The Equestrians think they are invincible. Hiding behind their shield known as magic, but what if we take away their shield?

-Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit talking to Dr. Heinrich Steiner

On the beaches near the Lunar Coast Highway

00:23:45 since Operation Supremacy began

Winslow stepped off the TH-60 Nighthawk with some of the Legionaries. The last vehicles from their convoy drove off the ramps of HC-5 Sturgeons as men and women got on their transports. Window and Batista jogged to him as he walked towards a waiting Nomad.

"Should we be worried about their radars detecting us?" asked Widow.

"Our contact reported they disabled all of the radar stations in this area so we shouldn't worry. What we should be worried about is if anybody spots us, but I don't think they will in this weather." Winslow said as he wiped some rain water from his face with his hand. "Get to your vehicles, we need to leave now."

Batista and Widow nodded as they ran to their vehicles.

1 hour post-landing

01:12:33 since Operation Supremacy began

"Alright ladies, we're entering the Everfree Forest. Keep a look out for anything suspicious." said Winslow over the radio.

"We haven't seen anything since we've landed sir. I don't like it." said a Legionnaire with a Northern Britannican accent.

"Just keep a look out Thatcher. We'll find these rebels in no time." said Batista.

Winslow lit a cigar before the radio cracked to life again.

"Sir, I see what looks like a RV up ahead."

"Convoy hold!" yelled WInslow. "What do you see Jester?"

"There's some sort of RV on the side of the road, sitting next to a tree." said the Afrikan Legionnaire.

Probably some homeless pony but you can never be too sure.

"Savage, Archer, Rocket, you guys check it out. Everyone else, disembark but stay on alert. This could be a trap." ordered Winslow.

Everyone got off their vehicles with the exception of the crews of the armored vehicles.

Three legionnaires jogged to the RV. The one on point, the one known as Savage who had pale skin and a full brown beard, oddly had a pick axe strapped to his back.

Savage knelt down and kept his AR-20 pointed at the door while the other two stood on either side of the door.

"This is the Royal Guards! Come out with your hands up!" Savage said with a Belkan accent.

They waited for a few moments before a blue unicorn in pajamas walked out. She was blinded by all the lights pointed at her until a figure stepped in front of her.

She was shocked to see a Human who looked like he was dressed for a war pointing a revolver at her.

"A Rebel?"Trixie thought.

*BANG*

Trixie's chest exploded as a .44 caliber bullet, courtesy of Colonel Winslow, went right through her.

*sigh* "She's just some homeless pony, get back to your vehicles, we are Oscar Mike."

It was the last thing Trixie heard before the darkness overtook her.

The only witness to the brutal murder of Trixie Lulamoon was a robin sitting on a branch of a tree, before it flew off in the direction of Ponyville.

2 hours later

03:33:07 since Operation Supremacy began

"Oi, it looks like it stopped raining."

"Good, I hate the fucking rain."

"What? Afraid to get wet?"

"Fuck you, where I'm from, it rains almost every day and I got sick of it."

Winslow did his best to ignore the Southern Britannican and the Oceanian soldier argue. The Legionnaires are a rowdy and brutal bunch, but once you get to know them, they'll become your best friends. He was deep in thought before the convoy stopped abruptly.

"Sir there's a log blocking the road." said a Legionnaire on the lead vehicle.

"Well ladies and gentleman, this is it. Everyone disembark." said Winslow.

Once again the Legionnaires got out of their vehicles, but stayed on alert in case it was a trap. Winslow, however, strolled to the log blocking the road and took the cigar out of his mouth.

"The sun shows all of her glory."

"But the shadows show all of her sins." Winslow heard a deep, gravelly voice with a North Britannican accent from behind a tree just past the log.

From behind the tree stepped out a man with fair skin, a stubble, wearing a beanie, a black jacket, black light body armor with grenades strapped to it, and blue jeans. [1] He was holding some kind of Assault Rifle.

They both got together and shook hands, "Colonel Winslow, Legionnaires."

"Agent Deckard Shaw, Intelligence."

"You're comfortable with telling us your real name?"

"We're on the same side anyway."

"I suppose. So you're our contact?"

"Yeah, another one of our boys is not far off. Pretty close to Princess Twilight Sparkle and living in her Castle of Friendship."

"Twilight Sparkle huh? So that's her name. Intel did say there was a new alicorn princess."

There was a moment of silence before Winslow spoke again. "Castle....of Friendship?" Winslow asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah I know, one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Oh yeah, I forgot." Shaw turned to the trees near his hiding spot. "Hey! You guys can come out now."

