The Equestrian X-Com Project

The Equestrian X-Com Project
Chapter 2: The Activation of X-Com

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"5 minutes ta power on Princess Luna."

"Refer to us as Base Commander Luna from now on."

"Rarity did you attach the cables to the central hologram terminal?"

"Can't Rainbow Dash do it? She can squeeze under the pipes easier."

"Hey I just rigged all the lighting, you can at least do the terminal."

"But it would be easier for you to do it."

"4 minutes, are we ready Twi?"

"We just need to rig the hologram terminal Applejack. Rarity have you attached the cable?!"

"I would like to Rarity but I have done my job and you need to do yours."

"Umm, Lu... Base Commander Luna, c-could I trouble you for a second."

"Its not that much effort Rainbow, and I've already done a few jobs of my own."

"Speak Fluttershy!"

"Eep!"

"3 minutes Twi!"

"Rarity please, just do it!"

"But its dirty down there, I'll get all messy."

"I-I don't mean to cause a fuss but we have a few badgers outside who want to take cover from the rain. C-can I open the doors for them?"

"Rarity, mare up and just do it!"

"It is fine Fluttershy, we shall shelter the badgers through the storm!"

"2 minutes! Hurry it up in there!"

"Fine! I'll do it! See if I care!"

"Thank you Rarity. The cable should be laying on the ground next terminal adapter. Just plug it in."

"Okay... hold on a second... ugh its so dusty down here."

"1 minute ponies, check your cables. We can't have any short circuits."

"Rarity have you done it yet?"

"Its... already plugged in..."

"Who plugged it in?"

"Me silly!"

"Pinkie when did you get here?"

"I was here for the whole conversation. I plugged it in when Rainbow Dash was doing the lights."

"Oh yeah I forgot I saw you do it. Don't worry about it Rarity, Pinkie already did it."

"Are you telling me... That you knew about it, and you still made me get all dirty! .... RAINBOW YOU-"

"POWER ACTIVATED!!"

The bickering ponies suddenly silenced and watched in awe as the mighty generators roared into motion and breathed life into X-Com headquarters. Blue light flooded the underground tunnels, computers crackled to life, cameras began to transmit their video feeds, vents began to circulate fresh air, and finally a large hologram globe of the planet fizzled to life in the center of the main control room with the Equestrian continent facing the main control terminal and Luna's command chair. The sphere shaped command room was built around that hologram, rows of terminals curved upwards like a circular theater so the ponies by the terminals could see the hologram at all times. The command room had no need for lights as the hologram illuminated the futuristic command room in it's blue light. A plaque surrounded the base of the hologram terminal which read "Every day from Celestia, and every night from Luna, We shall protect it with our lives." That was the oath of the X-Com staff, they would never give up, never surrender, and lay down their lives for the price of victory.

The Equestrian X-Com Project had officially begun. It would only be deactivated once they had achieved victory, or had failed to protect Equestria to sufficiently please the rulers of the major funding cities: Princess Celestia of Canterlot, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire and the financial genius Mayor Fillyances of Manehatten. Other minor cities also chipped in for the funding but if only one of the major cities withdrew support the X-Com project would suffer greatly.

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"Let us begin Princess Twilight Sparkle, what is our first order of business?" Base Commander Luna said as she proudly trotted alongside Twilight Sparkle through the main hall of the X-Com base. This was her base, this was her project, this was her plan to stop the aliens, 'and it shall work' she thought to herself. Blue light filled the metallic corridors illuminating from two thin tubes which ran the length of the ceiling.

"Well firstly; you can call me Head Researcher Twilight, or just Twilight would do" the purple unicorn said as she indicated her assistant Spike to get out her checklist. "I think firstly you should decide on what you want me to get the research staff to work on. We could start our research on what the FLD has left us, or see if we can learn anything off the scraps of the last battle... Or there is also a bit to learn about the alien weaponry... From Milky Way."

