Love and Honour

Chapters

Chapter 1: We need a montage
Chapter 2: Enlistment
Chapter 3: You've just made sergeant
Chapter 4: Ain't got time to bleed
Chapter 5: Romantic feelings of others
Chapter 6: New recruits
Chapter 7: Hold-up
Chapter 8: Feelings revealed
Chapter 10: Good liar
Chapter 11: Walk in the jungle
Chapter 12: The Hill
Chapter 13: Night sky
Chapter 14: Day off
Chapter 15: Sombra's empire
Chapter 16: Vacation time
Chapter 17: Shopping?
Chapter 18: Beach clothes
Chapter 19: Dining out
Chapter 20: Feels like summer
Chapter 21: His insubordination
Chapter 22: Hiking
Chapter 23: I love a rainy night
Chapter 24: Teasing
Chapter 25: For love
Chapter 26: Beautiful Morning
Chapter 27: The movies
Chapter 28: Hearts and Hooves day
Chapter 29: Horns are sensitive
Chapter 30: The Apache stikes again
Chapter 31: Back in the saddle
Chapter 32: Bounty around my neck
Chapter 33: Give it till it hurts
Chapter 34: His marefriend
Chapter 35: Unexpected visitors
Chapter 36: Answered prayers
Chapter 37: Base commander
Chapter 38: New and old faces
Chapter 39: Clever girl
Chapter 40: Solar Eclipse
Chapter 41: Outmatched
Chapter 42: War is declared
Chapter 43: War hero
Chapter 44: Paint it black
Chapter 45: Return to the hill
Chapter 46: Prayers and apologies
Chapter 47: Night before
Chapter 48: Goodby kiss
Chapter 49: Not as planned
Chapter 50: Cut off
Chapter 51: The Apache arrives
Chapter 52: The skull goes both ways
Chapter 53: Sympathy for the devil
Chapter 54: Duel of the fates
Chapter 55: Defend yourselves
Chapter 56: Angel Eyes
Chapter 57: The General
Chapter 58: For Honour
Chapter 59: The end
Prologue
Chapter 9: Nightly Shenanigans
Crackers nd cheese
SEQUEL!

Chapter 1: We need a montage

Clare, several months later at a military hospital:

As the military brings in more wounded soldiers I wonder to myself, ‘Will I ever see the battlefield again?’. All I’ve ever known was war, when I was just a boy I was an orphan. Nobody ever adopted me and when I was 16 I left the orphanage and joined the military. I had never had a last name and when the orphanage had found me on the front door steps all that they found with me was a note that read ‘take care of Clare’. Guess my parents thought it would be funny to name a boy Clare.

I never knew life outside of the warzone, and whenever I’d take leave time it scarred the living hell out of me. The world that wasn’t war torn was so peaceful, so different. People were different and what made it even stranger was now there were ponies in the mix. A lot of the other marines talked about going on vacation time to some place called Equestria and after finishing their term they would move to that place.

Not me, all I ever wanted to do was stay in the battle. I could never imagine living a regular life. But now I was inactive, I had suffered body trauma from the explosion and was unable to prove combat ready so I wasted my days watching the field outside the hospital. Other injured soldiers were outside in hospital gowns, playing chess or sitting at picnic tables conversing with one another.

I just sat in a wheel chair and watched. A nurse came up beside me, “How are you feeling today?” she asked and I looked to her with a weak smile. “Watch this… I’ve gotten better” I said as I held the railing beside me for support and stood up. I staggered a little and the nurse rushed to my side. I held up my hand for her to stop then let go of the railing and walked slowly without any sort of support but soon my legs gave out from under me and I was forced to grab the railing before I fell to the ground.

The nurse grabbed my arm and helped me stand up straight. “Clare, they won’t even give you basic examination until you can walk straight. Maybe you should just apply for medical discharge, it would still be honorary” the nurse suggested and I looked to her with a frown. “Are you going to help me or not… I can’t live a normal life” I said and stood up without the support of the railing.

“Well… you could always try another military placement” she suggested and I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave the field” I muttered as I turned around and looked back to the hospital field. “Well how about enlistment for another military?” she suggested and I gave her a dire look. “I don’t mean something like Al-Qaeda, something like, royal guard maybe?” she asked and I scrunched my nose.

“I didn’t know the queen needed new guards” I said in a gruffly voice. “No, I meant the Equestrian royal guard” she replied and I raised an eyebrow. “Are they an underground resistance? I’ve never heard of them before” I asked and she shook her head. “No, the Equestrian royal guard is the Princess’s elite guards. They operate in Equestria” she informed me, I shifted my gaze away and groaned.

“Isn’t Equestria that horse place?” I asked disappointedly, she leaned against the railing beside me and nodded. “Yes, and their physical requirements will probably be less demanding than the Canadian military’s so you’d have a better chance getting sent back to the field” she informed me. I groaned to myself, she was probably right, I wouldn’t see any action for the Canadian army for a long time and even if it is a horse army regiment, at least I’ll see action.

“Alright… I’ll do it, just don’t tell anyone” I replied and she nodded. “Well if you’re going to get ready for royal guard then you’re going to need to get your health back” she told me and I looked to her. “What do you have in mind?” I asked and she smiled “I think I know just what we need…”

* * *

Narrator:

For the next four months Clare went through the most rigorous training with the nurse. At first they did simple walking exercises, Clare would walk without support to get back in the habit of balance.

Soon Clare began to head to the firing ranges. At first his aim was terrible, he could barely hit the paper target at fifty yards.

Clare was brought to an exercise room where he began to regain his balance by standing on one leg, though he usually wobbled and fell over. The nurse also put him on the treadmill at an extremely slow speed.

As he continued his training in the exercise room he used the bench press, though he could barely even bench 135 lbs. because his arms were so shaky.

As the second month came around Clare’s aim began to get better, he was able to keep the shot grouping within the paper target at fifty yards. In the exercise room he was able to do a slow jog on the treadmill and was also able to balance on one leg. Though he was still very unbalanced and wobbly he would never fall over. As he used the bench press he was finally able to bench 150 lbs. with only a small amount of shake in his arms.

The third month began and Clare was finally able to keep his grouping in the bull’s-eye range on the target at fifty yards. As he exercised the nurse that trained him sped up his treadmill speed to a heavy jog. He was able to stand on one leg but still wobbled slightly. When weight lifting he was able to bench 200 pounds with a little bit of struggle to keep the bar straight.

Finally in the fourth month Clare would use the shooting range and was able to hit bull’s-eyes at one hundred yards with an open sight C7 assault rifle. When he went to the exercise room he was able to go at a full paced run on the treadmill. He was finally able to stand on one leg, extend his left arm out to the side, bend his head back and touch his nose with his right hand, all while keeping his balance. When using the bench press he was easily able to bench press 290 lbs. with no struggle.

* * *

Clare:

I was panting heavily, I couldn’t believe that I had actually improved that much in so little time. I stood up and looked to Nurse Bloom, she was my nurse that had helped me all this time. I extended my hand and shook hers.

“Thanks nurse… I don’t think I could’ve done it without you” I panted and she pulled me into a tight hug.

She soon released me from the hug and handed me my release papers. “They’re signed. You’re free to go… go show them what a Canadian soldier can do” she said with a wink. “Bloom… I… thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you” I said, she nodded and I walked towards the exit of the military hospital.

I exited the hospital and quickly waved down a taxi and ordered him to drive me to the closest teleportation building. It was weird in a way, I had never really thought about this whole Equestria place, but now I was going there and I only knew one thing. That I had to find a place called Canterlot and apply for enlistment.

* * *

Clare, World teleportation building:

It was strange, this place almost reminded me of an airport. There was the immigration desk, there was people lined up to go wherever they were going. The only thing it didn’t have was the airplanes outback.

“Name please” said the travel receptionist. “Clare” I replied and she looked up from her paper work. “Full name please” she replied, “Uhh, I never had a full name ma’am. Was an orphan and joined the military as soon as I turned sixteen” I informed her. She scribbled something down on the paper and looked back up to me.

“Rank and serial number sir” she ordered, “Uhm, I’m not in the military anymore” I told her and she scribbled something else down. “Okay Mr. Clare… are you traveling for vacation, visitation or permanent residence?” she asked. “Occupation” I replied and she looked up to me with a strange look, “Uhm sir?” she asked curiously. “Military occupation to be exact” I replied and she scrunched her nose.

“Sir… may I ask why you aren’t enlisting for a human military army?” she asked and I sighed to myself in self-disappointment. “I am not physically fit enough to be a Canadian soldier anymore ma’am, so I’m looking for another military organization and a good friend referred me to the royal guard” I told her and she nodded.

“I see… okay one moment please… okay all done, he’s your papers, when you get to Equestria there will be someone waiting for you to take you to a recruitment office” she said and led me to a teleportation matrix.

“Just step through the portal sir, don’t worry it doesn’t hurt” she informed me. It looked really sketchy, like something from some old sci-fi movie or something. The portal was a bluish colour and I couldn’t see the other side. I prayed to god that this wasn’t just some wild goose chase and hopped through the portal. My mind went blank and it was like I passed out.

Chapter 2: Enlistment

Clare, Equestrian teleportation building:

I groaned as I rubbed the side of my head and stood up. The last thing I remembered was… “Oh yeah” I said in a low gruffly tone as I was met by the face of a female receptionist pony. “Mr. Clare I presume?” she asked and I nodded. Jesus I had never really paid attention to the stories about ponies but when the other guys said they were smaller than us I thought they meant by a few inches, not a few feet.

The receptionist stood maybe 3’5”, but I guess if she stood on her hindlegs she would be at least 5’3”. “Yes, I’m Clare” I replied and she nodded “This way please”.

She led me through the building and to the front entrance. “Do you see that carriage?” she asked and pointed to a yellow carriage. “Yeah” I replied, “That’ll take you straight to the Canterlot recruitment office” she informed me. I turned to thank her but she was already gone, “Thanks, I guess?” I muttered and walked up to the carriage.

I stepped into the carriage and sat down, it was so much more comfortable than a car. The ponies attached to the carriage started pulling the carriage towards Canterlot. “So Mr. Clare, I hear you were in the military” the driver called back. I leaned forward so I could talk to him. “Yeah, what about it?” I asked, “Oh well no offence I was just trying to create small talk” he replied and became rather quiet.

“I’m not offended, I was just asking what part of the military did you want to know about?” I asked and he turned his head back to me. “Well I was just wondering what you did? Engineer, pilot” he began but I cut him off. “The military paid me to kill people” I replied bluntly and he became quiet.

“Oh… I see, uhm well how’s things?” he asked and I tried to change the subject. “Alright I guess, how’s your life?” I asked. It was one of my biggest mistakes I had made so far. He began to go on about his life, like he was telling me every single detail of his life so far.

* * *

Clare, Canterlot recruitment center:

“Well here you are sir, have a nice time” Jethro, the driver, told me. I nodded and handed him some money. Apparently our currencies were rather interchangeable, one dollar equalled whatever the hell those gold coin looking things were.

I gave him a wave and walked into the recruitment office. The receptionist looked at me and her eyes widened. “Uhm can I help you sir?” she asked and I nodded. “Enlistment for royal guard please” I replied and she was probably stunned because she just sat there and didn’t say a thing.

“Uhm okay… can you please fill out these papers” she said and gave me a pile of papers. I took a pencil and quickly answered all the questions then handed the papers back to her. Most of the questions were easy: name, age etc.

“Okay, if you would be so kind as to follow me to the examination room please” she said and led me to another part of the building. “We have to give you a basic physical examination before we can bring you into training for the royal guard” the receptionist said as she opened a door and let me into the room. “The doctor will be with you in a moment” she said and left the room, leaving me alone inside.

I twitted my fingers as I waited, it was different than the Canadian military recruitment that was for sure.

A stallion walked into the room, his attention was focused on the papers. “Okay Mr. Clare, I understand that you… whoa… okay you’re… a human?” he asked and I nodded. “I see… okay well if you would please remove your shirt and pants and attach these monitors to your chest” he told me and handed me these little suction cup looking things, they were probably the same sort of things that the doctors use to measure your heart rate when someone exercises.

I got my clothes off and hooked up the little suction cup wires to my chest. “Okay Mr. Clare, if you would please step on the treadmill so we can begin” the doctor said and I did as I was told.

* * *

Third person, recruitment building:

The physical exam had been going on for hours and Clare showed no signs of exhaustion, his rigorous training with Nurse Bloom had really paid off. “I’ll uhm… be right back” the doctor said quickly and raced out of the room and to the receptionist desk. “Molasses, call Celestia. Tell her she has to see this” the doctor ordered her and she quickly called Celestia with the desk phone. Recently humans and ponies had shared their technology with each other and now ponies used phones rather than the old styled mail system to talk with one another over longer distances.

The doctor returned to the examination room where Clare was still going. “Uhm… so uhm I’ll be back… just uhm keep going okay” the doctor told Clare who nodded and continued to jog on the treadmill.

Soon after Celestia and Luna both arrived, Luna on her own decision to see what had the recruitment doctor so hyped up. “Celestia, you have to see this, come with me” the doctor told her and led her to a room with a one way window that allowed them to watch Clare in the examination room.

Celestia shrugged “So, it’s a human exercising” Celestia retorted and the doctor handed her a pile of papers that had recorded Clare’s physical exhaustion levels during the examination. Luna looked over the doctor’s shoulder and gasped. “He’s been doing this non-stop for the last eight hours?” she asked and the doctor nodded, Celestia simply shrugged. “What’s the big deal?” she asked plainly.

“Look at his vitals right now” the doctor said and pointed to the monitor in the room. It read that his heart rate was barely above normal. “His body must have been pushed to limits beyond what you push your guards to. I also called in the travel building and asked them to find out about this guy. He was in the Canadian military and was labelled inactive after he was nearly killed by an explosion, he could barely even walk four months ago, then he just got up and began to run again” the doctor informed the princess.

Celestia thought about it for a moment. “I don’t want him” she replied bluntly, both the doctor and Luna gasped. “WHAT” Luna gasped and Celestia turned to her sister. “Our royal guard consists of unicorns and pegasus for a reason sister, they have abilities that others do not. Even though this human has extreme physical fitness he cannot fly nor can he probably shoot a gun” Celestia told her sister.

“Actually… uhm the military reports state that he can continuously hit bull’s-eyes at one hundred yards with an open sighted rifle ma’am” the doctor informed her but her mind would not be changed. “Even so, he is a different species and would not…” Celestia began but Luna interrupted her “I’ll take him. Tell him he’s already passed training and have him report to the royal castle throne room tonight at 8pm sharp” Luna ordered.

Celestia looked to her sister and shook her head. “He is your responsibility Luna, I will not take responsibility for your elite guards” Celestia said as they both left the recruitment office.

* * *

Clare, inside recruitment office:

My hair was still wet, I had used the shower room behind the examination rooms to wash up before I got ready to go. “So she really said that?” I asked and the doctor nodded.

“Yes, but you better hurry because it’s 7:45 now and you don’t want to be late” the doctor told me. I nodded, “Thanks doc, see yah around” I called out as I dashed out the front doors and looked around. I saw a castle looming above all the other buildings and figured that had to be the royal castle.

Chapter 3: You've just made sergeant

Clare, in front of royal castle:

“And I’m telling you that Luna herself wants to see me” I told the guard but he was still reluctant to allow me to enter the castle. “Sorry sir, strict orders, no one is allowed in the castle after 7:30” the guard told me. ‘Then why the hell would Luna give me a meeting at 8?’ I asked myself.

A stallion in royal guard armour stepped forward and both the guards saluted him as they allowed him to pass. “Hey wait a minute!” I blurted out and the stallion turned back with a raised eyebrow. “You guys just said no one is allowed in the building after 7:30” I argued and the stallion who had walked past them chuckled.

“Listen, uhh whoever you are. I’m Captain Shining Armor” he told me and I rolled my eyes. “Hey, give him some respect, he’s the commander of all guards in the field of combat” one of the guards told me in a deep tone. “Okay then, Shining since you’re the captain then Celestia probably told you that I was coming, so tell these guys to let me past” I said and Shining Armor thought for a moment.

“Alright let him past, but you’re coming with me” he ordered, I stepped past the guards and walked up to his side as he led me through the front doors. “Did Celestia really call you for a meeting?” Shining asked and I shook my head, “No her sister, Luna, did. Guess she figures I’m some really special soldier or something” I informed him and he nodded.

We approached a large set of doors and the guards in front of the doors saluted Shining Armor as we entered the massive throne room. Celestia was sitting on her throne at the other end of the room. As we walked towards her I got the feeling that I was late, either that or Celestia already didn’t like me.

Shining Armor bowed down in front of her and I stood in proper posture and gave her a salute. “You’re early… Luna will be with us in a moment, she is just raising the moon. Tell me Captain, how was your mission?” Celestia asked and Shining stood up and answered her “Mission was a complete success ma’am, the criminals surrendered and we captured the weapons shipment” Shining Armor informed her and she nodded.

Luna entered the throne room and trotted up to her sister’s side. “We’ll leave you two alone” Celestia said and both she and Shining Armor trotted out of the throne room. Though most ponies stood shorter than me, Luna and Celestia stood almost my height. “Mr. Clare, we have a proposition for you if you’d care to hear it” she offered and I nodded. “Our sister does not want you for the royal guard but we would like to know if you would like to join our special unit, the shadow guards?” she asked and I nodded, “Yes ma’am” I replied. She smirked, “You agreed to this very easily and you don’t even know what the tasks are” she told me.

“Permission to speak freely ma’am?” I asked and she nodded, “Ma’am with all due respect I live for honour, to serve and to protect. When I was unable to re-enlist in my military because of my injuries I was referred here. So I’ll take just about anything you have as long as it’s military related” I told her.

She nodded, “It is military but it is far different than anything you had back on earth. The shadow guards are our elite force, when something arises that needs to be handled with extreme prejudice it is done by the shadow guard” she informed me. “It can even be as extreme as facing an Ursa major” she warned and I nodded, “Ma’am, you give the order and I’ll execute it to my dying breath” I told her, she smiled.

“Well in that case, let’s suit you up with some equipment” she said and led me out of the throne room. “So tell us Clare, what tasks did you have in the military back on your world?” she asked as we walked down the long hallways of the castle. “I killed people that threatened peace” I said bluntly, most people would say ‘I was a peacekeeper’ but that wasn’t how I saw it, peacekeeping isn’t shooting people who stand against us, peacekeeping is diplomatic solutions. But it didn’t bother me in the least, I kind of liked ‘peacekeeping’.

“Oh… are you at all traumatized by it?” she asked and I shook my head, “No ma’am” I replied bluntly, she slid her horn into a hole in a door and the door opened, revealing an armoury. I entered the room and my jaw dropped, there was literally every kind of hand held weapon that ever existed, along with armour but screw the armour I wanted a gun.

“I think we’ll have to get Ms. Rarity to make you a combat uniform later but for now you’ll just have to wear what you have” Luna told me as I browsed through the selection of weapons. “Do you see any you like?” she asked and as a matter of fact I did.

I grabbed an M1928 Thompson sub machinegun from the rack of guns. “Oh yeah… this will work” I said as I racked back the charging bolt. The gun felt like it was brand new, actually come to think of it the gun probably was brand new. I grabbed a saddle harness and attached it around my waist, then grabbed some 50 round drum magazines and slipped them into the waist satchels.

I smiled as I attached a fully loaded drum magazine into the gun and slung it across my back. I was about to leave when I spotted a gem of a pistol, well actually it was a revolver. I was struck in awe from its pure beauty as I picked it out of the gun rack and held it in my hands. The S&W 500 magnum, the most powerful handgun on earth and probably in Equestria as well. I grabbed a box of .500 magnum rounds and slipped them into the waist satchels. I slipped on a chest harness and slid the revolver into the shoulder holster and looked to Luna and nodded.

“Well… Mr. Clare it is time to show you your post. Follow me” she said and led me out of the armoury.

As we walked down the hallways she looked to me. “Clare… if we asked you to perform any task, would you do it without hesitation?” she asked and I nodded. “It is my duty and I will perform my tasks to my dying breath ma’am” I replied and she stopped and I looked to her.

“This conversation never leaves us” she said and I nodded. “If we ask you to do something you will do it, even if that includes killing a pony” she told me and I nodded. “Yes ma’am, I understand” I said and she smiled. “Good. Congratulations Clare, you just made Sergeant”

Chapter 4: Ain't got time to bleed

6 months later:

Sgt. Clare, posted outside royal bedroom of Luna:

“So tell me Sarge, why don’t you were regular armour?” Corporal Hart asked. Hart and I became quick friends as soon as I was posted but he always asked why I wore the clothes that I did. Every other shadow guard had to wear shadow guard armour, it was impervious to magic attacks and magic holds but the actual armour itself was quite weak and I doubt it would stop anything larger than a .40 caliber pistol round.

When I looked at myself it made me chuckle. I had Rarity create me an old western style duster coat, trousers, leather boots and a Stetson hat. The rest of the shadow guards looked like something from medieval times where I looked like something out of an old Clint Eastwood movie. However despite the western apparel’s lack of armour it seemed silly for me to wear the shadow guard armour if it could would barely stop a 9mm round.

“I mean shit Carl, you look like that guy from the human movies… uhh what’s his name, you know the one who’s like ‘Make my day’ or whatever” Hart told me. When I first became friends with him I told him to call me Carl rather than Clare. “Clint Eastwood” I replied, “Yeah, yeah him. I mean if you had the facial features I would say you look exactly like him” Hart told me.

“Say something only he would say” Hart laughed and I pulled out my S&W 500 magnum. “You’re looking down the barrel of a Smith Wesson 500 magnum, the most powerful handgun in Equestria, one I might remind you that could take your head clean off” I said in my best Eastwood voice.

“You act him very well” said a voice from behind us. We stood in attention as Luna stepped up beside us and I holstered the massive revolver. “At ease. Follow me, the shadow guards have an assignment” she told us and we followed her to the war room where several of the other guards were.

They all had the same armour, the same look on their face, they even had to get their fur coloured dark blue to be accepted as a shadow guard. Guess I was the odd one out.

“Alright listen up. Reports indicate a large group of armed combatants just inside the Everfree forest. Your job is to go in, eliminate the combatants and get out. Any questions?” she asked and no one said a word. “Your helicopters leaves in ten minutes, dismissed” she said and we all saluted her then proceeded towards the helipad outside. Man I couldn’t even imagine what this place was like before they started getting human technology.

The pilots started the rotors on the helicopters, they sort of resembled old Hueys but had a little different rotor and cockpit design. We all piled into the choppers.

Lieutenant Daffodil nodded to the pilot and we took off towards the Everfree. I sat on the edge of the doorway and mounted the door gun of the helicopter. M60, real nice.

* * *

Luna, inside the royal castle:

I watched the helicopters depart. For some reason I had begun to have feelings for the human. “I can’t allow myself to have feelings for him” I told myself. Clare had been kind enough to spend time with me and teach me to say I rather than we. He was so kind and gentle yet when the time arouse for battle he was straight to it without a second thought.

“I can’t allow myself to fall in love… not again” I whispered to myself and a tear came to my eye as I remembered my old lover, Star Gazer. I looked out the window to the departing helicopters and whispered “Goodbye my love”.

* * *

10 minutes later:

Sgt. Clare, approaching Everfree forest:

“When we set down I want there to be a concentration of suppressing fire along with the quick advance into the forest” Daffodil ordered. I readied the M60 and took a deep breath as incoming rounds from the forest below began to ping off the helicopter hull.

“Oh shit” cursed one of the pilots as he put out his cigarette and took hold of the control shaft for the helicopter with both hooves. I saw the muzzle flares of assault rifles below, I aimed the M60 at the muzzle flares and pulled the trigger back. The M60 chattered and 7.62mm NATO rounds flew downrange and into the forest below. I could never tell if I hit my targets from up here but the tracer rounds made it easier to direct my fire at the muzzle flashes.

The helicopters looped around for a pass over the forest, then landed in the clearing. We hadn’t even disembarked the choppers and we were already experiencing heavy fire. As our helicopter went to land I lept off the chopper even before it touched the ground and brought up my Thompson, the ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, it had been a rather warm winter and there hadn’t been much snow but snow still managed to coat the ground.

I could see muzzle flashes from the treeline and I brought the Thompson up and squeezed the trigger back. The sub machine gun chattered in my hands and the drum magazine made a rattling sound as the gun ate through the .45 caliber rounds.

In a matter of seconds I had emptied the entire fifty round drum magazine and quickly replaced it with a fresh one. I heard a fizzing whoosh and watched in horror as an RPG round flew through the air and slammed into one of the helicopters. The helicopter erupted in a brilliant and horrifying explosion that killed all the occupants.

I looked over to the lieutenant and saw him screaming orders to the others. “L.T., we need to get out of the clearing, smoke grenades then move into the forest” I yelled. I grabbed a smoke grenade from my waist satchel bags and pulled the safety pin and tossed it towards the tree line, the others did the same. The grenade exploded and soon afterwards the treeline was blocked by a smoke screen.

“L.T., move the soldiers forwards” I yelled out and despite being a higher rank than me he followed my orders.

I charged forward recklessly through the smoke screen and entered the dense forest. I passed through the smoke screen and spotted a group of seven combatants, they were zebras and they had redesigned some AK47s so that they could hold them I their hooves and fire them. ‘Figures’ I thought to myself as I brought my sub machinegun up and hosed them with a wall of .45 caliber rounds.

They screamed in agony and fell to the ground but I wasted no time just standing around and rushed forwards. Rounds seemed to burst the trees apart near my body but I kept charging forwards them lept behind a fallen tree trunk and took cover.

The shadow guards were close behind me and soon a lot of the elite guards took cover near my position and fired at the zebras emplaced not far from our position. “Bastards are dug in tight” Daffodil yelled.

I peeked over the log to see that several zebras had set up a machinegun nest with an old Type 99 Japanese light machinegun. Several other zebras had taken cover behind trees and dirt piles and fired at us with AK47s.

“Hit it with the grenade launcher” I yelled and Hart came up beside me and levitated out an old M79 grenade rifle and popped a 40mm grenade round towards the machinegun nest but the 40mm grenade fell short of its target and exploded a few dozen meters away from the machinegun nest. “Grenade launcher can’t reach that far” he yelled.

I rolled my eyes and shuffled across the ground and out of the line of fire. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Daffodil yelled and I looked back to him “Just give me some covering fire would yah” I ordered him as I lept to my feet and rushed around to flank the MG nest.

I heard Daffodil give the order for suppressing fire and it was like I was deafened by the gun shots. The world around me seemed to erupt in explosions and gun shots and all I could hear was the screams of soldiers. I slowed my charging pace to a slower, sneakier stalking pace and I crept up beside the machinegun entrenchment. They hadn’t seen me yet and I planned to keep it that way. I pulled out another smoke grenade and tossed it in front of the machinegun nest. The grenade exploded and soon a smoke screen formulated in front of the gunner’s view.

I quickly stepped forward and pulled the pins on two M67 fragmentation grenades and tossed them into the machinegun nest. I heard screaming come from inside the nest as I ran back towards the shadow guards.

The machinegun chattered violently and suddenly a round ripped through my side. I screamed in pain and fell forwards but quickly regained my balance and continued to run. The grenades exploded and ignited the machinegun ammunition inside the entrenchment and it erupted in a spectacular explosion, one that I unfortunately didn’t get to watch.

Zebras watched as I ran past them, they were either too confused or too stupid to realize what was happening and none of them even fired a single shot at me. My side wound was bleeding rather profusely and blood had begun to soak into my trousers.

Before they finally realized what was happening I lept over the fallen tree and took cover, Hart fired the M79 at a group of zebras and they were caught in the explosion of the 40mm grenade blast.

Soon after, the zebras accepted defeat and surrendered. I got to my feet, the snow where I had been lying down was stained red from my blood. Hart looked at the blood and rushed to my side with a medical kit. “Shit, Carl. You’re hit man, you’re bleeding” he said as he levitated my duster coat away from the wound so that he could apply medical bandages. I smirked “I ain’t got time to bleed”

Author's Note

And before anyone goes on saying "Ponies can't hold guns", some of the ponies shooting the guns are unicorns and the other ponies well... just pretend that they redesigned the guns to fit in their hooves or something

Chapter 5: Romantic feelings of others

Sgt. Clare, Everfree forest:

“That was the last of the wounded, the next chopper will come to pick you up” the helicopter pilot yelled out then took the helicopter into the air and flew back to Canterlot.

I lit a victory cigar and looked to the battlefield, the battle had only lasted ten minutes yet it had taken the lives of so many. Hart walked up beside me, he too was smoking but he was only smoking a victory cigarette, though it wasn’t much of a victory.

Daffodil trotted up to my other side and he had a fat stogy cigar hanging out of his mouth. “Was this even worth their lives?” Daffodil asked and I shook my head, “Only freedom is truly worth someone’s life L.T.” I told him and he chuckled. “Well what kind of freedom did we save today?” he chuckled, knowing that he was going to have to write letters to the families of the ones who died today, informing the families of their deaths and he was probably looking for something to cheer them up like ‘You son died fighting for freedom’ or something like that.

“None… we only managed to kill and be killed, nothing more nothing less” I told him. My side still hurt like hell, but Hart had done a terrific job with the medical dressing and it had stopped the bleeding for now. I heard the rotors of a helicopter approach overhead and watched as our final Huey helicopter came to pick us up.

Hart and Daffodil embarked into the helicopter but I stopped for a moment and looked back to the battlefield where so many had lost their lives in such little time. “Come on sergeant, we don’t have all day” yelled the helicopter pilot. I let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the doorway and held onto a safety bar as the helicopter pilot flew us back to Canterlot.

I watched the treetops below as we passed over them and thought to myself ‘What were the last things going through those soldiers heads when they died?’. It was a question I would never know, nor would I let it trouble my thoughts.

I took the burning cigar out of my mouth and flicked it into a snowy field as we passed out of the Everfree. The cigar seemed to fall in slow motion as it fell to the snowy ground far below.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, Royal castle:

We entered the castle, the dead had already been brought to the morgue so they could be properly dressed for a funeral. The wounded had been brought to a hospital but I managed to convince the medics that I wasn’t injured that bad and that it was just a flesh wound.

Hart, Daffodil and I entered the castle and proceeded straight to the war room for debriefing. “So Hart, what are you doing this upcoming Hearts and Hooves day?” Daffodil asked and Hart simply shrugged. “Don’t know, marefriend dumped me recently so I’m single again” Hart informed us and Daffodil turned to me as we walked down the hallways of the castle.

“How bout you Sarge?” he asked, I hadn’t really thought about it until he brought it up. “Uhm, I don’t know. Maybe apply for holiday work or something” I replied casually. “Yeah, I would figure as much. There’s just no taking you away from the action is there?” Daff joked and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah well if you call standing outside a door for fourteen hours a day action then I guess there really is no taking me away from it” I laughed.

We entered the war room where Luna was looking over the field reports from the other soldiers. She looked up to us, “Ah Lieutenant, just the stallion I was looking for. Corporal you’re dismissed for the night” she told us.

Hart tapped me on the shoulder as he left. “See you at the bar” he said with a wink, most of the shadow guards got together after a mission and drank together at the local bar. “Ma’am, what are my orders?” I asked and she looked to me. “I need your report of the mission as well, after Daffodil’s” she replied and turned back to Daffodil as he told her the after action report.

“So that’s it ma’am, nine dead and six wounded. We managed to capture seven zebras though” he informed her and she nodded. “Dismissed Lieutenant, you may be on your way now” she told him and he gave her a bow then left.

Luna looked to me, “Report?” she asked and I shrugged. “It’s gonna sound the exact same as what he just said” I told her but I guess she wanted to hear it anyways. “Well I… ahh… shit… sorry ma’am” I groaned as my bullet wound seared with pain, I must’ve moved the wrong way or something. “What’s wrong?” she asked and I shook my hand, “Oh nothing, just a bad bruise is all” I told her and she raised an eyebrow.

“You’re a terrible liar. What’s wrong?” she asked again and I moved the duster coat out of the way and revealed the medical bandages which were now stained red with blood. She let out a terrified gasp and ran to my side. “Hey easy, I’m still sore” I told her but she didn’t listen and instead began to unravel the medical bandages with her magic.

“Hey! What are you AHH” I screamed in pain as the sudden movement of the bandages seared pain through my wound. “Hush now… oh my, this is awful. Why didn’t you go to the doctor?” she asked, half irritated that I didn’t go to the doctor’s office. “Uhm, cause it isn’t that bad” I replied with confusion, really it wasn’t all that bad. Well maybe a little bad but not terrible.

“This is a bullet wound! You’re bleeding” she told me. I was going to say ‘I ain’t got time to bleed’ but figured it wouldn’t be a good time. “Well I was told it was ketchup, I was actually going to dip my fries in it” I joked, but I guess it was a bad time to be joking because she shot me a cold glare. “What? It’s not like I’m dying. If I went to the hospital I would be taking up room from others who need it more, you should have seen Smithson, his friggin gut was torn open from a machinegun and he was in critical condition when we loaded him onto the chopper. I couldn’t really go to the hospital and get stitched up if there was a chance that I was getting treated before he was” I replied and she sighed.

“Please, never do this to yourself again. Please promise me that next time you have a wound like this that you’ll tell a doctor” she pleaded and grabbed me in a tight hug. The force of the hug tore opened the semi scabbed bullet hole and I began to bleed again. “Uhm… Luna, are you okay?” I asked as I hugged her back with an uneasy feeling. It wasn’t written in the laws of shadow guard code but everyone knew that the princess was off limits.

“Please… don’t do this again” she said and I could feel tears dripping from her face onto my shoulder. “Okay… but I kind of hate needles” I replied and she pulled back from the hug and gave me a curious look. “Really?” she asked and I nodded, “Yeah, I had to get a bunch of immunization needles before I went overseas… I never want to see another needle in my life” I told her with a pained chuckle.

She looked down to my bullet wound, “Well, I might be able to help you with that” she informed me and kneeled down. The tip of her horn touched my wound and it seared with pain but soon it felt icy cold and I watched in pure amazement as her magic healed my wound up, it was as if it was never there.

She stood up and looked at me. “If you ever have a wound like this, promise me that you’ll come straight to me and get yourself patched up” she told me and I nodded. “I promise that next time I’ll come straight to you” I promised and she grabbed me and hugged me tightly again. “I don’t want to lose you” she said, her voice was muffled by my shoulder, I rubbed her back uneasily and hopped that no one saw me.

She pulled back from the hug and looked to me as tears continued to trickle down her face. I wiped a tear off her face and smiled, “Well ma’am, if that’s all then I should really be going” I said and she nodded.

I turned around and was about to leave the war room when Luna called out to me. “Wait, sergeant” she called and I turned around as she trotted up beside me and held out her foreleg. “Would you please escort me to my chambers?” she asked and I nodded. There wasn’t anything else I could do, she was the boss and what she said goes. I slid my arm around hers and escorted her through the hallways, though why she needed an escort was beyond me.

We finally reached her chambers and I opened the door for her, “Thank you sergeant” she said and I nodded. “You’re welcome ma’am” I replied as I went to give a salute and she laughed heartily, “Please call me Luna, you’re off duty so you don’t need to call me ma’am or royal princess for now, sergeant” she laughed. I lowered my hand from my salute. “Oh well, in that case you could call me Clare, or Carl if you want” I offered and she nodded.

“Well Clare, are you interested in staying the night with me? Without a guard I feel rather exposed” she asked and I gulped, ‘Was that seductiveness in her voice?’ I thought to myself but quickly shook off the thought, there was no way in hell that she’d be interested in me. “It is my duty ma’am err Luna and I would be honoured to stand guard for the night” I replied.

Her face seemed to fade from happiness, “Oh… well I uhm… thank you Clare… I shall be in my bed if you need me, for anything” she said, it was like she put emphasis on ‘Anything’ I swear to god she was trying to seduce me but like hell I wasn’t going to risk losing my job because I thought that the princess was trying to seduce me. “Goodnight Luna” I said as she turned and trotted off towards her bed, her hips had sway in them and it was almost like they memorized me and I watched her flank sway back and forth as she trotted back to her bed.

Then suddenly her tail swished out of the way and I caught glimpse of her… I stammered and quickly spun around. I quietly closed the door behind me. There was no way that she really just… “The blood loss must’ve gotten to my head” I told myself as I loosened the sling on my Thompson sub machinegun and let it rest loosely in front of my chest. I sighed to myself and quickly subdued the thought, I mean really there was no reason that the royal princess of all ponies would want me.

I looked to my left and saw the balcony and figured maybe the cold air would help calm the nerves in my body so I looked both ways and figured even if someone or some-pony was stupid enough to come to try and hurt the princess I was only a few yards away and could easily cut them down with my Thompson before they even entered the room.

I walked out onto the balcony and looked out to the city of Canterlot, the night air was cool and sent sensational shivers down my entire body. It was a pleasant feeling, though not many felt my love for the cold night, I none the less loved spending the night in the cool breeze under the beautiful illumination of the moon.

Chapter 6: New recruits

Sgt. Clare, posted outside royal bedroom:

I groaned to myself as my head started to hurt. I had stayed up all night outside Luna’s bedroom door and I had this feeling that it was going to be an unbearably long day.

I lifted my arm up and looked at my watch, 3:30am. “Great… I still have like four hours until guard duty” I groaned to myself. The door to the royal bedroom opened and Luna stepped out. I stood in attention and she rested a hoof on my shoulder. “Please Carl, relax” she said in a soothing tone and I let out a deep exhale and yawned.

“Mr. Carl, would you be so kind as to escort me outside so I may lower the moon” she asked, though it sounded less like an order and more like a simple offer. “Yes ma’am… uhm I mean, I would be honoured to escort you Luna” I said, remembering that she wanted me to call her Luna until I was on duty.

She wrapped her foreleg around my arm as we walked down the hallways, god I hope none of the nightshift guards see me.

I opened the balcony doors for her and let her step out onto the balcony. It was truly fascinating to watch her as she performed her royal duty to lower the moon. I wondered if anyone else other than her sister could do something like that.

The moon was lowered below the horizon and the sky became a light haze of darkness as the morning began. She trotted back to my side and looked to my tired face. “Carl, would you like to get some sleep before your shift starts?” she asked and I shook my head. “I can manage” I replied as I led her back to the royal bedroom.

I opened the bedroom door for her and she took her foreleg away from my arm as trotted into the room. She stopped in front of me and turned around, “Carl?” she asked and I gave her a confused look. “Uhm, are you asking if I’m Carl or…” I trailed off from my utter confusion as she stepped ever closer to me, she had a weird look in her eyes.

As she leaned forward I thought it was weird, before this moment I had never noticed that her eyes were a beautiful cyan blue. My thoughts stopped suddenly as she closed her eyes and kissed me briefly on the lips. He lips were wet and it felt kind of good, well I mean get past the fact that it was a talking horse kissing me and it was a rather relaxing moment.

My mind went blank then I quickly came back to reality as she whispered into my ear “Good morning Clare” then turned around and trotted back to her bed. I just stood there, I must’ve been blushing because she giggled as she looked to me from her bed. “I uhm… good morning Luna” I said as I turned around slowly and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind me as I left.

‘There was no way that just happened’ I thought to myself as I leaned up against the wall.

* * *

Princess Luna, Royal bedroom:

Had I been too sudden with him? Sure he blushed but then he just left, he didn’t even ask what it was for, he just left.

I sighed to myself and grabbed a Hearts and Hooves day magazine from my night stand and began to browse through it. Even though it was a joyous occasion for so many, it would be a sad lonely day for me. My elite guards usually took the day off to be with their very special some-pony and Celestia was usually busy at a meeting or something. It would be another day that I spent forever alone, but I suppose that’s what happens when you are immortal.

The only alicorn I know that has truly fallen in love is my dear niece Cadence, her husband Shining Armor is a true gentlecolt. If I remember correctly I think she’s due to have a foal soon, but I might be mistaken.

My thoughts drifted off to Clare, he was so kind and generous yet so bashful and hard headed. Even if he would take me, we could never truly love each other. He was mortal and on top of that he was a different species. A tear trickled down my face as I imagined what could be if we were in love.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, outside royal bedroom:

Captain Daniels looked at me as his life faded from his eyes, his last words echoed through my head “Goddamn you Clare…”

I felt myself being nudged lightly and I was awoken from my sleep. I had sat down and slouched over then passed out. ‘Yeah… it must’ve all just been a dream’ I assured myself as I remembered the strange kiss this morning.

I looked up to Hart, who was standing beside me and nudging me awake. He held out his hoof and I grabbed it with my hand. He pulled me up, I groaned in tiredness as I looked to my watch and realized it was 7:28am.

“Up late last night?” he asked and I nodded as I stretched out, hopping that my sleepiness would pass. My head began to throb and I groaned as I rubbed the sides of my head. “Drink too much last night?” he asked and I shook my head, “Nah, I was on night duty” I groaned and he chuckled.

“Drinking too much wine with the princess eh” he laughed and gave me a friendly punch to the arm. “Mhmm yeah… I mean no, I uhm… I feel a migraine coming on” I groaned, not paying attention to what I was saying. “Yeah, Corporal Pastel said he seen you last night with the princess. Arm in arm” Hart chuckled and I rolled my eyes. “Nothing’s going on between us, she just needed an escort” I told him and rubbed my eyes as I yawned.

“Yeah, cause the princess really needs an escort. Come on man, I won’t tell. What happened last night?” he asked and I sighed. “Fine something did happen” I replied and he got a sly look on his face, he obviously thought something dirty happened between me and Luna last night. “So last night” I began and he nodded, “Me and Luna went outside” I continued as he stayed in perfect attention and nodded his head, “On the balcony and” I continued but he cut me off.

“No way, on the balcony” he exclaimed, but kept it quiet enough so that Luna couldn’t hear him. “Yeah, we went out on the balcony and she lowered the moon at about 3:30 this morning” I replied casually, he nearly fell over from the stupid bluntness of my story. “Arrg for the love of Celestia… not that. What happened between you and Luna, you know like in the bedroom” he scoffed and I chuckled.

“I never went into her bedroom and nothing happened between us” I chuckled and he sighed in irritation, he had one perverted mind I’ll say that much. “Well I’ll tell you, if she asked me to stay on night shift and was holding my arm we’d be getting it on by the end of the night. A little something like this you know?” he told me and made the motion like of rutting
her like a wild bull.

“Yeah well you can feel free to lose your job by trying buck the princess but I want to keep my job” I replied and leaned up against the wall as our guard duty started. “Yeah whatever, you know there’s a reason she has us on guard duty all the time right?” he told me and I raised an eyebrow. “Because we’re good at what we do” I replied and he shook his head. “Nah man it’s cause she wants us man, I can see it in her eyes. I’ll let you take first go” he told me jokingly, well I hope it was jokingly.

I chuckled humoressly and tried to think about something to make the time fly by but it was as if the day just wanted to drag on forever.

* * *

Midday,

Sgt. Clare, mess hall:

The mess hall was somewhat filled with the elite shadow guards, the replacements for the deceased guards had arrived and were trying to make friends with the older veterans.

I grabbed a tray of food and walked outside in the royal garden and stood alone by a wooden fence. I set my cup of soda, or whatever it passed off as, on a wooden fence post and picked through my food. I had slowly become accustomed to the vegetarian diet of ponies despite my appetite for meat.

I watched as woodland creatures scurried about and chuckled to myself as I ate some potatoes. A young shadow guard walked up beside me, ‘Jeeze, they were really scrapping the bottom of the barrel for replacements. That’s probably why they recruited me’ I thought to myself as I paid him little mind.

He trotted up beside me, levitating his tray of food and holding his cup of soda in his right hoof, well it really wasn’t soda because it was rather flat but it would have to do. “Howdy, I’m Cloud… Private Cloud Dasher sir” he informed me in a stutteringly happy voice. I looked to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Aren’t you a little young to be a soldier?” I asked and he shook his head. “No sir, I’m twenty one, sir” he replied. I groaned “Knock of that sir crap, I’m just a sergeant” I told him and he nodded. “Yes… uhm what would you like me to call you?” he asked and I rolled my eyes. ‘God doesn’t this kid have something better to do?’ I thought to myself.

“Just call me Sarge, everyone else does” I told him and he nodded and went to lean up against the fence beside me but accidently knocked my soda off the fence post. It landed on the ground and the contents of the cup spilled into the dirt, I looked down to the spilt cup then back up to him with a plain face.

“Shit sorry… here you can have mine” he said quickly and brought his soda cup forwards but in his hurry he ended up tipping the cup and it splashed all over my tray and my duster coat. Pees floated around in my tray and I looked to him with an irritated look. “What did you say your name was again Private?” I asked and he was breathing erratically.

“Dasher… Pri… Private Dasher sir” he stuttered fearfully, I stood up and wiped the mess off my coat and handed him my ruined tray off food. “Hold this, Dasher” I ordered and he held the tray in his hoof as I grabbed his tray of food and pulled out my salt shaker from my coat pocket and sprinkled salt over top of the food.

He looked in confusion as I dressed the food. I handed him back the tray and took mine, dumping the contents onto the ground and picking up my soda cup as I walked away. He just stood there in total shock of what just happened. ‘That should keep him confused long enough that I can get away’.

Chapter 7: Hold-up

Later that day

Third person, outside of bank in Canterlot:

Police carriages blocked the streets outside of a large bank. Police officers levitated out police revolvers and shotguns as they waited. “PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON AND SURRENDER” boomed a pony police chief with a megaphone.

A faint voice echoed from the top of the building. “Hey coppers, I got a present for yah” laughed the faint voice and suddenly an M60E4 machinegun levitated over the edge of the building roof and began to chatter as it fired in full automatic. The heavy 7.62mm NATO rounds ripped through the police carriages like they were paper, police officers tried to take cover behind their vehicles but it was no use.

Several officers were cut down by the hail of lead and screamed in pure agony as the large rounds tore through their bodies. Blood was spewed across the street as the assailant continued to fire his machinegun mercilessly.

Finally the carnage stopped as he ran out of ammunition and simply tossed the gun down to the streets from the rooftop, the building was a four story building so when the gun hit the ground parts of its stock and fore grip broke. “And can have your officer back” the assailant laughed and tossed the body of a decapitated police officer down to the streets, his body landed on the pavement and nearly splattered across the street but his corpse managed to stay together despite the force of the impact, then in pure horridness he tossed the head of the officer at the police and the head of the deceased officer hit the ground and rolled along.

The police chief with the megaphone screamed in anger. “Goddammit!” the police chief yelled.

Footsteps could be heard across the metal roofs of some of the police carriages. A single set of human legs walked across the tops of police cars, his pointed cowboy boots spurred as he walked, his duster coat fluttered in the wind. Some of the police carriages still had their sirens flashing but others had their sirens shot out from the machinegun.

Finally the man walked down the front of a carriage, he stepped down the hood and finally onto the snow covered ground, though the snow was more slushy then snowy and squished underneath his boots.

He had a frown on his face as he took the burnt stub of the cigar out of his mouth and dropped it on the ground, blowing cigar smoke into the air then stomping it out with his boot and began to walk towards the building. The police chief who had the megaphone looked over and his eyes grew wide. “CLLLLAAAAAAARE!” he screamed and rushed up as he began following him.

“Goddammit Clare, don’t even think about. We have a negotiator coming in and you’re not going in there to screw this up. GODDAMMIT CLARE, last time you pulled this shit ponies lost body parts… body parts. Now if you go in there I’ll have your uniform taken away” he screamed quickly, Clare probably didn’t understand a single thing except the threat at the end of his sentence. Clare chuckled and removed his duster coat and tossed it over his shoulders and the police chief caught it as he looked at it with an angered face.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, outside bank in Canterlot:

I had been informed that some asshole had tried to rob a bank but when the cops arrived he took several children hostage and had already executed two children, a colt and a filly, and tossed their bodies of the building roof. Those sorts of crimes couldn’t go unjustified, action needed to be taken and I had the perfect judge, a Smith and Wesson 500 magnum.

I walked forwards towards the building and some mare in a suit came up to me. “Listen, Clare I know what you’re thinking but you can’t do this. Listen, this is Shining Armor he is the second in command of all royal guards” the mare told me and pointed to Shining Armor.

I had a great respect for him because he was a decorated combat veteran but I couldn’t just wait around while a sick fucker stood on the bank roof and killed children. “Listen, Clare you have to” he began but I slammed a quick punch into his face and broke his nose, he cried out in pain and staggered back. “When the Princess gets here call me” I replied, ‘Sorry Shining but we don’t have the time to sit around and try to negotiate with this guy’ I thought to myself. God Celestia was going to kill me for this one.

Behind me the police officer who had threatened to take my uniform ran up to Shining’s side and took out his radio. “Clare’s trying to enter the building, don’t let him in goddammit” the police officer screamed.

I walked up to the front doors, ‘Jeeze if it was this easy to enter the building, than all the cops should have just swarmed into the building and surrounded the guy’ I thought to myself as I walked up to the front doors. A large stallion stood in my way but due to the fact that I had taken off my duster coat and was now only wearing a tight white t-shirt it made me have a look of shear intimidation.

“Uhm here… let me get the door for you” he offered and opened the door for me. I nodded and gave him a smile. “Thanks, oh do you mind?” I asked and pointed to his police radio. He quickly grabbed his radio and handed to me, I nodded as I entered the building. “Hey Chief, the guy at the door let me in, I’ll tell the bad guy you said hi” I said into the radio and within a second came the reply. “GODDAMMIT CLARE DON’T YOU EVEN” the chief began but I crushed the radio in my hand and pulled out my massive S&W 500 from its chest holster and quickly raced over to the stairs and ascended up to the roof access door.

I was about to open the door when I thought to myself. “Oh wait a minute” I muttered as I tipped my Stetson hat down so that it covered the view of my face then took out a stogy cigar, placed it in my lips and lit it.

I took an inhale of the cigar then stepped back and kicked the door down. Several ponies on the roof screamed as I walked onto the roof, looking like something from an old cowboy movie, well minus the fact that I no longer had my duster coat.

Near the edge of the roof stood a crazed pony, he had a jagged scar down his face and held a filly close to his body. He was wielding a deadly looking axe and had the blade of the axe up against the filly’s throat. “Oh hello… I was hoping for Shining Armor. Who the hell are you?” he said in a creepy deranged voice. I tipped my hat up and revealed my face then quickly brought the revolver up and aimed for his head. “I’m the sergeant” I said and he scrunched his nose. “Uhm…okay…” he replied and I sighed.

“Sorry, it sounded cooler in my mind” I replied as I lowered the revolver. “Right… so uhm… well that’s a buzz killer” I said and he lowered the axe. “Are you for real man? You come up here to confront me and all you care about is looking cool during your entrance, man you gotta” he began but that was exactly what I was hoping he’d do, well actually I was hoping to make an awesome scene and blow his head off but after that failed then I needed a real good plan.

I quickly snapped my revolver up again and his eyes widened as he realized that he had just brought the axe away from the filly’s throat, which was the only reason I didn’t just shoot him out right. I pulled the trigger back on the mighty revolver and the afternoon air in Canterlot was filled with the terrifying KA-BOOM from the massive handgun.

The 350 gr. JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) round thundered out of the gun barrel and slammed into the criminal’s upper chest. His left foreleg tightened around the filly as the bullet ripped through his body and burst out his back. It was like someone had just punched their arm straight through his chest. He gagged violently as he stumbled back and he coughed up blood.

He finally lost his balance but unfortunately as he fell off the edge of the roof he pulled the filly with him. I gasped, there was no way in hell I was going to be responsible for the death of a child, not today.

I ran to the edge of the building just as she was pulled over and lept off the edge and fell after her, my body weight was heavier so I easily caught her. I held her body tight to mine and turned our bodies so that my back was facing the ground.

My body slammed through the windshield of a police vehicle as the criminal’s body splatted against the pavement sidewalk. I cried out in pain from the blunt trauma of the pain and quickly faded out.

Chapter 8: Feelings revealed

Sgt. Clare, outside bank in Canterlot:

I felt myself being rolled away on a medical stretcher, I groaned as I sat up. The doctors tried to keep me down but I shook my hand. “I’m fine” I groaned as I stretched, god only knows how I survived that fall but I did, guess it’s one of those ‘One in a million’ things.

“Sir please you have to come to the hospital, you’re seriously injured” the paramedic pleaded and I sighed as I laid back onto the stretcher. Shining Armor trotted up beside me, he was holding a bloodied rag against his broken nose.

“Yeah sorry about that… didn’t have time to stand around and wait you know” I apologized and he grunted as he took the cloth away from his nose, it had been straightened but anyone could tell that it had been broken. “I know you had proper motivation but did you have to break my nose?” he asked and I chuckled, I hadn’t really thought about it when I punched him and probably should have just ignored him but something inside said punch him.

I shrugged and gave him a wink, “Yeah well laugh it up while you can cause when you get better me and you a gonna enter the ring” he said with a friendly nudge then trotted away.

The paramedics loaded me into the back of an ambulance and drove me off to a hospital. Well I think they were driving me to a hospital I mean where else would they take me?

* * *

Third person, royal castle:

“Ma’am, we just got a call from the hospital. Sergeant Clare has been hospitalized and” a shadow guard began but Luna lept up and galloped past him. He just shrugged in confusion, he was about to say how Clare was going to make a full recovery but he guessed that she just didn’t want to hear it so went along his way.

Luna ran out of the royal castle and raced along the streets of Canterlot, several ponies watched the princess go by. Even though it had only been a short time she had grown quite fond of him.

* * *

3 months ago:

Luna and Clare stood outside in the royal garden and watched the night sky. “You know back on my planet we had constellations and stuff” Clare said and Luna looked to him with curiosity. “Are they like our star constellations?” she asked and he nodded. “Well maybe a bit different, but same idea” he told her and she nodded.

“So tell me about this Nightmare Moon, she sounds pretty harsh” he suggested and Luna sighed as she remembered how awful she had become as Nightmare Moon. “We… I used to be fused with an entity known as Nightmare Moon, we caused travesty across Equestria until our… I mean, my sister banished us and when I returned we were finally separated from her but even now I feel as if she is still around” she informed him and he nodded.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed as they watched the night sky together, “Tell us about your world. What did you do?” she asked and he sighed. He didn’t really want to talk about it all that much at the moment. “I killed people. Please let’s not talk about it” he told her and she nodded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up” she apologized and he shrugged. “Don’t sweat it, I just don’t want to talk about it right now” he told her and she nodded as they lay on the ground, looking up into the sky.

Originally Clare had begun teaching her to say I and my rather than our or us, but for some reason they had stayed out longer than expected and began star gazing. Suddenly a bright flash went across the sky as a meteor passed through the atmosphere. Clare pointed to the shooting star, “Make a wish” he muttered and she looked to him with curiosity.

“Why?” she asked and he chuckled. “Well they say when you see a shooting star you can make a wish” he told her with a wink. “Really? Will it come true?” she asked and he shrugged. “Back on my world probably not, but since there is magic and stuff here… I guess it might come true” he told her and she made a wish. ‘I wish that we would love each other until forever after’ she wished to herself.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot hospital:

I lay in the hospital bed and tossed a bouncy ball at the door across from my bed and the ball would hit the wall, bounce off the floor then back into my hand. I continued this boring motion over and over again to try and pass time.

The hospital was so depressing, ponies were injured and usually sleeping and I had no-pony to talk to. I flicked my wrist and sent the bouncy ball across the room but just as it was about to hit the door, it opened and knocked my bouncy ball away. “Dammit” I cursed silently as I watched my bouncy ball roll away across the floor.

I felt a pony grab me tightly and I yelped in pain. “Oww, hey let… arrrg… this hurts you know” I groaned but as I looked down I realized it was Luna. She lightened the squeeze of her hug but I was still in pain from the fall.

She pulled my shirt up and touched her horn against my chest, the icy sensation flowed through my body again and I felt the pain from the fall fade away from my body. She looked up to me, shy had been crying I could tell.

“You promised” she began but she stopped and sniffled a little. I rested a hand against her face and caressed it gently. She crawled into the hospital bed and I held her close to me, “I know, I was going to come see you but the paramedics wouldn’t let me” I whispered and she nestled her head against my neck. I have to say I wasn’t proud of myself for breaking my promise but then again what else could I do, I doubt I would’ve been able to even walk let alone get back to the castle the way I was.

“Please… take a vacation for a while, don’t do this anymore” she whispered to me. “Okay… how long do you want me to vacation?” I asked and she looked up to me with teary eyes. “Please, I just want you to stop this, no more dangers. No more killing” she whispered and rested her head against my chest. Her tears trickled onto my chest and her resting against my chest like this was nice, the feeling made me feel warm and tingly.

“Okay but uhm, can we get out of the hospital? It’s kind of depressing around here” I suggested and she nodded. She took her head off my chest and allowed me to get out of the hospital bed and I was thankful that I still at least had my pants on but I still needed my shirt. “I’m sure the docs will just let me out once they see how well I’m doing” I muttered, knowing that they probably would want to examine me first.

I walked through the hallways with Luna and I was relieved that it was late because there usually weren’t a lot of doctors in the hallways late at night. We reached the receptionist desk and the receptionist looked to me.

“I’m here to sign out” I told her and she looked at me curiously as she got up and walked around the desk and to my side. “Before you leave I have to do a basic examination, but since you can obviously walk I just need to do one thing” she informed me and I nodded.

She lifted her hoof up and gave me a light nudge to the side of my ribs “Did that hurt at all?” she asked and I shook my head. “Well then, I guess you can leave Mr. Clare. Have a nice night” she said and I nodded to her. “Oh wait before you leave” she called to me and I turned back to her, hoping that she didn’t forget about another medical examination.

She tossed me my shirt. “Oh, thanks doc” I said as I removed the hospital gown and slipped my shirt back on. I was so glad that I didn’t have searing pain from the fall anymore or putting this t-shirt on would’ve been a living hell.

I turned to Luna “Well that was easy” I chuckled as we both left the hospital. As we started walking back towards the castle, Luna started to trot ever closer towards me until she was literally walking right up against me and she nuzzled the side of her face against me side as we walked along.

“Clare… do you love me?” Luna asked and I was immediately taken back by the question. “Uhm like… love you like a sister or…” I trailed off and she shook her head. “No, do you love me like a lover?” she asked seriously and I looked away in embarrassment as I blushed, I had become rather attached to her ever since I became a shadow guard but my code of honour prohibited me from romantic relations with the princess.

I looked back to her, “Okay if I answer truthfully can I still keep my job?” I asked and she gave me a look of confusion. “Why in Equestria would you not be able to keep your job for telling me whether or not you have feelings for me?” she asked as I scratched my ear. “Well because the code of honour prohibits me from having relations with you, didn’t you make that rule?” I asked, figuring that she had probably made the rule.

She shook her head, “No, I never made a rule like that… Clare, over the last few months I’ve begun to have feelings for you but a long time ago I vowed never to love again and now I’m conflicted between my emotions” she told me as she stopped and we faced each other eye to eye. “Uhm okay wait… are you saying that you have feeling for me? Oh my god…” I trailed off as I thought about it, every time she had made an advance I simply regarded it as playfulness because I feared that if I asked her to get together with me I might lose my job.

“You… don’t really love me do you” she said and her eyes filled with tears as she ran off crying. “Oh shit” I muttered to myself as I realized that my poor choice of words during my realization of her feelings could have easily been misinterpreted into thinking that I wanted nothing to do with her.

I swore to myself as I ran towards the castle, figuring that she’d probably be going there and would seclude herself in her room. ‘God I feel like a asshole… all those times she tried to open up to me and I had regarded her advances as simple joyfulness’ I thought to myself as I ran through the streets.

As I zipped around a corner but I slid in the slush and slipped onto my side. The cold wet slush felt gross and sloppy as it soaked into my shirt and trousers. “Okay… I deserved that” I muttered as I stood to my feet then began to run towards the castle again.

Chapter 10: Good liar

Sgt. Clare, Castle kitchen:

I chuckled as I opened the door and let Luna out the doorway but she quickly rushed back inside. “What’s the matter?” I laughed and she quickly brought a hoof up to my mouth to silence me then nudged her head and motioned for me to look out the door.

I peeked out the door and my smile turned into a dire look as I realized that night guards were searching the halls, looking for something or someone. I looked over to where I had left the knocked out guard and groaned as I closed the door, realizing that his unconscious body was no longer there. They must’ve thought that Luna and I were intruders and were probably looking for us.

“They’re everywhere” I muttered. She shook her head in shame, “We are going to get in sooo much trouble for this” she murmured. “No we’re not. We’re just going to walk back to your room and viola, problem solved” I replied, she rolled her eyes due to the obvious stupidity in the plan. “That’ll never work, only guards will be patrolling the hallways, anyone else seen wandering the halls will be detained” Luna told me and I nodded.

“Then how will your plan work?” she asked, figuring like my plan would never work. “I’m on night duty and you wanted an escort” I replied, I could tell she wanted to face-hoof as she realized the simplicity in it. “All we have to do is sneak out of the kitchen and we’re home free” I said triumphantly as I opened the door to the kitchen and led her out.

We easily snuck out of the kitchen and began to stroll down the hallways of the castle carelessly. “See nothing to it” I told her and she rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder how you come up with these ridiculous plans” she snickered.

“HAULT!” ordered a voice from behind us, ‘Spoke to soon’ I thought to myself as we both turned around to see two royal guards approaching us in the hallway. “What are you doing in the royal castle after hours… Your majesty, I apologize I had no idea it was you” the guard apologized as they bowed down in front of us. “Do not worry yourself guard. Sergeant Clare was simply escorting me from the royal garden back to my room” Luna informed the guard, lying perfectly like she had rehearsed it several times.

“Yes ma’am, it would be wise to have a guard with you. There is an intruder in the building” the guard informed us. “Really who?” she asked, “At the moment ma’am, we are unsure. The librarian reported that there were two intruders who made a disaster of the library and knocked over a book shelf while yelling something about a cycloid. Also one of the guards were assaulted and knocked out by the intruder, we have… Sergeant you have something in your hair, it looks like… like applesauce” he informed me. I thought to myself how foolish we had been not to wash our hair before we left, we had only cleaned off our body and face, not our hair.

“Oh it uh must’ve been from lunch” I replied, trying to make up a convenient lie. He raised an eyebrow. Luna leaned over and licked the applesauce out of my hair, the guards’ eyes went wide in pure shock. ‘God this was not going to end well, I could already tell’ I thought as Luna stepped away from me. “You guards are truly lucky to have such delicious food for your lunches” Luna said and the guard shook off the utter shock and nodded. “Uhm yes ma’am… we do ma’am” he stuttered, still obviously shocked.

“Well, I hate to have to cut our conversation short, sergeant if you would be so kind as to escort me to my chambers” Luna told me and we both turned and walked away. As we walked up a staircase and onto the second floor I looked to her.

“Did you have to do that?” I asked and she looked to me and smiled. “Well you weren’t very good at lying and I needed some way to distract him and throw him off guard” she told me, I had to admit she was good at talking her way out of things. “You know we make a pretty good team together” I told her and she nodded, “But next time I get to make the plan” she laughed. “And have me talk us out of our problems?” I asked rhetorically.

She laughed at the thought of me talking us out of a problem. “Good point, you can just stand behind me for good looks” she laughed, okay now that was just insulting.

We reached her bedroom and I opened the door for her. “I could talk us out of a bad situation” I argued and she laughed. “Well that went real well when you were trying to calm me down. How’d that go again?” she asked, I laughed knowing exactly what she was trying to do. I reached my hand around her neck and brought her in for a kiss. She held a hoof up to my mouth and stopped me.

“No peaking” she said, I rolled my eyes then closed them. As I leaned in for a kiss I felt my nose go icy cold and I immediately opened my eyes and stepped back from the sudden coolness. “I said no peaking, now I’ll have to punish you” she said as she brought out a feather and wisped it across the tip of my nose. I felt a sneeze coming and I didn’t want to accidently sneeze on the princess so I held my sneeze back and it came out in a little tiny ah-chew. She squealed in delight, “You’re so cute when you sneeze” she told me as I rubbed my nose.

“Please tell me you froze my nose then tickled it just to make me sneeze?” I asked but sort of already knew the answer. She nodded playfully and I groaned from the innocently terrible joke. I shook my head in humour as I figured it’d probably be funny if I watched it happen.

She leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss to the cheek which I returned. “Goodnight Luna” I whispered with a wink, she looked into my eyes and it was as if her cyan eyes sparkled. “Goodnight Clare” she whispered back then turned and trotted over to her bed. She looked back to me, “If you wish to have some rest you could always come to bed… I mean, not with me I…I meant with… I have another bed that” she stammered as she accidently let it slip. “I know what you mean, don’t worry about it” I said as I turned around and closed the door behind me and stood guard outside her door.

As I began to stand guard I became extremely tired and constantly yawned and soon I leaned against the wall, then I slid down the wall until I was sitting down and finally I passed out.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, Sudan Africa, 13 months ago:

“Okay gentlemen, intelligence reports that this little town here is where the gun runner is going to come through. We need to set up an ambush point and take him out. HQ would like him alive but they know how hard it might be to catch this guy and they don’t need us losing our lives because we tried to catch some guy alive so if you think it’s too dangerous don’t be afraid to pull that trigger. Any questions?” Captain Daniels asked.

I raised my hand. “Yes sergeant?” he asked, almost reluctantly. “Can we order some pink window blinds for the windows, the place is really depressing?” I asked jokingly, several of the other guys snickered. Daniels sighed, “No sergeant, we cannot have pink window blinds but your suggestive decretive theming is always noted” Daniels replied, obviously semi- humored by my suggestion.

I let out a depressed sigh as I walked to the rear of the Humvee and opened the rear passenger poor. I reached in the back and pulled out some decretive blinds, “Okay, I guess we’ll have to use these” I said, the blinds were ridiculous looking, made of beads and string. Captain Daniels groaned, “Sergeant where the hell did you get those?” Daniels asked in disappointment.

“Some crazy old bat was selling them, look she even sold me a dream catcher” I replied as I showed him the dream catcher. “She said it would stop all the bad dreams from entering my head as long as it was hung nearby” I said in a child-like voice. He face palmed and groaned at my humoress stupidity. “Jesus Christ sergeant, sometimes I worry about your mental well-being” he told me as he chuckled, most officers would rip me a new asshole for even suggesting such ludacris things but we had served in the infantry together for the last ten years, ever since we enlisted together when we were both eighteen. “Don’t worry Captain I got you one to” I said as I tossed him another dream catcher, “Sergeant please don’t tell me you didn’t spend more than… ten dollars on all this stuff” he muttered in fear of the answer. “Twenty” I replied, knowing that I had probably let the crazy old lady rip me off but the stuff was still cool looking.

Chapter 11: Walk in the jungle

Sgt. Clare, outside royal bedroom:

I checked my watch, 7:27am. I had managed to wake up just a little earlier so that I wasn’t sleeping when Hart arrived, he always seemed to think that something was going on between Luna and me. Well I guess now there was something going on between us but I still wouldn’t tell him about it.
Hart soon trotted up beside me and began standing guard. “So anything interesting happen last night?” Hart asked and I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow and I smirked “What? Don’t believe me?” I asked.

“Amos told me that were intruders in the building, apparently they totalled the library and kitchen and even knocked out one of the night guards” Hart informed me. I thought to myself about what a mess Luna and I had made last night. “Well, I only heard about it but I never got to see it” I told him, lying conveniently.

“Too bad. They’re still cleaning the library if you wanna go see it” He informed me. I tried to stifle a laugh, “What’s so funny?” he asked. “Why the hell would some-pony break in only to trash the library?” I asked and he shrugged, “I dun-oh” he replied.

I yawned as I stretched out then wiped my eyes. “Up drinking wine with the princess again?” he asked jokingly, “Nah, we decided to have vodka” I laughed sarcastically. “I’m telling yah man, she wants you” he told me and I shook my head. “Why in Celestia’s name would the princess be interested in me?” I asked him and he thought about it for a second. “Well if I was the princess I’d wanna buck you all night” he joked, I had to laugh at his immaturity. “Well I’m glad that you’re not the princess” I replied as I face palmed.

We sat around and joked for a while until a royal guard came up to us. “Lieutenant Daffodil wants us all to report to the war room for mission briefing ASAP” the guard informed us. I nodded then turned and knocked on Luna’s door. “You may enter” she called out and I opened the door and stepped in, giving a proper salute. “As you were sergeant” she told me and I lowered my hand.

“Ma’am, Lieutenant Daffodil has ordered a briefing” I informed her and she nodded. “You’re relieved from your posts” she told us then started to read her magazine titled ‘The secret to Hearts and Hooves day’ with the subtitle reading ‘How to drive your stallion over the edge in bed’, I think I was going to forget that I saw that last part.

I turned around and closed the door behind me as Hart and I paced down the hallway. “So whatta yah think?” Hart asked and I thought about the question for a moment. “Re-capturing the hill” I replied. “Nah man we just did that” he told me. “50 bits on the hill” I gambled. “You’re on, I say we’re going to the deserts near Appleloosa” he told me and I shook his hoof.

We entered the war room where the others were waiting. “Alright gentlecolts, intelligence confirms that there is an armed resistance group right here, on hill 959. Our orders are to go in and take the peak” Daffodil informed us, Hart groaned silently and gave me a sack of fifty bits. I chuckled quietly and put the sack of bits in my pants pocket. “Alright men, suit up the chopper leaves in ten minutes. They’re dropping us at the bottom and we’re moving to the top by hoof, let’s move it out” Daffodil ordered.

* * *

10 minutes later:

Sgt. Clare, helipad:

“Alright gentlecolts, load on” I yelled over the sound of the helicopter propellers. We had six Huey replicas with ten stallions loading into each one, for a total of sixty shadow guards. All the stallions in the platoon loaded onto the choppers. I mounted the door gun and nodded to the pilot, who nodded back to me and began to take off.

“So Sarge, tell me. What’s hill 959 like?” Private Ramsey, one of the new guys, asked. “Shitty” I replied back, his face had fear on it. “I mean… where is it exactly?” he asked, still a little frightened but I couldn’t blame him, this was his first combat experience. “It’s far back in the Everfree” I informed him.

“So… it’s like a forest right?” he asked and I shook my head. “No… it’s more like a jungle in there” I told him and he nodded. “So just a simple walk through the jungle right?” he asked, obviously very terrified about this whole combat mission.

“You’ve been talking to the lieutenant too much, that place is a deathtrap” said Corporal Bakers who was our squad machine gunner. Bakers, I might add, had two combat tours behind his belt but was rather brash and blunt. “Don’t scare the kid, he’s new” I told Bakers who chuckled. “Just warning him Sarge. Don’t wanna sugar-coat it for the cherry yah know” he said and I rolled my eyes and looked back to Ramsey.

“Don’t listen to Bakers, he’s let the combat get to his head. Just keep your head down when the shooting starts and you’ll be fine” I told him and he nodded. “That or you could just stand behind me when I let the PIG loose” Bakers chuckled as he fiddled with the sights on the M60.

“Yeah but Bakers, he’ll end up eating something that you tell him to then he’ll get sick like you” joked Corporal Sunburst. “Man… the crazy bitch said that it would relieve stomach cramps” Bakers argued. “Yeah so you listened to the tribal zebra and ate some poison joke” Sunburst laughed.

I would never forget those days, when Bakers had the worst digestive problems ever and some of which led to diarrhea.

* * *

4 months ago:

Sgt. Clare, jungles in the Everfree:

The entire platoon was trotting through some dense jungle tall grass. We were on patrol to scout out some village that was supposed to have zebra hostiles. The heat was hot and tropical, and bugs seemed to just swarm out of the grass and stick to my face from all the sweat.

“Oh man… man… I’m dying lieutenant… we gotta stop man” Bakers pleaded. “Bakers we can’t stop the entire platoon until we get to the village” Daffodil replied. Bakers held his gut, obviously having a bad case of diarrhea again. “Oh man… how much longer” Bakers groaned and winced, probably feeling it start to come around. “5 minutes… maybe less” Daffodil told him.

I chuckled and Bakers looked back to me. “Oh… oh you think this is funny huh?” Bakers said, nearly whimpering from the discomfort. “No Bakers, there is nothing funny about the average life of a grunt… accept when he decides to eat some tropical plant given to him by a zebra” I laughed, several of the others chuckled.

“Oh man… this ain’t funny guys… I think I’m gonna… oh god it’s coming out, we gotta hurry this up man” Bakers said, nearly in tears from the horrible discomfort.

We approached the village and we began to fan out in search of zebra fighters. I was unfortunately stuck with the diarrhea ridden Bakers who wouldn’t stop complaining. “Man… can I please go… man I can feel it slipping out right now… oh god” Bakers pleaded. “Bakers we just gotta finish the sweep, if we don’t then you could get ambushed while in” I began but Private Dawn came rushing over. “Sarge come quick, LT found an underground zebra tunnel” he informed me as he pointed to where Daffodil was.

“Alright Dawn, stay with Bakers and continue the sweep. Bakers just… try and keep it in” I replied and dashed off to hut where Dawn said Daffodil was.

* * *

Third person, the zebra village:

“Alright LT… whatta we got?” Clare asked and Daffodil pointed to a hole dug into the ground. “Alright then… fire in the hole” he warned as he pulled the pin on an M67 frag grenade and tossed it into the hole and quickly covered it with the makeshift cover top.

The grenade explosions were somewhat muffled from the tunnel cover as Clare continued to drop grenades into the tunnel hole. However far off in the forest several zebra fighters exited a hidden tunnel escape, these sorts of underground tunnels were all over the Everfree.

Back at the village Bakers was still groaning in discomfort. “Man I’m dying, I’m going” Bakers said and started trotting away into the Everfree to get some privacy. Dawn shook his head and rolled his eyes, “And that, mares and gentlecolts, is what happens when you mix poison joke with an idiot” Dawn muttered to himself.

Bakers trotted up into some dense grass and slipped down his combat pants. Though ponies usually never wore pants, during missions in the Everfree it was combat proven that despite some lack of comfort during walking, wearing pants removed most cuts and scratches received from razor grass and although the cuts were minor it was terribly irritable and could lead to small infections. Razor grass and other natural nuisances such as poison joke were usually dense in the Everfree.

Bakers got his pants and underwear down and squatted down, not noticing a small snake that slithered into his pants. He was about to go when he spotted a group of zebra fighters with AK47s trotting through the dense jungle, technically the Everfree forest but it was more tropical here.

He crouched down and picked up his M60 as he slowly slid his pants back on. He started breathing slowly as he lined up his shot but his eyes suddenly went wide as he felt something slimy and slippery sliding through his underwear.

He immediately realized what it was and dropped to the ground, screaming insanely in fear that the snake might be poisonous. The zebras heard his screaming and looked over to see the dense grass rustling around and began to fire their AK47s at the movement.

Back in the village the others all rushed together. “What the hell’s going on?” Clare asked and Dawn ran up, “It’s Bakers Sarge, he went out to take a shit” Dawn replied. “Let’s move” Clare ordered and the troops immediately followed him into the Everfree.

Bakers rolled behind a tree for some cover as he continued to scream from the slimy snake that was still slithering around in his underwear. The rest of the platoon rushed up and opened fire on the zebras that were no more than twenty or thirty yards away.

“It’s in my pants, it’s in my pants” Bakers screamed. “What’s in your pants Bakers?” Clare yelled over the automatic gunfire that now deafened most other noises. Bakers rolled over and unzipped his pants then pulled the snake out of his pants. “Jesus Christ Bakers… how the hell’d that get in your pants?” Clare asked in utter disappointment that Bakers caused this entire ruckus over a baby milk snake. “Guh, uhh” Bakers groaned as he tossed the snake away then rolled back over and opened fire on the remaining zebras.

Chapter 12: The Hill

Present day,

Sgt. Clare, Everfree forest, Hill 959:

Gunfire could be heard in the far distance, the heat was hot and several of the stallions were sweating. We were moving in a straight line deployment. Despite only having the rank of Sergeant I was appointed platoon sergeant and had suggested that we have Corporal Cranks, one of the veteran shadow guards, on point but Daffodil saw fit to have one of the new guys on point.

Christ I could see the kid from here, every time gunfire rang out he’d flinch and crouch down. I broke formation and paced quickly to the front of the line, Daffodil was about to say something but couldn’t seem to find the words. I tapped the new guy on the shoulder and he turned to me. It was Private Cloud Dasher, the guy who had spilt his drink on my lunch the other day. He was still very frightened and was breathing heavily.