Coming out of their hiding spots, Winslow took note of their appearances. Some were wearing civilian clothing, while others were wearing camouflaged clothing. One of the rebels in particular, was a massive Human being. Pale skinned, bald with a full beard, garbed in camouflaged clothing with black combat boots, he easily rivals some of Winslow's largest soldiers.

The tall rebel smiled before he laughed. "HA! So I guess you weren't kidding Shaw. All these years, and the knowledge of our homeland truly was forgotten."

"Is it safe to come out yet?" said a feminine voice coming from a bush to Winslow's right. Emerging from the bush was a Mint Unicorn with a cyan mane and tail with a white streak wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. With a blink of an eye, Winslow along with the rest of the Legionnaires pointed their weapons at her. Before they could shoot her, Shaw jumped in front of the unicorn.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Lyra's friendly. She's been helping us. Please don't point your weapons at her."

The Legionnaires reluctantly complied, all except one.

Winslow looked at the particular Legionnaire. "Savage, do as he says."

The soldier began to shake, debating whether he should shoot her or follow Winslow's orders.

"Put it down Savage, that's an order!" Winslow said.

He finally complied but looked furious. Savage turned around and kicked the Nomad behind him. "Fucking ponies."

Winslow pointed at Shaw, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know, but not here. I'll lead you guys back to our HQ. Although we don't use vehicles very often, there's a track we can use to get there."

The Rebels got on several vehicles with Shaw, Winslow, and Lyra on the lead Nomad. Shaw directed them a few kilometers down the road until he ordered them to drive through an opening between the trees to their left.

"Ummm, there's nothing there." said the driver, a young Cantonese man in his twenties.

"Trust me, keep going down this path and it will transform into a dirt road."

The driver looked at Winslow who nodded.

With a shrug, the driver turned down the path, the convoy following behind.

10 minutes later

Even from kilometers away, Winslow could see the mountain they were heading towards to, one of many mountains that are spread out throughout the Everfree Forest. Eventually, they came upon a giant cave on the bottom of the mountain.

"Wow, so you guys have been hiding in a giant cave this entire time?" asked Winslow.

"Not just this cave. This cave use to belong to a dragon, when we came upon it, diamond dogs were using it as one of the entrances to their tunnel system." answered Shaw.

The convoy stopped right in front of the cave and everyone disembarked. Two rebels came out of the cave, their guns at the ready, but when they saw Shaw and the other rebels, they put their guns away in relief.

"This cave entrance was once used by a dragon, what happened to the dragon, we have no idea. Only that the Diamond Dogs used it as an entrance to their tunnel systems. Now, we use it as a mortar pool for our Technicals, Motorbikes, etc. Near the Everfree River, we also have a cave off the river we use to store our boats. We even captured an Equestrian River Patrol Boat and stored it there ever since." said Shaw.

"So what happened to the Diamond Dogs?" asked Winslow as they entered the cave.

Shaw just picked up a Diamond Dog skull that was hanging on the wall and tossed it to Winslow.

"Meet Rover. He was the first Diamond Dog we captured, interrogated, and then killed. Through him, we gained info on their numbers, and he even drew us a map of the tunnel system for us.

Winslow looked at the skull for a moment before tossing it behind him. "And the rest of them?"

"Dead. All of them. Including the pups. We couldn't risk any info on us getting leaked so we did what we had to do." answered Shaw.

"Seems necessary." Winslow looked behind him to see Batista and Widow approaching them.

"Alright, I'll lead you three to the War Room."

Shaw led the 3 Legionnaire Officers through the tunnels which seem to go on forever. On the way, they saw many doors with numbers on them as well as signs on the walls showing them directions.

"These tunnels extend throughout the Everfree Forest with hidden entrances everywhere which allows us to ambush Equestrian military units and then escape into the entrances before they can react. We have entrances near every major city from Manehatten to Stalliongrad. The only major city we can't reach from the tunnels is Trottingham which is located on an island. For years, the Equestrians have hunted us, but they were never able to discover any of the hidden entrances. Well, except for one, but the tunnel collapsed before they could explore the rest of the tunnel system. Luckily, there was nothing there to indicate we were using the tunnels so they just wrote if off as an entrance to a Diamond Dog settlement.

"Do they ever suspect you guys were hiding in the tunnels?" asked Batista.

"Our contacts informed us that they're still convinced we've set up camp somewhere on the surface. That reminds me, remember our agent who was placed close to Princess Twilight Sparkle? Well he's apparently gone dark and we have no way of contacting him."