Luna put a hoof to her chin and pondered her options. This was her first choice as base commander, she had to make the right one. "I think researching the items from the last battle would be the best course. Most of the FLD research was destroyed with their Headquarters... I also believe there is much to learn from Milky Way, but we shall leave it till later."

Twilight Sparkle paused for a few seconds as she thought of her brother, she snapped out of her trance and continued. "Excellent choice commander, I will get the staff to start on it immediately. Spike do you mind accompanying Luna on the initial check. Check on Applejack and Rarity in the engineering department next, they will need a task too" Twilight said before rushing off to the labs. Spike nodded and followed Luna to the Engineering department.

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"Well Princess; my department will design an' construct anything you think X-Com will need. We'll make anything from weapons ta new sections of the base, only if Twi can provide the knowledge and designs. That said we'll work on current designs to improve the weapons we already have. If you're lookin' for armor that's Rarity's department, her team will do all the research an' construction of new an' improved armors... I just hope shes up to the task though" Lead Engineer Applejack said to Luna as she looked up from her welding. Applejack's engineer department was loud making it hard to hear what the earth pony was saying, also with sparks flying about and smelters pouring glowing melted metals Spike and Luna found it hard to keep their attention on the head engineer.

"What are you working on at the moment?" Spike asked looking at the half assembled gun on Applejack's workbench.

"Well at the moment my engineers are mass producing the X-Com basic weaponry that was tested by Derpy out in the orchards. Rarity's team are busy working on basic X-Com armor for all our troops to wear... I'm sorry Luna but our hoofs are full at the moment, any projects you want from us will have to wait until we can get the basics sorted" Applejack explained with a guilty look on her face.

"Worry not Applejack, we will need sturdy basics to provide a foundation for future developments!" Luna announced before realizing how loud she was speaking and how out of place her stance was. She quickly lowered her hoof back down to the ground.

Applejack gave a nod before lowering her welding mask and continuing her work. "The checklist says we need to go to the hanger next but i don't think the interceptor is ready yet. I think the Skyranger is completed. It would be a good idea to meet the pilots anyway" Spike said reading off the checklist.

-----

Base Commander Luna and Spike the dragon walked into the open circular hanger area. The sun shining in from the open roof was a nice change to the cramped halls of the base. The floor of the hanger seemed bare as it was mostly empty apart from a large drop ship engraved as 'Skyranger 1.' The drop ship looked like a state of the art military aircraft. The back of the the Skyranger was opened up revealing the crew compartment, 4 safety harnesses lined the interior walls for the soldiers to use while in flight, installed on the far wall was a large flat screen monitor used for briefing and battle layouts. The front section of the Skyranger was closed off, it was used to house the pilot in a special harness which controlled the entire aircraft.

Three ponies bickered among themselves on the far end of the hanger. One was a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane whom had her wings outstretched, the second was a white unicorn with a stylish violet mane who was measuring the blue pegasus's wingspan. And the final was a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane watching the two from a distance.

"Hey you two! Do you like how the hanger turned out!?" the blue pegasus named Rainbow Dash called out to Luna and Spike.

"It appears to be quite... empty" Luna answered hesitantly as she approached.

"Well that's Rarity's fault, she only got the Skyranger built. We're still waiting on the interceptors" Rainbow dash told the two newcomers. Rarity was to busy to comment.

"You're working on the aircrafts as well Rarity?" Spike asked trying not to sound as awestruck as he was feeling. He knew Rarity was good with clothes and armor, but building an entire drop ship proved how seriously Rarity and her engineers were taking the X-Com project.

