Invasion Chariot Down (Bellosh101 & MassRaridash: PM for Invite)

[Bellosh]

Throbbing pain. Flash of green. Sound of crashing. Buzzing ears. Blurry vision. Darkness. Pretty hard for a pony to get their bearings after being in a chariot accident. Yet that was just the very predicament Col Pummel was in, laying prone on his belly inside a charred chariot turned up on its side. His right wing ached, meaning that it most likely broke during the crash landing. Pummel couldn’t see much, as his vision faded in and out on account of his body recovering from the shock and pain of crashing. However, the aging colonel could see that his chariot was stuck in a shadowy meadow, that it was night, and that no other ponies were immediately in sight.

The aging colonel tried to recall the events prior to the crash, or as best as could under the pressure of a massive headache. An hour ago, around dusk, Intell got word of potential changeling activity in the Ponyville area. Because it was Nightmare Night, Princess Celestia was there partaking in the festivities, and so Col. Pummel took it upon himself to warn her of possible danger. Summoning one soldier to serve as a personal guard, he then set off on a pegasi-drawn chariot from Canterlot to the nearby town.

But something interrupted the voyage; five minutes out of town, sickly green bolts shot out from the trees aiming right for the chariot. Nopony had time to react; an explosion rocked the chariot, causing that injury to Pummel’s wing. The drivers must have also been hit, as they wounded up taking a steep dive towards the ground. Unable to fly away, all the usually-imposing stallion could do was hold on for dear life as his ailing drivers heroically tried landing safely. They did admirably, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent things for Pummel from going black upon impact. What happened to his guard or his escorts, he did not know.

...Until now. It seemed one of the pegasi drivers was galloping off over to the downed chariot, and he appeared to still be in very good condition… perhaps a little bit too good of a condition. Aside from a few visible bruises, that stallion ran towards Pummel without suffering any visible pain. Something… seemed off… but Pummel in his state couldn’t think much more about it. “Sir, are you alright?” asked the driver as he extended a hoof to the colonel, who grunted and shakily stretched out his own foreleg towards the helping hoof.....

[RarityDash]

Radiant Steel wasn't sure exactly what to think. It had all happened so fast. It had been just another average and completely ordinary day, only noteworthy in that being Nightmare Night and her having no plans whatsoever, it was somewhat disheartening. The next moment she was called in for a special assignment. She was to accompany colonel Pummel himself on chariot to Ponyville to rendezvous with the princess and pass along a warning. She had been speechless when she received the detail. This sounded like serious matters of security! She was never given jobs like that.

At first she assumed she was called in to fly the chariot. It wasn't her specialty, but being a pegasus she of course had the means to if they needed her for it. This was not so, however. Her role was as the colonel's personal guard. She didn't know what to make of this at all, but she went along with it. Opportunities like this weren't something to pass up. Besides, if there was something happening in Ponyville she wanted to know about it. Her friend, Flash Sentry had said he'd be spending his Nightmare Night in Ponyville this year.

The flight had been... well weird. Riding in the chariot with the colonel, sitting there dressed in her full guard's armor, including her helmet which she often chose to forego, she had felt out of place. He reminded her very much of her own father, only somehow even less approachable. She had stayed mostly silent and unsure what to do with herself. She felt kind of weird watching the chariot pilots fly the two of them around while she sat still doing and saying nothing. It had felt like hours and Radiant had wanted pretty desperately for it to end. She did not, however, want what she got. The chariot had suddenly been shot down as they reached Ponyville airspace. As it turned out, the tip they had received was accurate. Ponyville was under siege!

Having wings but not being harnessed to the heavy chariot, Radiant was at an advantage. As the chariot began to shake and plummet, she flew from it. She circled back when she noticed the colonel hadn't followed her, likely due to sustained injury, to attempt to spare him the crash, but a changeling got her in the back with a magic blast and sent her hurling ahead as the chariot collided with the ground below. it took several moments for Radiant to recover, and by the time she did she was almost at the ground herself. All she could do was adjust herself for impact so as to spare herself serious damage. She hit the earth at an angle and skid several yards back. When she was able to lift herself, she was very much bruised under her armor, which felt heavier than ever. She was conscious though, and that meant one thing--she needed to do her job.

