//------------------------------//
// 11th June, 2018 
// Story: The Southern Expedition 
// by Ponelover 
//------------------------------//


The Southern Tip, 9:00AM, 3 years after event


“Charles de Gaulle to all ships, Charles de Gaulle to all ships, the opération will start in 15 minutes, I repeat the opération will start in 15 minutes!” the Comms officer said as the Carrier battlegroup finally reached the southern tip of the Equestrian continent. It has been a couple of days since the de Gaulle left Toulon into this wasteland of Tundras but the time to confront the Alicorns has finally come, combat air patrols are already being launched into the Peninsula and both landing ships are moving into position to land their troops.

The call was met with a resounding ‘roger that’ as the battlegroup and the task force moves into position to engage the Alicorns if necessary. With the capabilities of the Alicorns dawning day by day to the battlegroup, no expenses were spared in preparing the French ships, tanks and airplanes for the encounter. Rafale’s are loaded with their air superiority arrangements, and Super Etendards are outfitted with Laser Guided bombs and Air to Ground Missiles. It is hoped that if the Alicorns decide to engage the enemy, the French would be the ones holding the advantage in the battle.

“This is Tonnere and Dixmude, we are launching landing crafts now. Care to protect us here? We’re pretty vulnerable.”
“Chevalier Paul here, we’re already covering your asses so put those men on the ground as fast as you can.”
“Roger that Chevalier, deploying landing craft now” as the Mistral class landing ships unloads their cargo, carrying what is arguably the only thing capable of defeating the Alicorns, the Leclerc Main Battle Tank. After the Changeling conflict and years of magical research, the venerable main battle tank of the French army has been upgraded with the series 3 variant, adjusting the tank to magical conflicts with better reactive armour, adding guiding runes into the barrell for increased accuracy and more magical sensors for detecting anything with a magical presence that can be a threat.

As the ship lands on the deserted beach, the Leclercs finally make their move. Moving out of the landing craft and securing a beachead for the rest of the troops to come in.
“This is Cav 1, we’re moving in. Spotted nothing so far”
“Roger that Cav 1, we’re deploying Tigers and Infantry as we speak. Standby for reinforcements and await further orders. Command out.”
And so with the beachead secured, the Mistrals begin deploying the rest of the task force on the ground, helicopters are launched and even more vehicles are deployed with the landing craft.

As the preparations to make the trip south to the Alicorn basecamp was organized, the soldiers that have finally arrived in the area began to dig trenches, accompanied with the tanks and armoured vehicles positioning themselves on high ground to attack the enemy in case negotiations went south. It is expected that if the Alicorns were to conduct an attack on this position, the French would be entrenched to stop the advance cold while the Carrier battlegroup will conduct spoiling attacks on the Alicorn basecamp to give the defending ground troops time to retake the initiative and conduct an offensive.

Well at least that’s what we’re hoping for the Captain of the carrier thought as the Mistrals continue their unloading with Chevalier Paul as escort.


Alicorn Basecamp, 9:45AM, 3 years after event


The cold morning of the Alicorn basecamp was suddenly shattered as shireking sounds was heard that woke up the entire camp. Soon Commander Neshira saw an Alicorn scout running away from...something by the looks of it and approached the still groggy commander.

“Commander, we have…....something pretty interesting coming in” the scout pants as he reaches the commander, giving her a letter.
“Let’s see what we got here” the Commander replied as she opened the scroll and begins to read, “Flying machines? Iron chariots? Self driving vehicles? Are you insane?” the Commander replied to the tired but frightened Scout.
“N-no Commander, it’s all real. I had a real hard time confirming whether or not my eyes were playing tricks but I assure you my eyes are clear”
“Alright then...if what you’re speaking is true then we need to ramp up our defenses”
“Agreed” as they prepare to set up for whatever these creatures have in store for them. Honestly it shouldn’t be too hard, her force might just be a vanguard but there is a reason why no one fights the Alicorns in open combat before.

After some runes are laid out and shield barriers ready. It is hoped that these defenses would at least delay whatever these creatures are bringing, the reports suggest that they rely on advanced Machinery that has potential to be very deadly. But the Commander secretly hopes that these creatures would be not as threatening as they seem, because if they do turn out to be as deadly as the reports...there is a real risk that this whole conquest might be compromised.

