Peace Through Power

Chapters

Chapter 1: A Shift in Scenery
Chapter 2: Meeting the Locals
Chapter 3: Friend or Foe
Chapter 4: Building Bridges
Chapter 5: Setting Up Shop
Chapter 6: Something Different
Chapter 7: Ponyville's Triggerline
Chapter 8: Fire From Sky

Chapter 1: A Shift in Scenery

Chapter 1: A Shift in Scenery

A convoy of antiquated armored fighting vehicles rumbled through a mountainous pass with a mechanical din, kicking up thick clouds of dust as they went. Several American-built Abrams main battle tanks and smaller Bradley infantry fighting vehicles surrounded a much larger wheeled mobile construction vehicle in a protective enclosed formation. Light all-terrain bike and buggy reconnaissance vehicles zipped past them, scouting ahead of the convoy. Overhead, a trio of Russian-manufactured Hind helicopter gunships flew in a loose formation, keeping watch for any threats to the convoy from up high.

The many vehicles that comprised the convoy sported an odd mix of desert and urban camouflage paintjobs, with yet others painted a solid grey. The mismatched machines of war were unified, however, by a single emblem that was printed on various spots on their chassis. The emblem was a red and black chamfered triangle. Depicted within the triangle was a scorpion’s tail in a menacing curve, poised to strike.

Driving alongside the massive MCV was a much smaller humvee truck. Painted a desert tan and equipped with an enlarged rear canopy that contained the disassembled components of a scaled-down mobile command and control computer system, the humvee served as the impromptu command post of the convoy. The commander helming this post was one Confessor Alexander Andric, Black Hand reject and rogue Nod warlord. Sitting in the front passenger seat, he looked at the screen of his laptop personal computer on his lap. After rereading for the umpteenth time the mission directive produced by his dated third-generation Electronic Video Agent unit, he finally put the laptop on standby mode and closed it, giving his strained eyes reprieve from the oppressive glare of the glowing computer screen.

Since the end of the First Tiberium War, the Republic of Kazakhstan had effectively ceased to exist as a functioning state and has been ruled by one ruthless warlord after another, the latest being Alexander himself. With his regime entering its seventh year in power, he had lasted surprisingly longer than his predecessors. He would attribute his success to the great effort he put in ensuring a safe and reasonably comfortable existence for the people under his benevolent rule… as well as making any who complain too much disappear.

The reason for the convoy was to reinforce one of his bases in the region that had come under heavy attack by rival Nod factions. The base in question guarded the Baikonur Cosmodrome Space Center, an extremely valuable strategic asset for its atmospheric launch capabilities and repository of advance Soviet military technology. Realizing that he could not afford to lose such an important facility, he assembled a reinforcement convoy to relieve the base and rebuild the fortifications around the Cosmodrome. Not trusting any of his lieutenants with such a critical mission, he went himself with the convoy to personally direct and oversee the reinforcement efforts.

Looking at the driver, Alexander inquired about how long it would be until they reached their destination, “Brother, how long are we out from the Cosmodrome?”

The driver paused to think for a moment before answering, “We’re still two hours away, sir.”

Breathing a quiet sigh, Alexander turned towards the view from his window, staring off into the distance. Listlessly watching the passing arid landscape, he let his mind wander, thinking back on how he came to be what he is today.

Born to European refugees…
Settling in New York City with other European refugees…
Getting a job at an “imports” store…
Getting inducted into a Mediterranean smuggling ring at gunpoint by his boss…
Going overseas on a “business trip” and getting conscripted into the Brotherhood of Nod…
Moving up the ranks and eventually getting accepted into the Black Hand…
Getting excommunicated from the Black Hand for having a semblance of a conscience…
Narrowly escaping subsequent Black Hand assassination attempts and somehow winding up several countries away in Kazakhstan…
Seizing control of the country by way of persuasion, promises, bribery, assassination, and all manner of underhandedness…

Present day…

Alexander let out a quiet chuckle. When he thought about it, his life so far had been a series of curious misadventures and odd and sometimes nearly lethal mishaps. From refugee to smuggler to terrorist to warlord, his life story was quite the tale. Perhaps he could write and publish a memoir of his life…

As he dwelled on the thought, his mouth pulled upwards into a slight grin, ‘Now there’s an idea.’

Reopening his laptop, he accessed its word processing application and started a new document. His hands hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he began typing, putting the opening words of his memoir to print…

Very likely, you and those around you have led more or less “normal lives.” You were born to loving parents, perhaps had a sibling or two with which you likely had a somewhat antagonistic relationship. You went to school, maybe college, discovered life, and now look back on your younger years fondly. You eventually moved out, excited to strike it out on your own. Perhaps you did well for yourself, landing a good job or creating a successful startup and launching your career. You met someone, got a house and a dog and maybe a potted plant and finally settled down.

It was something like this for me in my early years, though a bit more lackluster than I’d like, and I never got to settle down in the traditional sense, but I did have a potted plant at one point. It was when I wandered into Honest Bob’s Imports Store looking for a job that my life began to deviate from normalcy. It was from that point on that my experiences became more unconventional…

A lavender unicorn sat among several stacks of books, many scattered open before her while a number of them floated around her, engulfed in the glowing purple aura of her magic. Entering her fourth hour of nonstop study, she let out a deep yawn before resuming her reading of ten books at once. Regarded by her friends as a bit of an “egghead,” though she would prefer the term “well-read,” the unicorn was known to engorge herself with the myriad of books that populated the library she called her home. While typically reading for pleasure, this particular book binge was for business, quite serious business.

It had been a few months since the invasion began. Demonic creatures straight from the pits of Tartarus itself had appeared and began attacking the Principality of Equestria, raiding outlaying towns and villages and even the major cities on occasion. While always being eventually pushed back by the Equestrian Royal Guard, the demons often managed to shed enough innocent pony blood to leave long-lasting scars on the communities they assaulted. The sheer brutality and savagery of the demons’ indiscriminate slaughter was mind-numbing. Nopony was spared; from the eldest senior to the youngest foal and everypony in between, all were killed. Equestria had not seen such death and destruction since time immemorial, and its citizens recoiled in absolute horror at the demons’ bloodshed.

The attacks were sporadic and targeted settlements seemingly at random. In response, the Royal Guard deployed troops everywhere in an attempt to provide at least some level of protection to as many settlements as possible, but in doing so had spread themselves thin. Although having held out reasonably well when the invasion first began, the Royal Guard as well as the civilian population of Equestria were beginning to feel the weight of growing losses from the demons’ constant attacks. The country was soon bogged down in a war of attrition with the invading demons, with the demons slowly gaining the upper hoof with their seemingly limitless numbers. Eventually, all outlaying towns and villages, locales where the demons had most often attacked, were evacuated, their residents relocated to the major cities where the Royal Guard could more easily concentrate their defenses.

Exacerbating the situation was the criminal element of Equestrian society, particularly dragon bandits and the Diamond Dogs, who took advantage of the chaos to wreak havoc for their own profit. In the many “no-pony lands” that were abandoned at the onset of the invasion, criminals, outlaws, and renegades of all kinds had set up their own “bandit kingdoms,” fortified dens of criminal activity from which they launched raids on passing travelers and caravans and even towns and cities whose defenses were weakened by the demons.

Pleas to the other nations for help against the demons went unanswered. The Gryphon Kingdom claimed that their armed forces were tied up defending their own country against demonic incursion. The Buffalo Nation was also unable to render any aid, their numbers barely enough to defend their own homes. The Zebra Tribes had been completely silent and the worst was assumed, that the demons had completely wiped them out.

And so it was at the behest of Equestria’s diarchy that the unicorn research the historical texts in her possession as her town’s resident librarian to try and find the reason for the demonic invasion as well as a way to stop it. As the unicorn continued to plow through books in a determined effort to find a solution to her country’s current crisis, a small purple dragon with green spikes approached her with a mug of piping hot tea.

“Twilight, you’ve been studying for hours now. You should take a break before you burn yourself out.” he advised, offering her the tea.

Twilight let out a conceding sigh as she accepted the tea, engulfing the mug in her magic and levitating it towards her, “I know Spike, but I just can’t rest right now, not with all that’s been going on. Thanks for the tea.”

“No problem. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity are bringing over some more provisions for the refugees. They said they’d be over in an hour.” Spike said before tidying up the clutter of books that lay on the floor.

“Oh, that’s great! That’ll really help with things around here.” Twilight replied with a smile, perking up considerably at the mention of her friends. “Let me just finish up this one section and I’ll clear out some space in the basement for them.”

Ponyville, the town Twilight and her friends called home, had received a great number of refugees from neighboring settlements given its central location in Equestria. Many public buildings like Twilight’s home, the Golden Oaks Library, had been converted into shelters to house and care for the many ponies displaced from their own towns and villages. When the shelters began to fill to capacity, Ponyville residents opened up their own homes to those without a roof over their heads while a small tent city was being built just outside the town to accommodate the continuous flow of refugees.

As the town’s population grew considerably larger from the massive influx of refugees, the demons had begun assaulting it with increased frequency and ferocity, apparently sensing it as a bigger target. The rise in attacks necessitated a larger garrison of Royal Guards to be stationed there, though they would still be pressed for horsepower as the Royal Guard’s reserve forces were already deployed elsewhere, leaving little in the way of possible reinforcements for them.

Spike shook his head, “No, let me handle it. You just rest, okay? Please? You’ve done so much already helping all of these refugees.”

Twilight gave a warm smile to her assistant, touched by his concern for her wellbeing, “Oh, alright. Just be careful when you’re down there, okay?”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes a little, “Oh, come on, Twilight. I’m your Number One Assistant, aren’t I?”

Amused at his air of self-confidence, she took a sip of the tea, letting the hot liquid warm her, “I know, I know. Thanks Spike.”

Giving a nod, Spike headed to the basement of the library to make room for the incoming supplies. Taking another sip of tea, Twilight set down the books she was reading off in a stack before standing up. Having been sitting for the past few hours, the sudden shift in position caused blood to rush to her legs, causing an overwhelming sensation of pinpricks. After taking a moment to stretch her legs and wait for the tingling sensation to subside, she made her way upstairs and went out into the balcony. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she looked down into the streets below. They were busy with activity as Ponyville residents and refugees alike went about their business. The mood in the town was quite dreary, most ponies slowly trudging to their destinations while carrying somber and despondent expressions on their faces.

Almost immediately Twilight missed the diversion from her conversation with Spike and the brief moment of closeness they shared. The sight of tents and crude cooking fires strewn about the well-beaten paths that were Ponyville’s streets reminded her of the gravity of her task. She sighed, taking another sip of her tea.

‘A sign of things to come, I suppose…’

“It's getting rather windy.” Alexander muttered to himself, noticing how the wind was beginning to pick up significantly. The scenery outside also drew his attention, as the cloudy morning sky darkened quite a bit while the ambient light actually seemed to get brighter, creating a sharp contrast between the sky and the rest of the landscape. The changes outside were sudden and jarring enough to tear him away from his memoir.

As he pondered the peculiar events, he failed to notice a slight movement from within his pack on the floor. Emerging from it was a snake of considerable length, being nearly five feet in length. Colored a deep dark brown with a paler shaded underbelly, the snake was difficult to contrast from the black material of the pack and the shadows casted on the floor of the humvee.

Slithering out from the pack and onto Alexander’s leg, the snake slowly and stealthily made its way up to his shoulders before draping itself around his neck. Alexander displayed a surprisingly calm demeanor for someone with a large snake hanging off his neck, and after a brief moment in which the driver finally noticed the reptile on his commander’s shoulders, he acknowledged the violation of his personal space, “Comfortable, Hiss?”

The snake responded with its namesake sound, letting out a quiet and drawn out hiss, its forked tongue tickling Alexander’s cheek in a vaguely affectionate manner as it extended its hood, the flaps serving to accentuate its affirmative reply to the rhetorical inquiry.

“Ugh…” Alexander could only groan at the display, having gotten used to Hiss’ invasive behavior long ago, though he was no less exasperated with it. Hiss hissed once more, this time a much shorter one with an almost smug, teasing tone, if that were possible for a snake. Satisfied with its quarry’s acknowledgement towards its presence, Hiss arched itself over towards the window to get a view outside.

The driver had watched the entire exchange in complete silence, having been more than a little weirded out by the sight of his commander sharing a moment of one-sided affection with the giant cobra. He had heard of the… unique relationship his commander had with his pet, he assumed it was, but this was the first time he had actually witnessed their antics with his own eyes. The rumors did not do justice to just how strange they really were together.

Alexander caught the driver gawking at him and Hiss. Clearing his throat to fill the awkward silence, he reasserted himself as the driver’s commander to ensure his nondisclosure of what he just witnessed, “You saw nothing, brother. You were busy minding the road, correct?”

The driver blinked before returning his full attention to the road, “Ah- uh, I mean… Of course, sir.”

As Alexander gave the driver the evil eye to ensure his compliance on the matter, the humvee’s radio suddenly blared to life, diverting both men’s attention, “Commander! This is Alpha Lead! Forward scouts reported some kind of… energy phenomena? I think? They’ve stopped transmitting. I can’t raise them at all. I think- wha- the hell is that!? HOLY SH-”

A sudden bright light and deafening electrical hum drew their attention away from the frantic transmission. Before the convoy was a massive vortex of energy that towered over even the MCV. The vortex emitted a blinding white light edged with an electric blue hue and produced numerous tendrils of energy that lashed out wildly, producing a loud crack with each motion. Alexander recognized the energy phenomena as characteristic of a chrono vortex, an unusual and very dangerous side effect of an old Allied superweapon called the Chronosphere. He learned of the Chronosphere and chrono vortices through classified documents from the Great World War Two that he had “procured” from a GDI datacenter, along with a number of other things…

While it was still unknown what happened to anything consumed by a chrono vortex, there were many theories about it, some claiming that the vortex is actually a portal to another dimension or universe, while others say it simply destroys anything it consumes in inconceivable ways. Alexander sincerely hoped it was the former.

The entire convoy threw themselves into full reverse as all vehicles attempted to back away from the approaching chrono vortex. It was too late for the helicopters, two of them having flown straight into the vortex when it appeared and the third being unable to bank away in time to avoid it. The tanks and IFVs were quickly overtaken by the vortex, being too slow to escape the rapidly advancing wall and tendrils of light.

As the swirling vortex of white and blue engulfed the entire convoy and approached his own vehicle, Alexander had only a single thought…

‘Please let it be somewhere warm with cocktail drinks…’

Alexander let out a breath he did not realize he was holding as his sight returned to him. When his vision finally cleared, his first sight was Hiss mere inches away from his face. He recoiled slightly, startled at the snake’s close proximity. Hiss produced an inquisitive-toned hiss as it resituated itself back onto his shoulders, giving him some breathing space.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” he replied in all seriousness, much to the bemusement of the driver who had just come to. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he grabbed the radio hooked on the dashboard before turning towards the driver, “What's the convoy’s status?”

The driver merely shrugged, “No idea, sir. All the vehicles seem to be here, but I haven’t heard anything. Maybe they’re all out cold, or…” He trailed off, preferring to leave the rest of his conjecture unsaid. Hoping to change the subject, the driver put forward a rhetorical question he knew neither of them knew the answer to, “So, any idea where we are, sir? ‘Cause I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Alexander made a mental note to berate the driver later for his use of such a dated cliché as he glanced out the window to visually assess the convoy’s status and was greeted by a markedly different environment than the one he was in previously. Instead of the dark, cloudy skies and dry, rocky terrain speckled with tiberium-mutated desert flora that characterized much of Kazakhstan circa 2040 AD, he now beheld bright blue skies and a wide open field of lush green grass with rolling hills and a thick forest not far off from the convoy’s position.

He adjusted the radio’s settings to transmit a broadcast on all frequencies before speaking into it, hoping to raise any survivors, “This is Confessor Alexander Andric to all convoy elements. Sound off and report status. Repeat, everyone who's not dead, sound off. Over.”

Much to his surprise, he received a number of replies. Most reported that they were alright, if a little dazed, with only a few reporting having hit their heads a little hard after being spat out by the chrono vortex. One by one, all the vehicles of the convoy were accounted for, including the helicopters, though they seemed a little rattled, two of them saying they nearly crashed into a mountain and each other while the third claimed to have flown through a peculiar cloud formation that he swore looked like a house.

Satisfied that his men were alive and well for the time being, Alexander began to assess their current situation, firstly by getting the convoy’s bearings. Deciding to utilize the helicopters’ altitude, he radioed them to scout the immediate area, “All helicopters, perform a scan of the immediate and outlaying vicinities and tell me what you see. Over.”

“Roger, commander. Commencing sector scan. Over.” came the reply. The Hinds spread out, scanning the horizon for any indicator of where they might be. Soon afterwards, one of them sighted something of interest.

“This is Crocodile 2. I see what looks like a town, due west, a few klicks out. Maybe we should start there. Over.”

Agreeing with the suggestion, Alexander issued his orders, “Affirmative, Crocodile 2. All helicopters, formation and get set to provide overwatch. All convoy elements, form up and get ready to head out west along the forest. Alpha Lead is on point. How copy? Over.”

“Alpha Lead copies. Moving into lead position now. Out.”

Outside his window, he could see an urban camouflaged Abrams move ahead of the rest of the convoy. Once in front, it began to drive alongside the forest, the rest of the convoy coming to motion to follow it.

As the convoy made its way towards the town sighted by the helicopters, Alexander mused about their current predicament, his hand cupping his chin as he stared out at the convoy, inattentively watching it as it traversed alien, yet oddly familiar terrain.

‘Well, if anything, it’s certainly a nice shift in scenery…’

A bright light began glowing from past the Everfree Forest. It grew brighter and brighter until it nearly outshone the sun. It was enough of a disruption to cause everypony to stop what they were doing and look in the direction of the forest. Many began to panic, thinking that the light was the onset of some cataclysmic event. But just as they started to lose their heads, the light began to rapidly subside before completely vanishing. After a moment of stunned silence, ponies began whispering all around, speculating as to what the cause of the light was.

Twilight had gotten a good view of the light from her balcony. She was left in a state of bewilderment, continuing to dumbly stare in the direction from which the light came. After a couple of minutes, she came out of her shock, shaking her head and regaining her senses. The whispering of the ponies below caught her attention, her gaze shifting downwards towards the ponies on the streets, who were now huddled together, fright and worry evident on their faces.

She could only sigh, now worried for her fellow ponies already fragile metal and emotional wellbeing.

‘Oh, what now? Just what in Equestria is going on?’

Chapter 2: Meeting the Locals

Chapter 2: Meeting the Locals

Lieutenant Lightning Strike was having a migraine of epic proportions. Placed in command of the Ponyville Royal Guard garrison and charged with keeping the town safe from demonic incursion, he was faced with one problem after another, all of them beyond the might of an aspirin and Sweet Apple Acres’ strongest cider. Overseeing the distribution of supplies, maintaining order among an increasingly panicky pony population, keeping up morale despite the death and destruction that surrounded them… There was also the matter of fighting off the demons, who had been attacking more often and with greater ferocity. And now that strange light from beyond the Everfree Forest demanded his attention, an anomalous event that may or may not be the harbinger of their doom.

Letting out a muffled groan as he massaged his temples, Lightning Strike stood up from his chair and made for the exit, his golden armor clanking with each step. He had been cooped up in Ponyville Town Hall for the past four hours, going over defense plans and various status reports being fed to him by his Guards and Mayor Mare’s staff, and could stand to stretch his legs a bit. The Town Hall building had been converted to serve as his command center and quarters. It was also the stronghold from which he and his Guards would make their last stand should they be overrun.

Stepping out into the daylight, he took a deep breath of fresh air and stretched out his wings, letting the sunlight warm his white coat. Deciding he needed to get a handle on the situation before it was too late, he planned to send out a scouting party to investigate the source of the light and, if need be, prepare his Guards for yet another bloody fight. Making his way to a guard post near the eastern edge of town, he looked around, observing firsthoof the miserable conditions the ponies were in. Rows of tents lined the streets and were erected wherever else there was room: alleyways, front and backyards, and even balconies and clouds for the pegasi refugees.

Reaching his destination, Lightning Strike eyed a brown pegasus he planned to “volunteer” for the scouting mission, “Sergeant Low Flight!”

The sergeant and a couple of his subordinates who were idly meandering around behind him snapped to attention, giving their commanding officer a salute, “What can I do for you, sir?” spoke the sergeant.

Lightning Strike returned the salute, inwardly chuckling at Low Flight’s excessive decorum. He always found the sergeant’s stiff and rigid personality amusing. A true military stallion, his by-the-book, no-nonsense attitude made him the perfect drill instructor, a role he actually fulfills from time to time, whipping recruits into Royal Guards Equestria could be proud of.

“At ease, sergeant. I want you to take two of your best flyers and get ready to move out.”

“Is it about that light past the Everfree, sir?” asked Low Flight.

With a sigh, Lightning Strike nodded, “You guessed it. We need to find out what’s going on over there before it bites us in the flank later. Do a flyby of the area where the light came from and report back immediately. I’ll be preparing our defenses.”

Giving a nod, Low Flight looked back at the pair of grey pegasi that were behind him, “Thunder! Flash! You’re with me. Get ready to move.”

“Sir, yes sir!” the two pegasi affirmed before stepping away from the post and unfurling their wings.

Returning his gaze to Lightning Strike, Low Flight tried to reassure the clearly worried lieutenant, “We’ll be back as soon as we can, sir. And whatever it is, I’m sure we can handle it.”

“I hope you’re right, sergeant. Stay safe.” he replied, not sharing the sergeant’s confidence.

Low Flight could not help but crack a grin, “Of course, sir. You know me.”

Lightning Strike suppressed a snort at that, ‘Don’t I ever…’

Going over to where Thunder and Flash stood waiting, Low Flight spread his wings and motioned towards the sky before launching into the air with a powerful gust, the two taking off after him.

Watching the three take to the sky, Lightning Strike could not help but dread what they might report back.

‘Oh Celestia, please let it just be that annoying blue mare’s fireworks …’

“So what do you think it is? The demons? Or something else?”

“I have no idea. Maybe the unicorn scholars in Canterlot finally came up with something to hold off the demons.”

“That’s asking for a lot.”

“Yeah, I know…”

“Cork it, you two! Stay focused on the matter at hoof!” Low Flight barked at the pair of chatting pegasi. The two immediately fell silent, lest they find themselves running laps around Ponyville with their wings tied down upon their return.

The three of them had made good time, reaching the Everfree Forest within a matter of minutes. As they neared the original location of the light, they were met with an extraordinary sight. Three flying… things were moving along the forest, producing a loud, heavy thwacking noise as they flew. With large elongated bodies and a strangely shaped snout, they assumed they were, and their metallic skin bearing a speckled color scheme of mostly green, grey, and tan, the creatures’ appearance was vaguely reptilian and absolutely menacing. How they were able to fly was beyond any of the three pegasi, as the creatures’ apparent wings were too small and stubby to allow for flight.

“What in the hay are THOSE things?” Thunder muttered, staring at the flying metal monsters.

“I don’t know. They look kind of like dragons, but all wrong. I don't think- hey! Look! Down there!” Flash pointed to just below the flying creatures. Beneath them was a large group of equally menacing metal beasts. Also of considerable size, these land-bound creatures were boxy in shape, some sporting an enormous tusk of some kind. Together they made a thunderous roar as they moved in unison with the flying creatures.

As Low Flight observed the metal beasts moving at a steady pace along the edge of the forest, a horrifying realization dawned on him when he realized where their current direction would eventually take them, “Those things are headed straight for Ponyville.”

Thunder and Flash went wide-eyed as they realized the implications of their sergeant’s revelation. Just the mere sight of these things would likely send all of Ponyville into a full-scale panic, and as to what the creatures might actually do upon reaching town, they did not know, though if their monstrous appearance was any indication, probably nothing pleasant.

“Come on. We’ve got to inform the lieutenant.” Low Flight said after a moment. Hightailing it back towards Ponyville while keeping low, flying right above the trees to avoid the flying creatures’ gaze, an overwhelming feeling of trepidation came over the three pegasi. They were going to have to pick up some aspirin for the lieutenant before reporting back to him.

“Commander! I’ve spotted something. It looks like… Are those horses? With WINGS?”

The mention of horses with wings from the convoy’s aerial overwatch outside the context of a bottle of hard liquor was alarming enough to warrant Alexander’s full attention, “Say again, Crocodile 2. Did you say horses with wings?”

“Ah- yeah... Affirmative. Over.”

“Pilot, check your meters and make sure you don’t have a gas leak or anything. Over.” Alexander ordered, wanting to rule out the possibility of hallucinations induced by gasoline fumes.

“I’m serious, sir! They’re freaking flying as well! They’re northwest of our position. Over.”

Still a little skeptical, Alexander attempted to verify what Crocodile 2 was telling him with the other helicopters, “Crocodiles 1 and 3, please verify. You see what 2’s seeing?”

The other pilots hesitated a bit before answering, “1 here. I seem them. Three of them, actually. Over.”

“3 here. So do I. I kid you not, sir. Flying horses with wings. And are they wearing armor?”

Alexander sat back, momentarily at a loss for words. Horses with wings. Flying horses with wings. Flying horses with wings that wore armor. Deciding either his pilots have gone collectively insane as an aftereffect of the chrono vortex or that it spat them all out into some deranged fantasy world, he elected to put off addressing the strange sighting for as long as he could, or at least until he could get some aspirin, “Noted. Keep watch for anything else. Over.”