"Colonel..." she spoke, exasperated, realizing she needed to move quickly. The blast had separated her quite a few lengths from the chariot, but she could still see the wreckage in the distance. She started to fly toward it, her wings aching but still functional, when she noticed some nearby commotion. She landed and hid behind some debris, watching as several changelings clamored and carried off some ponies, the battered, unconscious chariot pilots among them. She gasped and considered rushing them, but quickly realized it was foolish with how she was outnumbered. Her job was protecting the colonel anyway.

Once the changelings were gone, she continued toward the wreckage, this time on hoof so as not to be spotted as easily. Soon she was on the scene and there was the colonel, looking battered but very much conscious. He was reaching out for somepony. Radiant glanced at this pony and gasped when she noticed it was one of the very same ponies she had just seen get captured by the enemy. She needed to act quick.

"Get away from him, you impostor!" she shouted as she flew right at the fake chariot pilot. She rushed him at full speed, tackling him to the ground and then bashing his head with her helmet. Unconscious, the changeling lost his assumed shape.

"Colonel, can you move?" Radiant asked, still out of breath as she stumbled back to look at her commanding officer.

​

[Bellosh]

"Get away from him, you impostor!"

Out of the blue… or the darkness rather, came the guard assigned as Col. Pummel’s escort. Pummel didn’t know much about the mare up until now, other than her name PFC. Radiant Steel and how she appeared ill at ease before the chariot crash… which the aged stallion attributed to the fact that they were riding off towards danger. For his part, Pummel made a show of presenting himself as stalwart and unfappable on the way to Ponyville; just because only one servicemare could see him didn’t mean the towering pegasus could afford to slack off and not appear as a symbol of strength to his soldiers.

Whoever the soldier was though, she didn’t hesitate getting in fights. Just as the chariot pilot made physical contact with Col. Pummel’s hoof, PFC. Steel tackled the pilot to the ground and bashed him unconscious. Pummel’s immediate instinct would have been to throw Radiant in the brig had he not seen the knocked-out “pegasus” revert to its ugly original form; that of those twisted changelings!

"Colonel, can you move?"

“Ugggh, Ugggggggh…” grunted the senior officer as he tried lifting himself up under his own power. Now aware of the danger he and PFC. Steel were in, Col. Pummel’s adrenaline kicked in, giving him the strength to overcome his pain. Within a few seconds, Pummel was now back on all four of his wobbly legs, and the soldier could now easily see her commander’s beat-up condition. Dirt covered Pummel’s formerly pristine green uniform, while bruises covered his entire body. His right wing was bent as well, which did not look very pretty.

But if Col. Pummel’s body was broken, his spirit remained intact 100%. Even as he heard hideous shrieks a distance away, Pummel knew better than show weakness to his subordinate. As the dark gray stallion’s face transformed into a typical resolute grimace, he plainly responded; “Nevermind that, Private Steel. What’s our SitRep?“ The two ponies didn’t have much time; the “pilot’s” shape-shifting buddies would be on the scene in a matter of mere seconds.....

[RarityDash]

“Ugggh, Ugggggggh…Nevermind that, Private Steel. What’s our SitRep?“

Watching the colonel find his strength and force himsefly to all four hooves despite his obvious injuries was inspiring. She couldn't help but feel, watching him, that this stallion, he truly embodied the spirit of the REA pony.

At the question, Radiant stiffened her posture and gave a firm nod before giving the full details of all she understood about the situation. "I believe the chariot crashed at the edge of out destination Ponyville, sir. I was uninjured in the chariot attack and managed to fly from it but was separated by enemy fire before I could fly back. I was quick to conclude the situation on ground is dire. I spotted several changelings flying openly through the streets, capturing and carrying ponies off, including out injured and unconscious pilots, sir! That's how I knew this one was an impostor. The town is panicked and there are signs of chaos all around. I would conjecture from what I've observed that the entire town is currently besieged by these monstrous invaders!"

