Ace Combat: Gryphon Assault

by TopGunBrony

Rating: mature
Tags: Applejack, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Romance, Sex, Gilda, Tragedy, Adventure, Human
Length: 25016

When a series of horrific attacks lead to war, two allied nations join forces to defeat this enemy.

Robert, a young naval aviator in the human nation known as the Arcadian Federation and Rainbow Dash, an Equestrian Royal Air Force Sky Marshall, had known each other for many years, and in that time, the bond that they shared grew strong, until finally, on a cruise while on leave, Rainbow confesses her feelings for him. When a series of horrific, indiscriminate attacks by the gryphon nation known as the Akaelian Republic leads to war, Robert and Rainbow Dash must fight, not just for their respective nations, and the strong alliance they shared, but also for their lives, and each other.

WARNING: contains a love-making scene, a few character deaths and lots of war violence, including epic land combat, turn-and-burn dogfights, and high-stakes naval battles.

Note: the CMC are fully grown in this story.

Update: I'm currently thinking of adding a soundtrack to this story, please comment on any song ideas!

Published 2012-02-23 07:04:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-14 14:59:36 UTC

Introductions

(July 2, 2016)

(Jockey Bay, 130 miles east of Ocean City, Arcadia)

The Arcadian Navy aircraft carrier AFS Kestrel (CVN-30) was heading to her home port in Ocean City.  Her air wing, CVW-4 was just minutes from commencing the fly-off to its home base at NAS Angel Peaks, just north of New Dream City.

Among those units was the 20th Naval Strike Fighter Squadron, an F/A-18E Super Hornet squadron led by Lieutenant Robert Castellanos, call-sign “Blaze”, one of Arcadia's best naval pilots and a Top Gun graduate.

Robert was what many called a “textbook pilot”, well known for his tenacity and daring, sometimes doing things that other pilots wouldn't dare to.  He graduated from flight training at the top of his class and made lieutenant in just three years.

He was highly respected by his fellow Arcadian pilots, especially the squadron-mates under his command, as well as his Equestrian counterparts, some of which flew the same aircraft he does, the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, nicknamed “Superbug” by the pilots who fly it.

His wingman, Lt-jg Vidal Amador, call-sign “Guts”, was proud to fly on Robert's wing, and would always watch his back while in country.

{Just another day}. Robert thought as he stood on the flight deck near the island, staring at the sea ahead.

He thought about his close friend First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, a Sky Marshal in the E.R.A.F.(Equestrian Royal Air Force), and the cruise they would be taking on leave in the next three weeks.

The strike group was returning from a typical cruise helping to keep the sea lanes secure and open for commercial traffic, relieved by the AFS Richard Mason strike group.

Since the Republic of Akael on the other side of the Atlantic, began stepping up naval and air activity, both allied nations had been on an increased alert status.

Robert was in his flight suit, ready for today's fly-off, his wingman right behind him as they walked towards their planes.

Five minutes later, Robert and Vidal's planes were on the #1 and #2 catapults on the forward end of the ship.

Upon receiving clearance, Robert shoved the throttles forward and placed his right hand on a handle on the canopy arch.

Two seconds later, the plane jolted as the catapult triggered, launching Robert's F/A-18E off the deck and into the sky.  Vidal's plane launched seconds later, and over the next two hours, all of the carrier's aircraft had flown off.

(Cloudsdale Royal Air Force Base, Equestria)

First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash had just finished a training exercise with her unit, the Wonderbolt Squadron.  Normally, the Wonderbolts are an air show team that carry out spectacular shows all over Equestria, and even some shows in Arcadia.

However, they are also Equestria's best Air Combat Pegasus (ACP) squadron.

Rainbow was second in command, under the squad leader, Captain Spitfire.  Rainbow was well know all throughout Equestria for her ability to perform the “Sonic Rainboom”, a spectacular colorful aerial phenomenon that occurs whenever she breaks the sound barrier, creating a dazzling colorful ring of light.

Her undying loyalty to her teammates and her other friends, which is unlike any other, has earned her lots of respect among the ranks of her fellow fliers, and she is even expected to be promoted to captain soon.

Her daring, gung-ho attitude has caused her to do many things that have nearly gotten her killed in the past, but she knew that she could always count on her friends and comrades to help her out, and that they could count on her as well.

Since the day she became a Wonderbolt, her popularity had increased dramatically, and soon, she had friends and fans alike all over the world.

She had just gotten off for the day and was returning home.  As she stared at the sky, she thought of Robert, her human friend from Arcadia.

The two had met shortly before they went off to training three years ago and became close friends fast after discovering that they had many common interests.

{I'll bet he's having as much fun as I do.} Rainbow thought as she went inside her cloud house.  She was excited because she and Robert were going to be on leave in less than a month, taking a cruise to relax and unwind.

(Fort Troy Tank Gunnery Range, Hoofington, Equestria)

First Lieutenant Applebloom and her tank crew were putting their Leopard 2A7+ main battle tank of 1st Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Armor Regiment through its paces at the base's armor gunnery range.

Inside, PFC Twist was manning the main gun, Cpl. Roseluck was driving, and Pvt. Lyra would load the main gun as needed, using her magic to quickly transfer 120mm shells from the magazine compartment to the gun and into the breech.

“Gunner, target, tank 2 o'clock, 100 yards Load up sabot!” Applebloom commanded as she spotted a target tank.  Lyra quickly used her magic to bring a APFSDS (Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot) round into the breech of the main gun and shut the breech once the round was in place.

“Sabot up!” Lyra yelled over the interior noise once the round was loaded up.

“Identified!” Twist called out once she had the target in her sights.

The targeting computer calculated the exact place to point the gun to insure that the round was on target and the large cross-hair was placed over the indication on the display screen by Twist using her gun controls.

“FIRE!” Applebloom called out.  “On the way!” Twist responded loudly.

Everypony braced as Twist pressed the trigger on her controller.

*BOOM!*  The tank jolted back with the recoil as the main gun fired.  A wisp of smoke flowed out of the barrel as the shell hit its mark.

The breech opened up and the end-cap of the shell fell out and into a bin on the floor below.

“War Horse, this is Command, exercise is over, bring it in.” came a call on the radio.  “Roger that, heading in now, War Horse out.” Applebloom replied.

“OK, let's head back.” Applebloom said.  Roseluck turned the tank towards the range exit and drove out.

Applebloom was well known for her ability to think quickly and incredible leadership, both of which led to her quickly reaching the rank of first lieutenant and becoming a tank commander.

She was well respected among her fellow tankers and for being the younger sister of Applejack, a well-known captain in the Royal Marines and Corporal “Big” Macintosh, an incredibly tough yet well-mannered Army soldier.

Roseluck pulled the tank into its parking spot in the tank hangar and shut off the engine.

“Wow, that was a lot of fun!” Twist said as she climbed out of the turret.

“Yeah, I always get a kick out of this bad boy!” Roseluck replied as she jumped to the ground from the front of the tank.

“Ah'm not gonna lie, y'all all did great out there, y'all all once again helped show why we're the best tank crew in the battalion!” Applebloom said.

They walked to the lounge, ready to rest after a day on the range.

(Fort Stable Infantry Barracks, Detrot, Equestria)

Cpl. “Big” Macintosh was at the base shooting range, ready to carry out a target practice session with his shoulder-mounted  G36P assault rifle.

The ACOG sight was made to line up perfectly with his right eye while firing, and a trigger pulled with his mouth fired the weapon.  “Stand by!” the line coach called out as Mac and his fellow soldiers prepared to fire.

“FIRE!” the line coach called out.  All at once, the soldiers deactivated their safeties and started firing at their targets down the line.

Once their magazines were empty, they were automatically ejected from the weapons.

Each soldier quickly reached down and reloaded with a spare magazine from a small pile on the table next to him/her.

“Cease fire, cease fire!” the line coach called out after the soldiers had emptied their second magazines.  The targets were then retracted towards the firing line for evaluation.

The line coach, a well-experienced sergeant named Bulletstorm, walked down the line examining each soldier's target carefully.

“Well, I think it's clear who's still the top shot of the squad!” Sergeant Bulletstorm said, turning to look at Big Mac.  His target had the smallest grouping of hits, which were all on or near the bulls-eye on the center of the target.

“Well, it's all because of the practice ah've had, Sarge.” he said with a proud grin.

“Well, if we ever go out into the field, those skill will save your life and that of your squad-mates, Corporal.  Your sister will be proud.” Bulletstorm replied.

Big Mac smiled as he looked at his teammates, soldiers of the Equestrian Royal Army's 20th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Heavy) “Hunter”.

(Fort Stable Heliport)

CW2 Scootaloo, call-sign “Scooter” and her co-pilot/gunner CW1 Bon-Bon had just climbed into their AH-64D Block III Longbow Apache helicopter gunship of 1st Battalion (Attack), 1st Aviation Regiment, Company A, "Death Dealers".

They were about to carry out a short single-ship weapons exercise at the Celestia Gunnery and Bombing Range in the mountains near Canterlot.

“Starting' her up!” Scootaloo called out as she started up the chopper's twin T700-GE-701D 2,000shp turboshaft engines.  Bon-Bon got ready to activate the helicopter's rotor mast-mounted AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar.

The aircraft was carrying the standard multi-mission practice load-out: 8 AGM-114S Hellfire II practice missiles with spotting charges in place of warheads,  38 Hydra 70 70mm FFAR (Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets) with M274 smoke generating practice warheads in 2 M261 19-tube launchers, and 4 AIM-92 Block II ATAS (Air-To-Air Stinger) heat-seeking missiles fitted with dummy warheads in dual box launchers fitted to the Apache's wingtips.

In addition, the magazine for the helicopter's M230 30mm single-barrel chain cannon contained a practice load of 500 rounds.

The course was simple: first, a set of small targets that would be engaged with the gun, followed by a short transit to the next area, where they would practice with their Hellfires, followed by a similar area for practicing with their Hydras, and finally, a flight of target drones would be launched for the Apache to shoot down with its ATAS missiles.

After receiving clearance from the control tower, Scootaloo pulled up on the collective with her left hoof and the helicopter began to rise from the ground.

The two aviators had already turned on and calibrated their IHADSS monocle displays, which were mounted onto their helmets and lined up with each pilot's right eye.

Scootaloo was strapped to a special harness that was connected to the flight control system, all she had to do was move her body in a certain direction and the helicopter would fly in that direction.

It took some practice, but the pilots were accustomed to it in a short time.

Scootaloo activated the helicopter's navigation system that took them through a series of waypoints that would lead them to the range.  She leaned forward slightly and the helicopter began to fly forward.

Scootaloo skillfully followed the waypoints to the range, arriving in the first area in ten minutes before bringing the aircraft to a hover.

“Weapons hot!” Bon-Bon called out as she armed the weapons systems.

A cross-hair appeared on both pilots' IHADSS and Scootaloo turned her head to look at the first target before touching the FIRE touch-key on her display, which was a large touch-sensitive display screen.

*RATATATATATATATAT!*

A short burst of several rounds fired from the M230 and struck the target with fiery results.

“Nice shooting, Scooter!” Bon-Bon exclaimed as she watched Scootaloo work her gunnery magic.

After several more short bursts, all of the targets had been shot up, with 168 rounds left in the gun.

“OK, next area, here we come!” Scootaloo said as she brought the gunship on course towards the next area.

After a short two-minute flight, they reached their destination, where a set of four target tanks were waiting to be shot.

Scootaloo brought the helicopter to a hover near the targets while Bon-Bon activated the laser designator in the helicopter's nose-mounted TADS (Target Acquisition and Designating System) sensor turret.

She also acquired the targets on the Longbow radar, one of which appeared on the IHADSS as a diamond.

The cross-hair on the IHADSS displays was replaced by a broken-lined box.  Bon-Bon turned her head to look at the nearest target, pointing the laser designator in the TADS turret at it in the process.

“Locked on!” Bon-Bon called out as the box jumped onto the diamond, the broken lines of the box on the pilots' IHADSS turned solid, indicating a lock-on.

“Firing!” Scootaloo called out as she fired one of the Hellfires.

The missile shot up and arched down, striking the target's top.  A small burst erupted from the impact point and a large colored spot appeared on the area, a sure sign of a good hit.

Bon-Bon and Scootaloo repeated the process with the other seven targets, all of their shots resulting in direct hits.  “Next area!” Scootaloo said as she skillfully piloted the gunship towards the Hydra practice area.

Upon arrival, she brought the aircraft to a hover near the targets, which were made to look like infantry groups, light vehicles and small structures.

“Rockets armed!” Bon-Bon called out as she switched to the Hydra rocket pods.

The box on the IHADSS displays changed into an “I” symbol.

Scootaloo carefully rotated the helicopter using her hind hooves on pedals located under the instrument panel to line up with the first target, indicated by a diamond.

“Firing!” Scootaloo called out as she fired four rockets at the target.

The rockets hit, and orange smoke began to rise from the impact points.  She repeated the process with the rest of the rockets, and soon after, several columns of orange smoke were rising from the targets.

“OK, last area: ATAS practice!” Scootaloo said as she turned the helicopter towards the last practice area.

Once they arrived after a short two-minute flight, four BQM-74E Chukar target drones that were launched earlier arrived in the airspace.

“ATAS armed!” Bon-Bon called out as she switched over to the ATAS.

The “I” symbol for the Hydras changed into a broken-line box similar to the one for the Hellfires, but this one had a smaller, solid box in the center.

One of the drones was acquired, and a familiar diamond appeared on the IHADSS.

Once a lock-on was achieved, the box jumped onto the diamond, the lines of the outer box turned solid, and a tone began to sound in both pilots' headphones.

“Fox two!” Scootaloo called out as she launched one of the Stingers.  The missile homed in and struck the drone.

The missile had no explosive warhead, and the drone simply fell to the ground, a parachute opening several seconds later.  Scootaloo locked onto the second drone and fired, this missile also hit its mark.

The other two missile shots had similar results, all four drones falling to the ground.

“Alright, that's it for this round, let's head home!” Bon-Bon said as she flipped the weapons master arm switch to SAFE.  Scootaloo turned the helicopter towards the final waypoint: the heliport at Fort Stable.

After a smooth flight, the gunship was approaching its helipad.

“Delta Two-Zero, this is Alpha X-ray Four-niner, you are cleared to land.” the controller said after acquiring the Apache on radar.

“Roger that, this is Delta Two-Zero coming in.” Scootaloo replied as she reduced altitude for landing.

After a smooth approach, the landing gear touched the ground with a very slight bounce.

“Engines off.” Scootaloo said as she placed the collective all the way down and shut off the engines.

The rotors slowed down and eventually stopped spinning.

Scootaloo and Bon-Bon climbed out of the cockpit and walked towards the ready room in the nearby building.

“Wow, that was fun!” Bon-Bon said.  “Yeah, but just imagine if those missiles had live warheads!” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah, those would have been some incredible fireworks!” Bon-Bon said as the two aviators trotted inside.

Prelude to War

A/N: The scene with the F-14s is based on the Gulf of Sidra Incident, a real-life event in which two Libyan MiG-23s were shot down by Tomcats from USS John F Kennedy after they made repeated aggressive moves towards the F-14s.

WARNING: this chapter contains a love-making scene, reader discretion is advised.

(30,000 feet above the Hawk Peaks mountain range)

(200 miles east of Hawk City, Akael)

Air Equestria flight 189, a 747-400 bound for the Akaelian capital, Gryphus, from Detrot, was about to commence its final descent in preparation for landing.

One of the passengers, a white, green-maned unicorn named Cutie Pie, saw an Akaelian Air Force MiG-29 flying towards the airliner.

{He must be coming up to say hello!} She thought as she saw the fighter close in.

Her eyes went wide in an instant when she saw a plume of smoke appear under the MiG's wing and start moving towards the airliner at high speed.  Cutie Pie's heart started racing and she gasped in terror as she realized what the object was: an R-77  Adder radar-guided missile!

“OH NO!  THERE'S A MISSILE COMING AT US!  WE'RE GONNA DIE!” Cutie Pie screamed.

Other passengers around her and even one of the flight attendants looked out the window and saw the incoming missile.

The passengers that saw the missile started to panic as one of the flight attendants rushed towards the cockpit to inform the pilot, but before she could get to the upper deck, the missile made impact on the center of the fuselage, just below the left wing root.

The passengers screamed in terror as the aircraft was ripped apart.  The oxygen masks fell from their compartments and the cabin lights flickered out.

Cutie Pie looked behind her and saw seats and other debris being ripped from the cabin through the open end, it was the last thing she saw before she passed out due to the sudden lack of air pressure.

The doomed jumbo jet fell towards the ground in two flaming halves, the wings being ripped off in mid-fall.

One extremely lucky Pegasus, a pink-maned mare with a yellow coat and a cutie mark consisting of three butterflies, managed to fly out of the wreck shortly after the missile hit, using the rush of air from the sudden loss of cabin pressure to boost herself out into open skies.

She continued descending and watched in absolute horror as the wreckage hit the ground in the western edge of the Eagle-eye Forest.

“Why?” she asked silently, still shocked and horrified by what had happened.

She looked to see the MiG-29 flying away, and eyed it with a hateful glare.

