Chapter 6: Secondary Duty
DATE: 15 Decemus, 1001 C.S.
A month had passed since my little party. Chief Thunderhooves died of his injuries late last month as well. His funeral was magnificent. Strongheart was crowned Chief of the tribe in his place. This was the first serious death this world had seen in a long time, and the first three on my hands - Thunderhooves and two other buffalo. I was now sporting a leather bracelet with Thunderhooves' insignia on it - a gift from Strongheart. Thunderhooves hadn't lied when he said that I was his brother. He reminded me of my own brother...
The girls were off in Canterlot for a break - Celestia invited them to spend a week (a sleep over, actually - she wanted to get all girly for once, with some of her trusted friends). So, with no loving mare for a week, I decided to make myself handy.
Derpy was my first target. She'd been testing my hand-made/low production Shermans for me already without my knowledge, so I asked her if she had some friends that would like to get serious about protecting Ponyville. She responded with Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Nurse Sweetheart, Berry Punch, and Cheerilee. The six of us headed off to the forest, to a clearing I had set aside for training and experimenting. I looked at my troops.. my future Model Squad. This was going to be interesting.
K: "Uh, Nurse Sweetheart?" I nodded to her.
Nurse Sweetheart: "Yes, K?" She tilted her head at me.
K: "You're going to be the team medic, so, I don't want you to worry about rifle training all that much. I do, however, want you to come over to the Pistol table here and check out a Lee. Derpy? Give her a hand - and since we're officially forming a militia here to protect the town, I'm making you a Sergeant for now." I nodded to her.
Derpy: "SERGEANT Derpy!? WOW!" *Giggle* I got hugged for this.
K: "Understand, you've taken it upon yourself to learn about my weapons all on your own, you deserve this. Plus, I need a hand-er-hoof." I shrugged.
Derpy: "Gotcha! Come on, Sweetie!" She beamed a grin.
K: "Octavia, Vy, Cheerilee, Berry? Come with me, we're going to introduce you to your tools.." I took them over to the table I had set aside for this.
Lined up on it were seven Sherman Rifles, magazines removed. I picked one up and pulled the bolt back.
K: "This is the Equestria Rifle One, Mark One, Sherman. It's a gas operated weapon based heavily on the firearm I ended up in Equestria with, along with a partial design schematic I had on my cell phone.."
I had a whole bunch of stuff on there - if I'd ended up with my laptop, I would have made so much more. Of course, the battery died ages ago. I keep it in my bedroom, though, as a good luck charm.
K: "..the Sherman is based on these weapons. It's a straight blowback, gas operated weapon, firing a nine millimeter rifle round at about 570 meters per second, to a maximum effective range of about 200 meters. It is magazine fed, feeding from a ten round detachable magazine."
I inserted a ten-round 9x35mm magazine into the weapon and pulled the bolt open. Letting the bolt slide closed, I aimed the weapon at the first target on the line. It fired, and the target jiggled a little, a nice hole a bit off center.
K: "These are tools, but they're deadly tools. They can be used for good or evil - and we're here to learn how to use them for good. As you know, about a month ago, Twilight, her friends, and I, fought off a small army with just a few of these. So, if you're ever in danger, remember, you have the Sherman and they do not." I nodded.
After some indoctrination, I had them shooting. Watching them to see who was the better shot. Octavia and Vy were almost tied. I had my squad's snipers. And given that we, at this point, only had rifles and pistols, I wanted to have at least two Snipers in each group. So, I fetched two of Rarity's handmade scopes and pulled Octavia and Vy aside.
K: "Okay, you two, you're the best shots. Now, I'm going to show you how to use these." I held one up.
For ease of production, I had a slip-on style scope mount with a large lever to tighten the scopes down. All the rifles had this mount point. I picked two of the most accurate rifles I had on the rack, and attached the scopes to them. I handed one to each of them and proceeded to show them how to use the scopes on targets standing 100 meters away, then 200. I was sure the rifles could do more and reach longer ranges, but I wasn't a sniper expert. Someone, later on, could make the math, specialized scopes and all that other jazz for extreme shooting. Actually, I wondered if Twilight could do it.. then I saw a tree six hundred meters away take a hit, through my binoculars.
