ARTICLE 2 Part XIX
ARTICLE 2
Part XIX
. The sun was several hours from rising. It was technically early morning, but still so dark it was nigh indistinguishable from the night. Aegis made his way into the dungeon complex to retrieve the human. Against his better wishes the biped had convinced the alicorns to lend him two centuries of troops for a reconnaissance operation deep into the heart of the Whitetail Woods. How he had managed to do it, the stallion had no idea. It made Aegis’ stomach unsettle. If the media learned that this supposedly “neutral” alien was suddenly commanding Equestrian troops then it would no doubt spark international outrage.
Regardless many young officers throughout the legions were throwing themselves at the opportunity to work with the alien. Now that the human was revealed to the public eye, ponies were chomping at the bit to be a part of history. Even if the mission was largely uneventful, most officers knew that anypony who managed to be a part of it would undoubtedly have their names included in history books for ages to come.
Aegis crossed the threshold into the dungeon, making his way directly to the human’s room. Celestia was due to join them shortly. Aegis did not see the need to wait for the solar diarch as he made his way to Shane’s cell.
Two stallons fired off crisp salutes as he approached, ever-awake despite the odd hour. Aegis returned the gesture as he passed entered the cell. Shane was sitting on his cot with his head cradled in his hands as if in serious pain. Aegis eyed the bipid up and down. He was fully dressed. His desert digital camouflage utilities now replaced with a darker woodland pattern that the guard commander had yet to see. He sported his armored chest assembly in full, complete with ablative pauldrons, pads, and helmet which sat dutifully by his smartly bloused combat boots. He was dressed for a fight, but his face made it seem like he was ready to vomit.
Aegis sighed, more than one of his soldiers had reported that the human had coordinated some manner of drunken celebration only a few hour prior. Despite knowing the human’s fondness for the drink he had hoped the biped would manage to keep some level if discretion given the large scale reconnaissance operation he was responsible for.
“Are you alright, Major?”
Shane uncovered his eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light. “...sir..” he mumbled. “Right as rain,” he assured.
“You don’t look it,” Aegis commented as he approached. “I trust my soldiers will be in responsible hands during this mission?”
Shane snorted, “I can assure you, Commander, I have orchestrated substantially more complicated operations, far more hungover than I am now. Your soldiers will be fine.”
Aegis hummed. “Princess Celestia will be joining us for the op-order shortly. I’ve picked out two Centuries for you. They are currently being assembled for the mission briefing.”
“You selected them?”
“Hoof picked,” he nodded.
“You trust them?” Shane rubbed his temples.
“I do. I trained the Centurions myself some years ago.”
“Centurions?” he asked clearly confused.
“Century Commanders. These are military troops, Major. Not Guardsponies. They are organized differently.”
Shane shrugged off the new information. “Is the convoy ready?”
“They should be organizing for take-off as we speak. All we need is the brief.”
“Alright,” Shane rubbed his eyes one last time as he pushed himself to his feet. He shouldered his assault pack, stuffed with whatever the biped had decided he would need for the next three days. His rifle slung dutifully across his chest. It was the first time Aegis had seen the human really use the weapon. Were they not on a schedule he would have set aside more time to reflect upon it.
The two made their way out of the cell where they were greeted by a solar alicorn, looking much better for wear than the human. If she had consumed too much alcohol the night prior, her complexion hid it well.
Aegis lowered his head and greeted his princess. Celestia inclined her head also. Shane watched the two of them with nauseous indifference.
“Overdo it a bit, Major?” she smirked at the human. “You look a little green around the gills.” Shane lifted the corner of his lip at the alicorn in a sort of unamused snarl. “Honestly I somewhat surprised you’re awake.” Her horn began to glow as she levitated a large disposable cup of hot coffee toward the human.
Shane didn’t say anything but a contented groan escaped him as he took hold of the cup.
Celestia turned toward the exit as the human followed along with the guard commander.
~~~~~
. The room was packed with noisy Equestrian legionnaires. The military caste of Equestria’s Ministry of Civil Defense. Unlike their counterparts in the guard, these ponies wore a slightly more simplistic steel plate armor. Two centuries sat in the overly crowded auditorium. Each century was made up of roughly eighty stallions and mares, of which maybe twenty or so pegasi would specialize as aerial reconnaissance.
The human was hastily brought up to speed on the basic structure of the troops over which he would soon be in command. Aegis could only hope he had paid attention during their short walk.
The room went eerily silent as the collected stallions and mares of Celestia’s military observed the Princess of the Sun enter the room followed by the alien biped and current Commander of the Guard. There was a clatter as nearly one hundred and sixty ponies rushed to stand and bow their heads to their diarch.
Shane stepped passed the alicorn, humming and patting her on her withers. “Attention on deck, eh?” he muttered smiling as he set down his pack and helmet.
Aegis made his way into the room. “At ease!” The ponies made their way back into their seats. Aegis waited for the clatter of armor to subside before he began to speak. Aegis cleared his throat. “Good morning, mares and gentlecolts. I would like to begin by thanking you all for your volunteering to assist the crown with this operation. I understand it may be a bit…” Aegis glanced back at Shane who sipped his coffee and winked at the stallion. “...unorthodox. But crucial all the same. Equestria thanks you for your service.”
Aegis moved around the room as he spoke. “As I am sure most of you are aware our planet recently was graced with the presence of an extraterrestrial visitor in the form of the Major here.” He motioned toward the human who gave a very half hearted two-fingered salute. “Some of you have already become acquainted with the Major, others may have seen him during drills. For the duration of this operation you will answer to him.” There was a smatter of uncertain muttering amongst the crowd. “Your unit leaders have already received a briefing packet. The explanation of which I will leave mostly to him. The put it bluntly, he is in need of bodies to assist in a reconnaissance operation deep within the heart of Whitetail Woods. Her highness has deemed fit to have you all fulfill that need. I have assured him that you all are quite capable and prime example of Equestrian bravery and fortitude. Do not disappoint me.” He added finally. Before retreating back toward Celestia. “All yours, Major.”
