//------------------------------// // I Am In Hell // Story: Warfare // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// May 7th, 1422 E.F Is this thing working? Yup, I’m seeing my words appear as I think on the page. So the spell is working again. Well, this is it. The day we’ve been both dreading and anticipating. I’m currently flying to my post right now and getting into position. Everypony is armed and ready. It’s time. The invasion is coming soon. One of the Wonderbolts scouted out in the ocean and spotted something big heading this way yesterday.  Once the call went out, we all got up fully armed and ready. For the past few weeks we’ve done nothing but practice, drill, and pray that we were ready for whatever it was that was going to come our way. I’m now practically able to hit a shot at 130 yards with my rifle so I feel ready to take a few human heads when they land. Thundershot gets his machine gun ready while I aim down the beach. We’re about just at the border of the beach and the city, a new location for us that the General decided to change. Hay, there have been a lot of changes. We’re to be there to cover our fellow troops should we need to retreat further into the city to fall back for our next defense point. There are so many of them that I forget how many, but I’m thinking of just running to cover the first sign of the signal hits. It's amazing how different the beach is now compared to what it was months ago. It’s going to take a lot of ships and firepower for those humans to land. Not only do we have proper machine gun nests and artillery ready to fire, but we finally managed to get the ships in. Our new proud navy stands ready to charge forth against the invaders with its new ships made similar in the design of the US Navy’s famous ships. Granted, it's a few decades behind version but what matters is the spirit of the crew not the vessel. Or at least that’s what one of the sailors told me at the bar we were at last week. The entire beach and city is deadly quiet to the point where I can hear my sweat dripping down my neck and onto the ground. A thick fog has most of the ocean covered so we can’t see that well, but the Wonderbolts are already planning to fix that with some weather maneuvers. A few ponies near me are praying to the princesses. I kinda want to join in, but I’m holding my tongue. Still getting used to my new beliefs and all. Seeing the Princesses as not goddesses is kinda weird, but I still believe in them. They represent everything about Equestria that’s great. Their kind hearts. Wisdom. And courage even in the face of overwhelming odds. Ewww. Some of the others are throwing up. I guess the intensity is getting to them. I know it’s bothering me. Alright, close your eyes, Halberd. Think about what you are fighting for. Think about your family. The princesses. And all the soldiers you knew since this war started. I open my eyes and gaze over to Thundershot who's giving me a smirk and a wink. Just like that I feel my courage return thanks to that cute smile. Gritting my teeth, I huff with my heart ready for action. It’s time to show these humans who really know how to fight. Out of the top of my eye, I spot the Wonderbolts flying above, preparing to clear the fog. I can spot the rainbow colors of Rainbow Dash flying by as some soldiers cheer for them. With a whirlwind like maneuver the Wonderbolts start clearing the fog and I can see...see. ... ...Oh my Equestria...oh my Equestria! WHAT THE ACTUAL BUCK?! I feel my gun slip out of my hooves and I’m sure I’m not the only one. The silence of the beach is no longer one of tension but of utter fear. I’m shaking my head from left to right just to make sure I am really seeing this, but I cannot deny it.  The ships...there are so many ships! So big and so long that they could fit a stadium! Legions of them are lined up in rows upon rows that seem endless. Stretching out so far they have to be beyond the gaze of the city. Each of them dark and black like knights of the old days coming to raid upon a village. And they’re floating. Floating above the water! Heading right at us with incredible speeds! Where did the humans-GAH! My ears! What were those booms! I swear my ears are pounding against my skull! What caused the-Holy Celesita?! Explosions are everywhere! The beach is being torn up from all directions! Those booms must have been the ships cannons but they’re so far away1 How is that possible?! I feel my mouth drop as my ears pick up the sounds of panic screams and dying cries of my fellow soldiers. Each explosion only brings more cries to the growing number of yells and howls. Sand is shooting into the air by forty feet I think, but that’s not the only thing I’m seeing. Are those limbs?! Oh goddess, they are! Heads and arms and tails and entire torso! Oh heaven, I’m going to be sick! The entire beach is...it’s covered in blood...so much blood you can drown in it. I think some are!  