Chapter 5: Fighting Retreat

Dear Princess Celestia,

It has been a while since my last letter. Nearly three months, if I am being honest. It’s been hard to find the time to write, let alone the proper materials, but after what’s been going on, I made the effort to ask some friends for pen and paper.

The past few months have been difficult, being so far away from home, but I have survived by making friends with the strange creatures that populate this planet, they call themselves Humans. A lot of them are nice to me, though I got found by their military, and subsequently more or less adopted by them. Which has meant I’ve ended up training side-by-side with them, and what started out as a potential way to learn more about them and keep my mind off of the accident that sent me here, has turned into a blessing in disguise.

The humans, and I guess by extension our own planet and species, are not alone. About a week ago, a coalition of races showed up at the planet I am on, and while the humans attempted peaceful negotiations, the coalition killed part of their leadership and attacked the militia I have been training with.

After that we’ve essentially existed in a state of war, and we’ve been evacuating civilians towards the capital, and potential safety.

However, while doing this my hope to get home quickly has started to fade, the only thing really keeping me going is ~~the thought of you~~ the thought of protecting all my family and friends back home, holding the line here so you all don’t have to face this coalition.

I am hopeful once we figure out how to ev-

February 10th, 2525

Ten Kilometers from Gladsheim

Twilight stops writing her letter as the Warthog hits a pothole, causing her pen to leave a long line across the page. Frowning, she looks over to the driver of the warthog she is in, who keeps his eyes on the road.

“Sorry about that, the roads out here aren’t as well maintained as we’d like,” the driver admits, another small pothole causing the warthog to bounce again.

The continued rough ride causes Twilight to sigh and put the letter away as she sits up a bit straighter and cradle her rifle in her forelegs, “It’s okay, better potholes than being shot at. The aliens up there have been too quiet, I worry we’re about to… how did Sergeant Johnson put it this morning, walk into a shit slinging contest in a fan factory?”

The militia in the warthog with Twilight all snort and chuckle as they continue down the road, the driver smirking from under their helmet.

“Sounds about right, they can’t just sulk up in orbit forever, our luck has to eventually run out,”

As he says that, Twilight glances up at the large ship sitting in high orbit. They weren’t sure what they’ll do next, but Commander al-Cygni and Captain Ponder both agreed that the best option was to gather the civilians in the outlying settlements to the Capital. Utguard had easy access to bunkers, and a clear route of escape if needed.

“Chalie-Two, Utguard Command, we’ve passed township limits, entering Gladsheim now,” Natalie’s voice comes over the squad radio, causing Twilight to sit up a bit straighter as she tries to peer out the windshield towards the lead warthog.

“Roger that, Charlie-One, RV is set for the highschool near the center of town, the mayor and local police chief should be waiting for you,” Commander al-Cygni’s voice responds, “please keep the stubborn mule with you from insulting them, will you?”

“I didn’t know we had any other equines with us besides Recruit Sparkle, but I’ll be sure to keep the Sergeant glaring out the windshield in check, ma’am,”

“See that you do, Corporal. Utguard-Command out,”

A few chuckles follow that as the convoy continues on through the wooded tundra, the trees broken up only by large farmland and lumber mills. It is a familiar and unfamiliar sight to Twilight, agriculture on such a massive scale. Some of the farms she has seen, both from the air and now on these land based trips, are larger than some of the fiefs the nobles back on Equus have, larger than some cities too. All of it to feed not only the planet but the vast empire beyond its atmosphere.

For a moment, Twilight wonders what her friend Applejack would make of some of the larger orchards here. Would she be at home here, in the unfamiliar familiar? Or would she find this planet and its farming techniques to be too far different from her own and irreconcilable.?

Another pothole breaks Twilight from her introspection, and she finds the warthog suddenly going from dirt road to asphalt again as they enter the city proper.

Gladsheim isn’t much to look at, not compared to the soaring spires of Utguard or the grand marble facades of Canterlot, but it holds it’s own small town charms. Much like Ponyville really as Twilight thinks about it. The only difference was the large meglev train station and the militia outpost nearby, both of which were the only real defining features for the area.

