March 29th
C-Day plus Nine
Sweet Apple Acres, Equestria
00:47:30
‘Inferno’

Altair quietly adjusted his grip on his sword as he and Finn moved through the darkened rows of trees, the sky was dark with very few stars, the moon was also dim above. There was little that could be done about the lack of visibility, as the only source of lights was the farm house in the distance. Thankfully that was the destination of the two men, their faces covered by black bandannas. Altair still wore his father’s jacket, which shielded him from the cold spring night air better than just his fatigues. He and Finn were carrying molotov cocktails in their back packs, and only had their sidearms.

The Apples were being contracted by the government to supply a majority of the food for the armed forces, that meant that they had painted a big ol’ target on themselves. Rumors of the ‘Commandos’ that operated in this area didn’t seem to phase them, they’d denied extra security other than putting Big Mac outside with a shotgun. It wouldn’t do them much good, as Altair and Finn had been placing molotovs every couple of trees or so. Even if they were caught, one toss of a match and they could send the entire orchard up in a blaze. Patterson and Rook were watching from the distant hill through binoculars and a scope, and Reese had been sent to set up incendiaries in the other parts of the orchard.

Altair placed a molotov near the base of a tree as they neared the edge of the orchard, the first thing they would do would be to set the barn afire… That would hopefully draw the entire family out into the open, so that Reese could set the house alight. Altair wasn’t about to burn a house down with the family inside, worst come to worst he would have to clear the house before hand. Altair and Finn both stopped when they heard a dog begin barking from the house ahead, a bright flashlight flicked on and began scanning over the treeline. Altair and Finn dropped to their stomachs seconds before the light passed over them, it continued on, meaning that they hadn’t been spotted.

“Whinny! Get back here!” Altair heard a deep voice yell as the dog barking got closer, Altair slipped his sword into its scabbard and drew his revolver.

“Split up, you take the barn, I’ll take care of the dog.” Altair ordered, Finn nodded and began running towards the barn while Altair stood up and waited. The dog charged at him, snarling and barking like mad. Right when it was within ten feet of him, Altair barked right back at it. He’d picked up a thing or two from the Diamond dogs, making his bark sound convincing enough. The dog stopped and continued barking, so Altair barked right back. He was louder and meaner sounding, establishing himself as the dominant presence in that orchard. He glared at the dog through the darkness, and after a couple seconds the dog turned tail and ran away.

He was glad the dog had learned to stand down, Altair hated the thought of killing an innocent dog for protecting its master. The man began moving quickly through the trees, occasionally stepping on a twig or breaking a branch, drawing Big Mac further and further away from the farm house. Until finally, Altair reached the edge of the trees and came to a stop. He hid behind the trunk of one of the trees and waited until the flashlight flicked on again, as the flash light got closer Altair stepped out into the open and leveled his revolver at the source.

“Drop your weapon.” He ordered, his voice heavily accented to the stallion. Big Mac stared at him, the masked figure, cloaked in a black jacket. Altair drew the hammer back on his revolver and narrowed his eyes.

“You ain’t got the nerve, boy.” Big Mac replied, to which Altair responded by lowering his aim and shooting Big Mac in the kneecap. The stallion groaned in pain, dropping both his shot gun and his flashlight to the ground. Altair kicked the shotgun away and drew the hammer back on his revolver, then leveled the barrel at Big Mac’s head.

“Stay down, or the next one will kill you.” Altair said coldly before he began walking towards the farmhouse. He was stopped when Big Mac grabbed his leg and moved to bite him.

“Stay away… From my family!” The stallion grunted as he pulled himself closer, Altair leveled the revolver at his head. There was something noble about his wanting to protect his kin, but Altair didn’t have time to dwell on nobility. The man pulled the trigger, splattering the stallion’s brains against the grass. His hand went limp and let go of Altair’s leg, allowing him to turn and begin making his way back to the farm house. By now Finn had lit the barn on fire, the pigs and chickens next to it were making an awful racket, and one by one each light in the farm house flicked on. Altair watched as Applejack, Applebloom, and both their boyfriends rushed out to see what was going on. Applebloom looked around, and for whatever reason, she spotted the dark silhouette of a figure approaching.

“Big Mac?! What’s going on?” She shouted, the figure didn’t answer as it kept walking towards them, until the light of the fire revealed the shadowed figure of a human. He wore a long black coat and a black bandanna, and there was a cold hatred in his eyes. He leveled a black revolver at them as he approached.

“We are going to burn your house down. Is anyone else inside!?” He demanded, Appleblooms boyfriend, an earth pony like her, started to move towards him. The human fired a shot into the stallion’s chest, dropping him to the ground. Applebloom screamed and fell to her knees, trying to stop the bleeding. “I will ask again! Is anyone else inside!”

