//------------------------------// // Black Apples // Story: From the General // by ISKV //------------------------------// Showtime. As the solar princess walked onto the raised platform in front of the massive crowd, she let loose miniature suns to illuminate the spacious cave. Her heart tightened as the random chatting of ponies from all over quieted into a hush as they turned their attention onto the princess. "My little ponies," she said in a raised voice that echoed through the cavern, "this morning, the camp in the Everfree Forest was attacked." A loud simultaneous gasp from the crowd only confirmed her predictions, already some ponies fell to their knees. Celestia continued, "But do not worry, the evacuation to the Appaloosan plains have already started. As of now, there have been no casualties, and the invaders are being held back." An off-duty guard slowly raised his hoof, "But princess... that... that makes no sense! Most of the guards are defending the mountain here. How can such a small force be effective?" There was silence as the ponies all looked towards the princess. Even the guards standing to her sides tried to take a glimpse of her reaction. To the surprise of all, she smiled. "I never said it was a small force." The crowd looked shocked. Immediately, questions began to bombard the alicorn. But one in particular- Where had she found allies? Princess Celestia raised a hoof to quieten the mass. "I am sure that some of you have heard of an ancient species. One that did not rely on magic, rather they used technology. Technology that can, I admit, accomplish much more than just the power of ponies. I am talking about humans." Another gasp echoed throughout the cavern. This time, some of excitement. "I will take any questions now." Again, hooves shot into the air and voices were drowned as they all tried to get her attention. Instead of picking on individuals, she listened for the question asked the most. Ah, here's one. She calmed the crowd, "As to the question of when Canterlot will be relieved, while we currently have no estimate, it shouldn't take more than a year. Next question?" More came in. Another one worth answering. "The humans have been hired and brought from another dimension, where war is their sole existence. Do not be mistaken, they are reasonable unless provoked." she paused, "I will say again, they are not cold hearted mindless killers. If the situation was different, I'm sure that many of the humans would make very good friends." More questions came her way. Celestia whispered to her assistant who stood to her left. She needed some coffee bad. *** "Stop. Stopstopstopstopstop." The Humvee slid on the loose sand and rocks littering the area. "Back us up!" The driver hit the lever and stomped on the pedal, sending the 1 1/2 ton vehicle flying backwards til it was in the cover of the mountain again. The humans and pony opened the doors and dismounted. Applejack slowly walked towards the home of her extended family. "Holy...What the hell do we do now." "Tell command. What else?" he turned to the pony, "Yo Applejack... You alright?" The pony swayed, shocked at the sight, "Ah... Ah... don't... Braeb...," her brain registered the events that took place and she started to run, " ...Braeburn! BRAE-" The Ranger caught her before the mare could run out of reach and held her mouth closed, "Shut up shut up shut up! They could still be around!" While Applejack writhed in the Ranger's arms, he motioned for his partner to take a look at the burning town. Through the binoculars, he saw the town slowly disappearing with the flames eating at whatever they came across. What did disappear, were the inhabitants and the invaders. Not a single body lay dead in the streets but there were curious remains of thrown apple pies. "Alright. Alright. Breathe. That's it. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Remember, we can't just go in guns blazing. I know you care about your family, but we need to take it slowly. You cool?" "Ah... Ah don't..." He patted her back, "Do you, wanna stay here? Cuz' you can stay here if-" "NO! Ah-Ah mean..." she sighed," Let's go." *** "WE LOST A QUAD! SEND MORE AA!" the Ranger screamed into his radio. "I hear you Delta, reinforcements incoming." Tom switched to a different channel, "War Factory!" Among the hammering and the buzzing of welders, a rough voice growled in response, "Yeh?" "We need Avengers, how many can you put us up with?" A short pause passed as the worker estimated with his fingers, "Ten, eleven tops. The Strategy Center took quite the chunk outta our wallets." "Make four then send them to the Chinooks. Make it quick, I ordered well done chicken hours ago." "Got it." The worker turned to an idle group looking for their next job, "Break's over, back to work!" The team got out their tools and began cutting and welding in sync, one group handling the heavy metal while another dealt with the delicate electronics. Tom chugged down a bottle of cranberry juice, a drink he had discovered a year previously. He was about to open another when the radio buzzed with the voice of a Ranger. Oh how he wished for good news. But we all know that's not going to happen hm? *** "Why here? Are they here for oil or something?" "Doesn't look like it." "Gold? Jewels?" "Could be." "...Apples?" Applejack stomped the ground in frustration, "Well ah course not! They burnt the whole dang orchard down!" "Yeah. I can see