• Published 10th Apr 2012
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Fallout: Equestria - Our Finest Hour - MintCakeWrites



Nopony wanted this war

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Chapter Nine: Greater Perspective

“Lose control”

Bullets pinged against the bottom of chariot as we raced over the battle below. The roar of mortar fire and artillery only added to the din of hundreds of beings dying and dying beneath us all. An explosion rocked the vessel violently, sending me crashing into the opposite side. The pilot corrected herself, her wings beating furiously as the ship swung back into a stable level. I staggered around, grabbing back on the minigun and laying hot lead upon countless zebra soldiers, smiling at their cries of agony.

“That's the spirit me buck!” Thunder called out, doing the same on his side of chariot. Starshine beamed happily as I caught her eye, revelling in the ecstasy of justified murder. A cheeky wink from the pegasus as she swung her incendiary grenade launcher around, setting both live and dead zebra alike on everlasting fire.

We flew like mad ponies through the sky, dodging past pegasi squadrons and flak fire. The roar of two armies clashing sounded below, like two dragons fighting over a horde. We raced over the zebra line, trying to find a chance to turn towards our line with some safety. Thunder gave out a whistle, pointing with his wing.

“Enemy medical tent below!” he called out, looking over at me and Starshine with a grin on his face. The mare beamed back, bringing her weapon to bear and firing on the tent as I poured bullets into the camp. Zebras screamed below, their coats alight as they ran to save themselves. The tent was just a skeleton after we passed it, the blackened frames standing around the burnt bodies of zebra soldiers.

Shadow coughed loudly, a splatter of blood landing on his coat. Starshine raced over to him, wincing as a gash in her wing added drips to the pool. She injected another syringe into his flank, Shadow letting out a satisfied sigh.

“He won't last much longer! We need to get back to the medical tent,” she yelled out to the pegasus pilot.

“I'm going as fast as I can, we're taking too muc-” the pilot's back exploded as a mortar shell struck her back, the explosion flinging me and Thunder to the back of the chariot. The pony's body hung limp in the harness, the chariot beginning to dive as blood and gore poured from the wound.

“Fuck!” I recovered faster, racing to the emergency controls and deploying the chariot's wings. The steel flaps burst from beneath the chariot, bringing it out of the sharpness of the dive.

“They won't hold for long Thunder, you need to get out there and pull for us!” I yelled out, turning around to the black pegasus. He kicked the door open, looking over to me. Bullets slammed into the wings making the chariot dip suddenly. I stumbled for a moment, looking up into his eyes as he opened his wings and jumped backwards out of the craft, turning and flying away from us.

“THUNDER!”


Klaxons wailed as I was shaken out of my slumber. I wiped my eye, looking up at a fully dressed Hefty. The stallion nodded, and moved away as I rolled out of my bed and onto the floor. Slate threw my beret and eye patch over, pulling his armour on after.

“Shake a leg Rivet, we're going in hard. Meet us at the hanger,” the Officer commanded, lifting his rifle into its holster and trotting out with Hefty. Gadget's equipment floated behind them, wrapped in their combined magic.

I grunted in response and sat against the bunk for a while, trying to clear my head of the memory. After knocking on my skull a few times, I felt a little better. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hooves, trying to push all animosity out of my mind before getting dressed, 'Let it go, it's in the past now.'

I pulled my armour on, tightening the straps and locking it on safe. My father's knife slid into its sheath, and my gun cuddled snugly on my back. Racing from the room, I stopped just outside the door. I bit the inside of my mouth and turned back, rushing back out after grabbing Blossom's tag and placing it between my undershirt and armour.

The cacophony of a thousand sets of hooves rang out in the Glorious Dawn, the inky blue sky and pure white moon showing that such a dawn was yet to rise. Pegasi swooped overhead, some dressed in battle armour while others wore the white coats of the Thunderhead's crew. I kept behind the crowd, not wanting to risk injury in the mad push to the hanger bay.

Another crowd of hooves came from behind, and I was joined by Snowfall's squad. Each pony bore several scars from battles long gone and had a single pink ribbon tied to their body or equipment. Most also wore battle-saddles, their steps having a little swing to each step due to the weight of the ordnance they were carrying.

Snowfall himself looked deadly serious, a Spritebot floating behind him wherever he walked, “Morning Rivet. You feeling ready for this?”

I gave him a nod, smiling a little “Yeah, I know what they're capable of. We just need to keep our heads in the game and we'll be fine. Is Pinkie along for the ride?”

Snow glanced at the bot, “No, she's merely observing today. Though she has a message for you.”

I blinked in surprise. I expected to be in contact with her again, but to receive it through one of her team leaders rather than the mare herself seemed to be very un-Pinkie like, “Oh? What is it?”

A clang sounded and I turned around, finding Thunder stood patiently. My anger seethed and faded in a moment at the first look, 'Give him a chance to speak just this once.'

The pegasus nodded to Snow, turning to me, “Commander Dash wants to see you before we head off Rivet, it's urgent,” a moment's pause, “And an order.”