Having been travelling for nearly two hours now, he was getting increasingly anxious. He honestly did not know what to expect upon reaching the town, and the sighting of flying winged horses only furthered his doubts about the future, ‘Just where on Earth did that increasingly damnable orb of light spit us out? If we’re even on Earth anymore…’

While the seemingly terrestrial environment had assured him somewhat before, this latest development threw all expectations of normalcy out the window. Alexander slapped a hand on his forehead before slowly running it down his face, feeling a migraine coming on.

‘Flying winged horses. What in Kane's glorious name…’

Twilight watched from her balcony as the Royal Guard garrison suddenly began to mobilize, Guards forming up into their squads and assuming defensive positions at the eastern edge of Ponyville. Such action by the Royal Guards was worrying, as it likely meant an attack was imminent.

Her thoughts suddenly shifted in concern towards the ponies in the streets below, as well as her own home. Could the Royal Guard hold the line should an attack occur? Maybe. Could they evacuate everypony in an orderly and timely fashion? Probably not. And where would they even go? Likely the nearby capital city of Canterlot, but the rail line to the capital had been broken up by the Diamond Dogs, so they would have to hike there, a rather risky proposition given the likelihood of bandits and additional demon attacks along the way. And she had just finished resorting the classical literature section, too…

A knocking at the front door broke Twilight out of her fretting. Heading back downstairs and setting her tea on a corner table, she opened the door, her face breaking out into a bright smile upon seeing her visitors.

“Fluttershy! Pinkie! Rarity! It’s so good to see you! Come on in.” she greeted, stepping aside to allow her friends inside. A canary yellow pegasus, pink earth pony, and alabaster unicorn filed in, bearing their gifts while returning Twilight’s smile.

“So good to see you too, Twilight, darling. We brought some provisions to help with the refugees your hosting. We just HAD to help our friend with such a noble endeavor. I’ve brought some absolutely lovely hoof-stitched quilts to keep those poor souls warm.” Rarity said, motioning a hoof to a laden saddlebag worn by Pinkie.

“And I’ve got cupcakes for them! All kinds of flavors! It should be a nice little pick-me-up for those poor, poor ponies!” Pinkie piped up, indicating with her eyes the foil-wrapped trays of cupcakes balanced on her head and back.

“I’ve brought some medicine and incense for them. It’s always good to have medicine on hoof for just in case, and these incense should help them relax.” Fluttershy said, nodding towards her own saddlebag.

Twilight looked over what her friends had brought, beaming, “Thanks you guys. This’ll really help. Spike’s clearing some space in the basement now.”

Leading them down into the basement, she could not help but wonder about the rest of her friends, “So, how’s Applejack and Rainbow Dash? I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“Applejack has been working herself into the ground supplying apples to feed the refugees. I know her heart is in the right place, but would it kill her to stop for twenty minutes and take a bath? I mean, honestly, have you SEEN her mane?” Rarity answered, breaking off into a minor tangent about her friend’s prioritization of her work over her personal hygiene.

Fluttershy giggled a little at Rarity’s rant before answering about Rainbow, “Rainbow’s been real busy managing the town’s weather. Ever since the call-to-arms for pegasi, the weather patrol’s been cut in half, so she’s been handling the weather short-hoofed. I’ve helped out when I could, but I’ve been busy myself helping treat the wounded at the hospital.”

“Oh, I’m sure Rainbow truly appreciates any help you can offer, dear. We’ve all been busy doing our part, after all.” Rarity assured her.

As the four mares conversed, Spike emerged from behind some cardboard boxes, having just relocated some excess rolls of parchment. Seeing them, he waved, “Hey Fluttershy! Pinkie! I, uh, hi Rarity.”

Stifling a laugh at her flustered assistant, Twilight indicated a spot on the floor with her hoof, “You can put the supplies there. There’s room in the kitchen’s refrigerator for the cupcakes, Pinkie. Thanks again. Anypony want something to drink? Tea maybe?”

They all perked up at the mention of something to drink. Heading back upstairs with the others in tow, Twilight decided to share her concerns about the sudden mobilization of the Royal Guard garrison, “Did any of you see the Royal Guards? It looks like they were getting ready for something. Something big by the looks of it, I think, since almost all of them were moving.”

Spike, who had been in the basement the whole time before, was surprised at the news, “Wait, really? Oh boy, that can’t be good.”

The others nodded in agreement. “Indeed. We saw them running about, gathering in the east part of town, in the direction of the Everfree Forest. I think another attack may be imminent.” Rarity said.

Pinkie deflated somewhat, being reminded of their town’s situation, “Yeah, seems like it… But I’m sure the Royal Guard can hold it off, right? I mean, they’ve been doing it so far!” she perked up at the end.

Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie’s near infallible optimism, “Yes, they have. I’m sure you’re right. I’m sure everything will be alright.”

“I sure hope so.” Twilight muttered, wishing to be able to genuinely share in Pinkie's rose-tinted perspective on things. Entering the kitchen, she began preparing some tea while Spike retrieved her own mug from the living room before gathering some more cups from the cupboards. Pinkie placed her cupcakes inside the refrigerator, hoping that they would still be at least somewhat fresh when the refugees staying at Twilight’s home got to them.

Finishing the tea, Twilight took the kettle she was using off the stove and poured some tea for each of her friends. As they stood together and enjoyed the warm sensation brought about by the hot liquid, a voice suddenly rang through the air from outside, “The mayor has called a town meeting! All able-bodied ponies are to attend! The meeting will start in one hour!”

They all looked out the window in the direction of the voice, seeing a town herald step off a wooden crate before running off to repeat his message in another part of town. Rarity was the first to break the silence, “A town meeting? What ever for?”

“I don’t know. But I bet it has something to do with the Royal Guard mobilizing.” Twilight conjectured.

“Most likely.” Spike concurred.

The ponies and one dragon continued to stare out the window for a few seconds before returning to their tea. Anxiety began to take hold of them as they wondered what likely cruel fate approached their town and all who inhabited it.

“Lieutenant! We’re back!”

Low Flight’s sudden voice brought Lightning Strike’s attention away from the map of Ponyville that he was going over. Turning towards Low Flight, he braced himself for the worst news, “Alright sergeant. Tell me what we have over there.”

Low Flight glanced around before leaning forward to ensure none other than the lieutenant would hear his next words, “A very big problem, sir.”

Lightning Strike grimaced, cursing his gut feeling’s accuracy. He looked back at Thunder and Flash, who nodded, confirming Low Flight’s words. Heaving a heavy sigh, he dared to ask the sergeant to elaborate, “What is it, sergeant?”

“A multitude of giant metal creatures, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. Three of them can fly, the rest were land-bound, at least I think. And they’re headed for Ponyville.”

‘Of course they are.’ Lightning Strike thought, feeling a resurgence of his migraine. Taking a deep breath, he looked Low Flight squarely in the eye as he issued his orders, “Form up with your squad and get ready to move out. We’re going to meet these creatures head on.”

Low Flight raised an eyebrow at that, “Head on, sir?” The directive was a rather bold one coming from the lieutenant, who he knew to be a cautious leader. Not that he was complaining; he had always preferred direct action over ‘being smart about it,’ as Lightning Strike would often say.

Lightning Strike nodded, “Yes. We have no idea what they’re capable of or what they might do upon reaching town. If they turn out to be hostile, we’ve got to hold them off and buy time for the town to evacuate at least.”

Understanding what Lightning Strike had in mind, Low Flight saluted, Thunder and Flash following suit, “Understood sir. We’ll await your command.”

The sergeant and his subordinates took off to their squad’s designated rally point, leaving Lightning Strike alone with his thoughts, ‘Mom and dad were right. I am just a glorified meat shield.’

After a moment, he started walking, heading for his own designated forefront position. As he made his way there, he saw the many refugees that now populated Ponyville, all of them looking quite despondent. Looking at the ponies behind him, he was filled with renewed resolve to face these metal monsters.

‘It’s worth it.’

At long last, the convoy had finally reached the outskirts of the town. Ordering the convoy to a full stop, Alexander pulled a sniper team from one of the Bradleys and had them scope out the town from atop the lead Abrams. What they reported was more than a little disconcerting.

“Commander, you’re not going to believe this, but we’ve got eyes on the town and all we’re seeing are… horses. Lots of horses. And no people. Either someone over there left the stables open or we’ve got an actual town of horses. Over.”

That he was not very surprised at what he just heard was also disconcerting. The expected confusion and initial skepticism aside, he was taking the notion of flying winged horses and a town populated by more assumedly intelligent horses rather well. Perhaps he was more adaptive than he gave himself credit for. Or perhaps he needed to update his regimen of prescription psychosomatic medication…

An additional report from the sniper team regained his attention, “Sir, we’ve got a situation developing. Over.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Alexander requested elaboration, “What is it, sniper team? Is it coming from the town?”

“Affirmative. I’m seeing what looks like a number of organized columns of horses. They’re all wearing armor and they have weapons. Armaments include spears, swords, javelins, shields, and crossbows. Looks like they’re marching out to meet us. Over.”

‘This doesn’t bode well…’ Alexander thought. Thinking back on the flying horses spotted earlier, he realized that they were a scouting party, likely from the town. That the horses now apparently possessed an organized military and wielded medieval weaponry were beginning to seriously indicate that they were intelligent, and the conspicuous absence of people in the town supported the idea.

Focusing back on the current situation, he figured the approaching force of armed soldiers was likely a response to the convoy’s own approach towards the town.

Realizing that it was an extremely delicate situation before him, Alexander sat back and considered his options…

He could meet the horses with open hostility and have all vehicles open fire on them. He was fairly confident that even their dated 21st century hardware could overpower the equines and their archaic weapons. There was the possibility, however, that doing so would provoke whatever nation these horses belonged to and place himself and his men in a prolonged state of war, something he doubted they could sustain for long given their current circumstances of being stranded in an essentially alien and likely hostile world.

On the other hand, since these horses were likely intelligent, there was the possibility of being able to reason with them. A number of potential complications rushed to the forefront of his mind immediately after the thought, the most prominent among them being the strong possibility of a language barrier. Diplomacy would not get either side far if all they could do is gibber at each other, though it would be quite an entertaining spectacle. He also did not know how the horses would take an attempt at outreach. Would they mistake an approach as an attack? Would they take it as a sign of weakness and attack themselves? A diplomatic approach was beginning to sound like quite the headache…

After weighing both options, Alexander opted for the diplomatic approach and hoped for the best. Grabbing the radio, he began making arrangements, “Alpha Lead, Bradleys 3 and 4, up front. I’ll be taking point in my own vehicle. We’re going to meet the locals. This is a diplomatic proposition, so weapons hold. Over.”

Receiving affirmative replies from his designated escorts, he motioned to the driver to make for the front of the convoy and join with them. The driver, having heard his commander’s intent to try and communicate with the horses, decided to voice his concern over what they were about to do, “Uh, are you sure about this sir? I mean, they’re horses.”

“Indeed they are. They also live in a town and wear armor and wield weapons. I think it’s worth trying to see if they can be reasoned with, even if it’s a real long shot. If things do go south and we end up having to blow them apart, we can at least say we tried.” replied Alexander.

Giving a noncommittal nod to his commander’s justification, the driver returned his full attention to his driving. Hiss, having listened in on everything from Alexander’s shoulders, reminded him of its presence, tickling his ear with its tongue. Jerking his head away, he eyed the personal space-invading reptile, “What?”

“(You’re seriously going to try and talk to horses? Really? Fancy yourself an animal whisperer, do you?)”

“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” he retorted.

“(… Fair enough. But you know this can go wrong in so many ways.)”

Sighing, he conceded to Hiss’ point, “Yes, but still… If we just attack outright, we’ll definitely set ourselves up for a fight and probably more down the road. At least if we try, there’s a chance it’ll work and we’ll be able to work something out with these horses.”

“(I still say it’s quite a gamble, but at least you can justify it. Just be careful. Your succulent hide is not yours to lose, after all.)”

He raised an eyebrow at Hiss’ sudden poetic turn in speech. “I didn’t think you cared.” he said sarcastically.

“(Should one not care for what belongs to them?)”

Alexander decided to stop talking at that, feeling the conversation was getting rather uncomfortable. Looking away from the snake’s bedroom eyes, he noticed the driver gawking at him and Hiss again. He cleared his throat once more, diverting the driver’s attention, “Mind the road, brother.”

“Ah- Yes sir.”

Straightening his backside and setting his jaw, Lightning Strike bellowed the order to begin marching to the assembled columns of Guards, “FORWARD MARCH!”

Five hundred strong, the detachment from the Ponyville Royal Guard garrison would engage and hold back the metal creatures, hopefully pushing them back. If not that, they would at least stall the creatures long enough for the rest of the garrison to evacuate the town.

Lightning Strike had assembled a sizable fighting force and was now at its forefront, all of them marching towards the metal beasts. After awhile, the creatures had finally come into view. Seeing that they had fully stopped and were no longer advancing toward Ponyville, he ordered a full stop to the marching columns so he could assess the peculiar but welcome development, “COLUMN HALT!”

As he looked at the creatures, he was taken by their sheer size. Even at a distance they were massive, easily towering over any of his Guards. The largest creature, which resembled a giant brick on wheels, was easily seen even from its position in the back from the rest of the creatures.

Lightning Strike’s previous confidence and resolve began to waver once he beheld the metal creatures in person. From the incessantly loud flying ones to the stone-still land-bound beasts, they varied in shape and color but were all very threatening. He found himself silently reciting a last prayer for mercy and forgiveness when he finally tore his gaze away from the metal monsters.

Seeing his Guards behind him begin to shuffle nervously from the sight of the metal beasts, he decided it was time to “do or die,” as Low Flight would often say. Just as he was about to call the order to charge and attack, a Guard called out, “Movement from the beasts!”

Looking back towards the creatures, he saw that a small group of them had broken away from the main body and were heading straight for him and the columns of Guards. A candle lit up over his head. Perhaps the group that broke off from the rest of the creatures was a delegation of some sort. That would mean the creatures were intelligent and wished to communicate with the ponies. At least, that was his deepest hope.

After reaching half the distance between the columns of Guards and the rest of their kind, the breakaway group of creatures stopped and remained there, seemingly waiting for the Guards to do the same.

Weighing his options, Lightning Strike decided to act on the assumption that the creatures were trying to meet them halfway in communicating with them and decided to do the same. Stepping forward, he looked back at Low Flight and his squad, “Sergeant Low Flight! You and your squad are with me. We’re going to meet with these creatures. The rest of you! Hold here until we return!”

“We’re going to 'meet' with these things, sir? You sure about that?” Low Flight asked, clearly not comfortable with the idea.

Lightning Strike heaved a sigh, “Frankly sergeant, no, I’m not. But if there’s even a slim chance of dodging a fight with these things, which I’d remind you we’ve not the slightest idea of what they’re capable of, I’m going to take it. Besides, they’ve sent out a group to meet us. That must mean something, don’t you think?”

Understanding the lieutenant’s reasoning, although still a little apprehensive, Low Flight nodded, “Yes sir. Squad! We’re moving!”

Heading out with Low Flight’s squad in tow, Lightning Strike could only hope that his gamble would pay off, and not in their grisly deaths.

If not…

‘Please let it be open casket…’

Chapter 3: Friend or Foe

Chapter 3: Friend or Foe

Alexander honestly did not expect his ploy to work. He expected the horses to misinterpret their approach as an attack and attack themselves in a thunderous stampede of hooves and glorified pointed sticks, or be terrified out of their minds, break rank, turn tail, and retreat in an equally thunderous stampede of hooves and glorified pointed sticks, albeit to a greater comical effect that he would have been sure to have recorded.

Rather, a small group of them had broken away from the main body of armored horses and were now on an approach towards him and his escorts. Staring at the approaching equines, he gave voice to his astonishment, “I can’t believe it’s working.”

“Me either.” the driver concurred.

“(… Really? They’re really going to?)”

Upon hearing Hiss, Alexander promptly turned his head to face the snake, a level of smug satisfaction apparent on his features.

Hiss became unamused, “(Oh don’t look at me like that. You’re just as surprised as I am.)”

Alexander maintained his smirk, “True, but I’m still going to enjoy your astonishment.”

“(Oh, stop dawdling, you. You’ve got some horses to woo.)”

“Must you always have such an undertone? Well, whatever. Wish me luck.” he said with exasperation.

Hiss only smiled before slithering off Alexander’s shoulders and back down into his pack on the floor, disappearing inside.

Looking back out at the horses that were approaching them, he noted a few rather peculiar aspects about them. The first was their armor. It was colored a brilliant gold and was very reminiscent of Classical Grecian armor in design. There was also their weapons. They were armed with a number of spears, swords, javelins, shields, and crossbows, just as the sniper team had said, and more astoundingly were somehow able to grip them with their hooves. How they did so was beyond him.

‘Must be magic.’ he thought sarcastically.

Regaining his focus, Alexander radioed the escorts, “Bradley 3, disembark your squad and put them on me. 4, yours is on standby. Alpha Lead, keep watch. And remember to smile. We’re trying to make a good first impression. Over.”

Replacing the radio on the dashboard, he looked at the driver, “Keep the engine running and stay ready.”

The driver nodded, “Will do, sir.”

Alexander closed his laptop and placed it inside his pack, hoping Hiss would not drain its battery using it as a tanning bed. He opened the passenger door and stepped outside before being joined by his men. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he was amazed at how fresh the air in this world was. The musty, often tiberium-contaminated air of Kazakhstan just could not compare.

Glancing at the squad of soldiers that would accompany him as his bodyguards, he looked over their black and grey polymer body armor, noting their faceplates, which completely obscured their faces behind a red T-shaped visor. He hoped their less-than friendly appearance would not set the horses off.

Straightening his tie and peaked cap, Alexander motioned to the squad to follow him and started walking towards the horses, who had stopped a distance away from them, taking in their appearance just as he and his men were taking in theirs. Closing the distance between himself and the equines, he hoped for the best, or at least to not get run through with a spear or sword.

‘Twice in one lifetime is enough…’

As they closed the distance between themselves and the group of metal beasts that had gone out to meet them, Lightning Strike and his accompanying Guard squad witnessed what appeared to be a door opening from the side of the lead creature. Stepping out of it was a bipedal creature of some kind. A mechanical whirring and the sound of metal thudding against the ground came from behind one of the larger metal creatures. Soon after, the biped was joined by six more of its kind, upon which they began walking over to where the ponies stood.

It was then the lieutenant and his Guards realized that the metal creatures were actually vehicles, though how they were able to move without being drawn by anything was beyond them. Glancing up at the flying creatures that were not far off, they began to wonder if those were vehicles as well, perhaps some kind of airship.

The approach of the bipeds regained their attention. At twenty paces distance the bipeds stopped, the lead one standing straight, placing its… hands, they assumed they were, behind its back and looked Lightning Strike right in the eye. The others fanned out behind it and stood rigid and stiff, completely unmoving.

Lightning Strike and his Guards barely kept themselves from gawking at the bipeds’ utterly alien appearance. The apparent leader of them was easily distinguishable from the rest, who looked completely identical to each other. Clothed in strangely Equestrian-like garments, the leader of the bipeds was impeccably dressed. Sporting what looked like a black suit and tie, overcoat, and peaked officer’s cap reminiscent of the kind often worn by Royal Guard officers in Stalliongrad, the leader gave an air of long-lived authority. The various emblems and insignias of a likely military nature that decorated the leader’s outfit only accentuated its appearance, the most notable of them being a red and black chamfered triangle depicting a black hand print.

Its apparent subordinates, however, were not as aesthetically agreeable. Clad from top to bottom in black and grey armor of some kind with pouches in various places, their appearance produced an air of menace. While the their leader’s face was visible, theirs was completely covered by their helmets and masks, the glowing crimson perpendicular slits seemingly staring right into the Guards. The weapons gripped in their hands were also as strange and threatening as their wielders. Elongated in design and fitted with a number of contraptions, the bipeds’ weapons held an untold promise of extraordinary power.

The two groups continued to stare at each other, almost daring the other side to make the first move. After a few tense moments, Lightning Strike decided to break the silence, “Halt! Be you friend or foe?”

The biped leader’s eyes seemed to widen a bit as it quirked an eyebrow, as if it was astounded that he could speak. Lightning Strike felt a little incredulous at the implied astonishment of the biped, ‘Have they never seen a pony before?’

Regaining its composure, the lead biped straightened its back before calling out in a masculine voice in perfect Equestrian, “Friend!”

That the being had just spoken to him in his own tongue was quite shocking to Lightning Strike. Glancing behind him, he saw that he was not the only one amazed at what happened. Low Flight and his squad were wide-eyed, Flash nearly dropping his spear. The lieutenant was suddenly feeling much more confident about the outcome of this encounter; these beings were intelligent, spoke the same language as the ponies, and have not yet displayed hostile intent.

Lightning Strike decided to assert himself as a martial authority to the bipedal beings to try and pry as much information as possible from them. Hoping not to set the bipeds off due to some unknown cultural bravado on their part, he spoke, “In the name of the Princesses, the Royal Sisters who rule the Principality of Equestria, I demand you identify yourselves and state your reason for being here!”

He swore the leader stifled a laugh before replying, “I am Confessor Alexander Andric of the Brotherhood of Nod. We greet you. We were a reinforcement convoy headed to one of our own locales when an anomalous event displaced us from our world to yours. We had seen your town when we first arrived and headed towards it with the hope of finding assistance. You have my apologies if we startled you with our approach. May I ask who I have the pleasure of speaking with?”

‘Startled? That’s an understatement.’ Lightning Strike thought with slight annoyance.

Finding this “confessor” affable if nothing else, he figured it could not hurt to start a dialogue with him, firstly by giving his own name and title, “I am Lieutenant Lightning Strike of the Equestrian Royal Guard.”

The confessor nodded, “A pleasure to meet you, lieutenant.”

Lightning Strike fell silent at that, taking a moment to process everything the confessor had told him, ‘Wayward travelers from another world. I almost wouldn’t believe it. These strange visitors and their war machines… Wait, war machines?’

He froze up, thinking back on what the confessor had told him about his group, that they were a “reinforcement” convoy, denoting a martial nature on their part. That their vehicles did not look like simple carriages supported the notion that these visitors were more than simply wayward travelers who had lost their way. To have a foreign military presence in Equestria was concerning enough, but that they were aliens capable of Celestia knows what only made things that much more worrying. Without thinking he pressed the matter, “You said you were a reinforcement convoy. You are soldiers?”

The confessor seemed slightly taken aback, as if surprised that the lieutenant had just figured out that they were soldiers, “Yes, I suppose you can say that. As I said, we were on our way to reinforce one of our locales. You suspect our presence, I’m guessing? Perfectly understandable. Technically we ARE a foreign military in your country. Though I assure you that you have nothing to worry about. We posses no hostile intent and simply wish to return home.”

The confessor’s words carried the odd quality of truth from an untrustworthy source. To anypony else, it would seem like a sincere admittance from an intriguing alien visitor with a pleasant disposition, but Lightning Strike found the confessor and his assurances somewhat shifty. He could not place his hoof on it, but there was definitely something shady about the confessor, that his assurance of their lack of hostile intent or a secret agenda, while true for the moment, were but platitudes to hold the ponies over until he could decide his next move.

While Lightning Strike was somewhat suspicious of the confessor, it soon became apparent that not all of his subordinates shared his suspicions. This dissent came in the form of Thunder, who decided to give voice to a brilliant idea he concocted, “Say, if these guys are soldiers, maybe they could help us against the demons?”

“Hey, now there’s an idea. I mean, those war chariots of theirs or whatever they are look pretty mean, and those flying things… Who knows what kind of damage they can do?” Flash added.

Low Flight, however, was not as receptive to the idea, scowling at the two for speaking out of turn as well as potentially giving the alien visitors leverage over them. Thunder and Flash withered under their sergeant’s intense glare, wondering what merciless reprimand they would receive upon their grey hides and how long it would be until they regained feeling in their legs and wings afterwards. Lightning Strike in the meanwhile was on the verge of a panic attack, praying to Celestia as well as whatever deities the bipeds were bothered with that the confessor had not heard Thunder.

He would be forsaken in that regard. “I’m sorry? Help against what? Demons, he said? Do you require assistance?” the confessor asked, apparently flabbergasted.

Low Flight immediately tried to preemptively disabuse any notions the confessor might be having, “Never you mind! It’s no concern of yours. You- sir?”

Lightning Strike raised a hoof, silencing the sergeant. Figuring the damage was already done, he decided to try and turn the current situation to his advantage, an exceptionally bold and risky move considering his typical aversion to such. Taking the confessor’s last question as an open-ended offer, he posed his own to see how willing the bipeds were to help, “Perhaps we do. Would you be willing help us?”

The confessor was silent for a moment, apparently in thought, before replying, “That honestly depends. I’m a bit wary about jumping into a foreign war without at least understanding the circumstances. I believe your subordinate said something about demons? A simple pejorative for your enemies? Or actual demons? Fire and brimstone and all that?”

Before Lightning Strike could answer, Low Flight decided to finally let his objections to what he was attempting to do known to the lieutenant. “Sir! You can’t be serious about trying to enlist these strangers to help us! We have no idea where they’re from, any previous loyalties they had, or what they’re capable of!” he whispered.

“Indeed we don’t. But I’d rather find out what they can do with them on our side than our enemies’.” Seeing that Low Flight was still apprehensive, he continued, hoping to put his worries at rest, “I understand your being doubtful about this, sergeant, but this occurrence may be a valuable opportunity to turn things around for us, and one we might regret if we don’t take it.”

Low Flight sighed, “You have a point, sir. But we should be careful around them regardless.”

Lightning Strike grinned at that, “Of course, sergeant. You know me.”