As she concluded, she kept her posture straight and gave another nod as she awaited whatever orders the colonel had for her.

​

[Bellosh]

As relayed by PFC Steel, the situation looked very awful. The Royal Equestrian Army yet again let an entire invasion force of changelings slip past their hooves and make another strike on the Heartland. Heads were going to roll over this; officers demoted, soldiers retrained, anything to teach them a thing or two about competence. Col. Pummel would not permit the REA to be more of a laughingstock than it already was thanks to the first changeling assault.

If Pummel had anything to be comforted by, it was in the fact that PFC Steel failed to show any sign of excessive distress while providing her SitRep. The average servicepony by now would have most likely panicked and fled back to Canterlot upon being the only combat-ready soldier left. But not Radiant, who calmly reported in and provided accurate information without her judgement clouded by fear. That mare had nerves of steel, and to the colonel, truly embodied the spirit of the ideal REA pony.

When PFC Steel finished her report, Col Pummel dispassionately offered his interpretation of what his subordinate saw; “If there’s extensive chaos in Ponyville, that’s also sign of active resistance. That’ll buy our battalion more time to get here and relieve the town.”

“However Private, I refuse to leave any of my ponies behind. Chase after the enemy unit that took our pilots prisoner. I’ll follow you on hoof.” Pursuit would tax Pummel’s strength, but he’d manage. Having kept himself in peak physical condition, nothing would keep the colonel from getting his pilots back; not even that changeling drone peaking out of the bushes; “Time to move out!”

[RarityDash]

“If there’s extensive chaos in Ponyville, that’s also sign of active resistance. That’ll buy our battalion more time to get here and relieve the town. However Private, I refuse to leave any of my ponies behind. Chase after the enemy unit that took our pilots prisoner. I’ll follow you on hoof. Time to move out!”

Radiant gave a salute and a quick nod. "Understood, sir! You can count on me. We will recover them!" she started readily and them immediately took to wing.

She knew right away this wasn't going to be easy. Even if there was an active resistance, the changelings had the clear advantage with their numbers. What's more, neither of them were armed. The intelligence likely hadn't been seen as being very solid as no spears had been issues. All Radiant had for weapons were her armored head and hooves. Sure, she was faster than them and probably stronger as well, but she was pretty much alone. The colonel was an imposing stallion, clearly tough as nails, but given his age and his injuries, Radiant would not only have to fight off these changelings but make sure he stayed safe as well.

As she found a changeling in the bushes, tackled and slammed her hoof into its face, Radiant felt an anxious pang as her active thoughts caught up with her instincts. Was this really happening? An Equestrian town was at war with a force of evil invaders and she was at the heart of it, with a mission that only she could do. Was she even qualified for this? She was just a night guard, only of note for who her father was and the write ups for her aggressive behavior and the mistakes it lead to. She had always wondered what she'd do if something serious needed. She could recall speculating over it with Flash not too long ago. She had wondered if she wouldn't find herself paralyzed, completely unable to act.

Now, in the moment, she found the truth was different. She couldn't stop. She couldn't slow down. It was all riding on her. The safety of the colonel, the safety of her comrades, the struggle against the changelings. She wasn't allowed to be afraid. She just had to keep going. She had to fight until her goals were accomplished. There were no other options available to her.

"Take that, monster!" Radiant shouted as she kicked the now unconscious changeling aside.

Not stopping for a second, she then sped ahead in the direction she had seen the changelings take the pilots. It wasn't long before she found them. There were about five changelings surrounding the two unconscious REA pilots. Maybe it was foolish to challenge so many all on her own, but she didn't have a choice. She was a soldier and this was her mission. There was no other option but to win.

"You unhoof them now, you insects!" she started, catching the attention of the group. All five looked her way and swiftly started to encroach.

​

[Bellosh]

Unlike PFC Steel, this had not been Col. Pummel’s first time in a dangerous situation. As an observer embedded within the Aquellian Marine Corps., he had seen his fair share of what it actually felt like to be in a combat environment. Yet none of those situations matched the peril shared by he and Radiant Steel; alone, unarmed, and without hope of timely reinforcement in a risky quest to rescue two pilots of the Royal Equestrian Army. Pummel would make do with what he got; the ignorant would call him foolhardy, but under no circumstance would he forsake his Soldier’s Creed and abandon two ponies to an uncertain fate in a dark and dreary changeling hive.

