Harmony's Defeat: Restoration

Initializing...
Target Host: Courage Tyler
Identification: Cobra Alpha Two Niner
Operation: N/A
Location: ESS Dark Moon
Mission Time: N/A
Transmission Begin...

Rarity was the first to run and hug me when I walked into the briefing room with Luna.
“Courage! I’m so glad you’re okay. We missed you so much!” she cried as she hugged me. “And you two as well” she said as she smiled at Liam and Russell.
Rainbow then flew over and hugged me also, “It’s good to see you again” she said. “...I still haven't forgotten how you helped me before”
“This is quite the welcome...” I said with surprise.
“What did ya’ll expect? You did help save the whole of equestria” stated Applejack with a smile.
“I’m sure you girls would have found a way to save it without our help” I replied modestly. “It was kinda the humans fault to begin with anyway”
“Regardless of what your species did, you and your friends still helped us in our time of need. I’m sure that, without your help, things would have been a lot worse” said Luna with gratitude. “And now we are here to help you in your time of need”
“Well you’ve already done enough for me Luna” I replied with a smile.
“Shall we start this briefing then?” asked Luna.
“Of course... erm... where is Pinkie and Blades?”
Everyone shrugged at me.
“Bow chikka wow wow!” chuckled Liam.
“Liam, that’s hardly appropriate...” I said with a frown.
“We’ll just have to start without them...” implied Luna.
“Yes princess. I have prepared a presentation to bring you all up to speed”

“Okay! We all know that Discord is defeated. However a few of his ships still remain on Earth and are trying to continue their god’s work...” I clicked a button on my remote to bring up the first power point slide on the big screen. It was a map of the Earth with a few red dots marked on it. “There are a few ships located around the globe, taking defensive positions to hold back the remains of human forces. These Discord forces consist of T-L Chaos laser tanks...” I switch to a slide with a diagram of Discord’s high-tech, wedge shaped laser tanks.
“MLR Interceptor fighters...” I switched to a slide with a diagram of Discord’s boomerang shaped fighters.
“277Y heavy laser rifles...” I switched to a diagram of the laser rifles that every Dragon warrior carried.
“And many of Discord’s highly trained elite guards” I switched to a slide of two elite guards.
“The human forces consist of many civilian militia using anything they can find from AK’s to Sherman tanks to home made pipe bombs...” I switched to a slide of a few lightly armoured humans holding AK’s and sat on a world war two Sherman tank.
“You’ve probably guessed that the humans don’t stand a chance. The war left Earth with very little to fight with. We’ve worked out that less than 1% of humanity survived Discord’s attack all those months ago so you can imagine that clean up hasn’t been easy for us...”
“What about those American fighters that were after you?” interrupted Twilight. “They seemed pretty high-tech and could handle themselves perfectly”
“That was ‘Project Restoration’. It’s a secret military operation that was started up by the new American president...” I switched the slide to a picture of a tall white guy in a suit. He is in his mid 40’s, white hair and had quite a large nose. “This is President Jettison. All American forces answer to him and him alone. He decided that HE was the man to revive Earth. But he is no saint. The man is an ass and wants nothing but power...”
“Now hold on a second. Ah don’t understand, who is on who’s side?!” asked Applejack in confusion.
I switch the power point over to a slide. The slide split into four sections: One was the American flag, one was the Russian flag, one was the picture of the Militia and Sherman tank I used before and one was a picture of a few Dragon warriors in a war zone.
“There are four separate factions. The Americans are against everyone. Discord’s forces are against everyone. Russia fights the same cause as the civilian militia but take their orders from a leadership in Moscow. Russia also wants to revive itself as one great nation once again while the civilian militia just want Discord’s forces gone”
“Oh okay. Ah just wanted ta know the score before we got into this...” replied Applejack.
I then switched the power point to a slide that showed a picture of a massive shielded blue dome with a perfectly unscratched white city inside. Tall buildings, lush green plant life, flying cars and many bright lights.
“What is that?!” asked Twilight and Applejack in awe.
“It’s the city of ‘New Hope’. It was started up by President Jettison to keep the rich and important safe from the harsh wastelands of the outside world. This is also the hub of all American military operations. This is the only safe place for the Americans and the only place they have any real authority”
“How did they manage that in a few months?” asked Twilight in shock.
“Yeah. They’ve come along way...” I replied. I wanted to continued but Luna interrupted me.
“Seems like they’ve been hording a lot of the supplies and materials...”
I just looked at her silently for a few seconds. She then sat back and bit into an apple.
“For the past few months, me and my team have been working with the civilian militia to defeat Discord’s forces and also rebel against the American oppression. Recently we discovered that the Americans really are evil and are not just doing the same old government bullshit they used to do before the war...”
I switched the slide to a picture of the metal Cylinder that we stole from the Americans. Twilight instantly became interested.
“This is Dy-oxi-mu-cy-to-gene... The Americans just call it ‘Chemical Blue’. Its a chemical weapon the American scientists came up with about two weeks ago. It works by reacting with the Ribosugars in DNA, causing a nasty reaction inside the cell and slowly killing the victim from the inside. In the past, many humans have survived large scale chemical attacks. The idea behind this weapon was to make sure that NO ONE survived the attack. Because it reacts with cells, it can enter the body from anywhere and slowly spreads around the body until the whole body is destroyed. A simple gas mask can’t save you from this. Because this weapon reacts with cells, it also means that humans can’t survive by pot-luck that their bodies defenses save them, because the bodies defenses are cell based. It’s effective, easy to deploy and very very painful. We believe that the Americans plan to us this chemical soon and we need to know, where, when and how...”

