I made my way down a small trail in the mountains of the Marejvae Desert outside of Las Pegasus. I swear all the puns in this world are going to kill me. I look above me to scan the cliff walls with my suppressed rifle, the stars glinting overhead, my helmet's motion tracker showing only small contacts of the desert wildlife.
The armour that I was wearing was a boon that I had discovered when I was still in Stalliongrad over the winter. It was that of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, and right now that high tech armor was helping me moved quickly across the desert from where I was dropped off by the Sheriff. The armour consisted of an underlayer that consisted of a thick and airtight ballistic weave and helped to regulate the body temperature of the wearer. On my legs were powered actuators that decreased the effort needed to move across pretty well any terrain for longer than even my enhanced endurance could allow me. The portions on my arms and chest allowed for increased lifting strength as well. It was no MJOLNIR armour, but it was enough to make the trek easier. The helmet was the best part though. Motion tracker, smartlink optic reticle, and best of all, VISR. Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance or VISR was a piece of kit that all the soldiers and especially Tier I operators back on Earth would have giving their souls for. Granted most of the more useful features, like the overlay of the targets, didn't function, but I was able to use a scanning feature that I had discovered to get navigation assistance by scanning maps of the area. I had set a nav marker on the mountain that was the Don's base of operations.
The rifle that I carried was a Tier I operator's dream. A modified M4 carbine, it had the attachments that allowed it to link to the sensors in my helmet that allowed for the smartlink optics that would help to compensate for wind and other environmental factors. It also had an integrated suppressor, the barrel from the front sight post forward had been replaced with a suppressor that maintained the same overall length of the weapon without having to have a longer barrel that could have made the weapon unwieldy in close quarters. The rail on the upper receiver only had a flip up iron sight as I had not had time to get any other optics zeroed in before I came out on this rescue mission and I was not lying in the snow to sight in the various optics that I had in my bag of goodies when I was back in Stalliongrad, my new found resistance to cold notwithstanding. It also had adapter plates on the left side of the weapon for attaching to the magnetic weapon holder the back of my torso armour.
I carried on my vest a double combat load of fourteen magazines, plus another magazine in a butt stock pouch and the magazine currently loaded in the weapon, giving me four hundred and eighty rounds for my primary weapon.
My sidearm was a suppressed M6 from the Halo verse. A .50 caliber handgun, the barrel had been replaced with a highly effective suppressor. The weapon attached to a magnetic plate on my right thigh, with eight twelve round magazines in a pouch attached to my left thigh, those combined with the one loaded in the weapon, gave me one hundred and eight rounds to work with.
The suppressors on both weapons were highly effective, the only sound when fired was the sound of the weapon cycling. So long as I was able to keep my rate of fire low, I would be able to eliminate most of my targets without being discovered.
Soon enough I reached a rise about half a kilometer away from the mountain and observed a vehicle approach the cave opening. The vehicle appeared to be some kind of official transport. This was confirmed when I saw six Equestrians in some kind of plate armour get out before another one with both wings and a horn wearing a dress climb out of the passenger area. Words were exchanged with the ponies guarding the entrance to the cave before the ones by the cave lifted crossbows and fired the heavy bolts into five of the larger and most likely male guards' chests and the leg of the smaller, most likely female guard before going down and grabbing the two females and dragging them inside.
'Well, shit. That complicates matters.' I thought as I got up from my prone position and began sprinting up to the vehicle, my dark matte colored clothing and armour providing me a bit of stealth, even under the light of the full moon. Soon enough I was taking cover behind the vehicle.
"Can't believe that prissy alicorn was stupid enough to come here." One of the remaining guards said.
"No kidding. At least the boss has a meal now with those idiots." A second guard said, the rustling of clothing indicating he was gesturing to the fallen stallions.
Incensed, I edged my way around the front of the vehicle and observed the layout of the area and the arrangement of the guards.
There were only two ponies outside the cave. Lining up my reticle on them, I moved my rifle from the furthest one to the nearest a couple of times until I had the sequence that I wanted to fire in.
