A Forgotten Trooper

by TheIronPone035


Chapter 16: A Major Problem (Revised)

Strider flipped a few switches from the gunship, grumbling the entire time. Not only did the shopkeeper not have anymore thirty two foot rope left, but he also didn't have any ropes longer than 32 ft. So the pulley system was no longer an option for the time, so now he had to improvise.

His new plan was to unhook the wing from its spot on the ship and risk it getting damaged by hitting the ground. He did his best to cushion the drop zone with several spare pillows and cushions Fluttershy had given him, but they were probably gonna do as good as a pile of blasters below it.

He was currently in the cockpit, making sure to reroute any stray power from the wing. Once he was sure the wing was properly drained of power, he climbed over the exterior of the cockpit and towards the damaged wing, where a previously placed tool box was waiting.

Strider immediately got to work, unscrewing and bolts he could while also separating as many panels as he could. The job could of probably only lasted about an hour of he had a welding torch, but sadly he didn't have that lugary. He was lucky enough to have the tools provided by the gunship!

By the time he had taken most of the screws out and removed most of the panels, night had rolled around. Strider unscrewed one last bolt and gave the wing a firm shove, causing it to fall onto the ground with a THUD!

"Please don't be badly damaged," Strider muttered as he hopped down to the ground and went over to the wing.

Somehow, whether or not it was because of all the cushions or the general durability of the metal, the wing was mostly still in tact. It was still badly bent due to the crash, and it now had some more oddly bent panels, but it was still salvageable.

"I think i'll deal with that tomorrow." Strider told himself, already exhausted from the job it took just to remove the wing.

The trooper got into the gunship's transportation bay and flipped a homemade switch. The light's inside the bay shut off, letting a sheet of darkness sweep through it. Strider sat down against a wall and looked out at the night sky. Once the wing was repaired, the gunship would be over half way repaired, and he would be back fighting alongside his brothers.

With that thought in Strider's mind, he smiled and let his eyelids close. However, a loud noise caused him to reopen them, his gaze locking onto the source which was coming from the Everfree Forest. He was quick to notice a massive flock of birds take flight from the trees, each one flying erratically as if trying to escape something.

Not two seconds later did a massive creature smash its way out of the Everfree Forest, its dark blue transparent skin hardly suffering a scratch as it pushed over a tree with ease. A single white star sat on its head right above a pair of orange and red eyes that quickly locked onto the town. It somewhat resembled the image Trixie had illustrated, but the real thing looked much more terrifying.

"If that's an Ursa Major," Strider said, staring in disbelief at the creature. "then Ponyville's in for a massive problem."

Strider looked over at the DC-15S that was resting next to him, quietly shaking his head. That wasn't going to be enough to take that beast down. But he did have something that could.

Strider leaped from the transportation bay and over to the cargo hold, opening up the cargo hatch and grabbed the Z-6. With one quick pull, the chain gun was quickly bathed in the moonlight. This thing was going to see some action after all.

Not wasting anymore time, Strider took off down the path towards town with the Z-6 primed and ready.


The Ursa Major didn't take to long in terrorizing the town. It had already torn away at a roof of a house while growling at the ponies rushing to safety. A slight miss-step led its front paw onto Trixie's wagon, crushing it into pieces.

Several screaming ponies ran past Strider as he walked towards the Ursa Major, the chain gun's barrel already beginning to spin. A few ponies spotted him and stopped running, looking at the weapon in confusion.

"HEY! STAR FACE!" Strider shouted, trying to get the attention of the Ursa Major, who turned its head to face him.

The Ursa Major roared at Strider, staring down at the trooper. Finally, Strider thought it was close enough.

"TASTE LASER!" Strider barked, activating the Z-6.

The chamber in the blaster spun around and around, spitting out blue plasma bolts right into the Ursa Major's face. It roared in pain as the bolts made contact. It reached over to a house and pulled the roof off, using it to cover its face from the wave of fire.

Strider spotted a puff of steam emitting from the barrel so he halted the wave of plasma bolts and looked up at the Ursa Major. It growled at him, before chucking the roof it had used as a shield at him. The trooper dove out of the way and shot another wave of bolts at the Ursa Major.

The Ursa Major roared and picked up an empty wooden cart, then chucked it at Strider. He dodged the cart just by a foot, but a pony behind him wasn't as lucky. The yellow furred mare behind him got scraped in the side by a piece of the cart as it flew past her and into a house.