“Why don’t you take a break from point, I’ll take lead for a while” I told him and he nodded. “Thank you Sarge” he said in an absolutely terrified voice, Christ it sounded like he was about to just sit down and start crying. I couldn’t blame him though, this was some pretty scary stuff.

Cloud Dasher was trotting up close behind me, like I was his personal protector or something. “Sarge… all I can think about is all that gunfire up there… what’s going on up there” he whispered. “It’s Celestia’s royal guard, they decided they wanted first crack at the hill this time” I informed him as we continued through the tall grass. Literally the stuff was taller than I was and I stood 6’4” so this stuff must’ve been at least nine feet high and it was dense.

“What do you mean, this time?” he asked fearfully. “Cause last time we went in first” Bakers piped up. Dasher looked back to him, “Last time?” he asked uneasily. “We’ve taken this hill before” I told him and he looked back to me. “Well if we took it before, then why are we taking it again?” Dasher asked with fear coursing through his voice.

“Cause that’s how we win these wars, Dasher. We give up our hard fought land to the enemy so that ponies don’t think we’re the bad guys” said Specialist Lickety Split, who was one of those hippy fighters who always made the war decisions look bad. Dasher looked back to him, “Man don’ play those games with my head Split” Dasher pleaded.

Daffodil trotted up, “Don’t worry Private it’s not that. Lickety, we can’t hold all the land we fight on because we wouldn’t have enough troops to cover it” Daffodil told Lickety. “Well then what’s the point in fighting for it” Split argued and Daffodil looked back to him. “You know what Split, when you become the general of staff you can tell the princess how to win these wars okay” Daffodil told him.

We reached the bottom of the hill and I looked back to the men and motioned for them to rally up. The platoon rallied up, “Alright listen, intelligence reports heavy zebra concentration at the peak but also pockets of fighters down the valley so I want every-pony quiet and listening, alright” I told them and they nodded. I probably should have let Daffodil give the order but he would’ve probably sugar-coated it for the guards and they would’ve been off guard.

I took point and began to lead them up the hill slowly and quietly. The grass was less dense here but still the jungle, or forest, was still thick with brush thickets and visibility was low. I wiped some sweat from my forehead as we continued on up the hill.

As we continued on up the hill, the gunfire from the peak ceased and everything seemed to go silent. “What’s going on up there?” Dasher whispered and I turned around as I kept sneaking forwards. “They’re done… it’s our turn” I whispered. He gave me a fearful look, “Are… are they okay?” he asked and I sighed quietly. “They’re alive but probably have heavy casualties” I informed him then returned my attention to the makeshift path.

* * *

Third person, Everfree forest, Hill 959:

The platoon of shadow guards continued up the hill quietly. Clare was still in lead and trying his best to keep Private Dasher from panicking from the silence.

“Sarge… why do they call this place 959 anyway?” Dasher whispered. Clare didn’t even look back. “Because it’s nine hundred and fifty nine feet from top to bottom” Clare replied. “Maybe nine fifty after that artillery bombing last October” Daffodil said silently. Dasher looked back to him, “How many times have you guys taken this hill anyway?” Dasher asked and Daffodil thought to himself and sighed.

“Five times, this one will be six” Daffodil whispered. Dasher turned back around and his breathing became heavy again as he realized that Bakers was probably right, it was a deathtrap down here.

No less than fifteen yards to the platoons left in some tall grass lay several zebra fighters. One of the zebras pulled out a grenade but the zebra officer held the zebra’s shoulder and shook his head then pointed the tailing soldier of the platoon. As the tailing platoon stallion trotted by the zebra officer nodded and the other zebra tossed the grenade at the stallion.

The grenade exploded violently and killed the stallion instantly as the zebras opened fire on the platoon with their AK47s. “GET DOWN!” Clare yelled and the entire platoon dropped except Daffodil who stood there in shock. Clare snarled as he lept over and tackled Daffodil to the ground, lead flew through the air above them. Clare unslung his Thompson and sprayed a volley of .45 caliber rounds into the dense grass, several cries of agony could be heard from zebras as they were hit from the lead rounds that now chattered out of Clare’s Thompson. The other platoon members shot at the zebras with their M16A4s.

The M16A4 was a versatile rifle but due to the three round burst it was really inconvenient at this close with this many zebras almost literally breathing down their necks. Clare’s Thompson spat out an incredibly high volume of fire but his fifty round drum magazine soon ran dry. He rolled over behind a tree and reloaded a fresh drum magazine into the gun.

“Hey Dickens… DICKENS” Clare yelled over the gunfire and Corporal Dickens looked over. “See where I’m firing?” Clare asked as he sprayed a quick burst into the grass. “Yeah” Dickens replied, “Use the M79” Clare ordered him and Dickens quickly unslung the M79 and popped a 40mm grenade round into the thicket of tall grass.

The grenade round exploded violently and several zebras were propelled a few into the air. Clare stepped out from cover, “I want a quick sweep” Clare ordered.

The others quickly got up and inspected the grass, a wounded zebra stallion stood up and Bakers cut him down with a burst from the M60. “All clear” Bakers called out. Clare looked to Daffodil who was hiding the deceased guards in the brush off to the side of the trail and Clare walked up to his side. “Hickland, Munsey and Red… goddammit” Daffodil cursed as he collected their dog tags.

“Hide them and we’ll pick them up on the way back down” Clare whispered. “Alright stallions form up, straight line. We’re going to the peak” Clare ordered and the others quickly rallied up and got into formation.

* * *

Private Cloud Chaser, Everfree forest, Hill 959:

‘Why the hell did I volunteer for this shit… I wanna go home’ I thought to myself as we continued on up the hill. It was so hot here, even hotter than summer days back in Manehatten and the grass was so thick I couldn’t see a goddamned thing.

The Sarge held up a fist then motioned for us all to get down. My breathing became erratic and I couldn’t control it, I was so scared. I saw movement up ahead that was descending down the hill, it was ponies but they looked… bloody.

Celestia’s royal guard-ponies trotted down the hill, some of them getting carried on stretchers. A lieutenant from the platoon stepped up to the Sarge.

“How’s things up there?” Sarge asked the lieutenant and he didn’t say a thing. “How bad?” Sarge asked uneasily and the lieutenant looked up to him with defeated eyes. “It’s like fighting ghosts… I don’t know about you Clare but I didn’t sign up to fight ghosts” the lieutenant said then began to trot down the hill with the rest of his platoon. One of the stallions who had a badly cut up foreleg slipped and fell. The Sarge caught him and held him up, “Thanks” the stallion whispered weakly as he continued to limp down the hill. It was like they had been to hell. “Yeah no problem” Sarge told the stallion then looked up to the hill.

We were so close now, probably less than one hundred feet. “Alright spread out, we want to hit them with a volley of fire, one team supports while the other moves up” Sarge ordered. We nodded and followed his lead, though it was weird. Wasn’t Lieutenant Daffodil supposed to lead us?

As we approached the peak of the hill it flattened out a little then without warning, it seemed like the world exploded around me. Gunfire deafened me and I quickly lept to the ground and rolled sideways until I was behind a fallen tree. Private Ramsey, one of the stallions who had enlisted with me, lept down beside me. “Why the hell’d we sign up for this shit” I screamed then peeked my head over the log and fired wildly into the jungle. In all the fear I had forgotten that the M16 rifle was three round burst so I only shot off three rounds but I held the trigger and in my fearful confusion I quickly slipped back down behind the log and inspected my M16, thinking it was jammed because it only fired three times.

Ramsey sat beside me. “I can’t take this shit man… I can’t… AAAHHHHHH” Ramsey screamed and started thrashing around on the ground. I reached over and grabbed him to try and keep him still. “Ramsey… Ramsey what’s wrong?” I asked my friend.

“What the hell’s wrong with Ramsey?” Sarge screamed over the sound of gunfire. “A snake bit me man, a snake bit me… ARRRG, GAAHHHH” Ramsey screamed as he started to twitch and the Sarge ran over and lept beside us. “Ramsey… what the hell’s going on?” Sarge yelled. “He said a snake bit him sir, but I don’t see no snake” I told him and soon Ramsey’s screamed became gags and he finally stopped twitching and lay there, lifeless.

“FUCK” Sarge yelled and looked back over the log. He hunched back over and looked to me. “Fuck, this place is too open to make a flank around the sides… LIEUTENANT” Sarge screamed as he shuffled over top of me then quickly dashed over to where the lieutenant was. I saw them conversing then the Sarge and lieutenant Daffodil tossed some smoke grenades down range, soon there was a smoke screen off to the side of the machinegun nest. “COVERING FIRE” Sarge yelled and every-pony began to fire down range at the zebras, I peeked over to see it wasn’t individual zebras but an actual dug in machinegun nest. I brought my M16 up and held back the trigger but once again it only fired three rounds, I almost face-hoofed as I remembered that these rifles were three round burst. I really wish that they would’ve made them fully automatic.

The Sarge did something I thought no pony would ever do, he lept from cover and ran forwards. I thought it to be stupidity, running into the line of fire of a machinegun but then I realized that the smoke screen had given him enough cover to successfully run up to the machinegun nest.

But as he approached he didn’t take it head on, he instead went around to the side and lept into a trench and moved through the trench, his Thompson sub machinegun spraying any zebra that stood in his way. He reached the back of the machinegun nest and fired into the nest with his Thompson. Other zebras were now approaching from behind and soon he would be surrounded, but for some reason he did something truly ridiculous. He lept out of the machinegun nest and began to run back to us, zebras fired at him furiously but no rounds seemed to strike him. He was either very lucky or very talented.

He lept over the fallen tree I had taken cover behind as a violent eruption thundered and several zebras could be heard screaming. The Sarge ejected the drum magazine from the gun and loaded it with a fresh one.

We all sat there for what seemed like ages but it was probably only a few minutes. “Alright... sweep the area… LT… call HQ, we’ve taken Hill 959” Sarge said through heavy breathing.

We all walked up cautiously towards the destroyed bunker and inspected it. Lieutenant Daffodil got on the radio with HQ in Canterlot. Daffodil started arguing with the radio-mare on the other end of the radio. “I got nothing, I repeat nothing, zippo” Daffodil reported and waited as his response came through, “So what do you have?” the voice from the radio asked. “I said I got nothing HQ, I got no bodies, I got no body parts… a little blood” he told the voice on the radio. It was weird now that I looked at it, there were no bodies at all. It was like the zebras picked them all up before they retreated.

“Alright, I want a defensive perimeter set up over” Sarge began but Lieutenant Daffodil interrupted him. “Don’t even bother” he told the Sarge. “Why not?” Sarge asked and Lieutenant Daffodil stood up, “HQ wants us to leave the peak. Pack up and move out” Daffodil ordered.

“Bullshit” Bakers screamed as he kicked over a burning piece of wood. “Man… I can’t believe this shit” Lickety Split complained as he kicked the ground, kicking up a bunch or dirt. “Orders are orders” Daffodil told us as he stood up and hung up the radio that was attached to the back of the radio stallion.

The others all sighed irritably as they began to walk down the hill again, I looked back to the machinegun nest, knowing that I’d probably see it again in the not too distant future.

Author's Note

Okay I just wanted to say two things: Thanks to all you readers out there you favourited the story and think it's good, you guys and gals make my day, and two: sorry it's taking so long to get chapters out, I'm not gonna pull the sappy 'Fell pity on me because' because I'm not that kind of guy so I'll just say that I'm helping out a local dairy farm because I'm a good guy and they need help so alot of my time is going to be devoted to helping them so the chapters won't come out as fast as they did for Secret Crush. So sorry about that

Chapter 13: Night sky

Hours later:

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot castle, war room:

“And that’s it ma’am, seven dead and six wounded” Daffodil reported and Luna took note of it. “Dismissed lieutenant” Luna said, Daffodil bowed then left the war room. I turned to Luna who sighed heavily. “It’s time for a vacation” she muttered as she sat down and flopped her head against the table.

I made sure no-pony was inside the war room and sat down next to her and embraced her in a loving hug. “Why is there war?” she whispered, I could tell she had been crying. “I don’t know… people, ponies, we all seem to have some sort of primal instinct that says ‘Kill’” I muttered, ashamed that I to had that primal instinct that said kill but I embraced the primal part of me and let myself loose on the battlefield.

“I want you to take a vacation… come with me somewhere peaceful and quiet” she whispered as she rested her head on my chest. “What do we tell the others? I have this gut feeling that Celestia won’t like me dating you” I chuckled.

She looked up into my eyes, “We don’t tell her. We simply say that I’m taking leave and that you’re coming with me as a personal bodyguard” she told me. “What about your royal duties?” I asked, she shrugged and rested her head against my chest again. “I can still perform my royal duties elsewhere” she informed me.

We sat there and held each other until I looked at my watch and realized it was 6:00pm. “Uhm, I think my shift is over” I muttered and she looked over to the war room clock. “Would you mind keeping guard overnight again?” she asked.

“Sure, why not” I replied as we sat up and left the war room. I had finally been able to get my old duster coat back, I had to have it sent to a dressmaker to have it stitched up after the fall from the bank roof. As we walked through the halls she told me about all the places she’d wanted to go to since she’d been back but hadn’t the time or companions to go.

We walked out onto the castle balcony and watched the sun go down, it was kind of pretty in the spring to watch the sun go down. Luna’s horn flared and soon the moon began to ascend, but very slowly. “Mr. Clare, would you be so kind as to watch the moon with me tonight?” Luna asked, in a voice that made her sound like a younger more lady like teenager on her first date. “Yes ma… I would be delighted to accompany you this evening Ms. Luna” I replied in a gentlemanly voice, it kind of felt weird talking to the princess like this, I mean she was my boss.

“Well I must get changed. Meet me in the royal garden at 7:00pm sharp” she said then trotted away. I leaned against the balcony railing and thought to myself ‘Okay self so… only a few days ago you were contemplating whether or not she liked me and now I’m going on a date with her… alright. But I’m gonna need something more… gentlemanly’.

I walked into the castle in search of some gentleman’s attire, there had to be something.

* * *

6:56pm

Sgt. Clare, royal garden:
I looked at myself, “Oh how the mighty have fallen” I chuckled as I looked at the finely tailored suit. Though it was a little loose I couldn’t really complain, at least the dressmaker had something that fit me and that was designed for humans. Black suit jacket, black pants, white undershirt, black tie and… black combat boots, oh well Luna probably wouldn’t notice anyway.

I checked my watch, 6:58. I then realized I hadn’t gotten her flowers. “Shit” I muttered as I looked into the garden. There were some red roses that had been recently planted and despite it being early in the year, the roses had already bloomed and were quite pretty.

‘I wonder if she likes roses?’ I asked myself as I bent over and quickly snatched a few roses. My snatch was so fast that I didn’t realize at first but there were thorns still in the roses. I tried to drop the roses out of my hand but the thorns had poked into my hand and kept the roses stuck to my palm. “Oh for the love of” I began but Luna interrupted me.

“Good evening Clare” said a breathtaking voice. I turned around to see Luna sparkling in the moonlight, well not really but her mane was sparkling. My jaw dropped, she was absolutely… well stunning and I was speechless. “Luna… you’re… you’re beautiful” I said stutteringly.

She had a beautifully woven blue dress that matched her fur and nice glass slippers. She trotted over to me and smiled. “I like the suit, it makes you look… handsome and manly” she told me, she was a real heart taker when she talked like this. “The combat boots are a nice touch too” she told me, ‘Damn, she noticed’.

“Uhm… I uhh got you some roses” I stammered and presented her the roses. She snickered and I realized my hand was bleeding from the thorns. “I think that you’re supposed to de-thorn them first” she laughed and levitated them out of my hand. She looked at my hand. “I’ll be fine, just a scratch” I assured her. She used her magic to de-thorn the roses then placed one in her mane, and the other she levitated over into my jacket chest pocket.

I looked over to her and smiled as we walked into the beautiful garden. ‘Man this looks like something out of a Disney movie’ I thought to myself as we walked to a more secluded area.

Luna, or some-pony, had set up a woven blanket on the ground. Luna sat down and patted the area beside her, “Please sit down with me Clare” she offered. I took her offer and sat down beside her, she was rather quick in resting her head against my shoulder as we watched the night sky together.

The moon was shining very bright and it illuminated Equestria. “Beautiful isn’t it?” I asked, rhetorically, figuring she’d say yes. “No” she replied, I gave her a confused look and sighed. “It was beautiful to me at one time but after my thousand year banishment it gives me a rather… cold feeling” she replied as she shivered, obviously remembering the thousand year banishment.

“I’m… so sorry” I apologized and she shook her head. “Don’t be, it is beautiful if I don’t think about the time I spent up there… forever alone” she told me as a tear came to her eye. I held her face gently and wiped away the tear with my thumb. “Clare… I want to love you but… I can’t” she said with sadness in her voice.

“Yeah… I know, you’re an alicorn princess and I’m a human elite shadow guard. It just doesn’t mix” I said and she shook her head. “No, not that. I am an immortal and you are not. I could never love you because when you pass… I would be alone again” she said as she stifled back a sniffle.

I gently wrapped my arms around her, “Luna I… I have a code of honour to live by. I respect the code with my full dignity but despite it saying that I’m not allowed to have relations with you, I love you none the less. I would do anything for you” I told her, I thought it was kind of cheesy and a bad romance line but I wasn’t really used to talking with women, minus the women I talked to in my old unit but they didn’t count because… well just because.

I could feel tears trickle down from her face onto my shoulders. “I loved once… my dearest Star Gazer. After he passed I was heart-broken and vowed never to love again, and eventually I suppressed my heart-broken emotions for him. But as soon as you started working for me I felt for you and I… I can’t let my heart be broken again” she sobbed. I ran my hand through her mane and rubbed the back of her head gently as I cooed her.

She immediately stood up, tears still trickling down her face, “I’m sorry Clare I just… please take tomorrow off… find someone who will love you and be happy together” she cried as she galloped off. “WAIT LUNA!” I called out but she just kept running, ‘Fuck… I hope I didn’t say something wrong’.

Chapter 14: Day off

The next morning,

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot castle, mess hall:

I sat down at a table with a tray of food, Hart trotted over and sat down beside me. “Hey Sarge, almost didn’t recognize you without your guns” Hart chuckled. “It’s my day off, it should be peaceful and relaxing” I said as I yawned and stretched.

“Oh yeah, real peaceful. Don’t have no Smith and Wesson five hundred magnum going off” Hart chuckled. Figures that I wasn’t allowed keeping my weapons during my time off but then again I suppose ponies wouldn’t react too well if they saw a human walking the streets of Canterlot with a Thompson sub machinegun.

I lifted my sandwich to my mouth but I hadn’t even taken a bite when Captain Shining Armor burst into the mess hall. “Sergeant Clare, Luna’s been captured” he exclaimed. I set down the sandwich and let out an irritated sigh “Yeah I’ll be with you in a second” I said as I stood up, “Figures I didn’t even get to eat breakfast’.

I followed Shining Armor as he led me into the war room where Celestia stood with some of the other lieutenants. “This is bad… really bad” lieutenant Daffodil muttered. As I entered the room every-pony starred at me.

“Clare… we have a dire situation. We received a letter this morning from an anonymous writer in an unknown location and he is threating to kill my sister unless we hand over the Crystal Empire to him” Celestia informed me. “Can I see the letter?” I asked and she levitated over a scroll, I looked at it. It looked like whoever wrote it had written it in blood. “Was there an envelope with this?” I asked and Celestia looked to Daffodil who handed her the envelope and she levitated it over to me as well.

“He’s in the Crystal Empire” I replied as I tossed to scroll and envelope onto the table. “WHAT! How do you know?!” Celestia asked, I chuckled and pointed to the envelope. “Yes what about it?” Celestia asked as she looked at it and I shrugged, “It was stamped from the Crystal Empire” I chuckled. Celestia realized that in their panic they had over-looked that tiny detail. “Oh… right. But even so, he threatened to kill her if we sent a large fighting force at him. We have no way of defeating him” Celestia told me.

“Send him a scroll that says I’ll bring him a suitcase of money and sign the deed to the Crystal Empire” I told them and they all gasped. “You can’t do that… it’s absurd” Celestia argued. I smirked “Trust me… I think I have an idea”.

I got one of the other lieutenants to write the scroll while Celestia, Shining Armor and I walked to the armoury. Celestia opened the armoury doors and I walked in, I began to browse through the selection of weapons then turned back to Celestia. “Hey Celestia, can you have one of your geeks make me a new watch?” I asked.

“They are not geeks, they are computer engineers” she scowled, hating the fact that I always called them geeks. “Yeah well anyway, have them make the watch so that it has a poison dart launcher, a grappling cable, a laser gun, a magnet ray… oh and have them set to the right time” I told her. “Why in Equestria would you need a watch like that?” Celestia asked at the thought of the absolutely ludacris idea of such a watch. “Trust me… I’ll need it” I told her then thought for a second and looked to her “And I’ll need a truck… a big one”.

* * *

A few hours later,

Sgt. Clare, approaching Crystal Empire:

I down shifted the F-750 pickup truck, man when I said big truck I meant something like a Silverado 3500 but this thing was just overkill. Celestia had it brought in a while back for examination but said that the large V-10 gasoline engine in a truck this size made it un-economical idea but screw the fuel economy this thing kicks ass.

The truck had no problem driving through the snow which was probably a foot or two high but the truck’s large size allowed it to just drive right through like it was nothing. I approached the border crossing where some sort of freaky looking shadow guard stood with an assault rifle.

I slowed the truck to a stop and he approached the side of the truck but I had to roll down the window and look down to see him. “Are you the one?” the guard asked and I nodded, he pointed to the large castle in the center of the Empire. “Lord Sombra awaits, do not make him wait” the guard hissed, I gave him a salute with just my index and middle finger then drove the truck into the empire.

Ponies where in shackles and walked the streets. This place had a creepy feeling to it like something had taken all the fun away and now there was a grey haze misting through the town.

Ponies would look up to the massive truck in fear as I drove past them. Well I suppose I would be sketched out too if I saw some massive vehicle looking things with grill bars and fog lights across the grill and roof. The truck was painted a dark blue, in tribute of Luna’s shadow guard colours.

I parked the truck in front of the truck in front of the castle and turned it off. I grabbed the suitcase of money as I lept out of the truck and slammed the door behind me. Shadow guards, well not Luna’s shadow guards but they looked kind of like shadow guards, pointed spears at me. “This way human scum” barked a shadow guard and they led me into the castle.

As we entered the castle a stallion butler walked up with a push cart. “Please sir, relinquish all your weapons” the butler ordered. I opened my duster coat, revealing a large arsenal of sub machineguns and pistols. The shadow guards stepped back and immediately readied their war spears. I began to unload all of my weapons onto the cart: Uzis, Mac-10s, M1911s, Colt SAAs, and even a shotgun that was strapped to my leg in a leg holster. Finally I unholstered my Smith and Wesson 500 magnum and dropped it onto the pile of guns that was now overflowing the push cart.

The guards looked in awe as they gawked at the overflowing pile of guns on the push cart. “Uhm… were you expecting a war?” the butler asked fearfully but I shook my head. “No, that’s how I usually arm myself on my day off. You should see me when I’m pissed off” I lied, I had purposely armed myself with a ridiculous amount of weapons just to install fear into my enemies because I knew they’d want to disarm me.

“Uhm… right… please follow me this way” suggested a guard, no longer barking orders like he had before. They led me into an upstairs office were a stallion sat, smoking a cigar. “Ah… Mr. Clare, so good of you to join us” said the stallion. He nodded to the guards and all but two left. The two remaining guards kept there sub machineguns pointed at my back.

“Please Mr. Clare, have a seat” the stallion offered as he pointed to the seat across from himself. I sat down and thumped the suitcase on the table. “What have you brought me?” he asked rhetorically as he spun the suitcase around and popped it open, his eyes went wide as he gazed upon American $100 dollar bills, still in the wrap.

“Oh my… this is quite a bit… how much?” he asked. “7 million” I replied, just saying a random high number, I wasn’t sure how much was in there but it probably wasn’t much over one million.

“Oh my… well Mr. Clare I apologize if I seem a bit rude but you must understand that we have to execute you now… we can’t have loose ends” the stallion told me. “I still need to sign over the rights to the Crystal Empire” I reminded him. “Oh that’s right… here” he said as he tossed me a piece of paper, “Just sign at the bottom”.

I reached into my coat and I heard the guards ready their sub guns. I slowly pulled my hand out of my duster coat, revealing a pack of cigarettes. “Ah, the final smoke, enjoy it. It’ll be your last” the stallion snickered. I patted my coat in search of a lighter then hit myself in the head, making it look like I was irritated.

“Fuck, hey listen I left my lighter at home. Don’t suppose you could light me up?” I asked, the stallion nodded and pulled out a beautifully engraved zippo and leaned over the table to light my smoke. I leaned forward to but as he got within range I blew into the cigarette and the cigarette expelled knock out gas into his face.

He shook his head quickly and soon fell over onto the floor, unconscious. The guards behind me didn’t know what to make of it. I spun around and pointed my watch hand forward then pressed a button on the watch, it shot out a deadly neurotoxin dart into a guard’s neck. The poison immediately affected his esophagus and he began gagging as his throat closed up from the neurotoxins that now coursed through his body, the other guard was stunned from the sudden change of events and froze up in shock long enough for me to charge over and break his neck silently.

No-pony knew what was going on yet but I had a feeling that things were about to get very noisy. I walked over to the suitcase, pushing the money aside as I opened the secret compartment in the suitcase and pulled out a Glock 18 along with a 100 round drum magazine. I slipped the magazine into the gun and pulled back the slide, loading a round into the pistol. Yeah, I think things were about to get ‘really’ noisy.

Author's Note

GAHHHH SHIT... dammit I have school tomorrow and work after school, I should really go to bed... nope gotta find out what happens, gotta know what happens, writing more tonight

Chapter 15: Sombra's empire

Sgt. Clare, Crystal Empire palace:

I walked over to the office door and kicked it down. Several dark guards, that’s what I’m calling them now, turned in attention from the noise. “Our meeting’s adjourned” I quoted as I sprayed them down with a fully automatic burst from the Glock. 9mm rounds tore through their flimsy armour and ripped their life from them. Several of the dark guards were dead before they hit the ground but I was already on the move.

Several dark guards rushed up the stairs with G3 assault rifles but they weren’t prepared for me. I leveled my automatic pistol at the group and held the trigger back, the pistol made a buzzing sound as it spat out rounds at an incredibly high rate. Several of the guards tumbled back down the stair case with bullet holes riddled throughout their bodies.

I heard yelling from down stairs and I began to descend the stair case rather slowly. When I reached the bottom I was greeted by a line of dark guards who had their rifles trained on the stairs as they waited for me. “WAIT!” I exclaimed, they were all stupid enough to lose their concentration and lower their guns slightly. I had the Glock at hip level as I squeezed the trigger and mowed down the group with a stream of lead death.

These guys were amateurs, probably hired as a last resort. Several dark guards shot at me from a balcony and bullets chipped away at the floor. I lined up my shot and sprayed them down. Two of the guards toppled and fell of the balcony ledge that overlooked the entrance, one of them let out a comical scream as he fell.

I looked at the Glock which was now empty and dropped it to the ground as I walked over to the push cart with the pile of overflowing guns, which for some reason hadn’t been taken away. I grabbed my Smith and Wesson 500 magnum and placed it in my shoulder holster. I picked through the guns and chose: an M1911 pistol, an Uzi 9mm and the Mossberg 500 tactical which had no stock and just a pistol grip with a three round tubular magazine.

I held the Uzi and cocked back the charging bolt. Things were about to get real messy. I thought to myself about where Sombra might be hiding and figured ‘In the highest room in the tallest tower’ and snickered at the thought. As I ascended up a staircase several dark guards came barreling down the stairs, assault rifles drawn. I quickly snapped my aim up and sprayed them down with a quick burst, making sure not to waste too much of the magazine’s ammunition capacity.

The guards began to tumble down the stairs and I hurdled over their bodies as I ascended up the stairs. I entered the top level of the castle only to find over a dozen dark guards waiting for me. I quickly began to hose them down with a constant stream from the Uzi but it quickly ran dry and I lept behind cover as the dark guards fired at me. Thank god that crystals were semi resistant to bullets. I unsheathed the Mossberg from my leg holster, I had one shot in the chamber and three in the tube. “Four shots” I muttered as I lept up and pulled the trigger back.

The shotgun’s BOOM echoed through the throne room, it was deafening. The load of buckshot caught a dark guard in the chest and lifted him off his hooves, propelling his body a few feet through the air. I racked the shotgun slide and blasted another dark guard in the chest, the load of buckshot ripped his chest open and blood splattered everywhere. I pumped the shotgun slide again then pumped another guard with a gutful of lead buckshot.

The other guards quickly turned tail and ran, I quickly took aim and blasted another in the flank as he ran and his body front flipped from the force and sent him tumbling down the stairs.

I drew out the M1911 pistol and held it in both hands as I began searching the throne room for Luna. I heard sobbing coming from somewhere but I couldn’t figure out where. I continued my search until blind luck had me trip over a slightly opened trap door. I ended up falling on my face but I had found out where the crying was coming from. I ripped the trap door off its hinges and tossed it away as I looked down into the secret cavern.

“Oh fuck…” I muttered as I realized it was an impossibly long descent down. I had only heard the crying because it had echoed throughout the cavern. “Well Bond, let’s see how well this watch works” I muttered as I pointed the watch at the ground and shot the cable hook into the crystal floor. The hook pierced the floor and hopefully it would hold. I gave it an aggressive tug and it showed no signs of stress. I set the release latch for the watch cable so that it would allow me to descend and I slowly lowered myself off the edge of the staircase then lept down, it was considerably faster than walking but not a dangerously high speed that would rip my shoulder out of place if I needed to stop suddenly.

The descend seemed to drag on forever but it was probably only five or six minutes, I should’ve set the stop watch to see how long it really was, man this watch had everything. I finally reached the bottom of the cavern where Luna sat tied up in a chair. I released the cable wire from the watch and walked over, Luna couldn’t see me but she could hear my footsteps.

“I’m… not… going… to be your… queen” she managed through painful words, I really hope she wasn’t hurt all that bad. I walked over and pulled out a small switch blade knife that clicked as I flicked it open. “Go ahead… cut me… you can’t break my will” she laughed through painful breaths.

I cut off the ropes that binded her front hooves together behind the chair then cut the ropes around her hindlegs. She immediately lept forward then turned to charge me, readying her horn to impale me. She saw it was me and gasped “Clare!?”. I nodded “Well who were you expecting? Santa Clause?” I laughed.

“You… you came for me, but why?” she asked curiously. “Well not to make it sound all emotional or anything but... I came to save you because I love you” I said, thinking about how corny that line was. “But after last night… I… I…” she trailed off, unsure of what to say. I walked over and embraced her lightly, knowing she was probably in pain from the severe beatings she had obviously received. I was going to personally gut Sombra myself for this.

“I don’t care if you vowed never to love again, I’ll always love you for who you are” I whispered in her ear. She leaned her head back and we began to make out. I broke away from the kiss, “Sorry to kill the moment but I gotta dark lord to gut” I said coldly. She wrapped her hooves around me then suddenly we were transported to the throne room. We walked out to the balcony that overlooked all of the Crystal Empire.

Dark guards were getting into attack formations and setting up barricades and sand bag cover. I pointed to my truck which for some reason they had neglected. “Can you teleport us to my truck?” I asked and she nodded, once again she wrapped her hooves around me and teleported us away.

She had managed to teleport us into the back seat of the truck. “Do you know how to drive?” I asked and she shook her head. “It’s easy. See that pedal far to the right?” I asked and she nodded as I gave her a very short lesson on how to drive.

“Okay you drive” I said and was about to open the back door when she grabbed my shoulder. I turned back to her, “Where are you going?” she asked. “I have a surprise for them in the back of the truck” I informed her and was about to turn back but she pulled me forward and gave me one last kiss before I had to go. “For luck” she said. I gave her a wink then quickly lept out of the truck, for some reason I closed the door behind me, it must’ve been natural instinct or something.

I popped open the tailgate and hopped into the back of the truck. I closed the tailgate then booted off the box cover, leaving myself exposed but not for long. Several dark guards took notice of me and began to fire their rifles at me. The truck had been reinforced with armour plating but that still didn’t protect my exposed body.

I grabbed the tarp that covered my surprise and pulled the tarp off and let it flutter to the ground. The surprise: an M2 Browning .50 caliber on a pivotal mount fully loaded and ready to rock and roll. I got behind the machinegun and called out to Luna “Drive honey, things are about to get messy”.

I took aim on a group of dark guards behind a pile of sandbags and opened fire. At first they were safe but within seconds the mighty .50 caliber rounds shredded the sand bags and chopped their bodies into pieces. Luna started the truck and began to drive, I needed to find Sombra and fast.

I swung the massive machinegun and pointed it at some guards trying to pot shot me from the roof tops. The M2 began to chug out lead death, the bullets took chunks of the roof away before I redirected my fire and chopped them down. Their bodies seemed like they were exploding as the .50 caliber rounds tore flesh and muscle from the bone and splattered blood into the air like rain.

Luna took the truck around a corner and I saw several blockades set up. “Drive through them” I called out as I continued to chop down dark guards with the mighty M2. The flimsy wooden road blocks were no match for the F-750 and it simply flew through the wooden blockades like it was paper.

I swung my machinegun towards the dark guards that had been positioned at the road block as we passed them and fired the machinegun. The guards all screamed in fear as they were struck down by the machinegun of death. One of the guards tried to stay standing and was torn in half by a trio of .50 caliber rounds to the side.

I saw a sporty red 1969 Camaro rip by, it had to be Sombra. “Follow him” I called out as I tried to swing the M2 around to get a shot at the speedy Camaro. Unfortunately Sombra took the Camaro around a street corner before I could get a shot, I redirected my aim to a couple of dark guards who were shooting the truck’s cab, the bullets pinged off the truck harmlessly but I was still infuriated that they were trying to harm Luna.

I let out a war cry as I let loose with the Browning heavy machinegun and the mighty machinegun hosed them down and ripped their bodies apart. Luna drove the truck into another street and I saw Sombra’s red Camaro drift around another corner, he was trying to escape.

“Drive through the building” I ordered, I could see Luna turn back to me. “WHAT!?” she exclaimed and I pointed to a jewelry store, the building looked flimsy and we were going pretty fast. “Drive through it” I told her. I hunched over behind the cab as she plowed the truck through the jewelry store, luckily it was a flimsy store and the truck smashed right through it and into the street on the other side. I stood up to see Sombra’s Camaro leaving the city. “Follow him” I called out.

“We’ll never catch up to him” Luna called back. “Oh yes we will” I told her and I felt the truck pull forwards as she slammed the accelerator to the floor. I mounted the mighty machinegun once again and began to take down dark guards without mercy.

We passed a small office building where several dark guards had taken cover. I swung the machinegun towards them and opened up. The .50 caliber rounds tore right through the walls of the building and annihilated the guards inside. Something must’ve caught fire because for some reason the building exploded behind us and sent debris flying into the air as the building was completely destroyed.

I turned around as we too left the city and the truck began to plow through the deep snow, not far ahead I could see Sombra’s Camaro as it tried to drive but it had gotten stuck in the deep snow. “Ram him from the side, I want him alive” I told Luna and she slowed the truck down a bit so that the impact wouldn’t be as severe.

The F-750s grill bars slammed the side of the Camaro, the blunt force crumpled the car’s side and forced it up onto two wheels as the truck pushed it through the snow. The force almost caused the car to be dragged under the truck but some of the snow restricted the car from doing this. Luna slowed the truck to a stop then backed it away from the now rolled over Camaro. I lept off the back of the truck.

“Whatever happens… stay in the truck” I told her as I passed the driver side door. “Clare… I love you” she told me and I looked up to her in the truck. “I love you to sweetie” I said, funny that I was calling her sweetie yet we weren’t technically in a relationship.

I unholstered my Smith and Wesson 500 magnum from its shoulder holster as I approached the car which Sombra was now crawling out of. He walked around the car and looked to me. “You fucked up my car” he snarled. I held my revolver at my side “You fucked up my day off”.

Chapter 16: Vacation time

Sgt. Clare, outside Crystal Empire:

Sombra stood there, snarling at the fact that I had him outmatched. “Give up, it’s over” I told him coldly. He curled back his lips as he swung his hoof back to draw his pistol from its holster. There was no competition, I was faster and already had my revolver drawn.

I quickly pulled the revolver up and lined up a shot with his chest. I pulled the trigger back, the massive 500 magnum round boomed through the air and slammed his chest. The bullet blew open his chest and blood stained the white snow, his body was propelled backwards and he landed with a soft thump as his blood leaked into the snow and stained it red. I spun the heavy revolver on my index finger as I swung it towards its holster and spun it into the holster.

I turned back to Luna who was watching from the safety of the truck. “I uhh… guess that means we win huh?” I asked.

* * *

Hours later,

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot castle:

As soon as we had gotten back Celestia had grabbed her sister and held her tightly for a long time. We had gotten a few platoons of royal guard-ponies to do a military sweep of the Empire and free all the civilians, these fights were getting worse all the time. After a few hours Luna had requested to go on a vacation and put in notice for her absence.

We both walked through the halls of the castle, she had of course said that she wanted me as her personal body guard for her vacation. We both hadn’t packed much and it figures that they’d only let me carry a small firearm and they wouldn’t allow me to carry my Smith and Wesson 500 magnum so I took the next best thing. I could feel the weight of the concealed Desert Eagle .50 caliber AE handgun in the shoulder holster, though it was lighter than the S&W magnum it was still quite heavy.

It was getting to be later in the evening but Luna had insisted on leaving early. We stepped out front of the castle and I loaded her luggage onto the back of a flight carriage, good thing she didn’t pack much, I had heard rumours about Ms. Rarity and how she would pack over a ton of things. I walked over to the side of the carriage and hopped in. “Where to?” I asked and she looked to me and gave me a wink, “Trust me, you’ll love it”.

* * *

The next morning,

Sgt. Clare, Los Pegasus, house on the beach front:

The morning sun pierced through the window that over looked the beach front. It was still early in the morning and no-ponies except joggers were on the beach but that would soon change.

I groaned as rubbed my eyes and got out of bed, we had managed to rent out a house on the beach front though I didn’t really want to know how we got it. We had stayed the night and come to think of it we were probably going to stay here for the whole two week vacation.

It was really more like a mansion than a house in the fact that this place was really fancy. I rolled off the bed and walked around the bedroom in search of my clothes. As soon as we got here last night I just randomly picked one of the rooms and took of most of my clothes then tossed them as I flopped on the bed so I had no idea where my clothes were.

After a few moments of searching I found my clothes lying on top of a shelf, I put on my pants and shirt but left the duster coat. I was about to take the pistol but then figured I wouldn’t need it.

I walked out into the hallway of the house, I didn’t exactly know which bedroom Luna had taken so I didn’t want to go tromping around and wake her so I crept into the kitchen silently. My stomach grumbled, “Yeah, yeah give me a second” I whispered as set out a bowl and a spoon. I walked over to the cupboards and searched through them. I pulled out a box of cereal and grabbed some milk from the fridge then went and sat down.

I poured myself a bowl of some sort of cereal with an Irish looking pony called Lucky Swirls, guess it was supposed to be like Lucky Charms or something. Before I ate I got up and turned on the television in the living room across from the kitchen but made sure it was quiet enough so it wouldn’t wake Luna. I grabbed the remote as I walked back to the kitchen table and surfed through the channels. God I hated satellite, there was so many damned channels that you could never find a show you liked.

I switched it to some morning cartoons about some pony and her goldfish that was evil and tried to take over the world with some ridiculous and sneaky plan. I stirred the cereal around with my spoon as I watched the entertaining TV show.

“Do it, press the button” said the evil goldfish. The mare gave the goldfish a suspicious look, “What, you don’t believe me? Fine let the city be destroyed by the explosion” the fish said as he swam around his fish bowl. The statement was enough to make the mare press the red button on the back of the machine and a tube shot out, hitting the mare in the face and knocking her out. The goldfish hopped out of the fish bowl and into the tube which was conveniently filled with water. “Silly filly, it’s why tricks are for kids” the goldfish laughed as he took control of the big pony looking machine and began his rampage throughout the city.

I chuckled to myself “Smartass”. Luna walked into the kitchen as she rubbed her eyes, “Sorry, I didn’t wake you did I?” I asked and she shook her head. “What in Equestria are you watching” she snickered as she sat down across from me and began to watch the childish cartoon that was obviously meant for kids and foals.

“Something about an evil goldfish” I chuckled. I looked to her, “You hungry?” I asked and she turned to me. “Only if you make it” she laughed, I raised an eyebrow. “Is your cooking that bad?” I asked and she shrugged.

I stretched out in the seat as I looked over to the TV show, the mare was trying to chase down the goldfish at this point as the goldfish attempted to destroy the city dam. I looked back to her and was about to ask what she wanted to eat when I realized she had taken my cereal. “Hey, I was eating that” I complained, she stopped mid bite and looked over to me. With her mouth still containing chewed cereal she began to talk “Oh sorry, here take it back, gaahhhh” she laughed as she showed me the chewed food in her mouth.

I groaned at the immaturity of it, “No thanks… I think I’d rather starve”. I yawned as I stood up and began to make coffee. “Whatcha makin?” she asked and I looked back to her, “Coffee” I replied. “Ohh sounds good” she said happily, I imagined the immature Luna with an espresso coffee rush and looked back to her. “You’re not getting any” I told her bluntly.

Her jaw dropped in jealousy, “I am too having coffee” she told me. I shook my head, “Ohh no. No coffee for you missy” I laughed, she stood up from the comment and trotted over to me. “Please?” she pleaded as she gave me puppy dog eyes, sure she was cute but I don’t think I could handle a hyper active Luna, especially early in the morning. I looked to my watch to see just how early it was, 6:23am. That would explain why I was so tired.

She gave a pouty face but I still shook my head. “There is no way you are getting any coffee. You’d be like…” I made a flustered face and brought my hands together and made a frustrated gesture with my hands and threw them into the air. “Hyper active” I said, finding the words I was looking for.

She let out a sigh as she walked back to the table then continued eating her cereal, my ex-cereal. I looked back to her, I felt bad for not letting her have any coffee but I just don’t think it would be wise to give her espresso coffee, maybe I’d let her have de-café.

The coffee soon finished and I let it cool then prepared myself a cup of coffee but as I turned around to go sit back down I was greeted by Luna who was standing right behind me. “Whoa… uhm morning” I said, she startled me I’ll give her that. “I just wanted to say how much I love you Clare” Luna said as she hopped up and wrapped her forelegs around my neck and began to kiss me. ‘Well this was a sudden change of events’ I thought as I set the cup of coffee on the counter behind myself then began to kiss her back.

I had my eyes closed as she broke away from the kiss and began to kiss the side of my neck. It tickled a little and I had to let out a little laugh as I began to kiss the side of her neck. She stopped kissing me for a brief second and I heard her take a sip of something liquid. “Mmm this coffee stuff is great” she muttered then I heard her take a gulp.

I let out a sigh as I realized what she had just done and stepped back. She had just downed an entire cup of coffee in less than two seconds, espresso coffee I might add. She licked her lips and held out the coffee cup, “Is there anymore coffee” she asked and I looked over to the coffee pot and chuckled. This was going to be a long morning.

Chapter 17: Shopping?

Clare, house on the beachfront:

‘Well at least I get my cereal, what’s left of it anyway’ I thought to myself as I looked over to Luna who was wailing back the espresso coffee like an alcoholic with beer. She was going to be so hyped up that I might just lock myself in my room for the day.

The TV show ended, somehow the mare had managed to stop the goldfish with some weather machine thingy that froze the water in the machine but somehow the fish survived with only a minor cold.

“Let’s go shopping” Luna said excitedly, I looked over to her with a raised eyebrow. “Shopping?” I asked and she nodded. “I always wanted to go to a mall and go shopping” she informed me. I thought to myself about the idea of going shopping with Luna, it couldn’t be all that bad, sure she’d still by hyped from the coffee but the caffeine rush would soon wear off.

“Alright” I said, she bounced over to me and squeezed me tightly, “Ohh I love you so much Clare” she squealed. I rolled my eyes, as I stood up and placed my bowl and spoon in the sink. “Alright… I’ll just go get dressed” I muttered as I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed tiredly. She bounced around the kitchen and even when I was in my bedroom I could hear her squealing in delight. “I’m going shopping, I’m going shopping” she said happily then let out another squeal of delight.

I strapped the chest holster to my body then holstered the Desert Eagle, I really hope no-pony noticed, but then again they would know that Luna was the princess so they should know that I’m her bodyguard. I slid the duster coat on then rolled up the sleeves and grabbed my Stetson hat.

“Okay Clare… let’s go shopping” I muttered to myself as I walked back into the hallway and looked for Luna who had disappeared. “I really hope that” I began but Luna came up behind me and interrupted me. “How do I look?” she asked in a relatively calm voice, I turned around and looked at her. She had somehow managed to change into a pair of clothes faster than I had put my coat and holster on. She had a casual pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt that concealed her wings. “You uhm… are you uncomfortable?” I asked and she nodded her head.

“Yes, these clothes are actually quite comfortable… well I can’t stretch my wings but I have a feeling that ponies would scurry about if they saw the night princess” Luna told me. She was right about that but now if some-pony caught sight of my handgun it wouldn’t end well.

“Okay… where to?” I asked as we turned off the lights in the house then left. “Uhm well… how about we hit the mall first, then we can go to a fashion designer and get some real nice clothes” she suggested. “Whatever you want” I replied as we walked along the sidewalk of the city.

Luna’s disguise worked, I think. Ponies wouldn’t look and when they did I think they were looking at my outfit which was out of style for the area. Whenever some-pony looked I was praying that they hadn’t noticed the slight bulge in my coat from the handgun but luckily no-pony panicked.

The sounds and smells of the city were thick, it was so much different from Canterlot but in the same thought it was the same. “So uhm…” I trailed off and Luna looked to me. “Yes?” she asked and I shrugged, she scrunched her nose. “What do you mean?” she asked as she mimicked my shrug. “Well I was just trying to start a conversation” I replied and she snickered.

“Not much for talking with mares huh?” she asked and I shook my head. “Yeah ladies neither, military took up most of my free time back on earth” I replied as we continued on. “Ever had a marefriend?” she asked, I shook my head “Nah, been spending all my time either on guard or sleeping” I informed her. “How about lady friends back on earth?” she asked.

“Yeah, I had a few relationships but they never lasted” I told her and she gave me a curious look. “Why not?” she asked, I simply shrugged. “They usually said that they couldn’t handle a distant relationship and that I either had to give up my career or they’d leave me so…” I trailed off, not needing to say the rest.

“Ohh… that’s too bad. They never knew how lucky they were” Luna said as she started to trot closer to me. “I don’t know. Maybe they made the right choice. I never really around that much and when I did come back I didn’t really want to go out or anything” I told her. “Regardless I think you are a wonderful man Clare err Carl” she said, correcting herself to try and make me feel a little better.

“So how about you?” I asked and she let out a depressed sigh. “I only ever loved once… we were so close and eventually he passed away” Luna said sadly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring it up” I apologized, she shook her head. “It’s okay, I needed to tell someone other than my sister” Luna replied and I nodded.

We walked for a while and talked about happier things then finally reached the mall. We walked around the mall which was relatively busy and Luna chose a store to shop at which was a brand name store that sold leather apparel. Even in Equestria leather was expensive but I had enough money saved up to buy whatever she wanted, though she could probably get it for free if she just showed that she was the princess.

“Ohh Carl you have to try this on” Luna said as she levitated over a black leather jacket. I grabbed the jacket and looked at it, it kind of reminded me of the terminator jacket. “I need your clothes, your boots and you motorcycle… actually speaking of which we should get a Harley to commute around town” I said as I handed her the jacket. “Well try it on, I want to see how you look” Luna told me in a joyful voice.

I leaned towards her to whisper to her but I guess she took it as a romantic gesture because she began kissing me. I broke away from the kiss but kept my face close to hers, “Well that’s not what I meant but…” I trailed off and gave her a wink. “Well then try the jacket on” she laughed. “This place doesn’t have a change room and I’m wearing my gun” I whispered and she remembered that I took the pistol with me. “Ohh yeah… okay well buy it anyway, you can try in on later. I think you’d look handsome in it” she said, I chuckled “I don’t think I’m all that handsome, but thanks for the compliment”.

She wrapped her foreleg around my neck. “Well I think you’re cute” she whispered and we began to kiss again in the store. We stopped kissing and I grabbed a pair of leather pants and some boots then looked to Luna. “You want to get something?” I asked and she browsed around then picked out a more feminine pair of brown leather pants and a light brown leather jacket. “What do you think?” she asked, I pictured her in the leather clothes and for some reason it kind of turned me on but I think that was the fact that she was already pretty cute and the leather clothes kind of gave her that sexy devil sort of look. I nodded “Yeah I’d say get it”.

* * *

An hour later:

Clare, motorcycle dealership:

“Ah yes an excellent choice sir, The Harley Davidson is an all-time classic. this particular model includes the redesigned hard suspension kit to allow more weight as well as the saddle bags on the rear” the sales-pony informed me, the Harley I was looking at was a matte black and had that terminator look to it..

“How much?” I asked and he pulled out a notebook. “Well for you sir, I’ll give you a deal. $14,000” he offered and I nodded. “I’ll take it” I told him and he led us into dealership for the financials. “So sir how would you like your payments?” he asked as he brought out his notebook once again. “All” I replied and he scrunched his nose. “All?” he asked and I nodded as I brought out my debit card. “Uhm… you want to pay in full?” he asked and I nodded so he brought out a little card swiping machine and we began the transaction.

After about a half hour we finished the transaction, Luna and I drove out of the dealership in a brand new Harley Davidson. We had put our old clothes in the saddle bags and were wearing our leather clothes, luckily I found somewhere to change without any-pony seeing my handgun. I supposed we looked like bikers except we weren’t wearing our helmets. Partially because we didn’t buy any but also because Luna had a horn and me, well I had a pair of sunglasses that I purchased and I was sporting the terminator look.

Chapter 18: Beach clothes

Sgt. Clare, outside designer store, Los Pegasus:
I parked the Harley in front of a fashion designer store and turned it off. “We should probably buy some sort of protective helmets” Luna told me and I shrugged, “Nah, if you want one sure but I don’t like helmets all that much” I told her as we entered the store.

It was relatively less crowded and easier to walk around without getting blocked in the aisles between the shelves. “So uhh… what do you want to get?” I asked and she levitated out a two piece female bikini suit. “Beach clothes?” I asked, she nodded and lept up to her hindlegs and held the bra piece against her lower stomach area. “Picture me in this, would I look nice?” she asked.

“Uhm doesn’t it go up here?” I asked as I pointed to my chest, indicating where the female breasts were. “No silly, humans and ponies have different anatomy you know” she informed me. Well I didn’t actually know because I didn’t go around looking for horse boobs. “Uhm right. Yeah sure you’d look good in that, you should get it” I replied and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re just saying that” she said in a happy tone. “Well of course I’m it, you asked me” I joked and she gave me a playful nudge. “Fine, I’m trying it on and you’re going to give me your most honest opinion” she told me as she trotted off into the change room.

I leaned up against the wall and sighed, at least she wasn’t hyper active or this would be hard to handle. She exited the change room, the bikini looked absolutely ridiculous. I mean she didn’t wear clothes around the castle so why wear them out here? “How do I look?” she asked, I sighed. “Can I give you my honest opinion? I don’t really know if it suits you. The leather suited you better, but the bikini isn’t exactly practical considering you walk around the castle naked half the time” I began but I was interrupted by a gasp and a squeal.

“PRINCESS LUNA” squealed a voice and suddenly a brilliant white mare with a curly purple mane rushed over. “Hello Ms. Rarity” Luna said to the mare, oh yeah I had met this mare before, fashion designer or something. “Princess, may I ask what you are doing in Los Pegasus?” Rarity asked. “We are on vacation” she told her and Rarity nodded. “May I say that you look absolutely astounding princess, you have a wonderful taste for fashion” Rarity told her, I dipped my head knowing that Luna would purchase the clothes now.

“Well actually I was leaning towards a more suitable look” Luna told her, probably taking my advice. “Well Luna, I must be on my way. Perhaps I shall see you later on” Rarity said then trotted off. I looked to Luna, “If you want them, I’ll buy them. I just think they look… different” I told her and she nodded. “We’ll get them anyway and see how they work” she said. She looked at my chest area then lifted a hoof and cupped my left chest muscle. “You should think about getting a bra to” she laughed, “Hey, I’m sensitive about my man boobs” I joked and held my chest like I had just been sexually harassed. She laughed then went back into the change room to change back into the leather clothes.

She exited the change room with the leather clothes on. “Okay let’s go back to the beach, I want to try these out” she said as we walked towards the check-out counter.

* * *

Clare, the beach:

I lay on a beach towel by the water front and soaked in the sun. We had gone back to the house and changed, I had left my pistol in the house and now only wore a pair of boxers. Luna squirmed around as she tried to comfortably rearrange the bikini top

“Well these clothes are quite uncomfortable” Luna complained as she once again rearranged the bikini. “Yeah… that’s why I just wear regular clothes” I replied as I lay in the sun rays. “Well you have a bathing suit on too” she replied and I chuckled, “Not quite, I’m just wearing my underwear” I chuckled and she snickered.

“Fine, I’ll just have to wear my underwear as well. Obviously it’s comfortable if you humans always wear them” Luna replied. I sat up “You aren’t wearing any…” I trailed off as she tossed the bikini bottom at my face, part of it clung to my hair and it hung in front of my face. I frowned as I pulled the bikini bottom away from my face with my index finger but no sooner had I gotten it away from my face then she tossed the bikini top at my face as well, which also conveniently landed on my face. I flicked away the bikini top and looked to Luna, she was naked but that was kind of the norm for ponies and I had become accustomed to it.

I laid back down on the towel and rested my hands behind my head. Finally I could get just a moment of relaxation. “Hey Carl, come into the water with me” Luna called out as she splashed around in the water. “No thanks, you go ahead” I called back and closed my eyes as I took a cat nap on the beach.

* * *

5 months ago,

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot castle:

“So tell me princess, why do you say we instead of me or I?” I asked and Luna looked to me. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to” she apologized, I shook my head. “Uhm… no worries, I uhh was just wondering” I replied. “We do not mean to, it just happens by accident. Though we have been practicing we do not have any-pony to train with” she informed me. I shrugged “Well if you want I could train with you” I offered and her face lit up with joy. “Really?” she asked hopefully.

“Well sure why not? I’m just standing around with a Tommy gun all day so I might as well do something to earn my pay” I chuckled. She lept over and squeezed me tightly, “Thank you sergeant, you have no idea how happy this makes us” she squeeled happily. “Guessing by how hard you’re squeezing me… a lot” I chuckled.

* * *

Present day,

Clare, beach front:

I awoke suddenly when a large splash of water hit me. It wasn’t cold but it still was enough to startle me. I got up and looked to see Luna with a smug look on her face, “Wakey, Wakey” she giggled. “Oh you little…” I trailed off as I lept up and chased after her, she let out a playful scream as I began to chase her around the beach. She was probably letting me chase her because she could have easily just flown off.

I hadn’t noticed before but it was later in the evening and the sun was going down so most of the ponies on the beach had gone home and we were relatively alone minus a few others in the water. I grabbed her and gently tackled her into the shallow water, well really it was more like I set her down into the water. She snagged her hindleg around my leg and flipped me onto my back then rolled on top of me.

“Ha-ha, behold the might of the night princess, LUNA” she laughed. I wrapped my arm around her body and pulled her down to the ground very lightly and rolled over top of her body. “Behold the might of a human” I chuckled but suddenly I was caught in a dark blue aurora and she levitated me off her then set me on the ground next to her and cuddled up to me. Her chest lay on mine but the bottom half off her body lay to the side as she leaned her face down and we began to make out. The small waves from the ocean splashed against us as we had a romantic moment in the sunset.

I broke away from the kiss “Luna, I’ll always love you. I hope you know that” I told her. A tear trickled down her face. “Clare… I do not think I can stop these feelings I have for you… I love you Clare and I want you to spend the rest of your life with me, together” she told me and I nodded. “I love you too much to ever want to leave you, I’d do anything for you” I told her.

She stayed in that posture for a moment, the setting sun was blocked by her body and the rays from the sun gave her body a beautiful lighting. “I’ll always love you Luna” I whispered as we began to make out again.

She stuck her tongue into my mouth and our tongues wrestled for domination. I slid my hands along her side, the wetness of her fur gave her a nice feeling. I felt strange inside and held her body tight to mine as we continued to make out, her wet fur against my bare skin was exhilarating. She moaned into my mouth and I broke away from the kiss then I rolled our bodies over so I was on top. She gazed into my eyes and I felt warm, content and lucky to have such a wonderful marefriend. Well I think we were in a relationship because if we weren’t than this was sort of strange.

We leaned towards each other and were about to start making out again when my stomach grumbled so I stopped leaning towards her. Luna hadn’t heard my stomach and kept leaning towards me despite me stopping. She had closed her eyes so she hadn’t noticed but when our lips didn’t connect she lifted her hoof up and felt around for my face, still having her eyes closed. She opened her eyes and looked to me, “Is something wrong?” she asked and I nodded. “I’m sorry Luna” I apologized and she sat up and hugged me tightly, “Please, I want to be together, don’t leave me” she pleaded, I guess she thought that I didn’t want this. “No it’s not that” I replied and she scrunched her nose in confusion.

“Well if it’s not that, then what’s wrong?” she asked and I rubbed my stomach area. My stomach growled again, “I’m hungry, do you want to go out to a restaurant for dinner or...?”

Chapter 19: Dining out

Clare, restaurant, Los Pegasus:

I had brought Luna to some swanky five star restaurant, this place was the whole nine yards. Not only was the food good but they had stage performances and a nice mood setting along with a dance floor by the performers where ponies danced. Literally this place was great so I didn’t feel so terrible anymore for spending $1000 dollars on our table and food. We had dressed into our leather clothes again so that no-pony would know that she was the princess and hopefully no-pony would see my handgun.

“So tell me a little about yourself Clare. Even though we’re together you’re still a man of mystery” Luna said. “Not too much to tell really. I was an orphan until sixteen then spent the rest of my life serving in the military” I informed her, her face went to a saddened look and she rested her hoof on top of my hand. “I’m saddened to hear that, hopefully we can live a happy life together” she said, the butler came around and gave us our food.

Luna had gotten a nice salad and a vegetable sandwich, I had gotten a lasagna and ordered a fruit dish for us. We had both ordered wine and some sort of cake for desert and somehow the price for this had come to $1000, well I suppose that the actors and stuff cost them quite a bit.

“How about you princess?” I asked and she looked back to me, she had been watching the performers on stage. “Well… I spend most of my time in my room and during the night I enter ponies dreams to assist them with their fears and troubles” she told me, kind of creepy but I didn’t think it was all that bad I mean jeeze I kill for a living so how bad is it for her to help ponies out through their dreams.

The food was pretty good, considering the price that came with it. There was slow music playing and several other ponies danced by the stage performers. “Man this place is swanky” I muttered. “Swanky?” Luna asked and I shrugged, “You know… classy but sort of funky at the same time” I replied.

We sat there and conversed about little things while we ate our food, for some reason it just didn’t feel like a thousand dollars but I guess sometimes you just had to roll with the punches, besides I was dining out with the most beautiful mare I had ever seen and even though she was a different species than I was she was still more beautiful than any person I had ever seen. We finished our meal and I leaned back in the nice leather seat, ‘Okay maybe a thousand dollars’ I thought to myself.

“Clare would you care to dance with me?” Luna asked me. I gave her a curious look “Uhm is that a rhetorical question?” I chuckled, of course I’d dance with her. She blushed “Well I was just wondering, feel free to say no” she replied. “It’d be my honour to dance with the most beautiful mare in Equestria, and on Earth for that matter” I replied and her face brightened up with delight as she got out of her seat. You really are a charmer aren’t you?” she giggled.

I stood up from my seat and she wrapped her foreleg around my arm as we proceeded to the dance floor, arm in arm. The music was a slow melody so I guess we were going to slow dance. I lifted my shades and rested them on the top of my head as we stepped onto the dance floor with the others.

“Bare with me I’m a little rusty” I chuckled and she snickered. “I think I’m a little more inexperienced then you are, I haven’t had a dance partner for over a thousand years” she laughed. “Slow dance?” I suggested, she shrugged and hopped up to her hindlegs. She placed her right hoof in my left hand and wrapped her opposite foreleg around my back. I followed suit as I held her hoof and placed my right arm around her waist.

We stood there for a moment and I completely gapped, “Uhm… how do we dance?” I asked, she laughed then shrugged. “Follow my lead” she offered and I nodded as we began to slow dance, ‘What the hell was lead?’.

* * *

Cpt. Armor, Everfree forest:

The world around me seemed to explode into violence. Out of nowhere we had been ambushed and pinned down by heavy fire. We had a joint operation with Celestia’s royal guard and Luna’s shadow guard to secure a position in the Everfree for an HQ that was supposed to be used as an outpost for an upcoming attack.

I hid behind a fallen tree. “Lieutenant, get some supressing fire with the M60. Radio, get an artillery strike on the treeline double time. SUPRESSING FIRE” I ordered. Time seemed to slow as I watched every soldier now under my command do exactly as I ordered them. Their lives were depending on me to make the right choice.

“Sir, artillery can’t give us fire support. There are Huey helicopters in the area” the radio-pony informed me. I shuffled over to him, “Why the hell are there choppers still around… see if we can get air support” I ordered him and he nodded.

Lieutenant Daffodil ran over to me, “Sir we’re under heavy fire… what do we do?” he asked frantically, jeeze it was like he had never been in a combat leadership role before. “Haven’t you ever been in a combat situation before?” I yelled to him and he nodded, “Well do what you always did before” I ordered him and he did the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen a commanding lieutenant do.

“SERGEANT!” Daffodil yelled as he stood up “SERGEANT”. I grabbed him and pulled him behind the fallen tree as a volley of incoming lead flew overhead. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing” I hissed, he looked to me with a frightened look. “What the hell was that?” I asked and he stuttered a reply. “I… I was calling… calling my platoon sergeant sir” he replied. “Why?” I asked and he gulped. “Uhm because… because he usually makes the plans” he told me.

I let go off his combat jacket collar and sighed disappointedly, figures that Luna would have an inefficient lieutenant leading the platoon and an exceptional soldier as the platoon sergeant. I’d have to call it in and get that changed when we got back to Canterlot.

I lept up and began to fire my M16 rifle at the tree line, all I could see where the muzzle flashes of the enemy rifles. The M16s were great in combat, they had little recoil when compared to other assault rifles and despite the small caliber round it was quite devastating. “EVERY-PONY MOVE UP” I yelled but as I got to my hooves a stray bullet caught the base of my horn, I screamed out in pain as the bullet chopped off my horn. The pain was excruciating and blood trickled down my face.

I fell to the ground in agonizing pain, I had been shot before but unicorn horns were exceptionally sensitive and it was incredibly painful to get struck there let alone get shot. My body fell to the ground and my horn landed next to me, my wedding ring had fallen off the horn and lay next to me.

I heard some-pony scream “MEDIC!”. I held the painful stump on my head where my horn used to be and blood stained my fur as blood continued to flow from the stump. I howled in pain and blood trickled into my eyes and stung my vision.

A field medic rushed over with a medical first aid box ready. “Don’t worry captain, it isn’t that bad” the medic told me as he pulled out some disinfectant, shit this was going to hurt.

* * *

Clare, restaurant, Los Pegasus:

Most of the other ponies in the restaurant had gone home and it was quite late yet Luna and I continued to slow dance. I had gotten considerably better and she constantly commented on how well I was doing, all I could do was blush. She had begun to rest her head against my chest and we stopped dancing and just stood there, swaying with the music.

“Luna, I love you so much” I whispered. She never took her head away from my chest and just nodded. “I know… you’ve told me a dozen times” she laughed heartily.

A butler walked down onto the dance floor, “Sorry to interrupt sir, but the restaurant is closing in a few minutes” he informed me. I nodded but paid him no mind as I continued to dance with the beautiful mare that I somehow become romantically involved with. ‘Shit I must be the luckiest guy ever’ I thought to myself as I held her closely.

Chapter 20: Feels like summer

The next morning,

Clare, beach front house:

I awoke peacefully and stretched out, ‘Man I haven’t slept this good since… I can’t remember the last time I slept this well’. I rubbed my eyes and let out a morning yawn, since Luna and I didn’t sleep in the same bedroom I was able to relax and sprawl out on the bed.

I rolled over then sat on the edge off the bed and tried to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes. “Ahhh man, this is great” I
said through a yawn, I could get used to this. I stumbled out of bed and grabbed my watch off the nightstand, 6:22am. “Early bird catches the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese” I muttered as I grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

I slipped on some white socks then walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to make breakfast. I got out two bowls, knowing that Luna would probably just try and take my cereal again, and set up the table. I only poured one bowl of cereal because I didn’t want her cereal to get soggy, “Ech… soggy cereal” I groaned to myself as I flicked on the TV with the remote.

There were some morning cartoons again but this time it was about some sort of dragon tamer who raced dragons but at the same time he was some sort of super hero during the night. I chuckled to myself as I walked over to the living room, setting my cereal bowl on the living room coffee table then sitting down on the couch.

Luna walked into the living room, “Morning” I said casually. She moved my arms from resting on my legs and sat down on my lap. “Good morning, what are you watching?” she asked. I shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s about a dragon racer or something” I replied, she leaned over and grabbed my cereal and began to eat it.

“So I was thinking…” she trailed off, “Yes honey” I replied as I watched the TV show. “Hey you’re not even paying attention to me” she scolded playfully. “Sure I am. Besides you’re not even looking at me either. You’re watching the TV show” I chuckled.

“BELL!” the dragon stallion from the TV show yelled, ‘Bell? Who the hell names a dragon Bell?’ I thought to myself. “Well regardless, do you want to spend the day on the beach?” she asked, “Sure why not” I replied. “Let me guess, after your morning cartoons?” she laughed. I nodded “Eeyup, precisely” I chuckled. Due to the way ponies usually sat and ate I had to hold her up on my lap as she ate the cereal. For whatever reason she accidently spilt the bowl, the cereal and milk splashed onto my clean shirt and pants along with splashing onto her fur. “Ohh, I’m so sorry” she apologized, I shrugged “Eh, don’t worry about it… I needed to take a shower anyway” I said casually.

The TV show soon ended and Luna hopped off my lap, I stood up and brushed off the bits off cereal. “Alright, I’ll go get changed” I told her as I walked back into my room. ‘Figures, I didn’t even get to wear this shirt for an hour and I already have to wash it’ I thought to myself. I slipped off all my clothes but my boxers and walked back into the hallway where Luna stood on her hindlegs, leaning up against the wall in a pose.

“How do I look?” she asked, even though she looked the same as always the way she was leaning gave her a sexy look. ‘Okay self, think up something really romantic’ I thought to myself. “Sweet compassionate… uhm” I trailed off, ‘Smooth one’ I thought to myself. She hopped down onto all fours and walked over to my side, “You might want to do a better job about concealing your gun” she snickered.

I looked over to her and raised an eyebrow, “I’m not wearing my… oh shit” I muttered as I looked down to see that my boner was protruding out of my boxers. I shuffled my crotch around so it didn’t look so bad, but there was still a bulge in my boxers.

Luna stifled a laugh. “Hey, don’t laugh. You’re the one who caused it remember” I laughed and she looked up to me and blushed. “Really?” she asked and I rolled my eyes. “No, the paint on the wall is sexy and it drives me over the edge” I said sarcastically.

We walked out of the house and right onto the beach sand, which was relatively warm. “Feels like summer down here” I said, speaking my thoughts. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Luna asked and she nuzzled her head into my side, I put my arm around her as we walked along the beach.

* * *

Cpt. Armor, Canterlot castle medical clinic:

“Well captain, I can schedule you an appointment in… about two weeks” the doctor replied. “Doc, I just want to know if my horn will grow back” I told him and he nodded. “Well of course, but only with the proper procedure” he informed me. I gasped in relief “You guys are able to do that?” I asked and he nodded.

“Well of course, with all the advancements in medical magic we can easily cast a spell that will allow your horn to grow back… there is a side effect though. You may need to learn some of your spells again” the doctor told me, I sighed thinking that he might’ve said ‘You’ll have a risk of long term health problems’.

I got up and shook his hoof, “Thanks doc, I’ll see yah in two weeks” I told him then left the room and headed towards the general’s office. I was technically second in command of the royal guard, just behind Celestia, but the general was the one who always constructed the plans and offensive movements along with promotions and other such things.

I walked through the hallways and finally reached his office door and knocked. “Please come in” his voice said from the office. I opened the door and walked inside, giving a salute then standing in attention. “At ease captain, what can I do for you?” he asked as I relaxed.

“Sir I need a promotion sent through” I told him and he looked up to me with a raised eyebrow. “You realize, that unless you want to become a staff member, you can’t really be promoted any further due to your rank. So I’m presuming it’s for some-pony else” he replied and I nodded.

He took out a document paper and began filling it out. “Alright, current rank?” he asked. “Sergeant” I replied and he scribbled it down, “Promotional rank?” he asked. “First lieutenant” I replied and he looked up to me. “Quite a jump” he chuckled then continued writing. “Yes sir, it is sir. But this soldier has performed above and beyond the call of duty and has shown that he can easily lead a full platoon” I informed him.

“Yes, well I’ll take your word for it. Name?” he asked, “Clare” I replied. He stopped writing and I could tell something was wrong. “Captain… may I ask you if this ‘Clare’ is the platoon sergeant in Luna’s elite shadow guard?” he asked and I nodded. “Yes sir, it is sir” I replied, he folded up the paper then ripped it to pieces.

I gasped at the sudden outburst. “Captain, please tell me this was some kind of joke” the general told me in a serious tone but I shook my head. “No sir it isn’t. It’s just that in the recent mission I had to control the entire company and due to Clare’s absence, Daffodil’s platoon performed terribly” I replied.

“Well perhaps we should strip Daffodil of his role as platoon leader then?” he asked, I nodded my head. “Yes sir, but no reassignment. The men respect Daffodil but he is an inefficient leader, I believe that Clare would be a better combat leader” I told him. “No” he told me bluntly, “No sir?” I asked.

“I will not have an insubordinate platoon leader” he told me, “Insubordinate sir? From what I hear he is an exceptional combat leader” I replied. “Yes, but he doesn’t listen to orders” the general told me, I remembered when Clare punched me and broke my nose. “I will not promote to a platoon leader until he has shown respect for the chain of command” the general told me. “Dismissed” he said as he spun his chair around and lit a cigar.

I gave a quick salute then left the office. I knew that Clare was disobedient but he must’ve pissed the general off in some way that really made him mad.

* * *

Clare, beachfront:

Luna squealed with delight as I held her body above mine and splashed both our bodies into the water. I was under the water and kept my eyes shut so that the salt water didn’t sting my eyes. As I surfaced I looked around but couldn’t see Luna, “Uhm Luna?” I asked out loud, it had gotten rather late in the evening and once again ponies had left the beachfront. The sun was setting and the evening had a beautiful orange haze sky.

I heard Luna giggling from above and looked up, she was hovering above me with a sly look on her face. “What’s so funny?” I asked and she pointed over to the ocean. I turned my head and was greeted by the sight of a tremendous title wave, I realized at that point that she had manipulated the waves with her magic and brought about a large wave, not big enough to damage houses or property but big enough to wash ponies up to shore.

I tried to brace myself but the wave was powerful enough to take me me along with it. The wave slammed into my body with great force. It wasn’t fatal unless I drowned and wouldn’t even bruise a muscle but it was kind of sinister in a playful kind of way. My body twirled around as it was taken along with the wave, ‘Time to have a little fun’ I thought to myself as I felt my body get washed up onto shore.

I kept my eyes closed and let my body go limp. I could hear Luna giggling, “Haha, gotcha Clare… Clare?” she asked hesitantly as I didn’t move. I heard her flutter down beside me, “Okay Clare, stop messing around. I know you’re awake” she said and poked my side with her hoof but still I lay limp on the beachfront as water splashed up against me.

“Come on Clare, stop messing around” she chuckled, at this point I was wondering if she actually knew I was faking. “Clare… oh no” she said frantically and rolled my body over, I tried to stay as limp as possible and my face was expressionless. “Oh no please Celestia no… CLARE” she sobbed and placed her face on my chest, I could feel her sobbing. ‘Shit’ I thought to myself. I didn’t want her to cry, just get worried to get her back for slamming me with that wave.

I sat up immediately and wrapped my arms around her. “CLARE!” she screamed, shocked that I was alive. “Why did you do that?” she cried, “Shh, sorry I didn’t mean to get you so frightened. I just wanted to get you back for slamming me with that wave” I told her soothingly. “Please… don’t ever do that again” she said through sniffles, “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll never do that again” I promised. She looked up to me with teary eyes. “I couldn’t live with myself if I accidently killed you… I love you so much” she whispered.

“I love you too, I was just playing was all” I told her, she leaned up and we began kissing. All too suddenly she broke away from the kiss, “Promise?” she asked and I nodded but then I realized that her horn had flared up again. I looked behind her and saw another tidal wave coming at us. “Ohh you didn’t” I muttered, she gave me a seductive look, “Hold on to me and stay close” she whispered as she wrapped her forelegs around my body and held me tight.

The wave slammed into us and took us with it, somehow it seemed to last forever. Just as she’d told me I held her close to me as we floated around in the water. I held my eyes closed then a voice entered my head. “Open your eyes” it said in a soothing voice, “Why? No forget it, salt water burns” I said back in my head. “Just open them, your eyes will not be harmed by the salt water” the voice told me, sometimes the voice in my head got me into bad things but this voice didn’t sound like my own, it sounded like… Luna’s?

I opened my eyes, though the water somewhat blurred my vision, I could see Luna above me in the water. The setting sun illuminated the water beautifully and made her look like a goddess, which technically she was. ‘A sexy goddess’ I thought to myself, Luna came closer to me and we began to kiss underwater, somehow I wasn’t feeling the burn due to the lack of oxygen. ‘I’ll show you sexy goddess’ said the voice in my head. ‘Luna?’ I thought, almost like I was asking her. ‘No, the sexy goddess’ the voice said back, I smirked during the kiss and Luna took advantage of it then stuck her tongue in my mouth but water gushed in along with her tongue.

I felt the burn for need of oxygen along with the terrible feeling of water entering my lungs. I quickly broke from the kiss and surfaced from the water and began gagging. I was lucky enough to be able to stand as I coughed up water, Luna surfaced beside me and spat out some water. “Sorry… forgot that we were underwater” she apologized.

“You can read my thoughts?” I asked and she nodded. “But only if you are relaxed and calm” she told me as she trotted through the water and gave me a kiss on the check. “Looks like you’re going to have to call me sexy goddess from now on”

Chapter 21: His insubordination

Cpt. Armor, Canterlot castle, war room:

“Lieutenant Daffodil, a word please” I ordered the lieutenant and he immediately trotted over to me. “Sir?” he asked as he saluted, “At ease, tell me how you would feel if Clare replaced you as platoon leader?” I asked hesitantly.

“It would be an honour sir. I’d rather it be him than someone else that I don’t know” he informed me. “Lieutenant would you consider yourself an incompetent leader?” I asked and he shook his head. “No sir, just an inefficient platoon leader. I proved myself to be a good squad leader but I can’t handle the responsibility of an entire platoon under combat stress” he told me.

“So why not tell your superiors? I asked, “I did sir, they said that I’d get the hang of it eventually and to just listen to my platoon sergeant. I’ve tried multiple times to get him promoted to platoon leader but the general says he’s insubordinate” he told me. I sat down and sighed, “And why exactly does the general say he’s insubordinate?” I asked.

“Well that would go back about… oh shit I guess it was the second day that I was part a platoon leader of the shadow guards” Daffodil began.

* * *

6 months ago:

Third person, firebase Everfree:

“Sergeant, I’m lieutenant Daff…” Daffodil trailed off as Clare walked past him, a canvas sack on his back. “Sergeant, aren’t you forgetting something?” Daffodil asked, Clare stopped in his tracks and turned around. “I don’t think so” Clare replied causally, Daffodil stepped forwards. “You are speaking to an officer and I want a proper salute” Daffodil ordered, Clare smirked and tossed a sloppy salute then turned and walked towards the barracks.