That was the end of my review presentation and I waited silently for some one to say something.
“Well it is clear that we need to do something about this ‘Chemical Blue’. It’s a danger to your people. My ship and it’s ponies are standing by to help you...” stated Luna as she got up and walked towards me.
“Thank you Luna but you don’t have to put any of your ponies on the line if you don’t want-”
“Enough Courage...” she interrupted. “I want to help you” she said with a smile. “You’re our allies and we will do what we can to help. You did a great thing for us and I want to return the favour. Now... What will you have me do?” she said with another smile.
“Okay!” I said loudly as I changed the slide to a picture of some kind of futuristic base.
“This is Omega site. It’s a science base located in west Australia. It survived the war without taking any damage and is now being used as a communications hub to the American forces in Australia. That is where we will find my ‘Where, when and how’. We need to take three teams in to access three different terminals. I would normally have us all go in as one team and do each terminal separately but once we start hacking one terminal, we will only have 5 minutes before the whole system shuts down. It’s vital that we all hack them at the same time and crack the mainframe wide open for a data transfer. I was going to use a USB to download the information but that would be too slow for a 5 minute timer. With your permission Luna, I would like to modify your ships communications so I could transfer the data directly to your ship. It’s faster that way...”
“Of course Commander... My ship is at your disposal” she replied with other smile.
“Okay. We will split into three teams. Me, Liam, Russell, Rainbow and Applejack will be team one. We will drop from the sky and move in for the main terminal in the control centre. Our terminal is at the base of the tower...”
I then turned to Twilight, “You up for hacking a human terminal?”
“I think I can manage...” she replied with a confident smile.
“Good. You’ll lead team two. Rarity, Pinkie and Blades will accompany you. You will sneak in through the south fence. Your terminal is in the building with the back up power generator. It’s quite close to the edge of the base so it shouldn’t be hard to sneak the whole way there...”
“Right got it...” she said nodding her head.
“I’ll take the third team...” suggested Luna.
“Princess?!” we all said with shock.
“I’ll take a team of ponies and move for the third terminal. It’s clear that you don’t have any idea who to put in the third team. I can take a team of Pony marines and make for the third terminal”
“This could be risky Princess” I warned her.
“It’s okay Courage. Since the war, I have been training myself and my soldiers. We can handle ourselves” she reassured me.
“Okay. Princess will take a team of marines into the lower levels of the base. The main power generator under the base is where you’ll find the third terminal. You can access the lower levels through this building. There should be a maintenance access point in there”
“Alright. I’m ready when you are. My ship will take us over Australia while we prepare and make the necessary changes to the ships systems”
“Thank you Luna. You’re all dismissed”
“Hang on just a darn minute! You said something about us dropping from the sky! Isn’t that a little risky?”
“Well I can fly so I’ll be fine” gloated Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah... We’ll the rest of us don’t...” complained Applejack.
“We’ll I was hoping Luna had something for that...” looked at Luna with a cheeky smile.

