Chapter 8 (part three)

Battle of Appleoosa
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"This wasn't the first time Appleoosa has been in a fight. But this was the first time we've been in a war. And these 'Orks'... What can be said about them? The buffalo fought for their homeland, and we ponies fought to save our livelihood. Them? Orks kill for fun. If there was an excuse to use the Halo Array on anyone, its them."
- Chief Braeburn, Leader of the Remnant Buffalo Tribes and Governor of New Appleoosa

"No regret for the confidence betrayed.
No more hiding in shadow.
'Cause I won't wait for the debt to be repaid.
Time has come for you."
- "Victimized", Linkin Park
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The Ork's assault was quick and brutal- typical of their style. While the Coalition had been preparing for a fight, the majority of the land forces were still stationed in Canterlot, and thus had to scramble. By the time both the army and the navy could be brought to bear, the greenskins had already had ground near Appleoosa, Fillydelphia, and even inside Manehattan.

The four ships were deployed, and its because of them that Equestria withstood the first few weeks. The Wrath, being the most powerful ship, was both the biggest attacker and biggest target. Any Ork craft not dedicated to landing troops on the surface was either trying to blow it up or board it. With most of its complement of troops down below, broadside after broadside was shot, decimating the fleet.

The Taken and the Judgement, being the largest ships the Orks had never fought, were also big targets. But unlike the Imperials, the taskforce had a few tricks up their sleeves. MAC rounds, plasma shots, Shiva missiles, they all went through the ships like a sword through an arm. And when all else failed, they could always go really fast and break the ships in half- The Orks were very impressed by that one.

No Orks gave a crap about the Normandy, as it was clearly "A SHIP FO' WEAK BLIGHTAS!" And that was what kept them alive. Their missiles and lasers couldn't do anything, EDI was useless as Orks don't use computers (even during the fight, no one could believe that Ork-tech worked based on their thoughts), and if an Ork ship locked on to them, the ship would explode. The only thing they had going for them was the Thanix Cannon, which in the first week chalked up 385 kills.
Whenever a ship was blown up, CurbStompa would always say, "THOSE ORKS WERE GITS, ANYWAY. AH DON' WANT THAT SHIP, AH WANT THE GREEN ONE!"

Even with the outstanding job by the fleet, tens of thousands of Orks had made it planetside, and had established the San Palomino Desert as their domain. And it was the job of the Allied Armed Forces to root them out, and send them back to Hell.
The Battle of Appleoosa is historically remembered for three things; The first actual battle of the war,the first deployment of the Battlemechs and GUNDAMS, and the return of the Master Chief...

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+Day 4 of Invasion
6:30 A.M.
20 miles north of Appleoosa

The Kodiak was five minutes out from Forward Base Alpha, the only station still secure following the landings. It was escorted by two Pelicans, three Banshees, and an honest-to-Emperor Thunderbolt. Onboard were some of the most important members of the new alliance; all of Shepard's team (minus Legion and Miranda, who were fighting in Manehattan), Capt. Cassius, Srgt. Longinus, all the Element-Bearers (besides Rarity- as she was a seamstress/diplomat with no combat experience, she had nothing to give by going south), Trixie and Gilda, and of course, Sierra-117.

"So," Shepard started, trying to lighten the atmosphere, "I hear that you made your way through a heavily infested Flood station?"

"Doubt it." Cortana quipped over the radio. "Big green monsters, always angry, all the time? Ha. The only difference between them and the Berserker Brutes is that its temporary for the apes... no offense, Cassius."

The Jiralhanae merely shrugged. Mild racism aside, it was still an honor to serve alongside the hero. N'tho and Vasquez were already groundside, and was coming alongside Longinus as "Fluttershy's bodyguards". While reluctant to go fight, her medical knowledge and animal communication would be some benefit.

Gilda and Trixie were adjusting and loading up their MA5B and Avenger machine guns, respectively. G had helped RD learn to shoot the M45 Shotgun, as Trixie had done with Twilight and the M-97 Viper. AJ, on the other hoof, had one of the first-ever saddle-mounted dual Bolters, and was in retro-fitted Cerberus armor. And Fluttershy... well, with a Brute and a Space Marine having her back, a ponified- marine armor and a hoof-mounted energy blade would be all she needed.

"Just who's idea was it to give her a chainsword?" Garrus griped, staring concernedly at the party pony and her 4-foot long whirring blade of death. 21st century Earth provided all kinds of legends that followed humanity to the Extranet. Slenderman, Cthulhu, the SCP Foundation- they were but a few, and none were particularly scary, since everyone knew their fakeness. One such creepypasta, however, had troubled the Turian's mind- and to a lesser extant, the Normandy's- ever since this location was confirmed. This story, while not as nasty as Rainbow Factory, Cheerliee's Garden or Sweet Apple Massacre, lasted far longer for its originality and its infamy. If anyone had ever come across the "blasphemous tome" that is Cupcakes, they would know perfectly well why Pinkie Pie and a chainsaw-knife were a bad idea.

"Whatcha worried about, Garry?" Pinkie chirped happily. "I can use this sword just fine. Besides, I've used a chainsaw before."

