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Pony POV Series: Shining Armor Part 6 1/2
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Literature Text
Pony POV Series
Shining Armor Part 6 1/2
Written By lz0291
tnuH-tsirF-First-Hunt
Edited by Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, And Louis Badalament.
"All callsigns, armed Intruder, second floor west corridor, code red!" I was shouting into the newly-installed radio inside my armor, even as the Diamond Dog tried to reload his weapon.
In his panic he managed to jam the thing. Spirling pistols work by basically having a long slide on the top that is pulled back, compressing a spring and pulling a metal sling-bullet into place from a small magazine inside. Pull the trigger, release the spring and catapult the round down a barrel. Unicorns can get good rates of fire out of them, but if you pull cheap ones too hard, they jam. And this one was cheaper than cheap. It was safe to say this guy was non-professional.
"Crud! Stupid junk!" The Dog wailed as he fiddled with the weapon for a second, then in desperation, threw it at me.
The Diamond Dog cut his losses and jumped out of the window. I followed, casting a quick spell around myself to block the rushing air from interfering with my radio communications, as well as soften my landing. Shield magic is pretty handy, if I say so myself.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Yeah! You're cool!)
"Intruder has exited window, Misfit Actual in pursuit, I am leaving a magic trail behind for other Mages to follow, break. Actual and One-Three to my position to reinforce, all other Misfit callsigns secure VIPs and position, break. Misfit Actual on my position, and someone let the LCPD know to give us a hoof, over!"
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): I'm sure Twilight's happy to know smart Guards do more than 'fall back and regroup.')
That's only for land wars in Neighsia, angry Alicorns or COs, and mothers of guard cadets coming to try and deliver a cake.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Did ya catch the bad doggie?)
One trot at a time.
"Misfit Actual, Misfit One-One, roger your order, code red in effect, over," Foaley replied.
The Diamond Dog was quick, but so was I. He was sprinting down the street, away from the embassy, and I could see a cart rushing away down the street in the moonlight. Possibly his escape plan abandoning him, so I made a mental note of the direction it was heading.
"Misfit Actual, this is Goliath, Marine Corps Overwatch Command. We have your traffic of intruder, we have notified the LCPD, but they report that nearest unit response is at least four minutes out, break. Advise you continue pursuit with your own assets and continue to guide in further units, over."
"Goliath, Misfit Actual, roger that, over."
By this point, the Dog was still running, and the cart was long gone. I reported that in, but I had no real way of letting anyone know anything specific - just a black shape leaving the area. I gave what description I could of our intruder. Looking over my shoulder, I could see no one coming out of the embassy yet, but a rather puzzled Samurai guard at the gate of the Neighponese embassy watched me chase the dog.
"Misfit Actual, Misfit One-One, uh, Princess Cadenza would like to have a word, over."
"...Go ahead?"
"Shining, what's going on here?! The troopers say there's an intruder and they all just stormed into my room while I was getting ready for bed and told me to head downstairs!"
"Standard procedure, Cadence, the platoon is defending their principal -that's you by the way- and other elements are in pursuit. Over."
"Okay. And where are you?"
"I'm presently pursing the intruder down the street, ma'am!"
"Shining, why are you after him?! You're the Captain!"
"Because I saw him first and if I lose track of him it means he gets away, meaning either the LCPD get him which is unlikely because they're four minutes away, or he escapes. Odds are without me chasing, he'll escape, we won't find out who sent him and why the west corridor was empty when he entered..."
Then I cursed myself for saying that over the air. The same spy who'd tipped off Makarov about Luna might well be in cahoots with the Dog I was chasing now.
"Er, that was me. I asked the guards to stay out of there to keep the noise down... They can be kind of... stampy during the day and since you went to bed early..."
"Mystery solved then. Princess, I've ordered over twenty troopers to secure the embassy and the Marines will be doing that too, you and the civilians are quite safe now, please don't worry."
"I know I'm safe but what about you?!"
"I've got the rest of the platoon coming to back me up. Don't worry on my account."
As all this took place, the Diamond Dog had vaulted a fence in the next street, running by a building that seemed to be a bank. The chase took us over a few more fences (sometimes not having digits is very painful, I'll say no more), and made me wish I had Twiley's trick of teleporting without stopping dead in your tracks, powering up, and figuring out the math and built-in secondary safety spells that won't let you teleport till you got them figured so you don't teleport inside a solid object (shame her mind blanks whenever she panics). Oh, and the fact I was so sloppy with it a single teleport could drain ten times more of my mana in one second than a decent sized barrier could drain over a whole day. And with all these twists and turns behind and between buildings I could lose him too easy without air coverage.
I was beginning to hate fences (and splinters) when he reached a road overlooking train tracks and a tunnel. He leapt onto the tracks and made a run for the tunnel. I radioed this, knowing if I followed the tunnels would certainly block my radio signals soon enough, but I had no real choice. It was at this point reinforcements caught up with me, but not quite what I expected.
"Captain Sparkle?" The Griffin above me shouted. His voice sounded slightly electronic, like it was coming from a radio.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Call me Frost, sir, I'm part of the embassy detail, here to give a talon."
Frost didn't have the dark blue garb the rest of the local troops at the embassy wore, nor did he sport white belts and Spriling pistols in white holsters. Instead he wore a patchy grey-blue oversuit, goggles, a helmet, an odd mask over his beak (the cause of his radio-voice), a lot of pouches, and carried a pump action style Spriling gun. Similar to the pistol but bigger, stronger and able to shoot metal balls more effectively. He also lacked any markings other than a Sergeant's rank symbol. I wondered how he flew with all that weight, must be the same how Pegasi fly with their armor.
"Well, thanks, Sergeant. I think he's heading for the tunnels. I want him alive and conscious, but he's running a bit too fast for me to try trapping him with a shield spell."
If I blew it, I might only catch half of him.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Don't you have a much larger force field you could project to catch him in?)
It doesn't work that way, if he was inside the radius of the spell, it would have just sent him flying.
Both of us followed the dog already in the tunnels. I lit up my horn, shining a searchlight down the route. The dog was still in sight. The Griffin landed and ran alongside me.
The dog picked that moment to turn around, notice a Griffin chasing him, and swear loudly. His loudly barked expletive echoed off the tunnel walls.
"Well, if you want him alive I'll hold my fire, but flying here is treacherous so I'm not going to be able to chase him that way. Trains going past, the air currents are inconsistent... and I also think our radios will stop working soon."
"...Trains? This late?"
"The metro runs all-day services on some lines, and they move stock around at night on closed lines, Sir. If one passes, the steam engines make a lot of cover for a while. He picked a good escape route."
"...Hang on, did you say steam engine? How big?"
"Pretty big, but they're sort of magic-boiler things powered off some kind of battery."
Looked like Princess Celestia's investments weren't so reckless after all, though I still wondered if they could get something small and clean enough to work in Canterlot.
"We'll see one coming then?"
"Or hear it," He replied.
The tunnels led off into an underground mini-junction, with a service platform ringed by dull red lamps. The Dog was by now on that platform. At that point, a loud honk roared down the tunnel from behind. Frost quickly had me dive to the side, and sure enough, a moment later a rather large train rushed past, choking the platform in smoke. I threw up a shield to prevent getting asphyxiated. Frost was unaffected: clearly that mask was for more than sounding cool. Our canine target however was not so lucky.
