"Everyone get up! It's begun!"
Haymaker opened his eyes as he heard those words. Around the green earth pony, three dozen other ponies stopped whatever they were doing to look at the mare who had charged into the tent.
"The war! The rebellion! We're doing it," the orange unicorn almost yelled, annoyed by the lack of a reaction. This got everyone moving, and Haymaker jumped up from his bedroll to join the stream of ponies rushing for the door.
Haymaker stepped outside into the cool autumn air and immediately noticed everything being darker and having a slightly reddish tinge. It was supposed to be afternoon.
Haymaker saw other ponies, both from his tent as well as others, staring and pointing at the sky as excited murmuring spread through their ranks. He looked up, and through the gaps in the thick canopy that covered their camp, saw a red moon dominating the sky.
"Damn scary isn't it?" someone with a raspy voice and rolling r's asked next to him. Haymaker turned with a smile on his muzzle and saw a blueish gray bat pony with a small flame for a cutie mark looking at him, and then at the moon. "Like, yeah, I know it's good the moon is up, but a red moon. Damn freaky."
"Not really," Haymaker answered, giving his friend Flint Spark his full attention even as the two approached a large pony calling for everyone to gather around him in a small clearing. Flint cocked her head, wordlessly ordering him to elaborate. "I like the color. It reminds me of mom."
As the two joined their squad in the semicircle that had formed, she nodded, "Yeah, it kinda does, maybe a little darker but yes."
The white stallion they had gathered around cleared his throat loudly, cutting the chatter around him. Captain Steel Veil had that effect on people.
"We have received reports of an attempted assassination of Princess Luna in Manehattan." Everyone knew of the alicorn of the night having planned a trip to the coastal city where he would speak for the improvement of bat ponies' position. Those loyal to her had been called to fight in case something went wrong, as had seemingly happened. Before anyone could react, the stallion raised his hoof and continued.
"An ATTEMPT. However, while our Princess survived, many bystanders were killed. Our lady has thus deemed that words are not enough, and more direct actions are required. So take your weapons and fight for her vision, and our future."
During his speech, the captain's voice never got louder, as he didn’t need to be loud to get attention. After a brief pause, he called two names: "Lieutenants Bright Autumn..." the mare who had entered their tent stepped forward. "... and Fervent Zeal, come with me. The rest of you, decamp and get ready to move in an hour."
The soldiers saluted and returned to their tents. There they dressed in their olive green uniforms and began packing. As Haymaker was rolling up his bedroll, Flint trotted over to him.
”Didn’t think I’d see you here,” she said. ”Damn good luck.”
”Yeah. By the way, what took you so long? The company has been here for a few weeks already.”
”The truck that was supposed to bring me to the meeting point broke. Stuck in the middle of nowhere. It seemed I wasn’t coming until I accidentally found your supply wagon. Brought me here this morning.”
Once the decamping was finished, took his place behind Spark at the front of a rapidly forming column. There were two platoons, each with three squads of about ten ponies. Behind the platoons, a team dragged an old machine gun assembled on wheels. At the very rear, the company's supplies were pulled in a light wagon.
The column began its trek westwards along a worn, trodden path that twisted around large oaks that dominated the forest. Once in a while, small animals rushed away from the large group, raising a cloud of dry, crushed leaves behind them, and causing a whole lot of unnecessary ruckus. Hours passed, and the march continued with only a few pauses when the supply wagon got stuck. Seeing around was surprisingly easy, as the moon's red light illuminated almost as well as the Sun.
Eventually, the exhausted column reached a small clearing, where the trees were sparse enough to set up a camp, yet densely enough to hide said camp. Three large tents, one for each platoon and one for the supplies, as well as a smaller one for Steel Veil, were quickly set up and masked with camouflage nets. At one point, Bright Autumn approached her platoon with an announcement.
"I've got new orders from the captain. There is a ridge northwest of us, and the captain wants us to have eyes there. We'll rest for six hours so each team will be there for one, and once their replacement arrives, come back."
As she talked, she paced back and forth, looking everyone in the eye in turn.
"If the outpost notices anyone that is not us approaching, one soldier is to run back and alert the camp. Passwords are as follows..."