Having convinced Low Flight, he returned his attention to the confessor and his soldiers, who had been watching the ponies in disguised interest, undoubtedly curious about what they were whispering about among themselves. He opted to be honest with the confessor, hoping he would not scare him off with the particulars of their predicament, “Actual demons. From the depths of Tartarus itself. They have attacked our country, raiding outlaying settlements and even the major cities, killing many innocents.”

“Oh… That’s terrible. Tartarus, that’s hell? The underworld?” the confessor asked.

Blinking at the unfamiliar term “hell,” Lightning Strike elaborated for him, “… Yes, it is. It’s the underworld from which evil creatures of all kinds originate. They normally can’t escape from it into our world, but that has changed as of late.”

He continued, trying to appeal to their consciences, “Many of our citizens have been killed by the demons, and many more are suffering greatly, having been displaced from their homes.”

He finished by purporting the notion that the confessor and his group would earn the good graces of more than just Equestria should they choose to help, “It is not only our country that has been attacked by the demons, but our neighbors as well. The gryphons, the buffalos, the zebras… all have been attacked. This does not solely affect our nation.”

Lightning Strike stopped there, waiting to see the confessor’s reaction, and he could almost see a strange bulb-shaped object suddenly light up above his head before replying, “That’s quite a lot to take in. So your entire world has been besieged by these demons, then? Well, far be it from us to sit idly by and watch innocents burn. Yours is a righteous cause, and we are willing to join you in your fight against the evil that plagues your country.”

Lightning Strike stared at the confessor, unbelieving that his gambit had worked. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, he regained his composure before addressing the biped, “You have our appreciation. I hope to see your mettle against the demons.”

“That you shall. I look forward to working with you, lieutenant.” Turning back towards his soldiers, the confessor said something to them unheard by the ponies. The soldiers saluted before spinning on their heels and walking back behind one of the vehicles. The confessor turned back towards the lieutenant, “I take it you’re from the town, yes? It’s the only sign of civilization we’ve seen out here.”

Lightning Strike nodded, “Yes we are. I’m the commander of the Ponyville garrison of Royal Guard.”

Again he saw the confessor stifling a laugh, “Ponyville? That is the name of the town?”

Lightning Strike raised an eyebrow, failing to see what was so funny, “Yes, it is.”

Quickly burying his mirth, the confessor continued, “Might I be able to visit… Ponyville, then? I would like to see things for myself so I can fully appreciate your situation. And also to help you put at ease the town’s inhabitance, who are likely perturbed about our appearance, correct?”

Suddenly remembering a particular conversation he had with Mayor Mare about possibly having to evacuate Ponyville that he now had to rescind, he agreed to the confessor’s request, “Uh, yes! I mean, yes, that would be most helpful, actually. If you could accompany us back to Ponyville…”

“Splendid! We’ll follow you.” the confessor said as he made for his vehicle.

“Wait! You’re going to follow us in your vehicles?” Lightning Strike asked, finding the idea objectionable for a number of reasons.

“Of course. It’s quite a walk to town from here.” the confessor replied, already inside his vehicle.

“You can’t-“

“Lead the way, lieutenant!” With that, the confessor slammed the door to his vehicle shut.

Staring for a moment, Lightning Strike sighed before turning towards Low Flight and his squad, “Sergeant, you and your squad return to your column. We’re heading back to town with our… guests.”

“Yes sir.” Low Flight motioned for his squad to follow him before galloping back to their column, resuming their designated spot.

Lightning Strike in the meanwhile walked back to the columns of Guards, who had been watching the entire exchange between their commander and the bipedal aliens. Sucking in a deep breath, he yelled the order to return home, “We’re heading back! COLUMN! ABOUT FACE!”

As one, all five hundred Guards spun around, facing back towards Ponyville.

“MARCH!”

Beginning the march back to town, he could hear sighs of relief from Guards who were glad to not have to fight the metal beasts and grumbles of disappointment from those who were irritated at having marched out all this distance and not seeing any action for it. He shared in all their feelings; relief at having dodged a needless fight that probably would have ended badly, irritation at having sortied a fighting force of five hundred Guards for nothing, and a mixture of curiosity and wariness about their newfound allies.

Not far off, Thunder and Flash could be heard conversing, apparently pleased with themselves with how things turned out. “That worked out nicely, I think. We got ourselves some new allies!” Thunder said, quite satisfied with himself.

“Who knew your big mouth would actually help things instead of just getting us into trouble.” Flash remarked.

“It still has…”

Their sergeant’s voice interrupted their self-congratulation, the low and menacing tone cutting into them like the sharpest sword. They both froze, sweat drops beginning to form on their foreheads. Flash’s life began to flash before his eyes.

Thunder tried to make a consequentialist argument to persuade Low Flight to spare him and Flash from whatever terrible fate he had in mind for them. Barely being able to speak without stuttering, he made his case, “B-but sir! The lieutenant convinced those beings to help us! It all worked out in the end, huh?”

Low Flight eyed the two, trying to think of the best way to get their hopes up before tearing them asunder. After a moment, he thought of something suitable. Sighing, he said “… That he did. And while I’m still wary of it, you two may have stumbled cock-first upon a way to turn things around for us, maybe Equestria. I guess your big mouth did actually work out for us this time, Thunder.”

Thunder and Flash sighed in relief, thinking themselves saved. Low Flight looked at them with barely disguised sadistic glee as he prepared the killing blow, “But that still doesn’t change the fact that you circumvented the chain of command by just blurting out your idea without running it by the lieutenant or me first.”

Thunder and Flash went wide-eyed as their jaws dropped, their attempt to save themselves having failed. “But Sarge! He- I-“ Flash began before Low Flight cut him off.

“Circumvention of authority like that cannot go unpunished. Such requires… disciplinary action.” he finished lowly.

The two stared at their sergeant, noting a very unsettling smile forming on his features. They lowered their heads and acceped their fates, Flash voicing their shared resignation.

“Aww, horsefeathers…”

Making himself comfortable in the humvee’s passenger seat, Alexander could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. By any standard, the encounter with the horses had gone over rather well. No one was killed, they actually talked with each other, and he was on the verge of establishing a working relationship with the local authorities.

‘Step one in assuring a supply base for ourselves.’ he thought with satisfaction.

The driver, noting the faint smile on his commander’s face, queried the outcome of his meeting with the horses, “So how’d it go, sir? You seem pleased.”

“You could say that. I’ve agreed for us to help these horses in their fight against demons, so follow them when they start moving. Keep a comfortable distance, though. We don’t want to spook them.” Alexander ordered, waiting for the inevitable disbelief from the driver at the absurd premise and seemingly idiotic decision to jump blindly into a foreign conflict with what are essentially aliens.

“Uh, sir? That… That’s, uh…” the driver stuttered, at a loss for words.

Alexander raised a hand, “I know what you’re thinking, and no, I haven’t gone mad. I know what I’m doing. Need I remind you, we’re stranded in this world, completely cut off. Helping the locals against a common threat is a good first step in securing a supply base for ourselves.”

“Good point, sir.” the driver conceded. He paused for a moment, just picking up on something else peculiar about what his commander just said, “Wait… Demons? You said we’re going to help them fight demons? As in actual demonic, from hell, fire and brimstone demons? Uh… sir?”

Alexander let out a sharp laugh before answering him, “That’s what I said. Yes, actual demonic demons from Tartarus, what they call hell around here. From the flying and talking horse soldiers and the distinct lack of tiberium everywhere, I think it’s safe to assume we’re ‘not in Kansas anymore,’ brother.”

The driver, still apprehensive about fighting actual demons from hell, asked, “Uh, you sure we can take on actual demons, sir? I mean, demons…”

Alexander gave a noncommittal shrug, “If these horses can fight them with spears and swords, I think our hardware won’t have too much difficulty with them either.”

“Again, good point sir.” the driver said before revving up the humvee, taking after the columns of horses who had spun around and were now marching back towards the town.

Grabbing the radio, Alexander decided to finally brief the convoy on the current situation. Clearing his throat, he spoke, “ This is Confessor Alexander Andric to all convoy elements. As some of you may have noticed, we’ve been displaced to a world that is clearly not our own. We’ve made contact with the natives, a bunch of sentient horses. Yes, you heard right, sentient horses. We’ll be helping them in their fight against demons. From hell. Don’t take too long trying to wrap your heads around that. We’ve got sentient talking horses that can fly, after all.”

He looked out the window, seeing his escorts keep pace with the humvee. Turning his attention back towards the radio, he issued his orders to the convoy, “I’m heading to the horses’ town, Ponyville, to work something out with them.” Hearing some snickers over the radio, he waited a moment for them to subside before continuing, “Laugh at the town’s name now and get it out of your systems before I call for you. Escorts stay on me. All remaining convoy elements, hold position and await further orders. Out.”

Hiss, having heard everything, slithered back out from the pack on the floor, making its way up to Alexander’s shoulders. Making itself comfortable around his neck, Hiss decided to voice its opinion on the matter, “(You’re rather quick to help these horses against the forces of hell. Kind of treading unknown territory, don’t you think?)”

Alexander replaced the radio back on its hook before replying, “I process things rather quickly. You know that.”

“(I’d call that 'hastiness' or ‘rashness.’ Rather ill-advised to just jump into an unknown geopolitical situation like this, I’d think. Become friends with the horses while becoming the enemy of who? This can blow up in our faces in so many ways. You know that, right?)”

He waved off Hiss’ concerns, “You said the same thing in Kazakhstan about Old Charlie. We’ll figure it out as we go along. It’ll be fine.”

Hiss could only stare at his impassiveness at the gravity of the current situation, “(It’s hard to believe you’ve lasted this long if you’re this laid back about this sort of thing.)”

He chortled at the snake’s amazement at him, “Your faith in me is overwhelming. How’s this, then? I promise to freak out and panic about all this after an aspirin and some scotch. Honestly, though, I’ve worked the margins. We’re stranded here. We help these horses, be valuable allies to them, not a terribly hard feat considering they use spears and such while we’ve got tanks, and they might put us up at least until we figure out what’s going on. Besides, if what this Lieutenant Lightning Strike tells me is true, there’s already a united front against these demons. I think it’s a safe bet for now.”

Accepting his justification for the moment, Hiss moved on to another subject that had raised a scaly eyebrow, “(Whatever you say. And demons? We’re going to fight demons from hell? Normally I’d commend you for being so ballsy, but I think you might be a little in over your head with this one.)”

“Look at it this way. If we’re all crucified upside down while being burned and flayed alive and possibly being sexually violated by demons in the burning fires of hell after all this, then I’ll know that this was the wrong thing to do.” he replied.

“(Ah, I’ve always enjoyed your pitch-black sense of humor. One of the many reasons I made you mine.)”

Quickly losing any levity, Alexander suppressed a shudder and looked away, not wanting to see the sudden lustful reptilian gaze that he just knew was now observing him. Looking out at the columns of marching equine soldiers, he knew Hiss was right in one regard; he was taking an extraordinary gamble in joining these horses’ fight essentially blind aside from what little they had told him. Having made his decision, he only hoped that it was the right one.

As the town the horses called “Ponyville” came closer into view, Alexander had but a single thought…

‘I’m going to have a hard time working this into my memoir…’

Chapter 4: Building Bridges

Chapter 4: Building Bridges

Twilight and the others milled about the marketplace, trying to find a vendor that still had wares to sell. With most of the refugees taken care of for the day and the town meeting within the hour, they decided to waste some time, scouring the few stalls open for business for anything of use. As Twilight looked over some fragrant candles on display, a familiar voice accented with a drawl called out to her, “Heya’ Twi’!”

Turning towards the direction of the voice, Twilight beamed as she saw a certain orange earth pony wearing her signature brown Stetson hat. Waving her over, she greeted her friend, “Applejack! Hi! Over here!”

Applejack returned her smile, coming over to where she stood, “How’ve ya’ been, Twi’? Sorry ah’ haven’t seen ya’ in a while. Just been real busy.”

Twilight only smiled, “It’s okay, Applejack. We’ve all been busy. You just come back from the soup kitchen?”

Applejack nodded, “Yep. Just delivered a few cart-loads of apples to ‘em.”

“Wow, you’ve been working real hard, Applejack, maintaining a constant supply of food for the refugees. Make sure you don’t forget to take care of yourself.” Twilight advised, worried about Applejack’s sometimes excessive work ethic.

Applejack waved off her friend’s worry and tried to reassure her, “Don’t you worry none, sugarcube. Ah’ promise not ta’ get carried away. Ah’m no good to anypony if ah’m passed out on the ground, after all.”

Satisfied for now, Twilight changed the subject, “Do you know about the town meeting the mayor called? It’s less than an hour.”

“I do.” called out a slightly raspy voice from above. The two looked up to see a cyan pegasus descending towards them.

“Rainbow!” they both greeted. Their joy at seeing their friend turned to concern when they noticed the bloodshot quality of her eyes and the bags beneath them.

“Gosh Rainbow… You okay? You look deader than an armadillo in the desert heat.” Applejack noted.

Rainbow let out a lengthy yawn before replying, “Hey guys. Yeah, I’m fine. Just been busy with the weather, that’s all. Half the weather patrol’s been drafted, so I’ve…” She stopped to yawn once more before continuing, “been working the clouds by myself a lot lately.”

“I’ve heard. Don’t overwork yourself… Geez, I never thought I’d be telling YOU that.” Twilight said, giggling a little at the end, Applejack joining her.

“Hey! I’m not that lazy!” Rainbow retorted, her sudden burst of energy in her denial causing Twilight and Applejack to laugh even more.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow returned to the matter of the town meeting, “Anyways, I overheard the mayor talking with some of the Royal Guards. They’re getting ready to evacuate Ponyville.”

The two mares’ smiles fell off their faces, a foreboding feeling overcoming them. After a moment, Twilight put forth a theory as to the reason for the impending evacuation, “I bet it has something to do with that light past the Everfree Forest and why the Royal Guard garrison was mobilizing.”

Applejack and Rainbow nodded in agreement. A fringe thought suddenly struck Applejack. “But where would we go? The nearest place is Canterlot, but those Diamond Dog scoundrels busted up the rail line there. We’d hafta’ hike there!” she exclaimed.

“That’s a bad idea for a lot of reasons. The road to Canterlot must be infested with bandits and demons.” Twilight replied.

Their heads drooped, the seemingly hopeless situation draining their spirits. Rainbow suddenly brightened, a glimmer of hope becoming apparent to her. “But if they’re calling an evacuation, they must’ve thought of something, right? Maybe they’ll be moving ponies from here to Canterlot with carriages! Or maybe they got the rail line fixed!” she suggested.

“Ah’ sure hope so.” Applejack said, not sharing in Rainbow’s optimism.

“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” a trio of voices suddenly called, interrupting their speculation about the evacuation. They looked up to see Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity trotting over to them.

“Hey y’all! Good ta’ see ya’!”

“Hi girls!”

Fluttershy at once noticed Rainbow’s exhaustion. Immediately she was at Rainbow’s side, placing a concerned hoof on her shoulder, “Oh goodness, Rainbow. Are you alright? You look positively exhausted.”

Rainbow waved her off, “I’m fine, Fluttershy. Just a little tired. Though it’d be worse if it weren’t for you. Thanks for helping me with the weather when you could.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Just promise me you’ll get some rest soon.” Fluttershy requested with a soft smile.

“Alright, alright. So, what’ve you all been up to?” Rainbow asked, curious about what her friends had been doing in the time since she had seen them last.

“I’ve been making blankets and quilts nonstop for all the refugees. Not that I mind, but my stitching hooves have been cramping quite a bit lately.” Rarity said with a grimace, holding up a slightly throbbing hoof.

“I thought Sugarcube Corner used to be busy, but as a soup kitchen it’s just nonstop over there! It’d be great if things were normal.” Pinkie said, finishing with a slightly depressed tone.

Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment before speaking, “I’ve been helping tend to wounded Guards at the hospital. There’s just so many that have been hurt protecting us! And their injuries…”

Rainbow placed a wing on her despondent friend, comforting her, “It’ll be okay, Fluttershy. The Royal Guards are tough. They’ll be back on their hooves before you know it.”

“Especially with you tending to their wounds, darling, with your special touch.” Rarity added, using a suggestive tone at the end.

Fluttershy blushed slightly at that, pink forming on her cheeks. The rest began giggling, laughing at the canary yellow pegasus’ embarrassment. She soon broke out into laughter as well. As they enjoyed a brief moment of levity, a trio of mares ran past them before promptly fainting in a dramatic fashion, collapsing on the ground.

“The horror! THE HORROR!” the beige one screamed.

“It was awful!” the pink one exclaimed.

“A disaster! A horrible, HORRIBLE DISASTER!” the other pink one yelled.

“Wha- what’s going on, Daisy? What happened?” Twilight asked, walking over to the downed ponies.

“Monsters! Metal monsters! The likes of which were never seen in Equestria before! AND THEY’RE HERE! Just on the outskirts of town!” Daisy replied as she craned her neck to face Twilight.

“Ah’ guess that’s what the evacuation’s about, then.” Applejack muttered. Immediately she regretted mentioning it as the three mares on the ground went wide-eyed, the news of the evacuation being new to them, as well as more reason to panic.

“They’re evacuating the town!?”

“But where will we go!?”

“We’re trapped!”

“WE’RE DOOMED!” all three screamed in unison before actually fainting, their overtaxing of their lungs having finally knocked them unconscious.

The six friends could only stare at the three prone forms on the ground. Twilight let out a quiet sigh at the melodramatic display. “Come on, guys. Let’s get to the town meeting. It’s about to start.” she said.

“Hopefully they’ll stay like that until after the meeting.” Rainbow muttered.

“As mean as it sounds, I’m inclined to agree with Rainbow.” Rarity concurred, shaking her head at the trio’s antics.

“Oh, I hope they’ll be alright.” Fluttershy added, looking at the three as she walked past them.

“They’ll be fine!” Pinkie chirped.

“Metal monsters… I hope the Royal Guard can handle it.” Twilight said.

“You and me both, sugarcube.” Applejack muttered, walking up alongside her.

As they made their way over to Ponyville Town Hall, doubt and worry plagued their minds. They could only hope the Royal Guard commander and Mayor Mare actually did think of something. Otherwise, they would all be in for a very long walk…

The humvee and its escorts came to a full stop on the main road into Ponyville. The columns of armored horses had dispersed, the equine soldiers disappearing into the town. Their leader, Lieutenant Lightning Strike, was standing with a group of his soldiers a distance away from the vehicles, looking expectantly at the humvee.

Alexander looked at Hiss, who was still on his shoulders. Motioning his eyes down towards his pack on the floor, he attempted to eject the snake from its comfortable spot around his neck, “I don’t think it’ll help negotiations to have a five foot poisonous cobra hanging off me. Off, Hiss.”

Hiss was hurt at that, “(What, are you ashamed to be seen with me? You’ve got no problem conversing with me in front of your men.)”

“Because I’M their commander. I don’t have that kind of weight with these horses, not yet, anyways. I’m not sure why, but something tells me they’re a skittish bunch. Causing a panicked stampede probably won’t gin up a lot of good feelings. So please?” Alexander asked, almost pleading.

“(Hmph. At least you can justify it. Fine, I’ll wait here. Don’t take too long, though. You know I love staring at the back of your head.)” With that, Hiss returned to the pack, but not before casting a suggestive look at him.

Suppressing the disturbing memory of this latest exchange with Hiss, Alexander stepped out of the humvee, being joined once more by his bodyguards. As he walked over to the waiting horses, he took note of the oddly terrestrial architecture of the town. With their exposed framework and thatched roofs, the buildings resembled those of medieval European villages. Something else he noticed was the slightly ‘cartoonish’ style to everything. From the buildings to the trees and clouds, everything in the world seemed to hold this strange quality. It was as if they had stumbled into a children’s storybook.

The horse who had called himself Lightning Strike stepped forward, setting his eyes on the confessor and his men. “If you’ll follow me, confessor. I need to inform the mayor about this change in our situation. No doubt she’ll want to make an announcement about your presence to dispel any rumors and calm the ponies down.” he said.

“Alright… Did you say ‘ponies?’ Is that what you call yourselves?” Alexander asked, remembering that he had not actually bothered to ask what the horses called themselves. Hearing a few snickers behind him, he turned around and cast a raised eyebrow at his men, signaling his desire for them to shut up.

“… Yes. We are ponies. While we’re on the subject, what do your kind refer to yourselves as?” Lightning Strike asked in return, apparently thinking the same thing as him.

“We are humans. Homo sapiens if you want to get technical.” Alexander replied.

Some of the ponies seemed surprised at that, a few even gaping slightly at the humans. Burying their apparent astonishment, they began leading Alexander and his men towards a tall structure in the center of the town. As they made their way there, he looked around, noting the myriads of tents that were erected along the streets, in alleys, balconies, and even on clouds somehow. Dotting the area were crates and barrels of supplies and small cooking fires, providing miniscule warmth.

“I feel this town has seen happier times.” Alexander commented.

“You got that right.” Lightning Strike replied.

The inhabitants of the town were distracted from their tasks at the sight of the humans. Many gaped and gawked at them, providing a wide berth as they passed. They whispered among themselves, speculating the reason for the humans’ presence. If not for the fact that the confessor and his men were being escorted by the Royal Guard, the ponies would have likely broken out in mass panic and hysteria.

Alexander returned the ponies’ stares, albeit more discreetly. Unlike the reasonable color schemes of the Royal Guard ponies, the town’s residents sported colors that ran across the entire spectrum of the rainbow, their coats and manes ranging from red, blue, green, pink, purple, and more. Something else that drew his attention were the curious symbols printed on the ponies’ hind legs. They were various and seemingly random, no two symbols being alike.

A thought occurred to him. Stealing a look at Lightning Strike’s hind legs, he saw a pair of lightning bolts crossed with each other. ‘Lightning Strike. An apt name.’ he thought, making a mental note to ask about the symbols later on.

Arriving at their destination, Lightning Strike went up to one of his soldiers that was guarding the rear entrance. “Guard, where’s Mayor Mare? Is she inside?” he asked him.

The Guard failed to respond, staring at the seven bipedal creatures that towered over himself and his commander, standing nearly twice their height. Lightning Strike held up a hoof and somehow snapped it, bringing the Guard out of his reverie. “Guard! Mayor Mare. Where is she?” the lieutenant reiterated, annoyed with the delayed response as well as the growing crowd of ponies behind him that had come out to see his “guests.”

“Ah- uh. Inside, sir. She’s about to start the meeting and announce the evacuation.” the Guard answered as he opened the door.

Giving a nod, Lightning Strike went inside the building, gesturing to Alexander and his men to follow him. Inside was a flurry of activity, Guard and civilian ponies just barely keeping from tripping each other as they darted past one another, stacks of paper and cups of coffee balanced on their heads and backs. All froze in place as the lieutenant and the humans entered, staring unfailingly at them.

A tan pony mare with a grey mane and wearing glasses and a white collar with a green tuft was the first to snap out of her stupor. Hesitantly, she took a few steps forward, setting her eyes on Lightning Strike. “Uh, l-lieutenant? W-who- w-what-“ she stammered, unable to coherently voice her question.

“Mayor Mare, this is Confessor Alexander Andric and his soldiers. They’re humans. They were the cause of the light seen past the Everfree Forest.” Lightning Strike answered.

Alexander stepped forward, giving a bow and a tip of his cap, “Greetings, Madame Mayor. Confessor Andric of the Brotherhood of Nod, at your service. I hope our appearance hasn’t caused too much of a disruption to your fair town.”

Mayor Mare took a moment to recompose herself and gathered the courage to address the alien biped that towered over her. “Well, it was enough to almost cause us to evacuate the whole town.” she said with a hint of irritation.

“Ah, my apologies. That wasn’t our intent, to cause a panic. Though I will say in our defense that we didn’t have much choice in the matter, getting sucked into an anomalous energy event and being spat out here and all.” he replied, hoping to placate the mayor.

She sighed, unwilling to press the issue of the humans’ highly visible arrival for the time being. Straightening her glasses, she looked over at Lightning Strike. “Well, that’s at least one problem solved…” she muttered, placing a hoof against her temples.

“That’s not all, mayor.” Lightning Strike said with a chuckle, smiling at her stunned expression.

“W-what?”

“I’ve told the confessor here about our… situation, of the demons that attack our country and our town, and he’s agreed to help us defend against them.”

Mayor Mare fell silent, looking back and forth between Lightning Strike and Alexander. Catching herself, she closed her eyes and adjusted her collar’s tuft before looking up at the confessor. “Well, I do appreciate your offer to help us, confessor, but I’m not sure how much only the seven of you can do.” she said, doubt lacing her voice.

He only grinned, earning a curious look from her, “There are far more than just seven of us, Madame Mayor.”

She became surprised at that. “T-there are? How many?” she asked.

“Our numbers currently stand at one hundred fifty. We also posses a multitude of armored fighting vehicles and helicopter gunships.” he answered, laughing inside at her confused expression at the unfamiliar terms for their vehicles

“Armored fighting vehicles and helicopter gunships? What are those, exactly?”

“Powerful war machines and powerful war machines that can fly, respectively. Perhaps you’ve heard word of a large number of metal beasts on the outskirts of your town?” he asked.

“Why yes, actually. Hence the evacuation.” she replied.

“Those are them.”

Alexander swore her complexion became nearly as colorless as her mane, the reality of having such a powerful and intimidating presence so close to her town likely being too much for her to handle. “T-those monstrous things are yours!?” she squawked, pointing a shaking hoof at him.

Resisting the urge to begin laughing at the nearly petrified pony politician, he nodded, “Indeed they are. And, should you accept our offer to assist in the defense of your town, they shall be yours and the lieutenant’s as well.”