K: "What?!" I looked over, and saw Derpy with a smoking Sniper Sherman.
Derpy: "I GOT IT!" She giggled.
K: "Got what?" I tilted my head.
Derpy: "Well, by calculating the wind speed at range, and compensating for bullet drop-"
K: "You understand how to make long range shots, Derpy?" I interrupted her.
Derpy: "Yeah! It's easy!" She nodded.
K: "..I have an idea. Ladies! I'm turning you into a Ranger Unit."
Light infantry force with an emphasis on marksmanship and raiding tactics. I got Tav and Vy set up coaching Cheerilee and Berry, while Derpy worked with Sweetheart.
In no time, the girls were pinging 300-meter targets in nice, tight groups. Mind, they had on them about a quarter of the most accurate rifles I'd ever made, and all but two of my gem scopes. Since Cheerilee was the school teacher, I made her Corporal. She had compassion, but also, discipline.
The rest of the day was spent on Rifle Drills. I was reading over a certain tome - an E-Book I'd saved on my SIM chip (you wouldn't believe what I went through to get Spike and Twilight to transcribe it off the tiny screen of my phone before the batteries ran out) - about Roger's Rangers. It was a half-finished book a friend had started to write. Very technical, it started off with a story, but went into such intricate detail, it became more like a Ranger's manual of basic warfare. I was now studying this intently.
Day two and three were a few simple exercises. I tasked Derpy with getting her team from Point A to Point B without being seen by anyone in Ponyville. I promised a pizza-to-order for anyone who could prove they spotted Derpy's team (they were all wearing arm bands from their Winter Wrap-Up uniforms, reversed, with a muffin stitched on them). Derpy managed to complete the course without any trouble. The next task was to prank Mayor Mare - simulating a close-in kill of a High-Value Target. They got her with a thunder cloud and a water balloon (and I owed her a pizza - I told her to look out for them).
Last, I had them infiltrate the Cake's shop, and replace all their lemons with oranges, simulating a sabotage mission. Again, these playful ponies had it in the bag. Then I had them return the lemons without getting caught. Still, aces all around. Derpy shocked me with her aplomb and cunning.
Day four and five was obstacle courses. But, odd ones. Their task was to get through without getting clean - I doused them in thick mud before sending them off, and with the help of the Crusaders, I managed to construct a dandy water park at the edge of town for this. Side benefit? Ponies had a water park now.
Day six was something of a replay of what I did with Steelhoof, but different. They were to infiltrate an enemy entrenchment and capture the commander, not kill them. Again, the three little fillies were my "enemy army." They took turns playing the Commander.
It was down to the last part, now. Day seven..
DATE: 22 Decemus, 1001 C.S.
K: "Derpy!"
Derpy: "Yes, K?"
K: "Your last task is going to be a Field Training Exercise. If you pass this, you'll be as trained as I can make you in a week. And I've been thinking.." I nodded to her.
Derpy: "Yeah?"
K: "I'm calling your unit, officially, Derpy's Rangers, how about that?" I patted her on the shoulder.
Derpy: "OHMIGOSH!" *Kiss-kiss-kiss-kiss-kiss* "MY Rangers!" *Giggle/laugh/hiccup*
K: "Enough! Come on, Derpy, people will start talking." I playfully tried to push her off, her grip was amazingly strong.
Cheerilee: *Giggle* "I wouldn't say a word, K." She held her right forehoof over her mouth.
Octavia: "A proper lady doesn't kiss and tell." She shook her head.
Vinyl Scratch: "And what would you know about that?" She turned to her, and poked her shoulder.
Octavia: "More than you would." Tongue.
Vinyl Scratch: *Ooooohh!* "YOU! Sometimes!" She pointed at her.
Nurse Sweetheart: "Only sometimes?" She jabbed.
Derpy: "Knock it off, Rangers! We have a job to do! Saddlebag inspection in ten minutes - get ready." She was serious!
All: "Yes, Sergeant Derpy!" And off they went.
The FTX was to take place in the hills, between Ponyville and Manehattan. We'd be out for two days, stalking around and simulating taking fire. I had the Crusaders out there with rotten apples for the first day. The second day, we'd be using live ammo on a scrap building I made. A shoot house. This was the first time we'd be doing something like this, and the first time this facility would be used. We marched silently - I was walking casually (I was only an observer at this point), but Derpy had her Rangers skulking around, looking for "the enemy." We had our own rotten apples with us, to peg the enemy with.
