The Eye of the Firestorm
Ironclaw blinked.
His Commanding Officer had completely disappeared in the bright flash. He might've had no love for the late dragon, but a shred of respect for him returned when he had finally fallen after a heroic battle against these new enemies. His scales itched, an instinctive feeling that occurred when the time to run had arrived for him. Unfortunately for him, humans could count to eighteen.
Beads of sweat wetted his forehead and rolled down his chin. Those small metal boxes were slowly closing in, determined to finish the job. Spotlights came on, blinding anything that the circle of light went over. Ironclaw nervously tapped the rocky ground he currently laid on.
The dragon peeked out of his cover. Immediately, a blinding light flashed in his grey eyes, causing his pupils to shrink. His head snapped back behind the mountain, a large green dot appearing in his vision from where the spotlight was particularly bright.
He sighed. As a dragon, it was extremely embarrassing and humiliating to surrender without a fight. If news of Pendragon's death reached the ears of the elders, he would've been honored with a solid-granite statue in the mountain halls. Ironclaw fought the urge to continue surviving, balling his claws and grinding his sharp teeth in an attempt to bring forth the rage from his heart. He stood up, chin in the air and his head held high, remembering the lessons taught by his late father, to fight with honor and pride. To bring victory to his country.
He sighed. Weeks ago, he would've rocketed out of his hiding spot and charged them with all of his might, if he had been hiding at all. But when the war started, things broke. And they weren't always material objects.
As his father's words started to blur and the speech of the griffon king forgotten, the Crusader Tanks reached his spot, having seen his face for a split second. The commander yelled in the microphone, his voice amplified and blasted outside from the external loudspeakers. Ironclaw didn't understand a word, but he understood their meanings. He accepted the fact that his decision would have him labeled as a coward if he ever returned to his home country. He didn't plan to. The dragon threw his his claws up and sat down.
It was the dragon equivalent of a white flag.
***
"Sister?"
...
"Sister?!"
"Luna!"
"Greetings Tia!"
"Oh! It feels like months since we last talked!"
"Yes, it has been too long. And before you ask, I am delighted to be the bearer of good news."
"Good news... It will be a nice change."
"The evacuation is complete, and we have a fortified foothold in the Appaloosan Plains, east of where the Appaloosa settlement used to stand."
"Ah! The Appaloosans! I'd completely forgotten about them! What happened?!"
"According to reports, the town was razed to the ground but we have managed to recover the settlers. I have yet to receive information on the number of casualties."
"That's a lot of mouths to feed. Are you well supplied?"
"Less than optimal, but none are starving."
"Good... good..."
...
...
...
"What happens now?
"Unless you have any objections, General Tom will make a move towards liberating Stalliongrad. They said that they were sending a sort of... reconnaissance automaton into enemy territory."
"Send my regards to him will you?"
"I will sister."
***
It was early morning, the very next day. Most ponies were still sleeping after being kept awake by the screaming afterburners late at night or having escaped the freezing temperatures in the Everfree. Soldiers and Pilots lounged around the Supply Depot, leaning on crates and playing a slow game of poker, not caring who won. The entire base was quiet, save for a lone Speaker Tower playing music. It was a day of rest for many.
Braeburn exited the Barracks with his cousin, his wild mane blowing in the wind. Applejack was still unconscious, and he had left his own hat on the table next to her bed for her to use.
"Will... Will Applejack be al'right?" asked a sad Apple Bloom, her eyes wet and her voice scratchy from crying for hours.
The Appaloosan huffed confidently, "Course' she will be cuz'. You just wait an' see. She'll wake up from her little nap and buck enough' apples to make a mountain so high, that you could' poke Nightmare Moon herself!"
The filly giggled at the mental image. "Braeburn! Nightmare Moon ain't on the moon anymore! Big sis and her friends took the elements and blasted her out of Princess Luna!"
Her cousin cheerfully smiled. "What?!" he yelled in mock surprise, "When did ya plan on tellin' me this?!"
"Braeburn!"