that." Indeed, the smell of burning apple trees released a calming and nostalgic scent of cooked apples and the charred smell of a campfire. If only this area wasn't a war zone. The mare stopped and covered her face with her signature hat, "Sorry for the yellin'. It's just that-" He held up his hand in an understanding manner, "It's alright. I know what's you're going through. And hey! I'm a grunt. I'm supposed to be yelled at!" They all shared a short chuckle that ended suddenly as they walked through the ruined town. All was quiet save for the crackling of the flames still lit. Some of the buildings had completely burnt down into a pile of ashes, save for a few houses that had been spared the worst of the inferno. Pie tins littered the streets, the last struggle of a doomed population. The walk through the town ended quickly, the small outback settlement hadn't changed much from the last time the orange mare had visited. To say the orchard to the east was a sorry sight would've been an understatement. Enough trees to rebuild the town ten times over had been reduced to charred remains and still glowing embers. Apples were scattered on the ground, their black husks crunching under hooves and boots. To Applejack, seeing the single reason she lived for destroyed and desecrated was too much. She ran past the smouldering trunks, desperately calling for her family. "Appleblossom! Sheriff!? Cuz...?" Nothing. The world around her blurred, smoke clogging the usually pristine air into a smog thick enough that one could swim through. She started coughing, trying the take one breath to clear her lungs. Applejack took off her hat, trying to use it to filter out the dark soot and floating embers. *** The Rangers slowly made their way through the darkened town. Around them, buildings continually surrendered to the flames, causing the humans to flinch every time a particularly large piece fell with a thump. They checked each intact building, discovering no more than the bare essentials a settler would use. Obviously utility came first in a self-sufficient town. Large footprints the size of a couch were stamped into the ground. The lucky houses only got raided. The unlucky ones were no more than toothpicks and used matches. The pair swung their rifles as a barrel still dripping cider rolled from a half crushed bar. One of the Rangers slowly walked towards the open end and took a closer look while his partner kept an eye out. "What do you think?" He hissed and jerked his hand back, "I think it burnt my finger." *** The world spun around Applejack as she tried to regain her sense of balance after hitting her head a bit too hard when she tripped. The mare looked around, searching for any sign of her family. Her heart stopped when she realized that the small town was out of sight, and the mountains behind the trees were unfamiliar. But that all took a back seat when a hollow tumbling came from before her. A black figure creeped out from behind a pile of charcoal. The mare's head whipped towards the source of the sound. The dark wood was crunched into coal dust as the creature slowly walked towards the mare. She bent low into a fighting stance, ready to snap her rear legs forward to buck the enemy into next week. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, daring their opponent to make a move. Applejack unconsciously twitched. It was a small insignificant movement of her front left hoof, but its comrades off the the side took it as a sign of an attack. Applejack winced as she was slammed into a tree, causing it to break with a loud crunch. *** "That aint Applejack." the Ranger breathed to his partner as they hid behind a pile of wood. Down the street came two griffons with their feathers dyed black holding ornate spears decorated with intricate lines of highly polished gold and gems. "No. Really?" the human sarcastically replied, "So, how do we get out of here?" "We wait til they reach the intersection, if they go right, we sneak behind the buildings. If they go left, we shoot our way out." "How did we not see them?" "They were... ah... looting?" The Ranger rolled his eyes, "I'll take it." Just another dozen steps and the griffons would be at the crossroads. Three steps. Two. One. "Which way?" he whispered. The Ranger sighed in frustration, "Left." The pair readied their weapons and got ready to shoot when a scream sounded from behind the griffons. They too, turned around to look for the source. Behind them, an orange mare ran from three more griffons dyed black. Applejack's ponytail flailed behind her, her hat forgotten in the panic. "You take left, I take right. Good with that?" the Ranger asked. "I'm good." his partner acknowledged. Sharp cracks echoed through the mountain as lead flew into the griffons standing between the humans and their pony companion. They fell over with a thud and the farmer ran past them. "APPLEJACK LET'S GO!" the soldier yelled as he motioned for the mare to run faster. One Ranger fired shots towards the flyers. After seeing what happened to their comrades, the sound alone was enough to keep their heads down. No words were exchanged until the last door of the Humvee slammed shut. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's-" "INCOMING!" Three shrieks indicated the arrival of the griffon airborne, who now darkened the sky like the smoke from the town. The engine roared to life and the tires kicked up sand and gravel as the vehicle started its return trip. "Command this is Recon 2, we are under attack by a large group of griffons. They came out of nowhere!" "Roger Recon 2. If you can hold for just a little longer we can send reinforcements." The vehicle swerved to avoid a suicidal griffon, "We'll do what we can!" "Roger." The trio were out in the open, steadily making their way back to safer lands. The driver cursed as the other hammered away on the machine gun. As spears pinged off of the armor, the gunner gave a silent prayer of gratitude for whoever decided to give the Humvee a fully-closed turret. More suicidal griffons dived from all directions. While the armor held up, visible dents could be seen from the inside when the spears had impacted. One managed to make it halfway through the windshield and into the front passenger seat which would've killed someone had they been sitting there. More griffons came down and the driver made a sharp 180 degree turn to avoid the sudden wave of armed griffons. A burst of light flashed from above and exploded next to the escaping vehicle, causing it to go up on its two left tires, almost flipping it over. "What the hell was that!?" the driver yelled. The gunner peeked out from a small window mounted high on the turret. He swung around, trying to look for the cause of the explosion. Black blurs covered his view as the griffons tried to defeat the Humvee's tough armor. By now the trio had ended up back in the mountains. The narrow passages protected their sides from attack, but made the vehicle's path predictable. Another ball of light, this time clearly identified as fire, exploded in the spot they had been a split second ago. "Dragon on our tail!" "God dammit... Command, this is Recon 2! We picked up a dragon! We need the firepower ASAP!" "Reinforcements incoming. ETA, five minutes." The driver turned to his partner, "They'll be here in five! We just gotta-" Another blast knocked the gunner from his machine gun onto the seat where he landed on the orange mare who was currently in a fetal position while covering her ears in an attempt to block out the deafening noise and chaos. "That's it. I'm goin' on the TOW." he lifted himself up off if the seat and back into the turret, "Applejack, need you on the MG." "Wha? I-I can't-" "You don't need to aim, just keep shooting. Here." he motioned for her to join him, "One hoof here, one hoof here, and push that down with your chin or something." Abandoning all attempts to tell him that she was probably going to do no good, she did as she was told. Using her chin, she pushed down the trigger on the machine gun. When the hammering resumed, the griffons scattered, not wanting to get shot out of the air. The gunner loaded the TOW missile from a hatch on the inside. Again, he silently thanked whoever designed the new turrets. "Keep us steady!" he yelled to the driver. He looked around for long straightaway, enough for a shot, maybe two. He found it. "Alright there's a stretch ahead, it'll give you... five seconds! Don't waste it!" "I won't." the gunner whispered. He looked through the sights and spotted the red dragon who had caused so much trouble. The vehicle entered the long straight valley. "We're steady!" Time slowed as the missile ignited, sending the metal tube into the air. Trailing the missile were thin, almost invisible wires that guided the TOW on its path of destruction. The small, lightweight griffons easily avoided the incoming missile but the dragon could only wish for such maneuverability. It exploded on his right foreleg, causing painful bruising but not penetrating the thick scales. It faltered for a moment as it rubbed the point of impact. The Ranger cursed as he pushed away the empty missile tube and pulled out a new one. While the vehicle swerved around bends and turns, Applejack pointed her machine gun in the biggest cluster. Most bullets passed in between the griffons, but one managed to find its mark and blasted through an unlucky flyer's wing which sent it tumbling down onto the rocky ground. "I... I got one! I got one!" she yelled. "Good shot!" the human replied, deciding not to mention that it was mostly luck. After expending all of their spears, the griffons turned to their own claws and got in close, looking for the chink in the armor. While none was found, they turned their attention to the cracked windscreen. One tried to pull out the spear that was lodged into the front seat, but slid off when the vehicle made a sharp turn. The driver cursed as more and more griffons blocked his view of the route ahead. The dragon opened his mouth to ready another shot. The Ranger kicked the driver. "WHAT?" "GO LEFT! YOU"RE GONNA HIT A MOUNTAIN!" Eyes widened, he made a panicked turn, causing the Humvee to go on two wheels again. It missed the mountain, but before the vehicle went down on all four tires, the dragon fired another shot. The fireball missed by a hair, instead landing beneath the half-toppled Humvee, sending it and its crew tumbling until it came to a rest on its side at the base of a cliff. *** The Ranger tried to focus through the haze. To his right, he could hear something that sounded like a chant. He briefly wondered if he was half dead until his ears slowly cleared up. "Am gon de. Am gon de. Am gon die. Am gon die. I'm gon die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die." Applejack was shaking in a fetal position while covering her head as if it could protect her from the