XCOM: Second Front

INFRASTRUCTURE CRISIS: CITIES VIE FOR LIMITED RESOURCES AS RUSH ON BUILDING MATERIALS SLOWS REPAIRS TO DAMAGED ROADWAYS AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS;

A PUZZLING AMOUNT OF EQUESTRIAN PRISONERS REPORTED IN RUSSIA, OFFICIALS REFUSE TO COMMENT ON THE SITUATION.

10:22, 20/07/2050 XCOM INFIRMARY

The medical bay was never empty, with some seventy soldiers running around the base people were always hurt. Some were lucky, getting first to second degree burns caused by near misses. These were quickly discharged from medical, getting a three day breather at worst. Some were less lucky, direct hits weren't as deadly as before thanks to engineering, but they still left some scars. Alien grenades were no joke either, their tear-like shape made their trajectories unpredictable and their high explosive charge reduced even the best of armors to scraps of metal. Internal injuries were harder to treat, extracting shrapnel required multiple surgeries, and these people were bedridenn for two to three weeks. And then there were the ones with particularly nasty wounds. A hit between the armor plates or from behind, a close and personal encounter with a chryssalid, or a sectoid pile-on, all resulted in a long trip to the infirmary, lasting from a month, to a month and a half.

Rosa Guzman belonged to the second group, and it's been around a week since her last deployment. Her encounter with the Outsider wasn't a pretty one, but she got the job done, and that's all that mattered. She repositioned herself on the bed, when two figures approached her bedframe. She turned and saw the familiar faces of her squadmates, Dubravka and Mark.

"Well well well, look who's finally decided to show up! I was beginning to think one of the ayys got to the both you." One of the figures snorted, while the second one rolled its eyes.

"Yes, we're glad to see you're back to normal." The man stopped for a second before continuing. "Wait, Ayys? Where the hell did you pick that up?"

"It's better for you to not know." Dubravka said, provoking a slight chuckle from Rosa. When the man turned to her with a raised eyebrow she replied "Trust me, Mark."

"But really, we're glad to see you're fine, that shot looked mighty painful. From what i heard, the armor melted into your skin so they had to use lasers during the operation to cut it out." The rocketeer said with concern in her voice.

"Nah, i've had sunburns worse than that! Besides, now i know what being Margaret Thatcher fells like!" She looked at her friends expetingly. "You know, cuz' i was "The Iron Lady"!"

The joke elicited a laugh from the couple.

"So, when are they letting you out of here? The guy from reserves is great don't get me wrong, but..."

"But he's no match for the one and only, right?" Rosa interrupted the woman, and began getting up from the bed. "The doctors actually let me go half an hour ago, i've been geting ready to go."

"Uh-huh, getting ready by lying around? What would Peter say?" Mark reprimanded.

"Oh screw you, can't a girl have her beauty sleep?" She retorted, stretching her arms and legs.

"If that's you after beauty sleep, then i shudder to imagine what you look without it." The trio left medical and headed to barracks.

"Talking about Peter, where is he? I've got a visitor here and there, but i can't say i've ever seen him visit." Rosa said as they entered an elevator.

"He's been cooped up in the Psi Labs all week, apparently they want to try out something new on our guest." Dubravka answered, pressing a couple of buttons. The doors closed, and the group began their ascention.

"Does this have something to do with the big scare from a few days ago? What was that all about anyway?" She said turning to the woman who was uncharacteristically tense. She looked at Mark, and noticed he was tenser than usual.

"What? Did i say something?" She said sheepishly. Mark was the first to speak.

"Did... Did nobody tell you?"

"Assuming that you're talking about the reason behind the alarm, then no, nobody told me." A pregnant silence filled the elevator, only to be broken by a *DING* when the elevator arrived to its destination.

"I think you'll need a seat and a drink, let's get to the bar." The unexpected proposition came from Mark, who wasn't too keen on drinking.

"But why can't yo-"

"Rosa, trust me, let's get to the bar first." The second woman interrupted with a sympathetic look.

