command."
"Get back to base and regroup, we're gonna try and find a way to get the people out of here."
"Copy that, we'll try and get my squad mate back before we go."
"Negative, we need you back here now. We already made a lot of noise as is and I doubt our location is going to stay hidden any longer. We need every able body we have." Shining Armor tried to get Rico to come back
"I understand, sir, but I am not leaving one of my own behind. I'll have James, George, and Twilight head back to base while I go and find Joseph." Rico said before turning off his comms
"You three, lock and load and get moving. I want you all to head back to base and get ready for a possible assault. I'll go find Joseph and we'll regroup back at base."
"But sir! We can't just leave you here!"
"You aren't leaving me, you're just waiting up for me back at base. Now move it." Rico ordered them, the three of them hesitated but soon agreed to his order as they all grabbed their gear and prepared to head out, Rico keeping an eye out for any patrols as he watched his team retreat back
"Stay safe, Alpha. I'm not losing you all again." Rico said to himself before running off to find Joseph, sticking to the alleyways to stay out of sight through the wartorn town.