He should have picked a better cover. Even with train smog fogging our vision, the dog made up for it gagging and wheezing like a dishrag was caught in his throat. We advanced again. The smoke cleared and the dog was staggering and sputtering, I shone my light on him, Frost drew his weapon and shouted, "On the ground!"
And that was when the other dogs hiding in an alcove began shooting.
"Rifles!" Frost helpfully pointed out as lead balls bounced loudly off my shields.
"I think this might have been an ambush," I helpfully observed.
No way dogs rich enough or clever enough to get their paws on weapons of that caliber would send in one packmate with a cheap pistol.
I shot a few bursts of stun magic back at them (and missed, of course) as we advanced, now seeing three Diamond Dogs run into a small entrance. Their one-shot muzzle loading weapons had been useless, and they had to fall back unable to reload and we followed. Please note that guns are worthless in close quarters except as clubs, and tunnels are about as close quarters as you get. Now, if you made one that could fire a lot of bullets in quick succession that reloaded itself like in sci-fi books and games like Call of Cutie, that'd be extremely useful. I might hit something with one of those!
Remember what I said about thinking about things like that?
"Service tunnel, watch corners in here, Sir!" Frost advised.
This tunnel led towards yet more tunnels. Eventually, about ten minutes later, it opened into a sort of underground mini-depot for the trains. A few carriages and another service platform dotted the area. One of the dogs tried to draw a pistol, but I cheated and used my telekinesis at long range to fire it for him as he drew it. He yelped, but he didn't seem to have hurt himself.
...Actually, at this point, the foal might want to leave.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Uh, I'd rather not, I want to hear the end of the story.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): She stays, Captain, we already covered this.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): I'm sorry, Shining, but we agreed she stays. If she leaves we'd have to leave. Besides, she's more resilient than you think.)
...But her tender, innocent young ears are unfit for such indelicate...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn&Pegasus&Earth Pony): Get on with it!)
This was the point the floodlights switched on, dazzling me and Frost, so I threw up shields just in time to hear a rapid succession of shots and a barking voice scream out at us.
"Screw you, Mule and Bird! Leave my pack be!"
We dived behind a carriage. It helped to have something other than my mana between us and a hail of nasty bang bang.
"They had a whole volley line waiting for us?" I shouted over the shooting that continued for an unusually long time. Diamond Dogs lived for ambushes but this was too professionally coordinated for their style.
"Sounds more like a volley gun, Sir."
I peeked out, and sure enough, it was one massive gun on a carriage waiting, well-positioned up against a wall so nothing could sneak up on it or indeed teleport behind it. But strangely, unlike any volley gun I'd seen before, this seemed to only have six barrels rotating and shooting. A volley gun is a weapon with a lot of gun barrels side by side, and this only had six. Yet it fired far more than six shots. The rotating bit was odd too, volley guns normally just fire in succession. Additionally, it seemed to operate by rotating a crank.
But it was way too small for this parade of shots! At least the way the shots were coming from ruled out invisible guns. "I think it's safe to say they were drawing us into an ambush now."
"Sir, can you give me a shield? I'll try take a shot at the gunner. He's covering the other three, and they're getting away. I know Equestrians don't like lethal force but I think we need to do it the Columbian way for a moment..."
.
I obliged. Frost jumped out and fired... cursing as his shot was punctuated by a loud ricocheting ding!
"He's got steel plate covering him! How did we miss that? We'd need a sniper with a good bow to get the hit..."
I sighed. The bullets were making a mess of the carriage and a few had bounced off my shields. "Well, on the plus side he has to run out of shots before I run out of mana..."
The shooting then stopped.
"See?"
We jumped out, shield still up, only to find the gunner slumped in place with an arrow between his eyes.
"Sorry I'm late, Sir," Private Audience said, crossbow in his grasp. There wasn't an arrow in it at the moment, but he was presently reloading.
"...Audience, you just killed him."
"Yes, Sir. "
"Are you okay?"
"Of course, Sir. The other three are getting away," Audience reminded me evenly.
"...We'll talk later," I said in reply, but I found myself looking back at the dead Diamond Dog. I knew as a whole they weren't evil, sometimes they're offered a ridiculous fortune by somepony who had no intention of paying them, but more often than not they were simply bullied into being somepony else's cannon fodder.
"Come on, Captain!" Frost urged.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Was this what you were worried about her hearing? You're looking at her again.)
It was. In fact I was concerned about you all hearing it, to be honest. I just told you one of my troopers killed someone.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Who was trying to kill you and didn't have any other real options. Besides, you let the Griffin take a shot.)
Griffins killing is different, Equestrians... We haven't had a war in centuries, Equestria's not had a pony kill another pony in... I can't remember if ever. A few non-ponies have... died as a result of Pony actions and non-ponies have killed ponies but even those incidents are few and far between. Why do you think most ponies use pies instead of arrows? Ponies don't expect the guard to be armed, and when it became clear the Royal Guards carried swords for more than just decoration sometimes and archers were trained to do more than shoot targets and apples off heads, public outcry reached fever pitch.
It led to changes and the Guard being further scrutinized. As a compromise the guard pledged to never use gunpowder weapons in cities or towns, and the non-lethal approaches were emphasized even further in training, but the anti-weapons campaigns still blew a gasket five years after that pledge was made, when a guard was involved in an incident with an intruder that led to an accidental fatality. That had been another Diamond Dog, up against one scared little colt cadet who thought he was a big stallion soldier realizing he was way in over his head and...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, it's okay. I know you, Thunderchild, or any of your troopers don't like killing. And I don't hate you for killing in a trap like that. I know Griffins have different values from you. It's worse when you know her name. But that proves you're still a pony, that you have a heart.)
Hey, whoa, thanks for the hug.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Think nothin' of it.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Thank you.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): You're welcome Shining. Now Captain, you were chasing the Diamond Dogs?)
Yes, mind if we take a quick break? I could use it for the rest of that night.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Of course.)
Shining Armor Part 6 1/2
Written By lz0291
tnuH-tsirF-First-Hunt
Edited by Alex Warlorn, Kendell2, And Louis Badalament.
"All callsigns, armed Intruder, second floor west corridor, code red!" I was shouting into the newly-installed radio inside my armor, even as the Diamond Dog tried to reload his weapon.
In his panic he managed to jam the thing. Spirling pistols work by basically having a long slide on the top that is pulled back, compressing a spring and pulling a metal sling-bullet into place from a small magazine inside. Pull the trigger, release the spring and catapult the round down a barrel. Unicorns can get good rates of fire out of them, but if you pull cheap ones too hard, they jam. And this one was cheaper than cheap. It was safe to say this guy was non-professional.
"Crud! Stupid junk!" The Dog wailed as he fiddled with the weapon for a second, then in desperation, threw it at me.
The Diamond Dog cut his losses and jumped out of the window. I followed, casting a quick spell around myself to block the rushing air from interfering with my radio communications, as well as soften my landing. Shield magic is pretty handy, if I say so myself.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Yeah! You're cool!)
"Intruder has exited window, Misfit Actual in pursuit, I am leaving a magic trail behind for other Mages to follow, break. Actual and One-Three to my position to reinforce, all other Misfit callsigns secure VIPs and position, break. Misfit Actual on my position, and someone let the LCPD know to give us a hoof, over!"
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): I'm sure Twilight's happy to know smart Guards do more than 'fall back and regroup.')
That's only for land wars in Neighsia, angry Alicorns or COs, and mothers of guard cadets coming to try and deliver a cake.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Did ya catch the bad doggie?)