The alien's eyes bugged out, and his mandibles flexed outward in surprise. "You have?" He asked, a twinge of fear growing inside. "When?"
"A few months ago. Some timberwolves had entered town during Zap Apple Season, sniffing around for foals to eat. With Pound and Pumpkin Cake still acting all rambunctious, I joined Big Mac and a few other townsponies in some hunting. Took out three myself."
"Oh. Right. Of course."
"What? What did you think it was?"
"Umm... I'll have to tell you later."

"We are approaching the drop zone." The pilot announced. "Prepare to disembark."

The sidedoor opened up, and music started playing from the radio. It started as Gregorian chanting, but then progressed into drum beats and strings- an epic song, if ever there was one.

"In a manner of speaking." Cassius answered. "A few years back, some guys made a docu-drama flic about you, Chief. The movie itself was okay, but it had some of the best music ever written, and its on the playlist of every soldier in Human-CAR space. This one is called Installation 04."

"They made a movie about me?" Chief pondered.
"Yep," Cortana quipped, "And the way people talk about you on the chatlines, you might as well be a cross between Hercules and Jesus."

The Kodiak made its landing, and its escorts took off to make another run. The passengers got off, squeezing their way through the tiny doorway. Outside, Forward Base Alpha was abuzz with activity, as Scorpions and Wraiths were led by Stormlords and Stormswords, veritable swarms of Warthogs and Ghosts followed the Baneblades, and Sanghelli and humans marched alongside ponies and Astartes.

Standing in the middle of this controlled chaos was Celestia, wearing the golden armor from the night of the Meeting. She also had a warhammer the size of a Mongoose on one side, and a Spartan Laser on the other, both levitated by her magic. Her face was hard and stern, though it softened upon seeing her student and her comrades.

"What're you doing here, Princess?" Shepard asked, bearing a Revenant assault gun and Terminus Armor. "Shouldn't you be back in Canterlot with the rest of Command?"

"Cadence is currently managing governmental and military affairs at HQ," The sun goddess explained, "And Luna is with Adam, saying she wanted to discuss some things with Him alone. As for me, my parents taught me that a true leader isn't afraid to fight alongside her troops in battle. And this day, many an Ork shall know the wrath of Star Slayer." The Astartes and Brute nodded in agreement. In both their cultures, Chapter Masters and Chieftains were involved in the actual battle, rather than staying behind and giving orders from base.

"Where do you need us?" Chief asked, scanning the battlefield at the horizon. Reports had come in that Appleoosa itself- which was much bigger than it was 2 years before- had been taken by the aliens, and its ruins had been heavily fortified. Fillydelphia and Manehattan were also under the same occupation, but their urban environments meant that those battlefields would be fought by infantry. Here, cars, tanks and planes were the way to go.

"Follow me." The princess gestured, and the group followed her to the front. All around, troops and civilians all looked and pointed at them. Here was Shepard's force, the Master Chief himself, the Elements of Harmony and their entourage, all following the goddess of Equestria into battle. Fluttershy peeled off the group to work in the triage center- she knew as well as anypony else that her place was not on the battlefield. Tali went over to the garage- she could fight, but she also wanted to better understand these other races' machinery. All others, though, reach edge of the base, where the majority of soldiers were waiting for the order to attack.

The assaulting force was a snapshot of the newly formed Alliance. There were griffons with Lasguns and marines with power-swords. There were Guardsmen being taught how to operate plasma turrets by Elites, and Grunts being given automatic crossbows from unicorns. Dragons, Diamond Dogs and Zebras stood side by side with Hunters and Drones and Skitarii. Soldiers of a multiverse stood ready to take on one of the greatest threats in existence.

And every one of them cheered as their greatest heroes and leaders joined the frontline.

The Mane Five and their escorts stood nervously among the rest of the group. Despite the events of the Wedding, only Gilda and Trixie had any combat training. They hadn't been in a serious fight before, let alone killed a living being. The thought of killing now was very disturbing. They were only able to bring themselves here for two reasons; 1) They needed to fight to save their world, and 2) The Imperials were very repetitive on the fact that Orks were not an intelligent race, but rather an invasive bio-weapon that destroyed everything (like parasprites, only louder).

Celestia gestured to Shepard, who stepped closer to her. "I must take flight," She told him, "And speak to my pegasi and dragon troops. I hear that you are quite an expert in speechcraft. Perhaps you can help us by giving one now?"

"I'll do my best, Princess." He answered. The alicorn leapt up into the air, flying in front of a large formation of airborne troops, leaving the Commander with everyone else.

Shepard turned to face the army before him. He had made a lot of speeches in his day, but this would certainly be the most important... so far. As such, he took a moment to gather himself before he could begin.

"Today," He began, "I stand before an army of people I'd never imagine ever seeing, let alone fighting with. Sanghelli and Jiralhanae, Astartes and Guardsmen, ponies and buffalo. Under any other circumstance, this would be a recipe for disaster, an exercise in betrayal and futility."

"At any other time, each and every one of us would be at each other's throats, fighting over perceived wrongs and needless semantics."

He pointed to the Ork Horde. "In front of us, a mindless enemy who only seeks death and bloodshed, who will not listen to reason or be open to peace. They are capable of neither pity nor mercy, and whose sole reason for existing is to slaughter and annihilate."

