Harmony's Defeat

by Corba Force

Rating: teen
Tags: Trixie, Spike, Tragedy, Adventure, Discord, Princess Celestia, Human, Main 6, Princess Luna, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 116015

Harmony's Defeat is about a small team of mercenaries fighting in the new world war

A small mercenary team is fighting a losing war against the Russians and Chinese. The UN is on the brink of defeat. The leader of the Mercenary team, Courage, finds Rainbow dash. Rainbow tells him about a terrible mistake she made in Equestria and how she has ran away in self exile to earth. She joins the team and tries to redeem herself by helping them win the war and save the free people of Europe and America. However there is much more to this war. More than control for Resources. A true evil is spawned and the Mercenaries must fight to stop it... To save both worlds from total destruction... with the help of many friends along the way...

Credit to scratch42 of deviant art for the cover

Published 2011-12-12 14:11:29 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-07 21:33:30 UTC

Chapter one - The beginning

“I have the weirdest boner right now”
“Seriously Liam?”
It’s very late in the night. The sounds of drunken goodbyes can be heard behind us as we staggered towards our cars. After a cracking party at our friends we were ready for a good night’s sleep.
“Lol I’ll see you laters guys” Slurred Anthony. “I have stuffs to do in the morning”
Normally if my friend was drunk I would tell them they were not safe to drive but knowing Anthony he would totally ignore me and do it anyway. So I let him go and hoped for the best. Me, Liam and Edward continued on to my car so we could head home. I was also very drunk as was Liam. Edward being the only one who wasn’t due to him not liking alcohol. I was too drunk to drive but I was going to anyway. I thought I could manage it because I thought very highly of my driving skills. Me and my friends were slowly struggling to reach my car (besides Edward of course) as we approached the car Liam hopefully yelled “Almost there guys! Must... Keep... Going!” before falling flat on his face.
“Well done Liam. Very Impressive” said Edward followed by a sigh of disappointment.
“I know right!” Replied Liam cheerfully.
We finally reached the car and all I could hear was Liam singing: “its Friday... It’s... Friday. Gotta get down on da Fridays... er... I forgot the rest of the words” I could hear the slap of a face palm coming from Edward.
“Hay guys, have you seen my keys?” I asked.
“There in your ear idiot Lol!” replied Liam.
“Oh, right” I said shamefully.
“Lol. Ear-diot, get it? cos your keys are in you ear and... oh fuck you.” - We both ignored Liam's rubbish joke.

I proceeded to unlock the car and Liam was the first to clamber into it in the most disorderly fashion possible. Edward silently followed him in frowning at his drunken behaviour. After Liam threw up in the back and passed out, I had a moment of silence. During that Silent period I heard some sobbing coming from across the road. Across the road was a small park with few trees and a very old public children’s climbing set and swings. The fallen autumn leaves from the trees littered the park and the children’s park was rusted and broken in many places. Clearly no one has used in it a while.

I approached the park, the sobbing was much clearer now. My vision was blurry and it was pretty dark out. I could see what appeared to be a small blue coloured blob lying in a small pile of leaves like a blanket. It had a rainbow coloured tail and... Could it be? I mean it can’t be. It’s a kids T.V show. My Favourite one but still it couldn’t be possible. She looked awful: Her mane was all rugged and messy, dirt covered her coat and her tail was covered with filth and even had a few twigs tangled within it. I walked up to her and said hello. The blue coloured Pony Jumped around and took an attack stance. I could see the tears in her eyes even though she tried so hard to hide them.
“Rainbow Dash?” I asked hastily.
“How do you know my name? What do you want?” said the blue coloured Pony in a very aggressive manner.
“You’re... You’re real? I thought you we’re just a character on a kids T.V show?”
“It’s none of your business where I come from. Get back if you know what’s good for you”. She was really defensive.
“Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just curious about how you got here?”
Rainbow dash lowered her guard and sat back down in the pile of leaves, starting to sob again.
“It was about a week ago. I was trying to impress the wonder bolts with my new move the ‘Rainbow Bolt’. It’s similar the Sonic Rain-boom but just before the Rainbow effect I would collide with a cloud to create rainbow lightning. But...”
Her voice dropped into a deep state of hesitation and despair.
“...when I collided with the cloud. It shot out a huge bolt of lightning directly at the Princess who was in the audience.”
More tears started to roll down her face followed by a few quiet sniffs.
“..She was severely injured. She forgave me when she recovered, accepting it was a mistake but I could feel the disappointment and disgust in her voice. The rest of the ponies also frowned upon me for my recklessness. I couldn’t handle the guilt for what I did, so I flew off. Eventually I forced myself to just leave Equestria and came here. This was the only other planet I could find that I could survive on”
I wanted to ask her how she managed to get from her planet to mine but I didn’t want to seem insensitive. It was starting to rain so I just helped her up and offered her to stay at mine for a while. She needed a good wash and a warm meal. She has clearly been out here for at least a week and was probably starving. Me and Rainbow walked back to the car. I found that both Liam and Edward had fallen asleep in the back of my car. It was quite a crazy party so I wasn’t surprised by it. I wasn’t sure how Rainbow would be able to sit in the seat of the car but she managed.
I first drove home to drop off Rainbow dash. I told her to have a wash while I dropped off Edward and Liam at Edward’s place. Both were still asleep in the back. I figured I’d rather they be sober before meeting Rainbow dash. By the time I dropped off the guys at home I was sobering up. It was lucky I hadn’t crashed the car. Especially after that close call with the lorry on the way here.

When I returned home to my apartment, I found Rainbow dash sleeping on my sofa after helping herself to some of my apples. She looked cleaner and healthier now which was good. I didn’t really want to be scrubbing mud off my sofa. I started to shake Rainbow dash trying to wake her up. I know she had a few apples and just wanted to sleep but really? only a few apples? She needed more than that. I tried to wake her but she refused.
“Leave me alone, I want to sleep” she groaned
“C’mon Rainbow, you need to eat a little more” I insisted. “A few apples isn’t enough. Here, I made some mince pies”
I actually just heated the mince pies in the microwave; Close enough.
“I don’t deserve any mince pies” She sobbed. She then suddenly look confused and asked “...what’s a mince pie?”
“Try it and find out” I said.
“Why not just tell me what it is” she implied.
“well, because to be honest I don’t even know what it is. I just eat them cos they taste nice”
“Can’t argue with that” She said. “You’re not gonna leave me alone till I eat something, are you?”
“Nope” I replied
She took a mince pie in her mouth and ate it. Chomp chomp chomp! I also took one cos I was also quite hungry.
“Mmmm.... These are good!” She said in surprise.
“Yeah I know right! Help yourself to more if you like” I offered.
She took another mince pie a nommed on it. Nom nom nom! And then another, and another!
She finished her pies. She ate all six of them! She began to speak again:
“Thanks for the pies. And thanks for letting me crash at yours for a bit. Whats your name anyway? I don’t think I asked.”
“Courage. Courage Tyler. You should get some rest. You looked tired and quite frankly I am too. You can sleep on my Sofa. It’s very comfortable as you have probably already guessed. If you need anything I’ll be in the other room”
“Okay thanks” She replied
I left the pony alone to get some rest. As I laid in bed I couldn’t help but think how this was possible but I was happy for it. I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or hallucinating. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow. I kept asking myself about what I was going to do with her. I would just let her stay at mine till we figured something out. I eventually dozed off to sleep after an exhausting day partying. I wanted to be ready for tomorrow, I had this feeling that tomorrow would be just as crazy!

Chapter Two - Secrets

I woke up and looked to the side at my clock. “10:34am” it said. The first thing running through my mind was ‘Was it a dream’. I got up and quickly got dressed. I went into my living room as soon as I could to see if it was a dream. No pony in sight.
“Was it just a dream?” I said disappointingly.
I then heard a huge crash of pots and pans from the kitchen.
“Rainbow” I called out.
“Sorry! Sorry...” I heard Rainbow’s Voice coming from the kitchen. I then made a quick squee under my breath!
“Yes! It wasn’t a dream! Happy Face!” I cheered quietly
I then withheld my excitement and asked, “What are you doing?” before walking into the kitchen. I found Rainbow dash sitting on the floor with a pot on her head. She had opened the wrong cupboard and pots and pans had collapsed on her.
I gave a quick giggle, “What are you doing Dash?”
She glared at me, “I was looking for food but the first thing I opened attacked me with pots!”
“You could have tried the fridge” I replied with another giggle.
She got up and opened another cupboard and said, “True but people always hide the best things in the cupboards where no one would find them. I was hoping to find some cookies or something”
She then pulled out a box of cookies.
“See...” she said with a smug face.
We both went into the living room while eating cookies. I had just left the pots and pans on the floor in the kitchen. I was going to just clean it all up later when I could be bothered. Right now I wanted to ask Rainbow some questions but then before I could ask her anything there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” I yelled out
“Doctor” the voice said
“Doctor who.... Oh damn it!”
“Lol!”
I moved to the door and opened it slightly so they couldn’t see Rainbow. It was Liam and Edward! I didn’t know what to do. I looked a Rainbow and she just glared at me blankly before eating another cookie. I looked at Liam and Edward.
Liam asked, “Can we come in?”
I looked back at Rainbow and she just gave me a shrug and proceeded to stick her head into the box of cookies!
“Who’s in there with you Courage? Is it a prostitute? You know you should wear protection at all times”
“Okay, fine. I guess you’ll find out eventually what I'm hiding” I opened the door to reveal the rainbow haired pony.
“Oh My God! A pony!” Yelled Liam Cheerfully.
Rainbow dash looked up in shock!
“It’s okay. They’re friends of mine. You can trust them”
She smiled and said “Okay, good... I wasn’t scared or anything. I was just surprised”
Liam walked over to Dash and started stroking her. She didn’t look too happy with that.
“Back off!” she yelled and pushed Liam away with a hoof.
“Rainbow dash?!?” Edward was quite surprised. “Where did she come from?”
“I found her in the park after the party. You guys were asleep and I didn’t want you guys to see her till morning”
“Hay! We should take Rainbow dash out to see the Human world!” suggested Liam.
I tried to respond: “I don’t think that would be a su...”
But Liam rudely interrupted: “Good let’s go!”
I didn’t like the Idea of taking Rainbow dash into the human world. Its cruel ways would most likely corrupt her, especially in these times of war. But I didn’t see a problem with taking her out on a drive, just to give her a quick tour of the place. I’d rather not but Liam didn’t leave me with much of a choice. So we did. We took her for a drive around the city (My blacked out windows hid her from human eyes) and we even stopped a cafe for lunch. Normally I would have said no but the place was normally empty, the food was good and the guy that owned it was a good friend and really wouldn’t mind closing the place to keep rainbow dash a secret. So we did. We stopped there for lunch and he closed it for a while so we could eat without anyone seeing Rainbow Dash. Rainbow dash had apple pie (Figures) and the rest of us had a burger and chips! Bitches love Chips.
“Your world... is interesting. Certainly different from mine” Rainbow dash boldly stated, braking the long period of silence we had while having our lunch. By this time Anthony had joined us too and didn’t seem too bothered about the pony.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“It just seems everyone is so distant from each other. The ponies of Equestria are so much friendlier” Dash continued. “And this war of yours? What is up with that? Your kind, killing one another. I don’t think we ponies have ever had a ‘war’ before”
I didn’t really know what to say. War was quite normal for Humans. I started by saying: “Human history is full of war. Humans in general are normally selfish and spiteful. All wars have had some crappy excuse for starting: Religion, Control of Resources, power. This war however, started without an explanation. I guess Humanity ran out of excuses to kill one another and no longer try to hid...”
Before I could finish there was a sudden crash through the door! Three guys in FBI uniform burst through the door and two more through the windows, all wielding M16 assault rifles. Glass shards flew all over the cafe. The diner owner instantly pulled out a double barrelled shot gun but was blasted by multiple bullets before he could even take aim. His brain matter blasted all over the back wall as he fell to the floor. Blood and brain matter leaking out from his skull. Afterwards the FBI agents instantly aim towards us.
“Get down! Get the fuck down now!”
We all stood up out of our seats! We ignored the agents command and took defensive stances. Fortunately none of us was stupid enough to throw a punch while we had M16’s pointed at our heads.
“Fuck off you cunt!” shouted Anthony as he preceded to pull out a serrated blade
As soon that blade was pulled all five M16’s were instantly drawn to Anthony’s head point blank.
“Drop the knife!”
“Anthony, calm down and drop the knife.” I tried to calm Anthony down.
“Drop it now!” The FBI agent was getting more insistent and aggressive.
Liam continued to stare at the Cafe owner and then quickly ask: “Who’s gonna make my cappuccino now? Sad Face”
Edward then became confused by Liam’s question. “We’re surrounded by FBI agents and about to have our heads blown off and you’re worried about your stupid coffee?”
“Yes” replied Liam boldly.
While the FBI was distracted Liam’s randomness Anthony quickly to yell “FUCK THE PO-LEASE!” as he knocked the assault rifles out of three of the agents hands. I then quickly grabbed hold of the ends of the other two rifles before they could shoot, followed by using them to smack the agents with the butt of their own weapons. Anthony tripped up one agent and punched the second, the third being tackled by Edward. Rainbow moved to help us but we had already done most of the work. Liam just stood there with a glum face, moaning the fact he would never have his cappuccino. The two I hit were knocked out cold so I moved to help Ant and Edward. By the time I had turned around Anthony had already stabbed the other two and had the third in a head lock. Before we had time to celebrate our victory more FBI agents had shown up. At least nine more came running through the door or crashing through the windows. Glass going everywhere, much of it going for us and cutting us in many places.
“That’s enough assholes! Get the fuck down now and give up the pony! Get down now before I blow your Fucking Head off!”
Anthony dropped the knife quickly after being shot in the leg by the first agent. Rainbow took an attack stance similar to the one she took when she first met me. I told everyone to calm down and I tried to negotiate with the FBI. They were not having any of it. By now I was almost certain they were going to shoot. It was clear they wanted to take Dash and run tests on her. I feared this the whole time but I didn’t think the FBI would be here in England! At least not so quickly.

Chapter Three - The President's offer

The agents finally knocked us all down, cuffed us and had us on our knees on the sidewalk. They proceeded to tie up dash and march her out the door towards a black hawk helicopter. I was so pissed! I stood up to try stopping them. I head butted the first agent closest to me and the second moved to stop me but then a large black Limo came down the street. It had French flags on the front of the bonnet either side.
“Thank Luna!” I said with a sigh of relief.
Two FBI agents grabbed hold of my arms to restrain me just as the Limo pulled up. The French president exited the vehicle and looked to me then at the FBI commander in disappointment.
The FBI commander and President started talking but it was too hard to hear them over the noise of the Helicopter’s blades. The agents with Rainbow Dash ceased their actions and stared at the French president. Both the President and the Commander walked over to me.
“Courage Tylor?” the President asked
“Yes Mr. President?”
“Good to see you again. I have a job for you and your team. I have a little ‘Problem’ I need taking care of but it’s out of my jurisdiction. Can you take care of it?”
“Of course but only under one condition. You tell these ass holes to release Rainbow Dash!”
The President looked at me in shame. “I can’t do that. She is require to take part in vital research”
“Fuck off that’s a load of shit! You have her released or I will do Jack shit for you!” My voice was raised and I was getting increasingly angry. Rainbow dash was struggling with her binds but her attempts were useless.
The president looked at me in despair, and then waved his hand at the agents to tell them to let us all go.
“Alright, I’ll have her released but you need to do this job for me first. You better do good with this next job to make this loss worth it”
I sighed with more relief. “Thank you Mr. President. Now... what is this new job you have for us?”
“Take care of it” he said darkly.
I looked at Rainbow dash and yelled “Don’t worry Dash, just do as they say, I’ll have you released soon. Just don’t do anything stupid okay?”
She slowly stopped struggling and looked at me with a concerned face. She looked really scared; her eyes wide and her ears dropped. She started to struggle again but this time in fear rather than aggression.

The president, without saying anything else, gave me a case file before walking back to the Limo. All of us besides rainbow were released and Liam instantly asked if he could have his Cappuccino now. The president drove off and the FBI flew off with Rainbow dash. I could still see her sad face. It was already burnt into my mind. I had a bad feeling about this but I didn’t have much of a choice and I really wanted to get her back.

Mercenaries: That’s what we were. Warriors that are paid to do the dirty work the military can’t do without looking bad in front of the media. Over the past 6 months me and the others have completed two missions for the UN: one against the African rebels in Kenya and the second against a Russian outpost in Siberia. The pay from those missions went towards building a base of operations inside the cliffs of Dover, our own underground base where we can store equipment and supplies. It was huge and high tech: a Motor pool for our vehicles, armoury for our weapons, a few science labs for me to work in to upgrade our equipment, storage rooms and of course the control room (I call it the computer lab) to monitor security and operations. Not surprising since we did spend £5.4 million on its construction.

We all had a role in the team. A lot of us had proper training and experience. I was also trained since my family was much revolved around the army. In my life time I had picked up a lot off my parents and they even taught me a few things:
Anthony: The ex marine of the team. He served for a couple of years in Iraq until he was discharged for a friendly fire incident. He’s here for his experience in the field and he is one of my oldest friends. Has quite a large social life, always doing something fun or stupid.
Code Name: Viper. Preferred weapon: MSR Sniper
Liam: The retard, also the pilot of my team (Not a great mix if you ask me but it worked). He never takes anything seriously and makes a pun, joke or sexual innuendo at any chance he gets. Will go to extreme lengths to troll and was pretty much a walking talking meme in life. He was definitely the most cheerful part of the team. Lives up north and only ever comes down for important occasions or for new missions.
Code Name: Nash. Preferred weapon: AA-12 Shotgun
Edward: Didn’t have a particular role in the team. Just made it look bigger but he could manage himself well and could fire a gun with great skill and accuracy. Spent a lot of his time playing video games and even had a job as a game tester.
Code Name: Inferno. Preferred weapon: Vector SMG
Violet: Also an ex marine but she served in Africa as a peace keeper but soon quit after 6 months after getting crap from her superiors. I consider her as my best friend and as my main assistant. She was smart, pretty and one heck of a bad ass with a gun. She sometimes keeps me company at the base but normally she’s with her dad helping him run his business.
Code Name: Kitty. Preferred weapon: M4A1
Ryder: The black man of the team. He’s here because he’s a tough black guy. Every good team has a tough black guy! Doesn’t say much and his favorite things are killing, getting paid and gardening. He is the only one in my team I have to pay as well as giving him a huge cut of the mission payments. He’s like my hired gun for my team of hired guns. It may seem pointless but I needed a tough guy like him to do some heavy lifting in the motor pool. I know I have heavy lift machines and equipment but they can’t do everything and everyone else is normally busy with their own lives while I was left alone at the base doing research or upgrading equipment. So I hired him to help out with some physical labor. It turns out he is quite the mechanic.
Code Name: Duke. Preferred weapon: M249
Then there’s me, the smart one. I always came up with the plans and was the egghead behind all of my team’s science. Even had my own lab built in our base and spent my spare time working on some new development to enhance my team’s equipment and training. I didn’t have a real social life. After losing my parents to the war and my sister to the Russian naval attacks eight months ago I didn’t have anything to do besides work. I sometimes went partying but I spent most of the time in the lab or motor pool upgrading something. My work was my only muse but it was enough to keep me going.
Code Name: Cobra. Preferred weapon: M246

It has been a few hours since the president gave me the case file. I had assembled the team in the computer lab to discuss the new mission. I had already reviewed the file and already had a plan of action. I hadn’t been feeling good while I was planning. My mind was constantly worrying about what the Americans might have been doing to Rainbow Dash. I keep imagining scientists cutting up her body and putting her organs in jars. I tried to push the image out of my head, even now, but it kept coming back. I needed to get her out of there, where ever she is. I tried not to worry, it was time to prepare the team for our next job.
“Alright team, we’ve got a new mission”
I threw the case file on the table with it open to a picture of a very tall Russian in a black suit and red tie. Very short hair and a small brown briefcase in his hand. Everyone lent on the table to have a good look at the target.
“His name is Meko Dementori. He’s one of the Russian diplomats in Europe trying to negotiate peace. However he is actually using his diplomatic immunity to smuggle extra weapons into France for some rebels against the french government...”
“...but of course the french military can’t touch him” Implied Anthony.
“That's right so they are sending us. His diplomatic immunity doesn’t protect against us” I replied.
I continued to brief them.
“...Tomorrow he’ll be here...”
I threw down a satellite image of the Ukraine.
“...here in the city of Rivne. The city was a recent war zone before the Russians finally pushed the UN out of there. Our target will be here...”
I threw down an image of an abandoned warehouse. Gray and rusted but it was full of ammo creates and trucks marked with a scythe and hammer. It was obvious it was being used as the command post for the local forces.
“He will be here for a few hours discussing his plans for the french rebels or some shit like that. We need to take him out and take his brief case. His brief case will have solid proof of the rebels existence and possibly the locations of the rebel cells”
I threw down another image. A birds eye view of our plan of approach. The warehouse could be seen on the far left and a small red circle on the far right titled ‘landing zone’. Some arrows would spread out for the L.Z towards the warehouse.
“Sorry about the crappy arrow graphics, I used Microsoft Paint. Right, Liam will drop us here in this clearing behind the treeline. They won’t see us drop in. Anthony will take his thermal Scope MSR and move here across from the warehouse. Edward and Ryder will move right to this small building. You’ll cover mine and Violet's escape if we get caught. Me and Violet will move into the warehouse, mark the target and steal the case. Once we have the case and get out, Anthony can take out the target. Once the target is dead we will pull back to the clearing where Liam will pick us up. I want you all to meet me at the helicopter outside in 30minutes. Gear up and get ready to go. Understood?”
“Wont the red arrows make us very obvious? I mean a giant red arrow will be very noticeable” asked Liam.
“Be quiet retard...” I said with a blank face.
“You mad bro?!?” Responded Liam
I stared blankly at him for a few seconds then I started talking again.
“Alright guys you have your orders,get going.”

In the armoury me and Violet were gearing up. The others had all ready geared up and left for the chopper leaving me and Violet alone making small talk. This was a stealth mission so me and Violet had to spend a little longer than the others to get our face paint and silencers on. Violet was screwing on her silencer to the end of her M4 and I was clipping my MP5 to my body and applying my black face paint. We were both silent as we geared ourselves up with maybe a small sigh from her like she just wanted to get this over with. I finally broke the silence:
“Does your dad know?”
“About what?” She answered worryingly
“You know, about this. You being a merc and fighting Russians?”
She slammed her gun down on the bench and stood up
“Of course not. He would kill me!” she said Raising her voice.
I opened my mouth as I was about to say something but Liam radioed us, breaking the conversation between me and Violet
“Hay Courage, Chopper is fueled and ready to go. We’re waiting on you and Violet”
I turned away and spoke into my ear piece“Rodger that Liam...” I turned back to violet “...We should get going. They're waiting for us”

Me and Violet reached the chopper. It was Blue with pink flames down the side and a call-sign on the nose and tail. The call-sign was ‘S.H.I.T’. The abbreviation of ‘Super Hyper Instantaneous Transport’. Liam thought of the name and specifically so he could have shit down the sides. It’s not very appropriate I know but he was the Pilot and I wanted his Helicopter to be as comfortable for him as possible. Me and violet climbed aboard greeted by Liam’s voice in our ear pieces:
“Welcome aboard Retard Airways. I'm your Pilot, Mr.Nashy Mc.Nashington, and today's in-flight movie is attack of the giant blob. We hope you have a warm and comfortable journey and please keep your arms and legs inside the Helicopter at all times.”
I spoke into my ear piece, “Okay Nash, you have the green light to leave.”

After a three hour flight to the Ukraine we were approaching the Landing Zone.
Liam's voice was coming through our ear pieces again, “We’re approaching the landing zone, ETA two minutes”
I started to address the team, “You heard him team, load up and get ready. As soon as we touch down we will execute our orders. You know what we are doing and most of all avoid detection at all costs; even if it means breaking the plan. This will be ten times more difficult if we have to fight them all. Not to mention it will alert the target if guns start going off. As soon as your feet touch the floor we will be entering mission conditions: Code names only and try to maintain radio silence. It is vital we achieve the objectives; Rainbow dash is depending on it.”

Liam hovered us right above the ground as we all jumped off. Anthony instantly moved away to get into position, he didn’t even stop to look around. Edward and Ryder look at me and nodded to signal that they were about to move into position. As they moved away I looked at Violet and signaled her to move out. We managed to make it through the woods and reached the warehouse. It didn’t seem like there were an patrols out here in the woodlands. In front of us was a large set of Train tracks inside a large trench and beyond that was the warehouse. Four tracks ran parallel down the trench and either side the banks were covered in thick green vegetation. On the track furthest away was a dark coloured train, each car marked with the the sickle and hammer. Some of the cars were used for transporting vehicles which meant they had no walls or roof. These particular cars had a few soldiers standing on them which meant we would need to sneak past them to reach the warehouse. We managed to prone all the way across the trench and under the train.
We were under the train now. Two Russians had started walking past the car we were hiding under.
“Three Russians, walking past your car now, stay down” I could here Anthony warning me in my ear piece.
“You sure it’s three? I can only see two” I whispered sparingly into my microphone.
Anthony quickly responded, “One’s on the bank of the trench, you won’t be able to see his feet from your angle”
“Course of action?” I asked.
Anthony was silent for about 5 seconds then quietly supplied us with a plan. “Just wait for them to walk further down the tracks. Then when I say, crawl out and run up that bank. Once your up you should immediately take cover behind the large tanker lorry. That’ll keep you hidden from the guards at the back entrance of the warehouse.”
“Alright, me and Kitty are ready, waiting on your orders Viper.”
Me and Violet were waiting for a fair few seconds for Anthony’s signal. Nearly a minute had passed and I was starting to get an itch on my arm. Just as I moved to itch Anthony quickly ordered us to move:
“Go go go, quickly!”
Violet rolled out from under the train and so did I right after her. We quickly climbed the bank Hoping no one would spot us. It was getting darker as it was late evening but it wasn’t yet pitch black. I wasn’t used to doing stealth under even slightly light conditions. I always had a fear of being spotted. Me and Violet had made it up the bank and ducked down behind the lorry. I waited for Anthony to confirm we had not been spotted but worryingly he had been silent the whole time since we rolled out from the train. Many Seconds passed and I could feel sweat run down my for head. I would have contacted him but there where too many Russians around and they would most likely hear me
After many more seconds Anthony finally replied. “Your clear”

I took a peak around the side of the truck. “Russians everywhere” was my first thought. Ammo crates and troop trucks littered the area between us and the back entrance. Many Russians were walking around and I could see multiple guards walking on the roof of the warehouse. A helicopter passed over head with a spot light but luckily the spot light was aimed at the tracks we had just passed. By now I had realised that these soldiers were not just soldiers but in fact the Spetnaz, the advanced infantry unit for the Russians. I could see the Spetnaz badge on their arms. Clearly this “Diplomat” was quite important to the Russians. This also meant that if we got caught they would most likely gun us down in seconds. We were good but to take on a whole division of the great and legendary Spetnaz was just plain stupid and suicide. The Spetnaz are very Famous for their Operations in china. They are the reason China was forced to side with the Russians in the first place. I turned to Violet to speak, quietly of course:
“We’re screwed” we’re the first words to come out of my mouth.
She looked at me in despair, “So what now?”
“Well, we could try our luck and just sneak our way up using the ammo crates for cover. Avoiding the Snipers and Helicopter of course”
“Wow... sounds like a well thought out plan” She said with a hint of sarcasm... the followed with an enthusiastic “Let’s do it” followed by a cheeky grin.

We began moving up to the first stack of ammo creates. No one saw us and the helicopter seem to have flown to the other side of the warehouse. It wouldn't be long before it got back so we wanted to make good time. We continued to sneak up, taking cover behind creates and trucks and avoiding every soldier that was patrolling the area. We we’re not very far from the warehouse now. A truck was parked right by the main door and two guys stood beside it. Looking towards the tracks. They were not going to move from that spot.
“Lets move round the side. We can crawl under the truck and take them out. Then we will be able to sneak inside. Hopefully no one will notice they are gone, at least not right away anyway”
Violet looked at me and nodded, agreeing to my plan. We veered left to sneak up on the guys. We crawled under the truck and took position behind the guys at their feet. I looked at violet and nodded at her. A that moment we grabbed the men's feet, pulled them to the floor and stabbed them in the back, making sure our blades went into their lungs. That would drown them in their blood and keep them from screaming for help. We dragged their bodies under the truck to hide them then quickly stacked up at the large warehouse door.
“Nice kills” I could hear Anthony say through my ear piece.
I took a peak around the corner to find a well lit warehouse full of Russian ammo creates and many many guards. No sign of the target or his brief case. I looked up and saw a small office that could be accessed from the cat walk above. That office seemed like a pretty good place to put a brief case. The target might even be in there himself. We both snuck into the warehouse as the helicopter came back around. We took cover behind some more ammo creates still unseen by the guards. We started walking by the far wall making sure we stayed hidden in the shadows till we reached the stairs to the cat walk.
Violet tapped me on the solder and pointed out “There’s no way we’re getting across that cat walk without being seen”
“You’re right but we need to get into that office” I quickly responded “That’s the only place he could be”
Anthony could see right into the warehouse as he was directly opposite the large door in the distance.
“Viper? Can you verify if he’s in the office?” I ask through my Microphone
“Hang on.... Let me get a lower vantage point....”
We waited a few seconds...
“The office above the rocket boxes right? Yeah, that looks like him”
“What about his brief case?”
“Nope, it’s not with him”
“Damn” I said cursively! “...okay, switch to your thermal and keep an eye on the target. If he tries to leave your sight then take the shot, no questions asked okay?”
“Got it, Viper out”
Without that brief case the mission would not be a success. The French President specifically asked for the case. We were kind of stuck in the warehouse, the target was in sight and we had no idea where the brief case was.
“Hay Cobra, did you mean this brief case?” asked Ryder courteously but still in his very masculine voice. “...The target must have hid it here in this building while he had a meeting with the rebel leader”
“Rebel leader?” I asked.”How did you know about that?”
“It says it in his planner right here”, He said it like he was stating the obvious.
“Good, get back to the LZ with it then. Now! Viper, get ready to take out EVERYONE in that office. One of them is also the rebel leader”

Me and Violet managed to sneak back out of the warehouse. Sneaking in wasn’t completely in vain as we stole some C4 explosives from one of the creates: A little parting gift to remember them by. Once we were clear of the tracks I ordered Anthony to take his kills. As me and violet headed back we could hear multiple Sniper shots sound behind us. Once we had all regrouped at the LZ I had Liam pick us up. We were now on our way home. I had a look in the brief case and I was shocked at what I saw.
“The president is going to love this” I said out loud in a sarcastic tone. “Liam! You better make a detour to France. I think they are going to have plenty more missions for us...”

Chapter Four - On the mean streets

“Alright! Here you go! Now release her!” I slammed the brief case onto the Presidents desk.
“Well done. Thank you for your hard work. Here’s you check; £800,000 like we agreed”
I raised my voice more, “Where’s Rainbow dash? You said you would release her if we did this for you!”
The president sighed and stood up, “I can’t do that. The research that we will be conducting on her is too valuable to us.”
“Bullshit!” I yelled! “You said you’d release her if we did this”
“I can’t help you” he said with a shrug.
“This isn’t fair! She’s a living being, a SENTIENT one too. She’s not like our ponies. She thinks, she talks, she feels emotion!”
“I’m sorry but I can’ help you”
“Fine!” I said threateningly. “Violet, Take out your laptop and find out where Rainbow dash is.” I leaned forward on the desk looking darkly at the president “If you don’t have her released before Violet finds Rainbow herself, I will personally go rescue her and destroy anyone and anything that gets in my way. And trust me, we can do more damage than this research can ever pay for” I paused for a few seconds before continuing. “...And it’ll also be a shame if this....” I put my hand on the brief case. “...little secret of yours got out”
The president was starting to look worried. I could see the fear in his eyes. I looked like I was about to lose it. The french guards were actually pointing their weapons at me by this point.
“...You know that I will get her either way, dead or alive. This ‘research’ your doing? It will not last long. Cut your loses and have her released now”
Violet interrupted, “I found her. She’s at Research base Bravo two-seven. Secret American science base in the Alps”
I looked at her then back at the president “...well? What’s it gonna be?”
The president picked up his office phone and dialed a number. He looked at me reassuringly then....
“...Ah yes. It’s the french president. How are you today commander?...”
A voice was talking back on the phone. I couldn't hear what the voice was saying but I could guess quite easily from what the french president was saying back.
“Aha very good... Listen, I have a favour to ask. I have Courage here in the.... that's right... yes.... uhuh.... Okay, but he.... yep....well he won’t take no for an answer... He says... Yeah, that's right... he isn’t leaving me with a choice... mhmm... Really?... Okay.... yep... Thank you very much... okay. Take care....”
He’ put down the Phone and looked at me with dis-please. “She’ll be here in two hours.... I have also been assured she has been unharmed”
“I'm glad you saw it my way...”
“but....” he interrupted me, “You have to continue working for us. I want your team to follow up on this...” He pointed to the brief case. “I don’t care how you do it.... I want you to put a end to it. I’ll fund you on anything you need. I’d also prefer you not to mention this to anyone except me. No one knows how badly I’ve fucked up and it’ll make me look bad”
I looked at him with an evil grin “...It’ll be our little secret. But if I’m unable to stop this, I won’t be there to bail you out. You’re on your own if all goes to shit. So you better supply those funds”
He looked back at me, he had a much cooler head now. “Okay, so we are in agreement? I give you Rainbow dash and infinite funds, you make this go away?”

“I'm glad you see it my way Mr. President. Once Rainbow dash gets here I’ll get right on it”

It had been nearly three hours since the little scene in the president’s office and Me and violet were still waiting for Rainbow dash to be returned to the Paris air base. I was starting to think that he had gone back on his word. Eventually the helicopter did arrive.The Pilot got out as soon as he landed and apologised for running late. He said the Pony gave them a lot of trouble. Behind him I could see two guys struggling to carry her as she struggled against them so much.
“Rainbow Dash?!” I yelled out to her!
Rainbow dash then swiftly knock both the guys down with little effort and flew towards me. She smiled happily and proceeded to hug me.
“Thanks! They told me it was you who had me released. I didn’t believe them till now though”
I smiled at her as she released me, “Well it was kind of my fault that you got taken in the first place. It was the least I could do”
“So what now?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.
She started to look at the floor, brushing it with her hoof, “I mean like what are you going to do about me? I don’t know what to do with myself and you’re the only human I trust”
It was as if she was asking to stay with me for a while. She clearly had no goal of her own and I felt she was my responsibility. I then got to thinking that a Pegasus pony could be quite useful to me and it would be nice to have some company at the base a lot more often.
“...well....” as I started to speak she looked up at me hopefully... “...I guess you could stay with me for a while. You can be part of my team. Your ability to fly could be most useful for lifting things”

She seemed quite happy with my response, “Thank you so much...” but then she paused. Her voice dropped “ It would be nice to be appreciated again...” She became distracted by her thoughts. I assumed she was thinking about what happened back in Equestria. I felt so sorry for her, being so far from home. I didn’t know exactly where Equestria was but it certainly wasn’t on earth. I still didn’t know how she got here. I was going to ask her when we got back home right after the briefing with the team. It was impotent to brief them as soon as possible. This new Mission was very important.

Back at the base I had assembled the team in the computer lab, Rainbow dash by my side. Everyone else gathered around the table computer. I loved the table computer. It was like a massive table but also a huge touch screen monitor. It was so cool and Rainbow dash was also amused by it. I had it installed by some frenchies a few hours before this meeting. It also made presenting plans much easier and neater.
“Okay, before we start I wish to introduce our new member, Rainbow Dash! She’ll be acting as a spare pair of Hooves and wings to help with base operations. She’s part of the team and I want her to be treated as such. Just because she’s not human it doesn’t make her any less important...”
Everyone casually nodded at me not really paying much attention.
I raised my voice a little, “Alright! Pay attention! We have a new assignment from the president. It looks like he made a few wrong deals and he wants us to fix it without anyone else finding out what he has done. We all know that Nuclear MISSILE warfare is obsolete due to the satellites in orbit. However nukes can still be dropped out of a plane or driven around in trucks. Anti-air takes care of any air attempts and proper border control stops any nukes from being smuggled in. However in an attempt to make peace the president, stupidly, gave the Russian diplomat Air codes to allow his planes to fly through the automated anti-air defences unharmed. This means he could fly a bomber right over Paris and drop a nuke right into the centre of it, wiping it from the face of the earth. That would kill our in tire leader ship and not to mention it would scare the shit out of any other UN city. Any nuking of Paris of any kind would mean the loss of the war and we’ll all have to speak Russian... I don’t want that. Not to mention the number of people who would be killed in the bombing.”
Edward began to ask, “So what are we going to do? Do we have any leads?”
“No, we don’t have any leads yet...” I said disappointingly. “...but I want Violet to get to work. Find me a lead okay? You have the entire computer lab at your disposal.”
Violet then ask curiously, “What about you then Courage?”
I grinned cunningly, “I'm going to meet an old friend who might be able to help us”

Violet got to work on the computer and everyone else had gone to do their assigned duties. I was on my way to the motor-pool and Rainbow dash ran up and started walking beside me.
“I want to come with you” She said.
“It might be dangerous, you should stay here where it’s safe” I suggested.
“...but I want to help! I want to do more then just move things around!” she cried.
“Our line of work is too dangerous and your not trained or equipped for it”
“...then make me!” She said hopefully. She was silent for a while. She could see I wasn’t going to say yes. Realising this she tried to reason with me. “Please! I want to do more for the team than lift things. I want to help people. I want to... to...”
I cut in front of her, “To make up for what you did to Princess Celestria?”
Her head dropped in sadness. I continued, “...what you did was not your fault. Surely you must understand that. I'm sure that even the other Ponies understand that. It was a mistake. Just go back to Equestria, I’m sure they’ll take you back”
“No.... They made it pretty clear I wasn’t wanted” She had stopped walking beside me. I stopped and looked at her. She looked heart broken now, a tear rolling down her face. I felt really bad.
“Oh Dashy...” I had no idea what to say so I just hugged her. She hugged back. Her voice was now cracked like she was trying to hold back the tears.
“Please, give me this chance to redeem myself. Let me help you”
It was clear she really wanted to make a difference. I didn’t like the idea of having her fight but she was really determined. She really wanted to redeem herself for what she did and I didn’t want to take that from her.
I gave a loud sigh, “Okay fine, once I meet with my friend I promise I will train you and make some weapons for you”
“Thank you!” she said wiping her tears with her hoof. “I promise not to disappoint you”
She hugged me tightly, thanking me again. After a few seconds she let go of me and smiled deeply at me. I wiped the remains of her tears and smiled back. After a few more seconds I re-focused on my task.
“Anyway, we need to get going. I have organised a meet with my friend. Hopefully he’ll have something for me”
“...we? You mean I can come?” She looked at me with cheerful excitement.

“Yes, just stay hidden in the clouds until I reach the meeting point. Then you can sneak down and join me”

Me and Rainbow reached the parking lot where we were going to meet my friend. It was 1am and the parking lot was completely devoid of life. No one was around so it was safe for Rainbow Dash to stand with me. Me and Rainbow were standing near a white van in the corner of the storey. The van was old and very dirty. Someone had written “Clean me” down the side. We waited for a while but eventually I saw a sharp tall figure approach us. They had most likely already seen Rainbow Dash and I just hoped it was my friend.
“Gavriil?” I called out in a loud whisper “...is that you”
A strong Russian accent replied back in a similar tone, “Yes, it is me Comrade”
Out of the shadow approached a tall Russian man wearing a large black trench coat and a black and grey ushanka. He had really thick jaw bones and stubble around his face. He looked like a typical Russian soldier type and that was exactly what he was. I must emphasise the ‘Was’. He was part of the spetnaz and tried to arrest me on my mission to Siberia but we were bombed by Russian MIG’s. After being bombed by his own people and being betrayed by his government he wanted his revenge. His first act of revenge was helping me escape Siberia so I could continue my operations against his government but of course he wants them to really feel butt hurt, so he is going to help me screw up this nuke operation for them by giving me a lead. Hopefully he would have something for me to follow up on. If not then it would be all down to Violet to find us a lead.
“Good to see you again Comrade” He said in a very welcoming voice.
“Indeed, it has been many months. Anyway straight to business. Do you have anything for me?”
“Very efficient my friend. I don’t have any information about the codes or the nukes but I know where might be able to find it”
“Give me what you got...”
Before I could finish I could hear skidding tyres coming from round the corner. We all looked around to see what was happening. To our surprise, two black Sedans drove up and drifted to the side, blocking the path between the rows of parked cars. Four Russian spetnaz soldiers got out of each one, armed for bare, and immediately opened fire on us. Luckily we dove behind the van to gain cover from the bullets. As we did I pulled out a P99 Pistol from the back of my trousers and instantly started blind firing from the side of the van, emptying a whole clip.
“...shit they must of followed me!” complained Gavriil.
I instantly asked in response, “Did you not suspect they would?”
“...of course I did”. He proceeded to pull an AEK-919k SMG from his trench coat. “I guess we’ll just have to fight our way out then” he said relentlessly.
I reloaded my Pistol and took a peak around the side of the van. They were spreading out around the lot taking cover behind the other cars. They were still firing at us but they were mainly just suppressing us till they all got into suitable cover, or they were just trying to keep us pinned here so something else they had planned could happen. Possibly C4 right below us? or maybe guys coming through the door that leads to the stairs. Either way we couldn’t stay behind this van for very long. It was time to find a car. I was hoping to steal one of the sedans the Spetnaz used to get here. I assumed the keys would still be in the ignition which meant no tedious hot wiring.
I had a plan. It was simple but the best we had. “Gavriil, take my place and get ready to cover me. I'm going to run across to that green car. Then I can take out a few of the spetnaz troops while you move up to steal their car. Once there you can drive it back here to pick me and Rainbow up. We can then drive out of here before more show up”
“Da Comrade. I'm ready”
I moved away from the van and got ready to run across the floor to the car. Gavriil, moved into my old position ready to cover me.
“Are you ready Comrade?” he asked.
“Now!”. I leaped out of cover sprinting for the car. Gavriil lent out from the behind the van, firing at the enemy soldiers. His SMG packed a real mean punch as the windows of cars shattered everywhere. Many car alarms were going off, screaming for their owners to come save them. Bullets were flying everywhere in my direction as I dived for the green car. I grazed my elbows landing the dive on the hard asphalt, it hurt but that dive meant the difference between a graze and a bullet to the face. I took a second to pick myself up and instantly stood up, taking a few shots at the Russians. I hit two guys, one straight in the head and the other in the chest. Gavriil took out two while I was running across the lot. Only four remained and Gavriil was now moving from car to car towards the Spetnaz sedan. I reloaded and took a few more shots at the other Russians. These four were behind tight cover and were hard to shoot from such a distance with a shitty pistol, but the fire definitely kept their heads down for a few seconds while Gavriil stole their car. Gavriil had successfully stolen their car and drove it between the white van and the green car I was behind. Gavriil got out again and fired another clip at the Russians. I ran for the drivers seat and Rainbow ran for the front passenger seat. A black van pulled up next to the other Russians and about six more guys climbed out, armed with AK’s and UMP’s, all opening fire on us. I opened the door for Dash as I figured she wouldn’t be able to open it with her hooves. Gavriil emptied his clip and jumped in the back. As soon as he was in I drove out of there.

On the bottom level of the parking lot we were about to go down the exit ramp. The beams of spotlights from a Hughes 500 attack helicopter dazed me as we flew down the ramp.
“A chopper? A fucking chopper?!?” I yelled with rage. I made an immediate left turn at the bottom of the ramp. Two more black sedans were closing in on our six, both filled with Russian spetnaz. The Hughes helicopter also followed us but was not yet using it’s weapons, Thankfully. The Hughes was armed with Vulcan mini-guns and many rockets.
We were now on the streets of London. Even though it was 1am people still walked the streets, cars and buses still on the road and many shops still open. The Russians from the sedans started firing at us. Within seconds our back window was cracked from the bullet fire and the left wing mirror was shattered. Gavriil lent out the window to return fire.
“Watch your fire!” I said cautiously “...we don’t want any civilian casualties!”
“Don’t worry Curry. I will be careful” he said reassuringly.
“Did he just call me Curry?” I said quietly to myself with Confusion.
The Russian cars were right up our arse now. One had driven down the side on the other side of the road right beside us. I saw the three passengers reloading their weapons. It was clear they were going to try take me out. I quickly reached for my Pistol and fired at them. I was aiming my weapon at the driver hoping to take him out, not watching the road which was probably a bad idea while going 45 on a city road. I emptied my clip into their car only grazing the drivers back. I couldn’t reload because I was driving. I was thinking “Shit shit shit what now” as the Russians lent out of their windows to fire. Heavy sprays of machine gun fire began to bombard our car. I was hit in the left arm and waist almost straight away, Rainbow was hit on the chest and Gavriil was also hit but I didn’t see where as I was too busy driving. After about 10 seconds of getting sprayed with bullets I tried to ram the car beside us to put them off balance. I slammed my car as hard as I could into the side of them. They pulled back and started to spray the back end of the car again. I wasn’t sure how much more this car could take. I also started to feel dizzy from the blood loss from my wounds. I could feel the blood seeping out of me. The Russian car tried to pull up beside me again, ramming the side of me again. I was trying to force their car onto the side walk as I slowly took over their lane.
“BUS!!” Yelled Rainbow in panic!!
I looked ahead as a Double Decker bus hurtled towards us. Just before it hit us I returned to my lane and the bus just completely destroyed the Russian car.

The other Russian car rammed the back end of my car jolting me forward into the wheel. The smack of the wheel caused my nose to bleed heavily. More bullets flew in though the back window as it shattered to pieces, two bullets hitting Rainbow Dash in the back and one hitting me in my back also. I had no idea if Gavriil was conscious but I assumed not since he stopped shooting. Rainbow dash passed out from the pain of her wounds and I was about to do the same. The Russian car tried to spin us out by swiping out back end from the side. I manage to pull forward as they swung. They were expecting most of their momentum to go into my car but since I pulled out the way all their momentum launched them into a lamp post.

That was the last of the cars but the Chopper was still tailing us. At that moment I could hear the Mini-guns spinning up. “Aw shit” I said quietly to myself. After a few seconds of whistling from the Mini-guns spinning up a massive continuous barrage of bullets were blasted from the Heli’s guns and started to rip the road apart. Chunks of asphalt tearing from the road going everywhere, car’s crashing to the sides trying to avoid the fire. The Choppers aim wasn’t great. It’s weight kept shifting and it swerved quite a lot. Despite it’s aim being off it wasn’t completely ineffective. Bullets flew through the roof into the dash board causing sparks everywhere as the electronics short circuited. Realising going straight was a bad idea I took a very sharp left turn onto a large bridge going over the Themes river in an attempt to escape the chopper. The chopper swung round to follow, flying by the side of the bridge at my level. Two guys on the side fired assault rifles at me, bursting the front right tire. The car became harder to control without the tire but I kept it stable. The Helicopter pulled above me and that's when it unloaded hell on the bridge. Rockets flew all over the road ahead as I tried to avoid being hit. I could see the bridge collapsing in my rear view mirror. I put more pressure on the throttle trying to stay ahead of the chaos behind while at the same time dodging the explosions ahead. I had barely reached the end of the bridge before it completely collapsed. I tried to turn right but without my tire I had no grip so I just continued to slide sideways down the road. The chopper hovered above the wreckage of the bridge taking aim at us with it’s last rocket. Once it had fully held a still position it released it’s last rocket. It flew towards us and hit the ground directly under the car, launching us in the air before we crashed harshly into the side of a large truck.

Everything was dark, my wounds were too intense and I could feel my life slipping from me. The spot lights from the chopper blinded me as I looked straight into them. I tried to force myself up. My leg was crushed and my head was cracked open. My bullet wounds from the chase still hurting like a bitch. I finally got myself up and pulled Rainbow from the wreckage. I went to help Gavriil out but his body was completely crushed by the cars roof. More black trucks arrived to the scene as I tried desperately to pull Gavriil out from the car.
He was barely conscious. He started cough before speaking. “There’s no time. You need to get out of here” he said, trying to keep his breath. I could hear in his voice that he was in mortal agony.
“I’m not going to abandon you. I just need to....”
He cut me off from my sentence, “There’s no time Curry, they’ll be here in seconds. There is much more at stake. If we die then so do the chances of us winning this war... and the chances of saving Russia from a fate worst than death. Take this...”. He handed me a small envelope. “...It has all the information you need.” He coughed some more and was finding it difficult to breath. “...Now go! Stop the Nukes and save the people from the corruption of my Fascist government”
He reached for his SMG and pulled it close to him, aiming towards the trucks that has arrived in the background. I didn’t know what to do. I just did what he said and got out of there. I picked up Rainbow Dash who was still unconscious and ran from the scene. As I ran I could hear small arms fire going off behind me, Then... a load bang from what sounded like a shotgun. I stopped to the noise of the shotgun then shook my head in moaning before I continued to flee the scene. At least I got what I needed from him. Now he can rest in peace knowing he did his part...

Chapter Five - Preparation

“...Thanks John, I'm here at the scene of a Russian Spetnaz attack on London. As you can see it’s absolute chaos here. Witnesses told the police that multiple vehicles had a road rage down these streets before the Helicopter tore through an entire street and collapsed this bridge behind me with a load of Rockets. The bodies of Russian Spetnaz were recovered from the wreaked cars on the other side of the bridge. Witnesses also reported Russian Spetnaz leaving this scene here in Black trucks. The Helicopter also fled the scene moments after the carnage ended. Evidence shows that these Russian soldiers were here for a small group of people. These people had been the one’s they had chased down the road.”
“Do the Police know where the Russians went? or how they got into the country?”
“...the police say that the Russian spetnaz can easily get in and out of the country. With military resources there isn’t much the Police can do to keep them out.”
“Okay well thank you Sophie for that report. In a related story the Minister of National defence gave a statement about the incident today and what he plans to do to avoid this kind of thing happening again. On screen please”
“...I have reviewed the case and I assure you that the ‘Ministry of National Defence’ is doing it’s very best to track these Spetnaz soldiers and we have also alerted all border patrol posts to keep their guard up. We only want to keep our country and it’s people safe from further Russian attack...”
“That footage was taken today at the National briefing of....”
After a while my brain tuned out from the news report. I was back at the base waiting for Rainbow to recover from her wounds. I was not in the best state myself but I was more worried about Rainbow dash. The clock on the wall of the Med Lab was reading 8:43am. Rainbow was lying on the medical bed. Our medical officer Isabelle (the new addition to the team) had trouble healing her since Rainbow was a Pony and not a human. That and Isabelle was fresh out of Uni and Rainbow and I were her first real patients. I hired her because she was enthusiastic, Open minded and passed her University course with an 100% pass score. Which was good because I needed a young medical officer to patch us up after a mission. She has only been here a week and I have given her the option of who to pick for the full medical team. She was also my first hired staff member for my base. I figured with the french funding I could easily start up a proper base of operations.

Rainbow Dash began to wake up. She didn’t seem to be in too much pain and her wounds were healing nicely.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“It’s Okay Dash, you’re in the Med Lab back at base.”
“What... what happened?” She was a little overwhelmed.
“You passed out in the car. You’re lucky to be alive. You lost a lot of blood back there”
“Oh, well it’s good to be alive. So how long will I be here? She asked curiously.
“Well it’ll be a few days yet, but you’ll be out in a few days and we can start on your weapons training” I told her reassuringly. “In the mean time I'm going to go read contents of the envelope Gavriil gave me... Isabelle, keep me updated on Rainbow's health. I’ll be in the computer lab”

“Of course sir” Isabelle replied.

In the computer lab I had opened the envelope that Gavriil gave me. It was just a printed web address, user name and password with hand writing on the side saying “This is everything you will need Comrade. Good luck and good hunting”. I went over to the table computer, thinking that it needed a cooler name, and I dialed up the web address. The address was just lots of letters and numbers so it wasn’t even a real web address. To my surprise, when I dialed up the web address, it came up with ‘Russian Secret Intelligence Organisation’. After logging in with the User and password it came up with a location of a secret Information outpost. I guessed that the information I wanted would be found here: I remembered Gavriil saying “I don’t have any information about the codes or the nukes but I know where might be able to find it” back at the parking lot.
“Sweet Celestia! I actually have something. I better prep the team. There’s no time to lose!”

I turned on my ear piece and spoke into it “Violet, Assemble the team at the computer lab. I think I have something”

“Welcome everyone. Since the last briefing Violet came up with nothing. Luckily our dear friend Gavriil gave me a lead for us to follow up on... and a strong lead may I add. A Russian intelligence base, as you can see on the main screen, it is found here in East Russia. From what I can guess it is a hub of Russian Intelligence on UN and homeland operations. I'm hoping that it will also have information on this Nuclear operation of theirs. It’s simple: We break in, get to the control room, hack their systems, steal all their data, upload a virus to screw them over and we get out. I would give a more detailed plan but in all honesty I have no information on the actual fortifications of this base. So we’ll be going for stealth but we’ll also pack heavy to be prepared for anything that might be waiting for us. Also dress warm and for arctic conditions. It’s cold in Russia this time of year. Liam will drop us off a few clicks north of the base and we’ll have to improvise from there. Any questions?”
“...you mean to say we are going in completely unaware of what might be defending this base to possibly... POSSIBLY find some information on the nukes... I'm sorry but isn’t that risking it a little to much” said Violet with a huge notion of concern
“As I said, it will HOPEFULLY contain information on the nukes and codes but even if I'm wrong we can still completely destroy their battle net with a virus”
“What if the computer has security to protect itself from the virus?” asked Edward.
“Well that's why we’ll have Violet there to make sure the Virus is uploaded successfully. It will be transferred physically by flash drive. Violet will just need to hack the Passwords and Security software so the virus can proceed to wipe the whole system clean. However she will need time so we’ll need to cover her while she works. This will be our toughest mission yet so I have requested that the S.A.S work with us on this. They don’t know we are doing this for the nukes, they think this is purely an attack on Russian Intelligence. So keep quiet about the nukes until we get back to base... now I want everyone geared up and ready to go in Forty-eight hours”

I spent the next seven hours checking that all our equipment was working properly. I didn’t want anything going wrong on this mission, making sure all guns were clean, all mags were loaded and all equipment was functioning. I was still in the armoury when Rainbow came to see me. She looked quite healthy, she still had the Bandages around her body though. I was surprised she was even walking.
“Hay, I heard about the mission tomorrow”
“If you’re asking if you can come then the answer is yes”
“...but you said...Wait. What?” She looked surprised.
I stopped what I was doing and looked at her, “Firstly, I promised to train you before the next mission. A promise is a promise and I don’t make promises if I know I can’t keep ‘em. Secondly, your ability to fly will most likely prove very useful to us”
“Really? That's great! I can finally do some thing useful! Thank you Courage!”
“Your welcome Dashie. To be honest I think we’re going to need you for this one”
“Awwww yeah!!” She cheered. “So what’s first?”
“Well first we gotta design a weapon for you. We don’t have time to make you a proper gun so we’ll make a quick something just for this mission.... hmm... I know! Come with me Dash.”
I picked up a Famas from the table and walked out the armoury with Dash.

In the workshop I laid the Famas down on the workbench. Rainbow watched as I started to work on it. I took the blow touch and cut off the trigger guard. “The Famas’s clip is behind the trigger so if I cut off the trigger guard you could quite easily pull the trigger with your hoof”
I then took a strap and lined it up to the hand guard.
“Put your hoof here” I instructed.
I tightly wrapped the strap around her hoof and took measurements. I then cut the strap to be short enough to wrap tightly around her hoof and attach securely to the hand guard.
“This will allow you to hold your gun more tightly. I'm sure it would be quite difficult to hold it with your hoof without the strap”
“Okay, now I can hold and Fire the weapon. What about reloading?” she asked
I paused to think of something but I couldn’t think of a short term solution.
“You can use your teeth for now. I’ll be sure to make your outfit with easy to access pockets for your ammo”
“Okay then”, She sounded a bit concerned.
“One last thing...” I grabbed another strap and attached each end to either side of the Handle. “This will allow you to walk on all four hooves while you carry it on your back. Me and my team use little clips to attach our weapons to our body armour but of course you don’t have fingers so you’ll have a strap instead”
She picked up her new weapon and inspected it. “I can live with this for now. Just teach me how to use it properly”
“Sure. Lets make our way to the armoury and I can teach you to shoot things in the firing range”

We were back in the armoury now. I had her standing in one of the firing booths. I was laying out fresh magazines for her to reload with. A few targets were set up at the end of the range and she was itching to get started. Up on her two back hooves she was aiming down the range.
“Short steady bursts...” I told her. “...Controlled periodic bursts allows for greater accuracy. You should also always stand firm. The kick back can be quite intense so it’s impotent that you’re ready for it”
“Alright, I got it. I'm ready” she stated.
“Alright then. Take down the targets in front of you” I ordered.
She opened fire on the targets. Each target going down one by one. She was using short steady bursts and only went through one clip to take all five down. She missed a few shots but for a first timer she did great. A little more practice and she’d be ready. I told her this much. After many hours of training she had became very good at aiming straight and reloading with her mouth. I was amazed at her progress.

Rainbow walked away and sat down on the bench in the armoury, laying her weapon down next to her. She looked a bit glum now, brushing her hoof on the bench. She gave a quiet sigh and looked at the floor. I turn to look at her.
“What’s wrong Rainbow?” I asked gently.
“In a few hours, I’m going to be using this to kill...” She put her hoof on her weapon. “...I'm not sure about taking another life.” She said shamefully.
“Second thoughts eh? Well if you don’t want to do it Dash then I won’t force you. Just remember you could be helping us a lot. You could be helping us save many more lives than you’ll be taking. Millions of lives are depending on us stopping these Russian nukes”
She looked at me, unsure of herself. I continued to talk.
“...Think of it like this: Every person you kill would have been killed by me and the team anyway. You’ll just be there to help us kill them faster”
“That doesn’t make me feel much better”
“Well I’m not forcing you to do this but I really could use your help with this. I’ll let you think about it okay? I’ve got to go see Violet. I really hope you make the right choice”
I walked out of the armoury to give her time to think.

I went to the computer lab to talk to Violet. She was installing some new software to our computer network that would make transfer speed between computers faster by using more efficient ports to communicate with. I wasn’t even bothered about that. I needed to know the status of the Virus.
“Is the virus ready Violet?”
She brushed her bright purple hair behind her ears and swiveled her chair round to face me. She then held up a Flash drive and said, “It’s right here for you. They won’t know what hit them”
I nodded my head, “Good, that's good”
We were both silent for a moment the I proceeded to start interfacing with then table computer. Doing this sparked a thought in my brain. I instantly said this thought out load, “We need to give this table computer a cooler name. Table computer sounds a bit... dry”
She looked at me in deep thought then said, “T.C”
“Huh?”
“T.C! Table computer... T.C sounds pretty cool and it’s an abbreviation of Table Computer”
“Okay...” I said in agreement. “...T.C it is then”
She stood up and walked to me slowly. Then she started talking in a quiet tone, “I'm not sure about this mission. It’s a bit risky don’t you think”
“Well do we have any other leads? No I think not.... We need this information. The whole of France is at risk. They could have already launched the plane by now. We got to act quick before they start their plan... IF they haven't already started it”
“Alright!....” She said with a sigh, “...You’re right, We clearly don’t have a choice”
“Anyway, we should get going...” I suggested. “...Mission starts in half and hour”

Thirty Minutes later we we’re getting aboard the chopper. We had all geared up heavily: Mines, Rocket launchers, claymores, breach charges, smoke grenades, flash grenades and stupid amounts of ammo.
“Where’s Rainbow?” asked Violet.
“I guess she changed her mind” I said in disappointment.
I was just climbing on the chopper ready to go. I was quite saddened that Rainbow wasn’t coming.
“Okay Liam, your clear to go!”
Just as we lifted off I proceeded to shut the choppers side door. Just before I could shut it Rainbow’s hoof came through the gap...
“Wait! I’m coming too” She said with a glare. She was armed fully: Body armour that I specially made for her, ammo and her Famas on her back. “Like you said, my ability to fly will come in handy”
I grabbed her hoof and pulled her on board, smiling at her.
“I'm glad you changed your mind”

Chapter Six - Intelligence

It was so cold. The ground, the trees, the mountains. The whole landscape was covered in a thick layer of snow. I could feel the extreme cold against my face. My nose was so numb and my ears had frozen. It was snowing really hard and visibility was pretty low.
“Cobra, S.A.S Delta team is on their way from the south. They’ll arrive at the base in about Twenty Minutes”
“Good, we should get going. We’ve still got to get through the town before we can reach the base”
We were here in Russia, about to move in on the base. The S.A.S were coming in from the south and we were attacking from the north. We had walked a good mile to get here and we still needed to get through this town. Unfortunately it was full of Russians. At least they were not Spetnaz this time but just regular conscripts. Conscripts we’re generally not very well trained, not well equipped or very smart. This mission seemed a whole lot less impossible now. However the number of tanks and choppers in the area cancelled out that little sign of hope.
“Tank! Get down!”
We all got down in the snow as multiple large tanks drove past. We were covered by the snow and tall grass on the side of the road. Many tanks and troops slowly passed.
“Okay, I think we’re clear” Anthony said with quiet confidence.
“All right, lets get moving” I ordered.

We approached the Town. Anthony and Edward were on the other side of the road stacking against the wall of the house. Me, Rainbow, Violet and Ryder where crouched behind some brushes outside another house. More houses spread down the road and a side road on the right about half way down the road with a petrol station at the far side of the junction. A T-90 tank then suddenly drove half way down the street and started scanning the area with it’s main gun.
“Great! If we try to retreat we would get caught, if we try to approach it we would get caught, if we stay here we will eventually get caught” Complained Rainbow. “Now what are we going to do?”
“I say we wait for it to move away...” I suggested. “...It can’t stay there forever.”
“That will take too long...” Argued Ryder. “...I think we should just take them”. He took out his Rocket launcher.
“...Okay, but we have to be at least a little smart about this. Give me a minute to think...” I paused and looked around my environment. I was trying to come up with a good plan. After a while I had something:
“Duke, head inside the house beside us. See if you can get in from the side. Get up to that window and get ready to shoot the tank on my mark. And stay down!”
“Yes sir” his voice so masculine and professional.
“Rainbow, when the rocket destroys the tank need you to fly above and take as many shots as you can at the petrol station. That building over there. Aim for the little boxes with the tubes hanging out. That should take care of the guys over there.”
“You got it!”
“Inferno and Viper, you will take care of the guys that come from the street on the right. Move round back of the house and take position in the house opposite the junction. Me and Violet will take care of anyone coming down the road where the tank is”
Anthony responded, “That house is pretty damn close to the tank but okay, No problem... This better work”

It took everyone about a minute to get into position. Nothing had changed with the Russian tank or troops. They had no idea what was about to happen.
“......Mark” I said calmly.
Suddenly a rocket flew out of the window beside us and hit the tank directly. A massive explosion shook the ground and the tanks main gun flew high up in the air after been blown off. As soon as the rocket hit Rainbow dashed upward and started firing away at the gas station causing it to explode. Many guys getting incinerated by the blast or knocked off their feet by the force of the explosion. Guys started running up from the right street spraying their weapons only to be met with Heavy machine gun fire from Anthony and Edward. More came down the street where the tank was destroyed so I stood up and started firing my Assault rifle at them, taking them down rapidly as they dropped to the floor. I had to reload and the rest took cover by the tanks husk. As I got back up to continue I noticed guys entering the building Anthony and Edward were firing from.
“Viper, Inferno, Tangos entering from the first floor” I warned them talking into the ear piece.
“Shit. Alright we got it”
I continued firing my weapon at the guys by he tank husk. Rainbow had landed beside me to use the bush as cover. The bush had been grown around a brick wall so it provided limited cover from the bullets. Ryder was also firing his Light Machine Gun from the window he had fired the rocket from. As we sprayed bullets I ordered Rainbow and violet to move up with me. We took cover behind a brick wall by the junction.
“Hind!” Yelled Edward down the earpiece.
Hearing this I looked up and saw a hind inbound. It was coming straight for us very fast. As soon a it entered range it fired rockets into Anthony’s and Edward’s vantage point in the house. Bit’s of plaster and brick ware blasted everywhere.
“Ryder! Rockets now!” I shouted.
“I’m already on it” he said calmly.
A rocket flew out of the window again but the Hind dodged it. Straight afterwards it fired a rocket back.
“Aw shit” cursed Ryder into the earpiece.
Boom! The house was hit and it started to collapse. It turned to us and sprayed us with machine gun fire. We got down behind the wall for cover.
“We are so fucked now” I bitched loudly.
Rainbow then looked at me cunningly then jumped up and flew towards the chopper. The chopper fired machine guns and rockets at Rainbow but she strafed side to side to dodge the incoming fire. When she got close she halted and fired her Famas into the pilots window. After a few shots from her rife the helicopter just lost control as it plundered to the ground. She landed by me again looking all smug and full of herself.
“Never fear! Your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is hear!”
I looked at her proudly, giving her a little nod, then turned to talk into my earpiece, “Guys? Are you all okay?”
All of the others were coughing down the Microphones then told me they were fine. When we regrouped they all seemed unscratched. A bit dusty and dirty from the rubble but they were unharmed. I was surprised seeing as they got blown up by missiles. I just accepted that they were alive. We had a mission to complete and reinforcements was bound to show up any moment now.

We approached the base. We were coming down a hill so we got a bit of a view of what was inside the base. A few more T-90’s, Helipads with Hinds and many guards. We were NOT going to fight all that. The best thing to do was sneak into the base. The S.A.S team was about 20 minutes out. They radioed us saying they ran into some complications getting to the base. Of course when we approached the base we found that the fences where electrified.
“Ah shit!” I said. “...Ryder. Get the C4 ready. We‘re gonna have to do this the hard way... Luck just isn’t with us today”
Ryder got out some C4 and planted it very close to the fence.
I turned to the rest of my team, “When this C4 goes off we need to move in straight away for cover. Cover each others backs in there and continue to advance to the main structure. Rainbow, remain grounded while we advance to the building. There are way too many enemies in there for you to dodge their bullets...” I turned my head sideways to look back at Ryder, “...Alright Ryder, blow the charge...”

As soon as the C4 went off we ran in taking cover by some crates. Many Russians saw us and fired back immediately. We returned fire accordingly. All we needed to do was cross the first road, fight our way through a large crate field, cross the second road, run across a large open concrete space while avoiding tank and helicopter fire, run up the large concrete stair well to the structure and fight our way through a building full of baddies to the control room. It sounds stupidly hard and it was actually going to be much harder than it sounded. I was scared for my life but I kept thinking, ‘We have to stop those nukes!’. I didn’t want to do this but I knew I didn’t have a choice.

“Alright ladies! Lets move up” I ordered. We crossed the road under heavy fire but managed to Cross unscathed and took cover by some more creates. We proceeded to fight our way up though the large spread of crates; moving from cover to cover , taking out as many as we could while at the same time trying not to get shot. Two T-90 tanks had taken position on the second road an had started firing their secondary machine gun at us. Most of the Russians in the massive stock of creates had been killed by us and the rest pulled back to the tanks. We were pretty close to the tanks but we were pinned down behind more creates by the tanks secondary weapon.
“Duke, You got any rockets left?” I asked hopefully.
“Of course I do” he said casually.
“...well then.. get on with it!”
Ryder proceeded to reload his rocket launcher and aimed it at the first tank. He fired it and got a direct hit. One down, one to go. However with our luck we had the misfortune of a chopper flying up from behind the tanks, firing machine gun bullets everywhere towards us. Ryder reloaded his rocket and fired at the chopper. Direct hit again and it spiraled out of control crashing into the other helicopters still on the helipads. Despite this success we still had the tank firing at us and Ryder had no more rockets. Luckily I had packed smoke grenades so I threw one over by the tank. After a few seconds the smoke had built up and the tank stopped firing. So did all the soldiers behind the tank. We were still getting shot at from the sides but it was safe enough now to move up to the tank. The smoke still not dispersed I had Anthony climb on top of the tank to chuck in a grenade. When Anthony pulled out a grenade one of the drivers had opened the hatch and grabbed Anthony’s arm. Anthony throwing his other arm to punch the guy but he dodged out the way and counter attacked with a quick punch in the ribs. My focus was drawn away by incoming fire from behind as the smoke dissipated. Russians ran at us from the create field firing a barrage of bullets. Me and the rest of the team took cover by some creates near the tank and returned fire.

A few seconds past and I heard a shot coming from behind. I turned to look and I saw the tank driver holding a pistol to Anthony’s gut.
“Shit! Anthony” I called out.
I turned to point my weapon at the driver but he shot me first. He emptied his clip on me but missing every shot besides one that hit me in the left arm. Anthony then came behind the driver with a knife and slit his throat open. The driver then started gasping for air as blood began to fill his lungs. Anthony then kicked him off the top of the tank before falling off it himself. I jumped up to check on Anthony. I crouched by him and pulled out a medical field kit from my pocket.
“Shit Ant, you alright?” I asked concernedly.
“Yeah, I’m fine! but there’s no time. Give me the kit and get going to the control room”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine!...” he said trying to ignore the pain. “...I’ll patch myself up”
“Alright. Edward! Stay with Anthony. When he’s patched up, find a safe place to hold out till we are done in the control room” I got up and gave the hand signal to move up, “...Everyone else we gotta go now! More choppers will show up soon and I don’t want to be out here when they do!”

Me and the rest of the team began to run across the open to the large stair well. There wasn’t much cover but Edward was giving us some cover fire. We reached the stairs and machine gun fire was coming from the structures windows above. We took cover by the concrete wall as I tossed the last of my smoke grenades up. With the cover of the smoke we advanced up the stairs and stacked up at the door. I planted a breach charge on the double doors immediately. I flipped the detonator and the charge blew, stunning everyone on the other side. We moved in gunning down every Russian we saw. We cleared the main entrance hall of Russians and Violet the searched a couple of the bodies. She found a mini-computer on one of them.
“Give me a sec to hack this. I can find out were the control room is, or computer lab or whatever”
She tapped a few buttons on the touch screen computer. She worked for a few seconds tapping away at the computer screen. She stuck her tongue out like she was trying hard to focus.
“Right! Got it!...” she blurted out. “...control room is this way”
“Lets get going!”

After intense fighting through the corridors of the base we reached the control room. We moved in quickly and took cover. The room was empty. Offices could be seen either side, elevated above the rest of the room only accessible by metal stairs along the side. Many computers around the room and a main view screen in the middle of the back wall.
“Get to it Violet”
“On it. I'm going to need some time. A LOT of time”
“Alright! Get claymores set up in the corridors leading to this room, Take up a defensive position around the door and defend this room!” I turned to Rainbow, “...stay in here with Violet in case they decide to come through the windows”

I went out into the corridor to see how Ryder doing with the claymores. He had planted a series of claymores down all three corridors, hiding them behind boxes, barrels and the archways. I moved a few barrels near the door to make some cover. If the Russians showed up we would need more than just claymores to protect us.
“Alright. That’s all the claymores used up”
“Alright then.... get ready...” My voice lowered as I entered a state of concentration, waiting for the Russians to show up. Ryder watched down the left corridor and I watched down the right. The middle one had the most claymores so we didn’t focus on it to much but I did occasionally give it a quick scan.
“Here they come!” Yelled Ryder “...My side!”
“...and mine!”
Russians started taking cover and firing at us from both corridors. As they tried to move up they were met with explosions from the claymores. Me and Ryder both firing away holding the door, the barrels providing sufficient cover. More explosions from the middle corridor. Russians were now coming from every direction. Very quickly the claymores began to dwindle as more and more went off. The Russians getting closer now, me and Ryder were finding it difficult to fire back.
“Violet? Talk to me!” I yelled with concern down my earpiece.
“Almost there! Just one more Firewall to crack!” she said, not appreciating the extra pressure.
“Fuck it! Ryder inside now and seal the door with the torch!”
Me and Ryder went back into the control room and Ryder proceeded to seal the door shut with the torch. It wouldn’t take them long to brake through but it would buy us some time.
“Courage.... You might want to come see this...”
“What is it Violet?” I turned to everyone else, “...get ready for when they brake through.” I then walked to the work area where Violet was.
“Check it out....”
“The air codes... and... oh shit...”
“Thirty minutes till they launch they first Nuclear strike...”
“Upload the virus... We need to take these codes from them now!”
“The plane will most likely....”
I cut her off quickly, “...Yes I know, the plane will have it’s own copy of course. Otherwise it wouldn’t be able to pass the defences... We gotta stop that plane. Where is it?”
“Airbase... 8 miles east... We have less than thirty minutes to stop that plane....”

Chapter Seven - Hi-Jack

It was over. Thirty Minutes to stop the plane and we were stuck in this room because the Russians were waiting for us outside. No doubt by now they would be planting C4 to blow the door down. For the first time I had no plan. All we can do now is wait for them to come through the door.
“For Luna’s sake why have we been so fucking unlucky today?”
Just as I said that an explosion came though the wall to the right. We all aimed to shoot but they were not Russians. “Hold your fire team!” one of them said.
It was S.A.S delta team! Finally some good luck. I proceeded to talk to Sgt. Drill, the leader of the team.
“Thank the goddesses you're here! We need to get out of here. We have thirty minutes to get to the airbase to the east. One of the planes is loaded with a nuke and it has the codes to get through the automated air defences”
“What! how?” Questioned Drill.
“Courage, I thought we were not going to tell them about the nukes” said Violet.
“Well we didn’t have a choice now. It’s down to us to stop that plane! I’ll explain everything later Drill. Right now we need to get going before the Russians blow the door down."

Fighting through the corridors to get back outside. Violet was directing us to the garage for the building so we could apprehend some transport (She was really good with that Mini-computer). Liam was most likely still on his way back from re-fueling so he wasn’t available right now.
“Right here! Straight down here and the garage should be right through these doors”
We ran through the doors into the garage. Many Russians already had their weapons pointed at us. We pulled up our weapons but they had already started to fire. The moment they did they were also shot at from the side, killing them before the had a chance to hit any of us. To my surprise Anthony and Edward were already in the back of a truck.
“Mount up! Delta team, You take one jeep. My team on me. Be quick but also be careful, the roads are icy. Violet, you're driving. Edward, Ryder, Rainbow, You're on the back with me. Anthony can rest in the passenger seat.”
We all mounted up on the trucks and pulled out quickly. As we left the garage many tanks took shots at us but they missed luckily. We managed to escape the base by crashing through the front gate. It was a fence gate so it wasn't great at stopping speeding trucks.

“How long we got Violet?” I asked.
“Twenty-four Minutes!”
We were now driving through another town before we met resistance. Two trucks on our six and a helicopter inbound. Delta team drove down a different road to spread out.
The enemies started firing at us from the back of the trucks. We didn't return fire since Violet was making too many turns in the town. Aiming while moving so much would be a waste of ammo. The enemies were also obviously having trouble hitting us but then it didn’t matter to them because they actually had ammo to waste. We didn’t. Violet then turned onto a motorway. Now that were diving more steadily we returned fire. The first truck remained tailgating us but the second came up the side of us.
“On the side. On the side!”
Rainbow and I moved to return fire to the truck on the right. The others continued to fire back at the other truck. The truck on the side had six enemies firing at us. Rainbow was hit in the front leg but she sucked it up pretty quickly and returned fire. I took out a few of them before ducking down to reload. When I got back up to shoot I aimed for the driver. I managed to hit the driver causing it to lose control and crash. Ryder pulled the pin off a grenade and threw it at the other truck. It landed right in the back and destroyed the truck.
“Nice throw!” I said
“Thanks” he said casually in his deep voice.

We were only five miles from the airbase now. Sixteen minutes still left on the clock and we now on a motorway that would take us straight to it. We still had the chopper on us though.
“Russian attack vehicles!”
Many van like jeeps were coming up on us. All had mounted weapons on them, all firing away at us. The helicopter joined them by firing it’s own machine guns at us.
“Rainbow!” I shouted. “...Take down that chopper now!”
“I'm on it!” She replied before jumping off the side of the truck and flying towards the chopper. The rest of us were pinned by the attack vehicles from behind. I had run out of ammo also. One of the trucks was now beside us trying to takeout Violet. I needed to do something.
“Cover me from the other two vans!” I shouted!
The other two covered me as I jumped off the side of the truck and landed on the enemy van beside us. The gunner was not happy to see me. He climb up from the gunner seat and stood on top of the van on the opposite side to me.
“You wanna dance? Lets dance mother fucker”
He yelled loudly and moved to punch me. I ducked and punch in the side of his waist then the side of his chest. He was knock back for a second the tried again. The idiot didn’t stand a chance. He threw another punch this time going for my gut but I strafed sideways to dodge again then elbowed his back, kneed him in the stomach then kick him off the van. I moved towards the mounted gun and another guy popped up to see what was happening. I was going to kick him straight in the head but the van jolted sideways and I was throw down, nearly slipping off the side. I was now on my stomach. The guy pulled out his pistol but I grabbed just as he shot causing it to shoot off beside me. I back handed him, punch him then grabbed his throat with my right hand. I used my left hand to pull the pistol out of his hands then smack him with it, knocking him out cold. Bang! The sound of a bullet shocked me as my stomach fell into a deep state of torment. Someone in the van had shot me through the roof of the van. The van then swerved to throw me off. I hadn’t got a grip before hand since I was in so much pain but as I was thrown off I grabbed the side of Violet’s truck again. As I held onto the side I began to lose grip. Luckily Ryder pulled me up into the back of the truck. I managed to bandage myself up from the gun shot wound afterwards.

By now the vans had pulled back after losing most of their gunners and Rainbow returned from taking out the chopper. Delta’s truck was also with us now. The airbase was not far ahead now and we still had Six minutes to stop the plane. Another couple of vans and trucks were pursuing us. I told everyone to save their ammo so only Ryder was firing back as he was the one with the most ammo with his LMG. We were getting close. Another chopper firing rockets towards us from above and the truck swerving side to side as Violet tried to dodge all the rocket fire.
“Tanks!”
Right by the air base gate two tanks had set up a block formation to stop us getting through.
“Again with the bad luck!”
“Now what!!” Shouted Violet.
I had no idea what to do now. It seemed we were screwed: Running from attack jeeps, choppers firing rockets all over the road and tanks blocking our path. Then suddenly another chopper came down launching rockets at the tanks then spinning round to launch more at the enemy chopper. Suddenly a very excited voice sounded from my ear piece:
“Woohoo! Nashy is in the house! Yeah Boy! Get some!”
It was Liam. I couldn’t believe it. I got up in excitement and spoke back to him.
“Fucking great timing Liam! Now cover us while we stop this plane!”
“Lol Yeeaahh Boooy!!”

We were now entering the base! A large bomber was trying to take off on the runway. Tanks were all over the runway trying to defend it, Firing shell after shell at us. Violet tried her best to dodge but even she couldn’t handle this much fire. Liam flew down firing multiple rockets at them. Liam was just cheering down the Mic:
“Yeah boy! Who’s boss? I’m boss! I am the boss! Boss boss boss boss boss!”
I then turned to my earpiece, “Violet! Get beside that plane! I'm not letting it get away!”
“You got it Sir!”
The bomber was just starting to get it’s run up. Liam was still flying around taking out the tanks. More trucks were making pursuit. They really wanted to stop us but I wasn’t going to let this plane go. Violet drove up on the left side of the plane trying to keep her speed steady with it. Ryder was firing back at the new pursuing truck. Suddenly a hatch opened on the side and some Spetnaz soldier started shooting at us. I jumped for the door of the hatch grabbing onto it’s sides. Before the Russian could react I swiped my hand through his feet and tripped him off the side of the plane. I pulled myself into the plane followed by Ryder and Anthony. I looked back out of the hatch; we were taking off and Violet pulled away from the runway. It was up to us three to stop this plane.

Me and the guys moved into the cargo section of the plane. We moved behind some creates to try hiding from the guards but they saw us and opened fire. We returned fire, me using my pistol of course since I ran out of ammo for my M246. It took us about Fifteen minutes to clear out the cargo bay safely. More Russians kept flooding in from the rest of the plane.
“Judging by the number of soldiers we killed there can’t be many left on board” speculated Ryder.
“Lets get to the cock pit and stop this plane” I suggested.
We moved through to the cock pit, meeting no resistance on the way there. We saw a few guys jumping out with parachutes but we let them go.
“No body is flying this thing?” said Anthony in confusion.
“Well it seems it has auto-pilot...” I tried for a while to turn it off but it was password protected.
“Shit! It’s password protected!”
I sat in the pilots seat excepting defeat. I threw my hands in the air in an over dramatic shrug.
“That’s it then... It’s over. All of this for nothing. We failed to stop them!”
Anthony then looked at me intrigued and asked “What about the pilot controls? Are they still on?”
I looked confused for a second, “Of course they are but.... what? No no no no no... I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s the only way!”
Ryder then but in asked, “Can’t do what exactly?”
Anthony started talking before I could, “...I’m going to fight against the auto-pilot and force this plane to crash before it reaches France”
“Anthony you can’t do this. I’ll do it!”
He cut me off again, “...No courage, you can’t. You're the team leader and Ryder is the only explosive expert you have. I'm just a grunt. You two are much more valuable to the team. You two can kick more Russian but than I can”
“...but Anthony...”
“Go...”

Me and Ryder left to find the hatch the Russians had jumped out of when we passed through. We grabbed a parachute and jumped from the plane. As we fell from the plane I turned to see it crashing into a mountain in the distance.
“...Anthony...”

Chapter Eight - True Evil

Liam came to pick us up after we jumped from the plane.
“Where’s Anthony?” asked Liam.
“He crashed the plane into a mountain” I replied sadly
“Crashed into the side of a mountain? How unoriginal”
I was quite surprised by his response but it was quite funny so I smiled a bit
“Where are the others Liam?” I asked worryingly
“They drove off somewhere trying to get away from the Russians. I would have helped but the Russians brought in some SA-11’s to try shoot me down”

They would have probably been captured or killed by now so I had Liam fly us home. If they were captured then we still had a few days to save them. If they were dead then it wouldn’t matter how long we took. Besides I had no idea where they were so I needed to hope they were captured and taken to a Russian base. That way I could get to the computer lab and find out where they are being held. Rainbow managed to escape and follow Liam here to us.

As soon as we got back to base I had everyone gear up for stealth. I geared up quickly and then instantly signed into the Russian Intelligence site using the log in details given to me by gavriil. Luckily Violet’s virus didn’t spread any further than the base’s hard drives so their battle net was still online and running. Probably not so great for the UN but it meant I could find out where Violet and the rest were being held. After about four minutes I found them being held in a Russian prison camp in Afghanistan. It was built originally to hold Taliban rebels. The Russians hated the Taliban more than America did. The camp was built with torture facilities as it was used to inhumanly torture the rebels. I dare say they were going to use those facilities on my people so there wasn’t any time to waste.

At the chopper everyone was geared up in black camo, MP5’s and silencers with black face paint except...
“Liam? Really? What the fuck man?”. I looked at him really disappointed and surprised.
“What? They wont see it coming!”
“For Fuck’s sake Liam, you can’t do it like that”
“Why not? I'm the Pilot and you don’t have a choice if you want a ride there. U Mad Bro?”
Liam was inside a cardboard box with his AA-12 taped to the side. He had two eye holes in the front and a hand hole by his gun so he can reach out and shoot the trigger. It was fucking ridiculous. We didn’t have time to argue so I just let him keep his stupid box.
“How are you going to fly in that box? It’s not even tall enough of you to stand up, let alone sit in a pilot seat and fly.”
“I’ll just take it off till we get there”
Really? He wasn’t even wearing armour under that box. Just a some black combats and a short sleeved shirt with a troll face on it. I didn’t say anything because there’s no winning an argument with a complete imbecile. It would have been great if this was a movie or a book. I mean if I saw this in a movie or book I would just laugh. Unfortunately this isn’t so I was more concerned with the consequences of having a guy in a small box following me around on a stealth mission.
I gave a big sigh, “Okay Liam.... lets go then”

Off to Afghanistan we went. It only took a few hours to get there. Liam landed about half a mile from the camp where Violet and the others were being held (Lets call it concentration camp for now). We walked all the way there with no encounters with Russians and the base wasn’t very heavily guarded. It was one main, U shaped, structure in the middle with some smaller outlining square ones. The middle definitely had a least twenty different rooms and possibly an underground floor. The outer buildings looked like they could be made up of about four to five rooms each.

Me and the others approached one of the side buildings to use it as cover. We heard tortured screams coming from inside. I climbed up some stack boxes to reach a small window so I could peak inside. Rainbow hovered next to me using her wings. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“I'm giving you one more chance. You can make all this stop if you tell me what I want to know”
“I’ll tell you nothing! Go on! Finish this!”
“Ahaha fine by me! I have so many more of you to torture”
More screams could be heard as an axe flew to cut the prisoners arm off. The prisoner was part of Delta Team.
The prisoner slowly started to die from blood loss.
“I’ll find out what I want eventually, for I, am, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!”
It was Trixie! I couldn’t believe it and nor could Rainbow. Rainbow’s jaw was dropped and her ears fell back. Trixie looked to the Russian guard that was with her.
“Bring me the purple headed one!” she said with anger, “She’ll probably know more anyway” she said, raising her head while walking out.

Rainbow flew up high for some reason but I assured myself she was doing it for good reason. I jumped down from the creates.
“Okay guys we.... ah shit...”
Before me was four Russians with all their weapons pointed at me. This must be why Rainbow flew off. Ryder had already dropped his weapon...
I looked at the guards hopelessly, “I don’t suppose you’ll want to discuss this over milk and cookies?” I looked at them with a guilty smile. They grabbed me and smacked my weapon out of my hand.
“What about the guy in that box” I pointed to Liam in his box.
“Don’t be silly...” Said the guard, “...No one goes on a stealth mission in a box”

They threw me and Ryder into a jail cell with Violet and Edward. They then walked off down the corridor. The jail was just an empty rusted room with one bed and a bucket in the corner. I didn’t want to even look in the bucket. I already knew what it was for. Violet looked fine and Edward had a couple of cuts on his face. Clearly he had resisted before.
“Violet? Edward? You guys okay?”
“Yeah, we’re good. Where’s Rainbow?” asked Violet.
“I dunno. She flew off before the Russians spotted her”
“Okay. You did stop that plane right?”
“Yeah. We stopped it” I said reassuringly.
Giving a sigh of relief she lent back and relaxed against the wall.
More guards approached the cell. One pointed to me, “...Him!”
They came in a grabbed me. I was going to kick their ass but I was curious to see where they would take me.

I was taken into a large dark room. One light in the middle revealed a tilted arm chair with leather restraints. I was strapped to it and blind folded. I then heard the guards walk out and shut the door behind them. It was really cold in here and I couldn’t see a thing.
“Welcome Courage” The sound of Trixie's smug voice sent shivers down my spine. I then heard the sound of hooves walking towards me from behind.
“Who’s better to interrogate than the leader of the pesky team himself?”
“Trixie...” I said accusingly, “...what do you want?”
“Ahaha, what I want?” she said jokingly but then her voice became extremely angry, “You know damn well what I want. I want Rainbow dash!”
I then started speaking sarcastically, “...Aw well you just missed her. If you're quick you might be able to catch her”
She stomped her hoof then whispered loudly in my ear, “Don’t toy with me. I will brake you! Unless you tell me where she is right now, you're going to be in a lot of pain”
“What’s going on Trixie? Are you still mad about what happened with Twilight and the Ursa Minor?”
I could hear her hooves pacing back and forth, “Don’t change the subject. I'm a busy Pony so DON’T waste my time”
“I’ll tell you nothing”
“Fine by me. We’ll have to do this the hard way”
She removed my blind fold with her mouth. Her breath was minty fresh. It smelt good. Seductively good.
“Hehe mmm.... Your breath smells good!” I said playfully, “...What is it?” I said with a giggle.
“It’s anaesthetic. I don’t want you to die too quickly. Unfortunately it makes you very giggly...” she then gave me an evil grin, “...until the pain starts”
A brownish pony then came out of the darkness pushing a medical table towards us. The pony pushed it next to Trixie and then disappeared into the darkness again. The medical table had lots of medical tools set out neatly across it. What she was doing was crazy but she was definitely sane.
“Hmm, what to use... what, to, use...”
A magical blue glow surrounded the scalpel. How did I know she would choose the Scalpel. She floated it by my chest then used it to cut off my armour and shirt.
“Are you going to tell me where Rainbow is?”
“Never...”
“Fine, have it your way”
She then sharply stabbed the scalpel into me and started cutting open my side. The pain was unbearable as the scalpel slowly slit through my skin and flesh.
“I thought your breath was anesthetic!” I yelled in torment.
She laughed and said, “You fool. It does not help with the pain, It just stops you dieing from it”
She then levitated a re-tractor and separated the walls of my cut flesh. I could feel my wound stretching open and even tearing.
“You can make this all stop if you just tell me where Rainbow Dash is”
“...Never”
She laughed and continued with her little ‘Operation’. She started cutting through my muscular tissue in my side slowly cutting her way to my kidney. Blood squirted everywhere, the pain unbearable. She then levitated some tweezers over and gripped my kidney hard. She started tugging on my kidney about to rip it out forcefully.
“Last chance to save your kidney”
I was in so much pain now, “...Fuck... you!”
She then pulled on my kidney and snapped it off. I gave out a cry off pain and my eyes began to water. Blood had splattered all over Trixie’s face.
“Eww, Gross... but necessary...”
I was going into shock from the pain. My vision started to blur. I started to shake and sweat heavily and began to pass out. I tried so hard to stay conscious but my vision continued to darken.
“Do you want me to stop?” she asked lifting her eyebrow.
I remained silent.
She grunted and bucked the medical table sharply across the room then started yelling, “Where is Rainbow Dash! I can make this a whole lot worse for you! Tell me where she is now!”
I remained silent. I was in too much pain to talk. She then slammed her hoof into my freshly cut wound and applied increasing pressure. I flinched from the pain and looked at her hopelessly, my eyes begging for mercy. I either wanted her to stop or just put me out of my misery. Inside I was screaming in pain but I was in too much shock to let the scream out. She pressed harder and harder on my wound. Luckily the Brown Pony pulled her away before she finished me off. As Trixie was pulled away I began to pass out. The shock and the fever finally broke me.

“He’s awake” Whispered Violet loudly.
“What did they do to you? They removed your kidney!” she said touching the badly done stitching on my side.
“It...” I cleared my throat and sat up, trying to fight the pain. “...It was Trixie”
“Trixie?” asked Violet in confusion.
“Trixie. She’s also a Pony; like Rainbow Dash except she isn’t a Pegasus Pony, she’s a Unicorn Pony. Her horn gives her magic abilities. She used her levitation to use the medical tools on me. She tortured me to find out where Rainbow Dash is, but then I passed out. That’s when I woke up here”
“Well you're lucky to...”
We heard more footsteps coming from down the corridor. A Russian general and several guards approached the cell. The general had a eye patch on his left eye and a scar ran under it. He looked pretty young, at least twenty-Eight years old. He wore a forest green and Crimson uniform and a communist commissioners hat.
He lent forward to the cell, “Do you guys speak English? You're English right. You're not the fucking French are you?” He was very casual and quiet.
“Yeah, we’re English” I said with a confused look.
“Oh okay just checking” he said with a smile. He then lent away from the cell again and cleared his throat.
“Right! Trixie was not happy with the results she got from her interrogation...” His voice was now aggressive and demanding. “... She sent me down to try other methods of getting information out of you. Lets put it this way, if you don’t...”
His voice faded out of my mind. I was distracted by the most hopeful yet stupid sight ever. Everyone including the guards were no longer paying attention to the general. A box was crawling behind the general... It was slowly sneaking towards the general. The guards looked so confused. Two of them pointed their weapons and the other two just stood their just completely bewildered by what they were seeing. A box sneaking up on their commanding officer. The General didn’t even notice. The box slowly crawling towards him. We all had confused looks on our faces. A hand then came out of the side hole and grabbed the keys around the generals waist. The jingling of the keys alerted the general. The general looked under his arm.
“Huh? What the Fuck? A box?!? Guards! Seize that box!”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The box gave out a very high pitched scream as it attempted to crawl away.
The guards grabbed the box and under it was Liam. Liam looked up at them with a very creepy smile.
“Oh Hi Guys!” Liam said cheerfully.

The guards opened the door and threw Liam in. As they did I grabbed one of them and threw him against the wall. One went to shoot me but I dashed over to him and wrapped my arm around his arm with my back to him then elbowed him in the stomach. I then snatched the weapon off him and fired at the other two guards. I then turned round and kicked the winded guard in the face.
I looked at the others, “You guys, Find Delta team, get to the chopper and get ready to leave...”
“What about you?” asked Violet curiously.
“I’ve got somepony to see... Now go! I’ll be out soon”

I came to the exit of the building where two guards stood guarding. I ran up to them before they could react. I punched the first one immediately to knock him back. The second swung his AK to hit me in the back but I span round and grabbed the butt of it with my hand. I then launched it into his face. I threw my leg back to kick the first guard in the crotch then grabbed the second by the throat to pin him to the wall. He pulled out a knife to stab me but I grabbed his wrist and slammed it to the wall. He kneed me in the stomach then proceeded to try stab me again but I ducked under his attack then ran to tackle him. He fell to the the floor and I punch him in the stomach, twisted his arm then elbowed him in the face. The first guard kicked me in the back, knocking me on my stomach. I looked round and saw him swinging his knife towards me. I rolled to the side as the knife stabbed the floor and become stuck. As he tried to pull it out I swiftly kicked him in the chest.
“Sorry fellers but your not good enough to take down Cobra”

I walked out the door to find four guys pointing their weapons at me. I didn’t stop I just jumped towards them in a roll. I landed on the floor; two guards one side and two the other side. One went to punch me so I grabbed his hand and swung him round into the guard behind me. They both fell over and the other two still standing went to shoot me. I jumped high and swung my foot around to kick the first in the face. The second started to fire but I ducked under the bullets and back handed his rifle out of his hand. I then grabbed the sides of his arms then head butted him, knocking him out cold. The other two got back up and tried to attack me again. They went to punch me again and I strafed out the way again.
“Will you guys ever learn? Punching doesn’t work on me Retards”
I then jumped up and kicked one in the face. I then landed rolling under the other one’s legs. As he tried to turn I got up, grabbed his pistol from his holster and fired it into his chest point blank. I turned to see the last guy swinging to stab me with his knife. He was already half way through swinging and I couldn't react fast enough.
“Hi-ya!”
Rainbow Dash flew in kicking the guy in the head from the side. She knocked him out cold.
“Nice one Rainbow”
“Thanks. I am pretty Awesome aren't I?”
“C’mon. Lets go have a talk with Trixie”

We sprinted to the middle U shaped building kicking, punching and shooting every Russian we saw. Approaching the main building but many Russians stood in our way.
“You ready Rainbow? Trixie will try to run so we gotta do this quick. Lets sprint this. No stopping”
“Lets do this!” She said giving an evil grin.
We jumped out of cover and ran down the middle of the U shape to the main door. Russians saw us and started firing immediately. We fired back and took many of them out in seconds. We were running through them like it was a training course. We were close to the door now but I ran out of ammo in my clip. Four Russians stood in front of me about twenty feet ahead. I threw the old clip out and chucked a new one in the air. I then jumped in the air and did a cart wheel across the twenty feet distance. Mid air I swung my AK into the new clip and it slipped in nicely. Landing next to the four guards I used the butt of my weapon to knock one over then the barrel of my gun to jab the other. I then turned to shoot the other two. I then continued to the building’s main doors.

Me and Rainbow made it in a fought to the main hall. We sprinted into the main hall but quickly braked to the sight of Trixie standing in the middle.
“Trixie!” Rainbow yelled out in rage.
“Rainbow... I’ve been looking for you”
“Why is that?” Rainbow asked.
“Because I wanted to make sure you didn’t leave this planet ever again. You know too much and I’d hate for you to tell the other Ponies our plan”
“I know too much? but I don’t know anything” said Rainbow in confusion.
“Regardless, you're here and you were snooping around with him too much. I can’t risk you telling the other Ponies”
I butted in, “...Your plan? If your talking about the nukes then you're too late I already stopped it”
Trixie then outburst into an evil laugh, “Did you really think that was our plan? That was something to distract you humans. We have no quarry with you humans. We are just using you.”
“Our? We?” I said confused. “.. who is we?”
Then a very evil, elderly laugh filled the room...
Rainbow looked horrified and her ears dropped, “That laugh, that voice. I’ve heard it before!”
Suddenly a huge poof of purple smoke appeared by Trixie and as the smoke dissipated I couldn’t believe what stood before us.
Me and Rainbow then accusingly said in perfect sync, “...Discord”

Chapter Nine - Splitting up

“Hello again Rainbow Dash. It has been a while. How have you been?”
“Discord?”
“Yes! That is me. So lovely to see you all...” He flew round us in a complete circuit as he said it.
“Cut the crap Discord!” I yelled loudly taking a step forward, “...What’s your game?”
“Games? I love to play games!” He flew behind rainbow and spoke into her ear. “Rainbow, You remember that game we played back in Canterlot? The one where you betrayed your friends.” He looked at her with sly grin.
“...I didn’t betray my friends! You tricked me!”
He dismissed her response and turned to me, “And Courage is it? Do you know why she’s even here? Do you know what she did to Princess Celestria?”
“...That was an accident!” I claimed.
“That’s what she said. It sounds a little suspicious to me”
“No... It was an accident!” Cried Rainbow Dash.
“I know Rainbow. He’s just trying mess with us. Your tricks may work on Ponies but they won’t work on me Discord!”
Discord flew back over to Trixie and folded his arms in disappointment, “Hm... no fun. Well I don’t need to disband your little team of fighters. You don’t stand a chance of stopping me anyway. Now if you excuse me I have some chaos to wreak”
Discord clicked his fingers and Trixie and himself both disappeared in a poof of purple smoke. Rainbow and I lifted our weapons to shoot him, spraying into the smoke but he was already gone.
“Damn it!” I yelled.
“C’mon Courage, we should get to the Chopper”
“Yeah, of course. Lets get going”

Me and Rainbow managed to sneak out of the base and made it to the Chopper safely.
“C’mon you two. Where have you been? You guys took forever in there” Violet sounded a bit stressed.
“It’s a long story...” I climbed on board the chopper “...I’ll explain later. Right now I need to get to my computer lab”
Liam’s voice sounded through my ear piece, “You got it boss!”
The helicopter took off from the ground. As we raised above the canopy I could see choppers swarming the concentration camp that we just escaped from. Those Russians really didn’t like us. After this I don’t think they’ll ever take their chances with us again. Next time they’ll be using a ‘Shoot first, ask questions never’ Policy.

“So what did you find down there?” asked Ryder.
“Well...”
I was immediately interrupted by Liam, “Enemy Choppers incoming. Hinds! Three of them!”
“Use your rockets Liam. This Helicopter is equipped to fight off ten Hinds you know” I said stating the obvious.
“Yeah but I used all my rockets to destroy those tanks back at that Russian airbase. We never restocked the rockets back at the base. Yes I COULD use the machine guns but using just machine guns against three hinds armed with missiles, machine guns and side gunners would be a little risky”
“Take evasive maneuvers then. Me and Rainbow will man the mini-gun turrets and try to take them out”
“Courage! You haven't slept in days and you had your kidney ripped out of you less than four hours ago. I think you should just rest for now. Let me man the turret” Violet was very concerned about my health but I just ignored her and continued to prime the turret and open the side door of the Chopper.

“Alright Rainbow. Just push the button on the side and your mini-gun will unleash hell on the enemies with a speed of 3600 rounds per minutes”
“Here they come!”
Liam swung the chopper sideways so I was facing the Russian hinds. My mini-gun begun to spin up as the hinds fired at us. Bullets flew in through the door but I managed to not get hit. I fired back spraying bullets everywhere. The hind was almost instantly destroyed. These guns packed a mean punch. Rainbows mini-gun was going off for a few seconds then Rainbows side was hit with a rocket from another hind. She and everyone else were fine. Her gun was not so lucky. While I was distracted the third hind sprayed bullets in my side also taking out my gun.
“Fuck! Liam our guns are gone!” I yelled in panic.
“You think that's bad? We just got hit by a MoFo rocket! This chopper is tough but not invincible!”
“Shut up and get us out of here!”
“Your mum get us out of here!”
“...That didn’t even make sense!”
“Your mum makes no sense!”
Liam flew down low into the forest’s canopy following a dirt road.
“Woah! Your a bit low Liam!”
“Shut up faggot! You obviously know nothings bout helicopters”
The hinds followed us in firing rockets and machine guns everywhere. Liam strafed side to side dodging the trees and rockets. The hinds were having difficulty trying to keep up without crashing. Liam the flew over some thicker vegetation and deployed his flares. Not only did the flares set the vegetation on fire but the rockets from the hind also blasted the fire turning it into a massive blaze, a blaze in which the hind flew straight into.
“Woohoo!...” Shouted Liam cheerfully. “...Get some noobs!”
The second came in from above and fired rockets. Liam dodged the rockets but now we were out of ideas. Well at least I was. The hind flew towards us and Liam flew straight back at it. Both firing machine guns at each other.
“Liam? What are you doing?!?!” I yelled.
“For pancakes!!” shouted Liam.
Liam then swung our tail out and literally ripped the enemies cockpit apart with our tail blades. I did reinforced our blades with titanium and steel alloys but I didn’t think they would make our blades THAT strong. I just assumed the amount of damage Liam did with the machine guns severely weakened the hinds structural integrity.
“How are we back there?” Liam asked.
“Great, just great. It’s not like swinging your chopper around like that threw us all over the back or anything” I said sarcastically. Our chopper was heavily damaged but still flying, the tail blade was fucked and barely spinning
“Get us out of here Liam” I ordered.

Back at base I assembled the team in the computer lab for another briefing. We were all worn out and tired, me the most. Especially after that horrible experience Trixie gave me.
“Before we start I want to introduce the new team. While we were gone I had Isabelle hire some new guys for us. We now have a full medical team, armoury officer and a new team of soldiers: Pete, Gavin, Lister and Megan. Edward, You will be their team leader”
The new guys walked forward to the T.C giving little waves to introduce themselves as I said their names.
“Okay everyone. This is discord...”
I brought up an image of Discord on the T.C.
“...He is an ancient pest of Equestria that forced the ponies to live in chaos for many years till Celestia and Luna ended his rain of terror. He also returned in Season two of My Little Pony so I assume that was very recent. At the end of the episode he was again frozen in stone. Now he’s here... Firstly, I want to find out how he escaped the stone and came to earth. Secondly, and more importantly, I want to know his plan. We will need to do some more recon to find out what he is planning. You have eight hours to rest. Go home, have a warm meal and get some sleep. Be back here at 10pm tomorrow, That allows you to have a nice lay in... Dismissed”
Everyone walked out of the computer lab except for Violet.
“What exactly will you be doing tonight? and don’t say work because you have to get some rest. You’ve been through way more than any of us have put together...”
“I have stimulants to keep me awake and pain killers to stop the pain. I need to work on this. The longer we take the more time Discord has to enact his plan”
“Courage, you can’t survive on drugs forever. Eventually this exhaustion will affect your combat effectiveness. You're putting yourself at a lot of risk by straining yourself”
“You're dismissed Violet. I have a lot of work to do”
“Fine...” she stormed out the room groaning.

I spent two hours in the computer researching for leads on Discord. Then Rainbow walked in.
“Courage. A couple of french guys came into the base driving a Pink... ‘Lamborghini’ I think they said?”
“Holy fuck that was quick!”
I dashed off to the Motor pool to find the french president standing next to the beautiful piece of art people call a Lamborghini.
“Greetings Courage. As thanks for saving Paris I will continue funding you and I have brought you this...” He tapped the roof with his hand “...Feel free to do what you please with it”
I ran and hugged the President giving a loud squee! “...Thank you so much. I'm going to mod the shit outer this thing. Feel free to come back anytime Mr. President. I'm greatly in your debt!”
“You're welcome Courage. Now I must really get going”
“Of course Mr. President. Thank you”

Next morning Violet came into the motor-pool to find me working on my brand new car.
“What the fuck is this Courage?” she said with cheerful surprise.
I slid out from under the car, “It’s my new toy from the president; a Gift for saving Paris! Isn’t she a beauty?”
I looked at the car with a cheerful grin then looked back at Violet, “...Been working on her all night”
“Awesome...” she said with a smile. “So did you find any leads on discord?”
“No but I found something that might be able to help us or at the least further cripple the Russians”
“So what did you find?”

“The Russian Premier...” We were in the Computer lab again with everyone else. “...if Discord and Trixie are working with The Russians then he must at least know something about them”
Ryder then began to talk, casually of course being the calm headed guy he is. “The Russian Leader? Well you must have a pretty good plan then if your even considering this. He will have maximum protection”
“Extra strength Condoms?” yelled Liam in panic, “Oh no!”
I glared at Liam for a few seconds then turned to Ryder, “Actually no, I don’t have a plan. I don’t even know where the Russian Premier is. However we are going to find him...” I brought up a map of Russia on the T.C.
“I will be setting us up into three team: Each team will have a separate objective in different parts of Russia. Team one will consist of Me and Rainbow. We will move here to a secret science research base We will be on an Intelligence gathering mission so a small team for stealth. The Premiere has been here many times before so hopefully we’ll find something here. Team two will consist of Edward and the Newbies. You will assault this base here on the outskirts of Magadan. The Premier was last reported there. Get their, take down the guards and find out some information on him. The base has very little protection so you won’t need to pack heavy. Team three will consist of Violet, Ryder and Liam. You three will be moving in on the General that we met at the Concentration camp. Turns out he’s the Premier’s main man. He might know where the Premier is or, even better, know something about Trixie and Discord.
Liam will drop us off first. Then he will drop off team two. After that you guys will proceed with your Mission. Team two, you will not have extraction for a while so you will need to take and hold the base until Liam is done. Me and Rainbow will be able to find our own way home but, just in case, be ready to pick us up when called for. Any questions?”
Pete put his hand up. I looked at him then he began to speak, “What if we can’t hold the base?”
“Then you proceed to either one of these three alpha sites till Liam can pick you up”
“Any other questions?”
Everyone was pretty comfortable with the plan.

“Okay, meet at the chopper in three hours. The armoury officer will issue you your weapons for this mission”

“Okay, we are inbound!” Liam informed us. “...Team one get ready to move!”
Me and Rainbow primed out weapons and check our ammo.
Liam started again. “...All right touch down! Hit it team one!”
As soon as me and Rainbow touched the ground Liam swiftly flew away again.
“Good luck!” Said Liam, giving us a salute as he lifted off. I saluted back at him the turned to walk in the opposite direction with Rainbow. We were on our own from here. It was bloody cold. Why did Russia have so much snow? Actually, don’t answer that. It’s Russia. It’s always fucking snowing here. Anyway me and Rainbow began our three mile walk to the Science base. The base had many Anti-air measures in place so Liam had to drop us miles from the base to avoid being shot down.

“You know you never told me how you got to earth... or explain how your in a fictional T.V show...”
She stopped and looked at me... I stopped and turned to her. She looked unsure.
“...I can’t remember” she looked down and her ears fell back.
“For Luna’s sake really?”
She stepped back from me looking a little scared, “...I’m sorry. I can’t remember okay! The last thing I remember is waking up in a field with a headache and a few burns and bruises...”
I looked away...
“Burns and bruises...” I mumbled to myself in deep thought. Suddenly we heard the sound of a Helicopter approaching. Me and Rainbow took cover behind some bushes. The Helicopter landed in the opening next to us, many troops jumped out and the Leader of the team started shouting orders, in Russian so I had no Idea what he was saying. They all started moving towards where Liam had dropped us off. Clearly they had detected our approach and sent troops to investigate.
“We should get moving” I said cautiously to Rainbow.

Me and Rainbow managed to sneak into the base perimeter and were now moving through the science labs to the control room. There were many Russian scientists in the labs but they were so busy working that me and Rainbow managed to sneak around un-noticed. These scientists where working on a nerve agent of some kind. I didn’t stop to read the notes as we had a mission to complete and I didn’t want to get caught. We reached the control room entering on a cat walk above the main control room floor. I approached a computer and plugged in a flash drive into the USB port. I looked down to see at least twenty five Russians walking around. I could see strategists around a world map debating plans but I was a little to high up to hear anything. The flash drive was pre-programed to copy all the data off the network computers. It was close to being done already.

I turned around back to the door. A Russian conscript stood in front of the large steel automatic doors we had come through. He looked so scared. He ran back out the door, probably to sound the alarm.
“Ah shit!” I said pulling out the flash drive as it completed it download. We chased the Russian to outside the building. He ran down an ally on the left. He was going for the alarm at the end of the ally. I shot him in the back before he got there but his corpse flew forward and his head hit the button.
“Ah shit!”
The ringing and beeping of alarms sounded and a red flashing light above the alarm began to give away our position.
The voices of Russians was coming from the end of the ally.
“Go for the Helipads Rainbow! Lets go!”
Russians peered around the side of the ally and started firing. We moved in the opposite direction to run for the helipads. We ran through the base as Russians took shots at us from everywhere. We ran inside a motor-pool for cover. More Russians started to shoot from the vehicles. We fired back taking cover behind some creates. After a cross fire we managed to take down the Russians and proceeded to the helipad. We were approaching the helipads now but we were power walking backwards towards them as we returned fire to the Russians behind us. We killed the last of the Russians behind us but as we turned around to the helicopters we were met with about sixty Russians, all pointing their AK’s at us. Two T-90 tanks also took position behind the soldiers. Me and Rainbow were just stunned.
“Attention Intruders! Put down your weapons and hand over the flash drive” A deep Russian voice sounded from the crowd of troops. It was magnified by a megaphone. Me and Rainbow refused to drop our weapons.

After a few seconds a Russian female soldier approached us. She was holding an AK-74u against her shoulder.
“Give me the flash drive or die where you stand”
Her Russian accent was very strong and powerful. Tall with long brown hair and large breasts, cleavage exposed by her half unbuttoned leather jacket. Black leather short shorts, Red paratrooper hat and bright red lipstick. She was only twenty/twenty-one years old. I stared for a moment just in awe of her beauty.
“Listen sweet cheeks, as much as I want to give it to you but I can’t. I need this information”
“Do you want to die? I'm going to get it either way” She said with a grin.
“I'm not giving it to you. Either way I'm dead. Trixie will just kill me when you capture me”
“Would you rather die now than later?”
“If I choose now then not only will it be quick and painless but I also actually stand a chance of winning”
“Fine by me” She turned around and walked towards the troops. She waved her hand signalling them to shoot. They all primed their weapons and prepared to shoot. Me and Rainbow also primed our weapons and aimed back. I pulled out my pistol for extra fire power. M246 in one hand and my P99 in the other. I didn’t know how we would get out of this one...

Chapter Ten - The Others

“Rainbow, take the flash drive” I whispered slipping it into her pocket. “...when they shoot fly away and get it back to base. I’ll hold them for a few seconds while you get out of here”
“What about you!” she said whispering loudly.
“...Don’t worry about me. You need to get that flash drive to the others”
“This is your last chance!” Yelled the female Russian. “...Give us the flash drive or die!”
We remained silent.
“Fire!”
Just as she yelled a bright white spark appeared in front of us then a sudden small explosion of light came from it. The Russians all opened fired but all the bullets deflected off a purple barrier. Twilight had teleported in front of us and created an energy barrier to protect us.
“Twilight!” Rainbow said with delight.
I then tackled both the ponies to the side behind some metal boxes before the tanks fired a shot at us.
I peered over the top of the creates. A few Russians aimed to shoot at me but as they did a lasso flew in from behind the guards and wrapped around the end of one of the AK’s. The lasso then pulled it back into the guards face, knocking him down and a couple others with him. Then multiple metal creates flew in from the side, surrounded by a magical purple glow, and knocked down almost half the guards. Rarity was standing over at the right side of the pads by a large pile of creates as she continued to throw them at the guards.
“Girls! C’mon!” She yelled in a bossy manner.
“Quick go! I’ll cover you” I said as I stood up to shoot the Russians.
Twilight and Rainbow galloped over to Rarity. I followed and climbed inside the hind closest to the ponies. Fluttershy and Pinkie pie were hiding behind the creates Rarity was throwing. Spike was on flutter shy’s back.
“Lets go every-pony! Inside the chopper!”
All the Ponies climbed aboard as I prepped the chopper for take off.
“Apple Jack!” Yelled Twilight, “...were leaving”
Apple Jack jumped off the Russian tank and galloped towards us. She jumped on the chopper as I began to lift off. Fucking Russians had SA-11’s. I was not as good at flying as Liam but I was still pretty damn good.
“Every-pony hold on back there!”
I flew up high to try and get out of range before they launched any rockets. Suddenly the dashboard started beeping and flashing red. The screen on the dashboard was flashing red: ‘Missile Lock’ ‘Missile Lock’. I looked out the left side to see a great big rocket hurtling towards us. I deployed the flares. I had no idea if this thing was loaded with any but I had to try. Luckily it was and the rocket missed majorly. After that I think I became out of range due to the fact that no more rockets were fired at us.

“That was much easier than I thought it would be...” I said with surprise. The Ponies then started talking to each other.
“Rainbow!” Said Fluttershy and Rarity with cheer.
“We were so worried about you” Fluttershy said quietly.
Twilight then broke up the group hug, “...Rainbow! We looked everywhere for you. It was only until the royal guards discovered that one of their ships were missing did we work out where you went”
“I thought you all hated me...” said Rainbow with a guilty tone.
“Oh Rainbow...” Twilight sounded really compassionate. “...We don’t hate you. You're one of our best friends. We were just a little upset with what you did. It wasn’t your fault though. It was a mistake and we were wrong to be mad at you”
“We sure are sorry Sugar-cube. Can you forgive us?” apologised Apple Jack.
Rainbow dash looked at them all and smiled, “Of course I can forgive you...”
“Oh Yay!” cheered Pinkie. “Dashie is back!”
“...but we can’t return home just yet.” Rainbow said pacing back and forth.
“...and why is that?” Twilight asked.
“Discord is back. He’s using the Humans to devise a plan against the princess and the rest of Equestria. Trixie is also working with him. We don’t know anything else but the fact is Discord is planning something and we need to stop it”
“Now hold on a second? Didn’t we freeze Discord into stone a while back?” stated Apple Jack.
“...well some how he escaped” Twilight Speculated. “...maybe Trixie aided his escape. There’s no way to tell for sure.”
“Well now he’s free and he wants revenge on Celestia and the rest of the ponies” Rainbow said with grief.
“...And we can’t have that now can we” said Rarity brushing her hoof through her hair.
“...so who’s your friend!” Pinkie chanted cheerfully hopping towards the cockpit. “...ooo, he doesn’t have hooves, or a tail! What is this we are flying in? How do you fly it? Do you use buttons? I like buttons! Can I press some? What does this one do?” Pinkie was exactly like she was in the show I thought. As hyperactive and bouncy as always. She went to push a load of buttons.
“Wait Pinkie no!!” I shouted in panic.
Suddenly the tail rotor stopped spinning and the helicopter started spinning out of control.
“oops..”
“Push it again!”
Pinkie pushed the button again and the tail rotors began to spin again.
“Pinkie...” I gave her a disappointed look, but I then gave her a forgiving smile.
“oops sorry. Silly me” she said with a giggle.

After about twenty minutes I was in radio range of both mission zones of the other teams.
“Team two? Team three? Anyone read me? This is Cobra. I’ve achieved my objective and I want a sit-rep on your progress”
A few seconds of silence passed as the ponies moved close to the cock pit to listen. I had no response.
“...Anyone? Do you read? Guys?”
“...This is team two. We were unable to hold the base. Some of us are wounded and team three won’t respond. We need extraction at alpha site three”
“We’ll be there in eight minutes. There better not be any anti-air when I get there”
“I can’t promise that”
“Alright every-pony. We’re going to help some more of my friends”
“ooo, Friends? I love making friends!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. I rolled me eyes at her.

I landed at the alpha site to find Pete and Megan carrying Edward out of the tree line. Bullets were flying in from behind them. I got up and went to the back to help them up into the helicopter.
“Where the fuck is Lister and Gavin?” I asked. I then turned my head to the side to talk to the ponies, “Ponies please! Make some room for Edward. This chopper isn’t very big.”
Megan was panting, trying to get her breath back, “They’re goners. The fucking Russians, they had tanks hidden in the garages of the base. They were waiting for us the whole time. As soon as we snuck in we were surrounded. I think they were expecting you and the rest of the team...”
I helped lift Edward on board then grabbed Megan's hand to help her climb on board herself.
“...Liam also won’t respond to our calls either... It’s a good job you showed up or we would be screwed...” She then looked to the ponies, “They new friends of yours?”
“Yeah... Now lets get out of here!”
Megan started firing back at the Russians and I returned to the Pilot seat.
I started flipping switches and hitting buttons, preparing to take off. A few bullets flew through the cock-pit’s windows. Rainbow joined me up front and sat in the co-pilot seat.
“Rainbow what are you doing?” I asked curiously.
“Choppers are inbound and we could really use some one on the main gun”
“...but the seat wont be very comfortable for you since your a pony”
“That's fine”
“...but you probably wont know how to use the gun”
“Then talk me through it...”
“Okay then. Well you just use the analog stick to the right side of the screen to aim the gun and the button on the left to shoot. Hinds are pretty user friendly”
“Okay, got it...”
I began to lift off again as more bullets flew through the windows. As we began to lift off the ground another hind raised from the tree line in front of me and started spraying bullets into the cockpit. Both me and Rainbow tried to duck but it didn’t help very much. I was hit once in the chest and once in the leg. Rainbow was hit twice in the flank and once in her front leg. The bullets continued to spray as our chopper slowly lifted into the air. Luckily Twilight made another energy barrier to replace the broken windows.
“Hurry... up... get us out...of here...” Twilight said struggling to hold up the barrier. She was in the door way between the cockpit and the back compartment, struggling to stand as she tried to hold back the fire with her Barrier. I got the chopper above the canopy and pulled away from the enemy hind. The barrier dropped as Twilight fell to the floor exhausted. Rainbow was now firing the gun at the enemy hind behind us. The hind fired missiles at me but I managed to deploys the last of my flares.
“Only two sets of flares? These hinds are fucking shit?” I yelled in anger.
“What do we do now?” panicked Twilight.
“Give me a second....” said Rainbow focusing hard on her screen.
Bullets were still banging on our hull, the dashboard flashing red from a missile lock.
“Rainbow! If your gonna do something about that chopper then do it quick!”
Bullets continued banging on the hull, sweat was rolling down Rainbows face as she squinted harder to focus. Suddenly the bullets stopped.
“Got him!” shouted Rainbow dash proudly.
“Nice Rainbow, now lets go rescue the others”

I landed us down next to Liam’s chopper. Me and Megan got out to investigate Liam’s helicopter to find no one inside. However there were some medical supplies so me and Rainbow used them to patch ourselves up.
“Megan, Pete. Stay here with spike and the ponies. Me and Rainbow are going to find the others...”
“Hold on ya’ll. We already lost Rainbow once, ah ain’t losin’ her again” said Apple Jack
“Agreed. We should stick together” suggested Twilight.
“Alright, Your skills could prove useful but someone has to stay here and look after the choppers. Megan and Pete will still stay here. I also think Spike and Flutter shy should stay here. It could get dangerous.”
“Al...alright” stuttered Flutter shy quietly.
“Don’t worry Sir. We’ll look after them” Pete said reassuringly.
A purple glow then surrounded one of the spare machine guns inside Liam’s chopper and floated over to Rarity. Her horn had the same glow. We all looked at her surprised and confused.
“What? Well I want to be able to defend myself” she said defensively.
“C’mon girls. We should get going” I suggested.

After traversing across the forest landscape we made it to a coastal base where Liam and the rest were supposed to capture the Russian general. The guards were not alert which suggested that the others were not in their custody. The base was just across the road from a small village and had fences all around the perimeter. Massive battle ships were docked at the piers. Each battle ship was armed with many guns and anti-air missile sites. These were bigger than any ship I had ever seen. They were the size of the titanic. Each ship had multiple helipads with helicopters on them. Massive cargo doors on the front that would open to release many tanks. These ships were fucking war machines. They would have the ability to handle any situation. Many workers and machines were preparing these ships for war: Loading the torpedo's, loading up tanks and finishing the overall construction of the hull. The ships were not yet finished but were not far from it.
“Team three? This is Cobra. I'm outside the base now. Anyone read?”
“This is Duke”. I sighed with relief after hearing he was fine. “...We have infiltrated the base. The general isn’t here but we know were he is. We’ll meet you outside in about half an hour. We are trying to find away out. Please, we need Radio silence so stay off the radio till we get out”
“Rodger that Duke”

After about an hour Ryder and the rest regrouped with us.
“Whats the news Duke?”
Ryder then looked at the ponies blankly then looked to me. Liam was looking really happily at the ponies but of course I had everyone stay quiet to avoid being detected by the Russians.
“The General you're after... He’s on his way Poland. He recently advanced a huge army into Poland and is now using Poland as a front line to deploy his units on France. He wants to take out the UN leadership. He is heavily protected by his army”
“I suppose he’s going to use these ships to aid in his attack. Well it’ll be a little while before these ships are ready. I need to get back to base and contact the UN. This general is probably our only lead”
“Probably?” Violet said curiously.
“Yes. Well me and Rainbow recovered a huge amount of data from the science base. I need you to analyse the data while I contact the UN and work out our next course of action. Try to find another lead. Anyway we’ll discuss it later. We need to get back to the choppers”

Back at the choppers we prepared to take off. All the others of my team took Liam’s chopper while I took the hind with the Ponies and spike. The Ponies were talking in the back quite happily, laughing and joking as they caught up with Rainbow. Spike walked through to the cockpit and jumped up to sit on the dashboard.
“Hay Courage. That’s your name right?”
“Hay Spike. What’s up?”
“Nothing much, you just looked a little glum up here by yourself so I came to keep you company... and get away from them. They get really girly around each other”
I few moments of silence passed as I continued to focus on my flying. Spike kicked the air in boredom, looking around randomly. I began to zone out as the laughter in the back reminded me of my family. My dad: when he was home we would play xbox together. He always told me how the army was just like Call of Duty and that it was always fun. Of course he was just lying to make me feel better about him going away all the time but the way he told me was always funny. He would come home and tell me he got an eleven kill streak and got to use an AC-130, or got eighteen kills and was given Juggernaut armour. Mum use to play along by telling me she revived him with second chance at one point. Back then I believed it... till I was thirteen years old and my sister got that letter telling us about the bomb attack on my parents battalion. My mum died instantly and my dad died painfully from severe burns after hours of agony. With his last moments he wrote me a personal letter:
“Hay son, I was out on the field today. Got hit by a C4 noob. I wish I could say I would be able to come home but I can’t. It looks like it’s game over for me. I couldn’t go on forever. You know as well as I do that every game has an ending. Your game is just beginning. This is going to be your toughest challenge yet, a challenge worth lots of XP. I want you to stay strong, look out for the rest of the family and never give up the fight. You're a strong lad Courage, stronger than any of us could ever be. Never forget that boy. I love you son. Lots of Love, Dad. AKA xXsnipsmanXx”
I stared at that letter for hours as I memorised it. Even now while I fly the ponies to base I can picture that letter perfectly, burnt into my mind.

A tear was now running down my face as I continued to think. Spike looked at me confused. I looked back and gave him a fake smile. He just jumped down, tapped me on the knee compassionately then walked to the back to join the ponies. More tears began to flow as I continued to think of my parents. I was missing them so much. Missing my whole family. I then wiped my tears to try and further hold back the years of sadness I have been building for so long.

Chapter Eleven - Idle

“...Your report is unsettling. If these ships really are real then we’re in a lot of trouble. This invasion force in Poland is also a considerable threat. The Russians have pushed through Poland and have begun the invasion of Sweden and Norway. The Chinese have been pushing through our lines in most parts of eastern Europe and have began taking over northern parts of Africa. In a few days the Russians will most likely begin invading Germany and move straight to France”
“Question is what can we do bout it?” I asked.
“Well we have a large German-American garrison in Berlin. It isn’t enough to hold against a full invasion but with the right help it might be able to keep them at bay till the American forces are done fighting the Russians in Alaska”
“...by right help you mean me” I implied.
“Exactly. The Americans are the only military force we have that hasn’t already exhausted it’s power. The European forces have been greatly diminished after the fighting in Ukraine and Africa. Once the Americans are done fighting off the Russian invasion force in Alaska they will come assist us with the Russians and Chinese in Europe”
“So what exactly am I suppose to do in Berlin?”
“You're after the Russian General right? General Ricktov. He will be commanding the Russian invasion force. Take him out of the equation and the Russian forces will be demoralised and without a commander for a short time. You helicopter in behind enemy lines and track him down. I want you and your team in Paris in Two days. You have until then to prepare”
“Okay Mr. President. We’ll be there. Cobra out”

I went to the Motor-pool where the ponies were hanging out. I wanted to meet them properly and introduce them to the team and, for that matter, earth itself.
“So Girls? How are you all doing? Before I start, Would any of you like to ask any questions?”
“I have a few questions I would like to ask...” said Twilight. “...spike, the list please”
Spike gave Twilight an A4 piece of paper with lots of writing on it. She picked it off him with her levitation and floated it in front of her.
“Firstly... I would like to know what our next plan of action is” she demanded politely.
“I’ve been talking to the leaders of Europe and they want us to capture or kill an enemy general called Ricktov. I’d prefer capture as he is currently our only lead on Discord. We need to be in Paris in two days for briefing. In the mean time we have to prepare ourselves for heavy engagement. You ponies will be staying in the newly installed quarters as the french have kindly continued to expand the base for us. You will have everything you need here at the base and if you need anything over the next two days I will most likely be here in the motor-pool or in the armoury working. You are free to stay with us to help fight Discord, I will take all the help I can get. These Missions will be dangerous and I don’t want to force you to risk your lives but your flying and magical abilities will prove most useful in a fight. Any other questions?”
Twilight dropped the paper, “...no. That pretty much answered all my questions”
“Okay good. That’s actually all I wanted to say to you girls anyway. Rainbow, Isabelle would like to see us now to make sure our wounds are okay”
“A’righty then. We’ll see ya’ll later. I'm gonna turn in for the night. Every-pony else should do the same” Suggested Apple Jack.

The ponies all went off to rest while me and Rainbow went to check in with Isabelle.
“You two just can’t seem to stay out of trouble!” nagged Isabelle. “You two are in here after every mission. I wish you two would be more careful”
“It’s a war. People get hurt” I said in my defence.
“Well Ryder and Liam come out just fine”
“Well I’m sorry! I’ll ask the enemies nicely not to shoot me next time yeah? I'm sure they’d be happy to stand there and let me shoot them without resistance...” My sarcasm was very strong and I could see it was annoying her.
“You are the most tedious patient I’ve ever had”
“You’ve barely had any patients!” I said, again defending myself.
“Well you make it seem like I’ve had hundreds with your really annoying attitude”
“Woah! Burn!” yelled Liam peering through the door.
“Oh hay Liam. What do you want dude?” I asked curiously.
“Just came to see if you were okay”
“I’m fine. I was just having Isabelle check my wounds... Hay Isabelle, can you give me some more stimulants? I’m fucking tired and I need a boost so I can keep working”
“Courage!” Isabelle said in shock. “...you haven't sleep in days! Get some sleep. Stimulants can only do so much for you!”
“Well someone has got to stay up and work! I don’t see any of you doing that!”
“Courage. At least take a few hours nap. It’ll do you some good”
“Alright! Fine! I’ll get a little sleep”
“Good, you can sleep in here if you like”
“Thanks doc. Rainbow? Are you going to head to your quarters to rest for a bit?”
“Yep!” said Rainbow with a yawn. “G’night”
Rainbow walked out followed by Liam. Isabelle returned to her computer. I noticed she was looking at possible candidates for the medical team. I remained laying in the medical bed. Strangely I continued to watch Isabelle go about her business. Working on her computer, drinking her coffee and writing down notes...

“Courage. Wake up. You’ve been asleep for hours...” My eyes began to open. I was overwhelmed by the light. “...C’mon Courage. Wake up. You’ve got work to do”
“Holy Crap! Turn down the lights. They hurt my eyes” I complained, blocking the light with my arm.
“Of course, as long as you get up”
Isabelle turned down the brightness of the lights in the room. I looked at the clock and it was almost 10:30am. I had been asleep for Eight hours, five hours more than I wanted. I instantly jumped up out of bed.
“I'm going to get to work now. See you later Isabelle”
“Okay bye. Remember, any problems with your wounds come straight to me”
“Alright. Thank you”

I was in the motor-pool working on my car some more. I was under the car making some modifications suddenly I could hear Violets voice by my feet, “Working on your car again I see”
I slid out from under the car, “Of course I am. This thing is beast”
“Cool. I was just checking you're okay. Rumours say you actually slept last night. I find it hard to believe”
I laughed, “Yeah, it’s true”
She smiled at me with relief, “Good. I’d hate for you to fall asleep half way through the next mission”
Liam walked into the room and looked at us for a few seconds before speaking, “The sexual tension between you to is extreme”
“Liam, That's hardly appropriate” I said defensively, “...We’re just friends”
“Sure....”
“Liam? Don’t you have something better to do than troll us? I'm quite busy working on my car”
“Sure you are Courage. That’s why you're standing around flirting with her”
“I was not flirting! I was just answering her questions! I have more important things to do than standing around flirting with chicks!” I was very agitated now.
“Courage, Guess what. U mad bro?”
I looked at him grimly then returned to working on my car. A few moments passed...
“Oh by the way, Fluttershy wanted to talk to you in the medical bay” said Liam.
I gave a huge groan. I just wanted to work on my car. “Okay, I’ll be there in a sec”

“Hello Fluttershy. You wanted to see me?”
“Well... yes, if that’s okay with you that is... I um... wanted to talk to you about my... role...” She was really quiet and hesitant. She kept her head down. She was clearly very shy of me.
“Of course. What do you want to talk about?”
“Well I um... I am quite a good medic. I think I should be the team’s medic, I mean if that’s okay with you. I know a lot about pony anatomy and physiology and I could revise humans over night”
“Sure! We could use a field medic. Especially for the ponies”
“Oh erm... thank you. I’ll start working right away” She gave me a little smile.
“You can work with Isabelle for the night. She can teach you how to work on humans and how you use the tools. I will design and prepare you a medical kit for the mission”
“Thank you very much...” She said before moving over to Isabelle.
Well that was Fluttershy’s role sorted. Now I just needed to design her a pony friendly medical kit. Not too difficult to do. I could make it pretty similar to Rainbow’s ammo kit. In fact I needed to make armour for all of them.

I got to work in the armoury making all the ponies their own armour. Black Kevlar would cover their bodies, flanks and upper legs. Fluttershy’s basic medical supplies in pockets on the body of her armour, Two side packs with all her surgical equipment and I designed her a body scanner that would wrap around her lower leg and could thoroughly scan a patient on the field. This would make treatment easier on the field. It was touch screen and she could use her nose to operate it. Not very professional but there isn’t much I could do for a pony. I gave Twilight’s armour a book bag on the left side of her in case she wanted to take a book with spells or something.

Twilight and Apple Jack walked into the armoury.
“Hello Courage. I came to see what you were doing. I understand that this mission will be dangerous so I want to see what we could do to make it... less dangerous”
“I'm working on it. I'm making you ponies some protective armour to try protect you from dangers. Your defensive capabilities will be quite useful but unless you're willing to hurt other living beings then there isn't much more you can do”
“We can’t do that. It’s not right to take another life” Twilight stated with sadness.
“Ah agree with Twilight. This is wrong. How can ya take another life. It’s not right”
“...It’s not wrong either” I said sadly.
They both looked at me confused. “How exactly is does that work?” asked Apple Jack.
“Let me ask you something... Would you rather sacrifice one pony? Or would you sacrifice every-pony?”
They both looked at me with guilty looks, remaining silent.
“That’s exactly my point. Discord is planning something and judging by his and Trixie's...” I paused to find the most appropriate word possible, “... methods, I would say it’s something nasty. Sacrificing a few Russian soldiers is a small price to pay to save Equestria and the free people of the UN”
“I see your point and...” Twilight hesitated for a second. “...you may be right. For me, for my friends, for Equestria, I will fight with you. I only ask that we at least try to spare as many lives as possible”
“Of course Twilight...” I said comfortingly.
“Well I’m ready to do whatever is necessary to save Equestria” Apple Jack stated confidently.
“Good. I'm glad to hear you both say that”
They both left me to my work as they walked out talking to each other casually. I returned to focus on finishing the armour for the ponies.

I worked for hours. Designing and making the armour for the ponies. By 2:37am I had finished. In a few hours we would be leaving for Paris. I assumed that everyone else was sleeping, resting up for tomorrow's mission. I decided not to sleep tonight. I figured I’d do some more work on the car or something. 3:47am and I was still working on my car. I couldn't stop myself. I always feel the need to push myself, to keep on working and doing my part, as I have done for years. Always helping others and sacrificing myself to do it. It wasn’t easy but it always makes me feel better about myself.

4:53am. Sitting in the car drinking a coffee, listening to some calm music and reading mission reports given to me by the French military. Quite a relaxing way to analyse the enemies tactics and strong points. I always read mission reports to try to find where things went wrong and try to think ‘how I would avoid making that mistake?’. Research and testing myself was what made me so much smarter to begin with.

6:04am. I was cleaning my car by hand. I wanted it to look shiny as it always does. I had taken it out for a drive half hour before and I wanted to clean it again to make sure it was still shining. Truly amazing car. That's when Rarity walked in. She was wearing a really stylish purple dress with white butterfly patterns. More of a night gown really. She was tired, yawning and she had some pretty bad bed hair... well bed mane, you know, the pony equivalent.
“You still up?” she said with a yawn.
“Yeah, couldn't sleep” I replied, returning to focus on cleaning the car.
“Well, how about some breakfast then? I’ll go make us some breakfast and we can eat it out here with your car”
“Thanks Rarity. That's very kind of you to offer” I said thankfully.
“Well I AM the element of generosity” she said gracefully.
“...Touche”
She giggled a little, “Okay, well I’ll be back in a bit with your breakfast. You can’t fight a war on an empty stomach!”
“...and how would you know that?” I questioned.
“...because you can’t do anything on an empty stomach” she said with a taunting grin.
“...Touche again. You win again miss Rarity...” I gave her a sly yet cheeky look.
She just giggled again then walked out.

A few minutes later she came back levitating two trays of food. One had Bacon, Eggs and a cup of coffee. The second had a few eggs and a slice of apple pie. She laid the first tray on the car bonnet by me. She then levitated a work stool over and laid her tray on that.
“Bacon? I didn’t think ponies ate meat...” I said in confusion.
“We don’t but you do...”
“How did you know how to cook it?” I asked curiously.
“Cook book...”
“...Touche. You're a very intelligent and resourceful little filly aren't you”
“True... I'm very smart. Like when I knew that weapon WAS a weapon. I bet that surprised you”
“Well not really. You saw me use one before hand... erm.. hoof... you know what I mean”
She giggled again then started eating her pie. I started to drink my coffee. I was quite tired after all that working last night and needed the caffeine.
“What a beautiful machine” said Rarity in praise.
“What the car? Yeah, she’s lovely ain’t she”
“Yes... Such grace, such style. I think I’d look great in that. Do you think I could have one?”
“When this is all over, I’ll design one for you so you and other ponies can drive it safely”
“Thank you thank you thank you! I’ll be the envy of all ponies!”

We talked for a while as we ate breakfast. It was nice to sit down and have a normal conversation for once: No mission reports, no briefings, no talking about next moves, Just idle talk between two good friends.
“Thanks Rarity” I said with a thankful smile.
“Oh it was nothing. Cooking is real easy for a unicorn”
“Well that too but I meant for everything this morning. It was really nice chatting to you. It’s rare for me to have an idle conversation like that”
“You're welcome Courage. Rare IS in my name after all. I'm sure we will have more of these chats soon”
I smiled at her with joy. She just chuckled and walked out the room. It was nearly eight and we all needed to get ready to leave for Paris. I could tell that today was going to be a long day...

Chapter Twelve - War-zone

“...A few hours ago the Russians began their attack on Berlin... It’s simple. Your team will be flown here. First you will takeout the two Artillery's batteries, here and here. That’ll allow our armour divisions to move up and take out the enemy ammo deport. You will then take the Russian forward command post and hold it till my men can secure it for you. Then, Finally, you will move here to the forward helicopter deport, the helicopters have been refueling here. Your team will take out the fuel tanks and any choppers still landed. After that you can proceed to the primary command post and capture your HVT. Do what ever you like with him just as long as you keep him from commanding his forces...”

“...Okay! We’re about five minutes out”
We were kindly being transported to our mission zone by the UN. Me, Violet, Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow were in this chopper. The rest were in the other two UN helicopters: Liam, Ryder, Pinkie and Fluttershy in the second and Megan, Pete, Edward and Apple Jack in the third. I was stood by the open door looking down at the relentless fighting below. Russian and UN soldiers dunking it out on every street. We were passing over a car park, many Abrams and T90’s destroying each other. Suddenly a red light started flashing and beeping. From a building by the car park, a rocket approached us.
“...Hold on!” Yelled the UN pilot, “...brace for Impact!”
The rocket hit our tail and blew it clean off. We were now spiralling out of control, crashing down towards the ground below us. I looked at everyone else in the chopper as they grabbed leverage of something, trying not to fall out of the chopper... CRASH!

“Courage... Wake up quickly!” Rainbows voice I could barely hear over the daze and gun fire.
“...Shit my head...” I refused to get up but a sudden explosion near by instantly convinced me to grab my gun and get up. I climbed to the cockpit to see if the Pilots was still alive. The pilot was dead but the co-pilot was still alive. I managed to pull her out of the burning wreckage. The crash created a large crater so we did have some minimal cover against the incoming fire. Violet, Rainbow and Rarity were behind a taxi that had slid slightly into the crater. They were using it as cover. Twilight was ducked down in the crater as she came to tend to the co-pilot. I was probably a little better at being a field medic than Twilight but I was a lot better with rifle than she was, so I had her tend the co-pilot instead of me. The co-pilot wasn’t too badly hurt anyway. I crawled up next to Violet and took cover behind the taxi to check our situation. We had crashed on the road opposite the car park. There were two lanes on each side of the road and down the middle was a tram line. About twenty metres to the right was a bridge that crossed over some train tracks and down the road to the left a T-90 tank approached along with multiple Russian soldiers running down the road using the cars for cover. Me and Violet moved out of the crater to take cover by two cars close by. We returned fire to try hold the Russians back. There were way to many and we were lost in the middle of a war zone. The rest of the team obviously continued on with the objective unaware we had crashed. The T-90 was close now as it crushed every car it drove over. It turned it’s main gun to blow our cover away and us with it.
“Awww Shit....” I said once again accepting defeat.

Suddenly I heard a loud explosion then an immediate second one. I looked at the Russian tank is it sparked continuously before it exploded violently. I looked behind me where I heard the first explosion. It was a UN Abrams and a squad of UN marines.
“Move out! Secure the perimeter!” Yelled the Sargent of the team.
He walked over to me as his marines took cover around the area, one marine tending to the Co-Pilot
“Sargent Mike Kellion awaiting orders sir! UN command gave me specific orders to get you to your objectives at all costs!”
“Thank you Sargent. Our objectives are not far from here. Your tank should be able to get us there in one piece!”
“Rodger that....” he then looked at the tank then back at me, “...Wanna drive?” He then grinned at me.
I grinned back and told him “Fuck yes!”

In the tank now. Had complete control of the locomotion and main gun.
“Alright! I’ll cover you guys. Move along side me and do as I say. Haven't driven one of these in a while... lets see what I can remember” I turned the tank round and drove across the bridge. Three T-90 tanks were ahead at the cross road bombing a UN position that was inside an apartment building to the left. I moved in to engage. Bang! One down straight away. Before they turned I fired a second round into the second one. Bang! The main gun was blow straight off the top. The third aimed to fire but I blasted him away too before he could shoot.
“BOOM BABY! GET SOME!” I cheered.
On the right was a car park with lots of Russians behind the cars firing at the ponies and the UN marines. I aimed toward them firing away with my secondary machine gun. The cars exploding in like four bullets, the Russians getting slaughtered and running in fear.
“There isn’t any cover for us down the main road” said one of the Marines.
“Okay. We’ll work our way round the side and use the buildings as cover. I’ll drive through tearing things up with this beauty! ...and so the fun begins...”

I drove down the road on the right of the cross road. Large apartment buildings both sides and sidewalks with little flower gardens around them. A small green field on the corner with a few trees scattered across it. Bullets were coming from above and below as Russians tried to take out the tank. Some were crossing the field shooting at me. I just blasted away on the main gun. Taking out five or six per shot. I then started firing at the Russians in the building to the left, blowing massive chunks of building off the sides. I then proceeded up the road to another junction still firing away at all the Russians with my machine gun. The others still on foot walked down the road on the left and took cover behind some cars. I also turned left to cover them from the Russians. Parking bays covered the sides of this road, all filled with cars and all with Russians in cover behind them.
“Okay Courage! Do your thing!”
I advanced slowly blasting all the cars and gunning down the Russians. Reached another junction and took another left. Up the road at the right corner turning was an apartment building and apartment buildings all down the left. Russians in the first, second and third floors firing at me and the others. The others were behind some cars for cover as I approached the building. I started firing the main gun into the third floor. Pieces of building and Russians were falling out onto road. A Russian troop truck drove up and stopped on the corner. A load of Russians started coming out of it... so I blew that up too. An RPG flew out from the second floor and hit the tank but it didn't do much except dent the hull. Annoyed by this I blew up the second floor too. The Russians on the first floor continued to fire and I returned fire with my machine gun. It didn’t take long to rip their cover to pieces. Concrete and plaster is no match for 50.cal bullets.

Turning the corner I found another T-90 tank at the next corner a few many yards down the road. It fired it’s main gun at me and hit my tank directly. The tank sustained some damage but our primary systems were still online. I was not happy about that so... I got my main gun... and I er... I fired about... nine shells into the enemy tank... I spent almost a minute blowing the shit out of that tank. There was definitely no chance it was going to be shooting me again. After turning the corner the T-90 shot me from, making sure I drove OVER it to get extra pay back, I found multiple Russian trucks set up as a road block. Russian troops were behind the trucks firing at me. I just ignored them and drove right through the block. The tank pushed the trucks aside like they were nothing.
“Me and the rest are going to move into the buildings on the left. We’ll move through them so we are not so vulnerable like we are on the road” Violet informed.
“Rodger that” I said almost completely ignoring her as I continued to blow everything up with my tank.

Down the road was another corner. At least it was a left one this time. On the corner were two minor conjoining roads, both had light anti-infantry vehicles just poking out onto the junction. No match for my tank... or so I thought. I noticed they had secondary rockets on the sides of their main guns. I quickly fired my main gun, destroying the first one as it exploded like a fuel air bomb. Fuck knows what that APC was carrying for it to explode like that. The second fired it’s rocket at me. Before the rocket hit I fired back. It exploded in the same way. The rocket hit us. More damage was taken but out tank was still running.
“The main gun is gone!” shouted the Co-Driver.
“What about the secondary machine gun?” I asked.
“Yeah! It’s still online and loaded!”
“Good! We’re not out of this fight yet”
I turned the left corner. The tank was pretty beat up but it was still going. Down this road, apartment buildings were all down the right and on the left was a field. Rarity, Violet and all the rest were running across the field while the Russians were distracted by me. Either side of the road were more parking bays full of cars. Russians all behind them and more in the apartment buildings. I drove down the road spraying bullets all over the street destroying cars and killing Russians. About half way through my rampage down the road a hind flew round from the side of the building at the end of the road and turned to face me
“Shit! Get out!”
Me and the Co-Driver tried to climb out of the tank. The hind unloaded a full load of rockets towards us. I quickly climbed out and jumped off the tank. The Co-driver tried to climb out but just as he stood on top of the tank the rockets hit. He was blasted towards me all burnt, scratched and bruised. I checked his pulse. It was really weak but he was still alive. Gun fire coming from everywhere as I dragged him towards a car for cover. I was dazed and felt really confused. As I pulled him closer to the car I was shot in the leg. I fell for a moment but got back up to continue dragging the Co-Driver. I managed to get him behind the car and lent him against the door. I soon started to return fire at the Russians in the apartment building with my M246.

After a while of firing it was clear we were on our own. I picked up the Co-Driver and started to run away from the building and across the field. Took a bullet in the back, the hind followed suit as I ran towards the others who had only just noticed what had happened to me. They fired at the chopper to try cover me from it. Rarity was using her levitation to fire a Russian AK she must have picked up earlier. Rainbow flew up towards the cockpit of the chopper and sprayed her Famas into it, killing the Pilot instantly.
“C’mon! We’ve gotta go!” Shouted Violet pointing to a load of T-90 tanks crossing the field from the main road. We ran right, down the middle of the field between the tanks and a few more hinds coming from behind the apartment buildings. Explosions all around us from the tanks and machine gun fire from the choppers. Twilight raised a barrier above us to protect us but was destroyed in about four seconds from a tank shell. We managed to get across the field and run across a few car parks. The choppers still firing at us but the cars provided good cover.
“We can’t run forever!” Twilight stated. “...We need to escape from the Helicopters”
“Rarity! Take my grenades and pull the pins off them. Then levitate them towards the choppers quickly!”
A purple glow surrounded all the grenades on me. They pulled away from me and flew towards the choppers as the pins came raining down on me. Two of the choppers were destroyed by the resulting explosions but one was still left.
“Two down, one to go” I said.

The hind was bearing down on our position firing more rockets and machine gun rounds. As it rushed towards us it was sprayed in the side by mini-gun bullets. A UN chopper hovered above us, Liam spraying the mini-gun at the hind and yelling like a mad man. Liam was getting good at saving the day. We continued on and crossed the main road. On the other side was a large green hill. Artillery fire could be seen coming over the other side of it.
“Battery number one...”
Liam the used the megaphone to talk from the helicopter, “Don’t worry about battery number two boss! We already took care of that! We’ll stay in the chopper and provide cover”
Fluttershy flew down from the chopper and landed next to me. She activated her medical scanner and looked to me.
“You're wounded. I think I should have a look at it”
“No Fluttershy, take a look at the Co-Driver first. Make sure he’s okay”
“Erm... alright...”
“Sargent... You and your marines will move up the hill with me. Violet, Ponies, stay here and protect Fluttershy while she mends the Co-Driver. You can regroup with us when she’s finished”
“Okay. I'm cool with that” Rainbow said with a laid back tone as she laid down in the grass. The rest nodded in agreement.

Me and the marines reached the top of the hill. The Sargent gave me his binoculars and pointed towards four Artillery tanks that were at the base of the hill. All firing high up sending shells over the hill and across the tracks.
“There’s our target. Four Artillery tanks bombing our defensive positions across the tracks. Taking those out will really help our infantry boys. Also there’s the remains of the Anti-air in the area. Taking them out will allow regular air support to continue for the UN”
“How do we take them out?” I asked the Sargent.
“We could use this beacon of mine to tell the fly boys to do it. That way we can just sit back and watch the fireworks”
“Sounds like a plan, but we actually need to plant the beacon near the Artillery”
“Well me and my boys will cover you while you move up and plant the beacon”
“Won’t the Anti-air destroy the planes when they come in?”
“Nope. The Anti-air can’t react in time. If the planes miss then yes, the Anti-air will destroy them before they pull out. That’s why they need the beacon to make sure they don’t miss.”
“Okay. That works for me... Keep me covered. I'm going in”
I moved down the hill slowly, hoping not to get seen while I placed the beacon. The UN marines were standing by at the top of the hill to back me up if the Russians started shooting. In broad day light I would most likely get seen but I was feeling lucky today. Luckier than I was when we had to stop that plane. Man that was the worst day so far. Today was actually good. I got to drive a tank. Best moments of my life. I’ve never actually driven a tank in a war zone before. Then again, I’ve never actually been in a real war zone before. I was always on spec-ops missions for the UN.

I amazingly somehow managed to get all the way up to the Artillery without being seen. “What the fuck are the Russians doing?” I thought. Then I looked round to see them all playing cards. They were using an ammo crate as the table. I couldn’t tell what they were playing but I was never a big card game fan except for ‘Go Fish’.
“Go fish” said one of them.
“Wow! They’re playing go fish?!?!”
“Huh?”
“Shit....”
“Get him!” Shouted the leader of the group.
“Wait! Wait!... why are you speaking English?” I asked curiously.
“We like to practise our language skills. Tis’ good English yeah?”
“Yeah, you're very good at it”
“Thanks comrade, but now I must arrest you and take you to our leader”
“No! It is I who is arresting you!!! ...and by arrest I mean let a couple of F-22’s blow you up...”
“Oh?”
They looked at me blankly and I looked back. I then just ran up the hill as they tried to un-clip their AK’s. Before they could shoot a couple of F-22’s flew in and Fired rockets at the Anti-air and Artillery vehicles. As the rockets hit I dived down and covered my head. All the Russians were killed with the vehicles.

We had all regrouped at the top of the hill. The third chopper carrying Pete, Megan, Edward and Apple Jack had landed near by to regroup with us also. Liam and Pinkie were still hovering in their chopper ready to provide Air-support. Liam was on one mini-gun and Pinkie was on the other. Two hyperactive children on mini-guns... yeah... Great idea... I didn’t bother myself with it too much. It was the Russians that were going to feel the hurt from that... and half of Berlin...
“Liam, Pinkie?”
“Yes boss?” “Hi!!!” Both spoke at once in a very Hyperactive tone, which worried me a bit.
“You two need to behave up there okay? No friendly fire and please, try to leave at least half of Berlin standing. Don’t go to berserk on those guns”
“Don’t worry Courage, We’ll run out of ammo before we destroy half of Berlin”
“Just be careful of friendlies okay?”
“Okai doki loki” replied Pinkie.
“Alright! The forward command post is just a few clicks south east. Ryder... come down here. I need your explosive expertise for any tanks we may run into on the way there”
Ryder roped down from the chopper Liam and Pinkie were in.
“...of course” He said in his calm masculine voice as he walked towards me.
“Okay, we are a huge group. Taking this command post should be a sinch. Sargent Kellion, you and your marines will hang back and follow us, keeping a fair distance away from us. If we all travel together then we would be vulnerable to an ambush...”
“You got it”
“Violet, Ryder, Edward, you guys will take point. Me, the Ponies, Megan and Pete will be close behind to support you. Rainbow, I want you airborne as a scout. You’ll be our ‘UAV’. Try to spot out any enemy positions so we can either avoid or engage as appropriate...”
“You got it!”
“Okay. Everybody Understand?”
They all nodded in agreement.
“Alright. Lets move out”

Walking down a sub-urban street. It seemed clear. We continued to advance to our objective. It was not far now. Rainbow Dash landed down next to me as I looked down the street towards a few Russian APC’s and an infantry division. We all moved out from the street and took cover in the houses near by.
“Ryder! Quick! Plant some C4 on the street. Those troops are moving to help out the invasion in Berlin. We should take them out just to help the UN in the city a little bit”
“You got it” He said calmly as he walked back out onto the street to plant charges.
“...And don’t get spotted” I whispered loudly but he just waved his hand backwards at me.
“What happened to using code names on missions?” Edward asked.
“We’re not on a stealth Mission so it’s fine to use our actual names. Code names are just for when Russians might be able to hear us”
“Oh... fair enough. So if the Russians are close then we use code names?”
“Yes...”
“Well now I know. That certainly saves a lot of confusion”
“Yeah so can we please focus on the mission now?”
“Of course. Sorry...”
“No problem Edward. Well you know now so it’s cool”
Kellion’s team had made it to our position and took cover in the house on the opposite side of the street.
Ryder came back inside and gave me a C4 detonator.
“When you're ready” He said.
The APC’s approached and drove right past the cars and bins that were loaded with C4. I held my hand out i front of me as I used my fingers to count from three to one. The others looked at me to show they were ready. As I reached one I clenched my fist to detonate the charges. A massive explosion erupted outside as the windows were blown in and the whole house shook. Me and Ryder instantly stood up in the window and started shooting the remains of the infantry that survived the explosion.
“Well that was easy” I stated confidently.

We approached the building the Russians were using as a command post. It looked like a school or something. We could see a back fire exit open with a couple of Russians guarding it.
“We’re going in loud guys. We’ll split into five teams:
Team one: Me, Violet, Rarity and Twilight.
Team two: Ryder, Pete, Megan and Edward.
Team three: Kellion’s team.
Team four: Rainbow dash.
Team five: Fluttershy and Apple Jack.”
“Why am I on my own in team four?” Rainbow asked.
“Give me a chance to explain my plan and you’ll find out”
“Oh... sorry”
“Right here’s the plan: Team one and two will move up the fire exit. Team two will clear the first floor and team one will move to the second floor and clear it out also. Team three move move round the side of the building and clear out the forecourt of the building before moving in the main entrance to clear the ground floor. By the time team three moves in we will be ready to help you out from the first and second floor balconies to help clear the main hall in the main entrance... I assume that will work if this IS in fact a school. Team four, that's you Rainbow, will keep the skies clear of choppers. Team five will stay here and keep watch. Any questions?”
“Nope, seems pretty legit plan to me” said Edward. “I mean it seems like a legit plan” he said trying to compensate for his failure in grammar the first time.
“I know what you meant Edward, don’t worry”
I put my fingers in my ear piece and started talking into it, “Liam? Stand by at a safe distance. Once Rainbow clears the skies I want you to move in a provide air-support”
“Alright. I’ll let the pilot know! Nash out”
“He used his code name” Complained Edward.
“You see the thing is Edward... Liam’s code name is his xbox live gamer tag so... it’s okay for him to use it whenever. Besides, nothing is stopping you using yours dude. I just won’t use it unless it’s necessary”
“Oh... okay. Sorry but this code name stuff confuses me”
“Okay...” I chuckled a little. “...lets just get back to the mission. We’ll sort out the rules for code names later yeah?”
“Okay boss”

We all checked our weapons and ammo as we waited for my mark.
“Okay, ready everyone?” I paused for a few seconds as I looked over the bush. “...GO!”
We all ran out from the tree line and gunned down most of the guards in seconds. Kellion’s team moved round the side firing at all the troops from the front of the building. My team and team two stacked up at the fire exit.
“Team two! Move up!”
Team two advanced up the stairs and my team followed on. A couple of Russians leaned round the corner of the first door to shoot but where taken down precisely by team two. Team two moved onto the first floor and my team proceeded up the stairs to the second floor. We used a breach charge to blast through the door on the second floor. We moved out onto a corridor. Lockers filled the walls and a few desks were laid out for cover. Gun fire was coming from either side but we engaged quickly, taking cover behind the sides of the locker rows. Twilight bucked open the class door opposite the fire exit door. I saw her throw a few tables around the class with her levitation. She was using them against the Russian soldiers that were hiding in there.
Me and Violet ducked down near each other as fire continued to come from both ends of the corridors.
“Hay Violet, How about we kick their ass?”
“Definitely. Ninja moves?” She asked suggestively.
“Ninja moves...” I said cunningly
We jumped up and advanced down the corridor. Russians were taking cover all over it. We shot the Russians furthest away from us then I jumped over to the first few who had been using some class rooms for cover. I swung my weapon into the stomach of the first one, knocking him into a locker, then jumped up to knee another in the face. Two Russians came out of the class room near me but I spun round to shoot them before they could react. The one I knocked into the locker was now behind me and tried to shoot me in the back but I quickly used my left hand to draw my pistol and shoot him. I didn’t even look to shoot him. Violet soon rushed passed me and ran down the corridor blasting away with her M4. She came close to a Russian, jumped up to kick him then landed on her feet and shot him. Another Russian came to stab her in the back but she knocked him with the but of her weapon and shot him in the head. More Russians came out of the class behind her but I managed to shoot them before they shot Violet. She acted as if she knew I would shoot them as she proceeded to shoot the last of the Russians at the end of the corridor. The last of them were now dead and I walked up to Violet, both of us aiming forward towards the last the Russians as they dropped holding their bullet wounds.
“Good job Violet” I said breathing heavily.
“You too” she said with the same heavy breathing.
“Impressive moves you two” Twilight congratulated.
Rarity started clopping her hoofs on the floor, “Bravo! That was truly amazing”
“Thanks. Good job at clearing the other side of the corridor by the way” said I.
“Clear?” Both the ponies said in confusion. Rarity then looked behind her at the empty corridor.
“Oh right! No they just ran away...” Rarity said jokily. Apart from the fact that she was not actually joking. There were no Russian bodies down that corridor at all.

We had finished clearing the second floor and were now on the balconies above the main hall at the main entrance. Bullet fire coming in through the doors at the Russians that were on the ground floor. We soon began to fire at the Russians too. They turned upwards to fire back but they didn’t stand a chance. We soon killed them all and the building was now completely secure. The Russians outside ran in fear as Liam and Pinkie started firing away at them from the chopper. The chopper was hovering above the main entrance making sure no one made back in the building.

“Command, this is Sargent Kellion. Me and the mercs have secured the forward command post... Rodger that... Got it... yeah we can hold till then... Rodger, Kellion out”
He looked to me, “Okay. Command has sent an advanced ground force to secure this building but it’ll be twenty minutes before they arrive. We need to hold this building till then. Command has sent a few choppers with troops to help us out in the mean time. They will land in the main court yard at the centre of the building in five minutes”
“Aright! Your team will hold the main entrance. Ryder, Edward. Get to the roof and get ready to take out any tanks with the rockets. Team five, Get inside now. Violet, Pete, Megan, go secure the fire exits. Each of you will take a fire exit. The map says there should be one on each side of the building. Twilight and Rarity. Use your levitation to block up the side entrance. Rainbow, Keep the skies clear okay?”
“Again? Alright”
Apple Jack and Fluttershy got inside pretty quickly.
“...Apple Jack, stay with me and Fluttershy, go to the court yard and wait for the back up to arrive. Tell them to meet me in the class room on the first floor that's right by the main entrance”
“Oh... okay”
“Also be ready to patch up the wounded”
“Erm... okay... but what if I...” she looked at me worried, like she was going to screw up or something.
I crouched down to her level and softened my voice, “Don’t worry Fluttershy, you’ll be fine”
I then stood up again, “Alright! Lets move it people!” I shouted, clapping my hands commandingly

Two minutes had passed since I gave the orders to everyone.
“Counter attack incoming!” Liam shouted, his voice echoing in my earpiece.
Me and Apple Jack moved to the window of the class room to see nine T-90 tanks and over a hundred Russian soldiers advancing on the building. Liam and Pinkie’s chopper moved to a higher altitude to avoid being hit by the tanks. They began to fire the mini-guns at the soldiers below them. The tanks and troops began to bombard the building with shells and bullets. Kellion’s team returned fire. I lifted to fire my weapon too. Managed to take out almost twenty Russians but then a tank fired at me with it’s main gun. Me and Apple Jack were launched against the back wall. A massive hole was blown in the class room wall where the tank had hit. My spine was really stiff from the impact against the wall. Apple Jack was groaning lightly in pain, her eyes sealed shut tightly and her hooves laid flat on the floor. Machine gun fire was coming through the new hole so I quickly moved to pick up Apple Jack and move her into the corridor where it was safe. I sat down next to her and rested my eyes for two seconds.
“Courage. The extra troops are here” said Ryder calmly.
“Fuck sake...” I moved my fingers to my ear piece. “Rodger that... Be there in a sec. Fluttershy... we got wounded. Be ready to patch them up when I come.”
I picked up Apple Jack and limped to the court yard

When I reached the court yard I put Apple Jack down by Fluttershy and Fluttershy immediately got to work with patching her up. I turned to look at the troops. Most were already moving out to get into defensive positions. One team moved to me.
“Bear Trap, standing by and awaiting orders. We are the advanced anti-vehicle team”
“Get to the roof and help Ryder take out the tanks...”
Rainbow Dash suddenly crashed into the court yard. She had taken a few bullets to the left wing.
I looked back at the team, “...and choppers...”
Bear Trap moved out to go help Ryder. Bear Trap was the team name in case you didn’t already guess. I quickly ran over to Rainbow. She stood up and shook off the dirt like a dog shakes off water.
“Rainbow? Are you okay?”
“I'm fine...” she then looked back at her wing “...but I'm going to be grounded for a while”
“See Fluttershy and get that patched up. You’ve done enough today”

I moved to a second floor class room to see how the defence was going. Back up was about thirteen minutes out. Eight of the T-90’s were destroyed but twelve more had joined the fight. Most of the front of the building was wreaked by the tank fire but the main entrance was still intact. Three hinds had also come in spraying the building with machine guns.
“Come in Courage!”
“Go ahead Violet”
“They’re coming in through the south west fire exit. I could use some help”
“I'm on my way” offered Kellion
“No Kellion!” I ordered. “I’ll go. You stay with your team and hold the entrance”

I made it to Violet’s post. She was behind a crate she had moved in the door of the fire exit. Bullets flying over her head.
“Fuck! A little help Courage!”
I leaned round the corner of the door and fired away at the Russian...
“...Spetnaz? Fuck they really want Berlin don’t they!” I yelled.
After about a minute me and Violet managed to drive them back.
“I sure could use some help at the main entrance!”
I looked at Violet. “Go help them” she said. “I can hold this position”
“Okay Kellion, I'm on my way!”
“Hurry! The tanks are really chewing us up. Most of our re-enforcements are dead already. My team is also down. There is only a hand full of us holding the entrance now”

I made it to the entrance. It was a mess. Wounded and dead UN soldiers everywhere. Fluttershy was behind a table mending up one of the troops. Twilight and Rarity were on the first floor balcony. Twilight had made a Barrier to protect herself and Rarity from incoming bullets. Kellion and two marines were by the main doors and windows with their heads down. Another marine behind some fallen debris in the middle of the hall. Two more marines walked in and moved near Fluttershy to cover her while she mended the wounded soldier. Bullets and explosions all around us. A chopper started spraying bullets in through the windows.
“Someone take out that chopper now!” I yelled
“We can’t! Bear trap is down. We got forced to retreat into the building” replied Edward. “...We’re in no shape to keep fighting. I'm sorry Courage”
“Fucking shit!” I raged. “Liam? Pinkie? Can you help?...Liam?...”
Liam’s chopper then crashed into the side of the building... “Liam?!? Pinkie?!? SHIT!!!”
Getting down into cover I returned fire. Russians were running in from all directions. The tanks getting really close now, tearing the building apart around us. Suddenly I was hit by an explosion. I became dazed and disorientated, laying flat on my stomach. Looking towards Kellion I saw one of the marines with him get shot. The marines by Fluttershy went down soon after. Fluttershy aggressively and hopelessly trying CPR on the marine she was mending. He was also dead. Only Kellion and one marine was left fighting. Suddenly a tank hit the wall they were behind. The marine was blown back and Kellion stumbled towards me. He picked up his gun again and aimed to shoot. Russians ran in and shot him before he could shoot. I tried to reach for my weapon. They aimed to shoot me but luckily they were taken out by an explosion. The sounds of combat filled the outside space as a helicopter crashed from the sky. Me and the marine got up and looked outside. Abrams tanks, Comanche helicopters and many marines were moving in and taking down the Russian forces.
“Right on time. Right on fucking time”
“Oh-rah to that”

Chapter Thirteen - Ricktov

“Alright... be careful for now on. You’ve lost a lot of blood from your back and leg wounds. I don’t think it would be good for you if you lost anymore”
“Thanks Fluttershy. I’ll try my best. How are the others?”
“I um... I'm sorry Courage but they are not as lucky as you. Liam and Pinkie suffered many abrasions and have minor concussions. Ryder has lost a lot of blood from his bullet wounds and Edward has a major concussion and a broken leg”
“Damn. Hows Apple Jack and Rainbow?”
“Apple Jack...” she tilted her head in despair. “...has suffered multiple bone fractures and abrasions of her own. It’s not looking good for her...”
“Just do what you can for her. She’s a tough pony. She’ll be fine”
“Oh... um... okay. I will do that”
“What about Rainbow?”
“She’s also in a poor condition, she suffered...”
“I'm Fine!” Interrupted Rainbow. “...I'm ready to get back at those jerks after what they did to my friends!” she huffed with a vengeance.
“Oh... Rainbow... that's not such a great idea...” suggested Fluttershy softly.
“I’ll be fine. So what if I can’t fly. I can still fight on the ground. Courage is going to need help out there...”
“...We’re coming too!” Twilight insisted as she approached us. Rarity was also with her.
“...and us...” Pete insisted, walking towards me with Violet and Megan. “...You're going to need more than a few ponies to fight the Russians”
“What are you trying to say?!?” Rainbow said aggressively, raising her hoof at Pete. “...ponies not good enough? I’ll show you who’s not good enough!”
“Woah! Calm down Rainbow...” I said as I stood between her and Pete. “...Pete didn’t mean it like that”
She just looked at me with evils and walked over to some crates to get her Famas.
“Everyone Listen! I know we’re all a bit on edge. The past few days haven’t been easy. The loss of Anthony with the plane, Lister and Gavin in Magadan... but we need to stay calm and keep a cool head. We are close to General Ricktov. Once he tells us where to find the Russian Premier we can find out where Discord is and find out what he is planning. Violet, I want you and Liam flown home. Continue to analyse the data me and Rainbow stole from the science base. Try to find something we can use. Liam. Prepare your chopper. We will need it to get to the Russian Premier. Pete, Megan and you three ponies will come with me to the Generals location at the Primary Russian command post...”
“What about the Heli deport we were told to take out?” asked Pete.
“We don’t have the time for that. The General will be onto us and will try to escape Berlin before we find him. We can’t waste anymore time. Discord has already had a huge head start”
“The UN won’t be happy about this.”
“You're right. They wont, but I'm sure they’ll understand... Now c’mon. We should get going team”

Me and the team were loading up and readying to go. Sargent Kellion walked up to me as I checked my very limited ammo.
“Low on ammo son?”
“Kellion! You're okay!”
“Sure am. A bullet to the neck wont stop me”
“...Fucking bad ass sarge”
“I noticed that you used the M246. A weapon that the UN no longer use. We don’t have any ammo to give you for that weapon. Try this instead! It’s similar, more powerful and uses the same clip size and type as the M4 and M16”
The Sargent chucked me an assault rifle similar shape and size to my M246.
“...M416: Accurate, powerful assault rifle. German basic issue. Plenty's of ammo lying around for it. I think you’ll love it”
“Thanks sarge. I appreciate this. It has always been difficult finding ammo for my weapon. It’s not made anywhere now-a-days”
“That’s because the M246 was not so great. Made in 2013 to try and imitate the AK’s attributes but horribly failed and was discontinued in early 2014”
“You certainly know you gun history. And you can definitely kick some ass. I could use you on the team”
“Sorry son... but I'm loyal to the core. But I'm sure we’ll work together again in the future. Keep up the good work. Now move it out. You’ve got a bad guy to catch”
I saluted him and he saluted back, “Thank you sarge for you help with this...”
“Anything for a fellow Brony” he said followed with a wink. He then walked away to re-group with the remains of his team. Pete came and stood beside me.
“We’re all ready to go sir”
“...No way... Sargent Kellion is a Brony...” I said quietly in awe. I then turned to the others, “Alright. Gather round team. The target is at the Russian command post in the outlying town of Blumberg. We and a few squads of UN soldiers will get there by following the Blumberger Chaussee Via Humvee. Just got to follow the road all the way to the Berliner Ring. Blumberg is just on the other side of the Berliner Ring. We will have our own Humvee and three more full of UN soldiers. We will also have two guardian Artillery with us to help fight off the tanks. These Humvees are old school. They have 50.cal weapons and not Mini-guns. I'm sure we can manage though... as always, I will now ask if any of you have any questions... We do this all too often...”
“Sounds good” “Good Plan” “I'm okay with this”. Everyone seemed okay with this very simple plan.
“..Alright then... let’s get going! It’s about a ten minute drive”

On the move now. We had just reached the Blumberger Chaussee road. Hopefully we would counter little resistance on the way to the command post. Twilight and Rarity occupied the back seats, Megen in front passenger, and Pete driving. I was manning the gun. One UN Humvee lead the convoy, two behind us and the two artillery at the back. Rainbow was in one of the Humvees behind us since there wasn’t enough room for all of us. Single file line on a long straight road... in the open... I did not feel comfortable. Open warfare was never my strong point. I’ve never actually been in open warfare. Admittedly I was actually afraid. My dad always taught me about hand to hand combat, close quarters cross fires and completing objectives. He never once taught me about open combat even though that was the field he specialised in. I had no idea why until now. The horror of it. Watching people die around you. Even those you know and love. Clearly he wanted me to go into spec ops. It is less messy and traumatising. He was obviously trying to protect me from the same horrors he experienced. It is even worse for the soldiers now. A full war between super powers is worse than what my dad was fighting. And what Discord has planned was probably even worse than that.

A few minutes past and we reaching the Berliner ring, the motorway that seemed to go all around Berlin.
PEW!
A sniper hit the gunner of the Humvee in front.
“Shit Sniper! Yelled one of the gunners behind me”
I scanned for a few seconds to see where the shot came from. The other gunners got down inside their Humvees for cover. For a split second I saw a flash coming from the Berliner ring bridge that passed over this road we were on... but then all I saw was red. I fell back inside the Humvee bleeding heavily from my stomach.
“Courage!” Twilight quickly levitated some bandages over to cover my newly made bullet wound. “...Courage! Why didn’t you get down? You know what Fluttershy said! Quick Rarity! Anesthetic now!”
“Whats happening back there?” Panicked Megan.
Another shot sounded off and the Humvee in front went out of control. It flipped and rolled off the side of the road. I turned on my ear piece and spoke into it with almost no life left in me “...The Bridge. Take out the bridge. That’s were the sniper is...”
One of the Artillery fired a shell into the bridge. It collapsed and the sniper fire seemed to stop. A needle then stabbed into my arm with Rarity’s light purple glow surrounding it. My vision suddenly returned to normal as the adrenaline shot rushed through my veins.
“Rarity! I said Anesthetic!” complained Twilight.
“I'm sorry. I didn’t know which one it was. I'm a dress maker, not a doctor. It looks like it’s helping him anyway”
I climbed back up, re-mounting the gun again.
“Courage!” Twilight moaned. “...It isn’t such a great idea for you to fight anymore. Get back inside and rest!”
“No!”
“But Fluttershy said...”
“I don’t care what Fluttershy said. I have a mission to complete. I never liked taking orders from doctors anyway...”

We reached the collapsed Bridge and stopped in front of the Rubble...
“Yeah.... We didn’t quite think that move through did we...” I said criticizingly. “Looks like we’re climbing over...”
“The artillery can drive right over the rubble” a marine said as he walked beside me.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “...It’s pretty steep”
“Yep. Pretty sure. The artillery has proper treads. Shouldn’t be too hard. However the Humvees will have to stay behind”
“That’s fine. I can take my team over and make sure it’s safe for the artillery”
“Rodger that. We’ll wait for you to confirm it’s safe. Then once we’re over we can fight to the command post”
I turned my head sideways towards the team, “Alright! Lets move!”

My team climbed over to the other side of the Rubble. It was clear. The town was not far ahead and I could see Russians prepping their defences.
“Okay, It’s clear. Bring the artillery over”
The artillery was coming over the rubble along with the marines.
“Alright. Lets not waste time. I want the artillery to go in first. Rip the town to shreds boys! We’ll follow in on foot and deal with the survivors. We will head straight for the command post. Lets go kick some ass!”
“Oh-rah!” the marines cheered.
The artillery drove in first and wreaked the first few houses. We followed and took cover by the remains of the houses. We fought our way through the town.The Russians were relentless and so were we. We were much better at it as we slaughtered the Russian forces. We encountered six T-90 tanks but our artillery took care of them. We didn’t lose a single marine as we fought our way through the town. If the UN soldiers could do all this without getting hurt then maybe the UN was not so hopeless after all.

We reached the command post. It was set up in some kind of small office building. The writing on the signs was in German so I couldn’t tell what it was.
“Expo Insurance Ltd.” said the German marine near me.
Well now I knew what the building was for. It was for insurance. Thank you German guy for giving me that useless fact. I didn’t actually say that to him as It would have been rude. Suddenly out from the building a T-90 crashed through the wall and fired a shot at our artillery. The artillery was destroyed but it didn’t explode violently. The drivers climbed out.They were a bit disorientated but they were fine and they had their P-90s to help in the fight. The second artillery fired back at the tank. The tank was damaged by the attack but it’s machine gun was still working. It started firing at us with it. One of it’s drivers tried to get out as he clearly realised that our artillery was just going to fire again and again until the tank was destroyed. The other drivers either didn’t realise or just didn’t care.
Bang! The artillery fired again and the T-90 exploded. Russians soon after started running our from the smoke and returned fire. We were all out in the open so we all went prone and fired back. It didn’t take long but after a few clips of ammo and a few artillery shells the Russians pulled back inside the building.
“C’mon team!” I jumped up walking backwards as I turned to the marines and the ponies. “...Lets go! We’ve got them on the run!” I started turning round towards the building “...so lets chase them down!!”
The marines began to cheer. “Yeah! Lets how these huskies what we're made of! Oh-rah!!”
I was trying to inspire the marines and give them morale. Being told by their leaders they were losing was not great for their morale. I wanted to give them back their morale. Morale is always important in battle. It gives the soldiers strength as I have clearly proven here as my troops kicked Russian butt.

We moved inside the building. I told the marines to clear the bottom levels of the building while me, Megan and Pete moved upstairs to find the General. Stacked upon the door now. I listened in and I could hear Ricktov.
“...I want out of here now! The Germans are here!”
“Okay, breach and clear” I whispered to Megan.
Megan put her hand on the handle as I stood in front of the door. Pete was behind Megan.
“Remember, we want him alive so watch your fire. Alright. Go!”
She swung the door open a I moved in shooting the Russians. One in the neck, another in the shoulder then a third in the head. Megan moved in and fired at a couple more Russians and Pete followed in doing the same. We took down all the Russians with a single shoot to each.
“Where the fuck is Ricktov?” I shouted.
Suddenly Ricktov rose from behind a table and shot Megan in the neck and ran towards the door. Pete fired a few bullets him but missed.
“Megan!”
I went over and knelt down beside her. She was struggling to breath as blood poured from her neck
“Shit Megan!” Pete yelled as he crouched down next to her. He grabbed her hand and looked to me.
“Don’t worry bout me sir. You gotta catch Ricktov before he gets away” Megan said trying to cling to life.
“I'm not leaving you here!”
She started coughing blood and then chuckled, “...Don’t worry about me sir. I did my part. I can die knowing I helped you save the world. I always wanted a cheesy death anyway, just like in the movies. Now go catch him!”
“Alright Meg. You did good soldier. I’m proud of you. Pete! Stay here with her. Make her death as comfortable as possible”
“What about Ricktov?” Pete asked worryingly.
“...He’s mine...” I immediately dashed out the door.

I ran out the back of the building to find Ricktov climbing aboard a hind.
“Ricktov!” I shouted accusingly. He looked back but ignored me as he continued to climb aboard the chopper. Rainbow dash ran beside me. “We can’t let him get away!”
I started running towards the chopper and grabbed the side! A Russian soldier moved to shoot me but Rainbow shot him and he fell of over my head. A second soldier moved to shoot me. I climbed up and grabbed his weapon. We struggled over the weapon but Rainbow soon took a shot at him. I threw the Russian off the chopper and watched him fall. The helicopter was pretty high off the ground now, a good 50 meters up. As I turned round Ricktov hit me round the head with his pistol. I was nearly knocked out of the chopper. He swung again to hit me but I grabbed his pistol before he could. We were too high now for Rainbow to shoot him and she as still wounded and unable to fly. I forced the pistol out of his hand and lobbed it out of the chopper. I then grabbed his collar and punched him to the floor. I then kicked him in the chest. I picked him up, threw him to the wall and punched him again.
“What’s Discord planning?!?” I demanded.
“You're too late! His plan is about to go into action. Nobody knows it but the world is about to change!”
“Where is he?!?”
“Fuck you...”
I punched him again then moved him to the chopper door, threatening to throw him out.
“Where... Is... Discord!”
“I don’t know! I don’t know! Only the Premier know...” he said cowardly.
“Okay... Where is he then?”
“Why would I tell you?”
I jolted him in threat of throwing him out, “...because I can throw you out of the chopper!”
“Okay! He’s in a bunker north of Moscow. Not that it’ll help you. You're too late.. You and your precious Ponies are fucked anyway...”
“...No. YOUR FUCKED!” I threw him out of the chopper in rage
As he fell he screamed with terror. I watched him fall. I moved to the cockpit and bashed the pilots heads together. Both were knocked out straight away. A big mistake since one fell on the ignition key, braking it.
“Who the fuck has a key to start up a fucking chopper?!?!” I complained in more rage.
The chopper started plummeting to the ground. I was pretty screwed now.
“Courage?!? Jump out of the chopper now!” Twilight's voice came from through my ear piece.
“What why?!?”
“Just do it!” She ordered.
I jumped out of the chopper. Falling fast, getting closer and closer to the ground. I was just about to hit the ground and all I could think was ‘Fuck you Twilight’. I shut my eyes to brace myself for the impact. After many second I spoke, “Why haven't I hit the ground yet?” I opened my eyes and I found myself less than 3 cm from the ground. I was surrounded by a Purple glow. Twilight had caught me with he magic. She then dropped me on my nose.
“Ow! You could have waited till I was ready”
She was standing over by a Humvee and some marines
“I'm sorry. I'm not used to carrying life forms with my magic. Levitating life forms is for some reason much much harder”
“It does not matter now. We need to get to Moscow immediately! Marine!”
“Yes sir?”
“Get a message to Liam. I need him to pick us up. Oh and tell him to bring my Lamborghini...”
“You got it. I’ll notify Command. They’ll send your message”

Chapter Fourteen - It's Snow Time

On board Liam’s chopper. On our way to Moscow. Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow and Violet were with me. Spike also tagged along, says he wants to protect Rarity. My car was magnetically grappled to the bottom of chopper. I wanted to use it to drive right into the bases perimeter guns blazing. Liam would provide Air support and the others would be ready to drop in. The UN were also ready to move in for the north of the base with Black hawks. The UN did not believe that Discord was really trying to end the world, but with the Ponies as evidence that he is real they decided to help me. They owed me for my help in the war and they wanted to take out the Russian leadership. This was their chance to do that. It was time to end this war.

“We are about Twenty Minutes out” Liam informed.
“So Liam! Where did you learn to fly anyway?” Violet asked Curiously.
“I served a couple of years in Iraq. I was a Comanche Pilot for the RAF. When the Taliban seized control of the country and rallied an Army against the UN, the UN decided to fight them full force. I was trained to take on large military fortifications the Taliban had set up. With the Russians supplying them weapons and tanks for free, the UN needed the pilots to be able to handle the toughest situations. I did six months of pilot training. They took the best of the best, put us into one battalion and had us destroy every fortification one by one in a long continuous order. Two months of constant flying. Everyday we would be sent out to another fort to destroy. One massive campaign against the Taliban. ‘Steel Blades’ was what we were called. The most famous air battalion in history. We hold the record of most successful air attacks. Ninety-Four missions to date and with only one loss”
“...Impressive” Violet said, impressed. “...so what happened in the end? Why did you stop flying for the UN?”
“A year before this war started, Our last Mission. The last Taliban fortress in Baghdad. Biggest military operation since world war two. 300,000 American and European soldiers and 240,000 Taliban Soldiers. The final battle on terror. The fighting lasted hours. I provided constant fire support missions to the troops on the ground. The second morning in I was ordered to support a team of marines moving in on Akmead-Fesadel, The Taliban leader. I was flying in to destroy some tanks, to allow the marines to make it inside the building to capture Akmead. Before I could a Russian MiG flew out of no-where and blew my helicopter away. I was unable to complete my mission and the marines never caught Akmead in time. Akmead escaped. I was later dishonourably discharged for failure to comply with orders. I tried to tell them about the MiG but, without evidence, they didn’t believe me. More like they were trying to cover up the Russian attack. The last thing they wanted was a war with Russia. So they dropped me. I lost my Pilot’s licence and my Job. I was never allowed to fly again. They took away my one true skill, the one thing I truly enjoyed besides trolling, just to save their own ass. I was real butt-hurt from that. Never trusted the UN again. Luckily Courage offered me to be his Pilot when this war came about...”

Beep, beep, beep! “Missile Lock” “Missile Lock” warned the obnoxious female computer voice.
“Incoming Missile!” Liam yelled.
Our helicopter was hit by a missile. The helicopter was fine luckily.
“Spike!” Twilight screamed in Panic! Spike had been knocked out of the Helicopter.
I didn’t think for a second! I just grabbed my bag and jumped out after him to save him.
“Courage!” Violet yelled.
Falling down towards the mountain. Spike not far in front of me. I tilted forward to gain speed. Getting pretty close to the ground now I had to be quick. Tried to push myself forward to catch up. It was going to be close. I was close enough now, he was yelling as he fell. I grabbed him and swung him round to sit on the back of my neck.
“Thanks! But now what?!” yelled spike as we came close to the mountain top. I flipped out a snowboard from my bag and started slowly setting down the side of the mountain as we continued to gain speed. Fully set on the ground now, we were shredding down the mounting side on my board.
“Why do you have a snowboard in your bag?” spike asked curiously. I think he was quite scared by the fact I had a snowboard in my bag for no good reason.
“Spike... I'm smart. Don’t question my motives. It saved your life didn’t it?”
“True, I was just curious is all. Seems like a strange thing to bring on a mission”
“...In the middle of a mountainous snow land... with many MiGs... waiting to blast our helicopter from the sky...”
“Well you could have packed a parachute...”
“Where’s the fun in that?... wait, how do you know what a...”
“We do have Parachutes in Equestria. We are not a completely backwater civilisation you know...”
I turned on my ear piece and spoke into it.
“Liam?!? Do you see the road ahead of me?”
“The incredibly icy one in the side of the mountain?”
“No shit! It’s the only one here. Drop my lambo on it then make your way to the base. Soften up the base for when I get there. I’ll blast straight through the bunker doors and move in on the Russian Premiere”
“Erm.. sure boss...” he sounded a bit confused.
He dropped my car not far up the road. It continued to slide down the road from where he dropped it while moving. I was planning to intercept it’s path. I was going to land in the sun roof like a bad ass. It was once again going to be a close one. I had to time this just right if I was going to land in the sunroof. Getting closer to the road now and the car about to pass my axis. I lent forward and squinted in focus. It was going to be close!

We managed to land in the car! I was absolutely astonished by the amount of luck and skill that took. I sat in the driver seat and started the engine. Spike sat in the passenger seat and strapped in.
“You know how to strap in?”
“Durr... It’s an obvious safety measure”
“Okay. I'm just not going to bother asking anymore”
Coming up on a U turn. I drifted round it. I was not going any faster than 60mph because the ice was too slippery even for my four wheel drive. The corners didn’t even have crash barriers to stop you flying off the cliff. In fact the whole road didn’t have any crash barriers on the side. Well it seemed I needed to be careful when making my way down the mountain. No speeding at all. Well then obviously my bad luck caught up with me.
“Russian fast attack vehicles inbound from the rear... Fucking great”
Two fast attack vehicles followed up on me, firing away at my car. A hind also flew up from behind the side of the road and began firing at the side of my car. The bullet proof windows I installed held for a while but they were slowing cracking and breaking. I sped up to try lose the fast attack vehicles but they also sped up with me. A U bend was coming up but I couldn’t slow down. I continued to accelerate, 120, 130, 140, 150, the Vehicles behind trying to keep up. One slid out of control from going to fast and flew of the cliff. The U bend coming up so I swung my back end round and drift round the corner, my back wheels actually came off the road and over the cliff edge but luckily my front wheels pulled my car back on. The other fast attack vehicle just flew straight off the corner.

Ahead more fast attack vehicles and a truck was parked on the side ready to pursue, the hind still firing at us. The fast attack vehicles fired at me as I passed them. They started to pursue me. The back and right windows shattered from all the extra gun fire. Spike covered his head with his claws. I kept my hands on the wheel as the glass cut up my hands and arms. The fast attack vehicles getting close now.
“Hay Russians! Do you like my car? I have a few mods that you might like”
I suddenly hit a button on the dash board. A spike strip deployed from the back of my car. The truck drove over it and its tires burst. It flew off the side taking out one of the fast attack vehicles too. The other fast attack vehicles still hot on my tail.
“What other buttons can I press. Hay Spike. Pick one at random”
“What me? You want me to choose? Okay, this one” He said pointing to one of the buttons.
“Mines? Okay!”
I pushed the button and mines dropped from under my car. The fast attack vehicles in front were destroyed. Two more came rushing through the smoke from the explosions.
“Seriously? What have you done to this vehicle?” Spike said with dis-belief.
“Amazing isn’t it?” I said with Smug pride.

Another U bend ahead but at least we were close to the bottom of the mountain now. After drifting the bend I had lost the fast attack vehicles. They drove straight off the edge. The hind was now firing rockets at us. Two more hinds come towards the mountain also firing rockets. A rocket hit the back of our car and the back wheel was blown in. I was losing control as we slid closer to the edge. Rockets still flying in from everywhere.
“Now what do we do?!?” Spike yelled in panic.
I hit a large green button on the dashboard.
“Self repair nano’s... They can repair the back end of the car to an extent. They burn themselves out after a while and they also can’t replace anything that’s actually blown off the car. Hopefully they should be able to do just enough to save us”
The car was repaired. In the wing mirror I saw the car repair itself, almost as if it was inflating again like a balloon. The ground then started shaking from more than just the Rocket’s shock waves. Looking out the window towards the mountain I saw a massive wave of snow coming from down the mountain. All these rockets had caused an avalanche. Luckily the next turn would lead us away from the mountain and towards the base.

Driving away from the mountain now, the hinds still firing away at us and a massive wave of snow chasing after us. I was swerving side to side dodging the rockets, the snow catching up slowly. I put my foot down to try out run it. 160, 170, 180, 190, 195. The snow catching up still, the hinds engulfed by the massive snow cloud, we were reaching a tunnel that would protect us from the avalanche. We just had to get there before we too were engulfed. The cloud now touching the car as we approached, we were so close. The car was then caught by the force of the snow and spun out of control. Luckily we crashed right into the tunnel and barrel rolled all the way down to the other end.

I woke up in the window of the car. I climbed out and brushed myself off. I was pretty scratched and bruised from the crash, bloody nose and a back ache. Nothing to serious but I did notice something that annoyed me...
“Fucking airbag didn’t go off” I said in a moan. “Spike?”
“I'm here” his voice sounded muffeled.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just fine” I went to check on him and I found his head stuck in the fabric of the seat. I just laughed out load. His entire head was inside the seat.
“Yeah, yeah, very funny. Now quit fooling around”
I pulled him out of the seat and brushed him off.
“Next time I’ll put a ‘Baby Dragon on Board’ sticker in the window, just to let the Russians know to be careful”
I looked towards the base. Liam's chopper was firing away at the defences. UN tanks and soldier had also moved in on the bunker.
“C’mon Spike. Lets get going”

The bunker was surrounded by UN by the time I got there. There was no escaping for the Russian Premier now. Finally time to find out what Discord has planned. The truth behind this entire war.
“We have the entire complex Surrounded sir! Waiting on your orders to move in”
“Thank you marine. I didn’t expect the UN to send us so much back up”
“We want to end this war just as much as you sir”
“Very good... Ponies! People! Lets go!”
“Ya’ll hold on a second! We wanna be there too when we find out Discord’s plan”
The whole team walked towards me. Ryder, Edward, Apple Jack; the whole team was patched up. They were not completely healthy but they were well enough to fight.
“Pete...” I said moaningly. “...How was Megan?”
“She was fine. She died with a smile on her face. I’m going to miss her though...” A tear ran down his face. “...She was more than a team mate, she was a friend, and my lover. I’ll be damned as hell not to avenge her. She died to save the world and Equestria and I’m going to do just that, just for her”
I put my hand on his shoulder, “She was a good soldier. I didn’t know her long but she definitely did her part. If Discord is indeed the cause of all this. Then we’ll make him pay. All of our questions will be answered by the premier. Come on team! Lets find this ass hole! Time to uncover the whole truth to this war...”

Chapter Fifteen - The Premier

We all approached the bunker doors. Loading our weapons and prepping our gear.
“This fight will lead down to the twentieth floor. That’s where we will find the ‘War Room’. We’ll find the premier there. It’s time to end all this. It’s time to stop Discord before he can go ahead with his plan. He is a threat to our way of life, a threat to the ponies, and a threat to my favourite T.V show! Lets go kick some ass! UN marines! Back us up! You too can help us fight this enemy. We go in, we find the premier, we find out Discord’s plan and we stop him! Lets move it out!”

We proceeded inside the bunker. We fought our way down: from floor to floor fighting the Russians as we pushed them further and further down the complex. We fought through offices, warehouses and living quarters, taking down every Russian we encountered. The UN focused on clearing the upper floors of the underground complex while me and the team went straight for the bottom.

We reached the Eighteenth floor. A large, steel warehouse level with a tunnel at the back of the room. A tank was parked in the tunnel’s entrance and Russians had dug in around it. They really didn’t want us getting to the Premier. Sentry guns set up on the cat walks and mounted guns on sand bag walls around the tank. We took cover on the opposite side of the room from the tank. We were hidden by the ammo crates and they didn’t know we were here.
“A tank? Inside the complex?” Edward complained.
“I can just rocket them” Ryder suggested pulling out his AT-4.
“...Hold on a second Ryder. Look over there to the right...”
“An MRLS?”
“We could just use that” I suggested cunningly. “Nothing says kick ass like a thousand pounds of rocket mayhem”
“Okay. So how do we get to it?” Violet asked in an critic tone.
“Duh! We use our legs” chuckled Liam. We all just glared at him for a moment then continued the conversation.
“Well... some one makes a run for it while we cover them?”
“I’ll do it...” volunteered Ryder. “I’m the only one with experience with those things anyway”
“Alright! Everyone get ready to cover him. Twilight, Try to make a barrier to protect Ryder”
“You got it” replied Twilight.

“Open Fire!”
We all started shooting the Russians. They returned fire as Ryder made a run for the Russian MRLS. The sentries began firing at us and the bullets from them were going straight through the crates.
“Holy Shit! Stay down! The sentries have armour piercing bullets!”
Everyone got down to try hiding from the sentries. The sentries were automatic so they would only shoot us if they could see us. Ryder had made it to the MRLS and started it up. He blasted away at the enemy fortification with all thirty loaded rockets. Sand, shrapnel and debris was blasted everywhere. Overkill much. As the smoke dissipated we could see that absolutely everything that was shooting us was annihilated.
“Lets go! It should be clear to the War room now!”

We encountered a few more Russians on the way down to the war room but nothing we couldn't handle. We all moved into the war room expecting heavy resistance, but all we found was four Russian soldiers and the premier. We went in and pointed our weapons at them. Thy all dropped their weapons.
“Get down! All of you!” I commanded. I moved over to the premier and picked him up from the floor. “Listen. I don’t want any trouble. I just want to know what Discord is planning and where I can find him”
“I’ll tell you nothing, Imperialist pig!”
“Why are you hiding him? Why are you working with him?”
“He will bring an end to you imperialist dogs an bring Russia a new age of prosperity”
“You believed him? You really think he wants to help you? He’s just using you. He’ll just betray you in the end. You can end this war right now. Just tell me what I....”
Before I could finish a sword stabbed the Premier in the back. He fell on his knees, blood leaking from his mouth as he gasped. The sword surrounded by a light blue glow.
“Ahaha... Did you really think we would be so reckless as to let you find out our plan...”
“Trixie..”
“I'm not stupid....” Trixie rose from behind the metal computer panels, surrounded by her own blue glow. Her glow was strong, forming a large wavy circle around her. “...You cannot stop me...” She looked to Twilight with a frown. “...Twilight!”
“Trixie! I don’t know what your doing but we are going to stop you!” claimed Twilight.
Me and the ponies approached Trixie, walking right up to the panels.
“Whats your plan Trixie?” I asked threateningly.
“...fool, I came here to stop you finding out our plan. Why in Equestria would I tell you it now? I'm not going to waste time here. I would deal with you all myself but I have things to do. Have fun with my super soldier...” She vanished with a small explosion of light.
“...Super soldier?”

The door blew open violently and the force of the explosion knocked down my entire team that was by the door. A large eight foot tall, armoured soldier walked through the door: Flamethrower in one hand, a chain gun in the other and rocket pods on his wrists. Only me and the ponies were standing.
“What the fuck?!?”
His flamethrower instantly heated up and blasted fire across the room. The flames burnt Pinkie’s and Rainbow’s back. Both of their backs blistered horrible, massive red blisters covered their backs and Rainbow’s wings. The chain gun of the soldier then started to spoil up as it pointed towards the others. Bullets sprayed out of it, hitting Rarity in the side three times and blew chunks of flesh off Apple Jack’s back legs. He tried to fire at the last two ponies but Twilight levitated a large computer monitor for protection. The bullets amazingly couldn't get through the massive screen. After his bullets failed he fired a rocket at the screen which launched Twilight and Fluttershy across the room.
“No one hurts Fluttershy and gets away with it!” I ran up towards the soldier jumping over his rocket. The rocket landed behind me and I used the force to fly right over to him. He aimed to shoot me with his chain gun but I just kicked it out of his hand. I kicked him in the stomach but all it did was knock him back a bit. His armour was way to tough. He then tried to aim his flamethrower but I grabbed the end and pointed it away from me. He fired it anyway and the heat from the gun warming up burnt my hand. I kicked the flamethrower out of his hand too. He then grabbed me by the neck and lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his neck and twisted them. I heard his neck crack and he let go.

He took a few steps back as I fell to the floor. I looked at him, and he just tilted his head sideways to crack his own neck. He then ran at me. Fuck he was fast. He grabbed my leg and smashed me to the ground with his fist. He then kicked me across the room and I hit a load of metal computer panels. I tried to get up back but he grabbed my head and punched me. I fell again. He cracked his knuckles and punched me in the back. I heard my back crack violently. He tried to punch my back again but I quickly rolled out the way. My ribs where cracked and I was in a lot of pain. I got up. He try to punch again but I dodged and drew my knife. He tried to punch again but I ducked under it and stabbed him in the leg... well tried but his metal armour deflected it. That's when I noticed that the inside of his joints were only thin Kevlar layers so he could move properly. Same with his neck. He swung again but I dodged and grabbed his arm. I strafed behind him and stabbed him in the back of the knee. He flinched and swung the back of his fist round. I ducked under it and kicked him again, dodged his next attack then slip his throat. He then fell to his knees and held his throat. After a few seconds he got back up and grabbed me by the neck, this time chocking me.
“How the fuck are you still alive?!?”
It was getting harder and harder to breath. He then punched me and threw me to the ground. Then he put his foot on my chest and grunted at me. I couldn’t see inside his helmet. It had a blacked out W shaped Visor, but even then I could tell he was angry at me. I looked around for help but everyone was down. Ryder tried to get up but the super soldier just drew a pistol and shot him in the leg. He then pointed his pistol to me... I was so screwed now.

“Dasvidania!”
The super soldier looked behind him to see where the voice came from. Gavriil was standing behind him with a Shotgun to his head. Bang! The helmet didn’t stand a chance. The super soldiers brain matter was blasted all over the floor, computer panels and... me unfortunately. A large white chunk of brain matter landed right in my face along with a lot of his blood. I wiped it off with disgust and stood back on my feet

“Gavriil! Your alive!”
“Yes comrade. It is good to see you’re well too”
“I thought you got shot back in London”
“No comrade, they took me prisoner. Interrogated me, wanted to know everything about you. You stirred up a lot of trouble for Russia. What are you doing here anyway?”
“We were here for him...” I looked at the dead Premier. “He was our only lead on Discord, but Trixie killed him”
Violet limped over to me. “We still got the computers. There might be something on there we can use”
“Good, get to work” I then turned to my earpiece. “This is Courage. Is the complex secure?”
“Yes sir” a marine replied.
“Good. I need a medical team to the War room. We have heavy wounded and Fluttershy could use some help”

It had been three hours now and Violet was still trying to hack the computer system. I was patched up by the UN medics but I was still in a lot of pain. Some of my ribs were broken and my back was aching really bad. The medics did give me a fresh set of blood so I was at no risk of bleeding to death. However the transfusion left me weak and shaky. Hopefully I wasn’t going to see combat for at least a day. I really did need to recover from the battle this time.
“How you doing Violet?”
“Almost there. Just got one more firewall to disable and I’ll be in”
“Where did you learn to hack like this anyway. I thought you were a marine in Africa for your first job”
“Before that I was a university student. I did a computing and an electronics course. Came out with 96% on both”
“Damn. I'm impressed. So why did you become a peace keeper?”
“I wanted to do something good and help people. Didn’t do much helping though. More of oppressing the locals. That's why I quit. All we did was terrorise the locals. Sometimes I wonder who the real bad guys are in this war. The UN is just as much of a monster as Russia”
“I know what you mean but that’s just how the world works...”
“...Got It! Okay I’m in”
I sat down next to her and looked at the screen in interest.
“...look at all this data. It could take hours to search through all this”
“Search for anything on Discord”
“I found something...”
Suddenly the massive view screen on the wall ahead came up with a map of Antarctica. The ponies walked over to us and stared at the view screen. A small circle was marked near the centre of the island.
“...That’s it. That’s all that came up with Discord’s name”
“...Then I guess that’s where we will be going next”

Chapter Sixteen - The Truth

“Courage. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Just my ribs still hurt”
“You shouldn’t be here. Most of us shouldn’t. We should be resting. None of us are in any condition to fight”
“Go home then. I have a mission to complete and I intend to complete it. If Discord isn’t stopped, who knows what he’ll do to the world. We need to find out his plan and stop him”
“Sorry Violet but I have to agree with Courage on this...” admitted Twilight. “...Discord is up to something and we need stop him”
“Why can’t the UN do it?”
“Because The UN don’t care!!” I yelled. “They don’t think Discord is a threat. They’re not even sure if he’s real. We are on our own for this one”
“Hay Courage! When your done bitching back there I want to talk to you up front”
I walked over to the cockpit and lent to talk to Liam.
“What is it Liam?”
“Look ahead. A large metal complex, metal walls, massive warehouses: The base itself is many Kilometers squared. It has one massive empty space in the middle too. Kinda a waste of space if you ask me. I dare say the base is going to have Anti-air. I can drop you a few clicks from the base but any closer would risk us getting shot down”
“You know you have been very serious lately Liam. Why is that?”
“That bitch Discord thinks he be best troll. I am best troll on this MoFo!! I’m going to troll him so hard that his mum will feel it!!!”
“I don’t understand you sometimes”
“I don’t understand your mum sometimes!!”
“Never mind. Just get us there okay?”
“Yes boss!”

Liam landed a few clicks south of the base. We could still see the walls even from this distance. Very tall and very thick metal walls surrounded the complex. Me, Pete, Ryder, Violet, Edward, Gavriil and the six ponies dismounted the chopper and set our feet and Hooves down on the pure, untouched snow of Antarctica. Spike was on Twilight's back. He once again wanted to come to protect Rarity and the others. We were all in Arctic camo so we would be pretty concealed from the base guards, that is of course if we actually find a way into the base
“Alright. Lets get moving. We’ll sneak into the base and find out whats what”

Walking on our way there now. It was snowing pretty hard but not enough to hinder our vision. We were all silent. I could feel the Atmosphere of sorrow and despair through out the team. Unsure of what will become of this. I looked around to see the dull worn out faces of the team. Only Pinkie was smiling and bouncing along. I shared their pain. We had lost a few friends a long the way, been through a lot of Physical torture and put under a lot of pressure. I was surprised that any of us made it through the past few weeks. More surprising that more than HALF of us were still alive. I started thinking about who would be left after all this was over. I wanted to say all of us but I kept getting the image of all of us lying dead in a battlefield: Burns, cuts and bruises covering us as blood slowly poured from our lifeless bodies. I wanted to stop thinking about it but the image was still there on my mind. I was worried about the future, about what Discord planned. Was he building a dooms day device? Building an army of Robots? Rarity soon took my mind off it all when she trotted up front to talk to me.
“Are you okay Courage? You seem a little distracted”
“I'm fine. Just doing a lot of thinking. How are your wounds?”
“They’re fine. Fluttershy fixed me up very nicely. She should be very proud of her handy work”
“That’s good”
“You look very stressed Courage. I would know. Would you like another friendly chat?” she offered cheerfully. “We still have quite a walk ahead yet”
“Thanks Rarity but I don't know what to talk about”
“We can talk about anything. Anything at all” she said with an uplifting smile.
I just stared at her blankly.
“Tell me about your Family” she said casually, unaware of how much weight that word puts on me.
I stopped suddenly at the sound of the word and glared at her.
“What? Is something wrong?” she asked concernedly
I didn’t want to have a go at her as she didn’t know better.
“Courage?”
“I’d rather not speak of my family...”
“Why not darling? Did you have an argument with them?”
“They’re dead... all of ‘em”
“Oh... I'm so sorry... I didn’t know...”
“I know... lets just get on with this...” I turned to the rest of the team, “C’mon team. Lets pickup the pace!”
I then walked ahead of Rarity, trying to avoid any more conversation.

We reached the massive metal walls. Pony guards patrolled along the top of the walls: They wore full body armour, combat helmets and had modified M4s on their backs. The walls were thirty feet tall and at least 8 feet thick.
“How do we all get in?” I asked.
“Well ah can just use ma lasso to climb up” Applejack stated.
“Ponies can’t climb rope... can they?”
“Ah sure can. Ah had lots of practise. Not sure about the rest of us”
“It’s cool. Me and Fluttershy have wings”
“...And I can teleport me and Spike up there”
“We can just climb the rope with you” I suggested.
“What ‘bout Pinkie and Rarity?”
“I’m already up here silly!”
“Pinkie?” I said with confusion, looking up the wall.
“How in tar-nation did ya get up there?”
“Duh! Isn’t it obvious?” Pinkie said before her head disappeared over the wall again. I wanted to know how she got up there but I didn’t want to waste anymore time.
“Rainbow. Take Rarity and join Pinkie on the wall and watch for guards.... and keep her quiet. We don’t want to get caught”
“You got it Courage. C’mon Fluttershy”
Rainbow grabbed Rarity and flew up the wall with Fluttershy. Applejack tossed up her lasso and climbed it. We climbed it after her.

We manage to climb up and over the wall without any of the pony guards noticing. We were now ducked down between two barracks buildings. Some pony soldiers walked past us on the road ahead, accompanied by two APC vehicles. These APCs were more bulky. Different design to any Human APC and it also had Trixie’s Cutie mark on the back of the sides. The ‘Flank’ of the vehicle would be a good word to use but I don’t want you to think the vehicle was pony shaped. It’s not. It’s a normal APC shape. The patrol passed us and I turned to talk to the team.
“Okay, Me and the ponies are going to the, what looks to be, the control tower. Hopefully we’ll find Discord and Trixie there. You guys will investigate the warehouses. They are fucking huge so they must be hiding something big in them... Maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. Lets move”
My team moved off towards the warehouses. Me and the ponies went off towards the control tower. Sneaking past the pony patrols. Passing one patrol I noticed that every Pony soldier had a badge on the front right leg of their uniform reading, “Trixie’s Rebel Marines” along with Trixie's cutie mark in the background of the badge. I thought she was recruiting an army of ponies. Most of the ponies were earth ponies but I did see a couple of Unicorns and Pegusi.

We reached the control tower. The door was guarded by two guards. One was standing straight like any guard should be but the second was staring off to the right and rubbing his hooves against the ground. He looked a lot younger than the other ponies here but clearly still old enough to fight.
“Rainbow. Go knock those guys out. Fly above them then come behind them. One of them looks quite young and weak”
“I’m on it!”
“You think Rainbow will be able to do it?” Twilight asked with concern.
“Of course she can! She’s Dashie!” cheered Pinkie.
“Shh....” I shh-ed Pinkie quite loudly and warningly. “Do you want us to get caught?”
“Oopsie. My bad...”
Rainbow took out both the guards quickly and quietly and we proceeded through the metal doors. A small computer room of some kind. The computers didn’t have screens however. They had three dimensional holograms. Twilight walked up to one and started touching the hologram. Things started popping up on the ‘screen’. Lets just call the holograms ‘screens’.
“Discord should be on the top floor” Twilight informed.
I looked at her blankly.
“...What? It’s pony-tech computers” she explained.
“Pony-tech?” I asked.
“Yes, Pony Technology. We do have technology. More than humans if anything. It’s just most pony-tech is kept inside the confounds of a secret base in the mountains of the ever free forest. Princess Luna never trusted technology in the hooves of others. Like the spaceships that Rainbow and us came in. Though ours was authorised to leave. Rainbow snuck in and stole hers...” Twilight gave Rainbow a disgusted look.
“So ponies do have proper tech then? Just kept secret from the average ponies”
“Yes. Me and the girls are some of the few that know about it. When Princess Luna returned to power with Princess Celestia, she wanted to start a defence operation in secret to protect against some of the threats that Ponies alone could not handle. Threats like Dragons, Ursa majors and even Aliens. Some how Trixie and Discord managed to get hold of the Spaceship and computer tech. Luckily all offensive and defensive tech was kept on a ‘Need to Know’ policy so only us six, the Princess and the top scientists knew about it. Which is probably why they are using Human weapon and vehicle tech”
“Sorry to interrupt ya’ll but we have a mission to complete” Applejack stated apologetically.
“I agree. Can we hurry this up” ordered Spike.
“Your right. Lets go get Discord”

“Er... Discord sir. We’ve been ready for days now. What are you waiting for?”
Boom!
“...That...”
Me and the ponies blew through the door with C4.
“Hello there every pony! I’ve been waiting for you all” Discord said cheerfully.
“Me, Rainbow and Rarity aimed at Discord to shoot but suddenly our weapons were dragged away from us and floated over to Discord.
“Uh uh uh. No weapons”
“Discord!” said me and Rarity in disgust.
“Hello there My Little Ponies... and courage. Welcome to my base! Beautiful isn’t it?”
“If your done talking... I want to kick your ass!”
“No... I want to show you something first. My soldiers will guide you to the roof”
Pony soldiers surrounded us. They all were standing on their back legs, all had their weapons in their hooves and pointed at us.
“GIRLS! COVER YOUR EYES AND EARS!” I yelled just as I threw a grenade in the air. Me and the ponies dropped to the ground covering our eyes and ears. The flash bang went off and we all got up. Discord disappeared in a poof of smoke. The pony soldiers stumbled around as we picked up our weapons and spike who was also stumbling around from the effects of the flash bang. We ran to the roof assuming that's were Discord went.

We crashed through the door to the roof and aimed towards Discord. He was standing very close to the edge and looking towards us.
“That was an unexpected move but at least your here now”
“It’s over Discord!” I shouted. “...This base will be evidence of your plan. You’ll have the whole UN to fight soon enough...”
“Ha. ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. You think the so called ‘United Nations’ can stop me now?...” The ground started trembling like an earthquake. “...My plan is going into effect. There is nothing on earth that can stop me now...” A large ship rose behind him, coming from the ground. It was a spaceship! Large, grey, weapons all over and the front was the shape of Discords head. “Havoc” was written in massive white letters down the side. It was at least a km long. It rose into the air from a massive metal door that was once hidden by the empty field of snow.
“Oh no...” Twilight mumbled to herself.
More smaller ships rose with it. He had prepared a massive fleet to invade Equestria!
“...and that’s not all My Little Ponies” Discord said with an evil grin.
A small transport ship flew over and dropped to objects. The objects landed either side of Discord. They were not just objects, they were dragon warriors. They had the same body shape as Discord and only a couple of feet shorter. In their claws they held some kind of energy weapon: Rectangular barrel, square scope with a monitor and a glowing red energy pack that slide in the top of the gun behind the scope. The dragon soldiers had weird red, circular eye pieces and a utility belt with some kind of grenades and energy packs. They had no armour of any kind but their scales would be more than enough for a bullet.
“...you didn’t think I would use Trixie's ponies to fight did you? I created these soldiers to be the ultimate fighters. Each one could kill one hundred ponies”
“What do we do now?” Twilight asked in fear.
“Um... Panic?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Maybe the magic of friendship can help you!” Discord suggested sarcastically.
“...It was friendship that beat you last time Discord!” Twilight reminded him forcefully.
“Hmmm... I’d like to see friendship beat a massive army of dragons, robots and a fleet” He then grinned at us all evilly. “Kill them...”
Discord then disappeared and the dragon soldiers approached us, giving us the same evil grin as Discord did.
“Uh oh...” Fluttershy whimpered.
I raised my weapon to shoot but the left one fired his laser at the end of my gun, melting it!
“What the fuck? Lasers?”
Seconds later the dragon warriors were blown away by a rocket. Ryder stood by another roof access door with the others.
“C’mon! We need to go!” shouted Violet.
One of the dragon warriors started to get up after surviving the rocket blast. We all ran down the building to get away.

We got back outside but looking up we could see Discord’s new fleet filling the sky as it rose from the ground and the warehouses. As we looked up to the sky I noticed one of the objects falling towards us.
“Watch out!” I yelled as I jumped out the way of the object. It landed by us, snow splashing everywhere, as it stood up on it’s legs.
“A fucking Robot?!? Really?!?”
It’s left arm was just a chain gun and it’s right was a metal dragon claw. A head like a dragon and a big bulky body. The robot had a visor in the middle of the body which suggested it had a living pilot in it. I picked up Rainbow's weapon and fired at the visor. I should have known the visor would be bullet proof.
“Everyone! Get up!! We’ve gotta go!” I suggested with a loud yell.
We all got up and ran towards the wall we climbed to get in the base. Edward tried to run past the robot but it grabbed him with it’s claw.
“Edward!”
Edward started firing at the robot but after a few seconds it crushed him. I could hear the cracking of Edward’s bones from my position. The loud snapping and braking noises made me cringe. The robot then threw Edward’s corpse a huge distance behind it.
“EDWARD!!”
It’s chain gun then spoiled up and fired at us as we were running for the wall. Ryder was hit in the leg and fell. I stopped to pick him up but the robot approached.
“Ryder! Get up!”
“No. I’ll just slow you down and It’ll kill us both”
“I’m not leaving you too!”
“Go... I’ll hold it off as best I can!”
“It’ll rip you to pieces!!!”
“It’s only bullet proof...” He then raised five blocks of C4 in front of me. “...but I'm sure this will do something”
“...but”
“Go... Don’t worry about me. I’m completely cool with this...” he said in his usually calm and masculine voice.
“But you're always cool with everything...”
“Exactly.... Now go! Now!”
I got up and about to pull myself away... “oh and... look after my garden for me will ya?”
“You got it buddy. Good luck”
I smiled at him as a tear ran down his face. He smiled back happily and looked to the robot. I continued to run as the robot approached. It picked up Ryder in it’s claw.
Ryder’s voice came through my earpiece, “Come get it you ugly mother fucker”
I turned to look. The robot crushed Ryder into the ground and it’s claw was blown off as it hit the ground.
I turned and gave a salute as the robot fell to the ground.

We reached the wall and tried to climb over. Another one of those robots landed on the top. It spoiled up it’s chain gun and aimed down towards us climbing up the rope. Rainbow swooped down and bucked it. Her kick was ineffective but the robot did take notice of it. It turned to fire at her but she was too quick for it. We climbed the wall. We were right by it’s feet now.
“Courage. The ponies. Pinkie and Rarity can’t climb the rope” Pete pointed out.
The robot turned to us and swung it’s claw. Everyone all jumped off the wall and outside the base. I jumped back to dodge the claw. Rarity finished climbing the wall with pinkie pie. They both managed to climb it like Applejack. She was definitely struggling to do it though.
“Rarity! Pinkie! Jump!” I shouted.
All three of us jumped as the robots chain gun started shooting fire at us.
I shouted as I fell, “It’s chain gun is a flamethrower too?!?”
We landed on the ground, the snow softening the landing from the high fall. The flames barely missing our butts.
“RUN!!”
The robot jumped down from the wall and we all started running away from it.
“Liam!! Pick up now!!!”
“On it boss!”
We kept running and the robot continued to pursue. It was running much faster than us and was spraying its chain gun at us.
“LIAM!?!?!”
“Coming Boss! Pew pew pew!”
Rockets flew over us and hit the robot. The robot was damaged by the resulting explosions and Liam flew in spraying machine gun bullets at it. He hovered right by the ground and continued to spray bullets as we climbed in. I closed the helicopter’s doors and moved to the cockpit to take seat in the Co-Pilot seat. Liam began to lift off. The robot had a rocket pod pop out of it’s claw arm and aimed it at us.
“Shit Liam!”
A rocket was fired at us.
“Oh crap...” said Liam.
The rocket hit us and me and Liam were throw into the dashboards. The chopper was knocked back but Liam stopped us from crashing and pulled away from the robot.

The radar began to beep as six red dots approached.
“Shit Liam! Bogies inbound!”
“Taking evasive maneuvers but there isn’t much we can do against spaceships in a helicopter”
The missile lock warning was going crazy. Looking at the gun camera I saw at least sixty missiles coming towards us. Liam Flew low to use the icebergs in the water as shields. First few rockets hit a few ice bergs. Some coming at us from above.
“Liam!!”
“I got it!”
Liam popped some flares and the rockets above missed.
“More rockets from the right!!”
Liam pulled up and the rockets flew under us.
The ships started flying in from above firing Machines guns and lasers.
“Bullets and lasers?!?” Liam complained. “...I call hacks!! Quick! Wake up the moderators!!”
We took multiple hits. Damage warnings were coming up on the screens. The chopper was shaky and timid now. Barely holding together.
“Liam!! We can’t take much more!!”
Liam then smiled evilly at me and pulled violently on the stick. We swung round and Liam fired his rockets. Two spaceships were destroyed and the others fired back. Liam was actually flying backwards and firing back!!! He was dodging the icebergs behind us and the rockets in front!
“Liam you are so fucking pro!”
“Woo! Fuck yeah!!” Liam cheered.
Another space ship was destroyed. One of the three remaining ones pulled up and flew above us. It dropped multiple bombs on us. Liam spun round and flew side to side to dodge the bombs.
“C’mon Liam!!”
Liam flew towards an ice arch and fired rockets at the sides. He flew straight under the arch and the space ships tried to follow. Ice came crashing down on both of them, the third still trying to drop bombs from above.
“Nice Liam!!”
“You Mad Bros?!?”

We were out in the open ocean now so no more ice for cover. The spaceship flew from behind and fired more rockets at us. Liam popped some more flares. All but one rockets dropped down for the flares. It was heading straight for our tail.
“Shit Liam watch out!!”
The rocket hit with great impact! The chopper was beginning to drop down towards the ocean, spiralling out of control. Liam hit his head hard on the dashboard and was out cold. I grabbed my flight stick and began to pull up. Another rocket that missed had flung round and was coming towards us from the opposite direction to of the spaceship. Spaceship one side, a rocket on the other and we were crashing into the ocean. The tail rotor had failed. I hit a few switches to divert power. The rocket and the ship getting closer.
“C’mon you bitch!!”
“Diverting power from weapons...” said the obnoxious female computer voice
The choppers decent slowed as the tail rotor began work again. The rockets was about to hit and the spaceship was opening fire on us.
“EVERY PONY DUCK BACK THERE!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
I slammed the button on the dashboard that controlled the doors. I then swung round to let the rocket through the back. It flew straight through the back cabin and crashed into the last ship.
“Aha Nice one Courage” Liam said smiling as he regained conscience.
“I get it from the best of the best” I said smiling back at him
He grabbed hold of the stick and began to fly the chopper again.
“Where next boss?”
“Not sure but from what we saw it looks like Discord is going to invade earth first. I need to get on the UN battle net and talk to the leader ship. Fly us to France for now”
“You got it boss”

Chapter Seventeen - Unity

“...So let me get this straight. Luna, returned to power, started up a science project to build technology to protect Equestria but did it in secret. She hired the best scientists and engineers to develop technology to better protect ponies from potential threats. She trusted you girls with the secret project because she could trust you and you were also the new bearers of the elements of harmony...”
“That's right” replied Twilight agreeingly
“...One of these technologies developed was space travel. Rainbow stole one of these ships, and flew to earth in self exile”
“...right”
“...A day later a royal guard of Luna found it missing. When you all saw the recording of Rainbow on your Pony-Tech Camera Surveillance System, or PTCSS as you like to call it, Luna authorised you to go after her and bring her back”
“Yes...”
“Okay, so here's a few questions for you all... Firstly, Where is Rainbow’s ship and why did she wake up in a field?”
“The UN air defence system...” Pete stated.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well if she flew over UN territory without the proper codes then she would have been shot down by the automated defenses. She probably bailed when she was shot down, most likely wounded, and landed in the field to rest. Although landed probably is the wrong word to use. More like crash”
“Okay, that explains that. A better question would be, where’s YOUR ship!” I looked at Twilight sternly.
“...on your moon” Twilight replied.
“What? What is it doing there?” I asked demandingly.
“Well our Pilot is standing by waiting to pick us up” she explained.
“So you didn’t fly it to earth?”
“Well no. Rainbow was the only one of us who learnt to fly it” Twilight answered.
“Did you not think that a ship would have been useful to us over the past few days!” a yelled angrily.
“Well if we had lost it in one of the battles then we would have no way of returning to Equestria!” Twilight retorted.
“Well you could have at least told me about it! My team was out there dieing to protect Equestria yet you don’t even trust us enough to...”
“Hay! We were out there too you know!” Interrupted Rainbow Dash.
“Funny how you all made it out fine though...” Pete said accusingly.
Rainbow walked up too Pete and raised her hoof at him threateningly, “I'm not afraid to fight you tough guy. You're starting to really get on my nerves with your constant questioning of my loyalty and capability to fight...”
“I’ve only ever questioned you twice you fu...”
“Hay! All this here arguing isn’t going to help us stop Discord” Applejack said insistingly. “...We need to overview are situation and consider our next move. But sittin’ ‘ere arguing isn’t gonna do that”
We all looked at her with guilty looks.
“Every minute ya’ll spend here arguing gives Discord another minute to hurt others. Ya’ll at each others throats blaming each other for what HE has done. I know ya’ll are upset about your friends. Ah am too. But Discord is the one ya’ll should be mad at, not each other. This is exactly what he wants. It’s the palace labyrinth all over again”
“She’s right” Twilight admitted shamefully. “...We’re sorry Applejack”
“It’s okay sugar cube. We just need to focus on Discord. Violet, ya’ll finished hacking into the UN battle net?”
“Yes Applejack. It’s a mess but I can still get through to the UN leaders”
“Okay. Courage, ya’ll talk ta the UN and get them to help us. Your gonna need everythin’ possible to stop Discord”
“You got it Applejack” I replied agreeably.
“Twilight, report to are Pilot and have him return to Equestria. Let Luna know whats happening”
“Okay...” Twilight replied, unsure of the decision.
“...we can beat Discord. As long as we work together we will find a way to beat ‘im”
“Your right Applejack. It’s good that your here” I smiled at her thankfully and she smiled back. I then walked over to Violet who was sitting with her legs hanging out the helicopter, her laptop in her lap.

A short time had passed, Twilight was talking with her own communicator to the Pilot. She was telling him to report back to Luna in Equestria. I looked at Violet waiting for her to say something. I watched her as she typed away at her laptop. Her face was full of focus and worry.
“Damn It!” she blurted out.
“What is it Violet?” I asked concernedly.
“It’s Discord! He’s taken out Paris and the UN leadership with it! The UN is in complete dis-array!” she bowed her head in despair. “...it’s over. The UN is gone. All leadership is dead for both the UN and the soviets. Both sides are annihilating each other at the same time as battling Discord’s forces. The world, it’s already over run...”
I patted her on the back, trying to comfort her. I looked round to see everyone’s shocked faces, all gaping and saddened after hearing the bad news. I couldn’t stand to see this. The human race had lost it’s leadership in a matter of hours. It was clear that in a few days earth would be completely devoid of life. I wasn’t going to give up now. I stood up and looked to the others.
“No! No no no! I’m not giving up yet. There are still millions of soldiers out there fighting each other. We can’t have that. I won’t let Discord win”
“...but what can we do?” Twilight asked, her voice filled with worry and sadness.
I looked at her, my face showed that I was very unsure. I then looked up and turned on my ear piece. “Liam! Change course to New York”
“Yes boss, but please keep in mind we DO NOT have infinite fuel for us to keep turning around and changing course. Are you absolutely sure you want to go to New York?”

“Yes, I’m sure”

Over New York now, I looked out to see Russians, Americans and Discord’s forces battling it out in the streets. Discord’s ships filled the skies. We were on our way to Channel Four News HQ, the hub of the world’s news and the only world wide news channel. A couple of large space cruisers could be seen floating above the coast of New York, many smaller ships docking and departing from them. So much smoke raised from the burning, smouldering ruins of what was once a great and prosperous city.
“Courage! Ships inbound!” Liam yelled warningly.
I walked to the cock pit. Two ships were flying towards us. I sat in the co-pilot seat to man the gun.
“Liam! We’re going to need your mad skills again”
The ships fired rockets and then they both pulled away to flank either side of us. Liam popped the last of his flares and pulled up. The rockets missed and the ships turned to pursue us. They began to fire their weapons at us. I used the nose cannon to return fire. I managed to hit one but the other pulled above my field of view.
“Liam! above us!”
“Already on it”
Liam pulled to the side to dodge the ships fire. As it flew past us Liam unloaded the last of his rockets on it. The rockets locked onto the ship and destroyed it. Another ship came from the side and fired another rocket.
“Missile Inbound, Missile Inbound, Missile Inbound”
Liam proceeded to kick the dash board repetitively, “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
The rocket hit the cockpit directly and we lost all control. Me and Liam were badly burnt and bruised but we were okay. We were now falling to the ground, spinning out of control.
“Everyone hold on!!” I yelled.
The chopper was dropping but the main rotor was still spinning and slowing our decent. We were getting closer to the ground. Liam fought with the flight stick and pressed many buttons. It was no use.
“Brace for impact!!” I yelled again.
Crash!!

I woke up to find myself being dragged from the wreckage, Bullets flying form all directions. My vision was blurry and the edges filled with a black circle. My head was throbbing and I felt really dizzy. I looked up to find the collar of my jacket in Rarity’s mouth as she pulled me across the street from the crash site. Behind her was the others in the door way of a bank providing cover fire. She managed to pull me into the bank and Fluttershy immediately rushed over to me. She gave me a shot of something and my mind became clearer. I got up and rubbed my head, running my hand from the top of my head and down the right side of my face.
“You okay Courage?” Fluttershy asked attentively
“Yeah, how far are we from the T.V station?”
Violet walked over to me with her mini-computer. “Not far. Only a few city blocks away. Russian troops occupy it though”
“Then we’ll have to fight through them. Are there any UN forces in the area?”
“Yes, They are actually trying to assault the T.V station. The Russians are using it as a command centre”
“Good. Then the Russians will be distracted. Lets go everyone! We gotta move now!”

We avoided all contact with hostilities on our way to the T.V station. We were now down the street from the T.V station now. Gun fire was exchanged between the Russians and UN. We all crouched down by some debris and watched. I rubbed by eyes with my thumb and finger. I was very tired. Looking back at the team I could see they were almost as tired as me. I had it worse since I didn’t sleep very much since I found Rainbow dash. I was feeling light headed but I continued to force my self to push on.
“C’mon guys. Not far now... We just need to reach the top floor...”

We approached the building from the side. Russians firing at UN soldiers down the road ahead of it. We moved in from the side and attacked the soldiers that guarded outside the entrance.We took a few of them down before half of them returned fire. We took cover behind cars and piles of rubble, returning fire at the Russians. We knew that they wouldn’t be able to manage fighting two enemies from two directions. It was only a matter of time till they gave up and retreated inside. As I speculated, the Russians did in fact pull inside. We moved up to the entrance, the UN down the road firing behind them, not noticing us. We moved inside and we were met with lots of gun fire. We all took cover behind the crates and desks that were scattered around the lobby. Russians were everywhere, on the upper balconies, in the door ways, across the hall. We fought for a good five minutes as we tried to safely take down the Russians.

Crash!!
One of those blasted robots came crashing through the wall behind us moved into the middle of the lobby. All the Russians focused their fire on the robot, as did we. It ripped the upper balconies apart with it’s chain gun. A few Russians came behind it and fired at it with heavy machine gun fire. The robot just turned around and picked up two of the soldiers with it’s claw. It crushed them both with so much pressure that their heads literally exploded with gore. It then threw their corpses behind it and slammed it’s chain gun down on the third soldier. The third soldier rolled to face it as he screamed with agony. It then just repetitively smashed him with it’s claw and chain gun. When it was done it just swooped his corpse away and into the far wall beside it. The rest of the Russians had fled the scene. The robot faced towards us and spoiled up it’s chain gun.
“These things are so fucking relentless!” I complained.
It began to fire at us and we all scattered around the room. It just stood in the centre firing in random directions. I walked up some stairs to the first floor balcony. I looked to see it firing in the opposite direction at someone else. I didn’t notice who but I was more focused on finding an RPG the Russians might have left behind. With luck I found one and picked it up. I aimed to fire and it did the same with me. I managed to fire first and I blew off it’s chain gun. It turned to look at it’s blown off arm then looked back to me. It then started running towards me. I just stood there gaping at it as it sprinted towards me. It jumped and swung at me. If it wasn’t for Applejack jumping and pushing me out the way I would have been minced by it’s epic claw. Applejack very quickly got off me and we both stood up. The whole balcony was about to collapse. The robot then grabbed the end of the balcony and forcefully pulled it down. The balcony tilted towards the robot and Applejack and I began to slide down towards the robot. It reached it’s arm out to grab us. Applejack tossed her lasso above and pulled on it. It had latched onto a pole and so Applejack stopped sliding. I however was still sliding towards the robot. It reached to grab me but luckily Rainbow grabbed my jacket with her mouth and stopped me sliding any further. The robot then pulled away and picked up a metal pole. I looked up at Rainbow and gave her a thankful look for saving me but suddenly the metal pole was swung and stabbed right through my chest. I eyes widened and and my mouth opened as blood seeped out. I tried to gasp for air as blood filled my lungs. The robot then pulled it out and grabbed my leg. It held me upside down by my ankle and moved me close to it’s visor.
“Luna please save me” I begged quietly in praise.

To my luck a squad of UN soldiers walked in though the entrance and started to fire at the robot. It dropped me as it moved over towards the marines but one of the marines destroyed it with a rocket launcher. Fluttershy, Rarity and Violet rushed over to my aid.
“Courage!”
Fluttershy soon started to scan me. Her facial expression showed that she was unsure of what to do. Clearly it was too serious to treat on the field. I started to lose consciousness as the pain consumed me. Rarity tried to talk to me but her voice was way too muzzled and blurry for me to understand her. My vision started going black and I could barely breath. Rarity’s horn began to glow and Fluttershy gave me and adrenalin shot. The adrenalin didn’t help very much as I was still on my way to passing out.
“Bio-foam! Bio-foam!” Fluttershy ordered, looking to spike. Fluttershy had both her hooves on my chest as she tried to stop the bleeding. Spike reached into Fluttershy’s saddle bags and pulled out a can of “Bio-regenic Foam”. He passed it to her and she squirted the contents of the can onto my wound. Rarity was laying next to me with her horn glowing bright and her face full of focus. I wondered what she was doing, I couldn’t see her glow anywhere else in the room.
“Rarity? How are you doing with mending his ribs?”
“This isn’t easy you know! Especially when I can’t even see what I’m doing. Your extra pressure isn’t helping at all”
Fluttershy finished emptying the can and tossed it away. I gasped as a fresh breath of air rushed through my wind pipes. Rarity’s glow around her horn slowly faded away as she drooped giving a sign of exhaustion.
“I managed to fix the rib that punchered his lungs but it is far to difficult to fix them all in one sitting” Rarity informed.
“Well the Bio-foam healed a lot of the tissue damage and I manged to stop the bleeding but he’s definitely going to be weak and helpless for a long time”
Fluttershy then turned to look at me and she smiled at me compassionately. “Are you okay Courage?”
I sat up gingerly and looked to Fluttershy. I smiled and hugged her tightly, “Thank you Fluttershy. Your truly an amazing doctor”
“Um... thank you” She smiled at me giving a quiet Squee.
“We need to get to the top floor. Hopefully the robot scared away all the Russians”
I tried to get up but the pain from my chest was too great. I nearly stumbled over in pain but Violet grabbed me before I fell.
“Let me walk you up Courage” offered Violet.
“Thanks Violet. Now everyone! Follow me to the roof. It’s time to send a message”

We reached the main news studio. Violet had set up her laptop to act as the control computer of the studio. Pete was holding a camera.
“Is the translator ready Violet?”
“Yes Courage. It’s all ready and set up for you. Every powered media device is hacked and ready to transmit your voice in every country in all languages. You’re free to send your message whenever”
“Okay Pete...”
“Okay. On air in Three. Two. One”
“People of earth, Americans and Russians alike. We have reached a dark part of our history. Our nations torn by years of war and now in the past few hours these new invaders have come to end us all. I know that you’re all thinking that all hope is lost, our armies destroyed and our leaders are dead. Everything we know and love is destroyed by these new invaders. It now seems the invaders have won and there is no hope of surviving. But I am here to tell you that hope is not all lost. We can still beat these invaders. We just have to fight them together. It’s time to put aside our differences and stand as one people. To stand as one big nation and work together to fight this evil. It’s time to stand together like we always should have. As a species we must fight for our survival. To fight for our rights and our freedom!”
I limped out onto the balcony over seeing the streets below.
“...They may have us out-numbered, out tech-ed and outgunned but we have our strength, our experience and most importantly, each other. We can fight side by side and show these invaders that we will not roll over and accept defeat. We MUST NOT roll over and accept our defeat. That's not what I stand for, what WE stand for. We stand for freedom and liberty! Now it’s time to complete the set and stand up for unity! Unity as a species! We can show them we are a strong and proud race. It’s time to fight back. We must all take up arms under one flag and fight together. It’s time to forget our differences and forgive one another. For us as a species we have to work together and fight against this evil! We have to show that they cannot break us. Show them we are stronger than that. Show them we will fight to the last man, No matter what the odds are!”
Below the fighting between the Russians and UN stopped.
“...and you don’t have to do it alone. My name is Courage Tyler and I want to be your leader. I want to lead you all into battle and lead you all to victory. Together we will make them hurt, together we will drive them back and together we will win this battle. As one nation! As one people! As one species! And with the help of our Equestrian Allies...”
The ponies all walked beside me on the balcony and looked down to the gathering crowd of people. All the soldiers looked up in total awe.
“...we can drive back this evil and show them to never mess with us. We can show them what we are made of. Show them our power and our pride. They can destroy our cities, our armies and our bodies but they can NEVER take our freedom. We will fight as free men and we will die as free men. Now rise up! Rise up and fight! And destroy the invaders! It’s time to send them packing!”
The crowd below began cheering! All rising up their weapons and firing upwards in celebration!
“Courage! Courage! Courage!” Most of them chanted.
One soldier climbed onto of a tank husk and started screaming into a megaphone, “He’s right! It’s time to fight for our freedom! Lets show these assholes what we are made of! Courage for leader! Courage! Courage! Courage!”
“Courage! Courage! Courage!”
I raised my fist up, “We can do this! We WILL win this war! Together!!”
“Oh-Rah! Oh-rah! Oh-rah! Oooo-rraaahhhh!!” chanted the Russian soldiers.

I stepped down from the balcony and turned around to look at the others.
“That was a good speech Comrade. You have the true heart of a Russian. You will make a great leader this day” Gavriil congratulated.
“Agreed...” said Violet. “...You did good Courage. Now go out there and lead those people. Lead us all to victory like you promised”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do”

Chapter Eighteen - The Game Begins

It has been a day since I made the speech and I had just woken up from a good sleep. Fluttershy insisted I get some rest before I do anything else. I was only a sleep for about five hours before I was woken up by one of the soldiers. He apparently had some good news for me. We had set up a temporary base in an underground subway station. We moved lots of ammo and supplies in to hide them and ourselves from the ships above. The lights flickered as bombs went off above. The wall tiles were worn and some had fallen down, grime covered the pillars that held up the ceiling and we used a broken down train in the station as a barracks. At the planning table now the soldier told me of a large aircraft carrier that retreated to New York to regroup with my new resistance of soldiers. The aircraft carrier is anchored near Liberty state park.
“...an aircraft carrier would be useful sir”
I looked at the soldier and nodded with agreement. I started thinking to myself that we could us the planes to get on board the ships that were just off the coast.
“...okay. We need to make a safe haven for humans. We can use the planes on the carrier to get on board the invader ships. We take out the ships and drive them all from New York. New York could then become the new safe haven for the survivors. Violet, I want you to find out everything you can about those ships. I want, schematics, entry points, statistics, crew sizes, defences, Anything that could help us assault these things. In the mean time Me, Liam and the ponies are going to take a small force to the carrier. Gavriil and Pete will go round the city and gather as many soldiers as possible”
I looked to Liam. He was staring blankly at the table.
“Liam? You okay?”
“That bitch Discord had shit destroyed. No helicopter will ever replace shit. Lets go get this bitch!”
Liam punched his own palm and looked at me with anger. He clearly wasn’t happy that he lost his helicopter.
“Alright. Lets get going everyone. There’s no time to lose”

Me, Liam and the ponies managed to sneak past everything up to this point. We were now looking at the entrance to Holland Tunnel: The tunnel that would take us under the river and away from Manhattan. By the tunnel was some dragon warriors and some kind of tank. It was black with an ab-normal shape, a bit like a french croissant. It is very hard to describe in a few words. It had a small turret on the top but the size of the barrel definitely showed that it could definitely do some damage. We took cover behind a piece of fallen building and looked over at the tank.
“Alright, this tunnel will take us out of Manhattan and to the other side of the river. We then just need to turn left towards Liberty state park”
“...but we need to get passed that tank I guess” Implied Twilight.
I turned to look at the others. “...yes. So any ideas?” I put my hands together in a cheerful yet hopeless manner.
Everyone looked at me hopelessly and my smile began to drop. “Okay... Looks like we’re sneaking past”
“How are we supposed to do that? There’s no cover to hide us from the tank or dragon soldiers?” Twilight informed worryingly.
“Rainbow. Draw their attention away from us. While they are shooting at you we can sneak past”
“You got it!” Replied Rainbow cunningly.

Rainbow took position on the roof top to the right. We got ready to sneak past when they turned to shoot rainbow. We would just have to hope they wouldn’t turn around while we snuck past.
“Alright Rainbow. We’re ready. Go when you’re ready and we’ll meet you on the other side of the tunnel”
“Alright! I’m on it!”
Rainbow kicked a rock of the roof. The Dragon soldiers looked up as Rainbow took off into the air. They began to shoot their lasers at her as we snuck past. The tank didn’t make any movement. I questioned what it was doing but to be honest it wasn’t shooting so I took no notice. We managed to get into the tunnel without getting seen and the dragon warriors behind us started shouting.
“Where did it go?!?”
They sounded quite demonic and deep.
“Spread out! Find it! Blasted ponies are nothing but trouble!”
“What if it’s one of ours?”
“It was Rainbow coloured! It’s one of the wanted ponies that's working with the Humans! Find it! Now!”
They sounded a lot like the elites from halo only a little more evil like. I loved that game. Anyway we were now heading down the tunnel. It was full of abandoned cars from where people had got out to run. A few small fires where scattered and most of the lights were damaged and destroyed. It seemed completely clear of enemies.
“C’mon girls. Times a wasting. We should hurry and get to the aircraft carrier quickly. Who knows how long it’ll be before Discord takes it out”

We reached the other side of the tunnel. Rainbow landed to join us.
“You okay Rainbow?”
“Yeah. Those guys couldn’t shoot for squat”
“Okay good. We should get go....”
As I spoke I was interrupted by a huge trembling in the ground. A huge ship passed closely over head, heading for the coast. It was almost as big as Discords ship. Much bigger than the ones off the coast. I guessed it was going to help the other ships bring down my little resistance.
“More ships!” Complained Applejack.
“C’mon! We need to take them out before more show up. The carrier isn’t far now”

We made it to that park. I was expecting to find lots of enemy resistance here but instead I found a few Abrams and a load of soldiers. They had set up a small camp: Sandbags, tents and compact generators. A make shift outpost if you like. One of the marines approached me.
“Sir! The commander wants you on board the Shemora immediately!”
“The Shemora being the ship I guess”
“That's right sir! Helicopter will be here momentarily to take you there”
“Thank you marine”
The marine looked at the ponies with curiosity. “So they are real? Not just a myth to boost morale”
“They were actually there when I gave that speech. And they are here to help”
“I’m glad to hear that sir” he said with a grinning in relief.
A Chinook chopper then flew in and landed behind the marine. I looked at it then back to the marine.
“...that’s my ride. You’re in charge here. Hold this position. Good luck”
“You got it sir!”
Me and the ponies walked aboard the chopper greeted by the Co-Pilot.
“Welcome aboard! The commander wants to see you A sap!”
“Just get us there okay!”
“Can I fly?” Liam asked curiously.
“No Liam. You cannot. It’s his chopper. Not yours” I said with a tone of authority.
“Oh... okay...” Liam replied with a glum face.

The helicopter took off and we were now on our way to the carrier.

“Welcome aboard the Shemora Courage! Finest Air-Craft Carrier in the American fleet. And it’s all yours”
I was greeted by a middle aged bald Commander. He shook my hand and smiled cheerfully at me. He had the image of a great, but laid back, leader. Certainly looked experienced and he had many medals on his uniform.
“Thank you Commander! There is no time to waste. I need you to send out a chopper to retrieve my Intelligence officer, Violet, from our secret base. I also need your best Pilots and fighters in the briefing room in one hour!”
As I started to walk away the Commander spoke back to me, “You got it Commander!”
I stopped in surprise and looked at him. “Commander?”
“That's right. You’re in charge now. You’ve proven yourself a great fighter and your speech proved your leadership skills. You’re obviously very smart seeing as you already have a plan of action in mind. I think you’re better suited for the job than I am”
“What about you?”
“...I’ll be right by your side the whole time. I’ll do whatever you need me to... Commander”
I smiled back at him then turned to make my way to the bridge.

On the bridge I was assessing the situation while I waited for Violet to arrive. I was searching through the ships data trying to find something useful to me. Anything useful at all. I didn’t know what to look for but I thought it couldn’t hurt just to have a look.
“Ah ha ha ha ha ha...”
I turned with shock as a strange blue mist made it’s way through the room towards me. The guards pulled up their weapons, unsure of what to do.
The mist began to spin and formed the shape of Discord. From the mist Discord appeared. The guards aimed to shoot but Discord once again used his powers to snatch their weapons from them.
“Hay now. There’s no need to shoot me. I’m just here to talk”
Liam aimed to shoot him with his shotgun but Discord snatched it from him. Liam then drew his pistol and aimed. That was also taken from him. Liam then drew his knife and Discord took that too.
“Liam. Give up” I suggested to Liam with a sign of disappointment.
“No!” Liam shouted in a tantrum. Liam then pulled out a second knife. Discord took that too. Liam then picked up a fire extinguisher that was near by and aimed it at Discord.
“Really now?” Discord said with mild dis-pleasure. “This is really starting to bore me”
Discord snatched the Extinguisher from Liam with his powers.
“What do you want Discord?” I demanded.
“Oh I just want to play a little game”
"If it's Monopoly I ain't playing" Liam complained.
“What?” I said with angry confusion.
Twilight butted in. “Not another one of your games!”
“Well if you refuse to play then I’ll have no choice but to destroy this ship and everyone on it” explain Discord, spawning a newspaper and cup of tea, trying not to look interested.
“What are the rules of this ‘Game’?” I asked in grief.
He then dropped the cup of tea and news paper and pretended to sound excited by my words.
“There are only three rules: Firstly, No nuclear weapons. You have to beat me with your skill and intelligence. The second rule is you must stay away from Russia. Russia is off the playing field and so is any other planet. You must remain here on earth. The last rule is no help from Celestia or the other ponies. If any pony else shows up then the game is over and I win”
“What happens if you win?”
“Then I will destroy earth and Equestria. It’s really quite simple”
“How do you expect us to win?!? This game isn’t fair!” I complained.
“Not my problem. You either play the game or I destroy both your worlds. Now if your done asking questions I’m missing out on some excellent chaos. Good Luck every-pony!”
Discord soon disappeared in a flash.
“How are we going to beat him without the help of the other ponies?” Twilight asked in sorrow.
“...and without the elements of Harmony to beat Discord” stressed Rarity.
I walked forward and addressed everyone, “Well we don’t have a choice but to play his little game. We only need to play it while he has us by the Throat. Now lets go play his little game...”

Chapter Nineteen - Counter Attack

“...All Eagles, prepare to launch...”

“The New York occupation forces are all being commanded, controlled and supplied by these ships. It is up to us to take them out. With only Twenty four F22s it will be tough but I have come up with a suitable plan of action...”

“...plane is fueled and ready for you sir”

“Thank you. Rainbow, Get to your plane. Lets rock and roll”

“...We will split our planes into four squads of six. Echo squadron will target the engines of all three ships. That will stop them getting away. Rainbow Squadron, led by Rainbow Dash, will focus on the ships outer defenses. Cobra squadron, led by me, will focus on breaching and boarding the ship. Dread-naught squadron will act as support, covering the other three squadrons from enemy fighters...”

“...Close the lid...”

“...Rodger that, closing lid...”

“...Cobra squad will be boarding the largest ship. The ships hangers are shielded so we can’t just fly inside. Fortunately, the ships hull shields are offline for some reason. Violet believes that they do not work inside an atmosphere. This means it’s hull is still exposed. We find a way inside, fight our way to the hanger and bring the hanger shields down so Liam can drop off troops...”

“Cobra 1-1, you are online. Systems online and tracking”
“Rainbow? How you doing?”

“Doing good Courage. The Mechanics, are prepping me to launch”

“...Once the troops are on board, we will seize the ship and use it’s main gun to destroy the other two ships. Once the other ships are destroyed we will set the ship to explode and pull out. Once the ships are gone, their ground forces will have no air-support and no supplies...”

“Cobra 1-1, I need you to tap the breaks, check your flaps and stabs...”
“Rodger that checking flaps and stabs...”
“We’re good left side!”
“We’re good right!”

“Rodger that. Bringing Visor HUD online. Prepping engines to launch”

“...Once the mission is complete we will return to the carrier. We launch in three hours. We can’t wait around for more ships to show up. Dismissed”

“Weapons and counter-measures are good. Targeting systems check, Radar check. Prepping to launch”
“Good highs, good lows, no lights out and your ready to go”
“Cobra 1-1, all systems check. Your free to launch. Runway is all yours”
“Rodger tower, firing engines”
I fired up the engines and began to launch. The plane shot across the runway and launched itself off the other side. I slowly began to ascend into the sky.
“This is Cobra 1-1. All systems clean, running smoothly”
“Okay. Cobra 1-1, Cobra and Rainbow squadrons are away. Prepping the last two squadrons for launch”
“Rodger that control. We’re gonna go ahead and circle till all birds are in the air. How are you doing Rainbow?”
“Not too bad. This isn’t much like the simulations. Gonna take some time to get use to”
“Don’t worry Rainbow. You can practise for the next few minutes”
“...and you have us on the ground supporting you” Twilight's voice coming through our ear-piece.
“Yeah! Ya can do it sugar cube. No-Pony can fly like you do Rainbow” applauded Applejack.
“Awww thanks girls...”
“Alright! Lets keep this professional girls!”
“Sorry Courage” Rainbow said in apology.
“Alright, good speed, good drive, all systems green. Engine temperature looks good. I’m ready to go when you are”
“This is Rainbow leader, all systems green here. Same for my squad” Rainbow replied.
“This is Echo leader, all systems, reading green”
“Dread-naught here, all systems go”
“Alright. All squads are go. Form up on my tail and move to the target, heading 2-0-4. How copy?”
“Good copy! Forming up on your six”
“Leveling at your six”

“Alright, we are approaching target, two minutes out. Check your systems and prepare to engage”
“Checking systems. All ready to go”
“Bogies inbound...” Echo leader warned me.
“Alright everyone. Fifty plus Bogies, thirty seconds out. Echo team, break away and proceed to your objective. Everyone else prepare to engage hostiles. Prime your weapons and get in formation”
“Echo team, breaking away”
Many black, triangle shaped fighters approached at high speed. They looked a lot like human stealth fighters.
“...Ten seconds...”
“Alright. All birds, prime weapons...” I paused for a few seconds, “...engage”
We all fired our machine guns and launched two rockets each. We flew past the ships as we traded bullets.
“Alright, break formation and engage hostiles. Looks like they’re coming back around”
“Cobra 1-1 more Bogies at our twelve”
“Rodger dread-naught 1-2. Dread-naught squad, engage the Bogies at our twelve”
“You got it Cobra 1-1. Engaging Bogies at our twelve”
I turned my plane round to face the ships that passed us. On my radar I could see my squad forming up behind me in an arrow formation. The ships had also turned around but some had flown round to come from our right side.
“Watch the side!”
The ships fired again, as did we. More ships went down as we passed them by. More ships were being deployed by the Cruisers.
“Alright. All birds split up and engage. More hostiles inbound”
“Got it. Breaking away”
We all split up and flew up above the clouds. The ships followed us up, guns blazing.
“I’ve got two on my six!”
“Rodger that Cobra 1-3, Cobra 1-1 moving to assist”
I moved towards Cobra 1-3 to find two ships pursuing and firing at him. I fired my machine guns as I flew in from the side. I took out one ship and damaged the other. The damaged one broke it’s pursuit on Cobra 1-3.
“Thanks, Cobra 1- OH CRAP!!”
More ships flew out of a cloud and almost collided with me and Cobra 1-3. We managed to flip our planes sideways to avoid crashing into them. We re-leveled our planes.
“Shit! More inbound! We gotta take them out!”
“Rodger that, looks like we got ourselves a proper dog fight...”
I flew in behind two ships and took them down with my machine guns. Flames burst from the cockpits and wings as my bullets hit. Two fighters then pulled up on my six and fired at me. I swung sideways to dodge their fire and they followed in close pursuit.
“Shit! This is Cobra 1-4! I’m hit! I’m hit! AAAARRR-”
I saw an F-22 ahead of me explode violently and three fighters flew from the smoke, firing lasers at me. These fighters were different. They were the shape of a boomerang pointed forward. Lasers right under the cock pit in the centre of the shape. I turned away and flew right. All five of the fighters followed suit.
“This is Cobra 1-1, five fighters at my six”
I continued to fly side-to-side, dodging the incoming lasers and bullets. The dashboard then started flashing red.
“Missile lock!” yelled my Co-Pilot. Yes, I forgot to mention we all had a Co-Pilot.
“Deploy Flares!” I ordered.
“Flares away!”
The enemies fired rockets and missed due to the flares. The ships behind then started to take fire from above. Two of my F-22s were firing at the hostile fighters. Four of the fighters went down and one pulled back. Unfortunately it pulled back and locked onto my team mates. Two rockets were released by the fighter and went straight for the F-22s that helped me out. Both of the F-22s deployed flares but one wasn’t lucky and was still hit.
“This is Cobra 1-2! I’m hit! Losing power! Can’t hold ‘er!”
Another two fighters came from the side and finished off Cobra 1-2 with lasers.
“Ah shit!”
Boom! Cobra 1-2 was now gone also. We also lost contact with the rest of Cobra squad. Only me and 1-3 remained.

The ships passed and flew away and more emerged from the cloud layer.
“More inbound!” warned Cobra 1-3.
“Ignore them! Move for the objectives”
We flew passed the ships, trading more bullets as we did, and flew back down below the clouds.
“Rainbow squad? Status?”
“Dead! We got into a little fight now only me and Rainbow 1-4 remains”
“Join up with me and Cobra 1-3. Dread-naught? Where did you go?”
“This is Dread-naught. We broke away to support Echo. The engines of the primary and one secondary are down. 1-3 and 1-4 are down but Echo is still at full strength. Moving for the last target now”
“Rodger that. Me and Rainbow squad are going to engage the primary and try to board it”
“How exactly are you going to board it?”
“Don’t worry about that, Just protect Echo till they take down the engines”
“Rodger, Dread-naught out”
Lasers and bullets started flying in from behind as the ships caught up on us.
“Cobra 1-3 and Rainbow 1-4, drop back and deal with those tail-gaiters”
“Rodger!” they both replied. They both pulled back and took out the ships behind us. More started coming from the front and side.
“All around us! At least A hundred plus”
Lasers and bullets and rockets flew from all directions.
“Flares away!”
All the rockets missed but I was hit by a few bullets.
“My flaps and stabs on the left side are damaged. Losing stability!”
“Shit! I’m hit too! Losing power to the engine!!”. Rainbow was panicking. “Losing power to everything!! Ah!”
Boom!
“RAINBOW!!” I screamed.
Out from the smoke of the explosion I saw Rainbow flying away with her Co-Pilot in her hooves.
“Oh thank Luna!!” I sighed in relief.
“I’m okay! Managed to eject at the last second”
“Okay. Cobra 1-3, Rainbow 1-4, cover my approach! Co-Pilot. I need you to take the stick. Me and Rainbow are going to board the ship. Fly over the top of the ship and I’m going to jump on top”
“We’re traveling at like 300mph! If you jump, you’ll be launched a fair distance forward”
“That’s why I jump before we get above the ship”
“You’ll have to time it-” we were hit by another laser shot. “Urgh! -time it just right if your gonna land on it. Not to mention the landing will hurt!”

We made it close to the main ship and the Co-pilot was leveling up the plane. I opened the canopy and climbed to the nose. It wasn’t easy with the rushing air. I grabbed the end of the nose with my left hand and looked back at my Co-Pilot.
“Can you slow down some more?” I asked.
“Nope. Not unless you want me to fall out of the sky”
“Alright! Get ready to pull away!”
“Ready!”
“On three... One..... two.... Three!!”
The jet slowed down dramatically and I was throw forward towards the ship. This is when I realised how stupid this was.
“Why the fuck did I put myself up to this?”
I approached the edge of the ship and crashed down at an angle, bouncing across the top and hitting an air vent! I looked up to find my P90 in front of me. The clip that attached it to my chest had snapped by the force of the landing.
“Ah shit! That hurt!” I got up and rubbed the back of my neck and stretched my back. “Rainbow! Join me on the top of the ship”
“Got it!”

Rainbow landed on the roof and let go of the Co-Pilot. I looked at the Co-Pilot.
“You got a weapon?”
He drew out an M9 pistol, “Sure do sir”
“Good, we could use your help. Let make our way to the hanger. There’s an airlock over there”
We approached the airlock, Two F-22s flew over our heads, followed by a few fighter ships.
“This is Echo! We have taken out all objectives and are now engaging the enemy fighters! We’ll keep them busy so the transports can make it in”
“Rodger that Echo 1-1. We’re making our way to the hanger now”
I rubbed the back of my neck again then I opened the air-lock.
“Are you okay Courage?” Rainbow asked with concern.
“Yeah, my neck just hurts from the landing”
“That was a very stupid thing to do you know. Im surprised your alive”
“Can we just get going!”
“Of course, sorry”

Inside the ship now. The walls had a lovely patterned, red and black, decoration scheme. It looked really futuristic with LED lights everywhere. We were making our way to the hanger, though we had no idea where we were going. We had been sneaking around for almost ten minutes before we found our way. I really should have revised those schematics before coming on this mission but I was so caught up with teaching Rainbow to run the Jet flying simulations. It didn’t matter now since we DID find it in the end. We had to sneak past many Pony guards. It seemed that the dragon soldiers were the grunts and that the Ponies had higher authority. I would have thought it would be the other way round. I didn’t see any dragon warriors on board except in the hanger.

“Alright. Im guessing that control panel right by the hanger door controls the hanger’s shield”
“Why didn’t we land our troops on the ship’s roof?” asked the Co-Pilot.
“Well erm.... I dunno...” I said in slight confusion.
“Well because the transports would be vulnerable to the fighters up there...” Rainbow explained.
“She has a point”
“Right....” I pulled out a flash bang. “Lets get to that panel”
I threw the flash bang through the door. A few ponies approached it to investigate the metal cylinder. Stupidly I was watching them stare at it. Luckily Rainbow pulled me away and covered my eyes. After it went off Rainbow looked at me, “Are you stupid? Lets go!”
We all got up and ran across the hanger floor, firing at the few dragon warriors. The dragon warriors were still blinded by the flash bang but their scales protected them from our bullets. We took cover by a docked fighter that was landed close to the panel.
“Alright Liam! Make your approach! The shield will be down in a second”
“Alright Mr. Boss!”

I moved to the panel. A holo-screen appeared, similar to the one Twilight interfaced with before we found Discord. I didn’t know how to shut off the shields with this thing so I observed the screen for a second. I found that on one side was a “Deactivate Shields” button. Convenient.
“Alright Shields are down! Make your approach Liam!”
I took back cover behind the fighter. Ponies on the cat walks firing their machine guns at us. The dragon warriors were just slowly walking towards us as our small arms fire bounced off their thick scales. They were firing away at us with lasers.
“Any time now Liam!”
“I’m on it boss! Don’t get your over sized nappy in a twist!”
“Liam! Seriously! Now!”
One of the dragon warriors jumped up on the ship we were behind and aimed to shoot us. I just stared hopelessly at him as he grinned at me evilly.
“Ah shit...”
He pulled his weapon up to shoot but thankfully he was hit by a massive transport that flew through the hanger door. The transport spun round so the back end faced the back wall. The other ponies, four marines and Pete jumped out from the back of the transport, all the marines firing their heavy assault rifles at the enemy. Twilight formed a barrier around them to protect against the incoming fire. The hostile ponies retreated but the dragon warriors stayed to fight. On the back of the transport, Gavriil was loading the transports mounted weapon. He began to fire it at the dragon warriors. The dragon warriors didn’t stand a chance against that kind of power.
“You die this day Behemoths!” he yelled as he ripped the dragon warriors apart with his heavy machine gun.

The transport soon landed down on the hanger floor and the room was now secure. A second transport had also landed and brought us an additional twelve marines. While six of the marines secured the hanger, I had everyone else gather round me.
“Alright. Violet, give me the blue prints to this thing”
Violet laid down the blue prints of the ship on a small crate, “There you go boss”
“Alright. We are here. We need to get here, to the control room. Me, you three...” I pointed to three of the marines, “...and the ponies will make our way through these lower levels and up to the control room. Liam, Violet and you six...” I pointed to six of the marines, “...will head here, to the power generator and plant charges. Once I use the ships weapons to destroy the other two ships, we will pull out and detonate the charges. That will destroy this ship also and the enemy lose all footing in New York”
“Why do you always get to go with the ponies?” Liam asked, frowning at me.
“Because I want to make sure they’re safe. Plus I could use their magic if we run into Trixie or Discord”
“What if WE run into them?” Liam complained.
“At the power generator? Why would they be down there?”
“I don’t know... They could be?”
“Lets go guys! You always complain about us wasting time!” blurted Rainbow.
“She’s right. We’re wasting time. Lets go!”
Liam, Violet and the six marine left the hanger to make their way to the generator. Me and the ponies prepared to leave but suddenly one of those bloody super soldiers jumped down from the first level canopy. He fell and landed, using his JET PACK to slow is landing. This one had an over sized mini-gun which was so big and heavy that even HE needed two hands to hold it.
“Seriously!! I thought those things were human!!” I yelled.
“They probably ar-OH CRAP GET DOWN!”
We all took cover as the super soldier fired his mini-gun. Our first transport then exploded right by us. Me, Rarity and Applejack were blown away by the blast. The soldier then slowly swayed his mini-gun to point at us, not letting go of the fire button. Just before the bullet fire was pointed at us, Twilight brought up a barrier between us and the soldier. The marines then began to fire at him. The bullets bounced off the soldiers tough armour. Twilight’s barrier began to break. I could see the purple barrier cracking like glass. I got up and threw a flash bang. It went off right by the super soldier but it did not affect him in any way.
“Shit really?”
The barrier broke and I dived behind some crates for cover. The ponies did the same.
I then saw Liam preparing to jump from the cat walk above the soldier.
“Hay! Noob!” Liam yelled before jumping off the cat walk. Liam landed on the soldiers back and wrapped his arms around his neck. The soldier dropped the mini-gun and tried to reach back to get Liam off. I quickly got up and moved to the soldier. Two of the marines did the same. The marines pulled out their knives and moved to attack. The soldier was still struggling to get Liam off. A marine slashed at the armour, causing many sparks. The soldier then kicked the marine back, the second marine coming from the side. The soldier the elbowed that marine as I approached. The soldier then managed to grab Liam and threw him at the first marine trying to get back up. He then swung to punch me but I dodged and jumped up on him and stabbed him in the throat. My thrown body weight had knocked him to the ground. The soldier moved his hand to grab me but a marine jumped on his arm before he could. I swung my knife into his other hand, pinning it to the floor and then drew my pistol to shoot him.

I put my pistol against the glass visor of his helmet. Before I could shoot the soldier spoke in a strong female voice.
“I die for Lord Discord, his great power will lead us all to great prosperity” she said in a sort of Prayer.
“What are you saying?”
“You will die by Discord’s Power! Heretic!”
The soldier lifted HER arms from the floor, knocking away the knife and marine that once held them in placed, and moved to grab me. I pulled the trigger before she could. Her arms dropped lifelessly to the ground again. A large, bloody, cracked hole now had a place on her helmet visor. I timidly removed the helmet to find a young human female.
“How is this possible?” I mumbled to myself.
“We don’t have time for this. We have to get going” Rainbow said insistingly.
“Of.... of course... lets get going...” I said Vacantly. I was so surprised to find a NORMAL human female under that massive suit of steel and firepower. Surely you would need like some kind of mutant body builder in those things. Not... not a young female who looked young enough to still be in school. Anyway. I didn’t have time for this. I swiftly got up to move to the bridge with the ponies.

Chapter Twenty - Loss

“Trixie, Ma’am. The intruders are almost here. What should we do?”
“Well IM heading back to my ship. I don’t know about you... Go luck with the intruders”
“Wait! You can’t leave me here with them! They’ll kill us all!”
“This is YOUR ship. Not mine. Your not my responsibility”

“Please Ma’am. Have mercy!”

“Alright girls, we made it to the bridge. Ready? On three. Three, two, one...”
We moved in through the doors to the bridge and aimed our weapons. No pony in sight.
“Where is everypony?” Applejack asked in confusion.
“Maybe they went to a party!” Pinkie yelled in cheer as she began to bounce around the bridge.
“They must have abandoned ship” I answered. “It’s not importent anyway. We’re here for the controls, not the ponies”
“Right. I’ll see about those weapons for you courage” said Twilight.
“Alright Twilight...” I then looked at the marines sharply. “...secure the area!”
“You got it sir!”
“Alright! One down. One to go” Twilight informed.
“Are you sure? I didn’t feel anything”
“I’m sure Courage. Look for yourself...” She pointed her hoof at the Holo screen.
“Okay, I believe you. Deal with the second”
“Second is down and-”
Before she could finish the ship shook violently and most of us fell to the floor.
“Fuck! What just happened?!?”
Twilight put her hooves on the computer panel and pulled herself up. She looked at the screen and started interfacing with it again.
“It’s Trixie! Her Battleship is bombing us from orbit! She’s bombing the whole of New York by the looks of things”
We all looked out the bridge’s main window. Massive slugs came raining from the sky, crashing down on New York and creating massive explosions. We were hit again.
“Ship systems failing! We need to get out of here!” Twilight cried.
I turned on my ear piece and started yelling into it, “Alright! Everyone to the transport! We gotta go!!”

We were running through the ships corridors, stumbling and getting thrown around as Trixie continued to bomb the ship. Explosions around us as we ran back to the hanger. Another explosion above our heads as we ran down the corridor. Debris came crashing down on Rarity’s hind leg. She gave an outcry of pain and I stopped to look.
“Ah! Help!” she cried.
I looked back at everyone else as the ran, unaware of what just happened.
I quickly moved over to Rarity and tried to lift the massive support beam off her leg. Her horn glew as she tried to lift it with her levitation powers. Spike joined in on trying to lift it.
“Why aren't you with Twilight?!?” I asked.
“I’m not leaving my love here to die!” He answered proudly.
“It’s too heavy!” I complained.
Suddenly a green glow mixed with Rarity's and two more pony soldiers helped us lift the beam off with their hooves. The beam began to rise and we pushed it to the side. I looked to the three pony soldiers
“Thanks...”
“You’re welcome. Now lets go!” yelled the green unicorn.

We continued to run to the hanger. The explosions had now intensified and this ship was not going to last a minute longer. We ran down the last corridor before the hanger, explosions all around, rattling our ear drums and dazing our sight. We manged to get to the hanger but the transport had left.
“...Liam you son of a bitch” I cursed under my breath.
The hanger roof began to collapse and we also felt the ship beginning to fall to the ground.
“The gravity centrifuge must have just failed!” The green pony shouted informatively. “...Quick! This way!”
We followed the green pony through to another hanger. We boarded one of the enemy transports and the green pony prepared it to launch. The explosions were now completely covering the ship.
“We have to go! Now!” I yelled in complete panic.
We took off and flew out the hanger door. A huge explosion soon followed and the entire ship was destroyed by one final blow from Trixie. That was a close one.

I looked out at New York city as we flew away from it. It was just a huge pile of rubble now.
“The resistance, the carrier, our new hope and safe haven: Gone. All of that was for nothing”
I sat down on the floor, hanging my legs out the door and dropped my head in despair. Rarity soon approached me and put a hoof on my lap.
“It wasn’t all for nothing. You united the world against Discord AND you took out a few of his ships. Not to mention our new found friends...” She looked thankfully at the two earth ponies. I nodded at her agreeingly. I got up and moved to the cock pit.
“Listen, thanks for helping us back there. I’m grateful and everything but I have to know... why did you help us?”
“You were in need of help so I helped” replied the green pony.
“...but we’re your enemy”
“You were”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“I joined Trixie because I was treated like an outcast. I was frowned upon much like she was. Same with most of us. We wanted to become separate from Equestria. But I didn’t join to do this...” He pointed a hoof out the window towards the giant pile of rubble that was once New York. “...I just wanted a place to belong, a community to relate to. Not to kill and destroy. Trixie has gone way too far with the whole ‘Independence’ thing. I must help you stop her”
“So you’ll help us? That is good. Can you drop us by the nearest UN base, outpost or what ever”
“Sure thing. My Navi-com tells me there should be one about eight minutes out”
“Good! Get us there. Maybe we can re-group with at least a few soldiers”

We approached the UN outpost the “Navi-com” had led us too. It was small and run down, not many marines. We landed in the large open area in the middle. Opening the doors we were met with the ends of many assault rifles.
“Woah! We’re not the enemy! You can put those weapons down!”
The marines ignored my suggestion.
“Put them down marines! Courage is on our side! Have you all forgotten his speech already?!?”
A marine approached me. He looked like the man in charge judging by his Sargents hat. The other marines put down their weapons.
“Welcome Courage! It is an honour to have you here!”
“Thank you.... Sargent is it?”
“That's right! Sargent Welbon at your service. What can we do for ya?”
“I need to find a way on board Trixie’s ship in orbit but our transport is damaged”
“Well I can’t help you with that. We haven’t got any ships here”
“Yes. But maybe you can help us obtain one” I said with a notion of logic, pointing at him repetitively.

Liam and the rest soon showed up in their transport. Apparently they had followed us here. One lone escape ship flying towards a UN outpost was obviously not a ship flown by Trixie’s “goons” as Liam put it.
“Alright guys. The Sargent gave me Intel on a ship not far from here. It is a large transport that was used to transport troops to take over the near by town. We are going to assault the landing zone and take the ship. We will use the ship to get on board Trixie’s ship in orbit. Unfortunately the landing zone is surrounded by a force field fencing system. Some one will need to take down the power. It’s simple. Me, Violet and Pete will take every marine and tank here and directly assault the ship. The rest of you need to move into the town’s mines and take out the fences power source that is hidden some where in the mine. We are not even sure if the power source is in the mine but it is definitely somewhere under the mountain. We’ll just have to be lucky. Let’s get to it!”

The ponies and the rest of my team moved to the mine to find the power source. Me, Violet and Pete stayed with the marines to prep for the assault. We had two Abrams tanks for this assault but one was badly damaged. The sky was now filled with dark clouds. It looked like it was going to storm. It was also evening. This storm plus the lack of sun light was definitely going to benefit our approach to the landing zone. They should hopefully not see us coming right away.
“Alright! Lets get going marines! Liam’s team will be done before long and I want to be there when those shields go down!”

We were about eight hundred metres from the landing zone. A large marshy bog was the only thing between us and the landing zone now. It had started to rain but only lightly. We all continued to approach the landing zone quietly, the tanks moving extra slow to try and remain as quiet as possible. I wanted to get as close as possible before shooting. The closer we were the better the chances of hitting.
Swoosh! A rocket flew past my head and destroyed an Abrams.
“Return fire!” Shouted the Sargent.
“Shit! That was the fully functional tank as well!” Pete complained.
We all returned fire and continued our advance, the second Abrams firing it’s secondary machine gun (because that was all it could do in it’s condition). Another rocket flew past and destroyed the last Abrams we had. Bullet fire then came from the tree line to the right of us. Me and Violet took cover by a broken brick wall and fired back at the soldiers to our right. All of the enemies were Ponies. No dragon warriors in sight, thankfully. After some intensive fighting, and the loss of most of our marines, we managed to take out all the hostiles to the right. However resistance was growing around the ship.
“Keep pushing!” I yelled as I advanced with the last of our marines.
We were getting close now and the force shield fence had just gone down. I was suddenly hit in the face by a splatter of blood as Violet went down.
“Violet!!”
Violet dropped to the floor and I immediately moved to help her. She was hit by a large caliber sniper bullet, right in the chest.
“Shit Medic! Where’s fluttershy when you need her!!”
Some marines had moved to us to cover us out in the open. Bullets were still coming in from everywhere.
“Shit. I don’t think I’m gonna make it. It’s...” She coughed up a load of blood. “It’s pretty bad”
“Just hold on! Hold on! Fluttershy will be here in a few minutes!”
“It’s too late. I won’t last that long...”
“No! Don’t give up on me now!” I felt a tear roll down my face. “I... I never got to...”
“...to tell me how you felt?”
“...Yes. I... I’ve always had feelings for you. I should have told you so-”
“Shh....” She put her finger to my lips. “...I know. I feel the same way...”
“R-really?”
“Of course. Your a great guy Courage. Look what you’ve accomplished. You’ve done so much for me. For everyone. How could I not like you?” She was grinning at me but tears began to flow from her eyes. She then started coughing again.
“C’mon Violet! Hold on please!”
“I... I can’t. I’m not going to make it Courage...”
“Please! I need you!” Tears were now flowing through my eyes like a fountain. “I can’t do this without you!”
“You can! I believe in you! You have to stop Discord. For Everyone, For Earth, for Equestria.... For me”
“I... can’t...”
She grabbed the sides of my arms and shook me. “You have too... Do it... for me!”
“I’ll try...”
“No! You WILL do it! You can beat him! I KNOW you can beat him...” she then began to cough again. Almost choking to death this time.
“Violet!”
“My time’s up... I can’t hold on any longer...”
“Violet wait! Please... Don’t go...”
She then pulled me close and kissed me. I became filled with shock and adrenaline as our lips touched. I could feel the blood pouring from the side of her mouth. I didn’t let it bother me. We kissed for about ten seconds but she then retreated and spoke to me softly.
“I’m sorry Courage... this is good bye...” More tears ran down her face. “I love you”
Those words stunned me for a moment. She then shut her eyes and ceased to breath.
“Violet?!? Violet!! Violet No!! Please! Wake up!! Medic!! Medic!!” I looked around to seek help but all I could see was my marines around me getting gunned down one by one. The ship had taken off and Pete was already dead.
I stood up and started yelling into the air. “No!! Discord!! You bastard! You fucking Bastard!! I’ll get you for this!!”
A purple line of smoke moved from the ground towards the ship. All I got back from it was an evil taunting laugh. I then fell to my knees in tears, Rain falling down on me as the storm started. I began to break down. I fell on my side next to Violet’s lifeless body and wrapped my arm around her. The marines around me slowly getting wiped out from all directions. Was this the end?

Chapter Twenty One - Alone

I awoke next to Violet. It was day light. It was still raining a little bit too. I got up and looked around. There was no one around. I got up gingerly and grabbed my weapon. I looked back at Violet’s body and shed another tear before walking away. I started to make my way back to the UN outpost to find out what happened. Walking through the woods, I started talking into my ear piece, Hoping to get a response.
“This is Cobra 1-1, anybody reading me. Respond. Anybody on this frequency in range?”
I tried many frequencies while I walked back to the UN outpost. I had no luck reaching anyone. I also found the outpost completely empty. The transports had also gone. It was clear that Liam and the others were alive or the enemy came and stole the ships. I assumed the first, for my sake.

Without my team, the ponies or transportation my situation looked pretty bad. My new found resistance was crushed within a day and all hope was lost. After finding nothing at the UN base I decided to explore the near by town. With only my P90 and a few grenades I knew that engaging the enemy would be a bad idea. I had no one to watch my back and no one to pull my ass out the fire. I was all alone.

I made it to the town. Completely empty. No enemies or friendlies. I walked around looking for something useful but I had no idea what to look for. For the first time I had no plan, no idea. I was lost. I walked the streets aimlessly, looking for something to save my soul. I walked past a public pond. I stopped right by the edge and looked into the water.
“You’ve lost everything. Your family, your friends and the love of your life. You failed to protect them. And now you’ve lost and Discord has won. He’ll destroy earth and then Equestria”
I then slammed my fist into the water, distorting my reflection. “You’re a failure! Worthless loser!”
I then began to think about Violet. My eyes began to water again.
“No! I promised Violet I wouldn’t give up!”
I got up and started to think hard. After some thought I decided to return to England. Get to the base and sort myself out. Re-supply on weapons and ammo. Maybe even get some help from the base members. Perhaps even find Liam and the others there. First I would need to acquire air-transportation. How hard could it be to find a chopper... in the middle of no-where. The odds were not looking great but damn it I wasn’t going to give up now.

I had left the town and walked for hours. I tried to find a bigger city where I would be more likely to find transport. A news chopper or maybe an enemy transport. Anything would be good enough as long as it could fly. Eventually I arrived at Grove City, another city that was filled with smoke and fire. It seemed the UN had already lost this city. There was no life to be found. I couldn’t hear any gun fire or see any signs of active battle. It was dark again and the storm started up again. I stumbled into the city and prowled the streets. I looked for food and water. I was exhausted by now. That long walked was tiring and I needed to rest and refuel. The city was once a tall built up city. The remains of the sky scrapers proved that. Now it lies in ruin. Just like every other city. It was probably the same story in every country: Cities destroy, lands scorched and the inhabitants slaughtered. I couldn’t believe this. A character for a girls T.V show brought the end of the human race. I chuckled to myself at that thought. I found a cafe that still had food and water. Seeing as it was a cafe I thought I would have a coffee and some cake. Sit back and relax in a chair for a bit. I wanted to take a well earned break.

After about five minutes of relaxing I heard loud robotic footsteps from down the street and the yells of soldiers. I crouched down and looked outside. One of those robots and some Pony soldiers were patrolling the street. This robot was different. It didn’t have a chain gun for an arm. It just had two claws. One claw had a search light in the ‘palm’ or what ever the dragon equivalent is. The soldiers all had flash lights on their guns too. I was behind a table, my head poking out, as I watched the patrol pass. One of the soldiers then pointed his flash light through the window and look in through with a suspicious expression. I quickly got down to hide. I just hoped he didn’t see me.
“Hay! I think I found something!” He sounded young and in-experienced.
“What is it?” asked a more masculine and experienced pony.
“I dunno. I thought I saw something in there”
I swallowed hard. I checked my ammo, ready to fire at them. I only had one clip. I was beginning to sweat and I was getting nervous. I heard the door open, followed by hoof steps walking on the wooden floor, the flash light beams moving around in searching. The hoof steps getting closer now. I lifted my weapon and put my hand on the table leg, readying to shoot. My heart was racing. I could feel it pounding against my barely healed ribs.
“There’s nothing here” said the experienced pony. “C’mon. Lets get moving. I wanna get back to base. I heard a stripper was coming into the barracks to boost our morale. I don’t want to be late for that”
I heard the ponies start to walk out the cafe and I eased up. This was a mistake because I broke the table leg as I moved my hand. It made a loud snapping noise and I heard the hoof steps suddenly stop. I was paralysed by the silence. I was frozen as I waited to see what happened next. I heard a loud “Hmm....” come from one of the ponies. My heart was racing even faster now. If it was hit by a speed gun it would definitely be breaking the law. I heard
the pony approach the table I was hiding behind.
“Hay! I found something!” shouted a voice from the street. There was a short silence followed by hoof steps leaving the cafe. I sighed with relief and proceeded to sneak out the back of the cafe.

I was now in a back ally. It was damp and dirty, trash bags everywhere and rats helping themselves to scraps of food and waste. I slowly walked round to find my way back onto the streets. I had just confirmed the presence of enemies in the city so I now knew I had to be more careful. I found my way out of the alleys and back onto the streets. I was now on a main street. A massive, long, four lane road running into the city centre. I looked up and saw that not far to the right was a news building, with a news chopper still on the landing pad. The landing pad however was sticking out of the side of the building.... forty stories up. Wonderful. Well it was my best chance of getting to England and hopefully I should be able to sneak up to it.
“Luna and Celestia guide me to that chopper. Please. I’ve had enough fucking bad luck this week”
At this point I realised I was treating Luna and Celestia as like my gods. Which was strange because I always said things like this but I didn’t normally mean it in such a way. Normally Luna and Celestia were just my replacements for “Thank god” or “What in gods name are you doing” since I was an atheist but also loved the show so much. But this time I wasn’t just trying to enforce my Bronyism. I was actually asking them for help. Clearly finding out they were real has lead me to worship them as my gods. I just shook my head to dis-miss the thoughts. I had bigger things to do than to contemplate my religious rotations.

I made it to the news building. The lobby was clear but there were no lights. In fact there were no lights in the city. Only the burning fires and the occasional car head light kept the city lit up. I turned on my built-in flash light that was on my P90.
“I’m so glad the P90 comes standard issue with a flash light”
I used my flash light to look around the room. It was definitely clear. I cautiously moved through the lobby, passing the burnt skeletons of innocent civilians. Their skulls looked like the people died screaming, in pain, their jaws open wide. It wasn’t a pretty sight. I then passed the skeletons of a woman and a baby. The woman's arm was wrapped round the baby as if she tried to protect it from the blast.
“What weapons were they using against these people? They were just civilians yet they burnt them? Sick fucks”

I made it to the end of the room and started walking through a corridor. I wanted to find a stair well to the upper floors so I could get the helicopter. I walked through the corridors cautiously, checking every door way I passed. I could hear the blasts of thunder outside and I could see the flashes of lighting coming through the windows.
“Watch it grunt!”
I quickly ducked down behind a knock over filing cabinet as a dragon warrior and a pony soldier walked out of a room ahead of me.
“Don’t talk to me like that, hoofy” said the dragon warrior in his demonic voice.
They were now standing in the corridor not far ahead of me. I had turned off my flash light now to avoid being seen.
“Watch your mouth lackey”
“I’m not your lackey. I’m far superior to you, you pathetic excuse for a creature”
The pony soldier stood up on his back hooves. “If it wasn’t for us ponies, your kind wouldn’t even exist. Now do your job and follow MY orders” said the pony, aggressively poking the dragon warrior in the chest with his front hoof.
The dragon warrior grabbed the ponies hoof and moved his head close to the ponies head, “I don’t care who you are, but you do not push Dracos around. I’ll tear you apart mortal!”
“I don’t think Trixie would be happy about that. And you DO NOT want to get on her bad side”
“I’m not afraid of Trixie”
“You remember what she did to your friend right?” said the pony with a sly look.
The dragon warrior let go of the pony’s hoof and grunted before walking down the corridor.
“That's what I thought” said the pony as he followed the dragon warrior.

When they left I got up and turned my light back on. I continued to search for a stair well to the upper floors. I continued to walk the corridors in search for a way up.
“How the fuck do I get up to the upper floors?”
I eventually found a fire exit. It was a stair case that went all the way up the building. Now I just had to figure out which floor actually had the helipad on it.
“Why couldn’t they just have the pad on the roof?” I asked myself in grief.
I climbed about twenty levels of stairs and the storm still raging on outside. I estimated the pad would be about forty floors up so I figured I’d go up Forty floors then find the pad from there. After another five floors I stopped to rest. Twenty five floors and I was already tired. A put my hands on my knees and tried to get my breath back. I then started hearing voices coming from the stairs above, the clopping was coming down towards me. Two pony soldiers were coming down the stairs. They sounded quite casual and having a bit of a laugh.
“...so then what did you tell her?”
“...alright alright. I told her that I needed to check something in the back room...”
“...and then what did you do?”
“...so I went to the back room, making sure to lure her in with me and I took the pie...”
The voices started to fade as they walked down a few floors. I looked out the fire door I had taken cover behind, looking as the shadows of the ponies continued to descend the stair well. I waited for the shadows to disappear before I continued to climb the stairs to the fortieth floor.

I spent about three minutes sneaking around the floor and I found a window to look out of for the helipad. I found that it was two floors down.
“I just need to get down there. Shouldn’t be to ha-”
“Courage Tylor!” screamed a voice behind me before I was tackled through the window and down onto the helipad. I got up to see what had tackled me, rubbing my neck as it hurt really bad now. I turned to find another one of those super soldiers.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me”
The super soldier lifted a large ballistic weapon. It looked like an over-sized, over the top SMG. It had a huge gaping barrel and the clip size was enormous. If that wasn’t a grenade launcher then I didn’t want to think what the bullets would do to me. The super soldier got up on his feet and aimed to shoot. I quickly jumped for my P90. There was absolutely no cover out here on the pad and I only had one clip of ammo. That didn’t really matter seeing as my bullets wouldn’t hurt him anyway.
“You will die by my hands, the hands of a true follower of Discord!” yelled the super soldier before he fired many rounds at me. The weapon was slow firing, only putting out about two rounds a second, but each bullet ripped a huge chunk out of the concrete pad. I dived out of the way of the first two shots and ducked down behind a wooden box marked as ‘fragile’. Two shots from the soldier’s weapon tore it to pieces and I soon had to run across the pad. I ran out of ideas but luckily the soldier had to reload his weapon.
“C’mon! I would have thought the great Courage would have put up more of a fight!”
He looked down at his weapon as he put in a new clip then looked back up at me. I grabbed a metal bar from the floor and ran up to him. He fired but I managed to dodge his shots. I swung my pole at him but it just bent on his armour. He then chuckled and swung his fist into me, knocking me back. I swung again but he grabbed the pole with little effort and smacked it back at into me. I was knocked to the floor, with a bleeding lip and nose. I then turned and sprayed my P90 into the visor of his helmet. He raised his hand to cover his head from the bullets and I jumped up with my knife drawn and swung at his armour, but making sparks was all I accomplished. He swung and I dodge him, strafing round behind him and stabbed him the back of the knee. He fell to his knees and swung his hand behind him. I ducked under that and quickly stabbed the back of his elbow before he withdrew his arm. He got up and stood back. I tried to knife again but he knocked it out of my hand and beat me down. He then kicked me in the chest, launching me over to the ground by the chopper.

He then approached me and knelt down by me, putting his hand around my throat. He drew a large blade from the back of his waist and began to speak.
“I will bring great honour to my church. Killing you will be our greatest victory yet”
“What church?!? Who are you people?!?” I asked, struggling to fight his grip of my throat with my own hands.
“We are Trixie's Tempest Warriors. We are the church of her human followers, sworn to Trixie and Discord. We will follow their lead as they lead us to our salvation. Discord is a true god and Trixie is his prophet”
“What the fuck! Discord is not a god and you are not their children. He just wants revenge on Celestia for putting him in stone for one thousand years. And Trixie, I don’t even know what she is doing this for”
“No. You are just blind to the truth. Discord is the true ruler of the universe, beaten and imprisoned by his children. He mealy wants to discipline them for their treachery”
“Your fucking crazy!” I grabbed my grenade belt, pulled a pin off one of the grenades and threw it behind the soldier. He turned around in shock and the grenades exploded. The explosion severed the path that held the pad to the side of the building. The pad jolted downward as it prepared to collapse and fall. The strenuous movement of the pad caused the soldier to stumble and fall on his stomach.I quickly got up and climbed on board the chopper. I sat down in the pilot seat and prepared to lift off. The pad then collapsed and the chopper began to drop to the ground. The rotors were just spinning up as the chopper came close to the ground.
“C’mon. C’mon!”
The helicopter nearly hit the ground but soon before I crashed the helicopter began to slow it’s decent and eventually I was flying away from the building.
“Thank Luna for that. Now to-”
“You think you can kill me that easy! I will not rest till your dead!”
“Oh what the fuck man!”
I looked back to find the soldier’s hand holding onto the side of the chopper.
“I will CRUSH YOU!” Yelled the soldier in rage.
“Crush this!” I retorted.
I then began to scrape the chopper against a building, My rotors began to scratch against the building’s side, as did the soldier. A warning light came on telling me the rotors were taking damage. A whole load of sparks came off the soldier’s armour as he rubbed violently against the building. I could hear him groaning loudly in pain. I passed the building but the soldier was still holding onto the side.
“Get off my CHOPPER!”
I slammed him against another building. The red light was flashing fanatically now. Grinding against another building now but he was determined to get me.

I finished scraping this building and I didn’t want to risk losing my rotors to a third passing.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding right?!?”
I looked back to see him grabbing the inside of the cabin with both hands. He was trying to pull himself up. I looked around the outside world in panic, trying to think of what to do. To my luck I saw an old construction site. It was only as far having the frame of the building. Plenties of pointy out bits to smack him with.
“Alright, lets see how you like this then tough guy” I mumbled to myself. I pushed the flight stick forward and flew towards the construction site. He had almost pulled himself inside the chopper. I drew my pistol and fired a few shots back at him. He dropped back out to cover his already damaged helmet but he was still hanging on. I was now flying by the construction site.
“Stop resisting! You cannot stop me! Even if you do more of us will come for you! Our church will not rest till your dead!”
“Then let them come!”
Smash! I swung my helicopter round to smack him into a large, steel support beam that was hanging from a crane. He lost his grip and fell to the ground. As he fell he launched a rocket from his wrist rocket launcher. I can’t believe I forgot about those things. The rocket exploded right by the chopper and I began to spiral out of control. Every light that could flash WAS flashing. Warning lights, danger signs, infernal beeping noises. I started to fight with the stick, trying to stop it from crashing.
“C’mon! I busted my balls to get my hands on you and your my only ride to England!”
It ignored me and continued to spin out of control.
“C’mon you bitch!!”
Suddenly it stabilised and started to fly normal. It was still a bit jolty and off with me but it was flyable now.
“Thank you! Now lets get back to England without any more problems Okay?”
I looked at the dash board as if I was waiting for a response. The light just flashed slowly back at me.
“Okay good... Now...” I started to shake my head around agreeingly in a slightly crazy manner. “I... I need to get back to England” I sat back and wiped my face with relief. “Fuck! That was.... too fucking close for me...”. I sat back and looked around in relief. I was feeling really stressed by this point. This whole alone thing was getting to me. I pulled myself together and started to make my way to England. The fuel tank was full so hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem. The only issue I had was flying in this storm. My chopper was fucked and I was about to fly past a hurricane. I just hoped for the best and continued on with my journey.

Chapter Twenty Two - Back to Base

Grenades, one. Bullets, twenty five. Team mates.... Zero. I was flying through a storm all by myself. Not just literally either. I was flying through a shit storm of evil with no one to watch my back, no one to look to and no one to guide me. I had just realised how alone I was. I had always been alone. I locked myself away my whole life. I let the death of my parents lock me in on myself. I prevented myself from interacting with others. I went my whole life with barely any friends and prevented myself from opening up to anyone. I lost my chances with Violet because of it. I lost friends because of it. That was not what my parents would have wanted. I didn’t realise it till now. Now here I am: Alone, flying through a hurricane on a hopeless quest to save the world.
“...I wish Rarity were here. Could certainly do with a chat right about now...”
I continued to fly through the harsh winds. I was passing the coast of America now and making my way across the Atlantic. The fuel tank was still reading near enough full so I was comfortable with flying all the way to England without stopping. However I was feeling strained and tired and wanted to sleep. Without an Auto-Pilot function, that was not happening.

After hours of fighting against the winds I made it to England. It was strange. The storm stretched across the Atlantic. I’m no scientist but I’m sure that isn’t normal for a hurricane. I assumed Discord had something to do with it. In My Little Pony he could manipulate the weather. Although in the show he made chocolate rain but I think he could just as easily make a massive storm spread across the Atlantic. I landed down on the cliffs by a large rock. I got out the chopper and walked to a key pad on the rock. The rock had a large metal door in it. The door was not camouflaged or anything. Even if it was it wouldn’t be very well camouflaged. You have to remember that the year is 2015 and not 3224. The only reason it was never discovered by anyone was because everyone stayed away from the coast in fear of Russian navel bombardments, like the one that killed my sister and the rest of my family. I typed in my code and the door opened up. It led to a large down ramp towards the underground complex that was our base.

After walking through a small length of tunnel I made it to the motor pool. The place had been torn apart. The tools were thrown everywhere, cables ripped from the roof, shelves knocked over or smashed and most of the lights were out. It was dark in here. Luckily I still had my P90 flash light. It seemed the main power was off-line. I guessed I would be heading to the power generator first then. With only back up power from the National grid, most of the lights and main systems would be offline.
“Alright. What’s going on here? If I find out some cheesy horror movie monster is running around, I’m going to be pissed”
I chuckled at the thought and continued to walk through the motor pool.

The more I walked the corridors of the base, the more I began to feel like there really was something stalking around here. The damage was as if a herd of angry ware-wolves had been through here. The torn wires, claw marks and the smashed glass and equipment. I made it to the power generator and it seemed the main console had been slashed with a claw. I observed the claw mark closely. It seemed to match the claws of the dragon warriors but I couldn’t be totally sure. I would need to compare claw marks to be totally sure. I guess assuming it was a dragon warrior calmed my nerves. I couldn’t repair the damage without proper tools and a long period of time. It would be best to grab what I need and go. I hadn’t seen any corpses of base personnel though. I thought that maybe I should look around a bit more first and try to find some one.

I was now entering the infirmary. Everything was wreaked: Medical beds were ripped off the walls, the medical cabinets were smash with the meds thrown everywhere and a few... bodies of base personnel. A couple of them appeared to have been mauled by something... with claws. So a cheesy horror movie monster was running around the base? Well now I was worried. That’s when I heard some sobbing from the lab at the back of the infirmary. I quickly moved for the lab. I looked through the door to find Isabelle cowering behind a medical table. She had massive claw gashes on her arm and some small scratches on her face. I quickly moved over to her, making a quick scan of the room with my flash light as I did, and knelt beside her to see if she was okay.
“Isabelle are you okay?”
She resisted me and even stabbed me with a scalpel when I tried to touch her.
“Get away! Get away!” she screamed in panic. I snatched the scalpel out of her hands and grabbed her arms. Once she was calm I held her close and took a second scan of the room.
“Shh... Shh... It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here now. You're safe now” I rubbed her back compassionately and wiped her tears away with my hand, “C’mon. Deep breaths. Tell me what happened”
“I don’t know. Happened so fast. They just.... and...” she wasn’t making much sense to me. She was rapid and confused.
“Woah! Calm down. Start from the beginning”
She sniffed and wiped her eyes and then began to speak slowly with deep breaths.
“I was in the infirmary handling a patient who came in with serve burns after an accident in the boiler room. I was just moving to get some ointment from the cabinet for the burn and suddenly the door was smashed open. This thing charged in and attack everyone. The patient tried to hold it off while I hid in the lab. I could, I could hear the screams of the others as they got torn apart. When it was finished it came looking for me. I managed to hide behind this table. It would have found me if the gun fire from the corridor hadn’t of distracted it...”
“Woah! Hang on... what was this thing?”
“I don’t know! I didn’t get a good look. It was dark and I was too busy cowering.... I, I should have done something. I could have he-”
“No. There was nothing you could have done. If you had try to do something you would have died with every-”
Suddenly I could hear banging from the ceiling.
“What was that?!?” panicked Isabelle.
“We should get moving to the armoury. C’mon”

We were walking through the corridors of the base. The armoury was not far. Something had been following us. I could feel it.
“Take this” I whispered as I handed Isabelle my pistol.
“What?!? I’ve never fired a weapon before in my life!” she whispered loudly in complaint.
“It’s easy. You point and shoot. What more do you need to know?”
Crash!
“What was that?!?”
“Shh...! It came from in there” I pointed into one of the living quarters. I took a peak inside the room. An empty drink can rolled towards me from the darkness. I could here heavy breathing from something. Something not human. Green eyes glowed from the darkness.
“Get to the armoury... Now!” I whispered loudly, not taking my eyes off the green eyes that hovered in the darkness.
I wanted to point my flash light at it but I honestly didn’t want to provoke it or anything. It stepped forward, a dragon claw being revealed in the beam of my flash light.
“Dragon claw? What is with Discord and dragons?”
The eyes then jumped at my words and grew angry. It then pounced and I dashed out the door.
“Aw Crap! AW CRAP!” I yelled as I ran down the corridor. I looked back for a second to find it already air-borne as it pounced at me again. I turned to face it just as it landed on me. It was a small dragon creature, with wings and everything. Black scales and a soft, red, veiny belly. I could see it’s heart beating in it’s chest. It’s soft skin on it’s belly was almost see through. It looked at me as it opened wide. It was about to bite my head off but I jammed my P90 in it’s mouth, stopping the beast from closing it’s mouth on me. I quickly kicked it off me and ran for the armoury. I looked back to see it’s mouth snap the P90 into pieces.
“Woah! Fuck that thing is tough!”

“Courage! It’s right behind you!”
“Get ready to shut the door!!”
I dived through the door and Isabelle hit the switch. We were now trapped in the armoury and the monster dragon thing was bashing on the door. We glared at the door as we backed away. Just as we thought we were safe, we heard more heavy breathing behind us. We looked above us on the roof and, Bam, jumped another one of those dragon things! I was pinned down again but this time I had nothing to jam in it’s gob. It tried to slash me with it’s claw and I grabbed it’s wrist to stop it. It tried to bite me but I moved my head out of the way. I was trying hard to keep my head away from it. Luckily before it bit my head off, Isabelle distracted it by shooting a few shots at it with my pistol. It’s tough scales were more than a match for the bullets though. As it turned to look at her I smacked it and kicked it off me. It got up and moved to pounce at me again. Unfortunately for him (or her), we were in an armoury full of loaded guns. As it pounced I picked up a shotgun and blasted a solid slug into it’s belly. The soft, tender skin was ripped to pieces and the force of the shot itself launched the beast to the other side of the room.

The other monster smashed through the door and knock my weapon out of my hand. It smacked down Isabelle then clawed my face and beat me down. It then jumped on me and tried to eat at my throat. I put my arm in it’s way so it chewed on my arm instead. It swung it’s claw round as it chewed on my arm to try and slash my neck. I used my other arm to block that attack.
“Ah shit!!”
I looked over to Isabelle and she was barely conscience. I looked for a weapon but I couldn’t find one in reach. My arm was now bleeding heavily from the monster’s chewing.
“Oh C’mon!! Get off me!!”
I retreated my arms and grabbed the top and bottom of it’s mouth with my hands, battling to keep it open and from eating out my throat. I was tired and starting to lose my strength. The fierce gaping mouth of the big toothed monster got closer and closer to my throat.
“Mother fucker...”
Blam! It’s brains were suddenly splattered all over me. It died instantly and I discarded it’s body to the side to wipe my face.

“Aw dude, sick! My mouth was open!”
I looked up to find Rarity holding a shotgun with her levitation. She looked very serious.
“Rarity!” said a worried voice from outside the door. “What happened?” The other ponies walked in through the smashed door.
“I found Courage!” Rarity said with a sigh. She walked slowly over to me and helped me up with a hoof. She then hugged me.
“I thought you were dead. You had us all worried!”
“If you don’t mind me asking. Why do any of you give a crap about what happens to me? You barely know me”
“Believe it or not we know you better than you think. And you’ve done a lot for us”
“Yeah?” I said, waiting for them to explain.
“Yeah!” replied Rainbow Dash. “...you looked after me and took me in when I was lost in the world”
“...and you saved me back on that ship, when my leg got crushed” followed Rarity.
“...and you're helping us stop Discord destroying Equestria!” said Twilight.
Applejack then walked forward and started to talk, “Weather ya like it or not, we’re your friends and we’re here for ya. We’ve made it this far together, through thick and thin, and we’re gonna finish it together”
“I see your point. I guess I just needed reminding”
“Now C’mon ya’ll! We gotta meet with Liam and the rest in a place called Sweden”
“Hang on. If everyone else is in Sweden. What are you girls doing here?” I asked in confusion.
“Same reason as you most likely” Twilight replied. “...to get help”
“Okay well we can’t leave yet”
“And why not?” asked Twilight in a slightly annoyed tone.
“I came here for somethi-” I shoot a look at Pinkie Pie who was playing around with some equipment. “PINKIE LEAVE THAT ALONE!”
“Oops! Sorry! Hehe. I was just curious is all”
“Just leave it alone before you get a shock!” I turned back to Twilight again. “I came to get something. Follow me”

We walked to the back of the Armoury and I opened up a second door. Behind the door was another smaller armoury. A few shelves each side and at the back wall was my true work of art.
“What is it?” Twilight asked in slight astonishment.
“It’s my V1 front line battle suit. I’ve spent months working on it and it’s still not complete. But with a few adjustments I could have it ready in a few hours. It could be useful next time I run into one of those super soldiers”
“That armour is nowhere near as big or as durable as the super soldier suits” Twilight pointed out boldly and with worry.
“It’s powerful, durable and it comes with a few extra attributes. It’s definitely way better than this Kevlar crap we’re wearing: Outer steel plated armour to protect against bullets, heat and melee. A thin Kevlar layer to wrap around me snug, protect my joints and to anchor the steel plates to me. A thin layer of special Hydro-gel to absorb radation, pressure and soften any physical blow, including long falls. And finally another layer of Kevlar to hold the gel in it’s place and it adds a little more to my protection”
“...Nice” said Rainbow in awe.
“It’s powered so it won’t be super heavy for me. The wrist computer allows me to run scans, hack other systems or control the suits main functions and features. The helmet comes with a HUD/Visor system: Giving a heads up on any hazards or immediate threats, Vitals of the user, assisted aiming and targeting and can even give you an ammo reading of your weapon using advanced sensors in your arm to detect the kickback of each shot. However you have to tell the suit what weapon your using first”
“Wow! That is so cool!”
“It’s not quite finished but give me a few hours and I’ll have it ready for field use”
“Can we have one?!?” asked Rainbow in amazement.
“Yeah! I want one too!” demanded Pinkie in excitement.
“Seriously? It took me months to make this suit and it’s still not finished”
“But now you know what to do this time. And suits like that could really help against the dragon warriors and the super soldiers” suggested Twilight.
“But I’ll have to change the design to work with ponies. It’ll take me a while to do that” I argued.
Rarity cleared her throat loudly, trying to get our attention.
“What?” I asked.
“Well I do design pony wears for a living. I could help you with the designs. It will be quick and easy”
“Okay. We’ll all work together on this. We will make a specially made suit for all of you: Designed to match your abilities, skills and roles to increase our efficiency and combat effectiveness. This will mean you’ll have weapons too. Don’t be afraid to shoot something out there. Remember. The whole of Equestria depends on us stopping Discord. Now, lets go make you some armour...”
“Aww yeah!” cheered Rainbow Dash. “We can finally kick some dragon butt!”

Chapter Twenty Three - Upgrade

“...so we’ll have these here and...”
“No no no, she’ll need room for her wings...”
“Okay, we’ll move them back a bit”
“But that’ll be where her bags are”

“Okay, we’ll take out the bags and give her a few more pockets...”

“Mine and Twilight's can be metal because we are unicorns but the others will have to be something softer”
“I know, I know. They can have soft Kevlar instead”
“Make sure they’re large enough. They may need the space. Especially Fluttershy”

“Right got it”

“Bands around her Fetlock to make it easier to access her equipment”
“Of course. She’ll need to be able to act quick”
“She wont be able to have much around it. She should have spares in her saddle bags”

“Good point. Go get some more”

“Pass me my power driver”
“This one?”
“No, the one next to it”
“Got it”

“Alright, now hold this for me”

“Alright, Try it now!”
“Nope. Still getting spikes on these readings”

“Alright, bring it down by Twenty percent and re-run the test”

“Alright. Bring systems online. I need to calibrate them properly”
“How do I do that?”
“Use your wrist computer. Activate full systems and bring up the settings”

We worked for almost two days straight but eventually we finished the suits for all of us. Fully operational, protective battle suits adapted to match each one of us personally. My suit was finished. It was fully functional now and running properly. I had modded my computer a little so I can now see the health vitals of the ponies while they were in their suits. All our suits had built in life support meaning that the suit could interface with our bodies and provide minimal healing: It could inject adrenaline and other stimulants straight into out body and it could heal minor flesh wounds. Our suits were mostly sealed so we could enter a vacuum or a deadly cloud of poison without being effected. Each of our suits did have a few differences though; mine being very different since I was human.

Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s suits were built with hatches in the side by their wings to allow them to use their wings in battle but could also bring their wings in if they ever needed to seal their suits from toxic gases, radiation or a vacuum. Rarity’s and Twilight's horns had a similar feature for their horns but instead of puling their horns in (because they can’t) the steel armour can “wrap and unwrap” their horns, allowing them to use their magic in battle but still be protected from gasses or a vacuum. Pinkie and Applejack didn’t have a feature like this since they were earth ponies and didn’t need one. They were just sealed in full time. As for their tails, they just had the armour shape round them so the armour looked like it had a tail itself. Everyone’s armour was colour codded to match themselves; Rarity’s was white with a purple tail, Rainbow’s was blue with a Rainbow tail and so on. The armour also had their Cutie marks painted on the side, as requested by Twilight.

Twilight and Rarity had large build-in assault rifle holsters in the left side of their armour to hold their weapons and a built-in metal saddle bag to the right side. They would use their magic to fire their weapons as it would be more accurate. They would also use their magic to reload and pretty much use their magic for everything. I did train them to use their hooves since we might end up having to seal our suits and they would be unable to use their magic. The powered armour disrupts any magic going through it and makes magic usage very difficult. Magic through the suit would require to much focus, which isn’t good for fast paced fighting.

Instead of saddle bags, Rainbow had a weapon saddle. Each side of her she had a large caliber, fast firing machine gun. It could be controlled by either biting down on a pad in her helmet or by her wrist computer. The weapon was supported by her entire body as it was attached to the saddle on her back. This weapon was very accurate and very powerful. It would be very effective against the enemy, especially if Rainbow Dash was flying around with it. The only down side was that Twilight or Rarity would need to use their magic to reload it. I could also use my hands but that would mean both me and Rainbow would need to stop moving to do it. Each clip had five hundred rounds and Rainbow would carry four spare clips with her for two reloads on each gun. It was quite heavy, even for the powered suit but she could still fly comfortable with the extra weight. Rainbow still had her Famas though in case she ran out of ammo or the saddle got damaged.

Applejack had a Metallic Lasso as her special weapon. It was very high-tech. It would extend and retract the length of itself depending on the distance it was thrown, reaching up to twenty five metres. It was powered so it could crush what ever it lassod by shrinking the diameter of the loop and it could also release an EMP into any object the Lasso touched, the holding end excluded so Applejack wouldn’t be effected. It was all controlled by a sensor based on Applejack’s pulling and biting technique. The sensor was a bitch to calibrate to such an obscure way of controlling the Lasso. Applejack also had a Famas like Rainbow as her main weapon.

Pinkie Pie had a specially made shotgun and she could use it with two different ammo types, buck and explosive. Both her shotgun and Rainbow’s and Applejack’s Famas were magazine based in terms of ammo. With their mouths locked in their helmets they would be unable to use them to reload. So I made their armour’s hooves magnetised so the clips would stick to them magnetically. This was actually more convenient than reloading with their mouth because they could now just simply reach for their ammo rather than having to awkwardly twist their head round.

Fluttershy remained un-armed as she refused to kill but her armour was still capable of firing weapons, just in case she changed her mind in the field. Her armour was built more for medical usage. She had larger saddle bags to store lots of medical equipment and supplies. She also had little medical belts around her Fetlocks with attached medical tools and a few needles full of different fluids and chemicals for quick medical treatment.

“Alright. We’re all geared up and ready Courage” Twilight informed.
“These suits are sweet!” chanted Rainbow.
“Yay! I can still bounce around!” yelled Pinkie as she bounced around the room.
“Alright girls, with these suits we should be able to kick Discord right where it hurts!” I said upliftingly.
“Then what are we waiting for?!” Rainbow asked.
“We should go meet the others in Sweden” Twilight suggested.
“Sounds like a plan. I take it our three pony friends are there too?”
“That's right” Replied Twilight.
“Aright lets go. C’mon Isabelle. No point in you staying here”
“Yeah I know. I’m definitely coming. You could probably us another medic anyway”
“Our transport is a bit bashed up...” Rainbow said with a bit of guilt. “I kinda screwed up my landing” She then gave us a guilty smile
“Alright, there’s an Airbase a few miles from here. It has a couple of Ospreys we could use. That’s if Discord hasn’t destroyed them already”

We made it to the airbase. We walked the distance to check our suits were working fine. Rainbow even did a bit of flying to see if it was alright.. We had no problems at all. The airbase was damaged and most of the aircraft were destroyed. A few Ospreys did survive though so we made our way to one and boarded it. I sat in the pilot seat to prep for lift off. I looked at the controls blankly.
“You know how to fly this thing right?” Spike asked worryingly.
“erm... sure I do. How hard could it be?”
Spike just sighed and sat in the Co-Pilot seat. “This should be good” he said with a sarcastic tone.
“We’ll be fine Spike. Don’t worry”

After a few hours of flying we were approaching the boarders of Sweden. We had no contact with hostile ships on the way here, thankfully. We were only a few miles from the others location. The Swedish cities below didn’t look as bad as the English or American ones. Most of the buildings were still standing and some were even completely untouched by war. I guess those many years of Swedish neutrality finally payed off. I guess Discord didn’t bother too much with the Swedish forces. However despite Sweden's good condition, there was still signs of active battle on the streets below. Discord still had sent some forces to secure this country. His mistake. With next to no hostiles here, that would mean there would be many UN survivors waiting to follow my orders. Hopefully I could build a new resistance of freedom fighters and hopefully this time Trixie won’t obliterate them.

“Shit Liam! Those damn dragon warriors are pushing up the left side. We can’t stay here much longer”
“Shut up and shoot noob!”
“We’re surrounded! We’re fu- wait... is that an Osprey?”
“Where?”
I hovered above the dragon warriors. The dragon warriors looked up in awe.
“I think they are shocked to see us...” I then looked to spike. “Take the stick will ya?”
“What?!? Me?!? I don’t know how to fly this thing!”
“It’s simple, you leave it alone till I tell you to land. It’ll hover here on it’s own. I just need you to land it when I’m done down there”
“But... But...”
I just got up and left him. I was sure the little guy could handle it.
“C’mon girls, Lets rock!”
I jumped from the Osprey, the drop was about ten metres high but my suit was built for it, and landed in front of about four dragon warriors. The ground below me had cracked from my landing. I raised my weapon towards the dragon warriors.
“When will you learn that your weapons cannot harm us?” said one of them with a chuckle.
I lowered my weapon slowly then looked a them depressingly.“Your right...” I grinned slightly for a second. “...but I made an upgrade!” I yelled as I sharply rose my weapon, spraying them all with bullets. They dropped quickly as I reloaded my weapon again. The ponies jumped down with me and we all stated to slowly make our way to Liam and the others, walking slowly as we dominated the hostile resistance in front of us. All our weapons had some serious power and ammo upgrades. Our weapons were now fully armour piercing, not even the dragon scales could hold these bad boys back for long.

We made it to Liam’s position and the dragon warriors had retreated. Liam and the others got up from behind the sand bags and looked at us in astonishment.
“Woah... Nice armour” Liam said in quiet shock.
“Thanks. So what’s the situation?”
“Well the Swedish forces are still at good army strength. I figured we could us the fire power. That and I wanted to come make fun of them lol”
“Alright. Gather the troops. I’m going to plan our next move. But please don’t make fun of them too much. We want them on our side”
“Can’t promise you that... lol! Anyway, There’s a command centre three miles north. You can get all the Intel you need there”
“Alright...” I turned to my ear piece. “Alright Spike. You can lad ‘er now”
“You got it!” he said confidently. He then became quieter, “erm... how do I do that?”
I sighed and then walked away, giving him full instructions.

It had been many hours since we arrived in Sweden and me and the ponies had just woke up from a good sleep. We were at the command centre and I was getting ready to brief the team and the commanders.
“Alright everyone. This is Volgograd and above it is Discord’s ship. We are going to take everything we got and assault this city and take down his ship. We will be attacking the city from the north and west and the Russian forces will be coming in from the east”
“Wait a minute, last I checked Volgograd was in Russia. Won’t that be braking the rules of his ‘game’?” Liam said questioningly.
“You know as well as I do that we won’t win this war taking out his ships one by one. At least this way we can take him out and put his forces in complete dis-array. This is our only chance”
“Your putting all our forces into this. This is a big risk you know”
“We don’t have a choice in the matter! We are on the brink of extinction! Desperate times call for desperate measures. Right, now listen up. I’m going to go through the battle plan...”

Chapter Twenty Four - Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Traversing the desert landscape at high speed in our Abrams tanks as loud rock music played from our radios. I was standing in the gunner position, chilling on the gun. Comanche and Apache helicopters flew above us along with Osprey troop transports, humvees filled the gaps between the tanks and heavy VAB transports drove in behind us. This was a fucking army right here. We deployed almost everything we had on this, as did the Russians. Gavriil lead the Russian forces and I was leading the UN ones. The plan was to take out the Air-defences so our F22s could get in and take down Discord’s ship. This as our last attempt to stop Discord.

I pulled up the radio mic and spoke into it.
“Alright guys. Hold here! We gotta wait for the Russian forces to be ready...”
The army of vehicles slowed down and eventually came to a full stop. We were less than a mile out from the city limits.
“Gavriil? You ready with your army of ZC62 Heavy tanks and such?”
“Yes Comrade. We will crush the enemy under our Iron Treads! They will not be able to fight our might! They will pay for betraying mother Russia!”
“You ponies ready?”
“Yep!”
“Alri-”
“Tut tut tut. It appears you broke the rules”
“Discord?” I said with surprise.
Discord appeared before me. He didn’t look impressed at all.
“Your broke the rules and entered the borders of Russia. I am disappointed” he then looked around in interest. “I see you’ve got your hopes set out on this plan. Well it won’t work. And now Equestria will pay for YOUR mistake”
“Whatever Discord. We’re coming for you. The city is surrounded and we are coming in quick. Your about to feel the force of human might! You need to learn that we humans can be very stubborn”
“Well you certainly are determined. Too bad it has already failed” he said with joy.
“We’ll see...” I retorted threateningly.
“Well I have a fleet to prepare. Good luck with...” he looked around in disgust “...whatever all this is”
He disappeared again.
“Alright that’s it! Advance!” I commanded, waving my hand forward.

We were now approaching the city, an enemy army had come to appose us; Tanks, ships, troops.
“Alright steel dogs! Fuck up their shit!!”
All our tanks opened fire, unleashing a hell barrage on the enemy army. Our helicopters fired a tonne of rockets, raining hell fire on the enemy. The sight was magnificent. It was like a firework show as explosions filled the horizon. Almost everything of the enemy was wiped out in seconds. Our army didn’t even slow down as we ran straight through the remains of the enemy line. More tanks off to the right. They were firing lasers at us. We returned fire at them, still not slowing down as we rolled on towards the city. This was payback time for the humans. The enemy tanks were wiped out and we lost very few of our own.

We approached the city limits; rockets, laser and bullets coming from the buildings ahead. Our tanks and helicopters returned fire. I could also hear that someone changed the tune on the radio.
‘...America! Fuck yeah! Coming to field to save to mother fucking day yeah! America! Fuck yeah! Freedom is the only way yeah!’
I began loading the turret and fired at the buildings. We were just destroying the enemy lines. The army broke up into many groups. My group moved up a narrow street: four Abrams up front, and five VABs following behind in a single file line. Our troops were walking down the side of us to protect against saboteurs. We reached the end of the street and came out to a massive open square plateau, a large library was on the other side. It was being used as a stronghold by the enemy. Our objective was the anti-air lasers on the roof of the building. Our tanks took bombing formation around the plateau to cover the transports as they unloaded the troops. All our troops dismounted the transports and began to storm the building. I covered them with the gun. The tanks and transports all focused on the building, trying to suppress the garrison as our troops approached. The troops made it in and began to storm the building. As this happened I got a distress call from a team that was in the city centre.
“This is Major Hockey, My team is pinned down outside our objective. We need backup. Anyone respond?”
“This is Cobra 2-4, I have got a small squad of Abrams here that are Idle and ready to support you. We are inbound now to back you up, ETA six minutes”

“Twilight? How you doing with your objective?”
“Just fine thanks! We could use a little help though”
“Alright, I just gotta help these guys out a bit then I’ll come to you”
“Thanks, Twilight out”
My small squad of tanks reached the team and engaged a small battalion of enemy tanks while the team moved into their target building. Their target building was an old bank. My squad of tanks formed a semi-circular formation around the entrance. Enemy tanks and soldiers were inbound from all around but we held our ground. I was still manning the top gun. After a few minutes we had taken down a total of 6 enemy tanks but lost two of our own. The Americans really had upgraded these tanks since the war on terror. They were next to invincible now, especially to lasers. The anti-air defence on the roof of the bank exploded which indicated the team was finished. Once they were extracted I would move to Twilight’s position to help her with her objective.

My tank team, or what remained of it, made it to Twilight’s objective. I could see that Twilight’s team was already on the roof of the building but was clearly having trouble reaching the Anti-air defence. The tanks parked outside and I got out the gunner seat.
“Alright hold here. I’m going to help Twilight and the other ponies”
“Rodger sir. Platinum 4-2 holding position”
I made it to the roof to find the ponies pinned down behind a vent shaft. A dragon soldier with a laser mini-gun was spraying lasers everywhere. There were many dragon warriors with him along with a lot of heavy cover to protect them. I got down quickly as I was soon fired upon also.
“Shit! You girls okay?”
“Were fine. Jus’ can’t get close is all” replied Applejack.
“Liam? We sure could use a little air-support”
“You got it boss!”
We waited a minute for Liam to get here. We occasionally returned fire to make sure the enemy didn’t approach us.
“MY ROFLCOPTER GOES SOI SOI SOI SOI SOI!”
A massive barrage of rockets hit the roof top as Liam flew past at high speed. The dragon warriors all died and we moved in to plant charges on the laser cannon.

The charges went off and I spoke into my ear piece while looking up at Discord’s ship that was floating above the city.
“Alright Echo 2-1, all objectives have been taken out and your flight path is clear. Your free to engage”
“Rodger that, this is Echo 2-1 engaging”
“Make it quick. Discord’s engines just fired up”
We stood on the building top as we watched the F22s and MiGs approach to attack Discords engines.
“I told you that you’ve already failed”
“What?!?”
Discord was standing behind us. We all turned to find him, eight dragon warriors and three transports. All had weapons pointed at us, besides Discord who was unarmed.
“You didn’t think I’d let you win did you? I made that mistake last time and I got turned into stone. Now watch. Watch as your precious planes get blown out the sky”
I turned back his ship to see a huge explosion destroy all our planes in one.
“...No!”
“It’s over. You lose the game. Now I must leave you to your demise. Have fun Dracos”
“Oh I will!” Grinned the dragon warrior standing next to him.
Discord disappeared again, leaving us to be killed by his troops.
“Dracos? That’s the dragon that argued with the pony in the news building in Grove city!”
“How did you know who I am?”
“I was there!”
“Well good for you!” he yelled sarcastically. “...I don’t care! I will take great pleasure in killing you”
I looked up to see Discord’s ship flying into orbit. Our tanks below had been destroyed and all air-support was gone.
“Soldiers! Prime weapons! Kill them all!” shouted Dracos.
Before they could shoot, a row of lasers destroyed the transports and the dragon warriors. Some ships flew past as the transports crashed. These ships were completely different. They were shaped like arrows. They were blue and had yellow lightning bolts down the side.
A loud cheer came through my ear piece.“Yeeehar! ESC Wonder-bolts at your service! Hope you liked the show!”
“The Wonder-bolts?!?” Both me and rainbow shouted in surprise.
“That's right! Twilight’s pilot made it back to Equestria. Luna was informed of the situation and immediately deployed the fleet. She’s in orbit around the moon with her fleet right now. We’ll patch you through to her now”
“This is Princess Luna. We came as soon as we got your message”
“Princess Luna. Thank you for your help but you need to stop Discord’s fleet before it can jump to Equestria” Twilight said quickly and with no hesitation.
“Alright. Me and Commander Macintosh will engage immediately. I need you girls here as soon as possible”
“Wait? Commander- Big mac, you up there?” Applejack asked curiously.
“Eeeyep. Luna wanted me to be her second in command”
“I trust Big Macintosh since he is your brother” explained Luna. “He is also a strong leader. Perfect for the job. I’ve sent transport to pick you up. I need to see you girls as soon as possible. Don’t keep me waiting”
“Alright Princess. We’ll be there soon” replied Twilight.
“You girls go. I’ve gotta wrap things up here”
“Okay Courage. Good luck”
“You too Twi”
She smiled at me as a transport came in behind her. I smiled back. She and the other ponies then climbed aboard the transport and I walked towards the roof access. I needed to meet with Gavriil ASAP.

“Wait Human” said a Demonic voice behind me. It was weak. I turned to find Dracos on his stomach reaching out to me.
“Please. Let me join you. I wish to stop Discord aswell”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“He created me purely to kill. I’m destined to fight and die. I’m just a slave. I wish to be free. Will you let me join you?”
“Why should I?”
He was silent for a few seconds. “...Please”
I walked up to him and pointed my pistol to his head.
“Is this how it’s gonna be?” he said with disappointment.
“Yes...” I stood there for a few seconds, then I spun the pistol round in my hand pointing it towards me. “Your equipment is damaged. Take this...”
He grabbed the pistol and got up on his feet. “Thank you human...”
“You’re welcome. Just don’t stab me in the back okay? Now c’mon. Lets go meet Gavriil”
“Don’t worry Human. If I intended too, I would have done so already”

“Yes!! A cappuccino Machine!!! I can finally have my cappuccino!! I’ve waited weeks for this!!”
“Alright! Calm down! It’s just a stupid Coffee!”
“Just a stupid Co- Oh boy you better take that back... or I’ll kick you in the newts!” Liam yelled.
“Woah! There’s no need for that kind of attitude!”
“Yeah bitch. That what I thought”
“Huh?”
Dracos interrupted mine and Liam’s little stand off and walked between us.
“Is that your human friend?” he said pointing towards the massive tanks coming down the street.
“Yep. That be him with his ZC62s”
Four super heavy, over-sized, double barrelled Russian tanks approached the building we were in. Each tank had quad barrelled rocket launchers either side of the Turret, dual barreled Co-axial machine gun next to the main gun, flamethrower on the front and two gunner seats.
“Woah! Those things are monsters! They’re like two times the size of an Abrams!” I said in total awe.
“I thought you knew what they were already?”
“Yeah, I just never seen one in person. Awesome machine” I said, softly rubbing the hull of the tank.
“Indeed comrade. So who’s your friend” Gavriil asked curiously.
“My name is Dracos human. It is an honour” Dracos replied, giving a small bow.
“Well I’m here Curry. What’s the plan then?”

“...the Nuclear Reactor in the centre of the city. The enemy are using it to power their AA guns. We will cause a meltdown, causing it to explode and destroy everything in the city. It’ll wipe out pretty much everything here, which is a huge chunk of Discord’s forces on earth. I’ve got everyone else to evacuate the city. We will take these four tanks into the city centre and destroy the reactor. Just before it explodes we will head here to gain space transport and meet with Luna in orbit. It’ll be cutting it a bit fine but I’m confident we can get out of the blast radius before the reactor goes critical. Any questions?”
“No Comrade. We are all ready. You’ll be riding shotgun on my tank. We will lead the attack”
“Sounds good to me. Mount up!”
We all mounted up on the tanks and began to move out. The rest of the Human forces had pulled out of the city. It was up to us to destroy the reactor. With tanks as beastly as this, it wasn’t going to be too hard. Or so we thought. Driving down a street in single file line. It was quiet.
“It’s quiet...”
“Too quiet...”
“Rocket! Watch out!”
The enemy rockets were famous for blowing up any tank in one shot. Not sure how Discord’s troops did it but we were about to test how powerful their rockets really were. The rocket hit the tank directly. I was jolted about a bit from the force of the explosion. Bullets started to fly everywhere from the buildings around us.
“Gavriil! Damage report now!” I demanded.
“Minimal Comrade! Aha Russian engineering cannot be beaten!”
Our tanks began to fire their main guns into the buildings. The enemy didn’t stand a chance against this kind of fire power. We continued to roll down the street I was manning one of the guns on Gavriil’ s tank, firing at the enemies on the roof tops since our tank’s main guns couldn’t aim that high. We were taking heavy fire but these tanks were tough.

After some fighting we were now approaching the reactor. We were driving across the parking lot towards the main structure. Enemy tanks were approaching us from in front, firing their weapons at us. We returned fire. Lasers came at us causing huge explosions. The parked cars around us exploded constantly. By now we had taken out a few of their tanks and we were getting closer to the reactor. One of our tanks were destroyed in the tank battle but the rest were still okay. A few more tanks and troops approached us from the right and we turned our turrets to fire at them. Hostile fighters flew in and fired a few rockets at us, blowing up another one of our tanks.
“Gavriil! Hostile fighters!” I yelled.
“No worries! I have a few rockets of my own. Heh heh heh...”
The turret then turned towards the fighters that were flying away and fired two rockets. The fighters tried to turn to make another run but the tank’s rockets locked on to them and destroyed them.
“Nice one Gavriil!”
Enemy troops were really close now and were attempting to plant charges on our tanks. We had a little surprise for them.
“FLAMETHROWER BITCHES!” yelled Liam cheerfully.
The flamethrower began to spray fire all over the enemy troops. Turns out these Dragon warriors couldn’t handle the heat. What kind of dragons are they if they could be burnt alive.
“Alright! Move in and Target the reactor!”
We moved in and fired our rockets and tank shells at the reactor, causing some serious damage. We could hear a loud alarm coming from the building, most likely warning us of a meltdown.
“Alright! Quick! We ne-”
We were hit by more rockets from more fighters. The other tank was destroyed and ours was about to explode itself.
“Bail!” I yelled.
We all climbed out and the tank exploded. We were all knocked down by the force of the explosion. I got up and put my helmet back on, after it was knocked off by the explosion, and looked up to see a few transports picking up some enemy troops.
“Quick guys! This is our chance to get out of here!”
We all got up and moved up to the transports. We moved from car to car as we fired at the enemy troops that were boarding the transports.
“It’s taking off!” yelled Liam.
“That’s it! Run for the transport!”
We got out of cover and ran for the back door of the transport. The door was closing so I drew my pistol and fired at the control panel. This damaged the panel and stopped the door from closing. Dracos and I grabbed onto the back as it lifted off. Gavriil grabbed my leg and Liam was climbing onto the roof. A dragon warrior looked over me and aimed his weapon at me. My pistol wasn’t going to do anything to his scales so I just threw it at him. He was distracted for a second and I grabbed his leg, pulling him out the transport. I then pulled myself up and I was met with three more dragon warriors. The first swung at me. I grabbed his wrist and smacked him in the jaw with my fist. My power armour made hand to hand with these buggers much easier. He swung again and slashed my armour but I just punch him again the swung him round so he was by the open door. I then proceeded to kick him out. The second had some kind of energy sword and swung at me! I ducked and tackled him. Gavriil was fighting the third with his AK as his melee weapon. The dragon warrior tried to stab me but I jumped up and forced my feet onto the handle. My weight forced his hand and sword to the floor. I then kicked him and then stamped on his wrist. He let go of the sword and I kicked him into the back wall. I picked up the energy sword and stabbed him in the chest. He was now skewed to the wall in pain.

I turned back to find that Gavriil and Liam had delt with the third Dragon warrior and were now helping Dracos up into the ship. I moved to the cock pit. The Pilot looked at me in surprise and I just shot him casually, like it was nothing. I then pushed his body aside and took the pilot seat. The reactor was going to explode at any moment.
A huge explosion came from behind us. A huge mushroom cloud replaced the great city within a second. The force of the explosion began to shake the ship as we flew up high towards the atmosphere.
We became surrounded in a bright light as the explosion began to consume us.
“Everyone hang on! It’s going to be close!”

Chapter Twenty Five - Trixie

“Everyone okay back there?” I said, taking my helmet off and rubbing my neck.
“We’re good back here” replied Gavriil.
Gavriil joined me in the cockpit. We were in orbit now. We were actually in space. Gravity was still present on the ship. We looked forward to see Discord’s fleet above the planet. There were hundreds of ships all in formation; all different shapes and sizes. Frigates, Cruisers, fighter support craft and in the centre was Discord’s massive dread-naught. More ships rose from the atmosphere to join his massive fleet. It was clear they were preparing to jump to Equestria. Another fleet flew next to Discord’s fleet but it was making sure that it didn’t mix with his ships. This smaller fleet was coloured light blue with purple trim and all ships had Trixie’s cutie mark. Trixie’s ship was, I assumed, the huge one in the middle. It was actually just as big as Discord’s ship. Large rectangular shape with huge blue energy weapon batteries on the sides of the hull. It had a pointed nose and ‘Great and Powerful’ was written down the side of the ships hull.

To the right, towards the moon, we could see another small fleet moving towards Discord’s fleet. These ships were completely different design and the one in the middle was themed to Luna; black and blue with sparkles. Luna’s ships all looked similar to each other: Two large, almost flat, side ways segments tilted sideways at a thirty degree angle, forming almost an arrow shape, pointed forward from out the main hull of the ship. The main hull of the ship was a long narrow shape that got slightly thicker as you looked towards the back. The ships had massive gun barrels coming out of the ship and ran down the middle of the two forward segments, leaving a small amount of space between each segment and itself. The larger ships had another slightly smaller barrel on top of the first and Luna’s ship had a square quad barreled weapon coming out the front instead. All ships were covered in smaller gun batteries all over the hull and all ships had large engines at the back.

Luna’s fleet was moving in towards Discord’s. She was going to try and stop him. Her fleet had maybe eighty ships while Discord’s had at least three hundred and Trixie had at least fifty of her own. Luna didn’t stand a chance.
“She doesn’t stand a chance” I said in quiet shock.
“What can we do Comrade?” Gavriil asked in despair.
“I know what we can do...”
I put our engines to max and blasted forward towards Trixie’s fleet.

As we got close we could see Discord and Trixie’s fleets releasing their fighters from the hangers. The fighters heading straight for Luna’s fleet. Luna released her own fighters to counter-act the enemy fighters. The main ships were still out of range of each other so we still had some time.
“What exactly are we doing Comrade?” asked Gavriil doubtfully
“We are going to land on Trixie’s ship. We take Trixie out and use her ship’s weapons to fire on Discord’s fleet”
“Oh...” Gavriil was unsure of my plan.
We approached the ship’s hangers. Some fighters were still leaving. We managed to fly in undetected and landed on the hanger floor. We opened the transport doors and took a scan of the hanger. There were many guards but they didn't seem to take much notice of us. They must have thought we were one of theirs.
“C‘mon guys! Let’s get to the bridge!” I whispered loudly just before putting my helmet back on.

We made our way to the bridge. Earlier on I had used my Utility Computer (Wrist Computer) to hack a console for the schematics of the ship so I knew where I was going. Sneaking through the ships corridors and avoiding many of the patrols. There were only ponies on this ship so if we got caught it wouldn’t be much trouble. We were only a few levels below the bridge now. All we needed to do was-
“Oi! Freeze!”
“Oh shit! We’re compromised!” I yelled “Return fire!”
The pony guards fired at us and we fired back. Me, Gavriil and Liam took cover behind the support beams while Dracos just walked up to the ponies, bullets bouncing off his scales, and picked them up by their throats. They dropped their guns and tried to brake Dracos’ grip with their hooves. Dracos just stood there and strangled them to death.
“What the hell?!? You didn’t have to kill them! You could have just knocked them out!” I complained.
“Don’t worry Human. They’re just unconscious”
At that moment an alarm was sounded.
“Warning! Intruder alert! Repeat! Intruder alert! Intruders were last seen on deck 17, sector 3-C”
“C’mon! We gotta go!” I suggested.

We were only down the corridor from the bridge now but we had been caught by many guards. Eight guards had taken defensive positions around the bridge door. We took cover by the support beams that stuck out of the wall. Dracos was having trouble staying in cover behind the beams due to his size but his scales protected him.
“Curry! Behind us!”
More ponies had come behind us from down the corridor. Me and Gavriil turned round to return fire. Dracos moved out of cover and ran towards the bridge door. We pulled back slowly with him. I looked back to see him taking out the eight guards with melee combat. I then focused again on returning fire at the ponies down the corridor.
“Pull back! Back now!” I ordered.
Dracos finished off the last guard and yelled at us to get in the door. Once we were in I lobbed a grenade through the door and Dracos smashed the control panel. This was followed by explosions and screams being heard from behind the door.

We walked through the computer lab and through another door to the bridge. No-Pony was here. We looked around for a bit but found nothing. I approached the main panels that were by the glass window. Out of the window I could see Luna’s fleet coming in range. Both fleets began to open fire on each other, including this ship. The others were beside me now.
“How is this ship firing if the ship is uncontrolled” I asked in confusion.
“Auxiliary control room!” replied a smug toned female.
“Trixie!” I yelled, turning to face Trixie who was standing behind us. We all turned to face her.
“I knew you would come! Do you think I’m a fool?”
“No...” I said calmly. I then pulled up my weapon and shouted “I just think your a bitch!” before firing a full clip at her. She had made an energy barrier around herself, just like Twilight except it was blue for Trixie.
“Ah ha ha. You think you can stop me?!?”
Her horn began to glow and some of the floor boards began to rip from the floor. She threw the floor boards at us with her levitation, taking out Dracos and Liam. Gavriil ducked under them while I managed to catch the one thrown at me and toss it behind me. Me and Gavriil opened fire on her but she made another barrier. She then threw a couple more floor boards at us, hitting both me and Gavriil. I was fine as my suit protected me but Gavriil was badly hurt.

“I’d finish you off but I’d hate to rip anymore of my ship up. Tempest Warriors!!”
The door behind her opened and three super soldiers walked out. One had a mini-gun, another had a rocket launcher and the one at the front had...
“...a chainsaw?!?”
“Yeah! A chainsaw!” Retorted the super soldier.
“That voice! Those scratch marks on his armour!”
“Yeah! Remember me dick head! I’m the one you knocked off your chopper!”
“Oh shit! I made you mad didn’t I?”
Trixie levitate herself way above the floor towards the roof to stay out the way. The first super soldier step forward with his mini-gun and started to fire away. I quickly ran across to my right, bullets spraying at my feet and the wall right behind me. I jumped behind some panels for cover. I peered over the top and- Boom! The panels were hit by a rocket. The explosion thew me against the wall. The soldier loaded another rocket while the other two moved round the room to surround me.
“So you don’t want to rip the floor boards but you’re happy to let him blow it up everything?” I said, looking at Trixie angrily. She just grinned at me.
I jumped up and over the panels, drawing some Semtex and throwing it at the soldiers rocket launcher. Before he could fire again I set off the Semtex, blowing him away and destroying his rocket launcher. The mini-gun soldier began to fire at me. I ran at him, taking a few bullets, and jumped to kick the mini-gun out of his hands. He tried to draw a large pistol but I kicked that away too. He then punched, I ducked. He kicked and I jumped over it. I then jumped up and kicked him in the helmet. He was knocked back and I moved to attack again. The rocket launcher guy had got up and tried to attack me also. I drew my assault and fired at him before he drew his own pistol. The rocket launcher guy dropped dead. Everyone looked at him in shock.
“Get him!!” Yelled Trixie bossily.

The two super soldiers moved to attack me again. One threw a punch and I jumped aside to dodge it. The second came in with his chainsaw. The ship then Violently shook as we were hit by massive fire from Luna’s fleet. We all stumbled over.

“Luna Ma’am. All ships are engaging. Stable company are moving in to flank the enemy and Iron company are moving above Discord’s fleet for bombardment maneuvers”
“Excellent. I want Apple company to back us up. We are moving for Discord’s ship”

“Rodger that Ma’am. Notifying Apple company”

I got up and ran for my rifle. Before I could reach it a super soldier stepped on it and prepared to clobber me with his fists. Before he could, Dracos tackled him. Those two started to fight and I grabbed my rifle. The second one came at me with his chainsaw. I used my gun to block it. His chainsaw began to spark at my gun as it scratched violently on it. Both my hands held either end of my gun as I tried to push back the sharp blades. Another blast from Luna’s fleet knocked us off our feet again. I turned to find that the first soldier had beaten up Dracos. He ran at me and threw another punch. I dodged it and kicked him in the knee and then kicked him away with another kick to the stomach. I drew my blade and approached him. Before I could strike at him I was suddenly put into a massive shock as a chainsaw blade went into my shoulder.

“Luna Ma’am! Apple, Iron and Buck company are down. Stable and Hay company are taking heavy casualties”
“Ma’am! Our shields are down twenty percent!”
“Gun batteries 5 through 8 and 11 through 17 are down”
“Ma’am! Multiple power surges on decks 8 and 19”
“Alright! Bring all power to shields! and get teams down there to fix those guns!”

“Rodger Ma’am. Diverting power from the engines. Notifying engineer teams”

The chainsaw blades were sawing at my shoulder bone. The armour slowed it down and I managed to react before my arm was torn off. I threw a grenade down and pulled the chainsaw out of me. I jumped away before the grenade blew up. The second soldier approached and threw a punch at me again. I was in too much pain and didn’t react in time to dodge. Just before his fist hit me I grabbed it with my hand, stopping it in it’s path. He threw his other hand at me I grabbed that too and we were now in a stale mate. He then started forcing his energy into his fists. I tried to fight him but my feet started to just slide.
“Warning. User has sustained lethal flesh and bone damage. Attempting to repair” said the female computer voice in my helmet. “Warning, extreme pressure is present in shoulder wound. Recommend you relax your shoulder immediately”
The soldier then lifted his hands so I would be forced on my knees. My suit was becoming drained of it’s power as it tried to fight against the soldier. My helmet’s HUD was flashing red, coming up with a power warning.
“Warning. Power levels at Twenty percent. Warning. Arm hydraulics under extreme pressure” said the female computer voice.

After another minute of fighting I was finally on my knees, barely holding him back.

“Ah ha ha ha ha! You were no match for my super soldiers! They have been magically enhanced by my GREAT power” taunted Trixie as she lowered herself to the floor again. I was then kicked in the chest by the other super soldier.

“Ma’am! Shields are down, ten percent!”
“Ma’am! Discords ship is moving towards us. It’s charging it’s main weapon!”
“All power to shields! Brace for impact!”
“Diverting all power to shields”

“Weapon is firing an- Urgh!!”

I was now on my knee’s in front of Trixie who stood staring out into the battle field. I was being held down by both the super soldiers. She turned to look at me.
“It’s over Courage” she said with a chuckle.
“Why are you doing this?!?” I asked, begging to know.
“Why? Why?!? Because I was outcast by the others. I was humiliated and ridiculed. Everyone hated me! They thought I was a bitch. I was soon rejected everywhere. You have no idea how that feels; To have no one to look after you, to be there for you”
“Actually I do know how that feels now, thanks to you mostly; KILLING ALL MY FRIENDS!”
“Well. To bad. If I have to go through with it then so should everyone else”
“C’mon Trixie. This isn’t you”
“What in Equestria are you talking about?”
“Look at all this. Armies of Soldiers, giant space fleets, evil plots of world domination. This isn’t you at all...”
She looked at me, lifting an eyebrow.
“You’re not an evil bitch. A little misunderstood maybe but your not evil. All you ever wanted was some attention from the other ponies, everyone does every once in a while. You just tried to get it in the wrong way and they shunned you for it. I can understand that your angry and want revenge but this isn’t right. You know it isn’t right. I know that deep down there’s a good pony inside of you that's just dieing to get out...”
She started to cry, but sniffed and stood firm, trying to hide it.
“...you don’t have to do this. You can still be a good pony. Stop this. Stop all of this...”
“It’s too late...” her eyes began to water and her voice was cracked. “It’s already in motion!”

“No it’s not too late! There is still a chance for you to redeem yourself here”

“Shields are down!”
“We’re venting atmosphere on decks, 6, 7 ,9, 15, 42 and 43!”
“Main gun is off-line!”
“Get a medical team down here now!”
“Ma’am! Discord is charging his weapon again!”
“Princess, we won’t survive another hit!”
“I know Twilight... Get to the escape pods!”
“What about you?”
“I’m staying here to do what I can. A few weapon batteries are still online and firing”
“I’m not leaving you here princess!”

“Ma’am. Escape pods are down. No-pony is going anywhere”

“Stop this Trixie! Do the right thing!”
“I can’t!”
“Yes! You can! You’re the great and powerful Trixie!”
Her ears fell back and looked completely hopeless. Her eyes were watering and she was biting her lip.

“Do the right thing Trixie...”

“Ma’am! Weapon is charging!”
“Can you get shields back online?”
“No ma’am, the generator is fried”
“What about help from the rest of the fleet”
“No ma’am. All ships are either down or unable to reach us”

“...then it’s over... it’s... It’s over...”

“Do the right thing Trixie. Do the right thing...”

Chapter Twenty Six - Two days

“Stop this Trixie! Do the right thing!”
“I can’t!”
“Yes! You can! Your the great and powerful Trixie!”
Her ears fell back and looked completely hopeless. Her eyes were watering and she was biting her lip.

“Do the right thing Trixie...”

“Ma’am! Weapon is charging!”
“Can you get shields back online?”
“No ma’am, the generator is fried”
“What about help from the rest of the fleet”
“No ma’am. All ships are either down or unable to reach us”

“...then it’s over... it’s... It’s over...”

“Do the right thing Trixie. Do the right thing...”

“Ma’am. It’s weapon is charging. Brace for impact in ten!”
“Wait. Trixie’s ship is moving in. It’s charging weapons... It’s... It’s firing on Discord’s ship?”
“Trixie’s fleet is engaging Discord’s? This doesn’t make any sense”
“Princess Luna, come in? This is Cobra, on board the ‘Great and Powerful’. Trixie’s ships are moving to engage the enemy. Cease fire on Trixie’s fleet immediately!”
“This is Princess Luna. Ceasing fire on Trixie’s ships. What’s going on?”
“It’s a bit of a long story. But lets just say...” Trixie walked up beside me, looking unsure of herself. “...we’ve made a new ally”
“Glad to hear it. Once we’ve delt with Discord I want you over here to-”
“Ma’am! Discord’s Hyper-drive just powered up”
“Arm all batteries! Don’t let him escape!” Luna commanded damningly.
I looked out to see Discord and many of his ships jump into a circle of light, like a worm-hole of sorts. Once they passed into it, it disappeared.
“Hyper-drive?!?” I said with Dis-belief. “Well that explains how you got here so fast”
“Where is he going?!” Luna asked her crewman demandingly.
“He’s heading straight for Satos”
“You can’t be serious!”
“Hold on...” I interrupted. “What is Satos?” I asked with bold curiosity.
Luna was quiet for a few seconds but then, “...The Equestrian Solar system...”
“What?! Now what do we do!” I asked.
“Well Discord’s Hyper-drives are not that advanced...” Trixie stated, interrupting me and Luna. “...He’ll have to make a stop about half way. Not to mention he’ll want to make some repairs. We should have about three to four days before he reaches Equestria”
“Well it only takes us 16 hours to get there in one jump” Luna contemplated to herself out loud.
“That gives us at least two days to get repairs done” I implied.
“Courage. I’m sending a transport to get you and Trixie” Luna informed. “...In the mean time I need to do a head count of the fleet”
“Rodger that Princess. See you soon”
“We’re going to see Princess Luna?” Liam asked in slight confusion.
“Yes... so you better behave Liam!”
“Lol! no...”
I sighed and shook my head at him. We then made our way to the hanger to wait for transport.

I was now on board Luna’s ship. Damn it was in horrible condition. The damage was extensive. Massive holes in the walls, wires sparking and fizzing, broken pipes and power conduits and wounded ponies everywhere. That was quite the space battle.
“Welcome aboard Commander!” greeted a pony guard. “Princess Luna and Commander Macintosh are waiting for you on the bridge with the other ponies”
“Commander?”
“Yes. You’re the Commander of the human forces am I right?”
“I guess that's right”
“Anyway, follow me to the bridge. Your companions may come along too”
“Yes! I finally get to meet princess Luna!!” cheered Liam
“Erm... Liam. Maybe you should just go down to the mess hall and get a cappuccino. Me and the ponies will go see Luna” I suggested
“Awww what? No way!” complained Liam
“Yes. Me and Luna need a serious talk. SERIOUS talk. We do not need you there making condom jokes”
“Fine! Fag...”

“...Well make your repairs as quickly as possible. We are moving out as soon as we are all ready”
“Eeeeyep. Already on it Princess. We are going to need some material though”
“We have some spare parts on the storage deck. Well send them over as you request them...”
I walked up behind Luna. She turned and looked at me. I got down on one knee and graced myself with her presence.
“Princess Luna. It is an honour to meet you”
“Like-wise Commander. You do not need to bow to me you know. As leader to leader, formalities are not required as much”
“But you're a goddess. Great and powerful. I’m a mere mortal”
“Well it was a mere mortal that saved me if I’m not mistaken”
“Of course. Anything for my dear Princess Luna” I looked up and smiled at her. She blushed a little.
“Thank you Commander...” she said with an embarrassed smile, trying to look away from me. “...You may rise now”
We both then looked to the side to see the other ponies glaring at us. I cleared my throat and began to talk.
“Soo... what are we going to do about Discord. He still has over one hundred ships and is on his way to Equestria”
“Well we have to go after him” she stated boldly, with a tone of low confidence.
“With what exactly? You have like thirty or so ships which are in really bad shape”
“Well we have to do something!” argued Twilight.
“Hmm...” I began to think hard again.
“We should take over Discord’s ship and kick his butt!” Rainbow suggested aggressively.
“Good luck gettin’ on board then. He ain’t gonna jus’ let you swoop in ya know” Applejack stated boldly.
“Oh yeah? You got a better idea?!”
“Well uh... No ah don’t but...”
“Exactly! My idea is the best so far!”
“Your idea will get us killed...” Rarity pointed out gracefully.
“We should try infiltrating the ship and sabotaging it” suggested Twilight.
“That’s a stupid Idea!” Rainbow shouted, instantly shooting down Twilight.
“Woah! Lets not start an argument here! I know this is a tough situation. We can argue against each others plans all day if we wanted, and lets face it, not a single one of us is going to come up with something. But if we want to come up with a plan to stop him we need to actually plan this one, together. With our brain power combined I’m sure we’ll come up with something. Go get some lunch, sit down for a bit and meet back here in ten minutes. Me, Luna, Big Mac and Trixie are going to go through our Intel”
“Yeah! Lets get some lunch! Cupcakes!” cheered Pinkie.
“I agree. I’m staving” complained Spike.
“Alright. We’ll meet back here in ten”

Me and the other three talked for ten minutes, discussing our resources and ideas as we waited for the other nine ponies to return. Yes, the three ponies that saved us back in New York were still with us.
“Welcome back girls”
“Alright, lets get back to work” Twilight suggested.
“Alright Big Mac. Go ahead and tell us what you got”
“Ooookay. My scouts tell me that Discord has stopped in a system forty five light years from Satos. He is making repairs in orbit of this gas giant...” a picture of a gas giant popped up on screen. “He’ll be here for the next two days. It seems he left most of his fighter craft behind so if we repair as many fighters as possible we would have an advantage. His fleet is still bigger than ours though...”
“Right well we can use the gas giant to get in undetected. We drop out of hyperspace inside the atmosphere so Discord’s sensors can’t pick up the hyperspace window. We can then take him by surprise”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea” argued Big Mac. “Thirty ships verses one hundred ships? Jus’ doesn’t add up”
“You said he lacks fighters right?” Twilight asked.
“That means we can still board his ship!” said Rainbow smugly.
“They have a point. In fact I have an idea for that...”
“And that is?” asked Trixie and Twilight.
“Nukes...”
“Nukes?” everyone said in confusion.
“We take transports on board many of his ships, all carrying nukes. We arm the nuke, get out and Boom! One dead ship. Do it with enough of the ships and Luna’s fleet can handle the rest”
“Right! So my fleet holds back in the planet’s atmosphere and send in the nukes first. Once the nukes have destroyed half the fleet we come in and finish what’s left”
“That’s right Luna. Simple and easy. You work on getting the fleet ready. I’ll fly back down to Sweden and prep those nukes”
“I want to come with you” insisted Rarity.
The others looked at her weirdly.
“What? He might want some help”
“I’ll come too” Spike said proudly.
“Alright. Spike and Rarity can come with me, aswell as you three ponies...” I pointed to the green unicorn and his mates. “I want to get to know you three better”
“Uhuh, Sure” agreed the green Unicorn.

I was now prepping a transport to leave. Spike, Rarity and the others sitting in the back. Liam and Gavriil were coming with me also however Dracos offered to stay behind while the ponies ran tests on him. They wanted to find his weaknesses so we could fight the Dragon warriors better.
“Alright, everyone ready?”
“We are ready back here Comrade”
Gavriil then walked through the door and joined me in the cock pit.
“You did good today Comrade”
“Thanks buddy” I said as I smiled at him.
“Buddy? You okay Curry?” he said with joyful confusion
“Yeah. I’m good thanks. Just being more social” I said cheerfully.
“I see. That is good”
“Right, lets get going then shall we? We got nukes to prepare”
“Indeed Comrade”
I took off and flew out the hanger and towards the planet again. Flying through the space ship graveyard that was left behind by Discord’s fleet, I couldn't help but feel sorrow. All those brave ponies that died to protect Equestria. Ninety ships. Ninety fucking ships full of ponies died today at the hands of Discord and his forces. Trixie and Luna’s fleet sacrificed themselves to stop him. I felt angry. I wanted to do horrible things to him. Cut him up slowly with a rusty knife. I calmed myself and continued to focus on flying towards the planet. Getting all pissed off was not going to avenge these brave ponies.

We made it back to base and I had already got the nuke deployment under-way. I didn’t want to waste time. After about a day and a half the nukes were made and ready to be loaded onto transports. I got some well earned rest in the mean time. It was now just a few hours before Luna was ready to leave and we needed those nuke transports on board her ships.
“Okay Courage, we have twenty two nukes under-way and they will all be loaded in the next few hours
“Thank you Isabelle. Listen, I want you to stay here; look after the wounded troops. There are not many doctors around anymore”
“What about you? You’ll need a doctor on your team”
“Fluttershy can handle it. Humanity has lost enough great men. I need you to stop us from losing anymore. Now get to that ward and look after those soldiers. That's an order...” I stared down at her, but with a slight grin.
She stared at me for a few seconds. She then saluted and smiled at me, “You got it sir! I wont let you down!”
“Good girl! Now go!”
She walked away and I turned to make my way to the transports. It was nearly go time and I needed to be ready.

“How are the nukes coming along Blades?”
“They are... nearly... ready” replied the green Unicorn as he struggled to levitate the nuke onto the transport.
All around I could see Americans, Swedish, Russians and some of Luna’s Ponies, all working together to get the transports ready. They were all joking around with each other, all cheerful and jolly. It was quite a sight. It just goes to show that working together can achieve great things. Seeing this peace between them made me feel warm inside.
“Courage... The transports are almost ready Comrade. You should get ready to go”
“Okay Gavriil. Lets go” I said walking towards the transport.
“...I wish to stay here” Gavriil sighed, not moving at all.
I turned to face him, “Excuse me?”
“I’m staying here” he said, nodding his head at himself.
I walked back towards him, “Why?”
“There are still many ships on this planet. Many enemies that still threaten us. I wish to stay here and give humanity a fighting chance. I want to protect my people, Our people”
I looked at him blankly for a while. I then chuckled and Bro-hugged him. “Okay Comrade! You’re in charge while I’m gone” I then let go and smiled at him. “Look after these people Comrade”
“Of course I will Comrade”
I started to climb aboard my transport.
“Good luck brother. May your fight with Discord bring you great honour” Gavriil said pridefully.
I just nodded at him cheerfully and gave him a thumbs up as I closed the back door.
“Alright. You and your team ready Major Hockey?”
“Yep. Waiting on your go sir”
“Alright then...” I then sat down in the Pilot seat in the cock-pit. “...Lets go kick some ass!”

Chapter Twenty Seven - Cat and Mouse

“Ma’am. We’re inbound on the target now”
“Alright. Courage? Are you ready down there?”
“Yes Princess. Transports are ready to launch. Girls you okay back there?”
“Yeah, we’re ready” replied Twilight
“Hay! There are guys back here too!”
“Alright sorry. You ready Major Hockey?” I asked with a chuckle
“Yes. Yes I am”
“What about the rest of the transports?”
“Liam here. Transport ready to go”
The rest of the transports also reported in. They were all ready to go.
“Alright! Good. Wonder-bolts and other fighter squadrons, You ready to support the transports?”
“Yes Princess. All fighters are ready to go”
“Alright... drop us out of sub-space”
“Yes Ma’am”

The fleet dropped out of hyperspace and we found ourselves inside the massive gas giant.
“Alright, we’re clear to go! All transports, Launch!”
We all took off out the hangers and grouped up into formation.
“Alright. All transports accounted for. Leaving the atmosphere now. You know your targets. Don’t hang around”
As soon as we exited the atmosphere we were met with heavy laser fire from Discord’s fleet.
“Shit!!” I yelled as we took one direct hit.
“They must have detected our hyperspace window” Twilight pointed out.
“Ya think?!?” I responded snappily.
The transport was now lurching side to side. The hit we took destabilised it.
Discord’s fleet continued to fire at us but our small sizes allowed us to easily dodge the shots. We lost a few transports to the first little barrage though.
“Enemy fighters!” warned Soarin.
“Lets get on them Wonder-bolts!” ordered Spitfire.
The Wonder-bolts and some of the other Pony fighters broke away to engage the enemy fighters. Only a few fighters stayed with the Human transports.
“Alright Princess, We’re moving for Discord’s ships now”
“Good luck. All of you. We’ll move the battle-ships in once you take out the targets”
“Rodger that. Cobra out”

We passed the first few ships and some transports broke away to land in the hangers. My target was Discord’s ships.
“Fighters on our six!” Yelled one of the pony fighter pilots.
Machine gun and laser fire was coming from behind us. Discord had sent fighters to stop us reaching him. They took out some more of our transports, leaving only three of us left. Luckily eleven transports had already landed on Discord’s ships. The pony fighters pulled back to engage and we tried to get away. There was still two fighters on me. The other two transports had broken away to land on their target. Discord’s ship was dead ahead now. Getting closer and closer as I continued to dodge the laser fire from the fighters behind us.
“Almost there!”
We were hit again and the ship gave a massive jolt. It knocked my head into the dash board.
“Ah fuck! My head! I’m losing power! C’mon! So close!”
We were approaching the hanger now.
“Just a few more-”
The dashboard started to beep.
“Target engaging Hyper-drives? No no no no no no! I’m not letting him get away. No fucking way!”
We were hit again and I lost control of the ship.
“FUCK! This is Cobra! We need help or we’re gonna get screwed here!” I yelled in panic.
“Spitfire inbound. We gotcha”
The fighters were then taken down by heavy laser fire.
“What about Discord! We can’t let him get away!”
“Don’t worry. Soarin, EMP now!”
“Mmm... mmm... Yep. Just let me finish my pie”
Both their fighters flew in front of me and fired a blue rocket each at Discord’s ship. Suddenly a massive electrical surge went through Discord’s ship and all it’s engines, defences and lights went off.
Soarin was then hit by a laser and it jolted sideways violently.
“Soarin!” yelled Spitfire.
“MY PIE!!” Soarin Responded. “That’s it! I’m gonna make him pay! That pie cost me four bits!”
Both their ships broke away to engage the enemy fighters.

Behind me I saw some of Discord’s ships light up into massive explosions.
“Alight! Luna! You need to move in now! My transport has lost primary system and I can’t get to Discord’s ship. You need to take him out... Now!”
“Alright! Me and Big Mac will move in now”
I got up and moved to the back
“Move!!!” I shouted as I walked past the ponies.
“What is it Courage?” Twilight asked.
“I need to get this ship working again...” I ripped a panel out of the wall and plugged in my tablet. “I’m going to try re-route power to the engines”
“Erm.... Courage... You know that we’re still moving towards his ship right? At high speed may I add!” Rainbow stated alarmingly.
“Oh shit! Of course!” I looked up though the cockpit. “Objects in space don’t stop moving do they. No air-resistance or gravity...” I then looked back down at my tablet and began fanatically pushing buttons. “Shit. Need to get the brakes working!”
“Courage! We’re getting closer! Courage! Hurry up!!”
“Yes Rainbow!! Thanks for the extra pressure! Because it’s going to definitely help me work faster isn’t it?!?” I shouted sarcastically.
“Courage!!” panicked Twilight.
“Alright got it!” I rushed to the cockpit and fired up the engines. I smacked the flight stick forward to dive under Discord’s ship.
“Warning. Proximity alert. Six inches from object” notified a female computer voice.
“Holy fuck that was close” I said as we dove under Discords ship.

I pulled round and tried again for the hanger. Luna and Mac’s fleet were now engaging Discord’s fleet. Massive blue lasers impacted on Discord’s ships.
“Discord’s systems are back up and he’s trying to jump again!”
I put my engines to full thrust and aimed for the hanger
“He’s not getting away!!”
We were launched towards his ship. Getting close now when suddenly, Zip! His ship jumped to Hyperspace.
“LUNA FUCKING DAMN IT!! SON OF A BITCH!!” I Raged out loud.
There were a few seconds of silence as I looked violently at the dashboard. I then started to bash it in rage.
“Damn it! FUCKING DAMN IT!”
“Courage. Darling, It’s okay” Rarity said putting a hoof on my shoulder.
“NO! It’s not! That ass needs to pay!! He killed my friends and family, Violet and pretty much wiped out my planet! And now he’s on his way to Equestia! It’s not Fucking Okay!!! He isn’t aloud to keep fucking running away like that!!”
“Lets get back to Luna yeah? Plan our next move. Just calm down okay?!?” Rarity insisted kindly.
“Okay...” I sighed loudly, trying to calm myself. “We’ve weakened him. That’s... that’s good. Maybe we’ll get him next time”
“That’s better. Come on now. Lets get back okay?” she then spoke quietly into my ear. “We can have a nice little chat later yeah?”
“Yes. I’d like that. Talk about what I’m gonna do to DISCORD when I find him!”
“No. Nothing like that. That will just annoy you more. You need to relax! You push yourself too much... When we get back, we’ll go for Coffee”
“Okay ‘Mum’ ” I said in a whiny tone.
“I’m just trying to help?”
“Well I’m sorry. I’m just a little ticked off that Discord got away... AGAIN!”

Back on Luna’s ship now I was meeting with Luna and the Six ponies.
“What’s the situation Princess Luna? I want a full report”
“Of course Commander. Twelve of Discord’s ships got away. He is currently hiding his fleet behind Planet Ferlek, the second closet planet to Equestia, probably making repairs again”
“And our fleet?”
“Four. Four ships remain”
“Only four!!” I complained.
“The rest perished in the battle. They fought well to bring Discord’s numbers down”
“Four ships. We had eighty to begin with. All full of ponies who gave their lives...” I started to shake my head in despair. “Four fucking ships remain. Unbelievable”
“Hay! Courage! Those eighty ships took out over three hundred other ships. It’s not like they went down easy” said Spike upliftingly.
“Guess your right. Though you have to remember that thirty of Trixie's joined with us at the end of the first battle”
“Still. That’s only one hundred and ten”
“Spike is right. We can still do this” stated Luna in a proud tone. “He may outnumber us but our ships are much more advanced. We have more advanced shields and Hyper-drives, plus we still have left over fighters from the battles. Discord doesn’t”
“Alright. You made your point. But we still need a plan...”
“What exactly can we do? We a’ready used up all are plans” Stated Applejack.
“She’s right. What can we do exactly?” agreed Twilight.
“We’ll just have to try our luck against him” I suggested, not very sure of where this was going though.
“Then it is so. We shall try out luck and fight him directly. I’ll prep the ships and we shall leave as soon as possible”
“Alright. Well I’m going to get a Coffee in the mean time. I think we should all get some rest for now. It’ll be a few hours till we get there”

I was down in the mess hall getting a coffee and a bite to eat. I was with Rarity, Blades and Soarin. Soarin was getting another pie after dropping his last one in his fighter.
“Om... nom... mmm...” Soarin was eating away at his pie. Me, Rarity and Blades just glared at him. Soarin then noticed us glaring and he stared back for a second, completely motionless. He then went back to stuffing his face with pie.
“Om... mmm.... Pie...”
Rarity put her hoof out in a ‘What the fuck?’ way.
“Soo... This is awkward. Staring at a Pony stuffing his face with a pie” I said loudly... leaning towards Soarin.
“Huh? Oh.. Hi...” Soarin replied before going back to stuffing his face.
Liam then sat down next to Soarin, looked at Soarin for a second in interest then slammed his face into his own pie also.
I just face-palmed then turned to Rarity and Blades.
“Anyway. What’s up Blades? I still don’t know much about you”
“Well. I’m a pony. I er... come from Equestria and... erm... I’m green!”
“Do you like Pie?!?” yelled Soarin, still stuffing his face in the remains of his pie.
Me, Rarity and Blades looked at each other and giggled at Soarin.
“Yes!” blades replied as he started to laugh. Me and Rarity began to giggle harder.
“Wait here guys, I’ll be back in a sec” Blades said with a chuckle.
Me and Rarity waited for Blades as we giggled at Soarin. He just finished his pie. Suddenly, Smash! Blades threw a pie at Soarin, right in the back of the head. Soarin was covered in apple filling. We all glared for a second before bursting out in laughter. Even Soarin started to laugh. We then looked to our right to see Luna staring at us with a lifted eyebrow.
“Oh erm... hay Luna...” I said, ashamed of myself.
I looked back at the others to see their expression, not expecting to get hit in the side of the face with a pie.
“Ah! What the?!?”
I looked at Luna as she grinned and giggled, holding a hoof to her mouth.
“Princess Luna?!?”
“I’m sorry” she chuckled. “I could not withhold the urge to defile thou with an apple pastry dish!” she then started to laugh and we all laughed with her.
“Huh? What did I miss?” Liam asked in confusion.
Me and the ponies looked evilly at each other as we slowly lifted up more pies and aimed for Liam.

“Well that was fun” I said, smiling as me and Rarity walked away from the mess hall.
“It certainly was. It’s nice to see you enjoying yourself”
“I hope Liam's okay” I said, laughing quietly.
“Well he’ll certainly need to have a shower later” she said, giggling back.
“I should probably do the same” I said, looking down at my shirt covered in apple pie.
“Alright. I’ll meet you later at your quarters”
“Er... Okay then. Cya later Rarity”

I was back at my quarters, provided by Princess Luna, and just had a shower. Looking out my window I could see we were in Hyper-space already. Not long now till we were at Discord’s doorstep. I was looking forward to finally kicking his ass. I then got a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” I called out.
“It’s Rarity... Just checking up on you”
“Hang on!”
I quickly got dressed and opened the door.
“Hay Rarity. What’s up?”
“I was just checking up on you” she said, walking into the room
“Okay...” I closed the door and turned to her.
“I wanted to have a chat. There is definitely something on your mind and I’m not leaving till you share it with some-pony. It doesn’t have to be me but you need to tell some-pony. What ever it is, it is clearly bothering you”
“What are you talking about?”
She then levitated a note out of her saddle bag and levitated it over to me. I took it and read it. It was the letter dad sent me when I was thirteen.
“That is what I’m talking about” she sounded relentless and heartless.
I sat down on the bed, staring blankly at the letter.
“Where did you find this?” I asked, my eyes watering again.
“Rainbow said she found it in your apartment when you took her in”
“I’ve been looking for this for years”
I began to read the letter again.
“Talk to me Courage. I’m all ears you know” she said, her voice quiet and compassionate.
“My parents were in the army. I was only a child when they died. I got this through the letter box a week before my fourteenth birthday. They were killed while out on patrol... After reading this from my dad I was never the same again. I blocked out all my school friends, avoided contact with family and some nights I would cry for my parents to come home. On those nights, my sister would hold me tight and try to make things okay. My sister was the only one I could really speak too after my parents deaths. That was...” I was now crying softly. Rarity was holding me to comfort me. “That was till this war started. Me, my sister and my grandparents were out shopping, celebrating my grandmother’s birthday; In a shopping centre near the southern shore of England. That was when the navel attacks happened. The Russians attacked the shores of England. A resulting bombardment of the shopping centre killed my sister and grandparents. They we’re crushed under a tonne of debris. I was almost crushed myself. I... I couldn’t save them. I just ran. I ran and got away from the shore. They were the only family I had left...”
“I can’t imagine how it must feel” Rarity said softly. I could tell she had no idea what to say.
“...and now thanks to Discord, I have no one”
“Oh Courage. You’ll always have me...” Rarity smiled compassionately at me. “...and Rainbow and every-pony else. We’ll always be here for you”
I smiled back at her but then we were interrupted by Luna’s voice on the ships intercom.
“We’re exiting hyperspace in fifteen minutes. Every-pony to your station”
“We should get going”
“Yeah, we probably should” replied Rarity. “We’ll finish this talk later”

Me and Rarity made it to the bridge as did the other ponies. Major Hockey also joined us on the bridge.
“What’s happening Princess” I asked as I walked up beside her at the front of the bridge.
“We’re about to jump out of hyperspace. We’ll be engaging Discord as soon as we do. Hopefully we’ll be able to do some damage before they even notice we’re here”
I looked out into the wavy blue wormhole that surrounded the ship. It suddenly opened up and turned bright white as we fell from sub-space.
“Prime weapons! Shields to maximum and Launch all fighters!” Luna ordered.
Luna’s four ships all began to fire blue lasers and machine guns at Discord’s ships.
Discord’s fleet returned fire. The ship jolted from the impact of weapons fire and some of the electronics began to spark.
“Shields down, eighty percent”
“Keep on them!” Ordered Luna.
One of Discord’s ships were destroyed. Luna’s ships came closer and and began to fire at the engines of Discord’s ships. Secondary explosion began to fill the enemies thrusters. They were not running this time.
After about ten minutes of battle we had taken out four of Discord’s ships.
“This is Commander Rowbuck. We are losing power to all systems. We have to abandon ship. Abandon shi- Argh!”
One of Luna’s ships was destroyed.
“This is Commander Macintosh. I’ve lost all weapons and shields. I’m abandoning ship”
“Can ya reach the transports?!?” asked Applejack in concern.
“Eeeeyup. Keep those hangers open for me”
“Got it commander. We’ll be waiting” replied Luna.
It was only Luna and one other ship in the fight now and Discord still had eight ships left. After another minute we managed to bring it down too seven.
“Luna, Ma’am! Shields are down to thirty percent! and Commander Macintosh’s ship just exploded!”
“Did Big Mac make it out okay?!?”Applejack asked loudly in concern.
“He’s fine Ma’am. He’s approaching the hanger now”
“What about the Apple Grinder?” Luna asked with similar concern.
“It’s losing power! They are not answering our hails”
We took more hits and the ship jolted around some more as more systems overloaded.
“Apple Grinder! Report! Apple Grinder?”
The last remaining ship then exploded Violently and the shock wave hit us, taking down our shields.
“Apple Grinder!” Yelled Luna in despair.
“Ma’am! Shields are down and all six remaining hostiles are moving to engage”
We took more hits and everything started exploding.
“Ma’am! Multiple hull breaches! We’re venting atmosphere on multiple decks! We can’t keep this up for much longer!”
“We still got Hyper-drives?” Luna asked quickly.
“Yes Ma’am but not for long”
“Recall all fighters! We’re getting out of here!”
“Rodger that Ma’am. Recalling fighters”
The ship took more hits and caused more explosions. Most of the crew fell off their feet, including myself.
“Ma’am!! We can’t take another hit!”
“Wait for the fighters! We are not leaving them out there! As soon as they land, jump to Equestria! And DON’T wait for my orders!”
After a few more seconds of taking hits, warning alarms and shouting voices the fighters finally returned and the crewman engaged the Hyper-drives.
“Engaging Hyper-drives!”
Just before the jump to sub-space the Bridge took a direct hit! Without shields, it was going to do some serious damage. A massive flame engulfed the bridge and the force of the explosion knock me off my feet and I hit my head hard on the floor.

Chapter Twenty Eight - Broken

I woke up to find us drifting above what looked like Equestia. Around me I could see the ponies struggling to get on their feet. I totally regretted not putting on my armour for the space battle. I should have known this would happen and now I’m covered in burns and bruises. I gathered myself and got up on my feet, rubbing my neck again.
“Get a medical team up here now!!” Luna ordered as she approached a console. Me and Applejack walked beside her, the other ponies were unconscious besides Pinkie and a few of the crewmen.
“I regret not putting my suit on”
“Ah think we all do” replied Applejack as she looked depressingly over to Twilight and Rainbow being taken away by the medical crew.
“Ew, what happened?” asked Pinkie in pain, getting up from the floor.
I walked over to help Pinkie up on her hooves.
“You okay Pinkie?”
“No! My head hurts more than the time I tried to eat Seventy two cupcakes at once!”
“erm... okay?” I then looked to one of the medical staff. “...can I get some help over here?”
A medical pony came and took Pinkie. Pinkie was mumbling something about Muffins like a crazy pony. I went back over to Applejack and Luna. Luna was using the console.
“What is it Princess?” I asked curiously and with concern.
“Primary systems are offline all over the ship. We still have power and I have sealed off all decks with hull breaches. Luckily no-pony was on those decks when the hull was breached. I need to do a full head count of the crew and make sure everypony is okay. So far no death reports have come in”
“What about Discord’s fleet?”
“Well without long range sensors, there is no way to tell. We did quite a bit of damage to them so hopefully the wont be here for some time”
“Imma heading down to the hanger to check on Big Mac” Applejack informed before walking away.
“Alright. He still has six ships. Please tell me you have more ships Princess” I asked, praying for her to say yes.
“I... Im sorry Commander. I wish I could tell you I do but... I sent everything we had to earth. This all I have left” She looked down at the console in shame and guilt.
“It’s okay Luna” I put my hand on her side compassionately. “You have done what you can”
She smiled at me, blushing slightly. I then continued to talk.
“...Now come on. We still have time before he gets here. Lets prepare this ship as best we can”
“..of course Commander. I have notified all engineer teams. We are going to need shields and weapons back online as soon as possible. We want to at least be able to defend ourselves when Discord gets here”
“Anything I can do Princess?”
“Actually. There is. There is something wrong with the Hyper-drive. I’m getting some weird power spikes. Could you go check it out? The other engineer teams are busy and I’m no good with techie stuff. I’m just the boss”
“Sure. I’ll go take a look at it for you”
“Thank you very much Courage. I’ll remain here and sort out this mess of a ship”

“So when can I talk to Luna? I want to dance on the moon with her and ride a dolphin with her!”
“Liam. Can you go annoy someone else? I’m kinda busy fixing the drive”
“Nope! Lol!”
“Please Liam. I need to concentrate”
“Lol I concentrated once. It was really boring and stupid! I was like ‘Fuck you teacher! I ain’t gonna do no work for you bitch’ and she was like...”
Suddenly I was put off my work and was shocked by a huge spark.
“Ah! Fuck! Liam! Fuck off! I’m trying to work here!!”
“Woah! I’m sorry. Do you want me to go away?”
“For fuck sake yes! I’m trying to fix a device that I have never even seen before. I need absolute concentration!”
“Bah! How hard could it be!”
“This technology shouldn’t even exist!! It’s not easy to fix!! Now fuck off!! Seriously!!”
“Woah! Okay grumpy bum face... Cya”
He sighed and walked out of the room. I continued to focus on fixing the drive.

I must have been working on it for over half an hour or so. I was so busy I lost track of time.
“Courage?” I heard Rainbow’s voice bounce off the metal walls. “You down here? I wanna talk to ya?”
“I’m over here!” I replied.
“What are you doing on the floor” she asked, watching me mess with some wires and interfacing with my tablet.
“I’m trying to fix the Hyper-drive. What the fuck does it looked like?!?”
“Alright! You didn’t need to snap at me!”
I got up and started to get angry.
“Well I’m fucking sorry! I’ve been through a lot recently! I’m under extreme pressure and I can’t remember the last time I ate something!! Sure I had a Coffee before the last battle but that isn’t exactly nutritious!!” I then returned to my work. “Why the fuck you down here anyway?!?”
“I came to talk to you...”
“Really? Fucking really?!? We’re in the middle of a war and you want to talk?!? We don’t have time to talk! We got to fight for... whatever it is your fighting for! I sure as hell don’t know why I’m here! I got nothing to fight for anymore!”
“You still upset about your friends and family?” she asked quietly.
“Hmm...! No! Of course not! It’s not like they meant anything to me or anything!” I shouted sarcastically.
“I’m sorry for your loss Courage. I really am. I’m just trying to help you” she said in empathy.
“Well I don’t want you fucking help! I just want to get this over with so I can shoot myself!”
“Shoot yourself? Courage no. Don’t speak like that” she replied with extreme concern.
“Right. Why not? Not that it matters to anyone...”
“It matters to us Courage!”
“Too a bunch of Ponies? That makes me fell better don’t it!!” I shouted sarcastically yet again.
“What do you mean by that?!?” she yelled accusingly.
“Oh nothing! Nothing at all! Listen! Can you fuck off while I work please!”
“Well... fine! Fuck you then!” she replied, before storming out. I was a bit shocked that she swore but I pretended to take no notice. After a few seconds I screwed up a wattage calculation and shocked myself again.
“Ah fuck!” I then lent my head on the drive and started to tear up. I missed Violet. I missed Anthony and Edward. I missed my parents and my sister. I sat there wishing none of this ever happened. I wanted everything to go back to normal. I wanted it all to end. The years of emotional build up was finally coming out as I sat there in tears, alone, in the dark.

“Courage? Courage?!? Are you okay?!?” Rarity shouted in worry as she found me laying on the floor in tears. I must have been laying there for an hour before she found me
“Sweet Celestia! Are you okay?!? Rainbow told me about what happened. I came to check on you to see... and... oh dear... Come here Courage”
She held me tight and tried to shh me. I was in complete lock down. Hidden in a shell and refused to come out. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Courage. Please talk to me. Don’t give up on me now” she said, her voice full of sorrow.
“Why can’t it all just end? How could this happen to me?”
“Aw Courage. C’mon now...”
“I just want to end it all... right now”
“No Courage! You’re not killing yourself you hear me! Rainbow told me what you said. I simply wont allow it! Now C’mon! This isn’t the Courage I got to know. Your stronger than this! Now pull your sorry self together and work! Your not a quitter or a loser! You have been through the worst things possible and you still managed to pull through! Don’t give up now!”
“Why? What’s the point... I’ve lost everything. What am I fighting for? I’ve got nothing”
“I said it before and I’ll say it again... You’ve still got us! We will be here for you always! No matter what! Now C’mon! This is no time for quitting! If you quit now, you’ll regret it! I’ll be here to help you! You don’t have to do it alone anymore. If you ever need some one or just want some company, all you need to do is ask”
“Thanks Rarity. It’s just, I miss so many people. I’ve lost too many loved ones... I can’t do it anymore”
“You’re just impossible to cheer up, you know that?!?”
“Sorry... Why don’t you just leave then?” I suggested angrily
“...because I care. I’m not going to give up on you. Friends never give up on each other. I’m going to give you all the sulking time you need and I’m going to comfort you through the whole thing. Then afterwards you are going to get to work on that drive”
“If you wanted me to finish the drive. All you had to do was ask...” I got up and walked over to the drive and pushed a few buttons on my tablet. The drive began to light up and make healthy humming noises. I then put my tablet down and walked out.
“Courage?” Rarity said in worry as I walked out.

I returned to the bridge, eyes still watering, and went to speak with Princess Luna.
“I’ve fixed the drive Princess”
“So I can see. Thank you Courage” she turned from her computer to look at me. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern.
“Yeah! Just fine! What else needs doing Princess? My services are still available”
“Erm... are you sure? You look tired. Maybe you should get some rest”
“No really. I’m fine Princess”
“No. I really think you should rest”
“No seriously! What about the engines? I can help out with the repairs there” I was really insistent now.
“The engineer teams can handle it Courage. Why are you so egar to help?” she asked with curiosity.
“Just trying to be a service to you my dear princess. Please. Let me help” I smiled at her insistently.
“No Courage. It is really quite alright. I’m sure my ponies can handle it” she said resistively.
“There must be SOMETHING I can do. Something, anything!”
“Okay. I order you to get some rest! Your no good to me exhausted. Get some food and get some sleep. Don’t worry about anything else. I will handle it. I’ll summon you when I need you. You’ve done enough with the Hyper-drive”
“Well, now that it is an order I guess I don’t have a choice. G’night dear Princess”
“G’night Courage” she said with a grin as I started to walk away to my quarters.

Before heading back to my quarters I decided to stop at Trixie’s quarters to she if she was okay. When I got there I found two guard ponies outside her door.
“Sorry Commander, you can’t come in here”
“Excuse me?”
“We are under-strict orders from the Princess to keep everyone out”
“I don’t care what your orders are. I’m going to see Trixie”
I tried to approach the door but one of the guards side-stepped in front of me to block my path.
“Sorry. We can’t let you do that”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, I’m going to see Trixie”
“I know what your implying here and I’m still not going to let you pass” he frowned threateningly.
“Well then I guess I’ll just have too...” I then grabbed his head and kneed him in the chin. Before the other one could react I punch him in the head and then upper cut him in the jaw. They didn’t put up much of a fight. I just rubbed my hands down and walked through the door.

“Hay Trixie. You in here?”
“Hang on a second. Just in the shower- wait. How did you get in?”
“Oh, it wasn’t hard. I er... just beat up the guards you know”
“Oh... WHY are you here then?”
“I came to check up on you and to thank you for what you did back at earth”
“Oh! It was nothing” she said as she walked out the bathroom, drying her face with a towel.
“Well not really. You betrayed Discord and sacrificed your whole fleet. That’s more than nothing”
She put the towel on the bed and looked at me, lifting an eyebrow. “Well what more do you want me to say? I’m upset to have killed all my followers to join you on your hopeless quest to save equestria”
“Well.... er...”
“Did you even think about what you were going to say when you came down here?”
“Well... I...”
She then hugged me. “Thank you Courage”
“Erm...” I was really confused.
“Thank you for talking some sense into me” She was almost strangling me. She was crying with happiness.
She then became sad again. “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I’m really sorry for torturing you, I’m sorry for hurting you and your friends and I’m sorry for sending my Tempest warriors on you! Please forgive me! Please please please! I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine Trixie. I forgave you when you turned on Discord. Don’t stress yourself over it” I was very forgiving.
“Please! If there is anything I can do to make it up to you...” she said insistingly.
“It’s fine Trixie”
“Please... I want to redeem myself”
“You sound like Rainbow...” I mumbled quietly to myself. “Just do what you can to help stop Discord.”
“Okay, I will. I promise to do what I can” she said hopefully.
“Good. I’ll talk with the Princess tomorrow to negotiate your release” I said reassuringly as I walked at the room.

Before I could make it back to my room I was stopped by Fluttershy.
“Um... Courage. I was concerned for your health and I just wanted to take a quick look at you... if you wouldn’t mind that is...”
“I’m fine Fluttershy. No need to wo-”
“Oh no no no. I insist I take a look at you at once” she said insistently with a big smile.
“But-”
“Come with me now. It wont take long”

I was now in the infirmary getting an X-ray done. Fluttershy was very insistent on doing a thorough check of my health. The scanner went back and forth three times as it scanned me. My eyes bounced around the room in boredom as I waited for the X-ray to be done.
“Oh dear...” Fluttershy gasped as she took the print of my X-ray.
“What is it? Fluttershy?” I asked curiously, starting to get up.
“No! Don’t get up! Lay your head down and relax!” she shouted in fear.
“What?!? What is it?” I asked in concern.
“It is essential you rest your head...” she walked to the side of the bed and showed me an X-ray of my head. “Look here; You have a small cervical fracture here in your neck. That is very dangerous”
“Dangerous how?” I asked in worry.
“It’s basically a broken neck... It should have killed you by now really. Oh dear... It appears you’ve had it for some time now. We’ll have to treat you right away. I have just the thing...”
“A broken Neck?!?” I shouted in fear. “Any idea how I may have gotten it?”
She walked over to a medical cabinet and opened it. “Well a number of things could have done it. Have you been feeling regular pains in your neck recently?”
“Well I have. Very regularly. Ever since I jumped out of the plane and slammed down on the ship”
“Oh dear... That is a long time. Makes sense. That kind of force could have easily caused a fracture. You’re very lucky to still be with us”
She trotted back over to me and injected my neck with something.
“There. That should do it. Try to rest your neck easy for a while. The fracture needs more time to heal but this should help speed things up”
She then took the needle out of my neck again.
“How long exactly?” I asked, rubbing my neck.
“Well, your suit seems to have attempted to heal it but there is still a lot of damage. My professional opinion would be three weeks...”
“but your personal opinion would be....”
“...Two days. So long as you are very careful after that. That means no more jumping off things okay?” she said with a cheeky smile.
“Okay. No more jumping off things. Got it...” I said smiling back. I then jumped off the bed. “Thanks Fluttershy”
“Oh it was nothing really... I’m always happy to help... Go rest your head now...”

After that I managed to make it to my quarters and sleep. It wasn’t easy to sleep knowing Discord could show up at any second. With only one ship, we didn’t stand much of a chance but we had to do something. Discord was right at Equestria’s door step now. He already took Earth, I wasn’t going to let him do the same thing to Equestria.

Chapter Twenty Nine - Last Line of Defence

“Courage! Report to the bridge immediately! Repeat! Courage to the bridge”
I was woken up by Luna’s voice echoing through the ship. I looked at the time. I had only been asleep for four hours. My neck was still hurting and I was still really tired.
“Repeat! Courage to the bridge now!”
I got up and threw on my uniform and ran out the door to the bridge. Clearly Discord was making a move.

“I got here as soon as I could Princess. What is it?”
“Welcome back commander. Discord is making his move. He has launched asteroids from planet Ferlek’s asteroid belt. They are heading straight for the ship. Impact in ten minutes. Most of our weapons are still down; we’ll never be able to get them all”
“Can’t we just move out the way?”
“No. Firstly our engines are still down and secondly, if we move then the asteroids will crash straight into the planet; Killing thousands of ponies on the ground”
“I’ve seen this in almost every fucking sci-fi film or T.V series. It’s a clever strategy. Are fighters ready to launch?”
“Yes, why?” she asked in confusion.
“Well in the sci-fis the good guys would use fighters to take out the asteroids. We use missiles to brake them into smaller, less harmful chunks. The shields can handle tiny asteroids right? and anything that passes the ship will just burn up in the atmosphere”
“Alright. You best get down to the hanger then. We’re low on pilots at the moment”
“Alright!” I shouted as I ran out the room. “Have Rainbow join me at the hanger!!”

I ran through the hanger door, not hesitating to yell orders at the pilots.
“Alright! Wonder-bolts load up! We gotta go now!”
Rainbow and the Wonder-bolts all got in their fighters and prepared to launch. I did the same.
“Alright! Every-pony, Launch!”
We all took off and flew out the hanger. We took formation and faced the incoming asteroids. They were still a good six minutes out.
“Remember: We don’t have to get them all so don’t worry too much if you miss one. The Dark Moon still has a few gun batteries ready to take out any we miss” I informed.
“Rodger that” replied Spitfire.
“Alright. Fresh load of missiles. Remember to use your rockets wisely. Machine gun rounds wont do anything to these giant hunks of rock, nor will lasers. Target the biggest first and try to aim for large creators or ditches in the asteroids surface. The deeper we get the missile the more chunks it turns into. Once we pass through them we’ll turn back and make one more run; pick off any stragglers we may have left behind”
“Got it” Rainbow replied.

We approached the asteroids at high speed. We began to slow down and take aim.
“Alright, everyone pick your targets and fire”
“Got it” replied Rainbow.
“Taking aim. Ready on your mark” replied Spitfire.
“Mark!”
We all fired a rocket each, taking out the first few asteroids. They exploded into many smaller chunks, most the chunks actually changing direction away from the planet. We fired more rockets and continued to take out more and more asteroids.
“Well this is calm” stated Soarin cheerfully. “Beats nerve racking dog fights and cruiser assaults”
“Well enjoy it while it lasts. I dare say Discord will be the next thing to head our wa- Woah!”
I was nearly hit by a massive asteroid as I swung round it tightly.
“How did I miss that?” I asked myself. “I’m not use to using these controls”
“That’s right. Blame the ship” Taunted Spitfire.
“No! I’m serious! I don’t know the controls!”
“Sure...” said Spitfire sarcastically, followed by a chuckle.

We made it through the line of asteroids, still many remained heading towards Luna’s ship.
“Alright. Lets turn back around and pick up any stragglers”
We turned back and use up the last of our rockets on the asteroids.
“Courage! This is Luna!”
“Go ahead Princess. Looks like we’re in the clear. All large masses of asteroids have been eliminated”
“We have bigger problems! Hostile Transports are approaching the planet! We need you to intercept them before they make it to the planet’s atmosphere!”
“We’re on it Princess! Wonder-bolts, lets move”

We flew over towards the transports. The purple lights made them easy to spot when we got close. They had a few fighters with them flying in front as guards.
“So much for no fighters” I complained. “Alright, engage right away! Lets move!”
“Rapidfire! Fleetfoot! Take care of those Fighters! Me and Soarin will take out those Transports!” ordered Spitfire.
“Me and Rainbow will cover you!”
We all flew in firing our lasers. We unfortunately didn’t have any missiles left to make this quicker. That might have been Discord’s plan all along. The asteroids were most likely a distraction. We managed to take the enemy convoy by surprise and destroyed a few of them before they reacted. The last of the fighters broke away to engage us and the other four Wonder-bolts engaged them back. Me, Spitfire, Soarin an Rainbow flew straight past for the transports, firing our lasers at them. We managed to take some of them down and the enemy fighters were too distracted to protect them. We were getting uncomfortably close to the planet now.
“C’mon! Lets finish this now!” I commanded.
I was now tail-gating a transport, firing lasers at him. He was strafing side to side to dodge my incoming fire. I managed to hit it once but it didn’t do very much damage.
“C’mon. Almost got you bitch!”
I was really close behind him now to get good aim. I fired a laser shot right into his thruster and it exploded. I barrelled rolled right through the explosion, showing off the others.
“Woo! Yeah!” I cheered.
Soarin then flew up beside me. “Yeah! That’s how we do it Wonder-bolt style!!”
“Alright! Good job every-pony” Congratulated Spitfire. “Lets return to The Dark Moon”
“Well done out there” Luna said cheerfully. “You all did good. Landing lights are on and waiting for your return”

I was back on the ship now. Fluttershy was not happy that I went out without my suit. She wasn’t happy that I went out at all. After a small lecture from her, We all headed straight for the bridge to speak with Luna.
“What’s the situation Princess?” I asked.
“All primary systems are back online. However we have detected Discord’s approach on the sensors. He will be here in less than an hour”
“An hour?” I asked in confusion.
“He’s using his sub-light engines and not his Hyper-drives” she explained.
“Oh right... Anyway, what’s the plan then?”
“I don’t know yet” she replied. “But we need to deal with this before any-pony on the planet finds out about this”
“Find out about what?!?” yelled a loud and disappointed voice behind us. We all gasped as we turned to see Celestia standing in the door way. Every-pony got down on their knees and bowed to her.
“Princess Celestia!!” Twilight gasped in astonishment.
“Sister?!?” Luna Responded. “How... How... How did you get up here”
“What is all this Luna?!?” Demanded Celestia. “Technology? Weapons? A Space Ship? I demand to know what you are up too! because It looks like a plot of some kind”
“Sister... I... I... I can explain!”
Celestia was not happy at all with Luna. She approached Luna and stared down at her.
“You kept this from me?!? Why?!? Was it a plan to over throw me again?!? and Twilight, why are you here?”
Every-pony in the room was either scared or shocked. None of them spoke up. I stood up and walked up to Celestia.
“This isn’t what it looks like” I stated boldly.
“And who are you?” She said lifting an eye brow as I approached her.
“Courage. Courage Tyler”
“Well, this is surprising” she stated, not looking very surprised.
“Listen. Discord is on his way here with ships of his own. We need to stop him now before he reaches Equestria”
“Do you expect me to believe that? He’s a statue in the palace gardens” she argued, lifting her eye brow further.
“No! I don’t. I couldn’t care less what you think!”
Everyone gasped at my words.
“I’m here to save Equestria from the evil of Discord. If you want to stop me then go ahead and try. But I’m not going to go down without a fight. This is Equestria’s last line of defence and we can not afford to let it go down!” I argued aggressively. I was hoping she would respect my determination and strong heart and allow me and the crew to continue our work.
Everyone gasped again.
She looked at me for a few seconds, completely unchanged by my words. She then lowered her eye brow and spoke.
“If you're speaking the truth then I shall allow you to prove it”
“It is the truth Sister! Look a these readings on our sensors!”
Celestia approached the console and observed the screen.
“Six ships? One even has Discord’s head on it. This... This is not possible. His statue still stands in the gardens!” Celestia said in quiet shock.
“You see now Princess. He has already wiped out my planet and he is now on his way here to take his revenge on you. He used my planet and my people to build a huge feet. He was intending on taking your planet with a fleet of over three hundred ships. Luna and Trixie’s fleet brought it down to six”
“This is unbelievable. I’m sorry I doubted you Luna. But you really should have told me about this”
I interrupted them both, “Can we save this for later?!? Discord will be here soon and we need to get ready for his attack”
Boom! The ship was hit by something.
“What was that?!?” Luna asked in shock, looking to her crewman.
“Ma’am, it’s Discord’s fleet. He’s here already”
“So much for an hour” I thought out loud.
“Bring weapons online!” ordered Luna as she approached the main console.
Out the main window we could see all six of Discord’s ships approaching us, firing their main guns at our ship. Luna’s ship returned fire with it’s huge laser cannon and all it’s machine gun batteries. We were taking excessive hits from Discord’s ships.
“Ma’am! Shields are down fifty percent!”
“Re-route power from the Hyper-drive to the shield!”
“Rodger Ma’am. Re-routing power”
“Ma’am! Discord’s ship is braking away from the fleet! He’s going for the planet!”
We continued to take hits. The ship was lurching and jolting heavily as the heavy fire continue to bombard the shields of the ship.
“Shields are down! Twenty Percent!”
“Ma’am! Main gun is offline and four of their ships still remain”
“Get us out of here! Hide us on the other side of the planet! Now!!” Luna commanded.
The ship then turned away and flew, running from Discord’s fleet. We still took a lot more fire from behind us.
“Shields at five percent!”
“Re-route all power from weapons to the engines!”
After the crewman re-routed the power, the ship began to pick up considerable amounts of speed. We managed to get away and hide around the other side of the planet. Discord’s fleet didn’t seem to follow us.

“I want a damage report now!”
“I’m on it Ma’am!”
“What’s the status of those transports?”
Many of the consoles and conduits were still overloading. The ship had sustained heavy damage in the fight. Much of the crew were panicked and rushing around. Lots of shouting and beeping all over the bridge. One pony was putting out the fires with a fire extinguisher.
“Ma’am! I’m getting reports of invading forces in Canterlot! The royal guard are doing what they can to protect and evacuate the civilians but without proper weapons, they don’t stand a chance!”
“We have to do something!!” Twilight said in panic.
“What can we do sister?!?” asked Celestia.
“There’s nothing we can do! Our ship is too badly damaged. We cannot re-engage for some time”
“Girls, Suit up!” I ordered. I turned to my ear piece. “Blades! Major! Prep your gear and prepare the transports!”
“What are you doing?!?” Luna asked loudly.
“Some one's gotta get down there and protect those civilians! I’ll take a few teams and support those guards on the ground. We take the palace as an HQ! Once it’s secure, you send down all your troops and we retake the city block by block”
“It’s too dangerous!” she Argued.
“Luna! We have too! We can’t allow him to get a foot hold in Equestria!”
She stood there, paralysed for a few seconds. “Okay... Go!”
I nodded at her and ran out the room. As I did, she yelled back at me “...and Good Luck!”

Chapter Thirty - The Elements

“Alright, we’re coming in fast and low. We’ll be over Canterlot in three minutes!”
I brought our ship below the clouds and into sight of Equestria. It was a beautiful sight. I never thought I’d ever see this place. Grass and trees everywhere. It was so natural and pure. We were flying over the lush green land below as we approached the royal city of Canterlot.
“Transport, this is Princess Celestia”
“Go ahead Princess” replied Twilight, walking into the cock-pit.
“When you get to the palace I suggest you and the girls secure the elements of harmony. We can’t let that kind of power fall into discords claws”
“Of course Princess. We could also use them later on Discord. Trap him for good”
“Indeed. He will not escape next time” Celestia swore proudly.
“Thirty seconds!” I interrupted.
“Good luck My Little Ponies!”

I brought us in and landed down by the main gate. I could see many guards guiding the civilians out of the city. Some of the guards approached our ship. They looked provoked. They clearly didn’t think we were on their side.
“C’mon. We should go talk to them”
As we exited the craft the second transport landed down with us.
“Who in Celestia’s name ar- Twilight? Rainbow? Girls?” Said the guard in shock.
“Don’t worry. We are not with the invaders. Luna has sent us to help contain the situation” replied Twilight.
“That’s good news. They took the palace almost immediately. We have managed to evacuate every civilians without any casualties. Unfortunately a few of our fellow guards went down protecting them”
“We’ll take it from here. Get the civilians to safety” said Twilight.
“Sure, good luck”
The guard walked back towards the ever moving line of civilians. Me, Liam, Dracos, the ponies and Major Hockey’s team moved into the city.

On the other side of the gate we found a couple of royal guards ducking down behind a fallen pillar. They were under fire by some dragon warriors. Rainbow step in front of us and fired a few shots with her battle saddle. Two of the dragon warriors were killed by the shots while the others got down.
“Take cover and get ready to return fire” I ordered lightly.
We all took cover around the area. While me an Twilight approached the royal guards.
“Thanks for the help” thanked the guard gratefully.
“You’re welcome” replied Twilight.
“You ponies should get out of here. The civilians are evacuated. We’ll take over from here”
“You got it”
Applejack and Rainbow were firing at the hostile dragon warriors. The royal guards quickly escaped the city, not waiting around for anything. I got up and approached Major Hockey’s team.
“Take your team and Blades’ team round to the back of the palace. You should be able to find your way there. Me and the girls are going to assault the front with our suits. I dare say Discord will be trying to get into the element vault”
“Of course. Lets go team!” commanded Major Hockey, waving his arm towards an ally.
Liam, Major Hockey’s and Blades’ teams moved off down an ally on the left, leaving me Dracos and the girls to move down the road.
“Alright girls! Lets move. Lets secure the palace, get those elements and kick Discord’s ass!”
“...and then have a PARTY!!” cheered Pinkie as she popped out of no-where in front of me.
“Woah Holy Crap How Did You Do That?!?” I jumped in shock holding my chest in further shock.
“Isn’t it obvious?” said Pinkie with a giggle as she trotted ahead.
“No. It’s not obvious.... Like it wasn’t obvious back in Antarctica when you some how got on the wall...” I argued. She seemed to ignore my response and continued to trot ahead.
“C’mon...” said Twilight, as I saw her roll her eyes through her visor.

We were just a court yard away from the palace. Two tanks, a few mounted guns and a load of dragon warriors. We were not sneaking past them. We didn’t really want to sneak past them anyway, I wanted to test these suits to the max. Well I already tested mine against those super soldiers but I wanted to test the girls suits. I wanted to see what they were capable of.
I stopped peering over the wall and got down to speak to the others.
“Pinkie, you take the tank on the left. Applejack, you got the one on the right. Rainbow, you go airborne and take out the mounted turrets. Twi and Rarity, you deflect incoming attacks with force fields...”
Rarity then interrupted me, “I don’t know how to make...”
I shoot her a look before she could finish, “...just try Rarity. If not then Twilight will just have to do it. You can still fire your weapon” I then looked to the others and nodded, “...Ready?”
“Ready when ya’ll are Curry...”
I looked at Applejack with a completely unamused face. “Don’t you start with that...”

“Rainbow Go!”
Rainbow dashed upwards and began her run on the mounted guns. We all jumped over the wall and opened fire as the enemies were distracted by Rainbow. Pinkie fired a few explosive rounds at the first tank. The explosives rounds dented the turret so bad it was no longer usable. Applejack tossed her Lasso at the other tank and it wrapped around the main gun. She pulled on it and it crushed the main gun shut. She then sent an EMP though the lasso, surging the systems and causing it to fire. The fact that the main gun was actually crushed shut ended the discharge in... explosive results, destroying the tank. The dragon warriors had only just realised what was going on and returned fire at us instead of Rainbow. We continued to sprint for the palace as we returned fire.
“Rocket!!”
Twilight saw it coming and blocked it with a barrier. Rainbow flew down and took out the last of the dragon warriors and we proceeded to the main entrance. I looked inside but there were no signs of hostiles.
“Lets get to the elements quick. Discord could already be in there”
“Of course! Quickly girls!” replied Twilight.

We walked into the main hall towards the stairs. We all stopped at the sound of a distant roar. It seemed to be getting closer. We were all stunned a we looked around. We all then looked up towards the taint paint skylight as a huge shadow came towards it.
Crash!
A dragon had burst through the roof! It was big. Really big. It landed and knocked us all back and onto the floor. I looked up at it in awe.
“We are gonna need bigger guns” I said casually.
The dragon the roared and began to breathe fire into the air.
“Everyone scatter!” I shouted as the dragon began to breathe fire in our general direction. We all scattered around the room for cover. I took cover behind a pillar. It didn’t do me much good as the dragon grabbed me and the pillar at once and tossed me violently at the main entrance and back into the court yard. After being thrown I got up and stood firm to face the dragon. I must have been under the influence of a drug the suit must have given me because facing a fully grown dragon is just crazy. I drew two SMGs and braced myself. It looked at me with a sense of challenge. I was getting nervous, more than that, I was absolutely frightened. I was fortunately always good at facing my fears. Well, maybe not fortunately because it was about to get me killed. I took a few shots at it and the bullets just bounced off his scales. He then shot a fireball out of his mouth. I jumped to the side but the force of the explosion still blew me away I landed down hard on my stomach.
“We need to work together to take this one down” said Applejack as she helped me on my feet.
“Rainbow! You distract it! Applejack, when I say, I want you too lasso it’s mouth shut. Rarity, come with me! Courage, you can help Rainbow distract it!”
“You got it Twilight. This plan of yours better work” I said with concern.
“It will! Trust me!”
“Alright. Lets go Rainbow!”
Rainbow flew upward and began to fire at the dragon. I watched as the dragon got pissed off at Rainbow. She constantly dodged it’s attempts to hit her. She was a damn good flyer. However eventually she was caught off guard by the dragons tail as it smacked her right in the face. She fell from the air. It then looked to me and Applejack.
“Run...” I said quietly to Applejack.
Applejack ran to the side as I ran towards the dragon. I was definitely on some kind of drug to be running TOWARDS the dragon. It started to huff and puff fire everywhere towards me. I jumped over the flames, only being touched by the tips of them, and landed on my back as I slid between it’s legs. I turned round and it slammed it’s fist down next to me; the mere force of the shock wave blew me away. It tried again to crush me but I managed to jump from that too. He tried a third time but got distracted by fire from Major Hockey’s team. Not sure why they were round front when I told them to go round back but I wasn’t going to complain. The dragon moved towards them and began to shoot fire at them. Most of the team dived to the side to avoid the flames but two men were not so lucky. I could hear their tortured screams as flesh began to fall off their bones. It was like they were sprayed with lava. I couldn't watch, it was too horrific to see good men die like that.
“That’s it! Applejack, shut that thing’s gob! I don’t want it burning anyone else to a crisp!” I ordered with a tone of angry sadness. Applejack’s metallic lasso wrapped around it’s nose and mouth and she pulled it tight, closing it’s mouth and stopping it breathing anymore fire. The dragon got angry and pulled on the lasso, causing Applejack to fly towards the beast. Rainbow managed to save Applejack before the dragon slashed at her. The lasso remained tied firmly around it’s mouth which was good. It turned back to me, flames in it’s eyes as it looked at me: It was pissed.
“Oh Shit!!”
It ran straight for me. I tried to out run it but lets face it, legs as big as his, I didn’t stand a chance. It grabbed me and held me to it’s nose. It then pulled off the lasso and threw it away. It then opened it’s mouth as it began to speak in a demonic tone, “Die....” before trying to eat me. Luckily for me a massive concrete cylinder was dropped on it, trapping it and forcing it to let me go. I fell to the floor and looked to see the two exhausted unicorns walking towards me.
“Good job girls”
“Yeah... sure...” said the two exhausted ponies with a few huffs and puffs. Lifting such a large object couldn’t have been easy for them.
“Let me free now!!” Yelled the dragon.
“C’mon girls. I think we’re done here! We gotta get to the elements. Liam! Major Hockey! Hold here for now”
“Yeah, sure, whatever” replied Major Hockey.

We made it to the hall that led down to the vault with the element. Taint paint windows all down the side, and a red carpet down the middle, just like in the show. Discord already had machines and soldiers working to brake into the vault at the other end of the hall. The hall was quite long and he saw us coming from a long way.
“Discord!” I shouted accusingly.
“You again?!? Why can’t you die? Soldiers! Stop them! Don’t let the get near the laser!”
He was using a high energy laser to cut the vault open. I wasn’t sure why he couldn’t just magic the elements into his claws but I wasn’t going to complain. The dragon warriors ran at us. I wasn’t in the mood for a close quarters battle.
“Take them down!” I commanded.
We opened fire as did the enemy dragon soldiers. It didn’t take long to kill them all. We ran down towards Discord and the few dragon warriors.
“It’s over Discord!” started Twilight.
“Yes... it is... Now Courage will take over the universe... Well I tried my best...”
“What in tarnation are ya talkin’ about?” asked Applejack in confusion.
“Don’t you know? This was all part of his plan. He wants to steal the elements and use their power to take over the world. He’s been using you six to get to them....”
“Don’ listen to him girls...” I said, fearing they might turn against me.
“...I’ve been trying to stop him this whole time. That’s why I went to earth, to stop him from ever leaving”
“That sounds like sour Apples to me” argued Applejack. “...Courage is a lovely fella and would never try to take over the universe”
“...he’s been manipulating you girls. You don’t really believe his sop story do you? His parents are not dead, he made that up so you would feel bad for him. I mean look at that base he had. Clearly he is a super villain. He has clearly been planning his whole life for this...”
The ponies began to look unsure, almost as if they were starting to believe him.
“Girls!! Don’t listen to him! He’s just trying to turn us against each other”
“Don’t let him fool you ponies... He is more evil than I am...”
Twilight turned to me with a sad look in her eyes. I thought she was about to turn on me.
“No! Discord! You did it once, you will never turn me on my friends again!” yelled Rarity before firing a few shots at Discord. Discord block the shots with a magical barrier.
“Oh Rarity. You are soo naive... Can’t you see that Courage is the real enemy here?”
“Shut you mouth Discord!!” I yelled angrily.
“Don’t listen to him ponies!” shouted a demonic voice behind us. It was Dracos. “He is truly evil. I was his second in command so I would know! Don’t let his mind tricks get to you!”
Twilight and the others looked so confused while me, Dracos and Rarity turned to face Discord. That’s when a huge piece of the vault door fell and landed on the floor, leaving a hole in the door straight to the element case.
“Rainbow! Grab those elements!”
Rainbow looked confused for a second as she contemplated the situation, but it only took a second before she jumped up and flew for the element case. She grabbed the case but a dragon warrior jumped to take it off her. The other dragon warriors moved to attack us with energy swords.
The girls moved to fight back the dragon warriors.
“Courage! Catch!” yelled rainbow warningly as she threw the element case at me. She was then tackled by the dragon warrior. I jumped for the case and grabbed it.
Swish!
An energy sword was coming at me. I ducked under it and kicked the dragon warrior in between the legs. Turned out it didn’t quite have the effect I was hoping for. He swung again and I swiftly dodged it. I couldn’t fight while holding this massive case though. I saw Pinkie blast an enemy with her shotgun so she was free now.
“Pinkie! Catch!” I yelled as I threw the box at her. She dived to catch it but it was intercepted by one of the dragon warriors first. He landed and grinned evilly in pride. He was then tackled by Applejack and he dropped the case again. Another dragon warrior tried to jump for it but Twilight used her levitation to get it away from him and float it over towards her. Once she had the case we all jumped over to her and took defensive positions around her. We were not letting them get it again.
“Open fire!!” I commanded, drawing my assault rifle.
We all opened fire, tearing Discord’s dragon warriors to pieces. Discord created a shield around himself so he was fine. Major Hockey, Liam and the rest had joined us now and we all had weapons pointed at Discord.
“I’ll be back!” shouted Discord in the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He looked serious for a second but then started to laugh. He then disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
“Hay! Nobody mocks Arny! He’s a bad ass MoFo!” complained Liam.
“Forget it Liam. You can get revenge later. We gotta get these elements out of here!” I insisted
“Fuck the elements!! No one mocks Arny and gets away with it!!”

We turned to find a large group of dragon warriors coming towards us from down the hall. They had some of those... things with them. Those things that infested my base.
“Luna!” I shouted into my ear piece. “...we have the Elements of Harmony and we need extraction!”
“Okay Courage! I have units inbound to extract you and the elements. They are about four minutes out”
“Alright! Thanks Luna!” I then looked to the others. “Don’t just stand there! Shot them!”
We opened fire as did the dragon warriors. We took cover by the pillars that were against the walls. Some of us even took cover in the vault. Blade’s team was the first to go down followed by some of Major Hockey’s team. I took a laser hit to the shoulder. It hurt but my suit took most the damage.
“Damn it! Ah! Luna? We could really use that extraction right about now!”
A dragon warrior then threw a grenade and it blew up by Applejack and Rainbow. They both lost consciousness.
The rest of Major Hockey’s team went down. I was only me, Major Hockey, Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy left. Rarity and Twilight were taking heavy fire and Fluttershy was keeping her head down behind a broken pillar. Fluttershy then took a laser blast to the face. Her helmet was blasted off and she was thrown back. Her face had a dark burn down her left eye. She was in so much pain, I could hear her beginning to cry. That’s when I lost it!
“That’s it! Mother fuckers!!” I pulled out my massive LMG and started to walk out of cover. I opened fire on the enemy, not letting go of the trigger. Killing dragon warrior after dragon warrior as they continued to advance on us.
“Urgh!! You think your bad?!? Your not bad! You know who’s bad?!? Your Looking At Him!!!!”
“Courage! Transport’s here! It’s just below the windows!” shouted Twilight.
“Go! Get everyone out! I’ll cover you!” I replied.
I continued to tear through the enemy. I took a few more hits but nothing my suit couldn’t handle.
“Suit integrity at thirty four percent”
I ignored the suit’s warning as Twilight got everyone out the window and down onto the transport. My ammo counter on my suit was getting low and flashing red. It then beeped and went solid red as it hit “000/000”
I dropped my LMG and drew my pistol.
“Courage! Time to go!” Yelled Twilight.
I picked up Blades, who was still barely alive, and walked back firing my pistol. I then ran to the side and jumped through the painted glass and landed down onto a huge white truck lorry thing. It was just a huge cuboid APC, re-enforced with much armour, dual machine guns each side, and large machine gun turret on the front of the roof. Twilight opened a hatch in the top and climbed in. I climbed in after her, with Blades on my shoulder. We then began to move away from the palace.
“Alright. Luna, we have the elements and we received extraction” I said laying Blades down next to Fluttershy as she treated the wounded.
“Good, The transport will take you to the secret base deep in the Ever Free Forest where we can better protect the elements. You need to protect the transport until you get there”
“Got it Luna. Courage out”
“Enemy transports inbound!” informed one of the gunners.
I walked towards the hatch again. “It never ends does it...”

Chapter Thirty One - Road Rage

Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow and Blades all lay on the seats as Fluttershy tended their wounds. They were badly hurt in the fight so they were not going to be able to help us now. Fluttershy’s face was still burnt from the laser shot she took. I walked back over to her and knelt down to her level.
“You okay Fluttershy?”
“Um.... yeah...” she said with a saddened squeal, looking to the floor.
“It’s okay Fluttershy...” I lifted her chin up with my hand. “You’ll be fine. I won’t let anything hurt you anymore. I promise...”
“Um... Thanks...”
“Dracos, stay with the ponies and the elements. Me, Liam and Major Hockey will go on top and stop those transports”
“Okay Human. I will remain here” replied Dracos.
I climbed up out the hatch along with Liam and Major Hockey. Around the transport there were four fast attack vehicles that looked a lot like warthogs from Halo except they were more square and themed to Luna (Black and purple with sparkles). Each had three ponies mounted on them: One driver, one gunner and one passenger with an assault rifle. In the distance we could see transports inbound on our position. They were hostile. I drew my assault rifle to prepare to repel them. The gunners of the jeeps all turned to fire at them. We were not yet in the Ever Free Forest but in fact were crossing the land between Canterlot and Pony ville. To avoid any civilian casualties we would most likely take a detour around Pony ville. I mean go right round Pony ville, not even getting within sights range. No one else needed to get hurt in this war.

“Incoming!” warned one of the gunners. We all opened fire on the transports that were closing in. The first burst into flames and crashed down on the plains. The second came up beside us and a dragon warrior began to fire the laser turret at us. Me and the other two hit the deck as laser fire attacked the transports roof. One of the pony gunners managed to take out the dragon gunner and the laser fire stopped bombing us. The transport lifted itself above us and dropped two dragon warriors onto our transport. Our escort vehicles were now distracted by more incoming transports so they couldn’t help us for now. These dragon warriors that had jumped on our transport had armour and energy swords. Elite dragon soldiers? Royal guards maybe?
“Meh, I’m not scared of them” said Major Hockey as he casually reloaded his rifle.
“Yeah Boy! Time to fight some noobs!” taunted Liam.
I fired my assault rifle at the first one but he just ran and knocked it out of my hands. He then tried to slash me with his sword but I managed to dodge it. Liam then sprayed him with a few bullets before having the end of his gun cut off by the second warrior. I then returned my attention to the one I was fighting. He tried to stab me so I jumped back and drew my knife. He slashed at me and I blocked it with my knife. He tried again then kicked me in the stomach before kicking me a second time, launching me off the side. I grabbed the edge just before I fell. He approached the edge and rose his arm to stab my hand with his sword. Before he could I threw my knife into his left eye and jumped up to kick him. Me and Hockey were now back to back as we faced our own opponent.
“Can you handle him Hockey?”
“Of course I can...” He then jumped forward and punch the dragon warrior “Falcon Punch!!”
The visually impaired dragon warrior moved to stab me again. I countered him by ducking under his sword, punching him in the chin and sliding my leg through his legs, tripping him up. He rolled back to get back up on his feet. He tried to slash multiple times but I dodged the first, jumped over the second and kicked him before the third slash. He tried stabbing again but I grabbed the handle, back handed him and pulled the sword from his claws. He tried to scratch me with his claw but I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and swung round to elbow him. He then pushed me back and drew a laser pistol.
“Rifle Now!” I yelled.
“Rifle!” replied Major Hockey as he threw me his rifle.
I side flipped as I grabbed the rifle, dodging the laser shots from the dragon warrior’s laser pistol. I landed on my feet again and strafed towards the dragon soldier. He tried to shoot me again but I smacked his aim sideways and then hit him in the stomach with the rifle. I then hit him again in the chin then sprayed a whole clip into his face violently before spinning round to kick him violently off the transport, taking back my knife from his eye as he fell. I quickly moved to help out Major Hockey who was having trouble with the second dragon warrior. The dragon warrior kicked Hockey back then swung at me with his sword. I dodged but then took the dragon warriors foot to the face. My helmet stopped me taking any real damage but I was knocked over by the force of the kick. Before he could stab me Hockey jumped on his back and stabbed him in the neck. The dragon warrior gave out a massive cry before pulling the Major over his shoulder. I tried to get up but he stood on me to prevent that. He then went to stab the Major.
“FIRE EXTINGUISHER!!!” yelled Liam just before using a fire extinguisher to attack the dragon warrior. The yellow chemical from the canister began to corrode the dragon warrior. We could see little gas trails coming off him as his scales began to corrode and oxidise. He began to yell in pain as his scales and skin began to react and corrode away. Me and the Major got away from him. Liam the jumped up and smacked the dragon warrior in the back of the head with the extinguisher and then kicked him off the APC.
“I can’t believe that actually worked” I said in surprise.

I was so focused on the fight I had forgotten about the inbound transports. After a quick look around I could see that we still had all four jeeps protecting us. They were firing at some enemy transports that were coming in from the right. There were also more transports and fighters coming from behind us and a few enemy fast attack vehicles were rolling up on our tails. The enemy buggys were small, black with red trim and wedge shaped. They also had wheels instead of hovering like their tanks did, which I thought was strange. The driver was in a small cock pit in the front and a large machine gun took up the flat surface behind it. They were also closing in fast. The gunners opened fire on the enemy buggys. I picked up my assault rifle again and fired also. The enemy returned fire with their heavy machine guns. Me and the Major hit the deck again for cover and returned fire. One of the buggys were damaged by heavy gun fire as it approached the APC. The driver jumped from his seat and onto the APC just as his vehicle exploded. He tried to climb up and onto the APC. I aimed downward and fired at him. He fired his laser pistol back at me and I pulled my head in for cover. I re-took aim and fired again. This time I got a head shot on the bugger and he fell off the back. Another buggy came up on the side and fired at us. We got down for cover. I got up to shoot but I was hit first multiple times. Before the enemy’s gun could finish me, one of Luna’s jeeps had rammed the enemy buggy into the side of the APC. The enemy vehicle took some heavy damage and was forced to pull back.
“Warning! Multiple suit breaches. User has sustained heavy injuries. Attempting to repair”

We were now approaching the Ever Free Forest. It was dark and gloomy, the sky above it was very cloudy and it was raining lightly.We were just about to pass into it, enemy fighters and vehicles still hot on our tail.
“Fighters!” yelled one of the pony gunners. The APC’s machine guns began to fire at them, as did the jeep gunners. The fighters passed by, firing machine gun bullets everywhere. One of the pony drivers were hit and the jeep went out of control. It crashed into a tree and exploded as the enemy fast attack vehicles passed it by.

We were all driving down a dirt road really fast. We must have been going at least sixty miles per hour. One jeep drove in front of the APC while the other two drove down the side returning fire on the enemy buggys behind us. Three enemy buggys were behind us firing at the APC and jeeps, trying to get us to stop. Another enemy buggy drove out from the tree line. This one was the same as the others but instead of a machine gun it had multiple rocket launchers. More fighters were inbound aswell.
“We got more fighters inbound! and a Rocket buggy!” I warned the gunners in my ear piece. “How the fuck are we going to compete with all that firepower?!?”
“Don’t worry, our jeeps can handle it” replied one of the gunners. “Titanium enforced alloy, 14mm anti-air armour piercing chain gun, all terrain, flank kicking machine of mayhem!”
“Well lets hope that’s enough to stop them... Twilight, how long till we get there?”
“About ten minutes!”
The fighters past over, spraying the road with bullets. We all got our heads down to take cover from the bullets. The gunners of the jeeps then returned fire on the buggys. The enemy rocket buggy drove up and fired a few rockets at our jeep to the right. The jeep swerved out of control for a few second but the driver managed to save it. The gunner then fired into the enemy’s windscreen and killed the driver, causing it to swerve out and crash.
“Transport! Watch out!” yelled a panicked voice.
An enemy transport was flying beside our convoy in the air and it’s gunner began to spray lasers all over the place. The front jeep moved to attack the pilot and the transport soon pulled away. As it pulled away a few dragon warriors jumped out. They had jet packs! They flew behind us with their jet packs and fired lasers at our APC. The buggys closed in on us which distracted the jeep gunners from the jet pack dudes.
“Jet pack?!? Ergh! I want a jet pack!” demanded Liam in a childish tone.
The jet pack warriors flew close and tried to shoot us. We all returned fire. The jet pack warriors dropped behind the APC out of our line of sight. I looked around in confusion before one flew up beside me and kicked my weapon out of my hands. I watched as my assault rifle flew off down the road, never to be seen again. Major Hockey went to shoot but a second jet pack warrior kicked his rifle off the APC aswell. I looked back to the one that kicked mine and he was swinging at me with his sword. I jumped back to dodge. The dragon warrior walked slowly towards me with an evil grin. Major Hockey and Liam were getting beat up by the other two. They had finished and I was the last one standing.
“One against three? That’s hardly fair”
“Too bad Human... Surrender the elements or die!” commanded the middle one with a frown.
“I choose.....” I contemplated my choices for a second. I was doing it on purpose to agitate them. “What were the options again? I forgot”
“Don’t toy with me Human!!”
“Toy? I thought you were a dragon? A stupid one but still a dragon nether the less...”
“ARGH!!” He was pissed off now. I just laughed as he swung at me aggressively with his sword.
“Op! You missed!”
He swung again and I dodge again.
“Hay. Now I’m over here! C’mon! You suck at this!”
“Argh! Fuck you Human!!” he yelled as he pulled out his laser pistol. At that moment I drew a grenade and threw it at him. He pulled the trigger and his shot hit the grenade. The grenade exploded in front of him and he was blown off the APC.
“Bye!!” I said with a chuckle. I was then kicked over by the other dragon warriors. They swung at me with their sword I managed to roll over to dodge. They both approached as they prepared to finish me. I tried to get up but I couldn’t do it fast enough. Luckily one of the pony gunners took a few shoots at them, killing one and stunning the other. I quickly got up and approached the last dragon warrior. Just before he regained focus, I stabbed his jet pack and grinned at him evilly. He looked at me in fear just before I twisted my knife and caused his jet pack to ignite and blast him into the sky uncontrollably.
“Yeah! Have some of that you fucker!”

I looked back at the battle between the buggys and jeeps. More buggys were on approach along with two armoured ground transports with the same black, red trim paint job. These transport had ‘Chaos Elites’ written down the side.
“He really wants these fucking elements don’t he...” I mumbled to myself.
Rarity climbed out the hatch and levitated Liam and the Major inside the APC.
“We need to take them out before we get to the base. We can’t let Discord know where we will hide the elements!” instructed Rarity. “Twilight has ordered the driver to take a detour until we can take them out”
“Alright! I’ll handle the buggys, you just cover me!”
“Of course”
“Alright. I count five buggys and two transports. one buggy leading the...” I was mumbling to myself as I waited for the enemy vehicles to get close. I approached the edge of the APC and drew both my SMGs. The buggys got closer and I prepared to jump.
“Three... Two.... One!”
I jumped on one and landed on the first buggy. I fired my SMG into the driver and ran up and jumped to the next just as it went out of control and crashed. The one I had jumped on started to swerve as he tried to get me off his buggy. One of the other buggys came up the left and tried to shoot me off the top so I fired a few rounds and took out the driver. His buggy swerved and crashed into the one I was standing on. I nearly lost my balance as I tried to jump off. I screwed up my jump and nearly fell onto the road. Luckily I managed to grab the edge of one of the transports. The second transport came up the side and moved close to crush me. Both transports moved towards each other and began to crush me between them. My suits integrity began to fall apart as I became more squished between the transports. I heard some machine gun fire before the transport crushing me went out of control and crashed into one of the buggys. I looked over to Rarity who was firing her machine gun at the enemy vehicles. There was only one buggy and one transport left. I climbed up onto the enemy transport and two heavily armoured dragon warriors climbed out the back. They were in completely sealed suits, a lot like mine, and wielded duel energy swords. They definitely matched the title of Chaos Elites. Black and blood red trim steel armoured suits, blue energy swords and blood red writing on their chest plate saying “Death to our Enemies!”
“Sorry boys. I’d like to stay and fight but I got some elements to protect” I said as I drew a grenade. I pulled the pin and they both charged at me. I dodged one and jump kicked the other before hurling myself off the transport, dropping the grenade as I did. The grenade exploded as I landed on the final buggy. The transport was launched towards the buggy. I acted quickly and turned to jump back on the APC. Just as the transport hit the buggy, I jumped for the APC. An explosion along with the transport husk pursued me as I flew through the air towards the APC. Everything went in slow motion as I reached to grab the edge of the APC. I wasn’t going to make it! I missed the edge by a fingers length. My heart stopped for a second as I thought “Oh Shit!”. Then suddenly my hand was grabbed by both of Rarity’s hooves. I looked up at her in absolute terror.
“You okay Courage?” she asked.
“Erm... yeah... Shit that was close. Thanks Rarity”
“I told you I’d always be here for you” she replied with a smile.
She pulled me up onto the APC. I checked to see if our jeeps were okay. We must have lost one at some point because I only counted two. At least they managed to take down the enemy fighters.

Me and Rarity climbed back inside the APC. I walked to the gunner seat and looked over the gunners shoulder at his screen. We were now only two minutes from base. I suddenly heard a scream from Fluttershy.
“Ah! Help!”
I turned to see Dracos with the element case and a pistol to Fluttershy’s head. Me, Rarity and Twilight drew our weapons and aimed at him.
“Dracos!” I shouted. “What are you doing?!?”
“The elements are mine! With these out of the picture I can finally take Discord’s place as ruler of my people! I knew he would go for the elements and I knew you ponies would stop him. I just joined you so I could get an opportunity like this. Without these, Discord will never get the power he needs to win”
He then hit the back door panel and the back door of the APC opened. He backed up slowly as a transport approached from the sky.
“What’s going on in there?” asked one of the jeep ponies through my ear piece. I ignored him and focused my attention on Dracos.
“Let Fluttershy go!” I demanded protectively. “There’s no escape for you!”
He then jabbed Fluttershy harder with the pistol and backed even further away. Fluttershy was squealing in fear.
“Why do this Dracos? We can help you defeat Discord and you can lead your people as our allies!”
“Allies?” he then laughed. “Ah ha ha! I don’t want to be allies with a bunch of ponies! My people are destined to take over the galaxy! That’s why Discord created us! I only joined you so I can take Discords place. You didn’t believe any of that freedom crap did you?!? Ah ha ha... Pathetic...”
The enemy transport approached and hovered sideways by the APC’s ramp. Dracos backed away towards it but then one of our jeeps rammed the transport away. It was hovering that low stupidly enough. Dracos turned to see what happened and I quickly dashed into action and attacked him, freeing Fluttershy as I did. He turned back to me and slashed his claws at me. I dodged and punched him in the chin. I moved to attack again but he hit me in the back of the neck with some kind of karate chop. My neck filled with a burning sensation and I dropped to the floor. I couldn’t feel my arms or legs. My neck hurt like a total bitch. It was unbearable. I saw Dracos jump for his transport with the element case. The jeeps moved to fire at the transport but it flew away before they could take it down. I soon passed out as I laid on the APC floor. It felt like I was dieing instead of just passing out. It was soo painful. My last thoughts were of the pain I felt from Dracos’ betrayal... and of the searing pain in my neck...

Chapter Thirty Two - Recovery

I woke up in an infirmary. I laid on one of eight beds that ran down the room, four on each side. At the back were some medical cabinets, filing cabinets and two work desks. The other end on the room was a metal automatic double door. I was the only patient in here but Fluttershy was at one of the desks. She saw me wake up and walked over to me. Before I could speak she instantly began to lecture me.
“Ooo I told you to be careful. Now your neck is even worse and you were paralysed from the neck down. Luckily we were able to get you back here and repair the damage...”
“I’m sorry Fluttershy... I just couldn’t let Dracos hurt you. It was bad enough that you got shot in the face. I didn’t want you getting hurt anymore”
“That’s sweet of you and I thank you but it wasn’t just Dracos that did the damage. All that jumping around you did didn't help your neck at all...” she said in frustration.
“What was I supposed to do?” I asked defensively.
“You should have let the soldiers handle it. You had us all worried when you passed out. Please. Be more careful in future...”
“Okay, I will...”
“This is serious Courage. I shouldn’t even let you out of bed with a broken neck. Promise to be more careful in future okay?” she demanded insistingly.
“Okay. I promise to be more careful”
“I’ll give you a huge over dose of the calcatumine to increase the regeneration rate. It’s a bit risky and will have side effects but I can’t let you out of this ward without it, knowing that you’ll most likely put yourself in more dangerous situations”
“Calcatumine? Never hard of it...”
“It’s a calcium based chemical that helps broken bones repair faster. It can only be taken in small doses before it starts having side effects and an over dose is very deadly. Since you seem to be a stubborn life form, I think it should be safe to give you an over dose”
“You mean because I’m human I can take more?”
“No, not because you’re human; because you can go through a war zone with a broken neck and still come out alive” she said with a sense of disapproval as she walked to the medical cabinet.
“Oh...”
She pulled out a large needle from the medical cabinet. It was full of a strange blue liquid and was labelled Calcatumine. This looked more like a gun than a needle but I wasn’t going to complain. She then trotted over to me and jabbed it in my neck.
“Ow!”
“Oops, sorry”
“So is this the same stuff as last time?”
“Yes but it’s a higher concentration and a larger dose. It should hopefully be safe for you but if you experience any side effects, let me know as soon as possible so I can give you the antidote” she said with caution, pulling out the needle from my neck.
“Side effects like?...”
“Light headed or dizziness, heart ache, head aches, chest pains, loss of feeling in limbs, blurred vision, constant pains in the healing area or just generally feeling ill”
“That’s.... That’s quite a list...” I said in concern.
“Well if you experience any of them, be sure to let me know”
“I will... and... Thanks again Fluttershy. You’re a wonderful doctor” I said quietly in gratitude.
“Um... you’re very welcome Courage. Remember to be more careful okay? Take the day off to allow yourself to recover. Oh and come see me in six hours so I can check on your neck”
“Of course. Thanks again Fluttershy”
I got off the bed and walked to the door.
“Oh and Luna wants to see you in her quarters. She was just as worried as we were”
“Okay. I will go see her now” I replied as I walked out the room.

After walking around for ten minutes trying to find my way, I finally gave up and approached a guard to ask for directions. I approached a gray Unicorn and a white Pegasus, both in black and blue armour. The armour was the same as Celestia’s royal guards except themed to Luna.
“Hi. Can you tell me where to find Luna’s quarters?”
“Ah, you’re the Alien everyone has been talking about...” said the gray Unicorn. “Sure. We can show you the way”
“Wow. It is weird being called an Alien. I always imagined an Alien being an ugly monster...”
“Well you got the ugly part right” snickered the white Pegasus.
“Heh heh don’t worry, he don’t mean nothing” said the gray Unicorn with a chuckle of his own. “C’mon. We’ll show you to the Princess’ quarters”
“Okay, thank you very much”

“She’s right through that door. We’ll wait here for you so we can guide you around the base afterwards” said the gray Unicorn.
“Thank you” I thanked him before walking though to Luna’s quarters. When I got inside I found her on the bed reading a book and brushing her mane with her levitation powers. She seemed very calm and she was so focused on her book that she didn’t even notice me enter.
“Princess? You wanted to see me?”
She closed the book and dropped the brush and book on the bed.
“Good to see you alive and well Courage. Please, call me Luna. Welcome to the ESC base” she said casually.
“ESC?” I said in confusion.
“Equestrian Space Command” she replied.
“Okay. So what did you want to see me about?”
“I just wanted to thank you for what you did...”
“But I lost the elements...” I reminded her, shaking my head a bit.
“Yes but you did a good job of defending them. At least Discord doesn’t have them”
“We still need to get them back though”
“Agreed. I have my scouts and intelligence officers working on finding their location. Once I have something I’ll be sure to let you know”
“Okay...”
I stood their awkwardly waiting to be dismissed but Luna just went back to her book and started eating an apple.
“Soo.... Where’s your sister?”
“She’s in Canterlot helping repair the damage Discord’s troops did”
“What about your ship?”
“In orbit having repairs made”
“...And Discord’s fleet?”
“Doing the same”
She was very casual and completely unconcerned with current events.
“Shouldn't we be doing something about Discord?” I asked with a very insisting tone.
“There’s noting we can do until he makes his move or until we find the elements. Im taking a few hours brake so I’ve put Twilight in charge for now”
“Oh. So Twilight is the one I should be talking to then?”
“Well if you want to sit around on your haunches waiting for something to happen then yes”
“So you mean to say that Discord is not actually doing anything at the moment?”
“That’s right. He is just sitting in orbit”
“This is weird? It’s like a cease fire or something...” I thought to myself out loud.
“That’s one way of putting it” said Luna with interest.
“Well looks like I get the day off after all. I’m going to go get a bite to eat”
“Okay. I’ll be here if you need me” replied Luna, focusing on her book.

I was in the mess hall of the base. The two pony guards kindly guided me and here and even brought me lunch. Liam was also here getting a cappuccino. Blades, Rarity and Pinkie had also joined us for lunch. Blades wasn’t in good shape: Cuts, burns and bruises all over him and he was a bit shaky. He got it worse than anyone back at the element vault. At least he was still alive. I wish I could say the same for his two friends.
“...and Courage was there! He saw me do it. I like pulled out a fire extinguisher and I was all Like ‘Fire extinguisher bitches!!!’ and then I killed them with it. I was so MLG pro and sheet!”
Liam was talking about the fight, Blades and the guards paying close attention. Rarity was brushing her hair and eating her chocolate cake. I was sat alone thinking. I was still feeling a little depressed.
“Hay there!” cheered Pinkie next to me.
I looked at her with a glum smile.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a sad tone.
“Just a little stressed and stuff...”
“Awww. Anything I can do? I know! I’ll sing you a song!”
“Erm what?” I said in confusion. She jumped on the table and took a deep breath.
“Oh no. She’s not going to sing is she?” said Rarity with dis-please.
A slow mellow tune began to build up. I had no ideas where from... Scary...
“Sometimes life can get you down,
and things get really tough,
you may begin to feel,
like you’ve had enough.
But Pinkie Pie is here today,
and she only has one thing to say,
that you should never think that way,
because at the end of the daaaayy....”
Pinkie had a huge pause and the music started to sound like it was going to get energetic...
“Where is that music coming from?” asked Blades in confusion, looking around to find the source.
“...you should always be happy!
Happiness all day!
Always being happy!
makes the bad things go away!”
She was bouncing around the room all cheery and happy, the music very energetic.
“Where is that coming from?!?” said Blades again as he looked under the table.
“...the power of happiness!
is as great as can be!
So always be happy!
Be as happy as Meeeeeeeeee!!!!”
The music then stopped and she was stood on the table with her front hooves in the air. I was a little stunned, Rarity was face-hoofing and Blades was still looking for the source of music. I smiled at Pinkie cheerfully.
“Where was that coming from?!?” shouted Blades in dis-belief.
“See! You’re smiling! Everything is better when you smile!” said Pinkie with an uplifting smile.
“Thanks Pinkie. It’s a nice thought... and it was cool to see you sing” I said cheerfully.
“Pinkie Pie... Though I do appreciate the effort, I do think Courage needs more than a song to cheer him up” said Rarity gracefully.
“Hay! I can do better than you can little miss perfect!” retorted Pinkie.
“Really?” replied Rarity in doubt.
“You’ll see...” frowned Pinkie as she stormed off.
“Hmm... Oh well. C’mon Courage”
“What? Where we going?” I asked with curiosity.
“You need to relax, especially in your condition. Come with me...” she said with a smile.
I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or worried. A few thoughts popped into my head which were some what... admittedly... perverted, which was why I was slightly concerned. But I’d hate to be rude so I went with her anyway.

“Wow Rarity. This is amazing. mmm.... Where did you learn this?” I asked with a relaxed tone followed by a sigh of pleasure.
“I learnt a thing or two from my close friends Aloe and Lotus...” she said proudly and sensuously.
“The Spa ponies? That makes sense... You certainly learnt well”
No, we were not having sex if that was what you were thinking. She was actually helping relax my neck muscles with a massage. Apparently it would help my recovery. Weather or not this was true didn’t bother me because this massage was amazing and it was exactly what I needed after many weeks of non-stop fighting and doing the impossible. Her hooves felt great as they rubbed my neck and back sensuously. My muscles eased and my body filled with a pleasurable vibe.
“Enjoying yourself there?” she asked with a giggle.
“Yes, definitely. You are amazing at this Rarity”
“I’m glad. It’s good to see you smiling so much”
“Yes. It is great to have a brake for once. It has been touch and go for a while. I guess we have Dracos to thank for that. What do you think will happen next?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping that Twilight will find out what happened to the elements so we can get them back and finish with all of this” she replied, continuing to massage my neck and back.
“Yeah, the sooner we end this war the bet- ooo that hit the spot... Yeah... Right there....”
“I think you’re enjoying this a little too much Courage...” she said with another giggle.
“So? That’s not a problem is it?” I said jokily.
“Not at all. It’s just-”
Applejack then walked into Rarity’s room.
“Hay er, Rarity, Pinkie wanted me ta-” she then froze and looked at us in shock. “What in tarnation is going on here?”
“Erm... It’s not what it looks like” I said immediately in defence.
“Ah certainly hope not!” she said with disgust.
“I was just giving Courage here a massage. I thought it would be good for his neck” explained Rarity calmly.
“Alrighty then. Any-hoot, Pinkie put together a party down in the mess. She wanted me to let ya’ll know about it. DJ P0N-3 is DJ-in’ it herself. It’s gonna be great! Ya’ll are welcome to join us”
“We’ll be there once I’m done with him”
“Good! Don’t be too long now or Pinkie will drink all the cider before you get a chance...” said Applejack with a chuckle before walking out the room.
“A massage and then a party? Best night ever!” I said cheerfully.
“I’ll just finish up and then we can head on down to the party...”
“Wait... You can take a few more minutes...” I said suggestively.
“As you wish Courage...” she said with another giggle.

“Hello there every-pony!! This is mother fudging Pinkie Pie!! Are you ready to Partaaay?!?”
“Yeah!!!”
“I can’t hear you!!!”
“YEAH!!!”
“Ooookay!! Take it away DJ-P0N-3!!”
Vinyl Scratch started up the music. The room went dark and filled with colourful lights. The music was some kind of trancy techno track. Fast beat, laser sounds and fuck knows what else. I was more focused on all that yummy delicious food that was laid out on one of the tables. Chocolete cake, Apple Pie, Apple slices, Apple crumble, Apple Cider... I glared joyfully at all that food.
“You can help yourself you know...” giggled Rarity. “Looks like Pinkie has already started on it”
“Oh hell no! She’ll eat it all before I get any! Not on my watch!”
I immediately helped myself to some Cake and Cider. Spike was sitting next to me eating away at a bowl of Rubies.
“Oh Hay Spike!”
“Hay! Awesome party huh?”
“It’s only been a few minutes...”
“It’s got Rubies ain’t it? What more does a party need!”
“Hay there Courage!!” Shouted Pinkie Pie. Jumping out of no-where. “What do you think of the party!”
“Fuck! How do you keep doing that?!?” I shouted after having my little heart attack.
“Do you like the party?!? Do ya?!? Huh huh huh?!?”
“Yes. It’s awesome. I’m amazed by how you could get all this together in less than six hours... Shit... Six hours?!? I’ll be back in a bit Pinkie!” I said before running out the room.

“Fluttershy! I’m sorry I’m late!” I shouted, walking into the room, huffing and puffing from running down here.
“Oh... It’s fine. It’s just a check up and I’m not on a busy schedule”
“Oh okay... So you taking another X-Ray or what?”
“Just lay down here and let me take a look...”
A few minutes passed as Fluttershy did her check up. She looked very confident with her results.
“Well you’ll be glad to know that the massive overdose has taken it’s toll on your neck. Look here... the crack has stabilised and is on it’s way to healing. Give it a week and you’ll be just fine”
“Awesome! Things are finally starting to look up!” I said cheerfully. Things appeared to be getting better. All that was left to do was defeat Discord.
“Well you’re free to go Courage...”
“Hay Fluttershy, there’s a party going on upstairs. Do you maybe wanna come join us?”
“That’s nice of you to offer but I’d rather stay here where it is quiet” she replied timidly.
“C’mon! It’ll be fun! It won’t be long till something happens so enjoy yourself as much as you can!” I said insistingly.
“Well um... I don’t know...”
“C’mon! You’ll be fine!”
“Well um... Okay, why not?” she said, finally giving in.

After a few hours of partying and maybe having a little too much to drink I sat at the table with a head ache, the music still rolling and ponies still dancing and enjoying themselves. Liam on stage dancing and singing a strange song called ‘Look at that Stove’?
“Take a look at that stove! Ooo what a stove!! Take a look at that Stove! Stove Stove Stove!!...”
I turned my attention away from my surroundings and lent my head on the table in pain. My head was throbbing.
“You okay Courage?” asked Fluttershy.
“Yeah. Just a bit of a head ache...” I replied rubbing my head.
“Oh dear. It might be the drink...”
“That’s what you get for drinking” said Major Hockey in disappointment.
“Wow. Thanks Major for the comfort...” I said with slight sarcasm, lifting my head off the table.
“You’re welcome. And call me Russell. It’s easier than saying Major Hockey every time” he replied.
“Okay then Russell. Come take a seat!”
“The seats are screwed to the floor though!” he complained.
“Oh dear, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant sit down...” I laughed.
He laughed also and said, “Well say that then!”
“So what’s your story Russell? You’ve been with me since Sweden and some how survived...”
“I’m just your regular soldier. I joined up because the UN was looking for soldiers and I lost my job with Nintendo due to cut backs. I didn’t get any special training or anything if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m just born a bad ass”
“That’s a pretty bland background. Well I’m glad you’re here because you’ve definitely proven a worthy team mate”
“Indeed. Well I just want to get this over with so I can get back to my video games...”
“That’s if there are any video games left to go back too...” I replied with a depressing tone.
“Eh... Well I’m off to get some rest. I’ll see you later Courage”

Russell then left to get some sleep. That’s when I saw Trixie standing by the door all by herself. She looked like a fish out of water, unsure of what to do. I walked over to her to see what was bothering her.
“Hay Trixie, you can come join me and the others if you want. You don’t have to stand here by yourself”
“What makes you think I want to join you?” she said lifting an eyebrow.
“C’mon. Lose the stuck up attitude... Relax and just enjoy yourself”
She then dropped her head and began to look a little depressed.
“I can’t help it. And why would they want to talk to me? I helped start this whole mess”
“You helped wipe out my planet and got most of my friends killed. If I’m not mad at you then nor will the others be. You turned over a new leaf and you’ve redeemed yourself. This is your chance to change. Just give yourself a chance”
She looked up and smiled, “Okay, I promise to change. I’m going to be much-”
The music suddenly cut out and everyone looked to the stage. Twilight was on stage.
“Excuse me! Sorry but the party is over! Discord is making a move! Girls! Courage! Meet me and Luna in the control room immediately!”
“Sorry Trixie. Duty calls...”

“We have detected a huge influx of transports to this area of the Ever Free Forest. We are guessing that Discord found out where Dracos was hiding. This is a complex cave system that runs through this mountain. It has been there for years but we haven’t actually been there for months. For all we know Dracos could have a whole base there by now. We need to get in there and get those elements off Dracos before Discord does”
Luna was presenting to us the situation.
“I want you girls to take a small team of marines and assault the main entrance. I will need another team to come in from the back cave, trap Dracos inside the cave system with no escape...”
“I can have the remains of the humans forces take the back entrance... I have two Russian teams and one UN team still left from the transport nuke runs we did on Discord’s fleet...” I interrupted.
“Okay...” agreed Luna. “...but I still want you with the girls”
“Of course Luna. Russell and Liam will be with us too”
“...I’m coming with you too!” insisted Blades and he walked into the room.
“Blades? You’re hardly in any condition for fighting...”
“I’ll be fine! Twilight built me a suit of similar design to hers anyway so I’ll be fine...”
“Twilight?” I asked with concern.
“It’s okay Courage. He speaks the truth. I built him, Liam and Major Hockey a suit while you were busy partying. I used your designs.... I hope you don’t mind” she said with a guilty smile.
“You mean you stole my suit designs?” I said blandly , lifting an eyebrow.
“Well, I prefer the term borrowed... What?... I thought that we ponies could use the technology... I was just thinking of the greater good...”
“Alright Twilight. You can keep my designs. It would have been nice if you had asked though...”
“Sorry...” she said with another guilty smile.
“Can we focus please?” asked Luna demandingly. We all went silent. “...Thank you! The longer we sit here, the longer Discord has to steal the elements. I’ll give you two squads of Buckies to support you girls on your way into the caves. They’ll wait and hold the entrance while you retrieve the elements. The human teams will take and secure the back cave entrance to make sure Dracos doesn’t escape. Once you have the elements I will send in transports to pick you up. Now get going... I will return to the ship and see how Big Mac is doing with the repairs. Good luck girls!”
We all saluted and walked out the room to gear up and get going. The end of the war was getting close now. I could feel it. Too bad I couldn’t feel who was going to win it.

Chapter Thirty Three - The Elements... Take Two

“Hold here!” I said raising my hand up. We were in the treeline opposite the cave entrance. In front of us was a massive fight between Dracos’ and Discord’s forces. Dracos’ dragon warriors seem to have red heads and claws which made them easy to separate from Discord’s dudes. Two of those big robots were in the middle of the battlefield fighting each other, one red and one purple. Soldiers all around them killing each other.
“Well at least they seem more focused on killing each other rather than us...” said Blades in a comforting tone.
“Commander...” said a strong female Russian through my ear piece. “My team is at the south entrance and holding”
“Okay, good job Tasha. Secure the area and wait for further orders” I replied.
“Yes Commander... Tasha out”
“Alright, Rainbow Dash, You’re gonna need to provide cover fire while the rest of us move for the cave” I suggested.
“What about the marine squads?” asked Twilight.
“Right, you Buckies stay here till the battle lightens up a bit. Then you take down what’s left and secure the entrance”
“You got it boss!” replied one of the pony marines.
“So we’re jus’ gonna run down the middle? Isn’ that a little dangerous?” implied Applejack.
“Well at least if we run down the middle they will be too focused on each other to care about us. I know it’s bit risky but we don’t have time to go around” I then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Alright Go!”
Rainbow Dash took flight and we all got ready to go.
“Wait! I’ll make a bubble shield around us to protect us...” Suggested Twilight.
“You sure you’re up for that?” I asked with concern.
“Yes! It will protect us from the enemy fire. I can sustain the shield so long as we don’t take too many hits”
“Alright. Do it. Now lets go! Move move move!”
We all ran out the tree line, Twilight surrounding us with a shield and the Buckies providing cover fire. Rainbow Dash was flying and providing cover fire aswell. I fell behind the others as I stopped to kill a few of the enemy dragon warriors.
Swish!
I dodged the energy blade and blasted him with my assault rifle. Another energy sword came from behind so I ducked down and kicked behind me. The dragon warrior was knocked back and I turned to shoot him. After dealing with those two I turned back towards the cave and continued to run across the field. Twilight and the others had already made it and were now providing cover fire for me. I ran up towards them, a sudden robot leg nearly crushing me as the two robots roughed it out near me. I dodged and ran around it, laser fire coming from both sides as the two sides killed each other. I continued to run as I dodged all kinds of weapons fire and explosives. I made it finally and the enemy didn’t seem to take much notice.
“Alright, lets go quickly!” I suggested to the others.

We walked through the cave system to find a door. A metal double door. Dracos really did have a base here. I opened the door and we found some kind of cargo bay on the other side. We were up on a cat walk looking down over the main floor. There was a large door to the left on the ground floor. Near it we saw a tonne of Discord’s forces using a few creates for cover. To the right were two smaller doors along with a large number of creates and many of Dracos’ ‘Rebels’ shall we say. Three super soldiers and many dragon warriors all fired at the rebels. The super soldiers all had mini-guns and were walking across the floor slowly, taking absolutely no shit from the rebels. The laser fire did nothing to the super soldiers thick armour.
“We need to keep those rebels alive. They are the only thing that stand between Discord’s forces and the elements” I said as I turned to the others.
We all looked back down to see the rebels getting owned. I took out some C4 and planted it on the wires that held up this catwalk. I planned on bringing it down the the super soldiers, crushing them and making them useless.
“Alright! Down the stairs!” I whispered loudly.
We took cover behind some creates to make sure we were not seen. I waited as the super soldiers got closer to the rebels. The super soldiers walked closer and closer, not letting go of their triggers. They were right under the cat walk now so I blew the charges and the cat walk came crashing down on them. Two of them were crushed and one jumped back and fell over.
“Alright! Girls! Get to that door and try not to get seen by the rebels. Me, Blades, Liam and Russell will cover you. Once you’re in then we shall follow. Go!”
The ponies all snuck over behind the rebels and entered the door. None of the rebels noticed them as they were too focused on Discord’s forces.
“Alright, Lets move”
We did the same as the girls and snuck behind the rebels to the door. We were also unseen and managed to get through the door.

We walked through the base, avoiding the panicked guards that ran around all over the place. We eventually found Dracos in a large room that was full of boxes. There was a large space in the centre of the room where we saw Dracos. Unfortunately he was also surrounded by four dragon warriors and two super soldiers. Dracos had the element case on his back and he was was completely unarmed. Strangely, so were the super soldiers and dragon warriors that surrounded him. They all had their fists up as they prepared to fight. Dracos clearly didn’t stand a chance. Suspense was building between Dracos and the enemy soldiers. We all just stood waiting to see what would happen between them. What were the enemy afraid of?
The first super soldier made his move and threw a punch and Dracos. Dracos dodged to the right, kicked the soldier in the leg and jumped up to kick him back. All the others instantly moved in to help. The first two dragon warriors moved to attack but Dracos punch one away then elbowed the second before picking him up, throwing him into the air and kicking him towards the super soldier. A third dragon warrior moved to attack Dracos but Dracos knocked away his arm, punched him in the chest, pulled his head into his knee and kicked him away. The last dragon warrior and the second super soldier came up behind him. He blocked the super soldiers first punch and kicked him back. He then lent back to dodge the dragon warriors punch before grabbing him and throwing him into a box. The super soldier tried again to punch but Dracos grabbed his fist, twisted his arm, kicked him in the leg, spun round to elbow him and finally finishing him off by spinning back round to punch him to the ground.
“Woah!” I said in surprise. “That was impressive!”
So much for Dracos not standing a chance. The dragon warriors and the super soldiers all got back up, trying to recover from their ass whooping. Dracos just stood there and smiled smugly as he waited for them all to get back up. After a few seconds they were all back on their feet and ready to fight again. A dragon warrior moved in from the side to attack and two came from the front. Dracos swiped his leg through the legs of the dragon warriors that came from the front and ducked under the punch that came from the side. Before the dragon warrior could withdraw his fist, Dracos grabbed his wrist and launched him towards the two dragon warriors that tried to get back up, knocking all three down to the floor. A super soldier came up behind him once again. Dracos kicked back into his knee and turned round to back hand him. He then elbowed him in the face, punch him in the stomach then drop kicked him to the floor. Dracos was now on his back as the second super soldier approached him. Dracos threw his legs up and kicked the soldier in the face and jumped up on his feet. The first soldier moved to punch again but Dracos ducked below it, causing the soldier to punch the other in the face instead. Dracos then jumped up into the air and kicked both of them with his legs and knocked them both to the floor.
The four dragon warriors moved in together to try again at taking Dracos down. They all ran at him and attacked. Dracos kicked the first one back and then tripped the second. The third threw a punch but Dracos grabbed his wrist and launched the palm of his claw into the inside of the dragon warrior's elbow. The dragon warrior cried out in pain. Dracos then grabbed his head and pulled him over his shoulder. The forth dragon warrior came in to attack but dracos blocked his attack and kicked him away again. He then finished the third by kneeing him in the back of the head and punching him down.
Only three were left to face Dracos. They all moved in at once, surrounding Dracos. They all started to throw punches and kicks continuously. Dracos was countering like a professional. Blocking the first attack with his arm then countering the second with a kick. He then ducked under another punch and then blocked a punch from behind him without even looking. He then blocked another attack with his elbow before dodging another attack. He then ducked, followed by a kick and... I couldn’t keep up with him! I had never seen anyone move like that before! Dracos finally had enough. He kicked one in the leg and punched him in the chest. He then ducked under a punch throw from behind and kicked the attacker in the knee. He then kicked the third in the head and stunned him. He then picked up the dragon warrior he had punched in the chest and threw him into the other two, launching all three into a pile of small crates.
I couldn’t believe he won that fight. I couldn’t believe his moves. He was beyond amazing. The enemy soldiers were groaning in pain, even the super soldiers had had enough of Dracos.
“Alright, I’ve seen enough! Dracos!” I shouted.
Dracos move to grab a weapon.
“Don’t Move!” I said demandingly as I swiftly lifted my weapon at him. He stopped, his laser pistol on the floor just out of his reach. He was crouched and his arm was extended to grab the weapon.
“It’s over! Surrender the elements! Now!”
At that moment the super soldiers began to get up again. While I was distracted Dracos quickly made a run for it. I tried to shoot him but he got through the door before I could hit him. The super soldiers then got up and looked at us. “Girls! Kill them now!” I shouted in a slightly panicked tone.
We opened fire but the super soldier had some kind of energy shield appear in front of him. It was quite literally a shield just like from the old days except it was made of energy. The second soldier was ducked behind him. He then drew a handle of a sword. He then pushed a button on it and a massive energy blade came out of it, a lot like a light saber would. He got up and walked slowly towards us as the second super soldier disappeared behind some creates. We all started to reload as he moved close. Rainbow and Applejack lifted their weapons to shoot but he smacked them both with his shield, knocking them into some creates. Rarity and Twilight began to fire their weapons but he deflected the bullets with his shield. He then used is wrist rocket launcher to attack them. I kept forgetting that the super soldiers had those bloody things. Rarity and Twilight were blown away and were incapacitated. Me and Pinkie both opened fire on him but he knelt down and deflected our shots with his bloody shield.
“That shield is fucking over powering!” complained Liam.
Blades climbed up some creates to shoot the soldier from above but before he could shoot, the pile of creates were hit by a rocket. The second super soldier had apparently gone to get his rocket launcher back. Blades was knocked down and a load of creates came crashing down on him. The shield soldier approached the remains of my team. Liam moved to attack him with a fire extinguisher. He had actually brought this one as his main weapon. I thought it was stupid until this moment when Liam covered the soldiers visor in foam. Me and Russell moved to attack the soldier as he was wiping the foam off his visor. However, before we could a second rocket landed in the middle of our group and launched us all in different directions.
I was blown against a load of creates and landed down on the floor. I groaned and rubbed my neck. I looked up as the shield soldier approached me.
“You will die heretic...” he grunted before lifting his sword.

“Stop!!”
We all looked over towards the door where the voice came from.
The soldier lowered his sword, “Trixie...”
Both the soldiers bowed to her presence.
“You will stop this at once!” she demanded.
“Trixie! My lord! We thought you were dead!” they said in surprise.
“No! I am not. Discord betrayed me. He betrayed all of us. He never wanted to free you. He just used you for revenge! He used me! He must pay for that! Join us and let us get those elements!”
“As you wish Great and Powerful Trixie... Your word is law and it shall be done... Trixie’s Tempest Warriors live to serve you and you alone...” replied the soldiers with another bow.
“Thank you. You will prove yourself yet...”
“Bah ha ha ha! Trixie’s Tempest Warriors?!?” laughed Liam. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...” Liam laughed but then looked at them for a second with a confused face. “Wait. You’re serious? Please excuse me while I laugh harder!!” Liam then spent about a minute laughing and we all just glared at him.
“Alright... I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” said Liam, trying to catch his breath after laughing so hard.
“C’mon! Lets just go. Dracos has already had a head start”

We moved through the base to find Dracos. He left a trial for us to follow so it wasn’t hard to track him. To bad his trail was made of dragon warriors. After fighting through many more dragon warriors we made it to some kind of motor pool. He was on the other side of the massive hall as he climbed into a red jeep. The jeep was of identical design to Luna’s jeeps except it was red with orange flames. It already had a gunner and driver waiting for Dracos as he approached it. He looked over to us and shouted.
“You’re too late Courage! Once I destroy these elements, nothing will stop me from taking over the universe!”
“Stop! Don’t do this...”
“Save it Human!!...” He pushed a button on a remote, and the back wall began to open up to the outside world. “It’s already over...”
The door opened slowly to reveal a massive blockade of Luna’s jeeps and troops. All the pony soldiers were lining up and taking aim behind the jeeps. All their laser sights were pointed at Dracos.
“You’re right Dracos... It is...” I said smugly.
We began to walk towards him to arrest him and take back the elements. He was frowning at us. He had that ‘I’ll Kill You’ look. As we got close he grinned evilly.
“What are you so happy about?” I asked.
“That...” he said, pointing behind us.
I turned to find a load of Discord’s troops coming from the same way we came. The three super soldiers were with them. They all aimed at us and all the laser sights from our soldiers pointed back at them. It was a huge stand off between two massive teams of soldiers. The scary thing was that we were right in the middle of it all.
“Surrender the elements!! Now!!”
“You surrender flank hole!!” yelled the pony commander as he climbed onto a jeep.
“Stand down Tempest Warriors!” shouted Trixie.
“Fuck you Trixie! You betrayed lord Discord!” replied one of the enemy super soldiers. The super soldiers on our side didn’t take kindly to their words and stepped by Trixie aggressively, preparing to retaliate.
I looked back to Dracos and he immediately punched me and jumped onto his jeep. Everyone began to open fire on each other and Me and the team hit the deck to take cover from the bullets that flew over our head. Dracos rammed through the jeep blockade and got away.
“With me quickly!” I ordered.
Me and the others got up and ran for one of Luna’s jeeps. Most of our pony soldiers had been downed so it was up to us to catch Dracos.
Liam and Russell hopped into the jeep. I looked to Twilight and the others.
“Girls! C’mon!”
“Go! We’ll stay and look after the troops! You catch Dracos!”
“Are you sure Twi?”
“Go!!”
I nodded and jumped onto the back to man the gun.
“Punch it Liam!”
Liam started it up and drove out into the forest after Dracos. Hopefully it wasn’t too late to catch up on him.

Chapter Thirty Four - Madness in Manehatten

We were now in pursuit of Dracos. He wasn’t far ahead of us but the trees and other plant life made it difficult for us to get a good shot so I just held my fire for now. Liam was driving us in, out and around the trees as we tried to catch up on Dracos’ jeep.
“Courage! This is Twilight, what’s your situation?”
“We are right on Dracos’ tail now. We are trying to get in weapons range but these trees are making it tough to get a shot. Why? What you got for us?”
“Okay, the Tempest Warriors tell me that Dracos is planning to destroy the elements in the Manehatten steel refinery! You have to stop him before he does! Luna is prepping units to back you up but it’ll take a while. Do what you can to slow him down and try not to let Discord’s forces take you out first. It’s at least eighty miles from where you are now”
“Wait... A steel refinery in Manehatten? But I thought...”
“No Courage. We are not completely backward... In fact Manehatten is almost the same as any human city...”
“You mean it has cars and roads too?!?” I yelled in surprise.
“Yes. Buses and trains too. In the past few years, Pony tech has improved dramatically in Manehatten. The rest of Equestria just hasn’t had the time or need for it though”
“Well that explains how Rainbow knew what a bus was...” I mumbled to myself. “So he plans to throw the elements in molten steel. Will that really destroy them? Do the elements really have a melting point?”
“We don’t know! But 4000 degrees of molten metal never did any good for anything except for melting and destroying things. For all we know it could cause a huge nuclear explosion!” she yelled in fear. “...That's why you need to stop him. We cannot take any chances!”
“All right. You got it Twilight. We’ll let you know when it’s done. Courage out”

We had been following Dracos for about ten minutes but we couldn’t get any closer. The fact that our vehicles were statistically identical didn’t help. Same speed, same acceleration, same handling; none of us had the upper hand. These damn trees didn’t help either because I still couldn’t get a clear shot on him.
“We got company!” I yelled, looking up behind us as two fighters approached us. Black with purple trim? They belonged to Discord alright. Looks like they wanted to stop Dracos as much as we did. They began to open fire on us and Dracos. Me and Russell got our heads down as the fighters passed over head.
“Fuck that was close!”
I grabbed the gun and spun it round to face the front and I began to fire on the enemy fighters. Dracos’ gunner was doing the same. The trees stopped us from firing at each other but nothing stopped us from shooting up. The fighters came back around for another run, spraying more machine gun bullets. They missed Dracos but we took a fair few hits and we were forced to pull into the thicker tree line for cover. This also meant we had to slow down dramatically to avoid crashing. We went from sixty five miles per hour to thirty five. Dracos was going to get ahead for sure but at least we knew where he was going. In the mean time we needed to deal with the fighters before we could continue our pursuit of Dracos. They were on their way back around and I sprayed continuously at them.
“Get your heads down!!”
The fighters passed over again and I turned the gun on them. I continued to fire on the and I managed to take one out. The second turned back around again to make another run, this time firing missiles. I focused my fire on the missiles as I tried to take them out in flight. I managed to take out two but the rest were already too close. Luckily Liam managed to avoid the blasts. We were now crossing a large open field. Liam picked up the pace and we were going much faster now. The fighter was closing in from behind. I sprayed bullets continuously and so did he. It was now about who could hit who first. The chain gun continued to spin as I kept hold of the trigger, the fighter getting closer.
“C’mon. C’mon!”
The fighter was coming in real low and it was getting much closer. Closer. Closer.
Bam!
The cock-pit burst into flames and the fighter came crashing down. It’s husks crashing across the field and massive flames rising above it. It was like a napalm strike.
“Alright! Fighter’s down! Get back on Dracos!”
“You got it boss!”

We were finally out of the forest now and crossing the plains between the Ever Free Forest and Manehatten. We were still thirty miles from Manehatten but if we stay at this speed then we should get their in fifteen minutes.
“Princess Luna, this is Courage. What’s the status on that Back up?”
I waited for a response but didn’t get one.
“Luna? This is Courage. Repeat. This is Courage. What’s the status on my re-enforcements?”
I waited but my ear piece remained silent.
“Twilight? Tasha? Big Mac? Some one. Anyone. Respond...”
There must have been something wrong with my ear piece or maybe we were out of range or something. This was not good.
“Damn it! We’re on our own guys”
“We’ll never be able to catch Dracos now! We are too far out and I’m not a good enough driver to catch up!” complained Liam.
“We have to try! Now punch it!”
Liam slammed down the pedal and we continued on to Manehatten. I just had to hope that we were not too late.

We were now approaching Manehatten. It was huge! Unfortunately Dracos had already made it inside.
“We’re too late...” I said in despair.
“Not yet! He still needs to make it to the steel refinery!” stated Liam with confidence.
“Oh yeah? And you know where that is do you?!?” I shouted angrily.
“Yes. Three miles down meter street, a right onto fetal road then take the second road to the left onto the Gama highway... then we follow that for twenty miles then turn off at the junction and we will have arrived at the steel refinery”
“How the fuck do you know that?!?” I asked in confusion.
“Says it right here on the computer navigation...”
“Oh... Well do it then! Get us to the steel refinery!”
“You got it! We’ll be there in-”
We then started to take machine gun fire from multiple buggys that were behind us.
“Damn it! Discord’s goons are back!”
I returned fire with the mounted gun.

We were now entering Manehatten. Three buggys were still on our tail. Ponies on the side walks just watched us as we drove down the road firing at each other. I got my head down as a huge barrage of bullets impacted my guns shield. I grabbed the gun again and focused my fire on the front buggy. I pulled the trigger and sprayed a load of bullets into his windscreen. I took him out and his buggy went out of control. The others tried to avoid the crashing buggy but they ended up crashing into a few parked cars.
“The cars here look weird Lol!” laughed Liam.

We were now on the highway. We could see Dracos’ jeep not far ahead of us.
“Liam! Catch up on that Mofo!”
“On it!”
“Watch out! We’ve got company!” shouted Russell as he pointed to two enemy transports. These transports had purple trim so they belonged to Discord also. I grabbed the gun and opened fire. Heavy laser fire came from the transports sides. I fired on the gunners and took them out. One of them even fell out and landed on a civilian car. There were many civilians driving on this highway so I had to be careful. The transport flew ahead and focused on Dracos. Three buggys came from the next junction up and started to fire on us. I returned fire as did Russell. We tried to take out the buggys but they used the civilian cars and trucks for cover. One came out from the side and rammed us, causing us to nearly crash. Liam rammed back and launched him into a lorry. The buggy crashed and was taken out of the fight. Only two left and they were on our tail. I fired at them and they swerved side to side to avoid my bullets, returning fire as they did.
“Shit! Can’t you go any faster Liam?!?”
“I’m going one hundred miles per hour! It wont go much faster!”
The enemy buggers got closer and opened fire on us. We were sprayed with bullets. I took a few hits to the left arm.
“Ah Fuck!”
We were passing another junction. Suddenly the buggys took some heavy fire and lost control. Two of Luna’s jeeps came driving up the ramp and onto the highway.
“Girls!!”
“Hay there Courage! You didn’t think we’d leave you to do all this alone did you?” Rarity said happily.
“That right! We’re a team and we shall work as one!” stated Twilight confidently.
The first jeep was being driven by Rarity. Applejack was gunner and Pinkie was the passenger. Twilight was on the gun of the second jeep with a pony soldier driving and Blades in the passenger seat. Rainbow then flew up beside me. Looking forward confidently with a big smile. Rarity wasn’t wearing her helmet.
“Rarity? Wheres your helmet?” I asked.
“I lost it in the battle back at Dracos’ base. Don’t worry though, I wasn’t hurt.
“Okay good. But that’s two helmets we’ve lost now...”
“C’mon! Lets focus on the elements!” ordered Twilight.
“Right!”

We had about fifteen miles to go before we reached the steel refinery. Two jeeps were coming in behind us. They were red with orange flames and the mounted dragon soldiers had read heads so I assumed they were here to help Dracos. Two of Discord’s transports were also inbound. Three jet pack soldiers jumped from them and flew towards us. The other two pony jeeps focused on suppressing the enemy jeep’s advance while I focused on firing at the jet pack dudes. The jet pack enemies used civilian vehicles for cover against my bullets so hitting them was not likely, at least not without taking out a few civilians. Bullets were flying everywhere with all these combatants involved.
“We need to split this up! We got jeep’s on our six, jet pack dudes and transports firing at us!”
“Got it!” replied Rarity as she drove off at a junction.
Both the enemy jeeps followed her but the jet pack enemies stayed on us and Dracos. At least now it was only a two way fight between us and Discord. Two more jet pack dragon warriors jumped from the transports but they flew ahead of us for Dracos. The transport then flew slightly ahead. I couldn’t see what it was doing because I was focusing on the jet pack soldiers behind us. I heard a sniper shot from behind. I turned to find Russell had been shot.
“Shit! Sniper!” I shouted as I ducked for cover.
There was a sniper shooting from the side of the transport. The sniper was now focusing on Twilight’s jeep. I turned back to man the gun but as I turned I was kicked back by one of the jet pack soldiers.
“You want to fight on top of a speeding jeep?”
I then kicked him off. He used his jet pack to land back on it.
“Oh right, Yeah... forgot about that” I mumbled to myself.
He tried to punch me but I grabbed his fist before he could. He then kicked me back and pulled out his energy sword. He swung at me but I dodged it and grabbed his other arm. I then threw him off the front of the jeep. He used his jet pack again to recover and landed back on the jeep, swinging his sword as he did. I dodged it again and punch him in the body. He swung over my head as I ducked to avoid his attack. I then kicked him back and he boosted forward to knock me off me feet. I looked up as he walked towards me to stab me in the head. Russell then woke up, grabbed his foot and pulled him down. He then got up and jumped on him, drew his knife and stabbed him in the eye. The second jet pack soldier moved to save his comrade. Rainbow was fighting the third in the air so she was not available to help us. As he approached the jeep I drew my weapon and fired. He dodged and jumped down to attack. He swung his leg at me and I ducked. Russell then jumped over me and swung his leg forward into the enemy. The enemy was knocked off the jeep but again, his bloody jet pack saved him. He flew back and kicked me away. I was kicked all the way to the front and I nearly lost my balance. Russell then threw a punch but the dragon warrior dodged. The soldier then kicked Russell off the back but before Russell fell he grabbed the turret and used it to swing round back towards the dragon soldier. Russell swung round and kicked him towards me. I then grabbed him, tripped him, slammed him to the floor and Russell drew a pistol and shot him in the head.
“Nice team work Russell”
“Meh...”

Twilight was firing on the transport to try and suppress the sniper. The transport then rotated sideways and a firing squad aimed their weapons at us. Rockets, lasers and grenades bombed the road as our jeeps swerved around to dodge it all. I grabbed the gun and returned fire on the transport and so did Twilight. Liam drove round a truck as a rocket hit the road beside us. Twilight’s jeep had gone onto the oncoming side to spread out the enemy fire. We did manage to take down a few of the enemies but we were moving too fast to get good aim, especially when the enemy transport was swerving side to side to dodge our fire.
“We need to take it out now!!” I shouted.
“I’m trying!!” replied Twilight angrily.
We were getting closer to Dracos who was having some trouble with the other jet pack troops. We were in weapons range but we couldn’t fire on him with this fucking transport bombing us with lasers and explosives.
“Need some help?!?” shouted Rarity cheerfully through my ear piece.
Rarity’s jeep then flew over the highway railing and Pinkie Pie fired a rocket into the transport. Rarity then landed her jeep down right in front of us and joined us in our pursuit of Dracos. The transport exploded above us and crashed behind us. Now it was just us and Dracos left.

We rolled up on Dracos firing away at his jeep. Another one of his jeeps had come to back him up so we fired forward on both of them. Driving fast down the road spraying bullets everywhere and dodging civilian cars. We were not getting any closer. Rainbow then swooped down and landed down on Dracos’ jeep. She started to fight with Dracos in hoof to Claw combat. She swung a hoof but Dracos ducked and punched her in the stomach. He then punched her in the back and pinned her down. He then moved to stab her but she blocked it and knocked him away. He swung again but she flew up into the air. She came down behind him and kicked him. He stumbled forward but then swung his fist round to attack. She flew out the way again and kicked him from the side. He was definitely getting frustrated.
I was then sprayed by a load of bullets. I got my head down then looked back up to the other jeep. I began to fire at the gunner but then noticed that the passenger was getting out a rocket launcher. He fired it and Liam swerved to avoid it. It flew past us and hit Twilight’s jeep. Twilight’s driver slowed down and tried to regain control. I looked back at the enemy jeep and began to fire. I noticed the road signs telling us that we were only a few miles from the steel refinery. I continued to fire on the enemy jeep. I took out the gunner and the passenger in about a minute.
Rarity was moving up on Dracos and Rainbow was having trouble fighting Dracos and his gunner. She was being held by the gunner while Dracos got up and moved to punch her. I fired at the gunner and wounded his back. Rainbow then broke free and flew up. Dracos then drew his pistol and fired at Rainbow. Rainbow managed to avoid a few shots but then she was hit in the face. Her visor smashed and she fell from the sky like a brick. She was about to hit the ground but I caught her as Liam drove past her. I laid her down but then I was nearly knocked over as an enemy jeep rammed us. Looks like killing his gunner and passenger wasn’t enough. He rammed us again and we nearly crashed into a truck. Liam managed to dodge it and rammed him back. The enemy jeep hit the crash barrier and then spun out of control before flipping over and crashing into a car.