Daffodil trotted along to the firebase CO’s office, which was actually just a large tent with flaps for doors. “Sir” Daffodil said outloud to the captain and saluted. Captain Jameson turned around and returned the salute. “What can I do you for lieutenant?” the captain asked as he continued to look over some maps of the area.

“Sir I wish to talk about my platoon sergeant” Daffodil began and Jameson looked over his shoulder to Daff. “Your sergeant… he doesn’t happen to be uhm… Clare perhaps?” Jameson asked and Daffodil nodded. “Yes sir, I just thought it was odd how he talked to a superior officer and why a regular sergeant was my platoon sergeant” Daffodil complained.

Jameson sighed and turned back to Daffodil. “Lieutenant, I hate to say this but Clare is one of the most experienced fighters we have, sure he may be a bit… brash, but he is by far one of the best platoon sergeants you’ll ever meet” Jameson told him. “Yes sir but I” Daffodil began but Jameson cut him off. “Lieutenant, do you have combat experience?” Jameson asked.

Daffodil shook his head, “No sir” Daffodil replied. “Well lieutenant, most of the men will see you as a cherry. When the fighting starts you might freeze up and that could lead to ponies getting kill, but your sergeant… he’s seen so much combat he knows what to do during the fight. Listen to your platoon sergeant, he’ll guide you along” Jameson told Daffodil.

“Well lieutenant if that will be all” Jameson said and Daffodil gave him a salute then left the tent to try and make friends with the other stallions.

Days later:

“Okay lieutenant, when we set down we should” Clare began but Daffodil cut him off. “I know what to do sergeant” Daffodil yelled back as the helicopter began to set down. Incoming fire from the treeline opened up and bullets pinged off the helicopter’s hull.

“Lickety, let’s go” Clare yelled out to Lickety Split, who was one of those hippy fighters that didn’t believe in the war and had been drafted. “I don’t believe in” Lickety began but Clare shot him a cold look. “GET OFF THE GODDAMNED CHOPPER” Clare yelled into his face, Lickety Split nodded and was about to get off the chopper when he looked to his M16 and left it on the chopper.

“Bakers get that M60 firing on the treeline. Connors, Sunlight: supressing fire” Clare ordered. “You’re giving a lot of orders sergeant” Daffodil said in a serious tone, Clare looked over to his lieutenant. “Just trying to help you out sir” Clare said casually then looked to Lickety Split, “Split I want you to… where the hell is your rifle?” Clare asked.

“I left it on the chopper, I’m not fighting this war sir” Lickety Split informed him, “Well shit specialist, do you have a goddamned death wish. You know what fine” Clare said as he grabbed the radio operator and brought him over. “Give him the radio” Clare ordered and the radio pony took off the radio and handed it to Lickety Split. “You’re going to be our radio operator” Clare said “I’m gonna keep you real close to the lieutenant and myself” Clare said.

Clare rushed up to the front line, the enemies were just out of range of his Thompson and he wanted to get a little closer before he began popping off rounds downrange. “Every-pony up, come on get up. Move forward. Come on move up, that’s an order” Daffodil yelled. “LT… LT get down” Clare yelled but the lieutenant didn’t listen.

Clare grumbled to himself as he lept forward and tackled the lieutenant to the ground, possibly saving his life. “LT, stay down. Listen we don’t need to die today, get the artillery boys to handle it” Clare said as he motioned for Lickety Split to come up beside him. “Oscar Whiskey, I need artillery on Romeo Alpha 1-0-2-0-6-2, over” Clare ordered. “Roger that, firing rounds on Romeo Alpha 1-0-2-0-6-2, over” the pony on the other end of the radio transmission replied.

The gunfire continued but was soon drowned out by the thunderous BOOMs of the artillery strikes which decimated the treeline. Daffodil looked back to Clare and Lickety Split. “Where’s your rifle specialist?” Daffodil asked, “I left it on the chopper sir, I’m not going to fight this war” Split said defiantly. “Well that’s just great, I’ll have you both court martialed when we get back” Daffodil hissed as he got up.

Clare looked over to Split. “Jesus Split, you’re just fucking incredible you know that” Clare said angrily as he stood up. “Alright stallions, bring it in” Clare ordered as the artillery barrage stopped, Clare got on the radio. “Oscar Whiskey, thanks for the support. 2-1 out” Clare said then hung up the radio.

“Alright listen, there’s a small zebra village just up the way. Intelligence says that they are friendly but a large force of communist zebras is on the way down to annihilate the village. We have to move the zebras further south to a little town here and link up with Alpha Company and” Clare began but Daffodil interrupted. “That’s enough sergeant, I’m the platoon commander so I make the orders. There’s a small zebra village just up the way. Intelligence says that they are friendly but a large force of communist zebras is on the way down to annihilate the village. We have to move the zebras further south to a little town here and link up with Alpha Company and they’ll take it from there. Any questions” Daffodil told the platoon.

Smoky raised his hoof. “Yes private?” Daffodil asked. “Sir isn’t that exactly what the Sarge just said” Smoky replied, a couple of the other soldiers started to chuckle. “ALRIGHT, that’s enough. We move out, now” Daffodil hissed angrily.

Sergeant Clare turned to the rest of the platoon, “Line formation. Eyes open and ears listening. No sounds” Clare ordered, Daffodil scowled to himself that the soldiers paid more respect and gave the platoon sergeant a higher authority than they gave him.

The platoon trotted through the heavy jungle in the Everfree and even though it was supposed to be a forest in some regions it was thick and tropical. The platoon reached the village by nightfall and began to tell the villagers what was going to happen tomorrow morning.

Though some of the villagers were unhappy about the whole predicament they eventually agreed. Some of the platoon sat around a fireplace and conversed, Clare on the other hand sat alone and watched the villagers.

Anderson, one of the other sergeants in the platoon, trotted up beside him and handed him a cup of some sort of liquid then leaned against the wall beside Clare. “Don’t thank me until you try it” Anderson said and Clare took the cup, taking a careful sip of the liquid. Clare gave a disgusted face, “Yeah I know, tastes like cat piss but it’s good for you” Anderson said. Anderson watched as Bakers and Applesauce conversed, despite her name and family background Applesauce was more of a gang member like pony. She had gotten drafted when police arrested her during a drug deal and offered her two tours of duty rather than the jail sentence.

“What do you think she’s talking about?” Anderson asked curiously, obviously having a sort of attraction for the young yellow mare then stood up and began to walk over to her. “Anderson… don’t get too attached” Clare called out, Anderson looked back then nodded.

Despite not being on night watch duty, Clare stayed up the entire night and kept watch from a roof top.

Morning came almost all too quickly, they had fifteen kilometers to travel through the jungle and there were elderly in the village along with young foals. Clare hopped down from the roof, “Alright, leave nothing for the zebra communists. Burn everything to the ground” Daffodil ordered, despite being a rather peaceful nation Equestria had its moments.

Clare walked along and saw an elderly zebra trying to carry he life possessions with her but was too old to be able to lift them. Clare walked over to the zebra mare, “Ma’am, allow me to carry these for you” Clare said as he knelt beside her. She said something in native tongue. “I carry bags for you” Clare said slowly and made the gestures for her to understand. She smiled then said something but Clare couldn’t understand, “She said you are a crazy” said a younger zebra from behind him. “Tell her that’s what happens to all us grunts” Clare said as the elderly mare allowed him to put the heavy sack on his back.

The elderly mare trotted close beside him and said something. Clare looked to the younger zebra, “She asked why you are so kind to her, most ponies despise zebras because of the war” she informed him. “Tell her that… I know she’s one of the good zebras” Clare replied as they continued on.

Throughout the entire movement there were no problems and they stopped at noon to allow the elderly and children to rest. “Mama Z, you need food and water” Clare said and offered her his canteen and ration. She said something then tried to speak English “No, you need more” said the elderly zebra, who Clare had begun to call Mama Z. “She is trying to say you need it more” the younger zebra said, who happened to be the daughter.

Clare shook his head, “No Mama, you need it more. Please take it” Clare said and the elderly took the ration gratefully. Clare stood up, “I’ll be back soon, I just need to check on the others” Clare informed the younger zebra and she translated it for the elderly mare.

Clare walked over to Daffodil who was trying to get the general on the line. The general was the officer in charge of this operation. On his way he saw Anderson and Applesauce making out, ‘So much for not getting attached eh Anderson’ Clare thought to himself as he approached Daffodil.

“Alright LT, what’s the word?” Clare asked and Daff shot him an irritated look. “HQ says we have another three kilos to the town but it’s already been secured so there is no resistance. It’s just a matter of getting these zebras there” Daffodil informed him.

Daffodil stood up, “Alright sergeant let’s get these zebras ready to move” Daffodil ordered. “Sir we’ve only been resting for a few minutes, with all due respect sir these zebras need to rest” Clare said, Daffodil scowled at the fact that if the sergeant said wait then the soldiers would wait and refuse to follow his orders. “Twenty minutes sergeant, that’s all” Daffodil replied then walked away.

Clare looked to Lickety Split, “Don’t ever talk to the LT the way I do” Clare said as he too walked away, leaving Lickety Split alone with the radio. A zebra mare had been watching and trotted over to him. Lickety was rather stunned at her sudden approach and found her to be quite attractive. “Why don’t you carry a rifle like the others?” the mare asked, “I’m a non-combatant ma’am” Split stammered. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“You are not like the others, you are kind and thoughtful” she whispered. Split felt like he had butterflies in his stomach. Clare walked over to Anderson, “Psst, Anderson” Clare called out and Anderson quickly broke away from his passionate kissing with Applesauce. Clare motioned for Anderson to come over and he obliged.

“Sir?” Anderson asked, despite being the same rank he gave him respect like he was an officer, all the soldiers in the platoon did. “I want these zebras ready to go in twenty minutes okay” Clare ordered and he nodded. “Yes sir” Anderson replied and began to walk back to Applesauce who was waiting for him. “Oh and Anderson… good job on not getting attached” Clare joked heartily, “Hey come on Sarge, you don’t know what it’s like to be in love” Anderson called back. No he did know but that didn’t mean he wanted to again, he’d had relationships before and they always ended with a break-up due to his military service.

Clare went and stood watch close to Mama Z, waiting for the twenty minutes to pass. Time seemed to pass all too quickly and Clare walked over to Mama Z and her daughter. “I’m sorry but we have to keep moving” Clare told them, they nodded and Clare grabbed Mama Z’s bags as the platoon and the villagers continued their trip towards the town.

Clare was having a moderately difficult time carrying the bags along with his gear but he couldn’t live with himself if he let the elderly mare try to carry all of this. The elderly mare continued to say things in native tongue while her daughter translated it. “She says that you are a good man and must’ve had good parents that brought you up properly” the daughter told him. “I never had parents, I was raised in an orphanage and was never adopted, when I was sixteen I enlisted for the military and have been fighting ever since” Clare informed her. She translated it but he figured she didn’t tell Mama Z what he had told her because the elderly mare still had a happy face and nodded happily. She had probably told Mama Z that he said he had wonderful parents that they loved him or something.

“You didn’t tell her did you?” he asked and the daughter shook her head. ‘Figures’ Clare thought to himself.

After what seemed like hours they finally arrived at the town which looked to be barren. Clare quickly rushed up to the front of the platoon. “Alright, Bakers Anderson: flank around from the left and” Clare began but Daffodil interrupted him once again. “No, we’ll move up together, HQ indicates that this place is secure” Daffodil replied and led the platoon straight into the town, leaving them exposed.

“Shouldn’t there be others around?” Lickety Split asked and Bakers nodded. “I don’t know man, this whole war seems fucked up to me” Bakers muttered as they continued into town.

In one of the shanty shacks two zebras readied an old machinegun and aimed it at the platoon, around the town zebras readied AK47s along with other such weapons. The machinegun team opened fire first and cut down three of the shadow guards who screamed out in pain.

“GET DOWN, Bakers: fire on that machinegun, Destiny: fire the M79 at the roof on my nine” Clare ordered and the platoon did just as he ordered as a seemingly huge force of zebras just appeared out of nowhere. The zebras had chosen to let them get close to attack but that just made Clare’s Thompson all the more deadly.

The zebra fighters were stupid enough to all charge in one clustered group, trying to overwhelm them. Clare leveled his Thompson on the group and held the trigger back, the Thompson rattled in his hands and .45 caliber rounds screamed through the air and chopped away at the group.

Bakers shifted his aim from the machinegun house and concentrated his fire on the large group. Destiny fired the M79 and the 40mm grenade round devastated the small home that the sniper group took cover on. “LT, we gotta get these villagers out of here, head three kilos west, there’s a clearing. We’ll get a chopper out” Clare yelled to the lieutenant. “Are you nuts sergeant, they’ll be right on our ass the entire time” Daffodil yelled back.

“Bakers and Sunshine will stay with me and we’ll keep them at bay, you get the others out. Anderson, you carry Mama Z’s bags. LT, I’ll meet you by the treeline by the field, don’t leave without us” Clare ordered, everyone seemed to follow Clare’s order before Daffodil even gave the order a go.

The platoon along with the villagers quickly left, Clare and the others kept the enemy supressed while the others quickly retreated from the overrun town. “Split, radio” Daffodil ordered and Split quickly galloped up to him and handed him the radio. Daffodil dialed in the radio and called the general.

“General the town has been overrun, we have six dead and several wounded, we’re heading to coordinates: Alpha Zulu Foxtrot, 9-2-4-3-0-1. We need a chopper to meet us there, go” Daffodil told the general. “You’ll have a chopper but it can’t wait overnight, you’ll have until 1830 to get there over” the general told Daffodil. “Yes sir, we’ll be there over” Daff replied then hung up the radio.

“Alright, we move out, double time” Daffodil ordered, the platoon did what he said and moved out, some of the wounded groaned in pain as they galloped along.

Back in the town things had settled down and it was relatively peaceful. Clare lay in the mud along with Bakers and Sunshine. “Alright, Bakers, Sunshine: you guys head out while I give you supressing fire” Clare whispered and they nodded. Clare loaded a fresh drum magazine into the sub machinegun and began to fire it wildly at the town, soon return fire from the zebras shot back.

Bakers and Sunshine quickly raced into the cover of the jungle brush as Clare emptied the magazine then chased after them. “Alright they’re gonna be hot on our tails so let’s keep moving” Clare ordered and the duo nodded as they followed the platoon sergeant.

Elsewhere by the clearing that Clare had spoken of, the platoon, along with the villagers, sat and waited for Clare to show up. “Where the hell’s the chopper?” Danvers asked and Daffodil shrugged. He hadn’t noticed the extraction choppers weren’t waiting until Danvers had mentioned it.

Time passed by at a seemingly slow rate until Anderson called out to Daffodil. “Sir, it’s Clare and the others” Anderson called out and the lieutenant quickly scurried over to him and watched as Clare, Bakers and Sunshine ascended up an incline towards the platoon’s position.

“Sarge, hey Sarge” Anderson whispered and Clare looked up to him then proceeded up to their position. “Sergeant we have a problem” Daffodil informed him. “Bakers take defensive point here, it’s the only way they’ll get to us without making a large amount of noise” Clare ordered, he was right. The place that Daffodil had picked was perfect, they were surrounded by trees and brush from the sides and the only practical way of assault would be from the incline because through the clearing the zebras would have no cover.

“What’s up LT?” Clare asked and Daffodil pointed to the field. “Okay… where’s the choppers?” Clare asked, Daffodil simply shrugged. “Shit, get me on the horn with the general” Clare swore and Split handed him the radio. “HQ, HQ this is Sergeant Clare do you read me over?” Clare asked into the radio piece. “This is HQ, what’s wrong sergeant?” the radio pony on the other side asked, “Where’s our choppers out of here? We’re at the LZ but there aren’t any choppers over” Clare informed the radio-pony.

“Sergeant, all flights into and out of the Everfree have been cancelled for the night, tomorrow we’ll have your chopper bright and early over and out” the radio-pony said then hung up. “Well fuck you to then” Clare muttered and hung up the radio, “What’s the skinny?” Daffodil asked. “No extraction until tomorrow morning” Clare sighed in disappointment.

Night came around almost too quickly and all the soldiers were on edge, knowing that the zebra fighters would be coming for them. Clare leaned against a tree close to Mama Z, who was exhausted like most of the others. Clare closed his eyes to try and get some sleep but it was short lived.

Bakers’ M60 roared to life, “CONTACT” Bakers yelled over the sound of his machinegun. The others quickly lept up and rushed over to the front line and began to fire at the zebras who were trying to advance. Clare rushed up beside Bakers.

“Sarge there’s too many… we’re gonna get overrun” Bakers yelled out, Clare swore to himself then rushed over to Lickety Split. Daffodil was already contacting the general. “General this is Lieutenant Daffodil, we need immediate extraction. We are about to be overrun over” Daffodil informed the general.

“Lieutenant you are in a hot zone, no helicopters are available for pickup. If you move your platoon seven kilometers due south we can get you a pickup over” the general replied. “Negative sir, we have wounded and elderly with us. We wouldn’t be able to make that journey” Daffodil replied. “Leave them lieutenant” the general ordered.

Daffodil’s face went pale, “Sir?” he asked curiously. “I said leave them lieutenant, the mission has been aborted. Get you and your platoon out of there” the general ordered. “LT, we can’t do this” Clare said. “Sergeant this isn’t your call to make. Yes sir I will” Daffodil began but Clare slammed a punch into Daffodil’s face and knocked him out. Clare looked to Lickety Split who was gawking at the fact that he had just knocked out the lieutenant. “When he wakes up tell him that a mortar round blew up close to him and knocked him out” Clare said as he picked up the radio piece.

“General?” Clare asked, “Sergeant? Where’s the lieutenant?” the general asked. “Uh sir he’s knocked out, a mortar round just struck nearby, he’ll be fine” Clare assured the general. “Sergeant get the platoon out of there” the general ordered.

“Negative general, we can’t leave these villagers like this. The other zebras will slaughter them” Clare told the general. “I don’t care about those worthless zebras, you will follow my orders or I will have you” the general began but Clare redialed the radio and the general’s voice crackled away. “Guess the radio broke” Clare said as he redialed it further.

“Shining Armor?” Clare asked, “Clare? What the hell are you” Shining began but Clare cut him off. “Listen there’s no time captain, you need to get me a helicopter out to coordinates: Alpha Zulu Foxtrot, 9-2-4-3-0-1” Clare informed him. “Uhh… why don’t you” Shining began but Clare interrupted him again. “Listen Shining the general is leaving us out to dry and I need your help man, if you don’t help us than several guards are going to die” Clare told him. “Okay: Alpha Zulu Foxtrot, 9-2-4-3-0-1 right? I’ll have you extraction choppers within the hour sergeant” Shining Armor replied then hung up the radio.

“Sir?” Split asked, “We can’t leave these zebras out for the wolves. We forced them out of their homes and dragged them all this way so I’ll be damned if some general tells me I can’t save them” Clare said. Split nodded then Clare nodded to back. Clare reached over and grabbed Daffodil’s M16 and tossed Split the rifle. “Sir I’m a non-combatant” Split said and Clare smirked. “Ain’t no such thing today” Clare said then rushed off to the front line of the fighting.

Applesauce and Anderson fired at a group of zebras as they tried to charge up the side of the hill front. “Fall back” Clare ordered, both Anderson and Applesauce lept to their hooves and began to fall back with the rest of the platoon but Applesauce was a little trigger happy and would constantly stop and fire at zebras as they came up the hill. Her foolishness was punished as a stray round clipped her knee and sent her to the ground in agonizing pain.

Anderson heard her cry of pain and turned back to rescue her. He rushed forward valiantly and fired his M16 wildly at the zebras as they seemed to just flow over the hill side. Anderson grabbed Applesauce by her combat jacket and attempted to pull her to safety but soon zebras took aim and fired upon him.

A round passed through his leg and sent him to the ground in pain. “Fuck” Anderson swore as he brought up his M16 and fired at the advancing zebras. Several of the advancing zebras fell to the ground and Applesauce fired wildly at the advancing zebras.

A lone zebra charged at them with a bayonet fitted rifle, Anderson took aim but his M16 was empty. At the last possible second he rolled sideways as the zebra tried to impale him with his bayonet but ended up just stabbing the dirt. Anderson used his good leg to kick the zebra’s knee sideways. The zebra screamed out in pain and fell on top of Anderson as yet another zebra charged with a bayonet fitted rifle, Applesauce did her best to try and keep the zebras at bay but they seemed relentless.

Anderson grabbed the wounded zebra and put the zebra’s body in front of his as the zebra charging him tried to impale him with his bayonet but ended up stabbing the other zebra that Anderson used for cover. Anderson unholstered his Berretta and shot the bayonet attacker then directed his shots at zebras as they approached but as he went to roll the body of the zebra off his own, another zebra charged forward only this one succeeded in stabbing Anderson in the lower stomach area with his bayonet.

Anderson gagged in pain but was able to grab the rifle barrel and keep the zebra from stabbing him numerous times. Applesauce fired at the zebra and chopped him down with a burst of 5.56mm rounds. Anderson crawled up beside Applesauce and reloaded his empty Berretta, “They’re gonna kill us” Anderson whispered in pain. Applesauce silenced him as she leaned forward and kissed him.

“Dammit ANDERSON!” Clare yelled as he realized that both Applesauce and Anderson had stayed behind for whatever reason. Clare lept up to his feet and charged back towards the zebras, firing his sub machinegun as he ran. Several zebras tried to shoot him down but they were unsuccessful, Clare returned fire and took them off their hooves.

Anderson heard a zebra charging from behind Applesauce and broke away from the kiss, he lowered her body and pointed the pistol at the charging zebra. He pulled the trigger multiple times and 9mm bullets cut through the zebra and took away his life. Applesauce saw hooves running up behind Anderson, “Anderson behind you” Applesauce yelled. Anderson turned around and readied his pistol, he pulled the trigger back but it clicked, he was out of ammo. His face went dire as the zebra swung a katana sword and sliced of his head. His head went tumbling to the ground and his body slumped over, blood squirting from his neck where his head used to be.

Applesauce reached for her pistol but the zebra kicked her in the face and knocked her back. He was about to stab her when another zebra officer approached. “No, do not kill her. Take this one prisoner. I could use a new… entertainer” the zebra said with a sickeningly evil smile.

Clare rushed through the jungle and saw Applesauce thrashing as several zebras dragged her away, he had heard what zebras do to female prisoners and there was no way he was letting her go that way. He spotted Anderson’s decapitated body by the zebras that dragged Applesauce away and cursed to himself. He brought his Thompson up and pulled the trigger but it clicked. He reached for a spare magazine but realized he had none.

He quickly slung the Thompson and drew out the mighty Smith and Wesson 500 magnum but he only had five shots and there were eight zebras, minus the ones that hadn’t noticed him and were advancing towards the platoon.

Clare cursed himself for not having taken a more suitable pistol, something with more ammo capacity. He lined up a shot, KA-BOOM, the mighty magnum thundered through the air. The mighty round slammed through a zebra and tore a large hole through his body, the others scattered but the one zebra held on to Applesauce as he continued to try and run. The massive magnum revolver thundered off three more shots. Clare took careful aim on the zebra holding Applesauce and fired. The round tore right through his back and killed him instantly.

“APPLESAUCE, COME ON” Clare yelled out. She quickly lept up and began to gallop towards Clare when a stray bullet caught her shoulder and sent her tumbling to the ground by Anderson’s body. Clare’s face went dire as he saw a large swarm of zebras approach over the hill. He looked to Applesauce who looked behind herself and saw the group advancing, she looked back to Clare and nodded solemnly and he returned the nod. She then turned to Anderson’s body and crawled up close to it then pulled the pin on one of his grenades.

Clare cursed to himself, there was no way he could’ve saved her. Not now anyway. The explosion erupted violently and Clare had already turned and began to run as fast as he could back to the platoon.

Daffodil was finally awaking from his unconsciousness, he was awakened rather abruptly as the chattering of Bakers’ M60 deafened him. The helicopters could be heard approaching.

“Don’t shoot the Sarge” Bakers yelled then soon after Clare lept over the fallen tree which he had taken cover behind. “Keep a supressing fire on the jungle and don’t let up until the choppers get here” Clare ordered.

The choppers landed in the clearing, “Bakers give me the M60 and a fresh belt, I’ll hold them off” Clare ordered, Bakers nodded and handed him the machinegun with a fresh belt magazine loaded. “GET TO THE CHOPPA” Clare yelled and the platoon along with the zebra villagers began to retreat to the choppers. Clare focused his attention to the advancing zebras and held back the trigger on the M60.

It chattered in his hands and cut down several zebras, Clare would constantly look back to see if they all made it to the chopper yet. Finally they got close enough and Clare lept to his feet and began to quickly back pedal towards the choppers while firing the M60 from his hip.

He quickly ran out of ammunition and dropped the machinegun to the ground figuring it was only weighing him down. As he rushed towards the chopper he saw Mama Z collapse to the ground. “Mama Z” Clare yelled out as he turned his direction diagonally and ran towards her body.

He reached her and saw that she had taken a bullet to the back. “Come on Mama Z, you’re gonna be okay” Clare whispered and he cradled her body then rushed to the closest chopper and embarked it. “Let’s get out of here” Clare yelled.

The choppers all ascended into the air and departed for Canterlot. “Mama Z… Mama Z, you’re gonna be okay” Clare said as tears came to his eyes. She whispered something in plain English, “I… am at peace, you live long” she whispered then passed away. “No Mama Z, please don’t die” Clare cried, she was so innocent and she had been stripped of her life for nothing.

The choppers reached Canterlot late at night. The wounded were rushed to the hospital and Captain Shining Armor had come out to see what sort of disaster had been adverted.

“CLARE!” Daffodil yelled and rushed over to Clare who was smoking a cigar. Clare had an expressionless face, he hadn’t been traumatized by Mama Z’s death but he had still received a major emotional strike from her death. “Sergeant you disobeyed my orders, you took over command of my platoon and… SERGEANT ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME” Daffodil roared, Clare remained expressionless and shook his head.

“Well… I was going to say I could have you court martialed but… you may have saved all our lives along with these villagers so I have to say: thank you” Daffodil informed him and held out his hoof. Clare looked up and shook his hoof. “Since we were never properly introduced. Nice to meet you Clare, my name’s Daffodil” Daffodil said, Clare nodded. “Uh oh, here comes the general, he’s still steamed as hell” Daffodil muttered, Clare chuckled. “What’s wrong with him, the death toll not high enough yet” Clare said, despising the general for his lack of support during the mission.

“SERGEANT” screamed the angered voice of the general as he stomped over to Clare. “You think that was a funny fucking joke huh? Turning off your radio so that you wouldn’t have to listen to my orders, well I’ll have you know I’m going to have you court martialed for that” the general yelled then turned to leave. “You better court martial me to then” said Lickety Split, the general’s face turned red with rage and he turned around.

“Who said that? I demand to know who said that” the general roared. “I did sir” Lickety Split said but suddenly Bakers stepped in front of him, “No he didn’t say it, I did” Bakers said. Suddenly the entire platoon stepped forward saying they said it. The general stepped back but ended up stepping into Captain Shining Armor. “And you better court martial me as well, because I authorized those choppers to go in and get them out of there” Shining Armor said coldly. Despite being a higher ranking official in terms of political outlook, his word meant nothing against Shining’s. The general stuttered then turned and left.

“Jesus Christ sergeant… what the hell happened?” Shining Armor asked as he sat down beside Clare. Clare took a puff on his cigar and blew the smoke into the air “War happened”

Chapter 22: Hiking

Clare, beachfront, Los Pegasus:

I awoke peacefully for the second time in a row, this vacation thing was great. I slowly got out of bed and stretched, ‘I’m gonna have to do some laundry today’ I thought to myself as I put on yesterday’s clothes.

I looked to my watch, 6:04am, ‘Not bad’ I thought to myself as I grabbed my remaining laundry and walked into the bathroom. I dropped my dirty laundry into the washing machine then fidgeted with it until I got it to work. It churned and chugged as it began the wash cycle.

I mumbled to myself as I walked into the kitchen and poured myself some cereal, well I suppose soon enough it would be Luna’s cereal but it didn’t bother me all that much. She was so sweet and gentle that I could give up my breakfast for her. I flicked on the TV and began to watch morning cartoons, it was something about a jack rabbit evading a coyote or something but it was old styled humor that kind of reminded me of The Bugs Bunny and Tweedy Show.

I walked over and flopped down on the couch as I ate my breakfast cereal. Luna trotted over and lay down beside me, I handed her my cereal. “You don’t want it?” she asked, I shrugged and she scrunched her nose in curiosity. “What do you mean?” she asked as she mimicked my shrug.

“I don’t know. You have it” I said and she looked down at the cereal then smiled. “Thanks” she replied then began to slurp up the cereal rather than use the spoon, I guess sometimes even princesses don’t use table manners.

I yawned then leaned back in the couch, Luna took a moment from slurping up the cereal to look at me. “Can we go hiking today?” she asked, I looked over to her. “Yeah sure” I said plainly but she gave me a frown. “Yeah sure? Do you not want to hiking?” she asked curiously.

“I’ll do whatever you want, I just want you to be happy” I said casually as I looked at the roof. She set the cereal bowl down on the table and shuffled over to me then rested her head on my shoulder. “I want you to have fun too, it would be selfish of me to take all the fun” she said. I moved my arm then placed it around her and smiled. “Let’s go hiking” I said with a wink and her face brightened up with happiness, I swear when her face brightens up like that it just makes me feel all warm and cuddly inside.

“But after the cartoons and cereal” she told me as she levitated over the bowl of cereal and lay against my body as we watched morning cartoons together. The rabbit was tunneling underground while the coyote poured gasoline down the hole, the rabbit tunneled out behind the coyote and when the coyote lit the gasoline it traveled through the tunnel and all the way to his rear and burned his hind.

Eventually their shenanigans ended and the cartoons were over. Luna and I got up and I went into my room to grab some suitable clothes for hiking. ‘Do I even have suitable clothes for hiking?’ I asked myself as I rummaged through my travel bags. I took my duster coat along with some camouflaged cargo pants.

I put on the shoulder holster and slid my Desert Eagle into the holster along with three extra magazines. ‘Whatta yah afraid of? Colt-scouts?” I thought to myself then chuckled as I walked back into the living room. Somehow Luna always managed to get dressed faster than me. She already had her leather clothes on and was ready to go.

“So… the Los Pegasus forest?” I asked, she shook her head and brought out a map. She had circled the spots in a mountain area she wanted to go. “Alright let’s hit the road Jack” I said, she gave me a strange look. I chuckled, “Sorry, old catch phrase” I informed her as we flicked off the lights in the house and left.

* * *

Clare, Los Pegasus forest area:

I slowed the Harley to a stop, parked it and turned it off. I pocketed the keys then grabbed our hiking bags. We had both packed lightly: water, food, maps, compass, that sort of thing. “Couldn’t you just fly to the top of the mountain?” I asked as we began to walk into the forest trails. Luna snickered “Well that would completely take away from the point of hiking wouldn’t it. And besides, I wouldn’t get to spend time with you if I did that” she said lovingly. She trotted closer to me and nestled her head against my neck as we walked along the trails towards the mountains.

“So Clare tell me, have you been thinking much about the future?” Luna asked but I shook my head. “Nah, I try not to foretell future events. It usually stresses me out so I just let it be” I replied as we continued along, there wasn’t a single other pony or human out in the trails, not even a hoof or footprint.

“Don’t you just love nature?” she asked, I looked around. Birds flew about and sang out their melodies, woodland creatures scuttled about. “Yeah… but sometimes it scares me” I replied and she looked to me with curiosity in her eyes. “Why?” she asked curiously, I turned to her. “I’ve been in too many jungle conflicts to be calm in forest environments. But as long as I don’t think about it my nerves stay rather calm” I informed her.

I had a slight sway in my pace and Luna mimicked it almost perfectly. “So, have you been thinking about the future?” I asked her and she looked back up to me. “Only a little, but I don’t like to make hopes and dreams out of it because my future is already set. I am the night princess and that is all I will ever be” she replied rather sadly. “Awe come on, that’s not true” I said positively, she rolled her eyes as if it was a joke. “Please don’t try and humour me” she told me and I stopped in my tracks, she turned and looked to me.

“Come on Luna, you’re so much more than just ‘The night princess’, you bring night to ponies, you help them through their dreams. You’re more than just ‘The night princess’” I reassured her. We continued our walk through the trails, I could tell something was on her mind but I didn’t want to pry at her to find out.

We approached the mountain side, I looked up the mountain and whistled. “Long way up” I muttered as I looked over to Luna. “Sure you don’t wanna just fly up?” I asked but she shook her head. “Let’s do this like most other ponies would have to” she replied and we began the long trek up the mountain side.

The mountains weren’t actually all that bad and the hike only took us a few hours to reach the summit. We sat on a more flattened part of the peak, “Wow, it looks different from up here” I muttered as I sat down. Luna sat beside me, “Yeah, really is something” she murmured as I pulled out some crackers and cheese. “Here catch” I said and tossed her the container of crackers and cheese, she caught them in her magical aurora and opened the container.

I pulled out another container of crackers and cheese and began to munch on the crackers, “I’m surprised that we didn’t see a single other pony or person along the trails” I said, Luna nodded as she continued to eat the crackers. We sat there for over an hour just eating and talking about little things like climate change on earth and what not until she asked something that I wasn’t really expecting.

“Did you ever have children?” she asked, I gave her a strange look. “You mean like did I ever have a child?” I asked and she nodded. I shook my head, “Why not?” she asked and I shrugged. “Who knows, guess it wasn’t meant to be. Besides, I probably wouldn’t make a good dad either” I replied as I took a bite out of a sandwich. “I think you would make a good father” she told me but I shook my head. “Of course you would, you’re kind, loving, affectionate, caring. You’d make an excellent father and a child would be lucky to have you as a father” she told me.

“No, I’d be gone away to the military too much” I told her as I took yet another bite of the sandwich. “Well I still think you would’ve been a good father, had you taken a chance” she replied. “Yeah, I have a feeling that being a dad wouldn’t have been the greatest idea. The kid would barely know who I was, let alone love me” I said sadly as I finished the sandwich. “How bout you?” I asked.

“Hmm?” she replied, “You ever have kids?” I asked and she shook her head quickly. “Star Gazer and I, we… we never really… we couldn’t have foals together” she replied and a tear came to her eye. “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to” I began but she cut me off, “It’s okay… sometimes it’s good to talk about things” she told me as she stood up.

I looked to my watch, it was just past noon. “Yeah I guess we should be heading down now” I said as I got up with a groan. “Are you hurt?” she asked worriedly, I shook my head. “Just a little tired” I replied as I stretched out and yawned. We nodded to each other then preceded down the mountain side, Luna still said that there was no fun in flying down because it took the point away from hiking.

We finally reached the bottom of the mountain and Luna brought out the map to see which way to go, unfortunately in our lack of attention we had walked down the wrong side of the mountain and would either have to walk all the way back up and over or walk around the mountain. “I’m leaning towards the forest” I replied and Luna nodded but no sooner had we agreed to trek through the forest, a hard gust of wind blew past and took the map out of Luna’s hooves and away into the forest.

Luna was going to try and catch it with her magical aurora but it flew out of sight to fast. “Well this is great, things couldn’t get any worse” I chuckled, ‘So we have to walk all the way around and have no map’ I thought to myself as we began to walk through the forest. Not even five minutes after I said that it started to pour rain, we got soaked nearly instantly, my hair flattened out and dripped as Luna’s leather jacket repelled some of the rain yet I could tell that she was becoming wet as well. The sky was dark from the thunder clouds and the rain was almost thick enough that we could barely see past fifty yards even in the forest trails. “Okay… It’s worse”

Author's Note

Sorry for taking a few days just to get one chapte out but I've been getting home pretty late from work and on Monday a baby calf chomped my fucking thumb, stupid thing thinks that I'm its mother and thought my thumb was an utter tit.

Chapter 23: I love a rainy night

Clare, Los Pegasus forest:

We scurried along the trails but figured we were going nowhere fast. “Alright, let’s find somewhere to hide out” I said to Lune as we galloped along. “I’ll agree with that one” she said so we agreed to hide out until the rain stopped.

As we ran off the trail and through the woods I pointed to a cave entrance. “Good a place as any” I shouted over the sound of pouring rain. We both raced into the cave, dripping water in caverns echoed throughout the cave. “Alright… a cave… I love caves” I muttered sarcastically as we walked deeper into the cave but stayed close enough to the entrance that our path were still dimly lit by whatever light did pass through the thunder clouds above.

I dropped my hiking bag on the cold rock floor of the cave then tussled my hair to shake all the water out. Luna shook her body like a dog but her body didn’t get much drier due to the leather clothes that she still had on. “Alright I’m gonna go get some firewood and uhm… I don’t know what you want to do so uhm… I’ll be back” I told her then walked back into the pouring rain to try and find something that I could use for firewood, but most of the wood would be soaked by now.

I scavenged some wood and twigs then rushed back to the cave, Luna had probably gone exploring the deeper parts of the cave because she wasn’t here, nor was her clothes so she probably had gone off as soon as I left to get the firewood.

I put together a small fire pit close to the entrance of the cave so that the smoke wouldn’t gag us when the fire was going. I fidgeted with the twigs for a few minutes and got the fire to start. “Jeeze, why the hell did it have to rain” I said to myself as I started to stoke the fire.

Luna still wasn’t back yet but I figured she had probably found something that she thought was fascinating. I started putting larger pieces of wood on the fire and the fire crackled.

Suddenly I heard a scream echo throughout the caverns. It had to be Luna, I grabbed a large stick then rummaged through the bag for a piece of cloth or something that would keep a torch burning. I couldn’t find anything good enough to use as a burning cloth so I tore off my wet t-shirt and wrapped it around the end of the stick then placed it over the fire.

The t-shirt caught fire and began to slowly burn. I ran down the caverns with the makeshift torch lighting my way. I heard another scream then a roar of some sort of creature. ‘Right I forgot. Spooky cave equals monsters’ I thought to myself as I unholstered my Desert Eagle.

I entered a large open part of the cave where Luna took cover from a medium sized enraged dragon. The dragon caught sight of my torch light and breathed a large blast of fire at me. I dropped my torch and lept behind a rock which shielded me from the fire blast, ‘Great this day gets better by the minute’ I thought sarcastically.

I peeked over the rock to see that the dragon had switched its attention back to Luna. I darted from cover and raced around then lept beside Luna just as the dragon breathed another blast of fire. “Where were you” Luna asked breathlessly, “Getting firewood” I replied as I tried to peek around the rock cover. “What took you so long?” she asked, I looked back to her. “Traffic” I quoted jokingly then rolled sideways.

The dragon took notice of me and switched its attention to me rather than Luna. I lept to my feet and the dragon began chase me. I had heard that dragon scales were extremely tough like elephant hide and only large caliber rifles or full metal jacket high velocity rounds could penetrate a dragon’s hide. So I wondered if a shoot to the belly would kill it.

The dragon breathed a gust of fire that trailed close behind me, I held my pistol in my left hand, arm fully extended and aimed for the exposed lower chest where the dragon’s tough scales didn’t protect. I blasted off all seven .50 caliber AE rounds into the dragon, the bullets expelled out the barrel of the pistol and the thunderous BOOMs of the large pistol deafened the entire cave.

The dragon howled in pain and I could easily see a few entry wounds in the lower chest area of the dragon where the bullets had entered. I ducked behind the cover of a rock and loaded a fresh magazine into the massive handgun, despite the recoil in these guns the ballistic trauma they caused well made up for the weight and recoil.

I peeked around the corner to see the dragon hiss and race towards me, scampering along like a komodo dragon. The sheer sight of it sent shivers down my back as the dragon stuck its snake like tongue out and revealed its razor sharp teeth. Drool dangled from its mouth as it quickly closed the gap between us in a matter of seconds. The dragon let out a horrifying hiss as it opened its mouth wide and tried to leap on me. I quickly snapped my aim up to its head and fired a single .50 caliber round right through the roof of its mouth.

The powerful .50 caliber round slammed through the roof of its mouth and blasted right through its skull and blew out the back of the dragon’s head. The exit wound exploded violently and sent bits of brain matter and blood spewing all behind it. The dragon thumped to the floor lifelessly. “You’re luggage” I told the dead dragon. “What? That makes no sense” Luna told me.

I looked over to her and shrugged, “Well you know… because he… it… oh it sounded better in my head” I stammered, she had ruined a perfectly cool one liner. Luna walked up to my side, “That gun packs quite a punch if it can kill an adolescent dragon” she commented. I looked to the shiny handgun and nodded.

“Well uhm, I got the fire going and I’m hungry so let’s get something to eat” I suggested, she agreed and we both walked back to the entrance of the cave where the fire still burned. The rain was still pouring outside and it was almost like we were behind a water fall or something. “What happened to your shirt anyways?” Luna asked.

“Well I needed some light so I made a torch out of my shirt” I informed her, she chuckled at my ridiculous creativity. I started making a makeshift laundry line out of some rope we had taken with us for rock climbing and set our wet clothes on the line by the fire so they could dry.

I walked over to the waterfall by the entrance, technically it wasn’t a waterfall but it was close enough. I stepped into the water and quickly washed myself off, Luna looked over to me and walked over. “Isn’t that cold?” she asked and I nodded, “So why do it?” she asked curiously. “Needed a shower anyway” I said jokingly, really I just thought it would be fun to stand in a waterfall, even if it wasn’t a real one.

Luna stepped beside me under the waterfall and let the icy cold water soak into her fur, she shivered but stayed under the water. After I quickly washed my body I walked back over to the fire and she fllowed. I still wore my boxers, for obvious reasons, which were now soaked and made me that much colder.

I sat beside the fire and Luna sat across from me. I rubbed my hands together quickly then placed them close to the fire to try and warm up. The fire was blazing hot and quickly warmed us both up but Luna soon got up and shook like a dog, semi cold water splashed at me. “Hey, I was almost dry” I complained jokingly, she laughed and on purposely aimed the shaking water at me.

I snickered at her child like behaviour and grabbed our hiking bags in search of some food. I knew we had packed extra for later so we had to have something good. As I rummaged through the food I cursed to myself. “What’s wrong?” she asked and I sighed in disappointment. “We’re out of crackers and cheese” I complained, she laughed at my disappointment from lack of crackers and cheese and walked over to see what was left.

“Well there is: some fruit salad… and some potato salad… and some” she began but I gasped in excitement as I found some apple fritters. ‘Oh yeah I forgot I packed those’ I thought to myself. “Yes and there’s some sweets” Luna replied as I began sorting through the food.

As the night went on our clothes dried and we put them back on, well I didn’t have a top layer of clothes because the duster coat was rather uncomfortable without something underneath like a t-shirt, usually I wouldn’t complain but the fire was warm enough to keep me from getting cold. Luna had gone out and raised the moon though no-pony would see it due to the dark thunder clouds above.

We roasted marshmallows over the fire, ‘Why did we pack marshmallows?’ I thought to myself but then figured I shouldn’t wonder and just be happy that I did pack them. “Mwah-ha-ha, marshmallows” I said childishly as I chewed a mouthful of crispy marshmallows, Luna shook her head in semi amusement and ate a goldenly roasted marshmallow. I looked to my watch, thank god this thing was water proof. “9:20pm” I muttered, Luna yawned. It had been a long day and I was feeling sleepy as well.

Luna lay down on the cold cave floor but thanks to the leather jacket and pants it was probably a little more comfortable and the fire probably kept her warm as well. She rustled around a little then tried to fall asleep. I reached up to the makeshift laundry line and grabbed my duster coat then walked over to her. I set the duster coat overtop of her like a blanket and tucked her in. She opened her eyes and looked up to me.

“Won’t you be cold?” she asked but I shook my head. “Nah. The fire will keep me warm for the night” I replied and kissed her on the forehead then walked over to my spot where I had been sitting.

The hour seemed to progress slowly as I inspected my Desert Eagle. I constantly looked down the sights of the guns, pulling back the hammer manually then pulling the trigger. The click of the hammer would echo silently throughout the cave but it shouldn’t have been loud enough to wake Luna. I stopped anyway figuring maybe it was keeping her awake and she was just pretending to sleep.

I sat there and watched the fire, checking my watch every so often. The time was 10:29pm and I was ready to dose off when Luna stirred in her sleep and she caught my attention. I figured perhaps it was best to stay watch for the night in case any predators like Timberwolves or bobcats came around looking for something to eat.

I looked at my watch again then sighed quietly as I watched the burning fire. Luna stirred again then arouse from her resting spot and began to trot over to me. “Sorry, I didn’t wake you did I?” I asked and she nodded. “Sorry” I apologized but she shook her head. “No don’t be. I can’t stop thinking about you” she whispered seductively as she pressed her lips up against mine, pushing my body to the ground then lying on top of me.

I ran my hands up the sides of her leather jacket as she stuck her tongue in my mouth. I wrapped my arms around her and held her body close to mine. She moaned inside my mouth, ‘Damn, well this is a turn of events’

Author's Note

Yes a turn of events indeed, I think I'm gonna sleep on this one because writing clop scenes is rather... disturbing for me due to the fact that I imagine my book while I write it so... yeah anyway just so all you readers know my thmb isn't missing, the calf only took a bite on my thumb but it still ripped of a nice piece of skin and what not, I look at my thumb and think 'Damn, I could've lost my thumb almost...'

Chapter 24: Teasing

Clare:

I pulled back from the kiss. “Alright now I know it’s a bad time to ask but are you sure you really want this? I mean I know we’ve kissed and stuff but do you really want” I began to ask but she cut me off as she aggressively pressed her lips against mine again. ‘I’ll take that as a yes’ I thought to myself.

The sound of pouring rain echoed in the caverns as the fire kept us warm. Her leather coat was pressed against my bare chest and gave my skin a weird sensational feeling. Our tongues wrestled for domination over the other but I let her tongue best mine, wondering what exactly her tongue could do. She stuck her tongue deeper into the depths of my mouth and I almost gagged but held it back as I ran my hands gently up her sides.

I hadn’t noticed but I was running out of oxygen and had to pull my mouth away to get a breath of air. I slid my left hand to the collar of the jacket and gripped the zipper of the jacket and slowly unzipped it, I was breathing somewhat erratically but hadn’t really taken notice of it. “Is something wrong?” Luna asked and I shook my head. “Been a while, that’s all” I replied.

She giggled, “You’re telling me” she laughed and I wanted to face palm as I remembered her telling me she hadn’t loved for over one thousand years. I finished unzipping her jacket and I slid my arms underneath the jacket and around her bare body then pulling her body close to mine. Her fur against my body felt amazing and I think she felt the same way because she tried to stifle a moan but it didn’t quite turn out the way she had planned and it sounded kind of like a grunt.

I stifled a laugh, “What’s so funny?” she asked. “You know we’re alone right? So if you feel like moaning go ahead, I don’t think anyone is watching” I chuckled. She looked around and sighed, “Sorry, I’m not really used to this” she apologized. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not too bright about the whole sex thing either” I reassured her, like riding a bike I guess, it comes so naturally but don’t do it for a few years and things are a little bit tricky when you try them again but then again I was a fast leaner and quickly remembered things I had learned.

We began to tongue kiss again as I ran my hands up and down her back, she constantly moaned in my mouth as the sheer feeling of bodily contact exhilarated her. She placed her right hoof around the back of my head and slid her left hoof down my side, it felt different than anything I had ever felt before.

I leaned back from the kiss, “Luna… I love you” I said through a slight breath. “I know, I love you to” she whispered, I slid my leg down and around hers and flipped our bodies over so that I was on top. I began to kiss her again but then slowly broke away from the kiss and began to kiss her down her neck. She let out a slight moan as I began to trail my kisses lower down her body.

She just lay there as I trailed my kisses down her chest but as I reached her stomach area I stopped kissing her and let my tongue trail along her stomach. She let out another moan as my wet tongue trailed closer to her lower body region. I reached her breasts, which on ponies was near the lower stomach area.

I licked a figure eight around both her breasts then began to gently suck on one of her nipples as I caressed her other breast with my right hand and gave her nipple a gentle squeeze. Her moans became louder as I continued my erotic massage, “Oh Clare… oh yes… I love you sooo much” she moaned.

I stopped my massage and gave both her tits a gentle kiss then began to trail my tongue even lower down her body until I reached the waist of her brown leather pants. She was breathing heavily as I unbuttoned the leather pants with my fingers but then took my hand away as I leaned my face right against her groin area of the pants and took hold of the zipper with my teeth.

I slowly pulled down the zipper and as I did my nose caught a whiff of an arousing fragrance. I unzipped her pants and brought my hands up to the waistline of the pants and slowly slid them off. After I completely removed her pants I brought my attention back to her lower regions and I saw where the arousing fragrance had come from.

Her pussy was absolutely soaked and I had this strong feeling that she had been ridiculously aroused for some time now and hadn’t told me out of fear of a possible negative reaction. “Jesus… you’re… you’re soaking wet” I stuttered. She covered her face with her hooves, “I’m sorry, I can’t control myself. I’m so horny that it just… just…” she trailed off in saddened disappointment with herself. I pulled my body over hers again then nudged her hooves away from her face and began to kiss her again.

I leaned back from the kiss, “I should be sorry, if I had known this earlier I probably would’ve… actually I still would’ve been a little cautious because you’re the princess. I had no idea you were like this, I’m sorry I didn’t… well you know” I said figuring she probably got the idea of my statement. “No I don’t know, please continue. I’m intrigued” she giggled.

I chuckled to myself knowing exactly what she wanted me to say. “Well first I would start kissing you, then I’d” I began but she cut me off, “Yes, we already did that. Tell me what you’re going to do to me now” she said seductively. I thought to myself, so far I had been just going with the flow and hoping that everything sort of played out.

“Well first I’m gonna make out with you some more” I said then quickly thought about something else to say. “Then I’m going to very slowly run my tongue down your sexy body and suckle your breasts until I feel you’re breasts are satisfied. Then I’ll run my tongue down to your needy wet pussy and tease you until you tell me to stop then I’ll very slowly begin to lick your outer entrance and make you scream for me to stop and as you beg for me to finish you, I’ll leave you clinging on the edge of your orgasm” I informed her.

“Ha! You think you could make me, the night princess, beg?” she replied and I nodded, “I don’t think, I know” I told her. “Try me” she replied. I quickly leaned down to her lips and pressed mine against hers and we began to make out. Our tongues battled for domination over one another but this time I didn’t let my tongue be bested by hers and forced my tongue into her mouth. Her tongue was a little longer than mine and wrapped around mine as I licked the top of her mouth.

I pulled back, a trail of saliva was strung between both our lips, and lowed my lips down to her neck and began to run my tongue slowly down her body.

* * *

Luna:

His tongue was wet and slid down my fur, it felt so wonderful and made my lust for him grow. His tongue trailed down my belly and reached my breasts and he began to gently suck on them, the shocks of pleasure jolted through my body and I couldn’t help but to let a moan slip from my mouth.

He sucked on my left nipple and caressed my right breast with his left hand and gently squeezed the nipple with his thumb and finger. I began to moan a little louder as the powerful pleasure began to course through my body. As I felt my tits begin to tingle he stopped his erotic massage and continued to run his tongue downwards.

“Hey… you didn’t… finish there” I said through heavy pants of sexual arousal. “Well you did say you wouldn’t submit and I said I would make you scream for me to finish you off… so it’s like a competition” he told me. I scoffed silently to myself as I realized he was serious about leaving me unsatisfied until I screamed. Well I wouldn’t be beaten so easily, by the end of this he would be exhausted and I would come out on victorious.

His tongue lowered to my nether regions but unlike I was expecting he stopped just above my entrance and leaned back. I looked down to see his right hand slowly approach my needy slit but he didn’t slid a finger inside me. Instead he gently trickled his finger around my pussy lips.

I tried to hold back a moan, trying to best him, but I couldn’t hold it back and my moan of pleasure escaped my mouth, betraying my body and letting Clare know that I needed satisfaction. He continued to slide his finger around my lower genital area and once every so often he’d slid his finger up the center of my pussy but never allowing his finger to enter my inner walls.

“Clare enough, stop teasing me and put it in already” I moaned, he snickered. “Losing control so soon?” he asked and I realized that this was exactly what he said he’d do to me. “No, I won’t let you best me” I replied strongly but he chuckled at my efforts to hold myself in check, which were starting to fail.

I looked down to him and watched him slowly lean his head forward and extend his wet tongue but once again he began to tease my already soaking pussy. Just like he said he would, he began to gently lick his tongue around my entrance and never entering inside my needy vagina. The tickling sensation drove me body and mind insane.

He chuckled and I looked down to him. “What’s… so funny?” I asked through heavy breathing. “I found your fun button” he said, I scrunched my nose. “My fun button… ahhhh” I screamed as I felt him take a quick suck on my clitoris.

My back arched almost naturally and my head swung back in the pure ecstasy of sexual pleasure. It was as if electrical currents ran through my veins but he somehow managed to keep my pleasure at an intense level without allowing me to reach an orgasm.

The sheer pleasure was driving me insane, I felt like I had hit a plateau of pleasure that would never stop. “Please… please just stick it in me” I panted but he simply continued his gentle licking, he began to become more adventurous and would slide his tongue down the entrance of my vagina but he never entered my love tunnel and would keep himself outside of me.

As my pleasure began to intensify my moans began to change into loud screams but he still kept me from reaching an orgasm. “Please Clare… CLARE STICK IT IN ME” I screamed, forgetting completely about our little competition.

“Giving up so soon?” he asked, I cursed myself for becoming so uncontrolled but he seemed to have a way of making me lose my self-control. He began to lick a little harder but still kept his tongue movements gentle and caressing but would slide his tongue a few millimeters deeper into my vagina. I screamed, the feel of those few extra millimeters seemed like it was driving me over the edge yet he still kept me away from reaching an orgasm.

“CLARE… GADDAMMIT CLARE PLEASE… PLEASE” I begged, “Told you I could make you beg” he laughed. “Please Clare… I can’t stand this… you’ve had me on the edge for so long… I can’t… I can’t hold it… please just stick it in me” I begged like a child at the candy store. I had lost the bet. But in the name of Celestia he had brought me to a whole new level of pleasure I didn’t even know existed.

“I think I’m going to punish you just a little longer” he said as he continued to tease me with his tongue, I tried to bring my hooves down to finish myself but he quickly grabbed both my hooves with his hands and held them away, restricting me from obtaining the orgasm that I now so badly needed.

I tried to push my hooves down but he easily out powered me. I desperately tried to cast a magical spell but found that I was too distracted from the pleasure to focus enough to cast the spell. “Hmm I think you’ve suffered enough” he said seductively as he finally stuck his tongue as far as it could reach inside my vagina and gave a powerful suck, my clitoris sent powerful jolts of pleasure through my body.

My back arched by itself, my forelegs pressed down on his head as my hindlegs curled up around the back of his head and kept his head in place in place. I swung my head back and screamed uncontrollably as my body was ravaged by the orgasm that racked my entire body. I felt like the world around me exploded in a flash, I felt myself cum uncontrollably as he continued to run his tongue along the inside of my inner walls.

Author's Note

Excuse me while I go cry to myself, when I was sitting writting Luna's perspective (Since I imagine the story to write it) I was like 'Good god I have a vagina... and Clare is performing oral sex on me... I feel sooo gay'... I'm just gonna go and... sit outside in the cold and... uhhhgg god that creeped me out and I still have to write the rest of the second part... (Sighs in self disapointment)

Chapter 25: For love

Clare:

A load of pussy cum blasted in my mouth, I was going to spit it out but figured I had teased her so much that the least I could do was swallow. Well that and the fact that she had me wrapped up so tight to her pussy that I couldn’t move much.

At first I was hesitant to swallow but then I realized it tasted like sweet honey, most guys that talked about pussy juice and girl cum usually said it tasted horrible. Guess I was a lucky guy. Luna’s vaginal walls clamped down on my tongue and squeezed it tightly as I continued to lick her inner walls with my tongue.

She began to settle down and I could feel her muscles relax, her legs unwrapped from around my head and she released me from her grasp. “Clare… that… was… amazing” she gasped, obviously still feeling the after effects of the orgasm. “I thought you said… you were rusty?” she asked and I nodded. “I remember Corporal Hart telling me about doing that to some mare and how it drove her over the edge” I informed her and she nodded breathlessly.

My boner could no longer stand being neglected and ached for attention, “Yeah, yeah I’ll deal with you later” I muttered. “What?” she asked and I rolled my eyes. “Nothing, just a boner, it’ll go away in due time” I informed her but she scrunched her nose. “Well that would be no fair, I can’t take all the pleasure” she told me, “Trust me, it was my honour just to” I began but she caught me off guard as she quickly lept up and began to kiss me again.

She knocked me onto my back and crawled on top of me with a glinting look in her eye. “I have to satisfy my lover you know” she whispered as she pressed her lips up against mine. She wiggled her hindlegs and kept her balance as she tried to pull my pants off. I pulled away from the kiss, “Here let me help you with that, guess fingers have a couple of uses that I usually don’t consider” I said as I helped her slip off my pants but first I had to kick off my boots and socks which I still had on.

All that I had left was my underwear which had transformed into more of a tent due to my erection. “I think that it’s my turn to tease you” she teased as she used her magic to slide off my boxers. “Okay… payback is a dish best served cold huh?” I quoted but she shook her head. “No, best served with sex and…” she gasped as she lowered herself down and slide her marehood against my shaft. “And love” she finished. “That makes no sense” I replied but she paid me no mind and continued to slide her entrance against me erection which throbbed in need of attention.

“Looks like you need a little… satisfaction hmm?” she asked and I rolled my eyes. “I have this feeling that I won’t be begging you for an orgasm” I chuckled with a wink “Unless you say please”.

“We’ll see” she countered and began to slide up and down a little faster, obviously enjoying the feel of it. I pulled her down and we began to make out again, she quickly pulled away. “Please” she whispered, her voice echoed with seductiveness that made my heart race. “Please… Luna I want you… I need your warm embrace” I whispered and licked the side of her neck.

She slid her pussy up my shaft then lined the entrance up with the tip of my penis. We both gasped as a burst of pleasure went through us as my penis head touched her pussy entrance. She slowly began to descend, it felt like this was taking forever and… oh yeah I forgot that she was getting her revenge. She gasped and moaned several times, obviously still very sensitive from the recent orgasm she endured.

Jeeze it had felt like an hour had passed and only my head was inside of her, I wanted to just thrust her so badly but I felt like I deserved this enduringly long insertion. As she slid down she looked to me, “Clare… I love you so much” she whispered then stopped at halfway. My cock throbbed to be all the way inside of her, jeeze she was so tight and her inner walls seemed to be so soft yet so firm that it drove me insane.

“Getting antsy are we?” Luna teased and I nodded. “Well say the magic word” she told me, “Please” I replied but she shook her head. “What? What’s the magic word?” I asked and she smiled. “Tell me that you can’t stand another moment in this world unless you are fully inside of me… I want you to tell me that you love me and can’t stand being without me or my... ah… my needy wet cunt” she whispered.

Her talking this dirty drove me crazy, I loved her so much but I decided to play a little first. “That’s more than one word you know” I replied, she rolled her eyes but before she could say anything I rolled our bodies over. My manhood slipped out of her vagina but as I rested her body below mine I lined myself back up with her. “I couldn’t live without you, I don’t know how I’ve lived without you… and I can’t stand another moment being outside of you” I whispered into her ear as I slowly slid my penis into her wet needy pussy.

She moaned in pleasure but I quickly muffled her moans as I began to kiss her again. I slid considerably faster inside of her than she had but it was still a slow penetration. My penis finally bottomed out in her deepest wall and we both gasped then just lay there for several moments, enjoying the feeling of the sacred attachment we were sharing together.

She pulled back from the kiss. “Clare… take me” she whispered and I didn’t need to be told twice. I began to pull back and I felt her inner walls close in front of my shaft as I pulled out of her, only leaving my head inside of her. I could tell that we both felt the urge for me to fill her again. My groin ached to be back inside and I obliged its need and slowly slid back inside of her.

I gave a grunted moan but she gave a more feminine moan as I began my slow thrusting. She matched my thrusts, “Ha-ha, the fun has been doubled” she quoted, well that was random.

The fire continued to crackle, keeping us warm, and the rain still poured down from the mighty thunder clouds above. I slid my arms behind her back and held her tightly to my body as we made love together in the cave. Her moans echoed through the caverns and were usually drowned out by the echoes of the waterfall at the entrance of the cave.

I could feel her building up again and she had to break away from the kiss as she began to scream in pleasure and an orgasm rocked her body. I felt her inner walls squeeze around my cock and it intensified the pleasure of each thrust. I kept her body tight to mine and continued thrusting. “Oh… fuck me Clare… yes just like that” she moaned.

She felt absolutely incredible, didn’t matter who I compared her to, Luna easily was the best lover I ever had and I planned to stay with her forever. My thrusts became a little faster and I picked up the pace. Luna had just settled down from her recent orgasm and was still sensitive and she was nearing the peak of yet another orgasm.

“Ah Clare… I think I’m going to…ahhhhh” she screamed as her body tensed from yet another orgasm, her pussy clenched down on my penis again as she endured the third orgasm of the night. I slowed my pace a little and she bit the bottom of her lip to try and silence the screams of pleasure. “Let it out honey, no one can hear us” I whispered and she tried to breathe but found it difficult. She began to scream and moan loudly as her orgasm passed, the screams drained out the echoes of the waterfall and her screams echoed throughout the caverns. It almost sounded as if another couple was having sex somewhere else in the cave.

“Oh Clare… oh my goddess Clare… you’re gonna make me cum again if you don’t slow down” she gasped breathlessly. “Do you want me to make you cum again?” I asked curiously, not exactly sure if she wanted me to stop or keep going. “Clare… make me cum again, it feels amazing” she whispered and I obliged her wish and continued thrusting, slowly picking up the pace.

She began to match my pace perfectly, we both began to moan in pleasure though my moans were more along the sounds of grunts. Our bodies were pressed together and her fur rubbing against my body sent sensational feeling along my entire body.

Her wet pussy juice had begun to run down her hindlegs, it had lubricated my penis and splashed up against my entire groin area. I began to feel the pressure build up inside me and quickly checked my watch. If we had started roughly around 10:30ish and it was midnight now, that meant we had been going at it for over an hour and a half. I nodded to myself and figured it had to end eventually.

Luna began to scream again and her vagina yet again clenched around my cock as she endured yet another orgasm, I had stopped counting but I think she was at five or six. The clenching of her inner walls brought me that much closer and I began to thrust faster and harder.

Luna screamed, she was still very sensitive and I quickly brought her back to her peak rather than let her cool down. “Ah Clare… Clare” she moaned and I slowed my pace. “Luna… I’m so close” I told her, she looked up to me and her eyes sparkled. “Wait… let’s do it together” she said, well I was kind of leaning towards that anyway.

I nodded and continued to thrust but soon my more primal part of me took control and my thrusts became more erratic. I no longer grunted as I began to let out groans of pleasure as I tried to hold myself back but felt myself coming to my peak. Luna screamed incredibly loud as she wrapped her hindlegs around my back and squeezed my lower body tight to hers but that didn’t stop me from thrusting her.

“Ah Clare I’m cumming… Clare cum inside me” she screamed, well I was going to ask what she wanted me to do but I guess I didn’t even need to ask. I felt her pussy clench up tighter than ever before and her back arched upwards. I held her body tight to mine and quickly sealed our lips together. I stuck my tongue into her mouth and I could feel her deep moans of pleasure echo in my mouth. I gave out a muffled moan of incredible pleasure as I felt myself reach my peak.

My cock spasmed as I gave one final thrust deep inside of her and buried my cock into her deepest wall and let myself go. I felt myself cum and my warm sticky seed coated her vagina and quickly filled her pussy with my cum. We broke away from the kiss and I rested my head beside hers as I gasped in exhaustion, she was also panting heavily. I gave a few victory thrusts as my penis continued to blow loads of cum inside of her. I left my cock inside of her filled pussy as cum dripped out of her entrance and onto the cold floor of the cave. “Clare… that was amazing” she whispered. We began to kiss again as my cock finally stopped twitching and her vagina walls relaxed.

I rolled over and we cuddled together, I felt my penis shrink inside her vagina but her pussy walls kept closing around my penis as it shrunk. Luna’s horn suddenly flared up and I watched her cast a spell upon herself then she began to rub her stomach. “What was that?” I asked and she leaned over to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

“A very complicated and complex spell” she informed me, I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but I meant what does it do?” I asked. “I cast a spell on my womb that will allow me to become pregnant with your sperm despite our very different anatomies” she informed me. My eyes went wide “You’re… you’re pregnant?” I asked and she nodded, “So… I’m… I’m gonna be a dad?” I asked proudly and she nodded again as she leaned forwards and kissed me. “You’re going to be a father and I’m going to be a mother, and we’ll have beautiful children together” she whispered to me and we began to cuddle each other as we fell asleep in each other’s comfort in the cave.

Chapter 26: Beautiful Morning

Clare:

The morning sunlight shawn upon my bare skin and the sudden warmth awoke me as the hair along my arm prickled up. The fire had gone out at some point during the night and the sky had stopped raining. I moved my tongue around my mouth, I had that terrible morning taste in my mouth that made my stomach churn. I moved my tongue around in my mouth and was about to sit up when I realized that Luna’s body rested on my right arm and I remembered that we passed out together.

The morning mist had a beautiful fragrance to it and I could hear the chirping of birds outside. I yawned then wrapped my left arm around her and embraced her body in a morning hug. Her body felt amazingly warm against my skin as I held her body close to mine.

She rustled in her sleep then slowly awoke, her eyes glistened beautifully. “Good morning” I whispered. She leaned forward and we kissed briefly. “Good morning” she replied as she shifted her body off of my arm and stood up. I sat up and grabbed my clothes, quickly slipping them on and rustling around to fit them comfortably on my body. I still didn’t have a t-shirt but it didn’t matter all that much as the morning was actually quite warm.

Luna slipped on her leather clothes and looked to me. “Shall we go?” she asked, I looked over to her and nodded as I let out a morning yawn. I slid on my socks and boots and grabbed our hiking gear which was now considerably lighter due to the amount of food and supplies we had eaten last night.

I slipped the gear on my back and we walked out of the cave where we had spent the passionate night together. The morning mist smelt beautiful and tingled against my bare chest which was exposed. There was mist on the grass that dampened my hiking boots as we walked through the forest.

The trees shadowed the light from the sun as we walked through the forest together and Luna nuzzled her head into my side, I placed an arm over her and walked along with her by my side. This morning seemed perfect.

* * *

Cpt. Shining Armor, Canterlot Castle:

I lay beside my wife and rubbed her belly, which was now very large due to the foal that she was pregnant with. “I love you so much Cadence” I whispered softly, she giggled then rolled her eyes. “I know silly, you’ve told me that a dozen times this morning” she said through a giggle.

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, “I just couldn’t live without you and I want you to know” I whispered and she let out a humored sigh. “I know, I know. I’ve said it a dozen times” I laughed as I continued to rub her large belly.

She was 7 months pregnant and was due to have her foal soon, the doctors said it would still be a few weeks until she was ready to give birth. I had no idea how I had gotten so lucky, but I suppose fate had it set that we would be together.

I lay my head on her belly and embraced the warmth of her body. “Shining… what should we name our foal?” she asked me, I hadn’t thought too much about names but I was leaning towards Sunburst or maybe Rose Pedal. “I don’t know… maybe we should call her or him Rose Pedal… or maybe Sunburst” I suggested. “What about Cinnamon Swirl?” she asked, at first I thought it was ridiculous but then I thought about it some more and I thought it was an appealing name.

“We’ll call her Cinnamon Swirl” I whispered and she giggled. “What makes you think it’s a filly?” she asked, I looked up to her. “I have this feeling is all” I replied, she laughed. “Well maybe it will be a strong and compassionate colt just like his father” she told me, I shuffled my body upwards and leaned forward to kiss her. “Or maybe she will be a beautiful and loving young mare like her mother” I whispered and leaned forwards to kiss her.

She held a hoof up to my mouth. “Ah-ah-ah, first tell me what you’re going to do to me” she whispered, I let out a devious smile. We didn’t really want to engage in lower sexual activities, for the foal’s sake, but that didn’t mean we still didn’t play around. “Well first…” I began.

* * *

Clare, Los Pegasus beachfront:

I surfed along the waves with Luna, we had purchased surf boards and figured that we’d go surfing. Luna manipulated the water with her magic to create a large surfing wave.

We both surfed inside the large tunnel wave, it echoed immensely then I realized we were impossibly far from the exit of the tunnel and that the tunnel wave was closing.

“Oh we are so screwed” I muttered as the wave crashed down on both of us and sucked us underwater. I held my breath and waited for a moment then surfaced. I looked around and spotted Luna who was laughing hysterically. “WOOOH that was awesome” she laughed.

We swam back to shore, it had become late in the afternoon again but it was still only the fourth day of our vacation so we still had lots of time to do the things we wanted. I lay at the edge of the water and she lay beside me, putting her body on my right arm and resting her head on my chest as we watched the sun begin to set.

I smiled then pulled her body over top of mine. We began to kiss as water splashed up against us and the setting sun gave the sky a beautiful orange haze. “You know that my sister is going to freak out when she realizes that I’m pregnant” she told me and I nodded. “Well she can bitch about it all she wants” I replied and she laughed. “Well she probably won’t just deal with it and will be extremely pissed” she told me.

I chuckled to myself at the thought of Celestia freaking out. Her face would be beat red and it would be comical because steam would probably blow out her ears. “Well then, we’ll just have to wait for that day to arrive… but for now let’s just enjoy the vacation” I told her as we stood up and walked back to the house.

We made a trail of water and mucky sand as we both walked into the house, I’d have to clean that later. I yawned, though it was still early in the evening I was exhausted from the day, my watch said it was 8:28pm.

“Well I’m gonna go take a shower” I told Luna as I walked towards the washroom. “Try not to use all the hot water, I want to take a shower too” she called out to me. I gave her a thumbs up, acknowledging her request as I entered the washroom.

I kicked off my shorts I had used for swimming as I grabbed a fresh towel and hung it on the towel rack by the shower. I played with the shower controls until I got the shower head to spray out nice steamy warm water.

I stepped into the shower and began to wash myself off. I let out a deep sigh of relaxation as the steamy water washed down my body. I couldn’t help but to lie down in the rather large shower and close my eyes, the feeling of the warm shower water quickly put me to sleep.

* * *

6 months ago

Sgt. Clare, Everfree Forest:

I sat in a military Jeep parked by the makeshift barracks, my feet rested up on the hood since the windshield had been lowered. HQ had ordered us to stay the night in this shithole, apparently as some sort of precaution because the helicopters couldn’t see well at night or something. The others sat nearby, conversing about random things.

“I’m telling you man, that’s what happened” Hart told the others. “Bullshit, Lyra Heartstrings would never go for you” Louis said, “Yeah man, I had her bent over and she was screaming for me to finish her like ‘Oh goddess, Hart just finish me already please’” Hart said. I chuckled silently to myself, he was probably lying again like he usually did to try and impress the new guys but the older veterans usually called his bluff.

“So Applesauce, got any good stories?” Bakers asked one of the new recruits. Applesauce, according to the info report, was an apple family member but had gotten tangled into some drug deal or something.

“Nothing that you guys would want to hear” she replied as she sipped from her cup of… whatever the hell the quartermaster called the shit he served us. Anderson came and stood beside the Jeep. “Goddess, I can’t imagine why she’d get tangled into that” Anderson commented, probably trying to talk with me. “Yeah… you like her don’t you?” I asked and he nodded brainlessly then shook his head. “Well… I mean… she uhm… is pretty” he stuttered quickly, remembering that shadow guards weren’t supposed to have relations with one another.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell… just keep it to yourself and don’t get all emotional over her” I told him. He let out a sigh “Thanks Sarge, I didn’t mean to… ah hell no” he muttered. “What?” I asked and he held up his hoof, “It’s raining again” he said depressingly. I sighed as well as I felt the rain began to pour down on us.

My mind began to slip as I heard a banging sound echo in my dream. I tried to shake it out of my head then my mind returned to reality.

* * *

Clare, present day:

“Gah” I gasped as I awoke suddenly. The water was still running and the entire bathroom had become steamy. I hadn’t kept my watch on so I couldn’t check what time it was. “Clare… are you alright in there? You’ve been in there for an hour” Luna called to me.

I fell back as I realized I had passed out in the shower and my head banged against the porcelain floor of the shower with a loud CLACK. “Oww shit” I cursed as I rubbed the back of my head.

I didn’t hear the door open but Luna entered the bathroom and slid open the curtains of the shower. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly. She wasn’t wearing any clothes and stood there beside me. “Just… fell asleep was all” I replied, for some reason seeing her like this kind of got me aroused.

“Dreaming about me?” she asked and I shook my head then realized that I had an erection. I groaned and covered my face in embarrassment, she giggled. “Well regardless I still need a shower” she told me and entered the shower then closed the curtains beside her.

I lay in the tub and rubbed my forehead, the pleasant feeling of the shower water made me exhale deeply from relief. I wasn’t looking but Luna had positioned herself over top of my body and when I looked my eyes widened. “Uhm… hello” I stuttered, just blurting out the first thing that came to my mind. I felt stupid for not choosing a better choice of words.

She giggled at my random choice of words, “Hello” she laughed. “Uhm… I uhh… the shower kind of” I blurted out then stopped myself and thought about a better choice of words but my mind went blank as Luna lowered her vagina down over top of my erection and slid my penis inside of her.

“Uhm… Luna, the shower uhm” I stuttered still trying to piece together words. This was all too sudden for me and I couldn’t get a bearing on what was happening so I figured I’d just go with it.

Chapter 27: The movies

Clare:

I awoke from sleep in my bed, last night had been… well let’s just say it was passionate. I was about to get up when I felt the weight of part of Luna’s body resting on my chest. She was so affectionate and loving that I couldn’t bring myself to wake her so I lay there and gently ran my hand through her silky flowing mane.

She awoke with a slight yawn and looked up into my eyes. “Good morning beautiful” I whispered, she smile and leaned forward. We kissed briefly then she slid out of bed and I rolled off the other side of the bed. The bed stank of sex for obvious reasons so I pulled off the bed sheets and walked into the washroom and dumped the bed sheets into the washing machine and started the wash cycle.

I walked tiredly into the kitchen where Luna stood on her hindlegs over the kitchen counter and was making breakfast, I think. I quietly walked up behind her and slid my arms around her and held her close to me.

“A little affectionate this morning are we?” Luna giggled and I nodded as I kissed her neck. She let out a sigh of comfort as her head brushed up against mine. “So what do you want for breakfast?” I asked and she turned to me. “It’s Hearts and Hooves day tomorrow” she informed me, I wanted to slap myself for forgetting.

“Sorry I forgot” I replied and she nodded. “I just thought I’d remind you. I think we should have some cereal for breakfast, and tomorrow we’ll have a more romantic morning” she suggested. “Mmhmm, whatever you want sweetie” I replied and let go of her then grabbed two bowls out of the cupboards as Luna grabbed the cereal and milk.

We walked over and sat in the living room, she flicked on the TV. It was on some random discovery channel or something, I was going to change the channel but I was too busy pouring the cereal to bother changing the channel. The TV show went to commercials and there was a gunshot on the commercial then some comical laughter. There was a pig carcase with a large bullet hole in it.

“That’ll put another hole in the elephant right there boys” said a comical voice and I looked up to see a stallion on the TV walking with a Smith and Wesson 500 magnum with some ridiculous clothes on. A vehicle horn honked and a truck drove up. “I thought he wasn’t working today” said one of the police deputies, the stallion with the large revolver sighed.

The Pegasus known as Snowflake stepped out of the truck with a blunt look on his face and sunglasses. “Hey Snow how you doing man? Good to see you” said one of the officers. Snowflake shot him a cold look then looked back to the stallion with the large revolver. “Wow Snow you looked jacked, you been working out?” asked the stallion as he felt Snowflake’s massive biceps.

Snowflake still had a cold look on his face. “Give me the damn thing” Snowflake scoffed and yanked the pistol out of the stallion’s holster and pointed it at the pig carcase. The gun thundered and the commercial continued

I chuckled to myself. I had seen this movie before, well at least the human variant of it. If one planet made a good movie than the other planet simply copied the movie and just had ponies in it, I was surprised that no one had sued one another yet over copyright infringements.

