Chapter 4: Skirmish at Lone Hoof Ridge
DATE: 6 Octavius, 1001 C.S.
A bit under a month after Gilda's little issue, and I found myself preparing to break ground in the desert near Appleloosa - the Appleloosa Armory was going to be built here. At the same time, I had begun negotiations with Chief Thunderhooves' tribe to see about making them the permanent, integrated protectors of the land. That meant making them their own military unit - and thus begins the issues of arming and equipping such disparate species. I might have to design something specifically for them, if he agreed.
Not to mention needing new facilities for all of this. The first one we erected was half way between Appleloosa and Canterlot, east of Canternooga Springs, outside the major city of Canternooga, called Fort Cinchell. Luna, her Guards, and the Wonderbolts were there, overseeing the process.
Applejack and the others came with me to the groundbreaking. Princess Luna would make an appearance to officiate in her sister's name (and growing in her new government role - Celestia made her position official, and specifically named it Royal Defense Adviser, not Secretary of Defense) in a couple days, once she was done with Fort Cinchell.
Twilight: "So, last time we were here.." She trailed off.
AJ: "Yeah, things didn't go so well, did they?" She seemed a bit embarrassed.
Fluttershy: "I-I'm sure we can.. work something out.." She cowered into herself a bit.
They were all armed now. I insisted on it. Lee Pistols all around - even Fluttershy (training her was so cute, to a point) - and Shermans for everyone. I wasn't paranoid, but I was more sure that the issue with the Rogue Griffons, might send them after us for revenge. And that could be horrible - I didn't want my friends hurt. I didn't expect to need them, but I'd rather have and not need, than need and not have. Plus, I wanted to demonstrate to the Chief what I could give him, to help protect his people and his land.
Applejack had something new that I'd made her - I was tinkering with a shotgun design, and how to apply that to Ponies. Without hands to feed shells, standard tube-under-barrel designs were useless to non-Unicorns. Magazine-fed shotguns had all kinds of problems of their own, so, I decided on a multi-barrel design for the moment. The standard double-barrel. Easy enough to grab two shells in your teeth and feed them into chambers. I had Rarity make her a vest to go with it, with shell loops easy to reach. My next project was a bomb lance - a Grenade Launcher - and other "ordinance projectors" that could take advantage of.. well, the fact that they're horses. But, that was for later.
Dash: "I hope we can make this smooth - I don't want another pie fight like last time." She snickered a bit, though.
K: "I don't think we'd have a pie fight this time around. I don't want.." I stopped myself.
I sighed. The Buffalo were essentially Native Americans. I didn't want to repeat on them, what had happened between the Native Americans in North America. The ones in Mexico were virtually annihilated, the ones in Canada and the United States were shuffled off to reservations - and in some cases, a VERY long way from their native lands. I wasn't going to see that happen here, and I carried the full weight of Celestia's Royal Office with me.
If negotiations failed, we would erect the Armory on another site if we had to. I had an idea, but it was farther from Appleloosa than desired, and anyone working there was looking at a 30-40 minute train ride, just to get to work.
Twilight: "It's okay, K." She put a reassuring hoof on my arm.
I'd told her about the Native Americans, and she understood - to some degree - what my feelings were about this. I was absolutely not going to force the Buffalo to do something they didn't want.
Rarity: "Oh, Pinkie, darling?" Rarity looked up from her book.
Pinkie: "Yep?" She was playing with a ribbon.
Rarity: "I think I speak for everyone when I say.." She gently cocked a brow.
Everyone: "NO SINGING THIS TIME!"
Fluttershy: "Y-yes, it didn't have a very good outcome last time.." She blushed a bit.
Fluttershy flitted around near me - she was comfortable around me, and I regarded her as a good friend, now. Applejack joked about being jealous of us, since I spent some of what little spare time I had, going over to her house and just.. interacting with her.
On the train ride over here, I sat between Applejack and Fluttershy, both of them using my arms as pillows. Fluttershy was starting to feel very comfortable, to me..
Spike: "I can't wait to see Little Strongheart again - hey, maybe they'll have more Turquoise!" He beamed.
K: "Always with the bright side, huh?" I said, looking up from my own book.
I gave Spike a pat on the head. I'd been making an effort to talk to him.. so little time in the day, so much to do. I honestly didn't know how Twilight did it, without a computer. I knew he had the hots for Rarity, but his lack of experience was causing him to go about things.. well, like a kid with a crush. I wanted to see him get what he was after - if, after growing up some more, he decided that's who he wanted to be with.
The train let us off outside of town, so it would be a shorter trek to their village.
We found their camp easily enough - and that was only half the story. What we found, were destroyed Teepee's and smashed fire-circles. The Buffalo were wandering aimlessly. It was like a bomb went off around here - or a tornado hit the place, one of the two. I found myself going into Disaster Handling mode..
Fluttershy: "Oh, my.."
Dash: "HOLY MOLEY!"
AJ: "WHAT in TARNATION!?"
Rarity: "Oh, my goodness!"
Spike: "Strongheart!?" He started running around, looking for them.
Twilight: "Chief Thunderhooves!?" Twilight glanced around, trying to find them, but very on edge.
Strongheart: "Over here.." A sorrowful voice from over on the right.
We found Chief Thunderhooves alright. He was laying on his side, clearly injured. Little Strongheart was next to him, crying.