And with that risk involved the commander immediately sent a letter to the city with a very important note and also a request for more reinforcements via dragonfire. The commander has observed what happens if one don’t take the necessary precautions to secure their backs in battle, and she doesn’t like what she sees.

15 minutes later

“I see something!!” a Pegasus scout said as a mechanical...carriage moves into the direction of the camp. Knowing that this might be the creature reported, the scout quickly flies into the basecamp and reported to Commander Neshira.

“Commander! we have incoming!!” the Pegasus said
“Understood Frosty Wings, prepare your defenses!!” she ordered as the basecamp quickly went from standby to alert. 
As the carriage...thing arrives at the basecamp, the first thing the commander sees is the amount of technical sophistication these species possess, their Mechanical creations far outstrips anything an Alicorn workshop can create and can pose a serious threat.

As the Alicorn guards surrounding her slowly approaches the vehicle, a whirring noise was heard as the back door of this weird vehicle opens. And out comes a...very peculiar looking creature.

“Hey there” the creature said in a clearly feminine tone, possibly indicating that this might be a female of the creature’s race
“Who. Are. You?” the Commander replied 
“I’m just a negotiator representing Princess Celestia’s newfound ally, I have been informed about your presence down south by our scouts...and we wish to talk to you about many many things”
“Spare me your words creature, we don’t want to talk with an ally of the traitor Princess. If you want to speak then do so with care, we don’t want any ‘accidents’ here don’t we?”
“Oh certainly not Commander Neshira, and that’s why it’s not wise to antagonize a country that you haven’t encountered before, it’s not wise if we have any ‘accidents’ as well right?”
And with that spells are readied and aimed at the negotiator.

“Watch your tongue female creature, you as all negotiators should know that it is not wise to provoke the enemy on their own grounds”
“Woah woah woah there Commander calm down, let me clear some things up, first of all we are called humans and we are not here trying to fight you, we’re trying to reach a peaceful agreement between both parties so that we don’t have a conflict in the first place, but if you don’t want to negotiate then we do brought insurance as well”
And with that the Commander began hearing a distant sound coming in from the hills around the base, the rumbling begins to get louder and suddenly out comes more of the weird machines from the hills. Some of them much more complex than the others.
“Now Commander, I suggest you to at least give me room to negotiate or we have to resort to using force as our negotiators” she replied to the commander amidst Tiger attack Helicopters and Infantry Fighting Vehicles aiming their sights at the basecamp.
The Commander is now visibly shaken, there has been no recorded attempt of a successful magical nor non-magical infiltration during the rebellion. The fact that these ‘humans’ managed to not only sneak up on her force but sneak up a considerable amount of their equipment sent off alarm bells ringing, this might be a very long war indeed.

“Ugh, fine then human you have your way” the commander reluctantly replied as the negotiator is brought into the tent.
“Now then...where do we begin” the diplomat replied as they sat at the negotiating table.
“We begin now negotiator. My name is commander Neshira, but your nation apparently knows that”
“Yes we do Commander, my name is Ms Charlotte Durand and we are here to stop a conflict from happening in the first place” the diplomat introduces herself as they both took a seat at the command table
“Yes, you do have amicable goals but I’m afraid it’s simply not possible Ms Charlotte. You have allied yourselves with the Tyrant Princess and we simply cannot allow ourselves to make peace to our already sworn enemies, why do you ally to the Tyrants of this world human?”
“*chuckles* Isn’t it obvious? It’s because they’re not tyrants commander, in fact in the last 3 years they have been more than amicable to our advances and even signed a few trade treaties with them as well.”
“That might be the case for you human, but you do understand that the rest of this world doesn’t feel the same way yes?”
“Well...the Changelings don’t really approve of Princess Celestia but we’ve made arrangements with them.”
“What?! The proud Changelings have been subdued?! How can a race that has resisted Alicorn imperialism for so long be subdued? Even I doubt that even your mechanical contraptions could subdue them!”
“Well not fully mechanical, nor fully digital as well, we also incorporate some magic as well.” the diplomat replied.
“And I bet that’s very effective isn’t it?” the Commander sarcastically replied, not liking how much this world has changed
“I do not want to antagonize you Commander, but please do not be stubborn. I mentioned the fate of the Changelings earlier because I’m warning you about our capabilities in case you decided to go through with this, please just...stop whatever you’re doing”
“With you I’m not so sure anymore. It is clearly seen that you have capabilities matching our own, and that wouldn’t bode well. Leave us...Right Now”
“*sigh* don’t be too stubborn Neshira, are you sure you want to sacrifice countless lives just for what? overthrowing Princess Celestia?” the diplomat replied, trying to be as reasonable as possible
“Yes I am sure Ms Human, now leave us and prepare your warriors for battle” the Commander grimly replied, eyes clearly showing resolve and determination.
“Consider the lives Commander!! you will be wasting countless lives on an endeavor that might not succeed!! isn’t it better to let cooler heads prevail and prevent the slaughter from happening in the first place!”
“ENOUGH HUMAN!! you have shown yourselves to be blind and ignorant about the state thus world is in. Cooler heads will never prevail because everyone in Equestria is being oppressed by the Unjust rulers of the land, we WILL take our lands back and we WILL depose Celestia and Luna from her throne, now Ms Charlotte. I think it is wise for you to leave this place and prepare your troops for battle. Negotiations are over!”

