This story is a sequel to Skyfall
A Soldier's Memoirs Saga
The Griffon War | Skyfall | Treason | Everfree | Overture
Retribution
From the author: Chapters with ♫ have music to accompany them. Check the Author's Notes at the bottom.
Following the events of Skyfall, Shining Armor has moved to reform the Royal Guard into the intimidating fighting force it was always meant to be. Skyfall Team is on hiatus, a long-earned respite. For the first time since the Griffon War, Equestria is recovering and growing substantially, no longer living in the shadow of danger.
But when an allied unit goes rogue and new threats loom from the shadows, Equestria's harmony is thrown into international turmoil that could bring about a world war between old enemies and allies. It is left to Skyfall Team to cover up the incident, and eliminate the defectors, before chaos can erupt into full scale conflict that could spell armageddon. Facing off against their comrades, Skyfall will learn that sometimes the toughest fights we face are against our own brothers.
All characters belong to their respective creators.
Its out? Yay.
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So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Fireteam Union is going to let success go to their heads and defect, or the bat ponies are going to. Either way, this is going to kick ass.
imma bout to readd the fuck out of this
I like how Equestria is going through gun law changes just like we are!
Dammit Dusk Quill! How do you write so fast!?
Silver out!
A military upgrade to improve the quality of the troops is exactly what Equestria's been needing.
Silver out!
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Enjoy it!
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With lots of caffeine, ideas, and late hours into Luna's beautiful nights.
And maybe now the Royal Guard will be a formidable fighting force once again! Hooah!
My guess is that Saddle Arabia is having either a blood feud, or border dispute with an enemy that they've been fighting for years it sounds like.
Silver out!
6,666 words so far? Megalith -Agnus Dei- incoming!
Or is it just a coincidence?
Either way, this looks promising. I need to finish translating my first story to my mother language so I can start with the sequel.
I just knew it was going to be Sharp Shot that pulled his ass outa the fire. I have to say I feel like Sharp Shot is one of my favs. Ever since The Griffin War I've enjoyed this guy... also I knew the Bats was going to "cheat"
She DID say she was going to show the guards how to take down a highly skilled/trained fighter. Get help. 
Of course... that trained soldier also has help.
Sharp Shot!
Well I have to say... this is starting out to my favorite of what you've made... and that's saying something. I think part of that might be because I feel like your writing has gotten a lot better from all the practice.
I'm looking forward to seeing where you're going with this and what's up next for team Skyfall... also for some reason I have given Cupcake a Russian accent.
Love the world you've created!
2283422 why u gotta use the armys shit. marines are the shock troops oorah
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It's so interesting to know who everybody likes in the team. I've been considering making a poll to see who is the most likable. I'm glad you're loving it so far! they do say practice makes perfect, so maybe!
I imagined Cupcake with a Russian (Northern in Equestrian terms) accent too, so you're hearing him right! Glad you like it in here! I'll be sure to release the world map soon for everyone to immerse themselves in further.
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Oorah!
I only knew the Army's version
2286524 Looking forward to it!
Dusk, this is the most beatiful fic ever (next to mine), and it has the batponies, I love those things!
2285352 Well you wanna be a specialist go to the army. If you want be ultra badass go to the Mareines *rimshot*
2292283 marine corps has POGs too. we just think of them as civilians in uniforms. What do you mean by specialist? cause i had specialties when i was in afghanistan, i was a 203 grenadier, point man, sweaper, lead vic driver. ECM operator.... there is way more to learn in the infantry that most people think. modern warfare is to complex for just man with a gun. you gotta be a jack of all trades. the only downfall to being a grunt is that your skillsets dont transfer well to the civilian world. that and for some reason in modern america so many people are afraid of combat veterans for some fucking reason. if im at a party and i tell them what i do people seem to avoid me. im still a nice guy.
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If it weren't for combat veterans and my love of the military and warfare, none of this story would exist. You've got a friend in me.
2294162 well it wasn't to offend. I meant that the Army has large amounts of mechanics and artillery, and the marines are the assult and the army supports and assaults. Sorry if I offended you, I know that you're a jack of all trades, that's really awesome, in my opinion.
2294213 lol no i wasnt taking it that way at all. but you would be surprised that the marine corps has all the logistics it needs to support itself. the marine corps has 180k marines but only 32k of us are infantry. the other 150k are intel, logistics, aviation, armored, and administration. Their job is to support the grunts. I take pride in being a ground pounder and we let the POGs know that they are not like us but we do relly on them to provide us with what we need to do what we do.
2294184 I thank you for your support and your good reading material. And if you want to see the places iv been you shoul watch this documentary called "To hell and back" im in 3/8 and was in that AO in 2012, the doc is about 2/8 one of our sister battalions in the same place i was but back in 2009.
2294184 it shoud provide you with insight on counter insurgency if thats what your new story has anything to do with
2294264 Wow, forget the SEALs, the Marines are badass!
2294320 The SEALs are fun guys to work with. though they are a little excessive with their toys at times. For example they blew up an afghanis door that we could have just kicked open just because they wanted to use some C4. Most people dont realize this but regular marine infantry are qualified to be used in special missions just like the army rangers. Thats why we say a Ranger is the same as a marine grunt. they just like to call themselves special forces for some reason.
SEALs and marines have a mutual respect for eachother. we are each the best of the best when it comes to our specific mission types. if you got to fuck up some guys in a small compound use the SEALs. if you gotta fuck up an entire Town send in the marines. Read "american Sniper" by the late Chris Kyle. when SEALs and Marines work together shit is gonna go down
2294362 You worked with the SEALs!? That's awesome! I salute you sir! Man, you've done some pretty cool things in you're career, huh.
