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Serve and Protect Ch6

By: ShinobiPony on Dec 9th, 2012 | syntax: None | size: 13.62 KB | hits: 122 | expires: Never

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>Just as the word left your mouth black, jagged forms rushed from the surrounding foliage
>A din of startled cries rang from the p0nies, who hastily sorted themselves out to mount a defense
>The world seemed to slow down for you as adrenaline coursed through your veins
>Heart beat thunderous in your ears; you turn to the fray, halberd ready to run any changeling you see through
>In a split second, your adrenaline flooded brain takes in the battle field
>Changelings everywhere
>In a scramble from the guards, the p0nies clash against the changelings immediately sending pained cries from both sides
>With a screech, a nearby one rushes you, fangs posed to bite into your neck
>Gripping your pole arm in damp hands, you swing with a roar tearing out of your throat
>The changeling’s eyes widen right before the ax head of your halberd collides with it, almost bisecting the bug in a fount of green blood
>One down
>A bloody haze sets over you, red bleeding into the edge of your vision
>These things dared threaten your home? Your friends?
>They will pay
“RRRAGGGGHH!”
>You thrust your halberd forward, spearing a changeling who screeched in agony
>This is only the beginning
>A single swing kills 3 of them, sending green blood flying in an arc
>A stomp of your greave caves in the skull of a down one
>Right as you raise your halberd to cleave another down the middle a sharp pain flares in your arm
>Kicking the changeling in front you instead, forcing it’s head around to an unnatural angle with a loud crack, you look at your arm
>Fangs sunk in as far as they would go, is a frightened changeling latched to your arm
>Wait, frightened?
>Indeed it is, it’s expression of terror is plain as day
>Good
>They should be afraid
>Reaching down to your greave, you pull your knife out and jam it into the insect’s underside, letting it’s lukewarm blood run over your hand
>Face morphing into pain, the bug slackens and lets it’s bite go, falling to the ground to bleed out
>You look at the 2 large holes in your arm, painful and bloody, but not debilitating
>Hearing a familiar female voice cry out, you turn to see an limping Gale being backed into a corner by 3 changelings, even with her superior body from the AD training; her inexperience was stopping her from fighting well
“Hold on Gale!”
>Rushing over, cutting down several changelings on the way, you lash out and cut a deep wound into the back of one of Gale’s aggressors, the chitin of its hide making a dull screech as the steel of your weapon meets it
>Apparently you hit it’s spine as the changeling lets out a strangled yelp as it’s back legs give out
>The other two turn to you, hesitating
>Taking the chance, Gale turns and bucks the right one in its side, sending it sprawling onto the ground where it lays and throws up blood and a few pieces of insect looking flesh
>Gale sharply inhales and freezes at the sight of the green fluid, body shaking in horror as she realizes what it is
>Before the other one can recover from it’s shock, a swing from you buries your halberd into it’s head, killing it on it’s feet
>Gale screams and flinches at the brutal action
>The battle begins to die down, the changeling numbers dropping
>A scratchy voice calls for a retreat, and in a frenzy the still able changelings rush from the camp into the woods
>Hold on, you still need to keep one for questioning
>Grabbing your halberd like a spear, you hurl it with as much force as you can muster at the slowest changeling
>The weapon flies true and pierces the leg of it, sending it to the ground
>The changeling’s eyes widen in panic as it calls out for help in the scratchy voice all of them seem have
>Not even one of it’s allies stop to look back
>Walking up to the down changeling, it panics and transforms into a foal
>You can’t help but stop, the p0ny equivalent of a baby on a battle field just too out of place for you to process at once
>The foals eyes water, before it starts crying in a distressed manner
>Gale, who had limped to your side, took one look at the foal before trying to walk to it
>Hold on, you won’t be tricked
“Gale stop”
>She does as told and looks back at you “But C-commander …”
>You stomp past her to the still crying foal
>As you get close its form begins to waver
>Just as you get to it the disguise fails completely, revealing the shaking changeling underneath
>You bend down and grab it by the neck, pulling it up to your height
>The insect almost seems ready to cry for real
“How unlucky of you”
>You take it over to 2 guards who seem relatively unharmed and drop it
“Tie him up, and don’t let him escape”
>Both nod furiously, eyeing your still bloody halberd
>You let the slightly choked changeling drop to the ground and turn back to the camp
>Blood litters the ground, along with the bodies of many changelings
>…And a pair of p0ny guards
>You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, this went pretty wrong
>A pang of pain in your arm stops anymore thoughts
>That’s right, that changeling bit you
>Looking a your now blood soaked arm, you put a hand over the 2 puncture wounds and press
>”Anon!”
