//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Kill Box 
// Story: Orbit: The Future Of Equestria 
// by Ace26 
//------------------------------//

     The dark realm of space was quiet.  Everything was still, nothing moved.  Everything was where it should have been.  The stars twinkled and the cold blast of space blowed with no wind.  Everything was in a calm state.  Suddenly a massive black blob appeared.  It's outline was gauge and rough, but as it got closer it was easily recognizable.  A missive ship appeared, it lights glittered and danced like the stars surrounding it.  It large hulking metal body crushed and destroyed the small debree floating around it.  It's thruters were a magnificent yellow and orange, the flames shot out about a hundred feet from the ship and then stopped.  The ships guns scans the surrounding sky for possible attackers and the helm protruded from the front.  It was like a magnificent glass sphere with lights dazzling from within.  These lights were the monitors and screens that surveyed the planets and stars below.
This was no ordinary cruiser.  It was a class F (F for fighter) star ship of the equestrian fleet.  The fleet had grown in size from its original five F class star ships and now had almost two hundred Carrier, Support, Medical, and yes, Fighter ships.  This ship was launched as the "Eternal Flame".  The ship was comemorated to Solestia after her untimely death in the revolution years before.  It was said that she had died defending her subjects at the nalimo.  I large final stand in Canterlot before it was retaken by the union a year later.  This ship was the mightiest and grandest of all in the fleet, just like how the princess it represents was the mightiest of her kind.  This ship had been all over the galaxy from star to star, planet to planet.  It had undergone countless combat tours and and hundreds or missions.  This ship had never been defeated before, and all the while it kept a watchful eye out for it's stallions on the ground below.
"Open up the shields!" yelled a stallion on the flight deck!
with this command the large metal doors slowly grinder open revealing the endless realm of space.
A line of pegisie rushed out onto the flight deck and formed a "V" shape.  On each of their backs were tow medium sized thrusters.  These were used to shoot them through the long distance of space separating the ship from the planet below.  Each of them whore a small oxygen tank on the belly and a small tube lead from that, to there black aviation masks.  Two chain guns were strapped to their sides, just incase of any "rough flying"
"Shadow Squadron, burn your thrusters," commanded the black stallion in the front of the formation.  He branded a cutie mark, or just a "mark" as the military ponies called it, of two gold wings.  
"Thrusters burning!" the other stallions shouted back.
All six of the flight team lit up there thrusters and started to hover off the ground.
"Wings, Engage!" yelled the black stallion over the hum of his thrusters.  All of the other Pegasus started to flap their wings and the lurched forward slowly.  The large loud speaker started to blare as the remaining ponies cleared the flight deck.  With this there was a large blast from the squads thrusters and the whooshed out the flight doors.  They were now on the way to the planet G5 below.
The town of Winglton was in ruins.  The small buildings of the village were set ablaze by earlier combat, or smoldering from more resent attacks.  Giant holes littered its smoky streets from artillery fire.  Hundreds lay dead in there fox holes, both union, rebellion, and civilian ponies.  You could not see the distant engagements but your could here the crack of guns and the low booms of shells.  The once peaceful town, once a rebellion strong hold, now laid as dark and gloomy as the Everfree Forest in the old Equestria.  Out of the smokey fog a shape appeared.  It was the outline of a stallion, an earth pony.  His light orange fur was ruffled and he had dark smudges or dirt and ash on his cheeks and body.  his mark was a stallion charging into an unseen battle.  His Assault rifle was slung around his side as his green pack took up his back area.  His brown eyes were red and irrupted from the smoke in the air and his war paint was starting to trickle down his from legs from sweat.
"I can't believe it!" yelled the stallion.
"I'm in the biggest compony in the whole damn battalion and I can't find one of my own ponies!" 
This stallion had been separated from his comrades in an earlier engagement.  The fire fight forced him to take refuge in a small wooden shack that still stood after the bombs dropped.  He remembered how the shack was cramped but quite a nice firing hide.  He was able to nock off of few of the attackers before he realized, his compony was retreating.
