The Five Year Struggle...

Camp New Hope was the center for the military activities in the New England region. Despite the word 'Camp' being put on the sign, the camp was more like a small city. Weapon factories churned out new rifles and other weapons by the minute, helping supply the troops. Textile and armor factories made new BDU's and other uniforms to keep the soldiers clothed, while tank factories spat out Abrams, Bradleys, and other vehicles. And that was all in the East Sector of New Hope. To the west were the research facilities. These were always buzzing with scientists testing and improving new and old technology to help us win the war. The North Sector held the Command Center and Residential Housing. The South Sector had the airfield which was lined with countless FA38's, F-22C Raptors*, and F-35D Lightnings*. Farther down the airfield were five AC-140's*, the successor to the ever deadly AC-130 Gunship. The 140's had weapons on both sides, eliminating the need to fly in a single circle. Now the pilots can fly in a figure-eight, allowing the crews to rain hell from both sides.

I drove up to the Command Center in a Jeep that picked me up from the South Entrance. I exited the Jeep, my M27 was strapped to my back. A Five-Seven with a barrel extension was strapped to my thigh. I wore standard issue body armor with the classic Army Green coloring on the cloth. The Army hasn't used this shade of green since World War Two, but hey, it still looked badass, even in 2017. The guards saluted me as I walked past them at the entrance and I walked right past them, not even acknowledging them. The hall were bright white, looking like an uber-clean hospital. A receptionist at the desk stood immediately, holding a manilla folder. She wore black, block framed glasses and a usual business woman's attire, which hugged her thin and curvy frame. A head of brunette hair completed the look as it hugged the sides of her face. She tilted her head up a bit and cleared her throat.

"Lieutenant." She said pleasantly.

"Captain, now. And hello Jessica." I said as I continued walking. Jessica fell right into step next to me and continued talking.

"Well, congrats on the promotion. I'm afraid I have to fill you in on what's going on." She said opening the folder. I groaned.

"Alright, get it over with." I said grumbling. Jessica cleared her throat again and began.

"At oh-two-hundred hours, the destroyer Camden launched a recon drone while on duty out in the Pacific. Thirty minutes later, the drone took these photos." She pulls a couple photos out and hands them to me.

"What am I looking at?" I ask.

"We don't know sir. We were kind of hoping you could tell us." She said. I stopped and looked at her. "Sir, everyone knows of your Bronyism. We're just surprised that it may come in handy with this mission." She said with a small smile. I looked down at the photos in my hand. The mountains looked like they were the Rocky Mountains. However, there was something on the side of the mountains that definitely wasn't rock. The tall spires, the city-like appearance. An almost perfect match.

"Canterlot." I said simply, handing her the photos. She looked at me, smiling still.

"See, told you." She replied. I grunted and rolled my eye, and started walking again.

"Anyway, the Colonel was planning an infiltration mission into the city."

What? I stopped dead in my tracks.

"What?" I asked. Jessica turned to me and tilted her head.

"An infiltration, sir."

"He does realize that's suicide? First off, it's on their side of the lines, and most likely crawling with Changelings." I said counting off the points on my fingers.

"You can tell him yourself. Right through the door, sir." Jessica said gesturing to the door next to me with a hand. I sighed, keyed the pad next to the door, and entered.

The room was dark, save for the monitors along the walls and light table that was at the center of the room. Standing at said table was Bruno and Colonel Bradley. I walked up to the table and saluted, given a salute in return.

"Captain." Bradley said.

"Colonel, Commander." I said nodding to Bruno. Bruno smiled a bit and nodded back.

"Nice of you to join us, ya' ol' dog." He said. I chuckled a bit and turned to Bradley.

"So, Bruno says there's a plan going on?" I asked.

"Yes Captain. If you'll refer to the table please." Bradley said pulling up the same pictures that Jessica had shown me. Bradley looked to me and gestured. "Do you recognize it?" He asked.

"Any good Brony will immediately say Canterlot." I said smugly. Bruno chuckled while Bradley simply pulled up another picture.

"Seems like it's bad times in the kingdom, then." He said grimly. The city wasn't in its' pristine, white condition. Instead, it looked black, while a green haze surrounded it. "This is live feed from a camera spike the drone from the Camden deployed. Upon further inspection, the city looks defenseless. No guards, no patrols, hell, it doesn't even look inhabited. However, about ten minutes ago, we saw a Changeling convoy enter the city. The convoy had human POWs." Bradley said as the footage played.

"So, another prison break, sir?" I asked. "And how many are going in?" I asked. Bradley pointed a finger to me.

"Just you, Captain."

What.

What.

What!?

"Sir...?" I asked nervously.

"I'm sorry, but you're the best we have. Bruno here has to be deployed to the front at Nashville." Bradley said as he rested a hand on my shoulder. "I know you'll complete the mission." He added.

"But sir, I'm going in alone. What am I looking for exactly?" I asked.

"You're just going to rescue the prisoners. There were only five of them in the convoy, making it a simple snatch and grab. No need to send in hundred of troops with jet reinforcements." He said dropping his hand. Silence fell as I looked at Bruno.

"Sorry bud, I have my orders too. I know you'll be fine. Hell, if you survived a headshot and all those missions, you'll pull this off." He said giving a thumbs up. Sighing heavily, I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Alright, alright. When am I heading out?" I asked looking up.

"In ten minutes." Bradley said.

"Then if that's all, I'll take my leave." I said. Bradly and Bruno nodded, saluting me. I returned the gesture and walked out, the door shutting behind me.

"You think he noticed the fact that the footage was edited?" Bruno asked Bradley.

"I doubt it. They did a good job covering up those six ponies."