> TitanFall: Equilibrium > by Azure-Phoenix > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > "Prepare for TitanFall" (Revised) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I ran though the hallways of the militia frigate I was onboard. I could hear the sirens blaring throughout the ship, signaling that we were under attack. The sirens had activate without any warning and,before I knew it, we were being attacked. As I ran, I was making sure all my gear was in it's place . I awoke to the sirens blaring in my room. With my training drilled in my head I was able to get out of bed and into my suit. From what I've learned over my years of being in this Militia, being quick end efficient are the most important things to keep in mind when under attack. This time wasn't so I wasn't worried, but I had people here who needed me. I had a gotten a call on my coms from one of the bridge officers saying that I was needed at the bridge. I didn't even hesitate on knowing why I needed to go. As I ran through the ships interior, I could see crewman working hard to keep the ship functional. I needed to go through the hangar bay in order to reach the bridge. When I got to the hanger, it seemed the door was jammed to a mechanical failure on the inside. When I was getting equipped, I made sure to store my pilot gear in my room in case of an emergency. If there was wreckage in the hangar, I would be able to maneuver around it. My pnly problem was getting inside. Luckily I had a friend who might do the trick. I put a finger on the coms button on my helmet. I tried to get a signal to my titan. I stood there in anticipation, waiting for the connection to go through. A minute passed before I heard my Titans voice. "Greetings Alex. What seems to be the problem?" my Titans voice said in her usual British accent. I knew that she was in there somewhere. I needed her to help with the door. "Nix, I need your help with the hangar bay door. I cant get through" I said quickly. I stood there waiting for a response, but nothing came. Then instantly, I heard the hangar doors being hit. I looked up and saw a dent in the big double doors. I walked back a few yards and with every other step, I saw the doors being dented even more. I was standing far away from the doors when another bang came, but this time there was a robot arm sticking through the doors. The arm went back in the hole and a few more dents came in. I then saw mechanical fingers slip through the hole. The hole was right in the middle of the doors and I saw what she was trying to do. Standing there astonished, I saw my titan pulling the doors open with her hands. I stood there staring at my Titan holding the doors open. "Hello, Pilot" she said innocently. I shook my heard, quickly getting rid of my shock. I walked over to my titan and underneath its parted legs. As I walked through the doors, I looked around at the condition of the hangar. To say the least, it was fucked up. There were mangled titans and bodies all over the area. There were a couple drop ships scattered all over the place. I looked back at my titan and saw that it was still in good condition. Its red paint still looked fresh and unscratched. "How are you not damaged!?" I yelled. My titan looked around and shrugged. "I am not sure, Alex? Luck?" it asked, looking down at me. I smiled. Only you Nix, only you. I looked around and found the door that leads to the bridge. It was on a balcony overlooking the hangar. I looked back at my titan. "Stay here and help clear the wreckage" I ordered. My titan gave a thumbs up and walked over to a destroyed drop ship. I looked at the doors and ran in their direction. One of the drop ships wings was leaning against a wall near the doors. I ran at the wing and jumped. My jump kit turned on automatically and boosted me towards the wing. As I ran across the wing, my jump kit helping me stay against it. I made it to the end of the wing and jumped towards the balcony where the doors were. I landed on the balcony softly and proceeded to walk towards the Bridge. When I made it to the bridge, I was met with officers and engineers running all over the place. The room was filled with voices, giving commands or status on the ship. In the middle of the chaos was the captain. I looked at him and, somehow knowing my presence, he looked up at me. I walked down the stairs that led to middle of the room. I stood by the captains side as he talked to one of his officers about ways of defense against the attackers. While he was doing that, I was looking down a console that showed the status of our ship. The engines showed they were damaged and that some levels were breached. I could only imagine how many we've lost by now. I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw the captain looking at me worriedly. "Are you okay, Alex" he asked. I nodded while removing my helmet. I pulled of the helmet and tucked it underneath my arm. I saw that a few strands of my brown hair was in my face and I moved my hand up to pull them behind my ear. I looked at the captain and sighed. "What do you need me for." I asked while I put my hand on my hip. The captain sighed and looked down at the console I was looking at. "As you can see, we are being engaged by an IMC dreadnought. "The Ram" has taken damage on most levels and we cant jump to another system. Our weapons are also damaged so we can't exactly fight back." He pressed more buttons on the console and then a picture of the dreadnought came up. I grimaced at the sight. It said the size of the dreadnought was 2,200 meters in length. It had heavy cannons all along its side and front. What made it worse was that this was a scouting ship, so we were not meant or built for an attack. But there are ways to fight without big guns. "I'm guessing you want me to assemble a team and take a ship to board the dreadnought?" I asked while raising a brow. The captain sighed and shook his head. "That's the thing. I did not call you here to fight back." I look and him surprised. "Why not?!" I exclaimed. The captain looked at me and shook his head. "When you asked to be on this ship, you said you wanted to have a break from the action. You said you wanted some peace." he explained. I scoffed. "Just because I said I wanted a break from a fight, that doesn't mean I will run from one." I groaned. "I need you, Alex. I need you to protect the crew of my ship when you leave." I raised my brow. He walked over to a console and pressed a button. "Attention all crew aboard "The Ram" ,evacuate the ship immediately! This is not a drill! Abandon ship!" he yelled into a speaker. He looked back at me with a worried expression. "What's the plan, give them the ship?" I asked. He shook his head. "No, I'm going to redirect our course for the dreadnought." he said sadly. I gasped. "You're going to ram the ship?!" I asked. He nodded. He then looked up at me. "We are close to a planet that could sustain life. As the highest ranking field officer, I want you to take care of the crew once you land" he said seriously. I saw the crew members making their way out of the bridge. I then realized what he was saying. "What about you?" I asked. He turned away from me and looked out the bridge's window that show space and the planet we are close to. "I'm going to stay here and ram the ship manually. I will wait until all of you are off this boat." he said while frowning. I couldn't help but smile at the pun. I grabbed my helmet and slipped it over my head. He looked back at me and I gave him a half hearted salute. He smiled and saluted me back. I turned around and ran out of the bridge. I looked back the closing doors and saw the captain staring out the window into space. I ran through the hallway that leads to the hangar. When I reached the hangar, I saw that it was in better condition than before. There weren't any destroyed titans or drop ships covering the hanger. I looked down and saw my titan getting equipped with it's guns. I ran and hopped down to where I was standing next to its feet. My titan looked down at me. " NX-2128 prepared for drop, Pilot." she said while giving a thumbs up and opening its cockpit. I smiled and jumped up into the cockpit. I looked around the cockpit and saw the small accessories I added to make it more homey. A few pictures on the walls and a small troll bobble head on my control panel. I walked in and took a seat. The doors closed and the room became dark. A minute passed before the screen came up, showing me what was happening outside my titan. I looked around and saw people running towards drop ships and shuttles. I then heard the captains voice come on through the coms. "All crew members of "The Ram" prepare to evacuate and land planet side. May god save you all" He said before his voice went off. I sighed and pressed a few buttons on my console. I looked around and saw everybody in their ships. I pressed a red button and my titans voice came on. "Prepare for Titanfall" > New Mission > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared out my Titans hud and saw what was the "The Ram" being devoured by rockets and guns. I saw the ship heading towards the dreadnaught while taking all the weaponry from it. I eventually saw the two ships collide with a big explosion. I put my hand over my heart and have a moment of silence for the captain and his bravery. I took my attention off the two ships and saw the survivors of "The Ram" flying away from the explosion in their drop ships. I smiled knowing that they were safe. I looked forward and my smile went away instantly. The blast of the explosion was heading to me. I braced for impact. The blast passed me and it shook my titan in a spiral. I held on to anything that would keep me still. I then heard my titans voice come on. "Hold on Alex. I will reorient myself. " she said while I heard a few boosters blasting from outside. Eventually the spinning stopped and I rested my head on the back of my seat. I groaned from dizziness. "Holy shit that sucked" I coughed. I tried to get comfortable in my seat and shake the dizziness off. My titans voice came on again. "I don't know what you are talking about. I feel fine." she said. I snarled. "Fuck you!" I yelled. After I said that, the cockpit started to shake again. "Hold on Alex. We are entering the atmosphere of the planet. The cockpit shook for a few moments until it stopped. I looked out my titans screen and saw clouds as far as the eye could see. I smiled at the sight. At least the planet is beautiful. Eventually we passed the clouds and I then saw something even more beautiful. The whole planet was green. There was not a single part of the planet that I could not see that was not green. I looked a bit closer and saw that there was a small village near our drop point. This made me think. Were there anybody who came here first. I sat back and waited for us to land. Another few minutes passed before I heard a bleeping go off in the cockpit. This meant we were about to land. I braced for the landing. I closed my eyes and waited. A few seconds passed until the cockpit shook violently. I opened my eyes slowly and saw my titan's view looking at the ground. I placed my arms on the controls and made it stand up straight. I looked around the area. The whole area was covered in forest and it was hard to see what lay beyond. I sighed. I need a better look. I pressed a button on the roof and the doors to the cockpit opened. I walked out and took off my helmet. I was blown away by the freshness of the air. I have never smelt anything so clean and pure. I took and big breath of air and sighed. I looked around and saw that the trees were pretty high. They were taller than my titan by at least a few dozen feet. I hopped up on the top of my titan and sat down, placing my helmet behind me. I looked around and took in the visual of the area. I heard a few chirps around me which made me a bit surprised. I looked around for the chirps and saw a bird. This was not a alien bird like other worlds. This bird look like the ones from earth. I stared at the bird and the bird stared at me. It didn't feel natural. Usually when you stare at a bird you feel nothing. Only staring one way. This bird felt like it was staring back at me. I took my eyes off the bird and got down to work. I walked back into my cockpit and grabbed my inventory. I placed all my guns and equipment in a neat assortment. I had 2 grenades, 1 data knife, 3 days worth of snacks, 2 batteries, 1 B3 Wingman revolver with custom imprints on it, 1 flatline auto rifle with 10 clips of ammo, 1 grapple hook mod, cloak mod, and 4 pulse blades. I sighed and put all my equipment back in their area on my body. I put the things I couldn't fit in the cockpit. I grabbed a chocolate bar from the snacks and sat on the head of my titan. "Nix, where are the others?" I asked while looking at the sky. She stood there not responding for a moment. "The blast of the collision has knocked our drop point about 10 miles off point with the rendezvous. We will need to walk in order to reach them." she said while closing the cockpit doors. I groaned. I then remembered the small town I saw when we were falling. "Nix, do you know where the direction the town was?" I asked while taking a bite from my chocolate bar. "Yes. It is that way" she said while pointing behind her. I nodded while taking a bite from my bar. "Well then lets go" I said while tapping my heel on my titans head. I threw the unfinished chocolate bar to the ground and laid back. "That was a waste" my titan said while beginning to walk. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Just walk." I closed my eyes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------}{}{}{}{}{}[---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke to the sight of a white moon hovering over me in the sky. I stared at it for a moment. I then heard my titan call me. "Alex, are you awake?" I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Yep. I'm up.” I stretched my arms up while looking around. I noticed that the whole area was dark and it was hard for me to see. I reached back and grabbed my helmet. I placed it on my head and turned on the night vision. I stood up and I could feel my legs were a bit sleepy. I looked around in the darkness and in the distance, I saw a river. I smiled and tapped my foot on my titans head. "Nix, walk over to that river." I asked while pulling a canteen from my belt. My titan did as I asked and walked over to the river. I hopped off my titan and landed on the ground. As I walked to the river, my titan spoke. "Alex, what are we doing going to the village. Isn't our mission to find the survivors." she asked as I pulled off my helmet and filled my canteen. "It is. If they are smart, they will head to the civilization if they saw it. If they are not there. Then we can get the people there to help us navigate our way to them." I said while finishing filling my canteen. I brought the canteen to my lips and took a sip. I felt the water enter my mouth and I sighed. The water tasted fantastic. I took another sip. That was until I heard a growl. I froze in my stance. I looked at the direction of the growl. I saw two bright green eyes staring at me through some bushes. I slowly brought my hand to my revolver. The creature jumped out of the bushes. "Watch out Alex!" my titan yelled. I wasn't quick enough and the creature pounced on top of me. I held out my arms and tried to keep it off of me. I tried to get a good look at it while trying not to get my face bitten off. I looked at the creature and saw it was a wolf, but it felt hard. It didn't feel furry like a wolf. It felt more like wood. I punched the wolf in the face with my right hand, making it dazed. I then reached down and grabbed my data knife. I pulled it out and drove it into the head of the wolf. The wolf instantly stopped moving and it crumpled into sticks. I raised my brow. I then heard more growls behind me. I looked back and saw 5 more wolves. I quickly grabbed my helmet and put it on. Standing up, I reached down and pulled out my revolver. I pointed my knife at them while holding my gun over my arm. I stood there, waiting for them to charge. Then they started to circle me. Fuck that shit. I aimed at one of the wolves head and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked back slightly and I saw the wolf's head explode. I smiled. The wolves looked at their fallen comrade and then back at me. They growled and then they all charged me. I quick fired two in the head. A wolf managed to get close to me and pounce. I was ready for this. I stepped to the side and brought my knife down on the wolf's head. I heard a howl behind me. I turned around and saw the final wolf pounce. My eyes widened since it would jump on my exposed back. Before the wolf landed on my back, I heard a big bang. The wolf exploded into tiny sticks and splinters. I turned around towards the bang and I saw my titan pointing it's XO-16 chaingun at me. I growled. "You almost shot me!" I yelled. My titan placed it's gun on it's back. I heard a small crack behind me and I spun and pointing my gun and the... Pony? It was a small purple pony with purple hair that had a pink line down the middle. It also had a picture of stars on it's flank. The pony just stood there, staring at me with wide eyes. It then raised a hoof slowly and shook violently. "Um, hi. My name i-is Twilight Sparkle." > World of Ponies. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Um, his. My name I-is Twilight Sparkle.” the small pony said nervously. My eyes went wide and I pulled the hammer back in my revolver, finger slightly pressed on the trigger. I just stood there ,staring at the pony. She stared back at me with her hoof still raised. I was not sure if this was real. I needed to check if one of the wolves has some sort of venom that poisoned. I looked away from the pony, still pointing my gun at it, and looked at my titan. “Nix, run a diagnostic scan on me.” I ordered. My titan took a few steps closer to me and knelt down to where her one eye was right in front of me. She knelt there for a moment before standing up again. “ I do not read any form of damage or intoxication. Other than a small bruise on your forearm, you seem to be okay .” my titan said while looking over at the pony. I looked away from my titan and stared at the pony. I needed to learn more about this thing. “Did you just talk.” I asked. The pony nodded it’s head. I sighed. “Are there more of you anywhere else on this planet?” I sighed. The pony nodded it’s head again. I rolled my eyes. “Come on! You’re a freaking talking pony. Use your words and give me details! Where am I?” I yelled. The pony winced at the annoyance of my voice. It put its hoof back on the ground. “Right now, you are in the Everfree forest. It is not to far from where I live, Ponyville. I saw those two big things collide in the sky and explode. I also saw you and some other things falling from the both of them. You were the closest thing near me so I came to check what it was, and then I found you.” the pony explained. I sighed and holstered my revolver. I walked away from the pony towards my titan. I pressed a button on my armband and the doors to my cockpit opened. I boosted up with my jump kit and looked inside for my gun. While I was pulling out my Flatline, I heard the pony talking again. “Are you here to invade us?” the pony asked while examining my titan. I laughed at the stupid question. “If I was here to invade, then why would I tell you about it.” I joked. I hopped out of my titans cockpit and landed on the ground with my gun strapped around my back. I looked over at the pony and saw her biting her lip nervously. I chuckled at the sight. “If you are not here to invade us, then why are you here.” she asked while staring at my gear on my body. I shrugged. “It was an accident. My ship was attacked and your planet was the closest one we could land on.” I walked over to the river to retrieve my canteen. “Who attacked you. Another alien race.” she asked while observing my every move. I filled my canteen again and placed in my pocket on my waist. “No. It was a group called the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or the IMC. They attacked my ship up in space and we couldn’t fight back. So me and the crew escaped the ship and crash landed on your planet.” I explained while walking back to my titan. The pony nodded and looked up at the sky. I then remembered something about what she said earlier. I looked over at the pony. “Did you say that you saw things coming out of both ship?” I asked while pointing up at the sky. The pony looked down at me and nodded with a worried expression on my face. I think she knew what I was going on about. I looked over at my titan and gave her a silent question. My titan then looked up at the sky. “It is possible that there were some IMC survivors who made it out of the dreadnaught before the collision.” my titan said while looking back down at me. I was about to say something, but then I heard a huge explosion come from a far distance to my left. I looked over at the pony. “Isn’t that the direction of where the town is.” I asked worriedly. The pony’s eyes went wide and nodded slowly. “Shit” I cursed under my breath. I turned and ran towards my titan. I opened the doors and jumped in the cockpit, closing the doors behind me as I sat in my seat. I placed my hands on the controls and started manually driving my titan. I ran over to the pony and picked her up with my titan’s hand. I held her close, but softly, and began to print in the direction of the town. ---------------------------------------------}{}{}{}{}{}{-------------------------------------------------------------------- An half hour passed before we made it out of the forest. When we finally made it out, I was met with the site of a burning town. The whole town wasn’t on fire, but there were a few building that were burnt or destroyed. I also heard and saw ponies running around, screaming for their lives. I looked down at the pony in my hand and saw that she look liked she was in shock. I really hope it wasn’t any of the crew that did this. I zoomed in on the camera and saw another figure in the distance. I looked closely and saw it was an IMC titan. I groaned and placed the pony on the ground next to me. “Stay here and keep your distance. I have to deal this IMC scumbag.” I growled while pulling out my titan primary weapon. I ran towards the town. I ran through the town and saw ponies running for their lives. I saw little fillies crying and bigger ones trying to help save the crowd or just save themselves. It made me feel bad that this planet had to experience the pain of a battle. As I ran through the town, I looked around for the IMC titan. It was surprisingly hard to find since it was painted all white. I swung around at what looked like this big Mary-go-round. When I went around it, I saw the titan I had been chasing. The titan was a basic ION model. It looked like it was destroying a small home and was tearing the roof apart. This made me mad. There was no need for him to do that. It turned on my outer speaker. “Hey jackass! Pick on someone worth you time!” I yelled at the IMC titan. The titan instantly stopped what it was doing and turned around to look at me. I looked at him and saw that he had a pony in his hand. I looked closely and saw that the pony seemed female and had a yellow coat with a pink mane that covered half her face. The pony seemed to be crying and trying to break free. “Well lookie-lookie here. It seems I have stumbled across a vanguard class titan. What faction are you on, SRS? You don’t seem that tough.” the pilot spoke while chuckling. I groaned. These IMC pilots were always cocky and over confident. I aimed my chain gun at the titan and locked my missiles on it weak points. “Release the pony and we can have a good clean fight.” I said while I prepared to press the dash button. The pilot chuckled and released his grip on the pony, letting it fall straight to the ground. I didn’t check to see if it was okay, I kept my eyes locked on the titan. “Alright then pilot, lets dance” he said while beginning to reach for his splitter rifle. I didn’t give him the chance to grab his gun and I used both my dashes, quickly shortening the distance between us. While I boosted, I shot all ten of my homing missiles and began shooting my chaingun. I smiled as I saw a few rockets hit him square in the chest. My smile instantly went away as he activated his vortex shield. He absorbed at least six of my missiles and held them in his shield. I whimpered as he deactivated his shield and shot my rockets back at me. I tried to move around them, but I was too slow. A few of the missiles hit me in the torso and arm. I looked at my hud and saw that he had taken out my shield. I growled and continued firing at him with my chaingun. I smiled as I saw a few of his armor plates being torn off with my bullets. My enjoyment ended too soon as I saw that my clip was empty on my gun. I realized it would take to long to reload, so I charged him. I managed to get one more boost from the wait and saw my shield was regenerating. I had that mod personally installed. It helped a lot when in dangerous situations. I ran at the titan and prepared to punch. As I was close to punching him I saw that there was a yellow laser and a few mines sticking out of the ground. I was too stupid to remember that the ION class had those. I ran into the trip mine and I was met with two explosions on either side of me. The explosion took out my shield and some of my outer shell. I looked up and saw that the titan was about to punch me with his right arm. I quickly raised my left and caught his fist in my titans hand. I saw he tried to punch me now with his right hand. I quickly did the same with my other arm, catching his fist in my hand. I looked and saw the position that were in and I smiled. I then noticed that the center of his titans chest began to glow red. My eyes went wide. He was charging his ION laser core. I thought quickly and checked my dash bars. They were at maximum. Thinking quickly I put my titan foot in the middle of the IMC’s titan’s chest and pushed out ward while boosting backward. I made sure I had a firm grip on both of his arms as I pulled. I laughed in delight as I saw both of his arms being ripped off, metal parts and sparks flying everywhere. I dropped both of his arms and used my last dash to boost forward. I used the momentum of the boost to deliver a hard punch into the titans center, hitting the titans laser core. The titan stumbled back before falling straight on it’s back. I slowly walked over to the damaged titan. I was pretty impressed with the move I pulled. I would definitely use it again. I examined the titan and saw that it was in a doomed state. “Please. Don’t do it. Please I-” I punched the titans cockpit in, not letting the pilot finish what he was saying. I slowly pulled my hand out of the titans cockpit and saw that my titan’s hand was covered in blood and had a few chunks of meat on it. I stood at my full height and flicked off the blood like it was nothing. I didn’t feel any mercy for these asshole. They never showed us any mercy. With the titan destroyed, I looked around at the damage the titan did. To be honest it wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse. While I was looking around, I noticed that all the towns ponies were staring at me with wide eyes. I even saw that one pony I met in the forest. she was actually standing in front of the whole crowd with the same look as everyone else. I chuckled nervously. “I guess we should talk, huh?” > Questions and Answers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared out a window that leads out to the towns square. I saw ponies walking around, trying to fix the damage after the recent attack. I also saw my titan helping with the damage as much as possible. Right now I was sitting inside a bakery waiting for the pony, Twilight, to retrieve her friends. I started tapping a random pattern on my helmet I had rested on the table in front of me. After I killed the IMC pilot, the whole town started cheering. They started yelling on how I was a hero and how I saved them. It surprised me on how calm they were. I literally just turned a person into ground beef in front of them. I hopped out of my titan and the purple one said that she wanted to talk to me in private and ask me some questions with her friends. She took me here to wait for them. That was two hours ago. I kept staring out the window until I saw the purple pony again and with five other ponies. I looked away from the window as I heard them entering the building. I looked at the door and saw all of the ponies walk in with a smile on their face. I smiled as well and got comfortable in my seat, resting my feet on top of the table while putting my hands behind my head. “Alright, let’s get started” -------------------------------------}{}{}{}{}{----------------------------------------------- I sat in a my chair, drinking some coffee while I saw the purple pony rubbing her temples. I took a sip as I heard her groan and place her head on the table. “So let me get this straight. You are a alien species called humans who have started expanding your colonies to other worlds. You were onboard a scout ship and while scouting a new area, you were attacked by the “IMC” and was forced to retreat. You landed on this planet and was torn away from the rest of your crew. Now you aim to find them and leave this planet with one of the ships you have landed. Correct?” She finished while looking up at me. I nodded and took another sip. I only told her about what was happening at the moment. I didn’t need to tell her about me our anything else. I looked down at the mug and noticed it was empty. I looked over at the pink one and raised my mug to her. She smiled and walked over to me. She grabbed my cup and headed back to make some more. From what Twilight told me, her name is Pinkie Pie and she was one of the Elements of harmony. The element of Laughter “Wait, how do we know you are telling the truth. You could be the one who attacked the other ship!” the blue one said while standing up on her seat. I rolled my eyes. Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. More like the element of accusation. “Use your head Rainbow. If I was the bad guy, then I would have killed you. Plus I wasn't the one destroying the town, now was I?” I said while inching my face closer to hers. We both stared at each other, nose to nose. “Here’s your coffee Ms. Forman.” I heard pinkie said while placing the cup of coffee next to me. I looked over at her and smiled. I leaned back and grabbed my coffee, taking a slow sip. “Plus if I was the bad guy, then I wouldn’t have saved Fluttershy” I said while motioning my cup to her. As soon as I said her name, she tried to hide behind her mane. I looked over at Rainbow Dash and saw her nodding slowly. Fluttershy was another Elements of Harmony. Apparently she was kindness. I’m not even sure what the hell that even means. “She’s telling the truth Rainbow. I can tell.” Applejack said while biting a piece of caramel apple. Applejack was the Element of Honesty. I think that somehow gave her the ability to know if you are lying. Frankly, I think there are people who have other ways of doing that and she doesn’t have my respect. I took a sip of my coffee and placed it back on the table. “Enough about that. I think it is my turn for questions.” I said while looking at all the ponies. “I guess it’s fair” Rarity said while looking at her friends. She was the Element of Generosity and I did not like her. She looked too lady like for my taste. She probably would throw up just from touching something dirty. I pulled my seat closer and got in my interrogation mode. “I want to make this quick and simple and I want good explanations” I said while looking at each on of them in the circle of chairs we were in. They all nodded. “What planet is this, what is your technology level, and are you the only species on this planet.” I asked quickly. Twilight was the one to speak up. “The planet you are on is names Equis. I’m not sure about our technology level is, but we did just come out with the steam boat. But we are not the only species on this planet. Us ponies have different parts about us like wings or horns or just nothing. There are many other animal species like dragons, gryphons, and many others.” she said happily. I nodded. I was a bit surprised to see that they were unicorns and Pegasus, but I got over my shock quickly. “I know you have questions, but is it fine if I ask you some more personal ones?” she said with a smile on her face. I groaned. This is the thing I did not want to discuss. I was ready to say no, but then she pulled out one of my biggest weaknesses. The one thing that I could never face. The one thing I could never say no to. She gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes I have ever seen. I tried to look away, but the power of her eyes was not allowing me to. I groaned and sighed loudly. “Fine” I whimpered. She clapped her hoofs happily. Out of nowhere she popped out a notebook and a quill and started writing things. I stared at the two items warily. How the fuck? “Specimen name, Alex Forman. Species, Human. Sex, Female. Brown hair with hazel eyes and white skin. Height, five feet and twelve inches.” she said while her quill wrote everything she said. I stared at the quill, feeling a bit dizzy. “Alright miss Forman, can you please explain who you are and what role you serve in the “Militia”.” she asked while smiling at me. I sighed and thought to just get this over with. “I am a 27 year old Pilot in the Militia that fights for freedom against the IMC in the Frontier. I am captain ranked veteran and has been on 50 missions for either recon or ground battles.” I explained. She nodded and wrote down everything I said. “What exactly is a pilot?” she asked. I tapped my helmet and answered. “Pilots are a special form of soldier who are viewed as war heroes. We have stronger muscles, faster reflexes, and more equipment than that of a regular foot soldier. We also have special gear that allows up to climb walls, run across walls, and jump high distances.” Twilight was furiously writing down everything I said. ”The biggest thing that separates us from the regular soldiers is our bond with titans.” Twilight stopped writing and looked up at me. “What is a Titan?” she asked. I looked out the window and pointed at my titan. The ponies looked out the window and saw what I was pointing at. Their eyes widened. Right now, we were all staring at my titan sitting down while little ponies were crawling all over it. I saw little ponies hanging on her arm or trying to climb to the top of her. I chuckled at the sight. “That’s a Titan!” Rarity exclaimed. I nodded. “That is so awesome!” I heard Rainbow whisper. I continued with my explanation. “A titan is a mechanical machine that we have built for many purposes. Originally they were built for labor or farming. When the war came, they were manufactured as war machines. They are feared and respected on the battlefield” I said while watching a small pony celebrating for getting on top of my titans head. “Oh, well how are you assigned a titan? How long have you had yours?” She asked while taking her eyes of the scene outside. “I’ve had my titan for about five years. You are only allowed a titan if you are certified to be a pilot. I showed potential for being a good shot and I was trained to be one. She was my first titan.” I said happily, thinking of all the time I had spent with her. “What is her name?” she asked while looking outside again. “Her real name is NX-2128, but I call her Nix.” I smiled. “Why did you join the militia specifically?” she asked while looking back at me. I jerked my head at her, frowning. “That is none of your business!” I snapped. She was shocked at my change of tone. “Why no-” “IT”S NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUISNESS!” I yelled, cutting her off. They all sank back in their seat in fear. I scowled at her. I’m never telling her or anyone else my reasons. I promised no one would know. That no one would hurt her. I sank back in my chair, finally cooling off. I then heard someone enter the building. I looked at the door and so did everyone else. My eyes widened as I saw a small purple and green lizard run in here with something in his claw. It stopped and looked at me, obviously surprised. We both stared at each other unmoving. He broke out of the stare first and walked over to twilight. It handed the thing to Twilight and stood there next to her. I stared at the lizard closely, hand close to my gun. I then heard twilight gasp. I looked over at her and saw her reading the thing the lizard have to her. “It’s the Princess. She wants to see Alex.” she said worriedly. They all stared at me and I raised a brow. “Who?” > Royal Meeting. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared out the window and saw the land flying past me. I looked at the mountains, the clouds, and the trees that whizzed by me too fast for my liking. I looked down at my helmet on my lap, thinking on the craziness that happened a few hours ago. Right after Twilight got that letter from the princess, she was freaking out like no tomorrow. Me being a complete idiot, I just asked who she was and Twilight started going on about “Her Greatness” and “Magical abilities”? I didn't really care and asked her what was on the letter. All she told was that I was needed at “The Castle” and started getting me prepared for the trip. She bought me a ticket and put me on the train ride there. I argued that I wouldn’t leave Nix behind. We managed to work something out and put Nix on a extra train cart for massive loads. I asked if any of them were coming. Twilight told me that the Princess wanted to see me alone. Right now I was sitting in a private cabin with nothing to do but stare out the window. I decided that I should check up on Nix and see if she was okay. I put my helmet in the seat next to me and stood up. I unlatched the locks on the window and slid it open all the way. I popped my head out of the window and looked back at the last cart. I had to brush the hair out of my face from the wind, but I was able to see Nix all the way in the back. She was strapped down all the way with ropes and locks. When I looked back, I noticed that she was looking back at me as well. She raised a hand and waved at me. I smiled and waved back. I pulled my head back into the cabin and closed the window. I sat back in my seat and thought of ways on how not to fuck this whole thing up. The fact that I was going to be a princess should have excited me. When I was younger I used to love that kind of crap. That was before my parents died and I had to learn how to grow up. I had to leave all of that behind in order to survive. I closed my eyes and waited until we got there. -------------------------------------------}{}{}{}{}{-------------------------------------------------------- I felt something nudge my shoulder and it woke me up instantly. I looked to my right and saw a pony standing there. The pony was orange and had blue jet hair. I also noticed he had a pair of wings. However, this one was different from the other ponies I met. It wore golden armor and held a spear. I saw that he was pointing it at me and he looked slightly nervous. I scowled. “There is no fucking way you just poked me with that thing.” I growled. The pony stepped back slightly and I saw him shivering. I sighed and stood up. He seemed to cower down lower after seeing my height. He looked like he was about five feet tall. He was only a foot shorter, but he seemed as if I could eat him in one bite. I shook my head and grabbed my helmet. I slipped it on my head stretched my arms. “Lead the way little guy” I walked out of the cabin and looked around the area. The whole area seemed deserted. I knew we were at a train station, so wouldn’t there be at least a few ponies here. I felt a jab in my leg. I looked down and saw him trying to get me to move with his spear. I growled. “Don't fucking poke me, you little shit!” I yelled in his face. I walked away from him and headed to the back of the train. When I made it to the back, I saw Nix and a few ponies taking her restraints off. I walked over to Nix and patted her leg. “How you doing, girl?” She looked own at me. “I am fine Alex, you?” I shrugged. One of the ponies walked up to me. He wore what looked like a conductors uniform. “You should be able to leave now miss. You can just follow the guard behind you and you'll be all set.” he said while smiling. I was surprised on how calm he was. I would have thought he would be a bit nervous like the little shit behind me. He seemed to understand my silence somehow. He took off his cap and scratched the back of his head. “I wanted to say thank you for helping my daughter back in Ponyville. I didn’t know about it until I got there on the train. I was so worried when I heard that a monster attacked. I was worried that it would have gotten to her. Thank Celestia you showed up.” he said while holding back some tears. He then put his cap on and held out his hoof. I smiled and took it in my hand, shaking it slightly. I took my hand away from the pony and touched my arm control. I put my titan on follow mode and turned around to see the pony guard looking at my titan in fear. I snapped my fingers in his face to get him out of his shock. He shook his slightly and started walking to the castle. I followed closely behind with my titan in tow. We walked for about an half hour before we were standing at the gates of the castle. The guard walked over to a pair of guards standing next to the door. I saw him talking to the other guards and nodding. A moment later, the big double doors opened and revealed the white marbled floors and ceiling in the castle. I began to walk inside before a spear was placed in front of me. I looked down and saw the same fucking guard holding his spear in front of me, not allowing me to pass. I was about to grab his spear before I heard a voice behind me. I turned around and saw another royal guard, but this one was not wearing golden armor. He was wearing purple armor instead and he did not have a helmet on. He had a white coat with different shades of blue hair. “We can’t allow you in yet. We can’t allow your... thing to walk inside the castle. He is too big and must be taken somewhere else” he said while looking over at my titan. I sighed. She was too big for the doors. I reluctantly pressed a button on my arm and turned it off follow mode. I looked up at my titan. “Nix, follow one of these guys alright. They should take care of you until I’m done here” I said while tapping my head. It was a silent message we made in case of separation. It meant to contact me of anything suspicious. I moved the guards spear out of my way and walked into the castle with the purple one and the spear guard walking ahead of me. I followed the two guards through the castle for at least thirty minutes. I was about to ask where they were taking me until we were standing in front of two golden doors. The purple one walked to the door and tapped his hoof on it in a certain pattern. A moment later, the two big double doors opened slowly. He walked inside and I followed closely behind. I looked back and saw no one there holding the door open. That made my mind go blank for a second. I turned back around and was met with one of the craziest things I have ever seen. What I saw was a pony, but this pony was much more different than any other I have seen. For one, it was freaking huge. I mean it wasn’t massive like my titan, but you can see the size difference between it and the ponies beside me. It also had a horn and wings. So far I’ve only seen ponies with one of those. It’s mane was also completely different. It had a white coat, but it’s mane was almost like a rainbow that flowed on a invisible wind. The big pony was talking with another pony as we entered. She was talking to a white pony with blonde hair that had a compass mark on his flank. I looked back at the big white pony and noticed she was looking back at me. She said something to the white pony and he looked back at us. He looked at me specifically. As soon as he saw me he cringed and walked away with his nose in the air. I watched the pony walk out of the room like a peacock. I resisted the urge to shoot him in the balls. The purple pony walked pass me and stood in front of the Big white pony. He whispered something I wasn’t able to hear and then bowed. I then felt a painful jab in my side. I looked down and saw the fucking guard glaring at me. Was he trying to get me to bow!? I had enough of this shit fuck. I quickly reached down and grabbed his spear. In one quick motion, I broke the spear in half. I took the two pieces and threw them across the room. “That was not very nice Flash Sentry.” I heard a female voice say behind me. I turned around and saw the big pony smiling at me. She looked down at the guard and frowned. “You are dismissed for now. I wish to speak to the human alone” she said while nudging her head out the door. The guard walked out of the room with his head low. I also noticed the purple guard walk out of the room after the other one. He closed the doors behind him and left me in here with the big ass pony. I stood there staring at the pony In silence. She stared back with a smile on her face. “I know that is not your face. Do you mind removing your helmet?” she asked. I shrugged and removed my helmet. I tucked it underneath my pit and moved some strands of hair out of my eyes. I saw her tilt her head sideways. “Interesting. You Humans have similar hair styles as we do.” I raised an eyebrow. Did she mean my pony tail? Is she saying that ponies wear pony tails? “Not to be disrespectful, but are you Princess Celestia?” I asked. She nodded. That makes sense. I thought. “You called me here for a reason. I would like to know why.” I said while fixing some of my tangled hair. She smiled and stood up from her seat. I watched her step down from her throne and stand next to me. She stood about my height, but her horn made her two feet taller. “Please follow me” ------------------------------------------------}{}{}{}{}{--------------------------------------------------------- We walked through the hallways of the castle. I couldn’t help but look at all the art and furniture that filled each area when we turned into another part of the castle. What surprised me more was on how the Princess knew where she was going. To me, all these hallways looked the same. She probably walks through here about five times a day. I thought. “The reason I called you here was to find out your purpose. I want to know why you are here and what your intentions are for Equis." she said, still keeping her eyes forward on the path ahead. I don't know why there always has to be a purpose for these type of things. Can't we all just say it was a big accident and you were never part of the plan. I looked over at her. "We have no intention for your planet. We just stumbled across it before we were attacked and had to abandon our ship." I said nonchalantly. She nodded with a smile. "Yes. I am happy to hear that your intentions are as the rest have said. I'm not so sure about the others that fell from the sky. From what they told me, they are not very fond of you." she said while taking another turn. I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Who are the rest?" I asked. I looked ahead an noticed we were standing in front of two big double doors. These were made out of wood and had a sword and shield carved into it. I saw her horn light up and the two doors opened. When the two doors opened, I dropped my helmet. What I saw was my crew running around and setting up equipment in a giant courtyard that seemed to be the size of a football field. I saw nine drop ships landed far in the back of the courtyard and I saw three of my teams titans up front. I looked over at Celestia. "They are the rest." > Reunification > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I looked around the courtyard with my mouth wide open. To say that I was surprised to see my crew here after the crash is was an understatement. I could recognize some of my field commanders and a couple officers that were onboard "The Ram". I scanned the crowd of soldiers to see if any of my team were amongst them, but It was too crowded for me to see. While I was looking amongst the crowd, I heard a loud gasp from beside me. I looked and was surprised to find one of my field Grunts. I knew this Grunt. His name was Tyler Maze. I fought with him a couple times on some of the ground battles in the frontier. He stood there with a bag of ammo slung over his shoulder and a shotgun in his other hand. I smiled and waved. "Alex?!" He exclaimed. As soon as he said my name, all the people in the courtyard froze. They looked over to the sound and were met by the sight of me. They all looked either surprised, happy, or both. I barely got a word out before the mass of militia soldiers dropped what they were doing and rushed me. All of my of my crew ran up to me cheering. I was overwhelmed by the applause and all the different handshakes. I even had some of the grunts hug me while I was distracted. I think I had a few tears in my eyes. I was very relieved to know that my crew had survived. The crowd had started to lighten up and I was given some space. I heard the clopping of hoofs behind me. I turned around and saw the Princess smiling while holding my helmet in her magic grip. That shit still freaked me out. "How did my crew end up here?" I asked. The princess chuckled and floated my helmet to me. "I saw them falling from the sky and I sent my guards to investigate. They reported to me they found your crew and I asked them to be brought here. It would have taken forever if those wonderful flying machines of your weren't functional." she said. I looked down at my helmet. I couldn't help but smile. I then heard a grunt say something from behind me. "Uh, Captain? There was a complication with the landing. We had ten ships when we abandoned ship, but now we only have nine ships. We think that the blast from the ship may have interfered with the course of the last ship." The grunt informed. I was a bit surprised by the new fact. I still had missing crew. And right now I was viewed as captain since I'm the highest ranking officer. "Well ah'll be. If it isn't the crazy killer herself." I heard a deep voice say in a familiar country accent. I turned around and was met with the sight of one of my team members. I recognized the messy brown hair and eyes along with his signature mechanical left arm. I also recognize his specific burn mark on the left side of his face. I smiled and walked up to him. "Joseph Antares. You are a sight for sore eyes" I chuckled. I walked up to him and brought him into a tight embrace. He returned it. We stood there for a couple seconds before we let each other go. I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. Joseph was one of my team members on the field. He was my Holo-Pilot on the Team. He was known as the comedian. I resisted the urge to cry. I was just happy at least one of my team survived. I tore my eyes away from him and looked around. "Is there anyone else?" I asked, still looking around the area. Joseph nodded his head happily. He brought his mechanical left hand up to his ear and pressed a button on his communicator. "Hey, Christian, Alex is here. Come to the doors." He said into his communicator. Not a second passed before I heard loud thumping coming this way. I looking at where the thumping was coming from. The thumping soon became loud banging and heavy footsteps. I looked in udder horror as I saw a Legion Titan move its way through the crowd. The titan was jet black colored and had a picture of skulls coving its front. I walked over to me and knelt in front of me. The cockpit opened and I was met with the sight of another member of my team. He had short brown facial hair and eyes. His brown hair was buzz cut and looked very greasy. He stepped out of the cockpit and stared at me. I stared back. An uneasy silence filled the crowd. No one said a word. We stared at each other for what seemed like years. I couldn't help but chuckle. I smiled slightly. He also began to smile. Before we knew it, we were both roaring in laughter. "Ha! I beat you Captain!" He laughed. I shook my head still trying to control my laughter. I walked up to him and hugged him. "I suppose you know these two individuals?" I heard the Princess say behind me. I let Christian go. I turned around and Looked at Celestia, nodding with confirmation. "I don't suppose you haven't met them Princess?" I asked. The Princess shook her head. I smiled. " Well this one on my left is Christain Calibur. He is a Cloak-pilot on my team and he is the one who Pilots the Titan behind me, EX-7251. On the team, we just call him EX-Calibur." I explained. The Princess nodded and bowed out of respect. Christain bowed back. "This one on my right is Joseph Antares. He is my Holo-Pilot. As you can see, he lost his arm. He is the one who drives the Ronin Titan, G2-4261, also known as Gus. These