"How long?" asked Widow.

"2 weeks. Lyra tried to find out, but the princess has been very busy with duties in Canterlot lately. She came back yesterday according to Lyra." Shaw said as they entered a room.

"Welcome to the War Room." All over the walls were maps and pictures of certain ponies. Some with an X over them. On the table in the middle of the room was a map of Equestria with thumbtacks of different colors all over it. They group walked up to the table with the map.

"So what's with the thumbtacks?" asked Batista.

"The blue one shows all of the entrances to the tunnel systems, the red ones show every Equestrian Military base, and the yellows ones indicate settlements from small villages to bustling metropolis. I'll get the rest of the rebels to show your Legionnaires their rooms and other areas." said Shaw.

"Not right now," answered Winslow. "There's been a change of plans."

"So what now then?"

"Simple, we burn Ponyville to the ground."

"Wait what?" said a voice behind them. They all turned to see Lyra with a shocked expression.

"Why are you guys going to burn Ponyville? There are innocent ponies there with families and loved ones." Lyra said.

Winslow took the cigar out of his mouth and answered Lyra, "To us Legionnaires, there are no such thing as innocents. Our intent was not to kill civilians in bloodlust, but to gain the complete attention of the military. We need to know their capabilities and tactics. Plus, if we can capture Princess Twilight Sparkle or any of the Element Bearers, well that's a big plus for us."

"But...but the innocents..." Lyra stuttered.

Winslow walked up to her until he was right in front of her face.

"You don't tell me what to do pony. Our orders are to wreak havoc to Equestria anyway we can and I intend to do it. You ponies are far from being innocent. Your buildings, your roads, your vehicles, your monuments, they were built by the very hands of our brothers and sisters. Those who came to this continent to start anew, away from the wars between the countries back home before our Empire was born. Away from our leaders who promised us prosperity, but all we saw was corruption, racism, they care not for our well being. Not until our Empire united all of us were those leaders finally put to the sword, but across the ocean, we knew our work was not done yet. Our brothers and sisters who could not escape from your tyrant princesses, were forced to build Equestria, away from their homeland for so long that many forgot we had a homeland to begin with. We were patient, we waited until we became stronger to combat your magic, but that doesn't mean we sat still and did nothing. Who do you think shot down your rocket, the one meant to send the first ponies into space? Who do you think planted the bomb that killed half of the Council of Nobles? Who do you think shot down Flight 435 in which one of your Naval Admirals was on vacation with his family? The only reason your princesses aren't dead yet is because we have no idea what will happen to the Sun and the Moon when they die. All these years, we've been doing all we can to strike fear and cause havoc to Equestria. We however, are only the tip of the spear. Our armies, our fleets, our Air Force are preparing to free our brothers and sisters. Those responsible for their enslavement shall be given no mercy, not even Celestia nor Luna, unless it's been proven their deaths will be disastrous to this very planet. Before you say anything about Princesses Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, and Prince Shining Armor, we know they tried to persuade Celestia and Luna to abolish slavery. We know the Crystal Empire serves as a safe haven for escaped slaves to the Celestial Sisters' displeasure. That is why, we intend to capture them instead, but we will kill them if necessary. Princess Flurry Heart however, she will for certain be spared. A child does not bear the sins of their ancestors. You may be a part of this rebellion, but you have no authority over me or my soldiers. I will not hesitate to shoot you if you stand in our way. Do I make myself clear?"

Lyra took a step back but felt the wall around her. She started tearing up, and then started sobbing. Flight 435, the same airplane her parents were on. The government told the mass the crash was due to an engine malfunction as pictures before the plane hit the ground showed one of the engines was on fire. Now she knew who took her parents away. They didn't intend to kill her parents, they were just unlucky enough to be on the same airplane as Admiral Tidal Wave. She began to question her loyalties. Should she betray the people that killed her parents, or should she stick with the rebels. It was no secret to her that her parents despised slavery, but what would her parents do in this situation?

Shaw knelt down next to Lyra to comfort her while Winslow, Batista, and Widow left but before they did, Winslow looked at Shaw, "I'll have some of my men stay and move our supplies into the tunnels. Have some of your men help them out. Do them quickly, we may need those trucks later."

While they were walking in the tunnels towards the cave entrance, Batista asked Winslow, "So why was she crying?"

"Beats me, though she better not get in our way." answered Winslow.

"I wonder, is Lyra the only pony in this rebel group?" asked Widow.

