The Lone Survivor

by JTHailstorm

First Dance...With Death

Author's Note:

So, this is released early due to finals this week. If you are taking time off of studying just to read this, then feel free to read. I'm not going to say it will increase your chances of passing, nor will I say if you read this you'll remember all of the stuff you forgot during the exam. I just put that stuff in just cause I'm tired...and finals are driving me mad.

Some of y'all are wondering when I'm gonna get to the CMC parts, well soon. Just be patient. That's all I can say about that.

This chapter has given me trouble. My friends who get to listen to my audio version of this story have said this chapter was exciting, and some have said it kept them on the edge of their seats. Here's a brief overview, there's an OC named after beer, AJ almost dies, Rainbow Dash is not dead, there are things that go bump in the night, Pinkie's sanity is questioned, and it is still night.
As always, read, rate, and comment.

Am I dead? No, my head hurts too much so I guess I’m still alive. At least the life support systems in my armor didn’t fail. I opened my eyes an’ my helmet’s visor was cracked an’ there were so many warnings on my HUD.

“She’s alive. Her armor is just locked up.” A soldier said. I tried to move but my armor was locked up.

“Well unlock her armor. She looks like one of those Special Forces soldiers.” Another soldier said. I felt my armor unlock an’ I got myself up. The soldiers looked at me in awe as if I were a savior of some sort.

“Are you here to save us?” A soldier asked. I nodded then tried to access my helmet radio.

“Command this is J-59. Ah have located the soldiers. Over.” I said. I waited for a reply but there was nothin’. “Command this is J-59, Ah have located the soldiers. Over.” Again nothin’ came over the radio.

“Is everything okay?” A soldier asked.

“S-81 this is J-59.” I frantically asked. Still nothin’. “D-08, say something…anypony?” After several failed attempts at communication I’m guessin’ that my radio is broken. Quickly I went over the orders again to see if there was an extraction point. Luckily that was in the orders I was given.

“Uh…is everything okay?” A soldier asked. I took my helmet off an’ looked at the confused ponies. The room was darker without my helmet on. There was enough light in the room to see the looks on their faces.

“Well the only thing Ah can do is git y’all to extraction. Ah need one of ya to make a call to command about makin’ contact with a Special Forces pony. Call sign is J-59, tell them mah radio equipment malfunctioned.” I said. One of the soldiers got on the radio an’ made contact with command.

“So what’s your name?” One of the soldiers asked. He took his helmet off then smiled at me. His mane was a little messed up from having his helmet on. Then his horn glowed as he used his magic to illuminate the area. With the extra light I was able to see this unicorn, he had a dark yellow coat, he had a blue mane, an’ had blue eyes. “The name is Lone Star.”

“Name’s Applejack.” I said.

“How are you going to get us to extraction when your helmet is broken?” Another soldier asked. I had to think of that for a while. How was I going to communicate with my team, an’ will command let the others know?

“She’ll find a way, won’t you Applejack?” Lone Star said.

“Yeah, Ah’ll find a way to git y’all from here to extraction.” I said.

“Sarge, I’m getting a transmission from another unit in the area.” The radio soldier said. Apparently Lone Star is a sergeant, kind figured.

“Patch it through to the rest of us.” Lone Star said. He amplified the transmission so I could hear it.

“J-59, D-08, is everything okay? Reply. Over.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Can ya make a call to her?” I asked.

“I can try.” The radio soldier said. He got working on the radio stream. “You should be able to make a call from Sarge’s helmet.” Lone Star held down the transmission button.

“S-81, this is J-59.” I said. We waited for a reply.

“Doesn’t look like your callsign.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Mah helmet’s busted an’ Ah located the soldiers. One of them is lettin’ me use his helmet’s radio.” I said.

“Okay, what’s your location?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“S-81, this is Sergeant Lone Star, our location has been reported to command.” Lone Star interjected.

“Okay will look into that. Sit tight we’re going to head in your direction.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Jus’ so ya know, D-08 did not land with me.” I said.

