1460 replies and 7 files omitted.
>>140673>>140674There is a cacophony of shattered glass, bullets, and automatic bullets flying. Sure enough, a pony falls down on the roof, and is enveloped in green flame, to reveal a black insectoid equiform creature. Silver can see the enemy standing up, aiming their rifles, and returning fire. The machine gun swivels on its tripod, aiming towards their ambushers.
The rifleling on the left side fires his rifle
[1d7 = 6][1d20+3 = 6]Then a rifle pony in Silver's support section
[1d4 = 4][1d20 = 4]Then the enemy Machine Gun:
[1d7 = 1][1d20 = 12]Then a rifle creature on the right
[1d7 = 7][1d20+3 = 20]Then one of Silver's rifle ponies in the Master Bedroom
[1d20+2 = 10]Then Silver [1d20+10 = 11]>>140675Silver aims down his rifle's sights once again to take out the enemy machinegunner.
>>140675>>140676>>140675Silver takes aim at the machine gunner, looking at him down his sights after cycling the bolt. Silver's already wounded him before. Aim.
click. Silver can see the bullet hit behind the Machine gunner. But the machine gunner isn't kneeling idly. He moves the machine gun up, points it towards Silver, and
clack clack clack clackSilver can see little holes forming in the wall around the window, and below the window. Small splinters of wood enter the air. He can hear bullets wiz past him. And he can hear glass shattering in the kitchen behind him
Meanwhile, the light machine gunner next to Silver has flinched, pressing his gun forward, and causing the front bipod to move off the end of the table, and dropping the gun down on the table.
Elsewhere, SIlver's rifle ponies shoot back
[1d20+2 = 15][1d20+2 = 17][1d20+2 = 5] >>140670>>140677The gunner in the bathroom makes another hit, as does the Corporal in the Master Bedroom.
[2d8 = 14][2d8 = 6] >>140678Silver's section successfully hits and downs two of the riflelings on the right side.
But an enemy rifleman shoots back, hitting the Corporal
[2d8 = 7]And a rifleling shoots back
[1d7 = 7][1d20+2 = 19] >>140679The assistant machine gunner fires another shot
[1d20+2 = 11] >>140680>>140679>>140676And misses
A second shot hits the Corporal
[2d8 = 13] >>140681>>140679>>140676The Corporal is downed, having downed one enemy himself
>>140676Does Silver take evasive action?
>>140683Silver uses his magic to realign the LMG on the table. He shouts over the cacophany of bullets.
"THIS IS WHY I SAID TO TARGET MACHINEGUN!"
>>140684The Changeling on the far left takes a shot up towards the one of the rifleponies in the Master Bedroom
[1d20+2 = 4]That same pony shoots again, at the enemy assistant machine gunner
The Machine gunner continues firing, seeing no reason to take his decrepit hooves off the trigger
[1d3 = 1][1d20 = 6]Then a riflepony in the other section fires again
[1d20 = 11]Then the captured Changeling Machine Gun bursts all it's worth
[1d20 = 6]And now it's Silver's turn
>>140685>>140684"What?!" Silver's light machine gunner yells back, trying to stand back up.
Bullet's crack and snap, pieces of debris fly in the dining room and in the Master Bedroom. The Changeling machine gun rips to add it's own terrifying symphony of battle.
Nothing seems to hit it's intended target
[1d20+10 = 26]>>140685>>140686"TAKE THAT FUCKER OUT!"
Silver stands and quickly pops off another shot at the changeling on the machinegun.
