Crystal Raid

The cabin of the VTOL aircraft rocks and shakes as it cuts through the bright daytime sky and cool, crisp air. You fiddle with your firearm, a standard issue M4A1. You pull the magazine out and load it back in time after time again, and once satisfied, you move on to checking your plate carrier and the magazines tucked in the pouches woven on to it. Exhaling, you look around the interior of the craft at your squadmates as they do more or less the same thing, growing restless on the lengthy flight. Deciding to peer out of the window on the sliding door closest to you, you gaze out at the handful of similar vehicles flying in formation with your transport. You look out the opposite window and see another group. You all knew what was about to happen; what you were about to do. You'd all been training for this operation and nothing else for the past few months.

This was a sort of do-or-die mission. If you all succeeded, the paycheck would be fat. If, somehow, this all went to hell, you'd face capture, and subsequently imprisonment, or worse. You might even be killed in action by one of these things. That would be embarrassing. Your squadmates have been talking amongst themselves, but suddenly you notice it's gone completely silent. The co-pilot has gotten up and shifted towards all of you.

"We're close now. A military airship is close up ahead and we're initiating the infiltration routine now. Get your game faces on, everyone."

With that, the co-pilot turns back around and starts steering the craft as the pilot punches in buttons. Suddenly, the entire craft goes invisible, along with everyone inside, and the aircrafts in formation follow suit. It's now that you notice how quiet the vehicles really are. You lean forward to peer out of the pilots' cockpit and see an Equestrian blimp up ahead. Its hull is covered in gold armor and cannons line each side. You can see movement on the deck; about a dozen guardsponies clad in armor similar to that which decorates their blimp patrol the deck. The VTOL formation seamlessly maneuvers around the obstacle, with the individuals on board left none the wiser. A merc sitting next to you seems to have been observing it as well, and he speaks up:

"Was that solid gold armor and cannons? How primitive are these things?" he says. Some of the other soldiers in the cabin, including you, nod heads in agreement as the co-pilot leans his head back towards you.

"They've been supported by a crutch called magic for god knows how long. They don't need advanced technology; magic does everything for them. Street lights are a rarity here, even, save for big metropolises. But it isn't to be underestimated. In this star system, the central star and the moon orbiting this planet are actually controlled by two powerful ponies here, using the same magic. We don't need to worry about them, and we're not being paid to, but just keep in mind that guards will be able to use stuff like that offensively. Remember your training and act quickly."

With his speech over, he turns his attention back to piloting the craft. You lean back in your seat and think about what he said. They can control a sun and a moon? Of course, your everyday guardsponies can't do something like that, but that's a little intimidating. If your memory serves you correctly, the location you're hitting is resided in by only one of the nation's leaders. This operation should be a piece of cake, if you're fast. You almost miss the beeping noise coming from the aircraft's speaker system. It cuts off as quickly as it started, and you all know what it means. You load your weapon one last time and everyone tenses up, preparing themselves for what's to come.

A city is laid out under you, in an almost grid-like pattern, all seemingly branching from a towering crystalline structure in the center of it all. Ponies can be seen in the bustling streets. Another blimp hugs closely to the tower, keeping a watchful eye in the sky for any threats. It's about to get one, because whatever is under that diamond castle is your target. One of the beings on this planet contacted you, apparently remaining anonymous, offering a hefty sum of offworld credits for the theft and successful deliver of a so-called Crystal Heart. It's an in-and-out mission, but you can attract some serious heat if you fuck up. Suddenly, your craft starts descending to a relatively clear park suited for an improvised landing. Everyone in the cabin stands up and gets ready to disembark. You peer outside as one of the crafts from your formation darts ahead of the rest, uncloaking itself in the process.

You can see the ponies on the ground all peer up into the sky in shock as the craft seemingly appears from thin air. Two ponies appear outside on a balcony attached to the Crystal Palace, the pink one staying and observing while the white one disappears back into the structure. The VTOL roars towards the palace and you can see small missile pods opening on the wings. An air-to-air missile flies out, screeching towards the military blimp. The missile connects, blowing the craft out of the sky and sending it crashing towards a city block. Ponies on the ground scatter away from the area right as it crashes, sending a handful of buildings up in flames.

Holy shit. Was this part of the plan? It was awesome, but that's extreme.

Your craft descends to the ground and your pilot motions for the squad to disembark. You all scramble out and the sound of multiple pairs of boots smacking the ground hits your ears. Your VTOL, still cloaked, rises back into the air and heads back into the sky. Other crafts land and disperse troops around the city. You could only wonder why you needed so many troops when your squad alone was tasked with retrieving the Crystal Heart. Nevertheless, your squad sets out for the Crystal Palace. As gunshots begin to echo in the distance, you begin to the think about what the hell you just got yourself in to.