UNKNOWN SOLDIER SEEN ENGAGING EQUESTRIAN FORCES IN NEW YORK; WITNESSES REPORT NO UNIT MARKINGS AS WELL AS ARMOR AND WEAPONS UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE

ALIEN ATTACK ON THE CITY OF NOVOSIBIRSK IS HALTED BY THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES AND UNKNOWN OPERATIVES, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS OFFERED NO COMMENT ON THE NATURE OF THE UNMARKED FORCES

14:08, 07/07/2050, OFFICE OF CMDR BRADFORD

Bradford frowned as he read another after action report. The Terror mission in Russia wasn't the worst by far, but it was still disheartening to have to add another couple of names to the wall.

Strike Four and Five all came back alive, but will have to spend some time in the medical, ranging from a few days, to over a month. Strike Six wasn't as lucky, half of the brave men and women didn't make it back to base. Despite the involvement of the countries armed forces Russia was still greatful, if not for XCOM more lives would've been lost.

Militaries all over the world are losing enough lives to repel the Equestrians already. A thought passed through Bradford's mind. I need to question Thalmann on the matter of his Anti-Magic generators, we need a working prototype by the end of the month.

The thought made him reflect on XCOM's recent succeses in capturing the enemy captain. And just when he was about to contact the head of research department- DING

FROM - DR. MOIRA VAHLEN
TO - CMDR. JOHN BRADFORD
SUBJECT - INTERROGATION PROGRESS

Commander, Your presence is required at the interrogation room. I believe that the subject will respond better to more conventional interrogation methods than our previous "guests". I'll explain more in person.

14:00, 07/07/2050, XCOM DETENTION CELL

Shining Armor woke up with the worst horn - splitting headache he ever had. It reminded him of the bachelor party he had at Canterlot, and the memory brought a smile to his face. The smile faded when he opened his eyes and didn't recognise his surroundings.

He was in a well - illuminated room, sitting on a simple bed that was nailed to the wall. The walls themeselves were a bland white color, the floor being a similar color, maybe a shade or two darker, probably caused by wear and thear. In one corner of the room was a simple toilet, and in the other was a table, nailed to the floor.

Shining had to squint, but he could see a small camera in the corner of the ceiling. The door to the room was made of metal, and would be impossible to breach without magic. He was about to try the door when it opened and three human figures entered.

The first figure was a woman donning a white lab coat over a green sweater. She was holding a tablet, and Shining swore that the room temperature dropped a few degrees when she entered. Her hair was gathered in a neat ponytail, which made Shining chuckle inwardly.

Until he looked her in the eyes.

The woman's eyes were filled with ice cold hatred.

"Get up and follow me.", Shining didn't move an inch "If you don't comply you'll be escorted by force."

The pony laughed in her face. "By force? HA! I'd like to see you try." A hint of satisfaction flashed across the human's face.

"Very well. Guards, please blindfold and escort our "guest" to our destination."

Shining didn't hesitate for a second as he channeled the defense spell. The Captain was famous for his shield spells, their efficency was unmatched by even the best unicorns from Celestia's school. They never failed him and Shining knew he could always rely on them.

It was this reliance that made the following surge of pain ever more surprising. The pain shot through his skull and into his horn, or, at least, where his horn should've been. The broken horn sparkled with energy and a few drops of blood from Shining's nose stained the floor. The Captained groaned in pain, which made the doctor look back.

"Ah, it seems i forgot to mention your condition." She said flatly before motioning the guards to follow her. The guards got behind Shining, one of them holding a peculear rifle it's hands, and the other holding an object akin to a hammer mere centimeter from the captain's shoulder. "Don't you try anything funny, i've got 1.21 gigawatts of sedatives right here." The guard said in a femenine voice as her buddy put a blindfold over his eyes.

Shining sighed, he had no other choice than to comply.

14:10, 07/07/2050, INTERROGATION ROOM

Bradford entered the room with a one - way mirror and was greeted by a nod from Vahlen, and a salute from Lieutenant Yin. The latter's presence was somewhat unexpected, but his unspoken question was adressed by Moira. "Good day, Commander. Since a more conventional method of interrogation is available, we require an expert in such field of work. Lieutenant Yin's background means she's quite proficient in that regard." Bradford nodded.

