//------------------------------// // You're in the Sniper's Sights // Story: Legends of Equestria: the Battle of the 10 Armies // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// At the same time as Rockhoof and Torch were fighting one another, with the former of course emerging victorious over the latter in a very bloody engagement, Starswirl and his unit had deployed to the ground and were in the process of fighting their way forward to the front lines. Starswirl had selected an elite formation for this operation, choosing to bring two unicorns who had helped him out all those months ago as frontline soldiers. Those two unicorns were, of course, Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer. Whilst outwardly they did not resemble soldiers, their exceptional fighting ability was not to be trifled with, and as such they were a critical part of the offensive through the woods. The objectives were fairly simple. "Remember our objectives!" Starswirl said, as they moved forward through the treeline, an entire battalion of soldiers behind them as well as limited air support. "We need to push through this area, and once we are through the sector we are to link up with Mistmane and her forces, who are currently occupied clearing an enemy trench. Once we have linked up, we proceed towards Sable Spirit's command bunker and neutralise it, before making our way to the centre of Montgomery and facing the Pony of Shadows. Gather yourselves, friends, and stay alert!" The area up ahead certainly seemed like a challenging one to navigate. For one, it was absolutely full of obstacles, and trees and narrow pathways blocked the lines and access ways to prevent access to other parts of the terrain. Not only that, they also obscured line of sight through the area, making identifying threats exceptionally hard. "Should we scan for targets?" Sunburst asked, looking around nervously. "I don't fancy our chances out here at all. Things don't look or feel save around here." "I'm with Sunburst on this one," Starlight added. The sounds of a rocket barrage overhead echoed as explosions rained down, travelling in both directions as the US Military and Project 722 tried to hit one another at range. "A detection spell would run the risk of revealing our location to the enemy," Starswirl noted. "So stay alert, and be prepared to nip into the treelines if we have to. There is no way of knowing where we will be going." "You could say our adventures never end, and that we are little ponies," Starlight joked, trying to lighten the mood. The tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. "That is quite enough of that," Starswirl said, his old wizened eyes scanning the terrain as best they could. The bells on his hat and uniform had been muffled to reduce the amount of noise they made. The terrain up ahead allowed them to pause for a second. Starswirl made sure the army unit behind them was still there as one of the Scout Snipers moved forward. "Target position is approximately 10 clicks away. We will link up with Mistmane's forces in the viscinity and push to assist them." Suddenly, a shot rang out from up ahead and smashed through a tree. "SNIPER!" Sunburst called. "GET TO COVER!" Starswirl called. More shots began to ring out all around them, shots flying through the air. Most smashed through trees and demolished sections of branches and tree trunks, but a few did make their mark, and several soldiers were killed by the impacts. "KEEP YOUR FUCKING HEADS DOWN!" shouted an officer, as he indicated to a soldier equipped with a missile launcher. "Prepare to move up. Once we pinpoint where the bastards are holed up, you light them up. Understand?" "Yes sir." More shots flew through the air, presumably to encourage them to keep their heads down where they were, whilst Starswirl and the other ponies tried scanning the area for targets. "Wait!" Starlight said. She peered around the tree and suddenly saw a bullet whizz past her towards another tree. "I see where they are! The muzzle flash would suggest they are holed up in that building!" "Should we light it up?" the officer from earlier asked. "No, that would be a waste of ammunition," Starswirl replied. "The building is protected by a magical shield spell. Hold fire for now, for a lot of power is required." "Understood!" Shots continued to fly as Starswirl gathered his two followers. "We need to dislodge that shield and clear a path for the missile!" he said. "I have just the spell for the job, but all three of us will have to cast it at the same time!" "Understood!" the pair replied. "What is the spell?" Sunburst asked. Starswirl produced his book and pointed to it. "It's very unstable, so be very careful." All three unicorns turned towards the structure, and together focused the energy in their minds on the target and the spell at hand. There was a growing pool of light from their horns, and when the spell had built to the power level required to break the shield, they fired. Three shots flew forward to the target building, exploding against the shield in a spectacular cloud of white, blue, and purple light. The shield, produced by magic, began to falter, and then faded completely, leaving the structure open to demolition. "Move forward!" Starswirl called. "The shield is down!" The officer nodded. "FIRE AT WILL!" In that moment, several rifles began to discharge, laying down suppressive fire on the structure. Seconds after that, a missile flew forward and slammed into the building, which blew open structural supports and caused it start to topple. With a roar and a crash, the building fell to the ground, rubble and concrete and metal all compacting into a gigantic mound that produced a massive storm of dust and dirt that briefly obscured the area. Starswirl indicated to move forward. "Target line cleared. Safe to move." They proceeded forward, staying wary in case Project 722 had any more nasty tricks up their sleeves. Luckily, it seemed they did not as they advanced through the rubble. The sheer amount of debris gave them a clear image of how big the building had been, or indeed how destructive their bid had been in order to succesfully clear a path. Bricks and mortar lay intermingled with glass, steel, and concrete, making and leaving a gigantic mess all over the place. The ponies and their human allies picked their way across the ruins, seeing an absolute mess as they advanced onwards. The enemy had fought to the absolute last. Bodies, and parts of bodies, lay everywhere, and the scattered remnants of weapons lay all around. Explosions continued to echo in the distance as the fallen were discovered, more and more of them. "They gave it their all, that's for certain," Sunburst said quietly, trotting to one side to avoid treading on another body. "Either they were very brave or highly motivated." "Or both," Starswirl finished. "Either way, they fought to the last. Sometimes the best of people and ponies find themselves on the wrong side of a war, and that is all it can take to drive others to despair. But enough. Our allies are ahead at the rally point, so we must push onwards to meet them swiftly." The trio and their fellows briefly noted the remains of Sable Spirit, trapped underneath rubble that had presumably ended her life, and made their way towards a fountain. The sky was still black with weapons fire and dust, and the continuing reports of shell and missile fire confirmed to them that the enemy was still very much active. A severely reduced force of infantry awaited them, all of the soldiers looking exhausted, war having aged them noticably. Many of them looked to be quite young otherwise, but the mud and dirt made their ages hard to determine for any observer. The same was not true of Mistmane, however. Whilst it is often said that war ages those who fight it, this had been taken to an extreme in her case, as she looked dishevelled and wrinkled, her mane's turquoise colours replaced by greys, and her clothes torn and battered from sustained conflict. "What happened to you?" Starlight asked the older mare, much older than she had been a few hours ago. "A trench assault happened, as well as an experimental weapon," Mistmane replied. "Are you sure you can keep fighting?" Starswirl asked, showing deep concern for his fellow academic and confidant in the magical arts. Mistmane snorted. "That weapon only took away my former appearance, not my health. I can still fight, and fight I shall in order to help drive our enemy off." "We just need to wait for the others to arrive. Rockhoof reportedly faced extremely heavy resistance but is on his way. The only ones I have heard nothing from is Somnambula. I hope she is alright." The others looked about them as a fresh wave of fire surged into the embattled city. Or rather, the pile of ruins that constituted the remains of Montgomery, Alabama. Truly was this a dark and terrible day.