0510 Hours
Seven (7) days after recorded first contact

High above the sleeping city of Trottingham stood the Royal Equestian Observatory. Perched on top of the 13,000-foot-tall Orchid Mountain, it commanded a view that covered an area twenty-one miles out in every direction, as well as an unparalleled view of the night sky.

This position made it a key target for the human forces, as its location could be used for a dozen purposes, not the least being its commanding position over the nearby city. The observatory itself was a large, circular white building, with a diameter of three hundred feet. The upper area had multiple levels, each one on a smaller circle than the next, leading up to the observatory itself, seven stories up and a hundred feet in diameter. Each floor was circled on the outside by an uncovered balcony that went all the way around.

But the most important feature was the least noticeable: On the south side, facing towards the city, a flat area sixty feet across jutted out from the first floor, the bottom connected by large supports to the steep cliff face below it. It was the perfect place for storing boxes and cargo, good for landing the chariots the ponies used... Or the key insertion point for a helicopter assault team.

Private First Class Anthony Griffith held onto the bar above him, looking out of the side windows of the CH-53E that he and the rest of the assault force was in. After being awoken three hours previously and told to gear up for what might be a large-scale battle, Anthony and the rest of his squadmates had grabbed whatever heavy gear they could find, and joined one other American squad on the deck of the Russian Amphibious Assault Ship. They had been briefed, had their 'Net' units updated, and sent out on the mission.

Anthony quickly checked his weapons: The HK-416 in his hands was one of the US Army's standard-issue weapons, starting in mid-2014. The Milkor MGL that he was issued was loaded with six 40mm HEAT rounds and slung across his back, over his pack. The other nine members of his squad were similarly armed, while the second squad of ten in the helicopter seemed to be armed similarly.

"Ok, listen up." The Lieutenant leading the assault said over the radio. "We'll touch down, and we need you to secure the landing pad, and then the building. The supply helicopters are fifteen minutes behind us, so we need to go in fast and loud. The main presence will likely be civilian, so watch your fire. Just because we're on another planet does not exclude us from the rules of war. That being said, watch out for a guard presence. This is a strategic location, and I sure as hell wouldn't leave it unguarded. Good luck, and Godspeed."

His squad sergeant motioned their group to switch to the squad radio, which Anthony quickly did.

"Ok, the plan is to split into groups of three." The sergeant said once everybody was connected. "I'll stay back here at the landing zone with the LT. You know your fireteams. Good luck, everyone."

Anthony flicked the fire selector from SAFE to SEMI, gripping his rifle as the helicopter climbed ever higher. With the altitude, some of the men would have trouble breathing: However, it would be a non-issue, with how heavily forested and warm it was on the mountain. It had baffled the early drone operators, until they had simply shrugged it off as a strange air current bringing warm air from the ocean up the mountain. All Anthony cared about was that it would not be freezing.

He felt an unsettling sense of vertigo as the helicopter suddenly pitched down, his 'Net' unit showing them as right next to the objective. Mere seconds later, he felt the large helicopter set down on the pad. The door near the front opened and the second squad rushed out, his squad right behind them.

As he jumped out of the door onto the solid landing platform, he took in the sight of the building ahead of him. It was very well decorated, almost opulent. The floor in front of the landing pad outside looked like hardwood, and the glass-railed balconies that ringed each layered tier of the building looked almost out of place against the observatory at the top of the seven floors.

Many of the lights inside of the building seemed to be turning on as the assault force ran towards the glass doors of the lobby. The two men at the lead stopped and kicked them open, shattering the lock holding them closed. The well-lit lobby went up to the second floor, with a single desk at the end that held a surprised unicorn in it.

"Spread out, take the building!" The sergeant in charge of the second squad yelled as the men began to spread out, entering the main hallways, before he walked up to the pony at the desk, pointing his rifle at it.

"Now, are there any guards stationed here?" He threatened as Anthony walked up behind him with the two other members of his fireteam.

"... N- No..." The pony stammered in a male voice in obvious terror.

"Good." The sergeant said, turning around and heading for the landing pad as the sounds of the CH-53E taking off came through the doors.

"Let's head for the observatory. And you, unicorn." Anthony said, pointing at said pony. "I don't suggest trying to call for help. You'll be dead before you can. Let's move."