Luna and I continued to watch the action packed trailer. As the final credits of the trailer revealed that it was in theatres Luna squealed. “Can we go see that?” she asked excitedly, I remembered watching it when I got some leave time from the military back on earth. It was an amazing movie and I wouldn’t mind going to see it again.

I nodded, “Yeah sure, we’ll go right after we eat” I replied and she let out a squeal of delight. I had no idea she liked action movies but I couldn’t really complain, at least she wasn’t making me go see Romeo and Juliet or something.

We finished breakfast and quickly got dressed and left the house. Luna once again wore her brown leather clothes and I wore my duster coat and some camouflaged cargo pants. I sat on the Harley and kick started it. It began to chug as the engine rumbled, Luna hopped on the back of the motorcycle and I drove us to the movie theaters.

The drive was quick and I parked the Harley around back of the theater and we walked inside. Unfortunately I had forgot to check the movie times before we left. The movie we had come to see didn’t start for another few hours. “We’ll walk around town until the 6 o’clock show” Luna suggested.

I nodded and we walked back out to the streets of Los Pegasus and began to tour around the city. The sounds and sights were pretty awesome. There were street vendors, variety stores and a lot of other random things.

* * *

Cpl. Hart, Canterlot castle, mess hall:

“So when do you think the Sarge will be back?” Cloud Dasher asked me. “Oh who knows, that guy could be gone forever. Friggin guy goes on vacation with Luna and leaves us with the LT” I chuckled. “He said he was going to be her personal bodyguard” he told me and I sighed.

“You know that Luna just said that he was the personal bodyguard so that they could be alone and have sex as much as they want” I told him, not entirely a lie because I knew that Luna probably wanted to be alone with Clare for that exact reason.

Dasher smirked, “Yeah okay there Hart, I have this feeling that you’re fibbing me” Dasher replied. I leaned my head back and sighed. “Well believe what you want but I know that Clare wouldn’t think twice and is probably bucking her right now in the change room of a store or something” I told him and he laughed. “Okay now I know you’re bullshitting me because neither the Sarge nor Luna would ever do that” Dasher replied, laughing at my point of view. I leaned forward and looked to him, “No I’m serious he’s probably got her bent over and is bucking her in a change room”

* * *

Clare, change room of fashion store:

I humped Luna like a wild bull, she was standing on all four hooves as I rutted her from behind. My hands held her hips as I thrusted and she tried to match my movements. My thrusts slowed and I gave a couple final thrusts.

Luna let out a quiet moan as I came inside her. I let out a grunt as I felt myself twitch inside of her. Cum began to drip onto the floor then there was a knock at the change room door. “Excuse me sir? Do you require assistance?” asked a store attendant.

“Yeah can you get me a box of tissues” I laughed, Luna looked back to me with a humored face. “Shh… shut up” she laughed, “Uhm… tissues?” the store attendant asked curiously. “Yeah a box of them” I replied. Luna stepped forward and my cock slid out of her with a quiet SLUCK. More cum dripped out of her pussy and my penis was covered in my own sperm.

She walked up in front of me and held a hoof to my mouth. “Don’t listen to him, he’s being foolish” Luna called out to the store attendant. “You hush, you’re going to get us kicked out” Luna whispered to me but couldn’t help but to snicker at my foolishness.

I checked my watch and realized it was 5:28pm. “Hey the movie starts soon” I told her and her eyes brightened as we quickly slipped our clothes back on. We hadn’t even brought any clothes to try on we just went inside the change room and started rutting like wild animals.

As we walked out, a store attendant looked to us. “I hope you found our services at your highest expectations” the attendant said. I nodded “Oh yeah… they exceeded my ever expectation and beyond” I said and Luna gave me an irritated nudge and pulled me out of the store.

“Do you have to be so foolish, she probably thinks we’re a bunch of horny hoodlums now” she scolded me playfully. “Oh come on, you’re the one who wanted to do it” I reminded her and she rolled her eyes. “Yes well… those pictures they have of the stallions and mares in those poses are very… arousing” she told me.

We changed the subject as we walked towards the theatre. We walked inside the large movie theatre and to the front desk, I ordered us two tickets and bought a bunch of popcorn and drinks then we walked to our theatre room where the movie was being played.

It was still just the commercials. I checked my watch as we sat down, the movie should be starting any moment now.

“Oh this is sooo exciting. I love these kinds of action movies” Luna whispered, I looked over to her. “I didn’t know you liked action” I told her and she nodded. “It’s so… awesome and it’s always really cool. Snowflake is one of the best action movie stars” she told me. I nodded then leaned back in the comfortable movie chair as the lights in the theatre dimmed and the movie started.

The movie company credits rolled through then the movie started. In the deserts of Marevada, which was probably the pony variant of the Mojave back on earth, there sat a police officer in a cruiser as he sat waiting for speeders.

But rather than keep watch he sat and ate a doughnut, typical stereotype but I loved it. Behind the officer on the highway a set of lights approached but soon they flicked off and the car raced passed the officer in the car. At first the officer didn’t noticed but then the blast of the engine roared passed him and his speed gun read 200mph.

The officer looked curiously at the speed gun. He tapped the speed gun then looked out his window then looked to the sky. The officer sat back in his car and radioed the police station. “Station check, do we have any flights above the Marevada tonight?” the officer asked and waited for a reply. “That’s a negative, go” the radio pony on the other side replied.

The officer looked at his speed gun reading again. “Well tell air patrol they have a jackass in a jet plane flying around with no lights” the officer informed the radio pony then hung up his radio and continued to eat his doughnut.

I chuckled at the stereotypical portrait of the police officer eating doughnuts. The movie progressed and told the story of Snowflake, who was called Snow, as he stopped the Cartel drug lord from crossing the border.

The movie was the same as the human variant with only some altercations but I didn’t care, the friggin movie was awesome either way. Luna was literally on the edge of her seat throughout the entire movie, probably wondering what was going to happen next.

Snowflake made a lot of cheesy one liners and tried to imitate Arnold’s voice but couldn’t do it all that well. The movie finally ended with Snowflake catching the bad guy and all the loose ends getting tied up. As the movie came to an end the mayor of the town walked up to Sherriff Snow.

“Sherriff, what the hell happened to my car?” the mayor asked. In the beginning of the movie the mayor had parked his car in the fire route and Snow had told him not to park in the fire zone and the mayor simply said “If there’s a fire just move it” and handed him the keys.

Snowflake smirked. “There was a fire” he quoted then he and the other two police deputies turned and walked into the dinner. The picture frame froze then faded out as the credits began to roll up the screen.

The lights in the theatre brightened up and lit the theatre for the ponies to see their way out. I got up and Luna and I left the theatre. “That was awesome, friggin Lewis named his guns. That was a great movie” Luna said and I nodded.

We left the theatre and walked around to the back alley where I had parked the Harley. There was several punks smoking. They had spiked up manes and several piercings along with tight leather clothes.

One of the punks looked over to us as we walked towards the Harley. I was hoping they’d just leave us but I suppose fate had other plans. “Hey old man… wait up” said one of the punks and the trio casually trotted over to us. They were young, barely out of their teens yet I could tell that drugs or something had messed them up and made them looked sketched out.

“Can I help you gentlecolts?” I asked casually and one of them nodded as he pulled out a pistol and the other two pulled out switch blades. I concentrated hard, wondering if they’d really kill us just for money. Then my attention was brought to the barrel of the pistol where I saw that the pistol had been spray painted black and it was just an airsoft pistol.

“No” I replied but the colt brought the gun up and pointed it right between my eyes. “Yeah” he ordered me harshly. “No, I’m not letting you rob me” I replied. “Clare!” Luna exclaimed, “Don’t worry babe, I got this” I reassured her.

“Yeah, well if you want to woody your mare again then I’d give me all your money right now” the colt threatened. I snickered and he snarled. “What’s so funny?” he hissed, “I’m not giving you my money” I replied. He stammered as he tried to think of an idle threat “But… I’ve got a gun” he said and I laughed.

“So?” I asked and he looked both ways as he thought up another threat. “So… so that’s how it works, you give me your money” he replied. “No, I’ll show you how this works” I said as I quickly shot both my hands up and snapped his wrist, breaking the pistol from his grip and slamming his body down to the ground with a THUD.

The other stallions gasped but I brought out my Desert Eagle and gave them something to really gasp about. I manually cocked back the hammer and pointed it at one of the punks. “Well considering that I just put down your friend and the fact that you’re now looking down the barrel of a .50 caliber AE Desert Eagle you’ve got to think to yourself, are you feeling lucky? Well are yah punk?” I said in a perfect Eastwood voice.

The punks dropped their switchblades and ran. I looked back to Luna and shrugged as I un-cocked the Desert Eagle and holstered it. “Guess they weren’t feeling lucky” I chuckled.

Chapter 28: Hearts and Hooves day

Clare, beachfront Los Pegasus:

As always I awoke peacefully as the sunlight shawn through the window and warmed up my bare skin. I leaned over to Luna, who was sleeping beside me and gave her a kiss on the forehead before getting out of bed. The bed stank terribly of sex, we were going to have to figure out somewhere else to make love, like maybe the shower because at least the shower washed away all the stink and excess cum.

I rolled my eyes as my nose smelt the stink of sex. I stumbled into the bathroom in looked at myself in the mirror, I figured I should probably shave because my beard and mustache was growing in. I grabbed a razor and shaving cream. I shaved quickly, watching myself in the mirror to carefully shave off the beard and mustache hair.

I finished shaving and looked to my watch, it was 6:02am so I had time for a shower before breakfast. I quickly slid off my clothes, hopped into the shower and washed myself off.

The shower only took a few minutes then I quickly dried off and got dressed. I still had my towel in my hands, drying off my hair, as I walked into the kitchen and began to cook breakfast. Fried potatoes with eggs and some pineapple with other fruits, yeah this would be a good breakfast.

As I flipped the potatoes and eggs onto a plate Luna walked into the kitchen and held me around the waist much like I had held her the morning before. “Good morning honey, how are you this morning?” I asked but she just stood there and held me. I continued to finish making breakfast then we both sat down at the dining table rather than the living room coffee table and had a romantic breakfast together. That is if you consider a regular breakfast with a beautiful princess romantic.

* * *

Third person, Everfree forest Firebase Echo:

“I’m telling you man, the Sarge will be back soon” said one of the shadow guards. “Yeah well I feel bad for his squad. I heard that Daff almost got them all killed and Shining Armor lost his horn because of Daff’s stupidity” said another shadow guard.

The CO of the firebase was walking around, inspecting the perimeter to make sure it was secure. The CO hopped down into a trench and began to patrol along the trench.

The captain walked through the trenches and up to a lookout nest and hunkered down beside a sergeant. “See anything out there?” the captain asked and the sergeant shook his head. “No captain, nothing” replied the sergeant. The captain shook his head in disgust.

“Fucking heat… fucking bugs… fucking country” the captain swore as he wiped the sweat from his head. He was pissed that Equestria was engaged in a conflict between ponies and the communist zebra army. The sergeant looked over a map and suddenly a gush of blood splashed on his face then a second later the echo of the rifle shot was heard.

“Incoming” the sergeant yelled as he grabbed his M16 and aimed it at the Everfree, the sandbags in front of him stopped a bullet. Gunfire erupted on all sides of the firebase as ponies fired into the treeline and zebras charged from the forest with AK47s.

Down on the front lines several ponies set up M60s and fired upon the advancing zebras. “Keep the fire on them, don’t let up” screamed a corporal as he fired his M16 at a group of zebras.

“RADIO!” screamed a master sergeant and a radio pony quickly rushed down to the master sergeant. The sergeant dialed in the radio “HQ, HQ this is Firebase Echo. We are under attack and need immediate air support over” he told the radio. “Copy that Echo, coordinates?” the radio pony on the other side of the line asked.

The master sergeant motioned for the radio pony to give him the map. The pony quickly gave the master sergeant the map and he looked it over. “I need fire support on Echo-Foxtrot 9-0-5-0-3-4-2 over” the master sergeant replied.

“Copy all, you’ll have your support over” the radio pony on the other side replied then the line went dead. “Specialist there’s something…” the master sergeant trailed off as he realized that the radio pony had just been shot several times and was dead. The radio on his back had suffered multiple gunshot holes and was most likely damaged beyond repair.

Zebras charged over the sides of the trenches and entered the firebase. “Fall back to position Alpha” the master sergeant yelled but as he did a zebra with an AK47 stabbed the master sergeant in the back with the bayonet attached to the end of the AK47.

The sergeant screamed in pain then fell to the ground, his blood soaked into the sand as the zebras flowed over the edges of the trenches and over his dead body. Ponies screamed out in fear as the retreated further into the firebase.

A group of ponies staged a small blockade in one of the trenches, two ponies had M16s, one had a shotgun and the last lay prone with the M60. As the zebras charged around the corners of the trenches the group fired upon the zebras relentlessly. Zebras screamed in horror as they were cut down by the merciless onslaught of lead.

Zebras turned back and tried to retreat the way they had come but other advancing zebras blocked there way and soon a pile of bodies began to formulate. “Yeah take that you zebra scum bags” screamed one of the pony soldiers.

Their small victory was short lived however as zebras flowed over the tops of their trench and landed beside them. The zebras began stabbing them mercilessly with their bayonets, attached to the ends of their rifles. The ponies screamed in horror and only the pony with the shotgun managed to fire off a single blast which caught a zebra in the chest and sent him flying but a zebra came up behind him and stabbed him in the back.

In another part of the firebase some ponies staged a front with a couple M60s and had ponies with M16s backing them up along with two snipers on the top of the trench who picked off zebras as they advanced. “Yeah that’s right you sons of bitches… wooh yeah come get some” screamed a mare as she fired off the M60 and cut down a group of zebras as they approached.

“Yeah we’re unstoppable” screamed the mare as she held the trigger back on the M60 and let out a torrent of lead rounds which ripped apart some zebras. Suddenly her cheers of victory turned into a dire gasp as a T-72 Russian battle tank crashed over the trenches and its main gun swiveled towards them.

“Oh shi” was all the mare managed before the old Russian battle tank fired a 125mm cannon shell that annihilated the group in smoldering pieces. The tank was followed by three others that tailed it as it continued through the base.

In the center of the firebase a sergeant was leading the remaining firebase members and was on the radio with the air force. “I need fire support right on top of us… don’t give me that bullshit about collateral damage just do it” the sergeant screamed. “Roger, fire support on Firebase Echo inbound, well make sure we don’t hit the center of the firebase, over” the radio pony on the other end said.

The sergeant let go of the radio and fired at some zebras that were ascending up the small hill that led to the small encampment where the remaining firebase soldiers had staged their final stand.

“FUCK YOU” the sergeant screamed and held the trigger back on his old M16A3 that he had kept ever since it had entered service with the Equestrian army. The 5.56mm rounds tore away at the zebras, they were so close that you could probably just step forwards and hoof fight with them.

The sergeant rolled behind the cover of sandbags as several zebras fired upon him with AK47s. The T-72 battle tanks entered the clearing of the fire base and their main tank guns began to home in on their position.

As all seemed lost the thundering roar of F-18 jets flew overhead as they bombarded the area with high explosives. The sound of the explosions was deafening. Dirt and debris fell upon the soldiers taking cover at the center of the firebase.

As the F-18s finished their bombing run the sergeant commanding the remaining soldiers peaked over the cover of the sandbags and sighed in relief. Though he couldn’t see past the smoke that now obscured his vision he was thankful in knowing that nothing could have survived that.

He motioned for the remaining soldiers to follow him. Of the firebase’s entire 205 soldiers and staff only 23 soldiers had survived the zebra’s massive assault. As the pony soldiers entered the smoky clearing they all sighed in relief. “Well mares and gentlecolts, I think you all earned an accommodation along with a well-deserved rest” the sergeant told the remaining survivors.

“I don’t think so” sneered a voice as a lone figure began to trot through the smoke. All the survivors raised their rifles at the figure as it stepped forwards. “Don’t move” ordered the sergeant “Get down on your knees and place you hooves on your head”. “Well which is it? Don’t move or get down on my knees?” the figure asked.

The sergeant snarled “You damn well know what”. The figure stepped forward slowly and revealed herself to be a zebra in heavy metal clad armour. “I said don’t fucking move” the sergeant yelled. The zebra slowly raised her hoof and scratched the back of her helmet like she was thinking about the possibilities.

“Well… since you’re outmatched I’ll give you one chance to surrender” the female zebra offered. The sergeant was taken aback by the offer. “Ahhahaha, are you stupid? We outnumber you like twenty to one, you don’t even have a gun” the sergeant laughed. “Last chance” the female zebra offered.

“Fuck you, stupid cunt” the sergeant said as he pulled out a pair of hoof cuffs and approached the zebra foolishly. As he went to slap the cuffs around her hooves she brought her right hoof up and across the throat of the sergeant. She had rigged the forearm of the suit with small razor sharp blades so that she could slash with her arms.

The razors cut open the sergeant’s throat and he gagged as blood spurted out from the gapping wounds in his throat. As the sergeant fell one of the corporals screamed. “SHOOT HER” and the remaining group members all fired their M16s at the zebra.

Unfortunately her armour was made of special titanium composites and the puny 5.56mm rounds bounced off her armour harmlessly. She cocked her shoulders forwards and as she did, two massive M134 miniguns rolled out the side of her suit. They were attached to a battle saddle incorporated into her armour.

The zebra tongued a switch in her metal helmet. The miniguns let out a high pitched whine as the barrels began to spin at rates of 6000rpm. Then without warning the iconic buzz of the M134 erupted and 7.62x51mm rounds spat out at the group and cut them to bloody pieces. The zebra swayed her shoulders left and right and made a wide arc with the Gatling gun’s spray of bullets. The ponies were all cut to pieces, muscle and flesh was torn from the bone as their bodies were annihilated. She released the button and the carnage stopped.

She stepped forwards and surveyed the area, she was most likely the only one alive on the firebase at the moment minus perhaps a few zebras that now retreated back into the forest. She walked over the sergeant whom she had brutally cut, who was still alive but just barely.

He gagged for air and blood bubbled from his cut open throat, she ripped open his combat jacket. She pulled out a knife and very slowly engraved Apache into his chest

Author's Note

A reader gave me this idea when we started talking to each other he says "Why not battle saddles or maybe something else" and when he said battle saddle I immediately thought twin Gatling guns and one mean ass bitch, so kudos to you Naesthebrony for the wonderful Idea, you probably made 'The Apache' who will most likely be the main antagonist for the remainder of the book. Oh this is sooo epic

Chapter 29: Horns are sensitive

Clare, Los Pegasus beachfront:

We had spent the day together, mostly cuddling and what not, and I had brought her out to a swanky five star restaurant for dinner. Now we lay on the beach and watched the sunset together.

“You know Luna, I never in a million years would’ve thought that I somehow would’ve gotten into a romantic relationship with you” I told her as I watched the setting sun. She rested her head on my shoulder and let out a relaxed sigh. “I’m just happy that we did get together. When I first saw you in the enlistment office I knew you would be an excellent guard… I just never knew that you’d also be a great lover” she told me.

When I look back to that day six months ago I think about how it felt like it was so long ago yet in was only six months.

The sunrays were warm and it felt like a usual summer evening. I kissed the tip of Luna’s horn. I had meant to kiss her forehead but her horn was there so I just figured that I’d kiss that.

She let out a sudden gasp of pleasure that took me off guard. “Uhh… I’m sorry… what just happened?” I asked, not exactly sure what I just did that made her react like that. “Can you… ah… do that again, but slower?” she asked.

I leaned forwards and very gently kissed the tip of her horn. She let out a pleasured moan. I leaned back from the kiss, still not exactly sure what was going on. “Uhm… Luna, what’s going on?” I asked and she gave me an unsure look. “I’m not sure but it feels amazing” she replied.

I scratched the back of my head in thought of what exactly was going on. I’d have to ask Hart why she was reacting like this, maybe the sun was getting to her or something. “Clare… it feels amazing, like I’m being touched in the most sexually sensitive parts of my body. Please can you lick me?” she asked, obviously heavily aroused. Yep I’d definitely have to ask Hart about this.

I leaned forwards again then kissed the tip of her horn, then slowly extended my tongue and began to lick my tongue around the tip of her horn. She began to moan silently as I continued, I wondered if perhaps unicorn horns where very sensitive.

As I licked her horn I trailed my tongue downward and slid her horn inside my mouth and began to suck on her horn. ‘I feel gay right now’ I thought to myself as I sucked on her horn.

Luna’s body began to move around and twitch as pleasure coursed through her body. She’d constantly swear and moan saying things like “Oh… ah… fuck yes… oh my god… yes”. I still felt rather awkward sucking on her horn but I loved her more than anything so this was the least I could do for her.

She pressed her body up closer to mine and I could tell that she was close. I slid her horn out of my mouth and began to lick the base of her horn eliciting heavy moans from Luna. “Ahhhh Clllaaaaarre I uhh…” she trailed off as she reached an orgasm.

I slid my tongue from the base of her horn right to the tip and she screamed uncontrollably. As her horn orgasm, that’s what I’m calling it, reached its peak her horn flared up and magic blasted from her horn like fireworks.

The magical blasts disappeared after a few feet but magical energy dripped from her horn and onto my face. Okay now I felt really gay. Her body relaxed and she lay in my lap, completely exhausted. “I never… knew… you could… do that… how did you… learn that?” she asked through heavy breathing.

“Actually I didn’t know. You uhm kind of asked me to lick your horn” I reminded her. She nodded and nuzzled her head into my chest. I lay back to let her rest her head on my chest. “Luna, I love you so much… but that kind of felt gay” I chuckled and she let out an exhausted giggle. “Well… when I catch my breath… I’ll let you do whatever you want to me. To make you feel un-gay” she told me.

I gave her a smile, she had a way of making me feel special. I gave her a wink “I think I’m gonna bring you to the edge again, then leave you there as I…”

* * *

Third person, Firebase Charlie, Everfree forest:

Corporal Hart sat on some crates and smoked a cigarette as he watched the other shadow guards converse with one another. He smiled to himself as he stood up, slinging his M16 around his back and walking around to check on the platoon members. Ever since Clare’s absence he had been temporarily promoted to second in command of the platoon due to the lack of sergeants.

Cloud Dasher, Bakers, Lickety Split and Dickens all played poker on a small table. “Ahh yeah, triple queens” Dickens cheered as took the pot of poker chips. “Fuck” Bakers swore as he threw his cards on the table, he had a pair of aces.

“Hey boys, how yah doing?” Hart asked and the stallions didn’t even look at him as they continued to play. “Great… well if Dickens would stop stealing our money” Split replied. Hart smiled “Hey Dickens” he said and Dickens looked up to him.

“Yeah?” he replied and Hart lowered his hoof down, grabbing Split’s queen of spades and one of the queen of spades of the table. “Next time you cheat, don’t use two of the same queens” he said. “You mother fucker” Bakers yelled and grabbed the lot of chips from Dickens. Hart chuckled to himself and continued to trot along while the group began to argue.

As he walked along one of the new privates, Sandy, trotted up beside him quickly. “Hey Hart” he said quickly, Hart looked over to the new stallion. “Hey” Hart replied. Despite having a rather plain outlook on newbie’s, because of their tendency to die rather quickly in combat or freeze up, he respected Sandy because he had hit a nickel at a hundred yards with an open sight rifle and could do so every time someone challenged him to do it.

“Listen uhm some of the other guys are shunning me. Do you think you could talk to them?” he asked. Hart nodded “Yeah, don’t worry about them. They just think you’re young is all” he replied. “Hey, I’m 21” Sandy replied but Hart simply chuckled.

“Yeah and you have the face of a newborn foal. Listen kid, it’s just hard to fit in to this platoon because a lot of the guys have lost good friends” Hart told him then trotted off. The new private just stood there and watched Hart walk away.

Hart walked into Daffodil’s tent and gave a salute. “Yeah, at ease” Daffodil said in a rather depressed voice. “Sir is something wrong?” Hart asked curiously. Daffodil burned a letter he was holding in his hoof and dropped it to the ground. “My marefriend is dumping me… says she found some-pony else” Daff told him.

“I’m sorry to hear that sir” Hart told the lieutenant who nodded solemnly. “Yeah… she was a nurse back at the field hospital. Says she couldn’t live like this anymore” Daff informed him. Hart had a saddened look on his face. “Live like what sir?” Hart asked.

“Thinking that the next shot up stallion that comes in could be me” he replied, Hart nodded. “Well I’m sorry to hear that sir” he replied but as he did a rifle shot cracked through the air and there was a scream. “SNIPER!” yelled a soldier outside.

Both Hart and Daffodil quickly ran out and took cover behind some sandbags. “Where’s it come from?” Hart called out. “Don’t know, somewhere in the tree line” Bakers called back.

Hart cautiously peaked over the edge of the sandbags and saw the treeline a few hundred yards past the trenches. “Bakers grab the PIG and follow me. Sandy grab a sniper rifle and come with us” Hart called out and the two shadow guards followed him as they raced through the fire base and lept into the front trenches. “Bakers, fire on the treeline, Sandy go over there and find out where the hell that prick is shooting us from” Hart ordered.

Bakers mounted the M60 bipod on the sandbags then stood up and fired on the treeline. A rifle shot cracked through the air and the sandbags in front of Bakers puffed up and sand was ripped out of the sandbags but luckily the defensive cover stopped the bullet. Bakers ducked back down behind the sandbags.

“I got him sir” Sandy said as he homed in with the Remington Model 700, chambered for .308 caliber. Sandy pulled the trigger and the gun roared. “Shit I missed. The scope’s off” Sandy cursed as he racked the bolt on the rifle and loaded a fresh round. As he zeroed in again the terrifying crack of a rifle shot echoed through the air and Sandy’s body slumped and fell over.

“Fuck… get down” Hart yelled out. “RADIO” Hart screamed and Lickety Split rushed over with the radio. Hart dialed in the air force. “Charlie two niner this is Charlie two one, over” Hart yelled. “This is Charlie two niner, we copy you two one go” the radio pony on the other side replied. “Two niner I need immediate air strike on…” Hart trailed off and grabbed the map from Lickety Split and measured the coordinates.

“Air strike on Charlie Whiskey 9-0-3-2-4-1 over” Hart replied. “Copy, airstrike inbound over” the radio pony on the other side replied.

In the depths of the forest sat The Apache with a radio interceptor. She overhead the message. She quickly scratched two notches into the stock of a Russian SVD Dragunov then grabbed the radio interceptor and rushed deeper into the forest.

After two minutes, three F-18s flew overhead and bombarded the treeline with high explosives. The trees were blown to bits and destruction was rained down on anyone who was in the treeline. “There’s no way anyone survived that” Bakers said as he held the M60.

* * *

Clare, Los Pegasus beachfront:

I lay with Luna under the bright moonlight that now shawn upon Equestria. After the sun went down we had gotten a little adventurous and had sex on the beach by the waterline.

We sat there and held each other closely. “Clare, I love you” she whispered and I nodded. “I know, you’ve said that over a dozen times” I chuckled then we kissed. “I just don’t want you to ever go” she whispered and a tear came to her eye. “Hey I don’t plan on dying any time soon” I reassured her but she pressed her face up against my chest.

“I know. It’s just that I know one day you’ll pass away and I’ll be alone again” she cried and I could feel her tears roll down my chest. I lay back and pulled her body on top of mine. “Luna, one day I’ll die just like Star Gazer did. But you must remember that I’ll always be with you in spirit” I told her.

We just lay there on the beach and cuddled, without a care in the world. “Clare, when you die… I don’t think I’ll be able to move on” she whispered and I looked to her. “But you have to, you can’t just shut down” I told her but she shook her head. “No I mean with love, after you die I won’t be able to find another” she said through her tears and sniffles.

I held her closely. “I love you Luna… I never want to leave you and will stay with you until the end of my life” I whispered to her.

Chapter 30: The Apache stikes again

The next day,

Third person, Everfree forest:

A platoon of Celestia’s royal guards patrolled through the jungles of the Everfree. Just a basic patrol.

“A walk through the jungle my ass” muttered one of the privates. “Just deal with it” said the lieutenant. “Yeah I’ll deal with it when we get back home… this is bullshit man, straight up fucking bullshit” the private complained.

“Yeah well if you hadn’t volunteered you wouldn’t be here” said another guard. “Alright enough chit-chat. Keep it down back there” the lieutenant ordered. The platoon continued along through the jungle brush.

A few hundred yards away The Apache lay prone with her SVD Dragunov. Although she preferred her powerful titanium combat amour and stand up fights, she wasn’t a fool and knew when to sit back and do a little marksmanship.

She leveled her SVD and trained it on the lieutenant, she wanted him alive but the others were of no concern. Orders for any zebra were to try and capture the high ranking soldiers and torture them for information.

She trained her aim on his front foreleg and pulled back the trigger. The rifle let out a horrifying crack that filled the air. The 7.62x54mmR round slammed through the lieutenant’s knee and ripped his leg off. The other platoon members screamed and began to fire wildly into the forest.

She took aim and fired a round straight through the chest of a guard, blood spurted from the exit wound as he fell back. The soldiers took cover in the dense grass but she could still make out their body forms in the grass.

She fired another round which slammed into the head of a royal guard stallion and shattered his head across the ground. One of the other stallions lept up and tried to run away but The Apache quickly snapped her aim to the fleeing stallion and fired a round through his back.

She spotted a pony with a radio and her radio interceptor crackled as it intercepted a transmission. “Delta two six this is Delta two one” crackled her radio. She lined up a shot and fired. The high velocity round travelled downrange and blew a hole straight through the radio pony’s body and exited through the radio. Part of the radio shattered and the radio was destroyed.

Other members of the platoon tried to get up and run but she’d quickly snap her aim to them then shoot them down mercilessly. She kept track of her ammunition expenditure and after she had fired ten rounds she quickly reloaded a fresh magazine into the gun and focused her attention to the royal guard ponies. She once again continued her onslaught.

“We gotta get outta here” screamed a corporal but as he stood up a round tore through his skull and blew away part of his head. “I’ll get us outta here guys, follow me” screamed another private but he too was shot mercilessly as he stood up.

“Every-pony stay down…stay down” screamed a sergeant. The mare sergeant looked over to the radio operator and realized the radio was destroyed. “Clover” the mare screamed and another mare quickly crawled over to her. “Listen, you and me we’re gonna” the sergeant began but suddenly Clover’s head shattered and her brains were splattered against the sergeant.

“No-pony move, the sniper can” the sergeant began but suddenly a round ripped through her body, passing through her heart and killing her instantly. After a couple of minutes the Apache had completely annihilated the entire platoon, killing every pony except the lieutenant. She cut twenty six notches into her rifle stock. She would be needing a new stock soon as there was over fifty notches in her stock.

She waited a few more minutes and inspected the area, making sure that no-pony was still alive down there minus the lieutenant. As she reassured herself that she had killed everyone she stood up and slowly walked down to the killing sight were ponies lay dead on the ground. Blood stained the leaves and soaked into the ground. She walked over to several ponies, ripping open their armour and engraving ‘Apache’ into their chests with her dagger.

The lieutenant groaned in pain and the zebra known as The Apache walked over to the wounded lieutenant. She knelt beside him, grabbing him and flinging his body over her shoulder then began to trot back to her secret base.

* * *

Third person, unknown location:

“I’ll give you one chance to tell me. When is the staff shift in Firebase Delta?” The Apache asked Lieutenant Romeo, who was her prisoner. She had him strung up by the forelegs and he hung above the ground. “Fuck you” Romeo whispered weakly, he had lost a lot of blood but The Apache had cauterized his leg wound.

“Excuse me?” she asked in a zebra accent, her English wasn’t the greatest and she had a heavy zebra accent. Romeo spat blood into her face. She sighed in irritation as she wiped the blood from her face. “Well don’t say I didn’t try to be pleasant with you” she hissed as she grabbed a very jagged rusty razor blade.

She pressed it against his shoulder and very slowly began to cut downwards. The razor had been crudely customized to tug and rip rather than to slice and as such would catch on Romeo’s skin and rip his skin open in jagged cuts. Blood stained his white fur and he screamed in agonizing pain as she trailed the razor down his chest on a vertical angle until she reached his belly.

She pulled the razor away from his body and stepped up closer to him. “Will you tell me now?” she asked, Romeo grunted in pain. “Fuck you bitch” he cursed. The Apache sighed from his ignorance and grabbed a bottle of lemon juice then sprayed the juice on his wounds. She would’ve preferred using disinfectant but there was a lack of supplies so she had to pick lemons and harvest their juices for he own special uses.

Romeo screamed in pain as the spray of the juice stung his wounds. He cringed and the zebra stopped spraying him then set the bottle down. “We can help each other you know. Perhaps become great allies, but first you must tell me what I want to know” The Apache said calmly.

Romeo refused to cooperate with the zebra communist. “Fine… I’ll tell you” Romeo whispered and The Apache smiled triumphantly. “Up your fucking cunt” Romeo laughed, The Apache’s eyes went wide with fury.

She grabbed a rusty blade from the table and walked up to Romeo. She slid the knife upwards into his chest but kept the knife angled completely upwards so the knife didn’t cut deeper than his ribcage as she cut around his chest muscles with the crude blade.

“Tell me the shift change… tell me” she screamed but Romeo’s will was stronger than her torture and he refused to tell her what she wanted to know. She swung the knife outwards and the blade cut his chest open, his chest muscle flapped and now bled quite profusely.

“I’ll bleed to death before I tell you shit” Romeo sneered painfully. The Apache snickered at his comment, “Oh I haven’t even begun to torture you. This was a warm up” she laughed. Romeo snickered, “Do your worst you stupid cunt” he challenged. Her eyes narrowed. “You really want that?” she asked and Romeo spat more blood at her face. “You won’t get anything from me. You won’t get any sort of satisfaction from torturing me” Romeo sneered.

The Apache stepped forwards. “Oh… you think so? Fine” she said as she began to unbutton his combat pants which were stained in blood. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing” hissed Romeo and she looked up to him. “I have my own needs and urges you know” she giggled seductively. “This is your worst? Raping me?” Romeo spat and the zebra finally unbuttoned his pants and slid them off then stood up, leaping to her hind legs and resting her face against his bloody chest.

Romeo’s mind raced with worry. ‘What the fuck is wrong with this bitch’ he thought to himself. She moved her right hoof down to his penis and began to fondle with it. Despite his agonizing pain his penis still became erect, to his discomfort. “See, I knew you’d cooperate” The Apache laughed as she began to stroke his shaft.

“I won’t let you get anything out of this” Romeo said painfully. “Oh I’ll get everything I want from this” she whispered as she pulled out the rusty blade and cut open his testicles. “AHHHHH FUUUUCCKKK” Romeo screamed in horrifying pain. The Apache stepped back and grabbed the bottle of lemon juice and sprayed the juice into his cut open testicles.

Romeo’s screams of agonizing pain could be heard from outside her torture hut and several of her zebra guards cringed in fear as they could only imagine what horrifying things she was doing to the captive royal guard.

“So… feel like talking now” The Apache hissed as she continued to spray his cut genitals with the lemon juice. “Alright fuck… I’ll tell… I’ll tell” Romeo cried in pain. The Apache smiled and stopped spraying him. He hung there in god awful pain as tears rolled down his face. “The shift change… is at 4:30pm... please just don’t hurt me anymore” Romeo begged through cries of pain.

The Apache looked to her watch, it was 3:46 so they would have to hurry if they wanted to get the jump on the firebase. She walked up to him and whispered into his ear. “Shh… don’t worry it’ll all be over soon” she whispered then cut open his throat with her rusty knife. Blood gushed from his throat and his eyes widened as he gagged for air. His body thrashed violently and The Apache stood there and watched as he bled to death.

* * *

4:29pm, Firebase Delta:

“Hey Mitch” said Dandelion as he walked up and tapped his buddy on the shoulder. “Shift change” Dandelion told his friend who nodded. “Yeah, listen there’s still a patrol out there so don’t shoot until you confirm your target” Mitch told his friend.

Mitch slung his assault rifle then trotted off, Dandelion hunkered down in the machinegun nest but as he settled he spotted something two hundred yards away that wasn’t there a second ago. He tried to focus his eyes to see what it was but couldn’t make it out, it kind of looked like a… a pony.

“Hey… I think I see some-pony” Dandelion called out and a few royal guard ponies rushed over to him. Dandelion pointed out to the figure in the distance and a corporal brought out a pair of binoculars and checked it out. “Oh fuck, it’s Romeo. LT get the platoon” the corporal yelled and a platoon was quickly formulated.

They had several snipers watch over them as they rushed out to the figure who was indeed Romeo. He had been stung up on a crudely made cross. As they ran up to Romeo’s body, two of the platoon members gagged then puked at the sight of Romeo’s mutilated body. ‘The Apache’ was engraved into his chest and his throat had been cut wide open.

“Fuck… Rams, cut him down” the lieutenant ordered. In the distance sat The Apache in her titanium combat armour with a detonator switch in her hoof. As the platoon neared the dead body of Romeo she pressed the button on the detonator. She had filled Romeo’s body with explosives that detonated violently.

Several of the platoon members were either killed or brutally injured from the blast. The screams of zebras echoed in the air as a war trumpet played. Zebras flowed from the treeline like locust.

The royal guard ponies in the frontline trenches fired upon the zebras that advanced towards the base. Unlike Firebase Charlie, Delta had extremely well trained royal guard ponies who were exceptional fighters and they held off the advance of the zebras.

The Apache sighed to herself and rushed forwards, like a beacon for the other zebras to follow. 5.56mm and 7.62x51mm NATO rounds bounced off her armour. The heavier 7.62mm rounds almost pierced her armour but only made slight dents before ricocheting away.

She cocked her shoulders forwards and the twin Gatling guns rolled out of the battle saddle as she lept over the frontline trenches. Ponies directed their firepower at her but their puny rounds were unable to pierce her mighty armour. She tongued the button in her helmet and immediately the twin Gatling guns whirred to life then spat out a constant stream of deadly lead.

The ponies in the trenches stood no chance against her and were shredded apart by her mighty Gatling guns. Zebras were now able to advance over the trenches without getting shot down and flowed through the trenches like rats in a sewer.

The Apache climbed over the trench and shot down any-pony who stood in her way, she even shot down her own soldiers if they got in her way. Ponies screamed in horror from her onslaught and tried to retreat but she soon cut them down.

Suddenly in the trenches there was a slow chugging sound and zebras fell back, blood splattering everywhere. “Yeah bitches, that’s what you get for messing with me” screamed a hulking pony carrying two AA12s in his hooves, walking on his hindlegs. He turned his attention to a group of zebras and cut them down with the automatic shotguns. The zebra’s bodies were chopped apart and blood splattered against the trenches.

The Apache lept down into the trenches and aimed her Gatling guns at the pony but he was more maneuverable and fired both his shotguns in full auto. Although the shotgun’s buckshot was unable to penetrate the armour, the sheer force of the buckshot kicked The Apache off her hooves and to the ground.

The mighty stallion walked over to her, firing his AA12s into her armour as he walked forwards. The ping of rounds splashing of her armour rang through the air. He approached her just as both his shotguns ran out of ammo. He dropped the shotguns and unholstered an AMT Automag V .50 caliber handgun and pointed it at the visor of her helmet.

But just as he went to pull the trigger, The Apache kicked the knee of the mighty stallion. He screamed in pain and staggered back, giving her enough time to flip up and land on her hooves.

She raced forwards and slashed her forearm blades across the stallion’s throat. His throat was sliced open and he fell to the ground as he gagged, blood bubbled out of his cut open throat.

All over the firebase zebras brutally killed the remaining royal guards in Firebase Delta. The Apache walked around and cut ‘Apache’ into the chests of several ponies then walked away.

* * *

Canterlot castle, war room:

“Ma’am” said a royal guard as he approached Princess Celestia. Over two hours ago they had lost contact with Firebase Delta and the shit had begun to hit the fan. “Give me good news lieutenant” Celestia replied in a fearful tone.

“Ma’am reports indicate that Firebase Delta has been overrun and destroyed. There were no survivors” the lieutenant informed her. “Fuck” Celestia swore and threw a bunch of report papers into the air.

“Ma’am, it was The Apache. She left her mark” the lieutenant said fearfully. “Goddess dammit” Celestia swore. The Apache had been raining terror and fear into the entire army for months yet no-pony could stop her.

“Ma’am… what are we going to do?” the lieutenant asked and Celestia stood up. She looked to the lieutenant “I think that Sergeant Clare’s vacation is going to end earlier than expected”

Author's Note

Okay, I'm putting the gore tag. At first I was like 'It doesn't really need a gore tag because there's only a little bit of blood' but now with the introduction of The Apache things have just gotten bloody. I gotta say I love this zebra, not her actions but the mythology behind her. I mean usually when you have a war story it's goodguy vs badguy or goodgirl vs badgirl and on the rare occasions goodgirl vs badguy, only some stories ever have goodguy vs badgirl and usually it's a crime story.
But The Apache is... she's phenominal in the fact you got this insane zebra that is both an up front fighter and a sniper that tortures her prisoners brutally.

Chapter 31: Back in the saddle

Clare, Los Pegasus:

Our vacation had hit the midway point and I had this feeling that when it was over it would feel like it went to fast. I shuffled over and snuggled up tightly to Luna’s body. Last night had been amazing and her very presence made me feel amazing.

“Mmm, you’re feeling a little affectionate aren’t you” she whispered as she awoke from her sleep. I nodded as I nuzzled my face into her silky mane. “Mmm… Clare I love it when you’re like this in the mornings” she giggled as I began to kiss her neck.

She gasped as my kisses turned into a steady wet lick and I trailed my tongue down her body very slowly.

As I reached her belly there was a loud knock at the front door. ‘Go away’ I thought to myself as I continued to lick her body but then whoever was at the door knocked again. I looked to my watch, it was 6:30 in the morning couldn’t they just leave us alone. A knock banged against the door again. ‘Guess not’ I thought to myself as I began to lick her vagina, it had a sweet taste to it.

“Should we ah… should we answer the ohh… the door” Luna asked through moans of pleasure as my tongue licked the inside of her vagina and my fingers caressed her clitoris. “Nah, they’ll go away. Probably Christian solicitors” I said, my voice muffled by her pussy.

The knocking continued and there was no way I was gonna just ignore it if they continued. I pulled my mouth away from her tasty pussy and rolled my eyes. “I’ll be back… just uhm… hold that pose right there” I said, her hindlegs were spread apart and here pussy was in plain view. I had this feeling I was going to lose my boner when I was talking to the ponies at the door so I needed a little encouragement when I got back.

Luna gave me a wink as I walked over to the door and the knocking continued. “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming… don’t get you panties in a wad” I mumbled. I opened the door and was greeted by two stallions dressed in military dress uniforms. I groaned to myself ‘What the fuck do they want?’ I thought to myself.

“Sergeant Clare?” one of the stallions asked. “No, Santa Claus” I replied jokingly but with an irritated tone. “Right, listen your vacation needs to be cut short. Pack up your things and get ready, the chopper is waiting” one of the stallions ordered me. “What? Why?” I asked but they didn’t answer my question.

“Everything will be explained on the flight back to Canterlot, now please hurry. We’re on a schedule” the other stallion said and they both turned and walked over to a helicopter parked on the beach. ‘Wait, why hadn’t I heard them land?’ I thought to myself but then shrugged off the thought and walked back inside.

I walked back into the bedroom where Luna laid waiting for me. “Luna… we have to go” I said depressingly and she shot me a curious look. “What? Why?” she asked and I shrugged. “Apparently… I don’t know, some suits say we have to leave and get on a chopper back to Canterlot” I informed her as I grabbed my bag.

She went to argue but must’ve seen that my face was depressed and obviously as clueless as she was. We quickly packed up our things, Luna dressed in the leather clothes she had been wearing for most of the vacation and we walked out of the house. I gave Los Pegasus one last final look before embarking on the helicopter.

* * *

Celestia, Canterlot:

“Ma’am” said one of my royal guards. “Report” I ordered him and he nodded. “The helicopter picked up both your sister and Sergeant Clare at 6:30 this morning. They were scheduled to land in Canterlot by 4 o’clock this afternoon but made an unexpected stop in Coltorado” the guard informed me.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, Coltorado, Fast food restaurant:

We had parked the helicopter outside a fast food restaurant and ordered some food. Despite getting off to a rocky start, due to them informing me of my orders to return to Canterlot which ruined our vacation, we had become friends.

“Hey pilot, thanks for stopping man. I was starved” I called out to the pilot who nodded as he drank from a soda cup. Jenkins, one of the soldiers, was eating an ice-cream cup. “Hey Jenkins, you got some ice-cream on your uniform” I told him, he looked down to his suit.

“Guh… where?” he asked frantically, not wanting to stain his outfit. I extended my finger and pointed to a spot on his chest. He followed my finger but as he did I flicked my finger up and caught his nose.

I started chuckling and the others laughed. “I have this feeling that Celestia wouldn’t approve of us eating fast food” said Hendrickson, the other soldier. “Who cares, unless you guys tell her then there’s no way she’ll really find out… unless she’s watching us right now” I laughed.

After we ate the chopper pilot flew us the rest of the way to Canterlot. We arrived near Canterlot at about 4:45pm. I walked over to a window and looked out to the city below. I held my fist like I was talking into a microphone.

“This is Major Tom to ground control, I’m stepping through the Dooorr. And I’m floating in a most peculiar wayyy and the stars look very different todayyyyy” I said, imitating the lyrics of Major Tom. Hendrickson smiled “For hearrr am I sitting in a tin can” he began and we did a musical duet, quite terribly. “Farrrrrrr above the worrrrrrrld. Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can dooooooo” we both sang then the pilot made the noises of the guitar solo.

We all began to sing and it sounded pretty bad but we didn’t have a care in the world. The chopper landed on the helipad behind the Canterlot castle. Luna and I stepped out of the chopper along with the two soldiers who had accompanied us.

Captain Shining Armor rushed out to meet us. “Sergeant, come with me. We need to meet with Celestia in the war room ASAP” Shining yelled over the sound of the helicopter rotors. I nodded and we followed him into the war room but the two soldiers departed to go their separate ways.

We quickly entered the war room where Celestia stood with some paper. I threw a quick salute then stood in attention. “Just back and already in the mind pre-set to salute your officers. That’s good sergeant” Celestia commented and I stood in attention. “I’m sure you know about The Apache” Celestia said and I nodded. “Yes ma’am” I replied.

“Well it just so happened that’s she’s raining havoc on the firebases all across the Everfree… tell me sergeant do you have any sort of marksmanship training?” she asked and I nodded. “Yes ma’am, I do ma’am. I spent a month in Afghanistan as a sniper then was transferred back to basic infantry” I replied.

“Excellent. Captain, would you mind briefing him” Celestia said and Shining gave her a nod. “Listen, The Apache has been raining hell on our men so we need to stop her. Orders are to go in and take her out then we hop back to a firebase” he informed me. My face frowned. “What do you mean, we?” I asked and he smiled. “Well I’m going with yah Sarge, can’t have yah disobeying orders now can we” he said.

I turned my look to Celestia. “No” Luna said, we all looked to her in shock. “WHAT?” we all asked in chorus. “That’s suicide, I won’t have one of my soldiers get put out like that” Luna replied. “I’ll do it” I said and Luna gasped at my comment then quickly left the room before tears came to her eyes.

“You have an hour sergeant, get to the armoury and get yourself a rifle… oh and sergeant, you’ve been promoted. Congratulations on making Sergeant Major” Celestia said. I nodded then left casually.

As soon as I left the war room I looked and saw Luna galloping away. I rushed after her but she already had a lead on me so I wasn’t able to catch up with her until we were in the Canterlot garden.

“Luna wait” I called. “Just shut up Clare, I don’t want to talk to you” she sobbed but I grabbed her and spun her around. “You said you never wanted to leave me… said you wanted to stay with me until you died… so how could you accept that suicide mission” she sobbed.

“Two reasons. One: I can’t just go defying every order that Celestia gives me because she’ll end up catching on and two: The Apache will keep killing until she is stopped. I might be the only one who can stop her so I couldn’t live with myself if I just sat back and watched” I informed her.

She cried into my chest and I felt like a real asshole but in reality it was true. I might have been the only one who could do this and if I kept refusing orders Celestia would probably catch on.

“Please… promise me you’ll come back” she begged me and I looked into her teary eyes. “I can’t promise anything but I swear on my life I won’t go sticking my neck out for nothing. I don’t plan on dying any time soon” I told her.

She kissed me passionately and pushed me onto my back. She quickly began to undress me as we kissed.

* * *

One hour later:

Sgt. Clare, helicopter en route to Firebase Bravo:

I checked the 10x scope on my Model 70 Winchester, chambered for .300 Winchester Magnum. I knew that my Thompson would be no use in a sniper battle but I still needed a close quarters weapon. And that’s why I had a Mossberg 500 tactical, no stock with pistol grip and shortened barrel, strapped to my leg in a leg holster meant exactly for the gun. I also carried an M1911 in a hip holster and my behemoth 500 S&W revolver in the shoulder holster.

Captain Shining Armor had taken along an M16A4 with a small 4x magnification scope attached where the carry handle would usually be placed. “If she’s pregnant Celestia is gonna rip your nuts off when she starts to show” Shining Armor told me quietly so that the pilot wouldn’t hear. “When who starts to show what?” I asked acting like I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Luna… I saw you two making love in the garden. It doesn’t surprise me that you wouldn’t use a condom and would finish inside” he said and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell no-pony” I said and he nodded. I leaned forwards, “She’s already pregnant, she cast a spell on herself the first time we had sex” I told him and he sighed. “Celestia is gonna flip… you know that right? You realize that you just got her younger sister pregnant and that you’re just a simple Sergeant Major right?” he asked and I nodded.

“Well how bout you? You shouldn’t be coming with me. Your wife is eight months pregnant and due to give birth soon” I countered and he nodded. “Well I have my orders” he said. “Tell me something, how did Celestia react when she found out you got her niece pregnant?” I asked and he looked to me with a raised eyebrow.

“She didn’t mind that much because I was Captain and second in command of the royal guard” he replied. I rolled my eyes “She didn’t freak out?” I asked. “Not when she found out she was pregnant… but she did freak out and wanted to rip off my head when we first started dating” he informed me. I leaned my head back against the seat and chuckled to myself “This day gets better by the minute”.

Chapter 32: Bounty around my neck

Sgt. Clare, Firebase Bravo:

The helicopter landed and both Shining and I disembarked the helicopter and reported directly to the CO tent.

As we walked inside I gave a salute then let out a quiet gasp as I realized the company CO was Daffodil. “Daff… you’re… the company CO?” I asked unsurely and he nodded. “Captain Wallace… died in a recent attack and that left me in command of the company. HQ says they’re working around the clock for a replacement CO but it’s been a few days” Daff informed me.

“So sergeant, how was your vacation?” he asked. “Cut short” I replied and he chuckled at the comment. “Yes well in any case, you’re here now and that’s all that matters. So, brief me on this little operation of yours” Daffodil said and Shining Armor began to tell him the logistics of everything.

“So that’s it huh? Okay then, good luck” Daff said, I gave a salute and went to leave but Daffodil called out to me before I left. “Oh Clare… you never told me that you made sergeant major” he said and I nodded. “Just got promoted this evening, sewed the stripes and chevrons on before I came over” I told him then left the tent with Shining Armor following close behind me.

Hart ran up to me. “Hey Sarge… oh guess it’s sergeant major now huh?” he said as he noticed my new stripes. “Sarge will be fine” I said as I continued walking along. “So Sarge, what’s new?” Hart asked as Shining and I loaded into a Jeep. “Hey Sarge, you just got back, don’t tell me you’re already leaving” he exclaimed and I nodded.

“Don’t worry I’ll be back soon, I promise” I told him as Shining Armor started the Jeep and we drove out of the firebase and into the jungles of the Everfree forest.

The Jeep bumped along the trails as I looked at the map. Intelligence had circled the places that The Apache was most likely to be at. “Hey Captain, how we supposed to find this guy in all the jungle anyway? He could be anywhere” I said over the loud roar of the Jeep engine.

“Well I’m not exactly sure, that’s what you’re here for. If you were a zebra sniper where would you hide?” he asked me. I shrugged, “Anywhere in the jungle… but if I was a crazy insane asshole that engraved my name into the chests of dead soldiers and cut off their genitals… I’d hid up in that hilly area” I said and pointed to a large hill. I looked to the map and realized Intelligence hadn’t circled it as a place to search. ‘Intelligence equals a bunch of ponies that sit behind desks thinking they know everything’ I thought to myself.

We drove the Jeep as far as we dared then turned it off and covered it with camouflaged leaf cover. We grabbed our rifles then began to cautiously approach the semi large hill, trekking through the thick jungle brush as quietly as we could. Shining Armor and I both kept our senses on full alert, listening and watching for anything hostile.

Shining Armor took lead while I walked a few yards behind him. We stayed off the main trails for the most part, only traveling along the trails when it was absolutely necessary.

The air was hot and I sweat profusely. I was wearing a regular camouflaged combat jacket along with the camouflaged cargo pants to go with them. I had a leather belt with a line of sturdy cloth attached to the waist harness. The belt came together at the front with a silver belt buckle. My waist harness carried several things: Ammo, rations, binoculars etc. Shining Armor had pretty much the same general outfit, minus the leather belt. We also both wore combat issued boots

I wiped sweat from my head, on top of my head sat a camouflaged brush hat. I was sporting a pair of dark sunglasses that tinted the bright rays of the sun. Sweat rolled down my arms which were exposed because I had rolled up my sleeves due to the humidity and hot temperature.

Birds chirped in the background and it distracted my concentration. I tried to focus on specific noises but the birds chirping kept distracting me. “See anything Captain?” I whispered my voice was so quiet I didn’t know if he could hear me. He shook his head.

My breathing was slow as we ascended up the hill. There was a large clearing up the hill that went on for about two hundred yards then turned back into thick brush. “I don’t like this” I whispered and Captain Armor nodded. “Yeah me either. Any ideas Sarge?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’ll crawl up there into the forest then take a sniper point on that ridge there” I said pointing to a small grassy ridge that overlooked most of the valley. “Good idea” he whispered and we quietly got down on our bellies and began to crawl the entire two hundred yards of the open clearing but luckily the grass was knee high so it gave us some cover.

The entire crawl took well over three hours and the night sky had encased the entire valley along with the ridge that we now lay perched on. “She usually causes havoc late in the afternoon so if she does cause havoc then she’ll be coming back about now” Shining told me and I nodded as I switched my scope to the night vision settings.

As I peered along the valley through the scope of my rifle I waited and thought to myself about how The Apache could be zeroing in on us right at this very moment and I wouldn’t even know it. We sat and waited for a half hour then Shining Armor gave me a nudge.

“Eleven o’clock, two hundred yards” Shining whispered and I directed my aim towards his directions. About two hundred and thirty yards away I spotted a zebra communist fighter with an SKS rifle, mounted with a scope. “That can’t be The Apache… he wouldn’t be that stupid to just walk right through the clearing like that” I whispered and Shining Armor nodded then took my rifle away from me.

“Well in any case I spotted him so I get to take the shot” Shining announced. I grabbed the rifle back, “No way, I’m the sniper so I get dibs on first shot” I said back and we began to wrestle over the rifle, making an awfully large amount of noise. We ended up knocking over our things and some of our metal canteens fell and banged off rocks with a CLANG.

I looked back to the zebra fighter who was now running in the opposite direction. I sighed in disappointment. “He’s probably going to warn his buddies… come on, we’ll set up on another ridge” I said and we quickly gathered our things then rushed off to another ridge and lay down to wait for our little friend to return.

Soon enough he did return, and with an entire platoon of armed zebras. “I think he was The Apache” Shining whispered, now that I looked I had to agree with him. Intelligence reported that he was a sniper and currently the only one with a sniper rifle was the young zebra with the SKS that had an attached scope.

“Well Captain… do you want to do the honours?” I asked and he smiled as he grabbed the rifle and adjusted his aim. “Elevation… about one inch, aim for the chest” I whispered and he nodded.

The Model 70 .300 Winchester Magnum thunder in his hooves and the mighty KA-BOOM of the bullet expelled out the end of the barrel. The zebra soldier with the SKS was literally taken off his hooves as the 180 grain ballistic round slammed through his body, blowing out a large exit wound in his back.

The other zebras looked around frantically and Shining Armor racked the bolt then fired again, taking out another zebra soldier. They must’ve seen the muzzle flash because the entire platoon of zebras began to charge towards us.

Shining Armor handed me my rifle and picked up his own. I took aim and began to shoot down zebras as the advanced. My magazine quickly ran dry and I swapped it for a fresh one then continued to snipe the zebras but more zebras poured out of the forest.

“Okay Shining we killed The Apache, now it’s time to go” I said, we both got up and ran higher up into the hill. Just as we began to retreat several zebras fired at us with AK47s. “Shit… shit… shit… SHIT” I cursed as rounds kicked up dirt literally just behind my feet.

We finally reached thicker jungle in the hill but we continued to run at full tilt. “Okay, we’ll head down this side of the hill then loop around and” I began but suddenly a group of zebras just appeared from behind the trees in front of us, like they had been waiting this entire time. “Uh-oh” I said and Shining nodded.

A zebra mare stepped forward, she had an SVD Dragunov with her. “I think she’s The Apache” I whispered to Shining. “Silence ape” she hissed. I leveled my rifle on her but several of the zebras pointed their AK47s at us. We were outnumbered and there was no way we could just shoot our way out of this situation.

“Clare… lower your gun… I don’t feel like dying right now” Shining said slowly. I did as he ordered and lowered my gun but as I did I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I grabbed the object that now stuck in my neck and pulled it out. As I looked at it my mind went fuzzy and I realized it was a tranquilizer dart.

My mind slipped and I fell into unconsciousness, the last thing I remembered was Shining Armor saying something.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, unknown location:

I awoke with a massive head ache and I rubbed my eyes. I realized I was in some primitive cell block. I heard screaming outside my cell then the doors swung open and Shining Armor’s body was thrown inside. He had been cut up pretty bad but wasn’t in serious condition yet though blood had stained his once pure white fur.

I had been stripped of my jacket, weapons and waist harness and all that was left was my pants, my white shirt and my black combat boots. I crawled over to Shining and held his body close to mine. “Don’t worry captain… we’ll get outta here” I reassured him as I brushed his mane out of his face.

A zebra walked in and kicked me in the head before dragging my body out into another room with a single hanging light bulb. He tossed my body to the floor then kicked me in the side of the ribs.

He bound my wrists together then strung me in the air by my hands. I found it somewhat difficult to breath. The zebra mare who had the Dragunov walked into the room. “Hello Sergeant Clare” she said in a very calm voice.

“Hello ma’am” I replied in a subtle voice. “You know that there is a bounty on your head” she informed me. I shook my head. “No ma’am, I didn’t know that. How much?” I asked calmly like we were having a civil conversation. “500,000 dollars to the one who kills you and confirms your death to the general” she informed me.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why haven’t you killed me yet?” I asked in a very calm and gentle voice. “Are you always this gentle and calm?” she asked and I shook my head. “I’m only ever considerate to those who have earned my respect ma’am” I told her. Her nose scrunched. “I plan on torturing you to death and you give me respect? What kind of fool are you?” she asked and I tried to shrug.

“Being a soldier for as long as I have would make anyone insane. But you did manage to capture me alive, a truly magnificent action, and one that you should be extremely pleased with yourself for doing” I told her. She smiled from the comment.

“Well I… you are quite a charmer aren’t you?” she asked, I shrugged. “Well I try” I chuckled. “Ma’am… can you hurry it up” said one of the zebras in the room. “Shut your fucking mouth you cockroach, I’m trying to have a civil conversation” she snapped at the zebra. He cringed in fear and stepped back fearfully.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side” I said and she chuckled. “You fool, we’re on opposing sides. I’m supposed to kill you” she laughed hysterically. “Well ma’am before you do, I need to know. Why didn’t you just kill me there in the forest?” I asked.

“Because we are all debating on who gets to kill you and we decided to execute you and make a video so that we all get paid” she informed me. “So… where’s the video camera?” I asked she chuckled insanely as she brought out a rusty knife. “This is your interrogation you fool. I’m gonna cut you up really bad then you’re going to tell me everything you know” she said.

“Okay, I was born in ’88, my family didn’t want me and left me in an orphanage. When I was sixteen I enlisted in the Canadian service, got fucked up then enlisted in the royal guard. Then they sent me to kill you” I said and her face went dire. “No you idiot, I want to know troop movements, shift changes, everything else” she said as she walked closer. “Oh sorry, can’t help you there. They don’t tell me nothing cause they think I’m insubordinate” I told her and her face went to a frown.

“Uhhg… I hate to say this but I have this terribly awful feeling that you’re telling the truth” she said grudgingly. I had actually lied quite efficiently because I did know a lot of those things. “Oh… well sorry to disappoint you, Uhm… want to be friends?” I offered and she shot me a cold glare. “Hey… it’s cool, I don’t care. I just thought maybe you’d want to be friends or something” I said.

“You think that you can just coo me… into becoming your puppet… Think that you can just seduce me, place my prince charming and fuck me like your whore?” she asked. ‘Okay where the fuck had that come from?’ I thought to myself and shook my head quickly. “Think that you’ll get out of here? Well I have news for you” she said as she put a pair of spiked knuckles on her hooves.

For the next hour she slammed punches into my side, blood now stained my white t-shirt and it was red with my own blood. Though the wounds weren’t fatal unless they got infected they still hurt like hell.

The Apache was panting heavily as I hung the, blood dripped from the tips of my boots. She walked up to me and was breathing heavily. “You really have quite an endurance… if we weren’t enemies I’d want to know if you were durable… elsewhere” she whispered and I cringed as she slammed another punch into the side of my ribcage.

“Cut him down” she panted then walked away. One of the zebras walked up and cut me down. Two zebras grabbed my arms and dragged me into another room where they had Captain Shining Armor. “Hey Shining… fancy meeting you here” I said painfully then a zebra slammed the butt of his rifle against my head. “Silence you dog” said the zebra as he continued to drag me along.

There were five zebras in the room along with The Apache and Shining Armor. In the middle of the room there was a hang noose and I smiled. “Hangman eh? Let me guess, the word is hurricane?” I joked and once again the zebra slammed his butt stock of his rifle into my head.

* * *

Cpt. Shining Armor:

I watched as Clare made crude jokes in this dire situation. I gritted my teeth as I tried to think about something I could do to stop this madness but could think of nothing, even a magic spell wouldn’t work.

“Cameras… action” said the insane Apache. They fitted the noose around his neck. “Eh to all you watchers out there this is how to hang a Canadian soldier eh” Clare joked. Even in his final moments he was making crude jokes. I despised him for the crude jokes yet I respected him for his fearlessness.

“General Kim Yung, this is The Apache. We have” The Apache began but Clare yelled over her voice. “HELLO, HEY GENERAL HI… IT’S ME CLARE” he yelled and The Apache shot him a cold stare.

“Shut him up” The Apache hissed. One of the zebras nodded and slammed their rifle stock into his gut. Clare cringed in pain as The Apache began over. “General, this is The Apache. We have” she began but once again Clare interrupted her.

“HEY GENERAL, HEY IT’S ME HI. HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? WANNA HANG OUT?” Clare asked. “That’s it, hang him” The Apache yelled.

One of the zebras kicked out the stool from underneath Clare and he dangled in the air, stung up by his throat. He gagged and struggled as his life slowly drained away. His body cringed and he tried furiously to break free of the noose. Then within a minute he stopped moving. He was dead.

“FUCK!” I swore in anger but one of the zebras clacked their rifle stock against my head and knocked me to the ground. As they dragged me away I heard the laughter of The Apache and saw the lifeless body of Clare hang in the middle of the room. ‘Clare, I swear in the name of Celestia, I will avenge you’ I promised in my thoughts hopping that wherever his spirit was he could hear my prayer.

Chapter 33: Give it till it hurts

Third person, unknown location:

Captain Shining Armor sat in his cell and wept over the death of Sergeant Major Clare. He had known about what happened between Luna and Star Gazer all those years ago and he knew that the news of Clare’s death would devastate her.

Elsewhere in the cave Clare still hung lifelessly from the noose. The zebras had all left after having a laugh. One younger zebra with a bayonet fitted AK47 walked up to the lifeless body of Clare as he hung from the noose rope. Even after he was dead his very presence sent shivers down his back.

Captain Shining Armor sat in his cell and thought about possible escape plans. He could use a magical energy blast on the next zebra to walk through the cell door but he’d most likely be shot down. He cursed himself for not learning a teleportation spell like his sister had encouraged him.

“FUCK” Shining cried as tears continued to trickle down his face. He was so distraught from Clare’s death, he hopped that they killed him too because he couldn’t live with himself knowing that Clare had been hung and they let him live. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to rip that bitch’s throat out before he got shot down. He vowed to himself that before he died he would see the dead bitch’s eyes with his own. That he promised himself.

The young zebra stood in front of Clare’s body and his body shook in fear. He couldn’t get the thought out of his head about how terrifying the man had been on the battlefield. He alone probably killed more zebras than he could ever imagine.

He thought he saw the man’s chest move, only slightly. “Huh?” he muttered then leaned forwards. He shook his head, figuring it was just his imagination getting to him. As he was about to lean back Clare’s hand shot up and grabbed the noose rope while his legs curled around the zebra’s neck and constricted his throat then lifted his body off the ground.

Clare’s eyes burned with inner rage as he held the young zebra’s body off the ground with his legs. The young zebra cried out and gagged in fear. Clare held himself up by pulling up on the noose ropes with his hands so that the noose rope didn’t strangle him. Without mercy or any feeling of guilt, Clare squeezed his legs and snapped the zebra’s neck silently.

* * *

Minutes earlier

Sgt. Clare:

The zebras were stupid, they hadn’t tightened the noose around my neck and I could easily breathe. All I had to do was fake my own death. Damn fools forgot to check my boots, had a small switch blade with a two inch blade hidden in my boots. All I had to do was wait till they all left then bend my knees, pull out the knife and cut the rope away from my hands.

Present time:

I pulled out my small switch blade and cut the noose rope around my neck. The zebra was young and stupid, paid for it with his life. He couldn’t be more than eight years old. Can’t say it felt good killing him but his face won’t bother my dreams any time soon. But I had to thank the kid, he had left me an AK with a bayonet attached to the barrel.

“Thanks kid” I whispered as I dragged his body into the corner of the room and made it look like he was simply passed out. I held the AK47 in my hands, holding it felt weird, mostly because of the trigger and handle modifications so that zebras could shoot it, but also because of its symbolic history. This weapon was the preferred weapon of every terrorist and communist group from Al-Qaeda to the Yakuza.

But beggars can’t be choosers I guess. I stalked through the passageways of the underground tunnels. The soft dirt silenced my footsteps. I had no intention of firing the AK47 until after I was outside the tunnel. I had overheard The Apache talking about going out on patrol to do some marksmanship, or in other words kill a platoon of royal guards and probably use their tongues as trophies or something sick like that.

I heard calm breathing of a zebra as he walked down the dark tunnel. It was dimly lit in the tunnels, a light bulb hung from the tunnel roof about every twenty yards. I leaned up against the corner of the wall and waited as the zebra passed.

I curled back my lips and gritted my teeth in anger as I stabbed the zebra in the back with the bayonet. He tried to let out a scream but I had stabbed the bayonet right through his heart and killed him instantly.

I dragged his body into the shadows then continued on. The tunnels narrowed and I could hear the whistling of a zebra as he trotted along the tunnel system casually. The AK47’s bayonet was kind of clumsy in these tight quarters but I had learned some pretty cool things you could do with just the sling of a rifle.

I slid along the shadows of the corridors and waited for the zebra to trot by me. I was hidden in the shadows and he only noticed I was there after it was too late. I quickly wrapped the sling around his neck and pulled him into the shadows then snapped his neck with the sling. He slumped to the floor and I left his body in the shadows as I continued on.

I was surprised that I hadn’t found more zebras, The Apache must’ve taken most of them out on patrol. I heard screaming echo from a room down one of the corridors. As I continued on I stopped by a large weapons cache.

I spotted my gear and quickly slipped all my stuff back on. I slung the customized AK47 on my back and unholstered my Mossberg 500 tactical. I couldn’t find Shining Armor’s things so I figured I’d grab some extra magazines for the AK47 then just give him that.

I followed the echoes of the screams and found a cell room at the end of a hallway. “Where are your pony friends now” laughed a maniacal voice. I leveled the shotgun at my hip and booted down the door. Two zebras had beaten Shining severally, his face was battered and bruised.

“Right here” I quoted then blasted a round of buckshot into one of the zebras. I racked the pump then quickly blasted the other zebra. His body flew back and slammed against the wall of the cell. His blood smeared against the wall as his body slumped over with a large hole through his chest.

“I’m back” I quoted then rushed over to Shining Armor’s body. “Cl… Clare… what the fuck… you aren’t dead?” Shining moaned in pain. “Come on captain, if I was sure I was going to die I would’ve put up more of a fight then some quipy one liners and quotes” I laughed, the captain tried to laugh but was in too much pain.

I heaved his body over my shoulders, I’d have to post pone my battle with The Apache until another day. Right now I was gonna have to get Shining Armor to the firebase to get him evaced to a field hospital.

I held the shotgun in one hand as I raced along the tunnel system, not exactly sure how to get out. “Clare… Clare if I don’t make it… tell Cadence that… I…I” he began but I set him down and pulled out my water canteen. “Captain, now don’t you go talking like that. I didn’t escape sure death just to have you die on me” I told him. “Hey Clare… you know… I laughed when you broke my nose” Shining chuckled painfully as a tear came to his eye.

I made him drink some water, it was warm but it was better than nothing. They had cut him up pretty bad but he should make it if I hurried and got us out of here. I placed Shining Armor on my shoulders and began to run towards where I hopped the exit was. Along my way I found a radio relay station.

I rushed up and quickly grabbed a radio set then dialed in to Firebase Bravo. “Bravo two six this is Clare go” I said and soon the voice of Lickety Split returned my call. “Hey Sarge, was wondering when” he began but I cut him off. “Listen, Lickety there’s no time, get me an evac chopper at… Bravo Charlie 9-2-4-2-5-1, out” I ordered then quickly began to race for the exit. I could finally see the end of the tunnel.

As I raced out the front of the tunnel my eyes took a second to adjust to the darkness of the night. There was several zebras standing guard that hadn’t noticed me. I unslung the AK47 and held it in one hand from hip level. I squeezed the trigger and the gun rattled as it chattered out full metal jacket rounds.

The zebras screamed as they were cut down. I looked around throughout the valley. I didn’t have much use for the AK47 just dangling around my back so I dropped it then ran towards where I had ordered Lickety to get me an evac chopper.

* * *

Third person, Everfree forest:

“Alright stallions, mount up. Clare is in a tight situation and we’re getting him out. We’ve called in an extraction chopper but we’re gonna need a clear LZ before the chopper lands. Let’s move out double time” Daffodil ordered and the elite shadow guards quickly embarked into military Jeeps.

They all raced off down the dirt path in the Jeeps and finally reached the LZ. They shut off the Jeeps then grouped up. “All right, Bakers Presell: I want you covering the north with the PIG. Jackson, Hammerhead: cover the rear. Every-pony else find some cover and hunker down. Remember the Sarge is out there so don’t shoot at the first thing that moves” Daffodil ordered and the platoon did exactly as they were told.

The group waited and the sound of helicopter rotors echoed through the valley. Elsewhere in the valley The Apache heard the helicopter rotors. She called out to her fellow zebras in native tongue then looked to see where the helicopter was.

Sergeant Major Clare raced as fast as he could with the now unconscious Shining Armor on his shoulders. “Hey Sarge” yelled one of his platoon members. Clare looked over to see Hart waving. He raced over to Hart then looked to see the helicopter landing. “Give me a sec” he told his friend then rushed over and placed Shining Armor in the helicopter.

Shining Armor came around but just barely. Tears rolled down Clare’s face as he held Shining Armor by the shoulders. “Hey Sarge… did we make it?” Shining asked weakly. Clare nodded as his tears dripped down onto Shining’s chest. He had almost lost a good friend. Not in an act of love but in an act of friendship Clare leaned down to Shining Armor and gave him a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek.

“Fag” Shining Armor chuckled but suddenly the moment was disrupted as all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted everywhere at once. “Get him outta here” Clare yelled and the pilot nodded then began to take the helicopter into the air.

Clare rushed up to the others and unslung his Model 70 and began to pick off zebras. He had a huge advantage because of the night vision scope. A few hundred yards away lay The Apache as she zeroed in on the platoon.

Daffodil stood up, “Alright Every-pony fall back to the Jeeps and” he began but suddenly his head cocked back and he fell to the ground. Blood covered his face. “LT… LT, shit. Lickety get the chopper on the horn” Clare ordered and Split quickly dialed in the helicopter pilot.

“Hey get back down here, we got another wounded” Clare said into the radio. “Uh that’s a negative two six, you got a hot LZ cooking. Over” said the helicopter pilot. “Goddammit get your ass back down here or I’ll shoot you down myself” Clare threatened then a pony threw down a line of ropes with harnesses on the end.

“Great I love harness extraction” Clare muttered to himself as he picked up Daff and put him into one of the harnesses. “Every-pony fall back to the Jeeps and get back to the firebase” Clare yelled, the others nodded and began to lay down suppressing fire as others fell back in a leap frog technique.

As Clare turned to give fire support he saw Daff’s body slump. If someone didn’t hold him his body might fall out of the harness. Clare quickly harnessed himself in then gave a thumbs up to the pony in the helicopter. The chopper began to depart towards a field hospital.

Chapter 34: His marefriend

SGM. Clare, Field hospital:

The helicopter landed and I put both Daffodil’s and Shining’s bodies on my shoulders then rushed into the hospital.

There were doctors and nurses waiting. I placed Shining down on a stretcher and the nurse looked at him quickly. “This stallion has received blunt trauma, get him to an ER now” the nurse ordered and the other doctors nodded and wheeled away Shining. I placed Daffodil down on another stretcher and the nurse began to check his body for gunshot wounds.

After not finding any body wounds she looked as his head but as she turned his face towards her she screamed as she realized who he was. “Oh my goddess Daff” she cried, “Hey listen, he’s gonna be okay… Doc get him to an emergency room” I ordered and the doctors nodded then rushed away his stretcher.

The nurse had a silky light orange mane that smelled like oranges, no pun intended. The nurse pressed her face into my combat jacket and began to cry. “Hey come on. Let’s go see how he is” I told her and we followed the stretcher into an emergency room.

A doctor began to wash the blood of his head as the nurse and I stood close by to see if he would be okay. The doctor mumbled to himself as he inspected the wound on Daff’s forehead.

“Doc… will he be okay?” I asked and the doctor nodded. “Yeah… he’s just unconscious and we’re going to bring him out of unconsciousness… now” the doctor said as he dabbed a wet cloth around Daffodil’s forehead.

Daffodil suddenly became conscious again and was breathing heavily. Daff looked to me and I smiled then looked to the nurse. “Posey? Posey… what happened I…” Daffodil began but trailed off as he tried to recall the events prior to this.

“Well lieutenant… the bullet just grazed your skull, that was a million dollar shot right there” the doctor said and Daffodil sighed in relief. “Hey Lt, don’t believe a word he says, you won’t see a penny of that money” I joked. The nurse quickly rushed away as tears came to her eyes. “What’s her deal?” I asked and the doctor looked to me.

“Well being a nurse is quite stressful. She sees ponies die every day. You wouldn’t understand” the doctor told us, Daffodil and I exchanged looks then began to laugh. “It isn’t funny!” the doctor yelled and we both looked to him with raised eyebrows. “Oh… right sorry, I forgot. Oh and sergeant major? I’d suggest getting that leg wrapped up. You’re leaking blood onto the freshly mopped floors” the doctor informed me and I looked down to my legs, near the bottom part of my leg my pants were torn and blood was dripping out.

I nodded then walked out, in all the excitement I must’ve not felt the bullet. But I felt it now, it burned painfully and it hurt to walk. I flagged a zebra nurse, most stallions hated zebras because of the war but I knew there were a few good ones.

“May I help you?” she asked in a very charismatic voice. “Yeah, I know it’s not much but can you uhm, dress my leg wound. I’ve been shot” I asked politely and she nodded then brought me into another room.

