The Equestrian X-Com Project

The Equestrian X-Com Project
Chapter 8: The Next Clue

-Bang-

"You're closing your eyes when you shoot, keep you eyes down the sights."

-Bang- -Bang-

"Your knees are bending, stay strong, stay determined."

-Bang-

"Don't be afraid of the recoil, the gun won't hurt you."

-Bang- -Bang- -Bang-

"Stay calm, make sure to aim each shot."

-Bang-

"Your closing your eyes again."

"Ugh, I can't do it! My mom was right, I'll never be a soldier!" Lyra groaned putting in the next magazine of ammo.

"Don't be afraid Lyra, fear is effecting your aim" Thunderlane explained as he watched Lyra clumsily push another magazine into her gun.

"I wasn't afraid of the gun recoil, I was just bracing for-"

"Fear of the aliens."

Lyra Heartstrings was silent, deep down she knew the stallion was right. She looked down the range at the cardboard alien target, bullets had struck the cardboard cut-out in some areas, but a majority of her shot's had missed and implanted themselves on the back wall. This target was obviously much less intimidating than the real aliens, 'but why can't I hit it?!' Lyra thought as she prepared to shot again. She didn't fire though, she then lowered her gun and asked "how do you do it Thunderlane?"

Thunderlane was caught off guard by the question "do what?"

"How do you charge out onto the battlefield and not feel fear? How do you keep your tail from hiding between you legs and your knees buckling? How do you block out the urges of hiding in your dorm every time you hear the siren ring?" Lyra asked desperately seeking answers.

Thunderlane looked down at the target of the alien, it was crudely drawn and lacked much detail, but you couldn't ask Bulk Biceps for much more. Despite the inaccurate representation of a real alien, it still made Thunderlane's heart fill with rage. "I just remember why I'm out there, I just remember my drive."

"And what's that?" Lyra asked growing curious of her commander's inner workings and thoughts.

"A promise. A promise I made at the start of the invasion" Thunderlane said as he zoned out and thought about the day he made it. The promise was personal and private so Thunderlane changed the topic before the inquisitive mint unicorn could pry deeper. "What is your drive Lyra? Why did you give up your life to fight? There must be something more than just staying in contact with Bonbon."

Lyra lowered her rifle as she thought about her life choices. She had always made her choices on the fly, if she had not she would still be in Canterlot perfecting her harp techniques, she never would have moved to Ponyville and met Bonbon and her other friends, or joined X-Com. But now she needed a reason, it was time to wake up and accept reality. Her choices had lead her to this firestorm, and she was not going to back away from her oath. "Err; I guess I fight for my friends safety. The heroic ponies in X-Com are the finest ponies I ever met, yet they're the ones who constantly put their lives on the line to protect Equestria" Lyra began to finally voice her inner thoughts.

"What of Equestria? Do you fight for it also?" Thunderlane inquired.

"Yeah I care for Equestria and all that... But my primary motive is to keep all the ponies already protecting Equestria safe, so they can enjoy the world they fought to protect. Those ponies are the ones who deserve it most" Lyra explained feeling more confident of her motive.

Thunderlane nodded his head and made a mental note in his head. "Maybe you're not meant to be a hardened soldier, maybe you would be better off if I kept you at a distance ready to help out anypony who needs cover or medical attention" Thunderlane suggested.

Lyra nodded "yeah that would be great! I could make everypony safer like that!"

"But even then; a medic still needs to shoot straight" Thunderlane added grinning teasingly.

Lyra gave a groan; she knew what Thunderlane was implying. She raised her gun back up to her eye and began firing bullets down the firing range, as some struck their target Lyra began to feel better about the whole situation. Thunderlane was a good friend to have.

The hour was late and most of the headquarters had shut down, apart from the hologlobe chamber and the firing range, Doctor Whooves's clinic was also another activated section of the base tonight. The doctor had left a nurse to keep an eye on Octavia and Derpy who were admitted to the ward a day ago, both with minor plasma wounds. The doctor himself had an important pony to attend to in his office; Bonbon.

"I-I just can't go on like this. P-Pony life shouldn't be like this! This horrible base! The smell of death and destruction where ever we deploy! The monsters we have to face everyday!" the beige earth pony sobbed, tears ran down her cheeks staining her fur and pooling on the leather couch underneath her.

Doctor Whooves sat at her side comforting the distraught mare, "no; pony life shouldn't be like this. The aliens have ruined the Equestrian way of life. But we are here to defend our culture so future ponies can survive in the world we leave for them."

"But what if we can't do it! What if we all get massacred by the aliens! They just keep bringing out more and more horrific weapons! Soon X-Com won't be able to cope!" she wailed hysterically.

"Bonbon listen to me... The princess herself is with us, we are her champions. Just like the heroes of the old tales. We are fated to be here, we are fated to be the chosen ones. And under her guidance and compassion; we are protected. We are fated to win this war."

Bonbon looked at the ceiling for some time, her old life began flashing by her. The days when she was a filly; playing in the vast open apple orchards. The day she met her best friend Lyra, that playful mint unicorn stepping off the train from Canterlot. The time she participated in the running with the leaves marathon, she couldn't stop laughing when Lyra tripped over and fell flat on her face. And the day she witnessed the uniting of Shining Armor and Mi-Amore Cadenza, the day harmony prevailed over adversity.

No pony would ever experience such a wonderful life should the aliens carry out their plans. There wouldn't be happiness or smiles in the bleak future of Equestria unless she fought for it. She smiled to herself; never in all her life she though she would be living underneath those orchards. She never thought that she would be fighting along side that mint unicorn against an unstoppable evil. She never thought she would return to white tail woods a soldier in a war for all ponykind. She never thought she would be the hero using the power of friendship and harmony to prevail over adversity.

"I want to be there tomorrow; I need to be there for him" Bonbon stated as she sat up.

Doctor Whooves raised his eyebrows, he didn't think Bonbon had the strength to throw away her fears by herself. "Are you sure? A funeral is very emotionally demanding."

"He gave his life to save mine... I want to be there to say goodbye."

Doctor Whooves was silent as Bonbon rose from the leather couch and exited the office, she didn't want the doctor to voice anymore warnings about tomorrow. "We all do" he croaked when he knew the mare couldn't hear him.

I'm sorry Rumble, I couldn't keep my promise. I couldn't be the hero you needed. I was unable to keep Ponyville safe from the alien invasion. You may hear word of X-Com's failure at Ponyville somewhere in the Griffon Kingdom, but even if you didn't, I wanted to be the one who told you. I was given to choice to charge into west Ponyville, save the children at the school, purge the alien threat completely. But I couldn't, I saw it in the faces of my soldiers. It was a fight we could not win. Now I sit here in a rising puddle of my failures, and some-days I just want to curl up on my bed and cry.