He looked into the room on the other side of the glass, and began evaluating what he saw. A snow - white stallion with a ramrod straight posture sat in front of the table, his expression unreadable to anyone except Bradford. John could see a storm of emotions was raging inside the unicorn. The only thing that made him stand out from the average unicorn was a broken horn. "I take it horns can't regrow, doctor?" he inquired.

Vahlen fiddled with her tablet, and motioned Bradford to look at the ceiling mounted monitor. "Not exactly. Our informants gave varying answers, as the theme seems to be a taboo in their society, but our most trusted source from Japan explained that the wound would only be crippling to a developing body. With enough time and care, the horn will regrow."

"Understood. Lieutenant, have you read the dossier on the subject?" Feng nodded. "Good. What do you have in store for the captain?" Bradford turned to face the soldier.

"I'll begin with simple questions, sir. While the subject's cooperation is highly unlikely, it's a possibility we should explore. May i ask for a favor?"

"That depends on the nature of the favor, soldier."

"When i rub the bridge of my nose i want a small table of various medical instruments: scalpels, syringes, defibrilators, e.t.c. to be wheeled into the room." Feng looked at the man, but her mind was busy planning out the events.

Bradford arched an eyebrow, but replied "We can arrange that." he turned to Moira, who seemed to be typing something on her tablet. "Already sending the request, Commander. The trolley will be here in a minute."

"Continue, Lieutenant." The soldier cleared her throat. "If the subject refuses to cooperate, i will try simple threats, although he doesn't strike me as someone who'll break so easily." Vahlen's face morphed into an annoyed expression for a moment. Feng scratched her chin. "At last, i will begin a more... physical form of questioning. Hopefully we'll get the answers we need."

Silence fell upon the room as soon as the soldier finished the sentence. The tension was palpable, until the question on everyones mind was voiced by Bradford.

"And if the subject remains uncooperative?"

"Then my team will proceed with the standart interrogation protocol. I'm sure we'll be able to get the information needed, but the subject is more than likely to expire during the procedure." Vahlen explained with a glint of eagerness in her eyes.

"Good. Lieutenant, you have my permission to begin the interrogation. Do what you have to do, but remember: it would be preferable for the subject to survive the process, it could become a vital political bargaining tool in the future." Bradford finished.

Feng Yin nodded, and put on an earpiece before proceeding to exit the room. She collected her thoughts, took a deep breath, and entered.

Shining never felt more uncomfortable than in this very moment. He was sitting in front of a table, a large mirror lining one of the rooms walls. He recognised it was a one-way mirror, even though he didn't know how they worked. Back home the glass was enchanted, but here? He had no idea how humans made this glass without magic.

Home. Shining remembered home. He remembered Cadance and her lovely smile that made him happy every time he saw it. He remembered their beloved daughter, and her laughter. He remembered his parents, who supported him every step of the way. And finally, he remembered Twilight. His little sister, who he has protected his whole life.

His trip down memory lane was cut short by a cough. He looked at the source of the noise, which was sitting opposite to him. A calm woman was looking at him with an evaluating glare.

"Hello, captain Armor, i see you are enjoying our hospitality quite well, how is your health these days?" Shining stayed silent, and the woman continued. "Of course, where are my manners, i haven't introduced myself. You can call me Feng-"

"Cut the pleasantries, you're not here to make small talk, and neither am i." He interrupted the woman, who smiled condecendingly.

"An ample observation, Captain. I must say, you're just as perceptive as they say. " Her smile dropped faster than Rainbow Dash performing a sonic rainboom. "Now, we can do it the easy way, or the hard way. You can either tell me what i want to know right here, right now, and we resolve this peacefully." Shining scoffed at the proposition inwardly. "Or we might have to resort to more... physical means of persuation."

"And what are your terms, i wonder?" Shining asked, mockery clear in his voice.

"You will provide me with the information regarding the plans of your superiors, as well as the attack schedule on Earths cities, for a start. You'll aid the project in any way you can, and answer any question the scientists have for you. At last, you'll make no attempt to escape or contact your people in any shape, way or form. Are my terms clear to you?"

It took Shining a considerable amount of willpower to not laugh the woman in face. "The plans of my superiors are already known to you." He smirked. " Your people and your planet will be saved, by force, if needed. As for the rest of your questions, i must ask my own" He leaned on the table and looked the woman in the eyes. "What will happenen to me if i refuse?"

