"Hey man, wake up! Captain Steadfast is about to start his brief!" Jet Stream said, nudging Azimuth out of his dreamless sleep.

It was late. Too late. The Protectors had spent the last five days in cramped, uncomfortable carriages as they were pulled over rough and uneven ground. Saddle Arabia had been about what he expected, for what little he had seen of it. It was hot. It was dirty. And it smelled like they didn't have a single working toilet in the whole country.

They had barely seen the sun since the moment they had entered the desert country. The windows had been closed as soon as they crossed the border. "For their protection," they had been told. It was bullshit. If they were attacked, Azimuth wanted to at least be able to shoot back, not just locked up in some stupid fucking wooden box. What kind of protection would this fucking thing provide anyway? They might as well be riding in a tissue box, considering the kind of explosives they were going up against.

"Wake me up when we can leave..." Azimuth grumbled, fighting to return to the snooze he had been enjoying.

Jet Stream hit him, leaving a bit of a bruise on his shoulder. "Come on, man! This shit could be important!"

"Hey, fuck you man!" Azimuth rubbed his bruised shoulder. He wasn't sleepy any more. "Luna dammit... Fine, I'll listen to the fucking brief. But now I owe you one for that. That shit hurt!"

"Yeah yeah, quit your bitchin'. The Captain's about to talk." The pegasus said, turning his attention back to the platform in front of the group.

The Protectors sat in a large semi-circle around the wooden platform, their weapons held close. For the first time, Azimuth could actually see the point of the desert cammies they wore. He was surprised at how well they blended in with the environment.

Captain Steadfast, on the other hand, looked completely ridiculous in his shining armor, gilded with red trim and golden filigree. He looked out of place. Azimuth doubted he had ever left the camp, considering the fact that the armor would make him a massive target.

The Captain cleared his throat and the group around him fell into silence.

"Good Evening Protectors, and welcome to Camp Hope."

Camp Hope? What the fuck... Azimuth thought to himself, stifling a chuckle at the stupidity of the name.

The Captain continued. "As you know, the primary Guard forces have been stationed here for roughly nine months now, doing our best to keep the peace and bring the wayward Saddle Arabians back over to the side of peace..." He paused, looking over the group.

"We have been failing. The Saddle Arabians don't seem to want what we have to offer. We've been patient with them, and we've tried to help get them what they need, but they just want them gone. Unfortunately, we can not oblige them in that desire." The Captain began pacing on the platform, his armor reflecting the flickering light from the lanterns placed around the tent.

"As time has passed, the locals have gotten more... Aggressive... Towards the Guards we send out for equetarian aid. It's not safe for us out there anymore, so lately we've merely been providing security for the coal mine at the center of Camp Hope.

"The Guardians of the Sand have blocked off every other major coal vein in the country, meaning that the only coal Equestria is getting is from this single mine right here. We can't let them have it. They've tried to take it. Believe me, they've tried. We have lost many Guards to their explosive attacks. Luckily, we have been able to keep them from doing any serious damage to our operations within the camp. However, they are right at our doorstep, and we don't have the knowledge or the equipment to get them out of there.

"That, is where you come in. The training you've received is supposed to have made you fighters. That's exactly what we need. According to the orders from Captain Sinder, you are to simply supplement our defenses until he arrives with the next batch from Camp Sandblast."

Captain Steadfast's face hardened, with just the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Fortunately, Captain Sinder isn't here. Beginning as soon as possible, you Protectors will begin performing patrols out into the villages surrounding Camp Hope. Your job is to root out any pockets of Guardians you find, and get rid of them. I don't care how you do it. I don't care how many buildings have to come down. Just make them gone. I will not lose any more Guards to their violence, do you understand? They've already taken too many lives. It's time for us to return the favor."

The protectors let out a hearty 'EHREH!' Azimuth's heart was pounding. Now here's a Captain he could get behind! Honestly, the unicorn hadn't been looking forward to being a glorified hall monitor. He was getting a chance to do what he was trained for!

He was a little pissed at how Captain Steadfast was so quick to disregard Captain Sinder's orders. Captain Sinder knew what he was doing, and this Guard was refusing to take the humans advice.

Captain Steadfast continued. "I'll now turn you over to your officers to begin getting you settled in. Don't get too comfortable. You are going to be going out sooner than you may realize. Lieutenant Copper?"

"Aye, Sir." The unicorn responded, quickly making his way onto the platform. Captain Steadfast stepped down, making his way through the group towards the exit behind them.