Rarity looked up after taking Rainbow Dash's measurements, she had two drawing pins in her mouth which made her voice slightly muffled, "well they are not aircrafts per-se but really pegasus exoskeletons, so they fall under armors; which my team and I develop" Rarity explained pointing a hoof at the Skyranger. "That one is called the 'Skyranger' which will be Fluttershy's exoskeleton, it acts as an aerial transport for our troops, including the non pegasi. It also will armor the troops and pilot from any fire they will take during flight. It also is equipped with state of the art jet engines which are installed on the passenger airplanes Manehatten uses, so it will be quite quick giving us a rapid deployment time" Rarity boasted taking pride in her work, Fluttershy looked scared as she listened to Rarity's explanation. "Unfortunately due to lack of time the crew compartment only fits four ponies, I will improve on that over time."

"So you're flying that one are you Flutters?" Spike asked taking a closer look.

"well.... yes" Fluttershy said softly looking at the floor.

"I hope you're up to the challenge" Luna added looking over at the Skyranger.

"Well... I..."

"Don't worry Princess, Fluttershy has never let me down" Rainbow dash added nudging Fluttershy.

"So what are you piloting Dashie?" Spike asked looking up from the Skyranger.

"Rainbow Dash will be piloting a combat exoskeleton I'm calling the Interceptor, it will increase Rainbow's flying speed and also be equipped with powerful weapons to shoot down UFO's with. With that said I really need to get on with my work, so if you'll excuse me" Rarity bowed as she left the hanger.

Spike's eyes followed Rarity as long as they could until she left his field of vision, he then remembered the checklist, "We should get moving too Commander Luna, we still need to sign off all the new recruits over at the barracks."

"That is true, thank you for your services Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, I will place my trust in your skills" Luna said leaving the hanger with Spike. Fluttershy looked back over the the Skyranger and shivered, Rainbow put a wing over her back comforting her.

-----

The main room of the barracks looked a lot like an average bar or night club. It was designed to be a nice homey lounge for the soldiers and other staff to relax, as leaving the base was a difficult affair. There were a few booths where the staff could share their meals with their work mates. There also a few areas designated for lounging, a pony could relax on the sofas or cloud bags to just take their mind off things. Finally there was a large bar with a variety of cooking equipment for food and mixing equipment for drinks. A friendly pink pony bounced up from under the bar, her mane was like fairy floss and exclaimed her energetic personality. "Howdy welcome to my saloon!" the pony greeted them with a bad cowboy accent.

"Pinkie Pie... This is suppose to be the barracks, not a... Saloon. Where is all the training equipment?" Spike asked looking around the bar.

"Upstairs."

"Where are all the reports kept?"

"That room over there."

"Where do the soldiers sleep?"

"That hall over there."
"Where do we treat the wounded?"

"The clinic is over there."

"Where are the soldiers?"

"They are in their rooms unpacking."

Luna interrupted the questioning "I understand this is the lounge for the soldiers and staff. That makes thou in charge of moral raising correct?"

Pinkie gave a large friendly smile "Yup. Parties every night!"

"Judging by your actions at last year's nightmare night and the Grand Galloping Gala I feel you are capable of this important role, the stronger our relationships are with each other; the stronger we our out in the field. Spike shall we adjourn to the office and sign off the new recruits."

"Okay See ya Pinkie" Spike said with a smile, Pinkie returned the smile and put on a hair net barely covering her puffy mane and started cooking cupcakes.

As Spike and Luna exited the bar they went past a small pedestal illuminated by a floor lamp. The words 'The memorial' were written on the wall behind it along with an incomplete list of names. Only one name was written down 'Milky Way - Go get 'em Ponies.' A photograph also sat framed on the pedestal of the white stallion with a large smile that practically spit his face in half and wings spread wide and ready for action. Behind him was the Wonderbolt Academy and Thunderlane watching his wing pony have his picture taken. "I requested this pedestal but I had hoped it would never be used" Luna spoke in a soft tone which was unusual for her. "We will never forget those whose names appear on this wall throughout the war."

"Will we hold a proper funeral and burial for Milky Way?" Spike asked feeling his throat tighten.

Luna paused gazing at the picture, "unfortunately we will not have time to, and his body is to useful to our scientists."

