Once he had gotten the signal, Don began to coordinate the weapons on the Battleship Express for the battle. Don also told Joe, (Who was driving the engine) to blow the whistle. Joe complied, and all around the battlefield came the eerie sound of a Banshee-like scream.

"Wow, now THAT'S how you make an entrance! Now then guys, you know the drill! Missile Battery 1?"

"Yes Major?"

"I need a bunker-buster sent down the caves on our 9 O'clock, at a distance of about 1,200 yards. Do you see it?"

"Affirmative sir. Coordinates locked, firing now!"

The whole train shuddered as the BB missile left the train, and rocketed off towards its target. Moments later, we all saw a huge ball of fire through the smoke of the battlefield.

"BAM!!! Direct hit Sir! Target neutralized!"

"Excellent! Construction Brigade?"

"Yes Sir?"

"Advance! Push outwards, and get the lay of the land. Draw out the enemy, and lead them to us."

"Roger that Sir!"

Our tractor/bulldozer/loader "tanks" began to roll out on their wheels, and caterpillar tracks. They barely made it 10 yards from the train.

"Sir, we've got incoming!!!!"

Don checked the scanners. To his horror, he saw the red dots that indicated enemy soldiers, and they were so thick that all the scanners could pick up was one solid mass of red!

"HOLY SHIT!!!!! GUYS, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!!!!! THE ENEMY IS COMING STRAIGHT FOR YOU!!!! FALL BACK NOW!!!!!"

The construction machine crews saw the shapes of the enemy through the smoke, and they didn't need to be told twice!

"Roger that Sir!"

The "tanks" then were shifted into reverse, and they immediately began to fall back to the train, which at the time was located outside of the city, with its weapons facing the Palomino Desert.

"ALL WEAPONS, OPEN FIRE NOW!!!! WE NEED TO CUT THE ENEMY DOWN, AND KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE CITY!!!! FIRE AT WILL!!!!"

That was all it took. We didn't need to be told twice. From out of the smoke, we saw them; a mixture of Caribou, Zebras and Minotaurs. They were now less than 20 yards, and closing fast.

"WITHERING FIRE MOTHERF@#KERS!!!!!" Somebody screamed, and then we all opened fire. Machine guns, artillery guns, 16in. guns, railguns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, mortar launchers, anti-personnel missiles, and even rifles in most cases, all dealt out harsh justice.

From the trenches, the Equestrian soldiers and Battalion 4009 soldiers opened fire with everything that they had, from machine guns, to artillery guns, to mortars, rocket launchers, rifle fire, and even pistols. We had to hold the enemy back. They could not reach the trenches, not to mention the train, or even Las Pegasus.

"This is just like the Battle of Vegas", I muttered as I opened fire, "Just a different location, different allies, different enemy, different city, and the same train, and same battalion. Let's just pray that the Imperial Alliance does NOT have any nuclear ordinance at their disposal!"

On the Alliance side, things seemed to be looking up.

"Any reports for me?" General Rodin asked.

"Yes Sir. All of our forces are in place, and we're awaiting the order for attack."

"And what of the enemy?"

"From what we can tell Sir, The Equestrians have formed a series of defensive lines around the city. Their trenches are also running the length of the battlefield, and seemed to be fully manned. Our estimates put the number of enemy troops at approximately 1 million."

"That's it, just 1 million? We have 3 million!"

"Yes, we do don't we? This sure seems like a done deal to me, even more so than Ponyville!"

"And so it shall be, Sargent Dothan. As King Danin has willed it, the city of Las Pegasus shall be ours, in the name of the glorious Caribou Empire!"

Dothan was maybe about to reply to this, but before he could, from somewhere across the desert close to Las Pegasus, came a sound that none of them had ever heard before; it sounded like the scream from a Banshee!

"Good GODS!!! What was that?!?!"

"I don't know Sargent. It....almost sounded like a Banshee!"

Rodin thought on his hooves. "Dothan, ready the troops! That could have been the signal for an attack!"

"Yes Sir!"

