//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: "I hope there is some part of pony still left in me when this is all over." // Story: The Equestrian X-Com Project // by Sir_Puma //------------------------------// (Warning: This Chapter contains offensive language. The language is important to the plot and cannot be removed. Should this type of language offend you it is recommended to skip this chapter) The Equestrian X-Com Project Chapter 5: "I hope there is some part of pony still left in me when this is all over." ----- "Here's to X-Com! For saving our town and protecting Equestria!" The sounds of ponies cheering and glasses colliding echoed out from the 'Salt Block' tavern and filled the empty streets of Appleloosa. The owner of the tavern had decided to shout all the remaining townsfolk and X-Com soldiers a few ciders in celebration for their victory while they defended the deactivated bomb in the back room. Even Fluttershy landed the Skyranger closer to the tavern; unharnessed herself; and joined the celebration. "Heres to Braeburn for putting his life on the line to defuse the bomb!" Sheriff Silverstar called out putting his front leg around Braeburn back and pulled him close. The ponies cheered out raising their mugs into the air, "aw shucks Silverstar, I was just doing what any pony would do" Braeburn replied lowering his hat trying to hide his blushing face. "Here's to Silverstar for coming back instead of waiting outside the blast radius!" Braeburn cheered holding up Silverstar's hoof. Again the ponies cheered splashing drops of cider on the floor. "Yeah! Here's to Derpy for braving the post office fire to buy us more time, and then going to get help when things went bad!" Vinyl Scratch cheered nudging Derpy Hooves. And once again the other ponies raised their mugs cheering and clopping their hooves. The celebration went on throughout the afternoon, with a few drinks and a few good tales the X-Com ponies felt slightly relaxed about letting their guard down around the bomb. The one thing that aliens seemed to like more than completing their missions was killing innocent ponies, so chances were the aliens would crash the party before going after the bomb. About an hour after X-Com had secured the town the X-Com engineers had arrived on site along with the head researcher Twilight Sparkle. Braeburn's face lit up as he saw his cousin lead the engineers inside, "Applejack! Wow you're a sight for sore eyes! Are you involved in X-Com too?" Braeburn asked leaping off his stool and giving Applejack a friendly hug. "Yep, Base Commander Luna wanted me ta lead the engineers in all their projects. Good to see you Braeburn! We'll talk later back at base, I gotta check this bomb out" Applejack answered trotting off to the back room. "Wait... Back at base?" Braeburn asked tilting his head. Twilight approached Braeburn "I can answer that for you" Twilight said to the stallion as she took out a small roll of paper. "Due to your actions and skill, Princess Luna has offered you a permanent position within the ranks of the X-Com soldiers. No pony in Equestria has ever been offered this, well done!" Vinyl and Derpy approached Braeburn with friendly smiles, "Well? Want to make this the real thing?" Vinyl Scratch asked holding out her hoof. Braeburn straightened his hat while he thought about the offer. Suddenly he gave a determined smile wrapping his hoof around Vinyl's shoulders and faced Twilight "I'll gladly put my life on the line to help in the fight for Equestria!" And with that said a final cheer erupted from the bar, sure Appleloosa would loose one of their finest guards, but that pony had the chance to take his skills and defend the entire land. [New Recruit added] [Support Squadie Braeburn added, Smoke Grenade perk added] ----- Meanwhile back at X-Com headquarters Base Commander Luna had dressed in her X-Com Commander uniform and trotted about her office nervously. Tonight was to be her first contact with the leaders of Equestria since X-Com began, she had to impress all of them to secure the funding for X-Com. Suddenly the wall opposite her desk opened up revealing a large monitor with 6 smaller monitors underneath it, all of them read 'incoming transmission.' One by one the monitors lit up with the faces of the leaders of Equestria, the largest monitor was a feed from Canterlot showing the grand alicorn known as Celestia. The small monitor on the left was of the Crystal Empire showing Cadence standing by the Crystal heart, a small picture of Shining Armour sat against the Crystal Heart along with a large collection of crystal flowers. The other monitors displayed the various mayors and rulers of the larger settlements of Equestria like Saddle Arabia and Baltimare. Luna bowed her head, "greetings mighty rulers of Equestria, I trust you are all pleased with X-Com's actions over the last week." "Arise sister, your efforts over the last week have been far greater than all of us had expected" Celestia said calmly as her wings spread out gracefully. "Over this week you have faced the aliens in 4 separate encounters and have come off victorious. Also your team has shot down an alien UFO and defended an alien bomb plot judging by the latest report." "You give me to much honor sister" Luna responded trying to hide her smile. Celestia's feed swapped with Cadence in the Crystal Empire, "I am sorry to hear about your soldier Milky Way, I understand he gave his life to protect the base and his death was out of your control, but I still have a request that you use some of the funding towards protecting your soldiers. Sometimes tactics isn't enough to save someone you love" Cadence said softly as her gaze drifted off to the picture of Shining Armor. "I shall Cadence, believe me I care for all my staff and I will protect them with all my power" Luna said. Suddenly Cadence's feed was replaced by a smoky grey earth pony mare with an polluted brown short mane, She also wore a professional set of reading glasses. Behind her a there was a flag bearing the Manehatten insignia "unfortunately Luna; your project had failed to act in three separate alien attacks in the Manehattan local area plus another attack on Baltimare. The aliens were repelled by the Manehatten city guard and the Manehatten armed forces. I'm starting to think my funding would be more useful to my citizens if I put it into Manehatten city defenses." Luna lowered her head in shame "I understand Mayor Fillyances, I will improve our efforts as much as I can." "I hope you do; I will chip in for your funding at the moment, but I expect you to work on how quickly you can detect aliens and deploy your forces to all areas of Equestria. Or else I will have to cancel funding the X-Com project" Mayor Fillyances explained calmly straightening her reading glasses. Celestia appeared on the main monitor, "none can debate your expertise when it comes to making the right choice for your citizens Fillyances. You have lead Manehatten to prosperity for many years, but I beg of you to have faith in my sister and X-Com for a little longer for them to prove their worth." The mayor of Manehatten nodded slowly before pointing a hoof at the screen towards Luna "do not fail me" she announced cutting the transmission. One by one the other mayors and rulers cut their transmissions until it was just Cadence, Celestia and Luna. Celestia was the first to speak, "do not spite Fillyances decision, she is just doing what she feels is best for her ponies. I have trust in her judgment." Luna nodded "I understand, these are troubling times and hard decisions need to be made." Cadence stepped forward, "Luna; I want to apologize for how I acted at Canterlot. I had no right to call you what I did, you didn't kill my husband" Cadence said with her head hung low. "No you were right to call me so, the choices and decisions I have made so far were those of a monster. Sending other ponies off to die, conscripting innocent ponies into the war, using Milky Way's body for research, I ignored your feelings and pushed Shining Armor's