One trot at a time.
"Misfit Actual, Misfit One-One, roger your order, code red in effect, over," Foaley replied.
The Diamond Dog was quick, but so was I. He was sprinting down the street, away from the embassy, and I could see a cart rushing away down the street in the moonlight. Possibly his escape plan abandoning him, so I made a mental note of the direction it was heading.
"Misfit Actual, this is Goliath, Marine Corps Overwatch Command. We have your traffic of intruder, we have notified the LCPD, but they report that nearest unit response is at least four minutes out, break. Advise you continue pursuit with your own assets and continue to guide in further units, over."
"Goliath, Misfit Actual, roger that, over."
By this point, the Dog was still running, and the cart was long gone. I reported that in, but I had no real way of letting anyone know anything specific - just a black shape leaving the area. I gave what description I could of our intruder. Looking over my shoulder, I could see no one coming out of the embassy yet, but a rather puzzled Samurai guard at the gate of the Neighponese embassy watched me chase the dog.
"Misfit Actual, Misfit One-One, uh, Princess Cadenza would like to have a word, over."
"...Go ahead?"
"Shining, what's going on here?! The troopers say there's an intruder and they all just stormed into my room while I was getting ready for bed and told me to head downstairs!"
"Standard procedure, Cadence, the platoon is defending their principal -that's you by the way- and other elements are in pursuit. Over."
"Okay. And where are you?"
"I'm presently pursing the intruder down the street, ma'am!"
"Shining, why are you after him?! You're the Captain!"
"Because I saw him first and if I lose track of him it means he gets away, meaning either the LCPD get him which is unlikely because they're four minutes away, or he escapes. Odds are without me chasing, he'll escape, we won't find out who sent him and why the west corridor was empty when he entered..."
Then I cursed myself for saying that over the air. The same spy who'd tipped off Makarov about Luna might well be in cahoots with the Dog I was chasing now.
"Er, that was me. I asked the guards to stay out of there to keep the noise down... They can be kind of... stampy during the day and since you went to bed early..."
"Mystery solved then. Princess, I've ordered over twenty troopers to secure the embassy and the Marines will be doing that too, you and the civilians are quite safe now, please don't worry."
"I know I'm safe but what about you?!"
"I've got the rest of the platoon coming to back me up. Don't worry on my account."
As all this took place, the Diamond Dog had vaulted a fence in the next street, running by a building that seemed to be a bank. The chase took us over a few more fences (sometimes not having digits is very painful, I'll say no more), and made me wish I had Twiley's trick of teleporting without stopping dead in your tracks, powering up, and figuring out the math and built-in secondary safety spells that won't let you teleport till you got them figured so you don't teleport inside a solid object (shame her mind blanks whenever she panics). Oh, and the fact I was so sloppy with it a single teleport could drain ten times more of my mana in one second than a decent sized barrier could drain over a whole day. And with all these twists and turns behind and between buildings I could lose him too easy without air coverage.
I was beginning to hate fences (and splinters) when he reached a road overlooking train tracks and a tunnel. He leapt onto the tracks and made a run for the tunnel. I radioed this, knowing if I followed the tunnels would certainly block my radio signals soon enough, but I had no real choice. It was at this point reinforcements caught up with me, but not quite what I expected.
"Captain Sparkle?" The Griffin above me shouted. His voice sounded slightly electronic, like it was coming from a radio.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Call me Frost, sir, I'm part of the embassy detail, here to give a talon."
Frost didn't have the dark blue garb the rest of the local troops at the embassy wore, nor did he sport white belts and Spriling pistols in white holsters. Instead he wore a patchy grey-blue oversuit, goggles, a helmet, an odd mask over his beak (the cause of his radio-voice), a lot of pouches, and carried a pump action style Spriling gun. Similar to the pistol but bigger, stronger and able to shoot metal balls more effectively. He also lacked any markings other than a Sergeant's rank symbol. I wondered how he flew with all that weight, must be the same how Pegasi fly with their armor.
"Well, thanks, Sergeant. I think he's heading for the tunnels. I want him alive and conscious, but he's running a bit too fast for me to try trapping him with a shield spell."
If I blew it, I might only catch half of him.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Don't you have a much larger force field you could project to catch him in?)
It doesn't work that way, if he was inside the radius of the spell, it would have just sent him flying.
Both of us followed the dog already in the tunnels. I lit up my horn, shining a searchlight down the route. The dog was still in sight. The Griffin landed and ran alongside me.
The dog picked that moment to turn around, notice a Griffin chasing him, and swear loudly. His loudly barked expletive echoed off the tunnel walls.
"Well, if you want him alive I'll hold my fire, but flying here is treacherous so I'm not going to be able to chase him that way. Trains going past, the air currents are inconsistent... and I also think our radios will stop working soon."
"...Trains? This late?"
"The metro runs all-day services on some lines, and they move stock around at night on closed lines, Sir. If one passes, the steam engines make a lot of cover for a while. He picked a good escape route."
"...Hang on, did you say steam engine? How big?"
"Pretty big, but they're sort of magic-boiler things powered off some kind of battery."
Looked like Princess Celestia's investments weren't so reckless after all, though I still wondered if they could get something small and clean enough to work in Canterlot.
"We'll see one coming then?"
"Or hear it," He replied.
The tunnels led off into an underground mini-junction, with a service platform ringed by dull red lamps. The Dog was by now on that platform. At that point, a loud honk roared down the tunnel from behind. Frost quickly had me dive to the side, and sure enough, a moment later a rather large train rushed past, choking the platform in smoke. I threw up a shield to prevent getting asphyxiated. Frost was unaffected: clearly that mask was for more than sounding cool. Our canine target however was not so lucky.
He should have picked a better cover. Even with train smog fogging our vision, the dog made up for it gagging and wheezing like a dishrag was caught in his throat. We advanced again. The smoke cleared and the dog was staggering and sputtering, I shone my light on him, Frost drew his weapon and shouted, "On the ground!"
And that was when the other dogs hiding in an alcove began shooting.
"Rifles!" Frost helpfully pointed out as lead balls bounced loudly off my shields.
"I think this might have been an ambush," I helpfully observed.
No way dogs rich enough or clever enough to get their paws on weapons of that caliber would send in one packmate with a cheap pistol.
I shot a few bursts of stun magic back at them (and missed, of course) as we advanced, now seeing three Diamond Dogs run into a small entrance. Their one-shot muzzle loading weapons had been useless, and they had to fall back unable to reload and we followed. Please note that guns are worthless in close quarters except as clubs, and tunnels are about as close quarters as you get. Now, if you made one that could fire a lot of bullets in quick succession that reloaded itself like in sci-fi books and games like Call of Cutie, that'd be extremely useful. I might hit something with one of those!
Remember what I said about thinking about things like that?
"Service tunnel, watch corners in here, Sir!" Frost advised.
This tunnel led towards yet more tunnels. Eventually, about ten minutes later, it opened into a sort of underground mini-depot for the trains. A few carriages and another service platform dotted the area. One of the dogs tried to draw a pistol, but I cheated and used my telekinesis at long range to fire it for him as he drew it. He yelped, but he didn't seem to have hurt himself.
...Actually, at this point, the foal might want to leave.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Uh, I'd rather not, I want to hear the end of the story.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): She stays, Captain, we already covered this.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): I'm sorry, Shining, but we agreed she stays. If she leaves we'd have to leave. Besides, she's more resilient than you think.)