The troops were quickly rallied, and prepared to charge from the trenches on their side to the Equestrian trenches. Then, before any of the officers could give the order for a charge, a huge streak of light flew overhead, and then slammed into the caves to their 6 o'clocks!

"Oh gods!!! THE DIAMOND DOGS WERE IN THERE!!!!"

Rodin knew that the time had come. After taking a deep breath, he quickly gave the orders. "Medical and Recovery teams, get over to those caves now! See if you can find any survivors!"

"Yes Sir!"

"Griffons, I need you in the air now! We need eyes in the sky, AND a way to attack from the sky!"

"Yes General Rodin!" They all took off.

"And what about the rest of us Sir?"

Rodin quickly glanced at the Caribou and Zebra officers. "The rest of you, form up and charge forwards until you reach the forward firing line. Then, once your positions are defensible, we attack and drive out the Equestrians!"

"Yes Sir! CHARGE!!!!"

They all then charge forwards. Up ahead, the first wave reported some kind of carts made of metal. The carts retreated as soon as they were spotted.

"Huh, I wonder what those were."

"It doesn't matter! They retreated, and that's what matters!"

Unfortunately for them though, those "tractor-tanks", as they came to be known, were only the beginning. The enemy had walked right into our trap, only there were so many of them that it could still fail to be sprung!

"KEEP FIRING!!!!" Shining and Don ordered. "They've moved into defensive positions, but they're still vulnerable to our weapons!"

The first few waves never even saw what hit them. One minute they were running towards us, and the next they were dropping like flies. From our previous observations, their armor oftentimes wasn't strong enough to withstand even a 9mm bullet, to say nothing of bullets from a higher caliber!

Unfortunately though, enough of the enemy got through our firing line that the forward trenches had to be evacuated. While the train and rear trenches provided covering fire, the Coalition Soldiers, (Equestrian and Human) all fell back. Some Caribou and Zebras were able to even get close to the train, but unfortunately for them, unlike their Battle of Ponyville counterparts, these were unable to get on board.

"Enemy soldiers closing in on the train! They're too close!"

"Hmm", Don smirked. "They seem to be a little chilly. Why don't we warm them up a bit?"

With that order, some gunners in those areas activated the anti-personnel flame-throwers, and huge clouds of fire covered the enemy troops! Some were killed instantly, while others caught fire, and burned to death. A few others were able to retreat. (Why weren't these used in Ponyville? Well, because those who breached the train did so in an area where there weren't any flame-throwers).

"Fall back, fall back!" A sargent yelled, "The enemy is too powerful!"

The Caribou soldiers fell back. However, the Zebras and some of the Minotaurs decided to keep fighting.

"We can make it! We will capture that train for the glories of the Zebra Empire!"

"YEAH!!!!"

"Nope." I muttered. "Hey Dash, watch this."

I picked up my rifle. After taking the covers off of the scope, I slipped it through a slot in the turret that we were in, and quickly targeted the closest Zebra. After splatting his brains onto the ground, I quickly targeted the next, then the next, and the next, and the next......and so on and so forth, until I had bagged 13 Zebras, and 7 Minotaurs.

The enemy had no idea what was killing them. They kept looking around, but they couldn't see anything. "FALL BACK!!! THEY HAVE GHOST SOLDIERS!!!"

The few remaining soldiers of that Zebra and Minotaur squad then fell back.

"Wow, that was awesome Stud!"

I smiled. "Yep. That's why you always gotta watch out for snipers! They could be the bane of your existence!"

"How many did you get?"

"Eh, by my count, 13 Zebras and 7 Minotaurs before the rest retreated."

Dash leaned against me a bit. "Even though we're in a turret, this is still pretty cool. You're really kicking their asses!"

I nodded, but I was still concerned. "It's still too early to tell Dash. It's still anypony's battle at this point. We're winning for now, but we still have a long way to go."

I then continued to scout the battlefield with my scope, hunting for any more enemies.

"Sir, the enemy is slaughtering our forces!"

"What?!?!"