They took the door opposing the barracks, and entered the bar. It was bearing a striking similarity to the med bay, same smell of alchohol, same amount of hurt people. Despite the best efforts of R&D, Central, and everyone on the XCOM base, the memorial grew with an alarming speed, and the bar was rarely unoccupied. Something was different this time. There were too many soldiers. From a cursory glance, there seemed to be around thirty people. The most Rosa ever seen at once were ten, maybe twelve. The usual drink of choice was a glass of beer, a pint of cider, or, in the worst case scenario, a shot of vodka. Things like liquor or whiskey were off limits, reserved for a rainy day.

By the looks of it, a typhoon was raging just outside the base. The shelves were mostly empty, their contents standing on the counter half-full. The empty bottles were dumped into a garbage can near the counter, or would be dumped into it, if it wasn't filled to the brim by the bottles. The soldiers look tired and dejected. The whole situation didn't inspire much confidence in Rosa.

The group passed the counter, but not before Mark beckoned the bartender and managed to get a full bottle. Miraculously, the group managed to find an unoccupied table and hastily took their seats. Before Rosa could ask a question, mark placed the bottle in the center of the table, as well as three shot glasses. Dubravka was the first to take her glass, followed by Mark and finally, Rosa. The glasses were filled, and the woman's patience finally worn thin.

"What is going on? Why are there so many people here? What happened two days ago? ... And why are you giving me this wierd look, like i dunno, my puppy got hit by a car or something?" Dubravka sighed and put a hand on the other woman's soldier.

"I'm so, so sorry that i am the one to tell you this, but... Rome and Mecca are gone."

"I'm sorry? What did you just say?" She replied with steel in her voice. She had to make sure she haven't misheard.

"Two days ago, two energy spikes were detected in the Crystal Empire, not a second later Rome and Mecca were turned to crystal." Mark paused, downed his shot and continued. "There were no reported survivors."

She downed her shot immediatly, and poured another one.

As the warm feeling made its way into her stomach, tears welled up from the realisation.

She was the last of her kin.

09:30, 20/07/2050 XCOM PSIONIC LABS

A bald man was encased in a peculear chamber, nine more of them making a circle around the center of the room. The chamber itself was a mix between a sensory deprivation tank, and a sophisticated VR set, made utilising the most cutting edge technology. Despite being fully closed, strands of purple energy were slipping out of the tank, contorting randomly. An observatory was located closer to the ceilng, a group of scientists obsering the room.

"Don't overwork yourself general, we're ahead of scedule as is." Doctor Yuri Romalov warned the man, and fiddled with his tablet. With a loud KSHH the tank opened, and the man slowly stepped out of the machine. "We're done for now, get some rest, today is a big day." The soldier nodded wearily and made his way for the exit, but was stopped by a reminder from Doctor Vahlen.

"Remember to report to Psionic Labs at 8 PM today, don't keep the subject waiting." After aknowledging the doctor, he exited the labs. He sighed with relief as the doors closed behind him. Psionics always gave him a migrane, it was a known side-effect that would go away with sufficent training. He was informed of this side effect before volunteering for testing, but he underestimated how severe it was. He made a point to visit medical in the near future to resupply his aspirin stockple, wich was running out surprisingly fast.

He was originally planning to head to the gym, but the sharp pain in his temples urged him to reconsider. With each second he felt that he was losing the arguement, and decided to make a tactical retreat to his bunk. As he walked to the barraks he noticed a large group entering the bar. He sighed and entered the soldier quarters. *I really hope Command has some retaliation plan for this, we cannot let these acts go unpunished.* He dropped unceremoniously onto his bed, not bothering to take off the off-duty uniform. He yawned, made himself comfortable and stared at the mattress of the bunk bed above him. As he noticed something stirring, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Back so soon Pete? How's the training? Can you bend yawn spoons with your mind yet?" Adam Marzec asked trying to stifle a yawn, and failing miserably. Halfheartedly, the man replies.

"No, i'm not bending spoons, and please let me get some shuteye, Lord knows i'll need it." This does nothing to dissuade the man from further questions.

