Soldiers: Skyfall

"This is Ranger Station Echo, we've been getting people from all over.....they followed them.....we are grabbing what supplies we can and heading for Grants Pass......its dangerous this time of year.....please try to find us along it or on the other side. Ranger Station Echo out."
--Tranmission from Grandhall National Park.

Date: August 9th, 1666 CC
Time: 18:23
Name: Moonlight
Location: Equestrian Defense Force High Command

High General Moonlight stood in the command center watching the large screens before her as it showed a map of Equestria with red showing where the enemy controlled and blue showing those places still under equestrian control.

The red was slowly creeping across the entire map as the blue shrunk away.

Before her were dozens of stations with operators listening to incoming transmissions from officers in the field and relaying intel or processing requests.

It was all very efficient and worked like a well oiled machine exactly as it had been designed to do to handle threats. But no matter how well their machine worked it was slowly having its ability to function chipped away by the hour.

Moonlight had no fear High Command would suffer losses as it was built deep into Canterlot Mountain with only certain teleportation routes to get in, of which all had been shut down now leaving a single escape route that went for miles before connecting to the surface far from civilization.

No High Command would not fall but that meant nothing for the rest of the nation and those who were putting their lives on the line out there to fight a force that behaved more like the monsters of the Everfree Forest then anything ever faced before.

Moonlight watched the screens as the blue shifted away from the red in the southern part of the nation. They still had their satellites though something was preventing them from making contact with anything outside of Equestria so for all they knew every other nation was in the same situation.

Moonlight shook her head of that thought, her job wasn't to be concerned with other nations.

“General, we have a transmission from High General Flapper.” A Lieutenant said approaching Moonlight.

“Flapper? Patch him through.” Moonlight said. Flapper was the High General of the air force and sat with Moonlight, the High General of the Army at the table alongside the Grand Admiral of the Navy who answered directly to Major Chrysalis and Commander Sparkle.

The screen before Moonlight changed from the map to a somewhat glitched video showing a pegasus in the light combat armor worn by ground forces. “It’s good to see you, General Flapper.” Moonlight said. “We thought we lost you when Towers AFB was overrun.”

“No, I'm still here, those freaks haven't gotten me yet.” Flapper said. “We are lucky to have found this old communications relay still working…..the reports I have of my lads are grim….”

“Yes, it is General.” Moonlight said, of the three branches of the military only Moonlights hadn't been nearly eradicated in the first few hours of the invasion, though if things keep going as they were then Moonlight branch wouldn't be much better off soon.

“I made contact with a recon unit we crossed paths with that spotted a large dust cloud north west of Towers AFB and it may be enemy forces, I'd check it but we have our hooves full trying to organize what we have and I can't spare anyone but I figured you'd have a someway to do it.”

Moonlight nodded. “We will task a satellite to move over the area and see what it is. Are you in need of help?”

“I may be old but I'm not helpless and I ain't going to have troopers tasked with wasting time getting my flank out of the pan. I’ll be fine. Just check on that cloud and if it's those freaks, be sure to bloody them good for me.”

“Will do general.”

“General Flapper out.” With that the screen went dark and was replaced with an overlay of the military satellites in orbit as one of the operators was already carrying out the order before Moonlight even needed to give it.

Soon the screen shifted to show a view of Towers AFB as seen from extremely high up. “Increase magnification.” Moonlight orders and the view started to slowly zoom in till the AFB was clearly visible deep in a red area of the map.

On the screen a large dust column could be seen going through farmers fields. “Zoom in on the column.”

The camera adjusted and the dust cloud took up the view. “Switch to thermal.

A moment later the screen became black and white and could see through the cloud to show two dozen civilian vehicles moving through the field and avoiding the roads ``What in the world…” A Lieutenant said.

“It's a refugee convoy….why are they heading for Tow…..” mMonlight eyes went wide. “Open up channels to Towers AFB.” She ordered.

The operator complied and the room was filled with the voice of General Flapper. “Rally point…..I repeat. Towers Air Force Base is an EDF rally point.”

“Shit…Flapper must have set that near the beginning and it's still playing….those refugees are heading straight towards the enemy.” Moonlight said out loud. "Give me all the intel we have on the area. I want to know what assets we still have!"

The operators worked furiously and soon a tag was brought up not too far from the convoy. “Ma’am remnants of the 15th army are still in the area.”

“Patch me through……Attention this is EDF High Command to the 15th army, do you read.”

“This is Sargent Stacks, in charge of the 15th, we read you High Command.”

“Sargent you have a refugee convoy 20 miles south of your positions heading straight into the enemy, you need to intercept them.”

“Understood, we will mount up and get there as fast as we can.”

With that the connection ended and the satellite showed the heat signature that were the 15th boarding their hummvee and one APC they had to carry out the order.

“Ma’am the 12th is requesting satellite coverage as they have secured artillery batteries and want to make sure they hit their targets.” An Operator replied.

Moonlight gave the order to task the satellite with assisting with targeting as the 12th was deep behind enemies lines meaning anything they hit will do serious damage to the enemy.

They established contact with the 12th and began to give coordinates for a Forward Operating Base of the enemy and watched as the shells started raining down causing serious damage. It didn't last more than a few minutes before the 12th needed to fall back before the enemy called in air support but they left behind a burning FOB and based on what could be seen through the satellite a lot of dead.

“Ma'am the 15th is trying to make contact with us.”

“Put them through.”

“High command do you read?” Sergeant Stacks said.

“We read you Sargent, have you reached the convoy.” Moonlight asked.

“Affirmative but not before the enemy did, we have a lot of dead here. Looks like they were being led by what remained of a sheriff department.” Stacks reported.

“Understood Sargent, pull back.”

“Hold on High Command.” The sergeant said and there was a pause. “Ma’am one of the lads found what appears to be hoof prints leading away from the convey. There may be survivors.”

“Confirmed sergeant tasking satellite for coverage.” Moonlight said and watched the indicator slowly travel across the screen to reach the previous point.

It zoomed in on the remains of the convoy showing the signatures moving around the burning vehicles and checking the cooling heat signatures. “Pull out. I want to see a 10 mile radius.” Moonlight ordered.

The camera did so and Moonlight watched as did a few operators.

“There, what's that's in the north.” An operator said and the camera zoomed in to show 5 heat signatures, 5 pony shaped heat signatures at full gallop away from the convoy.

“Move behind them.”

The camera shifted to show 3 large signatures of enemy infantry in pursuit.

“Sargent there are 5 survivors currently being pursued by hostile forces one mile north of your position, you are to engage the enemy and rescue those civilians.”

“Don't have to tell me twice.” Sargent Stacks said and was issuing orders to mount up and prepare for a hunt.

“Ma’am we have a priority message from what remains of the 2nd army, text only.” A lieutenant said urgently.

“Oh my screen.” Moonlight said, looking at the small computer that was near her, a few moments later her eyes went wide at what she read. “Get that satellite over Canterlot now!”