K: "What happened here!?" I demanded.
Strongheart: "The Shadows.. the Shadows happened here." Strongheart looked up, with tears in their eyes.
Rarity: "Shadows?!" She was alarmed, but a bit confused.
Twilight: "I'm not sure I understand." She shook her head, but her eyes darted all over the place.
Strongheart: "Shadow Monsters.. they came out of nowhere. Formless, until they touched our shadows, they.. they were like shadow copies of us!" Strongheart seemed breathless in fear over this.
K: "Oh.. oh, crap." What was happening, here?
No.. wait.. nooooo, not this.
AJ: "What is it, honeybun?" She was very quiet, but concerned.
K: "Generation One." It hit me.
I set Fluttershy to work helping the wounded, and sent Rainbow Dash to Appleloosa for more help, while I took the others aside and explained my theory to them.
K: "Remember how I explained the moving picture thing?" I looked at each of them.
Spike: "Yeah, you called them Cartoons." He smiled a bit.
K: "Yeah, well, the cartoon that.. that's most like this? This wasn't the first. There were others before this. Generation One was.. it was on television when I was a child. In it, there was a minotaur-like thing.. I can't remember his name, but he was obsessed with shadows. He tried to steal everyone's shadow. I have a feeling.. this is this world's version of him.. and if I'm right, all the chaos that Discord unleashed when he brought me here.. I think that made him more violent. I mean, not even in that series did anyone get seriously hurt. Not for long. I can only guess that instead of hunting shadows, he can manipulate them." I shook my head.
Twilight: "What does that mean for us?" Direct and to the point.
K: "That means bullets won't work on them. They're magical constructs, if I'm correct. Meaning.." I looked between Rarity and Twilight. "..you two are our only defense."
I'm no military genius, but it doesn't take the next H. Norman Schwarzkopf to realize when Science has met its limits. At least as far as 'traditional armaments' go. Although, this did remind me of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2's Prism Tanks and Prism Towers - I wondered right then if I could make Prism Cannons to dispel them?
Rarity: "GOODNESS, darling! I don't know.." She was suddenly VERY unsure of herself.
Twilight: "We have to try. We can't just sit here and let those things come back and.. and.." She sniffled a little.
K: "Take lives this time." I finished her thought.
Was my presence really having that kind of an effect on the very fabric of reality here? Was my human influence - my aura, if you believe in such things - actually warping the most basic concepts of this pure world, to one where deadly danger becomes a regular thing? It saddened me to think that just being here was having this kind of an effect. Applejack must have sensed this, she put her foreleg over my shoulder, and half-hugged me.
AJ: "Don't worry none, honeybun. We'll make things right!" She beamed a grin.
K: "With you gals around, how can I say otherwise?" I nodded in confidence.
I smiled a little. But that Guilt was there. I shook it off - Guilt did nothing but weigh me down. I had to solve these problems - even if they were my fault - because that's what friends do.
K: "The first thing we need to do is evacuate the camp. Get these people out of here, to someplace safer. Little Strongheart!" I stood up.
Strongheart: "Yes?"
K: "Is there a safe place around here?" I looked around.
Strongheart: "Well, when the rains come and flood the area, we usually make camp on Lonehoof Ridge. It's high up, so, the flood's waters and mud all wash around us." A nod towards that direction.
K: "High ground. Good. Girls? Get carts together. Strongheart, get the strongest Buffalo that are still able, and hook them up. Spike, give me a hand getting the wounded loaded up." I pointed, issuing orders, and taking charge.
Spike: "Right!" He nodded firmly.
Twilight: "Gotcha! Come on, girls!" She rallied her friends to the task.
It took us the better part of three hours to get the wounded loaded into drag carts. Of course the Buffalo didn't have wheeled carts - but I expected that from my elementary school history classes about them. Drag carts were just fine. Thunderhooves was loaded carefully on a stretcher carried by two Buffalo, and we started making our way to Lonehoof Ridge.
As futile as my Sherman might be, I kept it out, safety off, and prowled as I walked. I was no soldier - I was actually rejected for military service for medical reasons - but I'd spent my life trying to learn everything I could about everything they did. From disaster response to convoy protection. I may not have been a trained soldier, but I had the basis of knowledge to make it work. We finally reached the ridge about an hour before nightfall.
K: "Alright, Strongheart, get the rest of the tribe busy gathering anything burnable. We need to make fires. Shadows don't do well in light. Girls? Lend a hand getting the wounded up under this enclave. Spike?" I nodded to him.
Spike: "Yeah?"
K: "Take my binoculars, stand watch. Scream if you see Shadow Demons." I was nonchalant, even if I was scared myself.
Spike: "Scream?" *Shiver* "Not a problem!"
Lonehoof Ridge was roughly.. well, hoof shaped. Like a big 'U' with high ridge lines along the sides and extreme back ends, with a shallow rise in the center and a large overhang at the apex of the center of the ridge. If they were going to approach along the path of least resistance, it would be up that center. We made our preparations.. and we lit up the ridge as best we could.
K: "I don't understand it.. where's Rainbow Dash? She should have been back hours ago with help." I rubbed my chin, looking out into the distance.
Fluttershy: "Maybe.. something BAD happened to her?" She cowered again.
K: "Actually, that's exactly what I'm thinking. Pinkie!" I stood and walked near her.