>>140688A small mount of paint flakes fall down from bullet holes above Silver, falling on his mane
Silver hits
>>140673The riflepony in the bathroom fires
[1d20+2 = 12]Then a riflepony in the other section
[1d20-2 = 14]Then the riflepony in the bedroom
[1d2 = 2][1d20+2 = 9]Then the last surviving enemy rifleling on the right
[1d20+3 = 12]Then the light machine gunner, who has just had his machine gun placed in position
[1d20 = 4] [1d20 = 16] [1d20 = 20] [1d20 = 15][1d20 = 4] [1d20 = 20] [1d20 = 13] [1d20 = 1][1d20 = 18] [1d20 = 19] [1d20 = 12] [1d20 = 5][1d20 = 3] [1d20 = 10] [1d20 = 15] >>140691>>140690There is another cacophony of bullets
The enemy machine gunner -already bleeding from two hits - is hit twice in the torso, then once in the limb, falling down
[1d4 = 1][1d4 = 4][1d4 = 4][1d4 = 1] >>140690>>140692And the machine gun itself is hit once in the jacket, causing an eruption of steam from the gun
Still, the rifleling on the left takes aim and shoots, this time at the light machine gunner
[1d20+3 = 6]And then the pony in the Master Bedroom fires his rifle
[1d20+2 = 15]Then the riflepony in the other section
[1d20-2 = 5]Silver's turn
>>140693Bullets miss, save for the shot of the riflepony in the master bedroom, who hits the enemy assistant machine gunner
[2d8 = 7] [1d20+10 = 21]>>140693Silver aims for rifleling on the left, and fires his rifle.
>>140696>>140695>>140694Silver makes a strong hit, causing blood to fly. The assistant machine gunner is hit as well, several times. He says
"Drücken sie-" then coughs "für unsere Kameraden!"
He tries to move through the steam towards the operating post of the machine gun
[1d2 = 1][1d20+2 = 7]A pony in another section fires a shot at the lone rifleling on the right
[1d20 = 5] >>140697One of Silver's rifleponies shoots at the assistant machine gunner, but misses. He's moved himself into position, to fire the machine gun
[1d20 = 10]The lone rifleling on the right fires a shot toward's Silver's machine gunner
[1d20+3 = 5]Silver's assistant machine gunner, meanwhile, has heard the click of the light machine gun, and knows it is out of ammunition. He uses his magic to pull out the empty magazine, levitate a new one, and place it into the magazine well.
>>140698The rifleling on the left takes another shot
[1d20+3 = 15]The rifle pony in the master bedroom shoots
[1d20+2 = 22]And a pony in the other section shoots
[1d20 = 16] >>140699The rifleling on the left does not shoot for nothing. He hits the earth pony holding the light machine gun, before the latter can cock the gun.
[2d8 = 7]The assistant machine gunner has moved the body of his superior aside, and looks up from over the steaming and soon to be warped barrel at Silver's position, ready to return fire at Silver's section. But it is not to be. The pony who stood next to the now dead corporal of C Squad's machine gun section, has landed his second rifle shot on the assistant machine gunner. with a splatter of blood, he falls backwards, landing on the legs of the machine gunner, and slowly degenerating into a black drone, one who still wears the uniform of an Equestrian truck loader.
The other section lands a shot on the lone rifleling on the right
[2d8 = 15]Silver's turn >>140700>>140696The light machine gunner is hit, but not downed. He cocks his gun.
The lone rifleling on the right is shot through the chest, splattering blue blood on the concrete roof. He collapses with only one hit.
The last drone on the roof is the rifleling on the left, who changes his form right there in plain view, and spreading his wings
[1d20+10 = 11]>>140700>>140701With a rallying shout, Silver fires a shot at the exposed changeling.
"ДЛЯ ПРИНЦЕСС!"
>>140702Silver's misses wide, going far above and into the green fields beyond the town.
The drone, lone survivor of the top, bleeds profusely onto the roof with his blue and purple tinted blood. He jumps up onto the edge, spreads his wings, and swiftly jumps off the roof of the building, disappearing from sight. A drone elsewhere on the roof twitches.
Silver has fired two rifle shots at Captain Forrester. One shot into the Church tower. Two at a drone who came outside of the church and killed a member of his platoon. And now, five shots at the position on the roof. Silver's rifle magazine is now empty.
From the bedroom, Silver can hear a "Wooo!" and then from another "Take that you damn cockroaches! Wooo!"
>>140703"Alright...good fighting, soldiers! Take breather, patch your wounds, and celebrate this victory! There will be plenty more where this came from!"
Silver goes to check on the downed corporal.
>>140704The corporal has been shot in the neck and the chest plate. His blood now covers part of the bedroom floor, and his submachine gun still lies on the top of the dresser. He has no pulse now.
>>140704The riflepony in the bathroom, the pony in the secondary bedroom, and from the assistant machine gunner cheer.
"We whooped them!"
"Serves them right"
"Hope the boys on the front are doing as well"
A weaker smile comes from the squad machine gunner, who holds onto his wound. A less enthusiastic response comes from the pony who stood next to the corporal. He remains silent.
