> The Conversion Bureau: Tiberium Wars > by Jack of Tales > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prolouge: The Begining of the End > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Shepherd has returned. The time has come for the Brotherhood of Nod to take it's rightful place in the world. We will transform ourselves and the planet, and usher in the Tiberium Age. One vison. One purpose. Peace through Power. - Kane "..... And in global news today, the annual GDI Energy Sumit is still under way aboard the space station Philadelpia. Our own Cassandra Blair reports on the landmark goals set for this year's sumit." The camera cuts to a young women with blonde hair standing outside the Northeastern GDI Administration Center. "Quantum Administrators returned to work here tomorrow, there hoping for a new Fiscal Agenda. According to Director Kingsberg, one of the key talking points for this years Sumit is shifting resources allocation from Defence to Ecology, where the eradication of Tiberium is now veiwed as a more pressing concern than the containment of-----" A long beep, followed by a large text that says 'Breaking News'. The camera switches back to the anchorman. "Excu...excuse the interuption, but......... we're getting breaking news on the Philadelpia." The camera cuts to footage of the space station, in which an unidentified object crashes into the station, exploding it into a million pieces. "Apparently, just moments ago, there was an accident." Camera cuts to civilians watching the skies. Burning wreckage of the station falls from the atmosphere. "It's obvious that something has gone terribly wrong." Camera cuts back to the anchorman. "We're going to do our best to confirm what we're all seeing but this time we have no idea what possibly could have caused a tragedy of this magniude. We're going to go back live to Cassandra Blair back outside the Northeastern Admin Building. Cassandra." Camera cuts back to Cassandra, where wreckage of the Philadelpia is falling into the city. "William? William?!?!? I don't know if you can hear me but its incredible. There's so much smoke you can't see more than ten meters and there's debris falling all over the----" An explosion is see in the backround and the camera falls silent. Camera cuts back to William, who has a disappointed look on his face. He shakes his head. "Unbelievable-----" The screen goes static for a second. The camera changes to a man who has a short black beard and sports a black robe. The man soon spoke "The destruction of the Philadelphia was not an accident. It was a merciful bullet to the head of a malignant idealogy. It was the death of fear and the birth of hope. Rejoice, Children of Nod. The blood of your oppressors will flow and fifty years of tyranny will finally end. The tranformation is coming. A new day will dawn. The future is ours." The camera sizzles for a second before cutting back to William once again. "-------Unbelievable. Hold on. We're getting breaking news now from our Northwestern Affiliate." Camera cuts to a city under seige. Vertigo bomders and Banshee fighters fly left and right. Flak covers the sky over the city. Camera tilts down to another women of African-American descent, explosions can be heard in the backround. "...........And they just came out of nowhere, no warning, nothing. Bombs started dropping......" An explosion messes with the camera for a second. "....and from what we can tell, there is no sign of GDI retaliation. It is a massacre------" The explosion cuts the camera off. All across the Eastern Seaboard, Nod troops attack every GDI installation in every region. This is the start of the Third Tiberium War. > Act I > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. -Albert Einstein ACT I No Man's Land Somewhere between France and Germany 2 months after the start of the war Yellow Zone Two of Goliath APC's came roaring over a small hill, running over Tiberium crystals, long rusted vehicles and other artifacts from when the area was abandoned long ago from Tiberium spread. Each of the vehicle’s mighty six-wheel axis protected the vehicle against the Tiberium crystals growing there as they ran over them like road-kill. The lead APC fired wildly at any and all NOD forces unlucky enough to be in its way as inside of the second APC GDI infantry checked on their equipment before deployment. Armed with the GD2 rifle, the rifle squad prepared for their latest battle with Nod, to defend their homes in the Blue or Yellow Zones against the violent terrorists, or die trying. "Drop-off in two minutes!" Shouted one of the drivers over the sound of bullets hitting the Goliath’s armor. The squad was surprisingly calm going into such a violent situation, save for one trooper in particular who was fidgeting in his seat, dropping a few magazines in the process. Some of the troopers took notice of this and decide to ignore him, expecting the rookie to be killed the moment he hopped out. One jetpack trooper that had hopped into the APC before it left the base, a lieutenant by the bars on his armor, still kept his gaze on him and pushed the magazines back to the private with his boot. Armed with the new assault railgun carbine and Kevlar5 body armor, Lt. Anderson was ready to tear Nod a new one and was the picture of calm and focus. He still kept his gaze on the nervous trooper, shaking his head at the others as none of them moved to give the young trooper some courage. After a minute of silence, the commando spoke. "You nervous kid?" The young trooper looked at the commando. "Yeah, a little, sir." He said, forcing a smile and trying to look less afraid Anderson smirked under his helmet. "Well then just stick with me son and you'll be fine, I’ll watch out for you if I can." "Drop-off in ten seconds!" said the driver of the Goliath before turning roughly and nearly shaking the other soldiers as he avoided a NOD RPG that had come out of a building. "Alright! Listen up," Anderson yelled. "We're going to be in the eye of the shit storm here. We are gonna break through the Nod lines and kill as many bastards as possible and send them back to Kane crying! When this is all over, the drinks are on me. HURA??" "HURA!!!" The troopers screamed just as the APC finally stopped. The ramp opened and the commando went out first followed by the infantry men. The young trooper went out last, swinging his rifle and scanning for Nod insurgents before stopping at the scene before him. The chaos was unlike anything he could imagine. A large battle was waged between the two sides with tracer rounds slicing through the air, screams and explosions slamming against the young soldier’s ears. Two Banshee fighters roared overhead, engaging an Orca fighter that was trailing smoke behind it, only to be shoot down by a GDI missile squad. Wolverines mowed down Nod infantry as they entered the battle, killing them before they had a chance to realize they were under attack. Titans were engaging in a one-on-one battle against Scorpion tanks to keep them away from the infantry. Black Hand units however were burning any unfortunate GDI infantry in their path, proving why they had such a fearsome reputation. Mammoth tanks with their railgun upgrades sliced through some Avatar mechs like butter. The Avatars that were not killed were using Tiberium upgraded particle weapons to obliterate the Titans. The soldier was left staring at the scene in awe, not even flinching as a few stray rounds passed near him and past his helmet. The only thing that awoke him from his trance was a heroic shout. "HI HO SILVER!!!!!!" Lt. Anderson jet rocketed over the battlefield, landing behind enemy lines. The trooper just looked at him like he was on drugs or something. "That guy has more brawns than brains sometimes." A disk thrower trooper said. The young trooper checked his magazine one last time before entering the battlefield with a battle cry as Anderson had already drawn most of the enemy fire away from the rest of the squad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Far from the battlefield, the Nod base sat upon a large round flat hill, surrounded by Tiberium, save for several paths for vehicles and infantry. The base was heavily guarded by patrolling Nod militants and some Shredder and Stinger turrets. The base was also guarded by one of NOD’s deadliest defenses, an Obelisk of Light, a laser defense tower used originally during the First Tiberium War. A laser fence separated the Nod base and the battle waging below. The base was bustling with activity, troopers running left and right to their assigned duties while others were checking the defenses in case of any GDI counterattacks. Past all of the support structures like a Hand of Nod and a couple of humming Tiberium generators, the Nod Operations Center sat in the middle of the base with two Black Hand soldiers guarding the entrance. Inside of the center, a single man sat before a large screen that showed him the combat display from a drone. He watched and through a keyboard in front of him moved a cursor around, telling units where to move and what moves to make, the rest was up to them. His hair was black and wavy, almost looking like it had been done by a skilled barber. His green eyes shone brightly despite the red tinted lights all around him and his black NOD officers uniform was blacker than obsidian. This was Commander Kaiden, otherwise known as the ‘Legendary Insurgent'. He was infamous in reputation for his work against GDI in hit and run assaults, as well as being able to disappear and pull his units back just as quickly as he could assault from anywhere. Commander Kaiden was seated patiently in a large leather command chair, his fingers dancing gracefully along the console as if he was orchestrating a major symphony. He smiled cruelly as he directed his troops into battle and provide whatever support they needed, which usually lead to the deaths of many GDI dogs. He was alerted about a jetpack trooper somewhere causing trouble along with a rifle squad trying to breach his lines all on their own. It didn’t worry him in the slightest. After all, he had done this a hundred times before. It's no secret that Kaiden is somewhat of a hero to Nod, like Anton Slavik had been before in the Second Tiberium Wars. Before the start of the Third Tiberium War, Kaiden had seen some action in Honduras and Jericho, successfully routing GDI forces from Central America. He was even rumored to have been in the Rio Insurrection. He was just a small time commander back then. His actions in Washington and in the Brazilian campaign had earned him the attention and praise of Kane himself. Now he is the bane of every GDI commander on the battlefield. His strategies have never once been questioned by anyone under his command and with good reason, he has never been defeated so far. Some even dared to whisper that he was to become the Prophet of Kane. "How are we holding up HADES?" Kaiden asked out loud, his voice being picked up by sensors over the noise of the technicians around him. A deep, metallic voice replied "The frontline is stable for now, but increased attacks from a GDI base to the east could turn the tide of battle". "Hmmmm..........." Kaiden was deep in thought as he watched the GDI soldiers move and assault his units in patterns that almost seemed familiar and yet atypical of their style. Normally GDI would turn tail and run from his army, but this was different. No one in GDI’s list of officer could hold out for this long and still attack his army. It was as if--- "Him." Kaiden’s hands closed into tight fists when he realized who was behind the counterattack. His arch enemy, Commander Andrew of the 5th division, also called the ‘Steel Eagle’. He was unlike any GDI commander he'd seen. He would stand his ground till the very end instead of running away. Just the very mention of his name would boost GDI morale and make them fight to the last soldier. Kaiden respected the commander and would very much like to shake his hand if he didn’t want to personal drive a bullet between his eyes. Regardless, he had a mission to do and he would succeed in fulfilling that mission for Kane as well as humiliating his enemy. Kaiden looked at the big screen in front of him. "How long until our nuclear arsenal is ready?" A Nod officer replied "Sir, our arsenal should be online in 19 minutes." "In the meantime, we must catch GDI by surprise by launching a counterattack if we are to succeed. Long range Scanners have indicate that there is a ridge next to the battlefield. I recommend diverting some of our forces to the location and taking the high ground." "Do it." He look at his screen again on the battlefield that is raging outside. He smirked "I do enjoy our little game of chess, Commander. But as they say 'I have one last trick up my sleeve'. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "ATHENA, how are we doing with our forces?" A young but confident voice called out. Commander Andrew Coulson was young and looked to be possibly nineteen or twenty years old, with blond hair and yellow eyes. He looked like a child sometimes that had tried to impress his father by dressing up in his GDI uniform. But in reality he was the youngest to graduate at West Point in 2046. His skills in directing troops in combat were cunning to say the very least. When the Philadelphia went down, Nod launched an attack on the American East Coast, nearly pushing GDI forces into the sea and stamping out any resistance. But after defending the Pentagon from one of Nods attacks, he rallied his forces and took back Washington from Nod. After this victory that inspired many more, Andrew went on a secret mission for Jack Granger, the current general of GDI forces, to North Africa. There had been unconfirmed rumors that Nod had access to WMD's and was shipping them out to Eastern Europe for another assault on Blue Zones. This was proven to be true after a successful raid in Cassabad led GDI to Nod’s chemical weapon factories. But it was just the tip of the iceberg. Nod was creating a Liquid Tiberium Bomb, a new weapon that could cause a chain reaction in any nearby Tiberium deposit and could destroy an entire region in the blast. Commander Andrew had destroyed the main shipping port in Alexandria in hopes of finding the bomb, but it was never there. Before he could pursue the cargo across the world he got a call from General Granger to defend Portugal, a Blue Zone in Europe, from an invading Nod army that had killed nearly all of their local defenders. He had wanted to argue that the bomb was still out there, but the General informed him that a Nod aircraft carrying the bomb was shot down over Slovenia. This relived him a little bit and he soon accepted the mission gladly. Andrew was always eager to give Nod another beating and send them back to their hidey holes like the worms they were. At the moment he was currently inside a command post at his base, standing over a large blue tinted holo-map and touching holographic images of his soldiers before touching the part of the map he wanted them to go to or touching holo-images of enemy units. Officers on duty around were directing GDI troops on the battlefield based on his direction. Engineers were placing defense towers like Vulcan Towers beside the walls of the compound in case an attack were to happen. A feminine voice replied to the commander. "Our forces are currently engaging with Kaiden's army. It is difficult but our forces are beginning to make progress against the insurgents." ‘Time has come for this Nod bastard to face GDI justice.’ Andrew thought and stared at the holographic image of the Nod HQ like an Eagle about to snatch up a fish. "Good, send in some more Mammoth tanks and some Titians. Oh, and order some Firehawks to do some bombing runs on those Black Hand platoons." "Affirmative, Commander. Relaying orders now." Andrew turned to one of his officer. "How long until the Ion Cannon is online?" "In 5 minutes, sir" he replied. “If I may ask, sir, what are you planning to do?" "Simple, fire the Cannon on the battlefield when I have Nod surrounded." Andrew answered. The officer stuttered in shock and surprise. “But..but sir don’t you think that is extreme for such a small Nod force? We almost have them on the run. You might hit our own troops.” “Nod always has a way to pull out, and killing this ‘Legendary insurgent’ “ Andrew said while doing air quotes. “Will put a huge bleeding hole in Nod’s command structure, and I will have it on low power so it won’t hurt our boys.” He returned to his screen, looking over the battlefield. "They won't know what hit them. It’ll be like Thor’s hammer coming down to bitch slap them." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Far from the prying eyes of GDI and Nod, to the point where the explosions and weapons fire sounded like distant thunder, eight creatures watched the battle below from atop a large hill with a long dead tree upon it. Their expressions ranged from fascination to disgust to contempt. They all resembled horses from the nature preserves or Zoos in the Blue zones, except two of them who resembled beings from ancient legends with their wings and two of the others had horns. There were even two horse-like creatures that carried both wings and a horn and had a regal appearance about them. These creatures weren't infected with Tiberium, nor were they even from Earth. A Banshee fighter swooped past them, creating a gust of wind as it flew low and fast before dropping its payload on some unfortunate GDI vehicles. A white equine with elegant curls tried to hold its hair down. She soon said something in what would be a British accent. "How rude of them. They messed up my good hair." "Rarity, now's not the time to worry about looks." A winged horse with a cyan coat and rainbow hair said in an annoyed tone while shaking her head at her friend who was winning about dirt. The white horse glared at her. "For somepony like you it's no big deal, but if we're doing this right, I simply must look my best.” The cyan horse mumble something under its breath in response. A regular horse with a pink coat and pink puffy hair came up behind the cyan horse. "Cheer up Dashie, after this is over we can throw a 'Welcome to Equestria' party." Her voice was a happy one that seemed so out of place with the bloody scene below them A purple horse with a horn turned its head to the regal horses. "Are you sure we can convince them, princess?" The white horse with wings and a horn said in a motherly tone. "Of course we can, Twilight." She soon gazed upon the battlefield. "We will make them an offer they can't refuse." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "WARNING! Unknown energy detected." ATHENA cried out and alarms flashed all around the command center. Andrew spat out his coffee all over the Holo-map and had to wipe it with his sleeve. "Is it an Ion Storm?" "Negative. Energy signatures do not match any Ion Storm in this area, nor do they match any known GDI or Nod weapon." "Where is it originating from?" "Scanning.................It is originating from the center of the battlefield, Commander". "Patch it on screen." The screen changed to one of the helmet cameras on the battlefield and what he saw shocked him to say the least. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “WARNING!! Unknown energy signature detected. “ Kaiden slammed his fist down onto his console "Where?" "In the middle of the battlefield." "Put it on screen" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A bright light shone upon in the middle of the battlefield, the flash was blinding to everyone in the vicinity. Like a UFO, it descended slowly to the ground. Some troopers on both sides backed up a little while some prepared their guns for what was to come. The light finally touched the ground without a sound and slowly began to dim. Everyone was scared shitless, except for the Cyborgs, since they had their emotions carved out of them, cementing their undying loyalty to their messiah. The light finally faded completely after several seconds, revealing the ponies inside. "Awwww. Look, I think their puppies." A militant said an began patting his leg, calling to the ponies like they were canines, right before a Cyborg Reaper smacked the militant in the head for his stupidity. "Ow!!!" Just then, one of the creatures, a navy blue horse with a wavy midnight hair, shouted. "ATTENTION HUMANS!!! WE HAVE GRACED THEE WITH OUR PRESENCE AND WISH FOR A PARLEY WITH ALL. WE HAVE REALIZED THINE PLIGHT AND WISH TO HELP YOU." Everyone cringed at the shouting, even the strange aliens. Some visors of soldiers closest to the ponies cracked from the sheer volume. "AAAHHH!!!! For the love of God, stop" A random GDI trooper said, his ears were actually ringing just as hard as if a grenade had exploded nearby. Apparently, the creature didn't stop. "WHY!? THIS IS OUR ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE. WE USE THIS WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS! IT IS A SIGN OF RESPECT AND HONOR TO BE ADDRE-“ Before anymore damage could be done, a mutant with a white coat and wavy hair that seemed to have mastered perpetual motion tapped the other mutant on the shoulder. "Luna, what did I tell you about using the voice?" She says in a motherly tone. The blue mutant blushed under her coat. "Sorry, we are not used to using our voice. It has been a while." She said before twitching her head for a second as if a bee had buzzed by and her head ached for a moment. A devout Brotherhood Militant stepped out of the line of other Nod soldiers and said "Who's in charge here? In the name of Kane, the one true messiah, reveal yourselves." The white mutant soon spoke "I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna and these," she pointed a hoof at the six equines " are the Elements of Harmony. We are called ponies that come from a place called Equestria, which is now residing in what you call the 'Pacific Ocean'." A few mummers erupted from both sides. "Do not worry, we come in peace. In fact, we come to make you an offer that I think you’re going to like." Before she could say anything further, A Black Hand member also stepped out of the line. "At long last, beings from another planet have come here to spread the glory of Tiberium, just like Kane promised all those who believe in the glory of Tiberium." He turned to GDI. "In your face, GDI swine." He said with a smile and held up his middle finger at the GDI forces while several of the more devout Brotherhood member got on one knee in prayer. "Hey, we haven't even started this damn war yet." Another GDI trooper said. Both sides were now shouting at each other, saying blasphemes things like 'Imperial Dogs' or 'heartless terrorist' while one guy said 'I like trains.' for no other reason than because he could. Luna had apparently had enough of the arguments and soon shouted. "SILENCE!" Everyone cringed at the volume of the voice and had apparently stopped talking. Princess Celestia soon spoke. "We are not here to spread this 'Tiberium', but to spread peace." A Militant soon shouted vehemently "PEACE THROUGH POWER!" "No, not that kind of peace. I'm talking about peace through conversion." Everyone was soon confused about what she meant by that. One Confessor opened his Kane approved holy text and began searching for wherever it said anything about Conversion. “Nope...I don’t see anything about conversion. I don’t think the Codex of Kane approves.” He said, closing his text and shaking his head side to side. Celestia sighed. "You humans have raged war on each other for centuries. You have destroyed civilizations, burnt down forests, and killed millions without the slightest emotion. I breaks my heart to see you this way. But there is an answer to this madness." She levitated a purple type liquid out of a saddle bag on Twilight’s flank. "When you drink this serum, you can become a pony and come live in Equestria in peace and harmony." "Now wait just a dog gone minute." LT. Anderson rocketed out of Nod's line, blood covered his armor and helmet. "You mean to tell me that you come all this way, appeared on the battlefield with your fancy little light show, then tell us to drink some potion so we can become some pony and live in Equineland?" Celestia nodded. "Yes, that is it and it's called Equestria." A pink pony came out of nowhere and hopped to the commando. "And when you do convert into a pony, we can throw a 'Welcome to Equestria' party." She said, bouncing in front of him like she was on a pogo stick. Everyone was silent after this. Neither man or machine made a sound.. This went on for 5 minutes. The equine’s faces were filled with hope that they would accept the offer without question. ....... ........ ........ Then they all laughed. It began at first as a chuckle among a few of them and soon broke out into full on laughter among everyone, even the vehicle drivers. Everyone, from Nod Militants to Zone Troopers, to Titans and Avatars. The Cyborgs were at least attempting to laugh to enjoy the moment despite not feeling anything. That's right, everyone laughed on the battlefield, except for the equines, who had a confused look on them. Though the pink one looked ready to join in the laughter as well. "Hey, what's so funny??!!?" A blue pony with rainbow hair and wings said in an angry tone. "Why would we want to become equines?" A Brotherhood trooper said. "Yeah he got a point, I like my humanity." A GDI solider said. "Same here." Another trooper said. “I wanna be a Griffon or something cool like that.” Said a Militant standing beside a GDI medic he had been ready to kill minutes before. "But-but--" The purple pony was interrupted. "Now listen here," Lt. Anderson said, daring to point a finger at the ponies. "Just 'cause you promise peace and harmony, doesn't mean that we can turn into a dog-horse for that. I mean, who wants peace anyway? That's like say you don't want an ice cream sundae with hot warm chocolate and some crush Oreo cookies." At this point, the pink pony was drooling. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm keeping my humanity. We can find some other way of making peace like our forefathers did, with lots of backstabbing and sex. Just like that Game of Thrones thing on the retro channel. So you can take your potion and shove it up your ass." The ponies winced at the profound language while a GDI trooper sniffed "That was beautiful, sir." "God damn I'm good." the Commando said. Celestia, after recovering from her shock frowned and said "How adorable, you think you actually have a choice in this. I was hoping that we could resolve this peacefully, but now you force my hooves. I am going to say this once: surrender now or be destroyed and converted by force." A brotherhood Militant laughed. "Oh yeah, you and what army?" At that moment, a blue glowing circle appeared in the middle of the battlefield then there was a bright flash and a blastwave that knocked many of the humans down with a gust of stormy winds. Ponies clad in golden armor rushed out of the portal, with weapons like swords and spears and even crossbows. Some even had horns or wings like the first ponies the humans had seen. They marched in two single file lines in perfect unison, their armor clanking along with their equipment, making it sound as if there were thousands of them coming through the portal. Princess Celestia soon said with a cruel smile. "That army." Everyone was silent, until a Brotherhood solider said "Hey guys? I think we should maybe start sho---AUUGHHH" The trooper was hit with the serum from above and began screaming loud enough that his throat almost faced injuries, crying out about how he was burning and it hurt, until suddenly he shrank down and in a moment transformed into a yellow unicorn with a red mane and tail and a star tattoo on his flank. The pony opened his eyes and said "Praise the Sun." "Traitor!" A militant shouted, firing his rifle at the unicorn and it dropped dead. Soon every GDI and Nod soldier and their vehicles fired at the ponies. This proved more successful than the soldiers had thought initially for killing the Earth and Pegasus ponies, but it was the unicorns that where giving them the most trouble. They were forming forcefields and firing lasers from their horns that sliced the Human weapons in half or left soldiers with holes in their bodies. They killed off several soldiers and a couple of vehicles. A Wolverine fired its twin gatling guns at the ponies as it strafed side to side, trying to take the attention off of the retreating Nod and GDI infantry who were falling back to better defensive positions. The ponies struck by the wolverine’s fire nearly exploded as a rain of high velocity rounds punched through their armor and bodies, ripping them apart and turning a few unlucky ponies into clouds of red mist. But the brave Wolverine was soon destroyed by a barrage of laser fire from a unicorn squad, which struck in the gut of the machine and it exploded in a miniature mushroom cloud. A Black Hand infantryman roasted a line of ponies with its flamethrower, spouting about his loyalty to Kane as he stomped one pony to death before smashing another’s face with the butt of his flamethrower when he saw it charge him from behind, but the Black Hand was gutted by an earth pony with a sword as it was teleported behind him by a unicorn. “I..die for..the Brotherhood!” Was the last thing the Black Hand said before the Earth pony swung his blade a second time and removed the man’s head from his shoulders. Both sides started to retreat from the battlefield after taking too many loses. Pegasi dropped serum on the retreating soldiers and transformed them into ponies. One militant got a lucky shot at one of the Pegasus ponies before submitting to the transformation. At the same time there were just too many ponies coming through the portal, some soldiers were simply swarmed by the mass of ponies charging at them in a suicidal assault. They had no time to reload and were forced to pull out their side arms, firing their pistols as they ran back to another defensive line while the air units provided cover. Three Firehawks screamed over head as they dropped their payload on top of the invading ponies, giving both the GDI and Nod troopers time to fall back, though it was difficult to tell who was going where as some of the soldiers were mixed in with each other. A GDI medic held a Nod militant on his shoulder in a fireman’s carry as the Nod trooper fired his pistol at any ponies. On the other side of the battlefield a Nod scout on an attack bike ran over a unicorn as he was about to potion an injured GDI engineer. The scout then grabbed the engineers hand and, seeing it was female said to her. “Come with me if you want to live.” Before he swung the engineer onto his bike and put it at his top speed back towards the base and joining a convoy of other retreating Nod vehicles and troopers. Both factions regrouped at their respective bases, with a few of their rival’s hitching a ride to safety. Flak and missiles filled the air above both bases hitting the Pegasi before more damage could be done and buying the Humans precious time. Counterattacking was no longer an option, the enemy attack was too strong and their numbers were increasing faster than they could be killed. Evacuation was on both the commander’s minds. Kaiden retreated on the Montauk, being recalled to Temple Prime for the time being, while Commander Andrew retreated to his Kodiak, hoping to warn GDI command about what was going on, if they didn’t know already. Princess Celestia looked over the battlefield, dead or converted humans littered it and a few were even holding their arms up in surrender. A malicious smile adorned her face as she watched the prisoners be converted. She soon looked over to the horizon and saw two large Human vehicles fleeing in opposite directions. She knew it must have been the faction’s military generals trying to escape and warn their superiors of what was to come. "There is no escaping from what is to come. Soon all you humans will know the true meaning of peace and harmony and it will prevail over all of you. Peace…through...Conversion!" She said and smiled at her ponies who chanted their new battle cry after their first victory over the Humans. > GDI-Evacuation of Santa Cruz 1/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skies over The Atlantic Ocean. Andrew was sitting in the command chair of the Kodiak, his face in his hands as he waited for the ship’s computers to connect with high command so he could receive updates on what to do next. It had been nearly 3 hours since the attack on the outskirts of France by an alien race of creatures who called themselves ‘ponies’. He had been fortunate enough to evacuate his base during the attack and escape with his life, and humanity. Lots of Pegasus ponies had swarmed in like locusts above the sky and bombarded the place with the strange liquid that turned humans into ponies within a minute. He barely got out of there alive. Some GDI and Nod soldiers volunteered to hold back the ponies for as long as possible. He wanted to help them, he really did, but it was necessary to relay what was happening to GDI Command. Ironically the last he had seen of the base was a Nod extremist, strapped with Tiberium explosives shouting out ‘I will be remembered!’ before killing himself and several ponies around him, with ponies left screaming as shrapnel tore them apart or left them crippled. He was currently onboard the Orca Command Vehicle, a large VTOL craft capable of entering low Earth orbit. It possesses facilities to transport and support troops, including armories and medical bays. It also has a large cargo bay located in the rear section of the ship, with an access ramp located between the aft engines that was modified to be able to hold his Kodiak. The Kodiak was once used by famous GDI Commander Michael McNeil during the Second Tiberium War as a mobile command post and a way to transport his team around the world as needed. During the Firestorm Crisis, the Kodiak was assigned to transport an alien device, known as the Tacitus, from the Nod pyramid in Cairo to the Philadelphia in support of Project Daedalus. The Kodiak crashed in Northern Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea. Its starboard engines were destroyed by a lighting strike. Firestorm Taskforce found no survivors but recovered the Tacitus intact from the aft section. For some unknown reason, Michael McNeil was not recovered from the crash, no trace of him had been found at all, as if he faded into thin air. The ship was recovered years later after the Firestorm Crisis. It was put back together by a handful of engineers then put on display in honor of McNeil. The Kodiak was supposed to be displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington for all time, but Commander Andrew 'borrowed' it during the attack on Washington. Since then, he used it to get around places and to support his troops from above. No one had told Andrew to stop using the Kodiak so he assumed everything was alright or General Granger had cleared it for him. "Connection established, Commander." ATHENA said in its monotone voice as the GDI symbol on the screen before of him flashed several times. "Good. Patch it through." Andrew said relieved as something finally went right. The screen changed to the GDI Command Center in Washington, the familiar blue lighting of the facility putting Andrew’s nerves at ease. Jack Granger’s stone serious face appeared on the screen. "General, my men just got attacked by some strange creatures and their all either dead or changed. I barely made it out of France with half my boys gone and-." Andrew didn’t get the chance to tell the General that he had a few Nod troopers with him as General Granger interrupted him. "I know, Commander." Jack said as he stood by a view screen and it showed a map or Earth, with a new continent. "Just eight hours ago, a new continent appeared in the Pacific Ocean. We sent some forces to investigate this phenomenon for the possibility of some Nod trick, but lost all transmission upon landing. Two hours later this damn pink shield surrounded the continent. It soon started growing. It’s at a slow rate but it's completely decimating Blue and Yellow Zones in the Pacific. We tried everything short of the Ion Cannon to slow it down but it's still growing." "What about the Ion Cannon?" Andrew said. The General shook his head. "We tried to use the cannon, but there was a malfunction in the Ion Control Center in Norway and the cannon is offline for several hours. We suspect Nod sabotage but it’s still unconfirmed. I'll make sure to use it when it's back online. It may just be our last hope of stopping that barrier." His face looked fearful for a moment before he shifted into one of pure determination. "Commander, this is a threat beyond our capabilities and for the moment we are fully on the defensive. We can't strike back against them because of the shield and they are attacking Blue Zones and Yellow Zones everywhere, whether their GDI or Nod. But right now we need to evacuate as many civilians as possible before they get pushed into the Red zones trying to escape the barriers. I'm sending you to Santa Cruz to help in the evacuation of the populace. In-Ops has more on the matter and will send it to you. Good Luck, Commander." With one short salute, the feed was cut. Andrew turned to one of his officers. "Get me a connection to In-Ops." The officer saluted and ran off. Andrew slumped down his chair as he thought. The continent of Equestria was on Earth and the ponies that lived there wanted to completely decimate Humanity, no matter what faction they were of, and convert them into ponies. It didn’t matter how many ponies they killed more would take their place. It was like trying to fight Nod. Suddenly Andrew got an idea. The only way they had ever been able to truly beat Nod had been to kill, or at least supposedly kill, Kane. ‘Maybe if we take out their royal family, we can make the ponies end the war.’ Andrew thought and filed the thought away for another time. "Sir, connection to In-Ops established." He was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of his subordinate next to him. His left hand danced at the left armrest for a second, typing in a small keypad. The screen in front of him changed to the Combat Intelligent Center, where Kirce James was sitting at a desk. "What do you got for me?" He asked, straightening his clothes quickly to look more presentable for the lovely lady that was before him. A small smile adored her beautiful face. "Commander, I wasn't expecting to hear from you soon." "Surprised?" "Hardly." Her smile soon changed to a frown. "I heard what happen at No Man's Land from the reports. I'm sorry for your loss. I know it’s never easy to lose so many good soldiers." "They did all they could, you can't blame them for their deaths." He sighed and shook his head. "They sacrificed their lives just to get me out. I just wish I was there was more I could do." His face was now more determined. "I won't let their deaths be in vain. I will win this war." "Right." She finally said. "Anyway. Your next mission is simple enough: evacuate the population from Santa Cruz before the Barrier hits. Recon reports show that a large fleet of old Colonial style ships are approaching Santa Cruz harbor, so expect a firefight later on. Several Orcas were able to destroy three ships before the Aircraft Carrier went out of range to avoid the barrier so the enemy threat has been decreased slightly. Other than that, get as many people out as possible." "Thanks Kirce. Andrew out." The screen change to a light blue with a line across it. "ATHENA, direct a course to Santa Cruz. "Affirmative, Commander. Rerouting a course to Santa Cruz. ETA in two hours." “Alright, see if we can’t get some uniforms for the Nod troopers among us and make sure that they know we will return them to Nod turf whenever we can, they have my word on that.” Andrew relaxed a bit on his chair, closing his eyes and letting darkness overtake him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Santa Cruz California, North America Blue Zone B-2 Not all of North America had been consumed by Tiberium when it first arrived and spread back in 1995. Beside the Eastern Seaboard, the North Western Seaboard was also a large Blue Zone and the only zone that connects to other Blue Zones in the Pacific. It was once a state called California in the North American union called the ‘United States’, otherwise known as the 'Golden State', due to the California Gold Rush of 1847. When Tiberium was first discovered in 1995, its rapid growth threated much of the world. Before GDI found a way to suppress the growth of Tiberium, much of America was covered in Tiberium, with much of the Midwest suffering greatly from Tiberium poisoning. California was the last refuge for the people of America, seeing as most of the other states became either Red or Yellow Zones. This forced many homes to be redesigned and for even artificial islands to be made with the first one being called “Olympus.” It was able to float above water despite its size and weight, thanks to powerful Tiberium powered engines. On the mainland tall, futuristic buildings dominate the city skyline of Santa Cruz. Homes were also futuristic as well, ranging from strange to exotic. But now many of these homes were empty and abandoned. The tall office buildings that once had people working were now devoid of life. The streets that had the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the city had become as silent as a cemetery. At the outskirts of the city, a small outpost was set up, with GDI infantry guiding the remaining civilians to their vehicles. Luckily most of the civilians had been evacuated when the artificial islands just off the coast were warned by GDI high command of what was coming and this advanced warning had allowed the islands to evacuate many people before moving away, leaving the GDI soldiers to take the rest. Onyx and Condor Transports loading up civilians and supplies. A mother was holding a crying baby, trying to calm the child down. She was next in line for the evacuation. Before she got on, a great gust of wind greeted her from behind, blowing her hair in all directions. She looked up to the skies and saw an Orca Command Vehicle making its way to the city with some of the GDI soldiers moving out to go reinforce the front. The Kodiak touched down at a cleared landing zone in a GDI encampment. The camp was bustling with activity as GDI infantry and vehicles preformed tasks. The ramp was lowered as the Kodiak landed and Andrew soon strolled out. The other troopers who evacuated with him walked out as well, along with several Nod soldiers clad in GDI armor and weapons, feeling very nervous surrounded by so many GDI soldiers. An MCV rolled out of the ramp. A GDI trooper ran to Andrew, the two V-shaped stripes on his shoulders indicated that he was a Sargent. He stopped and saluted, panting as if he had been running around all day. "Sir, Sgt. Zale reporting for duty." Andrew returned the salute. "At ease." The commander looked around the camp. "What do we got?" "You need to talk to the Lieutenant about that," Zale began. "I'm just here to take you to him. Follow me." Andrew followed Zale through the encampment, past the many tents that we're there. Not five minutes later, they reached another tent with two guards posted outside. He opened the flap and went inside. A big holographic map of Santa Cruz was displayed from a small table, showing positions of units, how many there were, and the time for the invaders to arrive. Standing next to the table is a red-haired man with blue eyes and grizzled features that looked carved of the finest GDI steel. The Lieutenant saluted him. "Helluva time to show up, Commander. Lieutenant Barron of the Santa Cruz Reserves." "Commander Andrew, 5th Division" Andrew said. Barron smiled. "No shit. The 'Steel Eagle'? Things must be pretty bad if they sent you here just to help me out instead of hunting Nod." He chuckled. "You could say that." His face soon became serious. "So what's the situation?" "We had a reconnaissance flight early and spotted an invasion fleet heading for Santa Cruz." Barron began. "From what they told me, they're old colonial ships made entirely out of wood. They appear to be heading to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk." Andrew raised an eyebrow. "The Boardwalk? Why not the harbor?" "We fortified the harbor with three costal guns and some artillery, but some flying ponies spotted our defenses and escaped. So now we think they're going to attack the Boardwalk." Barron finished. "How many ships?" "27 in total. It had been 30 but the navy took out some before retreating to avoid being surrounded." "When do they get here?" Barron looked the timer on the top left hand side of the holograph. "15 minutes, give or take." The Commander rubbed his chin with his hand in deep thought. "Alright, I want you to aid in the evacuation as much as you can. I'll make sure these 'Equestrian' don't bother you." Barron saluted. "Will do, Commander." Andrew looked at the holographic map while Barron walked out of the tent. "And Commander?" Andrew looked behind him, Barron barely visible through the flap. "Make sure you let them regret ever attacking GDI." Andrew nodded. "I will, Lieutenant." Barron soon left the tent. "I will." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was and still is (For however long it takes the barrier to destroy it) an oceanfront amusement park in the city. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few remaining seaside parks on the West Coast of the once glorious United States. People came and went out of the park, having good memories with them with family or friends. It was a spot where many couples met and where love was in the air just as much as enjoyment. Its fun rides, dazzling arcade machines and roller coasters lay abandon for what is to come. Historical landmarks of The Big Dipper and The 1911 Looff Carousel were silence, it's thrills or music never to play again. It was now a battlefield, a first battle between species, a 'survival of the fittest' to the fullest extend. History will be made at the Boardwalk. And whether victory or defeat comes, things will never be the same again. An MCV rolled into the parking lot of the boardwalk, destroying several cars in the process, before parking right outside the Neptune's Kingdom, the MCV unpacked into a Construction Yard. Several troopers from Andrew's command ran into the park, taking positions in various rides to use as cover. The Zone Troopers and riflemen took cover inside of the O'Neil Surf Shop, infantry occupied the Merry-Go-Round, with some of the Nod troopers who had never been in a Blue Zone before admiring the Merry-Go-Round as it was something straight out of the childhood that had been stolen from them by the years of strife following the arrival of Tiberium. Two snipers quickly took positions on top of the Big Dipper, and missile squads occupied the roof of Neptune's Kingdom, ready to shoot down any pesky Pegasi. Sgt. Connor and his men took position on the roof of the Haunted Castle. He shouted to his men. "Alright, we need to hold this Boardwalk to prevent the ponies from breaking through. That means we need to shoot the bastards until they're all dead. Just pretend your breaking your little sister’s pony toys." Connor checked his rifle, as did his fellow men, he frowned and shook his head as he saw a few of the lesser trained Nod troopers looking down the barrels of their own guns. He slipped the magazine under the rifle and racked a round into the chamber. "COMING THROUGH!!!" A voice shouted from above him. He turned around and jumped away before he felt something land down where he had been moments before. Acting on instinct, he pulled out his rifle, expecting it to be an enemy, only to pull his rifle back in anger. The force in question that had knocked the wind out of him was a commando wearing heavy armor with a minigun-type rifle It landed on the roof next to him. "HOWEE!!! Crash and burn, just like my second marriage." "Well fuck me running, I knew you would show up, Anderson." Connor said to the Commando, shaking his head and standing back up. Lt. Anderson was somewhat of a wildcard hero to GDI. Some say that he was the 'Rambo' of GDI, only with a noticeable bloodlust for combat. His actions in fracturing Nod's supply routes in Hampton Roads and participating in the recapture of Washington D.C. earned him the Medal of Honor and GDI Falcon of Valor medal. Connor looked up and down at his new armor. "Now that is some fancy armor. Where did you get it?" "Some eggheads from R&R made this stuff for me." Anderson answered while flexing a muscle. He tapped the chest plate of his armor. "They said it was supposed to stop some of those laser towers Nod used so it should resist the blasts these Unicorns use, at least slightly." Connor sighed and looked towards the sunset. "Some crappy war this turned out to be. First we're fighting Nod again and now some adorable ponies from outer space attack us and try to turn us into more adorable ponies." He had been there when the attack began, leading a strike team away from the frontlines to strike the Nod base. The Pegasus ponies ambushed them, dropping serum on the men. He acted quickly and dropped four of them before retreating back to the base during the main retreat. He was the only survivor of the attack when the ponies swarmed the base. "I think I'm about to lose it. None of this feels real." "Son, don't give up hope just yet." Anderson said, patting Connor on the back. "We've been through a lot of shit together these past months. Remember when we stopped Nod from launching another nuclear warhead in Cairo? We would have lost a lot of people if we hadn't intervened. We lost great men trying to assault the base, but in the end, we did it. That’s just the way war is." He patted him on the shoulder. "What happened wasn't your fault. These ponies just appeared out of nowhere and attack us. You didn't know they would ambush you." If anyone would have seen his face, his face would have looked more determined. "But we can’t dwell on the past now buddy. We got to defend this boardwalk so people can escape. It's time we give them a taste of good old GDI courage." Connor looked at him. "Thanks, man." He turned to his men. "You heard him, let’s give them a taste of GDI courage. Let’s send them all crying back to their Queen crying ‘Mommy mommy! Protect me from the big bad GDI soldiers! Change my diaper mommy cause the big bad humans scared the shit out of me!’" The men cheered for Connor, one of the Nod soldiers firing his rifle in the air and jumping around wildly. Connor looked at the base that was being constructed outside the boardwalk and watched the Engineers running around to get the city systems working for them and Cameras to provide the commander with a better view. The Barracks and War Factory were already online and humming as they tapped into the city’s Tiberium power system. A Command Post was set up as well. Several Surveyors went into the boardwalk and set up in various positions along the boardwalk. Even if they lost the battle, they would make the ponies pay dearly for every inch of land they took. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Minutes Later "Dear God Almighty....." A sniper whispered on the top of the Big Dipper, he kept his eye through the scope and seeing the swarm of ships coming in surrounded by smaller ships the ponies were using as landing craft. The small wooden rafts were being pushed along by a unicorn’s magic. On the horizon, a fleet of wooden ships can be seen through the sniper scope. They carried a flag with an emblem of the sun on the sails. He could also see some Pegasi flying around. The sniper turned on his radio. ""Eagles Nest to command, I'm seeing some ships coming at the boardwalk. There must be a hundred of them." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Affirmative, Eagles Nest. Stay in position and assist as much as possible." Commander Andrew responded. He was currently inside the Command Post at the base infront of a holo map. He brought up a visual holograph of the Boardwalk, showing his base and the enemy fleet. There weren't thirty ships like Barron had said when they first meet, but a hundred or more. “But how?...must be that teleportation thing.” Andrew thougth and inspected the ship images. Tiny red dots hover over the ship, indicating Pegasus ponies flying to and fro. Blue dots in the boardwalk indicate his forces as they set up defenses. "ATHENA, how are our defenses?" "Our defenses in the Boardwalk are online. Lieutenant Barron has turned over costal defenses to you." "Excellent." Andrew responded. He pressed a button on the left hand side. "Attention all units. This is Commander Andrew. The enemy is almost upon us. Our mission is to hold out until the evacuation is complete. Let’s show these aliens what GDI is made of." The sound of cheering was heard over the radio. Andrew looked over the holographic map. The ships almost reached the shore as some of the defense guns opened up farther up and distance away from the boardwalk, blowing three ships in half, sending the pegasi into the sky while the Unicorns teleported to safety, a few lucky Earth Ponies hopped into rafts and began paddling towards the humans, screaming for their blood. In response the ships moved away to be safe from the guns but kept launching wave after wave of ponies towards them. "God help us all now." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All was quiet on the front, the sounds of the coastal guns was like a thunder storm off in the distance and the GDI soldiers on the boardwalk all kept quiet as they waited for the invaders to make landfall. Vulcan and RPG towers dotted the boardwalk, behind the concrete wall that was set up. Seven Titians and Three Wolverines stood guard at the front. Mammoth Tanks dug into the beachhead, along with several infantry units to keep them from being swarmed. Three Juggernauts stood at the side lines, ready to rain down hell on the ponies. The ships almost reached the shore. Every infantry check there ammo while others pray that they would survive. Men inside the Wolverines checked their twin gatling guns while Juggernauts loaded explosive shells. The first wave of ships soon landed on shore, while the others stayed behind. The first ship soon reached the shore, surprisingly with a white flag drawn, and eight golden armored ponies stepped out, with one silver armored pony taking the lead. Every gun was trained on him and several laser dots appeared on his chest. One pony was different from the others, his coat was light red with a green mane while his horn was a mixture of red and black. The pony cleared his throat. "Attention humans, your pitiful resistance can get you nowhere, it is a waste of time and pointless bloodshed. Surrender now and see Celestia's light and live happily, or perish like the barbarians you are. What say you!?" He called out, right before a sniper shot rang out and the pony dropped dead, a bullet between his eyes and his brains popping out the back and covering one of his subordinates in splatter. Connor looked up to where the shot was fired and saw the sniper inserting a new bullet. "Good shot, son." He said over the radio. The ponies were left shocked to see their commanding officer dead like it was nothing, killed by some invisible force. One pony recovered from the shock and drew his sword. "CHARGE!!!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The ponies charge forward and the other rafts came forward. The dogs of war had been let loose and hell broke loose next. The three Juggernauts fired their rounds at the ponies, killing several in the process. Some weren’t so lucky and were left holding their bodies, crying out as they tried to keep their blood from leaking out. Despite the kills the Juggernauts were getting the swarm of ponies was getting closer and closer to the line, like a tidal wave they trampled over their own dead. Once the ponies were close, infantry opened fired. Mammoth Tanks fired their twin cannons and missiles at the ponies. A Disk Thrower threw a fragmentation disk at a pony, exploding it into a red mist and leaving several others around it confused from the blastwave or holding their ears. Vulcan Towers mowed down any unfortunate pony in it's sights. Some of the Unicorns threw up shields to protect themselves and their comrades, but Zone Troopers with railguns cut through the shield like butter, killing it's caster. After about 10 minutes, the second wave of ponies charged. The ponies let the Unicorn’s go first , creating one large and strong shield to protect the charge as they ran forth, but the shield was cracking and rounds were slipping through for the amount of fire being poured on it. Sgt. Connor killed another Pegasus, his magazine ran dry and he took cover to reload . He loaded in a new mag just before another Pegasus, with a sword in it's teeth, dived in for the kill. He aimed his rifle at the Pegasus and pulled the trigger. Several bullets whizzed past it but one got it in the wing. It went down to the ground screaming before impacting with a 'plop'. He turned around and saw his men and Anderson finishing off the rest of the Pegasi. He looked at the beach and saw the third wave of ponies charging the beachhead. Anderson tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, check this out." He aimed his minigun at one of the ships coming in. A beam came out of the muzzle of the gun. After five seconds of waiting, a blue light came out of the sky and covered the ship, along with a couple of others. When it ended, there was nothing left but two ships with holes from the right bow and the left bow while the third one disappeared completely. Connor was beyond surprised, he was impressed. "How did you do that?" The Commando smirked under his helmet. "This little beauty has a Target Painter that unleashes an Orbital Bombardment on anything from satellites if they are in orbit. God, I love this gun." Connor watched as the second wave was fully repelled and a third wave began it's charge. "Those ponies must be either stupid or suicidal." "They're probably religious nutjobs like Nod.” “Hey! Not cool!” A Nod soldier shouted out and kept firing back at the ponies. “Either way, they aren't giving up anytime soon." Anderson said. Connor watched as the third wave was being repelled and another wave charged at the beachhead. 