He then pointed to Appleoosa. "Behind and beyond us, an entire world of peaceful races who have welcomed us, treated us as friends, who fight side by side with us even now. These people, who have done nothing to deserve this save healing a god, and who want nothing more than to live in harmony with all things."

"To some of you, this is your thousandth fight against a common foe. To others, this is your first time in an actual fight. Whether you're a veteran or a rookie, whether you're standing sure or in fear, remember this: You do not stand alone, for we are all brothers and sisters today, and we shall know no fear!"

"Before we do what must be done, I will leave you with this. These ugly green bastards think they can take this world from us." There are disapproving growls from various soldiers along the lines. He continued, his voice now taking a darker tone. "To which I say... Let them try!" The army cheered, defiant against the green tide.

Likewise, Celestia was giving a speech of her own. The soldiers before her were not the typical Guard that ponies saw on a daily basis. No, they were the elite of the elite, taught and trained in the same methods that Guardsmen were. The Emperor, through the actions of the Princesses, created this unit to be as close to an actual PDF as Equestria could pull off. Some of them were given guns from the Dawn, while others used the magic-based shooters that the ponies had created on their own. But most simply used barded melee weapons, holy hand grenades and crossbows- weapons they had trained with their entire lives. These weapons were specifically made to be on-par with that of the Imperium, able to break through any armor and slay any creature. They were the ponies' answer to the darkness of the far future.

"This day," She began, her voice echoing through all available radio channels and to all warriors in the sky, "We fight an abomination, an insult upon all living things."

"Through the Wisdom of His Divine Majesty and Holy Diarchs, We Fight." The Royal Guard chanted.

"They came uninvited from the stars, their sole purpose in existence being to kill and destroy. Our majestic cities, our peaceful villages- stallions, mares, foals- all are fair game to this infestation."

"We stand alongside the greatest fighters in all existence. Spartans and Astartes, Guardsmen and ODSTs. They have fought the likes of our opponents a thousand times over, spilling their blood to keep us safe."

"Today, we stand with these men and women, fellow warriors. We do our part to make the multiverse a better place for all."

"With the Friendship of Ponies and Man and the Xenos of all worlds, We Fight."

"We shall join our blades with their guns, our magic with their machines. We shall make the earth quake, and the storms thunder. The sun and stars themselves shall unleash their fury upon them."

"Though many of us shall fall saving our home, our sacrifice shall not be in vain. For each one of us that dies, we shall take a thousand of them with us!"

"So fight on, my subjects, my people. Send these bastards back to the blasphemous hell that they came from!"

Together, the cheers of the two combined armies made a roar of such magnitude that it carried miles and miles away, all the way over to the Ork horde. They were, needless to say, not very impressed.

"OI, WOT'S DIS?" A Nob shouted to his troops, glaring across the fields. "DOSE PUNY HUMIES AN' 'ONYS DINK DEY'S A MATCH FO' DA ORKS! BOYZ, IT BE TIME WE GIVEZ DOSE GITS A GOOD KRUMPIN'! WAAAAAGH!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" The Orks bellowed, charging at the army as a verdant tide of death. Orks are very simple creatures, you see. They only have two modes of fighting, as it is written by Gork and Mork: Hit hard when the enemy isn't looking, and hit harder when they are. That is, they only knew ambushing and Zerg Rushing. And since the town was surrounded, by both land and sky, that left mad charges.

And that's exactly what the Alliance was counting on with Operation Raining Hellfire.

As the WAAAAGH! was filling the desert between their foothold and the Allied lands, up in space, The Road and the Judgement aimed a few of their broadside cannons at the big green dot. Plasma was channeled, slugs were loaded, coordinates were punched in.
"MAC... Away."
"Plasma Cannon... Engaged."

The allies ducked for cover, as MAC rounds and boiling plasma rained down upon the Orks. Hundreds of greenskins were blown up and burned alive, whether out in the open or in the mild protection of Kroozaz and Speedaz. In some places, the plasma collected at the bottom of the craters, burning them as they unwittingly charged and fell into the pits. In other places, the plasma fell down hills, rolling down and melting the aliens like a pyroclastic flow.

It was a start, but only got a few thousand over a square mile, out of a force of 500K spread over 5 miles. The Horde kept coming, which was why there was Phase Two.

Behind the army, dozens upon dozens of Longswords, Thunderhawks and new-model Phantoms called "Apparitions" came racing in. They raced above the freshly-crafted wasteland, dropping their payloads of hundreds of bombs made of promethium, plasma and high-explosive munitions. The soldiers covered their ears, as a cacophonous roar thundered across the green and red stained desert. More than half again of the Orks were torn apart or atomized from the explosions, their warbikes and buggies burning just as much as the Grot tanks and Kill Krushaz.

At this point, any normal thinking creature would stop charging and run away in defeat. But Orks don't know the meaning of the word, and pressed on even as half of their army was dead. Which meant it was time for Phase Three, the Coup de Grace.

Celestia flew higher into the air, forehooves outstretched, her warhammer floating below her. The sun's light glowed more intensely, making the daylight brighter, forcing everyone to squint. As the sun itself charged up, Celestia closed her eyes, and recited a saying her mother had told her as a filly- something between a spell, a prayer and lullaby;

"Give me the strength of the Rising Sun.
Give me the truth of the words I've sung.
And when the last bells ring, the poor mares sing,
"Bring me to Kingdom Come."

