//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: The End has Begun // by Bronycommander //------------------------------// Chapter 17 Perspective: Dinky Hooves. The last thing I saw, before everything went black, was that the soldier lowered his weapon. I awoke with a groan and moaned in pain. What… what happened? Where am I? Blinking my eyes, looking around, I saw that I was in a hospital room in a bed with a warm blanket. Sweetie belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were still unconscious but alive. EKGs showed their heart rates. I had one too. “Ah, you’re woken up.” A young woman with black hair walked in. She had an Italian accent. “I am Captain Ilaria Cimino.” “I am Dinky Hooves. Where am I?” She gave me a sad smile. “You are in the infirmary at Le CEITO, a Federation Army base in France. Are you hungry? I made you some fried eggs.” She putted the plate on the table. I ate them and took a sip from the glass of water she also made for me. “Thank you, Captain.” “You’re welcome. Can you tell you how you got into this? This is no interrogation; we want to punish the people who did this to you.” As she said this, the EKG began beeping rapidly and I hugged her with tears in my eyes. The captain responded by rubbing my back. “It’s okay little one,” she patted me. “Nobody’s going to hurt you anymore.” “I was so scared!” “Shh, you’re safe now, calm down.” I took a deep breath. “We were lost in the forest, as we fell into a foxhole we didn’t saw. My friends Twist, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon promised to get help. After a while, we heard the sounds of engines. Calling out for help, someone helped us out. To our horror, it was the Forgotten Army. They restrained us, forced us into their transports and blindfolded us. It was only when we reached the cages; they took them off, saying they had plans for us. I feared for my life. They gave us bread and water, but threated to kill us if we tried to resist. Despite this, we tried to hold on to hope and attempted to cheer each other up by reassuring one another that help would eventually come. But this only angered them. They screamed that our parents and European friend would only find our corpses once they were finished with us. T-then, they forced us to use guns and said our first fight would be next week. They even forced us to wear their uniforms. I-I…” Not able to finish, I buried my head into her chest. “It’s alright sweetie, we’ll get you some help right away. What do you mean with European friend?” “That’s Peter.” Then I explained to her how Peter saved us, and how he feared that he would be seen as traitor. “Don’t worry, Dinky. I will take care of that. I will be back soon.” She walked outside. I took a deep breath of relief. I was safe. I had never killed before and I was glad I didn’t have to. I just hope they inform our parents somehow. After a few minutes, the Captain walked in with a strong build man. He was a high ranking General by his uniform and medals, and of West African origin. Next to him was another woman. She had brown hair. “Hello Dinky, I am Nathalie Pérreau the President of the European Federation. After I heard what happened, I decided to visit you and your friends. In the name of the Federation, I offer our sincerest apologies. How are you at the moment?” I was honored to talk to a president. “I feel like someone put me into the sauna for hours and it hurts to move a little bit, Ms. President.” “A side effect from the High-Powered Microwave. I am General Amadou de Bankole and I also offer my sincerest apologies in the name of the European Federation Enforcer Corps. We will haunt down your captors. And given your information’s, the Lieutenant isn’t a deserter or a traitor. He kept his honor in a way I never thought would be possible. You can stay here until you are fully recovered. And we will inform your parents, don’t worry about that.” “Thank you General, this means a lot to me.” They leaved but a Kommando and a regular soldier stayed with us. The Kommando was Peter’s best friend Tom. He had Black hair and brown eyes. We had a happy conversation about the show, as he was also a fan or a “Brony” as they were called. He also told me about his wife and that she was pregnant. He apologized for scaring me and he never meant to harm me. I forgave him. He offered that we could help out on the base, until we would go home. And that he would protect us, should the base be attacked. The regular soldier looked very young, like he had just finished school. He had brown hair and every now and then, he looked at me and the other foals. His face turned red in embarrassment and he seemed nervous and worried. Then I noticed that he had a patch on his uniform. It was a pink six-pointed sparkle surrounded by five small white sparkles. Next to it was a two-toned blue shield behind a yellow lightning bolt. “Are this Princess Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry’s Cutie Marks on your uniform?” Perspective: Peter “They forced my daughter to fight as soldier?!” Derpy was enraged. “Yes but your daughter is still alive and safe and sound.” “But how? They screamed as they burned alive.” Applejack seemed to forget what I told them. “Yes, but the High-Powered Microwave was used in less-than-lethal mode. It causes feeling of intense burning to the targets without actual lasting physical damage. It is a directed energy weapon which transfers energy to targets via ultra-high frequency radio waves.” “Oh right, Ah forgot what you told us about it. Good thing they didn’t use the lethal setting.” Applejack let out a breath of relief. “Indeed. I never saw it, only heard of it. The targets spontaneously combust, a rather disgusting sight and feeling which I don’t want to experience. By the way, who was the pony who reported it?” I looked at Celestia for answers. “Rose. She saw it from the woods as she looked for flowers for her friends.” I rolled my eyes. “I knew it. As easy as she panics, it wouldn’t wonder me that she mistook what she saw.” Twilight and her friends let out a nervous laugh as they remembered their first encounter with Zecora. I looked on my watch. It was already evening. Did I really spend almost the rest of the day to repair the drone? “I suggest we catch some sleep and tomorrow we’ll see.” “Good idea.” They all agreed. Damn Terrorists! They will pay for what they did to them! They will definitely pay!