The Great Extraterrestrial War, 1023-1027

Chapters

Armageddon Calls
The Survivor
Sleep no More
Keep the Home Fires Burning
Metal Machine
As a Nation we Stand
Deadlock
O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break our sleep at all?
The Night Falls, the General Calls
They shall Grow not Old
Credits

Armageddon Calls

Nopony would have believed, in the last years after the reunification of Equestria, that pony affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. Nopony could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as somepony with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few ponies even considered the possibility of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded Equestria with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.

Izzy would never forget the weather that day when the world came to an end.

It was bright and sunny, with not a single cloud in the sky, and the trees cast some nice shade as she made her way back into Bridlewood. The atmosphere seemed to be relatively cheerful, or at least as cheerful as it usually was around Bridlewood. Ever since the chaos from the Bridlewoodstock incident had been resolved, unicorns seemed to be a bit more relaxed about events happening in their local area.

"Hello Izzy!" called Alphabittle. "How's life treating you in Maretime Bay?"

"Oh, it's going well!" Izzy replied, as she continued to trot down the street. "You would not believe some of the stuff we get up to!"

"Well, at least things are quieter around here now," the unicorn replied. "With the Troggles gone, we can all relax a bit. Looks as though the Forest Critter Field Day is the wildest things will be around here for a while."

"You bet!" Izzy grinned, before asking her own question. "How's it going with you and Queen Haven?"

Alphabittle laughed. "Couldn't be better. Pipp and Zipp couldn't be luckier to have such an amazing mom. In fact, we're meeting somewhere at a spa town later today, so I'll need to look my best." He paused. "It's funny how life works sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked.

"If it weren't for you guys bringing the magic back, I'd never have met the love of my life."

Izzy nodded. "I know, right?" She then moved her eyes before taking a turning. "Gotta go to my house now. See ya!"

"See you later!"

Izzy continued to trot down the path until she came to her home, several yards down from the turning she had taken. She popped through the door and smiled as her old home came into view. Although she hadn't spent a night under its roof in quite a while, she still valued the place. It was a happy place of positive memories. When she had left it to start her quest to Maretime Bay (where the note had reliably informed her that she had friends), she had nopony really to talk to. But when she had returned she had four! And now five, given that Misty had joined the gang. Hopefully Opaline didn't know about that!

Izzy got to work indoors, firing up her music machine to keep her mind occupied. Some stuff needed to be moved, and so she got to work on clearing boxes and shifting objects around to make some space. Boxes and other items were soon out of the way, and before long the place looked a lot better.

Izzy smiled to herself as the place was slowly improved. Her new life on the other side of the continent meant she didn't often get a chance to come back here, and so she enjoyed all the time in Bridlewood she got. It was quiet, a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Maretime Bay.

Izzy stopped when she suddenly heard a strange sound echoing through the air. It was a low pitched, thundering horn of some description. Based on what she'd read in the stuff saved from the archives of Sunny's dad, cruise liners of ancient Equestria had been fitted with similar devices.

But Bridlewood was nowhere near the sea! How could there be a cruise liner sounding a horn around here?

Suddenly, the noise was joined by screaming and other assorted noises of mass panic. Izzy quickly left her house to try and find out what was going on, dashing up to Bridlewood's main road to try and find out what was going on.

Unicorns were running in terror as explosions tore through the forest. Flames roared through the region and set trees on fire, soon choking the air in a cloud of ash of smoke.

Izzy stopped. "What's going on? What's happening?"

Another horn sounded, this one considerably higher pitched than the last. A series of loud clanking noises started, when suddenly a large machine stumbled into view.

It was propelled around on three metal legs, which were connected into a lower torso unit which reminded Izzy of the stinger of a bee. Protuding out of this torso were a series of metal whips which writhed about like tentacles. A neck joint satt atop the framework, and perched atop that was a metal head built out of segmented plates.

The machine suddenly saw her. The head unit began to glow with light. And suddenly a series of energy blasts roared out of mounts on the side.

Izzy galloped away as fast as she could as the machine gave chase, the legs powering back and forth as it moved after her. Izzy was certain she was doing her maximum speed, but the machine was effortlessly keeping up. The energy things were struggling to keep track of her, but the machine almost seemed to be playing with her.

As if it were somehow alive.

Izzy saw more of them rampaging through Bridlewood, chasing after ponies. The tentacle things were spinning at full speed, seemingly looking to catch some prey.

Izzy skidded to a stop outside the Crystal Tea Rooms as her attacker suddenly changed target. Another loud horn caught her attention, and she looked up.

Another of these machines were there. This one was so large it blotted out the sun. The head suddenly looked down at them, and two objects mounted to the sides lit up.

Seconds later, two energy blasts flew from the mounts and smashed into the Crystal Tea Rooms. Smoke billowed from the destroyed structure as Alphabittle charged out, having escaped just in time.

"Izzy!" he shouted. "Run! Get help! We cannot hold the-"

He never finished his sentence, as one of the smaller machines charged in from behind and impaled him.

Izzy screamed as she was drenched from head to flank in Alphabittle's blood as the machine tore him apart. She turned and ran, desperate to escape the chaos consuming Bridlewood.

She ran and ran for what felt like hours, desperate to escape from the metal monsters that had ransacked her home.

She had no way of knowing it, but she had just witnessed the end of the world.

Fimfiction proudly presents

A story by The Blue EM2

Developed in co-operation with users on Discord

And based on the works of H. G. Wells

Starring the voices of:

Jenna Warren

Anna Sani

A. J. Bridel

J. J. Gerber

Matreiyi Ramakrishnan

Andrew Jackson

Rush Marshall

Amanda Martinez

And Peter Capaldi in

THE GREAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL WAR, 1023-1027

Background and character animation by Atomic Cartoons

Visual Effects and War Machines animated by Boulder Media

An Entertainment One and Hasbro Co-Production

Copyright MMXXIII

Author's Note

Hello, everybody, and welcome to my newest project. As part of marking the fifth anniversary of my Fimfiction page, I decided to return to a genre I have not looked at for quite some time- the invasion genre. And seeing as this year also marks 125 years since H.G. Wells published his landmark novel War of the Worlds, combining the two felt like an obvious choice.

The war has begun, but how far will it spread? Find out more tomorrow!

The Survivor

Maretime Bay couldn't have been more different that day. The sun shone, the ocean continued to flow and ebb beautifully, and ponies simply went about their usual routines of the day. There was no indication whatsoever of any sort of disaster happening anywhere in the world, which was certainly a relief after the chaos the Mane 5 had recently been through.

The knowledge of Opaline was deeply troubling, but the last they had seen of her was her stuck in a bubble, which reduced the tension inherent in the situation somewhat. As a result, they were relatively easy about things, and simply continued onwards with their day.

Pipp was, as usual, talking to her fans, using her streaming software to try and get her hoof on the pulse of pony life. This was a key thing for her, and as such she took her fans highly seriously. "And that is why you should always be prepared for any weather come rain or shine!" she said, finishing an advert for an umbrella. "Incredibly useful in rain or sun!"

Zipp glanced over. "Pipp, why would ponies put up an umbrella in the sun?"

"It's a parasol, actually," Pipp replied. "Umbrellas have thicker coating to ward off sun. And look especially good with this fashion accessory!" She turned to show them something she had around her neck.

Zipp rolled her eyes. "Pipp, you look like a bird that's swallowed a plate."

Pipp snorted. "It's the new fashion! Old Equestria Redux! This is the Puddinghead ruff, and apparently it makes ponies very attractive."

Zipp snorted in return. "To other birds that have swallowed plates, perhaps."

"And what exactly are you doing apart from snarking?" Pipp asked.

"Trying to make sense of how Troggles work," Zipp replied. "Their magic is unlike anything we've ever seen before. The fact they respond to magic and can steal voices- something intangible, may I point out- merits further investigation in my mind."

"Didn't we kinda blow the Troggles up?" Pipp asked. "They poofed out of existance when we threw rubies at them."

"Doesn't mean there aren't more Troggles," Zipp answered, updating her board. "Note to self: head out to Bridlewood and collect samples of Troggle nests."

Outside, Sunny and Hitch were hard at work in the Community Garden. "This is a bumper crop we've had this year!" Hitch grinned, as he shifted another watermelon over to a cart.

"I've got more pearnanas than I know what to do with!" Sunny replied, collecting up some other plants. "Earth Pony magic keeps getting... well, bigger in more ways than one!"

"That's one way of putting it," Hitch answered, glancing back to see more plants. "Flora magic is really handy for getting out of a food related jam. Think of how many famines could have been ended with this method of growing!"

Suddenly, their attention was attracted by loud galloping. Emerging from the pathway was a figure whose coat was seemingly red.

"That's not Sprout, is it?" Sunny asked.

"No," Hitch answered. "Shade's wrong. Besides, he was at Canterlove Studios last I looked." He frowned as he looked closer. "Wait a second... I know that bracelet anywhere!"

The figure was now close enough for them to reasonably discern who it was. It was Izzy, and she looked a mess. Her breathing was ragged as she came to a stop. Her body stank with an unusual stench, and her eyes were wild. But not the positive type of wild. She seemed to be vacantly staring off into space with her eyeballs basically jammed open.

"Izzy, what's wrong?" Hitch asked, looking at her. "What happened to you?"

Izzy looked at her friends, and said only one word before collapsing. "Th- them..."

Sunny looked at Hitch. "We need to get her to the Brighthouse and find out what's going on. But we also need to clean her up."

Hitch flipped Izzy onto his back and began to move her towards the Brighthouse. "You're not kidding, Sunny. That is a seriously foul smell. I haven't smelt anything like that in a long time."

After getting Izzy comprehensively cleaned and revived, Hitch ordered the others to gather at the Brighthouse to speak to Izzy. "Izzy," he said, "did something weird happen?"

Izzy looked at him. "We were attacked," she said slowly, her face still staring off into the distance.

"By whom?" Zipp asked.

"Them," Izzy said.

"Izzy, you're not making a whole lotta sense," Hitch said. "What was that red stuff on you? It smelled like blood." He winced as Sunny kicked him. "Ow!"