“No, you monster!” Applejack screamed back at him.

“Reese, the house is clear.” Altair said into his radio, not two seconds later there was a bang in the house. The windows blew out as a wave of natural gas ignited, the old house that had stood for nearly two hundred years began to burn like kindling while the barn burned right along with it. Moments later, the molotovs that Reese had set were set off. They started a chain reaction, lighting up the others spread through. Applejack and the rest of her family began sobbing at the sight of their trees going up in flames. Altair used that time to slip away into the shadows, he made his way to a hill overlooking the carnage where he would wait for the rest of his team.

As he stood there waiting, he watched the flames growing higher and higher into the sky, and for some reason he began to chuckle. The chuckle turned into a full on laugh, and just like that, the laughter ended. He didn’t feel much of anything, he had just killed two stallions and helped set fire to a family’s livelihood, and yet… All he felt was… Hungry. He had a hankering for some barbecue, and that was it. No remorse, no anger at himself… Nothing that his father had ever described to him. If anything… Altair wanted to do more…

Finn and the others filtered up to the hill as the fire spread to more and more of the massive orchard. It was even starting to spread to the surrounding farms, the mission had been a tremendous success. It was nowhere near enough to avenge the lives lost on C-Day, but it was a good start.

[♠]

Steven stood in the war room with his hand against his forehead, the fires at Sweet Apple Acres had wiped out nearly a quarter of the Equestrian food manufacturing ability. That’s what he deserved for putting so much of his agriculture in one place, and there was no undoing what had been done. What he was more concerned about was the presence of ‘The Lunar Wraiths’, an Onorussian Commando unit that had been wreaking havoc on the citizens of Ponyville since C-Day. Patrols were being slaughtered, their corpses hung out on trees along roads, and now they were wiping out war important materials.

That was just a drop in the bucket though, compared to what had been happening in the south. The Onorussians had gained a foothold in the southern plains, and were using old Changeling tunnels to move troops and supplies. Two Onorussian divisions were bearing down on Appleoosa and Dodge Junction, bombing raids carried on every night, and the enemy had even started employing cruise missiles fitted with jericho trumpets. Put simply, Steven was facing an enemy that knew how to do something very well… He was facing an enemy that knew War very well, a society that had perfected war to a science, to the point that they could simply order someone on their planet to surrender and they would do so without a fight.

“I know that look.” A mare’s voice called out from the shadows, Steven looked up to see Princess Luna step out into the light with her arms crossed. “You’re trying to find out what to focus on first, the invading army or the psychological weapon that are ‘The Lunar Wraiths’.”

“Any suggestions?” Steven asked, Luna shook her head. “Is that because you don’t have any, or because you sympathize with the Wraiths?”

“I decline to answer.” Luna said in a harsh tone as she approached the table that displayed all the forces at play. “My sources tell me that these Wraiths are lead by the son of the Onorussian Imperator, is that true?” Steven nodded. “And he was raised by a human, as well as their version of myself?” There was another nod. “It is likely that he is a member of the Lunar Order then, an ancient group of soldiers devoted to me. If that is the case, he should be your biggest concern.”

“Why?” Steven asked as he looked at the pieces on the board.

“Because, General… The Lunar Order were fanatics, if I had tasked them with destroying the sun they would have found a way to do so or died trying.” Luna said in a serious tone, her wings twitching slightly. “While I find it interesting that this order survives in the other world, I must honor my duty to this one… And help you destroy the man they call Altair.”

“Altair… So that is his name.” Steven said as he rubbed his chin.

“Yes… Named after the brightest star in the Earth constellation Aquila, if I’m not mistaken about what you’ve told me.” Luna replied, she hummed softly. The name was truly a nice one, she would’ve chosen it for her son, if she had ever taken a permanent mate. “My sources have also told me that he has a family history of depression, and he himself is very agressive, leading me to believe he has anger issues…”

“What are you saying? I should handle this maniac with kid gloves?” Steven asked incredulously.

“He is by no means a maniac.” Luna said firmly as she used her horn to set up a glow around sweet apple acres on the map. “There are twenty farms and orchards closer to where you believe he is that could’ve done just as damage to the orchard and surrounding farms, yet he went out of his way to strike here. Why?” Steven shrugged. “Because the Apples are a symbol of hard work and perseverance, their farm was one of the most talked about in the country, and Applejack is an element bearer.”

“He wasn’t just striking at our food… He was striking at us…” Steven said with a bit of realization, Luna nodded.

