A Soldier and a Pegasus

Chapters

My Story Begins
A Blast that Changed Everything
The Wounded Rainbow Dash
When Boredom Strikes
The Unthinkable and Worst Circumstance
The Conditions and Perils of a Soldier

My Story Begins

My story begins before my deployment to Afghanistan a little more than five years ago. I was a troubled youth with a death wish, which is why I went to the army all those years ago. Sadly I realized how much I had to live for when I was unknowingly hooked on a show called, “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” by a few friends that dared me into it, and as I was so stubborn, watched and immediately fell into becoming a fan myself. The series had taught me some basics of life that I had failed to learn from my mostly absent parents and lack of friends before I deployed.

The completion of my basic training was easy enough and my ship out date was not far ahead. I heard of other’s that liked My Little Pony referred to as “bronies”, discovered that other "military bronies" exist, and even had the courage to put a cutie mark of their favorite pony as a patch on their shoulder. After some thought I decided that I would show off my love of the show by purchasing the cutie mark patch of my favorite pony: Rainbow Dash. With only two hours until my deployment, my colorful new patch came in the mail. As I placed it on my arm, I beamed with excitement making sure it was adjusted to perfection before getting into my highly unreliable car and flying down the road towards the military base.

After the jeers before, during, and after the long flight overseas we landed in the dead of night at our cruel and merciless destination: Afghanistan. Upon stepping away from the aircraft I was greeted almost instantly by a coarse breath of the desert air that instantly stung my throat with the tiny granules of sand that blew in the malicious wind. We were given our quarters and sent there until our duties the next morning. When I entered my bunk, which seemed to be like a small cabin with a few bunk beds, a desk, and a few other basics, I was greeted by the scent of lingering desert air and two soldiers: Chris and Mitchell.

After a few introductory remarks my eyes glanced down to their arms, and with a gasp I realized they had replaced their company patches, with brony patches just as I had done. My eyes must have considerably widened because they both laughed quite heartily at my facial expression. Chris had a pink butterfly symbolizing Fluttershy whereas Mitchell had a purple treble clef symbol, the sign of Octavia.

“I…Had no idea there were any other bronies…in the company…” I stammered clearly shocked about my two companions.

Chris smiled and replied, “We are thankful we have another brony to bunk with us! Honestly we didn’t want to be ridiculed every time we came back from patrols.”

“Understandable. I’m Jason—,” Chris cut me off with the wave of his hand and said, “Welcome to Afghanistan Dashie. I’m one of the company medics. I’m Chris but everyone knows me as Flutters and you know why.”

Mitchell spoke up with a grin, “Name is Mitchell but as you can guess everyone calls me Octi.”

I nodded as I listened before speaking, “It’s nice to meet you two. When is our next patrol?”

Chris spoke with a more serious tone of voice, “Tomorrow morning, O-six hundred hours. You will be accompanying the bomb technicians on the rounds around the base. Be careful… attacks are getting more frequent. Mitchell will be going with you but I’ll be staying here as the medic on duty. Oh and… be watchful for Max… he has a tendency to be, well, let’s just say he is smart but lacks any common sense.”

I laughed at his last remark, “Is he an infantry gunner or something?”

He simply shook his head with a sigh as his gaze was cast downward, “He is the bomb de-activator.”

My jaw dropped and stared blankly at him, “You’re… kidding right?”

Again he shook his head but now with no reply. After a few moments of silence Mitchell again spoke up, “He knows what he is doing… but aside from deactivating bombs… I legitimately think he is insane.”

I sighed while unpacking as he spoke, “As long as he doesn't get us killed I don’t care how he acts.” Both of my new friends nodded in agreement and prepped to get some sleep as well.

“See you both in the morning…” I said drowsily as the long plane ride had worn me out. I drifted to sleep after thinking about my past and what had lead me to this point, then thinking about how I had gotten something I always wanted: friends.

Author's Note

I made this story because of my love of Rainbow Dash and then the love of the military. The story was made on a total whim and I only hope for the best while writing it.

A Blast that Changed Everything

Three days after my sixth, and last, re-deployment came a fateful day that forever changed my life. I had gotten much faster at putting on my body armor, but still always taking the time to look at my now old and faded Rainbow Dash patch which clearly showed the many years of service it had undertaken. I dashed from my bunk prepared to board my vehicle as I stood ready for inspection. We were cleared with some time to spare before leaving on our normal rounds. I walked to the medical unit where Chris and Fireblitz were on a break.