"So you'll be snooping around the poor sucker's mind today? Oh how time flies! I remember the day we captured him like it was yesterday..."

"Adam, if you want to say something - say it, otherwise i'd like to sleep." He heard a sigh and a hand holding a photo came into view, hanging from above.

"Since you'll be picking his brain apart, could you look for this girl? Name's Lily, Lily Marzec she's my sister." Van Doorn took the picture and got a good look at the girl. She looked about 15-16, blue eyes, dark hair.

"She went missing around the time i got into XCOM, and with all this blackout i don't know what happened to her. Please, i need to know." The man finished solemnly.

"I'll see what i can do. I doubt he knows anything, but if he does - you'll be the first to know." The hand lowered itself once again and took the photo.

"Thank you Peter, drinks are one me." The man replied, slightly more cheerful than before.

"Just let me get some sleep, 'kay?" A noise of aggreement was heard from above, and the man started slipping into a dream, his headache almost gone.

13:10, 20/07/2050 CANTERLOT CASTLE, WAR ROOM

The war council has gathered once again, although under less than desirable circumstances. The recent sabotage of the Crystal cannon shocked the Princesses, and although Discord didn't get away scott-free, he managed to escape. But that wasn't the primary reason behind this meeting, neither were the news regarding the current position of Commander-General Shining Armor. No, something far worse was threatening the future of Equestria. Princess Celestia sighed inwardly *At least the barrier is keeping us save from the humans.*

"Why are we here? Are there any news about General Armor?" Colonel Air Lift of the Pegasi Aerial Division asked, not noticing Princess Cadance wince at the mention of her husband. Luna cleared her throat, and responded.

"We are currently tracking his position, and although there's some kind of interference, with enough time we'll be able to locate him."

"I'm glad to hear that, but what is his current condition? What are the humans doing to him?" The pegasis replied, and before Luna could utter a word, Celestia interjected.

"He is alive, that much is certain. What the humans could be doing to him is unknown, but knowing them i fear the worst." She said solemnly, and a wave of apprehension washed over the room. "However tragic the continued imprisonment of Shining Armor is, a more immediate problem requires our attention. As you may have heard, my sister and i were seen attacking an unknown vessel that has been abducting ponies from all over Equestria." Celestia's horn glowed with a golden aura, and a holographic projection appeared in the middle of the room. A large rectangular object was whizzing past some clouds, momentarily stopping as it detected some kind of presence. The Diarchs appeared out of thin air, their horns crackling with energy as they shot beams at the ship. The saucer made a sharp turn to face the attackers, and fired a green bolt of ionized air the size of an average Princess. Some of these came quite close to hitting their targerts, burning the Princess fur. To the surprise of everypony, the attacks left burn marks at best, and were completely ineffective at worst. The hologram froze in place as Air Lift raised his hoof. Celestia looked at the pony.

"You have something to say?"

"Yes, your highness, i'd like to express my conecerns regarding the nature of the vessel, if you allow me, that is." Celestia nodded, and the pony continued." This ships is decidedly not human, their ships are aerodynamic in shape, and this thing looks like it shouldn't be flying. Furthermore, i don't know any metal that could withstand such a hit." Celestia nodded once more, and the scene resumed.

After a couple more fruitless attacks against the ship, a combination of golden and dark blue aura engulfed the ship, making it freeze in place. The Princesses looked unusually strained as the ship continued its escape attempts. It's shooting became more sporadic, and after a few seconds something exploded inside the ship. Just as the explosion occured, the vessel accelerated enough to break through the spell. The Alicorns tried to follow suit, but after a few seconds the ship disappeared from their view. A static image of the ship appeared and began turning around its axis, as Celestia continued.

"When we tried to suspend the object in place, we were met with a great deal of resistance. We still dont know how it is possible, no metal on this planet has resistance to magic." As the princess finished, Lieutenant Colonel Valkyrie spoke up.

"Maybe its not native to this planet... Who was piloting the ship?"