“Indeed I do Commander” replied Luna with a wink...

“M2 Tactical Drop Pod: Capable of dropping a small team directly into a hot zone with minimal effort or risk...” said Luna proudly as we all looked at the large pod in awe. It could fit six soldiers and their equipment with no problem. Each passenger would stand, harnessed against the centre and would face their own exit. The pod was re-enforced with a thick titanium hull, counter-measure system for Anti-air defences and navigation computer by each seat so we could manipulate the pod as it fell.
“Very nice Luna... Very nice...” I said, very impressed with the pod.
“This is amazing princess...” said Twilight in awe.
“Such technology. Such engineering. Such... Beauty...” said Rarity, also in awe.
"It's a fucking metal pod" spurted out Liam.
“Thank you. It is a prototype but the simulations do show that it is most definitely safe for field use”
She then pointed a hoof along the whole bay, pointing at the many pods that lined up side by side, ready to drop.
“As you can see, I’ve invested a lot into them. Hopefully this mission will confirm their usefulness to me”
“Im impressed Luna. You’ve made a fair few upgrades to your ship. I can’t wait to see what else you’ve done to it”
“Well there are many more surprises waiting for you Commander... In time...” she said suggestively.
“So... How about them communication systems... I should probably mod those now”
“Follow me Commander... The rest of you. Gear up for the mission. Me and the Commander will meet you in the hanger in 30 minutes.

Me and Luna were now on the bridge. I was using her Captain’s computer to mod the ships communications. All the holo-screens and pads were now dark blue and purple with sparkles. In fact everything was blue and purple with white sparkles: The pods, the troops’ armour, the ship equipment; everything was themed to Luna. It was actually kind of pretty. Not exactly good camo in a fight though.
“That should do it...” I informed Luna as I finalised the changes to the communication system.
“That’s good. Shall we make our way for the hanger then?”
“Of course Princess. No sense in waiting around”
“I’ll meet you down there. I need to run off to the armoury and gear up. I also need to run a few things past my chain of command” she said as she began to walk out the room.
“Okay then” I said nodding my head in agreement.

I made it down to the hanger. The six ponies, Liam and Russell all loading their weapons and equipment. All their Kevlar armour and uniform was purple and blue with white sparkles. Even their weapons had the same colour scheme. Liam then waved at me and threw me a rifle. It was an M416 with the Luna camo. I walked up to them all, shaking my head and smirking.
“Luna has taken this camo thing a little too far” I said with cheerful disappointment.
I then looked up to see Liam clipping a small fire extinguisher to his vest.
“Really Liam?” I said lifting my eye brow.
“Hay! It saved us before... Twice!” he argued.
“Well I can’t argue there...” I said with agreement.
Fluttershy then walked up to us, medical saddle bags on her back.
“R- Remember to be careful okay? My team of medics will be standing by on a transport if you need us”
“Thank you Fluttershy” I thanked her gratefully.
“I think we’ll be fine Fluttershy...” assured Rarity. “I have a feeling this mission will go swimmingly”
“With me there kicking butt, nothing could go wrong!” boasted Rainbow as she flew around in circles, pretending to kick and punch people.
“Remember not to get careless Rainbow. This is dangerous” said Applejack with concern.
“Danger is my middle name! Rainbow Danger Dash!”
“No its not silly. Everyone knows that your middle name is-”
Rainbow then covered Pinkie’s mouth with her hoof, “Shh Pinkie”
“Alright. Lets focus now girls. We’ve got a mission to complete” said Blades, loading his weapon.
“Look alive girls” ordered Luna as she walked into the hanger.
All the ponies instantly got serious and lined up in a row, standing on two hooves and saluting. Liam and Russell remained sitting on the boxes by the transport as I walked up to the princess to talk to her.
“I hope your weapon is to your liking Commander”
“It’s fine. I’m just surprised you have human weaponry on board. I would have thought you would only have the specially designed pony weapons” I stated with confusion.
The pony weaponry was similar to human weaponry but had a few features that made it easier for ponies to carry. They had a metal strap attached to, what would be a hand guard for a human, the end of the gun which they would slide their hoof into, making the gun more secure in their hooves. The ponies would put their firing hoof into a hole near the bottom of the gun where the human trigger would normally be. To fire they would simply pull their hoof back against the flap. Not exactly the best design for a gun but... these are fucking ponies... It’s not easy to design a gun for such an awkward species.
“Commander, you’re not in uniform. The mission starts in five. I suggest you get ready now. Head down to the armoury, one of my crew has prepared some human gear for you”
“Let me guess... It’s all purple and sparkly...”
Luna giggled, “Yes. It’s my army’s colour scheme...” she explained.
I sighed and smiled. “Okay, I’ll go get ready. Applejack, gather my team and meet me at the pod bay”
“Ah hear ya” she said with a salute.
“I’ll finalise the plans while you get ready” informed Luna. “Alright! Lets move it ponies!”

