"Equestria has always been a planet of hope, peace, and love... and it shall always stay that way. From the great cease-fire between the Griffons and changelings to the the great truce during the Qinlar war, Equestrians always prevail into harmony"-Said by an anonymous Pony
Slavery...a horrible word, it is work without cause, it is the process by which one is forcefully subjugated, put into chains, and then strangled the life out of, for what, for someone else's gain. Slavery is a brutal system by which one is ordered to work until he can no longer work, and then he dies never making a dime in his life. Ponies had once experienced slavery before, it was under the Griffon's rule. It was a time of great sorrow and pain, but this, Dragononian slavery, was far, far worse than anything we had ever experienced before. The Dragononian slavery phrase was "Show no mercy!", and "Kill all Weakest Links". The Dragononians would whip with, as they called it, a "Flame Bleacher". The "Flame Bleacher" would spill a red hot liquid upon your back, burning right through, almost penetrating the skin. The liquid would then stay lodged into your back for a full day, and would even continue through the night preventing you from much needed rest, and then because of the sleep depravity which would certainly follow, suffering would follow the remainder of your days. I, myself, saw many a poor Armonian souls kill themselves, than work for these Alien Scum. The "Flame Bleacher" was only one of the many tortuous items used to keep Armonians in line. The highest price for not working truly beyond your limit was death. This would befall my good friend Caramel.
During the month, Herastus, Equestrian slavery became more intensified after an attempted rebellion in Griffoni . I heard that everyone who took part in the attempted uprising was brutally murdered, and that all surrounding areas were required to give up one innocent family who was tortured to death in front of everyone. The Dragononians did not stop there, however, because they also motioned that every scream which came out of the poor family was a whip to some other family. I heard that there were one hundred screams before each member died, and with it, one hundred whips. Nonetheless, we had to worry about our own problems in Equestria because the Dragononian massacres were stepped up because of the attempted rebellion in Griffoni. There was no hope in sight. Armonians actually started to commit suicide. Something had to be done, but what could we do?...what could we do? Well, as the old saying goes, we had to fight fire with fire. Where to obtain the fire?
The next week me, Apple Bloom, and Braeburn, who came to Ponyville on a visit before the Appleloosa massacre, and who was grieving the death of his dearly, beloved sister, Apple Fritter, among others, came to Granny Smith's funeral. At the end of the funeral, Spike slithered over to me and Braeburn, and whispered in my ear, with a voice as quiet as a door mouse that he had something very important to share with me. He also said it was for older Equestrians. I told Apple Bloom to go and play with SweetieBell and Scootaloo while me and Braeburn discussed something with Spike. Apple Bloom left and I gave Spike the go ahead.
"What is it, Spike... I don't want to leave Apple Bloom alone out there with those treacherous reptiles and humans by herself?"
"Listen", Spike half-hissed, half-whispered, "Princess Celestia, Don't ask me how or when, but she sent me a letter yesterday advising us to infiltrate this Dragononian outpost in the Everfree Forest."
"What does the letter say, Spike... would you quit wasting our time", Braeburn yelled in a whisper.
"Sorry, Sorry... The letter basically confirmed that the Dragononians are A: hiding something from us, B: They want all of our resources, and C: they are trying to locate the Elements of Harmony." Spike hissed his last few words.
"So Spike," I exclaimed, "Your telling me that they are hiding something from us, and that they want the elements... Spike that is totally stupid, not only do these Dragononians have us under their practically complete control, why in the name of Luna would they possibly want the elements, I mean what could it truly gain them?"
"Big Mac, if the Dragononians get the elements, they will be able to use them to completely control all of Armonia, they will literally have us under mind control... why do you think they wanted AppleJack, Twilight, Pinkie-Pie, and all the rest of them? Why do you think they need all of the princesses, princes, and so forth? They need them because they are the only ones who can operate the elements, and then they can take control of all of Armonia. Not just that, according to Celestia, the elements will point to something which has been located on Armonia for countless millenia. This, in turn, will give the Dragononians something else that they desperately need. Beside that, think about the other thing Big Mac, if the Dragononians have control over us, then why are they hiding something, unless that something can beat or give us, as Armonians, a chance to beat them! Look guys I am getting a team together, and you are two of the candidates that I picked to help me get this information."
"Alright, Alright", Braeburn exclaimed, "He is right Big Mac! We need to find out what this is because if we do, then we can stop these Dragononians... so, Spike when are we going in."
"Well" Spike leaned in close, and then he paused, "Tonight" he whispered this with a voice more soft than even Fluttershy's.