"We'll find out later. Hopefully none of them are spies."

Along the way, they ran into the tall rebel from before. Winslow talked to him before they continued.

"Hey, um, I never got your name." Winslow said.

"Ah, sorry about that. I'm Commander Nicholas Walker. You need me for something?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. We need your rebels to assist us in an assault on Ponyville, hopefully we can capture Princess Sparkle while we're there. You guys up for the task?"

"Of course Colonel, just give me sometime to get us prepared."

"Good, meet us in the front of the cave in an hour. Oh, and we're gonna need some of your men to help us unload our supplies."

"Will do" Walker said as he walked down another path in the tunnel system.

As the trio made it to the cave entrance, Winslow called in his officers.

"This is Winslow, all Lieutenants meet me inside the cave." Winslow said over the COMs.

In about a minute, 10 Lieutenants met up with the trio. They gathered around as Winslow made an announcement.

"Alright Ladies and Gentleman, you all already know our objective so let me show each and everyone one of you what you and your men will be doing" Winslow said as he took out a map of Ponyville, courtesy of the T.I.B. "So here's the plan..."

2 hours ago

Imperial Palace

Agartha, United Terran Empire

Emperor Maximilian Vorenus

Vorenus hated wearing his crown, in fact, he hated being an Emperor. All he wanted was to live normally and in peace with his wife and two kids. After his father passed away in his sixties however, somebody needs to lead the Empire. His idiotic and greedy uncles and aunts weren't qualified and his son was definitely not fit. There's no way an 11 year old is going to lead a powerful Empire like this one. The only time Vorenus wears the crown is during meetings but rarely, parties usually celebrating whoever's birthday, basically whenever there's a formal event especially when a foreign dignitary was visiting, a Griffon to be exact whom Vorenus is showing around the Palace. They are currently in a hall full of relics from the past ranging from paintings of famous Humans to ancient armors.

"I must say, this armor looks very unique and just speaks fear, I like it." said Emperor Red Talon of the Griffons. An Eagle Griffon, with some kind of metal armor with a red cape. Behind them are Red Talon's Royal Guards covered in armor from head to toe (or is it claw?) except for their eyes and beak. They held a gun in their claws that Vorenus noticed was similar to some Assault Rifles the UTE used before they were replaced by newer weapons. During the tour around the palace, Vorenus noticed the Griffon Royal Guards were always looking at the two Imperial Guards following him. Of course, he can't blame them, the Imperial Guards' red robes concealed their entire bodies below the neck so it always kept people guessing on what weapons they were holding. The only times people can see their weapons are when they are at attention, usually when guarding his bedroom. Vorenus could name all of the Imperial Guards by heart and even knew what weapons they preferred. McCaffrey liked to carry a MG-4 and Fournette liked to carry a SMG-10. The members of the Imperial Guards considered the previous Emperor as their "Father" and called Vorenus their "Brother". It was Vorenus and his father who gave the Imperial Guards more weapons, helicopters, tanks, etc. essentially making them a force to be reckoned with, something his grandfather and great-grandfather failed to do.

"Indeed, they belong to warriors from the island of Zipang called Samurai." Vorenus answered.

"Were they wiped out or did they disappear as your species advanced?" Red Talon asked.

Vorenus smiled, "Oh no, they still exist and still practice their ways. Many High Ranking Officers in the military come from a long line of Samurais. Fleet Admiral Miyagi whom you met at the Palace entrance is in fact, a Samurai. The only thing Samurais abandoned was their armor since it has become obsolete. Samurai families always have these swords known as katanas that are passed down from generation to generation. Many of my officers have katanas that are hundreds of years old. Now, their katanas are always kept in their homes. Only in times of war will you see a Samurai officer carrying a katana around."

"Isn't their a war going on right now Emperor Vorenus?" Red Talon asked.

"While not officially over, many have brought back their katanas to their homes since the Insurrection has pretty much been wiped out. Only a few stragglers and their leader David Graves remain and last I checked, our Intelligence Bureau is closing in on his location."

"Amazing, while many escaped Humans live freely in nations outside Equestria, excluding the Crystal Empire, it's unbelievable that their homeland and the rest of Humanity was forgotten through the ages. Not only that, but have built an enormous and powerful empire. I must say though Emperor Vorenus, the next meeting for the Council of Nations is in about a week. As the Emperor of the Griffon Empire, I invite you to attend this meeting."

"Oh I apologize Emperor Red Talon, but I cannot attend. I fear the Equestrians may be hostile to us once they found out an empire of Humans exist. They may attack us simply to get more slaves and increase their territories." Vorenus said.