>>140705Silver closes the corporal's eyes, and offers him a prayer to Celestia, that his soul may be guided swiftly to the heavenly gates of Elysium. He looks at the pony who stood next to the corporal, and places a forehoof on his shoulder.
"Are you okay, son?"
>>140706The corporal is still not a pretty sight, especially with so much of his blood on the floor. But he looks just a little better.
The private is silent for a moment. But he answers Silver
“We got ‘em”
>>140707"That is not what I asked, soldier."
He looks sadly at the private.
"Death is not pretty or nice. Trust me, I know. But to see it so close, it is something entirely more horrifying."
>>140708“I know. This is my first time seeing it. Sister died of TB when I was little, but I didn’t see that.... I’ll be alright.... He was a good pony.”
>>140709He smiles, though it's tinged with sadness.
"That he was. He gave his all to protect us. We will make sure his body is treated with respect, before he is sent back home."
>>140710He gives a small smile, and nods
"That, he did. We will."
>>140640"Let us go with that," Iron confirmed with a nod, hoping Koptis was in that list.
>>140711"Good lad, Private. Now, can you go check on other group of soldiers, see if everything is alright over there? I think I will need to help patch our machinegunner up."
>>140712"Well..." She looks behind herself, then back towards Iron.
"They like to use the dining room in the back. We don't normally use it during most business hours, and... Well, they like to use the dining room in the back."
>>140715he nods, halfway managing a smile
"Yes sir."
>>140716"Off you go. Take somepony with you if you feel unsafe on your own."
>>140717He scrunches for a moment, but he leaves
>>140716"How come?" Iron would ask as he tested the seat's comfiness.
>>140719There's some cushion to it. It's on the fluffier side, as seat cushions go.
"Preference.... I guess. They do their own thing."
>>140718Once he's gone, Silver goes over to the machinegunner. He smiles at him.
"Alright, show me where bullet touched you."
>>140721He too, scrunches
He's shot through the chest, next to the left shoulder, low on the body
>>140722Is the assistant machinegunner still here?
>>140724He turns to the assistant machinegunner.
"Can you see if they have any alcohol here? Preferrably something strong."
>>140720(Most likely they prefer it for their secrecy,) Iron concluded, having confirmed the comfortable nature of these cushions wasn't the issue.
"What are they like?" the native asked.
>>140726"Some are....
firmer. Some, more nice."
>>140725The assistant machine gunner goes over, and looks though a cabinet
"These are shot to pieces"
Then another. He pulls out a decorated bottle.
"Here we go. Brandy."
>>140727"Thank you."
Silver takes it, and offers it to the machinegunner.
"Here. Take only small drink, to dull pain."
While he does so, he investigates the wound. Is it all the way through, or is the bullet still inside? Is the wound bleeding profusely?
>>140728He takes a sip. Then another sip. Then another, much longer sip.
It looks like the bullet is still inside. There is much blood, although less than you may think from looking at the wound
>>140727"Are they currently here'" Iron proceeded to ask.
>>140731"I am curious about them in general," Iron offered the waitress. "I am quite fond of other species."
>>140732"Well... I'll leave you to that."
She has a half-smile, which is better than the last several exchanges
>>140733A round of applause, ladies and gentlecolts!"Do not forget the water, please," Iron would remind the waitress before turning to Sands, awaiting the moment of privacy in order to start their eventual talk together.
>>140734"And your chardonnay " Sands adds. The waiter says "Right." And walks away. Sands watches her as she goes, before turning to Iron.
>>140729"Do not take too much, you will affect your aim."
He continues to examine it for a couple seconds, before he looks up at the machinegunner.
"Alright, here is what I can do. I can either try to pull bullet out with my magic now, which will hurt like hell but let it start to heal properly, or I can just patch you up until our medical officer is up again and can take proper look."
>>140736"Uh... how good are you with that?" He asks
>>140735"I feel like they are definitely coming to meet us anytime now," Iron commented in a half-whisper. "What do you think?"
>>140738"Do they know it's us yet? If we move now, they won't know."
>>140739"So we go directly to their table and kick their flanks there?" Iron would ask instead in a hushed manner.
>>140740"Uh... I don't know" She answers
>>140741"I see. What about table hopping to scout them out instead? See what sort of battle we have in store."
