Saving Private Rarity

by Show Off

Chapter 5

Quill’s cot was empty the next morning; we guessed he’d gotten up early to check some obscure part of the camp before we were due down at the trenches. But when he neither showed up for breakfast nor the hike down to the battlefield, we began to get worried.

“Does anyone know if he even came back last night?” Snap asked.

“I slept like a rock,” I yawned. “I have no idea.”

Fam shook her head. “Last I saw, he was headed out for a walk.”

I nodded towards the line of trenches. “Well, he wouldn’t desert his post. I’m sure he’s out there somewhere.”

We marched down onto the battlefield with a slew of other squadrons, each with other pegasi in their ranks. It was clear the skies would not be empty today, and the prospect of a fight made us all a bit nervous. Snap and I were assigned to be in the trenches, but ready at all times to jump into the air if requested. Fam was to be in a bunker, continuously updating maps and assigning hooves where they were needed most. Quill was supposed to help organize the ground crews, but we still had no idea where he might have been.

As we entered the trenches, the first thing we noticed was the mud. It was a thick, ugly quagmire that sucked at our hooves every time we took a step, squelching when it finally let go. My flight suit was instantly splattered with specks of mud; it was a far cry from the dry plateau on which the camp sat.

“This is disgusting,” Fam said. “I didn’t realize they were this bad.” She peeled off from our marching line relatively quickly, hugging us both before heading for the command bunker in the rearmost line.

“Looks like it’s just you and me,” I said to my wingman.

He laughed. “As it always is.”

We were stationed four rows from no-pony’s land. The crashing of mortar shells and bursts of fire from our infantry made it almost impossible to be heard. Overhead, duos of ponies attacked wave after wave of Carebear cloud ships. I would have rather been up there than stuck down on the ground waiting for somepony else to tag us in.

We stood ready for an hour or two, staying as low and as dry as possible. We were surprised but ready when we saw Snap’s friend Silver Lining running towards us.

“Private Silver Lining, sirs!” She had to shout be heard, and snapped a salute.

“At ease, private,” Snap dismissed. “How are ya, kid?”

“Just fine, sir!”

“Do they need us in the air?” I asked, already stretching my wings to fly.

“No sir! But I thought you should see this.” She levitated a pair of binoculars up for us to look through.

Snap looked through them and cast his gaze over the battlefield. He gasped and swore loudly at something. “You have got to be bucking kidding me…”

“What is it?” I took a look through the lenses and quickly saw why he was so distressed. “Tell me that’s not…” But the quill and parchment cutie mark confirmed; it was our lieutenant.

He was wandering about out in the desecrated soil of no-pony’s land, seemingly oblivious to the destruction around him. It was a miracle he was still alive, and we had no idea how long he would stay that way.

“Show, we have to do something, fast.”

“I’m open to suggestions,” I said a bit harshly. I was in no mood to deal with a mess like this.

“We’re gonna have to fly out over the enemy lines and scoop him up on the return to get him back here.”

A sigh escaped me, betraying my stoic mask. “Sounds like as good a plan as any.”

We took off without clearance. Protocol be bucked; at this point I was just hoping to pick Quill up in one piece. We flew as fast as we could out over the scorched earth of the battlefield, crossing over into enemy lines. We stayed low, hoping to avoid tangling with the fighters and concentrated on avoiding the bursts of anti-air fire directed at us.

We banked hard and dove down towards the ground, pulling up mere inches from the floor of the valley. I spotted our target, and signaled my wingman to slow as we approached so that we wouldn’t break his legs. As we got close, we could hear him calling out.

“Rarity? Darling, are you out here?”

“He’s gone completely off his nut,” Snap said through the radio. “There’s no way he’d be out here otherwise.”

I only nodded and readied myself for the added weight of another pony. I was on the left side of Quill and Snap was on the right. We held our forelegs in hook shapes as we prepared for the snatch. In one swift movement, we hooked him up from the ground and climbed a few hooves to avoid dragging the lieutenant. We were forced to roll as we dodged a falling mortar shell, and gumballs whizzed past us as the anti-air guns opened up.

Quill began screaming obscenities at us, demanding that we put him down. We had nearly reached the front lines of our own trenches when a shell exploded right in front of us, forcing us to bank sharply to avoid the debris. For fifteen minutes, every time we tried to re-enter our own lines, we’d be cut off again, either by the shelling or a burst of small arms fire. I was beginning to tire, and Quill’s constant struggling didn’t make it any easier.

Finally, the lieutenant wiggled free of our grasp and fell to the ground, tumbling into a foxhole. Snap and I made a rough landing, sliding to halt in the thick mud before running back and diving into the cramped hole.

Gumballs whizzed over our heads and shells exploded dangerously close to our refuge. Quill clambered to get out of the hole, but just as he got his head above ground again, Snap yanked him back down, pinning one of his forelegs to the ground. I pounced on the other, and we held him as he squirmed to get free.

“Let me go!” he screamed at us. “I’ll have you court marshaled for this!”

“He’s completely lost it,” I said to Snap.

“If you don’t let me up this instant, I will see you both hanged!”

