1825 hours
Nine (9) days after first contact
In the Equestrian city of Manehatten

Vasilyev ducked behind another large chunk of concrete as the unicorn down the street fired another shot. With the APC burning only twenty feet behind him, the Lieutenant knew only too well what would happen if he were to be hit by the 'magic'.

It had only been two minutes since the unicorn had utterly halted their assault, and helicopter support was still several minutes out. Rising out of cover, Vasilyev fired several bursts towards the unicorn's general position, only to duck back down as a green-yellow orb shot over his head, impacting on the burning APC, and sending bits of metal flying.

"We need to get past this damn pony!" Vasilyev shouted over the local radio. "All units, we lay down fire in five seconds!"

With that, a small timer appeared on his unit's HUD, counting down. When it reached zero, over twenty Russian Naval Infantry, along with the four MVD Spetsnaz, rose and began firing.

The hundreds of individual rounds fired broke the unicorn's shield within moments, killing the unfortunate pony before he had time to react to the dozens of new targets.

"Quickly, forward!" Vasilyev shouted as their target dropped. And, with the only barrier to their progress removed, the Russians began to advance again.

"How much of the city is secure?" Captain Henderson asked as he coordinated the battle from the Gerald R. Ford, over forty kilometers away.

"Eighty-two percent of the mainland section is under our control." One of the technicians at a communications console said in reply. "However, only sixty percent of the island section has been secured. Enemy resistance is reported to be severe, and there have been a total of one hundred and twenty-four confirmed casualties so far."

"Will we secure it by nightfall?"

"We should be able to."

"Good." Henderson said, turning to look out of the window, where a pair of F/A-18 Hornets were being prepared for launch. With a roar faintly audible in the bustling command center, the steam catapult threw the first one off of the ship as it went into full afterburner, quickly gaining altitude. The second followed moments later.

Sokolov felt the slight shudder that ran through his helicopter as the last barrage of rockets was fired. In truth, it was bound to happen eventually: His helicopter's chin gun was almost out, and he had long since passed the halfway mark in fuel.

"Bogdanov, we need to head back." Sokolov said.

"Copy." His gunner replied curtly.

"Overwatch, this is Poryv-1 we're going to RTB. Tell the Sevastopol we're inbound." Sokolov said over the radio a moment later.

"Copy Poryv-1. We'll send a bird to cover for you."

"Thank you, Overwatch. Poryv-1 out." With that final statement, Sokolov tilted the helicopter forward while banking left: In short order, he was flying towards the Sevastopol.

The Amphibious Assault Ship, one of the very few in Russia's inventory before the Civil War that had erupted, had been turned in a resupply and refueling point for the helicopters of the assault force. The forces on the ground needed heavy air support in order to make good progress and reduce casualties, and attack helicopters consumed fuel and ammunition faster than almost anything else in the inventory that they had.

Which is why, as they approached, Sokolov counted no fewer than six helicopters crowding the slick deck, with numerous fuel tanks taking up further room. Fuel lines crisscrossed the deck in a haphazard fashion, and it looked as if one AH-64 Apache were waiting for a chance to land.

"Poryv-1, this in the Sevastopol." A voice said over his radio a moment later. "We're sorry, but you'll have to wait to land. We've got a lot of aircraft to support right now."

From under the flat, cavernous bow of the ship, an American LCAC landing craft jetted out, carrying two Russian T-90 tanks. Far from simply being a glorified helicopter landing bad, Sokolov mused, it seemed as if the Sevastopol was the center for many of the resupply efforts on the coast.

After several minutes of covering around, two MH-60s lifted off from the deck, filled to the brim with troops. On instructions from the bridge, Sokolov and the other Apache landed carefully on the deck, itself pitching up and down as the storm worked up four foot waves.

Sighing, Sokolov leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes as men on the deck began to rearm and refuel his helicopter, certain he would need the rest.

1842 hours

"We'll take a two minute break here."

Sergeant Davit saw him men sigh in relief noticeably, sweat easily noticeable on their faces. Hell, even he was tired: Marching dozens upon dozens of kilometers, from thick forest to plain to a goddamn mountainside, was damn hard.

Thankfully, there were a number of narrow paths up the 70-degree mountain slopes, or else it would have been impossible to climb. Judging by the lack of tracks and growing foliage, it was used less often than one would think.

'Well,' Davit thought to himself, 'With a train going up the mountain, why use a humble trail?'

Davit was willing to bet it was not guarded, either.

After a few minutes had passed, Davit sighed and stood up.

"It's time to continue." The Georgian Sergeant said.

"Damn it..." One of his men said. "I wish we had not been in Moscow..."

"If not us, it had to be somebody." Davit said. "At least we can fucking handle it. Third Squad would have had a fit."

"Ha!" One of the Privates, whose name Davit had never caught, blurted out. "After that incident by the border, I thought they would demote Sergeant Darchidze. That Russian was furious."

"The Russians tend to be angry when you drive an APC over a border checkpoint at night. Thankfully, the bastard was drunk, and promptly crashed into a tree." Davit noted.

"I still wonder where he borrowed the vehicles from."

"The Motor Pool officer was drunk as well."

Davit looked up at the looming bulk of the mountain. They still had kilometers of ground to cover, and they had to make it to the city itself by nightfall. After that, their mission could commence.

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter, but this is mostly filler until some bigger events later in Act VI. Also, I'm having a hard time getting myself to write lately, with the little break in-between major events and such.

However, I have several more chapters ready to release. Expect more in the coming days.