Pinkie: "Yeah?" She perked up.
K: "Can you go find Rainbow Dash? Take Applejack with you." I nodded to the wilderness.
AJ: "Honeybun.." She trailed off.
I hugged her. Hard.
K: "You two will be fine. Stay together. Scouting only - if Dash is in trouble, get back here as fast as you can." I nodded firmly.
Pinkie: *Giggle* "We'll be fine! Come on, Applejack!" Off she ran.
I wondered how Dash was doing.. I was worried. If the Shadow Demons had harmed her...
K: "Rarity!" I called to her.
Rarity: "Yes, darling?" She paced up, concerned.
K: "See if you can find any gems around here.. I have an idea.." The Prism Cannon..
Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea after all. I was already digging through my backpack and Twilight's saddlebags to find what I needed. It was going to be a rough build.. IF it worked.
Twilight: "What are you doing, K?" She peeked in at what I was doing.
K: "Making a Prism Cannon. It's from an old video game that I particularly enjoyed." I smirked.
Twilight: "A Prism Cannon?" She made a confused look.
K: "Yes. Do you have any potion materials with you that can generate some raw magical energy?" I looked over at her.
Twilight: "I might.. yes.." She blinked, and went digging in her bags.
K: "Good.." I trailed off, interrupted by...
Rarity: "I found some! GOODNESS, I found some!" She seemed absolutely delighted.
K: "Strongheart, can you give her a hand digging them out?" I nodded to them.
Strongheart: "Of course." Chest puffed up, they went over and helped.
After a few minutes, I had a hollow log, several 'burst' potions, and quite possibly the finest gems I had ever seen. Two of them, the size of my face, went at either end of the Prism Cannon, and I sealed the back of it with glue, a shallow metal pan from my cooking kit, and some pins I took from a spare parts kit for the Shermans. I had no idea if it would work - it was as primitive as a cannon could get, and it was powered by magic. I was out of my depth. If it worked, I would have something to fight with. Artillery, at that. If it failed, we were likely screwed harder than a..
Pinkie: "K!!" She came running back at full speed.
AJ: "HONEYBUN!" Called AJ, right behind her.
I stood, and turned, to see them running up the embankment that led to the edge plateau. Pinkie's hair was messed up, and my dear Applejack's hat was torn. Their faces were dirty, scuffed. They'd been in a scrap.
K: "What happened!? Where's Rainbow Dash?" I stood and moved over to them.
AJ: "We dunno, honeybun. We.. we found the one controllin' the Shadow Demons, though. An' y'all'll never believe who was with him!" She was exasperated.
Twilight: "Who!?" She talked like she already had an idea.
Pinkie: "The Great and Powerfullllll.... TRIXIEE!!" *Giggle*
Twilight's jaw hit the ground, and scraped. I was even in shock. Trixie!? What was she doing here!?
K: "HOW!? Didn't she get run out of town!?" I gestured.
AJ: "Yeah, an' Twilight saved us from the Ursa she summoned.. but.." It had been before my arrival.
K: "Tell me everything, honey." I knelt down by her to get her report.
AJ: "Well, we got about ten minutes out at a good gallop, when we saw a cloud of dust off in the distance.. so, we went an' checked, thinkin' it was Dash, right? Well, Pinkie's Pinkie Sense told her that whoever wuz out there, t'weren't friendly, right? So, I did as you taught me, we snuck in real quiet like, and there he was - big as day. Taller'n Princess Celestia, four legs, red an' black fur, huuuge horns.. an' there was Trixie, right next to him, talkin' to him all friendly-like." She snorted in anger.
K: "Could you hear what they were saying?" I leaned in.
AJ: "Somethin' about how this oughtta bring the Elements to them.." She looked down at the ground.
Twilight: "Oh, no.. they must be after the Elements of Harmony. After.. us!" She was shocked, and a bit scared.
K: "But, can you use the Elements without Dash here?" I looked at Twilight.
Twilight: "No, no, we can't." She shook her head.
K: "Crap.. that might be why they need them - they might be the only thing that can dispel the Shadow Magic. But, at least we know they don't have Dash, otherwise, Trixie would have said we're here already. Now, how did you two get so scuffed up?" I wiped some dirt off of Jackie's face.
Pinkie: "Scorpan! He found us while we were sneak-sneak-sneaking around and listening to Trixie. He even said to us.." *Gruff voice* "I am Scorpan, servant of Tirek! He will be most pleased I have brought him two of the Elements!" She imitated his posture as well.
K: "TIREK! That was his name.. And Scorpan.. Scorpan.. hm.. he was a human prince in the cartoon.. I doubt that's true here. He's the one that roughed you two up?" I gestured to her.
AJ: "Not e'zactly.. he sent Shadow Demons after us." She shook her head.
K: "Really?" Typical Bad Guy actions..
Pinkie: "Uh-huh! We were almost pounded into little cupcakes! But Applejack said to switch, so we switched, and they didn't know-" She started in, all excited.
K: "Switch?" I interjected.
AJ: "Yeah! We were fighting our own Shadow Copies, but, then I thought 'Well, if our Shadows know what WE'RE gonna do, are they gonna know what the OTHER pony is going to do?' So, I switched and fought Pinkie's double! Put 'em right off guard, we squashed 'em, an' we got away." She nodded.
