Echo Sierra Bravo

Walker wiped the crust from his eyes, flicking it to the ground. He scanned the map, memorizing every detail as the pieces began to congregate. It had been a busy day, and now the sun was setting once more, its orange rays cutting through the trees. At least five callsigns had filtered into the rally point so far, some four hundred fighting men, with at least triple that in wounded. The dead were…

Walker rubbed his eyes again as he wiped away that thought. There would be time later for counting bodies. Right now, the living were much more important. So far three positions had been reported wiped out, with little trace of the men that had occupied them aside from bullet casings and an awful lot of blood. Walker had seen more mental collapses, the Equestrians beginning to feel the desperation now. It was a horrifying sight to only find bodies, to know that you were too late to save even one life. Walker was surprised that the Equestrians had never seen the sight of an emotionally broken soldier before though. When a line of trucks had rolled in and the tail of a deuce had dropped only to reveal a pile of bodies, one of the Equestrian medics snapped. His wail of grief was long and loud, and none of the ponies knew how to respond. Phillips ended up poking his head from the medical tents to grab the pony, escorting him back to the tent to lay him down with the rest. Walker saw more than one shaken pony; saw the horror in their eyes at the sight of someone just… breaking, but he knew that it would only get worse. This was just the casualties of the army; Walker couldn’t imagine what population centers looked like.

Overall however, the results were positive. White was back in the command tent after his run to Charlie, helping Walker and Princess Celestia distribute forces to sweep in the stragglers, while also taking some stabs at the changelings. The bugs were persistent, but with their element of surprise gone, along with the combined efforts of two armies, any attacks they made were turned on their heads as the Equestrians and Army units cut them down in droves.

For once, the radio fell silent. Richardson flipped a few switches and Walker watched as the lights faded out. He then stood up stiffly, he hadn’t moved since the morning, and turned to Walker.

“Captain, as of right now, all forces are present or accounted for. We have three companies still moving here, but they will arrive by morning. Otherwise, our forces in this sector have been consolidated.

Walker nodded as he absorbed the information.

“Get some sleep Private. We won’t need you again until tomorrow.”

The man nodded, and the energy seemed to leave his body. He gave Walker a weak salute and then shuffled from the tent. To White, Walker said;

“Sergeant set up a six-hour watch, four men on the corners. Then you join Private Richardson.”

White looked at him, the usual hard expression on his face, marred only by the black bags under his eyes.

“Sir, I’m fine to keep going.”

Walker nodded and smiled at the man.

“I’m sure you are Sergeant, but I didn’t ask. You’re no good to me if you can’t see straight. Go.”

White looked like he wanted to protest, but thought better of it. He saluted, his crisper than Richardson’s, then he strode from the tent, the flaps billowing in his wake. Walker rested his elbows on the table, trying to massage his eyes to keep them open. He sighed deeply and closed the tired orbs, rubbing the whole while. It didn’t help him in the slightest.

Walker opened his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, letting them rest behind the back of his head. He stared at the map, running the tally in his head again. He wasn’t going to make accurate decisions if he couldn’t remember what he had at his disposal.

Walker looked away from the map as Princess Celestia rose from her pillow and walked slowly over to the radio set. Twilight had passed out at her station, her soft snores providing the only noise in the tent. Princess Celestia smiled at the purple pony and draped a blanket over her, adjusting her head so that it wasn’t resting on her headset. Replacing the set on its hook, the tall white pony looked over at Walker.

“What of you Captain? You have been as awake and busy as any of us. Should you not get some rest as well?”

Walker shook his head and looked back to the map, his vision blurring slightly.

“Can’t. I have to make sure we’re ready to start making a substantial difference. If we stand in one place for too long, it doesn’t matter how many bodies we have, we will be overwhelmed. I need to develop a plan to make sure the bugs stay on their toes without losing men and material.”

Princess Celestia moved to his side.

“Are you sure you can do so as you are Captain? You are exhausted, that much is plainly written on your face.”

Walker closed his eyes and pinched his nose as he tried to ward of the slowly building migraine in his forehead.

“I’m fine. I’ve pulled double all-nighters before and I’ll do it again. I just need to find me focus.”

Walker felt something strange on his shoulder, then opened his eyes to find that it was a large white wing. Princess Celestia looked at him with concern.

“Captain, like all living creatures you must rest. I know the burden you feel, I share it, but neither of us can do our jobs if we are too tired to function. Those who rely on us need us to be at our best at all times. I know you feel you should be doing more, but there is nothing for now. Things are quiet. Take the respite while it is available, so that you don’t make mistakes when the time comes when there is no rest.”

Walker sighed. Her logic was spot on, and he found that he agreed with the pony. Walker’s eyes drifted to the map once more. Tomorrow would be another long day. A lot had to be done. He’d need to be sharp. His men would need at least that much.

Walker scratched his nose, his eyes still staring at the map.

“What about you Princess?” he asked. “You’ve been at work as hard as I have.”

She nodded in agreement, and smiled.

“That I have Captain, and I will rest when my sister awakens in an hour’s time. She will watch over us the rest of the night. There is no excuse for you not to rest.”

Walker sighed again, admitting defeat.

“Fine, I’ll get a bit of shut eye. With your permission though, I’d like to remain here. I want to be close if anything happens.”

“Of course, Captain, shall I have a guard find your belongings and bring them here?”

Walker shook his head.

“Nothing to find I’m afraid. Most of my men didn’t bring anything but what they carried on their backs. I’m no different. We’re awful short on beds and sleeping bags. I’ll make do.”

Princess Celestia frowned.

“Did your commanders not prepare you for this? I cannot believe they would send their soldiers into battle without the proper means to rest comfortably.”

Walker smirked, though the motion lacked any humor.

“I’m afraid nobody was prepared for this Princess. This was an evacuation site. Sometimes I wonder just where the civilians were evacuated to; if their still safe.”

It was a sobering thought. What if the changelings were as widespread as they seemed? Did any of the helicopters carry their cargo to safety? Or did they all suffer the same fate as the last Chinook to take off from the heli-pad? Walker hated being in the dark, hated the lack of information. He supposed he was spoiled. With all of their technology, humans were used to instant communication, Walker even more so since often the information was put in his hands while it was occurring. All of the silence caused by the changelings was… disconcerting. Walker subconsciously began looking for a pen as the gears in his mind began to turn. Communication should be the first effort, the more coordination with other sectors the better.

He managed to snag a well-used pen and a half-blank sheet of paper. On this he began to make a list; a set of objectives that he would need to see accomplished in order to make sure they had the best fighting chance possible.

Deep in his focus, Walker didn’t notice Princess Celestia was speaking to him until she tapped him on the shoulder. The concern was back on her face, and Walker grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry Princess; I’m going to be up for a few more minutes. Just to make sure our priorities are straight for the morning.”

She sighed, not breaking eye contact.

“Alright Captain. I shall send a guard with a spare blanket and pillow. I shall also alert Luna. If you are not asleep by the time she awakens, she will make sure you find rest.” Princess Celestia smiled playfully. “Believe me Captain, she will ensure you are asleep, by force if necessary.”

Walker nodded.

“Thank you, Princess.” He turned to the map and his steadily lengthening list. Princess Celestia sighed again, then walked away from the table. Using her magic, she levitated the sleeping Twilight from behind the radio. As she raised the tent flap, she paused. Over her shoulder she said,

“Goodnight Captain.”