"She's clearly been through trauma, and this probing isn't helping," Sunny pointed out. She turned to Izzy, and spoke gently. "Izzy, we're here for you. Obviously something serious happened, and we want to help. If you don't want to tell us, you don't have to."

Izzy's face changed. "No, you should know," she said. "I was back home in Bridlewood when suddenly these big monsters attacked us! They were chasing unicorns around and attacking them! Then one blew up the Crystal Tearooms and killed Alphabittle!"

"That would explain the blood," Hitch said quietly to Zipp.

"Killed Alphabittle?" Pipp asked in shock.

Izzy looked. "I saw it rip him apart in front of my own eyes!" Unable to hold it in any longer, the unicorn burst into tears.

The others felt bad for their probing, and quickly took Izzy in a hug. "Shh, it's OK," Pipp said soothingly. "We'll help stop them!"

"I- I feel such a coward for running away!" Izzy said. "I don't know if anypony is still alive in Bridlewood now!"

Sunny looked over. "Well, whatever this threat is, we can stop it," she said. "We reunited the tribes, after all. And defeated Opaline. There's nothing we can't do when we put our minds to it!"

Izzy nodded. "Thanks, guys," she said. "But I don't think I'll be sleeping very well for the next few days."

"Nopony is blaming you," Hitch answered. "For what it's worth, sorry for being so insensitive."

The meeting was suddenly interrupted by Pipp and Zipp's phones buzzing. Pipp took hers out first. "Breaking news?" she said. "Zipp, turn on the TV and tune it to ZBS quick!"

Zipp grabbed the remote and turned it on, switching the channel as fast as she could. Sitting there behind the news desk were the familiar faces of Dazzle Feather and Skye Silver.

"This just in!" Skye said. "Reports have come in of a series of explosions around Bridlewood. There has been no confirmation of what precisely was the cause from Unicorn authorities, but some amateur footage has appeared of what appears to be some sort of attack."

"That's right, Skye," Dazzle added, before a video popped up. The clip, though grainy, showed a force of large machines advancing out of the forest and towards the camera.

"Tripods?" Zipp asked. "Why build machines on three legs?"

Izzy's face turned white. "That's the things that attacked us!" she said.

The shock of the moment meant none of the others corrected Izzy's bad grammar. They simply sat there, dumbfounded.

"Whatever these things are, the footage suggests they are heading for Pegasus territory," Dazzle continued. "We will continue to bring you updates on this situation as it develops."

Pipp looked over. "I've heard enough!" she said. "We need to get to Zephyr Heights and warn mom!"

"Or we could videocall her," Zipp suggested.

Pipp took out her device and initiated a call to her mother's phone. "Please pick up! Please pick up!"

After a few seconds Queen Haven's face appeared on the screen. "Hello Pipp!" she said. "I wasn't expecting a call!"

"Mom, you have to get out of Zephyr Heights, now," Pipp said quickly.

"Whatever for? The weather's lovely!"

"ZBS have reported that something's on its way towards Zephyr Heights. You need to get to safety before it arrives!"

"Hold on a second." There was a few seconds of fumbling and looking at a news report. Then the face returned. "This is probably just a media joke or promotion for a movie. Speaking of which, have you two been watching scary movies late at night again?"

"Izzy saw them with her own eyes!" Zipp protested. "This isn't a joke!"

"I'm certain there is nothing to worry about," Queen Haven replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for a visit to Golden Shoals. It's a lovely Spa town near the Unicorn border. I'm meeting Alphie there- it's been such a long time since we last spoke. Now shouldn't you two be doing something more productive than watching TV?"

The call abruptly ended, and Zipp shook her head in frustration. "All the things we've seen, and she dismisses this?" she said. "Pipp, I'm not the only one who finds her frustrating, right?"

"Maybe they'll avoid that area?" Hitch ventured.

Sunny looked out of the door. "We need to get ready to move," she said. "Pack some provisions and prepare the Marestream. We're off to Bridlewo-"

Sunny's words died in her throat as an ominous sound cut through the air.

Author's Note

Well, Izzy has made it to her destination, and the world has noticed the danger. But what could this noise be?

Apart from the original 1898 novel, a key source of inspiration for this story was the 1938 radio version of War of the Worlds by Orson Welles, which infamously started a nationwide panic over an alien invasion.

Next time: Terror on the Coast!

Sleep no More

"What was that?" Pipp asked, glancing about her. She looked back and saw Izzy was suddenly shaking. "Izz? What's wrong?"

Izzy stammered. "Th- they're here! They made that exact noise!"

Sunny dashed out of the Brighthouse and took a look in the direction of the noise. What she saw both shocked and horrified her in equal measure.

A large group of machines were emerging from the water. Water sloshed off them like wax as they stormed out of the ocean, horns blaring between one another which produced an absolute cacophany of noise. Some of them were absolutely huge, but all of them wandered about on three legs, with two at the front and one at the back. The movement would have been comical in any other context, but here it simply came across as rather uncanny.

The tallest ones had large heads and hunched backs which reminded Sunny of insects. They moved forward with a certain unstoppable feel, as if they were utterly confident about their abilities.

Sunny ran back indoors. "We need to do something about this!"

"Run?" Hitch suggested.

"To the Crystals!" Sunny replied, and the others all quickly began to follow her towards the Crystal Room.

Once at the top, they crowded around and looked out to sea. Izzy's features went whiter still. "They're almost the same!" she whimpered quietly. Truth be told she had never wanted to see those things again, and yet here they were, following her wherever she went.

She looked on and saw a design she didn't recognise. It moved about on three legs like the others, but the head looked rather more like a fish than an insect. It also had no moving cockpit, instead having three large eyes that pointed forward.

The three eyes started to glow, and a horrendous wailing sound started to build up, sounding like the howling of the dogs of Tartarus. After a few seconds, it fired. The three beams converged into one, and streaked through the air-

-Right into the main street of Maretime Bay. The beams impacted several structures and blew them apart, fire and rubble flying everywhere from the explosion.

Sunny stepped forward onto the balcony. "This ends here," she said, and within seconds her wings and horn flared into life. They glowed with barely contained energy, but Sunny knew what she was doing.

As the magic from four Cutie Marks flowed into her, she aimed her translucent horn, focused the shot, and fired. The beam travelled out across the Bay and travelled at incredible sleep. It raced towards one of the tallest machines, crashed into the framework...

...And bounced off. The shot collided with a sort of strange bubble and flew up into the air, presumably travelling into the limitless voids of space based on its speed.

"What the?" Sunny said, and tried again. The exact same result. "Cutie Mark magic is... useless against these things?" This was hardly good. It seemed as though she and her friends had finally met their match in the world.

Seconds later, a voice greeted her. "Sunny! Get clear! Retrieve the Crystals and get to safety!"

She looked back and saw two figures dash past her. Both of them were clad in some sort of strange armour, and furthermore had odd devices attached to their armour. However, the voices and language confirmed both of them were ponies.

Sunny was stunned. "What's going on? What's happening?"

"No time to explain! You need to get out of here before they close in!" the second figure said. "We'll buy you time!"

Both of them then lined up their strange devices. "There's one closest to us that looks vulnerable!" said the first. "Focus fire!"

Both their weapons charged up, and then an energy blast roared from them, striking the nearest enemy machine and temporarily stalling it.

"Nice shot!"

"I learned from the best!"

Sunny stopped watching and ran for it. She grabbed the crystals out of the crystal chamber and handed them to her friends. "RUN!"

The group jumped into the lift and once that had reached the bottom sprinted down the ramp to the bottom floor, the other two arrivals not far behind them. Once they were out of the door, the new pair continued firing on the mysterious foes whilst the enemy continued to blast away at the town, firing indiscriminately on buildings and anything that moved.

The machine with the three eyes then began to charge its main devices again. The beams were once again focused into a single shot, and the beam lit up the bay as it roared across.

It slammed into the Brighthouse, cutting a big hole through the centre of the structure. With such a large hole on one side the building could not stay upright, and with a groan the top layer's metal framework buckled. With a series of crashes and explosions, the upper half of the Brighthouse collapsed into the sea.

As the new group continued to run, they saw a red machine drive past. "Sprout?" Hitch asked."What are you doing?"

"Buying you guys time," the red Earth Pony replied. "You guys get to safety." He closed the window again and drove off towards the enemy.

"He's either very brave or very foolish," Hitch added.

As they fled out of town and stopped to take a breath, they saw Sprout moving past where the Brighthouse had once stood tall, and starting up Sproutus Maximus' splatapault batteries. Huge numbers of sticky balls flew through the air towards the machines- innefectually, as it turned out. The shots fell well short of the intended target, although one seemingly got stuck on the head of them. Which clearly had no effect.

Sprout never stopped firing, however. He stayed there to the end. And it was the end, as one of the larger machines closed in and stopped above him. With a surge, the energy cannons charged up and then fired, blowing the crude war machine apart in a hail of energy and smoke.

"We have to keep moving," said one of the armoured figures. "The sooner we're out of here the better."

"We can't just leave the ponies to die!" Zipp protested.

"What good would the element bearers being killed do?" said the other armoured figure. "I know of a safe place near here that we can shelter for a while. They'll have no way of finding it as their scanners cannot pentrate rock."

Sunny had no clue whether she could trust these two, but they had saved their lives. They owed them that. They dashed into the cave and stopped to rest for a moment.

"Who precisely are you?" Zipp asked.

The two figures turned, and suddenly removed their helmets. There was a collective gasp at whom they saw on the other side.

"Dad?" Sunny asked in amazement. "You're alive?"

Argyle nodded. "Right as rain, Sunny. Sorry I've been away for so long. I doubt you know who the mare is, though."

The other figure was a mare with yellowy-golden fur and a purple mane, which helped to accentuate green eyes. She looked at Sunny. "Hi, Sunny. I'm Goldie. I don't know if you remember me, but... I'm your mother."

Sunny blinked. "What?" she said. "How?"

"Well, when a mother and father love each other very much-"

"Hitch, not helping," said Zipp, before turning to Sunny. "What had they told you?"

"I thought you died!" Sunny said to the mare claiming to be her mother.