The lucky pony, who now confirmed herself to be the sole survivor of the horrific event, rushed back towards the coast.

When she finally arrived fifteen minutes after Flight 189 was shot down, an Equestrian Royal Navy Lynx helicopter had just begun approaching the beach, likely sent in to investigate the loss of contact with the airliner by air traffic controllers.

The pilot spotted the lone mare and, figuring that she was a crash survivor, landed the helicopter on the sand.  “Are you alright?” the cabin crewpony asked as he stepped out.

“Y...y-yes.” the mare replied, still in a state of shock.

“Did anypony else make it out?” he asked.  “N..no, I'm the only one.” the traumatized Pegasus replied, a tear falling down her cheek.

“Come on, it's gonna be OK, we're gonna take you home!” the stallion said as he led the shaken mare to the helicopter, which then took off to the aircraft carrier ERNS Loyalty.

A C-2 Greyhound then flew her to RNAB Aquarius in Seahorse City.

She then caught a commercial flight to Ponyville from there via a Harmony Airlines 737-900, where her friend, a pink earth pony with a curly pink mane and a cutie mark consisting of three balloons greeted her with a crushing, tearful bear hug.

“Oh, Fluttershy, I'm so glad you're OK!  I heard that your plane crashed and that almost everypony on board was killed and I was so worried!” The pink pony said.

The two walked towards the nearby house where their friend Twilight Sparkle was waiting for them.

“Fluttershy?  I thought that you were on the flight to Akael!” Twilight said, clearly surprised to see Fluttershy back so soon.

“Well, my plane was shot down and I was the only one that got out alive.” Fluttershy replied in her usual quiet tone.

“Oh, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that- wait, did you say that the plane was SHOT down?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, one of the passengers said she saw a missile coming at the plane and an explosion ripped the fuselage in two several seconds later!” Fluttershy replied, her voice getting shaky as she recalled the horrific events that she had survived just a few hours ago.

(Later that day)

(NAS Angel Peaks)

(New Dream City, Arcadian Federation)

Robert and his squadron-mates were watching the news in the officers' lounge when the story of the Flight 189 incident came on.

“This just in, new footage of the disaster on Air Equestria Flight 189 has just been received from an Akaelian civilian plane spotter who witnessed the carnage and caught it on film.  Be warned, what you are about to see is graphic and disturbing, viewer discretion is advised.” the reporter said before the image changed to that of the video, which depicted the doomed 747 in flight.

As Robert and the others watched, a small shape streaked in and struck the airliner, tearing it apart.  The pilots could hear the cameraman's shocked and horrified reactions as he continued filming, and in the process caught the MiG passing by.

Everyone's jaw dropped instantly as they saw the unmistakable: the plane had clearly been shot down, but by who and why?  The image then returned to that of the reporter on scene.

“Other witnessed have confirmed that an Akaelian Air Force MiG fighter was responsible for the shoot-down, but the motive for this horrendous act is unknown and currently under investigation.  As a precaution, all flights to Akael from Arcadia and Equestria have been suspended indefinitely until further notice.” The reporter said.

“Sweet Jesus!” Vidal said.  “All those poor ponies, they never had a chance!” another pilot, Lt-jg Megan Jackson said.

“My God, it's a miracle that one of them survived!” Robert replied.  The image then switched to an interview with the survivor, who was clearly very camera-shy.

Robert's eyes lit up when he saw the survivor.  The other pilots could see it on his face and realized why he lit up upon seeing the shaken mare on the screen: Robert knew her.

“Friend of yours, sir?” Megan asked.  “Yeah, I...I know her.  I do know that Pegasus!” Robert said.

“What's her name, man?” Vidal asked.  “Fluttershy, I know that yellow coat and pink mane anywhere.” Robert replied.

“You love her?” another pilot, Ensign Angelo Vanders asked.  “Vanders!” Vidal exclaimed as he elbowed Angelo.

“What?  What 'd I say?” Angelo asked, clearly confused.

“Settle down, guys, and to answer your question, Angelo, no, we're just friends.” Robert replied.

So many questions filled Robert's head as he and his fellow pilots watched on.

{Why did the Akaelian military shoot down a civilian airliner?  Why WOULD they do something like that?  Something's not right.} He thought.

(Twelve days later)

(July 14, 2016, 1:03 PM)

(Stallion Strait, 50 miles south of Pony Island)

A pair of Equestrian Royal Navy F-14A Tomcat interceptors from ERNS Generosity were on patrol at 9,000 feet near the carrier when their E-2D, call-sign “Overwatch”, detected a pair of contacts headed their way from the east.

“Trotter one, Overwatch, contacts appear to be heading 275, speed: 450 knots, altitude: angels 8.” the radar controller on the Hawkeye said to the two Tomcat pilots.

“OK, let's come starboard about 40.  Bogies confirmed at 61 miles now, bearing 095, angels 8, heading 274...steady up.” Apocalypse, the pilot of the lead Tomcat said as he and his wingman, Hotshot made a defensive maneuver to the right to maintain an advantageous position over the bogies.

Apocalypse's RIO, Disaster noticed the bogies jinking to neutralize their defensive angles on his AWG-9 radar display.

“OK, he's jinking now, yeah, he's jinking to the right now, heading northwest.  Speed: 430, angels: 5,000 and descending.” he said.

“OK, let's take her down now, we're going down.” Apocalypse said.

“Showing up at 53 miles now, bogies appear to be heading directly at us now, I'm coming port, steady up 065 for 30 degree offset, 50 miles.” he said.

The two groups came closer to one another, tensions increasing within the Tomcat pilots.  “49 miles now, speed: 450 angels: 9, I'm going down to 3.” Apocalypse said as he brought his Tomcat down to 3,000 feet, his wingman remaining at 9,000 feet.

“Offset back over.” Hotshot's RIO, Jockey, said.  “Roger.” Hotshot replied.

“Roger, 30 degree offset now.  Bogies bearing 100, speed 500, let's accelerate.” Apocalypse said as he lit the afterburners, his wingman close behind.

“OK, they look like they're at nine thousand feet now.” Disaster said as he continued to monitor his radar display.

“Roger, bogies have jinked back into us now, let's come starboard thirty degrees, the other side.” Apocalypse said as he noticed the bogies jinking at them again.

“Coming to starboard!” Hotshot said as he followed his wingman.

“Roger, angels now eleven, steady up!” Apocalypse said as he and his wingman leveled off in a new defensive position.

“Trotter, warning yellow, weapons hold, say again, warning yellow, weapons hold, Overwatch out.” the Hawkeye operator said after assessing the situation.

“Roger, Hotshot, pass, Overwatch directs warning yellow, weapons hold!” Apocalypse said, making sure his wingman understood the situation.

“Thirty-five miles here.” Disaster said, still tracking the bogies.

“Roger, bogies have jinked back into me now, for the third time, with noses on at thirty-five miles, angels seven!” Apocalypse said.

“Overwatch, Hotshot, you copy?” Hotshot asked.

“We copy.” the Hawkeye operator replied.

“OK, I'm taking another offset, starboard, starboard...127.” Apocalypse said as he maneuvered his aircraft for the offset.

“I got him locked up on IFF, confirmed as Akaelian Floggers, thirty miles, 13,000 feet.” Jockey said.  “Roger that, level off here.” Apocalypse said as he leveled off, his wingman quickly following suit.

The MiGs jinked again, clearly showing an aggressive stance.

“OK, bogies have jinked back into me, for the forth time, I'm coming back starboard...back port now, twenty-seven miles, bogies at seven thousand feet.” Apocalypse said as he countered the MiGs' next move.

“Bogies confirmed 135, 50 miles, angels 7.  Heading 232.” An Equestrian Royal Air Force Mirage 2000 pilot said as he detected the MiGs.

“Roger, same bogies!” Hotshot said to the Mirage pilot.

Apocalypse watched in amazement as the MiGs jinked yet again.  {These guys just don't get it, do they?} He thought.

“OK, bogies have jinked back at me again, for the fifth time, they're on my nose now.  Inside of twenty miles!” Apocalypse said as he activated his master arm switch, his wingman following suit.

“Master arm on, master arm on.” he said after selecting his AIM-7M Sparrow semi-active radar-guided missiles.

“Red light, red light!” the Hawkeye operator said as he monitored the action.

“OK, centering up the T, bogies have jinked back at me again, sixteen miles, center of the dot, angels nine!” Apocalypse said as he lined up for the shot.

“Thirteen miles...fox one, fox one!” Apocalypse said as he locked up the MiG and fired.

“Oh, Celestia!” Disaster said as he watched the missile fly off the rail from under the wing root.

“Jinking right!” he said as he watched the MiG's reaction.  The MiG deployed chaff, which caused the missile to lose its lock.  “Roger that, ten miles, he's back on my nose, fox one again!” Apocalypse said as he fired a second Sparrow.

“Locking them up!” Hotshot said as he joined in the fight.  “Six miles, six miles!” Apocalypse said as he watched his missile track the MiG-23.

“Tally two, tally two!  Turning into me!” Hotshot said as the second MiG turned towards him.

“Roger that, five miles...four miles!” Apocalypse said as they closed in on the MiGs and prepared for the merge.

“OK, he's got a missile off!” Hotshot said as he watched the MiG closer to him fire off an AA-8 Aphid missile, which flew wide.

Seconds later, Apocalypse's Sparrow hit the lead MiG, which went down in flames.

“Good hit, good hit on one!” Disaster said as he watched the result of the missile shot.  “Roger that, good kill, good kill!” Hotshot said as he turned to engage the second Flogger.

“I've got the other one!” he said as the MiG evaded to the right, causing him to give chase.

He then selected his Sidewinder short-range heat-homing missiles as he turned hard to get in a suitable firing position.

“OK, I've got the trailer!” Jockey said as he and his pilot entered their first dogfight.

“He's coming hard to starboard.” Hotshot said as he attempted to position himself for a god shot.  “Come on, shoot him!” Jockey said.  “I don't have a tone!” Hotshot replied.

“Where's the second one?” Apocalypse asked.  “I've got the second one on the nose right now!” Hotshot replied, not taking his eyes off the MiG.

“OK, I'm high cover on you!” Apocalypse replied as he climbed to a suitable position to watch Hotshot's back.

“Come on, shoot him, shoot him, man!” Jockey said.  “I can't I don't have a fucking tone!” Hotshot replied in a frustrated tone.

Seconds later, he heard what he wanted to hear: the distinct high-pitched tone of a good heat-seeker lock.

“Fox two!” he said as he fired the missile.  The AIM-9M flew true, exploding inside the MiG's tailpipe.

“Good kill, good kill!” Apocalypse said as he watched the burning MiG go down.

The Tomcat pilots watched as the two MiG pilots, who, of course, were gryphons, ejected from their burning planes.

“Pilots ejected!” Apocalypse said as he saw one of the gryphons fly away.

“OK, hotshot, let's head west, head west.” Apocalypse ordered as he turned back west, towards the carrier.

“OK, I'm port side high, I'm coming down hard!” Hotshot replied as he raced to join up with his wingman.

“Roger, let's head west, let's go down low, down on the deck, down low at 500 knots, let's get out of here!” Apocalypse replied as the two pilots lit the afterburners again.  “I see no chutes, they must have flown off!” Hotshot said.

“OK, I've got one splash.” Jockey said as he saw the remains of one of the MiGs hit the water below.

“OK, let's take it down to 3,000.” Apocalypse said as the two Tomcats began descending.  “Confirmed splash 250 at 5 o'clock!  Let's go, Hotshot, down to 3,000, let's get out of here!” Apocalypse said.

“I'm running west on your right side!” Hotshot said as he formed up on Apocalypse's 4 o'clock.

“Roger.” Apocalypse replied as they flew back towards the Generosity, low on fuel.

The pilots put their master arm switches on SAFE.  “Confirmed two Floggers, two Floggers splashed, Overwatch, we're heading west.” Apocalypse said.

They were debriefed on what had happened after they landed.

What they didn't know, was this would not be the only engagement between Akaelian and Equestrian or Arcadian aircraft.

(Two days later)

(July 16, 2016, 12:40 AM)

(Sweet Apple Acres farm, Ponyville, Equestria)

Corporal Big Macintosh was on leave with his family at his home in Ponyville.  He had walked outside to the apple trees for a quick midnight snack.

When he reached up to pick a ripe apple, he noticed a brown square-shaped object attached to the trunk.

He grabbed the mysterious device in his fore-hooves and examined it carefully. He noticed that the object looked like it had some kind of clock attached to it, and that the clock was counting down.

{What the hell's this clock counting down to?  Wait...OH, SHIT, IT'S A BOMB!!} Big Mac thought as it dawned on him.

Unfortunately, before he could react, the bomb detonated, creating a huge fireball that consumed his body, the tree and the trees next to it.

Applejack, who was on leave with her brother, jumped up and out of her bed upon hearing the explosion.  “What in tarnation?!” she asked in surprise.

She looked out the window and saw a patch of apple trees on fire.  As she looked on, two more explosions rang out, one in the barn, and another in a second patch of trees.

She rushed to call the fire department and went to check on her family, to see if they were all still inside the house.

Several minutes later, three fire trucks had arrived on scene and a firefighting tanker plane made a pass over the burning orchard, releasing a load of fire retardant over the flames.

Applejack watched as several teams of fireponies got into position and readied their hoses.

Just then, she realized that somepony was missing: her brother!  She began searching, but could not find him, and after an hour, she began to fear the worst.

It took an hour and fifteen minutes to get the fires contained.  The orchards had been nearly destroyed by that time, and it took another hour to put the fires out completely.

Once the last flames were extinguished, an assessment team was sent in to try and find the cause of the blaze.  The barn was totally destroyed, as was over 94% of the orchards.

One hour later, the assessment team came back, and one of the team members trotted up to Applejack.

“I'm sorry to tell you this, but we found a body within one of the burned areas, and it looks like an explosion of some kind occurred there.  The body...may be your missing brother.” he said.

Applejack's eyes widened when she realized who the body could be.

She rushed over to the area where the center of the fire was located, and found Big Mac's shattered, burnt corpse.

She gasped in absolute horror and tears began to flow down her cheeks.

She turned and saw Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle trotting up towards her.

Applejack quickly threw herself towards Twilight, wrapped her fore-hooves around her neck and buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing loudly over her brother's death.

“Hey, it's gonna be OK, Applejack, it'll be alright, shhhhhh.” Twilight said softly as she gently stroked Applejack's back.

“But...but he's...mah brother's...he...he's GONE!” Applejack managed to say before she fell into another uncontrollable sobbing fit.

Twilight felt bad, Big Mac meant a lot to Applejack and her family.

Fluttershy was crying in Pinkie Pie's arms, equally devastated by the loss.

“I'm so sorry, Fluttershy.  Mackie was a great friend.” Pinkie said as she stroked Fluttershy's back, fighting back tears of her own.

“I...I...I lo- I LOVED HIM!!” Fluttershy said loudly before sobbing uncontrollably.  Applejack got up and made her way to Fluttershy.

“Ah know, sugarcube, and ah just want ya ta know that he loved ya, too!” Applejack said before she hugged Fluttershy tightly, both of them sobbing loudly.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie were also crying, not just over the loss, but also over the immense pain that Fluttershy and Applejack were now suffering.

(Arcadia Cruise Lines ship Angel Peaks)

(100 miles NNW of Arcadia Island, Atlantic Ocean)

(July 16, 2016, 10:00PM)

Robert and Rainbow Dash were watching the news in their cabin when a special report came on.

“For those who missed this dramatic story earlier today, tragedy has struck the Kingdom of Equestria last night when the Sweet Apple Acres farm was nearly wiped out by a massive fire.  It was reported that the fires were started as a result of a series of explosions whose cause is still under investigation.  Assessment teams have confirmed one fatality, a farm pony named as Big Macintosh, who was a well-known Royal Army corporal.” the reporter said as images of the carnage appeared on the screen.

Robert and Rainbow had looks of shock on their faces as the report went on.

“No.” Robert said under his breath.

Rainbow looked like she was about to cry, and Robert noticed.  “Hey, you alright, Dash?” he asked.

Rainbow turned towards him and, after a few seconds, threw herself into his arms and cried on his shoulder.

“I'm so sorry, I know this is a lot to take.” Robert said as he gently stroked her mane.

Rainbow continued crying, but let up slightly.  She felt safe and protected by Robert's gentle, comforting touch.

After twenty minutes, the two fell asleep, still feeling bad for Applejack, Big Mac and their family.

Robert knew that the incident would have a huge impact on Equestria's food production and processing capabilities.

In response to this disaster, the Arcadian Air Force mobilized half of its C-17A and C-130J transport planes to began a massive humanitarian airlift operation whose sole purpose was to provide food and other needed supplies to the areas in Equestria that were affected by the losses caused by the Sweet Apple Acres disaster.

This solution was proposed and put into action after president Richard Mason met with Princess Celestia at Canterlot to discuss the long-term effects and seek out a solution.

The transport aircraft would land at the major airports and the supplies would be transferred to trucks that would take them to their final destinations.