death aside. I find it... Difficult to continue" Luna struggled to find the right words. "I hope there is some part of pony still left in me when this is all over." Celestia nodded glumly "Luna this is your task, you are the only pony who can make these decisions. You must lead Equestria's defense, you and only you. This war will ask a lot of you, I believe in you, Equestria believes in you" Celestia announced as the monitor feed began to close. "I shouldn't keep you, you have many things still to do today" Celestia said as the transmission ended. Luna stood silent for awhile, a million thoughts circled around in her head. She shook her head and regained her princess posture standing tall and proud. Only one thought remained in her head "I will be the one to protect Equestria." ----- An hour after the transmission ended Fluttershy landed the Skyranger in the hanger. The yellow pegasus was getting better at flying the Skyranger, but it was a difficult piece of machinery to pilot. Rarity covered her face as the Skyranger landed blowing her mane and tail about, She adjusted her windswept mane and approached the Skyranger. She was met with the 4 X-Com soldiers and the new recruit. "Well done ponies, you really saved Equestria from a horrible fate today" Rarity saluted the ponies. Vinyl tried to hide her smile, "all in a days work Rarity. The aliens must be stopped, and we are the only ones who can stop them." Derpy leaned on Vinyl putting a hoof on her back, "Yeah those aliens don't stand a chance against us!" Octavia smiled watching Vinyl laugh happily. "But I have some issues about taking 5 soldiers in the Skyranger without enough harnesses" Rarity nagged. '"Fluttershy didn't have to dodge any plasma fire so it was safe for Braeburn to not have a harness" Vinyl answered. "I believe Pinky Pie has set up a get together in the lounge to celebrate your victory and welcome the new recruit. I'll catch up with you later, I need to get to work with Fluttershy on a few upgrades I've been designing" Rarity explained and trotted over to the cockpit to help Fluttershy off her harness. Vinyl lead Braeburn and the others off to the lounge to join the celebration. ----- Pinkie's party continued late into the night. Braeburn was welcomed into X-Com with open arms, his actions and decisions were praised by many of the soldiers and staff. Cloud Chaser still remained cynical about the newcomer, he was lucky not skillful in her opinion. 'He would have been nailed in the street if it wasn't for me holding his hoof the whole way. What is with all these ponies praising him? Dulling his edge, making him cocky and weak? Have they even grasped what the aliens are capable of? Had the other soldiers even seen how many innocent ponies had been mercilessly killed during this invasion?!' Cloud Chaser shook her head, the thoughts swirled around inside like a whirlpool slowly eating away her sanity. She left the lounge and headed to her room where she spent the rest of the night thinking about the horrors she had seen. Octavia had pulled Vinyl Scratch aside to go over the tactics in the last mission and give her some advice on leadership. Vinyl Stopped her talking mid lecture, "Hey; come on Tavi relax. Tonight is a night to party, not worry about things we can't control" Vinyl laughed giving Octavia a nudge on her shoulder. Octavia gave a grimace "I know its just... You need to..." Octavia struggled to find the right words. "It really bothers you what other ponies think of me doesn't it? Why?" "Its just... You're my closest friend Vinyl, my only friend. Not only that; I can see you becoming a pivotal pony in the entire X-Com operation. Since Shining Armor's death Equestria needs another idle to unite under, they need hope to keep them sane, we need hope to keep Equestria together. You could be that pony Vinyl. You could be the pony to save Equestria, and I want to be there to help you every step of the way." Vinyl looked into her concerned friend's eyes for a few seconds. "Alright; I'll try, that's all I can do. But in return I want you to relax, get out there and spend some quality time with the others. We may not have much time left afterall." Octavia gave a tired moan "ugh I'm no good at meeting new ponies." Vinyl gave a laugh putting a hoof on Octavia's shoulder "I'll help ya do that." Vinyl laughed again and the two best friends joined the main party again. A few minutes later another pony broke off from the main group. It was Midnight Strike, she had left the party to go check on Thunderlane in the medical ward. Seeing as the Doctor was seeing another patient she let herself in to Thunderlane and Bonbon's ward. "Hey you two, how are you going?" she asked. "Yeah great, I love missing out on parties because the doctor was unsure whether to let us out tonight" Bonbon answered sarcastically. Midnight laughed and tossed a small bag of cupcakes Pinkie had baked earlier, "I didn't forget about you Bonbon, don't let Dr Hooves see you with it" Midnight laughed before going over to Thunderlane's side who was reading the last battle report. "So what is the new recruit like? Looking at the reports he handled himself quite well" Thunderlane put down the report he was reading on his bedside table. "Yeah he seems friendly enough, he has already won over half the staff out there already. More importantly how is my captain doing?" Midnight Strike asked looking at the chart on the end of Thunderlane's bed. "The doctor is letting us out tomorrow, our wounds are mostly healed up but we can't be to sure about the side affects of the alien plasma. I will be happy to rejoin the front-lines when the doctor lets me out" Thunderlane replied. The ponies all looked over to Doctor Whooves and his sister leaving the office, the Doctor let Derpy stumble out into the party before turning to the three ponies watching him. "Hey Midnight, checking in on the wounded like a good little pony?" Dr Whooves asked approaching Midnight Strike. "Yes I was giving Thunderlane and Bonbon some company, thought they could use a visit seeing how there is a party going on next door. What was with Derpy? She seemed a bit more... Spaced out... than normal" Midnight strike asked. "Err, I was hoping you didn't see that" Dr Whooves said scratching his mane with his hoof looking uncomfortable. Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at the doctor's response. The doctor continued "okay I will tell you three and only you three, I beg of you to never speak of this to anypony." The three ponies nodded with great curiosity, Dr Whooves quietly shut the door and began to explain. "Its no secret; my sister was born with a slight brain defect. On the day my sister was born I was three years old, it was the first time I saw my mother cry... I watched my dad go silent daring not to say what everypony was thinking. Why did we deserve this? What did we do wrong? They didn't see her the way I saw her, on that day I swore to fix her, she is the only pony I know who truly deserves a proper life... She is the reason I started my career in medicine, she is the reason I wake up every morning. I keep telling myself; this could be the day, this could be the day I find the cure, this could be the day I save my sister... But the day never comes... I operate on her every day, sometimes surgically but mostly psychiatric. Sometimes the operations leave her a bit dazed like todays psych operation" Dr Whooves explained, tearing up slightly. "I use her everyday as a research project! Like the horrible monster I am! I need to find out more about her condition before I can cure it, and she is the only pony with it! She is the only pony I can use... She is the sweetest pony I have ever known, no matter what was going on, or what she had been through, if you greeted her with a smile on your face she would smile right back at you" Dr Whooves was silent as he smiled thinking of his sister. "Heh; ignorance is bliss I guess? I don't think she knows what the aliens are really doing here..." Dr Whooves started to grind his teeth, he then snapped