Skyfall: Treason

by Dusk Quill

Chapter 18: Reaction

Out at the guard post, one of the soldiers gave a bored, sleepy yawn. Their shift was almost over, and besides the arrival of those two unusual pegasi, watching the gate had been the same as ever: that being, nothing ever happened. Sitting slouched over the desk in the guard station, the two ponies silently alternated between reading magazines and downing cups of coffee, just idly waiting for the sun to finish peeking its rays over the horizon. That was when their replacements would relieve them for some much needed shuteye.

“Little less than an hour to go,” one of the two murmured, savoring the small victory.

“Thank Celestia… I’m ready to hit the hay.”

“Getting sleepy, soldiers?”

Both ponies jolted upright when they heard the voice at the door, nearly falling out of their seats. They had not been aware anypony else was with them. Their heads turned sharply to see who had startled them. It was the pegasus from last night, the black one. He smiled at the stallions, his eyes studying them closely.

“No, we’re fine, sir,” the lesser ranked soldiers said, trying their best to stuff the magazines out of sight and look alert again.

Glider chuckled under his breath. “That’s good. You never know when danger might pop up out of nowhere.”

“With all due respect, sir, this is Saddle Arabia. Nothing ever happens out here.”

“Then don’t you think you’re overdue?”

The two soldiers slowly exchanged wary glances. They had not cared for the cryptic way he had said that. A dark, foreboding grin spread across Glider’s mouth, flashing his overly white teeth in an unsettling way.

“Um… Are you ready to head out, sir? We’ll just need to log you out real fast.”

Glider laughed and shook his head. “Oh no, we’re not leaving yet. Our job isn’t done here.”

“And what job is that, sir?”

“Providing that danger.”

Before either pony could question his intentions, Glider stepped aside, and Lightning Strike stepped through the doorway. His hooves held his weapon, already raised and trained on the two soldiers. He squeezed the trigger. Four rounds fired almost silently through the air, finding their mark in the upper chest and head of one of the soldiers. The other sprung up and made a dive for the guns leaned up against the wall. Lightning Strike intercepted his move, and picked the pony off with another burst of bullets.

Glider smiled approvingly and nodded his head to his accomplice. He studied the bodies for a moment, making sure they were well and truly dead. “Well done, Strike. Their replacements won’t be by for a little while. Now, let’s get that gate open.”

Lightning Strike nodded his head, exiting the post and setting about unlocking the gate with the keys from the deceased soldiers. Glider lingered back, flashing a twisted grin at the corpses strewn across the floor. His eyes flashed a brighter shade of green momentarily, and he kicked the side of the nearest body with a laugh.

“Glide, here they come.” Glider looked up at Strike’s words, gazing through the window of the guard station as nine ponies galloped at full speed towards them.

“Perfect… Right on time, too! Ah, I love how punctual Re'emians are,” he said, stepping outside to greet the approaching ponies, all armed to the teeth. “Are you ready, my friends?”

The mercenary leader nodded his head, lifting his rifle in the air. “We are, brother. Let us in, and nopony will be left alive.”

Glider’s grin widened. “That’s the plan.”

With the help of some of the mercenaries, Lightning Strike pulled the gate wide open, and the mercenaries rushed into the quiet base. The leader gave a whistle to one of his ponies, who was carrying a box within his magic’s hold. The Re'emian unicorn set the package down before the Union operatives, and headed inside with his team.

“As you requested, we brought your equipment.”

“And as promised, here is your payment,” said Glider, only half paying attention as he tossed a pouch laden with bits to the legionnaire. “Now, go. Spill the blood of the Equestrians that aid your enemy.”

With an overly eager grin, the Re'emian ran in to join his brothers in arms. Lightning Strike wasted no time, already prying the lid off the box and removing the contents within. Glider glanced over at the sun, now beginning to make its appearance over the horizon. In his hoof, he turned a small remote over, and over again, biding his time.

“I think it’s time we gave the Guard a little wake up call.”

He chuckled at his own joke. Strike remained as cold as ever, indifferent to the dark humor of his colleague. Paying it no heed, Glider tossed the remote in the air once, and then pressed the button.

The morning sun rose slowly over the sandy dunes of Saddle Arabia’s desert, bringing shimmering warmth back to the night-chilled land. The sun rippled on the horizon, distorted by the air and the imposed heat. To Fire Wave, it seemed like it was dancing off in the distance, beckoning in another day of boredom and woe. The pony watched through his tinted sunglasses for lack of anything better to do. The rest of the base was just beginning to rouse from slumber.

