Riposte

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Redneck stumbled backwards as he, Holey, the Guards, and three elements of harmony reappeared back in the forest.

“Fuck,” he mumbled as what felt like every muscle in his body throbbed.

“Roger that,” Holey grumbled, collapsing to his knees, breathing heavily as if he’d just run a long distance.

The Guards, upon a quick head count, began scanning the area for the other three humans.

While neither Applejack, Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash had teleported often, if ever, their magical tolerances were far higher than that of the humans, and they recovered from the teleport almost instantly.

“Are...are they okay?” Fluttershy wondered aloud with worry in her eyes, watching as Holey got to his feet, a hand pressed against his chest.

“There’s no sign of those humans,” one of the Guards pointed out.

“You sure this is the right place? Puddle Jumper?” another asked, turning to a fellow Guard.

“Yes. I traced our previous magical signature back, this is the place,” Jumper replied.

The second Guard nodded, upon seeing that the two humans had recovered, he spoke, “Okay, everypony, let’s see if we can find out what direction they went in, spread out and look for signs.”

“I’ll go circle around and look for them up there,” Dash said, leaping into the air and blasting through the treetops.

“You two, follow her,” the second Guard said, indicating two pegasi, “Report back here if you spot them.”

The two nodded and shot up after Dash.

The second Guard then trotted over to Redneck and Holey. He pointed to them, then his eyes, then to the ground.

“Look at the ground?” Holey inquired.

“They’re not here,” Redneck pointed out, starting to scan over the ground with his eyes, “he probably wants us to help find out which way they went. I’ll see if I can get Boss on TeamCom.”

“Oh, right,” Holey replied.

“Redneck to Boss, come in, over,” Redneck said into his comlink.

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(Canterlot)

Twilight kept looking back over her shoulder, an assessing look on her face as she studied the two humans walking behind her. In return, Snipes kept giving her a little wave each time she looked back at him as the group’s foot and hoofsteps echoed off of the shining marble floors of the Royal Palace.

She was almost bursting with so many things that she wanted to ask the humans: Where did they come from? How did they use magic without horns? Did they use magic? What was their culture like? What did they eat? Where they herbivores, carnivores, omnivores? The possibilities were endless!

“I feel obligated to at least try to make their attire look nicer, but I don’t see how I can ask for their cooperation if we don’t even speak the same language,” Rarity mused to herself, filling the semi-quiet of the hallways.

“What?” Twilight asked, turning from the humans to Rarity.

“Their attire!” Rarity replied, “all dark, drab, dull! It needs more color to it, maybe some reds, whites, blues! Something to make it stand out and not just look like a dull, stormy day!”

“Oh,” Twilight replied, “well, maybe that’s what their species is into, they might be partially color blind, like diamond dogs, or selectively color blind like dragons where they see some colors better than others.”

“I suppose...but still,” Rarity muttered.

Twilight looked back over her shoulder again, coming up with a few more attire-based questions, and spotting something wrong.

“Wait,” Twilight said, coming to a halt, “Where’s Pinkie?”

“She was right behind the humans, I thought,” Rarity replied, also stopping and turning, seeing that Pinkie was, in fact, gone.

“What?” Pike asked as he and Snipes stopped.

“I hope they aren’t stopping to take shits or anything,” Snipes said, eyeing the ponies warily.

Pike looked back over his shoulder, staring down the hallway but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

“Wait, wasn’t there a third one somewhere behind us?”

“Ugh,” Twilight groaned, “You didn’t hear her say anything about going to the restroom or throwing a party or, I don't know, something that Pinkie would say before suddenly disappearing?”

“No,” Rarity replied, thinking for a moment, “I suppose that that should have tipped me off that she was gone in the first place, actually.”

“Okay, the royal laboratories aren’t much further down. We’ll drop the humans off there and then track down Pinkie. Hopefully she won’t have done anything too crazy by the time that we do.”

With that, the group continued moving forwards for a while before Twilight spotted the door she was looking for. Her hoofsteps quickened as she zeroed in on the door.

“Here we are,” Twilight said, halting before a large wooden door, a panel above enscribed: Royal Laboratories “The Royal Laboratories!” she announced as she opened the door with her magic, gesturing with a hoof into the room as a blast of green gunk knocked her off her feet with a startled cry.

“Shit!” Pike yelled, reaching back for his rifle.

“Changelings!” Twilight cried out, fighting against her sticky bonds.

Rarity hopped to the side of the door, another blast of green almost getting her, “Twilight! Are you okay?” she called out, eyes wide with worry for her friend.

Snipes and Pike took the other side of the door, both checking their weapons to make sure they were locked and loaded.

“I’m fine! Go get some Royal Guards! Hurry!” Twilight called back, she looked into the labs for a second, eyes bulging, “watch out!”