and started to unleash his emotions "she doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve any of this! Why are these damn aliens here anyway! Don't they know a true angel when they see one? Don't they understand how much more they are screwing up her life!?" Dr Whooves paused, his mane had become messy due to his passion. "She shouldn't be here" Dr Whooves said before leaving the room and retreating to his office. The three ponies watched in silence as the doctor left. Eventually Midnight Strike spoke up "I should go to bed now, we never know when we are needed. Goodnight you two, try get some sleep tonight Thunderlane okay?" Thunderlane nodded as Midnight Strike left the clinic. The party lasted for a couple of hours after Midnight Strike left to go to bed, The daytime X-Com staff along with the soldiers went to their beds, some tipsy and others sober, but all of them had high spirits to face another day of the war. The X-Com night staff took over operating the scanners keeping the 24 hour surveillance on Equestria. Despite what Midnight Strike said Thunderlane remained awake, he had to write to his brother and he preferred to do it alone. He also had one other thing to do tonight, but he could only do so late at night. He grabbed his pen with his mouth and put it to paper and began writing in his journal. ----- How is it going Rumble? Keeping out of trouble? Made many friends with the other refugees and the griffons? I hear griffons are very energetic, you should fit in perfectly. Trust me it is better for you to remain there. There is not much safety left in Equestria and X-Com can't be everywhere at once. Manehatten claims they can defend their city from the aliens but I don't have high hopes for them, if the aliens wanted to level Manehatten they would, its only a matter of time until the Manehatten forces piss off the aliens enough that they decide to wipe the threat off Equestria. I only hope X-Com can find a way to stop the aliens before they do so. The X-Com family grew larger today, a civilian named Braeburn assisted X-Com in a bomb threat in Appleloosa. Apparently he has already made a name for himself with the other soldiers and has been a welcomed member of our family. With every victory our harmony grows stronger. That said; the responsibility of maintaining that harmony falls to the commanders of X-Com. The death of a soldier would rip us apart, only masterful tactics will avoid that outcome. I take that responsibility very seriously whenever I'm nominated to Command the squad, I pray Vinyl does the same. You should know of Vinyl Scratch? Hottest DJ to come from Manehatten? Yeah she volunteered to serve. She handled commanding a squad on her very first deployment and saved the citizens of Mexicolt. My personal opinion is that she has the bravery required, but not the tactics, it looks like she works with Octavia when commanding a squad. Celestia help them if one of them... Never mind. I told you about what happened about Milky Way right? I run that scenario through my head over and over. Why didn't I say to help him? If I had just waited or had come back sooner, he would still be here. At least Midnight Strike can still look me in the face, she is a caring pony. In another life I may have been 'interested' in her... Sorry I shouldn't be unleashing these things on you, but my psychiatrist says I need to talk about these things with a trusted pony. I haven't had a chance to speak with the last member of my old squad, seeing how I have been bedridden. Rainbow Dash is still restricted to the hanger and has to remain in alert status. She hasn't admitted it yet but I know she gets lonely. The good news is that Luna is getting another interceptor pilot in tomorrow, so she will have some company. I'm pretty sure Rarity has put together another cyber suit for the new pilot to use. We will win this war, we cannot fail. Entry4 Thunderlane's Private Journal X-Com Operative ----- As Thunderlane finished with his latest entry his ears peaked up as he herd hoofsteps outside the clinic much like the hoofsteps Thunderlane heard the night before when he saw the armed silhouette. This is what he was waiting awake for, now to pounce on the nocturnal pony and find out what this pony was doing with a gun this late at night. Thunderlane silently put his black leather diary in it's place under his pillow and carefully slid off his bed making sure not to wake Bonbon. His legs had not had pressure on them for a few days so they were quite weak and painful to stand on. Thunderlane gritted his teeth through the pain and silently hobbled towards the clinic door keeping his ear out for the hoofsteps. He reached a hoof out to the door knob. "Sneaking around a military base again Thunderlane?" Thunderlane heard a voice and immediately froze and looked over his shoulder. He could make out a shadowy figure sitting on a waiting room chair with a book in it's hooves, Thunderlane strained his eyes on the figure trying to tell who it was. He saw the figure had a white coat and black mane and seemed to have a Stallion's build, something in Thunderlane's brain snapped as he realized who it was. "N-n-no" Thunderlane gasped in horror as a haze covered his eyes. His vision quickly faded and his legs went numb. The last thing he saw before he fainted was the Stallion return to his book with a teethy grin, the last thing he heard was the 'thud' of his body hitting the floor. The next morning Dr Whooves tripped over Thunderlane when he entered the clinic, and had to help him back to his bed, "what were you doing out of bed in the middle of the night anyway?!" Dr Whooves inquired confused of Thunderlane's motive. "Ugh, must have been sleep trotting or something" Thunderlane lied as he laid back down in the bed. ----- "So who's the new pony who's the new pony!" Rainbow Dash chanted trotting her metallic hooves on the spot. "For the last time Dash, I don't know! I've been in here with you all morning I didn't see the pilot come in" Rarity responded from inside the Skyranger as she was attaching the extra crew harness. "What about you Fluttershy? Do know who it is!" Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy as she danced about in her cyber suit like a school filly. The sight of the massive military marvel dance about like that made for quite a sight. "No I haven't a clue. Princess Luna is bringing her down now" Fluttershy mumbled carrying a tool box over to Rarity with her mouth. Rainbow Dash's insides were all bundled up giving her butterflies in her stomach, she felt she could fly without even flapping her wings. The thought that she wouldn't be alone made her squee in delight, sure she would still be restricted to the hanger she would at least have some company. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard Luna's voice coming from the hall. "... Its right down here. You're duty is to man this station and be prepared to deploy the instant we pick up any UFO presence" Luna's voice bellowed. The door flung open and Rainbow's heart sank deep into her gut at the sight of the new pilot. Cyan coat, cocky golden mane and peak physical condition, Lighting Dust. Though she seemed different from Rainbow Dash's memory, maybe it was her composure; timid, shy... Afraid? Lightning Dust's eyes looked up at the cyber pony looking her over, she noticed the brightly rainbow colored tail coming out of the armored flank. "Rainbow Dash?" Lightning Dust asked squinting her eyes trying to see through the tinted visor. "Yes this is the other interceptor pilot Rainbow Dash, I believe you know each other. I must attend to other business, I'll leave Rarity to attach you're 'Interceptor' exoskeleton" Luna said leaving the hanger. Luna was quite hasty to leave, she didn't like speaking to Lightning Dust due to the horrible conditions of her employment. "Oh Dash thank Celestia I have someone I know here and can talk to!" Lightning Dust sighed putting out a hoof to Rainbow Dash. The rainbow colored pegasus wasn't sure about Lightning Dust, she hadn't really forgiven