Our hills, bunkers, and defense lines are getting smashed into pieces! It’s like a dragon burning down a wooden home!  We tested those things against our very own guns! How is this possible?! Soldiers are running or flying around in panic for cover as they are obliterated in mass and I don’t know what to do. I’m seeing our Navy sally forth, but I don’t know if they can reach the ships in time and-WHAT?!  I...I don’t know what I just saw! What am I seeing?! The ships are already on fire and exploding?! Did the humans ship hit them all ready?! What the hay happened?! Someone is crying out that they see something in the water. I don’t see anything...wait! There I see it and...is it a sea monster?! No...No it’s another ship! It’s a bunch of ships coming out of the water! Submarines! The humans call them submarines!   Just as black as their floating companions, only much shorter and bulkier. Yet, just as deadly as I see them opening their hulls as smoke rises from them. Rockets. They’re firing rockets that come down upon the rest of our ships. I can’t help but look and I wish I didn’t. Our beautiful navy...it's all ruined. Not a single ship has managed to fire back and already they’re crippled beyond repair. We haven’t even fired a single shot and already they’ve destroyed a good portion of our defenses. Was everything for nothing?!.  I can see machine gun fire being shot from the sides of the submarines into the air as the various Pegasi divisions and Wonderbolts come under fire. It’s not just mists of red I see on the ground I see them in the air as well.  I’m looking at this mare pegasus above me. White as snow with a yellow mane holding a rocket launcher. The bullets go right through her body like paper and she falls down. She falls. Falls. I can see her blood trailing above her corpse. Like a dead bird she falls flat on her face five feet from my cover position. Her body is smoking as the flesh burns from wounds I’ve only ever seen in flame like rounds. This is hotter though. I’ve heard rumors, but to see it first hand. Plasma rounds. Real live plasma rounds.  I see dozens of other pegasi who fall dead like flying fish piling up around us. It’s only been at most twenty minutes and already our starting defenses are done for.  Celestia. What evil has been unleashed on us? I only now realize that Thundershot is shouting at me to move. I can hear the retreat whistle and it sounds like the horn of Elysium to me. Never before have I ever felt happier to hear a retreat call. Wait, no, that’s not the whistle. That’s something else...it’s...oh no. I know that sound. I feel fear crawl over me as I hear that sound. The numerous times I had to look up and take for cover while trying to survive the jungles of Sri Lanka.  I look up and I feel my heart sink into my chest. Bombers. Planes. So many they cover the entire sky. I shout air raid and to take cover AND GAAAAAH! PAIN! PAIN!!!!!! MY BACK! OH GODDESSES MY BACK IS ON FIRE! BUCK! BUCK! STOP IT! STOP THIS! MOMMY! MOMMY! STOP! STOP! PLEASE STOP IT! THE PAIN! THE PAIN! THUNDERSHOT HELP ME! Am I dying?! Oh, Princess I am dying aren’t I?! I don’t want to die! I REALLY DON’T! I JUST WANT TO GO HOME! OH GODDESS! I’m crying, I’m crying and I am just shaking without end! It hurts so much! I’m...I’m being picked up...who...can’t tell! Can’t stop screaming! IT HURTS IT FUCKING HURTS!  More sounds of aircraft! More death! Death is here! Death has come! The humans are here to kill us all! Oh, Equestria we’re all going to die! We’re going to die!  Bombs are falling everywhere! Everything is torn to pieces! Fire and death! Death everywhere! Even the sky's on fire! Is this the end of the world?! Or am I in Tartarus already?!  I hear my name. I hear my name! Who is calling for me?! Princess Luna?! Princess Cadence?! Th...Thundeshot...Thundershot! He has me! He tells me to hold on. He tells me it will be okay. How can it be okay?! We’re all going to die! I...I can’t...I... ... ... ... ... ... ... Pain... Where... ...I don’t... ... ... ... ...voices...Thundershot... ...what is going... ... ... ...I’m...I’m alive? Wait...no I’m dead...all I see is darkness...no wait, I am alive. I can feel my back still hurting, but not as bad as before...oh goddess the pain. But I’m alive. By the grace of whatever powers there are I am alive. I feel like I’m half dead though. My eyes are so heavy. My back is killing me as well as my flank.Water...I need water! Somepony must have heard me because I feel a cooling drink go down my lips. Finally, my eyes are opening...a nurse...unicorn...white with pink mane...she tells me to sleep...sleep...sounds good... *** May 7th, 1422 E.F I’m writing normally again. The spell went off when I went unconscious a second time. It’s been...two days since the invasion started. Two days...and everything has gone to the crapper. The humans have taken over half the city already, but we’re fighting to keep every territory we have with what forces we have remaining.  