//------------------------------// // Prepare to Drop // Story: Haylo 3: Orbital Drop Shock Ponies // by Chaotic Conundrums //------------------------------// The year is 2023. Ponykind is at war with the alien alliance known as "The Covenant". We are losing. The Covenant have burned our worlds, killing billions in their genocidal campaign. Equestria is our last bastion - a carefully guarded secret. But not anymore. A Covenant carrier has breached Equestria's defenses and attacked the mega-city, "New Manebasa". Initial reports confirm major damage and heavy civilian casualties. Now military leaders of the "Equestrian Nations Space Command" have prepared their response... Teams of highly-trained "Orbital Drop Shock Ponies" are ready to assault the carrier from Navy ships in low orbit. This is a near-suicidal mission. But these ponies are the best of the best. And saving New Manebasa could be the most important mission of the war... ================== ---October 20, 2023rd year of the reign of the Royal Pony Sisters, in Equestria low orbit above the city of New Manebasa--- Aboard the ENSC Mareathon-class cruiser Say My Name, a group of armored ponies sat around a hangar, three of them conversing from opposite sides of a large holo-table. On the table, a visual spell displayed the mega-city down below, a large alien cruiser hovering over it. The image flickered as one of the ponies put their helmet down, a white unicorn mare with a curly purple mane. "The Navy certainly put up a good fight." she said with a fancy, almost Trottish accent. The pony across from her, an orange earth mare with a Stetson, quickly replied "Ah course they did. It's Equestria." "Better late than never." the third pony noted cynically. Another unicorn mare, she was levitating her helmet around absentmindedly, studying the 3D map in front of her and occasionally brushing her purple mane and its highlights out of her eyes. The earth pony slammed her helmet onto the table before retorting " How about 'cha show some respect, Twilight?! There’s ponies layin’ down their LIVES to save the zebras here, along wit’ anypony else in that city!" "I'm just saying, Applejack. They missed one." she said, waving the mare off with a hoof without looking up. Applejack opened her mouth to say something when the sirens flared to life and the warning lights kicked in. The large doors behind Applejack slid open as the group's captain walked in, her rainbow mane tied back to keep it in the helmet currently under her wing. "You know the music, time to dance." she said as she entered. Accompanying their pegasus CO was another pegasus, this one had a fiery tail and blue armor with yellow highlights, which contrasted with the dull armor of the present soldier ponies. Twilight glanced up before returning to the map, then did a double take at the helmeted new pony. "No way..." she managed to mutter. The rainbow-maned soldier glanced back at her guest, before a dawning look crossed her face and she turned sternly to her troops and pointed a hoof at them. "Pods. NOW." The trio shrugged and walked off, Applejack needing to pull a stunned Twilight by the tail. The pegasus sighed and began trotting to her own drop pod when the armored pony spoke up. "Replacements, Dash?" the voice said, clearly female. Dash turned to the pegasus and replied "This many years into the war, who isn't? They're my friends though..." "At least they'll listen." "To me. And they aren't gonna like what they hear." "Orders are orders, Rainbow." At this point, Dash started walking back to her, trying to look intimidating. "C'mon, Spitfire. What could be more important than that carrier?" Just as Rainbow got to her, Spitfire poked her chestplate with a hoof. "Princess Luna's orders. And Rainbow? Call me Captain." She brushed past the rainbow mare, continuing with "I'll pass on that dance, but you can show me where to sit." Dash watched her go with mixtures of anger and sadness, resisting the urge to buck the air. ================== The trio of ponies left their commanding officer and her plus one, going around a corner to grab weapons. Applejack was looking around the weapon rack, trying to decide what to take, while Twilight sat stunned on the table. The third mare, who was attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation, walked back to the others. "What kind of armor was that? I'd like a set myself..." she asked nobody in particular. Twilight looked over at her wide-eyed. "That was Recon armor, Rarity. Only a few of Celestia's best wear those, so that must mean-" she stopped when she saw Applejack examining a silenced SMG. "Pfft, seriously?" Applejack looked at her questioningly, holding the SMG in the crook of her foreleg. "Well it's gonna be close-quarters." Twillight groaned and levitated a shotgun off the rack, shoving it into Applejack's barrel. "Exactly." she replied flatly. Applejack did an eye roll and pushed the shotgun away with her free hoof. The ponies turned to see Dash and her guest walking towards the PEVs. "Second to last. Right next to mine." she said, the other pegasus giving a nod and heading to the aforementioned drop pod. "Cozy..." Rarity mumbled, thinking that the pony was a coltfriend. Dash heard her and marched over to the group. "Ya'll gonna tell us his name, Gunney?" Applejack asked with a bit of a chuckle. "MISS Naval Intelligence." Dash replied, grabbing the shotgun from out of Twilight's telekinetic grasp and making her jump a bit at the broken spell. "Our new boss" "Miss?" Rarity whispered, then sighed, shaking her head. Dash shot her a look before continuing, "So check you