...But her tender, innocent young ears are unfit for such indelicate...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn&Pegasus&Earth Pony): Get on with it!)
This was the point the floodlights switched on, dazzling me and Frost, so I threw up shields just in time to hear a rapid succession of shots and a barking voice scream out at us.
"Screw you, Mule and Bird! Leave my pack be!"
We dived behind a carriage. It helped to have something other than my mana between us and a hail of nasty bang bang.
"They had a whole volley line waiting for us?" I shouted over the shooting that continued for an unusually long time. Diamond Dogs lived for ambushes but this was too professionally coordinated for their style.
"Sounds more like a volley gun, Sir."
I peeked out, and sure enough, it was one massive gun on a carriage waiting, well-positioned up against a wall so nothing could sneak up on it or indeed teleport behind it. But strangely, unlike any volley gun I'd seen before, this seemed to only have six barrels rotating and shooting. A volley gun is a weapon with a lot of gun barrels side by side, and this only had six. Yet it fired far more than six shots. The rotating bit was odd too, volley guns normally just fire in succession. Additionally, it seemed to operate by rotating a crank.
But it was way too small for this parade of shots! At least the way the shots were coming from ruled out invisible guns. "I think it's safe to say they were drawing us into an ambush now."
"Sir, can you give me a shield? I'll try take a shot at the gunner. He's covering the other three, and they're getting away. I know Equestrians don't like lethal force but I think we need to do it the Columbian way for a moment..."
.
I obliged. Frost jumped out and fired... cursing as his shot was punctuated by a loud ricocheting ding!
"He's got steel plate covering him! How did we miss that? We'd need a sniper with a good bow to get the hit..."
I sighed. The bullets were making a mess of the carriage and a few had bounced off my shields. "Well, on the plus side he has to run out of shots before I run out of mana..."
The shooting then stopped.
"See?"
We jumped out, shield still up, only to find the gunner slumped in place with an arrow between his eyes.
"Sorry I'm late, Sir," Private Audience said, crossbow in his grasp. There wasn't an arrow in it at the moment, but he was presently reloading.
"...Audience, you just killed him."
"Yes, Sir. "
"Are you okay?"
"Of course, Sir. The other three are getting away," Audience reminded me evenly.
"...We'll talk later," I said in reply, but I found myself looking back at the dead Diamond Dog. I knew as a whole they weren't evil, sometimes they're offered a ridiculous fortune by somepony who had no intention of paying them, but more often than not they were simply bullied into being somepony else's cannon fodder.
"Come on, Captain!" Frost urged.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Was this what you were worried about her hearing? You're looking at her again.)
It was. In fact I was concerned about you all hearing it, to be honest. I just told you one of my troopers killed someone.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Who was trying to kill you and didn't have any other real options. Besides, you let the Griffin take a shot.)
Griffins killing is different, Equestrians... We haven't had a war in centuries, Equestria's not had a pony kill another pony in... I can't remember if ever. A few non-ponies have... died as a result of Pony actions and non-ponies have killed ponies but even those incidents are few and far between. Why do you think most ponies use pies instead of arrows? Ponies don't expect the guard to be armed, and when it became clear the Royal Guards carried swords for more than just decoration sometimes and archers were trained to do more than shoot targets and apples off heads, public outcry reached fever pitch.
It led to changes and the Guard being further scrutinized. As a compromise the guard pledged to never use gunpowder weapons in cities or towns, and the non-lethal approaches were emphasized even further in training, but the anti-weapons campaigns still blew a gasket five years after that pledge was made, when a guard was involved in an incident with an intruder that led to an accidental fatality. That had been another Diamond Dog, up against one scared little colt cadet who thought he was a big stallion soldier realizing he was way in over his head and...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, it's okay. I know you, Thunderchild, or any of your troopers don't like killing. And I don't hate you for killing in a trap like that. I know Griffins have different values from you. It's worse when you know her name. But that proves you're still a pony, that you have a heart.)
Hey, whoa, thanks for the hug.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Think nothin' of it.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Thank you.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): You're welcome Shining. Now Captain, you were chasing the Diamond Dogs?)
Yes, mind if we take a quick break? I could use it for the rest of that night.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Of course.)
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Written by LZ0291
I hate the 64K size limit.
Shining Armor is given a two year tour of the world to be the captain of Princess Cadence's body guard. Yeah. That's all. That's everything Yep. Nothing what so ever else. *AJ's Liar face*
"Time is an ocean in a storm."
This storyline runs PARALLEL to the events in the Dark World storyline narrative wise.
Previous Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
Next Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
First Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
Written by Lz0291 and edited by three of us together. lz0291.deviantart.com/
MLP FiM: Copyright Hasbro
The Pony POV Series Trope Page is feeling neglected. You can help keep it up to date! So many characters and so little description on the 'minor' ones. tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php…
Check out the recursive fanfiction and fanart of the Pony POV Series! alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/jou… Many of it approved by me as canon.
Did anyone else know about us now being on Fan Labor Wiki? This is a surprise to me.
mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/My_Li… mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/My_Li…
Written by LZO himself. Guide to Liberty City, Griffin Nations, And The Uniforms of the Royal Guard. And his sound track suggestions for this chapter.
Visit Liberty City - A Tourist's Guide!
Liberty City. LC, The Big Nest, The Republic City. Liberty City is the Capital City of the United Republics, the birthplace of the United Republic movement, and it's practically a distinct culture unto itself. And while we're pretty sure we're biased when we say it's the best place on the planet to live, we're certain we're more objective saying it's the best place to visit!
From the bustling commerce of Star Junction to the quiet and relaxation of Middle Park, from the culture to the food, The Big Nest is a city that has something for everyone. It never sleeps, but we'll keep the noise down if you us want to. If you come and visit, we friendly Libertonians will welcome you warmly. Come and discover the rich cultural blend Liberty has to offer.
Intellectual? Our many museums and art galleries will broaden your horizons, and we boast a huge number of libraries and bookstores. Looking for a good night's entertainment? Try hitting up a show on Star Junction, or visit the nightclubs. Fan of sports? Catch a game with one of the city's many teams and the many sports we play. Looking for a bite to eat? There's something in town for you somewhere. Want some peace and quiet? Head for Middle Park to relax.
Getting around town couldn't be easier. Maps and signposts are easy to find, and if you've got wings, you can take flight yourself among the cloudscrapers! But if you can't fly or just want to stick to the ground, you might not feel like walking everywhere. Good news, the public transport system is easy to use, and one of the most extensive anywhere! Yellow Cart Cabs will take you around the city for reasonable fees, and the Metro tram system will take you almost anywhere.
And even if you're lost or just plain unsure where to go next, you can ask a friendly officer of the Liberty City Police Department, always there to protect and serve. There are over forty thousand of them in town, so they shouldn't be too hard to find! If you're unfortunate enough to not feel so good when you're here and it's not just all the fun from last night coming back to you, we have many modern hospitals, ready to help you feel better and get back to enjoying our city ASAP.
From the moment you set eyes on the Wings of Liberty, you'll be drinking up the Liberty City experience, and we're sure you'll love every second of it. So, what are you waiting for? Come visit Liberty City today!