But I cannot Rumble. I can't sit and dwell on my problems! There are still aliens out there, plotting their next move to destroy the Equestrian race! I will never back down from them again! I will fight! Fight until my body cannot take it anymore, and then I'll fight even harder! I will fight until every last alien has left our planet and Equestria will once again be safe for everypony! I will fight for you Rumble, I will keep you safe from them.

I swear; I will beat the aliens. I will protect the weak. I will keep Equestria safe.

Entry8
Thunderlane's Private Journal
X-Com Operative

"How am I looking Tavi?" Vinyl called out to her roommate Octavia. The musicians had lived together for most of their lives, and had become accustomed to helping one an other through their daily life. Although Octavia's professionalism didn't mix with Vinyl's relaxed nature, the harmony of their friendship held them together.

Octavia turned to see Vinyl standing in the doorway of their bathroom, she looked like she had looked most of the time, messy to say the least. "Are you at least going to brush your mane? You look like your going to one of your shows, not a funeral" Octavia pointed out, slightly annoyed at her friend's immaturity.

"Huh? I always have my mane like this. It's just my style" Vinyl responded feeling confused at Octavia's complaint, she never complained about how the unicorn presented herself before.

"Well today isn't about you Vinyl" Octavia answered bluntly. "Tidy yourself up, we need to at the base entrance in 15 minutes."

"Jeez Tavi, what's up with you today?" Vinyl moaned crossing her hooves.

"Maybe you haven't noticed Vinyl, but Braeburn is dead!" Octavia barked, her voice sounded slightly broken. "He is gone and he is never coming back! The aliens murdered him! Not because he stood against them, because he was alive! Braeburn, Milky Way and so many others are gone forever. All they ask for is one day to remember them!"

"I'm sorry okay! Just don't bite my head off!" Vinyl groaned, she didn't like thinking about things like death and funerals. Vinyl was going to give in to her friend's demand, but as she turned to go back into the bathroom she noticed Octavia was fighting back tears. Vinyl slowly approached her friend "let it all out Octavia, you'll feel better in the end."

Octavia took a step closer to her friend and weakly beat her hoof on the unicorn's chest. "Just... Don't die... J-Just do that for me okay" Octavia whispered in between her tears.

Vinyl wanted to back up and get out of this gloomy atmosphere, but she couldn't. Octavia needed her, and when it all boiled down, Vinyl needed Octavia. Vinyl hugged her friend long and tight as Octavia slowly leaked tears onto her chest. "Don't be scared Tavi, before you know it we'll be living back in Manehatten and all this will be just a bad memory."

The thought of their old life in Manehatten was a welcomed change to what had been occupying Octavia's thought's since the invasion started. Octavia sniffed and quelled her sobbing, she eventually summoned enough strength to speak, "come on; we should get going now."

The funeral was held above ground in a small clearing inside Sweet Apple Acres. Being outside in the fresh air and not having to fight any aliens was enough to keep moral stable on such a sad day. Luna was planning to address the soldiers through the service, but she couldn't face the soldiers today. Base commander Luna felt that she was the reason the soldiers were burying two of their fallen comrades today. She took a seat towards the back of the service to not draw any attention to herself, and let Doctor Whooves perform the service.

The sobs and chatter silenced as Doctor Whooves took to the stand in front of two coffins. The coffins were covered in various flowers and pictures, along with a large X-Com logo printed the coffin lid. With so many decorations it was hard to remember that inside those cases two deceased stallions lay inside, one being the friendly cowboy Braeburn who died protecting a filly and another soldier, and the other was Milky Way, the mysterious stallion who perished while defending Equestria's last hope. Most of the crowd was there for Braeburn, the soldiers and staff, along with various members of the Apple family, some traveling miles to attend the funeral. Even Sheriff Silverstar and a large buffalo chieftain had traveled out to Ponyville for this service. But Thunderlane, Midnight Strike, and some of the discharged Wonderbolt's knew who Milky Way was, and how selfless he was during the invasion.

"Soldiers, staff, family members; we are gathered here today to remember two of our fallen comrades. Two stallions who stood among us in the war for our planet, and paid the ultimate price" Doctor Whooves addressed the grieving ponies. He was new to giving funeral sermons, but out of all the X-Com staff he was the most experienced with death. He had seen it in person, he had felt it in his hooves, working in the only clinic in Ponyville during the invasion was a dark place to be. "It is true that both stallions were taken from us by the aliens, but both of them died as heroes."

"The first soldier we say goodbye today is our good friend Braeburn. Some knew him as the Sheriff's deputy in Appaloosa, a fair and wise stallion who only saw the best in a pony, or buffalo. He never showed fear or sadness during any situation, even when he joined the Appaloosa militia. Even when he saw the worst the universe had to offer, he would return to the town with a brave smile on his face, knowing ponies were safe while he was around. Others met him when he was accepted into the X-Com project. Although he was sad he could not protect Appaloosa all the time in Luna's project, he was brimming with happiness that he was given the chance to protect the entirety of Equestria." Doctor Whooves paused as he cleared his throat, it felt painful to swallow as his emotions slowly began to rise.

"Unfortunately being an X-Com soldier he was isolated from the ponies that cared for him the most... His family... Heh; believe me Apples, he would never stop talking about you ponies" Doctor Whooves chuckled softly, the joke slightly eased the pain the Apple family and the doctor was suffering from. "Always talking about big family road-trips, or the family reunions, or laughing at Applejack for eating to many fritters as a filly... He never forgot about his family, and I'm sure his family will not forget him. O Celestia; take this kind and caring soul under your wing and ferry to safety" Doctor Whooves finished his prayer. He paused to give the Apple family a bit more time to remember Braeburn and all he did. He could see Rarity and Twilight supporting Applejack, and Big Macintosh comforting Granny Smith who was emotionally broken. Apparently they had not told the other family members about Applebloom.

But it was time to move on, some were here for the forgotten stallion. "The second soldier we send off today is the brave and loyal stallion Milky Way. Most of the staff do not know who Milky Way was, after all he was killed before the project was activated. But without him none of us would be here today, the project would not have started, and most likely we would have lost the fight for Equestria before it had even begun. Most of the ponies that knew of him would consider him a loner, but those that knew him well described him as a saint. Loyal, brave, devoted, these are some of the words used to describe this pony. It is true that this pony was convicted and dishonorably discharged from the Wonderbolt Academy, I ask of you to remember him by the good things he did. Putting his life on the line countless times to protect Ponyville, eye witness accounts even tell of him making himself a target to let civilians escape. Milky Way's heroism bought him a spot in the X-Com project, but sadly he was called to duty to defend the unfinished headquarters when the aliens made a sneak attack... Milky Way did not survive. He never had the chance to live the life of a soldier, he never had the chance to make his name known. He gave it all away to give us the chance to save our land. He gave it all up for us. We will not fail him, we will not forget him. O Celestia; take this brave and loyal soul under your wing and ferry to safety."

