Operation Sombra

Dear diary Journal,

We landed yesterday on Emerald, one of the Planets in the Crystal System. It's a lush world mostly made up of jungles. And, truthfully, living hell.

The  boarding torpedo was maddeningly crazy. Not long after that, we lost Sarge to Bill, who turned traitor. I killed him. I'll miss Sarge. He was always an interesting guy to be around.

We've been moving toward the objective, and enemy base. Its hot and humid in these jungles. We continually come under fire.

Somethings been bothering me. As Billy died, he said why he had turned. 'Discord is fighter FOR you, to renew an old soul, to help somepony. I simply want to help him.' Words to take into consideration.

Sincerely,

Pvt. Trek, 421st Infantry Battalion

...

"Incoming!"

Corporal Dodge lived up to his name, rolling out of the way of enemy fire. Another one of the troopers, another Solar Empire trooper, wasn't so lucky.

The corporal looked around. Maybe half his squad was left, and they couldn't even see the enemy through the dense jungle. He looked up and let loose a short burst in the direction the enemy fire came from, but his assault rifle didn't hit its mark.

Sergeant Umber looked at him. "How many do you think there are?" she said.

"At least a dozen, but I can't really tell." Dodge replied. "Alright, I'm getting tired of this. Take this!" With that, he chucks his only grenade. Apparently, the enemy weren't expecting it. The gunfire was silenced.

Dodge sighed. And they still had to get to enemy base.

...

Drake grimaced as another shot hit the Sol, absorbed by the shields. "All units, take those enemy ships down! I don't have the time for this!"

As he said it, another round impacted the Sol, taking her shields down. Nearby, an escort destroyer was hit, exploding into flaming debris.

Drake groaned. "Evasive maneuvers. I need somepony to bring those battleships down!"

"I could solve this."

Drake looked at the comm, mystified. "Wait, what? Who is this?"

"This is Princess Cadance aboard the Prism. Thought you might need some help."

The Prism, a glorious silver vessel, seemed completely unarmed.

Princess Cadance personally thought that was the funniest thing in her life.

The Crystal Empire, having ridiculous amounts of energy crystals, was NOT hurting on weapons. The Prism was almost twice the length of the Sol, a Solar Class Battleship. Do the math.

In dozens of bright flashes, the Prism brought her weapons to bear, bolstered by the magical aura excluded by the Princess her self.

The first Discordiant ship to feel her wrath, a behemoth of a dreadnought, was torn apart, it's shields failing to the sheer hundreds of rounds put into it.

The Prism then proceded to dismantle the entire enemy fleet. Drake simply stared at the sleek silver colossus in awe. He had never seen so much firepower on one ship in his entire life.

Suddenly, a round flew out of nowhere, smacking into the Prism's starboard. Drake looked around, then realized why had caused it.

Drake swore to himself as the Prism fled back to farther areas, farther from the combat. "Come on Gilda, we need those guns down NOW."

...

Data report: Casuaties, enemy remaining.

Friendly:

Spacebound:

Battleships: 1 damaged.

Cruisers: 2 destroyed, 5 damaged.

Destroyers: 7 destroyed, 13 damaged.

Transports: 2 destroyed, 1 damaged.

Fighters/Shuttles: 52 destroyed, 39 damaged.

Groundside:

Aircraft: N/A

Vehicles: N/A

Soldiers: 400+ dead, 800+ injured.

Enemy:

Spacebound:

Battleships: 2 destroyed, 3 damaged, 5 untouched.

Cruisers: 8 destroyed, 4 damaged, 8 untouched.

Destroyers: 12 destroyed, 9 damaged. 11 untouched.

Transports: N/A

Fighters/shuttles: 302 destroyed, 90 damaged, 400+ untouched.

Groundside:

Aircraft: Unknown.

Vehicles: Unknown

Soldiers: Unknown.

End Report

...

"To all Equestrian Troops! This is Discord! You know me well. If your listening to your radio, then know this well: You have two options. Lay down your arms and help me. I know you won't choose that one. The alternitive is lay down not oly your arms, but your lives as you try to aid a corrupt cause! This is all to similar of what the Republic did to the Empire, am I correct? Fight for a worthy cause when none others would see it? So know now that of you think you can defeat me, you will loose. I will not loose this war. I'm all ready in the final stages of my coup. This system is so useful to me, but I will not let it go. Surrender, or continue to blindly pursue a false cause. Corruption is once again ripe in the Equestrian Government, yet you do not see it. Unfortunate."

...

Io shook her head. "This is too odd, sisters. As Operation Sombra goes on, Discord continues to broadcast messages. He seems convinced of good. I tell you, I have been pursuing him ever since I founded the Moonjumpers. He has no such good intentions. Celestia, do you agree?"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. He wishes something  he claims is good. Knowing Discord, he's lying. Do you have an opinion on this Luna?"

Luna was silent for a moment, her face sad. Then, she quietly spoke. "It depends. Yes, he's hiding something he has in his agenda, but something is bothering me."

Io eyed her strangely. "What do you speak of?"

Luna licked her lips. "Well, Discord has never been this direct before. He has always acted behind riddles and mystery. If he wants us to see him doing this, he must be doing it so that we notice something we haven't already seen."

Io nodded. "A good idea, Luna. However, one that is badly founded. Discord is a lord of chaos, know for complete randomness. Add that to the fact he made a pact with demons, and it seems unreasonable that he would actually help us. So Luna, please stop this nonsense."

Luna retreated to her side of the table. Maybe her sisters were right.

But then again, they've been wrong before.