> The Lone Survivor
>  by JTHailstorm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Don't Say Goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I lost myself, the ringing of my ears as I watched the bullets wiz past and as the grenades go off nearby. The air was filled with chaos, as I take one step forward only to be pushed aside as somepony sacrificed themself for me. My heart broke when I saw who it was but I didn’t cry, I couldn’t cry. As they lay at my side dying, they took off their helmet and smiled one last time before they faded away. A rage started to build inside of me as I grabbed my gun and ran out of the cover I was behind. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing, and as I charged into the enemy. I realized something, there was nothing and I was alone, again.


Four years earlier.


A few months passed after the invaders made contact with our kind. In the beginnin’ the set’lers were friendly, then they wanted to expand, and then they started enslaving ponies. Princess Celestia sent some forces to stop some of the troubles, but after a while more of them showed up and they started fightin’ back. From what I understand, a few of those invaders offered to help us fight back. My life would become hectic as my job never stopped, I mean we had to step up harvestin’ to help feed the troops on the frontline. The others tried to help but they had their own jobs to complete.
Today was a nice day, even if I was out bustin’ my rump like I do every day. Unlike the other days I get to take a break and attend a special town meetin’. Any time I get to rest is a good day, I mean honestly I’m gettin’ plum tuckered out. I finish up what I was doin’ and I decide to make my way into town. 
Somethin’ was tellin me to find Dash, this was somethin’ she shouldn’t miss. She wasn’t called out to the frontlines, as a matter in fact they put her on hold. I started lookin’ around the skies for a sign of her. As I made my way closer to town I almost gave up then I saw the familiar rainbow tail. When I got close I noticed she was taking a nap.
“Hey RD, wake up.” I called up to her. Rainbow woke up and then looked down from the cloud. She smiled when she saw me, so quickly she came down from the cloud and landed in front of me.
“Hey AJ, ‘sup?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Jus’ makin’ my way into town.” I said.
“Why? Oh wait that town meeting…right I forgot about that.” Rainbow Dash said. She pushed off from the ground and hovered. “So…how is everything?”
“It could be better. I’m tired…I know it’s my duty to help out anyway I can but my family can’t keep this up.” I said. Though it sounded selfish, that’s how I felt. I know there are other farms out there pushing up production but I’ll bet they feel the same way. “How are you doin’?”
“I would rather be out there on the frontlines, instead of floating around here.” Rainbow Dash said. 
“You could always help out at the farm.” I said.
“I could.” Rainbow Dash said. She looked away as she said that.
“Come on, let’s go see how our other friends are doin’ before that meetin’.” I said. She shrugged, so we made our way into to town to visit our friends. Luckily we didn’t have to search for them, they were all gathered at the library. Twilight had a concerned look on her face. “Is somethin’ wrong sugar cube?”
“This whole meeting thing…I know what it’s about and I’m worried.” Twilight Sparkle said. 
“It can’t be that bad.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Yeah, darling it shouldn’t be that bad.” Rarity said.
“Tomorrow there is a voluntary enlistment for military service to help those all ready on the frontlines. Then a few weeks later there will be a draft if there aren’t enough ponies.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“That’s terrible…” Fluttershy said. The thought of military service kinda took me by surprise, no doubt Fluttershy is petrified. 
“Families only have to send one member to serve, of course the whole family can serve but…” Twilight Sparkle said. She looked at me in particular. “If only one member is left, then that surviving member will be sent home.” Why is she lookin’ at me? I know that Big Mac will serv- oh now I get it.
“What about you Twi?” I asked.
“I don’t have to serve, but I will serve.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“But Twilight, you are a princess. You don’t need to.” Rarity said.
“I want to protect everypony.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I think we all want to protect everypony.” Fluttershy said.
“I agree.” Pinkie Pie said. She hopped up in joy as always. 
“Well, I’m definitely in.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Aren’t you on hold?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Yes, but if this is a new service I want in.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Rainbow, I don’t think that’s how it works.” I said.
“Well, if it is truly a voluntary service thing they shouldn’t have a problem with me wanting to get in.” Rainbow Dash said. I looked at Twilight for some sort of guidance on the subject.