"TONIGHT!", I practically yelled, making the Chaplain Changeling stare at me.
"Shhhhhh" Spike let out a quick way to tell me shut up without saying it.
"Spike", I yelped back, "How do you expect us to pull this off, I mean we don't have any training, no weaponry, no nothing, and do we really want to cause another Appleloosa, I mean seriously we can't ju--"
"Listen, are you in or out Big Mac...Zecora will supply weaponry, and the operation commences in two hours, I have no time to wait plus we may have only a week or less before the Dragononians find the Elements, and then they can kill anyone off, including your sister."
"Wait," I replied, "She isn't dead?"
"No," Spike countered back," in fact, she is still very much alive." There was about a five second silence.
"Well, I for one am in", Braeburn broke the silence, "I want to give those Dragononians their fair share of pain".
"Awesome," replied Spike, "and you, Big Mac?"
I paused for what seemed an eternity, and then replied with a faint, "Yes." The issue was settled. We were to meet at 2:00 at night, and we would then proceed with the mission. I went home with Braeburn, we tucked in Apple Bloom, and prepared for the worst. My only concern was Apple Bloom,but Spike said that Mrs. Cheerilee would take any fallen's relative into her home,so I went with that.
At 2:00, me and Braeburn proceeded to meet our team at Zecora's spooky home which always did give me the creeps. When we arrived drenched in mud, twig pieces, and other undesirables, we found that our squad consisted of about 100 various Armonians. I only noticed a few. Anyways, we found Spike designating different Armonians to different tasks, and so we asked Spike ours. He told us that we would have one of the most important tasks, Covering Sniper fire.Spike told us to go over to Zecora, and ask for the weapons that we would be using. She gave us something called a Dragononian "Slither" rifle. The Rifle itself was composed of a green and black shining metal, and when fired made absolutely no sound, perfect for our mission. It wasn't the color or even the lack of sound that made the Rifle frightening, it was what it shot. The Rifle fired a round, which, when it hit the individual target, would make him go insane, and he would then start killing all that was around him. He basically hallucinated to death, except that he took others down with him. The Rifle was especially necessary because we needed a diversion to get where we had to go, inside the base.
When Zecora handed me my rifle,I eyeballed it very viciously and vicariously. The bar-code on the right side of the weapon read, ZZ78-23WE. The weapon had a button on the side which read, "Select Fire Breach", and in three areas were written, "Single Shot","Tri-Shot", and "Full Auto". On the other side of the weapon, there was a button which read, "Clip Release", but below it there was a warning which read, "Do not slam side when clip is engaged, Potential explosion". As I stood there examining the weapon, Braeburn said, "Hey 'cuz, we're heading out, come on lets move." I came back to attention and ran up to where the group was. The first fight of my life, besides the time I beat up Night Strength,was about to begin.
We marched for awhile. At around 3:00, a thunderstorm began to emerge. When our group finally got to its destination, we all read the map again, went over the plans for who was who, where we were to be stationed, what was to happen if something went wrong, and where the LZ meeting place was to be. Me and Braeburn then headed for a ridge to which we could see the whole base. Me and Braeburn set up. I was the spotter, and Braeburn the sniper. Finally, we cleared to "Luna" team that we were in position, and they gave us an,"OK!", and started to move.
"Here we go," I whispered to Braeburn, and that was that, the fight had begun, and there was no turning back.
I scanned the area, noticing guards, sentry turrets, and an assortment of other things Dragononian. I reported to "Luna" team when they were clear,and when they were not. I told "Luna" Team that they were clear to move to Point one after about five minutes of clearing. During those five minutes, I even got to see Spike assassinate a human Dragononian guard. It was very interesting. Spike came up from behind, and took the guard by his helmet. He then through the guard to the ground, hit him in the back of the neck, and went to crack the skull. However, out of nowhere, a Dragon Dragononian guard came around the bend, and rushed at Spike with his knife. Spike, almost instantaneously, grabbed the human Dragononian, and put him in front of his buddy like a meat shield. The Dragon Dragononian then stabbed his fellow soldier, and Spike ducked down as a fellow Changeling peppered the Dragon Dragononian with bullets and plasma fire from his own weapon. The whole scene was awesome. Anyway, Spike and them continued to move on to the point where we would mainly come in, the diversion. Finally, when it came our time to shine, I told "Luna" team to hold, as we waited for a guard who would create the diversionary scenario. "Luna" team held as me and Braeburn sighted in.