her for what happened at the Wonderbolt Academy, but she was going to work closely with her for the project... And she was lonely in the hanger. "Umm yeah, me too, good to have you on-board" Rainbow bumped Lightning's hoof with her armored hoof. "So how cool are those mech suits! They look friggin sweet! When do I get one!" Lightning Dust bounced around Rainbow Dash cooing and cheering at all the fine points of the Interceptor. Rarity exited the Skyranger along with Fluttershy who had oil splotches in her hair, apparently Rarity let Fluttershy do the dirty work. Rarity closely inspected Lightning Dust's figure, she spoke up after writing on her clipboard "okay I'll suit you up now if you wish. But remember, I can't take it off until the project finishes" Rarity warned. Lightning Dust nodded energetically "yeah whatever, I can't wait!" Rarity lead Lightning Dust over to the second interceptor exoskeleton. "Okay lets begin." ----- Lyra paced in-front of the clinic waiting for Bonbon to come out, she had a huge smile on her face and tried to hold back her giggling. On her side hung two saddlebags chock full of something. Lyra had spent yesterday night coming up with the idea for her best ever prank but she needed her partner in crime. Bonbon came out of the clinic and approached the giggling Lyra. "Hey Lyra, what's got you all jumpy today?" Lyra leaned closer to Bonbon, "I have the best idea for a prank. What we do; is we wait until Vinyl and Octavia leave their room, and we fill Vinyl's speaker system with 450 bouncy balls and wait until she starts her afternoon dubstep rehearsals! It will be hilarious when they explode out of her speakers and bounce all around her room! I'm sure Vinyl will get a laugh out of it too" Lyra laughed indicating her bulging saddle bags. Bonbon's face went sour as she looked inside the saddlebags at all the bouncy balls. "H-How did you find 450 bouncy balls inside the X-Com headquarters?!" "I have my ways" Lyra giggled looking over at Vinyl and Octavia leaving their room. "You in?" Normally Bonbon would join in with Lyra's shenanigans, especially if she went through a lot of trouble to set it up. But today Bonbon was still quite down about Dr Whooves outbreak last night. She wanted to go give Derpy a big hug, or comfort the Doctor as best she could. She knew she couldn't do ether of those things for it would bring up the depressing topic of Derpy's illness. "Umm, no thanks Lyra. I need to go... do some... I just need some air" Bonbon stuttered. "You know Luna won't let you leave the base" Lyra said as she watched Bonbon walk to the exit of the lounge. "No harm in asking" Bonbon responded leaving her friend in utter confusion. Lyra stood by herself in confusion for a few seconds, she shrugged to herself and approached Derpy Whooves who had just entered the lounge. "Hey Derpy! want to pull a prank with me?" ----- Later that day Thunderlane finished his practice in the firing range. He had spent the last few hours trying to beat his old accuracy score. He already held the X-Com record for his reaction time but still had room to improve on his accuracy. He trotted through the futuristic blue underground hallways of X-Com towards the lounge. He heard voices shouting at each other from the other side of the lounge door. "Listen just calm down! You always seem so agitated." "I don't need a hillbilly telling me what to do!" Thunderlane took a deep breath before opening the door. He immediately saw Cloud Chaser and Braeburn having a heated argument in the center of the bar, their eyes sternly locked, not giving any ground to the other pony. Thunderlane also spotted Pinkie cowering behind the bar, she didn't handle fights to well. Lastly he saw the bulky Bulk Biceps trying to calm down the two ponies. Bulk looked over to Thunderlane, "Oh thank Luna its Thunderlane! Hey get over here and help me calm these two down!" "Tell this pegasus to get off my back!" Braeburn yelled at Thunderlane, his eyes not wavering. "Tell this cowpony to go back where he belongs!" Cloud Chaser yelled, her eyes not leaving Braeburn's face. Bulk Biceps shook his head, "come on you two, ponies aren't our enemies. Here listen ta Thunderlane, he always knows how to work out these problems." Thunderlane gave a concerned look to both ponies as he wondered how to approach the problem. Finally he said "Cloud Chaser, would you mind if we have a little chat in private? Braeburn, Bulk, do you mind if you give us some space?" "You got it Thunderlane! Come on Braeburn, we gotta listen ta Thunderlane he is real smart when it comes to these sort of things. We'll go pull Pinkie out from the bar and get some sweets! Oh Yeah I love sweets!" Bulk continued as he pulled Braeburn over to the bar. Once they had some privacy Cloud Chaser turned to Thunderlane "What do you want Thunderlane?" She asked menacingly. "What happened to you Cloud Chaser? I remember you differently back at the academy. You were the friendliest mare in our flight group. No offense but now you seem like someone took a knife and cut out that cheerfulness and left you hollow, what happened?" Thunderlane asked softly, trying to not insult her. Cloud Chaser wanted to open up, she knew Thunderlane well and knew he was trustworthy. She knew he wouldn't laugh or taunt her, she knew he could help her secret. 'But he shouldn't, this is my problem, I'll handle it myself' Cloud Chaser thought as she shook her head slowly. "The invasion happened, that's all there is to it. Now leave me be" Cloud Chaser gently pushed Thunderlane aside and returned to her room with her head hung low. Most ponies first impression of Cloud Chaser describer her as a pissed off pegasus angry at the aliens and any pony in her way. But Thunderlane knew something was up, she wasn't angry just for the sake of being angry, their was something deeper tugging away at her. Was it fear? Or was it grief? ----- The rest of the afternoon passed reasonably calmly, apart from Lightning Dust sneaking a joy flight in her new cyber suit, and a small scale explosion located inside Vinyl and Octavia's room. It felt odd but relaxing but the aliens hadn't tried anything today, so what else could they do? Maybe the aliens underestimated X-Com's ability to defend Equestria, if that was the case, then they were planing something big. Twilight Sparkle gave a yawn as she stretched her hooves out. She had been studying the Appleloosa bomb all day, she felt if she looked at it for much longer she would go insane; she did have experience in that field. She had delayed her 'Thin Pony' autopsy to appoint more time to study the alien explosive, she felt there was more to learn from the device. The odd green glow pulsing from the main chamber taunted her, why couldn't she understand it? There was only so much she could do in a day and she felt now would be a good time to stop her work and give herself some rest. She was the last one to leave the lab as all her staff had already called it a night, and her assistant Spike had already collapsed on her back and was in a deep sleep. She passed through the Command room on her way to the dorms. The night shift staff had already taken to their positions, their desks lined with coffee cups and energy drinks to keep them alert while they watched Equestria. To Twilight's surprise Base Commander Luna was still at her post, eyes determined and unwavering, fixed upon the hologram of Equestria in the center of the room. 'Was she really planing to stay through the night shift?' Twilight thought to herself. 'Well she once was the princess of the night, but she had just spent the entire day at her post watching the radar feed for any alien presence. Was she really planning to remain there all night? Does she even sleep?' Luna's eyes didn't move from the hologram as Twilight moved past her towards the door to the dorms. "Good night Base Commander, are you staying up tonight?" Twilight asked. "The aliens could attack at any time they wish, and I will be there to counter them when they do. Get some sleep Princess Twilight Sparkle, I need you in top form to work on that bomb tomorrow" Luna said without breaking her gaze. 