The single major paved street in the city is pretty sparse, with some shops and a large open air marketplace. All of it nestled in the shadow of a massive water tower and the town’s magnetic levitation train station, the massive steel cranes standing idle this early in the morning.

Beyond all of that, as far as the eye can see, there are farms sitting in the shadows of larger buildings with sterile numbers and large metal roll up doors. Her earlier research into the town told her the large buildings are repair and refit bays for the farming equipment Mack and Loki both use, which she can see through one of the open doors. The farms too swarm with activity, with the large autonomous harvesters and tillers working their way through the fields and kicking up large plumes of dirt and dust.

There are also people everywhere, a thing that Twilight knew should not be happening, and she cannot help but frown as they go about their daily lives as if the giant alien ship isn’t hovering over their small town.

Another similarity to Ponyville, perhaps, if these humans are so at ease with such danger lingering so nearby.

But, the danger is real, and it is pressing. These people cannot stay.

All of this flashes by in a moment, as the militia convoy expertly weaves its way through the street and past the businesses and people to make it to a large concrete and steel structure, it’s outer facade covered in murals and paintings of ancient legends and a roof made to look, if Twilight’s research does not fool her, a viking longhouse.

Parking in front of the building, Twilight disembarks with the rest of the fireteam on the warthog, and takes a moment to admire the calligraphic sign out front proudly proclaiming the building as Gladsheim Highschool, with tiny print underneath saying ‘Go Valkyries!’.

However, unlike the rest of the city and the valley around it, the highschool is very much empty and devoid of activity. The sight of which causes Sergeant Johnson, who is standing near the lead warthog, to grunt and frown.

“I knew these people were stubborn, but they’ve not even started preparing the evacuation,” Johnson grumbles as he starts towards the door.

“Well, you know us farmers, Sergeant,” Natalie chuckles as she follows after him, the rest of the squad forming up behind them, “common clay of the land and all that.”

“Tough, but not very bright sometimes, I know,” the Sergeant sighs, “let's see if the mayor has anything to say about this. And I hope whatever God they pray to that it’s a good excuse.”

They move into the highschool at that, the interior familiar and yet alien to Twilight. Whereas her schooling had been in a place of bright colors and tall welcoming places, this school was quite dark, and almost sterile with its dull paints and hard cold flooring. Twilight finds herself quite shocked at how divorced the interior is to the exterior, and wonders if they took a wrong turn somewhere.

Yet, the group just keeps going as if this building is the normal, passing by large display cabinets displaying pictures of young humans in different uniforms side by side with trophies with team names and years. There aren’t many, though, Harvest is a young colony yet.

The militia move past the displays and through a pair of double doors that lead into, if Twilight’s limited knowledge of human sports is any help, a basketball court and gymnasium that likely serves as the school population’s physical activity space indoors.

At the moment, though, the large room is housing rows upon rows of empty cots, large stacks of boxes with “Emergency Rations” and “Medical Supplies” written in big bold white letters on their sides. A few people are milling about the boxes and the cots, with the two at the center of it all being a tall woman wearing a jeans and a t-shirt, and a large man wearing a police uniform and trooper armor.

“I’ve called up everyone that was off-duty, and we’re spread out over the outskirts to try and cover as much ground as possible, but we don’t have enough trucks or ‘hogs to effect a quick or orderly evacuation,” the officer states, pointing to a map on a white board.

“Eivor, really, it’s fine,” The lady next to him sighs, “I highly doubt we’ll even be a blip on their radar, not with Utguard or other such places being far more interesting and profitable targets.”

“With all due respect, Miss Mayor, we can’t be sure, they’ve ordered us to evacuate to safer pastures,”

“You running from a fight, Eivor? Where is the young man who spoke of going to Valhalla?”

“He became in charge of the safety of two thousand people,”

“And I am sure as shit glad someone is taking that safety seriously,” Johnson barks as he steps up to the pair, causing everyone in the room to stop and look towards the Sergeant, “because I’ll be honest I thought you lot were going to dig your heels and heads into the Goddamn dirt and ignore our uninvited guests!”

“Ah, you must be Sergeant Johnson?” the woman asks, smiling a smile Twilight had seen Celestia wear when talking to certain nobles. “I was informed you and another Sergeant were coming, is he as well?”