“Goodnight Princess.” Walker replied without looking up.

His mind was beginning to race as his second wind kicked in. On the page he wrote down communication as the first bullet. He then tapped his fingers as he thought. Next would have to be an inventory check. Already the numbers were growing fuzzy in his head, and he really wanted a precise count of all of their arms and supplies. Maybe he could recruit Twilight to do it, she seemed to enjoy counting, and organizing. Next would have to be a manpower assessment. He didn’t want to run any of the men under his command too thin, as that could cause untold issues. Then he would need to…

An hour later his one-man operation had extended to four front and back sheets of paper. At some point a pony had dropped off the blanket and pillow, but Walker hadn’t even acknowledged them, his pen moving at the speed of sound as he poured his thoughts onto paper. Some of it wasn’t entirely legible, but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was putting together a plan, and slowly it was beginning to form. He just needed a bit more time.

Walker didn’t even notice when Princess Luna walked into the tent. The blue pony sighed.

“Captain, why are you still up at this hour? Did my sister not tell you to rest?”

Walker nodded.

“That she did Princess, but I started thinking. We’re going to need to move fast to establish communication lines with the other sectors. If we can consolidate our efforts, we can…”

His sentence trailed off as his mind grew fuzzy. Walker suddenly found it impossible to focus; his vision blurred, and he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. A yawn swelled in his chest, and Walker felt his knees weaken. He squinted as he tried to find the source of his sudden tiredness. His eyes fell on a blurry Princess Luna, who was looking at him with a smile and a lit-up horn.

“You will sleep now Captain. As Tia said, you cannot perform your duties in an exhausted state.”

Walker tried to fight the sleep magic, tried to wipe away the cobwebs in his head.

“I’m fine…” he mumbled. Walker leaned heavily against the table.

“No Captain, you are most certainly not fine.” Princess Luna replied firmly. “You are becoming obsessed and you are taking on burdens that you do not have to carry alone.” Softer she added, “We understand the weight of command Captain, we feel it too. You cannot make decisions if you do not rest. If you truly want things to go well, you must sleep. I do not wish to see you break as others have.”

Walker opened his mouth to protest, but found that he couldn’t. He felt his fingertips leave the surface of the table as he fell backward. He never hit the ground though. Walker watched with tired fascination as he was floated to the dirt, the pillow slipping softly under his head as the blanket was draped over his body. His eyelids were so heavy now.

“Sleep Captain, I shall wake you if anything is amiss.” Princess Luna said softly.

Walker began to nod off, mumbling a weak, “just fifteen minutes,” before his eyes closed and he slipped away to sleep.

*****

Walker felt something shaking his shoulder. He moaned as he crawled out of the blackness that was sleep and into the daylight. He cracked open one eye, his bleary gaze falling on a sideways, kneeling Princess Celestia, a cup of steaming coffee offered in her magic. Walker pushed his arm from beneath the blanket and grabbed the cup, sitting up slowly as he did so. His head was killing him; he felt like he’d been drinking the night before. Walker took a sip from the cup as he rubbed at his eyes with his fingers.

“Thanks.” He rasped.

“You are most welcome Captain.”

Walker opened his eyes, squinting at the morning light filtering through the tent flaps.

“How long was I out?” he asked.

“Approximately five hours. Luna said she had to put you down at around one in the morning.”

Walker grimaced.

“Sorry about that Princess. Just had a lot on my mind.”

Princess Celestia shook her head.

“It is I who owes you an apology Captain. Luna found your notes, and while some are sheer gibberish, there is much we need to do to coordinate our efforts, both with each other and your forces at large. We have already begun taking steps to remedy some of the issues you brought up.”

She paused, then smiled.

“Still, I was correct about your need for rest. I only lament that you could not sleep for longer, but alas I feared you would be unhappy if you were left out as we begin this day’s operations.”

Walker nodded.

“Damn right.”

He kicked the blanket off his legs and got to his feet. He took a much longer drink of his coffee as Princess Celestia rose as well. Wiping away some coffee that beaded on his growing facial hair, Walker cleared his throat and moved toward the table.

“So where are we at so far?” he asked, crossing his arms as he looked over his shoulder at Princess Celestia. She walked to the table as her magic neatly folded the blanket and stowed it on a corner of the table.

“I have Twilight assigned to the task of your inventory as you had suggested in your notes. Knowing her speed at such matters, I expect her to have an accurate count within the next half hour, if not sooner. Your Sergeant White volunteered to help her.”

That didn’t sound like the gung-ho sergeant, but what did Walker know? The man played his cards close to the chest. Walker dismissed it as nothing as he listened to Princess Celestia continue.

“So far, two of your companies have entered the final approach to our camp.” She said, pointing a hoof to the two separate units that were slowly moving to converge. “The final one is still some hours away, but I have sent teams of healers to take some of their wounded. Not only will we get them treated here faster, but that should also help speed the rest along on their journey.”

Walker nodded, processing the information. It was good news. If they were moving then they hadn’t had any fights with changelings, or at least nothing too nasty. That meant they would come in spoiling for a fight. A few hours of rest would have them practically chomping at the bit for some revenge. Anger was a tool, and Walker intended to use it to its fullest to make the bugs pay.

“Finally,” Princess Celestia continued, “Luna and I will be taking a large force to this location.” She pointed at a point to their west, a patch of land that was surrounded by tall hills, forming a small, but deep valley. “It is the ideal location for a hive, and we suspect that the high activity in that area is disguising a queen. We hope to kill her, confusing any changelings in the region. In their disorientation, the changelings will be soft and can be brushed aside from our position to the east.”

Walker bit his lip in thought.

“Do you think we could push to the coastline? It might not net us much, but it has the potential to open an avenue of both resupply or retreat if this position became untenable.”

Princess Celestia looked at him, her brow furrowed.

“You would retreat?” she asked, the confusion clear in her voice.

“No.” Walker said slowly, “but it is better to have the option open. It is far better to plan for the worst and never use it than to plan for the best and get wiped out because we had no alternatives. A dead army can’t fight back. I’d rather lose a chunk of land and some pride than my men. We win by staying alive to hit the bugs back.”

Princess Celestia nodded, and bowed her head.

“Of course, my apologies Captain. I am not used to pessimism amongst any but my sister.”

“Not pessimism Princess, pragmatism. When the enemy outnumbers you, a hit and run war of attrition is a good way to bleed them and even the odds. I’ll retreat as many times as I have to if it means we can cut at the suckers. It worked for the Russians against Napoléon and it will work here if we need it to.”

She frowned.

“I am afraid I do not understand that reference.”

Walker took a sip of his coffee.

“Napoleon was a Frenchman who got too big for his britches. Started a mess of wars in Europe, and in one he decided to invade Russia. Army to army, he decimated them, they couldn’t counter his leadership or his soldiers. So, the Russians ran. They ran all the way to Moscow and beyond, burning every spot of food and shelter on the way. Napoleon had his eyes focused on a landmark and he got arrogant. He took his prize, plundered Moscow, but he suddenly found himself and his men stuck in the middle of enemy territory with no supplies, no shelter, and no warm clothing. Russian winter is cruel to invaders, and he felt it in force. By the time he got back to France, a large portion of his army was dead, buried in snowbanks. So ends all who seek glory through violence.”

Walker side-eyed Princess Celestia.

“Did any of that make sense? I didn’t even think to ask you if you knew any of our history, or barring that geography.”

She smiled.