"But don't you think Milky Way's body should be-"

"It's what he would have wanted!" Luna shouted silencing Spike, she didn't want to think what she was really doing to Milky Way's corpse. She took a deep breath calming her nerves, "once the project is over Milky Way will receive a royal funeral honoring all he had sacrificed to preserve Equestria, during his life and after it. He will be remembered!" Luna announced holding her hoof up in royal Canterlot tradition. Spike nodded, he trusted her judgment.

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"So whose is this office?" Spike asked looking around the plain and boring office. The steel walls of the office seemed dull and lifeless, ponies using this office were encouraged to decorate the walls as they saw fit which is why the walls were so bare.

"This office will belong to the pony appointed to the 'Field Commander' rank, the most advanced rank a soldier can obtain. Once I feel a field pony is skilled enough to lead the ground forces I will appoint this role to them, until then I will act as commander. Let us start the reviews."

"Here are the reports Luna" Spike said fishing out a stack of papers out of a nearby filing cabinet. Luna began to read through them one by one.

"I don't think we need to read that one" Spike said quickly taking that report out of the pile

"This one is the only unicorn correct?" Luna asked Spike.

"No that was an outdated list at the ponyville library, another Unicorn stepped up since then" Spike answered.

"Where is the missing data?" Luna asked Spike.

"It has been removed from the Wonderbolt records. I will see if I can locate them for you" Spike said searching through the files.

"We do appear to attract a lot of Discharged Wonderbolts" Luna commented.

"It is a short list, so we may need to start recruiting again if we take to many casualties. X-Com also has the right to conscript if things go out of our control. Let us hope they do not" Luna said setting the list down on the table.

"I have set out the promotions for soldiers into four sections. The most aggressive and brash will become the assault class, they will be given shotguns and rifles and will be tasked with getting up close and personal to the aliens. Soldiers who care about their teammates more than killing aliens will become the support class, they will be given rifles and smoke grenades to help their team. Ponies who have exceptional accuracy will be put into the sniper class, they will be given sniper rifles to make long distance shots. The last class will go to the most headstrong and bravest ponies, the heavy class will be given our biggest machine guns and rocket launchers, they will support their team while fighting aliens" Luna explained.

A second later the blue lights pulsed red as an alarm sounded, X-Com was being called to duty! Luna and Spike burst out into the bar "Pinkie! I want you to send the first 4 soldiers that come out to the hanger!" Luna ordered, Pinkie gave a energetic salute and glared down the dorm hall ready to pounce on the first of the troops to finish unpacking.

Luna made it to the command room and was approached by Twilight Sparkle "We are getting a call from Mexicolt City. It seems a small alien force has touched down in the city mall and are killing anypony they see. We need to deploy there now!"

"I have sent for four troops to move to the hanger, do we have guns and armor for them?" Luna asked sitting in her command chair.

"Yes, Rarity and Applejack are heading over to the hanger now with the equipment. Also Fluttershy has been briefed on flight details so she is ready to go."

"Get the troops in the Skyranger, We will brief them on the way with the on-board monitor."

Twilight felt doubt begin to enter her thoughts, on paper the X-Com project seemed like a good idea, but now there were lives at stake. "Only four ponies Commander?" Twilight inquired.

Luna gave a look of slight desperation, "it is all we can send at this current time. We will stand together in this trial of fire and see it through to the end!"

-----

Rainbow Dash secured the pilot harness to Fluttershy, "Just remember; the engines will follow what ever you do in the harness, it will take a bit of getting used to but you'll get the hang of it." Fluttershy gave a nervous nod as four ponies decked out in the X-Com armor and X-Com assault rifles charged into the Skyranger troop compartment making Fluttershy jump which sent a jolt through the Skyranger dropping all the soldiers to the floor.

"Oh... sorry" Fluttershy said looking back into the crew compartment and the small pile of X-Com soldiers.