"Uh, guys, something bad's happened!" Pipp said. "I calculated the route those things are taking from Bridlewood, and Golden Shoals is right in the way!"

"No time to waste!" Zipp said, as she flared her wings. "To Golden Shoals!" Without a moment's hesitation, she and Pipp took to the skies, determined to save their mother.

Queen Haven thought it was noisier than usual in town when she emerged from the spa. She saw why a few moments later. Metal machines were speeding about, chasing after ponies.

"Good grief!" The Queen attempted to dive back indoors, but an explosion rocked the spa and completely blew the building to smithereens. The Queen was thrown backwards by the explosion, and as such decided running was perhaps the best strategy.

"Form a defensive line around the Queen!" shouted a soldier, and several guards closed in. They fired off a volley from their rifles, and then charged forward.

It didn't end well. The soldiers were cut down in a hail of energy fire, their lifeless bodies falling to the floor as weapons fire peppered their bodies.

Queen Haven looked up in horror at their new attackers, as an enormous machine closed in on her position. It was so massive that the sun ceased to be visible in the sky before it, and the armour seemed to glow a sickly bronze in what little sunlight could be glimpsed.

The machine looked down at her, almost in the manner a pony would regard an ant. Two mounts on the side of its head began to glow, preparing to open fire on the undefended monarch.

Author's Note

Another major battle, and another town blown up. Clearly this enemy means business if they're pulling off this strategy.

The new characters introduced are, of course, Argyle and Goldie. Fans of my Thomas and Friends stories will likely recognise the latter as Sunny's mom, so it's interesting to try a different take on the same character.

Keep the Home Fires Burning

Moments before the shot was released however, Haven's hearing was interrupted by a pair of loud explosions. She looked up in amazement upon realising she was still there rather than having been reduced to red paste. The machine had reeled over to one side, wobbling as some sort of stabiliser tried to keep it propped up. It returned to its former elevation, and its head swung round as if tracking something in the nearby area.

"Come on! We have to get another shot at it!"

Queen Haven looked up and saw, to her astonishment, that the voice belonged to somepony she knew very well. Her own daughter, to be precise. "Zipp?"

Zipp suddenly flew into view once more, and seemed to be holding something between her front hooves. She then dropped it onto the machine, which was once again bowled to one side. Pipp flew in seconds later and dropped one of her own at the target, once again damaging it. The machine stumbled once again, but was not subdued, and instead turns its cannons to the air. It waited for Zipp to fly into range, and fired.

The shots missed, thankfully, but slammed into a nearby tree line, setting some trees on fire.

"Mom!" Pipp shouted. "Run! We'll try to hold them off!"

"And leave you two to suffer?" Queen Haven asked. "Not a chance. We're leaving- together!"

Additional troops suddenly appeared in the region and began to advance forward towards the machines. "We'll form a defensive rearguard, Your Majesty," said one of the soldiers. "We'll buy the Royal Family time to escape!"

They formed up into a defensive line that faced the machine, and prepared their rifles. "Large machine up there, five rounds rapid! FIRE!"

The loud repeating fire of weapons, and the rifles rapid rattle, sounded through the air as Queen Haven and her daughters made their retreat. Despite the levels of firepower being arrayed at them, the troops never faltered, remaining steadfast in their duty to protect their leaders.

The Royal Family flew through the skies over the forest, seeing scenes of utter devastation unfolding below them. Forests were on fire and burning, and large numbers of these machines were advancing across the terrain, laying waste to everything that lay in their path. Everywhere was the smell of burning trees and ash particles danced on the air, a scene that would have been oddly mesmerising were it not for the horrific screams of the dying.

The entire journey was conducted in silence back to Zephyr Heights, despite it being a very long flight back to the city. It was clear that the scenes they had just witnessed were taking a heavy toll on the three, but they were coping with it by staying silent until they returned.

They all looked glum, but wouldn't anypony after witnessing- and surviving- something like that? It beggared belief that something like this could happen to Equestria. Although there had been tensions between the three tribes, there hadn't been a war in centuries. And yet here they were, facing that very prospect.

At last, the city hove into view, and the trio flew in over the buildings. Most of the populace seemed to have their eyes glued to the television screens reporting on the devastation seen earlier today. The trio, however, were aiming for the Royal Palace, and when they touched down outside Queen Haven finally broke the silence.

"Girls?"

"Yes mom?" Pipp and Zipp said in unison.

"I'm so sorry about earlier. I should have listened to you two instead of brushing your concerns off. For that I want to apologise. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course!" Zipp said. "That's what family does. Besides, I think we'll need to be on the same page if any of that was anything to go by."

The trio entered the throne room, only to find several figures in military uniforms waiting for them.

"This is serious," Pipp said quietly to Zipp.

The first of the figures in uniform stepped forward. "Your Majesty," he said. "We are relieved to see you have returned safely to Zephyr Heights. This global situation is one of great concern to all of us in the military."

Queen Haven nodded. "Status report," she said. "Fill me in on the situation." She turned to her daughters. "This is General Clear Skies, a high ranking officer in the Army."

The figure nodded. "Deploy the screen and show the evidence."

A large screen dropped into a position, and a projector started up. Grainy footage appeared on the screen, showing the threat advancing across the continent.

"This is the threat we face. Based on their design, we have decided to designate this threat the 'Tripods'. They are currently advancing rapidly across unicorn and earth pony territory. Several towns have been laid to waste, and the Earth Pony 20th Army attempted to hold the enemy advance at Ghastly Gulch."

"I'm assuming they didn't succeed," Queen Haven said.

"Once those machines move into an area, nothing more is heard from it," Clear Skies replied, as he switched to a map with arrows drawn on it. "These are the projected lines of advance of the enemy. As you can see, they are coming alarmingly close to crossing the border into Pegasus territory." He indicated to a location on the map with a laser pointer. "This is the Hurricane River, the last major river crossing before we reach the Outlands. I have already dispatched an Expeditionary Force to hold the line and slow the enemy down. If they break through the lines, I fear it's a straight shot to Zephyr Heights."

The Queen nodded. "Any further news from our allies?"

"The unicorns and earth ponies have lost a fair bit of their command and control infrastructure, but are trying to mobilise their reserves as quickly as they can. I do fear it won't do us much good, however, so we need to make preparations to defend the capital from any potential attacks. The only issue is our army hasn't fought a war in centuries, so nopony has any combat experience."

Just then, the rest of the Mane Five, along with two others, arrived. "Sorry we're late," Hitch said. "We had to go the long way."

"Why didn't you take the Marestream?" Queen Haven ventured.

"The aliens blew it up," Sunny pointed out, who was still helping Izzy along. "We should be safe here, from those things."

The two extra figures removed their helmets. "Well, we made it," Argyle commented. "Thanks for getting us through that, Goldie."

"Nonsense- were a team out there, and always will be," Goldie replied.

"May I ask who these two are?" Clear Skies asked, as he looked at the new arrivals.

Sunny stepped forward. "This may sound pretty hard to believe, but these are my parents, Argyle and Goldie Starshine."

"I thought you said both your parents were dead," Queen Haven said, before stopping. "Sorry. I could have phrased that better."

"It's OK," Sunny replied. "I thought they were dead too until very recently. Turns out they know a lot about the threat we're facing out there."

"Do we have any further information on what is happening in the other parts of the continent?" Queen Haven asked.

"Mostly bad, I'm afraid," Hitch said. "Maretime Bay has fallen. These creatures-"

"Tripods, we're calling them," Clear Skies informed him.

Hitch started again. "Maretime Bay has fallen. The tripods attacked us from the sea and then destroyed the town- including the Crystal Brighthouse, I'm afraid. Luckily we were able to recover the Crystals and Sunny brought them to our current location. I suggest we keep them safe and well away from any threats. I was also able to retrieve Sparky and he's here with us. He needs to be kept safe as well."

"What of Bridlewood?" Clear Skies asked. "Any news from the unicorn regions?"

Izzy stepped forward, saying the first words she had said in a while. "Bridlewood is gone. I was there when the tripods attacked. They were destroying everything! I have no idea if anypony apart from me made it out alive."

Queen Haven's eyes widened in shock. "What about Alfie?" she said, before stopping herself. "Sorry. Is there any word from the unicorn leader."

Izzy took a deep breath. "Alphabittle's gone," she said. "One of those things killed him."

"Killed, you say?" Queen Haven asked.

"Yes," Izzy replied. "He's gone," she repeated.

The Queen stared off into space for what seemed like several hours, but which in reality was a few seconds. It was clear to all she was trying to hold her composure and struggling badly. Nopony blamed her when she began to sob quietly. Pipp and Zipp felt especially bad, as their mother's chance for a new relationship had been torn away from her.

Queen Haven looked up after a few moments, her previously red eyes burning with an anger few had ever born witness to. "We must defeat the aliens before they take anything else from us," she said.

Clear Skies was next to speak. "Luckily, Your Majesty, I have reason to believe we have something that can bring the tripods to their knees."

Author's Note

Another chapter down. The alien invasion continues to spread, and more get swept up in its path. The title of the chapter is a reference to a WW1 song encouraging people to maintain hope during the war.

There's a Doctor Who reference in there if anybody can spot it.

What could Clear Skies be alluding to? Find out tomorrow!

Metal Machine

"And what is this something?" Pipp asked.

Clear Skies indicated to the projectionist, who brought up a new slide on the screen.

"That's a box," Hitch said.

"A metal box," Sunny added.

"We had those in Maretime Bay as traps," Hitch added in addition.

"I went inside two of them," Izzy added to the addition added by Hitch. "Not the most fun experience in the world. But it pails in comparison to what happened today."

"This," Clear Skies said, "is much more than a metal box. This is a little thing we've been cooking up for the last few years, and we think it will forever change the nature of warfare. I am aware that the Earth Ponies were the first to deploy an armoured fighting vehicle into combat, but based on what I've seen that was a rather jury rigged device. This, instead, is a purpose built fighting machine called a Landship, or as some call it a tank."

"What does it do?" Zipp asked. "Wouldn't it just get stuck all the time? Road wheels aren't hugely good at supporting that sort of weight on top of them."

The screen then changed to footage of one of these machines rolling over terrain and, remarkably, not getting stuck.

