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// We must stand together 
// Story: In The End We All Have To Fight 
// by BlastingCap 
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My watch beeped a couple of time, waking me up from my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was snuggled against Velvet and she was smiling. My eyes widened as I almost freaked out. I slowly got out of the bed. She was still asleep when I got out of the bed. I sighed out of relief. I went to put on my gear to see that it was gone. “Where in the hell is my shit?” I said to myself as I looked at my spot but, I looked against the tent’s wall to two new suits of body armor. And some new weapons. On top of the pile was a note. I levitated it up so I could read it. It read : Hey, this is for saving our asses back on the streets. Also, I made a deal with the General. He says you’re in but, after a few tests. If you are wondering where you’re old gear is. It is underneath your cot. The weapons by the way are the M4A1 fully automatic assault rifle with a reflex sight with magnifier and under-barrel grenade launcher . (They are pretty easy to use and bad ass if I ask myself.) It is chambered for the standard 5.56x45mm round and it is the same grenade launcher that you used for the bird. The pistol is a brand new FN FNX .45 Tactical with optional sounder suppresser. The new kit holds ten magazines of the M4 and five magazines of the FNX along with some medium body armor that stops most rounds like pistols and medium caliber rifle ammo; Like the 5.45x39mm rounds that were in your old kit. But, also there standard sniper rifle calibers like the 7.62x54Z. That is all. P.S. if you do find a sniper rifle. You keep it. It will make a great souvenir. - Lieutenant Silverback. I smiled as I placed down the note and began to put on the armor. 

When I put on the last strap, Velvet began to wake up. I placed my rifle next to me and I smiled to her. “Wakey, wakey. We don’t want to be late for our meeting with the general.” I said shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw me in my new kit. 

“You look nice for somepony that hasn’t showered for several days.” she said getting up, while rubbing her eyes. She yawned and stretched. “So, we’ve got new kit?” she asked looking down at the new gear. 

I smiled.  “Thanks and yes, it’s new gear. Curtsy of our friend Silver.” I said getting up and yawning. “Now, get ready our meeting with the general is in twenty-five minutes and I think his office is in the radio station.” I said, looking at my watch. 

****

After a bit of waiting for Velvet, getting dressed and suited up. We walked to the stair case that was guarded by a pony in heavier body armor then, we were. He let us pass and told us that the general was waiting for us and we better hurry. We went up the dark stairs, that was only lit by dim lights that were barely on. We climbed up the stairs until we came up to a door that said: Station lobby. 

We entered the lobby to see a pony at the recipient’s. She was pink with a lime green mane, she was tired like she hasn’t slept since the invasion. She looked up at us and put on a fake smile. “The general is waiting for you, in his office on the third floor.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” I said as I went up the stairs. Velvet was silent the entire time. After three more flights of stairs, we went into a corridor. We followed it until it ended at a door that said: Broadcast center. But, there was a piece of paper underneath it that said: General’s office. I looked at Velvet and she shrugged. 

I opened the door to reveal an absolute chaos. Ponies were looking at screens and some listening to something that required headphones. Paper was scattered everywhere. Some ponies were falling down by slipping on the papers. Me and Velvet began our journey through that mess of paper, machine and pony. I chuckled at my own thought. “What’s funny?” Velvet said as we made our way through. 

“Nothing, I just made a little joke inside my head.” I said waving her off. We came up to the general in his olive green suit with matching tie and buzz cut. 

He was looking down on a map with a couple of other ponies in suits, surrounding him. “Alright, It appears that the Zebras are moving west. We have lost contact with several of our outposts and are suspected to be overran. If from the scattered reports from intel; it looks like that the Zebras are heading here and we are going to have an all out gunfight on our hoofs.” The general looked at a lime green pony to his right. “I want two tanks here and here.” he said pointing at two spots on the map. He then turned to a red pony to his left. “I want three coppers in the air and ready to fight ASAP.” He looked up to see me and Velvet. “That is all for now.” he looked at the officers. “You all know what you need to do. Dismissed.” He said. The officers saluting in response. He looked at me and Velvet. “Alright, you two I see that you are geared up and ready to go. I’ll cut to the chase. We are about to be attacked here at the  We must defend this place with our best efforts. We must make sure the civilians, are safe from the Zebras or they will be slaughtered. Get the supplies you need to so we can defend this station. This is the last Equestrian radio station that is relying news from the front to the castle in Canterlot. We must stand together in this fight. After this, if we are still standing I’ve got another mission.” He looked at his desk and rubbed the back of his head. “You’re dismissed. Got get all of the gear that you need. But, use ammunition carefully. We don’t have that much especially the 40mm grenades. You can have three and that’s all. From today you will have to ration your water and food consumption.”