"Right Flutters; your cleared for takeoff; get going!" Rainbow dash said opening up the casing for the Skyranger visor and exiting the cockpit leaving Fluttershy in the harness. Fluttershy beat her wing and pulled the harness up, the boosters under the Skyranger's wings fired up lifting the Skyranger off the ground and out of the hanger into the open sky. Fluttershy then pushed forward into the harness making the Skyranger boost forward away from the base and south towards the badlands.

Inside the cramped crew compartment four ponies dressed in X-Com armor were strapped to their seats jerking and jolting from Fluttershy's movements. The armor was quite thin but sturdy, Rarity had designed it this way so it would be protective and also mobile. The armor was a tan color and covered a majority of the soldiers body, apart from the head and cutie mark. A small monitor flared up on the wall separating the cockpit from the crew compartment, Luna's face appeared as she began the briefing.

"Greetings soldiers, the four of you are going to be deployed just outside the Mexicolt City Central Mall. We have heard reports of a small alien force capturing and killing innocent ponies. With some good tactics and skill the four of you should have no problem. This is technically X-Com's first deployment, make sure it goes smoothly. Give Equestria a banner to unite under, and give the aliens something to fear" Luna announced with a stern face. "This mission will hinge on your teamwork, so I suggest you make good use of your radios on your armor to keep in contact. I also recommend getting to know the ponies you are traveling with if you haven't done so already" Central Officer Luna finished turning off the screen.

The ponies looked at each other, they mostly knew each other. The first pony on the left was a white Unicorn with a punkish short blue mane, her eyes had blazing red irises and her tail was short and spiky. Her cutie mark was of two musical notes and overall she seemed the most relaxed about their current situation. "Well I think you all know me, but if you don't the names Vinyl Scratch aka 'DJpon3.' You lot ready to buck some alien ass?" Vinyl laughed.

The second pony to speak sat next to Vinyl Scratch. She held herself with much more grace than Vinyl, despite the bumpy ride of the Skyranger. She had a grey coat and a darker grey mane. Her mane and tail were brushed frequently expressing the earth pony's strive for perfection. Her irises were purple along with her cutie mark of a treble clef. She looked over to Vinyl "now Vinyl we cannot just charge in guns blazing, we need to use tactics and teamwork." She turned to the others "my name is Octavia Philharmonica, I am a musician. Glad to be working with you." Vinyl playfully mimicked Octavia's professionalism.

The next pony sat across from Vinyl on the right side of the Skyranger. He was a pegasus stallion who was bursting at the seams with muscles. His coat was white and his mane was gold. He kept his mane as a short mohawk to match his short stubby tail. His wings and legs seemed way to small for such a large pegasus. His eyes had wide red irises and his cutie mark was of a dumbbell. "I'm Bulk Biceps! I'm a pegasus, and a weightlifter! Vinyl's idea seems fine to me" he spoke in a loud tone.

The last pony in the compartment was one of the ponies who had defended the X-Com base before. Her name was Derpy Hooves, the wonky grey pegasus who had aced the X-Com training. Her cutie mark was a bunch of bubbles. Her eyes slanted of in different directions as she spoke "do aliens even have asses to buck?" she asked tilting her head.

"Of course they do, what were the FLD bucking all that time if the aliens didn't have asses?" Vinyl laughed.

The discussion of alien asses continued until a call came in from the cockpit, "Hey I can see the mall, I'm going to touch down if that is alright?" Fluttershy called bringing the Skyranger down over the back wagon park.

Octavia put her face into her hooves "this mission relies on teamwork and tactics... And we just spent the whole trip here discussing alien asses... This is going to go great" Octavia sighed sarcastically.

The Skyranger hit the ground of the wagon park with a thud, the crew compartment opened and the four ponies charged out to secure the landing zone. "Clear!" Bulk Biceps yelled after looking about for any aliens.

"Move out ponies" Vinyl ordered waving a hoof.