>>140742"If they don't know what we look like, we should try to find them first."
>>140743"Then let us commence our execution," Iron declared as he figured out the potential paths to take in order to reach the esteemed "back" the waitress was talking about.
>>140744There are three doors in the back (not counting a fourth off to the right that must link outside). It's easy to see one is probably a kitchen (steel doors), leaving two, one on the left in a corner, and another on the side opposite the entrance, more towards the left. The latter looks like it's more likely an entryway into an open area, with beige walls
>>140737"I have plenty of experience with performing first aid in field like this."
>>140747"Alright. Just in case, you may want to bite onto something."
>>140748His eyes go wide, and he picks up a leather pouch used to hold stripper clips
[1d20+5 = 13]>>140749"Okay. Three, two, one..."
Heal: Focusing his magic around the bullet, Silver attempts to carefully extract it from the machinegunner's flesh.
>>140750"AAAHHH!"
Some blood comes out. Silver doesn't feel like he is pulling flesh, or anything important, so that is good. but he either didn't get the bullet, or didn't pull it out.
>>140751"That is why I said to bite down. I almost have it..."
>>140745Iron believes that the latter door that could potentially leave him to an open area to be the more likely place where the group might be currently eating, so he plans out a route to get there.
>>140752There's a slight whining sound
>>140753The door is not very far away at all. Going closer to the left will, presumably, make it easier to look into - and be seen from - inside the room, while walking from the right along the line of booths may be a little harder to see from inside.
The door isn't far from the entrance of what is presumably the bathrooms.
[1d20+5 = 6]>>140754"Come on..."
Heal: Silver tries again, hopeful that he can succeed without causing his patient much more suffering.
>>140755Okay, more blood. A lot more blood. Oh Celestia, why is there so much blood?
[1d20+5 = 16]>>140756Heal: Silver hurriedly tries to keep the machinegunner's blood inside of him.
>>140754Sensing it'd be best to head right, Iron soon added that to his scouting plan.
>>140757Silver forces a table cloth inside the machine gunner (one with few glass shards or bits of wood or paint, fortunately), and stops the outward bleeding. Hopefully it coagulates and stops bleeding inside. Hopefully.
"AAAHHH"
He bites down on on the leather bag. He also puts less weight on his left foreleg
>>140758Alright, time to proceed with the sneaky (unless Sands is involved)
>>140759"Well...fuck. Sorry about that. You may want to take rest of that brandy."
>>140761He removes the leather bag still wincing, and starts drinking
>>140760Figuring it wouldn't hurt, Iron would tell Sands his secret plan to scout them out and come back here to properly discuss how to approach them.
>>140763"Do you have a reason for being so close and so curious?" Sands asks
>>140764"I, uh," Iron trailed off for a bit, unsure of what to say. "I am curious about their body parts?"
>>140762He pats his uninjured foreleg before going to pick up the deceased corporal's SMG and the spare ammo and magazines for it.
>>140765Sands narrows her eyes, scrunches, and pulls both ears down. The left one flops a bit.
>>140766It's not the prettiest gun, but it works. 3 full magazines of 32 rounds, and one that is about half full in the gun.
>>140767"Bad line," Iron concluded with a nod. "How about I am curious about their culture?"
>>140768"Possible... I don't know how much they'll like it, but it's plausible."
>>140767Silver takes them, so he can properly support his soldiers in close quarters.
With this done, he goes to the bedroom to see if the ponies assigned to that window are still there.
>>140770The pony in the smaller bedroom is gone entirely. The best guess is, he was the “buddy” of the pony assigned to link up with the other section.
>>140771Silver checks the bathroom, then.
>>140772This little pony has come out of the bathroom, and is trying to be with the remaining ponies.
>>140769Iron hummed for a second before presenting a potential third option. "How about 'I am interested in your stories from afar.'?"
>>140773Silver announces to the three remaining ponies.
"Alright, I am going to investigate Telephone Office. Remember to ask me code phrase when I get back, in case something happens."
>>140774“I’m... not sure what that means, but maybe?”
