The next morning, Maxwell Air Force Base was a hive of activity. Soldiers and airmen sprinted across the field with their equipment, heading for either their vehicles or their aircraft. The equipment was readied and loaded for the upcoming drop, and the Pillars too would play their part. They headed for their respective national units.
"We'll each be deploying from a different direction," Starswirl briefed the others. "Each location allows us to function most effectively and to our advantage. Mistmane, you and the samurai will be deploying to the south, advancing through the woods and through the Cloverdale area. This are is quite heavily built up, so expect resistance."
Mistmane nodded.
"Flash Magnus, you and the 3rd Legion will be deploying from the air, moving in over the centre of the target. Watch the enemy anti aircraft prescence. You don't want to end up mincemeat again."
Flash Magnus flinched at the memory, but soon recovered. "We won't let you down."
Starswirl nodded his approval. "Excellent. Rockhoof, you will be deploying in the Pike Road sector to clear out the enemy forward operating base. This position must be destroyed to prevent the enemy from reinforcing their units and slowing down our advance."
"The Mighty Helm shall excell at all they do," Rockhoof replied.
"I'll hold you to that," Flash Magnus said. "Last to the centre of Montgomery buys the drinks tonight."
"I will never understand how you two can see war as some sort of game," Mistmane said disapprovingly.
"Moving swiftly on," Starswirl said. "Somnambula, you and the chariots will be dropped in on the western side of the city at Antioch. The terrain is relatively open and will allow you to maneuvre relatively unimpeded, so don't let yourself get bogged down and ensure you keep moving. A stopped chariot is a dead chariot."
"We shall maintain hope and push forward to victory," Somnambula said, her eyes fierce and full of determination.
Starswirl turned his attention to the next of their numbers. "Meadowbrook, you will be deployed in the forest near Union. The position is lightly defended, so it's a perfect location to set up a field hospital."
"Gotcha," Meadowbrook replied. "What about you, Starswirl?"
"I shall be deploying to the northeast, and push forward down Highways 108 and 231," Starswirl replied. "We shall all link up in the centre, and face the Pony of Shadows there."
"I'm amazed that shield is still holding," Flash Magnus said. "We've been shelling the damn thing for days on end, and there's no sign of it cracking."
"The Air Force should be dropping the payload now," Starswirl said. "With any luck, the magical energy will deal with any unwanted side effects."
As he looked upwards, two aircraft passed over the centre of the shield, and two objects were dropped towards it. They fell downwards, faster and faster.
"Cover your eyes!"
All assembled did as instructed, and moments later a pair of loud booms were heard as the bombs struck their target. A bright flash was visible seconds later, followed by a pair of mushroom clouds as the dust began to drift into the air. Moments later, the shield exploded, the magical energy from the shield dissipating throwing the radioactive cloud produced by the bombs upwards into the air, propelled upwards with such incredible force that the cloud was thrown into outer space, well away from anywhere it could possible contaminate civilian areas.
"Shot on target, shield is cleared." A loud siren began to blare over the base, instructing all units that it was time to start deployment. Each member of the Pillars scattered in a different direction to meet up with their unit.
With a whirr and a roar, the engines on the massed helicopters began to start. Nearby, engines on heavy transport aircraft were kicked into gear and prepared for duty. The armada prepared to take the the air, as the rotors got up to speed.
Massed helicopters lifted off the ground and began to turn, heading for their respective locations. Each formation was moving to specific locations to drop off their troops so they could execute their mission, and bring this war to an end.
Aboard Mistmane's helicopter, a veteran officer began to brief the men. "We'll be going in with the first wave!" he shouted. "We'll need to clear the landing zone to allow the tanks to deploy, and that means taking enemy positions and killing anything that isn't us! We'll have limited air support available for the offensive, as well as some chopper guns to assist with dealing with persistent targets, but the air force is currently engaged in clearing the enemy's fighter screens and trying to hit command and control centres. Remember your training! Stay alert, and stay alive!"
"SIR YES SIR!" the men bellowed, the noise cacophanous inside the helicopter as it powered through the air. Below them, anti aircraft batteries suddenly opened up, flak fire and smoke clouds filling the sky as the guns fired again and again. Storms of bullets tore through the air, causing the helicopters to shake.
"Taking evasive action!" shouted the pilot. "You might want to hold onto something!" The helicopter suddenly performed a roll to dodge an oncoming missile, that whizzed over them and exploded against another object.
One of the other helicopters wasn't so lucky. It took a direct hit from a missile and exploded in mid air, bits and pieces landing all over the ground in a tangled heap.
"I hope we make it," Mistmane said quietly to herself. Truth be told, she didn't like flying machines, and these ones were very shaky.
"WE'RE COMING IN ON THE LANDING ZONE!" the officer shouted. "PREPARE TO DROP LANDING ROPES AND DEPLOY!"
The choppers buzzed in position, and then the landing ropes were deployed.
"FIRST IN, LAST OUT! GO! GO! GO!"