Shane took gulp of his coffee before stepping forward. “Good morning, Equestrians!” he practically shouted at the group, who straightened in their seats. A few muttered back an uncertain response. Shane paused casting an irritated glare toward the crowd. “No, that was pathetic….Good. Morning. Equestrians!” he shouted at the crowd.
“GOOD MORNING, SIR!” the ponies shouted back.
“THAT’S IT!” the human smiled. “Are you awake now!?”
“YES, SIR!”
“Good!” Shane smirked. “Now! For those of you who are hard of hearing I will reiterate… My name is Major Shane Doran, United States Marine Corps, and I will be leading this operation” Shane looked over the collected equines. “I can reasonably say that I have never had the privilege of commanding furry quadrupeds in the field. I am eager to see how you all perform. You come very highly recommended.” He gestured toward the Guard Commander. “Alright ladies and gents, I am just going to jump right into it. Squad and platoon leaders please identify yourselves.”
Aegis stepped forward, “Centurions and optio’s stick your hooves in the air.”
Four ponies toward the front of the room raised their hooves. Two with ornate eagles on the front of their breast plates. The commanders of their respective centuries. One stallion and one mare. Shane pointed at the four of them. “You both and you number two’s are going to stay behind after the brief I need to talk to you.” Both ponies nodded dutifully.
“Alright here's the long and short of it, boys and girls. We are running a recon op into a piece of forest land Southwest of here called Whitetail Woods.” Shane turned toward a large screen behind him. “Hey uh, Celestia, do the lights will you?” he asked the silent alicorn. Celestia’s horn lit as the room grew dim and a large map appeared on the screen. “This is our AO. Five square miles of forested countryside…”
Shane went on to describe the land, weather, expected maneuvers, and even which sections would be responsible for searching which plot of land. This search was to last a full week. The human himself only to be there for the first three days. “We will be conducting five major sweeps. Ponies with wings please identify yourselves.” Several Pegasi stuck their hooves in the air awkwardly. Shane counted them and wrote the figure down on a black notebook he had stolen off Luna’s desk. “You all will be detached from your current sections and be formed into an aerial reconnaissance squadron. Whoever is the most senior among you please remain behind after the briefing as well. The rest of you will be on the line. I don’t care if you have a horn on your head or not. I have no need of magic so for this op you’re ground-pounders, oorah?”
Several ponies looked around with confused expressions.
Shane sighed, “Do you understand?” he clarified. The ponies shouted back that they did indeed understand.
It wasn’t until the human paused and asked for questions that one brave pony stuck her hoof in the air. Shane pointed at her. “Yes?”
“Yes sir, um...what is it exactly we’re looking for?”
Shane nodded. “Good question. Did everybody hear her? She asked what it was we’re looking for,” he repeated. “To answer your question, I do not know.” Shane let that sink in for several seconds while the legionnaires shared uncertain glances among themselves. “To put it simply. I am under the impression that there is some manner of device or object that is sending a signal from somewhere within that grid. I can not honestly say what it might be because I do not know. For now I want you to do this. If you see anything at all out of the ordinary, something you can not easily explain, or something you can not identify. You are to stop. Mark down the exact grid. Cordon off the area, retreat to a safe distance and radio me immediately. I will be there shortly to asses the situation. Does everyone understand?”
~~~~~
. Yellow Jacket shrugged her armor into a more comfortable position. It seemed luck was not on her side today, finding herself the most senior pegasi scout, and as such she had been outfitted with an uncomfortable human radio communication device strapped to her head. A soft round pad cupped one of her ears while a strip of springy plastic reached over her head to hold it in place. A swiveling lever extended from the pad toward her mouth. Devoid of her helmet she brushed a lock of jet black mane from her eyes. The headset preventing her from brushing it behind her ear. She growled in frustration, removing the human’s device and shaking out her mane. She brushed as much of it as she could behind her dusty yellow ears before donning the radio once more.
The human gave her a hasty course in the use of the device. Push the button to talk, let go when you’re done. “Just remember; Hey you, this is me. Wait for a response then say what you gotta say.” He had instructed.
She had never held any significant leadership role in her life much less leading a small squadron. On one of the most historic military operations in recent history no less. A Joint exercise with an alien military. If she pulled it off it would look phenomenal on her promotion and retention board. But if she failed. Not only could she kiss any sort of military career goodbye, but word on the street was the alien was going to kill and eat anypony who failed him. Was it true? Probably not. But some instinct deep down in her pony brain couldn’t let the idea go. One of the many drawbacks of being a herd species.
The mare turned to the some odd forty pegasi that were collected from the two centuries. Two were tasked out to the personal detail of the human. He selected them himself. After determining that not a one of the collected ponies had seen real combat, he opted to choose the ones who had at least participated in counter-offensives during the diamond dog raids. “I guess that’s close enough,” he had muttered, seeming disappointed after learning that the conflict produced no casualties on either side.
Minus those two, that left her with thirty-seven pegasi. One century was a wing light due to a scout contracting feather flu a few days prior. She quickly divided the group into four sections, three of ten and one of seven. She placed herself in the smaller more maneuverable group.
A voice erupted in her ear. “Raptor Actual, this is Atlas…”
Raptor?...Oh Celestia that was her! The human was talking to her on the radio. Her heart began to thump. As she fumbled to depress the button on the side. “This is Yell- Raptor!” she corrected herself.
