Advertisement
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up,
it unlocks many cool features!
- >When you woke up the next morning, Batmare was already slipping armor plates into her cloak, preparing for the mission.
- >You sat up, rubbing your eyes as you looked over at the mare across the room from you.
- >”Morning.”
- “Morning.”
- >”Listen, about last night…”
- “What about it? What’s done is done.”
- >”I was pretty drunk…”
- “You drank an entire bottle of whiskey in the time it took me to ask the bartender like four questions. I knew you were drunk.”
- >”So yeah, I got sort of mushy. Sorry.”
- “Hey, we’re all entitled to our mushy moments.”
- >”I figured you for the fake macho stallion type. You aren’t gay are you?”
- “No, why? You got a crush on me?”
- >”Oh shut up.”
- “Alright alright. Let’s get in the air.”
- >You quickly threw on your flight suit and strapped you pistol to your vest, and looked at the cloaked Batmare, who was staring back at you.
- >”Anon?”
- “Yes?”
- >”We still friends?”
- “Of course.”
- >”Thanks.”
- “Are we going to stand here like a couple old ladies and talk or are we going to do our jobs?”
- >Batmare gave the slightest hint of a smile and trotted out after you and to the chopper.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBh942pS_yk
- >You lost track of how many days you had flown so far, across the vast desert, following the railroad tracks ahead of you.
- >It felt like weeks, with the repetition and unchanging landscape.
- >Food was rationed for the journey, as was water, but you were still running low on both.
- >There wasn’t exactly a cargo area, after all.
- >What didn’t fit in the floor at Batmare’s feet, was strapped to the helo.
- “Hey, you know I can take him by myself? We’re out of Equestria by now.”
- >”We left Equestria like 10 minutes after we took off.”
- “Are you even supposed to be out of the country?”
- >”Do you see a uniform on me?”
- “Well… no.”
- >”Exactly. Besides, there’s no way I’m letting you have all the fun.”
- “Alright. Thanks.”
- >You couldn’t help but smile as you rounded a cliff face, following the tracks into an enormous valley of hot sand and death.
- >Carcasses and bones of long deceased travelers and traders decorate the landscape around you.
- >”Broken Keylands. The odds of getting through here on hoof are pretty slim.”
- “Well, good thing we’re flying.”
- >”Yeah. Nothing but death down there.”
- “Ye verily, though I fly through the valley of shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For I am flying a house sized mass of fuck you. Well, p0ny house anyways.”
- >”Pfffft. What?”
- “It’s a saying on earth. Usually with tanker crews.”
- >”Tanker crews?”
- “Never mind.”
- >”Hey! I think I see the train!”
- “Finally! Lets do this!”
- >You quickly caught up with the train, flying along the left side, flying as close as you dared as Batmare peered through the window.
- >”I see youuuuu.~”
- “Where is he?”
- >”Third from the rear car, third from the front window.”
- >briefly, you looked over to said window, finding a white unicorn in a red cloak, wide eyes staring back at you in fear.
- >”Let’s waste him.”
- “Cant.”
- >”What do you mean you can’t?”
- “I mean he’s surrounded by civilians. The smallest weapon system on this thing would kill the p0nies next to him.”
- >”Fine, I’ll go get him!”
- “Batmare, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”
- >”Relax, two captains of the royal guard duking it out on a train. What could go wrong?”
- >Before you could respond, Batmare pushed her way out of the cockpit and dove down to the trains caboose, knocking down the door, and going inside.
- >Shining Armor disappeared from the window, and you quickly dropped back so that you flew behind the train.
- >Minutes passed and you quickly began to fear the worst.
- >Close quarters with a defensive powerhouse, how exactly was she-
- >Your fears were realized as the back portion of the second to last car’s rear end exploded, sending the caboose off the rails and crashing into the sand.
- >A lone black figure rolled in the sand for a bit, before coming to a rest.
- >In the back of the damaged car stood a red cloaked figure, hood down.