"Wait! What about me? What if the aliens come for the Skyranger?!" Fluttershy called out stuck in her harness.

"Fly away?" Derpy suggested as her head flopped to the side.

Fluttershy was silent as she looked back at the pegasus, she had a good point. "Oh... Alright then..." Fluttershy responded quietly and let herself hang from the harness as the soldiers trotted off.

-----

The back wagon park was mainly used for deliveries and pickups, it was mostly empty due to the invasion. The delivery ponies had abandoned their wagons where they were parked so a few still remained in the loading docks. The back entrance to the mall's first floor was nearby the landing site, there was also a set of stairs leading up to the second floor off to the side of the back entrance.

Octavia saw the other ponies stand around Vinyl, almost like they were rallying to her and looking for her to lead, they were scared to face the aliens without her. Octavia knew Vinyl had the charisma to command them, 'she needs some tactics though' Octavia thought to herself. "Vinyl; if you lead Bulk and Derpy through the back door, I could cover you from the second floor" Octavia suggested looking at the set of stairs.

Vinyl remained silent for a few seconds, she didn't like the idea of sending Octavia off by herself. What would happen if she was spotted? Or ambushed? But the tactical advantage was to great to turn down. "Okay Octavia; pull back to the Skyranger if things get to heated up there and give me a call on the radio" Vinyl tapped Octavia's radio strapped to her front leg. Vinyl signaled the others to follow her as Octavia climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Bulk and Derpy lead the way into the bottom floor, they entered a small corridor with the cargo storage on their left and offices on their right. "You two go through the offices, I'll take the storage room" Vinyl whispered to Bulk and Derpy.

Meanwhile Octavia quietly entered in the second floor door. She found herself in a corridor leading to the main plaza, it also had a few storage closets which contained nothing apart from a few mops and cleaning utensils. Octavia slid up next to the door leading into the main plaza, "okay I'm in position, tell me when you're ready to breach" Octavia whispered into her radio.

Bulk and Derpy entered the offices, guns drawn. They quickly scanning the room for any movement, rows of cubicles lined the room, computers were still running and coffee had stained the red carpet where a mug was knocked over in the panic. A thud nearby got Bulk's attention, he looked over to the double doors at the end of the office, the sound came from the other side. Bulk Biceps and Derpy took to the wall on ether side of the door, "ready to breach, we've heard movement on the other side" Derpy whispered into her radio.

Vinyl walked into the storage room on her hind hooves with her large gun drawn ready for any encounters. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to burst right out of her chest. She was alone, in an area with reported alien activity, was going alone a wise move? Was Octavia going to be okay by herself? Vinyl carefully walked on her hind hooves past large metal shelves and wooden crates. The silence was a good indicator that nothing was moving around in the room, but with all the crates around the unicorn had to make sure no alien was preparing to ambush her. Vinyl moved to the door leading to the main plaza. "Okay I'm in ready to rock, Octavia sneak in and spot some targets" Vinyl said into her arm radio.

-----

Octavia slowly pushed the second floor door open with her hoof, thankfully no aliens were nearby to hear the soft squeak of the door's hinges. She found herself on the upper floor of the mall, from where she was standing she could see the bottom floor. The bottom floor had a large fountain statue of a prancing pony, the walls of the first floor were lined with different shops. There was also a large food court area complete with tables, chairs and bins. The second floor overlooked the first and ran around the edge of the oval, with more shops lining its walls. Octavia lowered her stance and moved silently towards the tiled fence that stopped ponies from falling off the second story. From there she could see 4 aliens inspecting a dead pony by the fountain. She could also see some movement inside some of the other stores. Octavia hesitated for a second as she saw the dead pony, but her professionalism prevented her from dwelling on the dead pony and focused her mind on the job. She lifted her leg and whispered into it, "4 X-rays in the main room, more inside a few shops. Your call Vinyl."