"That's the genius of it. Instead of wheels, we mount them on a pair of treads which wrap around the top of the tank's framework. The are in turn connected to drive components linked to a powerful engine. This allows the vehicle to pull itself along through and over the toughest of terrain known to ponykind. And it's no slouch when it comes to weapons too. Next slide, please."

The slide operator did as asked and switched to the next slide, showing one of the side mountings which had a long pointy thing attached to it.

"The vehicle has two sponsons, one on each side. Each sponson mounts a single weapon; a six pounder gun well suited to engaging armoured targets and destroying bunkers. Some also have an extra mount for machine guns."

"Have any of these things seen combat before?" Queen Haven asked.

"Unfortunately, no, Your Majesty," Clear Skies admitted. "They were still in the testing stages around the time that Reunification happened- we originally developed them in case war broke out- and as noted before the machine is yet to be tested in combat. But considering the global circumstances, I feel as though we don't have much of a choice."

The slide changed again to show a map. "We believe that a large scale counterattack supported by the Landships will be enough to stop the enemy in their tracks. If we can commit sufficient resources to the attack, the tripods will be stopped and forced to sue for peace. Then, in the resulting negotiations, we can either send them to another continent or have them forced to leave the planet completely. If this works, we'll all be home by Wishentide."

"Where have we heard that one before?" Sunny mused aloud. "I wouldn't underestimate our foe, Mr General. My own magic was unable to breach their shielding and armour. Is there something about conventional weaponry that can help with that?"

Goldie then stepped forward. "I can help with that, actually," she said. "It's time to explain where I've been all those years. As you probably know, I disappeared when you were very young, Sunny. The truth is... I was abducted."

"By the tripods?" Sunny asked.

"Yes," Goldie admitted. "They came for us one night. I think, for some reason, they wanted you, but I got in the way before one of those things grabbed me and took me away into the darkness. I was able to escape, but I was in this long network of underground tunnels which seem to be where these tripods lived. I was able to create an armour suit from cobbling together metal and other leftover scrap equipment, then reverse engineered one of the energy cannons from the larger models to fit to it."

"I eventually went down to try and find her myself," Argyle added. "I can only assume this was why everypony thought I'd died."

Sunny looked annoyed. "How could you?" she said. "Just abandon me without warning?"

"I'm sorry about doing that," Argyle admitted. "But I believe the information we found will be useful for turning the tide. Not just the weapons and machines the foe uses, but also fragments of their language- which I believe will be key to turning the tide and giving a voice to the invaders."

"I want the army fully mobilised," Queen Haven said, "and as soon as possible. Goldie, can you brief the generals on the information you have?"

"Yes ma'am," Goldie replied, as she made some adjustments to her gear. "I'll need a few moments to get set up, but otherwise I'm good to go."

A few minutes later, the Generals had all sat around a table, with Goldie at the head with a slide before her. "I'll keep this brief," she said, "but safe to say this is a threat that is unlike anything Equestria has ever faced in its history. So far, we have seen three major types of enemy units in the field, which I shall bring up on the screen now. Next slide."

The slide switched over to show a large machine which towered over the camera operator (or whomever had taken the photograph), certainly looking very intimidating in the process.

"This is a Heron. These appear to be the main fighting machines used by the aliens. Each stands about 300 feet and moves on three legs. Whilst initially appearing to be lightly armoured, the plating is unbreachable except by the heaviest of artillery guns, and each is surrounded by an energy shield that requires massive amounts of firepower to crack. Principal armament is a pair of energy cannons designed to destroy heavily armoured targets and flush infantry out of cover. Each also produces a toxic cloud; gas masks are a must when facing one of them." Goldie nodded. "Next slide."

The slide changed once again to show another type of alien machine. Much shorter, and similar in design, but also seemingly armed to the teeth regardless.

"These units are called Spiders," Goldie started. "These form the core of the alien army. Each stands about 18 feet and like Herons move on three legs. As far as I could tell they are lightly armoured, with no known shielding to speak of. As a result, Spiders rely on speed for protection; I did some analysis during my time underground and calculated one has a top speed of about 30 miles an hour."

"Outmaneuvring them might be difficult," said a General at the back. "That's about five times the speed of the current Landships."

Goldie then continued with her speech, moving attention to the weapons fitted. "Armament consists of a pair of energy guns, which compensate for their lower damage output with a high rate of fire, and a flail weapon mounted underneath, both of which have been marked for your convenience in the above photograph."

The Generals nodded, writing this information down on paper and boards so they could keep a track of it quite easily. Once she was certain they were done, Goldie asked for the slide to be changed.

The slide then moved to the last type of machine, the one which looked rather like a fish atop a set of mechanical legs.

"This unit," Goldie said," is called a Gorgon. Very few Gorgons have been seen in combat. Standing about 200 feet tall, each has similar armour and shielding to Herons. That, however, is where the similarities end. The head unit is replaced with a central weapon mount featuring three Particle Cannons. These are designed to tear open heavy fortifications, and can be fired in either a dispersed or focused beam depending on the target." She paused. "The only examples seen thus far are in the army that attacked Maretime Bay, so are probably proceeding towards us from the southwest."

The Generals took to talking amongst themselves for a bit, whilst they attempted to put together a suitable plan. After a few minutes, it seemed that they had some ideas. "Based on this information," said one, "it appears that our best option is a massed infantry assault combined with very heavy artillery support for our troops. This will give our troops the best chance of breaking through the enemy line."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a soldier entered, saluting as she did so. "Sir!" she said. "I bring news from our allies!"

"Is it good?" one of the generals asked.

"It appears that although our fellow countries have fallen, their armies have not," the messenger replied. "A unicorn and earth pony arrived earlier today to deliver an important message from each race with their tactical plans upon them."

"Who is the signatory of the message?" another general asked. "If it is true, this is very promising news."

The soldier looked at the letter. "Sir, it's signed... by Field Marshal Sunset Shimmer."

Author's Note

Landship was an early term used for tanks, as the heavy lumbering motion of the machines was likened to ships at sea. The name 'tank' was originally a code word to disguise their true purpose, as they were towed to the front under the premise they were actually water tanks.

If you want to know what the machines the tripods field look like, here you go:

Next time: Offensive time!

As a Nation we Stand

"What does this letter contain, I wonder?" a general asked.

An aide then arrived with the letter, and placed it under a projector, meaning that the contents of said letter were now clearly on display on the board above them. It even came with some diagrams on it, which was certainly helpful.

The faces of the officers in the room more than made clear their views on the plan they were looking at. "They'd be pretty bold to try and pull that off!" said one.

"And yet I don't see us as having much of a choice in this matter," said another. "Now is the time to call for decisive action to slow the enemy down."

Goldie raised an eyebrow. "Gentlemen, I hope I'm not interrupting, but could somebody explain to me the importance of these markings? I'm assuming it's a battle plan of some description, but I'm not sure what all the markings mean."

"Well, as plans go it's positively brilliant," said the first general. "The letter calls it the Starlight Maneuvre. The idea is that their troops swing through our lands and then proceed to reinforce our lines as we push forward our offensive. The earth ponies will be pulling off a similar offensive at the same time to reinforce on the other side. With this extra influx of troops our offensive is certain to succeed!"

"We'll need to get all the equipment into position first," said another General. "Our forces are still not fully mobilised. We should be ready to launch our attack in about 48 hours."

"Should we send the Expeditionary Force in first?" a third General ventured. "If we have them to hold the line for a bit it will buy us time to finish our troop movements and prepare for an assault."

"That should work," said the first General. "Notify their officers that they are to prepare for active deployment."

Goldie, listening to all this talk, then chose to speak up again. "If I may, I wish to volunteer to join the Expeditionary Force. I believe my skills will be invaluable for combating the enemy, and that you need every last bit of firepower you can get in order to effectively counter them. After all, waves of bodies will only get you so far."

There was some more discussion amongst them, before the Generals turned back to her. "Permission approved," said one of them (Goldie was starting to struggle to tell them all apart- with their uniforms they all looked very similar). "You'd best be finding your way to a shuttle that will convey you to the front lines. Best of luck."

Goldie nodded. "Thank you, sir." As she exited the room, she checked her gear was entirely in check and ready for combat deployment. She continued to make her way along the corridors, seeing civil servants running up and down and dropping off paperwork and similar all up and down the corridor.

Make no mistake, this place was on a war footing. And the shower could wait- they had more important things to deal with, after all.

The relentless thunder of the artillery wasn't so bad once you had gotten used to it.

Goldie and several other soldiers sat in a dugout, hearing loud explosions overhead as more of the shells roared through the air, hopefully softening up the lines in preparation for an assault.

An officer checked her watch. "Coming up on Ten," she said. "We'll need to move forward into the trench." A network of shelter trenches had been hastily built in order to shelter the troops from enemy weaponry. They stopped in the position, knowing the enemy wasn't too far in front of them.

A soldier looked over, as he saw other soldiers filing into the trench. "We're actually going on the offensive," he said, the weight of the actions in which he was about to partake finally dawning upon him.

"Ready weapons!" called a voice.

Goldie glanced over. "Just follow your training, and you should be fine. If we can pull this off we'll all be home by Wishentide."

"Brace!" called another voice down the line.

"Good luck, everypony," said the captain. Seconds later, she blasted a whistle.

With a roar, an entire line of soldiers charged out of the trench lines and into the fields beyond. No sooner had their heads emerged from above the ramparts than a hail of energy fire started up. The blasts were indiscriminate, focused on inflicting as much damage as possible on the ground. Shells from allied guns continued to slam into the ground all around them, blowing huge craters in the surface of the land and scarring the once green fields with eternal reminders of war.

Goldie looked over, lining up an energy shot on a Spider as it rampaged toward their lines. The blast struck it, causing it to stagger before another explosion finished it off.

The shot had come from a nearby Landship, which was rolling forward. Although slow, the thick armour was holding up. Energy weapons bounced off the hull as it crawled slowly forward, cannon shot after cannon shot inflicting damage on the lighter units.

Goldie stopped in a small pit as she saw a Heron march forward, training its guns on a group of Landships. "If they don't get fire support they'll be slaughtered," she thought to herself. She activated her radio. "Battery Three, request fire mission, over?"