A changeling hopped from the doorway, horn glowing green and aimed at Rarity.

“Surprise, motherfucker!” Snipes shouted, putting two bullets in the back of the creature’s skull. The changeling dropped instantly, spell discharging harmlessly into a wall. Snipes poked his head and handgun around the door.

The room inside looked like someone had dropped a tornado into it. Tables and cabinets and large things with blinking lights were flipped over and strewn across the room. Everything from paper to quills and ink fountains were also scattered everywhere. To top it off, there was a group of changelings staring back at him and a few stuck, struggling ponies held down by their green goop.

Snipes ducked back as the changelings gave a few chittering cries, all of them leaping towards the nearest piece of cover, a few firing shots at Snipes, who ducked back.

“A bunch of them with hostages,” Snipes reported.

“Shit,” Pike growled, “any other doors for them to get out of? Windows?”

“Dunno,” Snipes replied, “Gimme a sec,” he poked his head around again but immediately ducked back as a few green blasts greeted him, “still dunno,” he said.

“Goddamnit,” Pike growled, looking down and checking himself, “you have any flashbangs?”

“Nope,” Snipes replied, he paused for a second before holstering his sidearm and pulling his rifle from his back, “I do have a bang, though.”

“What?” Pike asked, eyeing the large weapon.

“What are they doing?” Rarity asked, hooves quivering in fright, eyes pasted to the dead changeling right in front of her.

“Look at the ears on these things,” Snipes pointed to Rarity.

“I don’t know, but go get some guards!” Twilight called back, still struggling to free herself. Her horn gave off a few sparks of failed spells, the goop blocking her magic. Rarity nodded and rushed off.

“They’ve got far more sensitive ears than we do,” Snipes said with a smile, “therefore...” he poked his rifle around the corner and fired a few shots blindly into the room, the hallways echoed loudly with the ear-splitting reports of the sniper rifle’s louder cartridge.

Twilight gave a startled yelp, ears going flat against her head as a loud ringing droned out everything else.

“Go!” Snipes yelled, setting down his rifle and drawing his sidearm.

The two soldiers rushed around the corner, eyes to their gunsights.

A few of the changelings were covering their ears, bodies poking from cover. The two soldiers opened fire. Pike put two rounds into the first one he saw, Snipes putting three into another, both creatures dropped and a third followed as Pike fired off another quick burst.

A few wild, green blasts forced the two soldiers to cover. Pike ducked behind a fallen cabinet while Snipes yanked a fallen table onto its side, using it like a wall.

“You see any other doors?” Snipes yelled, holstering his sidearm and drawing his knife.

“Um...yeah, one!” Pike called back after a quick peek from cover.

“Keep an eye on it, don’t let any of those fuckers escape!”

“Roger,” Pike called back. One of the changelings, dragging a struggling, stuck pony, was moving quickly to a door, Pike put two rounds through the creature’s side and it dropped.

Meanwhile, Snipes rammed his knife through the table and used the weapon as a handle for his impromptu shield. He drew his sidearm again and started forwards. A series of jolts rocked the table as the remaining changelings shot at it.

“Sucks when your shit can’t penetrate anything, doesn’t it!” Snipes taunted. A changeling appeared around the side of the shield, Snipes lashed out with his boot, hitting the creature in the nose before it could stick him. The changeling recoiled with a pained cry and Snipes put two rounds into its face.

There was a sudden buzz of wings and Snipes was knocked off his feet as the table exploded, something hitting him hard enough to knock him off his feet and send him skidding.

“Shit, Snipes!” Pike cried.

“Fucker!” Snipes swore, he saw movement in his peripherals and turned his head to meet the eyes of a changeling, “Shit!” he yelled, bringing his gun hand to bear only to find that it no longer held a gun.

With a chittering cry, the changeling lunged at him, fangs bared and horn charging up. Snipes grabbed the creature by the throat, holding it at bay. Its front legs cartwheeled in the air as the hind two dug into the marble flooring and its wings buzzed, trying to overpower him.

Snipes snapped his head around, looking for his lost gun and spotting it. He reached out for it, fingers brushing the grip.

“Just hold him still, I’ll...” Pike began, shifting aim.

“No! Keep the rest of them from poking their heads up!” Snipes yelled back.

Reluctantly, Pike did as he was told.

Snipes tried again for his gun, but his fingers only knocked it farther away, “Fuck!” he muttered, “you aren’t making this very easy!” he growled at the changeling, which continued to try and overpower him. Snipes tightened his grip on the creature’s neck, but the chitin plating held fast. Seeing as that failed, Snipes rammed his fist into the changeling’s face and it replied by sinking its teeth into his hand, getting a cry of pain from him.

“Just fucking shoot that thing already!”

“A little hard without a gun!” Snipes shouted back as he tried to get his hand back. He used the changeling’s momentum from its struggling to bring it in an arc over his head and ram its face into the floor on the other side of his body. The move had the desired effect of making it release his hand, but it wasn't all that it did. The changeling’s horn discharged, sticking Snipes’ right arm, the one the changeling had been biting down on, and the changeling’s face to the floor, “stupid dipshit!” Snipes called, right before the changeling pulled out of its own goop like the stuff was water, “shit!”

Snipes reached out and grabbed the first thing he could, swinging a piece of the broken table into the changeling’s face. The changeling recoiled back and Snipes noted his knife was stuck in the piece of table. He grabbed the hilt and planted the piece of table against his foot, yanking the blade out.

The changeling shook its head, eyes narrowing and horn glowing green as it glared down at Snipes. A single suppressed thwack split the air and a bullet punched into the changeling’s skull. Its horn discharged again and it collapsed to the floor.

“You’re welcome,” Pike said, turning his gun back towards the door he was guarding.

Snipes quickly cut his arm free, wincing as he flexed his fingers, and holstered his knife. He crawled over and grabbed his gun, turning to face the next changeling...which didn’t come as silence echoed over the room.

“Was that the last one?”

“I don’t know,” Pike replied.

Snipes got to his feet, gun trained in front of him. He scanned the room, seeing the scared ponies trapped in green goop, most staring back at him with fear.

“Don’t worry, everybody,” Snipes said, lowering his handgun, “you’re all safe n...” a flash of black in the corner of his eye cut him off as he swiveled, training his gun on a single black head poking from cover.

The changeling ducked away before Snipes could fire. He dropped to a knee, training his weapon on the overturned filing cabinet that the creature was hiding behind.

Nothing moved.

“C’mon, bug brain! Poke that head out of cover so I can put a fuckin hole in it!” Snipes called out.

“What are you talking about now?” Pike asked from his spot behind cover.

“One left, got him trapped behind cover, cover me.”

Pike got to his feet, moving over so he got a clear line of sight on the cabinet, “Covering,” he reported.

Snipes stood up and walked forwards, cresting the cabinet and coming to a halt.

The changeling was laying on its belly, body quivering as it held its forehooves over its head defensively.

“Aw, I think he wants to surrender,” Snipes said, kneeling down and pressing the barrel of his handgun against the changeling’s head. The creature opened its eyes, the frightened blue orbs zeroing in on the gun. The changeling chittered something that Snipes didn’t understand, “Sucks for him that Harbingers don’t take prisoners.”

Snipes pulled the trigger and a click echoed around the room.

“What?” Snipes stood up and eyed his sidearm, noting that the slide was stuck back just a bit, “Goddamnit, fucking thing’s jammed. You want to do the honors?”

A clatter of hooves sounded outside the door, drawing both soldier’s attentions away from the changeling. The changeling made a break for the door, wings buzzing furiously as it tried to escape. A yell of alarm only barely escaped Pike’s lips when a glowing bolt stuck the changeling mid-flight and it crashed to the floor.

A few Royal Guards charged up to the downed changeling, one of them tapping it with a sparking horn. The changeling gave a yelp and went limp.

“Geez, took them fuckin long enough,” Snipes pointed out before fussing over his handgun in an attempt to fix the jam.

Pike watched as the Royal Guards started freeing the stuck ponies, a few of them nudging the dead changelings with anything ranging from looks of horror to emotionless masks.

“Somepony get me a magic yoke over here!” one of the Guards shouted from the last changeling, which, on a closer look, was still breathing, if a bit slowly.

One of the Guards trotted over with a metallic neck-brace and snapped it around the changeling’s neck. There was a small, green spark at the changeling’s horn.

“Got one alive!” the Guard reported, “it’s subdued!”

The two humans watched as the Guards cleaned up. Snipes finally fixed the jam, sliding the slide back and forth to make sure it was all good. Pike noticed the two ponies that had led them here, the white and the purple one, enter the room as well.

A passing Guard gave the two humans a quick once-over, coming to a halt and pointing to Snipes’ right hand. More specifically, the blood trailing from the bite mark from the changeling.

“Are you injured?” he asked.

“No speak Pony,” Snipes replied, looking down at the Guard.

Pike turned, noting the wound, “You’re bleeding.”

“I ain’t got time to bleed,” Snipes replied with a chuckle, holstering his weapon and looking down at his hand, “oh wait, you’re right.”

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(Woods outside of Ponyville)

“God-fucking-damnit, Boss!” Redneck growled, “I know that you can fucking hear me on this channel! Now answer, damnit!”

“Wonder why that one keeps talkin to himself,” Applejack wondered aloud to herself, giving Redneck a backwards glance, “Seems real angry for some reason.”