I reluctantly nodded, trotting past Snowfall and keeping close to Thunder, “Tell me when I get back Snow, this won't take long!”

I kept behind Thunder, pushing through the tide of ponies heading in the opposite direction. Dashing up countless stairs and through cloned corridors, we reached the main command room where tens of pegasi manned terminals, each speaking orders into head sets. A single cyan pegasus dressed in black carapace armour stood in the middle of the room, gazing out of the window.

I approached her cautiously, remembering her nasty blow from the day before “Private Rivet Bolt here and accounted for, sir!”

“At ease Private, walk with me,” she replied, not even turning her head as she walked from her spot towards the giant windows. I followed, Thunder ducking out of the room as I did. I kept close to the Ministry Mare, aware of the melancholic mood that had taken hold. Even when she was humiliated by me in front of the entire ship she held a confident air, bordering on self indulgent.

“We lost a lot of good ponies in that last mission... not to mention an entire Raptor,” she began, staring blankly out of the window, “I hold you accountable for that.”

“Ma'am, I couldn't do anything! They had switched all communications off,” I protested, keeping my distance lest I anger her, “There was nothing we could do!”

Rainbow nodded, “Yes, there was nothing you could do. There was plenty the pegasi could have done, but they fled first. At your recommendation.”

I tried to speak, but found no words came. I tried to piece together an argument, thinking of a way I could justify myself. I could find no way to do so, and sunk my head. Blossom's tag dug into my skin, once again I had taken the most logical action rather than think ahead. Maybe we had the firepower to defend all three Raptors and escape, but there was little comfort in any knowledge like that.

“Thank you Private,” I perked up at the mare's words, “Thank you for getting those ponies out of there. That unicorn was right, we did need intel... we have it now, but the cost has been too great.”

The pegasus turned around to face me, offering her hoof , “We'll take it from here, just don't get yourself killed today.”

I shook the blue hoof, feeling on edge still, “I'm sorry I couldn't save them all ma'am, but I’ll try to this time.”

A smile came across her face, “Trying to be the hero? Heh, I remember when I tried to do the same when I was younger... don't let it get to your head soldier, you can't be everypony's saviour. Keep thinking that way and you'll end up dead. Just do what you can, that's all we ask. You're dismissed.”

I saluted the mare and trotted quickly from the room, my heart pounding hard. It seemed that she was truly humbled by my actions, which didn't make anything any easier. I had still offended a Ministry Mare, and no doubt the others would have stern words with me for doing so.

I raced through the hallways and merged back into the crowd. Wind blew our manes into a crazed dance, my beret threatening to take off if it weren't for the bronze Equestrian sun upon it. Ponies filed slowly into various Raptors and Sky Chariots, each to an assigned location. Mine was into a sleek vessel dubbed Radiance along with Officer Slate. The unicorn himself stood waiting for me alongside a few pegasi, discussing the upcoming mission.

“Rivet! Over here, you can help these gentlemares out. You've faced these creatures before, what are we up against?” Slate began, his head tilting as I stopped in my tracks. My blood had ran cold, these pegasi were flying in blind for a second time! My thoughts raced to Rainbow Dash's thanks just moments before, wondering why the information a hundred ponies just gave their lives for wasn't being applied.

“I need to use your radio,” I ran inside to the ponies' protests, heading straight to the command centre and to a unicorn who was operating the radio system, “Let me see the frequencies! Quickly dammit!”

The confused stallion hoofed me a scroll listing all the Raptors active for the mission. I scanned across them, memorising each one until I came across the final frequency. This one had no Raptor to identify it, yet was the most basic of the codes.

I gestured to it before the unicorn, “Whose is that?”

The unicorn shrugged, “I'm not sure, all I know is that we're only supposed to broadcast on it if there's an emergency,” he snatched the scroll from my hooves with magic, turning back to his station.

Slate entered the deck, rushing over when he spotted me, “Rivet! Don't run off like that, you're on thin ice with the Air Force anyway. Hey, what's got you so bothered?”

I pushed past him, moving to the pegasus mares he was stood with “Ma'am, who's the captain on the ship?”

One of the mares, wearing a coat of vibrant red and a golden mane, nodded “Lieutenant Velocity, I’m commander of this Raptor. What's wrong Private?”

“I need you to get in touch with the other ships, we're all flying blind!”

The pegasus chuckled “Of course we are, we only need to know the terrain to execute a blitz campaign. Any more information and they'll panic if one of us is interrogated. Look here,” the mare moved over to a projected map as unicorns and pegasi raced around the deck, each engrossed in preparation for lift off.

“We'll be flying over these areas here, bombing their spires from above the cloud line. When we finish that assault, we'll fly in lower for a second run. I think your Officer oversimplified things here, we know they won't go above the clouds and that they'll hide as rocks on a mountain. We just don't know their battle tactics.”

I let out a sigh of relief, feeling the worry fade away. Slate gave a nervous chuckle in apology, rubbing the back of his head with his hoof. Saluting my superiors, I made my way to the gunnery, choosing a turret to take control of. The gun was a belt fed grenade launcher, a small screen giving a read out similar to my rifle and Spyder's systems. I tested the weight in my mouth, finding it easier to turn than I first assumed.