The corporal took a sip of coffee from the mug in his hoof, his face contorting slightly at the acidic, bitter flavor it had. The base really made piss poor quality coffee here—but it was better than nothing. The caffeine jolt was exactly what he needed.

Only a few ponies were awake at the time. Having spent the last few months getting up before dawn, it was almost unnatural not being awake at this time to the Marine. He’d seen a few other Marines milling about in the early morning hours as well, not quite sure what to do with themselves. He could sympathize…

Taking another draft of his drink, Fire Wave eyed a group of ponies rushing around the other side of the base, already practicing moves and maneuvers well before any scheduled training. Another sip. The stallion froze in place. Wait a minute… There were no drills that involved full kits or weapons used around the barracks.

Fire Wave’s head snapped abruptly in the direction he’d seen the ponies running in. After a few moments, he spotted the group again. They were making their way towards the adjunct offices, positioning themselves around the door. They wore no uniforms, and their flanks were strikingly lacking a cutie mark.

They were not part of the Royal Guard.

The stallion’s head turned toward the gate, and felt his heart drop when he saw it wide open. The base was being invaded.

Grabbing his rifle at his side, the Earth pony took off running into his barracks, all but breaking down the door with his body as he leapt up the porch. Inside, the ponies that had still been sleeping got the shock of their lives. The Marines already awake were just getting dressed, and looked up at the startled stallion.

“We’ve got hostiles on base!” Fire Wave shouted. “Get your gear! Let’s go!”

Just like that, the barracks became a flurry of mania. Ponies threw themselves out of their cots, grabbing their uniforms, weapons, and anything else nearby as fast as their hooves could move. Fire Wave took off out the door with the Marines that had been ready as soon as he had finished speaking, making their way around the barracks back towards where he had seen the enemy soldiers.

And then the ground beneath him shook with tremors the likes the Marine had never felt before.

In a heartbeat, the soldier was thrown off his hooves, and sailed through the air before coming to a hard landing on his stomach. Beside him, he could hear his fellow soldiers hitting the ground as well. Heat burned at the back of his neck, and his ears were ringing. Rolling onto his back, Fire Wave stared in horror as the barracks he had just run past was engulfed in flames, billowing deathly black smoke into the early morning sky.

Another explosion shook the ground he was lying on. A few buildings down, another barracks was destroyed in an instant. And then a third joined shortly afterwards. Sand still clung to his face and mane as he watched the buildings burn in silent disbelief. Even though he consciously knew what had happened, his mind didn’t process it until he could smell the burning flesh. Ponies had been in those barracks. Those barracks had been blown up. Two plus two meant dead ponies—dead soldiers. Dead brothers and sisters.

Fire Wave was livid. Clenching his jaw so tight it hurt his teeth, the stallion grabbed his rifle and scrambled back to his hooves, even as he heard another explosion from a distance away. An alarm began to sound across the base, scrambling the soldiers to duty. If there was any question of an attack before now, there was none any longer.

“Come on! Move!” he called to the other Marines as they collected themselves up again.

The ponies moved as one cohesive unit, weaving expertly through the maze of buildings across the base to the offices. Another explosion broke out, much further away now. The sirens continued blaring, drowning out every other sound, even his own hooves crunching the sand underneath him.

The adjunct office building came into view. As he had expected, the door was broken in, and the enemy ponies were nowhere to be seen. From down a ways away, Fire Wave could see a group of regular Guard soldiers rush out of the armory, geared up and ready to fight.

“Clear the offices,” Corporal Fire Wave said, bringing his rifle to bear as he took point through the doorway. Behind him, the Marines followed in single file line.

In the quiet, stuffy corridor of the office building, Fire Wave felt claustrophobic. The walls on either side were oppressively close, giving him little room to maneuver in. He could hear his heartbeat pounding at his eardrums as he stepped quickly yet cautiously through the corridor. They came across the first door, already kicked in. A quick sweep of the small office yielded nothing, so onward they pressed.

Fire Wave’s breathing came in short, shallow breaths. The caffeine he had ingested paled in comparison to the rush of adrenaline spiking through his system now. He had been bred for this exact type of situation, and now the stallion had never felt more alive.