“Hey, what are you two up too?” I asked with a slight smile. Usually I never had time to visit before departure, but today was an exception.

Fireblitz shot back replying, “I’m excellent.” Chris simply nodded in agreement as he had just taken a swig of black coffee upon my entry. She continued, “What are you doing in here? I thought that you had bomb escort today.”

I smirked, “I do have duty today. I just have about five minutes until roll out time.”

Chris grinned saying, “You be safe out there Dashie, we don’t want to see you in here with us after your patrol is done.”

Out of nowhere Fireblitz gave me a hug so tight I could feel it through my coarse body armor. I always wondered what her real name was, but never inquired, or dared, to ask. I must have been blushing because I heard Chris chuckle to himself as I hugged her back.

“You guys always scare me when you go out on bomb runs. Just be careful,” she said very calmly as she let me go and looked into my eyes.

I nodded in reply, too speechless to talk. “I-I guess I better head to the truck.” I stammered clearly still shocked by the sudden affection towards me. Managing a weak smile I stepped out of the Medic’s quarters and headed to the waiting truck. I slid into the shotgun spot, looking over at Shadow with a nod.

Abel was in our gunner spot and Mitchell behind me alongside a new recruit to the company. In a cloud of dust we drove out of the base having acquired lead position in front of the two other dust covered vehicles that trailed behind us. A recent sandstorm made life all the more dangerous because any mines or I.E.D.’s would blend in all the more into the coarse sandy dirt. Shadow, Abel, and I all had the duty of watching for any roadside bombs that may arise in our path then alerting the others to the danger.

A couple dead animal carcasses were investigated and found to be no threat. Sometimes the sand overtakes the beasts breathing, leaving it with a cruel fate. As we continued on through the city I noticed something very… very odd…

“Where is everyone, none of the natives are even remotely present,” I said over the radio with clear concern in my voice.

A car was along the road ahead of us. I immediately called for a halt of the caravan. “Abel, what do you see wrong about that car.” I spoke though the headset.

“Sagging suspension, looks like it hasn’t run in years but has no sand piled in or around it meaning it has been placed there within forty-eight hours, and if my eyes aren’t lying to me I swear I see four civilians in the road up ahead behind it.” Replied our keen eyed gunner.

I hadn’t noticed the civilians but indeed there were four in sight up ahead. I ordered the vehicles to back away from the car. I stepped out of the vehicle walking back to the already prepping bomb squad. A robot rolled past me as I approached closer to the back of their truck. I stepped in the back as the escort commander to watch the video feed coming from “Sparky V” (Don’t ask what happened to III and IV). As the robot investigated more carefully we soon came to discover that it was only a hoax with no sort of payload in it whatsoever. I cursed under my breath knowing what this meant.

This is a tactic used by insurgents to draw our attention away from something else that they are plotting. I ran back to my truck and told everyone to begin to search the area, check everywhere and everyone for suspicious activity. Abel was to give us cover fire if needed and keep an eye on us, while the others of my company were to search the surrounding area. Moving quickly and efficiently we scoured the area, and saw nothing, even the civilians had left the scene, in a mysterious and sudden fashion which further put my mind at unrest. I ordered us to move out of the area, I wanted nothing more to do with this area and knew that we needed to get out before something bad happened, little to my knowledge it was far too late.

The caravan was about to begin its trek again, but we found ourselves in a horrible predicament. There was no way for our armored vehicles to make a U-turn, forcing us to go past the car we had just investigated. I was extremely nervous about the idea, but my hand was forced in the situation. I ordered all of our rifles to be taken off of safety in case we needed firepower quickly. Our advance started once again, I could have sworn I was sweating bullets as we passed the car. In the blink of an eye, my worst fears came to light.

Underneath the car we had inspected, was a daisy chain that the robot had not seen on camera. With a deafening blast the truck behind ours launched at least fifteen feet into the air and rolled onto its side with a sickening crunch of metal shrapnel. After the initial shock of the blast and the ringing in my ears finally ceased I could hear voices blaring from my radio along with the feeling of our truck shaking from the fifty caliber gun on the roof over our head firing shot after shot.

“Everyone out now! Fire at will and check for survivors!” I bellowed over the radio.