When she opened her eyes again, they were as bright as the sun itself. The brightness of the sun dimmed, as the excess light focused down into a beam, striking the tip of her horn. The beam was then redirected from the horn, blasting outward onto the still approaching horde. The beam was as thin as a scalpel, but had enough intensity to make metal melt and flesh burn. Orks caught in the crossfire were simultaneously bisected and set aflame, and many a vehicle exploded like popcorn. She carved a twelve-pointed star onto the field below her, the ground hit by the beam burning into glass, forming a shape over 4 miles across.

The Orks... stopped. Those puny humies and "punnies" had used massive space-cannons, a massive aerial bombardment, and the power of the sun itself to shrink down their force from half a million down to 10'000, against a force that was 8'000 at the most. It was a demonstration of firepower of such magnitude that greenskins could only fantasize about. In the end, one Gretchin summed up the event perfectly;

Celestia cried out in a voice of a Valkyrie, "Ave Equestria!", and dove into the remnants of Orks, unleashing her righteous fury upon them, alternating between blasting them with her horn, smashing their skulls with Star Slayer, and destroying tanks with the Spartan Laser.

But goddess or not, the soldiers of mankind were not going to be shown up by a mamby-pamby pony princess. With a sound of fury, the army- human, Astartes, Ex-Covenant and Equestrian- unloaded their guns and arrows upon the Orks, giving covering fire as the Marines and melee troops charged at the stunned rabble...

Far off, the machines rumbled to life. Smoke billowed out of smokestacks, engines roared, and red eyes glowed with malice and rage. On one arm, a massive chainsaw the size of a tank whirred up. On another, a Soopagun activated, massive amounts of energy coursed through the gun. The four-story tall machines lifted a foot, taking a step upon a pony's farm, crushing it underfoot. The machine blared a horn of unrepentant warlust. The others matched it with their own, an echo of twenty blasts.

Garrus kept an eye on the two Wonderbolts through his scope, popping a round into any Ork's face that got too close to them. Staying thirty yards behind, he used the Mantis as weapon of choice, already scoring sixty kills. Gilda and Dash weren't doing too bad themselves, having left a trail of headless greenskins behind them. It also meant that the turian would end up spending a bunch of time unintentionally looking at griffon and pegasus buttocks, wrapped up in skintight armor. Garrus wasn't the type of guy to stare at behinds while working- military training, for one, and constant assignments with Shepard's girls, for another- but he was certainly trained and experienced enough to multitask.

Both of them were quite muscular, no doubt. Any race on this race that didn't always use magic -whether they tilled the ground or worked the sky- was naturally toned and fit. Gilda was of course bigger, and had more to go around, as they say. But with Rainbow, there was something about that flank-

It was then that he realized that he said that particular thought aloud. "Uh," He stammered, trying to think of a cover, "Watch your asses, there's a Nob behind you!"

Indeed, a rather large Ork with robot chainsaw arms had come charging at them, and was quickly filled with lead. Garrus was momentarily embarrassed that a stray thought like that slipped out, and hoped neither of them picked up what he really said. The thing was, they did. Gilda immediately felt a bit pissed, jealous that this strange-looking, "fourth wall aware" alien would want to muscle in on her girl. Dash, however, had already felt a bit attracted to the turian brony, and wondered whether or not he'd be okay with making a herd along with Gilda...

High above the field, pilots loaded into their machines. 2 of the mighty Fafnirs had been deployed alongside the scarabs and Seraphim in Manehattan, the remaining three were reserved for just this moment. These machines of war had been given 3 of the most powerful lasers currently available, as well as a pair of massive Gauss guns, capable of blasting into mountains.

The commander of the squad turned on the engine to his mech, and listened to the roar. "Roll call," He announced. "Heimdall Actual, standing by."
"Heimdall-2, standing by."
"Heimdall-5, standing by."

"All systems ready." Juno announced over the speakers. "Prepare for Orbital Drop."

"Remember, boys." The commander turned on his weapons and shielding. " With most of the Imperial Reavers up in Manehattan, our own AGE Gundam. Our targets will be Ork mechs, designation "GARGANTUANS". Intel says there are twenty Omegas in Sector Alpha-457. Aim weapons at the legs and center of mass."

"Team Heimdall," An accented voice came in over the intercom, "Don't think you can have all the fun without me."

"And why would that be, Top Ramen?" Heimdall-2 quipped, using the nickname of the the Gundam pilot.

Sanjaya Rahjaman smirked in his cockpit. "Simple, my friends. You have lasers and guns, but I also have a shield and sword. I am like one of the Rajput of my homeland."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in. At least it will take more than one shot to take us out."

"No shit, Shepard!" Jack swore, throwing a singularity, "There's fucking hostiles everywhere!"

"Quit the chatter! Take out the Nob!" Chief emphasised that statement with a burst of fire into an Ork's face.

Shepard's team, alongside Chief, the Elements and the amigos, were right in the middle of the battlefield. Now, the bulk of Halo and ME soldiers would've prefered to shoot them from afar, avoiding close combat. The Imperials, however, told them that the best way to beat the Orks was to attack first and close-up. If anything, it kept them from having the momentum of a WAAAGH! charge.