"Battery Three, order understood, fire mission approved. Nominate target with smoke, over?"

Goldie pulled a smoke grenade off her belt and tossed it at the nearby target. "Battery Three, target has been marked with purple smoke. Focus fire, over?"

"Copy, purple smoke on display. Battery Three, Focus Fire, Out."

Moments later, the familiar pattern of fire changed as a massive storm of shells arced through the air. The lighter whizz bangs slammed into the machine first, the shield lighting up in different patterns as the shells impacted and eventually broke through the shielding.

A massive smoke cloud poured from the Heron as the shield blew out, followed by several much bigger shells finding their mark. The smoke was soon followed by red and orange flames as something onboard the machine exploded, throwing pieces everywhere.

Goldie looked up as the smoke cleared to see nothing was there. "Battery Three, fire mission succesful. Target destroyed. I repeat, target destroyed, over?"

"Understood. Confirmation of target destruction. Keep feeding us data, out."

Goldie began to move up, positioning herself behind the Landships as they absorbed most of the fire. More Spiders were blown apart by focused fire, the enemy apparently stunned at such a massive offensive being conducted.

They stopped at a treeline to regroup, and Goldie looked back to see wounded were already being carried from the field, as well as some other casualties. "How far forward have we moved?" she asked.

A soldier checked his map. "About twenty yards."

Goldie looked concerned. "That many casualties, and in twenty yards," she said to herself. "Let's hope the other offensives can keep up."

The same sense of concern was not shared in Zephyr Heights, where the throne room had been transformed into a command and control centre for the war effort.

"Reports coming in from the front!" called an aide. "Tripods succesfully cleared from the Whistling Woods! Casualty levels are below projections!"

"Extra reports from the unicorn and earth pony advances," said another. "Lines are stable. The tripods are rapidly falling back!"

"Splendid!" said one of the Generals. "Hopefully we can get the Tripods into a barrel and out for a duck frogside!"

"I beg your pardon?" said another.

"This should push them to sue for peace! They've seen our weapons can effortlessly beat them. Now for the final push!"

As the officers were celebrating (despite the fact the offensive was yet to finish), Queen Haven looked to Zipp and Argyle. "Something in me suspects that there is something we have missed," she said to them. "The advance is going too well, but our enemies no doubt have a trick up their sleeves." She indicated to another section of the palace. "By Royal Decree, you are both assigned to decoding the alien language to see if it can give us any clues about our invaders. I will be assigning the Intelligence branch to assist you in this matter. I, in the meantime, will try and ensure the military does not interfere with your efforts."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Argyle replied.

"Got it, mom," Zipp replied. The pair left the room to start their work whilst the officers continued to converse.

"The war will be over at Wishentide," said a General, confidently. "True, we have suffered some losses-"

"Casualty report just in," said another aide. "Heavy fighting in and around Barravale, above average casualties. They need reinforcement."

"Dispatch Landships to assist." The General then turned back. "I imagine the troops are looking forward to the victory dinner when the war is over. Red or white wine?"

Overall, there was a spirit of optimism that victory was at hand. Unfortunately, it would not hold.

Author's Note

The military plan in this chapter is loosely based on the Von Schlieffen Plan, the German offensive operation to conquer France by going through Belgium. Unlike the historic plan on which it is based, the Starlight Maneuvre ends up saving rather than conquering the area.

The combat itself is inspired by descriptions of early WW1 offensives, before the trench system began to really set in. The remarks about Wishentide are based on confident predictions that WW1 would be over before Christmas. It would be over before Christmas- 1918.

Deadlock

As it transpired, the war wasn't over by Wishentide. Far from it.

Two years had passed, and the ponies of Equestria were still no closer to victory. Far from the offensive having forced the tripods to the negotiating table, the attack had eventually stalled after the enemy had reinforced. And it only got worse.

The trench lines, which were only ever intended to be a temporary fixture of a mobile battlefield, had not gone away at all. In the months following the offensive, both sides had begun to dig in and expand their fortifications throughout the land. The lines had rather gone from there. Not only that, but the ponies and the tripods had soon found themselves racing to complete their lines first. Networks of thousands of miles of trenches snaked from ocean to ocean like blood veins on the face of an angry giant. Each of these trenches was full of soldiers, stallions and mares thrown into battle for a war which seemed no closer to ending.

This might all have been well and good had any real forward progress been made in the campaign against the tripods, but there had not. In two years of war the lines had barely moved, with thousands dead in a long running meat grinder. Part of the problem was that nopony had fought a war remotely like this one before. In fact, they hadn't fought a war full stop in centuries.

The men had more to fear, though. Goldie was on duty late at night when suddenly she heard clanking noises approaching them. "Get ready," she whispered down the line. "Spiders closing in for night attack."

But then, just as the clanking had started, it stopped. The enemy had halted before them, the explosions from shells lighting up the terrain briefly illuminating the forms of the hulking iron monstrosities.

Another sound started up as the machines had stopped. An unnatural screeching noise approached their position as smaller machines rattled into position.

"Prepare for attack," said another soldier. "The Lice are here."

The soldiers had taken to calling the smaller machines Lice, owing to their small size. But what they did was arguably worse than anything the other machines were capable of. When dawn cleared and the swarms of smaller machines were done consuming the ground, the battlefield was picked clean of anything. Bodies, weapons, shells, bullets- everything was gone.

As the Lice did their work, the Spiders opened fire to provide them with cover. Goldie pulled her head back down as the energy shots arced overhead, forcing the line to keep heads down. She knew her husband had found records of a place called Tartarus.

The nightmare of this war was far worse than she could have imagined possible. The mud and blood and suffering would easily have driven anypony mad, but yet they had to keep fighting.

There was no need to find Tartarus under the ground. It was here, above them. Each and every one of them was trapped there by these monstrosities.

And all they could do was sit and wait it out.

Two years had also not seen much progress in decoding the alien language. Despite Argyle and Zipp's efforts, they were no closer to figuring it out. Argyle looked at the letters on one of the tablets in confusion. "There's no logic to this at all," he said. "Normally languages have recognisable letter patterns and symbol orders, but there's no logic to this at all. It is, for lack of a better word, nonsense that we cannot figure out. How in Equus are we supposed to get a message out of this?"

Zipp peered closely. "What if it's not supposed to make sense?" she suggested.

"What?"

Zipp brought up a chart display with some numbers on it. "Back when I was in school, I learned that a codebreaking technique is to try and put messages together. This is because codemakers are aware that patterns exist in words, and thus splitting them up is often used to make gibberish. Perhaps the same has been done here?"

Argyle thought to himself, and then began putting the portions together as he hummed slowly. "The sooner we crack this, the sooner we end the war." He got to work and began to put the pieces together, soon forming some other structures and forms.

It was then his eyes lit up. "There's a regular pattern. This symbol is the most common, so I think it may be the letter E." He tried swapping the letters around, and soon found a pattern. "Wait a second. This is forming words in Ponish. I'll need to put these together further and see if we can get a message." He continued working. "Feint. Feint... this is serious." He glanced to Zipp. "The tripods have been losing battles on purpose to trick us into launching larger offensives!"

He dashed out of the room and to the main planning room, where he knew the Generals were meeting. He knocked on the door and looked to a security guard. "I have to speak to them," he said. "I have information that could change the course of the war."

The guard nodded. "Sir, important speaker to see you."

The door opened, and the Generals were all sat around a table, looking at a map. "And this is where we shall make the breakthrough," said one, pointing with a stick.

"You cannot launch the offensive," Argyle said.

"What?" said the General. "What makes you think you can order me about? How much combat experience do you have?"

Argyle breathed in. "Zipp and I have just cracked the tripod code. The enemy are wanting us to launch massive attacks so they can draw the war out. If you launch this attack it will simply make the enemy stronger!"

The General scoffed. "Nonsense! We have new technology, better weapons, even upgraded Landships. This is the last push we will need to make in order to end the war. Besides, the preliminary bombardment is already underway. The Wishentide Offensive goes ahead as scheduled, and it will succeed."

The loud, thunderous sound of artillery fire continued well into the night and into the early hours of the morning. As the sun rose over Wishentide, the guns finally came to a stop, and the soldiers poked their heads up to the viewfinders to see a landscape completely plastered in explosions and craters.

"Looks like that's the signal," one said, as more gathered in the lines to await the order to advance.

"Should be easy pickings," said another. "Nothing could have survived that bombardment."

Another soldier looked back at him. "They said that about the last offensive, and the offensive before that," he said, shaking his head. "Amateurs."

Goldie moved up and took a look, noticing something wasn't quite right. "It's quiet," she said. "Far too quiet for my liking."

"Prepare to advance!" called a voice down the line. The soldiers stepped forwards to the ladders and prepared to climb.

"Why aren't the guns firing?" asked one soldier. "I thought they were meant to support us as we advanced!"

Goldie sighed. "They'd risk hitting their own troops. It's far more charitable to let the enemy do it for them."

Just then, the whistle blew, and the line charged over the top and into the desolate landscape beyond. Almost immediately did things go wrong.

The soldiers sprinted straight into a massive hail of energy fire from entrenched Spiders and other opposing units, who laid down relentless fire on the advancing soldiers. Rows of men were cut down by indiscriminate weapons usage, and forces continued to storm over the ramparts and into the hail of fire.

The Landships were trying to advance too, but were unable to break through with the opposition they were facing. As gunfire continued to roar all around, most infantry were rendered unable to advance through lines of barbed wire.

"What idiot thought that artillery would cut the barbed wire?" a soldier asked.

At command, there were similar moments of horror. "Sir?" called an aide. "Report from the front. First and second waves are pinned down and unable to gain ground. They're requesting to withdraw from the lines."

"Send in another wave!" the General replied. "If any of them attempt to run, order our own guns to cut them down. That'll teach them to disobey orders."

"The entire front is stuck!" another soldier reported. "Several units are calling for supporting artillery fire to allow them to advance. Are we to authorise fire mission?"

"Negative, the shells are needed for the breakthrough after they've taken the first trench."