Doctor Whooves stepped aside revealing the two coffins behind him. Both had a single picture on them. One was Braeburn with a hammer in his mouth and a hoof around his cousin Applejack's shoulder, behind them was a scaffolding of a barn they were raising. The other picture was of Milky Way with his hooves around Thunderlane, Midnight Strike and Rainbow Dash. All four pegasi wore Ponyville militia badges. This picture was taken in front of the town hall after another successful defense of Ponyville.

"I would like to call Apple Fritter up to the stand, she asked if she could say a few words for the deceased" Doctor Whooves said and let a yellow mare with a green mare take the stand.

Towards the back of the crowd a brown coated X-Com researcher approached Princess Luna, some of the staff like this unicorn researcher elected themselves to stay behind and monitor the radar feed. "Base commander Luna, I have urgent news" the unicorn whispered as Apple Fritter was giving her speech

"What is it Rare Find?" Luna asked trying to keep her voice soft.

"He is awake commander."

The princess shot up from her seat, "seek Princess Twilight Sparkle, tell her to meet me in the lab immediately" Princess Luna commanded as she galloped off to the headquarters.

Rare Find searched out Twilight Sparkle, he found her by Applejack, Rarity and the other wielders of harmony including Rainbow Dash the cyber pony, Trixie was nearby. "Err Twilight. Princess Luna want's to see you in the labs immediately" the stallion explained trying not to sound rude, Applejack needed all the support she could get.

Twilight nodded and then looked around her, she waved a hoof beckoning Trixie closer. "Do you mind staying here and comforting Applejack. Princess Luna needs me in the labs" Twilight whispered.

Trixie nodded and stood beside Applejack. "There there Applejack, the Great and Powerful Trixie is here for you" Trixie announced placing a hoof around Applejack's shoulders. Rarity frowned as she saw Trixie replace Twilight, but it seemed Applejack didn't mind as she was already crying into Trixie's chest, she just needed somepony to comfort her. Maybe Trixie had changed, Rarity couldn't imagine the old Trixie doing this. Twilight galloped off through the crowd towards the base, trying not to cause a scene.

"I'm here Princess, what is going on?" Twilight called out to Luna as she entered the new built section of the laboratory. Lines of desks and monitors stretched out from a large metal cell in the center of the room.

"I deeply regret dragging thou away from your companions, I understand thou need each other now more than ever" Luna apologized as she approached Twilight through the rows of desks. Because most of the staff were still above ground at the funeral, the whole room was devoid of life, apart from Rare Find by the metal cell, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight Sparkle and whatever waited inside the cell.

"It's okay commander, the time for mourning will come, but we have work to do" Twilight answered quoting what Luna had said to Cadence.

Luna smiled but then frowned, it was good to see Twilight was learning so much, but Luna was nervous, was she teaching Twilight the right things about being a ruler? "The alien has awoken, and we will be the first to speak with him. Brace yourself, be strong and forceful, we shall show him no weakness" Luna explained. Twilight swallowed hard and braced herself for this historic moment.

Rare Find stood by the closed containment cell, large metal plating covered the windows hiding the mysteries waiting inside. "I'm not sure what you're expecting commander, the alien's barely moved since it awoke. I doubt it will even understand us" the unicorn explained as he prepared the cell.

"Open the casing, activate the two way radio. I wish to speak with it anyway" Luna ordered. The unicorn nodded and opened the large metal casing, the alien was lying inside the glass chamber. Twilight designed the chamber to have maximum vision of the isolation chamber, the glass surrounding the chamber was strong enough to stop bullets, and even if it failed the metal casing would slide down and trap the alien inside.

The alien looked up and spotted the two alicorns, suddenly it jumped to it's feet and darted towards the glass and it stopped inches from the glass and began to look over the two alicorns. Seeing how it was contained it was easy to see the finer points of the alien's body. The sleek alien armor covered it from head to foot, it's face was mostly covered by the armor except the two hollow glowing eyes

"Speak alien! Why have thou come?! What doth thou wish to accomplish?!" Luna boomed. When her powerful royal Canterlot voice was used to its full power it was scary, it was enough to scare Twilight Sparkle standing at her side.

The alien's eyes narrowed, it appeared to be smiling. It spoke, in the Equestrian language, with a dark and distorted voice. "Princess Luna; the mighty princess of the night and the operator of the moon. And Princess Twilight Sparkle; the princess of harmony and friendship. I have been expecting this day."

"You speak!? How?! How do you know the Equestrian language? How do you know our names?" Twilight blurted out astonished, she was unable to hide her curiosity as well as Luna.

"We have been told everything about your planet. Language, History, Culture, Weaknesses-"

"Silence! You will speak when required! I shall ask thy questions! You shall answer!" Luna interrupted the alien's boast.

The alien found Luna's threat to be hollow, "do you feel scared pony? You have no idea of the creatures you face. No control over what happens in your kingdom. I will speak, you will listen... Mosaic spoke of this land, Mosaic spoke of a hidden power underneath the dirt, stone and inhabitants of this land."

"Friendship? Harmony? Is that what you want?" Twilight asked confused at what the alien was saying. If this truly was what the aliens were searching for, they were definitely never going to achieve it.

"Friendship? Harmony? Bah! There is no power to be had from friendship and harmony! They are a hindrance! Nothing more! Mosaic knows what the power is, Mosaic knows how to obtain it" the alien barked.

Twilight was even more confused; 'why would the alien react so much to the suggestion of friendship and harmony?' That thought brought her to her next line of questioning, "then why fight? If you know where you need to go and what you need to do, why fight? Why do you bring only death and destruction to our world?"

"Mosaic forbids me to speak on this. I would die before disobeying Mosaic" the commander answered bluntly.

"Whom is Mosaic?" Luna harshly inquired.

"Mosaic knows all, sees all and rules all. Mosaic spoke to me of this meeting, Mosaic told me what to say... Mosaic has a message for you; that you may find familiar" the alien explained.

Luna was worried, why would this alien be giving away their secrets so openly. Were they so confident in victory? Or were they setting up a trap? "Speak thy message now" Luna barked.

The alien commander then recited Mosaic's message. "To retrieve the next clue you seek just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the clue back where you began."

"Discord! Was this whole invasion Discord's doing?!" Twilight barked furious with anger. 'Discord has gone to far! Ponies have died! Towns have been destroyed! All for that crazy old coot to have a laugh! There is a difference between spreading chaos and invading the planet.'

"No" Luna answered, "Discord has been lamenting around Canterlot since his powers left him like the other unicorns. Celestia assured me he is not responsible for this war."

Twilight calmed down, she knew that Discord wouldn't do something like this, but what would? "What is Mosaic? How does it know so much?" Twilight inquired again.

The alien smiled once again, "in all due time... That is all I will say. Farewell."

Luna and Twilight gasped as the alien suddenly caught fire like the commander in the UFO crashed in white tail woods. "Stop him!" Luna barked and began bagging on the glass wall, but even her mighty hooves were unable to break it.

Rare Find began typing frantically on the terminal keyboard, he managed to turn on the fire alarm causing the roof sprinklers to turn on. Water drenched the lab and the containment cell, but it didn't effect the alien's flame.

