//------------------------------// // 6. Bitter Results and Conclusions // Story: Battalion of Harmony // by mcb893 //------------------------------// 6 Hours Later... Rarity paid the street vendor five bits for the tomatoes she had bought, smiling as she wished him a good day. Despite Frank being suspiciously called away for some sort of military operation, it was still a good day. Sweetie Belle and her friends had managed to stay out of trouble for a few days now, and they had even become pretty successful with a new column in her school's paper. The column contained poems by soldiers in the military, something everypony seemed to thoroughly enjoy reading. As of right now, all she was doing was some shopping. Nothing special was going on, but she was running a little low on food at home, so she decided to head into town and buy some groceries. As she reached the next street vendor, she noticed him smile and tip his hat to her, to which she smiled back. A nice peaceful day in town was just what she had needed. ... Moore groaned in pain as the carriers slowly began to roll into Canterlot, or rather what remained of them. Any that had managed to escape being destroyed had still taken hefty gunfire. What had started as a decently sized response team of twelve carriers had been reduced to broken down grouping of seven. Given, another reason there weren't as many carriers was because some had already returned to the towns they had originally been in, but even including those brought the original amount to twenty-nine, with only eighteen returning. The first carrier opened, revealing Moore and his team slowly making their way out, with the Staff Sergeant slumped across the shoulders of Jack and Frank. In front of them, several random civilians stared wide eyed. The other carriers began to open, an assortment of soldiers, civilians, and wounded operators coming out of them. Moore groaned as he tried to keep himself from shouting out, not wanting to alert the ponies any more than they already had. A majority of the soldiers were screaming out orders, telling others to help with the wounded or make way for refugees. Moore didn't want to add to any of that. "Get me to the castle... I have to inform the Princess of the situation..." He said through grit teeth. Jack looked at him with an emotionless frown. "No Staff Sergeant. You need medical attention ASAP." He said with a solid tone. Moore tried to argue, but Jack and Frank had their minds set on getting him to a hospital. Guess he couldn't blame them. ... "Get your butts moving! We have civies and a wounded man who need medical attention! GET MOVING!" Predator shouted as he rushed the ponies in uniform out of the vehicle. He didn't know how things went in this world, but he did know that he had to get the wounded immediate attention. Swift had tried to say he was okay to fight, but Predator would have none of that. "Hustle up! Get to the nearest hospitals, move!" He heard someone shout as he rushed out of the vehicle, pointing his weapon forward. Aiming down the sight, he looked left and right before lowering the weapon. Looking behind him, he saw Apex hurrying civilians out of the vehicle, with Swift holding his shoulder. Blood was coming out of it less generously now, but there was still a decent amount of it soaking his shoulder. "Get to a hospital right now, We'll handle this." Predator said as he looked around to see several other civilians chattering uneasily, with some even appearing genuinely frightened. "Sergeant I'm fine, you need my..." Swift tried to say. "NO I DON'T! Just get to that hospital! That's an order! GO!" Predator shouted. Swift backed away slightly, momentarily shocked by Predator's outburst. Before he could respond, Predator walked over to Apex, who still had his weapon pointed forward. "Apex, I'm going to that castle, I gotta warn those Princesses about what's going on." He said as he gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. Apex looked over to him, lowering his weapon from his shoulder. "What about the ponies?" He asked. "Just take care of them, get going!" Predator said as he motioned another group of refugees along. "That's not what I meant. I meant about their military. We've been in a stalemate with these guys for three years, what the heck are we supposed to do with these low-tech ponies?" Apex clarified. Predator froze a moment, thinking about this. He had been blatantly ignoring that fact, mostly because his mind had more questions on it's forefront, which he still hadn't resolved. Things were just happening way too fast. If it weren't for his training, he would probably be freaking out about now. Growling, he shook his head and moved forward. Never giving Swift his answer. ... Barns set John down as easily as he could onto the bed, though he was groaning and moaning with every movement. Barns' entire side was soaked in blood, making him feel hot and sticky. Nurses rushed out as quickly as they could, clearly packed and struggling to keep up with the sudden patients. "Hang in there John, you're gonna be alright." Jack said as he gripped his leader's shoulder. John shook his head and growled. "I'm in the hospital, now get to the castle! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna need to know what the heck's going on!" He shouted as a nurse came over to him, trying to quiet him down. A doctor came close behind her, preparing a needle with some sort of fluid inside. "Staff Sergeant, things are crazy out there! The streets are flooded with refugees and wounded, we have to..." Barns tried to say, but John just shook his head. "Let Derek and Jacob worry about that! Get to that castle!" John shouted as the doctor stuck the needle into his right shoulder, pushing the syringe down. Barns was pretty sure that was morphine, so John wouldn't be fully aware of what was going on for much longer. So there was no point in arguing. "Come on Jack, we have to go." He said as he picked his weapon up from it's dangling position. Jack looked over to him, about to argue, but Barns was already out the door. ... Predator shoved the palace doors open, gaining surprised reactions from several guards inside. Walking inside, he saw numerous guards moving around, clearly on full alert, but from what? Had word of the attack spread that quickly? Throwing these thoughts out of his mind, he rushed over to the center of the castle, ignoring Kestrel to his left. The corporal had decided to stay at the castle in case something happened, and to try and establish good relations with the Princesses. "Sergeant, what's going on? Word of the wounded are just now coming in, what happened down there?" Kestrel asked as he jogged to the side of his acting commander. Predator didn't advert his gaze forward when he answered him. "Things went wrong. That's what happened." He said, keeping his view focused in front of him. "I gathered that much, but what went wrong?" Kestrel asked. "Look, I don't time for this, I need to inform the Princesses of the situation." Predator said. "What situation?" Kestrel persisted. Predator growled in aggravation, and turned to face his squad mate. "I'll tell you in a minute, now where are the Princesses? He demanded from the corporal. Kestrel shook his head, and Predator growled as he turned away and placed his palms on his forehead. This was absurd, everything was going wrong in a nanosecond, and there was nothing he could do to warn the Princesses. The stress of everything was starting to get to him. "This can't be happening... I'm stuck in some place God knows how far from home, I haven't slept since 30 hours ago, and those abominations are still running around!" Predator shouted as he punched a wall, his fist stinging from the impact. The sound of footsteps came in from behind him, and Predator turned to face that direction. Two of the Rangers from earlier, Barns and Adams if he remembered correctly, were coming in as well. One of them turned to face one of the guards, while the other stopped in front of them. "Good to see you made it out alright, at least some things are going right." He said as he carried his LMG in front of his chest and abdomen. Predator turned to face him completely. "Barns is it? What happened to your leader? Moore?" He asked. "Wounded, an entire floor crashed right on top of him, we had to get him to a hospital." He said as the guard the other one had been talking to rushed past them. "Frank, he's going to get the Princess, she'll be out any minute." He said. Memorizing his name, Predator watched as Barns nodded and turned back to him. "Great... Things just keep getting better and better." Predator said as he shook his head and rubbed his forehead. Trying to ease his breathing, he looked over to Barns again, who was still in the same position as before. "What's the situation at the hospitals?" "They're completely packed, I don't know how many wounded we can get in there." He said. "Do you have ANY good news?" Predator nearly shouted out of irritation. Barns rubbed the back of his head, and looked down at the ground. Predator blew into the air, and began pacing back and forth. That was a habit of his whenever he was stressed out, and he was more than stressed right now. His head was roaring with questions, but with very few answers going back. The guard from earlier came down, and announced the arrival of the Princess in the hall. The Rangers instantly got on their knees and bowed their heads, with Kestrel simply bowing his head and placing a hand on his chest. After a few seconds of hesitation, Predator followed Kestrel's lead. "Predator, Corporal, Specialist, I'm glad to see you're all alright, but what about the others?" A authoritative, somewhat frightened voice asked. Looking up, he saw Princess Celestia standing before them, her eyes full of worry. "Princess, Jacob and Derek are alright, but John was wounded in battle, almost an entire building fell on him." Barns said with haste. The Princess' eyes grew wide, and she gave a frightened gasp. Predator stepped forward a few seconds after that, not wanting to waste any time. "Your highness, this is a serious matter, those aliens were ready for us. They've clearly established a highly capable battalion on the planet, and your troops are not equipped to handle them!" He said with a boom in his voice. The Princess shook her head as Barns looked placed his hand forward in a calming position. "We managed to get civilians and most of Local Protection Teams out of the city, we're relocating to temporary hideouts until we can figure out where they can go." He said. The Princess closed her eyes and nodded, placing her hoof on her forehead. "Okay, good, my ponies are safe... This is good..." She said. "This is the farthest thing from good! You're overcrowding your cities, the aliens are making mincemeat of your forces, and the Rangers you've been relying on for years now can't keep up with