“I know this because… Because it is what I would have done.” Luna admitted as she looked over the map. “Which leads me to believe that the other version of myself is responsible for unleashing him on us… And if that is the case… He is more dangerous than the army to the south.” Luna looked at Steven intently. “They’re far away, but Altair… He can get into the minds of every Equestrian, the slightest noise at night could spark panic, a simple automobile accident could be perceived as an assassination attempt. Altair is a weapon far more powerful than a bomb or a gun… If my other self trained him, he will become the sum of all our fears.”

“Sir! They’ve sighted the wraiths in Manehattan, near an oil refinary fire!” An aid shouted as he ran in with papers.

“Sir! The wraiths just hit a highway, caused a three car pile up in applewood!” Said another aid almost immediately afterwards. Luna folded her arms under her breasts and looked at Steven with a knowing expression, the man rubbed his temples and looked at the dossier he had been given about Altair Occisor. The picture of him made him look like a mean son of a bitch, especially with the scar running down his cheek. He was a boxer, a Fallschirmjager, a Lunar Trooper, and now the boogey man of Equestria’s Nightmares. Steven clenched his fist quietly and pounded it down on the table.

“Alert all commands. Altair Occisor is now public enemy number one!” He ordered in a bitter voice. “Make killing or capturing him a top priority.” Both aids left their reports and nodded before rushing out the door, Steven looked over at Luna and saw that she had a bit of a frown on her face. “What? I thought you wanted this.”

“Just because I have to help you doesn’t mean I have to like it.” The mare replied bitterly. “I know that if I were my other self, hearing what you just said would make me very upset. You would’ve just threatened my son.” The mare glared at him. “Despite what my sister may tell you, my heart is not made of stone.” Before Steven could reply the mare had walked away and out into the hallway, Steven looked at the map for a moment before he reached under the table and turned the knob on a radio.

“...-nd so we must not let the setbacks of the past make us fear the future!” The shouting baritone voice of Imperator Dominic Occisor echoed through the radio, Steven paused to listen to what his opponent had to say. ”Onorus will prevail, as it always has and always will! The enemy is weak, their soldiers and equipment inferior! They do not stand a chance against the might of the Onorussian people! Gott mit uns!”

”Gott mit uns! Gott mit uns!” The crowd chanted in the background, Steven rubbed his temples again. He wouldn’t have been so damned upset if the speech wasn’t completely true, Onorussians were bred from birth to treat the military as the ideal career, they outnumbered Equestrians eight to one on the battlefield. Equestrian tanks and vehicles ran on gasoline, the Onorussians ran on renewable ethanol, and even a few had arcane reactors. The most advanced armor the Equestrians had couldn’t compare to Onorussian power armor, what Steven needed was an ally with a close approximation to what the Onorussians had. Someone that the Onorussians considered an actual threat, someone that could take the fight to them on their world… Someone like Emperor Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, the only other nation that had stood a chance against the Onorussians. Yes… Steven needed to get in contact with that stallion, together they could do great things…

[♠]

March 29th
C-Day plus Nine
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, Equestria
02:59:09
‘For a Just Cause’

Altair lay beneath the branches and leaves that made up his lean to shelter, his sleeping bag was as comfortable as he could make it, and his jacket hung in the doorway as a makeshift barrier between him and the outside world. The forest was silent, all the creatures there could sense a pack of five predators among them. For Altair, the mission hours ago was still running through his head. Two dead, and so much war material destroyed, it would’ve taken a bomber wing and who knew how many crews to wipe out that same amount… Two lives, versus hundreds… His mother had taught him to be cold, but his mom had taught him that war was at its core, a very bloody math equation. So far, the math seemed to add up.

He would kill those two men again if he had to, even to save just one Onorussian life, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Sure, there were likely people out there that would disagree, but they had never been in the field like he had. With that in mind, he justified the deaths to himself, and his conscience became quiet once more. The man reached into his jacket and withdrew his picture of himself and Cassidy, her smiling face was all it took to remind him what he was fighting for, what he was willing to do anything to protect. The man tucked the picture back into his jacket and rolled onto his side, Altair’s eyelids grew heavy and he didn’t resist as they closed on their own. Within a couple moments he had slipped into a calm sleep.

Author's Note

Hello, Lovely Dovelies! It's me, The Boss, bringing you all the music and stories your little hearts can handle! In all seriousness though, hello again dear readers! I've been working hard on the story, though occasionally I've hit a snag or two. I tried doing a different way of starting each part of the story with Altair, just to change things up a bit. I've been replaying the original Call of Duty (the really old one), and I kinda got the idea from that. I'm trying to dirty Altair up a bit, make him less of a golden boy than his father.

Here's the music that helped inspire this chapter. It's the same one that I put in the link up above, but just in case you missed it here it is again.