They laughed, the stress and fear of the last few days washing away. After waving to a few of his friends who were volunteering to cook actual food, he and his cousin made for the sea of tents currently housing a countless number of ponies from all over Equestria, and now refugees from Appleoosa.
The speaker tower suddenly cut off the music, much to the soldiers' dismay. "Attention," a bored sounding female voice sounded, "the following military personnel please report to the Command Center..." For the next twelve seconds, they all resisted the voice's ability to lull them into sleep. But finally, the longest twelve seconds ended. "We will begin debriefing in ten minutes. That is all." Papers shuffled as the announcer stood up. "Where's my coffee..."
A Pilot turned to a Ranger. "We have a Command Center?"
The soldier chugged down the rest of his drink. "We do now."
***
Grizelda entered the brightly-lit room, florescent lights hanging from the ceiling. The room was partially full, soldiers and a mix of ponies all sitting on rows of chairs with desks lined up neatly facing the front. She closed her eyes as a cool breeze appeared out of nowhere and fluttered her feathers.
"Oh my! Twilight my dear! Do you feel this?!" Rarity exclaimed as she walked in the room behind Grizelda, who had followed Fluttershy to the seats all the way to the rear of the room.
"Ooh! I do!" the scholar said, enjoying the chilled air.
"Not too cold, and not too warm." the seamstress sighed. "I could never get the Boutique to be just right. It was always too hot and stuffy..."
Twilight brought her leg around Rarity's neck and pulled her close.
"Just a little longer and we're going to go home... I promise."
The room started to get slightly darker as an assistant started to pull down the shades on the windows. In the back, the last of the summoned arrived. Rhino Company all entered, each celebrating the fact that the dragons had been held off and ultimately defeated. The ones that had died when their tanks were destroyed were somewhat disappointed that they hadn't been able to witness the end of the battle, but nonetheless, they were all relieved at the victory.
***
After a few introductions to break the ice, the debriefing was on.
"At roughly 0500 hours yesterday, the Everfree Camp was attacked by a combined force, the majority consisting of Griffon aerial infantry and Diamond Dog foot soldiers with a single Dragon officer leading the attack." General Tom motioned towards the overhead map currently projected on the screen. "First contact with the enemy was made towards the east, Diamond Dog sappers undermining foxholes in a surprise attack while the Griffons charged from above. The Chinooks took off from the camp at this time and returned erratically due to the weather." He turned his head towards his assistant, who was sitting towards the side. He nodded his confirmation. "At 1100 hours the storm intensified and the Chinooks en route with reinforcements were then forced to land at a secondary LZ. The remaining civilians and soldiers at the camp were then evacuated. However, during the battle, the storm caused a group of civilians and soldiers to become separated, requiring their retrieval. Reinforcements arrived at 1130 as escorts. Ground forces were acquired from a GLA Arms Dealer and were sent through a Tunnel Network to the target location. The final refugees were evacuated at 0100 the next day. Any remarks?"
The audience collectively shook their heads.
"Good. Then, we will continue onto the enemy's combat capabilities." he nodded towards a Quad Cannon operator, who picked up a clipboard.
"The griffons are small and hard to hit. The only reason we were able to gain some kills is because they attacked at once. A single shot can take one out, but they're too maneuverable for us to reliably hit. Fortunately they can't do much damage."
"Noted. Rangers, what's your take on the Griffons?"
"Hard targets, and their spears hurt if they hit you, but if they get close they can rip a soldier to bits with their claws."
"And... noted." Tom put down his pen. "Anything else we should know about them?"
A Missile Defender spoke up, "Do griffons ever fly out of formation?"
"Grizelda." The griffon shot up, not knowing why her name was called. "Confirm/deny?"
"Um- ah..." She stuttered as she thought back to formation flying class. "N-No." she finally answered, "Solo flying was frowned upon and... there was never really any instruction on what to do if we had to break formation." she finished quickly.
"Good. That's another point to us..." Tom mumbled as he wrote down this vital piece of information. He had heard of the griffon's reluctance to speak, but she had vital information, and time was running short. "Avengers?"