Sweat can be clearly seen trickling down the negotiator’s face. Knowing full well that it is her time to leave and that negotiations have failed, she bowed her head in respect to the Commander and simply said the words that would spark one of the deadliest conflicts in recent history.
“Thank you very much Commander Neshira, it is with great regret that I must inform you that the Republic of France and the Principality of Equestria is at war with the Alicorns...I pray for your safety” the diplomat concluded as she left the tent
“and you too human, you too” the Commander replied as she sat there reflecting to the events that has transpired in her camp. What she did was the right thing of course, but on the back of her head she couldn’t think that she might be committing a great mistake.
“Commander!!” she heard someone coming into her camp
“Yes what is it?” she replied
“The human flying machines are retreating!! they chickened out!!” she was replied with an ecstatic Unicorn as the Commander steps out of her tent to see those flying machines moving out from her camp
“What?!” she could only reply as she saw those flying contraptions thumped their way out of her camp to cheering soldiers. This isn’t right!! she thought they have absolute advantage here!! if they’re pulling back their machines that must mean that...oh no
“evacuate the base” she told her lieutenant which is met with confusion on the lieutenant's face
"What do you mean 'evacuate the base?'" the Lieutenant responded
“I said EVACUATE THE BASE!!!” her orders now stand out as she is being stared by her own troops in confusion
“What?! but they retreated! why shouldn’t we” immediately after one of her troops said that as the ground beside her was obliterated in a rain of fire
“Defensive spells now!!!” she ordered her unicorns and remaining alicorns as they desperately tried to cast bubble shields to what is perceived as raining fire
“Oh my” she heard an Alicorn said as her bubble shield was penetrated by one of the ‘droplets’ and killed her instantly
“Impossible...how could they penetrate Alicorn shielding?” she quietly said as the group of Alicorns and their Commander struggle to keep her alive amidst the insane bombardment.


Leclerc Tank Platoon, designation ‘Cav’, 10:00AM, 3 years after event


“This is Cav 1 to base, we are approaching the basecamp now. Keep up the fire boys.” the tank commander said as the artillery barrage is still going strong. With the negotiations breaking down, Command is not taking any chances with these Alicorns.
“This is base to Cav 1, move in and prepare those guns Commander, I’m ordering a ceasefire now.” the command center replied as the artillery barrage suddenly stopped as the Leclercs move into what’s left of the Alicorn basecamp. Once they arrived they see a scene of utter massacre, dead Alicorns, Ponies and Zebras litter the field as the tanks roll in to check on the survivors. 
“Sir, the rest of the group is requesting permission to move in. Should I let them?” another tank driver informed the tank commander about furthering Opérations
“Just tell them to wait 5 more minutes Jean, we’ll scout the area first” the Commander replied as he ordered his Tank platoon to scout the remnants of the destroyed basecamp.
“Wait a second...I see something at 11 O’clock” he heard Cav 4 as he ordered the gunner to move the guns into position.
“Standby men, I’m coming out of the tank to check . Prepare your Sabot rounds men” the Commander ordered as he stepped out of the hatch of the tank and approached the clearly bleeding Alicorn. He grabbed his FAMAS tightly as the distance between himself and the Alicorn shrinks.
“You there, can you walk?” said the Commander as he pointed his rifle at the Alicorn. The only reply was coughs of blood and weak squeaks of pain
“Yeah, that’s a no.” the Commander said as he grabbed his pouch and puts a copper ring into the Alicorn’s horn. After that he quickly grabbed a radio and calls in base for help

