Canterlot Castle,
1340 Hours
It was another day at the office. Same old routines, same.. wait.. was it raining? Finally a change, thought Pyriel as he briefly glanced out the window of the oval office in the grand Canterlot castle. But today was different. The President from the Gryphon territory was visiting today. In fact, his nerves should be high as they were coming to discuss a formal peace treaty between Equestria and the Gryphon nation as tensions were high in the past few months. What made things slightly more complicated was that Vice Princess Luna was out of country in Neighagara Falls, leaving his commander in chief, Princess Celestia alone to deal with the delegations.
The buzz of static in his ear caused the Changeling to turn his head towards the rest of the personal in the oval office. "Hawkeye, this is Juliet-2-1, we are ready for Eagle. Over." Brining his wrist up to his mouth, Pyriel spoke into the microphone. "Roger. Brining Eagle to meeting room Delta. Four minutes." Just another day, he told himself as he motioned towards the rest of the security detail.
As they moved towards the double set of oak doors, he gestured towards the exit. Glancing over at 'Eagle', Pyriel smiled warmly. "They are ready for you, madam Princess."
"Thank you, Pyriel." Came the soothing voice of Princess Celestia. She looked gorgeous in her pearl white dress that contrasted her elegant white fur. Flowing mane as gorgeous as ever, the sight was truly breathtaking.. even to the Chief of security, Pyriel. How did a Changeling become the head of security, some may ask. It was a simple question, with a simple answer.
Two years ago, Equestria finally made peace with the Changeling race. They were on the brink of full scale war, in which would inflict heavy casualties on both sides. An emergency peace press conference was made in hopes to diffuse the hostilities. Pyriel was present and offered a pact that would soon be set in stone between the two great nations. A pact that offered the males of the Changeling race to act as Equestria's protection with their adept military skills, in return for love. Love that was not to be forcibly drained.. but to be equally acquired between the two parties. They came to a deal, and signed a peace treaty. Sure, it took months before ponies finally opened up to the Changelings, but they went straight to work to prove themselves. Soon, they raised through the ranks of the military as they helped fight against the Gryphons who raged war against Equestria. And Pyriel? Due to his own adept military skills, and his diplomatic skills, he was put as Chief of Security and Celestia's royal advisor.
Many would die to have his job. It was tough, demanding, and could life threatening, but.. he loved it. He found it as a redemption.. to prove to the rest of the world that Changelings can be good, and can be trusted.
Two secret service agents opened the set of double oak doors as the security detail, along with Pyriel and Celestia, made their way into the hallway. Three agents with level five clearance, along with the chief of security was the standard guard. Royal marines dotted the hallway and entrances, as per routine. Standing stock still with M14's gripped in their hands, straight faces, ready to act when ordered.
Ten feet away from the entrance to the meeting room, Pyriel's radio interface in his ear came to life once again as a report came in. "We have eyes on the Gryphon Presidential limousine. Package is getti- wait.. shots fired! Shots fired! Get the Princess to the-..." Gunfire was heard before the voice trailed to static.
Immediately, the Changeling's hand went to his sidearm, drawing it as he put himself in front of Celestia. Gesturing towards the marines, he motioned for them to move towards the entrance. "Secure the perimeters now! Security team.. on me! Take Eagle towards the bunker. MOVE!" Resting a hand on the back of Celestia, Pyriel gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, madam Princess. But we need to move."
Looking up at her head of security, Celestia gave him a worried look. "What's going on, Pyriel? My subjects.. Luna. Are they going to be okay? Tell me what's happening Pyriel!" As worried as she looked, she maintained a calm and collective voice. Something that the Changeling had always admired.
"We are under attack, Celestia. Now, if you will, we need to get you to the bunker." Hushing any objections, the security team quickly ushered the Princess towards an elevator in the West wing. There they linked up with several other veteran members of the secret service. Elevator doors already open, Pyriel looked at the security service already in the elevator. "Take Eagle down and initiate complete lockdown. No one gets in, or out. Do you understand me? No-" He was interrupted by an explosion that almost knocked him off of his feet. "GO!"
