Chapter Two
Running, running, running, running, crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! The distinctive crackle accompanied the magical bolt as it shot past my right shoulder, and slammed into the tree I was just passing, showering me with an explosion of wooden shrapnel. Shit! I flinched as the splinters peppered the exposed spots on my face. Ignoring the new pain, I forced myself to keep running, weaving my way through the trees as fast as I could. Don’t these clowns know when to quit?! Firing randomly in the general direction of the pegasi that were hounding me, I’d managed to make it off the hill. Once I’d gotten into the trees, the fliers had become less of a problem, but now I had to deal with the unicorns and earth ponies.
The earth ponies were easy enough, just keep out of their reach. Pegasi? Put enough rounds in the air, they’ll either catch one, or decide it’s not worth it. The unicorns, however, were another story entirely. Between their damned magic shields, ability to shoot those bolts, and their magic in general, unicorns were by far the most dangerous opponents we faced here. The sound, and sight, of more bolts streaming past and landing all around me were a testament to that threat.
At least they can’t hit shit while running. Though,I had a bigger problem than their accuracy the longer this went on.. I’d been running for nearly twenty minutes. Normally, that wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but the added weight of my armor, extra ammunition, camelbak, and weapon changed things drastically. I was going mostly on adrenaline at this point, and it felt like I had weights strapped to my boots. I really needed a break to recover, even just a little one.
Stopping suddenly, I spun, raising my M4, and began firing. Before the weapon was even half-way up, bubble shields, predictably, appeared, forming a multicolored line, and stopping every shot. With a quick about-face, I forced my aching legs back into motion. During the course of my continuing evasion, I’d learned that it took the unicorns a handful of seconds to drop the shields and resume their pursuit. I could gain a little headway on them, but they always caught up shortly afterwards. I’d been using that as an advantage, but that advantage was rapidly dwindling as I forced myself to keep going.
Several meters later, I saw something that set ice coursing through my veins. Up ahead, the trees thinned out into a clearing. The last thing I wanted to do was run through any kind of open space. Without the cover the trees provided, it was only a matter of time before one of my pursuers got in a lucky shot. Besides that, the open air meant pegasi. At the edge of the clearing, I turned left, trying to circumvent the hazard, only to have a barrage of magic bolts cut in front of me. Either they had chosen that moment to fire... or I was being herded to the clearing. It’s a trap! As humorous as hearing Admiral Ackbar’s voice in my head, I didn’t have time to laugh. Stopping, I spun again, this time, firing from the hip. As expected,. a wall of shields appeared, again stopping any rounds that may have hit any significant target. A dozen rounds later, I had the familiar feeling of the bolt locking open; the magazine was empty.
“Damn it!” Ducking behind a tree, I hit the magazine release, not even bothering to catch this one. Fishing another mag out of a pouch, I slammed it home, slapped the bolt release, and swung back around the tree, M4 raised, looking through the sight. The shields were still up as I opened back up. I didn’t just spray randomly, this time, I took time to aim each shot, as I started backing away slowly. As I entered the clearing, I fired one last round, hit the safety, turned, and ran for all I was worth.
The first thing I noticed as I ran through the clearing, was that there were no fliers in the sky. Thank god! Two seconds after I had that thought, I saw the first pair of pegasi come over the treetops, followed closely by several more. OH, COME ON! With a wordless scream of rage, I brought my weapon back up, flicked the safety, and opened fire on the run. As the flock scattered, magic bolts began raining down around me. Spinning, and dropping my aim, I fired at the line of unicorns that had entered the clearing behind me. Of course, their shields were already up before I lined up my shots. At this range, I could see the ripples from each rounds impact. All too soon, the bolt locked to the rear, signifying another empty magazine. Automatically, I began my reload. As the mag fell to the ground, I reached for my next one. The first pouch I went for was empty. Immediately, I began patting around the others searching for a mag. Reaching the last pouch, and feeling it smash under my hand, my heart fell into my stomach, and my eyes widened as I came to a horrifying realization: I was black on rifle ammo. Oh fuck… With no more ammo for my rifle, that left me with my M9 sidearm, the two extra magazines for it, and my combat knife. Trying to fight with either of those wasn’t something I was keen on trying.