Figures were being pushed forward and about the battlefield based on reports. What the Generals didn't realise was that they were issuing nonsensical orders to units that no longer existed on the field. It was what they weren't prepared to accept that led to the worst casualties in many parts of the sectors in question.

The offensive was failing. And soldiers were being pointlessly fed into the meatgrinder.

Two months passed. Two months of pointless attacks and needless deaths passed by before the Generals finally called off the attack. Allied lines had barely moved forward in that time. For all the fighting, only one mile of ground had been gained for the loss of 100,000 soldiers. Which, as a newspaper calculated, works out to about 1.6 soldiers dead for each inch. This same newspaper asked the critical question as to whether these sorts of casualties were worth the amount of ground won, and if there was a better way to fight the war.

There was further bad news on that front. Recon had been conducted on enemy lines, and it had been discovered that the tripods had enormous supply dumps filled with machines and resources that were ready to be deployed into combat against the ponies. Contrary to what the official propaganda was saying, the allies were nowhere near close to beating the aliens.

For the first time ever, the populace as a whole was beginning to question the tactics of the war. "They lied to us about being able to fly!" said one pony in an interview. "And now they lied to us about being close to winning the war. Something needs to change!"

He wasn't the only one with that opinion. One foggy morning as the war entered its third year, Queen Haven convened her daughters and their friends. "It rather goes without saying something has to change," she said.

"Based on current casualty figures, I'd be inclined to agree," Hitch noted.

"The Generals seem to think that just throwing more bodies at the problem will solve it," Queen Haven noted, shaking her head in disapproval. "We clearly need a way of being able to beat the tripods at their own game and developing more effective strategies for countering them. Any ideas?"

There were a few moments of silence as they discussed amongst themselves. Numerous suggestions bounced back and forth as they tried to figure out what would work in the circumstances.

After a few more minutes, it seemed they had come to a plan. Pipp was the one to speak. "I've had an idea," she said. "Something I know from social media is that if somepony else has a great idea, you should adopt it yourself and make it work even better. So I suggest we do the same."

"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, Pipp," the Queen replied, looking more than a bit confused.

"In a sense, we use the enemy's tactics against them, and it may require us to do something risky. However, I'd argue that it's worth it," Zipp noted. "If we can get our hooves on their weapons, we can turn them against them and perhaps win the war."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Sunny asked. "We can't figure out how to take dad's weapon apart, and mom's off at the front fighting. So where do we get the weapons from?"

"Simple!" Pipp said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. "Capture a Heron!"

Author's Note

This particular chapter draws on numerous sources, most notably the BBC sitcom Blackadder Goes Forth (which is set in WW1). Something the series nicely highlights through its use of black comedy is the absurdity and horrors of trench warfare, especially where Generals who were not particularly up to date on their tactics.

The offensive itself is based on the Battle of the Somme, a military engagement in the summer of 1916 which has gone down in history as a byword for meatgrinder. 1st July, the first day of the attack, was the site of the highest loss of life in one day in the history of the British Army.

O what made fatuous sunbeams toil To break our sleep at all?

The morning calm was suddenly and dramatically interrupted by the blaring of loud sirens.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked, as they all ran into the throne room turned command centre for the war. "What's the alarm about?"

A soldier turned and looked to them. "Bad news!" he said. "A Heron and its support formation have broken through the edge of our lines, and are heading straight for Zephyr Heights!"

"Uhh, this is bad," Zipp said.

"Sis, this is TOTALLY worse than bad!" Pipp exclaimed. "We're not exactly fitted out for resisting a siege here!"

Queen Haven sped into the room, still looking a little disorderly. "The enemy broke through our lines?" she asked. "Scramble the home defence squadron and order the batteries to be on high alert!"

Sunny glanced back. "I can offer to help, if you'd like. I do moonlight as an alicorn, after all."

"Any help we can get would be most appreciated," said one of the Generals, handing Sunny a headset as he did so. "This radio will allow you to stay in contact with other units and assist our troops in coordinating fire. I cannot understate the importance of this situation, but put very simply we must drive that thing off before it can cause any harm to civilians."

Sunny nodded, and headed for the palace balcony to take a look for herself.

Once outside, she saw a pair of biplanes roar overhead, heading towards the target.

"Can you guys hear me?" Sunny asked over the radio.

"Greetings, Sunny!" said a voice in a very posh accent. "Good to be up in the air for Queen and Country, what? The Royal Flying Corps shall have this here blighter driven off with two turns of a greased watermelon!"

"Err, what?" Sunny replied.

"Driven back through precision flying. Don't you earth ponies speak Ponish?"

"Sighting confirmed!" said the other pilot. "Dicky blighter has snitched a parcel sausage-end and gone goose over stump frogside!"

Sunny shook her head. The words these pilots were saying were most certainly Ponish, but they might as well have been speaking a different language for all the sense it made. "Have you seen the Heron, yes or no?"

"It should be coming into visual range now!"

Sunny looked on in shock as she saw the enormous machine scale the side of the mountain like a pony climbing stairs. It stopped, seemingly waiting for its army of Spiders to catch up, before resuming its march towards them.

She closed her eyes. "Come on! I know it didn't work against them last time, but I really have no other choice!"

With a blast of energy her alicorn form flared into being, and she took to the air, catching up to the biplanes in a few seconds. "Dad, can you get to the balcony?"

"I say, we appear to have been joined by some sort of aerial being. Where did you come from?"

"Maretime Bay, originally," Sunny replied. "I'll guide you two in and lead you to the target."

"Release the chocks! Grab your egg and fours and let's get the bacon delivered."

The Heron marched through the streets of Zephyr Heights, looking about for the palace it seemed. The machine was followed by its Spiders who were moving in close formation.

Sunny looked down. "Batteries, hold fire. Heron is currently in civilian territory and there is a high risk of collateral damage."

"Understood, holding fire."

Sunny noticed the two biplanes dive in and open fire, their machine guns barely making a dent on the shield as they flew over and across the target. One of them narrowly avoided slamming into a building, but recovered and pulled back into the air.

"Took a waspy there!" the pilot said.

"Watch you don't flip over on your Betty Harper's and catch your can in the Bertie!" said the other. "Look sharp! Dropping custard!"

The other biplane wheeled around in the street and fired off another volley, which did little other than annoy the large machine. The plane narrowly avoided being hit by sustained energy fire from below. "I was nearly out for a duck with that lot of iron!"

Sunny then noticed the course of the Heron. It was marching through the streets towards the Palace! Of course!

She radioed her father. "Dad, are you out on the balcony?"

"In position now. I can see the Heron."

"I need you to line up your energy cannon, but don't fire until I give the word."

"Understood."

Sunny began to build energy beneath her translucent horn as she flew in on the target. "Steady... steady... NOW!"

Two beams of light roared across the city and crashed into the Heron's shielding, completely overloading it. Sunny changed channels. "Batteries, open fire!"

She flew clear as the loud roar of artillery started up in the distance. The Heron, on the other hand, tottered about like a drunkard... and walked straight into a minefield. The explosions crippled the legs, and it toppled onto a nearby balcony.

Sunny touched down just as the local defence regiment arrived to seal off the area. This was a good thing, as a large crowd had assembled with only one thing on their mind. Revenge.

"Let them have it!" one colt yelled. "They killed my dad! We should kill them!"

The soldiers continued to hold the crowd back as Sunny fired her beam up again, and began cutting open the cockpit of the Heron. The metal was surprisingly thick, which stunned her. Mom had said the armour wasn't particularly thick, so this new revelation was a little surprising. Perhaps something in the alloy was designed to resist magic somehow?

She continued cutting through as she tried to find her way into the cockpit. After a few more minutes she was through, and the metal plating slammed to the floor. She stepped inside, making her way past wiring and other control surfaces to try and find whatever was at the controls.

And what she found there, hardwired into the machine itself, horrified her.

"Misty?"

A few hours later, the wreckage of the Heron had been hauled away for study by the allies, who were keen to find out more about how this bizarre machine worked. The process, they suspected, would take quite a while, and so whilst they were waiting further planning was being conducted on the future prosecution of the war.

This wasn't the only thing being investigated. The other ponies had had to work incredibly hard in order to cut Misty out of the Heron's cockpit, not to mention disconnect all the wires and cables that had been plugged into her. She was currently recovering in a hospital bed, but apparently was lucid enough to answer questions.

So they did. "What happened to you?" Zipp asked. "I recall you vanished shortly after we fought Opaline at her castle, but we don't know the other specifics on that front."

Misty looked up at them, her eyes wide. "It's a long story."

Misty left the Brighthouse in the middle of the night, feeling a little better than she had earlier. Having helped them, and saved Sparky from a horrible fate in the process, certainly helped clear her conscience a bit. She continued to make her way along the pathway towards a convenient resting spot when suddenly she was grabbed from behind.

She tried to scream, but her assailant covered her mouth and was quick to apply some sort of chemical over her nostrils. She tried to fight back, but it wasn't long before she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she awoke, she found herself wired into a huge amount of equipment mounted to a metal platform. All the information from them was being routed directly into her brain. She looked around in confusion. "Hello? Is anypony there?"

"Did you really think you could trick me, Misty?" said a familiar voice, as Opaline stepped into view. "You should know by now that I take betrayal very seriously, and your efforts at fooling me didn't work."

Misty shuddered.

"I can sense Cutie Mark streams, so I always knew you had one. It just suited my plans to play along with your little ploy. But now I know what they can do, and can plan accordingly."

Misty looked at Opaline. "Please! Let me go!"

Opaline smiled cruelly. "I love it when you beg. But no. I can't have you blabbing about my plan, can I? Besides, the fires of war can easily clean this sort of problem up."

Misty yelled out as the top of the platform she was on suddenly closed, and the world vanished around her. She screamed as her mind was flooded with messages that were blocking out her own thoughts.

FOLLOW ORDERS

OPALINE IS YOUR SAVIOUR

OBEY

TO DIE IN BATTLE IS GLORIOUS

PROSECUTE THE STRUGGLE

ATTACK THE ENEMY AND DESTROY THEM

TO SURRENDER IS TO SHOW WEAKNESS

Misty's own thoughts were being subsumed by whatever was powering this machinery. She continued to fight it even as the machine she was stuck in was being pushed towards the lines.