Lightning Strike’s eyes widened as a smile crept onto his face, apparently finding something the confessor had said very much to his liking. Mayor Mare in the meanwhile continued to gawk at Alexander, still processing what he just told her.

Regaining her composure once more, she primped her mane a little before leveling her excited breathing, “Well, if the lieutenant thinks it’s a good idea, who am I to argue? Confessor Andric, we accept your offer.”

Alexander nodded, “Thank you, Madame Mayor.”

She gave him a bright smile, “Oh no. Thank YOU, confessor. Truly… This will make much better news than having to tell everypony to start running for the hills.”

“Indeed. I believe you’re due to tell them in about fifteen minutes, mayor?” Lightning Strike reminded her, eyeing the old grandfather clock across the room.

Following his gaze, she became alarmed at the current reading of the clock, “Oh fi! That’s right! The meeting’s in fifteen! Ah, lieutenant, confessor, could you perhaps join me onstage? I think it would help if you said a few words to them. Oh, everypony is just going to jump at this turn of events!”

“Of course, mayor.”

“It’d be my pleasure, Madame Mayor.”

Mayor Mare trotted over to a table and motioned towards a platter of steaming cups of coffee, “While we wait for the meeting, would you gentlestallions care for some coffee?”

Both perked up at the mention of the hot bitter drink. Accepting the coffee, Alexander looked out a window as he took a sip, seeing a crowd of ponies amassing outside for the upcoming meeting.

He smiled inwardly, his plan to win over the horses now known as ponies going exceedingly well, ‘If they’re as easy to work as these two…’

He took another sip, ‘All those sermons are going to pay off today. Time to build some bridges…’

“I wish this meeting would get started already.” Rainbow muttered, impatiently tapping her hoof against the ground.

“Indeed. Everypony is getting rather anxious.” Rarity noted, looking at the crowd of ponies that were fidgeting and glancing around nervously.

After another ten minutes, Mayor Mare finally stepped out of the Town Hall building, accompanied by Lieutenant Lightning Strike and seven very tall bipedal beings. The ponies in attendance gasped at the sight of the humans, having never seen anything like them before.

Seeing the crowd becoming increasingly anxious at the sight of the humans, she decided to get the meeting started and went up to the podium on the stage. “If I may have everypony’s attention!” she called.

The din of the crowd died down, all focusing their attention on the stage, the humans particularly. Clearing her throat, Mayor Mare began, “I’m sure most of you have seen that mysterious light from past the Everfree Forest. Our Royal Guards have investigated it and discovered it to be the arrival of a large group of intelligent beings called humans.”

She paused for a moment to let the crowd absorb what they had just been told. Many in the crowd only stared at her and the humans to her side, a few ponies whispering to each other, while an aquamarine unicorn in the back started yelling about how she was right all along before being pounced upon by a beige earth pony, silencing her.

She went on, “These humans are warriors from their world. I will say right now that they are not here to invade us. They are simply lost, having somehow been displaced from their world to ours.”

She stopped to gauge the crowd’s reactions, which ranged from wary acceptance to mild skepticism to downright disbelief and suspicion.

It was then she decided to tell them the big news about the humans, “They have been told of our predicament regarding the demons’ attacks, and have agreed to help the Royal Guard defend our town!”

Immediately the crowd began chattering excitedly, being quite receptive to the idea of enlisting the humans to help protect Ponyville. They began looking at the humans differently, with excitement and hope rather than distrust and fear.

Mayor Mare smiled as she noticed the quickly brightening expressions of the crowd. She continued, hoping to elevate their morale even more and rally them, “The humans have some very powerful war machines at their disposal. The massive metal beasts that some of you have seen on the outskirts of town ARE those war machines. And they will be coming here soon to fortify Ponyville against the demons and anything else that would threaten our homes!”

The crowd began cheering, their previous feelings of despair and impending doom turning to joy and hope. Settling the crowd and regaining their attention, she gestured to the humans beside her. “Their leader would like to personally address you. Confessor, if you would, please…” she said, stepping down from the podium.

The human she indicated nodded and stepped up to the podium. He looked out into the crowd, seeing their curious and expectant looks. Taking a breath, the confessor spoke, “Greetings, pony brothers and sisters. I am Confessor Alexander Andric of the Brotherhood of Nod. My brothers and I are wayward travelers in your world, having been displaced from ours by a strange and powerful energy event.”

He paused, observing the ponies’ enraptured expressions towards him, “Your honorable Mayor Mare and Lieutenant Lightning Strike, who I have had the pleasure of meeting, have told me of your country’s struggle and your town’s plight, of your Royal Guard’s valiant fight against these demons who besiege your land, bringing so much death and destruction in their wake. It is now that we join in your fight against them.”

He continued, “We join your fight because such is the way of our Brotherhood, of Nod, of Sha E-Seer, to come to the aid of a righteous cause, yours, brothers and sisters, and to give ourselves fully to it and to you. We shall fight with you and bleed with you until victory is won!”

The ponies smiled widely, eagerly buying into his words, “Together we shall reclaim your country from the evil that plagues it! Together we shall excise these demons from this realm! Though we meet as strangers, the fires of tribulation shall forge us into brothers! And together we shall see peace in this land once again and forevermore!”

The crowd erupted into an uproar, cheering at a near deafening volume.

“BROTHERHOOD! UNITY! PEACE! PEACE THROUGH POWER!” the confessor suddenly shouted with raised fists.

Swept up in his rhetoric, the crowd began chanting the powerful phrase, bellowing it at the top of their lungs as they raised their hooves into the air with him, some even beginning to froth slightly at the mouth.

“PEACE THROUGH POWER! PEACE THROUGH POWER! PEACE THROUGH POWER!”

As they chanted, Lightning Strike and Mayor Mare exchanged nervous looks, never having seen the ponies in their charge this riled up before. They knew the town’s residents and refugees badly needed a significant morale boost, but the frenzied crowd before them was a little too much for their liking, as well as quite frightening.

Watching the confessor lead the crowd into a chant, the two shared the same thought…

‘Tone it down, pal. Geez…’

Twilight and the others could only stare in sheer amazement at the crowd of chanting ponies around them, following the confessor’s lead. Twilight had to admit that his rhetoric was quite inspiring and powerful, herself feeling quite empowered for some reason.

“Oh my. This ‘confessor’ certainly has a way with words, it seems. And that ensemble of his! I simply must meet the one responsible for it! The clean cuts, sharp definition…” Rarity trailed off, mesmerized by the confessor’s clothes.

Applejack nodded in agreement, “Land sakes… Ah’ve never seen Ponyville this whipped up. It’s like he flipped a switch and got ‘em all goin’.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit much? I mean… really.” Twilight suggested, eyeing the foaming mouth of a chanting colt beside her with thinly veiled disgust.

“Oh, I think it’s alright, so long as their spirits are lifted. They’ve been sad for sooo long now.” Fluttershy said, shielding her face from the flying spittle of some chanting fillies standing nearby.

“I guess… What do you think P- Pinkie?” Twilight’s question trailed off, her not seeing the pink party pony anywhere.

Pinkie’s shrill voice suddenly sliced through the air, chanting along with the crowd, “PEACE THROUGH POWER! PEACE THROUGH POWER!”

They all looked up to see Pinkie atop a roof with a furled hoof punching into the air in rhythm with the chanting.

Rainbow blinked before shaking her head at the sight, “Wow, Pinkie. Wow…”

Chapter 5: Setting Up Shop

Chapter 5: Setting Up Shop

On the outskirts of Ponyville, two Royal Guard pegasi were running at top speed with their wings tied and weighed down with sacks of bricks. Their grey coats were drenched with sweat, they having been almost sprinting nonstop for the half an hour, the bricks adding to the burden of their already heavy metal armor.

A sudden uproar from within the town drew their attention. Even from where they were they could hear thunderous cheering and chants of “peace through power” coming from the direction of the town square. They began to slow down a little, distracted by the noise. “What in Celestia’s Sun is going on over there?” Flash muttered.

“Man, sounds like the town’s going nuts! And what’s ‘peace through power,’ anyway? Pretty catchy!” Thunder remarked.

A small explosion detonated behind them, causing the two to jump and quicken their pace. Looking behind themselves, they saw their sergeant in flight after them, wielding a crossbow loaded with explosive bolts. “Pick up the pace, you two! No slacking! You still have two laps left!” Low Flight barked as he took aim and fired another shot.

“Oh, c’mon, Sarge! Haven’t we suffered enough!?”

“This is hard enough without you shooting at us, sir!”

“Should’ve thought about that before you opened your big mouths! You two are damn lucky these humans decided to help us instead of taking advantage of our situation! NOW RUN YOU MAGGOTS!” Low Flight bellowed.

He grinned as the two shot off into the distance, kicking up clouds of dust as they went. The cheers and chants of the town’s residents and refugees resounded once more, catching his ear.

‘Peace through power? I can get behind that…’ he thought before taking off after the subjects of his disciplinary action.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Humans are real! I KNEW it! And they’re going to help us! This is just so unbelievable!” an aquamarine unicorn squeaked with unrestrained glee and excitement.

A beige earth pony with a curled pigment blue mane with pink highlights stood by her, taking in the incredible sight of the confessor whipping the crowd into a wild frenzy. She could just feel the killing energy around her. “Yeah, Lyra… unbelievable is right.” she muttered.

“Oh c’mon, Bon Bon! Aren’t you excited? HUMANS! And they’re going to help us kick those demons’ flanks all the way back to Tartarus!” Lyra prodded, trying to get her friend to lighten up.

“I suppose. I will say that this guy certainly knows how to work up a crowd. I’ve never seen everypony this lively!” Bon Bon admitted.

“Yup! PEACE THROUGH POWER!” Lyra began chanting, letting herself get caught up in the moment.

Bon Bon cast her friend an amused look before joining her, “Oh, what the hay. It IS pretty catchy. PEACE THROUGH POWER! PEACE THROUGH POWER!”

Alexander raised his hands, calming the crowd before stepping away from the podium. Mayor Mare looked over at Lightning Strike and motioned her head towards the podium, signaling him to go next. He nodded and went up to it, raising a hoof to quiet the energetic crowd.

“Citizens of Ponyville! Know that your Royal Guards are doing their utmost to ensure your and your families’ safety. With the help of our newfound human allies, the Brotherhood of Nod, we shall hold back the tide of the demons’ attacks and drive them back into the filthy pits from which they came!” he spoke, earning a rousing cheer from the crowd.

Satisfied with the response he got, he stepped down from the podium and surrendered it to the mayor. Mayor Mare cleared her throat and waved a hoof, gaining the crowd’s attention, “All right, everypony. Return to your tasks and rest assured that the defense of our town is in good hooves. And hands.”

The crowd started to disperse, all of them feeling markedly better about their shared circumstances. A few lingered, hoping to see what the humans would do to aid them.

Lightning Strike let out a sigh before looking at Alexander, “You’re a hard act to follow, you know that, confessor?”

Alexander chuckled at his complaint, “I’ve been told.”

Laughing at their banter, Mayor Mare interrupted them. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk defense plans, shall we, gentlestallions? What will we be doing to protect Ponyville?” she asked, eager to get on the subject.

“Well, my Guards already have their postings. So confessor, how do your forces fit into things around here?” Lightning Strike asked, curious about what the humans could actually do to help.

Alexander paused for thought, “Well firstly, I need to establish local command and control here in town. The vehicle I was riding in?”

“Yes? What about it?” Lightning Strike asked, unsure of where he was going with this.

“I need to bring it into town and offload the equipment it carries. Might I be able to set it up here in town? Preferably right next to your own command center, lieutenant, so we can more easily coordinate with each other.”

Lightning Strike, not having much idea about what the confessor was planning, hesitantly agreed. “Uh, alright. Go ahead. And the Town Hall building here serves as my headquarters. In fact, I’ll send some of my Guards to fetch your vehicle and escort it here, the streets being awfully crowded as of late.” he offered.

“Ah, excellent. Thank you, lieutenant. Once that’s set up we can go about arranging our defenses.” Extracting his PDA from inside his coat, Alexander radioed the humvee, “Command humvee, how copy?”

“Ten-two. Over.” the driver responded, much to the ponies‘ amazement.

“Some Guard ponies are coming over to bring you to the Town Hall building. We’ll be setting up shop there. Follow them when they arrive. And mind the road! They’re pretty crowded. Over.”

“Roger, si- did you say Guard ‘ponies,’ sir?” the driver asked, unbelieving at the word and its less-than masculine connotation.

Alexander suppressed a sigh. “Do you acknowledge your orders?” he asked, annoyance laced in his tone.

“Ah- yes! Affirmative. Over.”

“Good. Expecting you shortly. Out.” With that, Alexander terminated the connection. Looking up from his PDA, he saw the mayor and lieutenant staring at him with undisguised curiosity. “Wondering about this?” he asked with a chuckle, holding up the PDA.

“Er- yes, actually. What is it? And what was that voice you were talking to?” Mayor Mare asked, leaning forward in interest.

“Indeed.” Lightning Striking concurred.

“This device is a personal digital assistant, or PDA. A multi-purpose tool to help with tasks, be they official or personal. It acts as a clock, calendar, a communications device, that was one of my men you heard, the one driving the vehicle we’re bringing over. It also writes and retains memos and is a personal terminal to my EVA unit as well… It possesses a great deal of functions, really.” Alexander rattled off, purposely trying to confuse the two.

He succeeded in his goal as the two ponies continued to stare confusedly at him, having no understanding at anything he just said. Before he could take a picture of their dumbstruck faces with the untold camera feature of his PDA, the rumble of an engine drew their attention. Seeing that the humvee had arrived, he pocketed the PDA inside his coat and made for the vehicle, “Ah, it’s here. Shall we?”

‘Damn. I’ll try again later…’

The humvee was flanked by Guards on both sides as it pulled up to Ponyville Town Hall. The driver parked besides the building before switching off the engine and stepping out of the humvee. He saluted as Alexander approached with his bodyguards. Putting the driver at ease with a nod, he stepped to the side and faced all his present men. “We’re setting up here. Get the command tent up and send out the fieldview UAV. Quickly, brothers.” he ordered in a practiced manner.

They saluted before springing into action, one jumping into the humvee’s rear canopy and beginning to hand equipment to his fellows as they erected a sizable tent and arranged the equipment inside it. Ponies all around watched in wonder as the human soldiers worked under the steely gaze of their leader, moving efficiently as they continued to put together the makeshift structure.

Soon the impromptu command center was finally built, the mobile generator powering it coming to life and bringing all of its equipment online. The tent was quite an eyesore as it sat besides the more aesthetically pleasing Town Hall building, the desert camouflage tarp that shielded the sensitive equipment within looking like a splotched mess of various shades of tan and brown in contrast to the pristine, solid-color wooden paneling of the towering building next to it. The mayor and lieutenant looked over the tent, curious as to its possible purpose and function required by their human allies.

Humming in satisfaction, Alexander went over to the humvee and retrieved his pack from the passenger side. Returning, he pointed at the driver, “You, get the UAV up. The rest of you, command staff. In the tent.”

His soldiers filed into the tent and began manning the various stations and terminals as the driver brought out a metal container from the humvee. He opened it, revealing a number of drone pieces and components. As he began to assemble the UAV, Alexander returned his attention to the mayor and lieutenant. “Care for a look?” he asked as he pulled back the entrance flap to the tent.

The two ponies caught themselves still staring at the camouflage tarp, being nearly hypnotized by its speckled color scheme. “Uh, sure.” they said in unison, walking over to him.

Inside they were greeted with tables and stacks of equipment, beeping and whirring as radio chatter from the convoy filtered through a communications terminal. Overhead lamps provided illumination and a fan and air conditioning unit mounted on the tent’s metal framework provided ventilation. They were mesmerized by the multitude of LCD displays, showing myriads of information that the soldiers were somehow able to keep pace with and meaningfully process.

“What is all this?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Command and control for my troops. From here I can direct them all over Ponyville in real time.” Alexander answered.

“You can command them from just here? And what’s real time?” Lightning Strike asked, curious about the confessor’s method of battlefield command.

“Instantaneous.”

Lightning Strike became disbelieving. “Instantaneous.” he parroted in a deadpan tone.

“Yes.”

“As in ‘instantly,’ without the use of runners?”

“Yes.”

“That’s… How?” the lieutenant asked, no longer able to hide his astonishment at the supposed feat.

“Years of technological advancement and development of which the particulars are beyond me.” Alexander replied as he extracted his laptop from his pack and connected it to the command terminal sitting atop the table in the center of the tent.

“UAV’s up, sir!” the driver suddenly called out, the faint buzz of the drone’s propeller validating his claim.

“Good! Check its signal and verify ground connection!” Alexander called back. A tone and blinking icon on the screen of his laptop alerted him to a successful connection between the UAV flying overhead to his own command terminal. Pulling up the battlefield command interface program, he was soon met with an overhead view of Ponyville, the video feed shaking a little from the movement of the drone.

Mayor Mare’s and Lightning Strike’s mouths hung open as they looked over his shoulder, seeing their own town from high above.

“Is that… Ponyville?” she asked.

“Yes. Nice view, isn’t it?”

“You can say that again…” Lightning Strike muttered, beholding the aerial view of the town with the appreciation of a pegasus.

Alexander began maneuvering the convoy towards Ponyville and set a patrol path for the Hinds that encircled the town. Soon after, the signature heavy thwacking of the helicopter’s propellers sounded overhead, the gunships circling the town like mechanized vultures bearing obscene amounts of firepower. Ponies outside gasped at the rapid appearance of the Hinds.

Mayor Mare, remembering her own duties, decided to steal herself away and leave the two commanders to their work, “Well, I’ll leave you two to it. Do whatever you need to do. Good luck!” With that, she trotted out of the tent.

“Of course, mayor.”

“Will do, Madame Mayor.”

Alexander continued issuing orders and positioning his troops in defensible hard points surrounding Ponyville as Lightning Strike watched, his eyes following the various movements on the laptop’s screen.

‘If I could order around my Guards while sitting on my flank…’

The six mares watched from afar as the humans entered the tent. One, however, had disappeared behind the vehicle he came in on, coming back out lugging a big metal container. He opened it and began assembling something from the bits and pieces inside. He soon finished, the product of his efforts being a white construct that vaguely resembled a bird with its wings spread. Stepping into a wide clearing in the town square, he fiddled with something on the main body before rearing back and throwing the construct into the air. A sudden buzzing emitted from it as it took to the air on its own power, climbing higher and higher before leveling out and circling high above the town.

Rainbow was the first to voice her astonishment. “Whoa… What is that thing, Twilight?” she asked, half-expecting her egghead of a friend to actually know the answer.

“I have no idea, Rainbow. I’m guessing it’s some kind of flying machine, but for what purpose, I haven’t a clue.” Twilight replied as she leaned back to keep sight of the construct.

“Oh boy! I wonder what other crazy gadgets and gizmos these humans got!” Pinkie said as she hopped down from the roof she was on.

“That makes two of us, Pinkie. I’d love to get a closer look at all their technology and see how it works.” Twilight concurred, watching with slight envy as the confessor let the mayor and lieutenant inside the tent, presumably for a peek at the offloaded equipment.

“Ugh, what is that garish thing they’re using for their tent? It looks like spilt cookie dough batter! And what are those other humans wearing!? All that black and red, they look like demons! Why can’t they dress more like their leader?” Rarity complained, having gotten a closer look at them.

“They do look pretty scary…” Fluttershy muttered, hiding behind her mane.

“I think they look pretty cool. And who better to fight demons than demons, huh?” Rainbow argued.

“Somepony say cookie dough!? Where!?” Pinkie exclaimed, getting distracted by the mention of cookie dough.

A sudden thwacking noise cut into their conversation. The Hinds zoomed by overhead, causing a breeze as they passed. Fluttershy let out a frightened yelp before diving under a nearby cart. The others merely stood frozen in place, gawking at the sudden appearance of the Hinds, who were now circling around the edge of Ponyville.

Applejack snatched her hat just as it was blown off by the passing helicopters, “What’n tarnation are THOSE things!?”

“They remind me of Gummy for some reason. Except bigger. And angrier. And meaner. And nastier.” Pinkie remarked.

“Those must be their helicopter gunships.” a voice interrupted. They all turned to see Mayor Mare walking towards them, looking up in awe at the Hinds.

“Mayor Mare? You know what those things are?” Twilight asked, ready to bombard the mayor with an endless stream of questions.

“Sort of. The confessor mentioned them as their flying war machines. Quite impressive, really. How something so big that isn’t a dragon that can fly like that is simply beyond me.” she replied.

“So you saw inside their tent? What was inside?” Twilight asked eagerly, sorely wishing for her quill and some parchment.

Mayor Mare smiled at her, “Technology like you wouldn’t believe. From that tent they can command all their forces in ‘real time,’ I think that’s what he called it. Instant communication! And somehow a view of Ponyville from the sky! And also his PDA! It’s incredible!”

“It would seem so. “Rarity answered for Twilight, pushing up her friend’s hanging jaw.

“How can they see Ponyville from the sky when they’re down on the ground? And what the hay is a PDA?” Rainbow asked, rather nonplussed at the idea and unfamiliar acronym.

“You know, I’m not sure. I didn’t ask.” Mayor Mare admitted, putting a hoof to her chin.

“Maybe some kind of viewing spell? Oh, I just have to find out!” Twilight exclaimed excitedly.

“And we should probably send a letter to the Princess lettin’ her know about these ‘Nod’ fellas’.” Applejack added.

“Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me.” Twilight said.

“Well, I’ve got to see to some things. You six take care!” With that, Mayor Mare trotted off.

As they watched the mayor head back inside the Town Hall building, they noticed movement from the tent. The confessor and lieutenant exited it and began making for the southern edge of town. “Hey, there they are now! Let’s follow them!” Rainbow suggested.

“Yeah, I’ve got so many questions and I just NEED to see what they have inside that tent!” Twilight agreed.

“Well then, c’mon gals!” Applejack said, motioning a hoof forward.

As they started after the human and Royal Guard pony, Rarity turned back, seeing Fluttershy still under the cart, “Are you coming, dear?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Coming…”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, confessor… How exactly do you humans fight? Your weapons and war machines are like none I’ve ever seen before.” Lightning Strike asked, trying to hide his eager anticipation.

Alexander looked up, seemingly in thought before answering him. “Typically with combined arms formations utilizing mechanized infantry, armored fighting vehicles, and air support.” he replied.

The look on Lightning Strike’s face indicated a failure to comprehend his words. He tried again, “We primarily employ ranged weaponry. Small arms for individual infantrymen up to heavier weapon systems mounted on our fighting vehicles, be they land-bound or airborne.”

“I… see.” Lightning Strike said slowly, electing to just feign understanding. “So just ranged weapons? You don’t use hoof weapons of any kind?” he asked, both intrigued and disturbed.

“For the most part, no. While we’re on the subject, I take it you and your Guards do? Do you engage in frontline combat? Clashing with the enemy head on in the battlefield and all that?”

“Yes… What other way is there?” Lightning Strike asked.

“Firepower. Hit the enemy at a distance with firepower. Preferably excessive and overwhelming firepower. Destroy them before they even seen the second muzzle flash. On that note, it’d probably be a bad idea for your Guards to be running around on the battlefield if we’re going to be fielding our own weapons.” Alexander said, expecting an objection from the lieutenant at this.

He received it. “What!? Then how are we to fight the demons if we just stay put? You expect us to just hide behind your war machines!?”

“Not exactly. But you charging out into the field would greatly increase the chances of friendly fire incidents.” Alexander explained.

“Friendly fire?” Lightning Strike parroted, unfamiliar with the term.

“Our weapons accidentally hitting you. And you really don’t want that to happen.”

Lightning Strike became disbelieving once more, “What could your weapons possibly do to prevent us from meeting the enemy head on in the field of battle?”

Alexander took that as a challenge, “Well then, lieutenant, would you care to see for yourself?”

The confessor and lieutenant made their way over to the southern road into town where a few tanks and IFVs had taken up defensive positions as infantry dug foxholes forward of them. Ponies had gathered to gawk at the armored fighting vehicles and watch the human soldiers as they fortified their town.

“What’re they digging? Their graves?” Lightning Strike asked with a chuckle.

“Funny! No, no. They’re digging foxholes.” Alexander replied, not really appreciating the pony’s jab.

“Foxholes?”

“From which they can fight the enemy.”

Lightning Strike raised an eyebrow, “You’ll have to explain to me how you can fight from a hole in the ground, confessor.”

“Cover from which they can fire their weapons at the enemy without exposing themselves. A useful technique when you’re trying to entrench yourself and hold a position, like a town.”

The lieutenant nodded, accepting his explanation for now. As the two walked to the southern edge of town, Lightning Strike caught sight of three familiar Guard pegasi, two of them looking absolutely exhausted. “Sergeant Low Flight!” he called out to them.

“Sir! What brings you here?” the sergeant asked as he gave a salute, Thunder and Flash mimicking him despite looking ready to collapse and pass out. Their grey coats were sticky with sweat, their wings were throbbing, and their flanks were singed slightly.

“Confessor Andric here is going to demonstrate the capabilities of his war machines.” Lightning Strike answered. He looked behind Low Flight and chuckled at the two Guards. “Maintain Speed?” he asked knowingly.

“Uh huh.” they replied.

Laughing, he turned to Alexander, “Confessor, this is Sergeant Low Flight, my second-in-command.”

The confessor held out a hand, which the sergeant accepted. “A pleasure to meet you, sergeant.” he said, shaking his hoof.

“Likewise, confessor.”

“So, about that demo?” Lightning Strike asked.