“Cav 1 to base come in, Cav 1 to base”
“Yeah Cav 1 we hear you, is the base secure?” the command center replied.
“Roger that, bring in the rest of the troops and clean up this damn mess will ya? Oh and requesting Medevac, we just captured an injured Alicorn.”
“Roger that Cav 1, we’re preparing a containment cell right now. Standby for the helicopter.” the base replied. As soon as the transmission ended the ground around the base rumbled as Tiger Helicopters and French Infantry Fighting Vehicles roll into the scene, unloading French soldiers as they secure the base from further resistance...if there are any.


Canterlot Palace, 11:00AM, 3 years after event


Princess Celestia is not feeling terribly comfortable right now.

Sure she can do her daily paperwork just fine, but entrusting the French to do what she has failed does not bode well to her mind. There must be something I can do she thought as she finished signing a bunch of paperwork detailing about land ownership somewhere in the smokey mountains.

It is a time of great change for Equestria, after the appearance of the France and their intervention in the Changeling invasion, public opinion of France shot up to unprecedented heights. With this Celestia and Luna possess the necessary Political Capital to adopt human style reforms throughout Equestria, industrializing the country even further and bringing in more prosperity for the Ponies living in the country. Further cooperation between France, Equestria and Amaterasu only brought in more wealth into already one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Ponies are experiencing change unseen since a long time and Celestia couldn’t be happier at the state of Equestria right now. 

But she knows that there is still work to be done, the reappearance of the Crystal Empire confirmed her fears about a possible return of her oldest enemy, her own brothers and sisters of the Alicorn remnants. But with France on their side, it is hoped that they can work together to vanquish an old but still very relevant threat to world safety and prosperity.

Suddenly the opens up and out comes the ever intrepid ambassador of France to Equestria, Julien Thomas.
“Ah Mr Julien, please come in. I trust that you came here bearing news about the Alicorns?” Celestia said which is replied with a simple nod from Julien
“Yes Celestia, I can safely report that we have made contact with the Alicorn vanguard at the Southern Tip and attempted negotiations with them...which promptly failed.”
“Oh? Was there a battle then?”
“Of course Celestia, if we wouldn’t then I wouldn’t be as calm as I am now” 
“Ah is that so? Good job to your servicemen then Mr Julien, anything else?” Celestia asked while mentally rejoicing the fact that a massive load has been taken off her shoulders.
“Y-yes there is one minor problem we encounter”
“......what is that ‘minor problem’ then Mr Julien?”
“The force that we encountered at the Southern Tip has probably notified the Alicorns at the Southern Continent. We are moving more troops into the South but the Foreign Minister felt the need to inform you about our situation.”
“Should I come down there to lead Mr Julien? I do have combat experience in battling my own species during the wars before our ascention”
“That would be preferable Celestia, but wouldn’t the workload tire you? I’m concerned because I don’t want to be the one responsible for doubling your workload.”
“Don’t worry about that Julien, I’ll delegate my tasks to Luna and my Ministers if need be”
“I’m still not sure about this whole ordeal though...it’s like you’re doing this out of impulse and without any clear thinking before making this decision”
“Well why don’t we wait for another 2 days then. By then I will have made my decision.”
“Understood Celestia, I’ll inform the Foreign Minister right away” Julien concluded as he left the throneroom.


Elysee Palace, 1:00PM, 3 years after event


“So what do we have for Today Laurent?” The President asked as he sits down in the boardroom alongside the Foreign and Defense Minister. As he files down his report to the President one thing couldn’t escape his mind, the reports I got was that we encountered an Alicorn vanguard force and we caught them offguard as well. Something is telling me that this will not last until we bring in even more reinforcements down the road, thank god I managed to do that though. Still, this is going to be one hell of a war and we need to take their Capital by ourselves with only minimal help...i’ve got a feeling this is not going to end well for both of us he thought.