The sheer blast force had caused my door to be jammed shut due to the frame bending around it. I looked to Shadow, who had grabbed a shotgun from under his seat and kicked his door open. Mitchell and the recruit had already exited the vehicle and firing their rifles.

A sinking feeling had worked its way into my heart as I heard another dreadful message come across the radio, “Men down! Insurgent fire to the north! We need assistance immediately!”

As I cursed under my breath I typed a code into our emergency beacon which sent a distress signal to the base requesting help. “ETA for back up is ten minutes!” I barked over the radio once again.

With a few swift kicks my door was finally ajar of the frame as I crouched behind it. I spotted an open entrance in a building that hadn’t been crumbled in the blast wave and dashed to it. I saw a terrorist take a step into the street holding an AK-47 assault rifle, and took him down before my men could be injured. At least five insurgents fell by my gun alone and they seemed to keep going as my soldiers did the same.

The chaos the scene I beheld was awful: guns firing, grenades exploding, and screams of pain from the men of my company drove me to near insanity. I ran out of ammunition in the current clip of my rifle and began to reload. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck as something seemed to bite and pull me back as I lost my balance and fell to the hard tile ground on my back.

While I fell, I saw a cloud of dust fly from the wall, as a bullet struck the frame I was just standing next to, which begged the question: who had pulled be back from the door? I saw a smear of blood across my brony patch. This disturbed me even more as I knew that it was not my blood and the pain I felt from my neck was not bleeding. After regaining my sense of balance and orientation I stood again, looking around the room I was pulled into. What I saw, shocked and bewildered me beyond belief. I raised my visor, to dispel all doubt that my eyes were not seeing reality.

In the furthest corner of the dark room stood: Rainbow Dash.

My brain said my eyes were lying, so I turned on my attached rifle light, to illuminate the dimly lit space. I honestly felt like my heart melted in my chest. It was true, she stood in front of me with a trickle of blood down her right front leg, her coat seemed dirty and the bright colors of her mane and tail tampered by obvious dust. I knelt in front of her, laying my rifle down on the ground leaving the light on so I could see.

“I’m not going to hurt you… come here…” I spoke as calmly as possible, still trying to believe what my senses were telling me as my mind reeled in confusion.

“O-okay...” she said in almost a whisper as she hobbled towards me keeping almost no weight on her obviously injured leg. The magenta color of her eyes locked on mine, and as soon as she was close enough, I maneuvered my arm to grasp and pick her up under my left arm so I wouldn't put any pressure onto the seemingly delicate wings that lay on her back.

“Don’t worry; you’re safe with me now.” I said picking up the rifle and walking back to the door frame as a sigh of relief overtook me upon laying eyes on our backup.

I walked back into the room and exited through a side door, which in a stroke of luck had been behind the mobile medical unit. It was the last one there as the rest of my unit had already left with other vehicles. I don't know how long I was confused and laying on the floor after I hit my head, but the gunfire had ceased and the insurgent attackers had been neutralized. I stepped in the back of the medical vehicle quickly trying to keep the sky blue Pegasus out of sight. I sat down and slammed the door shut with a sigh, but as I turned around, none other than Fireblitz was staring me right in the eye.

“I… umm…” her eyes trailed from my eyes and down to Rainbow under my arm. I followed her gaze and looked down at Dash, to my surprise realization, was looking up at me.

“What the hell… is that?” she exclaimed with a gasp.

My attention turned back to the daring medic, “It’s… Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus from the show that Chris, Mitchell, and I watch. I know it’s hard to believe, and I’m still trying to understand it myself.”

She cut me off and took her from me beginning to examine her right leg, “Jason… she took some shrapnel to the leg.”

“Yes I know. I found her like that,” I said while unloading my gun.

“Driver! Let’s go! Back to the compound now!” she bellowed over the engine noise.

We both sat down as she handed Rainbow back to me. I looked down still wondering if what I was seeing was reality. I stroked her back until she fell asleep in my lap while Fire, which I had come to call Fireblitz, watched me closely. The vehicle lurched into life headed back to base, kicking up a small dust cloud at the speeds it was traveling. Who knew, that even now this would become one of the most crucial and defining moments of so many's lives.