“I’m not sure, then again it is voluntary.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“See what’d I tell you. I can enlist…hopefully.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well if Rainbow’s going I am.” Pinkie Pie said. I was about to say something but Twi beat me to it.
“Pinkie, this isn’t fun and games. From what I hear there is a strong possibility you won’t return.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I know.” Pinkie Pie said. She kept smiling. “It doesn’t matter. As long as I help out somehow, then somepony can continue smiling.” She does have a point, we can make a difference if we try.
“I will do this…” Fluttershy said.
“Are ya sure ya want to do this?” I asked. She nodded.
“Is everypony going to volunteer?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Everypony in the room nodded. Of course I wanted to go but I had to figure out how I could talk Big Mac out of going tomorrow. One thing shocked me and that Rarity wanted to go, despite my remarks on how it’s going to involve a lot of messy stuff.
“So do ya know anythin’ about those converts I’ve been hearin’ about?” I asked.
“There are a bunch of them, they are ponies just like us and they agreed to help us fight back. They designed this armor that’s more resistant to the invader’s weapons, and they also upgraded our weapons.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“So we basically have their alien technology?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Exactly, and I guess they’re going to be teaching all of us how to use their technology.” Twilight Sparkle said. Alien technology? I’d like to see that. “Girls we should get over to town hall.” As we started walking I noticed the three fillies following us. A smile came over my face but it slowly disappeared. Reality sunk in as I might not see my family ever again, but if I didn’t serve I’ll fail them so I have to serve. We arrived at town hall and everypony was there. As we made our way to the front of the crowd we saw four armored ponies. Their armor was polished and each of those ponies had a different color of armor as well as a different armor style. From what I could tell was that there were two unicorns a pegasus, and an earth pony.
“Wow that’s some fancy gear.” I said.
“I’m going to look so awesome.” Rainbow Dash said. Rarity cringed at that statement. I’ll bet that she’s regretting sayin’ she’d go. 
“Not the most fashionable thing, at least they are customizable…in a way.” Rarity said. 
“I’m so nervoucited!” Pinkie Pie said. She excitedly bounced until Mayor Mare came out and stood behind the podium. She announced Princess Celestia and a few other ponies. They explained to everypony what Twilight had explained to us, about the voluntary thing and the draft. After everything was explained everypony was excused to go pack up and discuss things with their families. I stood with the others as Princess Celestia approached us. The armored guards stayed close by and had their weapons at the ready.
“Is it really that bad Princess Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“I’m afraid so.” Princess Celestia said.
“Then why was I put on hold?” Rainbow Dash interjected.
“Rainbow.” I said.
“It’s quite all right Applejack. Rainbow Dash, you were put on hold because we wanted you to receive training in the new service.” Princess Celestia said. Rainbow Dash looked at her with full attention. One of the armored pegasi took his helmet off and walked over. His eyes were very kind and blue. It was hard to believe he’d be a cold-blooded soldier, somehow I didn’t believe that he could fight us…almost as if he…well onward now. 
“This is the Rainbow Dash we placed on hold? Oh and before I forget, the name’s Lightning Rider.” Lightning Rider said. 
“Yes, she is one of the best fliers.” Princess Celestia said.
“Looks more promising in real life.” Lightning Rider said. I’ll bet that Rainbow absolutely loves this attention she’s gettin’. The others stepped forward but none of them took their helmets off. They just stood there almost as if they were analyzing us.
“I take it that all of you are going to volunteer.” Princess Celestia said.
“We all are.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Well then, I wish all of you luck and thank you for answering the call. We’ve got to go, we have another town to visit.” Princess Celestia said. The princess left with the soldiers and we just stood there.
“Hey Twi, what about Spike?” I asked. That just crossed my mind.
“He’s going to Canterlot, something about the Princesses have a special duty for him.” Twilight Sparkle said. 
“At least he’s doin’ somethin’ to help out.” I said.
“He didn’t like it when I said I was going to volunteer but he got over it when Princess Celestia offered him some other kind of opportunity. I feel kinda bad for doing that to him.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“So we have to meet at the train station in the morning?” Rarity asked.
“Yes, all of us better get our things together and rest up.” Twilight Sparkle said. Each of us nodded as we departed for home. As I walked I couldn’t help but wonder if I am making the right choice, leaving everything behind so I can try to make a difference for everypony. When I got home I walked in and everypony was gathered to discuss the voluntary service. Might as well be direct with them.