“Yes, sir.” Velvet and me said while saluting. 

“Don’t salute you’re not soldiers. Well… officially. You’re citizen soldiers. Now, go the Zebras will be here to knock down our front door within the hour. Now, get a move on!” he yelled getting up from his seat.  Velvet and me nodded and began to run down the stairs to the first floor and out the barricaded door. Right in front of me was sandbags, machineguns, Humvees and ponies armed with assault rifles. I took a deep breath.

I looked down at Velvet. “Ready to do this?” I asked getting behind a sandbag putting a magazine in my rifle and a grenade into the launcher. 

“Yeah, lets kick some ass.” She said putting a mag into her rifle with a smile. I sat down on the cold concrete looking at the rising sun as it came over the horizon and sighed. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. I took a drag and let out the smoke. Velvet saw this with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t know that you smoked.”

I took another drag and flicked the ash off of it with my magic. “I used too. But, I always have a pack and lighter with me out of habit. I started smoking when my mother died of lung cancer; I quit about a year ago cold turkey but, still I carry it out of habit like I said. ” I said blowing out the smoke. Velvet was staring at me, like she was thinking on what to say. “Velvet.” I said looking into the sky.

“Yes?” She said sitting next to me. 

“I’m going to ask you something.” I said taking a deep breath still looking at the dawn.

“Yeah, what is it?” she asked looking over the crowd of civilians that were going into the underground parking garage. 

“What happened to your family?” I asked taking a long drag.

She froze and looked at me. “What?” she asked in a soft tone like she was on the verge of crying. 

“What happened to your husband and foal?” I asked taking one more long drag. I dropped the cigarette and stomped it with my hoof. 

She was silent for a moment before she spoke. “I…I don’t know how to explain it.”

I sighed and looked at her. “If you bottle it up inside of you, only hatred will come out. Not just for the Zebras but, those you care about.” I said placing a hoof on her shoulder. Tears began to roll down her cheeks like streams. She put her head on my shoulder and began to sob like…when a family member dies. I sighed. “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it then, you don’t have too.” I said placing another cig in my mouth.

She stopped for a moment and looked at me with wet eyes. “If you tell anybody, I’m doing this I’m going to kick your ass.”

I smiled. “I won’t expect nothing less.” I said hugging her.

We split apart and she smiled a little. “Thank you, but, I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it.” she said pulling me in for another hug.

I patted her on the back. “You can tell me when you’re ready. I will always be here for you.” I said pulling her into a tighter hug. I let go of her and she looked better. “Even when you were kind of a bitch a first.” I said with a chuckle.

She laughed out loud. She wipe away a tear. I couldn’t tell weather if it was a tear of laughter or sorrow. “Yeah, I kind of was.” 

“CONTACT! I repeat we’ve got contact about a half klick out from the FOB!” said a pony on the radio. “I repeat we’ve got contact and it’s massive. We have multiple causalities and need back up! I repeat We have multiple causalities and we need back up! I repeat we nee-” the pony was interrupted by several close gunshots. Then, the sounds of moaning came through the radio then, one finally gunshot. I looked at the comspony. She looked scared as hell and then, got on her rifle. 

I looked at Velvet. “We can do this. We’ve been through worse in the last three days then I could ever imagine. Now, as you say it. Let kick some ass.” I said chambering a round into my rifle and switching the rifle to full auto. The sounds of machinegun fire mixed with the sounds of humvees came around the corner. There were two humvees going at full speed as they barreled down the road to the Radio station. Just as they were within two hundred yards, a tank came around the corner and fired its gun. The heavy projectile tore through the frame of the Humvee and its engine. I think it had an explosive charge as the Humvee went airborne. The last humvee’s gun began to fire with all of its fury but, to no avail as the bullets just bounced off like hitting a hydra with a rock. All its doing is pissing it off. Behind the tank was a wave of Zebra infantry all in masks and carrying the assault rifles and machineguns. I could see that the tank now was loaded again. It fired and it hit the last humvee as it entered the main lot of the radio station, grinding to a halt as an burning piece of metal. 

I looked to see that a pony on the balcony was carrying what looked like a rocket launcher. She fired the rocket, it flew through the air like a hot knife through butter and slammed into the tank, sending any Zebras inside or outside scrambling as the tank caught on fire. About a second later it exploded into a mushroom cloud of black smoke. I felt the concussion of the blast from my position in front of the door of the radio station. Then, firing. Everypony was firing on the Zebra onslaught. I put on the magnifier on the reflex sight. I could see individual Zebras as they ran firing their weapons. I fired a burst of three rounds hitting one of the Zebras in the leg, chest, and neck. He fell into a pool of blood that was already flowing into the street. Ponies around started to fall as the bullet started to hit closer and closer to their targets. “FUCK THIS!” I yelled as I armed the grenade launcher and shot into a group of five Zebras that were taking cover behind an old car. Blood was on everything as I fired then, it stopped. The bolt was back in the receiver.  I pressed the mag release, dropping the empty one on the ground. I floated one up into the mag well and clicked the bolt release. It slammed forward chambering a round.