K: "Genius move, my love." I gave her a quick hug and kiss. She blushed at the public display of affection. "There's a piece of advice.. if you see your own Shadow Copy, switch with someone else. Are they heading this way?"
AJ: "Pretty sure they are, now. Trixie yelled at 'em all ta git us, while we was runnin' away.." She sighed.
K: "We don't have much time. Everyone, get the slope filled with rocks for cover, and hide. We'll try to ambush them." I pointed casually.
Twilight: "So, they CAN be defeated.." She pondered a moment.
K: "Yeah, but I'm still pretty sure magic is going to be the deciding factor here. Remember, even Earth Ponies put off a weak magical field, allowing them to manipulate items. I have no such field." I shrugged.
Twilight: "Right. Everyone, get ready." She nodded, rallying the girls.
It was mere minutes later. But Shadow Demons weren't what they brought with them.
As I expected, Trixie herself was leading the army.. and she had Raptorians with her. It made sense - she was EXPECTING the united Elements of Harmony to be here, and if the Shadow Demons were weak against magic, it would be suicide to use them! So, if Trixie had half the brain she claimed to have, she'd use something NON-magical. Something physical, which the ponies would be weak against.. or so she thought..
K: "CHANGE OF PLANS! GET YOUR SHERMANS!" I yelled out, seeing them.
Twilight: "What?" She looked confused.
K: "THOSE ARE RAPTORIANS!" I pointed.
AJ: "HE MEANS, SHOOT 'EM!" She screamed out.
The girls scrambled back to their saddlebags and armed themselves with their firearms.. this was it, the real first combat test of my weapons. One squad of mostly untrained Ponies, versus what had to be at least.. seventy Raptorians? More? Trixie wasn't taking any chances. I wished I'd invented a Machine Gun..
K: "REMEMBER WHAT I TAUGHT YOU! GET TO COVER, MAKE EVERY SHOT COUNT!" I pointed.
I put in my improvised ear pro.. beeswax ear plugs with a leather fob. It wasn't much, but it supposedly helped some World War II vets avoid deafness. I took position with Applejack, behind the largest boulder, at the head of the crest. We'd only packed a couple of magazines each, to save weight. Each Sherman "Type 1" magazine contained 10 rounds, giving us 20 rounds per Pony. I wasn't going to use scare tactics.. once everyone was in position, I gave the order.. the one I didn't want to give, but the one I had to give..
K: "OPEN FIRE! SHOOT TO KILL!" I pointed.
Fluttershy: "Oh, my.." She was distressed.
From behind the rocks, the ponies opened fire. Six Sherman rifles, banging away all at once, with no warning. As I expected, the loud noise confused and scared the Raptorians, allowing us several volleys before they could react properly. Fire raked their disorganized lines, dropping the ones in front almost immediately, then the ones immediately behind them. Rarity was armed with one of the Sniper Shermans (she made the scopes and all, so, it was only fitting), so she and I were picking our targets, while Fluttershy, Twilight, and Pinkie raked the lines with semi-aimed fire. Applejack was unloading both barrels as fast as she could squeeze the trigger lever, and reloading like a beast. Trixie was shocked.. she called for retreat, and the remaining Raptorians did just that. Into the darkness..
K: "Spike! Count bodies!" I called out, without dropping my aim.
Spike: "Uh.. hmm.. mmh.. twenty four!" He replied, with certainty.
K: "Ammo Count!" I tilted towards the girls a bit.
Fluttershy: "One magazine left."
Pinkie: "Same here!"
Twilight: "One and a half!"
Rarity: "I only fired four rounds, darling."
AJ: "I'm almost out. I should'a brought more shells." She growled to herself.
K: "Switch to your Lee. Save the shotgun for if they get close, keep it loaded. Spike! Did you get a count on how many ran off?" I looked back to him, a moment.
Spike: "Uh.. about.. twice the number you guys killed." He said with a bit of fear in his voice.
K: "Crap. This is going to get ugly.. FIX BAYONETS!" I called out.. my hands a bit shaky.
I hurriedly mounted my bayonet to my Sherman. If there were about fifty left, we'd be out of ammunition long before they ran out of troops. We'd fired, between us, 29 rounds from the girls, plus five from me (34 rounds out of 100), and Applejack had used up most of her shells (she had six left, out of twenty). So, quick math in my head, it took us 48 rounds to kill 24 of the enemy. Two bullets per kill. Yeah, we were in trouble..
Strongheart: "Those firesticks are amazing.." A blink of surprise.
K: "They're called Rifles. We intended to show them to you, and offer them to you, to protect your tribe and land with, if you would have agreed to let us build an armory here, to make them. But.. I'm not sure we're going to live long enough to talk about it." I shrugged, being fatalistically realistic.
Chief Thunderhooves: "If.. if we live long enough to see the end of this, I will agree to your proposal.. if these.. rifles.. save my people." He had managed to get on his own four hooves and come over closer to us.
K: "Get back under the enclave! You're too wounded to be out here!" I pointed, almost angrily.
Chief Thunderhooves: "A Chief's place is with his brothers.. and he who spills their blood with me today, is my brother." He nodded sagely.
K: "That sounds very poetic.. and very familiar." I cocked a brow.
Twilight: "What's the plan?" She looked to me, expecting me to have all the ideas.
K: "Show them these... firesticks.. are just as deadly up close. Get ready for hoof-to-hand!" I stood.
