Chapter 1: Introduction
“Colonel Sir? Could you please remind me again what we’re looking for?”
With a heavy sigh, the grey stallion in full riot gear turned, his visor facing the new meat, eyes filled with distaste for the young buck sitting across from him on the metal bench.
“For the last time private, we were given a rather vague description!” Frustrated with the new recruit’s constant prodding, Colonel Barricade turned his eyes to gaze out the windows of the armored train car he and his platoon were traveling in. The lush green landscape was bright, and he dearly wished he and his son could be passing around the hoofball in the yard back at his home on the outskirts of Manehattan. Instead, he was called into work right after breakfast.
Work for him was different. He didn’t go to a cubicle and slave over pieces of parchment. No, his work was being sent out to capture, and imprison those who pose a significant threat to Equestria.
Colonel Iron Barricade: Hostile Capture Specialist. HCS for short.
“The reports from the townsfolk only stated that the disturbances were caused by a sudden flash of blinding light, and then the sudden appearance of a large, hairless primate.”
The private raised a hoof as if to stay something, but thought better of it, instead opting to return to staring straight ahead. Having repeated the report for the fifth time today, Barricade started to realize how ridiculous it sounded. Why couldn’t the guardsponies in Ponyville just take care of the disturbances themselves?
The entire train car rattled, and the metal wheels screeched against the metal rails as the locomotive began to slow down.
“All right everypony!” Colonel Barricade yelled over the deafening racket. “Remember the briefing! Shields in front! The first thing we secure will be the town square! That was the last known location of the target! As soon as these doors open, file out quickly and fall in. The residents have all been told to stay in their houses, so civilians getting in the way will not be an issue. Remember, our mission is to capture the target alive!”
The moment Barricade bellowed out the last word, the bay door fell open with a bang, and his ponies filed out.
Flashes of faces appeared in my mind’s eye, but they disappeared too quickly for me to recognize any of them. Colors swirled together, occasionally creating images. A house. A river. A dog. I was falling, and I would’ve been screaming if I could feel my mouth. At least, my body was telling me that I was falling. I honestly couldn’t feel any air flowing around me. Pain instead covered my body.
Burning, stabbing pain. Throughout every nerve.
My legs and arms were ridged. Every time I tried to even curl my fingers, knives would shoot though my veins, causing me to cry out. If I could that is, but once again, my mouth felt like it was glued shut.
A mixture of frustration and terror was sending my mind into an out of control spiral. Towards what? I had no idea. I couldn’t see.
There was nothing I could do.
It was then that I finally noticed a muffled sound breaking through the silence. It was a very strange sucking sound. It started off soft, but it gradually crescendoed. Like a raging tornado descending out of a churning grey sky. I couldn’t feel any wind, but the sound of it was definitely there. Almost like if I was in a vacuum cleaner. Then, almost instantaneously, it stopped.
The last thing I heard was a thundering boom that made my body quake.
And my vision went white.
The full battalion of armored ponies lead by Colonel Barricade erupted onto the train station platform. They moved uniformly and in rank. A line of unicorns, their horns sustaining transparent magical shields in the front, followed by earth ponies carrying a various assortment of nonlethal weaponry: stun spell grenades, electric prods, and the like. The pegasi in the group instantly hid among the thatched rooftops of the quaint little town, staying out of view of any hostile… things in the area.
The group of ponies waited on the platform, taking cover behind the building, waiting breathlessly for an order.
“Colonel Barricade,” a voice spoke in the commanding officer’s ear.
“Any sign of any targets?” the colonel responded gruffly. He, and every pegasi were linked to a web of communication spells, allowing him to be in constant communication to any of his recon specialists.
“Negative,”
“Nothing yet.”
“It’s quiet sir.”
Satisfied with the reports, Barricade stepped forward, moving to the cobblestone streets. With a wave of his hoof, the rest of the ponies on the platform followed the stallion into the open.
The ponies stuck to the walls, moving in tight rank behind their shielded comrades. Moving through the town. Street to street. Always checking down every alley, and behind every trash can.
The streets were bare of anypony. Thankfully, for once, the ponies actually seemed to listen to the dragonfire notice that was sent, telling them to go home, and lock their doors. They weren’t actually sent by dragonfire, but that was beside the point. Normally, there would’ve been at least a few still in the streets, shaking in terror as an army washed through their town. Colonel Barricade hated seeing the look of fear in their eyes, and was thankful that for once, he couldn’t see any of their faces today.
However, Barricade knew that as the small army of armored ponies crept in the shadows of the homes and businesses of Ponyville, the citizens watched silently through gaps in their curtains. Some watched with awe. Others watched in fear.
His heart ached with a slight guilt.
“Colonel!” one of Barricade’s scouts radioed in. “You might want to see this. Town hall. Right next to the fountain.”
“Any hostiles?” the colonel questioned, motioning for his troops to follow.
“I’m… I’m not sure, sir,” was the response.
Not feeling too assured, the commanding officer and his ponies closed in on their target’s last known location. He was taken aback when he saw the scene in the middle of the courtyard, town hall and fountain in view.
Golden armored ponies, six of them, littered the ground, lying unconscious. Each adorning a crest.
The crest of the royal guard.
Barricade’s ponies readied their weapons and spread out, filling the street. Each one of them wearing stoic, afraid, or angry expressions upon spotting the bodies. Some wore all three.
The unconscious guards were still breathing, thankfully. Each one of had their own bloodied bandage or two. The medic who tended to their wounds was still a mystery.
Until, however, they saw a yellow pegasus mare currently staring at the army of ponies with terrified eyes, which were still red from crying. She had been tending to another victim, hence the gauze she held in her hoof. Nopony could identify the creature she was tending to. It was lying on its back, bleeding from multiple cuts along its torso and limbs. From what they could tell, whatever it was, it was in bad shape. The only way they could describe it was a:
Tall,
Hairless,
Ape.