Scootaloo: "YAAHHHH!" Rotten Apples inbound!
Derpy: "COVER! RETURN APPLES!" She pointed.
Octavia managed to nail Scoots right on the butt.
Scootaloo: "AIE! ARGH! AGH! I'M HIT! THEY GOT ME! AIIEEEIIAAAIIAEE!!"
She flopped around like a fish for several minutes. We couldn't help but have a laugh at her overacting.
K: "Enough, Scoots. By the time you're done dying, you'd be dead already." *Chuckle*
Scootaloo: "No fair! I had a whole death speech ready!" She crossed her forelegs.
K: "Go on." I shoo'ed her off to her next position, wherever she wanted it to be.
After over an hour and a half, I realized that none of the Crusaders had ambushed us.. and I was getting concerned. After all, Applebloom was going to be my little sister..
K: "Halt!" I held a hand up. "Cease operations. Derpy? I'm worried about Applebloom and her friends.. they were supposed to have ambushed us several times already. Do me a favor and scout around?"
Derpy: *Concerned* "You got it."
Cheerilee: "Alright, girls, take five, but stay alert." She nodded.
Octavia: "Yes, ma'am." She shrugged, and sat.
A majority-mare army? Hm. It was on my mind that the majority of the rank-and-file would be female.. I sat on a rock, and went back to the Ranger's book. The gender of my soldiers, I was indifferent to. What I was interested in, was their skill.
Derpy took a full half hour getting back.
K: "What's up, Derpy?" I looked up to her.
Derpy: *Worried* "I found Apple Bloom's backpack.." She handed it to me - it was torn up.
The claws looked like.. bird claws.
K: "GRIFFONS! I don't believe it!" *Huff* "Combat load, rangers, drop your apples. We got a real mission here."
Vinyl Scratch: "Are you sure we're totally ready for this?" She got up, reserved in her speech, but loading her Sherman anyway.
K: "We'll have to be." I shook my head.
Derpy: "Come on, Rangers! Get it together!" She got serious again.
Cheerilee: "My poor students.." She said, loading the magazine into her Sherman. "..don't worry, teacher's coming.." She seemed more angry than concerned, though.
Nurse Sweetheart: "I hope they're not hurt." She checked her medical pack, and her rifle.
Octavia: "If they are, I'm going to have roast Griffon tonight." She narrowed her eyes.
K: "Everyone ready? Let's go." I nodded.
We moved at a double speed pace to where Apple Bloom's backpack was found. Sure enough, I found a Griffon feather in the dirt nearby.
K: "That tears it. It's Griffons alright. They must be pretty close by.." I motioned with one hand, the other on my Sherman.
Nurse Sweetheart: "Why would they go after defenseless Fillies?" She asked, distressed.
Octavia: "Why do you think? They're going to have Flank of Filly for dinner tonight." She was plain with her delivery.
Derpy: "Quiet that scuttlebutt!" She snapped. She'd been listening to me in the Cafe some time back, talking about one of my Uncle's war stories. "Spread out, look for anything suspicious. Any. Thing."
Octavia: "Yes, ma'am!"
The girls spread out, and I moved up alongside Octavia. She was at the edge of one of the few sheer cliff faces in the otherwise gently rolling landscape. There was a small hole here - I would never fit inside. But Octavia might, and she was staring at it intently.
K: "Hey, Octavia, let me give you a boost." I nodded to it.
Octavia: "Alright. Be gentle. And no cheap feels." She gave me a look.
K: "I already have a woma-uh-mare." I coughed politely.
Octavia: "Uh-huh. And you're not into quiet, intelligent ladies, too? Right." She trilled a bit.
I was a little red-faced. I was sure she was joking, but that was the fourth pony to seriously flirt with me. I got down on my knees, letting her hooves find purchase on my backpack and shoulders. Once she was in a stable standing position, I stood up. She had to heft herself up a little, to get into the hole, but she managed it.
Octavia: "Take my rifle, it's too cramped in here to use it." She passed it back.
