Chapter 1
The Everfree Forest is a much more peaceful place than ponies give it credit for. Sure, it has much more than its fair share of predators, but even timberwolves have to sleep sometime. For the most part, the Everfree Forest is just as calm as the settled parts of Equestria, just much more intimidating to the ponies who aren't used to its wilds.
“Beowulf, in position. Recording equipment up, preparing to stream. Over.”
“Copy. Ready to receive. Over.”
Through a pair of powerful 40x variable magnification scopes, a peaceful village came into focus. Small red lights in the upper right corners of the rifle scopes indicated video was being recorded, and the small combat-hardened laptops connected to them showed the data was being transmitted. Also attached to each computer was a deceptively small audio-recorder. Though only the size of a frisbee, the advanced hardware could pick up a fly fart at a thousand yards, and was tuned to eavesdrop on the small village they were observing.
“Sending.”
“Data link established. We've got video and audio on this end. Over.”
“Copy, out.”
The Everfree Forest also conceals many things. Among them, four unusual forms, completely hidden by mesh suits. Their camouflage was perfect, to the point that even stepping on them might not reveal their presence.
“Get comfortable boys,” said Moose as he adjusted himself off a rock jabbing his ribs, “It's gonna be a long. Ass. Day.” As soon as Moose stopped squirming, Lowball adjusted himself, followed by Chainsaw and then Clumsy. They didn't move at the same time to reduce their risk of detection. Roving patches of movement could be written off to one of the many small creatures inhabiting the Forest, but a giant patch of bush that suddenly shook and stopped would have appeared suspicious.
“So, what's on the Mythology Channel today?” Lowball asked. Chainsaw and Clumsy, the junior men of the team, were stuck with spotting scopes while Moose and Lowball manned the long guns; a pair of camouflaged Barrett XM500 bullpup .50 caliber sniper rifles.
“Same old, same old. It'd be better if we could actually hear what's going on,” Clumsy replied. Though they were responsible for carrying EveDrop long range microphones along with them, the recorders didn't actually allow them to hear what was happening. The audio and video data went straight to intelligence analysts, biologists, physicists, and whoever the hell else the Department of Defense could think to throw at the insanely-classified discovery of non-Earth life, especially intelligent non-Earth life. The houses hadn't built themselves, after all.
“As if we'd even be able to understand whatever the hell they're saying,” Chainsaw retorted.
The silence left the four bored Delta Force operators to make up their own dramas to keep themselves amused. All the teams involved in Operation Shining Light had their own stories about characters, including Camelot. Camelot was the team that Beowulf shared observation responsibilities with for S-S-1, the code assigned to the village they spied on. It stood for Settlement-Small-1, meaning the first small village discovered. How the teams responsible for observing the large cities kept track of their 'cast' was a source of speculation on Beowulf.
“Looks like Harpy and Candy Ass are out on the town again,” Lowball said.
“For the last time, just because they hang out does not mean they're a couple!” Moose whisper-shouted. It was only as loud as a quiet gust of wind, but it was a veritable roar among the team's sound-discipline. Any creature farther than a yard away wouldn't have been able to tell there was any noise above wind rustling leaves.
“I'm telling you, they're dating. I've seen Harpy leave Candy Ass's house with bed-hair before.” Chainsaw rolled his eyes.
“Because obviously she couldn't have just fallen asleep on the couch,” Clumsy shot back. Lowball's romantic pairings were a constant source of entertainment. Among his many pairings; Bouncy-Baker and Gay Pride, Cowboy Farmer and Curly Diva, and Giant Dark Star-Hair 'Horn-asus' and Librarian.
“What about all the blushing?” Lowball returned.
“Fine, y'know what? Fifty bucks says you're wrong,” challenged Moose. The odds of them ever being able to settle the bet were astronomical, but it helped pass the time.
“X in top right corner,” Clumsy whispered
“O in middle right,” whispered Lowball back.
“X in bottom center.”
“Cat game,” they said simultaneously. Verbal tic-tack-toe was a time honored tradition on Beowulf, dating back more than a decade to the time when Moose was the junior man on the team as opposed to its leader.
“Hold,” Moose ordered. Immediately all movement and sound stopped. When somebody sounded 'hold', you goddamn held, no questions asked.
A few seconds passed before Moose tapped Clumsy on the shoulder. Clumsy tapped Chainsaw, who in turn tapped Lowball. It was their signal to only communicate in your quietest whisper to the person next to you. Messages would be passed man to man down the line if necessary.
“Three fillies; Hair-bow Farmer, Baby Wings, and Tail-Duster. Moving in this direction, 10 o'clock, six hundred yards.” Six hundred yards was past the minimum 300 yard distance all observation teams were ordered to hold, but it was still closer than they were comfortable with. Previously their closest contact had been just over 650 yards.