“We’ll continue to try to make contact with her.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“We could go look for her.” I said.

“That’s a negative, we need you to stay there.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Roger that. Wilco.” I said. If Rainbow isn’t responding, maybe her helmet is busted as well.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can. Out.” Twilight Sparkle said. Lone Star unamplified his helmet an’ used his magic to put his helmet back on.

“Wind Runner, you are in charge while I go with Applejack to locate her friend.” Lone Star said.

“Yes sir.” Wind Runner said.

“We need to stay here.” I said.

“No pony gets left behind. Plus time is crucial if we are to locate your friend before the enemy does.” Lone Star said. He lifted his gun then slung it over his back. Using his magic he handed me a gun. I took the gun an’ slung it over my back.

“Let’s go.” I said. We made our way outside of the buildin’. I could hardly see anythin’ so I stayed behind Lone Star.

“So did you happen to notice which direction she was headed?” Lone Star asked.

“She was headed Northwest.” I answered. I did happen to make note of that before I thought I was going to die.

“I’ll have my thermal on. Just stay close.” Lone Star said.

“Okay. Jus’ outta curiosity why’re ya helpin’ me?” I asked.

“Well your helmet is broken, and it’s the least I can do since you uh…Special Forces ponies are risking your lives for us.” Lone Star said.

“It’s our job.” I said.

“We’ve got to be quiet. I’m picking up some enemy movement on the tracker.” Lone Star said in a low tone. He looked cautiously around as we made our way to the corner of the buildin’. Suddenly he stopped so I stood by as he watched carefully as the enemy moved down the street. They said somethin’ about a tracker sayin’ that a pony was in the area. When they passed Lone Star looked up at the buildin’ across the way from us.

“What’re ya doin’?” I asked.

“Well you made quite the indentation in the roof of the building we were in I’d assume that your friend would’ve done the same thing.” Lone Star said. I tried to be the best look out I could be considerin’ how dark it was.

“Did ya find her?” I asked.

“Well I’m picking up some heat sigs in that building. I guess we’ll have to go on that lead.” Lone Star said. Cautiously we made our way to the buildin’. We cleared the first floor then the second. As we approached the top of the stairwell we could hear some kind of rustlin’. “Friendly, I think we found your friend.” He led the way over to Rainbow Dash who struggled to get up.

“Ugh…AJ?” Rainbow Dash said. She fell over an’ tried to get up.

“Ah’m here Dash.” I said. Eventually she was able to get back up an’ managed to keep balanced.

“I’m picking up some enemy movement below us.” Lone Star said.

“I got this.” Rainbow Dash said. She found her weapon nearby an’ aimed at the stairwell. The first enemy soldier made their way up the stairs an’ Rainbow shot the soldier. After that a flashbang landed at the top step. Everypony tried to shield themselves from the blast. Next I noticed I was on the ground an’ Lone Star was in front of me fightin’ the enemy.

“Are you good?” Lone Star asked.

“Yeah.” I answered. I got up and started firing at the direction of the enemy. A grenade landed in the middle of the room. Lone Star knocked me back and shielded me. After the ringin’ in my ears ceased I could hear screams of pain.
“Why me?” Rainbow Dash cried. I glanced over to Rainbow Dash who was lyin’ on the ground motionless. “I’m not dead, somepony come and unlock me.”

“I hate the automatic armor lock, it protects you but that thing is sensitive.” Lone Star said. He chucked a grenade down the stairs. Once it went off he ran over to Rainbow Dash an’ unlocked her armor.

“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said. Lone Star helped her up.

“We better get moving.” Lone Star said.

“Yeah…Huh?” I asked. I noticed a red dot on Rainbow’s armor. “RD, move!” Quickly I pushed her outta the way an’ took the hit from the bullet. The pain was there but it was dulled. Didn’t notice that I was on the ground until I looked up.

“AJ you’re going to be okay.” Rainbow Dash said. She picked me up and we started moving. “I’m going to get you to the extraction point.”

“We need to go back for the others.” Lone Star said.