"The Big Five" - The Largest Griffin Nations
Name : United Republics of Columbia
Government : Democratic Republic (Federal)
Capital City : Liberty City
Columbia is a Griffin nation notable for being one of only two Griffin nations to be a federation, and the only Griffin republic - all others are clandoms and kingdoms. Columbia was formed when a wave of revolutions toppled a number of monarchies in smaller tribal nations. The resulting republics banded together for defense against larger nations and eventually became a federation. Columbia is also notable for a hardline approach against possibly-sapient meat supplies, and has clashed numerous times with Razorbeak over mistreatment of cows.
Name: Kingdom of Knossos
Government: Constitutional Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Buckbeak
Knossos is a Griffin nation known for balancing tradition and progression, and widely regarded as the spiritual birthplace of Griffin civilization. It historically was a rival of Columbia, but is now an ally. Knossians are stereotypically said to be wiser and calmer that other Griffins, and are said to be especially close with pegasi. Knossos is generally anti-sapience with regards to meat supplies, but presently has not dismissed the belief that there are "non-sapient" cows.
Name: Tribal Lands of Razorbeak
Government: Absolute Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Eagle's Peak
Razorbeak is a Griffin Kingdom notable for being the largest single-ruling-Clan kingdom amongst the Griffin Nations. It also has a reputation for maintaining tradition and an aggressive outlook. One of the leading producers of beef from "non-sapient" cows in the world, it has courted controversy with numerous attempts to curb the freedoms of non-Griffin citizens, as well as frequent accusations towards other nations that they are attempting to incite revolution.
Name: Avian Empire
Government: Absolute Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Avia
The Avian Empire is,as the name implies, an Imperial Griffin state. The nation has numerous clans, split between the Noble Clans that control the government, and the Serf Clans, subjugated and conquered clans that are second-class citizens. Unusually, the position of Emperor or Empress is not hereditary within a family, but is instead an elected position voted upon by the Noble Clans, albeit a position for life, and one largely controlled in the past century by Clan Solidor.
Name: Federated Griffin Clans of Rozaria
Government: Federation of Absolute Monarchies (Federal)
Capital City: Pridenest
The Federated Griffin Clans of Rozaria are one of only two Griffin federations, a merger of a number of smaller independent clans. Though each clan is in effect a separate princedom, the nation as a whole is led by an elected "President", chosen from and by the princes, dukes and kings of the Clan nations. The union was formed a century ago due to fear of the growing power of the Avian Empire and the United Republics of Columbia.
Other Griffin Nations
Dalmasca is a small Griffin kingdom adjacent to the Avian Empire that was attacked twenty years ago by its larger neighbor in order to seize control of the vast natural resources it holds, though a coalition of other nations drove the invaders out within a few months.
Lindblum is a technologically-inclined clan city-state on the south of the island of Mist that has produced many innovations in airship technology. It has built airships for many other nations, and maintains its own sizable airship force.
Alexandria is a clan-state covering the northeast of the Island of Mist. It is notable for having historically had an all-female military and for having been a matriarchal society, though in recent years it has moved towards a more gender-equal status.
Burmecia is a small Griffin nation in the northwest of the Island of Mist, with a mountainous south and heavily rain-forested north. known as "the Land of Rain" as it is a key natural producer of rainclouds, exporting to many nearby nations. The nation also has legends that a race of giant minotauroid rats roaming the southern forests, a legend similar to that of the Squeesquoosh, or Fluffy Pony, said to roam the Everfree Forest.
The Sky Dukedom is the only entirely cloud-based nation in the world, leaving it reliant on cloud farming, fishing, and imports (especially of rainclouds from long-standing ally Burmecia). Floating over the ocean, it has a large number of pegasi citizens and migrant workers. The nation is presently ruled by a Arch-Duchess, but has an elected senate.
Aire is an island nation notable for low-lying mountains and lush forests. It is also famous for a complete lack of snakes, and for her citizens having baffled invading Eagleland forces centuries ago by harvesting a potato crop from farms near the coast and retreating. This confusion was soon rectified when the Aireans began hurling potatoes at them from every cloud and treetop. To this day many griffin soldiers in the region carry a few potatoes, both for emergency rations and for an emergency weapon.
Alba is the northernmost segment of the island of Albion, notable for mountain ranges and islands in the far north, with the lowland areas heavily forested. It is also notable for strong ties to the Caledonian region of Equestria, regarded as the ancestral or tribal home of the present inhabitant pegasi and Griffins. Alba has been slow to adapt to the new-fangled potato technology, and sticks with rocks and oatcakes.
Eagleland is the southernmost segment of the island of Albion, notable for a more temperate natural climate and a constant ability for self-depreciation. Eagleland was once mocked for being amongst the first griffin nations to wear helmets, mockery which soon ceased when they also began throwing potatoes at people.
Whales is the westernmost portion of the island of Albion, made up largely of rocky, mountainous terrain. Perhaps most famously, it is actually ruled by a Red Dragon, and has been for over three hundred years, the crown having been gifted to the dragon when no heir to the throne other than the King of Eagleland could be found. Whales accordingly declared war on the Hooviet Empire during the Draco-Hooviet war, but played no actual part in fighting.
Mega-Stratus is a nation mostly in the sky on a layer of Stratus clouds around the landmass known as Terra Maledictus. It consists of two vast cloud cities built over a poisoned land mass incapable of supporting plant life. It is ruled by the Justice Department and its police force known as the Judges, responsible for government as well as all law enforcement. It is notable for a massive population density as well as a massive crime rate.
LZ's Soundtrack Reccommendations </u>
At the start to the end of the underground sections
Subterranean Recon, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Storming the station
Special Forces, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Storming the Train
Operation Metro, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
After Chekov's exit
Solomon's Theme, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
Fight with Makarov
Brawl, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
From charging the Shagohods to Chapter End
Heroes, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Ship Manifest
[x,y]
X = Male or Female
Y= Pegasus, Unicorn, Earth, Griffin, Zebra, Minotaur]
Command Squad [Misfit Actual]:
-Platoon Commander: Captain/Guard Commander Shining Armour Sparkle [M, U]
-Platoon Sergeant: Sergeant Thunderchild [M, P]
-Platoon NCO: Lance-Corporal Ellis Apple [M, E]
-Private Running Gag [M, P]
-Private Captive Audience [M, U]
First Section [Misfit 1-1 and 1-2]:
-First Team NCO: Sergeant Foaly [M, E]
-Lance-Corporal Ray Pony [M,E]
-Private Ramirez [M,U]
-Private Jenkins [F, P]
-Second Team NCO: Corporal Dunn [M, U]
-Lance-Corporal Mactavish "Soap" Soutar [M,U] *from Caledonia*
-Private Ranger [M, P]
-Private Baldrick [M, P]
Scout Squad [Misfit 1-3]:
-Section NCO: Lance-Corporal Redford [M, P]
-Lance-Corporal Marelowe [M, Z]
-Private Sweetwater [M, P]
-Private Happy Party [F, U]
-Private Star Dancer [F, E]
Second Section [Misfit 2-1 and Misfit 2-2]:
-First Team NCO: Sergeant Reinolds [M,U]
-Lance-Corporal Alleyne [F,U]
-Private Newcastle [F,Z]
-Private Bendis [M,P]
-Second Team NCO: Corporal Griffen [M,G]
-Lance-Corporal Jones [M, P]
-Private Walker [M, P]
-Private Pike [M, P]
NOTABLE CREW
-Commander Shepard [CO] [F,*] (note - left vague deliberately)
-Lt. Commander Hornblower [XO] [M, E]
-Lt. Commander Bond [Second Officer, Intelligence] [M, U]
-Flight Lt. "Joker" Moreau [M, E]
-Pilot Officer Crusher [M, U]
-Seapony Broadside [M, U]
-Petty Officer Turnip [M, E]
Patrol Craft/Shuttle Pilots/
-Pilot Officer Washburn [M, E]
-Pilot Officer River [F, E]
-Flight Lieutenant "Ace" Rimmer [M, P]
-Squadron Commander The Lord Flashheart [M, U]
-Commander Sisko [Dreadnought] [M,U]
-Commander Solo [Falcon] [both Sisko and Solo junior to Shepard] [M, E]
-Lt. Commander Archer [Enterprise] [M, P]
-Command Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan [M, P]
-Seapony Eager Beaver [M, U]
-Seapony Seaspray [F, P]
LZ0291 EQUESTRIAN UNIFORMS (Celestia/Luna/Cadence)
Duty Armor: Gold and Light Blue, Dark Purple and Light Purple, Gold and Medium Purple
Officer Duty Armor: Light Blue/Light Purple/Medium Purple
Night Duty Armor: Black and Light Blue, Black and Light Purple, Black and Medium Purple
Combat Armor: Dark Green (1)/Steel with camo covers for all three Air Navy Cavalry: Green Armor and Overalls(2)
Air Navy Cavalry Dress: Navy Blue with Green Trim and Beret.