>You look over to see a dirty Aegis slowly walking up to you, her face the picture of despair
>Folding up your halberd and strapping it to your back, you close the distance between yourself and her a few long strides, right before go to one knee and wrap her in a hug
>She returns it without any stall, gripping you tightly
“You alright Shiny?” you ask softly
>”I’m fine…” she says, even of her tone says the opposite
>You release her and step back to get a good look at her
>Dirty and scuffed, with only a small cut under her left eye as far as injuries go
>But in her eyes, it looks like she is on her last legs
>She sighs, and turns to the wrecked camp
>”I’m going to get this mess sorted out…Coming?”
>You wordlessly follow her
>As you walk to the heart of the camp you look around to see the devastation
>Of the small group of 20 normal guards, 13 of them are laid out on tarps on the ground, being tended to by the sole fanatic unicorn medic for various injuries
>Two of them however, lay unmoving with white sheets over them…
>You clench your fists, those hole-ridden scum…
>Most others seem to only have minor wounds, but a few are groaning in pain, the blood on their white coats standing out in stark contrast
>The few who were unscathed just look back and forth from the numerous dead changelings and the makeshift medical area with full body shakes and haunted expressions
>The three silver clad AD are huddled together a bit away, looking the most undamaged of anyone on the guard team
>Both Fade Away and Terra Former are trying and failing to comfort a crying Gale Force, her sobs echoing eerily in the silent clearing
>Looks like you were right, p0nies just can’t handle violence
>Once more the horrid idea you had your first night as commander of the Anon Detachment comes to you, looking even more tantalizing then before
>Although your morality rebels against it, the inhumane thought still gains ground in your mind
>You shake your head; there are more important things to think about now
>”Attention everyp0ny!” Aegis voice rings out, none of the negative feelings she had in the call
>All the able guards form up sluggishly in front of her while the injured ones look at her from their spots
>She takes a deep breath “I know that this had been a less than ideal beginning to the mission, but I’m afraid we must stay until reinforcement arrives tomorrow”
>Every one of the guards stare at her, looks of disbelief plastered on their faces
>”As such, I implore you all to rest up. I doubt that we will be attacked again but there is no need to take chances on this”
>She looks at you “Any words commander?”
>You shake your head
“None Captain”
>”Very well then, all able p0nies, set up a tent and rest for now, more orders will be issued later”
>At once, they all gave a single unenthusiastic “Yes Ma’am” and set off to do as they were told, shuffling slowly
>With that done, you walk with Aegis back to a hastily set up command tent
>Heading inside, Aegis closes the flaps of the tent with a flash of her horn
>She looks away, back to you, shoulders shaking
>Without a word you walk around to her front, sink to your knees, and pull her into a hug
>Aegis slowly presses her head into the cool metal of your chest plate
>Her whole body is wracked by tremors and you see tears run down your chest plate, yet she makes not one sound
>Strong, not letting anyone outside of the tent hear her distress, even in this horrific situation
>You sigh and hold your lover tighter
>Something tells you that this is only the beginning
~~~~~
>Several hours later, near sunset, the camp has calmed some as you and Aegis talk
>”I don’t get it Anon…Why would they attack us so suddenly and without reason?” she asks, her face set in a deep frown
>You bring a hand to your head, wondering that yourself
“Aegis, what exactly is north of Equestria?”