“Everypony, I’m gonna to volunteer.” I said. 
“But darlin’, Big Macintosh has already agreed to go.” Granny Smith said. Well I knew that would happen. I’ve got to convince my family to let me go instead.
“I’m still goin’ to go.” I said.
“Applejack, we need ya to stay here at the farm.” Granny Smith said.
“Granny Smith, I’m goin’ and that’s final.” I stated.
“But AJ, it’s okay. I’m goin’.” Big Mac said.
“No you ain’t. I need ya to stay here an’ protect the family that way.” I said. Everypony in the room was upset with me. “I’m goin’ and ain’t nothin’ gonna change my mind.” Big Mac sighed and nodded, and as for Granny Smith she just nodded her head. I looked around for Apple Bloom but she had run outside. 
“We’re not the ones you need to talk to about this anymore.” Granny Smith said.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac said. I ran outside and tracked down Apple Bloom. She was in the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse and as I went up I could hear her sobbing.
“Apple Bloom…we need to talk.” I said. I opened the door and Apple Bloom tried to dry her tears but the tears kept falling. She tried to run away from me but I caught her. “What’re ya runnin’ for?”
“I don’t want you to go.” Apple Bloom cried. That made no sense to me.
“An’ ya think that runnin’ will make me stay?” I asked.
“No…” Apple Bloom sobbed. 
“Come on. Talk to me.” I said. She managed to settle down a little bit as I held her. 
“I’m scared…” Apple Bloom said.
“What for?” I asked.
“I don’t want you to go away. I’m afraid that if you go, I’ll never see you again.” Apple Bloom said. 
“Ya know, I can’t promise that I’ll make it home but I can sure try my best.” I said. A tear escaped from my eye. “Apple Bloom, I’m doin’ this not only to protect everypony else but I’m doin’ this to protect you.”
“How are ya goin’ to do that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Well, every second I’m out there the longer it takes them to get here. Also the Princess will find a way to get you to safety before anything horrible happens.” I explained. Hopefully nothing bad will happen to her.
“You’ll still be gone.” Apple Bloom said.
“How about this. I’ll write ya whenever I can.” I said.
“I guess that’s gonna have to do.” Apple Bloom said. I took my hat off and placed it on her head.
“Come on, let’s go home.” I said. I let go of her and she managed to smile.
“I won’t say goodbye.” Apple Bloom said. Just when I thought we were making progress.
“Why not?” I asked.
“If I say goodbye, that means yer goin’ away forever. Yer just gonna be gone for a little while right? So I won’t say goodbye.” Apple Bloom said.
“This won’t be goodbye. I’ll be back.” I said. Boy, I’m gonna have a hard time keepin’ my word. Hopefully this will get her back home. I gotta rest up before I catch that train tomorrow. “Come on.” She finally agreed to come back home. The rest of the day I spent packing, getting things in line, and actually resting for once. When night fell I went to bed early. Sleep managed to find it's way to me and I slept like a foal. Morning came around and I got ready for the day, then made my way to the train station. As I arrived I witnessed ponies having heartfelt farewells and I thought about the talk I had with Apple Bloom. Rainbow Dash landed beside me.
"Where's your family?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We had our farewell last night." I said. It wasn't long before the others joined us. When the train arrived everypony who volunteered to serve got on. As I got on I couldn't help but think, I'll be back just not in the way I'd hoped. At least I didn't say goodbye. I told them something different, something more hopeful.
I told my family, I'll see you soon.

> Mulligan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Well after gettin’ on that train we were taken to the recruit depot where we went through basic military trainin’. My friends an’ I were separated at that time. They got us accustomed to the various sounds of the invader’s weaponry, as well as trained us how to use the equipment we’re going to use on the field. 
Afterwards I learned of how my friends did. They all passed an’ anypony could guess who would be the top of their classes. Twi, was different…she passed her training but it was in an isolated group. I tried to ask her what they did but she said she couldn’t tell me.