I entered the dark armoury. It was dark. I couldn’t see into this dark room of darkness. It was too dark.
“Erm... Hello?!” I called out. “Luna sent me to get my armour”
I waited for a response. Nothing.
“Sure is dark in here...” I mumbled to myself.
Suddenly the lights shot on and the room became dimly lit. I looked to the side to find Spike standing on a stool and his claw on the door panel. It was him that turn on the lights. He had an hateful frown on his face.
“Hay Spike. Isn’t the lights supposed to be automatic?”
“I turned them off. I was trying to sleep...”
“Sleep? It’s like the middle of the day...”
“I’m sorry but Twilight had me up all night to help her organise her quarters. I hid down here to get some sleep while you were all away on a mission. Why are you not gone yet?!”
“I was just grabbing my gear from the armoury, sheesh”
“Well hurry up! I’m very grumpy when I’m tried...”
“Alright. I’ll be quick...”
Spike returned to sleep on a bench, wrapping himself with his blanket. Down the middle of the room were rows of lockers; all with name tags on them and all with personalised computers on the doors that had Cutie Marks on the back ground. I guessed the Cutie Mark matched the user of the locker. Benches ran down between the lockers and the walls. Against the walls were high-tech weapons cabinets. All of them were locked at the moment except for one about halfway down the right side of the room. I approached the open cabinet dispenser thing, I lack the right word for it, and looked at the well set out armour, uniform and equipment; All of it in purple and blue with white sparkles. Claymores, grenades and Plastic explosives along with the Army Uniform and Kevlar armour. I put it all on and looked at myself in the mirror.
“You know... This actually looks pretty cool”
I grabbed some extra ammo and loaded up. I attached my pistol holster to my leg, clipped up my combat boots, activated my wrist computer and loaded my rifle. I was ready to go. I moved to walk out of the armoury.
“Turn the lights off!” groaned Spike.
I chuckled and turned off the automatic lighting. Spike looked so cute all huddled up in his blanket.
“Alright, I’m on my way up to the pod” I said quietly into my ear piece.

I made it to the pod. Liam and Russell had already harnessed themselves into it. Rainbow was just loading her rifle into the holster and Applejack was standing and waiting for me.
“Sorry I’m late girls. I was just arming up”
“No worries. Ah only just finished loading my gear too. Lets get going shall we?”
“Of course Applejack. Lets load up people!”
The two ponies got into place and locked themselves into the pod. I moved round and locked my rifle next to my seat and buckled up.
“Everyone ready?!” I asked.
“Yes” “Yes” “Ready” “All set”
“Where’s my in-flight movie” asked Liam.
I sighed and then turned to the pods computer. Luna appeared on screen.
“Are you ready Commander?” she asked calmly.
“Yep. Waiting on your orders”
“Team Two and Three are already on the ground. They’re waiting for your pod to drop in and distract the guards. I’ve also got Spitfire and Soarin to cover your pods approach. They’ll use their rockets to clear the landing zone just before you touch down”
“I thought you were with one of the teams?” I asked with confusion.
Luna the lifted her rifle and loaded, “I am” she said with a wink.
“Roger that” I replied with a smile.
I then severed my communications with Luna and prepared the pod for launch.
An A.I voice then began to speak through the pods speakers.
“Preparing to launch...”
“Alright everyone! Here we go!” cheered Liam.
The A.I voice continued, “Dropping pod in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...”