A second door came up, with a third on the opposite side. He stepped around with a partner at his back, both ponies checking the rooms in tandem. The workspace was devoid of life, but not of ponies. A single body lay across the desk, blood dripping down the wooden surface. Fire Wave recognized the deceased. She was one of the officers in charge of personnel transfers and records. She must have started work early, and caught the worst of it.

Swallowing hard, the Marine pressed on down the hall. That was when he saw a pony step out of an office at the other end of the corridor. The stallion turned and locked gazes with the Marines, and time stood still for a second. On reflex, Fire Wave dropped to a crouch, leveling his rifle and aiming down the scope at the hostile.

“Don’t move!”

Of course, the pony didn’t listen. The Re'emian mercenary drew fast, bringing a handgun up and popping off a single round from the hip. The shot went wide, and ended up in the wall. Fire Wave and his teammates did not hesitate. In a burst of gunfire, they brought the enemy soldier to the ground.

“Move up!”

The Marines hustled down the hall, swiftly scanning each room they passed. Like the others, they had been broken into, but were empty. The invaders were clearly here for blood, and nothing else. Stepping past the body of the hostile, Fire Wave put a shot through the foe’s skull, ensuring his demise, before they continued out the other side of the building.

Back out in the open air, Fire Wave felt both liberated and very vulnerable all at once. The rest of the soldiers he had seen were nowhere in sight now, something that greatly concerned the stallion. His head swiveled back and forth rapidly, searching for the hostiles. Where had they gone?

A few distant pops and snaps came from a nearby building, catching everypony’s attention. It sounded like gunfire. Fire Wave looked around hurriedly, trying to find the source of the sound.

“Over here! It came from the mess hall!”

Fire Wave launched his hooves off the ground, galloping in the direction his fellow soldiers had started running in. As they neared the mess hall, muzzle flashes could be seen through the windows, and the snaps of bullets were louder with every step. Wasting no time, the Marines charged up the steps and threw their bodies against the doors. Inside, two enemy soldiers had finished killing their opposition. Three Royal Guard soldiers lay dead across the floor, spent brass casings surrounding their bodies on all sides. Bullet holes riddled the tables they had used for cover. They had put up a hell of a fight.

The moment the doors broke inward, the two mercenaries spun on their hooves, facing off with the Marines. Fire Wave was through the door and opening fire before the two stallions could react. He dropped one of them in a second. The other ducked down behind a folding table, Equestrian bullets narrowly missing his head.

Holding his aim on the table the Re'emian had disappeared behind, Fire Wave held his position by the door while two Marines began to strafe around the side of the table. Caught off guard, the mercenary cried out when the ponies jumped out at him, and let loose a blind volley of rapid fire at the soldiers. His erratic fire went all over the place, while the precise shots of the trained soldiers ended his struggle in mere moments.

“He’s down,” one of the Marines said, stepping over the body.

Fire Wave nodded, listening to the sounds of combat erupting in pockets all across the base. “All right, let’s move, Marines! There’s still more of them, and we’ve gotta help the Guard!”

The soldiers headed back towards the door, listening to the gunfights all the while. Fire Wave lingered back, making sure the rest of his team was following closely. The last thing they wanted was to get separated.

And then the Marine at the front of the pack stepped through the front doors, and an explosive burst of gunfire tore through the air. The doors splintered as the bullets ripped away at the wood, cutting through the pony at the same time. The stallion screamed as he crumpled to the ground, twitching as he died slowly on the floor.

The Marines barked out in defiance and fell back away from the door, save for one, who grabbed his fallen brother and dragged him back into the shelter of the mess hall. The door was splattered with his blood, and the thick trail left behind the dragged body served as a grim reminder of their own mortality.

Fire Wave just stared in shock. One of his brothers had just been killed that fast right before his eyes. It terrified and infuriated him at the same time. The gunfire stopped, and then resumed, shattering the windows and tearing through the mess hall. The Marines hit the floor, ducking beneath the flying projectiles. The rate of fire was much too great to be coming from an ordinary rifle.

Then, as suddenly as the shooting started, it stopped. The Marines lay spread across the floor, looking around at the broken glass scattered around them. Why had the shooting stopped?

“Window,” whispered Fire Wave and motioned to the nearest Marine.

The pony nodded, and slowly crawled over to the damaged window. He pulled himself up, and peeked carefully outside. There was a moment of stillness, twisting Fire Wave’s stomach into a knot. And then the pony shook his head.