griffons. He slowly patted her head and said reassuringly, "You're not gonna die. You're not-" He stopped when he noticed through the window that the dragon was still there, readying another shot. The griffons surrounded the immobile vehicle, yelling orders to come out. The Ranger got out his sidearm. He wasn't going out, not without a fight. Not on the scale or grandeur of the Alamo or Thermopylae, but no less important. He got ready to jump out and shoot. He was interrupted by an apple pie that smashed into the nearest griffon's head. Apparently when dropped from a height, they were effective non-lethal projectiles. More pies flew from the top of the cliff as faint orders of "FIRE" could be heard off in the distance. The inhabitants of Appaloosa had caught the invaders in a deadly, yet tasty trap. The griffons screeched as they flew to deal with the new threat, dodging pies and rocks launched by earth ponies. The dragon spread its wings, the humans forgotten. Sensing a small chance, the Ranger got back into the turret. He readied one more shot of defiance as the flying dragon came into view. Now. The TOW missile flew from the tube, whistling through the air. In a lucky shot through hazy and blurry eyes, it hit the dragon's throat, this time causing more damage in the form of a backfire that ignited the inside of the its mouth. Narrowed eyes did little to convey the amount of anger that radiating from the flying reptile. Opening his jaws, red blood dripped from wounds as it poured more and more flammable gas into its throat. It ignited into a ball of fire. And that's when missiles flew from the left and exploded in his face. *** Rotors propelled the Chinooks and their Comanche escorts towards their destination. The radio in the lead helicopter blared to life as they steadily made their way to Appaloosa. "Command, we are fueled and armed." "Roger. Raptor 1, Raptor 2, you are cleared for takeoff." "Acknowledged." "Ey boys!" the pilot yelled, "They're in the air! Can you see em'?" The crew of the Avengers and the Ambulance looked out the back. It was no more than a minute before two King Raptors rocketed past them, a bit close for comfort. Seconds later, a series of explosions indicated that the planes had hit their target. The helicopters slowly descended behind a mountain, "Okay boys, get the bastards!" Cables were unhooked as the crew got into their respective vehicles. Engines rumbled and electronics beeped to life. This would be just another turkey shoot. *** The two jet fighters reached the battle within a few seconds. "Command, we see the dragon, looks like there's already a fight going on." Raptor 2's pilot came on the line, "I can't get a lock on him! No thermal, no radar." Even through the radio Tom sounded exasperated, "You're telling me you can't get a radar lock on something the size of tree?" The dragon ignited the gas in his mouth. A long bleep indicated that the plane's computer painted a bulls eye on the dragon's head. "Yes si-" Raptor 1 interrupted him. "I've got tone!" "So do I!" "Then Raptors 1 and 2, you are cleared to engage." "Raptor 1, Fox 2!" "Raptor 2, Fox 2!" Missiles flew from under the fighter's wings. Within a split second, they impacted with a force many times stronger than the TOW. The dragon was blown away by the blast along with a few unlucky griffons who got caught in the shock wave. Sandwiched between pies and jets, the griffons all dived down low to avoid the onslaught. The human sat inside, tapping images of griffons on his screen, designating targets to shoot at. He nodded to the driver, "Ready?" "Only if they are." As if they were all in sync, the second Avenger asked the same question. They got the same answer. The griffons flew in a tight circle, stuck in the middle. Some turned their heads towards an unfamiliar rumbling sound around a corner. Two familiar, yet new vehicles rolled out of the cover of the mountain. In a blink of an eye, the banks of capacitors charged and discharged, sending a beam of burning light towards the hapless griffons. They fell like flies, unmoving after the lasers killed with almost surgical precision. That was the proverbial nail in the coffin. "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" A small piece of white cloth fluttered from the end of a stick. The jets circled around, and the Avenger's lasers dared the griffons to make a move. *** He assessed the toppled Humvee, "Hand me the jaws will you?" As his partner lugged out a pair of hydraulic cutters, medics got their bandages and pain relievers ready. A long grueling minute passed before the top of the turret was mangled opened. A weary face peeked from inside, "Well... Took ya long enough." They all chuckled, but the head medic reminded them of their job, "Come on, let's get you out." "Wait," he moved aside to reveal the still shaking Applejack, "Get her out first." The medics nodded, and moved inside. As the Ranger assisted in any way he could, a screeching sound came from the direction of the driver. The door was flung open and more medics evacuated the unconscious driver. Finally, it was his turn to be rescued. When he insisted that he walk and take his own seat in the Chinook, the medics insisted more, and he was strapped onto a stretcher complete with neck brace. Next to him was a griffon, also strapped on a stretcher with injuries from falling. "So," the Ranger said in an attempt to start a conversation, "how was your day?"