Legends of Equestria: The Legionary

by The Blue EM2

The Fall of the Legion

It was an absolute, undeniable disaster.

The sky was black with smoke, as Praetor Ironhead could clearly see from the distance he was at. Relentless gunfire and explosions rocked the enemy base as their guns fired relentlessly, and pegasi were dropping the sky like flies. Had he not known better, he would have concluded the enemy had fell sorcery on their side. But that was not the case, as the humans lacked any magic of their own, and thus it couldn't be that that was the case.

He indicated to one of his aides. "Casualty reports?"

"First casualty reports are coming in now," the aide replied, visibly nervous. "1st cohort has suffered 50% losses in the air from enemy fire, and are unable to continue their attack. 2nd cohort has lost 30% of their- hold on- 32% of their forces, and are requesting to pull back. 3rd cohort is the most badly hit, however. They've suffered 75% casualties and are already bailing out."

Ironhead nodded. "Send in 4th, 5th, and 6th. We need them to draw fire whilst 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pull back from the lines."

"Understood sir. What of the others?"

"Have them on standby, and prepare to launch their part of the attack. They know their orders and will carry them out."

"Yes sir. 1st Cohort, do you read me, Tribuna Firehoof?"

"Loud and clear, over."

"Pull back. Other units will cover your retreat."

"Copy that, understood. Out."

"2nd Cohort, are you receiving me, Tribuna Goldhammer?"

"Five by five, over."

Pull back to safety, other units are moving in to cover the fallback."

"I'm not arguing with you on that. Pulling back, out."

"3rd Cohort. Retreat immediately. You are outnumbered."

"Command, we have Invictus, we can-"

"There is no point in needlessly wasting lives. Retreat as ordered for refit and rearm."

"Understood command. 3rd Cohort pulling back."

Ironhead indicated to the aide that he had fresh instructions. "Dispatch 4th and 5th from their hiding spot in the west, and tell them to fly at the enemy lines. Low and slow; the enemy flak guns won't be able to get a lock at that speed or altitude."

"Understood sir. 4th and 5th Cohort, you are cleared to commence your attack."

"Roger that, moving in now. Bastards won't know what hit 'em."

Ironhead raised his hoof once more. "Dispatch 6th to attack from the east. Maximum numbers, same spread and low flight patterns."

"Transmitting instructions now. 6th Cohort, launch your attack immediately."

"Moving out, over!"

The aide glanced away from his communication device. "All Cohorts have received orders and are on the move. What next, sir?"

Ironhead looked at the carnage. "I can only hope the low and slow attack will cause them to waste ammunition trying to hit them. Or else I have no idea if anything will work."

---

"Whose idea was it to launch an attack like this?" Flash thought to himself, as he began to fly away from the carnage. The heavy guns had decimated their attack, and those who hadn't been killed outright by the onslaught of fire had been wounded or left unable to fly straight. As he continued to move as best he could, having taken a few hits himself, he suddenly heard a loud roar behind him as 4th, 5th, and 6th moved into position to launch their attack. As he looked down, he saw the walls of the base on the eastern side open up. Several machine guns popped out of the walls, and there were soldiers manning them. In seconds, the space before the guns was awash with bullets as the soldiers opened fire, their firepower lethal. It became apparent that ordering the pegasi to fly slowly had been a terrible mistake.

---

The Captain could scarcely believe what he was seeing. Pegasi flying slowly in close formation? This simply beggared belief. The bases' machine guns were effortlessly tearing them up, the number of blips on the screen gradually decreasing. Although the blips began to fly faster towards them, it wasn't enough to evade the vast walls of machine gun fire.

"Sir, the enemy are attacking in bigger numbers from the west. The guns are struggling to cope with the weight of hostile troops and they've burned through 10% of their ammunition."

The Captain nodded. "Understood. Get the Scorpions into the air, full ammunition load. Rotating machine guns and napalm missiles."

"Sir, aren't napalm missiles prohibited?"