She sat me up and extended my leg on a leg rest. She pulled up my pant leg and inspected the wound. “How could you walk, this is bad” she said as she began to clean out the bullet wound. “The adrenaline must’ve gotten to me. The bullet probably went right through. Didn’t hurt none, until now” I informed her.

She finished cleaning my leg and began applying the bandage wrap. She winced in disgust from the smell of my boots. “Oh yeah… sorry I sweat a lot” I apologized. She nodded and held her nose as she finished the bandages then handed me two crutches. “You need to stay off that leg for a while sergeant major. Use these” she said in a cute zebra accent.

“So uhm… will you be the one to change my bandages?” I asked curiously, she smiled as she continued to hold her nose. “Yeah… but only after you take shower” she laughed then trotted out of the room. I hopped my way out of the room with my crutches then proceeded to the recovery rooms where I was hoping Daffodil would be.

I entered the room to see many other ponies, some missing limbs. Others missing entire lower half’s of their bodies. I spotted Daffodil who had bandage wrap around his head.

I walked over to him and we began to converse about old times but no sooner had we started talking, a stallion and a zebra walked into the room towards us. “Sergeant Major Clare?” asked the stallion. I gave him a salute “Colonel” I replied and lowered my salute as he extended his hoof.

I shook his hoof. “Well sergeant major, I’m Colonel Ross and this is Major Tung. Your friend Shining Armor isn’t in the greatest condition to talk and we need the coordinates to The Apache’s mountain hideout” Ross informed me.

I scratched the back of my head and thought to myself. “Uhm… well… I’d uhm have to think about it for a little while before I could remember” I replied and he nodded. “In the meantime, if you wouldn’t mind to relinquish your firearms” he told me. I willingly handed him my M1911.

“And the revolver” he ordered but I shook my head. “Sorry sir… my revolver stays with me at all times” I replied and he scrunched his nose. “Sergeant major, only MPs are allowed weapons in the field hospitals” he informed me. I pointed to his and Tung’s handguns that rode in hip holsters.

“We’re officials, we are required to be armed at all times when in the confines of the Everfree” he informed me. I sighed then handed him my Smith and Wesson revolver. “Well sergeant, time is running so we need those coordinates as soon as possible” he told me. “Yah, Shining might be better at directions” I told him and he nodded then they both left.

I sat with Daffodil for a while and the nurse, whose name was Posey, came in to look at one of the patients who only had half his body. “What happened to Taylors?” I asked, the shadow guard had been part of our platoon and I didn’t know what happened to him. “He stepped on a betty when on patrol. Blew off both his legs and the docs had to amputate” Daffodil informed me.

I could see Taylors crying and I walked over to him. “Hey Taylors… how yah doing?” I asked and he looked up to me. “Sarge… I ain’t heard from her lately… I think she’s forgotten about me” he said as tears rolled down his face.

I felt terrible for him, so many shadow guards and soldiers lost their marefriends during the war. “No, no. She’s hasn’t forgotten about you” I assured him. “Sarge… she ain’t written to me in a month… I… I think she’s forgotten” he said as he held up his hoof. I could tell he was close.

I held his hoof in both my hands. “No, Taylors. Come on man you know how slow the mail gets around” I reassured him. “No Sarge… she’s forgotten about me… tell my mama I love… love h…” he trailed off and gasped as his life slipped away. I felt his hoof go limp in my hand.

I rested his hoof down on his chest and wiped some tears from my eyes. Taylors was a good kid, only 21 years old. He didn’t deserve this, no-pony did. I wiped the remainder of the tears away from my eyes and looked over to see that the LT was gone, along with the nurse.

* * *

LT Daffodil, field hospital:

“Hey Posey, sorry about everything that happened between us” I apologized. “Daff… it’s not your fault, I never found another guy it’s just…” she trailed off. “Hey… shh it’s okay. What’s wrong you can tell me” I said soothingly and she shook her head. “The baby Daff” she replied.

“Yeah what about it?” I asked and she wiped away some tears from her face. “Abortion” she said through sniffles. “What?” I asked not exactly sure what she was talking about. “An abortion Daff. I had an abortion” she told me.

“Wait… wait what? Posey… why?” I asked and she wiped some more tears from her eyes. “Daff, I couldn’t raise our child thinking that her father could come home one day in a body bag” she cried. “Yeah, well didn’t you think to tell me?” I asked and she looked to me with teary eyes. “It was my decision” she told me.

“Yeah well it was my baby too yah know” I said in a somewhat louder tone but she got up and rushed off, crying to herself. I felt bad for my outburst but I had wanted to be a father so badly.

* * *

The next morning,

SGM. Clare:

I walked out into the open field out front of the field hospital where Daffodil sat in a helicopter. Several helicopters came and went, dropping off wounded soldiers. “Hey LT, you look like you caught yourself a case of the blue’s. What’s going on?” I asked and he exhaled through his nose. “Well you got that right sergeant major” he said. “Oh?” I asked and he nodded.

“Yeah something just happened, didn’t happen directly to me but it felt like it did” he said. “Well you want to talk about it?” I asked and he sighed as he lit a cigarette. “Something to do with your nurse?” I asked and he looked away. “Aw come on LT, lay it on me, you can talk to me” I said and he looked back to me with a depressed look.

“Yeah… Posey was pregnant, with my kid” he said and I looked to him. “She didn’t keep it?” I asked and he nodded. “Yeah she didn’t keep it” he said depressingly. I looked around as I thought about to say. “Well, how’s she feel about it. I mean did you guys talk about it much?” I asked and he shook his head. “She’s done all the talking. And all the decision making and right now she’s not happy about it. About who I am or what I am. I’m a dirty smelly… grunt” he said with a smirk.

I felt bad for him. “You know LT, I hear what you’re saying and I feel what you’re going through. And I envy you” I lied and he looked to me. “What?” he asked unsurely. “Well look at it from my point of view, at least you got some-pony mad at you. I got ponies all around me but I’m still alone all the time” I lied, I didn’t really feel like telling him about my secret relationship with Luna. “You’ve got some-pony special” I assured him. He looked up to me “Yeah but I’m feeling pretty lonely right about now though” he said and I nodded.

He chuckled and smiled. “I guess you’re right Sarge” he said acceptingly. I tapped him with my left crutch. “Come on, well go see what the mess hall has for coffee here” I said and we both walked back into the field hospital.

* * *

Third person, field hospital:

Major Tung followed Colonel Ross as he argued with a doctor. “Goddess dammit I need to talk to that stallion” Ross argued but the doctor shook his head. “He is in a critical state right now and you can’t just go demanding things from him” the doctor argued back.

“You don’t understand. Ponies will die unless we get the information we need from him” Ross yelled. “And if you try to get the information from him he could die” the doctor said in a stern voice. Ross scoffed then turned and left while the doctor went his own way.

Tung stayed in the hall and waited for both men to leave around the corners then walked to Shining Armor’s recovery room. The MPs at the door gave him a salute and he returned it. He opened the door then locked it behind him as he entered Shining’s recovery room. Shining lay in the medical bed resting peacefully. Tung pulled out a line of small rope and walked over to his side.

He unplugged the monitor so that the flat line wouldn’t alarm the nurses or doctors. “Captain. We cannot allow you to reveal our base location. You are a strong stallion but our will is stronger. Now be at peace” Tung said and wrapped the thin rope around Shining’s throat and began to strangle him to death.

Chapter 35: Unexpected visitors

Third person, field hospital:

Sergeant Major Clare and First Lieutenant Daffodil sat at a mess hall table and sipped coffee.

Behind them approached a finely dressed light pink mare. “Excuse me? Could you help me? I’m looking for some-pony special” said the beautiful voice of the mare. Daffodil looked to Clare with a raised eyebrow and immediately spun around but both their jaws dropped as they realized who it was.

“PRINCESS CADENCE!” they both exclaimed. “Well yes. I’m here to see my husband. News reached me of his condition and I wish to see him” she informed them. “Sorry ma’am. No-pony is allowed to see Captain until he” Daffodil began but Clare interrupted him. “Aw come on now LT. This is her husband we’re talking about. I think this fine young mare here has the right to see her husband” Clare said and she blushed.

Daffodil thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Alright fine. But it was your idea Sarge” he said. Clare looked over to Cadence and winked. “I’m a real go getter huh? Oh but I really don’t think you should be here if you’re this pregnant” he said and she shook her hoof. “Don’t worry, I’m not due for another two weeks” she replied as they began to walk towards Shining Armor’s recovery room.

Elsewhere in the hospital trotted Posey with Shining’s rations for the day, mostly water and applesauce. She walked up to the door and tried to open it but it was locked. ‘Figures’ she thought to herself as she brought out her set of keys and unlocked the door.

She didn’t look around and immediately closed the door behind her as she entered the room. She saw Tung looming over Shining’s body. “HEY, what are you doing in here? You can’t be” Posey began but Tung swung around and back hoofed her.

“Shut up bitch” Tung hissed then turned back to finish off Shining. “Some-pony help!” Posey screamed and immediately the recovery room door swung open and one of the MPs stationed at the door rushed in. He had come unprepared and hadn’t drawn his pistol.

Tung quickly drew his own M1911 and fired a .45 caliber round right through the pony’s chest. The MP screamed as he fell back. Tung quickly rushed over and grabbed Posey by her long flowing hair and dragged her back into the room as she tried to escape.

Ponies ran in the hallways and Colonel Ross along with another MP raced down the hallways towards the recovery room.

Tung backed into a deeper part of the recovery room with Posey held hostage. Two MPs grabbed Shining’s body and heaved him away to another emergency room. An MP stood guard to make sure Tung didn’t escape.

“Get back… get back or I kill her” Tung threatened in a deep zebra accent. Colonel Ross entered the room and stood by the MP. “Sir he’s got a hostage” the MP reported. “Who is the culprit?” Colonel Ross asked. “It’s Major Tung sir” he replied.

Ross’ face went pale and he moved the MP aside and edged closer to the corner of the wall. “Tung? Tung? But you’re on our side” Ross replied, shocked at his colleague’s sudden change of sides.

“Tung… I know you hate ponies… but you hate communists more” Ross told his friend. Tung laughed “You’re a trusting man Colonel, but not a very smart one. If you had spent more time with your colleague than you would’ve seen through my disguise” Tung laughed.

“Come on Tung… we’ve been together on the force for what? Fifteen years?” Ross asked and Tung laughed again. “Even when the picture is put right in front of your face you still can’t see it” Tung laughed again. “What picture? Tung what the hell are you talking about?” Ross asked as he quickly glanced around the corner.

“Fine Colonel. This form is useless to me anyway” Tung laughed. Suddenly there was a bright flash of green energy and Ross’ eyes widened as he gazed upon the one and only, Queen Chrysalis.

“So… guess that means that zebras and changelings are in cahoots” Ross replied as he holstered his gun. “I’m gonna enter, don’t harm the mare” Ross said as he valiantly stepped forward. “Stay back Colonel” Chrysalis hissed but Ross didn’t heed her warning. As soon as he entered the room she pointed the .45 pistol at him and shot a round through his stomach.

He fell to the ground, groping in pain. Chrysalis stepped out of the recovery room and into the hallway where three MPs crouched with pistols drawn. “Get back. Get back or I’ll shoot her” Chrysalis threatened as she pointed the M1911’s barrel at Posey’s head.

Two of the MPs rushed away but the third stood in a final stand to try and stop the changeling queen. “I said get back” Chrysalis screamed but the MP still crouched in his exact spot and refused to move.

Chrysalis quickly snapped her aim to the pony and shot him in the head. His body fell back and his helmet rolled away down the hallway.

Clare, Daffodil and Cadence had just entered a hallway near the shooting and Clare stopped a fleeing MP. “What the hell’s going on?” he asked. “The changeling queen is here. She’s got a hostage” the MP informed him. “Hey listen, I’m a shadow guard. Get me to the armoury” Clare told the MP and he nodded then quickly led the trio to the back armoury of the field hospital.

Back in the hallway Chrysalis struggled to pull Posey along. “Where is Shining Armor?” Chrysalis demanded. “I don’t know” Posey replied. “You are a nurse! You’ll know, NOW WHERE IS HE!” Chrysalis screamed. “I told you I don’t know” Posey screamed back.

In the armoury was a rack of guns but a chain link went through all the trigger guards. “Fuck. Keys” Clare ordered and the MP shrugged. “I wasn’t issued keys” The MP replied. Clare rolled his eyes in frustration then looked over to an emergency fire axe and grabbed it. He used the pickaxe side of the axe to pry off the bolt pad attaching the chain to the cabinet. The chain busted free and Clare pulled the chain through the trigger guards of all the weapons.

He grabbed: two M1911s along with a magazine for each, his Smith and Wesson 500 magnum and an M1897 12 gauge with trench modifications. He quickly slide six rounds into shotgun and put some extra shells in his hospital gown pocket. He looked to Daffodil who loaded a Browning 9mm high power pistol.

The MP had diddied off but Clare couldn’t blame him, things were about to heat up. He nodded to Daffodil and the two began to rush back to where Chrysalis was walking down the hallways with Posey as her hostage. Cadence was following them and Clare stopped then turned to her.

“Listen ma’am, I have the greatest respect for you and your husband. But I don’t want you coming with us. You could get hurt and Shining would never forgive me” Clare told her but she shook her head. “I’d be safer with you. Where else would I go? Most of the rooms have been locked” Cadence replied and Clare swore as he realized that she was right.

“Alright… just stay close to me and do exactly as I say” Clare ordered and she nodded then the trio rushed down the hallways towards Chrysalis.

“Where is Captain Shining Armor? Where is he?” Chrysalis demanded but Posey was defiant to tell her. “I don’t know” she replied. “Bullshit, you lie!” Chrysalis screamed. In her frustration Chrysalis didn’t see Clare slide behind the cover of a large supply crate behind her.

“I swear I don’t know” Posey said through tears, Chrysalis had been pulling really hard on her mane. Cadence began to dash from the safety of the walls to the supply crate. “No-no don’t” Clare began but Chrysalis heard Clare and spun. She snarled as she saw Cadence, the one who had ensured he defeat at Canterlot. And she was pregnant, with Shining Armor’s child no doubt.

She quickly directed her aim to Cadence and shot her in the belly. Clare’s eyes went wide and time seemed to travel in slow motion as Clare watched Cadence fall to the ground. Blood spurted out of her bullet wound in her belly.

Posey elbowed Chrysalis in the gut and lept to the floor. Clare snarled as his primitive and primal side took over. He stood up from cover and held the trigger back on the M1897. The thunder of the shotgun echoed throughout the hallways of the hospital. Due to M1897s not having a trigger disconnecter Clare was able to hold back the trigger and simply continued to pump. Each time he racked the pump the gun would fire again in a slam fire. Chunks of drywall were blown away from the hospital walls by Chrysalis’ body and she quickly ducked and rushed away.

Clare quickly reloaded the shotgun and looked to Cadence. By god if the foal was dead than he’d rip out Chrysalis’ throat himself. He looked up to Daffodil. “Daff, chase her down. I’ll get Cadence to an ER room” Clare said then picked up Cadence in his arms and rushed off.

Daffodil got up and began to chase after Chrysalis. As he rounded a corner Chrysalis shot three rounds towards Daffodil and he lept then rolled behind a counter. Chrysalis took cover behind the wall as Daffodil lept up and fired two consecutive rounds, each 9mm round blowing a hole in the drywall.

He ducked down again as Chrysalis swiveled from behind cover and fired two more .45 caliber rounds which chipped away at the counter he hid behind. Daffodil lept up and fired three rounds at Chrysalis who once again hid behind the wall. The trio of bullets put holes in the wall but failed to strike Chrysalis.

Chrysalis turned and ran down the hallways, Daffodil heard her hoof steps and immediately lept up and began to give chase.

Elsewhere in the hospital Clare banged on an ER door that was locked. “Open up, I’ve got wounded” Clare yelled but no-pony would answer. He looked to the wounded Cadence and gritted his teeth in anger. “Don’t you let the foal be dead… God if you’re listening to me… please… please don’t let the foal be dead” Clare cried. “OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR” Clare yelled as he banged on the door but still no-pony answered.

“FUCK YOU” Clare yelled then stepped back, with Cadence still in his arms, and kicked down the locked ER door. Ponies inside screamed as Clare entered. He did look scary, due to the fact that he held a bleeding pony in his arms and had blood all over him.

“Doc… help her” Clare said frantically. The doctor just looked at him with fear in his eyes. “Get over here right fucking now” Clare cried. The doctor was still hesitant to move. Clare held Cadence in one arm and unholstered his Smith and Wesson 500 magnum and pointed it at the doctors head. “I SAID RIGHT FUCKING NOW!” Clare yelled frantically. His breathing was so erratic and he was so afraid for the unborn foal’s well-being that tears poured from his face.

He set Cadence down on a medical bed. The doctor very slowly and cautiously stepped beside Clare and began to inspect Cadence’s condition. There was gunshots close by. The doctor cringed and ducked behind the medical bed.

Clare grabbed him and held him up by the collar of his doctor’s uniform. “I swear to god doc… please just save the foal… please” Clare sobbed and the doctor nodded. The gunshots grew ever closer than stopped. Clare feared the worst and couldn’t just let Chrysalis escape.

He pulled out one of the M1911s from his waist and gave it to the doc. “Don’t let her be harmed” Clare said than rushed out of the ER and into the hallways in search of Chrysalis.

“What’s wrong? Coward?” Chrysalis taunted. Daffodil crouched behind some cover, his pistol had run out of ammunition and he was pinned down by Chrysalis. Clare entered a hallway and he saw Daffodil hiding behind the counter and quickly slid up beside him. “Hey LT… yah did good. I’ll take it from here” Clare said and Daffodil nodded. Sweat was pouring down his face.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

“Lieutenant… I’m waiting” Chrysalis sneered. “Then you’ll be disappointed” I said in a deep crazed voice. “What… who” Chrysalis began as I stood up and began to slam fire the M1897. Buckshot blew away chunks of drywall, I quickly redirected my aim towards her as she tried to retreat further into the hospital.

A few pellets of buckshot caught her flank and blasted her. She screamed in agonizing pain as she was flung up against the wall but managed to get up and quickly limp away. I checked the shotgun, it was empty. I cursed to myself for not bringing more ammo and dropped the shotgun to the floor.

I unholstered the M1911 from my waist and quickly began to follow the trail of blood, which was green.

I edged up to a wall corner and peeked around the corner. I was breathing heavily and sweat rolled down my face. I wasn’t used to close quarters fighting but I did have experience.

I couldn’t see Chrysalis in the hallway. I spotted a monitor system and quickly rushed behind it. I was still breathing quite heavily as I hid behind the mobile monitor system. I peeked around the monitor and looked down the hallway. I could see the trail of blood go around a corner but I wasn’t sure if she was waiting by the corner of the wall.

I took a gamble and quickly began to sneak down the hallway. I tried to soften the sound of my footsteps but it was difficult due to my heavy boots. Every step sounded like a crack of thunder, I could have sworn she would hear me walking.

I quickly edged up to the wall, if she was on the other side she would most definitely hear my heavy breathing. I quickly spun off the wall, rolled sideways and into a marksman crouch. I pointed the M1911 down the hallway but I couldn’t see her. My hands were shaking and my finger trembled by the trigger of the pistol.

I’d been in combat situations far worse than this but close quarters always made my nerves run high. I quickly stalked after her trail as I tried to control my breathing a little better.

The trail led me to the morgue. I wondered if it was coincidence or some sort of message she was trying to send me. I opened the door very quietly and peeked inside the room. I couldn’t see her hideous body so I slowly crept into the room and hid behind a gurney stretcher.

I was still breathing heavily but I finally relaxed as I saw that her blood trail led out a door on the other side of the room. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled up and I ducked just as the ear piercing BANG of her pistol went off. A .45 caliber round slammed into the dead patient that was on the stretcher.

I quickly spun around and fired two consecutive rounds at her. She ducked behind her wall and the bullets chipped away at the wall. She peeked back out and fired another shot at me that ricocheted off the floor tiles.

I lept up and fired two more rounds at her, that struck the wall and the door behind her. She peeked out and fired another single round at me, I ducked just as she peeked out and the bullet missed me by mere inches.

I popped up and fired a trio of .45 caliber bullets at her just as she fled through the swinging doors. The bullets blew holes through the doors but missed her body completely. I wondered if the bullets are just traveling through all the holes already in her body.

I quickly lept up and chased after her. As I neared the doors I kicked them open and lept to the other side of the hallway, behind a crate of medical supplies. Several gunshots went off and blew away chunks of the floor tiles and chipped at the crate that I hid behind I hid behind.

I held the M1911 close to my face and got ready to fire at her when I realized the slide was cocked back. I checked the receiver only to realize that I was out of ammo. “Fuck” I scowled to myself as I tossed the pistol away. I cursed myself for not bringing more ammo.

I unholstered the behemoth S&W 500 magnum and held it close to me. My fingers trembled as I readied myself to fight her again. I peeked out the side of the crate with the massive magnum in front of me.

She had fled to another hallway and once again I was alone. I quickly began to scurry down the hallway then leaned up against the corner of the wall and gave a quick glance around the edge of the wall.

She had fled into yet another room that was an office. I quickly crept along and pressed my body up against the wall beside the door. It was as if I could feel her presence just on the other side of the wall, she was waiting for me to walk through the door so she could put a bullet in my head.

“Hey cheese-legs, I’m coming in after you” I said bluntly. “WHAT DID YOU SAY!” Chrysalis screamed from the other side of the wall. “Hey cheese-legs I’m” I began but she cut me off. “I heard what you said the first time!” she screeched. “Well if you heard what I said than why’d you ask?” I asked her.

“Fuck you, that’s why” she hissed. I chuckled from her insult. “Hey cheese legs, let me guess, the entire communist army is changelings” I guessed. “STOP CALLING ME THAT!” she screamed. “Alright Chrysie” I said, cutting down her real name into a short formed nickname.

She giggled. “So now you laugh” I chuckled. “Yes, that is what one of my former lovers called me” she said through a stifled giggle “You know perhaps we could be lovers together. We could even get married”. I gagged at the thought having sex with her which resulted in more giggles.

“So Chrysie… tell me, how many of the zebras are changelings?” I asked. “Well since you’ve been so polite I’ll be dead serious with you. None” she informed me. “None? Seriously? So if none of the zebras are changelings than why’d you join?” I asked and she let out a hysterical laugh. “They offered me money to kill you and Shining Armor” she informed me. It made sense, sort of.

“Why? Didn’t they want to keep all the money for themselves?” I asked. “Yes they needed the money. But after you escaped they needed to cover their tracks. You and Shining are the only ones who know where their secret base is” she informed me. That would explain why Ross was so antsy to get the information from me.

“How much are they paying you?” I asked. “50,000” she informed me. I wanted to kill her so badly for what she did to Cadence but I knew that she’d be a powerful ally. “I’ll double it if you help me kill The Apache” I offered. She laughed at my offer. “Hey that’s a lot of money you know” I told her and she snickered.

“When I found out I got to kill Shining Armor… I offered to do it for free” she informed me. I cursed to myself. “Hey didn’t you used to like him?” I asked.

“No, he was simply some-pony to feed off of. But now that he’s seen through me, I have no use for him. And the fact that he was part of my undoing has fueled my hate for him” she told me. “You know… if the foal is dead… I’m gonna rip out your fucking throat and hang you with it” I snarled but she simply laughed at my threat.

“Well than you better come in here and rip out my throat because I specifically aimed for her womb” she laughed. My inner rage went out of control as I snarled. I spun off the wall, pointing the S&W 500 magnum at the drywall that separated our two bodies and let out a terrifying roar.

I triggered the massive revolver three times. Each time the revolver was triggered it let out a thunderous roar and blew a large hole in the wall. The revolver’s recoil was massive but I had become accustomed to it.

I heard Chrysalis let out an agonizing scream and heard her whimper off. I went to open the door to the office but as I went to enter several .45 rounds slammed into the door. The gunshots forced me to take cover once again.

I only had two shots left and I had to make them count. Daffodil scurried up beside me. “Hey Sarge… come on man let’s get serious” he said as he pulled out an M67 frag grenade. He leaned over my body, opened the door slightly and tossed the fragmentation grenade into the office. We both scurried to the other side of the hallway and covered our ears as the grenade erupted. The explosion blew out chunks of the drywall and devastated the inside of the office.

I tapped Daffodil on the shoulder. “Thanks” I whispered then quickly entered the room. The office was devastated and I doubted that Chrysalis would be alive. She staggered up from behind an overturned desk and lifted her M1911 at me. Blood trailed down her face and body from shrapnel wounds. I spoke to soon.

I quickly snapped up my behemoth revolver and let off two shots, one after the other. The first round blew a hole through her chest and slammed her against the wall. The second round blew off part of her ugly face. I had a blunt face that was hiding my rage but then I smirked as I remembered her saying we could get married. “Consider that a divorce”.

Chapter 36: Answered prayers

SGM. Clare:

I stood there, the barrel of the mighty revolver expelled smoke and Chrysalis lay slumped on the floor. I let out a deep exhale and lowered the revolver. Daffodil entered the office and stood beside me.

“She’s dead… it’s over… it’s finally over” Daffodil muttered. I holstered the revolver, “No… it’ll never be over” I said as I walked out of the room and started to walk towards the ER where I had left Cadence. MPs swarmed the hallways in search of Chrysalis. I directed them to office where Chrysalis’ body still lay.

Daffodil had stayed behind to tell the others what had happened but I had a certain mare to check on. And her husband to, if they’d let me see him. I walked up to the ER doors and entered but the doctor was gone and so was Cadence.

I looked to a nurse that hid in the room. “Where’d they go?” I asked. “Another ER, across the hospital, she was in critical condition” the nurse informed me.

I rushed across the hospital and eventually found the other ER. Ponies had begun to walk freely through the halls again. I entered the ER room where Cadence rested in bed, she had medical bandages around her belly.

I rushed to here side. “Cadence… please Cadence can you hear me?” I asked and she nodded weakly. Tears came to my eyes as I gazed upon her weak body and quickly knelt beside her. I held her hoof in my hand and held it close to my face. “Please god… please god let the foal be okay” I prayed.

Cadence hushed me and gently laid her other hoof on my head and gave it a soothing rub. “Shh, hush now… everything’s okay” she whispered. “Cadence… I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have brought you with us” I sobbed, knowing that the foal had probably been shot and was dead.

“No… I should be sorry. I encouraged you to take me along” she whispered. I stood up and gave her a gentle hug and cried into her neck. “This shouldn’t happen… it shouldn’t… too many ponies have died” I sobbed, crying into her fur. “Shh… quiet now. Everything will be okay” she cooed.

“Sergeant major, can I speak to you please?” asked a doctor from behind me. I pulled away from Cadence and wiped the tears from my eyes. I followed him out to the hallway. “Doc how is she?” I asked. “She’ll be fine… it’s the foal I wanted to talk about” he said and began to tell me what happened to the foal.

* * *

First Lieutenant Daffodil:

I entered the hallway with Posey, we had gotten together right after the whole ordeal and she had offered to show me where Cadence was. I saw Clare talking to a doctor then Clare held his head and fell to his knees, crying. He was crying!

I rushed up to his side and knelt down. “Sarge… sergeant!” I exclaimed. He just sat there and cried. “Sarge… I’m sorry. It’ll be okay” I told him soothingly. “Yeah… yeah it will” he said through some sniffles. The comment took me back

“Wait… what?” I asked curiously, I had seen Cadence get shot in the belly so wasn’t he crying because the foal was dead?

“The bullet missed” he informed me. “What? How?” I asked, shocked that somehow the bullet had missed. The shot had been perfectly placed right at her womb. There was no way it could’ve missed.

“Fate must’ve planned otherwise. After the bullet entered it must’ve tumbled. The bullet curved perfectly and missed the womb completely” the doctor informed me. I let out a deep exhale.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

“Sergeant, it would seem that you saved lives today. If Cadence was brought in any later she might’ve lost too much blood and the foal would’ve been forced out. And you managed to stop Chrysalis” the doctor informed me. “Shining Armor?” I asked. “He’ll be fine, if Posey here hadn’t shown up when she did I fear he may not have made it” he said and I nodded.

He gave us a salute then left to do a check on other patients in the hospital. “Well Sarge… I’m taking a vacation with Posey. We’re going to Fillydelphia” Daffodil told me. “Getting together?” I asked and they both blushed. “Go on Sarge, we want to be alone” Daff ordered me. “Hey I’m going, I’m going” I said as I hopped away on the crutches.

They walked away and I hopped into the ER recovery and sat beside Cadence as she rested. “Thank you god… thank you” I said as I watched Cadence rest. I looked to my watch. It was 5 in the afternoon. I let out a sigh as I lay my head down on the medical bed.

* * *

13 months ago,

Sgt. Clare, Sudan Africa:

We sat in our ambush positions and waited for the convoy to come through. “I still can’t believe you bought those” muttered Captain Daniels. I nodded as I held a dream catcher. “They’re cool huh?” I replied and he shook his head from my pure immaturity.

“Sir, convoy inbound” reported one of our team members. “Roger copy that, convoy inbound” Daniels replied then looked down the sights of his C7 carbine. “Things are about to heat up” I whispered and he nodded.

Suddenly a rifle shot went off. “Who’s firing, cease fire goddammit” Daniels yelled over the head set. “It’s Julio sir he…” the headset trailed off. “Victor? VICTOR!” Daniels yelled then all hell broke loose.

Explosions ripped through the streets and the chattering of automatic fire drowned out the screams of civilians as they ran for cover. “Fuck!” I swore then leveled my assault rifle. I saw an African male run into the streets with and AK47 and he motioned for some of his buddies to follow him.

I waited for his friends to follow him then I fired a grenade round at them. The 40mm grenade shell erupted and violently blew them to pieces. Suddenly an RPG round fizzed through the air and struck our building.

The floor crumbled below our feet and we fell to the ground floor. My vision blurred as I staggered to my feet. I looked over to Daniels and rushed over to him.

“Peacekeeping my ass… this shit is downright fucked up” I yelled to Captain Daniels as I helped him to his feet.

Another RPG round struck the building and debris fell from the roof of the building we had taken cover in. “Shit… Private Sharps, can you hit that bastard with the RPG?” Daniels yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire.

Suddenly it was like my entire world shook. My mind blurred and I returned to reality.

* * *

Present day,

SGM. Clare, field hospital:

“Uhh… huh?” I mumbled tiredly. “Sergeant major… sergeant major” said a voice as the pony shook my body. I looked up to see Colonel Ross standing above me.

I quickly stood up and gave him a salute. “At ease. Sergeant major I need to ask how you’re feeling?” he asked. “Fine sir” I replied, Cadence was awake. I guess Ross had woke her. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked. “All night” they said and I looked to my watch, 5:45am. I nodded, I had a kink in my neck but it would soon pass.

“Sergeant major, Firebase Bravo has lost its CO and Daffodil is on vacation. They need someone to lead them” he informed me. I knew that Bravo was where my squad was stationed. “Isn’t it a little awkward for an NCO to command a firebase?” I asked and he nodded. “Indeed, that is why we got you a new platoon sergeant to assist you until we get a new CO. His name is Gunnery Sergeant Aussie” he said and I realized there was another pony at the door dressed in combat fatigues with a slouch hat. It had the left brim pinned up.

He stepped forwards and extended his hoof. “My name is Aussie, nice to meet yah Sarge” he said and I shook his hoof. “How long until you get a replacement?” I asked and Ross shrugged. “A few days, Daffodil will return from his vacation and he’ll resume leadership as the firebase CO” he informed me.

I nodded then looked to Cadence. “Hey… uhm tell Shining I said hi” I said and she nodded. I got up and winced a little as we walked out. My leg still hurt but it wasn’t bad.

“So sergeant major, I hear you were once a Canadian soldier” Aussie said and I nodded. “What happened?” he asked and I shrugged. “Got reenlisted as a shadow guard” I informed him as we walked out to the helipad where a Huey helicopter waited for us.

We embarked on the helicopter and it took off into the air. “Ross… The Apache is still out there. She’s gonna continue to kill until she’s stopped” I said over the sound of the rotors. “I know. Don’t worry though. Aussie here is a professional marksman” Ross informed me and I looked to Aussie. “Any jungle experience?” I asked but he shook his head. “I’ve got experience in the outback though… I use this little thing” he said and for the first time I realized he had an Australian accent.

He unslung an M25 sniper rifle. “I call her White Feather” he said, the M25 sniper system had already been given the nickname White Feather but him naming it and engraving White Feather into the stock made me respect him a little more.

“How about you Sarge?” he asked. “I like the .300 Model 70 Winchester” I informed him and he chuckled. “A little overkill don’t yah think? .300s can blow a pony in half” he told me and I nodded. “Over kill would be lugging around a light fifty” I said, referring to the Barrette M82 .50 caliber which was called the light fifty despite weighing just over thirty pounds. He chuckled “Okay now that’s overkill, you could take down bloody elephants with one of those” he laughed and I nodded.

As the helicopter neared Firebase Charlie the helicopter pilot turned to us. “Welcome to hell boys” he said and I smirked. I knew that every firebase was hell and the morale was usually low on the bases.

As the helicopter landed, Aussie and I disembarked the helicopter. Ross stayed on it. “Good luck gentlecolts. You’ll have
your first orders in the morning” he called to us as the helicopter began to depart. I still had my hospital gown on and only had an empty revolver. “I need to get refitted” I said and we began to walk towards the supply tent.

On the firebase radio speakers a song blared out that most stallions and mares had become used to hearing on firebases.

Some folks are born

Made to wave the flag

Ooh they’re red white and blue

And when the band plays “Hail to the chief”

Ooh they point the cannon at you, lord

It ain’t me, it ain’t me

I ain’t no senator’s son, son…

Chapter 37: Base commander

SGM. Clare:

I changed into camouflage battle dress and fitted myself with a shoulder holster for my revolver. I nodded to Aussie and we both walked out of the supply tent.

“Well Aussie… I guess we should uhm. Well you know what? Go tell the stallions at the food tent to get some beers ready for tonight. Or whatever the hell they pawn off as liquor around here” I told him and he nodded then quickly trotted off.

I walked over to the armoury to get myself a new weapon, hopefully they’d have an M1928 Thompson but if not I’d probably get a shotgun. I walked in to see a stallion talking to the armoury receptionist.

“I need enough M16s and ammo for eight stallions and three belts for the M60” the soldier said. “The M16s I can do but we’re short on M60 around here” the receptionist replied. “Aw come on man, we’re going in deep. We’re gonna need that PIG” the stallion pleaded.

“Alright, let me just deal with this guy then I’ll see what I can do for yah” the receptionist said. I stepped forward, “I need an M1928 Thompson with drum magazines” I said and he raised an eyebrow. “Hell I haven’t had a requisition for a Chicago Typewriter in… hell I can’t remember. I think I still have a new one in the back just give me a sec” he said then trotted off into the back.

He soon returned with a crate and popped it open. “Here she is, take care of her” he said and I nodded as I took out the Thompson. It still had Cosmoline lathered on it. I slung it across my back and he handed me four drum magazines and ten stick magazines. “No-pony’s gonna use em so go ahead, knock yourself out” he said.

The other stallion stepped forwards. “I still don’t have that M60 ammo for yah so I wouldn’t bother asking” the receptionist said. I looked to him. If they were going in deep they would need the PIG fully loaded for any chance of survival. “Hey, how much ammo you got left for the M60s anyway?” I asked. The receptionist sighed. “Ten belts” he said shamefully.

“What? Ten belts! That’s it?” I asked and he nodded. “When’s the next supply shipment?” I asked and he shrugged. “The last base commander said he was busy and he’d get to it as soon as possible” the receptionist told me. I took out my note pad and wrote ‘M60 ammo, lots of it’.

The receptionist’s nose scrunched. “Doesn’t do any good reporting it to the base commander, he doesn’t seem to give a shit about any of us” the receptionist said. “Well say hello to your new base commander” I said and he gulped. “Uhm… but you’re just a sergeant major. How are you the base commander?” he asked and I shrugged. “Been asking myself the same question for the last hour” I replied then left the tent but as I did the stallion who had ordered the M60 ammo stopped me.

“Hey thanks man, I owe yah one eh” he said and I gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Yeah no problem” I replied as I walked back out and into the firebase. If things weren’t going so well I better check on everything. I quickly paced along towards the radio broadcast tower.

Inside several ponies were on radios receiving and broadcasting messages. I walked over to the office of the building where a corporal sat. I knocked on the wall and the corporal looked up to me. “Listen, I’m busy so make it quick” he snapped, obviously he wasn’t having a very good day. “I was just wondering if I could help you out in anyway?” I asked and he sighed.

“Well if you could talk to the base commander and get him to get off his ass and finally get us those radio parts we’ve been requesting for the last two months, things would be a lot easier around here” he said in an irritated tone. “Well considering that I’m your base commander, I’ll get right to that” I said as I quickly wrote down ‘Radio parts’. “Transmitter wires, we need new ones. The rats always chew them up” the corporal said and I nodded then began to leave.

I heard a radio crackle. “Bravo two one, this is Bravo two six over. We’ve got hostiles in the treeline, request fire support on coordinates Bravo Charlie 8-9-4-5-3-5-2 over” the radio crackled. “Copy, you’ll get your fire support over” the radio pony said then looked to me. “Hey sergeant major. You mind taking these coordinates to the mortar teams, there on the ridge by the hill in the center of the yard” the radio pony said.

I nodded as he quickly wrote down the coordinates then handed me the slip of paper. I took the paper then quickly rushed outside and to the mortar team. Three ponies sat smoking cigarettes by a mortar launcher. “Here, they need immediate fire support” I said and gave one of the stallions the piece of paper.

“Oh shit” he said as he quickly knelt beside the mortar and dialed it in. They began to drop shells down the mortar launcher and it would project the shells towards wherever they coordinates had been set.

I quickly left the mortar crew and quickly paced over to the medical clinic, more like a large tent with flaps for doors. I entered the tent where I saw a doctor in a bloody gown as he applied pressure to a wound on a shot up mare. “Hey you! Get me the morphine” the doctor ordered and I quickly rushed into the tent and found the medical cabinet. I pulled out a syringe from a crate labelled ‘Morphine’ then rushed back to the doctor. The patient had begun to go into shock. “Stick it in her wrist vein” he ordered and I quickly did as I was told.

The mare began to feel the numbing effects of the morphine and settled down. “Alright apply pressure here” the doctor said and I held the gunshot wound on her belly. Blood stained my hands. The doctor pulled out some gauze and sterilizer bandages then began to dress her wound. “Hell sergeant major… you may have just saved her life” the doctor said as he exhaled.

“Listen I’m the new base commander and I was wondering if I could help you with anything?” I asked and he nodded. “Yeah, the last base commander uhm… Wallace I think his name was. Said he’d get me some new medical supplies. Well it’s been a month and a half and I still don’t have any medical supplies. I need morphine and new sterilizer. Hell sometimes I’ve been using whiskey as disinfectant” he told me.

I took out my note pad and wrote ‘Medical supplies’ then looked up to him. “Anything else?” I asked but he shook his head. I nodded then gave him a wave as I left then proceeded to the motor pool where mechanics where underneath diesel flatbeds.

“Hey… uhm need anything?” I asked as I walked up to the sides of one of the troop transports. “Yeah, if you get me some friggin proper parts for these things I’d be so happy I’d suck your dick” the mechanic said sarcastically.

“Now luckily there aren’t any proper parts around here so I won’t be sucking dick any time soon” the stallion said. I felt kind of awkward from the comment and really hoped no-pony heard that. “Soldiers are always complaining that they’re trucks are breaking down. Well they wouldn’t be breaking down if I had gotten the parts I ordered two months ago… goddamn base commander, why I otta… ohh I’d love to take him outback sometimes and just give him a good lickin” the mechanic cursed.

“Uhm… that’s funny cause I uhm… I’m the base commander” I said stutteringly, kind of embarrassed. The pony mechanic slid out from under the truck and looked at me. His fur used to be a beautiful light brown but now it was stained black from the dirty undercarriage of the vehicle.

“Ha, yeah you’re the base commander… oh wait, yeah hold on… yeah didn’t Wallace die?” he asked and I nodded. He raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Alright listen, yah sound like an alright cat. If yah can get me some brake lines and a few new radiators that’d be bomb, if not well… I won’t think too fondly of yah” he said. I pulled out my notebook ‘Rads and brake lines’. “Anything else?” I asked.

He thought for a moment and shook his head but as I left he called back to me. “Well actually…” he trailed off and I turned back to him and nodded. “It’s hotter than Satan’s asshole here. I would be really happy if yah could get us a mini fridge and an air conditioner”. I smirked and he sighed depressingly. I took out my notepad ‘Air condit…’ I looked up to him.

“How do you spell air conditioner?” I asked and he shrugged. ‘Air conditsaner, mini frige’ I wrote. My writing was terrible but then again I hadn’t the best writing skills or grammar. At least I could read my own writing.

“Hey thanks commander, you may not be a CO but by hell I’ll salute you any day” he said as he gave me a quick salute then slid back under the truck. “Oh and uhm forget the whole dick sucking comment. But don’t get me wrong I appreciate it and if I was gay I’d totally suck your dick” he said and I shuddered from the comment.

I thought to myself who else might need my help. After thinking for a little I figured that there probably wasn’t very good food here so I wrote down ‘Ratsa, Ratso… good food’.

I proceeded back to the base commander tent but then figured it would take too long to send a message so I jogged over to the Radio relay station. I entered and looked to one of the radio ponies who weren’t doing anything.

“Hey I need you to get me on the line with Canterlot castle” I said and he nodded then quickly dialed in the radio. He handed me the headset and I waited for a response.

“This is Canterlot go” said a voice on the other side. “Hey listen I need a shipment to Firebase Bravo, over” I replied.

I could hear the voice on the other side sigh. “If you want requisition please” the pony began but I cut him off. “Goddammit I don’t care about requisition. I’m the commanding officer on base and the last CO fucked everything up by not ordering supplies. We need these supplies tonight” I told him but he sighed again.

“Listen, we can’t go doing special favours for one base just because” he began but once again I cut him off. “Listen, put me on with Princess Luna. Tell her it’s Clare” I said. There was a moment’s pause, well actually more like a few minutes.

“Clare?” asked the distinctive voice of Luna. “Ma’am I need a couple shipments of supplies delivered by tonight to Firebase Bravo. I know it’s not exactly economical but the last base commander did a shitty job and the base is in real bad shape” I informed her.

“Alright, what do you need?” she asked. I pulled out my note pad. “I need a very large shipment off ammunition, specifically grenades and M60 ammo. I also need radio parts and transmitter wires. I need medical supplies, specifically morphine. We need vehicle parts, radiators and brake lines. We also require a large shipment of food and some beverages. And if possible could you get a dozen or so air conditioners and a mini fridge?” I asked.

There was a moment’s pause then came her reply. “How do you spell air conditioner?” she asked. “Uhm… c-o-n-d-i-t… uhm… I don’t know” I replied and she snickered. “Whatever the case you shall have the supplies by tonight” she replied.

“Hey thanks Luna” I said and then she hung up. I looked to the radio pony and gave him a nod. “Hey don’t suppose you guys have a place to put an air conditioner in here?” I asked and his face, along with several others, brightened up. I walked out of the radio relay building and I heard several cheers of happiness come from inside the building.

Hours later:

I sat at my desk and filled out forms, mostly just random shit like base moral and what not. Corporal Hart walked into my tent and gave me a salute. “Get that hoof down, the friggin Apache will see you and think I’m the damn base commander” I joked. He laughed as he sat down across from me.

“Hell Sarge, you are the base commander” he laughed and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah…hopefully note for long though. I didn’t sign up to be a shadow guard just to sit behind a desk and fill out military forms” I chuckled.

“Yeah, so you signed up and became Luna’s door guard” he laughed. I snickered at the comment as I brushed the papers aside. “So corporal, what can I do for yah?” I asked and he shrugged. “Not much, just wanted to say hi to my old buddy” he said and I shook his hoof as he extended it.

“Hell Hart, shouldn’t you be protecting Luna in her bed chambers right now?” I asked and he smirked. “Yeah well ever since this conflict heated up while you were gone, they’ve been drafting ponies into the war. Hell I’ve even heard rumors that Captain Shining Armor got his horn blown off” he told me and I nodded, remembering seeing Armor’s horn stub.

“Yeah, hopefully this all blows over like the whole buffalo conflict. You came a few weeks after that whole ordeal” Hart informed me. I heard helicopters flying overhead and figured that had to be the supply choppers. “Come on, let’s go unload those crates” I said and he scrunched his nose.

“What crates?” he asked and I gave him a wink. “Well old… I mean new base commander of yours got you all new supplies” I said and he raised an eyebrow.

We walked out to the helipad where the helicopters were already being unloaded. “Alright, this one says it goes tah the medical center… we have a medical center here?” said Aussie as he gave a unicorn the heavy crate of medical supplies. The unicorn grabbed the crate in her magical aurora and trotted off with it.

Aussie saw us coming and smirked. “Jesus sweet lord Christ, Sarge. I ain’t never seen ponies so happy on a firebase before. It’s like they’re foals on Hearth’s Warming. How the hell’d yah get air conditioners anyway?” he asked and I shrugged.

“Secret” I replied and he chuckled as he tossed me a crate of ammunition. “It goes tah the armoury” he said and I nodded. Hart grabbed another crate of ammo and followed up beside me. “Air conditioners?” he asked curiously and I nodded. “Yeah. Figured it was really hot around here so I’d get the stallions and mares some air conditioning for base” I laughed and he just shook his head in complete disbelief.

As we walked into the armoury the receptionist let out a ‘Hurray’ and several others cheered with him. I set the ammo crate on the counter and looked to the receptionist who was installing the air conditioner. These guys all looked to me with the happiest of faces, hell these were the happiest I’d seen most ponies in a long time. And that’s comparing them to some of the ponies I’d seen in Los Pegasus.

Hart and I walked back outside and back to the chopper just as another landed. I walked up to help Aussie unload some of the crates when Luna hopped out of the chopper and approached me. “Sergeant Major, I need to speak with you about this… ‘Unusual’ shipment” she said, putting emphasis on unusual.

“Well Sarge it was nice having you as a base commander” Aussie whispered to me and Luna gave him a semi irritated glare. He rose up one of his hoofs in mercy. “I’m just saying” he said then Luna and I walked away.

We reached the command tent and Luna looked to me. “Is there any place more secure that drowns out the noise?” she asked and I thought to myself. “Well there’s the supply building around back” I offered and she nodded.

We walked back out and to the supply building. I entered first and turned on the single bulb light that hung in the middle of the building which was roughly 15 feet by 15 feet. Luna locked the door behind us.

I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Were the air conditioners necessary?” she asked, I simply shrugged. “Some of the guys were complaining about the heat” I told her and she shook her head in humor. “So I suppose that you’re the new base commander huh?” she asked and I nodded. “So I guess that also means you won’t be spending a lot of time at the castle” she said and I nodded again.

She walked up to me and pushed my body up against a large wooden crate. “Well then… I guess I’ll just have to make up for all the times I’m gonna miss” she said as she pressed her lips furiously against mine. She stuck her tongue so deep into my mouth it almost triggered my gag reflex but I held it back.

I began to caress her tongue with mine as I groped her flank in my hands. I could hear her humming moans into my mouth and soon she broke away from the kiss. “The choppers leave in twenty minutes… we’ll have to make this fast” she said and I nodded sadly. It made me feel bad that we probably both wouldn’t get much satisfaction out of this.

She quickly began to undress me as I slid my hand to her nether region and began to caress her lower genitals with my hand. It distracted her slightly and she gave a sudden gasp as she felt my hand touch her sensitive parts.

* * *

Third person:

“Alright that’s the last supply crate. How long until the chopper’s filled up?” the pilot asked and Aussie guessed. “About seven minutes… give or take” he said in his iconic Australian accent. The helicopter pilot nodded then lit a cigarette.

Hart walked up beside Aussie. “So uhm, are you like the new platoon sergeant or…” Hart trailed off and Aussie just shrugged. “Not sure really, they assigned me here cause they think I can take down The Apache. Don’t worry chap, I’ll get ‘er in due time” Aussie informed him.

“Where the hell’s the sergeant major anyway?” Aussie asked and Hart chuckled. “Probably bucking Luna in the supply building” Hart laughed and Aussie let out a humorless sigh. “No seriously, yah don’t joke about that kinda shit. Where would he really be?” Aussie asked and Hart shrugged. “Clare is probably getting a very… hand’s on lecture” Hart replied and Aussie just shook his head.

Back in the supply building Clare sucked Luna’s horn and she had a horn orgasm as he rutted her. “Ohhh Clare… ahhhh” Luna screamed as she reached her peak. Clare’s watch beeped, he had set an alarm to go off so they didn’t miss Luna’s timeline. “Shit” Clare muttered as he quickly sat up.

“Clare, this isn’t fair. You gave me three orgasms and you never got off” she said and Clare just shrugged as he slipped his pants up. “Don’t worry about it babe. I got some vacation time coming up. I’ll take some time off and we’ll go finish our vacation in Los Pegasus” Clare told her. She stepped up to him and they began making out again.

Luna pulled back from the kiss and smiled. “You’ll have to call for supplies more often”

Author's Note

So since my job is taking up alot of my time and getting chapters out is a little longer, I was wondering is you guys and gals as readers want me to do like one of those sneak peak sort of things, where I write a comment about the next chapter like:
Next chapter:
Clare befriends new ponies on the firebase but things soon go south as The General arrives with a new CO base commander.
Just tell me your thoughts? good idea or not?

Chapter 38: New and old faces

The next morning,

SGM. Clare:

The barracks were a little uncomfortable but they were better than nothing. I got up at the crack of dawn and quickly walked out to the showers which were just a bunch of shower heads separated by a few boards with a flimsy little wooden door. Most of the stallions didn’t mind but the mares were a little less enthusiastic about public showers. I guess I’d have to get a more private shower system built.

I slipped off my clothes and quickly began to shower, the water wasn’t hot but rather a warm temperature. During the day the heat usually warms up the water tanks and the water is hot and uncomfortable.

I finished showering and dried myself off with a towel as I quickly slipped on some fresh, semi-fresh, clothes and quickly paced over to the command tent. I entered the tent and looked to my desk. I was supposed to have the orders for the base in the morning but I guess by morning they meant near lunch time.

I rolled my eyes and unslung my Thompson. I hadn’t had a lot of time last night and hadn’t gotten around to cleaning away the Cosmoline in the gun. Sure it prevented rust but at the same time it got gritty and could jam a gun. I sat there for a half hour and cleaned away any thick clumps of Cosmoline before putting the gun back together and leaning it against the side of my desk.

I looked at the stack of papers and sighed to myself. I didn’t feel like doing paper work, it was mostly pointless crap like moral rates and temperature ratings. There were some more important things like body count and injury rates but I had already filled out those forms last night.

I stood up and slung my Thompson around my back, figuring I’d take a stroll around the base and get to know some of the soldiers. Even though it was early in the morning I could hear the gunshots from the firing range and assault courses. I smiled to myself as I decided maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to brush up.

* * *

Third person:

Alright listen Frosty” Hart said but the private scrunched his nose. “The name’s Frost” he said, irritated by Hart’s nickname he had given him. “Yeah whatever, anyway listen there’s some helmets resting on the posts downrange. See if you can shoot them off with your M16” Hart challenged.

Frost took aim, it was so different holding a gun in both hooves and trying to balance on his hindlegs. It was times like these that he wished he was a unicorn. Frost took aim on a helmet and pulled the trigger. A single shot went downrange but failed to hit anything.

“Hey don’t fret, just try again” Hart told the new soldier. Frost took aim and fired again but once again missed the helmet he was aiming for. Frost tried several times but missed every target.

Hart scrunched his nose. He wasn’t much of an expert in marksmanship so he didn’t really know how to train ponies. “Uhm… try…” Hart trailed off as Frost ejected the semi spent magazine and loaded a fresh one. “You know, there was still some ammo left in that” Hart said but Frost didn’t listen as he set his rifle to burst mode then aimed downrange.

“Hey wait a minute this is marksmanship practice not…” Hart began but Frost began to fire the rifle as fast as it could shoot downrange. The air was filled with the chattering of the M16. The rifle recoiled in Frost’s hooves but he managed to keep the rifle aimed downrange.

In a matter of seconds the M16 had depleted the entire thirty round magazine. “Uhm… nice job but you didn’t hit anything” Hart said as they both looked towards the helmets. Frost sighed depressingly to himself but then a wooden post fell over. “Well, I guess you got one… kind of” Hart said enthusiastically.

Frost was still depressed that he hadn’t managed to hit even a single helmet. “Hey don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually” Hart assured the young soldier. Frost looked at the rifle in his hooves and sighed.

“Well maybe if his teacher was better at teaching” said a voice and the duo turned on their heels to see Sergeant Major Clare, holding a Thompson by his hip with one hand. The both threw a salute as Clare approached. “Get those hooves down, I’m a sergeant not an officer” Clare laughed. He encouraged stallions and mares to respect their superior officers and what not but you weren’t supposed to salute to NCOs.

“Sorry” apologized the new private. “Hey don’t get down on yourself. I’d be missing my targets if Hart was the one training me” Clare joked and gave Hart a friendly punch to the shoulder.

“Alright hotshot, if you’re so good why don’t you show the kid how it’s done” Hart chuckled and Clare nodded then stepped up to the shooting plate. He cocked back the charging bolt on the Thompson and aimed downrange.

The helmets were roughly twenty to twenty five yards away. Clare thought to himself then adjusted his aim slightly. “You’ve got to have the right posture, your legs were close together because you were trying to balance your body not your aim” Clare said as he showed the private the proper shooting stance.

Frost stepped up beside him and mimicked his stance. “Even though it feels weird at first, it’s actually more stable than standing with your hindlegs close together” Clare told him and he nodded.

“Hold the rifle stock tight to your shoulder and keep your hands… hooves steady. Even though it’s only twenty five yards away it makes a difference” Clare told him. “Now steady your breathing to a slow pace, if you were doing long range shooting you’d have to slow your heart rate to but that’s different. Now keep you finger err hoof close to the trigger but don’t touch it until you’ve got your sight on target” Clare ordered him and Frost did exactly as he said.

Clare quickly fired off a round, a helmet pinged and was taken off the post. He quickly snapped his aim to another helmet and shot, then another and then another. Each time he shot the gunshot was echoed by the ping of the helmet being knocked off the post. After six helmets Clare switched the safety on and looked to Frost then nodded.

Frost took careful aim and fired, he still had his rifle set to three round burst but it didn’t matter because the first round struck the helmet and knocked it off the post. “See you’re getting it… hey-hey-hey, what do we have here?” Clare asked as he looked to a locked crate.

“Don’t know, locked tight and we don’t have the key” Hart said. Clare smirked and pulled out his bowie knife. “Well say hello to the master key” Clare announced then quickly went on to mutilate the wooden crate.

Hart and Frost chuckled as Clare cut open the wooden crate, revealing M67 frag grenades and M18 white smoke grenades. “OHHH baby… yeah these will come in handy… oh yeah” Clare said as he grabbed a couple grenades and gave some to Hart and Frost.

They looked downrange and Clare smiled. “Ever used frag grenades kid?” Clare asked and Frost shook his head. “Alright I’ll teach yah” Clare said as he held up his own grenade. “This little hot tamale is called an M67 frag grenade. She can seriously fuck up a zebra if you time it right” Clare said and Frost nodded in attention.

“Alright so make sure to hold the safety lever, or the spoon, and then pull out the pin. Alright she’s almost ready to go, now you release the safety lever and she’s hot, give it a second to cook and…” Clare trailed off as he waited two seconds then tossed the grenade downrange. The explosion shredded the wooden posts.

Frost and Hart both tossed their grenades in similar fashion. The explosive eruptions could probably be heard from the treeline outside the firebase. Overhead a helicopter approached. Clare and Hart looked up to see a Huey fly overhead, Clare looked to Hart and shrugged.

Clare walked away from the duo but not before giving them a wave and a nod. He proceeded to the helipad where the Huey was landing. The General along with a finely dressed stallion stepped out of the helicopter. Clare gave a salute. The General and the other stallion returned it.

“Sergeant major, this is Colonel Houston. He’s the new base commander” The General informed Clare. Clare smiled, he was thankful that they got a replacement so fast. “Well Colonel you have the orders and Sergeant Major Clare here will help you out with the stallions and mares on base. Good luck gentlecolts” The General said then hopped back on the helicopter and it departed.

“Alright sergeant, get every-pony rounded up. I want a head count, ON THE DOUBLE!” Houston yelled. Clare nodded then briskly walked over to the radio tower.

Clare had the radio broadcasting tower transmit the message through the firebase speakers all around camp for every-pony to group up at the center of the firebase. Clare walked back to Houston and nodded but Houston had a serious look about him.

They stood there and waited for a few minutes. After several minutes every-pony was there. “Alright head count. Platoon leaders, count up your platoon. I want every-pony accounted for. NOW!” Houston roared and immediately the platoon commanders went about counting their platoon members.

The whole process took about a half an hour but every-pony was accounted for. Houston curled his lips in anger and clicked his stop watch. “That took thirty five minutes… THAT IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!” Houston yelled and several of the ponies cringed.

“Alright mount up, were doing PT for the rest of the day until you all decide that you’ll get your asses in gear” Houston yelled and there was several groans in the crowd. “GET TO IT!”

Chapter 39: Clever girl

Days later,

SGM. Clare:

Daffodil had returned from his vacation but was about as happy as I was when he found out what a total ass the new base commander was. He would force us to do PT for most of the day but rather than participate he’d sit in a lawn chair with cold beer and watch, barking orders the whole time.

We hadn’t much in the terms of missions or patrols, mostly fire support with the mortar teams.

It was late in the afternoon and PT had finally come to an end. “Goddammit… this new base commander’s an asshole” Daffodil wheezed. I nodded as I wiped sweat from my forehead. Frost and Hart trotted up beside us, they were just as exhausted.

“Damn… I think I liked it better when you were in command Sarge” Frost gasped and I nodded. “Yeah, well get used to it. Most base commanders are pretty snarly” I said and he nodded then they both trotted off.

I sighed to myself as I walked over to the barracks. I hadn’t been this sore in a long time and I needed a good rest.

* * *

Third person:

“Man, I say we oust this fucker Houston and get the Sarge back in command” Hammerhead told the others in the barracks. They all nodded and looked to one another, agreeing that Houston was an asshole.

“We shouldn’t do that man. It could all get us in serious shit” said Cloud Dasher and several of the soldiers looked to the young shadow guard. “Are you serious? Dasher, don’t you remember when Houston had you shovel out all the latrines just because your pants weren’t tucked in?” Presell reminded him and Dasher sighed as he remembered that horrid day.

“Yeah but still I…” Dasher said but trailed off as they heard the warning alarms go off. Clare rushed into the barracks. “Every-pony out, there’s an invasion” he yelled and they all lept up and followed Clare out to the front line trenches. Bullets flew through the air and caught several soldiers as they charged up to the front lines.

“Bakers keep on them with the M60, Dickens try and get them with the 79” Clare ordered. Aussie lept into the trenches and unslung his M25 and began to pop of rounds downrange.

“Lickety, get the boys on the mortars to cut down the treeline” Clare ordered. As Split got on the radio a trumpet could be heard and soon a large swarm of zebras flooded from the treeline. Houston rushed up beside Clare. “Sergeant Major Clare? You hold this line while I go… call reinforcements” Houston said frantically then rushed back towards the inner compound of the base.

Several of the soldiers and guards looked in disbelief as Houston ran back into the base. “Keep on them” Clare ordered and the soldiers turned their attention back to the advancing zebras.

“Alright, Hammerhead: lay down some C4 in the trenches, we’ll fall back and as soon as those zebras get into the trenches we’ll blow them all to hell” Clare ordered and the corporal immediately followed his command.

Zebras advanced ever closer, even though they had high causalities they still advanced. Hammerhead rushed back up to Clare. “The C4 has been set” he informed Clare who nodded then turned to the others. “Fall back, FALL BACK” Clare yelled and immediately all the soldiers in the trenches retreated to the inner compound.

Zebras flowed into the trenches but as they did Hammerhead triggered the C4 and the trenches erupted. Zebras were blown to bits and pieces of body limbs were tossed into the air.

The group hunkered down and created a defensive line. “Hold this line, they’re not getting past us until they are stepping over our dead bodies” Clare ordered. He looked over to some of the new soldiers, for them it was probably their first combat experience. “Hey don’t fret, we’ll make it through this” he promised them.

It boosted their confidence somewhat and Aussie crouched beside Clare and began to peck off zebras as they advanced. Clare looked over to Lickety and grabbed the radio. “Air command this is Bravo one, we are about to be overrun” Clare yelled into the radio.

“We copy you Bravo one, what do you need, over?” the radio pony asked. Clare thought to himself. “Broken arrow, I repeat Broken arrow” Clare yelled then handed Lickety the radio and began to fire on zebras as they entered the base.

“Sir, in case we die I just wanted to say it was an honour fighting alongside of you” said Cloud Dasher. “You’re not dying today private, we’re going to live… or die trying” Clare said, the others chuckled from his comment.

Lickety was busy giving the coordinates to air command and soon the entire field outside of the firebase was lit up with napalm from the F-18s that flew overhead. Several cheers from soldiers roared as zebras screamed, their skin peeling from their flesh as the napalm ravaged their bodies.

“Smell that… it’s napalm. It smells like… victory. I love the smell of napalm in the afternoon” Clare chuckled. Suddenly a lone thunderous gunshot cracked through the air and Private Smithson fell over. “Fuck, sniper! Get down” Clare ordered but Aussie didn’t listen and instead charged out into the open. “Aussie, get your ass back here right now… fuck” Clare yelled as the Australian stallion rushed out towards the treeline.

Several gunshots echoed and dirt was kicked up by Aussie’s hooves as he rushed towards the treeline. The Apache figured it would be best to lure him deeper into the forest rather than have a one on one confrontation.

Aussie rushed into the thick treeline and entered the jungles of the Everfree forest. ‘Why the ‘ell do they call this place a forest anyway?’ Aussie thought to himself as he slowed his pace to a quiet stalk. The thick undergrowth silenced his footsteps.

Aussie stalked along through the jungle, he could see a trail where The Apache had run, either it was her or another zebra but he had seen a no good commie run this way so he followed the trail.

Sweat poured down his face and he constantly had to wipe the sweat from his forehead before it reached his eyes. He was a professional at what he did and even the animals couldn’t hear or smell him. He hadn’t bathed in months so he smelt like the jungle through and through.

His M25 weighed heavy in his hooves but he had become accustomed to the rifle’s weight and the gun had become more like an extension of his body. He heard some rustling in the bushes not far from him and he quickly paced over to a fallen log and looked to where the sound had come from.

He saw a female zebra with a scoped Mosin-Nagant rifle. Aussie breathed slowly as he crouched down. He slowly removed the slouch hat from his head and set it on the log beside him. His mane was a light shade of brown and it blended in with the forest. His mane was cut short and combed, it was probably the most civil look of his entire body.

He rested the rifle on the log and peered through the scope of his rifle. The female zebra was cleaning her rifle. Aussie smirked to himself as he zeroed in the scope and lined the crosshairs up on her chest. There was no way he’d risk missing the shot trying to do some fancy headshot. The zebra hadn’t noticed Aussie yet and she picked up her rifle in her hooves and looked through the scope.

“Goodbye Ms. Apache” Aussie whispered to himself as he slowed his heart rate and let out a deep exhale. The crosshairs of his rifle lined up perfectly with her chest and stayed absolutely still.

Aussie pulled the trigger on his rifle and it thundered throughout the silent forest. The 7.62x51mm round traveled through the air at incredible speeds and slammed through the zebra’s body.

The bullet traveled right through her chest and blew away her heart. She died instantly and immediately fell to the ground. Aussie sighed to himself, The Apache’s reign of terror was over. Soldiers everywhere could sleep a little easier knowing that The Apache was dead. He figured he’d scratch a notch into his rifle stock later, he had over seventy notches in the rifle stock already but the notch for The Apache would be alone by itself. A signature of how important her death was.

The brush beside him swayed and the pointed barrel of a Dragunov SVD pressed against the side of Aussie’s head. He slowly turned to look over to his aggressor. The real Apache stood with her rifle, its barrel pointed at him like a boney finger. “Clever girl” Aussie whispered as he swung around to try and shoot her with his own rifle. A lone shot rang out through the forest, followed by silence.

Back at the firebase ponies cleaned up from the mess. Houston barked orders and several ponies became agitated. “Alright fuck this, screw you Houston. Go fuck yourself” yelled one of the soldiers. “Excuse me? How dare you speak to me like that. You’ll be on latrine duty for the next year!” Houston yelled but then several other ponies banded together and stood up to Houston.

“Sergeant Major!” Houston yelled out and Clare immediately rushed up to him. “Yes sir?” he asked and Houston pointed to the mares and stallions that now stood defiantly against him. “Order these ponies to get back to work” Houston yelled. Clare sighed to himself as he looked to the base staff. He had fought alongside many of the stallions and mares here and they wouldn’t just go against orders.

“No” he said and Houston’s face turned red with anger. “That’s it, I’m court martialing you for mutiny” Houston roared and stormed off to the radio broadcast tent. He stomped inside then grabbed a radio and dialed it in. “Get me the General, tell him to get his ass down here right now. The Sergeant Major has decided to start a mutiny in Firebase Bravo” Houston roared.

In Canterlot a radio pony gave the note to the General who was conversing with Captain Shining Armor. “Sir, Firebase Bravo is experiencing a mutiny. The commanding officer requests reinforcements” the radio pony said. The General cursed to himself but Shining Armor rested a hoof on his shoulder.

“I’m going with you, I think I can talk some sense into them” Shining told the General and they both rushed off to the helipad.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

Houston had ordered us to all wait. We followed those orders and I cursed to myself for letting things get this bad. Several Hueys flew overhead and landed on the helipad. Several soldiers along with the General and Captain Shining Armor stepped out of the helicopters.

Houston immediately rushed up to the General. They all walked over to us and The General looked to me. “So, you’re in command of this mutiny?” he asked and I shrugged. “Well come with us. You’re being charged with treason, mutiny and possible terrorism” the General barked and I chuckled to myself as I walked up to him with my hands extended.

He slapped the cuffs on my hands and as we were walking away Hart called out. “You better arrest me too sucka” he yelled. The General turned around. “Who said that? I demand to know who said that!” the General screamed. Hart stepped forwards and the General handed Houston a pair of hoof cuffs. “Nah, it was me” said Bakers as he stepped forwards.

“Nah he’s lying, it was me” said Cloud Dasher as he stepped forwards. Soon the entire firebase staff was saying it was them. Both the General and Houston’s faces went pale. “Hey Houston, I knew you said you was calling for reinforcements but I didn’t think they’d show up so late” laughed Presell. Shining Armor looked to Houston. “Calling reinforcements?” he asked, unsure about the comment.

“Oh yeah, you should have seen him. We’re getting shot at by zebras and he runs up and is like Sergeant Major Clare?... You stay here while I go… call reinforcements” Presell laughed, making Houston sound like an idiot. “That was the appropriate thing to do” Houston said and the General nodded.

“Yeah, if he had actually called for reinforcements. The bastard went and hid in the supply shack until all the fighting was over” Bakers said and Shining Armor looked with a disgusted face at the colonel. “Really?” Armor asked and Houston’s face went pale.

“It doesn’t change the fact” the General barked but Shining Armor stepped forward. “Yes General it does. The current base commander is incompetent and likely to get ponies killed. I will not authorize the arrest of these ponies on account that the current base commander is a coward” Shining said.

“This is absurd, I will not allow a sergeant major to run a firebase” the General yelled. “He won’t. I’ll be replacing Houston as base commander. Now General, if that will be all. I think Canterlot has some paperwork for you to fill out” Armor said. The General snarled to himself then scowled as he and Houston trotted back to the helicopters and they departed back to Canterlot.

Shining Armor sighed to himself as he looked to Clare. “Next time rather than start a mutiny, call me and I’ll make everything right” Shining chuckled and I shrugged. “Sir!” yelled a private and we rushed over to him. He pointed out to the field where a bloody pony walked back towards the base. “Sir it’s Aussie” the private yelled.

I pointed to a mare and stallion. “You two, go out and get him. Take a Jeep” I ordered and they immediately rushed to a Jeep then drove out to Aussie as he continued to walk towards the base. Something was off, I could just feel it.

Chapter 40: Solar Eclipse

Lightingace Third person:

The Jeep sped up beside Aussie as he staggered along. He had been severely beaten and had obviously been through a painful torture.

“Shit, gunny!” said one of the privates as he lept out and supported Aussie’s body weight then began to carry him over to Jeep.

In the distance of the Everfree treeline sat The Apache with her signature Dragunov. “” she said in native zebra tongue. She lined up the crosshairs with the driver of the Jeep and squeezed the trigger back.

The Dragunov let out a horrifying BANG as the 7.62x54mmR round zoomed through the air. The bullet smashed through the window of the Jeep and killed the driver with a headshot. The Apache smirked to herself as the other pony tried to crouch down beside the Jeep for cover but he was still in plain view.

She lined the crosshairs on the second pony and fired again. Blood spurted from an exit wound and the other pony fell to the ground.

The Apache had tortured Aussie severely and when she had finished with him she ordered him to walk back to the firebase and he did so willingly. It had been a perfect trap, she knew that the ponies on the firebase would send others to get the wounded soldier.

Aussie lay on the ground then tried to get back up. Suddenly an eruption blew away some trees by the Apache. She realized the ponies back at base had probably zeroed in on her with the mortars. She would’ve liked to finish off the Australian hunter but that would have to wait for another day.

She quickly packed up her gear and left the area as mortar shells bombarded the area around her.

Back at the base Clare was giving orders then looked to Hart. “Come with me, we gotta get Aussie” he said and Hart nodded then they both hopped in a Jeep. Clare raced the Jeep out to the open field and up beside the other Jeep.

Hart grabbed Aussie as Clare grabbed the dead ponies and placed their bodies in the back of the Jeep. Clare and Hart lept back into the Jeep and sped back to the firebase as the mortar crews continued to bombard the treeline.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

I raced the Jeep into the compound and parked it. Several ponies ran over then rushed Aussie to the medical tent. I sat in the Jeep and leaned my head back as I pulled out a cigar. I hadn’t smoked in a while but I had the sudden urge to lite one up.

The tainted smell of cigar fumes entered my nose as I closed my eyes and tried to think about something else, something a little more peaceful. The hot muggy air made me feel uncomfortable. Shining Armor walked over and sat in the passenger seat beside me.

“We’re gonna need new recruits. You feel like going with the medical chopper to Canterlot?” Shining asked. I knew exactly why he asked me and I nodded then looked to him. “Isn’t your wife due to have a baby any day now?” I asked and he nodded. He turned over to me and gave me a wink. “What?” I asked and he chuckled

“I got us some leave papers. Daffodil’s the temporary base commander and I made sure there won’t be any combat missions for the base until we get back” he informed me. “How long?” I asked and he shrugged. “A few days. Long enough” he said and I out an exhale.

“Thanks Shining” I said and he chuckled. “Don’t thank me until after we exit the ring” he chuckled and I scrunched my nose. “The ring?” I asked and he nodded then rubbed his nose. I recalled breaking his nose during the whole bank heist thing where I wasn’t supposed to enter.

Shining nudged me. “Come on. The helicopter will be leaving soon” he said. I got up and stretched then walked with him to a Huey that was about to depart and we embarked it. As the helicopter departed to Canterlot the pilot put on the radio inside the helicopter

Listen baby

Ain’t no mountain high

Ain’t no valley low

Ain’t no river wide enough

Baby…

* * *

A few hours later,

The helicopter landed on the helipad outside Canterlot castle. Shining and I disembarked the helicopter as the rotors still spun. “So Captain, when are we going to get the replacements?” I asked and he shrugged. “Near the end of our vacation. I wouldn’t worry about it now though” he assured me.

We walked into the castle then walked to the throne room. Luna and Celestia looked over to us, Cadence was even with them. Cadence and Luna squealed as they rushed over to us. We both hadn’t been gone a ‘long’ time but in war even a few days seemed like forever.

Luna lept on me and I twirled our bodies in a circle. Cadence and Shining couldn’t quite do that due to her pregnancy but they still embraced each other in a loving hug. Luna and I didn’t really think about anything consequential and began to make out in the throne room.

“SERGEANT MAJOR!” Celestia boomed and we both pulled back from our kiss. We both looked over to her as she stormed over to us. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing with my sister? She’s your princess and your commander” Celestia questioned me and we both sighed in realization that this was probably going to get ugly.

“Well uhm…” I began but trailed off as I thought about something to say. Celestia’s face was turning red with anger. “I’m pregnant” Luna blurted out, everyone else in the room seemed to gasp. Even Shining, who already knew, gasped in shock from the comment.

I swear I could see steam vapours escaping from Celestia’s ears. She looked like a raging bull as she snorted in anger. “Sergeant… that better be some sort of a very, very, very bad joke” Celestia snarled. I looked over to Luna then shrugged. I really didn’t have much to say.

“Uhm, well no Celestia. Your sister is gonna be a mom and you’re gonna have a new nephew or niece” I told her. “Sister, it happened on our vacation. During one of the beautiful nights we made love and I cast a spell on my womb to allow myself to be pregnant with a foal” Luna informed her infuriated sister.

Luna was about to step beside me but suddenly Celestia’s horn flared up and a blast of white energy slammed into my body. It felt like the energy blast broke every single bone in my body as I flew across the throne room and smashed through the doors.

* * *

Third person:

“SISTER!” Luna screamed in horror as she watched her lover get shot across the room. Clare smashed through the throne room doors which shattered apart and Clare’s body continued to smash through the wall of the hallways and into the library.

Celestia shot her sister a cold glare. “I will deal with you after” Celestia scowled as she stepped forward but Shining Armor stepped in her way. “Celestia, this is madness!” Shining Armor yelled. Celestia looked at him. “Madness? THIS-IS-EQUESTRIA” Celestia yelled as she spun around and bucked Shining in the chest. His body flung back and skidded across the ground.

Celestia’s eyes flashed a brilliant white and her body muscles bulked up. A powerful white aurora flashed around her body in a jagged pattern as she walked towards the hole in the wall where Clare’s body had been slammed through.

Her eyes went catlike as she stepped through the hole in the wall and searched for Clare’s body which she just couldn’t find. She stepped into the mess of the library. Book shelves had been knocked over from the blast.

She spotted movement beside her and a magical energy surge shot from her horn and blasted the movement which just happened to be some books that hadn’t been placed level and had started to slip. The books had been blown to vapours and now all that remained were smouldering ashes

Celestia’s anger subsided a little as she calmed herself in her search for Clare. Suddenly a figured flipped through the air and landed behind her. Celestia swiveled and turned to Clare who stood in a defensive posture. His combat jacket had a large burn hole in the center and his chest had suffered some bad cuts. He breathed slowly as Celestia quarrelled around him like a rabid animal.

“I’m-going-to-kill-you” Celestia hissed in a voice that was not hers. “Celestia? You don’t sound like yourself” Clare mentioned and Celestia stood to her hindlegs. She now loomed over Clare by at least two feet, standing at a hulking 8’2”. Clare’s jaw dropped as he realized just how outmatched he was.

“You think you can just impregnate my sister? Think that it’s okay to just break her heart. I’LL KILL YOU!” Celestia boomed, her aurora flashed outwards. Books and paper flew about from the powerful winds that originated from her powerful aurora. Celestia’s muscles bulked up again and she began to look ridiculous. She was now more muscular than any pony in Equestria and was on par with Schwarzenegger when he was Mr. Olympia.

“Celestia, for fuck sakes calm down. I’m sorry but we’re in love” Clare yelled, trying to calm her down. “You think this is love. You fool” Celestia yelled as her muscles tensed and she grew even more muscular. Now she looked like something along the lines of Ronnie Coleman. This was just getting absurd. “I am Celestia no longer. Behold the might of SOLAR ECLIPSE!”