“Sorry to disappoint, Sergeant Byrne is at the outpost finalizing their withdrawal,” Johnson smirks, “just little old me to deal with. And I’m very curious as to why you’re gearing up to shelter in place, and not gathering your people to get out of here.”

“As I was telling our over-eager police chief, I doubt they’ll come for us,” the mayor shrugs, “why would they? We have no importance, we’re farmers! We don’t have weapons, and besides that small outpost the UNSC and CAA insisted I put out here, there’s no military installation or target for hundreds of miles.”

“Ma’am, they’re right over your heads,” Natalie states as she looks to the Sergeant who nods to her to continue, “not above Utguard. We don’t know what they’re planning or what they’re capable of, we can’t risk you and your entire town’s population on a hunch.”

“Again, I highly dou-”

“Alpha-One-One, Utguard, urgent traffic,” the squad net suddenly announced.

“One-One here, send traffic,” Johnson states, never taking his eyes off of the mayor.

“One-One, alien craft has begun moving into lower orbit over the city, and has released ten-to-twelve smaller craft that fit the description of the transports seen at the Botanical Gardens. ETA, twenty-mikes at current speed of descent, advise beginning evacuation immediately,”

“Traffic received Utguard, I’ll inform the mayor and police chief, and begin evacuations,” Johnson replies, frowning as the mayor starts to go pale and the police chief curses under his breath.

“Right, I’ll get my officers moving, but it’s going to take a lot longer than twenty to get everyone out of the fields and out of here,” Eivor states, fingers running along the top of an axe on his belt opposite his sidearm.

“We’re going to need a rally point too, if we can’t get everyone on a truck or bus we’ll need some other way,” Johnson states, looking at the mayor who blinks.

“I… I’m not sure where else they could go, we’ve not planned for this sort of thing,”

“What about the train?” Twilight asks, stepping forward and gaining the attention of the police chief and the mayor. The mayor further balks at Twilight, while the Chief just raises an eyebrow and looks to Johnson.

“Sir, are you pulling my leg or is that horse really talking?”

“She talks,” Johnson grunts, looking at Twilight, “but Recruit Sparkle here might be onto something.”

“Sorry for interrupting,” Twilight offers, ears lowering, “and yes I talk, yes I am an equine, and yes I am an alien. But we don’t have time to unpack all that right now.”

“Can’t believe I am saying this but I agree with the talking horse in the room,” Eivor states with a frown before turning to the whiteboard and its map. “Trainstation is here, not exactly central, but close enough to the city and the fields we might be able to gather people, but it’s not a passenger train.”

“It might not be comfortable, but box and cattle cars will have to do,” Johnson agrees as he removes a cigar from a magazine pouch and taps the map, “we funnel as many people as we can through the highway away from the city, and anyone past this line,” he pauses to draw a line with the cigar, “gets to the train station for evac.”

“Quick and dirty, Sergeant, but open enough that we can change it on the fly,” the police chief comments.

“Do I get a say in this?” The mayor demands softly, still a bit white.

“Nope, you’re getting escorted to the train station while the soldiers make sure as many of your people as possible get out alive from your inaction,” Johnson growls with an offhanded gesture of his cigar. “And on that topic! Shall we put on the proper soundtrack to this shitshow?”

Without missing a beat Natalie depresses the button on her radio and speaks, “Mack, start the sirens, lock down the JOTUNs in the field and direct everyone to the evacuation points I’ve sent you.”

“Turnin’ on the midwest alarm clocks and locking down the farms,” Mack’s voice replies in the squad radio.

It takes a moment, but after a few seconds of heavy silence Twilight’s right ear twists towards the wall, as a low bass drone starts to build from outside. As it builds, the tone becomes more and more shrill, to the point that when it’s peak Twilight has to lower her ears as the scream of the sirens rattles her bones. She cannot even start to imagine how loud it is outside.

And once the outside sirens are at their peak, alarms start blaring inside the school gym, complete with flashing lights.

