Prince of Equestria - Blood Moon Summer, Part 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6l_iIqrM2E
>You are Shining Armor
>Man, you hate airships…damn things always make you feel queasy.
>”Remember Armor, use the airship and evacuate the campers, but you DO NOT engage the enemy and DO NOT LEAVE without royals!”
>You nod at Wuten, gritting your teeth as the airship descended towards the lakeshore below.
>”Keep me advised on the situation. Remember your radio security. The prince and princess are codenamed Phoneix One and Two, respectively.”
“Yes, sir.”
>Wuten nods as him and the rest of his team begin their descent on their drop ropes. “Good luck…squad leader.”
>Your chest puffs a little as the airship rises back into the air, having dropped the first squad for their own mission…
>Time for you to attend to yours.
“Violin, what’s the communications status with the first squad?”
>The brown unicorn looks up from his bundle of radio equipment. “Loud and clear, squad leader.”
“Good, good…I trust you were all awake for the briefing?”
>The assembled squad of enlisted trainees nod, their gaze locked on you.
>You can see it in their faces. It’s a simple mission, but it is still their first.
>And you have to lead them…
“Alright, sound off. Sorcerer!”
>”Ooh rah, sir.”
>Big bastard of a unicorn…you make a mental note to never challenge him to hoof wrestling.
“Brainhorn?”
>The pale yellow unicorn glares at the deck. “Sir.”
>Kinda creepy…
“Skippy.”
>”Yes sir?”
“Just seeing if you’re with us, private.”
>”Oh…yeah, sir.”
>You cock an eyebrow. Kinda spacey…
“Mandroid.”
>The white pegasus cracks his neck. “Ready, sir.”
“Good. Andrew.”
>The red pegasus turns off his music player. “Yes, sir?”
>What a weird name…
>You glance over the rail as the airship descends into the clearing at the camp’s gate for landing, the campsite itself passing under you.
>Looks like the noise from the airship’s pass has begun to stir the camp.
>At least you hope it’s that benign.
“Alright stallions…remember, we may only be trainees, but we’ve been tasked with the evacuation of this entire camp, including two members of the royal family. Evacuate the civilians, and secure Phoenix One and Phoenix Two. GOT IT?”
>The reply is unanimous.
>”OOH RAH!”
>It makes you swell with a little bit of pride as a grin crosses your face, the ramp dropping as the airship crew settles the craft on the ground.
“That’s what I like to hear! Let’s show the commander what the future of the Equestrian Royal Guard is!”
>You turn and look down the ramp, at the path leading to the camp.
“MOVE OUT!”

----------------

>You are Sergeant Wuten.
“Okay squad, spread out and begin searching. The anomaly was last reported here, somewhere on the western side of the lake, near the border. Find it, but do not engage.”
>Your headset crackled with the replies of his squadmates as they fanned out to search the forest.
>Of course it had to be a forest at night…
>You tighten your grip over your spear, your eyes sharp and your mind focused.
>After spending so much time training raw recruits, you had almost forgotten what it was like in the field.
>You use the spear to aid your movement through the underbrush, the utter stillness of the wood.
“Squad 1, check in…”
>Your squadmates all check in. No sign of the threat.
>Or anything else.
>You take a deep breath. Something is wrong here.
>You can smell it in the air.
>Wait…that’s a smell you’d recognize anywhere.
>Blood.
>You pick up the pace as you follow the scent, involuntarily tightening your grip on your weapon.
>The scent gets stronger as you make your way to a clearing, rounding a corner to find…
“Oh sweet Celestia…”
>You manage to keep your meal in your gut as you take in the scene of utter carnage before you.
>It looks like somep0ny…or some THING, took these two…
>What are they, Minotaurs?
“What are minotaurs doing here?”
>You poke the mostly-intact one with the point of your spear.
>The other one looks like a head.
>The rest of him was apparently used to paint the landscape red.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5JvbD2Zc9I
>It really has been a long time since you were put through this kind of stress.
>You swear you can hear their screams as they met their final end…
“Squad 1, look alive. Something is definitely here…I’ve found the remains of two minotaurs in sector 2-B, just short of the border…”
>Your attention is snatched by a blob of white, tuning out any response your squad may have offered.
>Galloping over, you look down on the bound, unconscious unicorn filly.
>Something happened here…that much was obvious.
>You lean down and press your ear to her shoulder.
“Still breathing…hey, wake u-“
>”SERGEANT! CONTACT, SECTOR 2-A! IT’S-“
>You bolt upright.
“Soldier, repeat. You broke off…”
>…
“Soldier, repeat!”
>…
“Sugar Cake, report!”
>No response.
>Your head darts around as you grip your spear.
“Squad 1, check in!”
>Nothing.
“ANYONE?!”
>You freeze when you hear the bush rustle dead ahead of you.
>You can’t move, not even to raise your spear as a benign chuckling fills the air.
>A flash of a deep, bright blue shoots from the foliage as you see a mass of magical energy fly.
>Straight for you.
“Good bye…Primavera…”
>It’s the last words you utter as the lance of burning, dark magic smashes through your skull.

---------------

>You are Shining Armor.
>By the time you and your squad arrive at the camp, most of the campers are already awake and asking questions.
>More than a few were upset that you couldn’t offer them answers.
>However, very few p0nies would try to argue with armed soldiers in the dead of night.
>Lucky for you they didn’t know you would never coerce them with force.
>But your mind is somewhere else right now. Where is…
“Cadence!”
>The pink alicorn blinks and looks up to you out of the confusion, a big smile of relief spreading across her face.
>”Armor!”
>She works her way through the crowd, rubbing her face against your neck as she reaches you.
>After the pleasure of your impromptu reunion wears off, the princess backs away to look at you.
>”Armor, what’s going on? What are you doing here? Where are we going?”
>You silence her by bringing your hoof to her snout.
“Cadence, right now I have explicit orders to evacuate this camp, and to make sure you and Anon are among them. Now where is he?”
>”I don’t know…my friend Rarity’s missing too…”
>Cadence is cut off as Violin runs up to you, saluting.
>Violin: “Sir, Phoenix One is not among the male campers…”
>Well…this is a problem…
>Cadence: “Oh no…I bet they snuck off together. They’ve been getting along really well…”
>An image of your best friend getting lucky with some mare crosses your mind, and you regret it instantly.
>Cadence: ”We have to find them!”
>Your attention is snapped back to reality as Cadence takes off, veering towards the lake.
>Towards the containment zone…
“WAIT! CADENCE! COME BAC….buck it all…”
>You shake your head and turn to Violin.
“Get on the horn with Squad 1, inform the sergeant of the situation. Get the civilians to the airship, then come back and search for Phoenix One. I’ll retrieve Phoenix Two…”
>Violin salutes as you turn and give chase to your special somep0ny.
>Nobody notices the pair of jet black orbs watching the scene from the shadows.
>Anon: “Oh Armor…they’ll find me alright…”