'Luna's determination is inspiring, if only Fillyances could see this' Twilight thought to herself. Her mind drifted off as she looked over the command room, the terminals, the hologram, "did you really think first contact would be like this?" Twilight asked. Luna didn't answer; Twilight continued. "I always thought it would be amazing to find a being from another planet, so much to learn, so much to see. It was my deepest wish to make first contact." Luna let her star filled mane cover her face, she answered after a long pause "It was mine also. While I was exiled; I looked up into the sky every night; calling out; just hoping one night I would hear someone call back." Luna took a deep sigh and then returned to glaring at the hologram, "our first contact may have been ruined, but we will live to make the next one perfect, I swear it!" Twilight Sparkle nodded and left Luna's side and she opened the door out of the command room. She had gotten two steps down the hall when the lights turned red and the all to familiar alarm rang through the base, waking all the staff who had already gone to bed, including Spike. "AHH I swear I didn't touch anything!" he shouted as he slowly got his bearings. The Command room was instantly filled with ponies galloping about between their computers frantically trying to find out more about the alarm. Luna arose from her chair ready for action, "Equestria is under attack! Where are we deploying!" She bellowed. "Bringing it up now Commander" one of the command staff call from behind his monitor. The hologram of Equestria glowed in red light as a target symbol locked on to a town in east Equestria. "Trottingham! We need to deploy there now or we'll loose a lot of innocent ponies!" Luna bellowed with a stern look on her face. She looked at a troop list on the desk nearby, "Get Midnight Strike, Cloud Chaser, Lyra Heartstrings and Braeburn. Also get Vinyl Scratch to lead this squad. Tell them to gear up and report to the hanger now!" "Right away Commander! Sending flight data to the Skyranger!" One of the desk staff called out. Twilight galloped to Luna's side, the base commander turned her head "not going to bed after-all Twilight Sparkle?" Luna said turning back to the hologram filling up with information and video feeds of Trottingham. "I'm not going to bed as long as I can help down here!" Twilight answered trying to match Luna's determination. Luna nodded, she liked having some company to help her with tough decisions. ----- "Damn it these nano fiber vests are a pain to get on. Tavi help me out here" Vinyl said struggling to get her skin tight kevlar on, somehow she had managed to get her head through the arm hole. "Here stopping kicking and I'll get you set up. Come on you don't have time for this!" Octavia muttered through clenched teeth. "Tavi; what am I going to do without you in my team?" "You will do fine, Midnight Strike was the best shot in the Wonderbolt academy. She is has much more experience than myself on the battlefield, and hopefully better tactics. Logic says you will do even better with her." "I won't. Me and you have this" Vinyl waved her hoof searching for the right word. "Psychic wavelength. I could lead better with you backing me." Octavia finally got Vinyl Scratch's vest on. "Just relax and do what you always do, you will be fine. Just; come home safe." "Don't sweat it Tavi, they can't stop me" Vinyl laughed galloping off to the armory not giving Octavia a chance to lecture her about being arrogant. Octavia stood by the doorway shaking her head. Her words echoed in her mind 'just come home safe.' ----- "This is what we know, Aliens have invaded the streets of Trottingham and are kidnapping civilian ponies. Firstly this means that you must strike fiercely and hastily to save any captives. Secondly it means that the aliens are stepping up their invasion... Find out what they are up to. It is important to note that this fight will take place during the night, take advantage of its shroud to move in. Also with an extra soldier to the attack squad this will come with its advantages, but it also means there is the higher chance of casualties. Vinyl Scratch, command your squad to the best of your abilities, Celestia be with you all" Luna finished up her briefing with a salute. And with that the Skyranger's monitor shut off leaving Vinyl Scratch time to talk with her squad. Vinyl lent forward giving her team one last pep talk, "okay ponies listen up. We hit hard and we hit fast, just like what Luna said. Keep your heads down as you search for the hostages. Don't be a hero, call for backup if you can't handle the aliens by yourself. Lets get home safe everybody! Can I get a buck yeah?!" "Buck yeah!!" ----- Ponies on the streets of Trottingham galloped for cover screaming and praying to Celestia for protection. The thundering roar of the Skyranger's engines made ponies look up to see the X-Com logo on the futuristic dropship. Luna had answered their prayers. The squad of 5 X-Com operatives quickly disembarked and guarded the landing site, which was the fenced off factory cart park of 'Trottingham Steel.' Trottingham Steel was a large red brick factory with towering smoke stacks, the smoke made for good cover for the Skyranger's landing site. Fluttershy had always favored landing in open areas away from the action due to the Skyranger's size, difficult controls and her pacifist nature. Vinyl Scratch raised up her radio to her mouth, "This is Scratch, we've landed at 'Trottingham Steel' just south of the CBD. Any more news on the hostages location?" Twilight Sparkle had already returned from making herself a cup of coffee to make it through the night. She took her position at Luna's side ready to advise the soldiers on any new developments. "Judging by our scans the largest alien presence is in the east CBD near the heavy density residential area. Reports also indicate that the UFO has left already, most likely the aliens don't want our hooves on it. Move in and eliminate all invaders and rescue the hostages before it comes back." "Alright ponies we need to move now, keep your heads down and follow me!" Vinyl ordered galloping off followed by her squad. ----- Trottingham was one of the larger cites populating Equestria. It wasn't as big as Manehatten or Fillydelphia, but for a pony living in a smaller settlements like Appleloosa and Ponyville; Trottingham seemed like a massive metropolis. The CBD was a cluster of medium sized high rise buildings, with asphalt roads separating the city blocks. The residential area were streets of identical looking apartment buildings, this was for ponies who liked being close to the CBD and didn't mind sharing a building with 40 other ponies. "Hey Vinyl look, those three Sectoids are breaking into that apartment. We gotta stop them" Lyra whispered to Vinyl as the squad ducked their heads behind an abandoned bus carriage. The Sectoids blew through the apartment door with their plasma pistols and rushed into the apartment. "I pray to Celestia there are no ponies inside" Midnight Strike muttered. "Lets get in there and stop them" Braeburn suggested. "We have no idea how many aliens are nearby, if they ambush us from behind we are dead" Cloud Chaser answered. "Alright here's the plan, we ambush them, from outside" Vinyl Scratch smiled at her own idea. "Lyra, Cloud Chaser and Braeburn follow me and we'll take hiding positions outside. Midnight, we'll jump out after you shoot. Aim for the any alien threatening a civilian at top priority" Vinyl said putting a hoof on her shoulder. "For the love of Luna, don't miss." "Don't worry, I don't miss. Good luck" Midnight responded and she set up her sniper rifle inside the bus. The other ponies took positions behind other carriages and rubble. A minute later the Sectoids returned to the street pushing a mule family of 3 out onto the streets. A large alien also left the building, it towered over the cowering mules and the Sectoids around it. It wore bulky green alien armor and what looked like a gas mask covering its orange wrinkled head. It stood upright like the Sectoids and held it's gun in it's hands. It's gun looked like a bigger version of the alien plasma pistol requiring the bulky alien to hold it in two hands. "Request permission to fire on the big one" Midnight Strike whispered over her radio lining up the shot. The father mule blocked a Sectoid from kicking his daughter creating a commotion between the Sectoids. The large alien raised his gun and aimed it at the father. "Take the shot now" Vinyl whispered hastily. Midnight Strike gave a slow exhale relaxing all of her thoughts despite what was about to happen to the mule. She knew she had to be quick to save the father but she knew how to become the most accurate she could be. [Headshot] A single bullet tore through the night impacting itself onto the alien's chest just bellow it's head, wounding it but not killing it. Midnight Strike gave an angry sigh as she prepared for her second shot. Vinyl tried to hide her surprise, this was the first alien she had seen who survived a sniper shot. 