Titanfall - The Equestrian Frontier

by 1Bit

Fate

Raw steel and iron sparkled as the setting sun reflected off the dozen or so militia ships entering the planet's atmosphere. The ships groaned in protest as the pilots took them through the thick cloud cover. Every loose bit of metal shook and rattled and the soldiers inside latched on to whatever they could to stay on all fours. Eventually, they tore through the clouds and the battle-torn Angel City came into view. Acrid, black smoke bellowed out of the buildings, distant explosions echoed across the surrounding deserts.

From her view on the ship, Applejack could just make out the black dots of pegasus fighters blockading the city. She squinted her eyes, leaning further into the window to snatch a better look. She just about ducked her head out of the way of a wayward bullet as it smashed through the ship. It whizzed past her head and narrowly missed the pilot behind her. Still in shock, she tried to regain her composure, returning to her position. Applejack's heart was already racing, adrenaline building up in her body. She reached a hoof back to bring her visor down when she was interrupted by a friendly nudge on the shoulder. She quickly twisted round to see Caramel behind her. He offered a smile and mouthed good luck to her. Applejack nodded in return, activating her visor.

"Get ready! We're almost there!" An Earth Pony at the ship controls called out in a gruff tone. The ship continued to shake as more and more gunfire began to be directed at their ship. "We're gonna have to make this quick!" He called out again, bringing the ship low across the city border.

Applejack's mind went reeling as her HUD activated in her visor. I'll never get used to that! She thought angrily, gnashing her teeth as she tried to adjust her focus on the thousands of messages popping up all over her field of view. She looked over to the pilot who signalled the five minute mark with his hoof. Applejack checked over her armour and equipment for the umpteenth time. She carefully slid her carbine out of it's sheath and clasped it in her hoof. Without the levitation magic the unicorns possess, the Earth Pony Militia had had to alter the design of their weaponry to suit their own needs. Feeling the cold metal in her grasp, Applejack shuddered and let out a deep sigh. Here we go again... She shut her eyes momentarily and prepared herself.

In an instant, the ship groaned to a halt, shaking as explosions riddled the sky. The end of the ship creaked open and a freezingly harsh wind blasted into the ship. Fighting back against it, all of the pilots inside dashed for the exit, leaping into the air. Applejack followed Caramel, holding her breath as she leapt away from the ship. She looked down to see the cracked road beneath her coming up quickly to greet her. With a quick look over her HUD, she activated her thruster pack, almost winding herself as she was sharply stopped in mid-air and flung back upwards. With the added momentum, she eyed the nearby rooftop and reached out her forehooves. Applejack grunted as she grabbed onto the smouldering stone and lifted herself up.

The static building up in her ears momentarily cut off as the gravelly voice of Strongleaf rang in her ear. "Alright, pilots. I don't even need to say why this operation is crucial; if we gain a foothold in this city, we have a chance to move in on the IMC base in New Fillydelphia. Once we do that, we begin our journey towards a free frontier for all Earth Ponies!" Dozens of voices replied in unison before cutting off. "Applejack." The mare's heart skipped a beat in surprise as the stallion addressed her directly.

Applejack paused "What is it, sugarcube?" She replied, biting her lip. I swear if he sends me on another assassination assignment...

"Our sensors are picking up a HVT near you-"

"Now let me stop you right there, hon'." Applejack leapt on to the next rooftop in front of her, charging past one of the unicorns' spectres to the left of her, hitting it's head with the butt of her gun to make sure it didn't shoot her in the back. As sparks flew out of it's face and its gears ground to a halt, Applejack started running again, satisfied with her work. "You know how I work. I don't kill-"

"Applejack, you've told me plenty of times." Strongleaf interrupted her, the stallion's voice had a touch of sincerity to it. "But this is important. From what we can guess, it's a unicorn lieutenant-

"Fine." Applejack groaned, anger building up inside her. She didn't have time to argue with him for the hundredth time. "Just tell me where to go."