- >If the explosion wasn’t enough, you could see it was Shining Armor clear as day now.
- >And if you were careful, this could work.
- >Switching the 30mm to AP, you lined up directly behind the train and fired off a burst.
- >The 30mm walked along the tracks, each round coming closer and closer until you were raining metal down on him.
- >Why were your rounds hitting so far to the left now?
- >You let up on the trigger, finding a purple screen tilted at an angle between you and Shining Asshole.
- “Clever fucker.”
- >You shifted your position, fired off another burst, hoping to catch his shield head on to deliver the full force of your weapon.
- >Not only did he match your movement, but he created another pair of shields, causing the rounds to whiz past your bird.
- >It was clear you weren’t taking him down now, not without blowing up the entire train.
- >Breaking contact, you whirled around and raced back to the crashed caboose, landing next to the unmoving body of Batmare.
- >You didn’t wait for the rotors to slow before jumping down into the sand, and rushing to Batmare’s side.
- “Bats?! Come on talk to me!”
- >You cradled her in your arms, tilting her head so she could cough up the blood that had pooled in her mouth.
- >”Did you get him?”
- “No… I would have had to blow up the entire train to get him… he’s a crafty fucker…”
- >”Damn it... I tried to get him out… I’m sorry…”
- “Hey! It’s not your fault. All I could ever ask was your best.”
- >”Promise you’ll get him for me?”
- “Hey, don’t talk like that.”
- >Your eyes fell down to Batmare’s chest, where her armored cloak had been burned away, leaving a 2 inch hole in her chest.
- >The hole was pretty deep, but was completely charred, so the bleeding wasn’t as bad as it could be.
- >Still… she didn’t have long.
- >”Come on Chief. I know I’m not making it. We’re still days from the next town.”
- “Bats…”
- >”Serenitatis.”
- “What?”
- >”My name… it’s Serenitatis.”
- “Cute… just like you.”
- >Batmare blushed the slightest bit, before turning her head and coughing up a bit of blood once more.
- >”Good luck Anon.”
- “It’s been an honor flying with you.”
- > Serenitatis closed her eyes and let out her last bit of breath, her body suddenly lifeless in your arms.
- >You eased her down into the hot sand and grabbed the spare helmet from the chopper.
- >She deserved better than this, but it was all you had.
- >A few hours later, you had dug a shallow grave with the helmet, and you had fashioned a makeshift cross out of a few planks from the caboose.
- >With your knife, you carved “Serenitatis AKA Batmare” into the wood with your knife.
- >It was sloppy, but you didn’t have much else.
- “See you in p0ny heaven. If there is one.”
- >You spent the night in the caboose, where you found a few bags of food to replenish your supplies.
- >The train would be a few days ahead of you when you woke up, but he had one way to go.
- >Eventually, you’d catch up to him.
- >He’d get what was coming.
- >It had been about a week since you had laid Batmare to rest beside those railroad tracks.
- >And finally, your hard work had paid off.
- >Below you, the landscape was covered in brilliant white snow, dappled by the occasional bunch of pine trees.
- >Ahead of you, snow-capped mountains stood.
- >And on the side of the nearest mountainside, you could make out one lone figure in a red cloak.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80XAJKqRU9k&feature=endscreen
- “Shining Armor, today you die.”
- >A lone hellfire missile streaked through the air, colliding with a magenta barrier that formed around Shining Armor.
- >The explosion shook the mountain around him, and an avalanche quickly came down on him, burying him.
- “That was easy enough.”
- >As the snow came to a rest, it became clear you spoke too soon.
- >The tiniest bit of a purple barrier shined through the enormous pile of snow.
- >A few moments later, Shining Armor levitated, still inside his bubble shield until his hooves were back on the ground.
- >The shield dissipated, the distance between you two easily halved from the avalanche carrying him.
- >You didn’t waste any time, switching to the 30mm and raining high explosives down on him once more.
- >Just like he did on the train, he angled a light shield, deflecting the projectiles to the side, even as you staffed left and right.