“Right. Let’s see… I think the Abrams MBT would make for a good show.” Alexander said, walking over to one of the larger armored fighting vehicles.

“Abrams MBT?” Low Flight asked, unsure of the designation.

“This here.” Alexander said, motioning towards the massive tan painted tank that sat on the road like an obstinate cow. He pulled out his PDA and radioed the tank’s commander, “Armor 4, how copy?”

“Solid copy. What can we do for you, sir?”

“A demonstration. Load high explosive and await my command. Over.”

“Wilco. Loading and waiting. Over.”

“Now, what would make a fine target…” Alexander muttered, scanning the horizon for something they all could do without. He found it in the form of a sizable boulder a good distance away from anything. “Would that boulder be particularly missed?” he asked Lightning Strike.

“Uh… no? Likely not.”

“Excellent.” Alexander radioed the tank once more, “Range and sight down that boulder two hundred fifty meters out. Over.”

“Ranging.”

The tank’s turret whirred to life, swiveling to align its cannon with the unfortunate boulder. The ponies present watched as the tank took aim, leaning forward with anticipation.

“Ranged. Ready to fire. Over.”

‘They probably shouldn’t do that…’ A mischievous smirk worked its way onto Alexander’s face as he used his free hand to grab his cap, “Fire.”

BOOM!

The crack of the Abrams’ main gun resounded loudly through the air. Alexander looked at his pony allies and barely kept from breaking out into laughter. All had their jaws making an acquaintance with the ground. Thunder and Flash, for being so tired before, were standing the straightest they ever have, their wings deploying a moment later in the same manner as a car’s airbags to great comical effect. Lightning Strike and Low Flight, however, were doing rather well in hiding their shock, only their slightly hanging mouths betraying them.

*click*

A faint click signified a successful snapshot by the PDA’s camera.

‘And I just got my new desktop wallpaper.’

After a moment, they all turned their gaze from the smoking barrel of the tank’s cannon to the boulder designated as the target. There was no boulder. Where it once sat was now a smoking crater, debris and bits of rock that was once the boulder strewn about around it.

“You see what I mean when I said it’s probably not a good idea for your guys to be running and flying around out there in a fight?” Alexander asked, hoping his point from before had gotten through to the lieutenant.

“Yeah… Probably not too good to get caught in that.” Lightning Strike reluctantly admitted.

“Indeed. A lot of ordinance like that is going to be thrown around once the fighting begins in earnest, and I think we should save every last bit of it for the enemy.” Alexander said, pocketing his PDA. “Well, gentlemen, how about we get back and discuss the enemy and coordination between our forces?”

“Sounds good. Low Flight, with me. You two…” Lightning Strike snickered slightly before continuing, “Get some rest.”

“Yes sir.” Thunder and Flash saluted before trudging off to their quarters, grateful for the reprieve.

“Shall we?” Alexander asked. The lieutenant and sergeant nodded, taking after him as he started for the command tent.

The six mares nearly jumped out of their skins at the crack of the Abram’s main gun. They never heard anything so loud. Even from where they stood a good distance away they could feel the concussive force from the tank’s cannon, their hearts still shaking. Fluttershy froze, her eyes wide and her pupils the size of pinpricks, her muscles stiff and unmoving, before tipping over and clattering on the ground.

“Whoa…” Rainbow uttered, awestruck at the thunderous fireball belched from the tip of the giant gun.

“What the HAY was that!?” Applejack exclaimed.

“That huge rock is… gone.” Fluttershy muttered as she got back up, both amazed and terrified at the display of firepower that just occurred.

“Oh, wow! It’s like a super-size party cannon!” Pinkie yelled, not sharing her friends’ trepidation about the war machine.

“Pinkie, I don’t believe it was a party that thing just fired.” Rarity said, trying to talk some sense into the pink pony.

“You’re right! It’s more like a great explodey fireball of DOOM!” Pinkie replied, disturbingly cheerful about the subject matter.

“That’s a way to put it.” Twilight said. She looked to see the confessor on the move again, accompanied by the lieutenant and sergeant, “Hey! They’re leaving! C’mon!”

The six started after them, a number of questions on their minds.

‘That thing would be great at a party…’

Chapter 6: Something Different

Chapter 6: Something Different

“The demons attack primary in massive hordes. There’s no real organization among them. They simply amass and charge, attacking anything in their path.”

“This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but their seemingly endless numbers can wear down our troops and overwhelm them over time. A sustained assault could eventually overrun us.”

Lightning Strike and Low Flight were briefing Alexander on the demons, giving him a quick rundown on what they would be facing soon. They were inside the tent, shadows obscuring much of their features, making the three look like an ominous cabal of military leaders plotting a coup d’état.

Alexander brought a hand to his chin. “I see… I trust they’re vulnerable to conventional weaponry, yes?” he asked, slightly nervous of the answer he might receive.

Lightning Strike nodded, earning a silent sigh of relief from the confessor, “Yes. Again, the main problem they pose are their numbers.”

“So, is there anything you can tell me in particular about these demons? Abilities, capabilities as a whole, peculiar characteristics?” Alexander asked.

“Well, there are the Husk Hooves, undead pony warriors of old. They wield weapons similar to our own and the unicorns among their numbers are capable of offensive magic. They comprise the bulk of most of the hordes we’ve faced.” Lightning Strike started explaining.

“So like you, but emaciated and rotting?”

“… I suppose.” Lightning Strike said slowly, not really enjoying being compared to the unholy resurrected corpses he fought.

“… And did you say magic? Really?” Alexander asked after a pause, just catching up with the word.

“Yes. Magic is present in all life in Equestria, but unicorns can directly manipulate it through their horns. Mostly to help with daily tasks and their special talent, but it can also be used for more martial purposes: magic bolts, telekinesis to lob heavy projectiles, and such.” Lightning Strike explained, inwardly enjoying being able to astonish the confessor for once.

‘That explains all the horned ponies.’ Alexander realized. “And these Husk Hooves are capable of that? As are the unicorns among your Guards?” he continued asking.

“Yes. All Royal Guard unicorns are trained in a whole range of offensive magic, learning to use a variety of techniques, magic bolts being the most prominent among them.” Lightning Strike elaborated.

Alexander nodded, taking in the reality of magic and magical unicorns being real. A thought occurred to him, “Can your unicorns cast area-of-effect bolts or spells?”

“Area-of-effect?” Lightning Strike asked, making a mental note to ask the confessor for a glossary of all the strange terms he regularly uses.

“Like an explosion, affecting a wide area.”

“Well, yes, but those aren’t really utilized that much for fear of accidently hitting a fellow Guard.”

“I think we can change that, but let’s continue with the demons. What else?”

“Unholy abominations and unnatural creatures of all kinds. The Horned Faceless, perversions of minotaurs wielding giant weapons. Shifting Beasts, who take the form of natural beasts but constantly morph their features, growing wings, extra heads, spikes, and such.” Low Flight said, continuing the briefing.

“Rings, collections of giant circular metal bands configured in a spherical shape, each ring constantly turning and threatening to slice apart anypony unfortunate enough to get caught among them. Fire Golems, made of burning rock and towering over even your war machines, I’m afraid. They are rare, though.” Lightning Strike added.

“And lastly, Dark Conjurers, undead unicorn mages. They’re probably the most dangerous, utilizing forbidden spells of terrible power.” Lightning Strike finished, his words causing a chill in the sergeant and himself.

Alexander fixed the two ponies with an inquisitive look. “How’s their appearance differentiated from unicorn Husk Hooves?” he asked.

“Instead of armor, they’re clad in black hooded robes, reflecting their necromancer origins.” Low Flight answered.

‘Watch for these, then.’ Alexander sat back in his chair, deciding on something, “Well then, if what you’re telling me is true, then I’m afraid our current forces aren’t enough to hold back these demons. We’re going to have to establish a base and bring in additional reinforcements.”

Both ponies exchanged confused looks. “You can do that?” Low Flight asked.

“Yes. The largest of our vehicles? Looks like a misshapen box on wheels? Perhaps you saw it?”

“It was hard not to. You can create a base from that?” Lightning Strike asked, wondering what other unknown capabilities his human allies possessed.

“Yes! I just need your permission as the ranking officer around here and a location to build.”

“Uh, very well. Granted. The fields to the north of Ponyville, along the road to Canterlot, our capital, should work. They’re pretty flat and are away from the demons’ usual attack paths.”

“Great! And what are the demons’ usual attack paths, perchance?” Alexander asked as he looked over the indicated area on his laptop.

“Mostly from the east, from the Everfree Forest. The uncontrolled ambient magic of the forest allows them to more easily manifest in our world. They appear in a smoky fog and pillars of Tartarus’ fire.” the lieutenant answered.

‘Highly visible entrance, how forthcoming of them.’ Alexander nodded, “So harden the eastern approach to town, then.”

Receiving agreements from both of them, he set about finding a suitable deployment spot for the MCV that would provide ample ground control. Finding it, he ordered the massive vehicle to the location and gave the order to deploy…

“Wow! You see that thing? It, like, burped fire and thunder!” an excited orange pegasus filly exclaimed. Her two friends nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Good golly, that thing’s like a juggernaut! Unrivaled! Unstoppable!” the yellow earth pony filly remarked, sharing in her friend’s excitement.

“You said it, Applebloom! Those demons don’t stand a chance!” the while unicorn filly squeaked, still wide-eyed at the armored fighting vehicles as they slowly filtered into town.

The three friends had witnessed the Abrams’ demonstration shot and were completely smitten with its display of firepower, explosions being a shared passion of theirs. They were tailing the human soldiers and vehicles as they moved around Ponyville, setting up positions from which they would fight the demons. Their shadowing of the humans eventually led them to the northern edge of town where they were greeted by a familiar zebra herbalist, “Hello my little fillies! What has you in such a tizzy?”

“Hey Zecora! We’re watchin’ the humans n’ Royal Guards gettin’ ready for the demons! Did ya’ see their big ol’ war machine blast that huge boulder? It just blew it to smithereens!” Applebloom said, still in awe of the tank’s power.

“Though I did not see, I certainly heard. And quite a passion in you three it seems to have spurred.” Zecora noted, amused at the three friends’ excitability.

“It was just so amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Sweetie Belle said while hopping a little.

“I truly doubt anypony has seen such a thing. One cannot help but wonder what else these humans will bring.”

“You said it!” Scootaloo agreed.

As Zecora watched the three chatter excitedly about the humans’ hardware, a distant rumbling caught her ear. The ground beneath them began to vibrate, causing their conversation to trail off. “Hush, little ones! Do you not hear? Something very, VERY big draws near!” Zecora declared as she raised a hoof to quiet the three.

They all looked in the direction of the noise and were met with an incredible sight. A vehicle of immense size was slowly moving towards the wide open field to the north of town, crushing random brush beneath its massive wheels. Reaching the middle of the field, it came to a full stop, the hiss of venting fumes sounding all around it. For a moment the vehicle was completely still, making no movements or sounds. Suddenly the larger rear section of it began whirring, its securing mechanisms disengaging and its hydraulic systems coming to life. It unfolded as concrete pavement began extending from beneath the vehicle, overtaking and completely covering the grass and soil beneath it.

After covering a sizable area, the pavement stopped spreading, having produced a square shape with rounded edges. In the middle was a rectangular gridded metal surface edged with black and yellow hazard stripes. The forward section of the vehicle rolled back onto the metal surface before suddenly being lowered into the ground. The elevator rose back up, bringing a number of prefabricated building component modules with it, the vehicle’s forward section nowhere to be seen. The modules began sliding around on the pavement, locking in place as they found their intended positions. The modules unfolded into blocks and sections of concrete, metal, and wiring. Sections of building began rising, extending, and inflating, eventually forming a structure resembling a large warehouse.

The elevator lowered and came back up once more, this time bringing a large crane. The crane slid to the front of the structure, its cylindrical concrete base fitting snuggly into a concaved outer corner. The front wall raised from the ground as the roof extended from the structure’s sides in a curvature, completely concealing the interior. The air intake fans began spinning, creating ventilation throughout the entire building. Engineers and technicians wearing black hardhats with red full-face visors, utility belts, and urban fatigues exited from the finished construction yard carrying toolboxes and began walking around its exterior, inspecting its construction and overall structural soundness.

The three fillies and one zebra gawked at the building, unbelieving at how quickly it was constructed and without human or pony labor. They were not the only ones to witness the MCV’s speedy deployment into a construction yard. Ponies had come to see what was causing all the noise and found themselves staring in amazement and wonderment at the large structure.

Scootaloo was the first to break out of her reverie. “Whoa… That, was, AWESOME!” she exclaimed.

“That thing turned into a building! And so fast! That must be some powerful magic to be able to do that.” Sweetie Belle said, glancing up at her own horn.

Applebloom was staring unfailingly at the engineers and technicians as they meandered around the construction yard, ensuring that no bolt or nut was out of place. “Ah’ wonder if they’d lend me their tools…” she wondered aloud.

“Hey, yeah! Who knows what kind of improvements we could make to the clubhouse with their tools.” Scootaloo added.

Zecora blinked a few times before bringing herself out of her stupor, “That was quite a spectacular sight! Such a display of their machines’ might.”

Applebloom nodded in agreement, “You said it, Zecora. Ah’ wonder what it’s for?”

Just as she finished her question, the lower half of the construction yard’s front wall folded up. A prefabricated building module was brought outside by a conveyor belt embedded within the yard’s foundation. The crane whirred to life, lowering itself towards the module as its claw grabbed it. Lifting it up, the crane placed the module atop a slightly raised metal surface designated by black and yellow hazard stripes. The module sunk into the ground, completely disappearing.

A few moments later, a structure literally erupted from the ground, earning more than a few startled gasps from the gathered crowds of watching ponies. A conical tower in shape with a wide base, the building was adorned with pipes that ran along its structure at various points. It produced an electrical hum as steam began emitting from a number of vents near the top of the tower. Soon after, an identical structure rose from the ground alongside the first and began humming and venting steam as well.

“… Wow…” the three fillies uttered. Several similar coos of wonder sounded behind them, the other ponies sharing in their amazement.

Before Zecora could speak a rhyming couplet to give voice to her own astonishment at the magically appearing buildings, something else rose from the ground. Shaped like a giant human hand and colored pitch black with red lines crisscrossing its surface, the structure rose to its full length into the air and stayed there, reaching out into the sky.

The ponies watching did not take this latest eruption from the ground as well as the previous ones, evident from their unbridled screams of terror, “GIANT LAVA CLAW MONSTER! EVERYPONY RUN!” With that, they all turned tail and fled from the half deployed structure they thought to be a monster. Soon after, the hand fell forward, pavement spreading out past the fingertips as a radio mast rose from behind the wrist.

It became apparent to the remaining three fillies and one zebra that the giant hand was actually another structure. While Zecora would have preferred a less dramatic appearance so as to not have frightened the ponies so much, the three fillies had a different opinion…

“Man, that would’ve been great on Nightmare Night.”

“You said it.”

“Mhmm.”

Zecora shook her head at that, “Oh, your collective mental state I dread. You three are not quite right in the head.”

Inside the construction yard’s control room, an engineer sat in front of a multitude of monitors, bearing a magnificent troll face on his features that was unfortunately hidden beneath the red visor of his hardhat as he watched the ponies outside scream in terror and flee from the giant hand. After a hearty laugh, he resumed the barrack’s deployment.

“So since meeting the demons head on is out, how’re we supposed to fight them? Angrily shake our hooves at them and shout harsh language?” Low Flight asked, sharing his commander’s distaste at the idea.

Alexander suppressed his mirth at the sergeant’s pride as a frontline warrior, “Not at all. Here’s what I propose. Your unicorns and all others armed with crossbows hunker down with my men in firing positions and attack the enemy from afar. The remainder shall act as our ‘close-in’ defense, engaging the enemy when they get within melee range and keep them from overrunning our firing lines. If the enemy’s numbers are what you say they are, there shouldn’t be a shortage of targets for anyone.”

Lightning Strike considered the confessor’s plan, bringing a hoof up to his chin. After a moment, he nodded in agreement, “Very well. We’ll set our rangers with your soldiers and the rest will stand ready to hold back the demons when they get too close.” He turned to Low Flight, “Sergeant, disseminate the orders to the troops.”

“Yes sir.” With a salute, Low Flight exited the tent and was off. As he left, Lightning Strike recalled something Alexander asked about his unicorns’ magic, “You asked about ‘area-of-effect’ spells, so I’m guessing you have something in mind.”

Alexander nodded, “Indeed I do. How many of your unicorns would you say are adept at area-of-effect spells?”

Lightning Strike thought for a moment before replying, “I’d say about a few dozen are pretty good at them, if only to show off from time to time.”

“That’ll do for now. Here’s what I’m thinking, lieutenant. Let’s have about three teams of six unicorns each mount the Hinds, our flying vehicles, and they will bombard the enemy from up high with their spells. The helicopters can perform flybys over the enemy’s ranks where there’s no need to fear possible friendly fire.” Alexander explained.

Lightning Strike found the idea sensible enough, “Sounds good. I’ll assemble them. Where should they meet with your Hinds?”

“I’ll have them set down at the northern edge of town by the base, which should be underway by now.”

As the two commanders wrapped up their strategizing session, the driver suddenly entered the tent. “Sirs? There’s a Twilight Sparkle and her friends here to see you. She said Lieutenant Lightning Strike would understand.” he told them.

Not knowing what to make of it, Alexander gave Lightning Strike an inquisitive look, hoping he would know who the driver was talking about.

“She’s my liaison to Princess Celestia, one of the rulers of Equestria. She probably wants to pepper you with questions. It’s alright.” Lightning Strike said.

‘I suppose it couldn’t hurt to play 20 questions with this Twilight Sparkle for a bit.’ Alexander nodded, gesturing to the driver to allow them in, “Very well. Send them in.”

The driver nodded before stepping back outside. A moment later, a sextet of pastel-colored mares walked in, wide-eyed at the beeping and whirring equipment and the humans manning them. Alexander returned their curious gazes, though for a reason different from theirs.

‘A pink pony. I can just feel the onset of diabetes…’

The six were met with the darkened interior of the command tent, the overhead lamps casting shadows on the human soldiers in an unsettling manner, their glowing red visors piercing the darkness. They turned their gaze to the confessor, who was seated at the other end of a table in the center of the tent with the lieutenant standing by him. His peaked cap casted a shadow that obscured much of his face while the blue feathers of the lieutenant’s helmet had a similar effect on his own robust features. Together they gave an air of conspiracy and intrigue.

Alexander stood up and walked over to them with the lieutenant. His hands behind his back, he tipped his cap and bowed, “Greetings. Confessor Alexander Andric, at your service. And you are?”

Twilight was the first to speak. Clearing her throat, she introduced herself and her friends. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville’s librarian. And these are my friends.” she said, indicating the other ponies accompanying her with her hoof.

“And she’s also Princess Celestia’s personal protégé.” Lightning Striking added, grinning at Twilight’s sudden embarrassment at the revelation.

“Yes, well…” she trailed off, an embarrassed smile on her face as she rubbed her foreleg.

“Howdy! Ah’m Applejack. Ah’ run Sweet Apple Acres.” Applejack greeted. Her tone seemed a little wary.

Rainbow stepped up next. “Name’s Rainbow Dash! Captain of the weather patrol and the fastest flyer in ALL of Equestria. Pretty cool stuff you’re bringing in to help us.” she said, wasting no time to showboat and opine on the humans’ hardware.

“Why, thank you.” Alexander replied.

Before either of them could get another word out, his vision was suddenly filled with huge, bright blue eyes, quite possibly the widest smile he has ever seen, and an obscene amount of pink, “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I’ve never met a hyoo-man before, so this is sooo exciting! Welcome to Ponyville! Thank you sooo much for helping us! I mean, everypony has been sooo sad for sooo long now, but now they’re probably the happiest I’ve ever seen them! I-“ Pinkie had been hopping up and down, trying to keep at eyelevel with him.

Before she could let out another word, he put a finger to her lips, silencing her as well as causing her to freeze in midair, gravity having momentarily failed. “You’re quite welcome, my dear.” he said with a smile, hoping it would be enough to sate her for the moment. Another smile formed on Pinkie’s face but before anything could come of it, she was suddenly yanked away, Applejack having taken Pinkie’s tail in her mouth and pulling the pink pony back in line.

Rarity came forward next, primping her purple mane before speaking. “Hello Confessor Andric. My name is Rarity. I’m the proprietor of Carousel Boutique, the finest clothing shop in all of Ponyville. I must say, I do admire your ensemble, very clean and sharp. Was it custom tailored?” she asked, her friends snickering at her going straight to the topic of the confessor’s clothes.

“Yes, actually, by some fine local talent in Kiev, Ukraine, a locale back in our world. Though now I can’t help but wonder of the possibilities if you had shop there, Miss Rarity.” Alexander replied, earning a noblewoman’s laugh from the fashionista and a roll of the eyes from Applejack and Rainbow.

“Oh, why thank you, confessor. You’re quite the flatterer.” she said, pawing a hoof at him. As she stepped back, all eyes turned towards the yellow pegasus that had yet to introduce herself.

Mustering the courage to meet the human, Fluttershy took a few steps forward and gave a shaky smile. “M-my name’s Fluttershy. I’m the animal caretaker here in Ponyville. T-thank you for helping us. We really appreciate it.” she said, looking up at him with dewy eyes and an unbearably cute and nerve-wracked smile.

Alexander returned her smile, hoping to put her at ease, “You’re very welcome. A pleasure to meet you all.”

Twilight beamed, appreciating his affability, “Thank you, confessor. Like Lieutenant Lightning Strike said, I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student, and as such, I have a direct line of communication with her. I was just hoping to ask you some questions about yourself and your group so I can send a letter to the Princess and inform her of what’s going on here in Ponyville.”

“Of course. Go right ahead.” he said before walking back to his seat and motioning to the six to follow him. “I’m sorry we don’t have any seats for you.” he apologized.

“Oh, it’s quite alright, darling. We’re used to standing.” Rarity assured him.

Lightning Strike began making for the exit, “I’m going to get our unicorn teams ready for your Hinds. If you’ll excuse me.”

As the lieutenant left, Twilight began her interview of the confessor, her excitement palpable, “So Confessor Andric, let’s start, shall we? Could you tell me about yourself and your Brotherhood?”

Alexander nodded, preparing to deliver a highly edited history of the Brotherhood of Nod and what he had done as a member of it, “Well, the Brotherhood of Nod has a long and storied history, dating back thousands of years in humankind’s history. Founded by the Great Prophet Kane, it was born from the great pain and suffering endured by the nations of the world and our Prophet’s desire to alleviate that pain and suffering. In a world filled with struggle and tribulation brought about from the merciless assaults of nature, the exhausting toils of everyday life, and senseless conflict deriving from men’s greed, hatred, and callousness for their fellow man, Kane envisioned a better world. A world where all people would live in perfect harmony with each other, kind, caring, and just in all their dealings. A world of peace, unity, and eternal brotherhood…”

Low Flight watched the human infantry as they continued to fortify their “foxholes” at the eastern approach into Ponyville. They were reinforcing their fighting holes with sandbags and metal sheets brought over from the newly deployed construction yard, creating makeshift pillboxes. Guards were busily digging trenches to complement the humans’ foxholes into an elaborate trench system.

Thunder and Flash were helping some of the infantrymen reinforce one of their foxholes, propping up metal sheets while they were secured in place. They had struck up a conversation with one of the human soldiers, mostly about their unusual weapons. “So what kind of weapon is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Flash asked, eyeing the rifle strapped to the infantryman’s back.

“Well comrade, this weapon is a firearm, this particular one an assault rifle. It fires bullets, shaped pieces of metal, at extremely high speeds.” the infantryman answered as he welded the sheets together, his voice filtered by his helmet’s radio.

Thunder let out a whistle, “Impressive. So it’s like a crossbow?”

The infantryman thought for a moment, “You could say that. Your crossbows are the closest analogues you have to firearms.”

“Huh.” Thunder and Flash simply said. As they continued to work, a humvee truck with an enlarged rear canopy towing a power generator trailer pulled up a distance away from them inside the town. The humvee’s driver and passengers disembarked the vehicle and began setting up the generator and a small tent. A radio mast came up besides the tent as bundles of heavy-duty data cables and power cords emerged from it and the back of the humvee before burrowing into the ground.

“Say, what’s going on over there?” Thunder asked, pointing at the setup on the road.

The infantryman looked to where he was pointing, “Ah, that’s a ground control humvee. The confessor’s probably looking to do some building around town.”

Thunder and Flash exchanged confused looks, unsure of what their human allies were planning to build. “Build what, exactly?” Thunder asked.

“Defenses and fortifications, most likely. You know, to help us stave off these demons.”

“Really? What kinds?” Flash asked, intrigued.

“I’d guess guard towers, laser turrets, and maybe even those new hub-based turret configurations!” the infantryman rattled off, renewing the two’s confusion.

“Uh huh.” they both said, deciding to settle for the unfamiliar words without elaboration.

Just as they were about to resume fortifying the foxholes and trenches, a triangular metal base emerged from the ground behind their trench, coaxing a startled yelp from Flash, “Gah! The buck!?”

A long protrusion of black titanium suddenly extended from the base at an angle. Reaching its full length, the top half of it folded down, angling itself in parallel with the ground. Red lights at various points along the base and mount of the laser turret lit up as the internal capacitor came to life, producing an eerie red glow. The finished turret resembled a scorpion’s tail in shape, poised to sting the enemy with a weapons-grade high-intensity laser.

Thunder and Flash gawked at the turret that had literally grown from the ground. The infantryman stepped up from behind them, looking over the turret’s construction, “Just as I thought, a laser turret.”