A shriek sounded as Raptors began to close up their hangar doors, the bay of Glorious Dawn opening wide as we throbbed into the air. Ponies began to gather in the gunnery, finding their weapons of choice. Several placed bits into a tankard in the centre of the room, taking a piece of chalk back to their guns. I felt a little queasy at the thought of killing for sport, remembering the exhilaration of gunning down zebra after a smiling buck boasted that he'd kill an entire mountain's worth of hostiles.

Radiance floated out over the cloud line, falling into the flight pattern set by the other Raptors. Glorious Dawn rumbled as the hangers closed up, moving slowly behind us as the convoy began to move out. My ear hissed and cracked, I winced as it screeched before a voice came through.

“Com' on, com' on... that workin'? Oi! Rivey! Ye there?” Gadget's voice called out, “Yer sure this'll work Hefty?”

I grinned, “Morning sunshine, feeling well?”

“Ye can fuck right off ye prick! Why did ye leave me there?!” Gadget yelled, bringing a chuckle forth, “Oh, this is funny?”

“It isn't funny, it's karma,” I replied, smiling happily at the thought of fighting alongside him again.

“T'fuck's karma?”

“Zebra belief I think, the idea that every action will have a consequence. You do good, good will happen. Do bad, something bad will happen,” I remembered reading about it in a magazine when I was a colt, giggling at the idea. It was simply ridiculous that such a system could operate, 'What did Equestria do wrong to stir the anger of two different nations?'

“The zebra can fuck off with their crap, ah think it was just you being a prick,” Gadget grumbled, his suffering at the hooves of his hangover clear. I chuckled in response, shaking my head.

“How did you get onto the pegasi radio system? They flipped out when I did it yesterday.”

“How? T'was easy. Dumbasses don't even have a half decent encryption, yer just need a radio. How did ye manage it?”

“Oh, I wrestled a Spritebot for it,” I replied cheerfully, keeping the secret of my eye's capabilities to myself. An awkward silence came before a long exasperated sigh.

“Ah worry about you sometimes Rive, think t'bullet screwed with ye more than ye let on,” Gadget tutted. A Spritebot floated behind me as he spoke, playing a grand concerto rather than the cheesy march I had become used to. The music floated through my earpiece as well, only quieter, “Ye hearing that? Or have ah gone screwy too?”

“No, no I hear it... do you have a Spritebot nearby?”

“Nah, just me, Heft and our baby. It coming from the radio then?” Gadget pondered, the same question forming in my head. I spun the dial, trying to find the source. The music began to grow steadily louder as I came closer and closer to the emergency frequency. The song came into perfect clarity when I reached the channel, confusing me further.

'What the? Why is this being played through the Sprites and this frequency, and what is it anyway?'

“Ah, Ride of the Pegasi,” a pegasus mare sighed, “Commander Dash's favourite piece. She always plays it before battle, says it reminds her of the Wonderbolts. This is first time in a few weeks she's played it openly.”

I glanced at the mare, finding all the other pegasi had a similar lovelorn look on their faces, 'Guess this song means a lot to them... still doesn't explain why Rainbow's playing this on the emergency channel if Pinkie's playing it on the Spritebots.'

The song continued on the Sprites until the grand conclusion, returning to the tinny marches we were all bored of. Yet the emergency frequency continued to play the song on repeat. I shrugged it off, thinking that Commander Dash wanted to use it for herself, 'Judging from the Air Force's reputation, the channel must be hardly ever used.'

I checked a small terminal in the gunnery, studying the map of the area carefully. I let out a sigh, our destination wasn't for another hour or so at the rate we were moving. Settling under my gun, I curled up and rested my eyes, trying to regain what sleep I could from the nightmares before.


“THUNDER!”

“Rivet! What happened?” Starshine called out me, her mane and tail gaining streaks of red from Shadow's wounds.

I stood shaking in rage as the pegasus slowly disappeared from sight, bellowing in rage, “Is this what she would do?! Abandon her friends when they need her most?! You fucking COWARD!”

Tears poured from my eyes as I yelled, my rage making me blind to the incoming fire from all sides. An anti-air shell rocked the chariot, sending me skidding across the floor to the emergency controls. I pulled myself up, grabbing a lever in my mouth and yanking hard to bring us into the air for a moment.

Another explosion took out the right wing completely, flinging the carcass of the pilot away as it spun out of control. My body struck the ceiling, driving the wind out of me as we span over the zebra line. I managed a glance out of the window, paling when I realised we were going to crash into our own soldiers. The chariot increased in speed, striking the ground hard, bouncing and rolling along.

We all cringed as the shriek of metal had accompanying shrieks of ponies being flattened and torn apart by the metal hull, us inside being flung like a filly's toy in a tantrum. The craft eventually came to a rest, gore dripping off every edge of the dented hull. I tried to get to my hooves, only to heave and vomit as my head span.