"We could aim at them if we could see them, but the storm was too thick for the lasers to cut through."
There were a few surprised people in the crowd. The idea that something that could cut through steel was rendered useless because of snow was unthinkable to them. Regardless, Tom noted the fact, and moved on.
"Alright, Rangers, what's your take on the dogs?"
The soldier closest to the door spoke up, "It depends on the dog. The ones with leather armor are easy to kill. So are the ones with iron armor, but the ones with the rivets in them are harder to kill, but if you can hit in the helmet where the eyes and parts of the face are exposed, they'll definitely feel it. But to kill one, you're going to need a Missile Defender."
"Noted. Quad Cannons?"
"They are all weak against our weapons, armor regardless."
"Good. Anything else?"
There was a general mumbling as teams all tried to remember anything that might help, when a Ranger called out.
"Where did the dogs go? Can't remember seeing them when the storm got worse."
The soldiers and drivers all mumbled their agreement, when Twilight, who had been quietly sitting in the rear made sense of the entire situation.
"Of course!" All eyes were on her within the second. "Diamond Dogs excel in quick skirmishes, but if a battle goes on for too long and they haven't won yet, they will generally abandon the fight. Attrition is something that they're not good at!" She looked around and blushed when she realized that she was the center of attention. "Well... when Shining joined the Guard, I hogged the Royal Guard Guide Book. I must've read it more than he did..."
"Remind me that we need to have a talk later. Okay, Dragon. Quad Cannons?"
The Quad Cannon driver shook his head, "We tickled him at best."
"Soldiers?"
"I was able to land a rocket in his mouth and it looked like it did minor damage."
"Noted." Tom scribbled more information on his paper. "Anything else? No? Next we move onto Recon 2 at the Appaloosan Mountains..."
The two Rangers sitting in the back nervously shuffled. While their primary mission had succeeded, the little cat-and-mouse chase that ended their day wasn't something they were particularly proud of. Applejack's injuries only intensified their guilt.
***
"At 0600 sunrise, Recon 2's mission was to establish contact with the inhabitants of Appaloosa and report back on their status. The town was attacked an estimated two days ago. After a thorough search, no civilians were found. The first engagement was with a small group of griffons. Ranger, you said that they looked different than the ones that were part of the force that attacked the Everfree Camp. Please elaborate."
"Well sir..." he croaked in nervousness, trying to ignore the many eyes on him. "The first griffons we saw were dyed black, and their spears were a lot fancier than the ones that were brought back from the forest."
The general hummed in thought, and then turned to the lone griffon in the room. She immediately saw his gaze and withered under it.
"Steel Talons..." she quickly whispered, drawing the eyes of everyone at her speech.
"Steel... Talons?"
Grizelda nodded. "They're... not the best, but they're one of the few forces that's filled with nothing but volunteers." The griffon unconsciously growled, "The King loves them. He says that they're real patriots, and that they should be an example to the rest of us." she ended her rant with a grim look on her face.
The entire room felt the rage under her feathers.
The debriefing continued.
***
As soon as they left the Command Center, sweat began to drop from their chins. Rarity tried her hardest to ignore the current state of her once pristine coat. They went their separate ways.
Quiet jazz echoed throughout the base, our resident DJ "borrowing" various electronics from the Arms Dealer to create a new rig. It had taken a little convincing, but she finally had permission to play her music on the Speaker Towers, provided that it didn't make any ears bleed.
And it was here under the blanket of smooth jazz that the captured griffons of the defeated Steel Talons peeked out of the chain link fence below the heavy steel wire nets that covered the top of the Detention Camp.
***
"Name? Rank?"
The griffon huffed, his black dye flaking off, "...Eighth Low-Altitude Squadron, First Air Corps, Steel Talons. Private Kiel." His voice was young, it sounded barely six months out of school, and yet instead of living his life, he was here. In Equestria. Fighting a war.
"What is your reason for joining the Steel Talons?" the interrogator asked in a gruff voice, somewhat annoyed at the griffons that came before him.