"The guard is about 280 pikes north, Braeburn," I relayed the intel as to where Braeburn needed to shoot.
"Roger that, 'cuz... sighting in...okay, ya I see him, standby for shot..."
I looked into my scope,ready to immediately relay reaiming information in case Braeburn missed his shot.He didn't.
"Pffft" Braeburn slowly pulled the trigger,and a silent whisper shot out. The streak of the bullet traveled over 2 miles before meeting its intended Dragon Dragononian target. The bullet hit the Dragononian dead on in the chest, and started exactly what was wanted, a diversion. The Dragononian started going insane, firing his weapon left and right in a blaze of glory, alerting all types of alarms. Many Dragononians rushed to the commotion. The operation was going well so far.
"You are clear to enter, Luna leader", I said.
"Roger that", Spike, who was Luna leader, proclaimed. The first squad stacked up to the door, Spike in front. I could see he was worried, and I could already imagine what was going through his tiny dragon head.Spike then drew a large metal container from his jacket, the words on it reading "Dragononian Flasher". He took in a breath, his heart pumping at a million beats a second as he stepped out, turning the corner into the first entrance area. Two Dragononian guards stood idly by when the grenade flew in, each armed with powerful battle rifles that could rip apart a pony in seconds. Spike saw their eyes go wide when they saw him and the canister flying in, the world stuck in slow-motion as their weapons slowly rose toward him. His blood ran cold as he shielded his eyes with one claw, soon about to be riddled full of bullets.
A deafening bang stunned the guards inside as their weapons drop, followed by a stream of ponies rushing in to take the point. Spike, now recovered from his near-death situation, instinctively brought his pistol to his face, the sights hovering across the room until it landed upon a highly confused and most importantly, blind human. He unloaded two shots into the human's chest, causing him to reel back from the sheer impact and power of the weapon. One more unloaded into his head, a small trail of blood spewing out from his face as the downed guard fell to the ground. During the chaos, the rest of Luna team had taken out the second guard, a more heavily armored and powerful Dragon Dragononian. The silence and flash which I saw through my lense was over, and Spike came back on.
"The first area is cleared", Spike exclaimed back, "We are moving into the first room now", he finished. Me and Braeburn's new jobs were to make sure no one else got in.
"I got a target on your left, Braeburn, between those two vehicles there", I told Braeburn.
"I see it 'cuz, hold on", he exclaimed back. He pulled the trigger of his gun, and, Boom, hit the Dragononian dead between the eyeballs. The Dragononian fell backward in a pile of oozing, maroon colored blood. Then, turning to my right on the scope, I noticed three Dragononians, who had figured out what was happening start to prance to the entrance where Spike and his team were. Braeburn fired a shot, and hit and killed one. He then aimed for the other, and fired but missed. Braeburn popped the clip out, and started to reload when the weapon jammed of all times. I knew something had to be done.
"The grenade!!", I screamed in my mind. I had just remembered that I had a Dragononian "Live-wire" grenade, which I could use. However, there were two problems, One: I wasn't sure if I or the grenade could make the throw, and Two: I forgot how to use it. I quickly put the first thought in my mind away, but the second thought was still there.
"Was it pull pin, push top, and squeeze and then throw or was it Pull pin, squeeze, and then push top?", I thought to myself. Finally, I told myself that I had only one shot and that I was wasting time. I went with the first option, threw the buzzing canister, and hoped for the best. The grenade skidded and glided down the mountain. It hit the ground and blew up, but it only killed one Dragononian, the other one was still trying to rush inside. I thought I had let the team down, when I saw the Dragononian's knees collapse, as he buckled and flew into the Equestrian soil. Braeburn had reloaded in time, and colt was I joyous. Other Dragononians continued to try to enter,but finally after about 30 minutes, Spike and his team rushed out.
"We got some intel you colts aren't going to believe", Spike half-talked, half-shouted to us.
"Great", returned Braeburn, "Now let's get out of here". We immediately sprung up, and rushed for our meeting point, when we heard a loud !BOOM!
"Help!" I heard someone on the other line shout with a piercing pain in his voice, "My leg, my leg!" they continued to yell.
I turned to Braeburn and said, "We have to go back!", but before Braeburn could give his answer, Spike, who had been listening, we were connected com-wise, exclaimed to us that we had to continue to the rally point, with or without them. Spike went on to tell us that he would make it back.
"Spike, we both know how that will go down!", I exclaimed
"You colts know the deal!", Spike shouted, "we go to the LZ with or without some Armonian".