Rodin used his binoculars to scan the battlefield. It was difficult for him to see in some areas, due to the smoke of battle, but he could tell that the Alliance troops were getting hit hard.

"What is hitting them so hard Dothan?"

"From the reports Sir, the Equestrians have a war-train! Said train is eating our forces alive, and is also believed to be responsible for sending the rocket-thing that killed the Diamond Dogs!"

"What does this train look like Dothan?"

Dothan's face was rather pale. "From our reports Sir, their war-train is the same train that we faced in Ponyville!"

"What?! The Black Leviathan?! But that should be impossible!"

"Yes, it should be, but from the reports, the description seems to match. What do we do?"

Rodin's eyes narrowed. "What Stuggs should have done when he had the chance, knock that train out of the fight for good!" Rodin then radioed the forward trenches.

"Commander Dak?"

"Yes Sir?"

"I need a diversion. I'm about to order our Griffons to attack the train directly. I need you to divert the train's attention away from them!"

"Yes Sir, we'll do what we can!"

Rodin then radioed the Griffons. "Colonel Bruno?"

"Yes Sir?"

"I'm going to need you to knock out the enemy's war-train, as well as maybe trying to cause some trouble in Las Pegasus itself. Commander Dak's forces will be creating a distraction. Head in from the air, and drop whatever ordinance that you can."

"I acknowledge. Do we try to capture the train, or destroy it?"

"Destroy the engine, and see if the weapons systems can be disabled, as King Danin and Overlord Zakia are very interested in the Human's technology. Plus, the sooner that that train is out of the war, the sooner we'll win!"

"Yes Sir, it shall be done!" Bruno and his forces then quickly took flight, and headed towards the train.

"Sir, the enemy is coming from their trenches again, and this time they have cannons!"

Sure enough, the enemy was charging our positions again, only this time they had cannons! They didn't quite have the range to hit our train, but some of the shots were landing on the trenches, forcing the Coalition to retreat.

"Damn, those cannons will tear those trenches to pieces! Forward 16in guns?!"

"Yes Major?"

"Take out those guns! They're tearing holes in our lines!"

"Roger that Sir, firing now!"

The 16in guns fired, and were able to knock out the cannons, as well as any enemy soldiers standing close to them. Nearby machine guns picked off survivors.

"Targets neutralized Sir."

Unfortunately, no, they were not. From the enemy positions, there suddenly came a gray cloud that appeared to be smoke.

"GAS!!!!" Shining yelled. "THEY'RE USING THE GAS AGAIN!!!!"

"ALL PERSONNEL, GAS MASKS NOW!!!" Don yelled.

Everyone and everypony pulled on their gas masks. The gas did reach the train, but because of our gas masks, we all felt no ill effects. However, that gas attack was soon to be the least of our problems.

"Major, radar reports enemy activity from the air!"

"What?!"

Don checked the scopes. Sure enough, a number of red dots appeared in the sky, heading straight for their position.

"Well, so that must be the Griffons. All AA weapons, online now!"

"Yes Sir!"

All guns pointed to the sky, and waited for the enemy to show up.

"When they get into range, fire at will!"

"Yes Sir!"

"Any signs of the train yet?"

"Not yet. It should be around here somewhere. Remember, when we do find it, we need to relay the coordinates back to General Rodin so that they can hit it with their heavy artillery guns."

"Roger that Colonel."

The griffons flew on, all of them carrying portable ordnance, which resembled rudimentary bombs. Eventually, one of them spotted it.

"Colonel, there is is! 12 o'clock low!"

Bruno looked, and sure enough, there is was. "Whoa. When they tried to tell me that the train was massive, I thought for sure that they were lying to me!"

All of the Griffons marveled at the train's size.

"General Rodin, this is Colonel Bruno. We've found the train, I repeat, we found the train!"

"Excellent work Colonel! Where is it?"

"It's currently located on the rail line outside of Las Pegasus, maybe 1,500 yards from your current position. How do we proceed from here?"

"All of you conduct your runs on the train. Get in, and get out as fast as you can. As soon as you're clear, we're going to open fire with our big cannons."

