1720 Hours
Gerald R. Ford
Eight (8) days after first contact

"What's the situation?" Captain Henderson asked as he walked onto the bridge. "What formations have we contacted?"

"Sir." The communications officer said, gaining Henderson's attention. "We have, of course, the Washington National Guard formation out in the 'Everfree', as the ponies call the large forest. They're ten kilometers out from the Firebase, and they will arrive within the hour. All of the airborne units we contacted have landed, with some degree of confusion."

"Whose are they?" Henderson asked.

"One B-1 Lancer that was apparently out on a bombing run near Saint Petersburg, a flight of eight JAS 39s from Sweden, two F-2 fighters from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, and an entire combat formation of Russian Federation aircraft. Four Su-35s of the BM variant, an Il-78, and two Su-34s."

"So, a pretty varied group." Henderson mused.

"Yes, sir." The communications officer replied. "We're briefing them now, separated by nation. The Swedish crews, understandably, have asked to be paired with the Norwegians, but that's about the only issue so far."

"Good." Capitan Henderson said, nodding at the officer, who returned to his console. "Now it's time for me to have a talk with a certain Georgian..."

"... Yes, I have." Captain Volkov said into the phone. "I do not understand what issues you are having understanding me. Thermobaric weapons are a part of our conventional arsenal, and we are well within our rights to use them... Don't even begin to compare them to Nuclear weapons, Colonel Degtyarev. I'm not fucking around here, and neither should you. If they begin to launch super-weapons capable of annihilating an entire city, talk to us. Otherwise, stop trying to gain control over them."

Volkov slammed the phone down into the cradle, annoyed by the Colonel's insistence in trying to gain control over the Nuclear weapons. Degtyarev probably still thought of them as tools, to be used as necessary. An old mindset, and one that should have been gone long ago.

"And that" Volkov muttered to himself. "Is a perfect example of why you do not appoint a commanding officer for political reasons."

"Yes Captain." Sergeant Davit said, listening to the American commander over his radio. "I copy. We'll be moving in five." With that, he severed the connection and stood up, the five members of his Georgian Special Forces team looking up at him.

"Gather your weapons and gear. Stock up on rations, enough for a week." Davit ordered his squad. "Grab some nonlethal gear, and bring a designator. Meet back here at eighteen hundred hours."

The men quickly went off, most of them to the armory to gather their supplies. Davit himself went to the armory, filling out a form detailing what he was going to take as the three others who went to the armory did the same.

At the end of it, each one had picked up a Russian SVT-2 unit* and several hundred rounds of stun rounds, as well as their preferred weapons: A mix of NATO, Russian, and various other firearms.

As the group met up in their temporary lodgings, Davit briefed them on their mission. If they pulled this off correctly, they might alter the balance of the fighting, already tilting towards the Human forces, into a complete landslide in their favor.

In the hilly plains to the north, between the towns identified as Canterlot and Manehatten, and just north of Cloudsdale, a pair of tracks ran between the gentle rises. It was the only one that connected all three cities, and the only other tracks to the western coast were four hundred kilometers to the south.

Which made it a perfect target, one that Captain Volkov has been quick to agree to.

"Riga-2, this is Riga Lead, eyes on target." Major Lisov said over the radio, both of his hands on the control stick of his Mi-28. "Use your S-13s."

The train was traveling westward, and seemed to be heavily loaded down. There were no passenger cars, but half a dozen cargo boxcars rode behind the locomotive, carrying either supplies or equipment. It did not matter. Their primary goal was to destroy the train track: Hitting one of the five trains known to travel on it would simplify things.

"Have a solid tone." The other helicopter replied. While normal S-13 rockets were unguided, modernization efforts in 2014 had rebuilt them with a 'smart' warhead, able to provide minimal heat tracking. And the locomotive slowly chugging along was the equivalent to a flare, with all the thermal energy it put off.

Meanwhile, Major Lisov also noticed a tone in his helmet, signaling that the rocket had acquired a clear signal on the train.

"Riga-2, this is Riga Lead." Lisov said over the radio. "Weapons free."

Immediately, the other helicopter fired, the rocket launching clear of the helicopter before igniting its motor. With a few micro adjustments to its minimal control surfaces, it had a clear shot, heading right for the largest spot of heat in its' limited vision.