As he walked, Azimuth saw Lieutenant Carbon make his way over to the Captain. Thankfully, Azimuth was right at the edge of the aisle, meaning he was able to hear their conversation, despite their whispers.

"Sir..." Lieutenant Carbon said. "With all due respect, we don't have the numbers here to actually hold any kind of combat action. We can hold and defend an area, sure. But we just don't have the stallionpower to take the fight to them yet! That's why we've been ordered to wait. We don't even have any medical..."

"I don't care, Lieutenant..." Captain Steadfast snapped back. "Until Captain Sinder gets here, you are under my command. And you WILL follow my orders! The government has spent a lot of money training you so called Protectors. It's about time you got around to doing some protecting. You will take out as many of those bastards as you can, even if it means losing a couple of your stallions. As long as my Guards are safe, I'll be happy. Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant?"

Azimuth saw Lieutenant Carbon's jaw clench quickly before he relaxed slightly and let out a strained "Yes, Sir."

"Good!" The Captain said loudly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get out of this armor. I swear to Celestia, the sand is just attracted to this plate."

Azimuth leaned over to Jet Stream. "Yo man, did you hear all that?" He whispered.

Jet Stream whispered back. "Yeah... I get the feeling that the Cap doesn't think to highly of us."

"Yeah, no shit." Azimuth frowned. "I've got a real bad feeling about this man..."

"Man... This shit fucking sucks..." Azimuth grumbled under his breath.

They had only been on patrol for a little more than twenty minutes, and already his cammies were soaked with sweat. The desert sun was merciless as it beat down on the thirteen Protectors. They moved in a staggered column down the road. Two fire teams on the left, and two on the right while Lieutenant Copper moved down the center.

Saddle Arabia was... depressing... to say the least. It was obvious how poverty stricken the nation had become. Trash littered the streets, setting off every mental alarm Azimuth had hard wired into his brain. All throughout their counter-IED training, they had been told to avoid piles of refuse, since they could be easily used to hide the explosives.

That advice was essentially useless. From Azimuth's perspective, he could see more trash than road in the cluttered street. It was impossible to patrol along the roads without encountering a different pile of refuse every few steps.

What made the mission even more disconcerting was the absence of any of the local populace. Occasionally, He would see a young colt or filly peeking around a corner at them, but they were quickly pulled back by an unseen force.

This didn't feel right. With each step, Azimuth's apprehension grew. Everypony else could feel it, too. Their movements were jerky, their attention drawn to any noise that felt out of the ordinary, which in this situation could be a piece of trash blowing in the wind. Everypony was on edge, and absolutely silent.

The squad came to an intersection. According to their mission brief, they were supposed to turn left here and loop back to Camp Hope.

"Squad!" Lieutenant Copper called out. "Form a defensive perimeter around the intersection. Fire team leaders, on me!" He moved to a building adjacent to the road, taking some shelter behind one of the mud walls which made up most of the town.

Azimuth positioned his Protectors, having them take up defensive positions watching the road they had just come down before moving to the Lieutenant.

"What's up, Sir?" Wind Shear asked quietly. "Get word from command?"

The unicorn shook his head. "No... Something just doesn't feel right. There should be more ponies out and about. This is a pretty major town. Ponies ought to be working or trading, but the place feels like a ghost town."

"I hear ya, Sir." Azimuth whispered. "So what should we do? It's not like they've really done anything to stop our mission."

"True..." Lieutenant Copper let out a sigh. "I don't like it... Something's off but I don't know what. We continue with our mission, but keep your eyes peeled. If any of you see anything out of the ordinary, I want to hear about it."

The fire team leaders responded with a chorus of quiet "Yes, Sir"s.

"Get back in formation... Let's get moving."

Before long, the squad was moving again. The Lieutenant's words most certainly did not breed confidence. Azimuth was more jumpy now. He had to fight to keep his magic from wrapping the trigger out of pure paranoia.

Another hour passed. If Azimuth thought he had been damp with sweat before, he was absolutely drenched now. The combat load he wore was not designed to breathe very well, meaning most of his body heat was being trapped by the light armor. That, added with the weight of the rounds he carried, made it difficult to move properly. At this point, he just wanted to be back at Camp Hope so he could take the damn thing off.

Movement caught his eye. He looked up to a balcony on the opposite side of the road.