"So, I deliberately tried to move towards Zephyr Heights to warn you all," Misty finished, shuddering. It was pretty clear this situation was still affecting her pretty badly. The others stayed silent out of respect for such a harrowing tale.

Zipp's phone then buzzed, which she took a look at. "Got an update from the science team," she said. "It's not good."

"What do they have to say?" Hitch asked.

"They've started to analyse the Spiders which were captured along with the Heron," Zipp began. "They're largely made of materials native to Equestria rather than from another planet. That strongly suggests they were built here rather than shipped from another planet."

"What sorts of materials?" Sunny asked.

"Iron, copper, steel- all fairly common metals on Equus," Zipp pointed out.

"That explains what the Lice were up to," Pipp commented. Her face went pale. "We thought we were fighting them off with our offensives and our weapons... but this entire time we've only been making them stronger!"

There was a mood of gloom in the room. The entire strategy on which the war was built was only prolonging it, and helping the enemy in the process.

Zipp's phone then buzzed again. "Another update," she said. "This time it's a video. They've removed some sort of glass container from the head of one of the Spiders, and it contains this strange substance they're struggling to identify. It behaves in a sense like fire, but they can't scan it properly. It's almost- magical, according to their research. There's also some strange gloop at the bottom of the tank."

Misty looked over as best she could. "That's Dragonfire," she said. "That's what Opaline was trying to extract from Sparky. The other stuff is what they fed us to stay alive. The Lice make it from the processed bodies of dead ponies."

"That's something we didn't get to the bottom of," Izzy said. "Why did she want the Dragonfire in the first place?"

"She's using it as a fuel source for her army," Misty explained. "The machines are all powered by it as it produces a lot of power. The only problem is the amount of it required to get the machines working. Opaline has been draining dragons for centuries in order to get enough for the machines she's using against you. That's why I think there are so few left, as Opaline has drained so many of their Dragonfire in order to get her invasion started."

"That just leaves one other question," Sunny said, now looking over and worried this was yet another betrayal courtesy of Misty. "How was Opaline able to assemble an army like this without anypony noticing?"

"I was underground when I was sealed into that cockpit," Misty answered. "So it's likely that Opaline built her army down underground as well where nopony would think to look. I believe the original thinking was that the machines came from outer space, correct?"

"Talk about nerve wracking," Pipp noted. "The threat was under our hooves this entire time? How many tripods must there be down there?"

They pondered over this for a moment. "I guess you got your wish, though," Hitch commented. "We captured a Heron. Hopefully this'll end the war quicker."

Just then, Argyle arrived. "I think I've made a breakthrough," he said, looking at them with a mixture of worry and relief. Quite how it was possible to hold both facial expressions at once was something of a mystery, but Argyle somehow managed it in this case. "I think the answers that the science team have gleaned explain something I recall finding in ancient texts."

Sunny turned. "What's that, dad?"

Argyle opened some pages and showed them. "As you can see here, this text comes from the last days of the reign of Princess Twilight Sparkle. The text makes reference to an army of three legged machines advancing across Equestria and being unstoppable. Not even the Princess and her friends could stop them, as they were just too strong to confront directly. And now I think I know why."

"Really?" Zipp asked.

"Yeah," Argyle answered. "The substance that powers these machines is the clue as to why they were unable to bring them down. They've been conducting experiments on the stuff, and they've found that, whilst Dragonfire is magical in its nature, it interferes with magic on the structural level, meaning that magic simply fizzles out when used near it. And as magic was the core of the standard offensive strategy used against the various foes that the Guardians of Equestria faced throughout their lives, they would have been unable to stop them using that method. Put simply, whomever built them had learned directly from their strategies and developed weapons built to counter it."

"Opaline," Sunny said to herself. "That was her endgame all those moons ago. And with magic returned she's trying it again! Now wonder the tripods are dragging the war out- they're trying to force us to surrender so she can rule over all of Equestria!"

"How are we gonna stop her?" Izzy asked, her face looking worried. She had reason to be, having been on the front lines of the conflict when it began all those years ago.

Sunny raised her eyebrows. "I might have an idea. It seems crazy, but I suspect we've exhausted the pool of sensible ones to use."

"What's that, Sunny?" Zipp asked.

"Misty here drove the Heron to this place, and we've captured it for our own purposes. Quite apart from the stuff that we can reverse engineer from it, we now know that ponies can operate these units, correct?"

"I'm not sure I like where this is going," Hitch commented, glancing about at the others to see how they were feeling about this situation.

"My thinking is that we get the Heron and its Spiders back up to operational status, and then I can pilot it. From there I can find my way to the underground tunnels where these things first came from and make my way into them. From there, I can advance to the heart of the swarm and end this fight once and for all."

Author's Note

Well, big plot twist in this one! Turns out there were no aliens at all-just ponies. And Opaline has firmly crossed the moral event horizon in doing so.

The idea about the machines being impervious to magic is taken from a theory I put together about the fall of G4 Equestria-Opaline was aware magic was often used as a weapon against the various foes Equestria countered, and so fielded an army that wouldn't be affected by it.

The Night Falls, the General Calls

Another year had passed, and the situation was absolutely dire in Equestria. Numerous technological advances had been made in the field of warfare thanks to the captured Heron, such as the brand new energy cannons and shielding technology derived from the antimatter technology fitted to the war machine. This had allowed for a number of breakout attacks launched using specially equipped landships, but each offensive had failed to hold newly held ground.

As 1027 began, the news coming in from the frontlines was exceptionally grim. One of the Generals was handed a document by a dispatch rider, and he looked at it in concern.

"What's the matter?" another general asked.

The first General looked over, his face still concerned. "Casualty reports from the frontlines," he said. "Our losses are starting to mount, and furthermore conscription is unpopular. We had draft riots in the streets last month which had to be put down with armed force- armed force we could be using to fight the aliens. Put simply, we are running out of bodies. Morale is incredibly poor, and those soldiers who do remain appear to be on the verge of deserting."

"How long have we got until the lines collapse?" asked a third General.

"The writer of this report estimates about six months until our line collapses completely. But if the line collapses and we cannot re-establish our former positions then the aliens have a straight shot to the capital. And if that happens- then we've lost the entire war."

One of the Generals had an idea. "The enemy has been playing dirty so to speak the entire war. Why not switch to biological warfare?"

Sunny took a look over the controls one last time as she was hoisted into the Heron cockpit. Having engaged her alicorn form in advance, she was wired into the enormous machine, which began to interface with both the magical and biological aspects of her nervous system. "Whoa. This never ceases to feel weird."

Several Spiders rumbled into life next to her, climbing to their full height and powering up their tendrils underneath. Energy cannons hummed with barely suppressed energy and other systems rumbled into life as the formations were assembled.

Sunny spotted an armour column forming up below their position. Presumably they were their escorts to the tunnels.

Her feed switched to a broadcast coming from the Palace, given by Queen Haven herself.

"My fellow citizens," she said. "I am aware this has been a difficult and terrible few years for us all. But victory is finally within our grasp. There is a new weapon, or so the Generals inform me, which could turn the tide of this conflict once and for all and allow us to reclaim our homeworld. I know you have sacrificed so much already, and I have no right to ask any of you to give more for your species. But I'm asking. We have a chance to end this conflict, and end it we will. Faust be with you all."

On the morning of the 14th Thaw, 1027, more than a month of artillery shelling came to an abrupt stop, and switched to creeping fire as the guns once again exploded into life. This was the endgame. The plan to end the entire war.

Goldie had been partially briefed on the plan, and she had to admit she was stunned at the audacity of the attack. More than two million soldiers and tanks were being committed to an enormous attack along the entire Allied line- codenamed Operation Eggmund. The orders were given to stand to attention.

"This plan is insane," she said to herself. "Then again, who'd notice another madmare around here?"

The whistle sounded, and she followed the entire line next to her as they cleared the top of the trench and charged once more into No Equine's Land. As before, a massive and withering hail of energy fire started up from the enemy line, and once more Spiders and Herons moved into position to engage the attackers.

A heavy armour column focused their fire on several Herons, bringing one down, and Goldie stopped to throw a smoke grenade to clear out an enemy position. The purple smoke began to drift upwards, and moments later allied guns began to boom in response. A massive storm of explosions cleared out the treeline, quickly reducing it to more mud and devastated land.

Goldie adjusted her gas mask and moved forward to see the next line. More enemy War Machines were advancing at speed towards them to try and plug the gaps in their lines. Including, to her surprise, a Gorgon. "This isn't good."

Three energy beams suddenly blasted across the allied lines, felling dozens of soldiers in one fell swoop, and offensive power was severely reduced.

"Shit!" Goldie said to herself, before switching to her radio. "Command, we cannot hold. Request fire mission on local coordinates, over."

"Negative. Your orders are to hold the sector, and hold it you will, over."

"With what, twigs?"

"You will obey orders."

Goldie shook her head. "No. I can think of better ways of committing suicide." She grabbed another smoke grenade from her belt and tossed it towards the enemy line. "Hopefully this will soften them up."

Suddenly, things began to shift on the frontlines. There was a movement, and more whistles, and even more confusion than before. The Landships began to reverse, their heaviest plate turned towards the foe.

"Retreat!" shouted a voice.

To describe it as a retreat was something of an understatement. The scene unfolding before Goldie was more akin to a rout. The soldiers had broken formations and were running across No Man's Land for their lives, with the Aliens already giving chase across the field. Weapons fire continued to crack and blast holes in the ground as the lines continued to disintegrate and fall apart.

"The offensive has fallen apart!" shouted a soldier. "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Goldie shook her head. "Gee, who could possibly have seen that coming?"

Little did she realise that this was part of the plan.

If you hadn't had access to a map and a GPS, you would never have been able to figure out this was the place where Bridlewood once stood tall.

The treeline was gone. Once mighty trees which had sheltered the inhabitants of the forest from the sun were destroyed, the logs, branches, and trunks long since churned up by enemy war machines. The grass and fauna were completely gone from the region, instead being replaced by a sea of brown mud. But that was not all.