Strider saw this and quickly realized that he needed to get this thing out of town. He shot one more wave of bolts at the Ursa Major, before running away from it towards the outskirts of town.

Just as Strider thought, the Ursa Major chased him down. The two soon ended up in the less populated outskirts of town. Strider turned to fire another round, but the Ursa Major was closer than he thought. It swiped the Z-6 away from him and pounced.

Strider quickly felt pain shoot through his rib cage as the Ursa Major's clawed paw landed on him and slammed him into the ground. Strider looked up at the Ursa Major, whose orange eyes were glaring down at his helmet. It snarled at him, showing a set of fangs that glistened in the moonlight.

The trooper shut his eyes, waiting for the Ursa Major to finish him. However, after a few seconds of silence, he opened his eyes again just in time to see an apple collide with the Ursa Major's head.

Strider looked over to the right and saw a filly with a pink bow looking at them. It was Apple Bloom, who was standing in front of a pile of wood that had the Z-6 resting on it.

Apple Bloom said something that Strider couldn't hear, before she tried to activate the Z-6. When nothing happened, she glared at it and tried again, and again, and again. Finally, she gave the blaster a hard buck which finally triggered a volley of plasma bolts that were quick to make contact with the beast.

The Ursa Major got off of Strider and shielded its face with a paw, managing to let out a snarl as the plasma bolts began to take its toll on its paw. Apple Bloom made sure to keep the pressure on, using her forehooves to pull on the main handle which kept the bolts flying.

The Ursa Major finally decided it had enough and let out a loud roar. It took off towards Apple Bloom, ignoring the pain from each bolt. The Z-6 began to burn up, steam leaking from the barrel as its systems overloaded. However, just before it could reach her, Twilight Sparkle appeared next to the filly, her horn engulfed in a light magenta aura.

Suddenly, a soothing breeze filled the air, causing the Ursa Major to freeze in its tracks. It listened to the calming tune, before wobbling in place as it became drowsy.

Seeing this as a window, Strider got up from where he had been pinned and rushed over to the two ponies positions. He looked back at the Ursa Major right as Twilight levitated what looked like a water tower over to the beast. The Ursa Major grabbed it and began drinking from it.

Strider looked over at Twilight who's horn was sparking and glowing brightly. The unicorn was visibly struggling to keep her magic going, but she persisted.

The Ursa Major was lifted into the air and hovered back to the Everfree forest. Once it was deep within the forest, Twilight let go of her hold on it and wiped some sweat from her brow. Twilight's friends and several ponies were quick to cheer for her while Strider looked over at Apple Bloom.

"That was a very clumsy move Apple Bloom. If Twilight hadn't been there then you would have been in a worse position than me." Strider exclaimed.

Apple Bloom's smile faded and she looked down at the ground.

"Just think about the enemy before you start an attack. You've got guts Apple Bloom, and what you just did proves that you're brave. Thanks for helping me out." Strider said, his smile hidden under his helmet.

Apple Bloom looked up at Strider, her smile returning. However, it once again faded when she spotted a certain orange pony walking towards her. But instead of it turning into a sorry expression, it was replaced with nervousness and worry.

Strider looked behind himself to see Applejack trotting towards Apple Bloom, a frown on her face. Something told him that Applejack was going to have a few words with the filly.

Not wanting to interfere with family matters, he stepped aside and went over to Twilight.

"Nice job taking care of that Ursa Major." Strider stated.

"Oh, that wasn't an Ursa Major. It was an Ursa Minor, a baby." Twilight corrected.

"That massive star creature, was a baby?" Strider questioned, not sure how to process the statement.

"Yeah, that was just a baby who was upset because Snips and Snails disturbed it so Trixie could 'vanquish' it." Twilight exclaimed. "Speaking of which, where did Trixie go?"

Strider looked around, not seeing any trace of the light blue unicorn. Well, if she showed up, she would still owe Strider a rope.

Strider picked up the Z-6 and began walking away, but Twilight stopped him.

"Could I take a look at that? This device is nothing like i've ever seen before!" Twilight claimed, staring at the Z-6.

"Sorry Miss Sparkle, but this is property of the G.A.R. military. It's not leaving my side." Strider stated, before leaving the unicorn with her friends as he began walking towards Fluttershy's cottage, where the transportation bay of the gunship was calling him.