Twice the rifle kicked into my shoulder and the two dropped to the ground, holes in their heads, dead before they hit the ground.
I quickly made my way to the entrance of the cave, spotting two more henchmen, a gryphon and a unicorn, both looking rough around the edges. Both were dispatched with a single headshot, the smartlink optics aiding my aim.
Moving through the tunnels, I dropped more patrols as I cleared tunnels and rooms, each with a single shot, and in the case of a barracks type area, I took to a more up close and personal approach, placing my rifle on my back and using a combat knife attached to my chest armour. Grisly work to be sure, but the less chance of having to get into an open firefight or having someone come up behind me, the better.
Nearly an hour later I was approaching the main chamber of the tunnel system, and what appeared to be where this particular dragon's horde was kept.
Sticking to the shadows, I was able to observe half a dozen or so henchmen, and the Don himself. The dragon was a big bastard, nearly twenty meters long and as big around as an SUV. I listened in as the dragon monologued.
"So you think that you would be able to just walk in here and make demands of me little princess. Oh you poor deluded child, so sure of your power." He said.
"You can't do this. I am a member of the royal family of Equestria. If you don't release me and the ponies that you are holding prisoner there will be consequences." The pink princess said, her tone trying to be regal, but a waiver in her voice betrayed her fear.
I took note of a pegasus stallion in a blue and yellow jumpsuit that had numerous tears and one of his wings hanging limply, the appendage damaged painfully. There was also the mare that was with the princess, she had been stripped of her plate armour, her leg tourniqueted above where the crossbow bolt had pierced, still oozing blood and the limb hanging unnaturally, the bone obviously broken by the projectile.
I began lining up my shots, know that as soon as I started firing, the element of surprise would be gone.
Taking a deep breathe, I opened fire. Six shots, six seconds, six bodies hit the ground.
There were about three seconds where there was nothing but stunned silence, then the dragon roared, shaking the cavern and rattling my bones.
Reaching into a pouch on my belt, I pulled out a sphere of tungsten, and slung my rifle on my back before stepping out of the shadows, charging on of my more unique skills that I had perfected in Stalliongrad.
"Who dares enter my domain and attack like a coward!?" The dragon roared as I approached.
"A SOLDIER First Class that has seen the injustices that you have perpetuated on the citizens of Las Pegasus. I have come to remove the taint that you leave where ever your forces go." I replied as the crackle of voltage built around me.
The dragon laughed cruelly. "What do you plan to do you puny thing? Slay me?"
"That's the idea." I said as I raised my right hand, the tungsten sphere sitting in the crook of my index finger, thumb ready to flick it forward.
The dragon laughed, opening his maw widely, giving me the perfect target. Lining my arm up with the opening, I flicked my thumb as if I was shooting marbles, but this marble left my hand at hypersonic speeds, punching through the dragon's upper palate and through the top of his skull, the force and micro shock wave from the sonic boom sucking out his brain matter and splattering it in the small crater formed in the back wall of the cave.
The dragon's body swayed for a moment before collapsing with a resounding thump that shook the ground.
Walking up to the princess, I depolarizes my visor as I shook of the latent static charge.
"Are you okay ma'am?" I asked her.
I got the response of the pony turning and retching as her stomach emptied. Sighing, moved over to her and pulled her tri-colored mane back and rubbed her back between her wings until she finished dry heaving.
"Doing a bit better?" I asked quietly.
"A bit. Who are you and what did you do?" She asked.
"My name is Talisman Stryke. As to what I did, I used my rifle on the henchmen. The dragon, I used an ability of one of my spells to accelerate a ferrous metal projectile to about five times the speed of sound. Can you stand? We need to get those two down and get out of here. They definitely need medical attention and you could probably use a stiff drink or two." I replied.
She gave a short laugh, probably the beginnings of shock induced hysteria, but she nodded. I moved to the pair that was chained up. Going to the stallion first, I shook him a couple of times and he opened a pair of emerald eyes.
