The Fight Of Our Livesby FreedomRidersChaptersReunionAmbushNew ArrivalsInfiltrating The GorgonWar Begins AgainPelastus (It's Finnish for Salvation)Lena's Redemption (Final, for now)PrologueMeanwhileReunionEdward turned to see the group of Germans already moving into position. All tanks were moving into firing position up the hill, and the Americans began to move to the left. "Alright, we all got the plan.", Edward muttered, before looking to a petrified Twilight. "Twilight, you think you can get to your brother?" "Huh? Y-yes.", Twilight said. "Go! We'll cover you!", a soldier said, as he and the rest of the Germans ran up. The Vickers E tanks were firing their machine guns, with Thorax and whatever troops were there falling back. Ahti fired his pistol, before joining the others. "Fire!!", Jack yelled. The Pony Of Shadows growled in frustration as he dodged several jets of flame. He fired a blast of dark energy that took out a Vickers E, and killing two Germans near it. Jack ran up and fired a big burst of fire at the massive abnormality, before the shadowy figure sent a slash of dark fire at him, causing him to fall while clutching his face. The newly inflicted scar on his left eye was cauterized and steaming slightly, as the soldiers under his command fired lead and flame at their foe. "Kill it!!", a soldier yelled, before a spike of shadowy energy impaled him from the ground. The Flammpanzer turrets were turned around firing, while the Hummels and StuG were firing whilst driving backwards. Shining Armor and Cadence were galloping away as fast as they could, along with a few soldiers up front. Shining Armor jumped over a rock, gasping for breath as his wife and baby daughter joined him. "What...what do we do?", Cadence coughed. "The shadows...they're..." Shining was about to answer when he saw something. "Geh! Geh! Geh!" "Nach oben! Schieß das Ding!!" Several Germans, were charging towards the Shadows from the right, firing as they went. The sergeant of the group spoke up, holding his MP-41. "Erste Mannschaft, nimm die Flanke! Unterdrücke den Feind! Zweites Team, auf mich! Nach oben!", he barked, firing his weapon. Several Karabiners and Gewehrs opened fire from the side. "What...what is that?", Cadence said, horrified that there were more sadistic brutes like Jack in this world. She hugged Flurry Heart in her hooves as tight as possible, but not too tight to choke her out. "I don't know...", Shining Armor said. Then he heard more yelling, and more gunfire. Shining Armor turned around and saw more Germans attacking down the hill from the left as well. "Decke Feuer! Decke Feuer!", a soldier yelled. One soldier carrying an STG-44 opened fire, while two soldiers set up an MG-42 with a bipod, one setting up the gun, while the other took out the box of belted rounds. "How many are there?!", Shining Armor cried, before he heard a familiar voice. "Shining!" Twilight and Edward galloped and ran over to Shining and Cadence. Twilight tackled the two in a big hug as Edward jumped to cover, before firing his BAR at the monster that everyone else was fighting. "Twily! W-what're you doing here?", Shining Armor said, before an explosion shook them hard. "We were looking for you!", Twilight said. "Now we know why!" "How...how do you know these monsters?!", Cadence said. But before Twilight could begin to explain, Edward grabbed her, wrapping his arm around her midsection while firing the BAR one-handed. "We gotta fall back, now!", he said. All the soldiers were running past them, falling back. The American troops were providing cover fire for the ponies and humans, as the tanks opened fire on the enemy. The Char B1 fired its 75mm hull Howitzer, the shell striking the shadows in the face. He roared in pain, and was about to fire a large burst of dark magic when the KV-2 rolled up to the front. "Fire!" The KV-2 fired its 152mm Howitzer, and the shell ripped into the Pony Of Shadows, head on. A loud scream of pain could be heard as the explosion completely obscured the shadows from view, being replaced with fire and smoke. Jack watched as the smoke billowed into the sky, before turning to the KV-2. The Flakpanzer 38(t) pulled up, firing its 2cm Flak 38. "Go!!", a soldier in the Flakpanzer yelled, firing his MP-38. The BT-5 pulled up as well, firing DT machine guns. Jack got up and took his singed Flammenwerfer and hurried away. The BT-5 and the Flakpanzer pulled back, the T-28 firing and moving forward. The cloud of the KV-2's shell cleared, to show that the Pony Of Shadows was gone. Everyone was quiet, and the hundred or so troops walked up the hill, with the twenty or so tanks waiting on the other side. "Is it clear?" "What now?" Thorax looked up and saw Twilight and Shining Armor sitting next to the StuG III. "Twilight?" Twilight turned and saw the Changeling ruler walking towards her. "Thorax? What're you doing here?", she asked. The rumbling of several 1-ton Demag D7 halftrack vehicles filled the air. "Long story. Uhh, have you met Ahti?", Thorax asked, gesturing to the Vickers E tank behind him. Timeskip: an hour The halftracks and tanks returned to base camp, the troops all resting on the flatbed vehicles, the tanks not too far behind. A squad of Royal Engineers were setting up anti-personnel mines outside the perimeters waved as the vehicles pulled through the main gate. Some German soldiers stared as they set up barbed wire and sandbags. An American soldier walked by, carrying a box of Bouncing Betty S mines, when the German transports rolled by. The line of vehicles passed between a Sturmpanzer and a T-35, as they parked near Ponyville. All the troops unloaded, as Twilight and Thorax made their way to Celestia. "Twilight!" Twilight turned to see Spike and Ember sitting in a tent, which sone side was held up by being tied to the 128mm barrel of a Jagdtiger. They were waving, as a T-18 Kubinka rolled behind the tent. "I'll catch up in a minute.", Twilight said. Thorax nodded, as Twilight made her way to the two dragons. Twilight trotted past a soldier carrying an M2 Browning on his back and reached the tent. "Spike, where've you been?", she asked, as she hugged the young dragon. "I've been here with Ember. She's been crying about her busted wing for a while now.", Spike said. Ember blushed in embarrassment. "Wha?! N-no I haven't!", she said. "Come on, I'd be crying too if my wing was gone. Thought, I don't have wings.", Spike said. "I recall the saying that there's a 'chance' I may not fly again.", Ember replied. "So, it's a risk.", Twilight said. "Besides, don't dragon wings grow back again?" "Not when hit with dark magic. It'll either slow down the growth, or stop it.", Spike said. "I asked Celestia about dark magic, and she told me that." Ember sighed. "I'll sure miss flying.", she said. "Don't say that. Even if your wing doesn't grow back, there's another chance it can be healed with magic.", Spike said. Ember looked up, an expression of hope on her face. "You think so?", she asked. "Yeah. Well, it's possible.", Spike said. "I have to get going. Celestia and Thorax are waiting for me.", Twilight said. "I'll meet up with you later!" Twilight left the tent, and hopped on a Hetzer, as it drove towards the town square, presumably where Celestia was. The Hetzer drove by Lena, who was being questioned by a soldier next to the A7V, whilst a Renault FT and a Panzer I drove by from the opposite direction of the Hetzer. Twilight hopped off the Hetzer onto the side of a Matilda II, and jumping off to see Celestia talking to Thorax, the two of them sitting next to a Nebelwerfer. "Princess!", Twilight called, as she trotted over. Celestia stood up from the German rocket launcher and walked over to Twilight. "I see you rescued Shining Armor and Cadence?", Celestia asked. "Yes, princess. We also rescued a German soldier named Jack. He's in the medical tents.", Twilight said. "I see.", Celestia said. She turned to look at an M2 Gun Motor Carriage rolling by, followed by a Willys MB jeep. "So...what do we do now?", Twilight asked, as a British soldier with a Lee-Enfield walked by, carrying a satchel of BREN ammunition magazines. Celestia was about to answer, when the crunching of footsteps caught their attention. A group of American and German pilots ran by, as Twilight looked on in confusion. "I ordered a rescue mission on Cloudsdale. These brave individuals volunteered to fly to Cloudsdale and check on it. With the Pony Of Shadows nearby, it will be very risky, so I sent a contingent of my Royal Guard.", Celestia explained. Twilight blinked. "OK?", she asked. "Rainbow Dash also volunteered.", Celestia added. "Wait, what? She's got PTSD, she won't last a minute! It hasn't been very long, she needs to recover, if she doesn't, then she might-", Twilight ranted, when Celestia interrupted. "Twilight. She'll be in the middle. The humans have a formation at which they protect their guide.", Celestia said. "She'll be fine. Trust me." Then she looked up into the sky. "The mission should start any time now.", she said. As if on cue, the buzz of plane engines filled the air from afar. P-47s, ME BF 109s, FW 190s, Spitfires, and Hurricanes launched from the makeshift airfield, with three B-17s and a Heinkel 111 following. Twilight could just barely make out Rainbow Dash and the group of golden armored Pegasi flying within the small fleet of planes. "I hope you're right, princess.", Twilight said, as she walked away. In the air, Rainbow Dash flew next to a Hurricane, the buzzing of propulsion systems filling the air. She looked to the right to see a Royal Guard on the lookout. Rainbow Dash put a hoof to the makeshift portable radio tied to her neck. "A hundred kilometers ahead.", she said. "Copy." "Affirmative." Two FW 190s veered right to cover the flank, while a P-47 veered left. The three B-17s flew up ahead, Brownings armed. The Heinkel stayed in the middle, and Rainbow Dash could see the MG-15's spider sights sticking out the nose. She shuddered when she remembered the dogfight at Cloudsdale, but she shook it off, remembering that these Germans were now on their side. Then she gasped. "Spitfire and the others don't know that!", she thought. Then a bolt of lightning zapped the Heinkel right next to her, striking the thin metal frame of the greenhouse style nose. The golden energy electrocuted the whole hull of the plane, before disintegrating. Rainbow Dash looked up, to see several Pegasi with the back-mounted lightning cannons. "Break!", the commander yelled, and all the fighters veered in several directions. The B-17s immediately pulled up, the Heinkel close behind. Spitfire, Soarin, and the rest of the Wonderbolts dove downward, seeing the heavy bombers' larger and potentially more dangerous design approaching them. "Fire!", Spitfire yelled. Several bolts of lightning struck the first B-17, luckily dispersing across the hull. "Return fire!", the bomber commander yelled. Almost at once, a continuous barrage of 50 Caliber rounds shot towards the Wonderbolts. The Pegasi broke formation, as did the bombers. Spitfire flew around a B-17 with the words, Reaper's Vanguard, trying to find a weak spot. But every angle she could find resulted in a 50 Cal. firing back at her. "There's weapons all over this thing!", Spitfire said. She fired a few bursts of lightning, which all grazed the bomber. Soarin, High Winds, and Misty Fly were getting chased by the bomber Angel of Belladonna, guns blazing. Fleetfoot and Blaze attacked from above, getting ready to blast a hole through the top, before the dorsal turret of the bomber fired up at them, forcing them to break off the attack. Surprise waited on a cloud, before aiming her lightning cannon at the nose of the Reaper's Vanguard. She was about to fire when several 7.92x57mm rounds ripped through her cloud. Surprise quickly looked up to see the Heinkel flying above her, firing its ventral gun. Surprise jumped off and was about to pursue when a blue blur tackled her. "Ow, what in-", she said, before she saw who tackled her. "Rainbow Dash?!" "Tell them to stop attacking!", Rainbow Dash said. "They're here to help recover Cloudsdale!" "What? Dash, these are the ones who killed those Pegasi-", Surprise began before the blue flier cut her off. "No, these are the ones who are gonna help us fight the Pony of Shadows!", Rainbow Dash said. Then even more buzzing filled the air. "What the-" Suddenly, dozens of fighters blasted through a nearby cloud, racing past the two Wonderbolts. Surprise gasped when she saw where the attack force was heading. Within the flotilla of fighters, Surprise could see the Royal Guard flying with them. "Cloudsdale!", she said. "They're diverting fire to those giant monsters while the other ones get a clear shot at the city!" Rainbow Dash blinked. "Thanks.", she said. She quickly pressed on her miniature radio. "Everyone, maintain your heading! Cloudsdale is up ahead, but do not attack! Hold fire!", she said. "Roger!" "Affirmative!" "Acknowledged!" Surprise gasped and stared at Rainbow Dash. "You...them...", she muttered. "I'll explain in a bit. Come with me.", Rainbow Dash said, helping Surprise to her hooves. At this point, the yellow maned Pegasus was too confused to even think, so she clumsily flew after her. The four bombers saw their fighter escorts flying towards their destination, and immediately broke off the attack. They quickly steered their way towards Cloudsdale. Spitfire and the others saw where they were going, and quickly followed. Rainbow Dash quickly knocked on the cockpit of a P-47, and gestured to fly ahead. The pilot nodded, and all the P-47s in the attack force flew up ahead, while the RAF fighters, the Spitfires and Hurricanes, flew back to take their place. The Thunderbolt fighters shot past a cloud, while the rest of the Pegasi and planes approached. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in anticipation, before something caught her attention. A loud boom, and the blazing of gunfire reached her ears, and Rainbow Dash immediately accelerated towards Cloudsdale, the fighters and Royal Guard following. When Rainbow Dash blasted through the cloud, the first thing she was met with was contact from the yellow nose of a Messerschmitt 262. AmbushTwilight, Cadence and, Shining Armor watched as Jack played around with Flurry Heart, as Jack played catch with his Stahlhelm to the baby alicorn. Jack had short blond hair, the edges singed. "So...", Twilight said. "I still don't like him.", Shining Armor said. "Don't expect you to. But, as the princess of Friendship, it is by my authority to ensure that you make friends.", Twilight said. "Hey, I have friends.", Shining Armor said. "Non political.", Twilight said. Shining Armor was about to talk, but found out that he had no proper retort to this. "Twilight!" Edward walked up to Twilight, his BAR slung over his back. "I've been looking for you. Where have you been?", he asked. "Watching Jack take care of my niece.", Twilight said. "I think I told you I had a niece? Her name is Flurry Heart." "Yeah. And you blabbered all sorts of stuff about your brother too.", Edward said. Shining Armor turned to Twilight, who chuckled nervously. "Something about a former babysitter and taking care of you past adulthood.", Edward said. "Anyway, we need to see you, so can you come over?" "Huh? Who needs to see me?", Twilight asked. "Me and the princess. And...another princess, I think. Her sister?", Edward said. Twilight's eyes widened. She got up and made a quick flight to an IS-2 heading for the center of the Ponyville Human Military Refuge. "Come on!", Twilight said, as the IS-2 kept rolling. Edward sighed. "Coming!", he said. He started running after the Soviet anti-Tiger tank, with Twilight waving on the back. Shining Armor wiped his forehead as a tired Jack slumped next to him, both leaning on an M-45 Quad-mount. "Taking care of that baby is hard.", Jack said, as he wiped his forehead. "I know.", Shining Armor said, subconsciously. The two looked at each other, before they started glaring daggers into their eyes. Cadence, who was nearby, sighed as Flurry Heart hovered over to the both of them. Flurry Heart giggled as Cadence rolled her eyes. "Yes, I also wonder why I put up with this.", she muttered. Elsewhere... Twilight and Edward made their way to where Celestia was, only to receive a surprise. "Luna!", Twilight said. She galloped forward and hugged the night princess, who returned the hug graciously. "Hello, Twilight? How are thou feeling?", Luna said. Twilight smiled. “We’re doing OK. How’s Canterlot?”, she asked. "We sent Ponyville's citizens there to protect them from attack. i'm hoping they're alright?" “Canterlot is holding. There have been incidents of attacks, but the tanks have held them off.”, Luna said. Twilight jolted in surprise. “Wait, what?”, she asked. “The Shadows have been going after refugee camps, but humans with monsters they call tanks have protected each and every one of their attacks.”, Luna explained. She looked over to see a Matilda II and a Comet tank rolling by, a group of Royal Engineers marching by. “Like those.”, she said. “How many?”, Celestia asked. “Let’s see...I’d say about twenty tanks and a hundred humans.”, Luna said. “That was the last time I counted.” Edward came up to the princess. “Princess.”, he said, bowing. He slung his BAR over his shoulder as Luna approached him. Celestia watched as her sister’s horn glowed. “Edward, I presume?”, Luna asked. Edward simply nodded while still bowing. “Rise, sir Edward.”, she said. Edward stood up, and Luna tapped her horn against Edward’s helmet. An indigo spark connected between the both of them, and Luna smiled. “Thank you for rescuing the Princess of Friendship.”, she said. Twilight blushed slightly at this, while Edward grinned. “It’s something any of us would do.”, the lieutenant said. “It’s our job.” Luna smiled. Then her features became serious. “Now the real reason I came here. We have a problem.”, she said. "I was on night guard a few days ago when something came to me. I think it's better if you see it for yourself." Using her horn, she summoned a glyph that opened up a wormhole right in front of them. Twilight and Edward watched as several futuristic soldiers with bulky armor fired massive machine guns at incoming creatures. Behind them were large machines firing humongous cannons at the enemy. Explosions and storms of machine gun fire ripped through the monsters, as even more came in. There was devastation all over the place, and death was spreading like the plague. Twilight had a horrified expression watching all this. She looked on as one of the futuristic men got crushed by a massive six legged armored creature. Edward and Twilight watched as the battle between the humans and ponies continued to slaughter, until Luna shut off the vision. They looked to Luna, their eyes demanding an explanation to what they have just seen. "I have foreseen the future. If the shadows win, this is the outcome.", Luna said. (BTW, this is not the future, this is some other random vision from Korhal. But they don't know that) Twilight stared at the princess of night in disbelief, as the news of this possible outcome of Equestria sank in. She looked at Edward, who kept a neutral expression on his face. She was shocked to see the soldier unaffected, and judging by the looks on Celestia's and Luna's faces, so was she. "Edward...are you OK?", Celestia asked. "Huh, yeah...this reminds me of something...a game I think?", Edward mumbled. "Anyway, I'm not surprised. War is everywhere, so I can't really be nerved by that." Celestia sighed and looked at the army around her. "I can see why.", she said. Luna looked to her older sister. "I still can't believe there's this many humans here.", she said. "And they haven't started a war with us.", she said. *ahem* "What's that supposed to imply?", Edward asked, crossing his arms. "Nothing...", Luna said, looking away. "Anyway, this makes our mission even more urgent to stop the shadows.", Celestia said. "We're training our Royal Guard. We currently have an army of over half a million.", Luna said. "We have over twelve thousand tanks and thirty thousand planes and bombers. We haven't finished counting our men, but it's residing in the 3 or 4 millions.", Edward said, pulling a notebook from his pocket, next to where his ammo hung. "The powers of the shadows are boundless, so we won't expect an easy fight, even with our numbers.", Luna said. "We need to tell everypony." Edward turned to look at Luna. "We've figured out the weakness of those things. Almost every fight ended with us burning out the swarm.", he said. "So, fighting with fire?", Celestia asked. "I hear Jack leads that specialist Brennen team. I think that's German for burn? Anyway, we should talk to him if we're to start putting this thing into motion.", Edward said. "Lieutenant!" Edward and Twilight turned to see a soldier running up. "Auftragasmorda, uhh...that guy in the giant old German tank needs to talk to you.", he said. Edward sighed. "Well, I'm getting called everywhere.", he said. "I'll be back later." Edward walked away as the other soldier walked in a different direction. "Twilight!" Twilight turned and saw an American soldier waving to her, while walking with a few Shermans and a halftrack. He was also walking with several soldiers. "You coming?" Twilight turned back to Celestia and Luna. "I'm sorry, princesses. I have somewhere else to be.", she said. "We're going to go out on a scouting mission and check for resources we can utilize." "I see. Stay safe.", Celestia said. Then Luna stepped up. "Princess Twilight, please allow me to assist you in your mission.", Luna said. Celestia turned to her younger sister in surprise, as did Twilight. "I'm sorry, what?", Twilight and Celestia synced. "I'd like to see and take note on how humans operate in their military, to see how we can improve our Royal Guard. I believe this will further improve our chances in the fight against the shadows.", Luna said. Twilight turned to Celestia, who only shrugged (somehow) in response. "OK, just stay in the middle of the group, OK?", Twilight asked. Luna nodded eagerly as she trotted towards the group. "Princess, are you coming?", Twilight asked. "No, I must oversee operations here.", Celestia said. She turned to a Jagdpanzer IV with a glare. "Besides, I have something to deal with.", she said. Twilight blinked, before turning away to join her scouting group. Later, somewhere else, Rarity and Fluttershy were still napping on the Churchill when a jolt in the heavy tank jolted Fluttershy awake. Fluttershy yawned and rubbed her eyes. She opened them to see the Char 2C FCM rolling next to the Churchill, with Pinkie Pie still singing and skipping around the tank. The French commander was face planted against the hull, probably annoyed to death, as Pinkie Pie kept going. The two BREN carriers were still following, as was the halftrack. Fluttershy peeked around the turret, that the two Matilda II tanks were now in the lead. Their 2 pounder cannons were constantly swiveling on the lookout. "Look!" Fluttershy turned to see a British trooper pointing from a BREN carrier. Fluttershy followed his finger to see Panhard 178, a two Renault R35 tanks, a Puma armored car, a King Tiger, and a Panther rolling the same direction as them, at least half a kilometer away. Fluttershy leaned in to see some Royal Guard on the Panhard, while Applejack was on the Panther. She smiled immediately upon seeing her friend. "Applejack!", she called. Applejack and the others didn't hear, obviously because Fluttershy wasn't very loud. The British guys in the carriers just stared at her. Fluttershy kept softly calling Applejack's name, to no avail. Then Pinkie Pie went and started to scream. "APPLEJACK!!!!!", she roared. Like this. Everyone immediately shot up in surprise, before turning to Pinkie Pie. The other tanks started to drive towards them, after hearing the scream. "What?", Pinkie Pie asked, as everyone, including Fluttershy glared at her. The Panther rolled up next to the Churchill, and Applejack jumped onto the British tank, before hugging Fluttershy. "Hey, didn't think we'd run into y'all out here. What's goin' on?", she asked. "We're just going out...securing the perimeter and scouting, they said.", Fluttershy said, quietly. It was then that Rarity woke up from her little nap. She let out a yawn and leaned to the right. Her neck cracked its tension away, and she opened her eyes. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?", she asked. The Panther commander, whose tank was still alongside the Churchill, sighed. "Du wachst aus einer Unterhaltung auf, aber du schläfst durch das lauteste Schreien, das ich je gehört habe? Ich glaube, ich bin schon tot." Applejack and Fluttershy blinked at the German tank commander, before turning back to their resident fashionista. "So, anyways..." "Ah, schrauben Sie es.", the German said, before lowering himself down the cupola. "Anyway, how're y'all?", Applejack asked. "No shadows have showed up yet." "And good riddance to that.", Rarity said. "Too bad Twilight couldn't be here." "What're ya talkin' about?", Applejack asked. "Twilight shouldn't be here, with her duties an' all." "Applejack, dear. You know we just miss her.", Rarity said. Applejack sighed. "Ah know...Ah do too.", she said. "She never has time to ask us for help, or talk to us. Though...Ah guess Ah know why, especially since this whole war started." "I know what you're talking about.", Fluttershy said. "I had to leave Angel behind because it was too dangerous for him to come." "Oh, dear!", Rarity gasped. Applejack was surprised too. Fluttershy usually couldn't bear to leave her pet bunny behind. "It's OK. It's worth it, especially since I know he'll be safer at Ponyville.", Fluttershy said. Almost imediately, she imagined Angel standing in the middle of the road, with a vehicle racing towards him. Fluttershy gulped. "I hope.", she said. Later, Pinkie Pie bounced off the Char, rolled off the Panther, and landed on the Churchill. "Hey, guys! What's going on?!", she chirped. "Nothing much. We're all just waiting.", Rarity said, in a matter of fact voice. "Well, are we waiting for those guys? Cuz he's just chilling!", Pinkie Pie said. The Churchill commander turned to see Pinkie Pie. "What? Who?", he asked. "I don't see anyone." "Him! The Ghost and the Reaper!", Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at the forest. Everyone turned to the forest to see a human in red armor wearing the largest backpack in existence. The Reaper looked to see everyone staring at him. "This ain't good." he said. The Ghost uncloaked. "Give me the sit-rep.", he said. The Reaper just pointed his hand cannon at the large group staring at the two of them. "Well...color me happy.", the Ghost said. Somewhere else... Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts, the Royal Guard, and the pilots sat on the clouds, when a roaring sound caught their attention. "What the hell's that?", an American pilot said. Everyone got up, looking around. In the Angel of Belladonna, the dorsal twin barreled turrets swiveled around in alarm. A roar filled the air, and a red, black, and white unidentified flying object shot by. "What the-", a British pilot said. "Defensive positions!", a Royal Guard said, drawing a hoof held crossbow from his armor. A large strange looking jet flew downwards, firing missiles. The missiles struck and destroyed a P-47 and a FW 190. Everyone scattered as the turrets on the bombers opened fire. The 50. Cal rounds did nothing, as the jet flew around for another strafing run. More missiles flew out, and a B-17 was destroyed, wreckage and burning metal flying everywhere. "Get the others out of here!", a pilot yelled. "Move!!" The large jet was immediately met with lightning fire from the Wonderbolts, as the Reaper's Vanguard and the Angel of Belladonna turned away from the attack, ready to take off. The jet flew close to a racing plane, before the jet suddenly transformed, two double jointed legs jutting out. The legs crushed the BF 109, and landed on the cloud violently, a small wave of air blasting out. Rainbow Dash gasped as the wings folded, and the missile launchers were set on the top. Two large rotary cannons shot out, spinning rapidly. The fins of the jet were morphed downward, and the cockpit shone. Everyone stared at the monstrosity before them. Its rotary cannons spun faster, as the pilot removed the shadowy tint from the cockpit. "Ha ha! I love a good raid!", the pilot laughed, as the Gatling cannons opened fire. Elsewhere... Twilight sat on a Sherman in the middle, with Luna sitting and taking notes. "Hmm...defense formation consists of layers.", Luna said, still writing. "Designed to protect important assets..." Jones and Twilight exchanged funny looks, before a rumble filled the air. Then a large car with three wheels jumped out of the nearby forest, racing towards the American convoy. It was red and black, with the word "Ranger" painted on the side. A large flamethrower glowing blue was mounted on its back behind the canopy. It swerved to a stop, before its frame split apart. The machine morphed into a mechanized robot, flipping on its legs. Two large shields were mounted on its wrists, and the flamethrower was modified with a longer range. A Sherman instantly fired at the robot, only for the 75mm shell to shatter on impact. The machine turned and fired its large flamethrower at the tank, the armored vehicle melting and exploding almost instantly. Twilight, Jones, and Luna stared in disbelief at the scene, before the other tanks backed away. The infantry immediately turned around, before retreating. The bipedal machine turned to Jones's tank, and stomped forward. "You're all coming with me.", the robot said. It had a sort of young, hot shot voice to it, as if someone were inside. Twilight just gulped. Luna used her magic and grabbed her notebook, before writing in it as fast as she could. Back in Ponyville, Celestia looked up to see a massive shadow in the clouds, rumbling before disappearing from view. Her eyes widened as several tiny flying things, machine or creatiure, flying down from the clouds. "Is Ahti with them?", Celestia muttered. Author's Note Sorry for using Starcraft, but I like it so don't judge me. It's gonna be a permanent part, so don't worry. Anyway, I'm planning to change the update date to Mondays, maybe Tuesdays if unfortunate. New Arrivals"Fire!!" The Matilda tanks opened fire, the Reaper dodging the shots with ease. Almost every weapon was firing at the flying man, who was avoiding and kiting every hit. "I'm bringing the pain, and the pizza in 30 minutes or it's free!", the Reaper yelled, firing a shot that hit a Matilda, damaging it. The Matilda backed away as the Reaper raced towards the ponies on the Churchill. Rarity and Fluttershy covered their ears as the Churchill fired its main gun, the Reaper dodging the shot easily. "My grandma could fight better than you guys!!", the jet-pack trooper laughed. The Ghost watched the fight from afar, leaning on a tree. Then his comm unit went off. "Yeah?", he said. "Ghost X71362N report.", a static voice said. "We encountered resistance, but Reaper C3 is dealing with it.", the Ghost said. "Acknowledged. Tell him to fall back and regroup with Battle Group Alpha.", the voice said. "Roger.", Ghost X71362N said. He shut off his comm unit and quickly cloaked. The Churchill commander opened fire with his Colt Victory Model .45, the shots bouncing off the Reaper. "Ah, this is bullshit!", the commander yelled. "These jets are burning my ass!!", the Reaper yelled, smacking the tank commander with his hand cannon. The British tank commander lay unconscious on the tank, as the Reaper aimed his gun at the man. "Here comes the pain.", he said. Before he could pull the trigger, a pink blur blocked his vision. "Hi there my name is Pinkie Pie I'm a pony that's a big box on your back and you look weird you can fly holy hay you need to let me on i wanna fly i wanna see how these jets burn your butt off and i heard you have a pizza has it been thirty minutes already you owe me a free pizza preferably without meat we're ponies and we eat vegan don't deny us your affection because we're vegan we still respect each other as a person right? Please answer me what's going on why are you still so frozen do you know what these guns do how high can you jump please answer me have you tried a cupcake they're so good especially when made with love and friendship and all the regular stuff I had a bakery but it blew up I'm sad please answer me please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please-" "SHUT UP!!", the Reaper yelled angrily. He grabbed Pinkie Pie off of his face and hurled her at the Char. She impacted the tank violently, a loud *CLANG* filling the air. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy stared in horror as Pinkie Pie was dislodged from the French tank, leaving a pony sized dent in the side. She fell and crumpled to the ground, knocked out. "Pinkie Pie!", Rarity cried. She used her magic to levitate her friend over to the Churchill, as Fluttershy and Applejack attacked the shock trooper. "You meanie!!", Fluttershy cried, using the Stare on the Reaper. The Reaper, unfazed, grabbed her by the mane and slammed her down on the tank, knocking her down for the count. "C'mere!", Applejack yelled. She jumped up and kicked the Reaper, hard. The jump pack trooper growled before grabbing and hoisting Applejack by the neck. He glared her down with his yellow goggles. "Fear the Reaper man.", he said, before throwing her next to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. He turned to Rarity and strolled over to the four ponies. Rarity just stared up, petrified of this man. A chuckle escaped the Reaper. "I like you.", he said. He raised his pistols at her friends. "That's why I'm gonna kill you last." He was about to shoot when a hand grabbed his shoulder. The Reaper turned to see his fellow Ghost standing there, his C-20A rifle in his other hand. "it's getting too hot! We gotta move.", the Ghost said. "We'll come back." The Ghost turned away to cloak, as the Reaper turned to the ponies. Fluttershy was beginning to wake up. "I love it when a plan comes together.", he said. The other men immediately opened fire. Gunfire caught his attention, and several rifle and machine gun shots bounced off his armor from the others around them. "Finally! The life of a reaper man is always intense.", the Reaper said. He grabbed several demolition charges and threw them into the air. "GERONIMO!!" He jumped off and flew away, as the charges went off. Fluttershy's ears rang from the explosion, before she looked up. From her slightly blurred vision, she saw the rain of shrapnel come down, and she shut her eyes. Rarity, in a split second, immediately formed a shield with her magic as the shrapnel came down. Everyone was killed, and the tanks were ripped apart. Rarity and Fluttershy shut their eyes, as Applejack groaned and got up to see the shield. When the rain stopped, the shield went away. Rarity stared at the devastation around her. The tanks were torn apart, even the King Tiger. All that was left of the Royal Guard escort was bloodied golden metal scraps. There was blood on the hole ridden ground around them. The only thing remaining was the Churchill which the shield had completely encased and protected. The commander woke up. "Ugh...what happened?", he groaned. Rarity broke down, as did Fluttershy. Applejack took off her hat, as Pinkie Pie lay unconscious. Over on Cloudsdale, the Viking continued to fire endlessly at the ponies and humans. the rounds ripped through the cloud cover, killing pilots and destroying planes left and right. Rainbow Dash peeked from behind a cloud, before a round zipped by her. The Wonderbolts flew by, their lightning cannons blazing violently. A bolt zapped the Viking's arm, and the Viking turned to the Wonderbolt, its Gatling cannons blazing. The storm of bullets ripped the Pegasus apart, the lightning cannon exploding. Everyone ducked and covered, as the Viking kept firing. The Angel of Belladonna and the Reaper's Vanguard flew off, unbeknownst to the Viking. Rainbow Dash watched as the bombers escaped, before a shot glanced off a fighter near her. Spitfire and High Winds stayed pinned to the cloud ground, as the Viking stomped forward. A P-47 turned and opened fire with its eight 50 Cal. machine guns, the rate of fire adding up to almost 4800 rounds per minute. The Viking pilot recoiled from the sudden attack, its Gatling cannons stopping. The P-47 kept firing, until something shot into the fighter, causing it to suddenly explode. Rainbow Dash looked up to see several rockets flying towards Cloudsdale. "Look out!!", she cried. Soarin and Misty Fly ducked as a backlash rocket flew by and destroyed an FW 190. A red AH/G-24 Banshee uncloaked from above the Viking, and opened fire. The rockets decimated fighters left and right, as the Viking opened fire again. "Thanks, I owe ya.", the Viking pilot said. The Banshee pilot smirked. "Maybe a drink after we're done?", she asked. "Cut the chatter, you two. Just clear that floating city. Then we'll have enough room to forward a command center on the ground. I trust you two will handle it?", the radio crackled. "Yes, command. We'll adjust as soon as all hostiles are clear.", the Viking said. Several lightning cannons, now mounted on the Royal Guard, fired at the Banshee. The shots struck and coursed throughout the aircraft, before it dissipated. By then, all the remaining pilots returned to whatever was left of their planes. "Fire!", the lead pilot said. Two Spitfires, three Hurricanes, two FW 190s, a BF 109, four P-47s, and the Heinkel 111 opened fire as they raced towards the Viking. The Viking had no time to fire, and the Banshee tried to fire at the incoming planes taking off. "My rockets are jammed! That damn lightning!", the Banshee pilot said. The Viking was rammed off the clouds, the assault suit spiraling to the ground as the planes shot by. Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts, and the Royal Guard chased after them. The Banshee turned to chase, before the radio crackled to life. "Hey, I'm alright.", the viking pilot said. "Don't chase." "But our orders were to-" "Our orders were to get rid of them. They left, they're cleared out. Our job's done.", the Viking pilot said. "Damn right it is.", command said. "Get your Dominion Special Force asses back to HQ." The Banshee disarmed its rockets and flew to the ground, seeing the Viking transformed and flying down to a Dominion Planetary Fortress and an Orbital Command. Elsewhere, the Hellbat stared down Jones's Sherman, with Twilight and Luna staring fearfully back. The Hellbat pilot smirked. "What? no remark? No running off?", it said. It turned to Jones, holding up an arm. "Hey, you Terran?", he said. "Uhh...", was all Jones could say. Another Hellion drove over and transformed into a Hellbat, before whacking one of its its shield arms against the Hellbat. "Enough! We have to clear out the area and leave. That's it.", the other Hellbat said. "Remember our orders. No unnecessary casualties." The other Hellbat turned to see the molten tank on the ground. "You broke protocol already?" Twilight turned and saw several ships flying towards their area. Two Dominion barracks and a factory(which is bigger than the barracks). Two Medivac dropships and a Wraith accompanied the large flying buildings. "Fine.", the other Hellbat said. It turned around and began to push the Sherman tank back. "Anyway, go back home...make sure you keep a distance, and stay safe.", he said in a mock muttering tone. He pushed the tank back several meters before transforming into its car mode and driving off. Twilight watched as the Medivacs landed, with two strange looking tanks rolling out of one, while several bulky armored men that looked strangely like the humans from Luna's vision. Twilight turned to Luna, and judging from her facial expression, those men were the same as the vision she showed less than an hour earlier. "I think it's safe to say this scavenging mission is aborted.", Jones said. "Let's get back to base before they change their mind and decide to melt us." A roaring sound filled the air, and two B-17 bombers flew back to base, barely visible above the clouds. "Wait!", Twilight said. "Luna, you saw these, right?" Luna was staring at the two strange looking tanks, which were transforming into some sort of spider looking creature. Its main gun turret stretched and stuck out into a large shock cannon. "Luna!" Luna jolted as her attention was drawn away from the tank, back to Twilight. "Oh, uh, yes?", she said. "You saw these?", Twilight repeated. "Yes, I did.", Luna said. "They were monsters...but that vision was from the future. I don't understand." "Neither do I, princess. We must ask them.", Twilight said. She was about to hop off the Sherman when Jones grabbed her by her neck, pulling her back on the tank. "Excuse me? You saw Malkin, right? He was downright melted!", Jones said. "I dunno, but I'd rather bring a princess or two back alive guaranteed rather than risk that robot of theirs." "Well, we can't do anything else but-", Twilight began, before a roar filled the air. Several planes and Pegasi flew back towards the base, some getting shot down. Two Wraith fighters were chasing the planes, firing missiles at the planes. Each missile was a hit, as fighter planes getting hit and knocked down. "What the-", Jones said, before he was cut off by a loud *whoosh*. He turned to see Twilight galloping towards the alien base. "My God...", he muttered, before turning to Luna. "Get back to your sister. I'll make sure Twilight doesn't get hurt." "But-", Luna said. Jones glared at the lunar princess, making her shut up. "Go!", Jones said. Luna nodded and got off the Sherman, before galloping away. Jones lowered himself under the cupola and put on his tanker helmet. He kicked the tank driver's shoulder and gestured for them to follow. The alicorn raced towards the base, Jones's Sherman following close behind them. They reached the command center, which was massive. Two SCVs left the base, towards a makeshift dig site. Two marines, a medic, and a marauder stood next to a bunker, with a locked down siege tank looking around. Twilight slipped around the base and hid behind a barracks and its tech lab. Two more marines walked out of the barracks, chatting. Twilight hurried past the barracks and towards a factory, which was even bigger. She looked around, as two Vulture bikes raced by. She looked to another building, and her eyes widened. The Starport was massive, being bigger than the command center. Twilight watched as a Banshee flew out the opening on top. Twilight snuck inside the Starport's massive ramp, before climbing up to the main hall. She looked around while trotting through the empty hallway. She hid behind a pillar as two pilots walked by. "What is this place?", Twilight muttered. She wandered the area, until she reached a balcony. She stepped out on it, and her eyes widened. Six stories below her, were several hangars all arranged facing inward as a circle. Wraith fighters, Banshees, Raven drones, Vikings, and medivac dropships were in the hangars, with hundreds of workers and pilots working around. "Wow...", Twilight muttered. The sound of a door opening broke her awe, and she quickly hid behind the doorway. A Viking pilot flirting with a Banshee pilot walked by, giggles and talking fading away. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, before she went back to exploring the place. Jones's Sherman stayed in a mass of giant bushes, with Jones sneaking into the Starport not too far away. "Hope she's in here.", he breathed. Twilight went and explored the station, all while staying hidden from any crew members inside. She reached a giant room where several workers and crew were on holograms and computers. "Command wants the Starport back to the Relentless.", the captain said. "The last Viking squadron should be taking off now. Prepare for liftoff." Twilight blinked, before the whole Starport rumbled violently. In the Starport bar, everyone stumbled slightly. The pilots in the hangar held on to something, let it be the their fighters or the wall. Jones clutched a pillar nearby as the whole Starport began to hover. The landing pads jolted, and steam hissed from the vents of the large craft. The warning lights outside blinked and flared, as marines and medics cleared the takeoff zone. Twilight watched as the bridge locked down, the window shutters opening, and the hallway lights flashing red. The massive building hovered high and higher, as it slowly gained altitude. The lights stopped blinking, and Twilight looked around. Two Banshees and two Wraiths hovered along with the massive building. Twilight watched from a window as the blue of the sky slowly turned into the black of space. A Hercules mass troop transport flew downward, as the silhouette of something in space got closer. "I'm...in space.", Twilight thought. She didn't see the humongous Gorgon-class Battlecruiser get closer. Elsewhere... At the base, a BMW R-75 roared as Jack twisted the handle. Din sat in the sidecar, holding onto an MG-34 mounted on the side. "Be back soon!", Edward yelled. "Don't worry!", Jack said, smirking. He twisted the handle again, and the motorcycle and sidecar took off down the hill. Two more BMW R-75 motorcycles took off as well, both with sidecars and armed with MG-34 machine guns. Behind them were two Kübelwagens, each with twin MG-42 mounts on them. Jack looked around with his one good eye, and steered towards the convoy around through the forest. When they reached the other side of the forest, his eyes widened when he saw something in front of him. "What is that?", he asked. His sidecar companion held up a pair of binoculars and looked through it. A Medivac was landed, with two marines standing outside the ramp. "Enemies.", Din said. Jack turned to the Kübelwagens, and two men with Kar 98s climbed out. They crawled to the front and took aim. The marines had their visors down, but it wasn't difficult to tell where the heads were. The men pulled their bolts, and squeezed the trigger. Two shots ripped through one marine's visor, killing him. The other grabbed his Gauss rifle and started looking around in alarm. The two men looked at each other incredulously. "Ich dachte, du hast den richtigen!!", one said. "Nein, ich hatte das eine auf der rechten Seite, du hattest das auf der linken Seite!!", the other guy said. Din took a Swedish Model 1894 from a box mounted on the sidecar, and took aim, pulling the bolt. He fired once and pulled the bolt, before firing again. One shot cracked the visor at an angle, while the other bullet scored a headshot. "Thank you.", Jack said. He turned back to the Terran dropship down the hill. "Now let's see what that is." Somewhere else far away, two BT-42s and a Vickers tank hid in the bushes, as Ahti watched with binoculars. He looked back to his squad and his tank crew. "Meidän on lopetettava varjot täällä.", he said. Author's Note Vikings are BADASS. This Viking is technically my OC. Sad thing is, they don't last long. SO...you can BET that this Viking will last. Hope you enjoyed. Infiltrating The GorgonAt the human base in Ponyville, Edward breathed out a puff of smoke as his cigarette burned out. He tossed the husk on the ground, before a Jagdtiger flattened it to the ground. He got up and walked towards the center. He walked into the center, before getting plowed over by Luna. "Sister!", Luna cried. Celestia turned to see her sister galloping towards her. She barely had time before she was knocked over by the night princess. "Ugh...sister?", Celestia said. "The aliens...vision...they're real.", Luna gasped, still out of breath from running. Edward groaned as he got up. A soldier cringed as he saw the hoof imprints on the lieutenant's back. "Twilight did what?!", Celestia cried. "She went off and...and...that tank human went after her. He sent me back, and I wanted to get more help, believe me!", Luna said. “I believe you.”, Celestia said. Luna looked back to see no one had returned yet. "How long has it been since she left?" “Too long...I hope Twilight’s safe.”, Luna said. A soldier walking by saw Edward pick himself off the ground. He cringed at the hoof prints on his back, before hurrying off somewhere. Edward picked up his BAR and walked to the princesses. As he walked, he started cracking his spine and neck in several different places. “What’s the situation?”, he asked. Luna and Celestia gulped as the lieutenant raised an eyebrow. “He’s not going to like this. Twilight, I hope you’re OK.”, Celestia thought. In space In the Starport, Twilight Sparkle giggled as she spiraled down the empty hallway. Zero gravity was taking its effect on the young alicorn, the pony flying down the locked down ship. From a door window, a Viking pilot sat fiddling with his helmet when a purple blur caught his attention. He opened his door to look outside, before the same blur shot back and slammed into him. “Sorry!”, Twilight cried. The pilot recovered, to see there was no purple anywhere. He looked around, scratching his head in confusion. His helmet floated in front of him, and he grabbed it. “Uhh...”, he groaned. He went back inside his room, as Twilight came out of hiding. “Phew!”, she sighed. She looked to a window, and her eyes widened at what was in front of her. The humongous Gorgon Class Battlecruiser before her took up the whole window, with the only sources of light outside being the many tiny little lights on the ship. "We are approaching the Relentless. Should we contact them?", a worker on the Starport bridge asked, as a thermos floated past her. "Yes.", the commander said. "Aven, lock down fighters in the hangar." "Copy.", another crew member said. He pressed a button on the control pad in front of him, and the outline of the whole hangar on the holographic screen began to glow red. Jones was sneaking his way into the hangar, when the door behind him slammed shut with a *WHAM*. Jones turned to look at the locked door. "Aw, shit.", he said. On the Relentless, the captain looked to the Starport, a set of light specks above the planet in orbit. “Starport C-95 has entered orbit. Distance is 792 meters.” “Intercept velocity is 84 meters per second.” “Send a Hercules to intercept.”, the captain said. One of the Gorgon’s many hangars opened up, as a Hercules flew over to the Starport. Twilight looked out to see some sort of craft flying out of the massive ship. Jones hid behind a Viking, before hurrying behind the backs of a group of pilots to a Medivac. A group of marines were talking, before they split up. One of them was walking towards where Jones was hiding. "Uh oh.", he muttered, before ducking under the Medivac's massive thruster. The marine walked past, as a Medivac pilot walked into the dropship. Jones let out a sigh of relief and walked out from under the giant engine. The pilot sat in her seat, and began to check her ship. "Ready for dustoff.", she announced. The engine suddenly fired downwards, the backlash throwing boxes, supplies, including Jones around the room. Jones flew completely to the other side of the hangar, crashing in a massive pile of empty cardboard boxes. Minutes later, Jones climbed out of the pile, his head stuck in a box. "Ugh...", he grumbled, pulling the box off his head. He turned to see the flight officer yelling at the Medivac pilot for starting up without safety precautions and how someone could've gotten hurt. "Someone did get hurt...", Jones muttered, before pulling the box off his head. He got up and stumbled to where a Banshee was finishing maintenance. Back in space, the Hurcules had gotten closer, and Twilight could easily see how giant it was. The transport hovered next to the flying building, with air thrusting out of vents on the side constantly burning to prevent collision. "We have a visual on the Hercules. Preparing magnetic locks.", a Starport worker said. Twilight stared out the window, as the giant transport got even closer. In the hangar, Jones could practically feel the rumble of the Hercules's engine next to the ship. Before it could dock, a green blast struck the Hercules’s engine, throwing off the balance. The Hercules crashed into the Starport, and both began to drift off course. Both craft vibrated, shaking violently. More green blasts attacked the transport, which was dying quickly. "Mutulisks!", one of the Gorgon crew members said. Sure enough, several Zerg mutalisks were flying on an intercept path towards the two crafts. "Retain balance! Get this craft back on course!", the Starport commander yelled. "Roger.", a crew member said. He pressed a button, and the afterburners of the Starport began to force the flying building upright again. “If I die, I’ll kill ya!”, a Scottish voice over the radio yelled. Almost right after, the Hercules exploded. Jones, who was hiding in the hangar saw the explosion from behind a parked Banshee. The cockpit opened and a young woman wearing her AH/G-24 stealth air suit, with its visor down. She pressed the button on her attached headpiece, and the visor went up. The loud explosion shook the Starport, and the pilot crashed The Banshee's pilot, and a set of crew members saw this, and their eyes widened as a chunk of metal flew towards the open hangar. "Oh, shit!", one of the crew members yelled. The pilot and crew jumped out of the way, just as Jones bolted for cover. The massive shard of metal flew through the door and struck the wall on the opposite side. Almost immediately, oxygen was sucked through the breach, people and boxes flying. In the hall, Twilight was immediately pulled back as the flowing oxygen began to force her back. Luckily for her, the door was shut, and she was back pressed against the door. Jones saw the Banshee pilot flying, and he immediately let go of the SCV he was dearly holding on to. He leapt and grabbed the pilot's arm using one hand, while grabbing the bottom wing of a hanging Wraith above him. The pilot looked at him in shock, as Jones looked back at her with a straining expression. It was no question that his grip was slowly weakening. An SCV jumped in, and began sealing the breach, the operator using its drill and claw. A minute later, the breach was sealed, the shard of metal welded into the hole. The Banshee pilot and Jones fell to the ground, landing on a Medivac. Jones groaned as he rolled off the dropship. "Ah...hell. That was harder than I thought...", he muttered. He turned back and his eyes widened when he saw the Banshee pilot going after him. "Hey, get back here!", the pilot said, as she jumped after the American tank commander through the Starport hangar. The Gorgon Battlecruiser had intercepted the Starport, defending from the swarm of Mutalisks. The zerg flyers' glaive wurms fired at the massive cruiser, but the Relentless had more firepower, blasting away the Mutalisks with one shot kills. The Battlecruiser escorts were in formation up close defending the Gorgon. Another Battlecruiser was up close to the Starport, reaady to rescue it. (By the way, glaive wurm is spelled glaive wurm) Two more Hercules managed to dock with the Starport, on either side, and began to pull it towards the Relentless. The mutalisks blasted one of the Hercules, severely damaging it. "Mayday, mayday!", one of the Starport's operators yelled. A blast struck the Starport, ripping a hole in the side. The blast destroyed two of the hallways, killing everyone in that segment. Twilight, who was in the adjacent hall, was thrown against the wall. The craft couldn't take much more. Twilight turned and saw an explosion across the hall. She could see the blackness of space through the breach. Before she could think anything of it, she was immediately pulled across the hall. The Starport was pulled into the Gorgon, and almost immediately, artificial gravity taking effect. Twilight landed on the floor with a loud *thud*, right before she was sucked through the hole. Jones and the Banshee pilot were wrestling in the middle of the hallway, before the gravity pulled back them down. The pilot crashed to the ground, before Jones landed on top of her, both dazed and stunned. Jones looked down and saw the female pilot, unconscious under him. "Welp, bye!", he said. He quickly got up and ran off, leaving the pilot sprawled on the floor. The doors opened, and the pilots and crew members of the Starport began to clear the whole place. The pilots and crew hurried out as medics and ship board firefighters entered. Twilight enabled an invisibility spell, sneaking past the groups of Terrans. She looked up at the massive hangar, seeing a Wraith docked above her. Twilight looked outside as a Mutalisk flew by, a Viking chasing it. A Wraith flew out of the hangar, immediately engaging in a chase against the swarm of Mutalisks. Twiliggt watched as a squad of Terran marines walked by, followed by two Marauders. Behind those Marauders were a group of Firebats, a Ghost, and two Hellions making their way by Twilight, towards a Hercules. Somewhere else, a massive Thor siege walker walked into another Hercules, followed by two siege tanks and a few marines. Several marines made their way into two Medivacs. The four transports lifted high, flying past the Starport and a nearby Factory. Four Vikings and two Wraiths flew with them. Twilight looked around, before peeking up the hill. Her eyes widened when she saw Jones stumble out. She acted quickly and grabbed Jones, pulling him under the Starport ramp, as a Goliath stormed by. "What are you doing?!", Twilight yelled in a whisper. "Are you trying to get killed?!" "No, I'm trying to keep you from getting killed, Miss 'See Everything and Not Care About Risks', so excuse me!", Jones whispered back. Twilight was about to retort, but her eyes widened in realization. "Oh.", Twilight whispered. "Sorry." "Apologies later.", Jones said. "These guys are about to kill us all, so let's blow up wherever the hell we are and get out of here." Jones peeked out from under the ramp, to see the last group of marines walking away. "OK, coast is clear. Let's move.", Jones said. The human and the pony slipped past the Starport, only to get spotted immediately. "You!" Jones turned around to see that same pilot standing at the edge of the ramp. Her helmet was folded back, and her suit's power tube was unhooked, dangling by her left arm. She had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, with a few strands hanging in front of her face. She had fierce yellow eyes that glared right into Jones's soul. "Uh oh.", Jones said, before booking it across the hangar. The Banshee pilot suddenly grew fire in her eyes, before chasing the tank commander at inhuman speed. Twilight blinked as she stared at the two people running over siege tanks and Hellions, before sneaking away, still invisible. "Hey, I saved your life!!", Jones cried. "You're not Dominion!!", the pilot yelled. Twilight slipped past Dominion crew members, stopping as one or two nearly walked into her. She spent an hour or so looking around, sneaking into the weapons rooms, armories, cargo bays, sleeping quarters, mess halls, trash compactor, and the engine room. She ran into a Goliath in training, and she spent nearly an hour watching in amazement as the bipedal double jointed walker stormed around the room, firing at targets, as well as marines training under mech support. Then she remembered her mission and went to the engine room. She looked out of the engine room and hurried out just as a technician walked in. Twilight looked around, before sneaking back to the hangar. An hour later, she walked back in, and stared wide eyed at what was in front of her. Jones had pinned down the Banshee pilot, who was bound, gagged, and half buried by a pile of C-14 Gauss rifles. Jones looked up, smiling. "Oh, hey!", he said. "Did you find a way to blow up the place?" "Yeah.", Twilight said, reluctantly. She was still surprised at the sight before her. The pilot was yelling, her voice muffled. Twilight looked away. "Will she be alright?", she asked. Jones held up a Terran flak pistol with both arms, like a rifle, aiming at the pilot. "She'll be fine, depending on her.", he said. "So, what'd you find?" "Well...we don't need to blow it up, right?", Twilight asked. "I mean, we can just leave?" "No, this whole thing is dangerous. We need to cut off their support and find a way to get back down there.", Jones said. "We can't blow up this whole thing! It's too big! I couldn't get through half the place without getting lost!", Twilight said. "I got it.", Jones said. "We'll blow up a hangar, and then leave. One of these things should take us back." "Can you fly one of them?", Twilight asked. "No...but I think we know someone who can.", Jones said. The two of them looked at the pilot hostage in front of them. She gulped nervously, before slumping in defeat. Then a loud hum filled the air. Jones and Twilight turned to see a Medivac crash into the hangar, before hitting a Viking, the craft exploding. Twilight and Jones recoiled as the explosion shook the hangar. The Medivac's ramp opened, and Jack and his guys walked out, smiling. "Hey, guys!", Jack said. Twilight sighed as Jones looked to the pilot. "Wow.", he said. The pilot only nodded feebly. Back on the ground Lena shook her wings free of the rope, as the unconscious tank crew lay on the ground. She took her crossbow and slipped the strap over her shoulder. "Finally, this place is fucked up.", she muttered. She looked back at the base in the distance, which a German Panzer IV had left for patrolling. She turned around and was about to take off, before she saw something on the ground. A single red dot shifted on the dirt, as if it were teasing her. Then the dot disappeared. "Huh?", Lena muttered. Suddenly, something below burrowed from underground. A single big red eye stared up at the Pegasus mercenary. "Huh?", Lena said. Then a humming sound caught her attention, making her look up. A Raven drone hovered over the Pegasus, its cameras staring down at her. "Auto-turret engaged." A little box dropped from the drone and landed next to the little red eye from the ground. The box unfolded into a massive Gatling Gauss cannon complete with gun shield and ammo box. The little antenna on the turret beeped red, and the gun clicked. "Uh oh.", Lena said. She ducked out of the way behind the Panzer IV she just escaped as the turret opened fire at 54,000 rounds per minute. The object that was underground jumped out, revealing itself to be the four-legged Widow mine. The mine crawled towards Lena and fired its Sentinel fragmentation missile. Lena looked up and saw the missile coming at her, and she shot away, flying. The missile struck the Panzer IV, completely shredding and killing whatever or whoever was near. Lena turned and saw the Widow mine and the Raven chasing after her. The auto-turret continued to shoot at Lena with its ridiculously high firing rate. Gauss rounds shot past Lena, who was flying in the most panicked manner a Pegasus could fly. She kept looking back at her pursuers that she didn't see the AMR 33 in front of her. She plowed into the French cavalry tank with a loud clang, just as the commander saw the incoming threats. "Feu!!", he yelled. The 7.5mm machine gun opened fire, and the rounds struck the Widow mine's legs and eye, immediately disabling it and rendering it threat-less. The Raven picked up its auto-turret and was ready to deploy it next to the tank, before a large rocket flew up and blew up the drone, a cloud of smoke in the air and neosteel raining from the cloud. Lena turned to see a Japanese Type 2592 Chiyoda Armored Car behind the AMR 33, with a soldier wielding a smoking Type 4 AT 70mm rocket launcher, still aimed up at the sky. A Type 92 cavalry tank was not too far behind. Lena smiled, before shooting away into the sky, leaving the French and Japanese patrol staring at the mercenary. War Begins AgainLuna and Celestia were the town center, which was now called Tactical Command, trying to plan a way to rescue Twilight and Jones. Edward was with them. "Twilight and the human went to an alien base...so how do we find them?", Celestia asked. "Certainly, it can't be hard to find a pony and a human in a place full of different red aliens." "We could try to use invisibility to get in.", Luna suggested. "It should be easy if we stay hidden in the process." "No, we can't risk it. These new guys might have a way of detection. We need another plan.", Edward said, slinging his BAR over his shoulder and onto the table. "We could send some of the tanks as a diversion.", Celestia said. "I'll go with the diversion to ensure they stay safe." "What would we do? Our last recon unit came back saying their buildings have turrets on them. We won't be able to move them.", Edward said. "If we were to sneak in, those turrets would rip us apart." "The shadows.", Luna said. "If we cold try to find a way to get the enemy here, the defenses will be too occupied with the shadows in order for them to shoot us. We just need a way to find them." Celestia felt a light bulb go off in her head. "Edward, find Zecora.", she said. "Who?", Edward asked. Celestia sweat dropped before she looked at Luna. "Sister, find Zecora. She should have a calling potion or a way to summon something. The fate of Equestria may lie in her hooves.", she said. "Of course.", Luna said. Celestia sighed as Luna galloped off to find the pony who lived in the Everfree Forest. She turned to Edward, who was smirking. "What?", Celestia asked. "Oh, nothing.", Edward said, looking away nonchalantly. He took his BAR and hurried off. He reached his men, already ready to deploy. "Get ready. We're going in, hot.", he said. Somewhere else... Ember and Spike sat in the field, lying back against a tree. The field was right next to the human airfield, with planes constantly landing, refueling, and restocking, while pilots walked around and got ready to take off. "You know...", Spike said. "What?", Ember asked. "I wanna know what it's like out there. I barely leave Ponyville. Well, I do leave, but not ads much as Twilight and the others do.", Spike said. "Heh. I know what it's like.", Ember said. Spike turned to Ember, intrigued by her answer. Ember turned to see Spike's expression, and she understood the need to elaborate. "Well, being leader of the Dragons means little to no freedom, despite what other ponies and dragons think.", Ember said, while shifting in her position against the tree. "It means constantly giving attention to the others. I don't have a problem with it, but...it's just hard." "Yeah, Celestia and Twilight talk about this kind of stuff and how it's hard, but they never actually complain.", Spike said. "I know I'd go crazy over this kinda thing, but still." "Yeah, I feel you.", Ember said. She took a small bottle of vodka and gulped the 20% alcoholic drink. Spike turned to Ember in curiosity. "What's that?", Spike asked. "The guy said it was...ˈvädkə? Vodka? Maybe vodka, it's easier to say.", Ember said. "This stuff's good. I feel less stressed, my scales feel smoother, and I think it's helping my wing grow back." "Really?", Spike asked. He turned to look at Ember's busted wing, to see it had indeed grown in the process of several weeks ago. "Wow. Can I have some?" Ember held the bottle away from the baby dragon. "Sorry, kid. Adult drink only.", she said. She took another long drink and sighed, before hiccuping. "Ahh, that's the stuff.", she said. Spike sighed. "Alcoholics...", he muttered. "Hey, I'm not addicted. And dragons *hiccup* can't get drunk for long anyways.", Ember said. "It's not a big deal." "Oh, really?" Spike got up and started to mimic a drunk, swaying around. Ember giggled before hiccuping again. Spike chuckled before stretching. "I'ma go back now. Try not to burn anything down.", he said. "No promises.", Ember said. She finished her drink and lay back against the tree. Somewhere else... Jack and Jones were lifting several boxes and leaning them against the door, to prevent anyone from coming in and investigating. The explosion had trigger alarms and the crew members of the Relentless were bound to start arriving in the hangar. "There, that should buy us some time.", Jones said. Din and two other Germans were throwing armed demolition charges at one of the giant doorways, while two more Germans were getting chased by Terran Spider mines. The rest were trying to get the dropship operational, all while holding the pilot at gunpoint. "This will never work. The Dominion will destroy this ship before it leaves its sight.", the pilot said, as she started working on the controls. "You shouldn't have gone here." "Says the one whose guys came over our planet and started attacking us and invading.", Jones said, tilting his head. "We don't take too kindly to anyone who takes the lives of our own." "Wait, what?", the pilot asked in surprise. She stopped working, and a German nudged her with a Swedish Mauser. "Yeah, giant monster cars with flamethrowers burned one of our tanks, and we're not happy with that.", Jones said. The pilot growled. "Damn Hellions!", she said. At that moment, an alarm went off, and a security camera screen was shown on the large monitor on the hangar wall. Several marines and medics were running through the halls, towards the hangar. Jones's eyes widened at seeing their massive CMC suits, as well as their giant machine guns. "Holy hell, they're big.", he said, as Twilight stared at the giant machine suits. "Incoming!", Jack yelled, as his men ran to a crate of explosives. Jones ran towards the large ship, yelling at the pilot to hurry up. Twilight shook herself out of her distracted stupor and quickly followed the American tank commander. The pilot was nudged with the pistol again and she squeaked in surprise. "OK, OK, I'm hurrying!", she cried. "Stop pushing me!" She was met with another nudge to her side, and she groaned in exasperation. A German through a large frag grenade, and the explosive detonated past the doorway, shrapnel killing two marines in the front. A medic got to cover as another marine opened fire with his C-14. The Germans ducked, as they ran into the ship. The pilot finally got the ship working, with the engines roaring to life. Then again, most people tend to work faster when they have a pistol that shoots fragmentation rounds pointed at their head. "Fall back!", Jones yelled from the cockpit. The Germans threw another handful of explosives at the enemy and ran onto the ship. The charges blew up more marines, severely wounding them. The medics were healing as fast as they could, but the smoke was blinding them. Jack, however was controlling an infernal plasma flamethrower mounted on one of the Hellions, next to a German with a Gewehr 43. He was smiling as the plasma flame instantly blocked off one of the exits and melted a few marines. "Die Zukunft ist erstaunlich!!", Jack laughed. A marine nearby fired, destroying the flamethrower on the car. Jack and the German with him jumped out and ran to the Medivac. Several more marines broke through and opened fire with their Gauss rifles, thousands of rounds flying at the ship. The 8mm metal spikes embedded themselves in the hull of the ship, as the Medivac pulled away. Jack pulled a German into the ship, as the doors closed. The hangar doors were beginning to close, as the ship turned around. The pilot was sweating under her headgear, as she punched the throttle. The marines continued to fire as the ship managed to narrowly escape the closing doors. The Medivac escaped the Gorgon and its escorts. Jones looked back to see the 3 kilometer ship disappearing from view. "Why aren't they following?", Jones muttered. Twilight trotted to the window, to see that the ship hadn't moved. "Let's worry about that later...I'm tired.", Twilight said. She went to the corner and curled up one on of the seats. As the seats were designed to carry giant marine suits bigger than humans themselves, Twilight could easily fit. Her wings covered her body, her feathers bristling briefly, before she nodded off. Jones sat in the bulky seat that was next to her, before falling asleep. A few moments after falling asleep, he unconsciously leaned over, before his arm lay on Twilight's mane. Jack smiled, before turning to his squad. "You can go to sleep.", he said, before gesturing to the pilot. "I'll watch over her." The Germans complied, and they went to their seats, falling asleep. Jack took the large flak pistol and aimed it at the pilot. "You know the drill.", he said. The pilot groaned and slammed her head on the controls, a honking noise emitting from the ship. "Fuck all of you." Somewhere else on the ground... Hundreds of soldiers fired as the incoming marines and marauders attacked their line. Tigers, King Tigers, and other heavy tanks were used as a wall of impenetrable armor, as