Kiel blinked in surprise. "I... wanted ta'." he finally answered, not knowing why he was being asked that question.
"Elaborate."
"Well... Pa told me' that if I ever' had ta' join up, go because I made the choice."
"You joined early?"
"Yeh. Before they starte'd draftin'."
"What happened then?"
"Well, my squad was stationed in Stalliongrad. Our job was to keep the' peace or somthin'."
"So why were you in Appaloosa?"
"I dunno. I'm just'a grunt. I ain't in the circle."
***
"Name? Rank?"
"First Aerial Superiority Squadron, Second Air Corps, Steel Talons. Sargent Rae."
"What is your reason for joining the Steel Talons?"
"A bigger paycheck."
***
"Name? Rank?"
"Not talking. Need booze."
"We got jet fuel."
"I dunno what that is, but I'll take it!"
***
"Name? Rank?"
"Jag'd Pannek'ur?"
"I'm not dealing with this."
***
"I tell's ya! I ain't know nothin'!" The griffon spat at the interrogator, who was looking more and more frustrated. He balled his fists, making slight movements that would probably end with the griffon having a black eye.
Tom pushed a button, "Easy, easy." He spoke into the microphone, the man on the screen closed his eyes and calmed himself, the griffon oblivious to his tiny earpiece receiving orders, "We may not be on Earth anymore, but just so we don't commit any war crimes, imagine that everything that was said in Geneva applies here too."
Princess Luna tensed. Compared to the interrogation methods used by her personal guard, the humans weren't brutal, but were more focused on attrition and having much, much more patience with the interrogated. But as was obvious, this particular interrogator just had enough.
Back on the screen, the griffon was sent away, and another was brought in.
The black dye had partially rubbed off, revealing disheveled, grey feathers. Her eyes drooped, even after a full eighteen hour sleep, stress still claimed her body. Behind her, it was as if a pillow had exploded, feathers and fluff trailing the defeated griffon.
She sat down into the chair, ready to die.
The interrogator cleared his throat, "Name? Rank?"
The griffon mumbled, her feathers rustled louder than her voice.
"Why were you in Appaloosa?"
"I... I had nothing better to do..."
"So it was your choice to go?"
She shook her head, another storm of feathers falling to the ground.
"Why did you join up?"
"...I was done..." Tears fell, and the only one who didn't notice was the griffon herself. "My family's dead or missing... My friends are gone.... I got so many black marks that I lost count six months ago..."
"Ah. So that's why you joined the Talons."
"Nah!" She started to laugh. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a sound that could only be heard from those who had completely lost it.
"No?"
The griffon shook her head, in a weird mix of feathers, tears, and laughter.
"It wasn't called the Steel Talons then." She slumped in the chair as she remembered the days before. "No, it was... it was... Sp- Spearheads I think." The griffon let loose one more chain of delirious giggles as she dried her eyes. "Damn. That was a long time ago..."
"When did you join?"
"A few years ago. Don't ask for the date. It was before this whole mess with the dragons and the dogs... and you." she finished, pointing at the human.
"What happened?"
"King Hugo happened. The first thing he did was to weed out the guys who weren't loyal enough, or whatever that means." She paused. "Bunch'a guys just straight up disappeared..." The griffon took a deep breath. "I got lucky. My corps was broken up and turned into the Talons. I didn't join the Talons. The Talons joined me."
"Ah. So all you did was stay put."
She nodded.
"So why were you in Appaloosa?" the interrogator repeated, sensing victory.
"To secure various military strongholds and supplies." she stated, her voice clear and confident for a second. She couldn't hold it, and the giggling resumed.
"And can you list those objectives?"
"Slaves... oil... other stuff."
The interrogator flipped through a file, eventually pulling out a black and white photo. The griffon stared, her eyes instantly recognizing what they were.
"We took this picture yesterday, early morning. Care to tell us what's in those carts?"
"Stuff." The griffon looked around guiltily.
"To?"
"Build a base."