10 minutes earlier...
Lieutenant 'Slash' double checked his AUG A2 as the ready protocol dictated. A sudden jolt almost caused him to loose his footing as the cargo plane he was in jumped around in some minor turbulence. He hated flying in theses things, but they made it easier for his team, and long distance flying was too slow for this operation.
To cut him off from his thoughts, a voice crackled to live within the cargo compartment of the plane, along with the lighting switching from red to yellow. "Eight minutes to target. Get ready, we will be coming in hot. I repeat. We will be coming in hot." It was the voice of their pilot. By the sound of it, he must have been a youngling.
Shaking his head, Slash curled a talon around his safety harness and unbuckled himself. Looking around the rest of the spacious cargo bay, he watched as several other Gryphon commandos did the same.
Getting up, he walked over to the rear of the bay and hit a button on the steel frame. Slowly, the back hatch began to lower; revealing the green terrain of the ground several thousand feet below, along with the loud noise of rushing wind. To be precise, it was ten thousand feet below, as they were about to perform a HALO jump. High Altitude Low Opening.
Turning back to the rest of his team, he yelled above the howling wind. "Alright! We are inserting in.." Glancing at his watch, he smiled, "Five minutes! You know what to do. Primary objective is to secure the Princess. Any and all other personal are deemed.. expendable. Double check each other's gear. Don't worry, our ground forces should be there already."
Snickering, the Gryphon team leader turned to watch the ground below. Soon he could see the columns of tanks, soldiers, artillery, and helicopters making their way towards Canterlot. They were the vangard of the assault. And slash? He was the infiltration unit, with orders to capture the Princess in order to make the Equestrian government collapse. Oh how the pony race sickened them. Why would they take the Changelings? The Gryphons were ten times stronger in combat than the bugs. And he was going to prove it.
Running a talon over a scar upon his cheek, he snarled. Oh, he was going to make them all pay. Especially a Changeling Captain who massacred his old unit, and cut his face. Nothing bested him on the battlefield.
It was then that the yellow light turned green, giving him the go ahead to jump. Looking down, he started to see the buildings of Canterlot. With a grin upon his face, he jumped.. directly into a firefight.
Swearing, he watched as tracer fire whizzed past him as anti air batteries on the ground opened fire. Turning his head, he watched the rest of his men jump from the plane, and watched as several other paratroopers jumped from their own planes. The sky was lined with cargo planes filled with Gryphon soldiers, and commandos alike. It was truly a spectacular sight. Minus the anti air fire. Hearing an explosion, Slash looked to his right and watched one of the large behemoth planes catch fire. With another explosion, it fell from the sky and collided into several houses.
To his dismay, he watched as the bullets found their mark on other planes; causing them to fall in pluming fire balls. What was worse was he watched a Gryphon solider get hit by one of the rounds; causing him to erupt in a red mist of blood and feathers. Shaking his head, the Lieutenant looked away and checked his watch.
Pulling the chute, he grunted as his body was snapped back, crushing his wings into his pack as the forces stopped his rapid decent. Yelling obscenities, he fired several rounds down at the city; more out of anger, as hitting something would be unnoticeable at his height.
Arching to the right, he steered his parachute towards the grand Canterlot Castle. Already, he could see the secret service running onto the balconies in desperate measures to snipe the incoming Gryphon force. It would be futile, for two thousand soldiers were about to storm, and land within the city. In the matter of hours, they would be a ruin.
With the ground closing, Slash felt a round whiz past his exposed foot, causing him to growl. Taking aim, he was about to fire when something else happened. Yet another explosion was heard from above, causing him to crane his neck to find it's source. One of the cargo planes erupted in a fiery explosion; causing it to go into a dive. Watching the falling bucket of metal with awe, Slash widened his eyes as it collided with the castle, destroying several of the castle turrets, causing ponies and changelings to topple of the edge. With a satisfied smile, he watched them hit the ground to never move again.
This was almost too easy, Slash thought as he finally landed upon the ground. Falling onto his back, he unbuckled the parachute. Rolling onto his side, he watched as rounds peppered the ground around him. Shaking his head, he sat up on a knee and took aim. Two secret service agents were firing at him. How pathetic. With the squeeze of a talon, he perfectly executed the two ponies with a shot to the head. More gunfire erupted from the air as the rest of his platoon landed around him. But what startled him was that a body that was behind him, got up and tried to drive a knife into his neck. Whipping around, Slash held out a forearm and blocked the downward thrust. Looking into his assailant's eyes, he frowned as he watched his reflection in the terrified guard's eyes. A jet black Gryphon with murderous hazel eyes, a scar of missing feathers upon his left cheek, and a permanent snarl despite his frown.
He was a killer. And he was going to kill this tan pegasus. Curling his right talon into a fist, he punched the pony in the side while twisting the hand holding the knife. Smiling as the blade fell, Slash pulled his right arm back and grabbed his combat knife.
Watching the fear flare in the pegasus' eyes made him feel joy. He was the best upon the battlefield. Thrusting his arm forward, he plunged the serrated blade into the stallion's stomach. The tan pony whimpered as his eyes went wide with shock and pain. Pulling the blade out, Slash brought the bloodied blade up to the guard's neck and softly ran the blade over his neck. Then, with a swift motion, cut the stallion's jugular. Kicking the body away from him, he watched as the stallion staggered, fall, and convulse upon the ground as blood stained his fur red as it pooled down his neck, and onto the front lawn. "Pathetic." Slash spat at the dying guard before turning his attention to horizon.
Already, there were several fires within the city. Screaming. Panic. Chaos. It seemed that the vanguard had made their way into the city, and was wrecking havoc. Gunfire was heard in the distance, and nearby as the Gryphon forces fought to overtake the city and the castle. He best hurry before the Equestrian military fully responds.. but it was so.. pretty how a city could be turned to misery and chaos. Caught up in the thrill of the battlefield, Slash watched as the sound of rotors filled the air. A trio of Cobra Gunship helicopters flew by over head; opening up on the citizens below. Cars, ponies, and debris were tossed into the air like dolls; lifeless, and broken.
It was when he was knocked onto his ass that he snapped out of his moment of bliss. A round had caught him in the chest, knocking the air out of him. Thankfully, he was wearing kevlar. One of his men ran up to him and shot the pony who tried to kill Slash. Grabbing the Gryphon's hand, he was hauled back onto his feet. "Thanks.." He mumbled as he motioned for the rest of his team to follow him.
Rubbing his chest, he moved forwards to one of the castle's entrances. As they moved, they shot and killed every guard with ease. At least, until one of the doors to the castle opened. Turning to his right, Slash barely hit the ground when the rounds started to fly. Sergeant Gosewitz, Slash's second in command squeezed off a shot before the bullets consumed his body. "NOOOO!" Reaching out, Slash yelled as the bullets tore holes through the Sergeant, causing him to twist and fall; dead before he hit the ground.
Reaching down, Slash prepped a flash bang and threw it at the group secret service guards. His eyes locked with a Changeling that was at the front of the group. That was the head of security. And he was going to take that head.
As Pyriel fired at the commando team, he smiled with satisfaction as he felled one of the Gryphons. "Look! They can die too. They are not invincible! Repel them! Teach them the wrath of us Equestrians!" Walking forwards, Pyriel squeezed off round after round from his pistol, watching as another gryphon's head snapped back by a clean shot through the forehead.
What he didn’t notice, however, was the jet black gryphon that was glaring up at him, and the flashbang that landed beside him. Diving out of the way, Pyriel evaded the flash of the grenade, and managed to receive a minor ringing. Looking up from where he was laying, he stood up and shook his head as his eyes landed upon the jet black gryphon. To his horror, the gryphons dispatched his entire security force he brought with him.. but if he was going to die, he was taking the black one with him. Smirking, the Changeling took aim and pulled the trigger. It could have been over. But luck wasn't on his side as he heard the click of an empty
magazine.
Swearing, Pyriel threw the gun aside and ran to meet the charging gryphon. It was pure suicidal. But the adrenaline, and fight or flee instincts kept him on task. He wanted to kill that gryphon, and that gryphon wanted to kill him.
Faking an overhead swing, Pyriel smirked as he caused the gryphon to duck, in which he brought his knee up in a jaw crunching blow to Slash. Jumping back, he gasped as the talons raked the air where he would have been standing. Those things were deadly, and could rip him open like tin. But what he underestimated was how agile something so large was. One second he was facing the gryphon with his fists up, and the next, he was on the ground, head spinning from a blow to the side of his skull. Coughing up blood, Pyriel rolled and got back up; only to come face to face with the barrel of an AUG. "Fucking coward! FUCK YO-" With a spray of misty red blood and brain matter, Pyriel's head snapped back from the bullet punching it's way into his skull. Dropping in a heap, the chief of security was no more.
Leaning down, Slash examined the body of the dead changeling. Taking out his combat knife, he began to hack at the neck. "No. Fuck you, you stupid arrogant bug. Gosewitz was my friend. And.. you.. fucking.. killed.. him!" With every word, he emphasized them with a harsh stab, causing the warm red blood to spray up at him. It didn't even phase him. He was so angry, that the only thing he wanted, was Pyriel's head. After a minute of hacking, sawing, and stabbing, he finally cut through the rest of the neck and held it up. Surely the press in the crowd that surrounded the outer gates of the castle would see him. "SEE THIS?! THIS IS HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE! SUCH WEAKNESS IS YOUR UNDOING!" Throwing the head up, he backed up and kicked it towards the crowd, where he was greeted with screams of horror. That's right. Be scared. Be weak. We will kill you all.
Author's Note
Eugh. This is going to be one helluva long story.
Any and all feed back is appreciated! c:
Tactical Retreat
Canterlot City,
East Gate, Front lines,
1400 Hours
Reloading another clip into his M14, a changeling delta ranger leaned over the top wall and fired at the gryphons below. Downing two soldiers, he had to duck back into cover as automatic fire tore chunks out of the wall he was hiding behind. Hearing a metallic clang, the changeling watched as the double silver bar insignia was torn from his uniform, and flung back over the other side of the concrete wall he was upon.
"Captain? Are you hit?" Came the voice of a nearby marine to his right. An orange pegasus with a sly smile upon his face. Staff Sergeant Möbius. In command of the 14th Armored Cavalry. "It would be a sad day should I have to take command, Vel'cona!" He yelled as he primed a grenade; throwing it down over the wall before hunkering down. After two seconds, the detonation was heard, along of cries of agony.
The changeling simply shook his head. "In your dreams, Möbius! As far as I'm concerned, I have tactical command here. Cut off from FOB Foxtrot.. I'm the highest ranking official. Who's your daddy now?" He teased, winking a cerulean eye at the soldier. Vel was special ops, normally the one causing chaos behind enemy lines. But today was different, he was fighting in the front. So far, he was the one leading the defense at the front lines. The paratroopers caught them by surprise, and to make matters worse, the gryphon vanguard had arrived. Lines of enemy armor was battering the thick walls to the city. T-72's, mixed with T-90's. It wasn't good. They would get through eventually.
Thankfully their air was unavailable, or the walls would have been gone. Quick to act, Captain Spitfire and her team took to the skies in the infamous F-22/A raptors. Engaging the enemy jets would hold them off.. for now.
Moving back from the front of the wall, Vel made his way over to the Staff Sergeant.