The fire burnt out and the alien was gone, leaving a small stone behind like the last. Soaking wet; princess Luna slammed her hooves on the floor with pure rage. "Curses! We shall never get another opportunity to interrogate an alien!"

Twilight was frustrated too, but not as much as her 'teacher.' She did find out some new information, maybe she could cheer the princess up with it. "It wasn't a complete loss princess, we found out what controls the aliens, whatever this 'Mosaic' is" Twilight explained. "And also where to find the next clue."

Luna looked up at Twilight Sparkle, "thou hath deciphered the riddle?"

"Didn't you recognize it? Discord said the same riddle about the elements of harmony when he stole them. It means that the next clue is where we started... Where did the invasion start?" Twilight asked.

Luna face snapped back to a determined gaze, "Las Pegasus... Rare Find; I have a task for you."

Rare Find was squeezing water out of his white mane when the princess asked for him. "Yes commander?" he asked as he stood up straight.

"Perform a scan over the Las Pegasus vicinity with our long range radar. Look for anything abnormal" Luna ordered.

"Right away commander" Rare Find answered. He sat down by one of the terminals in the lab and conducted the search. A few minutes later he spoke up, "commander! Head researcher! you better come see this!"

Luna and Twilight Sparkle crowded around Rare Find's terminal, "what have you found" Twilight asked looking at the bird's eye picture of Las Pegasus and the desert around it.

"Like this the picture looks normal... But then if I turn on the subterranean scan" the unicorn explained hitting a few buttons. The picture turned blue and large orange structure appeared underneath the sands to the east of the destroyed metropolis.

"What is that!? A giant underground structure?" Luna asked.

"That princess; is a subterranean alien base. They must have put it up after destroying Las Pegasus" Rare Find suggested.

Luna was worried; why would 'Mosaic' give away the location to their own base. Even though it could be a trap; she had to take the bait, there was to much to learn from an alien base. "Then that shall be thy next target."

"Don't be to sad ponies, today is a day to remember Braeburn and Milky Way, not cry that they're gone" Pinkie Pie explained sliding two ciders over to Bulk Biceps and Cloud Chaser who sat glumly by her bar. Pinkie was a weird pony, her obsession with smiles and laughter bordered on the psychotic sometimes. She had felt sad and depressed before, but she had never dealt with death before the X-Com project. Her brain just couldn't cope with a pony being killed, so it just avoided confronting it and filled her thoughts with her passion of happiness and laughter. She had a job to do, and today was the day the staff needed her the most. Pinkie Pie had set up a small reception in the lounge for any staff members who weren't busy and just wanted to spend some time relaxing with the other ponies. "Also we could use this party to welcome in the newest X-Com recruit! Where is Cheerilee anyway?"

Bulk Biceps took Pinkie's drink and drained the glass in a few seconds, "shes outside the base still, seems Luna let her stay awhile longer with her stallion-friend" Bulk sighed pushing the empty glass back to pink earth pony.

"Seems she has a heart after-all, would'a fooled me" Cloud Chaser added sarcastically.

"Of course she had a heart silly, she couldn't move around with out one" Pinkie laughed sliding another cider over to Bulk.

"Hearts don't control movement moron" Cloud Chaser groaned.

Bulk Biceps stepped in before the things got feisty, "what are ya talking about Cloud?" he inquired.

"Look over there, you see Applejack over there" Cloud Chaser pointed a hoof at the far booth. Applejack sat inside with her friends, she was in tears as Rarity and Fluttershy comforted her, Trixie was there also. Rainbow Dash wanted to be there for her but she was stuck in the hanger with Lightning Dust. Twilight also wanted to be there, but she was to busy with Luna, they were onto something big. "That wouldn't be happening if Luna actually cared about us" Cloud Chaser explained.

"What do ya mean? Applejack wouldn't be supported by her friends?" Bulk asked. Despite his bulky and strong exterior, underneath his muscles Bulk Biceps was quite timid and his opinions were easily swayed.

"She wouldn't be crying to begin with. Did you know if Celestia and Luna had their magic back they could fight off the aliens completely in a day. But still Luna puts X-Com's research power into making more useless guns and cardboard armor. If she really cared for us she would be out in the field fighting with us. But noooo, all she does is sit on her royal hiney waiting for something to happen on the radar. Hell she doesn't even do the research, she just orders Twilight to do it all for her" Cloud Chaser rambled.

Bulk Biceps felt Cloud Chaser was being to harsh, she was a ruler of Equestria after-all. Still Bulk couldn't completely block out the pegasus's opinion, she made some good points. "Y-you really think so?" Bulk asked.

Cloud Chaser nodded, "but the thing that really pisses me off; when ponies talk about this project, it will be known as Luna's X-Com project, not ours. Even though we do all the work for her, shes the one the civilians will remember."

"I'll tell you what I remember! The day I threw Colgate a surprise party in her clinic!" Pinkie Pie laughed hijacking the conversation. "She was so startled she dropped her drill into her patient's mouth!"

Cloud Chaser looked up at Pinkie and frowned. "Yeah I remember that, it really hurt" Bulk laughed as he rubbed his cheek. It felt good to laugh, so he added onto Pinkie's new conversation. "I remember the day when Ponyville had to lift the water to Cloudsdale. 5 minutes before we had to fly Rumble tells us that half the pegasi caught the flu because Thunderlane wouldn't cover his mouth when he coughed! And then to top it all off Fluttershy swoops in and saves the day! WAHAH! That day was hilarious!" Bulk laughed loudly.

Pinkie snorted and burst out laughing, "I remember that too! That reminded me of the time I let Applejack help me cook the free sample batch of muffins! She put worms in them!" Pinkie Pie laughed. "Pretty much everypony who tried them was sick for a week afterwards!" Bulk and the pink pony laughed together for a few seconds, but then Pinkie noticed Cloud Chaser wasn't. "What about you Cloudy? Do you remember anything about Ponyville or do have amnesia, woooooo" Pinkie gasped spookily waving her hooves about like a ghost.

Cloud Chaser looked at her glass of cider, she watched the bubbles rise to the top, it was their inevitable journey which ended in them popping upon contacting the air, and being gone forever. "I... I remember Flitter... I remember Flitter had the biggest crush on Thunderlane. I was always trying to set the two of them up with each other, she never got the chance to say thank you for all I did for her" Cloud Chaser croaked. Salty clear tears began forming in the sides of the pegasus's pink eyes. "I-I'm sorry; I need to go grab a few things from my room" Cloud Chaser blurted out hastily rising from her seat and pushing her way through the party crowd trying to hide her face.

Meanwhile outside the base, the new X-Com soldier spoke with her Stallion friend. "I know your worried about me, but I want to be here. What happened to west Ponyville must never happen again" Cheerilee explained.

A large red stallion faced her, he looked worn out. "I just want you to be careful, I can't loose you too." The stallion worried about Cheerilee, she had never been the same after she had to abandon her class. The stallion was afraid that his mare felt she had nothing to live for, did his love mean nothing to her?