After basic everypony went into training for their jobs. Apparently they selected about 589 ponies to go through the Special Forces school, I was one of them. The others were there so I guess it was the plan the whole time. Trainin’ wasn’t that easy an’ I think a few, come to think of it, most of the ponies decided to try somethin’ else. At the end of the Special Forces school there were only 232 ponies who passed the course. 
Being fresh out of training, we weren’t as war hardened as some of the other ponies. We had our simulations but they were only simulations, we have yet to encounter real combat. I knew eventually that will change.
Sitting on a helicopter with my friends, we patiently waited to be dropped off at the drop zone. I sat there checking my weapon and making sure every part was in working order.
“How many times are you going to check that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Jus’ this last time.” I said. I finished my check of my weapon. “Ah was jus’ followin’ protocol.”
“We’ve only used them for training.” Rainbow Dash said.
“It doesn’t matter, we’ve got to ensure our weapons are in working order to avoid any problems.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“She's right, nothing is more embarrassing than having your gun malfunction at a crucial time.” Rarity said.
“Just cause that happened to you.” Rainbow Dash said.
“It was just that one time.” Rarity said.
“Enough…I mean…it can happen to anypony.” Fluttershy said.
“Didn’t it happen to you that one time when we were doing that simulation and that’s when you were hit by that electric shock thingy that made your armor lock up? Then Twilight had to go in and pull you to the safety, and then you got pushed back in the rankings and then you spent the whole day in recovery one complaining about being shocked.” Pinkie Pie said.
“That’s not the point.” Rainbow Dash said.
“It is though. Now I’m going to make it an order to check your weapons. I’ll even do my own check to ensure you didn’t skip anything.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Oh come on.” Rainbow Dash said. She checked her weapon and Twilight double-checked it. Everypony else did as they were ordered. Twi, checked all weapons before the helicopter landed. When it landed all of us got out and awaited orders.
“Alright girls, a few hours ago there was a distress signal from the ponies in this area. We need to locate the distressed ponies, provide assistance to them if necessary, and finally locate the enemy encampment then report all findings to command. After that we will await orders.” Twilight Sparkle said. All the orders appeared on my activity hub. “Everypony have the orders? Sync.” 
“Sync.” The rest of us said. 
“Let’s get started.” Twilight Sparkle said. We followed the point on the GPS to the distress signal. The area had been ravaged by the war, the greenery was almost nonexistent at this point, the signs of marchin’ were obvious, but one thing stuck out from the rest and that was one lonely wildflower. 
“Hey AJ, what do you think happened to the soldiers?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What d’ya think? They may have encountered a mishap in stayin’ unnoticed. Mah guess is that they were observin’ the enemy movement, when somepony did somethin’ to make the enemy notice them. We’re close to the point.” I said. There was a difference in the tracks, instead of continuin’ on they seemed to go towards the edge. The rocks showed some signs of being hit, and closer to a line of trees there were entry holes. As I looked on I noticed a few spatters of blood.
“AJ, you are the better tracker. So you take point.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Yes’m” I said. She stepped aside and let me lead. This was the point, I took the point off of my HUD. I looked at the ground then around the surrounding area. There was a blood trail so I followed it. A big fight must’ve happened, because the damage to the trees was extensive.
“A big fight?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Yup.” I said. I would’ve given a longer answer but I was busy trackin’. A blip came up on my motion tracker so I stopped. “Quiet.” Cautiously I made my way toward the blip. Then I could see the rugged lookin’ pony soldier. He staggered over to us before falling to the ground.
“Soldier what happened?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Cover blown…too many of them…we ran as fast as we could. They took several hostage…most were killed. I managed to escape…” The soldier said. His wounds were evident; his armor was fractured by entry holes, and he was bleeding profusely.
“Fluttershy, administer some aid to this soldier. I’ll call for extraction for this soldier. The rest of you keep watch. If he escaped I’m sure the enemy would be looking for him.” Twilight Sparkle said. We did as ordered and I continued to observe the area. Blood stained the area nearby so I went to go check it out. Near the area I noticed we weren’t too far from the enemy encampment. I got on the radio.
“Hey Ah think y’all should see this.” I said. Twi finished up her transmission and she walked over with Rainbow Dash.
“You said we needed to find the encampment. Well there it is.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I’ll contact command again…” Twilight Sparkle sighed. She went somewhere quieter as Rainbow and I looked out towards the encampment.