are two of the three other members on my team." I said. I then realized that there were only two of them here. I quickly turned around and looked at Joseph, slightly panicked. "Where are the others?!" I said worriedly. Joseph sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. I can see the look in his eyes. Something went wrong. Something happened to the rest of my team. "I'm sorry Alex, we don't know where the others are. We think that whatever happened to you happened to them. We think they may have been separated on different areas of the continent. The last dropship has also gone missing on our scans." He said sadly. I couldn't help but feel guilty. I had just lost my team and some of my crew. I failed the Captain. I couldn't save them all. "Are you alright?" I heard the Princess say behind. I nodded. I looked at Christian. I may have lost some of my men, but I was not going to lose the rest. "Christian, status report. What do we have?" I ordered. I made my way through the crew. "Come on everyone. Gear up and check supplies. I want camp set up here in five hours." As soon as I gave the order, everyone started moving. They all went to their duties and carried out my order. Christian, Joseph and Celestia caught up with me and we started walking throughout the courtyard. "Captain, right now we have three titans combat ready and one row of Spectres. We have a platoon of grunts and a squad of officers. Our munitions are limited with basic rifles and anti-Titan weaponry, but other than that we don't have much." I listened carefully while observing the crew putting the camp together. Basically, we don't have much means of putting an offensive. I could only wonder how much stuff the IMC had saved. "What do we know of the IMC troops that survived?" I asked. I looked ahead and saw the Titans. I started making my way over there. "Right now, we don't know much. We think that at least ten Titans survived and a whole Company of Grunts and enemy Spectres." I groaned. How did so many survive? I made it to the titans. I looked at Christian's Titan. His Ronin was much different from the basic model. For one, his titan had more armored plating than a regular Ronin chassis. His quad rocket Primary was also advanced. Able to shoot a flurry of missiles in quick succession. Looked at my titan standing next to the Ronin. She was standing at attention, ready for my next orders. I then heard heavy footsteps from behind me. I turned around. I was met with one of the Grunts running at us. He looked like he was in a panic. The grunt stumbled to a stop as he doubled over in a fit of harsh coughs and wheezing breaths. "Cap...Captain" he managed to blurt out." we received a message... from one of the ships! They survived! They're in trouble!" He gasped. My eyes widened in surprise. The missing ship made it!? I looked down at the grunt. "Soldier, get all the squads together. We are moving out, NOW!" He saluted and ran back to spread the news. I looked over at my team members. "Get equipped and get everything ready. We are moving out in thirty!" I ordered. They both nodded and went to prepare the men. I looked over at Celestia. She looked like someone had just slapped her and told her to wake up. "Princess, I know this a bit much to ask, but can we have your help? Your ponies know the land. It would help with navigation and support." I asked. She nodded. "Of course, Captain. I will assemble a group of volunteers to aid you." I nodded smiling. I walked towards the camp. I heard Celestia calling out to me from behind. "What is the plan, Captain?!" She asked. I slid on my helmet. "We fight" > Attrition part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared out the viewport of the ship as we passed through the clouds in the night sky. I felt the ship rattle, turbulance shaking the ship slightly. I saw the moon high in the sky, glowing like a beacon in the night. I was too focused on the moon to notice Christain tapping my shoulder. I turned and look at him, his face showing a bit of worry. "Hey Cap, we're close. I think it's time we brief the men." he said. I nodded. I turned my attention away from the moon and looked at the squad that was curently in my ship. There were a total of six men in my ship. All of them were grunts with basic equipment of R-201s and pistols. I looked around and made sure they all had their eyes on me and stood in a circle around the center. I tapped a button on my arm band and set up a holographic map in the center of the group. I couldn't see the image since I wasn't wearing my helmet that showed the image, but I didn't need it since it showed me the image on my arm band. I tapped a point on the map and made it yellow. I scrolled through the map and tapped where the lost dropship supposedly crashed. The image wasn't live, it was only what the ponies could give us in such short time, so I couldnt really see where the ship crashed. I began my brief. "I'm only saying this once so listen up. We are dropping here on the yellow spot and making our way through the forest to the estimated location of the fallen dropship. We don't know if the IMC are there our not, so we are going to land a bit of distance so we dont get their attention. When we make it to the ship, we will find our men and load them up for extraction. If the IMC show up, our two other dropships will come in and drop rienforcments. The second ship will have four unicorns that will be able to aid us. They are to be protected at all cost since they are the only means of getting our titans in the fight. Any questions?" I looked around and saw if there were any raised hands. I saw one hand up. The hand belonged to one the grunts. He looked like a rookie to me. I could tell by the way he was slightly stiff and had a worried expression on his dark face. I could tell he was nervous. "How are the ponies going to get your titans here?" he asked. I nodded. I wondered the same thing when Celestia told me she could get the titans to me quickly. "The ponies are able to use teleportive ablities that can get the titans in the fight. It's like a warpfall, only if the ponies die, we don't get our titans." He nodded and looked down. I turned to Christain. "Ready to move out?" I asked. He slid on his helmet and gave a thumbs up. I smiled. I looked to the cockpit of the ship. "Pilot, we almost there?" I called out. "We are thirty seconds to the drop off, get ready, I'm can't see shit in the dark without my lights." he called back. I nodded and turned towards the rear hatch. I felt something bump my arm. I looked back and saw Christain handing me my helmet. I smiled and took it. I slid my helmet on and looked back at my men. They all stood ready, waiting for me to call the go. I heard the pilot begin the countdown. "We're here. Dropping in three... two...one...DROP!" I raised my hand and pulled the hatch switch. The doors opened with a loud hum. I didn't wait for my squad. I ran out of the ship and jumped. I fell for a couple seconds before my jumpkit turned on and slowed my descent. If I didn't have my jump kit, I would be a puddle of blood right about now. I took hint of my surroundings as I hit the ground. There were trees that soared into the sky which made it hard to see what was above me. The lost dropship crashed into what was called the Everfree Forest. The ponies said that a lot of dangerous wildlife roamed this area. Thankfully I already had experience with some of them, I just wasn't too posative about my men. I looked back and saw all my men already down from the ship and crouching in standby for my orders. The ship closed its doors and flew off into a different direction. I reached back and grabbed my flatline and made sure it was loaded. "Lets move" I ordered. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We jogged through the forest for about ten minutes, still no sign of the ship. I looked at my map on my hud and saw we were close. Only a mile away. I looked over my shoulder and checked if my squad was still behind me. I could see Christian and the four other grunts trying to keep pace with me. I smiled, seeing them puffing from exhaustion made me remember boot camp. I guess they could use a break. We just need to go over this hill up ahead. I stopped jogging and turned to the men. They all stopped and looked at me, some of them taking a knee to catch their breath. "We can walk from now, the ship is up over this hill." I couldn't help but chuckle as some of them sighed in relief. I turned back to the small hill that was in front of us. I began to make my way up the hill. It didn't take long for me and my team to reach the top of the hill. The hard part, was looking down. We saw the whole ship fom the top of the hill, more like what was left. The drop ship was completely on fire and was broken in half, pieces of wreckage everywhere. I began to have doubts that there were no survivors and that message was a fake. I heard movement to my left. I checked and saw Christain jogging down the hill. "Where are you going?" I asked, watching him go down the hill. "To find survivors" he responded seriously. "Christain, it might be a trap!" I called out. He ignored me and began looking through some of the wreckage. I groaned and looked at my men. I jerked my head to the crash, telling them to start looking. They nodded and ran down the hill. I stood on the hill for a moment before I relently made my way down the hill. I looked through the wreckage, using my thermal vision to see if there were any weird movements. The area became too hot and I ended up having to turn it off. The dropship was giving off to much heat for me to see anything clearly. I walked though some pieces of the ship, but that was until I heard a soft beep. It was quiet, but not quiet enough to where the crackling of the fire covered it up. I walked to where the beep was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from inside the other half of the ship, the cockpit. I walked into what was left of the cockpit. Wires and pieces of metal were scattered everywhere. A couple sparks of electricity flew out of a wire that hung from the cieling. I walked around it, making sure that the exposed wire didn't touch me. I looked at the cockpit and saw a red light blinking on the control console. I walked up to the the conole and looked at the light. I recognized the red light in basic dropship models. It showed if there was a recorded message on... a loop. I felt something cold touch my left hand. I slowly turned my head and almost jumped back at what I saw. It was the pilot... with a hole in the center of his forhead. "Shit!" I ran out of the drop ship, franticly looking for my men. I touched my com piece and got a sinal out to Christain. "Christain, it's a trap!" I hollered. "What!" he responded. I then heard the sound of a gunshot behind the ship. That is when all hell broke loose. > Attrition part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It all happened too quickly. One moment I hear Christains voice, the next I hear bullets flying everywhere. I quickly took cover in the cockpit when I saw a trail of bullets heading towards me. Thankfully I made it in before I got hit. I tried looking though one of the tiny holes that covered the ship. It was too hard for me to see anything. Smoke and the sparks from the bullets impacting the ship made it hard to see anything. It seemed like the bullets were coming from the trees. I tapped my communicator and sent a signal out to Joseph and the other ships. "Joseph, are you there! We need asistance now!" I yelled, trying to make sure that the bullets didn't cover my voice. "We read you, we'll be there in thirty seconds! Hold off for a bit!" he said. I groaned and turned off my com. I midas well take some out. I walked to the back of the ship where it tore in half. I wasn't worried about me missing my shots or anything. I knew that any bullet that left my gun would hit it's target. I was just worried about my team. I looked down my holo sight and checked where I thought the bullets were coming. I was happy to see the enemy where I expected them. They were shooting from the tree line and some were sitting high in the trees. Their usual white armor making them stick out in the forest and night. I saw a grunt reloading his rifle. I put my sights on his head. I squeezed the trigger and felt the gun kick back slighly. I saw the bullet travel through the air and hit him in the head, his braines splattering all over his comrads behind him. I continued taking out grunts. I would see a grunt reloading or looking in an opposite direction. Each one I saw I used one bullet and the bullet connected with their face. I only wondered how many the team and Christain had taken out. I heard chatter on my com. I tapped my head and listened in. "Captain, we're here. We're coming in hot, do you see us?" he called out. I looked up and, like he said, I saw two dropships coming in hot with it guns shooting everywhere. It didn't seem they knew where they were shooting at, only trying to make the drop off point clear. I saw the rest of the troops jumping and ziplining down. I also saw some of the IMC grunts shooting at my men. I was not okay with this. Not caring about the bullets shooting at me, I stepped out the ship and made my way to the rest of my men. The IMC saw me stepping out and began shooting me. I quickly reloaded my flatline so I had enough ammo to kill these fucks. I side stepped every bulled that was fired at me. I quickly switched from target to target, leaving nothing but a bloody hole through their forehead. They never stand a chance. I few seconds passed before I ran out of ammo. I saw that I took out enough to where the rest of the men were moving towards us without trouble. I could see the four ponies trying to avoid the bullets as they ran to the ship. I ran to the ponies, reloading my gun in the process. I made it to the ponies and stood close to them. Any grunt that would shoot in their general direction I would shoot them in the face. We made it to the ship, me and the men taking cover in the debree. I saw Joseph crouched behind a piece of an engine, shooting at some grunts with his costom R-101 with a laser sight. I called out to him, trying to get his attention. He ducked under cover and looked at me. "Joseph, we need some time to get the titans in! We don't know if the IMCs titans are around!" I yelled over the sounds of gunfire. He nodded. He then stood up and ran towards the gunfire. I did a double take at what he was doing. I noticed that the enemy grunts saw him. They began focusing their fire on him. I began shooting the enemy, giving him cover so he could pull off whatever the hell he was trying to do. Joseph kept running straight at the enemy, he wasn't even shooting his gun. That was until I saw him press a button on his forearm. I smiled as I figured out what he was doing. He quickly ducked behind cover, making sure he as quick enough to where they didn't see him. I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw what the grunts were shooting at. As soon as Joseph jumped, he was replaced with his hologram still running at the enemy. The grunts kept shooting at the hologram, confused at why he wasn't dying. Me and Joseph stood from our cover and began picking off one grunt after another, killing about a dozen grunts. I took my attention off the grunts and let Joseph handle the rest. I looked down at the four unicorns that were ducked under cover. They looked panicked and scared. I switched cover and crouched next to them. I got their attention by pushing them around. That got their attention since they all looked at me suprised. "We need our titans here! Can you get them here?!" I asked, yelling over the gunfire. They looked amongst each other and back at me. One of them nodded. I nodded back and told them to follow me. I made my way to the dropchips cockpit for cover. I made sure the ponies made it in before me. They stood in a circle in the ship and closed their eyes, their horns beginning to light up with energy and start the spell. "How long do you guys need!?" I asked. One of them answered, not looking up from the circle. "Only a few moments. Tell your soldier Christain to get ready. We'll drop it right in front of the fight." he said. I nodded and touched my com piece. "Christain, are you there?! I yelled. I waited for a few seconds. No response. I began to panick. Was he dead? I then heard his com speak up. "Sorry about that cap, one of the guys got hit. I had to pull him to cover. What is it?"he responded. I sighed in relief. "Get ready for Excalibur to drop in. Once he gets here, we'll need you to clear the grunts out and give us more time to get Gus in here as well." "Got it cap!" he confirmed. I then heard one of the unicorn guards speak up. "It's coming! Get ready!" he called out. The unicorns horns began to glow brightly before a loud boom blasted in the distance. I looked out the ship and saw Excalibur falling from the sky. It fell only about eight stories before it hit the ground with a loud THUMP. I touched my com piece. "Go out there and give those bastards hell!" I ordered. "With pleasure, cap!" I heard him yell. I then saw Christain run from the other side of the ship towards his titan. I saw the grunts focusing their fire on the titan. I poked my gun from the ship and gave him covering fire. I saw Christain make it to his titan and hop in. His titan stood up and looked at the enemy. He turned on his external speaker, while removing his minigun off his back. "Time for you bitches to see what an ass whoopin is like!" he yelled. He pulled the trigger on his gun and bagan firing hundreds of bullets on the enemy. > Attrition part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been told throughout my life that I was a bit hardcore. Usually when when you see one of your pals chopping through other human beings, you might feel a bit sick or uncertain that it was the right thing to do. Me on the other hand, I actually felt a bit wet from the slaughter. Watching limbs being blown off of men and seeing them run for their lives made me feel super godlike. I couldn't help but laugh. Christain was walking around in his Legion Titan, Excalibur, and blasting any IMC grunt that stood in his path. I wasn't too sure what he was thinking at the moment, but from all the laughter coming from his Titan, I could only guess he was enjoying himself. I looked back at my men and the ponies and saw them standing up. They all had expressions of joy and relief. I too was relieved that we able to push them back. A plus was that we didn't even lose a single person. I stowed my Flatline on my back and walked over to the men. As I was walking to the men, I was about to say something, then all of a sudden a loud humming sound filled the area. I looked over at Christian thinking the humming was from his mini gun, but he was way to far for the gun to be heard. I looked towards the forest while activating my thermal sight. What I saw made me turn cold. It was a IMC Titan. The outline of the chassis stood out of the forest. What was worse was that there was a huge heat source coming from its chest. I instantly knew what was coming. I turned around and yelled at my men. "GET DOWN!" I ran and shoved the ponies to the ground since they were closest to me. I then heard a loud blast come from behind me. I looked back while holding the ponies down. The titan was walking out of the forest into the open, a dark red beam emitting from its chest. I looked at where the laser was hitting and saw it was shooting at Christian. He didn't even have time to respond. The enemy ION Titan had a clean shot at his back. I watched with dread as the laser started melting pieces of armor off of Excalibur. The beam began to melt further into his back. It became too much for him and he fell down on to one knee, dropping his mini gun next to him. Only a few more moments and the laser would hit his power core and he would detonate. I wasn't going to take any more it. If Christian didn't move he would die. I stood up and grabbed a rocked launcher from one of my men that was laying on the ground. He didn't protest as I ripped it from his back. I ran towards the titan and stopped when I was about a few yards away. I aimed at the titan, waiting for the rocket to lock on. Before I was able to fire, the Titans laser suddenly stopped. I realized he noticed I was locking on to him since most titans come with a warning system. He quickly looked down at me. I didn't give him a chance to act as I pulled the trigger on the launcher. I felt a small kickback on my shoulder as the rocked shot from the launcher. I smiled as the rocked impacted the shoulder of the titan and made it stumble backwards. A few metal parts and armor pieces blasted off of the arm, sailing away to the other end of the ship. My smiled went away as the titan slowly looked back down at me. On the titans shoulder, a mechanical arm popped up with a laser beam attached to the end. My eyes went wide as the gun began to glow a hot red. I dashed to the side as quick as I could with the aid of my jump-kit. I watched the laser pass by my face as it hit the ground where I used to stand. I didn't have any time to celebrate my lucky dodge as the titans fist came at me. I dashed again but this time in the opposite direction. The fist came down and smashed the ground where I stood. I was about to run away until all of a sudden a loud bang come from behind the titan. I jumped back in shock when I saw the Titans damaged arm fly from its body. It sailed in the air for a couple second before falling to the ground next to me. I knelt to the ground and crouched behind the dismembered arm. While it was dazed, I looked behind the Titan and saw Excalibur pointing its now smoking mini-gun at the Titan it just shot. I realized he must have used a charge shot to blast the arm off. I then heard the ION Titan stand up and look at Christian. The titan focused its laser gun on Christian, completely forgetting I was right next to it. The titans laser gun glowed a bright red for only a short moment before a thick red beam shot out of it. Christian seemed to have saw this coming 'cause as soon as the beam fired, he activated his shield and blocked the shot. The laser only managed to damage the shield a small amount, a few small cracks showing on the shield indicating how damaged it was. The ION titan took no time at all to recover and quickly pulled out its splitter rifle with its other arm. Christian countered this action with another one of his charged shots. This time he aimed for the splitter rifle and shot it out of the Titans hand. I kept crouched, watching with a bit of pride as Christian counted everything the ION titan threw at him. I , however, was not expecting the titan to make its next moved. The Titan just did a whole "Fuck it " shrug and ran towards Christian. I would have never thought the Pilot would do something so dumb. Somehow, Christian was not prepared for the drastic change of tactics from the enemy. He tried stepping back, but the IMC titan was much faster. The titan reached Christian in no time and tackled him to the ground, breaking a few trees that were behind them. The titan somehow managed to get the much heavier Legion titan to fall on its back. In the act of falling, the enemy titan had managed to grab the mini-gun and toss it to the side. The two titans started fighting in a contest of strength to see who could get on top. I was surprised to see that the ION titan was actually beating Christian, using its one arm to punch and arm wrestle Christian. I was on the verge of going out to help him since he seemed like he couldn't take any more of the ferocious beating, but then the sound of another loud bang from the background stopped my train of thought. I didn't have enough time to look back at the bang since I saw the titan trying to get its chest exposed so it can drill its laser into Excalibur. The titan manage to put a foot on Excalibur's right arm while holding his left arm with the titans still functioning arm. Before I knew it I head a loud war cry coming from behind me. The voice caught me off guard since I knew who's voice it belonged to. I turned around and gaped in awe as I saw Gus with his ronin sword in his hand while running towards the titan. The enemy titan didn't even have enough time to react as Joseph took his sword and stabbed it right through the titans back. I cringed as I saw sparks and bits of metal flying from the chest and back. I could only imagine that the sword pierced through the cockpit and into the pilot. The sword had made its way through the whole titan. Christian managed to get the IONs arm and leg off of him and he kicked the titan off, making it stumble back. Joseph took no time in finishing the titan. With one quick motion, he pulled the sword up, cutting the titan clean in half. The top half of the titan now had two dangling halves on each side. Joseph apparently didn't think it was enough and thought it was a good it idea to cut the whole titan in half. He brought the sword down and cut the rest of the titan in half, making the two parts fall down with a loud 'thud'. I stared in awe as stood there with his sword in his hand like some badass that finished a cool stunt. In a way, he did. I stood up from behind the destroyed arm, looking back at the ponies and my men to make sure they were alright. I sighed in relief as I saw them stepping out of the drop ship's wreckage. I frowned slightly as I saw one of my men helping a injured soldier from underneath a wing. That must have be the injured soldier Christian was helping, I thought. I heard a loud thumping coming from behind me and I turned around. I saw Excalibur and Gus walking towards where we were stranding, but I noticed something in Gus's hand. I waited until he got closer so I could see it better. From what I could tell, it looked like that he was carrying a IMC grunt. ~~~~~~~(<<<>>>)~~~~~~~~ I stood there waiting for the grunt to speak. It had been ten minutes since Gus had found him hiding under a tree log during the titan battle. When Joseph dropped him in front of me, my first thought was to execute him for murdering my crew in the dropship. But I knew better. I needed answers. So far, he has been keeping his mouth shut. He just sat there with his cuffed hands behind his back. I knew I need to break him to get what I needed, but it would take too long and I know we've been here longer than necessary. I looked back at one of my grunts. "Order in a evac. We're done here. Notify them we have a prisoner." The grunt nodded and touched his com piece, telling the dropship to come back. I knelt down in front of the IMC grunt. I took notice of his facial features. He had a long face, a few shaven hairs on his cheeks and chin. I could tell he was bald from how he barely any sideburns. What stood out to me were his bright blue eyes. It was almost creepy how his eyes blended with his white skin perfectly. He seemed scared with how he was sweating bullets, but his hard gaze proved he wasn't going to be easy to break. I got in closer to his face, his breath misting up my lens slightly. "I'm going to have fun breaking you." I said in a almost seductive voice. I knew how to get under most men's skin. Me being a women only made it easier. What I wasn't expecting from him was a response. "I won't talk. There is no way in hell i'm going to spill to some slutty bitch like you!" he growled. He then took my moment of shock and spit in my face. I stared at him, ignoring the piece if spit trailing its way down my visor. My eyes still on him, I wiped the spit off my visor with a thumb. I couldn't help but chuckle at his determination. I stood up and looked down at him. "We'll see." I sighed. I then heard a loud zap come from above and I looked up. I saw that the dropships had warped in. I looked back at my men and the ponies. "Alright, load up and lets get out of here. You four, teleport he titans back to the castle. I don't want to be here any longer than we have to." I said as I pointed to the ponies and the titans. I was making my to the ship before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back and saw it was Christian. "Cap, there is something you need to know." he said in urgency. I frowned slightly, worried he may have bad news. "What is it?" I asked. He reached behind him and pulled out a small chip from one of his many pockets. He handed me the chip and I looked it over. It wan't that amazing. The chip was no bigger than a small candy bar. A few small wires were dangling it from it and a few other components that I didn't know were on it. To me, it seemed like a regular chip. "This," he pointed at it, "is a guardian chip". I looked down at the chip with a bit more interest. I've never seen a actual Guardian chip itself. I've just been on the other end of one. I looked back up at him. "And your point?" I asked, raising my voice slightly in irritation. "There are only a few titans that have those chips. The one we fought was one of them. Look on the back behind the black seal." I did as he said and flipped the chip over. As he said, there was a black seal covering a tiny edge of the chip. It looked to be made of some type of tape. I took the edge of the seal and tore it off. My eyes widened at what was underneath. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but now seeing that symbol, I just realized what we had just fought. The symbol was a small white P engraved into the green chip. The titan we had fought, was a ION Prime. > Interrogation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The flight back was not how had visioned it when we left to save my men. I had imagined a quick grab and leaving in less than thirty minutes. Instead I lost eight good men and we took a whole hour! Not that I hated these ponies, but they got on my nerves on how naive they could be. I basically had to drag their asses through the whole fight. It seemed like they never been in a fight. Then again, they've never been up against a titan or the IMC. I still expected more from them than to be just the guys who bring in titans. I stared down at the guardian ship in my hand, fiddling with it as I tried to make sense of the new information I had just received. It apparently belonged to the titan Christian and Joseph had killed. Apparently it was a Prime titan. I was surprised how I never noticed, especially when I was literally a few yards from it. I was actually pretty peeved when we left the crash sight, me not being able to tell the difference between the two very different types of titans made me feel stupid. Prime titans are known for their advance armor and weapons systems. They did have the same abilities as their model type, but they were much deadlier. Their AI was smarter and their systems had a sort of buff. For example, the ION titan we fought could have used his vortex shield to catch as many bullets he wanted without the stasis field dropping. The ION titan was able to fire its CORE ability faster as well, making the reason why it took no time at all to charge its ION beam. I had a few previous engagements with a couple of every model type. I've fought Legions, Ronins, IONs, Tones, Scorches, and Lonestars. I only ever fought them when the IMC were defending something important or if they needed a stronger offense. I was actually part of the recon team that found the plans to the Prime models. Thanks to my team the Militia had begun development of Prime class titans. Me knowing what type of titan we went up against, I wondered how many more the IMC have on this planet. Another question I had was why? Why were they here? My train of thought was interrupted as the ship shook slightly. I looked out the window to see that we were approaching Canterlot. I looked back to the new addition to my group when we left the crash. The IMC grunt we captured was being completely silent. I wouldn't know if he was dead unless he stopped popping his knuckles. I was fine with it at first, but after ten minutes of popping and cracking, it was starting to get on my nerves. Another soft crack filled the silent room. I groaned and walked over to him. I got down on one knee and looked him in the eye. From the way he looked up at me I could tell he was bored. "Do I need to break your fingers in order for you to stop!" I growled. He raised a brow and held up a finger. He used his other hand to bend the finger sideways a bit until an audible 'pop' filled the silence. I growled again as he continued to flip me off. I got in close, moving my mouth close to his ear. "The only reason I haven't blown your head off is because you have info I need. Once I get what I need, you will be just space I need to get rid of." I whispered softy into his ear. I backed away and smiled as I saw his eyes wide with fear. I stood up and made my way to the back of the ship. I looked out the window and saw us landing in the courtyard. Reaching up, I pulled the door lever and the back door opened with a soft hum. I didn't wait for the ship to fully land before I stepped out and fell to the grass. I looked back and saw the ship land softly in the grass, a few leaves and flowers being blown away from the engines. A moment later my men began to make their way out of the ship, the wounded solider and the IMC grunt in tow. I turned away and looked at the courtyard. I saw tents and a few crates of supplies being carried around by the rest of my crew. I smiled as I saw my men hard at work, making sure our temporary base of operations was being built. I couldn't help but let out a content sigh. "Tis amazing how well your crew works together, yes?" I heard a voice say next to me. I reacted as I usually react when someone gets the drop on me. I turned quickly, drawing my revolver and pointing it at the face of the one who snuck up next to me. I was met with a firm gaze from two giant blue eyes. I stared at the one before me in shock. I haven't really met her yet, but I was told Celestia had a sister. I just never thought that they would look almost the same except for the color pallet. Luna looked up at me unamused. I quickly realized I was pointing my gun at a Princess and stowed it. "I'm so sorry Princess. I have a really bad habit of pulling a fast one on people who sneak up on me" I said nervously. I instantly felt like I was about to get the talk of a life time since it's not everyday where you point a revolver at a pony's head. She shook her head slightly and smiled. "Nay, tis not your fault. We have been known for "sneaking up" on ponies. We like the reactions, yours was only more entertaining." she said with a bit of mirth hidden behind her serious gaze. I sighed and focused my attention on my men leading the prisoner through the camp. "I take it thine task went well?". I shook my head sadly. "No, the lost men were killed at the crash site. They were killed long before we got there. The whole thing was a trap. I feel stupid that I didn't see it coming." I fumed. I was very pissed. I have been known for predicting certain things happening because I have a knack for calling out stereotypes. I almost lost another man today, and it doesn't help that I still don't know where my other team members are. "Yes, we are sorry to hear that. At least thou has brought back all the warriors thou has taken with you. Thou has even brought a "Hooman" from the enemies side." I nodded. I then heard loud flaps coming from above. I looked up and saw the white horse goddess herself flying from one of the many towers. Celestia landed softly next to me and Luna. "Hello, Alex. I see you made it from your rescue. I hope things went well?" she asked, completely oblivious to the fact that medics were pulling the injured grunt by us. I rolled my eyes, the two not being able to see it because of my helmet. "No. As a matter of fact, we just learned a lot today about our enemy. Now we know that they have a force much greater than ours and they have advanced titans." I said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in my voice. She frowned slightly and looked down. "I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask, do you know yet of their intentions?" I shook my head. "No. All I know is they have a plan. I don't know what, but they wouldn't bring elite titans to some planet for no reason. And I'm pretty sure they weren't hunting us for the fun of it." She nodded and looked up at me. "How will we know what they are planning. You said it yourself. There is no way of knowing what they could be doing." I smiled and slid off my helmet and tucked it under my arm. "That Princess... is why I brought him." I said, pointing at the IMC grunt sitting in the center of the camp, cuffed to a large metal crate. She looked over at the grunt. She stared at the grunt for a minute, not saying anything. I couldn't really tell, but it looked like she was analyzing him. Probably curious as to what he looked like I guess. She then looked back at me. "You plan on interrogating him?" She asked. I nodded. "How?" I shrugged. "Old fashion way I guess. It may take a while, but I think I can get him to talk." Celestia then looked down in thought. She stood there in thought for a few moments before looking back up at me. "I think I have a way to help." ~~~~~~<<<<()>>>>~~~~~~~ Everyone in camp sat around the center. I asked some of the men to clear some space so we can have the interrogation in the open. Celestia wasn't sure on the idea, but I told her it was fine since we wanted the information as soon as possible. In front of the sitting grunt was a large glowing Crystal. It was easily the size of a full grown German Shepherd. Many small spikes were sticking out of it and it faded slightly as it glowed a bright yellow. I asked Celestia what the Crystal was for and she told me it was a lie detection Crystal. She also told me she enchanted it so it would make the person speak only the truth. Basically the guy couldn't lie even if he really wanted. I know we have that type of technology, but we didn't have it on us since it didn't seem like a priority to take during the evacuation. We have the three titans standing around the circle, keeping watch. He would be fucking mad if he tried to escape. Most of my crew were also watching, but some were off doing their duties or wandering the castle. Me, Celestia, and Luna stood in front of the Grunt. We looked down on him, waiting to see if her would say anything first. Breaking the ice, Celestia asked first. "What is your name soldier?" She asked. The Crystal glowed faintly, waiting for his answer. He sighed and answered. "Felix Mcnut." he said, almost ashamed. The Crystal glowed green due to his honest answer. I tried my best to hold my giggling fit. I put my hand over my mouth to try and cover the noise. I heard some of my men chuckling in the back. Celestia looked at me for a second before asking another question. "What is your purpose in the IMC?" He looked to my crew and glared. "To kill all of you Militia bastards." he growled. I stopped my laughter and glared down at him. Some of my crew glared back at him as well. We weren't surprised to the the Crystal turn green again. "What is your mission here in Equestria?" She asked, raising her voice slightly. He shrugged and looked up at her. "I don't know. I'm just some paid mercenary to kill these fucks for some money. I don't get paid enough to know that shit." I sighed, not exactly happy with the news. The Crystal glowed green. Celestia raised her brow. "Not a single thing. Not your plans, your mission, your base location?" He shook his head. "Are you deaf or something? No, I don't know. We haven't made a base yet until we saw your ship crash. We figured to find the crash and use it as bait." She nodded slightly. The Crystal glowed green. I sighed loudly, already becoming bored with how things are going. "Who is your leader, how many titans do you have?" She asked. He looked down in thought for a moment before looking up. "I'll tell, but only if you don't harm me and will let me go freely." He said. I raised a brow. Does he really think he is in any position to make demands. WE control him. He couldn't lie to us even if he wanted to. I was about to speak until Celestia spoke up first. "Very well. I promise I will not hurt you and that you will be set free." She said calmly. I looked over at Celestia in shock. She has the nerve to let him go after what he has done? He sighed and began to give us what we wanted. "His name is Jinx. We don't know his real name, but that is what we call him. He was hired by the IMC to fly with us to this planet. Him and the escort of five Prime titans were sent with us. He is a ruthless killer. He hides in the shadows and kills you when your guard is down. I haven't seen him in action yet, but the stories I've heard tell me he is one tough son-of-a-bitch." he explained. I sighed and walked towards him. He looked up at me, not sure what I was going to do. I stood next to him and pulled out my revolver. His eyes widened as I pointed it at his face. "W-wait! You sai-" I didn't let him finish as I pulled the trigger, blasting his face off and blasting pieces of brain and blood on the ground behind him. He fell to the ground with a loud 'thud'. I blew the steam coming out of the end of my revolver and stowed it. I noticed my men were completely unfazed. I then heard hoofsteps behind me. I turned around and saw a very angry Celestia. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" She practically yelled in my face. My god did she have some lungs. I felt some of my hair blow past my ears. I frowned. "YOU said you would not harm him, not me. He gave us what we wanted. He would just tell the IMC where we were. Plus he killed MY men. Its called "An eye for an eye."" I fumed. She growled and snorted. I rolled my eyes and walked towards my titan. I opened the cockpit with a touch of a button on my wrist. I jumped in and sat down, sliding my helmet on. "This is how things are Princess! I suggest you find out how much the IMC is willing to do for control. They would have done the same to us." "That doesn't mean you had to kill him!" She stomped her hoof. I closed the hatch. "Well they didn't have to kill my dad, but they did! It isn't always about being the good ones Celestia! Sometimes... it just matters on surviving." I turned around and walked away, trying my best to hold back the tears. > The lost Raptors: Two's a Crowd > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Are we there yet?' "No." "Are we there yet? "NO!" "Okay....We there yet?" "NO FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME!" Sarah screamed as loud as she could into the com channel. Laughter began to fill the silence as Sarah sat in her pilot seat, fuming with anger at the stupid joke. "HAHA! Come on! You need to lighten up! We've been marching in our titans for almost eight hours now. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood." he said, still trying to hold his laughter. Sarah rolled her eyes at Jax's antics. The pair have been marching through a dense forest for a while. When they were dropping from the ship, an explosion knocked them way off course with the landing zone. Now they were making their way through the forest to try and find a small village they saw when coming down. "As much as I hate to say it Sarah, he is right. You've been pretty silent this whole time." Sarah's titan spoke in her usual calm yet cheerful tone. Sarah just huffed and laid back in her chair. She sometimes wished her titan would back her up in these types of conversations. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm not being very talkative. I've just had a lot on my mind. I've been trying to contact the others, but all I get is static. I'm just worried." she said, trying and failing to hide the sadness in her voice. Sarah then felt something grab her titans shoulder. She turned around and saw it was Jax in his ION titan. The titan was black all over with a few parts that were covered in a green camo. "I know. I'm worried about Alex too. We'll find her and the others. Hell if we're lucky they will find us." he said, trying to lighten up the mood. Sarah shook her head and smiled. He has always been known for his jokes and trying to make everyone smile. She turned around and look towards the direction where the small town was. "Alright, lets try to get there before tomorrow. I don't want to see what this place has for us at night." The two had been marching for eleven hours now and they still haven't made it out of the forest. Jax was fine walking since he wasn't the one who was actually the one doing the work. Sarah, on-the-other-hand, was just getting more and more aggravated. She hated being so far from the team and not knowing where they could be. She let out a long groan. "UUUUUUGGGGGG, how long is this fucking forest! If we don't get out of here soon, I swear I'm going to start shooting my way through the trees!" She shouted out loud. She maneuvered her titan to walk up to a nearby tee and punch it, putting a slight dent in the wood. She heard Jax come up from behind her, trying to see what she was doing. "What did you do that for?" he asked. She looked back at him. "I am making sure we don't go in circles. I am pretty sure we are not, but this whole place is making me doubt myself." she said, trying her best to calm her temper through steady breaths. "You could've done that earlier." he remarked. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was right but not wanting to admit it. When she was looking at him, she noticed his titans eye was looking past her in the tree line. She turned around and saw what he was looking at. Just almost a mile away, they could see many pairs of eyes staring at them through the darkness. These eyes seemed cat like and were fairly big when given the thought of distance. As soon as both of them were staring at the six pairs of eyes, they started to get bigger which meant they were coming closer. Jax used his enhanced sight mod to see what they were. Using thermal sights, he could tell they were big and dangerous. The eyes belonged to three beast that looked fairly similar. Each one looked like a lion with bat wings and a scorpion tale. Jax instantly knew what the creatures were. After reading so many books in his downtime, he knew a fair amount of myths and legends. The three monsters currently moving towards them were manticores. He quickly stepped in front of Sarah and activated his shields. His unique titan had a very high issue batter that allowed him to do more actions that that of a regular ION class titan. If he wanted, he could use his primary laser to kill them all, but instead he used his secondary shoulder cannon. Aiming the laser at the nearest manticore, he waiting for them to make a move. They moved slowly, like they were analyzing the situation. He could hear their growls though his cockpit, making the room vibrate slightly. Before he knew it, the manticores were circling them. He was too busy thinking on what to do that he didn't notice they were trying to get an advantage on them. Charging the laser, he fired the beam at the closest manticore. His eyes widened when the manticore manage to dash to the side before the laser hit it. The manticore took his surprise as an opportunity to attack. The manticore charged and leaped at him, claws and teeth reaching out at him. The manticore never made it close to him. Over his shoulder, he heard the sound of a missile fly past him. He watched the missile hit the manticore directly in the face. The missile exploded on contact and blew the beasts face away, scattering brains and blood all over Jax's titan. He quickly wiped the blood off with his titans hand and turned around to see the other two manticores also blown to bits. Their bodies burning from the explosion of the missiles fired. He looked at Sarah and saw her shoulder missile cannons folding over her back. She looked at him. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was a bit annoyed. "Why did you hesitate?" she asked, anger clearly evident in her tone. He raised his hands defensively. "I was just surprised to see those things. I didn't know they existed." he said, trying his best to sound honest. She stood there staring at him. "What do you mean?" she asked. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, slightly tired form the long day and the experience they just had. "Those things were manticores. You know, the things with scorpion tales and bat wings. They're supposed to be myths. I was just surprised to see that they were real." he said. She looked away from him at the burning bodies. She stared at them for a minute before looking back at him. "We should keep moving. If these things are from myth, then I don't want to know if the other things exist as well." she said. She walked past him in the direction they were going before they were attacked. He mentally shrugged and continued to follow her. > Dinner Debate > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared at the clear, white wall. Watching the water droplets roll down the tiles as the water of the shower hit my bare back. My mind was completely blank. The heat of the shower didn't even register in my head. The only times I've ever been like this was when I needed to cool off. I always would get in the shower or somewhere solitary and just stay there, wiping my brain clean of any thought. It worked on multiple occasions. It has been a day since I executed the IMC grunt. I never felt anything when I had to kill them, but after thinking about what Celestia had said, I needed to clear my head. It reminded me too much of how my father had died. I wasn't there, but the closed casket told me enough to know they did something similar. I grabbed the shampoo that sat on a shelf in the shower. Pouring some of the yellow soap onto my hand, I began to clean my messy brown excuse for hair. It felt nice. I haven't taken a shower in a long time. Each one was a huge relief and I made sure to make as much out of them as possible. Even though I was a Captain, I had to share the showers with the crew. There wasn't a need for privacy when it came to war. I didn't mind it though. The view of the guys was a good distraction. After scrubbing my hair for a few minutes, I dipped my head under the water to rinse it off. Closing my eyes, I felt the soap mixed with the water run through my hair down the sides of my head where it fell to the floor. I stayed like that for a bit, making sure to get out all the soap. I ran my hand though my hair to double check if any soap was stuck in my hair. Moving my head from the water, I reached for a bar of soap and began to rub it, getting the soap to form the foam. I ran the soap over the areas that were most likely dirtier than others. I rubbed it under my pits, my shoulders, the undersides of my breast. I shivered slightly as the bar glided over my nipple. My thoughts somehow went to that certain area. I knew I could easily have a bit of time to myself in here, but I didn't have the time nor was I in the right mindset at the moment. I made sure to use my nails to run the soap into my dirty skin. I looked down and saw most of my body was covered in the white foam. I continued to run the soap over my body, my mind still blank as I worked. I didn't even notice I moved the bar of soap between my legs. I sighed as the bar glided over my folds. As soon as I felt it, my mind instantly woke up. I pulled my hand from my crotch and shook my head. I stood there in thought. I really shouldn't, but I haven't had any relief of any kind in days. I opened the shower curtain and looked at my watch I dumped with my clothes in the corner of the bathroom. I looked closely. The time read 3:20 pm. I knew it was right since the ponies helped us align our clocks with the time on this planet. I made a plan to do training with the pony guards at 4:00. After the ambush at the crashed ship and seeing how they performed, I thought I would take it upon myself to teach them a few things. I pulled my head back in and stared at the bar of soap in my hands. "Fuck it." I placed the bar back where it was on the shelf and ran my hand over my breast, trying to work myself up a bit. Usually when I needed relief I would ask a guy to help or even a gal if she was interested. I wasn't picky. I would get some fun out of it and they would too. We would walk away and not make a big deal out of it. Out in space, anything goes. I rubbed the sensitive nipples, moaning slightly as they became slightly harder. I slowly moved my hand down my chest to my crotch. I smiled slightly as I felt my toned stomach. I always took pride in my physique. Most of the people I layed with always said I had a sexy as hell body. I had moderate sized breast, but that didn't mean anything since they were firm yet squishy like all boobs. I took major pride in my ass and abs. All those nights working out made my body look like some form of a goddess. My ass, not too big but not too small. A nice amount of muscle but still soft to the touch. It took work being like this and like hell if i'm not gonna show it off. I moaned slightly as I made it to my lower lips. I wasn't surprised to feel the heat coming from it. I rubbed my fingers over my folds, teasing myself slightly. I continued fondling