“I don’t see anythi—”

And then the pony’s head snapped grotesquely to the side with a splatter of gore and flurry of broken glass, and he fell backwards against the wall. Fire Wave felt physically ill as he watched his friend’s body slump down against the wall, a fresh bullet wound running deep through his temple. The stallion’s glassy eyes stared blankly at the bloodied floor, his uniform covered in his own lifeblood.

“Shit! Sniper!”

Fire Wave began unconsciously grinding his teeth together, breathing hard, and trying to desperately think of a way to get his team out of this mess. What the hell was happening out there? Where had this come from?

Taking a risk, Fire Wave stood up and made a break for the door. As he ran past a window, the gunfire started again, flying through the window right behind the stallion. Pushing his hooves off the ground as fast as he could, he slid across the floor and pressed his back against the doorframe. He had to get a look at the pony that was screwing them over so thoroughly.

Lifting his head slowly until he could see through the small window set into the door, Fire Wave suddenly regretted his need to see his enemy. The pony outside was clad head to toe in bulky, dark armor that resembled plate-covered Kevlar. A helmet obscured his face from view. A massive machine gun hung by a strap around his chest, sending a thrill of fear through the hardened soldier just from the sight of the weapon of war. Through the visor in the pony’s helmet, Fire Wave could see burning green eyes, leering at him, taunting the stallion for hiding.

“Sweet Celestia, save us…” he muttered softly.

The base was still egregiously undermanned, and with an unknown amount of soldiers dead before the fight had even begun, the base’s force was crippled. There were no reinforcements, and no backup was on its way. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the Equestrian soldiers were trapped.

A series of shouts rang out just outside the mess hall, catching Fire Wave’s attention. He poked his head up again, and saw a small group of Royal Guards opening fire on the armor-clad enemy. The juggernaut of a pony merely turned to face them, and let loose a torrent of bullets at the soldiers, all while their attacks simply rebounded off his defenses. In the blink of an eye, the Equestrian soldiers were bowled over, falling to the sand, their blood darkening and dampening the ground.

Feeling his anger beginning to boil over, the corporal smashed out the window in the door and leveled his rifle on the frame. Taking aim, he fired a few shots at the murderous pony. Much like the others, his bullets simply deflected off the hard shell. The pony with green eyes turned to face him again, and opened fire at the door. Fire Wave ducked back behind the wall just as the rounds tore through the wooden panels, skimming past his sides much too close for comfort. He could feel the projectiles rippling the air beside his coat, making his hair stand on end.

How are we supposed to fight that thing?! Fire Wave panicked.

“Fire Wave, over here!”

Hearing his name called, Fire Wave turned his head around. The other Marines had gotten up, and were making a break for the kitchen. Taking one last glance outside, he saw the armored enemy slowly lumbering his way up towards the mess hall, pursuing its prey.

Fuck this shit… Fire Wave turned tail and ran towards the kitchen with his team, diving over the serving line and ducking through the door into the sterile galley.

The Marines huddled against the back door at the far end of the kitchen. Stepping past a few crates of supplies, Fire Wave rejoined his fellow soldiers as they slowly pulled the door open. With the threat of a sniper locking the base down, nopony wanted to go gung ho and barrel out of the mess hall into incoming fire.

“Make for the armory,” said Fire Wave, directing his comrades. “The sniper’s shooting from the north, so keep to the south side of cover. Oorah?”

“Oorah,” the Marines chanted in response.

“Three, two, one… Move!”

A Marine kicked the door open, flooding bright light into the dimly lit kitchen. The soldiers ran out into the open and hung a hard right, galloping as fast as they could go across the sandy, dusty ground. As Fire Wave ran outside, he heard a sharp snap, and then a chunk of concrete blew off the wall in front of his face. Gritting his teeth, the Earth pony dashed after his friends, sticking as close to whatever cover he could find.

The soldiers ran back around the front of the mess hall. The monstrous opponent that had gunned down one of their own was gone, most likely inside searching for them now. Fire Wave could still see the dead ponies he had slain, and did his best to fight back the bile rising in his throat.

Onward the ponies ran, even as another snap sent a bullet very nearly tearing through his ear. Fire Wave ducked his head on reflex, and pushed his muscles as hard as he could. He took a corner much too quickly, almost skidding out as he propelled himself forwards. He could see the armory up ahead, all the Marines making for the building as if it were the Promised Land.