Author's Note

OHHHHHH, okay straight up need to say where I got the idea for Solar Eclipse. So one of the readers, Lightingace, says think about the B&Bs from Metal Gear Solid. I thought about it but didn't really want to go into the whole in depth of making five awesome zebra babes that would fight Clare, The Apache was hard enough to make her whole character. So when I got to the part where Celestia boots Shining Armor across the room I stopped and said 'Hey wait a minute. In real life, err MLP universe' Celestia would be pissed but I doubt she'd kick Shining just cause he said to stop. So I thought back to what Lightingace said about the B&Bs and thought. 'If Luna=Nightmare moon when she's angry then that must mean Celestia=Solar Eclipse. Makes sense'. So I just wanted to say thanks to Lightingace for part of the idea. You my fine sir have helped create a real mean bitch, SOLAR ECLIPSE arrrg. She needs to turn green ahhahahaha

Chapter 41: Outmatched

SGM. Clare:

The spot on my chest where Celestia, now the insane Solar Eclipse, blasted me hurt worse than anything I’ve ever experienced but somehow I was alive. Somehow.

I readied myself for what I knew would be the most painful beating of my life. Solar Eclipse continued to snarl insanely then finally she charged at me. I charged right back at her but as our bodies collided her powerful physical structure sent mine hurtling back into the throne room and I slid along the floor until I skidded to a stop.

I groaned in pain as I staggered to my feet but no sooner had I gained my footing, Solar Eclipse threw a thunderous kick right to my chest and sent me tumbling through the air. I crashed through her throne chair and it shattered to pieces.

I lay slumped in a pile of wooden pieces and Solar Eclipse fluttered down in front of me. “It’s too bad. I was hoping that the lover of my dear sister would be more powerful, perhaps maybe a powerful shadow lord or something” Solar Eclipse laughed as she raised a hoof and pointed it at me. “Well regardless of power you shall die now” Solar sneered as a powerful sphere of energy formed at the tip of her hoof.

“Have fun in the afterlife” she cackled but before she could do anything else something caught her attention. The sphere of energy disappeared and she looked over to Luna. Luna let out a tremendous roar and a dark blue aurora surrounded her body. Tears rolled from Luna’s face as she snarled in anger.

“What’s this?” Solar Eclipse asked herself as she trotted away from my body. Luna grunted and roared, “You are not… my… SISTER!” she yelled. Her body features changed, her eyes became catlike and her body became encased in dark blue, almost black, armour.

Gusts of powerful winds filled the throne room, dust and dirt from around her feet puffed away as she roared in anger. Luna calmed down and a powerful dark blue aurora surrounded her body. “Behold, for I am Nightmare Moon” she roared. So this was the almighty Nightmare Moon. I guess she was still kicking around in the back of Luna all this time.

Solar Eclipse sneered. “So… all this time and you’re still as powerful as you were when we sent you away” Solar Eclipse sneered and Nightmare snarled. “We shall see” Nightmare hissed and Solar Eclipse simply laughed. “Why see? I Know. You were always weaker than me and rather than sit around and wait for you to return I’ve been training. My powers are two hundred times the level I had when I sent you away” Solar said, insulting Nightmare.

“Then show me” Nightmare challenged and the two powerful alicorn princesses charged at each other, both blasting powerful shots of energy at each other as they charged. Just as they were about to collide both their bodies seemed to disappear.

I grunted as I got up, figuring they probably teleported away. Suddenly there was a thunderous BOOM and the shockwave from the hit sent my body slamming to the ground. I winced in pain and managed to see what had caused the massive eruption but there was no signs of an explosion.

Suddenly there was a second explosion but it was an explosive that caused it. When I finally saw what was causing the eruptions my jaw dropped. Every second or so Solar Eclipse and Nightmare Moon would appear for a brief second in a fighting pose then disappear just as soon as they had appeared.

I staggered to my feet and tried to think of what I could do to stop this but realized I would be no help. I looked over to Shining and Cadence. Cadence was in some sort of pain and I staggered over to them but collapsed a few feet from their bodies.

“Shining… Cadence… what’s going on?” I groaned. It felt like Solar Eclipse had broken several bones in my body. She probably had. “I think… ah…I think I’m giving birth” Cadence cried. “What? Now?” I asked in a shocked tone and Shining nodded as he held his wife close.

“Well… what are you still doing here? Get out before those two idiots bring the castle down on us” I told them over the thunderous BOOMs that now echoed in the throne room. “She can’t walk, the foal’s already coming” Shining groaned in pain. “Well… teleport out of here” I said and he looked at me like I was stupid.

He pointed to his stub where his horn used to be. “Still haven’t gotten it back” he told me and I cursed to myself. “Well, walk her out of here” I told him but he chuckled painfully from the comment. “She broke my ribs” Shining informed me and I swore to myself again.

Suddenly there was a powerful BOOM and Nightmare’s smoking body crashed into the ground beside us. He body broke the tile flooring and her body created a small crater from the crash. Nightmare Moon tried to move but was simply in too much pain to move.

Solar Eclipse landed close to us and lifted her hoof. A sphere of energy formed at the end of her hoof and she laughed insanely. “Look at that, swatting four flies with one swing” she laughed and my eyes widened as I realized that she had completely lost it.

Just before she fired the blast I lept up, pain shot through my body and my body cried out in pain from the sudden movement but I doubt I’d be feeling anything in a moment. The sphere of energy fired from her hoof and I placed my body in between the blast of energy and the others.

The pain was excruciating, it felt like an inferno of pain was ravaging my body. The magical blast devastated my body but it stopped after striking me. I stood there, my entire front half was smeared with smoldering burns and cuts. I fell to my knees and gasped in pain. I could hear Cadence scream in fear.

“What a pity. I was hoping for something a little more… dramatic” Solar Eclipse laughed as she swung her hoof back and readied herself to give me the final blow. But just before she could strike a swift blur struck her and sent her body tumbling across the throne room. I looked over to see some dragon looking thing standing between us and the insane Solar Eclipse.

* * *

Third person:

The six element bearers rushed into the throne room and retrieved Cadence and Shining Armor. But as they went to rescue Clare who was now unconscious, Nightmare Moon stepped forwards. “Leave him… leave now” she said, still in pain from her fight with Solar Eclipse. The element bearers nodded then quickly scurried away. They were all fearful of Nightmare Moon’s return.

“What!?” Solar Eclipse gasped as she looked at the draconequus that now stood before her. “My dear princess Celestia, how saddened am I that you have transformed into this… hideous form” he chuckled. “Shut up Discord, why are you here?” Solar Eclipse scowled and Discord simply chuckled. “Well my dear, it would seem that in your more subtle form you had me released from stone imprisonment to bring about good and peace and all that other crap” he laughed, Solar Eclipse snarled in anger.

“Well it’s time that I reverse that and kill you off for good” Solar Eclipse snarled, Discord simply yawned like her insult was petty or idle. As Solar Eclipse propelled herself at the draconequus he simply sidestepped and slammed a powerful knee into her stomach that forced her to drop to the ground in agonizing pain.

Nightmare Moon staggered up to the brutally injured Clare. “Luna was right for choosing you. Though I’d prefer you dead for trying to separate us I have to say that I share her love for you” Nightmare Moon whispered then placed her horn on his back and her magic healed his wounds.

Clare groaned as he quickly got to his feet and shrugged off the pain that had now subsided. “Nightmare Moon, since when did you become one of the good guys?” Clare asked and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t insult me” she scowled and they both looked to Solar Eclipse and Discord as they battled.

“Who’s gonna win?” Clare asked and Nightmare Moon shrugged. “Not sure, Solar Eclipse is more powerful than ever but Discord seems to have an unlimited supply of energy” she informed him and he nodded.

“This is fucked up. I knew Celestia would want to kill me but she almost killed Cadence” Clare muttered and Nightmare Moon placed her hoof on his shoulder. “You can’t do anything to help, go now” she told him. Clare hated to just up and run but she was kind of right. At the moment he was unarmed and had no chance in fighting the behemoth Solar Eclipse.

Clare cursed to himself but then dashed off, figuring maybe he could get a tranquilizer gun or something. Nightmare Moon turned to Solar Eclipse and Discord. Nightmare Moon flexed and powered up but no sooner had she bulked up, her power faded. Her aurora quickly disappeared and she turned back into the subtle form of Princess Luna.

Luna gasped to herself. She shouldn’t have turned back just yet, she was still angry at Solar Eclipse but apparently the injuries she had sustained and the energy she had lent to heal Clare had taken its toll.

Discord flew through the air and effortlessly made a mockery of Solar Eclipse. At first Solar had more power than Discord but her power had started to fade due to fatigue. All the while Discord had managed to dodge every single punch and kick she threw at him. Discord laughed at her as he continuously dodged all her punches and kicks without even using his hands/claws.

“Come on Eclipse, I mean I’m not even using my full power here and you’re already exhausted” Discord laughed playfully. Solar Eclipse floated back to the ground and Discord followed her. Solar Eclipse then tensed her muscles. “You dare make a mockery of me? I AM SOLAR ECLIPSE!” she roared, her muscles bulged even more and her aurora became so powerful that it was like a miniature tornado.

Solar Eclipse flew forwards and grabbed Discord by the throat. He thrashed and tried to escape her hooves but she had a vicelike grip on his throat. “ACK…” Discord gagged as he tried furiously to escape but then Solar Eclipse’s hooves glowed white and Discord gasped as he felt all his energy begin to drain away.

His skin withered like an elderly and then began to split open. Blood began to seep from his wounds as Solar Eclipse sucked his life away. Suddenly a powerful punch slammed across Eclipse’s face and sent her tumbling across the ground. Discord fell to the ground, groping in pain.

There was a bruise on Eclipse’s face from the punch and she looked to see Clare standing there with a smirk on his face. His clenched fist was still extended but he quickly retracted it and stood to his full height.

The element bearers soon stepped in front of him, they all had their amulets. “Fools, you think you can defeat me?” Solar Eclipse sneered but they all focused their own powers together and soon the element necklaces all brightened and blasted a massive rainbow coloured energy surge at Solar Eclipse.

The blast was tremendous but Solar Eclipse stepped out from the smoke of the blast and laughed manically at their efforts. “What? But how?” Twilight gasped, stunned that the elements of harmony had failed. “Because, the elements of harmony are weak” Eclipse laughed. She leveled her horn and shot a blast of energy at their hoofs which sent them propelling through the air.

Luna had regained some of her own energy and quickly transformed back into Nightmare Moon. Solar turned her attention back to the other alicorn and smirked as Nightmare charged at her with all the power she had left.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

I tensed and was about to charge with Nightmare Moon but Discord called out to me. “Wait… don’t go” he whispered weakly. I turned to him, “Well what am I supposed to do?” I asked and he motioned for me to come over to him.

I knelt beside his withered body. “I don’t have… much time left… I can give you the powers to defeat her… your powers will be limitless and you can do as you wish but… they will only last as long as I am alive… make them last” Discord whispered, almost in tears. As a single one of his talons touched my face I swore I could feel energy course through my body.

It felt incredible, like I was invincible. Suddenly Nightmare Moon’s body smashed to the ground and her aurora disappeared as she once again transformed back into Luna. Her dark shadow armour was cracked and destroyed. Solar Eclipse landed beside Nightmare Moon’s beaten body but as she went to finish her off I flew forwards. Oh shit I can fly.

I slammed a punch into her face that sent her staggering back. “I saw your little scuffle with Discord so I know your little life sucking technique. Well you better keep your endurance up because I’m going to crush you into a pulp” I said confidently. “Oh great… the human returns” Solar Eclipse sneered but I clenched my fists and tensed then let out a tremendous roar.

Solar Eclipse rolled her eyes but as I tensed a powerful aurora surrounded my body. It wasn’t as deep of blue as Nightmare Moon’s but it was still a dark blue. Solar Eclipse’s emotionless look turned to a look of interest as I let my strength rise to considerable heights.

My muscles grew in size considerably and a powerful wind surrounded my body. The tiles below my feet cracked and blew away like dust and soon a crater started forming around my feet. Solar Eclipse raised an eyebrow at my new found powers.

My mind started to fade out, I wondered if too much blood was rushing to my head but suddenly I felt my hair shift and grow a little. It felt like my hair grew just to spike itself up. I felt my hair, it stood at least eight inches upwards in a spikey pattern.

My muscles relaxed and shrunk a little so I wouldn’t be too bulky. The aurora faded a little but was still powerful enough to blow debris away from in front of my feet. Solar Eclipse’s jaw opened wide. “Your hair… your eyes… it’s blue” she gasped and I pulled down a tuff of my newly formed hair style to see it was indeed blue, the same blue colour that my aurora was.

I smirked. “Well, it would seem we’re evenly matched” I told her and she snarled then flew towards me. I quickly sidestepped, slammed my knee into her gut and as she double over I took my knee away and slammed my elbow into her back. I felt bad for hurting the princess like this but she wasn’t Celestia any longer. Her body smashed into the ground.

Solar Eclipse groaned and staggered up as I stepped back. “Where… where did you get these powers?” she hissed. I shrugged as I raised my hand, my fingers extended, and a powerful blue sphere flickered at the end of my hand. Solar Eclipse’s face went wide with fear as she realized how powerful I had truly become.

“Fool. You should never have done this” I snarled but she must’ve traced my energy source back to Discord because she quickly turned her head to Discord. She shot him with a single shot of energy which blew a hole straight through his chest and killed him. My energy quickly vaporized and the sphere of energy disappeared. I returned to my former self and Solar Eclipse looked to me with a dastardly smile. “Never rely on others to help you” she laughed as she blasted a shot of energy into my chest.

The shot travelled through my upper right chest and sent me tumbling back. “You’ll never know true powers… stupid animal” she hissed but as she closed in to impale me with her horn I rolled sideways then kicked her knee in. She howled in pain and fell to the ground.

I knew her weakness, I learned it while we battled earlier. She snapped her knee back into place and it healed perfectly. She looked to me with fury in her eyes and charged again but just before she collided with me I lept to the side and slammed a kick into her jaw that sent her staggering forwards from the momentum. She turned to me and let out a terrifying roar then her muscles grew even larger, she was starting to look ridiculous like the Hulk or something.

I sighed from her stupidity as she charged at me again but I easily dodged her by leaping forwards and sliding underneath her then kicking out her hooves from under her. Her body crashed to the ground and she quickly stood up again.

She arose once again and tried to charge at me but I lept up and summersaulted in the air before kicking her in the back of the head, sending her body crashing to the ground. I landed on my feet and swiveled around to face her. “How… how are you beating me” she scowled then tensed up, bulking her muscles up even more. “I’m the most powerful being in all Equestria and you are but a stupid weak animal” she screamed as her muscles bulked up into a ludacris size.

I shook my head. “You may be the strongest but all that muscle mass has slowed you down. Power and strength means nothing if you can’t hit your enemy” I told her and she realized that her muscle mass had indeed slowed her down.

I looked over to Twilight and the others as they staggered up. “Twilight, give me a little bit of energy” I called out and she nodded then lent me a fraction of her power. I felt the energy course through my veins like blood, it was just enough.

I quickly flew into the air and held my arms above my head in full extension with my palms to the air facing the roof of the throne room. A large sphere of powerful spirit energy formed above me. “What’s he doing?” Rarity asked. The power of the spirit energy began to blow around debris like it was dust caught in a tornado.

“A spirit surge. It’s like the elements of harmony blast but more powerful” Nightmare Moon informed them. “How powerful is it exactly?” Twilight asked and Nightmare Moon simply shrugged. “Unknown. No-pony has done a spirit surge and it was just a simple legend. A bed time story that mares tell their foals for before bed time” she informed the young librarian.

I grunted to myself, I had learned about the spirit surge when reading some old book in the library. If it did what it was supposed to, it would cleanse all evils in the spirits caught in the blast radius. “Only one problem with that little predicament of yours. I’m not going to stand a stationary target for you” Solar Eclipse yelled and went to run but Nightmare Moon grabbed hold of her in a full nelson technique.

I gasped. “Clare… what are you waiting for?” Nightmare called out. “Luna… I mean Nightmare, what are you doing? This will kill you” I yelled back and she rolled her eyes. “Yeah well… maybe in my last moments I’d like to be one of the good guys” she said with a wink. I respected her noble sacrifice but I felt bad killing her, sure she was evil but I kind of liked her in that friendly kind of way.

“I hope one day we meet again… perhaps we’ll have a little one on one” I smiled and she nodded as I used the remainder of my energy to toss the spirit surge at Solar Eclipse who screamed out in terror. The blast struck them and erupted violently. The blast imploded at first, then let out a massive explosion and my mind went blank.

Author's Note

So I'm going to be writing the ending to this story tonight and tomorrow and hopefully have it done by tomorrow, no spoilers but I think it'll be a pretty wicked ending.

Chapter 42: War is declared

SGM. Clare:

I groaned as the light subsided, I was never going to do that again. It almost blinded me for Pete’s sake. I staggered to my feet and saw both Luna’s and Celestia’s bodies lying on the ground. I rushed over and checked both their pulses. They were fine just knocked out.

Twilight trotted over to me and rested a hoof on my shoulder. “Don’t suppose you could teach me that?” Twilight asked hopefully and I nodded. “We have to get to the hospital” I said and she looked to me curiously. “Your sister is having a foal” I informed her and she along with the others all gasped from the information.

“Alright, grab Celestia and Luna then I’ll transport us there” she said and I grabbed their unconscious bodies but then looked to Discord who was lying lifelessly on the ground. “Hey Rarity, can you hold Discord in your magic while we go?” I asked and she nodded then levitated his body over to us.

Twilight’s horn flashed and we all teleported to the hospital. A nurse looked over to us and I tried to wave. “Where’s Princess Cadence?” Twilight asked and the nurse looked at her checklist. “Room 207, but she’s in…” the nurse trailed off as we all rushed towards the room, following the numbers listed on the doors.

We found room 207 and rushed inside. “Okay just give a push” the doctor told her and Cadence screamed in pain, Shining Armor stood next to his wife and held her hoof. Rarity set down the body of Discord and joined the others as they stood around Cadence as she gave birth.

I laid down Celestia and Luna then shook them both. “Come on… get up, your niece is giving birth to your first grandchild and you’re not going to miss it” I said and they both regained consciousness.

“Alright, Celestia I know you’re pissed but Cadence is giving birth right over there and I don’t want you missing it” I told her. She looked to me with widened eyes, obviously not remembering the day’s events. I heaved both of them to their hooves and brought them over to watch Cadence give birth.

After an hour of Cadence following the doctor’s instructions she finally gave birth, to twins. A filly and a colt. The filly was a unicorn while the colt was a pegasus. “Cinnamon Swirl and Rose Pedal” Cadence whispered as she rocked both the foals in her forelegs.

I nodded and gave a smile but soon left the room figuring I was just taking up space. I leaned against the wall of the hallways and chuckled to myself. “Disaster adverted, good job there sergeant major. Guess you earned a vacation” I told myself but suddenly a scrawny looking stallion in military dress galloped up to me. “Is Princess Celestia in there?” he asked frantically and I nodded. He raced inside and soon both Celestia and Shining Armor stepped into the hallway with the young stallion.

They began conversing then soon Celestia gasped and she galloped off along with the young stallion. I looked to Shining with a raised eyebrow. He gave me a dire look and told me the news, “The zebras just declared war”.

* * *

Hours later:

Cadence was resting peacefully with both her aunts. Both Shining and I had gone to the Canterlot military base where most of Bravo Company had been assembled. All the firebases had been evacuated and now all forward operating bases were on full alert.

“Company, attennntion” I yelled, prolonging attention to get every-pony in attention. Shining Armor trotted up. “At ease gentlecolts” he said and the entire company relaxed but stayed in attention to his speech. “The communist zebra army has just declared war on Equestria” he told them and then he went silent.

Silence filled the air. I could see several of the Bravo firebase members in the crowd. We’d need some new replacements. “You’re now in part of Bravo Company. Sergeant Major Clare here has been in Bravo for quite some time now and some of you may know who he is… he answers to me and to me alone, no matter of rank or code” Shining said with a grin.

“Two days from now we will be flying deep into the Everfree and we will be attacking the zebra’s main base of operations and severing their army” he told the stallions and mares of Bravo company. “We have a medal ceremony in an hour and I expect most of you to be there” he said then trotted off. I sighed to myself as the stallions and mares departed. I had to go get a few new recruits.

I walked through the military base and found Aussie and I had to say, he looked very healthy. “Aussie?” I asked and he turned to look at me. “Eh Clare” Aussie called out and rushed over to me. I shook his hoof and smiled.

“Damn Aussie, you’re okay” I said and he shrugged. “What can I say, guess even The Apache’s torture wasn’t enough to kill me” he laughed and I nodded. “Listen I need some new recruits for our platoon, specifically ponies who have seen combat” I said and he nodded. “Come on this way. All the colts and fillies are playing basketball and volleyball. Some aren’t combat experienced but have exceptional marks on the ranges” Aussie informed me and led me over to the ball courts.

“Alright colts and fillies line up” Aussie yelled. They were far from fillies and colts but they were all very young. I looked to them with icy eyes and a few of the ponies stepped back fearfully. “Those of you who just stepped back, go back to playing. I don’t want you” I said and they left. There were at least a six stallions left and seven mares that had stayed.

“Alright any-pony with a low IQ step back. I don’t need any stupids in my platoon. Stupids are likely to get themselves and will likely get me killed as well. I don’t want to die any time soon and if you get me killed than I’ll come back from the dead and kill you myself” I said, one of the mares that was cross eyed stepped back. Her fur was grey and her mane was blonde.

“Hey wait a minute, you step back up” I said and she stepped back forwards. I walked over to her and looked at her crossed eyes. I could see she was shivering in fear. “Why the hell’d you join?” I asked and she tried to whisper a reply.

“Well come on, let’s hear it” I said and a tear came to hear eyes. “I…I…I was conscripted from my mail duty, I wasn’t essential” she said and began to sob but as she turned to run I grabbed her shoulder and swung her back around.

“Why did you step back when I said, stupids step back?” I asked and she whimpered a reply. “Because I’m stupid” she said and I scrunched my nose. “Why the hell do you think you’re stupid?” I asked and she stifled a sob. “Because ponies say I’m stupid because of the way I talk… and because my eyes aren’t straight” she sobbed. “How do you spell conditioner?” I asked. She thought to herself real quick. “C-o-n-d-i-t-i-o-n-e-r” she replied and I looked to another pony.

“Is that how you spell it?” I asked and he nodded. “Well I don’t think you’re stupid, hell you’re smarter than I am. Alright, looks like… what’s your name kid?” I asked. She was clumsy I could tell but I knew that any other platoon commander would have her cleaning latrines and would probably treat her poorly due to her unfortunate cross eyedness. As stupid as I felt for keeping a cross eyed pony on my platoon I couldn’t bear the thought of her getting poorly treated by another platoon leader.

“Derpy… Private first class Derpy Hooves” she stuttered. I looked to all the others. “Well it would seem Derpy here just filled the role of my wing-pony. She’ll be covering my ass while I cover hers” I told them and several of the others looked at each other in shock from my pick.

I pulled Derpy up to my side. “Is something wrong with this pony?” I asked but no-pony answered. I pointed to another mare with light opal coloured fur and an amber coloured mane. “You, what’s your name?” I asked. “Private Dust, sir. I’m the best” she told me, boasting a little. “Oh yeah. Tell me Private, would you have Derpy here as your wing-pony?” I asked and she shook her head. “No” she laughed and I gave her a cold look.

“And why not?” I asked and she laughed like my question was a joke. “Because she’s a retard” she laughed, Derpy’s face saddened from her comment. ‘I don’t want you, leave” I ordered and she gasped. “But sir I…” she trailed off then trotted away in shame.

“Doesn’t matter their creed, race or religion. The pony next to you will be your best friend because they will protect you until their dying breath because if they don’t then you will both die. So I want you to hug the pony next to you and give them a big wet sloppy kiss on mouth to prove you would fight and die for the pony next to you. If you don’t want to do this, then leave now” I said.

Several stallions and mares looked to each other. Some stallions looked to another stallion and would frown. Most ponies knew though, that to be in my platoon would be an honour and a privilege. They all kissed each other. Some reluctantly, others more willingly.

I nodded. “Well okay than, welcome to my” I began but one of the stallions interrupted me. “What about you sir?” he asked and I looked over to him. “What about me?” I asked and he pointed to Derpy. “You said we all had to kiss the pony next to us. Well you didn’t” he said and I realized what he was getting at.

“I have a marefriend” I replied. “So? I’ve got a marefriend to. But I still had to kiss this mare next to me. It’s orders, even the commanding officer has to follow his own orders” he told me in a defiant tone. I stepped forwards and loomed over him, giving him a cold glare. “What’s your name private?” I asked. “Thunder… Thunderlane sir” he stuttered fearfully.

I smiled than patted him on the shoulder. “Thunderlane here is a smart pony. He stood up to his commanding officer when the commander refused to follow his own orders. He’s smart” I said then gave him a nod as I walked back in front of them. I sighed to myself knowing that I couldn’t really go against my own orders and should have probably thought about my orders before I gave them.

I nodded then looked over to Derpy who stood there and looked at me curiously. “I have a marefriend so let’s not make this look too romantic” I said and she blushed. I felt like a real ass because technically this would be considered cheating on Luna, but I couldn’t really go back on my orders.

I stood Derpy up to her hindlegs and balanced her body so that she stood balanced on her hindlegs. I wrapped my arms around her and brought her in close to mine. I sighed once more to myself then leaned forwards, closing my eyes and giving Derpy a wet sloppy kiss, just like I had ordered every-pony else. I quickly ended the kiss and pulled back to see that Derpy still had her eyes closed but opened them and gazed into my eyes. “Right… so anyway, like I was saying. Welcome to my platoon, we’re stationed at sector B. Get all your things packed and ready” I said then walked away with Aussie.

“Little smooch from the babes eh?” he asked and I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that” I said and he laughed. I heard the distinctive sound of a harmonica playing.

“Hey… hey Aussie wait” I said and stopped the Australian pony as I listened for where the tune was coming from. “Shit… that’s blues… and it’s damn good” I said as I rushed over to where the tunes came from to see a pegasus sitting on a wooden crate playing a harmonica.

“Hey… hey that’s real good, where’d you learn?” I asked and the pegasus stopped playing for a moment and shrugged. He had a short black mane with tinted blue fur and purple eyes. “I’m self-taught” he replied. “No shit?” I asked and he nodded then took the harmonica away from his mouth and extended his hoof. “I’m Lance Corporal Moon Crater sir” He replied and I shook his hoof.

“I’m Sergeant Major Clare. Do think you could teach me?” I asked and he shrugged. “Well maybe when the war is over” he offered and I shook my head.

“Nah, how’s it sound to be in my platoon” I offered but Aussie grabbed me by the shoulder. “You don’t want this one Sarge” he whispered and I scrunched my nose. “Why the hell not?” I asked and he sighed. “He’s a cherry” Aussie replied and I chuckled. “So?” I asked and he leaned closer. “He’s been in a combat situation before and froze up, couldn’t bring himself to kill the zebra and the zebra escaped into the Everfree” he whispered and I laughed.

“So what? The guy has got the bloody cutie mark of a marksmanship symbol. Bloody stallion has got talent I’ll tell yah that” I told him and Aussie shrugged. “Hey kid, tell yah what. I’ll train you to shoot to kill and you train me to play harmonica” I offered and he looked at me with those purple eyes of his. “I… I don’t know sir. I don’t know if I really want to kill” he said and I nudged him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, they want to kill you too so it’s fair game. Pack up your things and head to sector B” I told him then walked away with Aussie.

“Sarge, I don’t encourage this sort of recruitment” he said and I shrugged it off. Shining Armor trotted up to me. “Hey Sarge. Here are your mission papers. Give them to Daffodil and you two can go over mission planning. Remember the award ceremony begins in an hour” he said and I looked up to him.

“Shouldn’t we have the awards after the battle?” I asked and he shrugged. “Guess the brass wants all these fine young stallions and mares going into battle feeling like war heroes” he told me then trotted off. I opened the papers and my mouth gaped open as I read the mission parameters. “What’s up?” Aussie asked and I closed the papers. “Nothing” I lied then proceeded to Sector B to talk with Daffodil before the ceremony.

Chapter 43: War hero

SGM. Clare:

The award ceremony had started, most ponies were new recruits and didn’t receive much in the terms of medals. The award giver arrived at Captain Shining Armor.

The medal pony pulled out a script of paper. “Captain Shining Armor, you have served Equestria will full obedience and have gone above and beyond the call of duty. You have suffered many wounds along the way serving your country honourably. For your services you are being awarded the Bronze Star for acts of valour above and beyond the call of duty. You are awarded the Equestrian Army Commendation medal for continuous acts of meritorious service. You are also being awarded the Purple Heart for receiving an injury during combat” the stallion said aloud as he pinned the medals to Shining’s dress uniform.

Shining gave a salute and the stallion returned it then he stepped over to me. “Sergeant Major Clare has shown extraordinary acts of heroism and gallantry. He is being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extreme gallantry and heroism. Risking for his own life during combat with an armed enemy force, Clare refused to step back from the enemy and kept the zebra forces at bay as he commanded the soldiers of Bravo Firebase against an invasion. He is being awarded the Luna Star for continuously showing gallantry in combat against the enemy and leading ponies under his command to several victories. The Equestrian Army Commendation medal is being awarded to him for continuous acts of heroism. He is also being awarded the Purple Heart for receiving and injury during combat with the enemy” the stallion said as he pinned the medals to my chest.

I gave him a salute which he hastily returned then stepped to the next mare beside me. Shining Armor leaned over. “Show off” he whispered and I smirked from his comment.

* * *

Later on,

SGM. Clare:

Celestia was still pretty steamed about the whole Luna is pregnant and I was the father thing but she decided to live and let live. Luna and I now lay in her royal bedroom and cuddled together, our clothes clumped at the floor of the bed.

I lay on top of Luna, but made sure I supported my own weight rather than actually lying on top of her. “So I hear you got awarded a medal named after me” she giggled and I reached over to my dress jacket, which now lay clumped on the floor by the bed, and unpinned the medal from my jacket.

I showed it to her, it was shaped after her cutie mark. A crescent moon with clouds, and it was quite beautifully painted and crafted. She took hold of the medal with her magic and levitated it towards herself. “You can have it” I offered and she looked to me. “Why?” she asked as I leaned forwards and kissed her.

I leaned back from the kiss and looked into her beautiful eyes. “Well I’m going to be gone for a while. So while I’m gone you can hold onto this to remember me by” I said and she smiled then rolled our bodies over. “If you’re going to be gone for a while I want to make up for it” she laughed, I smiled then we began to make love under the beautiful illumination of the moon’s light.

* * *

Third person, Canterlot army base, Sector B barracks:

Moon Crater sat in the barracks with some of the other ponies. He had gotten to know Cloud Dasher quite well and the two had become quick friends. Lickety Split sat by himself and wrote in his war journal about how wrong the war was.

“You cheating son of a bitch” Bakers yelled as he tossed two queens of spades on the table. Dickens sat back and his face went pale as Bakers grabbed Dickens by the collar of his jacket and shook him. “You bastard” Bakers yelled but Frost grabbed his angry friend and calmed him down.

“You cheating…” Bakers trailed off and grabbed his poker chips back. Dickens sighed to himself. Dickens wasn’t the best poker player so he usually resorted to cheating. “I tell you man, when I get back first thing I’m gonna do is get me one of them fine bitches at the saloon” Jackson boasted and several of the others chuckled.

“Yeah well you wouldn’t need a whore if you would just calm down a little during sex” Hammerhead laughed and Jackson shook his head. “Nah man, who said anything about a whore? I’m talking a real fine ass you know. Something little and supple that I can hold in my hooves and spank like this you know” Jackson laughed as he made crude gestures. “Yeah but knowing you most of the mares will reject you so you’ll be stuck with a dirty whore” Presell laughed and the others chimed in.

“Yeah, I remember back in Florida. I’m sitting there and this little thing called Octavia walks over, she asks me if I’m hungry. Cause she’d love for me to put a bun in her oven” Presell chuckled and several of the others laughed. “Yeah… now I’m stuck in some platoon that goes patrolling through the Everfree and I got a giant zippo strapped to my back and I’m roasting living zebras. Man why I volunteered for this shit I’ll never know” Presell muttered to himself.

“Hell I’m proud to be here. Free food, free room and board. Hell sometimes there’s even a few cute mares in the platoon… ain’t that right Charlotte” Hart called out to Charlotte, who was one of the only female platoon members. The other being Honey Dew.

“Fuck you” Charlotte laughed jokingly and Hart just laughed. “Hell, I’m proud to be here to. My whole family has always been about honour and shit. My pa was always rough on me as a kid saying that I didn’t know what honour really was. Maybe now he’ll back off” Bakers said as he pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “And like Hart said, free food” Bakers laughed and took a bite out of his sandwich.

Corporal Enders looked over to Presell and took off his wedding ring. “If I don’t make it, make sure my wife gets this” Enders said to Presell. Several of the others went quiet as they looked to Enders. Presell pushed Enders’ hoof back. “Hey man, don’t talk like that. You don’t even joke about shit like that. You put that wedding ring back on cause you’re going home after this” Presell told his worried friend. Enders slipped the ring back on his horn and sighed to himself.

Suddenly Frost gagged and began to choke. The others looked over to him as Frost stood up and tried to reach for something in his jacket. “Shit Frost, you okay? You look like your choking” Hart chuckled jokingly but then Frost nodded and fell to the ground, gagging painfully.

“Oh shit he’s choking!” Bakers yelled and every-pony in the barrack room rushed over to the choking Frost. “Hold on buddy” Bakers said as he lifted up his friend and tried to Heimlich maneuver his friend but it didn’t seem to help.

Bakers laid his friend back on the ground. Cloud Dasher looked over the shoulders of every-pony. “Hey what’s going on?” Dasher yelled and Bakers turned to him. “Some-pony get a medic!” Bakers yelled and Moon Crater rushed out of the barracks to find a medic.

Frost’s gags became heavier as he began to lose consciousness. “Fuck… FUCK” Bakers yelled and tried to shake his friend to keep him awake but Frost’s gags soon became silent and he finally lost consciousness.

“No-no-no-no… fuck come on stay with me Frost… come on Frosty you’re not dying on me here” Bakers screamed as he shook his friend but it was no use. Frost was dead.

Moon Crater rushed in with the medic and the medic pushed ponies aside as he checked for Frost’s vital signs. He sighed and shook his head. “NOOOOO!” Bakers roared. “What the fuck happened?” Cloud Dasher asked and the medic pony shrugged. “We’ll have to bring him to the hospital to see but at the moment all I can say is that he is dead” the medic replied.

* * *

The next morning:

SGM. Clare:

I awoke semi-peacefully, knowing that I had to be out and about today to talk with a lot of the ponies. I looked over to Luna and gave her a kiss before getting dressed but before I left I gave her once last glance. She was so beautiful when she slept that I just couldn’t disturb her.

I walked outside and towards the military base. It was drizzling out and was pretty shitty weather. I entered the base and immediately went to Sector B where Daffodil was waiting for something. I walked up to him and nodded. “Hey LT, how’s it going?” I asked and he sighed.

“I can’t lead the platoon” he replied. “Why not?” I asked curiously and he slumped down on the steps of the barracks. “I can’t even lead myself. How am I supposed to command the lives of several ponies?” he asked and I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think you’re doing an alright job” I complimented him and he looked up to me.

“What about the note to Frost’s parents?” he asked and I looked to him curiously. “What note?” I asked and he stood up. “Frost died last night” he informed me and I was taken back by the information. “What? How?” I asked and I could tell it was difficult for Daffodil to explain. “An allergic reaction. Bakers had a peanut butter sandwich and Frost was deathly allergic. None of the ponies knew what was happening and Frost died before the medic got there” Daff informed me.

“I’m… I’m sorry LT” I told him but he looked to me with uneasy eyes. “I mean what the hell am I supposed to say to his parents? Dear Mr. and Mrs. Frost, sorry your child died serving Equestria but don’t worry it wasn’t a zebra that killed him it was a damn sandwich” Daff yelled, beginning to mentally break down.

Posey, Daff’s marefriend, trotted up to us. “Can I speak to Daff for a second?” she asked and I nodded. “Sergeant Major, you better go tell the ponies what’s going to happen” Daff called out to me and I nodded as I left.

* * *

Third person:

Daffodil stood there with Posey. “So what’s up?” Daff asked and Posey wiped a tear from her face. “Hey, don’t worry. I won’t be gone long I promise” Daffodil told her but she shook her head. “No Daff, I do worry. I worry every day that you could be dead out there. That you’ll never come home to me. That you’ll come home in a body bag” she cried and Daff tried to comfort her by hugging her but she pushed him away.

“It’s over Daff. I transferred myself to a hospital in Fillydelphia. I’m on the next plane. Goodbye lieutenant” she said then walked away in tears. Daff held out his hoof to say something but couldn’t find the right words. He watched as his one true love walked away from him and he began to cry.

Elsewhere at the barracks several of the men stood around as Lickety Split played his charms with Charlotte. “She’s the most beautiful mare in Equestria, and I’m gonna marry her” Lickety said drunkenly. Obviously he had gotten into a stash of hard cider that he had found earlier.

“I’m a war hero babe… and me and you are gonna live together and sit on the beaches” Lickety said as he held his Army Commendation medal as he began to slip it down the front of Charlotte’s combat jacket.

Bakers pulled Lickety’s hoof away. “Stop it Split. You’re making a damn fool of yourself” Bakers said and Lickety looked to his friend and laughed. “Me? Make a fool of myself? We all made fools of ourselves. Winning these stupid little things” Lickety said as tears began to fill his eyes. He thought about all the times he had fought and killed for Equestria and all they did was give him some stupid medals.

A military Jeep pulled up and Clare looked to the group. “Hell you all look like you caught yourself a case of the blues” Clare chuckled and Moon Crater looked up to him. “Yeah… I think Lickety’s getting married sir” Crater told Clare and he looked around.

“Well congratulations Lickety. I got good news and I got bad news. Good news is it’s a fine beautiful day to get married. But the bad news is you ain’t getting married today” Clare said and Bakers looked over to him and laughed. “Why Sarge? We going back up to hill 959?” Bakers laughed sarcastically and Clare sighed. “Hell Bakers you just read my mind”

Author's Note

Budum tssh

Chapter 44: Paint it black

SGM. Clare:

“You’ve got to be fucking with me Sarge” Lickety said, obviously somewhat intoxicated. “No Lickety I’m not. Orders came in from the brass. We’re to engage the zebra hostiles on the peak and take over so that they can get a mortar crew up there and give us support tomorrow. The chopper leaves in an hour so I expect you all to be suited up and ready” I said then dropped the transmission into drive and drove off just as Bakers kicked up some dirt and swore.

Orders were that some of Celestia’s royal guards would be assaulting first then we would come in after them. Whoever made these orders had probably never seen combat before because if I was in command I’d sent both platoons in for a pincer movement.

I drove the Jeep up to the armoury and turned off the engine. I sighed to myself then walked into the armoury. “Can I help you?” the armoury sergeant asked and I nodded. “I need a handgun, preferably a .50 caliber Desert Eagle” I told him and he rose an eyebrow.

“You hunting Ursa Majors or something?” he asked and I shook my head. “Zebras” I replied and he chuckled as he went into the back of the armoury and soon returned with a finely polished Desert Eagle. “This bitch kicks a lot so I wouldn’t suggest using them in a combat situation” he told me and I nodded as I slipped it into my hip holster along with the extra magazines.

“Trust me, I can handle it” I told him then gave him a nod and left. I had this feeling that told me things were going to get real ugly up there. I unslung my Thompson and gave it a once over. I didn’t want this thing jamming on me while I was in combat and by the looks of it I wouldn’t have any problems.

Moon Crater walked up beside me. “Sir, can I speak with you?” he asked and I nodded and turned to him. He had an M14 slung across his back with a high magnification scope. “Whatcha yah need?” I asked and he gulped. “Uhm, sir this mission. I uhh don’t know anything about Hill 959. What’s it like?” he asked and I thought to myself.

“Hot, sticky and shitty” I said plainly but I could tell that wasn’t what he had meant. I let out a deep sigh, “The enemy sets up lots of booby traps and you can literally feel their presence. You might want to switch that rifle for an assault rifle. Snipers usually end up getting killed on Hill 959 because the zebras literally get so close you could hoof fight them” I told him and he nodded. “Tomorrow though, maybe bring along that rifle. It might come in handy” I told him and he nodded again.

“Here come with me, I’ll get you a more suitable rifle” I said as we walked into the armoury. “Back so soon? Told you that pistol was a mean bitch” the armoury sergeant commented and I shook my head. “What kind of assault rifle do you prefer?” I asked and I could tell he had to think about it. “Well sir I only really like sniper rifles” he replied and I thought to myself for a moment.

“Hey, get this guy one of those M14s with the Juggernaut X-14 conversion kits. And throw in some fifty round drum mags would yah” I told the armoury sergeant and he nodded. He soon returned with just what I asked for.

I handed Moon Crater the assault rifle and gave him a wink. He looked at the rifle with fascination as I walked away. I hopped in the Jeep then quickly drove away to suit myself up for the battle that I knew would be bloody.

* * *

One hour later:

“Alright, every-pony on the choppers, go-go-go” I yelled and the platoon members loaded into the choppers. Daffodil wanted me to command the platoon today and said he’d stick around as an advisor. Something must’ve happened because he wasn’t looking the greatest today.

As the helicopters departed for the deep Everfree I pulled out my harmonica and started playing. It sounded terrible compared to Moon Crater and Cloud Dasher put his hoof on my shoulder. “Sorry, I’m just learning” I laughed and he nodded with fear in his eyes. “Hey man. I might die today and I don’t want the last song I ever listened to be some badly played blues, no offence” he said and I put away the harmonica and tapped the pilot on the shoulder.

“Play some tunes” I yelled over the loud helicopter engine. He flicked on the cabin radio and some depressing lyrics started playing.

I see a red door and I wanted painted black

No colours anymore I want them to turn black…

I looked over to Hammerhead who was praying to Celestia silently. Cloud Dasher gave his M16 one last final check before holding it close to his chest. Moon Crater checked the holographic sight on his newly acquired M14 Juggernaut.

* * *

Third Person:

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes…

In one of the other choppers Corporal Bakers patted Corporal Presell on the shoulder. Bakers had a smile on his face but when Presell looked to him with a fearful face Bakers smile turned dire.

I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black

With flowers and my love both never to come back…

First Lieutenant Daffodil sat in another helicopter and held a pendant close to his mouth and kissed it. The pendant was given to him by Posey when they were still dating. It was the only thing he had left of her and he planned to keep it with him until his dying day.

I see people turn their heads quickly and look away

Like a new born baby it just happens every day…

Corporal Hart sat and looked down at the treetops below. He figured that zebras where probably looking up at them as they passed. A few of them probably even had rocket launchers but he quickly shook off the idea and looked back inside the helicopter cabin figuring he was letting his imagination run wild.

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door and must have it painted black…

Corporal Dickens sat by himself and placed an ace of spades on his helmet strap. Inside his helmet sat the two queens of spades that he always used to cheat during poker. He smiled to himself and looked to the others.
Maybe then I’ll fade away and not have to face the facts
It’s not easy facin’ up when your whole world is black…

Specialist Lickety Split looked at his helmet which had a white peace sign painted on it. Why he still fought in this war was beyond him. He’d rather be court martialed then have to kill again but when he thought about it, killing was probably the smarter thing to do.

No more will my green sea go turn a darker blue

I could not foresee this thing happening to you…

Corporal Enders looked at the inside of his helmet. He had a picture of his wife and daughter stuck inside. He gave a quick prayer to Celestia then placed the helmet on his head.

If I look hard enough into the setting sun

My love will laugh with me before the morning comes…

Gunnery Sergeant Aussie checked the sights on his scope. Though most fighting happened so close that sniper rifles were impractical, he still couldn’t bear to part with his rifle. He pulled out a white feather from his slouch hat and gave it a lucky kiss before placing it back on the hat.

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colours anymore I want them to turn black…

As the group of choppers entered the valley the lead chopper pilot radioed the other pilots. “Two miles out and dropping into the valley” he informed the others and the choppers dipped into the valley.

I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes…

Corporal Presell tapped his chest and forehead in beginning of a prayer and quickly prayed to Celestia. He took off his helmet and looked at the picture of Octavia he had kept from when they first started dating. “I love you Tavi” Presell whispered then placed his helmet back on his head. He loosened the fuel valves on the M2 flamethrower and the flamethrower hissed to life. He breathed slowly to himself as he could literally feel the fuel traveling through the handle of the flame rod.

I want to see it painted, painted black

Black as night, black as cool…

Private First Class Derpy Hooves looked out to the Everfree jungles and shivered. Never in her life would she think that she’d be fighting in a war. She looked up to the roof of the helicopter and whispered a quick prayer.

I wanna see the sun, blotted out from the sky

I want to see it painted, painted, painted, painted black

Yeah…

Sergeant Major Clare lit up a cigar and chuckled to himself as the helicopters got ready to land. Lance Corporal Moon Crater tapped him on the shoulder. “Sir, what do you tell yourself to make you feel less guilt when you kill a zebra?” he asked and Clare thought to himself. “If you love something enough, you’ll be willing to kill for it” he told the young stallion as the helicopters landed. Clare was the first to step off the helicopters.

Author's Note

Probably gonna make me shed a tear when some of these guys die. Damn shouldn't have made it so touching cause now I don't want any of them to die

Chapter 45: Return to the hill

Third person, Everfree forest, Hill 959:

The platoon gathered around Clare. “Alright, let’s move out in a straight line deployment. No sound, eyes open and ears listening” he told the platoon and they nodded as they began to trek up the hill.

The grass was thick and loomed over their heads. The rain had stopped but it made the air muggy and sticky. Several of the ponies rolled up the sleeves on their jackets to allow air flow.

The platoon traveled very quietly and somewhat slowly. They could all hear gunfire chattering near the top of the hill. “Man, I’ve seen this movie before” Bakers muttered and Enders nodded. “Yeah man and it’s getting old” Enders muttered back.

“What do you mean?” Moon Crater asked and Enders looked back to the new recruit. “We’ve done this before, over half a dozen times” Enders informed the young stallion who gulped at the information.

“And before you say: ‘If we’ve taken it before than why are we taking it again?’ I’ll tell you why. Because the brass decides that it’s important then as soon as we take it, they’ve found something more important so we give the hill back to the enemy” Bakers told Moon Crater. “Yeah let’s just hope this time they’ll really keep it” Presell muttered.

“They have to. It’s one of the only locations that they can use as a mortar base” Clare told them as they trekked along. Cloud Dasher was on point, he had become accustomed to the jungle over the past month or so and was a good point stallion.

“Man, it’s like a friggin furnace down here” Mountain Dew muttered and Hart turned back and nodded. “Yeah babe, it’s the dry heat” he whispered jokingly. “Knock it off Hart. This is no time for you to be flirting” Daffodil whispered.

As they continued on up the hill they walked past a slight opening in the grass. A small group of zebras huddled close by and waited for the platoon to make their way in front of them. They were no further than twenty feet away from the platoon.

One of the zebras readied his AK47 and waited for the center of the platoon to pass by. There were only four zebras and there were forty shadow guards in the platoon. The zebras all readied their assault rifles and as the platoon passed they opened fire.

Private Jackson screamed as 7.62x39mm rounds riddled his body. “GET DOWN” Clare yelled and the group immediately dropped to cover. Derpy went to take off into the air but Clare noticed her movements before she could fly away.

Clare lept up and raced over to Derpy then tackled her to the ground. As he was running a stray bullet clipped him in the shoulder and blood no bled onto Derpy who was trapped underneath him as she squirmed to fly away. “Hey calm down, you’re going to get yourself killed… just calm down” Clare said soothingly and soon the adrenaline pumped Derpy calmed down enough to think properly.

“I’m sorry, I” she began but Clare nodded. “Don’t worry, it happens to most pegasus during their first time” Clare muttered as he rolled off her body and leveled his Thompson towards the grass where he suspected the zebras to be.

“Sergeant major I want a” Daffodil yelled out but suddenly stopped. Clare looked over to where he had heard Daffodil’s voice but couldn’t spot him through the thick grass. Clare shuffled over to Presell who lay with his hooves over his head. “Hey Presell, see where I’m shooting?” Clare asked and fired the remainder of his drum magazine into the thick grass.

Presell nodded and Clare pointed to his flamethrower. “Burn them to a crisp” Clare ordered and Presell lifted the flamethrower handle. He squeezed the trigger on the handle and a long stream of ignited fluids spat out at the grass where the zebras hid.

The fluid mixture was made mostly of tar and gasoline and whatever it coated would burn at intense temperatures. Several zebras screamed in agonizing pain as they lept to their hooves and tried to extinguish the flames that now engulfed their bodies. The grass had caught fire and was quickly spreading.

Clare looked to the zebras, their skin was peeling and it was hideous to watch their agony. He pulled out his Desert Eagle and gave all four of the zebras a mercy round to the head, ending their suffering.

“Retrieve our dead and move further up the hill as fast as we can. The fire should die out when it reaches the edge of the grass” Clare ordered. “Sir, you better come look” Aussie called out and Clare rushed over. Aussie pointed to Daffodil, he had a bullet hole in the side of his head.

“Fuck… well we can’t dwell on it now. Get the dead and let’s go” Clare said as he slipped a fresh drum magazine into the Thompson and the group continued on up the hill.

As the platoon ascended up the hill Cloud Dasher motioned for every-pony to sit tight. Soon a battered platoon of elite royal guards trotted down the hill. Some ponies were being carried on stretchers, they had been killed in combat.

The shadow guards gave the royal guards their dead troops to carry down. Lieutenant Blunder walked up to Clare. “Where’s your commanding officer?” Blunder asked and Clare let out a deep exhale. “Killed in combat. His body’s being brought down with some of the others” Clare replied and Blunder sighed. “Well good luck up there, they’re better than ever” Blunder said as he continued down with the rest of his platoon.

“Fuck this!” Lickety said and threw his helmet to the ground. “Hey come on Lickety” Presell pleaded to his friend as Lickety removed his gear. “No, I can’t do this anymore. It’s stupid” Lickety replied. Aussie walked over. “Lickety what are you doing?” the Australian pony asked. “I’m not going with you, I’m sorry” Lickety replied.

Aussie walked up and put his hoof on Lickety’s shoulder. “Listen, Lickety I don’t have time for this” Aussie ordered but Lickety’s mind wouldn’t be changed. “Well than you better move out because I’m not going no matter what you say” Lickety replied.

Clare walked up to the argument. “What’s going on here?” Clare asked and Lickety shook his head. “This is so stupid Sarge. We take this hill and ponies die. Then when we finally take the hill we give it right back to the enemy and for what?” Lickety told him. “Those are our orders” Clare said. “For nothing, you know that better than any of us Sarge” Lickety said, almost in tears.

“I’m not gonna sacrifice my life for nothing” Lickety said as he began to walk back down the hill. Clare grabbed him before he could leave. “Now listen, Lickety don’t blow a fuse alright. Listen you need a rest or something I’ll clear it so you can stay back. But don’t go screwing yourself over for this” Clare pleaded. “I don’t need a break, I’m done. I’m finished, finished with everything. The zebras, this war… this fucking hill” Lickety replied. Lickety looked to his friends who all looked at him with expressionless faces.

“I’m sorry guys, but I just can’t do this anymore” Lickety said sadly. “Alright, platoon move up” Clare said and the platoon began to move up but Aussie walked back down to Lickety with a semi angered face. “Man Lickety, how can you walk out on these stallions? They’ve always been there for you and now you’re just abandoning them?” Aussie said and Lickety shook his head.

Aussie picked up Lickety’s radio and handed it to him but Lickety wouldn’t take it. “Listen Lickety don’t ruin your life, and trust me this will ruin your life” Aussie said as he heaved the radio over his back. “Get down the hill with the wounded. We’ll pick you up on the way back” Aussie said and Lickety began to trot back down the hill. But before he could even get a few feet an angry staff sergeant rushed up the hill.

“What’s this I hear about some coward refusing to fight” the staff sergeant yelled and Lickety raised his hoof. “That’d be me” he replied and the staff sergeant snarled at him. “Why you cowardly piece of shit. I outta kill you right now” the staff sergeant snarled as he cocked his M16 and pointed it at Lickety’s face.

Clare came down like thunder on the staff sergeant and slammed a powerful punch to the side of the stallion’s head which knocked him to the ground. The staff sergeant was disoriented and quickly shook of the dizziness that blurred his vision. He looked up to Clare.

“This is my stallion here, this is his family. Now you get out of my house sergeant” Clare snarled at the now frightened staff sergeant. He scurried to his hooves and raced back down the hill towards the rest of his platoon. Clare looked to Lickety and gave him a saddened nod.

“You should have let him do it Sarge. At least then I would’ve known who did it, and what it was for. But if I die on this hill I won’t know who did it. Or what it was for” Lickety said and began to trot back down the hill.

Clare raced back up to the rest of the platoon. The peak was just up ahead and they spread out in preparation for the upcoming battle. Clare motioned for every-pony to spread out then they all crept over the ridge of the peak. Suddenly the Type 99 light machineguns in the machinegun nest lit up like the fourth of July. 7.7x58mm rounds buzzed through the air and chopped away at trees and small thickets.

“Get down, get behind cover” Clare yelled. Ponies did exactly as he ordered and they all returned fire. “Dickens, the 79” Clare yelled out and Corporal Dickens pulled out the M79 and leaned away from cover but no sooner had he leaned away than a 7.7x58mm Type 99 machinegun round struck his shoulder.

Dickens fell to the ground screaming in pain. Clare scrambled over to his injured friend. “It ain’t bad Sarge, I can still fight” Dickens cried out in pain. “Not like this you can’t. Get back down the hill and wait with the wounded. Don’t worry, we won’t forget you guys” Clare told him and Dickens handed Clare the M79 grenade belt along with the launcher.

Dickens crawled to the ridge then slipped over and began to hastily trot down the hill. Clare turned his attention to the machinegun nest and fired a 40mm grenade round at it. The round fell short however and erupted a few dozen yards before the machinegun nest. “Aussie can you pick off the machine gunner?” Clare called out. Aussie tried to peak around the tree to snap off a shot but zebras had advanced towards the platoon and shot wildly at Aussie.

Aussie ducked behind the tree. “No way Sarge, we’ll have to get rid of those zebras first” Aussie called back. “Bakers, get on them with the M60” Clare yelled. Bakers tried to mount the M60 but the machinegun nest spotted him and fired at him. Bakers ducked behind the fallen log. “They got me pinned down Sarge” Bakers yelled back.

Enders lept up but suddenly an explosion from a grenade blew off both his hindlegs and sent him hurtling through the air. Sanderson looked to his friend who screamed in pain. “I got you Enders” Sanderson yelled as he lept up and rushed over to his friend. As Sanderson lifted Enders’ body over his shoulder an RPG round struck at his hooves and blew both their bodies into smoldering pieces.

The others who watched their bodies get blown to bits gasped in horror as the bodies seemed to simply disappear. “No… FUCK!” Bakers cried out.

Elsewhere down the hill Lickety Split sat with his journal. He wrote about the war and about Sergeant Major Clare.

‘I hate this place. The smell of death is all around. Wounded are being brought down, some will die here because of their wounds. I can’t bring myself to kill anymore. I hate myself for killing in the name of Equestria. Sergeant Major Clare says that it’s for freedom and liberty but I have yet to see freedom and liberty on this hill. So many of my friends have died on this hill and their faces will haunt my dreams forever. Ponies talk about Clare like he is a hero. I have fought alongside this man. His actions and bravery on the battlefield are without question. He has courage that no-pony could ever dream of having and above all else he is compassionate towards zebras. He doesn’t fight to kill, he fights for the freedom of those under the oppression of the communist zebras. He is indeed a hero. Perhaps one day I can share his courage but without the need to kill.’

Lickety looked up from his journal to see Dickens limping down the hill. Lickety put his journal away and quickly trotted over to help his friend find a seat. “Dickens, are you alright?” Lickety asked and he nodded silently.

“I’ll be alright” Dickens replied weakly as he sat down and leaned against a tree. “What’s it like up there?” Lickety asked and Dickens shook his head sadly. “It’s bad man. The zebras are like ghosts. Every-pony is pinned down under that friggin machinegun. Sarge is trying to keep every-pony from losing their cool but ponies are starting to break down yah know” Dickens informed his friend.

Lickety quickly pulled out his water flask and handed it to Dickens who nodded and accepted the water gratefully. Lickety thought to himself and his face saddened greatly. “Damn” he cursed to himself, hating himself for leaving his friends. Lickety quickly got up and grabbed his M16 from the ground and began to trot up the hill.

“See you later Dickens” Lickety said. “Hey Lickety, where are you going?” Dickens asked and he turned back to look at his wounded friend. “Look Dickens, I never believed in this war, I never did and I never will. But I do believe in helping my friends… I guess that’s worth fighting for” Lickety said as a smile crept across his face.

Lickety rushed back up the hill to the peak to try and help his friends.

At the peak Clare pointed over to Aussie and Moon Crater. “You two come with me. BAKERS! Supressing fire. HART! Pop some smoke” Clare yelled. The platoon followed his orders and soon Clare led Aussie and Moon Crater around the side of the battlefield.

There was a group of zebras that had taken cover in some thick brush. Clare leveled his Thompson at hip level and sprayed down the group. They screamed as the .45 caliber rounds tore through their bodies and killed them.

The trio continued on ad Clare rushed the trenches. Either the zebras were too surprised at his reckless action or they didn’t quite have time to react because they stood there and watched as Clare rushed them. Firing the Thompson from his hip he lept over the trenches. Clare motioned for Aussie and Crater to follow him.

Clare stormed through the trenches and fired his Thompson on any zebras who opposed him. Aussie travelled in the other direction, he had his M25 slung across his back and was utilizing his M1911.

Clare’s Thompson ran dry as a zebra lept out at him with a bolt action Arisaka Type 99 rifle. Clare slammed the butt stock of his Thompson against the zebra’s face and knocked him to the ground.

Clare pointed to Moon Crater. “Kill him” Clare yelled as he slipped a fresh drum magazine into his sub machinegun then continued to hose down zebras. Moon Crater pointed his M14 Juggernaut at the zebra as the zebra staggered to his feet. He had joined as a marksman for two reasons. One: he was good at it. Two: he figured he’d never get close enough to have to kill a living zebra this close. Fear struck through his body as the zebra rose to his hooves.

The zebra was about to impale Crater with the bayonet on the end of his rifle when Clare lept up behind the zebra and grabbed his head. He pulled the zebra up and slit the zebra’s throat with his razor sharp bowie knife. The zebra let out a gag and blood spurted out of his gaping throat wound. Blood sprayed onto Crater’s face as he stood there in shock. Clare dropped the zebra’s body and grabbed Crater by the shoulder.

“You’ll get a hold of this shit eventually. We’re all scarred our first time” Clare told the young stallion who nodded fearfully. Suddenly there was an iconic buzzing sound and the trenches seemed like they were being torn apart.

Clare pushed Crater out of the way as 7.62x51mm rounds shredded the trenches apart. The Apache stepped into the trenches in her clad titanium armour and began a slow trot through the trenches. “” she yelled in native tongue.

The zebras who didn’t move she simply blew apart with her twin M134s as she continued towards Crater and Clare. Clare leaned out from cover and shot at The Apache until his fifty round drum magazine was empty. The Apache returned fire but Clare had already ducked back behind cover. Moon Crater swallowed his fear and leaned out, he pulled back the trigger on his M14 Juggernaut but even the powerful rounds from his rifle failed to penetrate her armour.

Clare pulled Moon Crater back behind cover just as The Apache opened fire. Moon Crater looked to Clare. “Thanks” he said and Clare nodded. “Don’t mention it, we’ll probably be dead in a few second anyways” Clare chuckled as he cocked back the charging bolt on his Thompson.

There was a war cry and several gunshots. Clare looked to see Aussie leap through the air and land on The Apache’s back. Aussie fired the remainder of his magazine into the back of her helmet but the bullets failed to penetrate.

The Apache slammed their bodies against the side of the trench and Aussie fell off her back. The Apache turned her aim to the Australian pony. Aussie was holding a live grenade. “Rest in pieces bitch” he chuckled and The Apache’s eyes went wide as the grenade exploded and engulfed their bodies in the eruption.

Clare covered his head as debris cluttered to the ground. The zebras in the trenches had realized their presence and now fired at Clare and Moon Crater. “Well this is shitty. Pinned down behind enemy lines” Clare muttered.

At the peak of the hill Lickety rushed up the hill and lept down beside Hart. “What’s going on?” he asked and Hart turned to him. “Shit… Lickety!” Hart exclaimed, happy to see his friend. “Well, the Sarge is pinned down right now in those trenches and we’re pinned down here. So we’re in a little bit of a predicament” Hart said.

Lickety nodded then gulped. “Lay down some smoke” Lickety ordered and Hart scrunched his nose. “Why?” he asked and Lickety just shook his head. “Just do it before I change my mind” Lickety ordered. Hart did what he said and tossed two M18 smoke grenades down range.

When the smoke screen formulated in front of the machinegun nest Lickety lept up and rushed the nest head on. Several zebras yelled in native tongue and pointed their rifles at Lickety. Lickety quickly snapped his aim to the zebras and cut them down with several bursts from his M16.

Back in the trenches, Clare fired his Thompson at a group of zebras who were trying to rush them. The Thompson hosed down the group with a steady stream of bullets. The zebras howled in pain as they fell to the ground.

Several zebras approached Clare from behind and tried to sneak up on him. Moon Crater saw them and quickly snapped his assault rifle up. Before his mind could contemplate killing, he simply pulled the trigger and the gun chattered as it spat out 7.62x51mm rounds. The zebras’ bodies twisted and turned as the assault rifle chugged out lead death. Their bodies fell to the ground in a bloody mess and Moon Crater was filled with shock as he realized he had just killed his first couple zebras.

Clare looked back to see at least half a dozen dead zebras then looked to Moon Crater who was holding the still smoking M14 Juggernaut. Clare tapped him on the shoulder. “Quick learner” he chuckled.

Lickety Split ejected the spent magazine and loaded a fresh one. He quickly snapped his aim to some zebras and shot them down before they noticed he was there. They screamed as the M16’s 5.56mm rounds chewed through them.

Lickety grabbed the satchel charge from his waist saddle and activated it. He tossed the satchel charge into the machinegun nest then lept up and began to run back to the others who hid behind cover. Suddenly a stray machinegun round clipped Lickety in the side.

He screamed as he fell to the ground. “Moon Crater: run back to cover. I got Lickety” Clare said as he realized his friend was back in action but was now wounded within the blast radius of the satchel charge.

Moon Crater lept up and rushed back around the sides of the battlefield as Clare rushed over to his wounded friend. The smoke was started to clear but it wouldn’t matter. Clare heaved Lickety over his shoulder then ran back to the others. The machine gunner tried to shoot Clare down but missed and shot up dirt just inches behind Clare’s feet.

Just as the satchel charge erupted, Clare lept over a fallen tree that was being used for cover. He lay there with the wounded Lickety Split who had received another bullet wound in the upper chest.

“Hey Lickety, you saved our asses up here man. We wouldn’t have been able to take the hill if it wasn’t for you” Clare said and Lickety chuckled painfully. “Lickety, we took Hill 959. We took it thanks to you” Bakers said with a heartwarming smile. “Alright some-pony get him a stretcher out of here” Clare ordered and two ponies trotted over and placed Lickety on the stretcher.

“Will he be okay?” Clare asked and one of the medics nodded. “Yeah, he’ll live but his war days are over I can tell you that” the medic said as the Lickety’s body was being trotted away. “Hey Sarge, see if you guys can hold onto the hill this time” Lickety said as the medics trotted his body away.

Clare nodded and smiled, damn right they’d be keeping the hill this time. “Alright, Hart get on the radio with HQ. Tell them we’ve taken Hill 959” Clare ordered as they all walked over to the trenches.

Clare looked for Aussie’s body but amongst all the destruction he couldn’t find it. He looked for The Apache’s body but couldn’t find that either. “All right, I want every-pony getting dug in” Clare ordered but Hart interrupted him.

“Forget it” Hart said and Clare gave him an uneasy look. “Why?” he asked and Hart heaved the radio onto his back. “HQ in Canterlot has deemed this spot unessential. They want us all to retreat back down the hill for helicopter extraction” Hart said depressingly.

“FUCK!” Bakers yelled as he kicked over a burning piece of wood. “Hey Hart… you gotta be joking man, this is some kind of joke right?” Clare asked but Hart shook his head. “Man this is fucking bullshit” Bakers yelled. “Alright… I’m only gonna say this once so listen good. Every-pony mount up. We’re heading back down the hill” Clare ordered and the ponies of the shadow guard began to trot back down the hill. They were depressed and angry.

Clare stood on the peak of the hill for just a few moments longer and smelt the burning smoke of the machinegun nest. Clare sighed to himself then followed the rest of the platoon down the hill.

Elsewhere, The Apache staggered through the jungles. Her armour had been totalled from the grenade blast and she had suffered some bad cuts and shrapnel wounds but she had potions back at her makeshift shack that would heal all her injuries. She smiled to herself as she held the hat of the Australian hunter. She laughed silently to herself as she gave a kiss to the small skull pendant around her neck. It was her luck charm that she always kissed before and after a hunt.

It was her lucky pendant that had yet to fail her. She continued on down the thick brush towards her shack. She had lost most of her armour plating but had a good idea for something she might try during a future engagement.

Author's Note

Ahhhhhhhhh The Apache she's alive, drum roll. And Aussie's sarifice was for nothing. Dammit

Chapter 46: Prayers and apologies

SGM. Clare, Canterlot military base:

The helicopters landed and we disembarked them. Most of the mares and stallions were pretty steamed about this whole pre-battle operation that was a success but at the same time it was an utter failure.

“Alright, I want every-pony to get lots of rest tonight. Oh and there’s some kind of get together at the royal castle tonight” I told the platoon but they were too exhausted and pissed off to care. I couldn’t blame them, I too was mad but unlike them I had learned over the years that was how war worked. You win some but you lose some at the same time.

I walked along to the grave yard where ponies were putting up posts for their fallen comrades. I saw Presell weeping by a post that I figured was probably for Enders. I walked up to him and knelt down beside him. “Hey… is this Enders?” I asked and Presell nodded. “I couldn’t even find the ring man… I can’t even give his wife anything to keep to remember him by” he wept and I reached into my pocket and pulled out The Distinguished Service Cross.

The Distinguished Service Cross was one of the highest honourable medals a service stallion/mare could receive. I took his hoof and lifted it up. I put the Service Cross in his palm and nodded. “Give that to Enders wife” I said then stood up and walked away. Shining Armor was looking at me.

I walked along through the military base and Captain Shining Armor trotted up to me. “Sergeant Major, can I speak with you?” he asked and I stopped to talk with him. “Whatcha need?” I asked and he sighed. “It’s about tomorrow, I don’t know if I can do it” he told me and I gave him a nod. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right next to you to help you command the troops if you need my help” I reassured him but he shook his head.

“I meant actually going over there. I just turned into a dad yesterday and now I could die tomorrow” he said and I sighed deeply. “Well, if that’s the case come with me” I said as I continued to walk towards the exit of the military base.

“Where are you going?” he asked and I looked over to him. “To church. Pray to god for forgiveness and what not” I said and he shook his head. “I know the goddess of Equestria personally. If I had anything I needed to tell her I would just go talk to her personally” he told me and I chuckled.

“I didn’t mean Celestia. I meant god. Like the ruler of heaven, the place you go after you die” I told him and he gave me a curious look. “Trust me, sometimes just going to church and praying gets a load off your mind” I told him as we left the base and continued down the streets of Canterlot.

“Anyway on a lighter note. Where’s your wedding ring?” I asked and he pulled out a ring that dangled from a necklace around his neck. “I keep it on this necklace. If I ever lost this ring, Cadence would kick my ass across Equestria and back” he stated and we both chuckled.

We arrived at the church and entered. “Okay, wash your hooves in the holy water” I said as I dabbed my hands in the holy water dish then dried them with the white towel next to the bowl. As Shining washed his hooves he looked to me. “What’s so ‘holy’ about this water?” he asked and I shrugged. “I don’t know, the priest must praise it or something cause I see him fill up that dish with the garden hose out back” I told him and he looked at the water.

“So basically I’m just washing my hands with water gotten from a garden hose outback?” he asked and I nodded. He shook his head in disappointment and laughed as we walked up to the front of the church altar. No-pony was in the church but us, not even the priests or fathers. I guess every-pony was saying goodbye to their loved ones tonight.

We knelt before the candles around the cross statue of Jesus Christ. “Who is he?” Shining asked and I shrugged. “I don’t know. They say his name was Jesus Christ and that he sacrificed his life to make up for the sins of everyone. I’m not sure if it’s true or not but either way, people and ponies worship him” I said as I clasped my hands together.

“Follow my prayer” I said and Shining nodded as we began a prayer. “Dear lord, forgive us our sins, atone us for our anger and frustration as we kneel before you and ask for your forgiveness” I prayed and Shining echoed my prayer.

“We kneel before you not as soldiers but as a man and a stallion, begging for your forgiveness. Please in our time of darkness aid us by showing us the light, please watch over our families as we leave to make peace. We apologize for we must sin to preserve peace in the world. If you can find it in your heart to forgive us than please, we beg of you. Show us the light. Amen” I whispered and Shining chanted my prayer as well.

I stood up and Shining followed me. “Is that it?” he asked and I nodded. “Did he hear us?” he asked and I shrugged. “Who knows? Christianity could just be a legend that was passed down from generation to generation as folklore and eventually made its way into society as a way of life” I said as we walked away from the Altar. “You know, you’re right. I feel a little better” Shining informed me, I gave him a pat on the shoulder.

We walked back into the streets then proceeded to the Canterlot royal castle. “So Clare, tell me. Who are the Joint Task Force Two?” Shining asked and I gave him a curious look. “Why?” I asked and Shining took out a script of paper.

“Well because Celestia said that they, along with these other groups, will be helping us tomorrow during our battle” he said and handed me the script of paper. My jaw dropped in pure astonishment. On the paper Celestia, or whoever had written it, had written a small piece of information.

‘Dear Captain Shining Armor, tomorrow you will be commanding the Equestrian army as they engage the communist zebra army. I order you to order your stallions and mares not to fire upon humans in the area. I have signed an agreement with the planet Earth’s leaders and they have agreed to help us in our time of need. The groups that they are sending have called themselves: The Joint Task Force Two, 75th Ranger Regiment, Delta Force, SOCOM Navy Seals, Special Air Services (SAS) and Spetsnaz. Please inform Clare of this and he will give you more details’

My jaw simply stayed gapped open. There was no way. No way in hell. Well maybe. “So…” Shining trailed off as he watched me stare in pure amazement at the script of paper. “They… they are the best. They’re the best of the best. I can’t believe that Russia, Canada, USA, and Britain would actually all work together to help Equestria though. It’s insane” I said and he looked to me.

“So they’re good?” he asked and I nodded. “Fuckin A they’re good. They’re better than good, they’re just unreal” I said and his eyes widened. “Well, anyway. I guess we should be getting to that ceremony thing. Cadence is out of the hospital and she wants to spend some time with me before tomorrow” Shining said as we walked through the streets of Canterlot.

Finally we arrived at the Canterlot royal castle and I could tell that festivities were high despite the depressing times. “Well Shining, I’ll see you later” I said and he smiled. “You’re not coming out back to dance?” he asked and I raised an eyebrow. “Cadence can dance right now? She just gave birth yesterday” I replied and he nodded.

“Alright, I’ll meet you back there” I said then walked into the castle and to the change rooms. If it was a party then I had to look spiffy. I opened my change locker and grabbed my dress uniform. I quickly changed and made sure I looked presentable then walked back out to the castle hallways.

I began walking to the garden and I finally had time to think to myself. What the hell had caused this war anyways? I quickly shook off the thought and thought of more appealing things but all I could think about was negative things. I stopped thinking and focused my mind on Luna.

I walked out into the royal garden where ponies danced with each other. There were even some humans about, some civilian, others military. “Sergeant Major Clare” Celestia called out and I looked over to see Celestia with a few human soldiers. Celestia said a few things to the humans then they walked away to join the festivities.

I walked over and gave her a salute. “Put that hand down” she ordered and extended her hoof. “Gonna break my hand?” I asked jokingly and she sighed depressingly and lowered her hoof. “Sergeant, please don’t make this any harder than it already is” she said and I could tell she was holding back her tears.

“Listen Celestia, I’m a good listener. If you want a shoulder to cry on, I’m here. Just don’t stab me in the back” I chuckled and she tried even harder to keep her tears back. “Please Sergeant Major… enough with the jokes… This is very difficult for me” she said, stifling her crying that I knew would probably end up happening by the end of our conversation.

“Alright… lay it on me” I replied and she tried to speak her apology. “Sergeant… I… I almost killed you in my anger… and my sister… I was just trying to do what was best… but I… I…” she trailed off as tears began to seep out of her eyes. She went to turn away but I grabbed her and held her close to my chest as she began to cry.

“Shh, hush now. It’s alright, it’s alright” I cooed as she began to cry into my shoulder. My dress jacket’s shoulder became soaked with tears and I could feel the wetness on my skin. Jeeze it was like she had never cried before and only now was she just letting it all out.

Several ponies and humans stopped and looked over to us. I motioned for them not to pay attention and leave us alone. Ponies and humans went back to their activities as I held Celestia and swayed our bodies back and forth. “Sergeant… I almost killed everyone I hold dear… I almost killed you… I can understand if you never forgive me but I swear from the bottom of my heart that I’m sorry” she sobbed, he voice was somewhat muffled by my jacket.

“I forgive you” I said casually and she immediately pulled back when she heard the comment. She gazed into my eyes with her own teary eyes. “What?” she asked, shocked that I had forgave her so easily. I chuckled and stifled a laugh. “Why are you forgiving me so easily?” she asked and I shrugged.

“Well considering that I usually am faced with death several times a day, one near death experience doesn’t bother me” I replied. “But… but I almost killed you and Luna” she said, why she was arguing that I forgave her was beyond me.

“Yeah well lots of zebras try to kill me all the time and it doesn’t bother me… but I usually end up killing them” I told her and she continued to look into my eyes as I tried to explain my reasoning. “So why did you spare me?” she asked. “Well because you’re you… and because I kind of like you, trust me if I didn’t like you I would’ve killed you” I said jokingly and she sighed. “Clare you are to kind” she said as she rested her head against my chest and sniffled.

“Nah, I’m just a guy trying to get along” I said as I brushed my hand through her silky mane. Eventually we both stepped back from the embrace and I held out my hand. “Let’s live and let live. I figure that we ought to put the past behind us and move forward as friends not enemies” I offered and she shook my hand. “Thank you” she whispered softly and I nodded.

“Well if you don’t mind I have a certain beautiful night princess to dance with” I said as I looked around for Luna and spotted her in a beautiful blue gown. “She’s lucky to have you” Celestia whispered and I shook my head. “Nah, I’m lucky to have her. She could’ve chosen any guy or stallion but for some reason she chose me of all guys. I assure you that I am the lucky one” I said as I walked away, giving her a wave.

I walked over to Luna who stood there alone. As I approached she stepped forward. “Ms. Luna, if I could have the honours?” I asked politely and she nodded. She lept to her hind legs and we stood face to face. I held her right hoof in my left hand and wrapped my right arm around her waist as we slow danced.

“How long will this last?” she asked. “Not long, those military groups that offered to help are really top notch” I told her but she shook her head. “I meant tonight?” she asked and I thought to myself. “As long as we make it last” I whispered. She nodded as she rested her head against my chest. We danced until 9:30 then decided it was time to go inside.

Author's Note

Okay, "I lied". So I didn't finish the story today but that was because I put some thought into it and figured they had to take Hill 959 one last time and get screwed over one last time before the big battle. Now before I go to sleep I gotta ask all you readers who are still reading this, who I thank dearly for putting up with the story all the way through, if you want me to make a romantic-y sex scene before the battle. Now I despise myself for asking but I could live with it because I figure well you know it would seem apropriate. Now I doubt there will be a threesome between Celestia, Clare and Luna but I do have to say the thought crossed my mind. So I'll leave this for the comments, Yes for sex scene or No for

, basically If you guys and gals want I'll can write the sex scene or just skip the whole romance and get right to the next morning

Chapter 47: Night before

SGM. Clare:

I walked with Luna through the castle until we arrived at her room. The castle was empty for the most part, a few janitors here and there but mostly empty. We entered her room and she flicked off the lights that lit her room and we were encased in the illumination of the moon.