Starshine fared no better, the small cut now a gaping weeping wound. She managed to stand and shake herself, staggering around and resting on the frame as ponies raced to us.

“That was fun,” she managed weakly, smiling a little. I smiled in return, opting to sit as medical ponies rushed inside and began tending to us. I looked around at the faces, smiling dimly until I realised a lack of a certain one.

“Shadow... where's Shadow?” I called out, standing up despite protests to look for the unicorn. I let out a gasp as I found his body. What remained of it at least. His top half was hanging out the grenade machine gun's station, blood encrusted on his muzzle. Entrails and bone were all that remained below that, his entire lower body torn away. Medics lifted the body up, wrapping it in a towel and carrying it away.


A hoof kicked mine, bringing me back to modern Equestria. I shook the sleep from my head, standing up as Slate trotted back to his weapon “Rise and shine sleepy head, we'll be starting the first strafe in a few minutes.”

I yawned and turned to my own gun, taking the trigger into my mouth. As soon as my tongue touched metal, my memories flooded to Thunder's betrayal. I spluttered, keeping down bile as I spat the taste of powder and metal from my mouth. Coughing hard, I tried to take hold of it a second time. The taste had subsided, but the anger did not.

I chomped down hard on the grip, the speakers suddenly blaring and Velocity's voice calling through, “All ponies to your stations, bomber chariots scramble on my command.”

Across the Raptor squadron, hangers opened wide. A deathly applause came as safeties were clicked off, miniguns whirring and grenade machine guns beeping as the arming systems came online. Mine read out lines and lines of text, scrolling through hundreds of characters. I smiled a little to myself, the code was horrifically out of date compared to system running in Spyder.

'It's easier to judge everything by eye,' I mused, checking my rounds as the windows flickered. At the very bottom, the intense yellow of heat licked along the frame. We were directly above the mountain range we flew through the day before, and it was just as deadly.

Out of the hangers poured a hundred pegasi and chariots, each carrying a payload large enough to take out a small village. The winged ponies flew alongside us for a few minutes, before turning and ducking beneath the clouds. The fleet floated in silence for a few moments, until the booms of high explosives came.

I span the dials on my skull, finding the frequency being used by the squadron commanders. Loading a grenade into the chamber, I listened intently, 'Come on, drop it and get back up here.'

“That's a good kill, load up the next drop and come around.”

“Copy, coming around.”

“Ten plus kills confirmed, my lucky day.”

“I'm calling bullshit on that one.”

“Go down and check for yourself, but I’m sticking with what I said.”

“Fuck you if you think- oh shit, break formation!”

“Haha! Close call there.”

“Squadron Delta coming in hot, clear a path for the first Spire.”

Thunder's voice rang out to me, chilling me a little. I chewed the inside of my lip as more bombs fell, 'Cocky bastard, he'll get himself killed... why the hell do I care about that anyway?!'

“Delta, bombs away.”

“Good effect on target. Heh, looks like we've stirred the hornet's nest.”

A massive explosion sounded as the clouds lit up with an eerie green light. The unicorns and pegasi at the gunnery let out woops of joy as Velocity called through the speakers, “Going below the cloud cover, prepare yourselves for contact.”

The Raptors dipped below out haven in the sky, shots ringing out as the remains of the changeling force in the area came to meet us. Hundreds peeled off the white mountains, flying at us at breakneck speed. My machine gun thumped as explosives were flung at them, striking many down in a single explosion. Text scrolled furiously as the windows flared at the heat, my eye flicking from target to target as I kept my tongue on the trigger.

One of the insectoid creatures flew close to my firing port, a direct grenade coating the side of the Raptor in gore before an eruption of green flame. I brought my hooves up to shield my face, the heat intense enough to smell burning hair. I took my hooves down, finding the magic had melted the window, leaving a few smoking wires in its place. A tap on the gun informed me that it was still cool enough to wield, and I continued raining death on the creatures, the wind whipping my mane in my face as I fired shot after shot at them.

'So much for thermals,' I thought to myself, the text scrolling quicker with every shot, “Come on! I’m right here!”

A loud clack announced my lack of ammo, and I rushed to add a new belt to the gun. As I hefted the ammunition into my hooves, I noticed movement at my station. Thunder hovered in front of my gun, looking around at the chaos around him. I grabbed the stock of my gun, pulling it forward out of its holster. The rifle flew out, sliding along my cheek until I had the trigger in my mouth. I turned and fired a single shot at Thunder, the bullet tearing through his skull.

The pegasus looked surprised before he fell backwards, almost in slow motion. Blood trickled from the head wound as he fell, before he exploded in green flame. I finished reloading, suddenly aware of glances from several pegasi in the gunnery.

“How did you know?” one asked, her voice wavering slightly.

I cocked the weapon, “I didn't.”

I continued to fire until I ran out of ammo a second time, not caring what I hit. My mind was numb and blank, like I was drugged up again. Killing changelings was nothing like killing zebra. They weren't even remotely equine, let only pony like. Fighting the zebra was a terrible necessity, killing this race felt more like sport. It was also a perfect chance to test myself.

