The Mechanized War

Twilight stood in line with a giant group of ponies, 10 long, seven deep. She stood at the front of the battalion waiting for the General to give his orders. She was dressed in hardened combat armor, goggles sat on top of her helmet which rested on her head. She had a pouch with two grenades in them, several pouches with 5.56mm magazines that worked with the EIR, or Equestrian Infantry Rifle, strapped around her back. She gave the pouches a check over to make sure they were closed properly.

"Attention," the general barked out. The pony sounded old, but his facial features show it. His build was beefy, like he moved trains with his teeth for a living. "Welcome to the 3rd shock troop division, I am your general, General Stonewall, and I will be leading the attack through enemy controlled territory. We are to march north until we meet up with the 6th mechanized division and continue the push into lost Equestrian soil. We push out at 0600 tomorrow, dismissed."

Ponies quickly dispersed, Twilight one of them. Twilight wished that the two could talk it out, but Sombra made it clear a peace treaty wouldn't be a possibility. Twilight followed her division to the barracks, where there were hundreds of bunk beds lined the walls. All of them for different infantry divisions, A.T divisions, field medics, scout teams, air force, the list went on. 3/4's of the beds were already taken, leaving the ones at the back open. Her division of 70 ponies were all generic, about 15 had cutie marks and the rest didn't. Most of these ponies are homeless looking for a job to get money. After Sombra declared war, and killed Celestia, Luna took control and started a draft, getting ponies to join the war effort, putting up propaganda against Sombra's forces. Twilight joined as an effect of her anger against Sombra for killing Celestia, her leaving for the army, left her friends alone. She hasn't reached them in three years. She's forgotten a lot about her friends, she left Spike with Fluttershy, who volunteered for it.

"Hi, are, um, are you Twilight Sparkle," Twilight turned around and saw a smaller pony, staring up at her. She didn't have a rifle strapped to her back but a standard pistol strapped to her flank.

"Yes, I am," Twilight answered. She looked down at the pony, who immediately saluted.

"Um, I'm, Private Sugarpluff, reporting for duty, I'm your radiomare," Sugarpluff told me.

"Okay, Private, report in open hall at 0600," Sugarpluff nodded, Twilight left her. Twilight remembered little foals approaching her on the streets of Canterlot and Ponyville, but she wasn't prepared for being saluted by foals that didn't deserve to be in the military. Twilight walked over to her bunk, removing her armor, and weaponry, putting them next to her bed. She lied in her bed, anxious for tomorrow. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember her friends faces once more.

Twilight walked with her division, through a large open field, grass up to her knees. The field smelt of daisy's and ash. The plains eventually merged into small rolling hills, which grew into miniature mountains. Twilight looked around the canyon, noting that the birds and wind silenced, leaving the canyon dead silent.

"It's silent," General Stonewall stated. "It's too quiet, recon companies informed us that Sombra's forced were hiding in the mountain, so where are they?"

One of Sombra's scouts sat in the camouflaged bunker, watching the mountain pass. Spies told them to expect Equestrian soldiers coming through the mountain pass. They didn't know when they would be coming through the mountain pass, just that they would.

"I'm so bored, when will they show," one of the troops complained. He leaned back in his chair, pulling his cowboy hat down over his face. He checked over his M270 light machine gun, clearing the ammunition feed of dust for the 10th time. "How does my gun keep getting dust in it?"

"It's the dust from the ceiling," the other troop stated, peering through his binoculars keeping an eye on the canyon entrance. "Oh shit, is that them?"

"What," the first troop scrambled over to the window and looked out, seeing a division of 50 plus troops headed their way. "Yeah, that's them all right."

"Okay, I'll signal the others," the lookout quickly sent a message to the other four bunkers. "Attention, we have spotted the enemy division coming through the entrance, fire on my command."

"Copy," was the only thing that returned from the radio. The first troop had his LMG pointed right at the troops.

"Ready, aim," he hesitated for a second before screaming the command. "Fire!"

Bullets rained down from the mountains, quickly off the unsuspecting troops. Several ponies hid behind boulders and logs, while the rest where mowed down. Twilight caught herself out in the open, trying to pull back the general.

"Come on, I got you," Twilight told the general, before a stray bullet pierced his neck. Twilight dropped the body and ran for cover. She dived behind a giant boulder, where three suppression units laying down suppression fire on the bunkers, which revealed themselves after the first round was fired. The M270's the suppression units used kept getting jammed, as small rocks and dust got lodged in the ammunition feed. One S.U. got an unlucky round, which caused his gun to explode in his hands, sending shrapnel into his body, seconds later he collapsed dead on the ground. Twilight looked around for the radiomare, and found her firing shots of at the bunkers. Twilight ran for the radiomare, but heard the distinctive sound of a missile falling towards the ground. She looked up and saw mortar shells falling from the sky. Earth flew up as the mortar's impacted the ground, one hitting the boulder she was just at, crumbling it. The explosion killing the other two suppression units.

"Lieutenant Sparkle, get over here," Twilight looked and saw the radiomare calling for her, but before she could move she was blown of her hooves and was sent flying.