In the time I spent figuring that out, the unicorns must have sensed, or seen, that something had changed, because they’d dropped their shields, and began sending more bolts in my direction. With no real alternative, I turned my back on the unicorns and resumed my frantic evasion, determined to make it to the end of the clearing. What was left of my luck must have been with me, because none of the unicorns hit their mark. Twenty meters from the relative cover of the trees, my luck ran dry. As the next volley came in, and began landing around me, I heard the unmistakable sound of a bolt, right behind me. A half-second after I heard it, the bolt slammed into my back, exploding my camelbak and spraying water everywhere. My rear SAPI plate took the impact, audibly cracking from the force, and nature, of the bolt. That same force pitched me forward sharply, though I miraculously managed to stay on my feet. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Another crackle filled the air as I straightened, this time the bolt impacted my helmet. The result of this hit somehow blew the ACH right off my head, and sent me sprawling. Fighting the daze I was now experiencing, I rolled back to my feet, desperate to get away. The treeline was so close, about a dozen meters away now, it almost seemed like I could reach out and touch the trunks. Almost there!
Two steps later, my right foot caught something, sending me back to the ground, and caused me to drop my weapon. Come on! It’s right there! RIGHT THERE! Trying to rise again, I felt something pulling on my right leg, leading me to a grim realization. One of those bastard’s grabbed me… I was suddenly wrenched backward, then up into the air by my right foot, confirming my thought. As I was whipped around, my hand found the grip of my M9. Hitting the tab on the quick-release holster, I pulled the sidearm out, flicking the safety, just as I came to a stop before my captor. Swinging my arm up, or down seeing as I was currently hanging by my foot, I stuck the pistol in his face, right between his eyes. I gotta give this unicorn credit, the bastard didn’t even flinch. Either he could read minds, and knew I’d never chambered a round, or he was made of some pretty stern stuff.
The two of us stared at each other. He was holding me in a way that, despite being upside down, our heads were at the same level. The way he was looking at me, gave me the impression I was being analyzed, and there was something else… respect maybe? Hanging there in his magic, panting and gasping heavily, sweat pouring down my face, I took in a few details about the unicorn holding me. His coat was white, with a hint of a gray tone to it. Around his horn was a magenta glow. His eyes were a shade of dark blue, what specifically, I don’t know, but they almost matched the plume on his helmet. The armor he wore was certainly worth noting well. Not the typical gold, or painted in camouflage like the other unicorns that had been chasing me, his armor was purple, with gold accents and trim. Based on that, I guessed he was high up in rank.
As I studied him, his eyes briefly flicked to the pistol, quivering in my grip, then back to me, as if he was suddenly daring me to pull the trigger. Before I could consider doing that, as useless as it would be right now, we were encircled by the rest of the pursuing ponies, the innermost of which leveled spears at me. I spared a few seconds to look at them, before returning my gaze to the one holding me. It was painfully clear I wasn’t going anywhere, and if I tried anything, I’d be soldier shishkebab. At least I made them work for it. Very slowly, and never breaking eye contact, I rotated the pistol, flicking the safety as I did, till the grip was angled toward the ground, and thumbed the magazine release. The mag slid out of the well and hit the ground with a soft thud. As soon as it hit the ground, I dropped the weapon, and let my arm go limp. Waiting a few seconds, in which I took several deep breaths, I closed my eyes and said the two words no soldier ever wants to consider: “I surrender.”
After stripping me of my knife, and remaining M9 magazines, as well as gathering my dropped M4, my hands were shackled, and I was lead out of the clearing, back in the direction I’d come from. They did, however, allow me to keep my boonie hat, which I quickly put on. Although the ponies didn’t like it, I stopped and grabbed my ACH. It was clear why it’d came off, the rear straps had been burned through, and now that my adrenaline was burning out, I could feel the burns on my neck. Additionally, my entire body was trembling, my throat was dry and scratchy, and my legs could barely support my weight.
Staggering along, I looked around. I was surrounded by guards on all sides, with the purple-armored one just ahead and to my left. No way I’m getting out of this right now.
“That was insane, Captain Armor.” One of the guards at my eleven o’clock said suddenly.
“That was a fun chase, wasn’t it?” The purple-armored unicorn replied, a touch of amusement in his voice. I was right, he is an officer.
The initial speaker shook his head, looking back at the captain. “That’s not what I was talking about.” His gaze drifted to me for a moment. “What if he’d shot you? Princess Cadance wouldn’t take that news very well.”
The mirth was gone when Captain Armor replied, “No, she wouldn’t, which is why I took precautions.” He paused. “I had everything well in hoof.”
“All due respect, Sir, it didn’t look that way. What precautions did you take, if I may?”