A single pony watched them from behind a thin rail. He was standing in a way that prevented the Protectors on that side of the road from spotting him. If he hadn't moved, Azimuth probably would have missed him too.

"There's somepony watching us. Second floor balcony at three o'clock." Azimuth said aloud, alerting the rest of the squad to the strange observer. Several of the Protectors stopped and attempted to get a better look.

"Keep moving!" Lieutenant Copper shouted. "This is their town. He has as much a right to be there as anypony else."

The squad continued walking. Azimuth continued glancing toward the enigma of a bystander. Slowly, Azimuth raised a hoof and waved towards the Saddle Arabian.

The pony just stared back, not responding to the greeting in any way, shape or form.

This ain't right... Azimuth thought to himself. Unconsciously, he wrapped his trigger with magic, scanning along the other buildings for anypony else suspicious. He wished he could go up and detain the stallion watching. He was obviously up to something, but until he did the unicorn's hooves were tied. Fuck these rules of engagement...

The squad kept patrolling. As they made their way along the trash-strewn streets, more and more observers appeared. These Saddle Arabians didn't seem nervous or scared... They looked pissed. Just another observation that drove home Azimuth's nerves.

They made the final turn of their established patrol route. They could see the checkpoint into Camp Hope, little more than a quarter of a mile away. Other than the observers along the route, the Protectors hadn't run into anything alarming. The city was a ghost town, but that could just mean that they were nervous about the new unit wandering around their town.

Azimuth felt the rumble in his hooves before his world was torn asunder. The concussion knocked the air from his lungs and sent him sprawling. Out of pure instinct and as a result of his training, he maintained the levitation field around his rifle. It remained in place over the road as it's protector was thrown into an empty market stall.

Azimuth struggled to pull himself from tangled rugs and smashed wood, shaking his head in an attempt to regain his bearings. His ears rung and every other noise around him was little more than muffled shouts and pops.

He looked around slowly as he pulled his rifle to his side. He was still disoriented, but his mind was beginning to put the pieces together.

They'd been hit. By what and from where, he still had no idea. Fire team one was down. Directly in front of him, Crimson Starlight had been blasted into the wall of a mud building. A splatter of blood marked where his head had smashed into the wall. His body lay in an unmoving crumple, his rifle rig smashed to pieces. A few of the metal riggings had snapped and were driven into his body by the force of the blast.

Azimuth struggled to his feet, attempting to walk to the downed pegasus. He could still be alive. He needed help. Azimuth took a step before his left foreleg gave and he once again found himself on the ground. He looked to his leg in confusion. Why did it give like that?

His breath caught as he saw the six inch shard of lumber jutting out of his leg, just below the joint.

It doesn't hurt... Why doesn't it hurt? It should hurt, shouldn't it? He continued staring at his leg.

Jet Stream landed next to him, shouting something into his ear before turning and taking cover behind the destroyed stall.

Azimuth slowly turned to look at him. What did he say? Fuck it... it's probably not that important... The wounded unicorn looked around at the rest of the squad. Most of them were taking cover, occasionally popping out to shoot at... Something. Azimuth couldn't tell what they were firing at.

The Protectors who weren't taking cover were either wounded or helping the wounded. Lieutenant Copper had moved to the opposite side of the road, taking cover around the corner of a building. He was shouting orders as he occasionally popped out to fire a few rounds. Blood was running down the side of the officer's head. Azimuth couldn't hear his shouts. He couldn't hear much of anything.

He felt himself being lifted from the ground, a pair of hooves under his back. Jet stream had picked him up and was flying towards Camp Hope.

"Stop... You need to help... Crimson..." Azimuth managed to force out.

"After I get you safe..." He heard the pegasus say through a haze. Azimuth wasn't coherent enough to argue.

It was less than a minute before Azimuth was plopped into a gurney in Camp Hope's medical tent. As soon as he saw his friend was safe, Jet Stream took off again, flying back toward the rest of the squad. More pegasi arrived, dropping off wounded Prtotectors before returning to the squad.

It was only a few more minutes before Azimuth's adrenaline wore off and he regained feeling in his body. He let out several pained groans as the medics began to quickly work on him. As more seriously wounded Protectors were brought in, a few of the medics stepped away and set to work on them, leaving only a couple to fix his leg.