***
"Oh no." Princess Luna mumbled as the griffon listed off her objectives.
"What is it?" General Tom asked as he glanced towards her direction.
"We do not have any oil."
There was a silence, only the voices of the griffon and the interrogator sounding through the speakers.
"And I'm guessing your allies down south do?"
She nodded.
"June, 1941. Hitler invades Russia..."
***
"Whoo. You've been around!"
"Yep." she nodded. "If you believe me, I was the one who raised our flag on the Crystal Palace."
"You've been to the Badlands, the Coral Archipelago, and now you're telling me you've been to the Crystal Empire?"
"Yeah..." The griffon sighed, her eyes and mood dropping.
He noticed. "Is there anywhere you actually want to go?
At this, she had no answer.
"I know it sounds cheesy... but, home. I'd like to go home."
Everyone was silent. From the guards by the door to the leaders standing in front of a screen, they all agreed.
"Now," the interrogator started, "Can you answer my first question?"
"What was it?" she said in a much happier voice.
"Your name? Rank?"
The griffon was silent for a second, but finally looked up at the human in confidence.
"Second Aerial Superiority Squadron, First Air Corps, Steel Talons. Sergent Gilda."
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IT LIVES!
And it's Gilda! Called it. Not really.
What a tweest.
And here it is again!
Sweet!
It's back! And Gilda's a member of the Steel Talons?
Things are gonna get real interesting!
So I just plowed through the whole thing in a sitting. Excellent job, you sound like you know how a war goes... though I'm fairly sure you've only ever played the game. ;) The occasional missing words, tense and POV shifts, and punctuation/grammar errors add character, though I'd want to go back and correct these problems eventually. Your writing is good enough to keep up with despite all that, and I've dumped other stories for much less.
Fav'd and thumbs up. Let's see what else you got!
3414140
Yeah, this is my second story by publish date, but my first serious attempt. Fortunately I have improved in the past year. While I do occasionally comb through to correct any errors and improve the story in any way I can, there might be a few mistakes that make it under the radar. Believe me, it used to be a lot worse.
No, I don't know how a real war is. And that's a good thing. There's plenty of grim and dark and grimdark stories out there, but dealing with death and PTSD isn't my cup of tea.
So thanks for stopping by. It's always good to have new readers on board.
*Looks at story title*
Ah shit, my mind's generating another annoying relation thought... Hnng-arg~
aaronolsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/the-general-auto-insurance.png
Oh god...
Crossover with C&C Zero Hour? Eh, why not? I've always loved C&C. Always will.
SWEET!
An update that was soooo needed
3413465
KANE LIVES!
3413521>>3413878
Yeah, but the surprises about Gilda ain't over yet.
3413789
And here it is in all of its glory.
3414532
Oh god. I remember seeing that.
3414545
Welcome aboard the General Train!
3414649
Yes. It's time this story got another lease at life.
Welcome back General
-every EVA unit in Generals
It's nice to see this being done again!
3413565
There will be plenty of twists.
3414940
It's good to be back. Though I really never left. I'll make sure the next chapter isn't released sometime next year.
*SCENE FROM FRANKENSTEIN*
Amazing! I had given up hope to see the story of Mother Tom and his Army ever agian!
Excellent, but General Tom no matter how many units and super weapons he uses, will never get through my Great Wall defensive strategy.
Nice to see this updated, and even better to see this will update again within the next 2 months.
I like the way you portrayed the arms dealer and the worker :3
very original!
3414765 Two things. 1) This story is awesome. 2) If the Brotherhood of Nod somehow gets involved I will love you forever.
Was gonna continue this if it was canceld but IT LIVES!!!!
Gilda
? say what now?
anyway, pls continue....i love the C&C series and mlp:fim
*Reads the title and description on the FrontPage with no Image shown due to small window*
"General? Who? Sun Tzu? That would be awesome!"
*recognizes Command and Conquer Connection in new tab*
"There goes my anticipation..."
I'm sure it's a nice story, but I think I'll pass for now. If you don't mind that is...