“How does it work?” Thunder asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“It fires an intense laser beam, cutting through armor and setting flesh alight. Certainly not something too pleasant to be on the receiving end of.” he answered, chuckling at the wide-eyed expressions of his pony compatriots.

Before they could say anything, a number of additional laser turrets sprouted from the ground behind the other trenches, catching nearby ponies by surprise.

Another defensive structure burst forth from the ground behind them, this time an angled three-sided pyramid bearing Nod’s emblem on each side. Power cords emerged from its base and burrowed into the ground a distance away. Moments later, three turrets sprang up from where the cords buried themselves. Unlike the single laser cannon mounted on the laser turrets, these turrets sported twin clusters of barrels.

“Ah, the new ‘shredder’ turrets, I think they’re called. These will definitely do a number on the enemy.” the infantryman noted. Thunder and Flash responded by gaping at it.

A distance away, Low Flight had watched the turrets grow from the ground like rapidly sprouting weeds that shot lasers and grapeshot. He was more than a little impressed.

‘Not bad…’

Eighteen Royal Guard unicorns were meandering around the northern edge of town, gawking at the continually expanding base that was not there a few hours prior. They had received orders to assemble by the humans’ base and await the lieutenant for further orders. Why they had been singled out for this “special assignment,” they did not know.

As they watched additional human troops and war machines emerge from the barracks and the newly built weapons factory before making for the defensive lines that now surrounded Ponyville, Lightning Strike approached from behind. “Guards! About face!” he shouted, gaining their attention.

At once, all eighteen Guards spun around and saluted their commander. Seeing that all of them were accounted for, Lightning Strike began briefing them on why they were called out, “You all have been selected for your aptitude for casting explosive bolts. You’ll be mounting the humans’ flying machines and take to the sky. When the demons next attack, you shall cast your most powerful explosive bolts down upon them from up high.”

The Guards looked at each other, excitement at their orders evident on their faces. They were finally going to be able to utilize their most powerful spells in anger. From the air. They all were suddenly overcome with the urge to find their nearest Guard pegasi comrades and rub their assignment in their faces, excluding the lieutenant and his second-in-command. Lightning Strike continued, “You’ll be split into three teams of six. Each team will board a ‘Hind,’ as they are called, and be at the ready.”

Behind them, the sound of propellers chopping through the air drew their attention. The Hinds were returning from their patrol and making a descent towards the ponies, kicking up dust all around them. Landing, the gunships’ side doors slid open, waiting for their passengers. “All aboard, our brothers in arms!” the lead pilot spoke through the helicopter’s external megaphone.

Seeing his Guards caught in a reverie, Lightning Strike called them to attention. “Hut!” he shouted, his voice cracking like a whip. They all snapped to attention as he gave them a slightly amused look, “Well? What’re you waiting for? Your rides are here! Guards, move out!”

“Sir, yes sir!” all eighteen Guards shouted over the noise of the helicopters before splitting into their teams and boarding the waiting helicopters. As the Hinds took to the air with their complement of unicorn bombardiers, an inane thought crossed the lieutenant’s mind…

‘Does this make them the first alicorn Royal Guards?’

“… So from the shadows Nod has attempted to steer the world towards the correct path to righteousness and utopia.”

Alexander had told the six Nod’s history right up until the First Tiberium War, electing to stop there. He decided that there really was no need to tell them about the two wars with GDI and that EVA could explain tiberium much better than he could hope to should the topic of the holy green crystal come up somehow. The ponies for the most part had completely bought into his portrayal of Nod, believing the Brotherhood to be a moral and righteous populist movement committed to peace and social equity. All but one…

“Pardon me, confessor, but if y’all are about peace and unity and brotherhood and all that, then why do you have so many weapons?” Applejack asked, doubt and suspicion evident in her voice.

Her friends looked at her, realizing her point. It DID seem rather incongruous to preach such a positive message as the Brotherhood’s and posses enough troops to forcibly seize a small country. “That’s a good point, actually. Why do you need all these weapons?” Twilight asked, no longer sure of the confessor’s good intent. There was a murmur of agreements from the others and they looked at him, expecting an explanation.

‘That hick pony is more perceptive than I thought.’ Luckily for him, years of recruiting and delivering sermons had honed Alexander’s ability to turn around such a situation. He took on a solemn expression, “As sad as it is, there are those in our world who are not very receptive to our message, sometimes to the point of violence. Those who lord over others and oppress entire nations for their own gain, these tyrants and warlords, they are threatened by our message, for the people they exploit would see that the tyranny over them is unjust, illegitimate, and needless, that there is a better way of life.”

He paused for breath, “Since coming out into the open in recent times, we’ve always strived for a peaceful outcome, speaking to those in power and showing them the light. Some listen, but many don’t and even attack us, hoping to silence our message and safeguard their own power. Those who take up our message and even those who don’t, simply wishing to remain neutral, very often suffer the wrath of these tyrants. I’ve seen terrible atrocities, the torture and murder of innocents, the forced deportation of families, mass graves, entire towns and villages razed to the ground, sometimes for nothing more than refusing to take up arms and carry out the local warlord’s vendetta against his neighbor.”

Fluttershy gasped, shocked at the notion that some could be capable of such flagrant disregard of life. “Oh, that’s just awful! How could anypony do something like that!?” she nearly shouted with tears in her eyes, clearly distraught at the idea.

Alexander only shrugged, “I’ve asked myself that question many times. The Brotherhood of Nod believes firmly in the power of the pen, in the power of words, but we understand that as hard as we try with words, sometimes they do fail, and sometimes there’s no recourse but to defend ourselves. And when things come to blows, we become the sword and shield, standing ready to defend the innocents who would otherwise be caught in the crossfire.”

Their expressions softened, Applejack included. ‘Hook, line, sinker.’ he thought with satisfaction.

“Oh, you poor dear! Having seen such terrible things!” Rarity said, completely taken by his words.

Applejack nodded in agreement as she rubbed her foreleg, slightly embarrassed at having taken an accusatory tone with him earlier. “Goodness me, that’s some real heavy stuff there, confessor. Ah’ see why you’d need all those weapons.” she admitted.

Pinkie’s mane had deflated somewhat. “Oh, wow… That’s awful. But, but you fight back against it, right? Protecting innocent ponies and showing those bad guys what for, right?” she asked, her gloom fading as fast as it came as she started to shadowbox to accentuate her point.

Amused at her quick rebound, Alexander nodded, “Indeed we do. We must. There’s a saying, perhaps you’re familiar with it? Evil prevails when good fails to act. Hence, we act lest evil prevails.”

“Hay yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! Action! Taking the fight to the enemy! Taking names and kicking flank!” Rainbow said, her bravado taking over as she punched the air with her forelegs.

Twilight had not said anything, only staring forward with a distant look on her face, deep in thought. As she considered the confessor’s justification for the more martial aspects of his Brotherhood, she felt something very scaly suddenly wrap itself around her hind legs, then her body, then her neck. She froze at the alien touch, a number of thoughts as to what was currently coiling around her, the most prominent among them being…

‘Ss-snake…’

She craned her neck to look over herself and was confirmed of her worst fear.

“(Well, aren’t you a pretty little pony…)”

Twilight could only stare at the giant brown cobra that had coiled itself around her entire body, its head mere inches away from her face. It let out a drawn hiss, its forked tongue flicking her snout. The others shared her look of dumbfounded horror at the absurdly long snake that had appeared without warning with the exception of Fluttershy, who seemed intrigued at the large reptile.

“S-sna- ss- s-naa- ss-sna-…” Twilight stuttered, unable to fully speak the word. As she stared into the snake’s beady black eyes, she swore she saw a ravenous appetite mixed with lustful desire.

“(Such a delectable backside. I could just gobble it up.)”

Just as she was about to freak out and drop to and roll on the ground in a frantic attempt to get it off her, Alexander stood up and walked over to her, snapping his fingers before holding out a hand towards the snake.

Hiss let out a dissatisfied sound at having its fun cut short before reaching itself over towards his hand. Working its way up to his shoulders, it draped itself around his neck and made itself comfortable, casting a very interested look at Twilight, who shuddered under its gaze.

“(I’ll be feeling your lavender coat beneath my scales soon enough. Don’t you worry, my little pony.)”

Suppressing a sigh at the snake’s antics, Alexander decided to introduce Hiss to the six mares, “Madams, this is Hiss. It’s a giant spitting cobra. I assure you it’s perfectly harmless. Coiling around you like that is just a sign of affection.”

‘Whatever deity you ponies are bothered with help you if Hiss takes a liking to you.’

The ponies save Fluttershy did not seem to believe him. “Ah, your pet snake, is it?” Rarity asked nervously, her perception of the confessor now somewhat blighted by his keeping such a monstrous creature as a pet.

“You could say that.” he replied. ‘Someone’s the pet…’

Fluttershy walked up to him and Hiss, unfazed by the snake’s imposing size and perverse and predatory disposition. “I’ve never seen such a large snake before. What species is it? If you don’t mind me asking.” she finished, her timid demeanor returning in force.

“Naja ashei, the largest species of spitting cobra.” he answered.

“Oh, I’ve never heard of that species. How long have you had it?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Around ten years now.” he replied. ‘Ten long, grueling years…’

“Oh my! That’s quite a long time! What does it feed on?”

‘Its own schadenfreude from causing me anguish and discomfort in my every waking hour…’ he thought. “Whatever it catches during nocturnal hunts, which is quite a lot.”

“Oh, it must be quite the hunter.”

“Indeed.”

Before the two could go on about Hiss’ particulars, the subject of their conversation quite enjoying the attention, Pinkie began shaking uncontrollably, “OooOOoooohh! M-mmy P-ppiinkiee ss-sense i-is gg-goiiinng oo-offf! Aannd i-iit’ss aAa dd-ddoooozzyy!”

“Pinkie… sense?” Alexander asked, completely at a loss at the sight of the incessantly vibrating pony.

Before any of the others could answer him, the soldier at the communications terminal interrupted, “Sir! Eastern line is reporting strange phenomena coming from the forest. Something about fog and columns of fire. The ponies there are saying this is the prelude to an attack by the demons.”

Alexander suddenly became intrigued with Pinkie’s apparent sixth sense, ‘Perhaps we can use her as an advance warning system.’

The six mares became wide-eyed at the news while he merely drew a breath, readying himself for his first battle in this world. “Keep me updated.” he ordered. Receiving an affirmation from the soldier, he turned towards the six, “So sorry, Miss Sparkle and friends, but we’re going to have to cut this short… Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight remained silent, only continuing to stare straight ahead, her eyes the size of pinpricks, apparently having gone into shock. Applejack sighed before spinning her around and began shoving her out of the tent. “Don’t you worry any, confessor. She’ll be fine. We’ll take care of her.” she assured him.

“We’ll get out of your hair. Good luck, confessor! Give those demons a good thrashing for me!” Rarity said.

“Get ‘em good!” Rainbow added.

“Give those meanie meanie-pants demons the good ol’ one-two!” Pinkie exclaimed as she threw a jab and an uppercut, nearly clocking Rainbow in the process.

“Stay safe!” Fluttershy wished him.

“We certainly will! Thank you!” Alexander said. As they exited the tent with their catatonic friend in tow, he returned to his laptop with Hiss on his shoulders and set himself for a fight.

“(I quite like that purple one. I wonder where she lives…)”

Alexander suddenly felt quite bad for the lavender unicorn. Then a thought crossed his mind…

‘Misery loves company.’

He didn’t feel so bad anymore.

“(You certainly pulled the wool over their eyes. Bravo.)”

“Years of practice.” Alexander intoned, a satisfied smirk crossing his lips.

Hiss suddenly became amused, “(You’ve seen the torture and murder of innocents? Deportations? Mass graves and towns and villages being razed? Only because you ordered them.)”

“Hey. I’m only guilty of half of those.” he said in mock defense.

“(And you almost brought that cute yellow one to tears with that.)”

“Huh, so I did.” he simply remarked.

“(You really have no problem with speaking such boldfaced lies as truth and toying with the emotions of pastel-colored ponies like that, do you?)”

He shrugged, “Not particularly.”

“(So shameless… I love that about you.)”

“… I know.”

An awkward silence overcame them, Alexander reminded once more of the unclean serpent that had attached itself to him. After a moment, Hiss broke the silence, “(So… here we are, about to take on the forces of hell to protect a storybook town of ponies. We’re really going to do this?)”

He sighed, the absurdity of their situation made anew to him, “Yes, we are. As I said, we’re pretty much stranded here, so I don’t see what’s wrong with making good with the locals and helping them against a common threat. I mean, hell, it worked for Slavik.”

“(Fair enough. And then what?)”

“We get comfortable, because I have a feeling that we’re going to be here for a good while, spatial and temporal anomalies being a touch beyond our understanding and capabilities. Besides, this is a new world for us. Opportunities…” he trailed off, finishing in a slightly singsong tone.

“(Of course, the opportunistic vultures that we are.)”

Alexander nodded, agreeing with Hiss’ description of themselves, “It’s certainly something different from the tiberium-infested rock we came from.”

Spike was resting in the living room, lounging on a beanbag chair. He had just finished washing the dishes and preparing dinner for the refugees staying in the library and was exhausted. Just as he was about to doze off, the front door slammed open, a catatonic Twilight and her exasperated friends filing into the library. Hopping off the chair, he went over to greet them, “Hey guys! Where’ve you… Geez, Twilight, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

“Try a snake.” Rainbow answered for Twilight, her still being in shock.

“A snake? Huh?” Spike asked, not having the context of Twilight’s encounter with Hiss.

“Long story, Spike. So Twi’, about that letter? Twi’? Uh, Twi’?” Applejack waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face, trying to coax a response from her.

Rarity sighed before turning towards Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, could you be a dear and…” she trailed off. Fluttershy nodded knowingly before flying into the kitchen, returning moments later with a bucket filled with water. The others stepped away from the lavender unicorn, knowing what was coming next. Without warning Fluttershy dumped the water onto Twilight’s head, earning a pained yelp from her.

“AAAH! What gives, Fluttershy!?” Twilight shouted before shaking off the water, Rarity taking the brunt of the liquid onto her pristine mane. Rainbow and Pinkie began snickering at Twilight’s and Rarity’s expense.

Fluttershy immediately became apologetic, “Oh! I’m sorry! It’s just that you weren’t saying anything, and we were getting really worried, and…”

Twilight raised a hoof, interrupting her. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I’m sorry. It’s just… snake…” she finished with a shudder.

Applejack cleared her throat, gaining their attention. “AHEM! If y’all are done horsin’ around, ah’ believe we’ve got a letter to write? Hmm?” she asked rhetorically, bringing her friends’ focus back to the matter at hoof.

“Oh! That’s right! Spike!” Twilight called. At once her assistant was at her side, quill and parchment ready.

Clearing her throat, Twilight began dictating to him, “Dear Princess Celestia…”

Princess Celestia stood in the balcony of the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, taking a deep breath and a sip of tea to calm her frazzled nerves. She had been cooped up in her throne room, coordinating relief convoys and troop movements all throughout Equestria and desperately wanted to get outside for some fresh air. She looked out into the dusk sky, hued a light purple from Shining Armor’s barrier spell that protected Canterlot. The barrier flickered slightly for a moment, indicating the captain’s recharging of the spell.

She sighed, wondering why fate had deigned to strike such a terrible calamity as the demonic invasion out of Tartarus upon her little ponies. Many of her subjects had been killed, many more displaced from their homes when the evacuation of all small towns and villages was called. Making things worse was the criminal element of Equestria, these “bandit kingdoms” confounding refugee relocations and posing further threat to her subjects. The other nations could not help them, being besieged themselves, leaving Equestria on its own, and all they had to show for it was a mounting body count.

While Celestia was lost in thought, a midnight blue alicorn with a flowing, starry mane and tail entered the balcony, casting a worried look at her. “A moment of reprieve, sister?” she asked, walking up alongside her.

Celestia nodded, taking another sip of tea, “Very much, Luna.”

Luna looked over her sister’s appearance, noting her drooped ears, tired eyes, and sagging posture. “You seem quite tired. Perhaps you could do with more sleep during my nights.” she advised.

“I know, Luna, I know.”

The two sisters came under a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. It proved a pleasant diversion away from the nonstop chaos just inside the castle, Guards and bureaucrats constantly getting under each other’s hooves. As they looked out at the landscape, a scroll suddenly materialized in a blaze of green fire.

“A letter from Twilight?” Luna asked, eyeing the rolled up parchment.

“It would seem so.” Celestia replied as she unfurled the scroll and began reading it…

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to inform you of an event most strange that has occurred here in Ponyville. A large group of humans have been displaced from their world to ours by a strange and powerful energy event, according to them. They are soldiers of an order called the Brotherhood of Nod. They posses strange and powerful weapons and war machines, the likes I have never seen before.

They have been told of our country’s crisis and their leader, one Confessor Alexander Andric, has agreed to help us. As I write this letter, the humans are working with the Royal Guard garrison to fortify Ponyville against the demons. Their assistance really couldn’t be more timely, as signs of an imminent attack have been seen in the Everfree Forest.

I have spoken to Confessor Andric personally and I believe we can trust these humans for at least the time being.

I await your word on this matter.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Luna’s hoofsteps drew Celestia’s attention away from Twilight’s letter. “What is it, Tia? What news from your student?” she asked.

Celestia only looked at her, “Something different, Luna. Something very different.”

Chapter 7: Ponyville's Triggerline

Chapter 7: Ponyville’s Triggerline

“Think it’s going to be bad?”

“I hope not.”

Thunder and Flash were hunkered in their trench on the eastern approach to Ponyville, gazing at the black fog seeping out from between the trees of the Everfree Forest and at the pillars of fire jetting into the sky, swirling and twisting around each other in a blazing helix. Only having seen firsthoof the displays that heralded a demonic incursion a few times before, the two became rather nervous, thoughts of their own mortality and very possible and likely grisly deaths coming to the forefront of their minds.

While they shuffled nervously in their armor, anxious about the imminent battle, their sergeant was staring ahead at the forest, stiff and unmoving. With his spear firmly gripped in one hoof and his scutum shield strapped to his other foreleg, his appearance was statuesque.

Flash looked over at Low Flight, noting his steely thousand mile stare into the forest. “Heh, sergeant’s getting that way again.” he whispered, earning a quiet chuckle from his friend.

“Yeah. Maybe that look alone will be enough to scare off the demons.” Thunder suggested in jest.

“If only.”

The two continued their whispered conversation, diverting themselves slightly. Low Flight paid no mind to them, instead electing to silently complain to himself about a certain directive issued by the lieutenant.

‘Grounded for this fight. Hmph, what crock…’

The sound of the Hinds overhead drew his attention. He could not help but feel a little envious at the unicorns chosen to mount the helicopter gunships, ‘They better be appreciating the view…’

He suppressed a sigh and continued staring ahead.

“So only movement from the east? Nowhere else?”

“No sir.”

Observers in each line save the eastern reported no activity, confirming to Alexander that the demons were going to come from the east, at least initially. He decided to pull some tanks and IFVs from the southern line and have them reinforce the east. Having to manually direct his units into position and configure their posture made him badly miss his EVA unit, even as dated as it was. It at least spared him from having to say and hear everything through a communications ensign. Functionality of an operations center to house EVA would become priority once the battle was over.

“(Provided we survive this battle.)”

Hiss’ voice made him realize that he had thought that last bit aloud. He cleared his throat before replying to the snake’s jesting pessimism, “Something is terribly wrong with the universe if ponies wearing tin cans and armed with glorified pointed sticks can fight off their undead counterparts and imps and whatever else from hell and we with our 20th and 21st century weapons systems can’t.”

“(… I was just prodding you. You realize that, right?)”

Alexander suddenly felt a little embarrassed, “… I knew that.”

“(I love it when you lose control like that.)”

“I know you do, you perverted reptilian deviant.”

“(Ooh, that sounded rather bitter and angry.)”

“It was.”

Hiss hummed out a chuckle before turning its attention to the laptop’s screen, hinting that Alexander should do the same. Doing so, he resumed preparing the town’s defenses, deploying a few more laser and shredder turrets to the east and adjusting the Hinds’ patrol path to primarily cover the eastern line. As he did so, a steadily decreasing number displayed in a small box in the bottom right corner of the command program’s interface caught his attention. His current balance of credits was beginning to get low, necessitating a number of problems in the near future.

‘Going to have to address that.’ he thought, adding the matter of his depleting war chest to his mental checklist.

As he worked, Lightning Strike entered the tent, having returned from seeing the unicorn teams off. He approached Alexander, hoping for an update on their joint forces’ battle readiness, “The unicorn teams are off with your Hinds. So, how’s the eastern approach doing?”

“It’s coming along nicely. I’ve reinforced it with additional troops and defenses. The helipad’s almost up and we’ll have additional aircav to call on.” Alexander answered. The lieutenant responded with a confused look. He tried again, “More helicopter gunships.”

Nodding, Lightning Strike decided to head out and assume his position among his own troops. “Well, I’m off to the eastern line. Here’s to a swift victory.” he said, turning towards the exit.

Before he could leave, Alexander stopped him. “Hold on! Before you go, put this on.” he said, holding out a headset to the lieutenant, who looked at the device with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

“Huh?” he simply asked, not sure if the object being held towards him was another of the humans’ strange technology or a good luck charm of some sort.

“It’s a headset. It’ll allow us to communicate while you’re out there, a boon to our joint command, I would think.” Alexander explained.

Lightning Strike merely nodded as he took the headset in his hoof. Staring at it, he was unsure for a moment as to how he was supposed to wear it. Remembering the “head” portion of the device’s name, he removed his helmet and set it on the ground. Gingerly he inserted the earpieces into his ears, the aluminum band of the headset folding down his blue mane. He fiddled with the mouthpiece that was just barely from touching his snout, causing it to suddenly extend to a more comfortable distance, also its maximum extension. “Like this?” he asked.

“Yes. Is it comfortable?”

“As much as a metal mane band can be. So we’ll be able to talk to each other through this?” Lightning Strike asked, impressed at the notion that such a frail construction could facilitate long-distance communication.

“We'll see in a second.” Alexander replied as he lifted his cap slightly and deftly slid on a headset of his own. Replacing his cap, he put a finger to the right earpiece. “Check one. Check two. Can you hear me?” he spoke, testing the headset’s functionality.

Lightning Strike recoiled slightly, the confessor’s voice coming through his headset’s earpieces and the accompanying feedback from being in close proximity to him catching him by surprise. “Uh, yes. Loud and clear.” he answered, grimacing at the echo as he put his helmet back on over the headset.

Alexander hummed a knowing chuckle, “The echo will go away once you’re out there. Now, let’s see if yours is transmitting. Just press down on the right side. You should hear a beep. That indicates that you're transmitting and I can hear you. When you’re done speaking, just press it again and you’ll hear another lower tone, meaning we’re no longer in contact.”

Raising a hoof, Lightning Strike pressed down on the right earpiece, producing a beep, just as the confessor had said. “Uh, hello?” he spoke.

Alexander gave a satisfied nod. “All good. Alright, we’re set. Good luck out there, lieutenant.” he said, holding out a hand.

Lightning Strike accepted it, exchanging a shake with him, “Thanks.”

“To victory.” Alexander intoned.

Lightning Strike nodded, “To victory.” With that, he made an about face and exited the tent.

“(Huh, he didn’t seem to notice me.)”

“I think your terrible visage was too much for him so his brain just blocked you out.” Alexander said with a chuckle.

“(Ooh, so mean…)”

“What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me.”

“(Aww, I’m so proud… Rubbing, you say?)”

Alexander realized his mistake. “Never mind...” he said curtly, returning his attention to his laptop. Looking over the eastern line, he was satisfied with its level of fortification. Moving his cursor a distance just short of the edge of the forest, he established Ponyville’s triggerline.

“And let all those who pass this line with evil in their hearts suffer a terrible vengeance seven times.” he said quietly.

As Lightning Strike made his way to the eastern line, the vision of a giant snake draped on the confessor’s shoulders suddenly intruded upon his thoughts. He stopped walking, shuddering for a moment as a chill passed through him. Shaking off the ominous feeling, he continued towards the eastern line.

‘I got to lay off the cider.’ he thought to himself.

“So what was going on out there? I heard everypony getting real riled up and chanting ‘peace through power’ or something like that. It was crazy!” Spike said, curious about the evacuation announcement turned rally.

“Well, the humans’ leader, Confessor Andric, he gave a speech that, well… He’s quite the public speaker, I’ll just say.” Twilight answered. The seven of them were settled in Twilight’s bedroom on the upper floor of the library, downstairs being crowded with refugees and their families.

“He must be. I mean, the refugees staying here in the library left for the meeting all doom and gloom and came back with the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen them with.” Spike noted.

“Indeed. Well, it certainly is a rather nice change of pace to see everypony so spirited. I think I’ve seen enough despaired looks for my lifetime.” Rarity said, manipulating a brush with her magic to comb her mane.

Applejack nodded, “You said it.”

A silence overcame them as they contemplated all that had happened in the last few hours. “So, humans, huh? I bet Lyra’s having a field day rubbing it in everypony’s faces.” Spike said with a laugh, the others joining him.

“Heh, yeah. But it is pretty amazing, what with humans being real and all.” Rainbow remarked.

“I know. I mean, I’ve read what Star Swirl the Bearded wrote about encountering humans during his inter-dimensional travels, but even I thought it was pretty farfetched. Now, not so much.” Twilight admitted, fiddling with her mane in mock embarrassment.

“You know what they say! Life is just full of surprises!” Pinkie said as she put a foreleg around Twilight.

