Instead of feeling flames licking them as they struggle helplessly, Echo 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 jolted awake in a dark metal box, the only light protruding through very small view ports. After a few minutes of slight panic and confusion the crew came to realize they'd respawned, but in another Stryker.
"Ngh, everyone here?" Raptor groaned.
"I'm good," Roar mumbled before flipping the switch for the cabin lights. "Splash?"
"Uh huh." The gunner mumbled.
"How's the tank?" Raptor called to Roar.
"Essentials are good, instruments are green, gun is online."
"Where are we at right now?"
"I have no clue."
"Splash, see anything?"
"Wait one." He muttered.
A few seconds as Splash pulled himself back into the gunner seat and turned his screen on, rotating the cannon and observing their surroundings. He went rigid, and this did not go unnoticed by his fellow crewmen.
"What's wrong?" Roar called.
"I... I don't think we're in Takistan anymore, guys."
"Ehh... What?" Raptor said.
"I'm serious, everything's green out here."
Roar turned back before popping the driver's hatch to the Stryker open and pulling himself out.
"Woah."
"This can't be right." Raptor said, following Roar.
Instead of sand, they found that all around them was green grass, with thick trees in the distance. Not to far away was a town, thatched roofs and most of the buildings gave it a somewhat medieval look. The air was rather cool, with a slight breeze.
"Guys!" Splash called. "You see that castle on the side of the mountain to our north? I just zoomed in on it, these evil four-legged bug things are attacking it.
"Well then," Raptor started. "Let's go help!"
The two crew members standing outside quickly resumed their positions within the steel beast, which then promptly awoke with a rumble. By command of it's masters, the vehicle turned and quickly accelerated towards the castle. Fifty meters away, on the edge of a nearby town, a cerise-maned Earth pony sat with her bright green colored pegasus companion, watching.
"Berry, when was the last time anything was normal in our town?"
"Merry May, I don't think it ever has been."
...
The Stryker moved fourty-five miles per hour towards the site of the bug infestation, the "castle" had become larger, of course, as they got closer. They could see just how much of a behemoth the structure was, amazing the crew was it's ability to stay on the mountain like it did.
Roar eased on the brakes and the machine came to a gradual stop about one-hundred meters from the mountain. The flying figures making up the black cloud could now be distinguished separately as they spread out and charged down into the castle with a green fiery cone forming around them.
"Fire when you're ready." Raptor said.
Splash had began to slip into his disciplined, hard, calculating manner. Silently focusing.
"Firing for minimal collateral damage." He said in monotone.
Once again, the crew heard a muffled boom, and the cabin shook slightly, but were caught off-guard by just what came out of the One-hundred-five millimeter cannon. It was a giant ball of flame-like light blue energy. The ball was hurled into a large crowd of the bugs and detonated, a brilliant release of blue energy that sent the bugs flying in a multitude of directions, intact.
"Wha... What'd you just fire?"
"That... That was the main cannon! I have HESH loaded, dafuq?" Splash shook his head before speaking again. "M240."
"Guys," Roar spoke up as he closed the hatch. "They know we're here now."
"Oh god, they're coming in all directions." Raptor said.
A loud thump was heard through the cabin, shortly followed by another, they increased in number for a few moments before stopping altogether.
"Did they just try to kamikazi us?" Roar said.
"Ha hah! That's my girl!" Splash responded, patting the steel interior.
"Okay, the castle-thing is still being attacked, how do we get up?"
"I think the mountain has a pathway going up around it." Raptor said.
"Yeah, we'll need to go slow that way though."
"No point in waiting, then. Let's go."
...
"We're being overrun!" A fleeing guard screamed.
The group leader, a brown pegasus with a blood red mane named River was locked in a hoof-to-hoof struggle with a changeling as they tried to gain ground over each other, his helmet had been knocked off and his armor was coated in a sickly-green goo substance with dents in several locations. Suddenly the changeling's horn lit up, and River knew what was coming.
At least, he thought he knew.
Before the changeling could cast, a loud rumble was heard. Every soldier in the area stopped to listen to this strange alien sound, when suddenly, a large metal beast burst through the market area. The beast was a damp green color, coated in dust and rubble. At first, River feared that the beast was some sort of changeling, or maybe a changeling device, something having to do with changelings, but the look on his competition's face told him otherwise.
Taking the advantage, River lashed out with his hoof and struck the changeling square in the throat, and following by example, the pegasus' fellow soldiers quickly overpowered the changelings.
"Sir, what do you think that thing is?" A unicorn markspony came and asked after catching his breath.
Before he could answer, a whirring sound was heard as the metal beast moved again, a long tube stretched out towards the sky, the eyes of every soldier followed to what it seemed to be looking at. Hearts skipped a beat at the sight of even more changelings, a large cluster, beginning their charge.