“Twilight would be more knowledgeable on the subjects, but yes, I think I understand the gist. This Napoléon over extended because he thought victory would be simple, and the Russians simply didn’t do anything to dissuade him, they just bided their time. It proved to be his downfall.”

Walker shrugged.

“More or less. If I’m remembering correctly, he gets banished once, but comes back and does the same thing again. He lost the second time as well of course, but still….”

Walker almost dropped his cup when a purple ball rolled through the tent flaps at high speed. Twilight shook the dust from her armor as she stood up.

“Somepony was talking about history!” She looked around the room, as if scanning it for the person in question. “Did I miss it? Is the lesson already over?”

Princess Celestia chuckled.

“Yes Twilight, I am afraid it is. Captain Walker was giving an example of human military history that applied to our current situation.”

The purple pony groaned, burying her face in her hooves.

“And I missed it!” she whined. “All I know about humans is about maps! I want to know history! Myths! Cultures! There’s so much out there, I know it!”

Princess Celestia smiled warmly.

“It is alright Twilight, there will be time for research later.” She looked over at Walker, and that smile took on a playful tone. “I’m sure the good Captain would be more than happy to tell you about human culture in detail later today, won’t you Captain?”

Walker was jolted again as Twilight impacted his chest. Her eyes held tears in them as she displayed the sorriest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen.

“Will you really?” she asked, her voice even sorrier than her eyes.

Walker nodded dumbly.

“Uh, sure thing. I’m a bit rusty, but I know this big library in DC, has all the books you’d ever want.”

Twilight squealed with joy and Walker felt his ribs compress as she squeezed his chest in a tight hug.

“Oh, thank you! I love libraries, I even live in one! What is yours called?”

Walker tried to extricate himself from the hug, but found that the pony had hooves of steel. He didn’t want to be rude about it.

“The uh, Library of Congress. It’s the biggest library on the planet. It’s got miles of shelves.”

Twilight seemed dumbstruck.

“Miles?” she squeaked, her eyes drifting away in a far-off look as she imagined long rows of books, stretching into oblivion. Princess Celestia laughed.

“Oh, dear Captain, it would appear you have broken her. I’m afraid she’s never going to let you go now.”

Twilight’s mind kicked back into gear and she looked up at Walker again.

“Oh, when can we go? How far away is this DC? What does the DC stand for? Is it more code?” Twilight began to babble off a stream of questions, and Walker looked to Princess Celestia for help. She simply shook her head, her smile wide.

“You got yourself into this mess Captain, libraries are my student’s single biggest weakness.”

Walker threw up his hands in a ‘how was I supposed to know that?’ gesture. He thought hard as he sorted through the enthusiastic purple pony’s questions.

“Well, DC isn’t too far from here, maybe fifty klicks? They are outside our sector, so we haven’t had any contact with them since we lost Overlord.”

Walker’s eyes fell to the map table. He swallowed roughly.

“Last I heard, they were under heavy attack. They went dark a little before you showed up.”

The words were unspoken, but the look on his face said enough. Twilight’s enthusiasm dipped and she peeled back. Walker didn’t move, dangerous thoughts rising up in his mind. Was DC even still standing? They had more than enough men to make a good fight out of it, but they had also been far too quiet. Was anyone left out there? Or was it just the small number he had managed to pull together?

Princess Celestia seemed to notice the desperation welling up inside of Walker and she moved around the table, setting her wing on his shoulder.

“Captain?” she asked as she tried to get under his eyes. Walker struggled to meet those pink eyes, but he found once he did, the desperation crept back just a little. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat.

“I’m fine.” Walker said. He put on a fake smile and opened his eyes to look at Princess Celestia. “Sorry about that, still waking up.” He looked to Twilight, who was trying to figure out why the man had suddenly shifted from happiness, to despair, and back to happiness again. “DC is probably fine. They have enough men to hold back an army of thousands for decades. They’re probably just consolidating their resources like we are. They’ll push out when their ready, and pretty soon we’ll make radio contact with them. When all of this is over, I’ll make sure to take you to the library personally, does that sound good?”

Twilight eyed him cautiously.

“Promise?” she asked carefully.

“Absolutely. We’ll make a day out of it.”

She smiled tentatively, and nodded. Walker looked to Princess Celestia, who was still watching him carefully. Walker tried to think of something else to say to reassure her, but found he had nothing. He was still trying to believe the lie he told Twilight. Walker looked away from the princess, couldn’t meet her eyes; didn’t want her to see the truth in his. He cleared his throat again as he found solace in the maps.

“So, Ms. Sparkle, have you finished the inventory yet?”

The purple pony perked up, and a large packet of papers floated from her saddle bags.

“Yep! Tommy was extremely helpful! I know so much more about your weapons and equipment now!”

As she began to ramble, Walker was stuck on a part of her answer. Tommy? Why would Sergeant White let her call him Tommy? In his most casual situations, the man always preferred either Thomas, or Tom, but never Tommy. Walker pondered the implications as he scanned the packet Twilight handed him.

The numbers were actually decent, to Walker’s surprise. With the runs to Delta the previous day, they had a modest stock of munitions, as well as a healthy amount of food and medical supplies courtesy of the Equestrians. With his permission, they had established a permanent portal between their worlds, and overnight they had pushed through mountains of supplies and personnel. The back half of the packet was the manpower survey he wanted, and it included the Equestrian troops as well as his own. These numbers were a bit more dismal, as he currently had only about seventy combat effective men. The rest had sustained some kind of injury, whether a physical or a mental one, or were deemed ineffective by the medics because of exhaustion. Walker hoped that the remaining companies would bring in some real manpower, but he tempered his expectations.

All in all, however, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He could work with seventy men, especially with the support of the Equestrians. As Twilight continued to talk, Sergeant White walked into the tent, joining Walker at the table.

“How’re you feeling Captain?” he asked.

“I’m feeling Sergeant. There’s going to be a lot of tired days ahead, and you know that we won’t ever get enough sleep to catch up.”

“Yes sir.” White agreed.

Captain Armor walked in the opposite tent flap and took his place at Princess Celestia’s side. The pony and White shared a glance, fast, but not quick enough to escape Walker’s notice. When he looked to the sergeant however, he noticed something out of place.

“Sergeant?”

“Yes Captain?”

“What is that?” he asked, pointing to a white and pink ring that had been hastily sown below the unit patch on White’s right arm. Sergeant White flushed red, his usual serious demeanor slipping.

“It’s uh, it’s....” he stammered as he scrambled to come up with an excuse. Walker knew he had him, now to poke some fun.

“Sergeant I don’t think I need to remind you that any non-standard modifications to your uniform need to be cleared with me.”

“Ah, yes sir. I can remove it if-…”

Walker held up a hand, stopping the man. He tried to keep a grin from his face as his eyes flicked toward Captain Armor. The pony was trying his best to stand very still, refusing to look at anyone. Princess Celestia had an amused expression on her face, taking as much enjoyment from this as Walker was.

“That won’t be necessary Sergeant, the color seems nice, it goes well with the tan camo that is your uniform.”

“Thank you, sir.” White said. He snapped to attention as Walker straightened, clasping his hands behind his back as he got very close to the ring.

Upon closer inspection, the ring held a small myriad of colors. Half seemed to match that of Captain Armor’s mane, while the other half were of a pink nature, what Walker assumed were the colors of the pony’s wife.

“So,” Walker started, “What is it Sergeant?”

“It’s a gift sir. From a friend.”