At least there was enough space between them to allow for reloading. The Marines made sure of that.

Jack and Samara kept the greenskins at bay, launching singularities and pulls left and right, keeping them busy long enough for Thane and Twilight to give a headshot (Twi was apparently a natural at the rifle). Trixie, Shepard and Chief experts of the machine gun, used their speed, training or magic pick apart and slay the monstrous foes. N'tho played it quiet, staying invisible until he was behind an unsuspecting xeno, and either quickly decapitating them in one swipe of the sword, or slicing their knees and letting Vasquez put a shotgun in their mouths.

And that left the team of Longinus, AJ, Cassius and Pinkie to keep much of the horde at bay. And that was exactly what they did.

"This is for Bloomberg, you sons of bitches!" Applejack shouted, barely being heard as her guns went dakkadakkadakka, the axe-wielding barbarians into red-and-green shreds. They would pay for destroying the orchards her family had worked so hard to grow, right down to the last tree. "I'm gonna send y'all to the fires of Tartarus! Ah hear its nice this time o' year!"

At the same time, Cassius and Longinus were back to back, taking out as many talking mushrooms as possible. The Brute would shoot them up with a Spiker gun or a Plasma rifle, while the Ultramarine would do the same with his lasgun and power sword.

"Tell me, xeno," Longinus asked Cassius, keeping his eyes on the enemy, "Were you the one to give Fluttershy that blade?"

"Yeah." The Jiralhanae answered, slashing the Spiker blade across a green throat. "I talked with the salarian guy over at the medbay, and asked him if he could do a miniblade for the ponies. He said yes, and gave Fluttershy the first one."

"Wonderful." The Astartes responded, shooting concentrated light at an opponent's belly. "That's one less thing to worry about."

"Huh. If it weren't for the fact that your people hate xenos," Cassius quipped, "I'd say that you've grown attached to the little pony."

"You know, xeno, you may not be wrong there." The Marine stabbed his sword into an Ork's junk, and went up from there. "The Codex Astartes is very specific about hating all aliens. However, if the Emperor has deemed these creatures worthy of His mercy and care, than so shall I."
"Yeah, she's a cute one." The alien slashed a bladed gun through a green neck. "She may appear to be meek and harmless, but I bet you that she is plenty capable of giving a beatdown."

"Hey, green guy," She said to a gretchin, pointing at him, "What's that on your shirt?"

When the tiny Ork looked down, the mare swung the chainsword around, and cut him two clean halves.

"Made ya look!" She giggled, and moved to the next guy. Gosh, She thought to herself, I'm really good at cutting these guys up. And its almost like I enjoy doing this, but why? This isn't very nice, not like a sunday sarsaparilla, with cherries and sugar and sugary goodness. Maybe I should talk to Twilight after this, have her check my head. In the meantime, I have a pretty plasma grenade with that Nob's name on it.

She tossed a glowing blue grenade at the Ork, which landed right on his head. Two nearby gretchins stopped and pointed at him. "Oi, Boss," They said, "Dere be a glowy blue thing on yer head!"

The machines landed just west of the town, about half a klick away from the Ork Titans. The handful of Gargants could see three small, clunky walkers along with a flying, frail-looking machine with a shield and a shoota. Many Orks piloting the giant robots laughed at pathetic those gits looked... until 4 Gargaunts simultaneously exploded from laser and Gauss fire.

"OI!" One of the captains in the machines shouted, ""DEY KILLED KID KNEE! DEM BASTARDS!" The other robots then raised their weapons, and proceeded to blast them. The mechs turned on their shields while the gundam flew overhead. The group continued shooting while the flier kept sniping center of mass with his gun.

The Gargaunts, which had been feared the galaxy over for their power and ferocity, were taken out one by one like a collection of bowling pins. The Fafnirs had lasers capable of destroying mountains, and blasted through the legs and shields like a bullet through an apple. The AGE had a rifle capable of blasting through a bunker for 20 miles away, and its explosive rounds caused extensive damage to the titans. In short, the Orks were getting smashed.

But that's not to say that the Orks weren't capable of fighting back. On the contrary, they were equally kicking the human's asses back. The shields were being whittled down, eventually giving out completely. Heimdall-5 was the first to fall, a lucky shot piercing right through the chest and the pilot inside. It crumpled forward, crashing down with a resounding THUNK!

"Shit!" The commander swore. "Concentrate fire on the bastards with the biggest guns!" Kind of a dumb order, since they all have big guns. Heimdall-2 went shortly after, his legs shot out underneath him. He too fell, but at least the pilot was still alive, so long as he didn't draw attention to himself. Seeing another one of the mechs down, the Gargaunts charge the remaining robot, ignoring their fallen comrades as they stomped on ruined machinery all around them. Heimdall Actual began to backpedal, firing at the advancing robots. But it didn't do him any good, as one Ork titan swung a massive chainsaw arm down at the mech, and cut the Fafnir in half, causing it to explode, taking the Gargaunt with it.