them!" Predator shouted in an angry tone. The Princess began to breathe heavily, while Kestrel placed a hand on Predator's chest. "Sarge... Calm down, I know things aren't going well, but blowing up about it isn't going to help anything. The stress of everything is getting to you, so just relax, and we'll figure this out." He said. Predator shoved Kestrel's hand off of him, and shook his head. He had no idea, he hadn't seen what he had... How easily the aliens had been able to hold them back... "I must focus on the ponies that have lost their homes, I have to make sure they are kept safe. Corporal, I want to find Shining Armor, and alert him of the situation." The Princess said as she tried to remain calm. Barns saluted and rushed off into the castle, leaving Adams as the only Ranger standing before her. "Specialist, I need to inform Twilight of John's condition, whatever it might be. She deserves to know." The Princess said as she turned to face Adams. The Specialist gave a short bow. "Of course Princess." He said as he made his way off out of the castle. Predator shook his head and began to walk out as well, before the Princess called out to him. "Please understand I'm doing my best... I only want to protect my ponies..." She said with a calm voice. Predator turned to face her. "Well you better figure something out quickly. We're all doomed if this keeps up." Planet Earth London Airspace Captain Adrian Everett readied himself as he sat inside the Blackhawk helicopter taking them to the drop off point. His team had been reassigned to defend London after the UK sent troops over to Iran to repel an attack on a number of cities. NKSOF teams would be sent to the States to make up for the loss of the Rangers. Practically every harsh feeling between nations had melted away when the aliens invaded, and the rest were obliterated by the first year of warfare. This was World War III. There was no room for hostile relations. "Drop Zone thirty seconds out." The pilot said as Everett looked over to Sergeant Lincoln sitting beside him. The soldier had been in South Korea when the world went to hell, and now he was fighting not in North Korea, a former enemy, but the UK. A loyal ally to the US for hundreds of years. "Prep your gear! We're Oscar Mike the second we hit the ground!" Everett shouted as he stood and readied his weapon. The assault rifle in his hands was a M8A2 "Railer" Carbine, a recently created weapon that had the power of a 50. caliber sniper rifle, while still maintaining the recoil of an M4. The invaders had made the gun industry busier than ever, trying to find a weapon that could counter the unbelievably resilient armor that the aliens were equipped with. This was the first time American forces would be using the weapon, as well as the first time the weapon would actually get a taste of live combat. Rather than test dummies and targets. "Ten seconds out." The pilot said as Private Johnson opened the doors on the side of the helicopter, allowing the sound and sight of gunfire to fill the air. The Blackhawk shook and bumped as it got closer and closer to the drop point, but Everett remained standing. The sergeant made his way over to his side, the white medical cross on his shoulder right making a sharp contrast the dark skies around them. Another private made his way in between them, a long grappling rope in his arms. "Hostiles are locking on, get your butts moving Captain!" The pilot said as the private dropped the rope, unraveling as it plummeted toward the ground. "Go, go, go!" Everett shouted as he motioned for the private and sergeant to get on the rope. The soldiers grabbed on and moved down as the helicopter continued to shake. Placing his weapon at his side, he crouched down and grabbed hold of the rope, sliding down behind the sergeant. On the side parallel to him, the other private and a corporal were going down as well, with yellow lines of gunfire illuminating the skies. The stench of burning flesh and blood stung in his nose as he touched down on the destroyed asphalt, which contained several missing pieces and numerous dead bodies, humans and aliens alike. "What's the plan from here? Command wasn't exactly generous enough to be detailed." Lincoln said as he got up from his crouched position and started jogging to the east. Everett started off soon after, with the rest of his team coming right behind them. "Same as it was at home, find the Marines, reinforce them, then back the aliens off, that's it!" He shouted as he saw a civilian rush through the streets to grab a weapon that had probably been dropped by another Ranger. To the man's right was another squad of Rangers, another team of five. ''Cept' this time it's the Royal Marines, not our boys." Corporal Reeves said. Everett paid him no mind however, instead focusing on contacting Command. "Warlord this is Reaper 4-1 Actual, we've arrived at the drop off and are proceeding on foot to the rally point. What's the status on the Marines, over?" He said into the radio as a group of what looked like police forces escorting civilians into their homes, with some hiding behind buildings and checking the alleyways between the buildings. "Reaper 4-1, this is Warlord, be advised, Marines are being hammered by enemy fire. They're holding out but they need assistance ASAP get your rear ends down there. How copy over?" "Roger that Warlord, we are en-route with a second Ranger team, more on the situation as it develops, out!"