K: "Give it down. Be careful!" I took her rifle from her and she went into the hole.
A few minutes passed. Nothing. I was starting to get worried. Then, gun shots. Her Lee pistol barked in the hole, and I could see faint flashes from the muzzle.
K: "OCTAVIA!"
Derpy: "RANGERS! GET OVER HERE!" She ordered.
Derpy zipped into the hole, shedding her pack and getting her Lee out as she did. Into the hole in a glide, and I know I saw her wings hit the edges. It didn't seem to stop her. After a couple more minutes, with the others taking positions up behind the nearby rocks for cover, Derpy came back out, grunting. She was coming out flank first, so, I reached up and grabbed her back legs.
K: "Gotcha! Come on out." I encouraged.
Out she slid, Octavia coming up after her. They were both very dirty.
K: "Report, Sergeant." I nodded to her.
Derpy: "They're in there! They've got the kids! We flushed them, though, they're coming out the other exit! That way!" She hoof-pointed, and off we were.
Octavia grabbed her rifle from the ground and we were over the cliff face in no time. In a small depression in the ground, they came flying out. It was Goreham again, and his pals. Each one of his Hench-Griffons had a Cutie Mark Crusader in his talons.
K: "Shit-shit-shit.. OPEN FIRE! DON'T HIT THE KIDS!" I pointed to the sky, trusting their marksponyship.
Octavia and Vy were already in kneeling positions, and they were the first to shoot. Derpy took off like a bolt. Sweetheart and Cheerilee came up along the side, and opened fire from the flanks, while Berry Punch charged forwards. Octavia winged the second Hench-Griffon in the leg, making him drop Scoots. Derpy zoomed towards them, getting closer..
K: "CHECK YOUR FIRE!" I called, seeing her getting too close.
Derpy caught her, charged into the third one, and bayoneted him in the ass, making him drop Apple Bloom. She fell, Punch caught her as she landed. Derpy whirled around, Scoots held close to her body, and fired a round right next to the last Griffon's head. It wasn't going to be a hit, but the noise alone made him drop Sweetie Belle. Derpy let her Sherman dangle slack on its sling as she zoomed down to catch Sweetie. She then pulled into a landing.
K: "GOREHAM!!" I turned to face him.
Goreham: "HUMAN! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE, NOW! AND WE KNOW HOW TO FIGHT BACK!" How the hell did he know..?
K: "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" I defied him.
Goreham and his Hench-Griffons produced.. wooden wands. They flicked the tips in our direction - MAGIC wands! Pre-charged with different effects! Fire, explosion, transmute-to-glass, and one that fired solid charges like big slugs.
K: "SCATTER! OPEN FIRE! TAKE THEM DOWN!" I said, diving out of the way.
We scattered in all directions. I was blind-firing up towards them, and REALLY regretting not inventing a Machine Gun right about now. So much more effective an anti-aircraft weapon than a semi-auto rifle. I rolled in the grass, and came up with a shot at Goreham, which I took. It hit him square in the flank, passing straight through him and causing a nice bleeder. He flinched hard, and his slug wand fired. I watched in horror as Octavia went down, blood coming from her chest.
K: "MEEEEEDIIIIIIICCC!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Vinyl Scratch: "OCTAVIA!! NO!!" She screeched in fear and anger all at once.
Her eyes steeled in rage, she whipped up her rifle and aimed at Goreham. A crack, and at the last second, a Hench-Griffon got in the way. His brains were splattered all over Goreham's chest.
Nurse Sweetheart: "OCTAVIA! HANG ON!" She was right there, dragging her off of the battlefield.
Derpy rocketed from the ground, bayonet still mounted, and charged at Goreham. Just as she got close, he produced a short mace with a spade-like flanged head instead of a traditional ball. He blocked her thrust, and went to swing at her face. Derpy couldn't dodge in time, and got whacked hard (I swore for a second, her eyes corrected themselves). Blood spurted from a gash on her face, as she thrust at him again, only to be blocked. He was about to counter-swing, when I heard a bang. Derpy floated there, Lee in one hand, leveled at his gut, Sherman in the other, blocking his mace. Goreham was bleeding from a wound to his liver.. dark, sickly blood. He dropped the mace, put his hand there, and looked at it..