Rahjaman saw this, and having run out of ammo, tossed his gundam's gun at the Ork footsoldiers- crushing them- as he pulled out his robot's energy sword. Unlike the Sanghelli, who use a two-pronged blade, the UNSC used a single long blade design, much like a katana of the samurai age. With a sword on one hand, and a shield in another, he launched himself at the remaining 5 titans. Let us see how these Harijans like a taste of Shiva's Wrath. He thought smugly as he tore into the tin-plated machines.

He smacked the edge of the shield at the head of the machine, using his speed and momentum to decapitate and and send it toppling down. He blocks the shot of another mech, and then cuts it down with a sword half as long as his own gundam. The resulting explosion sent him airborne, but the thrusters on his feet kept upright... up until he hit the chainsaw arm of the largest Gargaunt. The whirring blade took his legs at the knees, and the gundam landed flat on his back behind the titan.

The Ork machine turned around menacingly, its red eyes glowing balefully with unrestrained malice. Its engine roared as it raised its blade for a killing blow. "Oh, this will not be pleasant." Rahjaman stated, waiting for the chainsaw to come down.

A blast of yellow-white energy shot at the titan. Rather than simply exploding, it disintegrated into a large cloud of white-hot ash, blowing away in the wind.

Rahjaman moved the head up, and saw Celestia, her hammer pointing to where the machine was, smoke coming off the top. Holstering it over her back, she cantered over to the fallen gundam, tapping on it. "Pilot," She asked with concern, "Are you alive in there?"

"We've secured the western flank." She told him. "Our base is a few miles from here, and we're keeping the Orks at bay. Tread carefully- there's a bunch of squigs running about here."
"But Princess, what of the other titans?"
"What other titans? You and your comrades killed them all."

Indeed, in a somewhat pyrrhic victory, it had taken three Fafnirs and the only gundam of the UNSC to take out over half all the Gargaunts that the Orks had brought with them- and all the ones that were in Appleoosa. Through their sacrifices, the road had been cleared to take the battle into the town, and kick the green bastards out of the desert, and back into space.
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Once the titans were broken, the Orks made the choice to withdraw back into town- everyone knows that last stands are where the real action is. The makeshift fortifications were doing a surprisingly good job of holding off the taskforce. In fact, it took an entire day of bombardment and divine blasts to create an opening large enough for Imperial tanks to get through.

The battle became a long and arduous urban conflict, especially after Celestia returned to Canterlot. The UNSC and CAR lost many of their vehicles, while the Guard were still considered the meat shield of the coalition. But after another two whole days, the allies had almost pushed the greenskins out of the town... only to find that most of the townsponies were still running around town for their lives.

Thus, soldiers in Appleoosa had two tasks now; killing Orks, and rescuing any survivors they find...
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+ Day 7
Appleoosan Warzone
2:30 P.M.

Braeburn was running for his life, looking for any sign of ponies or humans in the ruins of his hometown. He kept his body low, and ran from building to building to avoid detection from the giant green bastards that came from the stars.

They came here no more than a week ago, and they had taken everything he knew to Tartarus. The apple orchards of his family, burnt down. His family and friends, dead or eaten. His home, first turned into a fortress, and now a burned out husk of its former self. The horribly traumatized stallion would've offed himself long ago, were it not for the buffalo girl following him every step of the way.

"Braeburn," Little Strongheart said, trying to catch her breath from all the running, "Where are the soldiers? We've been running for days, and we haven't seen a single one."

"They're out there," The stallion reassured her, scanning the horizon, "We're almost at the edge of town. They must be 'round here, maybe even over the next block."

"How do you know?" She replied, her voice coming out as a whimper. "We've been running around for a week, and haven't seen or heard anything but those damn monsters. They've killed everypony; the sheriff, your cousin Apple Cobbler, even... eve..." Her eyes welled up, thinking of what they did to her father, Chief Thunderhooves.

It had been a long stretch of crazy weeks for the two young leaders. After the "First" Battle of Appleoosa, the two unofficial leaders of town would meet up regularly to discuss issues concerning both races. However, after Discord's short reign, the two of them decided to meet up more often, in a more "casual" manner. Words were exchanged, moments were shared, and the next thing they knew, they were going on dates as the first ever pony-buffalo couple. They had even had her father's blessing on the whole deal.

But then the starships came. Followed by humans and aliens and their bases. And then rocks fell out of the sky, and these giant green monsters took a collective shit on their lives.

After the Orks landed, the Chief and the sheriff organized a quick militia to fight back. Naturally, they didn't last long. The last either of them saw of her father, his skull was on a necklace of a Nob, blathering on about how buffalo and ponies alike were even worse fighters than humans.

She looked like she was about to break down and cry right there, even as Orks could be looking for them outside. Before she could do so, the stallion wrapped her in a comforting hug, and kissed her. "Strongheart," He chided, nuzzling her, "You ah love you, right?"

Strongheart, feeling the gentle yet firm embrace of this colt, looking into the green eyes of somepony who had gone through just as much hell as she had, said just a bit louder, "Yes."

"Ah promise you, here and now, that we are gettin' out of this town. We are goin' ta make it to our side, and we'll survive this. And ah promise you that we'll get married, and have children, and never have to worry about Orks ever again." He smiled reassuringly, wiping away a stray tear from her face. "All we have to do is reach the next corner, and take it one step at a time. Can you do that fer me?"

She glanced to the building down the street, and back to Braeburn. Somehow, it didn't look as far away as it was a minute ago. "You bet." She told him, her confidence coming back to her.