" The fucking cowards," he thought to himself with a grin
" Out of all twenty five men, I'm the only one that proceeded to the objective area…"
" …Or at least I think I'm in the right area."  The stallion got down behind a half blown up wall and tried to pull out a map, just before he could do this a loud static sound erupted from his ear.
"Gaaaaa! Damn it COMS!" He yelled out in frustration.  He hit his ear and jiggled his ear piece for a second.  The static slowly went away and he could here his COMS pony correctly.
" Yo, Charger!  Where the heck are you at?" asked the COMS pony
" I don't know, I think I'm near the objective!" Charger yelled back.
" There is no way your where we are, bro!"  Charger was speechless, his compony wasn't retreating before, they were advancing to the damn objective!
" You are joking…" Charger started.  Just then, a shot rang out.  Charger saw the dust fly up from where the bullet hit, it wasn't that far from him.
"Sniper, Shit, I'll call you back COMS!" with this he turned off his ear piece and took out his assault rifle. 
Another shot rang out and he dove behind another wall, the key to finding a sniper is to keep moving.  Charger wasn't sure whether this sniper meant business, or if it was a first time rookie.  He checked the lower areas and obvious places, he found nothing.  More shots rang out and he ducked under a pile of rubble.
" Crap!" He thought to himself.
" If he isn't in an obvious spot, he's no rookie!"  A shot threw some dust up on the pile Charger was behind.  It fell down on to his face causing him to sneeze.  He realized that he was in no condition to launch a counter attack, so he did the next best thing.  He bolted out from behind the pile and randomly fired at what he guessed was the snipers positioned.  He held his assault rifle with his two front legs and he stood on his two back legs and shuffled backwards.  This was a unique quality of an earth pony soldier, they didn't have magic to hold their weapons. as he shuffled backwards he would bump into things and then he started slipping.  He stumbled for a second and then slipped again and again until finally, he fell.  He tumbled and rolled down a huge hole cause by an earlier explosion.  It took him about a whole five seconds to get to the bottom.  On his way down some of his grenades were stripped off of him.  
When he finally reached the bottom he was in a slight daze.  He realized that his rifle was no longer in his hooves but about twenty feet away.  He motioned to get up and walk to it but one of his grenades hit him on the head on the way down. The grenade rolled down his brown mane and landed on the ground in front of him.
" ow, why can't these things be made out of phone," He said while rubbing his head.
Just then, he heard another shot ring out!  He dove for his gun, and scanned the buildings ready to fire.  He then heard a light thump behind him.  He turned around slowly, reading to mow down the enemy or throw back a grenade.  What he found on the ground was actually the enemy sniper.  He had been shot in the front of his head and was now lying motionless as the gravel turned red.  His sniper rifle was only a few feet away.  His black main was starting to turn red now from the exit wound in the back or the snippers head.  
" Wow, he's not getting up from that," Said charger.  Even though the sniper was now dead Charger still didn't feel safe.  He was wondering about how the sniper died.
" Did another sniper shoot him instead or me, or did a union pony get him?" HE though this quietly to himself as he walked along the dust and smoke filled road. He was tense as he walked, he wondered how many more rebells were in the area, he now realized he was alone.  He got to about the middle of the street before he heard more shots ring out.  He instinctively got down and took up a firing potion.  However, it did not seem as if the shots were directed at him.  They were definitely close, but not meant for him.  He started to think optimistic thoughts
" Maybe my companies coming to get me!" He though
" Maybe they're pounding the crap out of enemy potations!"  As his thoughts kept getting brighter and brighter, some dust was kicked up next to him and he was forced to drop back down
"Shit! The bastards are gunning for me!" He thoughts.  He couldn't see the enemy, but he could see their mussel flashes.  he didn't know if they were firing senselessly from behind war or if they were firing from the waste, so he shot at random.  He wasn't much for "spraying and praying" but it was all he could do at the time.