my boob as I slid my middle and index finder inside. I mashed my head against the tiled wall and moaned loudly, not bothering to hid it anymore. I didn't even realize I was this pent up. If only I had a dildo or something, then this would be much more fun. I slid my fingers in and out, slowly increasing the pace as I started squeezing my nipple again. I felt my arousal cling to my fingers, making them feel slightly sticky. I didn't care, I was in fucking heaven. However, I knew I needed more if I was going to get off. I began thinking of possible candidates to imagine them being the ones fucking me. I've been with quite a few people in my life, but only one stood out. He was the only one that actually gave me the best ruts of my life. I began thinking about Christian. I closed my eyes as I thought about him. I could feel it. I could feel his hands holding me against him as he thrusted into me with enough force to make me stumble. The only reason I didn't fall was due to him holding my hips. I felt him move one of his hands to my right boob. I moaned louder as he squeezed and fondled them. I felt him move faster and faster. At this point I was just moaning like a bitch in heat. I moved my thumb over my clit, rubbing the small nub. I threw my head back as the pleasure of the small action ran through my body. He moved his other hand down to my clit and started rubbing it as well. I screamed as I felt the tight knot in my stomach coming closer to bursting. I moved my butt back, trying to get him deeper inside me. All I felt was air. I sighed in frustration, but that didn't stop me. If anything, It made me go faster. I was so close I just needed one more thing to break the damn. I then heard him. His voice in my ear. Those words he said to me on that night. He whispered into my ear, loud enough for me to hear. "Cum for me." he said. That did it. I screamed as my orgasm washed through my body. My hips jerked in time with my release. I wasn't much of a squirter, damn did it feel like it. I sighed loudly as I came down from the intense orgasm. I lifted my head from the tile and pulled my fingers from my moist slit. I looked down at my fingers and saw the evidence of my pleasure. I split my fingers apart as saw a bridge from out of the sticky substance. I opened my mouth and sucked on them. I thought about the taste. It wasn't bad, but I've tasted better. Some girls were sweet and some were tart. My tasted that of the latter. Pulling the finger from my mouth, I looked over my body and saw there was still soap in some areas. I quickly washed it off and turned off the shower. Opening the curtain, I stepped out and instantly felt the rush of the cold air. The whole room was covered in steam and small bits of water, but it was still colder than the shower. I grabbed the towel that hung on the wall and proceeded to dry myself. I opened the door and stepped into the room they let me borrow in the castle. It wasn't much, but It had the necessities. A bed, a desk, and a dresser for my clothes. I shivered slightly as the cold air hit my skin, but it went away quickly. I didn't bother to wrap myself since I lost that feeling of privacy long ago. I just stood there drying my hair. Once my hair was dry enough I walked to the dresser and looked through the small amount of clothing I had. I had some pair of briefs and panties. Some short-shorts and a few sports bras. Somehow there was once lace bra in the pile. I don't even remember how... oh. That one time in my titan with that one guy. I grabbed one of the sports bras and slid it on. I looked through my shirts and saw some old boot-camp shirts and some military camp shirts. I grabbed the boot-camp shirt and slid it on. I slid on the briefs and the short-shorts. I walked over to the bed and fell on the soft mattress. I looked at the clock on the other side of the room. The time said 3:50. I sighed and stood back up. I went to the bathroom to retrieve my suit. Before I made it to the bathroom, There was a few quick knocks on the door. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at it. It took my a moment to realize someone wanted to see me. "Come in." I said. The door opened and in came two ponies. One of the ponies I knew, but the other was completely new. The one I knew was the one called Rarity. She smiled as she walked in. She was wearing a pair of saddle bags that were stuffed full of some type of tools. The other pony was a mare that wore a suit with glasses perched on her muzzle. The mare had a white coat with a charcoal black mane and had a image of a pencil with a clipboard on her flank. "Hello Ms. Foreman. I've come with a message from the princess. Celestia would like it if you would attend this evenings dinner with her, her sister, The Elements of Harmony, and your 'team' members." she said, almost dully. I held back a frown at her lack of respect. I looked at Rarity. "What are you doing here?" I asked her. She smiled at my question. "Well darling, I will be making sure you look presentable for the Princesses." she said in a enthusiastic tone. My eyes widened in fear. "That's not necessary. I can just wear my suit." I said. She shook er head and frowned. "Absolutely not, dear. I will not allow you to wear THAT to a royal dinner." she chastised. I shrunk back slightly. "Do I have to?" I asked, clearly not wanting to have to wear a dress. She raised her nose, almost as if she was trying to be taller than me. "Yes darling. I have already measured your friends. I just need you and we can get started." she said. I raised a brow. "How do you know how to make clothing for us?" I asked. She smiled again. "It can't be that different from ponies. Trust me darling, I am a professional. Now lets make you fabulous!" she laughed. I whimpered as she walked towards me. I sighed loudly as I walked through the castle followed by two pony guards. Rarity wanted me to wear something like a princess dress, but I told her I'd rather die than do that. She asked what I wanted and I just told her to make me look sexy. And she delivered. She made a red silk dress that showed off all my curves. The whole thing was held up by two straps that hung over my shoulders. It was convenient that I had that lace bra or else this would never work out. I wanted her to cut a slit in the dress that would show off my leg when ever I stepped. I wanted to have some fun with this whole dress up crap. After she made the dress and helped me apply some makeup, which I had no Idea what I was doing, I made my way to the dining room with the help of some guards. I decided to see if my plan would work so I walked around the field where the crew was stationed. I walked around it and made sure to walk very slowly and to move my hips with each step. It took all my willpower not to laugh as I saw some of the crew staring. I even saw one of them get a nose bleed. As soon as we left the field I burst. The guards behind me chuckled slightly at my attempt to tease my crew. The rest of the way there was uneventful. The guards only speaking to tell me which way to go. We eventually made it to the dining room where everyone else was waiting at the long table. The guards left my side and walked out of the room. As I walked to the table, I saw Christian and Joseph sitting at the table wearing some nice black and white suits. They looked pretty good. Rarity knows her stuff. Speaking of Rarity, I saw the six mares sitting next to each other at the opposite end of the table. They were all wearing dresses that looked fairly well for them. Each mare had a dress that matched their color pallet. They still looked too princess like for me. I then saw Celestia and Luna talking to one another at the center of the table. My eyes drifted over to Celestia. She somehow knew I was staring because as soon as I did, she looked away from Luna over at me. We didn't say anything, nor did we make any faces. We just stared. I kept staring as I walked over to Christian and sat beside him, making Him and Joseph on my right and left. I eventually tore my eyes off of her, but I could tell she was still staring. "What's with the dress? You trying to give the guys boners?" asked Christian. I laughed. I grabbed the napkin set on the table and folded it over my lap. I may be a soldier, but I was taught proper etiquette. "Maybe. If you wanna talk about boners, talk to the crew. They might give you better details." I joked. We sat there for a bit, talking about simple things like about this planet, what we need to do, and so on. We even ended up talking about stupid stuff like sex and old pranks. The six mares were too far to hear us, but Celestia kept glancing at us when we said something pretty vulgar. Time passed, a few wine bottles were passed around and the food eventually came. They ended up serving pasta since they probably didn't have meat. I didn't care. I would take pasta over rations any day. As I ate the pasta, I heard Celestia try to get my attention. I looked up at her with a noodle hanging out of my mouth. I slowly slurped it up and swallowed. She didn't think my joke was funny as she frowned down at me. I rolled my eyes and sat straight. "What?" I asked, turning from fun mode to bitch mode. She snorted and sat up straighter than she was before. She was trying to be dominant. "I would like to talk about your actions that transpired yesterday." she said cooly. I rolled my eyes. Took her long enough. "I told you. If I didn't do what I did, then he would most likely have told his superiors where we were. And besides, it wasn't your decision to make if he lives or not." I said. Her gaze didn't waver. "What makes your the one who decides who dies?" she asked. Our conversation started becoming louder with each remark. I noticed the mares and my friends looking at us. "I don't. Their actions determine their fate. He killed my crew, I kill him. Simple." I said. Her glare intensified. "How do you know he killed them! He could've been a soldier working to pay for his family! He may have not done anything to deserve what you did to him!" she practically yelled. I didn't back down. I stood up to match her height. "Don't pretend he's innocent! You heard him! He killed us for money! These guys are mercenaries! They don't care about others!" I yelled. She stood up from her seat. She stood only a few inches higher, but that was all she needed to look down at me with her burning pink eyes. "So what does that make you?" she asked. I stood there, staring at her. I wasn't showing any form of anger or sadness. I just stared. I slowly sat down and took a sip from my wine glass. "I'm the one who gives a damn." I said. She looked down at me. She too sat down slowly. Luna looked at her sister with a hint of fear and nervousness. I guess she never seen her sister mad. "I wan't to make something very clear, Alex. I am allowing you here because I care for the survival of your crew and my ponies. However, my ponies come first above all else. While I am letting you stay in my castle, you will live under my rules. I will allow you to fight you enemy and I will aid you, but I will not tolerate you jeopardizing a chance at peace. AM. I. CLEAR." she said, not holding back the venom in her tone. I nodded. She looked away and continued to eat her meal. Before she could take a bit of the pasta, I stopped her. "I will agree to this Celestia, however my priorities are the same as yours but for my crew. I will help them to learn how to survive, but If it comes to you or my crew. I won't even blink." I said. She looked down at me, her face passive. "Plus", I added, "people like you have tried for peace. They're dead now. So I wouldn't hold my breath. > Training On The Frontier: part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I walked along the long line of ponies, looking at each of their features and figure. They all were fairly muscled, each had the look of devotion and the bravery of all good soldiers. There were a few in the line that I saw break stance. Casting me a nervous glance or a slight shift on their hooves. I could tell they were going to be the ones who are either special, or who will be left behind. In my time with the Militia, I have seen plenty of newcomers. People join the cause every day which means I've seen my fair share of the different types of people. Usually the ones who had lost something were the ones who would fight the hardest. Those who joined out of a bet or to get girls would be shot as soon as they came planet side. To me, the ponies seem too nice and soft too actually be intimidating. I know looks aren't that important, but still, they're ponies. A species used for labor and taking shits. Horns and wings can only do so much to improve their ways of defense. I wouldn't need to train these guys if I knew we didn't need help. Fierce or not, I need as much support as I can get. The line itself had about 26 ponies. Half stallions, half mares. Each had unique colors and patterns. There were a few more horn-heads than pigeons, but I wasn't going to complain with what I had since they were volunteers. I was halfway through the line when I saw a unicorn stallion up ahead look at me. This wasn't the "Damn she's scary look". This was more of "Those tits are hot and i wish I can shove my face in them" look. He noticed I saw him staring and quickly looked forward. I calmly walked over to him, making sure not to alert him of my presence. When I made it to him, I stood facing down the line, keeping my eyes forward. I could tell he was nervous as he shifted slightly again. I looked over at Christian and Joseph to make sure they had a nice view. They were standing a few meters away, watching from the distance so they won't get in my way. I winked at them and they both smiled evilly. I turned towards the stallion and looked down at him. He didn't look up at me, he just kept staring forward. These ponies were only about 5' 5''. He was a little bit taller than the others. Given that information, since I was standing fight in front of him, there was only one thing he could look at. My tits. I laughed internally like a mad person when I saw him start to sweat. "Something catch your eye soldier?" I asked him. He looked down and tried to hid the red blush forming on his face. "N-no, Sir." he stuttered. Liar Liar balls on fire, I thought. "Did I say you can break posture! LOOK FORWARD RUNT!" I yelled in his face. He winced to the volume of my voice. Pony ears are sensitive. Makes sense. He looked forward at my breast. I had decided that I wanted to be comfortable today. I was told it would be hot so I wore some shorts, a loose workout shirt and a sports bra. The fun things about sports bra's was that they gave off a good view of cleavage. The only thing I don't get was why he was staring. These ponies didn't have tits. I had no idea why he was staring since I have nothing that would be attracting to him. I looked at his features, making a mental note to keep an eye out for him. He had a white coat with a yellow and red striped mane. His eyes were a soft orange. I looked behind him and saw his mark was a flaming sword. I looked away from his ass and looked at his eyes. He was still sweating and I could see his blush through his white coat. I thought of the ways to punish him. I could make him do a bunch of drills and tire his ass out... but I had a better idea. First I needed to find out what his kinks were. "What's your name runt?" I asked. He raised a hoof to his head, saluting and replying in military form. "Private Heat Blade, Sir!" he responded loud and clearly. I was a bit surprised to find out he was a private. Celestia said the volunteers varied in rank. I guess having a private is good since they can start fresh. But then again, I would prefer obedient troops who knows what's right and wrong. "Is there a reason you were staring at me just now?" I asked, raising my tone slightly. His eyes turned to pinpricks when I asked the question. He knew he had to answer. There was no way out. What he said next caught me off guard. "I-I like your udder S-Sir." he said meekly. I stared at him as I felt a slight blush form on my cheeks. I looked over and saw Christian and Joseph biting their lips, trying their best to not burst out laughing. I have been called many things. People always said I had a nice pair whenever they had the chance to see them. Never if my life has said to me they like my udders. I didn't know what to feel. Should I feel flattered that a pony has interest in me? Should I be mad he is looking at me that way? Does this guy even know the difference between udders and breast. I rolled my eyes and turned around, walking away from him and the line. I didn't need to say anything. Not because I was mad, but because I was afraid he might see my blush or think I like him back. If these ponies are anatomically correct, I wasn't interested in having myself split in half. We were standing behind a firing range my crew had set up. It wasn't used a lot since we had to save resources, but I decided we should educate the ponies in how we do things. I turned around and faced the line of ponies. They all looked at me, waiting for orders. Heat Blade stood there red like a tomato. He avoided my eyes. I reached behind me and pulled out a handgun. It was a P2015, a small handgun used by most of the crew. Each member had at least one of these thing. I held in above me, making sure the ponies had a good view. "This here is the P2015. It holds a 11 round mag of .45 caliber bullets. This thing is small, but it is always good to have one on your side. In order to use this weapon, you must first take the loaded clip and slid into the bottom of the gun." I slowly went through the motions so they didn't miss anything. "Next you will pull back the slide, cocking the gun and loading a bullet into the chamber. Once the bullet is inside you will be ready to aim. For safety precautions we have a safety on the side of the gun. Click it so the dot is red and you will be able to fire." I clicked the safety and showed them the little green light turning red. I turned around and pointed the gun at the dummies put up by the ponies and my crew. They were made to look like humans, but they had small pieces of pony armor on them so we could identify where we shot them. "The gun has a little kick, so make sure to hold it with a firm grip. Aim the weapon, and when ready, fire." I said as I pulled the trigger. The gun kicked back slightly as the bullet left the chamber. The sound from the gun wasn't very loud since we were outside. I smiled as I saw the bullet hit the head of the dummy I aimed at. I decided to show off my skills and continued firing. The setup in front of me had many guns to chose from. There was the wingman, the AAP15, the R201, and the CAR smg. I would fire all the rounds from the gun, slide out the mag, quickly put in a new one, and continue firing. I moved from the pistol to the AAP15 fully automatic pistol. Even with the full auto, I was able to pull off headshots on all the dummies. I switched out the pistol for the CAR. As I loaded in the clip into the gun, I took a quick peak at Christian and Joseph. They both stared in interest. They always said they wanted to see how I spend my free time. Now they were getting quick glimpse what I do in my daily routine. I finished off the mag of the CAR and put the gun down. I looked at the dummies and saw each one had a burning hole where the head should be. Turning back to the ponies, I kept my face neutral. "Lineup and grab a pistol. You will start soft and easy and work up aim to the more difficult weapons." I said. They all saluted and walked over to the guns. I stood to the side and observed them shooting. It would take time for them to come even close to what I need them to be, but I needed their help. As much as I wanted to leave and ditch these ponies, I knew I couldn't leave them to the fate of the IMC. And now one of the ponies shot themselves. > Training On The Frontier: part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was mad. I was mad that I was so careless. I should have known that a damn pony wouldn't know the basic safety rules of gun handling. I just showed them how to shoot one, I never showed them how to be safe with one. When the Pegasus mare shot herself while trying to hold the gun, all the ponies started freaking out and running from the guns as if they would create legs and start walking and shooting everyone. Things like this have happened before, where a private or a person handles the gun wrong and it fires randomly. Plenty of injuries have happened due to incorrect gun use. But hearing the pony cry out in agony, I couldn't help but feel guilty. To make it worse, the Princess caught wind of what happened and went straight to me about it. She chewed me out for a whole hour. Christian and Joseph tried to support me since they were there, but I stopped them. I didn't need their help since I knew it was my fault. The pony was fine, but she will be out of combat for a while. I was told the bullet went through her leg. We were the only ones who knew how to treat bullet wounds, but we didn't know their anatomy. Thank god one of the grunts used to be a rancher and has experience with horses. He was able to heal her up and make sure the wound did nothing too severe. The only reason Celestia didn't outright disintegrate me was that it was an accident. I took more time teaching the other ponies how to shoot and how to be safe with the gun. The unicorns had no trouble firing them since they just used magic, but the Pegasus and Earth Ponies were a different story. We had to find a way the the Pegasus had to hold the gun with their hoofs and fire with their wings. It took away their ability to fly and shoot, but they can switch between the two pretty quickly. The earth ponies could hold the gun, but they couldn't shoot them. I had to find a way for them to useful on the battlefield. Today I was teaching them the use of explosives, Anti-Titan weaponry and how well magic works on titans. I was a bit afraid that they might blow themselves up, so I decided I would show them how to use the weapons and not let them fire them. We only had basic anti-titan weaponry. We had rocket launchers and grenade launchers. I had the ponies line up again. I decided I would wear my suit and armor since I didn't want any accidents happening to me. Also I didn't want that pony ogling my chest as I worked. It was fairly simple. I loaded a rocket into the launcher and showed them every step needed. I had Christian show them how to use the grenade launcher. They asked a few questions like, "How do you hold it properly?", or, " What kind of blast does it have?" I didn't lets them test it on any targets since we only had so many rockets and grenades. The time had come for me to see how their magic would work on our titans hull and shields. I had asked them to use only the basic spells, but I only hoped nothing like yesterday will happen again. I in sat in the cockpit of my titan, waiting for the blue unicorn to light his horn and fire away. I volunteered myself to be the target. I would've preferred Sarah and her Tone titan to do this, but she isn't here. Thinking about where she might be makes me worry too much. If she were here, she would tell me to shut up and take it like a women. Bitch is too damn stubborn for her own good. I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt the cockpit shake suddenly. It wasn't strong enough to pull me from my chair, but it did make a couple of my trolls on my dashboard fall over. I looked down and saw the blue unicorn standing there with his horn smoking slightly. Taking my eyes off him for a moment, I glanced down at my titan's condition. The shield only took about 45 percent damage. He didn't damage the hull, but he did disable my vortex shield. I guess he aimed at my left arm. I reached over and flipped on my external speaker. "So you managed to do a good bit of damage to my shield. You also managed to disable my left arm's defense system." I said. I reached for my controls and attempted to move my left titan's arm. I was surprised to see that it didn't respond. That spell he used somehow fried my left arm completely. I swear if that little grape broke my titan- "You all right Cap!" I heard Christian call out. He wanted to stay a safe distance so he hung out near the edge of the testing ground, but I guess he ran over when he saw something wasn't right. "Yea, the little guy totally fucked up my left arm. It isn't responding. We're gonna need engineers to fix her." I said, still slightly pissed off. I reached up and pulled the hatch lever. The doors to my cockpit opened slightly slower than usual. This only added to my annoyance. I hopped down and looked at my titan. She didn't have any scratches on her, but there were a few loose sparks that came from the left shoulder. I looked down to the pony who shot my titan. "What spell did you use and how much power?" I asked with a collected tone. I was mad, but I knew it wasn't his fault. "I used a basic attack spell. I added a bit of arc magic since my special skill is lightning spells. I am surprised that it did that much damage though." he said. I nodded. The arc in his spell would damage my shield, but somehow it went through it and damaged my titan. Usually the shield absorbs the damaged, but it went through like a bullet tearing through a shirt. At least he didn't use anything too powerful or else my titan would have gotten damaged even more. I couldn't help but let out a sad sigh as the mechanics ran over to my titan and began examining it. I felt Christian but a hand on my shoulder. I looked over and saw him give me a comforting smile. I couldn't help but smile back. I then felt the blue pony tap me on my thigh. I looked down and saw him looking down with his ears pointed down. Cute. "I'm really sorry about messing up your titan Ma'am. I hope there is a way I could make it up to you." he said solemnly. I raised my brow and looked at Christian for help. He just shrugged and looked down at the pony. The pony still had his ears down in an adorable way. Me being the girl I claim not to be, I smiled and petted his mane. He froze and sat there while i petted his cute white mane. "I think I know a way you can pay me back." I said happily. He looked up with fear in his eyes. I lowered my self till I was at eye level with him. My smiled grew wider to the point where I looked like some damn psycho. "Know any bars around?" I asked. His pupils turned to pinpricks. > "Just One More" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I burped slightly as lowered my drink from my lips. Taking my attention from my beer, I