>The mare levitates a map out of her armor, looking it over briefly
>”North of us are some badlands, mostly unexplored”
“Is that where the changelings live?”
>Aegis shakes her head in a negative “No, they live south of Equestria actually”
>What?
>How the hell are they here then?
“Then why are these guys all the way up here? A splinter group?”
>”Possibly, but I heard that whoever the changeling leader is keeps a pretty tight grip on their people, so it would seem highly unlikely”
>You sigh, none of this made sense
>Five p0nies had been killed now by changelings
>The prisoner changeling had refused to speak
>And now you don’t even have a clue behind the motive of the attack
>This is just getting worse and worse
>”Commander Anon?”
>You turn to see Fade Away and Terra Former at the front of the command tent, the first nervously pawing at the ground
“Something I can do for you Fade?”
>”Well sir, its about G-gale…she is…w-well…”
“Speak up Fade” you say, hoping to get him to stop stuttering and tell you
>”For the love of the celestial sisters! That mare is about as freaked out as can be sir and we wanted to know if you could help” Terra Former interrupts, shooting an annoyed glance at Fade, who shrinks under the gaze
>You look over to Aegis, who nods
“Alright, lets see what I can do”
>Standing, you follow the two stallions through the camp, not noticing Aegis beginning to shiver the farther you got from her
>Sticking out like a sore thumb is the graves of the 2 unlucky guards, sticks and their helmets serving as markers
>Once more the idea comes to mind, almost looking like it would cause more good than harm
>You grit your teeth and force it away once more
>The AD would be fine without it
>You’re sure
>Almost sure…
>The sound of voices bring you back to what you’re doing
“Say something?”
>”Yes sir, we’re here” Terra says, pointing at a small tent infront of you
>Gale must be inside
”Gale”
>With a rustle of cloth the flaps of the tent come apart to reveal a red eyed Gale
“I heard that you were having some trouble, care to share?”
>She sniffles and looks up at you “Sir…how…”
>She gulps a lump in her throat away
>“How do you do it?”
>What is she talking about?
“I’m afraid that you will have to elaborate for me some”
>Gale sighs and looks up at the now night sky
“How did you not hesitate back in the…fight…”
>She shivers some at the word
>You…really aren’t sure
>It could be the changelings rather grotesque visage
>Or how they were a threat to your team and friends
>Or it could have just been a onetime thing, you could freeze up next time
>But you are not going to tell them that
“It’s just human nature I guess, my old home was so violent that no one was sensitive to it anymore…Murder, war, and other things were hardly worthy of the news”
>Fade and Gale stare, awe and horror written on their faces, even the stoic Terra Former let his shock show some
“I’m not too sure that it’s something that can be taught really”
>Just as you turn to leave you hear Gale speak up
>”Try”
>You turn your somewhat shocked face to Gale, who is looking at the ground, her expression unreadable
>”Commander…out there I felt useless…When the changelings struck the only thing that saved me was my armor… I’ve trained so hard so I could protect my loved ones and make them proud, if it wasn’t for you commander I would have died…”
>She raises her head, eyes alight “You said that you were going to train us like humans, so commander, please leave nothing out”
>This is interesting, and a bit unsettling
>They say coal can turn into diamonds under pressure but this just seems to be too much
>You look at Gale, still staring at you waiting for an answer
>From the corner of your eyes you see Fade and Terra listing closely
>…
>You have to now
>You know you would regret this
>The horrid idea would become a reality after all it seems
>Time to see if the pressure will break them
“Fine, the AD’s training will be amped up”
>All of them look at each other, Gale looking pleased, Fade worried, and Terra somewhat excited even if he tried to hid it
“Infact we’ll start tonight”
>Fade looks confused “Tonight sir? But it’s dark…”
“Exactly, this is going to be better and more challenging due to that”
>”Well? What are we doing commander?” Gale asks, the prospect of becoming stronger putting a grin on her face
“We’re going to track down the changeling survivors and eradicate them in the cover of night”
>Gale’s grin slipped off her face

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>Just as the word left your mouth black, jagged forms rushed from the surrounding foliage
>A din of startled cries rang from the p0nies, who hastily sorted themselves out to mount a defense
>The world seemed to slow down for you as adrenaline coursed through your veins
>Heart beat thunderous in your ears; you turn to the fray, halberd ready to run any changeling you see through
>In a split second, your adrenaline flooded brain takes in the battle field
>Changelings everywhere	
>In a scramble from the guards, the p0nies clash against the changelings immediately sending pained cries from both sides  
>With a screech, a nearby one rushes you, fangs posed to bite into your neck
>Gripping your pole arm in damp hands, you swing with a roar tearing out of your throat
>The changeling’s eyes widen right before the ax head of your halberd collides with it, almost bisecting the bug in a fount of green blood 
>One down
>A bloody haze sets over you, red bleeding into the edge of your vision
>These things dared threaten your home? Your friends?