The ragtag group of guards and soldiers stood ready, but the battle was stopped before it even began. A loud boom sounded out as the ground vibrated slightly and a blue sphere of fiery energy was hurled at the changeling cluster, effectively knocking each and everyone of them out of the sky as the ball exploded.
River looked back at the beast, then towards the markspony. "An ally." He answered.
The leader approached the beast, as confidently as he could, stopping a few tail lengths away and cleared his throat.
"The monstrosities you have assisted us with in combat are known as 'changelings' and are a enemy of the state. I'm not going lie, we've been taken by surprise and are outnumbered, will you assist us further?"
There was several moments of silence, but eventually a loud rumble was heard as it's only reply as it moved forward slightly, River hoped it was a yes.
"Alright gentlecolts," He hollered. "Let's move!"
The march towards the castle was... Uneventful. It seemed either changelings troops were no longer present or just avoiding the battalion. Along the way, one particularly adventurous pegasi guardmare decided to hover up and rest on the metallic beast. Everypony froze up at the action, thinking it would inflict hostility, but to their relief the beast didn't seem to be bothered. One by one several of the troops worked up the courage to jump aboard. If the beast didn't mind, River really didn't either, truth be told, they were all tired.
...
"Objective: Recapture Canterlot."
"That's cute." Splash awed, looking at his commander's screen.
The camera had been focused on the group of ponylike creatures for awhile now, and it caught all their attention when one of the pegasi decided to jump on and rest, to their surprise, many of the pony troops were either courageous enough to jump on or too tired to care.
Every now and then a red triangle would appear on radar, but quickly vanished. Aside from that, nothing really interesting happened. It seemed they were advancing towards the actual castle, as they'd discovered what seemed like a really big castle was a big city with a moderate castle, though it still did not explain how the city managed to stay on the mountain.
The city itself was beautiful, even amidst an invasion, but finally seeing the castle dropped the jaws of the crew, It's spires shining in the sunlight. The marching speed increased to a gallop and the sleeping soldiers were roused. As the group approached, changelings came out to greet them, but were defeated quickly either by "magical two-forty charlie" or by the hooves of pony soldiers.
Not waiting for the troops, the Stryker crew pushed on, effectively clearing the entrance before the soldiers rolled through.
"We need to get to the princesses!" The pegasus who the crew deemed to be in charge yelled.
A few failed attempts to nimbly navigate the corridors later, the crew had decided to just break through the walls, they'd make up for the damages later. Eventually they came to a stop and watched as a portion of the squad stacked up to the side of a set of large double door. They all looked to the Stryker, it took them a few moments to get the message, but it eventually clicked.
"They want us to ram the door." Raptor said.
"Should we?" Roar replied, scratching his head.
"Eh. Why not."
The engine rumble and the tires skidded for a moment as Roar put the pedal to the metal while Splash gave out a battle cry. The double doors gave way easily, and when the dust settled the Stryker had the attention of every being in the room, not even noticing how the large tube leveled itself at the changeling queen.
"Armor-piercing." Raptor started. "Target that changeling at twelve o'clock."
"Ready to fire." Splash replied.
"Fire."
The vehicle's signature boom signaled the end of the Canterlot Invasion, as the changeling queen was hurled away through the glass by the projectile and disappeared over the horizon, the invaders followed as they fled.
"Objective Complete: Recapture Canterlot."
"Nailed it." Splash confirmed. High-fives were exchanged within the tank.
When the crew heard the clearing of a throat, somehow, they stopped and paid attention to their screens. The three saw a tall white pony, whom had both wings and horn. She looked weakened though, and her horn was scorched.
"Strange creature, on behalf of ponykind, i'd like to thank you for helping us repel this invasion." She started.
"Huh." Roar said. "They think the tank's a living being."
"She is, kinda." Splash said proudly. "What do you say we introduced ourselves, guys?"
Raptor nodded. "Yeah, sure."
A whirring sound was heard, followed by gasps as the Stryker's door opened, Raptor and Splash coming out seconds later, while Roar opened the driver's hatch and pulled himself out.
"You must be the princess." Raptor started. "There's no need to thank us, fighting bad guys is our specialty."
"We would like to know how we ended up respawning here, though." Splash jutted in.
The princess hummed, the shock of the crew passing quickly. "I believe I am at fault for that, even though i'm glad for it. During my fight with the changeling queen I fired a random spell, not bothering to think of what it was, apparently, it was some sort of multiverse spell, perhaps."
"Can you send us back?" Roar asked hopefully.
"Indeed, quite easily. If you wish to go back now, that would be understandable."
"We'd appreciate it." Raptor said.
...
"Uh oh..." The crew said in unison at the sight of their airfield... Or what was left of it, rather.
"Oh my." Celestia whispered.
"Echo One Actual, report!" A voice called over the radio.
"Hey... Cele-... Princess Celestia, could we come back with your for a bit?" Splash pleaded.
The pony chuckled. "Please, you may just call me Celestia, and yes, I owe you that much."