She places both elbows on the table, and pulls her hair out of the way
“The thing is, stealth isn’t quite what you think. You’re not hunting animals in the forest. You don’t have to hide yourself because it doesn’t matter if they see you. They see ponies and whatever other creatures every day. It’s just another part of the scenery. Stealth is about hiding an
intent. So long as they don’t suspect you have a hotline motivation, you are fine, mostly. So unless you actually want them to answer your questions - and maybe you do - what matters is that they really believe that is why you are back there, and you didn’t just go on a rampage by the seashore.”
>>140775“Yes sir.” Says one
“Should somepony go with you?” Says another
>>140776"It would probably be smartest idea, if one of you was volunteering."
>>140777The pony in the bathroom raises his hoof to volunteer.
>>140778Silver smiles and nods to him.
"Alright, thank you. Come, let us see if they left communication equipment intact."
>>140779The soldier nods, and the two go through the door, and down to outside.
[1d20 = 18] [1d20 = 20] [1d20 = 10] [1d20 = 8] [1d20 = 4] >>140779>>140780Shortly after arriving outside, Silver is met with the two ponies he sent out in his section, and the Sargent of Squad C
“Sergeant Silver Sword. Nice work.” He addresses Silver
>>140782“Wait, I know this one...”
>>140783Silver sighs in defeat. He takes a moment to read the name on the sergeant's uniform.
"Good enough, I suppose. I do not think changeling would have reacted to that in such manner."
>>140784Hornbeck
"Heh, they'd probably just shoot you. I heard about corporal Dunley. A shame to lose him. We need to secure the telephone office to make it count."
>>140785"Damn right. We were just about to go do that. You three going to come along?"
>>140786"Yes sir." He answers
Silver can see the telephone building not far in front of him in the setting sunlight, with that roof that hangs over onto the side walk. He can see a small trickle of green-rusted blood heading into the side door
>>140787Silver motions for the group to be quiet as he takes point. He uses his telekinesis to open the door from a distance.
>>140790Silver procedes carefully into the building, keeping his head and SMG on a swivel.
>>140791>>140793As soon as Silver peers over around the corner, he feels the sting of bullets, and hears the tattletale sound of a Changeling machinepistol.
[4d6 = 17] >>140794The unicorn staggers backwards out of the building, falling onto his back and bleeding from two fresh new bulletholes in his chest. He coughs and spits up some blood, still alive but barely so.
"Urrgh...bad idea..."
>>140795As soon as Silver falls down, the sargeant behind him yells,
"Cornflake! Pull him back! Sleetfall! Grenade!"
The Sargeant moves forward, and tosses in a grenade. Silver is pulled back by the pony from the masterbedroom, and the last pony moves forward, and likewise throws a grenade around the corner.
[1d20 = 20][1d20 = 15] >>140796Silver groans in pain, both from having been shot so many times in one day and from being ruffly handled while injured.
"Fucking...roaches..."
>>140800>>140796>>140797>>140801What happens next, Silver is not to know. There is an explosion, then another loud explosion. What Silver learns in retrospect, is that the first grenade tossed into the room was tossed back out through the small crack of the door. Sleetfall, the Pegasus, frantically rushed in to push it away with his wings, pushing it away. One grenade detonates loudly inside of the telephone room. The grenade outside is pushed away somewhat down the street. Silver is already on the ground. The pony pulling Silver simply falls backwards on his back, and Sleetfall tumbles to the ground. The Sargeant, however, does not make it to the ground so quickly, and takes hits from shrapnel.
>>140801>>140802Silver hears more ringing, but he can definitely hear a "Fucking hell, you'll pay for that!"
>>140802>>140803If Silver was to ever go deaf, this would be one of the contributers to it. The unicorn tries to roll over onto his side to get a look of what is going on.
>>140803>>140801The door to the office opens with the explosion inside. A private, looks to be Sleetfall, gets up, pick up his rifle, and charges into the office with his bayonet-fixed rifle
"
AAAAHHHH!"
[1d20+3 = 7] >>140805He is going to get himself killed.Coughing and sputtering, and having to spit out some more blood, Silver tries to get his hooves underneath him.
>>140804>>140805Looking inside of the office, Silver can see a changeling drone in Equestrian uniform - no pretense at being a pony, but still wearing the uniform of an Equestrian armorer - starting to get up off the ground. Sleetfall is quick to get up, picks up a rifle, and charges at the drone as if with a lance. By misfortune or by daze, Sleetflall misses his bayonet.
Cornflake tries to get up, and aim his rifle.