Dispatching the lurking changeling scout with relative ease, PFC Steel took to the skies in hot pursuit of their objective. Col. Pummel did what he could to follow on hoof, but galloping could only speed him so far. The airworthy mare may have been more swift, but the older injured stallion wasn’t slower by all that much. Not long after Radiant saw the enemies transporting the prisoners away, Pummel saw them too as they stopped and rushed towards the confrontational soldier in the air.

There wasn’t much the colonel could do in the way of actual fighting, with his wing broken and all. But even a pegasus stuck on the ground could prove their immense worth; halting below the airborne combatants and ignoring all his weariness, Pummel reached for a decently-sized rock and with a powerful swing of his foreleg, chucked it high in the sky towards one of those changelings not carrying a captive. And the towering stallion kept on doing so with any rock he could find in his section of countryside, hoping his aim would knock out at least one hostile and lend support to PFC Steel.....

[RarityDash]

Radiant flew in to immediately tackle the nearest changeling. She pounded on it with her armored hooves just as she had the one before but was blasted off of it by one of the others before she could knock it completely out. The other three changelings then charged at her all at once, pinning her down. She struggled against them, but wasn't sure if she was going to be able to manage to get free. That's when a large rock suddenly collided with one of her captors' heads. The changeling, concussed, stumbled back and fell over. The other two, startled as they were let up for just an instant, which was just what Radiant needed.

She sprung to her hooves and clocked one of the changelings that had pinned her right in the jaw. He staggered back and then Radiant sealed the deal with a helmet to the face. The creature fell to the ground instantly and didn't get up. Radiant glanced in the direction the supporting rock throw had come from and noticed the colonel there. He was throwing more rocks at the changelings too! The proceeding rocks didn't score quite so direct cranial blows now that the changelings were onto him, but he was keeping them on their hooves and when the rocks did hit, they were leaving the changelings clearly stinging.

Still, there were three left and the element of surprise was all used up. Radiant wasn't exactly sure how to approach the situation. It didn't seem like there was much strategically that could help her. No, her only option was to plow through and stop them all before they could effectively retaliate. A blast came her way again, but she flew up to dodge it. She then dove straight at the nearest changeling and slammed her helmet into his gut. He squealed in agony, before collapsing, leaving just two.

Unfortunately, one of the two changelings was charging right in the direction of the colonel. Radiant gasped, reminded of her duty. The colonel was in no condition to be grappling directly with changelings. She pushed her wings like never before, and just as the changeling was about to confront the colonel, she successfully tackled and subdued it as she had the others. She gave a sigh of relief and then looked up at the colonel with a respectful nod. Little did she know, however, that the last remaining changeling was hovering right behind her, it's horn starting to charge up an intense blast of magic...

​

[Bellosh]

Col. Pummel did not exactly like changelings, but at least he appreciated their simple courtesy of dropping their two captives on top of a thick tree. The two unconscious pilots were going to have a bumpy ride to the ground, but at least the leaves would slow down their fall and minimize injury. The colonel would have regarded this act by the changeling captors as honorable had he not remembered that those creatures needed live ponies to harvest love from.

Aside from that, Col. Pummel’s observations on the changelings left much to be desired from their kind. Despite their advantages in numbers, none of those bugs fought with any cohesion. To the colonel, it was evident that the group that shot him down and almost got away with his pilots weren’t much more than undisciplined militia drones dragged out of their hive. They reminded him of griffon sky pirates to a degree; so eager to get into fights, yet utterly incapable of taking on actual soldiers in a straight-up fight. As long as Queen Chrysalis faced issues in raising a proper army, her kingdom’s greatest advantages would continue to lie in secrecy and deception.

