#7 Raiden’s Nightmare/Spitfire
“So, what happened?” Spitfire said, while sitting in her cell.
“He’s been captured.” Twilight said over the codec radio. “I’ve been trying to call him for the past hour, but no response.”
Spitfire gave a deep sigh. “So, where is he?”
“Well, according to the tracking spell I put on him, there should be an alcove about five hundred meters down from where you are. In the core. That’s where Raiden is. It’s going to be hot in there.”
“I know. But I’ve flown in volcanoes before. Shouldn’t be an issue.
“Alright.”
“Spitfire.” Shining Armor said.
“Yes sir?”
“I’m giving you a new mission objective. Rescue Raiden. We’re still trying to figure out who Lavan is, but do not engage him if you see him. If he could do this to Raiden, you don’t stand a chance.”
“I understand. But what about Princess Celestia?”
“She’s too far down. Only Raiden can take the heat. Save him, so he can save her.”
“Got it.”
Spitfire used her mouth to pick up the HF knife Raiden gave her. But before she could leave the cell, she heard a voice.
“Feeding time!”
It was a Changeling, giving the prisoners their dinner. He went to each cell, giving the ponies plates of some sort of unidentifiable, and greasy, slop.
“It’s show time.” Spitfire quietly said to herself.
She gripped the knife tightly in her mouth, as the Changeling approached her cell. As soon as he was in view, Spitfire head butted the door. It flew open, knocking the Changeling against the far wall. The Wonderbolt flew at her opponent, before stabbing him through the forehead, by jerking her head to the side, and pointing the knife at him.
Spitfire let a breath out. She was a little shaken up. She never took a life like this before. She fought plenty of Changelings when they invaded Canterlot, but never like this.
She quickly shook off her doubt. She was Captain of a military unit, and she had a job to do.
She pulled the knife out of the Changeling, grabbed her pack from the cell, and ran out of room.
Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, Princess Luna gazed out her window. She could see the setting sun getting into position for her. She closed her eyes, and grabbed the sun with her magic. The Solar and Lunar spells. Spells that could control the sun and moon, known only to Celestia and Luna.
Luna carefully lowered the sun below the horizon, bringing in the evening sky. She turned around, and walked to the other side of the room. She looked out the opposite window, and pointed her horn at the horizon. She grabbed the moon and raised it into the night sky.
When she was done, she felt winded. She walked over to her sister’s throne, and slumped in it. Using those spells uses up a lot of magic, an amount she wasn’t used to.
She heard her radio ringing. She was getting a call from Twilight.
“Nighttime already huh?” Twilight said.
“Indeed.” Luna said.
“Do you think they’ll be alright?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say. Are you worried about them?”
“Of course, I am. I feel like I sent them to their deaths.”
Luna thought about that for a minute. “I’m worried too. But we must remember who we are dealing with. Spitfire is the best Wonderbolt we have, a top-class flyer, with plenty of military experience. And Raiden. Though we don’t know much about him, I could tell from the moment I saw him that he was a man that could get out of almost any situation, and see every mission through to the end.”
“Yeah.” Twilight said solemnly. “But he has such a troubled childhood, he told me that he was a ’child soldier.’ And that he often has nightmares about it.”
“Nightmares?” Luna asked.
“Yes.”
Luna closed her eyes tightly, and said. “Then perhaps it’s time we wake him from his nightmare.”
“Princess Luna?” Twilight said.
“He’s alive, but unconscious, right?”
“Y…Yes.”
“Then I’m going to enter his nightmare.”
“Okay…be careful.”
After cutting the transmission, Luna’s horn began to glow. A thin waving, beam of light came out of her horn, and flew in the direction of the Badlands. After a few seconds, she made a connection.
“There you are Raiden.” She whispered to herself. “Now, please let me in.”
Luna’s consciousness synced up with Raiden’s. She could hear explosions, and gunfire. The sound of rock and debris hitting the ground, and the sound of people, men, women, and even children, screaming, only to fall silent.
She opened her eyes.
She was in Liberia.
Spitfire spread her wings a flew out of the prison. She needed to get a wide view of the mine, so she flew to the cave ceiling, hidden among the stalactites.
After the mayhem Raiden caused, she could see two guards posted at the entrance to the core.
“Their numbers are dwindling.” She said to herself.
She let go of the rock she was hanging onto, and quietly glided down to the two guards.
She landed silently behind them, and snuck through the tunnel entrance.
Deep within Raiden’s subconscious, Luna began running down a dilapidated stone street. She could hear explosions and gunfire in the distance. As she ran, she passed by an old house, that was clearly falling apart. She stopped, and stared at it. Something was drawing her to the inside of the house. She stepped inside, and found three people. A man, woman, and a child. They looked terrified. The child and his mother were on the ground holding each other in fear. The father was standing in front of the other two, holding a small handgun, protecting them.