'At least this is better than going against Nod' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DO IT?!?!!??!" Blueblood yelled at a Unicorn who was part of the first wave. He wore a crown atop his head that glowed bright green and added a lime green tint to his eyes. He turned to the unicorn he was enraged at and waited for his excuses. The unicorn in question had a light green coat and a blue mane. His armor was bent and melted to the point it was fused to his skin in some places but he couldn’t feel it anymore, the nerves in those parts no longer worked. His left hoof was missing, leaving him with a bloody bandaged stump. His horn was broken as well. His cutie mark was so scorched that it wasn't visible anymore. He shook his head. "We tried sir, but the humans have the beachhead fortified with those metal beasts they have and some kind of strange magic." Blueblood punched him in the nose, getting his own foreleg coated in blood but unlike his old self he didn’t allow it to bother him. Getting dirty was part of the job. "You are an incompetent stallion, you just had one simple job to lead the troops forward and eliminate the inferior trash that halts our advance. Guards! I want this lot thrown overboard for his cowardice, at once." Two armored ponies grabbed the unicorn despite his protests and pleas for mercy. He was dragged to the left bow of the ship and thrown overboard, with cannonballs tied to his hooves. He yelled for his comrades to rescue him, but they stayed put with their heads down, only hearing a splash and a gurgle. Blueblood cleared his throat. "We have come here to show these barbarian that ponies are superior in every way to them, yet all of you are complaining that they're stronger. They may have technology on their side, but it hasn't stopped us once and I'll be damned if they win this fight." "Lieutenant!" Blueblood shouted and a pegasus pony ran up and saluted him. "I want waves five, six and seven to charge their fronts. Is that clear?" "Yes sir." The Lieutenant answered and flew off. "Captain!!" An earth pony ran up and saluted him. "Fire the cannons on the Boardwalk and the beachheads. I want them obliterated under a constant bombardment." The pony was wide eyed. "But sir, our stallions are down there. We can't kill them." Blueblood glared at the pony. "If you don't do as I say, I'll feed you to the sharks personally. Am I clear?" He said in a frighteningly calm tone the showed how sincere he was. "Y-Y-Yes sir." The pony ran off. Blueblood looked at the boardwalk. "Your time will come, humans. Just wait, soon I will be dancing on your corpses.” He said with a sly grin before holding his head with a headache again. “Soon, soon we will all be perfect.” He told himself over and over again as the battle raged on outside his command room. > GDI-Evacuation of Santa Cruz 2/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Incoming transmission" ATHENA said above all the noise of battle. Andrew looked away from the holographic map and turned to the screen in front of him, which buzzed for a minute displaying a call. He could hear someone's disoriented voice but the interference was so thick it made it difficult. "He..*buzz*..o. Can....*buzz*..hea...*buzz*....me?" "This is Commander Andrew, respond!" He shouted. The screen buzzed for a second, showing static until it returned to normal, a miniature vid-screen which showed Barron taking cover behind a large newsstand. The background was filled with flashes of light and explosions. Infantry men were engaging what looked like ponies in the background and dropping them one by one, but the ponies were obviously outmaneuvering the Humans. 'How could they have gotten past us?' Andrew though. Surely he had fortified the beaches and the harbor. ‘Unless the Pegasus ponies carried their comrades behind their lines, then we are in serious trouble.’ "Barron, what's going on?" "Commander?! Oh thank god I finally reached you." He desperately answered. Another explosion messes with the screen for a second before returning to normal. "We're under attack. They came out of nowhere and attacked us. We're holed up in a building with the last of the evacuees and need help immediately. I don't think we can....*buzz*" The feed was cut before he could finish and static replaced it. Andrew turned to one of the GDI officers in the command center. "Assemble a small strike force and tell them to take the pressure off of Barron and to keep the evacuees safe at all cost." "Yes sir." The officer saluted before running back to his station. Andrew looked back at the holographic map, which was covered in red dots on both the beach and the site of the ambush being fought my small blue squares. "No one converts the innocent on my watch." Commander Alex rallied a small force to deal with the ponies attacking Barron. One company of regular infantry and one company of Zone Troopers. The Zone Troopers were equipped with advanced, self-sufficient power suits made from the same material used in the Mammoth Tanks armor. Its advanced life support systems allowed the wearer to survive in heavily Tiberium contaminated areas like the Red Zones. They were also equipped with a portable railguns based off of the same design employed on the Mammoth Tanks and the new Predator Tank MKII. During the battle at the beach, they learned that the railguns could smash through a shield produced by a unicorn and even vaporize the unicorn sometimes. With that being said, they now knew that the aliens weren't invincible as they had first thought. Zone Operations Command, or ZOCOM for short, is a high tech, specialized task force created by C. Elena Renteria, one of the GDI's first female generals. The primary use of ZOCOM is to deploy to Red Zones, for aggressive reclamation operations against Tiberium and hostile mutant or Nod controlled areas. Equipped with sonic weaponry and extreme training, they were the most lethal fighting force in the GDI arsenal. Derek Green was a Zone Trooper, he always felt it was something he could be proud of. He once lived in peace in a Blue Zone somewhere in Greenland. When the Third Tiberium War began he signed up with the new ZOCOM branch, going from Red Zone to Red Zone, clearing out Tiberium and any hostile elements there that tried to stop them. He was in what was once Colorado when ZOCOM got a call from command saying that ponies were invading and Santa Cruz needed to be evacuated. At first they all laughed at the concept of ponies invading, but when they found out what happened at No Man's Land, they're laugher turned into fear and then anger. The soon rapped up the mission they were on and went to Santa Cruz in the fastest transport available. After looking over his weapon, Derek joined the other troopers assigned to the mission. It was a small force consisting of only a company of infantry, himself and a company of Zone Troopers along with a Goliath APC. He made his way over to a gathering of other troopers where a Zone Trooper sergeant was giving a prep talk. "All right, listen up." Sgt. Alexander began. "The evacuation center is under attack by a small group of ponies. We have reason to believe that they were carried here by some pegasi somehow, or were teleported in though we don’t know how far a range they have. Our mission is simple thought, we just need to get down to the evacuation zone and save the civies before staying around to provide support." Alexander loaded in a clip to his railgun and felt it whine and hum with energy. "Let's get this shit done people." With that the small force moved out from the base, with Derek close behind them. The Infantry men loaded into the APC. The Zone Troopers, with their heavy advanced armor, can move at the same pace as the APC and ran alongside is, partially using the vehicle to provide cover. They continued to walk down the road to the outskirts of Santa Cruz, where the evacuation was being held. They came to a full stop in the base. Infantry poured out of the Goliath, raising their guns at anything that could be a threat. The Zone Troopers, along with Derek, followed the riflemen down to the GDI Evacuation Center. Once they were outside the center, they saw ponies assaulting the GDI held building. Derek inspected them and took note. Six unicorns and two pegasi. A few earth ponies still stood, if barely, from the assault which consisted of them running forth only to be cut down by GDI weapons. Sgt. Alexander signaled the men. "On my mark." He said over the radio. Derek readied his railgun while the riflemen checked their magazines. "GO GO GO!!!!" He shouted. Derek activated his jetpack and jumped across to the middle of the ambush. The ponies were stunned for a second, which was all the time the riflemen need to kill two or three of them. The unicorns erected a shield for themselves while the earth and Pegasus ponies charged at the group. The Earth ponies were easy to kill, but one pegasi kept maneuvering the bullets until it closed in on one of the men. It's armored claw-hooves stabbed into him and ripped out a pound of flesh before a three round burst from a rifle killed him. *BUZZ* *BOOM* With the mighty roar of a railgun, another unicorn shield was down, leaving the infantry to mow the ponies down. Derek reloaded his rail gun, inserting a new magazine before checking the area. The other Zone Troopers finished what they were doing and formed up on the infantry. Once all opposition was eliminated, everyone evacuated the building, along with Barron who had been on his last magazine by the time the help had arrived. Derek walked up to Barron. "Sir, all ponies have been destroyed." "Thanks, trooper. Now we can continue with the evacuation." With that, everyone made their way to the transports, with Barron leading them. Sgt. Alexander contacted the Commander. "Sir, all ponies have been eliminated and the evacuation is under way." "Glad to hear it. Have your men stay here and guard them in case they attack again. We're holding off just fine here. Andrew out." The voice of Commander Andrew responded. Alexander relayed his orders to everyone. "Alright men. We hunker down here until the Evacuation is complete." Everyone let out a faint 'huurah' before hunkering down and digging in for the long haul of what was to be a hard day. The battle was taking the turn for the worse as GDI lost the beachhead under the endless onslaught of ponies overwhelming them and retreated to the Boardwalk. It did not help that the pony ships were bombarding them with canon shots and even killing their own just to weaken the human defenses. It was primitive and crude, but effective. Though the loss of the beachhead wasn't without heavy casualties from the Equine side. Half of their invasion force was wiped out, leaving only 30 ships with ponies in them left as the others settled for just firing their weapons. Ponies continued to charge at the Boardwalk, with cannon fire either supporting them or killing them. Some held ranged weapons like crossbows while other had melee weapons. A few unicorns erected shields for their comrades while other unicorns fired spells at GDI troops or vehicles. Juggernauts fired their armament at the ponies, scattering them and sending a few running back with their courage and morale broken. As the assault continued the Vulcan towers mowed down any earth pony unfortunate enough to be within it's range. AA towers shot at any Pegasus that has taken to the skies. Infantry garrisoned inside buildings shot at the ponies while snipers took pot shots at enemy commanders, officers or unicorns that were causing a lot of trouble for the other GDI soldiers. Sgt. Connor and his men, along with the commando, moved from the rooftop of the Haunted Castle and continued running through the Boardwalk. All around them the battle raged on in a constant back and forth motion, with ponies almost gaining the advantage before GDI men pushed them back before having to retreat again under a pony assault. Connor narrowly dodged a falling Titan that took too much damage from the battle. Anderson just jet jumped over the Titan. They were soon however caught in a firefight between GDI infantry and a couple of ponies with crossbows. While the ponies were taking cover inside a shield created by a unicorn, the GDI riflemen took cover inside the Speedway ride. Sgt. Connor vaulted over the railing inside the ride and regrouped with the other men. "Glad to see you show up." A GDI Rflemen said. "Sergeant Zale." He said, holding out a glove hand and shaking Connor's hand. "Sergeant Connor, at your service." Connor replied. "And this is my friend, Lieutenant Anderson." He gestured towards the commando, who was now busy shooting the ponies behind the shield with his minigun. "What's the situation?" "We're trying to keep them away from the GDI base, but we're pinned down by the ponies." Zale explained. "We can't even move cause their unicorn snipers keep teleporting every time we get a fix on one of them." He gestured to the unicorns on the rooftop of some old store. They stood there with their horns glowing and shooting straight laser shots at the commando, which had no effect beyond slightly damaging the paintjob. Before a plan could be formed, a rumbling in the ground distracted the ponies as they looked to the source. There at the entrance, and crushing several cars beneath it at top speed, a Predator Tank MKII rolled towards them. This tank was a step up from the original one, with a modified railgun and a minigun turret that was currently being manned by one of the tankers who was keeping the pegasi away, along with a new design that puts the original to shame. The ponies focused their fire on the metal behemoth that was attacking them now, shooting crossbow bolts and magic at it. The bolts had no effect and just bounced off of the armor while the spells just sizzled out on it, painting its armor black and ruining the paint while the turret of the railgun soon rotated to position and fired. The tanker manning the mini-gun turret at the unicorns on the roof, killing them instantly before they could produce a shield. Then it rotated its gun again at the ponies behind the shield. The railgun fired, breaking the unicorn shield as if it was butter and sending some of the unicorns behind it flying or in pieces. Connor and his men took this as a change and fired their rifles at the ponies before they could retreat. After all opposition had be eliminated, Connor and Zale, along with their men and Anderson, rush out of their position and out of the entrance to the boardwalk. Connor and Zale arrived at the new base of operations, which was behind Neptune's Kingdom. The base consisted of concrete walls that, thanks to GDI technology, could be constructed in seconds. Vulcan and RPG Towers stood behind the walls, constantly turning and scanning for any enemies. A gate was at the center of the GDI base, which was lowered. Connor and Zale entered the base, along with their men and the commando. Once they were all inside, the gate closed themselves just before the ponies came charging in. The base was thankfully out of range for the cannons, but that didn't stop the ponies from charging in like Nod fanatic's. Vulcan towers mowed down anypony within range, along with the RPG Towers. "How's the evacuation?" Commander Andrew said to Lieutenant Barron on the screen. Andrew was currently inside the command post at the base, his own forces currently guarding the base. He didn't know how they were beaten back from the boardwalk so quickly. After he sent a small force to help in the defense of the evacuation, an alarm went off inside the command post. He looked at the holo-map and found out that an artillery strike from one of the ships are bearing down on the men, obliterating any and all defenses. When the artillery strike was cleared, half of the defenses were destroyed and the ponies we're throwing everything they had at GDI. They did even had time to muster a defense before the ponies charged again. Although they cut a good size in the invasion force, GDI still suffered casualties, either killed or converted. While this was all happening, he got a report from a scout team that ZOCOM troopers have entered the area and have aided in the evacuation, sending half their forces to his base. "The evacuation is going well." Barron replied. "We need a few more minutes before it's complete and the city will be completely empty." "Well you need to hurry up. We just got pushed back from the Boardwalk and they’re closing in fast." "Roger that. I'll do what I can." With that, the screen changed back to normal. Andrew slumped in his chair. “This is it. It's all or nothing.” He sat up at his regular position, turning the holo-map on. Right now his forces were fortifying his base for the next attack. Turning the console on, he issued several commands to units and selected several structures to be produced or researched. "Shit never gets easy." The base was on full alert. Troopers were rearming themselves with ammunition. War Factories produced some vehicles, including a Tempest MLRS. Two Juggernaut units stood behind the gate, acting as cannons for the assault. Slingshot vehicles kept their turrets aimed to the skies, looking for any pesky Pegasi. Infantry took cover in wrecked vehicles or behind sandbags and bunkers. Vulcan turrets were also constructed behind the sandbags. They we're ready for anything that was coming to them, and they did come, like a swarm of angry ants attempting to devour an elephant. They came and the sound of their hooves thundering down road and causing faint vibrations that shook the ground. A war cry echoed around the boardwalk, followed by several others and even the sound of a warhorn being played. Out of the ruined buildings, a swarm of Equestrians charged at the GDI base, expecting it to fall easily since they killed or converted half of the human's forces. However, they were soon proven wrong when they saw the human fortified base and the defenders in tip-top-shape. Some were actually considering retreating and forget this whole thing but they were pushed forward by the many ponies behind them, it didn’t hurt that they all knew what would happen if they retreated. They would have to face Blueblood. Sure, he was a spoiled noble and before his ‘coronation’ had been nothing more than a pretty boy, but now he was ruthless and without mercy to anyone who disobeyed his orders. He no longer had a fear of getting dirty and almost seemed to delight in the tortures of his subordinates when they failed him. The GDI troops opened fired all as one on the approaching Equestrians, bringing the first of them down and falling to the ground, knocking several others of them down to be crushed under the assault. A Disk Thrower threw a fragmentation disk at an approaching group of ponies and exploded, leaving behind a bloody mess. A Wolverine mowed down enemy infantry as they advanced along the sides, forcing the ponies to stay within the kill zone. A unicorn prepared a spell to melt the strange metal beast, only to be interrupted by a sniper shot in the head from up above. The two Juggernauts fired their rounds at the Equestrian, scattering them or killing them. Pegasus try to swarm the base, only for them to be shot down by AA guns or a Slingshot vehicle. An earth pony was attempting to hold his guts that had fallen out of his stomach, but a bullet to the brain killed him. Another earth pony held the flag of Equestria at his hooves, trying to get up until an artillery shell from a Juggernaut struck him, exploding into a million pieces. Sgt. Connor and his men and the commando fired from their position behind the sandbags, spent shell casings and empty magazines all around them as they emptied round after round into the enemy. After returning to the base, they had very little time to relax when the next attack came. They stocked up on weapons and ammo for the coming assault and had finished resupplying right as the charge began. Lt. Anderson wanted to 'borrow' a Mammoth tank for the coming assault, but apparently his suit actually could not fit in the hatch of the tank and gave up after the third try and a shout form an impatient tank driver. One of the Nod soliders from before met up with them, blood covering his armor. The soldier’s name was Lawrence, born out of a Yellow Zone somewhere in Eastern Europe. He spoke English fluently thought, having used it most of his life while being part of Nod. He was in Kaiden's army when the attack on France first began. He survived the ponies onslaught, getting a few kills out of it. He retreated in a random direction, since some Nod soldiers were going in the other direction. Before he knew it, he was on a GDI airship going to Santa Cruz. He decided that trying to escape from the airship was useless, so he decided to wing it for now and hopefully the GDI commander would keep his word and return him and the others back to Nod’s embrace. After resupplying at a nearby Armory, they we're ready to kick those Equestrians back running to their princesses. Their mission was simple, hold out for as long as possible until the evacuation is complete. But that was easier said than done despite the technological advantage the Humans had. The front line was stable, to say the least. Ponies armed with medieval weaponry tried to swarm Sgt. Connor's position, but were affirmatively cut down by the commando's minigun. An earth pony got a drop on Lawrence from behind, but he dodged out of the way before the sword reached him and shot the pony before it could reorganize. The ponies were beginning to learn, taking cover behind anything that would keep them alive. The earth ponies carried crossbows while unicorns casted some magic at the GDI troopers. Sgt. Zale ducked just in time when a magic beam almost struck him. He grunted when another beam grazed his shoulders. He slumped against the sandbag as his comrades returned fire. As he checked his injure there was a sudden loud impact and splat of something falling down, making Zale look up at the sky. Pegasus were dropping like flies from the AA Towers and the Slingshot vehicles while Hammerheads did strafing runs against the enemy. He was shook out of his thoughts by a tap on the injured shoulder. He turned his head to see Connor right next to him. "I'm going to see if I can flank around them. Keep them suppressed." Zale nodded his head before he stood up and returned fire at the one that almost got him. His team followed his example, including the commando. Sgt. Connor signaled his men to follow him, leading them behind the cover the ponies were in. Once he was in position behind a ruined car, he peek above the vehicle, seeing the ponies focusing on Zale and his men. With some hand signals, the soldiers fired on the ponies position. The ponies didn't have time to react when they were hit from behind. Once all enemies were eliminated, They returned to their position. "Commander, We loaded up the last of the transports and the civilians are out of the city. I'm sending reinforcements to you. They'll be there shortly." Barron said. He was residing in a Condor Transport with the rest of his units. Commander Andrew grinned and pressed a button on the holographic table. "This is Commander Andrew, the evacuation is complete and reinforcements are on their way. Just hang in there a few more minutes." Andrew looked back at the holo-map, which now shows several blue arrows coming from the left side of his base. "Just another day on the battlefield." The ponies were disorganized and suffering heavy casualties at this point. They knew this was worthless to assault GDI's base when they still possession metal beasts, not to mention the reinforcements that came in and swarmed them. They soon fell back, one by one, with their morale broken. Some ponies were killed while they were retreating, resulting in only a third of their entire invasion force making it back to the boats, past piles and piles of bodies. It was almost as if it were one giant carpet. A few didn’t even make it that far before falling down and sobbing or laughing, losing a grip on reality either momentarily, or permanently. The GDI troopers cheered, a few firing a round or two into the air in celebration, knowing that this day was theirs. Through trial by fire and much bloodshed they emerged victorious. "Go back to Mars, or where ever the hell you came from!" One of them yelled before hollering in joy. The Pacific Ocean, Blueblood’s personal ship. To say Blueblood was furious, was an understatement of the century. He was outraged by the outcome of the battle, nearly all of his invasion forces were cut down and the remainders had retreated back to their ships. An invasion had never once failed this badly back on Equus, from the Crusades in the Griffon Lands to the Battle of Bearlin or the conquest of the Minotaurs. These humans were different, they possessed no magic but were still able to almost completely obliterate his forces. At the moment the enraged prince was currently inside his cabin aboard his ship, The Princesses Glory, inbound to Equestria with less than half of his forces. The ponies on the ship worked on the ship, from polishing the cannons to hoisting the sails, anything to keep from thinking of what tortures Blueblood was thinking of or going to inflict on the ponies who failed to take the human city. Inside Blueblood’s cabin one of the four generals in charge of the invasion in Santa Cruz was on his knees. The three other general lay dead on the ground, their throats torn open by the prince’s magic, which was as painful as having your throat torn open by bare hands. Blueblood approached the pony, his face was neutral, devoid of any emotion, almost as if he were folding laundry or opening a letter from the bank. The general was scared to the point he wished he had been fed to the sharks instead, it took what little will power he had left not to soil himself at how his life was soon to end horribly. "P-p-please h-have m-m-m-mercy Blueblood. We t-t-tried everything we c-c-could, but t-t-they were too m-m-much." By this point, he was crawling on his hind legs backing up into a wall and pressing himself into it, wishing he could shrink to the size of an atom. "I know you have a heart somewhere in there. Please, for the sake of Celestia, show some compassion." Blueblood stop right in front of the pony he was about to punish and smiled. The pony noticed this and had a soft smile on him, letting out a soft chuckle and thinking perhaps he had reached something good inside of the prince. ‘Maybe he wasn't as bad as some would say. Maybe he just needs to learn how to love anypony for who they are. May they—-‘ He felt something sharp pierced his throat. He saw a golden aurora surrounding Blueblood's horn. He then looked down at this body to see a knife surrounded by the same golden aurora. He looked at Blueblood with a horrified expression while his eyes begged and pleaded for mercy. Blueblood leaned close, his lips almost touching the other pony’s ear as he whispered softly to him. “You are as worthless as a two bit whore I plan to buck when I have some free time." He whispered before pulling back and with a vertical slice, the stallion was left clutching and trying to hold his bleeding neck. The last thing he ever seen was Blueblood putting away the knife after wiping it with a cloth. Then there was blackness and a terrible numbness. Blueblood turned to his guards. "Throw these pathetic excuses for generals overboard and have the chef prepare my dinner, I feel hungry." The guards obeyed and dragged the bodies out of the cabin. Blueblood returned to his chair with a sadistic smile, his eyes