“Somethin’ ain’t right. I mean, ain’t it funny we stumble upon this soldier then I stumble upon the enemy encampment.” I said.
“Yeah, in a way it feels like they wanted us to…” Rainbow Dash said. A bullet wizzed past her head and she ducked for cover. “Yikes.”
“Uh Twi, Ah think we have company.” I yelled out. Rainbow returned fire in the direction the bullet came from. A series of blips appear on the tracker. I looked right at an enemy soldier and they were wielding one of them electrical weapons. Quickly I ducked but Rainbow was too busy shooting at the enemy she didn’t see the charge coming at her. She fell to the ground cursing and screaming in pain.
“Dammit! MULLIGAN! I say mulligan!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“If ya were to have paid attention, ya wouldn’t have to call mulligan.” I said. Jus’ like durin’ the simulator mission, she got all locked up. Only this time she’s conscious and very annoyin’. 
“AJ, unlock my armor.” Rainbow Dash said. With the enemy closing in I grabbed her tail and started dragging her to a safer area. The other rushed over to give us some cover fire. “I hate being conscious.”
“Well Ah coulda jus’ left ya over there.” I said.
“I meant unconscious, not dead.” Rainbow Dash said. At that moment she hit her head on a pretty good-sized rock.
“Uh RD?” I said. She didn’t answer so I assumed she got her wish. We got into a better cover and I worked to get her armor unlocked.
“Hey, extraction is here. Did you get Dash’s armor unlocked?” Twilight Sparkle asked. 
“Jus’ ‘bout done here.” I said. I finished up and then I threw Rainbow on my back. Cautiously I walked out and saw our ride. “Is it all clear out there?”
“Pinkie set up a distraction some ways away.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Here we come.” I said. As I made my way out of cover with Rainbow Dash I could see Twilight standing by the ship. Her reaction was just as I expected, she had a hoof to face reaction.
“What did you do to her?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Well ya see…she hit her head on a rock an’…” I explained.
“Never mind, just get over here I can see Pinkie in the distance.” Twilight Sparkle said. I started running and as we got to the ship Pinkie was back.
“We better get going…I don’t think those guys like parties.” Pinkie Pie said.
“Let’s get out of here then.” Twilight Sparkle said. We got in the ship. I secured Rainbow Dash in a seat then took my seat across from her.
“I don’t think that we’ll be able to save the others.” Rarity said.
“Ah don’t think there was a way.” I said. Rainbow Dash started to regain consciousness. She looked around then took her helmet off.
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie took of her helmet; it took a second for her mane to regain its puffiness.
“You were knocked out as AJ dragged you off to safety so she could unlock your armor.” Pinkie Pie said.
“I remember being dragged off but what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Ya hit yer head on a rock. Got ya to shut up.” I said. 
“No, what happened with the rest of the mission?” Rainbow Dash asked
“Well after your little incident Pinkie went off and distracted the enemy. The ship arrived, Rarity provided cover fire while Fluttershy and I got the soldier in the ship. The enemy soldiers near us were taken out. Pinkie’s distraction worked. AJ unlocked your armor, and then carried you to the ship. Now we are going back to base.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“So was it a success? Or was it a failure?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well we did complete all of the objectives. We found where the other soldiers were, provided assistance to the ones we could get to, found the enemy encampment. Command didn’t give us more objectives. So if were up to me I’d say the mission was a success.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“We’ll have to wait to see what command thinks.” Fluttershy said. I took my helmet off and examined it. Of course nothin’ was wrong with it, I just do this to calm myself down. Sometimes it’s to remind me I’m okay and that for a while longer I get to continue breathin’. Doesn’t matter if it’s after a mission or not, I still do it.
“AJ are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. I looked at her and smiled.
“Ah’m okay.” I said. Nothing is wrong with me, it’s not like I’m wounded.
“Have you received any letters from home?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Yeah, everythin’s okay back home.” I said. The others started to talk about somethin’ else but I couldn’t focus. I guess I was a bit shook up, comin’ close to death ain’t that settlin’ but its nothin’ to be worryin’ about. Slowly I fell asleep, the ride was so soothing. What seemed like a few seconds later I could hear somepony sayin’ my name.