I aimed down the sights once again and fired into a group of Zebras that were charging blindly into my fire. As they started to get closer the bullets hitting the sandbags and concrete started to come closer. The rockets from the back of the onslaught started to make the supports of the balcony fall apart. “SOMEPONY GET ON THE .50! NAIL IS DOWN! I REPEAT NAIL IS DOWN! SOMEPONY GET ON THE .50!” Yelled a pony on the radio. I looked at the now empty machinegun, beneath it was I thought was Nail. He was a black unicorn with several holes in his chest. I looked at Velvet and saw that she was reloading. Three Zebras tried to charge her with bayonets but, I switched to my pistol and fired four shots in rapid succession. The gun recoiled with each shot and damn it recoiled. One of the shots hit the lead Zebra in the eye, two other shots hit the second one in the chest, and the last one was a shot in the dark as I hit him in the leg which made him trip on his bayonet; stabbing himself in the chest. 

“VLEVET! COVER ME! I’M GOING TO THE GUN!” I yelled reloaded my rifle. 

She looked at me with concern. “Don’t you will be ripped to pieces! Even your new armor can handle some of their machine gun rounds!” She yelled firing her gun on some Zebras that were about to kill a pony on the ground. The pony jumped behind a barrier and began to fire her light machinegun. I looked at Velvet again. “Please, don’t they will shoot you to moment that they see running for it!” Velvet said ducking down from a burst of machinegun fire, which I joined in. the bullets hit the sandbags and concrete. A few pierced the sandbags, one hitting my back body armor. I grunted as the dull pain set in. “You’ve been hit!” she yelled as I pressed my side. 

“IT’S ONLY A BURISE!” I yelled as jumped up to fire my assault rifle. I a grenade being thrown my way. “FUCK THIS SHIT!” I yelled as I flared my horn to catch the grenade and throw it back into the crowd of Zebras that threw it. It exploded right above their head, killing about three forths of them. When the explosion happened, I jumped up and over the wall of sandbags. I galloped down the stair taking a few bullets to the chest; that my body armor took most of the hits. One grazed my cheek as I dove behind a barrier where the mare that Velvet saved just finishing reloading her machinegun. She just finished when I got next to her. “Cover me I’m going for the .50!” I yelled as I fired the rest of my magazine. I reloaded and looked at her. “Got it!” I yelled. She nodded and began to fire. ‘Luna help me.’ I thought at I ran towards the .50. The Zebras heads were down thanks to that mare. I got to buy her a drink later. But, even though that most of the Zebras were ducking behind cars, some were still shooting at me. I could feel the bullets just over my head and back. A few grazed me, sending blood down my flanks and legs. “COME ON YOU SON OF A BITCH!” I yelled as I dove behind the .50’s barrier. Bullets started to the concrete barrier where I was until I heard the machinegun fire from the mare. I slid to a stop in a pool of cold blood. I looked down to Nail. He had taken two shots two the head and one to the neck. I looked back at the Zebras they are still coming in waves. I jumped up and got on the .50. I realized at that moment it was the same kind of machinegun that I used in the Humvee. 

I began to fire the monster gun and began to tear up the Zebras. The bullets tearing up all of their cover and any Zebras that were in their way. Then, I heard something that I only heard once and BOOM! I was sent somersaulting into the air into something hard and cold. When I fell on the ground, I was facing the sky. I felt something warm on the back of my head. I opened my eyes and my vision was blurred. I tried to breath but, I hurt when I did. My vision just cleared enough to see three choppers shoot their missiles, hitting the Zebras and with the choppers came a rumbling of what sounded like two tanks. I heard their guns go off and the projectiles hit the Zebras positions but, I couldn’t really tell from where I was at. But, from the sounds of the explosions they were aimed at the Zebras. I chuckled as I realized that plus, the sounds of roars of victory. “Rabbit!” I heard Velvet’s voice. I heard her run to my side. The moment I saw her, I smiled a true smile. A chopper was going overhead as she was on the verge of crying when I blacked out. 

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Chapter end.

“You and the remnants of the National guard in Baltimare have  just destroyed and captured two companies, consisting of about four hundred soldiers along with two tanks and three humvees that were destroyed. Along with one company being repealed but, at what cost. There are mass casualties and wounded. The ammo supply has been reduced dramatically due to the fight. You have been wounded by an RPG and blacked out. What happens next?” the pony in the suit said lighting a cigarette.
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