I didn't even realize at the time that I'd said it properly. This place was corrupting me just as much as I was corrupting it - and I hoped for a balance.
Hand-to-hand fighting is among the worst things you can intentionally do. No one walks away from a knife fight unhurt, unless they're damned skilled and the other guy isn't. The Girls.. knew the concept of how to use the Shermans with the bayonets mounted, but..
K: "Fluttershy, get high, pick them off from above. Don't shoot unless you have a clear shot. Rarity, get up on the edge of the enclave. Same deal - don't shoot without a clear target. Make every shot a hit." I pointed to each in turn.
I wasn't about to trust Fluttershy with a bayonet. I wasn't sure if she'd go Full Psycho on them, or get so scared, she wouldn't have the cajones to stab them. If Angel was here, I'd give him a butcher knife and set him loose (that rabbit scared me some times).
I passed Rarity my extra magazine, detached my scope and handed Applejack my bayonet-mounted Sherman. I was going to use my knife.. and my PA-63. We didn't have to wait long. They charged us again, this time, bearing sticks and rocks. I felt like I was in the movie 'Zulu' and I was the British. As I recalled, the battle didn't go very well for them...
K: "Get ready.." I nodded to the enemy.
..but I have Scots blood in me. William Wallace blood. I may not have an eighth of the bad-assery that he had, but I wasn't about to let this be the end. Even though I was afraid of just that. They were being cautious as they approached.. very cautious.. they were expecting to get shot like last time..
K: "CHAAAAARRGE!" I pointed with my knife.
..only, this time, they were met with steel. Knife in one hand, pistol in the other, I was in the lead, with Twilight to my left, and Applejack to my right. Pinkie was behind us. I heard the crack of Rarity's rifle, and then Fluttershy's. They paused, and just as we got to them, their ranks broke in fear. I saw four go down right away, and three more as they fled. We ran to the edge of the U, and stopped.
K: "HALT! FALL BACK!" I held up my pistol hand.
And we did, taking up different positions, this time. Where the HELL was Dash!? I needed to buy time..
K: "TRIXIE! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" I yelled out, as loud as I could.
Trixie: "You bet I can! You're a fascinating one - I bet these firey sticks are your invention, aren't they?" She taunted me.
K: "SURE ARE! THIS ISN'T MAGIC, TRIX, THIS IS SCIENCE! AND SCIENCE WILL FUCK YOU!" I screamed in defiance.
Trixie: "Yeah, right!" *Scoff* "I've got LOTS more where THESE came from, and YOU'RE trapped! Whatever you are, you'll make a nice handservant for Trixie!" She cackled.
K: "In your DREAMS!" And my nightmares. Though I didn't say that out loud. "YOU CAN'T WIN, TRIXIE! SURRENDER NOW, SPARE YOUR TROOPS CERTAIN DEATH!"
Trixie: "They'll DIE for me ANYWAY. They don't CARE. YOU should surrender to ME. If you're NICE, I'll let you polish my HOOVES." She yelled, unhinged.
K: "NOT HAPPENING!" I spat back, sneering into the darkness.
Trixie: "Then I'll have to kill you, those stinky Buffalo, and take the Elements of Harmony by force!" She retorted.
K: "THAT'S NOT HAPPENING, EITHER!" I bellowed, trying not to let the fear come through in my voice.
She was right about one thing, though. I was trapped. I was expecting Shadow Demons and combat that wouldn't have 'front lines' or any way to withdraw. Or a cause to. Now, I was faced with a conventional ground engagement, and I'd trapped myself.
I knew what I'd done, our backs were against the wall, but at least those Raptorians couldn't get up around our flanks or rear.. they should have had wings, but they didn't. Or, at least, the wings seemed poorly formed, almost vestigial, and the arms were more defined as actual arms.
The situation degenerated into a siege for the next hour. Trixie was trying to figure out a plan, I was stalling for time, praying Dash had either gotten to Appleloosa or somewhere else, and found help. Fluttershy's pacing didn't help, but I focused on staying calm. It was easy with Applejack there..
AJ: "We'll get out of this, honeybun." She patted my shoulder, confidently.
K: "I hope we do.. I still owe you a flank massage.." I shrugged.
She giggled at that, and gave me a bedroom-eye blink.
Twilight: "Why hasn't she done anything?" She asked, turning to me.
K: "She's trying to figure out a counter to our Shermans that doesn't involve squandering her forces on suicide charges." I shrugged - best guess.
Rarity: "IS there one, darling?" She tilted her head back a bit.
K: "If I was her, I'd send for reinforcements, and hold us in place. A siege she can control, is a victory she might get, if she can get enough forces to overpower us." I tapped my finger on to a rock to accentuate my point. "Spanish conquistadors in South America were able to hold off four or five times their own numbers with weapons much less complex than these, versus an enemy similarly armed and as intelligent as the Raptorians."
Pinkie: "Why doesn't she just call on Shadow Demons?" She looked to me, but her tone was neutral.
K: "She might not have access to that - Tirek might keep that power close to his vest, it's probably more powerful than Trixie's own magic. That's what you get in a relationship based on power, instead of trust." I shrugged.
Strongheart: "K? Chief Thunderhooves.." She interrupted me.