>>140807If desired, roll initiative
>>140809Silver jumps up to his hooves almost immediately.
With the door opened, Silver can see there are two drones in the room. One with a rifle who appears to be downed. The other wearing an Equestrian army uniform with an armorer's markings, who seems to be a Changeling non-commissioned officer. He is bleeding profusely and must have had the disguise blown right off of him, but he is starting to get up, and he is levitating his machinepistol. Sleetfall has run right into the office, but has failed to stick the drone with his bayonet.
>>140810Is Sleetfall in the line of fire between Silver and the drone?
>>140811He missed, so he'd be off to the side
>>140812[1d20+4 = 22] [1d20+4 = 18][1d20+4 = 21] [1d20+4 = 16][1d20+4 = 11] [1d20+4 = 21]Silver aims the SMG he got from the late Corporal Dunley, and fires a burst at the changeling.
Tattattattattattat >>140813>>140814Silver shoots true, and a hit, hit, hit, hit, and another hit takes the drone. The bullets create small but noticeable blood splatters, and push his body ever so slightly, until the creature falls back down on its back on the floor, mouth hanging open.
>>140815"That..." *cough* "...is for Dunley..."
Silver slumps down now that his work is done, setting the SMG aside.
>>140816Silver and the other sargent are badly wounded. Sleetfall moves up, and bayonets the other drone. Cornflake enters
"Sergeant? Sergeant?"
>>140817"...which one?"
Even with all of his light grey fur, Silver still looks rather pale. He waves off the question.
"Nevermind, nevermind. See to Sergeant Hornbeck. Just need moment..."
>>140818He moves out of the room
"Yes, Sargeant."
Meanwhile, a form moves up from behind the counter
>>140819Silver picks up his SMG again, and weakly stands up to face the figure. He aims down sights at it.
"Don't move..."
>>140820Silver sees it is the same grey pegasus mare with long braided mane and brown sweater from when he came before. She looks back at him, with both forehooves in the air
>>140821"Stay right there, do not do anything."
He shouts back as best as he is able in his current state.
"Sleetfall, keep watch on this civilian, I need to check she has not been replaced."
>>140822"Yes sir." He says
The mare tries to relax her forelegs and wings, still standing there. She speaks
"I work here." She says in plain ponish.
>>140823Silver steps forward slowly, bringing his flashlight out.
"I know, just please do not do anything until I say so."
>>140824She lets out a breath, and starts to tuck her wings into sweater, still standing there
>>140825Silver gets up to her, and shines the flashlight in her eyes.
>>140826The eyes reflect back as green orbs.
>>140827Silver nods, figuring this was the answer. He turns his flashlight off, and looks at her.
"Alright. Please, answer honestly: are you changeling?"
>>140828Her mouth, in gritted teeth, starts to relax, as she moves her hooves down. She is silent for a number of seconds after Silver asks his question. Then she moves her wings forward under the sweater, and her hooves meet her wings.
"Hail Chrysalis"
Roll Initiative >>140831>>140829The alleged mare pushes a pistol out from under her sweater with her wings to her hooves, and aims it at Silver.
One more element to consider:
[1d20+2 = 15] >>140830>>140831She gets the drop on Silver, firing at him
[1d20}
>>140834>>140831She misses her first shot. Private Sleetfall, standing there with his rifle, fires a shot at her
[1d20+1 = 16] >>140835>>140831His shot hits her, spraying a pattern of purplish blood across the counter
[2d8 = 10] >>140831>>140836She stumbles backwards from the shot, and fires again
[1d20-2 = 11] >>140831>>140838She misses in her dazed state.
After putting his flashlight down to pick up his gun, Silver fumbled. But he is ready now.
Silver's turn
>>140839[1d20+4 = 19] [1d20+4 = 19][1d20+4 = 6] [1d20+4 = 11]Silver fires a short burst from his SMG point blank at the changeling.
Tattattattat >>140840Two firm hits in the chest and a third ambiguously goes through the outer edge of the sweater. Still standing, the green engulfs her to show a changeling drone, who collapses to the ground.
>>140841Silver isn't entirely sure it's possible for changelings, but just in case, he checks for a pulse.
>>140842Silver can't feel a pulse. Sleetfall, however, has his own method, stabbing the changeling in the neck with his bayonet.