Vinyl took a breath as she placed her hoof on the door handle. This was it, she was about to charge out there represent Equestria in the fight for it's freedom. Vinyl grinned as she could almost hear the cheering of her crowd on the far side, "its showtime ponies" Vinyl responded.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Bulk Biceps yelled spinning around and bucking the dual office doors off their hinges with his muscular hind legs. Returning to the wall he pulled out his rifle and began firing, hitting and killing one of the aliens before they could react. As the aliens ran for cover in the food court Octavia revealed her position firing from her elevated point killing another alien.

Derpy swung out to fire her gun but quickly hid behind the wall again as the alien bullets suppressed the area. "Tell the aliens to stop shooting at me! They are going to hurt if they hit me!" Derpy cried into her radio. The sound of Octavia's frustrated sigh could be heard from the radio in response.

"Hah; don't worry Derpy, I'll ask them for ya" Vinyl laughed bursting out of the storage door and galloping on all fours into the food court. Vinyl moved quickly kicking a table over to take cover behind it. The aliens had little time to realize that the white unicorn had flanked them, the DJ took advantage of the situation spraying bullets into one of the aliens leaving its corpse full of holes. The other alien ran between tables and chairs, ducking for cover before holding up by a bin close to the fountain. The alien opened fire on Vinyl destroying the table she was hiding behind, luckily she was unharmed as she moved to better cover.

Octavia rested her X-Com assault rifle on the rail to provide some cover fire, but then saw 4 more aliens burst out of the store called 'HoofWearInc.' "We have more hostiles on their way!" Octavia shouted taking a shot at the alien behind the bin, and missing.

Bulk Biceps checked his ammo, 'come on Bulk, they're all counting on you!' The muscular pegasus thought to himself taking a deep breath. "YEAH! Come get some!" Bulk roared charging into the food court weaving in between tables and cutlery trolleys. Bulk Biceps was much larger than Vinyl Scratch which made moving quickly through the food court difficult. He fired a few shots into the 4 approaching aliens, he managed to kill one before they got to cover. In Bulk's haste he had chosen some poor cover, the alien by the fountain landed two shots into Bulk's muscular thighs dropping him to the ground. This pain was immense, the skin the bolt contacted felt like it was on fire, the area around it was splattered with smaller parts of green plasma adding to the giant burning sensation. "Argh, I'm hit!" He coughed into his radio trying to stand up.

"Hang on Bulk!" Vinyl said leaving cover, Derpy saw an alien begin to line up a shot at Vinyl. Derpy took action by tossing a metallic cylinder with her mouth from her armor holster out towards Vinyl Scratch. [Smoke Grenade] The grenade burst into a thick cloud of red smoke engulfing Vinyl. "Nice work Derpy!" Vinyl said into her radio as Plasma shots flew past her, missing due to the smoke cloud. Vinyl took a grenade off her armor holster. [Frag Grenade] Vinyl hurled it over to the three aliens that had just joined the fight. The explosion tore apart the bins and tables near the aliens also killing the three aliens.

The last alien saw that it had lost the advantage, it tried to run but was gunned down by Octavia, "target down" Octavia's voice sounded from Vinyl's radio.

Vinyl stuck a hoof up in the air and shouted "REGROUP!"

-----

"Are you okay to move Bulk?" Octavia attempted to help the pegasus stand but struggled to lift his muscular body.

Bulk Biceps shakily got to his feet "I'm okay, I'll hang back at a distance next time."

"Okay just be more careful next time Bulk. Lets secure the Ponymart and the front wagon park then return to the base" Vinyl ordered. Bulk and Octavia began to carefully move from cover to cover towards the Ponymart, Vinyl Scratch was about to join then but then she saw Derpy Hooves standing over the dead pony the aliens were inspecting.