I honestly hated Thunder for what he did, what he was and what he was trying to turn me into. So when the opportunity to test such hatred came around, I needed to find out if I could do it. If I could shoot him.

The shot was meant for his chest, enough to wound but not enough to kill. I wanted to lie to myself, and say that I forgot to compensate for the recoil. But I had polished and modified this gun into perfection, it had next to no recoil.

The slaughter continued for a few minutes more, the remnants of the horde fleeing down the mountain ranges. Cheers rang out through the radio and gunnery, several ponies trotting forward to collect their bets. I let out a satisfied sigh, sitting back on my hind as cold air drifted in. The acrid smell and taste of burning flesh and metal drifted in as we passed over the wreckage of the changeling spire.

“Look, there's movement,” a pegasus mare murmured, pointing at the centre of the crater. Black figures stirred below, and a few crawling from the hole. It took me a while to realise what they were, and the first shots to do something about it.

I ran into a unicorn stallion, his gun cracking down into the spire's remains. Shots burst from the other Raptors as I pinned him down, another coming from behind me. I dragged a pegasus from the position before an aura slammed me into the plating. I growled as the unicorn held me pinned to the floor.

“Let me go! Those are civilians you're killing down there!” I yelled, feeling the pressure increase, “This isn't right!”

The stallion sneered in response, spitting on me, “So? Do you think they cared when they burnt our civilians to death? This is a message to their kind; do not fuck with Equestria.”

His aura dissipated as the last screams of the defenceless creatures rang out. I stood up, feeling sick at the actions. We were no better than the zebra or the changelings. We just said we were because we were always the victims. Chariots ran along side the craft before ducking back into the hangers. I sighed and stood up back at my post, checking my gun, 'I cannot let this get to me. They may be the sickest, twisted ponies I have ever met but I still need them to survive.'

The Raptors began to move along the ranges, the Lieutenant's voice coming through on the speakers once more, “Good work, we're heading with the bombers. Ground team one members need to disembark on the chariots provided. Best of luck.”

Slate picked up his equipment and trotted past me, patting me on the back “See you soon Rivet, take care OK?”

“Sir wait!” I called out, moving up to the unicorn.

“Yes?”

I glanced nervously to the side, ready to be put down, “I know it isn't my place, but could I ask something of you? If you come across any civilians down there, please let them go.”

Slate raised an eyebrow at my request, “Let them go? Rivet, you're not sympathising with the enemy, are you? That can get you executed.”

I shook my head for a second before stopping, “I.. I’m not sympathising with them, but aren't we better than them? If we kill their innocents, aren't we no better than the zebra? Both these races kill indiscriminately, we can show some compassion at the very least.”

Slate looked at me sternly, and began to chide me, “Be careful Private, somepony might take those words as treason. I cannot make that promise Rivet, this is war. It looks like this campaign is intended to be entirely shock and awe, nothing will shock them harder than an entire group eradicated.”

With that, the Officer turned and left me in the gunnery. I forced the bile back down, remembering why we were in the country in the first place. Morale was key to fighting, and the first pillar you needed to knock down in the house of war.

'“If you can make the enemy shit themselves hard enough then you will avoid a fight! Something I’m sure all you fillies want to do,”' Hartpony's words floated into my skull, the sergeant’s voice setting my resolve in place. I began to think harder, moving over to my station and forming a plan. After a few moments, I turned to the gunnery and tapped my hoof on the plating. Pegasi and unicorns all turned to face me, a few glares of anger sent my way.

“H-hey there everypony. Listen, I know we have our orders but I was wondering if we could try something,” I swallowed hard as the glares intensified, “Our orders are shock and awe, and I’m not sure about you but I don't agree with killing off innocents... it just isn't our way.”

“Then what do you suppose we do, eh?” a pegasus shouted out, “Just yell boo so they get scared?”

I shook my head slowly, “No, we kill their warriors. In the most convoluted and stylish ways possible.”

I gave a little smile as the others turned to each other in disbelief. The idea was simple, we would shock the enemy by deploying our best weapons and techniques while acting like this was a game. The image of a herd of heavily armed ponies joking as they tore creatures in half for sport was sickening, but perfect for scaring the enemy into surrender.

One of the unicorns stepped forward, looking around at the others, “Alright then, I’ll do it. I’m better than these insects and I’ll damn well prove it!”

The gunnery gave a rousing cheer at her words, and the herd began to discuss how they would pull off such manoeuvres and kills. I smiled grimly to myself, it was the perfect way to assure minimum loss for both sides at the cost of our sanity, 'I’m almost worse than him...'

The echoes of distant bombs and the garbled blare of static brought me back to the nearing battle. I moved to my gun and looked at the window, spotting a series of wires. Looking around, I moved closer and pulled the wires free from the melted window, finding them still attached to the wall. A grin came out as an idea came to me, and I pulled the copper towards me, pushing the wires into the ports on my left temple.