'How strong is this thing?!' Vinyl stood up aiming her light machine gun from her hip "Free to engage, watch your targeting!" Vinyl ordered unloading a burst into the Sectoid out in-front. As the other soldiers got up from their hiding spots the aliens dashed to cover leaving the family of mules cowering in the street. The larger alien quickly recovered from the sniper shot and spotted the pony who shot it. It threw it's arms back unleashing a mighty roar, it echoed throughout the streets and shook nearby glass windows. "It's calling for backup! Kill it!" Braeburn yelled firing a burst of bullets towards it but they struck the carriage it was taking cover behind. "Watch your fire Braeburn! There are civilians nearby!" Cloud Chaser yelled as she duck her head as plasma shots flung past her. Lyra aimed her rifle towards the aliens but couldn't get a safe shot while the mules were there. Suddenly she had an idea, "Vinyl cover me I'll get those mules out of there" Lyra said to Vinyl Scratch as she dove behind the carriage because a Sectoid had opened fire on her. "Be careful Lyra. Come get some!" Vinyl Scratch yelled out flipping out of cover again spraying bullets all over the alien cover. [Smoke Grenade] Lyra flung a smoke grenade over the cover towards the mules. Once it exploded Lyra burst out of cover and into the red smoke quickly helping the mules to their feet. "Come on get up, keep low and follow me" Lyra told the mules before leading them behind another abandoned carriage. Plasma bullets flew past and hit the ground around them but luckily enough the mules and Lyra got safely behind the carriage. "Civilians are clear! Braeburn light them up!" Vinyl ordered. "Got it Scratch!" [Frag Grenade] Braeburn took the frag grenade off his utility belt, "Here catch!" Braeburn laughed muffled as he tossed his grenade over towards the alien cover. The grenade ripped through their cover sending the alien corpses flying through the air and landing in the street. "Oh yeah that's how we do it!" Braeburn cheered. Midnight Strike scoured the area through her scope. "Area clear, there could be more coming Vinyl" Midnight Strike said over her radio. "Okay we need to keep moving" Vinyl waved her hoof in the air indicating her troops to fall in. She approached the cowering family of mules, the father covered his wife and child by hugging them. "Listen; the area is clear for the moment, take your family to the Trottingham Steel. The Skyranger will keep you safe until we clear the town." "T-Thank you, you ponies are doing an amazing deed to all of us" The father stammered leading his family away towards the Skyranger's landing site. As they were leaving Vinyl overhead the daughter say "they were X-Com ponies right daddy? Why aren't they scared of the aliens like the rest of us?" Vinyl shook her head and ignored that statement trotting off after her squad. ----- Back in the command room a mare behind one of the computers nearly fell of her seat, "Commander! We have a lock on a large group of hostages! Trottingham central park!" "The park? They must be planing to land a UFO there!" Luna pondered before contacting the ground force. "Corporal Scratch! We have a lock on the hostages. Central park, get there quickly. If a UFO lands there it will be to late to save the civilians!" There was a slight pause in the response as Vinyl explained the situation to the squad. "Got it Luna, we're moving out!" Luna paused bringing a hoof up to her chin, she had to do something to buy the team more time. She quickly typed in a few things into her small Commander computer to the side of her chair, she then printed off a small sheet of paper. Finally she turned to the head researcher, "Twilight Sparkle, I need you to go to the hanger and give this flight data to Rainbow Dash. That UFO must not reach it's target." ----- The streets of Trottingham were mostly empty apart from a few abandon carts and carriages. There were also a few dead aliens in the street, but sadly there were a lot more dead ponies in the streets. Some bore the marks of the Trottingham police or armed forces, while others were simply civilians who had refused to go peacefully. As the X-Com soldiers galloped down an abandoned street Lyra tried to make some conversation, "Well this beats scouring the whole town for the hostages, at least we know where we are going." Suddenly Lyra and the others stopped in there tracks, they were met with a sight that was truly horrific. Bodies; pony bodies, a whole pile of them. Some were armed guards others were just civilians, but the most disturbing were foals. Colts, fillies, some not even old enough for their cutie mark. There had not been a sighting like this in all of Equestrian history, even in the tribal wars of old times no pony had ever killed children and piled their bodies in a mass grave. The grave seemed fiction and alien, but there it was, right in front of them, bodies as cold as wind blowing through their manes. The ponies stood still and stared in distraught of the horrific sight. Cloud Chaser was the first to speak, "2 hours. We got here within 2 hours of the initial call for help. And they had already killed every one of these civilians... What hope do we have?" Cloud Chaser asked, her voice broken and hollow. Vinyl Scratch turned her head to Cloud Chaser, when she tried to respond her mouth clamed up and no words came out. Midnight Strike spoke up "we are the hope. We may have failed to save these ponies, but what would happen if we didn't try?" Cloud Chaser turned to Midnight Strike "there are over 50 bodies in there, that means 50 ponies stood up against the aliens and 50 ponies died. Adding up all the dead ponies in the other streets it would tally up to over 100. We have 5. We have 5 fucking ponies to stop the aliens who had just killed 100 ponies!" Cloud Chaser barked, Vinyl remained silent looking at the pile, Cloud Chaser's words seemed to fade away in her mind. "Not only that but the 5 ponies we have, we have a DJ with no warfare experience leading us! We have a civilian with a gun who didn't pass any X-Com initiative program! And we have a pegasus who can't fly!" "I can fly just fine Cloud!" Midnight barked back ferociously, the stench of the bodies slowly getting to the X-Com operatives, eating away at them, filling them with fear and rage. "Prove it!" Cloud Chaser demanded, Midnight Strike flinched and then hung her head low. Braeburn took a step forward between the two pegasi, "back off Cloud Chaser! I've tried my darned hardest to be friends with you! But you just can't give any pony a break! What makes you so high and mighty?! You have no right to insult Midnight Strike like that!" Cloud Chaser turned to Braeburn "You could never understand what I've been through!" "What we have ALL been through! If you haven't noticed the entire planet is under attack! Not just you!" "You dumb clod! Do you think I would be that stupid?! The stuff