flashed green for a second as his inner emotions and inner self was suppressed and kept locked away despite his screams to be released and to stop this madness. Blueblood simply looked out the window at the ocean and leaned back in a chair, wondering what wine to have. "Oh It's so good to be a prince." He said and hummed to himself as he pulled out some paperwork to request more units to replenish his depleted ranks. Victory > Nod-The Defence of Temple Prime 1/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Temple Prime Near Sarajevo Yellow Zone Temple Prime. Built upon the old Temple Prime that was destroyed in the Second Tiberium War, It stands as a symbol of Nod's power and influence over the world for many years. It was a fortress, with monumental towers overlooking the battlefield located on thick, titanium walls with ground carved in stone on which Nod facilities were located. Three Ion Disruption installations were located at key points around the temple to prevent the Ion Cannon from striking against Kane should they be discovered by GDI. The central structure of Temple Prime, his command center, is located in the center of the base, surrounded by the most important Nod buildings- the Construction Yard, Liquid Tiberium research labs, a missile complex and gateways into the subterranean part of the facility. The inner ring housed Air Towers, most of the temples power plants and the primary Tiberium Chemical Plant. Finally, in the outer ring, War Factories, Hands of Nod, as well as Tiberium refineries were located. The towers themselves held SAM sites for air defence. The site was built near the city of Sarajevo, where Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand terrorist group, assassinated the Duke of Austria and triggered World War I. Some people believed that the Brotherhood of Nod was founded after Tiberium entered the Earth in 1995. However, during the First Tiberium War when GDI captured Temple Prime from Nod, they found out about the Brotherhood's history, spamming almost a millennia, around 1800 B.C. The Brotherhood's earliest alleged activaties dated back to the Second World War. The name 'Brotherhood of Nod' came from the Hebrew word Noded (נודד) which means 'wanderer' and is also the verb of the word Nod. It refers to the biblical Land of Nod, in which Cain is exiled in the Hebrew Scriptures. "Cain went out from Yahweh's prensence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden." During the First Tiberium War, the Brotherhood of Nod was widely regarded by its detractors and opponents to be a quasi-state, quasi-terrorist organisation seeking to unite the third-world nations under a religious political platform with imperialist tendencies. According to the group's own claim they were a religious Brotherhood of ancient origin which strived for a world of 'peace', 'unity' and 'eternal brotherhood' in which all the peoples of the world could 'face the struggles of life as one', and that human society's full embracement of the alien substance of Tiberium was the key to this revolution. Although they failed in the last two wars, They still thrive not only as an organization, but a way of life. They recruit people within poorer districts in the Yellow Zones or underdeveloped countries. In a way, the Brotherhood would never die, even if Kane is dead. The interior of Temple Prime has traditional red stained glass windows and metalwork depicting Tiberium in plant-like ways. It also contains bizarre mechanism which look like Red Tiberium crystals with screens covered in scrolling jargon, but have no discernible purpose. Kane's headquarters, housing the mainframes and the command center has a large circular chapel with towering red stained glass windows and two adjacent crescent-shaped towers enclosing the chapel between them. Underground, a large cavern filled with Liquid Tiberium was located, along with regular Tiberium. Inside a room in Temple Prime, a man was siting in an office chair. He has a short black beard and is wearing a black robe. He held an air of authority and righteousness. He is a dedicated leader, a visionary and a prophet. This is Kane, the leader and messiah of the Brotherhood of Nod. Lots of things had been said about Kane. Some say that he is the real 'god' who guided Man when they first came out of the caves. Others claimed he's an alien from another planet to guide Man itself. Some call him a terrorist while others call him a hero. Whoever he is, he wasn't like any other terrorist organizations that only promised world terror, Kane was dedicated to uniting humanity by spreading Tiberium in the world. After all, he never died in the last two wars. Kane looked at the report that was received by his most loyal commander, and other Nod commanders. It was the same, ponies from a nation called Equestria attack Yellow Zones and Blue Zones. Wether they be GDI or Nod. Even now, the ponies are establishing a beachhead in Northern Croatia, stomping out any Nod outpost or bases in the area. They are already marching out to Temple Prime, determined to Crush Nod in one fell swoop. Kane was furious, but he didn't show it. It didn't even matter to him. Once the Liquid Tiberium Bomb is delivered to Temple Prime, things will change, for better or for worse. Nod will be the victor in this war, GDI and Equestria will be crushed, and humanity will finally ascend to the stars above. Kane was interrupted by someone knocking on his door. "Enter." he said. The door opened to reveal an old officer. The officer saluted to Kane. "There's an incoming message from Commander Kaiden. He said it's important." The officer handed him a tablet, showing the traditional Nod symbol on the screen, a scorpion tail inside a black-rimmed chamfered triangle with black spikes at the edges. Kane took the tablet from the officers hands. He waved to the officer, dismissing him. Once the officer left, Kane tapped the screen with his finger. The screen soon change to his most loyal commander, inside the Montauk that was currently enroute to Temple Prime. "Ah, commander. I was hoping to hear from you again. Tell me, do you have what I requested?" Kaiden nodded on the screen. "Yes, Kane. We have the bomb. It wasn't easy to smuggle out with both GDI and ponies fight each other, but we have it. We are currently on route to Temple Prime." "Good. Make sure the device is intact and don't let it fall to GDI or Equestria." "Understood." With that the screen has returned to it's original state. Kane put the tablet away at his desk and smiled. Things were looking up for the better. Once the device is here, never again would the bow before GDI or these new invaders. They would make history for years to come. And it's all according to plan. Several hours later Just as Kane predicted, Temple Prime is under attack by ponies. If one were to describe the Siege of Temple Prime, it would be along the lines like 'The Battle of Gondor from Lord of the Rings.' Ponies charged at the Temple, trying to slaughter or convert any Nod units. It took all of available Nod units to defend the area. However, Temple Prime is also surrounded by Kane's loyal armies, willing to die for their Messiah. Nod Militias shot any ponies that charge their way. The Black Hand entered the battle, roasting any unfortunate ponies within it's range. Obelisks of Light guarded the entrances to Temple Prime, its laser defenses cut through even the simplest of shields conjured by unicorn ponies. A Equestrian camp was set up in a canyon outside of Temple Prime. The ponies were either arming themselves for the attack or nursing the wounds in battle. The bottom half of the camp was consider of tents the guards were sleeping in. The top left had an armory while the center left had a medic station. The very center itself had a command tent for generals to gather for strategy. The bottom left, outside of the camp, was covered in Tiberium. Three ramps led to the entrences of Temple Prime. The Montauk came rolling in behind the camp, nopony noticing it since they were too busy fighting Nod. A small escort was with it which consisted of two Scorpion Tanks, two Militant units and two Raider Buggy's, and the Devil's Tongue. Onboard the Montauk, The remaining Nod soldiers, along with a few GDI counter parts dressed as them, readied their weapons for a long defense of their holy site. Along with the trooper, a women wearing a black armored jump suit with a rebreather on her face, carrying a laser rifle walked along the corridor of the vehicle. Her name is Natasha, one of the most well trained assassins/saboteurs in the Black Hand. No one in the Brotherhood could best her, even in infiltration. This was proven when Natasha infiltrated Hampton Roads during the beginning of the war. She destroyed the largest Naval Base in the world and destroyed an aircraft carrier like it was nothing. Her last assignment was with Kaiden's army when they attacked a GDI base in No Man's Land. She was supposed to sneak into the GDI base and assassinate Commander Andrew, but the arrive on the ponies halted her plan. She got as much ponies killed before retreating back to the Montauk, which was heading to the outskirts of Slovenia. The mission was declared a success due to GDI defending against the ponies, which made it easier to smuggle the bomb out. Natasha continued to walk along the hull of he vehicle, no one dared to stare at her. The sounds of the convoy attacking the ponies can be heard through the Montauk riding to Temple Prime. She continued walking until she reached her destination, the cockpits. Inside the cockpits is Commander Kaiden and a few of his officers. Kaiden is siting in his command chair, directing the convey escorts as they proceeded up the right ramp, along with his vehicle. Natalia went up to the front seat. "The bomb is secured, Kaiden" She said in an Eastern Ukrainian accent. She was born and raised in a Yellow Zone in Ukraine before the war started. After joining the Black Hand, she is required to spoke English to most troopers. Kaiden swiveled his chair and looked at her. "Good, good. We should be in Temple Prime in a couple of minutes." He turned back to the screen, which a Pegasus guard was trying to break open, only for it to meets it's demise at a Raider Buggy. "Tell the men to get ready, and stick around Natasha. I may need you later." She nodded and went back to her seat. Kaiden watched as the Equestrians were trying to assault a ramp that led to Temple Prime, but they were destroyed by Nod vehicles coming down the ramp. He watched as an earth pony was struggling to get up, only for its hind legs to get crushed by a Scorpion Tank. 'I've got to admit, they are crazy to assault Kane's holy site like that, or they have a death wish.' Kaiden thought. He slumped in his chair as a devious smile crossed his face. 'No matter, they will learn to fear the Brotherhood soon enough.' The Montauk passed the main gates to Temple Prime without any trouble. Although there were a few casualties on his side, the bomb was still safe. Once they reached the temple inside the base, The Montauk unloaded the truck carrying the bomb from it's back door, some militants exited soon after. A few GDI troopers that accidentally retreated to Nod's base came out with militant uniforms on. Commander Kaiden exited out soon after, along with Natalia and his officers. The truck went into a tunnel next to the Command Post. Kane was there at the entrance to the temple with two Black Hand bodyguards. Kaiden went up to Kane and saluted. "The bomb is being transported underground." Kane smiled. "You have done well, my son. You have recovered the Tiberium device in one piece. Now, you must defend the temple and drive out the Equestrian invaders while I assemble the device." Kaiden nodded and turned around to the Command Post. "And one more thing, Commander." Kaiden turned his head to Kane. "Spare no one. Let them know the true strength of Nod. Let their last thoughts be of us, when we slaughter their kin. Drive them to hell, Commander." With that last lecture, he walked towards his new base, but first, he needs to pay a certain doctor a visit. The underground section of Temple Prime is a complex of tunnels and doorways. It was large enough to hold three Orca Command Vehicles, if such a thing can be obtained by the Brotherhood. Vehicles were stashed here, ranging from Scorpion Tanks to the Avatar War Mechs, a new machine created by Nod that is a humanoid walker with two cannons on its arms, alien-like feet that can crush even a Mammoth Tank, and a pilot seat in the mech itself. Along with the vehicles are Basilisk Beam Cannon, A step up from the original. The tunnel is buzzing with activity, with military personal, engineers and trooper going to their assigned stations. Commander Kaiden walk down the large corridor, with military personal saluting at him as they pasted. he kept on walking until he met his destination, a metal door with the words 'Laboratory' above. Knowing what to expect, he turned the valves and entered. The room he was in looks like a surgeon room in a hospital or in horror films he watched when he was a kid. Dark walls give off an ominous feeling, along with the red linings that ran to the side of the room. Creepy surgical equipment lined the small table next to him, some had blood on them. Corpse lined up the beds on the left, all of them were ponies that were part of some recon team or were captured from earlier in the campaign. The room itself smelled of blood and piss, that much was certain. He A scream came from an Unicorn mare strapped to a hospital bed was the first thing Kaiden heard as her horn was removed from her head like a lose tooth. The man removing the horn has black brown air comb to the sides, brown eyes that can be seen from the surgeon lamp next to him. His mouth was covered by a mask strapped to him. He had wrinkles on his face, indicating that he was in his 30's. But that wasn't the disturbing part. He had a line that ran to the side his forehead all the way to the back of the head, like in Frankenstein. This is Doctor Wilhelm Von Wolfe, a Nod scientist who's thirst for knowledge can be paid in blood. Dr. Wolfe is unlike any other scientist in the Brotherhood. He was the first person to combine man and machine into one body, making the first Cyborgs. He was once a Nazi scientist working for the Thule Society. The Thule Society was a German occult that chases mythological artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant. They believed in a 'True Aryan Race' in which German people are like gods while others who were inferior were slaves. He was a man of science, he didn't believe in fairy tail superstition, but he was still loyal to the Third Reich and it's vision of a Germanic Order. He experimented on thousands of subject, whether they were 'inferior men' or his own. His diary, which was later recovered in Munich, says that he invented earlier cybernetics to make the Nazis more invincible. He called them 'The Knights of Germania.' Although the Allies pushed back the Nazis in France, he still continued to work in secret. When the Russians were at Berlin in 1945, he retreated to a bunker that was under the Reichstag. He thought this is the end, until a member of the Brotherhood disguised as a German soldier came to him and offered him a deal. In exchange for safe transportation out of here, he would continue to work for the Brotherhood. He accepted the deal, seeing as what would happened if the Soviets found him. They escorted him out of Berlin and put on a plane to the United States, where he would continued working for the Brotherhood until it entered it's first Tiberium War in 1999. His body grew old over the years after the First Tiberium War, when the brotherhood was forced into hiding once again. The doctor was so crazy that he transferred his brain into another person. Many years later, he lives in Temple Prime to continue his research. The unicorn mare tried to free herself from the binds. Dr. Wolf looked at the mare in the bed, an innocent smile on his face. "My dear Fraulein, stop struggling. Ve will only make it worse for yourself." "KILL ME!!!!! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA KILL ME NOW!!!! The unicorn was in tears right now, having her horn removed from her body. Right now, she felt like a woodpecker was drilling into her brain. The doctor chuckled. "Ahh, but my little Mädchen, we've both know that won't happen." He grabbed a scalpel from the small table next to him. "Und very curious of how your species breaths, see's, eat and all ze other three senses. Also, I'm very curious about this 'magic' thing you keep speaking of." He lowered the scalpel just an inch above the abdominal. "Don't worry, zis won't hurt.....much." Kaiden coughed in order to get the doctor attention. Dr. Wolfe looked at the Commander before turning back to the Unicorn. "Excuse me, I must meet with the Commander. Don't go anywhere, not that you can." He chuckled at his own joke while the unicorn continued to struggle. Doctor Wolfe walked up to the commander and shook his hand. "Ah, Herr Kaiden. I've been expecting you. Tell me, did you acquire a sample of Tiberium?" "I have." Commander Kaiden said plainly. He reached into his pocket and fished out a medium capsule containing three Tiberium crystals. He was able to procure some Tiberium crystals from the fields during his assault in No Man's Land. He ordered some cyborgs to harvest some Tiberium since they can't be effected by it's symptoms When Tiberium entered the Earth in 1995, It not only affected the ecosystem, but the body as well. Anyone that was in the Tiberium fields without power armor were mutated into Visceroid or Mutants. This was called Tiberium Toxemia. The effect of Tiberium on humans is still not yet fully understood. Common symptoms of Tiberium poisoning includes breathing difficulties, suppressed immune system and Tiberium crystal growth on the skin. Long-term low-level exposure to Tiberium causes illness in all terrestrial lifeforms. This was not all bad, as further study indicated that they tend to be faster, stronger and more agile than pure humans, and the presence of Tiberium is not harmful to them, on the contrary, it actually accelerates their healing When humans mutate, they are shunned and evicted from settlements or cities to prevent the spread of Tiberium. The mutants soon banded together and formed a confederation known as The Forgotten. During the Second Tiberium War, they operated in North America and would often raid GDI or Nod bases for equipment or supplies. The Forgotten were soon disbanded in the early days of the Firestorm Crisis when Tratos was assassinated by Nod under CABAL's orders (which angered Anton Slavik for acting without his knowing). Nod forces under CABAL's command assaulted the main base for the piece of the Tacitus. Unable to unite without a leader, they went into self-exile, unable to live a normal life. In an act of good faith, GDI developed several hovels for them to live in. Some mutants still live in these hovels while others still went into exile. By the beginning of the Third Tiberium War, the mutants serve as mercenaries for GDI or Nod. Dr. Wolfe took the crystals from Kaiden's hand, his eyes were filled with excitement,as if a child walked through a candy store. "Good, very good. This will be valuable to my research." "And what research would that be.....?" Kaiden questioned the doctor, thinking he'll just use them to torture someone instead of researching. "A simple experiment." Dr. Wolfe began lecturing the commander. "Ze magic that the ponies use have a large quantity of Carbon Monoxide und Atoms that they can manipulate. However," Dr. Wolfe turned to the mare strapped in the chair. "if I can combine Tiberium with this 'magic' that they speak of, I can create newer weapons, new tanks, indestructible walker, the possibility's are endless." He walk towards the strapped ex-unicorn with a scalpel still in his hand. The mares eyes went wide when he approached her. She began to speak, even when her throat is dry for screaming. "Please, I don't want to die like this. I just joined the guard so I can get a better payed job, not this." "Shh, my little friend it will be all over soon." The Commander left the doctor to his own devices, seeing as he doesn't want to stick around. He has forces to command, and he would waste no time in standing around and hoping that the ponies would kill themselves. The last thing he hear was a painful scream that echoed in the tunnel. Several Pegasi ponies were attempting to dive bomb into Temple Prime, they we're closeting in on they're target. Suddenly, two SAMs emerged from the two titanium towers. The SAMs fired their missiles at the Pegasus. They didn't have enough time to react before the missiles met their target, leaving a bloody shower raining down. Kaiden arrived at the Command Post without any incident. The Commander went inside and went directly to his chair. The top view of Temple Prime is on the screen thanks to a stealth satellite that Nod launched at the beginning of the war. The camp that the ponies are located are also on the screen. There, they are getting ready for a big offensive, with swords sharpening at the forge and armor being put on. How they even manage to make weapons and armor with just hooves was Kaiden's guess. Then again, they are an alien race, and if watching cheap sci-fi movies when he was younger had taught him anything, its that aliens don't make sense whatsoever. Kaiden sat down in his command chair and typed something in the left arm rest. The screen changed to a man with a 5'o clock shadow, long hair that hung on his shoulders and green eyes like Kaidens. "Ajay, how are you holding?" The man, Ajay, smirked. "These pony creature are as lazy as they are at fighting. We just took down a crazy charge with few casualties on our side." He chuckled. "I hope those little ponies keep coming down on us, 'cause I'm killing for some target practice." "Well, they are preparing for a large assault again, so maybe your wish will come true." "Well, dreams do come true, do they?" The screen went back to its original setting. Kaiden opened up the unit tab on his console and ordered another army to defend Temple Prime. Engineers deployed hubs to deploy Shreder Turrets or Laser Turrets. Kaiden grinned. "This war just got a lot......interesting." A Few Hours Later "ALRIGHT YOU MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP!!!!!!" Iron Helm, an earth pony stallion with a grey coat and a blue mane and tail, stood with his recruits at the campsite that lead to the temple. Already, ponies were preparing for the next assault to happen. They were the third wave. Iron Helm continued his speech. "As some of you know, the invasion of the human city of 'Santa Cruz' was a complete and utter failure. However, the barrier the Princesses created did destroy the city, but the humans already evacuated everyone, including themselves. This next attack would cripple their morle, as we were told." "The Humans are split into two factions, GDI and NOD. The ones that beaten us in 'Santa Cruz' is GDI. The one were attacking is a religious faction called NOD. They think there leader is immortal and that they are superior on this world. Truth is, they aren't. Ponies are the true superior species to ever walk the earth. We've defeated countless enemies. Separatist pony states, changelings, caribou, and griffons. These humans will be no different." "I know what your all thinking, the are advanced beyond anything we encountered before. But I tell you, brave stallions and mares, that the Goddess Celestia and Luna will protect us in this coming battle, and the humans will see the error of their ways." "Now," He unsheathed his sword that was by his side and drew it, pointing at the enemy. "TO BATTLE. FOR EQUESTRIA!!!!!" A magical flare was fired by a unicorn, signaling the beginning of the third wave. He was meet with the war cry of thousands of stallions and mares, ready to do what is necessary for the Goddesses. "Sir, they started their attack!!!" An officer interrupted Kaiden, who was busy building his forces for the defense. Kaiden press the screen in front of him, which changed to a sky view of the battle. He saw ponies charging at the temple with nothing but swords and crossbows. Kaiden continued to stare at the screen before he spoke up. "HADES, what do we have for defense?" "Kane has turned over defense of Temple Pime to you, Commander." Kaiden smirked. "Excellent." He pressed a few buttons on the console. "Lets give them a warm welcome." They charged towards Temple Prime, their hooves pounded the Earth itself. If anyone was near, they would have thought an earthquake was happening. The ponies ran down the path that lead to Temple Prime. Iron Helm lead the charge, his heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. They almost made it to the entrance, they did not stop for a second. Iron Helm hear one pony commented "Look at the size of that thing" and he was right. Suddenly, something came out of the ground next to the gates. Two strange machines with tubes at each end that glowed green started firing at the ponies. The strange substance that it shot out melted a nearby pony, reducing it into nothing but a skeleton. Iron Helm was surprised but continued the charge. One by one, everypony was meeting the same fate. Iron Helm screamed a war cry before he saw a bright green light, then nothing. "You got to admit, they won't back down." Kaiden said as he watched pony after pony getting slaughtered by the Shredder turrets. With the Tiberium Beam upgrade, they were dropping like flies, which made Kaiden happy if he were facing a worthy adversary. The battle was under way as he raised his forces to combat the ponies offensive. Militiants were rushing out, meeting the ponies at the entrances to Temple Prime. War Factories were pumping out units, ranging from Scorpion Tanks to Avatars. SAM sites shot down any Pegasus ponies foolish enough to come close to the holy site. Ajay is holding the Northside entrance while Kaiden holds the other two entrances. It wasn't a hard job since the ponies all try to hit the entrance with everything they got and all get obliterated. However, there were some casualties from his side. Granted they were few, but they need every single men and women to defend Kane while he works with the Tiberium Bomb. But he a plan for this. The ponies continued to charge in, like in the Great Patriotic War, when Order 227 prevented Soviet soldiers from retreating. He will continue to hold back wave after wave until they can't send anymore. Once the ponies were weakened, he would send his forces to the camp and slaughter every single pony he saw. It's simple, cunning and brilliant. Course, he would use the nuclear arsenal in Temple Prime to blow them to kingdom come, but with the camp so close to the temple would mean radiation would kill the men in the temple. And with a large patch of Tiberium underneath the temple, he wasn't taking any chances. "Commander, something is coming up on the radar." An officer interrupted his train of thought. Kaiden pressed a few buttons on the console to bring up the holographic display of Temple Prime. Red dots indicate the enemies assault while the blue dots were his allies. He looked around the map until he saw what was coming. Bombers. "WHAT THE.....BOMBERS?!?!?!." A brotherhood militant spotted it coming, telling his comrade in arms about it. Soon everyone looked at the fast approaching objects that were heading to the ponies camp. The objects were black and had a smooth surface. The militant who spotted them let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, our brothers have returned." Vertigo Bomber dropped there payload on the enemy. They bombarded everything, from the armory to the hospital tents. The whole entire camp was destroyed. The ponies that were charging the enemy now turn tail and ran. The Brotherhood cheered, for the day was theirs. That point was soon short lived. The reinforcements arrived just outside the Temple, but something was wrong. They soon started setting up a base, both were located on the left and right side of the entrance. SAM sites were set up, tanks were rolling out of the War Factory that was set up and air units circled the base as well. "Now there building bases. What the hell is going on?" A Black Hand member put his two to his ear. "Who's in charge here? In the name of Kane, reveal yourself." At first, there was silence. Then a voice rang out on all channels. "Brothers, you have been deceived. We have come to right an unholy injustice. Kane does not uphold the Brotherhood as he would have you believe. We serve the true cause of Nod. Surrender Temple Prime or DIE!!!!" > Nod-The Defence of Temple Prime 2/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaiden was beyond angry. He was outraged. One minute the ponies are retreating from Temple Prime, their tails tucked between their leg as they ran. The next thing he knew, the reinforcements arrived, but turned out to be a splinter faction hellbent on taking Temple Prime and killing Kane. The splinter forces believe they serve 'The True Cause of Nod.' Alarms spread all over the Command Center as the splinter forces advanced. However, they were at a stand still, as the entrances had laser gates installed when Kaiden first arrived at the temple. The gate was also guarded by a group of Shredder Turrets, as well as four Laser Turrets that were also installed behind the Laser Gate. Two Obelisk of Light also guarded the temple from behind the gates. Ajay was on the command screen, his face bore a scold. "Commander, I don't know what the hell's going on, but it sure smells like Kilian to me. Probably one of her little power play's. Well guess what? She's in for a rude awakening, 'cause with my brains and your bombs, we're going to put her little plot six feet under." The screen changed back to the map once again, ending the connection with Ajay. Kaiden slumped back on his chair, thinking about his predicament. Time seemed to slow down as he thought. Surely Kilian wouldn't do something this drastic. He met her when he was recruited into the newly reformed brotherhood, as well as in a few missions. Sure she questions Kane's action, but who wouldn't. Everything that Kane does is a mystery to anyone, even Kaiden questions him sometimes. But he was a solider and a soldier follows orders, regardless of what they are. Even if I means killing himself to prove his loyalty to Kane. Regardless, if it is Kilian that is behind the attack, then she is in for a rude awakening. Time resumed at it's normal paste as he sprung into action. He turned to his closest officer, Daniel. "Get me a read out of the bases, Daniel and make it quick." Gabriel saluted and left. Kaiden pointed to another officer. "Order our defensive units to the gates and reforce them." The officer snapped a salute and went to one of the consoles. He addressed another officer. "The rest ofour units will attack the bases, supported by our airforce." The officer nodded and went to work. Kaiden addressed the whole room. "Lets show these traitors how we deal with them." The officers cheered as they went to work, ordering units to go to there places. Kaiden pressed a button on his console. "HADES, how are we on defenses?" "Our defenses are taking a substantial amount of damage, but are holding up. Constant bombardment from the traitors side will destroy our turrets if we don't stop them. "Alright, order our 8 bombers to target the left side, along with an escort of four Banshee fighters." "Relaying message, Commander." Kaiden sat back down on the chair and looked at the holographic screen, which now shows the battle being waged on both sides. 