mouths, find your chairs...and get set for a combat drop!" She picked up a sniper rifle and angrily slammed it onto Twilight's weapon niche. Twilight frowned as Rainbow Dash stormed off to her drop pod, and as soon as she was out of earshot groaned "What the hay am I supposed to do with this inside a Covenant ship?" then walked over to the nearest drop pod and the serene pony sleeping inside it. ================== A creme-colored pegasus mare was curled up in the middle of a lush field. A small white bunny was curled up in her rosy mane, along with many other woodland creatures. The sun was high in the sky, and the gentle breeze carried aromas of all kinds. The pegasus was enjoying every second of the serene meadow, forgetting about all her worries and the existence of the outside world. That is, until something cold and metallic poked her in the side. "Fluttershy!" Fluttershy turned to the source of the disturbance and there, in place of all the animals, stood Twilight in full armor, levitating the sniper rifle that she had poked her with. The pegasus looked around in a panic, and saw that even the rabbit in her mane had disappeared and the landscape around them had begun to burn. "Fluttershy, WAKE UP!" Twilight shouted again, and reality came slamming back. She was on a spaceship, in battle armor, in a drop pod, with Twilight standing next to her looking like she was about to hit Fluttershy with the butt of her rifle. "Wake up, posey." Twilight said, seeming somewhat annoyed. Applejack came up behind her and pushed the former librarian away, then turned to the scared pegasus in the pod. "Relax, sugahcube, she's just a bit on edge. 'Sides, now's one a those times it pays ta be the quiet type..." she assured her, snapping an SMG into the pod. Fluttershy cringed at the noise. Applejack gave a reassuring smile and a pat on the head before cantering off to her own pod. Fluttershy sat up in her pod and wrapped her hooves around the control sticks, her pod door closing as the platform holding all the pods descended into the launch bay. Images of a helmeted Rainbow Dash and another armored pony she instantly recognized as the former Wonderbolts captain, Spitfire, flickered onto her pod's viewscreens and began to converse. "Latest reports indicate that the Covenant troops are massing beneath the carrier." "They're pulling back? Why?" "We won't know till we get down there, now, will we?" Rainbow gave a slight nod before speaking to the rest of the squad. "Pucker up, girls! I sure as hay ain't washing out your pods!" she said, which made Fluttershy smile a bit. Dash had never been one for morale-boosting last words. On the opposite side of the launch bay, Fluttershy could see other squad's drop pods starting their descent and rocketing down to the clouds. A small beeping ticked down the last few seconds before the release. She glanced over at a small picture of her playing with her bunny Angel, then looked forward and tightened her hooves around the grips as the last beep sounded. The sudden acceleration threw her back in her seat, but she quickly adjusted and glanced around the cockpit, checking that everything was in place. Outside the pod, the cloud layer stretched on endlessly and the tether of the New Manebasa Orbital Elevator can be seen nearby, surrounded by debris. It took a second, but the pegasus realized that it was debris from multiple destroyed frigates and uttered a small gasp. Twilight's voice crackled over the comm channel. "I take it back. Navy needs to step up their game." "Hey Twi," Dash replied, "Remember when I told ya to shut your mouth?" "Yeah?" "Consider that a standing order." To which Twilight replied with a grumble. After a few seconds of silence, Dash's voice lit up the comms again. "Captain, fifteen klicks off the deck." The pods pierced the cloud layer, showing the expansive city below and the alien carrier their pods were targeting. Then Spitfire delivered an order that surprised the whole squad. "Standby to adjust trajectory. On my mark." "What'd ya say Cap'n?" Applejack quickly asked. "MARK!" The squad's pods suddenly veered to the right, and Fluttershy quickly checked her trajectory. The squad was now falling towards the Office of Naval Intelligence building, or ONI for short. Fluttershy opened her mouth, but Rarity beat her to it. "We're too far off course!" "We're going exactly where I need to go." Spitfire replied flatly. "But we'll miss the carrier now!" Suddenly a flicker of light crossed over the carrier and Applejack shouted "Radiation!" Rarity screamed before asking in a panicked voice, "The Covenant just set off a nuke? While they're still here?" Down below, an orb of energy appeared at the nose of the ship and rapidly began to expand. Over near the space tether, a small frigate could be seen flying after the carrier, pulling up alongside it. "No, the carrier's about to jump!" Spitfire yelled. "IT'S A SLIPSPACE RUPTURE! YOU HAVE TO-" Her warning cut off abruptly as the carrier and the small frigate shot into the rupture, and it imploded behind them, sending out a huge explosive shockwave. "EMP! Losing power!" someone's voice crackled through the comms, followed by Dash yelling orders. "Stabilize, then pop your chu-" and whatever followed cut off as Rarity's pod slammed into Fluttershy's. She screamed as her pod spiraled out of control, screens flashing red warning signs. She had managed to cling to a hoofhold as the pod threatened to throw her out. Then the shockwave reached her and the world blurred out, Fluttershy being knocked unconscious by the force of the impact. ======================