My Little Pony: Storm of Steel
Chapter 4: Citizen/Soldier
The locals had put their faith in their armed forces, and in the fortitude of their village. Vista Della Luna was carved into the side of a mighty mountain, and has repelled attacks throughout it's long history. The old had sons and daughters that have gone off to fight, telling the soldier-griffs how they reminded them of their children and sharing a laugh
The young looked up to the soldiers as heroes and role models. A day has passed, and the war has yet to reach the village. Regina kept at her post with a ready rifle. In the old turrets where the slits once used by archers now have the barrels of machine guns. The post office is now a command post, and locals still live in traditional houses called 'Baita'
Regina spotted a pony-soldier coming up the mountain trail "E seppellire lassu in montagna" Regina sang quietly to herself
The white-tailed eagle and light brown mare of a hippogriff looked down the barrel of her rifle "O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao"
"E seppellire lassu in montagna" Regina sang in a whisper as she had her target at 200 meters away "sotto l'ombra di un bel fior"
With that, she took her shot. Her flanks making a light wiggle from the recoil. She hit the pony-soldier in the forehead. A light 'plink' sound and a splatter of blood hit the side of the mountain behind him. His body fell off the side of the trail, and seemed to vanish into the forests in the valley below. Regina worked the bolt to extract the shell "Good shot"
Regina turned to see Captain Valentina, and gave her a grin and nod. The beautiful captain came with some sliced Focaccia al rosmarino to go with a dip of olive oil and shredded parmesan cheese, and offered it to the sergeant "Thanks" said Regina as the captain sat down next to her and they enjoyed breakfast together. They got to know each other too
"So what were you before you became a soldier?" Valentina asked, Regina lightly chuckled while enjoying the soft bread
"I was a baker before I became a soldier, and when I joined the army, I took all the 'cake' with me" Regina quipped, making a 'flank joke'
Valentina laughed and gave her a friendly swat. Regina bumped the side of Valentina's flanks which are as big as Regina's "Any plans after the war?"
"If I don't get killed? Probably settle down and raise up some children, if not...then just go back to the oven and the rolling pin, family business, you know?" replied Regina, Valentina nodded lightly with a grin to a fellow hippogriff that she was bonding with as a friend "soldier, keep an eye on that bend in the trail, if you see one, you'll see another"
"Yes sergeant" said the private named Alessandro. A gyrfalcon and white stallion hippogriff, he is a young and handsome soldier
The stallion soldier saluted the sergeant, and went to his post at one of the turrets carved into the mountain where he was at the helm of a 7.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun. An all-purpose weapon used by both the Army and Royal Air Force, it is very well-liked for it's reliability. The rate of fire is not something to scoff at with 800 rounds per minute
"Sergeant, could you take a patrol, and search the area?" said Valentina, taking Regina's place at keeping watch on the trail
"Yes Captain" Regina said with a salute, Valentina squeezed off a shot and hit a mare-soldier in the chest, sending her off the trail
"I see what you mean" Valentina replied working the bolt, and with that, Regina went down to the village square to gather up some soldiers
Although she now has a Bernadelli UB pistol at her side in a holster, she still prefers the rifle. Now with four rifles and two submachine guns in her patrol, they ventured out to the mountain trail to an area that would become known to locals as 'The Sniper's Bend'. The patrol consisted of two ferruginous hawk stallions and two rough-legged buzzard mares
"Andiamo" she ordered with a gesture of her taloned paw for her patrol to follow her. They left the village, and were on their talons and hooves for any sign of the enemy on the trail. Once they were coming up to the bend, Regina gestured her patrol to halt. Her wing-shaped ears picked up on the 'Pony-Talk' or English being spoken. That meant Ponies
The patrol kept silent while overhearing the conversation from the pony-soldiers "-These Pony-Birds ought to just give up and surrender-"
Regina gestured a hippogriff mare-soldier to move forward with a grenade "-I know, right? We have all the weapons, all the magic, and the best training-"
"-It's like crushing an insect under a hoof, it's no contest-" said a soldier-mare, meanwhile the hippogriff-mare crouched and pulled the pin on an M1 grenade
Hiding behind the other side of the trail, the hippogriff named Chiara threw the grenade which rolled down the trail toward the unprepared ponies "What the-GRENADE!" with that, it exploded, killing two in the patrol and sending another screaming off the trail to her death. Regina moved in as the ponies were moving up the trail to be riddled with bullets
Submachine gun fire mixed with pistol and rifle fire was what met the pony-soldiers on the other side of the bend. Their screams lingered on the mountain breeze. Regina saw a pegasus trying to make a break for it back to his basecamp. With a round ready in the chamber, she aimed and fired a shot, hitting the stallion in the back of the head. No mercy.