- >Quickly switching from the 30mm, you let loose a barrage of rockets, pounding the area around him.
- >With the pods temporarily empty, you watched as the smoke cleared, finding Shining Armor still standing, his red cloak torn to shreds.
- >He cast it aside, revealing his white coat that had fresh blood running down the side of his leg.
- >You strafed side to side, dodging a flurry of attacks.
- >Magenta bolts of magic streaked past you, a few washing over the reinforced belly of the helo.
- >As you strafed, you held down the trigger, hoping that one lucky shot that would obliterate his sides.
- >Breaking contact, you put some ground between you and him, rethinking your plan of attack.
- >His shields were impenetrable.
- >You had infinite ammo.
- >Truly, this was a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
- >Maybe…
- “Time to mix it up.”
- >You fired another hellfire and watched as it streaked through the air.
- >As expected, Shining Armor threw up another light screen as the missile paused overhead and began its dive.
- “Eat shit you mother-.”
- >You activated the 30mm and quickly targeted Shining Armor, and let loose a torrent of HE.
- >Shining Armor’s eyes only widened as the first of many projectiles slammed into his body.
- >The barrage lasted a good 10 seconds, and when the smoke cleared, all that remained was a pink mist.
- >It was over.
- >You tracked him all the way to the edge of the known world.
- >And now he was gone.
- >Good riddance.
- >A week later you stopped in Applepaloosa, where you walked into the same bar you had stopped at the first time.
- “Bourbon, leave the bottle.”
- >”Where’s your mare friend?”
- “Why don’t you shut your mouth and bring me some damn bourbon.”
- >“Alright alright. No need to get hostile.”
- >You quickly poured your first shot and slammed it back.
- “That one was for you girl.”
- >”Mourning the dead?”
- >You looked behind you at a new creature standing behind you.
- >Larger than a pony, lion body, and an eagle head.
- >This world just loved weird looking creatures didn’t it?
- “Let me guess. Griffon?”
- >”Yeah, you want a cookie?”
- “If you have one, sure.”
- >”I don’t.”
- “Then leave me to my drink.”
- >”I do have a job.”
- “I’m not a mercenary.”
- >”So you’re with the royal guard?”
- “I’m-“
- >”Oh shove it. I know who you are, what went down out there, I know why, more or less, and I know how. Griffons have eyes everywhere.”
- “Just tell me what you want.”
- >”There’s a war raging up north, between the minotaur republic and the griffon empire. We… aren’t doing too well…”
- “No deal.”
- >You threw back another shot and stood, walking out of the bar, bottle in hand.
- >”I didn’t even tell you the offer!”
- “I don’t care. This thing between me and Shining Armor was personal.”
- >You felt a few sharp talons grip your shoulder and you reflexively spun around, bringing a right hook across the griffons face.
- >She fell to the ground, rubbing her cheek where you had struck her.
- >”Not bad. My turn.”
- >She tackled you before you could even react, and the two of you tumbled around on the ground for a few seconds before finally coming to a rest.
- >She had you pinned, talons at your throat, beak inches from your face.
- >”Now are you going to listen?”
- “I’ve listened, and I’ve told you, I’m not interested.”
- >”Please… I’ve lost a brother to them.”
- “People die in war.”
- >”Little ones shouldn’t!”
- >Silence fell between the two of you, and after a few moments she got off of you.
- >You could only sit up and watch as she turned away, too proud to show her tears.
- “How old was he?”
- >”Too young…”
- “I’m sorry.”
- >”40,000 gold if you come help us. Plus whatever I can give.”
- “I’ll do it… but I need your help.”
- >”Whatever you need.”
- “First, I’ll need a name.”
- >”Gilda.”
- “Well Gilda, I need a co-pilot.”
- >”I’m in.”
- “I’ve been in this crazy world hardly even a month and I’ve already lost two co-pilots. Are you sure you want to-“
- >”I’m sure.”
- “Alright then. Meet me at the inn at sunrise. Bring all your things.”
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement