///LOCATION - NLTT-512-3A/CRYSTAL EMPIRE/FOB XERXES///TIME - 01:59 LMT///DATE - 20-05-2232///

"Ladies and gentlecolts, we have arrived at our destination! The local time is 01:59, which means we've arrived a whole minute ahead of schedule! Thank you for choosing the 2nd Logistical Battalion for your transportation needs, and we hope to see you again soon!"

"Cut it out Emerald! This is a serious mission, and these are special forces we're talking to!"

"Oh, don't be like that Nimble! They can take a joke!"

The LRS dismounted from the truck, which had taken them all the way from Canterlot to the icy northern FOB Xerxes. They were special forces, but they were none the less somewhat shocked by the extremely low temperature. All of them suddenly had a lot more respect for the ponies stationed up there.

The LRS wore large and heavy clothes to keep them warm, whilst the ponies from FOB Xerxes were walking about in nothing more than their normal combat-fatigues. Nobody in the LRS understood how those ponies didn't freeze to death, or became living icicles, until one of them went up to an engineer near him, and just asked him. Apparantly, all he was told, was that they got used to it.

After admitting their defeat in the battle against cold-resistance, the LRS marched on towards what was believed to be the location of the creatures. As they did, they walked past a firing-range, where some guards were practicing with their rifles. The loud noise of gunfire was something that Sturdy Shield was very keen to avoid, and being so close to gunfire certainly startled him. After all, he had very sensitive ears, so guns and explosions appeared to be a lot louder for him.

Since he couldn't bear the sound of gunfire, Sturdy doesn't use guns himself. Instead of a rifle, he preferred to use a custom-made compound crossbow. With this crossbow, he could fire various types of arrows, including regular, incendiary, explosive, poisonous, and signal arrows. He was also quite experienced and talented with swords, always keeping a shortsword on his side instead of the standard MK1 or MK2 Combat Knife.

In front-line combat, he preffered to wield a shield and a heavy greatsword, using the former to knock down enemies, and using the latter to then slash the heads of enemies off of their chests. Normal Guards would not be allowed to use non-standard weapons, but the LRS was different. They were encouraged to find new weapons, and to use them in whatever way suits them most.

With their equipment in saddlebags, and their weapons shouldered, the LRS set out to find the alien creatures.

After roughly an hour, the LRS started to notice an increase in temperature. The further they walked, the warmer it got. By the time they started to near a clearing in the frozen forrest, the enviroment was so warm, that it almost seemed like it was summer. The snow had melted from the trees, and the heavy clothes seemed like a bad idea at that point. They stopped to pack the overly warm clothes into their saddlebags, when Sturdy Shield began to hear weird sounds.

"Yeah, just put it here. That should be okay. You can begin the configuration-sequence when you're done."

It seemed like... Voices? Probably the aliens. He had heard from some other Guards that the alien that was captured spoke in a weird language, one which didn't sound like Equestrian at all. Just some clicking, garbling and hissing. Not that it mattered. They were getting close, which meant two things. They would soon have eyes on the target, but the target would be able to see them aswell. They would have to keep really quiet and low to the ground if they wanted to remain undetected.

"Okay, I think the C-RAM is online. We should still do some test-firing though. I'll advise Command, ask them permission. You know, the usual stuff."

The voices were getting louder the closer they got. Not only that, the temperature also continued to rise. They were definitly getting closer. Across the ground they crawled, bellies on the ground, weapons pointed forward. They would be almost invisible under the cover of darkness of Luna's night.

"Attention all personell! This is Commander Briggs! The Defense-Team will be test-firing the C-RAM-12 in a few minutes! Do not be alarmed, but keep your head down if you want to keep it! I will give another warning a few seconds before firing! That is all!" the Camp's speakers yelled.

The LRS now overlooked the Camp from a hill. What they saw far exceeded all their expectations. A gigantic fortress, spreading several kilometers, with alien creatures walking around everywhere. At first sight, they could already see that these creatures were far ahead with technology. As they were looking, a giant metal object, somewhat similiar to the one the first alien arrived in, roared over them at an incredible speed, and with an ear-shattering noise. Sturdy Shield held his hoofs against his ears to block out the noise, to no avail.

"What in Tartarus was that?!" one of the LRS-Members yelled, pointing at the landing EU-80D. He immediatly received a hoof over his mouth by somepony else, in order for him to keep quiet. Sturdy, however, had sighted a greater issue.

A large group of Changelings, standing atop a hill, just at the edge of the forrest. They too were observing the aliens. This was to be expected, as they too were probably curious about the aliens. However, much to Sturdy's surprise, the Changelings transformed into... Royal Guards! "Bastards!" he said. "They are going to attack the aliens!"

He had to do something, or else the Changelings might kill the aliens. Drawing his crossbow, he quickly readied an incendiary arrow. Changelings are good at burning, after all. He raised his weapon, and took aim at the center of the group of Changelings. Without any more hestitation, he pressed the trigger.

The arrow quickly accelerated from the weapon, powered by the elastic force. The arrow was hardly away from the crossbow however, when Sturdy Shield noticed something turn around very rapidly in the corner of his eye. Without warning, the night sky suddenly erupted in a bright light, as an ear-deafening sound, similiar to a thousand guns being fired in close sequence, filled the air. A streak of light shot up at the arrow, showering it in explosions. Where there was once an arrow flying trough the sky, all that remained was a cloud of smoke.

Sirens went off all throughout the Camp. "INCOMING, INCOMING!" they yelled, continuing for some 30 seconds, until finally being shut down. Still, the alarms wouldn't seize, and more and more aliens began to run around. Eventually, the speakers activated once again: "Attention to all troops! We have just intercepted an unknown projectile headed for the Camp. We believe we are under attack. All Combat-Ready soldiers, please report at your Commanding Officer! All non-combatants, please return inside, and remain behind cover! Stay alert, Briggs out!"

Whilst the Camp was becoming more and more active, Sturdy Shield watched the disguised Changelings run down from the hill, guns drawn, and shooting on the move. Their fire was quickly answered with more rapid fire than any of the LRS-members had ever seen. An absolute hail of bullets, many of which with tracers, poured trough the Changeling-horde. Most of them were eliminated before they could even reach the outer walls, but some of them still managed to get inside.

The ones that survived the hail of bullets quickly ran around the buildings, shooting anyone they came across. Most people were able to shoot back before they could get hurt, but some non-combatants were unable to defend themselves. Doors were broken down, people were shot. Cooks, engineers, technicians, they were all easy targets for the Changelings in their Royal Guard-disguise. The Changelings even resorted to biting their victims, which sometimes wasn't even lethal, atleast not immediatly.

All Sturdy Shield and the rest of the LRS could do, was watch, as the aliens would not be able to distinguish them from the Changelings whilst they were still disguised. The question was, why were they disguised as Royal Guards, and not like those aliens? Suddenly it dawned on him.

"Son of a... THEY ARE TRYING TO START A WAR BETWEEN THE ALIENS AND US!"

Author's Note

Yay, combat! Finally! I have been waiting so long to finally get into some fighting, and this is only the beginning!

Featured Characters:
Sturdy Shield - Wild Balance