The Wounded Rainbow Dash

The arrival of the truck back at the base brought problems of its own, let alone a sky blue Pegasus. How would we explain Rainbow Dash to the rest of the company? What if the government found out? Would they try to take her? Would they do horrid test or other things on this beautiful creature? The best option we had would be to keep her away from the prying eyes of our superior officers and subordinate soldiers then nurse her back to health. Fireblitz ordered the driver to drive to the loading dock of the medical unit, that way we could get into the facility with minimal contact and get to a room to treat Dash’s wounds. I handed my gun to her so she could hold it as I cradled Dashie in my arms. As soon as the medical truck had backed into the loading bay, I thrust open the doors and sprinted down the hallways getting to the closest open hospital bay as quickly as possible.

Fire was not far behind me when she said, “I’m going to go get Chris to help me. I’ll be right back.” And with that she took off running through the halls yelling for him.

I sat on a gurney and waited for them, continuing to stroke Rainbow in my arms as she nuzzled my chest where I was holding her. “I’ll take care of you… I promise nothing will happen to you while I’m around.”

Approximately forty-five seconds later, both of my friends swung open the door. Any color that Chris had in his face was soon gone. “What…but how…am I dreaming…is this possible…?” he stammered clearly as shocked as I once was when I found her.

“Chris, this is real. We need to fix her leg up. Let’s get to it.” I said with as much assertiveness as possible, but obviously I was just as confused about the situation as he was.

“We will need an X-ray to check what type of injuries she has sustained,” he continued, “Without that we can’t be sure about where the shrapnel is or how to remove it.”

“I’ll get the mobile X-ray machine!” Fire exclaimed and dashed out the door again.

Chris walked closer then reached out towards Rainbow and stroked her brilliantly colorful mane as he sat at a bedside chair. “I’m so confused…” he said softly.

“Me too, but we just go with it,” I sighed then asked, “Did I lose any men…?”

“No,” he replied, “Only broken bones and burns which were easy enough to patch up compared to what usually happens during I.E.D. blasts. You all were extremely lucky. My guess is that the full charge of the I.E.D. didn’t go off.” He stared me right in the eye, “You scared Fireblitz to death… when she heard your distress code she flipped out.”

I sighed and patted Rainbow’s side as she looked up at me. “Thank you…” the blue Pegasus said softly. Again, any color that Chris had was soon gone once again upon hearing her words.

“You’re welcome.” I said with a smile while hugging her closer against my chest.

Chris stood and began to unfasten the straps of my vest saying, “Jason let me get your body armor off. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. I think you should do your best to keep Rainbow a secret.”

I nodded once again as my Kevlar slid off while he removed my helmet and visor, “Yes, I know. But that is going to be obviously easier said than done.”

Fire returned once again rolling in an X-ray machine.

I stood up and looked to Dashie once again, “Okay… just relax. We will fix you right up. Stay still.”

I gently laid Rainbow down on the gurney making sure to place her right front leg protruding out so Fire could get a good X-ray. I stroked her mane slowly making sure she stayed calm and still. The machine clicked on then off and the procedure was done.

Fireblitz scratched her head saying, “How are we going to develop these without anyone noticing the images in the system…?”

I grinned knowing exactly what to do, “Send the images to a ghost file with a secure password that only you know and can open. Then delete the file under the D.O.D. protocol so it can never be recovered.”

Chris grinned at my answer, “Excellent. I’ll get right to it.” He exited the room heading to the development room taking the X-ray machine along with him.

Dashie spoke up, her voice seeming a bit nervous as she did, “What…is going to happen…”

I looked to her and crouched next to the stretcher looking her directly in the eye, “Nothing is going to happen to you. We are going to make sure you are all better then go from there.” She seemed a bit more relaxed after that as her gaze softened while now beginning to examine her surroundings.

I stood again and looked at Fire, and upon eye contact she grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her while saying sternly, “I thought I was very clear to be careful…” I could have sworn she was going to rip my shirt clean off before she finally relented and let go of me, only to pull me into another hug, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

“I-I’m sorry…” I said while embracing her in my arms.

I could tell she was fighting tears as her short shallow breaths were tangible against my shoulder. After more than a few moments she let me go and walked to the door, “I’ll be at my bunk, you and…Rainbow can both come visit whenever you feel like it.” She stepped out leaving me alone with the brightly colored Pegasus.

I pulled up a chair and sat next to the stretcher where Dashie was laying. She was lying on her left side facing me as I gently stroked her mane with a smile, “Okay… here is our plan. You have to hide from everyone except me and the two other people you saw here… alright?”