the troops waited for the enemy to come into range. "Open fire!", a Dominion marine yelled. The Gauss rifles opened fire, and the troops on the other side of the tanks ducked behind. All the rounds either deflected or embedded themselves into the tanks. The C-14 Gauss rifle’s AP steel encased bullet spikes could penetrate 2 inches, or 5 millimeters of armor. The King Tiger and the IS-2 were well equipped with over 100 millimeters of armor. The tank line started firing their main guns as fast as they could, as the infantry was piling up behind the tanks. The tank cannons were taking out small groups of marines. “Go, go, go!”, the marine sergeant yelled, as his men charged the lines. A Tiger fired an HE shell, annihilating a group of marines, while a Goliath walked up, firing its high caliber cannons. The walker’s weaponry destroyed a T-34, while an IS-2 fired its 120mm cannon, which punched through the Goliath’s cockpit. “Now!!”, a German in the front yelled. Several SPGs fired their artillery cannons, and the barrage of explosive shells demolished the first wave of enemy marines. The smoke blinded the next wave, and the marines and marauders held their ground, Gauss guns and grenade launchers aimed. A few Vikings in assault mode walked up, Gatling guns at the ready. The smoke began to clear, and the marines waited. Before anything else could happen, several marines were plowed over by unknown vehicles. BT-42s and Crusader tanks crashed through the marines, firing howitzers and pounder cannons at the enemy. The Vikings opened fire, their 75mm Gatling guns easily destroying a light tank. A Crusader rammed through a Viking’s legs, causing it to fall sideways. A BT-42 swerved madly to the left, and fired its high caliber howitzer point blank in the fallen Viking’s cockpit, destroying the mech/fighter. The infantry watched as the outnumbered light tanks fought the outmatched assault mechs, before a shot fired in the air. “Charge!!”, a British soldier yelled. The couple thousand troops roared as the remaining heavy tanks in the line turned to the front, with the soldiers running through the spaces. The next wave of marines saw the Vikings and tanks fighting, with more Vikings falling to the fast light tanks. “Marauders, move up!”, a marine yelled. A large group of marauders and medics started to advance. “Fire!”, a marine yelled. The marauders fired their grenades, and the light tanks were instantly wiped out, with no survivors. The remaining Vikings turned around, before several rockets from bazookas and panzerschrecks flew from everywhere, destroying the mechs. The last Viking crashed to the ground, as hundreds of soldiers attacked. The marauders were met with rifle and machine gun fire everywhere. Their power armor protected the user from damage from every shot, but they were getting peppered by so many shots that the marauders couldn’t get a single shot off without their grenades getting shot out of the air. “Grenades!!”, a soldier yelled. Hand grenades, stick grenades, thermite grenades, and anti tank grenades were thrown at the enemy, and a huge ripple of explosions wiped out the marauders and medics, as well as some marines. More smoke billowed in the air as the infantry charged over the line of marines. The bulky marines were knocked over by the soldiers, before their visors were shot out by their rifles or their machine guns. As they fought, a Viking and a Banshee flew in the sky, patrolling the area. “I’m certain no more air units are gonna come over here.”, the Viking pilot said. “We took out a few already without them seeing us, don't worry again.” “You just wanna get drunk again.”, the Banshee pilot said. “The bar is closed on that Starport, like I told you last time.” “Or, it could be you just trying to screw with me again.”, the Viking pilot said. “You love to torture me, kinky.” “Shut up!”, the Banshee pilot muttered. Then a blur shot by them, distracting the pilots. “What was that?” The Viking pilot looked around, as the blur came back around, zipping past his cockpit. “What the hell?”, he said. Then a large bolt deflected off the Banshee’s missile pod, startling the pilot. “What was that?!”, she cried. “Check your six!”, the Viking pilot yelled. The two aircraft swerved different directions as Lena shot by the two of them. “Damn!”, she said, as the merc pony swerved back around to attack the Banshee. The attack ship veered left and right, but Lena was on her like a moth to a light. “I can’t shake it!”, the pilot cried, as more crossbow bolts flew by. “I’m on it, just hold on!”, the Viking pilot said. The Viking swerved around, and the targeting computers started to lock onto Lena. Lena turned to see the Viking's MT-50 torpedo pods arming. "Shit!", she said. "Torpedoes away!", the pilot yelled. The missiles shot out, all of them, and Lena broke off her chase to flee. The missiles continued to chase her. Lena turned around and armed a bolt, before loading it and aiming at a missile. She fired, and the bolt wedged itself into the warhead of one of the MT-50s. "Seriously?!", Lena cried. She shot off anther bolt before flying away, the missiles still flying. Back on the ground, an Archangel was firing its 150mm Gatling cannons at the enemy, supported by another group of Vikings. Two BT-7 tanks were circling the Archangel, firing twin DShK machine guns, with KPV cannons opening fire. The Archangel slammed its bayonets on a BT-7, before stomping on the other one. Both BT-7 tanks exploded. "Dominion forces, push forward!!", the Archangel pilot ordered. "Yes, sir!", the Viking pilots said. A King Tiger fired its 88mm, before getting destroyed by the Archangel's ground-to-ground missiles. The infantry were firing their rifles up at the monstrosity, but they were getting targeted by the marines on the ground. Edward fired off his BAR, taking out a marine, before ducking behind a tank wreck, as a Viking pinned him behind cover. Almost right after, several flak rounds impacted the Viking's cockpit. A Flakpanzer I opened fire as several stormtroopers fired on the enemy. The Archangel fired a ground to ground ripwave missile at them, and the missile destroyed the anti-air tank. Edward jumped over a wrecked Comet tank, as he yelled to his men. "Fall back! Fall back!", he yelled. Everyone turned and ran back to the hill, with all the tanks covering their retreat. Up ahead, several P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts flew with an American WWI Zeppelin above the enemy. The fighters performed a dive, firing all their rockets at the Archangel, the biggest target on the field. The Archangel looked up, to see several dozen rockets flying down at it. All the rockets struck the mech, creating a giant cloud of smoke. "Fire!!", a Hellcat commander yelled. The Hellcat's 75mm cannon opened fire, and suddenly, every single tank on the battlefield fired at the Archangel. More explosions and black smoke rippled out of the six-hundred tonne neosteel death machine. The tanks took this time to fall back, as the P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts now fired all their machine guns at the Archangel, the barrage of small shells practically raining down on it. The 50 Caliber rounds completely demolished all the infantry on the ground, as well as destroying the Vikings' cockpits. Soon, the 30 meter tall mech suit was all that was left. Several M114 155mm Howitzers towed in by halftracks opened fire, and the giant shells assisted the bombardment of the Archangel. By then, the Zeppelin was above the Archangel, slowly descending to get within range of the Archangel. "Another hundred meters!", the navigator on the airship ordered. "We're almost there!" "Prepare to drop!", the captain said. Crew members in the Zeppelin ran around as the payload of large hydrogen explosives hung in the giant airship. Then the unexpected happened. The Archangel fired all its anti air ripwave missiles, taking out every fighter in the sky. A leftover missile flew into the tail of the Zeppelin, the explosion completely rocking the 237 meter ship in the air. Edward looked up to see the zeppelin crashing to the ground, as well as the Archangel transforming into its fighter form and taking off into the sky. "Dammit...", he said. Somewhere else... Two Finnish Kübelwagens, the Vickers tank, and the two BT-42 tanks were racing away from a massive group of shadows. The shadows were overrunning trees and abandoned houses and huts in the forest. A BT-42 fired, the high caliber assault gun's recoil speeding up the tank. Ahti was on the other BT-42, yelling at the others to pull back. The Vickers fired its main gun, as did the Kübelwagen mounted Lahti-Saloranta M/26 machine guns. "Meidän täytyy houkutella se pois! Mene nopeammin!", he ordered, waving his hand. "Komentaja!!" Ahti looked back, and the last thing he was was a large black claw grabbing at him. Author's Note I'm on finals for 2nd semester, so this story is on hiatus for a few weeks. Sorry. Pelastus (It's Finnish for Salvation)It was a few days after the attack was repelled from Ponyville. Infantry casualties were less than a hundred, but over two dozen vehicles were lost in the fight. And several aircraft, plus one of their only Zeppelins were gone. Back at base, several men were crowded around a Finnish Renault FT mounted with a Lahti-Saloranta M/26. The radio was on, and was relaying something back to them. The troops around them were armed with Mosin-Nagant M/91s and Suomalainen 7,62 mm Jalkaväenkivääri M/27s. "Se on komentaja!!" "Perääntyä!" "Tarvitsemme enemmän miehiä!" "Soita HQ!!" At once, all the men mobilized, a BT-42 and Finnish captured BT-7s raced by. Several Finnish T-28s and Panzer IVs raced by, as the men jumped onto several BT-43 transports. "Mennään!", the sergeant ordered as the tanks rolled out. Up ahead, several Avro AnsonZK-RRA planes and Fokker C.X. fighters took off, as the tanks moved out. Before the ground vehicles could leave, two American soldiers ran in front of them, stopping the attack force. "Halt!", Edward yelled. A Light Tank M3A1 Satan rolled up ahead, its Ronson flamethrower aimed at them. Behind the Satan tank was a Comet with its 77 mm HV armed as well. The BT-42 in front stopped, and the commander got out. "Siirrä se! Meidän täytyy lähteä!!", he yelled. "English!!", Edward yelled. "Liikkua!! We're in a hurry!!", the commander yelled. "No, what's going on?!", Edward ordered. The yelling contest continued before a large crack of thunder boomed in the sky. Right after, a big flash of lightning appeared in the sky. Soon, the Finnish BT-42 commander and Edward were staring at a burnt spot on the dirt in front of them where the bolt of lightning hit. Celestia flew down from the sky, her horn glowing. "What is going on here?", she asked, in an irritated voice. "I hope you aren't turning against each other." "No, there's something going on with-", the Finnish commander said, before Celestia cut him off. "I'm sorry, but that'll have to wait. We have communication with a very powerful ally.", she said. "I was going to call some of you to find them, but since you're ready, we'll send you." She looked to Edward. "And you'll accompany them.", she said. Edward was about to protest to this, but he shut up. "Fine...", he muttered. He turned to see a few German Afrika Korps troops next to the legendary Matilda A12 II "Dreadnought", named by the Wehrmacht. Next to it was an M3 Lee and an M4A3 HVSS Sherman. "You guys! Over here!" Somewhere else... In the fields, several tents and fire camps were set up. Rainbow Light stood boringly surrounded by two Royal Guards, as Twilight and a tactician talked at the table in the main tent. Five M24 Chaffees were parked, as were three jeeps. A couple dozen troops were waiting, M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and a couple M18 Recoiless Rifles were lying there. A few M26 Pershings and an M109 Howitzer were parked on the other side of the camp, as twelve UH-1 Iroquois helicopters and three CH-53 Sea Stallions hovering above camp, ready to land. "Mom...", Rainbow Light said. Twilight stopped talking and turned around to her daughter. "Yes?", Twilight asked. "I'm bored. I wanna fly.", Rainbow Light said. "Can I scout around? One of those helicopters could help and come with me. Please?" "No, kiddo. We can't risk it. We're nowhere familiar.", Twilight said. she turned to the tactician and nodded. The tactician nodded back and trotted away. "Honey, please.", Twilight said, putting a hoof on her daughter's back. "We know you don't like this, but it's for your own safety. Other creatures could come in and capture you, or worse." "But cool mom #1 is doing it.", Rainbow Light whined. Twilight smirked and knocked her daughter over, before she began tickling her mercilessly. "Oh, I'm not mom #1? I'm second best?", Twilight teased over the laughter and pleas of her daughter. "Wow, I never thought that about you!" "OK, stop!! I'm sorry!!", Rainbow Light cackled as she squirmed in her mom's magic grasp. "Just stop!!" "Ahem." Twilight stopped her attack and turned to see Rainbow Dash and a squad of Royal Fliers waiting. Twilight blushed and got up, as Rainbow Light lay wheezing and coughing on the ground. "Oh, hi honey." "What's going on?", Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh, she called me mom #2 and I responded with a tickle fight.", Twilight said. "OK, one: That looked more like a tickle massacre. She couldn't fight back.", Rainbow Dash scolded, while not even attempting to hide the smile on her muzzle. "And two: Of course I'm mom #1. I'm awesome." Twilight sighed. "No, I'd say the awesome mom would be the one who teaches her daughter about the most important things in life.", she said. "Plus, I'm the dominant one when it comes to discipline." Rainbow Dash snickered. "I'm sorry, who's the dominant one in bed?", she asked. Twilight blushed madly, as the Royal Fliers snickered. "Rainbow Dash!", Twilight hissed. "Our daughter's here!" "Mom, I know what sex is.", Rainbow Light said, as she got up. "I'm not deaf at night, you know." Rainbow Dash broke into laughter, as Twilight gaped in horror. "You, you...what?!", she said. "Yeah, I mean, if you're gonna bang, do it quietly.", Rainbow Light said. The Royal Fliers and Rainbow Dash were now rolling around on the ground, exploding in laughter. "You and I are going to have a talk, young lady.", Twilight said, trying to be as stern as possible, but failing with so much embarrassment. Then there was the sound of gunfire in the air. All the troops looked around, grabbing their weapons. One American with an M-14 looked over the hill, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Two BT-43s, two Kübelwagens, and a Vickers tank was racing across the field, chased by a huge wave of black mist. The tanks were firing back, as were the guns on the Kübelwagens. The guns seemed to slow down the attack, but they weren't going to last. Three UH-1 helicopters with M-134 Miniguns flew over to the scene, opening fire. The NATO rounds ripped the mist apart, faster than the shadows could regenerate. Ahti turned and watched as the hovering aircraft finished off their attackers. The Finnish commander turned around and saw two M24 Chaffee tanks intercepting. "Pysäyttää!!", he yelled. The BT-42s drew to a halt, as did the Finnish Kübelwagens. The Vickers drifted to the side, before slamming into a tree. The M26 Pershings drove around, surrounding the Finnish vehicles. The group of Finnish troops jumped out, armed with KP/-31 SMGs, Mosin Nagants, and SVT-40s. American troops with M-16s and M-60s ran out, aiming their weapons. "On the ground!! On the ground!!" "Mene alas!! Mene alas!!", a Finnish trooper yelled. "Drop them!!", an American hollered. "Minä ampaan sinua!!", another Finnish soldier said. The soldier on the Lahti-Saloranta M26 on the German jeep cocked the weapon and aimed threateningly. "Stop!! Pidä sitä!!", Ahti shouted. "Stop it!! Stop!! Drop your weapons!!", Smithy yelled, his shotgun on the ground. "Enough!!" Everyone turned to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash(from the different dimension) standing on a Chaffee, with Rainbow Light hiding behind her mom. Ahti lowered his gun and put his hands up. The rest of the Finnish did, as the helicopters came in and landed. Rainbow Light looked over at the Finnish man, before looking away. Somewhere else... The Banshee pilot groaned as she recovered from whatever had just happened before. She opened her eyes to see the wrecked Medivac around her. "What the...", she muttered. Her ears were ringing , and she was having triple vision. She looked up, to see a crossbow aimed at her face. Lena stood over her, the bolt locked and loaded. "I wouldn't recommend moving if I were you.", Lena said. "What happened?", the Banshee pilot asked. Flashback... Twilight and Jones were still asleep as Jack kept the gun aimed at the pilot. "You feeling tired?", Jack asked. "Yes, I'm definitely feeling tired while you're pointing a gun at me.", the pilot said flatly, while sweating. "I might doze off with a frag round in my head." Jack chuckled. "Well, I do enjoy a sense of humor. Too bad it had to be forced like this.", he said. Then an alarm went off in the Medivac. "What the-", the pilot said. Then the whole ship rumbled violently. Lena, still getting chased by the Viking torpedoes, shot right past the Medivac. The missiles couldn't dodge in time, and all ten of them blasted into the large craft. The emergency systems went online, and all the automatic harnesses slammed down, locking Twilight and everyone in place, as well as the pilot and Jack. Emergency safety shields lowered around the passengers, and the cockpit was sealed off. The whole ship was sent crashing to the ground, and the state-of-the-art Terran medical bay crashed oped, with stim-packs and healing rays splashing over everyone inside. The Medivac spiraled uncontrollably to the ground, as Lena saw this and followed. Flashback end. Jones groaned as he got up. There was a green substance coated all over him, as well as covering the wreckage. Most of the dropship was intact, and all the harnesses were sparking. He kicked the damaged harness off of him, and he ran over and pried the harness off of Twilight's seat. Her shield was barely intact, and it came down easily. He pulled up the harness, and saw Twilight lying in the chair, some of the green stuff on her coat. "Hey, you good?", Jones said, gently slapping the side of Twilight's face. Twilight groaned and got up. "Jones?", she muttered, as she opened her eyes. "Hey, we crashed. You OK?", he asked. Twilight got up, before stumbling. "I...I don't feel so *hiccup* good.", she said. Jones watched as she plowed into the floor, and stumbling her way to the cockpit. Jones watched as Twilight drunkenly fell flat, knocked out. “This ain’t good.”, Jones said. He looked over to see Lena still aiming at the pilot, while standing on an unconscious Jack. “Hey!” The pilot turned to Jones. “What the hell is this stuff?!”, he said. “Stim-packs and morphine! Unless that stuff got under your skin, you’re good!”, the pilot said, before Lena nudged her with the crossbow. Jones looked over to Twilight, and what he saw nearly made him gasp. Twilight’s wound from before had opened up, bits blood staining her lavender coat. To make matters even worse, the green liquid was seeping into the wound. At that moment, Twilight let out a cry. “Twilight!”, Jones said. Twilight rolled on her back, gasping and crying in pain. “C-can’t b-breathe!”, she croaked. Tears were welling up, and her chest was rising up and down violently. “Hey!”, Jones yelled at the pilot. “How do I help her?!” “I-will you let me go if I help?!”, the pilot said. “Yes!! Help me!!”, Jones yelled, desperately. He was not about to let a valuable ally die like this. Lena lowered the crossbow and let the pilot hurry over to the spasming alicorn. “OK, this thing is a flying hospital. They have to have something for OD’ing here.”, she said. She dug through the metal cabinets, before taking a syringe. She ran over and jabbed the needle into Twilight’s neck. Twilight screamed as the thick substance forced its way into her bloodstream. “W-what now?”, Jones said. “The solution will stop her heartbeat. We need to hook her up to life support for a minute.”, the pilot said. “How am I remembering this stuff?” “Where’s the life support?!”, Jones yelled. The pilot jolted in surprise. “Over there!”, she said, pointing to a small box with tubes and a mask. Jones hurried over to grab it, but when he got it, he saw that the whole thing was busted, smoking and sparking. “It’s broken.”, he said, turning back to the pilot. Twilight immediately started spasming, and her hoof struck the Banshee pilot in the chest. “Agh!”, she cried, crashing against the wall. “Twilight!”, Jones cried. He knelt down and felt around her chest. Once he felt a fast pounding against his palm, he started pressing on it as hard as he could. “Come on!”, Jones grunted, as he struggled to keep her alive. Twilight’s eyes were rolled to the back of her head, and she was violently shaking as her bodily functions began to shut down. "Come on!!" Jones stopped pumping her chest and leaned over to her mouth, pressing his lips to hers. He started breathing into her mouth, her chest falling and rising with every breath forced into her lungs. Jones kept going for several minutes until Twilight's spasm slowly stopped. "Ugh...", she moaned, before looking around. "Ow..." She clutched her chest, before her eyes widened. "Did I...eat something?", she groaned, wiping her mouth. Jones snickered, as the pilot couldn't help but smirk. "Oh...nothing.", he said. "Ugh...it feels like I got kissed by a...", Twilight said. Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Jones. A strand of lavender colored fur rested between his lips. He looked around and saw the syringe in the pilot's hands, and the memory of her spasming out flooded her mind. "You...saved me...", Twilight finally managed to say. "I did CPR. She got the healing stuff in ya.", Jones said, gesturing to the Banshee pilot. The pilot smiled. "T-thank you.", Twilight said, blushing. Jones and the pilot sighed. "But, ugh...human breath tastes weird.", Twilight said, making Jones grimace and the pilot laugh. Elsewhere... Smithy and Ahti were sitting and talking, as the Finnish were kept under watch of the American Army and its Regal Guard. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash(of the other dimension) were watching Rainbow Light fly around with an AH-1 Cobra. "She's growing up so fast.", Twilight said as she watched. "I know. I'm gonna miss the little rascal.", Rainbow Dash said. "Wait, what makes you think she's leaving?", Twilight asked, turning to her wife. Rainbow Dash looked at her wife with her calm magenta eyes. "Well...I guess the fact she's getting friends and...she's straying away from us.", Rainbow Dash said. "And as parents, we're supposed to be proud and let it happen." Twilight looked down. "I know what you mean...", she said. "It's like her childhood just...raced by. Like she always does." Rainbow Dash let out a giggle. "Well, she gets that from me.", she said. "I KNOW. You said it at least once every five seconds!", Twilight laughed. The two laughed for a bit, before sighing and looking back at their daughter flying around the chopper. "Still...if she's gone, she'd better come back and visit.", Twilight said. Smithy stood up, as he flipped his pocketwatch into his pocket. "Attention!!", he yelled. "As I have done many times before, I will recite my FDR speech, edited to my liking!!" Everyone scrambled to attention, except the Fins. They looked over to the organizing ranks. The helicopters landed and within minutes, the pilots were all in rank. "Mitä tapahtuu?", a soldier asked. "Tappaa minut.", another soldier said. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Light stood to see what was going on. All the Scouts and Royal Guard did so as well. "My Fellow Allies: In this desperate hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer.", Smithy recited. Everyone fell silent. "This day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Our sons, pride of our nation. Lead them straight and true. Their road will be long and hard. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war. In this hour of great sacrifice, we shall prevail!" "Hoo-Rah!!", everyone yelled. Twilight went up to Smithy, who took his shotgun. "What was that?", she asked. "You chose to do a speech now of all times?" Smithy smiled. "Why not? We're at war.", he said. Twilight sighed. "You could've done that before fighting and everything. But-", Twilight said, before Smithy cut her off. "No, we're at war. You didn't notice?", Smithy asked. Twilight was about to retort that she "of course" knew they were at war, until two M60 Patton tanks rolled by, accompanied by running infantry and two Pershing tanks. "You wanna fight or not?", Smithy asked. He rushed to the front lines, as did the several hundred thousand American troops. Twilight turned to see the Pony of Shadows itself, slowly making its way towards them. It was at least fifty times taller, and every step made a massive thundering sound. How Twilight never noticed it, she didn't know. Twilight quickly shook herself out of her stupor and turned to Rainbow Dash and her army of Royal Guard. "Let's go!", she yelled. "We stop it here, or never!!" "Yes, princess!!", all the guard yelled, as they charged with the Americans. Only the Finnish were left. "Orders?", an English speaking soldier asked. Ahti smirked. "You kidding?", he said. Not one minute after, the Finnish vehicles gave chase. Somewhere else, the Matilda Dreadnought, an M3 Lee, the Sherman, the Satan, and the Comet were rolling towards their destination. The Finnish tanks, a Type 95 Ha-Go, a Chinese T-26, two BREN carriers, a German halftrack, and an IS-2 was called along with them. With the tanks were platoons and companies of infantry from Britain, America, Germany, and Japan. Edward was sitting on the M3 Lee, his BAR by his side. He was looking ahead to the destination before them. "So...who's this new ally?", he muttered. Author's Note I used the cut speech of FDR from COD WWII for Smithy. So disclaimer, I guess. Lena's Redemption (Final, for now)Lena stared as Jones and Jack carried an intensely weak Twilight on a big chunk of the Medivac’s hull as a makeshift stretcher. They had crash landed near a couple American jeeps, which were returning to Ponyville. Jones shook hands with the pilot, a smile on his face. She stared at him with an incredulous expression. “You’re letting me go?”, she said. “I keep all my promises. You can call your home or get picked up or something. Stay here if you want.”, Jones said. “Good luck.” He left, leaving the dumbfounded pilot standing in the wreckage. Lena snuck off as the jeeps pulled away, before taking off, a Luftwaffe Drilling and her crossbow in tow. She shot into the clouds, before landing on one of them. She loaded a frag bolt onto her bow and aimed around, before sighing and putting it down. “Finally...outta here...”, she said in relief. She flew up and landed on a cloud of higher altitude. She lay down and sighed relaxingly. “Where to go...”, she muttered. She lay on that cloud for at least an hour straight, dreaming of what she’d do once she retired from this “job” of hers. Then a rumbling sound filled the air, and Lena looked up, to see a massive missile turret staring at her. The Gorgon class Battlecruiser was hovering right above her, a few other Battlecruisers with it. “You’re kidding me...”, Lena muttered, as the several barrels of the turret slowly began to spin, a large orange glow beginning to heat up in the gun. The warhead of the missiles inside began to spin. Lena jumped up and fired an explosive bolt into the turret, an explosion shooting out of one of the missile launchers. She flew off the cloud as the massive missile turret fired the rest of its salvo. Lena looked back to see several missiles following her, as well as more missiles firing from the Gorgon. Lena could also see the word “Relentless” on the ship’s hull. “Ahh, shit!”, she cried, as several missiles chased her through the skies, much faster than the Viking torpedoes from earlier. She grabbed the Luftwaffe Drilling from her back and fired it at one of the missiles, only for the slug to shatter on impact. “What?!”, Lena cried. She sling the triple barrel over her shoulder and grabbed her crossbow, firing a portal bolt behind her. All the giant air to ground missiles flew inside, before the portal closed. Lena sighed as she looked at her second portal bolt in her satchel, already knowing what she had to save it for. She hovered in the air, before shooting downwards. On the ground, Smithy and his troops were fighting off as many shadows as they could, casualties rising, with more shadows growing with each death. The Pony of Shadows itself was spawning shadows, growling as more of its creations were destroyed. Smithy fired his shotgun, before he watched a Chaffee charge into the shadows, circling around and cutting off a large group of the black mist. Two M60s and three FN MAG gunners were grouped, supporting several riflemen with M16s and M1 Garands. Twilight and her Royal Guard were projecting shields over the soldiers as Rainbow Dash and her Scout unit were commencing strafing runs with their back saddle mounted lighting cannons, firing explosive energy bolts at the shadows. A flier was grabbed by the shadows, before hurled at the ground, violently smashing against the grass. The AH-1 Cobras and Huey copters were firing st the shadows, while a Sea Stallion hovered along with them, providing radio communication. “Fall back! I repeat, fall back!”, the radio spluttered as the helicopters lowered to pick up the men, while driving the shadows back with the rotors. Twilight saw this and fired a retreat spell in the air, a burst of color codes that signified the Royal Guard to fall back. Rainbow Dash and the Fliers veered away, as did the AH-1 Cobras. The tanks backed away, and Ahti and his men watched as the Sea Stallion positioned itself above the shadows, its rear ramp opening. “Drop.”, a man in the Sea Stallion said. Two men in the helicopter pushed a massive barrel with a warhead and fins out of the craft, before the CH-53 pulled up. The depth charge landed in the middle of the swarm of shadows, in front of the Pony of Shadows, which looked at the charge with confusion. The operator on the Sea Stallion pressed a detonator, and the charge went off. A humongous shockwave ripped through the floating shadows, immediately extinguishing the Pony of Shadows and its mist of darkness. The wave shook the helicopters in the air, some men that were loaded inside nearly falling off. Twilight, Smithy, the troops, and the Royal Guard being thrown to the ground, with the tanks jolting with the force. The shockwave immediately forced a crater down twenty feet deep, with a diameter over fifty feet. Soon, all was silent. The Sea Stallion hovered at least a few hundred feet right above the scene. The crew of the military transport chopper looked down at the smoke caused by the depth charge. “Did we get it?”, the pilot asked. An observer leaned out of the door, pointing a pair of binoculars down at the crater, which was smoking from the ground. “Looks like it.”, the observer said. He turned and saw a multi colored blur shooting towards him. He immediately jumped back inside as the blur shot past. Lena stared as the CH-53 veered away. “That’s a big helicopter!”, she said(yes, there’s helicopters in MLP, for ponies). (I have proof, SUCKAS!!!) The pilot turned and saw the Pegasus flying back around. "Dammit, someone get on the 50 Cal!", he yelled. The ramp opened, revealing a twin barreled 50 Caliber machine gun. A gunner quickly got on the twin 50 Caliber machine gun opened fire. The twin cannons blazed loudly as the gunner fired at Lena. Lena swerved past as the machine guns continued to fire. The 13mm shells bounced off the ramp, falling to the ground below. "Get us down there!!", an operator yelled, firing a rifle at Lena, who fired a bolt past him, embedding itself into the wall of the chopper. The Sea Stallion immediately gave chase after Lena, easily keeping up with its General Electric T64 Turboshaft engines. Lena was carrying two weapons heavy for her, so that slowed her down. Smithy helped Ahti off the ground, before seeing a white and red to purple colored blur flying across the sky, with their only Sea Stallion chasing it. "Hey, Twilight! Is that anyone you know?", Smithy asked, pointing up into the sky. Twilight looked up, using a focusing spell on her eyes. "...no, that's not anypony we know. Unless...", Twilight said, before her eyes widened. "She's from this dimension! She could help us!" Smithy hurried to a backpack radio leaning on an ammo box and quickly switched the frequency, before grabbing the telephone handset. "Ground unit here, repeat! Ground unit here! 4500 X-Ray, do you read?" There was static on the radio, before it was picked up. "We copy!! We're in pursuit of an ally, we'll get back to ya!", the radio operator on the Sea Stallion said, before hanging up, or flicking the receiver switch in this case. "Hello? Hello?!", Smithy said, before shutting off the radio, slamming the handset down. "We need someone up there, now!" "I'm on it!", Rainbow Dash said, before taking off. A few fliers flew up to intercept as well. A Huey flew upwards as well, armed with two remote controlled dual mounted M60 machine guns and M3 artillery rockets. Lena fired another bolt at the Sea Stallion, which somehow dodged it with ease. Almost right after, the Huey flew over, and a trooper in the helicopter grabbed her hind legs. Lena's eyes widened when she saw the familiar helmet on the trooper's(the M1 helmet was used from WWII to the Falklands War) head. She immediately squirmed, before the trooper pulled her in. Another trooper grabbed Lena's crossbow and Luftwaffe Drilling, tossing it aside, before grabbing her satchel which held the bolts. Lena kicked the first trooper holding her, knocking him out of the helicopter. He would've fallen to his death if he hadn't fallen against the M3 rockets and the twin machine guns. The trooper got back up and tackled Lena again. Rainbow Dash landed inside, to see the two troopers struggling to detain the mercenary Pegasus. "Hey!!", she said. Lena stopped struggling against the troopers, and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Oh, you...", she snarled. Rainbow Dash recoiled. "Do I know you?", Rainbow Dash asked. Lena raised an eyebrow, before looking at her attire. "You were at Ponyville. Or that base. Or...whatever, how'd you get here so fast?", the merc asked. "You're making, like, zero sense right now.", Rainbow Dash said. "Uhh, I think it's because you're not from here.", a trooper said. "I...oh.", Rainbow Dash said. "Yeah, yeah, I knew that." She trotted to Lena. "OK, here's the thing..." Minutes later, the Huey and its two flier escorts landed in front of Twilight and Smithy. The two aforementioned individuals looked at each other, before looking back at Lena being held by the two troopers. "Ahem...what's your name?", Twilight asked the mercenary. Lena spat on the ground, making Twilight frown. "I have a better idea.", Smithy said. He walked up, before reaching in his backpack pocket. He pulled out a canteen of water, and Lena instantly looked up when he heard the sloshing of liquid. "You're thirsty. I'll give you this whole thing if you tell us your name.", Smithy said. "You got nothing to lose. The only thing we gain is something to call you." Lena looked around, seeing a squad of soldier near her, an M41 Walker Bulldog near them, and Twilight with Rainbow Dash and the fliers. "L-Lena.", she muttered. Smithy tossed her the canteen, which Lena quickly opened. Smithy looked to Twilight, who simply nodded. "I see.", she said. "Well, why are you here?" "I live here.", Lena said, between gulps of water. Smithy sighed and shook his head. Twilight looked back to Lena, before her horn glowed. "Why are you here?", she repeated, much slower this time. "Well...I was hired to assassinate Princess Twilight Sparkle.", Lena said. Everypony gasped, and the Royal Guard quickly aimed their spears. "N-not you, the other Twilight! The one here!" "Oh.", Twilight said. She motioned for the guard to lower their weaponry. "Look, can I go now? I need to tell my employer