"We believe we can provide some insight to the situation." The Princess of the Night took a step forward, her horn glowing a dark blue color. A magic screen appeared in the middle of the room, showing a street full of ponies from a perspective of a pony. She was walking down the street, when a wierd sound caught her attention. A voice was calling out for help from the alley, but was soon reduced to coughs and sputtering. After a moment of hesitation the pony decided to help, and followed the voice. There, in the furthest corner of the alley she saw the source of the noise. A mare was being assaulted by something metallic. It wrapped its appendages around the victim's body and was squeezing her ribcage, while exuding some kind of misty gas into her face. The mare's eyes slowly rolled into her skull as her body went limp. The screen flickered as the second squid-like creature appeared out of thin air and grabbed the pony. The memory rewound to display the squid creature grabbing the pony. As the council stared at the creature in horror, Luna continued. "This was a memory of a mare known as Squeaky Clean, she was one of the abductees, who are now, sadly, are in human custody." The last remark made the whole room awash in anger.

"Are humans working with these... Monsters?" Colonel Bulk Head spoke, his face scrunching up in disgust. Luna shook her head.

"Our troops have already faced some unknown creatures during the raids on human cities. These 'monsters' attacked indiscriminately, although they prioritised human targets." The Princesses horn glowed, and the picture changed once more. A police department could be seen, holes riddling its walls. A fire raged on the roof, and multiple vehicles had crashed iether with eacheother, or by strange green pods. The picture moved, and a myriad of scream merged with gunfire was heard. The pony, being a captain of the squad commanded his fellow ponies to move inside the building. As they entered the building, they saw a scene straight out of a nightmare. A group of three four-legged bug creatures with two arms and sharp madibles cornered a group of humans. The second one of the humans tried to run, the creature switly lifted him off his feet, and slashed his throat in a gruesome motion. The body hit the ground with a thud, and the creature lowered itself to deposit something into the body. The sight made one pony vomit, which grabbed the attention of the crerature. It cried a bloodthursty roar, focused its small, glowing yellow eyes on the ponies, and ran towards them. A soldier to the left of the pony got swept of his feet, and the monster didn't stall for a second as it preformed its gruesome ritual.

The rest of the squad snapped out of a stupor, and managed to bring the creature down. When they looked at the place where the rest of the bugs stood, they were surprised to see dead bodies. The third human stood up, but his skin looked sick, and his walk was... Wrong. It shambled to the two remaining humans who covered in fear. Just as the creature swung its hand, its head exploaded when a streak of red light connected with it. A human in unfamiliar uniform approached the two humans and motioned them to follow him. He noticed the group and screamed for reinforcements as he retreated with the two humans. Two green hulking figures bust through the door, and fired their weapons towards the pony squad as the magical screen flickered and died.

"W-what was that thing?" A shaken voice of Six Shot, the youngest of the present ponies asked.

"Maybe a changeling?" Bulk Head relied, and Six Shot replied.

"Changelings don't do... that."

"I think you're both missing something important, who was that human? I've never seen gear like that before, and i've fought my fair share of humans." Air Lift mused. Luna cleared her throat, and the room was at attention.

"This, as well as other sightings of these humans fighting both our forces and the 'monsters', leaves us with one conclusion. They are not wearing camouflage or insignia of any known country, they seem to operate globally, and their gear is far beyond what the regular human forces are outfitted with. We might have some kind of multi-national organisation on our hooves." Bulk Head shook his head.

"Who cares about the humans? Have you seen what that creature did? They behaved like animals! And what about the green brutes at the end? What could've provoked it to attack? What was the motivation? They're clearly the biggest danger!"

To everypony's surprise, Cadance spoke up.

"They have no motivation. They have no feelings. Even changelings had some kind of emotion inside of them, but these? These are empty inside." She shuddered at the words.

"What are we going to do?" Six Shot asked, turning to Celestia for advise. The Sun Princess closed her eyes, sighed, and responded.

"Treat these creatures as you would humans, don't hesitate to strike them down. As for their vessels, do not approach them. Princess Twilight will look into this issue, in the meantime my sister and i will protect our skies."