'If the window is linked to the thermal detection devices across the ship through these wires... then I should be able to link into the device through my eye,' I twisted the wires and heard the buzz of electricity within them, 'I hope.'

This time I couldn't keep it down, vomiting out of the remains of the window as my eye span rapidly. A flame ignited within my skull, burning its way through my entire head as my left eye span wildly. The heat surged and then slowed, easing away like a dying campfire. I took in deep breaths, snorting a little as the others were too busy to help me.

I slid the eyepatch off and opened my eye. Nothing had changed. I grunted, annoyed that my idea hadn't worked. It was slightly far fetched, but not impossible. As always, the theory was sound but practice was yet to yield results. I stood back up, groaning as my stomach protested any movement, and took the trigger back in my mouth.

“Might as well use it now it's out, sparkle on,” my voice was muffled, but clear enough for my eye to spin and flick up the sea of yellow with the pool of red in the far corner of my vision. I turned my gun towards the explosions, watching as another spire fell to our bombs. The Raptors then began to speed up, two on the other side of the formation releasing their ground force as we flew over the smouldering wreckage. I tried to put the screams and buzzing pleads of mercy from the hundreds of changelings below as they were chewed up by bullets.

With the pegasi bombers streaming on ahead, and the Raptors on clean up, our force had cleansed at least twenty changeling spires over the next few days. We found that our need for gunners were lessening with each one, as resistance fell each and every time. It became apparent that the spires we were attacking now were mainly filled with civilians. Equestria's strike at the heart of the changelings had begun.

Our ships were hungry demons, scouring the earth in search for the flesh of lesser beings. Occasional pieces of resistance came from our prey, yet we paid little heed to their attempts. We squashed them like the bugs they were, pressing our hooves down on them until they were nothing. It was barbaric.

This new breed of pony, the war pony, was not natural. We were not normal by any standards. We were twisted, deranged malformations of what a pony should be. Everything we did, we justified using some strange logic, and then turned on those who dared question us. We took what our ideals of harmony were, and bastardised them to fit our new minds, twisting what the Bearers fought and stood for.

We had the ponies who followed laughter, giggling as they killed off the innocent. Honesty, who freely spoke of their hatred and lust for the blood of Equestria's enemies. Loyalty, staying true to orders no matter what they entail. Generosity, letting our foals revel in tales of gore filled glory. Magic, a force designed to defend and aid yet used to torture and slaughter those who were against us.

Then came kindness. I felt most drawn to that element above all others, not merely because of the Bearer. I tried to show as much kindness as I could through my years, twisting it a little to convince myself that doing certain things and pushing a certain somepony away were the right thing to do. And then this campaign happened.

The ponies on board had taken my words to heart, not firing a single shot at the creatures below yet toying with those who rose to face us. Wings and horns were shot off, coaxing them into blowing themselves up to get rid of the pain. Limbs were blown off, the bleeding carcasses hanging in the air by unicorn magic. Those who fled were crippled and left to die alone in their agony.

Slaughter continued her path down the range for a week and a half, until we were called to a general halt by Rainbow Dash. The Glorious Dawn hovered above us, the hull only just visible through broken clouds. I looked ahead, seeing a collection of spires. Twisting a dial, I zoomed in on the collection, gasping as I noticed how intricate and beautiful these structures were.

Tall spikes stood proud above interlacing roads and carriageways. Changelings bustled below, either ignorant of their impending doom or trying desperately to ignore it. It was heartbreaking, touching and lamentable. We were monsters.

'Their capital city?! Already?! We're that deep into their territory this soon into the campaign?' my thoughts raced as I tried to figure out what I was seeing, 'It can't be their capital! This has been too easy for it to be! Where's this grand resistance they were supposed to have?'

The sound of massive doors opening cracked through the sky, along with a mechanical whirring and klaxons. The pegasi began to chant, stamping their hooves on the plating, “Mew! Mew! Mew! Mew!”

The unicorns and myself stared at the strange behaviour, looking nervously at one another. My ear wailed a little as an overriding message came over all radios, “Clear the area, don't want any of you getting caught in this.”

A familiar whine began to build, slowly turning itself into a scream. My coat went cold at the sound, the image of Ratchet's last moments coming to mind, 'They don't stand a chance...'

The scream reached its climax and a beam of iridescent light shone through the sky, striking one of the spires. The area around the building turned to white for a brief moment, every pony looking shielded their eyes from the intensity of the light. All colour seemed to be sucked out of reality until the beam vanished.

All that stood in the beam's path was ash. Pegasi let out cries of joy and woops of laughter at the sight, while the unicorns and myself simply looked in despair. If our massacre hadn't scared the changelings into backing down, that certainly would. I looked up at the Thunderhead, feeling appalled that I had anything to do with the weapon they were using. Nothing could survive a hit from that.

Even from our distance we heard the cries of anguish and terror as the city descended into chaos. While others rejoiced, I stood still and listened to their agony. I wanted to listen to the noises Equestria would make if we hadn't done this, I needed to.