that I'm not getting paid enough when all this alien shit is happening.", Lena said, tossing her empty canteen in the air. Smithy caught it with one hand. "Well...with all this alien shit going on, we definitely can't let you leave. Not yet.", Smithy said. As if on cue, two men with M-16s came in, aiming at Lena. Lena shrugged, understanding. "Fair enough. I just wanna be somewhere by myself, so if this...camp...has somewhere isolated, then I can stay there.", she said. "Sorry...we don't do that.", Smithy said. He snapped his fingers, and the two troops grabbed Lena and flung her on a stretcher. "Huh? Where are you taking me?", Lena asked as she was taken away. Smithy cracked his knuckles. "This is going great.", he said. He motioned for the Iroquois and Chinooks to land. "Tell the men to pack up. We're moving out." "What? Where?", Twilight asked. "We have no way outta here, so we're gonna migrate and see what we can do.", Smithy said. He checked his watch and grabbed his shotgun. "Let's move!" Twilight sighed. "OK, I see why. Just-", she said, before a loud boom filled the air. An AH-1 SuperCobra spiraled out of control, before crashing and exploding near camp. Smithy looked up to see a massive dome of shadows surrounding his forces. All tanks opened fire, and all the men moved back, rifles aimed. The helicopters could only hover a good five meters above the ground, and the Royal Guard were in position. Rainbow Light and a Huey pilot looked around as the cackling of the Pony of Shadows filled the air. "Uh oh.", Rainbow Light said, nervously. Nearby, Edward and his unit were pulling up over the hill. The American lieutenant's eyes widened seeing the slowly expanding dome of smoky mist. "Not again...", he grumbled. He got in the tank and grabbed the radio phone. "Home base, home base, come in.", he said. "We found the Pony of Shadows, and he looks like he's trapping something inside." In base, a radio operator was bring crowded around as Edward's transmission came in. "Repeat!", he said. "We found the Pony of Shadows! He looks skinnier than usual, so it looks like all our work's been paying off!! Send all we got!", Edward yelled. "How do we know it's not a trap?", a German back at base asked. Auftragsmörder and his A7V crew stepped up to listen. "We know because it's busy fighting off someone else!", Edward said, as several gunshots were heard, with thousands of bullets, rifle and machine gun rounds shooting out of the shadows. "Get everyone!!" The radio operator hung up and stood to his feet. "You heard him! Move!!", he yelled. Every soldier of every country in Ponyville went and grabbed their weapons. The operator had an M1 Carbine with a fold-in stock, while the German with him had an MP-38. Celestia trotted out expecting to see things going the way they go, waiting and looking for more allies for the incoming war, but instead, she saw every single man, vehicle, and box being moved around. A Jagdtiger and the Maus rolled by, as a group of marines ran towards a halftrack. "Wha's going on?", she demanded. A soldier with a Garand ran over to her. "We found it!!", he yelled. Celestia blinked, before a familiar voice caught her attention. "Sister!", Luna cried. Celestia turned to see Luna flying overhead. Above Luna were hundreds of thousands of planes, bombers, fighters, and interceptors flying towards the hills. "What is it Luna?", Celestia asked her panting sister. Luna caught her breath and looked up to Celestia, panic in her eyes. "The human forces in Canterlot...they're leaving!", she said. Celestia looked up to see several flat tanks, cannons and missiles, rolling down the mountain below Canterlot, with large helicopters flying down with them. "Then we must hurry.", she said. "Princess?" Celestia turned to see the Elements of Harmony behind her. They were all standing, with the exceptions of Rainbow Dash hovering and Pinkie Pie hopping on the ground. Jack and his incineration unit stood with them too. "We're coming too. You need everypony you can get.", Twilight said. Celestia nodded. "Very well. Bring the Royal Guard! This may be our only chance!", she said. "Follow me!", Auftragsmörder said. His A7V group rumbled and snarled to life, as Jack's group and the ponies ran towards them. Thousands of tanks and millions of infantry in halftracks and jeeps rolled out of the base, which was now completely devoid of life, as the Royal Guard and the united Air Force of so many countries flew towards their destination. Hundreds of jets, attack helicopters, and all of Luna's Lunar Guard forces flew from Canterlot. SOMEWHERE ELSE... Edward's unit opened fire on the shadows completely, with tanks, rifles, any weapon they could get, while Smithy's forces fired with all they could. Lena fired her portal bolt, and the dozens of Gorgon Battlecruiser missiles she had been getting chased by that were sealed in the portal flew out and detonated on impact on the shadows. In retaliation, the shadows sent a pike of darkness hurtling down on her. Lena's eyes widened, only for the black pike to stab across her face. Lena let out a bloodcurdling shriek as blood splashed on the grass. Her right eye was completely numb, and her left eye had blood in it. She crashed to the ground, trying to wipe her face when the pike came back down. The pike was immediately disintegrated with a gunshot from afar. Ahti ran over with a Carcano, chambering another round, as another Finnish trooper with a French Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29. Ahti slung the Italian rifle over his shoulder and grabbed Lena, hoisting her over her shoulder. The other soldier opened fire with his machine gun, as a BT-42 pulled over. Several shadow ponies emerged frrom out of the shadowy dome, charging the American forces. Ahti turned to see three of them jumping up to attack, when a single 20mm round blasted through them, making them float away in mist. Two men with the Lahti L-39 got up and hoisted the anti-tank rifle, hurrying to their commander. Ahti laid Lena on top of the BT-42 as their medic began to work on sealing her wound. "Kiire.", Ahti said. Lena groaned as the medic applied antiseptic to her eyes. Outside of the dome, the Pony of Shadows stood on a nearby hill, unnoticed. He was also not the only one there. "Is this good enough?", he asked. Queen Chrysalis walked up to the shadows, her insect wings fluttering. "Yes. This is...perfect.", she said. She turned around to see a massive Changeling army behind her, the army she'd bred during her time in isolation, after Thorax became hive leader. These Changelings were mutated, about 50% bigger, with sharper teeth. Queen Chrysalis turned around to look at the battle below her. She looked up to see a Gorgon and several other Battlecruisers descending from the skies. "This is going to be...fun.", she said, as Vikings and Medivacs flew from the cruisers' hangars. Author's Note The forces with Smithy are Vietnam era, the armies in Ponyville are WWII era, and the forces that were in Canterlot are all Cold War era. I'm gonna have a third story that will be completely made up of the final battle. BTW, the Pony of Shadows will not be the only villain. And I know this is posted early but WHY NOT? PrologueIn another dimension... Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash got on their hooves and slowly walked down to their daughter. The man raised an eyebrow, before he knelt down to Rainbow Light. "Ya got two moms?", he whispered. "Don't ask.", Rainbow Light whispered back. Rainbow Dash looked up at the man, a look of confusion on her features. "What are you?" "I'm human. Lieutenant Smithy, at your service.", the man said, swinging the shotgun on his back. Rainbow Dash tilted her head, while Twilight had a more hostile look on her face. "What's that on you're carrying?", Twilight asked. Smithy looked at her with a tilted eyebrow, before grinning. He slung the shotgun off his back and held it firmly. "This here's a sawed-off shotgun, deadly up close and personal. I'm the only one out of my platoon that has this. The rest got M-16s and M-60s.", Smithy said. "That's a weapon?", Twilight asked. Smithy blinked. "...yes, ma'am.", Smithy said, as he held it away from her, in case she might try to take it away. Then another man with green fatigues walked in, holding a larger and more bulkier gun with a long chain protruding from one side. It had a swinging bipod on the front, squeaking every time it swung. "Sir, the Chaffees have finished repairs.", he said. "Our jeeps are done too." "Alright.", Smithy said. He looked back at the two mares and smiled. "I gotta get going. We can't stay and-" Rainbow Light flew forward. "But...you just got here.", she said. Smithy looked at the wristwatch on his right wrist. "...two hours ago.", he said. "Wait, you met him two hours ago?", Twilight asked. "You talk to an alien-" "Human.", Smithy said, which fell onto deaf ears. "-without telling us?", Twilight finished. "Come on, mom? At least he's friendly.", Rainbow Light. "True...", Rainbow Dash said, before Twilight Sparkle shot her a look that told her to stay out of this conversation. The private holding the M-60 watched as Twilight chastised her daughter, blinking awkwardly. Then two soldiers, one with an M-16, and another with a CAR-15, peeked out of the corner with the M-60 wielding soldier. "Lieutenant, orders?", one soldier whispered. Smithy blinked, looking back and forth at whatever the heck was going on, before he slipped away with the other three soldiers. Soon, five Chaffee tanks and three jeeps pulled away, leaving a big cloud of dust. In another dimension... The clouds were forming, and a light shower was now sprinkling the area. Since Cloudsdale was at an unknown status, Celestia had to bring in the rain herself. Edward talked to the last of the reinforcements, as the Maus pulled away. He looked over at the fields, where the dozens of fighters and bombers were landing in as a makeshift airfield. Pilots were talking to the soldiers, as they received explanations and orders. Auftragsmörder and Dieter were standing on a A7V, Lena lying next to the tank, asleep. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were fawning over a P-38 Lightning, with the pilot talking to them about how it works, even though he doesn't know how it was built. Applejack and Rarity were taking shelter in an M-7 Priest SPG, while Pinkie Pie and a soldier stood in front of a Semovente 90/53. Jones and a couple other soldiers were cooking whatever the town, which were sweets and apples. But soldiers never complained, and they cooked anyway. All hundreds of the German tanks, varying from Panzer IIs to King Tigers, were lined up in columns and rows, and the crews of all of them started to sing. Twilight watched as another wave of M2 Light Tanks rolled in, as Celestia directed a truck of Soviet soldiers to where the camps were. The once innocent town of Ponyville had become a military camp. 50 Caliber and 30 Caliber guns were set up, as well as Maxims, ZB-53s, DShKs, SG-43s, and Breda Modello 37 machine guns, all set up at the outskirts of town on tripod or wheel mounts. 6-Pounders, Pak 43, M1943 anti-tank guns, Pak 38s, and other assortments of anti-tank guns were set up as well. There was almost no room to get anyone else in, but the soldiers kept expanding the perimeter. MG-34s, MG-42s, DP-28s, BRENs, Lewis Guns, MG-08s, M1917s, and M1941 Johnsons were all mounted in foxholes and makeshift bunkers in the middle of town, and within hours, Ponyville was no longer just a camp or safe haven for the soldiers, but an impenetrable fortress. Flak 38 and 88mm Flak were set up in the town square, with quad 50 Caliber half-tracks in the area. All tanks were also on the outskirts of the area, cannons aiming out towards the open. There were at least ten thousand soldiers taking shelter at Ponyville, and at least three thousand vehicles, and four hundred aircraft. Over five thousand defenses were set up everywhere, so when someone or somepony walked by, they'd always see a machine gun, a flak cannon, some vehicle, or an anti-tank gun waiting at every corner. Twilight trotted past tents and campfires of singing and chatting soldiers of many languages and ethnicities, and entered a large tent held up by two posts and the side of a Matilda II. Inside, Edward and a couple other soldiers were plotting points on a map of Equestria, discussing through different languages. Twilight looked up impatiently, and waited until a nearby British soldier with a STEN noticed. "Ahem, sir?", the soldier said. Edward turned, and saw Twilight. "Oh, what do you need?", he asked. He handed a German soldier his Erma EMP-35 as Twilight walked up. "My brother will be coming to visit soon, and I was just wondering if you'd have time to greet him and explain he situation.", Twilight requested, as Edward loaded several .30-06 Springfield rounds into his BAR magazine. "Why me? If you're siblings, then he'd understand you more.", Edward said. He slapped the magazine into his auomatic rifle, before moving on to the next 20 round magazine. "Well, you understand the situation more, obviously.", Twilight said. "You managed to negotiate one massive treaty between several armies. The Americans, Germans, Soviets..." "Italians, British, French, Australians, Hungarians, Romania, Japanese...", Edward subconsciously continued. He finished his next mag and began loading M1 Garand ammo clips. A German came in and took a box of MG-42 Mauser rounds. "See? He's be able to see more from the perspective of a negotiator than me, who just happened to be in the crossfire.", Twilight said. "Literally.", Edward said. "Alright, princess. You got a point. When he comes, I'll talk to him. When does he come in?" "Umm...three hours?", Twilight said,sheepishly. The lieutenant dropped the rifle cartridge in his hand, and the bullets he'd just loaded spilled out on the floor, a clinging filling the tent. "Three. Hours?", Edward asked. Twilight gulped and nodded. Edward walked over and knelt down in front of Twilight, his eyes bearing an unreadable expression. "When did your brother say he was going to visit?", the BAR wielder asked. "Uh, last month?", Twilight said. Outside of the tent, Applejack circled a Panzer II, as its turret spun every once in a while, to man the area. "Hey!", Applejack said. A German soldier walked up, wielding an MP-41. "Ja?", he asked. "What's this thing here?", Applejack asked, gesturing to the light tank in front of her. The soldier didn't understand what she said, but he seemed to understand what she was going for. "Dies ist ein Panzer II. Es hat eine 2cm Flak-Kanone und wird von einem benzinbetriebenen Sechszylinder-Maybach HL 62 TRM-Motor angetrieben.", the soldier said. Applejack blinked, before forcing a grin. "Thanks...pal.", she said. The soldier shrugged and walked away. Applejack sighed as a P/26/40 rolled by. Rainbow Dash sat on a Jagdtiger, which was parked between an A34 Comet and a Panzer V Panther. She looked up at the sky, to see a P-47 and an LA-7 flying in to land. She stood up and leapt on the 76.2mm gun of a T-35, accompanied by three T-28s. A contingent of Soviet soldiers wearing coats and wielding SVT-40s and Mosin Nagants walked by, waving at the blue Pegasus. Rainbow Dash hopped off the Soviet tank and landed on the dirt, before walking by the airfield. She didn't even flinch as a CV-33 tankette roared past. "Yo!" Two RAF pilots walked up to Rainbow Dash, rebreathers on. "Wanna race?", one pilot asked. Rainbow Dash sighed. "Maybe later.", she said. "Thanks for the offer, though." The pilots shrugged and walked away. Rainbow Dash sighed, as her mind drifted to the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy was sitting on top of a StuG III, with Angel, looking up at the sky. "Oh my, it's so peaceful up there, isn't it?", she said. A British soldier walked up to the StuG, before climbing on the artillery tank. His Lee-Enfield was slung over his back, and he held a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. "I got the flowers you asked for. What are they for?", the soldier asked. Fluttershy took one flower out of the bunch with her mouth, and fixed it in place, right in the strap of the soldier's Brodie helmet. "They're for the soldiers. Would you be a dearie and pass them out to the other soldiers? I-If it's not too much trouble for you.", Fluttershy said, sheepishly. The soldier cleared his throat as a blush was barely evident on his face. "S-sure.", he muttered, hopping off the tank and walking over to a soldier with a BREN. Rarity was napping against the M2 Gun Motor Carriage facing the sky, as Pinkie Pie wriggled her way out of its 155mm mounted Howitzer. "This is so big!! Bigger than my party cannon! I wonder how far it would shoot me! Ooh, maybe I can get to the Crystal Empire!", Pinkie said. Jones walked up, and face palmed. "Please...get out of there.", Jones said. "But they're doing it!", Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at a Sturmtiger. Jones's eyes widened when she saw a soldier waving while sitting inside the 380mm barrel of the massive assault gun. "Hey! Get outta there, dumbass!", Jones yelled, running towards the ridiculous display. Hours later... At the train station, a large locomotive pulling three Panzerzug cars and flatbeds of Sd.Kfz. 251 halftracks and Panthers pulled up, with three boxcars of weapons and two train cars carrying a platoon of Panzergrenadiers. Celestia watched as the vehicles rolled off the train cars, with the mechanized German infantry following with their rifles and machine guns. "Princess!" Celestia turned to see a soldier running towards her. He took a moment to catch his breath, before he took out a letter and began to read. "Lieutenant Edward woud like to inform you that we'll be sending a search party for a Prince Shining Armor and Prncess Mi...Mi Amora, no Mi Amore, what the...", the soldier said. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.", Celestia said. The soldier just stared at the letter, before he cleared his throat and continued to read. "Well, the lieutenant ordered a search party to look for them. They were supposed to arrive an hour ago-not counting the half hour I spent looking for you-and they haven't arrived since.", the soldier finished. "They're already gone, so it's a 'just so you know' kinda thing, no biggie." Celestia sighed. "I would've approved anyway. I hope they brought enough power to deal with anything out there.", the sun princess said. Somewhere else... A BT-5, a T-28, a Char B1 Bis, a Flakpanzer 38(t), and a KV-2. Along with the five vehicles were a squad of American troops and a large group of Germans, totaling up to fifty troops on this "recovery" mission. Edward and Twilight walked in the front, as the group moved up. "So, what's your brother like?", Edward asked. Twilight jumped up to meet the American's eye level, a smile on her face. "Oh, he's the best brother ever! He always took care of me up until the point I could take care of myself, and even then, he'd try to help me in any way possible! He taught me so many things, even things I didn't learn when under Celestia's care. He married my former babysitter, and we're still close! They have a daughter named Flurry Heart, she's so cute, but a little bit out of control. Plus, I'm an aunt! Did I mention I'm an aunt, I'm gonna be the most awesome caring aunt Equestria has ever seen-", Twilight said excitedly, before a laugh from one of the German soldiers cut her off. "She talks faster than my MG-42 can fire.", he said, gesturing to "Hitler's Buzz Saw" on his back. Twilight blushed at her very un-princess behavior, and just went back to walking. "Anyway...if my brother is late, maybe he decided to take a few stops, or he got held up by whatever is going on right now.", Twilight said. "Is this necessary?" "You're the one who suggested the rescue mission. You tell me.", Edward said. Twilight sighed. "I guess I've been overreacting. But it's too late to go back now, huh?", she asked. Then a loud boom filled the air. Twilight and everyone else stopped walking, and the tanks stopped rolling. A large cloud of smoke was billowing in the air near the forest they were heading towards. A soldier took out binoculars and spied in on what was going on. "Sir.", the soldier said. He tossed the binoculars to Edward, who in turn looked through them. "What? What is it?", Twilight asked. Edward gave her the binoculars. "See for yourself.", he said. Twilight held the binoculars to her eyes with her magic, and could see what was going on. The Pony Of Shadows himself was walking through fire, where several German soldiers with black coats and helmets were running from. Several Flammpanzers and Vickers E tanks, two Hummels, and a StuG III were there as well, but Twilight focused on one thing in the front. "Shining?!" Author's Note Updates for this season will be significantly slower, as I'm planning on making chapters a bit bigger, with putting as much effort into each chapter as possible. Thanks for understanding, and peace. By updates, new chapters will be up every week and a half, but occasionally, there will be two week updates. MeanwhileBack at base, an armored company of tanks rolled away from the base. Two Matilda IIs, an FCM 2C, and a Churchill Mk VII drove away, with two BREN carriers carrying a squad of British troops. Not far behind them, was an M-3 Halftrack with a squad of American troops. Fluttershy and Rarity sat on the Churchill's engine hatch, behind the Churchill's 6-pounder turret. "My, these things are an awfully comfy ride.", Rarity said, as she looked around. "The British are so nice as well.", Fluttershy said. She grinned at the commander of a Comet, who wasn't looking at her direction. The commander of the Churchill sipped on a cup of Earl Grey tea, as the rumbling of their heavy tank filled his ears. The commanders and crews of Churchill tanks could relax, since Churchill tanks were more armored than even Tigers. "Dear?" The Royal Armored Company commander turned to Rarity, who balanced herself by propping her front hooves on the back of the Churchill's turret. "What tea is that, if I may ask?", she asked. "Earl Grey. Would you like some?", the commander asked. Rarity smiled. "Yes. Thank you, dear.", she said. The commander disappeared into the tank, before bringing out a metal teapot and an extra teacup. Rarity breathed in the aroma of sweet nature leaves and orange. She was about to accept her tea when a gunshot rang out. The porcelain teacup shattered, and tea splashed on Rarity's fur and the turret of the tank. Rarity let out a yelp of anger and slight surprise, turning to the halftrack. The soldiers in the halftrack laughed as the young soldier holding his smoking M1 Carbine received praise for his marksmanship. "Those ruffians!", Rarity said. Fluttershy curled up in a ball to try to avoid Rarity's imminent rage. Rarity was about to hurl the broken pieces of the teacup at the Americans, when a hand grabbed her hoof. The commander sighed. "Leave them. They don't have to be as sophisticated as us to be on our side. They're all just bastards. Always have been, always will.", he said. Rarity sighed and dropped the broken porcelain pieces. "I'm sorry...", she said. "Don't worry about it, just focus on the task at hand...or hoof.", the commander said. He turned and held up a pair of binoculars to get a look ahead. On the French heavy tank, Pinkie Pie was trotting across the ten meter long top of the massive vehicle. The French tank commander on the turret glared with a deadpanned expression as Pinkie Pie sang an unintelligible song. He sighed and, rubbing his forehead under his commander's cap. "Je déteste ma vie.", he grumbled. Back at base, Applejack and a group of Royal Guards sat on a Panhard 178, while two Renault R35 tanks, an Sd.Kfz 234, a King Tiger, and a Panther rolled out of base camp, the Panther in the lead. Applejack looked up at the King Tiger,with its sloped armor and its 88 mm KwK 43 gun shining in the sun. The commander stuck out of the drum shaped cupola, surveying the scene on one side, while the turret pointed to watch at another. The Tiger had a Hinterhalt-Tarnung camouflage pattern, like a spotted cat. Applejack stared up at the monster, as the sound of rolling wheels and crushing tracks shook the air around them. "Don't be scared." Applejack turned to the guard next to her on the armored car. The guard had a fierce look on his muzzle, and he too was looking at the King Tiger. "We'll put that thing down if it turns against us.", he said. Applejack turned to the King Tiger, which the commander was now staring back at them, his peaked hat hiding his eyes and facial expression. She gulped nervously. "Ah'm hoping it doesn't." Back at Ponyville, Celestia sat in front of Jack, who had a bandage on the left side of his face. He was looking down, his helmet hiding most of his face. Whatever could be seen was obscured by the bandages. Celestia glared down at the flame soldier, before using her magic to lift up his head. Jack simply looked up at her with deadpan eyes and a grim smile. "Who are you?", the princess asked. "You should know. That prince of yours told you, has he not?", Jack asked. "Tell me, are that lovely princess and that arrogant prince of yours really siblings?" "Yes, and Shining Armor is not arrogant. He just wishes for the happiness of his kingdom.", Celestia said, proudly. "In case yiou haven't noticed, he rules an entire empire with just his hoof, alongside his wife." "I see.", Jack said. He seemed to believe her, but Celestia thought he didn't. "We have a Führer. Führer means a tyrannical leader-" "Yes, I know what that word means.", Celestia said. "His name is Hitler. He's the one who brought our land, Germany, out of the darkness after our first war. We have created an alliance with more countries to cleanse planet Earth of the filth known as the Allies.", Jack continued, his voice sounding more menacing by each word he spoke. "Seeing what's going on here, I think we're not in those conditions anymore." Celestia blinked. "Hitler may be a tyrant in politik, but he's actually a good father. He has a military academy known as the Hitler Youth Organization, and he acts like a father to them. The Hitler Youth raises soldiers for their SS and military as well as their...I'll stop here. Entschuldigung für das Wandern.", Jack said. "I must hear your word, to fully understand what's going on.", Celestia said. Jack looked up, a smirk on his face. His eye hid a mischievous glint that luckily for him, the princess didn't see. "Ich verstehe.", Jack said. "Well, allow me to tell youwas wirklich passierte." Flashback: unknown Jack and his division walked through the snow, the Flammpanzers and SPGs following. Every soldier had cigarettes in their mouths, struggling to keep warm. One soldier had a mountain of snow on his helmet, not noticing until he bent over to toss out his depleted cigarette, only for the large amount of snow to almost bury him when he looked up. Jack and the others laughed as the soldier pulled himself up to his feet. "You alright?", Jack asked. The soldier grinned, as he wiped the snow off his face. "Ja.", he said. A soldier on a Flammpanzer chuckled, before he looked around. "Ich sehe nichts. Sind Sie sicher, dass Stalingrad in der Nähe ist?", he asked. "Stalingrad is close, I'm sicher of it.", Jack said. "Hier werde ich etwas Wärme geben." He lit his Flammenwerfer and fired a burst of napalm that temporarily blew off the blizzard winds. The troops stared blankly at what was in front of them, as a white creature stalked closely to them... Flashback end. "Sir!" A German trooper ran up, his Kar 98 in his hands. "Where've you been?", he asked. Jack smirked. "It seems I'm needed. So...", he said. "Not so fast.", Celestia said. "We're not done." "Don't worry. I'll finish the story later.", Jack said, winking with his one good eye. Then he grabbed his incendiary weapon and ran off with his subordinate to the rest of his men. A StuG III rolled by as Celestia sat down. She looked up to see a P-63 Kingcobra fly by. Jack and his comrade ran past a Tiger and stopped as a halftrack passed them by. Once the vehicle left, they could see their platoon smoking and waiting, with a group of Italian troops waiting near them. "Hey, Jungs!", Jack said. The troops looked up, and they all grinned to see their Leutnant come back. Celestia watched as the black uniformed soldiers dog piled each other, before getting up and walking towards the edge of the base. Celestia smiled as she watched the reunion before her, as a Jagdpanzer IV drove behind her. "I was wrong. Humans do have feelings and-" The Jagdpanzer IV rumbled behind her, and Celestia shook off the sound of crackling dirt and shifting treads. "They have feelings, and they-they...", Celestia continued over the sound of several wheels. The Jagdpanzer IV stopped rolling, before turning around, causing even more noise than before. The princess felt her eye twitch as the rumbling of the tank finally made her snap. "Can I PLEASE have some peace and quiet?!", she yelled, firing a blast of harmless magic at the tank hunter. The flat tank was hit on the side, causing it to spin out. the 75mm gun swung around and accidentally smacked Celestia on the head. Both the tank and the princess spun around, before falling flat and still. On the Jagdpanzer, the commander stumbled out of the hatch, before falling on the ground, groaning. "Princess?" Celestia groaned and looked up to see a trooper standing there. "Remember that patrol you sent out? Commander Ahti was leading it?", he asked. "Yes, what happened? Is everything alright?", Celestia asked. "...no.", the trooper said. Somewhere else in the base, Shining Armor and Twilight sat awkwardly on a Studebaker US6, as the troops and vehicles went around and about their business. Cadence and Flurry Heart sat against the truck, Cadence playing with the baby alicorn. A couple British troops sat with Cadence, watching the baby alicorn magically juggle their Brodie helmets. Twilight watched as a Waffenträger Auff Pz. IV rolled by, the crew chilling behind its 12.8 cm cannon. "So...how have you been?", Shining Armor asked. Twilight jolted and turned back to her older brother. "Oh. I've been good.", Twilight said. "That's good...that's good.", Shining Armor said, tracing his hoof around the hull of the truck. Twilight cleared her throat. "So, was Jack polite?", she asked. Shining Armor muffled a scoff. "Heh, you can say that.", he muttered. He turned to Flurry Heart, who kept looking around, as if looking for somepony, or someone. "Honey, what's wrong?", Cadence asked her daughter. "Jack?", Flurry Heart cooed. "Jack." Twilight and Shining Armor blinked. "Wait...", Shining Armor said. "Jack.", Flurry Heart repeated, all while searching the area for him. Once she couldn't find the familiar black Stahlhelm, she started bawling. Cadence, Twilight, Shining Armor, and the soldiers recoiled as the screaming caught everyone's attention around them. A nearby patrol of Sd. Kfz 2s stopped in surprise as the screaming filled the air. Celestia and the Jagdpanzer IV commander stopped arguing and turned to the scene. "Umm, honey? Could you go and find Jack?", Cadence asked, sheepishly. The British soldiers were busy covering their ears as the alicorn started throwing their Brodie helmets at them. "Sure...", Shining Armor said. He hopped off the truck and trotted away. Twilight shook herself out of her scream distracted daze and jumped off as well, following. Somewhere else... Rainbow Dash dodged a few cannon rounds as an ME 262 chased her through the clouds. A burning FW 190 spiraled down to the ground, as several of the Flak 38 trucks raced around below, firing. Several flak clouds exploded around the area, bombers, planes, and Pegasi dodging the storm of air shrapnel. Spitfire shot a bolt of lighting that zapped one of the trucks, immediately blowing it up. The remaining trucks aimed after Spitfire, before a Hurricane opened fire on another two trucks. Both trucks exploded, leaving five anti-aircraft mounted trucks left. A P-47 swooped down and released two of its "Holy Moses" rockets, destroying more trucks. Rainbow Dash watched as two more P-47 Thunderbolt fighters flew down after the flak trucks. She watched as the pinnacles of her fears exploded in flames before her, and flew back up to Cloudsdale. The Royal Guard had subdued the Wonderbolts, explaining the situation, while the remaining planes landed on what was left of Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash landed on a cloud next to a Heinkel. She looked to two British RAF pilots walking towards a B-17. "Where's those jets?", Rainbow Dash asked, as she trotted over to the pilots. "We shot them all down. None are left.", a pilot said. Rainbow Dash nodded, before walking to the Pegasi. A Royal Guard stepped aside and stood by as Rainbow Dash stood in front of the Wonderbolts. "R-Rainbow Dash?", Spitfire asked. "What's...going on?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "It's a long story.", she said. She turned to look at a Hurricane fighter, its pilot sitting in the cockpit with a cigarette in his mouth. Back at base, Shining Armor, Jack, and Twilight were walking back to Flurry Heart. They didn't even get lost this time, since all they had to do was follow the foal's screaming. "So...what's that?", Twilight said. "Flammenwerfer. Shoots nitrogen and gasoline lit by a fuse.", Jack said. "How does it work?", Twilight asked, now intrigued by the large contraption. "See, there's pressure in the nitrogen tank that forces the gas out the nozzle. The gas is brennbar-that means flammable-and passes through the fuse. The fuse at the end is a lighter, and the gas lights and it shoots-", Jack explained, before a blue aura surrounded him. Jack was still talking, unaware that Shining Armor had cast a muting spell on him. Twilight looked up, struggling to understand what he was saying. Then she held up a hoof with an apologetic smile, before turning to her brother with an irritated look. "Shiny...", Twilight said, in an annoyed tone. Shining Armor just smirked. "What?", he asked. Jack noticed the aura around him and glared at Shining Armor. The Crystal Empire ruler sighed. "Fine..." He released the aura, and Jack continued walking. Twilight followed, as did Shining Armor. "So, sorry about my brother.", Twilight said. "Anyway, you were-" "He's your brother? It's true?", Jack asked. Twilight nodded, and the flame trooper sweat dropped. "You have my condolences.", Jack said. All color-including his white coat-drained from Shining Armor when he heard Twilight giggle at this statement. The two continued to walk, and he quickly galloped after them. Somewhere else, Auftragsmörder sat on his tank with Lena. He kept trying to break through to Lena, who was constantly ignoring him. The German tank commander just kept holding the tied up mercenary in his arms, trying to get her to talk. "Come on...you don't wanna talk?", Auftragsmörder asked. "Please? Please?" Nothing. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Lena sighed and shook her head. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!", Auftragsmörder droned. "NO!!", Lena yelled, before immediately shutting up. Auftragsmörder grinned. "You said one word. I'll take it." "Sir." The gunner of Auftragsmörder's 57mm gun on the A7V walked up. He put Lena down and hopped off his A7V. His expression immediately became serious. "Ja?" "We have to see the princess.", the gunner said. He looked up at Lena, his grip on his MP-18 tightening. Lena glared back with just as much ferocity. The two locked glares, lightning connecting in the space between them. Auftragsmörder sweat dropped as the tank crew member and Lena continued to lock glares, before sighing. "Mein Gott...", he muttered. Somewhere else... Rarity and Fluttershy were asleep on the back of the Churchill, the Char FCM 2C close behind. The Churchill commander yawned as the tanks kept rolling for Celestia knows how long. He looked up and saw several small fading black clouds in the sky. He sipped his tea again before lowering himself back into the hatch. Author's Note I could use some ideas for the next couple chapters. I'm running out of gap fillers for the full battle, so please put in any sides, vehicles, infantry, or aircraft to join in on the already growing revolution. (BTW, I had people ask me this, so I'll clear it up. Yes, the navy will join in...somehow.)