The medic didn't have time to waste. He had multiple wounded in his tent already, and time was of the essence. Azimuth screamed when they cut his flesh to pull free the jagged piece of wood. With amazing speed, the unicorn doctor sealed the wound and wrapped the leg in bandages. As soon as he was done, the medic moved to another Protector. The nurse gave Azimuth some anesthetic before leaving to join the medic.

Azimuth slipped from consciousness as the pain killers took their effect.

Carbon set his rifle against the wall of the command post. He panted with fatigue as he sat beside his weapon. He had gathered together any Protectors he could and went to assist Copper's squad as quickly as he could. Copper walked into the tent, using his telekinesis to throw his kevlar across the room in frustration.

Three Protectors were dead. Seven were wounded, two of them critically. They didn't know how many Saddle Arabians were dead. The Protectors had opened fire on any Saddle Arabians that had made the mistake of looking at the chaos after the bomb went off. They didn't know if any of them were hostile. They responded by instinct, letting muscle memory take over in the heat of the moment.

"FUCK!" Copper screamed as he dropped his rifle on the table. This was a disaster. Any chance at winning over the Saddle Arabians had just been destroyed. At this point, Carbon doubted any of the Protectors cared. They'd only been in country for three days, and they'd already taken too many casualties.

"Those motherfuckers... They're fuckin' dead! All of 'em!" Copper pulled open one of the ammunition boxes in the corner and began loading more rounds into the magazines he had expended.

"Copper, what are you doing?" Carbon asked, weariness in his voice.

"I'm going back out there!" Copper was shaking. Blood still flowed from the gash in his head. Another round found it's way into a magazine.

"Copper, no. You're not." Carbon stood, using his own magic to close the ammo can.

"FUCK YOU I"M NOT!" Copper shouted, telekinetically hurling the magazine at Carbon. The black unicorn caught it with his own magic, setting it aside on the table. He walked toward Copper slowly, attempting to calm the furious stallion.

"Copper, you need to calm down."

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that!?" Copper stormed toward Carbon, getting right into his face. "First they kill my brother, now they kill my Protectors... I've had enough waiting around. They are all going to die. They have to die! How else are we supposed to stop this?"

"So, what, you're just going to go out there and kill every Saddle Arabian you see? They aren't all responsible for this. We need to find out who exactly we're supposed to be fighting. Not every citizen is involved in this."

"Yes, they are. They're just standing around, letting the fucking 'Guardians' plant their little fucking bombs around their homes. They aren't doing anything to stop them, meaning they are supporting them!"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Carbon asked quietly.

"YES!" Copper shouted. "There isn't any other explanation."

Carbon shook his head. "They're scared. War has materialized in their home, and they don't know what to do. We've invaded their towns, destroyed their lives, and now we've even killed some of them. I'm sure they don't want anything to do with this war. The Guardians are probably threatening them into silence." Carbon's voice was calm, his demeanor non-threatening as he attempted to calm the other officer.

"We're predictable. We wear uniforms. We follow strict guidelines on how we operate. The Guardians don't. They aren't restricted on what they do to the locals. We need to do whatever we can to get the locals on our side, to have them help us fight the real enemy." Carbon shook his head. "Which is going to be a whole lot harder now."

Copper continued steaming. "And how the hell are we supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. It's going to take time. And we're definitely not going to win if we just go out and start killing ponies."

Copper stared at Carbon for a few moments before his legs wobbled.

"Copper?" Carbon asked. The rust colored stallion's eyes lost focus. He almost fell over before Carbon caught him.

"Copper! Come on... We need to get you to medical. You probably have a concussion." The stallion didn't respond, but let the black unicorn steer him out of their command post and toward the medics.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys. I know it's been a long time, and the length of this chapter isn't really enough to make up for it. I've been extremely busy getting ready for MARSOC A&S, so that has taken up a lot of my free time, as well as the other projects I've been working on.

I want to get at least one more chapter posted, but come August I will be forced to put the story on hiatus until my screening is complete. This chapter is meant to set up the theme of the future operations in Saddle Arabia. I promise to get it posted within the next few weeks.

Had an awesome time at TrotCon. Met a lot of cool people, heard a lot of amazing music and saw some fantastic art. I hope some of you maybe had the opportunity to enjoy it as well.

SHAMELESS PLUG SECTION:

My Fallout Equestria Audiobook is coming along well. Chapter 12 was just posted. You can find the playlist here
Fallout Equestria Audiobook read by Hironoto

Also, I've tried my hand at making some music! It's electronic, so if you like that kind of thing, you can find it here.
Music By Hironoto