The landscape was covered in bizarre alien weaponry, and strange equipment hummed and throbbed as it sat there, weapons charging up and unnocupied war machines being prepared to advance. The foe had completely terraformed the terrain before them, and it was terrifying to see.

"So, this was where it all began," Sunny said to herself, as she brought the Heron to a stop. The flanking Spiders halted as well, glancing about for any threats to their commander that may potentially emerge. They stood there, standing out in a lifeless land that hadn't seen any life for a very long time.

The Landship column had stopped as well, also scanning for threats. "Tunnel system up ahead," one radioed. "Plenty of potential attack routes for our enemy."

Just as the tank officer had finished speaking, the ground began to shake and shudder. Some sort of seismic action was happening nearby, and Sunny got the main guns loaded and ready to fire at whatever was approaching them from far away.

And moments later, as the ground shaking reached its apex, the enemy revealed themselves to the alicorn. A head unit emerged, followed by the rest of the body. The main unit was fronted by a pair of green eyes, with another set to the side of that. Two enormous cannons were fitted to the sides of the framework, and it was carried about the battlefield on a set of spindly legs. Unlike the other machines, which were mostly a dull brown colour, this one was silver and green, implying it had seen limited use in combat. It was massive, towering over even the Heron.

The radio channel suddenly opened in the Heron. "So, you lot finally figured out how to reverse engineer one of the Herons. It took you long enough. You really are as stupid as I thought."

Sunny bristled at hearing the voice. "Opaline. We meet again."

"What's it been, four years?" Opaline replied. "Of course, I would have won then were it not for your pathetic friends."

"This ends here, Opaline," Sunny said. "I will defeat you, and avenge those who have died in this war of yours."

There was a laugh on the other end. "What will you have left to rule over, Sunny? You can hardly rule over masses of mud." The energy cannons on her machine began to charge up. "Let's end this. But I don't intend to let you live this time."

Author's Note

Well, this is it. The final battle. Our heroes and villains go head to head to bring the War to an end.

For those interested, Opaline's tripod looks like this:

They shall Grow not Old

The army was in dissaray. Soldiers were ditching equipment as they ran, weapons were falling onto the ground and other equipment was being dumped to try and speed up the retreat.

The machines were still following, large canisters flying through the air and slamming into the ground. The terrain was increasingly flooding with poison gas as the canisters began to work, and energy fire continued to streak across the terrain. The enemy were relentless in their advance, believing they had an easy victory in their grasp.

Goldie dropped down into a foxhole and glanced back, seeing a unit of troops launching a counterattack even as the hideous chemicals in the canisters rotted them from the inside. There was a thin line between bravery and stupidity, it seemed. "This plan of theres had better work," she said to herself, loading her energy cannon and preparing to make a final stand.

She got a shot off when suddenly a series of explosions echoed in the distance. It sounded like... artillery? The distant booming was relentless, which sounded almost like heavy shellfire from their own guns. But where the Tartarus had they been earlier in the battle? They could have done with that earlier in the battle.

And then a massive storm of shells slammed into the ground and exploded. The blasts were ripping the ground into fresh craters, Equestria's already tortured soil being pounded even further. Each explosion produced a strange white cloud, that floated in the air before the enemy.

Goldie retreated as the machines marched clean through it. "Whatever this idea of there's was, let's hope it worked!"

She dashed backward and found her way into a bunker, where she glanced back over her shoulder to see the bombardment still going. Batteries closer to the line were continuing to fire furiously, as if there would be no opportunity to fire tomorrow. The noise was, as ever, terrifying as it ripped up the terrain and continued to batter the landscape, scarred the fields that once were green.

Goldie saw wave after wave of alien machine pass over her, continuing to chase the army as it routed away. Some time passed, but then to her confusion she saw the offensive slow down. Several of the machines simply ground to a complete halt, and one of the Herons toppled over near her position, the cockpit slamming into the trench.

Goldie nervously got out into the cloud, and saw the cockpit fall open. A single unicorn fell out, foaming at the mouth and coughing up blood. He staggered about for a few moments, tried to speak- only for blood to continue flowing from his mouth as something tore his lungs to pieces. He staggered about a tiny bit more, but then collapsed onto the ground and died from whatever had happened.

Goldie was stunned. The chemical weapon had seemingly worked. But what was it? She stepped forward and used a bottle to collect a sample from the air. She blinked at what her readings told her. "Mayonnaise?"

Opaline looked at her display in shock as her offensive ground to a stop. "No! Why did those fools stop?"

"Turns out that having the enemy on our side allows us to counter your strategy," Sunny pointed out, over the radio. "Mayo versus unicorns usually ends badly. Face it Opaline. You've lost. Surrender now."

Opaline gritted her teeth, and snarled one word. "NEVER." She then pushed a button on her monitor.

Sunny looked in shock as the machine before her opened fire. Energy beams and lasers cascaded across the terrain as rockets and missiles screamed in from above the skies, intent on striking her own Heron. "OK, looks like we'll be doing this the hard way." She charged her own energy cannons whilst sending several Spiders forward to act as sacrificial lambs. "Armour column, can you draw the enemy's fire?"

"Understood, on our way." The Landships opened fire and began to attack Opaline's machine, hoping to draw some fire and break the shielding.

Sunny watched as the missiles began to slam into the Spiders, blowing some of them up. She levelled the energy cannons and fired, noticing the shots slam into the shield and seemingly be absorbed.

Spiders clashed in the field before her and tried to gain the advantage, but it was hopeless. As several Landships were damaged or destroyed by the intense fire they were taking from the enemy, Opaline began to close the gap. More energy, laser, and missile blasts roared between them as the large walking machines continued to churn up the soil and make navigation even more difficult than before.

Sunny then had an idea. "All units, focus fire on the shielding!" She grimaced as several volleys struck her own, spotting her shield rating drop by about 30%. "Damn, this is some heavy fire."

Opaline was oddly silent the entire time, though. Usually she'd be giving a running commentary on what she was doing in the cockpit.

The two machines continued to fight, with energy and missile fire continuing to light up the darkened skies turned black by industrial output and years of shelling. There was a familiar pop from the enemy, though, and a series of loud bangs suddenly rocked the landscape. A huge cloud of smoke quickly enveloped the landscape, consuming all that stood in its way.

"We're close!" Sunny called. "Shield blowout! The armour is vulnerable and can be damaged!"

As the smoke cleared, the enemy war machine still stood there, and readied more fire. Sunny fired off first, blowing off one of the guns and then following it up with another shot to break the leg mechanism. More fire poured in with the specific purpose to blowing this machine to pieces.

And finally, the last shot rang true, smashing into the cockpit and blowing open the screens. There was a loud scream as something cooked off, and the machine was torn apart by a series of massive explosions.

Sunny panted as the Heron powered down. She had done it. "It's over. It's finally over."

Victory over the aliens was celebrated across Equestria, as it meant that four years of war were finally at an end. But it had been a war that had been won at extremely heavy cost for all Equestrians. The pony cost was absolutely staggering. Eight million ponies were dead, and untold more were wounded or left with life changing injuries. Furthermore, much of Equestria had been ravaged by the shelling and the bombs, which had reduced much of Earth Pony and Unicorn land to an uninhabitable hellscape. The road to rebuilding would be a painful and slow one, not least the war had left them in economic ruin. Underneath all of this, however, lay the hope of a better world.

Fifty Years Later...

Queen Zephyrina coughed as she addressed the crowd. "Good morning, everypony. We are gathered here today, on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Great Extraterrestial War, to pay tribute to those who fell in the line of duty protecting our freedoms. I would now like to invite Sunny Starscout to speak to us all. She proved instrumental in defeating the enemy all those years ago."

The Queen stepped down from the podium as a much older Sunny took the stand. The years had taken a severe toll on her. "My fellow Equestrians," she said. "Fifty years ago we were beset by a struggle for our very way of life. The enemy were expecting us to run and cower like we had before against so many threats. But we stayed and fought for our ideals. Our future. Our friendship. None of this would have been possible had we not worked together the way we did during those terrible days, and it is the duty of those of us still living to ensure they did not die in vain.

"From those darkest hours a new birth of freedom and friendship emerged. We built a better world from the horrors of war, one which has never seen a conflict again. But peace is something we must work to maintain. Our mission is to ensure that friendship and harmony never vanish from the planet." She paused. "That is all. Now, our own work stands before us."

Sunny left the podium and joined her friends, all of them older now. Hitch in a wheelchair, Izzy with a grey mane, Pipp having barely aged, but having said that Sunny hadn't aged very well. Queen Zephyrina led them in moving forward to the War Memorial, placing wreaths to the fallen of this war.

"I wish you were here, guys," Sunny said quietly. Their parents and many of the Greatest Generation were long gone now, so to see many of the veterans of the war assembled was a very moving sight.

The five moved back to a closely positioned microphone, and began to recite a poem many of them knew so very well.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We Will Remember Them."

Author's Note

Well, here we are, at the end of another story. I am aware that WW1 may be a somewhat controversial topic for a Fimfiction story, but I hope I did the conflict justice and brought a sense of closure to this terrible conflict. War is, of course, a terrible thing, but there are times when there is no other option.

I think an appropriate sentiment to close with is words uttered by Robert E. Lee: "It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."

Credits

Cast- In order of appearance:

Andrew Jackson - Alphabittle Blossomforth
Anna Sani - Izzy Moonbow
A. J. Bridel - Pipp Petals
Maitreiyi Ramakrishnan - Zipp Storm
J. J. Gerber - Hitch Trailblazer
Jenna Warren - Sunny Starscout
Johnathan Tan - Skye Silver, Assorted Voices
Amanda Martinez - Dazzle Feather, Queen Haven, Assorted Voices
Tara Strong - Goldie Starshine
Robert Tinkler - Argyle Starshine
Joshua Graham - Sprout Cloverleaf, Assorted Voices
Peter Capaldi - General Clear Skies
Rush Marshall - Assorted Voices
Michael Caine - Fighter Pilot 1
Michael Palin - Fighter Pilot 2
Bahia Watson - Misty
Athena Karkanis - Opaline

Dedicated in memory of all who suffered and sacrificed in the First World War. You will never be forgotten.