(Launch pad 3A)

(Jason B. Kennedy Space Center, Archer Hills, Arcadia)

(July 18, 2016, 11:59 AM)

The space shuttle Adventurer was just seconds away from launch, ready to deliver the final targeting satellite for the brand new Orbital Kinetic Weapons System (OKWS), commonly known as the “Rods from God”.

Once this satellite was in position, the weapons system would be complete, and ready to be brought online.  The seven-man crew was excited for this day, and proud to be part of this historical moment.

“T-minus ten...nine...eight...seven...six...main engine start...four...three...two...one...ignition, and liftoff of the Adventurer, and it has cleared the tower!  The Adventurer is now on its way to complete the OKWS, writing a new chapter of security in space for the Arcadian Federation and the Kingdom of Equestria!” the announcer said as the launch began.

On the word “ignition”, the shuttle's main engines as well as the solid-fuel boosters' rocket motors ignited, creating spectacular plumes of smoke around the launch pad as the spacecraft lifted off.

After two minutes, the rocket boosters separated from the massive copper-orange external fuel tank, parachuting to the ground to be recovered and used again.

After several more minutes, the shuttle was nearing low-earth orbit, and the now-empty external fuel tank was jettisoned, falling away to eventually burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

After the Adventurer had established its position in orbit, the cargo bay doors were opened, revealing the satellite within.  Using skillful manipulation of the shuttle's robot arm, the crew managed to bring the satellite out of the shuttle's cargo bay and into its final orbit configuration.

After receiving the go-ahead from the shuttle crew, the controllers on the ground sent a signal that activated the satellite.

The next day, the shuttle prepared for re-entry.  The cargo bay doors were shut and the pilot skillfully maneuvered the spacecraft into position using the shuttle's gas thrusters.

Soon after, the shuttle began entering the Earth's atmosphere, bright plasma trails streaming from the wingtips as the friction of re-entry heated the skin of the shuttle to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

At the same time, all radio contact with the shuttle was temporarily lost.  After five tense minutes, the shuttle completed its re-entry and began gliding towards the runway at Riverton AFB.

Upon touchdown on the runway, the shuttle's drag chute deployed as the crew used every braking system on board to bring the shuttle to a stop.

What the crew didn't know was that the results of this latest mission would end up playing a key role in the events to come.

(Talon Bay Air Base, Talon Bay City, Akael)

(July 20th, 2016, 6:43PM)

A flight of Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers were preparing for takeoff.  Each bomber was carrying a pair of Kh-15S (AS-16 “Kickback”) anti-ship missiles.

Their target: the cruise ship Angel Peaks, their motive: make a statement.

Flames surged from the afterburners of the bombers' twin Kuznetzov NK-25 turbofans as they roared down the runway and into the sky, towards the unsuspecting ocean liner.

“This attack will send a strong message, Colonel.  Those ponies and humans won't dare to challenge us.” General Yuri said as he and Colonel Gilda watched the bombers get airborne.

“Indeed, General.  We must always show our superior strength, any less, and someone will exploit any weakness we may show.” Gilda replied.

General Yuri smiled, knowing that everything was going according to plan.

Two hours later, the bombers targeted the ship and the lead bomber launched its missiles, which streaked towards the unfortunate cruise liner at supersonic speeds.

(On board Angel Peaks, 150 miles south of Pony Island, Atlantic Ocean)

(Two hours later...)

Robert and Rainbow Dash were on the balcony of their cabin, watching the sunset.  “It's so beautiful.” Rainbow said as she leaned her head on Robert's shoulder.

“Yeah, it is.” Robert replied.  He started blushing upon feeling Rainbow's head make contact, but did not move.

{I'll tell her soon.} He thought.

“You know, there's something I wanna tell you, since we're here now, alone.” Rainbow said, her cheeks starting to turn red.  “What is it?” Robert asked.

“Well, it's this feeling that I've had for a while, and I can't deny it.  I've realized now how great a person you are, and how much we have in common.” Rainbow said, her cheeks getting redder with each word.

She was determined to get it out, here and now.  She turned to face him and gently placed her hoof on Robert's hand, which was resting on the railing.

“What I'm trying to say is...I...I love you, Robert” Rainbow finished, her cheeks now a deep, crimson red.

Robert was surprised at first, but then remembered that he had similar feelings for her.  They leaned in towards each other, the gap between their lips growing smaller and smaller by the second.

“I love you too, Dash.” Robert replied.

Just as their lips were about to connect, the ship jolted suddenly as a loud bang rang out forward of them.

“What was that?” Rainbow asked.  “Oh, my God!” Robert said as he looked and saw that part of the ship forward of them was on fire!  He then spotted several plumes of smoke off in the distance, which appeared to be closing in at high speed.

“What...are those?” Rainbow asked, but her answer came to her as the closest object, which appeared to be a missile, struck the ship, causing it to jolt again.

The shock threw Robert and Rainbow into the door.  When they got up, Robert saw what looked like a Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bomber scream by overhead.

“Is that...an Akaelian aircraft?!” Rainbow asked.

“It's gotta be, I know those markings anywhere!” Robert replied.  Just then, a secondary explosion rocked the ship again.

“We gotta get out of here, this ship can't take anymore hits like that!” Robert said.

“I have an idea, get on!” Rainbow said as she turned her back towards Robert.  Robert caught on and gently yet quickly got on Rainbow's back, as he did so, he spotted six more missiles approaching the ship.

“We'd better hurry, there's more missiles closing in fast!” Robert said as he wrapped his arms around Rainbow's chest.

“HANG ON!” Rainbow shouted as she took off, Robert hanging on for dear life.  Seconds later, as Rainbow hovered a safe distance away, the missiles struck the ship in pairs, nearly splitting the vessel in two.

They saw several of the lifeboats being lowered into the water as the passengers and crew that survived the blasts started to abandon ship.

Rainbow then spotted an empty emergency raft floating several yards from the doomed ship.  “Hold on, I'm gonna set us down on that raft!” she said as she flew down towards the raft.

She carefully landed and Robert got off and they both laid down, exhausted by their hasty escape.

They turned to look at the ship, which had been reduced to a burning hulk.

Two secondary explosions rang out amidships as some of the fuel tanks were ignited by the fires.

As Robert and Rainbow watched in awe, the Angel Peaks slipped beneath the waves, taking at least 75 percent of her passengers and crew to a watery grave.

The two gulped, knowing that they were lucky to be alive.

As the two lay down, Rainbow winced slightly, as if she were in pain.  “You OK?” Robert asked, concerned for his new girlfriend.

“My left front hoof, it feels like it...oh, no.” Rainbow said as she held her hoof up, revealing a deep cut on her leg a few inches from the hoof itself.

“Jeez, that doesn't look so good.” Robert said as he grabbed the first-aid kit from a pocket on the raft to patch up Rainbow's wound.

“How...how did this happen?” Rainbow asked as Robert finished patching her up.

“You must have taken a bit of shrapnel from the explosions.” Robert replied.  Twenty minutes later, they heard the familiar sound of jet engines approaching.

They looked up into the darkening sky and saw an Equestrian Royal Air Force EF-2000 Typhoon flying in at a low altitude.

Ten minutes later, they heard the sound of helicopter rotors and looked to see a pair of Equestrian Royal Coast Guard EH-101 Merlin  helicopters approaching.

Robert grabbed a flare that was in a pocket on the raft and lit it, producing a bright, green glow.  The Merlin descended as it approached the raft, the main cabin side door opening once the helicopter began hovering over the raft.

A search-and-rescue swimmer dropped from the helicopter and into the water, and swam towards the raft.

The other helicopter, meanwhile, went on to locate the other survivors.

The swimmer signaled for a rescue basket to be lowered to get Robert and Rainbow on board.

“She should go up first, she's injured!” Robert told the swimmer.  Rainbow climbed into the basket, which was then raised up to the helicopter.  Once Rainbow was on board, the basket was lowered again for Robert.

Robert and the swimmer both got in and the basket was raised again.  Once the two were on board, the helicopter flew off back to the Royal Coast Guard station at Seaddle.

Upon arrival, Rainbow had her wound stitched up and the two stayed at a hotel in Manehatten the next night.

(That night, 9:34 PM)

(Stable Suites hotel, Manehatten, Equestria)

Robert and Rainbow relaxed in one of the beds in their top-floor room.  They were still exhausted from escaping their brush with death.

“Wow, I...I never expected that to happen.” Robert said as Rainbow cuddled up next to him.

“Yeah, but at least we're alive.” Rainbow replied.  “Yeah, we are, thanks to you, If it wasn't for your quick thinking, we'd both be at the bottom of the sea with that ship.” Robert replied.

Rainbow blushed at that comment.

“Hey, you know me, I never leave my friends hangin'...” Rainbow replied as they sat up, and Rainbow leaned over towards Robert, her face ending up a few inches from his.

“...and I especially never leave my boyfriend hangin'!” Rainbow finished as she turned on the radio.

Robert took the hint and placed his Ipod onto the dock and set it to play “Meet me Halfway” by Kenny Loggins on loop.

“I like this song.  In fact, we can call this our song.” Rainbow said as she winked her right eye and her face filled with lust and horniness before she leaned back in, causing their lips to meet.  Robert broke the kiss briefly.

“I like the sound of that!” Robert said as he leaned in and kissed Rainbow Dash again.  Seconds later, Rainbow felt Robert's tongue slip into her mouth.

In an instant, the trauma from their near-death experience was gone, to be replaced by a feeling Rainbow could only know as an elated high of pure bliss as she allowed the rest of the world to slip away around her…

Robert held her there for a good long time, letting the bliss of the moment flow through her body. After a timeless moment, he pulled away, letting his tongue slide along Rainbow's own as he elicited a small shudder from his girlfriend.

Returning her gaze and seeing desire and longing in those beautiful magenta eyes was the most rewarding sight Robert had ever seen.

He leaned in again, only this time, he planted a light, loving kiss on Rainbow's cheek. Then he moved onward, light kisses gracing down the side of his lover's face and onto his neck. At the same time, he used the hand which was already draped over Rainbow to stroke along her back and flank.

The light touches of each individual finger tracing along her body sent tingles and shivers up Rainbow's spine, while the kisses on her face and neck elicited a small sigh of pleasure.

Robert now changed tactics. He pulled his mouth away from Rainbow's neck, slightly nuzzling there as he left, and brought it up to the top of Rainbow's head.

He left a small kiss on the top of Rainbow's head before he began to nibble at her ear.

Rainbow never knew that such strong sensations of desire could come from such a strange action, but she enjoyed it all the same, letting out small groans as she reached a hoof up and began to stroke Robert's hair.

Robert began stroking Rainbow's mane in return. As feelings of pleasure and desire began to build up even more inside of her, Rainbow fell over onto her side, pulling her ear out of the grip of Robert, ready for something new.

She reveled in the sensation of fingers tracing from her back along her side and flank to her belly.

Robert took this to mean something new was necessary. He leaned in over his lover and planted a quick kiss on her mouth before moving down to her inner neck again.

There, he started long, slow, licks. From just under Rainbow's chin to the base of her neck Robert traced his tongue, allowing Rainbow to moan in pleasure each time.

He began tracing his index finger in little circles on Rainbow's stomach, and when Rainbow started panting, he knew he had her.

He moved his mouth down to the same area, and got the satisfaction of letting the combined circular motions of finger and tongue drive his lover into the grip of ecstasy.

Rainbow's eyes flew wide open as her panting increased in intensity, volume, and fervor. Wet warmth began to accumulate between her thighs, and Rainbow found that she was starting to sweat all over, her body temperature rising with the increased pleasure and animalistic desire of the moment.

"R-ROBERT!" She cried out at the apex of longing, her brain no longer able to function properly enough to form a coherent thought, complete love and desire taking over her every thought.

Unable to resist teasing just a little bit longer, Robert drew his finger slowly down Rainbow's lower stomach area, carefully and purposefully drawing closer and closer towards his prize, the most sensitive area on a mare's body.

He took absolute delight at feeling the shudders of Rainbow's body and watching as his lover's head was thrown back in passionate desire.

Unable to contain his own longing any more, Robert plunged forward with a thrust of his head  to claim what he longed for so much.

The sudden contact of Robert's tongue and mouth with her most sensitive areas was almost too much for Rainbow, but she held on, enjoying the ride in a passionate high that she wished would never end.

Her head was thrown back, eyes wide, gasping and panting and moaning merged into one incomprehensible sound, and every fiber of her being turned towards the feelings of love and more she felt for this one human.

For as long as she could, she was trying to hold in what she knew was coming, but at long last, failing. With one last deep breath, Rainbow called out Robert's name as she rode the culminating spike of pleasure and adrenaline as she felt every muscle in her body ache and contract in one synchronized, indescribable moment of pure bliss and happiness. She didn't have a care in the world.

After Rainbow took a minute to recover, she smiled seductively and got up to pull off Robert's shirt. They began to kiss more until she was able to figure out how to undo his pants and remove them as well as his underwear.

She stared at his cock and slowly put her mouth on it. She began to suck while gently caressing it with her tongue.

Robert enjoyed the sensations that Rainbow was giving him.

{Wow, she really knows how to make a human feel good!} Robert thought as Rainbow continued to suck the tip slowly and began bobbing her head back and fourth making Robert moan quietly in pleasure.

The cyan pony almost began gagging by the thickness and size. Robert began to speak again. "Rainbow... I'm going to... Cum!"

With that as a signal, Rainbow Dash began to go faster and faster, speeding up and steadying her rhythm.

After moments later, Robert exploded into Dash's mouth as a load flew past her mouth into her throat, making her choke a little in the process.

But she was able to swallow it all. After Rainbow finished swallowing every bit of cum, she rolled on her back, revealing her mare-hood giving Robert the sign that it was his turn.

Robert took the hint and began to rub his hand up and down her already wet vagina.  Rainbow Dash moaned as she felt a sensation that she had never felt before, at least not caused by human hands.

She was enjoying every moment of it. She began to squirm as Robert rubbed faster and faster. She let out one big scream as she had her second orgasm of the night.

"You want to go the rest of the way?" Robert asked.  “You betcha, baby.” Rainbow replied as she positioned herself.  Robert stood over Rainbow, ready to insert himself.

“Let's rock!” Rainbow said, signaling Robert to proceed.  Robert slid himself in, causing Rainbow to cry out in ecstasy.  Robert began to pump slowly and then faster.

Rainbow was moaning and screaming in pleasure, afterwards, she pulled Robert in for a long make-out session. It was broken seconds later as they felt themselves getting close again.

"Dash!... I'm... Gonna... Cum again!" Robert said in between thrusts. Rainbow responded towards Robert.

"Please... Do it... Cum inside me!" With that, Robert used one last deep thrust as they both climaxed together. He felt her pussy clutch his erection.

He was not worried, for they both knew that it was not possible for humans to get ponies pregnant, and vice versa.  Robert pulled out and laid down next to Rainbow on her left side.

The two lovers lay together for the longest time, sweat glistening on their bodies after their shared experience.

Each was taking deep breaths, gradually coming down from that state of bliss-like high that had sustained them through their accelerated use of energy.

Robert lay on his back, and sighed in an expression of pure love when Rainbow crawled over and rested her head on her lover's chest. They lay there for some time, letting their heart rates slow down and their breathing get back to normal. They lay without speaking for longer than either cared to count, bonds building between them as they communicated without words. Then, Robert spoke.

“You know, Rainbow?  I'm willing to bet that the others probably think that we're dead or something.” Robert said.  “Yeah, They probably do.” Rainbow replied.

“But, that doesn't mean that they've lost hope so soon.” Robert said.

“Yeah, my friends are known for hoping for the best, even out of the worst.” Rainbow replied.

“They'll find out tomorrow.” Rainbow added.  “Yeah.” Robert replied.

Seconds later, Robert turned the radio off as they were finally pulled into the grip of sleep and entered the world of dreams.

(The next morning, 7:00 AM)

Robert and Rainbow woke up as the alarm went off.  Robert turned off the alarm and turned on the TV.

“I wonder what's on at this hour.” Robert said.  The image was that of a gryphon general who had a gloating look on his face.

“Greetings, I am General Yuri of the mighty Akaelian Army.  As you may know, several unfortunate events have taken place in recent times, and you want to know the cause?” he said with a sinister sneer.

“It was US!  It was, in fact, one of our MiGs that shot down Flight 189.  The bombing of Sweet Apple Acres?  One of our commando teams planted the charges that caused those blasts that reduced that farm to ashes.  Those MiG-23s that tried to penetrate Equestrian airspace?  They were on a recon mission, but those Equestrian fighters got the better of them, I see.  The sinking of the Arcadian cruise liner several hours ago?  That was also us, some of our bombers sunk the ship using cruise missiles.  You may be wondering, 'why?'  Well, I'll tell you: You puny ponies and pathetic humans think you can challenge our strength?  You think you're so tough?  Well, think again, for we have a little surprise headed your way, Equestria!!  Your lands will burn before our mighty forces!  MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!” he said before the image cut out.

“This was made just minutes ago, and as a result of this threat, all Arcadian and Equestrian military forces are beginning to mobilize.” the reporter said.

Robert and Rainbow Dash stared at the screen in absolute shock and horror.

“Oh, no!  Does this mean that...” Rainbow began to say.  “Yep, they just declared war!” Robert finished.