A third distant snap, and this time, Fire Wave saw one of his friends stumble forward and fall face first into the golden sand. He slid to a halt beside the downed mare, who was crying out and grabbing at her profusely bleeding leg. From an initial glance, it looked like the sniper’s round had tore straight through her thigh. Blood was pouring down her leg, despite her best efforts to keep pressure on the wound.

“Come on, grab on!” he said to her, pushing his body beneath hers as her hooves gripped erratically at his neck for support.

Hoisting his wounded partner onto his back, Fire Wave rushed for the armory. The additional weight of a second pony slowed him down dramatically, but he'd be damned if he even thought about leaving a wounded soldier behind. The dreaded snapping sound reverberated the air behind him again, just missing his flank by inches. The sniper was getting closer and closer.

Corporal Fire Wave pushed himself harder and harder until his muscles ached with the strain. Just a few dozen more meters and he’d be there—if the sniper let them get that far. He saw a Marine up ahead of them reach the armory, and then turn in place, tossing something into the sand. Fire Wave caught a glimpse of the metal object just before it detonated.

The grenade went off without any injury to anypony, kicking up a large cloud of smoke and dust. Using the makeshift smokescreen, Fire Wave darted through the smoke, thankful his crafty teammate had created a shield from the sniper’s fire. Emerging on the other side at the armory felt like the sweetest relief he could imagine. He could swear he heard angels singing.

The armory was host to a number of soldiers, both Marines and Guards. The ponies were busy suiting up, grabbing whatever they could get their hooves on. Fire Wave gingerly placed the wounded Marine on his back safely against the wall, watching as she winced in pain and clutched at her bleeding leg.

“Where’s the damn medic?!” Fire Wave shouted out above the ruckus in the large space.

A unicorn stepped out of the throng of soldiers, carrying satchels marked with red crosses on his back and a matching mark on his flank. As the medic began tending to the injured mare, Fire Wave turned back towards the soldiers in the armory. Most of them looked terrified and confused. He could relate.

“We’ve gotta hold the base, everypony!” he said urgently, silencing most of the crowd. “We’ve been trained for this sort of thing. Time to make Equestria proud, fillies and gentlecolts! Find your squads. Guards cover the south side of the base. Marines, we’ve got the north. Now let's kick these motherfuckers outta here!”

The soldiers shouted out a battle cry in response as they loaded their weapons. Squads of ponies began to file out of the armory, and the gunfire intensified. Rounding up his small group of Marines, Fire Wave steeled himself for the second round. Fighting in the north meant dealing with that armored pony, as well as the sniper. But he trusted his Marines, and knew what they were capable of. If they couldn’t handle the heated combat, nopony here could.

Celestia, watch over us… he prayed, and then pushed the doors open and ran out into the bright, warm sunlight with his brothers at his side.

Comments

[Treilacl]

Another well done chapter.
While I love the Fleethoof chapters it's nice to see what's going on in the world. And of course how these ponies that Fleethoof trained, or at least had a hand in training, hold up in a situation like this.

[FenrisianBrony]

Nice. Just a quick question, are these marines based off the USMC or the Royal Marines?

[Dusk Quill]

2741261
They have a bit of influence from both.

[FenrisianBrony]

2742408
Ah. Cool. Anyway, keep up the awesome work.

[Jake The Army Guy]

Get some, Devil Dogs!

Also, I like you have both the Guard and the Marines working together. Too many times you see one side being completely inept just so you can make the other look like badasses.

Another fantastic chapter, DQ!

[Jake The Army Guy]

Also, a humble suggestion, but I would recommend you throw an AU tag on this and the others in the series. It lets you avoid the major issue we talked about in PM, of why do ponies have guns. I know several people who would never read this because the guns and no magic aspect, but again, an AU tag lets you dodged that.

Again, just a suggestion.

[Dusk Quill]

2746548
This is a very good suggestion. I did address the lack of magic in The Griffon War, and it's slowly making its way into the rest of the series. But you have a good point with the guns. I'd rather avoid problems, and maybe even garner some more views this way. And so it has been done!

[Silverstein]

They need to make that push to retake the base or at least bleed the enemy's numbers a bit before Skyfall arrives. I'd like to see a showdown between Cupcake and that armored pony!

Silver out!