"The Geneva Convention only prohibits the use of napalm against humans. And pegasi aren't human."

---

Flash continued to pull back with the rest of the 3rd when suddenly he saw machines begin to fly upwards into the air. They had spinning blades mounted to the sides of their frames, and each had sleek, streamlined cockpits with twin prongs mounted to the back of a tail designed to provide structural support and help keep the craft stable. Under their wings were mounted many, many racks of missiles and several batteries of machine guns were attached to the bodies and frames. These were some form of human attack craft, and they soon buzzed over the assault lines of the 4th and 5th Cohort, their machine guns blazing and cutting down rows of pegasi where they flew.

But this wasn't the worst act that they carried out that day. There was a signal from one of the gunships, and several began to fire missiles into the packed crowds. They exploded upon impact, but these weren't the usual explosive core missiles. Each missile instead let loose a black liquid that almost immediately burst into flames. The land and sky were suddenly turned red by the explosions and flames that roared up and down the desert. Pegasi, desparate to escape from the flames and the packed formations, began to instead crash into each other and were consumed by the flames, their screams echoing through the air. It was a sound that Flash knew would haunt him for the rest of his days.

In that moment, all rationale and logic faded from his mind, all replaced by hot, burning anger. Those monsters would pay for the deaths of all of his fellow soldiers. Without so much as a thought, he let loose a battle cry and charged towards the gunships.

One of them turned around to face him and fired off one of those missiles. This proved to be a mistake. The missile collided with Invictus and exploded, flames pouring up and over Flash. However, the flames harmed him not, and he closed in on the target, tossing two explosive charges onto the wings of the machine. As he flew clear, they detonated.

The explosions failed to sever the wings, but instead damaged the firing circuits and target tracking systems. As the chopper went into an uncontrollable spin, the entire payload discharged into the ground, locking onto practically every conceivable target. Ground defences, buildings, enemy infantry, and even Flash. High explosive missiles tore apart walls and defensive buildings, napalm rockets set the very ground ablaze, and bullets tore through windows and shattered glass before the gunship hit the ground and exploded.

The other gunships wheeled around to try and cover the gaps in the defensive line, but it was too late. Flash suddenly saw another wave of pegasi approaching from the south. It was the remaining cohorts, and they were fresh and armed to the teeth. They flew over the perimeter, the weight of them two great for the compromised defence system and the damaged gunships to handle. The Legionaries continued to throw explosives to tear open walls and damage defenses, concluding with several touching down to blow the generators powering several critical base systems.

In one act of insane bravery, Flash Magnus had turned the tide of the entire battle. Seeing his actions, the surviving soldiers of Project 722 began to abandon their positions and fall back to the Pyramid, sprinting through access ports and doors in their bids to escape.

The remnents of the 3rd Legion landed within the compound and looked around. One of the Tribunae called out. "Survivors!" he shouted. "Form up on the ground. 5th through 10th Cohorts will act as a rear guard here, and keep an eye out for and stall enemy reinforcements. After that engagement, the enemy are certain to have noticed us. 3rd and 4th Cohort, I want you to investigate the pyramid directly. Somnambula will be joining you for this mission, as her knowledge of pyramids is second to none. All other units are to go on combat air patrol and keep an eye out for enemy aircraft or orbital weaponry. We have no idea what to expect out here men, so keep your eyes sharp and your ears on the swivel."

Flash nodded as Somnambula formed up next to him. "Well, the moment of truth," Flash said.

"We will discover the secrets of this pyramid, whether they willingly reveal themselves to us or not," Somnambula said grimly. "Now let us go."

As the door opened, the Legionaries grimly marched into the pyramid, and to await whatever horrors lay within.

Author's Note:

The gunships are inspired by the Scorpion Gunship from Avatar, a tandem design noted for high maneuvrability and good weapon flexibility.

Comments

[JimmyHook19]

Damn......

[The Blue EM2]

10527150
Brutal stuff, eh?