To an untrained eye the woman remained motionless, but Shining's eye was far from untrained. He noticed her steal a glance towards the window, it was done in less than a second, but he noticed.

"We will have to resort to more... drastic methods of extracting information, we won't be able to guarantee your survival." She replied, her face devoid of emotions.

"And if i agree to your terms?"

"You will be detained in this facility until the end of the war, whereupon you will stand trial before the United Nations for your crimes against humanity." She stated flatly.

"Then i have no reason to continue this conversation. This is a lose-lose situation for me. " He concluded, returning to his initial position.

"I strongly urge you to reconsider, Captain." She insisted, leaning onto the table.

"Say, miss Feng, if our positions were reversed, would you take up the offer?" He retorted, and saw a ghost of a smile creep its way onto the woman's face.

"Touché."

The woman stood up and rubbed the bridge of her nose in an weary motion. A few moments later Shining heard the door behind him open and close, and a rolling sound approached him from behind, until a trolley with various medical instruments was standing near the table. Shining smirked as he replied. "For the sake of the both of our times, i hope you skip the threats phase, and get right to the chase."

His smirk remained as the woman pointed a hammer-like object at him, and pulled the trigger. "Yes, i too, believe it would be ineffective at this point."

18:20, 07/07/2050, XCOM MESS HAll

The mess hall was bustling with activity, as per usual during dinner, but one particular table was a decibel or two louder than the rest. That was the table occupied by Strike One, which was currently missing one member.
The whole group was rather upbeat after the last mission, but it wasn't long before the lack of their comrade was noticed. Dubravka Bozic was the first to bring up the suspicious absense.

"Did any of you see the Lieutenant after the op? After the usual trip to medical, i mean." The group shared a knowing look and Rosa Guzman was the first to reply.

"Dunno, last i heard Command wanted her at the lab for something." She said, pausing only to stuff her face with the meal of the day. "Fifty bucks says it's somehing related to our lates "guest". " She was rewarded with a disapproving look from Mark van Beek.

"You do know you can't burn holes in people by glare alone, right? What's the matter?"

"Can you please eat a little more carefully? I swear, sometimes it's like i'm back at boot camp again." The woman in question grabbed her chest in mock-offense.

"How could you! Years of academy training, only to be called a pig!" The sniper was about to retort, when a female voice intervened.

"Let her be, Mark, it's pizza day after all. You're not the most tidy eater too, you know." Courtney Murdoch said, which prompted a responce from another team member.

"OI! My man Mark got a poit, you know. We have to be a good role model for the new arrivals, and we can't do that if we eat like pigs."

"You know what i think, Adam? I think it's time you've got a good and proper ass whoopin'" Guzman pretended to get up, but stopped when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Now now kids, don't you go killing eachother, leave the x-rays something to shoot at." Peter Van Doorn intervened, and his responce elicited a round of chuckles from the table.

"For real though, where's Feng? Whatever job they needed her for should've been done by now, right?" Iris Heijden voiced the question on everybody's mind.

Rosa and Dubravka shared a look. "Ris, you do know that Lieutenant has some experience in interrogation, don't you?" The former asked, and the man shook his head while chewing on a slice of pizza.

"I don't know about you, but i expect some juicy details on any info our captive fried knows, when she returns." Courtney said, sipping on a glass of water.

"Unless it's classifeied, you know, like everything that comes out of the lab?" Mark argued in an annoyed voice. Before the woman could say anything in her defence, a person dropped into the single unoccupied chair left near the table.

"I'd lower my voice if i were you, rumors is the only thing faster then the speed of light." Feng Yin said, making herself comfortable, and putting down the tray on the table. She looked tired, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Ah, good to see you Lieutenant, forgive my curiosity, but you look exhausted. What happened?" Iris inquired, and got a weary look from the woman.

"First thing's first, you don't have to refer to me by rank off-duty." She stopped and stuffed a pizza slice into her mouth, and swallowed after barely chewing. "To aswer your question: Let's just say that these Equestrians are tougher than they look." Silence fell over the table and Peter was the first to break it.

"What's our "guest" doing right now?" He asked, tensing up. Feng thought carefully before replying.

"He's spending some quality time with the good doctor."

Author's Note

A shorter chapter for today. Please leave a comment, wether you liked the fic or not. I'd like to hear any critisism on my fic.