Snap reached back and punched him hard in the face. “Get a grip, soldier!” he yelled. “Just listen to yourself.”

“I…” He blinked a few times, seeming to come to his senses.

“Quill, I know it’s hard, but for Faust’s sake, you’ve got to hold it together.” I was trying not to be angry, but my patience was already thin. “With a traitor somewhere in the upper ranks, our little family is all we’ve got. We can’t go having you get blown to bits.”

“I…I apologize,” he said finally. “I never slept last night. I kept justifying maybe she’d be somewhere out here if I kept looking.”

“We all make mistakes,” Snap said as we let him up. “It’s just that-“

“I say, is someone out there?” we heard a voice call from a few yards away.

Quill’s ears sprang up. “Could it be?” he wondered aloud.

“I’ve been stuck out here all night and the mud is going to stain my coat if I stay here much longer! And I’m terribly hungry; I could eat a whole flower bed.” The voice was definitely female, and had a distinct accent to it.

Snap and I looked at each other incredulously.

“Rarity?” Quill called. “Darling is that you?”

The explosion of another shell cut the conversation for a moment as we all covered to avoid the flying dirt.

“Quill Weave?” she called back. “It’s marvelous to hear your voice again, dear.”

He tried desperately to climb out of the foxhole again. This time it was me that pulled him back down. “Easy sarge; there’s still a war on.”

“Show, please…” he begged.

I held up a hoof to stop him. “Here’s the plan. Snap, fly Quill out of here and back into our lines, get as far to the rear as you possibly can. I’ll get to Rarity and join you in a few minutes.”

“Be careful, Show,” he cautioned.

I was about to leap back into the chaos of the field when the lieutenant stopped me. “Thank you, Show. For everything.”

“Thank me when we’re out of here,” I said.

They took off and I jumped out of the hole, spotting the place where I guessed Rarity’s voice had emanated from. I waved down a few of the infantry on the front lines to give me some cover fire, and I was able to slip into the shallow void with little trouble.

The white unicorn in front of me was a wreck compared to the picture I’d seen the lieutenant carry. Her mane was completely disheveled, and mud was caked onto her coat in spots everywhere. She regarded me with her big blue eyes.

“Who are you?” she demanded. I could see right away why Quill was attracted to her.

Another mortar fell close enough to leave my ears ringing. “I’m Show Off. Quill sent me,” I said loudly.

“Can you take me to him?” she asked me, a little more politely.

“Absolutely,” I said, smiling despite the gravity of the situation.

“Oh thank you, darling,” she replied, batting her eyes at me.

I hovered over her and hooked my forelegs underneath hers. “Now brace yourself, this may hurt a bit.” I flapped as hard as I could and shot out of the tiny depression like a rocket, dragging the full weight of a mare with me.

I grunted from the exertion and looked around for Snap and Quill. I spotted the duo in the very rear line, close to the command center where Famosity was stationed; they must have filled her in on the good news too; she was scanning the skies with them.

I forgot to compensate for the added weight during landing, and crashed into the muck with a nasty splat. Everypony was covered in mud from our hooves right up to our heads, and all but Rarity and Quill laughed.

The two were lost in each other’s eyes, oblivious to the war still going on around them.

“Rarity, my dear…”

“Quill, darling…”

They leaned in and shared a long, passionate kiss, which I suspect was only broken because they needed to breath. Quill helped the mare to her feet, and they began walking back toward the camp, speaking quietly to each other and wrapping their tails together.

Snap and I smiled and shook our heads, and Fam looked close to tears. “I’m glad we found her,” she said.

“What do you mean ‘we’?” I teased her. The only response I got was a mint-green hoof across my face.

Snap laughed. “You’ll learn to keep your mouth shut one of these days.”

“Not likely,” I replied, rubbing my hoof against my cheek. “Looks like our little family just got a little bigger.”

“So, does that mean we get a bigger tent?” The captain asked excitedly.

Snap and I burst into laughter. “Faust, I hope so…” I said, wiping tears from my eyes.

“At least you won’t be the only filly anymore,” my wingman offered.

Fam’s eyes got big. “Show, tell me I’m prettier than her.”

I laughed again. “You’re the most gorgeous mare on this battlefield.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer. Snap gave me a wink, which I returned with a scowl. He smirked and shook his head.

“I’ve had enough brushes with death for today,” he said. “Captain, would you be so kind as to order us all to the mess hall?”

“Let’s go eat!” she said.

The three of set off for the camp again, thankful to have put yet another crisis behind us.

Comments

[Tiedye3000]

I have a Saving Private Ryan pony fic. No offense, and not to be self-centered, but I think it's a tweensy bit better.

[Show Off]

444553

lol, this is in no way based on that story. Also Nathan Fillion is best Ryan.

[Azlan]

444553 No, it really isn't. This is an original work, your story, baring that which had to be changed to make accommodations for ponies, is just a retelling of the movie (and poorly at that, wrong sandbox for over an over-Hollywood-done war flick). Less than ten percent of it is in any way an original.

Not saying this is a good story or well done, it does fall short in a few areas, but it is an okay read.

[Show Off]

447246 Thank you. Where do you think it needs polishing?