“Hey AJ…AJ. Hey AJ wake up.” Rainbow Dash said. Rainbow shook me.
“Huh?” I said. I looked around dazed.
“We’re here, let’s go cause I’m pretty sure command wants to hear all about the mishaps.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Okay.” I said. I got up and put my helmet back on. “Let’s go.” We walked into the debriefing room, where we reported to command how our mission went. They displayed the leaderboard for our squad on the wall and updated the data. Afterwards I walked into the locker rooms with Rainbow.
“I can’t believe it.” Rainbow Dash said. We made our way to our lockers. I took my helmet off and placed it in the locker first. As I took my armor off I carefully placed each piece in my locker.
“Ah can, yer performance wasn’t the best.” I said. I looked back at her, and she was taking her armor off. She didn’t even bother to look at me.
“I hate to admit it…you’re right.” Rainbow Dash said. She finally looked back at me. “I guess I’ll have to try a little harder next time.” 
“That’s the spirit.” I said.
“Someday I’ll be on top of that leaderboard.” Rainbow Dash said. She’ll have to calm down and remember protocol first. There are a bunch of things she’d have to do in order to be on top. Plenty of things I have to do, but I’m not too concerned with the top. I’m more concerned with livin’ to see another day.
“You’ll make it. Ya have room ta grow like all of us.” I said.
“True.” Rainbow Dash said. She finished puttin’ her armor away. “Hey ya want to grab something to eat?”
“Naw, Ah have a letter to write.” I said.
“Okay then…we’ll catch you later.” Rainbow Dash said. She walked away and I started back to my room. As I walked to my room, I noticed one of the prototype rooms was opened. Twi, was in there looking at somethin’. Somethin’ in me wanted to find out what she was doin’ but I feel as though if she wanted me to know she’d tell me. When I got back to my room I started writing my letter to Apple Bloom. When I was done I sealed it in an envelope and sat it on the desk. There was a knock at my door and Fluttershy walked in.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting anything?” Fluttershy asked.
“Naw, Ah jus’ finished up mah letter to Apple Bloom.” I answered. 
“Okay, I just needed to know if you really are alright.” Fluttershy said.
“Ah’m alright.” I said.
“Back on the ship you didn’t seem okay.” Fluttershy said.
“Ah was jus’ a lil shook up. That’s all.” I said.
“Applejack, it’s okay to admit you’re scared.” Fluttershy said.
“Ah wasn’t scared…Ah was jus’ shook up.” I said.
“I won’t push anymore, but Applejack remember this…even heroes know when to be scared.” Fluttershy said.
“Okay.” I said. After she left I went to mail the letter off. As I walked I noticed that room Twi was in was still opened. Out of curiosity I decided to take a peek inside.
> Bad Luck AJ
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I was caught peeking into the room by Twilight; she told me she’d explain everythin’ later. What I saw was nothin’ much jus’ a suit of armor with new attachments and other stuff. They’re bound to let us have the new models soon enough. 
A few days later we were called out to run another mission. From what I read on the HUD, we are breaking into an invader facility to obtain a secret machine, from there we’re going to destroy the facility. It was a night mission so it should be easy to stay hidden. On the ride to the drop zone I sat on the helicopter and went over my weapon.
“Hey RD, how long before ya get locked up on this mission.” I laughed.
“I’m not going to get locked up.” Rainbow Dash said. She checked her weapon. “If we can stay out of sight we’ll be good.”
“That is ‘til we rig it ta blow.” I said.
“That reminds me.” Twilight Sparkle said. She sent us other orders. “These are your individual orders. We will be broken up into pairs to carryout other objectives.” I checked mine over.
“Applejack! We’re on demolition duty! This is so exciting.” Pinkie Pie said.
“Wait, they’re letting Pinkie do the demolition stuff?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yes, she is the demo expert.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Why is AJ on demo duty?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, Pinkie needs a lock pick specialist to go with her and get her into places. The designated Lock Pick specialists are: Applejack, Rarity, and me.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Is that really a specialization?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yes, you realize the training you have to go through? Okay well it’s not that long but you have to memorize different locks and how to bypass their mechanisms.” Rarity said. 
“Really?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Jus’ let it go.” I said.
