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Chapter 12,344 words
Chapter 21,807 words

Chapter 2

“It all began eight years ago, at the start of the Diamond Dog War. Are you two old enough to remember it?” the Colonel asked.

“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh answered. “ They foalnapped ponies, and made them work in their mines. Celestia asked King Rex to let them go. He refused and there was a war.”.

“That’s right. We fought them, and we did a damned good job of it, at least as long as the fighting stayed on the surface. Griffon mercenaries are no match for well-disciplined pegasi, and the Diamond Dog curs never had the stomach for a stand-up fight themselves. However, when we tried to get into the mines, we were both literally and metaphorically in over our heads. The tight passages negated our advantage in numbers. The Diamond Dogs had the home ground and found their way around flawlessly. What little spellwork we unicorns could do down there was almost useless, the light gave us away. Existing mapping spells, devised for use above ground, were useless in three-dimensional tunnel networks. No matter how hard we tried, mapping those tunnels and getting our people out seemed impossible.”.

“But ya succeeded.” Big Macintosh said. “Ah remember hearin’ ‘bout ponies bein’ re-united with their families every day when the war ended.”.

“We did. Our underground operations were crippled by our inability to use unicorn magic in the tunnels, so we started a project, codenamed Ysengrim, to look at other ways. Other forms of magic. Earth pony magic.” the Colonel answered.

He took a sip of water.

“Earth pony magic mostly establishes itself as a connection with the earth, and living creatures. Subtle yet extremely powerful. We began to think. What if we could find a way to… boost… that connection? If the link was made powerful enough, an earth pony should be able to feel the shape of a tunnel system. Know where living creatures were. Find their way in the total darkness. Tell ponies from Diamond Dogs without sight.” he continued.

Applejack looked at him incredulously. “Ah know earth pony magic is supposed ta be powerful an’ all, but this sounds crazy.”.

The colonel continued to sip at his water.

“It did to us too. But the even crazier thing was this: We managed to get it to work. It took almost a year, with several of Equestria’s top minds working on it, but in the end, we developed a series of treatments, magical, chemical and physical, that would boost an earth pony’s innate magic to unheard levels. Now all we needed was volunteers to undergo the process.” he said.

Big Macintosh closed his eyes. “This woulda been… seven years ago.”. He nodded to himself. “Ah remember that year. We lost nearly th’ entire harvest ta apple scab.”.

Applejack nodded. “Ah remember hearin’ ma an’ pa arguin’ a lot at night. Pa claimed he could solve our money troubles, but ma wouldn’t have none of it.”.

Colonel Gila nodded. “That was probably when Rambo and Elstar learned about Project Ysengrim. The procedure was risky and experimental, so we offered volunteers large sums of money as an incentive.”.He shook his head. “We got a hold of our volunteers, and put them through the program, and the training. Some didn’t survive. The strain was simply too much. Others washed out from the military part. Others panicked and deserted. But, at the end, we had eight soldiers who could fight the Diamond Dog hegemony on its own terms. The Ferrets, we called them.”.

Applejack slammed her hooves onto the table. “Hold up. Are ya sayin’ our pa was some kind o’… super-soldier?! Like in ‘em comic books?!”.

Gila just smiled. “The best there ever was. I trained him, remember.”

Rambo Apple ran through the Everfree Forest. His eyes were closed, but his magical sense stretched out further than he could see in the thick underbrush. They were coming for him now. He couldn’t sense them, but he knew. They were going to take him back, stop him from finding the others. He had to hide. He sidestepped a wasp nest buried underneath a bush, and continued into the woods. A manticore was making its den over to his right. To his left, there was an underground river running. He continued running, trying to get as much distance as possible between him and his pursuers. More distance meant more time. More time meant more preparation. More preparation meant survival.

“The first missions the Ferrets were sent on were resounding successes.” the Colonel said. “Ponies freed. Slave mining operations destroyed. Our leaders were overjoyed. I only wish we’d seen what happened then, but…”. He shrugged. “… in hindsight everything becomes clear.”.

“What are ya talkin’ about?!” Applejack wondered.

The Colonel clarified. “The Ferrets were always a close-knit group, but the more times they went underground, the more silent and introverted they became. They kept to themselves, and rarely spoke to anypony outside their own little group. They were downright frightening at times, and when two of them, Blackstar and Highridge, were killed when Operation Three Towers went sour, it got worse.”.

Big Mac nodded. “Ah remember when pa came home. The first times, he was his old self, but later…. He wouldn’t talk about anythin’. Just sit and watch us play. Only time he’d talk was in his sleep. I was scared of him, what he said.”.

The Colonel nodded. “Sounds like the other Ferrets. Something they found down in those tunnels broke them. If we had reached out to them in time….”.