He tugged at my jacket - it was a nice, leather jacket. Rarity had made it for me. It was.. like a European motorcycle jacket, coming down past the waist, with two pockets there. Black, of course. I didn't ask where she got the leather. Getting up, I went over to where Thunderhooves was.
Chief Thunderhooves: "Be truthful - do we have a chance?" He wheezed, somewhat weakly.
K: "We might. We didn't plan for a battle like this, so we didn't bring enough ammo to kill everything out there. But.. I have an idea, if you'll humor me.." I nodded to him.
At the end of the hour, I suppose Trixie came to the same conclusions that I did. Charge with everything you have, and hope the troops can get in close enough, fast enough, and disable the Ponies. But, I was ready. The stones I'd had rolled on to the slope, as many as we could gather, were at the top of the slope, waiting for them. We opened up with a volley of fire, firing exactly twice per person, forcing the Raptorians to duck and cower. That's when the Buffaloes released the rocks, rolling them down the steep hill, and into Trixie's amassed forces. That forced them to retreat or die.. we'd held them off again.
Twilight: "Well, THAT went well.." She snorted.
K: "It did. But we only downed a few of them, the rest ran off. Trixie will wait, now.. she's probably going to beg Tirek for reinforcements.. that's her only real option at this point - more bodies." I shrugged.
Fluttershy: "H-How long? Do you think?" She cowered.
K: "Dawn, if she has any sense of poetry." I nodded.
It was dawn, indeed, before Trixie tried anything. The Darkness was her friend in the Siege - we couldn't pick off her troops in the darkness, and it hid her true numbers. It also concealed the fact that Rainbow Dash wasn't with us, and that she could have used Shadow Demons without fear of the Elements of Harmony being used against them.
Right as the sun was coming up, we saw it.. a massive, massive force of Raptorians. Hundreds. Tirek wasn't taking any chances, he was going to crush us.
Fluttershy: *Quivering* "Oh, my.." She was quivering.
Twilight: "OH, MY!" She leaned over the rock edge.
Rarity: "GOODNESS!" A blink, and a dumbfounded head shake.
Pinkie: "Woooooooowwwwww!!" She was amazed.
AJ: "Oh, Celestia.." She was.. rather afraid.
K: "Dear God.." I shook my head.
Chief Thunderhooves: "..we are doomed." He sighed, in defeat.
K: "Yeah.." I racked the slide on my PA-63, making sure a round was loaded. "..but we're going to exact a high price, if I have anything to say about it."
AJ: "Honeybun.." She nudged me.
K: "I know. If we lose, you'll be taken prisoner, the rest of us.." I looked back at the wounded Buffalo. "..I expect no quarter."
She kissed me. Hard, passionate, full tongue down my throat in a desperate embrace. Fluttershy hugged up on Twilight, desperately, gently sobbing. Little Strongheart hugged Thunderhooves..
Rarity placed a hoof on Strongheart's shoulder, her face stuck into a grim snarl. We were in the Wild (Mild) West, and we were about to repeat Custer's Last Stand. And I'd made the same mistakes he had - I hadn't brought enough firepower. Of course, Custer had been hunting his enemy, and I had no idea I was walking into a war.
AJ: "I love you, K.." She said with a tear in her eye.
K: "I love you, too, Applejack.." I said grimly, taking position behind a rock.
I was ready to go with pistol and knife. If I was going down here, I was going to make every action movie director cream their shorts with my bad-assery, courage, and-
Dash: "YA LOOK LIKE YOU COULD USE A HELPING HOOF!" Came a yell from overhead.
All: "RAINBOW DASH!?!?"
Flying into view was Rainbow Dash, leading Luna's Guard, and the Wonderbolts. Reinforcements! And they all had firearms! Spitfire glided to a stop right next to me, nodded, and nodded to the enemy.
Spitfire: "We've got your bombs with us.. where you want 'em?" She cocked a very self-assured grin.
K: "Get out there and strafe and bomb Trixie's redoubt! Once Luna's Guard breaks through to us, strafe and bomb the reinforcement columns! GO!" I pointed.
Off she flew, relaying instructions to her team. Rainbow Dash landed, and started passing out ammunition to everyone. She even brought extra rifles. I took my Sherman back, re-mounted the scope, and loaded it.
K: "NOW WE CAN WIN!" I hefted my rifle into the air.
Trixie: "NO! NOOOOO!!!!! NOT WHEN I WAS SO CLOSE!! ATTACK, YOU WORTHLESS WORMS!! CHARGE THEM NOW! KILL EVERYTHING!" She screamed in insane defiance.
Her forces left the starting gate before the Wonderbolts could start their attack run. I waved them off, and they flew towards the reinforcement columns.
Trixie charged us with her entire remaining force. And she led them. We turned, and started firing right away. This time, though, the Raptorians weren't afraid of the gunshot noises, they kept coming. We managed to magdump into the charging Raptorian Wave Attack, and cut down the entire front and second ranks. Pinkie was making ungodly war-cries, louder than the guns. But, they kept charging us. All the way up the slope, and we had no choice but to counter-charge and meet them head-on.
I rushed into the first Raptorian I saw, and jammed my bayonet into its stomach, fired twice, and kicked it off. Pinkie swung her Sherman like a war club, cracking the stock over the head of a Raptorian, breaking both. She kicked it in the face, tore her bayonet off of the front of the rifle, and tackled three more, stabbing them with a Norman Bates ferocity.. no, more like Jason Vorhees.