She nodded in agreement, “Okay…”

I continued to look at her as a sudden rush of questions entered my head. Apparently the shock of not only the blast and firefight, but also the shock of finding her had worn off. How did she get here? Did she know who, or what she was? Why was she here? How is all of this even possible? My thoughts were interrupted by Chris re-entering the room. He carried in a few bandages and a sterile wound dressing,

“Flesh injury. Shrapnel went in then out. No bone or nerve damage at all. All she will need is a clean bandage every day and new sterile dressing.”

I sighed in relief, “Good… I’m glad that’s all.”

Chris proceeded to apply the antiseptic to her leg then wrap it in a clean white bandage, “There. The covering should be good until tomorrow, but it will have to be replaced every day until it heals.”

I nodded and picked her up into my arms, cradling the Pegasus against me, “Now we have to get out of here…”

Chris sat down and rubbed his chin thinking, “We could wrap her in an empty gillie suit. It would mask her colors but be ventilated enough to not make her hot or suffocate her while you walked to the bunk.”

“What in the hell would I be doing with a gillie suit?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Just do it. It is your best shot.” He said sternly.

I looked down to Dashie and shrugged, “Guess it’s the only option so far. Don’t worry. It’s not a far walk, and you won’t be wrapped up for very long.”

Apparently the numbing agent in the antiseptic had begun to work, because Rainbow’s attitude had begun to match the one in the show, “Sure, I can handle it. Don’t you worry about me.”

I grinned at her sudden enthusiasm then looked back to Chris, “Alright. Let’s do it.”

When Boredom Strikes

After a month of slow and tedious recovery, Rainbow Dash had healed to full health; the only sign of the blast left on her was a small scar on her leg. Since her healing, she had grown quite tired of being cooped up in my bunk all day, avoiding the prying eyes of my company. I later discovered that she had snuck out a few times to go visit Fireblitz, although I wasn’t concerned with this fact because I trusted her more than anyone else to watch over Dashie, knowing she would be safe. In fact, I felt safe around Fire; with her warm comforting gaze (when she wasn’t out to kill you) was soothing and downright peaceful.

After returning from a patrol I walked into the cool, darkened, cabin like structure I resided in. Rainbow was doodling in her journal I had bought for her when I swung the door open, dropping my sand filled vest onto the ground next to my helmet.

“Heya Dashie. How are you?” I asked with a smile.

She looked up at me, a slightly nervous look upon her face as she replied, “I wanted to ask you something.”

I sat on my bed next to her as I stroked her mane, “Sure, what is it?”

Her question shocked me beyond words, “I… was wondering if I could maybe help you when you go on patrol.”

I scratched my head thinking very carefully before replying, “I don’t really know… I can’t let you get hurt again… I would never forgive myself for it. So I don’t think so.”

Her pleading eyes looked to me with a hint of desperation. I knew the boredom was getting to her and I finally relented earlier to allowing her to go for night flights to stretch her wings and get some fresh air; but this was a completely different matter. She wanted to come out during the day, with sometimes horribly dangerous missions, and be a prime target for enemy fire. As I thought of the many possibilities of events that could take place, I could feel my face gradually drain of color. I knew that Rainbow hated being bored more than anything and wanted to be free of the place where she currently resided.

After a long pause on my part I finally spoke, “How about we ask Fire, if she thinks you will be okay, I’ll see what I can do. Sound alright to you?”

Her eyes lit up with the hope of being able to help me once again, but I was almost certain Fire would agree with me. She looked out the window for any prying eyes and then literally dashed towards her cabin as I sat down at my desk and began to draw a faint sketch of Rainbow from memory.

Approximately twenty minutes later a flash of color entered into the room through the still open window. I turned and looked at her and my heart sank. She was grinning ear to ear which told me only one thing.

“She…said she thought you would be safe?” I asked with a hesitation from my obvious stun.

Dashie nodded, “Yeah!” she panted slightly before continuing, “She said she would help you make some stuff for me to keep me safe. And you should come with me over to her bunk to design it!”

I was completely dumbfounded, “I…but…wait…huh?”

Her impatient look was enough to snap me out of it, “Just go to her and she will explain everything.”

