//------------------------------// // SEMPER FIDELIS // Story: BATTLEFIELD 3 EQUESTRIA: The Griffonia Connection // by ElaineSpitzer343 //------------------------------// CHAPTER TWO | SEMPER FIDELIS Mary-Louise "Scootaloo" Scooterson Somewhere on the Equestrian/Foal Chi Minh Border July 22nd, 2015 0130 HRS Scootaloo had been in waiting for some time now. The dust had formed a layer over her coat and mane. "Damn, where are they..." she mumbled. Not too far away, several specks shifted. Scootaloo strained to see the two figures walking in the distance. Right on schedule, it was a unicorn and an earth pony wearing khaki drabs and matching saddle bags. She picked herself up and waved the two down. "Decided to take the scenic route eh?" Scootaloo said, unimpressed. "We kinda got... lost. Sweetie Belle here ain't exactly the best map reader around." Applebloom glared at the unicorn. "Well, at least we're here now." Sweetie let out a nervous smile. "You see anything on your way here?" said Scootaloo. "Well, we saw ah couple'f trucks headed North. It was definitley Griffonian vehicles." Applebloom said. "Well, that's not good... but we still need concrete evidence of what exactly they're doing." Scootaloo said. "We need to maintain the timeline. The village where the meeting will be taking place is not too far North..." "Same place those trucks were heading." Sweetie said, looking rather smug at making the connection. "No shit sherlock... anyway we need to go now. Follow me..." Scootaloo said as the trio headed off... Sergeant Elkheart Lightning Checkpoint Delta, Hill 700, Foal Chi Minh July 22nd, 2015 0135 HRS "This is Arrow zero-two, we're in place." the earth pony crouched low in the bushes as the truck convoy passed by. "Definitely Griffonian vehicles... the village is not too far ahead, we're going to follow them. Over." Lightning looked back to the two other earth ponies who had accompanied him and gestured them to follow him. The trucks were moving at a slow pace, enough for the ponies to follow along the thick foliage on either side of the road. They followed the 3-truck convoy for about 15 minutes until it had come to a complete stop in the middle of a small village. "Ok guys... don't make a sound... they're exiting the vehicles..." Lightning said. Several griffons exited the trucks, dressed in olive green garb with a red armband and the trademark hammer and sickle of the communist party. Out of the last truck however, two ponies were ushered out. "You seeing this..." Lightning said, his eyes wide open. "Shit... that's Arrow one-one." came the voice of the private beside him. "This don't look good..." Lightning said. Another griffon exited the driver's seat ushering the two ponies into a hut and following them in. "We gotta do something..." the young private said. "Nothing we can do..." Lightning clenched his teeth as ammunition was unloaded from the other two lead trucks. The grizzled griffon soldier grunted as he tied the two earth ponies to poles on opposite ends of the room. After this, he left the hut. "Now..." another pony stepped into the hut wearing a dirty military garb and a red communist arm band. "You tell me what you doin' here, ah?" the two ponies remained silent. The griffon on standby punched one of the ponies in the gut. The earth pony gagged but remained silent. "We'll get it out of them eventually." muttered the griffon. Mary-Louise "Scootaloo" Scooterson Hill 700, Foal Chi Minh July 22nd, 2015 0150 HRS "There it is... that's the village." Scootaloo scanned the small village with her binoculars. "Shit... Charlie's all over the damn place. No sign of Griffon activity but those are Griffon vehicles right over there." "So it's true. The commies are helping out the FCH Liberation Army." Applebloom took out a crossbow from her saddlebag, strapping it to her hoof and loading a bolt. "So are we going in?" a piercing howl of pain emanated from one of the huts. "I guess that means we're going in." Scootaloo said. "Applebloom, stay here and provide overwatch. Sweetie Belle, follow me. There might be POW's in the camp. I'm guessing it may be the missing Arrow-One team." "Roger." Applebloom dropped to a prone position. "Sweetie, you know how to use this right?" she hoofed her karambit knife to the unicorn. "Of course! They wouldn't have thrown me in with you guys if I couldn't handle myself." Sweetie gave Scootaloo a little wink. "Of course." the two ponies carefully climbed down the hill, careful not to draw too much attention. They slipped behind one of the huts and crawled underneath. "Ok, the hut is over there. We're going to go underneath these huts and then enter when it's clear. Luckily Charlie seems to be congregating somewhere over yonder." Scootaloo whispered, pointing to the large crowd of raggedy ponies who