"Don't worry about me Macintosh, we will spend our life together after this is all over" Cheerilee promised holding hooves with Big Mac putting his fears to rest. A question was eating away at her, she had to ask, "why not come with me? We will be separated for a long time if you don't" Cheerilee warned.

"I would like to, but I can't leave Granny Smith alone, who would defend the farm if I'm gone. And... I want to be there for when Applebloom returns home" Big Mac said softly. He could see the farm house in the distance, it wasn't the same house it used to be. Physically it had taken a beating from the new harsh weather, and emotionally it had been severely damaged.

"I see..." Cheerilee croaked and lowered her head, "I guess this is good bye for now."

"Eyup" Big Mac agreed sadly.

Cheerilee took a step closer and gave Big Mac a final kiss. "Goodbye Big Mac, I'll keep an eye out for Applebloom."

Big Mac watched Cheerilee leave the outside world and walk past the giant metal doors of the X-Com headquarters. The sound of metal on metal rang out as the X-Com doors slid shut, once again sealing it away from the outside world. "Goodbye Shloopydoo" Big Mac mouthed out.

Back at the party Twilight Sparkle rushed into the room holding a clipboard in her mouth, her eyes darted around the room looking for Applejack, but she was nowhere to be found. Twilight sighed sadly and moved over to the lounge notice board and set her clipboard up on it. The clipboard read 'Volunteers for Operation Lance of Vengeance' and two columns for ponies to write their names upon.

"What's that your putting up Twilight? Not another boring lecture sheet about the aliens" Lyra groaned as she approached Twilight through the crowd.

"No no, this is about... Hey my info posters aren't boring! They may just save your life" Twilight Sparkle argued.

The black pegasus Midnight Strike also caught a glimpse of the poster, "what's Operation Lance of Vengeance?"

Twilight eye's shot over to Rarity entering the room once again, she had to speak with her, but now she was slowly getting surrounded. "Err Luna will brief the troops shortly about it. Pardon me I need to speak with somepony" Twilight explained and slipped past Midnight Strike awkwardly.

Rarity turned her head to see Twilight approach, she was not welcoming. "If you are looking for Applejack you're to late. She is in her room with Fluttershy and Trixie crying her heart out" Rarity explained coldly.

Twilight was shocked, why was Rarity so cold? "Is she okay? Can I see her?" Twilight asked, she felt there was something going on behind her back.

"Why bother, Trixie is doing a fine job replacing you, might just give her the Crown of Friendship, she would be a perfect replacement. You should just go back to your 'important' work and let us 'mortals' dwell in our sadness" sarcasm laced Rarity's voice. Twilight had only recently become an alicorn, Rarity had noticed Twilight's presence drop, even before the war. The white unicorn knew that Twilight had important tasks to undertake as a princess, but running out on a funeral when Applejack needed her most was taking it to far.

Twilight was speechless, she had just found an alien base, and now Rarity was attacking her. "Rarity; I had to. We had to interrogate the alien. We found their base! We can end this war right now!" Twilight explained passionately.

"The alien is locked up. You could have interrogated it at any time! Sure Trixie is slightly better than before, but we didn't need her. We needed you Twilight" Rarity admitted, her voice was breaking and her irises began to distort as moisture formed on them. "I hope you find what you need in that base, more knowledge. It's like that's all you care about now." And with that accusation Rarity stormed out of the lounge.

"Rarity..." Twilight called out softly after her. 'Have I really been neglecting my friends that much? Is the war more important to me than friendship?' Twilight thought to herself. Suddenly she remembered a conversation with Rarity a few days ago.

"Good to see you again Rarity, it's been awhile hasn't it?"

"It has been awhile. We should have a good catch up with the others over at Pinkie's bar."

"That would be a good idea, Applejack needs us now more than ever."

"yes that's true. I feel we could all give up some time to comfort Applejack."

Twilight began to cry, salty tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto the cold metallic floor. Rarity was right after all, it had been approximately a week since Braeburn died and Applebloom went missing, and despite being in the same base with her Twilight had only gone to see Applejack once. "I'm a horrible friend, maybe I should let Trixie be their new friend... They deserve somepony better than me" Twilight sighed sadly. A shiver ran down her spine, she felt cold, she wanted to be alone. She retreated to her laboratory and locked herself in her office for the rest of the day.

Rainbow Dash paced about the hanger annoyed, her steel hooves banging on the metal hanger floor. Her suit prevented her from entering the other sections of the base and being with Applejack. She wanted to wipe off that sad face from the orange mare and bring back to the adventurous cowgirl she once was. Her suit let her accomplish so much, but limited her on much more. There was another issue in her mind also, 'where in Celestia's mane is Lightning Dust?' It was odd, Lightning Dust should still be here, she was trapped here like Rainbow Dash, and a large futuristic cyber pony is pretty hard to miss.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash's question was answered, the missing cyber pony shot through the open ceiling and landed with a loud thud on the floor. Lightning Dust removed her helmet letting her blond mane flow freely. "How awesome are these suits?!" Lightning Dust laughed.

"You snuck in a joy-flight didn't you" Rainbow Dash laughed. Lightning Dust's renegade nature amused the blue pegasus sometimes.

"Hah you know it! I snuck out after the funeral and took an extended route back here. Brought you something Dash" Lightning Dust explained as she pulled a freshly picked apple impaled on her armor and tossed it over to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash caught it with her hoof, "err, thanks?" Rainbow Dash stuttered confused. Despite the large hole in it where Lightning Dust's wing joint had been, it still looked really tasty.

"I wanted some thrills so I was flying low dodging apple trees... One got caught in my wing as I messed up a U turn" the green pegasus laughed.

Rainbow Dash took a bite from the apple, it had been ages since she had fresh apples. It tasted so sweet, tasted just like it did before the war, 'I guess somethings didn't change.' Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if she forgave Lightning Dust for what happened at the academy, but she did start to see what made her like the daredevil pony to begin with it. Rainbow Dash smiled as Lightning Dust's energy began to rub off on her, "we gotta have a race in these suits sometime" Rainbow Dash laughed.

"That sounds sweet! Next time we can sneak out without Luna noticing, you're on!" Lightning Dust agreed determined. She loved healthy competition and Rainbow Dash was the only pony that could match her speed.

Later that night as Pinkie's function drew to a close, princess Luna entered the party and stood by the notice board. Slowly the remaining soldiers and staff members noticed her, they silenced because they knew she had something to say. "Firstly I ask thou to assist me in thanking Pinkie Pie for this function." Hoof stomps echoed through the bar in response to the commander's statement. "Secondly I shall take this chance to describe the finer details of 'Operation Lance of Vengeance.' This operation will require a 5 pony team to breach and clear out a alien base we hath discovered in thy Las Pegasus desert" Luna explained. Ponies gasped and gawked with the mention of a alien base, no pony expected X-Com to be making such a critical strike so soon.