"Roger that General, Bruno out." He then turned to his warriors. "Ok boys, you heard the General, we get in, drop our bombs, and then get the hell out of Dodge before their big cannons open fire!"

"Yes Sir!"

After flying a bit higher, with a fierce battle-cry, all of the Griffons made their runs. Some went for the engine, others went for the weapons, and still others targeted anything else that wasn't targeted.

"HERE THEY COME, FIRE!!!!"

Our AA guns, machine guns, and 2 of our Phalanx cannons opened fire. 3 Griffons went down immediately, and several more were injured. Our guns kept firing, but similar to our first encounter with the Equestrians, there were only a handful of Griffons, and they were able to evade our guns.

"They're making a run for the engine! Primary Crew, take action!"

"Roger that Major!"

Several more Griffons were picked off by the guns on the engine, but two made it through, and dropped their bombs. Both of them aimed for the engine's smokestacks, but because of the metal grate protecting it, both bombs hit the grating, but bounced off before exploding. Other Griffons dropped bombs aiming for the rest of the train, but aside from a few minor hits on bunk and dining cars, and one hit on the second coal car, (which did manage to start a fire, although it was extinguished) not much damage was done. (Most of this was due to bombs missing their targets, due to poor aim).

More and more Griffons continued to get hit. By the time that Bruno ordered a retreat, only about half of his original force of 30 Griffons were still alive.

"General Rodin, we're clear, you may open fire."

"What's the damage Colonel?"

"15 Griffons killed, 5 others wounded. We damaged the train, but seemingly not too much. Hopefully you'll have better luck than we did."

"Yeah, hopefully we will. Rodin out." Rodin then turned to the long-range cannon gunners, and gave them the coordinates for the train. "Now, open fire!"

"Yes Sir!"

With a series of loud *BOOMS!!!!!*, the long range cannons opened fire, and their projectiles were now heading our way.

"Well, we've driven off the Griffons, so now what?"

Don turned to Jim. "Well, now we......"

Don was suddenly interrupted by flashing red lights and blaring alarms.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked nervously.

"I don't know." Don quickly checked his scopes. When he saw what was heading their way, he very nearly shit himself.

"OH, F@#K!!!!" He flipped the intercom on. "ALL HANDS, WE'VE GOT A MASSIVE ARTILLERY BARRAGE HEADING RIGHT FOR US!!! SHOOT UP THE FLARES, AND BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!!!"

Word of the incoming barrage spread like wildfire across not only the train, but in the nearby trenches as well. Due to the size of the barrage in question, the train was in potentially critical danger of facing serious damage. From the hills of the Palomino Desert, we all saw the contrails of the shells coming right for us.

As ordered, the flares were shot off, and guns were trained on the shells. Some were stopped, but not all of them.

"INCOMING, INCOMING!!!!"

"DON, ONE OF THOSE SHELLS IS HEADING RIGHT FOR THE TURRET ON TOP OF THE SCC!!!! DASH AND LEOPARD ARE IN THERE!!!!"

"LEOPARD GET OUT OF THERE!!!!"

"OH SHIT!!!!"

Dash and I didn't have to be told twice. Quick as a flash, I threw open the lower hatch to the turret, grabbed Dash, and pulled her down into the car below us. We hit the floor just as a shell impacted with the turret above us!

The hits were devastating. The train's armor did ensure that none of the shells fully penetrated, but still, the damage was done. Roofs were partially blown off, turrets were disabled, armor buckled inwards, a number of cars derailed due to the jarring impacts, multiple windows were broken, one shell collided with one of the 16in guns, and exploded, temporarily jamming the turret. There were no fatalities, (thank God!) but 37 people were wounded, some of them seriously. One of the forward two 16in turrets was out of action due to being jammed, as were 2 of our phalanx cannons, and a number of other guns. The train was damaged, and was now frozen in place due to some of the cars coming off the rails. Even though the cars were all still upright, the train would be unable to escape if the battle went south.