>They will pay
“RRRAGGGGHH!”
>You thrust your halberd forward, spearing a changeling who screeched in agony 
>This is only the beginning
>A single swing kills 3 of them, sending green blood flying in an arc
>A stomp of your greave caves in the skull of a down one
>Right as you raise your halberd to cleave another down the middle a sharp pain flares in your arm
>Kicking the changeling in front you instead, forcing it’s head around to an unnatural angle with a loud crack, you look at your arm
>Fangs sunk in as far as they would go, is a frightened changeling latched to your arm
>Wait, frightened? 
>Indeed it is, it’s expression of terror is plain as day
>Good
>They should be afraid 
>Reaching down to your greave, you pull your knife out and jam it into the insect’s underside, letting it’s lukewarm blood run over your hand
>Face morphing into pain, the bug slackens and lets it’s bite go, falling to the ground to bleed out
>You look at the 2 large holes in your arm, painful and bloody, but not debilitating 
>Hearing a familiar female voice cry out, you turn to see an limping Gale being backed into a corner by 3 changelings, even with her superior body from the AD training; her inexperience was stopping her from fighting well                 
“Hold on Gale!”
>Rushing over, cutting down several changelings on the way, you lash out and cut a deep wound into the back of one of Gale’s aggressors, the chitin of its hide making a dull screech as the steel of your weapon meets it
>Apparently you hit it’s spine as the changeling lets out a strangled yelp as it’s back legs give out
>The other two turn to you, hesitating
>Taking the chance, Gale turns and bucks the right one in its side, sending it sprawling onto the ground where it lays and throws up blood and a few pieces of insect looking flesh 
>Gale sharply inhales and freezes at the sight of the green fluid, body shaking in horror as she realizes what it is
>Before the other one can recover from it’s shock, a swing from you buries your halberd into it’s head, killing it on it’s feet
>Gale screams and flinches at the brutal action
>The battle begins to die down, the changeling numbers dropping 
>A scratchy voice calls for a retreat, and in a frenzy the still able changelings rush from the camp into the woods
>Hold on, you still need to keep one for questioning
>Grabbing your halberd like a spear, you hurl it with as much force as you can muster at the slowest changeling 
>The weapon flies true and pierces the leg of it, sending it to the ground
>The changeling’s eyes widen in panic as it calls out for help in the scratchy voice all of them seem have
>Not even one of it’s allies stop to look back
>Walking up to the down changeling, it panics and transforms into a foal
>You can’t help but stop, the p0ny equivalent of a baby on a battle field just too out of place for you to process at once
>The foals eyes water, before it starts crying in a distressed manner
>Gale, who had limped to your side, took one look at the foal before trying to walk to it
>Hold on, you won’t be tricked
“Gale stop”	
>She does as told and looks back at you “But C-commander …”
>You stomp past her to the still crying foal
>As you get close its form begins to waver
>Just as you get to it the disguise fails completely, revealing the shaking changeling underneath 
>You bend down and grab it by the neck, pulling it up to your height
>The insect almost seems ready to cry for real
“How unlucky of you”    
>You take it over to 2 guards who seem relatively unharmed and drop it
“Tie him up, and don’t let him escape”
>Both nod furiously, eyeing your still bloody halberd
>You let the slightly choked changeling drop to the ground and turn back to the camp
>Blood litters the ground, along with the bodies of many changelings 
>…And a pair of p0ny guards
>You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose, this went pretty wrong
>A pang of pain in your arm stops anymore thoughts
>That’s right, that changeling bit you
>Looking a your now blood soaked arm, you put a hand over the 2 puncture wounds and press
>”Anon!”