"That's my girl." Releasing her, the farmer looked down both ends of the street, and after seeing that they were clear, trotted across to the next building. Strongheart hesitated for the briefest of moments, and then followed suit.

Explosions filled the air as they ran across the street- signs that the Alliance were still pushing deep into the town. Airships passed overhead, shooting missiles and laser shots at the remaining Ork holdouts. But the survivors managed to reach the decrepit-looking saloon without a scratch.

"Freeze!" A voice shouted in the darkness, a gun raising into position. "Identify yourselves!"

Braeburn jumped from the shock, but was relieved at the same time. Orks never spoke before killing- at least, not more than "OI, FOUND YA!" "I'm Braeburn and this is Strongheart," The stallion answered, "We're survivors here in town. Who're you?"

The man stepped out of the shadow, wearing a black and gray suit with a Claymore shotgun. His skin was dark, a good shade darker than most humans the cowpony had seen. "Jacob Taylor, Cerberus Agent." The man answered. "Its a good thing I found you guys. I had been making my way back to base after I got separated from my squad. This place is scheduled to be leveled in about five minutes."

"That's just fine." The buffalo snorted, "I hope they blast every one of those bastards back to hell."

"About two klicks out from here. If we hurry, we should be out of the blast zone once we reach the edge of town. Come on."

The man gestured with his gun urging them to follow him as he began heading out the back. The pony and buffalo quickly followed suit, letting the human soldier lead them back to friendly territory. They had to zig-zag through the streets, looking to avoid the heaviest levels of fighting. When a Leman Russ was duking it out with a Squiggoth, they took a turn into a large alley, between the farthest two buildings from town.

"WELL WELL WELL, WOT 'AVE WE 'ERE?" A voice boomed one of the ruined buildings. "A WALKIN' TURD, A 'ONIE, AND A HUMIE!" A massive green Ork stepped out of the shack next to them, his body covered in scars, his left arm replaced with a giant metal claw. He wore a rather ramshackle armor outfit, and around his neck was a chain, which held a buffalo skull at the bottom.

"AN' HE'S A BLACK ONE!" The Nob continued gleefully, "I NEVAH SEEN ONE O' TOSE! WONDER IF YOU KIN PUT UP A PROPAH FIGHT, UNLIKE TE REST OF YA GITS!" He drew a massive Slasha blade, a pillar of metal almost as big as he was. "I TINK ME DECAPITATOR WANTS A LIL TASTE O' YOR BLOOD!"

Jacobs stepped in front of the lovers, and loaded a shell into the shotgun. "If you want a taste of us, you'll have to go through me first. And I don't die easy." Behind him, Strongheart and Braeburn stood at the ready, determined to help their savior. Although they didn't have guns or knives, there was plenty of rubble around, and they were great shots with bucking.

"OOH, YOUSE GOT SOM' FOIGHT IN YA! ME LIKEY!" The Ork swung his blade at the trio, smashing into the ground as they dodged for cover. Jacobs rolled and took a shot at his knee, while Braburn and Strongheart bucked whatever pieces of rock and wood at his face. The Nob took little notice of his knee injury, and swatted the Cerberus soldier into a wall. The Ork turned his attention to the two kickers, and even as a floorboard chipped one of his teeth, he smiled.

"OI, I REMEMBER YOUSE!" He gloated. "YOR TOSE PUNY PONNIES DAT TURD WARBOSS WAS PROTECTIN'! YOU MAY NOT KNO DIS, BUT HE DIED CRYIN' LIKE A LIL GIT! I EVEN GOT TO USE HIS SKULL AS ME NECKLACE! TELL ME, DOES IT MAKE ME LOOK PURDY?"

He moved to stomp on them, crushing them with his size 40 boot. Jacobs, however, had stood back up, and used a biotic Pull on the same damaged knee. The Nob stumbled and fell, almost crashing on the swiftly dodging Appleoosans.

"Get outta here!" He shouted, scrambling to grab his gun, "You're almost at the FOB. You guys can make it!"
"What about you?" Braeburn demanded.
"I've got this bastard covered." He lied, loading another shot into his gun. "You go on, I'll be right behind you."

Jacobs knew better, though. His shotgun was badly damaged, and on its last three shots. He could feel his ribs had been broken, and his ankle had been twisted in the worst possible way. Medi-gel could do a lot of things, but it couldn't fix bones. Outside of his biotics, he knew he had no real way of fighting this behemoth.

Braeburn could see that in his eyes, that he knew he was a goner, and was sacrificing himself so that they could escape. He also knew this was their best chance to get away before the Ork got up. Without a second thought, he grabbed Strongheart, and twisted her onto his back. "Come on," He said, galloping back out the street, "Let's get out of here!"

"But what about him?" She gasped, looking back as the Ork started to get back up.
"Don't worry about them!" He snapped fearfully, " We've got to go, go, go!" He galloped as fast as he could, past the tanks and cars and explosions, away from the fight and closer to safety.

"Bring it, bitch." Jacobs barked, firing three shots at the beast. The sword, for its part, was big enough to block each shot, but was now riddled with holes and dents. The greenskin looked at his now ruined choppa, and bellowed, "YE STUPID BASTID! I MADE DIS FO' ME BIRFDAY!" He threw the pillar of metal at the man like it was a knife, managing to cut Jacobs' arm before sticking itself into a wall.