“Look sharp ponies, they've come out to play,” Velocity announced as a cloud of black rose from the city. Miniguns whirred, grenade launchers bleeped and the thermal imaging windows went offline. The entire gunnery blinked in unison as more and more electronics were shut down one by one, my grenade launcher becoming useless as the screen flicked off. The Raptor stayed in the air however, the cloud powering it was still present.

A green shot flew by us and exploded past us. A few more winked by, until I realised what they were, “Fuck, they're using themselves as missiles! Somepony get the thermals on now!”

As the ponies scrambled, I winced as my eye began to spin violently. After suddenly stopping, I found that my vision in my cyber eye had changed drastically. I gave a sadistic grin as I recognised the shapes and colours, 'Now we're talking.'

At that moment the Raptor rocked violently to one side as shots began to echo across the mountain range. I slid along the floor, kicking to one side as my eyepatch slipped out of the melted window and was blown away by the wind. I swallowed hard as I realised the distance between myself and the ground. The Raptor rolled again, an explosion of green flame tearing a hole at the opposite end of the gunnery.

I landed hard on the ceiling, and laid low, waiting to see what would happen next. Two more explosions as the battle began to swell above us, Raptors breaking formation and moving out of the way of the incoming kamikaze changelings. The ship shook and one final explosion was heard. Then came the shriek of torn metal.

We all look nervously at one another, before breaking into a run as the ship began to fall to the ground. I ran as hard as I could, buffeted by fleeing pegasi and panicked unicorns. Pushed into a wall, I tripped and landed under the mad herd. I curled myself into a ball as a second explosion sounded, this time above us.

“Ah fuck! Rivet! Rivet, can ye hear me?” Gadget's voice rang through my radio tuned ear along with grunts from Hefty and the screams of other ponies.

“Gadge! We're hit! We're going down!” I yelled, getting back onto my hooves battered and bruised. I began limping towards the hanger, hearing the doors open and shots ring out as changelings swarmed inside. Cries of anguish and angry chitters convinced me to turn and take a different route.

“Same here bud... want a lift?”

I stopped still as his words sunk in, “What?”

“You've got about... ten seconds,” with that connection ceased. I bit my cheek and ran through the pain towards my destination; a large viewing window. I brought my rifle to bear, fired a few rounds and threw it at the glass. The pane shattered on contact, sucking out loose items as I jumped through, catching my rifle.

The sensation was unmistakable. I was terrified. The rush of the wind in my mane should have been an agitator to excitement, but it only served to remind me that I was far from my element. On the plus side, I was rapidly approaching said element.

Wind buffeted me around, threatening to blow me back inside the Raptor. I turned over, kicking myself off from the hull and back into the battle around me. A changeling warrior flew by, nearly impaling me on its horn. Spinning rapidly in its wake, I caught sight of the creature doubling back. It gave a gleeful chirp as it bared fine white teeth. The insectoid being raced towards me, only to crash into the side of a large wooden crate.

“Oi oi! Caught up with ye then!” Gadget called out, riding the large crate along with Hefty who wielded two crowbars as my squadmates fought off more changelings. The unicorns guided the crate to me as they slowed our descent, enough to stop us from turning into mush when we hit the ground but fast enough to keep changelings off our coats. Throwing me a crowbar, Hefty nodded and set it into the crate. I did the same, pulling on his nod as Gadget pulled his goggles on and connected them to his rifle.

The green unicorn's shots rang out as Hefty and I pulled the crate away, the panels taking to the air as a curled up Spyder was revealed. Hefty pulled himself into the cockpit, the gangly legged beast whirring as his magic took hold. I clung to the roof for dear life, blushing as Gadget laughed at my actions and took another changeling out without looking at it.

He stood cockily on the roof, his rifle swinging around gracefully and loosing off single shots into the oncoming horde. His grin gave away the emotions bubbling beneath, he was loving this fight. The air ripped through my mane and tail as I cowered, teeth chattering at the sensation, while he stood tall and proud.

I glanced at the ground as our descent speed increased, gasping at the sight below, “Gadget! Hostiles below!”

A hoof patted me on the head, “Don't yer worry yer pretty head about it, Uncle Gadget and Hefty will take care of ye!”

Spyder's legs unfurled just before we struck the ground. The landing flung me from my safe haven, my rag doll body striking the ground hard and bouncing before stopping in front of one of the locals. I let out a squeak and drove a hoof into its mouth, breaking a jaw and skidded away. Spyder let out a whirr followed by the unmistakable sound of her miniguns firing as the changeling horde moved upon us. Gadget floated me back on the roof as his gun rang out at the enemy, moving so we were flank to flank on top.

I pulled my own rifle back out and opened fire as well, placing each shot in the skull or torso of one of the insectoid creatures. We stood in the centre of the masses as the battle raged on above us, bodies of unexploded changelings begining to pile and burn as their fallen comrades tore themselves in a roar of green flame. My legs were shaking as we fired round upon round into the never ending horde. This fight seemed hopeless.