Air Navy Utility: White with department color trims Air Navy Dress: Blue with department color trims
Utility uniform: None(3), Grey, Khaki
Combat Uniform: Green Fatigues(4)/Camouflages for Climate for all three
Dress Uniform (Officers): Scarlet Red, Dark Grey, Scarlet Red
Dress Uniform (Enlisted): Black with Blue Trim, Black with Purple trim, Black with Red Trim
1- Painted combat armor to be phased out in favor of covers*
2- Air Navy to replace this with combat uniform
3- Day Guard exploring a white or cream utility uniform
4 -Fatigues to be replaced with camo. *adaptable, reduces risk of scratches exposing metal below, better camo, simpler manufacture (no need to paint), covers can mount pouches and conceal armor class to enemy.
20121011: Edits made by LZ, (A VERY BIG THANKS to him BTW) on trying to make the Diamond Dogs more than 1-Hit Point Gombas to be slain without mercy by the PCs.
20131008: Changed griffins from dyed to clothed.
I hate the 64K size limit.
Shining Armor is given a two year tour of the world to be the captain of Princess Cadence's body guard. Yeah. That's all. That's everything Yep. Nothing what so ever else. *AJ's Liar face*
"Time is an ocean in a storm."
This storyline runs PARALLEL to the events in the Dark World storyline narrative wise.
Previous Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
Next Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
First Chapter: alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art…
Written by Lz0291 and edited by three of us together. lz0291.deviantart.com/
MLP FiM: Copyright Hasbro
The Pony POV Series Trope Page is feeling neglected. You can help keep it up to date! So many characters and so little description on the 'minor' ones. tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php…
Check out the recursive fanfiction and fanart of the Pony POV Series! alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/jou… Many of it approved by me as canon.
Did anyone else know about us now being on Fan Labor Wiki? This is a surprise to me.
mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/My_Li… mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/My_Li…
Written by LZO himself. Guide to Liberty City, Griffin Nations, And The Uniforms of the Royal Guard. And his sound track suggestions for this chapter.
Visit Liberty City - A Tourist's Guide!
Liberty City. LC, The Big Nest, The Republic City. Liberty City is the Capital City of the United Republics, the birthplace of the United Republic movement, and it's practically a distinct culture unto itself. And while we're pretty sure we're biased when we say it's the best place on the planet to live, we're certain we're more objective saying it's the best place to visit!
From the bustling commerce of Star Junction to the quiet and relaxation of Middle Park, from the culture to the food, The Big Nest is a city that has something for everyone. It never sleeps, but we'll keep the noise down if you us want to. If you come and visit, we friendly Libertonians will welcome you warmly. Come and discover the rich cultural blend Liberty has to offer.
Intellectual? Our many museums and art galleries will broaden your horizons, and we boast a huge number of libraries and bookstores. Looking for a good night's entertainment? Try hitting up a show on Star Junction, or visit the nightclubs. Fan of sports? Catch a game with one of the city's many teams and the many sports we play. Looking for a bite to eat? There's something in town for you somewhere. Want some peace and quiet? Head for Middle Park to relax.
Getting around town couldn't be easier. Maps and signposts are easy to find, and if you've got wings, you can take flight yourself among the cloudscrapers! But if you can't fly or just want to stick to the ground, you might not feel like walking everywhere. Good news, the public transport system is easy to use, and one of the most extensive anywhere! Yellow Cart Cabs will take you around the city for reasonable fees, and the Metro tram system will take you almost anywhere.
And even if you're lost or just plain unsure where to go next, you can ask a friendly officer of the Liberty City Police Department, always there to protect and serve. There are over forty thousand of them in town, so they shouldn't be too hard to find! If you're unfortunate enough to not feel so good when you're here and it's not just all the fun from last night coming back to you, we have many modern hospitals, ready to help you feel better and get back to enjoying our city ASAP.
From the moment you set eyes on the Wings of Liberty, you'll be drinking up the Liberty City experience, and we're sure you'll love every second of it. So, what are you waiting for? Come visit Liberty City today!
"The Big Five" - The Largest Griffin Nations
Name : United Republics of Columbia
Government : Democratic Republic (Federal)
Capital City : Liberty City
Columbia is a Griffin nation notable for being one of only two Griffin nations to be a federation, and the only Griffin republic - all others are clandoms and kingdoms. Columbia was formed when a wave of revolutions toppled a number of monarchies in smaller tribal nations. The resulting republics banded together for defense against larger nations and eventually became a federation. Columbia is also notable for a hardline approach against possibly-sapient meat supplies, and has clashed numerous times with Razorbeak over mistreatment of cows.
Name: Kingdom of Knossos
Government: Constitutional Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Buckbeak
Knossos is a Griffin nation known for balancing tradition and progression, and widely regarded as the spiritual birthplace of Griffin civilization. It historically was a rival of Columbia, but is now an ally. Knossians are stereotypically said to be wiser and calmer that other Griffins, and are said to be especially close with pegasi. Knossos is generally anti-sapience with regards to meat supplies, but presently has not dismissed the belief that there are "non-sapient" cows.
Name: Tribal Lands of Razorbeak
Government: Absolute Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Eagle's Peak
Razorbeak is a Griffin Kingdom notable for being the largest single-ruling-Clan kingdom amongst the Griffin Nations. It also has a reputation for maintaining tradition and an aggressive outlook. One of the leading producers of beef from "non-sapient" cows in the world, it has courted controversy with numerous attempts to curb the freedoms of non-Griffin citizens, as well as frequent accusations towards other nations that they are attempting to incite revolution.
Name: Avian Empire
Government: Absolute Monarchy (Unitary)
Capital City: Avia
The Avian Empire is,as the name implies, an Imperial Griffin state. The nation has numerous clans, split between the Noble Clans that control the government, and the Serf Clans, subjugated and conquered clans that are second-class citizens. Unusually, the position of Emperor or Empress is not hereditary within a family, but is instead an elected position voted upon by the Noble Clans, albeit a position for life, and one largely controlled in the past century by Clan Solidor.