The men began to leap onto the rope and drop down the ropes to the ground. Mistmane dived out of the helicopter as well, and straight into a scene from Tartarus itself.
Machine guns roared and cannons fired, explosive fire and bullets ripping up the landscape in a ceaseless barrage that splattered into the mud. The terrain had already been reduced to little more than a muddy mess, and as more helicopters tried to land and unload their cargo, missiles flew through the air.
"SHIT! EVADE! EVADE!"
It was too late. The missile struck several of the helicopters, and caused them to crash into the ground. They landed on top of existing troops formations, and helicopters also trying to take off. The casualties were already piling up, and Mistmane knew that something had to be done.
She activated her communications gear. "Command, we are severly outgunned and require extra support. Can you get us any close air support?"
"Negative, Pillar Actual. Our assets are tied up with the assault. Bombers are unable to operate with that flak screen in your area."
Mistmane decided to be uncharacteristically blunt. "General, our men are bucking dying here. We will not last long without proper air support."
"If you can clear out those flak guns, then I can call in the bombers. Out."
Mistmane glanced over to see that the samurai had successfully deployed, and winced as another helicopter was shot out of the sky. "We have to destroy the enemy's anti aircraft defences before we can receive air support. We have to take out those guns permanently, or else we will not receive reinforcement. This is our moment to change the battle. Fight to the death, and fight for Equestria!"
The samurai cheered, and steeled their blades. "Forward!" they cried, and with Mistmane leading the charge they thundered over the harsh, messy, broken up landscape before them, sprinting through no man's land (or no pony's land, I suppose) against a withering hail of machine gun fire.
The infantry were doing their best to provide covering fire, firing distraction shots and occassionally popping out of cover to keep the enemy gunners occupied. But caution was the order of the day given the weight of fire that the enemy were putting down. One brave unit launched an attack to occupy one of the lines, whilst one of the few artillery batteries not focused on driving the enemy out of buildings in the centre of Montgomery was able to soften up one part of the enemy line. But the storm of bullets continued verbatim, and the battle was far from certain.
Mistmane and her fellow warriors soon found their way into a trench line, which conveniently linked up to all the other sections in the trenches. Mistmane lit her horn, and her dragon spirit emerged into the air. It glowed, and burned red with fiery, hot anger. "Enough soldiers have fallen this day." She said. "Enough! Onward, to victory!"
The samurai cheered, and the collective pushed forward. The dragon spirit set the soldiers ablaze where they could, acting as a vast moving flamethrower. Infantry tried to run from the encounter, but the samurai were there to intercept those who did succesfully escape, and cut through them with their blades.
One of the samurai took a fatal shot to the head, and lay still and cold. Mistmane led the others forward still, but then saw- too late- a soldier holding an experimental device, marked 'Lifetaker' in letters. They then pulled the trigger on the weapon, and the shot flew forth.
The samurai tried to intercept, and an American infantry unit has succesfully breached the trench lines, and were fighting their way to their position. They took out the soldier who had fired the shot, but it was too late, for his shot had found its mark.
Mistmane collapsed to the floor, convulsing. She could feel her very form and body shifting and changing, and she howled in pain as her magic was violently ripped from her body and form. She tried to stagger to her feet, but could not keep her balance, the pain in her joints too much.
She staggered forward as best as she could, her mind fighting the agony she was in, and she ripped a bundle of explosives off her armour. She pulled the tab out, and gripped it in her mouth. "Kyō wa taiyō ga anata o terashimasen!" she snarled. ("The sun will not shine on you today!")
The explosives flew through the air and landed in the centre of the anti aircraft batteries. The weapon operators saw this, too late, and had no chance to react as the explosives took out the central gun. The explosions led to a chain reaction. Ammunition cooked off up and down the line as missiles and bombs exploded, ripping the enemy gunlines apart with massive explosions.
Mistmane activated her comlink. "Anti aircraft batteries are cleared," she said, with difficulty. "You may commence your bombing run."
Several waves of B-52s flew overhead, dropping ordnance on the enemy lines and destroying their heavy guns. With the machine guns and cannons knocked out, the infantry surged forward, guns blazing and hearts full of fire as they mounted the battlements, clearing the trenchlines in next to no time.
With the enemy guns cleared, the tanks could at last deploy. Heavy landing vehicles touched down and offloaded their cargo, armoured vehicles rolling forward to the front line.
One of the samurai sprinted over to Mistmane. "Madame!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
Mistmane looked down at a puddle, to see the effects of that weapon. The weapon had prematurely aged her, to the point she looked twice as old as she actually was. But it concerned her not. "As long as I can still fight, I will," she said, with determination. She staggered over to a position nearby, to see that the battle raged in other sectors of the city. Slowly, but surely, the Americans and their allies were pushing forwards.
Suddenly, a loud warhorn blazed through the air. Up above them, a massive storm gathered, and lightning flew through the air. And it plummeted down towards the ground like a comet.