His eyes flicked to Captain Armor, before snapping forward when he noticed Walker watching. Walker not-so-casually looked over his shoulder at the pony, then back to White.

“I see. Why did you sew it onto your sleeve Sergeant?”

“Sir if it is an issue I can…”

Walker stopped him again with a raised hand.

“Answer the question Sergeant. This isn’t a court martial; I just want to know the reason.”

White sighed.

“I didn’t want to lose it. The normal ways don’t work for me. I’ve gone through three sets of dog tags in a month before; this was the best way I could think to make sure I didn’t lose it.”

Walker rolled his tongue across his teeth as if in thought.

“A friend gave it to you?”

White flushed red a little.

“He’s a very close friend sir.”

Walker nodded, letting the man and pony stew for a moment. After a moment of “thinking”, Walker smiled and shrugged.

“Carry on then Sergeant. Who am I to come between “close friends”?”

His eyes pointedly fell on Captain Armor. The pony didn’t dare to meet his eyes. Princess Celestia just shook her head at the still captain. Twilight looked stunned. As White relaxed and he and Walker began getting down to business, she pulled Armor aside, her voice at a loud whisper. Far too loud, as everyone in the tent was able to clearly hear what she said.

“Really Shining? Now?”

“Twilley it’s not what you think! We talked and just sort of… hit it off!”

“You gave him a herd ring! Your first I might add! This is a big deal!”

“I know that!” Captain Armor whispered back harshly. “It’s not like I didn’t put thought into it! He’s really kind Twilight, and we have so much in common! I thought you would be happier about this.”

“Happy? Shining I’m ecstatic! Just wait until Cadence hears! Oh, she’s been so worried about the whole herd thing since you never invited anypony in! She’s going to love to hear that you finally found someone!”

Walker cleared his throat loudly. The two turned around to find everyone staring at them, though White was doing his best impression of a tomato. Walker had to give the man a solid 9 out of 10. The pair of siblings blushed and grinned sheepishly. Twilight chuckled weakly.

“He he, sorry everyone.”

Walker raised an eyebrow.

“Herd?” he asked simply. The word cut the air like a knife. White shook his head slowly, tight lipped as he stared at Twilight and Shining Armor. Princess Celestia smiled.

“It is an ancient Equestrian tradition. When ponies would grow close to each other, they would form large groups, called herds, that would live together. A way of bringing in friends into a larger family not related by blood. My niece has been trying to reinstitute the practice, as she believes it will inspire further unity and love in these dark times.” She paused, before her smile widened. “Herd mates also share lovers. I have been told it is quite the occasion when a herd fully assembles.”

“Huh.” Walker said. Now Captain Armor was now trying to contest White’s tomato impression. The white fur got in the way however, 7 out of 10. Walker shrugged it all away though, his fun tormenting the pair at its necessary end.

“Guess you learn something new every day. Not my business either way. Congratulations Sergeant hope the Captain and his “herd” make you happy. Now let’s get to work, we’ve delayed it far too long.”

The man nodded dumbly and began sifting through the maps. Captain Armor had to be prodded into motion by Twilight, who whispered something about “talking more later.” Princess Celestia chuckled.

“I shall leave Captain Armor with you Captain. He will assist in the coordination of our forces. Now, I must be off, Luna is waiting for my arrival to commence the assault. We shall return before sundown.”

Walker gave her a quick salute, and the princess left the tent, taking a pair of guards with her. As Walker poured over the maps, Captain Armor tapped him on the shoulder. Walker turned to face the pony.

“Yes Captain?”

“I just wanted to apologize. I didn’t know that you cared so much about your soldier’s and I would understand if-…”

Walker stopped the pony.

“Captain Armor, what you and Sergeant White do in your personal time is between you and him. I have no impact on that, and I meant what I said when I told him I hoped you would make him happy. It is important to me that my soldiers have a reason for fighting, and now you’ve given him another one, am I wrong Sergeant?”

The man shook his head, not looking up, the professional sergeant mask not slipping now.

“No sir you are not.”

Walker nodded.

“Thought so.” To Armor he said, “Captain, your relationships are none of my business, hell if you want to recruit every man in my command for this “herd” of yours, then I say more to you, on one condition.”

He looked the pony in the eyes, fixing his gaze in place.

“Your private life is just that, private. It doesn’t impact what we do here. I need Sergeant White to be focused, and if you begin breaking that focus, I will bar you two from seeing each other. A few minutes of joking and poking at each other is fine, but if fire starts raining overhead and my men aren’t fighting because their minds are elsewhere, we have an issue. They need their focus; I need their focus. Anything less and this whole operation falls apart and whatever romantic plans you have for the future go up in smoke. Are you reading me Captain?”

The pony nodded.

“Yes, Captain Walker. Keep the workplace for work.”

Walker nodded, and patted the pony on the shoulder.

“Good. So, let’s quit talking and get to it, shall we?”

*****

Walker leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. Captain Armor was passed out beside him, his head laying Sergeant Whites lap. The man was stroking the pony’s mane, while his eyes stared into nothing. They were all tired, the morning was a rush of hectic work as they fortified Walker’s plan to reestablish a base of command for the Army at large. They had planned out where they would need to set up transmitters to widen the sweep of his company radio, and Richardson had spent most of the morning at his radio, testing if anyone new moved into their sector. Once the plan was laid out, everything just… stopped. The princesses started their attack, but they wouldn’t wrap up or send word until later, while the radio fell silent as the straggling companies rolled in.

Walker had greeted the tired men with open arms, mentally noting that it would be at least another day before they were able to make any movements. While the three companies had brought in a swell of fighting men, almost two hundred, they had also rolled in exhausted. They had been hackled by bugs the whole way, and while they hadn’t lost much, it had kept them on edge. Paranoid and jumping at shadows, nobody slept, and now they dragged their feet as they wandered gratefully into camp. They didn’t even give the ponies a second look when they began swarming over the vehicles, medics calling out as they dragged away bloody and groaning men.

Walker had seen a few more breaks, especially when the rear vehicle drivers reported their cargo of bodies. Walker tried to keep that as quiet as possible, directing White to set up tents to block the unloading of the trucks. The news still got out however, and more than one pony simply dropped to the dirt, their eyes filled with tears and their souls crushed at the wretched sight of so much death.

Upon speaking with the company leaders, a pair of lieutenants and a sergeant, Walker discovered that he was still the highest-ranking officer in the area. He was still in charge. The men reported that their CO’s had gone down fast, getting snatched up or gunned down in the opening salvos of contact. Like they had been targeted.

Walker didn’t know how, or why he hadn’t fallen victim to such a deliberate act of killing officers, but he couldn’t let it shake him. He ordered the men away, put them up in the center of camp where Captain Armor had loaned a great deal of tents and blankets. Like him, many of the men had been prepared for a day action; at best they were ready for two. Not this prolonged thing they were engaged in now.

Now however, Walker was taking a brief respite. The radio had grown quiet, and there was simply nothing he could do while his men were resting, and the princesses were away. So, he had dragged a chair into the shade just outside of the command tent and had fallen into it, content to take a short nap while Richardson remained next to the radio in case anything came through. Captain Armor and White had followed, with White content to lean against the tent pole with the captain sprawled comfortably over him, his snores only just reaching Walker’s ears.

Walker sighed and ran a hand over his face. He hated the waiting. The feeling that he could do nothing to change it while others acted. It was better to wait though, pieces were always moving, and rest was a commodity that he wanted to provide to his men as much as possible.