“Of course…do you guys have a medic?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah but don’t you guys have your own medic?” Lone Star asked.

“We do…” Rainbow Dash said. I think I’m losin’ blood.

“Hey could y’all hurry up? Or could ya stop the…” I said. Then I blacked out from the blood loss. I woke up on the floor of the buildin’ I crashed through. Tonight I played with death a lot an’ maybe a few times I should’ve been dead but I’m still here. Everypony was against the walls. There was gunfire an’ bullets flyin’ into the room.

“Welcome back to the world of the living.” Lone Star said.

“Wha…what happened?” I asked.

“Well there was a tracker on my wing, and we took it off then destroyed it.” Rainbow Dash said.

“When we returned the rest of your squad showed up the same time as a bunch of enemy soldiers did and now we are here, with our backs against the wall.” Lone Star said.

“I stabilized you and stopped the bleeding.” Fluttershy said.

“All of this wouldn’t have happened if you would’ve obeyed orders.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Friendship is more important…Ah wouldn’t be able to live with mahself if Rainbow were to have been hurt or worse” I said.

“Point taken but still no reason to disobey orders…however we’ll over look that. Right now we have to get out of here.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“What’s your plan?” Lone Star asked.

“Rarity do you have the map of the area?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Pulling it up.” Rarity said.

“Figure out possible escape routes. Does everypony have their trackers on?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Yer really askin’ that?” I asked.

“Oh yeah…I forgot your helmet is broken.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“So how are we going to keep her safe as well as get to extraction?” Lone Star asked. A bullet went through the wall a little too close for comfort. “We need a plan quick cause I don’t think these walls can take this much more of this.” Another bullet entered the room next to Pinkie’s head, causing Pinkie to flinch. Tensions were high as everypony waited on Twilight to make a decision. Twilight was in deep thought when she figured something out.

“Do you remember that bullet shield spell that they taught in basic?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Of course I do.” Lone Star said.

“This is going to be risky but I need you and Pinkie to take Applejack a different route so we can get all of the attention from the enemy forces to pursuit us and not you.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“How long do you want us to wait until we leave?” Lone Star asked.

“I’ll contact you.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Okay, is that okay with the two of you?” Lone Star said.

“I’m okay with that cause I get to help my friend Applejack. Oh and then I can defend both of you and go pew pew pew if the enemies shoot at us.” Pinkie Pie said. Pinkie’s just bein’ Pinkie, I still don’t know how she manages to stay the same pony.

“Ah’m okay with it.” I said.

“It’s settled then.” Twilight Sparkle said. Another bullet entered the room an’ ricocheted off of somethin’ then ended up in going through the floor in front of Twilight. “Rarity do you have an escape route for us and for them?”

“Yes, uploading the map to you for final approval.” Rarity said. Twilight looked it over an’ sent everypony a map with possible escape routes. Twilight highlighted a route for us.

“Take that route when I give the okay.” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Okay.” Lone Star said.

“Everypony else get ready to move in three…two…one.” Twilight Sparkle said. The others got up an' ran down the stairs. The gunfire that was enterin’ the room ceased as the others left the buildin’. Pinkie sat against the wall humming a happy tune.

"Well that stopped the chaos." Lone Star said.

"You aren't a kiddin'." I said.

"We should do this more often." Pinkie Pie said. Both Lone Star and I looked at Pinkie who appeared to be dancing in her place. I guess one of us has to be positive. "Did you know they have this music player thing in our helmets?"

"I had no idea." Lone Star said.

"Yeah, you could put music you want on it and listen while on a mission." Pinkie Pie said.

"Interesting." Lone Star said.

"What're ya listenin' to now?" I asked.

"You two talk to me." Pinkie Pie said. Lone Star looked at me an' I jus' shrugged. The two of us resumed staring at the wall, while Pinkie continued listening to her music. This was the most agonizing part of this mission, not nearly falling to my death, an' certainly not the one where I took a bullet for Rainbow, but waiting here for the call to move out.