“So, this Brotherhood of Nod… They seem like good guys, helping us like this.” Spike commented.

“I think so.” Fluttershy agreed.

“So what are they, exactly? Some kind of religious order of knights or warrior monks or something?” Spike asked.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Huh, you know I didn’t ask the confessor what they were exactly.” she admitted.

“I’d bet that they’re some kind of religious order. He did say they were founded by a prophet. And his title, ‘confessor,’ sounds like a religious one to me. Maybe some kind of weird priest?” Rainbow suggested.

“Ah’d buy that for a bit.” Applejack agreed, straightening her hat.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions suddenly cut into the air, making all of them jump slightly in surprise. Looking out the window, they could see bright flashes to the east. “Seems like the fighting’s started.” Rainbow said, earning nods of agreement from the others.

“I hope it’ll be alright.” Fluttershy murmured.

Rarity placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sure it will be, dear. Why, with the Royal Guard and these humans working in concert with each other, I’m sure they’ll be able to push the demons back in no time at all.” she assured her.

Applejack casted an unsure look at her, “Ah’ sure hope so, Rarity.”

Another explosion sounded from the east, making them cringe.

Low Flight was getting agitated. He had been standing at the ready for nearly three hours and was starting to feel its effects. Just as he was about to drop his ready posture and lean against the wall of the trench, one of the infantrymen suddenly called out, “Movement downrange!”

He looked out to where the infantryman was pointing and saw a very tall figure, even taller than the humans. Standing an impressive nine feet in height, the figure had the body of a minotaur, laden with muscles, though instead of skin and fur, it was covered with grey scaly skin from head to hooves. Its head was its most noticeable aspect, shaped more similarly to that of a human’s than a bull’s. Along the crown of its head were four elongated horns, two on each side. Gripped in its claw was a giant claymore sword wreathed in flames.

The creature reared back, releasing a piercing shriek that was clearly heard even from the trenches. As if on cue, hordes of dissimilar creatures thundered out from between the trees, charging straight at the combined force of ponies and humans. “Husk Hooves!” called a Guard.

Hefting his spear and shield, Low Flight set himself for the fight. “Ready up!” he shouted, causing all Guards to ready themselves, pegasi and earth ponies readying their weapons while unicorns warmed up their horns. The humans in the meanwhile aimed their weapons at the approaching wave of demons. As they got closer, the pony and human defenders could make out the demons’ individual appearance. Pony in form, their bodies were heavily decayed, flesh putrid and rotting with chunks missing, exposing bone. Some were without eyes, only having rotted sockets, but were still able to sense life and rushed towards it with intent to snuff it out. Clad in rusted armor of antiquity and wielding hoof weapons of sinister aesthetic, they were a terrible sight to behold.

“Engaging!” shouted the ranking infantryman. At the call, the eastern line was lit up with the muzzle flashes of the humans’ weapons, the cracks and rattle of rifles and machine guns filling the air. Guard unicorns began unleashing volleys of magic bolts, casting their deadly spells as fast as they could while their non-unicorn fellows armed with crossbows released hails of bolts upon the charging demons. The Husk Hooves at the forefront of the charge were felled from the combination of gunfire, magic, and crossbow bolts, their redead corpses tumbling forward and tripping the ones immediately behind them.

The tanks and IFVs positioned between the trenches began making motion, their turrets whirring to life as they sighted down the approaching wave of undead pony warriors. Their guns suddenly erupted in a thunderous blaze of fire and smoke, unleashing their high explosive ordinance upon the Husk Hooves. Explosions lit up among the demons’ numbers, blowing apart those caught in the blasts, sending charred bits and pieces flying through the air. The vehicle fire continued, breaking apart the massive charge into separated, more manageable groups for the gunners in the trenches to handle.

As the foot soldiers and armored fighting vehicles continued a sustained fire upon the Husk Hooves, the laser and shredder turrets lined their mounted weapons at the advancing hordes and opened fire, capacitors discharging, raking them with bright red beams of intense light and heat, slicing through their armor setting their rotted flesh alight with fire while grapeshot canisters exploded among them, blasts of shrapnel shredding flesh and breaking apart bones.

Low Flight watched his Guard rangers and the Nod infantry and vehicles continue to fire, cutting down charging Husk Hooves by the dozens. He snorted, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. “Save some for the rest of us.” he muttered.

Lightning Strike and his orderlies watched as the eastern line continued to rain sustained fire upon the demons. Though the constant gunfire, magic bolts, and explosions decimated the Husk Hooves immediate numbers, more stampeded from out the forest. He realized the situation would eventually become untenable, being overrun becoming a very real possibility.

Lightning Strike put a hoof to his headset, deciding to see if Alexander was aware of the developing situation before him. “Confessor, you hear me?” he asked, earning perplexed looks from his orderlies.

“Yes. What’s going on?” Alexander responded.

“The demons are getting a bit too close for comfort. They’ll be hitting our lines if this keeps up.” he said, eyeing the charging demons gradually close the distance between themselves and the eastern line with increasing anxiety.

“I’ve noticed.”

He suppressed a groan at the confessor’s nonchalant response, “Not that I doubt my Guards’ mettle to meet them head on, but if you’ve got anything to stem this tide, that’d be great.”

“Look up.” came Alexander’s simple response.

Doing so, Lightning Strike witnessed the Hinds zoom by, puffs of smoke and fire erupting from their stubby wings as they unleashed a hail of rockets and missiles upon the demons. A series of explosions resounded from across the stretch of land between the eastern line and the forest’s edge. Looking out at the battlefield, he saw the Hinds beginning to circle high above the demons’ ranks like massive mechanical vultures, their compliment of unicorns raining down explosive magic bolts on the enemy.

“That should hold them for a while until the artillery battery is up.” Alexander said.

Lightning Strike almost did not hear him, being enraptured by the combined firepower of the Hinds and their unicorn bombardiers. “Yeah… They- Wait, ‘artillery battery?’ What?” he asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“The big guns, lieutenant.” Alexander replied.

‘Big… guns?’ he thought perplexed, wondering just how far the scale of escalation went regarding his human allies’ weapons.

Alexander watched from the UAV’s video feed as the demons steadily gained ground towards the eastern line despite the sustained fire bared down upon them. He leaned forward onto the table, clasping his hands in front of his mouth.

“(Those demons are getting awfully close to our lines, don’t you think?)”

“Indeed they are.” he replied to Hiss’ observation. Leaning back in his chair, Alexander contemplated the developing situation before him. Though not an immediate issue, the sustained enemy charge would eventually reach their lines, a very dangerous proposition for a number of reasons.

“God dammit… It’s like for every one we kill, ten more take its place. These numbers won’t work with our current arsenal.” he muttered.

“(Likely not.)”

Alexander became deathly still, trying to brainstorm a solution to the current problem, ‘A simple, ‘holding the line’ tactic won’t cut it in the long term. We’re going to need some fire support assets. We don’t have enough to field some airpower just yet, so…’ He thought of something.

“(Artillery.)”

“Just what I was thinking.” he said as he returned to the command program’s interface, pulling up the weapons factory’s control panel. He placed a build order for five M110 self-propelled howitzers and set their rally point at a spot near the town. ‘Hope they don’t mind the noise…’ he thought with a smirk. As the howitzers began production, he set the Hinds on an attack run against the demons with the hope of slowing their advance, arranging for a few strafes with their compliment of unicorns.

“(So you’re going with M110s? Kind of dated, aren’t they?)”

He sighed, “They are, but the newer ones would hit our pocketbooks a bit too hard at the moment. Besides, they still get the job done.”

“(Fair enough. This’ll certainly be fun to watch. From what I’ve seen, these demons aren’t that bright. I wouldn’t put it past them to charge headfirst into an artillery barrage.)”

Alexander chuckled at that, “Heh, yeah. Or fire, for that matter.” A thought occurred to him, ‘Fire, fire…’

A devious and slightly maniacal grin formed on his face. Hiss took notice, “(Uh oh. I know that look.)”

He only laughed.

“We’re going to make a pass! Get a volley ready!” the pilot announced through the helicopter’s loudspeakers. The six Guard unicorns in response readied their horns, a glowing magical aura emitting from each one. Outside the open doors, they could see the two other Hinds and their fellow unicorns, their horns also at the ready.

Approaching the eastern line, the Hinds fired their payload of rockets and missiles in a single massive volley, the backblast from their rocket pods and missile tubes earning more than a few surprised yelps from their unicorn passengers. “Alright, we’re circling them! Unleash a righteous fury, brothers!” yelled the pilot.

Fired up at the pilot’s words, they edged towards the open doors and lowered their heads, aiming their horns at the teeming mass of demons below. The ranking Guard among them readied his own horn and gave the order to begin the attack, “FIRE!”. As one, they released a volley of their strongest explosive magic bolts. The satisfying sounds of a multitude of explosions and the death cries and gurgles of many a Husk Hooves reached their ears, indicating that they hit their marks.

As they readied another volley, the helicopter suddenly lurched to the side, the clang of something big and heavy throwing itself against its fuselage resounding. “What the!?” cried a Guard as he stumbled, nearly falling out of the open door. The cause of the violent movement appeared just outside the door, clinging to the side of the helicopter. It was a beast in the form of a leopard, but with four heads and wings. It used a free foreleg to claw at the unicorns as its four heads roared and snapped at them.

“Shifter!” a Guard shouted. At once, all had unsheathed their weapons, three driving their spears into the beast’s exposed underbelly as another stabbed at it with his sword.

“What the hell’s going on back there!?” the pilot shouted as he tried to stabilize the helicopter.

“A Shifter! It’s trying to get in!” a Guard shouted back.

“Get it off us!”

“We’re trying!”

The beast swiped at one of the Guards holding a spear into it and connected, its claws cleaving through his armor and slashing him. “Gargh!” he cried in pain as he stumbled back, a fellow Guard catching him.

“Oh, buck this!” another yelled as he took hold of his injured comrade’s spear and yanked it out of the beast’s body, the spear dripping with its blood. With a mighty roar of his own, he drove the spear into the beast’s inner thigh, producing a pained and rage-filled roar from it. Spinning on his forelegs, he delivered a powerful buck to the beast’s chest as it was distracted with its latest wound, sending it tumbling down towards the ground. A satisfied smirk appeared on his features as his two now sword-less and spear-less comrades gave him annoyed looks.

“Could you at least have waited until I got my sword out of that thing?” he asked.

“And my spear…” the wounded Guard wheezed.

“Celestia’s Sun! We’re just annihilating them!” Thunder exclaimed over the roaring gunfire and explosions. He peeked over the top of the trench at the exceedingly one-sided bloodbath before ducking just in time as a rotted hind leg nearly hit him in the face as it flew overhead.

“You said it! Ha, ha! Back to the pits of Tartarus with you, you filthy things!” Flash taunted the demons, jesting at them with his spear.

“Yeah! Run to your-“ Thunder was cut off as a magical blast erupted just in front of their trench, causing the two and those around them to duck down. “The buck!?” he shouted. He was answered with several more explosions in front of and behind the trench, throwing up large amounts of dirt.

“There! Three hundred fifty meters to the left!” yelled an infantryman as he looked through the scope of his rifle. Looking to where the infantryman indicated, the two saw a circle of Husk Hooves clad in black robes, a dark light emitting from their heads.

“Dammit! Conjurers! They’re hitting us from afar!” Low Flight yelled, crouching down as another magical blast exploded in front of the trench. A series of explosions rocked the next trench over, a number of pained cries and screams following afterwards.

“Shit! We’ve got to get some fire on those things! Hold on!” the infantryman yelled over the explosions. He crouched down and put a hand to his helmet’s radio, “Command! We’re taking heavy fire from some undead pony mages! They’ve set up position a ways away from the eastern line and are lobbing explosive projectile at us! We need support!”

“Affirmative. Give us a moment.” A pause, “Alright, we’ve posted the snipers on them and any more that appear. Confirm they’re running around in darkly-colored robes?”

“Affirmative!”

“Copy. Hang tight. Out.”

The infantryman looked at his trench fellows and told them the news, “Alright! Our sniper teams are on it!”

“Sniper teams?” Flash parroted.

Before the infantryman could answer him, a number of shots rang out from the taller buildings in Ponyville. At that instance, the demons’ magical bombardment ceased. They all looked over to where the conjurers had been firing at them and saw them all drop to the ground, their heads missing. “How’d that happen?” Thunder asked, astonished at the conjurers’ sudden redeath.

“The magic of intensive marksmanship training! Recommencing firing!” the infantryman yelled as he raised his rifle and resumed firing.

“All sniper teams. BOL for hostiles wearing robes as opposed to armor. These are priority targets. Take them out ASAP.”

“Acknowledged, command.” spoke the spotter. He and his partner had holed up at the top of an old clock tower in Ponyville’s marketplace. He turned to the sniper, “You got all that?”

“Yeah.” the sniper replied. He shifted his rifle to the left, “Got eyes on some now.”

The spotter brought his spotting scope up, looking in the direction his partner was looking. “Oh, yeah, I seem them. Damn, they’re wreaking hell on our lines. Pop ‘em.” he ordered.

“Roger.” The sniper said. Under his breath, he whispered, “By the Spirithand of Kane, let my aim be true and these bullets find their marks.”

He held his breath, steadied his hand, and pulled the trigger five times.

Five shots rang out. Five conjurors were now without their heads.

“Ha! I told you prayer works.” he said to his spotter, smugness evident in his filtered voice.

The spotter rolled his eyes, the action going unseen due to his faceplate, “Whatever. Then pray harder and shoot faster.”

The sniper only chuckled at his partner’s exasperation as he resumed firing, the sharp cracks of his rifle causing more than a few ponies below in the marketplace to nearly jump out of their skins, much to the team’s amusement.

Another magical blast exploded right on top of the trench as a new group of Conjurors renewed bombarding the eastern line. Pony and human medics maneuvered between the eastern line’s foxholes and trenches, pulling their wounded comrades to the rear. “Those conjurors are killing us!” Flash shouted, ducking as another of the conjurors’ explosive bolts struck the trench.

“They must be covering the advance!” Thunder said. Just as he said that, he was pounced by something, knocking him to the ground. His attacker was a beast taking the shape of a winged lion, ferocious and swift. He grabbed its throat, holding back its salivating mouth from mauling him and caught its paw in mid-swing with his other hoof, saving his face from some new scars. “Get this bucking thing off me!” he shouted as he grappled with the beast. At once Low Flight drove his spear through the beast’s neck as Flash reared back his hind legs and bucked the beast off his friend, throwing it a few feet away. Landing on its back, it thrashed wildly, trying to get upright. Low Flight walked up to its thrashing form and twirled his spear in his hoof, the spearhead pointed towards the ground. Gripping it with both hooves, he raised his spear up and brought it down on the beast’s throat, eliciting a gurgle and spurts of blood.

“You alright?” Low Flight asked as he walked over and pulled Thunder to his hooves.

“Yeah, thanks.” he wheezed, winded from the close encounter with the beast.

“Enemy’s closing!” an infantryman called out. They all looked out at the battlefield to see the Husk Hooves as well as dozens of beasts and taller horned humanoid creatures closing in on the eastern line. One of the horned humanoids began sprinting towards the trench, a flaming spear reared back in its right claw. As it got closer, its lack of facial features became apparent, folds of skin occupying where the eyes and mouth would have been. It released a screech despite its lack of a mouth and lunged at them.

Just as they raised their shields to fend off the attacking humanoid, a javelin whistled through the air and struck it in its chest with great power, sending it flying back. They turned around to see Lightning Strike jump down into their trench, readying another javelin. Dozens of their fellow Guards followed his lead, taking up positions along the eastern line. Flash let out an impressed whistle, “Dang! Nice shot, LT!”

“Years of practice. You boys alright?” Lightning Strike asked, his eyes set on the battlefield before him.

“For the moment, sir. Conjurors are hitting us hard and the other demons are just about on top of us. We-” Low Flight stopped, his ears perking up at something. A galloping and the clanking of rusted armor caught his attention. Without warning he spun around and stabbed his spear into the air, catching a Husk Hoof in its belly just as it leapt into the trench. With a swing he flung the corpse back onto the field. “Correction. They’re on top of us.” he said.

“So it would seem.” Lightning Strike muttered. He closed his eyes for a moment, deciding on something. Opening them, he looked at Low Flight and his subordinates, “Spears, swords, and shields at the ready, gentlecolts. We’re going over.”

Receiving nods of affirmation, he sucked in a deep breath and bellowed the order, “MELEE! UP AND OVER!” At the call, all Guards armed with hoof weapons and shields leapt out of their trenches. Going a short distance away from the foxholes and trenches, they set themselves up in a phalanx line formation, creating a wall of spears and shields as they braced themselves for the clash. In a brief moment, a line of charging demons collided with them, initiating the melee.

Alexander looked over the battlefield, seeing some demons reaching the eastern line. Though relatively few in number, they provided enough of a distraction to allow the others to close in. He saw the Guards armed with hand weapons leap out of their trenches and form a defensive line. They clashed with the demons, holding them back as gunners in the trenches repositioned themselves to the foxholes.

“(Now that's a grand old melee. Real, Grade-A Classical Greek drama material.)”

“All the better for its brevity. The artillery pieces are just about ready, and then we can hopefully put this fight to bed.” Alexander responded to Hiss' observation, eyeing the clashing lines.

“(Mhmm.)”

A soldier called out to him, gaining his attention, “Sir! Snipers’ are reporting a contact emerging from the forest. And they’re saying it’s REAL big.”

Troubled at the notion of something of significant size entering the battlefield on the enemy’s side, he panned his view over to the edge of the forest and caught sight of something VERY big and VERY mean-looking crash through the trees, splintering them into toothpicks.

"(Oh my…)"

Alexander could only agree, “Oh my…”

Chapter 8: Fire From Sky

Chapter 8: Fire From Sky

Thunder brought up his shield, deflecting the wild swing of a Husk Hoof’s sword before countering with a stab of his spear, running the reanimated corpse through. He reared his head back and launched it forward, connecting a powerful headbutt to its jaw. The force of the blow decapitated the Husk Hoof, its rotted head snapping off with a sickening crack. He kicked off the headless body from his spear and sighted down his next opponent, a Husk Hoof running towards him with a sword gripped in its mouth.

As he braced himself to meet the undead abomination in hoof-to-hoof combat, a javelin shot out and caught the Husk Hoof in its neck, causing it to topple to the ground in a heap. He saw Flash run up and retrieve his javelin from its body. His friend trampled down on the undead pony’s head, crushing its skull beneath his golden armored horseshoes, ensuring its redeath.

“Hoy! That was mine!” Thunder complained in half-seriousness, earning a laugh from Flash.

“Oh, come on. There’s plenty to go around.” he replied before switching out his javelin with his sword and moving to engage an approaching Husk Hoof.

Thunder only snorted and turned to face another Husk Hoof that had taken notice of him. He trotted towards it, his spear reared back and ready to strike.

“Kill-stealer…”

Low Flight sidestepped the downward swing of the Faceless’ giant battleaxe. Stabbing his spear into the ground, he grabbed the rear end of it and crouched down before springing up, vaulting himself to the monstrous humanoid’s muscular shoulders. Straddling its featureless, human-like head, he grabbed hold of one of its horns with one hoof and drew his short sword with the other, holding on tight as the Faceless thrashed around wildly, attempting to throw him off. Setting the sharpened tip of his sword against the base of its neck, he drove the blade through. The Faceless stopped thrashing, becoming stiff and rigid for a moment before falling over dead.

He sheathed his sword and leapt off its shoulders before it hit the ground. Retrieving his spear, he adopted a defensive stance as a trio of Husk Hooves rushed towards him, waving their weapons in the air with murderous intent. As the first one came into range, he lunged forward and impaled it in its chest with his spear. He dropped his spear and stepped to the side, avoiding the thrust of the second one’s sword. Catching its sword foreleg in a lock, he violently yanked down on it, tearing it off. Kicking away the dismembered corpse, he looked around, having lost track of the third Husk Hoof.

A sword swung down and hit him in his wing, making him shout in surprise and pain. The Husk Hoof had gone around to his exposed side and caught him by surprise as he dealt with its friends. Immediately, he resituated himself to face his assailant, bringing his shield up just in time to deflect another blow. He crouched down and grabbed the second one’s sword before springing up and swinging it, locking blades with the Husk Hoof. With all his strength, he forced its sword down towards the ground and stepped down on it with his hind leg, disarming his opponent. He took a step back and bashed the Husk Hoof with his shield in a powerful swinging motion, sending it flying back before throwing his sword at it, catching it in its heart.

Satisfied with his handiwork, he retrieved his spear from the body of the first Husk Hoof and caught sight of his next fight, a Faceless wielding a long sword wreathed in flames. He whistled at it, catching its attention. It began sprinting towards him, its sword dragging on the ground, leaving trails of charred dirt.

Low Flight only smirked as he readied his spear, pointing it slightly downwards towards the ground.

“Show me your fury, demon…”

Lightning Strike threw another javelin, catching another winged lion in its chest in midflight, bringing it down. As he readied another javelin, a beastly roar drew his attention. Looking over, he saw a beast taken form of an abnormally large bear, its body covered in black fur caked with blood. In its mouth were three rib bones that were vibrating, producing a faint, melodious sound that seemed to stir the beast to even greater violence and savagery. It thrashed about the battlefield wildly, knocking away attacking Guards with great force, sending them flying and mauling others, pinning them down with a massive paw before setting upon them with its bloodied maw.

Not too pleased at the sight of his Guards being worked over in such a manner, he drew his crossbow and loaded it with explosive bolts before taking after the bear. Coming into range, he brought up his crossbow and aimed at the ribs in its mouth, remembering them from ponytales of old as the cause of the beast’s frenzy. Taking and holding a breath to steady his aim, he let loose a hail of bolts. They hit their mark, blowing apart the ribs in the beast’s mouth. Their destruction seemed to induce a stunned state in the monstrous bear, it coming to a standstill, swaying slightly from side to side. A number of Guards took advantage of the beast’s daze to encircle it and spear its neck and stomach, tearing into them. It released a pained moan as it fell over, its ragged breathing eventually coming to a halt.

Before he could congratulate himself, the clanking of rusted armor behind him caught his attention. He suddenly spun around, just blocking the blade of a Husk Hoof with his crossbow as it came down on him. Holding it back, he kicked at its torso and sent it staggering back. He walked up to it and grabbed hold of its sword by the flat of its blade and ripped it from its grasp and tossed it away. In a swift motion, he swung the stock of his crossbow up, clipping the Husk Hoof in its jaw, flooring it. Not quite finished with it just yet, he stood over it and reared his crossbow back before butting it in the head with the stock, concaving its skull inward.

A smug expression formed on Lightning Strike’s face as he looked down at the corpse he made dead once more.

“I outrank you.”

With a swing of his spear, Thunder threw another defeated Husk Hoof aside. He fell back behind his line for a quick reprieve before heading back out. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he trotted back out into the melee. He saw Flash busy with a pair of Husk Hooves as a third one came up behind him. He sprinted towards it and rammed it with his shield, sending it flying back. Flash spun around at the noise behind him and saw his friend bring his spear down on the Husk Hoof that had attempted to sneak up on him.

“Whew… Hey, thanks.” Flash said.

“Just pay me the twenty bits you owe me and we’ll call it even.” Thunder replied, a smirk forming on his features.

Flash’s shoulders drooped at that, “Oh, c’mon! You’re still on about that?”

“You bet your flank I am! That’s twenty solid-“

A deafening roar interrupted Thunder. The sheer power of the sound shook them to their very bones, the pace of their hearts quickening as their anxiety rocketed. They looked out towards the direction of the roar near the forest’s edge and were met with a terrifying sight.

An absolutely massive beast, easily twice the size of an Ursa Minor, rose up from the forest and began approaching the eastern line, the tread of its huge feet causing tremors with every step. Standing on four legs, its appearance was monstrous and extraordinarily fearsome. Its body was protected by a thick metallic hide, dark grey in color. It had a long tail, swinging it around with each step. Its head was draconic in appearance, possessing evil eyes and a long snout. Lining its jaws were sharp teeth made of iron, big ones, while lining its snout and adorning the crown of its head were ten large ivory horns, the most notable of which was the one at the forefront of its snout. It was very unique, being the largest and possessing the eyes and mouth of a human. The eyes casted a hateful glare at pony and human alike, its gaze boring into them. The mouth, meanwhile, shouted obscenities and taunts in a multitude of voices in ancient tongues, making all who heard it cringe in severe discomfort at the guttural quality of its voice.

Thunder and Flash could only gawk at the towering beast as it slowly made its way over to the eastern line. Their expressions became slightly downcast as their hopes for a victorious outcome for the battle started to wane. “Think the humans’ ‘firepower’ can overcome that thing?” Flash asked.

“I sure hope so, because I think we’re bucked, otherwise.” Thunder replied.

“Well, just in case it doesn’t, it’s been good serving with you.” Flash said as he held out a hoof, inviting his friend into a hoofshake.

Thunder accepted it, shaking Flash’s hoof, “You too, my brother.”

A solemn silence briefly overcame them. After a moment, Thunder broke the silence, “We should report this to the lieutenant.”

Flash nodded in agreement, “Yeah, let’s go.”

They both took off back to the trenches, not at all intending to use the very off-chance of their lieutenant not noticing the giant nightmare beast that was causing tremors with each step it took as an excuse to get a head start in fleeing from it as fast as their wings could take them. After all, Thunder and Flash were the epitome of a Royal Guard’s bravery.

“(That big one is going to be a problem, I think.)”