Walker looked over as the snores seemed to grow louder, found that White had joined Armor and was now also asleep. Walker smiled at the pair, glad that they had forged something special while walking in hell. As per their agreement, the two had focused on business only while there was work to be done. They worked like a finely oiled machine, feeding Walker a steady stream of relevant information as he laid the groundwork. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought they’d been working together for years.

Both of them jolted awake as Richardson shoved his way out of the tent. White gave a shout when Armor sat up abruptly, drilling him in the crotch with his hoof as he tried to stand. The man fell over with a groan, and Shining Armor looked like he was struggling to either laugh or apologize for crushing the man’s genitals.

He ended up doing both as he tried to help the man up. Walker just grinned and shook his head at the pair. He squinted against the harsh yellow sunshine and looked up at Richardson, who was staring at White and Armor, shocked that they had been so close.

“What can I do for you Private?” Walker asked.

His words shook the private from his momentary shock and he looked at Walker.

“Sorry sir, a call just came over the radio. He says he’ll only talk with you.”

Walker raised an eyebrow. White still had a pained expression on his face, but Captain Armor was looking carefully at Walker.

“Do you think it could be another changeling queen?” he asked.

Walker shrugged and rose from his chair.

“Only one way to find out.”

They followed Richardson into the tent, with White limping close behind. Richardson sat behind the radio, putting on his headset while Walker picked up the transceiver. Richardson flicked a switch.

“Alright Charlie Whiskey, you are on with Charlie Whiskey.”

Walker looked at the private in confusion, but before he could say anything a voice came through in a harsh whisper.

“Is this Captain Walker I’m speaking to?”

“This is Charlies Whiskey, yes. And who are you?”

The voice chuckled.

“Well Charlie, it appears as if you stole my callsign. I’m Captain Walker, Delta force, also designated Charlie Whiskey.”

“Alright “Whiskey” let’s say I believe you, what do you want from me? Why not talk to my radio op?”

“If I’m being honest Captain, I’m in a bit of a situation here. My fault of course, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous. I need someone of your authority to get me out.”

Walker paused in confusion.

“And what authority might that be Captain? We’re the same rank, you have as much authority as I do.”

Whiskey chuckled again.

“That’s funny Captain, good joke. In all seriousness, you have this sector under your thumb, plus you appear to have gotten in very good with the ponies. That’s the part I need help with right now.”

Walker looked to Shining Armor, who shrugged.

“Where are you Captain? What is your status?”

“You know that hill to your east? I was moving your way, but I wanted a look. Decided it was a good spot to put eyes on your operation. Turns out, somebody had the same brilliant idea I did, and put a team on top of the hill. Unfortunately for me, they are good at their jobs and I didn’t realize they were here until we were within a few meters of their position. I don’t see a whole lot of green up there, and I don’t know if their orders are to shoot first. I would assume this is the work of our new friends, but I’d rather I didn’t find out after a lengthy fire fight. Could you kindly tell them that we’re here?”

Walker looked to Shining Armor, who quickly snatched up a pen and sheet of paper. Walker pressed the function button.

“Captain, where exactly are you at on the hill? I have someone running a message up, but I need to know how close you are so that they don’t just jump and attack you.”

“One second.” Came the response.

Walker listened as the radio on the opposite end was shifted, then Whiskey whispered;

“This close.”

Walker strained his ears, but… yes, there were several voices talking quietly on the other end. Captain Armor identified them as his guards. He wrote faster. Walker took a deep breath as he watched.

“Alright Captain sit tight. Somebody is alerting them to your presence now.”

Whiskey cursed softly.

“Well hurry it up Captain, that little maneuver attracted their attention. They are moving in on my point guy now.”

Walker’s eyes flicked to the page Armor was writing on.

“Captain, any time now.”

“One second,” the pony replied, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I have to phrase it a certain way or they won’t accept the orders. It’s like your callsigns, it’s a measure to keep out spies.”

“Captain,” the radio crackled, “they’re getting awful close.”

“Captain Armor….” Walker pressed.

“Done!” the pony shouted. His horn flashed and the paper disappeared. A brief pop could be heard over the radio, and Walker waited in tense silence. He could almost hear the tension on the other end of the radio.

Eventually, a voice called out, much closer than before.

“Hello? Somebody is out there?” the voice called.

“Captain?” Whiskey whispered.

“It’s alright Captain, just move slow and keep your weapons down. Give the Equestrians a wave.”

Walker listened to leaves rustle as Whiskey stood up. A startled shout rang out, but luckily no gunfire followed.

“Howdy boys! Mind if I come in?”

The radio clicked off. Walker looked to Captain Armor.

“They going to bring him down here nicely, or hard?”

The white pony shrugged.

“I don’t know. It depends on what they had for breakfast today.”

The joke wasn’t funny, and even Sergeant White shook his head in exasperation. Captain Armor chuckled weakly.

“Maybe we should meet them out front?” he offered.

Walker nodded.

“Let’s.”

It only took five minutes of waiting before Walker began to hear the approaching chatter of the ponies and Delta operators. He had been pacing before the gate entrance to the position, chewing his thumbnail while Captain Armor had been tapping his foot at an incredibly irritating rate. Surprisingly, Whiskey and the OP guards were laughing it up as they walked down the dirt road into camp. The man was swinging one his arm wildly as he told an animated story, his rifle over his shoulder, while his other arm was draped over the shoulder of a pony that was laughing along with him. Shining Armor sighed in relief and trotted forward to greet them. Walker, however, stayed back. The goal had always been to contact a superior, or at least an equal to better coordinate efforts, but Walker felt like all of his work would be squandered if he wasn’t at the head. Misplaced nervousness gnawed at his belly.

Whiskey spotted him standing back and disengaged with the ponies, a wide smile still plastered on his face as he waved goodbye with loud promises to finish the story. Walker briefly wondered what it was. He squashed it as the other Delta members fell in behind their captain, a total of four in all.

“Captain Walker, pleased to meet you, I’m Captain Walker.” The man said, extending his hand. Walker accepted it, giving it a firm shake before dropping his hands to his side.

“The pleasure is all mine Captain; please come in, I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.”

Whiskey nodded.

“That we do Captain. First though, these ponies seem nice enough, where’d you find ‘em?”

Whiskey had a bit of southern drawl to his speech, nothing that would require clarification, but present, nonetheless. Walker led him and his team back toward the command tent while Captain Armor talked with the guards from the OP.

“They quite literally dropped out of the sky Captain. We were getting hammered and they just… showed up. Bit of a miracle really.”

Whiskey nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that story more’n a couple times. Not widespread mind you, but we’ve been scooping up a few strays that tell the same tale. Wanted to hear it from someone with authority before I believed it though. By the way, none of that Captain Walker shit, call me Seal, it’s gonna be easier in the long run.”

Walker looked at the man.

“Seal? Like Navy Seal?”

Seal laughed.

“Yes Captain, I understand the irony. Man named Seal joined Delta. My parents didn’t know I was gonna be an Army man when they saw me swimming through the icy waters of Erie.”

“So, they named you seal? Hell, of a first name.”

Seal laughed again.

“My first name is Tobias, Captain. Seal is what I go by.”

Walker ahh’ed in comprehension.

“I’m afraid I’ll still like to be referred by rank, Seal. Cornelius James doesn’t roll off the tongue quite like Seal does.”