“But…” Rainbow Dash said.
“Not another word.” I said. Rainbow Dash sat quietly for the rest of the trip. When we arrived we made our way to the facility. We stopped some ways away to get in sync. 
“Alright girls, spread out and we’ll meet back here in a two hours for extraction. Sync.” Twilight Sparkle said. 
“Sync.” Everypony said. Each of us broke off into our pairs and made our way to our specific points.  The others proceeded on their objectives while Pinkie and I hung back for a while to observe the enemy movement.
“Hey Applejack, do you think they’ll notice us?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Maybe, it all depends on certain things. Ah think we’ll be fine.” I said. 
“Well let’s go throw these bad guys a party.” Pinkie Pie said. We infiltrated the facility and made our way to the first entry point. I started picking the lock. The lock was a standard key lock, something I could pick without any problem.
“Ah’m almost done…jus’ a few more seconds.” I said.
“Okie Dokie.” Pinkie Pie said. Finally I picked the lock and opened the door. The room was a generator room. Pinkie looked for a place to place the explosives. She found a spot near the main generator in the room. Carefully she started placing explosives in a crevice between the main generator and another one. 
“Are ya done with this one yet?” I asked.
“Yep.” Pinkie Pie said. She skipped over to me. “On to the next one.” We made our way to the next room. I got us into the room and she set the explosives. The next few were exactly the same way until this last one.
“Well this is the one is gonna cover our tracks.” I said. 
“This is the one will be bigger than the others. It’ll be like fireworks.” Pinkie Pie said. I started picking the lock.
“Well that’s one way of puttin’ it.” I said. When I was nearly done the door opened and standing on the other side was Rainbow Dash.
“I knew I could hear somepony talking. Rarity it’s just AJ and Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said. Rarity walked over carrying an object.
“Is that what you two were supposed to get?” I asked. The object wasn’t that bulky but it was pretty big.
“That? Yeah…apparently it’s light enough that Rarity can carry it and pick the locks.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Have you seen the power core for this facility? We’ve only been to the generator rooms.” Pinkie Pie asked.
“If I do recall, we did find a room with a peculiar lock on it.” Rarity said.
“What kind of lock?” I asked.
“Looked like a holographic lock.” Rarity said.
“Great…” I said. Though I was decent at what I did, I didn't like holographic locks. They jus' took too long to pick an' quite frankly they set off silent alarms.
“That’s probably the room.” Pinkie Pie said.
“It is the room. Why else would ya have a lock like that?” I said.
“Just to be awesome.” Rainbow Dash said.
“No.” I said.
“Can’t you just blow the door off?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Nope, if any sign of intrusion is seen it could spell trouble for us.” I said.
“In each of the doors there are mechanisms that transmit a silent alarm if it is triggered. An explosion, even a small one can scramble all sentries to that area.” Rarity explained.
“And if we blow the door off we could set off all of the other explosives all ready set and make us go kablooey.” Pinkie Pie said.
“Okay, I get it. So we’ll blow up if you blow the door open. Then don’t plant it.” Rainbow Dash said.
“We can’t do that. We were instructed to blow up the facility, if were only to detonate the explosive charges we have set it would blow up part of the facility. The goal is to make this facility unusable.” Pinkie Pie said. If this will end Rainbow’s questions that would be great but that’s probably not gonna happen.
“We’ve gotta git goin’, ya know we’ve only got an hour to plant the last of the explosives and get to the extraction zone.” I said.
“That is right, Rainbow we should get going.” Rarity said.
“Okay. We’ll catch you two later.” Rainbow Dash said. Rainbow and Rarity quietly made their way to the extraction point. Pinkie and I made our way to the door with the hybrid lock. I started picking the lock and Pinkie kept watch.
“Applejack, I noticed that this door has a camera pointed at it but there are no enemy sentries rushing to our location.” Pinkie Pie said. There was a gun pointed at my head. “Oh there they are.” The cheer in her voice was not soothing at all.
“Step away from the door.” The Sentry said. He was the guy with the gun to my head. I glanced over to him and the smirk on his face was sickening.
“Ah don’t think Ah could do that fer ya.” I said.
“Applejack…” Pinkie Pie said.
“Listen to your friend.” The Sentry said.