In the PCC,Twilight was panicking. "IS EVERYPONY ALRIGHT?!"

Jim picked himself up off of the floor. "They ain't gonna destroy this train, no way! If that's the best they got, it'll hurt us, and maybe knock us down, but it won't knock us out of the fight!"

"That's right!" Don agreed once he was up again as well. "We've taken a lot worse than this!"

"B-b-but Dash and Leopard!!!!"

"Right!" Don then grabbed his radio. "Leopard, LEOPARD!!! ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!?!?!"

For a few moments, there was only silence, making Don fear the worst. Finally though, a reply came. "Don? Yeah, we're ok. We got a little bit cooked, as well as some bruises from falling into the Secondary Crew Bunk Car, but overall we're ok."

"Thank God!"

"What just happened Don?"

"That was an artillery attack Captain. It appears to have come from at least 1,200 yards away."

"And, how bad is the damage?"

Don sighed. "Well, we're no longer mobile, and nobody died, but we have 37 wounded, and a number of guns either jammed, or knocked out. We've been roughed up some, and we're no longer able to move, but it'll take a lot more to knock us out of the fight!"

"So....what do we do now?"

Don sighed, then his tone changed. "Well, we do what we should have been doing all along! We wipe these sons of bitches out! They want to mess with our train and cause trouble? Well shucks fro them, cuz the gloves are coming off!"

"So, nuclear weapons?"

"HELL NO!!!! We need to save those for actual Caribou and Zebra territory, if at all!"

"So then how do we 'take the gloves off' without going nuclear, and still wipe out the enemy?"

Don went silent for a moment. "Well", He said slowly, "We'll need to do it in stages. First of all, we need to knock out their guns so that they cannot fire anymore. Next, we hit their other targets, and cause some casualties. Finally, we get our forces back into the trenches, push to the enemy trenches, and either kill them all, or drive them to retreat."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me Don. Let's do it!"

Thinking on his feet, Don quickly told the railgun crews to get ready. The contrails from the shells had given the enemy's positions away, so we knew where the guns were located.

"Railguns, we're going to need some heavy firepower over there. I'm tasking you with taking out their artillery guns! Load up the hybrid shells!" (Combination armor piercing, and high explosive shells.)

"Yes Sir!" A minute or so later, the guns were ready.

"Ready Sir!"

"Ok, FIRE AT WILL!!!!"

All 4 railguns opened fire, and fired a total of 16 shells. All of the shells reached their targets, and when they exploded, they took not only the guns, but also most, if not all of their ammunition with them!

"WOO!!! Direct hit!"

"Excellent! Missile batteries?"

"Yes Sir?"

"I need some shrapnel scattered into the enemy trenches! Can you give me some?"

"Roger that Sir, firing now!"

The missiles went airborne. Unlike most missiles, which are designed for either air or ground targets, these missiles were typically used for clearing out a large space. They would explode, and scatter huge amounts of shrapnel. This is precisely what happened with the enemy trenches.

"Direct hit Sir! Huge geysers of blood! Those freaks are really feeling the hurt now!"

"Good job! Now we're showing the Imperial Alliance who's the real masters of warfare! Lastly, 16in guns?"

"Yes Sir?"

"How many of your guns are still operational?"

"12 out of 16, located in 3 out of 4 turrets Sir."

"Ok, good. I need some shells laid down onto the Griffon's camp, as well as the Caribou and Zebra's hq's. Can you handle that?"

"Affirmative Sir! We'll make them pay in blood for their heinous actions!"

After loading and aiming, the 16in. guns all fired a number of salvos. The results were total devastation.

"Whoa! Now THAT is how you deal with enemies!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes too high Dothan. Most likely, our artillery barrage only crippled the train, as well as knocking out most, if not all of its weapons. We'll leave it be for now, and capture it later."

Before Rodin could continue to plan a further attack, he suddenly became aware of a loud screaming sound.

"Huh? What's that?"

Before either he or Dothan could react though, the unthinkable happened. A series of what appeared to be projectiles suddenly came into view, before slamming into their guns!