Five minutes later, Anthony and the others arrived at the top of the building. It took them several minutes to find a staircase, and a short time to find a path up them. During the time they had climbed, half a dozen screams and several gunshots had echoed around the building, showing that the task of securing the building was not over yet.

Anthony slowly walked towards a door at the side of the round observatory, looking at it. He stepped up to it and held onto the door knob, trying to push it. The steel door wouldn't budge, and was most likely locked. It being made out of steel made Anthony wary of trying to kick it, so he tried the alternant method. Walking back two dozen feet, he set down his HK-416 on the ground.

"Ain't it a bit early to surrender, Anthony?" Holmes, the joker of the fireteam, said before he saw that Anthony was pulling out his Milkor MGL, his smile turning into a wide grin.

"Stand back, guys. I literally have no idea if this will work." Anthony said, before aiming the six-shot grenade launcher at the door. "Get ready to rush in if it bursts in."

With that, Anthony squeezed the trigger. A single 40mm HEAT grenade flew out of the barrel and collided with the door, its contact fuse activating and its shaped warhead channeling the explosive force directly forward. The iron door blasted inward as Anthony quickly slung the grenade launcher and picked up his HK-416, rushing in mere moments after his friends. Inside of the observatory, a small group of six ponies stood, staring at the door. They were a mix of three pegasi and three unicorns, most of them around what Anthony recognized as a large telescope inside.

"Stop! Nobody move!" Anthony said, hoping that the infamous lines even worked in this situation. Fortunately, they did. The ponies flinched at his words and froze in place, staring in wide-eyed shock at the three humans.

"LT, the observatory is secured." Anthony said over the radio after a moment. Shortly after that, various teams reported in, stating that various locations had been secured. With only one wounded soldier and three similarly wounded ponies, the apparent cost of the mission had been low.

The observatory had been secured.

0550 Hours

Half an hour after the observatory had been secured, a single CH-47F Chinook flew low over the top of the mountain, lowering a metal cargo crate down to the landing pad. Several more flights had already brought forty more men, bringing the strength of the holding forces up to sixty, on par with the ponies in the compound, who had been confined to their rooms. The metal crate was gently set down on the ground by the massive helicopter, the straps being released seconds later by an eager ground crew. Upon being relieved of the massive crate, the CH-47F bounced slightly in the air, before banking to the left and heading back towards the fleet's aircraft carriers, sailing just out of sight from the pony city.

Several American soldiers opened the crate, rolling out a single AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel. The small, mobile radars could scan an area twenty-five miles around them, covering the entirety of the island and much of the sea outside of it. It would be a key part of the battle strategy, able to detect the gold-armored guard ponies easily at the maximum range.

Along with it, several KORD machine guns were brought out, along with the tripods for them. Set up at various locations along the roof, the combination effectively made the observatory immune to air attack.

0620 Hours

During the planning of the attack, several important decisions had loomed. Among them was the method of the attack. The obvious choice had been by sea, seeing as that was the easiest way, with the most chance for success. The second question was which ships would participate in the assault.

Collectively, it had been decided that several vessels would be the ones to sail in sight of the city, and into the harbor. They included the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, the Amphibious Assault Ship Sevastopol, the Arleigh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyers Spruance and Halsey, the Zubr-Class Landing Craft 782 Mordovia, the Kirov-class Battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov, and Russian submarine Alexander Nevsky.

This combined force is what the few pony residents awake at six-twenty in the morning noticed sailing outside the harbor.

Ponies, individually, could be very level-headed. As a group, however, they tended to panic when an unknown situation cropped up. Therefore, it was to the surprise of most later observers that mass panic did not reign the moment they were sighted. Many ponies had only heard about the human presence by newspaper, as a brief mention in a speech Princess Celestia had given days before.

What did happen, however, was mass uncertainty. It was obvious that the ships were not of Equestian make, and it was equally obvious that the eight ships the Equestian Guard Navy operated in the harbor were preparing to sail, including a ninth, experimental ship previously rumored to be under production at the naval facility.

By six-thirty, many of the citizens of the city were awake, either from the spreading rumors passed around the city or due to early jobs. Many of those nearest the waterfront were present to see eight Equestrian Guard Navy ships, along with an unknown, smaller one, sail out of their berths towards the harbor entrance.

None of them knew what was to come.

Author's Note

Serious stuff is going to happen next chapter. Expect it to be much longer than normal, as the next chapter is the end of Act IV.