Ten minutes later, Haymaker and Flint Spark found themselves sitting in a natural hiding spot provided by large, moss-covered and ice cold rocks, each of which was at least as tall as the ponies. Far to the north, their right, the mountains of Foal Ridge rose as a small jagged line between the sky and the earth. Far in the western end of the mountains, the lights of Canterlot were barely visible.
"Hay," Flint said quietly "Is your mom in Canterlot?"
"What? Why?" His voice was calm, quiet, and above all, surprised.
"When I came 'ere, there were rumors of a push there. And your mom's a cop, so I thought she might be in the city."
Haymaker didn't answer, opting to search the wide, grass-covered plains that spread before them for Celestia's soldiers. He saw no movement, aside from a rabbit moving about, and the swaying of trees in the warm, gentle wind. Finally, he spoke, uncertainty clear in his voice.
"No. Everything happened so quickly there's no way they could have moved her there in time."
Flint looked at him skeptically but remained quiet, before turning to scan the field through the sights of her rifle. The only sound that remained was the chirping of birds and the buzzing of animals, as well as the occasional, distant boom of artillery, followed by the crack of an explosion.
XXXX
The following morning, well, it was morning according to the clock, saw the soldiers gathered in small circles around portable stoves.
"I tell you," A brown unicorn with a stylized, diving osprey for a cutie mark muttered as he tried to light the cooker's alcohol. "This'd be much easier to do if it didn't fucking rain."
As if to spite the pony, the constant trickle turned into a brief torrent that left everyone drenched and freezing, further confirming the uselessness of their raincoats.
"Nyt hitto," the unicorn hissed, resigned. He offered his matches to Flint Spark, who had lit the fire in an instant. A stove was moved over the flame immediately, to cover it from the rain.
"Was that Olenian?" Flint asked after pouring the contents of a small tin can onto the stove.
The unicorn nodded. "Yeah. My family lives there. I came back when Luna started gathering followers."
As he spoke, the flowing, stretched vowels of his speech became more apparent. "Kuule, nyt kun tuli kieli mainittua, niin..."
"Osprey, stop," Haymaker said, holding back a groan.
Osprey simply looked around innocently. Flint leaned closer to him and whispered. "I recognized your tone. How about you show me later exactly what you meant."
"For goodness sake," Hay groaned, much to the squad's amusement. He slammed the back of his head against a tree, sending a cascade of water down. "Besides, aren't there rules against that?"
"Maybe," came an innocent reply.
The banter came to a halt as the pea soup that had been boiling in the stove was shared among the squad.
"Taste's like the plague," Flint informed the others.
"I think the food tastes just fine," Steel Veil said from behind Haymaker, surprising everyone. Before anyone could scramble to salute, he had already walked to the center of the encampment.
"Listen up! Here's our objective! We are to attack a twin railroad junction between Ghastly Gorge and Ponyville, drive its defenders away, and blow up the junctions. This will prevent the enemy from moving troops up north. If we cannot drive the enemy away, we will still try to do as much damage as possible. We will perform a two-pronged attack with machine gun support. Your platoon leaders will tell you the rest once we get there. Company, prepare to move out in ten minutes, combat gear. Move!"
Excited murmuring spread like wildfire as the soldiers shoveled the rest of their food down their throats, took their equipment and formed a long, thin column. Improvised satchel charges, which they would use to destroy the tracks, were shared among the units. One per squad.
This time the march was much shorter, and the pace much faster, as the clumsy supply wagon had been left behind. In a few hours, they started to reach the edge of the forest.
Following Bright Autumn, the first platoon moved to the left. The junction came to view slowly, first as glimpses between the ever more sparse and thin trees, before they could see it properly.
They saw the back a large, red brick building, that partially hid another similar building from the view. Through the slanted roofs of both buildings came wide chimneys, with no smoke coming from either one. The sides and front of both buildings had large windows covered with soot.
A track ran between the buildings, with a junction immediately to the left, where one track continued in a straight path, and another on curved away from the forest, disappearing into the distance. A tall stonewall ran along the length of the track on both sides. On the right side of the station was another junction, a mirror image to theirs.
Ponies with equestrian army's khaki uniforms, as well as a large amount of police in dark blue uniforms moved about the station, probably waiting for their train to arrive. They outnumbered the attackers.