"Hey can you stand?" I asked.
"I think so. Are you the rescue team?" He asked, his voice raspy, and for some reason slightly distorted.
Nodding, I reached up and pulled the shackles open with a sound of screeching metal. The stallion stumbled for a moment, but quickly regained his footing before heading to where the pink princess was.
The mare on the other hand, was suffering from blood lose and was barely coherent. I shot of a quick Cure spell to try and stabilize her before carefully pulling the shackles off and picking her up bridal style, taking care not to jostle her injured leg.
Walking over to the other two with the injured unicorn, I said. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"How can we get out? The tunnels are confusing." The princess said.
"I marked the main tunnel as I made my way through." I said as I lead the way out.
Soon enough we had made our way outside to the vehicle that the princess had arrived in. I enter the passenger compartment and placed the unicorn in my arms on one of the seats and placed a couple of pillows under her leg.
I stepped outside and asked.
"Can all three of us fit up front without his wing being jarred to much?"
"We should be able to." The stallion replied.
I nodded and began to pull the five stallions that had given their lives into the transport, carefully arranging them inside. Closing the door once I was sure that their bodies were secure, I motioned the other two into the cab before going around to the driver's door and removing my rifle from my back before climbing in.
Placing my rifle in the center of the cab between the princess's knees, I closed the door and removed my helmet.
"Everyone ready for this night to be over?" I asked.
Nods were given. I started up the transport and began driving back to the city. Looking out the window as I drove, I noticed that the 'Mare in the Moon' motif that had been present since I had arrived had vanished from the surface of the satellite.
"Well that certainly isn't good." I said.
"What isn't good? The princess asked quietly.
"Look at the moon. Seems that the seal on the Nightmare has been broken." I said gesturing towards the night sky.
The pair gasped and the pegasus asked the princess.
"Your highness, what can this mean?"
"I'm not sure Soarin, I just hope Auntie Celestia is okay." She replied.
"By the way, your highness." I said. "What is your name?"
She gave a strained laugh before replying. "Sorry this night has gone to Tartarus and I've forgotten my manners. My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me Cadance."
I nodded. "Okay Cadence. I have to ask, what possessed you to come out here with such a small guard force? Surely you knew you would be dealing with an organized crime operation. I have a roundabout count of nearly a hundred ponies and griffons that he had working for him. You weren't expecting to just walk in and get Soarin were you?" I asked.
Her eyes hardened as tears welled up in her eyes. "I had to do something. I had no idea things would go so badly!" She replied.
"I mean no offense Cadence. I just wanted to try and find out your thought process on this. Because you are the one who is going to have to write the letters to those stallions' families and explaining what happened to their sons and husbands." I said as i jerked a thumb towards the cargo area as we turned onto the main road. The pink mare was subdued as the ramifications of her most likely spur of the moment decision sunk in.
Soon enough we reached the city and pulled up to the hospital's emergency entrance.
I climbed out and opened the side doors. I had just exited with the injured and thankfully still alive unicorn when nurses exited with a gurney.
"Her leg is broken and she has lost a lot of blood. I also have five deceased stallions still inside. If you can have some more gurneys brought out to transport them to the morgue so they can be cleaned up and prepared for transport to their families it would be appreciated. Also the is a stallion in the cab with an injured wing and dehydration amongst other issues." I said to the first nurse.
She nodded solemnly and began issuing orders to the other staff members, two of which assisted Soarin out of the cab. A group soon exited with gurneys and sheets and carefully brought out the bodies of the fallen. During this Cadence exited the vehicle, her appearance only garnered passing nods from the staff. One of the nurses took her inside to have her treated for shock.
Once the last of the remains were removed, I closed the doors and moves the vehicle to a side lot and secured it before entering the hospital to check on the living members of the group.
After being directed to a seat in the waiting area, I sat down and sighed. It had been a long night, and it looked like things were only going to get more complicated.