There was a pause on the headset. “Status?”
She depressed the button again, “All Raptor sections are ready for takeoff. Just give us the word.”
“Roger, I want one final count, once you have accountability I want you to run the numbers up to me. I need that sharpish I want you guys wheels-up in ten, how copy?”
“Raptor Actual copies all.”
“Atlas out,”
The radio went silent.
She proceeded to, once again count the pegasi under her command. She was almost disappointed by how much leadership revolved around counting things. Count the troops, count the weapons, count the packs, count the troops again. Run up the numbers. Recount them all to verify the numbers. Count the number of times she’d counted.
She reached the end of her section. There were still thirty-seven pegasi. She radioed the human to confirm. She was curtly told to ‘standby’. Their ten minute takeoff goal came and went in this time. When she called the human to inquire what was happening, she was once again to ‘standby’ this time more harshly. She didn’t ask a third time.
An additional twenty minutes dragged on before she was given the order to takeoff. Which she promptly did, eager to get her hooves off the ground. Their four section formation made a B-Line for Whitetail Wood. All things considered they had a fairly easy job, pretty much what they usually did. Aerial Recon. They simply had to clear the skies over the plot of land before the rest of the centuries got there. Easy enough.
She could hear the Centuries behind them on her radio. Count the troops, count the weapons, count the packs, count the transports… She was glad to be done with the counting for now.
~~~~~
. Celestia eyeballed the convoy as they made the final preparations to launch. The sun was due to crest at any moment. She ran the numbers herself several times. Thirty-seven ponies in the air, plus an additional one hundred and eighteen loaded twelve transport ships. Left him with two pegasi stallions a unicorn mare and an earth pony mare. All of whom would be his personal detail. He would occasionally touch his headset and talk to the Century leaders and their second in command. All of whom had been similarly outfitted with callsigns and headset radios. Celestia had the last of the human’s headsets tucked under her wing. Shane had instructed the alicorn to deliver it to Luna as soon as the convoy left. Luna would keep the device while Celestia was in court and vice versa. In the event of an emergency Shane would use it to contact them.
Shane received his final batch of numbers. Shane stepped into his open carriage. It was similar to Celestia’s own, however much more spartan. “Color me impressed, Major. All things considered you’re doing very well.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, princess.” He said over his sunglasses which he wore even though the sun had yet to rise. But smiled at the praise nonetheless.
“Even still. I am quite envious of these.” She held up the radio headset. “I think adapting these to ponies should be among the first things we attempt.”
Shane scribbled something in his notebook. “They do come in handy. How do you guys even do stuff like this without radios?”
We have messengers, or voice projection gems.”
“Voice projection whats?” he asked confused.
Sandy, the unicorn in his entourage, cleared her throat to draw his attention. She offered the human a blood red ruby almost the size of a grape. “You hold it to your throat and it projects your voice.
Shane looked at her incredulously, holding the ruby to his neck. “Check” he said at perfectly normal volume. Shane raised an eyebrow at Sandy who nervously took the gem back holding it to her throat. “CHECK” her voice echoed across the field. Drawing the attention of nearly every pony in the area. Shane furrowed his brow and tried again. Only for the gemstone to lose its inner shine the moment he touched it.
Celestia frowned. The human’s tendency to disrupt magical energies struck again. Flomoxing to say the least. When time allowed a more thorough investigation would be necessary.
Shane seemed to understand what was going on. He stepped over to his pack and pulled out a roll of black tape. Grinning hopefully to himself. He deftly taped the two earpieces of his music player to the gem. He fished the device itself out of his pocket, and the gem began to noticable project the buds music.
Shane laughed, sufficiently delighted. “How loud does this go?” he asked the armored unicorn.
“It multiplies the volume it hears so the louder you talk the louder it is.”
“This is gonna be fun.” he announced giddily. Shane reached up and touched his headset. “Let’s light this candle. All Atlas Victors roger-up when you have accountability and are ready to roll.”
“Saber-Team, Roger.”
“Prophet, Roger
“Misfit, Roger”
“Razor, Roger. We’re ready to go.”
“Good to go, All Atlas Victors we are wheels up in two minutes.”
Shane stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled at the stallions pulling his carriage. “Two minutes!” he shouted. They nodded and pulled their goggles over their eyes.
Celestia stepped over to the side of the human’s carriage. “Major. There are one hundred and fifty-nine of my subjects on this excursion of yours. If you come back with a single pony less. I shall be very cross with you.”
Shane didn’t look up from fiddling with his music device. “Bringin’ em all back dead or alive. You got it.”
Celestia stomped a hoof. “ALIVE!” she demanded. “And unharmed.”
“Fine.” he rolled his eyes.
“You have exactly three days Major, whether you find something or not. That means you will be on the castle grounds exactly seventy-two hours from now.”
Shane checked his watch and donned his helmet. “Yep, roughly seventy-two hours,” he affirmed.
“No! Not ‘roughly’. Do NOT make me come get you human. So help me, I will make a life sentence in Tartarus look like a day at the beach for you.”
Shane cooed. “You know, you’re kinda hot when you’re mad.”
“I’m serious!”
Shane took off his sunglasses and stared into the alicorns bright pink eyes. “Will you relax? We’re walking around the woods. Not marching off to combat. It. Will. Be. Fine. Go turn-on the sun or whatever it is you do. Stop being a helicopter-mom.” Celestia bristled but did not otherwise respond. She took a few steps back as she saw the lead pegasi begin to beat their wings.
Celestia shook her head one last time. “Just be careful,” she said finally.