“These must be Raiden’s parents.” Luna said.
They didn’t react to her at all. She was invisible to them.
Without warning the door was kicked open, and two men with M4 assault rifles ran in. The father fired three rounds at them, but was quickly gunned down.
“Father!” The child screamed.
The woman turned her back on their attackers and embraced the boy in a desperate attempt to protect her child, but she was killed instantly. They then pointed their weapons at the boy.
“Hold fire!” A voice shouted.
A large man walked in from behind the two soldiers. He wore an olive green army uniform, had brown hair, with a matching moustache.
“Commander.” One of the men said, as he saluted.
He pushed past his two subordinates, and knelt down in front of the boy.
“My name is George Sears. What’s yours?”
“J…Jack.” The boy said.
Sears placed his thumb and trigger finger on Jack’s chin, and moved his head to the left, then to the right. Jack slapped the hand away, and attempted to punch Sears in the face, but the Commander grabbed Jack’s wrist and laughed.
“This one has fire in his eyes.” George said. “That rage could be useful.”
He stood up, and said. “Take him to the base. My Army of Devils just found a new member.”
Sears walked out of the room, as the two men grabbed the boy. He resisted, and one of the men knocked Jack out with the butt of a rifle.
Luna could only watch as young Jack was dragged away.
Spitfire let out a breath, “So far so good.” She said quietly to herself before approaching the ledge overlooking the core. She decided to call Twilight.
“I’ve reached the core. How far down should I go?” Spitfire asked
“Let’s see.” Twilight said. “About five hundred meters down, you should see an entrance to a side cave. But as soon as you begin your decent, you’re going to start feeling the heat almost immediately. Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Well…” Spitfire gulped, “I’ve flown in volcanoes before. Except I had special equipment back then. But I think I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, good luck.” Twilight said.
Spitfire took a deep breath, and dove off the ledge. The intense heat was almost too much for her as she descended deeper and deeper into the core of the mountain. She kept her eyes closed to protect them from the heat, but she was afraid that she would miss her target.
“Twilight!”
“Yes Spitfire?!”
“I can’t see anything! Can you tell me when I’m getting close!”
“Of course…Wait, pull up now!”
Spitfire spread her wings out, and was caught in a hot up draft. She was thrown off course, and was thrown against the rock wall. Her head hit the corner of the wall, before she landed on a solid floor.
Spitfire opened her eyes, and saw a steel door next to her. She may not have stuck the landing, but she landed in the cave. She felt overheated, but this outcropping felt far cooler then the main shaft.
But her head was throbbing, and she could feel something wet flowing down her forehead. A combination of sweat and blood.
“Huh, must have hit my head harder than I thought.”
Spitfire closed her eyes, and passed out…
Within Raiden’s dream, Luna found herself in a large cafeteria. Stone walls, white and grey tile floors, and poor lighting. The only people sitting at the tables, were all children. None of them were more than ten years old. The only other people were armed guards standing at each of the exits.
Luna could hear a conversation in the kitchen.
“Is that pepper your putting in it?” One man said.
“Nope. Gunpowder.” The other said.
“What?”
“That’s right, boss’s orders. He seems to think it will make those kids stronger. Kind of like Edward Thatch. He use to use the same tactic on his crew.”
“The explorer?”
“No dumbass, the pirate. You know, Blackbeard. Anyway, what doesn’t kill the little brats, will only make them stronger. At least Sears seems to thinks so. Whatever, as long as I’m paid.”
Luna looked on with disgust as the two men walked their attempt at stew out to the children. She could only watch as they, including Jack, were forced to eat it.
Luna closed her eyes, and was shown another scene. The children were watching a movie. It was in the same cafeteria, but with a projector screen in the corner of the room. But the movie they were watching was a war movie. Luna’s stomach began to turn over, as these kids were force to watch the most violent and gory movie imaginable.
She shook her head, and was shown another scene.
The kids were now outside, each with an AK-47 Assault Rifle. They were shooting at plastic mannequins.
Standing behind the children, was Commander Sears himself.
“Boys.” He called out to his child soldiers. “It’s been one month now since I recruited you. And I know, I haven’t been around lately. I have a war to fight after all. But I want to give you all a chance to help your country. I’m here to give you the training, the gear, and the experience needed to fight, in my Army of the Devils. Now continue your target practice.”
The kids began shooting at the mannequins, while Sears spoke with one of his Lieutenants.
“So how are they doing?” He asked.
“It’s a mixed bag.” The man said “The group average is about 54%.”