looked around and saw some of my men laughing and drinking with the ponies. There was even a little band playing a neat song in the background. After the testing with magic I asked the blue pony to take us out for drinks. He was afraid he would have to pay for me and my crew, but I just told him he had to pay for me, Christian, and him. Before we set out for drinks I told Celestia where we were going. She was skeptical at first, but after I told her that one of her ponies messed up my titan she understood completely. She just told me not to go too overboard. I just laughed and walked off. I also ran into the elements on my way out. They said they were leaving and they all gave their respected goodbyes. Rarity, on the other hand, told me she had a surprise for me in my room. When I went to go investigate, I was surprised to see a bunch of clothes in my room. She had somehow managed to make a bunch of t-shirts, jeans, and underwear. She even made a couple of bras! The note next to the clothes said she was more than happy to make them after seeing the limited stock of wardrobe I had. I didn't mind at all. I was just happy I could enjoy myself in some regular clothes. When I left the castle in my new blue jeans and grey t-shirt I met up with the pony and Christian. He also had new clothes which I could only guess came from Rarity He also wore his signature brown, leather jacket. The three of us walked to the nearby bar called "The Stalls". We ordered our drinks and sat at the center of the bar at a high table. I looked over and saw Christian and Lightning Flash bring over a new round of beers. So far this is my third cup. If I learned anything, never say no to free drinks. Taking the new mug, I brought it to my lips and took a long sip. For some reason these ponies managed to make a beer that taste better than anything I've ever had, and I've had a lot of beers. Christian and Flash sat in their stools and took a sip from their drinks. I figured I'd make some small talk before I get too drunk. "So, Flash, what's your story in this world?" I asked curiously. He sat there for a second in thought. He then looked up and spoke. "Not much to tell. I'm just your typical guard who signed up to be of service and have a steady paycheck." he said simply. I wasn't buying it. No one has a regular story when joining the army. "You say that, but I'm feeling you're hiding something from us." I said. He looked down nervously. Christian seemed interested in the conversation and leaned in to hear what we were saying. Flash sat there not speaking. I looked over at Christian to give him a hand. He rolled his eyes and tapped him on the shoulder. Flash looked up at him. "C'mon dude. There is nothing to be ashamed of. We all have our secrets and stuff we don't like to share, but it is better to get stuff off your chest before it bottles up inside." he explained. As he said this I finished my third mug of beer. I called a waiter over for more. "Well what secrets do you have then, huh?" Flashed asked smugly. Christian looked down at the pony then shrugged. "Alright, if it makes your balls appear then I'll share first." he said. He shifted in his chair to get more comfortable. I just stared in curiosity as I drank my fourth beer while holding the table so i don't lose balance. "I was born into a farm life. My folks were harsh but fair. They told me to not let anything stop my from what I want in life. I lived with them for 15 years before the IMC came to our world. Damned bastards completely wiped out our house and farm. We were captured and tortured for information. We told them we didn't know anything but they didn't care too much. I stayed with them as a prisoner for 3 goddamn years before the Militia came and freed us. I thought we would finally have a normal life, but my folks died in the escape. After that I joined the Militia to stop the IMC from doing that to anyone else in the system. I just started out as a grunt, but over time i got experience and made friends. I've lost a lot of them, but a few are still kicking to this day. Now when I was offered a chance to be a pilot, I said "why not?". Another couple of years passed by and I got my first titan, Ex-7251. We did a lot of missions together before I met Alex here." he said. I stopped when he heard my name. I pulled my 6th beer from my lips. He chuckled slightly when he saw me. I guess I was making a weird face cause I had no idea what he was laughing at. He then continued telling his story. "She actually approached me about a team she was forming. Said it was something that would change the war. 'Cause she seemed cool at the time and I had nothing better to do, I said yes. Little did I know the crazy shit me and her would do. A few others joined the team and we named ourselves The Raptors. We could pull off high stakes missions like it was a fucking simulation. It was only recently when we decided to slow things down and take a break from the fighting. Now here we are drinking with colorful talking ponies." he said while holding his laughter. I couldn't help but laugh as well. It wasn't THAT funny, but I didn't really care. Drunk me do what drunk me wants. Flash sat there stunned that the man beside him told his whole story right there in the middle of the bar. No one around heard us nor cared, but he was still impressed. Christian looked up at him expectantly. The pony sighed and started talking. "I was born in Canterlot as an orphan. I was there since I was a baby but I was lucky enough where a unicorn mare and stallion took me in. They weren't rich, but they had enough to support me. All they wanted was for me to be happy, but I never really cared about that. I just wanted money to live and food to eat, nothing more. When I grew old enough to leave the house I looked for jobs everywhere. Unfortunately no one wanted me. I somehow made my way to enlist into the army and became a guard. I was okay with living in the barracks and having food put in front of me. The paycheck wasn't so bad either." he said with little emotion. Christian and I stared at the pony in confusion. Did this fucking guy not give a damn about anything? "So far the guard has been okay, but nothing crazy has happened yet. I thought I could at least fight some bad guys or stuff, but so far it's just been walking through hallways or standing in hallways. I've given it a bit of thought, but I am probably gonna quite soon and just rent a apartment with the money I got." he said. I gripped my 7th mug tightly. I don't know why, but I was mad at this asshole. This pony in front of me had no goals in life nor does he care much of anything. He joined because he needed a job and some food. I've seen a lot of people join and leave the Militia, but none have ever given something as pathetic as that as their reason. I didn't even stop myself from speaking. "You're full of shit" I said coldly. He looked at me, a frown adorning his face. Christian looked at me with a surprised look on his face. I just ignored him and stared at the ball-less pony that sat across from me. "Oh, and what makes you any better. So far all you've done tonight is drink like a whore and take my bits. I doubt you know anything!" he yelled in my face. His remark was heard over the bar and everyone stopped talking and drinking and stared at us. I felt my eye twitch and my fingers grip the mug tightly. "What was that runt?" I seethed with as much venom I could bring despite my drunken mind. He smiled smugly. I saw Christian waving his hands to the pony out of the corner of my eye, but I just ignored him. "Yea, I bet you've never even done anything important in your life. I bet you just joined so you can fuck all the guys you want and look badass. I doubt you even have the guts to give up anything for anyone!" he yelled confidently. At this point I had dropped the mug and was clenching fist so hard my fingers were turning white. I stood up and kicked my chair from behind me. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT I HAVE GIVEN FOR THE MILITIA! I HAVE MADE DECISIONS THAT HAS COST HUNDREDS OF LIVES! I HAVE KILLED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ON DOZENS OF WORLDS! I GAVE UP THE ONLY TWO THINGS I LOVE IN THIS WORLD! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT i HAVE FUCKING SACRIFICED!!!" I hollered. The pony lit his horn up and was ready to fire a spell at me. Before he could I reached over and grabbed it. I pulled him over the table and lifted him over me. I yelled as I slammed him on the table. He cried out in pain as he crashed through the table and broke it to pieces. He tried to stand up but I was already on top of him. I didn't hold back. I just started punching. I hated him. I hated his stupid face, his stupid mane, his stupid fur, his stupid ignorance. I watched his face become purple and swollen with every punch in landed on his face. I didn't even notice Christian come behind me and pull me off. I struggled to get out of his arms, but he had a hard grip on me. "Let me Go! Just one more! Just one more punch!" I yelled. He moved his arms from around my sides and put me in a headlock. I tried to pry him off, but he already had it sunk in. I could feel myself becoming lightheaded as he held me. He whispered in my ear to calm down. I don't know why, but his words made my body stop fighting and give in. Once he sensed I wouldn't struggle anymore he released me. I fell to the ground coughing from my lack of breath. It took only a few seconds for me to regain my breath. I looked over at Flash and saw him passed out on the broken table. I didn't feel any guilt as I saw his bruised face and gashes on his face. I felt christian pull me up and put my arm over his shoulder. He pulled me out of the bar while everyone stared. I just looked forwards and walked with Christian. > Sacrifices > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I groaned as Christian carried me into my room. I was beginning to feel the after effects of those awesome beers. It was only when we made it into the castle did I start feeling loopy. Good thing my knight in shining armor was there to get me to my room without me swallowing my tongue. He carried me to my bed bridal style and place me on my bed. He stood up and cracked his back. I watched him remove his jacket and place it on the bed. He went into the bathroom and I heard him peeing. I just rolled over and looked at the swirling fan, thinking about what happened at the bar. I was still mad at the little fucker, but I had calmed down a lot since then. I heard Christian walk out of the bathroom while zipping up his pants. My eyes were glued to his crotch. "I'm gonna head out. I think you should take a shower. You smell like blood and beer." he said. He went to grab his jacket but I stopped him. He looked at me, and I him. I blushed slightly as I looked at the shower. "Um, I might be too drunk to shower on my own. Do you think you can help me a bit. Just to make sure I don't fall over." I said quickly. He stared down at me then shrugged. He then walked to the bathroom and I heard the shower turn on. I looked at the ceiling again and quickly prayed I don't fuck this up. I stood up and walked into the shower room. I walked in seeing Christian already with his shirt off. I stared at the many different scars that covered his body and the many different muscles he had. He noticed me staring and I quickly looked away. I brought my hands down and pulled my shirt over my head. I didn't need to look, but I could tell he was staring as well. I reached back and unclasped the bra, letting it fall from my shoulders. I felt the warmth of the steam run over my bare nipples. I took a deep breath and unbuttoned my pants. For some reason I was nervous. I've fucked him and many others before, why did this feel different? I pulled my jeans down, exposing my white panties. I stepped out of the jeans and grabbed the hem of the panties. I slowly pulled them down and stepped out of them. I tossed them in the corner with my other clothes. I took another deep breath and turned around. My eyes widened when I saw Christian in all his glory. I was still surprised to see all the small scars covering him and how much muscle he had developed. He had always been fit, but it seems he's been working out a bit more. My eyes trailed down his body till I reached his crotch. I stared at his semi with a bit of hunger. "Your body is unbelievably sexy." he said out loud. I laughed when he said this. He was always a bit blunt with this kinda thing, but I didn't mind. "Not too bad yourself. I see you gone and beefed up a bit." I replied. He nodded, still a bit embarrassed about the comment he said. I pulled my hair to the side and stepped in the shower. I am happy the shower is a good size. Ponies are longer than us, so they would need space to stand. This gave us plenty of room to stand next to each other side by side. He stepped in after me and closed the curtain. We both looked at each other. I had to look up at him since he was a good few inches above me despite me being six feet tall. The hot water ran down his back and a few drops were landing in my hair. Before I knew it I had my back towards him and he was running shampoo through my hair. I relaxed as his hands ran through my hair. Anytime he hit a knot he would stop and and untangle it before moving on. We stayed like that for a few minutes, him running his hands through my brown hair and making sure to rub the soap into my scalp. I had grabbed the bar of soap and begun covering my body in the white foam. When I felt him stop cleaning my hair he moved out of the way so the water would hit my head. I ran my hands though it to get out all the soap. As I ran my hands though my hair, Christian thought it was a good idea to tease me. He reached under my arms and began to message my tits. I moaned as he kneaded them and rolled my nipples through his fingers. I turned around and pushed him into the wall. He looked down at me with a smirk on his face. I returned his smirk with mine. I let the water wash away the soap before I continued. Once the soap was gone I began to play my game. I reached down and cupped his balls. He moaned when I rubbed the little organs in my hand. I began to kiss my way down his body, biting slightly in different areas. Once I finally made it to his crotch, I eyed his cock hungrily. I grasped his semi hard erection with my left hand while I continued to message his balls with my right. I slowly pumped his shaft while on my knees. I was happy the water wasn't hitting my face right now or else this wouldn't be as enjoyable. It only took a few strokes and some good fondling to get him nice and hard. I stared at his member and licked my lips. Been a while since I had a good little snack. 'Bout time I got some. I pulled his tip to my lips and I opened my mouth. I looked up at him and waited for him to look down at me. As soon as he looked down at me, I took the head of his member into my mouth. He sighed as I sucked on his tip, using my tongue to lick any drops of pre. I continued to pump his shaft while kneading his nice sized balls. I pulled his tip from my mouth and began licking from the base to the tip. He moaned louder as I continued to pleasure him. I swirled my tongue over his tip and gave it a small kiss. I then lifted his member and took on of his balls in my mouth. He gasped and brought a hand down to my head. I chuckled as I licked and swirled the little egg in my mouth. The taste was a bit musky, but I didn't mind. His expressions were all worth it. As I switched to his other testicle, I began to pump faster and faster. "Fucking Christ Alex!" he gasped. I smiled in victory. I guessed I teased him enough. I let go of his ball, but not before giving it a final kiss. I brought his member down and swallowed half of his cock. He threw his head back and groaned. He had a good 8 inches on him. From what other guys I've been with, he was one of the better sizes. I sucked and pumped his cock in a steady rhythm. I even went back to fondling his balls. I knew he had a thing for ball worship, so I thought why not. I could feel his pulse through his veins as i sucked him off. I could feel him become harder and his tip began to swell. I wanted to take it as a home run, so I let go of his balls and shaft and held onto his hips. I took a deep breath and took him all the way in. I gagged slightly as he hit the back of my throat. He groaned and held on to my head as he came. I moaned as I felt his hot, warm seed flow down my throat and into my stomach. He gave off a few final thrust as he came down from his orgasm. When he let go of my head I slowly pulled of of his member. I gave it a few final sucks and licks before pulling off. I gave his tip one last little kiss before pulling away. I smiled as I saw Christian pant softly. I reached down and began to rub my clit gently. "It's been forever since I got a blow job. Especially from you." he chuckled. I just winked and stood up. "Yea, I don't give those away too often. When I do them, I make sure to go all out." I said. He laughed. "Ha! Yea no kidding." he said. He then grabbed me and twisted me around. It was too late. I only had one chance to escape, now I had lost it. Now I was prey to his tickles. I screamed my ass off as he tickled my sides and neck. The jackass learned this one on our first fuck when he was fucking me from behind and grabbed my sides. I giggled like a little girl and on that day he learned I was ticklish. He continued to tickle me to the point I was almost crying. I begged him to stop, and thank god he listened. He stopped and held me close to him. I felt his deflated member press against by butt. He ran his hands over my body. He mostly focused on my tits, but he held me close which felt nice. His right hand eventually drifted down to my stomach. He rubbed it softly, as if something was there. My eyes drifted over to his. I saw him looking down at my belly. I sighed sadly, knowing what he was thinking about. "Are you sure you're not mad I did it?" I asked. He broke out of his trance and looked at me. He shook his head, but continues to rub my belly. "I told you before it wasn't your fault and I didn't mind. The choice was yours and yours alone. I had nothing to do with it." he said sadly. I looked down at his hand and placed mine over his. "It was your choice. You had every right to tell me if you wanted it. I know you wanted to be a father when you left the Militia, but you didn't have to say no. I would have gone through with it." I said. He shook his head again. "No, it was my fault I got you pregnant with my child. When you told me you were pregnant I was afraid you were gonna be mad at me. It was your choice to terminate and to make sure it doesn't happen again." he said sadly. I close my eyes as I remembered the day they told my I was pregnant with Christians child. I remember being so happy but so afraid at the same time. When I told Christian he would not stop apologizing. I asked him what he wanted to do, but he said it was my right and choice. Out of fear I terminated my baby. My child. I didn't want to feel that emptiness again so I asked them to make sure I don't feel that way anymore. Now I can't have kids no matter how much I try. It was a choice I have to live with for the rest of my life. I didn't want my kid to be in the way of this war. Once I am done fighting I will go back home and raise that kid I wanted when I was little. Maybe even Christian will help. I wiped my eyes of the tears that were beginning to form. I turned around and faced him. He stared down at me with sadness in his eyes. I took my hands and placed them on the side of his face. I pulled him down and kissed him. It wasn't hard or lustful, but just a simple peck on the lips. I pulled away and looked at him. His sad eyes were now replaced with hope. I smiled and he smiled back. I don't know what came over me, but I pulled him in again and kissed him. I moaned into the kiss and I felt his hands travel down my sides to my waist. His hand traveled lower and he squeezed my ass. I moaned louder into the kiss. He reached down to my thighs and lifted me up. He swirled me around and pressed my back against the cold, wet tile. I felt his member poke the inside of my thigh. I broke the kiss and looked down. He looked down as well and we both stared at his now alive and hungry cock. He reached down and aimed it to my now hot and needy cunt. I bit my lip as he pressed his tip to my slit. I looked at him and he looked at me. He waited for me to give the all go. I just nodded, and that was all he needed. He slowly pushed his member into my folds. I gasped as he made his way inside me. I placed my head on his shoulder as he went deeper and deeper. He gave on final thrust and he finally bottomed out. I moaned as I felt his hot member pulse slightly inside me. He stood there to let me adjust to his size. He didn't need to, but it was nice of him to think about me. I nodded and he began to pull out. I moaned louder as he pulled out all the way to the tip before pushing back in. He repeated the motion faster and faster with each thrust. It wasn't long until he was pounding me into the wall. I cried out in pleasure as he thrusted into me without slowing down. I could hear the soft wet slaps of our little rut as he both moaned in pleasure. He began to slow down slightly, but his thrust became more powerful and precise. His grunts became louder and louder until he finally burst. He growled into my ear as he shot his hot, virile load into my useless womb. I could feel the warmth of his seed fill my insides. He gave one final thrust as he dumped his essence into me. We both panted as we tried to slow our breathing. We looked at each other once more and kissed. > Memories [Edited] > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alexandra, can you bring your sister over here please." my dad asked. I looked up from my doll and looked at the kitchen where he was putting plates on the table. I groaned and stood up, not happy with having to stop my play time. I put my doll down and walked over to the crib in the corner of the room. I looked in the crib and saw it. It stared back at me with wonder in its eyes. I just frowned at it. I didn't like it. It was so loud all the time and it was too much work for me and daddy. It took mom away from us. It reached its little arms out to me and cooed. I rolled my eyes and reached down to grab it. I was surprised to feel how heavy it was. It wasn't this heavy the other day. It must have gotten fatter over night. I carried it in my arms over to the kitchen. I saw my dad look at us and smile. He walked to me and pick up Alicia. It smiled as dad picked her up and put her in a seat. I ignored them both and walked to my seat where a plate with food was sitting in front it. I sat down and picked up my fork. My heart sunk when I saw what he made. It was just some potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I saw dad sit down and pick up Alicia's spoon as he fed her. He made weird faces as he tried to get her to eat. He even made train sounds. It looked dumb. It was dumb to enjoy stuff like that. I stabbed a brussels sprout and put in my mouth. I stared at dad and Alicia as I chewed the green vegetable. I saw something missing out of the corner of my eye. I looked down and saw Dad didn't have a plate in front of him. This made me begin to worry. "Hey, Dad, why don't you have a plate?" I asked. When he heard this he stopped. His eyes just became tired and sad. He then shook his head and smiled down at me. "Well the rations delivery is a bit late so they only gave us so much. I don't want to waste any since I ate today." he said simply. I just stared at his blue eyes. I knew he was lying, but I didn't want to hurt him. He thinks I don't know what is happening, but I know. The fighting has made things harder for us. When Mom left, we had to rely on the soldiers to give us food. Mommy was a nurse and helped people. She always told us to be happy, but its hard nowadays. I looked away and kept eating my food. 5 Years Later I stared at the board game in front of me. So far I was winning. Alicia only had a few pawns and a rook. I, on the other hand, had my queen, pawns, and rooks. I waited for the 7 year old in front of me to make a move. She sat there in one of dad's old shirts. It covered most if not all over her body. Her blue eyes scanned the board, thinking of a way to get out of the check I put her in. Her eyes then lit up in excitement. She reached over and moved her pawn to take my queen. She laughed in joy knowing she took my queen. I just shook my head in disappointment. I was hoping she would be smarter than that. I grabbed my rook and moved it up a few spaces, putting her in a check mate. Her joy faded quickly when she realized she just lost. I could see tears beginning to form on the edge of her eyes. "Don't start crying cause you lost. Take this as a lesson on how to become better." I said. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "B-but how did you win? I took your queen. Why would you sacrifice it like that?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly. I just shook my head and stood up, dusting off my shorts. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice important things in order to move forward and win." I said. I head muffled footsteps come from Dad's room. I looked over and saw him walk out in a Militia uniform. The sight almost made my eyes water.... almost. He wore a green suit with a few patches on it. He went into boot camp a year ago, but I didn't think he would actually go through with it. He didn't want to fight, but it was the only way he could protect us and give us a home. The Militia have a policy to assist families who have a loved one join. We were losing food and time, so he joined them to give us more. "What's wrong Hun? I thought I looked good in this thing." he joked. I just smiled and went to hug him. I placed my head on his chest as he held me. I hummed as he ran a hand over my back. I felt him kiss my head. That only made me embrace him harder. "I wish you didn't have to leave today." I said out loud. He chuckled. "You know Birthday wishes don't work if you say them out loud." he said softly. I just ignored him and kept hugging him. I heard Alice come up from behind me and hug us both. I didn't look down at her. Dad did, however. He let me go and knelt in front of Alicia. He wiped away the tears that were running down her face with his sleeve. "Hey there lady bug. What you all sad about?" he asked as if he didn't know the answer. She just sniffed and looked down. "I don't want you to leave us." she cried. He just sighed and pulled her into a hug. I just stood there and stared. "You don't have to worry about anything. Your sister is sixteen now, so she can totally take care of you. She is a big girl, so she will protect you, okay?" he said. She nodded and let him go. He stood up and looked at me. His face became serious and his eyes transformed into a man of worry and sternness. "You will protect her, right? Promise me you will protect your sister." he pleaded. I just stood there and nodded. He shook his head and gabbed my shoulders. "Promise me. Tell me you will do anything you can to keep her safe. Tell me you will both be alright." he said on the verge of tears. I pulled his hands from my shoulders and looked at him straight in the eyes. "I promise I will protect her and keep us both safe." I said. He sighed and I could see a weight lift off of his shoulders. I then heard a honk come from outside. We both knew what it was. He stood up straight and tried to adjust his tie. I stopped him and moved it for him. He smiled proudly as I put it in place. I smiled back and patted his chest. He turned around and walked to the door, not before giving Alicia one last kiss on the head. I watched him walk to the truck and hop on. Me and Alicia stared at him ride off in the sunset. Before he disappeared into the view he called out to us. "I'll be back! Just wait for me!" he yelled. We both waved, knowing he will be alright. 1 year Later I watched them lower the coffin into the ground. I felt my sister squeeze my hand harder. I sighed when they began to cover it in dirt. It was supposed to be sunny outside, but somehow a rain cloud came in over the town. I don't understand why it always rain at these things. If it was God's tears then I don't want them. I'm already trying to hold back mine. They managed to finally cover the coffin. No one spoke to us. They probably thought it was best to leave us be. They're smart, cause if they tried I would've punched them. All I wanted was to see his face again, but it was a closed casket. I felt Alice rub her face on my coat. I would have stopped her, but I wasn't in the mood to be mad. "W-what now A-Alex?" she asked softly. I just sighed and pulled her close. I didn't know what to do now. We lost our father and our means to support ourselves. I had to find a job or something. All I knew was that I made a promise to him, and there is no way in hell I'm breaking it. I heard Alice sniff again. I knelt in front of her. "Hey, don't worry. We'll be fine. I promised Dad I will protect us, okay. I promise things are going to be okay." I said. She just sniffed and hugged me. I felt stiff as she cried into my shoulder. I just knelt there with her hugging and crying her soul into me. I couldn't help but hug her back. I couldn't help but cry as well. I woke up with my heart beating a mile a minute. I looked around and saw I was in my room. I looked down and saw Christian half naked in my bead. He snored softly as he lied on my bed, his arm out stretched where he was probably holding me. I smiled and lied back down on his chest. I put an ear over his heart and heard it beat softly. Before I knew it I was mushing my naked body to his while slowly slipping into darkness once more. > Promises > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stood in the Throne room, looking down at my feet. I wanted to look up, but I was afraid she would still be staring daggers at me. To my right stood Lightning Flash. His face was covered in a few bandages and he had a brace on his right foreleg. Apparently I had fractured his leg when I power slammed him on the table at the bar. I only knew of his injuries when I walked into the throne room and saw him standing in the center of the room with Celestia sitting on her throne with an annoyed look on her face. I knew at that moment I had fucked up. "So far you've done a lot of damage in your time here in Canterlot. I had hoped our two species can co-exist in this castle, but so far you have only proven you are incapable of peace." Celestia said, not bothering to hold back the venom in her voice. I looked up at her and stared into her pink eyes. For a creature that is supposedly a Celestial being, she is one hell of a bitch. Her pure look is just a mask for what she really is. I know she claims to be some kind of holy maiden, but she is just some woman who is too naive to understand that not everything is good and evil. "You may think that my species is just violent and brutish, and while that might be true for some of us, there are plenty who spend their whole life trying to create peace for long and harsh conflicts. It's not my fault this D-bag next to me started talking shit and doesn't have any moral code." I said. Lighting Flash glared at me when I mentioned him. He was about to say something, but Celestia cut him off. "Whatever he may have said, it is no reason to beat him in a public bar! Not only have you damaged another pony's property, but you have also hurt Mr. Flash to the point where he cannot serve for at least a few weeks!" she scolded. I glanced down at Flash's injuries. He wasn't even that fucked up. I could have done a lot more than fracture his arm and a few ribs. These ponies are as frail as they look. "Do want me to apologize or what. 'Cause standing here and lecturing me like I'm some kid isn't going to get us anywhere." I said. She snorted and rolled a hoof down her face. "Actually, I have a way for you to make up the past issues that have come up as of late," she said. I raised a brow, not entirely sure what she means. She nodded her head to one of the guards that was posted at the entrance of the throne room. The guard pony walked out and closed the door. He returned only a few moments later but left the door open. I was confused until I saw another pony come in after him. I immediately recognized the pony. I remember seeing him the first time I entered the castle. His blonde hair and pearl white coat was something I would never forget. I've seen him wander the castle grounds a few times, but whenever he saw me, he just stuck his head up and walked away. One time when I was wandering a hallway and we both saw each other. Instead of walking down the hallway, he just turned around and walked the opposite direction. If Celestia wants me to do something for him, then it better be worth it cause I was NOT gonna put up with his BS anymore. The White pony walked close to us and stood behind us. I could tell he didn't like standing next to me, but he sucked it up 'cause Celestia was sitting only a few feet from us. "This here is my nephew, Prince BlueBlood. He is one of the royals that lives here in Canterlot. I'm sure you two must have at least seen each other in my castle." she said. I nodded slowly. Blueblood just rolled his eyes and nodded. "While I prefer you two being miles away from each other, I need a favor from you, Captain. My nephew, as annoying as he is, is an important negotiator here in the castle. I have asked him to travel to the Griffin Kingdom to negotiate trade. Usually, I would just assign him a patrol of my guards to escort him there, but recent events have shown me that your enemy is still afoot. I know my ponies aren't very capable of handling this threat, so I am asking you to escort him to the Griffin Kingdom and ensure he is safe from the IMC." she explained. I just stared at her like she was some idiot ranting about the end of the world. I then heard Blueblood speak up. "I just want to say that while you are a feeble creature, your knowledge of the aliens is far greater than ours and it would be beneficial if you were present during my journey," he said while trying his best not to make eye contact. I used all my will power not to whip out my wingman and blow off his nuts. As much as I hated the arrangement, she did have a point. We still don't know the whereabouts of the IMC and what they have. If the IMC caught this A-whole then they might use his leverage or information. While I couldn't give less than a shit if he died, I don't want to endanger my men and those who live here. But I also needed Celestia's favor if we were going to keep this alliance. "Fine, but I will organize the defenses and how we will get there," I said. Celestia nodded. I stood in front of a group of my crew. I asked in front of everyone who was willing to go with me on the trip. Christian and Joseph were the first to raise their hands. I rejected their offer because I needed them here to keep the palace secure and ensure everything is alright. Christian put up more of a fight than Joseph, but I was able to calm him down. No, we did not have sex again. I just talked to him. Right now I had five other grunts who sat around me. It's times like these that reminded me how nervous I was when I first became a leader. I remember how I was to give a briefing and how I practically stumbled with all my words. A few years later I was able to talk like a normal person, but I still had some nerves. I reached down and touched a few buttons on my arm panel. My titan walk over to me and knelt behind me. I clapped my hands and a holo-projection popped up in front of me. My titan's eye projected an image of the ponies carriages and positions. "Listen up guys. This is a basic defense op. We will have the ponies being the main bulk of the defense. We are just there to ensure the IMC doesn't get a drop on them. We will be either walking or riding on the carriages. Three will walk and three will ride, we will switch every other hour." I explained. One of my men raised once of their hands slightly. I looked at him, waiting for his question. "Um, why don't we just take our drop ships and your titans for support? We could get there in a fraction of the time," he asked. I nodded. I had thought that myself, but the Last thing I need is to waste our supplies. "I've thought of that, but I don't want to waste our fuel reserves. Also, my titan's battery can only last for so long. Considering how it is still damaged, I don't want to risk losing it." I explained. He nodded and went back to looking at the projection. I wanted to do what he suggested, but I had to think of our way to leave this place. The mechanics said my titan wasn't too damaged. Some of the circuits were fried, so they had to replace them. "We will use basic weaponry and gear. This will be a long trip so get ready for anything. Who knows what we will encounter on the way to the Griffin Kingdom. Let's get out there and show these ponies how the Militia get things done!" I said. They all stood up and saluted. 4 Hours Later -------------------------------------- I woke to the feeling of someone nudging me. I slowly opened my tired eyes and looked around. I saw I was surrounded by trees and the view of the night sky. I looked to my right to where I was nudged and saw one of my grunts sitting next to me on the carriage we were riding. I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my helmet that sat at my feet. Giving the grunt a pat on the shoulder, I jumped down and started walking with the platoon of guards and my men. I slid my helmet on and pulled my rifle from my back, quickly checking I had a full clip and the barrel was clear. I looked around some more and saw the bored expressions on the guard's faces. When I saw my men, I was happy to see they were alert and awake. More proof that these ponies don't have the experience to fight or handle combat. We had 3 carriages for the trip. The one on the front was armed with weaponry and was the strongest of the three. the one in the middle held the prince. I wanted to make the carriages look similar so the enemy doesn't know which to target, but Blueblood wanted his carriage to be covered in gold and silver. It looked cool, but I will be surprised if it isn't the first carriage seen in the woods. The last carriage held our rations and supplies. I decided that I would have the first watch, a few hours later of walking my team wanted me to take my hour nap. I didn't want to, but I knew I needed to be alert, and being sleepy wouldn't help with that. I walked a bit faster so I was at pace with the golden carriage ahead of me. I heard some shifting coming from the golden carriage. I was surprised to see the prince poke his head out the window and look around. He had a little bed head, which only meant he had just woken up. His eyes eventually laid on me. He stared at me for a few moments before waving me over with a hoof. I rolled my eyes and decided to indulge him. I walked up to the carriage and kept a steady pace at the window. "Has anything major happened since I fell asleep?" he asked. I shook my head. "So far we've been keeping good time and have run into little disturbances. From the looks of it, the changes in patrol have kept the men rested and aware." He nodded and looked ahead at the other carriage. He rubbed his eye with a hoof and fell back into his carriage. "Tell me when we stop or arrive" he ordered. I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. My eyes scanned the forest as we walked along the dirt road. Every now and then, my eyes would flick over to my map on my hud. I didn't know why I felt anxious but I wasn't going to push that feeling away. I knew better than to ignore my instincts. I kept walking with the carriage until I heard a voice call out to me. I looked back and was surprised to see a pony I didn't think I would see so soon. It was the pony from the training fields, the one who complimented me on my tits. He trotted up to me and walked by my side. I wanted to scold him for breaking formation, but I figured I would hear what he had to say. "Hey Cap, I just wanted to talk to you for a few moments," he said calmly. I raised my brow, but he couldn't see it under my helmet. I just shrugged. "About what Private? About what happened a few days ago with your actions, or do you wish to know more about me?" I asked cooly. He stumbled slightly when I reminded him about that incident on the training fields. "A little bit of both I guess. I just wanted to say sorry about that, first of all. Also, I did just want to know more about you since you seem to know your stuff," he said. I stared ahead into the forest. I looked down at my map and saw no red dots. I mentally shrugged and decided to humor him. "Well, there is not much to tell I'm comfortable with sharing. I was a poor girl in a town who fought to stay alive. I didn't want to be a burden so I joined a group to help others. A couple of years later I become a Captain and here we are now," I said quickly. I looked down and saw him giving me a blank stare. "That's some backstory," he said sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes. "Well, that's all I'm sharing for now kid. I don't go around telling people about my life, especially when it doesn't concern them," I explained. He just sighed and looked ahead. We walked for a couple of minutes before he spoke up again. "Will it help if I talk about myself?" he asked hopefully. I shrugged. "I'm not against people telling their stories. It's their choice to expose their secrets to others," I said. He smiled and began his tale. "I was born in Ponyvil with my Ma and Pa. My Pa was a retired guard who served for a long time. I had a decent childhood and I was kinda the kid who was on good terms with everyone. High school was a bit tough since my Ma got sick, but she thankfully made a full recovery and was back to normal in no time. Once I graduated I went straight into the guard. I didn't get my cutie mark until I was halfway through my training. It's kinda crazy to think that was only a couple of years ago," he said fondly. I just walked there in silence, trying to take in all the information he just let out in those few minutes. He just told me his entire life like it was something from a book. There is no way it could have been that easy. "I don't want to be rude, but I doubt your story is entirely normal and happy," said. He looked down at his hooves as he walked. He stayed like this for a few minutes before talking again. "I said my Pa was in the guard for quite a while. Most ponies think it's weird for my Pa to be as old as he is. The thing is, I'm not the only child," he explained. I felt my shoulders sag slightly as I knew what was gonna be said. "My sister would be about 18 years older than me. She followed in Pa's hoofsteps and wanted to be a guard too. Although, she was a bit more adventurous and joined the army. She was first deployed in an area with pirates and thieves. Her mission was to secure a caravan of goods before they were stolen. The mission was a success, but there were a lot of casualties. My sister was among the names of the fallen," he said with his voice wavering. I knew what he felt. I've had plenty of friends who suffered the same fate. I'm just happy I was yet to be one of them. God knows what I would do if I found out my little sister was killed or she tried to join the Militia. I looked down at the pony and saw him wipe his eyes slightly. I wasn't going to judge, everyone had their own challenges in this line of duty. My somber thoughts were broken when I saw the carriage in the front had stopped. I gripped my rifle and jogged to the front of the caravan. Heat Blade was right behind me as I made it to the front to see what the problem was. I was surprised to see a big ass tree in the middle of the road. It wasn't just a regular tree, this thing was fucking massive. It would take at least three titans to carry it. I walked up to one of the unicorn guards in the front. "Do you think you unicorns can lift it?" I asked. The blue unicorn with a white mane and sapphire eyes looked up at me with worry. "Maybe, but it will have to take all of us in order to move it. I'm not sure we can even move it enough to get off the road. The caravan might need to go around what little space there is," he explained. I nodded and looked down at Blade and saw him staring at the tree with worry. I patted him on the shoulder. "Guess you're up short stuff," I said jokingly. He smiled and soluted. "Sure, no problem. This thing is as good as go-" he said before he was cut off. Time slowed to a halt. One moment, Blade was standing in front of me with a smile and a confident look in his eyes, but now they were crossed and he had a hole in the side of his head. I didn't even hear the bang. He just fell over and a pool of blood that soaked the ground around him. My mind quickly rebooted itself and I dove for cover. "GET TO COVER! INCOMING FIRE!" I yelled. As soon as I gave the warning, all hell broke loose. Bullets were flying all over the place. I watched as guards were being picked off one by one. They all panicked as they saw their comrades die before them. I looked down at my map and saw red dots everywhere. I cursed myself and my stupidity. I was too distracted with the tree I didn't realize it was an ambush. I looked down and saw Heat Blade's body. His eyes were still open and he still held that smiling face. I wanted to throw up, but I just shook it off. Instead of thinking about everything he just told me, I thought about how to avenge him. Sticking out of cover, I began to fire back at the enemy. They were hard to see, but I just used my map and thermals to separate them from the forest. Taking out at least a dozen, I quickly swapped out the mag for a new one. I quickly ducked down as more bullets fired in my direction. I looked around and saw most of the guards were dead. All of them were riddled with bullets and looked like they barely moved from where they stood in the formation. I heard gunfire coming from the back of the caravan. I looked at my map and saw my men were still alive. They were huddled around the middle and last Carriage. On one hand, I was happy to see my men alive, on the other I was horrified to see they were surrounded. My only option was to run into the forest and flank the enemy. Making sure I was loaded with ammo, I charged out of cover and began gunning the enemy. I wasted no time in putting round after round into the enemy's skulls. They tried to shoot me as I ran, but my jump-kit gave me an extra boost. They stopped firing as soon as I broke through the tree line. I jumped up and started hopping from one tree to the next. Every other tree I jumped to, I hung from one of the branches and fired down at the enemy. They never saw me coming and they all died not knowing what killed them. I continued this until I was over the group that was nailing my men. I quickly checked my kit and saw I was down to only one rifle mag. I sighed and loaded it into my rifle. I quickly took note of the men below me. A total of 25 dots were scattered around me in the forest. In order for me to pull this off, I needed to keep moving and not waste more than three seconds on a group. Taking a deep breath, I jumped down and started my killing frenzy. There were 4 right underneath where I hung myself. I landed right behind them and shot 4 bullets. Each one connected with the back of their skull. Spinning around, I fired 3 shots into another group of enemies. I didn't check to see if I had killed them. I just relied on the dots on my map as I cut the enemy down to size. 7 down and 18 more to go. They all were lined up around the edge of the tree line and paid no attention to what was behind them. 5 more went down as I fired into the squad. I then saw two groups of three standing right next to each other. I quickly stowed my rifle and pulled two grenades from my chest. I pulled the pins with my thumbs and tossed them into the groups. I watched as one of them noticed something hit their heel. He looked down in curiosity, then yelled out in fear. His cries were died out by the explosion that rang out the next second. I looked ahead and saw the last group. They noticed the explosion and started firing in my direction. I took to the trees again and moved my way over to them while trying not to expose myself. As Soon I was above them I open fired. I had killed 3 of them but my gun suddenly jammed. This one moment was all they needed to counter my attack. They aimed and fired up at me. Noy giving up yet, I dropped my gun and backflipped off the tree into a bush. Their bullets followed me as I ran around them to get a better angle. Reaching down into my kit again, I pulled an arc grenade and tossed it into the group. I hid behind a tree and waited for the grenade to go off so I can finish them with my revolver. I then heard something land right next to me. I looked down and saw it was the grenade I had just thrown. My eyes widened and I tried to scoot away from it. I was too late as the grenade exploded and released large blast of energy. My helmet instantly went beserk and the coms started squeaking loudly. I pulled it off to get rid of the horrible noise. I was once again caught off guard when a metal hand grabbed the back of my vest and threw me into a tree. I grunted in pain as my back collided with the hardwood. I looked to see what had thrown me and was surprised to see it was a stalker. The damn thing stared at me with its large, red glowing eye as it approached me. I reach down to my hip and pulled out my wingman. I was able to fire three shots before it grabbed me again. It held me by my throat as it squeezed the life out of me. My vision became blurry as it squeezed harder and harder. I felt my revolver start to slip from my hand as my body began to feel numb. I wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep, but something stopped me. My brain suddenly woke up and I only had one thought in my head. One goal in my mind brought life back to my body. I stared at the robot as It tried to choke me. I grunted as I lifted my gun to its faceplate. "I keep my promises motherfucker!" I yelled. I emptied the clip into the robot's face. It soon released me and stumbled back. I fell to the ground and coughed as my breath returned to me. I looked up and saw the last three grunts standing there, staring at me in surprise at my sudden boost of life. I pushed the pain to the back of my mind and rushed to the stalker. I grabbed the thing by its torso and charge the grunts. They all panicked and started shooting at me. I made sure they hit the back of the stalker as I got closer to them. Once I was close enough I shoved and kicked the robot at them. I watched in content as they were blown to bits from the bot's self destruct. I stood there while trying to regain my breath. I limped over to my helmet and picked up the piece of armor. I slid it on and was happy to see the systems have rebooted and was showing a clear image. I looked at my radar and saw my men were still alive, still huddled together near the carriage. I quickly jogged through the tree until I exited the tree line. I was happy to see they were, for the most part, alright. I made my way to them to see what the damage was. "Is everyone alright? Anything too serious?" I asked quickly. They all just shrugged or shook their heads. They didn't look too beat up. Only a couple scraps here and there, but I could tell they were still in shock. I just sighed and pulled my revolver from my holster. I flicked the mag out of the gun and slapped in a new one like I have been trained to do. I closed the gun as I stowed it back into my holster and took a deep breath. I looked around and saw all the guards were dead. The poor bastards never stood a chance. My eyes eventually landed on Blade. His last words echoed through my mind like an old song. It felt weird, hearing his voice but looking at his dead corpse splayed on the ground. I shook those thoughts from my mind and came back to reality. "We need to head back. We need to ditch the carriages, take some supplies, and get the VIP back to base. We will be faster and less noticeable if we travel on foot," I ordered. They nodded and went to grab supplies from the last carriage. I decided to see if the VIP was alright. I kinda hoped he was dead, it would make traveling a hell of a lot easier. I walked up to the door and opened it. My eyes widened when I saw nobody was there. My eyes then suddenly saw a large red dot moving to my men at a very quick pace. I tried to warn them, but I was too late. I watched a missile fly from the trees into the carriage. I watched in horror as some of my men were consumed by the blast and turned to bloody mush. Soon after a titan dashed out from the trees. I saw the sword it was carrying and instantly recognized the class. It was a Ronin Prime. My horror turned to dread as the titan used his blade to slice the rest of my men up to pieces. Nothing was left after the titan finished his killing spree. His large red eye soon found me. I didn't know what to do. even