Shane racked the charging handle on his rifle. “You’re careful enough for the both of us, Princess.” Shane winked at the alicorn and set the barrel of the weapon over the edge of the carriage. He held up his music player in his free hand and cranked the volume to its highest setting. And an obnoxiously loud electric guitar began to fill the air. Sandy clapped her hooves over her ears. A few of the pegasi guards grinned as they turned to identify the music, only to see the human throw his pinkie and index finger toward the sky.
The carriage pulled away and off the ground, over the edge of the mountain, followed by the first transport then another. The sound of Shane’s music carried over the thin morning air as the convoy left in a neat South-westerly direction.
~It’s criminal! There ought to be a law! Criminal! There ought to be a whole lot more! You get nothin’ for nothin’!
Celestia watched as the last ship pulled off. Wondering, not for the first time that day, if she was making a mistake. She would have to come up with something to tell the press. She shifted the human’s radio under her wing as she turned back toward the castle listing to the last remnants of the music dying on the wind.
~Tell me who can you trust? We got what you want! And you got the lust!
If you want blood... You got it!
~~~~~
. The adrenaline from their trip had worn off hours ago. Sandy took another step and waited. For the millionth time that day. She eyeballed the ground beneath her hooves. Dirt...grass...sometimes a flower….maybe a tree root. Nothing.
The human in front of her was likewise stopped. His eyes weren’t visible behind the polarized shades but the slow swivel of his head gave away the pattern of his scan.
He took another step, and the long line of ponies to his left and right did the same. Five miles didn’t seem like much until you covered it like this. Like the world’s slowest wedding march. Step...scan...scan...scan again...step. Her only comfort being that there were three other teams like theirs both covering ground. They had embedded themselves with Saber team because the human said he thought it was the coolest callsign out of all four teams. He would occasionally talk to the headset, receiving information from the other three teams. Although she could only hear one end of the conversation it didn’t sound like they had found anything either.
The earth pony mare in the human’s personal detail hadn’t said anything yet. Sandy wasn’t even sure what her name was. She was taller and slim for an earth pony. Although her armor concealed the color of her coat and mane her eyes were some of the greenest Sandy had ever seen. The two pegasi the Major had selected were back at the rudimentary camp they established in a clearing next to the eastern side of the search area. Their vital task was to ensure no one touched the human’s stuff.
The ground rushed up to meet her as she tripped over an exposed root and she released a pained squeal.
The human turned on the unicorn and gave her an irritated glare. He didn’t say anything but she knew what he wanted to say. “Be quiet and pay attention to what you’re doing”. Sandy fixed herself. This was miserable. It was hot and her armor was heavy and she had been staring at dirt for the entire day. She knew better than to complain out loud of course. But still.
She could see the human sweating as well. Every now and then a droplet would collect on his nose, which he would blow off. A habit which she found funny but couldn’t really ascertain why. He took another step. His rifle cradled in his arms as he scanned the ground in front of him.
Sandy did the same, a flash of movement in the distance catching her attention. She narrowed her eyes at the underbrush. Maybe she had imagined it. She waited. She was about ready to move along when she saw it again.
“Major,” she said as loudly as she dared. The human turned and saw that she was frozen in lace a few steps back. She pointed toward the underbrush with a hoof. “There’s something out there.”
Shane frowned and twisted toward where she pointed. He was frozen for several second before he puckered his lips and mimicked a bird-call. Motioning for the ponies of Saber team to lay on their stomachs with their heads down until he told them otherwise, he done so several times, the ponies were becoming accustomed to it. .
Shane took a knee looked in the direction she was pointing. “I don’t see anything.” he noted after a moment.
“Wait,” she whispered. “There!”
There was indeed a flash of movement. Something brown moving around maybe a hundred yards out. Shane stiffened, swinging his rifle to bear. He peeped through a short telescopic sight mounted on the weapon for several seconds.
“It’s a deer!” he whispered excitedly. “A little buck.” Sandy visibly relaxed. Shane wrapped his hand up in his sling and flipped the safety off his weapon, nuzzling his cheek into the butstock.. “Hold your ears I’m gonna shoot it.”
Sandy started to reach up to hold her ears before it dawned on her. “Wait... Shoot it!? What!? WHY?!” she asked horrified.
Shane took his finger off the trigger, cocking his head to look at her with a perfectly serious expression. “Food.”
Sandy had to physically resist getting sick. “You’re joking,” Shane raised an eyebrow. “You’re not joking.” She couldn’t believe she was going to have to explain to this creature why he couldn’t kill butcher and eat another living thing. How do you even communicate something like that?
“Don’t tell me they’re smart too.” Shane frowned. “Are they sentient? Like… you guys?” He gestured toward the ponies in general.
“Yes!” Sandy exclaimed.
Shane harumfed safetying his weapon. “Figures. God I am so sick of god damn vegetarian shit.”
“You eat deer though?” she was still trying to wrap her head around the idea.
Shane stood. “Deers good eatin’. I was born in Kentucky, sister. Deer hunting was practically all we had. Other than bourbon, tobacco, and horse racing. That’s pretty much about it.” He pressed the button on his headset. “Raptor this is Atlas.” He waited a moment for the response that Sandy couldn’t hear. He pulled a small map from his pocket. “We got contact at grid... break…” he squinted at the map. “Eight Niner Seven, Zero Two Six. One foot-mobile. deer, male, believed non-combatant. Head this way and give us fly-over see if this dudes alone” He paused again. “Atlas out.”
It was several moments of painful silence as they waited. Shane continued to watch the buck through his rifle scope. “I thought you said this place was uninhabited.”