2294815 It was a very boring OP though. the fuckers we wanted to get were not home. Its more fun working with afghan special forces actualy because of the hilarity of the laungage barrier
2294831 did they know English well, or was it nanu nanu between you guys.
2294845 well i for one learned a lot of Pashtu so i was able to communicate at a basic level with the ANP and NDS that worked in the area. the NDS is like afghani CIA. we did some fun raids with them, they are some crazy ass people. the problem with afghanistan being such a tribal deographic country is that people speek dari, pashtu,tajik and, uzbek and a bunch of other languages. the ANA spoke mostly dari which i didnt learn so operations with them were kind of like a wacky game of scherades. i had the most fun messing with the ANP and NDS. id tell them i saw a certain villager fucking a goat and they would make fun of the poor guy who was like. "NA PUSA KUN RHAKA!!!!" (i dont fuck goats!!!) whe ever we captured some taliban i would insult the shit out of them in pashtu and the ANP would cover me by saying i didnt even know pashtu when the detainie complained about bad treatment. We had a hell of a lot of fun.
Some of them did speek some english. mostly the ANA because they are for the most part recruited from the northern areas of afgha nistan where they have a little bit of education. We would pull pranks on eachother like cutting the stingers off scorpions and throwing them at the isectophobes. some jokes cross all language barriers
2294896 That's pretty damn funny.
Is it wrong that I really hope we can see Midnight hook up with Fleethoof? Help him get over Cadance, you know?
Oh, come on! I know I'm not the only FleetNight shipped! Or would it be MidHoof?
You... You will continue this. Now.
2308228 Dammit, you made a shipping within a story. Called the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, my first grade teacher!
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Is it wrong? Hell no! You're American, you're free to ship anything you want! Personally, I cast my vote for FleetNight - sounds cooler.
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If it exists, someone will ship it. Personally, I think it's awesome people are shipping my characters. It means I'm making them real enough with enough personality to be given romantic aspects!
2309961 I know, just please readers, don't make this whole story love. Twilight could have been badass without romance (jk, twilight can never be badass, and I mean the book.)
Update already.
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Twilight minus the romance...
So Twilight would have been a better book if it were a cover filled with blank pages?
That actually sounds like a legitimate argument
But don't hate too much on romance. Emotion gives character depth, and gives fans something to fight over. Even if it's not your particular taste, it's a very useful tool to utilize.
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You too! I can update, but without action from Union for a reaction from Skyfall's side, I can only get so far. Help me help you.
2316158 I don't either, but Twilight kinda ruined vampires for me. I didn't even really like vampires. Romance is good, but I feel that romance is just to dominant.
Hu, well I liked it. However, this line stuck out to me:
It's a good description, except it's been used so often that I feel it's become a cliché. I've used it a ton as well, and I've noticed that everyone and their mother seems to use it. So while there's nothing wrong with it per say, it just feels... well a little cliché.
Otherwise I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to more... oh and expect some more questions soon.
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I do have the tendency to agree with you on its frequency of use, but unfortunately, like you said, it's a good description. It's tricky to find a suitable analogy as relatable, and after mulling it over for a while, I decided it was better to go with the overused description than to leave it flat. So yeah, I agree, but I still have yet to find a widely approved replacement for the phrase...
I will be looking forward to them!
2348008 Yeah I've faced the same problems... but what can you do?
Ah well... and yes just seeing if I have any others before I shot them to you
maybe im a bit tired but i was having a hard time following the transitions of point of view between the COC and the operators. all in all it was pretty good though. i like how you use "wilco" propperly. you seem to have a decent grasp on field comm. im curious about the explostions. was union able to plant charges before being ambushed or was that a suicide ambush by the OPFOR to takee out union while killing themselves in an ambush. feel free to message me if te answer is a spoiler u dontwant others t know
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I tried to explicate who was speaking whenever the transitions switched between Skyfall and Union, like stating which pony was speaking, or the like. It might be tiredness, since my prereader didn't seem to have this issue, but if others are feeling the same way, I'll try to make it more clear.
Regarding your question about the explosions, I can't answer that question. I can't do that not because it's a spoiler, but because it isn't my part of the story!
Union were the ones in the houses and the ones on the ground. Perhaps their side of the story will explain it for you and answer any questions. So you should direct your attention to the next update of Skyfall: Lightning Strike!
2348167 i didnt know you were working on 2 stories at once. yea im too tired to keep reading tonight but il check it out tommorrow.
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Lightning Strike isn't mine. It belongs to NOBLEDASH77, who wanted to write a collaborative story with me. We've been working on the plot together in secrecy. His follows Union while mine tails Skyfall, so readers can see the entire dimension of the story. Anyway, get some sleep, my friend!
2348230 yea iv exchanged messages with him in the past and look forward to reading it.
The Equestrians really need to work their coordination. It was getting a little heavy there for a while.
Silver out!
Wow, if I remember correctly, he named it after his mother. That's real touching right there.
"You pull off the wet mane look well. Like an ad for shampoo or something.”
And it was at this point when I absolutely fell in love with Dasher's character!
Silver out!
Looks like Fleethoof's got a stalker.
Silver out!
I sense a love *insert the shape required but guessing triangle* may kick off in the near future ... we will have to see
But it'll be interesting how the good Captain deals with this situation, head on? or the skyfall way?
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You remembered correctly! A winner is you!
She's a spirited one, that Midnight Dasher, that's for sure!
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Dusk Quill writing a straight forward love shape? With no twist? Blasphemy! I have plenty of time to go M. Night Shyamalan on this.
Love your stories easily top tier on this site.
Keep up the good work and cant wait to see where this is headed.