With a sigh I stood up, putting on my baseball cap and exited the cabin, walking across the compound to where Fireblitz was supposedly waiting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rainbow fly between the bunks to reach Fire before I could. I shook my head, trying to think of any excuses I could make to keep Dashie out of danger.

To no avail, my concerns were overridden by both of them. I relented finally under one condition, that Rainbow would be provided equipment to be able to communicate with me and protect her a little bit from any harmful shrapnel or stray bullets before she could go onto patrols, and to my utter shock Fire and Chris teamed up and designed all she needed: in ear radio, very light body vest, and a custom fitting helmet. Needless to say I was stunned beyond comprehension when their hard work was unveiled.

“Oh my…but how…” I stammered looking over the new equipment that had been bestowed upon the Pegasus.

Fire simply grinned and hit Chris lightly on the arm, “I did the specifications and planning, Chris did the rest.”

I sighed and nodded, “Alright… Dashie you will have to wake up early to go on patrol with me… is that okay?” I had hoped the thought of less sleep may dissuade her from wanting to come, but it proved as an ineffective theory.

“You can count on me! I’ll be ready when you are!” she said enthusiastically.

The next morning I woke up, opening my eyes slowly as the day I feared had come. It was Rainbow’s first patrol and I knew what danger may lie ahead. As the warm body of my favorite pony laid up against me with shallow breaths, I considered trying to sneak out without her knowing, but soon found my conscience give way. I didn’t want to break her trust in me, so I gently tapped her back, trying to gently awaken her.

“Dashie, we need to get ready…” I spoke in a calm yet firm tone.

Her magenta eyes fluttered open and looked up at me, “Already…?” she said with a yawn.

I nodded, “Yes. We have fifteen minutes to get ready. Let’s get going.” I patted her mane and got up, slipping into my military fatigues, before adding my body armor then packing up my gun. I looked over as Dash had gotten into her equipment as well, looking surprisingly well with the desert camouflage upon her sky blue coat and colorful mane.

“You remember the plan… right?” I asked as she had finished her preparations.

She nodded with gleaming eyes clearly excited about her first day time flight in a while, “Of course. You want me to stay high in the air and tell you if I see anything suspicious on the ground. I got it, and don’t you worry, I’m the fastest Pegasus around.”

I smiled, “I know, I’ll try not to be too paranoid.”

She returned the smile, her beaming eyes looking into mine full of excitement, “Thank you, so much. I can’t wait.”

The whole patrol went smoothly thanks to Dash’s help, two I.E.D.’s were deactivated that only she had seen from the air that the rest of us had completely missed. Needless to say, I was extremely proud of her, and held a small celebration in Fire’s bunk as we laughed the night away.

Soon enough however… our joyfulness would soon turn to panic… as the unthinkable was doomed to happen.

Author's Note

I had a ton of writers block when writing the chapter, but I hope you all are happy with the results. The next chapter is running a whole lot smoother than this one, and hopefully will take less time.

The Unthinkable and Worst Circumstance

The next few months ran smoothly, Dashie was happy and so was I. Another normal patrol was today as a cool breeze swept through the camp. A scare had occurred around a week ago, when one of my soldiers had made the claim of seeing something fly overhead. Since then, others had called it Ghost Company’s angel. Only a trusted few knew the truth of the matter, and I intended to keep it that way however necessary.

Our patrol started late, giving some much needed rest to the company after the previous day’s activities in the compound. Dashie was at my side as I stared at the ceiling. I felt the small life giving breaths of air against my shirt as she snored, somewhat loudly. I grinned and suppressed the laughter that boiled up in my chest as her snoring could compete with even the heaviest of sleepers in the troop. Thirty minutes had come and gone, for the time approached of what seemed just like another normal patrol.

“Dashie,” I spoke as I stroked her back and wings, “We need to get ready” Her eyes fluttered open in a magnificent fashion revealing those carefree magenta eyes. She had become accustomed to humans now, and finally just accepted where she was and who she was with.

“Alrighty…” she said with a yawn, “Hand me my gear.”

I smirked and shook my head, “Oh no you don’t, you aren’t getting away with falling asleep while I try to find your gear somewhere around here. C’mon, get up and get ready.”