A scream of metal and pony came from above, and I glanced above us. A flaming Raptor was approaching our position rapidly, ponies leaping from the hanger and engaging the enemy in the air as they fell. My heart stood still for a moment, the cloudship wasn't just above us; it was going to crash into us.

“Hefty! Get us moving!” I screamed, firing to clear an escape route. Spyder shuddered and began to gallop across the ground, crushing changeling skulls underfoot. The whine of magic dynamos began to build as her pace increased, leaping from rock to rock while the Raptor drew nearer and nearer to us.

“We're not going to make it!” I cried, firing faster and faster. A ping sounded and my penultimate clip popped out, “Empty!”

“Alright Hef, hit it!” Gadget yelled, taking out three changelings without turning his head once. Spyder began to groan suddenly, her legs coming in close before pushing away hard in a jump. A click followed by a sudden roar came, flinging our transport further and out from the shadow of the Raptor.

I clung onto the roof for dear life, looking down at Spyder's legs. Each had Hefty's aura around it, shaped into a cone. The cones dissipated after a short burst, the legs striking the ground as the Raptor crashed into the ground, the magical energy wiping the entire craft out in a single explosion. Debris and bodies were flung from the ship as the ammunition chambers ignited, tearing another hole and spreading chunks of metal and glass across the ground.

The horde pressed against the scattered metal, tearing the creatures in half or crushing them into the dirt. Spyder continued her strange gallop across the ground, skittering to avoid a dying changeling or a sheet of burnt metal. Clinging on to the roof, my ear crackled at Hefty and Gadget's woops of laughter and joy as we raced back along the mountain range. Raptors above turned and headed towards the Glorious Dawn to lick their wounds.

“Hey Gadget, have we got orders to retreat yet?” I called out to my squadmate, his shots ringing out into the fleeing changelings. Chariots and Raptors sped to the Thunderhead, pegasi fleeing to the mothership in search of sanctuary. Sypder continued along her path, slowing as Hefty pointed out a gathering crowd.

Unicorns and earth ponies had flocked together, heading towards the same direction in a unified herd. In the distance, one of the many ground teams we had dropped off as we made our way to the changeling capital had set up a command post, chariots flying to and from the area. Gadget jumped off Sypder, trotting alongside his mechanical child as she slowed to match the pace of the many ponies present.

I jumped off the beast as well, holstering my rifle and moving towards a group of mares from the Logistics Corp, waving them over. The mares looked battered and bruised, used to simple behind lines operations rather than open combat. Two unicorns carried an injured third, her right hind leg missing from the knee down.

“Excuse me ma'am, where's your radio op?” I called out, the Ride of the Pegasi still playing over the emergency channel. This unnerved me greater still after the retreat, as proud as the pegasus race were the wouldn't deliberately endanger their own and the other pony races, right? I pushed the thought from my mind, I still had only one reason to not trust one pegasus, and he didn't speak for them all.

The mare I addressed pointed me to a bespectacled violet mare, her braided mane still adorned with a tattered bow. I approached her slowly, the limp clear from a distance as she desperately tried as many channels as possible, “This is Echo Squad radio calling on all channels, anypony read? Repeat, this is Echo Squad radio calling on all channels. We are stranded on the ground with limited supplies and injured, requesting evac and support, over.”

“No luck either, huh?” I called out to her, trotting by her side as she let out an exasperated sigh. A shake of a head gave me my answer, “I need to check something, did you pick up the song being played on the emergency broadcast channel?”

The mare nodded, “Yeah, that damn song's been playing since before we left off. Always on repeat, over and over again.”

It was my turn for a sigh, now I had another reason to not trust the pegasi, “Damn her, what's she playing at? Blocking an entire channel for such an important mission.”

The mare turned her head slightly, “Mission? The song's been on repeat since we left Baltimare.”

I rounded on her, feeling a tiny pang of guilt as she flinched and lifted a hoof in defence, “Baltimare?! We've been without back up radio since the beginning?!”

The radio pony nodded, shaking a little as I moved back to Hefty and Gadget in a huff. It was simply insane, this entire operation was suicide. From the start it was doomed to fail; we were planning to fly in blind into enemy territory, while heavily outnumbered and outgunned with no back up. To make matters worse, the entire campaign was going to be kept quiet by the government to prevent civilian panic despite the outcome.

“The fuck are we doing here,” I grumbled as I joined my squad, climbing over rocks and the occasional body as we went, “We're all going to die.”

Gadget raised an eyebrow at my words, moving closer to me, “Come on lad, we've been through worse shit. This ain't all that bad, at least we have air support, eh?”

Hefty nodded, Spyder mimicking her master's actions. Gadget's words offered little comfort, it simply showed me just how deep in the shit we were. We approached the command post, chariots flocking around the base of what had been a spire an hour before. I turned my head from the decaying, smouldering bodies of changelings.

None were spared, warriors were draped over the elderly, adults over children. I bit the inside of my cheek, the events in the gunnery coming back along with the words of the unicorn stallion, “This is a message to their kind; do not fuck with Equestria.” If that message wasn't clear yet, then may the Goddesses have mercy upon them.