After a call from their respective bases, they got ready for action.

“I hope we get the chance to fly together in battle.” Robert said.  “Watch my back out there?” Rainbow asked.

“You betcha, you can count on it!” Robert replied with a smile.

The two then left the hotel, and Robert caught a flight back to NAS Angel Peaks to rejoin his squadron while Rainbow went to Cloudsdale RAFB to do the same.

Throughout their journeys, they let the fact sink in:

Akael had just declared war, and an attack could come at any time.

The War Begins

A/N: I based the events of this chapter on the first mission of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, and the mission "Wolverines!" from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Equestrian Royal Air Defense Command (ERAD)

Stalliongrad, Equestria

5:34 PM

Inside the facility, which monitors all Equestrian airspace and waterways, one of the many radar operators spotted a cluster of contacts headed towards the Swayback Mountains from the north.

“Sand Delta, we're seeing a group of at least forty bogies in your sector coming from the north, can you verify?” he said as he monitored his screen.

“Heh, very funny, Station.  We don't see jack out here, it's all clear.” the radar operator at Fort Stable said after seeing that his scopes were clear.

“Sand Delta, be advised, we're running diagnostics to scan for malfunction.” the ERAD operator said.

“The skies are all clear, Station.  Looks like you have some phantom dots.” the Fort Stable operator replied.

The cluster then disappeared, and another similar cluster appeared to the west, passing over Arcadia.

“Uh, Sierra Foxtrot, we're seeing at least fifty bogies in your sector, please advise.” the ERAD operator said.

“That's a big negative, Station, our scopes are clear, don't know what to tell ya, solar interference?  We've had a lot of sunspot activity recently.” the radar operator at Everfree RAFB near Manehatten said.

The cluster then disappeared and another appeared near the east coast.

“Sierra Delta, we may have a minor ACS fault here.  Do you have anything on your scopes?” the ERAD operator said.

“THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!” the air traffic controller at Mareami RAFB said in a distressed voice, nearly yelling over the sounds of warning sirens outside.

“Sierra Delta, repeat!” the ERAD operator ordered.

“I'm looking at fighter jets and transports over Highway 115, how the hell did they get through?!” the controller asked.

The ERAD operator suddenly tensed up, knowing that Equestria may be under attack.

“Stand by!  Attempting to contact the nearest unit in that sector.” he said.

“I read you, this is 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, Sergeant Rambo, acting commander of Hunter two-three.  Do you copy over?” Sergeant Rambo said, having heard the last few transmissions.

“All stations, be advised- satellite surveillance has been disabled.  Water Ears and Pave Paws arrays are inoperative at this time.” the ERAD operator said, informing all radar stations of the situation.

There was no denying it: Equestria was under attack!

(20 miles south of Seahorse City, Equestria)

(30 minutes later...)

Robert stared with steadfast determination out at the sky in front of him through the HUD of his F/A-18E as he and his squadron-mates sped towards Mareami at supersonic speeds.

Their mission was to assist the ERAF in maintaining air superiority over the city as their ground forces attempted to push the enemy back into the ocean.

He knew that Rainbow Dash was somewhere out there in the fight, and he was determined to help out at any cost.

“Shadow Flight, Stardust, we have multiple contacts, bearing 100, 65 miles, angels 11.  Stay sharp, IFF is attempting to identify.” the radar operator on Stardust, the Arcadian E-3 Sentry AWACS that was in orbit in Ocean City.

“Roger, Shadow Flight proceeding to Mareami to assist allied forces, keep us advised on the bogies.” Robert replied.  Robert's eyes went wide when the squadron approached the airspace in Mareami.

He could see several plumes of smoke rising from the city as well as tracers from Equestrian anti-aircraft batteries.

Numerous parachutes filled the sky as gryphon soldiers dropped in from IL-76MD Candid transport planes.

“Get ready, Shadows!” Robert ordered as he flipped on his master arm switch.  The other pilots did the same as they prepared for the coming battle.

“Stardust to Shadow Leader, bogies are confirmed hostile on direct course to Mareami.  You are cleared to engage and destroy.” Stardust said after confirming the contacts as enemies.

The Equestrian anti-aircraft batteries stopped firing upon the arrival of allied aircraft into the airspace.

“This is Clydesdale One, be advised, multiple contacts!  We have missiles in the air!” Captain Ace Swift, an ERAF Typhoon pilot said as he and his squadron engaged the enemy.

“Shadow Four, bandit closing with you, break right!” Angelo said to Megan as he spotted an Akaelian MiG-29S trying to close in on her.

“Shadow One, tally bandit at one o' clock, I have him!” Vidal said as he engaged an Su-27 in front of Robert.

“He's mine, Guts.” Robert said as he took over the engagement.

“I've got your back, boss, he's all yours.” Vidal replied as he took up a covering position behind Robert's plane.  Robert locked up the bandit and closed in for an AIM-120D AMRAAM shot.

“I've got tone...Shadow One, fox three!” Robert called out as he squeezed the trigger on his control column to fire the missile.  He watched as the missile flew off from under the right wing.

“I've got your six!” Vidal said.  He turned to engage an IL-76 Candid transport that was approaching from the beach.

“Shadow Two, Fox two!” he called out as he launched an AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missile.  He watched as the missile flew true and struck the Candid on the left side, tearing off the left wing.

Robert turned towards the first bandit and saw a black ball of smoke in the distance.  “Good shot, Blaze, he's down!” Angelo said as he confirmed his kill.

“Shadow Two, fox two!” Vidal called out as he struck down a MiG-29 with a Sidewinder.  “This is Edge, I've got one on my six, I can't shake him off!” Megan called out.

“Hang on, I've got you!” Angelo replied as he turned to engage the MiG-23.  “Shadow Three, fox two!” Angelo called out as he shot down the MiG.  “Thanks, Angel!” Megan said as she turned to engage the enemy.

“Clydesdale One, fox two!” Ace Swift called out as he fired an AIM-132 ASRAAM heat-homing missile at an IL-76.

“All allies, be advised, allied transports are inbound to drop infantry into the hot zones, watch your fire!” Stardust said.

Several Arcadian and Equestrian C-17As flew in and numerous parachutes came out from the cargo ramps as the infantry inside dropped into the city to secure the area.

“This is Clydesdale Two, I've got a missile coming at me, I'm turning to evade!” First Lieutenant Dumbbell called out as he turned to evade an R-73 Archer heat-homing missile that was fired from a MiG-35 that was at his 3 o' clock.

The missile hit the left wing, tearing half of the wing off.  Dumbbell managed to eject safely, dropping his plane into the nearby sports arena.

“Stardust, this is Shadow Three, we have an Equestrian fighter down near the stadium, I have a good chute on the pilot.” Angelo said as he spotted Dumbbell's parachute.

“Roger, directing Chariot Six-One for SAR, Chariot Six-Two remain in reserve.  Six-One, Six-Two, acknowledge.” Stardust said as he directed some assets in for the rescue of the downed pilot.

“Chariot Six-One, roger.” the lead pilot of the HH-60G Pave Hawk squadron replied.  “Chariot Six-Two, roger.” the wingman replied.

Over the next few minutes, the helicopters made their way near the stadium to extract Dumbbell, with Scootaloo's unit providing cover.

“Looks like they're targeting Highway 115!” Robert said as he got on the tail of another MiG-35.  “Fox two!” he called out as he took down the MiG with a Sidewinder.

“Target down!” Robert called out as he confirmed his kill.

Suddenly, a MiG-23 fired an R-60 Atoll heat-homing missile at Robert's plane!

“Whoa!” Robert exclaimed as he released a burst of flares and turned hard to dodge the missile, his body straining to stay conscious despite the high G-forces of the evasive maneuver.

“Baseplate, this is Alpha-Six, we're enterin' the city from the north and movin' in to secure the area!” Robert heard Applejack's voice say on the radio.

“Alpha-Six, roger, be advised, Arcadian infantry and IFVs are inbound to support you.” Baseplate replied.

Applejack's unit was moving in to help secure the city from the enemy ground troops that were attempting to secure a foothold on the city.

“Roger that, we sure can use the help, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack replied.

Robert got behind an A-50 Mainstay AWACS and shredded it with his M61A2 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon.

“Delta Two-Zero to Stardust, we're assisting a search-and-rescue operation for a downed air-pony near the stadium.” Scootaloo said as she and the other gunships in her unit flew around, looking for enemy infantry.

She spotted a group of enemy troops on the rooftop of one of the buildings and cut them down with her M230 30mm chain cannon.  “Copy that, Delta Two-Zero.” Stardust replied.

“Stardust, can you keep those planes off us and the Pave Hawk while we bring it in?” Scootaloo asked.  “We're doing our best, Delta Two-Zero.” Stardust replied.

“Stardust to Shadow flight, we have an SAR operation underway near the stadium.  Keep the bandits away from the area.” Stardust ordered.

“Copy that.” Robert replied.  He and Vidal continued to engage the enemy while Angelo and Megan set up a RESCAP around the area where the rescue mission was taking place.

At this point, most of the enemy aircraft had been destroyed, with very few losses among the Arcadian and Equestrian forces.

“Guts, fuel status.” Robert said.  “Enough to take down two or three more.” Vidal replied.

“Roger that, wing, let's finish this!” Robert replied as he took down the last Candid with an AMRAAM.

“Stardust to Shadow Flight, four bandits coming from the east at a very low altitude, bearing is zero-nine-eight.” Stardust called out.

“Fuel is into reserves.” Vidal said.

“Moving to engage.  Guts?” Robert said upon hearing Vidal's fuel status update.

“I've got enough fuel for them.” Vidal replied.  “Roger Shadow Two, keep an eye on your fuel.” Robert ordered.

“Bandit on your back, LT, I'm taking him down!” Vidal said as he engaged an Su-27 that was trying to get on Robert's tail.

“Fox two, fox two!” Vidal called out as he took the shot.

The Su-27 went down in flames after being hit by Vidal's missile.  “You're clear.” Vidal said upon seeing his kill.

Robert then spotted a MiG-29 ahead of him that had what appeared to be a robotic gryphon painted on the nose.

“What the hell?” Robert thought out loud.

{Missile...*Beep*...Missile...*Beep*...} went the missile alert as the radar warning receiver went off in Robert's cockpit.

{Oh shit!} Robert thought as he turned to evade the incoming threat.

"OOF!" Robert grunted as the R-73 missile impacted the fuselage, which burst into flames and alarms began to blare within the cockpit.

“SHIT!” Robert exclaimed as he struggled to control his damaged aircraft, barely managing to turn it towards the ocean.

“DAMN!” he exclaimed as he looked around.  “Radar...dead.  Engines...” Robert thought out loud as he assessed the systems that were damaged.

“Get out of there, Lieutenant, eject!” Vidal said, hoping for Robert to punch out.

“Hit it. Get out, you're on fire!” Vidal pleaded.  Robert reached for the ejection handle and tugged with all his might.

The canopy instantly blew and the seat's rocket motor fired, propelling Robert out of the doomed plane, which exploded three seconds later, causing Robert to spin around in mid-air.

“Stardust, be advised, Shadow One is going down, Lieutenant Castellanos is out!” Vidal called out as he saw his flight lead eject.

Seconds later, Robert's parachute deployed, and he stopped spinning.  He looked around at the chaos and carnage around him.

“I have a chute!  I have a chute!” Vidal said as he spotted Robert's chute.

The MiG that shot him down buzzed right past him as he looked at it with a hateful gaze.

Seconds later, the MiG came around again, only to be shot down right in front of him.

He looked around for the source of the missile that avenged his shoot-down, and saw a familiar cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail flying towards him, an ACP missile pack on her back and twin M134 Miniguns mounted on her shoulders.

“Rainbow...” Robert said as he saw her approach.  He then looked down and saw that he was nearly fifty feet off the ground.

Several seconds later, he hit the ground and rolled himself around to distribute the force of the landing throughout his body.

As he cut off his chute, he saw Rainbow Dash land ten feet from him and the two rushed towards each other.

“Robert!  Oh, thank Celestia you're OK!” Rainbow exclaimed as she embraced him, careful not to hit him with her gear as she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Good to see you too, sweetheart.” Robert replied, thankful that Rainbow shot down the MiG that took him down.

“Look, I'm sorry, but I can't stay long, I gotta get back to my mission, but I am gonna let my guys know that you're OK and tell them where you are so they can send a rescue party for you.” Rainbow said.

“I understand, go get 'em, dear...and thanks!” Robert replied as Rainbow flew off, radioing in Robert's location.  Robert got out his survival radio and turned it on in case any allied units try to contact him.

“Blaze, this is First Battalion, Second Royal Marines, Captain Applejack, commander of Alpha-Six, y'all OK over there?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, I'm fine, I just had an unplanned landing, that's all.  It's great to hear your voice again!” Robert replied, relieved to hear another close friend's voice.

“Alright, Spectrum just gave us yer position, and we're comin' to ya, just hang in there, we'll be there in five!” Applejack replied.

“OK, I'll let you know when I see you, Blaze out.” Robert replied.

Suddenly, several bullets ricocheted from a nearby wall.  Robert immediately dove for cover and drew his M9 pistol.

{Shit, they found me, looks like I'm gonna have to hold out until AJ's unit arrives!} Robert thought as he saw four gryphon soldiers approaching from forty yards away.

Robert dropped two of them with headshots from his pistol before they returned his fire with their AK-47 assault rifles.

Robert carefully took aim and took the other two hostiles out.

His eyes grew wide when he saw another group of gryphons approaching.

The gryphon soldiers started firing, forcing Robert to get back behind the wall that he was using for cover.

“Alpha-Six, this is Blaze, be advised, I am under heavy enemy fire.  I need help, fast!” Robert said.

“Alright, ah'm gonna get ya some gunship support, just hang in there!” Applejack replied.

“This is Firestorm One, I read your last and we're on the way!” an Arcadian Army AH-74 Crossbow gunship pilot said as he flew towards Robert's position.

Robert took out several enemies before he had to reload.

“Shit, last mag!” Robert said as he slipped the magazine into the magazine well.

It looked like Robert's last stand.  Robert decided that if he went down, he would go down fighting!

He took out five gryphon soldiers with headshots before an explosion shattered the group.

“Huh?  What the...?” Robert turned and looked to see Applejack and some of her fellow Royal Marines, a wisp of smoke flowing from the M203 grenade launcher under the barrel of her shoulder-mounted M4-P carbine.

“Y'all OK?” AJ asked.  “Yeah, good thing you guys showed up, I thought I was toast for a second!” Robert replied.

Just then, the AH-74 flew overhead and came to a hover near the group, strafing the enemy positions with its M230 chain cannon.  “This is Firestorm One, engaging enemy troops!” the pilot said as he continued firing.

“Let's go while he has them distracted!” Applejack said, motioning for Robert to follow her and her squad.

Robert recognized one of the squad members as the group's dragon friend, Spike, who was now a lance corporal.

“Good to see you again, sir!” Spike said as he gave Robert a quick salute.  Robert smiled as he returned the salute.

“Good to see you again too, bud!” he replied.  Applejack led her unit and Robert to the parking lot on the other side of the stadium, where the extraction chopper would pick them up.

“Baseplate, this is Alpha-Six, we've located the HVI, he's uninjured and in good fighting shape!” Applejack called into her radio.  “Roger that, Alpha-Six, vectoring Chariot Six-One to the LZ for extraction.” Baseplate replied.

Robert spotted the Pave Hawk first and pointed it out to Applejack, who then threw a green smoke marker to indicate the position of the LZ, in the middle of the field.

The Pave Hawk landed near the smoke marker and everyone got on board.

“Hey AJ, remind me to have us stop for some apple cider when this is all over, I'm buying!” Robert said in a humorous tone.

“Heh, ah'm gonna hold ya to that, sugarcube!” Applejack replied with a chuckle.

The Pave Hawk lifted off and found itself under heavy enemy fire.  Several bullets went into the door gunner, killing him.

“HAYSEED!  SOMEONE GIT ON THAT GUN!” Applejack ordered.

“DON'T WORRY, I GOT THIS!” Robert said as he rushed to the gunner's seat.  Robert quickly studied the controls of the ponyfied M134 Minigun.  He quickly figured out that he can use his thumbs to press up on the trigger, which would normally be triggered by the gunner pressing up on it with his/her lower jaw while biting down on it, while using the hoof inserts to aim the weapon.

“LIGHT 'EM UP, ROB!” Applejack ordered as the helicopter continued to take small-arms fire.

Robert let loose with a brief burst from the Minigun, then another, annihilating the enemy troops below.

“YEAH, GET SOME, YOU FEATHER-HEADED S.O.BS!!” Robert yelled as he obliterated the enemy troops below.  Soon, the helicopter flew out to sea, taking a safe route to the AFS Kestrel which had left port three hours earlier.

The Pave Hawk landed on the carrier's flight deck and Robert was taken to the sick bay to be examined.  Once the examination was over, he was returned to active flight status.

Shortly afterwards, they got some disturbing news: an enemy squadron was headed for Canterlot.

What Robert didn't know, was that his squadron would end up participating in an very special, very important mission.