She slowly undid the back of her dress and it fluttered to the ground. I had seen her without clothes before, hell she usually didn’t wear any, but the sight of her without her dress aroused me heavily. I stood there like a fool and my face reddened as I blushed.

“I know we haven’t seen each other in a few days but you really did miss me didn’t you?” she asked and I nodded. Outside the sound of festivities filled the air but I could care less. The shining moon beams made her mane sparkle and her eyes seemed to gleam as I stepped towards her, unbuttoning my dress jacket.

As I stepped in front of her she hopped up to her hindlegs and wrapped her forelegs around my head and back as we began to make out furiously. As we made out I pulled off my white undershirt and let it drop to the ground. I led our bodies over to the bed and gently lay our bodies on the bed.

There were fireworks outside that boomed in the air. Cool they even had fireworks. I began to slide off my pants and underwear and finally lay naked on top of her. I was about line myself up with her when she broke away from the kiss. “Ah-ah-ah, first you have to tell me what you’re going to do to me” she giggled and I laughed at the playfulness. She always had a great sense of humor that made me love her even more.

“So, a challenge huh?” I asked and she nodded. “You really want me to tell you what I’m going to do, or would you rather me just do it and it be a surprise?” I asked and she kissed my then pulled back. “Tell me, tell me that you love me and what you’re going to do to my irresistible body” she whispered seductively.

“I love you and well I think… first I’ll trail my wet tongue down your body and slowly, slowly, make my way to your breasts. I’ll give your perky breasts the satisfaction they’ve always needed then I’ll slide my tongue down to your wet needy pussy. I’ll gently caress your clit as I slip my tongue around your slit and as you scream for me to finish you I’ll stick my tongue deep inside you as deep as I can go and push you over the edge” I whispered as I began to kiss the side of her neck.

“Oh you think it will be that easy?” she asked and I gave her a sly grin. “Oh, I think I have an unfair advantage over you” I told her and she looked at me with aroused curiosity. “Oh you do? And what would that be?” she asked and I gave her horn a quick lick from the base and trailed all the way up to her tip and gave it a quick kiss.

She screamed in the pure sexual pleasure from the very sudden sensual touch. “Hey that’s… ngh… that’s cheating” she said through a slight moan. “Not really” I told her. “Oh fine, than this isn’t cheating either” she said and her horn flared up. I wondered what she was… I felt a tingly misty feeling around my erection and looked to see that she had my erected penis encased with her magic. Her magical aurora mist surrounded my shaft and gave it a tingly feeling.

“So… a battle of endurance huh?” I asked and she nodded as I began to feel her magic work wonders on my shaft. Damn, it felt weird like… like it was wet yet at the same time it didn’t actually physically get me wet and I stayed dry. It felt amazing too, like I was actually having sex with a vagina yet at the same time my mind reminded me that it was just magic, or whatever.

I subsided the sudden mystic feeling that now encased my crotch and began to trail my tongue down her neck. She giggled from the feeling and she slowly trailed her hooves up and down my back and up the sides of my body.

As she continued to stroke me with her magic mist I trailed my tongue down her stomach area, she let out a slight pleasured moan. I reached her breast which I began to caress very gently and lightly sucked on each one. “Oh yes… Clare, please don’t stop” she whispered and I obliged her.

I could tell that she enjoyed it because every so often her magic wouldn’t function quite right and the magic would disappear but soon reappear. She let out quiet moans of pleasure as I continued to suck on her breasts.

I stopped suckling her tits and began to slide my tongue down her body towards her nether region. My tongue began to trail down her body and finally made my way to her nether region. Her wet sex let off an arousing fragrance that made my nose twitch.

I just wanted to crawl on top of her and rut her but I held my urges back and began to lick around her lower lips. Her entrance clenched as I trailed my wet tongue around it, I could tell she wanted me inside of her as badly as I did but for some reason I had gotten a sudden urge of playfulness.

Her magic started to dissipate more frequently and I could tell it was hard for her to concentrate. I let out a sly smile as I slide my tongue to the bottom part of her slit and slide my tongue straight up the center of her pussy. The taste of her pussy juices tingled my taste buds as I allowed myself to enter her beautiful marehood by only a few millimeters.

Luna let out a cry of pleasure as my tongue slid up her needy cunt but as I reached her clitoris I gave it a quick kiss and she let out a cry of sexual arousal. I began to slide my tongue down and around her entrance but edged closer and closer to her folds. Her magic began to fade but then quickly returned as she began to lose her concentration even further.

She let out several stifled moans as she tried harder and harder to concentrate, doing her absolute best to beat me in our little competition. She shifted her body several times as she stroked my erection with her misty magic.

She tried to stifle her moans but soon her magic dissipated and never returned. “Ahhh… Clare I…” she trailed off as she let out a loud scream. As her orgasm began to course through her body I slid my tongue into her pussy, her vagina was clenched tight and it was somewhat difficult for me to get my tongue inside of her. As I finally slid my tongue inside her incredibly tight pussy I felt her inner walls squeezing my tongue.

She continued to scream as I kept my tongue inside her but began to suck on her ‘fun button’ and drove her orgasm to a whole new level. Suddenly a blast of feminine cum filled my mouth, I embraced the sudden blast of cum and swallowed it. Her cum still tasted sweet like honey. He cum was constant and I couldn’t swallow it all, soon I choked on her steady flow and pulled back as I began to gag.

Luna was still in the midst of the orgasm as I hacked and some of her cum drooled out of my mouth. She finally came to and looked to me as I was gagging. “Oh my goddess, Clare I am so sorry” she apologized but I waved my hand. “No, no it’s okay… I love it when you cum…(hack) it’s just I think…(gag) I think some got in my lungs” I laughed through my gagging.

It felt like sticky water was in my lungs but finally I stopped choking on her cum and took a deep breath. Luna looked to me worriedly. “What? I’ll be fine. I mean worse things have happened than me choking. But choking from cum was a first” I chuckled then quickly tackled her onto her back.

“Oh my, a little jumpy are we?” she giggled and I quickly pressed my lips up against hers. I quickly shifted my body but she stopped me. She pulled away from the kiss. “I want to try something” she whispered. “Shoot” I offered and she rolled our bodies over so that she was on top of me.

“Want to be the dominant one eh?” I chuckled and she rose her body up so that she was in a cowgirl position. “Where’s the hat?” I said jokingly and she scrunched her nose. “Well you know because this is the cowgirl position and… ah never mind” I muttered but she leaned over and grabbed a Stetson hat from the nightstand. Wait what the hell, she had a Stetson hat. Oh who cares, it’s kinky as hell.

She placed the hat on her head. “Where you hoping for something like this?” she asked, she was like a seductress. “I was, oh god Luna. I love you so much” I whispered. She steadied herself and lined up the tip of my shaft with her entrance. As my tip touched he entrance we both gasped in pleasure. Then she slowly slid herself down my entire length.

She began to slide herself up and down my shaft as she allowed herself to moan wildly. The sounds of festivities that entered the room where drowned out by Luna’s loud moans and screams as she rode me like a bucking bull.

I began to buck my hips in synchronization of her sliding. Her moans soon became louder than stopped completely as she began to scream uncontrollably. I felt her inner walls tighten around my cock as she slowed her strides. She gasped as the orgasm riddled her body and she arched her back forwards and let out a long pleasured scream of sexual ecstasy.

I continued to thrust myself inside her and the tightness of her pussy duplicated the pleasure that I experienced. Her orgasm passed but she was still very sensitive and bite her lip as she let out a stifled moan. I continued to thrust myself into her love tunnel and brought her to the brink of another orgasm and just as she reached her peak I slowed myself. She cried out in sheer pleasure once again and fell onto my chest.

I could feel her pussy retracting around my erection that was now buried deep inside her. Her breathing was heavy and her body trembled as her third orgasm passed. I began to thrust her again and she let out a whispering moan.

“Please, Clare slow down… you’re going to make me cum again if you don’t slow down” she moaned and I slowed my pace to a very slow sliding motion. She let out a sigh of pleasure as she lay atop of me and began to slide herself against my slow strides. She would slide down my shaft as I slid deeper into her, and slide away as I pulled back.

The feeling was incredible. I felt pressure begin to build in my cock as I continued to slowly thrust her. She let out quiet moans as we continued our slow pace.

Soon she began to pick up the pace and I brought my face up to hers and began to lick the base of her horn.

Her moans became louder as I licked her sensitive horn. I could tell she was close and so was I. I kicked myself into overdrive as I began to thrust like a wild bull and she laid my body back down flat on the bed as she rode my shaft. She held her hat like a rodeo rider does and held her second hoof held my chest to keep herself balanced.

As I felt myself come to my climax her pussy tightened around my cock and I grunted then let out a deep moan of pleasure. “Do it Clare… cum inside me” she said through heavy moans. She let out a scream as she arched her back forwards and her body tensed up. I gave a few erratic thrusts then with one final deep thrust I buried myself into her deepest depth and released.

My penis shot out blasts of cum into her pussy and I began to slowly thrust her and she returned the thrusts with slow strides. Cum mixed with her own juices leaked out of her soaking wet slit that was stuffed with my cock. The liquids dripped onto my groin and onto the bedsheets. I could feel myself still twitching inside of her as she lay down on my chest with my twitching cock still inside of her.

“I love you Clare” she whispered, we were both exhausted. “I love you too” I whispered back and set my alarm on my watch for 3:30am then fell asleep with Luna resting on top of me. I was too tired to bother pulling out of her and figured I’d roll over in my sleep some time.

* * *

Third person, Canterlot royal garden:

Moon Crater and Cloud Dasher conversed with each other and the other platoon members. “Excuse me for a moment gentlecolts” Presell said as he walked over to a very pregnant Octavia who was standing next to Lyra Heartstrings. “Oh yeah, me too” Hart said and followed Presell over to the two mares.

“No fuckin way man” Bakers said with a smile as the two platoon members conversed with the mares then they all walked back over to the platoon. “Tavi, these are my friends” Presell said introducing her to the team. They all nodded as she shook their hooves.

“And Lyra these are also my friends” Hart said and Lyra shook their hooves as well. “No way, I thought you were bullshitting me… you’re dating the one and only Lyra Heartstrings?” Bakers exclaimed and Hart nodded. “You guys didn’t think I was bullshitting you did you?” he asked sarcastically, knowing they did think he was a bull shitter for the most part.

Moon Crater looked away from the conversing ponies and he was nearly blinded, not literally, by the radiance of a beautiful gray pegasus with cross eyes. “Hey guys… uhm, I’m gonna go” Crater said as he began to walk away from the group. “Yeah, see yah tomorrow Crater” Dasher called out.

Moon Crater walked up to Derpy Hooves and took a deep gulp. “Uhm… hey uh Derpy?” he asked and the cross eyed pegasus looked to him. “Oh hey Moon Crater” she replied then looked back to the condiment table and grabbed some pastries. “Here try these, they’re really good” Derpy said in her funky voice.

“Uhm thanks” Moon Crater said as he ate a butter tart. Moon Crater took another deep gulp. “Hey uhm Derpy, are you dating anyone?” he asked shyly and Derpy shook her head. “Nope, most of my coltfriends usually ditch me for cuter mares” Derpy replied casually.

“Cuter mares… but there aren’t any cuter mares” Moon Crater stammered. “Ha, you’re funny. Of course there are cuter mares. My last relationship ended because he fell for Rarity. She seems to have a way of making stallions follow her around like obedient dogs” she told him.

“Derpy I… uhm… will you dance with me?” Moon Crater asked and her face reddened as she blushed. Moon Crater shied away a little and tried to cover his own blush. “Sure” Derpy replied and clumsily jumped at Moon Crater, tackling both their bodies to the ground. She wasn’t much of a dancer and ended up crashing both their bodies to the ground but Moon Crater didn’t care, to him Derpy was the perfect mare.

Hart laughed. “Yeah Bakers, how bout that time that crazy old bat of a zebra gave you some poison joke and said it would get rid of your stomach cramps but it ended up giving you diarrhea” Hart chuckled and Bakers blushed as the two mares that now accompanied the platoon members giggled. “Yeah well… it was an accident, but I’ll never do that again” Bakers replied modestly then a voice called out to them.

“Well sure you will because that crazy bat called Zecora gave you that potion that got rid of your diarrhea but gave you constipation” said the voice and they all looked over to see Lickety Split hopping over to them in crutches.

“LICKETY!” Dickens yelled out and rushed over to his friend and squeezed him tightly. “AAAAHHHG” Lickety yelled in pain. He was still in pain from the gunshot wounds. “Oh shit, sorry man” Dickens apologized and Lickety nodded. “Hey man, I’m still a little fragile you know” Lickety laughed and Dickens nodded as the others came over to converse with the wounded Lickety Split.

“So I hear you guys are heading into the valley tomorrow” Lickety said and Bakers nodded. “Well good luck, I wish I could go with you guys but I’m inactive at the moment. Hey give them hell for me eh” Lickety said and the others nodded as the night festivities continued on.

Chapter 48: Goodby kiss

Third person:

Clare awoke from the annoying beeping of his watch. He quickly turned off the watch and quietly slid out from underneath Luna. “I’m sorry Luna, but I have to go” Clare said as he gave a gentle kiss to her forehead then a very slow and gentle kiss to her mouth. She stirred a bit but never awoke. Clare couldn’t bear to wake her because he knew that saying goodbye would be very difficult and saddening and that he had a time schedule to follow. ‘Should have set the alarm for three’ he thought to himself. He felt bad for not waking her and saying goodbye but he couldn’t bring himself to wake her.

He walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him. He walked through the hallways quickly, not wearing a single garment of clothing and made his way to the change room. There he opened his change locker and pulled out his duster coat, the Stetson hat, his trousers and all his other clothing that he usually wore when protecting Luna. He slipped his iconic S&W 500 into his chest holster and the newly acquired Desert Eagle .50 AE into a hip holster.

He slipped on the clothes then quickly made his way to the armoury. The armoury receptionist wasn’t there and Clare helped himself. He got the battle harnesses he required and found a crate possessing a brand new Thompson M1928. He cracked open the crate and slung it across his back. The great think about this armoury was they cleaned the guns before putting them up for the taking.

He grabbed several loaded drum magazines along with thirty round stick magazines and placed them in the chest harness magazine holders. Clare grabbed another Desert Eagle and some extra magazines and put it in the second hip holster. He was about to leave when he remembered that he hadn’t found The Apache’s body on Hill 959. He looked back to a Model 70, .300 Winchester Magnum.

He walked over and grabbed the bolt action rifle along with some ammo. He had begun to weight himself down but he figured better safe than sorry. He unslung the Thompson and held it in one hand, the sling dangling about as he left the armoury and proceeded towards the exit of the castle.

In Luna’s royal bedroom, Luna awoke as she realized Clare’s body was no longer next to hers. She quickly lept up and rushed out to the balcony stairway then flew down to the doorway of the entrance. She rushed out onto the streets of Canterlot but Clare was nowhere to be seen. A lone tear trickled down her face as she watched the dark lone streets of Canterlot. The streets gave off a cold feeling.

Clare arrived at the military base where he stood by the helipad alone. Soon Shining Armor and the others arrived. “I couldn’t say goodbye… I left without waking her” Shining muttered to himself and Clare nodded. “Yeah me too” he said as a helicopter descended onto the helipad. Several others followed it to other helipads.

“We’re flying over to the forward firing base then we’ll be dropped into the valley” Shining called over the sounds of the propellers. The group embarked the helicopters and they departed for the forward base of operations.

* * *

SGM. Clare, forward firing base:

I stood with Shining Armor as the General briefed us. “You’ll then take you company and move them deeper into the valley and up this hill where their command base is. Good luck gentlecolts” he said and we both gave him a salute.

“Sir, what about the human forces?” I asked and he looked to me. “They’re being dropped on the opposite side of the valley to take this position here” he said and pointed to a larger hill, almost a mountain by the elevation readings on the map. I gave him a nod than both Shining and I left the office.

We walked through the grass that needed to be cut and approached the barbed wire fence. I pulled out two fat Cuban cigars and lit them, handing one to Shining and kept one for myself. We sat there for about an hour and smoked the cigars together.

“You know I don’t smoke” Shining said as he puffed on the cigar. “Yeah and neither do I” I said sarcastically. “It’s going to be hell in there” Shining muttered and I nodded. He looked down to see both my Thompson and my Model 70. “Two guns?” he asked and I nodded. “Need one for close quarters and one for long range” I informed him. He looked at his M16 which was fitted with an ACOG scope.

“You know, these M16s are pretty good” he commented and I frowned. “Nah, they’re plastic. Feels like a BB gun. I think I’ll stick with my Thompson” I told him and he chuckled. “Think we’ll get close enough to use that?” he asked and I looked to him with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know sir, you tell me” I chuckled, he knew as well as I did that there was going to be cases where the zebras were going to be literally breathing down our throats.

“I’m just saying they’re good is all” Shining replied and I chuckled as I took one last large puff on the cigar then tossed it to the ground and stomped it out. “Come time I need one sir, there’ll be plenty lying on the ground” I said and he nodded as he too put out his cigar. “Well… I guess we should do what we came here to do” he muttered and we walked over to the helipad where the helicopters were just starting up.

I could see fear in a lot of ponies’ eyes. “Platoon! Mount up!” I yelled over the sound of the rotor engines. I was in charge of the platoon that used to be under Daffodil’s command, they hadn’t found a replacement but that didn’t bother me. I could easily command the platoon.

We all embarked on the helicopters and they began to depart for the deep Everfree valley. Several ponies gave silent prayers and I looked around to the frightened faces of several ponies in the helicopter I rode in.

The helicopters all thundered over the valley treetops, their rotors gave out a low rumbling as we passed overhead. I heard my helicopter pilot talk into the radio. “Four miles out and dropping into the depths of the valley” he called out.

The helicopters dipped into a narrow valley and continued on overhead. The scenery was beautiful and if it wasn’t for the war than I’d feel at peace. “Sir…” a young private asked and I looked back to him. Sweat was pouring down his face and he was shaking in fear. “We’re all scarred the first time… just try not to think about it” I told him. He nodded then I turned back to watch the scenery.

The helicopters entered a large field and began to set down. I stepped out of the helicopter before it fully landed and I was the first to set foot on the battlefield.

Chapter 49: Not as planned

SGM. Clare, First platoon, the Everfree valley:

We set down a defensive perimeter and I motioned for every-pony in my platoon to move out. We were to stay close to Captain Shining Armor for most of the mission while he commanded the others with the radio set.

“Alright, third platoon. Move out” Shining called out and the group known as third platoon got up and hastily went to secure a position by the treeline. “Sir we should have second platoon stay back with us and secure a landing zone” I told Shining and he nodded. “Good idea, second platoon round up” Shining called out and the group known as second platoon regrouped.

“I want a secure landing zone for the next group of helicopters, they’ll be here in two hours so let’s get dug in” Shining ordered and they nodded. “Three platoons in hostile territory waiting for the next helicopters to show up with reinforcements” I muttered and Shining chuckled. “Yeah, sixty stallions and mares that pretty much are exposing their throats for the zebras to slit open” he muttered back.

* * *

Sergeant Caramel, Third platoon, treeline:

I trotted with the rest of the platoon then we saw a zebra get up and point at us as screamed something in native tongue. “Shit, chase him. He’s probably a scout” Lieutenant Cracks yelled.

Cracks began to run foolishly after the young and spiteful zebra. “Wait, lieutenant!” I yelled as we all followed the lieutenant after the zebra teen.

Our packs all rattled as we chased down the zebra. Despite the zebras having a head start on Cracks, he managed to catch up to the zebra and tackle him to the ground. Cracks slammed the zebra to the ground and clacked him in the head with the stock of his rifle.

“Alright you little shit, where’s the other zebras?” Cracks asked and he started talking in zebra tongue. “James, what’s he saying?” Cracks asked. Corporal James walked up and listened to the zebra sputtering out the words.

“He says that this entire place is crawling with zebras sir. Says we’re as good as chopped liver” James informed Cracks who motioned for the radio operator to come over.

He grabbed the headset and radioed Shining. “Sir? It’s First Lieutenant Cracks, third platoon. I got this hostage sir, what should I do with” Cracks began but suddenly a lone shot whizzed through the air and blew a hole right through his skull.

“Contact!” Master Sergeant Walkers yelled. We all got down as the air was filled with the sound of gunshots. Bullets whizzed over our head. “Radio, get me a radio!” Walkers yelled. The radio operator scurried to his hooves but soon a volley of shots riddled his body and he fell to the ground.

Walkers lept up but no sooner had he gotten to his hooves, than a volley of rounds slammed into his lower gut. He fell to the ground. “Every-pony stay down, STAY DOWN!” I yelled.

I crawled over to the body of Master Sergeant Walkers who was coughing up blood. “Sergeant… Walkers” I gasped, knowing his time was short. Gunshots still rang through the air and some of the platoon members fired back. “Tell… tell my wife… I love her” he whispered then soon the life faded from his eyes and he stared blankly into the sky.

“Fuck” I muttered as I crawled through the tall grass and over to the radio. I quickly dialed it in for the artillery boys. “This is Bravo Company, third platoon. I need fire support on… Whiskey Alpha 9-0-9-0-1-5, over” I said into the headset. “Copy that, firing” the radio pony on the other side replied.

Soon the ground shook as massive explosions from 105mm cannon shells erupted through the enemy lines. “Shit, the lieutenant’s dead… he’s dead” screamed one of the platoon members.

“Alright, get a defensive perimeter set up, we’ll get out of here I promise” I promised the platoon members.

* * *

SGM. Clare, First Platoon, landing zone:

Just as the next group of helicopters landed, all hell seemed to break loose. The treeline lit up with muzzle flares. Bullets whizzed through the air and pinged off the helicopters.

The troops aboard the helicopters quickly unloaded. “Wounded?” the pilot asked and I shook my head. “None yet that I know of” I yelled back and he nodded as the helicopters took off.

A radio operator galloped up to us as we all rushed up to the new platoons that just landed. “Sir, third platoon is in a pickle right now. Their officer is dead and they’re cut off” the radio operator informed us.

“Fuck” Shining Armor swore as he fired his M16 at the treeline. I charged up to an officer. “Who’s in command of fourth and fifth platoon?” I asked over the chattering of gunfire.

Two lieutenants rushed up to me. “We are sir” the said in perfect synchronization. “Alright, take your platoons and go rescue third platoon. They’re cut off right here” I said as I pointed to a spot on the map.

“Fourth and fifth platoon, let’s move” one of the lieutenants yelled and about forty stallions and mares followed the two lieutenants into the deeper brush off to the side of the battlefield.

“First and second platoon fall back!” I yelled and Shining Armor looked to me with a puzzled face. “Trust me” I said and we fell back.

“Radio” I yelled and the radio operator rushed over. I dialed in the air force. “This is Bravo Company. I need a napalm strike on… Bravo Foxtrot niner-1-4, over” I yelled into the radio set. “Copy, napalm strike inbound” the radio operator on the other side replied.

Zebras rushed out into the field and advanced but as they did jet planes flew overhead and dropped mighty canister bombs filled with napalm onto the fields and the treelines. The napalm explosion filled the air with fiery death, zebras screamed in pain as their fur and skin were burnt to a crisp. Their skin began to peel off as the intense heat scolded their bodies.

The radio operator looked like he was about to lose his lunch as he held back his puke. The smell luckily couldn’t reach our noses. “Alright, I want a defensive perimeter set up along this small entrenchment. We can’t afford to lose this LZ or we’re screwed” Shining yelled and the two platoons under his command obliged his orders.

The fires of the napalm started to die down but it kept the zebras back for the moment. I let out a sigh and motioned for the ponies to spread out more. The zebras were forced to stay back from the far side of the field but they soon started to advance out the sides of the field. “Over there, gun them down!” Shining ordered and zebras began to fire wildly.

* * *

Third person, Fourth and Fifth platoon:

Fourth and fifth platoon raced up through the forest but as they reached the peak of small hill several zebras ambushed them and fired upon the platoons. Ponies were caught by the barrage of 7.62x39mm rounds and fell to the ground, some dead others wounded.

“Radio operator” one of the lieutenants yelled out. Their radio operator rushed over and he quickly dialed in the radio. “Captain, we hit a bit of a snag in the path. We’re pinned down by enemy zebras with AKs and light machineguns and we’re unable to get to third platoon, over” he said into the headset.

“Copy, hold your position and eliminate hostiles before moving on, out” the radio operator by Shining Armor replied. The lieutenant nodded then fired upon advancing zebras who were only a few feet away. The zebras screamed in pain as 5.56mm rounds tore through their bodies and they fell to the ground. “Get that M60 right here!” lieutenant Gorbets yelled.

Two mares rushed up and set up the M60 machinegun and began to fire it ruthlessly. Zebras caught in its fire were knocked off their hooves and were sent tumbling to the ground. “Keep the fire on them!” Gorbets yelled but the zebras seemed to just pour out of nowhere like fire ants or something.

Deeper in the forest, third platoon held off a group of advancing zebras. “Aim your shots, conserve ammunition!” Caramel yelled. Ponies flicked their M16s to semiautomatic and began to fire upon the zebras as they attacked them.

One of the zebras went kamikaze and charged at them with a belt of lit dynamite. “FUCK!” screamed one of the platoon members. The dynamite erupted and killed several platoon members in the process.

Jayson, one of the platoon members, had suffered heavy burns from the explosion and cried out in agonizing pain. “Get some water on his burn” Caramel yelled and one of the other platoon members opened his canteen and quickly put out the still burning wounds.

The radio operator rushed over to Caramel. “Hello?” she asked, “Sergeant, fourth and fifth platoon have hit a snag and they can’t reach you at the moment. Conserve ammo and water and they’ll be with you soon” Captain Shining Armor told her then the line hung up.

“Ma’am?” the radio pony asked. “Conserve ammo!” Caramel yelled out. The others did their best to conserve their ammunition but some had switched back to three round burst to try and better hold off the swarms of zebras that now advanced upon them. Caramel grabbed the radio set and once again radioed the artillery groups.

“I need heavy artillery fire on Whiskey Alpha 9-0-9-0-1-5, over” Caramel yelled and the radio pony on the other side acknowledged her request. “Roger, artillery strike inbound, over” the other radio pony replied. Soon eruptions filled the air and drowned out the sound of gunshots. Massive explosions blew apart trees and zebras alike. “Cease fire, cease fire. Conserve your ammo” Caramel ordered. The platoon members stopped firing and began to tend to their wounded. The evening sky had begun to darken and soon it would be night time.

Back at the LZ Sergeant Major Clare and Captain Shining Armor greeted the next flight of helicopters. “Alright, we got two more platoons and some supplies, this will be one of the last flights of the day Captain, any wounded you need evaced?” the helicopter pilot asked over the sound of the rotors.

Shining nodded as ponies rushed wounded soldiers over. Several ponies were loaded onto the choppers and they were evacuated as the helicopters departed. “Alright, sixth platoon” Clare yelled and several ponies rushed over. “Alright, you’re the new second platoon. The last second platoon is being folded in with first platoon. Seventh platoon, you’re the new six. Alright we gotta hold this position. Six: I want you to go set up defensive positions on that ridge over there” Clare ordered and the two platoons did what he said.

The evening sun soon began to set and the fighting seemed to calm down a little, every few minutes a random gunshot or automatic chatter would ring out but it was silent for the most part.

“Well, this day was a pretty bad mess” Shining Armor muttered as he hunkered down beside Clare. Clare nodded, “Enjoy it while it lasts. I have a feeling that tomorrow is gonna be worse”.

Chapter 50: Cut off

Sgt. Caramel, third platoon:

My breathing was heavy but quiet. My palms were sweaty and the handles on the M16 began to slip from my grip. James, the stallion beside me, leaned over. “Sergeant, I can smell them, they’re close” James whispered. “It’s just your imagination Corporal” I whispered back.

“No, I’m serious. I know they’re out their” he whispered back. “You’re just smelling the dead ones” I told him. “Please sergeant, it’ll calm my nerves” he whispered back to me. I reached over to the radio operator and dialed in the artillery stallions. “I need illumination on Whiskey Alpha 9-0-9-0-1-5, over” I whispered. The night was still and crickets peeped in the night.

The whistling of incoming artillery could be heard but there was no explosion. Instead a bright red illumination flare was set off and the forest lit up with the red haze. “CONTACT!” I yelled as the figures of zebras could be seen, we opened fire on the zebras and I grabbed the radio. “I need artillery on previous coordinates over” I yelled then leveled my M16 and fired upon the zebras.

Explosions ripped through the forest and devastated the stalking zebras that were now illuminated for us to see. In seconds it was over. “Cease fire, cease fire” I ordered and the platoon did as I ordered.

One of the privates crawled over to me. “Ma’am, we’re out of water. Some of the platoon members are becoming dehydrated” he whispered to me. “Do what you can” I said and he looked to me. “How?” he asked and I looked to the dead zebras. “Take Samson and Jennings and go check the zebras for any sort of water” I ordered and he nodded then quickly took Samson and Jennings out to check the dead zebras.

We struck lucky. They found a few canteens with some water, though not much it would sustain the wounded for the night. I hope.

* * *

Next morning,

SGM. Clare, First platoon:

The first helicopters landed and all hell began to set loose again. I rushed up with Shining Armor. “Sir” one of the lieutenants said as he saluted us. “No time, get your platoons and follow us” I yelled and the two platoons followed us with the new supplies they had brought along.

Wounded ponies were being loaded onto the helicopters then they departed. “Alright, we currently have eight platoons in this valley, third platoon is cut off and fourth and fifth platoon can’t reach them. I want seventh platoon to come around the sides and assist four and five with their situation then proceed to rescue third platoon. I want eighth platoon to move up and secure a forward line of defence on the battlefield” Shining ordered and the platoons immediately did as they were ordered.

A war trumpet echoed faintly and both Shining and I looked to see a large swarm of zebras charging through the treeline. “Fuck, Sergeant Major. I need that treeline gone” Shining said as he pointed to a treeline off to the side of the battlefield.

“Crater, Hooves” I yelled and the duo immediately rushed up beside me. Moon Crater had taken my advice and taken his M14 sniper rifle but had also taken along his M14 Juggernaut. “I need you two to come along with me” I ordered as I got up and began to rush towards the treeline.

Zebras hadn’t noticed me despite my dark brown duster coat, guess it blended in somewhat. I charged up until I was less than fifty feet away from the dozen or so zebras that had taken cover in the treeline. Derpy came up on my left and Moon on my right, who now had his M14 Juggernaut in his hooves.

We all fired from the hip and chopped down the group of zebras with a barrage of automatic fire. The zebras screamed and tried to direct their fire at us but it was too late, we already had the jump on them. In a matter of seconds we had chopped down the group and I turned to Derpy.

“You two stay here and give me covering fire, and for the love of Celestia don’t shoot me in the ass” I chuckled then ran forward. Zebras seemed to just appear out of nowhere and take the place of the zebras we had just killed. I fired from the hip as I charged forwards. .45 caliber rounds whizzed through the air, blood would spurt from exit wounds as the .45 caliber slugs tore through the zebras and sent them sprawling to the ground.

Moon Crater had unslung his M14 sniper rifle and began taking aimed shots as Derpy hosed down a group of zebras that approached them from the side. My Thompson ran dry and I quickly leaned up against a tree. AK47s fired upon me and some rounds chipped away at the tree but stopped the rounds from hitting me. I slipped a fresh drum magazine into the gun and began to charge forwards again. I cut down another dozen zebras before I stopped and pulled out a line of detonator wire. I quickly pulled out some high explosives from a satchel I had taken of a dead pony the night before. I quickly set up the explosives every few dozen yards then rushed back to the others with the long det cord and attached it to a detonator.

“Alright, let’s get back” I yelled and the two followed me until we reached the end of the detonator cord length and I triggered the detonator. The high explosives erupted and blew down the majority of the treeline. “Alright, let’s diddie back to the captain” I yelled and they nodded as we rushed back to Captain Shining Armor who was taking cover behind a mound of dirt with some other soldiers.

We slid behind the dirt mound. “Captain? What was the point of that?” I asked and he looked to me. “We’re going to send the next two platoons to that area and set up a secondary LZ just in case we lose the primary LZ” he told me and I nodded.

The next flight of helicopters would be arriving soon. “Alright get the wounded ready for transport” I yelled and ponies rushed over to the group we had created that were made up entirely of wounded. They retrieved the most wounded of all the ponies as the Hueys flew overhead and into the battlefield.

Elsewhere in the treeline sat The Apache with an RPG-7 and waited for a helicopter to land. She smirked and fired the RPG, the warhead flew downrange and collided with the helicopter. The helicopter erupted in a brilliant explosion that killed all the ponies aboard and forced another helicopter to crash land.

“Fuck! First platoon, follow me” I ordered and we all rushed out to meet the new platoons that exited the helicopters. “These are the final platoons Sergeant Major, we’ll be coming back every run to pick up the wounded and we’ll have new supplies” he told me. I nodded then ran up to the commanding first lieutenant. “Lieutenant, get these ponies to Captain Shining Armor, he’ll give you your orders” I yelled over the chattering of gunshots.

He nodded then led the remaining members of the platoons over to Shining Armor as I rushed over to the crashed helicopter. As we rushed up to the crashed helicopter, one of my platoon members looked like he had his hooves kicked out from under him. He fell forwards and tumbled along the ground as a high caliber round slammed through his chest.

We all rushed up and took cover behind the crashed Huey which was on its side. I crawled up and into the helicopter. I was mostly filled with supplies but there were two door gunners who were killed in the crash. I looked to the pilot cabin where the co-pilot had a piece of metal lodged in the side of his head. The pilot however was alive, but was bleeding.

I unbuckled the pilot and tossed him over my back then crawled back out of the helicopter. A single bullet chimed off the metal carcass of the helicopter next to my hand and I let myself fall over the bottom of the helicopter and crash to the ground.

I looked to the platoon then pointed to where Shining had taken cover. “We gotta get back there right now” I said just as a war trumpet echoed again. I peeked around the corner of the helicopter to see a large charge of zebras swarm out of the treeline.

“Well it’s about time we go” I yelled and we all lept up and began to run back to the captain. I had the wounded pilot on my shoulder and the bulk of my gear weighing me down but I still managed to keep up with the others. One of the stallions in front of me tumbled forwards as a lone high caliber round slammed through his back.

I couldn’t stop to retrieve his body at the moment and would have to get it later. A mare in front of me fell as well, shit okay my fears had come true. There was a sniper about.

“Zig-Zag” I yelled and we began to scurry about in random directions to make it harder for the sniper to pick us off.

Luckily the entrenchment we had used for cover wasn’t too far away and we lept into the entrenchment safely before any-pony else was shot. “Eight is taking a real beating so I sent nine up to reinforce the front lines. Ten is on the secondary LZ. Seven is taking a beating so I sent six over to assist them. Three is still cut off” Shining told me.

Zebras swarmed out of the treeline like a swarm of locust. “Radio operator!” I yelled and he rushed over. I pointed to the zebras who swarmed towards platoons eight and nine. “Get some napalm on those zebras before they overrun eight and nine” I yelled over the sounds of gunshots.

“Sergeant Major, zebras are trying to flank us” yelled a private and I looked over to him and could here AK47s chattering a little ways into the jungle behind us. The radio operator began to dial in coordinates for the jets and I grabbed Moon Crater and Derpy Hooves. “Looks like we’re working together again” I said and led the duo towards the zebras who advanced towards us from behind our main lines.

“Alright you two stay here with the wounded” I said and Moon Crater looked to me. “But sir, we only have a few stallions that can fight” he said and I nodded. There was Moon Crater, Derpy Hooves, three stallions and four mares that could fight. The rest were wounded ponies.

“I’ll be back” I told him then rushed back to Shining Armor who was trying furiously to command the company that was slowly being overrun on all fronts.

* * *

Sgt. Caramel, third platoon:

We all lay there and waited, we were supposed to be rescued but the ‘Calvary’ hadn’t shown up yet. I looked into the thick jungle brush and thought I saw something move. “James: grenade. Thick brush, my 11 o’clock” I told him and we both tossed a frag grenade into the thick brush. There were terrific explosions and two zebras were tossed into the air.

Soon the air was filled with gunshots and zebras swarmed out of the thick patches of brush. “Open fire!” I yelled and we all began to fire at the advancing zebras. “Shit Sergeant, they’re right on top of us” screamed one of the platoon members. One of the zebras rushed right up to me and I opened up on him and riddled his body full of 5.56mm rounds.

His body twisted and turned as I pumped several bursts of lead into him and he fell back. I grabbed the radio and radioed the artillery stallions. “This is third platoon, I need heavy artillery bombardment on Whiskey Alpha 9-0-9-0-1-5 over” I yelled and the radio pony on the other side once again acknowledged my request. “Roger, artillery strike inbound, over”.

Soon the whistling sound of incoming bomb shells filled the air and explosions rocked the ground around us. I couldn’t keep my aim straight and several of my shots strayed off target.

We cut down the last of the zebras. “Any-one wounded?” I asked. “Danny, it’s Danny sir” yelled out one of the stallions and I rushed over to see that Private Danny had received several shots to the body and one stray round winged his throat. He lay there and began to enter shock as blood squirted from his wounds. I knew that there was no helping him out of this and he’d probably die of blood loss before we were saved.

“Plug his wounds” I said then crawled back over to the radio operator. I dialed in Captain Shining Armor. “Sir, we are getting killed out here. We need immediate evac, over” I yelled. There was a moment’s pause then my reply came.

“Uh, we copy you three… uhm hold your position and wait for five. They’ll be there soon, out” the other pony said then the line hung up. I swore to myself and I could hear James crying. “Fuck this shit man… we gotta get out of here” he sobbed and I rolled over to him.

“Hey Corporal… calm down, we’re gonna make it out of this. I promise” I told him, not really sure if I’d be able to keep my promise.

* * *

SGM. Clare, first platoon:

The two radio operators were having sever difficulties directing the air strikes. “Captain…CAPTAIN!” one of the radio operators yelled. Shining Armor quickly trotted over to him. “What’s the problem?” he asked.

“Sir, we are being overrun on all fronts. Eight and nine have zebras right on top of them, five and four are pinned down under heavy fire. Six is experiencing difficulty with seven in reaching five and four and three is still cut off. Ten is spread thin trying to hold the secondary LZ” the radio operator informed him.

Captain Shining Armor trotted out to the entrenchment and gave a dire look to the battlefield. We were heavily outnumbered and about to be overrun. “Looks like this is it” Shining muttered to himself. I grabbed him and pulled him back behind the cover of the dirt mound.

“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say it’s over until it’s actually over” I yelled at him. He was struck in fear I could tell. He had no idea what to do. “Captain, what are your orders… CAPTAIN!” I yelled but he just sat there, the fear of death now coursed through him. “FUCK!” I yelled than looked to the radio operator.

I walked up to him and he had the radio to his face as he tried to direct the flyboys. “Tell them… Broken arrow” I said and he gave me a look of expressionless curiosity. “DO IT!”

Chapter 51: The Apache arrives

Third person:

Eighth and ninth platoon staged a final stand against the seemingly infinite swarm of zebras that now swarmed from the Everfree. “Hold this position. They’re not getting through us until they kill every last one of us and step over our dead corpses” yelled the lieutenant commanding the two platoons.

Automatic gunfire filled the air and several ponies were shot as the zebras continued forwards. Suddenly several F-18s flew by a subsonic speeds. They dropped napalm capsules that erupted and a blast of fiery napalm engulfed the zebras by the treelines. The ponies of eighth and ninth platoon looked up and watched the napalm bearers drop their payload on the zebras.

The zebras caught in the burning hot fires of the napalm screeched in agonizing pain as their bodies were charred black from the intense heat. The zebras who were caught in the inner blast that fried to a crisp instantly were the lucky ones, they died nearly instantly.

Others that were caught outside the inner blast burned slowly, their skin peeled, revealing fresh flesh that also burned. It was a hideous sight to watch and several newer ponies who were inexperienced to the horrors of war puked.

Clare grabbed Shining Armor and shook him violently. “CAPTAIN!” Clare yelled and finally he came to. “Sergeant Major… I… I don’t know what” Shining began but Clare cut him off. “Don’t worry about it, just don’t let it happen again” Clare told him then looked to Harry, the radio operator.

“Harry, you keep those flyboys coming and don’t let up” he told him then rushed over to where the wounded had been kept. So far there hadn’t been any conflicts by the wounded group and it had been silent for the most part.

Clare rushed up beside Moon Crater and Derpy, who at the moment where the only two active soldiers. “Everything okay?” he asked and Moon Crater nodded. “Well, if you don’t consider the fact that we’re heavily outnumbered and in bad shape” he joked. Clare gave him a pat on the back. “I like your sense of humor. You remind me of me when I was younger” Clare told the young stallion then got up to leave.

“Hey where are you going?” Derpy asked curiously. Clare turned to her and a sly smile tugged at the edge of his lips. “I’ll be back” he quoted then dashed off back to Shining Armor. Derpy looked over to Moon Crater who simply shrugged.

Evac Hueys were entering the area and Harry continued to call in napalm strikes. “Victor Romeo niner-two-six” Harry yelled and the jets dropped the napalm capsules dangerously close to platoons eight and nine.

“Shining, we gotta get the wounded ready for those evac choppers” Clare called out and Shining nodded as he and several others followed.

* * *

SGM. Clare, First platoon:

We grabbed several of the most seriously wounded ponies and walked them back out to the LZ. “Adjust elevation to Victor Romeo niner-two-five” Harry yelled and one of the jets bombarded the zebras near platoons eight and nine, another jet plane entered the valley. “They’re right on top of us, elevation Victor Romeo niner-two-four”.

The bombers bombarded the area and the napalm brutally burned even more zebras. The Hueys landed and we rushed the wounded out to the choppers and unloaded the supply crates. “Alright, were going to make one more run after this, so get all the wounded ready” the lead helicopter pilot called out and I nodded as we made our way back to cover.

“Victor Romeo niner-two-three” Harry called out and I watched in horror as a plane flew way to close for comfort. “HARRY, CALL THAT SON OF A BITCH OFF!” I yelled, “Abort, abort” Harry yelled into the radio but it was too late.

I watched in absolute horror as a large canister bomb of napalm slammed into the ground just in front of platoons eight and nine. The napalm erupted violently and time seemed to slow down. I could tell Harry was fear stricken because his face went pale as we watched both zebras and ponies become engulfed in the fiery inferno of napalm.

Several ponies further back in the trenches were sparred but the majority of ninth and eighth platoon were being burned alive. The incredible force of the napalm knocked a helicopter back and it spun out of control and crash landed, several ponies were flung out of the open doors of the helicopter as it crashed.

The fuselage was punctured from the crash and the helicopter exploded in a horrifying eruption killing everyone aboard. I rushed up to eighth and ninth platoon. Several of the ponies tried to rescue their burning friends but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them it was no use.

“Get these stallions and mares to the wounded group. The rest of you sit tight” I ordered then picked up two severely burned ponies who both groaned horrifyingly in pain. It made me sick to the stomach as my nostrils were filled with the gut wrenching smell of burning flesh.

As we rushed the burned bodies past Harry he began to break down. “Harry, now you listen to me, you’re keeping us alive. Now you forget about that one and you keep on the fire” Shining told the terrified young stallion.
I rushed the bodies to the wounded site and set down the two burnt bodies I was carrying. When Derpy and Moon Crater saw the bodies both their jaws dropped in shock. Derpy screamed from the horrid sight and Moon Crater puked from the gut wrenching stench of burnt flesh.

The other members of eighth and ninth platoon rushed back towards the frontlines to assist their friends once again but I stayed back and sat beside Derpy as she wept. Moon Crater crawled along the ground gagging, trying to hold back his nausea but failed to.

I held Derpy close to my chest so she couldn’t see the horrors of war. No-pony… no one should have to see this, maybe I deserved to. Maybe I deserved to have to see these sights for my sins I have committed, but regardless no one should have to go through this.

“Shh… I’m sorry kid… sorry you have to see this. I promise as soon as I can, I’ll get you two replacements so you don’t have to see this” I whispered to her and looked over to Moon Crater who was finally controlling his nausea. “Hey kid, can you still shoot a gun?” I asked and he nodded. “Okay, well for the moment I’m gonna have to leave you two here for just a while longer” I apologized then released Derpy and stood up.

“Just… try not to think about it, I know it’s hard but just try. And I promise I’ll get you two replacements soon” I promised then quickly raced off back to the captain.

“Alright. Now that we got them off our back, we gotta secure our lines for further assaults” Shining ordered.

“Sir, tenth platoon is experiencing sniper fire. They’re having heavy casualties” Harry reported. I was already up and gone before Shining could look to me. I slung my Thompson across my back and unslung my Model 70 .300 Winchester Magnum.

I quickly lept behind a fallen tree by tenth platoon. The heavy sound of automatic fire drowned out any chance I had of distinguishing where the sniper fire was coming from.

I lept over the log and raced up to where the platoon had taken cover. “Where’s your lieutenant?” I asked and a corporal looked to me fearfully. “He’s dead sir” he replied. I cursed to myself. “Who’s in charge here?” I asked and the corporal raised his hoof. “Alright listen keep your heads down” I ordered then shuffled down the log. “Where the hell are you going?” he asked and I looked back to him and brandished my Model 70. “Best way to kill a sniper is with another sniper” I said. “Yeah but that goes both ways” he replied and I sighed. “Then let’s hope that my training was better” I said as I lept to my feet and raced into the heavy jungle brush.

It was incredible, just a few feet behind me was an open field that was filled with death and destruction yet I was inside a seemingly peaceful jungle environment. As I continued deeper into the jungle the sounds of the fighting seemed to dissipate. I was breathing heavily. This wasn’t really my preference of fighting but I was still experienced at it.

I wondered if The Apache was watching me at this very moment, then I wondered if she was even here at all. For all I knew she could be on the other side of the battlefield. The only thing I knew for sure was that she was here. She wouldn’t give up her chance to kill some ponies. I knew that’s what I’d be like if I was here. That and the fact that I’d want another shot at killing me, the soldier who had a half million dollar bounty on his head.

I continued to walk through the forest then stopped as I heard something. I stopped and listened, the gunshots seemed distant now and I could barely hear it. The sound that had caught my attention turned out to be just a random bird. I fucking hate birds now.

I sighed deeply to myself as I continued on. I felt the hairs on my neck prickle up and my senses flared. I quickly hid behind a tree and slid down to the ground then peeked out the side of the tree.

The jungle was thick and only now was I realizing how blisteringly hot it was. I wiped some sweat from my head and ducked back behind the tree. My senses were getting to me and my imagination was running wild.

KA-BANG

The bullet chipped away at the tree’s side and blew a fine chunk of wood of the side. ‘Guess not’ I thought as I quickly lay in the deep grass and very slowly crawled through the grass. It was easily waist height so the moving grass would only reveal my general location.

I crawled further away from where the rifle shot had come from. After a half an hour of crawling I figured I was safe enough and pressed my body up against another tree. I peeked out the side of the tree and looked for a sort of tell-tale of The Apache but could find none.

I sighed as I turned back and hid behind the tree but let out a sudden gasp as I was greeted by the sight of a white skull.

Author's Note

When I read this I was like (Gasp) "A white skull, oh my god how terrifying" then I thought about it and was like. Oh yeah, That's The Apache's lucky charm... I gotta pay more attention to my own story

Chapter 52: The skull goes both ways

Third person, jungle:

Clare immediately brought his rifle up but relaxed as he realized it was just a painting on a large tree. He sighed to himself but then soon realized the paint was fresh meaning one of two things. Either The Apache had predicted that he’d be there or this was the marking for something that the zebras used.

Clare quickly thought out his options then lay down flat and began to crawl through the tall grass. As he continued on, his breathing became heavier. He tried to slow his breathing but found he couldn’t. He stopped and rolled over so he was facing the treetops and slowed his breathing considerably. He sighed then rolled back onto his stomach and continued on.

As he continued on through the deep grass he stopped as he was faced with a thin line of wire that was attached to a grenade pin tied to a small stick. It was a booby trap. A crude trap but very effective in the deep grass. Clare took out a pair of wire snips and cut the wire then pocketed the grenade.

As he was about to continue he stopped as he saw the mark of the white skull again. It was formatted similar to that of a pony skull, or perhaps a zebra skull. This must’ve been their way of telling each other that there was a booby trap nearby.

Clare was about to continue on when he heard the slow steady breathing of a calm zebra… zebras. He froze as zebras trotted by, barely a few feet away from him but luckily they didn’t spot him in the tall grass. Clare waited for the last zebra to pass then very slowly crept up to his feet and stalked up behind the trailing zebra. The zebras were separated by a few yards.

Clare grabbed the mouth of the zebra and quickly slit his throat with his razor sharp bowie knife. The zebra’s eyes widened as his life poured out and soon he died of blood loss. Clare set the zebra to the ground silently but then realized the zebra had a canister of white paint with him. So these zebras were the markers. Clare got a sly smile on his face.

“” cursed one of the zebras in native tongue. “” said the commander as he pulled out his can of paint and quickly painted a white skull on the tree close to the land mine. “” ordered the commanding zebra.

As the continued to walk along they stopped as they saw the strung up body of their comrade. His throat was slit and he had been dead for a while now. “” the commander said.

“” one of the younger zebras pointed out. On the chest of the zebra there was a white skull painted into his fur. But it was not resembled after a pony or zebra skull. It was a human skull.

“” the commander ordered but the young zebra stepped closer to the dead zebra. As he finally stepped in front of the strung up zebra he fell through a covered hole in the ground.

“ACK!” he screamed and the others rushed over to him. He had fallen into a pit filled with sharp pointy sticks that had been tipped with poison. The deadly neurotoxin now coursed through his body but he died from the trauma of the spears that stuck through his body in several spots.

“” ordered the commander and they continued on. “” whispered one of the zebras, frightened by the symbol that had been used against them. “” hissed the commander.

As they trotted through the jungle they stopped again as they spotted another human painted skull. “” whispered one of the zebras. “” the commander said then led his troops forward.

As they continued forwards they all looked at the painted skull in fear. They should’ve been watching where they were walking and they would’ve spotted the wire trap that was in plain view for anyone looking down at the trail.

One of the zebras walked into the wire and it snapped. “Eh?... AAAIIEEEEE!” the zebra screamed as a giant log fell from its supports and crushed his body beneath its massive weight.

The three remaining zebras looked in fear at the dead zebra. One of the zebras fell to the ground. “” the zebra cried in fear.

The commander kicked the zebra in the gut. “” he hissed but the terrified zebra refused to stand up. The zebra commander pulled out a TT-33 Tokarev pistol and fired a single 7.62x25mm round through the zebra’s head and looked to the other zebra. He pointed the pistol at him as well.

“” the commander asked and the remaining zebra shook his head quickly. The commander dropped his AK47 to the ground and rolled the dead zebra over. He grabbed the executed zebra’s Russian Mosin Nagant, that was fitted with a high magnification scope.

“” the commander whispered. “” he hissed.

Far to the west of the main battlefield sat another battlefield that was roughly 1,000 yards across. The commander sat at one end of the field and waited as he looked through his scope. It was a heavily modified scope mount that allowed the rifle to be fit with a 12x zoom scope and he was able to look across the sniper field. The scope was musty however and hadn’t been properly cared for and hence the sides of the scope were stained with smears of mud and grit.

The commander cursed the already dead zebra for not taking better care of his rifle’s scope. He muttered curses to himself as he watched the lone zebra trot through the large field.

The zebra that trotted slowly through the fields was sweating heavily, not because of the heat but because he knew what was about to happen to him. This was but a mere game, played by two snipers. The prize of second place was death and only one could come out alive, and he knew his fate had already been sealed from the beginning.

He was but a mere pawn in this madman’s game. He thought of his wife back at their hut. How she would cook him rice and thought briefly of their young foal. The beautiful smile of his only child which he knew he would never see ever again except for in memories when he passed to the other world.

His final thoughts, he hoped, would be of his loving wife and child. They both smile as they looked to him coming home victorious. A lone tear trickled down his face. He opened his mouth to whisper a prayer but soon closed his mouth figuring nothing needed to be said.

The zebra stopped in the middle of the field, figuring he’d make himself an easy target and hopefully his enemy would give him a quick death. “” hissed the zebra commander. He waited for several seconds then in his fury and anger, he lined his scope crosshairs on the zebras back. “” the commander hissed but suddenly the barrel of an SVD Dragunov pressed up against his temple. His mouth gapped wide open.

“” The Apache hissed. “” the commander begged and she smirked then knelt down beside him and gave him her SVD. “” she told the commander and he gawked at her offer.

“” she told him and he nodded as he rested the SVD Dragunov on a bipod mount then steadied his aim.

The Apache used the battered Mosin Nagant to peer down the battlefield. “” The Apache ordered him and he did as she ordered.

On the other side of the battlefield sat Sergeant Major Clare, with a pair of spotting binoculars resting in a tree beside his head. He looked through his non-reflective scope and watched the zebra who stood in the middle of the field. He was in deep thought, Clare could tell. He hated taking the first shot during a sniper battle but he was going to have to wrap this up quickly before the others needed his help again.

“” the commander sneered to himself. The zebra in the middle of the field thought of his wife and child. In his fantasy he walked through a beautiful pasture towards them. His young son galloped up to him. “” the son cried out in happiness. In his fantasy he grabbed his son and lifted him into the air, twirling their bodies around. Tears flowed from his shut eyes.

Like a crack of thunder the mighty Model 70 .300 Winchester Magnum thundered through the still air.

KA-BOOM

The zebra was literally tossed through the air as the mighty .300 magnum round slammed through his body and blew out a large exit wound in his back. The commander quickly shifted his aim towards where the muzzle flash had come from.

“” The Apache ordered.

* * *

SGM. Clare:

I sat there and waited then suddenly the spotting binoculars beside my head erupted as a lone high caliber round slammed into them. I flinched as pieces of the binoculars hit my face but I quickly looked down the scope and dialed in the zoom further.

I saw the reflection of a high powered scope mounted to an SVD Dragunov. The Apache was behind her rifle, checking her handy work of my destroyed binoculars. I guess about now she’s probably realizing I wasn’t behind them. I dialed in my scope a little further and aimed right at her scope and pulled the trigger.

KA-BOOM

My Model 70 Winchester boomed again and the figure behind the rifle dropped like a sack of potatoes, I hit her. I had to. After my shot she just dropped. Dropping like that was a sure sign that she was dead. I got up and raced across the field as fast as I could and finally arrived at the other side of the field and looked for the body.

I finally found the body. It was a zebra, with its head blown off. At this point I couldn’t tell if it was The Apache or not and I wasn’t gonna go feeling for her tits or anything because I had one sure fact on my side. That was her rifle she had. I remember it because of the large amount of kill notches scratched into the stock.

I walked over to the body and looked a little closer. The bullet had traveled right through the scope and into her face. It was the one in a million shot, the shot she wanted. I’d leave her body here for any zebra to see. Maybe then they’d think twice about messing with the shadow guards and if not… well I’d be around.

I pulled out my dog tags and gave them a kiss, they probably weren’t good luck but I always kissed my dog tags after a successful sniper dual. The hairs prickled up on my neck and I could tell something wasn’t right. I began to back pedal and then there was a thunderous gunshot that cracked through the air. I lept behind a tree. I had no idea where that had come from.

I peeked around the tree and saw a lone silhouette in the thick brush. It was the real Apache and she was using an old battered Russian rifle. The scope was so beaten up that it gave off no light reflection. Shit, she had used a decoy. I ducked behind the tree as yet another shot went off and chipped at the tree beside my face.

Splinters stuck into my face and I pulled out the thicker pieces of splinters then let out a deep sigh as I brought my Model 70 close to my chest. This was going to be a heart pounding battle, I could already feel it.

Jump to top

Chapter 53: Sympathy for the devil

SGM. Clare:

Two more shots cracked through the air and chipped away at the tree. I cursed to myself and quickly peeped around the tree and fired off a quick shot then ducked behind the tree and racked the bolt on the Model 70.

Another shot went off then silence filled the air. “It would seem that I am out of ammo” called out the oh so familiar voice of The Apache. “Why would you tell me that? Now I can just walk right up and shoot you” I yelled back. I could hear her let out a casual laugh as she approached.

“Don’t you want to see which one of us is better?” she asked and I swung out from behind the tree and pointed the Model 70 at her. She was twenty five yards away. “Looks like you’ve bested me at a sniper duel. But can you best me at the other factors that decide a fight?” she asked and threw the battered rifle off to the side.

I walked around her, never letting my rifle aim wavier from her. I walked up beside the dead body of the zebra that I had killed earlier. “I’ll leave my things here, if you kill me than you can prove you did it” I said as I set my Model 70 on the body of the zebra then dropped the Thompson M1928 onto the ground.

I unholstered the twin Desert Eagles and the mighty S&W 500 magnum and dropped them to the ground as well. “There, now if you kill me you can prove you did it” I said and she let out a dastardly smile.

She unholstered a Model 29 .44 Magnum from a hip holster that was hidden underneath a light battle dress. The revolver had a fine polish to it along with several beautiful engravings. She tossed it to the side with the Mosin Nagant then slipped off her dress.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked as she tossed her dress to the side, revealing her bare chest. “I have nothing to hide from you, so I’ll show you” she said and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah well next time just tell me that you have nothing to hide and I’ll believe you” I replied casually.

She smirked, “You’d believe me just from my word?” she asked curiously and I nodded. “Well then, that was unexpected… I was expecting you to be very cautious and ignorant around a zebra, like all the other pony soldiers” she commented and I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, if I was so ignorant I would’ve just shot you” I told her and she giggled then slid off her pants so that she wasn’t wearing anything.

“HEY! I already said I trust you so you don’t have to go stripping all your clothes” I exclaimed but she simply laughed again as she tossed away her remaining garments. “It’s easier for me to fight without any clothes, that and I wanted to show you something special” she informed me.

I feared the worst and covered my eyes with my right hand just as she lept to her hindlegs, showing her body in full. “I’m good, I don’t need to see you naked” I muttered. “You idiot, I wasn’t trying to show you that” she scowled.

I spread my fingers apart and took a quick peep at her. There was a black skull painted on her chest, a skull that resembled a pony or zebra skull. She also had a pendant around her neck that looked like a tiny white pony skull, it was expertly crafted.

“Now you see, I have only this to show you” she said in a very calm voice. I let out a sigh as she dropped down to her hooves. I figured it was time I show my true colours as well. I took off my duster coat and let it clutter to the ground then slipped off my white undershirt revealing my bare chest.

“I see you’ve taken a mark of your own” she commented as I revealed my bare chest, showing off the white human skull I painted on my bare chest. “You seem to be very fit and muscular… for a human” she commented. “Is that a compliment?” I asked. She brushed her mane out of her face and closed her eyes. “I don’t think so” she replied softly. Jeeze, she was impossible to understand, one moment she’d be all angry and bloodthirsty then the next moment she’d be calm and compassionate.

I looked at her and examined her. Something just didn’t feel right about her. She seemed conflicted about something. “Other than the killing, is something wrong?” I asked and she shook her head. “Well… alright than. I’ll tell you something about me. I’m a failure. I have a marefriend that’s pregnant and I shouldn’t be at war. Yet I left without saying goodbye and I could die knowing that I should’ve said goodbye one last time” I informed her.

She looked at me with a gaze that I never thought I’d see from my enemy in combat. It was a gaze of understanding. “My son… my son was killed by a group of ponies. They thought he was a communist zebra. We were a neutral town that the communist forces would constantly harass and my son took it upon himself to be the defender of the town. One day a group of pony soldiers came to our town but when they saw him they thought he was a communist fighter so they shot him down. I hate both the communists and the ponies. That is why I am easily able to shoot down my own soldiers without hesitation” she told me.

I felt sympathy for her. “I can understand your sympathy and I won’t ask you to join me against the communist zebras because I know your reasoning. But why hunt me down specifically?” I asked. “The bounty” she replied and I gave her a curious look. “I know it’s a lot but…” I trailed off. “I need the money to support my village. We are in need of supplies that ponies will not give to us. And the communists simply rape and pillage through our town whenever they see fit. I decided to take up bounty hunting knowing that perhaps I could stop the madness” she told me. I was at a loss of words.

A lone tear trickled down her face followed by several others. “Thank you… thank you for listening. I’ve never told anyone this much about myself before… I feel… contempt… and loved… thank you” she said, a little choked up from the emotional state she was in. “My parents didn’t want me and dumped me on the curb in front of an orphanage in a bad neighbourhood. I grew up knowing nothing but violence and death. When I was old enough I joined the army at a young age and have known nothing but how to kill” I told her, my story wasn’t as sympathetic as hers but it was probably a saddening story none the less.

“You…you know pain like I do” she replied then took a moments silence before wiping the tears from her face. “There is nothing left for me to tell you… nothing left inside me. No hatred , not even regret. I’ve watched you… watched you become the soldier Equestria needed you to be. I’ve grown myself into the warrior that the zebras needed, that I needed myself to be. Now we fight, not just for ourselves but for the side we represent. One must live, one must die. The one who lives will live on with the knowing that their side is better and lead their side to victory” she told me in a very saddened tone.

“Wait, just wait” I said and she raised an eyebrow. “You hate the communists too, maybe we should join forces to stop all this madness?” I offered. She let out a small heartened laugh. “No, though the thought of working together with you is appealing I am not one to turn back on my mission” she replied. I cursed to myself, so much for diplomacy.

She stood to her hindlegs almost like it was a natural way of standing for her and got into some sort of judo stance. I tried to remember all I had learned about hand to hand combat as I edged closer towards her in a very clumsy stance.

As I got closer she took me by surprise as she shot forwards like lightning, jabbing me several times in the ribs and gut then flying her right foreleg past my head and slamming a nasty elbow into the back of my head. As I fell forwards from the brutal strike, she slammed a hard knee into my chest.

I fell to the ground gagging in pain but as she went to finish me by trying to break my neck, I rolled to the side and dodged her ruthless attack. I quickly staggered to my feet but she was already onto me like a bat out of hell. She slammed several punches into my face and chest as she slammed a cruel knee into my stomach that made me wheeze for air. She was killing me.

I tried to bring my arms up to block my face but as I did she quickly grabbed one of my arms and extended it to full length. She held my arm out with her left hoof and brought her right elbow down on my elbow joint in an attempt to break my arm. Lucky my body structure was strong enough to stop her from breaking my arm but the pain of her striking me like that dropped me to my knees in pain. It was like she knew all the best places to hit someone.

She held my arm up and began slamming knees into my face. I was taking a brutal beating and wasn’t actually quite sure how I was going to get out of this. I grunted painfully as I tried furiously to break free of her grasp. I tried to reach her with my left arm in an attempt to strike her but she was too far for my arm to reach or properly strike her.

As I took the beating of my life my memories quickly raced through my mind. “I love you Clare” Luna’s voice echoed in my mind. “Promise you’ll never leave” her voice echoed. Tears trickled down my face. Derpy’s frightened face came to my mind, how absolutely horrified she was. Moon Crater’s young face also came to my thoughts. All these ponies and how I was failing them in some way rushed to my memories.

“Just roll over and die already” The Apache scowled as she continued to slam brutal strikes into the side of my ribs. The face of Captain Daniels in his final moments rushed to my thoughts. “Goddamn you Clare…” he muttered then the saddened and crying face of Luna entered my mind.

My muscles tensed up and I let out a roar as I mustered all my strength then over powered The Apache. I pulled my arm back to my side and swung a heavy haymaker punch into the side of her head as I swung my body around. The simple brute force of the impact to the side of her head was enough to knock her to the ground and make her lose consciousness.

I stood to my feet and snarled. “Get up… get up” I said angrily as I kicked the side of her chest. She wasn’t moving but she was breathing. I stood there breathing heavily, I could tell my side would be bruised but I could care less. I brought my foot up to her shoulders and rolled her body over then looked at her with disgust.

“Come on… GET UP!” I yelled but she wouldn’t stand up. Though she had held me in a very exposed position and kept brutally hitting me without mercy I wasn’t going to hit her while she was exposed. I just wasn’t the kind of fighter to hit while they’re down even if it’s a dangerous enemy that needs to be killed.

Finally, after at least two or three minutes, The Apache came to. I held out my hand to help her up. She gave me a suspicious look. “Why didn’t you kill me while I was down?” she asked and I shrugged. “Guess it’s one of those kinks I have that I’ll never lose” I commented as she grabbed my hand and I helped her to her hooves. I quickly took a few steps back and was now beside the dead body of the zebra. She was beside her equipment.

“HAULT!” ordered a voice and we both looked over to see several zebras armed with AK47s. “Leave immediately, this is my bounty” The Apache hissed. “Ha-ha, stupid cunt. If it was your bounty than why isn’t he dead yet?” the commander of the zebras asked. The Apache curled her lips in anger.

“Because you’re no good at killing that’s why. Now do me a favour and get back to the kitchen where you belong. I’ll be home to stuff your cunt later” the zebra officer said insultingly. Okay now I hated The Apache for obvious reasons, though I felt sympathy for her as well, but that was just straight out cruel.

“You ignorant fuck” The Apache hissed. “Excuse me! Ignorant fuck? That is no way to talk to me, I am Major Tang, and you will honour my very presence” Tang ordered. I looked over to The Apache as I slowly edged myself towards my Desert Eagles. “So Apache, I was thinking?” I said as I made a moustache gesture with my right hand, she saw that I was just stalling time to get closer to my guns.

The zebras looked to me and I stopped edging towards my guns, she started edging closer towards her Model 29. “No I was thinking more along the lines of…” she trailed off and ran her right hoof along the side of her face. The zebras turned their attention to her and once again I began edging closer towards my guns.

“No-no. That would never work. How about…” I trailed off and made the gesture of a full beard. They turned their attention back to me and The Apache slowly edged towards her revolver.

“Well I was thinking perhaps…” she trailed off and brushed her hoof through her mane. The zebras all turned their attention back to her. “What is the meaning of this?!” Tang yelled. “Hmm… how about…” I blew her a kiss. “The kiss of death?” she asked and I gave her a wink. Tang’s face went red with fury. “WHAT THE FU” was all he managed as both The Apache and I quickly snatched up our handguns.

Both our handguns chugged out devastating rounds as they thundered in the recently calm jungle. She fired the famous .44 magnum shots while I fired the more infamous .50 caliber AE. The bullets shredded through the zebras. They screamed out in pain and agony as they fell to the ground. Most of the zebras died quickly but one certain zebra crawled along the ground, bleeding heavily.

Tang crawled along the ground towards one of the AK47s. Both The Apache and I walked over. I kicked Tang’s body over so that he was facing us. “You idiots… I’m untouchable… untouchable I tell you… when the general hears about this there’ll be hell to pay” he hissed. We both pointed our mighty handguns at his head.

“Goodnight Major Tang” The Apache scowled. Both she and I pulled the triggers of our guns simultaneously and Tang’s head exploded in a pressurized eruption from the sheer force of the massive caliber rounds that splattered brain matter and skull fragments all over us and our guns.

“He was an asshole” I muttered as I wiped blood from my face. “That he was, that he was” she laughed. I tossed my handgun to the side and she looked at me. “Are you a fool, perhaps I may just shoot you down” she said and I chuckled. “Is death funny to you?” she asked and I shook my head. “There were ten guys, I shot five rounds and all ten of them fell so that means you must’ve fired at least five as well. Then you fired your last shot into Tang’s head, so unless you’ve got a custom eight shot cylinder I’d say you’re a running on empty” I said and she looked at her revolver. She realized I was right.

“Besides, if I wasn’t sure I could’ve just shot you down… but that would’ve been dishonourable” I told her. “So you live for honour?” she asked and I nodded. “And love” I said as she tossed her revolver away.

“Let’s finish this” we both said at the same time. She let out a smirk and I smiled as we both charged towards each other.

Author's Note

Holy shit, I just looked at the word count and it said over 120,000 words and I was like "..." I feel strange for wrinting such a goddamn unbearably long story, but than again this story couldn't really be short. 53 Chapters and 120,000 words sounds like something along the lines of a short novel

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Chapter 54: Duel of the fates

SGM. Clare:

I could tell we both didn’t really truly hate each other but yet we were going to fight to the death for a simple cause that didn’t really pin us as foes. That’s war for you.

The Apache charged at me but now I had remembered a few tricks about hand to hand combat, and a few things that she showed me recently. As she charged I quickly side stepped and then threw a high kick to the face but she quickly blocked it and grabbed hold of my leg.

I quickly overpowered he grapple by forcing my leg back down to the ground. I rolled over top her body and landed on the opposite side of her body. She swiveled her body towards me but as she did I reached my right arm around her head and kicked out her hind legs with my right leg, slamming her to the ground.

I quickly backpedalled and waited for her to stand back up. She quickly spun herself up and landed on her hooves perfectly then began to circle me like a wild animal quarrelling its prey.

She quickly lept at me, leaping through the air like a pouncing tiger but I simply fell back onto the ground and gave a mighty kick to her stomach as she pounced. She was stopped mid-flight and fell to the ground as my sudden kick knocked the wind out of her.

I rolled backwards and to my feet then took a step back as The Apache once again spun up to her hooves. She stood to her hindlegs and charged at me but as she was a few feet away, she lept into the air and gave me a powerful spin kick to the side of the head.

The force knocked me to the ground but unlike my methods, she lept atop of me and began to slam punches into my face. She had my arms pinned down with her knees and I was almost helpless.

Her punches sent jolts of pain through my entire face and it got me enraged. With a show of brute strength I simply rolled over, knocking her body off of mine. If she was heavier and more muscular that may have been harder to do.

She lept up just as I was getting to my feet and charged me. I was ready for this one though. As she went to slam a knee into my face I grabbed her hindleg and began to spin our bodies. The negative gravity forces made her helpless as I spun our bodies in a circle. I felt her body tense up as she tried furiously to find a way out of this almost childish hold.

I released my grip on her leg and sent her tumbling across the ground. The constant spinning had made me dizzy but I quickly regained my balance and steadied myself. She however was less oriented and staggered to her feet.

I charged forwards and lept through the air, slamming a quick straight punch to her face and knocking her to the ground again. I landed on my feet and took a few steps forwards then turned around and waited for her to stand up.

She was a little less talented now and I could tell fatigue was getting to her. She got to her hooves and steadied her balance as she lept up to her hindlegs. I let out a deep exhale and she did the same.

She stood there for several moments and we simply stared each other down. Finally she took the first move and stepped towards me. As she got close enough she threw a punch with her right hoof. I grabbed it with my right arm then stepped under her now extended foreleg and twisted her arm, stepping behind her, then flipped her body to the ground with a THUD.

She winced as I went to deliver a kick that was intended to break her neck but stopped just inches from her neck then stepped back. She just lay there, not able to comprehend what just happened.

She looked over to me as I stood there and she gave a look of uncertainty. “What are you doing? Kill me” she ordered but I shook my head. “If you do not kill me than I will most definitely kill you, I would not have spared your life” she told me and I nodded. “I guess that’s what makes us different” I replied and she staggered to her hooves then readied herself for combat.

She gave a disappointed sigh then charged at me, she may have been able to beat me at one time but now she would no longer be able to best me. As she charged at me I quickly stepped forwards, slamming a punch into her gut that made her double over then dropped her to the ground.

She groped in pain as she stood up. I was beginning to feel fatigue as well. I hadn’t done hand to hand, or I suppose it would be hand to hoof, combat in some time and it was more exhausting than anything I knew.

She looked to me with weary eyes and charged recklessly at me. I quickly reached my right arm past her head, keeping my right leg in front of her legs, and tripped her into the ground. I stepped back cautiously and waited for her to get up.

She staggered to her hooves. “Stop this… it’s over. You can’t beat me and, despite my hatred for you, I won’t kill you” I told her and she let out a sigh. “That is not how war works. It doesn’t matter if you hate someone or love them. If war has pitted you against another then you must fight to the death. And until the other is dead than the war will continue on until one of us have died” she told me. I let out a deep exhale, I knew she was right but I still didn’t really want to kill her despite all she had done.

“Now… let’s put our thoughts aside and finish this” she said as she charged forwards. She threw multiple punches that I blocked with my arms then threw a quick punch into her face. She staggered back but as I went to punch her again she spun in a complete 360 motion and hammered me with a powerful round house kick to the chest that sent me staggering back. She took no time in charging forwards and power housing me to the ground.

She managed to stay standing and tried to land a punch on me while I was down but I rolled out of the way and lept to my feet. She crept towards me then threw a punch, but I wrapped my arm around hers and spun her to the ground but she was able to roll with the momentum and quickly recover back to her hooves.

I threw a punch that connected with her face but it didn’t faze her as she slammed a powerful punch to my chest that sent me staggering back. As she went to throw the second punch I grabbed her foreleg and twisted her into an arm lock. She quickly twisted her body away and hammered my face with an elbow from her free foreleg that made me release her locked leg.

I stumbled back as she threw another spin kick that knocked me to the ground. Okay maybe she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. I rolled backwards and landed on my feet. She charged at me and I tried to get her in a grapple but she powered a knee to my gut that sent me to the ground.

As she went to finish me off I rolled over and kicked her in the side of the head then quickly staggered up to my feet. She took a deep breath then charged at me like lightning. She threw lightning fast punches that I tried to block but every so often she’d get a lucky hit to my ribs or to the side of my face.

I staggered back and she tried to throw another round house kick but I saw it coming. I grabbed her hindleg then brought a swift strike down on her knee that made her yelp in pain. I released her and she staggered back in pain. I hadn’t broken her knee joint but it would hurt.

I rushed forwards and threw quick punches at her face. She brought her forelegs up to block her head but I kept pummeling her anyways. I spun around in a 360 and gave a nasty back hand that made her lose her balance. Then I slammed a powerful kick to her side that knocked her over.

I stepped back and waited. “Fool, you should be finishing me off” she scowled as she staggered to her footing. We were both breathing quite heavily and sweating profusely, my sweat stung the cuts on my face.

She charged forwards and I gave her a spin kick to the head but her body momentum outmatched my powerful kick and she ended up clumsily tackling both our bodies to the ground. She managed to land on top of me and quickly slammed an elbow to my face that ricocheted my head of the ground. I was beginning to have a head ache.

As she tried to rearrange herself I managed to punch her in the face and send her stumbling back. I quickly got to my feet and she staggered to her hooves. We were both becoming heavily exhausted.

She charged at me and we began to throw punches at each other yet these punches were considerably slower than our first punches we had thrown at the beginning. We both threw a heavy haymaker punch that spun me around to my knees and knocked her back. She staggered back over to me and held my head back then slammed an elbow into my throat.

I fell to the ground gagging from the painful elbow strike. As she went to finish me with another curb stomp I grabbed her hindleg and twisted it. She howled in pain as she fell to the ground. I rolled away from her and got to my feet as she did the same. She slowly approached me and threw wild punches that I blocked with my arms. She got lucky with a quick punch to my gut that made me groan in pain.

As she went to hit me I grabbed her forelegs and held her in a grapple then slammed a powerful knee to the side of her ribs. She grunted in pain as I released her then I lept forwards and slammed a superman punch to her chest.

She stopped staggering backwards and began staggering forwards as she hit me in the head with a head-butt. It was a somewhat weak head-butt but then she regained her posture and hit me a second time with another head-butt that made me stumble back.

She went to give a third head-butt but I gave her a round house kick to the chest. She groaned in pain and staggered back then re-postured herself in a fighting stance. We both curled our lips back and gritted our teeth as we charged at each other.

Our punches connected together and our punches were negated by the other’s punch. We both threw another punch but once again it connected with the other’s punch. We both winced in pain then she threw a high kick. I followed suit and slammed my own kick against hers. As our legs lowered we connected our legs together in a low kick meant to hit the other’s side.

We both staggered back from the sudden imbalance that resulted but then pushed ourselves forwards and both hammered a punch into the other’s stomach. We stood there in pain for a moment then rushed forwards and hammered a final blow into each other’s faces.

We both fell forwards into each other’s hold as we tried to keep ourselves up by using the other as a support but we ended up both falling to our knees. “And… I thought… you hated me” I chuckled. “I never said that… I… just needed… the money” she stuttered in pain.

We both fell over next to the other. I winced in pain then slowly and painfully got to my feet. My body was shaking from pain but I could manage to walk, barely. It would take some rest for me to be able to do that again. I stepped back and waited for her to get up but she didn’t.