Rarity had fallen back, initially, to provide sniper cover, but moved forwards with us, levitating her Lee alongside her, and firing both her rifle and pistol at the same time until they ran out of ammunition. She jumped, grabbed her Sherman, and impaled it straight down into the head of the nearest Reptilian, as graceful as a ballerina, before front-flipping off of it, and coming down, rifle and all, making an over-head sweep with the rifle, impaling the blade into another.
Twilight and Spike were magdumping like a pair of survivors fighting off a zombie horde, from on top of a rock, with her flinging a few magic bolts here and there at random targets. Fluttershy was scream-sobbing an incredible line of curses she could only have learned form me, along with a few more inventive turns-of-phrase, shooting, stabbing and kicking every Raptorian in sight.
Shotgun blasts were going off, with country-fried taunts following - 'That's my gal!' I thought. I saw Twilight again out of the corner of my eye, then in a burst of light, she was flying backwards. In horror, I turned to the source of the light, and there was Trixie, charging at me. I didn't have time to swing my rifle around, so I dropped it, and braced for impact. Her horn hit my solar plexus, knocking the wind totally out of me. I was on my back, with her on top of me, her eyes fixed for murder.
Trixie: "YOU! YOU! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU!!" She grabbed my collar in her hooves.
She started pounding me with her hooves.. hard.. she was trying to beat me to death.. I could barely raise my arms up to try to block her.. I could feel blood on my face.. it was getting dark..
AJ: "GIT OFF'A MAH STALLION!"
*KA-TA-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM*
The Prism Cannon.. it fired, it caught Trixie square in the face and chest, and blasted her off of me, sending her rolling down the slope. She came to a stop, and wasn't moving very much. Her troops saw this, and everything stopped. One of them screamed, and bellowed something I couldn't hear.. and they all started running off. The enemy reinforcements saw this blinding pillar of light, and combined with the strafing and bombing, they, too, broke ranks and ran. I struggled to my feet..
K: "A-applejack.." My vision was blurry.
AJ: "Right here, shug.." I felt the warmth of her body up against mine as she pulled me to safety.
K: "Are you hurt?" I was more worried about her..
AJ: "Not as bad as you." I was pulled back over to the enclave area, and sat up.
I fiddled for my glasses, straightening them on my face.
K: "We won?" I asked softly.
AJ: "We won." She nodded affirmatively.
Twilight: "TRIXIE'S STILL ALIVE!"
I hadn't seen it, but Pinkie had.. changed. Her hair had gone straight. The stress of the battle had flipped a switch inside of her. Pinkie Pie.. no, Pinkamina.. spun on her hoof, and started marching.. stomping over to where Trixie was.. blood dripping from her face, from her knife.. she was going to kill her!
K: "STOP HER! I NEED TRIXIE ALIVE!!" I pointed.
Spike: "PINKIE!"
PDP: "WHAT!?"
Spike: "Catch!"
He threw a pie in her face. I was dumbstruck. A pie? All of a sudden, though..
*POMF!*
Pinkie: *Giggle* "Good one, Spike! I never saw it coming!"
*Laughter*
Spitfire landed by me, while Luna's Guard came up beside her. The Wonderbolts landed behind Spitfire, as she plodded forwards, nodding to me.
Spitfire: "You look like a squashed cupcake." She helped me to my feet.
K: "I feel like one. Report." I nodded.
Spitfire: "Her Majesty, Princess Luna, is in Appleloosa, with two of her Guards. She sent the rest of us ahead to help you. Well.." Spitfire looked at Rainbow Dash. "Dash here.. flew back to Fort Cinchell to get us. Get help. She pulled us all out of bed, she said you were in trouble."
K: "We were, until you showed up. Dash? Care to explain?" I looked to her.
Dash: "Uh, yeah.. well, see, at first I flew to Appleloosa to get help, but then I saw this demonic-looking guy leading all these.. monster things.. and I knew you guys were going to get squashed, so, I flew as fast as I could back to Fort Cinchell. I met Princess Luna along the way - she was afraid they'd attack Appleloosa, so she went on ahead, and I kept going on back to Fort Cinchell to get the Wonderbolts.." She blushed a little.
K: "Why the blushing?" I tilted my head.
Dash: "I was so worried, I Sonic Rainboom'ed again.." She looked humiliated.
K: "Again!?" I furrowed my brow in concern.
Spitfire: "I couldn't believe it either, but when she flew into our quarters, sure enough, she was trailing a rainbow." She shrugged, nonchalantly.
K: "So, you were so emotionally distraught, you managed to pull off a Sonic Rainboom all the way back to Fort Cinchell, in level flight." I wagged a finger at her.
And she'd maintained that speed for over an hour, to get as far as she did. The return trip at the maximum boosted speed of the well trained Pegasi (which is roughly the cruise speed of a Cessna 170-series) would have been about seven hours. It fit - from the moment I sent her out to the moment she got back here was almost nine hours.
Dash: "Yeah.." She rubbed the back of her head.
Spitfire: "I gotta admit, I've never seen something like that before. That was awesome. We would have been here sooner, but it took more time than we thought, getting our weapons and bombs ready." She shrugged.
K: "I think, from now on, I'll have an Armory next to your quarters in Cloudsdale, so you can act as a QRF." I nodded.