But Pummel didn’t have much time for thinking, as the enemy unit appeared initially to overwhelm PFC Steel. By all accounts, he had sent his subordinate on a suicide mission, tasking her to somehow take on an entire fire-team of changelings. The only reason Pummel didn’t have any second thoughts over sending Radiant to a likely doom was that had he been the uninjured pegasus, he’d be up personally fighting against long odds. The aged stallion never asked of his soldiers any task that he would not carry out himself, and it gladdened his heart seeing the mare courageously charge towards those changelings without worry for her own self. Radiant would definitely get a promotion for her gallantry, and almost certainly a medal too.

Now that the changelings knew of a second pony confronting them, one of them tried to charge at the colonel, who was down to his final rock. Pummel wouldn’t have minded taking a punch out of the divebomber, risky it might have been, but PFC Steel swooped in to put the changeling out of its misery first. It was at this moment when the soldier unwisely let her guard down in premature victory, when the colonel glimpsed the final changeling charging up for a magic shot. “EVASIVE ACTION!” Pummel roared in warning, chucking his last projectile to hopefully take that last thug out.....

[RarityDash]

“EVASIVE ACTION!”

Radiant's eyes widened at the order. She moves as quick as she could, doing a side roll to the ground. She then picked herself up quickly and turned to see the changeling who had nearly gotten to her. The colonel's rock had hit it square in the jaw, leaving it staggering badly. Not wasting an instant, she rushed it and slammed her helmet into its skull. It fell over, motionless. Radiant gave a heavy breath, the pain of her exertions catching up to her. Her armor felt heavier in those moments than it ever had before, though at the same time, she had never felt prouder to wear it.

"Thank you for the assist, colonel, sir!" she started, graciously before turning back. She still had orders to complete. It was hardly time to stop just yet.

"Now to secure our comrades!" she said, her breath strained but her not letting herself slow down. She galloped back toward the pilots side, reaching and securing them before any changelings might have been able to swipe them up. Once on the scene, she looked back in the direction she had come from, waiting for the colonel to catch up with her.

​

[Bellosh]

If PFC Steel had waited a second longer to roll away, that last changeling would have toasted her where she stood. But that didn’t happen thankfully, letting the two finish off the bug so they could move on. In need of catching his breath as well, Col. Pummel leisurely cantered over towards the tree containing the two pilots, his aching also making a resurgence in this respite. After making a final visual scan of the countryside for any further enemies or, the exhausted stallion finally let himself crash into the ground.

As he laid there on the dew-coated grass and proceeded to relax his mind, Col. Pummel had one important thing he needed to get off his chest. “In the future,” he began a stern lecture towards the armored mare; “Never let your guard down too swiftly.” Pummel let that sink in for a moment or so before with a tiny hint of a smile, he added; “You’ve done your fellow comrades well tonight… Corporal Steel.....”

[RarityDash]

“In the future,Never let your guard down too swiftly. You’ve done your fellow comrades well tonight… Corporal Steel.....”

This was about what Radiant had expected to here when the colonel caught up to her. She had been in a tight spot and had been forced to make a decision. Perhaps her decision to give chase and protect the colonel, even while putting herself at risk hadn't been quite proper protocol, but at the moment, it was more important than anything that she ensured no further harm to the colonel. Still, all things considered, this light admonishment accompanied by a few words of praise left her feeling quite pleased with the job done.

"Understood, colonel, sir! I'll do my best to always keep that in mind!" she started, less rigid than usual for how worn she was, though still managing a salute.

Then, after a pause, something in the colonel's words hit her. Her eyes went wide as her mind rewound back to it. It couldn't be, could it? She hadn't just imaged it, had she? She stepped backward, shaking a little as she stared ahead.

"Wait... C-corporal? You can't mean...! Sir! I-I..." she started, completely unsure how to react. Realizing it was no mistake, she did her best to hide her widening grin and give a respectful nod.

"I am humbled and honored, sir! I will do my best to not disappoint you!" she added, her voice not masking her excitement. She had succeeded. She had pulled off a difficult mission and helped save some endangered comrades. What's more, glancing up at the air, Radiant could see many more REA chariots coming from the direction of Canterlot. The soldiers had been deployed, and soon the tide of this battle would be swinging their way.

​

(END)