>You look over to see a dirty Aegis slowly walking up to you, her face the picture of despair
>Folding up your halberd and strapping it to your back, you close the distance between yourself and her a few long strides, right before go to one knee and wrap her in a hug
>She returns it without any stall, gripping you tightly
“You alright Shiny?” you ask softly
>”I’m fine…” she says, even of her tone says the opposite 
>You release her and step back to get a good look at her
>Dirty and scuffed, with only a small cut under her left eye as far as injuries go
>But in her eyes, it looks like she is on her last legs
>She sighs, and turns to the wrecked camp
>”I’m going to get this mess sorted out…Coming?”
>You wordlessly follow her
>As you walk to the heart of the camp you look around to see the devastation 
>Of the small group of 20 normal guards, 13 of them are laid out on tarps on the ground, being tended to by the sole fanatic unicorn medic for various injuries
>Two of them however, lay unmoving with white sheets over them…
>You clench your fists, those hole-ridden scum…
>Most others seem to only have minor wounds, but a few are groaning in pain, the blood on their white coats standing out in stark contrast 
>The few who were unscathed just look back and forth from the numerous dead changelings and the makeshift medical area with full body shakes and haunted expressions
>The three silver clad AD are huddled together a bit away, looking the most undamaged of anyone on the guard team
>Both Fade Away and Terra Former are trying and failing to comfort a crying Gale Force, her sobs echoing eerily in the silent clearing
>Looks like you were right, p0nies just can’t handle violence 	
>Once more the horrid idea you had your first night as commander of the Anon Detachment comes to you, looking even more tantalizing then before
>Although your morality rebels against it, the inhumane thought still gains ground in your mind
>You shake your head; there are more important things to think about now
>”Attention everyp0ny!” Aegis voice rings out, none of the negative feelings she had in the call
>All the able guards form up sluggishly in front of her while the injured ones look at her from their spots
>She takes a deep breath “I know that this had been a less than ideal beginning to the mission, but I’m afraid we must stay until reinforcement arrives tomorrow”
>Every one of the guards stare at her, looks of disbelief plastered on their faces
>”As such, I implore you all to rest up. I doubt that we will be attacked again but there is no need to take chances on this”
>She looks at you “Any words commander?”
>You shake your head
“None Captain”
>”Very well then, all able p0nies, set up a tent and rest for now, more orders will be issued later”
>At once, they all gave a single unenthusiastic “Yes Ma’am” and set off to do as they were told, shuffling slowly
>With that done, you walk with Aegis back to a hastily set up command tent
>Heading inside, Aegis closes the flaps of the tent with a flash of her horn
>She looks away, back to you, shoulders shaking
>Without a word you walk around to her front, sink to your knees, and pull her into a hug
>Aegis slowly presses her head into the cool metal of your chest plate 
>Her whole body is wracked by tremors and you see tears run down your chest plate, yet she makes not one sound
>Strong, not letting anyone outside of the tent hear her distress, even in this horrific situation
>You sigh and hold your lover tighter
>Something tells you that this is only the beginning 
~~~~~
>Several hours later, near sunset, the camp has calmed some as you and Aegis talk
>”I don’t get it Anon…Why would they attack us so suddenly and without reason?” she asks, her face set in a deep frown
>You bring a hand to your head, wondering that yourself
“Aegis, what exactly is north of Equestria?”