"We have no information of what lies in wait inside the alien base, therefore I cannot order anypony to undertake this mission. Behind me is a volunteer poster, should you wish to undertake this mission sign thy name in thy space provided. I will declare whom will go based on your skill in the field. This mission is planned to start two days from now, we must be quick and not let this chance slip past our hooves" Luna explained as she stepped aside revealing the poster. "Good luck everypony, may we end this war sooner rather than later" Luna concluded and left the lounge hastily, she was beginning to feel unwelcome in there lately.

The volunteer list became the talking point of the base over the night and early the next morning. A chance to be involved with the first major blow against the aliens was a great honor, but then again the dangers waiting inside the alien base were unknown. "I know it's dangerous, but imagine bucking in the alien front doors and shooting up the joint!" Lyra bounced up and down energetically as she talked with her friend Bonbon.

Bonbon crossed her front hooves nervously, "I'm not sure Lyra. Imagine how many aliens would be in their base, take a look at how many ponies are in this base? Do you really think you could fight that many aliens?" Bonbon asked. Midnight Strike saw the two friends talking about 'Operation Lance of Vengeance,' she approached the two ponies, she wanted to hear their opinions.

"Yeah but we'd be with Thunderlane and Vinyl! Nothing could stop those two!" Lyra laughed as she began bouncing on her hooves again.

"Just because their names are on the sheet, doesn't mean they are going. Luna will decide the team not us" Bonbon protested.

"What about you Midnight? You keen to storm this base too?" Lyra asked as Midnight Strike joined them.

"No I don't think I'll be volunteering, it could be very tight in that base. I'm not really comfortable trying to use a sniper rifle in an underground base. Octavia is better at fighting at closer ranges than me anyway" Midnight Strike answered looking at Octavia's signature right under Vinyl's.

"Eh suit yourself. I'm signing up" Lyra announced taking a nearby pen and signing her name. "Come on Bonbon, don't leave me hanging" Lyra begged.

"Nnaww fine!" Bonbon groaned giving in to the mint unicorn's puppy dog eyes. She signed her name underneath Lyra's.

Thunderlane trotted into the lounge and approached the three mares, "saddle up mares, you three are coming with me for a patrol around Ponyville" Thunderlane explained. The patrols of the quarantine line had become a regular routine for X-Com, there never was any real problems X-Com had to deal with out there, but it was a good reason to go get some fresh air.

Midnight Strike and Lyra were happy to work with Thunderlane, Bonbon was hesitant about going back to Ponyville, but Lyra spoke for her. "Sure thing Thunderlane!"

Ponyville was much calmer today, some families had packed their bags and moved away, other had their houses firmly barricaded. Thunderlane was feeling better this time too, he had stopped dwelling on his failure and concentrated on being successful the next time. He had defended Ponyville since the start of the invasion, he knew where the safest spots for civilians were, he knew where the choke-points were, he was ready to redeem his name.

"It's sad to see so many ponies leave Ponyville, this town had seen some hard times, but now it just looks dead" Lyra commented as her eyes ran past the abandoned shops. Even though there was usually no trouble to be found, the soldiers still brought their equipment and armor.

"I guess living next to an alien infestation is to much, frankly I don't blame them" Midnight Strike added. Even though no pony ever traveled to the west side of Ponyville, X-Com's life-signs scan still said there were quite a large infestation remaining. Researchers began to worry about the Chrysalids not starving off as planned, and with the large alien gun placement no pony could ever go over there to find out why.

"Thank Celestia the river has worked as a quarantine line. I hope no pony ever comes face to face with one of those monsters again" Bonbon commented, a shiver ran down her spine, memories of Braeburn's violent death was still fresh in her mind.

"We need to keep up these patrols to make sure that quarantine line holds. Also we should make sure no pony tries to cross into west Ponyville, those trapped kids may drive some ponies to do crazy things" Thunderlane explained, a dark tone laced his voice.

"Do you think they're still alive over there?" Midnight Strike asked the stallion.

Thunderlane had difficulty answering, "not sure, they might still be alive. Ether way we shouldn't go searching until we develop some stronger weapons, or the alien numbers start to die off."

"That isn't exactly helping their chances of survival Thunderlane" Midnight Strike commented.

"It's all we can do. We could ask any remaining armed forces in Equestria to help us, or team up with the new Ponyville militia... But that means putting more lives at risk, which means possibly adding more ponies to the Chrysalid horde. It's just simply not possible to fight the horde at it's current numbers" Thunderlane explained.

"You have a point there" Midnight Strike concluded and finished her inquiry.

Suddenly there was a loud ear splitting roar in the air, the X-Com ponies looked up with astonishment as a low flying UFO shot past overhead. Civilian ponies screamed and ran for cover, "sweet Celestia! That's a UFO!" Lyra shouted.

Thunderlane was stunned to spot a UFO before the X-Com long range radar, he would have had a call on his radio if they spotted it approaching, how did X-Com miss it? Quickly he raised his radio up to his mouth, "Twilight! Come in Twilight Sparkle! Any X-Com staff respond!" he bellowed.

"Twilight here, what's the problem Thunderlane?" Twilight asked calmly.

"Twilight! I have just spotted an alien UFO possibly landing in Ponyville! Requesting permission to engage!" Thunderlane shouted.

Midnight Strike saw the UFO stop and began to lower it's altitude, "Thunderlane! The UFO is landing in the town!" Midnight Strike pointed out.

"You are cleared to engage... I have no idea how this UFO dodged our radar" Twilight responded. "X-Com is on full alert, expect more info at any moment."

"Got it princess, we'll head to the landing site now, come on ponies!" the stallion ordered and the four soldiers galloped through the panicking streets of Ponyville.

"Please citizens, do not panic! Calmly return to your homes and hide!" Mare Mayor bellowed to ponies running by her. She stood by the town hall where she could advise nearby ponies how to survive, putting her own life on the line to do so. Her hopes skyrocketed as she saw the X-Com soldiers come into view, "thank Luna you've come! The aliens landed behind 'Sugar Cube Corner!' Apparently they are dragging nearby ponies off the streets and abducting them! You have to stop them!"

'Sugar Cube Corner,' the finest sweet shop south of Canterlot. Ponies would travel far and wide to see this sweet shop, and even then Griffons and Zebras would travel further still. This basic little shop on Ponyville main street didn't seem like much on the outside, but once inside and with a hoof full of sweets, you could see why the shop was so widely praised. All that history was for nothing now, unless X-Com could save the day. "Got it mayor! Hurry soldiers! It's not far!" Thunderlane barked and lead the squad left down the main street of Ponyville. Up ahead smoke and screams filled the air, the occasional plasma gunshot echoed through the street.

"Eyes on hostiles Thunderlane! Sectoids up ahead!" Midnight Strike advised. Ahead she could see 'Sugar Cube Corner,' the aliens had quickly dug into the historic shop and used it as a base to abduct ponies. Hoof marks scared the ground indicating the places ponies were unwillingly dragged off the street, dead bodies indicated the ponies that tried to run.