"Insidious little crossdressing fuckers, aren't they?"
>>140843Silver internally cringes at the display of brutality, but says nothing of it.
"I was even going to let him live unharmed if he just surrendered..."
He coughs a little, and wipes his mouth clear of blood.
"...fuck, I will be glad when Vale is clear of these roaches."
>>140844"Unharmed?! Do they do the same for us?"
He looks up and back to Silver
"Well, let's make sure the back is clear, and move back to headquarters. Nightfall will be coming soon."
>>140845"No, but it is easier to find where they have taken replaced ponies when they are alive to say so."
He readies his SMG.
"Good idea. We should also do quick check of equipment, see if anything is damaged."
>>140846He is silent for a moment, then answers
"True"
There is a door to the left of the counter, with a rifle next to it
>>140847Silver focuses his magic around the door handle, and opens the door from a distance.
>>140848The door is opened. There is a single low light, and through the open door Silver can see some meters, a couple switch boards, and a pair of tables.
A few droplets of blue blood lead off to the left
>>140849Silver silently points out the trail of blood to Sleetfall, and hobbles forward to take a position leaning against the wall next to the door.
Cautiously, he tries to peak around the corner.
>>140850There, in the left most corner, is a medium-blue pony stallion, looks like a unicorn, sitting and leaning over. His forehooves are tight together, and it looks like he is holding something in, perhaps cloth. His chest visible rises and lowers, and he makes a low wheezing sound. He moves his eyes up to look at Silver, gritting his teeth in a wince
>>140851Silver winces at the sight of the wounded, disguised changeling. He doesn't advance any further.
"We got you really good, huh?"
>>140852The thing looks up at silver, with wide pupils and green eyes. It doesn't say anything, only wheezes out and stares at Silver with that pained grimace.
>>140853"Listen, I am Platoon Sergeant Silver Sword. Now, I do not know about you, but I do not want any more death and violence here, and I am almost certain you do not want to die here today either. I think we can help each other."
>>140855The creature just sits there, still looking at Silver, and still wheezing in pain.
>>140857"Can you understand what I am saying?"
>>140858It moves its head a little higher, but does not respond
>>140859Silver raises an eyebrow at this gesture, not knowing what it means.
"This is not going to work if you can not understand. Nod if you understand what I am saying."
>>140861"Argh..."
He turns to Sleetfall.
"Does anypony in platoon speak or write Changeling?"
>>140863"Hmm...alright. Here is what I am thinking. I will try to get close to him, appear like I am not going to hurt him, and see if I can not keep him from bleeding out. After, we will try to escort him to base as prisoner until we can decide on what to do with him. Think you can watch my back?"
>>140864"That, I can."
He cycles the bolt in his rifle.
The creature's ears go up
>>140865Silver sighs, and trots slowly into the room with the changeling, SMG held in his magic. He slowly sets it down on the ground in front of him, dims his horn, and keeps his hooves in full view of the changeling so he knows he's not trying to pull any funny business.
>>140866As Silver moves closer to the creature, Silver can see under and to the right of the uniform the creature is holding to its torso, the creature's ace-up-the-sleeve, and the last card it has to play: it is holding an Equestrian fragmentation grenade under its foreleg. It's hard to tell if the pin is or is not in.
>>140930Silver stops right where he is, trying to appear as unthreatening as he can be. He points to the grenade, and speaks calmly.
"Please, you do not have to do that. Just...give it here, nice and slowly. I promise, I will not hurt you."
>>140931The creature turns its ears and eyes to Silver. It's eyes are very wide. It has made no movement on the grenade
Roll intelligence
>>140933>>140931The grenade
could require constant pressure on the handle to keep from detonating
>>140934Silver gulps, a little nervous at his situation. He takes a small step cautuously towards the changeling.
"Not going to hurt you...do not detonate grenade..."
>>140935At least there is no movement on the grenade. The creature continues breathing heavily, ears tilted towards Silver and eyes wide
>>140936Silver takes another step, trying to convey as non-threatening body language as he can.
"Just like that, nice and calm..."
>>140939The creature lets Silver close the distance without opposition. Silver is now within five feet of the creature
>>140940Silver smiles at the creature. He points to the grenade, then makes a motion with his hoof as if he was receiving something.
"Now, just...carefully, give me the grenade. It will be okay."