“No Captain I don’t think it does.” Seal agreed.

Walker parted the command tent flap, letting Seal and his men inside before following. Seal whistled as he looked around.

“Nice digs Captain; didn’t think the Army standard issue could look this good.”

Walker smiled.

“Not our army Seal, but the princesses are letting us borrow it for the time being. Helps coordination and all that.”

Seal held up his hands.

“Hey, I wouldn’t say no. What’s that about though? Princesses? You’d figure generals would lead an operation like this.”

Walker shrugged.

“Not for me to judge. I just accepted their help and tried to make the best of the situation.”

Seal nodded.

“Yeah, let’s get down to that Captain. First, I wanna congratulate you.”

Seal slid off his ruck and rifled through the pockets to pull out a small blue box.

“Now I know this don’t really mean shit, but it’s the thought that counts right? As of now you have been officially promoted. Now, it ain’t gonna put a star on your helmet, but it’s a start.”

He opened the box and handed it to Walker. Inside was the insignia patch of a colonel. Walker looked up at Seal, who was still grinning at him.

“If you don’t mind Seal, who authorized this?” Walker asked.

Seal sighed.

“I’m afraid that’s gonna be the second part of our conversation. You probably know better than anyone that we took a good beating. The board is a mess, and your sector is one of a few that got it’s shit together quick. Not discounting your efforts Cap- I mean Colonel, but the good admiral thinks that it’s in no small part thanks to the Equestrians. He thought it better if our man on the ground measured up a bit more in rank if you catch my meaning.”

Walker nodded.

“No offense taken Captain; I know how much the ponies have saved our bacon. Just wish I could do the same in return.”

A small part of him was relieved, he was still going to be able to help out at the highest level. He carefully peeled away his captain patch and replaced it with the colonel patch. The clean piece of fabric stood out like a sore thumb on his filthy uniform. Seal and his men snapped to attention, and Walker dutifully returned it. Seal grinned.

“If you don’t mind me saying so sir, that looks downright spiffy.”

“Thank you Seal, now, to business, shall we?”

“Yes sir. Mind if I take a load off?”

Walker nodded. Seal’s men dipped outside, while Seal dropped his ruck at the foot of the table. Walker waited patiently as the man got settled, removing a map from his ruck, along with a canteen. Both of these he set on the table. He then grabbed a chair and plopped into it.

“So, Seal, you mentioned an admiral?” Walker started.

The man nodded.

“Yes sir, Admiral Alexander Smith, First Fleet group, or well, all fleet group now.”

“What does that mean?”

Seal unfolded the map and laid it out, weighing down the corners with the canteen and a few empty coffee cups.

“Like I said, it’s a mess out there. We’re still trying to get the numbers sorted out, but believe me, it’s bad.”

“Bad how? Are we talking units, equipment, civilians?” Walker asked.

Seal looked up; all traces of his smile gone.

“Yes. We have whole sectors wiped off the map, especially down near Florida, the bugs really went after it down there. When shit started hitting the fan, Admiral Smith took his ships out of the harbor at Norfolk so that he could better provide support where it was needed. Turns out, that saved him and his squids, cause Norfolk went dark an hour later.”

Seal pointed at several cities that were marked with black circles.

“It ain’t the first city either. You know New York? That happened over and over in every major city on the east coast. Could be on the west too, but I simply don’t have that intel, we haven’t had any contact since most of our satellite arrays went down.”

“Our satellites? Are you telling me the bugs can hit us in space?”

Seal shook his head, his face grim.

“Negative.” He sighed before continuing. “We have confirmed reports of several nuclear strikes, both locally and abroad.”

Walker paled.

“Nukes? It really got that bad?” he asked.

Seal nodded his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath.

“Yup, and it’s worse than you think. According to the intel, we aren’t the only ones getting hit. Europe, Russia, India, China, all suffered similar attacks. These damn bugs are everywhere Colonel, and they won’t stop coming either. Word on the grapevine says that the Indian government approached us in hour two. They couldn’t stop the bugs, and they had reports that they could turn people into more bugs. So, they asked us to glass the whole damn country. So, we did. Half our arsenal went over the Pacific and tore them to pieces.”

Walker was dumbstruck.

“We dropped nukes on foreign civilian populations? Who the hell greenlit that?”

Seal shrugged.

“If those rumors were true, we saved those people a lot of suffering. Just think Colonel, how many people in India alone? Their army ain’t small, but it can’t drive away a billion bugs. Especially since a lot of the civvies over there are all packed in like sardines. If things are that bad, it sucks, but we did the right thing.”

Walker fell into a chair, his knees weakening at the news. A billion people. He swallowed dryly.

“You said half of our arsenal, where’d the rest go?”

Seal shrugged.

“Here and there. A few places asked the same as India, we lobbed a few into some of the dark zones locally…”

“Dark zones?” Walker asked, his eyebrow raised.

Seal tapped one of the cities that was circled in black.

“Major population centers that were reported to have zero human life. New York got three big boys to try and clear out the bugs. No idea if it helped. We haven’t been able to get a bird that far out.”

Walker grimaced.

“What about DC? We heard anything from Washington?”

Seal shook his head.

“Not in the last twelve hours. They were putting up a fierce fight, and for once all of those political big wigs did something, as they were authorizing nuclear strikes left and right to try and stomp out the bugs. Didn’t help though. A few fly boys did a pass that way three hours ago. All they saw was a lot of fire and a lot of bugs. We can’t get ground forces anyway nearby, they get swamped by bugs in a heartbeat, so we just stopped trying.”

“Did they get access to the nuclear button?” Walker asked, his heart momentarily freezing.

“No, and thank god for that.” Seal replied. “We go one transmission out of Washington about fourteen hours ago. It was messy, but Admiral Smith thinks it was from the White House. They destroyed the switch and began ripping apart the systems in there. The flyboys reported the White House being a husk, so I think it’s fair to say the bugs aren’t going nuclear any time soon.”

Walker let out a sigh of relief, but checked it. There were thousands of soldiers in DC. They should have been able to hold out, but they didn’t. He had barely a few hundred, what the hell was he supposed to do with that? Walker didn’t know, but he wouldn’t give up hope. They made it this far, and evidently weren’t the only ones. They could still fight. They had to.

To Seal he said,

“Captain, I’m going to need you to keep that information close to your chest. We can’t let any of the men know we lost DC. I need them up and fighting.”

Seal nodded, his tongue poking at his cheek as he crossed his arms.

“Sure thing Colonel. Sorry you had to hear of it like this. Did you have family in DC?”

Walker shook his head, his eyes staring blankly at the wall.

“No, my parents lived in Manhattan.” He said, his tone dead. Seal bit his lip.

“Ah. Sorry Colonel.”

Walker shook his head.

“We’ve all lost something Seal. I can’t let it stop me and I won’t let it stop my men. I have more than a few Virginia boys here, they can’t hear about this. Not yet.”

Seal nodded in agreement.

“My lips are sealed. There’s a time and a place. Just don’t wait too long. It’ll do more harm than good.”

Walker sighed, and remained still for a moment, before he blinked and jolted himself awake. He clapped his hands together and got to his feet.

“So, what’s our plan Seal? What does the Admiral have in mind?”

The man refolded the map so that only the coastline was shown.