She rolled her eyes playfully and nodded, “Fine…” She kicked the covers away then flapped her wings and hovered down to the floor before slipping on her gear needing no help from me, and even finishing before I could. We always got ready earlier than the rest so she could fly up to the clouds (or high building if the weather did not cooperate) and wait for the actual patrol to begin. Her attitude had become more accustomed to military ways, although I never force her to do anything, she rarely ever argued with me anymore. Even though she hated waking up earlier than she needed to, complied and carried on with what was asked of her. Needless to say, I was so happy to have her around.

We both stepped out of cabin into the chilly brisk morning, as nature’s dew-fall touched any of my exposed skin with its icy kiss. I looked around the area, and immediately noticed a few new trucks that had apparently rolled in the night before. I failed to recognize the markings on the doors and questioned what they were doing here, but didn’t inquire if they had anything to do with my unit, as my authority was still only limited.

After making sure that the area was clear of prying eyes, Dash soared into the sky, leaving a slight cloud of dust in her wake before she landed on a cloud and waved down at me. I nodded and went to inspect my troops, after which we began boarding our vehicles. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as I spotted the unidentified trucks being boarded as well.

“Does anyone know what those trucks are for…?” I asked over the radio.

Every response came back as a simple: “No Sir”

I stared a few moments longer, before switching my secondary headset to my private channel that Rainbow was on, “Be careful… I don’t really know what those trucks are for, so keep your guard up.”

No sound but cold static came back through my ear piece.

I checked my radio as I looked up at the sky, “Rainbow…? Can you hear me…?”

At that moment my heart began to sink, as I checked my radio frantically, “Dashie! Answer me!” Silence was my only reply. I jumped out of the vehicle and stared into the sky and saw no silhouette of her body against the cloud. My attention was caught by a few men loading something into the back of a transport truck. It looked much like a cage covered by a black tarp. I gave it no heed at first, but then when I saw the rainbow colored tail hanging out the side, I was paralyzed with shock.

“No… stop…” I meant to yell, but it came in barely a whisper. Finally, my voice caught and a shriek of my pure anger and terror filled the air, “STOP! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!” My voice caught the attention of all my comrades, as they all turned their attention to me and to the men in front of me. I shouldered my weapon, turning the safety off I shouted once more, “PUT DOWN THAT CAGE AND STEP AWAY!”

My faithful gunner Abel had swung the fifty-caliber in their direction with a shout, “Weapons armed!”

Before I knew it, Ghost Company was at my side, weapons drawn and armed to the teeth with guns poised at the un-identified group. Sadly, we were easily matched in firepower, as man after man in complete black battle gear exited the vehicles with their weapons drawn. In merely seconds the compound was turned into a standoff over a brightly colored Pegasus that shouldn’t even exist. No one dared to move in the face of the opposition, in fear that one wrong move would spark a firefight in a seemingly civil war amongst the Americans in the heart of insurgent territory.

My eyes caught a familiar face as blonde hair flowed down the black battle gear of one soldier on the opposite side. “F-Fire…?”

She put her fingers to her lips as she grabbed the cage that had been set behind the makeshift frontline, and then silently make a quick pace to the medical center. Apparently she had stolen then suited up in one of the unidentified unit’s uniforms. I sighed in relief as I kept a cool aim on the men in front of me.

“I want to see your commanding officer immediately!” I yelled across the compound.

At that moment a bullet struck my shoulder, fired from an unknown shooter. As I fell to the dusty earth below, I could feel the blood oozing from the wound I had sustained onto my desert uniform. The compound was on the brink of a bloody firefight. My mind fell into shock as the screams of my men ordered the surrender of the smaller group while I was retrieved by my friends. My eyes were in a blur, as I heard shouts of the “unidentified creature” going missing. It made me smile, to think that my beloved Fireblitz had indeed once again saved the day. As I was drug back from my casualty site, I could see the blood trailing from my shoulder onto the ground, leaving a long red streak in the dust.

My commanding officer, who had turned up madder than hell, ordered that their team, whoever they were, to leave the compound immediately for obvious reasons.

I sighed once again, laying my head back down onto the stretcher I was placed on as the numbness of my medication took its effect.

The eviction of the unknown company from our compound was short and to the point. We didn’t know where they came from, or why they had come, and the only word we received was that they would “be back for the creature once sufficient clearance was authorized.” This was a threat that I did not intend to let happen.