“Damn. They won’t last long if they can’t shoot strait.”
“Except for one, none of them scored more than 65%.”
“’Except for one?’”
“The blond one on the end. He scored 94%.”
“94? Jack’s only nine, and he can handle a military grade automatic rifle?”
“Yeah, the kid’s a real prodigy.”
Sears thought for a few minutes, before walking over to the boy. He stood behind him, and watched him empty a clip into one of the mannequins.
“That’s some sharp shooting. Come see me tonight. I have a present for you.”
“O…okay.” Jack said.
Luna took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was in Sears’s office, and young Jack was being escorted in.
“Y…you wanted to see me…sir?” Jack nervously said.
“Yes.” Sears said, as he stood up from his chair.
“These boys are my hand crafted army. But an army, needs a leader. Your shooting accuracy, mental stability, and the fact that the others all look up to you make you their leader. So congratulations Captain. Your team is ready for field work.”
“Yes, sir” Jack said. “Thank you.”
“Your excused.”
Meanwhile, back in the volcano, Spitfire was lying unconscious on the lava rock floor. She woke up to the sound of her Codec ringing.
“…Hello?” She said groggily.
“Spitfire!” Shining Armor shouted. “Thank goodness. We thought we lost you. Are you okay.”
“Nothing an icepack won’t cure. I must of black out for a while.”
“We lost contact about five minutes ago. Where are you?”
“Well…” Spitfire looked around. “I see bottomless pit behind me, and a door in front of me.”
“I think you managed to tumble into your landing target."
"Do me a favor, and don't tell the other Bolts, that I didn't stick the landing."
"I promise. Through that door is a long hallway, after that is a small room. We think that’s where Raiden is being held.”
“Got it.”
“Be careful Spitfire. He’ll likely be guarded.”
Spitfire approached the door, and opened it slightly. She peaked inside and saw a Changeling. However, the hinges on the door squeaked, alerting him.
“Crap!” Spitfire said, as the enemy ran at her. She jumped back, and held the HF Blade in her mouth. The guard shoved the door open, and ran at Spitfire. She jumped over it, and when she landed, she spun on her back hoof. She jerked her head, and sliced off the Changeling’s wings with the blade. She immediately got back onto all fours, and performed a donkey kick, knocking the enemy off the ledge.
“You okay, Spitfire?” Twilight said.
“I’m fine, just…caught me off guard is all.” Spitfire replied. “Moving on.”
Spitfire opened the door, and stepped into a large hallway. There were doors all along the hall, at least half a dozen. There were a few boulders lining the hallway.
“Twilight, which room is Raiden being held in?” Spitfire asked.
“Let’s see, it should be the one at the very end of the hallway.” Twilight said.
“It’s strange though, I don’t see any guards.”
“You know how Changelings are. They can be anyone, or even anything.”
“If they are here, they haven’t detected me. I think I can use that.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Changelings aren’t the only ones that can blend in with their environment.”
Spitfire quietly stepped outside, and reached into her pack. She pulled out a silver jumpsuit and hood. It even had sleeves for her wings. She put it on, and walked back into the hall. She got close to the rock wall, and her suit changed color to match that of her surroundings. Silently, she spread her wings, and flew to the ceiling. Using minute flaps of her wings, she was able to grip the ceiling and walk on it. The darkness, combined with her suit’s ability to change color, rendered her completely invisible.
“What kind of suit is that?” Twilight asked over the codec
“It’s a new kind of material I came up with.” Shining Armor explained. “Your friends Rarity, Fluttershy and myself developed it after studying how octopi camouflage themselves. It has magic infused fibers, that allow it to blend with any service it touches. We call it, Octo-fiber. I figured, it would help even the odds when fighting Changelings.”
“Impressive.” Twilight said. “You’ll have to let me study it later.”
She started crawling along the ceiling as she watched a Changeling guard enter through one of the doors. The Changeling looked upset.
“HEY, wake up you fools!” It shouted.
The three boulders lining the hallway started moving. Then, in a burst of green flame, turned into Changelings.
One of them yawned and said. “What’s the matter?”
“’What’s the matter?’” The Boss Changeling said. “We have the biggest threat to our kind locked up in there, and you idiots are taking a nap!?”
“It’s okay.” One of the sleepy guards said. “Reggie’s keeping watch over by the door.”
“Really? Then where is he?”
The Changelings had puzzled looks on their faces as they searched by the hall entrance.
“Maybe he went to go get something to eat?” One of the Changelings said.
“Oh, I’m going to kill him.” The boss Changeling said. “Okay, two of you guard the door to Bruno’s room, the remaining one, you’re with me. We need to find that moron.”
