Our Esteemed, Adorkable Leader
Finally, she could relax, straightening her back, and leaning against the chair's backrest.
After 3 consecutive hours of being hunched over various attack and defense plans, base layouts, information regarding new recruits, and request for vehicle modifications, all of which required response from high command, and filing, it came as no surprise that the Task Commander was tired. She managed to get away with being positioned in the very town she lives in (although that came as no surprise, considering her connections with the Princesses), while other task officials had to placed away from their home, as a form of psychological training: learning to protect any area that is required, not just their own. The attack from Urssia, pardon, the Union State may have halted, but it came as no surprise when certain troops of the Balerusian army decided to go rogue, go against the commands of their superiors, and attacked Equestria anyway, guerrilla-style.
An embarrassing diplomatic hiccup, no doubt, and the Union's commissars were very apologetic. Having overthrow the premiere and after arresting a couple dozen oligarchs in their massive country, not to mention getting rid of the Balerusian leader as well, the army oversaw the extent of corruption the two united countries suffered from. It was already embarrassing that the military commanders had more firm grasp on reality than the leaders of the country, but add to that the fact they actually had to stage a coup d'etat, just to establish the necessary conditions for a diplomatic meeting - quite the opposite of the situation in Equestria, where the princesses didn't want the war to even start, but the army was all hot and bothered about it.
After everyone has subsided - one way or another -, and it was announced that new elections will be held in the massive northern country, the leaders of the Union's Army and the Princesses met in secret, to discuss what should be done with the rebel soldiers. The Supreme Commissar, now posing as the Head of State until the election results came in, suggested immediate suppression, and enrolled a Polkovnik, Тактический Влияние, to be in the service of the two Princesses. He was the one who suggested armored warfare against the renegade troops. Claiming that their lack of knowledge and disorganized state was outweighed by their sheer number and their strategic positions, aforementioned weaknesses could only be utilized against them if they came down hard on them, with superior firepower.
He also requested to go incognito, and pose as an Equestrian soldier, aiding the mission both secretly and personally. Given the Equestrian equal of his rank, an using the alias "Top Gun", the colonel was positioned in smalltown Ponyville, known even among international armed forces as the "Magnetic Pole" of trouble - it had suffered from numerous attacks in the past few years, many of which would've overpowered even the combined might of the Equestrain and Union Armed Forces. But it was a group of six mares, none of whom had received military training, and were, for all intents and purposes, civilians, who had put an end to not only Eternal Night, but also, to the God of Chaos (who was now being rehabilitated by one of them!), assisted in the defeat of the Changeling invasion (and then later helped to establish good diplomatic relations between Equestria and the newly formed Changeling Empire), and the most recent attack of Tirek. One of the mares has ascended into Princesshood, and all were one of the Elements of Harmony. Their Council of Friendship (aliased as the Ponyville Council to avoid it being associated with the Elements, and becoming a target for insurgents and terrorists alike), was tasked with the protection of the Ponyville area, a necessity as the town was position in direct proximity of the Everfree Forest.
So, all in all, a lot has happened under the last few months.
Now sitting in her fake leather, revolving, wheeled armchair in the control room of her tiny crystalline palace, Task Commander Twilight Sparkle (known in "civil" as Princess Twilight) sat back, and relaxed for a moment. With the aid of the polkovnik, she was able to guess and countermeasure every enemy attack that may come from any direction. The only issue was: there was no enemy! The rebels have been quiet, awfully quiet, and the tension of a possible attack first elevated into paranoia, then dissolved.
Nevertheless, Twilight continued to rigorously fill out her report files, and keep her troops in position. Her proposal to operate her mission along with her friends and "Colonel Top Gun" in a roundtable-like manner was accepted, taking tremendous weight off her shoulders. And while she hasn't lost her enthusiasm, she, along with the others, was growing bored. Sure, trotting around town in something other than her Princess attire was great. She wasn't exactly used to tight uniforms (the black latex catsuit be damned), but the snazzy dark maroon uniform with the unique, platinum commander shoulder insignia (based on her cutie mark), "crowned" with a fitting peaked cap that was shaped to hide and protect her horn (and was thus adorably large for her head, with a protruding pike on it's front), it was completely worth it. Normally, Twilight wasn't one for militarism, but the event had enraptured her in an overzealous way, and she was more than ready to prove her worth, not only as a commander, but as a frontline soldier as well - fighting alongside her friends only made her stronger.
She was about to doze off, when the sound of sirens startled her.
A brief moment of panic was suppressed by her sense of duty, as she rose from her chair, and teleported to the garage.
***
"Well well well, if it isn't our esteemed, adorkable leader, Commander Sparkle."
The young alicorn sighed. One aspect of this whole ordeal that she really like was the fact that she could observe and study the military vehicles of the Equine Army. A key element of modern warfare, tanks and other land vehicles had a huge impact on not only the way battle played out, but on equine history itself. Seeing them, in all their mechanical, oily glory sent the former librarian's heart aflutter.
The problem was, neither the E questrian Ground Forces, nor the Union's Terral Arms were willing to dispatch any heavy armaments or ordinance to aid their cause, mainly because the sight of either army's vehicles were a cause for alarm among the public, and the case of the rebel forces had to be kept a secret. Yet, at the very least, tanks would've been necessary to suppress the rebellion, as their numbers made it impossible for head-on infantry or cavalry attack (which, in the case of equines, is pretty much the same).
Thus, the Ponyville Council was left with no other option, than to result to... The Unthinkable:
They asked Discord to help them.
Rightfully entitled as "The Grand Designer" by Princess Celestia herself (among a certain number of other names, many of which were never supposed to pass the bedroom door), the draconequus quickly set to work, and in a matter of minutes, conjured the most outrageous armed vehicles that equine minds can comprehend. All designed to be piloted by a single pony, the vehicles were armed and armored more than enough to take on the rebel army.
Twilight Sparkle's own weapon, a heavy tank, called the Iron Iso, was one of the more conventional-looking vehicles. Standing on two broad caterpillar tracks, the tank seemed to be both boxy and well-sloped in the same time, with a low, rectangular body, and round-cheeked, oblong turret, equipped with an 9,9 centimeter AT/AP gun, capable of reloading in a matter of seconds, firing not only conventional armor piercing, but also grenades and high explosive rounds. It's secondary, anti-infantry armament was a forgettable, 57 mm machine gun.
As Discord has put it, it was "a redesign", combining the best features of two tanks from two, opposing armies. Being both light and agile, but also heavily armored, with an impressive main gun and fast traverse, it was also easy to maintain, and highly durable in all conditions. It's large size and considerable weight (it was a heavy tank, after all) made it possible for this vehicle to work as a rammer. They didn't expect the rebels to have any form of heavy armament, but this hope was soon shattered.
"Get to the point, Discord! Why did you sound the alarm?!" the alicorn demanded "Don't tell me you've seen someone being stabbed with a Twinkie again!"
"No, ma'am, we're under attack, genuinely!" the draconequus replied "I've just gotten word from it from Applejack. Sweet Apple Acres has been attacked by force of fifty-something ponies!"
Usually serving as the garage master and repairman for the group, he was also the head radio coordinator in case of an attack. His own vehicle, the Jupiter King battle robot, was parked in a separate garage slot, waiting for a last-ditched effort deployment.
Climbing up the rough metal, Twilight was, once again, mesmerized by the integrity of her tank's camouflage paintwork, especially the tiger-stripes pattern it had. Lowering herself into the driver's seat, as the hatch closed upon her, she quickly revised the controls, then turned the starter knob.
Immediately, the strong, eighteen cylinder diesel engine roared to life, the headlamps blinking before brightening up, as the tank turned, and rumbled towards the opening garage door.
The radio crackled, and soon, the Task Commander's voice could be heard:
"Discord! Alert everyone! Code orange!"
"Coder red!"
"What?!"
"Code red, commander! Applejack just contacted me again! They've got tanks! I repeat, they've got tanks!"
Author's Note
Trying to emulate the quick-paced combat of the games, so, here's some quick-paced writing.
"Boooooring!"
The pilot sighed.
She was ordered to patrol the distant surroundings of Ponyville, an area with a circumference that was a hundredfold of the town's size and spread. She had been given this order, and to repeat it, three times during the day, and in a double-shift during the night. She wasn't alone with this task, of course, but that didn't stop the whole thing from quickly landing in the doldrums. Day in and night out, she would roam the skies in this rocket-propelled winged bullet, just gazing at the radar, and hoping that SOMEPONY would eventually attack while she's on guard.
A large part of her boredom was due to loneliness. Her only company, or something resembling that, was the occasionally shrill order from Ground Control, whenever she decided to use the military aircraft for stunts. She would always proclaim that she was testing, but that didn't help the fact that she was carrying highly volatile torpedo missiles, that were meant to be dropped down from the bottom of her oversized metal stingray, and the munitions deck wasn't exactly designed for stunt flights. Well, not until she "pepped it up" a bit.
Still, the loneliness remained.
The only sense of thrill piloting this large machine gave has been reduced to a few minutes of tense annoyance - those brief moments she spent, flying over the Everfree... The roar of the nozzle, reduced to one, continuous humm, sided with the occasional rattle of the body when hitting turbulence, and her heavy sighs.
Today, though, it was going to be different.
"Slug Stealth Bomber, reporting for duty!" she droned into the radio.
She signed in over the forest, sort of hoping that the radio chatter in the ether above the enchanted grounds would cause SOME sort of reaction. But no, it seemed like it'll be just another boring day, like all the other days were, ever since the "Protection Campaign" was announced by Princess (now Task Commander) Twilight Sparkle. She felt that the whole thing was overbloated in terms of importance from the get-go, and the repeated, monotonous task of circling around town only seemed to prove her point further.
"Stay focused, pilot!" Ground Control snapped at her "The enemy could appear at any second! You have to be prepared to respond immediately in case of an attack!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" she replied, putting down the mic "As if anything ever happens during my run..."
Tilting the rod back, she raised the aircraft just below the cloud layer. She had been doing numerous twists and turns, just to avoid the vertigo of flying in constant circles. A quick check of the radar told her that she was all alone. Again. For the thousandth time.
"Oh, brother..."
Instead of breaking the cloud layer, the green and white rocketship began a steep nosedive, the hollow roar of the machine's drop echoing above the forest. A routine move by now, all the pilot could do was sigh again, staring at the lush canopy beneath her.
A couple of weeks ago, the sensation of a constant subsonic flight was thrilling, empowering, even. But by now, the cockpit was nothing more, than a half-glass, half-metal dome of--
The enemy fighters zoomed pass her, scorching the tip of her plane's wings, as they broke the cloud layer behind her, before presumably doing a vertical twist to realign themselves.
"Buh-WHA'?!"
With a jerk of the control stick, the Slug Bomber turns sharply upwards, singeing some of the taller trees. The rattling was unbearable, and the plane was shaking fiercely. Going into a roll, she went on to pierce the heavens, flying straight upwards. Bursting trough the sparse cloudlayer, she turned the Bomber into a horizontal position once more, and finally caught her breath.
"Who-WHAT the hay was THAT?!"
Glancing at the radar, she could see three other aircrafts, far faster than hers, moving north, towards the town, slipping out of her range.
"Oh NO you don't...!"
Gritting her teeth, she dived beneath the clouds once more, steadily increasing speed, until they were in her sight once more. They appeared to be jet fighters with swept wings, and bodies with an ovoid cross-section. She couldn't make out what weapons they had, but their presence is what all she needed. She caught herself grinning, her hooves itching to touch the trigger, but she steadied herself, and reached for the radio first.
"Rainbow Dash! You mustn't turn of your radio like that! I told you a thousand times, keep it on for--"
"Can it, G.C.!" she hissed "I'm currently chasing three enemy fighters, and they're heading straight towards you guys!"
"...WHAT?!"
Rainbow groaned.
"I said, there are three enemy aircrafts heading towards Ponyville. I'm right on their tail! Shall I engage them?"
"..."
"Ground Control?"
"JUST BUCKING SHOOT 'EM DOWN!"
Dash grinned.
"Affirmative!"
Flying ahead of her, in a wing formation, were the three fighters. Their jet flame left no smoke, but their glow was easy to trace. The pegasus' grin grew sharper, as the crosshair contracted on one of the aircrafts.
Finally, the circle stopped shrinking.
With an euphoric exhale, she pressed down hard on the trigger. With a whirl, the vulcan guns, hidden in the portholes that both hid them from damage and restricted their range, flared up, with the same, repetitive, high-speed thumping. A rain of 12.6mm cartridges rained behind the diving bomber, as it's guns tore the jet apart.
Originally designed to be a recon aircraft, the Slug Bomber, or Jet, as Discord called it, received a number of modifications, one of which increased its size, allowing it to carry multiple payloads. The vulcans were an instant addition the moment the prototype was declared a success. Now, five times it's original size, and still being capable of easily breaking the sound barrier, the Jet was the gem of the Ponyville Council's air force.
The bullets ripped trough the thin armor, shredding the fighter's tail into smithereens. Quite a few of the hit INSIDE the jet turbine itself, causing the blades to break and jam. The explosion that followed engulfed the plane in flames, sending it tumbling out of the sky. It appeared that the pilot hadn't survived the attack, but the cyan pegasus was too engrossed in taking down the tiny squadron to notice.
The two other jet pilots, however, were quite aware of the demise of their colleague, and decided to split, one diving down, the other shooting straight up. Smirking at their attempt, Dash merely pressed the OTHER trigger, releasing one of the eight torpedo-missiles, before pulling the stick back, and ascending after the former lead fighter.
She couldn't see, but hear, as the bomb hit it's target, the missile reacting like a torpedo: dropping down limp, before it's pneumatic turborotor propeller kicked in, beating the jet in it's own game, pile-driving into it's rear and exploding as it hit the turbine, blasting the aircraft apart.
The last one wasn't going down so easily. Spiraling well above the clouds, it tipped over, falling back, and beginning a vertical drive downwards. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was using the rocket-plane at it's maximum power output, literally rocketing straight upwards. They noticed one another quite early on, and began to aim. Whilst the Bomber was taking the pressure well, the lighter jet fighter was shuddering violently, the turbulence threatening to obliterate it any second.
They were closing in on each other, the point of collision being the cloud layer itself. The Slug Bomber was beginning to feel the strain of it's ascend, as the aim was getting off with it's random spasms. At this point, the fighter's pilot clutch fired, giving up aiming for immediate assault. The bullets - incineary ones - flew past the right wing, a few then ricocheting off the nose cone of the aircraft, but a couple of them hit the left wing, tearing burnt holes into it. It remained intact, but the Jet was now shaking just as much as the fighter was.
"Oh, you want to do this the hard way?" Dash sneered, pushing her machine even further. Taking as careful of an aim as the constant shuddering allowed her, she fired back, blasting off the horizontal stabilizer wing of the tail.
The next second, the two aircrafts passed one another.
Staring upwards, Dash could just about make out the silhouette of another pony in the bullet-hole-ridden cockpit, staring back down at her, wide-eyed. But it couldn't see with them anymore.
It was dead.
The jet fighter kept falling downwards, it's wings ripped off by the sheer pressure, and it's engine overheating. Catching on fire, it plummeted down, colliding with the ground in a deafening explosion.
Coming out of the shaky climb, the pegasus dipped her craft into the clouds, observing the damage report displayed on the cockpit's dashboard screem. Her left wing was badly damaged, but still stable, though her fuel supply had been considerably drained by the stunts she pulled off, especially the climb. Reaching for the radio, she spoke with a certain glee...
"Enemies dispatched, G.C.! Anything else?"
There was no reply.
"...G.C.? Ground Control?"
Silence.
"...Come on, Twilight, this isn't funny! Ground Control, respond!"
"...Rainbow Dash! Sorry, I was engaged in battle!"
Finally...
"WHAT? Battle? Where?"
"Over at Sweet Apple Acres! The enemy is attacking. From all fronts, it seems!"
A short pause.
"Are you alright?"
"Eh, a damaged wing, but I'll be fine." Dash replied "Shall I come over and help?"
"Check if there are any other incoming enemy aircrafts!"
"BAH! "Check for enemy aircraft!" Ugh! And then she'll complain that I wasn't there to--"
Another squadron, this time composed of over fifteen jet fighters, appeared over the horizon. Heading straight towards her.
"...help..."
The radio crackled to life.
"Rainbow Dash! RAINBOW DASH!" the feed was briefly interrupted by what sounded like an explosion "They're everywhere! The inner circle has fallen! We need backup! I need backup! Please, report immediately! Rainbow Da--" another explosion turns the feed into static, before going silent.
The mare stares, long and silent, as the jet fighters begin to adjust into a formation.
"...Oh, horseapples!