"Ya,but Spike if you Equestrians die, what was the point of this whole operation?".
"GO!", Spike yelled, "You know the deal!", he again yelled before yelling to someone to help him carry some changeling out.
"Big Mac, he's right,we have to go."
"NO,Braeburn, I will not let this and their lives go to waste... We have to do something!"
""Well, I wi--"
Braeburn was interrupted by some very close by machine-gun fire. Me and him turned to where the sound was originating from, and saw that three Dragononians had set up one of their heavy machine-guns. Me and Braeburn turned to each other realizing that this was our chance. We got just close enough to where we could see them. Braeburn aimed and fired, and the "Shrieker" round accomplished what it was suppose to. The Dragon Dragononian turned on his two comrades.He killed one of the other Dragon Dragononians, and turned to kill the human one. The human one, however,was able to destroy him,and so I then pulled out my Dragononian "Richter" submachine-gun, and launched a whole arsenal of fire rounds his way. He died instantaneously.
Me and Braeburn rushed to the Dragononian heavy machine-gun, re-cocked it,and began to fire in, as the Dragononians did, short bursts. It was super effective. I peppered away with the machine-gun while Braeburn fed me more ammo. I could tell that we were doing damage because I saw Dragononian soldiers drop like flies. The gun, however, was over-heating, and I did not know how to cool it. I could feel the searing heat slowly crawling up my arms, and reaching ever so carefully into my legs. The heat was becoming unbearable, and I could feel the shaking of something in the gun,but I just continued to fire. The RATA RATA RATATATA of the gun was almost, in this instance, a lovely sound. I could tell that by disobeying these orders, I was saving the squad, and the information which we required. I was overjoyed. As I continued to fire, heat blazing up my body, I heard a faint rumble followed by a quick chink. Then It went dark.
I slowly came to my senses, my eyes coming in and out of the eerie Equestrian night. I was being dragged away, slowly. Looking up, I saw that Braeburn was dragging me away, then I saw another explosion, I was dropped, and everything went dark again.
I awoke the next afternoon in my bed. I heard faint laughter and looking outside, I saw my sister and her two friends playing outside. I turned around, and walked into the other room. As I came into the kitchen, there standing there was Mrs, Cheerilee.
"Good morning honey", she said, "have a good sleep?"
"Honey," I thought in my mind, "Why is Mrs. Cheerilee calling me honey?"
"Hey dear," Mrs. Cheerilee started to talk to me,"could you go check on Big Mind? and while your at it could you also check on Love Heart?"
"Big Mind? Love Heart? who are these ponies?", I asked
"Why our son and daughter of course... you feeling alright hon'", Mrs. Cheerilee asked.
"Son? Daughter? Mrs. Cheerilee? Was I married? Did I just have a bad dream? What is going on? I-I just don't kno--"
"Hey, hon'!... Do you want to die?"
"What?",but it was too late Mrs. Cheerilee jumped on top of me, pinned me to the wall, and roared, except that she had gruesome teeth.
I opened my eyes, and the reality hit me. Standing on top of me was a Dragon Dragononian, and he was roaring with his sharp teeth bare, drooling right into my face. I thought I was dead, but that is when Spike jumped on top of the Dragononian, pulled out a Scyt knife, and plunged it into the very heart of the Dragononian. The thing died instantly. Spike ran to me, started to drag me away, and out of shock, I went out cold again.
This time I really did awake in the afternoon in my house. I looked outside to find my sister and her friends playing, and I went downstairs, but I did not find any Mrs. Cheerilee. Instead I found Braeburn with Spike.
"Big Mac... come here, lets show you what we found, but listen do not tell anybody about this info...if the Dragononians find out we have it, it could be the end of us"
"I know", I said.
With that Spike held up a Dragononian document which read, HIGHLY CLASSIFIED (DRAGONONIAN EYES ONLY). Spike then want on to tell me about how the document described a war that the Dragononians were fighting known as the Universal War, against 42 other empires, which all had one goal in mind, Universal Conquest. Spike shared the names of these empires and their specific goals which was important because we needed to know which empire gave us the best chance of freedom, and, if not freedom, which empire gave us the chance to live how we wanted to live. Spike finally went on to say that what was needed next was the decision of which empire to pick, and how to do it. He also told us that the Elements, if in the order of too much chaos and destruction, would actually reset giving only Armonians true control over them again. This meant that war was required to make sure only Armonians could use the elements, and to get rid of these evil, Dragononian scum. The question then became, Who will fight for us?