ReunionEdward turned to see the group of Germans already moving into position. All tanks were moving into firing position up the hill, and the Americans began to move to the left. "Alright, we all got the plan.", Edward muttered, before looking to a petrified Twilight. "Twilight, you think you can get to your brother?" "Huh? Y-yes.", Twilight said. "Go! We'll cover you!", a soldier said, as he and the rest of the Germans ran up. The Vickers E tanks were firing their machine guns, with Thorax and whatever troops were there falling back. Ahti fired his pistol, before joining the others. "Fire!!", Jack yelled. The Pony Of Shadows growled in frustration as he dodged several jets of flame. He fired a blast of dark energy that took out a Vickers E, and killing two Germans near it. Jack ran up and fired a big burst of fire at the massive abnormality, before the shadowy figure sent a slash of dark fire at him, causing him to fall while clutching his face. The newly inflicted scar on his left eye was cauterized and steaming slightly, as the soldiers under his command fired lead and flame at their foe. "Kill it!!", a soldier yelled, before a spike of shadowy energy impaled him from the ground. The Flammpanzer turrets were turned around firing, while the Hummels and StuG were firing whilst driving backwards. Shining Armor and Cadence were galloping away as fast as they could, along with a few soldiers up front. Shining Armor jumped over a rock, gasping for breath as his wife and baby daughter joined him. "What...what do we do?", Cadence coughed. "The shadows...they're..." Shining was about to answer when he saw something. "Geh! Geh! Geh!" "Nach oben! Schieß das Ding!!" Several Germans, were charging towards the Shadows from the right, firing as they went. The sergeant of the group spoke up, holding his MP-41. "Erste Mannschaft, nimm die Flanke! Unterdrücke den Feind! Zweites Team, auf mich! Nach oben!", he barked, firing his weapon. Several Karabiners and Gewehrs opened fire from the side. "What...what is that?", Cadence said, horrified that there were more sadistic brutes like Jack in this world. She hugged Flurry Heart in her hooves as tight as possible, but not too tight to choke her out. "I don't know...", Shining Armor said. Then he heard more yelling, and more gunfire. Shining Armor turned around and saw more Germans attacking down the hill from the left as well. "Decke Feuer! Decke Feuer!", a soldier yelled. One soldier carrying an STG-44 opened fire, while two soldiers set up an MG-42 with a bipod, one setting up the gun, while the other took out the box of belted rounds. "How many are there?!", Shining Armor cried, before he heard a familiar voice. "Shining!" Twilight and Edward galloped and ran over to Shining and Cadence. Twilight tackled the two in a big hug as Edward jumped to cover, before firing his BAR at the monster that everyone else was fighting. "Twily! W-what're you doing here?", Shining Armor said, before an explosion shook them hard. "We were looking for you!", Twilight said. "Now we know why!" "How...how do you know these monsters?!", Cadence said. But before Twilight could begin to explain, Edward grabbed her, wrapping his arm around her midsection while firing the BAR one-handed. "We gotta fall back, now!", he said. All the soldiers were running past them, falling back. The American troops were providing cover fire for the ponies and humans, as the tanks opened fire on the enemy. The Char B1 fired its 75mm hull Howitzer, the shell striking the shadows in the face. He roared in pain, and was about to fire a large burst of dark magic when the KV-2 rolled up to the front. "Fire!" The KV-2 fired its 152mm Howitzer, and the shell ripped into the Pony Of Shadows, head on. A loud scream of pain could be heard as the explosion completely obscured the shadows from view, being replaced with fire and smoke. Jack watched as the smoke billowed into the sky, before turning to the KV-2. The Flakpanzer 38(t) pulled up, firing its 2cm Flak 38. "Go!!", a soldier in the Flakpanzer yelled, firing his MP-38. The BT-5 pulled up as well, firing DT machine guns. Jack got up and took his singed Flammenwerfer and hurried away. The BT-5 and the Flakpanzer pulled back, the T-28 firing and moving forward. The cloud of the KV-2's shell cleared, to show that the Pony Of Shadows was gone. Everyone was quiet, and the hundred or so troops walked up the hill, with the twenty or so tanks waiting on the other side. "Is it clear?" "What now?" Thorax looked up and saw Twilight and Shining Armor sitting next to the StuG III. "Twilight?" Twilight turned and saw the Changeling ruler walking towards her. "Thorax? What're you doing here?", she asked. The rumbling of several 1-ton Demag D7 halftrack vehicles filled the air. "Long story. Uhh, have you met Ahti?", Thorax asked, gesturing to the Vickers E tank behind him. Timeskip: an hour The halftracks and tanks returned to base camp, the troops all resting on the flatbed vehicles, the tanks not too far behind. A squad of Royal Engineers were setting up anti-personnel mines outside the perimeters waved as the vehicles pulled through the main gate. Some German soldiers stared as they set up barbed wire and sandbags. An American soldier walked by, carrying a box of Bouncing Betty S mines, when the German transports rolled by. The line of vehicles passed between a Sturmpanzer and a T-35, as they parked near Ponyville. All the troops unloaded, as Twilight and Thorax made their way to Celestia. "Twilight!" Twilight turned to see Spike and Ember sitting in a tent, which sone side was held up by being tied to the 128mm barrel of a Jagdtiger. They were waving, as a T-18 Kubinka rolled behind the tent. "I'll catch up in a minute.", Twilight said. Thorax nodded, as Twilight made her way to the two dragons. Twilight trotted past a soldier carrying an M2 Browning on his back and reached the tent. "Spike, where've you been?", she asked, as she hugged the young dragon. "I've been here with Ember. She's been crying about her busted wing for a while now.", Spike said. Ember blushed in embarrassment. "Wha?! N-no I haven't!", she said. "Come on, I'd be crying too if my wing was gone. Thought, I don't have wings.", Spike said. "I recall the saying that there's a 'chance' I may not fly again.", Ember replied. "So, it's a risk.", Twilight said. "Besides, don't dragon wings grow back again?" "Not when hit with dark magic. It'll either slow down the growth, or stop it.", Spike said. "I asked Celestia about dark magic, and she told me that." Ember sighed. "I'll sure miss flying.", she said. "Don't say that. Even if your wing doesn't grow back, there's another chance it can be healed with magic.", Spike said. Ember looked up, an expression of hope on her face. "You think so?", she asked. "Yeah. Well, it's possible.", Spike said. "I have to get going. Celestia and Thorax are waiting for me.", Twilight said. "I'll meet up with you later!" Twilight left the tent, and hopped on a Hetzer, as it drove towards the town square, presumably where Celestia was. The Hetzer drove by Lena, who was being questioned by a soldier next to the A7V, whilst a Renault FT and a Panzer I drove by from the opposite direction of the Hetzer. Twilight hopped off the Hetzer onto the side of a Matilda II, and jumping off to see Celestia talking to Thorax, the two of them sitting next to a Nebelwerfer. "Princess!", Twilight called, as she trotted over. Celestia stood up from the German rocket launcher and walked over to Twilight. "I see you rescued Shining Armor and Cadence?", Celestia asked. "Yes, princess. We also rescued a German soldier named Jack. He's in the medical tents.", Twilight said. "I see.", Celestia said. She turned to look at an M2 Gun Motor Carriage rolling by, followed by a Willys MB jeep. "So...what do we do now?", Twilight asked, as a British soldier with a Lee-Enfield walked by, carrying a satchel of BREN ammunition magazines. Celestia was about to answer, when the crunching of footsteps caught their attention. A group of American and German pilots ran by, as Twilight looked on in confusion. "I ordered a rescue mission on Cloudsdale. These brave individuals volunteered to fly to Cloudsdale and check on it. With the Pony Of Shadows nearby, it will be very risky, so I sent a contingent of my Royal Guard.", Celestia explained. Twilight blinked. "OK?", she asked. "Rainbow Dash also volunteered.", Celestia added. "Wait, what? She's got PTSD, she won't last a minute! It hasn't been very long, she needs to recover, if she doesn't, then she might-", Twilight ranted, when Celestia interrupted. "Twilight. She'll be in the middle. The humans have a formation at which they protect their guide.", Celestia said. "She'll be fine. Trust me." Then she looked up into the sky. "The mission should start any time now.", she said. As if on cue, the buzz of plane engines filled the air from afar. P-47s, ME BF 109s, FW 190s, Spitfires, and Hurricanes launched from the makeshift airfield, with three B-17s and a Heinkel 111 following. Twilight could just barely make out Rainbow Dash and the group of golden armored Pegasi flying within the small fleet of planes. "I hope you're right, princess.", Twilight said, as she walked away. In the air, Rainbow Dash flew next to a Hurricane, the buzzing of propulsion systems filling the air. She looked to the right to see a Royal Guard on the lookout. Rainbow Dash put a hoof to the makeshift portable radio tied to her neck. "A hundred kilometers ahead.", she said. "Copy." "Affirmative." Two FW 190s veered right to cover the flank, while a P-47 veered left. The three B-17s flew up ahead, Brownings armed. The Heinkel stayed in the middle, and Rainbow Dash could see the MG-15's spider sights sticking out the nose. She shuddered when she remembered the dogfight at Cloudsdale, but she shook it off, remembering that these Germans were now on their side. Then she gasped. "Spitfire and the others don't know that!", she thought. Then a bolt of lightning zapped the Heinkel right next to her, striking the thin metal frame of the greenhouse style nose. The golden energy electrocuted the whole hull of the plane, before disintegrating. Rainbow Dash looked up, to see several Pegasi with the back-mounted lightning cannons. "Break!", the commander yelled, and all the fighters veered in several directions. The B-17s immediately pulled up, the Heinkel close behind. Spitfire, Soarin, and the rest of the Wonderbolts dove downward, seeing the heavy bombers' larger and potentially more dangerous design approaching them. "Fire!", Spitfire yelled. Several bolts of lightning struck the first B-17, luckily dispersing across the hull. "Return fire!", the bomber commander yelled. Almost at once, a continuous barrage of 50 Caliber rounds shot towards the Wonderbolts. The Pegasi broke formation, as did the bombers. Spitfire flew around a B-17 with the words, Reaper's Vanguard, trying to find a weak spot. But every angle she could find resulted in a 50 Cal. firing back at her. "There's weapons all over this thing!", Spitfire said. She fired a few bursts of lightning, which all grazed the bomber. Soarin, High Winds, and Misty Fly were getting chased by the bomber Angel of Belladonna, guns blazing. Fleetfoot and Blaze attacked from above, getting ready to blast a hole through the top, before the dorsal turret of the bomber fired up at them, forcing them to break off the attack. Surprise waited on a cloud, before aiming her lightning cannon at the nose of the Reaper's Vanguard. She was about to fire when several 7.92x57mm rounds ripped through her cloud. Surprise quickly looked up to see the Heinkel flying above her, firing its ventral gun. Surprise jumped off and was about to pursue when a blue blur tackled her. "Ow, what in-", she said, before she saw who tackled her. "Rainbow Dash?!" "Tell them to stop attacking!", Rainbow Dash said. "They're here to help recover Cloudsdale!" "What? Dash, these are the ones who killed those Pegasi-", Surprise began before the blue flier cut her off. "No, these are the ones who are gonna help us fight the Pony of Shadows!", Rainbow Dash said. Then even more buzzing filled the air. "What the-" Suddenly, dozens of fighters blasted through a nearby cloud, racing past the two Wonderbolts. Surprise gasped when she saw where the attack force was heading. Within the flotilla of fighters, Surprise could see the Royal Guard flying with them. "Cloudsdale!", she said. "They're diverting fire to those giant monsters while the other ones get a clear shot at the city!" Rainbow Dash blinked. "Thanks.", she said. She quickly pressed on her miniature radio. "Everyone, maintain your heading! Cloudsdale is up ahead, but do not attack! Hold fire!", she said. "Roger!" "Affirmative!" "Acknowledged!" Surprise gasped and stared at Rainbow Dash. "You...them...", she muttered. "I'll explain in a bit. Come with me.", Rainbow Dash said, helping Surprise to her hooves. At this point, the yellow maned Pegasus was too confused to even think, so she clumsily flew after her. The four bombers saw their fighter escorts flying towards their destination, and immediately broke off the attack. They quickly steered their way towards Cloudsdale. Spitfire and the others saw where they were going, and quickly followed. Rainbow Dash quickly knocked on the cockpit of a P-47, and gestured to fly ahead. The pilot nodded, and all the P-47s in the attack force flew up ahead, while the RAF fighters, the Spitfires and Hurricanes, flew back to take their place. The Thunderbolt fighters shot past a cloud, while the rest of the Pegasi and planes approached. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in anticipation, before something caught her attention. A loud boom, and the blazing of gunfire reached her ears, and Rainbow Dash immediately accelerated towards Cloudsdale, the fighters and Royal Guard following. When Rainbow Dash blasted through the cloud, the first thing she was met with was contact from the yellow nose of a Messerschmitt 262.
AmbushTwilight, Cadence and, Shining Armor watched as Jack played around with Flurry Heart, as Jack played catch with his Stahlhelm to the baby alicorn. Jack had short blond hair, the edges singed. "So...", Twilight said. "I still don't like him.", Shining Armor said. "Don't expect you to. But, as the princess of Friendship, it is by my authority to ensure that you make friends.", Twilight said. "Hey, I have friends.", Shining Armor said. "Non political.", Twilight said. Shining Armor was about to talk, but found out that he had no proper retort to this. "Twilight!" Edward walked up to Twilight, his BAR slung over his back. "I've been looking for you. Where have you been?", he asked. "Watching Jack take care of my niece.", Twilight said. "I think I told you I had a niece? Her name is Flurry Heart." "Yeah. And you blabbered all sorts of stuff about your brother too.", Edward said. Shining Armor turned to Twilight, who chuckled nervously. "Something about a former babysitter and taking care of you past adulthood.", Edward said. "Anyway, we need to see you, so can you come over?" "Huh? Who needs to see me?", Twilight asked. "Me and the princess. And...another princess, I think. Her sister?", Edward said. Twilight's eyes widened. She got up and made a quick flight to an IS-2 heading for the center of the Ponyville Human Military Refuge. "Come on!", Twilight said, as the IS-2 kept rolling. Edward sighed. "Coming!", he said. He started running after the Soviet anti-Tiger tank, with Twilight waving on the back. Shining Armor wiped his forehead as a tired Jack slumped next to him, both leaning on an M-45 Quad-mount. "Taking care of that baby is hard.", Jack said, as he wiped his forehead. "I know.", Shining Armor said, subconsciously. The two looked at each other, before they started glaring daggers into their eyes. Cadence, who was nearby, sighed as Flurry Heart hovered over to the both of them. Flurry Heart giggled as Cadence rolled her eyes. "Yes, I also wonder why I put up with this.", she muttered. Elsewhere... Twilight and Edward made their way to where Celestia was, only to receive a surprise. "Luna!", Twilight said. She galloped forward and hugged the night princess, who returned the hug graciously. "Hello, Twilight? How are thou feeling?", Luna said. Twilight smiled. “We’re doing OK. How’s Canterlot?”, she asked. "We sent Ponyville's citizens there to protect them from attack. i'm hoping they're alright?" “Canterlot is holding. There have been incidents of attacks, but the tanks have held them off.”, Luna said. Twilight jolted in surprise. “Wait, what?”, she asked. “The Shadows have been going after refugee camps, but humans with monsters they call tanks have protected each and every one of their attacks.”, Luna explained. She looked over to see a Matilda II and a Comet tank rolling by, a group of Royal Engineers marching by. “Like those.”, she said. “How many?”, Celestia asked. “Let’s see...I’d say about twenty tanks and a hundred humans.”, Luna said. “That was the last time I counted.” Edward came up to the princess. “Princess.”, he said, bowing. He slung his BAR over his shoulder as Luna approached him. Celestia watched as her sister’s horn glowed. “Edward, I presume?”, Luna asked. Edward simply nodded while still bowing. “Rise, sir Edward.”, she said. Edward stood up, and Luna tapped her horn against Edward’s helmet. An indigo spark connected between the both of them, and Luna smiled. “Thank you for rescuing the Princess of Friendship.”, she said. Twilight blushed slightly at this, while Edward grinned. “It’s something any of us would do.”, the lieutenant said. “It’s our job.” Luna smiled. Then her features became serious. “Now the real reason I came here. We have a problem.”, she said. "I was on night guard a few days ago when something came to me. I think it's better if you see it for yourself." Using her horn, she summoned a glyph that opened up a wormhole right in front of them. Twilight and Edward watched as several futuristic soldiers with bulky armor fired massive machine guns at incoming creatures. Behind them were large machines firing humongous cannons at the enemy. Explosions and storms of machine gun fire ripped through the monsters, as even more came in. There was devastation all over the place, and death was spreading like the plague. Twilight had a horrified expression watching all this. She looked on as one of the futuristic men got crushed by a massive six legged armored creature. Edward and Twilight watched as the battle between the humans and ponies continued to slaughter, until Luna shut off the vision. They looked to Luna, their eyes demanding an explanation to what they have just seen. "I have foreseen the future. If the shadows win, this is the outcome.", Luna said. (BTW, this is not the future, this is some other random vision from Korhal. But they don't know that) Twilight stared at the princess of night in disbelief, as the news of this possible outcome of Equestria sank in. She looked at Edward, who kept a neutral expression on his face. She was shocked to see the soldier unaffected, and judging by the looks on Celestia's and Luna's faces, so was she. "Edward...are you OK?", Celestia asked. "Huh, yeah...this reminds me of something...a game I think?", Edward mumbled. "Anyway, I'm not surprised. War is everywhere, so I can't really be nerved by that." Celestia sighed and looked at the army around her. "I can see why.", she said. Luna looked to her older sister. "I still can't believe there's this many humans here.", she said. "And they haven't started a war with us.", she said. *ahem* "What's that supposed to imply?", Edward asked, crossing his arms. "Nothing...", Luna said, looking away. "Anyway, this makes our mission even more urgent to stop the shadows.", Celestia said. "We're training our Royal Guard. We currently have an army of over half a million.", Luna said. "We have over twelve thousand tanks and thirty thousand planes and bombers. We haven't finished counting our men, but it's residing in the 3 or 4 millions.", Edward said, pulling a notebook from his pocket, next to where his ammo hung. "The powers of the shadows are boundless, so we won't expect an easy fight, even with our numbers.", Luna said. "We need to tell everypony." Edward turned to look at Luna. "We've figured out the weakness of those things. Almost every fight ended with us burning out the swarm.", he said. "So, fighting with fire?", Celestia asked. "I hear Jack leads that specialist Brennen team. I think that's German for burn? Anyway, we should talk to him if we're to start putting this thing into motion.", Edward said. "Lieutenant!" Edward and Twilight turned to see a soldier running up. "Auftragasmorda, uhh...that guy in the giant old German tank needs to talk to you.", he said. Edward sighed. "Well, I'm getting called everywhere.", he said. "I'll be back later." Edward walked away as the other soldier walked in a different direction. "Twilight!" Twilight turned and saw an American soldier waving to her, while walking with a few Shermans and a halftrack. He was also walking with several soldiers. "You coming?" Twilight turned back to Celestia and Luna. "I'm sorry, princesses. I have somewhere else to be.", she said. "We're going to go out on a scouting mission and check for resources we can utilize." "I see. Stay safe.", Celestia said. Then Luna stepped up. "Princess Twilight, please allow me to assist you in your mission.", Luna said. Celestia turned to her younger sister in surprise, as did Twilight. "I'm sorry, what?", Twilight and Celestia synced. "I'd like to see and take note on how humans operate in their military, to see how we can improve our Royal Guard. I believe this will further improve our chances in the fight against the shadows.", Luna said. Twilight turned to Celestia, who only shrugged (somehow) in response. "OK, just stay in the middle of the group, OK?", Twilight asked. Luna nodded eagerly as she trotted towards the group. "Princess, are you coming?", Twilight asked. "No, I must oversee operations here.", Celestia said. She turned to a Jagdpanzer IV with a glare. "Besides, I have something to deal with.", she said. Twilight blinked, before turning away to join her scouting group. Later, somewhere else, Rarity and Fluttershy were still napping on the Churchill when a jolt in the heavy tank jolted Fluttershy awake. Fluttershy yawned and rubbed her eyes. She opened them to see the Char 2C FCM rolling next to the Churchill, with Pinkie Pie still singing and skipping around the tank. The French commander was face planted against the hull, probably annoyed to death, as Pinkie Pie kept going. The two BREN carriers were still following, as was the halftrack. Fluttershy peeked around the turret, that the two Matilda II tanks were now in the lead. Their 2 pounder cannons were constantly swiveling on the lookout. "Look!" Fluttershy turned to see a British trooper pointing from a BREN carrier. Fluttershy followed his finger to see Panhard 178, a two Renault R35 tanks, a Puma armored car, a King Tiger, and a Panther rolling the same direction as them, at least half a kilometer away. Fluttershy leaned in to see some Royal Guard on the Panhard, while Applejack was on the Panther. She smiled immediately upon seeing her friend. "Applejack!", she called. Applejack and the others didn't hear, obviously because Fluttershy wasn't very loud. The British guys in the carriers just stared at her. Fluttershy kept softly calling Applejack's name, to no avail. Then Pinkie Pie went and started to scream. "APPLEJACK!!!!!", she roared. Like this. Everyone immediately shot up in surprise, before turning to Pinkie Pie. The other tanks started to drive towards them, after hearing the scream. "What?", Pinkie Pie asked, as everyone, including Fluttershy glared at her. The Panther rolled up next to the Churchill, and Applejack jumped onto the British tank, before hugging Fluttershy. "Hey, didn't think we'd run into y'all out here. What's goin' on?", she asked. "We're just going out...securing the perimeter and scouting, they said.", Fluttershy said, quietly. It was then that Rarity woke up from her little nap. She let out a yawn and leaned to the right. Her neck cracked its tension away, and she opened her eyes. "Oh, hello. What are you doing here?", she asked. The Panther commander, whose tank was still alongside the Churchill, sighed. "Du wachst aus einer Unterhaltung auf, aber du schläfst durch das lauteste Schreien, das ich je gehört habe? Ich glaube, ich bin schon tot." Applejack and Fluttershy blinked at the German tank commander, before turning back to their resident fashionista. "So, anyways..." "Ah, schrauben Sie es.", the German said, before lowering himself down the cupola. "Anyway, how're y'all?", Applejack asked. "No shadows have showed up yet." "And good riddance to that.", Rarity said. "Too bad Twilight couldn't be here." "What're ya talkin' about?", Applejack asked. "Twilight shouldn't be here, with her duties an' all." "Applejack, dear. You know we just miss her.", Rarity said. Applejack sighed. "Ah know...Ah do too.", she said. "She never has time to ask us for help, or talk to us. Though...Ah guess Ah know why, especially since this whole war started." "I know what you're talking about.", Fluttershy said. "I had to leave Angel behind because it was too dangerous for him to come." "Oh, dear!", Rarity gasped. Applejack was surprised too. Fluttershy usually couldn't bear to leave her pet bunny behind. "It's OK. It's worth it, especially since I know he'll be safer at Ponyville.", Fluttershy said. Almost imediately, she imagined Angel standing in the middle of the road, with a vehicle racing towards him. Fluttershy gulped. "I hope.", she said. Later, Pinkie Pie bounced off the Char, rolled off the Panther, and landed on the Churchill. "Hey, guys! What's going on?!", she chirped. "Nothing much. We're all just waiting.", Rarity said, in a matter of fact voice. "Well, are we waiting for those guys? Cuz he's just chilling!", Pinkie Pie said. The Churchill commander turned to see Pinkie Pie. "What? Who?", he asked. "I don't see anyone." "Him! The Ghost and the Reaper!", Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at the forest. Everyone turned to the forest to see a human in red armor wearing the largest backpack in existence. The Reaper looked to see everyone staring at him. "This ain't good." he said. The Ghost uncloaked. "Give me the sit-rep.", he said. The Reaper just pointed his hand cannon at the large group staring at the two of them. "Well...color me happy.", the Ghost said. Somewhere else... Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts, the Royal Guard, and the pilots sat on the clouds, when a roaring sound caught their attention. "What the hell's that?", an American pilot said. Everyone got up, looking around. In the Angel of Belladonna, the dorsal twin barreled turrets swiveled around in alarm. A roar filled the air, and a red, black, and white unidentified flying object shot by. "What the-", a British pilot said. "Defensive positions!", a Royal Guard said, drawing a hoof held crossbow from his armor. A large strange looking jet flew downwards, firing missiles. The missiles struck and destroyed a P-47 and a FW 190. Everyone scattered as the turrets on the bombers opened fire. The 50. Cal rounds did nothing, as the jet flew around for another strafing run. More missiles flew out, and a B-17 was destroyed, wreckage and burning metal flying everywhere. "Get the others out of here!", a pilot yelled. "Move!!" The large jet was immediately met with lightning fire from the Wonderbolts, as the Reaper's Vanguard and the Angel of Belladonna turned away from the attack, ready to take off. The jet flew close to a racing plane, before the jet suddenly transformed, two double jointed legs jutting out. The legs crushed the BF 109, and landed on the cloud violently, a small wave of air blasting out. Rainbow Dash gasped as the wings folded, and the missile launchers were set on the top. Two large rotary cannons shot out, spinning rapidly. The fins of the jet were morphed downward, and the cockpit shone. Everyone stared at the monstrosity before them. Its rotary cannons spun faster, as the pilot removed the shadowy tint from the cockpit. "Ha ha! I love a good raid!", the pilot laughed, as the Gatling cannons opened fire. Elsewhere... Twilight sat on a Sherman in the middle, with Luna sitting and taking notes. "Hmm...defense formation consists of layers.", Luna said, still writing. "Designed to protect important assets..." Jones and Twilight exchanged funny looks, before a rumble filled the air. Then a large car with three wheels jumped out of the nearby forest, racing towards the American convoy. It was red and black, with the word "Ranger" painted on the side. A large flamethrower glowing blue was mounted on its back behind the canopy. It swerved to a stop, before its frame split apart. The machine morphed into a mechanized robot, flipping on its legs. Two large shields were mounted on its wrists, and the flamethrower was modified with a longer range. A Sherman instantly fired at the robot, only for the 75mm shell to shatter on impact. The machine turned and fired its large flamethrower at the tank, the armored vehicle melting and exploding almost instantly. Twilight, Jones, and Luna stared in disbelief at the scene, before the other tanks backed away. The infantry immediately turned around, before retreating. The bipedal machine turned to Jones's tank, and stomped forward. "You're all coming with me.", the robot said. It had a sort of young, hot shot voice to it, as if someone were inside. Twilight just gulped. Luna used her magic and grabbed her notebook, before writing in it as fast as she could. Back in Ponyville, Celestia looked up to see a massive shadow in the clouds, rumbling before disappearing from view. Her eyes widened as several tiny flying things, machine or creatiure, flying down from the clouds. "Is Ahti with them?", Celestia muttered. Author's Note Sorry for using Starcraft, but I like it so don't judge me. It's gonna be a permanent part, so don't worry. Anyway, I'm planning to change the update date to Mondays, maybe Tuesdays if unfortunate.