"OH GODS!!!!!"

*KABOOOOOMMMM!!!!!* The guns then exploded, as did the ammunition next to them.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!" Screamed the dying gunners, as well as those who were caught in the blast.

Just as Rodin was about to order a medical team to come on the double, the missiles slammed into the trenches. From there, came the unmistakable sounds of hideous death. Geysers of blood and body-parts came flying up out of the trenches. In one swift stroke, Rodin had lost easily 1/3 of his remaining forces.

Then, before he could react to that incident, his keen ears picked up more sounds of distant gunfire, and sure enough, more shells came flying their way.

"LOOK OUT!!!!"

Rodin then grabbed Dothan, as well as two other officers, and dragged them into a foxhole next to him. Moments after he did so, a series of shells landed in his hq, completely destroying it. Other shells slammed into the Zebra hq, as well as the Griffon, and Minotaur camps. All hits induced massive amounts of casualties.

Rodin then grabbed his communicator. "My King, My King! Are you there?!"

After a few moments, the holographic image of King Danin appeared. "What is it General? What's wrong?"

"We've lost this battle Sir! The Coalition is too powerful! They've slaughtered so many of our forces! Over 90% of the Diamond Dogs are dead, we've lost our long-range artillery, our hq's are gone, and the battlefield is in chaos! What do we do?!"

"Was it.....the Black Leviathan?"

"It was, My King."

"And how bad is the damage in total?"

"By our counts Sir, we've lost over 2/3rds of our entire forces, our long-range guns, most of our trenches, our command hq's, and in return, we've MAYBE killed 300 enemy soldiers, and damaged the Black Leviathan. By all accounts, we've failed. Las Pegasus is still in Equestrian hands, and that Gods-awful train is still somewhat operational!"

When Danin heard those reports, he was so shocked that he had to sit down. Unlike General Stuggs's attack on Ponyville, Rodin hadn't outright failed. He did attack the enemy, and had made them hurt, but once again, they had severely underestimated what the Battleship Express and Battalion 4009 were capable of. This time though, it had cost them far more dearly.

"What do we do, Sir?" Danin could sense the fear in Rodin's voice.

"Gather up whatever forces you have left, and retreat General. We've lost enough for today. Get out of there while you still can."

"But Sir, I have failed you!"

"No General, you did not. Yes, you failed your objective, but no, you did not fail me. Our Intel did not account for the Black Leviathan. With the Humans on their side, the Equestrians have won their victory for today. You need to fall back now. We've lost enough forces for today. We cannot afford to lose any more!"

"As you wish, My King, but what does this mean for me?"

"Well, if you're referring to Colonel Stuggs, his failure at Ponyville was inexcusable. He should have been able to pull that off, but he surrendered after losing almost his entire force. You've lost most of your force, (which I know Zakia will NOT be happy about!) but yet, you were dealing with bad Intel, as well as mercenaries. Those Griffons and Minotaurs should have been able to take down the train, or at the very least, knock out its weapons. They failed, not you. And it's a real shame about those Diamond Dogs. Were they even able to get anywhere close to digging underneath Las Pegasus?"

"We're not sure Sir. They at least got halfway, but then they all got wiped out. A few managed to escape, but literally only a few. We've also lost most of our Griffons and Minotaurs."

"And what of our Dragons?"

"Um, I chose not to employ them this time around."

"What, why?"

Rodin then explained his reason.

Danin then thought about that. "Yes. You see General? THAT is why I keep you around. I like how you think, and get things done! The Equestrians may have won today, but come tomorrow, we will carry the day!"

Rodin smirked. "I know Sir. And Stuggs and I will do our very BEST to ensure that that happens. It'll be a long and hard road, but with the help from those Dragons, that train will finally be put down, once, and for all!"

I hope so General, now, fall back to our lines in the Macintosh Hills. The fight is over, for now!"

"As you wish, My King, it shall be done."

Rodin then ordered a retreat, and whatever was left of his forces, totaling less than 11,000, retreated towards the Macintosh Hills.