(“Hunter Two-Three” Humvee convoy)

(Two miles northwest of Seaddle, Equestria)

(6:00 PM)

Sergeant Rambo of the Equestrian Royal Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment was manning the roof-mounted M134 Minigun on his Humvee as the convoy traveled towards the city, where the battle was taking place.

The other gunners, like him, were scanning the area for hostiles.  Two of the gunners sprayed short bursts of fire at the few stray gryphons that flew towards them.

They could hear the jet noise and explosions from the fur-ball above them, as well as the drone of helicopter rotors.

Their mission was to help keep the enemy from overrunning the city.

Suddenly, as the convoy approached a neighborhood, an Akaelian BTR-80 came out from behind a nearby building and started firing at the convoy with its 14.5mm heavy machine gun.

“BTR!  Get out of here!  Get to cover!” Rambo ordered as several rounds from the BTR's gun went through the Humvee's windshield, narrowly missing the occupants as they rushed out.

Rambo's squad ran towards a nearby alleyway to escape the BTR's gunfire.  They immediately encountered a group of enemy infantry.

Rambo quickly gunned down three enemy soldiers with his G36P shoulder-mounted assault rifle.  His squad-mate, Corporal Dumbbell, took out a group of hostiles with his rifle's M203 40mm grenade launcher.

“Tagger, pop some smoke near that BTR!  We have to get past it!” Rambo ordered.  PFC Tagger grabbed a smoke grenade with his mouth and used his magic to hurl it at the BTR, which had stopped.

As the smoke from the grenade began to shroud the BTR, the infantry that had climbed out rushed for cover, but Dumbbell took one group of them out with his M203.

Tagger used his M249P SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) to lay down suppression fire, most of the enemy soldiers being killed by the hail of bullets.

Rambo bravely rushed up to the BTR and planted a Semtex charge on each end of the vehicle.  He rushed to rejoin his squad at a safe distance and clicked the detonator.  The charges detonated, destroying the BTR instantly.

Rambo spotted another BTR in the distance on the other side of the parking lot that the squad ended up on after escaping the other BTR behind them.

Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, followed a split-second later by the sound of a rocket motor igniting.  Rambo looked towards the noise and saw an Arcadian Army soldier holding an FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile launcher.

Seconds later, the missile which had shot up, dove down and struck the BTR from above, destroying it instantly.

“Nice shot, buddy!” Rambo said to the human soldier.

“Hell yeah, we've got your back, pal!  Nice trick with the smoke and the Semtex on that other BTR, by the way!” the Arcadian soldier, PFC Jason Ramirez, of 5th Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment replied.

“Heh heh, I like your style, man!” Rambo replied.  “Back at ya, how about we shoot some hoops after this is all over?” Ramirez asked.

“Hell yeah, I'm down!  I'll even bring the whole squad!” Rambo replied.

The two squads grouped together and advanced as a single joint human-pony group.

“So, what's the story?” Rambo asked.

“Well, the enemy's primarily arriving by air, but these BTRs must have been deployed by sea, so it's safe to say that there must be some enemy ships not too far off the coast!” Ramirez replied before gunning down four enemy soldiers with his M4 assault rifle, which had a hybrid holographic sight with flip-up scope, tactical laser, flashlight and extendable stock.

“Hunter Two-Three, this is Baseplate, be advised, we have a Leopard 2 dead-in-the-water in a junkyard about two clicks north of your position, call-sign: 'War Horse'.  They're holding for now, but if we don't get to them in time, they'll be overrun!” Baseplate called up over the radio.

“Roger, this is Hunter Two-Three, we're on our way with Arcadian reinforcements!” Rambo replied.

“OK, let's go save that tank!” First Lieutenant Valdez, the Arcadian squad leader, said as the two squads moved out.

Half a click from the junkyard, they encountered an enemy Ka-50 Hokum gunship.

“Shit, get to cover!” Valdez ordered as the gunship started firing its machine gun it their direction.

Ramirez grabbed a FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS from a nearby supply drop.  He activated the seeker and took aim.

Once he had a solid lock, he fired the missile.

The missile slammed into the gunship's fuselage and the helicopter went down in flames.

“Nice shooting, Ramirez!” Rambo said.  They encountered another enemy squad as they made their way towards the tank.

“War Horse, this is Hunter Two-Three, what's your status?” Rambo asked.

“We're barely holding up!  Our main gun's down, but we've still got our machine gun!  There's only four of our guys left, it's so lucky y'all showed up!” Applebloom said as Lyra rotated the turret to aim the co-axial .50-caliber machine gun.

The tank's position was being swarmed by enemy infantry, some of whom were carrying satchel charges with which they intended to blow up the tank.

Valdez and Rambo's squads took up defensive positions near the tank as they fought off the enemy.

“Dammit, we need air support!” Rambo said as their squads slowly started taking casualties.

“Roger, we have a pair of Apaches on call, just give them the word!” Baseplate replied.

“Hunter Two-Three, this is Echo One with Echo Two standing by to provide close air support!” the Arcadian Apache pilot said, having heard their last transmissions.

“Roger, we're popping green smoke to indicate our position!” Rambo said as he tossed a smoke marker with his magic.

“OK, we see your marker, engaging hostiles!” the Apache pilot said as he and his wingman made their approach.

The human and pony soldiers looked to see a pair of Arcadian AH-64D Longbow Apache gunships approaching quickly at low altitude.

The two squads watched in amazement as the two gunships shredded the enemy forces with their M230 chain cannons.

“Echo One, this is Echo Two, you see any more down there?” the wingman asked.

“Negative, looks like we got them all!” the lead pilot replied as the two gunships circled around, watching for enemy movement.

The two squads set up new defensive positions around the tank while combat engineers were being flown in to get the tank moving again.

After a half-hour, the tank was back in action, supporting the effort to drive the Akaelians out of the city.

(Mareami, Equestria, near the downtown area)

(6:08 PM)

Lance Corporal Rarity, a Royal Marine sniper, was in her position in one of the high-rise buildings near the downtown area, her Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle, loaded with a full magazine of .50-caliber BMG rounds and fitted with a heavy-duty suppressor, resting on its bi-pod on a window ledge.

Her mission was to eliminate the enemy field commander who was in charge of the force that was invading Equestria.

With this commander gone, the enemy forces will be far less coordinated, and the allied forces will have an easier time clearing out the enemy.

Her spotter, Lance Corporal Moondancer, was using her M49 spotting scope to locate the target.

She soon spotted the enemy commander near a field tent in the downtown area's main square.

“OK, I think I've spotted him, get ready.” Moondancer said.  Rarity got in position and readied her rifle.

“Yep, that's him, positive ID on primary target.” Moondancer said as she recognized the commander from the intelligence photos shown to them at the mission briefing.

“Target range: one-thousand feet, wind: calm, humidity: ten percent, temperature: eighty degrees, estimated bullet flight time: point-five seconds.  You've got a damn good shot from here.” Moondancer said as she prepared Rarity with all the information she needed to line up a proper shot.

Rarity flicked off the safety of her rifle with her magic and used her hooves to support the heavy rifle as she took aim.

She carefully positioned the cross-hairs in a spot that would insure that the round would hit the commander dead center in the head.

She also began to carefully control her breathing to minimize the movements of the rifle.

“Elevation and windage set...adjusting for bullet drop and other factors...OK, I'm lined up...taking the shot!” Rarity said as she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

At the bottom of her exhale, she used her magic to pull the trigger.

*Poof!* The rifle fired silently, sending the bullet flying at high velocity.

Half a second later, the bullet reached the commander's position.

Rarity's careful aim paid off, for the bullet went through the commander's helmet, shattering his skull and blasting out the other side.

Rarity watched with a sense of accomplishment as she saw her target go down.

“Target neutralized, let's get out of here!” Rarity said as she used her magic to flick on the rifle's safety and levitated it onto her back-mounted weapons pack.

Rarity and Moondancer then finished packing up their gear and began their egress.

They made their way to the extraction point in the nearby park.

Several seconds after they arrived, an ERM MH-53 Pave Low helicopter landed in the nearby clearing.

“Well, that's our ride!” Rarity said as she and Moondancer got on board the helicopter, which lifted off seconds later.

Rarity and Moondancer smiled, knowing that their successful mission will greatly help the effort to put a stop to the Akaelian military's incursion into her home country.

Sure enough, without their commander to coordinate them, the enemy forces were forced to fend for themselves, and were quickly crushed in the Mareami and Seahorse City areas quickly.

Taking the Fight to the Enemy

A/N: some of the events near the end of this chapter are based on a couple of scenes from the movie "The Sum of All Fears"  Also, there's some battleship action.

The F-16G Sea Falcon is a fictional variant developed by Equestria's aviation research and development facilites.

(30 miles off the coast, near Mareami)

(5:45 PM)

The Celestia-class battleship ERNS Luna, along with a flotilla of four Bridle-class frigates and two Unicorn-class destroyers of the 1st Fleet were engaging the enemy invasion fleet.

The destroyers and frigates split off to engage the enemy escort ships while the battleship would take out the enemy amphibious ships.

The enemy ships had already been spotted on radar and the battleship was closing in to engage with her nine massive Mk-7 16-inch guns.

“Enemy ships spotted, stand by to engage with guns!” the TAO (Tactical Action Officer) said from the ship's CIC (Combat Information Center).

“Mount One-Five-One manned, ready and standing by.” the phone talker in the foremost turret said.

“Mount One-Five-Two manned, ready and standing by.” the phone talker in the second forward turret said.

“Mount One-Five-Three manned, ready and standing by.” the phone talker in the aft turret said.

The massive warship got within ten miles of the beach and turned to port, bringing all nine of her main guns to bear on the enemy.

The gunners used their targeting computers to input target data and calculate the necessary angles to insure a hit.

“In range and locked in!” the gunner in the forward turret, Gunner's Mate Third-class Blaster said from his gun control console inside the turret.

The other two turret gunners gave similar statements as the first enemy ship was targeted.

“All stations, TAO, kill track 1532 with guns.” the TAO said after receiving the go-ahead from the CO (Commanding Officer).

“Roger, kill track 1532 with guns, firing salvo!” the gunners each said.

The salvo alarm sounded on the weather decks, warning all hands topside to get inside the skin of the ship.

Seconds later, the gunners pressed the FIRE button on their respective consoles.

*BOOM!  BOOM!  BOOM!* The forward turret fired one barrel at a time, the other two turrets fired at the same time in the same style.

Nine two-thousand pound armor-piercing shells flew through the air at roughly 2600 feet per second, slamming into the hull of the enemy ship!

The shells penetrated through the hull and exploded deep within the bowels of the ship, causing massive damage.  A massive twenty-foot hole was opened up in the hull, near the waterline.

Three more shells from the Luna's next salvo hit the bridge and radar station.  The flooding became uncontrollable and the ship went down in minutes.

“Good kill, targeting next hostile!” the TAO said after the kill had been confirmed.  The next enemy amphibious ship was sunk in three salvos, and the last two were sunk in two salvos each.

By this time, all of the enemy escorts had been sunk, and the other allied ships rejoined their flagship.

The group then went to join the newly-formed Task Force 129, a massive provisional battle fleet consisting of three aircraft carrier strike groups: AFS Kestrel, AFS Aquaria, ERNS Harmony and, coming soon, ERNS Friendship.

At the same time, another group was created: Task Force 121, a joint Arcadian-Equestrian amphibious assault group, consisting of AFS Hellspawn, AFS Hellgate, AFS Portal, AFS Stargate, ERNS Barnyard, ERNS Stable, ERNS Canterlot and ERNS Swayback, as well as their escort ships.

(AFS Kestrel, twenty miles off the coast from Mareami)

(6:01 PM)

Robert and Vidal's planes were on the catapult, fully loaded, fueled and ready to go.

Robert went to full afterburners after receiving the signal from the deck crew.

Seconds later, the catapult fired and the plane was launched.

The other planes followed soon afterwards.  The four F/A-18Es formed up and began their approach to Canterlot.

Their mission: assist the ERAF in escorting Sun Force One to the safe-zone in the Swayback Mountains.  “Watch-horse, Shadow Flight is airborne.” Robert said after raising his landing gear and turning towards Canterlot.

“Roger, Wonderbolt Flight will be with you during your mission.” Watch-horse, an ERAF E-767 AWACS, replied.

Robert's eyes lit up when he heard this.

{That's Rainbow's unit!  I'm glad I'm getting the chance to fly side-by side with her, and in quite an important mission, too!} Robert thought as the flight entered Canterlot airspace.

The Wonderbolt squadron was already on station and Princess Celestia's 747 was already on the runway in its takeoff run.

“Shadow Flight, this is Spectrum, your objective is to engage any enemy aircraft before they get too close, we''ll handle the leakers!” Rainbow said once she spotted Robert's unit.

“Roger that, Spectrum, standing by to take escort positions!” Robert replied.

Seconds later, the 747 was airborne and climbing fast.  “Sun Force One is airborne!” Rainbow said.  The Wonderbolts swooped in and took up their escort positions near the aircraft.

Once the group passed 3,000 feet, Robert and his flight took up their positions a bit further from the 747, but still close enough to provide quick response to enemy threats.

The Wonderbolts formed an octagon around the 747 while Shadow Flight took up positions at each end: Robert in front, Vidal on the port side, Angelo on the starboard side, and Megan covering the aircraft's six o'clock.

A flight of Typhoons were already engaging the enemy fighters, but the escort force was ready to respond if necessary.

Only one MiG-29 made it through and made an attempt to attack Sun Force One.

“Shadow flight, be advised, we have a single leaker inbound on Sun Force One, protect that bird at all costs!” Watch-horse ordered after detecting the single bandit.  Megan was quick to respond.

“I've got tone!” she called out as she locked up the bandit.  “Shadow Four, Fox three!” she called out as she fired an AMRAAM at the MiG.

The missile streaked towards the MiG at mach 4 and impacted seconds after launch, shattering the MiG, which went down in flames.  Megan rejoined the formation as they got closer to the safe-zone.

Once they reached the mountain range and closed in on the airstrip twenty minutes later, the escorts split off and set up CAP stations above the area.

The 747 lined up and began its approach.  “This is Sun Force One, beginning approach to land!” the pilot said as he lowered the landing gear and flaps.  “Roger, approach looks good!” Robert replied.

After three minutes, Sun Force One landed safely.  “Stardust, this is Shadow One, good landing confirmed on Sun Force One.” Robert said.

“Roger, mission is complete, return to home plate.” Watch-horse said.  “Roger, Shadow Flight is RTB!” Robert replied as his flight split off and headed back towards the Kestrel.

“All allied forces, be advised, the enemy has been pushed out of Mareami and Seahorse City, only Seaddle remains, I say again, the enemy has been pushed out of Mareami and Seahorse City, and now only Seaddle remains.” Watch-horse said after receiving a sit-rep from the Equestrian military HQ.

Robert closed in on the carrier, for he was the first to land.  Robert lined his plane up for the approach.  He lowered the landing gear, tail hook, and full flaps.  He also switched the aircraft's HUD to ILS mode.

"Strike, Shadow 1 inbound to land." Robert said.  "Shadow 1, fly the bull’s-eye." The air boss said.

"Strike, Shadow 1 checking in, flight of four, good fuel state." Robert replied.

"Shadow 1, this is Strike, descend and maintain Angels 2 for approach, maintain 175kt, final heading 320, switch Marshall." The air boss said.

"Strike, Shadow 1 copies all." Robert replied.

"Shadow 1, this is Marshall, mother is case 1, expect CV1 approach." the LSO (Landing Signal Officer) said.

Robert was on a three-mile final at this point.  "Shadow 1, on course, on glide-slope, begin descent." The LSO said.  A few slow minutes passed as Robert closed in on the carrier.

"Shadow 1, you're at three-quarters of a mile, call the ball." The LSO said.  "Roger, Shadow 1 has the ball." Robert replied.  “Roger ball, roger ball.” the LSO replied.

Ten seconds later, the plane touched down on the deck and the tail hook snagged the #3 wire.

As it hit, Robert went to full military power as a precaution.

“Trap, 3 wire, red deck!" the LSO said as the plane touched down.  Robert grunted as the plane came to a quick stop!

Two seconds after touchdown, the plane was at a stand-still.

"Shadow 1, raise your hook and taxi to parking." The air boss said.

Robert raised the hook and flaps and folded the plane's outer wings and taxied off of the runway.  "Deck is green, Shadow 2 cleared to land." The air boss said.

Vidal then lined up and carried out his landing, followed by Angelo and finally, Megan.

Over the next four hours, the two militaries, now joined together as the Arcadia-Equestrian Joint Strike Force (AEJSF), managed to push the enemy out of Seaddle, that had been attacked by Akaelian forces.

(Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles east of Mareami, Equestria)

(July 24, 2016, 1:25 AM)

The Equestrian Royal Navy aircraft carrier ERNS Friendship was en-route to rendezvous with the other ships of Task Force 129, located 200 miles to the south on a course of 170 at 35 knots.

On her flight deck, four of her F-14 Tomcats were on the catapults, on alert 5 readiness and ready to launch quickly.  In the carrier's CIC, one of the radar operators spotted a dot on his screen.