"Get to cover now! We need to get to the UFO before they leave!" Thunderlane ordered taking his shotgun off it's holster, he charged forward with his squad and dove behind a couple of carts parked across the street.

The aliens quickly spotted the squad, the 5 Sectoids outside took cover behind various objects scattered on the street and engaged the X-Com squad. Bullets and plasma flew about the street damaging nearby buildings and stalls. "Damn! These carts aren't going to hold for long Thunderlane!" Lyra called out indicating the plasma slowly melting the wood away.

[Tactical Sense] "Spit up! Draw their fire apart! Bonbon and Lyra head right, I'll head left, Midnight stay here and give us cover fire!" Thunderlane commanded as he charged from the carriage and dove behind a fruit stall. He fired his shot gun and the bullet's collided with a crate of apples a Sectoid was hiding behind.

[Smoke and Mirrors] Lyra smiled and took her smoke grenade off her utility belt, "learnt this one off Trixie" Lyra laughed confident in her abilities. She tossed the grenade at her feet and in an instant a thick cloud of smoke filled the area. Not only did it make it hard for the aliens to aim into the smoke, but it was so thick the Sectoids didn't even see Lyra and Bonbon dive right behind a cobblestone fence lining the street.

With the extra visual cover Lyra took time to aim her next shot, three bullets burst from her gun and struck the nearest Sectoid in the forehead. The Sectoid fell backwards dead, Lyra clopped her hooves with glee, "I'm getting better! Did you see?" Lyra asked feeling no remorse for the dead alien.

Bonbon shook her head "keep focused Lyra" she reminded her friend. [Covering Fire] Bonbon set her rifle up on the fence and focused in on the alien positions.

[Headshot] A bullet exploded from Midnight's rifle and shot across the street, striking another Sectoid down. Another Sectoid took that chance to line up a shot at Midnight Strike, but Bonbon was waiting. Bonbon unleashed 3 bullets from her battle rifle, killing the Sectoid.

The Sectoids were loosing numbers, the X-Com Squad was to strong for their current position. The two Sectoids abandoned their hiding spots and scurried into 'Sugar Cube Corner.' "Their running for their UFO, we gotta chase them!" Lyra shouted.

"Split up, you and Bonbon chase them through the store, save any pony you can! Midnight Strike will come with me down the alley way on the left, we'll flank the back yard and rush the UFO!" Thunderlane ordered and charged down the alley way with Midnight Strike.

Thunderlane and Midnight Strike galloped down the messy alleyway, brick walls lines ether side and the hall was littered with trash cans and rubbish bags. "Are you sure it was a good idea to send Lyra and Bonbon by themselves?" Midnight Strike asked.

"If the aliens are running for it, I doubt they would run into much resistance. We should arrive in the back yard first and hopefully soften up the alien numbers for those two to flank" Thunderlane explained. Both pegasi stopped as they saw two Mutons exit the sweet shop's back yard and into the thin alleyway. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, they had to be fought. Midnight dove behind a large dumpster while Thunderlane crouched behind a collection of garbage cans. The Mutons also ran for cover, one hid behind a few delivery crates while the other stood by the entrance of the back yard using the brick fence as cover.

"Target the one behind the crates!" Thunderlane ordered as he unleashed a shotgun shell at the Muton. The Muton barked in an alien language as the bullets drew green blood from his chest, it raised it's rifle and fired a three large bolts of plasma, the bullets contacted with the wall above Thunderlane raining small embers of plasma on his skin. Despite the burning pain where the plasma had contacted his skin Thunderlane kept his composure and continued to fight.

Midnight Strike didn't have time to line up her sniper, so she used her pistol to fire three bullets into the Muton behind the crates. Two bullets struck it's chest and one pierced it's head, the alien fell lifelessly to the ground. But Midnight Strike had left herself open, and she did not see the other Muton lining up a shot at her. The plasma bullets shot from the Muton's rifle and exploded on the black pegasus, one splattered on her flank, another on her leg, and the final bore a hole through her stomach. Thunderlane watched in horror as Midnight fell to the ground in a black and yellow heap, she didn't have the strength to scream. He could see her clutch her wound and attempt to hold in her blood, she was alive, barely.

"Hold on Midnight! I'll be right there!" Thunderlane yelled. His yell was a different tone to his normal orders and barks, emotion influenced his voice box, he couldn't let Midnight Strike die, not Midnight. [Rapid Fire] Thunderlane burst out of cover and spread his wings, taking a low flight only for a second to aim his shotgun at the exposed Muton. Two quick blast from his shotgun at close range blew the muton off his feet and a few feet from the brick wall. Thunderlane quickly landed and leapt to the dying pegasus's side. "Stay strong Midnight! You'll get through this!" Thunderlane shouted nursing the pegasus's head in his hooves.

"Heh" Midnight coughed, "never seen this side of you Thunderlane. Go and stop that UFO Thunderlane, I'll be fine" Midnight rasped sitting up against the dumpster clutching her wounds. The stricken mare was tougher than she looked. Thunderlane nodded, he had a duty to do. Reluctantly he left her side and charged off towards the entrance to the UFO's landing site, praying she would still be there when he came back.

At the same time the two pegasi moved down the alleyway, Bonbon and Lyra breached the front doors of the Ponyville sweet shop. The shop was once used to dispense joy and processed sugar, was now a battlefield between the X-Com soldiers taking cover behind two flipped tables, and 4 Sectoids hiding behind the front counter and the kitchen door.

Lyra's bullets littered the front counter, shattering display cases and destroying the few remaining cakes on the counter. Derpy would scold her for doing so, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Her training with Thunderlane was succumbing to her fear, without the black stallion around, the Sectoid's plasma seemed much more intimidating. "I thought we had them on the run!" Lyra shouted over the gunfire.

"Looks like we have to push through Lyra! We have to save those ponies!" Bonbon answered standing up to fire her rifle. Her bullets were more accurate than Lyra's, this was proven when they struck a Sectoid behind the counter and killed the monster. Lyra Looked up at Bonbon, her eyes were determined and filled with rage, her legs spread wide bracing herself for the gun's recoil, her mane flowed in the cool wind blowing in the front door and flashed with the muzzle-flash from her gun.

She had changed so much from that mare she was in Ponyville, well they all had. Just like evolution, the species had to change to combat any threats it faced. The peaceful pony inhabitants had to change to defend their home from this new threat. Sadly the more ponies changed, the more they were alienated from the ponies who didn't. This was why X-Com were seen as a brutal barbaric horde in the eyes of some civilians. And it was also why Lyra couldn't stand to see Bonbon like this. Lyra hadn't changed, as much as she tried to fake it, she had not changed. Deep down all she saw X-Com as was an experience to talk about back in Ponyville when everything went back to normal. Sure it was a long-shot that things would ever return to normal, still there was always that glimmer of hope that it would happen, it's what kept Lyra going.