'Let them come.' Temple Prime was bustling with activity as they prepare themselves for what is to come. Not a minute after the Equestrians retreated, the forces that were supposed to reinforce the temple are now attacking them. Factories are pumping out Scorpion tanks and other vehicles while every individual prepared themselves for what is to come. Inside the Hand of Nod, The Militants are getting ready for an offensive that will take place after the traitors final offensive. They were readying themselves by checking their weapons or their armor. The room would shake once in a while due to the traitors bombers. Within the back of the room, two occupants were currently checking their equipment. Natasha came back to Temple Prime after her mission was complete upon hearing the call. The other occupant in the room is a well average man with brown hair and eyes, with a scar across his left eye as well as a. He is wearing a standard issued Black Hand armor and is checking on his flamethrower. This is Father Gabriel, Leader of The Black Hand in Temple Prime. The Black Hand was founded during the First Tiberium War by General Raveshaw as Kane's personal bodyguards. They are one of the most elite fighting force in the Brotherhood of Nod. They also act as a special forces group when the time comes and a religious-police to spread the word of Kane. Gabriel is a veteran of the Second Tiberium War who worked under the command of Anton Slavic. He had seen action in the African campaign and the European Theatre. Ever since the Brotherhood returned, he became the leader of The Black Hand Division in Sarajevo. He was leading a congregation in Temple Prime when the ponies launched an attack on Temple Prime. Now that the traitors are attacking, he is tasked with leading an assault into the right base. "Looks like our work is cut out for us, нет?" Natalia said, loading an energy cell into the laser rifle. "Aye" He said with a Scottish accent while checking his flamethrower and installing a fuel drum. "Looks like were now fighting traitors now. I can't wait until I burn every single one of them." The Black Hand are equipped with state-in-the-art Tiberium armor and flamethrowers. Unlike most flamethrowers that the Black Hand members use, his has a Tiberium-based carbon blend that increases the damage on any unit. It also changes color from red to light blue. "Not everyday something like this happens." "Da, this might be good for us." Gabriel looked at her in a questioning gaze. "And why is that?" "I gives us good time for competition." She said with a smirk on her face. Natalia and Gabriel always like to challenge each other on different things. Their favorite challenge was 'Who would kill GDI dogs the most.' It was always a stalemate when it came to the challenges that they do. Now, with the traitors closing in on Temple Prime, they would try to out best each other. "Alright. Ye only going to be disappointed when I beat you." He put on his helmet and adjusted it before heading out. "We'll see." Natalia soon turned invisible before heading out as well. Gabriel arrived in the main room of the Hand, seeing his fellow brothers-in-arms readying themselves for an assault. Some were checking their ammo while others were chatting along with their comrades. Gabriel looked at the troops assembled in the room. "ALRIGHT, LADS!!! LISTEN UP!!!!" All attention was on him as they looked at him. "We're heading into the traitors camp to the south. Make sure your all loaded up and ready to go and remember, they maybe our brothers but they betray everything we stand for. Leave no one alive." The troopers cheered as Gabriel walked out of the Hand of Nod, along with his company of soldiers. They loaded on to the Scarab APC that was parked outside. They were part of a task force that would secure the south side of the entrance to Temple Prime. Gabriel was the last person to be loaded in the vehicle before the ramp closed itself. The last thing he saw was a silhouette of someone before the ramp closed and darkness took over. High above the cliffs overlooking Temple Prime, a silhouette of a creature was, if one were to see it with there own eyes, laying on a Persian-type couch, munching on some popcorn. The creature looked like a dragon from Chinese culture, except it had a hoove of a horse, a leg of a lizard, a claw of an eagle, a paw of a lion, a head of a horse, and a tail of a dragon. His body was dark brown, with two horns sprouting from his head, one a unicorns and an antler. His red eyes surveyed the battle that was under way, all the while wearing a grin on his face. "So," It begin to said. "She stage is set and the players take their new roles." He watched as two Verdigo Bombers, bearing the color of the traitors, flew past the creature. "Such a wonderful day for chaos." "Shite!!!" Gabriel said as he barely dodged another bullet coming out of the makeshift bunker. Not five minutes after he got on the Scarab, it was destroyed by a Vertigo Bomber. Right now he was dodging bullets left and right out of the Reckoner, an APC that can transform into a makeshift bunker if necessary. The small convey of vehicles, which consisted of 5 Scorpion Tanks, 2 Spectre Artillery units, 5 Avatar Warmechs and 5 Scarab APCs. The small conveys mission was simple: While the main force is assaulting the southwestern base, Gabriel is tasked with a small force to flank the enemy from behind the base. The traitors forces would have no time to react, seeing as they are struck from both sides. Of course, it would have succeeded if they were ambushed in the first place. The base was lightly guarded from behind, with two Reckoner APC's with missile launchers and machine guns in them and an Obelisk of Light. He barely made it out of the APC alive when the laser struck, but he did. His men, however, were not so luck, as they were destroyed along with the vehicle. He came across a large boulder in the middle of the battlefield and slid behind it. He was safe, for now at least. He watched as an Avatar Warmech from his side got struck in the gut by a Basilisk Beam Cannon and came tumbling down. Damn. If we stay here for long, we'll get slaughtered. He thought. He needed to get past the bunkers somehow. It was bad enough that they lost two mechs, but if they keep this up, there won't be a force left to attack the base. That was when he got an idea. Reaching into his belt, he pulled out an hallucinogenic grenade, indented to be used on one of the bunkers. Hallucinogenic Grenades are chemical grenades utilizing an unknown compound. When unleashed at the enemy, they can make any enemy soldier panic and hallucinate that his allies are his enemies, and they will in turn attack their former allies, or even on occasion, themselves. Confessors carry this special grenade with them in battle, as nobody else would be trusted with it. Gabriel looked to his left and saw a group of Militants taking cover behind a wrecked Scorpion Tank, with a helmetless Sergeant barking orders. The Sergeant had brown hair and hazel blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, he got out of his cover and proceeded to the wrecked vehicle, all the while getting fired upon. He dove behind the vehicle and let out a breath, thanking Kane that he is alive. The militants and the Confessor now noticed him in their cover. The Sergeant turned his head to Gabriel. "Thank Kane your still alive, Confessor. We almost thought we lost you in the ambush." He said in a Texan accent. "Nah, I'm still kicking, lassy." He chuckled. "What's your name?" "Sergeant James Norman, leader of this here band of merry men." He pointed his thumb to the back. "We can ourselves the Sundance Company, in honor of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." He said it with pride. Gabriel did remember him and his company a while back when they were assaulting Anderson Airforce Base to cut off GDI air reinforcements. He was the one that shot a GDI pilot and stole his Orca, shooting any GDI troops in his way. To this day, Militants called James Norman the next 'Billy the Kid.' Gabriel focused on the task at hand. "What's the stats of your company, Sergeant?" "We got a few casualties, but were still willing and able, sir." "Good." he pointed at the left bunker. "Cover me while I destroy the bunkers." "You got it, sir." James signals his remaining troops to open fire. When the firefight began, Gabriel vaulted over the vehicle and ran to the first bunker. A few bullets grazed his armor, but that didn't stop him from coming. Once he was a few feet from the first bunker, he pulled the pen of the grenade and threw it at one of the bunkers. The result was instantaneous as the fire stopped and the Militants inside are shooting each other out of desperation. The rest of Sundance Company fire on the remaining Militants as Gabriel moved to his next target. He kicked open the steel door to the bunker, aimed his flamethrower and fired away. The traitors didn't have enough time to react as fire consumed them. Gabriel smiled as the screaming of the traitors reached his ears. The Obelisk of Light was taken down by a group of Saboteurs, allowing the surviving group to go forward. Two mechs were destroyed in the skirmish, along with three Scorpion Tanks and two Spector Artillery units. The base was on full alert as the Flanking group made their entrance. Most of the defenders focused on the new attack, which gave the main assault force a push. It was chaos at the base as the traitors tried to repel attacks from both sides. An Avatar from the traitors side shot up in flames as the Scorpion Tank hit a power generator inside the mech. A missile trooper was shot in the gut, hitting his trigger and launching a missile at a group of traitors coming out of the Hand of Nod. A Cabal who lead a group of Militants throws an incendiary grenade at a team of Black Hand traitors. Gabriel burned another group of infantry that stood in his way, their screams were like music to his ears. He was currently inside the Command Post, burning room after room of traitors. The fighting has gotten fierce in terms of fire power. Half of the traitors base was destroyed, including the defenses. That left the Command Post left to be destroyed, along with the War Factory, The Hand of Nod and the Tiberium Refinery. He hadn't heard from Natasha in a while. While he did enjoy the silence of her not making fun of him, she was still a comrade-in-arms. But he dismissed the notion. 'She could take care of herself.' He thought. This was true. If she was in trouble, then she would radio him for help, which would boost his ego. Gabriel continued to walk down the corridor until he reach what he believed to be the Command Room. A console was right next to the metal door with numbers on it. Doing what any soldier would do, Gabriel punched the console with his fist, which resulted in the door sliding open. Gabriel peeked inside the command center, expecting some guards or soldiers to come. What he saw surprised him. A lone officer was sitting in his command chair, his head hung low. Blood was all over the screens and the console below. The officer was holding an old German Luger in his left hand while his right hand held his head. He was a young lad, possibly in his late 20's, with dark brown hair and hazel nut eyes. The dead body of what Gabriel assumed to be the commander was right next to him. Gabriel approached the man, taking cautious steps in case if its a trap. The officer slowly lift his head up, he had a sad expression on his face. "I can't believe I did it. I though of what I was doing was right, but now I don't know what I did is right." He chuckled. "You know, it's funny. I was just two days to my retirement, you know? I was thinking of going to one of the Hawaiian Islands that wasn't affected by Tiberium. Now I can kiss that retirement goodbye." Gabriel looked into his eyes. "This doesn't have to end like this, you know." "Really? Everyone knows what happens when you betray Kane, like what happen with Seth years ago. I was an idiot to lead my forces against him and his favorite commander." "Everyone makes mistakes, but you still have to answer for what you did." "I know." he raised the German Luger to his head. "But I won't give you the pleasure of doing it." He pulled the trigger and the bullet went through his head. Gabriel watched as the now dead commander slumped in his chair before falling to the ground. Gabriel felt respect for the man, willing to shoot his comrades before taking his own life. He crouched down and moved his hand to his eye lids, which he now closed. 'Rest in Peace, you magnificent bastard. He thought before heading out of the structure and into the outside world. "Sir, Gabriel's group destroyed the second base." An officer quickly replied to Kaiden, who was inspecting the battle and coordinating assaults. "What about Natasha's group? Have they made any progress?" "She destroyed the second base, sir. She sabotaged the Obelisk and led her assault group in to base." Another officer replied. "The traitors are at full retreat." With that said, the whole room cheered, know that this is their victory. Kaiden was not amused "Good, but the traitors are the least of our problems. We're down to half a force and the ponies are regrouping to launch a second attack." The room fell silence at this statement. They may have win against the first army of ponies, but combine that with the 'Newfoals', they were in for a treat. An officer, Nathanial, broke the silence that lasted two minutes. "Kane requires your presence in the Temple, sir." "Alright, tell him I'll be there." Kaiden exited the Command Post and made his way to the Temple, know that his mission is far from over. Mission Accomplished Chaos consumed the Temple as military personal ran left and right, either taking or burning any files that would provide intelligents to the enemy. Kaiden walked into the Temple as soon as an officer passed by him with files in hand. Even though Temple Prime can defend itself from the onslaught of the Ponies, Kilian's forces who attacked them were another thing. Kaiden looked around until he spotted Kane and approached him. He was inspecting someone putting away some files. "That goes. That goes. Destroy that and I will have your heart." Kane turned around an saw the commander approach him. "When my known army conspires against me, it is time to leave behind the insufferable race of animals who call themselves 'Man', to escape this god-forsaken rock." A mischievous smirk appeared in his face. "But now..........now is the time to celebrate. The bait is placed, the trap set, and Equestria and GDI will dig it's own grave. As you can see, preparations are already underway for Phase 3." Kane picked up a weird statue and gave it to a Brotherhood member. "We are only taking the essential icons necessary to build a great temple in the Great Beyond. By this time next week, you and I and the rest of our Inner Circle will begin our Ascension." The building was shaking when a bomb went off next to the Temple. "But our work here on Earth is not complete. Take your troops down to Australia, salvage what you can of Kilian's forces, they will be needed in the final mission. Go now my son and remember, have faith. Deliverance is at hand." he left the room. Kaiden didn't give his voice in the matter, but he reluctantly obey his orders, seeing as no one would betray order given to them by Kane himself. He left the main room of the Temple and continued down the hall until he appeared at a tunnel entrance to the underground. He continued strolling through the tunnel until he arrived at the large tunnel that connected to other corridors. These were used to prove guerilla attacks when GDI would advance on the Temple. They would strike at any city or base, should the need arise. He found the Montauk parked right next to a tank depot. He boarded the underground transport and sat in his command chair. He opened up the communications network and gave his orders. "Attention brothers, we have been given a mission from Kane to go to Australia and take over Kilian's base. I know some of you would rather defend this holy site with your life, but we have been given orders from Kane himself. He has big plans for the Brotherhood and I intended to see it through." The sounds of cheering can be heard in the background. "Our battalion will evacuate at 0400 hours. Blackwing transports will pick you guys up and fly you to Australia. Make sure to pack light." With that, he ended the call and slumped in his chair with only one thing on his mind. I hope Kane knows what he's doing. Seventy-Two Hours Later The ponies attacked Temple Prime for a second time. The second invastion force was larger than the last one and they brought something with them. The Crawler Tank is one of the first vehicles Equestria has ever invented. Used during the Battle of Athena, the Crawler Tank helped the Equestrian army achieve victory over the Griffons. The tank is operated with magic, which requires two unicorns to operate it, one acting as a driver and another as a gunner. But even with the tanks, they're still getting slaughtered like pigs. The technology that these group of humans have are deadly, especially the black giants that shoot out magic from their tube-like hands. Regardless, they would do anything to please their Princesses, even if it means rushing to death. The camp that was outside the temple was filled with activity. Medics did their best to support the wounded, but even then, the wounds were to deep to be cured with magic. Soldiers went from tent to tent getting what they needed, like weapons or armor. The Tank depot was located in the left side of the base as two unicorns went to work on the pieces of the tanks. Soldiers in the mess hall were eating what would be their last meal. Everything was so chaotic that now one noticed a golden chariot carried by two Pegasus stallions with six mares in it. The chariot landed in the courtyard of the base and the six mares walked off (or in one's case, bounced off). They preceded to the Equestrian general's tent while engaging in small talk. "I just don't understand. I've read and checked every book on every species, but I've found nothing about the 'ho-mans', including those crystals they call 'Tiberium'. It was frustrating to say the least. Twilight Sparkle was the prize pupil of Princess Celestia, and saved Equestria from countless threats, but now she can't even find information on a species that doesn't exist. "Twilight, darling, don't worry. We know those ruffians don't use magic, so it's safe to assume that they can't hurt us when were in 'The Barrier' as these 'ho-mans' keep calling it. Not to mention that their clothes are horrifying. I mean, black over red, there should be a crime for such a dreadful mixture." "She's right, sugarcube. There's nothing to fret over, ya hear." "Yeah, and if they ever set foot in Equestria, we'll kick them in the flank and crying home to their mommies." Rainbow Dash punched the air as to make a point. Twilight smiled a bit. "Thanks girls, I don't know what I'll do without you." "Don't worry Twili-Wally, we'll get through this. Besides, we're the main characters of a Command and Conquer fan-ficion written by some guy who is totally cool and not-totally-a-brony, so the odds of us getting killed is zero to one." They all stared at Pinkie Pie for a second before waving it of as 'Pinkie being Pinkie.' They arrived at the generals tent as they finished talking. They entered the tent and found an Earth Pony stallion with a blue coat and a yellow mane wearing golden armor with a blue tint to it. General Brawl, leader of the 7th Equestrian Expansionary Force, was too busy even notice them as he was assessing the situation with is captains. "Alright, status report." "Our troops are getting constantly bombarded by their artillery and those metal birds that drop fire from the sky. If we don't do anything soon, we could lose more troops by the day." "Umm, excuse me, but......" "Our tanks are taking a pounding from those metal titans that they control. We could have no tanks left to defend our camp if they make a push." Can I have your attent-------" "We believe their leader is somewhere in that Temple, but alot of human soldiers are defending that position. They maybe a small force, but they are heavily armed and extremely dangerous." The general sighed. "Alright, here's what we'll do. First we'll get------ "CAN WE PLEASE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION FOR ONE SECOND?!?!?!!?!?" The captains and the general himself were literally knocked out of their seats when the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, shouted to get there attention. They all looked at her while she blushed under her coat and hid behind her pink mane. "That is....if you don't mind." The general retained his composter. "What are civilians doing in our camp? This isn't a tourist trip, you know." "Hey." Rainbow Dash floated at the general's eye level and glared at him. "We're not civilians. We came here to kick some serious flank, and for your information, we're the Elements, so you better suck it up, pal." The general snorted. "I doubt Celestia herself would allow a mare who doesn't know what 'two pulse two equals' to be an Element. It's like putting a Diamond Dog on a train and expect it to operate." She was fuming at the comment. "OH, YEAH. WELL I AOUGHTA--------" Rainbow Dash was caught by Applejack's mouth before she could zip across the room and nail the general in the head. "Let me at him. Let me at him." "Look." Twilight began. "We defeated Discord and Queen Chrysalis before, so some humans won't be a problem to us." The general raised an eyebrow. "And what are you planning to do." "Simple. We're going to fire the Elements at the crystal monolith outside the temple." The captains gasped while the general stare at her with a wide-eye expression. "Are you nuts?!?!?!?!" Twilight soon got into lecture mode. "Look, the crystals called Tiberium is similar to the ones in the Crystal Empire. They both can absorb magic. So if we fire the Elements at the monolith behind the Temple, then it will create a build up of the energy and would release it." The general was still confused as ever. "But wouldn't that backlash also affect us as well?" Twilight shook her head. "Not if you get your best unicorns can cast a big shield around the camp." Brawl put his hoof in his chin in thought. On the one hoof, he could let the Elements do there thing and blast the humans to a rubble. But something in his gut tells him that something might go wrong, he couldn't put his hoof on it. The general looked at Twilight. "We need something that could give us an edge against these humans. If you think that the Elements can damage them, then by all means, you have my permission." Twilight had a huge grin on her. "Thank you, general. You won't regret this." The six mares exited the tent and proceeded to where they planned to fire the Elements. The general put a hoof to the side of his head and sighed. "Just two days to retirement and I get this crap." Field Command Post Australian Outback Yellow Zone Y-4 Kaiden and his team arrived at the Command Post withut any incident, which assumed that Kilian's troops don't know they were here yet. The Australian Outback was still unexplored, with the exception of the aboriginal people. Since the citys were located inland, GDI never explored the region. Nod managed to set up an operations center here in the Outback since the days of the First Tiberium War. They began to train troops there since it was outside of GDI's control. It was also where Ajay, Nod's Intelligence Officer, was born and raised. After the end of the Second Tiberium War, GDI began to build a presence in the Outback, even though the region was still under Nod control. They also managed to build a secret laboratory dedicated to researching Liquid Tiberium. When the Black Hand was integrated into Nod, Kane launched a surprise attack on the laboratory, in which it's destruction accelerated the Tiberium spread in the region. During the Third Tiberium War began, GDI's influence in the Outback was far to few. Nod continued to expand, with Ayer's Rock being it's main headquarters. Kaiden was inside one of the main tents in the Outback, awaiting further orders from Kane. He was worried about Kane, since Temple Prime was under attack from the ponies. But he couldn't help but wonder what is his plan. The Liquid Tiberium Bomb he picked up in Brazil was practically a time bomb. One facture in the glass and the whole this could explode. Now Kaiden is wondering if what he is palning could end the war and eliminate GDI and Equestria, or destroy them in the most antagonizing death possible. Ajay cocked back the pistol before looking at him. "After that little stunt in Sarajevo, I say Kilian ain't worth the bullets to save her. But hey, we're not going to start second-guessing Kane like she does. Nope. If there's one thing I learned from you is that a good soldier follows orders. Right?" "Your right, thought I can't help feeling that something is going to happen. Something bad." Commander Kaiden always has this sixth sense with him. That what separated him from other Commanders. "Well, whatever your sixth sense is, I say leave it alone. Kane's got something planned for the Brotherhood and I aim to see it through. GDI and these Equestrians can die for all I care, one less enemy to worry about." Before Kaiden could argue, HADES interrupted them. "Commander, incoming message from Temple Prime." "Patch it through." The monitor came to life as, showing a man overlooking the battle waging at Temple Prime. The video was a little frizzy but it showed a clear enough picture of the ruin buildings and