New Arrivals"Fire!!" The Matilda tanks opened fire, the Reaper dodging the shots with ease. Almost every weapon was firing at the flying man, who was avoiding and kiting every hit. "I'm bringing the pain, and the pizza in 30 minutes or it's free!", the Reaper yelled, firing a shot that hit a Matilda, damaging it. The Matilda backed away as the Reaper raced towards the ponies on the Churchill. Rarity and Fluttershy covered their ears as the Churchill fired its main gun, the Reaper dodging the shot easily. "My grandma could fight better than you guys!!", the jet-pack trooper laughed. The Ghost watched the fight from afar, leaning on a tree. Then his comm unit went off. "Yeah?", he said. "Ghost X71362N report.", a static voice said. "We encountered resistance, but Reaper C3 is dealing with it.", the Ghost said. "Acknowledged. Tell him to fall back and regroup with Battle Group Alpha.", the voice said. "Roger.", Ghost X71362N said. He shut off his comm unit and quickly cloaked. The Churchill commander opened fire with his Colt Victory Model .45, the shots bouncing off the Reaper. "Ah, this is bullshit!", the commander yelled. "These jets are burning my ass!!", the Reaper yelled, smacking the tank commander with his hand cannon. The British tank commander lay unconscious on the tank, as the Reaper aimed his gun at the man. "Here comes the pain.", he said. Before he could pull the trigger, a pink blur blocked his vision. "Hi there my name is Pinkie Pie I'm a pony that's a big box on your back and you look weird you can fly holy hay you need to let me on i wanna fly i wanna see how these jets burn your butt off and i heard you have a pizza has it been thirty minutes already you owe me a free pizza preferably without meat we're ponies and we eat vegan don't deny us your affection because we're vegan we still respect each other as a person right? Please answer me what's going on why are you still so frozen do you know what these guns do how high can you jump please answer me have you tried a cupcake they're so good especially when made with love and friendship and all the regular stuff I had a bakery but it blew up I'm sad please answer me please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please-" "SHUT UP!!", the Reaper yelled angrily. He grabbed Pinkie Pie off of his face and hurled her at the Char. She impacted the tank violently, a loud *CLANG* filling the air. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy stared in horror as Pinkie Pie was dislodged from the French tank, leaving a pony sized dent in the side. She fell and crumpled to the ground, knocked out. "Pinkie Pie!", Rarity cried. She used her magic to levitate her friend over to the Churchill, as Fluttershy and Applejack attacked the shock trooper. "You meanie!!", Fluttershy cried, using the Stare on the Reaper. The Reaper, unfazed, grabbed her by the mane and slammed her down on the tank, knocking her down for the count. "C'mere!", Applejack yelled. She jumped up and kicked the Reaper, hard. The jump pack trooper growled before grabbing and hoisting Applejack by the neck. He glared her down with his yellow goggles. "Fear the Reaper man.", he said, before throwing her next to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. He turned to Rarity and strolled over to the four ponies. Rarity just stared up, petrified of this man. A chuckle escaped the Reaper. "I like you.", he said. He raised his pistols at her friends. "That's why I'm gonna kill you last." He was about to shoot when a hand grabbed his shoulder. The Reaper turned to see his fellow Ghost standing there, his C-20A rifle in his other hand. "it's getting too hot! We gotta move.", the Ghost said. "We'll come back." The Ghost turned away to cloak, as the Reaper turned to the ponies. Fluttershy was beginning to wake up. "I love it when a plan comes together.", he said. The other men immediately opened fire. Gunfire caught his attention, and several rifle and machine gun shots bounced off his armor from the others around them. "Finally! The life of a reaper man is always intense.", the Reaper said. He grabbed several demolition charges and threw them into the air. "GERONIMO!!" He jumped off and flew away, as the charges went off. Fluttershy's ears rang from the explosion, before she looked up. From her slightly blurred vision, she saw the rain of shrapnel come down, and she shut her eyes. Rarity, in a split second, immediately formed a shield with her magic as the shrapnel came down. Everyone was killed, and the tanks were ripped apart. Rarity and Fluttershy shut their eyes, as Applejack groaned and got up to see the shield. When the rain stopped, the shield went away. Rarity stared at the devastation around her. The tanks were torn apart, even the King Tiger. All that was left of the Royal Guard escort was bloodied golden metal scraps. There was blood on the hole ridden ground around them. The only thing remaining was the Churchill which the shield had completely encased and protected. The commander woke up. "Ugh...what happened?", he groaned. Rarity broke down, as did Fluttershy. Applejack took off her hat, as Pinkie Pie lay unconscious. Over on Cloudsdale, the Viking continued to fire endlessly at the ponies and humans. the rounds ripped through the cloud cover, killing pilots and destroying planes left and right. Rainbow Dash peeked from behind a cloud, before a round zipped by her. The Wonderbolts flew by, their lightning cannons blazing violently. A bolt zapped the Viking's arm, and the Viking turned to the Wonderbolt, its Gatling cannons blazing. The storm of bullets ripped the Pegasus apart, the lightning cannon exploding. Everyone ducked and covered, as the Viking kept firing. The Angel of Belladonna and the Reaper's Vanguard flew off, unbeknownst to the Viking. Rainbow Dash watched as the bombers escaped, before a shot glanced off a fighter near her. Spitfire and High Winds stayed pinned to the cloud ground, as the Viking stomped forward. A P-47 turned and opened fire with its eight 50 Cal. machine guns, the rate of fire adding up to almost 4800 rounds per minute. The Viking pilot recoiled from the sudden attack, its Gatling cannons stopping. The P-47 kept firing, until something shot into the fighter, causing it to suddenly explode. Rainbow Dash looked up to see several rockets flying towards Cloudsdale. "Look out!!", she cried. Soarin and Misty Fly ducked as a backlash rocket flew by and destroyed an FW 190. A red AH/G-24 Banshee uncloaked from above the Viking, and opened fire. The rockets decimated fighters left and right, as the Viking opened fire again. "Thanks, I owe ya.", the Viking pilot said. The Banshee pilot smirked. "Maybe a drink after we're done?", she asked. "Cut the chatter, you two. Just clear that floating city. Then we'll have enough room to forward a command center on the ground. I trust you two will handle it?", the radio crackled. "Yes, command. We'll adjust as soon as all hostiles are clear.", the Viking said. Several lightning cannons, now mounted on the Royal Guard, fired at the Banshee. The shots struck and coursed throughout the aircraft, before it dissipated. By then, all the remaining pilots returned to whatever was left of their planes. "Fire!", the lead pilot said. Two Spitfires, three Hurricanes, two FW 190s, a BF 109, four P-47s, and the Heinkel 111 opened fire as they raced towards the Viking. The Viking had no time to fire, and the Banshee tried to fire at the incoming planes taking off. "My rockets are jammed! That damn lightning!", the Banshee pilot said. The Viking was rammed off the clouds, the assault suit spiraling to the ground as the planes shot by. Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts, and the Royal Guard chased after them. The Banshee turned to chase, before the radio crackled to life. "Hey, I'm alright.", the viking pilot said. "Don't chase." "But our orders were to-" "Our orders were to get rid of them. They left, they're cleared out. Our job's done.", the Viking pilot said. "Damn right it is.", command said. "Get your Dominion Special Force asses back to HQ." The Banshee disarmed its rockets and flew to the ground, seeing the Viking transformed and flying down to a Dominion Planetary Fortress and an Orbital Command. Elsewhere, the Hellbat stared down Jones's Sherman, with Twilight and Luna staring fearfully back. The Hellbat pilot smirked. "What? no remark? No running off?", it said. It turned to Jones, holding up an arm. "Hey, you Terran?", he said. "Uhh...", was all Jones could say. Another Hellion drove over and transformed into a Hellbat, before whacking one of its its shield arms against the Hellbat. "Enough! We have to clear out the area and leave. That's it.", the other Hellbat said. "Remember our orders. No unnecessary casualties." The other Hellbat turned to see the molten tank on the ground. "You broke protocol already?" Twilight turned and saw several ships flying towards their area. Two Dominion barracks and a factory(which is bigger than the barracks). Two Medivac dropships and a Wraith accompanied the large flying buildings. "Fine.", the other Hellbat said. It turned around and began to push the Sherman tank back. "Anyway, go back home...make sure you keep a distance, and stay safe.", he said in a mock muttering tone. He pushed the tank back several meters before transforming into its car mode and driving off. Twilight watched as the Medivacs landed, with two strange looking tanks rolling out of one, while several bulky armored men that looked strangely like the humans from Luna's vision. Twilight turned to Luna, and judging from her facial expression, those men were the same as the vision she showed less than an hour earlier. "I think it's safe to say this scavenging mission is aborted.", Jones said. "Let's get back to base before they change their mind and decide to melt us." A roaring sound filled the air, and two B-17 bombers flew back to base, barely visible above the clouds. "Wait!", Twilight said. "Luna, you saw these, right?" Luna was staring at the two strange looking tanks, which were transforming into some sort of spider looking creature. Its main gun turret stretched and stuck out into a large shock cannon. "Luna!" Luna jolted as her attention was drawn away from the tank, back to Twilight. "Oh, uh, yes?", she said. "You saw these?", Twilight repeated. "Yes, I did.", Luna said. "They were monsters...but that vision was from the future. I don't understand." "Neither do I, princess. We must ask them.", Twilight said. She was about to hop off the Sherman when Jones grabbed her by her neck, pulling her back on the tank. "Excuse me? You saw Malkin, right? He was downright melted!", Jones said. "I dunno, but I'd rather bring a princess or two back alive guaranteed rather than risk that robot of theirs." "Well, we can't do anything else but-", Twilight began, before a roar filled the air. Several planes and Pegasi flew back towards the base, some getting shot down. Two Wraith fighters were chasing the planes, firing missiles at the planes. Each missile was a hit, as fighter planes getting hit and knocked down. "What the-", Jones said, before he was cut off by a loud *whoosh*. He turned to see Twilight galloping towards the alien base. "My God...", he muttered, before turning to Luna. "Get back to your sister. I'll make sure Twilight doesn't get hurt." "But-", Luna said. Jones glared at the lunar princess, making her shut up. "Go!", Jones said. Luna nodded and got off the Sherman, before galloping away. Jones lowered himself under the cupola and put on his tanker helmet. He kicked the tank driver's shoulder and gestured for them to follow. The alicorn raced towards the base, Jones's Sherman following close behind them. They reached the command center, which was massive. Two SCVs left the base, towards a makeshift dig site. Two marines, a medic, and a marauder stood next to a bunker, with a locked down siege tank looking around. Twilight slipped around the base and hid behind a barracks and its tech lab. Two more marines walked out of the barracks, chatting. Twilight hurried past the barracks and towards a factory, which was even bigger. She looked around, as two Vulture bikes raced by. She looked to another building, and her eyes widened. The Starport was massive, being bigger than the command center. Twilight watched as a Banshee flew out the opening on top. Twilight snuck inside the Starport's massive ramp, before climbing up to the main hall. She looked around while trotting through the empty hallway. She hid behind a pillar as two pilots walked by. "What is this place?", Twilight muttered. She wandered the area, until she reached a balcony. She stepped out on it, and her eyes widened. Six stories below her, were several hangars all arranged facing inward as a circle. Wraith fighters, Banshees, Raven drones, Vikings, and medivac dropships were in the hangars, with hundreds of workers and pilots working around. "Wow...", Twilight muttered. The sound of a door opening broke her awe, and she quickly hid behind the doorway. A Viking pilot flirting with a Banshee pilot walked by, giggles and talking fading away. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, before she went back to exploring the place. Jones's Sherman stayed in a mass of giant bushes, with Jones sneaking into the Starport not too far away. "Hope she's in here.", he breathed. Twilight went and explored the station, all while staying hidden from any crew members inside. She reached a giant room where several workers and crew were on holograms and computers. "Command wants the Starport back to the Relentless.", the captain said. "The last Viking squadron should be taking off now. Prepare for liftoff." Twilight blinked, before the whole Starport rumbled violently. In the Starport bar, everyone stumbled slightly. The pilots in the hangar held on to something, let it be the their fighters or the wall. Jones clutched a pillar nearby as the whole Starport began to hover. The landing pads jolted, and steam hissed from the vents of the large craft. The warning lights outside blinked and flared, as marines and medics cleared the takeoff zone. Twilight watched as the bridge locked down, the window shutters opening, and the hallway lights flashing red. The massive building hovered high and higher, as it slowly gained altitude. The lights stopped blinking, and Twilight looked around. Two Banshees and two Wraiths hovered along with the massive building. Twilight watched from a window as the blue of the sky slowly turned into the black of space. A Hercules mass troop transport flew downward, as the silhouette of something in space got closer. "I'm...in space.", Twilight thought. She didn't see the humongous Gorgon-class Battlecruiser get closer. Elsewhere... At the base, a BMW R-75 roared as Jack twisted the handle. Din sat in the sidecar, holding onto an MG-34 mounted on the side. "Be back soon!", Edward yelled. "Don't worry!", Jack said, smirking. He twisted the handle again, and the motorcycle and sidecar took off down the hill. Two more BMW R-75 motorcycles took off as well, both with sidecars and armed with MG-34 machine guns. Behind them were two Kübelwagens, each with twin MG-42 mounts on them. Jack looked around with his one good eye, and steered towards the convoy around through the forest. When they reached the other side of the forest, his eyes widened when he saw something in front of him. "What is that?", he asked. His sidecar companion held up a pair of binoculars and looked through it. A Medivac was landed, with two marines standing outside the ramp. "Enemies.", Din said. Jack turned to the Kübelwagens, and two men with Kar 98s climbed out. They crawled to the front and took aim. The marines had their visors down, but it wasn't difficult to tell where the heads were. The men pulled their bolts, and squeezed the trigger. Two shots ripped through one marine's visor, killing him. The other grabbed his Gauss rifle and started looking around in alarm. The two men looked at each other incredulously. "Ich dachte, du hast den richtigen!!", one said. "Nein, ich hatte das eine auf der rechten Seite, du hattest das auf der linken Seite!!", the other guy said. Din took a Swedish Model 1894 from a box mounted on the sidecar, and took aim, pulling the bolt. He fired once and pulled the bolt, before firing again. One shot cracked the visor at an angle, while the other bullet scored a headshot. "Thank you.", Jack said. He turned back to the Terran dropship down the hill. "Now let's see what that is." Somewhere else far away, two BT-42s and a Vickers tank hid in the bushes, as Ahti watched with binoculars. He looked back to his squad and his tank crew. "Meidän on lopetettava varjot täällä.", he said. Author's Note Vikings are BADASS. This Viking is technically my OC. Sad thing is, they don't last long. SO...you can BET that this Viking will last. Hope you enjoyed.
Infiltrating The GorgonAt the human base in Ponyville, Edward breathed out a puff of smoke as his cigarette burned out. He tossed the husk on the ground, before a Jagdtiger flattened it to the ground. He got up and walked towards the center. He walked into the center, before getting plowed over by Luna. "Sister!", Luna cried. Celestia turned to see her sister galloping towards her. She barely had time before she was knocked over by the night princess. "Ugh...sister?", Celestia said. "The aliens...vision...they're real.", Luna gasped, still out of breath from running. Edward groaned as he got up. A soldier cringed as he saw the hoof imprints on the lieutenant's back. "Twilight did what?!", Celestia cried. "She went off and...and...that tank human went after her. He sent me back, and I wanted to get more help, believe me!", Luna said. “I believe you.”, Celestia said. Luna looked back to see no one had returned yet. "How long has it been since she left?" “Too long...I hope Twilight’s safe.”, Luna said. A soldier walking by saw Edward pick himself off the ground. He cringed at the hoof prints on his back, before hurrying off somewhere. Edward picked up his BAR and walked to the princesses. As he walked, he started cracking his spine and neck in several different places. “What’s the situation?”, he asked. Luna and Celestia gulped as the lieutenant raised an eyebrow. “He’s not going to like this. Twilight, I hope you’re OK.”, Celestia thought. In space In the Starport, Twilight Sparkle giggled as she spiraled down the empty hallway. Zero gravity was taking its effect on the young alicorn, the pony flying down the locked down ship. From a door window, a Viking pilot sat fiddling with his helmet when a purple blur caught his attention. He opened his door to look outside, before the same blur shot back and slammed into him. “Sorry!”, Twilight cried. The pilot recovered, to see there was no purple anywhere. He looked around, scratching his head in confusion. His helmet floated in front of him, and he grabbed it. “Uhh...”, he groaned. He went back inside his room, as Twilight came out of hiding. “Phew!”, she sighed. She looked to a window, and her eyes widened at what was in front of her. The humongous Gorgon Class Battlecruiser before her took up the whole window, with the only sources of light outside being the many tiny little lights on the ship. "We are approaching the Relentless. Should we contact them?", a worker on the Starport bridge asked, as a thermos floated past her. "Yes.", the commander said. "Aven, lock down fighters in the hangar." "Copy.", another crew member said. He pressed a button on the control pad in front of him, and the outline of the whole hangar on the holographic screen began to glow red. Jones was sneaking his way into the hangar, when the door behind him slammed shut with a *WHAM*. Jones turned to look at the locked door. "Aw, shit.", he said. On the Relentless, the captain looked to the Starport, a set of light specks above the planet in orbit. “Starport C-95 has entered orbit. Distance is 792 meters.” “Intercept velocity is 84 meters per second.” “Send a Hercules to intercept.”, the captain said. One of the Gorgon’s many hangars opened up, as a Hercules flew over to the Starport. Twilight looked out to see some sort of craft flying out of the massive ship. Jones hid behind a Viking, before hurrying behind the backs of a group of pilots to a Medivac. A group of marines were talking, before they split up. One of them was walking towards where Jones was hiding. "Uh oh.", he muttered, before ducking under the Medivac's massive thruster. The marine walked past, as a Medivac pilot walked into the dropship. Jones let out a sigh of relief and walked out from under the giant engine. The pilot sat in her seat, and began to check her ship. "Ready for dustoff.", she announced. The engine suddenly fired downwards, the backlash throwing boxes, supplies, including Jones around the room. Jones flew completely to the other side of the hangar, crashing in a massive pile of empty cardboard boxes. Minutes later, Jones climbed out of the pile, his head stuck in a box. "Ugh...", he grumbled, pulling the box off his head. He turned to see the flight officer yelling at the Medivac pilot for starting up without safety precautions and how someone could've gotten hurt. "Someone did get hurt...", Jones muttered, before pulling the box off his head. He got up and stumbled to where a Banshee was finishing maintenance. Back in space, the Hurcules had gotten closer, and Twilight could easily see how giant it was. The transport hovered next to the flying building, with air thrusting out of vents on the side constantly burning to prevent collision. "We have a visual on the Hercules. Preparing magnetic locks.", a Starport worker said. Twilight stared out the window, as the giant transport got even closer. In the hangar, Jones could practically feel the rumble of the Hercules's engine next to the ship. Before it could dock, a green blast struck the Hercules’s engine, throwing off the balance. The Hercules crashed into the Starport, and both began to drift off course. Both craft vibrated, shaking violently. More green blasts attacked the transport, which was dying quickly. "Mutulisks!", one of the Gorgon crew members said. Sure enough, several Zerg mutalisks were flying on an intercept path towards the two crafts. "Retain balance! Get this craft back on course!", the Starport commander yelled. "Roger.", a crew member said. He pressed a button, and the afterburners of the Starport began to force the flying building upright again. “If I die, I’ll kill ya!”, a Scottish voice over the radio yelled. Almost right after, the Hercules exploded. Jones, who was hiding in the hangar saw the explosion from behind a parked Banshee. The cockpit opened and a young woman wearing her AH/G-24 stealth air suit, with its visor down. She pressed the button on her attached headpiece, and the visor went up. The loud explosion shook the Starport, and the pilot crashed The Banshee's pilot, and a set of crew members saw this, and their eyes widened as a chunk of metal flew towards the open hangar. "Oh, shit!", one of the crew members yelled. The pilot and crew jumped out of the way, just as Jones bolted for cover. The massive shard of metal flew through the door and struck the wall on the opposite side. Almost immediately, oxygen was sucked through the breach, people and boxes flying. In the hall, Twilight was immediately pulled back as the flowing oxygen began to force her back. Luckily for her, the door was shut, and she was back pressed against the door. Jones saw the Banshee pilot flying, and he immediately let go of the SCV he was dearly holding on to. He leapt and grabbed the pilot's arm using one hand, while grabbing the bottom wing of a hanging Wraith above him. The pilot looked at him in shock, as Jones looked back at her with a straining expression. It was no question that his grip was slowly weakening. An SCV jumped in, and began sealing the breach, the operator using its drill and claw. A minute later, the breach was sealed, the shard of metal welded into the hole. The Banshee pilot and Jones fell to the ground, landing on a Medivac. Jones groaned as he rolled off the dropship. "Ah...hell. That was harder than I thought...", he muttered. He turned back and his eyes widened when he saw the Banshee pilot going after him. "Hey, get back here!", the pilot said, as she jumped after the American tank commander through the Starport hangar. The Gorgon Battlecruiser had intercepted the Starport, defending from the swarm of Mutalisks. The zerg flyers' glaive wurms fired at the massive cruiser, but the Relentless had more firepower, blasting away the Mutalisks with one shot kills. The Battlecruiser escorts were in formation up close defending the Gorgon. Another Battlecruiser was up close to the Starport, reaady to rescue it. (By the way, glaive wurm is spelled glaive wurm) Two more Hercules managed to dock with the Starport, on either side, and began to pull it towards the Relentless. The mutalisks blasted one of the Hercules, severely damaging it. "Mayday, mayday!", one of the Starport's operators yelled. A blast struck the Starport, ripping a hole in the side. The blast destroyed two of the hallways, killing everyone in that segment. Twilight, who was in the adjacent hall, was thrown against the wall. The craft couldn't take much more. Twilight turned and saw an explosion across the hall. She could see the blackness of space through the breach. Before she could think anything of it, she was immediately pulled across the hall. The Starport was pulled into the Gorgon, and almost immediately, artificial gravity taking effect. Twilight landed on the floor with a loud *thud*, right before she was sucked through the hole. Jones and the Banshee pilot were wrestling in the middle of the hallway, before the gravity pulled back them down. The pilot crashed to the ground, before Jones landed on top of her, both dazed and stunned. Jones looked down and saw the female pilot, unconscious under him. "Welp, bye!", he said. He quickly got up and ran off, leaving the pilot sprawled on the floor. The doors opened, and the pilots and crew members of the Starport began to clear the whole place. The pilots and crew hurried out as medics and ship board firefighters entered. Twilight enabled an invisibility spell, sneaking past the groups of Terrans. She looked up at the massive hangar, seeing a Wraith docked above her. Twilight looked outside as a Mutalisk flew by, a Viking chasing it. A Wraith flew out of the hangar, immediately engaging in a chase against the swarm of Mutalisks. Twiliggt watched as a squad of Terran marines walked by, followed by two Marauders. Behind those Marauders were a group of Firebats, a Ghost, and two Hellions making their way by Twilight, towards a Hercules. Somewhere else, a massive Thor siege walker walked into another Hercules, followed by two siege tanks and a few marines. Several marines made their way into two Medivacs. The four transports lifted high, flying past the Starport and a nearby Factory. Four Vikings and two Wraiths flew with them. Twilight looked around, before peeking up the hill. Her eyes widened when she saw Jones stumble out. She acted quickly and grabbed Jones, pulling him under the Starport ramp, as a Goliath stormed by. "What are you doing?!", Twilight yelled in a whisper. "Are you trying to get killed?!" "No, I'm trying to keep you from getting killed, Miss 'See Everything and Not Care About Risks', so excuse me!", Jones whispered back. Twilight was about to retort, but her eyes widened in realization. "Oh.", Twilight whispered. "Sorry." "Apologies later.", Jones said. "These guys are about to kill us all, so let's blow up wherever the hell we are and get out of here." Jones peeked out from under the ramp, to see the last group of marines walking away. "OK, coast is clear. Let's move.", Jones said. The human and the pony slipped past the Starport, only to get spotted immediately. "You!" Jones turned around to see that same pilot standing at the edge of the ramp. Her helmet was folded back, and her suit's power tube was unhooked, dangling by her left arm. She had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, with a few strands hanging in front of her face. She had fierce yellow eyes that glared right into Jones's soul. "Uh oh.", Jones said, before booking it across the hangar. The Banshee pilot suddenly grew fire in her eyes, before chasing the tank commander at inhuman speed. Twilight blinked as she stared at the two people running over siege tanks and Hellions, before sneaking away, still invisible. "Hey, I saved your life!!", Jones cried. "You're not Dominion!!", the pilot yelled. Twilight slipped past Dominion crew members, stopping as one or two nearly walked into her. She spent an hour or so looking around, sneaking into the weapons rooms, armories, cargo bays, sleeping quarters, mess halls, trash compactor, and the engine room. She ran into a Goliath in training, and she spent nearly an hour watching in amazement as the bipedal double jointed walker stormed around the room, firing at targets, as well as marines training under mech support. Then she remembered her mission and went to the engine room. She looked out of the engine room and hurried out just as a technician walked in. Twilight looked around, before sneaking back to the hangar. An hour later, she walked back in, and stared wide eyed at what was in front of her. Jones had pinned down the Banshee pilot, who was bound, gagged, and half buried by a pile of C-14 Gauss rifles. Jones looked up, smiling. "Oh, hey!", he said. "Did you find a way to blow up the place?" "Yeah.", Twilight said, reluctantly. She was still surprised at the sight before her. The pilot was yelling, her voice muffled. Twilight looked away. "Will she be alright?", she asked. Jones held up a Terran flak pistol with both arms, like a rifle, aiming at the pilot. "She'll be fine, depending on her.", he said. "So, what'd you find?" "Well...we don't need to blow it up, right?", Twilight asked. "I mean, we can just leave?" "No, this whole thing is dangerous. We need to cut off their support and find a way to get back down there.", Jones said. "We can't blow up this whole thing! It's too big! I couldn't get through half the place without getting lost!", Twilight said. "I got it.", Jones said. "We'll blow up a hangar, and then leave. One of these things should take us back." "Can you fly one of them?", Twilight asked. "No...but I think we know someone who can.", Jones said. The two of them looked at the pilot hostage in front of them. She gulped nervously, before slumping in defeat. Then a loud hum filled the air. Jones and Twilight turned to see a Medivac crash into the hangar, before hitting a Viking, the craft exploding. Twilight and Jones recoiled as the explosion shook the hangar. The Medivac's ramp opened, and Jack and his guys walked out, smiling. "Hey, guys!", Jack said. Twilight sighed as Jones looked to the pilot. "Wow.", he said. The pilot only nodded feebly. Back on the ground Lena shook her wings free of the rope, as the unconscious tank crew lay on the ground. She took her crossbow and slipped the strap over her shoulder. "Finally, this place is fucked up.", she muttered. She looked back at the base in the distance, which a German Panzer IV had left for patrolling. She turned around and was about to take off, before she saw something on the ground. A single red dot shifted on the dirt, as if it were teasing her. Then the dot disappeared. "Huh?", Lena muttered. Suddenly, something below burrowed from underground. A single big red eye stared up at the Pegasus mercenary. "Huh?", Lena said. Then a humming sound caught her attention, making her look up. A Raven drone hovered over the Pegasus, its cameras staring down at her. "Auto-turret engaged." A little box dropped from the drone and landed next to the little red eye from the ground. The box unfolded into a massive Gatling Gauss cannon complete with gun shield and ammo box. The little antenna on the turret beeped red, and the gun clicked. "Uh oh.", Lena said. She ducked out of the way behind the Panzer IV she just escaped as the turret opened fire at 54,000 rounds per minute. The object that was underground jumped out, revealing itself to be the four-legged Widow mine. The mine crawled towards Lena and fired its Sentinel fragmentation missile. Lena looked up and saw the missile coming at her, and she shot away, flying. The missile struck the Panzer IV, completely shredding and killing whatever or whoever was near. Lena turned and saw the Widow mine and the Raven chasing after her. The auto-turret continued to shoot at Lena with its ridiculously high firing rate. Gauss rounds shot past Lena, who was flying in the most panicked manner a Pegasus could fly. She kept looking back at her pursuers that she didn't see the AMR 33 in front of her. She plowed into the French cavalry tank with a loud clang, just as the commander saw the incoming threats. "Feu!!", he yelled. The 7.5mm machine gun opened fire, and the rounds struck the Widow mine's legs and eye, immediately disabling it and rendering it threat-less. The Raven picked up its auto-turret and was ready to deploy it next to the tank, before a large rocket flew up and blew up the drone, a cloud of smoke in the air and neosteel raining from the cloud. Lena turned to see a Japanese Type 2592 Chiyoda Armored Car behind the AMR 33, with a soldier wielding a smoking Type 4 AT 70mm rocket launcher, still aimed up at the sky. A Type 92 cavalry tank was not too far behind. Lena smiled, before shooting away into the sky, leaving the French and Japanese patrol staring at the mercenary.
War Begins AgainLuna and Celestia were the town center, which was now called Tactical Command, trying to plan a way to rescue Twilight and Jones. Edward was with them. "Twilight and the human went to an alien base...so how do we find them?", Celestia asked. "Certainly, it can't be hard to find a pony and a human in a place full of different red aliens." "We could try to use invisibility to get in.", Luna suggested. "It should be easy if we stay hidden in the process." "No, we can't risk it. These new guys might have a way of detection. We need another plan.", Edward said, slinging his BAR over his shoulder and onto the table. "We could send some of the tanks as a diversion.", Celestia said. "I'll go with the diversion to ensure they stay safe." "What would we do? Our last recon unit came back saying their buildings have turrets on them. We won't be able to move them.", Edward said. "If we were to sneak in, those turrets would rip us apart." "The shadows.", Luna said. "If we cold try to find a way to get the enemy here, the defenses will be too occupied with the shadows in order for them to shoot us. We just need a way to find them." Celestia felt a light bulb go off in her head. "Edward, find Zecora.", she said. "Who?", Edward asked. Celestia sweat dropped before she looked at Luna. "Sister, find Zecora. She should have a calling potion or a way to summon something. The fate of Equestria may lie in her hooves.", she said. "Of course.", Luna said. Celestia sighed as Luna galloped off to find the pony who lived in the Everfree Forest. She turned to Edward, who was smirking. "What?", Celestia asked. "Oh, nothing.", Edward said, looking away nonchalantly. He took his BAR and hurried off. He reached his men, already ready to deploy. "Get ready. We're going in, hot.", he said. Somewhere else... Ember and Spike sat in the field, lying back against a tree. The field was right next to the human airfield, with planes constantly landing, refueling, and restocking, while pilots walked around and got ready to take off. "You know...", Spike said. "What?", Ember asked. "I wanna know what it's like out there. I barely leave Ponyville. Well, I do leave, but not ads much as Twilight and the others do.", Spike said. "Heh. I know what it's like.", Ember said. Spike turned to Ember, intrigued by her answer. Ember turned to see Spike's expression, and she understood the need to elaborate. "Well, being leader of the Dragons means little to no freedom, despite what other ponies and dragons think.", Ember said, while shifting in her position against the tree. "It means constantly giving attention to the others. I don't have a problem with it, but...it's just hard." "Yeah, Celestia and Twilight talk about this kind of stuff and how it's hard, but they never actually complain.", Spike said. "I know I'd go crazy over this kinda thing, but still." "Yeah, I feel you.", Ember said. She took a small bottle of vodka and gulped the 20% alcoholic drink. Spike turned to Ember in curiosity. "What's that?", Spike asked. "The guy said it was...ˈvädkə? Vodka? Maybe vodka, it's easier to say.", Ember said. "This stuff's good. I feel less stressed, my scales feel smoother, and I think it's helping my wing grow back." "Really?", Spike asked. He turned to look at Ember's busted wing, to see it had indeed grown in the process of several weeks ago. "Wow. Can I have some?" Ember held the bottle away from the baby dragon. "Sorry, kid. Adult drink only.", she said. She took another long drink and sighed, before hiccuping. "Ahh, that's the stuff.", she said. Spike sighed. "Alcoholics...", he muttered. "Hey, I'm not addicted. And dragons *hiccup* can't get drunk for long anyways.", Ember said. "It's not a big deal." "Oh, really?" Spike got up and started to mimic a drunk, swaying around. Ember giggled before hiccuping again. Spike chuckled before stretching. "I'ma go back now. Try not to burn anything down.", he said. "No promises.", Ember said. She finished her drink and lay back against the tree. Somewhere else... Jack and Jones were lifting several boxes and leaning them against the door, to prevent anyone from coming in and investigating. The explosion had trigger alarms and the crew members of the Relentless were bound to start arriving in the hangar. "There, that should buy us some time.", Jones said. Din and two other Germans were throwing armed demolition charges at one of the giant doorways, while two more Germans were getting chased by Terran Spider mines. The rest were trying to get the dropship operational, all while holding the pilot at gunpoint. "This will never work. The Dominion will destroy this ship before it leaves its sight.", the pilot said, as she started working on the controls. "You shouldn't have gone here." "Says the one whose guys came over our planet and started attacking us and invading.", Jones said, tilting his head. "We don't take too kindly to anyone who takes the lives of our own." "Wait, what?", the pilot asked in surprise. She stopped working, and a German nudged her with a Swedish Mauser. "Yeah, giant monster cars with flamethrowers burned one of our tanks, and we're not happy with that.", Jones said. The pilot growled. "Damn Hellions!", she said. At that moment, an alarm went off, and a security camera screen was shown on the large monitor on the hangar wall. Several marines and medics were running through the halls, towards the hangar. Jones's eyes widened at seeing their massive CMC suits, as well as their giant machine guns. "Holy hell, they're big.", he said, as Twilight stared at the giant machine suits. "Incoming!", Jack yelled, as his men ran to a crate of explosives. Jones ran towards the large ship, yelling at the pilot to hurry up. Twilight shook herself out of her distracted stupor and quickly followed the American tank commander. The pilot was nudged with the pistol again and she squeaked in surprise. "OK, OK, I'm hurrying!", she cried. "Stop pushing me!" She was met with another nudge to her side, and she groaned in exasperation. A German through a large frag grenade, and the explosive detonated past the doorway, shrapnel killing two marines in the front. A medic got to cover as another marine opened fire with his C-14. The Germans ducked, as they ran into the ship. The pilot finally got the ship working, with the engines roaring to life. Then again, most people tend to work faster when they have a pistol that shoots fragmentation rounds pointed at their head. "Fall back!", Jones yelled from the cockpit. The Germans threw another handful of explosives at the enemy and ran onto the ship. The charges blew up more marines, severely wounding them. The medics were healing as fast as they could, but the smoke was blinding them. Jack, however was controlling an infernal plasma flamethrower mounted on one of the Hellions, next to a German with a Gewehr 43. He was smiling as the plasma flame instantly blocked off one of the exits and melted a few marines. "Die Zukunft ist erstaunlich!!", Jack laughed. A marine nearby fired, destroying the flamethrower on the car. Jack and the German with him jumped out and ran to the Medivac. Several more marines broke through and opened fire with their Gauss rifles, thousands of rounds flying at the ship. The 8mm metal spikes embedded themselves in the hull of the ship, as the Medivac pulled away. Jack pulled a German into the ship, as the doors closed. The hangar doors were beginning to close, as the ship turned around. The pilot was sweating under her headgear, as she punched the throttle. The marines continued to fire as the ship managed to narrowly escape the closing doors. The Medivac escaped the Gorgon and its escorts. Jones looked back to see the 3 kilometer ship disappearing from view. "Why aren't they following?", Jones muttered. Twilight trotted to the window, to see that the ship hadn't moved. "Let's worry about that later...I'm tired.", Twilight said. She went to the corner and curled up one on of the seats. As the seats were designed to carry giant marine suits bigger than humans themselves, Twilight could easily fit. Her wings covered her body, her feathers bristling briefly, before she nodded off. Jones sat in the bulky seat that was next to her, before falling asleep. A few moments after falling asleep, he unconsciously leaned over, before his arm lay on Twilight's mane. Jack smiled, before turning to his squad. "You can go to sleep.", he said, before gesturing to the pilot. "I'll watch over her." The Germans complied, and they went to their seats, falling asleep. Jack took the large flak pistol and aimed it at the pilot. "You know the drill.", he said. The pilot groaned and slammed her head on the controls, a honking noise emitting from the ship. "Fuck all of you." Somewhere else on the ground... Hundreds of soldiers fired as the incoming marines and marauders attacked their line. Tigers, King Tigers, and other heavy tanks were used as a wall of impenetrable armor, as the troops waited for the enemy to come into range. "Open fire!", a Dominion marine yelled. The Gauss rifles opened fire, and the troops on the other side of the tanks ducked behind. All the rounds either deflected or embedded themselves into the tanks. The C-14 Gauss rifle’s AP steel encased bullet spikes could penetrate 2 inches, or 5 millimeters of armor. The King Tiger and the IS-2 were well equipped with over 100 millimeters of armor. The tank line started firing their main guns as fast as they could, as the infantry was piling up behind the tanks. The tank cannons were taking out small groups of marines. “Go, go, go!”, the marine sergeant yelled, as his men charged the lines. A Tiger fired an HE shell, annihilating a group of marines, while a Goliath walked up, firing its high caliber cannons. The walker’s weaponry destroyed a T-34, while an IS-2 fired its 120mm cannon, which punched through the Goliath’s cockpit. “Now!!”, a German in the front yelled. Several SPGs fired their artillery cannons, and the barrage of explosive shells demolished the first wave of enemy marines. The smoke blinded the next wave, and the marines and marauders held their ground, Gauss guns and grenade launchers aimed. A few Vikings in assault mode walked up, Gatling guns at the ready. The smoke began to clear, and the marines waited. Before anything else could happen, several marines were plowed over by unknown vehicles. BT-42s and Crusader tanks crashed through the marines, firing howitzers and pounder cannons at the enemy. The Vikings opened fire, their 75mm Gatling guns easily destroying a light tank. A Crusader rammed through a Viking’s legs, causing it to fall sideways. A BT-42 swerved madly to the left, and fired its high caliber howitzer point blank in the fallen Viking’s cockpit, destroying the mech/fighter. The infantry watched as the outnumbered light tanks fought the outmatched assault mechs, before a shot fired in the air. “Charge!!”, a British soldier yelled. The couple thousand troops roared as the remaining heavy tanks in the line turned to the front, with the soldiers running through the spaces. The next wave of marines saw the Vikings and tanks fighting, with more Vikings falling to the fast light tanks. “Marauders, move up!”, a marine yelled. A large group of marauders and medics started to advance. “Fire!”, a marine yelled. The marauders fired their grenades, and the light tanks were instantly wiped out, with no survivors. The remaining Vikings turned around, before several rockets from bazookas and panzerschrecks flew from everywhere, destroying the mechs. The last Viking crashed to the ground, as hundreds of soldiers attacked. The marauders were met with rifle and machine gun fire everywhere. Their power armor protected the user from damage from every shot, but they were getting peppered by so many shots that the marauders couldn’t get a single shot off without their grenades getting shot out of the air. “Grenades!!”, a soldier yelled. Hand grenades, stick grenades, thermite grenades, and anti tank grenades were thrown at the enemy, and a huge ripple of explosions wiped out the marauders and medics, as well as some marines. More smoke billowed in the air as the infantry charged over the line of marines. The bulky marines were knocked over by the soldiers, before their visors were shot out by their rifles or their machine guns. As they fought, a Viking and a Banshee flew in the sky, patrolling the area. “I’m certain no more air units are gonna come over here.”, the Viking pilot said. “We took out a few already without them seeing us, don't worry again.” “You just wanna get drunk again.”, the Banshee pilot said. “The bar is closed on that Starport, like I told you last time.” “Or, it could be you just trying to screw with me again.”, the Viking pilot said. “You love to torture me, kinky.” “Shut up!”, the Banshee pilot muttered. Then a blur shot by them, distracting the pilots. “What was that?” The Viking pilot looked around, as the blur came back around, zipping past his cockpit. “What the hell?”, he said. Then a large bolt deflected off the Banshee’s missile pod, startling the pilot. “What was that?!”, she cried. “Check your six!”, the Viking pilot yelled. The two aircraft swerved different directions as Lena shot by the two of them. “Damn!”, she said, as the merc pony swerved back around to attack the Banshee. The attack ship veered left and right, but Lena was on her like a moth to a light. “I can’t shake it!”, the pilot cried, as more crossbow bolts flew by. “I’m on it, just hold on!”, the Viking pilot said. The Viking swerved around, and the targeting computers started to lock onto Lena. Lena turned to see the Viking's MT-50 torpedo pods arming. "Shit!", she said. "Torpedoes away!", the pilot yelled. The missiles shot out, all of them, and Lena broke off her chase to flee. The missiles continued to chase her. Lena turned around and armed a bolt, before loading it and aiming at a missile. She fired, and the bolt wedged itself into the warhead of one of the MT-50s. "Seriously?!", Lena cried. She shot off anther bolt before flying away, the missiles still flying. Back on the ground, an Archangel was firing its 150mm Gatling cannons at the enemy, supported by another group of Vikings. Two BT-7 tanks were circling the Archangel, firing twin DShK machine guns, with KPV cannons opening fire. The Archangel slammed its bayonets on a BT-7, before stomping on the other one. Both BT-7 tanks exploded. "Dominion forces, push forward!!", the Archangel pilot ordered. "Yes, sir!", the Viking pilots said. A King Tiger fired its 88mm, before getting destroyed by the Archangel's ground-to-ground missiles. The infantry were firing their rifles up at the monstrosity, but they were getting targeted by the marines on the ground. Edward fired off his BAR, taking out a marine, before ducking behind a tank wreck, as a Viking pinned him behind cover. Almost right after, several flak rounds impacted the Viking's cockpit. A Flakpanzer I opened fire as several stormtroopers fired on the enemy. The Archangel fired a ground to ground ripwave missile at them, and the missile destroyed the anti-air tank. Edward jumped over a wrecked Comet tank, as he yelled to his men. "Fall back! Fall back!", he yelled. Everyone turned and ran back to the hill, with all the tanks covering their retreat. Up ahead, several P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts flew with an American WWI Zeppelin above the enemy. The fighters performed a dive, firing all their rockets at the Archangel, the biggest target on the field. The Archangel looked up, to see several dozen rockets flying down at it. All the rockets struck the mech, creating a giant cloud of smoke. "Fire!!", a Hellcat commander yelled. The Hellcat's 75mm cannon opened fire, and suddenly, every single tank on the battlefield fired at the Archangel. More explosions and black smoke rippled out of the six-hundred tonne neosteel death machine. The tanks took this time to fall back, as the P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts now fired all their machine guns at the Archangel, the barrage of small shells practically raining down on it. The 50 Caliber rounds completely demolished all the infantry on the ground, as well as destroying the Vikings' cockpits. Soon, the 30 meter tall mech suit was all that was left. Several M114 155mm Howitzers towed in by halftracks opened fire, and the giant shells assisted the bombardment of the Archangel. By then, the Zeppelin was above the Archangel, slowly descending to get within range of the Archangel. "Another hundred meters!", the navigator on the airship ordered. "We're almost there!" "Prepare to drop!", the captain said. Crew members in the Zeppelin ran around as the payload of large hydrogen explosives hung in the giant airship. Then the unexpected happened. The Archangel fired all its anti air ripwave missiles, taking out every fighter in the sky. A leftover missile flew into the tail of the Zeppelin, the explosion completely rocking the 237 meter ship in the air. Edward looked up to see the zeppelin crashing to the ground, as well as the Archangel transforming into its fighter form and taking off into the sky. "Dammit...", he said. Somewhere else... Two Finnish Kübelwagens, the Vickers tank, and the two BT-42 tanks were racing away from a massive group of shadows. The shadows were overrunning trees and abandoned houses and huts in the forest. A BT-42 fired, the high caliber assault gun's recoil speeding up the tank. Ahti was on the other BT-42, yelling at the others to pull back. The Vickers fired its main gun, as did the Kübelwagen mounted Lahti-Saloranta M/26 machine guns. "Meidän täytyy houkutella se pois! Mene nopeammin!", he ordered, waving his hand. "Komentaja!!" Ahti looked back, and the last thing he was was a large black claw grabbing at him. Author's Note I'm on finals for 2nd semester, so this story is on hiatus for a few weeks. Sorry.