The message was passed down the line, and the three others each slowly turned their sights to find the three small horses. They watched silently as the three fillies approached the treeline of the Forest and stopped. Fear was in their eyes, but after a short conversation they pressed on. It was a somewhat surprising move as the villagers rarely, if ever, ventured beyond the treeline. If they did, it would usually be no more than a few feet before they turned tail and sprinted out, but the fillies continued onwards.
500 yards.
Beowulf watched and waited, hoping the fillies would turn around, but also curious about where they were headed.
400 yards.
“Orders?” Clumsy whispered to Moose.
“Hold. If we move now we risk giving away our location.” Clumsy nodded and passed the word.
300 yards.
Beowulf team was now officially in the shit. They knew they weren't actually in any danger; they were carrying enough firepower to win a small war and they were facing three unarmed horse children. They just knew that when they returned they'd be in for an ass chewing from the higher-ups.
But they remained in position. Their camouflage almost guaranteed they wouldn't be spotted, especially the way the fillies were darting their eyes around, searching for hidden terrors.
“What the hell are they doing out here?” Moose whispered to himself.
The fillies huddled together as they walked, each step rushed but not actually propelling them any faster. It was clear they didn't want to be there.
200 yards.
A wolf howl pierced the air. The fillies froze in place. The terror in their eyes grew to panic, then beyond. They were scared out of their minds, too scared to move. The howls increased in volume and intensity. They were coming from everywhere and getting closer to the fillies.
Beowulf team started to sweat. Their orders stated they were to, under no conditions, intervene in anything they might see. But, at the same time, they wondered if they could stand by and let a trio of children be torn to pieces and devoured. They were familiar with the Forest's predators, especially the ones nicknamed 'timberwolves', and there was no way the fillies would be able to outrun them.
“Come on, run. Run!” Lowball whispered, silently begging the fillies to flee while they still had a fraction of a chance. Lowball had children of his own, two teenage girls, and knew he wouldn't be able to watch. Chainsaw thought the same, his newborn son on his mind. Moose and Clumsy, despite not having children, had seen, and even had to clean up, enough dead children for a lifetime.
The situation became infinitely worse when the wolves stepped out of the shadows and surrounded the fillies, and not just because they were so close. In situations where a group is being hunted, it's likely the wolves would only pick off the slowest member. A tragic outcome for the unlucky victim, but fortuitous for the others. The situation the soldiers were watching indicated the wolves intended to leave no survivors.
“Are we seriously just gonna fucking watch this?” Chainsaw barked. The team turned their heads turned to Moose, silently begging him to give them a green light. Seconds ticked by with Moose's eye glued to his high-powered scope as he tracked what he determined to be the Alpha with his reticle.
The wolf tensed and circled, unknowingly being shadowed by hidden death. After a few laps the wolf appeared satisfied and prepared to lunge. The fillies huddled together and closed their eyes, unwilling to watch their own fates. The wolf lunged.
Two loud booms resounded through the Everfree Forest as the Alpha Timber wolf exploded into splinters. The fillies screamed and ducked, only to stop their cries short when, instead of being torn to shreds, they were showered with a hailstorm of wood chips. The three young ponies looked up to see the remaining wolves just as confused as they were.
One wolf snarled at them, a newfound hatred in its eyes. The creature assumed that the fillies had been the one to kill its pack leader. The moment it took a step forward to attack, another twin cacophony echoed and it too disintegrated.
The surviving wolves had no idea what was happening, and chose to flee rather than stay and risk annihilation. The fillies sat in the dirt for several moments as they tried to come to terms with what had transpired. A few silent pointed hooves and shakes of the head confirmed that it hadn't been any of them.
Before the children could figure out what to do next, a cyan blur crashed into the dirt path beside them and threw up a dust cloud. By the time it cleared, a half dozen ponies were standing around the fillies. Beowulf recognized them all; Gay Pride, Cowboy Farmer, Librarian, Curly Diva, Bouncy-Baker, and John Belushi(because “he was in Animal House, and the horde of animals crowding around the flying horse's house all the time and fuck you guys it's clever,” in the ever-so-eloquent words of Clumsy).
“Ah shit,” Moose whispered. He had been worried about this; three fillies presented essentially zero threat to detection, but six fully grown beings, combined with all the freaky stuff they'd been seen doing, definitely put Beowulf in the danger zone. Not only that, but they were definitely too close to reposition themselves in case a search party came along. They'd have to rely on their camouflage.
The group covered the fillies protectively while each of the children attached themselves to a different member of the group. After a few minutes of crying, the adult ponies managed to calm the young ones down enough to tell them what happened.
Though Beowulf team couldn't hear what was being said, they were remarkably able observers. A short way into the explanation Cowboy Farmer barked out what was most likely a reprimand for journeying into the Forest, and appeared to be scolded by Curly Diva.