"Sir, the enemy is retreating!"

"What?" Don looked through his binoculars. "Whoa! They really are retreating!" Don then radioed Shining. "General Shining, whatever's left of the enemy seems to be in full retreat. Should we follow them?"

"Yes, by all means! We should sent in a small force after them, whittle them down for as long as possible, and then have them retreat before the enemy could either turn on them, or spring a trap, if that's what they have planned."

Don thought about that. "Yes", he said at last, "And I know just who to lead that attack too." He then picked up his radio. "Leopard, Leopard, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Don. What is it?"

"Well, where are you right now?"

"Currently, Dash and I are in the trench closest to the train. Why?"

Don then quickly explained the whole situation. "I need you to lead that attack Leopard. I'm putting 15 of our guys, and 15 Royal Guards under your command. Follow the enemy for as long as you can, and whittle down their numbers as much as you can as well. HOWEVER, if it appears to be a trap, or the enemy turns on you, DO NOT hesitate to retreat! I cannot afford to lose you, as you are one of my best officers!"

"I'm on it Don!"

To make a long story short, I gathered together the force that I had been given, and with Twilight restraining Dash for her own safety, we all loaded up onto the "tractor-tanks", and went off in pursuit of the enemy. For almost 50 miles, we dogged them. Striking when they least expected it, whittling their numbers down. For our efforts, we didn't lose a single man, or stallion. For the enemy though, nearly 1,500+ out of maybe 11,000 were sent to the Afterlife. Once we saw the Macintosh Hills way off in the distance, we knew that the time had come to fall back.

"Good work out here today guys. You've all done Equestria a great service."

"Why do we have to fall back though?" Someone asked.

"Because, according to our Intel, as well as drone footage, the Macintosh Hills are another of the enemy's strongholds. In fact, those hills are actually the dividing line between the Zebras and the Caribou. We only have 30 guys; they have God-knows how many, so we fall back, and finish cleaning up."

"Yes Sir."

We all then fell back to Las Pegasus.

The next several days, were some of the longest in recent memory. Our number 1 priority was clearing out any remaining enemy strongholds. Next it was gathering up the wounded and treating them, and after that came repairing the damage done to the train, before finally hunting down all of the unexploded ordnance. The Palomino Desert was an absolute mess. It looked like a cross between the Somme in France during WW1, North Africa in WW2, and Nevada in WW6.

By the time we had the final body count, the figures were truly staggering. For us, 2,721 Equestrian soldiers were dead, 3,000+ were wounded, and 153 were missing. For Battalion 4009, 197 were dead, 1,097 were wounded, and 76 were missing, in addition to 39 train crew also being wounded.

For the enemy, there was an estimated 2,950,000+ dead, 40,000+ wounded, an unknown number of missing, (which also included the ill-fated Diamond Dogs), and surprisingly, 2,000 or so prisoners, of Caribou, Zebra, and a few Griffons and Minotaurs. All were quickly moved to a POW camp in the Whitetail Woods, where they were to be interrogated.

"So, so many lost", Don muttered to himself.

"I know what you mean", Shining was also very upset.

"The difference is though, you can at least somewhat replace your losses, we cannot. We're the only Humans in all of Equestria. Once you're dead, it's over. Battalion 4009, and the crews of the Battleship Express and Iron Glory, maybe 2,000 of us in total, are all that are left."

Shining looked at him, but he didn't say anything. He knew the burden that Don was facing, and he knew that it was unbearable.

When the news of the victory at Las Pegasus reached the rest of Equestria, it gave the Ponies hope. The enemy wasn't invincible, and could be defeated. They also knew that the war was far from over, and that the next battle, would be very, very soon.

Author's Note

Ok, so that was Part 2. Unfortunately, I had so many ideas for this chapter, I was forced to write a part 3! Don't fret though, I already have most of it written, so it should be up within the hour!

I hope that you've enjoyed this little arc so far, and can't wait for part 3. I also hope that you really enjoyed the Battle of Las Pegasus!

ALL ABOARD!!!!!