“It’s uninhabited in that no one is living here. Doesn’t mean that no one is here at all. There’s a small population of deer that live in a village a few miles west of here. They tend to be a bit more...outdoorsy than most ponies, but they usually stick to themselves.” Sandy explained hoping she wasn’t coming off as racist. “Their culture is just more focused on adapting to their environment rather than the other way around. They mostly tend to avoid major cities.”
Shane didn’t look over at the mare. “Are you seriously trying to tell me that deer are the elves of pony world?” he deadpanned.
“I don’t know what elves are,” she shrugged.
“Send it,” Shane said into his radio, pausing to listen. “Roger, tango. I’m gonna push up and see what he’s doing. Stay up there and circle for a bit, keep an eye out.”
~~~~~
. Yellow Jacket adopted a lazy figure eight over the human’s current position. She could see the ponies of Saber Team stretched out to his left and right. The foliage obscured her view somewhat but from her vantage she could see enough to get a good idea of what was below.
There was indeed a single deer wandering around. Young buck by the looks of him, poor kid was probably just out picking blackberries or something. Wrong place, wrong time.
“Raptor, Atlas”
“Raptor. Go.”
“We’re cutting him loose, kid’s scared shitless. Say’s he promises he’ll head straight home. Keep an eye on him make sure he gets out of our AO.”
“Roger, we got him.”
The human didn’t respond but she saw the buck take off in the other direction. She swore. Those deer could really move. She formed up her flight as they prepared to follow the young creature. When she noticed a splotch of black in the sky. A lone griffon was sitting on a small cloud watching them about a thousand feet above.
She pointed at the rapidly retreating buck. “Sunny, Misty, follow him and make sure that kid gets out alright. The two pegasi saluted before zipping off after the deer. She looked back up at the griffon. A jet black hen from what she could tell although at this distance it was difficult to be sure. Just watching them from her high perch.
“Atlas this is Raptor,”
“Send it.”
“I have eyes on a griffon sitting at about a thousand feet due North observing your position,”
There was a long pause. “I thought you cleared the skies,” he noted clearly irritated.
“We did, sir. She must have slipped in in-between patrols.”
“She?”
“From what I can tell, yes sir.”
“I can’t see this thing from down here. Get rid of her. Question her if you can. But get rid of her.”
“Roger,” Yellow Jacket banked her wings toward the griffon’s cloud as she gained altitude. She hadn’t made it a hundred feet before the griffon dropped from her cloud and shot away like a dart. Jacket squinted at the retreating griffon suspiciously. “Atlas, she bolted as soon as she saw us.”
“Forget her. We don’t have time to chase strays. Head back to the rear the sun’s going to go down soon. We’re wrapping it up for today.”
“Roger.” she replied, unable to get the uneasy feeling out of her gut. She relayed the human’s orders to her squad. She banked back toward their small encampment. Eager to get started on counting things so that they could go to sleep.
~~~~~
. A nightmare tore Yellow Jacket from her sleep, blinking and sitting up before remembering why she was sleeping in the middle of a dark forest. She laid back down and took several measured breaths, trying to calm her hammering heart. She watched the waning crescent moon through the trees. There was likely a few hours until sunrise but despite her busy day she couldn’t seem to get back to sleep. Groaning in frustration she kicked off her blankets and clambered out of her bedroll and began to stretch.
A faint smokey smell wafted along the nightly breeze. She looked around to identify it she saw only sleeping legionnaires. A small orange dot gave away the silhouetted human who was sitting in the dark of a nearby oak, rifle across his lap and a smoldering cigarettes burning between his fingers. He occasionally brought it to his lips, and would exhale twin jets of smoke from his nose.
She once again looked around. The mare next to her let out an unconscious snore. The pegasus looked back at the human who was still watching her from the shadow of the oak tree. There was no avoiding it she supposed as she began to make her way over towards where he sat.
“Bad dream?” he asked as soon as she was close enough to hear.
“N-No, Sir. I just...couldn’t seem to get back to sleep,” she lied.
The human hummed in response but nothing more.
“What about you, sir? Are you not tired,” she ventured.
Shane took a drag from his cigarette. “Yellow Jacket right?”
“Y-Yes, sir.” she answered, straightening her posture.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “At ease...” he soothed. “Do you have a rank Miss Jacket?”
“I’m an auxiliary, sir. So ...no not really.”
“Auxiliary?”
She nodded. “Most Pegasi are. Not all of them, of course. But if they were recruited out of Cloudsdale they probably came from the Royal Flight Academy. Students that graduate receive one of the most prestigious educations in the world but are required to serve a three year contract after graduation. After their three years they’re offered a new contract with an official Legion position.”
“Kinda like the Naval Academy?” he asked.
“The Royal Navy has its own academy but yes I suppose it’s somewhat similar.”
Shane hummed again. “How long you been in?”
“Three years and a few months. I’m on a temporary contract extension. I haven’t been offered a Legion position yet,” she admitted somewhat embarrassedly.
“You gonna re-enlist?”
“That’s just it, my contract is under review. They’re deciding if they want to retain me or not.”
“How’s it looking?”
“Not well…” she admitted. “There’s somewhat of a black mark on my service record that’s making it difficult.”
Shane cocked an eyebrow. “What did you do?”
“A few years ago I got into an...altercation with my section leader. And infighting isn’t very well tolerated.”
“What...you punched your staff nco in the face?” he asked grinning.
“In so many words,” she nodded.
The human’s laugh was deep and rumbly and the mare was thankful it was dark, and the alien likely couldn’t see the dark red blush on her face. “Tell me he at least deserve it?”
“I sure think so.She got caught harassing one of the new stallions, but her daddy was a well-connected noble so she got off with a slap on the hoof.”