“What happened to ‘em?” Applejack asked.

The Colonel’s expression turned sad and grim. “The war ended. The unit was disbanded. The ones who wanted to stay in the EAF were re-assigned. The others were honorably discharged and sent home with a pension large enough to live on. We figured they’d earned it.”.

The Colonel paused, took a long drink of water and took a deep, shuddering breath.

“That was the biggest mistake we could have made.”. He slumped forward and held his head in his hooves. “Four ponies took the discharge. Three of them committed suicide within the first six months. The fourth, Sageblossom… that was bad. She tried to reverse the process. She failed. She’s been in a coma in Canterlot University Hospital since then.”.

Applejack thought she saw the Colonel’s eyes go bright with tears, and his mouth set in a grim line. “They pawn her off to arrogant interns as an exercise in humility. She was one of the best, most dedicated soldiers I have seen. She gave everything for this country, and now she’s reduced to a med-school in-joke.” he said. A single tear trickled down his cheek.

“What happened to pa and Uncle Rambo?!” Applejack asked quietly, not quite sure how to handle the situation.

“Rambo and Elstar stayed on.” the Colonel mumbled. “Rambo went with the Expeditionary Corps to the Dragonreach jungle. Your father and I were assigned to the Mountain Rangers, on the Zebrican border.”. He sniffled, a sound Applejack never had expected to hear from a Colonel in Her Highness’ Army.

Applejack shot back in her seat. “Ya served with pa when he died?”.

Colonel Gila nodded.

“What happened to him?” Big Mac asked cautiously.

The Colonel looked shocked. “Didn’t you get a letter?” he asked.

Applejack leaned forward, her voice deadly quiet. “Colonel. What. Happened. To. Elstar. Apple?”.

The Colonel looked at Applejack and Big Macintosh. “Your father died a hero. I recommended him for the “Sun-and-Moon”, but the higher-ups wouldn’t sign off on it. He drew off a company of griffon raiders, and gave the rest of the scout platoon a chance to escape from an ambush. Twenty-eight ponies owe their lives to him.”. He smiled. “I’m one of them.”.

“So what happened to Uncle Rambo?” Big Mac asked.

“To be blunt, he found out and he snapped. He became convinced that the other Ferrets were still alive, and that the Government was keeping them apart. He believes that he can find the others and put the unit back together.” the Colonel answered.

Applejack looked shocked. “But the others are dead. Haven’t ya told him?!”

“We have. He forgets it almost instantly. It’s like….”. The Colonel groped for words. “… he knows the others are still alive. In his mind, anything that contradicts that can't be true, so he ignores it until it goes away.”.

Applejack eyed the colonel suspiciously. “Are you sayin’ Uncle Rambo’s gone loco?”.

The Colonel nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”.

“So what are y’all doin’ here? Gonna take him in?!”. Applejack snarled. She got up from her seat and gestured towards the poster, which was still lying on the table. “Get him in front o’ a judge and get yerself some o’ that reward money?!”.

The Colonel slammed his hooves onto the table, stood up and looked Applejack straight in the eyes. “I’m here to make sure nopony else gets hurt, and that Rambo gets help! He’s a sick pony, and with proper care and treatment, he might be able to go back to some form of normal life, instead of walking around Equestria on this fool’s crusade of his!”.

Applejack and Colonel Gila traded glares. Suddenly Applejack felt something heavy and warm on her shoulder. Big Mac had laid one of his hooves on her shoulder and was pulling her gently back into her seat..

“Simmer down, sis.” he said quietly.

Applejack and Colonel Gila settled into their seats. Applejack looked at the list of offenses on the poster.

“What is all this? Did he really do all this?” she asked, looking up at Colonel Gila.

“He did what he thought he had to do to stay alive and out of the claws of the government he knew was keeping him from the others. I don’t blame him in the slightest.” the Colonel answered soberly.

“What happens now?” Big Macintosh asked nervously.

“I need to get into those woods, find him, and convince him I want to help him.” the Colonel answered.

“What about…?” Applejack asked, waving a hoof vaguely down the road.

The Colonel snorted. “That bunch of weekend warriors? They have a better chance of eating the moon than of finding and capturing or killing Rambo Apple. I’m more worried about them and their families than him, to be honest.”.

Applejack nodded and squared her shoulders. “Best we get goin’, then.” she said.

Colonel Gila stared at her. Applejack snorted.

“Ya think I’m jus’ gonna stand by while one o’ mah kin is in trouble, you can think again, mister. I’m gonna do what I can ta help.”.

Colonel Gila nodded. “It seems the can-do attitude runs in the family. Thank you.”.

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