“TAO, EW, I'm picking up intermittent radar bearing 087.” the operator, Operations Specialist Third-class Seeker, a young earth pony whose cutie mark was, in fact, a radar screen, said as he tracked the radar signature with his eyes.

“Where?” The TAO asked as he came over to see what Seeker was looking at.

Suddenly, the blip on the screen disappeared.  “Now it's gone.” Seeker said.

Meanwhile, a flight of six Tu-22 bombers were racing towards the carrier.  They were flying at low altitude, below radar coverage.

“Target acquired, initiate attack run.” the lead bomber pilot ordered.

On the carrier, the blip reappeared on Seeker's screen.  “There!  It's a weak signal, low on the horizon!” he said.

“TAO, Air Sup, inbound contact!” the air supervisor said in a slightly nervous tone as he spotted the bomber group on his screen.

A minute later, the Tu-22s each launched a pair of AS-16 Kickback anti-ship cruise missiles in a single wave.  After the missiles were in flight, the Backfire-Cs turned away.

“Multiples on the same bearing!” the air supervisor said urgently as he spotted the missiles on his screen.

“Vampire!  Vampire!” Seeker said as he spotted the missiles on his screen heading straight for the carrier.

“Fast-movers inbound, I've got seven, eight, no, nine of them!” the air supervisor reported, his voice full of horror and near-panic.

As the missiles approached, the ship's port-side Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapons system) mounts began to automatically track the inbound missiles as they began unleashing a torrent of rounds at the incoming threat.

Most of the missiles were destroyed, but one of them struck the aft end of the island, taking out the primary flight control center (Pri-Fly).

A second missile hit the port side forward, underneath the catapult.

The last missile went into the hangar deck through the open door and struck the bulkhead on the other side.

Massive plumes of thick, black smoke rose from the stricken aircraft carrier as fires from the missile impacts and the resulting spills of JP-5 jet fuel raged.

Damage control teams fought desperately and after nearly two hours, managed to put out the fires and contain any flooding.

They managed to save the ship, but she had lost her ability to launch or recover aircraft, her arresting cables being damaged by the third missile impact.

ERNS Friendship was forced to return to her home-port in Seaddle for repairs.

(Two hours later)

A flight of F-16G Sea Falcons from ERNS Generosity were headed for Talon Air Force Base, where it was discovered that the attacks on the cruise ship several days ago, and the recent attack on the ERNS Friendship just two hours earlier.

Their mission: destroy the base facilities and all aircraft on the tarmac.

A flight of ERAF F-117A Nighthawk stealth strike craft was leading the pack to destroy the enemy radar sites around the base.

“This is Ninja One, ordnance away!” Captain Nightfall, the lead F-117A pilot called out as he released his aircraft's two Paveway III laser-guided bombs from his aircraft's twin internal weapons bays.

The F-16 pilots watched as plumes of flame erupted from the ground near the horizon as the Nighthawks deployed their payloads.  At the same time, the F-16s acquired their targets as they prepared to attack.

“Falcon's Nest, this is Falcon One, we have target acquired.” the lead F-16 pilot, Captain Hunter, said as he spotted the base on his targeting display.

“Target is lit.” Hunter said as he activated his aircraft's laser designator to put a laser spot on the target to give his laser-guided bombs something to home in on.

“Goodbye!” Hunter said as he released his payload of two Paveway III 2000-lb laser-guided bombs on the base facilities, his fellow pilots following suit just after.

Another wave, this one of Arcadian Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets of the 12th Naval Strike Fighter Squadron from AFS Arcadia, dropped Mk 20 cluster bombs on the flightline to destroy the base's aircraft.

The bombs all hit their marks, and the base was rendered combat ineffective, its facilities and aircraft obliterated in a single, massive blow.

The strike planes all turned around after releasing their ordnance.  They dipped back to their egress altitude and returned to their carriers without incident, having successfully carried out the first strike against Akael on their home territory.

Skirmish at Sea

(Three days later)

Task Force 129 and Task Force 121 were now halfway across the Atlantic Ocean on their way to begin the offensive against Akael.

Under the surface, Equestrian Royal Navy Seahorse-class and Arcadian Navy Aquadog-class nuclear-powered fast attack submarines raced ahead of the surface ships, silently hunting for enemy ships with their advanced sonar systems.

In front of the fleet, a line of Unicorn-class destroyers were leading the formation carrying out an ASW screen against enemy submarines.

On board the ERNS Twilight, Sonar Technician Third-class Sound-Wave spotted a distinct signature on her passive broadband display.

“Sonar sup, I have a broadband contact bearing zero-nine-eight!” she called out.

The sonar supervisor, Sonar Technician First-class Pulsar, trotted up to Sound-Wave's console.

“Hmm, we don't have any surface ships along that bearing, track that one, it could be a hostile.” he said.

Sound-Wave then set up a tracker on the contact.  After the contact was confirmed as an enemy submarine, the ship went into general quarters, as did the other ships in the fleet.

Suddenly, Sound-Wave's display began showing the signatures she had hoped she wouldn't see: the signature of an incoming torpedo!

“Sonar sup, I have hydrophone effects bearing zero-nine-nine!” she called out.

Pulsar acted fast, reporting the situation to the bridge.  At the same time, in CIC, the fire control operator set up a counter-shot with the ship's Mk 32 torpedo tubes.

“Emergency warning torpedo starboard side, emergency warning torpedo starboard side, commence evasive actions!” came the report over the ship's general announcing system (1MC).

The ship, along with all of the other ships in the area, began carrying out evasive maneuvers to avoid the threat.

Before the Twilight began her evasive actions, the starboard torpedo tubes fired a Mk-46 torpedo using a blast of compressed air.

“Weapon away!” the fire control operator called out after seeing the torpedo leave the tube.

The Mk-46 torpedo began to swim towards the source of the incoming threat, a 53-65cm torpedo: an Akaelian Navy Challenger-class fast-attack submarine.

The enemy torpedo ran on, headed towards one of the ships in the screening force, ERNS Midnight.

All of the ships had their Nixie torpedo decoys in the water, and now they were transmitting in an attempt to cause the torpedo to run out of fuel without hitting anything.

Unfortunately, the enemy torpedo struck the Midnight amidships, tearing the destroyer in two.  All hands that survived began to abandon ship.

The aircraft carrier AFS Aquaria, the nearest carrier to the area, scrambled a flight of MH-60S helicopters to conduct rescue operations.  The doomed ship began to sink quickly as the surviving sailors got into the deployed inflatable lifeboats.  The Mk-46 also found its mark, blasting a massive hole in the enemy sub's hull.

The sub began to go deeper into the water as severe flooding took its toll.  The sub attempted an emergency blow, but only managed to poke the conning tower out of the surface before it slipped back under.

As the sub passed its crush depth, the hull began to implode, destroying everything within.

The enemy sub had been sunk, but one allied ship had been lost.  The group continued on while rescue efforts saved 86% of the crew, the rest having been killed when the enemy torpedo hit.

(Four days later)

An Arcadian Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye was on station 50 miles ahead of the massive joint fleet, scanning for enemy aircraft or ships with its powerful radar.

Just then, one of the on-board radar operators spotted several signatures on his screen: an enemy surface action group (SAG) was on the move, most likely to intercept the Equestrian-Arcadian naval force.

“Watch house, this is Watchdog One, we have multiple surface contacts bearing zero-nine-one, one hundred fifteen miles from your position.” the operator reported.

“Roger, can you ID the contacts?” the air controller on board the Kestrel asked.

“Affirmative, IFF is picking them up as Akaelian warships.” the Hawkeye operator replied.  “Roger, confirmed hostile warships.” the controller replied.

The enemy fleet was a strike group composed of four Talon-class guided missile destroyers, and two Eagle-class heavy battle cruisers escorting a Gryphon-class aircraft carrier.

A second fleet, which was out of radar range, consisted of five Invader-class amphibious warships escorted by another pair of destroyers and a pair of Raven-class guided missile cruisers.

Seconds later, the general alarm went off as the Kestrel, along with all other ships as they became aware of the threat, set general quarters and prepared for battle.

At the same time, the Kestrel began to scramble a flight of F/A-18Es loaded with Harpoons.  Robert and his flight were strapped to the catapults ready to launch.

Robert gave a quick salute as his plane's afterburners blazed, unleashing all their fury and power.  Seconds later, the Superbug was launched off the deck of the carrier, Vidal just behind him.

The other two launched and the whole flight formed up on their way to engage the enemy ships.

“OK, Shadows, our mission is to thin out the enemy fleet before our guys get within cruise missile range.” Robert said as he and his fellow pilots armed their Harpoons and switched their APG-79 AESA radars to sea-search mode.

Sure enough, a minute later, the first group of enemy ships appeared on their screens.  Tally, multiple hostile ships detected on radar, request clearance to engage!” Robert said.

“Shadow flight, Watchdog One, you're cleared hot, engage and sink enemy warships.” the Hawkeye controller said.

Robert and his flight plugged in the afterburners to close in on the enemy.  He targeted the nearest enemy ship, an enemy destroyer, and locked on.

His finger rested on the trigger as he closed towards launch range.  “Almost...there!” he thought out loud as he got closer.

“You're toast!” Robert said as the missile locked on and the SHOOT indicator lit up.  Robert pressed the trigger and the jet shuddered as the missile fell away.

A second later, the rocket motor ignited as the missile streaked towards the target.  The missile's turbojet sustainer motor allowed it to maintain its airspeed up until it impacted the enemy ship, blasting a large hole in the hull.

Robert watched as the ship listed, her entire midships area engulfed in flames.  He targeted another enemy destroyer and fired a second Harpoon.

The result was similar to the first, except the missile had hit near the forward magazine.  Robert and the other pilots watched in awe as the damaged destroyer exploded in a massive ball of flame.

The entire bow was gone, and the ship sank in seconds.

Vidal targeted an enemy heavy battle cruiser and fired two Harpoons at it.

The first was destroyed by the cruiser's defensive weapons, but the second one struck the stern, damaging the engine room and rendering the huge ship dead in the water.

Megan took out the carrier group's other heavy battle cruiser with three of her Harpoons and another destroyer with the forth.  She then headed back to the Kestrel to re-arm.

Angelo fired all of his Harpoons at the enemy carrier, two of which hit their target.

Two flights of Su-33s had taken off before the bow was hit, destroying the ski-jump ramp used to launch aircraft.  Robert closed in and locked up the bandits.

“I've got good tone...fox three, fox three!” he called out as he fired an AMRAAM at one of the Flanker-D's.  The missile struck, causing the fighter to explode.  Vidal fired an AMRAAM at one of the other Su-33s and got behind Robert, ready to cover his six as they sped towards the merge.

In the rush to scramble, the Su-33s were only armed with R-73 Archer heat-seekers.  Vidal's missile hit, and now only six Flanker-D's remained.

Robert and Vidal fired again, Angelo fired both of his AMRAAMs in quick succession against the bandits.  All four missiles closed in, but only three of them hit, the fourth being evaded by the enemy aircraft that was being targeted.

"Shadow One, fox two!” Robert called out as he fired a Sidewinder at one of the three remaining bandits, which was trying to get on Vidal's tail after the merge.

The missile struck the side of the fuselage, right behind the wing, tearing the plane apart.

“Yeah, looks like a good kill, Blaze!” Vidal said as he gunned down another bandit with his aircraft's nose-mounted M61 Vulcan cannon.  Angelo took down the last remaining Sukhoi with a Sidewinder and the three F/A-18Es returned to the carrier.

At this point, the allied fleet was now in range to attack the remaining enemy ships.

The Bridle-class guided missile frigate ERNS Crusader detected the enemy ships on its radar and the target data for each hostile was entered into the ship's fire control computer.

A BGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile was loaded onto the ship's Mk 13 launcher.

A pre-set missile track plan against the disabled enemy heavy battle cruiser was programmed into the missile's computer.

Upon the order, the sailor in control of the launcher pressed the LAUNCH button, causing the missile to be fired from the launcher.

“Bird away, engaging track 0023!” the TAO reported in CIC as the Harpoon was launched.

The missile streaked towards the enemy cruiser.  The missile hit amidships, tearing a twenty-by-twenty foot hole in the side.  Another Harpoon from the destroyer AFS Conqueror went into the hole and detonated, causing even more damage and even ripping a hole in the bottom of the hull.

The surviving crew members began to abandon ship as the doomed vessel began to quickly take on water and sink.  Beneath the surface, an Aquadog-class submarine, AFS Stalker, was targeting the enemy aircraft carrier for a shot.

“Go to periscope depth.” the sub's CO, Capt. Jacob Hanson, ordered.

“Go to periscope depth, aye!” the dive officer replied.  “Make my depth five-five feet, two degrees up bubble!” the dive officer ordered.

The helmsmen made the adjustments to the hydroplanes to bring the sub to the ordered depth.  The sonar operators tracked the carrier on their displays while the fire control-men calculated the targeting solution for a shot with a Mk-48 ADCAP torpedo.  “Up periscope!” Captain Hanson ordered.

The periscope was raised and when it was up, Captain Hanson looked through it at the enemy carrier.

The firing solution was programmed into the torpedo's targeting computer as the torpedo tube was flooded.

After the flooding process was complete, the pressure was equalized and the muzzle door was opened.

“Launch tube one!” Captain Hanson ordered.  At that signal, a burst of compressed air shot the huge torpedo out of the tube and into the water.

“Weapon out of the tube!” the fire control-man who carried out the launch reported.  The Mk-48 swam out towards the enemy carrier.

Seconds after it began its search pattern, the torpedo's acoustic sensors acquired the enemy carrier and the torpedo went into attack mode as it shot towards the ship at top speed.

Captain Hanson stared at the enemy carrier through the periscope as the torpedo closed in.

A minute later, the torpedo struck the enemy carrier amidships, the pocket of air created by the explosion causing the ship's keel to buckle and snap.

The carrier was torn in two as it succumbed to the destructive effects of the torpedo.

“Conn, sonar, loud explosion on the bearing of Sierra Ten!” the sonar supervisor reported.  “It's a hit and kill!” Hanson announced in an excited tone as he watched the carnage through the periscope.

“Down periscope!” he ordered.  The periscope was lowered as the crew celebrated their first kill on an enemy ship.

The last enemy destroyer in the carrier group was sunk by a pair of Harpoons from the Arcadian guided missile cruiser AFS Liberator.  Now, only the enemy amphibious fleet was left.

The two enemy destroyers were sunk by Mk-48 ADCAP torpedoes from AFS Stalker, while the cruisers were sunk by Harpoon missiles from Angelo, after Robert's flight launched back into action.

All that was left now was the enemy amphibious warships.

Robert targeted one of the ships and fired a pair of Harpoons.  One of them struck the area between the well deck and the interior of the ship.

The gryphons on the other ships watched in horror as the stricken ship went down stern-first.

Angelo flew in and targeted one of the other ships and fired a single Harpoon.

The missile hit the hull just above the waterline, penetrating deep inside before the powerful warhead detonated, creating severe devastation.  Megan finished it off with her own Harpoon.

Vidal fired a Harpoon at a third ship, which struck the bridge and detonated in the superstructure, tearing it apart.  He circled around and fired a second Harpoon from the side.

The missile hit the side of the hull, just under the damage from his first missile.  He watched in satisfaction as the ship listed heavily to port.

Robert took out the forth ship with his remaining Harpoons while Megan struck the last one with a Harpoon that took out the ship's engine room, rendering it dead-in-the-water.

Vidal used his third Harpoon to finish off the last remaining enemy amphibious assault ship.

The massive allied fleet formed back up after weaving around the floating wreckage of the sinking enemy ships.

Robert and the other three pilots landed back on the Kestrel and took a well-deserved rest as the massive battle group sailed on, headed for the Akaelian coast.

Operation Hoof-Stomp: Aerial Sweep

Meanwhile, on the beach

Applebloom stared at the beach ahead with determination as her tank was being transported to the beach via an ERN LCAC.  Lyra had already prepared to load the main gun with a APFSDS round.  “Git ready!” Applebloom ordered as the hovercraft sped up onto the beach and slowed down next to an Arcadian LCAC that had just deployed the M1A3 Abrams tank that it was carrying.  Roseluck placed her hooves on the controls as the ramp opened up.

“PUNCH IT!” Applebloom ordered.  Roseluck began to accelerate the tank towards the rest of their platoon which was already engaging enemy vehicles on the inner edge of the beach.  “Gunner, target, tank, eleven o'clock, load up sabot!” Applebloom called out as she spotted an enemy T-90 coming out from behind a nearby rock formation.  “Identified!” Twist called out as she spotted the tank in her targeting sights.  “Sabot up!” Lyra called out as she shut the breech of the gun.  “FIRE!” Applebloom ordered.  “On the way!” Twist shouted as she pressed the trigger.

The tank jolted as the 120mm smoothbore main gun fired.  The depleted uranium projectile punched through the T-90's armor, igniting once inside and hitting the ammunition, causing the tank to explode.  “Alright, that's a kill!” Applebloom shouted when she saw the enemy tank blow up.  Another Leopard II pulled up alongside them as their platoon set up a fighting position at the edge of the beach, the other two tanks of the platoon lining up on the other side of Applebloom's tank.