“Good.” the human patted the grass next to him, inviting the pony to sit with him. “You know what I think?” She sat next to the biped curling her tail around herself. “If the pony military had a couple more ponies like you in charge it might be in danger of being somewhat respectable.” The human reached behind the tree and pulled out a half-empty bottle filled with dark maroon liquid. He took several measured drafts from the bottle before offering it to the pegasus.
She gave the creature a dubious look. “I won’t tell if you don’t tell,” he promised with a grin. She smiled accepting the bottle in her hooves.
The pony winced at the sweet tart bite of the crystal brandy, but the warmth the blossomed from her belly steadied her nerves and kept the nightly chill at bay. “May I ask you a question, sir?”
The human took a long drag from his cigarette, but motioned with his free hand as if to encourage her to speak.
“What are we really doing out here?”
Shane smiled as he slowly blew the smoke out of his lungs. “Looking for a way to send me home,” he answered plainly. “The Princesses and had reason to believe there was something here that would make that possible.”
“But there’s nothing out here. We’ve been out here for two days and haven’t found a thing.”
Shane’s smile fell a little. “No. We haven’t,” he agreed somberly.
Yellow Jacket suddenly realized what that meant for the human. She winced at how needlessly cruel it must have sounded. “I didn’t mean it like… I mean-”
“It’s okay,” his assured calmly. “I don’t really expect to find anything. I think Celestia is only letting me do all this because she’s too nice to say its a waste of time to my face.”
“Still…” Jacket continued. “I’m sorry.”
“Can I ask you a question now?” Shane leaned forward eyeballing the mare critically.
“Umm...sure.” she answered, feeling suddenly vulnerable under the human’s gaze.
“Do pegasus ponies lay eggs?”
~~~~~
. Shane hopped off his carriage before it came to a stop. A stallion with an eagle emblazoned on his steel breastplate trotted over to greet him. He was the Centurion currently commanding Razor Team. The stallion offered the human a salute.
“Put that down. Where is it?” The human did his best to sound calm but the stallion could hear the charge underlying his words. The human was anxious, maybe even nervous, the stallion couldn’t say for certain.
The Centurion turned and motioned for the human to follow. “This way, they’ve cordoned off the area and are waiting on you right now.” One of his legionaries reportedly found an object lodged in the ground during their search. “What is it?”
The Centurion shook his head as they walked. “I haven’t seen it. When they called it in I ordered everypony to stay back until you arrived.”
The two crested the treeline where a few armored ponies were milling about. “Which one of you found it?” the human asked the collected equines.
One unicorn pony raised his hoof. “I did, sir.”
“Where?”
The pony pointed directly at a small cluster of saplings some fifty yards away. “Right in there, sticking out of the ground.”
Shane squinted at the cluster of trees and pointed raising an eyebrow at the pony as if to request affirmation. The pony nodded.
“Wait here,” he said as he began to trek, slowly but steadily, toward the indicated spot with his rifle cradled readily in his arms.
The equines waited with anticipation as the human reached his destination. He eyeballed the ground for several moments, nudging some sticks and leaves around with his boot. He turned back toward the ponies throwing up a confused hand. “Where?”
“It should be right near your feet, sir!” the pony hollered back.
Shane did another quick spin and kicked a few more stock and rocks around before throwing his hand up. “Come here!” he ordered.
The stallioned gulped and began to trot toward the biped.
“Show me,” the human ordered when he was within speaking distance.
The pony cantered to the side of one of the saplings. Shane sidled up next to the stallion who was pointing his hoof at a small glittering object pointing out of the ground.
Shane looked at the object… then back at the pony pointing at it. He frowned. “What’s your name?”
“O-Onyx,” he stammered somewhat taken off guard. “Onyx Bloom.”
“What’s your rank?”Shane asked as he slung his rifle on his back out of the way.
“Private, sir.”
Shane nodded and kneeled on the ground pulling the object out of the dirt and brushing some of the soil off. He held it out to the pony. “What’s that look like to you, Private Onyx?” his tone was menacingly condescending.
“....It’s....a Sarsaparilla bottle, sir…” beads of sweat began collecting on the equines face.
“Mmmhmm,” the human agreed. “Why did you call me out here for a sarsaparilla bottle, Private?”
“You said...to call you if anything was out of the ordinary.”
“You think a bottle on the ground is out of the ordinary…”
“Well...I mean...how did it get there though?”
“I don’t FUCKING-” Shane snapped his mouth shut as he saw the stallion tuck his ears back and cower at the outburst.. He took a deep breath. “I don’t care how it got here, Private. It’s not-” Shane stopped himself again and grimaced as he compulsively tapped the glass bottle against his palm for a painfully long time. “This is my fault.” he nodded finally. “I was not specific enough.” Onyx wasn’t sure if the human was talking to himself or if he expected a response. “This is not what we are looking for. I am talking about things that you do not recognize. Machines, devices, objects you can not identify and do not look like they were made by ponies. I am not looking for litter. Do you understand”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Shane responded as he turned to leave. “I don’t blame you. I blame your recruiter.”
The human left Onyx behind, passing the ponies who were still waiting on the perimeter of the treeline.
The Centurion approached the human. “What happened? What was it?”
Shane tossed the bottle to the stallion who barely caught it. Turning the glass piece of refuse around in confusion. Shane walked passed the Centurion and back to his transport, leaving the rest of Razor team behind as well.
~~~~~
. It was roughly noon on the third day. Sandy was certain she had trekked every inch of this forest. Saber and Prophet team had met somewhere near the southern edge of the search area. Shane and the pegasus mare in charge of Prophet were kneeling in the center of a clearing along with a few other pegasi auxiliaries and a elder doe from the nearby village.