“We have some very interesting developments recently Mr President. First off Princess Celestia just volunteered to fight against the Alicorns herself” and with that the attention of the President was immediately piqued
“Fight? like in suit of armour?”
“Apparently so sir, she has told us that the usual paperwork can be relegated to her ministers and her younger sister and awaits for your confirmation. She also told us that unlike the French Army, she does have extended experience fighting against her own species”
“Then give her the green light and send her down there. Also inform the Captain that an Equestrian Princess is arriving to asist him in combat”
“Understood sir. There are other secondary matters that you need to address but that can be reserved for later. Mr le Drien also has to brief you on matters concerning the Opération”

Knowing that it is his time to speak, the Defense Minister straightens his back.
“Well, while the opérations in the South can be attributed as a success Mr President. There is still the possible threat of a full on Alicorn counterattack, I’ve already taken the liberty of deploying the full 6th Light armoured brigade and the 1st Combat Helicopter regiment to the front, but we can only do so much without NATO airlifts”
“Well we can only do so much, what about our PA2’s”
“The Suffren is being rushed into production as we speak and we’ll fit them with airwings by July. The Napoleon is also being rushed but will not be ready until December unfortunately.”
“So we should have 2 carrier battlegroups by next year correct?” The President inquired
“Yes sir.” 
“Good then. We can start our operations at full soon enough. Those Alicorns won’t know what hit them if we’re lucky.”
“We can only pray to god for now Mr President. The public has already supported the conflict so we shouldn’t worry about that and we are making sure that all potential leaks are plugged...god knows what’s in store for us when the Alicorns counterattacked”
“We shouldn’t worry too much about that le Drien. When the attacks come they will come and our troops will dig in to make sure there will be hell to pay if they try to take an inch of territory” The President responded which is only met with a nod from the defense minister as the meeting went on.


Strasbourg Port, 3:00PM, 3 years after event


It was just another busy day for the local Immigrations officer as he reviewed a Unicorn’s Passport, only to stamp it with an approved seal telling her that she is now free to visit France. The day could not be any duller and after the Unicorn thanks the officer which is only met with a nod. Another Pony entered in front of his cubicle. Probably another tourist he thought as he stared into the eyes of a definitely roughed up face, This guy has seen things, might as well try it safe he further thought as he greets the Pony and begins the process of admission.

“Can I have your passport sir?” the officer asked which is met with the Pony scrounging up his saddlebag and giving the passport into the slot. As he reviewed his profile he noticed that this Stallion might be involved in some fraudulent activities and by the looks of it, he seems to be a professional criminal rather than anything else. Could be a trick though, there are a lot of Ponies with his facial textures he thought as he begins interviewing the Pony in earnest

“So your name is Caballeron huh?” the officer asked
“Why yes Frenchmen, is there a problem?” the Earth Pony responded
“No problem at all sir, just doing some interviews to ensure that you’re not a terrorist or something like that.” the officer responded as he pushed forward into creating a picture of this pony.
“Profession?” 
“I’m an Archaelogist, mainly detailing in ancient pony societies and long lost magical creatures.”
“That’s a...very interesting career choice Mr Caballeron, current city of residence?”
“Vanhoover.”
“I see...where are you visiting specifically”
“Why Paris of course, it’s probably the only place a Pony would visit. Good food, good wine, and good place to top it all up”
“Always Paris.” the officer grumbily responded as he stamps the passport with the all clear sign, allowing the Earth Pony Archaeologist passage to France.

But as the Pony melts into the general scene of the lobby, the officer felt an urge that he might be doing some Illegal activites in this country. Something about the way he acts hints hardened criminal to him, so he did the only thing an Immigrations Officer can do and notifies his superior.
“What is it Marcus?” his superior asked
“We got a possible criminal entering our country, notify the Parisian police to keep an eye on a Pony named Caballeron. Something about him looks off but I can’t prove whether or not he’s a criminal.”
The look of his superior’s face can tell him that she’s taking this matter very seriously, “Understood Marcus, mail me the copy of his Passport and I’ll distribute it to the Strasbourg and Parisian police, get back to work”
“Understood boss” he replied as he mails the passport copy into her office for review.