>The mare levitates a map out of her armor, looking it over briefly
>”North of us are some badlands, mostly unexplored”
“Is that where the changelings live?”
>Aegis shakes her head in a negative “No, they live south of Equestria actually”
>What?
>How the hell are they here then?	
“Then why are these guys all the way up here? A splinter group?”
>”Possibly, but I heard that whoever the changeling leader is keeps a pretty tight grip on their people, so it would seem highly unlikely” 
>You sigh, none of this made sense
>Five p0nies had been killed now by changelings
>The prisoner changeling had refused to speak 
>And now you don’t even have a clue behind the motive of the attack
>This is just getting worse and worse
>”Commander Anon?”
>You turn to see Fade Away and Terra Former at the front of the command tent,  the first nervously pawing at the ground
“Something I can do for you Fade?”
>”Well sir, its about G-gale…she is…w-well…”
“Speak up Fade” you say, hoping to get him to stop stuttering and tell you
>”For the love of the celestial sisters!  That mare is about as freaked out as can be sir and we wanted to know if you could help”  Terra Former interrupts, shooting an annoyed glance at Fade, who shrinks under the gaze
>You look over to Aegis, who nods
“Alright, lets see what I can do”
>Standing, you follow the two stallions through the camp, not noticing Aegis beginning to shiver the farther you got from her
>Sticking out like a sore thumb is the graves of the 2 unlucky guards, sticks and their helmets serving as markers
>Once more the idea comes to mind, almost looking like it would cause more good than harm
>You grit your teeth and force it away once more	
>The AD would be fine without it
>You’re sure
>Almost sure…
>The sound of voices bring you back to what you’re doing
“Say something?”
>”Yes sir, we’re here” Terra says, pointing at a small tent infront of you
>Gale must be inside
”Gale”
>With a rustle of cloth the flaps of the tent come apart to reveal a red eyed Gale
“I heard that you were having some trouble, care to share?”
>She sniffles and looks up at you “Sir…how…”
>She gulps a lump in her throat away
>“How do you do it?”
>What is she talking about?
“I’m afraid that you will have to elaborate for me some”
>Gale sighs and looks up at the now night sky
“How did you not hesitate back in the…fight…”
>She shivers some at the word
>You…really aren’t sure
>It could be the changelings rather grotesque visage
>Or how they were a threat to your team and friends
>Or it could have just been a onetime thing, you could freeze up next time
>But you are not going to tell them that
“It’s just human nature I guess, my old home was so violent that no one was sensitive to it anymore…Murder, war, and other things were hardly worthy of the news” 
>Fade and Gale stare, awe and horror written on their faces, even the stoic Terra Former let his shock show some
“I’m not too sure that it’s something that can be taught really”
>Just as you turn to leave you hear Gale speak up
>”Try”
>You turn your somewhat shocked face to Gale, who is looking at the ground, her expression unreadable 
>”Commander…out there I felt useless…When the changelings struck the only thing that saved me was my armor… I’ve trained so hard so I could protect my loved ones and make them proud, if it wasn’t for you commander I would have died…”
>She raises her head, eyes alight “You said that you were going to train us like humans, so commander, please leave nothing out”
>This is interesting, and a bit unsettling
>They say coal can turn into diamonds under pressure but this just seems to be too much
>You look at Gale, still staring at you waiting for an answer 
>From the corner of your eyes you see Fade and Terra listing closely
>…
>You have to now
>You know you would regret this
>The horrid idea would become a reality after all it seems
>Time to see if the pressure will break them
“Fine, the AD’s training will be amped up”    
>All of them look at each other, Gale looking pleased, Fade worried, and Terra somewhat excited even if he tried to hid it
“Infact we’ll start tonight”
>Fade looks confused “Tonight sir? But it’s dark…”
“Exactly, this is going to be better and more challenging due to that”
>”Well? What are we doing commander?” Gale asks, the prospect of becoming stronger putting a grin on her face
“We’re going to track down the changeling survivors and eradicate them in the cover of night”
>Gale’s grin slipped off her face

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