The medium-sized group had searched the woods in the general vicinity with no luck. Fluttershy had asked for help from the local fauna and was rewarded with a single cartridge, pointing in the direction that they were currently heading.

“He’s just going to keep ignoring us at this point,” Holey commented, “I doubt that these trees are enough to block a radio signal.”

“They aren’t,” Redneck growled through gritted teeth, “and there’s no way in hell that they got out of range that fast.”

“Hm. So who do you think left the cartridge for us to find?” Holey asked as the two trudged onwards.

“Spotter,” Redneck replied, retrieving the round from his pocket, “it’s one of his match-grade rounds.”

“Oh,” Holey replied, looking over at the round before Redneck pocketed it again.

“Damnit, Boss,” Redneck growled, “where the hell are you?”

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(Mountains West of Ponyville)

“We really shouldn’t be ignoring them like this,” Spotter said as the trio made their way around the mountain, looking for a way up the darkening slopes, “there’s a strength in numbers that three guys can’t provide...at least not as well as seven.”

“Maintain quiet coms,” Boss replied, not looking back as he trudged onwards, “We aren’t associating with any of the others, is that understood?”

“With all due respect, sir...” Spotter never got the chance to finish as a green blob splattered across his left leg, gluing it to the ground. He gave a startled cry as he tripped and fell, his ankle twisting harshly within its green prison, “ow! Fuck! Taking fire!” Spotter yelled out.

“Give a bearing!” Boss yelled as he and Dice leaped to cover, two green blobs splattering across the ground where they’d been standing moments before.

“Damnit, I don’t know! It’s those black things from earlier!” Spotter said. A rising drone of wings began to surround the trio, a few more green blasts hitting the trees that the soldiers were hiding behind, effectively keeping them pinned down.

“How bad are you hurt? Can you move?” Dice called out, Boss leaned out of his cover for a moment, weapon to his eye. A single green blast zipped past his head and he pulled back, muttering a curse.

“No! This green shit’s adhesive as fuck! Twisted my ankle bad!” Spotter yelled back, looking back over his shoulder at his leg. A few changelings swapped cover, advancing, “They’re advancing on us!”

Spotter looked back forwards, grabbing his gun and rolling over with a grunt of pain. He fired off a few wild shots at the changelings behind cover.

“Boss, orders!” Dice yelled.

“They fired on us, follow ROE and try to keep them from advancing!” Boss replied. He peeked from cover for a fraction of a second, assessing the battlefield. They were still surrounded by trees on all sides meaning that cover was aplenty, “Spotter, pop one of your smokes. Dice, wait for it to cover him and then get him up!”

“Roger!” Spotter called, grabbing one of his smoke grenades.

“Roger!” Dice replied, waiting.

Spotter pulled the pin on his smoke grenade and rolled it past his feet so it was between him and any advancing enemies. He switched back to his rifle in time to spot a changeling peek from cover. He fired off a few shots and it ducked back behind a tree.

There was surprised chittering as the smoke cloud began to form, hissing away from the grenade and into the general area.

“Smoke’s covering! Get over here!” Spotter called out.

“If they’re intelligent they’ll use this time to advance on us, stay frosty, you two!” Boss yelled.

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(Woods outside of Ponyville)

One of the pegasus guards ducked back through the tree canopy above.

“Sir, there appears to be some sort of smoke cloud up ahead. We aren’t sure if it’s the missing humans for certain,” he reported with a quick salute.

“Good,” the unicorn guard from earlier said, “which direction?”

“Orient a few degrees South and you’ll be headed right towards it,” the pegasus replied.

“Okay, then! You heard the stallion!” the unicorn called to his fellows and the two remaining Elements, “meet back up with the Element of Loyalty and Convection Current and scout ahead. Try not to get into any trouble, okay?”

“Yes sir,” the pegasus replied, zipping back up through the trees.

“Double time it, we’ve got some humans to find!” the unicorn called to the others as he began to gallop forwards.

“Where are they going?” Holey asked as the ponies headed out.

“I don’t know,” Redneck replied as he took up a jog after them, Holey in tow, “but I heard both of them say the word: ‘human’, so I’ll bet it’s the others. C’mon!”

Author's Note

Sorry again for not being around and posting this chapter sooner. My laptop took a dump in my lap and it took forever to get the replacement parts. Anyways, enjoy and here's the explanation thing.

-TeamCom: Team Communications. A channel shared by all members of a specific team, talking on TeamCom will be broadcast to all team members with an active radio or comlink.

-Match-grade rounds: ammunition made with lower tolerances and higher accuracy in mind, commonly used by military sharpshooters.

That's all of them. In the next chapter, shit really starts to hit the fan.