Alexander nodded in agreement with Hiss’ assessment, observing the massive iron beast as it trudged towards the eastern line. He set the newly deployed squadron of Apache gunships with the Hinds to begin strafing the building-sized monster and restricted all eastern line elements from engaging it. “Hopefully that’ll keep it distracted long enough for us to drop some shells on it.” he muttered.

“(You think that’ll be enough?)”

“I certainly hope so, because if not, well… Now I’m curious about our top breakdown speed.” he said with a sigh, this latest battlefield development severely complicating matters and giving resurgence to his previous migraine.

“(It might not come to that.)”

“I certainly hope so. We just got here, and I need a drink before setting out on the road again.”

“(Alcohol? For shame, ‘confessor,’ for shame…)”

“So I’m not the most pious follower of Nod.” he retorted to Hiss’ mock accusation.

“(I truly hope you don’t wonder why you were tossed from the Black Hand.)”

Alexander released a muffled groan at Hiss’ barb at his less-than honorable discharge from the Brotherhood’s elite sect, “Always back to that, huh?”

“(Oh, I kid, love.)”

“Ugh…”

He groaned at the pet name. It was moments like this that made him wonder what his mother would think of him being more or less wedded to a snake that may or may not be a supernatural entity of some kind.

‘At least I’m not bothered with pain-in-the-ass kids of my own.’ he thought.

In the expansive greenery of New York City’s famed Central Park, Mrs. Andric sat upon a bench, relaxing under the shade of a tree while feeding the pigeons with a bag of popcorn. Wearing a dull green overcoat over a blouse and poodle skirt, she was the iconic image of a kindly old biddy. She looked up at the sky, her mind wandering to her middle child, ‘At least I’m not bothered with some pain-in-the-ass grandkids.’

“So he’s got a giant pet snake? That sounds pretty cool.” Spike said.

“I wouldn’t say ‘cool,’ Spike.” Twilight replied, shuddering at the memory of the giant cobra molesting her.

“I have to agree. Why somepony of his stature would keep such an unseemly thing around as a pet is simply beyond me.” Rarity commented, not bothering to hide her disappointed astonishment.

Pinkie did not share her friends’ trepidation about Hiss. “Oh, come on, Twilight! Hiss just wanted to give you a friendly hug!” she said, hugging her.

“Yeah, a friendly hug is all…” Rainbow added, snickering at Twilight’s renewed discomfort.

“Constriction’s more like it…” Twilight muttered, unappreciative of the two’s purported notion.

“Maybe snakes are a part of their belief system? Like a revered holy animal or something?” Spike suggested.

“Could be.” Applejack said.

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, taking her mind off her encounter with the lustful reptile, “Well, in any case, I think-“ A roar of immense volume interrupted her, shaking the windows of the library and eliciting frightened gasps and yelps from the refugees downstairs. Fluttershy shrunk at the sound, letting out a fearful mewl.

“What, was THAT?” Spike asked, half-wishing nopony would answer him.

“No idea… Let’s go see!” Rainbow said, getting up and walking over to the balcony.

“Um, let’s not and say we did?” Fluttershy suggested, earning an annoyed look from Rainbow.

After some coaxing, Fluttershy and the others went out into the balcony to see how the battle was progressing. They immediately noticed the enormous horned beast stomping towards the eastern line and Ponyville with likely less than friendly intentions. “Oohh my… Ah’ think that one might be a problem fer’ our boys.” Applejack said, unconsciously straightening her hat out of nervous reflex.

Rarity reluctantly nodded her head at Applejack’s observation, “I don’t want to think that, but I have to agree.”

“So… should we start packing now?” Spike asked in half-jest.

Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant’s gallows humor, “Very funny, Spike.”

“It may come to that if they can’t overcome that monster.” Rarity said.

“Then here’s to hoping they can.” Rainbow said, not very thrilled at the idea of having to rebuild her house a second time.

As they continued to watch the battle, the sound of propellers chopping through the air drew their attention. Looking towards the north, they saw three helicopter gunships painted a dark grey take to the air and towards the battlefield. They were slightly smaller than the Hinds and shaped differently, the forward sections vaguely resembling the head of a snake.

“How many of those flyin’ contraptions do they have?” Applejack asked nonplussed, wondering just what magical void the humans were conjuring their hardware from.

“Who’s complaining?” Rainbow retorted. She looked to where the Apaches came from and took note of the base established to the north of the town. “Hey, when that get there?” she asked, pointing a hoof at the unfamiliar structures.

Fluttershy observed the barracks, noting its highly unusual architecture, “Oh my. That building shaped like a claw is rather frightening…”

“What IS their fascination with black and red?” Rarity asked, objecting heavily to the base structures’ dominant color scheme.

“Alex wears black and red.” Pinkie pointed out.

Rarity only shook her head, “It works the way he wears it. Not with the rest of them.”

“What now? Did they build that?” Applejack asked, scratching the back of her head in confusion.

“I guess so. You think we would’ve heard something.” Twilight muttered, astonished at the idea of such rapid and stealthy construction.

Spike eyed his bed inside, “Huh. It’s fine, I guess, as long as they keep it quiet.”

Lightning Strike stared at the giant iron beast that had entered the field and was now on an approach towards the eastern line. For a brief moment he was completely entranced by its sheer size, how it towered over everything else on the battlefield. The sound of galloping towards him broke him out of his reverie. Looking over, he saw Thunder and Flash approaching him. “Uh, sir? There’s a-“ Thunder started.

Lightning Strike cut him off, “I see it, Thunder, thank you.”

“What should we do, sir?” Flash asked.

“Hold tight for now. I’m going to see if our friends have a fix for this.” he said as he tapped the right side of his helmet, producing a beeping sound. As Thunder and Flash watched him with piqued curiosity, just noticing the mouthpiece and antenna jutting out from his helmet, Lightning Strike waited for the confessor to respond, his hoof tapping in impatience.

Alexander’s headset emitted a tone, signifying a transmission from Lightning Strike. He tapped the right earpiece, connecting him with the lieutenant.

“We’ve got a problem.” came Lightning Strike’s voice.

“Let me guess. Five stories high, causes tremors with every step, and shouting a multitude of likely very rude things in a legion of voices and tongues at us?” he asked.

“That’s a good summary of it. If you’ve got something up your sleeve, now’s really the time for it.” Lightning Strike replied.

“I do, but I’m going to need your help on this, lieutenant. I’ve posted all helicopters on that thing to try and keep it distracted away from our lines. We need to keep it still long enough for our long-range weapons to zero in on it.” Alexander explained.

There was a pause before Lightning Strike responded, “Alright, we can do that. I can take some pegasi and help your helicopters keep that thing busy.”

“Grand. Now, when you see a smoking red flare fall from the sky to where that monster’s standing, you and all of your Guards, and I mean ALL of them, must make for the trenches as fast as you can and keep your heads down. Truly, duck and cover. I’m serious.” he said, his tone conveying his seriousness about the matter of taking cover.

“I got you. Fall back and heads down at the sight of red smoke.” Lightning Strike affirmed.

“Outstanding. Be careful out there.”

“Of course.”

Terminating the connection, Alexander returned his attention to his laptop’s screen, now displaying the helicopters circling around the massive beast, peppering it with missiles and large caliber bullets, the unicorns aboard the Hinds throwing in their weight with the concentration of firepower.

It seemed to work in diverting the beast’s attention away from the eastern line, it now attempting to swat the helicopters with its tail while projectile vomiting molten metal at them.

Alexander suddenly felt the need to increase the artillery battery to twelve guns…

Lightning Strike terminated the headset’s connection to the confessor’s. He looked at Thunder and Flash, who were watching him perplexed as he carried on a seemingly one-sided conversation. “Where’s your sergeant?” he asked them.

The stallion in question announced his presence to his commander, “Right here, sir.”

Turning around, Lightning Strike saw Low Flight standing at attention behind him, his armor slightly bloodied. “You alright, sergeant?” he asked, eyeing the wound on Low Flight’s wing.

“Just fine, sir.” the sergeant replied, trying to suppress a grimace.

“Your injury disagrees. You still fit for a fight?”

Low Flight smirked, “We both know the answer to that, sir.”

“Just checking. Anyway, I need you to disseminate these orders to the troops. They are to fall back to the trenches and duck down at the sight of red smoke falling from the sky. Emphasis on ducking down.” Lightning Strike ordered.

The directive raised the sergeant’s eyebrow, “Fall back and duck down at red smoke? Got something up your sleeve, sir?”

Lightning Strike nodded, “You could say that. After you get the word out, I want you to manage things down here. I’ll be taking some pegasi to keep that monster distracted long enough for our ‘surprise.’ Sorry to leave you out, sergeant. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that, sir.” Low Flight said with a grin before saluting and running off to the melee lines.

Lightning Strike turned his attention to Thunder and Flash, who had been watching him with undisguised anxiety. “So boys…” he began.

“Do we even get a choice in being glorified bait, sir?” Flash asked.

“No, not really. I was just going to frame it in a more upbeat way. Positive mental attitude and all that.” Lightning Strike said nonchalantly.

The two heaved a sigh. “Right behind you, LT.” Thunder said.

Lightning Strike grinned at their slight despondency, “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s go round up some more ‘volunteers.’ Come on.”

The three took off back towards the town, seeking out their fellow Guard pegasi to join them in their diversion mission.

Low Flight kicked away another defeated Husk Hoof from his spear. With the help of his fellow noncommissioned officers and their powerful lungs, all Guards on the ground were informed of the order to fall back to the trenches at the sight and call of red smoke. While initially nonplussed at the directive, the Guards acknowledged it regardless. With the matter taken care of, he could now only wait and pass the time…

By cutting down every demon he saw. A roar directed at him caught his attention. Looking in its direction, he saw a winged lion sprinting towards him, an aura of murderous, bestial frenzy apparent in its bloodshot eyes.

The sergeant braced himself, ready for the beast’s attack. The lion closed in and lunged itself at him, its forward claws extended and ready to tear into the armored pony like a tin can. He fell on his back at the last second, covering his face with his shield while bringing up his hind legs. The lion fell on top of his prone form, flailing wildly in confusion at the unexpected move. With his hind legs on the beast’s belly, he kicked it off him and onto its back, leaving it vulnerable.

Getting to his hooves, Low Flight cautiously approached the thrashing beast and delivered the finishing blow, a downward stab of his spear to the throat, just as before.

As he pulled his bloodied spear out from the lion’s throat, another peculiar noise caught his ear. It sounded of a multitude of blades slicing against each other, greatly menacing all who heard it, including Low Flight, which was quite the accomplishment in itself. It wasn’t easy to induce fear in the battle-hardened stallion…

Looking over at the sound, he was confirmed of his fears. Rings had taken to the battlefield, rolling towards the Guard lines and trenches to make mincemeat of the pony and human defenders. Their basic structure resembled that of a gyroscope, a multitude of blood-rust rings spinning at different angles and directions. Jagged and uneven metal barbs lined each ring, comprising the demonic construct’s primary threat. The movement of the rings served to greatly disrupt the melee lines, breaking them apart as Guards moved out of the way to avoid getting sliced into pieces.

Figuring they at least needed to throw the rings back somehow to keep them from reaching the trenches, Low Flight concocted a plan to hold back the gyroscopes from hell. Spotting some Guards break from their line to avoid the approach of the rings, he called out to them, requiring their help, “You there! Get over here!”

The Guards ran towards him, their golden armor clanking with each step. “Sir!” spoke a corporal among them.

“Come on. We’ve got to stop those rings from screwing with our lines.” Low Flight said, earning perplexed and anxious looks from the Guards.

“But how, sir? We can’t get near them without getting turned into mincemeat!” protested one of them.

Low Flight eyed him, “Think your spears, Guard. We’ve got to throw those things back from the trenches.”

“Uh, yes sir!” the Guard simply said, fearing the sergeant’s steely gaze more than the rings themselves.

Nodding, he motioned for them to follow him. Galloping towards a set of rings that had gotten rather close to a foxhole, he set his plan into motion. “Encircle it!” he shouted.

At once, the Guards had surrounded the bladed gyroscope, their spears at the ready. The encirclement of the Guards seemed to confuse it, the rings no longer moving towards anything and remaining stationary, as if unable to decide which target to move towards.

“STICK IT!” Low Flight bellowed. Together, he and the Guards thrust their spears in between the spinning rings, jamming them. They all held tightly to their spears, using all their strength to fight back against the protesting movements of the rings as they tried to resume their natural motions.

“LIFT IT UP!” came the next order. The Guards hefted their spears towards the sky, lifting up the immobilized rings.

Just as he was about to shout the order to toss the rings away, a pair of infantrymen clambered out from the foxhole, hefting long metal tubes on their shoulders. “Hey! Toss that thing into the air and we can blast it!” one of them shouted.

Unsure of what they were planning, Low Flight complied nonetheless, “If you say so… Guards! Toss it on three!”

The infantrymen knelt down and aimed their weapons at the rings, their fingers resting on the weapons’ triggerguards.

“ONE!”

“TWO!”

“THREE!”

As one, they tossed the caught rings into the air with all their might, sending it high above the ground. The two infantrymen fired their weapons, the backblast of their rocket launchers catching the ponies off guard and causing them to shield their faces from the smoke. A pair of rocket-propelled grenades soared at the airborne rings, leaving twisting contrails as evidence of their flight. Impacting them, the grenades blew apart the rings in a deafening explosion, sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

Looking up, they all saw that the rings were no more. “Huh, that worked.” a Guard commented.

A series of explosions drew Low Flight’s attention. He looked out at the trenches to see Guards using their spears to toss rings into the air and human infantrymen armed with rocket launchers blasting them shortly afterwards, apparently taking inspiration from his improvised tactic.

He snorted, ’Nice to know they’re paying attention out there…’

Two dozen pegasi were all that Lightning Strike could muster to help distract the iron beast, as most were tied up in holding the line. They had gathered in the town’s square, standing in a column formation, ready to take off. They armed themselves with crossbows loaded with explosive bolts and javelins with explosive tips, they only weapons they had that could even hope to warrant the beast’s attention.

Lightning Strike surveyed the column of armored pegasi, checking one last time that all were accounted for. Satisfied, he stood in front of them and began the briefing, “Guards! We are to divert that giant beast’s attention away from the eastern line long enough for our human friends’ weapons to prepare. We fall back to the trenches at the sight of red smoke falling from the sky. Six groups of four, scattered flight formation.”

“I doubt that thing would register us as anything but a bunch of annoying flies, sir.” a Guard commented.

“However you want to put it. And go for the eyes. Acknowledged?” Lightning Strike asked.

“Sir, yes sir!” shouted all Guards present.

Nodding, he turned around and spread his wings, “To the air!”

He leapt into the air with a powerful gust, his Guards taking after him. As they flew towards the battlefield, they sighted their target, the iron beast. Readying their weapons, they set themselves to annoy the complete hell out of it.

Alexander could not help but release a relieved sigh. The artillery battery was finally ready. He panned the view on his laptop’s screen over to the iron beast’s location and saw his pony counterpart leading several of his own in concert with the gunships in harassing the beast. They had led it a healthy distance away from the eastern line, though the barrage would still be danger-close, so they would have to be careful.

“(Took long enough…)”

He sighed, “What we get for operating under a strained power grid and budget, I’m afraid.”

“(In any case, it’s time for a light show, don’t you think?)”

“Indeed.” Alexander concurred as he raised Lightning Strike to warn him of the imminent artillery barrage. It was about to get loud over there…

Guard pegasi continually buzzed the giant iron beast, purposely vying each other for its lethal attention. Flash hurled another javelin, striking the left eye of the beast. Thunder in the meanwhile released a hail of explosive bolts from his crossbow upon the faced horn, eliciting a stream of colorful language from it.

“That thing’s got a pretty mouth!” Flash shouted to his friend.

“And I thought we were salty!” Thunder yelled back.

The two’s banter was interrupted by a stream of molten metal flying just above their heads.

“WOAH, THAT’S HOT!” they both yelped as they flew away from the deadly stream. Thunder fired another volley of bolts at the beast’s eye, causing it to cease its attack as it reeled its head in pain.

“We can’t keep this up! Something’s got to give or we’re toast!” Flash exclaimed.

A distance away, Lightning Strike had heard him and silently agreed with their assessment of the situation. They had been at it for ten minutes and only had an increasing number of close calls to show for it. They needed to end this fight before somepony got hurt…

”Lieutenant? Lieutenant! Can you hear me?” came Alexander’s voice over his headset, interrupting his train of thought.

Lightning Strike put a hoof to his headset, establishing his end of the connection. “What!? Is it time!?” he asked as he flew back to keep out of the beast’s reach.

”Yes! Flare’s coming down in a second! Get yourself and your Guards to the trenches and keep down! It’s going to be danger-close!”

“Right! GUARDS! FALL BACK TO THE TRENCHES! NOW!” he bellowed. The pegasi with him adjusted their flight paths towards the eastern line. The helicopters in the meanwhile had flown a good distance away from the beast, as if expecting whatever was about to happen to have a large radius of effect.

“So what’s your brilliant plan, again!?” Lightning Strike yelled as he and his Guards made a beeline for the trenches.

”Fire from sky.” Leaving the vague and ominous statement floating in the air, the confessor terminated the connection.

“Now what are those, I truly wonder? What will they do to add to our defenders’ thunder?” Zecora wondered aloud, watching the howitzers move into position at the edge of the humans’ base.

“They kinda’ look like their ‘tanks,’ ‘cept with a bigger weapon. Ah’ bet they pack twice the punch!” Applebloom conjectured.

“Sounds good to me!” Scootaloo agreed.

“Oh boy! Those demons are in for it now!” Sweetie added.

“Mhmm!” her friends agreed.

The twelve pieces of self-propelled artillery formed two even rows, six per, and resituated themselves to face the battlefield southeast of them. Once in position, they raised their barrels into the air, primed to deliver their ordinance.

Zecora raised an eyebrow at the synchronized motions of the howitzers, “What is this, now?”

One of the guns suddenly shot a red flare into the sky, the flare leaving a trail of thick red smoke along its arced trajectory. The three fillies and zebra followed the path of the flare as it arced high above Ponyville, its bright light casting an eerie red glow over everything below. Ponies all around looked up at the source of the glow, mesmerized by the bright light. They tracked the flare as it landed right at the clawed feet of the giant iron beast.

The beast itself seemed confused at the strange, smoke-emitting red light that had landed at its feet, ceasing its assault against the bothersome pegasi and helicopters buzzing around it like a swarm of heavily armed flies to look at the still smoking flare. It squinted, unsure of what to make of the harbinger of its demise.

The howitzers suddenly boomed, firing the first of many barrages. Fire and puffs of smoke erupted from their elongated barrels.

Sweetie squeaked in surprise at the deafening thunder of the guns.

“Whoa! What was-“ Scootaloo was interrupted as the guns fired again without warning.

They continued firing, sending volleys of high explosive shells towards the battlefield. The ground around the giant beast suddenly lit up with massive explosions, its terrible visage obscured behind bright flashes of light and clouds of smoke.

The beast released a guttural howl of pain, disabusing the notion that it was invincible. More explosions soon drowned out its cries, engulfing its body completely. The beast began to stagger as the massive concussive force of the shells tore into its iron hide, shredding its more vulnerable innards.

With a final moan, the giant iron beast fell, hitting the ground with great force and producing a tremor with its graceless collapse.

“They got it! They got it!” Applebloom exclaimed with unrestrained glee. Sweetie and Scootaloo joined in her rejoicing, hopping up and down with joy.

Zecora in the meanwhile gawked at the enormous carcass now left on the battlefield. “Wow…” she uttered, finishing her earlier couplet.

“RED SMOKE! RED SMOKE! BACK TO THE TRENCHES! NOW!”

The call rang out over the chaos of the battlefield, testament to the unrivaled power of Low Flight’s and his fellow NCOs’ lungs. The Guard lines began an orderly retreat back to the trenches, the lines remaining cohesive and moving backwards as one. Reaching them, they jumped down into the trenches and ducked down, many using their shields to cover themselves and their comrades.

Low Flight jumped down into a trench and looked out at the battlefield to ensure no one was still out there. Though he didn’t know what to expect at the fall of the red flare, he couldn’t help but think that being near it would be very detrimental to his health.

As he surveyed the battlefield, a number of his pegasi comrades flew into the trenches and took cover, Lightning Strike, Thunder, and Flash among them.

“Sir! You alright?” Low Flight asked.

“Still breathing, so yeah, I’m good.” Lightning Strike replied.

Low Flight looked at the two pegasi behind the lieutenant and laughed at what he saw. “Uh, Thunder? Flash? Your tails?” he pointed out.

The two looked behind themselves to see their bluish-white tails alight with a small flicker of fire. Both yelping in surprise, they quickly put out the flames with a wag of their tails.

The lieutenant and sergeant chortled at the two, enjoying a moment of levity at their expense.

A rumbling thunder resounded from the north edge of town, the sudden and unfamiliar noise drawing their attention. Faint whistles from above caught their ears, turning their gaze up towards the sky.

“FALL DOWN! INCOMING!” an infantryman bellowed.

As if on cue, bursts of light and fire suddenly erupted around the giant iron beast, explosions engulfing it completely and eliciting actual sounds of pain from it.

All in the trenches ducked down and shielded themselves as dirt and shrapnel flew over their heads.

Lightning Strike released a snort as he remembered his earlier conversation with Alexander.

’Danger is close? No kidding, Alex…’

“Well, they’re at least keeping it from reaching town.” Spike said, commenting on the helicopters’ and Guard pegasi’s diversionary tactics.

“I’m thankful for that, at least.” Twilight said with a sigh, glancing worriedly at the crowds of spectating ponies down on the streets.

“Yes, but actually bringing that monster down is another matter entirely, dear.” Rarity said.

They were still on the balcony, continuing to watch the raging battle from afar. The helicopters and Guard pegasi continued to harass the giant iron beast, drawing it away from the eastern line.

“Think they can keep it up?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack bit her lower lip as she watched the loose formations of helicopters and Guard pegasi barely dodge another stream of molten metal vomited by the beast, “Ah’ sure hope so, ‘cause- huh?”

She stopped midsentence as everything became bathed in a red glow. They all looked up towards the sky to see the flare arcing high above them towards the battlefield.

“What the hay?” Rainbow uttered as she tracked the flare with wide eyes and a gaped mouth.

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked.

Before anyone could say they didn’t know, a loud booming suddenly sounded. The abruptness and loudness of it elicited a sharp gasp from Fluttershy, who jumped in surprise and landed in Rainbow’s forelegs. They all looked to see the howitzers beginning their barrage, firing volley after volley at the giant beast.

A cacophony of explosions around the iron beast brought their attention back to the battlefield. Flashes of light and fire erupted all around the beast, provoking pained cries from it. Additional explosions drowned out any further noise from it completely.

Ponies on the streets below watched in wonderment the sustained artillery barrage, cooing in awe at the thunderous bursts of light, fire, and smoke.

The target of the barrage did not share their wonderment, instead howling in rage and pain. Another couple volleys of shells finally overwhelmed the beast.

As it fell, they could hear the pony and human defenders on the eastern line begin to cheer at the slain monster’s death. Soon, all of Ponyville began cheering with them, celebrating the salvation of the town.

“I can’t believe it… They did it!” Spike said with undisguised surprise and disbelief.

“Whoa… Now THAT was cool!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Pinkie vigorously nodded her head in agreement, “You said it, Dashie!”

“A spectacular finale for such a valiant and noble fight!” Rarity added.

Applejack wiped away the nervous sweat that had collected on her forehead. “Whew… That was close.” she said with a sigh.

“I’m just glad it’s over.” Fluttershy said, relief evident in her voice.

“Me too, Fluttershy.” Twilight muttered, still in awe at the immense volume of concentrated firepower she had just witnessed.

Pinkie and Spike embraced each other and began hopping in rejoice at the Royal Guards’ and humans’ victory.

Rainbow in the meanwhile eyed the yellow pegasus mare still in her forelegs with an exasperated look. “Uh… Fluttershy?” she began.

“Huh? Oh, right. Sorry…”

The humans on the eastern line whooped and cheered as the giant iron beast finally succumbed to the artillery barrage and released a final death moan before its legs buckled and sent the monster collapsing to the ground. The ponies, awestruck for a moment at the massive display of firepower, soon joined their human allies in celebrating their victory over the demons, shouts of triumph sounding from the trenches.

Lightning Strike leaned against the wall of the trench and sighed deeply in relief. Low Flight merely smiled as Thunder and Flash joined in with their pony and human compatriots, whooping and holding up their spears in victory.

“Okay, that was impressive.” Low Flight said, grinning as he watched the remaining demons panic at the fall of their champion and begin to retreat back into the forest.

“Impressive is a word, sergeant.” Lightning Strike said as he took off his helmet and wiped the sweat off his brow.

He looked out at the still smoldering corpse of the giant beast, a measure of satisfaction evident on his face.

’Firepower. I’m starting to love that word…’

Alexander leaned back in his chair, a satisfied grin on his face. The giant iron beast had been felled, the demons were in a rout, and casualties on their side were minimal. He could here ponies cheering outside the tent. Victory was theirs.

“(Hmm, not a bad way to finish up, love.)”

He scoffed at Hiss’ tame congratulations, “Not bad? Try a glorious crescendo to an epic orchestral score.”

“(Aren’t we boastful?)”

“I just brought down Godzilla’s Hebrew cousin.” he retorted.

“(That you did. I suppose that qualifies for bragging rights.)”

“You’re damn right it does…”

Alexander turned his attention back to the laptop’s screen, watching the joint force of his men and the lieutenant’s ponies mop up the stragglers.

“Take that, you mealy-mouthed bastards.”

Author's Note

Edited.