"We can't get any further without being detected," Autumn said, looking at the station through her binoculars.
"The attack will begin in... ten minutes. First and second will run to the wall under MG cover and from there, toss grenades until they give up. Third squad suppresses. Understood?"
After receiving a round of positive answers, she ordered the platoon to check their gear one last time. Haymaker partially opened the bolt of his rifle. It was full. Bayonet, in its sheath. Grenade, on the belt. Spare clips, check. Water, check. He went through his gear several more times, waiting for something to happen.
Haymaker looked at his hoof. It was shaking. He could add that to the list of inconvenient things at the worst possible time, right alongside with hitched breath and a record-breaking heart rate.
Finally, the moment came. Bright Autumn blew into a small brass whistle, and thirty ponies rose from the forest charging forwards. The rapid crackling sound of a machine gun, like a series of oversized firecrackers exploding again and again accompanied them.
Many of Celestia's soldiers that were out in the open were cut down by a hail of bullets. Clouds of pink mist mixed with clouds of gray dust from where the bullets hit the ground or the buildings. Many rushed for cover, and a few returned fire. Two of Luna's ponies fell, screaming in pain. Bullets buzzed past the earth pony as he ran, each shot promising a painful death if it hit.
In an instant that lasted forever, Haymaker had crossed the clearing and reached the wall, right next to the closest building. Others around him slammed unceremoniously into it, before leaning over it and opening fire.
Haymaker, with Flint and Osprey at his side, took aim and started shooting. Haymaker's first shot hit the wall behind his target, and the second one the wall in front of her. Why couldn't he hit? He had never missed at this distance, and his hooves had stopped shaking.
Haymaker was lining up his third shot when a mare wearing a police uniform came around the corner of the farter building and fired her pistol. Osprey stumbled to the ground.
Haymaker rushed to his side, ready to give first aid. The wound was in Osprey's head. Haymaker stared, trying to comprehend it. Such a tiny, neat hole between the eyes. How could that be it?
"Hay, get up!" Flint's voice made him look up. "You need to lead us."
Only then did Haymaker notice that his sergeant was dead, or wounded, he couldn't tell. He walked back to the wall, aimed his weapon and fired. This time he hit.
Most of the defenders were stuck behind the wall, firing only occasional potshots. Some had run into the building and turned it into a fortress. To his surprise, Haymaker did not smell any fear. Or maybe the sour smell of gunpowder hid it.
"Get ready to throw grenades! I want a unicorn to levitate a satchel charge inside the station! On my mark," the lieutenant's voice, even when yelling, was barely audible over the constant cracks of rifles.
"Throw!"
Grenades flew in an arc through the air. Unable to see them, the unicorns of the other side could not levitate them back. Alongside the grenades, a satchel was carried in an azure aura.
A series of explosions rocked the earth as dirt, dust, and smoke was thrown in the air. With them came something redder. Another, much louder explosion split the air, and the occupied building's side wall ceased to be, disappearing in a cloud of smoke and small fragments that flew in every direction.
"First squad, clear the building!" Bright Autumn ordered. "Second, follow me!"
Haymaker led the squad that was suddenly his responsibility to the breached wall, trying to not look at the bodies that littered the ground in ever-growing pools of blood.
A stunned pegasus stumbled through the hole and down the mound of rubble that had formed, a mere silhouette against the gray cloud. Flint shot him.
The inside of the building was surprisingly empty. There was a large waiting room, with a counter and the staff's room on the left side. Haymaker sent two ponies to clear them and led others to the windows, preparing to flank the defenders.
It wasn't necessary.
Being flanked, followed by what seemed to be a bayonet charge, had been enough to send them running. The second platoon was freely picking off the retreating ponies with their guns.
The only reason they were not routing seemed to be a police mare who moved through the ranks, steadying the ponies. The same mare who had shot Osprey.
Haymaker walked to a window and took aim. He aimed left of the mare and started moving the barrel to the right. His hooves did not shake. His breath was calm. Once she was in his sights, he pulled the trigger.
The mare jerked, standing still for a moment before her forehooves failed her and she collapsed. The retreat turned into a rout.
Haymaker pulled the bolt back, still staring at the corpse.
Her coat was a familiar shade of red.