As the two Changelings left, leaving the remaining two behind, Spitfire continued her crawl across the ceiling, praying not to be noticed.
As she got closer to the wall, she saw there was a cut out space between the wall and ceiling, just big enough for her to squeeze through, and enter the other room.
“Spitfire.” Twilight said over the codec. “There should be a large room behind that wall. Raiden should be beyond it.”
“Okay.” Spitfire said.
Shining Armor chimed in and said. “Listen Spitfire, according to our intel, that large room belongs to Bruno.”
“Bruno?”
“He’s physically the strongest of all the Changelings. Which is why they have him guarding Raiden. Try to avoid him if you can.”
“Okay. Spitfire out.” She said before slipping through the space, and entering Bruno’s room.
Luna was back on the battlefield that was Raiden’s nightmare. Dead bodies lined the streets, and as she walked, she noticed how surreal things were getting. The buildings were becoming more distorted, and the faces of the dead civilians were replaced with numbers. Almost as if, who they were didn’t matter, and the number meant they were nothing but a statistic.
Eventually, words began forming on the walls. They all said the same thing; “Jack the Ripper” written in blood, repeated over and over again.
The purgatorial street she was on ended abruptly, at a single door. The blood messages all seemed to converge on this door. Luna looked up, and saw the sun hovering in the sky.
“Sister, give me strength. This is a nightmare even I may be unable to fix.”
Luna opened the door, and the sight made her nauseous. There was a large lake of pure blood, and in the middle of it, was a tall corpse pile. Solders, civilians, women and children alike. The sun now had a red tint to it, and it began to rain blood. At the top of the pile, was a small figure.
Luna flew up to it, and saw that it was young Jack. He was holding an assault rifle, his clothes were torn, and hair disheveled discolored thanks to the blood rain. Luna landed next to him, and stared off into the distance. The boy turned to her and asked a question.
“My mission is complete. I killed them all like I was told. Did I do good?”
Luna was blown away by that, unbelievable the trauma this kid has been through.
“Tell me.” She said, “What’s your name.”
“I’m Jack, but some of the other boys call me Ripper. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because they think I’m having fun out here.”
“And are you?”
“I don’t really know. I mean, I like it when they praise me for doing a good job.”
“No one should go through what you have.”
“Is it bad to be killing all these people? Mr. Sears says it’s for a good cause.”
“It’s bad that bad people are forcing you to do these bad things. It’s not your fault.”
“What’s your name?”
The Princess smiled and said. “I’m Luna, and there’s something I want to show you. Get on my back.”
“O…Okay.” Jack said as the pony squatted down so he could climb on.
“Ready?” She asked.
“Ready!” Jack said.
Luna spread her wings, and took off into the sky and strait into the sun. She wanted to get Jack out of the darkness and into the light.
Spitfire crawled along the ceiling of the cave like room, maneuvering around the stalactite rocks, while carrying Raiden‘s short blade in her mouth. On the other end of the room, she could see a door, and sleeping in front of the door, was a very large, and muscular, Changeling.
She knew that she didn’t stand a chance against a Changeling of that size. She slowly approached a nearby stalactite, and cut it down with the blade.
The rock fell a few meters away from Bruno, waking him up instantly. He jumped up, and ran over to where the rock fell, like a guard dog investigating a noise. Spitfire saw her chance and glided over to the door.
She reached up and gripped the handle with her hoof. She slowly opened the door, as the hinges squeaked open. It was so loud, it immediately caught Bruno’s attention.
The large Changeling roared, and threw a large rock at the door, almost hitting Spitfire. She rolled out of the way, and had no choice but to face him.
“This cave will become your grave, little pony!” Bruno said in a booming voice.
He ran at Spitfire, and attempted to pin her against the door, but the Wonderbolt rolled out of the way, and took to the air, while Bruno slammed into the door. She flew up to the ceiling and used her camouflage suit to become invisible.
Meanwhile, Bruno turned around and began to search the room.
“Where are you little pony? Bruno wants to smash you into a bloody paste!” He bellowed.
“Have no choice.” Spitfire whispered to herself. “I can’t overpower him. So, I’ll outsmart him.”
Spitfire snuck over to a nearby stalactite, and waited patiently. Eventually, Bruno walked under it.
“Now!” Spitfire said, as she cut the stalactite at the base using her blade. The rock fell from the ceiling and hit Bruno directly in the head. The large Changeling fell the ground limp. He was out cold.
“Now’s my chance.” Spitfire said as she flew to the door. After she was through, she shut the door behind her. She was finally able to catch her breath. As she slowly turned around, she saw Raiden. He was unconscious, and hanging from the ceiling by his ankles. His hands and ankles were bound with green Changeling mucus.
She had found Raiden.