Shane traced a strange burnt pattern in the grass with his boots. It looked much like a lightning strike. Charred grass line streaked away from a blackened center in an erratic but controlled pattern.
“Ask her if these are common here.” he ordered the centurion, as he fingered the burned ground. The centurion relayed his command to the aging deer in broken Cervidea. She replied with foreign but musical words.
“She says, not common but not unheard of. The Equestrians don’t monitor the weather as closely this far from their cities and sometimes thunderstorms roll down from the mountain.”
Shane stood brushing the soot from his hands. “Ask her if any deer have reported seeing anything unusual.”
The centurion relayed his words. The doe smiled and replied.
“She says only that a young buck reported a two legged demon haunting the woods around her village.”
Shane sniffed in amusement smiling at the deer. “We’ll have to be sure to keep our eyes out for that now won’t we?”
The centurion relayed his words and the older deer laughed as well. She stepped toward the human. She was taller than any pony but still quite small compared to the human who looked down at her with confused amusement. The doe grinned and reached up to poke the human on the armored plate protecting his chest. She said something in her native tongue.
“What did she say?” He asked not breaking eye contact with the doe.
“Something like... those who look for fights usually find one,” the centurion translated as best she could.
Shane hummed and he and the deer stared at each other for a few seconds. “Tell her thank you for her assistance. Offer to take her home in my transport.”
The centurion replayed his message. The elder deer shook her head and replied as she inclined her head to the human.
“She said she prefers to walk. And she hoped you find what you’re looking for.”
Shane smiled and inclined his head back. The deer turned and with a flick of the tail for which the forest got its name, pranced away. Despite her age she was surprisingly spry. Shane watched her leave before his smile began to fade. “Fuck now I’m hungry.” He complained.
“You want some of my ration?” the centurion offered.
“No I want meat!” he whined “I’m losing my mind with all these delicious animals running around.” Shane stepped around the burn marks in the grass as he pulled his small music playing device from his pocket. He fiddled with it for a moment before he held in in front of him using it to capture images of the ground from a few different angles. “When was the last lightning storm?” he finally asked.
“In Canterlot? About a week ago. The same storm probably blew east and did this but I can’t say for sure. I haven’t seen the weather schedule recently enough to say for certain,” she answered.
Shane made his way back to his carriage, unbuckling the chin strap on his helmet. He tossed the kevlar bucket into the back where it landed with a clatter. Shane leaned against the vehicle with a long defeated sigh as he massaged his head and eyes with his hands. He muttered something as the centurion approached.
“Sir?” she asked uncertain if she were being addressed.
“I said there’s nothing out here…” he admitted sounding thoroughly defeated. “I have to go back tonight and I’m empty handed.There’s nothing here,” he repeated.
“Isn’t that a good thing, sir?” she ventured.
The human shrugged. “I don’t know. Good for you guys I suppose.”
“But not for you?”
The human rubbed the back of his head and sighed. He pushed himself up. “Sandy!” he shouted.
The beige mare perked up from where she was sitting. “Sir?!”
“We’re moving! Get in or get left behind.”Shane jumped up into the transport. His unicorn escort lept in after him just in time for the carriage to begin to move.
~~~~~
. “Bluebird this is Atlas...” Celestia’s ears perked up as she heard the radio headset on her desk begin to speak. Shane had ensured that their radio would be on a different frequency than the one there were using in Whitetail Wood so for the past few days the device had not made much noise. She replaced the quill in its stopper and lifted the radio to her head. She pressed the button on the side. “Hello?”
There was a noted pause. “...Celestia?”
Celestia smiled at the human’s tone. “You were expecting somepony else?”
“I thought you’d be asleep.” he explained. “Where’s Luna”
“Who is Bluebird? Did you give Luna a callsign?” Celestia bristled. “Why didn’t I get a callsign?!”
“You have a callsign…”
“You never told me I had a call sign,” she protested.
“I didn’t plan on talking to you.” he retorted hotly.
“Well you are now,” she said expectantly.
“...It’s Buzzkill.”
“That is NOT my callsign. You will think of a new one this very instant. I am not a buzzkill and Bluebird for Luna isn’t even clever.”
“Are you really doing this right now?”
“Give me a new callsign.”
“Will you please just go get Luna…”
“I would love to but I don’t know who you’re addressing because I haven’t heard you use my new callsign yet.”
“How about Giant Immortal Baby,”
“And this ‘immortal baby’ has the luxury of time, mortal. You do not.” she retorted.
The pause was longer this time and Celestia waited patiently.
“....Phoenix this is Atlas,” he finally said in a very tired voice.
Celestia perked up. “Acceptable. What can I do for you, Major?”
“I’m heading back soon. Are you gonna be awake much longer?”
“I wasn’t planning to be, do you need me for something?”
“Not really. I was just wondering who’d be there when I got back.”
“Luna will be here to meet you. I am going to sleep. While you were off playing in the woods, I’ve been busy fending off droves of scientists, reporters and politicians trying to get a piece of you.”
“You’re the one who wanted to go public,” the human pointed out. “I was perfectly content to die in the crater.”
“Yes, well be prepared to face the horde tomorrow. Twilight and several other academy mages have been gathering materials to begin studying your resistance to magic. And Cadance has been asking about you almost incessantly.”
“Wait, why?”
“She hasn’t said but it must be important. She seems troubled by something. Oh!” Celestia exclaimed, suddenly remembering. “You received a letter.”
“I didn’t realize I had a mailing address. Who’s it from?”
“It’s marked with the Griffon Royal Seal. I have to assume it’s from the Queen.” The alicorn lifted the sealed letter in here magic turning it around.