"Ach, don't worry about it. The Equestrians in my eyes were the most powerful nation, at least until I came here. Trust me, the leaders of the other nations in the Council have a strong distaste towards Equestria's slave empire. With you there, making a strong presence and condemning Equestria, you will be gaining a lot of allies. For too long, we've gotten tired of Princess Celestia making decisions for us. Every time one of us raises our voice, she makes sure we never forget that they control the sun and the moon. That's the biggest problem about all this, how can we face the power of the sun and the moon?"

I'd kiss you right here and now Steiner. You and only you can prove that the sun and the moon don't need their magic to move. I just pray it doesn't fail like some of your experiments. Azarov still has nightmares when that robot you made went on a rampage around the palace.

Vorenus smirked, "You let me worry about them, just tell their leaders that they will be having a surprise guest."

They moved on, Red Talon inspecting the many armors of Human warriors and paintings of famous Humans. He stopped at a wooden helm that belonged to an old ship.

"Emperor Vorenus, why is there a ship's helm here?"

"Ah, this belonged to a Man-of-War back before the Empire came to be. It belonged to the most powerful ship in the era, the Storm Fortress."

It was at that moment when Vorenus' assistant Louisa came rushing in and stopped in front of him.

"Milord, have you've forgotten you have some meetings today?" she said.

"Can't the committee go on without me? I hardly do anything there but listen."

"My apologies my lord, but you did swear to attend every meeting when you joined the committee."

Vorenus blushed in embarrassment, "Oh right. Well Emperor Red Talon, it seems we have to cut this tour short as I have a meeting to attend to. You must understand, your visit was unexpected. Louisa here will show you to your room and at precisely 7 o'clock, we will be having a meeting with Senators Sanders and Harkin, and the visiting Governors Torres, Rodgers, and Purnama. You're going to enjoy their company, trust me."

"No need to apologize Emperor, I've faced this kind of situation too many times, especially when the Minotaur king visits. He loves surprises and drinking."

"Then you'll have to introduce him to Air Marshal Kuhn someday. I'll see you at dinner, I have the best chefs in the Empire preparing our meals."

"Then I can't hardly wait, I've always loved foreign cuisine."

They went their separate ways, Vorenus dropped his smile and turned to McCaffery.

"Where's Deputy Director Beria?"

"Unknown sir, but he's nowhere near your children's bedrooms that's for sure. We saw him leave along with his bodyguards in his limo."

Vorenus was nervous, he along with many of the most powerful people in the Empire, never leave their wives or children alone with him especially when there were rumors that he was a sexual predator. This rumor seemed to be true when he tried to flirt with Admiral Motti's wife. He was terrified and furious when he heard Beria tried to gain access to his son's room but was denied by the Imperial Guards there. When Vorenus questioned him, he just said he wants to teach his 11 year old son, Nicholas Pierre Vorenus, when he said he wanted to learn on how to be a spy and Beria thought who'd be a better teacher than a spy during the War of Unification. It was no secret that Vorenus knew Beria during the war. His squad ran into him a few times, usually behind enemy lines. Vorenus quickly ordered Beria out of his sight before entering his son's room and hugging him, scared of losing his children.

"Call it in, every member of the Council of Titans. We're meeting within an hour. War is over the horizon, but I fear people are plotting against me before our plans come to fruition. Have Beria and suspected Nobles monitored 24/7. If they truly are the ones plotting against me and set their plans forth when we're fighting the Equestrians, then may God help us all."

Author's Note

College Life, enough said. I could've added the parts I planned for this chapter, but then I'll be looking at a 10K-12K chapter. Too long in my opinion. I want to see if people can point out some of the references in this chapter, references to real life and fiction. And yes, I did intend to make the Imperial Guards similar to the Emperor's Royal Guards from Star Wars.

[1] Yes, I just described Jason Statham. One of the most badass actors in my opinion.

Again, criticisms are welcomed as long as you don't act like a massive douchebag. If you dislike the story, then I'd appreciate it if you tell me why, and I want a good reason, not some misanthropic bullshit like "Oh but Humans can't stand up to Equestria's magic AND technology bla bla bla Humans are doomed."

If you criticize my story without even reading it, then just leave. I don't tolerate idiots who judge stories based solely on the description.

This chapter's theme

(If this story was a movie, then this song would've been playing as the Legionnaires drove towards Ponyville. In my imagination, it had a Walking Dead kind of vibe.)