Contact (Edited: 6-6-18)
Zero-Five-Zero
Chapter 1
I was woken out of my small nap by yelling.
“Ey!” Lucas yelled in my face, as I jumped up. “Get ready, it’s nearly zero-fifty and command wants us back at base by oh-one-hundred-thirty. Come on, get up. “
I shook the sleep from my eyes, as I grabbed my M4 that was resting against the side of the Humvee. Pulling my wrist up to check my watch, zero-four-zero. Right on time.
Pulling myself on top of the Humvee, I take the gunner’s position and ready the .50 cal. Lucas barks orders for the remaining Marines to get in the “fucking trucks!”
Ah, Staff Sergent, what would we do without you?
The small convoy of Humvees begins to roll out, Lucas comes onto the radio.
“All gunners, keep your head on a swivel. Heavy Tali activity has been seen in the area we’re about to pass through. Call out if you see anything. We’re on the move and are returning to base.”
The Humvees continued moving. So far, the country-side of Afghanistan seemed quiet and peaceful.
But that would soon come to an end.
After about ten minutes, a voice called out. Marcus, a gunner in the Humvee behind me.
“Hey! I see somethin’! At nine!”
Almost instantly, all guns swiveled to face the direction that Marcus had called out.
“I don’t see anything! You see anything?” One gunner yelled.
‘I don’t see jack!”
“It was something, looked like a big dog!” Marcus yelled. “I lost sight of it though!”
“I want eyes on it!” Lucas barked.
The area was silent, as all gunners scanned the area for the unknown, however, the darkness made it difficult to acquire it, the moon not helping very much.
“Anyone?” Lucas questioned.
“No, I think we lo-“
The talker was cut short as someone screamed.
“Fuck! A motherfucking sheet head just shot me with a bow! You piece of shit!” Marcus yelled.
I scanned the area quickly, but couldn’t seem to find anything.
“Marcus,” I began. “Where are you hit?”
“Fucking shoulder, shit! That hurt like Hell!”
“Are you o-“ I was cut off as something whizzed past my cheek and slammed into the metal backing behind me. In fact, at least twenty other arrows slammed into the Humvee facing the nine o’clock direction
Instinctively, I reacted, my thumbs depressing the trigger on the .50 cal and letting a burst of fire from the weapon into the general area.
“Contact!” Lucas yelled, even though contact had been initiated a while ago.
The rounds slammed into the hill where the unknown was sighted, clouds of dust flew up as the rounds released their full fury on whatever they hit.
“Cease Fire! Cease Fire!” Lucas Barked the order, several guns were immediately put away, but some gunners continued their barrage. This prompted Lucas to deliver the order once again, even louder.
The entire convoy stared at the hill, just waiting for something to pop its head out.
After a minute, and several tense, but short conversations, Lucas spoke into his radio.
“Command, Command, this is Viper 1-6 Actual, we have taken hard contact and are moving to investigate. Copy?”
“Good copy Viper 1-6, be advised, the nearest reinforcements are an hour away so you’re going in alone. How copy?”
“That is good copy, Viper 1-6 out.”
Lucas signed off the radio and looked over to the convoy.
“Bowlds! Take McClure and Ryans and check out that hill. Marcus, go see the Corpsman about that arrow.”
“Sarge, I don’t think those were Talis. Since when the fuck have those assholes use bows?” Ryans shot back.
“Just go check it out.”
I pulled myself out of the gunner position from the top of the Humvee, grabbing my rifle as my legs hung down the hole.
After I had retrieved my rifle, I pulled myself out of the Humvee completely and slid down the side.
My booted feet smacked the ground, and I began walking over to the other two Marines picked out.
Bowlds stopped Ryans and me.
“Listen, Ryans, you take point, McClure and I will cover you.” Bowlds explained quickly.
We didn’t bother arguing, Ryans beginning the trek up the small hill. Before he got very far, however, something sounded.
In fact, it sounded like a trumpet.
“What hell was that?” I could hear Lucas mutter behind us.
Bowlds and I had our rifles trained in front of us for whatever may come down that sandy hill.
Seconds of silence passed, when suddenly, a whinny sounded. Yes, a whinny, like from a horse.
And like a hoard of multicolored ants, a large swarm of… they were ponies. Ponies in gold armor. Bowlds and I fired immediately, Ryans immediately running back towards the convoy. Bowlds backed up and continued firing as I finished my first mag. I began walking backwards, replacing the mag in my rifle.
I fired off a few more shots before turning tail to run. However, something tripped me up and I fell. I quickly flipped around just in time to see a pony begin to rear up in attempt to crush me under hoof.
So, I improvise, and hope to god the bullshit I’m about to pull works. I use the pony’s bipedal stance and shoot up, grappling myself around the ponies barrel and forcing him to the ground. Well, more like we both fall to the ground, me using him as a cushion and him cracking his head on the ground.
Wait… he is a guy, right? Oh, yeah, I’m burning these clothes when I get back to base.
“Dante! Grab that pony and get back to Humvee!” Some yells form behind me.
Not bothering to argue or stop, I grab one of the stallions hind legs and begin pulling him.
I make it to the Humvees as the .50s are still spewing rounds, and the ponies falling in swaths. The Marines on their knee and the M4s spewing 5.56 rounds being just as deadly as the machine gunners. Someone had taken my spot as gunner.
As I moved in closer to the Humvees, two Marines moved from their position and took control of the stallion, one grabbing its hind legs and the other grabbing its front legs and carrying it bodily over behind one of the Humvees. I unsling my rifle and begin firing, taking down one pony who managed to make it past the .50s and riflemen.
This continues for at least two minutes until, I can only assume, the ponies smartened up and quickly back off.
However, the short fight had taken its toll, as at least one hundred bodies lay strewn across the ground, and the knocked out stallion lying behind the Humvees. None of the bodies on the ground were ours, thank god.
As the ponies retreated back behind the hill, one stallion stopped at the peak and stopped to look back, staring at us in contempt. He quickly turned around and headed back down the dune
First contact happened at Logar Province, Afghanistan, July eighteenth, Zero-Five-Zero. The skirmish that happened between the two groups began at twelve-fifty and lasted three minutes and thirty seconds ending at twelve-fifty-three.
“So… let me get this straight, Glint, you engaged an unknown military with unknown defensive and offensive capabilities, you lost over one hundred guards out of the group of three hundred before ordering a retreat, and you lost a guard-stallion to the unknown military.’
Steel Glint, now in chains and bowing on the floor of the throne room in a position that was more submissive then bowing, could only nod to the two Diarchs, as Celestia questioned him.
“It’s a good thing that they’re years ahead of us on weaponry, now we don’t have to worry about losing secrets because of your incompetence!” Celestia roared, Glint cowering even more.
“Take him to the dungeons.” Celestia ordered. Walking back to her throne, she sat down and hung her head, letting out a sigh.
“Brilliant, death certificates to fill out, attempts to start peaceful negotiations to get the bodies back. Sometimes, I wish I hadn’t abolished the death sentence.” Celestia stated.
“Sister, you seem worried. Extremely worried. Even more worried than when you were faced with Chrysalis.”
Celestia somberly looked down, and then sighed. She lifted her head to look Luna in the eyes.
“Luna, I’m afraid we may have woken a sleeping Major.”