Chapter Thirteen
On the Run

We’ve lost Howloon, and I’ve ordered the Peace Fighters to retreat on all fronts. It’s just... the fucking Princesses are so tenacious. It’s like they’ve fought wars against their own kind before, but there’s no record of any civil war in Pony history. They know all the tricks, all the tactics, all the strategies. They practically wrote the book on war.

But learning to use the tools of modern warfare can be the key to victory. Or utter defeat.*

The Canines are of very great help, and they fight with a tenacity of their own, but they’re not enough. We need more. We’ve always needed more.

I’ve enlisted the help of some... “freelancers” as they prefer to be called. I know Shining Armor would disapprove of using their help, but if he’s got a problem with it then he can come back to us, damn it!

I’m strong enough to lead them...but not strong enough to lead and fight at the same time.

...

I look at the mares and stallions all around me, and can’t help but feel proud. I wonder if Shining felt...feels the same way about us. I’m particularly interested in Private Gleaming Bullet, who is essentially my Secondary Commander, and if...when Shining comes back Gleaming will be the Tertiary. Gleaming is young compared to Shining, and was apparently well on his way to being a Sergeant in the Empire when he left for the Peace Fighters. He’s got that ‘young Private from a no-one-town turned hero’ that you see in the movies a lot. He’s stalwart and fights with vigor, but he’s still young. And if we’re talking a step back from regulations he’s quite handsome.

In the Empire, it is forbidden for soldiers to fraternize with any other soldiers, regardless of ranks. The Princesses claim it establishes unnecessary attachments, and a sense of keeping your partner alive is more important than the rest of the squad or even the mission.

But we’re all friends in the Peace Fighters...and some of us wish to be more than that...

~~~~

“We lost Howloon, and we got those two Imperial assassins hunting us down. We need to find Shining Armor or find some new strategies to deal with our current situation” Gleaming Bullet said to Lieutenant Spear once they had arrived at the Vietmane base, having been dropped off by their ‘fuzzy friends’ as Strong Spear had called them.

“I know, Private. I know. We held our own for the past two months, I’m sure we’ll be able to hold out with the Canines and our other friends helping us” the Lieutenant replied, idly tapping at a nearby console.

Lieutenant Spear looked down at the table she was sitting at, her cup of coffee long cold and sitting as idly as she was. Looking over at the clock the mare saw it was a little after 3:00 in the morning, and realized she had been sitting at the table with the Private for about five hours.

Silence befell them both, the sound of the manual clock ticking away the only thing that could be heard. The table was a folding one usually used in bar basements for playing cards and had been set near several tall electronic consoles used for Celestia-knows-what.

Celestia... Strong Spear mused, no kind of emotion on her mind at their number one enemy. Nothing could be said as the Lieutenant didn’t have the direct rivalry with the Princess that Shining Armor had. It amazed her that she and the other Peace Fighters still used idioms like 'Celestia-knows-what' or 'Celestia forbid' despite what they all know about their former Goddesses.

Blinking Lieutenant Spear realized she had been tapping on the table again and stopped, looking up at Private Bullet who was watching her intently, though not subconsciously as he was still attentive enough to drink his own coffee.

What felt like hours were actually seconds as Lieutenant Strong Spear and Private Gleaming Bullet stared at each other, neither having much of anything to say. Finally, with one last sip of his coffee Gleaming leaned forward.

“What?” Strong asked.

“...Shining Armor...”

“What about him?” Strong Spear said, borderline callously. She finally took a swig of her cold several-hour-old drink.

“Do you think he’s still alive...?” Gleaming Bullet inquired.

Silence befell the room once again, the ticking clock echoing like someone cocking the hammer of a gun. Over and over and over and over again.

Slapping both her hooves on the table Strong Spear stood up and walked over to a nearby chest, pulling out a rather large bottle. She slammed it down on the table and sat back down, spinning it so the label would be facing Gleaming Bullet.

“Alcohol? How does this answer my question?” the Private stated, investigating the label. It was immensely alcoholic, virtually undistilled.

“Shining’s alive, I’m sure of it! Now let’s drink!” Strong Spear exclaimed, dumping her coffee on the concrete floor and filling the cup to the brim with the alcohol.

Tentatively Private Bullet filled his own glass and the two drank. 3:00 AM turned to 4:00. And 4:00 AM turned to 5:00. By then both ponies were plastered drunk and giggling over absolutely nothing.

“I can’t believe that abssssolute bitch, Nightssshade. Whoooo the fuck does she think she isss?” Lieutenant Spear slurred, having smashed her glass on the floor and had resorted to drinking directly from the bottle.

“A whoooree, that’sss who” Gleaming responded, making Strong Spear snort and giggle. “Sssshe’s just one of Celesstia’s slavesss.” Gleaming Bullet downed the last of his current glass and stood up to reach over the table and grab the bottle, an attempt that failed when he lost balance and planted his face firmly on the table’s surface.

Lieutenant Spear busted out laughing.

Grunting angrily Gleaming Bullet stumbled away from the table and approached a nearby bunk, flopping onto it with a heavy thud. He was a little smaller than the average stallion but still heavy and thick.

Sauntering over Strong Spear plopped her rump on the floor and settled her chin on the stallion’s stomach, the now empty glass bottle still in her hoof. “What about that dragon assssassin...? HAH--hahahaHA... Ass...”

“Fffffuuck him... He’ssss prolly some low-life ssshmuck they snatch-snatched off the sstreetsss... He wass probably some little hatchling they ki-kidnapped...”

The sound of silence took hold of them once again as they lied haphazardly together, even though the Lieutenant wasn’t even on the bed. The clock never stopped ticking, droning away at their minds like an angry insect come to steal the very essence of their psyches.

5:00 turned to 6:00. 6:00 turned to 7:00. 7:00 turned to 8:00.

Finally, in a fit of sobriety, Private Gleaming Bullet looked down at Lieutenant Strong Spear with tears in his eyes and said “we’re ffffucked, aren’t we....? Withhhhout Shining Armor the Princessessss are gonna jusst ssteamroll right over ussss... Aren’t they...? We’re gonna have to rrrrun and hide the resssst of our livesss, aren’t we?”

“Strong...?”

Lieutenant Spear was unconscious.

Author's Note

*This is a reference to General Shepherd's line in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Sorry for the late release. I lost track of time playing Spyro the Dragon and getting ready to cook some mac N cheese, along with idly watching Jeopardy with my sister.

Short chapter, I know. Still think it set the tone I wanted it to. In fact, it was a lot shorter before today(May 10, 2013). The note from Strong Spear at the beginning of the chapter didn't even exist until this morning.

Legal note: Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Lieutenant Strong Spear, Private Gleaming Bullet, and all related characters belong to me. Major Nightshade belongs to Kirlia481.