I'm not so much for complete crossovers...
3414765 One vision, one purpose!
3415685
The funny thing is in one version of the story, it was a complete crossover. Yes there was a scene with a Scud Storm and ZOCOM Orcas blowing up an island. Another involved a single Psi-Corps Trooper mind controlling the entire changeling population because they are of one mind. Kane himself was to appear late in the story.
But then I had to scrap the idea since that was waaaay too much work. It's a fun idea though.
3416303
Well thanks for dropping by anyways!
3418864
Peace through Power!
3415846>>3415627>>3415350
I'm working the next chapter already. It's going to be a little different, but then again, that's what makes things interesting. Yeah, I'll try to make sure that it doesn't take two months.
3415356
It's called artillery. Lots, and lots of artillery.
3419102 It's called black napalm, really good for paving the way for a few hundred tanks. Also a handy tip on the new C&C game: Don't play it, it's quite shitty, you have to forcibly get it to play single player, the AI are complete idiots and it has the same menu format as games like World of Tanks and Mechwarrior Online.
3419102
Don't get me wrong. I have respect for people who can take an RTS game and cross it with MLP, for I would have NO idea how to do that on a regular basis. I would do a C&C reference at most, but a complete crossover is beyond me. And I usually hesitate to read stuff like that because it is very hard to serve both canons right at the same time. But that's just my opinion, people seem to disagree with my first post already like I wanted to bash your story. But this wasn't my intention, it was just another little mishap on fimfiction. Good luck with your story!
3419102 Kane lives on!
3419679
So I guess I'll just stick with World of Tanks.
3419757
It's all good. Thanks much!
3420600 Yeah, I may be an alpha tester, but I stopped after the AI let twenty nuke trucks into their base. First game, Hardest AI lets twenty nuke trucks in their heavily fortified base.
3423577
Well it is still in Beta, so there's plenty of bugfixing to do.
But I was mega-hyped for Generals 2. And then EA brings us this.
Why?
3423643 Because they're actually controlled by a council of the evilest being in existence?
3423646
Probably. Though a lot of video game companies are huge dicks.
3423658 Except for Bethesda, they WANT you to mod their games. The same can't be said for all the other game companies.
3423666
Valve. Don't forget Valve. They're on pretty good terms with their customers too.
3423692 Ah yes, Valve and Bethesda, the most likely game companies to be tied for first place in the customer appreciation awards.
3423698>>3423692
I hate to feel like i'm intruding on a conversation, but being an avid C&C fan i'm wondering what game you're talking about. I've played generals/zero hour, tiberium wars, red alert, renegade, and much to my displeasure, C&C 4 which was the most shitties game i've ever played
3436833
This thing.
3436871 well that sounds like a right old piece of shit to me. I think i'll stick to zero hour and tiberium wars lol
3436874 I've played the alpha, it is a piece of shit, you have to unlock the generals, you have virtually no opposition, and it was designed with a high multiplayer focus, meaning the AI is shit, and for some reason you incur massive menu screen loading times.
3437408 C&C 4 was kind of like that. You had to unlock all the units… which was nearly impossible in multiplayer
3437545 The shitty designers of C&C 4 are to blame for the cancellation of Generals 2.
3442424
Command and conquer general zero hour - shockwave is best
Nuff said
3442455 Hmm, I might go see if I have that installed.
3442538
I assume by how you said that that you know what it is so i'm not going to explain it out my only problem with it is the fact that there is no campaign, only bonus missions
3442565 I got the first half, but I didn't get the second half.
3442587 ? halfs? don't you just instal the whole thing?
3442602 I meant your comment, and I didn't have it installed, so I downloaded it and played Dead Island before completely forgetting what I was doing in the first place.
3442910 i was just saying the only bad thing about shockwave was the fact that it didn't contain campaign missions, only bonus missions that really actually don't teach you anything like the campaign does
3442970 Well, you've already played the campaign, what more do you need to learn?
Aw yeah, ghis is gonna be good
I'm so glad this is back.