“Attention! All residents of Gladsheim County, this is an urgent emergency! The following is transmitted at the urging of the Government of the Colony of Reach. Unknown hostile aliens have been detected by radar heading towards the county, and are believed to be intent on attacking the city and surrounding farmsteads. Navigational markers are being sent to your glasses and GPS units depending on your location at the time of this broadcast. You are urged to follow them, without hesitation, and get to safety. Do not stop to gather belongings, pets, or mementos if they are not able to be reached in five minutes or less. This message will repeat in five minute intervals.”

The announcement causes a flurry of activity from everyone present, as Twilight and the rest of the militia spring into action to tear the civilians away from the boxes of supplies, and urge them to get to the nearest vehicle.

For Twilight herself, she feels numb as she listens to the orders being handed down by Johnson in a quick briefing with the squads present. He gives out orders for defensive lines drawn in red sharpie, and then hands over command of the squads to their assigned corporals.

Natalie’s squad is assigned to a blocking and funneling action along one of the streets leading from Main Street towards the train station, while a couple others are detailed to keeping the line along the avenue to the train station, with the remaining meeting up with Bravo and Sergeant Bryne’s forces to guard the train station and ready to Maglev Trains.

As soon as they are dismissed Twilight’s squad piles into a Warthog as well as hitching a ride in the back of a civilian pickup truck to their destination. Twilight ends up in the pickup bed along with a couple other squadmates, the driver barely batting an eye at the talking armored horse in their worry to get going.

The journey to the crossroad is far different than the journey into the city, as all around them the loud scream of sirens, both the large civil sirens as well as police and fire vehicles, fill the air throughout not just the city but the surrounding farmlands. Most people are running to vehicles with arms full of whatever they can reach, more than once Twilight spots a crying child holding onto a family pet as if it means life and death. That they may never see the pet again.

More than once, Twilight is forced to watch that child and pet be seperated.

All too soon they’re at the crossroads, and Twilight and the two other militia quickly get out of the pickup bed and motion for the driver to get to safety. They form up with the police and the rest of their squad, and do final checks on their gear.

Twilight does her best to tune out the noise around her as she checks her weapon like she was taught, trying to focus on that and not the coming battle.

Slide clear of dirt? Check.

Magazine topped off? Check.

Extra magazines in the right pockets? Check.

Grenades? Check.

Helmet strapped on tight? Yup.

Armor? Backpack? Check, and check.

That takes all of ten minutes, and is done at the same time she is using her magic to help drag large objects and position barricades so as to help her and the others have cover and direct the flow of traffic. By then they can see the craft incoming, and Twilight posts herself up next to Natalie on one of the concrete and steel barricades, the gunner on the Warthog behind them priming the engine of the chaingun.

Twilight focuses on her breathing as the ships break formation just before entering the city limits, once heading near where Twilight and her squad are. Once they break the initial cordon the warthog gunner behind Twilight, along with every single warthog and defensive emplacement the police had, open fire. The rest of the squad holds their fire, not trusting small arms to do much against the flying beast.

The craft respond in kind, and soon explosions are heard throughout the city as large glowing orbs lance out from the craft’s underbellies to impact buildings and near warthogs. Troops begin offloading from them as well, and Twilight hesitates only a second before she levels her rifle and starts the butcher’s work.

She selects one of the large yeti-like creatures, her first few rounds striking the creature’s large helmet and bouncing with flashes of metal on metal. This earns the creature's attention, and it hefts a large hammer like weapon and roars at her before charging with the rest of the ten or fifteen other creatures around it. Most are cut down by the rest of Twilight’s squad, including the warthog gunner who was fortunate enough to not get targeted by the ship’s guns.

The buzz of the chaingun and the loud snaps of their firearms fill Twilight’s senses, even as the civilians behind her scream and hurriedly try to run or jump into the vehicles. The police do their best to continue directing them, but as the aliens draw closer, especially the large hairy one, more than a few abandon their attempts to open fire on the approaching aliens themselves.

The creature is forced to slow under the gunfire, and eventually moves into a nearby alley to escape entirely. It’s retreat allows their guns to fall silent, and Twilight stands there panting a little as she pulls her now empty magazine and puts a new one in automatically, not really coming to her senses until her hoof brushes over the slide release and the large clack of the weapon’s bolt cycling draws her out of her trance.