Derpy: "YOU DO NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!!" She absolutely SCREAMED at the top of her lungs.
Derpy screamed as she impaled Goreham on her Sherman's bayonet, sticking it in so hard, she rammed him all the way up to her hooves. Hoof-tackling him, she sent him careening into the ground, landing full speed on top of him, producing a sickening crack as his ribcage gave way. She extracted her Sherman, grabbed his mace in her other hoof, and with one mighty swing, caved in Goreham's skull.
The last two remaining Hench-Griffons, meanwhile, had been dodging Cheerilee and Vy's shooting. Cheerilee and Vy were chasing them on the ground, firing up at them as they tried to evade, and get clear shots of their own. One of them stopped and turned, only to get a shot in the face, that blew a dime-sized chunk out of the front, and the entire back of his head out the rear. He had just enough energy to turn his head to look at his friend, before he fell from the sky. The last remaining Griffon dropped his wand, and soared straight up in a zig-zag. Cheerilee tagged him in the rear leg, but he kept flying away, in fear.
I ran over to where Sweetheart had Octavia. She had a bandage over her chest already, and she was heaving for breath. Sweetie Belle started crying softly. Vy was right there, sliding an arm under her head.
Vinyl Scratch: "Tavi.. speak to me..?" She quivered, tears in her eyes.
Octavia: "Vy..? I-I forgot to duck.." She passed out.
Nurse Sweetheart: "She's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to a hospital.." She shook her head.
K: "DERPY!"
Derpy: "ON IT!"
And I thought Rainbow Dash was fast. Derpy zipped off for Manehattan - it was closer than Ponyville.
K: "Kids, are you alright?" I asked, getting over to them.
Scootaloo: "We're okay.. is Auntie Octavia going to be alright?" She asked, a sob in her voice.
Nurse Sweetheart: "If we can get her to a hospital in time, she should recover.." She nodded slowly.
K: "Octavia.. stay with us." I said, kneeling at her side, taking her hoof in my hand, and giving it a gentle squeeze. It felt so lifeless..
Several hours later, we were at the Manehattan Hospital. Royal Adviser of Defense, Princess Luna, arrived an hour after we did. She was very shaken. Octavia took a slug to the chest, lost a lot of blood, and had some serious organ trauma. Doctor Allcome, the chief surgeon of the hospital, was not optimistic.
Luna: "And, I suppose we've learned a lesson with this incident, too?"
K: "Yes, Your Highness. I learned today that just because a pony isn't one of Twilight's immediate friends, is no reason to discount their courage or willingness to make sacrifice. Derpy's Rangers saved the day today, and it was all them - I only gave them the basic tools to fight with, they did everything else on their own. They showed bravery, cunning, and a fearlessness that tells me that if Equestria was ever threatened, there would be ponies out there that are willing to fight, fight hard, and be ready to sacrifice everything they have, for their friends.
On a tactical note, the Ranger model was a success. We managed to chase the enemy to ground, engage him, rescue the hostages, and defeat the enemy force. I will recommend that Ponyville's militia unit be formed officially, and that Derpy's Rangers be made a permanent formation in Equestria's regular military, so a pool of trained Rangers are available to expand the force in the event of full scale warfare."
Luna: "That's a lot to say.." She put a hoof on my shoulder. That was a friendly gesture, but a far more familiar one than she probably should have done.
Vinyl was sobbing into Cheerilee's shoulder. After the party all those months ago, the two had become best friends, it seemed. They even moved in together, to share expenses. This hit her hard, and I was reminded of just how tragic wars really are. Octavia had become my friend as well. And I'd led her to that field.. her blood was as much on my hands, as it was Goreham's. If war was to come to Equestria, it would be fought by Citizen-Soldiers like her, and Cheerilee, and Derpy, just as much as it would be fought by professional soldiers like Steelhoof.
And that was the real pain of warfare - not knowing if the next mission will be your last, or what friends you won't come home with tomorrow. This is what I wanted to avoid in Equestria, but now it seemed we had no choice. This level of pain and danger was here, and it wasn't going away. My arrival had opened a Pandora's Box, and I wasn't sure what evils had escaped. I knew one thing, though - we had the one ray of light that chest contained. We had hope.
{End of Chapter 6}