Spitfire: "QRF?" A brow quirk from her.
K: "Quick Response Force. If something like this happens again, you can be here.. 'the firstest with the mostest' as we say on Earth." I nodded.
Blaze and Soarin gathered up Trixie, and Luna's Guards held her while I walked over. Her face was smoldering, smelling like cooked horse meat, and when I lifted her hair aside to look her in the eye, all I could see was scorched flesh over the right side of her face.
Rarity: "DEAR CELESTIA!" She held both forehooves over her mouth in shock.
K: "Oh, my god.." I shook my head in disbelief.
Even I had to hold a hand to my mouth for that. That was.. just.. her face was burned into a huge scar. I was certain she was blinded in that eye permanently. She was mumbling to herself, incoherently. I think she knew that her looks were ruined, and was having some kind of mental break.
K: "Get her medical attention! I don't care if she's the enemy, we're not about to let somepony suffer. Just.. keep an eye on her." I shook my head.
Several hours later, we were all in the Clinic in Appleloosa, with Braeburn fretting over Applejack... then she told him we were in love, and..
Braeburn: "WHAT?!" He was surprised.
AJ: "It's true, I love him, cousin." She nodded, firmly.
K: "She saved my life, I saved her heart." I shrugged.
Pinkie: "BUT! You didn't save SOMETHING for Marriage!" *Giggle*
AJ: *Sourly* "Thanks, Pinkie."
Braeburn: "I.." He paced over to me, with the most confused, puzzled look on his face. Then he shook his head and held out his hoof to me. "WELCOME to the Apple Family, K!"
I weakly shook hooves with him.
K: "Thanks, Braeburn. I sure am enjoying this comfortable hospital bed here in Aaaaa-ppleloosa." I coughed.
I exaggerated the pronunciation just like I remembered him doing, but without his usual excitement. I was just too tired. Then, Luna came in the room, with Steelhoof.
K: "Princess Luna!" I sat up in bed.
Luna: "Greetings, K. It's been a while." Her voice had a little blush in it.
I deduced she was still carrying a bit of a torch for me. Applejack didn't seem to notice, or if she did, didn't care.
K: "Yeah.. how are you?" I tilted my head.
Luna: "We.. I'm just fine." She nodded. Someone's been working with her on how to talk like a regular person! "We were.. very worried on hearing you'd all been injured."
K: "Nothing serious. Twilight got off the worst." I nodded to her.
She had a big burn bandage over her midsection. Trixie scorched her pretty good, but it wasn't serious by any means. Rarity had a bruise on her neck (and she was going ON and ON about how she'd never be able to cover it up - her complaints made me feel good, though), Spike got his tail slammed under a club, and it was bandaged. Applejack got a cut on her right foreleg, fairly deep, but nothing remotely dangerous. Fluttershy didn't even get a scratch - she was in the air most of the time. Pinkie had sore hooves from beating a Raptorian to death, and a sore leg where one managed to kick her. RD and the Wonderbolts were also unharmed.
As for me, I had a bruise forming on my stomach that'd be tender for a few weeks, and I'd gotten a cut on my head. No concussion, thankfully - Trixie just wasn't that strong.
Trixie, though.. her face was half-bandaged, like a pony Harvey Dent. I felt bad for her. I knew that we couldn't kill her - and I'd always been critical of Batman and Superman for that, watching their cartoons. But now, I knew how they felt, I knew their thought process. I knew why they didn't kill their opponents, despite living in far less innocent times than we did right now - it simply wasn't the example they wanted to set. They wanted to be.. like the Girls.. forgiving.. caring.. or, in Bruce Wayne's case, because even as a Dark Knight, he couldn't bring himself to that level.
I knew, exactly, though, that her survival meant she would one day escape imprisonment and try to kill us all. That was unpreventable, unless we killed her - and that was off the table.
K: "Overall, Princess, the Shermans performed better than expected in real combat. The rounds are effective manstoppers, better than I ever thought. The Lees may lack shock power, but they're just as deadly - Rarity proved that. Chief Thunderhooves has agreed to the Armory at the site we originally planned, and has agreed to protect it. Overall, my only recommendation is that we all.." I indicated myself and the girls "..not be dumb enough to go out on a trip like this without more ammunition. I'm sure Tirek will try again."
Luna: "We-I've come to the same conclusion. Sheriff Silver Star has asked for weapons." She nodded.
K: "I'd like to borrow Braeburn, actually, and train him as a Model Soldier." I looked to Steelhoof.
Steelhoof: "That can be arranged, of course, K." He nodded with a grin.
K: "Braeburn? It's gonna be your job to train the Sheriff and a few trusted townsfolk. You're going to be forming the Appleloosa Militia." I gestured.
Braeburn: "Wow! I-I don't know what to say!" He blushed a bit.
K: "How about offering us some apple pie? That'd be a great start, I'm famished." I smiled.
Braeburn: "You got it!" A sharp nod.
That night, we broke ground on the Armory, but it was a bittersweet thing. Two Buffalo had died while we were protecting the enclave, and Thunderhooves' injuries were serious enough that Little Strongheart had to attend in his stead.. she looked right, wearing the full head dress. Despite this, we had our start. Now, Equestria would be able to produce more than just a few weapons at a time - and we now had a reason to use them.
{End of Chapter 4}