With a large explosion, the rocket impacted midway along the moving locomotive, blowing it apart in an explosion of fire, steam, metal, and coal dust. The twisted shape that had once been a moving piece of machinery was blown clean off of the now-broken tracks, leading the rest of the cars with it.

Mere seconds into the attack, the Major let loose with the chin gun, the 30mm rounds blasting into the blazing wreckage. Another miniature explosion bloomed as more of the coal ignited violently, adding to the raging inferno.

Satisfied that their job was done, the two helicopters turned back, leaving behind a trail of destruction that stretched for two hundred meters. As they reached a kilometer away, something inside of the wreckage sparked, blowing apart an entire section of the railway... And what was left of the train.

Collaborative Document on the Differing Subspecies of Ponies

At a glance, most of the us have had difficulty finding differences in the various types of ponies. Aside from their obvious physical differences, and their abilities with 'Magic', it can be difficult to sense any sort of divides. However, on closer examination, this is false. According to what history we can find, all three main 'Tribes' of ponies (each of a single subspecies) were once at war, until they were united after a long winter, possibly the end of an ice age. This has left a lingering feeling of separation and mistrust, evident at some levels beneath the exterior of 'Love and Tolerance' that they profess to believe in.

For the purposes of this compilation, we will assume that 'Alicorns', of which there are only three, are a separate species entirely.

List of Subspecies:

Earth Ponies - Earth Ponies have neither wings nor horns, but often make up for it with surprising strength (See attached document T77A). They are theorized to be able to accelerate and promote the growth of plants, and upon prompting, one was observed to do so. The cause of this is unknown. They are often the subject of jokes from the other two main subspecies, believing themselves to be superior.

Pegasi (Pegasus, singular) - Pegasi are winged ponies, possessing a pair of pair of feathered wings, with an average wingspan of four feet for adults. They are able to manipulate weather and clouds, and are also able to walk on said clouds (We do not currently know how). There are several pegasi-only cities, such as 'Cloudsdale', which are reported - and observed - to be made completely out of shaped clouds.

Unicorns - Unicorns are debated to have the most advantages out of any other race. They can naturally use 'Magic', with simple telekinetic abilities observed in wide use, along with hundreds of other, similar uses that they call 'Spells'. They use their horn to 'Cast' said 'Spells', however, making it a viable weak point. See attached document T77B for completely list of observed abilities. According to rumor, the capital of Canterlot is populated almost entirely by unicorns, as is the 'Council', the head of government behind the two ruling Alicorns.

Thestrals - There is a surprising lack of knowledge concerning this subspecies. They have been reportedly referred to as 'Bat Ponies' and 'Vamponies', although the accuracy of these names had been called into severe questioning. They are known to be much like Pegasi, with darker coasts, slit pupils, and bat-like wings. When discussed, they are often referred to in fear by ponies we have questioned. Only four have been noted inside of Trottingham, and they refused to answer questions, stating that the questioners were "As bad as Celestia's guards were". This suggests that they are not well-received in public.

Crystal Ponies - Little is known about them. They live in the far north, have a fur coat that appears to reflect and refract light, and are ruled by the third Alicorn.

More information will be added by Dr. James Stuart at a later date.

Author's Note

Welcome to another chapter of Smashing Down! We have now officially hit 1,000 individual views (and 22,000 in total)! You are all awesome, and I wouldn't be here without those of you who have been with this since the beginning, nor would I have continued without the encouragement by those of you whom have just arrived.

* (From Chapter 9 - Capital) The SVT-2, another creation by the Sozvezdie Electronics Company, was first planned out in late 2013 as a rail-mounted sonic incapacitation weapon. Unlike the very bulky sets often mounted on Humvees and designed for riot control, the SVT-2 was designed to be attached to almost any weapons rail in the world via an adjustable attacher. The device itself used a powerful series of speakers and a very good battery to direct an extremely focused beam of sound, at the infrasonic level of 7 Hz, into any target within twenty meters. Past that, it easily dissipated. The sound wave, because of its frequency, would pass through almost any solid object (such as walls, floor, ect), so it had to be used carefully in an urban environment. It causes severe vertigo and imbalance, and on rare occasions can render the target unconscious.