Derpy was shocked and shaken, she didn't handle the sight of dead bodies well. The fate of Milky Way was still fresh in her memory, Thunderlane had tried to comfort her and urged her to push her emotions aside until Equestria was safe but Derpy found it hard to just forget about Milky Way, or the dead mare in-front of her. "What happens when we die?" Derpy asked Vinyl Scratch, her voice was hollow and afraid.

The white unicorn stood in silence for a few seconds. Vinyl had never liked thinking of death, it was a topic that had never really got involved in Vinyl Scratch's life. She had heard ponies preach of a heaven and hell, she had heard some ponies preach of reincarnation. She never believed any of it, although she had never really given it any thought. When ever Vinyl thought of something her brain couldn't comprehend she usually just passed it off to a higher power. "Shes with Celestia now, shes watching over us" Vinyl repeated what Octavia had told her once when they were fillies. 'I'm no good with all this spiritual crap' Vinyl thought to herself putting a hoof firmly on Derpy's shoulder. "Now lets give her a badass show worth watching!"

Derpy smiled and nodded, "you got it Scratch!"

-----

The Pony mart was located at the end of the main hall, its entrance was lined with pillars supporting the roof. The checkouts were positioned at the front of the store followed by the grocery aisles. Blueprints of the shop revealed a back exit in case of fire which led out to the main wagon park. Giant letters spanned across the top of the entrance which read 'PonyMart.' 3 aliens quickly ran to cover in the checkouts and began their fight with the four X-Com soldiers who hunkered down in a newspaper stand in the center of the hall.

Plasma bullets tore through the thin walls of the newspaper stand. "Damn it, this cover isn't going to hold!" Octavia yelled ducking under the service window.

"Maybe we could make a run for that coffee shop across the hall?" Vinyl suggested sounding unsure.

"Its a long way, and i doubt Bulk will make it with his current wounds" Octavia reasoned.

Something ticked inside Derpy's spaced out brain, a far-fetched plan to get out of this mess but to her it seemed like fate. 'Now lets give her a badass show worth watching!' Carefully she lined up her gun with the large 'O' of the Ponymart and shot a three bullets into the rigging behind it. The bullets tore a single hole in the rigging causing it to shake and bend, until the 'O' became loose and fell off the roof and onto an alien below it. Vinyl, Octavia and Bulk watched in amazement as the large 'O' rolled over towards the other aliens making them move out of cover to avoid it. The X-Com soldiers quickly took advantage of the distraction and opened fire on the exposed aliens.

"Clear!" Octavia shouted scanning the front of the Pony mart.

Bulk Biceps gave Derpy a strong pat on the back, "Nice work Derpy!"

"I guess that is why they call you 'lucky shot'" Vinyl smiled also patting Derpy on the back.

Derpy just gave a smile to her teammates before reloading her rifle and following her team into Ponymart towards the back exit.

-----

"We're ready, open the door Derpy" Octavia said looking back at the other two ponies. Derpy opened the door to the main wagon park, the team's eyes were drawn to the UFO which had landed in the center of the parking area. The huge alien disk looked far more scary up close, the alien craft was made out of an odd purple alien alloy lined with throbbing red tubes. The ponies got a quick glance at the glowing interior before the ramp began to close. Unfortunately the large disk began to rumble and hum as it floated up into the sky by some strange energy it flew off away from the city. The aliens had abandoned their mission.

"Hah! Run you cowards! we'll stop you where ever you go!" Bulk boasted shaking his gun in the air. Ponies of the nearby building of the city looked out their windows and doors to the four soldiers standing in the wagon park. Some began to cheer and stamp their hooves while others hugged their loved ones with relief. Derpy smiled and waved to a group of fillies who pointed and cheered.

After what happened to Las Pegasus and the FLD the aliens seemed unstoppable, but Mexicolt had just been saved, and the four ponies responsible stood triumphant in the mall cart park. Octavia let out a sigh of relief "Nice work ponies, we saved a lot of lives"

Vinyl raised her radio to her large smiling mouth "Mission complete central, the aliens have fled. Returning to base."