“Go ahead an’ shoot me. I mess up this lock an’ this whole facility will blow.” I said. Hopefully he won’t see through my bluff. Luckily I have a helmet on an’ it’s coverin’ my face.
“It won’t trigger it.” The Sentry said.
“Ah have it set to detonate all the explosives online.” I said. I hoped that somepony would save us. Then a loud bang went off beside me. Blinded and my ears were ringing, and I couldn’t keep balanced. Somethin’ carried me off or at least that’s what it felt like. Slowly my senses returned to me.
“Applejack.” Fluttershy said. My helmet was off and I was on the extraction ship.
“Huh? What happened?” I asked. My head was swooming luckily I was strapped in. “Where am Ah? Where’s Pinkie?”
“It’s okay…Pinkie is with Twilight. They are finishing the job.” Fluttershy said.
“So everythin’ is okay?” I asked.
“Well Twilight and I had to take care of the sentries but overall Pinkie came to her senses a lot sooner than you did. Then again the flash bang landed next to you.” Fluttershy said. Then Rainbow Dash hovered next to me.
“What were you saying earlier?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hey, at least mah armor didn’t git locked up.” I said.
“Well…well you got knocked out.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Can you go one day without fightin’ with one of us?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well stop turnin’ things into an argument.” I said. She looked at me dumbfounded then landed.
“…Okay.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Anyways, Twilight and Pinkie should be back any time now.” Fluttershy said.
“Ah guess I’m lucky y’all saved us back there.” I said.
“Why didn’t you have your tracker on?” Fluttershy asked.
“It must’ve malfunctioned. It was fine an’ dandy when we made our way to the different areas.” I said.
“Wait a second. Why didn’t you see us when you were opening that door?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah, both you and Pinkie showed up on our trackers.” Rarity said.
“Ah didn’t see a thing.” I said.
“I’d recommend getting your equipment checked out.” Fluttershy said.
“Ah will cause that ain’t good.” I said. Then Pinkie and Twilight entered the ship.
“Glad to see you’re all right AJ.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“There should be an explosion soon.” Pinkie Pie cheered. She waited for the explosion but the ship closed up. “Aw…I wanted to see my work in action.” 
“You’ll hear about it.” Twilight Sparkle said. 
“I’m not happy about that.” Pinkie Pie said. 
“We’ve got another call.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Don’t we have to drop this stuff off?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well the stuff is on the ship right? We were only asked to get the stuff.” Twilight Sparkle said. Everypony put their helmets on. The new orders appeared on the activity HUD. I read the orders over and it said we’ve got to assist some soldiers in a nearby town.
“So the ship is going to drop us off in a hot zone?” Fluttershy asked.
“No, we’re going to jump.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Sorry to say this but not all of us can fly.” Rarity said.
“We don’t got any of the right equipment to make the jump.” I said.
“You’re right but we have fliers who can carry others.” Twilight Sparkle said. She looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow you carry Applejack, Fluttershy you carry Rarity, and Pinkie you are with me. Sync.”
“Sync.” The rest of us said. Twilight checked to see if the stuff we got was secured. When she returned the back opened up. Rainbow and I walked to the edge and looked down.
“We’re going to be in a hot zone?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yes.” Twilight Sparkle said.
“So when do we jump?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“In about 30 seconds.” Twilight Sparkle said. Rainbow Dash clipped a safety leash to one of the hooks on my armor. 
“Try not to flail around too much.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Ah won’t.” I said. She grabbed me and we made the jump. We fell at a faster pace than the others main cause Dash was divin’ down. “Ah don’t think we should be goin’ this fast.” Rainbow’s wings opened and she pulled up.
“Just think this is the first time I got to use my wings in combat. It’s so exhilarating.” Rainbow Dash said. We soared above the city at a fast pace.
“Ya better slow down so we can find the…” I said. Then Rainbow let go of me as she banked to the left. Luckily we are attached together usin’ a safety leash.
“My wing!” Rainbow Dash screamed.
“There’s a building over…” I said. A bullet severed the safety leash and I fell. “Well this the worst way to die…ever…of all time.” I fell through the roof of a building. Everythin’ went black but the good thing was I wasn’t in that much pain.
> First Dance...With Death
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	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.