“Come on… get up” I grunted through painful breathing. “I can’t…my body refuses to move” she replied. I stepped towards her and fell to my knees. “I didn’t paralyze you did I?” I gasped but she shook her head. “No… but that doesn’t matter” she whispered as she lifted up her custom Model 29, handing me the grip handle side.

“What? Why are you giving me this?” I asked as I gently took hold off the handle and observed the gun. She pulled out a scrap piece of paper. “Take this… if you ever find it in your heart… then please help them” she coughed. I looked at the piece of paper. It was coordinates. “Your village?” I asked and she nodded.

“You’re… their only hope” she whispered. “I don’t suppose if I ask you real politely that you’ll join forces with me? Please?” I asked and she let out a painful laugh. “No… I’m sorry… I cannot” she replied. “But why?” I asked and she let out a deep exhale. “One must live… and one must die. That’s how it has to be” she told me as she winced in pain.

“Don’t give me that crap… we could take down General Kim Yung together” I offered but she gently took hold of the Model 29’s barrel. She brought its aim over to her head then let her hoof fall to the ground. “Clare… or should I say Sarge? You’re a wonderful man… you fight not for orders but for honour and love” she whispered in pain.

Was she dying? It sounded like she was dying. “I… I can’t” I whispered as a lone tear trickled down both our faces. “Do it…” she whispered.

Wind blew through the jungle as I stood to my full height and pointed the revolver to her head. A tear trickled down my face. “There can only be one Sarge… and one Apache” she whispered. I manually cocked back the hammer on the revolver. I stood above her as the wind blew past us and grazed along the grass. I pulled the trigger and the revolver thundered in the seemingly peaceful air.

I stood there, the barrel of the revolver still smoking as I lowered the revolver to my side. Birds flew about and it seemed like the jungle took on a seemingly sadder colour tone, but it was probably just my imagination.

The Apache’s body seemed to simply degrade into ashes and blow away in the air. I would say it was my imagination but then again here I was fighting in a war between magical horses and zebras so I suppose a zebra degrading into ashes and fluttering into the air wasn’t too ridiculous if I thought about it. All that was left was here skull pendant. I gently grabbed it by the string and placed it around my neck as I grabbed my equipment then gave one final look to her final resting place. “Goodbye…” I whispered.

Author's Note

Damn, well that's a buzzkill

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Chapter 55: Defend yourselves

Third person, the valley:

Sergeant Major Clare rushed up beside Captain Shining Armor, his face was somewhat battered and bruised. “What the hell happened to you?” Shining asked and Clare let out a sigh. “Not exactly sure, I’ll have to get back to you on that one” Clare replied.

A war trumpet played and the troops behind the mound of dirt looked out to see a swarm of zebras charging out of the Everfree treeline and towards platoons eight and nine.

“Fuck, they seem infinite” Shining cursed. Clare looked to Harry. “Better get the flyboys” he ordered Harry and the radio operator nodded as he began to dial in the air force.

It was getting late in the afternoon and the sun was getting ready to set. It had been a long day filled with death and killing yet the day still wasn’t over. Clare readied his Thompson fitted with a drum magazine.

* * *

Sgt. Caramel, Third platoon:

We lay in the grass completely motionless. We all had dwindling ammunition and some of us had begun to use enemy acquired AK47s. The zebras stepped by us, they hadn’t noticed our bodies yet, either that or they thought we were dead.

The entire group of zebras were now surrounded by our hidden bodies. We figured if they can set ambushes than so can we. I flipped my fire selector to three round burst, the selector clicked.

“EH!” one of the zebras exclaimed then the air filled with the eruption of automatic gunfire. Zebras screamed as we let loose on them with our assault rifles. In seconds it was over but then a trumpet played.

Zebras swarmed out of the jungle like locust. I grabbed the radio and radioed the artillery groups. “I need artillery on Whiskey Alpha 9-0-9-0-1-5, over” I yelled and soon enough the whistling of bomb shells landing echoed through the air.

The eruptions lit up the darkening jungle and zebras were tossed through the air. I radioed seventh platoon. “Hey, we’re being overrun. We need a rescue and we need it now!” I yelled.

There was a moments silence then came a static reply. “Copy that… we won’t be able to make it to you tonight six. We’ll pick you up in the morning, over” seventh platoon replied.

My jaw dropped. Tomorrow morning?! We wouldn’t make it until tomorrow morning.

* * *

SGM. Clare, First platoon:

I fired at a small group of zebras that charged out at us. They screamed as they fell victim to the Thompson’s relentless firepower. I could hear zebra trumpets playing everywhere and zebras seemed to flow out of the forest like the plague.

I gave Shining a pat on the shoulder then rushed into the jungle where we had hidden the wounded. “Where the hell are you going?” he asked and I looked back to him with a smirk. “I might just get me one of those BB guns” I commented then turned back into the forest.

Derpy and Moon Crater were sitting in the group of wounded. They were both terrified I could tell. “Sarge!” Derpy called out and Crater looked over to me with a sigh of relief.

I leveled my Thompson at my hip and cocked back the charging bolt. “GENTLECOLTS, MARES, PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES!” I yelled out. Moon Crater looked down to his M14 Juggernaut and gave a deep gulp as he cocked back the action on his rifle.

Derpy was afraid still and I walked over to her and Crater’s side. “Eyes down range, finger on the trigger and we all make it out of this in one piece” I told them. There was a whistle that rang in the air then suddenly zebras burst from trees like wildfire.

Derpy was a little late in firing on them so I held the trigger back on my Thompson. The Chicago Typewriter chattered in my hands and spat out a volley of .45 caliber rounds.

Zebras still charged at me but were quickly dispatched by my rattling Thompson. Zebras would charge out of the trees and into a razor wire of hot lead. Their bodies twisted and turned as .45s ripped through them.

I heard Moon Crater firing his rifle in quick bursts. I emptied my magazine and loaded a new one as I turned to his firing direction. Zebras were closer than ten yards away.

I held back the Thompson’s trigger and emptied the entire drum magazine in one slow sweep. Zebras fell to the ground as the lead rounds ripped through their bodies like tiny spears, blurt spurting from their exit wounds.

The magazine on my Thompson was quickly replaced by another and I swiveled around to my knee to face Derpy’s direction of fire. She too was about to be overrun. My Thompson began to chatter, well more like buzz, and it spit out ammunition at an incredible rate of fire.

Zebras screamed out in pain as they fell to the ground, the .45 caliber rounds taking their life from them. My Thompson was like the swift and vengeful hand of god, striking down those who opposed it.

“Come on you sons of bitches!” I yelled out. The Thompson clicked as it ran dry. I quickly replaced it with my last Drum magazine. Damn ammo goes fast around here. I cocked back the charging bolt and readied myself.

A zebra came out from behind a tree and I blasted him with a quick burst from my sub machinegun. He cried out in pain as he fell back. “Yeah get some” I yelled out as some other zebras charged forwards. “Come on you bitches!” I yelled as I squeezed back the trigger and blasted the small group of three with another burst from the Thompson.

A larger group of ten zebras charged forwards. “Oh you want some too, well fuck you!” I yelled and emptied the remainder of my Thompson’s magazine into the group. They all screamed out and the chattering Tommy gun drowned out their screams.

My Thompson was empty, I still had a few stick magazines but I needed something that could put down a volume of fire without the need to constantly reload it. I looked over to Derpy and Moon Crater who were both breathing heavily from the swarm of zebras that had tried to overrun us.

I walked over to them and dropped my Thompson beside them. Moon Crater looked up to me as I took of my duster coat and ripped off my white t-shirt. All I had on was my camouflaged cargo pants with my waist utility belt and my chest holster that housed my behemoth revolver.

I picked up an M60 from beside one of the wounded soldiers and fitted it with a fresh belt. I then grabbed the remaining belt ammunition that he had and wrapped it around my body.

I began to walk back towards the captain. “Hey Sarge, where are you going?” Derpy asked curiously. I turned back to her and smirked. “I’ll be back” I quoted then turned and continued to walk back towards Captain Shining Armor.

* * *

Third person, the valley:

Clare walked out with the mighty M60 in one hand as he pulled out a Cuban cigar and placed it in his mouth. “Sir, we’re being overrun on the fro…” Harry trailed off as he watched Clare slowly walk past in a very casual manner.

Shining turned to see what had Harry so stunned and he too became stunned as he watched the topless Clare walk past with the M60, its ammunition belt dangling about freely.

“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Shining muttered. “Sir! We need another pony to help us man the mortar crew” called out one of the mortar crew-ponies. Shining looked to Harry.

“Go get some-pony that’s protecting the wounded” Shining ordered and Harry rushed over to the wounded group. “Hey you!” Harry called out and Moon Crater looked over to him and pointed to himself. “Me?” Crater asked and Harry nodded. “Come on, we need your help, let’s go” he ordered.

“But I…” Moon Crater began but Harry cut him off. “COME ON!” Harry yelled. Moon Crater got up and looked back to Derpy. “Be safe” he told her then followed Harry towards the mortar crew.

Derpy looked to herself. She was all alone to defend herself and the wounded against the zebras. She heard a whistle echo and heard zebras scream out as they charged towards her. She quickly cocked back the action on her M16 and readied herself.

Up on the frontlines Clare walked into the trenches as zebras began to charge ever closer. “We’re fucked! Retreat!” ordered the platoon commanders. Clare pulled out his zippo lighter and lit the cigar that dangled from his mouth.

Ponies retreated and Clare smirked as he flicked his zippo shut and took a puff on his cigar. Smoke fumed out in front of his face from the burning cigar. Zebras were now thirty yards away and fired their rifles wildly. Their shots were awful and missed every time.

Clare held the M60 from his hip with his right hand, holding the ammo belt with his left and held back the trigger.

The M60 chattered as it began chugging out a stream of lead. Zebras were cut down as Clare pivoted his body and made large arc sweeps, cutting zebras down as they advanced.

Several zebras were tossed off their hooves as the powerful 7.62x51mm rounds ripped them apart. Some zebras fell head over hooves as they charged and were shot down by Clare’s M60.

Spent brass casings littered the trenches as the M60 chewed through its ammo belt. The belt dangled in Clare’s hand as he continued to puff on his cigar, smoke emulating from his mouth.

“” screamed one of the zebra lieutenants, armed with a classic katana sword. Clare directed his attention to the zebra lieutenant and fired upon him. The lieutenant was literally tossed backwards and tumbled along the ground then skidded to a stop.

A lone zebra managed to hop into the trench and charged at Clare with a bayonet fitted Arisaka bolt action rifle. Clare swiveled his stance and fired a long burst into the zebra. He screamed as his body was propelled back by the constant stream of 7.62x51mm rounds that now ravaged his body. The zebra’s body crashed into a pile of crates and he slumped as rounds continued to slam into his body.

Ponies from the secondary front lines watched in amazement as Clare pretty much single handily held off the entire zebra swarm with an M60. “Well don’t just stand there. Help him out!” the lieutenant of eighth platoon cheered. The platoons that recently defended the front lines all charged forwards to assist the already successful Clare.

Clare’s M60 ran dry and he quickly fitted the machinegun with a new belt then cocked back the action. Zebras were still stupid enough to charge forwards and Clare rewarded their stupidity with a blast from the M60.

Zebras finally wised up and began to fall back. Clare smirked as the ponies of eighth and ninth platoon charged into the trenches. Clare smiled as he loaded a fresh belt feed into the machinegun. “And that is how you hold off a group of zebras” Clare chuckled.

“Well I’ll be damned… that was amazing” commented one of the platoon members. “Amazing? That wasn’t amazing” said a gruffly old platoon sergeant. They all looked over to him with curious looks. “THAT WAS FUCKING EPIC!” he cheered and they all lifted their hooves in the air and cheered out as the zebra forces retreated from the front lines. Clare smirked.

Moon Crater was still busy with the mortar crew and that left Derpy all alone with the wounded. “” screamed a zebra as they charged out of the forest. Derpy fired her M16 at the zebras that now charged at her. She was helplessly outmatched for the moment.

He M16’s magazine emptied itself and she looked down to a wounded soldier and grabbed his blood soaked M16 and began to fire it. Zebras still poured out of the forest like angry birds.

The bloodied M16 soon emptied and Derpy looked desperately for another rifle and found two. She lept to her hindlegs and grabbed both rifles, holding one in each hoof.

The zebras were close now, barely twenty five feet away. Derpy loaded each rifle with a fresh magazine and stepped forward. The zebras lifted their rifles but as they did, Derpy let loose with her twin M16s.

The M16s chattered in her hooves. The recoil was soft so they didn’t shoot wildly and she was able to keep her aim steady even from a hip fire. Zebras cried out as she hosed them down with two separate streams of 5.56mm NATO rounds.

The zebras all fell to the ground as he M16s ran dry. She dropped both the rifles and looked to her hooves. They were filled with the blood of another, both physically and psychologically. Derpy let out a saddened sigh knowing that she’d never forget this day for the remainder of her life.

As she looked to her hooves in shock a lone zebra rushed forwards with an SKS and slammed the stock into her face, knocking her to the ground. She cried out in pain but soon went wide eyed as she looked down the barrel of the SKS rifle.

Zebras soon swarmed the area. “” a zebra soldier asked. The commander looked around to the wounded. “” he replied. The zebra nodded and several gunshots went off as zebras mercilessly killed the wounded. The screams of the wounded ponies echoed in Derpy’s head.

The other ponies close by didn’t really pay attention to the gunshots behind them because at the moment there was a huge battle going on right in front of them as the zebras once again tried to take the front line.

Derpy looked in fear as the zebra standing over top of her cocked his SKS. A lone tear trickled down Derpy’s face as the zebra began to pull the trigger back.

Author's Note

Well... that sucks... NOOOOOO, I'm gonna go to work and all day I'm gonna be emotionally distraut and my buddy is gonna be like "Man what's wrong?" and I'll sob "DERPY'S GONNA DIEEEEEE" and he'll look at me with a curious look and ask "Who the fuck is Derpy? Your dog?".... (Deep sigh) the day has been ruined... I'm just gonna go to work and cry

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Chapter 56: Angel Eyes

Third person, wounded site:

Gunshots went off as zebras executed the wounded and Derpy’s heart raced as the zebra began to tighten his grip tighter around the trigger of the SKS.

Derpy whimpered in fear as tears rolled down her face. A gunshot went off Derpy thought her heart stopped. The zebra standing over top of her was suddenly torn to shreds, blood spurting everywhere and into her eyes, forcing her to close them. But the weird thing was she wasn’t dead, the zebras were dying.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, she wasn’t dead. Blood was splattering all over her body and there was a loud thunderous chattering that filled the air. She tried to open her eyes but a zebra body fell on her, his blood spurting out into her face and temporarily blinding her.

Soon the chattering ended and Derpy felt the body get quickly tossed off from overtop of hers. A wet garment of clothing wiped her face clean and she managed to open her eyes to see Sergeant Major Clare kneeling beside her with a smoking M60 and his dampened duster coat he had used to wash her face. He smirked, “I’m back”.

* * *

Just moments ago,

SGM. Clare, frontlines:

I held the M60 from the hip and cut down another group of zebras with a long burst. Jeeze you’d think they’d learn. The barrel was starting to get hotter and I was glad that I was able to hold this mighty machinegun in one hand.

“The wounded” whispered a voice that seemed like it echoed through the wind. I paid it no mind. The M60 continued to chatter in my hand and zebras fell to the ground as they were cut down by the hail of lead.

“The wounded” whispered the voice again, I kept firing the machinegun but thought to myself. ‘Wounded? What about them?’ I asked in my thoughts. “They need you, more importantly, the pegasus mare needs you. If you do not go now she will die” whispered the voice. Hey wait a minute, I knew that voice.

‘Apache?’ I asked in my thoughts, almost like I was communicating telepathically. “WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!” she screamed, I nearly jumped as I remembered what she had said. “Right, wounded, got it” I replied as I lept out of the trenches and raced towards the wounded.

Bullets zipped through the air and whistled around me as I charged to the wounded sight. I still held the M60 in one hand but I let the belt dangled about freely.

I charged into the forest and saw the wounded, or what was left of them. They had all been mercilessly executed by the zebras that now stood idly by like they owned the place. A lone zebra stood over a whimpering grey pegasus.

I curled my lips back and snarled as I hefted up the machinegun and held back the trigger. In the first few rounds the zebra was killed but that didn’t stop me from holding back the trigger and ripping his body apart with a torrent of lead.

He screamed as his body was propelled back and tumbled to the ground. The other zebras looked to me but it was too late for them. I kept the trigger held back and hosed them down with a relentless stream of hot lead.

A zebra screamed in horror as he tried to turn and run but there was no mercy for these zebras, not from me, not after what they had done. The M60 spat out its last rounds into the fleeing zebra. He fell forwards to his knees as the 7.62x51mm rounds blew out large exit wounds in the front of his chest. Blood splattered against the trees in front of him.

I walked over to Derpy who was trapped underneath a dead zebra. I could see that her face was covered in blood and it probably stung her eyes. I grabbed my duster coat from nearby and dampened it with a bit of water then washed her face clean.

She looked up to me with those pretty cross eyes of hers. I smirked, “I’m back” I quoted with a small devious smile. She lept up to me and gave me a wet sloppy kiss on the mouth. I wasn’t really expecting it but sort of embraced it for the moment being.

She slowly pulled away from the kiss. “I have a marefriend you know” I said but she didn’t answer me and grabbed me in a tight hug. “Please don’t ever leave me alone again” she sobbed as she squeezed me tightly. I could feel her tears trickling down my shoulder. “Okay, I can’t promise that I won’t leave you. But I will make sure you’re never alone again” I promised and she held me tightly. I stood up, all the wounded were dead. For some lucky reason Derpy hadn’t been executed with the others. I dropped the M60 and picked up my Thompson.

I walked back to Captain Shining Armor, things were beginning to die down and night had finally begun to set in. I held Derpy like a child crying on their parents shoulder as I walked back to the group.

I sat down against the dirt mound and let out an exhausted exhale. I rearranged Derpy so that she could cry into my chest so that way I could lean my head back. She looked like a baby in her parent’s arms. Several ponies looked to me with curious eyes. I was always a friendly person during combat but I guess no-pony really expected me to be this compassionate during a mission.

“How’s six?” I asked exhaustedly. “Still cut off… haven’t been able to get in contact with them for some time now” Harry replied. I motioned for him to bring me the radio and I quickly dialed in the radio.

“This is Bravo Company… I need Seal One, go” I said into the radio. There was a moment silence then a reply came. “This is Seal One, what’s your status Bravo?” Seal One asked. “Seal, I got a six that’s cut off and needs to be rescued. We don’t have the man power to take it alone. Think you could spare some men, over?” I asked. There was another moment of silence then came a reply.

“Roger, we can send you three men. A Seal, a Spetsnaz and a Task Force. They’ll meet you at Bravo Juliet 6-4-5-2-0-5-3 over” Seal One replied. “Three? That’s it?!” Harry exclaimed. I motioned for him to shut up. “Roger Seal One, challenge Viking, passcode Thunderstorm. Out” I replied then the line hung up.

“Three men? That’s it?” Harry said and I nodded as I got up. Derpy released her hold on me and I slipped my duster coat back on. I reloaded the Thompson and looked to Moon Crater and Shining Armor. “I’ll be back” I said but Derpy and Moon Crater got up and trotted to my side.

“Forget that, you’ve been back enough. We’re coming with you this time” Derpy said. “Alright, let’s go” I said and we rushed off to the rendezvous point.

An hour later:

I saw movement in the jungle. If I hadn’t been a combat war veteran I probably wouldn’t have seen it. “VIKING” I called out and the figures froze then came the reply, “Thunderstorm”.

I stood up and the three elite members walked up to me. “Sergeant Major Clare, shadow guard” I said as I extended my hand. “Corporal Owens J., Joint Task Force Two” Owens said, introducing himself as he shook my hand. He had a C7 carbine for his choice of rifle. He was a large male and had a fairly dark brown skin complexion to him.

I looked over to the Russian. “Corporal Danko Dmitry, Spetsnaz” he replied. He was larger than both other males, standing at least 6’3”, just an inch shorter than me. He had an AN-94 assault rifle slung across his back. He was probably stronger than all of us judging by the size of uniform he wore.

“I am Sergeant Angel Eyes, SOCOM US Navy Seals” Angel replied. A scar ran down his face, starting from the top of his left temple all the way down to his chin. He was 6’2” and had short black hair, he was obviously very strong, not as strong as Danko but possibly as strong as me or maybe even stronger. His eyes were beautiful, not in a gay way, and had the illumination like that of an angel. Guess that’s why they call him Angel eyes.

“Alright, we have to go rescue sixth platoon from the pickle they’re in. Let’s move out” I told them and we began to quickly and quietly rush through the jungle. I had taken point and led the group through the jungle. My Thompson led the way through the thick jungle brush.

I spotted a group of zebras and motion for everyone to see what I was seeing. Angel Eyes nodded and I motioned for everyone to spread out. We quietly spread out and pointed our guns at the fairly large group of zebras. They probably had thirty strong.

We all fired our weapons simultaneously, the silent air was filled with the constant chattering of gunfire. Then, within moments, it became quiet again. Zebras lay dead on the ground and we entered the area where the zebras had been
standing.

We looked around for sixth platoon. “Hey sixth platoon, any of you stallions or mares still here?” I whispered out somewhat loudly so that if they were nearby they could hear me. I heard a groan and we all looked over to see a dirty, mucky hoof rise out of the ground.

Author's Note

So originally I was going to have Derpy die, for the whole tragedy of war and all that. But today when I was at work I sit down in the parlour beside my SKS rifle, (now if you're wondering why I had my rifle at work I'll make a long story short. I work on a dairy farm and coyotes eat cows, cows are alot of money, rifle gets rid of coyotes and we don't have coyotes eating cows. So the Owner of the dairy farm lets me bring my rifle whenever the coyotes are starting to get too close for comfort) Anyway back to story, so I sit down at about 1:00 and I open the fridge, I decide to do the more mature thing and grab a soda rather than a beer and cracked it open, for some reason after a few sips I got tired and set my pop down then passed out.
While I was sleeping I had this recolection of when Derpy gave me a wet sloppy kiss, well Clare but because I imagined it, it felt like she was kissing me. Anyway I remembered how cute she was and thought "I can't kill her. She's so innocent and... I couldn't kill her even if war is tragic. So in my sleep I reconciled with myself to make a different path where Derpy doesn't die. When I awoke it was 5:00 in the afternoon and my pop had sat beside the heater for so long it was warm and I thought "Shit... fate must've made this happen for a reason... DERPY SHALL LIVE ON!"

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Chapter 57: The General

SGM. Clare, First platoon, dirt mound:

Third platoon had buried themselves under dirt and leaves to conceal themselves from the zebras. Out of a complete platoon of twenty, only seven members had come out alive and of those seven only three were combat effective.

I lit a cigar and took a puff on it. Sergeant Caramel had done exceptionally well in leading the platoon, given the circumstances. “That was some fine leadership Sergeant Caramel” I commented and she nodded weakly, she had a breathing respirator on at the moment.

“Sir… command wants us to evacuate the valley. They say to link up with the human forces, they have taken their objective and are now moving through the valley. They said they’d get us a helicopter evac” Harry said depressingly.

“That’s stupid. We’ve been here for almost three days and NOW they want to get us out when we’re just about to take this spot… no, they can go to hell” I said and Harry gave a look of uncertainty.

“What do I tell them?” he asked as he held the radio in his hoof. “Tell them we’ll evacuate tomorrow morning” I said and he scrunched his nose then relayed the message. “What? I just thought you said” Shining began but I cut him short. “We’re taking the peak tomorrow morning” I replied and he nodded.

I looked to Angel Eyes, looking more specifically at his Model 70 sniper rifle. It was much like mine except it was chamber for 30-06. “You might want a different gun for tomorrow, things are going to get a little hairy” I told him and he smiled then nodded as he unslung his Model 70 and gave a sigh.

Next Day, 5:45am, The Valley:

We were all somewhat exhausted. Some of the stallions and mares had trouble keeping their eyes open. I moved my tongue around in my mouth and looked to Angel Eyes, he had somehow gotten a hold of an M4 with a Masterkey Mossberg 500 attachment.

Danko and Owens were close by as well, along with Derpy and Moon Crater. I nodded to Shining Armor who readied his M16. “Gentlecolts… Mares… safeties off” he called out and there were several clicks, the auto selectors of several rifles, replying to his order.

“This ought to be good” Angel Eyes commented. He had a cool, icy tone to his voice. “Yeah… war has a way to be like that” I replied and he looked over to me and chuckled. “Isn’t it always so?” he asked rhetorically and we both chuckled. It was nice to be working with a human combat veteran, well veterans I guess.

“CHARGE!” Shining ordered and everyone lept up and began to charge forwards. I got to my feet, last night I had manually reloaded all my drum magazines by using the ammo from the stick mags.

A zebra lept up and motioned for his buddies to move forwards but I was already drawing a bead on him. He looked forwards to charge but I held back the trigger on the Thompson and blew him away with a quick burst that ripped several bloody holes through him.

Zebras screamed in native tongue, probably war chants or something, as they charged. We all fired our rifles and zebras seemed to be taken off their hooves or knocked back. The hill climb was steep, zebras poured down it like wildfire.

Angel Eyes quickly knelt down and fired several bursts at charging zebras, several of them twisted and fell back as his rifle blasted them away with jacketed 5.56 NATO rounds. Despite the size of the .22 caliber round used, the bullet had a real nasty bite to it.

“Come on you stupid animals, Danko has present for you” Danko yelled out as he impaled a zebra with two large machetes then cut the machetes out in two different directions. The zebra’s body fell in two separate pieces but Danko was already on the move, utilizing his AN-94. The AN-94 was truly a magnificent rifle. Despite being of Russian manufacture, it had a quite impressive auto selection that allowed it to fire a two round burst mode, which somehow used the recoil gas operation and the barrel blowback to fire two rounds at the same time. It resulted in a rate of fire exceeding 1600rpm.

Moon Crater let out something between a war cry and a scream. He was kind of young so I think he hadn’t developed his war cry yet. He fired his M14 Juggernaut from the hip and the 7.62x51mm rounds kicked zebras off their hooves and they began to tumble down the hill.

Owens charged forwards with a group of ponies, taking more precisely aimed shots with his C7 carbine. Zebras would be kicked back onto the ground as he shot them down. A small group of three zebras lept out of the brush in front of me and I stopped then leveled my Thompson at the hip and held the trigger back.

.45 caliber rounds ripped through them like tiny rockets. Their bodies were ravaged by the medium pistol caliber rounds that spurted blood out of their exit wounds .They fell back to the ground in a slump and I continued on.

As we continued on I saw a small little cluster of branches and leaves that looked like it just didn’t belong. I waited for the others to charge past it then quickly went over and kicked down what I suspected to be a hidden passage. Sure enough it was.

I entered the passage and to my surprise it was lit by small lights. I didn’t know they had power back here, unless they had generators. I walked through the tunnel until I came to a large room where a lone, finely dressed, zebra sat with some papers on a desk. I set my Thompson against a crate and walked into the room

“BAM-BAM-BAM, Rambo eh?” he laughed. “No, The Sarge. And you must be The General” I guessed and he stood to his hooves. “Kim Yung, Zebra Army” he said proudly. “Commies huh? It figures. So what went wrong? Celestia turn you down for a loan?” I asked jokingly.

“Equestria will no longer profit while we suffer. We will have our supremacy!” he yelled as he spun a little letter opener on his hoof. “Yeah so I suppose giving out half million bounties is the way to make money huh?” I chuckled. “Cease with your petty insults” he yelled and I laughed as I drew out my S&W 500 magnum. “Or what?” I laughed but he threw his little dagger knife like a spear that caught the barrel of my revolver and pulled it out of my hand. Damn he was good.

I quickly reached to both my Desert Eagles but as I was drawing them up for a shot he lept through the air and kicked me in the chest. My body was sent through the air and my grip on my two pistols was lost. My handguns fell out of my grip and cluttered to the ground.

“Let’s see how much of a badass you are without your guns” he challenged as I got to my feet. “You are so dead you little communist shit” I cursed as he charged at me. He must’ve known some sort of advanced judo, or perhaps Taekwondo because he had a very strange stance to him. ‘Hand to hand don’t fail me now’ I thought to myself as I stepped forwards to throw a hook punch but he caught it with a lightning fast hold and twisted my wrist.

I grunted in pain and he flipped me to my back. But as I landed he flipped in the air and landed on me with a powerful body slam. I quickly grabbed him by the back neck skin and threw him off my body. I staggered to my feet. I was really hoping that I’d never have to fist fight again but I guess fate was cruel.

Kim Yung rushed at me again and I tried to side step him but he read me perfectly and as he passed me he lept up and jump kicked my head with a slight spin in his body. I fell forwards to my knees and he quickly grabbed me in a hold similar to that of The Apache’s.

He began to brutally slam punches into my side that burned and stung with every connection. I tried to break free of his hold but unlike The Apache he was heavier and more muscular.

I winced in pain and realized that I couldn’t simply overpower him so I’d have to outsmart him. Could I outsmart this guy, he seemed pretty intelligent. I knew my arm was trapped and that he was pummeling me like a punching bag. I only had one option that I could think of.

I quickly pushed myself off my knees and that caught him off balance. I began to backpedal with extreme force and slammed his body into a bunch of crates that broke and shattered under the force of the collision.

He released his grip on me and I spun around with a powerful round house kick that connected with the side of his head. He was slammed to the ground and I could hear him let out a hiss of pain.

He quickly lept to his hind hooves and jumped at me. He tried to connect a powerful jump kick to the side of my head but I grabbed his hindleg and held onto it. He lost all momentum and simply dangled there helplessly. He thrashed but couldn’t do anything to break free.

I began to swing our bodies in a circle at an incredibly fast rate than released my hold on his hindleg. He flew through the air and smashed through some more wooden crates. Blood leaked down his forehead as he staggered to his hooves.

“Sorry pal, you shoulda asked for foreign aid” I said insultingly. “Equestria will never make us beg… never” he said as he went to draw out an Automag .44 Magnum from his hip holster.

Like a flash of lightning I drew out my, The Apache’s, Model 29 and fanned the hammer as I held back the trigger. In less than a second I had emptied the entire six round cylinder into Kim Yung who was tossed back into the pile of busted crates from the force of the powerful magnum rounds that slammed through his body. Blood splashed against the crates as the magnum rounds tore massive exit wounds in his body.

“That was for The Apache” I commented then turned to see Shining Armor. “Jesus… well I guess that takes care of that loose end” Shining said but I shook my head and pulled out a scrap of paper then pointed to another crate. “These crates have lots of money. When we get back make sure this village gets enough money to live without fears or worries. Make sure that they live a good life” I said as I handed him the scrap of paper. Shining Armor scrunched his nose.

“Why don’t you do it?” he asked and I smiled. “Trust me, I think you’d have more pull with getting them help” I chuckled then we rushed out of the tunnel system. “We’re about to take the peak. We were just waiting for you” Shining informed me. I nodded, “Well, looks like it’s about time we ended this huh?”

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Chapter 58: For Honour

SGM. Clare, the peak:

I rushed up with Shining Armor to the peak. The others were waiting just like Shining had said. I looked to Danko who had his AN-94 slung around his back and had a new little toy, more like a big toy.

“Nice gun” I commented and Danko looked to me with a sly smile. “I know. Isn’t she beautiful? I shall call her Betty… no-no, I shall call her Black Betty. Like fourth wife, she was bitch” Danko said as he held a Browning M2 .50 caliber. It was impossibly heavy but then again he was a big guy and if I could dead lift 500 lbs. then he should be able to carry around the one hundred pound gun like it was just another assault rifle.

I looked over to Derpy and Moon Crater. “Ready?” I asked and they nodded. “Right, CHARGE!” I yelled and we all lept up and charged over the hill top. The peak dipped down into a scrap yard of some sort, zebras scurried about and shot at us with old firearms. Mostly comprising of AK47s and RPKs but there were a few German weapons like MG42s and Type99 Light machineguns among the midst.

Bullets kicked up dirt all around our feet and several ponies were caught by lead rounds and fell to the ground as blood spurted from their wounds. A mortar crew had taken it upon themselves to fire at us and mortar shells erupted all around us. “Get to cover!” I yelled and we all lept for cover except Danko who stopped and began to fire the massive machinegun.

The gun let out a low chugging sound as it spat out the .50 caliber slugs that would devastate anything short of an armoured personnel carrier. I peeked out from around the corner of a beat up old truck that I had taken cover behind.

Zebras that were struck by the colossal round were simply ripped apart. A zebra scurried about and Danko shot him several times, it was like the zebra was filled with explosives and simply splattered everywhere. Another zebra ran to cover but a lone round slammed him in the side and ripped his body in half.

A group of three zebras charged us head on. Black Betty, or that’s what Danko called her, chugged out more lead death and the zebras were pulled off their hooves and thrown back as their bodies were ripped apart. One of the zebras chest’s ripped open like a giant cannon ball had just blew him open.

Danko stopped firing then swore to himself as he scurried over to us. “I need to reload… maybe I need a drink of vodka first” he chuckled and I looked over to him as he reloaded. He looked back up to me. “What?! You didn’t think I was serious, I wouldn’t drink on the job… unless it was long one” he replied than slammed the top of the gun shut and cocked the charging bolt.

He went to step out from the cover of the vehicle but the buzzing of an MG42 rang out and bullets sparked off the metal of the truck. Danko swore to himself and ducked back behind the truck. “Shit… we’re pinned down… okay now’s time for vodka” he said as he pulled out a flask and opened it. It stank of very strong homemade Russian vodka. “Shit Danko… what do you put in that stuff” Angel Eyes asked disgustedly.

“Potatoes” Danko replied as he wailed back a large chug of vodka. “Hey take it easy on that stuff. We still have a mission to do” Shining said and Danko looked to him as he took the flask away from his mouth. “Don’t worry. It was only little sip” Danko said as he put away the flask. He mouthed his tongue around inside his mouth to savour the taste, of what I could only imagine, of the horrid vodka.

Mortar shells began to land closer to us. “Fuck, they’re homing in on us. HARRY!” Shining yelled but Harry was nowhere to be seen. “Look sir” said one of the pony soldiers and we watched as Harry single handily, and very stupidly, charged the machineguns head on, screaming like a wild stallion.

He stopped and fired his M16 from the hip, amazingly he cut down the machine gunners and stopped their reign of terror. “Well I’ll be… Harry’s a goddamn hero” Shining muttered as Harry waved for us to come over. Suddenly his helmet pinged of his head as a lone round splattered his head. “Fuck… spoke too soon. Well regardless, we’re fucked until we get that radio” Shining muttered and looked over the cover of the truck.

“We have to get the radio to call in the flyboys… alright lay down a supressing fire and I’ll go get the radio” Shining ordered but I grabbed him by the shoulder and shook my head. “No sir, I’m going with you. We’ll lay down smoke cover and then we’ll go together” I said and turned back to look to Moon Crater and Derpy. “You guys got any smoke grenades left?” I asked but Danko tapped me on the shoulder and I turned back around.

He pointed out to the clearing where Shining Armor galloped towards the radio. “That fucker is gonna get himself killed” I cursed. “Supressing fire!” I yelled and we all lept up and fired at the zebras that tried to shoot down Shining Armor. Bullets kicked up dirt around Shining’s hooves as he raced forwards.

“Hey stupid zebras, have some of Black Betty’s cooking. You’re on the menu” Danko yelled out as he fired the massive M2 Browning machinegun. Zebras in the thick brush had no cover against the mighty machinegun and were simply torn apart as it shredded them.

A group of three zebras charged up and Angel Eyes pivoted around the truck and quickly blasted the trio with the under attachment shotgun. They were kicked off their hooves as the wall of 12 gauge buckshot collided with them.

Moon Crater peeked over the truck and emptied his M14 Juggernaut into a large thicket filled with a group of zebras. Shining slid behind a steel wall and grabbed Harry’s body.

“Yes… he made it” I told the group and we all ducked back behind the truck. I looked to Danko and he held out his hand for a bro handshake. We slapped our hands together and a loud clap echoed. We held our hands together and began to have an air born arm wrestle. I was a lot stronger than I thought myself to be and we actually ended up stalemating each other.

“Hey would you two knock it off” Angel Eyes said but we paid him no mind as we tried to best one another. Angel Eyes slammed his arm between us and ruined our arm wrestle. We both looked over to him with curiosity and he pointed over to Shining Armor. Shining was under heavy fire as he pulled the radio off the back of Harry’s body and inspected the radio. He looked to us and nodded as he dialed in the radio and called for air support. I could see his face turn red as he began to argue with the radio, or well the radio operator on the other side.

Mortars began to land way to close for comfort. I pointed over to a little ditch gulley. “Take cover over there” I ordered and we all rushed over to the new cover, Danko gave us covering fire with his M2.

We lept into the trenches. “I don’t want to die here in this shithole” Moon Crater said fearfully as the zebra machineguns lit up again, pinning us under their constant supressing fire. “Shining is probably doing no better” I muttered as I shuffled my body up and took a quick glance. I ducked back down before the machine gunners could get a bead on me.

“I don’t want to die here man… I don’t want to die” Moon Crater said. Danko cursed to himself. “I’m running low on ammo… and vodka” he replied as he wailed back the remainder of his vodka then put the flask away. I looked back to Shining Armor as he placed the radio on his back and charged towards us. Suddenly a lone round put a hole in his hindleg and he fell to the ground with a scream of pain. He managed to crawl behind a steel wall as bullets kicked up dirt all around him.

I looked to the others with weary eyes, technically I was in charge right now. “You’re not gonna die… no one else is gonna die. I’m gonna go pick up Shining Armor and we’re gonna get the air force to bombard this area” I assured them. They gave me weary looks. “Trust me” I said as I recklessly jumped up and out of the ditch then raced towards Shining Armor. Danko hopped up and began to lay down a supressing fire with the M2. The others lept up as well and fired their rifles at the zebras to try to cover me as I raced towards Shining.

I darted through scrap metal piles and slid behind the steel wall Shining had taken cover behind. Bullets pinged off the wall that protected us for the time being. “What’s the skinny?” I asked and Shining grimaced in pain. “I can’t walk… leave me” he said but I shook my head. “No chance, what did the flyboys say?” I asked but he groaned in pain.

“They said they couldn’t afford to send some aircraft, only evac choppers but that isn’t scheduled for another few hours” he replied as he held his leg in pain. I grabbed the radio and dialed it in.

“Hello? Hey is anyone there?” I asked frantically. “Clare?” asked a familiar voice. “Thank goddess. Dash, get the Wonderbolts… get some aircraft and I need you to bomb… Alpha Lima 6-0-4-3-0” I told her. There was a moment’s silence. “What!?” she replied hesitantly.

“Dash please, if you don’t then Shining, myself and a few others are going to die” I replied. There was another silence. “Okay, Alpha Lima 6-0-4-3-0 right? Okay, we’ll be there lickety split” she replied.

I hung up the radio. “Just leave me… they’ll be here soon and I won’t be able to make it” Shining replied but I shook my head. “Go… if you try to take me we won’t make it” he ordered. “You’re a father, you can’t go saying things like that” I told him and he leaned back in pain. “And you’re going to be a father too… you have to go” Shining ordered. “I’m not leaving you here, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I left you behind” I told him. “We won’t make it” he replied. “I’m gonna get you outta here, even if I have to carry you on my back” I said as I pulled off the radio from his back. I lifted Shining onto my shoulders and began to quickly rush forwards, as fast as I could with Shining weighing me down.

Danko lept out from behind cover and began firing at zebras as they shot at me. Bullets kicked up dirt all around my feet but luckily missed me by mere inches. Suddenly a mortar shell landed nearby and erupted. The explosion knocked me to the ground but I landed on my left knee and quickly pushed myself back up.

Zebras screamed in native tongue and suddenly I felt a very sharp pain in my left leg as a lone bullet punched through it. I yelped in pain and fell forwards, my leg jolting in pain. Shining’s body tumbled off my shoulder and zebras charged at us. I held my Thompson in one hand, firing it at any zebras that came towards us. Zebras were caught by the hail of lead and were ravaged by the Thompson.

The magazine ran dry and I cursed to myself as I tossed it away. More zebras charged towards us but luckily Moon Crater had a bead on them. 7.62x51mm rounds ripped through the air and put multiple holes in the zebras who charged at us.

But even with our friends giving us supporting fire, zebras still flowed forwards like a swarm of locust.

“Goddammit Clare, just leave me… I won’t blame you for leaving me… Luna needs you” Shining said and I looked to him. “Cadence and your two foals need you” I told him. “You have… a better chance than me” he replied painfully. “No one else is gonna die Shining… no one else is dying” I muttered.

“Every man that serves in the military has to make sacrifices. He knows that when he joins. He will fight and die for the man… or pony, next to him. And if he can’t sacrifice things for his fellow soldiers than he isn’t cut out to be a soldier” I told him as I staggered to my feet and tossed Shining onto my shoulders.

I began to stagger forwards. Zebras charged out and fired at me. Dirt was kicked up beside my feet and bullets sparked off of scrap metal. Danko got to a better vantage point just as a Type 99 machinegun lit up and a stray bullet clipped my side.

I fell to my knees but staggered back up. Danko quickly aimed at the machine gunner and lit him up with Black Betty. The zebra’s body was ripped apart from the massive .50 caliber rounds.

I could feel my left leg burn where I had been shot as I staggered along. A zebra fired at me with an AK47 and caught me in the lower side with a stray bullet. I grimaced in pain and tried to continue forwards but staggered a little too much on my left leg and fell to the ground.

Zebras charged up at us but I quickly unholstered both my Desert Eagles and opened fire. The mighty handguns boomed as they spat out large caliber pistol rounds. Zebras who were hit by the bullets were kicked back with large holes in their chests’.

I ejected the magazines and loaded new ones then continued to fire. I was almost empty when I placed both the pistols back in their holsters then staggered back to my feet. I hadn’t enough strength to heave Shining over my shoulders so I simply held him in my arms like a newborn baby and rushed forwards.

Danko and Angel Eyes looked to see I was in trouble. They both lept up and rushed passed me, firing their weapons from the hip and taking out several zebras as they charged forwards.

Another shot slammed through my upper left shoulder area, splattering blood out the front of my chest, I gritted my teeth in pain as I finally reached a ditch and lept in.

Our bodies crashed into the trench and I heard Danko and Angel Eyes order for everyone to fall back. I looked as zebras charged out of the bushes like wildfire, they brought their rifles up to fire but suddenly they just seemed to be struck by a wall of powerful lead.

Their bodies were torn apart and a loud buzzing was heard overhead. Empty brass from door mounted Gatling guns littered the ground. I looked up to see Rainbow Dash give Shining and I a salute. Generally pegasus could fly easily but when combat flights were necessary, even pegasus used helicopters.

Zebras were splattered where they stood and soon a missile barrage from jet fighters bombarded the area. The explosions were magnificent. I could feel my blood soaking my clothes now and I smiled faintly to myself.

* * *

Captain Shining Armor:

I smiled and let out a painful laugh. “We did it… we fucking did… I can’t believe we made it” I said through pained laughs.

“Clare we did it…” I trailed off as I looked over to Clare with a smile but my smile soon turned dire as I looked to him. He was looking down upon his chest which had multiple wounds that were bleeding profusely. He leaned his head back and let out a deep sigh.

I groaned in pain as I sat myself up and leaned over to look at his wounds. “Oh shit Clare” I said as I grabbed his under shirt and tried to apply pressure to his wounds.

Clare looked up to me with his deep brown eyes and coughed violently. Blood came up in his cough. “MEDIC!” I yelled out and pointed to the chopper and tried to wave Rainbow Dash down but they didn’t notice me.

“I NEED A MEDIC!” I yelled then looked back to Clare. “You’re going to be fine, just relax” I told him but he chuckled painfully. “You idiot… I know I’m dying… and besides… I’m already relaxed” he said through erratic breathing. He grabbed me by the collar of the shirt and looked into my eyes with his beautiful brown eyes. “Shining… I’m sorry… for breaking your nose” he told me as he brought up his hand. It was shaking, his body was entering shock from all the blood lose.

“Come on Clare… don’t be like this… you’re going to make it out of here alive” I told him as I held onto his hand with my hoof. He curled his fingers around my hoof and held it tightly. He coughed violently as his hand began to shake more.

“Tell Luna... I’m sorry for… not saying goodbye… and that I…I… I love her” he said, his breathing was very fast and very erratic. “Luna… I love… I love… I love you…” he trailed off then his breathing finally came to a stop. My hooves were covered in his blood and I began to cry as he passed away. His eyes seemed to stare blankly into the sky above.

“I got the last of them Clar…” Moon Crater trailed off. His smile turned into a look of pure saddened shock. Derpy looked over and cried out as she rushed over to my side, she brought her hoof forwards but then stopped just inches short of touching Clare’s body.

Several tears trickled down her face and she stood up then sadly trotted over to Moon Crater’s side and cried into his chest. Danko rushed up along with Owens and Angel Eyes and they too turned from happy smiles to saddened looks.

Suddenly there was chattering gunfire then silence. We looked over to see a group of Spetsnaz and Joint Task Force Two members rush over the hill. They shot down any zebras still foolish enough to stand in their way.

I turned back to Clare. He was dead now and the world felt so much more lonely and empty without him here.

* * *

Later that day,

Third person, Canterlot castle, 4:34pm:

The helicopter landed and Shining Armor hopped off the helicopter in crutches. Cadence rushed to his side but he stopped her as he turned back to see the lone body bag with Clare’s body get lifted out of the chopper.

Luna and her sister Celestia stepped out to the helipad to greet the guards. Luna stepped forwards with a small smile but as she saw the body bag her small smile turned into a look of worry.

Shining Armor had elected himself to be the one to break the bad news to her. He walked up and put a hoof on her shoulder then told her the story, more like the tragedy. Luna gasped and fell to her knees as tears flowed from her eyes

Author's Note

Well there's the tragedy of war... (Deep sigh) I need some really depressing music... (Snaps) got depressing music

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Chapter 59: The end

Days later,

Princess Luna, Canterlot church:

We all sat down to attend the funeral. I was dressed in black, though Ms. Rarity had encouraged me to wear something a little less depressing I had still chosen black.

The priest went about praying to god and reading parts from the bible, constantly blessing Clare as he went along. “If I could ask for Mr. Shining Armor to step forwards. He wishes to say a few words” the priest said and Shining hopped forwards, still in crutches from his wounds.

Shining stood beside the coffin that housed Clare’s body. I could tell it was very difficult for him to say what he needed to say, He would constantly open his mouth to say what he wanted to say but would suddenly flinch to hold back his tears.

“Clare was… Clare was a very good man… he fought alongside many of us and loved us all dearly” Shining said, trying his best to hold back his tears. “I just wanted… just wanted to say that it’s saddening for him to leave us so soon and that… that he was special to many of us. There are two types of soldiers on the battlefield. Those who will fight for you… and those who will die for you… Clare was one of the ones who would die for any of us… and unfortunately he proved it too soon… Clare if you can hear me, wherever you are, thank you” Shining said as tears flowing from his eyes.

“You’re welcome” echoed a voice in the room. It seemed like we all turned our attention to whoever thought they were going to be a smart ass at Clare’s funeral. But we all seemed to gasp in shock as we realized who it was.

Clare stepped forwards and Celestia fainted beside me. “Cl…Clare!” I exclaimed and he walked up to me and gave me a quick kiss to my lips. “Clare… but you’re… you’re dead” I said and he nodded then pointed up. I looked up to the roof and he chuckled. “Not that high” he said with humor in his voice. I looked back down to see exactly what he was referring to.

He had an angel-like halo ring above his head. “Oh… I thought…” I trailed off sadly. “Yeah… I uhm… I got a few hours to spend with my mortal body or something. The guys up there said that because of my good deeds that I… eh never mind” he replied then looked to Shining Armor.

“So… I guess this kind of defeats the purpose of seeing my dead body” he said then chuckled. “Guess this brings new meaning to ‘Late for your own funeral’” he joked. Was this really the time to be joking?

“Well everybody… uhm, if you want to say something or you know… I’ll be here for a couple of hours before I have to go” Clare said. We seemed to forget about the whole funeral thing and immediately moved away from the depressing coffin and towards the commune part of the church.

Pinkie had put together a less enthusiastic party, due to the fact that funerals weren’t exactly supposed to be happy.

Ponies conversed with one another and Clare spoke to old and new friends one last time. He got down and arm wrestled with a Russian Spetsnaz soldier named Danko and amazingly he beat the strong soldier despite Danko being extremely strong.

Clare walked over to me and quickly and silently snuck both of us out of the room without anyone noticing we left. “Luna… I’m so sorry” he apologized as a tear trickled down his face but I quickly silenced him as I brought my lips up to his.

We quickly entered another room and locked the door behind us. If he was right about the time thing then we had less than two hours but we’d make it last.

* * *

A few hours later:

The priest had lowered Clare’s body into the burial site an hour ago and we now all stood outside of the church as Clare gave a final handshake to everyone. “Well… I don’t have much time left so I just wanted to thank everyone and say you guys and gals are the greatest. This is the last time I’ll get to see any of you… until you make your trip to the other world. I’m sorry if it seems a little selfish but for my last words I’d like them to be with Luna” he said and they nodded as they all gave one final goodbye then left us alone.

“Luna… I know I’m gone but I’ll always be with you in spirit… I love you” he said and we both closed our eyes and embraced each other in a passionate kiss. In a few moments I felt a misty feeling and Clare’s body seemed to vanish away into thin air.

I opened my eyes to see that he was gone. “Goodbye my love” I whispered then shed a tear for my loved one.

* * *

Several months later:

Princess Luna Los Pegasus mountain side:

I sat alone in the beautiful forest. I rubbed me stomach, which had begun to show my pregnancy in full. In less than a few weeks I was due to give birth. I sat outside the cave where Clare and I had first made love. It seemed so long ago now, despite not actually being less than a year ago.

Memories of when I had first met Clare flooded my thoughts. How I had easily accepted him into my elite shadow guard then became romantically attached to him despite his unknowing. How he had helped me with my speech impediment willingly and didn’t show fear towards me like others. How he had come to my rescue when King Sombra had kidnapped me. How when we first accepted our love we had trashed the castle in search of food. I smiled sadly as all those happy memories flooded my thoughts.

A tear trickled down my face as I looked at the cave then continued to illustrate the picture I was drawing. I had decided to name the foal Sue, regardless of gender. It reminded me of Clare’s name, the femininity behind it that made him that much more adorable.

* * *

Narration by Shining Armor:

Not bad my friend, not bad at all. I wondered what would become of you the first time we met outside the royal castle, how you simply stood there arguing with a royal guards pony. To be perfectly honest I didn’t think you were telling the truth but I’m glad I was wrong.

Who would’ve thought that you’d become the one to save my flank more times than I care to count, and really I don’t care for counting all that much. Though Luna may be saddened by your passing, she understands you choice and so do I. Hopefully one day your child will understand as well, maybe he’ll grow up to be honourable just like his father and I pray that harm never bestows upon the child during his entire life.

The Apache’s village prospered after the collapse of the zebra army, in part thanks to extremely generous donations made from Equestria. General Kim Yung was always brutal and Clare made sure he got what he deserved, along with the others.

I have to say that the first time I saw that guy take down a criminal, some pimp that was abusing his prostitutes, boy it made me smile. Not just cause of the way Clare handled it, but because in that moment I saw a beacon, a beacon of honour and love.

If you think things are cooling down now you should have heard about the time Clare tried to battle out of hell just to be by Luna’s side when she gave birth to their first born foal. Next time, when you have time, buy me an espresso and an apple fritter and I’ll tell you all about it, but not now. That’s a story for another day.

Author's Note

So yes, there will be a sequel, THANK THE LORD! Anyway, I was going to add the sequel part to this but the story was just becoming too long and I felt a tragedy ending (Despite being aboslutely tear ridden) a good ending to a war story. I'll make sure I make a link and post it on this story and I'll name the chapter SEQUEL. But like Shining Armor said "Next time, when you have time, buy me an espresso and an apple fritter and I'll tell you all about it but not now. Tis a story for another day

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Prologue

Narrator:
Over one millennia ago Equestria was ruled by two sister princesses: Celestia and Luna. Both contributed to the safety, the well-being and the economic stature of the world. But even as the mighty princesses they both felt the natural emotion of love. However due to their immortal state the older sister forbid them both from loving another living being simply because their immortality would force them to outlive their lover.

Luna was younger than Celestia and never heeded her warnings about love and became romantically involved with a stallion named Star Gazer, his natural love for the night enticed her and the two became inseparable.

* * *

Millennia ago:

The night air was hot, the moon was in full bloom and ponies across Equestria where asleep peacefully at their homes. However in the royal castle in Canterlot there was a dimly lit light in one of the royal chambers.

Luna screamed as she reached the peak of her orgasm, “Yes Gazer, cum inside me… I want to be the mother of our children” she screamed and Star Gazer felt himself reach his edge.

Star Gazer gave one last final thrust and Luna screamed as he came inside her. He was breathing heavily and collapsed overtop of Luna as exhaustion over took him. “I love you Star Gazer” Luna whispered, Star Gazer attempted to talk but was panting to heavily to reply.

“Together we shall give life to beautiful children” Luna whispered, not directly to Star Gazer but just whispered it for any-pony to hear. Star Gazer nodded, he rolled off of Luna and cuddled up close beside her as they embraced each other. Luna flicked off the light that kept the room illuminated and the duo cuddled together under the light of the moon far above the world.

* * *

Narrator:

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Luna and Star Gazer were incompatible with each other and Luna was never able to become pregnant like they had hoped. As the decades past Star Gazer grew old and eventually past away one night in his sleep, Luna was never able to love again, she had been emotionally distraught from the death of Star Gazer, which eventually led to her becoming Nightmare moon and she was banished to the moon.

After 1000 year imprisonment on the moon and eventual defeat of Nightmare moon, Luna once again became a partial leader of Equestria with her sister. However even now, after one thousand years, she sadly remembers love and all that it was but still vows never to let herself become heartbroken over the death of a lover.

* * *

Present Day:

When Twilight Sparkle found a spell that created a teleportation matrix between Equestria and a world called Earth that was inhabited by humans, the two races quickly became allies. Ponies and humans would travel to the other world in search of anything ranging from: vacation to residence, it even resulted in love interests. Though the two species were with each other at first, the advancements in magic proved powerful enough to cast spells that allowed humans and ponies to have children together. Weird right? Humans and ponies having children, yeah anyway back to the story.

However despite Equestria’s peaceful nature, humanity still had conflicts in their world and eventually the technology of firearms reached Equestria. The new technology eventually caused crimes and even small conflicts but never the less Equestria remained an extremely peaceful nation.

* * *

Sgt. Clare, Sudan in Africa:

“Peacekeeping my ass… this shit is downright fucked up” I yelled to Captain Daniels as I helped him to his feet.

Another RPG round struck the building and debris fell from the roof of the building we had taken cover in. “Shit… Private Sharps, can you hit that bastard with the RPG?” Daniels yelled over the sound of automatic gunfire.

Private Sharps peaked out the window then readied his C7A1 rifle and leaned out the window and took a single aimed shot. “I got em” Sharps yelled, “Good, now get the fuck away from the” I began but just as I was about to say ‘Away from the window’ his helmet was knocked off and blood splattered against the wall behind him as his skull was ruptured.

“SNIPER, GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS” Daniels yelled. I leaned up against the solid building wall, my ears were still ringing from the blasts of the RPG. I looked at my assault rifle and remembered I had to reload it, I ejected the spent magazine and loaded a fresh one. “We’re a little outnumbered here eh Captain?” I joked as I racked the charging handle. Daniels rolled his eyes “THIS IS NOW TIME TO BE JOKING AROUND” Daniels yelled. I chuckled and peaked up over the window ceil, as I peered out to the battle field I saw a group of resistance fighters charging towards us.

I swore to myself as I brought my C7 assault rifle and held the trigger back and I sprayed them down with a concentration of automatic fire. The group screamed as their bodies were riddled by 5.56mm NATO rounds.

I caught a glimpse of light from a building not far from us and ducked just as a sniper bullet chipped away at the window ceil beside my face. I opened up the M203 grenade launcher on my assault rifle and slid a 40mm HE grenade round into the launcher and cocked back the slid.

I looked to Daniels, “The sniper is in the second story window of the building on our 9, don’t look. I’ll take him out with the 203” I said through heavy breathing. Daniels nodded and I popped up and quickly took aim on the window where the flash reflection from the rifle scope had come from. I pulled the trigger on the M203 grenade launcher and the high explosive grenade shell propelled through the air and slammed into the window.

The grenade exploded violently and part of the building wall was destroyed as the explosion ripped through the room, killing the sniper. I quickly ducked back down behind the wall and ejected the still smoking grenade cartridge. I nodded to Daniels but soon something didn’t feel right.

“Sir, they’re retreating” Corporal Dickens yelled out. I peeked out the window to see if he was right. I sighed in relief as I watched the resistance soldiers scurry away, “Well that’s a relief” I muttered but I spoke to soon.

A thunder BOOM filled the air and our small building that we had taken shelter in was slammed by a tank cannon round. The explosive cannon round decimated part of our building and blew away Jenkins, Ramirez, Dickens and Stanley. “FUCK!” I yelled and peered out the window to see an old Russian made T-72 battle tank.

“Where the fuck did they get that thing?” I yelled and Daniels shuffled over to me. He pulled out a satchel charge from his waist saddle, “It’s our only shot at this. Cover me” Daniels said. I shook my head and looked to our remaining squad members. “Jameson, Deny and Frankston, you guys give us covering fire, make sure those resistance fighters don’t get off pot shots on us” I ordered and they nodded.

I pulled out a smoke grenade and Daniels did the same. We both pulled the pins on our smoke grenades and tossed them towards the T-72 tank and waited for the smoke screen to build. I looked to Daniels and nodded.

As we both lept out the windows our squad members began to fire at resistance fighters who had dug in. Though resistance fighters did fire at us, their shots were inaccurate and sloppy, usually kicking up dirt in front of us or far behind us.

I slid behind a small wall of sandbags in the war torn street as Daniels rushed into the smoke. I spotted a group of fighters appear on a roof top and snapped my aim to them. They didn’t even realize where I was until it was too late. My C7 chattered in my hands as lead death ripped through their bodies.

Daniels came running out of the smoke screen, “RUN!” he yelled. I swiveled my body and began to run back to the building but as we did the T-72 battle tank fired upon the building. The side of the building was destroyed and our squad members were killed in the blast.

I swore as I swiveled my body back around and fired upon several enemy soldiers. A thunderous explosion ripped through the streets as the satchel charge erupted and decimated the T-72 battle tank. My rifle ran dry and I quickly reloaded the gun. “LET’S GET OUT OF HERE” Daniels yelled, I turned my body around and ran towards the remaining cover of the building that we had taken cover behind before.

Daniels was a little slower than I was and took cover behind some sandbags in the middle of the street to give me covering fire as I lept through the window. I leaned back out the window just as his assault rifle ran dry. “I’m out of ammo” he screamed.

I brought my assault rifle up and began shooting down enemy soldiers. I stopped firing for a moment and leaned my left arm out of the window and motioned for him to hurry up. “COME ON DANIELS, COME ON!” I yelled. He dropped his assault rifle to the ground, probably figuring he’d pick it up later and rushed back towards me.

I took aimed shots at the enemy soldiers that tried to shoot Daniels down, dirt was being shot up just inches behind his feet. Daniels was about to hop through the window when a resistance fighter got a lucky shot and the bullet went straight through Daniels upper leg. Blood spurted out of his wound as he stumbled forwards.

I leaned out of the window and grabbed him by his chest harness. I pulled him towards the building but several other enemy soldiers took aimed shots and the AK47’s shots went through my friends back. His body stiffened for a moment then several other rounds shot through his legs and fell to his knees, I attempted to pull him through the window.

He gave out a grunt of pain and coughed up some blood. He looked to me with a disappointed frown, “God damn you Clare…” he began but several other 7.62x39mm AK47 rounds tore through him and his body went limp as he died in my arms. “NO… DANIELS… NOOO!” I yelled but as I did a resistance fighter launched an RPG round at the building. The rocket round exploded violently and I was caught in the blast and propelled through the air then crashed to the ground.

My vision blurred as I looked to the roof of the building and my world seemed to spin. I heard resistance fighters yell things but I couldn’t understand their language. I reached into my chest holster and pulled out my M1911A1 pistol, I had to go through hell and back to get this pistol as a non-issue sidearm but by god I was determined and finally got it issued to me.

My aim was severely shaky and I felt so weak that I could barely hold the bloody gun in both my hands. As a group of three fighters came into view I emptied the pistol’s entire magazine into the group, the first soldier was struck in the upper chest by a trio of .45 caliber rounds, and the other two received lower chest shots that cut through their ribs and knocked them to the ground.

I ejected the magazine and loaded a fresh one into the gun. I thumbed the slid release and the gun clanked as the slid slammed forward and loaded a new round into the chamber. I waited for a moment as I heard a group of resistance fighters approach. I knew this would probably be my last stand but by god I was gonna give them hell.

Suddenly a thunderous explosion ripped through the streets. I heard the resistance leaders scream and as I looked out to the street I saw why. A Canadian Leopard 2 battle tank had entered the street along with a platoon of Canadian soldiers.

I chuckled weakly to myself, ‘About time they showed up, what kept them? Traffic’ I thought to myself. I heard an infantry soldier run over to our building, he gasped then turned back to the reinforcements. “MEDIC!” he screamed and I reached my hand out towards him, he saw my movement and raced to my side. “MEDIC!” he screamed again then looked back to me.

“Hold on marine, you’re going to be fine… MEDIC!” he screamed, I coughed weakly and brought my pistol up to my chest and rested it on the center of my chest as my world faded out.

Author's Note

So yes, I am making another romancy story. Though at first I just wanted it to be a purely war story my buddy Derreck convinced me that if I made it a romance story with the war story as the side plot then it'll do better so I took his advice and Eureka. A romance story

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Chapter 9: Nightly Shenanigans

Sgt. Clare, Canterlot castle:

I raced up the castle steps and down the hallways, I really hope that no-pony was on guard outside Luna’s room or my apology was going to be really hard to say. I slid around a corner and raced up a flight of stairs then directly to Luna’s bedroom.

I let out a sigh of relief as I saw that no-pony was on guard, though guards still roamed the hallways on patrols. I walked up to the door and realized I hadn’t thought about an apology. ‘Uhm… Luna I’m real sorry about all this, no that’ll never do… Luna I know that you have feelings for me and… Luna I… Fuck it let’s just wing it’ I thought to myself as I went to knock.

I brought my hand up to the door but stopped as I heard faint crying coming from inside the room, this was going to be really hard or really awkward. I knocked on the door, “Go away, I don’t want to see anyone right now” said the saddened voice of Luna from inside her bedroom. “Luna listen I” I began but suddenly something hit the door and smashed violently, I immediately stepped back.

“I don’t want to see you, just leave!” she yelled and I sighed as I walked back to the door. I couldn’t leave now, I was in too deep. “Luna please just hear me out I” I began again but once again something smashed against the door, though this time I didn’t move my head back, I was actually expecting it. “I said leave, I don’t want to see you anymore” she cried.

I sighed to myself as I took the daring leap of faith and opened the door to peek inside. “Luna please I have to tell you that” I began but a glass vase flew at the door and shattered beside my face. Glass pieces cut into my face a little and it stung my cheek just a tiny bit. I stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind me. She had been crying a lot, I could tell because her bed pillow was soaking wet. Either that or she had spilled water on it.

“Luna I” I tried but she threw another vase at me but I managed to catch it and set it down gently. “Please Luna I need to tell you that”, but she tossed another vase that I caught and set down, shit how many of these fucking things did she have. “Leave at once or I will have you arrested” she threatened.

I took a few steps forward and was beside her bed but she shuffled to the other side. “Please Luna, I know that my words weren’t exactly well thought through and I… shit” I said as she tossed a china set at me, really where the hell was she getting all these fragile things. I ducked and let the china set smash against the wall across the room, jeeze she had a good throw.

“Luna please just hear me out I need to”, but yet again she threw a couple of drinking glasses at me and I ducked them as they flew past me and shattered against the wall. Some-pony was going to walk by and look inside and I was going to get in a shitload of trouble if I didn’t think of a better way to calm her down.

She stood on the other side of the bed , which was about two meters in width. ‘Legs don’t fail me now’ I thought as I took a daring leap through the air, Luna screamed as I landed in front of her. “Luna I need to tell you that” I began but she attempted to blast me with a magical blast from her horn but I leaned to one side, the magical blast flew past me and put a burn hole in the ceiling.

This was going to get bad and I only had one idea left, well actually I never really considered this idea but I did it anyway. I quickly wrapped my right arm under her foreleg and lifted her up to her hindlegs as I put my left hand behind her head and quickly kissed her on the lips. At first she didn’t move and her body was tensed up but soon her body relaxed and she stood on her hindlegs and wrapped her foreleg around my neck and the other around my back.

‘Smooth one, well so much for just winging it’ I thought to myself sarcastically ‘I really hope that I don’t lose my job for this’. Her lips were soft and wet and her fur against my body skin made me feel a little awkward but the thought soon faded as we simply stood there and kissed.

She finally broke away from the kiss. “You are very straight forward” she told me and I shrugged, “What else could I do? You were freaking out and any-pony that saw it would probably think I was trying to kill you or something” I replied. “Does this mean that… you love me?” she asked hesitantly and I nodded.

“Luna, my words back near the hospital weren’t thought through and the reason I was so weary about revealing my feelings was because” I began but suddenly my stomach rumbled and I remembered that I hadn’t eaten since… well yesterday night, I missed breakfast and I had given my lunch to that new guy to get away from him.

“Okay hold that thought, wanna get something to eat?” I asked and she thought about it for a moment and nodded. “I shall call the room service” she told me and I shook my head, “Nah, let’s just go right to the kitchen” I said as I wrapped my arm through hers and led her out of the room.

“Would it not be easier to just order it?” she asked and I shrugged. “Yeah but where’s the adventure in that?” I asked and she gave me a curious look, “Adventure in getting food?” she asked and I nodded. “Let’s pretend that we’re intruders trying to get to the kitchen” I suggested but she shook her head. “Well… okay what do you want to do?” I asked and she gave a sly smile. “We’re the pirates of Equestria on a quest to steal the riches from the royal castle of Canterlot” she snickered and I chuckled at her imagination.

“Alright, so who do you want to be?” I asked and she thought about it for a moment.

* * *

Third person, imaginary realm of Luan and Clare:

“Arg matey, I am Captain Blue Beard, the fiercest pirate in all Equestria” Blue Beard said as she pulled out an old saber pirate sword. “And I am Carl, the most sinister pirate to ever to sail the seven seas” Carl laughed as he pulled out two saber pirate swords. They were both dressed in old pirate clothes and Blue Beard had a flowing, almost holographic looking, blue beard and an eye patch on her right eye. Carl had a nasty scar down his face that started at the top left of his forehead and went on an angle across his face. He too had an eye patch but it was on the other eye.

Carl sheathed his swords and pulled out both his musket pistols, “Arg we come here for your treasures and nothing can stop us” Carl sneered as the snuck through the outside window of the fortress castle in Canterlot.

Blue Beard cocked back her right hoof, which had been lost after a fearsome battle with a dragon and replaced with a rotating multi-barrel Blunderbuss. “Hey wait a minute, that’s not fair, you get a friggin arm gun” Carl complained and Blue Beard winked. He sighed at the fact that Blue Beard got better stuff than him.

A flashing light of a sentry approached. “Quickly into the caverns of immense knowledge” Blue Beard ordered and Carl followed her into the unknown of the caverns.

Inside the caverns both pirates breathed heavily as they thought of a new plan. “Quickly we must escape before” Blue beard began but suddenly a terrifying roar echoed through the cavern and both pirates looked in horror as a massive creature approached them.

“Oh no, it’s the mountainous cycloid” Blue Beard gasped and Carl swung up both musket pistols and shot the beast but it refused to go down and instead let out an angered roar. “Quickly, we have to use the Mirror of Destiny. It’s the beast’s only weakness” Carl said as he charged towards the massive beast and lept onto its side.

The beast swatted at Carl but he managed to avoid its swings and distract it long enough for Blue Beard to get the Mirror of Destiny. “Carl, I have the mirror” Blue Beard called out and Carl lept from the beast’s head and landed on the ground near Blue Beard’s hooves. The beast stepped forward but saw its reflection in the mirror and screamed in agony as it died from the sight of its own ugliness and fell backwards. As it hit the ground it erupted into a mess of scrolls and books.

“Ha ha, the beast has been slain” Blue Beard exclaimed. “Hey what do you think you’re doing?” screamed a voice and both Blue Beard and Carl looked to the voice and saw a small troll like creature. “Oh no, it is the knowledge beast keeper. We must run before she calls upon the guards” Carl exclaimed and the both dashed out of the cavern of immense knowledge and back into the hallways of the fortress. The hallways were dimly lit by torches.

Carl grabbed a torch off the wall, “The light of this torch shall lead our way Captain” Carl informed her as they walked down the hallways as stealthily as they could with a burning torch. As they turned the corner of a passageway they spotted a sentry as he walked along his patrol.

Carl quickly put out the torch and they both hid behind a stone pillar as the sentry passed, not noticing them. Blue Beard let out a sigh of relief as they quickly broke from cover and raced around another corner and headed for the treasure room.

The approached the grand atrium and quickly raced across the atrium and to the treasure room but there was one final problem. A sentry had slouched up against the wall for a break. “We need to find a way past… Carl?” Blue Beard asked but she realized her companion wasn’t at her side. She looked back to the guard and saw Carl walk up beside him undetected, the guard was facing the wrong direction to be able to notice Carl approach him.

Carl leaned over and gave the sentry a karate chop to the neck and knocked out the sentry. Carl leaned the sentry up against the wall to make it look like he had simply taken a nap. He waved to Blue Beard for her to join him and she rushed to his side as they entered the treasure room.

Carl and Blue Beard walked into the treasure room and closed the door behind them. The treasure room was huge and inside held all the riches of war, food! Carl and Blue Beard rushed over to the fridges and scourged through the fridges for the best foods.

Being completely uncivil, they both ate without etiquette or utensils and made a large mess in the treasure room. “Alas, we are the richest pirates in all Equestria” Carl boasted but Blue Beard tossed a cup of applesauce at him, Carl ducked the applesauce and it splattered against the wall behind him. “Ah but the greed of war has changed my views matey, I’m taking all the treasure for myself” Blue Beard said as she tossed an apple pie at Carl. The pie splatted against his face and he fell to the ground.

“Ahha finally I shall be the” Blue Beard began but was cut off as tomato sauce splattered against her mane and face. Her face went into a frown as she looked to Carl who had arisen from the dead to take his revenge.

“And now the greatest of allies become the fiercest of enemies” Carl said as he drew out a pirate sabre, Blue Beard did the same and the two positioned themselves as they readied themselves for battle.

Blue Beard swung her sword at Carl but he deflected the swing with his own sword and sparks were emitted as the metal slammed together. The two began to have a furious saber battle in the treasure room.

Blue Beard got the upper hand and kicked Carl in the chest. He back flipped through the air and landed on a treasure table. Blue Beard lept up onto the table, “Sabres are not your weapon of choice young one” she said as the two clashed their swords together. Carl swung his leg out and tripped her onto her back then swung the sabre down but she blocked the swing with her own. Carl tried to bring his sword blade down but she was stronger than he thought she would be.

She kicked her hindleg up and hit Carl in the back with a kick. He flipped forwards from the force and was knocked off the table and onto the floor. Blue Beard lept into the air and tried to bring her own sabre down upon him but he rolled out of the way and her sabre clacked against the ground.

Carl rolled to his feet and readied his sabre as Blue Beard did the same. They charged at each other. As Carl swung his saber he grabbed Blue Beard’s hoof that held the saber, yet Blue Beard grabbed Carl’s Saber hand with her own hoof.

The two entered a stalemate of power as they tried to overpower one another. Carl looked into her beautiful cyan eyes and she looked into his handsome light brown eyes. “The enemies who fought so violently against one another” Blue Beard began, “Could not fight against the other any more out of their love for the other” Carl said, ending her statement.

They both dropped their sabers and wrapped each other in a hug and began to make out. Blue Beard forced Carl to the ground and lay on top of him as she stuck her tongue into his mouth and their tongues began to wrestle in their mouths as they kissed passionately on the floor of the treasure room.

Carl pulled away from the kiss and grabbed an apple that had been knocked onto the cold floor and took a bite out of the apple, “This stuff is good, you should try it” Carl told her as he swallowed the bite of apple he had in his mouth. “Shut up and kiss me you fool” she told him as she forced her lips upon his and they began to make out again.

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Crackers nd cheese

So this is just a thanks to all you readers who are still reading it and a little story that isn't part of this story but it was funny and somewhat related, So I walked down the stairs of my house really depressed thinking to myself "I just imagined myself having sex with a goddammed animated pony" and the thing is when I imagine things it feels pretty real so it's kind of obvious why it was disturbing. But anyway when I got downstairs I saw a whole box of, guess what, CRACKERS! and a block of CHEESE, and not just any crackers but those little delicious crackers 'Vegtable Thins' and I was like "Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod" so I sat there eating crackers and cheese and thought "Wait a minute... I don't remember buying these crackers and no one else ever buys crackers so who would've boughten them" so I figured out who gave me the crackers and this is exactly what happened, true story:

Jesus Crist was sitting there reading Love and Honour and he realized that the author was disturbed greatly by his own writing. "SECRATARY LADY!" Jesus called out and an angel secratary rushed in. "Yes your lordship?" she asked. Jesus looked to his secratary, "Tell me, who is this Trigger_Finger that writes Love and Honour?" Jesus asked and the secratary angel quickly reseached it. "Why it's Evan Burdick sir" she informed Jesus. "Well get that man some CRACKERS AND CHEESE IMMEDIATELY!" Jesus ordered and the secratary lady immediately rushed out and got a delivery angel to deliver some good crackers and cheese to the man's house.
And that is exactly how the crackers and cheese mysteriously ened up on my table waiting for me

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SEQUEL!

Alright, just like promised here's The Sequel. If it isn't there than it might still be going through moderator approval so just give it a few minutes.

Anyway while I have your attention I just wanted to give some backdrop on the story. Originally I wasn't going to have Clare and Luna go on vacation and was going to have Hart, Clare's shadow guard friend, try and rape Luna during Hearts and Hooves day. Since it would've been Clare's day off he would've been chatting with Cloud Dasher in the mess hall and Dasher would've made the comment "Almost didn't recognize you without all your guns" and Clare would've quoted "Yeah it's my day off. It should be a quiet day". Then he'd remember he left something, his watch, in Luna's room from a conversation they had about time keeping. So he'd proceed upstairs to find Hart just about to rape Luna then pull out his S&W 500 and blow off Hart's foreleg. Hart would then say "You just fucked up my arm" and Clare would quote "You fucked up my day off" then shoot his friend for him trying to rape Luna. Luna would then ask if it was traumatizing to shoot his friend and Clare would've quoted "Nah, he fucked up my day off. The asshole deserved it".

After they fell in love and expressed their feelings for one another I was going to end the story but then something made me decide to keep going.

Another part I didn't have in the story was a threesome scene with Rarity on the beach. She would've drunkenly stumbled upon them then told Luna "That isn't how a lady acts during sex" and proceed to have a threesome. Though it kind of caught my attention and made me laugh I decided upon not putting it in.

And we all know that Derpy was originally going to die. I wasn't going to show he death and have Moon Crater and Clare rush to get the wounded only to find that every pony was dead. But luckily I had a particular dream while I was passed out at work that changed my descision.

I wasn't going to have Clare die in the end and rather have him and Luna get married and have a very romantic ending with them watching the sunset together on the beachfront of Los Pegasus but I guess somewhere along the way I decided to have Clare die saving Shining Armor.

Another note to mention is that I used two other author's OCs, upon their asking, in this story. Moon Crater is Naesthebrony's OC and he asked me if I could include him in my story so me, being very...kind?... I can't think of a good word to use right now, said yeah sure and put his OC in the story. The other OC is Angel Eyes who belongs to Spetsnaz Pinkie Pie and it was sort of the same thing. He asked if I would put his OC in the story and I said sure.

So there's a little bit of backdrop to the story just so you all see how much it changed from my original idea.

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