The captain looked back at me, then to the guard before answering, “I put a shield in the barrel, Lieutenant Steel. He couldn’t have shot me.”
He put a shield inside the barrel? I’ll admit, that’s pretty impressive. Too bad that would have backfired. I thought, with a faint laugh. That caused just about every guard to look at me.
“Find something funny, prisoner?” Lieutenant Steel asked.
“Had I been able to fire, a shield in the barrel would have just caused the weapon to malfunction, catastrophically.”
“Meaning?”
“It would have exploded in my hand, and probably sent shrapnel into your eyes.” I said, motioning to Armor. Don’t they know how our guns work? … I probably shouldn’t have told them that.
The unicorn grimaced then looked forward again. “Lucky me. That would have been unpleasant.”
Nothing else followed that statement, and they all went back to walking in silence. Five minutes of nothing happening passed, when I tripped over an exposed root I hadn’t noticed. I went down to all-fours, with a grunt of pain. When I tried to rise, my legs wouldn’t cooperate, and I went back down. I didn’t immediately retry to stand, and a guard jabbed me in the side with the butt of his spear, though he hit my side SAPI instead of me.
“Get up.”
“Give me a minute.” I said, looking over at the spear-wielding unicorn standing beside me.
“I said, ‘get up’!” He emphasised his order with a much harder jab, nearly knocking me to my side.
“I just got done running the fuck away from you guys, I’m a little worn out. Gimme a fucking minute!”
Glaring at me, the gray unicorn raised his spear. “Why you⎻”
“STAND DOWN!” Captain Armor’s voice cut through whatever the guard had been about to say.
Looking around, I found the captain standing in front of me, staring down his soldier. “We do not treat prisoners that way! We have standards to adhere to, remember that!”
Instead of arguing, or making some excuse, like I expected him to, the guard simply said, “Yes, Sir” and backed off. Huh, didn’t expect that.
Turning his attention to me, Armor said, “As much as I’d like to stop and give us all a quick break, I can’t take the risk that your friends won’t come back in force.” He extended a hoof to me. “We’re not carrying you either, so come on. We don’t have much farther to go, anyway.”
I stared at the offered hoof for a few seconds, then sighed and gasped it. With a pair of grunts, his from the exertion, mine from the ache in my legs, I was pulled to my feet. Staying only long enough to make sure I stayed on my feet, Armor turned and pointed ahead with a hoof. “Move out!”
Bending down, I retrieved my dropped helmet, then shuffled onward.
The rest of the trek was uneventful, and we arrived at another clearing a short time later. Unlike the one I’d been captured in, this clearing wasn’t empty. Over a dozen chariots sat ready to go, pairs of pegasi guards already hitched to the vehicles. My entourage wasted no time in herding me to one of the chariots and getting me aboard with two guards.
Captain Armor watched as everyone mounted up, then climbed into the chariot he was standing beside. “Let’s go!”
My ride lurched forward, and if I hadn’t been resting my back against the front, I’d probably have fallen out. Several meters later, I watched the ground fall away as we took to the air. I probably should have started freaking out, flying in something that wasn’t a legitimate aircraft, but I was too busy being grateful to be off my feet.
Wincing as I shifted around, I pulled myself to my knees using the front railing of the chariot. When my pair of guards didn’t move to stop me, I took a look around. The group was spread out across the sky, with unencumbered fliers scattered throughout. Huh, reminds me of a World War Two bomber formation with a fighter escort. As interesting as I found that, our destination was clear, and more important. We were heading east, toward the mountain. They were taking me to Canterlot. That was when the reality of the situation really sank in: I’d been captured by the enemy. I was a prisoner of war.
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What branch of the military is he? i s he an Army Ranger, Marine, Navy Seal, Air force? I'm thinking Marines or a Ranger. Their among the most hard ass branches in the US.
6057842 I was thinking Ranger myself.
6057842 Im thinking hes a marine, as army guys arent as tough, but the seals or ranger have a lot more support.
The question bothering me the most is: why are the U.S. and Equestria engaged in a hostile conflict? I'm not saying that I'm surprised mind you, I'm just curious as to why.
7009061 Oil
Nice WWII analogy at the end.
7025536
That oil needed some freedom.
6982983
Shows what you know about the military. Marines have go to the Army for all their specialized training. And now with them gutting themselves of all Armored and air attack craft, their literally nothing more than infantry and nothing else.
When I went through the Sapper course, we had 2 marines in our class, both ended up dropping out because they couldn't keep up.