A good number of them were killed in the early strikes. The humans didn’t even start landing and putting their troops out until the second day. From what I hear they’re wearing armor that is heavy, durable, and can somehow use shields. Magic shields. Fucking traitors must have helped them create it. Create the tools that kill their own people. Damn them. Damn Lyra Heartstrings and her rebels. That’s not all. The humans are wielding guns that are firing lasers like that of a unicorn horn. Some are so powerful they vaporize your entire body until your ashes.  I haven’t seen any of this since I’ve been stuck recovering from my...injuries... ...I’m wingless. My wings are...gone...they had to take them off to save my life..I’m crippled. A pegasi without wings... I remember crying for hours when they told me. For a pegasus to lose their wings... I...I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I think I’m done writing... -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** May 8th, 1422 E.F More wounded are being brought in, but thankfully Thundershot isn’t among them. Not that I know if he is alive or not. I asked about him, but the nurse said he had to be sent back out to defend the city. I don’t know if my special somebody is alive or not, but deep down I know he is. I just wish he was with me right now or at least I was there fighting by his side. Still, I worry more and more with each hour. It seems pointless to hold this city, especially when the humans keep showing up with more ways to kill us. They got flying machines, drones I think, flying around with mini-machine guns and shooting at us from above before retreating. We’ve lost numerous high ranking officers to the point that ponies are being promoted like baby rabbits being born.  They got grenades that can stick to the surface of whatever they hit. Even ponies. One pony swore he saw his commander get one in the crotch before it exploded and took five other guys with him. What a way to go am I right? The worst has to be the tanks. The tanks fire lasers even bigger than the human’s normal guns while also shooting flaming plasma. Entire streets are melting from the heat to the point where you can smell it from here. Word is spreading that we’re going to retreat soon, but we need something to cover us as we retreat. I don’t know what but... One sec. One of the nurses wants to tell me something.  -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** Thundershot’s dead. -Corporal Halberd Wings, 139th Arial Spear Regiment, 2nd Platoon *** Buck the date. Buck this war. buck humanity. BUCKYOUBUCKYOUBUCKYOUBUCKYOU! *** Thundershot’s dead. I...I can’t... *** We’re leaving the city. Rainbow Dash had survived. The only Wonderbolt to do so. Did a Sonic Rainboom and gave us enough time to leave via Emergency Teleportation. Everypony is hailing her as a hero, but there are no heroes in war except for the dead. Like Thundershot. Why? Why couldn't we have died together? *** I’m in Ponyville with hundreds of thousands of others. All from other cities. Every one of them has fallen. Some surrendered without a fight. Some fought to the end. Some were wiped out completely.  They’re coming. Humanity is coming and surrounding us at all sides. I’ve lost my wings. I’ve lost Thundershot.  I won’t lose my home. I refuse. I’d rather die. I’ll kill them. I’ll bucking kill them all. Even if I die I’ll take them all with me. Their cities will burn. Their woman will suffer. Their children butchered. I will see them enslaved, mutilated, and suffer every sin their race deserves since they first learned to crawl. I will tear down their gods and statues. Every bit of their history, culture, and civilization I will see wiped from the face of the earth. I will send them to the fires of whatever hell exists before I piss on their ashes. I will never surrender to them.  They took him away from me. My Thundershot. My love.  They took my wings away. The very essence of being a pegasus. I will not let them take my home. I will not let them take Equestria because its all I have left.  I’ll kill them all.  We will kill them all. Or we all die as one. We will never surrender. -Halberd Wings