A gesture from Librarian encouraged the fillies to resume their story. Doubt and confusion painted themselves on the faces of the adult ponies. Librarian soundlessly questioned them, and Tail-Duster pointed at the wrecked remains of the timberwolves.
Librarian walked over and examined the wood piles, her horn aglow. For a few seconds nothing happened, before four roughly finger-sized metal slugs rocketed out of the forest and stopped a few inches in front of her face.
“What the fuck?” Chainsaw whispered.
“Oh shit. Are those what I think they are?” Lowball asked, worry creeping into his voice.
The mare rotated the objects in front of her, giving the soldiers a perfect look at the pointed slugs. “Yep.” Somehow the pony had retrieved the bullets that had destroyed the timberwolves, though how was a mystery; a .12.7mm full metal jacket round has enough penetrating power to slice through almost an inch of hardened steel armor at a hundred yards. The half-rotted wood might was well have been air for all the resistance it offered. The rounds had probably traveled hundreds of yards before shedding their energy and stopping.
“Fuck. If she can do that, she might be able to locate our shooting position,” Moose warned. “Be ready to bug out.”
Sure enough, after a few seconds the projectiles began to float towards Beowulf. The moment for leaving had most certainly passed as the ponies approached Beowulf's hidden position. There was no chance they wouldn't be spotted, and Moose was almost regretting saving those fillies.
It took the ponies almost a full minute to cross the 100 yard distance between them and Beowulf team. The suspense was palpable to the soldiers, who used every technique they had ever been taught to appear as part of the forest. They slowed their breathing down to almost nothing to minimize movement when they inhaled and exhaled. They dropped their chins into the dirt so their camouflaged, wide brimmed hats would leave less of a gap for the ponies to see their painted faces. They lowered their rifles agonizingly slowly so the barrels would be completely enshrouded in brush.
And they waited.
By the time the ponies reached them, signified by the rounds spinning rapidly, all four team members desperately had to piss, but none moved for fear of being given away.
The ponies looked around for a few moments and scanned the area around themselves, looking for the source of the rounds. They looked to the confused purple unicorn.
Cowboy Farmer uttered what sounded like nonsense sprinkled with horse-sounds, which Beowulf guessed to be a question. Intelligence analysts had confirmed their vocal patterns were definitely an actual language, not just crude animal grunts, but it was still strange to actually hear a horse talk, even if they couldn't understand it.
Librarian furrowed her brow and another layer of purple light appeared around her horn. The projectiles stopped spinning and pointed straight at Moose.
Librarian reached out with her hoof and accidentally knocked off his camouflaged hat, revealing his dark brown hair and painted face.
The ponies screamed, then the world exploded into white.
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Well, as for total accuracy regarding procedure and military standards, I can't exactly speak for that.
However, all things considered, it seems to be going in decent order. As for a group, perhaps you can consider this. I don't know if it's what you're looking for but it's worth a shot.
A flash bomb? Clever but i don't see how a lot of ponies and humans are going to die because a couple humans got spotted snooping around the forest's edge. Even though they are an unknown creature, why would they be SO irrational? I guess i have to continue reading to find out.
........................................................................................................................................................................................................at least it's a little more original than most....though the reason for war better be good.
Though I'm genuinely surprised the Delta Force operatives would risk discovery by saving the CMC. But, even special forces operatives are Human.
And the names that the team gave the ponies are hilarious! Candy Ass, Gay Pride, John Belushi!
The "names" of the operatives is are pretty nice too. Memorable but not overly cool (just like real military callsigns).
1989227 Which innacuracies are you referring to?
And thanks, one of my pet peeves is reading a story with soldiers in it and everyone has names like 'Rex' and 'Ghost' and 'Snake'. Going to the trouble of writing a story and using the least imaginitive names possible for characters.
1989277, I should clarify, the military protocol was pretty darn realistic.
I couldn't find any inaccuracies off the top of my head. And I don't have the time to browse through it and my 13th edition copy of the Combat Leader's Field Guide, the official US Army Ranger handbook (SH 21-76) and my collection of army field manuals to fact check.
1989306 I wasn't offended, for the record. I do put serious effort into making military dialogue as realistic as I can, but I lack official field guides and have to pull what I can from soldier's biographies and autobios, and so I'm always looking for tips on how to improve it
"Gay Pride, Cowboy Farmer, Librarian, Curly Diva, Bouncy-Baker, and John Belushi"
thats fucken hilarious
Cool so far but i have a request, PLEASE Don't make this a "HOOMANS R EVUL" Fic or wank Equestria into a Mary Sue Paradise and have the Ponies somehow able to defeat A Much more advanced group that are trained to fight.
BTW Have a fave and a like.
Go on, this is looking mighty good.
troll.me/images/bear-grylls-survival-tactics/.jpg
the 50 cal. round will travel nearly three miles unless the trajectory was angled downward :)