"Head south of your current location. Use the rooftops and you should be able to avoid the bulk of their soldiers, just watch out for pegasi." The radio cut off before Applejack could reply. She let out a scream now she was off the radio, cursing her misfortune. I hate the new frontier. She grabbed a spectre's head, tearing it clean off with her hooves. More sparks flew. I HATE it! She boosted into a window, landing squarely on her hooves and darting down the corridor. Her hoofsteps reverberated off the walls of the building as she galloped into the living room. At hearing a loud gunshot beside her, she slammed herself against the wall, peeking around the corner. Her HUD glowed a brilliant red as it marked out the unicorn sniper in front of her. She edged her way into the room slowly, making sure to mask the sound of her hooves on the frayed carpet as much as possible. She moved up behind the young unicorn stallion, breathing heavily as she raised her carbine up tentatively.

Come on Applejack, just take the shot. She bit her lip, her hooves shaking. He's the enemy! Just take the shot! The more she thought about it, the more she shook, her heart beating rapidly. With a shaky sigh, she dropped the gun and twisted round. She bucked the stallion hard, sending him flying out of the window. She quickly rushed to look outside and breathed a sigh of relief when the unicorn groaned. Desperate to not get caught, she darted out of the house and boosted onto the next building. While she didn't like the war; hated it in fact, she found her nerves calmed and her mind soothed when she was gliding around the battlefield. Back in Ponyville, she'd often watch the pegasi jealously, wishing she could join them in the air. And now she could.

While small in numbers compared to the IMC, the militia had the power of Earth Pony engineering on their side. Over years and years in the frontier, they'd developed a multitude of tools. The two main successes being the thruster pack and the EPM's signature Titans. Even after fighting for years in the frontier, Applejack was still dumbfounded by the bipedal mechanical beasts that towered over everything on the battlefield. Their menacing designs struck fear into their enemies and it took many soldiers to take one down. Coincidentally, Applejack struggled to keep her footing as a Titan powered past her. The pilot inside offered a friendly wave to her before continuing on his rampage down the streets. The surrounding buildings continued to shake for a good few minutes before Applejack deemed it safe to continue.

Blasting past more spectres patrolling the rooftops, the mare ran and ran, her breath becoming shallow as the adrenaline of battle began to dissipate into exhaustion. Gratefully reaching her destination, she took a moment to sit on her rump and take a breath. Her HUD flashed thousands of warning messages across her eyes, her head aching in response. She shut her eyes, blocking everything out. She sighed and took off her helmet, welcoming the fresh air and cool wind racing through her mane. Sweat ran down her face, each drop glistening in the sunlight. Her ears still rang from the constant radio chatter and static she had grown used to. For the first time in a while, she could make out the sounds of ponies shouting and could clearly hear every earth-shattering explosion around her. Opening her eyes again, she trotted across the rooftop, observing the platform nearby.

"Guess that's my target." She groaned, her mind protesting as she put her helmet back on. As she expected, the eight or so ponies in her vision were instantly marked red. She peered closer at the one in the centre, a faint outline of gold surrounding her figure. "Let's just get this over with." With her emerald eyes fixed on the unicorn, she slid down the roof and broke out into a steady canter as her hooves touched the ground. Keeping steady proved difficult as Applejack attempted to avoid the cracks in the ageing road, thousands of weeds seeping out of the concrete. As the platform loomed above her, Applejack gulped and said a small prayer. The same prayer she'd said to herself thousands of times before.

Please let it not be Twilight. Celestia please let it not be Twilight.

Author's Note:

Well, I frankly didn't expect to be updating this story so soon; but then again, I didn't expect so many people to like it. So, here it is, I'm very new to writing scenes like this but I hope it was okay for y'all

Comments

[Sea_Swirl]

I'm going for a long shot here and say this: I'm sorry Applejack but I think that's Twilight. Good luck with that.