I've seen is things no pony could ever compare too!" "Enough!" The X-Com soldiers turned to Vinyl Scratch and she stood facing them with her back to the pile, the unicorn looked like she was ready to pounce. A cool breeze blew through the air and through Vinyl's mane and tail but it didn't deter her. "The aliens did this, not us. Those invaders did this, not us. The creatures we are here to kill did this, not us" Vinyl paused. "In about 5 minutes a UFO will land in central park and we will be to late to save those ponies" her tone became more aggressive as she spoke. "And if that happens I swear to Celestia I will be pissed off, and if I get pissed off I swear you will hear about it." Now she was yelling in the faces of the 3 arguing ponies. "Now lets take a deep breath, shut the fuck up, stop bickering amongst ourselves like foals. We are the from X-Com! Luna's finest! When they think of us do you think they relate us to the fucking FLD?! Or just compare us to a bunch of dumb ponies with guns who can't get our shit together?! Now move out and do the what we were sent here to do or I will shoot you myself!!" Midnight Strike saluted, "understood sir! Moving out." And with that Midnight Strike galloped off towards central park with Braeburn and Cloud Chaser. Lyra remained off to the side looking at Vinyl Scratch with raised eyebrows, before slowly clopping her hooves together in applause of Vinyl's leadership. Vinyl gave a hollow chuckle as her rage began to leave her, "come on Lyra, that means you too. Lets keep moving." As they galloped off Vinyl couldn't shake this new feeling she had. All her rage towards the aliens had finally snapped but she had done so on her team. Was this what a leader must do? How would Thunderlane have approached this? Would he have gone off his block like that? Or would he have pushed his ponies onward to not give them time to think. Had he even seen a sight like that? 'Look just keep moving. We'll save the ponies and go back to base. Octavia will know how to calm me down' Vinyl thought to herself blocking out her dark thoughts. ----- "Okay everypony, I've caught up to the UFO, sit back and watch some pegasus magic" Rainbow Dash said into her communicator as she flew threw the night sky. Cloud cover was sparse so she could easy see the illuminated rectangular craft up ahead due to her night vision visor built into her helmet. "Be careful Rainbow, the last UFO you shot down was a scout, this is a heavily armed carrier. You only have to distract for awhile, not destroy it. If it is to dangerous pull back and just hope Vinyl Scratch and her squad can take the park" Twilight responded watching the video feed from X-Com HQ. "Got it Twi! One destroyed UFO coming right up!" Rainbow Dash laughed tauntingly. She brought up her armored hooves with the rocket chutes attached. "Guns ready and rockets loaded, ready to engage!" ----- Vinyl stopped her squad a block off the central park, they were panting and tired. They had galloped all this way and also got into a minor fire fight with two thin ponies breaking into apartments. "Alright ponies, we've got one more fight to win and then we can all go back home. Midnight could you hold up in that building beside us, you should be able to get a good shot of the park from the upper level windows." "Understood" Midnight Strike said moving into the apartment building via the back door. "Alright the rest of you follow me, we'll storm the park and rescue the hostages. So keep your head low, flanks covered and watch your fire" Vinyl said trotting carefully up the alleyway towards the park with her squad. ----- Midnight Strike moved silently through the apartments searching for a way to the higher floors. She spotted a flight of stairs which she galloped up. It felt unnatural on her hooves causing her to trip and fall onto her chest. She looked up the next row of stairs and realized just how unskilled she was climbing stairs. She had always flown up stair cases or the sides of buildings, or in worst case scenarios just use the elevator. There was only one good thing about the aliens according to Midnight Strike, they kept her mind from comprehending that she would never fly well again. Cloud Chaser was right, why was a flightless pegasus deployed on the front-line? The words of Spitfire echoed in Midnight's head as she pulled herself to her hooves. "Midnight! I'm not sending you off to die, and you will die without your wings!" Midnight climbed to the 5th floor and moved to the apartments facing the park, she selected the room marked with 508. She carefully opened a door and instantly held up her hooves to block a baseball bat from colliding with her forehead. The bat stopped inches from her head as the earth pony holding it noticed that Midnight Strike wasn't an alien. "You a looter?!" the tan coated stallion asked threateningly. Midnight Strike showed her X-Com insignia, "I'm with X-Com, we are here to help. I was hoping to use this room as a vantage point on the alien presence in the park, but seeing as it's occupant is still here, I'll just go check another one" Midnight Strike stuttered awkwardly. Midnight Strike turned to leave but the broken voice of the stallion stopped her, "they have my friends down there, my neighbors, my wife... Please use my apartment, please, save them" the stallion fell on his flank and began to sob. Midnight turned back around, she had a soft spot for love. The sight of the crying stallion was enough to null her common sense. "Okay, I'll set up here. Just keep your head down in-case they return fire" Midnight Strike said softly pulling him to his hooves. "Thank you, oh Celestia thank you. I've been watching them from the front window planing out how to sneak in, but I was to scared to go through with it" The stallion explained. "Good thing you didn't, the aliens are not to be messed with. And who would I reunite your wife with if you were gone?" Midnight asked comforting the stallion heading to the front windows getting her sniper off her back. "Keep your head down and stay away from the windows" Midnight said laying down on the floor aiming her rifle out the window gazing down the sights. ----- "Vinyl, this is Midnight, do you read?" Vinyl's radio called out. Vinyl responded "I hear you Midnight, hows it lookin?" "Not good Vinyl, I count... Approximately 3 Sectoids, 3 of those flying things, aaand 4 of the big aliens we saw before. I count about 50 hostages held in cages, they are clear from the aliens and any bullets we shoot, but could easily be shot if we try sneak them out." "Okay, we'll get as close as we can without being spot, and then storm the place by force. How are we doing for time Twilight?" Twilight answered from the X-Com headquarters "Rainbow Dash has engaged the UFO, but she won't last long at this rate. 10 minutes tops!" "Got it Twilight. Okay ponies on me, we don't have much time!" Vinyl waved a hoof at her troops leading them towards the park. Central park was pretty much an open city block with a few picnic areas and trees, certainly not as impressive as the Manehatten gardens, but it was enough for the city folk to get their daily dose of open air and spend some time with the community. The outside of the park was fenced off by a large brick fence with four entrances, one on each side of the park. Vinyl Scratch and her troops used the fence to get close to the park without being spotted, due to Midnight Strike's elevation she could easily see over the fence. "In-front of the entrance you're heading to there is a fallen tree to the right of the path, you could use it as good cover, it would be hard for the aliens to flank it" Midnight Strike recommended. "Okay we'll be sure to use a look for it, anything else?" Vinyl whispered as she got her squad to hold up at the end of the fence. Midnight paused briefly to scope out anything else, "there is a small rock formation to the left which spans out for awhile. You could use to flank the alien's held up in the center." "Okay sounds good, Midnight I want you to focus your shots on the