Pelastus (It's Finnish for Salvation)It was a few days after the attack was repelled from Ponyville. Infantry casualties were less than a hundred, but over two dozen vehicles were lost in the fight. And several aircraft, plus one of their only Zeppelins were gone. Back at base, several men were crowded around a Finnish Renault FT mounted with a Lahti-Saloranta M/26. The radio was on, and was relaying something back to them. The troops around them were armed with Mosin-Nagant M/91s and Suomalainen 7,62 mm Jalkaväenkivääri M/27s. "Se on komentaja!!" "Perääntyä!" "Tarvitsemme enemmän miehiä!" "Soita HQ!!" At once, all the men mobilized, a BT-42 and Finnish captured BT-7s raced by. Several Finnish T-28s and Panzer IVs raced by, as the men jumped onto several BT-43 transports. "Mennään!", the sergeant ordered as the tanks rolled out. Up ahead, several Avro AnsonZK-RRA planes and Fokker C.X. fighters took off, as the tanks moved out. Before the ground vehicles could leave, two American soldiers ran in front of them, stopping the attack force. "Halt!", Edward yelled. A Light Tank M3A1 Satan rolled up ahead, its Ronson flamethrower aimed at them. Behind the Satan tank was a Comet with its 77 mm HV armed as well. The BT-42 in front stopped, and the commander got out. "Siirrä se! Meidän täytyy lähteä!!", he yelled. "English!!", Edward yelled. "Liikkua!! We're in a hurry!!", the commander yelled. "No, what's going on?!", Edward ordered. The yelling contest continued before a large crack of thunder boomed in the sky. Right after, a big flash of lightning appeared in the sky. Soon, the Finnish BT-42 commander and Edward were staring at a burnt spot on the dirt in front of them where the bolt of lightning hit. Celestia flew down from the sky, her horn glowing. "What is going on here?", she asked, in an irritated voice. "I hope you aren't turning against each other." "No, there's something going on with-", the Finnish commander said, before Celestia cut him off. "I'm sorry, but that'll have to wait. We have communication with a very powerful ally.", she said. "I was going to call some of you to find them, but since you're ready, we'll send you." She looked to Edward. "And you'll accompany them.", she said. Edward was about to protest to this, but he shut up. "Fine...", he muttered. He turned to see a few German Afrika Korps troops next to the legendary Matilda A12 II "Dreadnought", named by the Wehrmacht. Next to it was an M3 Lee and an M4A3 HVSS Sherman. "You guys! Over here!" Somewhere else... In the fields, several tents and fire camps were set up. Rainbow Light stood boringly surrounded by two Royal Guards, as Twilight and a tactician talked at the table in the main tent. Five M24 Chaffees were parked, as were three jeeps. A couple dozen troops were waiting, M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and a couple M18 Recoiless Rifles were lying there. A few M26 Pershings and an M109 Howitzer were parked on the other side of the camp, as twelve UH-1 Iroquois helicopters and three CH-53 Sea Stallions hovering above camp, ready to land. "Mom...", Rainbow Light said. Twilight stopped talking and turned around to her daughter. "Yes?", Twilight asked. "I'm bored. I wanna fly.", Rainbow Light said. "Can I scout around? One of those helicopters could help and come with me. Please?" "No, kiddo. We can't risk it. We're nowhere familiar.", Twilight said. she turned to the tactician and nodded. The tactician nodded back and trotted away. "Honey, please.", Twilight said, putting a hoof on her daughter's back. "We know you don't like this, but it's for your own safety. Other creatures could come in and capture you, or worse." "But cool mom #1 is doing it.", Rainbow Light whined. Twilight smirked and knocked her daughter over, before she began tickling her mercilessly. "Oh, I'm not mom #1? I'm second best?", Twilight teased over the laughter and pleas of her daughter. "Wow, I never thought that about you!" "OK, stop!! I'm sorry!!", Rainbow Light cackled as she squirmed in her mom's magic grasp. "Just stop!!" "Ahem." Twilight stopped her attack and turned to see Rainbow Dash and a squad of Royal Fliers waiting. Twilight blushed and got up, as Rainbow Light lay wheezing and coughing on the ground. "Oh, hi honey." "What's going on?", Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh, she called me mom #2 and I responded with a tickle fight.", Twilight said. "OK, one: That looked more like a tickle massacre. She couldn't fight back.", Rainbow Dash scolded, while not even attempting to hide the smile on her muzzle. "And two: Of course I'm mom #1. I'm awesome." Twilight sighed. "No, I'd say the awesome mom would be the one who teaches her daughter about the most important things in life.", she said. "Plus, I'm the dominant one when it comes to discipline." Rainbow Dash snickered. "I'm sorry, who's the dominant one in bed?", she asked. Twilight blushed madly, as the Royal Fliers snickered. "Rainbow Dash!", Twilight hissed. "Our daughter's here!" "Mom, I know what sex is.", Rainbow Light said, as she got up. "I'm not deaf at night, you know." Rainbow Dash broke into laughter, as Twilight gaped in horror. "You, you...what?!", she said. "Yeah, I mean, if you're gonna bang, do it quietly.", Rainbow Light said. The Royal Fliers and Rainbow Dash were now rolling around on the ground, exploding in laughter. "You and I are going to have a talk, young lady.", Twilight said, trying to be as stern as possible, but failing with so much embarrassment. Then there was the sound of gunfire in the air. All the troops looked around, grabbing their weapons. One American with an M-14 looked over the hill, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Two BT-43s, two Kübelwagens, and a Vickers tank was racing across the field, chased by a huge wave of black mist. The tanks were firing back, as were the guns on the Kübelwagens. The guns seemed to slow down the attack, but they weren't going to last. Three UH-1 helicopters with M-134 Miniguns flew over to the scene, opening fire. The NATO rounds ripped the mist apart, faster than the shadows could regenerate. Ahti turned and watched as the hovering aircraft finished off their attackers. The Finnish commander turned around and saw two M24 Chaffee tanks intercepting. "Pysäyttää!!", he yelled. The BT-42s drew to a halt, as did the Finnish Kübelwagens. The Vickers drifted to the side, before slamming into a tree. The M26 Pershings drove around, surrounding the Finnish vehicles. The group of Finnish troops jumped out, armed with KP/-31 SMGs, Mosin Nagants, and SVT-40s. American troops with M-16s and M-60s ran out, aiming their weapons. "On the ground!! On the ground!!" "Mene alas!! Mene alas!!", a Finnish trooper yelled. "Drop them!!", an American hollered. "Minä ampaan sinua!!", another Finnish soldier said. The soldier on the Lahti-Saloranta M26 on the German jeep cocked the weapon and aimed threateningly. "Stop!! Pidä sitä!!", Ahti shouted. "Stop it!! Stop!! Drop your weapons!!", Smithy yelled, his shotgun on the ground. "Enough!!" Everyone turned to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash(from the different dimension) standing on a Chaffee, with Rainbow Light hiding behind her mom. Ahti lowered his gun and put his hands up. The rest of the Finnish did, as the helicopters came in and landed. Rainbow Light looked over at the Finnish man, before looking away. Somewhere else... The Banshee pilot groaned as she recovered from whatever had just happened before. She opened her eyes to see the wrecked Medivac around her. "What the...", she muttered. Her ears were ringing , and she was having triple vision. She looked up, to see a crossbow aimed at her face. Lena stood over her, the bolt locked and loaded. "I wouldn't recommend moving if I were you.", Lena said. "What happened?", the Banshee pilot asked. Flashback... Twilight and Jones were still asleep as Jack kept the gun aimed at the pilot. "You feeling tired?", Jack asked. "Yes, I'm definitely feeling tired while you're pointing a gun at me.", the pilot said flatly, while sweating. "I might doze off with a frag round in my head." Jack chuckled. "Well, I do enjoy a sense of humor. Too bad it had to be forced like this.", he said. Then an alarm went off in the Medivac. "What the-", the pilot said. Then the whole ship rumbled violently. Lena, still getting chased by the Viking torpedoes, shot right past the Medivac. The missiles couldn't dodge in time, and all ten of them blasted into the large craft. The emergency systems went online, and all the automatic harnesses slammed down, locking Twilight and everyone in place, as well as the pilot and Jack. Emergency safety shields lowered around the passengers, and the cockpit was sealed off. The whole ship was sent crashing to the ground, and the state-of-the-art Terran medical bay crashed oped, with stim-packs and healing rays splashing over everyone inside. The Medivac spiraled uncontrollably to the ground, as Lena saw this and followed. Flashback end. Jones groaned as he got up. There was a green substance coated all over him, as well as covering the wreckage. Most of the dropship was intact, and all the harnesses were sparking. He kicked the damaged harness off of him, and he ran over and pried the harness off of Twilight's seat. Her shield was barely intact, and it came down easily. He pulled up the harness, and saw Twilight lying in the chair, some of the green stuff on her coat. "Hey, you good?", Jones said, gently slapping the side of Twilight's face. Twilight groaned and got up. "Jones?", she muttered, as she opened her eyes. "Hey, we crashed. You OK?", he asked. Twilight got up, before stumbling. "I...I don't feel so *hiccup* good.", she said. Jones watched as she plowed into the floor, and stumbling her way to the cockpit. Jones watched as Twilight drunkenly fell flat, knocked out. “This ain’t good.”, Jones said. He looked over to see Lena still aiming at the pilot, while standing on an unconscious Jack. “Hey!” The pilot turned to Jones. “What the hell is this stuff?!”, he said. “Stim-packs and morphine! Unless that stuff got under your skin, you’re good!”, the pilot said, before Lena nudged her with the crossbow. Jones looked over to Twilight, and what he saw nearly made him gasp. Twilight’s wound from before had opened up, bits blood staining her lavender coat. To make matters even worse, the green liquid was seeping into the wound. At that moment, Twilight let out a cry. “Twilight!”, Jones said. Twilight rolled on her back, gasping and crying in pain. “C-can’t b-breathe!”, she croaked. Tears were welling up, and her chest was rising up and down violently. “Hey!”, Jones yelled at the pilot. “How do I help her?!” “I-will you let me go if I help?!”, the pilot said. “Yes!! Help me!!”, Jones yelled, desperately. He was not about to let a valuable ally die like this. Lena lowered the crossbow and let the pilot hurry over to the spasming alicorn. “OK, this thing is a flying hospital. They have to have something for OD’ing here.”, she said. She dug through the metal cabinets, before taking a syringe. She ran over and jabbed the needle into Twilight’s neck. Twilight screamed as the thick substance forced its way into her bloodstream. “W-what now?”, Jones said. “The solution will stop her heartbeat. We need to hook her up to life support for a minute.”, the pilot said. “How am I remembering this stuff?” “Where’s the life support?!”, Jones yelled. The pilot jolted in surprise. “Over there!”, she said, pointing to a small box with tubes and a mask. Jones hurried over to grab it, but when he got it, he saw that the whole thing was busted, smoking and sparking. “It’s broken.”, he said, turning back to the pilot. Twilight immediately started spasming, and her hoof struck the Banshee pilot in the chest. “Agh!”, she cried, crashing against the wall. “Twilight!”, Jones cried. He knelt down and felt around her chest. Once he felt a fast pounding against his palm, he started pressing on it as hard as he could. “Come on!”, Jones grunted, as he struggled to keep her alive. Twilight’s eyes were rolled to the back of her head, and she was violently shaking as her bodily functions began to shut down. "Come on!!" Jones stopped pumping her chest and leaned over to her mouth, pressing his lips to hers. He started breathing into her mouth, her chest falling and rising with every breath forced into her lungs. Jones kept going for several minutes until Twilight's spasm slowly stopped. "Ugh...", she moaned, before looking around. "Ow..." She clutched her chest, before her eyes widened. "Did I...eat something?", she groaned, wiping her mouth. Jones snickered, as the pilot couldn't help but smirk. "Oh...nothing.", he said. "Ugh...it feels like I got kissed by a...", Twilight said. Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Jones. A strand of lavender colored fur rested between his lips. He looked around and saw the syringe in the pilot's hands, and the memory of her spasming out flooded her mind. "You...saved me...", Twilight finally managed to say. "I did CPR. She got the healing stuff in ya.", Jones said, gesturing to the Banshee pilot. The pilot smiled. "T-thank you.", Twilight said, blushing. Jones and the pilot sighed. "But, ugh...human breath tastes weird.", Twilight said, making Jones grimace and the pilot laugh. Elsewhere... Smithy and Ahti were sitting and talking, as the Finnish were kept under watch of the American Army and its Regal Guard. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash(of the other dimension) were watching Rainbow Light fly around with an AH-1 Cobra. "She's growing up so fast.", Twilight said as she watched. "I know. I'm gonna miss the little rascal.", Rainbow Dash said. "Wait, what makes you think she's leaving?", Twilight asked, turning to her wife. Rainbow Dash looked at her wife with her calm magenta eyes. "Well...I guess the fact she's getting friends and...she's straying away from us.", Rainbow Dash said. "And as parents, we're supposed to be proud and let it happen." Twilight looked down. "I know what you mean...", she said. "It's like her childhood just...raced by. Like she always does." Rainbow Dash let out a giggle. "Well, she gets that from me.", she said. "I KNOW. You said it at least once every five seconds!", Twilight laughed. The two laughed for a bit, before sighing and looking back at their daughter flying around the chopper. "Still...if she's gone, she'd better come back and visit.", Twilight said. Smithy stood up, as he flipped his pocketwatch into his pocket. "Attention!!", he yelled. "As I have done many times before, I will recite my FDR speech, edited to my liking!!" Everyone scrambled to attention, except the Fins. They looked over to the organizing ranks. The helicopters landed and within minutes, the pilots were all in rank. "Mitä tapahtuu?", a soldier asked. "Tappaa minut.", another soldier said. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Light stood to see what was going on. All the Scouts and Royal Guard did so as well. "My Fellow Allies: In this desperate hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer.", Smithy recited. Everyone fell silent. "This day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Our sons, pride of our nation. Lead them straight and true. Their road will be long and hard. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war. In this hour of great sacrifice, we shall prevail!" "Hoo-Rah!!", everyone yelled. Twilight went up to Smithy, who took his shotgun. "What was that?", she asked. "You chose to do a speech now of all times?" Smithy smiled. "Why not? We're at war.", he said. Twilight sighed. "You could've done that before fighting and everything. But-", Twilight said, before Smithy cut her off. "No, we're at war. You didn't notice?", Smithy asked. Twilight was about to retort that she "of course" knew they were at war, until two M60 Patton tanks rolled by, accompanied by running infantry and two Pershing tanks. "You wanna fight or not?", Smithy asked. He rushed to the front lines, as did the several hundred thousand American troops. Twilight turned to see the Pony of Shadows itself, slowly making its way towards them. It was at least fifty times taller, and every step made a massive thundering sound. How Twilight never noticed it, she didn't know. Twilight quickly shook herself out of her stupor and turned to Rainbow Dash and her army of Royal Guard. "Let's go!", she yelled. "We stop it here, or never!!" "Yes, princess!!", all the guard yelled, as they charged with the Americans. Only the Finnish were left. "Orders?", an English speaking soldier asked. Ahti smirked. "You kidding?", he said. Not one minute after, the Finnish vehicles gave chase. Somewhere else, the Matilda Dreadnought, an M3 Lee, the Sherman, the Satan, and the Comet were rolling towards their destination. The Finnish tanks, a Type 95 Ha-Go, a Chinese T-26, two BREN carriers, a German halftrack, and an IS-2 was called along with them. With the tanks were platoons and companies of infantry from Britain, America, Germany, and Japan. Edward was sitting on the M3 Lee, his BAR by his side. He was looking ahead to the destination before them. "So...who's this new ally?", he muttered. Author's Note I used the cut speech of FDR from COD WWII for Smithy. So disclaimer, I guess.
Lena's Redemption (Final, for now)Lena stared as Jones and Jack carried an intensely weak Twilight on a big chunk of the Medivac’s hull as a makeshift stretcher. They had crash landed near a couple American jeeps, which were returning to Ponyville. Jones shook hands with the pilot, a smile on his face. She stared at him with an incredulous expression. “You’re letting me go?”, she said. “I keep all my promises. You can call your home or get picked up or something. Stay here if you want.”, Jones said. “Good luck.” He left, leaving the dumbfounded pilot standing in the wreckage. Lena snuck off as the jeeps pulled away, before taking off, a Luftwaffe Drilling and her crossbow in tow. She shot into the clouds, before landing on one of them. She loaded a frag bolt onto her bow and aimed around, before sighing and putting it down. “Finally...outta here...”, she said in relief. She flew up and landed on a cloud of higher altitude. She lay down and sighed relaxingly. “Where to go...”, she muttered. She lay on that cloud for at least an hour straight, dreaming of what she’d do once she retired from this “job” of hers. Then a rumbling sound filled the air, and Lena looked up, to see a massive missile turret staring at her. The Gorgon class Battlecruiser was hovering right above her, a few other Battlecruisers with it. “You’re kidding me...”, Lena muttered, as the several barrels of the turret slowly began to spin, a large orange glow beginning to heat up in the gun. The warhead of the missiles inside began to spin. Lena jumped up and fired an explosive bolt into the turret, an explosion shooting out of one of the missile launchers. She flew off the cloud as the massive missile turret fired the rest of its salvo. Lena looked back to see several missiles following her, as well as more missiles firing from the Gorgon. Lena could also see the word “Relentless” on the ship’s hull. “Ahh, shit!”, she cried, as several missiles chased her through the skies, much faster than the Viking torpedoes from earlier. She grabbed the Luftwaffe Drilling from her back and fired it at one of the missiles, only for the slug to shatter on impact. “What?!”, Lena cried. She sling the triple barrel over her shoulder and grabbed her crossbow, firing a portal bolt behind her. All the giant air to ground missiles flew inside, before the portal closed. Lena sighed as she looked at her second portal bolt in her satchel, already knowing what she had to save it for. She hovered in the air, before shooting downwards. On the ground, Smithy and his troops were fighting off as many shadows as they could, casualties rising, with more shadows growing with each death. The Pony of Shadows itself was spawning shadows, growling as more of its creations were destroyed. Smithy fired his shotgun, before he watched a Chaffee charge into the shadows, circling around and cutting off a large group of the black mist. Two M60s and three FN MAG gunners were grouped, supporting several riflemen with M16s and M1 Garands. Twilight and her Royal Guard were projecting shields over the soldiers as Rainbow Dash and her Scout unit were commencing strafing runs with their back saddle mounted lighting cannons, firing explosive energy bolts at the shadows. A flier was grabbed by the shadows, before hurled at the ground, violently smashing against the grass. The AH-1 Cobras and Huey copters were firing st the shadows, while a Sea Stallion hovered along with them, providing radio communication. “Fall back! I repeat, fall back!”, the radio spluttered as the helicopters lowered to pick up the men, while driving the shadows back with the rotors. Twilight saw this and fired a retreat spell in the air, a burst of color codes that signified the Royal Guard to fall back. Rainbow Dash and the Fliers veered away, as did the AH-1 Cobras. The tanks backed away, and Ahti and his men watched as the Sea Stallion positioned itself above the shadows, its rear ramp opening. “Drop.”, a man in the Sea Stallion said. Two men in the helicopter pushed a massive barrel with a warhead and fins out of the craft, before the CH-53 pulled up. The depth charge landed in the middle of the swarm of shadows, in front of the Pony of Shadows, which looked at the charge with confusion. The operator on the Sea Stallion pressed a detonator, and the charge went off. A humongous shockwave ripped through the floating shadows, immediately extinguishing the Pony of Shadows and its mist of darkness. The wave shook the helicopters in the air, some men that were loaded inside nearly falling off. Twilight, Smithy, the troops, and the Royal Guard being thrown to the ground, with the tanks jolting with the force. The shockwave immediately forced a crater down twenty feet deep, with a diameter over fifty feet. Soon, all was silent. The Sea Stallion hovered at least a few hundred feet right above the scene. The crew of the military transport chopper looked down at the smoke caused by the depth charge. “Did we get it?”, the pilot asked. An observer leaned out of the door, pointing a pair of binoculars down at the crater, which was smoking from the ground. “Looks like it.”, the observer said. He turned and saw a multi colored blur shooting towards him. He immediately jumped back inside as the blur shot past. Lena stared as the CH-53 veered away. “That’s a big helicopter!”, she said(yes, there’s helicopters in MLP, for ponies). (I have proof, SUCKAS!!!) The pilot turned and saw the Pegasus flying back around. "Dammit, someone get on the 50 Cal!", he yelled. The ramp opened, revealing a twin barreled 50 Caliber machine gun. A gunner quickly got on the twin 50 Caliber machine gun opened fire. The twin cannons blazed loudly as the gunner fired at Lena. Lena swerved past as the machine guns continued to fire. The 13mm shells bounced off the ramp, falling to the ground below. "Get us down there!!", an operator yelled, firing a rifle at Lena, who fired a bolt past him, embedding itself into the wall of the chopper. The Sea Stallion immediately gave chase after Lena, easily keeping up with its General Electric T64 Turboshaft engines. Lena was carrying two weapons heavy for her, so that slowed her down. Smithy helped Ahti off the ground, before seeing a white and red to purple colored blur flying across the sky, with their only Sea Stallion chasing it. "Hey, Twilight! Is that anyone you know?", Smithy asked, pointing up into the sky. Twilight looked up, using a focusing spell on her eyes. "...no, that's not anypony we know. Unless...", Twilight said, before her eyes widened. "She's from this dimension! She could help us!" Smithy hurried to a backpack radio leaning on an ammo box and quickly switched the frequency, before grabbing the telephone handset. "Ground unit here, repeat! Ground unit here! 4500 X-Ray, do you read?" There was static on the radio, before it was picked up. "We copy!! We're in pursuit of an ally, we'll get back to ya!", the radio operator on the Sea Stallion said, before hanging up, or flicking the receiver switch in this case. "Hello? Hello?!", Smithy said, before shutting off the radio, slamming the handset down. "We need someone up there, now!" "I'm on it!", Rainbow Dash said, before taking off. A few fliers flew up to intercept as well. A Huey flew upwards as well, armed with two remote controlled dual mounted M60 machine guns and M3 artillery rockets. Lena fired another bolt at the Sea Stallion, which somehow dodged it with ease. Almost right after, the Huey flew over, and a trooper in the helicopter grabbed her hind legs. Lena's eyes widened when she saw the familiar helmet on the trooper's(the M1 helmet was used from WWII to the Falklands War) head. She immediately squirmed, before the trooper pulled her in. Another trooper grabbed Lena's crossbow and Luftwaffe Drilling, tossing it aside, before grabbing her satchel which held the bolts. Lena kicked the first trooper holding her, knocking him out of the helicopter. He would've fallen to his death if he hadn't fallen against the M3 rockets and the twin machine guns. The trooper got back up and tackled Lena again. Rainbow Dash landed inside, to see the two troopers struggling to detain the mercenary Pegasus. "Hey!!", she said. Lena stopped struggling against the troopers, and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Oh, you...", she snarled. Rainbow Dash recoiled. "Do I know you?", Rainbow Dash asked. Lena raised an eyebrow, before looking at her attire. "You were at Ponyville. Or that base. Or...whatever, how'd you get here so fast?", the merc asked. "You're making, like, zero sense right now.", Rainbow Dash said. "Uhh, I think it's because you're not from here.", a trooper said. "I...oh.", Rainbow Dash said. "Yeah, yeah, I knew that." She trotted to Lena. "OK, here's the thing..." Minutes later, the Huey and its two flier escorts landed in front of Twilight and Smithy. The two aforementioned individuals looked at each other, before looking back at Lena being held by the two troopers. "Ahem...what's your name?", Twilight asked the mercenary. Lena spat on the ground, making Twilight frown. "I have a better idea.", Smithy said. He walked up, before reaching in his backpack pocket. He pulled out a canteen of water, and Lena instantly looked up when he heard the sloshing of liquid. "You're thirsty. I'll give you this whole thing if you tell us your name.", Smithy said. "You got nothing to lose. The only thing we gain is something to call you." Lena looked around, seeing a squad of soldier near her, an M41 Walker Bulldog near them, and Twilight with Rainbow Dash and the fliers. "L-Lena.", she muttered. Smithy tossed her the canteen, which Lena quickly opened. Smithy looked to Twilight, who simply nodded. "I see.", she said. "Well, why are you here?" "I live here.", Lena said, between gulps of water. Smithy sighed and shook his head. Twilight looked back to Lena, before her horn glowed. "Why are you here?", she repeated, much slower this time. "Well...I was hired to assassinate Princess Twilight Sparkle.", Lena said. Everypony gasped, and the Royal Guard quickly aimed their spears. "N-not you, the other Twilight! The one here!" "Oh.", Twilight said. She motioned for the guard to lower their weaponry. "Look, can I go now? I need to tell my employer that I'm not getting paid enough when all this alien shit is happening.", Lena said, tossing her empty canteen in the air. Smithy caught it with one hand. "Well...with all this alien shit going on, we definitely can't let you leave. Not yet.", Smithy said. As if on cue, two men with M-16s came in, aiming at Lena. Lena shrugged, understanding. "Fair enough. I just wanna be somewhere by myself, so if this...camp...has somewhere isolated, then I can stay there.", she said. "Sorry...we don't do that.", Smithy said. He snapped his fingers, and the two troops grabbed Lena and flung her on a stretcher. "Huh? Where are you taking me?", Lena asked as she was taken away. Smithy cracked his knuckles. "This is going great.", he said. He motioned for the Iroquois and Chinooks to land. "Tell the men to pack up. We're moving out." "What? Where?", Twilight asked. "We have no way outta here, so we're gonna migrate and see what we can do.", Smithy said. He checked his watch and grabbed his shotgun. "Let's move!" Twilight sighed. "OK, I see why. Just-", she said, before a loud boom filled the air. An AH-1 SuperCobra spiraled out of control, before crashing and exploding near camp. Smithy looked up to see a massive dome of shadows surrounding his forces. All tanks opened fire, and all the men moved back, rifles aimed. The helicopters could only hover a good five meters above the ground, and the Royal Guard were in position. Rainbow Light and a Huey pilot looked around as the cackling of the Pony of Shadows filled the air. "Uh oh.", Rainbow Light said, nervously. Nearby, Edward and his unit were pulling up over the hill. The American lieutenant's eyes widened seeing the slowly expanding dome of smoky mist. "Not again...", he grumbled. He got in the tank and grabbed the radio phone. "Home base, home base, come in.", he said. "We found the Pony of Shadows, and he looks like he's trapping something inside." In base, a radio operator was bring crowded around as Edward's transmission came in. "Repeat!", he said. "We found the Pony of Shadows! He looks skinnier than usual, so it looks like all our work's been paying off!! Send all we got!", Edward yelled. "How do we know it's not a trap?", a German back at base asked. Auftragsmörder and his A7V crew stepped up to listen. "We know because it's busy fighting off someone else!", Edward said, as several gunshots were heard, with thousands of bullets, rifle and machine gun rounds shooting out of the shadows. "Get everyone!!" The radio operator hung up and stood to his feet. "You heard him! Move!!", he yelled. Every soldier of every country in Ponyville went and grabbed their weapons. The operator had an M1 Carbine with a fold-in stock, while the German with him had an MP-38. Celestia trotted out expecting to see things going the way they go, waiting and looking for more allies for the incoming war, but instead, she saw every single man, vehicle, and box being moved around. A Jagdtiger and the Maus rolled by, as a group of marines ran towards a halftrack. "Wha's going on?", she demanded. A soldier with a Garand ran over to her. "We found it!!", he yelled. Celestia blinked, before a familiar voice caught her attention. "Sister!", Luna cried. Celestia turned to see Luna flying overhead. Above Luna were hundreds of thousands of planes, bombers, fighters, and interceptors flying towards the hills. "What is it Luna?", Celestia asked her panting sister. Luna caught her breath and looked up to Celestia, panic in her eyes. "The human forces in Canterlot...they're leaving!", she said. Celestia looked up to see several flat tanks, cannons and missiles, rolling down the mountain below Canterlot, with large helicopters flying down with them. "Then we must hurry.", she said. "Princess?" Celestia turned to see the Elements of Harmony behind her. They were all standing, with the exceptions of Rainbow Dash hovering and Pinkie Pie hopping on the ground. Jack and his incineration unit stood with them too. "We're coming too. You need everypony you can get.", Twilight said. Celestia nodded. "Very well. Bring the Royal Guard! This may be our only chance!", she said. "Follow me!", Auftragsmörder said. His A7V group rumbled and snarled to life, as Jack's group and the ponies ran towards them. Thousands of tanks and millions of infantry in halftracks and jeeps rolled out of the base, which was now completely devoid of life, as the Royal Guard and the united Air Force of so many countries flew towards their destination. Hundreds of jets, attack helicopters, and all of Luna's Lunar Guard forces flew from Canterlot. SOMEWHERE ELSE... Edward's unit opened fire on the shadows completely, with tanks, rifles, any weapon they could get, while Smithy's forces fired with all they could. Lena fired her portal bolt, and the dozens of Gorgon Battlecruiser missiles she had been getting chased by that were sealed in the portal flew out and detonated on impact on the shadows. In retaliation, the shadows sent a pike of darkness hurtling down on her. Lena's eyes widened, only for the black pike to stab across her face. Lena let out a bloodcurdling shriek as blood splashed on the grass. Her right eye was completely numb, and her left eye had blood in it. She crashed to the ground, trying to wipe her face when the pike came back down. The pike was immediately disintegrated with a gunshot from afar. Ahti ran over with a Carcano, chambering another round, as another Finnish trooper with a French Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29. Ahti slung the Italian rifle over his shoulder and grabbed Lena, hoisting her over her shoulder. The other soldier opened fire with his machine gun, as a BT-42 pulled over. Several shadow ponies emerged frrom out of the shadowy dome, charging the American forces. Ahti turned to see three of them jumping up to attack, when a single 20mm round blasted through them, making them float away in mist. Two men with the Lahti L-39 got up and hoisted the anti-tank rifle, hurrying to their commander. Ahti laid Lena on top of the BT-42 as their medic began to work on sealing her wound. "Kiire.", Ahti said. Lena groaned as the medic applied antiseptic to her eyes. Outside of the dome, the Pony of Shadows stood on a nearby hill, unnoticed. He was also not the only one there. "Is this good enough?", he asked. Queen Chrysalis walked up to the shadows, her insect wings fluttering. "Yes. This is...perfect.", she said. She turned around to see a massive Changeling army behind her, the army she'd bred during her time in isolation, after Thorax became hive leader. These Changelings were mutated, about 50% bigger, with sharper teeth. Queen Chrysalis turned around to look at the battle below her. She looked up to see a Gorgon and several other Battlecruisers descending from the skies. "This is going to be...fun.", she said, as Vikings and Medivacs flew from the cruisers' hangars. Author's Note The forces with Smithy are Vietnam era, the armies in Ponyville are WWII era, and the forces that were in Canterlot are all Cold War era. I'm gonna have a third story that will be completely made up of the final battle. BTW, the Pony of Shadows will not be the only villain. And I know this is posted early but WHY NOT?