The human was silent.
Celestia was unsure if he had received her transmission.
“...Major? ...Are you there?”
“...Yeah I’m still here,” he answered after a short pause.
“You’re being fairly quiet,” she noticed. “Are you alright?”
“I’m just tired.”
“Did you find anything in your search?”
“...no.”
Celestia frowned. She didn’t really expect him to but still. It must sting to have every chance at rescue shot down in front of your eyes over and over. “I’m sorry, Shane.”
“Yeah,”
Celestia was unaccustomed to speaking to someone she couldn’t see. Shane’s species was difficult enough to read visual cues off of as it was. But he didn’t have to be a pony for her to know that his ears would be folded back right now. She smiled encouragingly even though he couldn’t see it. “Let the legion finish up the search, Major. Luna and I need your help back here. Come on home.”
Shane hummed over the radio “And Canterlot is supposed to be my home now?”
Celestia’s smile widened. “Sorry. Was that a poor choice of words?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not the type to choose words at random.”
Celestia chuckled. “Well?”
There was another uncharacteristic pause over the radio.
“...I’m on my way.”
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uhhh what the fuck
Interesting. I'm guessing that Gryphon was up to something
So, suspicious griffons watching Equestrian military maneuvers inside Equestrian territory ... and no sign of whatever is causing the radio signal Shane is picking up ... things are still afoot.
And I wonder what's got Cadance all aflutter?
I literally put this on tracking yesterday. You are an absolute madman.
yay its getting more frequent in updates not every eternity.
All right, what the hay are the griffons up to now?
Thank you so much for posting a new chapter. I-I... Love you.
Sounds like the gryphons might be trying to horn in on the action. Some of that "how dare you keep valuable alien intel/tech to yourselves" kinda deal you usually see in first contact movies, like everyone else is required to have a piece of the pie when they really fuckin' aren't.
Real question is, who was and wasn't a changeling in this chapter?
Well, color me surprised. I wasn't expecting a new chapter until... *checks calendar* ...a year or so from now.
Its Christmas in- *Checks corner* JUNE! Damn a month early as well! Awesome man!
Looking good, my dude! Thoroughly intriguing. Keep up the good work, and preferably do it quickly, please!
Looks like the Griffons got a Blackbird to sing?
Therell be Bluebird over,
The White Flank of Celestia.
Allo Vera.
Ouch… reminding him of his mortality and telling him to 'come home' in regards to Canterlot. Yea Celsestia deserves the call sign; Buzzkill.
Very glad to see this awesome story get updated! Looking forward to more! Thank you for writing it!
That this updated makes me very happy.
I just love the verbal sniping between Shand and Celestia
so awesome
Thank you sir!! And welcome back, you were sorely missed.
Shane is a sexual tyrannosaurus
*joyous internal screaming*
Nothing really to say over here, except that it was great as always, and i look forward to seeing what happens next.
We don't deserve you, Muppetz.
Thank you for this. I mean it.
Really glad to see this story be updated and i can't wait for more chapters. I really love the way Celestia and Shane bicker with each other. Though i do agree with Shane and that Celestia's callsign should be buzzkill.
Well then, I'll have to make a point to read this soon.
Wonderful chapter
HEY. That's not a nice way to refer to Celestia's Canterlot Times pinup. I'll have you know it was a best-seller!
As Shane was learning about the deer, I was thinking they're basically pony-world's Amish people, and then Shane called them elves and now I can't stop boggling at the revelation that elves are just fantasy-Amish.
Excellent chapter, but we need more of this series, please.
Nice to see it still alive!
(wakes up, checks notifications)
i.imgur.com/S1e9UQa.gif
Holy shit, does this mean you're actually back for good now? Two chapters within six months, fantastic.
It was the deer, with the sasparilla bottle, in the woods! He done it!
...oh, wait, what were we talking about again? Damnit, now I have to re-read to catch back up. (oh, darn. :)
Two updates in the same year. This pleases me.
Dang...too bad he didn't find anything.
8992285
Can you be more specific?
Great to see another chapter. And no doubt, the griffin they let go is the source of the queen contacting them, eh?
Celestia's call sign should just be Mooom! yelled in an irritated tone.
Shane, stop trying to eat the locals.
Glad to see this story hasn't been completely dropped. Thank you for updating it.
8994454
Shane, stop trying to eat the locals nonsexually.
8992345
And I know this was just a gag, but until we're told for sure I'm going to keep wondering now.
8994631
Well they are "bird ponies", so its not a completely ridiculous question.
I hope the Griffons took something from there.
I WANT to see Shane go off on them over withholding property that is rightfully his, by nature, or rather the lack of.
8994650
They're magic! Anything is possible, in a literal sense. Except almost certainly not.
New chapter, aww yiss. A bit shorter than usual but so much going on here.
I get the sneaking suspicion that whatever was emitting that signal got snatched up by the Gryphons, and they are gonna use it for leverage.
What’s this? 2 chapters in one year? You’re spoiling us, Muppetz!
Seeing a new chapter for this always makes my day, and the jokes continue to make me laugh. Keep up the excellent work!
8994606
I wonder if the Gryphons could bribe Shane with tasty meat? (Where the heck do they get their meat from anyway?)
A new (outstandingly juicy) chapter so soon after another. It's a nice belated birthday gift, if I do say so myself
Wow, I feel beyond lucky to get two in a year. I wait for published authors with less excitement than I do updates to Article 2.
You better not stop writing after you're done with ponies Muppetz.
8994710
"
"
"
"
Griffon: "Prove it's yours
Shane: "It's got a serial number.
Griffon: "Okay...what's a 'serial number'?
Shane: "