I woke up from the surgery, having had the bullet removed from my shoulder and some muscle it had damaged repaired, I obviously was in dire need of pain medication. I looked down the bed; the crisp white sheets that covered me were pristine while machines around me monitored all my vital signs. Upon feeling a familiar body cuddle up against me, I was instantly brought to smile. I pulled back the covers slightly, were a sleeping blue Pegasus laid. Two pool shaped tear stains were on the bed below her were it was obvious she was crying.

“Hey Dashie,” I spoke in a muffled voice, more hoarse from the tubes put down my throat from the surgery than I had realized.

Her bloodshot eyes opened immediately, as she jumped onto my chest in a constrictingly tight embrace around me. I felt her tears again begin to flow, as she sobbed onto my chest, making it wet with her salty tears, “They caught me… and you got hurt for it… I’m so sorry,” she wept.

I caressed her mane, putting my arms around her and tried to caress her, “Shhh… Dashie, none of this was your fault. Don’t ever think it was you that caused this.”

Fire entered the room, and for the first time her badge was visible to me. Rachael… that’s what her name is… I snapped out of my thoughts once again, as she cleared her throat and spoke to me words I thought I may have never heard:

“Congratulations Jason. You’re going home.”

Author's Note

And no, this isn't the end. Hopefully going to squeeze two more chapters out of the story before I am finished. Sorry for the long wait with this one. It was due to being sick, school, my birthday, and some friends visiting that caused the extremely long delay. Hopefully the next ones will be done far more frequently.

The Conditions and Perils of a Soldier

After a rude awakening early the next morning I rushed to strap on my required body armor, prep my assault rifle, and over all gathered my other equipment. I rushed to an inspection outside my quarters where I was soon joined by Mitchell. We were sent to our sand colored gun-truck where the driver and gunner were already in place waiting on me and Mitchell. He took shotgun position while I climbed in the back before slamming the door shut. A gun-truck in front of ours took the lead while a bomb technician team was in a more advanced truck behind us. Their truck carried a whole assortment of equipment such as robots, blast suits, and other such tools of war.

After turning our radios to a secure frequency we rolled out of the compound and into the desert city our base resided in. We began our search for improvised explosive devices, better known as I.E.D.’s, that came in all forms such as dead animal carcasses, abandoned vehicles, or even more covertly just buried in the almost all dirt roads just under the surface.

After about 45 minutes of cruising around the city we came upon a suspicious mound in the dirt alongside the road we were traveling on. After immediately after backing the vehicles away from the spot, the bomb techs sent in their robot, affectionately known as: “Sparky III”. Upon closer inspection there were five copper wires extending from the mound, revealing that it was indeed an I.E.D. after all.

“Let’s move out!” our commander bellowed over the radio as Mitchell and I stepped out of the truck, weapons already at our shoulders surveying they area as the infamous Max dawned his bomb suit.

As the other soldiers stepped out of the vehicle, we all moved to the back near where our truly insane bomb dismantler was waiting. On the back of his protective suit in reflective lettering was the name: Maximus. After twenty minutes of scanning the buildings, keeping very suspicious civilians away, and the constant watch over “Maximus” the bombs were diffused.

When removed from the dirt to be transported away and destroyed to prevent them from being armed again, we discovered they had all been set up in a “daisy chain” meaning: they were all connected in a ring under the surface of the ground by a single detonator wire. The now inactive mines were placed in the back of the truck as my comrades and I climbed back into the trucks and drove away from the now bomb free area.

Five years of my life passed much like that day. A few firefights here and there but more or less the same every day as one tour of duty turned into five. I came to find even more friends among my company especially my driver, who everyone called Shadow (because of his amazing driving skills), and gunner Abel, as well as some of the medical staff that happened to work with Chris. After being hit in the arm by shrapnel from small arms fire I was taken care of by a medic nicknamed “Fireblitz” who came to be a person I trusted very dearly. She had earned this title by her honorary actions of defending the wounded while she drug them to a safety zone where they could be treated for their injuries when our compound was attacked two years ago. She was very modest about what happened that fateful day and never boasted to impress anyone.

During my third tour of duty most of my company was sent to separate places, leaving me alone, and ridiculed, during my tour. However by some miraculous turn of events we were all stationed back at the same base during my last two years in the service. I had grown quite accustomed to the military way of life and the constant stress we were put under. My little pony had shown me what true friends were like, and the military had brought actual ones into my life. Who knew that by my acceptance of my sixth tour of duty my life, and the lives of my friends would be changed so dramatically… in a way we never expected…