PrologueIn another dimension... Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash got on their hooves and slowly walked down to their daughter. The man raised an eyebrow, before he knelt down to Rainbow Light. "Ya got two moms?", he whispered. "Don't ask.", Rainbow Light whispered back. Rainbow Dash looked up at the man, a look of confusion on her features. "What are you?" "I'm human. Lieutenant Smithy, at your service.", the man said, swinging the shotgun on his back. Rainbow Dash tilted her head, while Twilight had a more hostile look on her face. "What's that on you're carrying?", Twilight asked. Smithy looked at her with a tilted eyebrow, before grinning. He slung the shotgun off his back and held it firmly. "This here's a sawed-off shotgun, deadly up close and personal. I'm the only one out of my platoon that has this. The rest got M-16s and M-60s.", Smithy said. "That's a weapon?", Twilight asked. Smithy blinked. "...yes, ma'am.", Smithy said, as he held it away from her, in case she might try to take it away. Then another man with green fatigues walked in, holding a larger and more bulkier gun with a long chain protruding from one side. It had a swinging bipod on the front, squeaking every time it swung. "Sir, the Chaffees have finished repairs.", he said. "Our jeeps are done too." "Alright.", Smithy said. He looked back at the two mares and smiled. "I gotta get going. We can't stay and-" Rainbow Light flew forward. "But...you just got here.", she said. Smithy looked at the wristwatch on his right wrist. "...two hours ago.", he said. "Wait, you met him two hours ago?", Twilight asked. "You talk to an alien-" "Human.", Smithy said, which fell onto deaf ears. "-without telling us?", Twilight finished. "Come on, mom? At least he's friendly.", Rainbow Light. "True...", Rainbow Dash said, before Twilight Sparkle shot her a look that told her to stay out of this conversation. The private holding the M-60 watched as Twilight chastised her daughter, blinking awkwardly. Then two soldiers, one with an M-16, and another with a CAR-15, peeked out of the corner with the M-60 wielding soldier. "Lieutenant, orders?", one soldier whispered. Smithy blinked, looking back and forth at whatever the heck was going on, before he slipped away with the other three soldiers. Soon, five Chaffee tanks and three jeeps pulled away, leaving a big cloud of dust. In another dimension... The clouds were forming, and a light shower was now sprinkling the area. Since Cloudsdale was at an unknown status, Celestia had to bring in the rain herself. Edward talked to the last of the reinforcements, as the Maus pulled away. He looked over at the fields, where the dozens of fighters and bombers were landing in as a makeshift airfield. Pilots were talking to the soldiers, as they received explanations and orders. Auftragsmörder and Dieter were standing on a A7V, Lena lying next to the tank, asleep. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were fawning over a P-38 Lightning, with the pilot talking to them about how it works, even though he doesn't know how it was built. Applejack and Rarity were taking shelter in an M-7 Priest SPG, while Pinkie Pie and a soldier stood in front of a Semovente 90/53. Jones and a couple other soldiers were cooking whatever the town, which were sweets and apples. But soldiers never complained, and they cooked anyway. All hundreds of the German tanks, varying from Panzer IIs to King Tigers, were lined up in columns and rows, and the crews of all of them started to sing. Twilight watched as another wave of M2 Light Tanks rolled in, as Celestia directed a truck of Soviet soldiers to where the camps were. The once innocent town of Ponyville had become a military camp. 50 Caliber and 30 Caliber guns were set up, as well as Maxims, ZB-53s, DShKs, SG-43s, and Breda Modello 37 machine guns, all set up at the outskirts of town on tripod or wheel mounts. 6-Pounders, Pak 43, M1943 anti-tank guns, Pak 38s, and other assortments of anti-tank guns were set up as well. There was almost no room to get anyone else in, but the soldiers kept expanding the perimeter. MG-34s, MG-42s, DP-28s, BRENs, Lewis Guns, MG-08s, M1917s, and M1941 Johnsons were all mounted in foxholes and makeshift bunkers in the middle of town, and within hours, Ponyville was no longer just a camp or safe haven for the soldiers, but an impenetrable fortress. Flak 38 and 88mm Flak were set up in the town square, with quad 50 Caliber half-tracks in the area. All tanks were also on the outskirts of the area, cannons aiming out towards the open. There were at least ten thousand soldiers taking shelter at Ponyville, and at least three thousand vehicles, and four hundred aircraft. Over five thousand defenses were set up everywhere, so when someone or somepony walked by, they'd always see a machine gun, a flak cannon, some vehicle, or an anti-tank gun waiting at every corner. Twilight trotted past tents and campfires of singing and chatting soldiers of many languages and ethnicities, and entered a large tent held up by two posts and the side of a Matilda II. Inside, Edward and a couple other soldiers were plotting points on a map of Equestria, discussing through different languages. Twilight looked up impatiently, and waited until a nearby British soldier with a STEN noticed. "Ahem, sir?", the soldier said. Edward turned, and saw Twilight. "Oh, what do you need?", he asked. He handed a German soldier his Erma EMP-35 as Twilight walked up. "My brother will be coming to visit soon, and I was just wondering if you'd have time to greet him and explain he situation.", Twilight requested, as Edward loaded several .30-06 Springfield rounds into his BAR magazine. "Why me? If you're siblings, then he'd understand you more.", Edward said. He slapped the magazine into his auomatic rifle, before moving on to the next 20 round magazine. "Well, you understand the situation more, obviously.", Twilight said. "You managed to negotiate one massive treaty between several armies. The Americans, Germans, Soviets..." "Italians, British, French, Australians, Hungarians, Romania, Japanese...", Edward subconsciously continued. He finished his next mag and began loading M1 Garand ammo clips. A German came in and took a box of MG-42 Mauser rounds. "See? He's be able to see more from the perspective of a negotiator than me, who just happened to be in the crossfire.", Twilight said. "Literally.", Edward said. "Alright, princess. You got a point. When he comes, I'll talk to him. When does he come in?" "Umm...three hours?", Twilight said,sheepishly. The lieutenant dropped the rifle cartridge in his hand, and the bullets he'd just loaded spilled out on the floor, a clinging filling the tent. "Three. Hours?", Edward asked. Twilight gulped and nodded. Edward walked over and knelt down in front of Twilight, his eyes bearing an unreadable expression. "When did your brother say he was going to visit?", the BAR wielder asked. "Uh, last month?", Twilight said. Outside of the tent, Applejack circled a Panzer II, as its turret spun every once in a while, to man the area. "Hey!", Applejack said. A German soldier walked up, wielding an MP-41. "Ja?", he asked. "What's this thing here?", Applejack asked, gesturing to the light tank in front of her. The soldier didn't understand what she said, but he seemed to understand what she was going for. "Dies ist ein Panzer II. Es hat eine 2cm Flak-Kanone und wird von einem benzinbetriebenen Sechszylinder-Maybach HL 62 TRM-Motor angetrieben.", the soldier said. Applejack blinked, before forcing a grin. "Thanks...pal.", she said. The soldier shrugged and walked away. Applejack sighed as a P/26/40 rolled by. Rainbow Dash sat on a Jagdtiger, which was parked between an A34 Comet and a Panzer V Panther. She looked up at the sky, to see a P-47 and an LA-7 flying in to land. She stood up and leapt on the 76.2mm gun of a T-35, accompanied by three T-28s. A contingent of Soviet soldiers wearing coats and wielding SVT-40s and Mosin Nagants walked by, waving at the blue Pegasus. Rainbow Dash hopped off the Soviet tank and landed on the dirt, before walking by the airfield. She didn't even flinch as a CV-33 tankette roared past. "Yo!" Two RAF pilots walked up to Rainbow Dash, rebreathers on. "Wanna race?", one pilot asked. Rainbow Dash sighed. "Maybe later.", she said. "Thanks for the offer, though." The pilots shrugged and walked away. Rainbow Dash sighed, as her mind drifted to the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy was sitting on top of a StuG III, with Angel, looking up at the sky. "Oh my, it's so peaceful up there, isn't it?", she said. A British soldier walked up to the StuG, before climbing on the artillery tank. His Lee-Enfield was slung over his back, and he held a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. "I got the flowers you asked for. What are they for?", the soldier asked. Fluttershy took one flower out of the bunch with her mouth, and fixed it in place, right in the strap of the soldier's Brodie helmet. "They're for the soldiers. Would you be a dearie and pass them out to the other soldiers? I-If it's not too much trouble for you.", Fluttershy said, sheepishly. The soldier cleared his throat as a blush was barely evident on his face. "S-sure.", he muttered, hopping off the tank and walking over to a soldier with a BREN. Rarity was napping against the M2 Gun Motor Carriage facing the sky, as Pinkie Pie wriggled her way out of its 155mm mounted Howitzer. "This is so big!! Bigger than my party cannon! I wonder how far it would shoot me! Ooh, maybe I can get to the Crystal Empire!", Pinkie said. Jones walked up, and face palmed. "Please...get out of there.", Jones said. "But they're doing it!", Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at a Sturmtiger. Jones's eyes widened when she saw a soldier waving while sitting inside the 380mm barrel of the massive assault gun. "Hey! Get outta there, dumbass!", Jones yelled, running towards the ridiculous display. Hours later... At the train station, a large locomotive pulling three Panzerzug cars and flatbeds of Sd.Kfz. 251 halftracks and Panthers pulled up, with three boxcars of weapons and two train cars carrying a platoon of Panzergrenadiers. Celestia watched as the vehicles rolled off the train cars, with the mechanized German infantry following with their rifles and machine guns. "Princess!" Celestia turned to see a soldier running towards her. He took a moment to catch his breath, before he took out a letter and began to read. "Lieutenant Edward woud like to inform you that we'll be sending a search party for a Prince Shining Armor and Prncess Mi...Mi Amora, no Mi Amore, what the...", the soldier said. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.", Celestia said. The soldier just stared at the letter, before he cleared his throat and continued to read. "Well, the lieutenant ordered a search party to look for them. They were supposed to arrive an hour ago-not counting the half hour I spent looking for you-and they haven't arrived since.", the soldier finished. "They're already gone, so it's a 'just so you know' kinda thing, no biggie." Celestia sighed. "I would've approved anyway. I hope they brought enough power to deal with anything out there.", the sun princess said. Somewhere else... A BT-5, a T-28, a Char B1 Bis, a Flakpanzer 38(t), and a KV-2. Along with the five vehicles were a squad of American troops and a large group of Germans, totaling up to fifty troops on this "recovery" mission. Edward and Twilight walked in the front, as the group moved up. "So, what's your brother like?", Edward asked. Twilight jumped up to meet the American's eye level, a smile on her face. "Oh, he's the best brother ever! He always took care of me up until the point I could take care of myself, and even then, he'd try to help me in any way possible! He taught me so many things, even things I didn't learn when under Celestia's care. He married my former babysitter, and we're still close! They have a daughter named Flurry Heart, she's so cute, but a little bit out of control. Plus, I'm an aunt! Did I mention I'm an aunt, I'm gonna be the most awesome caring aunt Equestria has ever seen-", Twilight said excitedly, before a laugh from one of the German soldiers cut her off. "She talks faster than my MG-42 can fire.", he said, gesturing to "Hitler's Buzz Saw" on his back. Twilight blushed at her very un-princess behavior, and just went back to walking. "Anyway...if my brother is late, maybe he decided to take a few stops, or he got held up by whatever is going on right now.", Twilight said. "Is this necessary?" "You're the one who suggested the rescue mission. You tell me.", Edward said. Twilight sighed. "I guess I've been overreacting. But it's too late to go back now, huh?", she asked. Then a loud boom filled the air. Twilight and everyone else stopped walking, and the tanks stopped rolling. A large cloud of smoke was billowing in the air near the forest they were heading towards. A soldier took out binoculars and spied in on what was going on. "Sir.", the soldier said. He tossed the binoculars to Edward, who in turn looked through them. "What? What is it?", Twilight asked. Edward gave her the binoculars. "See for yourself.", he said. Twilight held the binoculars to her eyes with her magic, and could see what was going on. The Pony Of Shadows himself was walking through fire, where several German soldiers with black coats and helmets were running from. Several Flammpanzers and Vickers E tanks, two Hummels, and a StuG III were there as well, but Twilight focused on one thing in the front. "Shining?!" Author's Note Updates for this season will be significantly slower, as I'm planning on making chapters a bit bigger, with putting as much effort into each chapter as possible. Thanks for understanding, and peace. By updates, new chapters will be up every week and a half, but occasionally, there will be two week updates.
MeanwhileBack at base, an armored company of tanks rolled away from the base. Two Matilda IIs, an FCM 2C, and a Churchill Mk VII drove away, with two BREN carriers carrying a squad of British troops. Not far behind them, was an M-3 Halftrack with a squad of American troops. Fluttershy and Rarity sat on the Churchill's engine hatch, behind the Churchill's 6-pounder turret. "My, these things are an awfully comfy ride.", Rarity said, as she looked around. "The British are so nice as well.", Fluttershy said. She grinned at the commander of a Comet, who wasn't looking at her direction. The commander of the Churchill sipped on a cup of Earl Grey tea, as the rumbling of their heavy tank filled his ears. The commanders and crews of Churchill tanks could relax, since Churchill tanks were more armored than even Tigers. "Dear?" The Royal Armored Company commander turned to Rarity, who balanced herself by propping her front hooves on the back of the Churchill's turret. "What tea is that, if I may ask?", she asked. "Earl Grey. Would you like some?", the commander asked. Rarity smiled. "Yes. Thank you, dear.", she said. The commander disappeared into the tank, before bringing out a metal teapot and an extra teacup. Rarity breathed in the aroma of sweet nature leaves and orange. She was about to accept her tea when a gunshot rang out. The porcelain teacup shattered, and tea splashed on Rarity's fur and the turret of the tank. Rarity let out a yelp of anger and slight surprise, turning to the halftrack. The soldiers in the halftrack laughed as the young soldier holding his smoking M1 Carbine received praise for his marksmanship. "Those ruffians!", Rarity said. Fluttershy curled up in a ball to try to avoid Rarity's imminent rage. Rarity was about to hurl the broken pieces of the teacup at the Americans, when a hand grabbed her hoof. The commander sighed. "Leave them. They don't have to be as sophisticated as us to be on our side. They're all just bastards. Always have been, always will.", he said. Rarity sighed and dropped the broken porcelain pieces. "I'm sorry...", she said. "Don't worry about it, just focus on the task at hand...or hoof.", the commander said. He turned and held up a pair of binoculars to get a look ahead. On the French heavy tank, Pinkie Pie was trotting across the ten meter long top of the massive vehicle. The French tank commander on the turret glared with a deadpanned expression as Pinkie Pie sang an unintelligible song. He sighed and, rubbing his forehead under his commander's cap. "Je déteste ma vie.", he grumbled. Back at base, Applejack and a group of Royal Guards sat on a Panhard 178, while two Renault R35 tanks, an Sd.Kfz 234, a King Tiger, and a Panther rolled out of base camp, the Panther in the lead. Applejack looked up at the King Tiger,with its sloped armor and its 88 mm KwK 43 gun shining in the sun. The commander stuck out of the drum shaped cupola, surveying the scene on one side, while the turret pointed to watch at another. The Tiger had a Hinterhalt-Tarnung camouflage pattern, like a spotted cat. Applejack stared up at the monster, as the sound of rolling wheels and crushing tracks shook the air around them. "Don't be scared." Applejack turned to the guard next to her on the armored car. The guard had a fierce look on his muzzle, and he too was looking at the King Tiger. "We'll put that thing down if it turns against us.", he said. Applejack turned to the King Tiger, which the commander was now staring back at them, his peaked hat hiding his eyes and facial expression. She gulped nervously. "Ah'm hoping it doesn't." Back at Ponyville, Celestia sat in front of Jack, who had a bandage on the left side of his face. He was looking down, his helmet hiding most of his face. Whatever could be seen was obscured by the bandages. Celestia glared down at the flame soldier, before using her magic to lift up his head. Jack simply looked up at her with deadpan eyes and a grim smile. "Who are you?", the princess asked. "You should know. That prince of yours told you, has he not?", Jack asked. "Tell me, are that lovely princess and that arrogant prince of yours really siblings?" "Yes, and Shining Armor is not arrogant. He just wishes for the happiness of his kingdom.", Celestia said, proudly. "In case yiou haven't noticed, he rules an entire empire with just his hoof, alongside his wife." "I see.", Jack said. He seemed to believe her, but Celestia thought he didn't. "We have a Führer. Führer means a tyrannical leader-" "Yes, I know what that word means.", Celestia said. "His name is Hitler. He's the one who brought our land, Germany, out of the darkness after our first war. We have created an alliance with more countries to cleanse planet Earth of the filth known as the Allies.", Jack continued, his voice sounding more menacing by each word he spoke. "Seeing what's going on here, I think we're not in those conditions anymore." Celestia blinked. "Hitler may be a tyrant in politik, but he's actually a good father. He has a military academy known as the Hitler Youth Organization, and he acts like a father to them. The Hitler Youth raises soldiers for their SS and military as well as their...I'll stop here. Entschuldigung für das Wandern.", Jack said. "I must hear your word, to fully understand what's going on.", Celestia said. Jack looked up, a smirk on his face. His eye hid a mischievous glint that luckily for him, the princess didn't see. "Ich verstehe.", Jack said. "Well, allow me to tell youwas wirklich passierte." Flashback: unknown Jack and his division walked through the snow, the Flammpanzers and SPGs following. Every soldier had cigarettes in their mouths, struggling to keep warm. One soldier had a mountain of snow on his helmet, not noticing until he bent over to toss out his depleted cigarette, only for the large amount of snow to almost bury him when he looked up. Jack and the others laughed as the soldier pulled himself up to his feet. "You alright?", Jack asked. The soldier grinned, as he wiped the snow off his face. "Ja.", he said. A soldier on a Flammpanzer chuckled, before he looked around. "Ich sehe nichts. Sind Sie sicher, dass Stalingrad in der Nähe ist?", he asked. "Stalingrad is close, I'm sicher of it.", Jack said. "Hier werde ich etwas Wärme geben." He lit his Flammenwerfer and fired a burst of napalm that temporarily blew off the blizzard winds. The troops stared blankly at what was in front of them, as a white creature stalked closely to them... Flashback end. "Sir!" A German trooper ran up, his Kar 98 in his hands. "Where've you been?", he asked. Jack smirked. "It seems I'm needed. So...", he said. "Not so fast.", Celestia said. "We're not done." "Don't worry. I'll finish the story later.", Jack said, winking with his one good eye. Then he grabbed his incendiary weapon and ran off with his subordinate to the rest of his men. A StuG III rolled by as Celestia sat down. She looked up to see a P-63 Kingcobra fly by. Jack and his comrade ran past a Tiger and stopped as a halftrack passed them by. Once the vehicle left, they could see their platoon smoking and waiting, with a group of Italian troops waiting near them. "Hey, Jungs!", Jack said. The troops looked up, and they all grinned to see their Leutnant come back. Celestia watched as the black uniformed soldiers dog piled each other, before getting up and walking towards the edge of the base. Celestia smiled as she watched the reunion before her, as a Jagdpanzer IV drove behind her. "I was wrong. Humans do have feelings and-" The Jagdpanzer IV rumbled behind her, and Celestia shook off the sound of crackling dirt and shifting treads. "They have feelings, and they-they...", Celestia continued over the sound of several wheels. The Jagdpanzer IV stopped rolling, before turning around, causing even more noise than before. The princess felt her eye twitch as the rumbling of the tank finally made her snap. "Can I PLEASE have some peace and quiet?!", she yelled, firing a blast of harmless magic at the tank hunter. The flat tank was hit on the side, causing it to spin out. the 75mm gun swung around and accidentally smacked Celestia on the head. Both the tank and the princess spun around, before falling flat and still. On the Jagdpanzer, the commander stumbled out of the hatch, before falling on the ground, groaning. "Princess?" Celestia groaned and looked up to see a trooper standing there. "Remember that patrol you sent out? Commander Ahti was leading it?", he asked. "Yes, what happened? Is everything alright?", Celestia asked. "...no.", the trooper said. Somewhere else in the base, Shining Armor and Twilight sat awkwardly on a Studebaker US6, as the troops and vehicles went around and about their business. Cadence and Flurry Heart sat against the truck, Cadence playing with the baby alicorn. A couple British troops sat with Cadence, watching the baby alicorn magically juggle their Brodie helmets. Twilight watched as a Waffenträger Auff Pz. IV rolled by, the crew chilling behind its 12.8 cm cannon. "So...how have you been?", Shining Armor asked. Twilight jolted and turned back to her older brother. "Oh. I've been good.", Twilight said. "That's good...that's good.", Shining Armor said, tracing his hoof around the hull of the truck. Twilight cleared her throat. "So, was Jack polite?", she asked. Shining Armor muffled a scoff. "Heh, you can say that.", he muttered. He turned to Flurry Heart, who kept looking around, as if looking for somepony, or someone. "Honey, what's wrong?", Cadence asked her daughter. "Jack?", Flurry Heart cooed. "Jack." Twilight and Shining Armor blinked. "Wait...", Shining Armor said. "Jack.", Flurry Heart repeated, all while searching the area for him. Once she couldn't find the familiar black Stahlhelm, she started bawling. Cadence, Twilight, Shining Armor, and the soldiers recoiled as the screaming caught everyone's attention around them. A nearby patrol of Sd. Kfz 2s stopped in surprise as the screaming filled the air. Celestia and the Jagdpanzer IV commander stopped arguing and turned to the scene. "Umm, honey? Could you go and find Jack?", Cadence asked, sheepishly. The British soldiers were busy covering their ears as the alicorn started throwing their Brodie helmets at them. "Sure...", Shining Armor said. He hopped off the truck and trotted away. Twilight shook herself out of her scream distracted daze and jumped off as well, following. Somewhere else... Rainbow Dash dodged a few cannon rounds as an ME 262 chased her through the clouds. A burning FW 190 spiraled down to the ground, as several of the Flak 38 trucks raced around below, firing. Several flak clouds exploded around the area, bombers, planes, and Pegasi dodging the storm of air shrapnel. Spitfire shot a bolt of lighting that zapped one of the trucks, immediately blowing it up. The remaining trucks aimed after Spitfire, before a Hurricane opened fire on another two trucks. Both trucks exploded, leaving five anti-aircraft mounted trucks left. A P-47 swooped down and released two of its "Holy Moses" rockets, destroying more trucks. Rainbow Dash watched as two more P-47 Thunderbolt fighters flew down after the flak trucks. She watched as the pinnacles of her fears exploded in flames before her, and flew back up to Cloudsdale. The Royal Guard had subdued the Wonderbolts, explaining the situation, while the remaining planes landed on what was left of Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash landed on a cloud next to a Heinkel. She looked to two British RAF pilots walking towards a B-17. "Where's those jets?", Rainbow Dash asked, as she trotted over to the pilots. "We shot them all down. None are left.", a pilot said. Rainbow Dash nodded, before walking to the Pegasi. A Royal Guard stepped aside and stood by as Rainbow Dash stood in front of the Wonderbolts. "R-Rainbow Dash?", Spitfire asked. "What's...going on?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "It's a long story.", she said. She turned to look at a Hurricane fighter, its pilot sitting in the cockpit with a cigarette in his mouth. Back at base, Shining Armor, Jack, and Twilight were walking back to Flurry Heart. They didn't even get lost this time, since all they had to do was follow the foal's screaming. "So...what's that?", Twilight said. "Flammenwerfer. Shoots nitrogen and gasoline lit by a fuse.", Jack said. "How does it work?", Twilight asked, now intrigued by the large contraption. "See, there's pressure in the nitrogen tank that forces the gas out the nozzle. The gas is brennbar-that means flammable-and passes through the fuse. The fuse at the end is a lighter, and the gas lights and it shoots-", Jack explained, before a blue aura surrounded him. Jack was still talking, unaware that Shining Armor had cast a muting spell on him. Twilight looked up, struggling to understand what he was saying. Then she held up a hoof with an apologetic smile, before turning to her brother with an irritated look. "Shiny...", Twilight said, in an annoyed tone. Shining Armor just smirked. "What?", he asked. Jack noticed the aura around him and glared at Shining Armor. The Crystal Empire ruler sighed. "Fine..." He released the aura, and Jack continued walking. Twilight followed, as did Shining Armor. "So, sorry about my brother.", Twilight said. "Anyway, you were-" "He's your brother? It's true?", Jack asked. Twilight nodded, and the flame trooper sweat dropped. "You have my condolences.", Jack said. All color-including his white coat-drained from Shining Armor when he heard Twilight giggle at this statement. The two continued to walk, and he quickly galloped after them. Somewhere else, Auftragsmörder sat on his tank with Lena. He kept trying to break through to Lena, who was constantly ignoring him. The German tank commander just kept holding the tied up mercenary in his arms, trying to get her to talk. "Come on...you don't wanna talk?", Auftragsmörder asked. "Please? Please?" Nothing. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Lena sighed and shook her head. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!", Auftragsmörder droned. "NO!!", Lena yelled, before immediately shutting up. Auftragsmörder grinned. "You said one word. I'll take it." "Sir." The gunner of Auftragsmörder's 57mm gun on the A7V walked up. He put Lena down and hopped off his A7V. His expression immediately became serious. "Ja?" "We have to see the princess.", the gunner said. He looked up at Lena, his grip on his MP-18 tightening. Lena glared back with just as much ferocity. The two locked glares, lightning connecting in the space between them. Auftragsmörder sweat dropped as the tank crew member and Lena continued to lock glares, before sighing. "Mein Gott...", he muttered. Somewhere else... Rarity and Fluttershy were asleep on the back of the Churchill, the Char FCM 2C close behind. The Churchill commander yawned as the tanks kept rolling for Celestia knows how long. He looked up and saw several small fading black clouds in the sky. He sipped his tea again before lowering himself back into the hatch. Author's Note I could use some ideas for the next couple chapters. I'm running out of gap fillers for the full battle, so please put in any sides, vehicles, infantry, or aircraft to join in on the already growing revolution. (BTW, I had people ask me this, so I'll clear it up. Yes, the navy will join in...somehow.)