"We will lose this wall, Möbius." With a sigh, the Captain pulled out a map and laid it on the ground in front of them. Pointing at the eastern gate, he pointed out the troop displacements. "No matter what, those tanks are going to punch through. We are cut off from the rest of Equestria.. Long distance communications are down. We need to pull back to the secondary defense line one hundred meters back. I need your armor here now, Möbius!"
The orange pegasus nodded and reached down to his radio, "All units, all units, this is Staff Sergeant Möbius. Fall back to the secondary defensive line." Looking up and down the wall, he watched as ponies began to pull back off of the wall. "Echo company.. where are you? We need armored support now!"
Meanwhile, Vel'cona signaled for the rest of his team to regroup to him. "We are falling back from the wall to the second defensive point, one hundred meters west of here. There we will regroup with the rest of the 14th. Akula, you take point. Move out." Patting the grey unicorn on the back, Vel gave his three man squad a brief smile as they filed past him while hunching low. First past was rifleman, and medic, 'Akula'. Adept in the field of medical treatment. His magical skills were exceptional. Second was Lance Corporal 'Vulture', the demolition expert of the squad. The youngest as well. A small, and rather skinny midnight blue earth pony with intelligent sapphire eyes. While he lacked a menacing appearance, he made it up with his exceptional explosive skills. If one thing was for certain, Vel would never want to piss him off. The third member of their squad was the newest member to his small unit. Private 'Ryan'. Straight out of sniper school, the stallion was the best shot out of the group. He was deadly with a sniper rifle.
"Vel? ..Vel.. come in, Vel!" Came the voice of the last member of his squad. She wasn't present, as she was coordinating the rest of the Delta rangers deeper within the city. "Holly? We're falling back from the east gate. It's going to fall. What's going on? What's the situation at the castle?" His voice betrayed his worry as reports coming from that area mentioned that several groups of gryphon commandos had landed in the heart of their city. He also watched them drop from the sky.
"Captain.. I.. I'm so sorry. We lost the castle. And.. Pyriel? He's dead. The Princess' position and fate is unknown.. Captain? Vel?!" It almost felt like a sucker punch to the stomach. It was as if time slowed. So many emotions ran through the changeling's mind, that it made him freeze. First, the gryphons waged war against them, and now.. his best friend was killed. Curling his fist in anger, he ran towards the edge of the wall, bringing his M14 to bear. "You invade my home?! You kill my friends.. you kill my people?! Well, I got news for you! FUCK. YOU!" Looking through his red dot sight, he lined it up with the head of a gryphon tank commander. Pulling the trigger, he felt the recoil hit his shoulder, and watched with blind rage as it's head snapped back before falling back into the T-72. Bullets began to pepper around Vel as they fired back at him. Turning to his left, he shot another soldier in knee, then swiftly executed him with another shot to the head. Right now, he didn't care what happened to him. His only thought was to kill. To slaughter every last gryphon.
At least until they started to run away. Where they actually scattering from him? Did they win already? Looking over at Möbius, who was still barking orders into his mike, Vel smiled and gestured towards the gryphons, and armor that were pulling back. "Hey! Möbius! They're falling back!"
Suddenly, his smile faded as he noticed why they were falling back. A SU-35 was flying straight towards him, then pulled up after firing two missiles.
Möbius looked up and widened his eyes as he watched the jet fire it's payload before banking up. Turning to Vel'cona, he snarled as the changeling stood there. "Captain! GET DOWN!" Getting up, he ran towards the changeling, and football tackled him in the side off of the wall as the explosive payload hit the concrete walls. In a deafening explosion, the blast propelled the two back even further as heat rushed over their airborne bodies.
Hitting the ground with a sickening crunch, Vel'cona rolled several feet before laying still. Feeling blood overflow from his lips, he watched as the entire eastern wall collapsed, along with a loud cheer from the opposing forces. The last thing he remembered was being dragged before he blacked out.