flying aliens, if they get behind us we're dead. Cloud Chaser and Braeburn, stay with me until I give the signal. When I do I want you two to use the rock formation to get close and flank the aliens. Lyra you stay with me, we'll distract the aliens long enough for you to flank them. Who is with me?" Vinyl said putting her hoof in. "Lets go save some ponies" Lyra said putting her hoof in, followed by Braeburn and Cloud Chaser. Vinyl Scratch peered her head around the fence, then a second later she silently galloped and dove behind the downed tree, Lyra and Cloud Chaser joined her shortly after while Braeburn took cover behind the fence. "Okay Midnight, take the shot when you're ready" Vinyl Scratch said taking a deep breath. A large battle was about to begin and for the first time; Vinyl began to feel nervous. Would they survive this? What would happen to the hostages if they failed? How would X-Com cope without them? A loud gunshot shattered Vinyl's fears, then suddenly the air was filled with alien howls and screeches in retaliation of the dead flying alien. "Open fire!" Vinyl shouted. "Got it Scratch!" Lyra shouted standing up briefly to fire her assault rifle towards the flying aliens, she managed to hit on the lower half of it's body. Cloud Chaser also fired her pistol at the alien Lyra had hit which finished it off, Cloud Chaser knew her shotgun would be less effective at this range. Braeburn took a step out of cover and shot his rifle at the big aliens hitting one of them but failing to kill it. Vinyl put down her heavy machine gun and pulled her rocket launcher off her back, [Fire Rocket] Vinyl Scratch launched a rocket into the center of the smaller Sectoids killing all three of them. "Oh yeah the crowd is up and cheering for more!" Vinyl laughed as the large aliens roared and charged forward and ducked behind a fountain and a few trees. The alien retaliation was swift, the remaining flying alien shot up into the sky and used it's altitude to fire at Midnight Strike. Plasma rained into the apartment causing a fire to start, the stallion quickly began to beat it out with a wet dish cloth before it got to large, Midnight remained unhurt as she tried to line up her next shot. Two of the large aliens began to suppress the fallen tree pinning Lyra, Cloud Chaser and Vinyl behind it, the third alien shot three shots at Braeburn impacting on the brick wall. The last of the aliens charged forward closer to the fallen tree and used it's muscular hand to take a small alien device off of it's belt. It threw the device over the tree and then took cover behind a strawberry snack stand. The device landed at Vinyl's hooves, she instantly knew what it was by the shape and ticking it made. "Grenade!" She shouted and tried to dive away but the grenade went off a split second later. The fiery green explosion ripped apart the fallen tree, the explosion threw Vinyl's limp body through the air. She slammed down on a garden bed near the brick wall. The shock of the blast and her harsh landing tore through her body leaving her broken and bruised, but not dead. She barely clung onto consciousness, her hearing was filled by a high pitched whine and her eyesight began to fade to black and white. Suddenly Lyra came into her blurred vision, she was yelling and pointing somewhere but Vinyl couldn't hear her. Lyra bend down and mounted Vinyl Scratch onto her back. Vinyl was in bad shape, her body was covered in blood and bruises, and some of her bones had broken. Lyra knew it was unsafe to move a pony in this condition but what choice did she have; she couldn't operate on her out in the open with the aliens shooting at her. Despite her own injuries Lyra limped behind the brick fence with Vinyl on her back. Lyra's damaged legs struggled with her commander's weight, she ducked and dodged a few more plasma bullets and made it behind the brick fence. Lyra set Vinyl Scratch down and quickly got out her medkit and began to treat Vinyl's injuries. Cloud Chaser was further away from the blast but she the explosion knocked her to the ground. She felt disorientated trying to find her footing. A hoof belonging to a earth pony with a cowboy hat reached down and helped Cloud Chaser to her feet, "come on get up! Somepony has gotta flank these aliens, you got my back?!" Cloud Chaser looked up at Braeburn, his face was dirty and scratched; but determined. A street light behind Braeburn reflected off his dense gold mane, at that moment Cloud Chaser remembered his words; 'It's risky and I don't wanna do it, but somepony gotta do it, and it may as well be me.' He had been here to help all along, not mindlessly go out hunting aliens. Cloud Chaser used his hoof to stand up, "right behind you, lead the way!" She shouted and the two soldiers charged off behind the rock formation. Midnight's rifle discharged another shot killing the last flying aliens, quickly she brought up her radio "Lyra! Is Vinyl okay?!" Lyra responded while applying the medical spray "she has a pulse, it was dropping but I think it has leveled out. I can't do to much more here, we'll need the doctor back at the X-Com headquarters, she should be alright laying here, as long as the aliens don't find her" Lyra said leaving Vinyl's side to shoot around the corner of the brick wall towards the aliens. "Midnight, Base Commander Luna is giving you control over the squad" Twilight said over her radio, "Rainbow Dash had to pull back from the UFO, she managed to draw it away from the city so it will take a few minutes to come back. Hurry up with those hostages!" "Got it; we're nearly in position" Cloud Chaser said over her radio. Midnight Strike could see Braeburn and Cloud Chaser still sneaking by the rock formation. She also saw one of the aliens leave cover to charge Lyra's position. Midnight fired off another shot which hit the ground by it's feet, the alien quickly changed direction and ran back to cover. Vinyl murmured something and reached a hoof out to Lyra, the mint colored unicorn quickly returned to Vinyl's side. "Don't waste you're strength, you're gonna get through this! Can you imagine what Octavia would do to me if I let you die? Just stay with me Vinyl!" Lyra shouted grasping a hoof onto Vinyl's shaking hoof. "Come on hurry up Cloud Chaser." Cloud Chaser and Braeburn reached the far end of the rock formation, "Okay Braeburn, we'll jump out and hide behind those trees, that will be a perfect flanking position." "Alright, this will help" Braeburn smiled. [Smoke Grenade] Braeburn threw a smoke grenade into the trees covering Cloud Chaser and Braeburn's advance. Once in position the two ponies opened fire killing two of the aliens. The other aliens quickly noticed that they were flanked, they tried to run but were cut down by a shot from Midnight Strike and a few bullets from Lyra. Midnight gave a sigh of relief "great work you two, and you too Lyra. The park is clear lets get those hostages out of there!" Twilight spoke again; she was much calmer, "Good news ponies, the UFO has abandoned it's mission and is leaving Equestrian air space. Mission complete ponies, well done! Release the hostages and get Vinyl Scratch on the Skyranger." ----- Midnight Strike watched as the civilian stallion was reunited with his wife. Vinyl Scratch's injuries were a perfect example of what risks an X-Com operative faced when fighting against the aliens, but this moment of reuniting the two civilians reminded Midnight what the risk was all for. She felt proud to be fighting for the defenseless and unprotected, it outweighed her fear of perishing. [Mission Complete: Abductions, Trottingham] [Aliens Killed: 16] [X-Com Operatives Lost: 0] [Corporal Vinyl Scratch has been promoted to Sergeant, Shredder Rocket perk added] [Corporal Cloud Chaser has been promoted to Sergeant, Close and Personal perk added] [Squadie Midnight Strike has been promoted to Corporal, Squadsight perk added] [Squadie Lyra Heartstrings has been promoted to Corporal, Sprinter perk added] [Squadie Braeburn has been promoted to Corporal, Covering Fire perk added]