He tried to limp away, but the Nob quickly caught up with him. Taylor barely had enough time to manifest a barrier before the Ork swatted through it with the robotic arm. The arm was dented, and sparks were now coming off it, but it was still functional.

"HA, SO YER A PSYSKERS," The Ork chortled, "I FOUGHT WEIRDBOYZ LIKE YOU ON CALEDONIS. DEY PUT A PROPAH FIGHT. YOU? I'VE FOUGHT SQUIGS DAT PUT UP A BETTAH FIGHT DEN YOU!"

Jacobs, now lying battered and broken on the floor, gathered up much energy left in him to use a Pull on the robot arm. Clearly it wasn't attached very well, for it came right off at the shoulder, landing with a loud CLUNK!

Again, the Ork looked at the injury, and ignored it as a minor inconvenience. "HERE'S DA TING 'BOUT US ORKS!" The Nob spoke, slowly stepping to the fallen soldier with the utmost confidence, "YOU KEN BREAK OUR WEAPONZ, TAKE OFF OUR ARMS AND LEGS, BUT WE STILL GONNA KRUMP YA RIGHT PROPAH! WHY? 'CAUSE WEZ DA ORKS, AND ITS WOT WE DO!"

He grabbed the human by the neck, and lifted him close to his ugly, smelly face. "LOOK AT YOU." The Orks sneered, "YUH PUNY LIL GIT! YUR NOTHIN' TA ME! YUR ENTIRE RACE IS NOTHIN' TA ME! EV'RY CRECHAH ON DIS ROCK IS NOTHIN' TA ME!"

Amazingly, the human chuckled, his voice wet with his own blood. The Nob raised an eyebrow. Why was this human laughing at the moment of his proper krumpin? He didn't see the hand reaching to his belt, grabbing a small blue ball.

"That's were you're wrong, butt-munch." He coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. "You're just a talking mushroom, a fungus that can talk big and pull a trigger. You think you know about fighting, but you don't know a damn thing about being a warrior, about fighting for a purpose. You fight for fun, while we fight to save our family, our friends, our civilization, things you couldn't possibly understand. You're an ugly ass monster out of a fairy-tale, but I AM A MAN!" With that, he pressed the button, igniting the plasma grenade, and punched it into the Ork's big red eye.

KA-BOOM!
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By the next day, the town of Appleoosa had been taken back. Although it was a burnt out husk of its former beauty, the Orks had opted instead to redeploy back to Manehattan- the fighting was better there anyway. With the town resecured, the majority of the taskforce was also sent to the metropolis, along with the "Heroes of the Alliance".

Braeburn and Strongheart both made it back to the FOB as the airstrike leveled that section of town. Although he knew he had done as Jacobs had wanted him to do, the stallion couldn't help but feel that he failed in helping to protect his family and his world. So, after talking with his now engaged girlfriend and cousins, Braeburn decided to join the Equestrian PDF, eager to prove himself worthy for both Thunderhooves' and Jacobs' sacrifices. Strongheart would stay with the remnants of her tribe, standing in as the last vestige of leadership her people had.

Sanjaya Rahjaman and Heimdall-2, being the only survivors from the Mech Battle, were recovered safely, and sent back to the Road to wait for their robots to be repaired. The machines were fixed within the next few weeks, but by that time, it was a moot point.

The point, in truth, was that the First Battle of Equestria was an Allied Victory, securing the southern flank from any invasion. But what most ponies and people didn't know was that the biggest threat to the world wasn't in a coastal city, a desolate desert or among the stars, but deep within the Everfree Forest...
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Deep in the Heart of Darkness (as some humans had dubbed the Everfree), there was an old and ruined castle, which used to be a summer home for the alicorn sisters. About three years ago, it was when the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered, and Princess Luna was exorcised of the daemon Nightmare Moon. The place was made derelict long ago, and it would've remained so for far longer... had fate not intervened.

At the stroke of midnight, a strange ball of pulsating light appeared in the center of the main hall. This light grew in shape and size, until it was the size of a large gate. From then, it glowed a bluish-white, as a long train of tall armored individuals led a group of hooded figures behind them. The armored strangers had tall pointed helmets with a ponytail at the end, and had strange, organic weapons in their hands. They gave the aura of hatred and hunger, as if they desired nothing more than for all living creatures to wither and die beneath them.

The tallest one of them, the leader, made a snarling sound beneath his mask. "What a disgusting place." The alien growled. "Its much too happy for its own good."

"Yes, Archon." A robed figure replied, much shorter than the raiders around him, his robe covered in strange sigils that hurt the eyes of those that looked upon it. "This place is a great blasphemy and offense to the Gods. That is why both Eliphas and Asdrubael Vect instructed us to come here; it is the will of the Ruinous Powers to summon their champions, and bring a Black Crusade upon this world."

"You just stay out of our way, Caiasan," The Kabalite hissed to the Sorcerer, pulling out a Demikliave, "And let us show you why the galaxy fears the tender mercies of the Dark Eldar..."

Peace and Isolation

by McKnight93

The Battle of Appleoosa