Applebloom spotted some enemy infantry coming out of a nearby sandbag bunker, some wielding RPG-7s.  She quickly began mowing them down with the Ma Deuce mounted in front of her on top of the turret.  “GIT SOME, FEATHERBRAINS!” Applebloom shouted as she took out most of the enemy infantry.  Two Arcadian UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead, their door-mounted M134 Miniguns blazing away at enemy soldiers as they made their way to an LZ further inland.

After five minutes, and several enemy vehicles destroyed, several large explosions rang out in front of the allied lines, destroying several enemy positions in the process.  Applebloom looked up and saw a pair of Arcadian Marine Force F-35Bs flying overhead, having just bombed the enemy positions with Mk-83 1,000lb bombs.

“YEAH!” Applebloom shouted as the allied jets passed overhead.  Her platoon then began to advance, finally getting off the beach and into the grasslands further inland.  In the distance, Applebloom could see an enemy position being bombarded by gunfire from the ERNS Luna.  She could also see several enemy bunkers being blasted by the ERNS Celestia’s 16-inch guns.

Meanwhile, 100 feet above the carnage

Scootaloo skillfully piloted her Apache around the battlefield, carefully dodging enemy anti-aircraft gunfire while looking for targets.  “Contact, tank one o'clock!” Bon-Bon called out as she spotted an enemy T-80 tank.  “Got it, switching to Hellfires!” Scootaloo replied as she brought the attack helicopter to a hover behind the remains of a blasted bunker.  Bon-Bon acquired the enemy tank and locked on, prompting Scootaloo to fire the missile.

She watched in satisfaction as the missile dove down on the enemy tank, which then disappeared in a fireball.  “Good kill!” Bon-Bon called out as she confirmed the kill.  She then spotted a group of enemy soldiers that were about to flank a group of Arcadian Army troops.  “Enemy infantry spotted, switching guns!” Bon-Bon called out as she armed the M230.  “Roger, going in hot!  Guns! Guns! Guns!” Scootaloo replied as she positioned the Apache to engage the enemy troops.  RATATATATATATATAT! A short burst of several rounds fired from the M230 and struck the enemy troops with grim results.

“Whoa, they're toast!” Bon-Bon said as she watched the carnage.  “Delta Two-Zero, this is Bravo-Six, thanks for the save!” PFC Ramirez said as he saw the enemy troops get gunned down.  “No problem, we've always got your backs!” Scootaloo replied proudly.  “RPG, LOOK OUT!” Bon-Bon shouted as she spotted an enemy RPG being fired at them!  “Whoa, HANG ON!” Scootaloo shouted as she strafed to the right, barely avoiding the incoming rocket.  A member of Ramirez's squad then took out the threat with his M110 SASS.

“Whew, that was close!” Bon-Bon exclaimed.  “Yeah, but not close enough!” Scootaloo replied proudly.  She then spotted a ZSU-23 anti-aircraft gun mount and had Bon-Bon target it for a Hellfire missile shot.

Suddenly, the Apache shuddered as a burst of enemy gunfire hit the aircraft, causing Scootaloo to cringe.  “We're hit!” she exclaimed as she looked around.  She then spotted an enemy BTR-80 at their 3 o'clock shooting at her helicopter with its 14.5mm machine gun.  “Oh, no you don't!” she exclaimed as she rotated the helicopter to face the BTR while moving back away from it to get it out of the minimum range of her Hellfires and out of range of the ZSU-23.  Once Bon-Bon got her a lock, she fired a single missile, which reduced the BTR to a ball of flame.  Several seconds later, she did the same with the ZSU-23.

Five minutes later...

Robert's flight was just seconds from carrying out an airstrike on a line of bunkers that separated the AEJSF forces from their key objective in this area: the local field HQ.  He watched as a wave of BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles streaked in and struck a group of ammo dumps and barracks, resulting in large explosions.  Robert lined up and moved his thumb onto the weapon release button on the stick.  “Just a bit more...and...goodbye!” he muttered as he released the bomb.  “One away!” he called out as he began circling around his target.  Angelo bombed the bunker to the immediate left of the one that Robert targeted while Vidal and Megan hit the ones to his right.  All of the targeted bunkers disappeared in balls of flame.

“We have good hits!” Robert called out.  “Shadow Flight, this is War Horse, thanks fer takin' out those bunkers, we're advancin' now!” Applebloom called out as her unit began advancing.  I know that voice, that's Applejack's younger sister, Applebloom! Robert thought as he passed over the Equestrian tanks and rolled the aircraft in greeting.  “Shadow Flight, this is Stardust, we have a new contact, single group, bearing zero-nine-one, thirty miles, angels four.  Super Flanker, hostile, you're cleared to engage!” came the call from the AAF E-3D Sentry AWACS that was overseeing the aerial action.

“Roger, Shadow Flight engaging bandits!” Robert replied as he and his fellow pilots switched to their air-to-air weapons.  Seconds later, the F-18s picked up the Su-35s on their APG-79 AESA radars.  “OK, everyone pick a bandit and lock him up!” Robert ordered.  Each pilot locked up a different enemy fighter and locked on.  “OK, I've got good tone, and...fox three, fox three!” Robert called out as he fired his AMRAAM.  The others followed suit, and the flight of bandits was destroyed seconds later.  “Shadow Flight, Stardust, we're picking up a large force of enemy fighters and attack aircraft arriving from the east.” Stardust warned.

“How many are we dealing with?” Robert asked.  “It looks like, oh, boy, looks like at least forty aircraft, Frogfoots, Fulcrums and Havoc gunships!” Stardust warned.  “Shadow Flight, this is Warwolf, we're inbound to help deal with the bandits.” Colonel William Bishop, an AAF F-22 Raptor pilot said as his flight moved in to engage.  “We're relaying their position to Sweeper Flight, they'll take it from there.” Bishop added.  “Roger, thanks.” Robert said as his flight moved on.

Meanwhile, just off the coast at 10,000 feet...

Sweeper Flight, a pair of B-1R Lancer missile carriers, was standing by to receive targeting information on the large group of bandits via data link from Warwolf Flight.  After a minute, the data was received and relayed to the fire control system.  Seconds later, all of each Lancer's 20 AMRAAMs fired, each headed towards a different bandit in the group.  All 12 Mi-28 Havoc gunships, all 20 Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes, and 4 of 8 MiG-29S Fulcrums were destroyed by the massive wave of missiles.  “Sweeper Flight, Stardust, we've confirmed the kills, wow, nice shooting!” Stardust said.

Robert gave an astonished whistle after witnessing the might of the B-1R versus a large group of enemy aircraft.  “Warwolf One, fox three!” William called out as he fired an AMRAAM from his F-22's internal bay.  The other Raptors in his flight followed suit and the remaining MiGs were destroyed, without even having spotted the stealthy F-22s.  “Nice!” Robert said as he and his flight headed out to look for more action.

Operation Hoof-Stomp: Death From Above

Meanwhile, 180 yards from the beach...

Applejack's unit was facing seven BTRs headed their way.  Spike had already used his Javelin to take one out, and the only other marine in the squad that had Javelins was KIA.  “Well, ah reckon this is it, we'll fight on 'til the last shot!” Applejack said.  Just then, she heard a call on her radio that she prayed she would hear.  “Alpha-Six, this is Warhammer, heard you could use some help down there, call the shot.” the pilot of Warhammer, the Arcadian AC-130U Spooky II gunship, said.

“Roger Warhammer, fire mission danger close, multiple enemy BTRs about 100 yards east of our position!” Applejack said.  “Roger that, we have visual, fire mission coming down, take cover down there!” Warhammer replied.  Seconds later, the BTRs were shredded by several rounds from the gunship's 40mm Bofors cannon, followed by a finishing shot with the 105mm howitzer, which was so close that Applejack's unit felt the shockwave as a sudden wind.

“Whoa, Nelly!  That's some mighty fine shootin' there, Warhammer!” Applejack said.  “Alpha-Six, this is Command, we have an Arcadian Warthog pilot down two clicks south of your position and your unit is the closest one available to assist.” Command said.  “Understood, we're on our way to him now, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack replied.  “Alright, listen up, there's an allied pilot down, and we just got called in to help him out, so we're gonna help git him home!” Applejack announced as she briefed her squad on the change of mission.  “Warhammer, y'all got that?” Applejack asked.  “Roger, we'll cover you all the way to the extraction point, you better get moving, out.” Warhammer replied.  “Roger, we're on our way to get that pilot now, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack replied.

Meanwhile, 15,000 feet AGL...

All of the crew members had their game faces on as the AC-130U Spooky II gunship circled around Applejack’s squad.  Major Johnathan Lopez flew the aircraft with his copilot Captain Evan Jacobs and their navigator, Captain George Owens.  Below the cockpit, TV operator Airman First-Class Bill Grimm sat with fire control officer First Lieutenant Sebastian Mendez.  Finally, in the rear, Senior Airman Jessica Mendez and Airman First-Class Laura Hernandez manned the ammunition, keeping the guns loaded.

“Crew, confirm you have eyes on friendlies.” John said over the intercom.  “We see them, start the clock.” Bill replied after spotting the distinct flashes of allies with infrared strobes on his thermal imaging display.  Seconds later, he spotted several armored vehicles, identified as T-90 tanks and BMP-3 IFVs approaching their position.  “Alpha-Six, be advised, we're seeing multiple enemy armor units approaching your position and are engaging at this time.” John said.  “Roger Warhammer, we're holdin' position!” Applejack’s voice called over the radio.

Bill armed the 105mm howitzer as he brought the lead T-90 into his sights.  A quick squeeze of the trigger sent a 45 pound explosive warhead flying at high velocity into the tank.  “Shot!” Laura called out into the intercom as the cannon fired.  Bill's eyes grew wide with excitement as he watched the tank get engulfed by a fireball from the shell's impact.  Through the fireball, Bill saw the turret get blown clean off and a second explosion from the tank’s ammunition engulfing the BMP behind it.  “Good hits, good hits!” Bill excitedly said into the intercom.

In the back of the plane, the two loaders quickly rammed another shell in, a quick “Gun ready!” call signaling that the howitzer was ready to fire again at any time.  “Get those guys behind the tanks.” the FCO called out.  Bill responded with eight cracks of the 40mm Bofors cannon, two for each BMP.  The first round of each pair ripped its target open, while the second took out the interior, including the occupants.  The two remaining BMPs began unloading their troops instantly.  Bill instinctively switched to the 25mm Gatling gun.  “Time for the Crowd Pleaser!” Bill taunted as he unleashed a one second burst into the mass of gryphons, ripping them to bloody shreds.  A second shot from the 105mm reduced the remaining T-90 to a burning hulk.

“OK, Alpha-Six, all hostiles neutralized, you're cleared to advance at this time.” John said.  “Roger, we're movin' out now, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack replied as her squad began to move.  Two tense minutes later, a new voice came on the radio.  “Any allied units on this channel, this is Hog Driver, I'm hearing a lot of noise a bit close to here, what's happening?” the voice said.  “Hog Driver, state your position and current status.” John replied.

“I'm fine, just a little shaken from the punch-out, but I'm OK, the enemy hasn't spotted me yet.” the voice replied.  John realized that this was the downed Arcadian A-10 pilot.  “OK, be advised, an Equestrian squad is en-route to rendezvous with you and escort you to the LZ, we will support you the whole way.  Call-sign is 'Alpha-Six'.” John said.  “Roger, I'll try and contact them now.” the pilot, Major Andrew Wall replied.  “Alpha-Six, this is Hog Driver, do you read me?” Andrew asked.  “Yep, loud and clear, we're gonna get ya outta here quick, just hang in there, we'll be there in about a minute.” Applejack replied.

A minute later, Applejack's unit reached the downed pilot, who was glad to see them.  “You alright, sir?” Applejack asked.  “Yeah, I'm glad to see friendly faces again!” Andrew replied.  “Let's go, the gunship will cover us the whole way!” Applejack said as the group got moving, the AC-130 circling above them like a guardian angel.  They eventually reached a small town just east of their position.  “Warhammer, we're moving up the road towards a town to the east!” Applejack reported as they moved in.

“Roger, we see you, Alpha Six!” John replied.  Bill then spotted several gryphons moving out of a large church near the friendly ground unit's position.  “We have armed personnel coming out of the church, request permission to engage.”  Bill was ready to go.  “Crew, you are cleared to engage, but do not fire on the church.” Sebastian replied.  Bill then moved the reticule in front of the enemy troops and fired a burst.  The rounds hit and most of the enemy troops were hit as the survivors ran around in a panic.  “Oh no, you don't!” Bill taunted as he selected the Bofors gun and fired a round.  The last enemy troops were engulfed in the fireball from the blast.

“Yeah, good kill, I see a lot of little pieces down there!” Sebastian exclaimed as he watched the carnage on his own display.  Bill then spotted a UAZ heading towards Applejack's group.  Bill acted fast and popped two rounds in front of the UAZ, blowing it to bis with the second hit.  “Shit, must have been a full tank of gas!” Sebastian exclaimed.  “Warhammer, this is Alpha-Six, be advised, we're passing a large church and continuing towards the main road, keep up the fire, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack said as she led her team and the Arcadian pilot past the small town with the church and towards a highway.   “Copy, crew, engage anything without a flashing strobe light, those are all hostiles.” John ordered.  Bill spotted a large group of hostiles crossing a nearby field.  “Enemies crossing the field!” Bill said as he selected the 105mm and squeezed off a round.  “SHOT!” Jessica called out as she and Laura reloaded the gun as quickly as they could.  “GUN READY!” Jessica called out when the reloading process was finished.  Bill picked off the remaining enemies with the Bofors.

Bill then saw a large highway at the edge of his display.  He also spotted a truck driving down the road.  “Got a moving vehicle here.” Bill said.  Sebastian saw the truck on his display and recognized it as a civilian vehicle.  “Negative, negative, do not engage any vehicles on the main highway, those are civilians.” he ordered.  Bill then spotted Applejack's squad with the Arcadian pilot closing in on the highway as a pair of trucks approached.  “Warhammer, we're commandeerin' civilian transports on the main highway, cover us!” Applejack said as Spike fired several warning shots in front of the trucks to make them stop.

“Friendly ground units are acquiring alternate transport at this time.  Do not engage any vehicles on the highway unless cleared to do so.” Sebastian ordered.  Bill watched as Applejack and her fellow Royal Marines got into the trucks after scaring off the drivers, who fled upon facing loaded automatic weapons.  “I bet that guy's pissed, nice truck!” Bill commented.  “Nah, heh heh, he's scared shitless!” Sebastian replied with a chuckle.  “Warhammer, we're marking the vehicles!” Applejack said.  “Roger, we see the beacons!” Bill replied as he saw the flashing strobes on his display.

Just then, Sebastian saw four ominous blips on his monitor.  His eyes widened with horror as the computer confirmed their identity as MiG-35 fighters.  “WE'VE GOT MIGS!!” he exclaimed as John began evasive action.  “Stardust, this is Warhammer, be advised, we've got bandits headed our way!” John said.  “Copy, bandits are five-zero miles out, allied fighters are en route to intercept, call-sign: Shadow.” Stardust replied.  “Roger, we'll hold out as long as we can!” John replied.  A minute later, one of the MiGs fired an R-73 Archer at the Spooky.

“MISSILE LAUNCH!!” Sebastian exclaimed as he saw the launch on his alert panel next to his main display.  John saw the launch as well on his RWR display and activated the countermeasures as an alarm blared throughout the cockpit and fire control center.  A large volley of decoy flares spewed out the sides and bottom of the gunship as it turned to the right.  The missile zoomed past the AC-130 as it was decoyed by the flares.  “Shadow Flight, this is Warhammer, we are under attack!  Where the hell are you?!” John asked in desperation.  “Warhammer, this is Shadow One, we're on our way, ETA twenty seconds!” Robert replied as he and his fellow pilots blazed towards the endangered gunship at full afterburner.

Robert armed his AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-homing missiles as his flight closed in on the MiGs.  He got in range and got a good tone on the lead MiG.  “I've got good tone...fox two!” he called out at he launched his missile.  The Sidewinder flew up and struck the tail of the MiG, blowing it apart.  “Yeah, got that scumbag!” Angelo exclaimed.  “Three more bandits bearing zero-five-six, Shadow Flight, engage!” Robert ordered as his flight entered the fight.  John saw the Arcadian Super Hornets buzz by just above them.  “Hah-hah, good guys are here!” John said into the intercom to spread the news to the rest of the crew.

“Taking the shot!” Megan called out as she locked onto another MiG and fired a Sidewinder.  The missile flew up and struck the MiG just behind the cockpit, engulfing the fighter in a ball of flame.  “Good kill, Edge!” Angelo exclaimed as he witnessed her kill.  “Bandit on Warhammer's tail, I'm taking it down!” Vidal said as he positioned himself behind the third MiG.  “Fox Two, Fox Two!” he said as he locked on and fired.  The MiG turned to evade but to no avail as the missile blew off its left wing, causing it to spiral uncontrollably as it nosedived towards the ground.