But then her future life was torn from her, by a single plasma bullet shot from one of the Sectoids. It did not make contact with her own skin, but the skin of her best friend. Lyra saw the horrific scene play out a few feet from her, she saw the bullet contact the beige pony's chest, she saw it melt through her skin and rib-cage. Bonbon barely let out a sound as the bullet tore out of her back and she fell to the ground. Through her tear stained eyes Lyra watched Bonbon use all her strength to try to raise her hoof up, and then suddenly drop along with all other signs of life.

In that moment Lyra had never felt so cold and alone, like her body had fallen into a black hole chasing after the pony she cared for most. Her hooves were shaking, her lip was trembling, her body was paralyzed as she stared at the corpse of her fallen comrade. It was all so sudden, it was all so real, all of this was. The pony blood staining the floor, the aliens barking their next orders, the remnants of her old world crumbling around her. Her mind couldn't cope with this sudden realization, it desperately tried to think of scenarios to label this whole situation as fake and not real. But then her senses heightened as vengeance filled her nerves, "I... Will kill... Every last one of you!!" Lyra screamed raising her gun up to her eye.

With her emotions overwhelmed by anger, the fear of death was replaced by a fiery rage. She fired her gun, three bullets struck the Sectiod behind the counter striking the alien's head, causing it's blood to leak out of it's swollen head and onto the floor. Their blood fueled the crazed unicorn, she couldn't stop herself thinking of covering the streets of her home town in their blood and organs, then she would dance joyfully in the park covered with... Her thoughts trailed into dark places she had never been before, she would normally calm herself for reality, but who was waiting for her in reality now? What reason was there to return?

The aliens noticed the change in the mint pony, she had to be stopped before she could cause more damage. They quickly fired their guns towards Lyra, but Lyra jumped to the right out of cover as the plasma melted the table she was once hiding behind. Lyra growled loudly and charged towards the alien position. [Frag Grenade] Lyra took her grenade from her belt and threw it through the door, the doorway exploded throwing the two aliens lifelessly aside. before the flames could subside she barged into the kitchen searching for any remaining aliens. Hearing more alien voices out the back door she galloped towards it, pain and fear no longer made her hesitant, rage pushed her on-wards.

Just as Lyra planted her back next to the open door, Thunderlane had gotten in position on the brick wall to the left of the back yard. The UFO had landed on the back fence connecting the back yard of the next house over, but the opening of the UFO was only in this yard, there was no sneaking around the back, they had to break through the defenses here and now. But there was only two of them left and the aliens were well dug in, with the civilians being trapped inside the UFO, retreat was not an option.

Lyra opened fire first, cutting down an unprepared Sectoid in a swarm of bullets. The 5 other Sectoids shrieked and scrambled apart taking cover behind the legs of the UFO and a small garden shed in the back yard. "Hiding won't help you! I will hunt all of you down!" Lyra screamed spraying her rifle over the shed, hitting another alien in the chest and knocking it to the ground.

Thunderlane watched the crazed unicorn ruthlessly gun down the alien on the ground. Something must have happened inside, she was learning firing techniques well, but she shouldn't have been this good yet. Then It struck Thunderlane, he could see it in her eyes, Bonbon was dead. "Get back Lyra, you need to calm yourself down!" Thunderlane ordered, indeed Lyra had become quite an efficient soldier now, but Thunderlane knew she wasn't safe in this state.

Lyra didn't hear Thunderlane, his deep voice was phased out as her hearing was focused on the shrieks of pain coming from the aliens. She was so focused on their pain, she didn't feel anything as a plasma bolt tore through her left shoulder. "NO! LYRA!" Thunderlane yelled as he saw Lyra take a step back recoiling from the lethal shot, but she was not done yet. She stood up on her back legs and held her gun with her right hoof.

"Bring it on you monsters!" Lyra screamed spraying bullets out into the back yard. Another shot from an alien pistol, this time splattering searing hot plasma on her right arm, but like the last time Lyra didn't feel it. Lyra struggled to keep herself upright, her body was failing her. "I'm... Not giving up... Not until-" and then Lyra was cut short. A bullet tore through her chest, tore through her heart. There was no time for second thoughts, no strength for heroic last words, all she could do was fall, and die on the cold, muddy, ground.

"LYRAAA!" Thunderlane called out reaching out his hoof, but he was to late. He saw Lyra take a final breath, saw her body loose it's life. Seeing her die was far worse than he ever imagined, her mane was messy and covered her face, her legs bent uncomfortably underneath her, and her whole body just seemed less colorful and un-equine. Possessed by his emotions Thunderlane was spotted by the remaining Sectoids, they opened fire on his position, not even giving him the chance to mourn his fallen teammate, his fallen friend.
Thunderlane flipped back into cover as bullets collided with the wall, Thunderlane watched helplessly as the aliens began to fall back into their spaceship. "NO! COME BACK!" Thunderlane bellowed trying to chase them, but then he quickly jumped back as more bullets hit his position. He watched helplessly as the Sectoids boarded their ship, he had one last chance. [Lightning Reflexes] Thunderlane shot from cover diving forward to dodge the plasma shots, as the UFO began to rumble Thunderlane fired his shotgun at a Sectoid on the UFO ramp. His shot missed as the ramp closed separating Thunderlane and the remaining aliens, and the captured civilians.

Thunderlane fell to his knees as he watched the UFO take off and hover up into the sky and then shoot away with it's alien propulsion systems. "N-No... Not again..." Thunderlane croaked. Thunderlane looked over at the stone enveloping Lyra's body, permanently sealing her in Thunderlane's memories. It was the same stone as the stone he ran from in Dodge Junction, what was going on? Was he the only one who could see this? He watched the stone creep along the grass, petrifying everything it touched. It approached him from all angles and isolated him by forming a cage around him, locking this entire scene into his brain like a statue in the garden of Thunderlane's life. He was cold and alone, his sadness was more than any pony had felt before. He saw Lyra die, he knew Bonbon was dead, Midnight Strike was heavily wounded possibly dead, and now he was to late to save the civilians. Life wasn't fair, nothing was.

"Thunderlane? Come in Thunderlane!" Twilight called over the radio. "We detected the UFO leave, what happened?!"

Thunderlane didn't answer, his brain was far to gone to reply on his radio. Midnight Strike called out on her radio, "M... Midnight Strike here, I-I could use a medic out here" Midnight Strike rasped.

"Copy that, sending one to your position now, what happened?" Twilight asked again.

Thunderlane's broken voice filled the radio, "they escaped with the civilians... Lyra and Bonbon are dead."

[Mission Failed: Abductions, Ponyville - Sugar Cube Corner]
[Aliens Killed: 10]
[X-Com Operatives Lost: 2]
[Lieutenant Thunderlane has been promoted to Captain, Close Combat Specialist perk added]
[Sergeant Midnight Strike has been promoted to Lieutenant, Battle Scanner perk added]