I took out Dracos’ gunner and Liam drove up beside his jeep. Dracos fired a few shots at us but Russell jumped onto his jeep and knocked the pistol from his claws. This angered Dracos and so Dracos grabbed Russell by the throat and slammed him down against the jeep. I jumped across and kicked Dracos in the side. Well I didn’t because he grabbed my foot as I kicked. He twisted my leg round violently and then pushed me to the edge. I flailed my arms around as I tried to stop myself from falling off. I managed to regain my balance. I then heard a click behind me so I ducked. As I ducked a grenade flew over my head. It was Semtex? He must of nicked it from Russell. I turned around and was met with Dracos’ fist. He hit me in the head and then he tried to swipe my legs. I jumped up to avoid the swipe and went to punch him. He grabbed my wrist, kicked me in the side and threw me to the front of the jeep. I looked up, in the distant sky were more incoming Discord fighters. They were approaching fast. I got up while Dracos fought with Russell. Dracos threw a punch and Russell countered, returning the favour with a punch of his own. I joined in by smacking Dracos in the back of the head. He reacted and punched me back. He then blocked Russell’s attack. I tried to attack again but he grabbed me and kicked me in the leg. He threw a punch and I tried to block with my arm, but he quickly changed hand and punched me with the left instead. Russell came behind him but Dracos turned and tripped him and stamped on him. I started to get up but he kicked me back down.
He moved to kick me off but suddenly rockets began to hit the road. The vehicle began to swerve around the road. Rarity and Liam were forced to pull back. Rarity, Liam and Twilight’s jeeps were now too far behind to help while Dracos’ driver was suicidally driving though the missile barrages coming from the fighters. I got up and kicked Dracos. He tried to throw a punch but another rocket blast knocked him over. I then tried to punch but he jumped up and out the way. I looked up at the signs to see us approaching the junction for the steel refinery. Caught off guard, Dracos managed to punch me before I could react. I stumbled back and accidentally stepped on the drivers head. The driver was put of his driving and we were hit by a rocket. The vehicle began to lurch and swerve all over the road down the junction. We all lost our footing and grabbed the jeep to try and hold on. The driver tried to regain control as we approached the road at the end of the junction. A fuel truck drove out in front of us! We hit it and it exploded! We and the jeep were blown over the road and the wall to the steel mill and we crashed down in the parking lot.

I woke up under a burning jeep and surrounded by low flames. I could see Dracos stumbling away slowly towards the steel refinery with the element case in his claws. I got up gingerly and tried to stumble over to Dracos. I was in bad shape. My HUD on my helmet was twitchy and static-y. I was hurt bad and I couldn’t move fast enough to catch Dracos. He was going to destroy the elements! Liam then drove through the flames and hit Dracos with his jeep. Liam jumped out and approached Dracos. Dracos tried to get back up but Liam kicked him in the head. Liam kicked him again then tried a third time. The third time, Dracos grabbed Liam’s leg and pulled him to the floor. I quickly limped over as Dracos pulled off Liam’s helmet. Dracos began to beat him senseless. I moved up and pushed Dracos off. I swung at him with my fist sluggishly and he ducked. He then moved to punch me and I grabbed his fist. He swung his other fist and I grabbed that too.
“Give up human...” he said slowly. “...You, urgh... cannot beat me...”
“Oh yeah.... Just watch me...”
I then pushed him away and swung at him. He grabbed my arm and kicked me. I was knocked back and Dracos made a run for the interior of the building.

I was inside the building now looking for Dracos. I couldn’t find him. I was just hoping I still had time. I then found him on a cat walk that lead in above a massive pool of molten steel. He was standing at the end and staring into the molten steel below.
“Good bye elements... Once you’re out of the picture, nothing will stop me from over-throwing Discord and taking over the universe!”
“Stop Dracos!” I shouted demandingly, aiming my pistol at him. “You drop that case and you wont live to take over the universe!”
“Sure... You know I could most likely survive your shots and rip you to pieces...”
“Maybe... but do you really wanna take the risk?”
“If you capture me then I’ve lost anyway. I’d rather take my chances with you than just let you arrest me...”
“Don’t do it Dracos!!”
I suddenly heard energy weapons loading and priming behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find eight red head dragon soldiers all aiming their weapons at me. Dracos then chuckled under his breathe.
“Now who will stop me human. You shoot me and you’ll die. And I think it’ll take more than one shot to kill me. Put down your weapon and surrender”
I lifted my weapon to my face to focus aim on Dracos. Dracos lifted the case high above his head and turned to face the molten steel pool.
“Don’t do it Dracos! Don’t Do It!!”
He threw it over the edge and it fell towards the molten pool of burning hot liquid.
“Nooo!!” I shouted.
“Now you see human? I cannot be stopped. I was destined to rule the universe. You cannot brake destiny...”
“I’ll think you’ll find that I am the decider of your destiny!!” shouted a proud and royal voice.
Behind Dracos floated the element case and the valiant white princess Celestia. She was levitating the element case in front of her and she had the most satanic frown of her face as she stared at Dracos. The dragon warriors all lifted their weapons to fire at her but all their weapons just levitated away from them. Princess Celestia then dropped all but one of their weapons into the molten steel. She then bit down on the last remaining laser rifle and snapped it with her teeth.
“HOW DARE YOU TRY TO DESTROY THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!!” She shouted as she levitated Dracos towards her. Dracos was cowering behind his claws as Celestia’s face built up in more rage.
“Explain yourself!!”
“I’m sorry Celestia... I... I didn’t mean anything by it...”
Celestia then put down the case and threw Dracos across the room into a load of control panels. The dragon warriors all fled in fear. Celestia flew gracefully over to Dracos and picked him up again with her levitation.
“You are going to be locked away for a long time! And I’m going to make sure those 1000 years are the worst and most painful years of your life!” She was very angry with him, furious even.
“No! I’m sorry! You can’t do this!!”
Celestia’s horn began to glow and Dracos disappeared in a flash of light.
“He will not see the light for a long time...”
“Woah Celestia... I... I never seen you like that before... It’s kinda scary...” I said in hesitant shock.
“I am truly sorry you had to see that Courage. I’m not normally like that. I’m actually very reasonable. I just think he deserved all that...” she said in shame.
“It’s okay Celestia, I think you did the right thing...”
“Thank you Courage. Just please don’t mention that to the others. Keep it between us. I’d hate for the ponies to live in false fear. I’m not the tyrant people make me out to be...” she was quiet and she was quite sad, she even tilted her head away from me in sadness. “Being the great ruler of a whole world just leads everyone to fear you. No one treats me like their friend out of fear of offending me. Everypony always assumes I’ll banish them or send them to the moon or lock them in my dungeon...”
“It’s okay Celestia. This will stay between us... If it makes you feel any better, I don’t fear you...”
“Thanks Courage...”
“I don’t fear you... mwa ha ha ha ha...” laughed a quiet evil voice.
We turned to the elements and found Discord standing over the empty case. The gems floated between his claws as they glew bright. He grinned evilly at them.
“When I’m done with these elements, it’ll be all of you who fear me!!”
At this moment the others, besides Liam and Pinkie, had came into the building to check on us, only to find me and Celestia staring at Discord as he... did something with the elements. My best guess was he was absorbing their power. I pulled up my pistol and fired a few shots. The bullets just bounced off a shield that surrounded Discord. I lowered my pistol and I just looked at him with fear.
“It’s hopeless Courage. You and the ponies have failed... Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!”

Chapter Thirty Five - Last Chance

“It’s hopeless Courage. You and the ponies have failed... Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!! Once I finish absorbing this power, no one will be able to stop me!”
It was hopeless it seemed he had finally won.
“What are we going to do?!?” asked Twilight in fear.
“Um... Panic?” said Fluttershy timidly.
“That’s your answer for everything!” replied Rainbow.
We all suddenly went silent as we heard engine noises coming closer and closer.
Vroom Vroom! Crash!
A jeep came crashing through the roof and landed on Discord. Discord’s shield didn’t even try to stop the jeep. The elements were thrown away from Discord and Twilight quickly secured them. Liam jumped out the jeep with Pinkie and they both started firing at Discord.
“Yeah! Fuck you!” shouted Liam.
Discord’s shield deflected the bullets as he got up.
“Quick Girls! The elements!” shouted Twilight as she levitated the elements to the matching pony.
“No!!” shouted Discord in fear.
The ponies all got into formation to do their thing with the elements.
“No! I wont go back! I won’t!” yelled Discord before he disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.
“Urgh! Not again!” I complained. “He’s cheating! Every time we are about to get him he runs!”
“Fucking Pussy!!” shouted Liam into the air.
“He got away again? Really?” I complained again.
“But at least we have the elements now! All we have to do is keep chasing him down! He can’t run forever” stated Celestia.
Suddenly a load of pony soldiers came through the doors.
“Secure the area!” shouted one of them.
“It’s about fucking time!!” complained Liam. “Would’ve been nice if they had got here BEFORE Dracos beat the hell outta me!”
Luna then waked in and approached us.
“Wow Luna... Thanks for arriving with the back up on time” I said sarcastically.
“I’m sorry Courage. We had some problems and I...”
“It’s okay Luna. I was just joking” I interrupted with a smile. “Right now we need to go after Discord! No time to waste!”
“Of course! Let’s get back to the ship. Transport is just outside...”
“No sister... That’ll take too long... Allow me...” said Celestia.
He horn began to glow as she focused her mind.

The next thing we knew, we were on the ship’s bridge.
“Woah. That was weird...” I said to myself.
“Commander Macintosh! Are repairs finished?” asked Luna quickly.
“Eeeeyup!”
“Good! Crewman! Take us round and engage Discord’s fleet. It’s time to end this now”
“You got it Ma’am”
The ship began to move around the planet and Discord’s fleet came into sight.
“Bring shields to max and prepare all gun batteries” ordered Luna calmly.
Luna’s ship leveled up and pointed towards Discord’s fleet. The main gun blasted a massive blue laser into the first ship and it was ripped in half. The rest of Discord’s fleet began to fire on us and Luna’s machine gun batteries returned fire.
“Main gun is charged and ready to fire again Ma’am”
“Alright. Pick the next target and fire...” replied Luna.
“Have you upgraded your main weapon since last time?” I asked curiously.
“I had Big Mac make a few changes, Yes...”
I nodded my head in interest.
Luna’s main weapon fired again and a second ship was torn apart. Our gun batteries still bombing the other two ships.
“Ma’am! We’re picking up a hyperspace window!”
"It's a trap!" shouted Liam.
“What?!?” shouted Luna in surprise.
Another Twelve ships came out of hyperspace and Discord’s ship began to turn away and flee.
“What the fuck!” I complained loudly.
“Ma’am! The enemy ships are moving to engage!”
We began to take a whole load of laser fire. The ship began to shake around violently.
“Return fire at once!” ordered Luna.
“What are we going to do now?!? We can’t go up against that kind of fire power!!” Panicked Twilight.
We took many more hits and the ship shook violently again.
“We need to do something!!” I shouted.
“Discord’s ship is preparing to jump to hyperspace. What should we do?” warned a crewman.
“Can’t you take out his hyper drives?” Luna asked in response.
“We are out of range and there are to many ships between us and him...”
We then started to take more heavy fire from the enemy fleet. The ship was bombed with more laser fire and the ships systems began to take damage. Shields were dropping fast.
“Shields are failing Ma’am! What do we do?!?”
“Gun batteries 2 and 4 are down!”
“Main gun is over loading!”
Luna stood there silently for a while and considered her options as more notifications were shouted at her.
“Use the Huffian Cruiser to go after him...” said Big Mac boldly. “Take the girls and the elements, stop Discord and end this war...”
“What about you Commander?” asked Luna in worry.
“I’ll stay here and hold off Discord’s fleet for as long as possible. I’ll buy you all the time I can while you chase after Discord”
“But you’ll be killed!” Luna shouted in worry.
“If that’s what I gotta do to save Equestria... Then it must be done...”
“You can’t do this Big Mac!” cried Applejack, trotting up to him to hug him.
“Don’t worry about me Applejack. I have to do this. Now go! Go stop Discord!”
“No! Ah won’t leave ya! It’s not right!!”
“You know this is the only way Applejack. You need to stop Discord. You’re the element of honesty. The girls will need you. I need to stay here and protect Equestria”
Applejack was in tears but then swallowed hard and saluted him.
“O- Okay! Ah won’t let you down big brother!”
Big Mac nodded back at her proudly.
“Good luck Commander!” saluted Luna. “Girls! Courage! Come with me down to the Huffian Cruiser”
“Russell, Liam, Blades: You’re coming too. You too Spike...” said Twilight.

We were all boarding the Cruiser now. It was inside it’s own hanger at the bottom of the ship. It was the size of about twenty fighters and was attached to the roof using metal supports and a massive door below it for it to drop out from. We were on board now. Me and Liam were by the airlock as I watched the last few troops loading up the ship with ammo and weapon creates.
"Yo Dawg! I heard you like Crusiers so we put a crusier in a crusier so you can like it while you like it!"
"Really Liam?" I replied in disappointment.
“This is Big Mac! Are you ready to go Luna?”
“Yes Big Mac. We are ready” she replied.
I closed the airlock and moved to the bridge. Luna sat down in the pilot seat and prepared the ship for drop. Rainbow was in the co-pilot seat. I walked up behind Luna and looked at her screen. She was opening the doors below.
“This is Luna. We are dropping out now”
The doors were wide open and Luna detached the supports. The ship jolted and we fell from the hanger. Once we had dropped out the ship Luna engaged the engines and moved away from the battle.
“Rodger that Luna. Good luck...”
“You two Commander...” replied Luna.
Behind us all we could see was Luna’s ship getting bombed by Discord’s fleet. Big Mac wasn’t going to last very long. Applejack was sill upset about her brother staying behind to die, but some one had to stay or Discord’s fleet would just annihilate Equestria.
“Prepare to jump...” said Rainbow with absolutely no expression. I could hear the stress in her voice. Looking around I could see everyone in despair. Our ship then jumped into hyperspace.

We jumped out of hyperspace above earth. The whole planet as scorched. I could see the flames from orbit. Discord... he had glassed everything with his fleet. He had finally destroyed earth. It was... Gone... I looked at my home world as it burned, tears rolling down my face. I hit the communications button.
“Hello? This is Courage Tyler of the U.N military. Call Sign Cobra 1-1, anyone reading me? Repeat. This is Courage of the U.N, if you are still alive, please respond!”
All I got was static. Absolutely nothing was coming through.
“We are not reading any signs of communication down there... I’m sorry Courage...” said Luna in sadness.
A tear fell from my face. I couldn’t believe my home world, my entire species was gone. Rarity put a hoof on my shoulder.
“It’s okay Courage... Stay Strong...”
“Discord is gonna pay for this!” swore Rainbow.
“Discord’s ship is currently over Russia... Preparing to enter earth’s atmosphere...” informed Luna.
Rarity wiped away my tears with her hoof. “Stay strong Courage. Discord will not get away with this...”
“Rarity is right...” said Celestia. “I’ll be sure to make Discord pay for his crime against your kind and our own”
I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “Okay Luna. Take us in...”
Luna pressed a few buttons and the ship began to enter the earth’s atmosphere. This was it. This was our final chance to end this. Failure this time would mean the end of Equestria. I just hoped that Big Mac could hold the enemy fleet for as long as possible.

Luna landed us down in a snowy wasteland. Apparently Discord’s ship was landed a few miles from here. We stood a better chance on foot than we did in our tiny little cruiser. We were all in the supply room arming up with the weapons the soldiers brought on board. We had Tasha, the Russian woman who tried to arrest me and Rainbow back in the day, You know... the sexy one with the exposing outfit... Yeah we had her and four of her Russian soldiers with us, two teams of Pony marines, and of course Celestia, Luna, Twilight and all that lot: So we didn’t have much. Luckily it was a completely different story with our arsenal. We had everything from machine guns to rocket launchers to mini-nukes to C5 explosives. Some of the pony marines had large LMG battle saddles and one even had a rocket launching saddle that was rapid fire. I chose to have two MP5K’s that went in holsters in my legs, an USAS 12 shotgun on the back of my waist, an M249 LMG on my back and an M202A1 rocket launcher on my back next to the LMG. I also loaded up on A LOT of ammo, all armour piecing.
“Warning, user weight exceeds armour capacity. Please lighten your load or lose some weight” said the computer voice in my helmet.
“Ha Ha! Your suit said you’re fat!” laughed Liam.
I glared at him. My equipment felt heavy on my shoulders but I think I could managed. I’d end up losing half of it anyway. All it meant was that I would not be able to jump around as much or run very fast.
“It’s good to finally have some pony friendly weaponry” said Rarity gracefully as she lifted up her pony LMG.
“Ah hear ya Rarity. Ah couldn’t take using that Famas anymore...” replied Applejack.
“Alright! Look alive everyone!” I ordered as I walked to the centre of the room. “Discord has hidden himself away inside his ship. He has parked it in the air above an old office building. He has got his troops to secure the building and protect the gravity lift. Tanks and mounted turrets secure the perimeter and the interior is most likely filled with close range fighters. The gravity lift is located on the very top floor of the building and it goes through a massive hole in the roof, that’s our ticket in. We need to fight our way through the outer defences, storm through the building, make our way to the gravity lift, board the ship, find discord and use the elements on him. Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy must be protected at all costs. They are the only ones that can use the elements and must be alive when we find Discord. We must lay down our lives to keep them safe... Am I understood?”
Everyone agreed. They didn’t look too enthusiastic about it though.
“Hmm... Gravity lift?” said Liam. “This sounds like a crappy Halo rip off...”
“Shh... Liam...”
“Well by the sounds of it, we’re screwed” said one of the pony marines depressingly.
The other pony soldiers began to agree. Moral was very low amongst us. I even had doubts.
“Listen...” said Twilight as she walked beside me. “...I know that it seems like we are against impossible odds, and I can guarantee that this will be near enough to that, but we have to do this. All our fillys and colts are depending on us. Everypony will look back at this day and they’ll remember how close we came to destruction and they’ll remember that it was us brave ponies and humans that prevented it. We have to do this: For us, for our friends, For Equestria!!”
The soldiers looked a little more enthusiastic now. Twilight’s little pep talk seemed to work.
“That was pretty good Twilight. A little short but I think you got the message across quite well...” I then turned to the others. “So C’mon! Lets go and kick some ass!”
We all finished gearing up and moved out. It was time to end this...

Chapter Thirty Six - Final Assault

“...and I was like in Equestria for like one day... and now you want me to die for them! For a bunch of Ponies! I mean what kind of ponies are you?!? I mean I’ve never seen a blue or a purple pony before! You don’t even look like real ponies! You’re some stupid.... Like... gerbil things... But now I have to die for six ponies and some stupid gems that you could probably buy in Boots! Oh wait it all got glassed by Discord! Because he is a total ass hole that wanted to troll Celestia! I know! Let build a glass house and play minecraft and live happily ever after!! And Discord! What a twat! He had like 500 ships but lost to like 80. He’s like the worst leader ever... Fucking Discord and his Halo rip off grav lift. I bet it’s not even a grav lift! I bet it’s just a giant industrial fan that blows us up! And Twilight! Your fucking speech was SOOO uplifting! ‘We’re up against impossible and odds and we’re all gonna die!’. Fucking nice Twilight! Yeah! I feel so uplifted now! Yeah! Great one!...”
Liam was ranting as we walked towards Discord’s ship. Liam was not happy at all with anything. I had never heard anyone rant like that before. Half of it didn’t even make sense to me. We all near enough ignored him. We had bigger things to worry about.

After an hour of walking we finally made it to the building. We were hidden in the tree line so we had time to prepare a plan of action. The office building seem relatively intact. A few holes and a few smashed windows but still in good enough condition to set up a base in. A few tanks patrolled the perimeter and a few mounted turrets were set up behind some purple metal barricades at the main entrance.
“Oh yeah! We’re supposed to attack a random building in the middle of nowhere!! What the fuck is it doing in the middle of nowhere anyway?!? It’s not like anyone can actually fucking find it!!”
“Alright! Give it a rest Liam!” I sighed loudly. “Let’s get this over with so we can all go home for a cappuccino”
“Yeah! You better fucking buy me a cappuccino...”
“Alright... Any ideas people?!?” I asked hopelessly.
Everyone shrugged at me. That was just great. Impossible odds and no plan.
“Alright... well lets get a sniper up on that hill to the right. First team of ponies, get up there and set up that sniper of yours”
“You got it...” replied the pony marine.
“Alright what else?” asked Twilight.
“Erm... Shit... I have no idea... erm...”
I lied there thinking. There was no cover between us and the building, we had no air support and there was no way of sneaking in.
“Alright. Sniper team, you are now Able squad. The second Pony team is Delta and Tasha’s team is Husky. The rest of us are Cobra. So this is how we are going to do this: Delta squad will move about 100 yards down the tree line and provide cover. Husky, you will do the same to the right. Able, you will still move to the hill and provide sniper cover. You will target the turret gunners as soon as Cobra team goes...
“Let me guess... We run down the middle at the enemies?” complained Liam.
“Um...yes...”
“Fucking great! This is the worst plan ever...”
“Have you got a problem Liam? Do you not want to stop Discord? Are you gonna let him get away with destroying all those Cappuccino machines?”
“Aw what?!? Hell No!”
“Alright...”
“Al-left...” muttered Russell blankly.
“Shut up...” I said before continuing with my original sentence. “Alright, Cobra team. Get ready move. Luna, Celestia, Twilight: Get ready to cover us with shields”
“Got it” replied all three of them.

We got ready to move. We were waiting on the teams to get in position. It was only a few tanks and turrets: How hard could it be? We had two goddesses on our side for Pete's sake. No way we were going to lose.
“We are in position. Sniper is ready and covering”
“Rodger that Able squad” I then turned to the others, “Alright, lets go people!”
We ran out into the open towards the building, I stopped and pulled out my rocket launcher. I fired a rocket into the first tank and destroyed it. Luna and Celestia deflected incoming fire while the sniper took out the turret soldiers. Twilight and the rest fired on the enemies firing from the windows and from behind the walls. Two tanks came around the building. Before they could even shoot, Celestia picked them both up with her levitation and smashed them together. Rainbow Dash then stepped forward and fired away at the enemy with her battle saddle. Luckily the pad in her helmet was still working despite everything else with her helmet being broken. She dominated the enemies on the bottom floor with her weapons as the rest of us moved in.
“Delta, Husky! We’re moving in. Once the enemy stop firing then move up. Able squad, you will follow up after them”
“Rodger that Courage” replied a pony marine.
Me, the Mane six and Liam moved into the main lobby and took cover behind some metal boxes as more enemies fired upon us. We returned fire, popping in and out of cover. Russell and Blades moved in and took cover with us.
“Two laser mini-guns! Second floor! Eleven o’clock!” shouted Blades.
Heavy laser fire bombed the boxes and we found it difficult to return fire under that much suppression.
“The Fun Has Been Doubled!!” shouted Luna as she walked in through the main entrance. She was levitating two Tar-21’s and she was surrounded by a force field of her own. She began to open fire on the upper balconies, eliminating the mini-gunners with ease and taking down a lot of the enemy soldiers. She reloaded and took out the last of the enemies, spraying bullets all over the lobby as the last of the enemies fled. Luna then blew the smoke from her barrels and turned to me.
“So how many points do I receive?” she asked with a wink.
I smiled and got up, “You just broke the high score...”
Everyone else got up and began to move across the room to secure it. The other teams came through the door and approached me.
“Alright, Husky team, you move through the building and secure it floor by floor. Able and Delta teams, I want you to move to the south stair well and move to the top floor. Me and the others will move up the north and we will both take the top floor from two directions! Now move it out! Time’s a wasting”
The teams moved off to follow their orders and I approached my team.
“Alright. We have done well so far. Let’s keep it up”

We were now on the top floor. We were sneaking around to find the Grav lift. We approached a double door way and stacked up on the right side. I took a peak round the corner to have a look of what was waiting for us in the room. The Grav lift! It was being protected by more dragon warriors. Some had laser rifles and some had an energy sword. In the door way at the opposite end of the room I saw a pony soldier peaking through the door way in the same way as me.
“Delta team here. We’re ready to move in when you are Sir”
“Rodger that. On my mark we all move in and gun them down... Ready?”
I paused for a second while everyone primed their weapons.
“Mark!”
On my mark, everyone moved into the room and sprayed the enemy with bullets. Most of them were killed instantly but some managed to get down and take cover. We all took cover and fired on the enemy. With us coming from both sides, they didn’t last very long. Some of them tried to take the Grav lift back up to the ship. Some of them were successful with the cover their allies provided.
Only two were left and both got up and backed up for the Grav lift. They backed towards the grav lift, firing back at us as they attempted to cover themselves. I lifted my assault rifle and fired at them, taking them both down before they could reach the lift.
Suddenly the room went quiet and we began to stand up slowly, including the ponies on the other side of the room.
“Clear!” yelled a pony soldier.
“Clear!” yelled another.
We moved up to the blue, swirly grav lift and looked up through the hole in the roof towards the ship. I then started to move into it but Luna pulled me back again.
“Wait...” she said. “They’ll be expecting us. They will be ready for us”
“You’re right...” I agreed softly. “Liam! The C5...” I ordered. “You know what to do” I hinted at him.

“Yeah!! C5 time!” cheered Liam as he pulled out a few blocks of C5 explosives. Liam threw them into the grav lift and they were slowly lifted up towards the ship. We waited patiently.

“Be ready dragon warriors! Here they come!”
…
“Huh? What the? You! Go check it out!”
*Grunt* “Yes boss”
…
“Erm... Boss... It’s flashing red and beeping and has a timer... What should we do?!?”

“It’s a bomb you idiot! Drop it! And you! Turn off the grav lift quickly befo-”

“Wow...” we all said in awe as the hole in the ship filled with blue and orange flames.
“Alright! That should have cleared them all out! Lets move!” I ordered as I walked into the grav beam. The other followed me in and we too were lifted slowly towards the ship. The feeling of weightlessness was weird and I could feel the energy of the lift passing through me. It was like a cool breeze was passing right through my skin. Weird. We were lifted slowly out of the building and towards the ship. We were so high above the building now. I didn’t normally have a fear of heights but knowing that some one could shut this thing off at any moment really scared me. I then floated up through a force field that filled the hole and the grav lift dropped me on it. I waited as the others joined me in the ship. Once everyone was on board a huge door closed below our feet and the force field shut off.
“That was weird too” I mumbled to myself.
The pony marines and Russian soldiers secured the room. All the guards were killed by the C5 explosives. I dared to say more were on their way.
“Alright, gather round!...” I ordered.
“Why do you always say ‘Alright’? It’s getting kinda lame...”
“Stow it Liam...”
“How about you shut the fuck up you stupid Plum head! Go suck on some apricots”
I looked at him with a deep frown but then continued to address everyone.
“Right... More soldiers are most likely on their way down so lets make this quick. Luna, Celestia and the girls will make their way to the bridge and deal with Discord, Able team will go to down to the engines and plant C5 explosives around the deck, Delta will do the same with the Hyper-drive and Husky will do the same with the hanger. Me, Liam, Russell and Blades will head to the shield generator to do the same. Once we are done we will return here, escape the ship and detonate the charges. Now lets get going before more of them show up!”

Me and my team were now on our way down to the shield generator. The other teams went for their objectives. Hopefully if everything went to plan we would actually win this time.
“Sorry Courage, why didn’t you go with the ponies this time?” asked Liam curiously.
“Because we need to keep the teams as even as possible so we don’t lose anyone else...” I explained.
“I would have thought you would want to be there when Discord got defeat- Oh crap!”
We started to take laser fire from the end of the corridor. We hugged the wall and returned fire. We managed to take one down but the others took cover by the corners.
“Shit! We’re exposed! We gotta double back and find another way round to the shield generator!”
“Aww What?!? But that’s effort!!” complained Liam.
“C’mon Liam. Lets go!”
We pulled back slowly, returning fire on the enemy.
“Where do you think you’re going?!?” shouted a voice behind us. It was a super soldier!
“Shit!” I yelled as I dodged his melee attack. He was holding a large assault rifle with some kind of knife at the end of it. He swung at me again and I dodged to the side.
“Everyone in!” shouted Blades as he opened a door into a large tool repair room. We all moved into the room to get out of the laser fire but the super soldier followed us in. Blades quickly smashed the control panel to close and seal the door. The super soldier began to spray bullets everywhere and we all jumped behind stuff for cover. Once he started to reload I switched my assault rifle for my shotgun and ran at him. Blades come at him from the side. The super soldier tried to swing at me as I approached but I ducked and shot his hand. He swung again and I dodged but he quickly elbowed me back afterwards. Blades jump kicked from the side but the super soldier grabbed his leg and swung him into some metal shelves. Liam and Russell got up to shoot but the super soldier threw a grenade at them. It had a very short fuse and detonated near them both before they could get away. They were blown into a wall and were stunned. I got up and fired a few shots into the super soldiers helmet. His helmet was torn apart but some how he survived. At least he was wounded and had no head protection. He then grabbed the end of my shotgun and crushed it. He then punched me with his other hand and knocked me back. He then took off his damaged helmet. Blades soon recovered and came back at him. Blades swiped the soldiers legs and tripped him. The super soldier then grabbed his hoof, stood up and slammed Blades to the ground. He then punched him twice, smashed him into a wall and then grabbed him by the throat, drawing his pistol. He began to shoot Blades in the stomach multiple times.
“Noo!” I yelled as I tackled the super soldier from the side, forcing him to drop Blades. The super soldier knocked me off and got up. He swung at me and I knocked his arm away. I then punch him in the stomach hard using my suits hydraulics, winding him. He held his stomach, bring his head down a bit. He tried to punch again but I kicked him in the side of the head, then brought my foot down on his head, forcing him on his knees and then spun round in the air to kick him into some shelves. He tried to recover but I drew my knife and stabbed him in the eye while I screamed in rage. He cried out in pain as he held his eye with his hands. I then twisted the blade and pulled out of his head. He grunted as he fell to the floor dead.

“Blades!” I yelled as I approached him. “Blades! Are you okay?!?”
The gap in the door began to spark as the dragon soldiers began to cut through.
“I’m gonna get you outta here Blades...”
“No...” he coughed heavily and looked to the door. “There’s no time, I’ll only slow you down. I’ll hold them off. Get to the generator now!”
“I’ve left too many friends to die! I’m not letting any more die!”
“There’s no time! Go!”
I then picked up Blades and wrapped his front leg around the back of my neck to support him.
“What are you doing?!?” he asked.
“I’m not leaving you!! I’ve lost too many friends! Russell! Liam! Lets go!!”
We quickly exited the room through the other door and made our way to the generator.

We made it to the generator room. Me and Blades limped into the room as Liam and Russell backed in behind us, firing on some enemies. Russell smashed the door panel and sealed the room.
“Alright! Get those charges set!”
Liam and Russell proceeded to plant charges while I set Blades down to tend his wounds.
“You okay Blades?” I asked.
“It’s bad... It’s really bad... I’m not going to make it”
“Stop it. You’re starting to sound like Violet... Just hold still okay?”
I pulled out my field kit.
“Your suit is fucked! I need to remove it to get to your wounds”
I took off Blades suit, the opened my field kit and started to stitch up Blades bullet wounds.
“How are we doing with those charges guys?” I asked in a pressured tone.
“Almost finished” replied Liam.
Blades began to cough and pass out. He was bleeding heavily and I couldn’t stitch his wounds very well.
“Stay with me Blades! Stay with me!!” I shouted, but in a concentrated tone.
He passed out and I wasn’t getting very far with the stitches.
“Fuck it! I’ll just use a few bandages”
The enemy began to cut through the door.
“Alright! Time to go!!” I ordered as I picked up Blades and put him over my shoulder.
“Okay! Charges are set! Lets go!” replied Russell.
We left through the back door and made out way towards the bridge.

“Courage. This is Twilight. We’re at the bridge. We encountered resistance up here but no sign of Discord”
“Alright Twi. Access the computers and see if you can find out where he is” I suggested.
“Alright. Will do. Twilight out”
Me and the others stopped in the corridor while I took a moment to think.
“Where could of Discord gone?” asked Liam in a slightly annoyed tone.
“I dunno but we-”
“Courage! This is Tasha! We have encountered some heavy resistance...”
I could hear heavy gun and laser fire in the background.
“...It’s Discord! He’s trying too escape on a transport!”
“Hold him off! We’ll be right there!” I replied as I waved my hand to tell the other to move. We began to run for the hanger.
“Will do commander. We will do our best!”
“Everyone! To the hanger now!” I ordered.

We made it to the hanger. As we walked through the door, a Russian soldier was thrown against the wall beside us. I ducked my head a little as the soldier hit the wall. I then looked forward and set Blades down by the door. We found Discord walking slowly towards us with Tasha in in his left claw, holding her up high. She struggled against his claw while he just grinned at her. He then drew a pistol and shot her in the stomach.
“No! Tig ol’ Bitties!!” shouted Liam in sadness.
Discord then threw her away as she slowly bled to death.
“Mwa ha ha ha ha ha... Pathetic... Why do you keep resisting. I will always be two steps ahead of you...”
“I have a plan... follow my lead...” whispered Liam.
“...and now I will finish you by-”
“Oi! You startin’ something with us Discord?” said Liam in a squeaky tone. I knew exactly what he was doing so... I joined in for a laugh.
“Yeah! You startin’ Discord?” said I in the same high pitched voice.
“You startin’ something with us?”
“Don’t be startin’ with us Discord!”
Russell then joined in, “Yeah! Don’t start Discord!”
“Yeah! Stop startin’!”
“Start stoppin’ Discord!”
“Yeah stop startin’”
“Stop startin’!”
“Yeah! Stop startin’ Discord!”
We then went silent and Discord looked at us with a frown. He then began to speak again.
“...and now I will fin-”
“Stop startin’ Discord!” yelled Liam again.
“Urgh! Stop interrupting me!” shouted Discord as he levitated and threw a load of boxes at us.
“You mad br- Oh shit!”
We were all knocked back by a heavy wave of boxes.
“Shit! I think we pissed him off with that stupid Japanese startin’ thing!” pointed out Liam.
“Yeah! But it was funny!” I laughed.
“Kill them!” Discord ordered his dragon soldiers.
A bunch of dragon soldiers stepped forward and aimed at us. We jumped to the sides for cover as they opened fire. Discord then boarded a transport and prepared to leave the ship.
“Fuck! We can’t let him get away!”
Many more transports full of troops began to take off with him. Luna then walked in spraying bullets everywhere. This gave me enough cover to pull out my rocket launcher and aim for Discord’s engines.
“Quick!” yelled Luna. “Take out his engines before he gets away!”
I aimed for his engines but took my time. My rocket launcher was not guided or heat seeking so I had to get it right. His ship began to fly out of the hanger.
“Courage!!” yelled Twilight in panic.
I then bit my tongue and focused my aim. His ship was now out the hanger. I pulled the trigger and my rocket launched towards his engines.
Direct hit!
His transport then began to fall from the sky towards the ground.
“Quick!” I yelled. “We gotta go after him!” I yelled pointing towards an empty transport.
The other teams had joined us and we were now needing to fight across the floor to the transport.
“Alright! Lets go!”
We all began to fight across the floor. Moving from cover to cover, fighting over a hundred enemy soldiers that surrounded us. I had Blades on my back as I struggled to move around. I was carrying way to much weight. The pony soldier began to go down, Luna and Celestia began to weaken from trying to hold back so much fire and the others being suppressed.
“Fluttershy! Take Blades!” I shouted as I rested him down and drew my LMG. “Everyone go! I’ll cover you all!”
I then began to fire away at the enemy forces. The enemy focused on me, which allowed the others to move quickly to the transport. I continued to fire, taking a few hits but the suit sustained me. I slowly backed towards the transport as the pony soldiers covered me.
“C’mon! Lets go!” shouted the pony soldier.
I used up the last of my bullets on the enemy. I ran out of ammo and dropped my LMG before running for the transport.
“Punch it Rainbow!” I shouted.
“You got it!” she replied as she began to launch the transport.

We flew out the hanger and Rainbow made her way down to Discord’s crashed transport. Discord is a persistent bugger. We landed down to see a few troops running into the tree line. I could only guess that was where Discord had run off too. Rainbow landed us down next to the crash site.
“Alright! The pony soldiers will stay here to protect Blades and the transport. The rest of us need to chase down Discord!”
“We exited the crafted and followed the enemy into the tree lines. The enemy littered the woods and fired on us. We returned fire but we didn’t stop moving. We tore through their lines as we chased after Discord. Celestia and Luna providing cover with their shields. I jumped over a log and into a dragon soldier that was ducked. I shot him and jumped off him into another, jamming my assault rifle into his body and pulling the trigger. We came into an opening and we could see a large group of soldiers coming towards us. We were sprayed with heavy laser fire and we were forced to take cover behind some logs and trees. Behind them I saw Discord making a run for it.
“Fuck! There he is! We can’t let him get away!”
“I got this!!” grinned Rainbow before dashing into the air.
“What are you doing?” I asked loudly.
Rainbow then flew towards the enemy and began to circle them rapidly. They tried to shoot her but she was moving to fast for them to hit. Suddenly the air around them began to act up and it began to form a... tornado?
“Holy crap! She’s doing that thing she did to the para-sprites! Awesome!” I cheered joyfully.
A tornado spoiled up and the enemies were thrown everywhere. Rainbow then began to slow down and the mini tornado dissipated. She landed with a proud grin on her face. We all got up and approached her.
“Nice one Rainbow...” I said in awe.
“Yeah, good going...”
“What skill”
“Awesome”
Everyone was praising her for her skill.
“Eh... it was nothing” she grinned smugly.
“Alright! Let get going! Discord is getting away!” I suggested.

We moved in Discord’s direction through the woods to try find him. He was out of soldiers now and running out of time. It was over for him. We eventually found ourselves entering an old oil refinery complex. We followed the main path towards a large opening. We found Discord sitting on a brown leather chair drinking tea.
“It’s over Discord!” shouted Twilight.
“Oh yes! It has appeared you have got me! Oh no!” he said sarcastically.
“That’s right! We have the elements and you’ve got no where to run! Girls! Get into formation!”
“Okay Ladies! I’m ready to be defeated now. Fire when ready...” said Discord sarcastically while magicking up a target on his chest.
“Why does he sound so fine with this?” I asked worryingly.
The mane six then began to float into the air and their elements began to glow. Discord seemed unmoved by this and merely waited with an bored expression.
“Erm... why is he not screaming in fear?!?” I said again in a worried tone.
“I’m sorry? Do you want me to scream?”
The girls began to glow harder and a rainbow shot out from them and it started going straight for Discord, just like in the show.
“Oh no! I’m doomed!” shouted Discord again sarcastically.
The rainbow then began to spin around him, slowly turning him to stone. He remained expressionless.
After a few seconds he was finally a full statue again.
Everyone began to cheer at Discord’s apparent defeat.
“Well done everypony!” congratulated Celestia as she approached us. We all gathered around in celebration. It was finally over. Well actually I was not totally convinced. Discord seemed way to calm about being turned to stone again.
“Mwa ha ha ha ha ha.... Mwa ha ha ha ha ha”
That taunting laugh... Discord? The ground began to tremble and shack. We all looked around in fear. The Discord statue began to crack up.
“Oh What now!!” I complained.
The statue then broke and emerged a huge demon! It was a huge demonic Discord! But how?
“What the fuck?!? How is that possible?!?” I complained.
“Uh oh... Final boss fight...” said Liam with concern. “This must be a Japanese game or some shit...”
Discord was huge! He was like eighty feet tall now and he had dark red eyes. His teeth were bigger and sharper, his claws were also increase in size and his scales were thicker and shiny-er.
“How is this possible?!?” asked Twilight.
“Mwa ha ha ha ha... Those pathetic elements are not powerful enough to stop me! I have absorbed beyond controllable amounts of negative energy!” His voice was so dark and demonic. “Now! I will end you all!” He swiped his claw across the ground and smacked us all across the ground. Rainbow flew up but he knocked her down into a large oil container.
“Rainbow!” shouted Applejack in worry.
Discord then smacked Celestia and Luna into a large pile of creates and then threw a truck at Applejack and Twilight. I lifted my assault rifle to attack but he just slammed his palm onto me, crushing me into the ground. He then flicked me into a wall with extreme force before kicking me and crushing me further into the wall. Rarity jumped in front of me to protect me but he crushed her into the ground and then threw explosive barrels at her. I then passed out as the others continued to fight him...

Chapter Thirty Seven - How it all ended...

“Warning... Warning... Suit malfunction...”
I woke up to find myself stuck inside the wall Discord kicked me into. It was dark so I must have been out for quite a while. My helmet’s visor was cracked, the HUD flashing red with a warning, ‘Helmet Malfunction’ in the centre of my visor as the numbers and letters radically distorted in and out of constant static. My head was throbbing and my limbs felt weak. I pushed myself out of the wall and landed on my hands and knees. I looked up at Rarity who lay not far from me... Lifeless... I lifted my wrist computer to check the vitals of the others. Everyone’s vitals were very weak except Rarity’s which... were flat lined. She was... No... I staggered and limped towards her, taking off my helmet and throwing it away... I knelt down by her corpse... I couldn’t believe Rarity was gone...
“Déjà Vu... It’s Violet all over again...” I mumbled to myself in tears.
It was all over now. Discord had beaten us. The elements failed, Equestria is doomed and all hope was lost in the universe.
“She was one of the last friends I had... She was there to comfort me when I needed it... She looked after me... she was good to me... Now she’s dead... just like everyone else...”
I looked around at the others. Russell was trying to push himself off the floor but soon his arms drooped and he dropped flat again. Applejack was groaning and one of her back legs twitched sluggishly. Luna climbed out from a hole in an oil silo that she must have been thrown into but she then dropped to the floor and passed out.
“Mmm.... I love the smell of Harmony’s defeat in the evening...” said Discord joyfully, taking a big sniff of air in a joyful way. He was still in his giant demonic state. He lowered his head down towards me and smiled.
“Aww... Look at baby Courage cry... Ah ha ha ha ha... Pathetic...”
I held Rarity close as Discord continued to speak. I was in tears now.
“Well you did well to get his far, I’ll give you that... but in the end I was just too great. The elements of harmony have failed you and now it’s over...”
His voice seemed to echo in my head, “It’s over... over... over...”
I then froze up and started to have flash backs:
“...You're a strong lad Courage, stronger than any of us could ever be...”
“...You’re not a quitter or a loser...”
“...I believe in you...”
“...You have been through the worst things possible and you still managed to pull through...”
“...You WILL do it! You can beat him! I KNOW you can beat him...”
My eyes shot around as I had the flash backs, tears rolling down my face.
“No Discord... this is far from over...” I threatened, standing up slowly. He looked at me, intrigued. “You took everything from me! My friends! My family! My one true love! Violet meant everything to me and you took her from me...” I took a moment to remember her. “...and then you wiped out my people, my species and my whole planet!”
The Elements of Harmony began to glow brightly.
“... That wasn’t enough for you though was it! You tried to go after the ponies! You threatened Equestria. You threatened to take over the galaxy! You took more innocent lives!...”
The elements began to glow brighter and they detached from the girls necklaces and Twilight’s crown thingy, floating in the air.
“...You then wiped out our fleet and our forces, taking more lives... and now you’ve taken Rarity from me... the last TRUE friend I had. She was the only one I could talk to. The only one that looked after me emotionally...”
The elements began to form a circle around me and spun round me slowly, glowing brighter than ever...
“But now she’s gone... She didn’t deserve this... No one deserved this!!”
I then began to float above the ground as the elements drew close to me. They started to combine with my armour.
“Now! I’ll make you pay! Make you pay for all the damage you’ve done, all the lives you’ve destroyed and the suffering you have caused!”
I then felt a huge burst of energy pass through me. The elements began to attach to my armour. Honesty and Loyalty to the upper arms, Generosity and Kindness to the upper legs, Laughter to my chest plate a finally Magic formed a gold band around my head. The energy flowed through me. It was intense and even painful, but I felt so powerful. My eyes began to hurt as they went bright white, my veins began to glow bright blue and my mind was almost over whelmed by the pain. A huge sudden burst of energy flew through as the elements caused a huge explosion of light, blinding Discord and the others momentarily. I was then dropped back to the floor, stunned, confused but at the same time feeling amazingly good.

The light slowly faded and revealed me on one knee and my fist to the floor. Discord looked at me with an interested look.
“Interesting. I wasn’t expecting that...” he said stroking his chin.
I looked at my hands as blue energy ran through my veins. The energy made me feel so amazing, so powerful. I then looked to my wrist computer.
“Power at 4600%” it said on screen.
My suit was being powered by the elements and it was now bursting with energy. All my systems would now be stupidly increased. I would now be able to jump super high, run really fast and take far more punishment. I could feel the life support systems mending me very quickly. My body was healing and the only pain I felt was from the burn of the element energy.

“Impressive Courage...” said Discord intriguingly. “But it’s not enough to defeat my power...”
“We’ll see...” I said threateningly as I slowly drew my rocket launcher. My rocket launcher still had two rockets loaded as well as my eight spare I had with me. I aimed for Discord and fired a rocket at Discord and it hit him directly. He wasn’t badly affected and responded by throwing his fist down at me. I did a back flip to dodge it and I fired a second rocket into his claw. He twitched as the rocket dealt him a serious amount of pain. He then got angry and swiped his hand across the ground at me. I jumped up as his claw passed under me. I was jumping almost eight feet into the air!
“Don’t try to fight the inevitable!” he yelled.
He threw his fist at me again but I jumped out the way and began to run across a wall. As I did I pulled out the old rocket casings from my rocket launcher to make way for a new set. A huge fire ball hit the ground in front of me and I jumped over it, shocked by the fact that he could shoot fire balls out of his mouth. I looked at him and he was using his hands to create the fire balls!
“Fucking over-powered much!” I complained.
“Give up Courage! You cannot win!”
I looked around to see what I could fight him with.
“The oil silos!” I mumbled loudly under my breath.
I quickly ran around Discord to the silos behind him. He slashed at me but I managed to jump over his claw to avoid it. He then tried to stomp on me with his foot but I managed to avoid that too. I then ran in front of the silo and stood there. He tried to slash me again. I jumped to the side and he slashed the oil silo open instead. Oil began to pour out everywhere right below Discord’s feet.
“Hold still!” he commanded.
He tried to crush me again but I then fired a rocket into the pool of oil. It ignited and began to burn Discord. He gave a loud roar of pain as he began to burn.

Two transports flew in from behind. “Chaos Elites” was written down the side.
“Oh come on!! Goons?!?” I shouted in complaint. The transports flew over head and dropped four armoured dragon warriors; all armed with blood red energy blades. They landed by me and prepared to fight.
“Don’t just stand there! Kill him!” shouted Discord. “Ou! Ow! Hot!”
They surrounded me and raised their swords. They all moved in at once to attack me. I jumped up above them and flipped behind them. When I landed they looked to me and charged. The first swung high but I dodged. He then tried to swipe my legs but I jumped up and kicked him away. The second came in and tried to stab. I lent back as it barely missed my head. I grabbed the handle of his blade, crashed his claw and pulled the sword from him. I then punched him in the face and his helmet just shattered from the force of the punch. He fell to the ground and the other three slowly approached. Discord’s fist then came flying towards me and I jumped back to dodge. The dragon warriors jumped over the wall that was Discord’s arm and moved to attack me. The first attacker swung at me but I ducked and punched him back. Discord’s fist came crashing down again and I jumped up on it. Another dragon warrior jumped to attack but I back flipped off Discord’s fist, kicking the dragon warrior as my legs swung back. I then turned on the energy blade I had taken off the first dragon warrior. The other dragon warriors tried to attack again but I deflected the first attack with the sword and ducked under the second attack. Discord’s tail then came sliding across the ground and we all jumped over it to avoid getting hit. A dragon warrior approached me and swung his sword. I blocked it with my sword and immediately countered by kicking his sword from his hand. It flew into the air while I kicked him in the stomach and punched him back. The sword the fell back down. Before it hit the ground I skillfully kicked the handle and it flew directly into the dragon warrior’s heart. The last two came at me quickly. The first swung to take out my hip but I blocked it. The second tried to go for my right shoulder so I hit the first soldier’s sword away and blocked the attack. The second tried to stab me so I knocked his sword to the floor and cut right through his stomach, slicing him in half. The first tried again to attack me but I just hit the sword from his hand, picked him up but his throat and stabbed him in the chest. I finished by throwing away his corpse to the side. Discord’s claw then crushed me into the ground with his palm.
“Mwa ha ha! Got you at last!”
I then burst through his claw with the energy blade and jumped out, back flipping onto a catwalk that ran between two oil silos.
“Urgh! My tiger claw! You will pay for that!” he cursed with a frown.
I then drew my SMGs and ran along the catwalk, spraying bullets at Discord. He got angry and threw his claw it me. It smashed through the catwalk and I jumped over the resulting gap. He then swiped above the catwalk but I slid under the attack. His tail then came crashing down on the cat walk and I was knocked down by the force. His tail was the hurtling towards me. I raised my arm to protect my face. After a few seconds I looked up to see why I was still alive. His tail had Applejack’s metallic lasso around it and Applejack was pulling his tail back. He turned to look at her with an angry face. He then swung his tail at her and hit her into the wall behind her. He looked at me again and raised his claw to crush me but then Rainbow flew between us and sprayed him with bullets with her assault rifle. He smacked her way violently. He was then hit on the head with a whole Silo! Twilight was using her levitation powers to throw it. That thing was much bigger than the Ursa Minor she levitated and I couldn’t help but be amazed by her power. I then got up and ran behind Discord. Luna and Celestia stepped forward and began to attack Discord with magic. While they distracted him I ran up his tail and back. I drew my rocket launcher and balanced it on my shoulder, while I used my hands to spray SMG bullets in his back. He yelled in pain as my bullets penetrated his back bone. He tried to reach round for me and straightened his back to try and get me to fall off. I just dropped my SMGs and stabbed my knife into his back to gain leverage of his back. My rocket launcher was tipping off my shoulder so I quickly grabbed it and secured it with my other hand. Applejack’s lasso then wrapped round his nose and she tried to pull him down so I could continue my run up is back. Pinkie, Liam and Rainbow moved to help her pull and he started to bend down slowly. I then quickly ran up the rest of his back and grabbed my rocket launcher in both hands. He eventually snapped the lasso and broke free but it was too late. I jumped off his shoulder and did a 360 spin as I blasted a rocket into his eye. His eye exploded and blood was blasted everywhere.

I landed back on the floor and stumbled heavily as I did. Discord yelled in pain as he held his gashing eye socket. At first I thought I had killed him but he just got more angry and began to rampage. He ripped a silo from the ground and threw it at Rainbow, Liam and Pinkie. Liam managed to hit the deck as it flew over him but Rainbow and Pinkie were thrown back with the silo.
“Fuck!” I yelled. “How do we beat this fucker!”
“You cannot defeat me! I am Discord! Lord of chaos! Lord of evil!”
He then grabbed a large radio tower and held it like a weapon. He then used it to smack Luna and Celestia into the ground and then swung at me and Twilight. He hit us both, launching us into a wall. Twilight fell to the floor and passed out again. Applejack tried to shoot him but her bullets were ineffective. Discord grabbed me and threw me to the ground. He then crushed me with his fist and then kicked me into a building with such force that I went through all six walls and crashed through to the other side of the building.

I tried to get up again but I was badly hurt. I rubbed my neck as it started to hurt again and I tried to pick up my rocket launcher. Discord climbed over the building, all pissed off may I add, and walked towards me. I quickly got up and lifted my hands above my head as he tried to crush me with his palm. His palm landed on my hands as I tried to fight him. He was forcing all is energy into my hands as he tried to crush me. I tried to fight against it with all my strength but his huge claw was very heavy. My wrist computer then began to flash red.
“Warning! Power levels dropping!” said the female computer voice. “4000%. 3800%. 3600%”
“Give up Courage! Not even the elements have enough power to fight me”
Discord’s claw was getting slowly heavier and I was finding it harder to fight him.
“Warning! Arm hydraulics failing! Armour stress levels at critical. Power levels down to 1000%”
I looked to my arms and I could see my amour was literally beginning to brake. Cracks covered my arms armour. It was going to shatter at any moment. Suddenly Discord’s claw became slightly lighter as it became surrounded by a faint purple glow. I looked to the right to find Rarity standing in the hole in the building, using her levitation on Discord’s claw.
“Come on Courage! You can do it!” she yelled as she struggled to hold back Discord’s claw.
“She’s alive...” I said to myself under my breath in surprise.
I then refocused on fighting Discord’s claw. I was slowly forcing it back and my armour stopped cracking. My power levels continued to drop.
“300%. 260%”
Suddenly a huge fire truck crashed through the wall behind Discord and crashed into him, knocking him away and forcing his claw off me.
“Yeah!! Over sized fire extinguisher!!! You mad Bro?!?” cheered Liam as he jumped out of the fire truck.
Discord then got back up and looked at us with pure satanic hate. Discord picked up his radio tower weapon and swung at us. I quickly pushed Rarity to the side and Discord slammed the radio down on me. Luckily it landed so I was in between the bars and same with Liam. Liam looked around in shock then looked to Discord.
“YOU MAD BRO?” he yelled loudly in laughter.
Discord then grunted and lifted his weapon to try again.

Me and Liam soon ran into the building to get away. Discord hit the building but it didn’t break through the roof thankfully. Fluttershy was in the building with us, tending Rarity’s wounds.
“The elements!” I yelled.
“Huh?” said Rarity and Liam.
“We couldn’t trap Discord because he was too powerful!! But what if we weaken him?”
The building shook again as Discord continued to pummel the building.
“He’s absorbed too much power! We’ll never be able to weaken him...”
“Russell’s got a mini nuke. The radiation from the blast will surely weaken him...”
“Or he’ll absorb the radiation and become stronger...” Liam pointed out.
“Maybe but it’s all we got for now... We’ve gotta get to Russell...”

Me and Liam stepped outside as Discord continued to beat at the building. He didn’t see us leave the building straight away. We looked around for Russell. He was where I found him when I first woke up, lying on the floor in the open. The mini nuke was on his back. We needed to get to it.
“C’mon Liam, let’s go”
“Aw more effort! I already saved your ass with a fire truck. Can’t I have the rest of the day off?”
“No Liam... you can’t...”
“Urgh! Fine noob!”
We ran over to Russell quickly but Discord soon noticed us.
“Shit Russell! Get up!”
“Ew... what happened?” groaned Russell.
“You got your ass kicked, that’s what happened... Now get up! We need your mini nuke...” I pointed out boldly.
“Oh I see... Don’t care about me. Just want my nuke...”
“Oh be quiet and get up! We need that nuke!”
Russell got up slowly, rubbing his head as he did, and took the nuke off his back and gave it to me. Discord then swung his claw at us. We scattered and tried to run. I stopped and looked at him as he moved after Liam.
“Dude, why didn’t he use a fire ball or something? Would have been easier...” I mumbled to myself in confusion.
I then knelt down and took a look at the nuke. The detonator was damaged in the fight so the only way to trigger the nuke was by arming it manually. I then began to program a timer so no one would have to sacrifice themselves. The nuke was very powerful but its blast radius was very small. About a minute would be plenty’s of time for someone to get away.

I heard something coming towards me as I programmed the nuke. I looked up and it was Discord’s foot. He kicked me across the ground and I dropped the nuke, accidentally triggering the timer of six minutes. Discord picked up the nuke and looked t it, squinting his eyes at the tiny object that was the mini nuke.
“This? This was your plan to stop me?” he said in confusion.
He then chucked it behind him and approached me.
“Shit! The nuke!” I shouted.
Discord then moved his claw to crush me. I jumped to the side and ran for the nuke. Discord turned around and chased me slowly. I stopped in the open and looked around.
“Shit! Where did it go?!?” I shouted.
Discord then tried to crush me again but I dodged it. I looked up at Discord and he grinned evilly at me as he lifted his foot above me. I reached round to the back of my waist for the sword and got ready to turn it on. As he dropped his foot I pointed the sword up from the ground and jumped out the way. Discord then stamped on the sword. The energy blade cut right through and it hurt him pretty bad.
“Ou! Ow! Urgh you’ll pay for that” he said with a frown.
“You know for a final boss you’re pretty shit!!” shouted Liam. His voice was magnified greatly.
A massive ball came crashing into Discord. Liam was operating the crane now. Liam was fucking owning Discord with all these machines. I looked around for the nuke while Discord attacked the crane.
I looked around for the nuke as Discord pulled down the crane.
“Ah Balls!” shouted Liam into the megaphone as the crane fell to the ground.
I eventually found the nuke half buried in the snow by a truck. I grabbed it and looked at the timer. We had three minutes and thirty seconds till it detonated. I was then crushed under Discord’s foot.
My legs and lower body were crushed and trapped under his foot. Russell and Applejack then came up behind him and fired at him. Discord just knocked them down with his tail. He then picked up the truck and threw it at Luna, who was trying to get back up.
“Well... I guess it’s definitely over now Courage...” said Discord, smiling evilly at me. He then continued to waffle on but I ignored him. I looked around for help but everyone was down except Fluttershy who was still tending Rarity’s wounds. I could see her through the hole that I left behind when Discord kicked me through the building. I looked at her directly and she looked back. I used my eyes to ask for help. She was too scared to help. She looked away in shame. I looked back to Discord and he was still going on about his victory. One minute thirty seconds left till the mini nuke went off. I didn’t really want to be next to it when it went off.

“How Dare You! HOW DARE YOU!” shouted Fluttershy as she stepped from the building. She was holding Rarity’s LMG and she was frowning at Discord. Fluttershy then floated up towards Discord using her wings.
“Oh look. Weak and helpless Fluttershy trying to be brave. How sweet...” said Discord jokily.
Fluttershy then landed on his nose. She looked very angry.
“Now you listen here Discord! You’ve been a bad boy! Hurting all these people just because you’re bigger and more powerful! It’s very naughty!”
“Oh really? And what will you do? Shoot me?” laughed Discord.
“Um... Yes!”
“Ha! Go on then!” dared Discord.
Fluttershy aimed at him but she didn’t shoot. Her angry face began to turn sad.
“You can’t do it can you! You’re too innocent and pathetic” laughed Discord again.
I then grabbed the nuke slowly and started to tap on my wrist computer. I diverted all power into my arm hydraulics and got ready to throw the nuke at Fluttershy.
“C’mon Fluttershy...” I mumbled to myself with hope. “...You can do it”
We had thirty seconds to get away from this nuke and duck behind something.
“You can’t do it can you?” said Discord evilly.
Fluttershy the groaned loudly and pulled up her weapon. She began to spray bullets into his last remaining eye. At that moment I threw the nuke up. She flew towards it and grabbed it. Discord held his good eye and yelled in pain!
“Right that’s it!” he shouted. “You’re finished!!”
“No!” shouted Fluttershy cunningly. “You’re finished!!”
She then bucked the nuke into his face and flew away quickly. Discord foot rose and I jumped up to run. With less than five seconds left it was highly unlikely I wound get away in time.
Boom!
The nuke detonated and a small radius was engulfed in flames. I hit the deck and held my head. I just hoped everyone else got away.

I looked around me and I was protected by a force field. Stood next to me was Luna. She was creating a shield to protect us from the blast.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I immediately responded with “Do not drop that shield yet!! We need to wait for the radiation fallout!”
“I know I know!” she said reassuringly.
I looked towards the blast zone to find Discord fallen over onto of a building. He had fallen back on it and crushed it below him. He was dazed and definitely weak from the blast.
“Alright! Girls! Now is the time to use the elements!” I yelled.
Luna dropped the shield and Twilight levitated the elements from my armour and back into the jewelry of the ponies. They all then got into formation and began to do their thing again. Discord got up and looked to them. He then looked in total fear, realizing that he was finished this time.
“Nooooooo!” he shouted!!
The rainbow shot up from the girls and flew towards him and he was engulfed by it. He began to scream in fear as he began to turn to stone again. He was then finished with a huge flash of light.

“It’s over...” I said to myself as I looked to the normal sized Discord statue. “It’s finally over”
“It is isn’t it...” said Rarity as she limped beside me. “...and we did it together, as friends”
“That we did Rarity...” agreed Twilight.
“That was some fucking epic rape-age right there...” said Liam, completely dumbfounded as he started at the statue.
“Yeah!! Finally kicked his butt! Yeah!!” cheered Rainbow.
“Just goes to show what a little team work can do...” stated Applejack with calm joy.
“Well I think we all learned a thing or two...” hinted Celestia.
“I’m not writing a letter...” I said with a grin. Celestia smiled back at me.
“You know what this calls for?!?” shouted Pinkie Cheerfully. “A Party!!”
We all started to agree with Pinkie pie cheerfully. We all needed a break after all this havoc.
“We should get back to Equestria...” suggested Luna.

We returned to Equestria in our cruiser. We arrived to find a large space ship graveyard above the planet. We saw pieces of Luna’s old ship scattered around with the enemy remains. Big Mac didn’t make it but it certainly looked like he dealt with the last of the ships.
“Big Mac?” said Applejack timidly and quietly.
“I’m sorry Applejack...” said Twilight sadly.
“Luna?! Is that you?!” said a voice through the comm system. It was Big Mac?!? Unbelievable! Applejack's face shot up and she jumped forward for the comm.
“Big Mac!!” she said shedding a tear of joy.
“Eeeeyup!” he replied.
“But how?!?” we all asked.
“It was easy! We set the ship to explode and we escaped on the transports to the planet’s surface”
“What?!?” we all said in surprise.
“Eeeeyup! That’s right! I stayed behind to make sure the ship got as close to the enemies as possible before it blew”
“Clever bugger...” I said cheerfully under my breath.
“Well I guess we’ll meet you down there then Commander”
“Sure will. See you soon...”
“Rodger that. Luna out...”
Spike then walked into the room holding his pillow.
“So what did I miss?” he asked in confusion. He had been asleep since we arrived back at earth. We all just looked and laughed.

We were back in Equestria now. Pinkie threw a massive party at the base to celebrate the victory. Everypony was dancing and joking around. It was taking place in the palace gardens, right around where Discord’s statue stood.
“So Courage? What will you do with yourself now?” asked Twilight, approaching me as I sat quietly at the table. The other five ponies were with her.
“I’m going back...”
“Back to Earth?” she said in shock.
“People might still be alive there... I need to go back... try to rebuild what we had...”
“Why? You can stay here with us...”
“That’s a generous offer but I don’t belong here. A human wouldn’t fit in on your world. Besides, my people need me back on earth...”
“If that is what you want Courage...” she said with slight disappointment.
“Indeed!” agreed Celestia, walking towards us with Luna. “And eventually when Luna can rebuild her forces, she will be able to provide aid and support for your kind”
“That would be appreciated Celestia. I’m glad to be allies with such a great and noble race...”
“You are most welcome Courage... so when will you be leaving?”
“As soon as possible if that is okay?”
“Luna will prep a ship as soon as possible...”

Later that day, me, Russell and Liam prepared to leave for earth again.
“Thank you again Courage for everything...” thanked Celestia.
“We wish you three the very best” smiled Twilight.
“Yeah! We’re going to miss you very much” said Rarity as she smiled at me softly.
We said our good byes to the ponies and boarded the ship.
“You’re welcome back any time Courage” said Luna softly. “In a few months when my fleet is rebuilt, I’ll be sure to stop by and lend a hand with rebuilding your civilization”
“Thank you Luna” I said with a wave as Liam prepped the ship for launch. I shut the doors.
“Okay Liam! Punch it!”
“What’s your fucking obsession with punching things?” asked Liam jokily.
I just smiled and shook my head we lifted off and returned home.

So ends my tale here. However I feel that my story was just beginning. Many challenges still awaited me. Much work was still ahead. I didn’t know what would be waiting for us back on Earth but I was confident in my abilities. I was confident that things would go our way from here on out. I guess I’ll find out when we get there. If there is one thing I have learnt from all this, is that things are better when we all work together. Putting aside our differences for the greater good can achieve great things for everyone and that true friends will always be strong together, no matter the challenges that face them...

*CUE STAR WARS MUSIC! LOL!*

Prolouge

The year is 2015. War between Russia and the United Nations has sprung rapidly. Nine months have passed since Russia spontaneously attacked multiple UN military installations. Of course the UN responded in kind and the war has gone on ever since. No one knows why Russia attacked but of course, no one even bothered to try find out why. Rumours say that the UN wanted this war for years so they could get the extra oil in Russia. Fortunately this new world war was not of the nuclear kind. Anti-Missile ballistic satellites (or AMBS’s) litter the planets orbit ready to fire large metal slugs which destroy any nuclear missiles that leave the earth’s atmosphere, an ingenious design by the eggheads in the UN. Russian scientists also made the own AMBS’s of similar design after realising the UN could launch nukes without any consequence to themselves. The Russian AMBS’s used EMP based lasers so they would naturalise the missile without destroying it. They were soon known as Electro-Magnetic Missile defences (or EMMD’s), basically the more advance version of an AMBS.

My name is ‘Courage’, a 21 year old guy from England. There is so much more to me than that and you will find out more as I tell you my story; a very complex and confusing story. Even I had trouble believing it at the time and I was the one actually experiencing it. Before I start I should probably tell you my back story. I lived a pretty normal life: Went to school, college, got a job and so on. Just like any other human being. I also loved to watch My little Pony: Friendship is magic. A children's T.V show about ponies and the magic of friendship. My parents named me Courage because they were both in the army and wanted me to be strong while they were posted abroad, or worse, when they died in battle. I spent most of my days living with my older sister. My sister was 18 and already moved out before I was born so my parents had her bring me up. My sister raised me like her own child, feeding and looking after me like a normal loving parent. Eight months ago I lost my family to a Russian navel attack so I’ve been supporting myself ever since. I handled the loss of my family better than most people which was not surprising since I was always a strong character but I will admit it did change me. It was what lead me to make the choices I made, and now I realise that it was all really for the better. I can’t imagine how things would have gone if they had survived those attacks...