were gathering in front of a small sheltered stage. Scootaloo pulled out another smaller knife and stuck it in her mouth as the duo continued their slow crawl under the wooden huts. "Look out... tango dead ahead." Sweetie Belle whispered. "I'll take care of this." Scootaloo smirked as she crawled up to the pair of hooves standing at the edge of the hut. With a quick movement, she pulled the hapless pony underneath the hut, quickly sticking the knife into his throat. "Ok clear..." Scootaloo said as she dragged the rest of the pony's body under the hut. "The target building is just up ahead." "Got it." Sweetie Belle whispered. Another pair of hooves appeared at the edge of the building. "Wait..." Scootaloo whispered. "Ah'll be back ah. Make sure you ge'it out of him when I come back. I'll be at the show." the pony said, quickly walking off to where the other ponies were gathering to see a musical performance. "Okay coast is clear..." Scootaloo said, poking her head out from underneath the hut. All of the ponies were busy at the mini concert which was at full swing, all of them singing and dancing along to traditional folk tunes. "Stay close, we're going in." Scootaloo extended her hoof to help Sweetie Belle out. "Ugh, my sister would have a heart attack if she saw me this dirty." Sweetie Belle said as she dusted herself off. Scootaloo took her place at the side of the doorway. She pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. "Still not going to talk?" the griffon growled at the pony tied to the pole. "Shit..." Scootaloo said. "They've got POW's in there..." she opened the door fully and threw the knife at the griffon, hitting him squarely in the back of the head. The tall griffon twitched a little bit before falling dead to the floor. Scootaloo took the knife from the dead griffon's head before proceeding to untie the pony from the pole. "I didn't tell them shit..." the pony said, tears rolling down his eyes. "I know." Scootaloo looked up to the bloodied corpse of his dead comrade, tied to a pole on the opposite end of the room. "What's your name soldier?" "Saschen Spinster, ma'am." Sweetie Belle had already begun to take out a medical kit from her saddlebag. "Are there any more of you here? Where's the rest of Arrow Zero-One?" Scootaloo said. "They're being held around the back of the officer's hut. It's... the one right at the end with the Foal Chi Minh flag." Spin said, biting his lip in pain as Sweetie Belle applied antiseptic to his wounds. "Sweetie Belle, take Spin and get out of here. Do it quietly. I'm going to try and free the rest of the POW's." Scootaloo took a peek outside where the music was still playing loudly. "They're not going to be doing that forever, I need to get our guys and high tail it out of this place." "Will do. Be careful Scoots." Sweetie Belle said as she helped Spin to his hooves. "Right..." at that, Scootaloo was off." Sergeant Elkheart Lightning Hill 700, Foal Chi Minh July 22nd, 2015 0210 HRS "What's that?" Lightning said, his mouth wide open. "A huge girffon convoy heading South!" the skinny private said. "But... that's the border to Equestria! Why on earth are they heading South?" "I don't know, but we need to get out of here quick and alert Overlord-Zero." "What about the POW's?" one of the ponies said, a corporal. "Crusader Team is has hooves on the ground. We'll just have to leave it to them. We need to get back across the river and radio command." Lightning said. "I hope you're right about this sir..." the private said as the three ponies took off into the distance. Mary-Louise "Scootaloo" Scooterson Hill 700, Foal Chi Minh July 22nd, 2015 0212 HRS Scootaloo kept low, skirting around buildings and ducking into bushes as she made her way to the officer's hut which was located dangerously close to where the singing and dancing had been going on. She made her way quietly toward the back where a little pit had been dug. Inside were two very sick looking ponies who had obviously been there for some time. "Hold on, I'll get you out..." Scootaloo attempted to shake open the wooden gate above them. "The key... with the... officer..." one of the ponies said weakly. "Got it..." Scootaloo quickly climbed up to the window at the back of the hut and peered in carefully. Inside, the officer was sleeping. "Perfect..." Scootaloo crawled in and stuck her knife into the officer's throat, spilling copious amounts of gore onto the white bedsheets. Quickly, she searched around the desk and found the key. She jumped back out the window and opened the wooden doors that sealed the POW's into the muddy pit. "Stop right there..." came a hoarse voice. "Turn around." Scootaloo did as she was told, dropping the wooden gate back into place. Before her were two griffons pointing automatic rifles right at her...