“Well,” he started slowly, “what the Admiral intends to do with his forces is keep them off the coast until we can secure a piece of ground from the bugs that we know we can hold. So far, your sector, and our northern most are the only ones who still relatively have control of the territory. The rest are gone or lack any officers whatsoever. I’ve managed to make contact with a handful of companies and sent them your way. They should arrive in the next day or so.”

Walker held his hands up as he stopped the man.

“Wait, go back to the part about the officers, what do you mean they had no officers? Not even one?”

Seal shrugged, his grimace firm.

“I don’t know what to say Colonel. Whether targeted by the bugs or by way of sheer stupid fucking luck, every single officer in each land sector is dead, besides you and a Lieutenant up in Maine. I’m alive only because I was called in from leave near Norfolk and I went out with the Admiral.”

“There’s no way that it’s coincidental Seal, not on such a large scale.”

“I agree Captain.” A new, but familiar voice said. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walked into the tent, with Captain Armor in tow. Both princesses were covered head to heal in changeling goo, and though they looked alright in terms of wounds, their armor looked like it had taken a beating. Princess Celestia removed her helmet, her flowing hair breaking free of its prison. She set it on the table.

“We have found the locations of several hives, and have destroyed several as well.” She said. “and I can assure you that this elimination of your officers is a coordinated effort to weaken your response to their attacks.” She looked at the stunned Seal. “Who is this?”

Walker stretched out his shoulder, trying to roll away an ache as he said;

“Princess, this is Captain-…”

The man moved forward quickly, seizing her hoof and giving it a vigorous two-handed handshake.

“Captain Tobias Seal Walker ma’am, but you can call me Seal. It is a genuine pleasure to meet you.”

He grinned as he looked back at Walker. He pointed to Princess Celestia.

“This is Big Papa right?” Walker nodded in affirmation. Seal grinned, still shaking her hoof. “I gotta say, I am a big fan of your work. Saving squad after squad of our boys? Best present I could ever ask for.”

Seal let go of her hoof and looked her up and down. He chuckled a bit, shaking his head as he inspected the pony.

“Damn, I don’t believe it. Still, the proof is in the pudding.”

Princess Luna cleared her throat. Seal’s eyes were drawn to the noise, and his grin widened.

“I’ll be, Papa Lima, as I live and breathe.” He circled the table rapidly, but as her hoof extended for a handshake, Seal ignored it in favor for giving the pony a crushing hug. Walker raised an eyebrow as Seal lifted the pony into the air, her mouth screaming help silently. Princess Celestia chuckled. Walker let it go on for a moment, but knew he had to stop the man.

“Captain show some dignity and set the poor Princess down. She just got back from squashing bugs; she doesn’t need you crushing her.”

Seal grinned sheepishly and gently set down Princess Luna. The pony moved away from the man, though Walker noticed a faint blush on her face. As Seal moved back around to Walker’s side of the table he said;

“Sorry Colonel just had to give ‘em a warm welcome. They’ve done a lot already, and I know you regular Army prudes don’t give nobody no lovin’.”

Princess Luna turned a slightly darker shade of red while Princess Celestia tilted her head.

“Colonel?” she asked, directing the question at Walker. He nodded.

“Seal here delivered a promotion along with news. As you heard, most of our officers are gone, and I’m one of the only surviving ones. What’s left of our chain of command decided I needed a bigger name if I was going to be representing the U.S Army in our cooperation with a pair of Equestrian princesses. So, now I’m Colonel Walker.”

She smiled, and for once, Walker noticed a bit of the warmth in that smile. He liked seeing it honestly; it really lit up the room.

“Congratulations then Colonel. I only wish it was not under such grim circumstances.”

Walker nodded in agreement.

“Grimmer and grimmer the more we look at it too. What’s left of our forces in the region have been scattered, so we really can’t expect a lot of reinforcements.” To Seal he asked, “Captain, is there any way of getting resupply? Not to downplay the princess’s generosity, but it would be good if we could start pulling our weight in the supply department.”

Seal nodded.

“We can get some birds this far inland. Admiral Smith has been able to snag more than a few dumps worth of munitions, so if ammo is what you’re asking for, we’ve got that in spades.”

Walker nodded.

“Good. Besides that, what do we know about Maine? Is there a reason the bugs haven’t been effective that far north? Also, the fleet; as far as I can tell, the buggers can fly, so why aren’t they going after our ships?”

“From what we can tell, they don’t do so good in the cold, or over really big bodies of water. A lake is no problem, but the Atlantic? They avoid it like the plague.” His eyes looked to the two princesses. “I’m no expert on the bugs though. Do either of you lovely ladies know more? Does the cold stop ‘em?”

Princess Luna flushed again while Princess Celestia tapped her chin in thought.

“I have not had much personal experience with such, but yes I believe they are susceptible to cold. You must understand, Equestria is land locked, and in addition to that, we control our weather. It is sunny and warm most of the year. It would stand to reason that since the changelings are insectoid in nature that the cold would slow them down. Their chitin does nothing to protect them from the cold.”

Walker sighed.

“Unfortunately, even if they are susceptible to the cold, it doesn’t help us. It won’t be consistently cold here until November. We’re too far south.”

Walker tapped his fingers against the table, his mind working.

“But, if the Admiral wanted a landing zone, I think his best bet is going to be hook up with the group in Maine, set up a base there so the cold can act as a deterrent. Do we know their troop strength though? Are they going to be able to keep holding the line?”

Seal nodded.

“I don’t have a precise inventory, but the Lieutenant up there did the same thing as you. He’s consolidated his forces and is even now pushing for the coast. Admiral Smith sent a Seal team after him to have the same conversation with him that I’m having with you.”

“Do you have any means of communicating with this Admiral?” Princess Celestia chipped in.

Seal shook his head in response.

“Not yet, but some birds with a long wave radio should be on their way here now.” He checked his watch, then looked to the princess. “I don’t know how fast you can move, but I would sure love an escort for them. Choppers are a rare resource now, and I don’t think we want to lose them.”

Princess Luna, her blush gone as steel entered her eyes.

“I shall see to it at once. They will be expecting us?”

Seal nodded.

“We were all briefed on what to expect. Who you were, what you looked like. The pilots should have received the same briefing. Just be careful. Everyone has an itchy trigger finger these days.”

She nodded and departed the tent. Walker looked to Seal.

“If you don’t mind me saying, I don’t think you walked all this way just to hand me a patch and a radio.”

Seal grinned and spread his hands.

“You’re not wrong Colonel, guess that’s why you earn the big bucks now. No, I have another mission out this way and I was hoping for some assistance on it.”

“Let’s hear what it is first, then I’ll see what I can offer in terms of support.”

Seal side-eyed Princess Celestia. He cleared his throat.

“Colonel, I’m afraid this mission is a bit classified.”

Walker leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of his nose as he leaned on his elbows.

“Seal we are currently standing in Princess Celestia’s command tent. Barring the fact that she is one of the sole reasons this position is still green, she’s more than earned the right to hear whatever mission you’ve got to carry out. More than likely she’ll play no small role in supporting it.”

Seal nodded, and smiled at the princess.

“Yessir, just wanted to be sure.” To Princess Celestia he said, “Sorry for being a bit tight lipped Princess, I’m sure you know how stingy command can be with intel.”

She inclined her head.

“I understand Captain Seal.” Her eyes shifted to Walker for a second, a smile on her face. “Luckily, Colonel Walker has found a way to trust us as he would you. It is the best way for friends to work together.”