if I used my anti-titan weapon, I would die before I landed a hit. The titans stowed its blade and marched over to me. I just stood there as it approached me. I wanted to move, but my body wouldn't let me. For the first time in a long time, I was terrified. The titan pulled its fist back and punched the ground in front of me. The force of the punch sent me flying back into another tree. This time I hit the tree much, much harder. I cried out in pain as I'm pretty sure I broke a few ribs. I was having trouble breathing so I slid my helmet off. I sat there, holding my side as the titan walked towards me. It stood in front of me and stared down at my broken body. It suddenly knelt as its cockpit opened. I watched as the pilot walkout out of the titan with a wingman in his hand. The pilot wore very bulky armor for someone who controlled a stealthy titan. His armor was pure black and his helmet had two large, orange glowing eyes. He walked up to me and held the gun to my forehead. I stared into his orange eyes as he pulled the hammer back on the revolver. Before he pulled the trigger, I had that feeling again. My mind went straight to what I had done so many years ago. What I had promised my father before he went away. I was not going to die here. I am not dying until I know my sister is safe in this world. I reached up and grabbed the gun. I made sure to put my finger between the hammer and the gun as he pulled the trigger. He suddenly panicked at my new sense of determination. I stood up and socked him right in the face. I pulled the gun away and aimed it at him. I was about to pull the trigger before I heard a loud howl. I had no time to react when suddenly a dog came out of nowhere and bit my arm. I cried out in pain as the dog sank its teeth into my flesh. I'd lost my grip on the gun, but I didn't care. The pain shooting through my arm was indescribable. I don't ever recall being attacked by a trained dog before, so I had little knowledge of what to do. The dog managed to drag me down and was trying to bite at my face. I held it back with what little strength I had in my body. I raised my uninjured arm and started punching the dog in the face, trying to stun it or at least get off of me. My attempts were futile as the dog just got angrier. Giving my own scream of rage, I raised my knee and kicked the dog in the stomach. The dog whimpered slightly and stopped biting at me for a moment. I took this chance to shove the dog off of me by using my legs to kick it off. I sent the dog flying a few meters away. I reached out for the wingman with my good arm and aimed it at the dog. I was about to pull the trigger, but something hard hit the back of my head. My head throbbed violently as the spot where I had been hit began to feel numb. I flipped over onto my back and stared at the one who had hit me. My vision was very blurry, but I could still make out those dark red eyes. The man raised what seemed to be a branch over his head. He brought it down on me and my world went black. I awoke to pain all over my body. To be precise, I had more pain where the dog had bitten me and where the bastard knocked me in the head with that branch. I took notice of my surroundings and saw I was in what seemed to be a cell. The cell was dark and there was only one faded light in the ceiling. I also noticed a couple of other strange things. I don't know how I didn't notice it before, but I was in chains. I had chains locked around my wrist and ankles. Another weird thing was that I was stripped in only my tank top and pants. I struggled with the chains, but I wasn't surprised to see they didn't budge. I hung there for a few minutes before I heard something unlock behind me. I tried to look behind me and see, but the chain prevented me from turning my body too far. A door had opened behind me and light poured into the room. I looked away so I didn't blind myself with how bright it was. I heard footsteps walk around me before coming to a halt right in front of me. He looked like one hella scary dude. He was in full tactical gear that covered every part of his body. I wanted to see his face, but it was covered up by his helmet. We both stared at each other for a few moments before he spoke up. "You're a very impressive woman, you know that?" he asked. I just stared at him like he was some nutjob. He chuckled slightly. "It's true. You managed to fight off that ambush all on your own. You might've gotten away if I didn't send Riptide to deal with you," he explained calmly. I didn't really care for what he was saying. All I could think about was how to shove a knife into his face, body, or nuts. He was about to say more, but then someone else walked in through the heavy metal door. "Alrighty then. Is it interrogating time? I could use a bit of unwinding after that little tussle," the man said in a deep Australian accent. I looked around and saw it was the black armored pilot before. This time he wasn't wearing his helmet and he didn't have any armor on. He looked exactly as he sounded. He had a pale complexion and sported a blond goatee. His blue eyes glowed slightly from the light pouring into the room. The man in front of me stared at "Orange-eyes" for a second before walking behind me. I didn't see it, but I did hear a loud smack fill the silence in the room. It wasn't a bitch slap "smack", it was more of a sucker punch "Smack". "After you blew up those supplies, you think I'm gonna let you have any privileges!" the dark man shouted. The other man groaned loudly as he rubbed his jaw. "C'mon Jinx. You know that was an accident. I still got those little fuckers, didn't I?" he said hopefully. Jinx just scoffed and opened the door. "Until I find a better task for you, you'll be guarding the perimeter. Step out of line Rogers and I will cut you down a size!" he threatened. He slammed the door behind Rogers and walked back in front of me. He just stared at then chuckled loudly. "Insubordination is pretty common around here. I wonder if y'all have the same issue?" he asked. I just glared at him, still picturing a knife being shoved up his ass. He knelt in front of me till he was at eye level with me. "Listen doll, all I need is your base defenses and titan whereabouts. If you tell me, then I will let you go. It's that simple," he said cheerfully. I just rolled my eyes. He then suddenly grabbed my face and shoved his into mine. I tried to pull away, but he had a firm grip on my jaw. "Listen here little birdie. It does not matter if you don't give me what I want. Your pony friend with the blonde mane already sold you out. I can make more use out of you than just information," he snarled. I just kept my mouth shut and glared into his red visor. He let go of my jaw and let me sag from the ceiling. I stared at the ground and avoided his gaze. I trained myself for moments like these to happen, he's going to need to do more if he wants to break me. I then suddenly felt his hand touch my shoulder. I looked down and saw he had taken on of his gloves off. It surprised me how warm his hand was. He traced his fingers down my shoulder to my collar bone and down my chest. The realization hit me like a train. I watched as his hands traveled down to my right breast. I didn't need to see under his helmet to know he was smiling. I closed my eyes as he slipped his hand under my tank top. I shivered as he rubbed my breast in his hand, squeezing the soft mammary like some toy. I held back my moans as he played with my nipple. His action suddenly stopped and he pulled his hand from my breast. He stood up and slid his glove back on. "I hope you don't mind, but my men have been a bit stressed lately. I think I can make use of that mouth of your if you don't want to talk," he said smugly. He walked around me and opened the door, letting the bright light back into the room. "Don't break her too much. She may comply when she feels she has had enough," Jinx said to someone in the light. I then heard several pairs of footsteps walk into the room. 3 different men stood in the room with me. Each one of them had their eyes on me with a hungry gaze. I watched as they began to tear off their clothing or unzip their pants. One of the men, a large black dude, walked up to my face and held his cock in front of me. I tore my eyes away from the sight and held my mouth closed. I don't care about what they're going to do next. I've made a promise to my father and I intend to keep it no matter what. I will not let this break me. I am not going to die here. I then felt the two men behind me pull my pants and briefs down. I grunted as one of them shoved his cock inside me. My mind didn't waver. I was NOT going to break to this. I gasped in surprise as the man behind me gave a particularly hard thrust. The black man in front of me took the advantage to shove his cock down my throat. I tried to fight it, but it was impossible. I couldn't hold them any longer and the tears flowed freely as I went through hell. > The Lost Raptors: Fire And Brimstone > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the Events of Attrition Part 1-3 I stared down at the slaughter that was happening before my eyes. I could only see so much through the goggles, but I didn't need to see the grunts to know they were being torn limb from limb by Excalibur. It annoyed the crap out of me that I wasn't down there with him killing those bastards. Instead, I was stuck on this mountain with my thumb up my ass. Me and my scorch titan, RD-1099 or "Ryder", landed on the mountain near a cave and have been stuck up here ever since. The battle below was about 40 klicks away, so getting a message to them without a signal booster was going to be hard. Even with my titan, the trees and the heavy clouds would cause too much interference. I have yet to explore the cave behind me since I was too busy finding a way off the damn rock. Climbing down was not an option since Ryder would just break the rocks and fall. Distress beacon would be a good way for them to find me, but not without telling the IMC where I was as well. This whole predicament just had to happen to me of all of us. I let out a sigh and holstered my binoculars. I watched my heated breath leave my lips as the cold air around me reminded me what time it was. In the day this place was alright, but come night it became freezing cold. I reached down and grabbed my black helmet, sliding on the piece of gear to shield myself from the cold. I walked back to my titan that was staring into the darkness of the cave. He just stood there hunched over as he looked into the cave without moving a single inch. My gaze focused down the large, dark cavern, looking upon every single rock I could see in the light provided by the moon. "Your thermals see anything?" I asked calmly. He didn't respond for a few moments, making sure to scan every possible thing he could in the cave. "I sense a very large heat signature in the cave, but can't confirm if it is organic or another source of energy," he stated. My eyes never left the darkness. I was never one to be scared of the dark, but this seemed a bit too suspicious. I tapped a small button on my computer gauntlet and walked over to Ryder. The doors opened, revealing my cockpit and the different tools and weapons I stored in there before we dropped from the ship. I hopped in and closed the hatch behind me. Taking a seat, I began activating my titan's combat systems and primed all gas canisters and thermal slugs. After double-checking that I had everything ready for the worse, I walked forward with my titan's thermite launcher in hand and headlights raised to full power. I kept a close eye out for anything that might try to poke its head out. While I'm not of a wuss as Christian, I am a bit trigger happy and have a tendency to beat the shit out of anything that scares me. Just ask Jax where he got that scar on his brow. He'll say it was from him hitting an IMC, but he's just a wimp. My thoughts on the white-haired Asian were interrupted as my HUD started to beep aloud. I switched the camera from night vision to thermal and I instantly saw what the hell the beeping was for. I have been walking in the cave for barely 2 minutes and I see something I never thought I would see. A big, fat pile of gold. The gold was very shiny and it made it difficult to see anything. I deactivated my thermal and switched to my normal HUD so I could see the large pile of jewels laying before me. I was dumbfounded by what I saw, laying only a few meters from me. The pile of gold was almost as tall as my titan. Anything from coins to silverware was made of gold and even a few gems sat in the pile. I couldn't tear my eyes off of the riches that were ripe for the taking. I stowed my thermite launcher and grabbed a handful of the treasure. A few gold pieces and gems slipped through my titan's fingers as I stared at the treasure. I had completely forgotten about the beeping sound because one second I was admiring a ruby, the next I was flying across the cave and smashing into the wall. Alarms were blaring within the cockpit. I felt slightly light-headed from the impact, but I quickly shook it off and checked what had hit me and what damage it did. My shield was down and slowly recharging, other than that I only had a little hull damage. I brought myself up and turned in the direction of where I had been hit. Hunched over the large pile of gold was something I didn't think I would see. To me, it looked like a giant Wyvern with Arms and legs. It was a dark red and had glowing, yellow eyes. It bared its razor-sharp teeth at me as it huddled closer to its gold. I guess I had stepped into this thing's nest and started poking around with its gold. I guess it would have been too good if I found all that gold unprotected. I didn't reach for my thermite launcher, instead, I held up my hands in surrender. I only hoped this thing would realize I wasn't going to fight. I slowly started moving around the big lizard and his gold. He kept his eyes on me the whole time, never blinking and not moving anything besides his long neck. I was only a few steps away from the exit when I heard my Projectile warning start beeping. Not seeing anything in front of me, I quickly looked up and saw a stalactite falling towards me. I did the only thing I could in the brief second I had and raised my hand above me. I activated my Thermal Shield, disintegrating the piece of rock as it fell. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and deactivated my shield. My moment of relief was ruined when I saw the Lizard charging me. "Fuck." The big ass lizard hit me with all its weight. I grunted as it tackled me into the wall. Its claws were scraping away at my armor as I tried to fend off its head with my arms. I used one of my hands to pin an arm to its side and the other to hold its mouth closed. The big bastard was strong and I was struggling to keep it as still as I could. I needed to get it off of me before it clawed through my plates. I looked around my cockpit for anything I could use. I saw my guns, a bagel, some kinda wrapper, and one Satchel charge. The only way I could use it would be if I stepped out, and that would be suicide. Taking another quick look around the cabin, I didn't see anything else that would help me in this current predicament. I guess I didn't really have any choice. I tapped a few buttons on my consoles and diverted all the power to the arms. Taking control again, I took hold of the lizard's left arm and held it up high above its head. I used my other hand to grip its muzzle and hold its jaws closed so I wouldn't get eaten when I get out there. Taking one moment to regret my decision, I quickly set it to autopilot with a tap on my brace computer. I pulled the lever above and the cockpit burst open. I wasted no time and dashed outside of the cabin. The lid of the cabin opened upwards, so as it opened I gripped the edge and used it to pull me out and over my titan. Now on top of my titan, I could see just how big this thing was. Its arm was easily the same length as my titan's and its body was easily a couple of stories tall. I shook my head and focused on my task. I attached the satchel charge and detonator to my belt and started my climb. It wasn't very difficult, but being so close to the giant red lizard made me over-cautious. I would have just boosted to the top, but I didn't want to risk anything that would have me getting closer to it. Each step I took and each piece of metal I grabbed I made sure would be secure enough for me to climb. The arm shaking as I crawled made it a bit more tedious, but I was making my way up. Now hanging off the arm, I grabbed the satchel charge and aimed for its arm. I wasn't sure if this thing's hide could withstand the blast, so I needed it to go off near its joint. I prepared to throw it but was knocked to the side, almost losing my grip from the arm. I looked up and saw the Lizard's eye staring at me as it struggled in my Titan's grip. I guess this guy knew I was up to something. Wasting no more time, I chucked the satchel charge, hoping it would at the least land close to my target. I held my breath as it flew through the air, spinning slightly due to my horrible attempt at throwing it. The satchel brushed off its forearm and I nearly choked on my breath. Before I lost hope, the satchel somehow managed to stick itself right under its elbow. I smiled and released my held breath, I let go of my titan's arm and slid back down to the cockpit. Smiling broadly, knowing this thing is gonna feel pain like nothing else. As I sat in my chair, I reached down for the detonator. My heart stopped when I didn't feel anything there. I looked down and saw it wasn't hanging off my belt as I thought. I looked around and when I saw it laying on the ground behind the lizard's feet, my dread came back full force. My dread was quickly replaced with panic when I heard metal grinding and straining against something. I looked up again and saw the lizard using all of its strength to open its jaws. As its jaw opened I could see a small light in its throat. This light seemed to come from its belly which too was glowing slightly. I just realized what this thing was trying to do. I switched back to manual and put even more power into my grip. As strong as my ogre titan was, this thing was clearly stronger. Despite not actually moving, I felt I was putting all my strength into holding this thing back. I grit my teeth to the point of drawing blood, trying in vain to keep it from roasting me alive. It was in that moment of helplessness did I feel something fall in my lap. It was my Wingman Elite. That hopelessness in me was starting to fade away, now being replaced with determination and vigor. I switched my titan to autopilot on my left arm that was holding its jaw. I only had one shot before it would overpower me and burn me alive. I had to use my other arm to keep the satchel steady so I could shoot it. Grabbing the gun, I took aim. I took a deep breath, aimed down the sight, and lined the small dot with the small pouch. I only had one shot, after that, all bets were off. As much as I would love to fuck off into the next world, I had a job to do. I wasn't raised to half-ass anything in my life and I sure wasn't going to do it if I died here and now. Releasing my breath, I put my finger on the trigger and pulled. The recoil from the gun bent my arm upwards due to me not holding it with my other hand. Such an act would have Alex chew me out, but she wasn't here right now. The bullet traveled through the air faster than I could see. The only thing I saw was a large explosion that knocked the wind out of me and cover my helmet and armor in blood and ash. The lizard roared in pain from losing its arm. It gripped its arm, now a bloody stub, in pain. The blood flowed from its wound like a waterfall. It kept roaring in pain to the point of falling back on its gold and jewels. As happy and as surprised as I was, I couldn't give it any time to recover. After wiping the blood from my visor, I quickly stowed my gun and closed the hatch to my titan. Pulling myself up with one hand, I reached back for my thermite launcher and aimed for it. I didn't wait one second longer as I pulled the trigger. The slug flew for only a moment before hitting the lizard directly in the chest. It again roared in pain as the thermite from the slug burned away at its scales. With rapid precision, I ejected the shell and slapped in a new one. This time I aimed for its leg in an attempt to keep it off balance. I fired and splashed its knee in thermite. The thermite quickly burned away the scales on its knee and made it struggle to stand up. The lizard at this point was roaring in agony as I burned it apart. I kept up the barrage, firing slug after slug at its hide. In its agony I saw it had wings and I took the opportunity to burn them away, melting the skin and making them useless. As I loaded another slug, I guess it decided I was done attacking and turned to me, fury burning in its yellow eyes. It opened its jaws and smothered me in its flame. I couldn't help but chuckle as it tried to burn away my fireproof plates. The cockpit got a bit warmer, but that was nothing I couldn't handle. I stowed my thermite launcher and approached the red lizard bastard. Its eyes widened as I walked towards it through its flames. It opened its jaw wider as the flames grew a bit bigger, but I just kept marching towards the scaly bugger. I pulled my arm back and threw it at the lizard jaw, punching it as hard as my titan could. Blood and teeth flew from the lizard's mouth as it crashed into the wall. The lizard's impact shook the cave and cracked the wall it hit. I watched as the cracks made their way up to the ceiling. The cracks made contact with a pair of stalactites that were hanging. I watched in pity as the spikes fell and impaled the lizard's legs, effectively pinning them to the ground. Its roars echoed through the cave and I'm sure outside far beyond. It tried to remove the spikes, but all it ended up doing was shift them in place, making the wound bigger and more bloody. I knew I had to put the thing out of its misery since it was gonna bleed out if I don't. So, with one hand, I reached back and pulled out my thermite launcher. I aimed for its head and prepared to pull the trigger. Before I could, a single high-velocity round flew past me and blasted the lizard's head off, painting the wall behind it with brains and blood. Its body fell limp, quickly realizing there was nothing there to keep it moving. I quickly turned around, and once again, I was surprised to see what was there standing behind me. Standing there at the entrance of the cave was a Northstar Titan. Its silver armor glowed in the darkness due to the light coming from the gold. I aimed my launcher at it and prepped my gas canisters. The titan stood there holding its Railgun to my level. I prepared to squeeze the trigger, but before I could burn this thing to hell, a quiet chuckle came from him. The chuckle soon grew into uncontrollable laughter. I immediately knew who was standing before me, and I wanted to pull my trigger even more. Seth continued to laugh as he stowed his railgun on his titan's back. He and his titan GS-9999, AKA Gilgamesh, were notorious for making entrances and being the smug person of the team. I always hated him, but damn he could outfly and outshoot just about anyone and anything. The bastard took out a carrier by himself and just came out with a bent finger on his titan. He only said it was because "His titan couldn't stop pulling the trigger." "So it seems I missed all the fun, too bad you couldn't finish what you started. How embarrassing." he chuckled. I just grunted and stowed my thermite launcher. "Where the hell did you come from?" I asked. He opened his cockpit and teleported to the top of his titan's body. He stood there looking all proud and mighty despite only just finishing off the large lizard. "Well, I was just flying around and admiring the view when I heard some loud roaring in the distance. I thought it was just some IMC mongrel getting his ass railed before I noticed a Titan's power signature. So I decided to see for myself and low and behold I find you standing over that large beast with the plunder glowing so great and magnificently!" he proclaimed. I just rolled my eyes and walked over to the exit. "Come on, we have to find the others. I saw Christian and the Others down the mountain. I don't know where they are headed, but if they are out there, we can find them quicker with your tracking mods." I suggested. I looked back and saw Seth staring at the gold with a smile on his face. My anger swelled in me and I launched my thermite canisters into the gold pile. I activated my titan's core ability and slammed the ground with my fist, launching a wave of fire and thermite into the gold. I watched in glee as the fires impacted the gold and started burning and melting it. Seth turned to me with annoyance in his eyes. "I should make you pay for that, but I won't waste my time trying to make you understand the error you just committed." After he said that, he vanished into thin air and his titan's hatch closed. His titan turned around and walked past me, not even giving me a glance. I just suppressed my anger and followed him out of the cave, the fire illuminating the way for us. > Some mellow news > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey yall. I got some mellow news I'm almost done with high school. Just a couple more weeks left. I am happy to say I've been admitted to some colleges so I have a future there. However, that also means I will have little to no time to write. I know I've been super bad with updates on this story. I knew how the story was going to end and how to get there, but I've just been super lousy in writing and editing the whole thing. I've even had plans for a sequel. I'd hate to say I'm giving up on this story after so many people have enjoyed it so far despite my lack of trying. If anyone wants to try and continue the story, I'm am giving full permission to do what they wish. If they wanted to continue with the plot I had, they can just DM me. I am super sorry about this guys. In the meantime, I'll still be writing whenever I have the chance, but it won't be this story and nothing I write will be groundbreaking. This also involves my other story if any of yall have seen it. I have one MASSIVE story idea for one of my major OC's, but that would literally take up all my time and attention. Until next time my friends. And again, one billion apologies for things ending like this. I hope yall have a great day despite this saddening news.