The fourth MiG turned away from the Arcadian fighters and focused on the AC-130 still maneuvering nearby.  This action was a big mistake, for the Akealian pilot's desperate attempt to down the gunship made him extremely open to attack.  The enemy pilot rolled around as he attempted to get into position to engage the AC-130.  “Oh no, you don't, you son of a bitch!” Robert said as he got behind the MiG.  He squeezed the trigger the moment he heard the growling tone in his headphones.  He watched with glee as his missile flew off the rail and into the MiG.  He turned away at full burner to avoid the debris and his flight formed up.

“Stardust, all MiGs destroyed, we're clear!” Robert happily exclaimed as his flight turned west towards the Kestrel.  “Thanks for the help, Shadow, we wouldn't have made it without you guys!” John said as he maneuvered the gunship back into position to support Applejack's unit.  “Alpha-Six, this is Warhammer, sorry it took so long, we got held up by some MiGs.” John said.  “No worries, we're alright so far.” Applejack replied as her unit drove on in the two trucks.

“Heads up, UAV data shows hostiles setting up ambush points along the curved road.” George said.  “Navigation, which one's the curved road?  Over.” John asked.  “Fire control, do you see the water tower?  Over.” George asked.  “TV, confirm you see the water tower.” Sebastian said.  Bill looked around, moving the sensors until he got a water tower next to an intersection between two different roads in his field of view.  “You talking about the, uh, the water tower near the intersection?” Bill asked.  “Uh, roger, that's the one, and next to that water tower is a curved road, do you see that?” George asked.

“Roger that.” Sebastian replied.  “Track that road to the next village, you, uh, should be able to see another water tower in the village further down that road.” George said.  Bill looked, but could not get the specified area in his view.  “Uh, we're having trouble acquiring the village, how far up the road is it?” Sebastian asked.  “It's approximately, umm, hang on...it's about two clicks along the curved road going away from the highway.” George replied.  “Roger that.” Sebastian replied.  By now, Bill could see the village in question, and numerous enemy troops set up to ambush Applejack's unit, some hidden by the thick forest that surrounded the village.

“We're banking towards the village, stand by to engage ground targets.” John said as he rolled the AC-130U into position.  “We've got hostiles setting up along the curved road.” Bill said as he lined up the reticule for a shot with the howitzer and fired, sending a sharp jolt throughout the aircraft.  “Hostiles preparing to ambush along the curved road, they're partially concealed by the trees!” Sebastian reported.  Sebastian saw the effects of the shot on his display.  “Yeah, good hits on that one!” he said.  Bill then saw a trail of smoke shoot out from a building towards the two vehicles.  “Whoa, someone just fired an RPG!” Bill reported as he sprayed the enemy infantry with the 25mm, taking care to avoid hitting Applejack's unit in the vehicles.

“Roger that, crew, go ahead and take out everything in that village!” Sebastian ordered.  He then spotted a BMP-3 coming out of a nearby barn.  “Armored vehicle right there, right there coming out of the barn!” he said.  Bill blasted the BMP with the howitzer.  “Targets in the village are confirmed as hostile, cleared to engage, smoke 'em!” John ordered.  “Warhammer, we're under attack, we sure could use some help down here!” Applejack said as she and the other driver avoided incoming enemy gunfire and RPGs.  “Crew, track those smoke trails and take them out at the source, clear a path for our guys!” Sebastian ordered.

Bill then spotted several enemy soldiers on the roof of a rectangular U-shaped building on the side of the road.  “Enemies on the roof of the U-shaped building!” Bill reported as he blew them away with the 40mm.  “Uhh, U-shaped building?” Sebastian asked.  “Roger, it's the one with the small square object on the roof, it's the one with the flat roof.” George replied.  Bill sprayed more enemy infantry with the 25mm and pounded more distant hostiles with the 40mm.  “Yeah, direct hits right there.” Sebastian said as he monitored the action on his display.  “Get that guy by the building.” Sebastian ordered as he tracked an enemy soldier by the U-shaped building.  Bill fired a round from the 40mm and the enemy soldier was gone in a flash.  “Yeah, you got him, get back on those other guys.”

“Enemy helicopters inbound!” Sebastian called out.  Bill then spotted four Mi-17 Hip troop transport helicopters attempting to drop reinforcements in.  “Not on my watch!” Bill said as he switched to the 25mm and fired a burst.  One of the enemy helicopters was hit and went down in flames.  Bill adjusted his aim and fired again.  Another enemy helicopter downed.  “Yeah, hit 'em!” Sebastian exclaimed as a third enemy chopper went down.  The fourth went into a hover and Bill hit it with the 40mm.  “Hot damn!” Bill exclaimed as the helicopter crashed after being hit.  “Good shooting, they didn't see that one coming!” Sebastian said.  At this point, Applejack's unit had reach a junkyard which was the designated LZ.  “Warhammer, we've reached the LZ at the junkyard and are leaving the vehicles!” Applejack reported as she and the rest of her unit escorted the pilot into the junkyard.

“Roger that, Alpha-Six.  Crew, friendlies are leaving the vehicles and are continuing on foot and hoof towards the LZ.” John reported.  “Enemy forces in the junkyard.” Bill reported as he spotted enemy troops and a few UAZs on the other side of the junkyard, with additional enemies coming out of a nearby building.  “Roger, go ahead and smoke 'em!” Sebastian ordered.  Bill wasted no time putting rounds on target as he blasted a group of Golden Talon commandos with a burst of the 25mm.  “Man, these guys are going to town!” Sebastian exclaimed as Bill kept blasting away, taking care to not get his fire too close to the friendlies on the ground.

“There's a guy by that car!” Sebastian called out as he watched the action.  Bill spotted the hostile and put a burst on him.  The fight went on until Applejack's unit found themselves surrounded by hostiles in the junkyard.  “Warhammer, we've reached the LZ, but we're takin' fire on all sides!  Requestin' fire support on all sides of the LZ, danger close!” Applejack said loudly over the sounds of gunfire as her unit fought it out with many enemy soldiers.  Bill made a mental note to not use the 40mm or 105mm too close to the junkyard LZ where Applejack's unit was.  “Enemy personnel closing on the LZ from multiple sides, danger close!  Recommend you stick to the twenty-five millimeter in the vicinity of the LZ.” John ordered.

Bill spotted a pair of T-80 tanks and blasted one with the 105mm before pounding the other with the 40mm, eventually blasting the turret apart.  Once he heard the call, “gun ready”, he fired the 105mm again to finish off the other enemy tank.  He saw a pair of BMP-3s approaching.  “Denied!” he taunted as he nailed each of them with a pair of rounds from the 40mm.  “Crew be advised, friendly helicopters entering the area, watch your fire!” John said.  “Copy.” Bill replied.

Bill watched as an Arcadian Special Operations Command (SOCOM) MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator (DAP) transport helicopter of the 116th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) armed with 8 AGM-114K Hellfire II anti-tank missiles and 38 Hydra 70 70mm FFAR with M261 MPSM (Multipurpose Submunition) warheads in twin in two M261 launchers, and a flight of AH-74 Crossbow gunships entered the area, the DAP landing on a nearby field.  Once the DAP was on the ground, a squad of Arcadian Army Rangers poured out and surrounded the helicopter, engaging any enemies that got too close, just as a pair of Equestrian Royal Army SOCOM Mi-24 Hind E transport gunships landed nearby.

“Warhammer, we're moving toward the helicopters now, thanks fer the assist, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack said as her unit got into the Hinds, just as Andrew joined the Rangers in the DAP.  All at once, the helicopter lifted off and headed west towards the coast.  “Man, this is gonna be one helluva highlight reel!” Sebastian exclaimed.  “Yeah, I heard that!” Bill added.  Bill watched as the allied helicopters flew safely out of the danger zone.  “Crew, Hog Driver is secure in heading home, good job, everyone!” George said, pride in his fellow crew members clear in his tone of voice.  “Roger that, returning to base.” John said as he steered the gunship west and put the weapons on SAFE.  The AC-130 flew back out to sea and refueled from an ERAF KC-135R before reaching its home at Riverton AFB.

Meanwhile...

Robert's flight was on the flight deck of the Kestrel rearming and refueling.  Robert and his fellow pilots watched from their cockpits as the action continued on the beach.  Several miles in front of the carrier, the battleship ERNS Luna fired another volley with her main guns.  “Wow, I felt the vibrations on that one!” Vidal said as the deck crew finished attaching the final JDAM to the left wing of his aircraft.  “Yeah, nothing like floating artillery bases to provide fire support.” Angelo replied as the deck crew members detached the refueling hose from his plane.

Over the next five minutes, the resupply process was finished and the F/A-18Es were moved back onto the catapults.  Angelo launched first, followed by Megan, Vidal and finally, Robert.  Here we go! Robert thought as he throttled up to full power.  The plane jolted as the catapult was triggered, launching the Super Hornet back into the air.  As Robert's flight approached the beach, Robert noticed that there was no more action on the beach.  They must have advanced beyond the beach. Robert thought as the flight of four strike fighters crossed the shoreline.

Operation Hoof-Stomp: Finishing Blows

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Operation Hoof-Stomp: The Beginning

One week later

August 8, 2016

45 miles off the Akaelian coast,

Northwest of Talon Bay

Task Force 121 was now in position for the amphibious assault ships to land their embarked troops ashore in the first offensive campaign against the enemy.

Task Force 129 would provide support using aircraft from the carriers, and gunfire from the other warships, including the battleships ERNS Celestia and ERNS Luna.

This operation would be code-named “Operation Hoof-Stomp”.

On the flight decks of two of the Arcadian ships; AFS Portal, AFS Stargate,  MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters were being loaded up with infantry for the coming assault, on the other two Arcadian ships; AFS Hellspawn, AFS Hellgate, F-35B VSTOL strike fighters on the Hellspawn, and AH-74B Crossbow gunships on the Hellgate got ready for takeoff.

The story was the same for the CH-46 Sea Knights, EH-101 Merlin and MV-22C Ospreys on the Equestrian ships ERNS Barnyard, ERNS Stable, and AV-8B Harrier IIs .

In the well decks, the Barnyard and Stable loaded their three LCACs (per ship) with 4 FV510 Warrior IFVs, while the Hellspawn and Hellgate loaded their 2 LCACs (per ship) with 4 M1126 Striker IFVs.

The ERNS Canterlot and ERNS Swayback loaded their LCACs with 1 Leopard II tank, while the AFS Portal and AFS Stargate loaded theirs with M1A3 Abrams tanks.

Once launched, the LCACs all lined up and prepared to advance towards the beach.  The helicopters and jets started up their engines and waited for the order to take off.

Meanwhile, The battleships ERNS Luna and ERNS Celestia were moving into position to provide fire support.

They would fire the first shots, destroying enemy coastal bunkers to facilitate the amphibious landings while C-17 and C-130 transports would drop paratroops in deep behind enemy lines, with vehicles being deployed by waves of LCACs.

The first wave of transports, consisting of 5 Arcadian Air Force (AAF) C-17s and 7 ERAF C-17s were thirty minutes out.

The area where Talon Air Base was was chosen as the landing site because the radar stations in the area were already destroyed by the strike that took out the base, and thus whatever radar stations were set up to replace them were relatively few in numbers.

On the Kestrel, Robert and his squadron was preparing for the coming fight.  Each aircraft was loaded with 4 GBU-31 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) 2,000-pound GPS-guided bombs, 4 AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seekers, and a single AIM-120D AMRAAM, as well as a center-line-mounted external fuel tank.

“Here we go...” Robert muttered as he taxied onto the #1 catapult.  A flight of E/A-18G Growlers and a flight of EA-6B Prowlers would go in first, carrying out a SEAD mission to eliminate enemy air defenses in the area (i.e. AAA and SAM sites and radar stations).

Robert's flight would then fly in and destroy any enemy bunkers located further inland, out of range of the battleships' guns.  Other targets, such as communications facilities and the like, would be hit by the cruisers and destroyers using BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles (TLAM).

“All units, this is Task Force Lead, Hoof-stomp.  I say again, Hoof-stomp!  Make us proud!” the Arcadian task force

commander, Admiral Jack Dickson ordered from the flagship of the fleet, AFS Kestrel.

Robert watched from the flight deck as the flight of Growlers launched from the Kestrel's sister ship, AFS Aquaria.  On the starboard side of the Kestrel, the flight of Prowlers launched from ERNS Honesty.

Both flights were loaded with AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles.  On the ERNS Harmony, a group of 10 BQM-74E Chukar drones were launched from the flight deck.

Their purpose was to have the enemy air defenses pick them up, revealing their position with their emissions and as they fired on the drones, the SEAD aircraft would target them with their HARMs.

The drones flew close to the coastline and sure enough, the enemy SAM defenses began targeting them.  The Growlers were then able to acquire them and lock them up with their HARMs.

“Sanitizer One, magnum!” the lead Growler pilot called out as he fired a HARM.  The other three Growlers fired a HARM at an enemy SAM site.

The Prowlers than began jamming the enemy radar sites that had been recently set up to cover the gap that had been opened up by the strike on Talon Air Base.

The Growlers then destroyed the radar sites before the enemy could react.  Both flights turned back towards the carrier after all anti-aircraft defenses in the area had been destroyed, only 4 drones were lost to SAM fire.

The LCACs were now cleared to advance towards the beach.  At the same time, a MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter drone was launched from the destroyer AFS Gladiator as a forward observer for the battleships.  “All ships, fire at will!” Admiral Dickson ordered.  At that moment, both Equestrian battleships, which had already locked in their targets, fired all of their guns, creating a deafening boom that could be heard all over the surrounding area.  The targets, a line of coastal bunkers, were decimated by the barrage.

On the amphibious ships, all of the helicopters launched, the gunships taking point to cover the transports.  They all created a wall of helicopters that advanced towards the beach, a line of LCACs moving in below.

The gunships fired a wave of Hellfire missiles at a line of T-80 tanks that had formed up on the beach.

A pair of ERAF A-10Cs flew in and strafed the enemy tanks with their GAU-8 Avenger 30mm cannons.

Within 30 seconds, the area was clear and the LCACs came ashore, deflating their skirts and lowering their ramps, allowing the vehicles on board to drive off.

At the same time, the 12 C-17s were approaching the beach.  They were at 9,000 feet and in formation to deploy the infantry inside via HALO jumps.

“This is it, y'all!  Once we git on the ground, rally up at this location near the drop zone!” Applejack said as she pointed out the rally point on her map.

Spike was stoked, he was finally going to get payback for Akael's incursion into Equestria.  A signal light changed from red to yellow as the C-17's cargo ramp opened up.

“Twenty seconds to drop point!” the pilot said as the ramp finished opening.  Applejack's squad got up and lined up to jump.

“Ten seconds!” the pilot announced as the squad finished getting into position.  Applejack stared with determination at the ground below.  “Mark!” the pilot announced as they reached the drop point.

“GO!  GO! GO!!” Applejack shouted as she and her squad began to jump out of the aircraft.

As she fell, Applejack could see tracers from enemy anti-aircraft emplacements streaking up at the transports, but the number of mounts firing decreased as they were being destroyed by allied gunships.

At 3,000 feet, Applejack and her squad deployed their parachutes to slow their descent as they approached their drop zone.

Upon landing, Applejack readied her weapon and ran to the rally point: a nearby abandoned house.  Applejack watched as her squad landed nearby and gathered at the house near her.

“OK, y'all, our objective is to take out the enemy artillery outpost before they can cause severe damage to our guys.  The artillery base is located here, two clicks north of our position, we'll have full air support and allied reinforcements will be with us as we push on.  They'll be doing their own jobs, but will not hesitate to help out if we need it, so don't hesitate to call for support if needed, oorah? Alright, let's git movin'!” Applejack ordered as she explained the situation.

They formed up and began moving towards their objective.  A Fire Scout UAV picked up a group of hostile infantry in a village 200 yards from the squad's position.

Applejack ordered her squad to hold position behind a nearby warehouse.  “Alpha-Six, this is Command, be advised, an Arcadian AC-130 is en-route to provide air support, it'll be in your airspace in ten.” Command said.

“Roger that, we'll call them if needed, Alpha-Six out!” Applejack replied.

Suddenly, the enemy soldiers began firing at Applejack's squad.  “LIGHT 'EM UP!” Applejack ordered as she and her squad returned fire.

She gunned down three enemy soldiers before their fire forced her back behind cover.  One of her squad members, an earth pony named Shooter, began letting loose with his M249P SAW, cutting down several enemy soldiers with the spray of bullets.  Applejack used this to take down five more enemies.

Just then, she spotted a gryphon soldier wielding a long tube with a green object at the end.  Her eyes grew wide when she recognized the object as an RPG-7.

“GIT DOWN, RPG!” she ordered.

The squad members ran for cover as the enemy soldier fired the RPG.  An explosion rang out 5 yards from Applejack's position as the rocket struck the ground, showering her with debris.

She looked to see two of her squad members' bodies shredded by the explosion.

Spike took out the enemy soldier that had the RPG and raced to cover Applejack.

Several more enemy soldiers came up and Spike gunned them all down while Applejack reloaded.

“Alpha-Six, be advised, UAV is showing multiple BTRs headed your way!” Command warned.

“Roger that!” Applejack replied.

Spike got out his FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile launcher as he used his eyes to scan the area for BTRs.