Walker didn’t comment, because now he wasn’t being totally trustworthy. He’d only heard about it a few minutes ago, but the nuclear strikes would remain secret. Including more people, even if they were the princesses, was a dangerous move that could lead to the start of rumors. Rumors he’d have to confirm or deny. Rumors that could lead to more breaking soldiers, and at worst, angry allies. Killing civilians based on rumors didn’t sit right with him, but he did agree with the call. If the changelings could convert human beings into more bugs… it was a massive mercy killing, a tragedy, but mercy, nonetheless. He’d rather withhold information than flat out lie about the fates of the cities.

Walker cleared his throat and waved at Seal to continue. The man nodded, drawing out another map from his pack. He spread it on the table and Walker and Princess Celestia poured over it. Walker recognized the sectors to their west, saw fewer black circles on this map.

“My mission has a lot to do with your declaration, Colonel, about Overlord. Nobody is saying you were wrong, or even out of your station by making it, but it told us something. Overlord was compromised, and we’d like to know why.”

“Why? I think the answer is obvious Seal, it was the command center for the entire eastern seaboard. Cut that off and our forces lose all coordination.”

Seal held up a finger, smiling widely.

“Exactly. Like any army or living creature, you cut off the head and the body dies. We already talked about the coordinated killing off of officers, but that didn’t work out completely,” Seal nodded his head to Princess Celestia. “mostly thanks to them. Two officers survived unscathed Colonel, two. The Equestrians did us a hell of a service stepping in when they did.”

Princess Celestia smiled.

“Merely doing the right thing Seal.”

“And I can’t thank you enough for that Princess. There’s a whole mess of boys who owe you their lives, and that ain’t something we’ll forget. It’s our turn now though, and it starts at Overlord.”

He turned back to Walker and tapped the black circle around Overlord’s position.

“Since your declaration, we went ahead and labeled Overlord as a dark zone, but the real truth is we don’t know what’s there. The Admiral wants to save the birds for actual fire missions, so scouting this far inland needs to be done the old-fashioned way. My mission is to determine what the enemy concentration is around the position, secure any intel we can snag, and then destroy it. I brought with me a single burst transmitter that will send a green light to the fleet for the flyboys to drop a few bombs on the position once we’re clear.”

“So, what do you need from me?” Walker asked.

“I saw you had a couple of Humvees sitting around, and I could use a couple extra rifles. My boys are the best, but we can only reload so fast. If we get swamped, I want a bit more firepower to make sure it isn’t a one-way trip.”

Walker nodded, biting his lip in thought. He stared at the map for a second, before he raised his gaze to Seal’s face.

“Alright Seal, you have a green light from me, on one condition,” he said, raising a finger.

Seal nodded.

“Whatever you need Colonel.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Seal shook his head.

“Never mind then, absolutely not. You need to stay here, safe and secure to make sure our operation continues running smooth. Besides, you have the single best relationship with the Equestrians; we need you as chief diplomat as well as chief coordinator. I don’t think their gonna listen to just any old suit they throw in your place.” He looked to Princess Celestia. “No offense.”

She smiled and nodded.

“None taken. You are correct regardless. Colonel Walker has been very accommodating to our presence, though there were a few initial…. setbacks.”

Walker made a face at her as she looked at him with her smile. Seal looked between them, a confused expression on his face.

“What kind of setbacks?”

Walker scratched his nose.

“I may or may have not put a sidearm into the face of one of their captains with intent to shoot him if he prevented my medic from digging out our wounded.”

Seal looked to Princess Celestia, and eyebrow raised.

“And he got away with that?”

She chuckled softly.

“I should not have told Captain Armor to prevent something of that nature. Colonel Walker’s actions only proved that he was both strong willed, as well as caring enough to make a fine ally. No relationship is without its bumps, and so I forgave and forgot.”

She turned back to look at Walker, and he felt his face redden slightly as he saw that smile again. What was coming over him? He cleared his throat and looked to Seal.

“My condition stands Captain, I am coming on this mission, and I will not take no for an answer. Leaders do so from the front. I refuse to stay behind a desk while my men go out and risk their lives.”

Seal grinned and spread his hands in defeat.

“Alright Colonel, you’re the boss. I’d like to leave sooner than later though. If the rumors are true, those bugs could be extracting intel from Overlord even now.”

Walker tapped the table, drumming his fingers across its surface as thought.

“It’s going to take a bit to get the men prepped. We need to make sure everyone is rested up and focused before we take on something like this. We’ll leave at first light tomorrow.”

Seal nodded.

“I’ll alert my team to stand down for now. Anyone in particular I need to talk to for getting ready?”

Walker snatched up a sheet of paper and pen.

“Yeah, find Sergeant White and get him to hand pick a squad out. Tell him to arm them up with the best we have, and don’t skimp on ammo. I have no doubt we’ll need it.”

Princess Celestia cleared her throat.

“Pardon my interruption Colonel, but I too wish to be included on your mission.”

Walker looked at her with eyebrows raised.

“Are you sure about that Princess? You’ve been going at it all morning.”

She nodded.

“I will be sufficiently rested by tomorrow morning. If these “dark zones” are what they sound like, your Overlord may have a changeling hive within it. If there is a hive, there is a queen, and you will want my presence if you confront her.”

Walker looked to Seal who shook his head.

“I have no objections Colonel. The radio is alive with her work. If Big Papa wants to tag along, I say let her.”

Walker shrugged and looked back to Princess Celestia.

“There’s you answer. I’m more than happy to make a bit of room. I want to still keep this small though, so I need to restrict you to only one plus one.”

He wrote out a few more sentences on his paper before he handed it to Seal.

“Find Private Richardson, he’s my radio op. He’ll make sure our squad radios are synced, and he’ll need to modify Princess Celestia’s helmet so that she’s online with us.”

He looked to the princess.

“If that’s alright with you of course.”

She inclined her head and smiled.

“Of course, Colonel, it will be interesting to experience some of your technology firsthand.”

Walker smiled in return and looked back to Seal.

“Once all that’s done, let me know then go and get some sleep. I have a strong feeling we won’t be resting much in the coming days.”

Seal nodded. With a salute to Walker and a bit of his goofy grin pointed in Princess Celestia’s direction, he left the tent, scooping up his ruck and rifle as he left. Walker rolled his tongue in his cheek, wondering briefly what the man found funny. He sighed and looked to Princess Celestia.

“You sure you want to tag along Princess? I can’t thank you enough for helping us out through all of this, and I would understand if you wanted to take a break while we manned the front for a few.”

She smiled warmly at him.

“Celestia is fine Colonel, and yes, I am quite sure. As you said, a good leader does so from the front, and I will not leave my friends to fight their battles alone.”

Walker chuckled.

“You can’t keep calling me by rank if you’re going to drop yours. Either Walker or Cornelius will do just fine Celestia.”

Walker could see a faint blush spread across her face, though she was much better at hiding it compared to the other ponies.

“Of course, Cornelius.” She mumbled in reply. Celestia cleared her throat and looked toward the tent flap.

“I believe I shall go await the return of my sister. I am most eager to see these “birds” of yours.”

Walker nodded and she slid out of the tent gracefully. Walker froze in his thoughts. Gracefully? Warmly? Why was he suddenly thinking about Celestia like that? There was another thing, she had dropped her title for him, and he had done so in return, but why? What had changed that lost the need for such formalities?

Walker stared at the still swinging tent flaps in thought for a moment, the shook his head to clear it of the stray thoughts and looked at the maps. He had planning to do.