“Any casualties?” Natalie barks from where she is standing, battle rifle at a low ready.

“Negative, ma’am!”

“Still here!”

“Everything’s still attached!”

“I’m good,” Twilight replies, leaning on the barricade.

“Don’t relax yet, Sparks,” Natalie says softly, patting Twi’s withers, “I’ll bet that was just a probing action, we’re not out of this yet, still civilians in-”

Before she can finish the sentence, a bright glow suddenly fills the sky, and Twilight feels her teeth vibrate as a massive amount of energy is suddenly released in the air. She looks up, mouth falling open as she sees the alien’s ship moving into position above the city, a large glowing section of it placed over the outskirts near the highway to their east.

“What is it doing?” a police officer asks slowly.

“I… I don’t know,” Natalie replies before reaching for her radio, “One-One, One-Charlie-One! Alien craft above the city and starting to power something up!”

“I see it, Corporal! Hold the line, and keep the civilians safe we-” Johnson starts to reply, but then the radio starts to hiss and scream as static and feedback fill the channels.

And then, all at once, Twilight watches literal Tartarus descend.

The alien craft suddenly seems to ripple, but Twilight hazards a guess that it’s the air being displaced, as the glowing section suddenly discharges a truly massive column of white hot light. The instant the beam hits the ground, a tremendous shockwave ripples through the earth and a blistering hot wind batters the barricades. Screaming suddenly comes over the radio, along with desperate cries for assistance as civilians, police, and militia all start transmitting on as the very earth starts to melt and glow.

“Oh… oh dear sweet Sun and Moon,” Twilight says softly, a hoof going to her mouth as tears form in her eyes.

“All callsigns, report!” Johnson yells over the static.

“Alpha-One, One-Bravo! Sir, the ship is… it’s burning the farms with what looks to be plasma! It’s cutting us off from Utguard!”

“How long do we have before that beam reaches the tracks?”

“Not long! If we don’t start the trains we’re not getting out of here!”

“Give me an estimate!”

“Half hour? Twenty? I don’t know, sir!”

“Damnit! Chief Eivor, get as many people on that train as you can right now! Bryne and I will try and draw the aliens away so you can load more people aboard faster! If we’re not back in time, get that train moving and save your people!”

“Better get back, then, Sergeant, I’ll save you two bastards a seat!”

As soon as that declaration went out, the police around them started hurrying the civilians along, some even grabbing kids or pets off the street next to their families and running along with the family in an attempt to get as many people as they possibly could out. The mass of running civilians grows so great that many of the vehicles end up abandoned as the people in them find themselves unable to drive forward through them, suitcases and family members simply grabbed from the now useless vehicles and carried by hand.

And even as all this is happening, another wave comes in, and Twilight is forced to focus on her breathing and shooting.

Her entire world narrows down into counting.

Counting her breaths, counting her bullets, counting her magazines.

Counting her kills.

She’s so focused on the task of keeping the invaders away from the barricades that she doesn't realize they’re retreating until one of her squad grabs her by the shoulder and shakes her.

“We’re evacuating, Sparks!” Red shouts, dragging her away from the concrete block they’d been using as cover, Twilight distantly realizing there are large chunks of it missing along with purple-pink crystals sticking out of the side facing the Covenant.

Grabbing her weapon in her magic, Twilight nods and follows her squadmate away from the barricades, her heart and stomach sinking as she realizes there are still thousands of screaming people running for the train station, even as the warthog behind her continues to fire the mounted gun.

She passes by Natalie who is shouting at the militiaman on the warthog to stop and evacuate, with the militia arguing someone has to hold the god damn line so a few more can slip out. Their argument is interrupted by an older man in a police uniform, Twilight doesn’t hear the conversation over the chaos around her, but the militia dismounts and goes with Natalie as the officer jumps up to the gunner’s position, takes a single calm breath, and then starts firing.

The journey progresses slowly from there.