Name: Federated Griffin Clans of Rozaria
Government: Federation of Absolute Monarchies (Federal)
Capital City: Pridenest
The Federated Griffin Clans of Rozaria are one of only two Griffin federations, a merger of a number of smaller independent clans. Though each clan is in effect a separate princedom, the nation as a whole is led by an elected "President", chosen from and by the princes, dukes and kings of the Clan nations. The union was formed a century ago due to fear of the growing power of the Avian Empire and the United Republics of Columbia.
Other Griffin Nations
Dalmasca is a small Griffin kingdom adjacent to the Avian Empire that was attacked twenty years ago by its larger neighbor in order to seize control of the vast natural resources it holds, though a coalition of other nations drove the invaders out within a few months.
Lindblum is a technologically-inclined clan city-state on the south of the island of Mist that has produced many innovations in airship technology. It has built airships for many other nations, and maintains its own sizable airship force.
Alexandria is a clan-state covering the northeast of the Island of Mist. It is notable for having historically had an all-female military and for having been a matriarchal society, though in recent years it has moved towards a more gender-equal status.
Burmecia is a small Griffin nation in the northwest of the Island of Mist, with a mountainous south and heavily rain-forested north. known as "the Land of Rain" as it is a key natural producer of rainclouds, exporting to many nearby nations. The nation also has legends that a race of giant minotauroid rats roaming the southern forests, a legend similar to that of the Squeesquoosh, or Fluffy Pony, said to roam the Everfree Forest.
The Sky Dukedom is the only entirely cloud-based nation in the world, leaving it reliant on cloud farming, fishing, and imports (especially of rainclouds from long-standing ally Burmecia). Floating over the ocean, it has a large number of pegasi citizens and migrant workers. The nation is presently ruled by a Arch-Duchess, but has an elected senate.
Aire is an island nation notable for low-lying mountains and lush forests. It is also famous for a complete lack of snakes, and for her citizens having baffled invading Eagleland forces centuries ago by harvesting a potato crop from farms near the coast and retreating. This confusion was soon rectified when the Aireans began hurling potatoes at them from every cloud and treetop. To this day many griffin soldiers in the region carry a few potatoes, both for emergency rations and for an emergency weapon.
Alba is the northernmost segment of the island of Albion, notable for mountain ranges and islands in the far north, with the lowland areas heavily forested. It is also notable for strong ties to the Caledonian region of Equestria, regarded as the ancestral or tribal home of the present inhabitant pegasi and Griffins. Alba has been slow to adapt to the new-fangled potato technology, and sticks with rocks and oatcakes.
Eagleland is the southernmost segment of the island of Albion, notable for a more temperate natural climate and a constant ability for self-depreciation. Eagleland was once mocked for being amongst the first griffin nations to wear helmets, mockery which soon ceased when they also began throwing potatoes at people.
Whales is the westernmost portion of the island of Albion, made up largely of rocky, mountainous terrain. Perhaps most famously, it is actually ruled by a Red Dragon, and has been for over three hundred years, the crown having been gifted to the dragon when no heir to the throne other than the King of Eagleland could be found. Whales accordingly declared war on the Hooviet Empire during the Draco-Hooviet war, but played no actual part in fighting.
Mega-Stratus is a nation mostly in the sky on a layer of Stratus clouds around the landmass known as Terra Maledictus. It consists of two vast cloud cities built over a poisoned land mass incapable of supporting plant life. It is ruled by the Justice Department and its police force known as the Judges, responsible for government as well as all law enforcement. It is notable for a massive population density as well as a massive crime rate.
LZ's Soundtrack Reccommendations </u>
At the start to the end of the underground sections
Subterranean Recon, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Storming the station
Special Forces, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Storming the Train
Operation Metro, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
After Chekov's exit
Solomon's Theme, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
Fight with Makarov
Brawl, Jukka Rintamäki & Johan Skugge, Battlefield 3
From charging the Shagohods to Chapter End
Heroes, Brian Tyler, Modern Warfare 3
Ship Manifest
[x,y]
X = Male or Female
Y= Pegasus, Unicorn, Earth, Griffin, Zebra, Minotaur]
Command Squad [Misfit Actual]:
-Platoon Commander: Captain/Guard Commander Shining Armour Sparkle [M, U]
-Platoon Sergeant: Sergeant Thunderchild [M, P]
-Platoon NCO: Lance-Corporal Ellis Apple [M, E]
-Private Running Gag [M, P]
-Private Captive Audience [M, U]
First Section [Misfit 1-1 and 1-2]:
-First Team NCO: Sergeant Foaly [M, E]
-Lance-Corporal Ray Pony [M,E]
-Private Ramirez [M,U]
-Private Jenkins [F, P]
-Second Team NCO: Corporal Dunn [M, U]
-Lance-Corporal Mactavish "Soap" Soutar [M,U] *from Caledonia*
-Private Ranger [M, P]
-Private Baldrick [M, P]
Scout Squad [Misfit 1-3]:
-Section NCO: Lance-Corporal Redford [M, P]
-Lance-Corporal Marelowe [M, Z]
-Private Sweetwater [M, P]
-Private Happy Party [F, U]
-Private Star Dancer [F, E]
Second Section [Misfit 2-1 and Misfit 2-2]:
-First Team NCO: Sergeant Reinolds [M,U]
-Lance-Corporal Alleyne [F,U]
-Private Newcastle [F,Z]
-Private Bendis [M,P]
-Second Team NCO: Corporal Griffen [M,G]
-Lance-Corporal Jones [M, P]
-Private Walker [M, P]
-Private Pike [M, P]
NOTABLE CREW
-Commander Shepard [CO] [F,*] (note - left vague deliberately)
-Lt. Commander Hornblower [XO] [M, E]
-Lt. Commander Bond [Second Officer, Intelligence] [M, U]
-Flight Lt. "Joker" Moreau [M, E]
-Pilot Officer Crusher [M, U]
-Seapony Broadside [M, U]
-Petty Officer Turnip [M, E]
Patrol Craft/Shuttle Pilots/
-Pilot Officer Washburn [M, E]
-Pilot Officer River [F, E]
-Flight Lieutenant "Ace" Rimmer [M, P]
-Squadron Commander The Lord Flashheart [M, U]
-Commander Sisko [Dreadnought] [M,U]
-Commander Solo [Falcon] [both Sisko and Solo junior to Shepard] [M, E]
-Lt. Commander Archer [Enterprise] [M, P]
-Command Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan [M, P]
-Seapony Eager Beaver [M, U]
-Seapony Seaspray [F, P]
LZ0291 EQUESTRIAN UNIFORMS (Celestia/Luna/Cadence)
Duty Armor: Gold and Light Blue, Dark Purple and Light Purple, Gold and Medium Purple
Officer Duty Armor: Light Blue/Light Purple/Medium Purple
Night Duty Armor: Black and Light Blue, Black and Light Purple, Black and Medium Purple
Combat Armor: Dark Green (1)/Steel with camo covers for all three Air Navy Cavalry: Green Armor and Overalls(2)
Air Navy Cavalry Dress: Navy Blue with Green Trim and Beret.