As he galloped along shooting at random he jumped into a small hole and waited.  He still heard shots, but they were not kicking anything up near him.  He saw the shots wis by about a block down the street.  Then, he saw a figure run out onto the street.  He was definitely a Union pony.  HE had on his green uniform and a slightly jared helmet, He was a light red color and he seemed to be running along, dodging the bullets.  some of the projectiles wizzed through his brown mane, exiting near his head.  The stallions horn, yes he was a unicorn, glowed a maroon color as his sniper rifle floated a little ahead of him.
Charger released that the rebels were going to kill his fellow union pony, if he didn't do something.  While he thought this the red stallion dove behind a wall and opened fire on the approaching enemy.  He fired once, then twice, and then a third time.  He hit two ponies in the gut and one dead in the temple.  All three of them dropped, however more took their places.  Charger watched the stallion fire and drop enemy ponies until he noticed a small group of three unicorns creeping behind the red stallion.  One of them was caring a sniper rifle, and the other two carried assault rifles.  Charger took up his weapon and fired three controlled bursts of fire at them.  HE hit the sniper, and one of the other stallions.  The third pony realized what was happening and took cover.
" Damn it!" Charger said.  The red stallion heard the shots and looked over to where the two stallions layer dead.  He then looked over at Charger and stared.  Charger stared back, he looked directly at the stallions rump and noticed his mark was a target sign.
" No way, it can't be…" started Charger.  All of a sudden the enemy had found him, they started to shoot at both him and the other stallion.
" YO! Get in here!" Charger yelled motioning towards the hole he was in.  The stallion then charged through a block of open rode, using anything as cover.  He galloped as small clouds of dust started spurting up near his back hooves, but he kept running.  He started to fire random shots with his rifle and CHarger provided covering fire fro his fox hole.  Within a minute they were both safely in the hole, or at least as safe as you can get on a battlefield.  The enemy started to close in and both stallions were now back to back.
Charger fired in a spraying motion, he took little time to aim because the enemy was so closely gathered.  The red stallion took one shot at a time.  He would levitate his rifle and aim for about a second and then BOOM, the pony he shot at was no more.
This fight went on for about a few minutes, both Charger and his new companion were running dangerously low on ammunition!
" Make all ya shots count!" Yelled the red stallion in a texas accent.  
" Believe me, I'm trying!" Charger screamed back.  
Just as the two of the stallions were on their last bullets a screeching sound came from above.  Both stallions looked up and then looked back at the enemy, they were retreating.  They were galloping as fast as they could into holes, buildings, and anything they could get behind.  Both stallions looked at each other and laughed
" Yah, look at um run!" taunter the red stallion.
" What a bunch of wooses!" Charger second.  With this the screeching sound got louder, deafly loud.  The ground started to rumble and the enemy stallions dove even deeper behind cover.
" Wow, they can't handle some Pegasus's fly over can they.. OH SHIT!" bellowed The red stallion.  A small "V" of Pegasus flew over in their black aviation gear.  They dropped small blinked red lights.  Both charger and the other stallion watched these lights.  They seemed to float in the air for awhile, until BOOOOOOOM!  There was a large flash of white light followed by a flower looking blossom of oranges and reds.  The fire swept over buildings and through them, gutting them of all enemy units!  Dust and ash went everywhere.  A gigantic shock wave was sent out from the explosion.  It was like a white line traveling at the speed of light across the ground!  When it reached the two soldiers they were throne back down into their whole, both on the packs!  The screams of burning or retreating enemy ponies was heard from out of the hole.  A large cloud of dust seemed to create a dome over the whole, blocking the view of the terrible sight above the stallions.  Buildings crumbled as more lights reached the ground.  The area was leveled, even after the explosions stopped the rumbling continued.  Then as Charger felt he would throw up, the rumbling gradually disapeared.