The crowds are so thick that Twilight sometimes has to teleport, pausing often to help someone who has fallen down, primarily children. Twilight spends what feels like the longest eternity standing over a sobbing child clinging to her teddy bear, refusing to move until she finds her mother. Twilight is eventually able to move one when out of the crowd Chief Eivor comes over and scoops the girl up and nods to Twilight before vanishing into the crowd again.

Each checkpoint they pass they find police, usually older men and woman in what Twilight would guess is their fifties or so, taking up the posts the militia leave, sometimes even having weapons turned over to them by the militia with a handshake or a tight embrace before the police take position and the militia abandon it.

Each of them are sacrificing their lives, but Twilight knows there’s no other choice. People have to die, so others may live.

The moment she reaches the train station only drives home the sinking feeling, as armed police and militia stand on the platform and try to keep the fearful and panicked masses orderly. However, Twilight can see there’s no way to fit everyone on the train, and as she and her squad wade through people start grabbing at them, parents begging for them to take their children, children sobbing and begging to not be separated from their parents.

Twilight caves to a pair of parents begging for someone to save their child and uses her magic to levitate the young boy onto her back, as she speeds by through the crowd, the sobbing child clinging to her neck like she’s a piece of driftwood in a storm.

She ends up teleporting past the line of soldiers and skids to a halt next to an open cattle car, the inside filled nearly to capacity with crying and wide-eyed people. She levitates the kid over to the militia soldier at the door, and turns around to go get more, only to get stopped as nearly loses her balance when the ground starts to shake again.

Looking up towards the alien craft, she pales slightly beneath her helmet as she sees they’ve added what look to be the deck guns of their ship to start pelting the city and surrounding countryside with large bolts of green energy.

The increased amount of fire from the ship causes more panic, and the soldiers have to start holding back the people on the platform. Twilight can hear the loud hum of what she assumes to be the train starting up, the entire thing starting to rise a little into the air as the magnetic rails have electricity pumped through them. All around her, the militia start falling back to the train, and Twilight makes a split second choice.

She lights her horn and teleports into the crowd, and grabs children, as many children as she can, and teleports back to a car.

Even as the train starts to move, she keeps going, stretching her magic and teleportation to its limits as she grabs five, ten, twelve, fifteen, nearly going back to grab the twentieth when Natalie grabs her and pulls her into a bear hug and wrestles her to the floor.

“Twilight! Enough! There’s nothing more you can do,” the Corporal shouts, wrestling with the unicorn on the cold steel floor of the moving train.

“Let me go! I can get more! Please! I can save more!” Twilight screams, doing her best to try and wrestle her way out of her friend’s arms, her helmet getting knocked off in the struggle and her horn sparking.

She is able to teleport a short distance, and is about to make the larger jump when a transmission comes out over the radio again.

“All callsigns, the ship is moving into position over the city,” the voice calmly states over the screaming and begging in the background. “They’re pulling back… I think this is the end.”

“No, no there’s still time there’s still,”

“This is Sergeant Jenkins, Gladsheim Police Department, signing of-” the voice continues, only the drowned out by a roar and then static. A few seconds later, the entire train shakes violently, and the air is filled with the scream of metal twisting as the rails shake and vibrate.

“Alpha-One to all callsigns, sitrep!” Johnson’s voice, a welcome sound at that point, barks over the radio.

“Alpha-One, this is pelican flight zero-six, callsign Pegasus. Gladsheim is gone. The ship just discharged a beam directly onto it,”

At hearing that, Twilight leans against the wall, and curls up on herself. Too numb to pay attention to anything else as voices continue to come over the radio.

All she can think of is how she just watched thousands of people die and wonder, will she be next?

Will she ever make it home?

Author's Note

So, yeah, a thing.

This is Twilight, and the UNSC defenders, first taste of what will become a thirty year war. A war in which this scene will play out time, and time again, where humanity will sacrifice on the line, desperately grasping at the seconds and minutes needed to get just one more civilian out alive. According to the wiki, Gladsheim was a city of several thousand, an agricultural breadbasket for the planet, which fed multiple colonies.

By the end of the day, out of several thousand people, a grand total of at most a few hundred escaped with their lives. It serves as a wakeup call for the Planet's defenders, as well a the civilian population.

Next chapter, things continue to go downhill, so I'll see you then!