Air Navy Utility: White with department color trims Air Navy Dress: Blue with department color trims
Utility uniform: None(3), Grey, Khaki
Combat Uniform: Green Fatigues(4)/Camouflages for Climate for all three
Dress Uniform (Officers): Scarlet Red, Dark Grey, Scarlet Red
Dress Uniform (Enlisted): Black with Blue Trim, Black with Purple trim, Black with Red Trim
1- Painted combat armor to be phased out in favor of covers*
2- Air Navy to replace this with combat uniform
3- Day Guard exploring a white or cream utility uniform
4 -Fatigues to be replaced with camo. *adaptable, reduces risk of scratches exposing metal below, better camo, simpler manufacture (no need to paint), covers can mount pouches and conceal armor class to enemy.
20121011: Edits made by LZ, (A VERY BIG THANKS to him BTW) on trying to make the Diamond Dogs more than 1-Hit Point Gombas to be slain without mercy by the PCs.
20131008: Changed griffins from dyed to clothed.
© 2012 - 2024 alexwarlorn
Comments55
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Overall Vision Originality Technique ImpactThe chapter begins with Shining still standing before the Diamond Dog that just tried to kill him and he uses the radio in his armor to inform everyone that there is an intruder in the embassy. The canine panics and jams his weapon. Shining notices that these kinds of weapons can be jammed easily if too much force is used and the spirling pistol is a cheap model, he can see that the would-be assassin is very unprofessional. Then the Diamond Dog makes his first smart decision and jumps out of the window but Shining jumps after him. The unicorn is even creative enough to use his shield magic to reduce the impact and not damage his radio. And deservingly the earth pony interviewer is cheering for him. Afterwards he gives an order that shows his ability to lead his troops and keep his cool. Shining leaves a magic trail behind which his men can follow, orders some of his troops to follow him while the rest guards Princess Cadence and he even thinks about asking the LCPD for help. As a matter of fact the cynical pegasus interviewer is impressed. He rushes after the canine and sees a cart rushing away. Instantly he suspects that it is an escape plan abandoning the Diamond Dog and reported this in. The nearest unit of the LCPD is four minutes away and his own troops will have to catch up with him, so for a while he is alone in his chase.
Then the princess wants to know what is going on over the radio. Just as she was ready to go to bed countless troopers rushed in and likely she has another brush struck in her mane. He tells her that it is standard procedure to follow the intruder and protect the principal (her) at the same time. She points out that while it is his job to make these decisions, he shouldn’t be the one chasing the attacker. But if Shining looses track of him neither his troops nor the LCPD will find the Diamond Dog ever again. He wonders why the west corridor was empty but that was Cadence’s idea to allow him to sleep better. Even such minor good intentions can backfire horribly. He could have never reawakened. It shows her kind character that she isn’t worried about herself but about him and he assures her that he will be fine since he has the rest of his platoon to back him up. The chase is very exhausting and Shining really wishes he could control his teleportation as good as Twilight can. She made good use of that in her encounter with Nightmare Moon but he would have to stop and spend much more time and mana on the spell. Soon the hunt will lead him into a tunnel and the radio contact with the outside world will end but he is not alone anymore. A griffin named Frost is helping him now. He might be a reference to Derek "Frost" Westbrook from Call of Duty 3.
At this point Shining points out that shield spells can be used easily to kill others if the forcefield cuts them in half and that is the reason he can’t simply trap the fast running dog. The pegasus interviewer asks if he couldn’t just use the bigger version of the spell but that could just blast the Diamond Dog away. Then again throwing him into a wall might be a good way to catch him but the impact would probably turn the canine into puree. As both run after the dog inside the tunnel, Shining uses his magic as a flash light but now the griffin can’t use his ability to fly anymore. Underground the Diamond Dog is in his element. Furthermore steam-powered trains are still running, so overall while the attack itself was really amateurish, this escape route is surprisingly well chosen. Maybe it was the entire time the idea to lure Shining to this place? Soon a train rushes by them and Shining shields himself from the effect of the steam while Frost is protected by his mask. The Diamond Dog isn’t that well prepared and his loud noises easily lead them to him.
He seems cornered but other Diamond Dogs start shooting at them from an alcove and these ones have much better weapons. Shining can see that it is an ambush. The unicorn tries to hit them with stun magic but his aim is still horrible. But after they have wasted their first shoots the canines have to reload and the two can follow the Diamond Dogs. Normal guns are pretty useless in such close quarters against an opponent that can shield himself against the attack. The unicorn talks about the game Call of Cutie (Call of Duty) but considering how horrible his aim is, he will likely not enjoy that game. For a brief moment Shining wonders if there is a weapon that would fire like a machinegun, even he might hit something with that. He will find out very soon.
The terrain has a lot of corners, making it perfect for another ambush. Soon they reach a depot and Shining uses his telekinesis creatively to let the gun of one of the dogs fire too early and but the canine doesn’t seem to be injured. Now Shining wants the earth pony interviewer to leave before the story becomes too dark, but she is used to much worse. And the others would leave with her as well. In the end he gives in, so far nobody ever simply refused to continue the story for the interviewers.
Suddenly the floodlights switch on and blind the two chasers and Shining activates his shields just in time as they are fired at repeatedly. Shining’s wish of a weapon did become true. Both he and Frost quickly hide behind cover. It is clear that this second ambush is much too professional for a little group of assassins. It turns out the weapon that is firing at them is a Gatling Gun and it is placed in a way that nobody could easily sneak up on the firing Diamond Dog or teleport behind him. That still wouldn’t protect the gunner against someone teleporting aside of him but Shining’s aim is too horrible to try that.
Frost asks the unicorn to shield him and allow him to fire at the gunner. He knows that Equestrians don’t like violence but now their own life is in danger. Shining doesn’t hesitate but the gunner has a steel plate as protection, so without a sniper they will not get past him easily. But slowly the carriage they are hiding behind is torn apart and Shining’s shield has to protect them, draining more and more mana. Then the firing suddenly stops.
It turns out that Private Audience did kill the Diamond Dog and Shining is visibly distraught but he decides to talk about that later and chase to last two Diamond Dogs down. He doesn’t hate all of these dogs and knows that they are often tricked or forced to do others dirty work. This was what he wanted the earth pony interviewer not to hear: That one of his men killed somebody else. But the interviewers point out that he had no choice and supported the griffin in his attempt to kill the attacker.
But Shining sees it as very different for griffins. No pony had killed another pony in Equestria for such a long time, that they don’t even remember when that happened the last time. Sometimes non-ponies and ponies did kill each other but even that is rare. Surely dragons or some of the other creatures of Everfree killed a few ponies. To make it clear most ponies use pies as weapons but thinking about that the buffalo could have easily trampled the ponies to death in that episode. It caused a public outcry when ponies realised that the Royal Guard doesn’t carry weapons just for decoration. So the procedure was changed and the guards had to pledge not to use gunpowder weapons in cities and they were trained to prefer non-lethal methods. And one accident was still enough to send the public into panic again.
But overall that is very understandable since ponies are herbivores and prey so this encounter with death by the hoof/hand/whatever of another awakens old almost forgotten fears. It is a horrible situation for any soldier to see somebody else into the eyes and then press the trigger and watch them die and witness the life vanishing from those eyes.
The interviewers don’t blame it on Shining or his men. They know that they did what they had to do and most importantly they didn’t enjoy it. He didn’t loose himself in death. They hug him to cheer him back up and soon he continues his story.
Overall this was a good start to this story about Shining. After the first chapters mostly established characters and build tension, this is the first time a physical confrontation happens and it is a life and death fight. Only thanks to his own quick thinking and support does Shining survive the first attacks. But someone else is clearly pulling the strings behind this attack.