weapon emplacements. "Are you rolling? Ok. I'm outside Temple Prime and the news here is terrible. Kane's plan has failed. We can see Equestrian soldiers stealing our Tiberium weapon and just hours there was a raid on the Temple. We have shots fired...." An explosion was close enough and the man ducked behind the wall. "So far their is no sign of Kane. We fear that he maybe still trapped inside the Temple." The man pressed in his left ear, as if receiving a message. "Wait............I'm getting word that the Equestrians have some sort of power. Their aiming it at us." The man murmured a prayer. "May the Earth be transformed. May all those who believed in the power of Tiberium be transformed." He repeated the mantra again before the screen frizzed out for a second before blacking out altogether. A Few Minutes Ago "Alright. Everypony ready?" The five mares voiced their agreements. Twilight turned to the Temple, in which the Equestrian Army was pushing through. Even if they found a way into the Temple, it mattered not to them. They served there purpose in the army, now it's their turn. Twilight's eyes flashed green for a second before fading away. "Alright girls, lets do this." The power gathered in the necklaces before one by one, their eyes changed to their respectably colors of their pelts. The rainbow energy started to transfer to Twilight's tiara, in which her eyes changed to a purple light. The beam fired at the Temple, aiming directly at the monolith of Tiberium behind it. The beam hit the crystals, which only glowed brightly and brightly before a loud explosion was sound. The crystals shattered and the energy traveled from Temple Prime to the camps and then to the whole Eastern European continent, effectively spreading Tiberium. The unicorns in the camp put up a shield around it, but as the shockwave traveled, the shield broke and the Tiberium spread to every pony in the camp. The general watched at the shockwave broke through the shield, effecting every unicorn within it's radius. The general sighed. "Damn, two days to my retirement." The entire camp was engulfed in Tiberium, as the shockwave effected the Eastern European Theatre. The Temple is in ruins, all the soldiers are dead or converted, and Kane himself maybe dead or converted himself It was truly a dark day for Nod. > Act II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GDI Command Post Two Zeta Delta Codename "Valhalla" Somewhere in Norway Blue Zone Alarms flared all over the base as Commander Cayden, leader of the Outpost, was knocked off by another explosion as he closed the door to the hallway. He was the only occupant in the command room, as the rest of the staff were either killed or converted. The whole thing started over two hours ago. He sent a scout team to investigate a phenomenon located in the valley he was assigned to, since it was close to the Ion Cannon Center in Oslo. Through the helmet camreas, they saw an entire Equestrian army marching at his outpost. The scouts were suppose to report back to Cayden's outpost, but he saw them get ambushed by a couple of pegasi, dropping those potions on them and converting them into, what humans now call, Newfoals. He watched as they screamed and begged to be killed. It ran a chill up his spine. The army was closing in fast and the commander ordered all the units to defend the outpost at all cost. Of course, it would have been simple if those airships didn't make things more complicated. During the defence of the outpost, radars picked up some slow moving objects heading to his position. He sent two Firehawk jets to relay what was moving in the sky. what he saw through the screen was airships coming, armed with what he assumed to be cannons. They were slow moving but were heavily armed, as they blew his Firehawks out of the sky. He soon sent several other Firehawks and a few Orca fighters to engage the airships. They were easy to blow up since the balloons require Hydrogen to float, which is highly flammable. The Firehawks and the Orca Fighters blew up twelve airships and a zeppelin before they were blasted out of the sky. They were only a few airships left after the engagement, but they reach his outpost and started firing on the base. The bombardment killed half of the defenders, as well as some vehicles that were assigned to the garrison. With them dead, the ponies came in like a tidal wave, either killing or converting any troopers in there way, as well as some of his staff. His legs were disabled when two bolts from a crossbow disabled both of them. He was lucky that he reach the command room before his legs went out. His left arm was blown off by a laser that a unicorn was firing and his face was all battered and bloodied. "Is this what you want, you freaking four-legged freaks. Fine. We were dead men anyway." The alarms continued to blare as the commander continued to crawl to the console. "Just need to do this one last thing. Just wanted to make sure we didn't go to hell alone." The commander reached to console just as the sound of something banging on the steel door came to. "Gonna take you....and every last one of you motherfucker with us." He searched the console for something, anything to kill the ponies. His eyes soon layed on a big red button, which was labeled 'Warning: Ion Cannon Control. Do Not Use If Necessary.' He had a devilish smile on his face. "And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell. Ten fathoms deep......." He pushed the button with his last remaining strength. "On the road to hell." The commander finally given in and died on the spot. He had a smile on him, knowing that the ponies are in for one big surprise. Meanwhile up in orbit, The Ion Cannons, which have been deactivated for the repairs, suddenly started lighting up. In one swift motion, they aimed there cannons at the Barrier that had expanded to the American Midwest. Once the cannons were in position, the very tip of the cannon started lighting up, gathering all the energy it needs. Then the cannons fired. Act II Canterlot Castle Canterlot, Equestria Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean "Your Highness, the first wave of Newfoals within the territories are ready to transfer to Equestria." Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, smiling as her Royal Advisor delivered her the news. "That is joyful to hear, Pencil Pusher. Anything else?" Pencil Pusher, a unicorn with a brown coat and a golden mane, nodded as he levitated a scroll. "Blueblood has returned with one ship. The invasion of the 'American Coast' has failed. However, the Barrier you and your sister put up has destroyed the human settlement, Your Grace. Those technologies that the humans have in the city have also been destroyed. On another note, the Elements have returned and are awaiting for you in the Dining area." "Thank you, Pencil Pusher. You are dismissed." With a bow, the unicorn left Celestia's throne room. Soon, Celestia stood up and exited the throne room, making her way to the dining area to meet with her student and the Elements about there recent victory over one of the human factions. She continued to trot until she reached the dining area. Guards that were posted there saluted her as she opened the large door. Inside the dining room were Twilight, the Elements and her Sister. Blueblood was not present, but it didn't matter to her. All that mattered now was that her student was here. Twilight stood up from her seat and ran to her mentor. "Princess Celestia!" She hugged her mentor. "It is good to see you again, Twilight." She hugged her back. They both hugged for another minute before they parted. "So, Twilight. Tell me about your mission." Twilight frowned. "Well, it was alright. But, the crystals reacted badly against the Elements and now everypony is dead." She and her friends got out in time before the blast hit the camp. It had taken all of Twilights energy to teleport to her library home, but they were safe, nonetheless. Celestia frowned as well. "I know it must have been hard on you, Twilight." She smiled again as she draped a wing over her. "But our soldiers did not sacrifice themselves in vain. With one of the human factions eliminated, we are one step closer to final helping the humans with their plight." "Alright, Princess." Rainbow Dash commented, floating in the air. "Which is why I called you for this special occasion" Princess Celestia sat down in her chair. Twilight returned to her seat as well. "Today is a great day for ponykind. The leader of one of the human factions has been killed and soon the humans will see the error of their ways. It saddens me that alot of good stallions and mares died bringing harmony to the humans. But with one of the factions killed, we are one step closer to bringing joy and harmony to the humans." Her horn lit up and a glass of wine levitated towards her. "Let us toast to our success in bringing peace and harmony to all." "TO HARMONY" Everyone say in unison. The clanked their glasses together............. .......Only for a giant earthquake to knock the ponies out of their seats. It shook nearly the entire castle, as well as its occupants. In fact, it was felt all over Equestria, from the Crystal Mountains to the Badlands. Every house from Canterlot to Manehatten shook like a herd of buffalos coming for some stomping. Every glass was cracked, as well as some statues in towns across Equestria. Once the earthquake subsided, Pinkie Pie was the first to recover. "That....was....AWESOME!!!!! Can we do that again?" Twilight got up and looked at the princess. "What happened? What was that earthquake?" Princess Celestia was just as counfuesed as Twilight. "I do not know, Twilight. But whatever it is, it's over." A guard soon came rushing in. "Your Majesties." The guard bowed at the Royal Sisters. "You better come outside. I think you want to see this." The guard left. Princess Celestia and Luna wasted no time and followed the guard to the Balcony, along with the Elements. Through several hallways and a stair, they reached the balcony that overlooked the entire landscape of Equestria. Some say that the view was so breath taking. It was breathtaking, but not in the sense of a tourism. Celestia saw beams of light coming down from the sky, as if the heavens were smiting the ground. There isn't just one, there was another to the northeast and the southwest. They were banging down at the shields, as if a hammer was banging on a harden glass. 'Impossible. The humans don't use magic. How can they summoned a beam this big?' She though to herself. During the occupation of one of the cities, she read a book that tells here that magic doesn't exist and is only used to tell folk stories. They kept thundering down from the sky for at least three whole minutes until it stopped. At first, nothing happened. Celestia was so glad of that. The humans think that their 'magic' could take on her little ponies magic. But then a crack was formed. And another. And another. A web of cracks traveled from the top to the bottom of the Barrier. It continued until it stopped at the bottom. After five minutes, it cracked. The Barrier fell, like a glass object that fell on a hard floor. Pieces came colliding down on the land below, causing damage and some deaths in its wake. Princess Celestia was shocked beyond belief. The Barrier has withstand every assault in the other world, even magic from other pony nations who refused to join her crusade. Now it was destroyed, as if they anticipated this moment. Princess Luna was both shocked that the shield was destroyed and impressed that the humans have actually broken through. Twilight was shocked as well, but her brain was trying to process what was happening. She looked at her teacher with concern. "Princess, how can they do this!?!?!? It's impossible! The humans don't have magic and yet they brought down the Barrier as if it was nothing." "I do not know, Twilight. I do not know." A pegasus guard landed on the balcony. "Your majesties, I bring news from the front." Celestia recovered from her shock and spoke to the Pegasus. "Speak, Wind Waker." "The Barrier is down. The humans have launched an offensive. They beaten back our forces." Celestia look out on the horizon, knowing that her little ponies are at stake if she failed to repeal the human invasion. 'I will not fail' Celestia had a determined look on her face as she watched the shield go down. 'I will protect my little ponies, even if I must die.' Sahara Desert North Africa Yellow Zone Y-2 "Commander, you have an incoming transmission from Washington." It had been a few days since the attack on Santa Cruz, and true to his word, he let the Nod soldiers go. They said that they can drop them of at the Sahara Desert, a few clicks to the direction of a Nod outpost. Andrew was currently in the hanger bay of the Kodiak, watching as several of the Nod soldiers went out to the Sahara Desert, which is where there outpost is located. Commander Andrew turned to his officer. "Alright. I'll be up their in a second." The officer nodded and looked out to the retreating Nod soldiers. "Are you sure we should let them go? They could have valuable information that High Command could want." "I know" Andrew looked at the officer in the eye. "But right now, there not our enemies. And after defending Santa Cruz for us, I think they deserve some rest." The commander turned around and left the hanger. He saw people going left and right, doing there jobs. A man was fixing a leg of a Titan while another person was cleaning some of the barrels of the Wolverines. He took an elevator back to the command room, where he sat down on the command chair and pressed a few buttons. "ATHENA?" "Yes, Commander?" "Patch me through to Washington." "Connecting...................Connetion established." The screen changed to the GDI Command Center in Washington. Jack Granger’s face was the first thing that he saw. "General." He saluted. "At ease, Commander. Just five hours ago, there was an attack on a GDI outpost in Norway, close to the Ion Cannon Control Center in Oslo. The commander of the outpost was killed, but he pressing the fire button for the Ion Cannon. They're only entrusted to loyal GDI commanders like you. The Ion Cannons activated and bombarded on the shield that these aliens put up." "Did it work?" The Commander questioned the general. "Surprisely, it did work." The general continued. "With there shield down, the ponies don't have anything to defend themselves with. We are preparing to take back the territories that we lost. But I have a special mission for you, Commander. Our pacific forces stationed in Taiwan are preparing a landing invasion of the alien's continent. I want you to lead this invasion, Commander. In-Ops is unavailable at this moment, but the Colonel in charge of the forces can give you more detail. Good luck, Commander. We're all counting on you." The general finished his briefing as the screen went black. The Commander was surprised that the Ion Cannon worked in the first place. Now that the shields are down, GDI is launching an offensive to take back the territories that were lost to the Barrier. He is given a special mission, to lead a GDI force to establishing a beachhead on the ponies land. He lead GDI forces before, especially during the Defense of Washington. Since then, he has lead the 5th Division, also known as the 'Steel Eagles', against Nod and anything that threaten the safety of the people. He didn't praise himself as a hero of GDI. Hell, he didn't want the position in the first place. But when the Philadelphia went down, he did what was necessary for Mankind's survival of a Terraformed Earth. Now Andrew was thrust into another mission, with the faith of humanity in his hands. Andrew began relaying his orders to his officers. "Set up a course to Taiwan. We're going to show these ponies what happens when they miss with GDI." The VTOL aircraft slowly began to rise up from the sand, began floating for a few seconds and shot of towards the horizon. The fate of the world and the human race now rest on GDI and they will succeed, no matter what. Command Center Ayers Rock, Australia Yellow Zone Y-4 "Children of Nod, I bring grave news. As many of you know, we were building a Liquid Tiberium weapon at our Temple Prime in hopes of ending this awful war. Those hopes were killed, along with our leader, Kane, when Equestria destroyed our most holy site. I do not have all the details yet, but it appears the strange beam set off a Liquid Tiberium explosion beneath the temple. The damage to our Yellow Zone is unspeakable, our casualties in the millions. No one can replace Kane, but it is now my duty, my blood oath, to lead our Brotherhood through these trying times. And I say there is no time for mourning. We must turn our grief into anger and leave the past behind us. We must put all talk of ascension aside. Our only goal should be to take back this planet, one continent at a time, starting with Equestria. Tiberium is our divine birth right. Those of you who embrace it shall inherit the Earth. Those of you who defile it will feel our fury. Follow me, my children, and I will lead us to victory against GDI and the ponies." Field Command Post King's Canyon, Australia Yellow Zone Y-4 The second command post in Australia was a little more than busy, either gathering the wounded or managing cargo from Temple Prime. Once an old GDI outpost, it's been refurbished to be used for Nod. It was more of a base than a command post, with a slope hillside separating by three levels of flat land. A ramp went all the way down to the ground. The vehicles occupied the lower levels of the base, the aircraft occupied the second level while the main base was one the top. Scorpian Tanks were parked outside the munitions dump. Aircraft, from Banshee's to Blackwings landed in Air towers that were set up. Military personal were running left and right, doing their duties or going to their destinations. In other words, things were hectic. It had been days since Temple Prime was destroyed. With the death of their leader, Kane, moral was an issue as people tried to coop with the fallout. Since then, Kilian had started a broadcast across all Nod networks, telling the sad news of Kane's death. She wasn't fit to be a leader, but she had a heart of a leader. With determination and coordination, she would change the Brotherhood from a religious organization into a military superpower. However, not everyone liked the news. Inside the Command Post, Ajay was sitting in a chair while Kaiden was leaning against a wall. Both were reported to this outpost "I don't believe this. I grew up near here." Ajay looked at the commander. "And I don't care what Kilian says. Kane is not dead. He's too smart, he wouldn't let that happen. No way he would bail us like that, there's no way." "Regardless of the fact," The Commander spoke. "Kane is not leading the Brotherhood. We have to make do with what we got, even if Kilian tried to betray us "Yeah, your right." Ajay admitted. "You hear about Kilian's new plan? She wants to steal GDI's nukes, level the playing field. She calls Kane to aggressive. What a joke." He grabbed a folder and presented it to the commander. "And look at this. Kilian just put out her first High Directive. She wants all military personal in Australia, say's to preparing an invasion of the alien country since there shield are down." Guest we got no choose, an orders and order. Man, she sure takes the fun out of being Nod." "Yeah, I guess. But now we can take the fight to the ones that killed our Messiah." "Damn right we can. Although, don't think our boys are up for this challenge." After the destruction of Temple Prime, some of Kaiden's and Ajay's troops went into a deep depression. Some even committed suicide. Kane was a great leader, maybe the best they ever had when the Brotherhood first emerged. A lot of troopers looked up to him, like a natural born leader. "Don't worry, I've lead my men through hell and back. I'll give them a reason to fight." The commander went to the console that was plugged into the front of the room and pressed a button. In response, the bases speakers came to life. A snake-like microphone came up from the console. Clearing his throat, he began to speak. "Attention Soldiers of Nod, as many of you know, Kane is dead. Killed by those ponies who wanted to convert or kill us. It is a sad day for us all. But I implore you to look past this ordeal and fight for the Brotherhood. I know that some of you have lost the will to fight. But fret not, for I have something to tell you. A secret to share with you." He was silence for a second before continuing. "It's been said that I like war. That's right, I like war. No.................I love war. I love Holocaust, I love Blitzkriegs, I love defensive lines. I love sieges, charges, I love mop-up operations and retreats. Wars across prairies, in streets, in trenches, in grasslands, in frozen tundra's through deserts and in the air. I love very act of war that can occur upon this earth. I love blasting the enemy to smotherings with artillery salvos that thunder across the lines of battle. My heart leaps with joy whenever a soldier is toss high in the air and cut to pieces by well placed sniper rounds. And there is nothing like a tank operator using a Laser upgrade on his tank to destroy enemy tanks, and the feeling that comes when a soldier runs screaming from his blazing tank, only to be mowed down by heavy machine gun fire is such an exquisite feeling, like the ranks of infantry brandishing their bayonets, rushing into the enemies line." "It moves me deep within my heart to watch a fresh recruit stabbing over and over into the bloated chest of a long dead enemy. The site of deserters being strung up from a street lamp is an resistible pleasure. And there is nothing more arousing than the sounds made by prisoners of war dropping like flies, screaming in agony as they're mowed down by ear-piercing rifle rounds. When a band of pitiful resistance fighters make their final stand with nothing but small arms, only for their city smashed into atoms, block by block by 4.8 ton bomb shells, I'm in ecstasy. I love it when my forces are ravaged by a GDI armored division. It's so sad to see towns and villages that were supposed to be defended by all cost being layed to waste, their women and children being raped and killed. I love to be squashed under the heel of those GDI dogs. The humiliation as my men crawl around like vermin, ducking under the bombers flying overhead." "Gentlemen," he continued. "all I ask for is war. War so grand, it would make Hell itself tremble. Gentlemen, I ask you as fellow brothers in arms, what is it that you really want? Do you wish for further war as I do? Do you wish for a merciless, bloody war? A war whose fury is build by with iron and lightning and fire? Do you ask for war to sweep in like a Tempest, leaving not even ravens to scavenge from this Earth?!?!?!" The sound of cheering can be heard from all sides as they answered. Kaiden smiled as he continued. "Very well. Then war is what you shall have." "We are a clenched fist ready to strike down all who oppose us with our might. But after enduring half a century wallowing in the dark, a simple ordinary war will no longer be sufficient. We need a massive war. A war beyond anything in man's history has ever known. We are but a single battalion, the remnants of a defeated army numbering less than a thousand strong. However, I believe that each of you Nod warriors is equal to a thousand of their sickles, soft children. We represent a force that could easily defeat a million of one ponies. It is time to awake the ones that sent us screaming into oblivion and now lay sleeping. Lets drag them by the hair and remind them what we are. We will remind them of what it feels like to live in fear. We will remind them of the sound our knife make against their throats. We will remind them that there are more things between Heaven and Hell in their philosophy. Our army of one thousand men screaming for vengeance is going to burn their land down to ash. Yes, my friends. Soon Equestria's charred remains will illuminate the night sky. "I have brought us together, just as I promised I would. Back to a new battlefield with an enemy that will cry at night after what we will do. Back to our beloved war." "Attention, Soldiers of Nod. This is a message from you commander." Kaiden had a savage grin on him. The holy site and their leader may be destroyed, but the spirit of Nod shall prevail and would scream for bloody vengeance against those who dare oppose them. He will lead his battalion through there lands. And when they are done, none will survive. "Let's bring them hell." > GDI-E-Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GDI 2nd Fleet. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean The Kodiak flew over the hundreds of warships over the ocean as they went to an unknown location. The sun was high up in the sky, despite the current Tiberium climate on Earth. Inside the cockpits of the Kodiak, Commander Andrew Coulson and his crew were seen looking over the bridge to the warships. It has been a few hours since Alex received the mission for General Jack Granger to launch an offensive in the country where the aliens reside in called 'Equestria'. He is tasked with meeting with the Colonel of the assault on the country itself. "Commander, you have an incoming transmission from the U.S.S. Oklahoma." One of the officers notified Andrew as he sat in his command chair. "Sent it through." He said. On his orders, the officer press some buttons on the consoles. The screen came alive as a face is presented on it. The man on it is older that Andrew, with a black beard and black hair with light green eyes. In the background, the crew members were busy with some "Nice to see you, Commander. Colonel Mel Conrade, at your service. " He said. "I hope that this mission you were given isn't too soon?" "Nonsense." Andrew said. "I can take another mission. No problem. Just tell me what to do." "Alright. Hang on one second." The colonel is pressing some buttons below him. The screen shirked into a small version of him and then moved to the left hand corner of the screen. A map was presented to him of a country that almost looked like England. The words 'Equestria' was presented at the top of the map. "We found this map while we were taking back Shanghai. We believe this is the ponies country." The screen zoomed into a town labeled 'Vanhoover'. "Command wants us to establish a beachhead here. We know that it is the major port city on this side of the country, so they chose this town to launch our invasion." A picture of the town from the drone are presented. "We scouted out the town itself. It's under heavy guard, but there technology if far behind ours, so they shouldn't be a problem for us. But we need a beachhead so we can send in our troops. And that's the problem." A bubble suddenly sprouted out from the city. "A shield is keeping our forces from landing. We've tried everything to destroy it, but the damn thing is indestructible. But that's just the bad news for us." A picture of what looks like a base near some trees, a half mile from the town itself. "Our drones have picked up high radiation spikes from a base to the far north." Andrew saw the machine in the screen. It looked like a box of sorts, with wires and crystals all around the surface. "Inside the base, we found some sort of machine. If I had to take a guess, I think his machine is what is keeping us out." The Colonel's face was once again taking the full screen. "We need you to destroy that base and the machine in it. Once that's done, we'll assault the city and take it as our own. We'll launch a diversion to keep the main forces occupied. Think you can do this?" Andrew nodded. "Of course we can. Send me the map of Equestria for me. We'll see to it that that base is destroyed." "Of course. One more thing. "The city as a small beach not far from there. It should make an excellent location for your base of operations. Mel out" The Colonel disappeared from the screen, leaving it with the symbol of GDI on it. "Set up a course for Vanhoover." The Commander ordered. "Let's make them regret ever attacking humanity." A Forest Outside Of Vanhoover Two Hours Later The airship landed on the beach with no problem at all. The engineers got to work on the defenses and some structures for the assault on the ponies base. Concrete walls were set up in a pentagon position, with the only access point being the small beach. War Factories were starting producing more Titan walkers and Wolverine's, as well as a couple of Mammoth Tanks and a few Tempest MLRS. Vulcan Towers were set up along the perimeter of the base. An Orbital Deployment Center was installed inside the base, granting Commander Andrew an access to a Mammoth Mk. II, an old walker from the Second Tiberium War and repurposed for GDI use once again. Inside the ship, Commander Andrew is sitting in his command chair, giving seen giving directions to some of the troops on the consoles. Right now, he ordered two Firebirds to do a fly by of the base. He saw the Firebirds take off with a boost. Airfield. "ATHENA, give me a visual of he base." Andrew said. A holographic screen came to life before him, seeing the birds-eye view from the Firebirds. The base that he saw on the screen was heavily defended. Although these ponies lack any modern day weaponry, the one with the horns can do an equal amount of damage, along with some of the cannons and, for what he could guess, gatling guns. Two enterances to the base were there. The front entrance is heavily guarded with troops and those tanks. However, the back entrance provides little resistance, with only a few of those normal ponies and a few Pegasus ponies. "Commander, the base seems to be heavily guard. The back entrance seems less guard than the other ones. We should launch a diversion by attacking the first entrance, then flank them from the back. We would overrun the enemy." "Good, let's------" Alarms have flared as "What's going on?!?!" "Alert! Large force heading south to our location." "Damn it." He murmured under his breath. "We must have been found out somehow." He looked out the window of the bridge, seeing some dust coming out of the horizon. "Order the troops to dig in. I want Wolverines and MLRS at the front of the gates in case the turrets fall." The officers scrabbled to their positions. Andrew pressed a few buttons on his chair and brought up the view of his base. He cracked his knuckles before going to work. "Nothing ever goes our way." "....and after we kick these monkeys out, I'm going back to my mare back in Manehattan." Sugar Bomb said to Gum Drop as they marched. Behind all the armor, Sugar Bomb is a normal earth pony with a grey coat and a violet purple mane and tail. Gum Drop, a unicorn mare, has a mulberry coat with yellow and red strips. A Pegasus from the garrison forces inside the city had come to his company's camp, informing them that they spotted the humans in a beach not far from Vanhoover. So they mobilized and started a march toward they're target, intended to drive them out of their homeland. The ponies from his battalion have bought something called a 'gatling gun' straight out of Stalliongrad. The use of it was that it would use a magical crystal inside the gun, which would unleash magical energies right at the enemy. The use of this new invention could very well change the war, and help the humans live a better life. "I understand what your feeling." Gum Drop said in a Appaloosan accent. "I have a stallion and two fillies waiting for me back home. I hope we can get this done and over with." "Yeah. I mean, what are those monkey's going to do. Throw bananas at us?" She giggled. "Yeah, those ape won't know what-" Before they knew it, they were already at the beach. They saw the human structures up ahead, as well as some walls that separate the Equestrian soldiers from the humans. Sugar Bomb snorted. "What this? Do they think a wall is going to keep us-" Something smashed into the ground, sand flying everywhere. Everypony covered they're eyes as sand was flown everywhere. Gum Drop and Sugar Bomb coughed as sand was everywhere, blinding them. The dust has settled moments later, letting Gum Drop and Sugar Bomb see what had caused such calamity. They saw a shadow hovering over them and the company. It is as big as any dragon they seen, with two large tubes at its side and two miniature cannons out of its mouth. It's feet reminded them of a ducks feet, but bigger in size. They can see two windows on the head of the beast, seeing humans controlling it. Gum Drop and Sugar Bomb both gulped and quivered in fear of this gigantic monstrosity. They weren't the only ones fear it. Half of the company was already quivering in fear after seeing this thing. The only pony that wasn't affected was companies commander, who just glared at it. "They think that some stupid animal is going to stop us. Lets show these apes how we really do things in Equestria!" With a bellowing war cry, the sergeant galloped toward the metal beast. The entire company saw their leader going into battle, which inspired some of them to follow their leader into battle. Gum Drop and his friend followed their leaders example. What they saw, would haunt them for the rest of their days. Graves, the driver in the Mammoth MKII Walker, had to shift back a laugh when he saw the aliens, no more a size of a dog and armed with spears and swords, come running up to a heavily armed war machine. It was funny, in a odd way. "Alright, boys." He shout to the rest of his crew members inside the bridge of the Mammoth. "Lets show these aliens what happens when they mess with the big dogs." "Sir, don't you think this is a bit......overkill?" A nearby officer by the name of Ryan said to Andrew as they saw the Mammoth Walker destroy the entire army. This wasn't the first time he had used this method. Back in Africa, when they were sent to disrupt the ports carrying the WMD's, he used the Orbital Deployment Center to deploy a Mammoth MK.II onto the battlefield. Some say it was a bit of an overkill, but the commander didn't really care. Andrew looked at him. "I know it's a bit of an overkill, but we need something strong to punch through the lines. I know we have some heavy tanks, but after Santa Cruz, I'm not taking any chances." He looked back at the screen, which showed the Mammoth releasing all hell on the ponies. "Though, now I might have made a mistake." Both Sugar and Gum hid behind a rock as the.....thing continued to slaughter their best friends and mates. The first to go was they're company commander, who was the first to be eviscerated when the large metal monster fired both of the tubes in his side at him. Some of the soldiers went to cover, others tried to run for their lives, while a few charged at the metal giant, thinking they could take it down. The giant had fired it's 'bullets' at the ones that are retreating, mowing them down one by one. It soon threw up some disc-shaped objects at the soldiers that were charging it. When it came in contact, the soldiers were reduced to a bloody mist. They saw one pegasus pony escape the bloody massacre and attempted to slash the window of the beast that is housing the humans, but a 'missile' came at him from somewhere and turned him into a bloody mist. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Gum Drop shouted, interrupting his thoughts. He looked in her eyes and saw that she was afraid. Looking on top of his cover, he saw that some of his comrades were already killed in battle, a few of them were missing some limbs. He saw human soldiers exiting from the base itself and going into the narrow past, some more metal beast accompanying them. He saw some of the surviving ponies trying to fight the humans from a distance with either crossbows, magic, or those potions. While the cross bolts and magic had done little than to hider them, the potions didn't do a really good job. The potions were supposed to burn through the heaviest and enchanted armor. There was no way the humans would not be affected by it. He turned back to her. "I think we should get going, get away from Vanhoover." Her eyes went wide when he mentioned this. "Are you crazy?!?!?!? We could be hunted down." "Well, I don't want to die here!" Sugar Bomb yelled over the sound of battle. "I have a wife and kids to go back to. Besides, have you seen what happened to our company. A whole lot of them were eliminated in seconds. Seconds!. By that machine!" Gum Drop bit her lip as she thought about what he said. He was right. Almost all of their company was destroyed by that beast, especially since they couldn't get a single hit on it. In a blink of an eye, she saw her comrades in arms reduced to bloody messes or lost a precious limb. She wanted to charge out of her cover so she could give the humans her piece of mind, but she knows that she would be killed if she set foot out of cover. She sighed. "Your right. Lets get out of here." He look over his cover again. Apparently, the remains of the 24th were getting the same idea. The were going out of their covers and ran far from the beach. He nodded to Gum Drop, and they both got out of cover and ran, the bullets flew past them like a horde of flies. Later, after the war, they would tell their foals stories of the horrors of the metal beasts. "Sir, the ponies are retreating. Should we pursue them?" Ryan informed the commander. The commander watched as the ponies ran for the hills from his troops. "Let them go. I think they learned they're lesson." Andrew said. "Right now, lets focus our efforts on the base." From the holographic screen in front of him, he saw his forces awaiting his orders. He raised his hand at the screen and traced it to his objective, creating a line. "Lets finish this." Shield Blast, a unicorn stallion with a blue coat and grey mane and tail, stood outside the base, guarding the entrance with a bored expression on his face as he leaned against his spear. Out of all the jobs in the army, he was ordered to stand guard outside. It was boring. He wanted to join his other friends in the conversion of the humans. But no! He was stuck here guarding the base. 'Dear Celestia, I wish something would happen.' His ears perked up when the ground shook for a second. He stood full at attention, spear in his fetlock as the rumbling continued. The ground shook every few seconds. He was both a little exited and scared at the same time. Something big was heading this way, and from the rumbling, it was really big. But at the same time, he could help but be relived that something was happening. 'Maybe if I take it down, they might give me a promotion.' He smiled at the thought. After a few seconds of shaking and rumbling, something came out from the trees. A metal beast the likes of which he never seen before. His eyes widened at the sight before him. His legs felt like jelly, his spear almost fell out of his grip. The thing in front of him could easily crush him in one go. He shook his head. This was no time to dwell on this. If he put it down, he would be a hero, and every mare would want him. He levitated the spear from his hooves and aimed for his head. He waited until the thing got close, it's slow step shook the very earth itself. With a might pull, he threw the spear at the beasts head........ ......and it bounced off. The metal beast stopped for a second, then aimed its tubes at him. "....buck." His entire world turned red. Andrew watched from his holographic screen as his forces reached the base and started attacking it. Lifting his hands, he dragged the holographic screen down and miniaturized it to a size of a table. He could still see his forces engaging the enemy. Using his own fingers, he directed the forces to their respectable positions. Three Juggernauts launched their volley against the camp. The ponies were caught off guard at the artillery, most were already dead or running for cover. He pointed his finger to the multiple troops hidden in the forest, as well as the Mammoth walker, and dragged there path to the base. They charged at the base while proving cover fire for some slower vehicles. The Wolverines were mowing down any ponies that got in the way, reducing them to nothing more than red rain. A Titan aimed its cannon at an unfortunate pony and fired, leaving nothing left but a scorched helmet on the ground. A company of GDI troopers had fired its rifles at the ponies coming out of the barracks they were in. A couple of the ponies tanks started firing magic at some of the troopers. A Mammoth tank fired its twin cannons at one of the tanks, reducing it to rubble. The other tanks tried to turn toward the Mammoth tank, but they were quickly destroyed by the Mammoth walker. His eyes darted around the screen as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. The machine was crudely made, with wires sticking out of it and a beam of light that shoot through the sky. "There you are" He mumbled as he spotted the thing that looks like the machine that he is sent to destroy. With a flick of his fingers, he ordered his demolitions team to right it with explosives. He saw two GDI engineers rush to the machine and started placing C4 on it. He moved his hand to the outside, ordering his troops to evacuate. The forces starting moving out of the base, some dragging wounded troops as well. After everyone was evacuated, he pressed a button on the chair that connected to the C4. The base exploded, a massive mushroom cloud was seen from the bridge. A massive shock wave shook the earth, trees flown in the wind. He looked over to the city and saw the shield shimmered for a second before it died out. The crew on the bridge cheered in victory as the shield that covered the city was destroyed. He could see the GDI fleet on the horizon as they assaulted the city. From the carriers, landing ships were launched toward the city. The cannons from the battleships pounded the Equestrian forces. The carriers launched Firebirds and Orca Bombers for bombing runs and strategic strikes. The ponies themselves were overwhelmed and running, while some of them stayed behind to fend off the invaders. He could see some landing craft heading toward the city, filled with GDI troops and equipment necessary for this landing. Andrew ordered the rest of his troops to assist in the assault of the city. In a matter of hours, the city will fall to GDI. Today, humanity had struck a strategic blow against the ponies. Mission Accomplished > Nod-The Manehatten Insurrection 1/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manehatten Northeast of Equestria Green Zone The sun rose on the country of Equestria, signifying another glorious day brought on by they're beloved ruler. In the city of Manehatten, the main trading hub of Equestia, ponies wake up to another day in the big city. A great fog covered the area as the ponies start about they're day without a care in the world. The streets were filled with ponies as they went to business they work in or they owned. Plays were opened to the public in the early morning. The Statue of Harmony sat in the outside harbor of the city, a testimony the building power of the ponies. Though, it will not last long. Several battleships carrying the Nod symbol suddenly appeared out of the fog, like a monster from pony legend. One of their cannons aimed at the Statue of Harmony. The cannons roared as the shells were unleashed. The first one took out the head while the other two struck it from the sides. Slowly, the statue came crumbling down, the ponies within it dead or wounded. A day of reckoning has come for the ponies. Carrier ship Salvation Outside Manehatten "Direct hit on the statue, sir." A Nod officer spoke to Kaiden as they hit the staute within the city. This brought a satisfying smile to his face, seeing the ponies that destroyed Temple Prime on the defensive. After the message from Kilian was sent, and the destruction of the so-called 'Barrier', most of the Nod forces began taking back territories lost to the ponies. Already, they have taken back some of New Zealand and Asia, as well as the Balks and Eastern Europe. The victories were many due to the ponies lack in militarization and technology. Commander Kaiden and Ajay are sent on a special mission for Kilian. Establishing a foothold in Equestria. The large city, 'Manehatten', is said to be one of the many trading post in this 'Equestria'. Kaiden and Ajay are sent there to capture the city and establish a base of operation for their up-and-coming conquest of Equestria. Kaiden is on the ship known as Salvation, a stolen GDI carrier, refurbished to Nod standards. The ship itself was big, enough to carry 20,000 men and supplies. The inside of the bridge was bustling with activity, as they gone to their positions for the coming attack. The other ships readied their guns and fired at the city. Looking over the city from the bridge, he the same shield that nearly destroyed the world being erected in the city itself, the pink shield shimmering in the morning sun. The shells exploded into the shield, seemingly had no effect on it. He heard a siren alarm being sound within the city. Tiny specks of colors danced in the harbor as he saw the ponies fleeing for their lives. "Incoming Transmission." HADES informed Kaiden. The screen in front of him lit up, showing the face of Ajay. "I assume that you saw that as well?" Kaiden said. Ajay nodded. "Looks like the same once that drove most of our forces out of Asia. Though it looks smaller than the big. Whatever it is, our forces can't break through to it, and our guns are useless against it." He shook his head. "Looks like this invasion that Kilian had sent us to do might not even happen." "We can't give up now." Kaiden said. "There has to be some other way." He looked up at the ceiling, where he installed HADES onto the ships mainframe. "HADES, scan the city for anything." "Affirmative, Commander. Starting scan now." Kaiden once more looked over the command bridge, seeing everyone on the deck going to their positions. An engineer was fixing a Scorpion Tank, installing a laser tube in the tank. Two Nod soldiers were escorting several ponies, who have been captured during the failed invasion of Australia, Two Blackbirds landed on the runway, the hatches opened to reveal supplies. A Carryall unhooked a Avatar War Mech from the bottom of the ship. "Commander, scanners have shown something outside the city." HADES informed the commander. The screen changed, showing the outline of the city from a hacked GDI satellites. HADES zoomed in on a building located outside of the city. "This prison has a massive spike in radiation. It would assume that something in this building is controlling the shield in the city." "Alright, now we know that they have a weakness." The screen changed to Ajay, in which Kaiden turned to. "I'll send some of my best inside the prison. If there is something that is controlling the shield, then we need to destroy it." "Alright, Commander." Ajay said over the screen. "We'll keep pounding them with everything we have. Good luck." Ajay disappeared from the screen, the Nod symbol floating on the screen once more. "I want some of our best soldiers for this mission. Someone contact Natasha and Gabriel as well. We need them to lead the strike force." Kaiden commanded. Already, the crew did as he commanded. He was annoyed that the ponies were hiding behind a shield. But despite an advantage that they have in defence, Kaiden couldn't help but smile. When it came to defenses, he was an expert in breaking them. Several Blackbirds sored through the air as they went towards their objective. Natasha, in one of the transports, checked on her weapon as they prepare for what is to come. Both Gabriel and her have been called upon by Kaiden for another mission, a sabotage. Something that she and Gabriel are good at. It has been a while since the explosion at Temple Prime, and the retreat to Australia. While they did enjoy a little break now and then, they were eager to get back to the field of battle. Kaiden had announced that the new leader of Nod, Kilian, wanted to capture a city in the name of Kane and establish a base of operations there. Natasha slide one of the energy cells into the chamber, the glowing red as she done this. Inside one the transports she was in, several Shadow Teams and a couple of Saboteurs readying themselves. Natasha put one of her fingers into her ear, activating the earpiece. "Gabriel, can you hear me?" "Aye, loud and clear." He responded. "Good. We'll keep in touch once we get to the prison." She said. It was a big building, from what she saw at the briefing. If anything, there would be a large number of enemies in the building. "Right. We'll up into teams. I'll take the right side while you move to the left." "Roger. See you on the other side." She wanted to end the conversation there, but there was something she wanted to ask, as much as it pained her. "Do you think what she said is true?" "About what?" "Kane being killed." There was a silence that weighted heavily in the air. Indeed, the news of the Destruction of Temple Prime and the supposed killing of Kane has spread throughout the Nod infrastructure. Everyone was still mourning for their leader. But that didn't stop them from following Kilian's command to take back everything the ponies have stolen. Many Chapters still cry for blood of the ponies, and would like nothing more than to go into the aliens land and kill every single thing in the land. "Don't give your hopes up." Gabriel said. "Kane has survived worse throughout the years. I know he's still alive somewhere. Our messiah will come back to use." Natasha sighed. It was one of those things that she hated about those Black Hand militants "We're almost at the drop point. Ready yourselves." The pilot of the craft said over the intercom. With a whine that emitted from the laser rifle, she was all ready to go. She look at the others, seeing some of the Shadows and Saboteurs ready to go. She brought her left forearm up, revealing to be a miniature computer. Pressing a few buttons, her entire body disappeared, leaving a shimmering silhouette. The cargo bay doors opened, and all hell broke loss. Security sighed. It was another day in the job, and he hated it. The Manehatten Security Prison is said to be one of the most heavily guarded places in Equestria. With huge brick walls, magical security defense in case of a riot, and security systems that can put Canterlot's defenses to shame, it houses many of the most dangerous criminals in the country. Ranging from Diamond Dogs to Minotaur's, from mob bosses to warlords, many a criminals are housed here. Since the start of the Conversion Wars, the staff had undergo a slight change in management. Everywhere he went, he saw Royal Guards marching about the place like they own it. Not that it matters to him. He wanted a job that can support his apartment, and help move out of his parents home. His hind legs were outstretched onto the table as he crossed them, while his fore hooves were behind his head. He was inside one of the checkpoints they have inside the prison. The inside of it is small, with a rolling chair and a wooden table to put his stuff on. The monitors inside the prison were alive, showing different parts of the prison. His coffee mug floated to his lips with a lime green aurora. He is a unicorn with a lanky, but very strong body. His coat is a light yellow with a blue mane and tail. His horn, which is a lime green, had the same aurora on it as he brought the cup to his lips. The warm caffeine past through his lips and into his throat. Once he was done, he set the mug down and continued his work on watching one of the feeds to the left, which showed the kitchen. The staff were preparing the meals for the prisoners, including a few meat mixed in the pots. Although he was used to meat eaters eating in the prison, he still scoffed at them. Why they didn't convert some of them was beyond him. He turned his head toward one of the other feeds, his block, which showed two guards in one of the lower decks of the prison. His block is where they housed some of the most dangerous, ruthless, and merciless beings that could send even the bravest of ponies running for the hills. Once again, he turned towards one of the feeds showing the courtyards........ .....and he almost threw up his breakfast. The courtyard was a mess. Blood and skin littered the ground, spilling out like a river. Some of the guards ponies looked like they were roasted, the coats burned and charred. He saw a few guards ponies alive, but were running around confused like headless chickens. One of the ponies, a guards mare, grabbed the attention of them. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was trying to command the troops to do something. An alarm sounded throughout the prison itself. However, her head was suddenly blown off, bits of brain everywhere. That wasn't the only thing that he saw. The feeds now showed numerous red, bipedal creatures inside the prison. The guards were trying to hold them back. A row of guards in one of the prison blocks were roasted by a blast of fire from one of those creature that had multiple red eyes like a spider. Two guards in another block had their brains blown out. A second later, a creature shimmered into existence, looked down one of its kills. It saw one guard twitching, trying to get to his spear. The creature aim one of its L-shaped objects to the head of the guard. A second later, the guard's head exploded. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Security's breath caught up in his throat when a voice spoke behind him. He shakily and slowly turned around, his eyes widened as he saw the figure before him. He saw the strange armor that it wore, an all-black outline with a symbol of a scorpions tail on the chest. It's four, red eyes pierced through his very soul. On its hand was a strange tube-like item with a hose that connects to the tanks in his back, a little fire coming out of the tube. The same tube that the other on had when it burned half of the guard. "Wait! Don't kill me! I'll do whatever you want!" Normal, he would try to fight them, giving them the ol Manehatten Welcome. But he knew that if he attacked the creature, he would be roasted alive like the guards. The creature chuckled in his mask. "That a good boy. Now tell me what's in this block?" "All of the dangerous criminals, including some species that haven't been converted yet!" He exclaimed in a frightened tone. "How dangerous are we talking?" "Some of the head families of the mafia, including the BloodFlower Family. Also some resistance groups and terrorist." He couldn't see through the mask he wore, but he was sure that he was happy with the answer. "Good to know. Now die!" The last thing he felt before the world lit up was a searing sensation on his coat and skin. Father Gabriel finished 'purifying' the pony in front of him, reduced to ashes. The raid had gone as planned, taking the ponies by surprise. While Natasha lead the stealth team to infiltrate the prison while his main force, composed of Confessors and Black Hand Militants, checked block after block for the machine. It was a taxing job, since the prison is the size of the Pentagon. But he wasn't worried about that. He searched and searched to no avail, until he came across this block. It was twice the size of the normal cells he visited, and more secured than the others. Metal doors were presented in each block, with a different kinds of locks on them. Even as he was passing through, a shiver was sent up his spine when he passed some, giving of a murderous vibe. Once he was finished, he looked over to one of the control consoles that they have. He had to hand it to the ponies. They may lack in military might, but the technology they had was somewhat similar to the ones in the 80's or 90's. The televisions showed different parts of the prison, or at least this area. He saw some of Natasha's handiwork, was well as his other forces searching and burning any pony they come across. On the table were a variation of buttons. The one that he was focused on was a big red one with the words 'Do Not Push' inscribed at the bottom. If he didn't know better, he would guess that this button would release the prisoners in this sector. He weighted the options that was presented to him. The pony said that this is where they keep some of the most dangerous criminals. If he would release them, they would try to kill him. However, he needed to know where the machine was. If he can't find a guard that would tell him, then the criminals would be his best bet. With that in mind, Gabriel pushed the button. An alarm sounded within the sector as the doors began to open. He went out of the booth and saw the doors open slowly. He went down some metal stairs, readying his flamethrower in case some of them would try any funny business. By the time he reached the bottom, , the doors stopped. He could see some ponies coming out of the cells. He also saw some species that he had never seen, ranging from bipedal dog creatures to bull creatures as well. Some of them he recognized for Greek mythology. "All right, lads. Listen up!" He grabbed the attention of everyone in the room, they're eyes directed to him. "I freed all you from your prisons." His eyes stared back at them through the mask. "I'm looking for something, and you can either help me find it or be on your way." The prisoners whispered among each other, probably decide on what to do. He saw a unicorn stallion with a white coat and a green mane and tail. A scar ran down his right eye. "What do we get in return?" Under his mask, he grinned. "Simple. Getting revenge on the ones that did this to you." The pony looked at the others, in which they nodded at him. The stallion turned back to Gabriel, a murderous grin on his face. "What do you want us to do?" "Where. Is. The. Machine?" Natasha proceeded to interrogate a pony, a blue earth pony mare with a green mane and tail, who was tied down in a chair. The rest of the Shadow Team lined the ponies in the room by the back wall and securing them. The raid on the prison was successful. The ponies were caught unprepared and there were no casualties among the Nod special forces. However, the prison was big. Natasha started to think on what to do. It would take some time to search the entire building, and they don't have the luxury to keep the main force waiting. That was when a thought hit her. If the prison was controlled somehow, then there has to be a control room somewhere in the prison that hold some type of information she was looking for. After some time searching a few sectors, she found what she was looking for. A control room was presented before her. The technologies weren't as primitive as the ponies, but still behind on what Nod and GDI had. There were buttons on consoles, televisions that showed different feeds of the prison, and some tables with schematics of the prison. The crew in charge of it were unarmed, saved for a few guards. They quickly took out the guards and secured the room. "I won't tell you anything, you ape freak!" The mare glared and shouted at Natasha. In response, she slapped the mare across the cheek. It wasn't the first time she had to deal with this sort of act. Many GDI dogs that she has dealt with in the past do this sort of thing. They would be a stupid idiot and try to act brave in front of her. And, like many times before, she broke them. "I won't ask again." Natasha said in a threatening tone. "Where is the machine?" She was on her last nerve with the pony mare. "Buck.......you...." The mare breathed in. Under her mask, Natasha had a savage grin. "I thought you would say that." She turned to one of the Shadow commandos. "Give me your knife." He did as he was told, unsheathing his knife from his left boot. He gave her the knife. "Alright, you little bitch." She diverted her attention to the mare. "I don't have time for your false bravado. If you don't tell me where the machine is, I will cut off your own coat and wear it when I go to a place that is cold." She floated the knife right to one of her forehooves. The mares eyes had gone wide when Natasha showed her the knife. She struggled to get free from her bonds, but it was to no avail. "Now, lets try this one more time." The knife inched closer to her eyes, which now had tears. "Where....is...the-" "....n you come in. Natasha, do you read?" Natasha moved away from the mare to answer Gabriel. Natasha put her two of her right hand fingers to her ear. "Yes, I can hear you. What is it?" "I found what we are looking for." Natasha was surprised by that statement. There was no way that they would find it before her. "Really? How did you come across it?" "I found some of the prisoners that told me what I need to know. Most of them are trying to free the others so they can join." "Interesting. Stay put, I'm on my way." She ended the call and turned toward the mare. "Well, looks like its your lucky day. You get to live." The mare sighed in relief. "But then again, I don't like sparing you." She pulled out her pistol and shot the mare in the head, a surprised and painful expression on the mare's face. The blood from her head fell like a waterfall. Natasha turned toward her team. "We found what we are looking for. Kill them." The second she said that, the team opened fired on the ponies, killing them with glee. The blood flowed from the hold ridden bodies and formed a puddle. The rest of the Shadow Team, including Natasha, filed out of the room and toward their objective. None of them noticed a flashing yellow light on one of the consoles, including some floating words. "Warning! Cells A-Z unlocked! Security personal on route! " Warden Flower was scared. She is the boss of the prison, the leader. She has ran this prison for a least two years, ever since her father died and gave it to her. Her family had a history of working for the prison, ever since Manehatten's founding after the Three Tribes united. They started out as guards before they climbed the ranks so they can run the prison. She was strict, punishing anyone that looks at her the wrong way. She would also beat on the prisoners when she would get some alone time with them. She is like one of those bad ponies in the comic books. Now though...... The alarms inside blurred as the 'hoemans' ran amuck in her prison, killing every guard they come across. From the feed she was reciving, it was not good. One of them actually released some of the dangerous prisoners in Equestria, while the otherone just released every pony she imprisoned. The prisoners themselves ran amuck in the prison. She saw a few prisoners stabbing a mare. Another one showed the hoeman with a flamethrower and another prisoner pony working together, one burning royal guards while the other beat them with her hooves. She had heard the rumors of a new world Equestria come in, a new species that know only war and slavery. She though that it was just propaganda nonsense, something to scare the masses into giving the government some money. Oh, how wrong she was. The door slammed open, earing a yelp out of her. A royal guard stallion was at the doorway, his throat looked like it was cut open by a set of claws. The guard had a surprised look on his face, his eyes wide and pricked. He slumped on the ground, blood pouring out of his wound. She sat there, her heart stopped pounding. She then heard claws scrapping against the flooring. Looking up, her whole body began to shake. Out in the doorway, a griffon stood, tall and intimidating. Her head had that of an eagle while her body is that of a feline, splotches of . The tips of her hair were purple. Her left eye had an eye patch, while her right golden eye glared at her, a longing for revenge that has finally come. The claws were stained with blood, probably from either the royal guard or from others. "Hello, Flower." She said, a satanic grin on her beak. Flower was shaking like there no tomorrow. Her bowels almost released when she started to move towards her. "M-m-misses Gilda. H-how nice to s-s-see y-y-yo-u-u-u." Flower tried to act nice to the non-pony that has very, sharp claws! Gilda was almost there. "N-n-now, le-e-t-ts be civil here. There's no need for violence." She tried to reason with her. "W-w-we need to escape from here. If you help me, I swear that I will p-p-pardon you." Her rump had backed up to a wall. Gilda didn't stop. "Please." Flower started to beg, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to die. I'll give you anything you want. Anything!" Gilda stopped at the mention of 'anything'. Her face was neutral, so Flower couldn't read her. She was telling the truth, after all. She has some noble support from Canterlot that can make the pardon happen. All she has to do is pay off some prick in Canterlot, and she could get the pardon she needed. Gilda, after some time thinking, soon had a sadistic grin on her face. "I like that eye you have." To this day, some say Flower's scream was heard throughout the prison. Gabriel waited around for Natasha to show up, even if it was a pain. One of the prisoners lead him to some unknown sector of the prison, which was hidden in another block. He and his team were lead down by some pony named Batter Up, a unicorn stallion that used to be an enforcer for a gang known as the Bloodflower Family. They were sort of like the mafia from those movies that he'd seen when he was younger. They were also known for controlling some of the lower districts of 'Manehatten', as the locals called it. Unfortunately, when the royal guard showed up to defend the city when the Barrier fell, they were rounded up and put in prison. Batter Up wanted revenge on some of those members that tear apart his family. They reached some other sector of the prison, which was abandoned for unknown reasons. The inside looked like one of the Yellow Zone buildings he have seen when the Third Tiberium War started. Moss grew in the corners of the sector, along with some of the support beams. Rust was also present in the metals beams of the cell. Some spiders had taken residence in one of the cells. They stopped at one of the cells, the rusty bars gave away. The inside of it was worse like those of the outside. The toilet was filled with some sort of green-like fluids that he didn't what to know. The mattress was ruined beyond repair, the mat torn and moths flying over it. The stallion approached the ruined sink and turned one of the nozzles. A path opened before his eyes as the stone wall next to the sink opened. Batter Up knew this passage way. It was used during the founding of Manehattan, when crime lords would either recruit ponies from the prison, bust somepony out, or to kill them. He followed the stallion down the spiraling stairs. After what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at what appears to be the sewer system in the prison. They walked for another good minute before they approached A big, dome-shaped area, with more green-like fluids flowing down a river. Tunnels connect it to other parts of the city. A large hole was in the ceiling where I gave off some light, and other stuff. Apparently, they weren't the only ones alone in the passage way. Machines were controlled by ponies in lab coats pushing buttons with their hooves, while royal guards patrolled around. In the middle of the room was a large, box-like machine that had a huge pipe connected to one of the wall that lead into the city. As soon as Gabriel and his team entered, a fire fight commenced. The unicorns guards fire magic at them while the normal and winged ones gathered their weapons. The militants stared shooting at the ponies, killing the one that were getting their weapons. Gabriel ran up the metal stairs while the Militants were busy distracting the enemy. Once he was on the platform, he unleased a bust of flames at the ponies, burning them all. The scientist and the remaining guards tried to retreat through one of the tunnels, but they were quickly mowed down by Militants. With the room secured, Gabriel radioed in their position to Natasha, who told him to stay here and guard it until she gets there. As Gabriel waited for Natasha to get there, he looked around the room before him. Indeed, the ponies may lack in military might, but the technology here was simple. Computers were like those 90's computers he'd seen in some ruined stores in the Yellow Zones. Buttons occupied some the consoles, beeping with different colors. The saw Batter Up looting some of the bodies of the ponies, earning him some gold coins that had an imprint of the leader of these ponies, Princess Celestia. He heard some footsteps coming from one of the tunnels. All of his soldiers, including himself, aimed at the tunnel, expecting an enemy counterattack. They stood down as Natasha and her team emerged from the tunnel. "Had any trouble come here?" "Нет. We had no problem." She looked up at the machine in the middle of the room. "So this is the one that's been keeping this city safe." "Sure looks like it. There were some guards in the room, heavily armored. But it didn't stop us." Natasha looked at the machine with a questioning look. "So what now?" "Stand back." She went right up to the machine and started planting a explosive on it. She pressed a few buttons on the device in her hand. "The charges are set. I suggest we get out of here. Gabriel nodded. He motion some hand signals, telling the men to move out. They collect whatever they can, even the stallion, and started to retreat. Through his helmet, Gabriel decided to contact the commander. "Commander, charges are in place. We're heading out." "Good. We'll prepare a landing party for the capture of the city. There's a military base to the south that I want to capture. Clear it out the enemies in the base, and await further order." Under his helmet, Gabriel couldn't help but grin. The ponies will know the true meaning of war. > Nod-The Manehatten Insurrection 2/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaiden saw the shield shimmer for a second, before it disappeared completely. The explosions from inside the prison had indicated that Natasha's and Gabriel's team had manage to find this strange machine and blew it up. "Look's like your guys came through." Ajay said on a secured radio channel. "With there defenses down, its time for us to show them what its like to mess with Nod." "I couldn't agree more." Kaiden pressed a button that got him on the radio to every other ship in the vicinity. "This is Commander Kaiden to all Nod personal. The shield is down; prepare to launch the assault!" He looked out the window to find that his message got through. Blackbirds and Carryall's loaded in troops, vehicles and supplies launched from the pads on some of the carrier ships and headed towards the city itself. Scarab's carrying infantry rolled into the ocean and, transforming into an amphibious transport, launched an assault by sea. Vertigo Bombers and Banshee Fighters zoomed overhead from the other carriers, the bombers cloaking in invisibility. The guns on the battleships once again fired at the city, breaking down the buildings. Kaiden watched it with a sadistic grin on his face. Steel Wing ducked as another building blew up and debris came tumbling down. Luckily, it wasn't facing his and the ponies direction. Beating his wings, he continued on the path that lead to a beachhead that is well fortified. After the shields died out, the bombardment from the human ships and those metal birds that he heard about began bombarding the city. The ponies in the city were running for their lives. Steel Wing was helping out the other soldiers with the evacuation of the civilians across the Manehatten Bridge when a pegasus messenger came before him. Commander Stone wants all the other ponies on by Sunset Beach at once, that the humans were getting ready to launch an assault on the city. As fast as his wings could carry him, he raced down to join the others in battle. He looked around at the city. The buildings that once stood tall were either falling or set ablaze. The Friendship Island is in ruins during one of the humans attempts to bombard it. One of the apartments in the district were already in ruins due to one of the metal bird's magic. Down below, he saw the ponies fleeing for their lives, some with luggage and other things that they need. One mare was holding onto a foal on her back as she galloped to one of the evacuation points in the city. Steel Wing couldn't help but smile. He had to defend his home, no matter the cost. He approached Sunset Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Equestria. However, that was not the case anymore. The artillery from the metal ships continued to pound the ponies side. Sandbags separated the beach from the city itself, with trench's dug to protect them from the human weapons. The metal monsters that the humans tamed unloaded the human troops, the red and black armor looking menacing up close. A couple of bunkers were there was well, some unicorns firing spells from the slits in the bunkers. He saw their new invention at work, the Gatling Gun mowing down some humans. Steel Wing landed in one of the trenches where some of the ponies were holing the line. A couple of unicorns were firing spell after spell at the humans. An earth pony raised on his hind leg while gripping a crossbow on his fore hooves, firing a bolt at a human. Another earth pony, wearing golden armor like the Royal Guards, stood near some ponies wearing the same armor as him. Steel Wing trotted up, just as the rest of the ponies saluted to him and galloped away. The guard turned around and met his eyes, in which Steel Wing saluted. "Sir, Private Steel Wing reporting for duty, sir." The earth pony glared at him. "Sargent Hammer. I don't care who you are. I need some ponies to pony up and hold this position." He looked behind Steel Wing. "Is this all that Stone sent me?" "Uh...the rest are on there way, sir." Steel Wing was hesitant. The earth pony groaned. "Well that just great! We maybe holding the frontline for now, but we're getting out flanks kicked out here." Another explosion rocked the ground, one of the bunkers in flames. "And those Celestia damned metal dragons are making things worse." He sighed. "You want to be helpful? Go along the lines and inform everypony that we are retreating to a defensible position. Steel Wing's eyes widened at the mention of 'retreat'. "R-r-retreat, sir. But what about-" The big, bulk earth pony glared at him. "Listen, son. I don't give a damn about what that hag of that commander has to say. She doesn't know a real sword from a spear. We're going to pull back and find a more defensive position we can defend from. We're sitting ducks out here. We- "FOR KANE!!!" A human had managed to jump into the trench line and blew himself up, knocking Steel Wing into the ground. He blinked a couple of times to get his vision cleared. His ears were ringing from the explosion that came from the human. Shaking his head, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. The sergeant that he had spoken to had his entire back blown up, leaving a large hole inside. The others that defended were faring no better than him. The earth pony that help a crossbow moments ago had his entire left side blown up. The unicorn mare lost both her fore hooves and hind legs, a shocked expression on her face. The other unicorn layed on the ground without a head. Steel Wing almost threw up his lunch at the site of his comrades. 'No. I can't be scared now. I have to do my duty.' With that thought in mind, he jumped right out of the trench and flew, narrowly avoiding the humans magic from the metal sticks they carry. Up in the skies above, he could see the entire battle raging. The frontline is about to crumble to the humans, smoke coming from several bunkers and some in the trenches. He watched as one of the humans used some sort of long metal stick at one of the bunkers. The metal tube on the long stick suddenly bust into flames and drowned the entire bunker in fire. One of the metal beast ejected fire to another trench line, the screams of the ponies being burned were hear from up above. The metal men he hear about from some of the ponies that came back alive fired strange magic from they're hands, like the long metal sticks. The 'bullets' tore through the ponies in the trenches like they were made of paper. Some of the ponies tried to get away, but the metal beast and the humans magic mowed them down like nothing. A few luck ones had managed to escape. He saw one of the lines holding on, the unicorns in the bunkers kept firing magic at the humans and the metal machines, reducing them to rubble. He smiled, thinking that they might have an advantage. However, he saw one of those metal birds land something away from the bunkers. He thought it was one of those machines the humans use, but when the bird lift off, he was wrong. He didn't know what it was from up in the sky, but it looked like a combination of a human and a spider. The thing slowly skittered its way to the bunkers. The ponies inside noticed it and started firing everything they had, ranging from magic spells to arrows. However, no matter how many times they hit it, it didn't fall nor faltered. It stopped right in front of the bunker. The black boxes fired the 'missiles', aiming directly at the bunker. The missiles hit the bunker and it exploded killing anything and all inside. It then turned around.... ...looking right at him. 'AH, HORSEAPPLES!!' His eyes widened as the missile was launched from the black box, heading right towards him. With a flap of his wings, Steel Wing flew as fast as he could. He dodged other pegasi as they battled the black birds that fired their own magic against them. He steered left as a pegasi fell in a bloody heap, the missile did the same. Another one of those black flying beasts flew past him as it fired at a large building, shooting it a couple of times before the entire building exploded and came tumbling down. He twisted and turned in every direction possible, but the missile was hot on his tail. No matter what, he couldn't shake it. A thought popped into his head. It was a crazy idea, but it was all he could think of in a time like this. He pivoted down to some avenue, with the missile doing the same. Passing some turns and corners, he arrived at an abandoned metal factory. He flew into the building as the missile turned the same corner and followed him. The building exploded in a ball of fire, the smell of melted metal and burnt rubber filled the air. Out of the smoke of it all was Steel Wing, coughing up some smoke. Clearing the air with his wing, he turned his head and looked at the ruined remains of the factory. His plan had worked; the missile was somehow following the metal of his armor. With that in mind, he went right into the factory, took of his armor, and flew out as fast as he could. The missile is destroyed and he is still alive and in one piece. He heard some hydraulics close to him. He turned his head to the noise that was coming from the smoke itself. Steel Wings had to squint his eyes in order to see what it was. He wished that he hadn't. The mechanical creature, the one from the beach, emerged from the smoke like a predator. He could see the thing clearly. Its long, metal legs stabbed the earth as it moved. The human torso looked like it was warped to a machine. It's skull had round, metal red eyes on its skull. It had a long, tube-like arms that looked lethal in a fire fight. On its back was two metal boxes with sharp, red pointy tubes. Steel Wing gulped. He took out his sword with his teeth, gripping it like his favorite toys from his foalhood. "S-s-stay b-b-back." He managed to say. Truth be told, he was scared beyond anything he has seen before in his life. The metal thing paused its step, looking at him through the red eyes in his skull. Both of them never even made any move. Through the back of Steel Wing, he could just take off again and go as far away from the scary monster as possible. He slowly flared his wings and got down to a reading position, before shooting off. He smiled as he started to climb up. He turned his head around so he can make faces at it..... ....and saw a net coming towards him. It was too late to dodge it, as it already entangled his legs before covering him. He lose altitude as he struggled to break free from the net he was caught in. He made contacted to the ground, skittering a few feet before stopping. Steel Wing tried to get out of his short prison, but the web was so tight and hard that not even his sword could break through it. The metal beast slowly skittered forward, looking down at Steel Wing before stopping in front of him. His eyes widened as the beast was standing over him like a predator from the Badlands. He increased his struggling, but it was all in vain. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. However, it never came. He felt the net being moved for a second before he felt like he was lifting off the ground. He knew what its like to be lifted off the ground. Opening one of his eyes, he saw that the metal creature did not kill him. Instead, he saw the robot-like creature use one of its arms to lift the net and began being hauled away. Steel Wing scream as he was being hauled away, trying in vain to be released. Private Drake lean from his cover and fired his rifle at the ponies in cover, despite being in cover. Some of his bullets missed, but one luck shot had managed to find its way to a unicorn's forehead. Despite this, the ponies loaded another clip inside one of the gatling guns he heard about, one of the unicorns using its magic to turn the handles at the side. Once again, the gun roared as they continued pinning his company down. After a successful landing, Nod began to land more troops and began to enter the city, fighting street by street. He was with his company of Nod Militant soldiers when they were ambushed upon by those ponies. It started when they were going down a street while ransacking some buildings. While checking out a build that was filled with gems and diamonds, one of the ponies that was inside a building dropped the potion down on one of his buddies. Some of it must have gotten into his armor somehow, as he was transformed into one of them. His former human friend attack him, pinning him down on the ground. He tried to tell him to snap out of it, but its creepy smile and its dead eyes tell him differently. With no chocie left, he grabbed his pistol from his hostler and shot him in the face. The ponies fired from behind some sandbags that he thought were abandoned earlier. He managed to take cover inside the building they were in, shooting at the ponies from inside the buildings. "HQ, this is Romeo company. We are pinned down inside a building. The ponies have managed to kill two of our guys and converted one of them. Requesting Venom support!" He heard his sergeant over the radio in his helmet. He turned to his comrades as they fired at the enemy from all around. The ponies were hitting them left and right, and the gatling guns behind the sandbags didn't help either. A couple of his fellow soldiers had some cracks in their armor and some scorched marks from the lasers. One of the ponies lasers grazed some Nod's helmet, leaving a long, scorched mark at the sides. Roger that. We'll have some air support coming your way. As soon as Command said that, he heard some engines and a rumbling that shook the building. Looking out form his cover, he saw a couple of Banshees dived to his position and started firing their Tiberium-fueled ammo at the ponies behind the sandbags. One of the Tiberium bombs hit the gatling gun the ponies were using, before it exploded in a fiery explosion. The ponies came out of the fire scream as they were covered in fire. He saw some of them have crystals coming out from their skins, no doubt killing them slowly. He heard about the cases of Tiberium, who crystals would grow from the persons skin, how it would result in a slow death or mutate you into a Tiberium mutant. Seconds after the Banshees returned to the skies, a Viper descended upon his field of vision, the whirling of the blades on the helicopter and the engines flaring as it hovered. He heard about these things. They were leftovers from the Second Tiberium War, refurbished for the modern era. Although its counterpart, the Vemon, is a step up from the regular Viper, it was still useful for the Third Tiberium War. The Viper's guns began to whirl, and began to fire its laser guns at the buildings where the ponies were held up. The Viper swiveled left and right, the scream of ponies and the smell of chard flesh filled the air. He saw a pony, a regular one, jump out of the window when his entire fur was on fire. It plummeted to the ground, resulting in a *squash* sound. The gun died out and the Viper left the battlefield. His company emerged from the shop and onto the street. The whole street was quit, save for the sounds of battle overhead and the smell of burnt flesh. Luckily, his helmet protected him from that smell. As his company recovered from the ambush, Drake walked over towards the burnt pony on the ground. He saw the golden armor scorched, almost looking black than gold. The armor itself was warped to the flesh of the pony. Apparently, there was a saddle on his back. Drake kneeled down and began to loot the saddle, searching for anything worth of value, if it wasn't melted. Reaching into it, he grasped something. Pulling it out, his hands were filled with gold coins! Behind his mask, he grinned, and proceeded to search for more. "Alright everyone, let's move out. These ponies won't kill themselves, you know?" Damn! His sergeant radioed everyone to move out. As much as he would like to loot this body, he wouldn't want to be in a firing squad for disobeying orders. With one last grab, he grasped more of those coins and put them in his pocket, before trying to catch up with his company. What he didn't know, however, was that his pocket was glowing red. Commander Stone looked over the magical holographic map that showed Manehatten, her hardened eyes scanning the entire thing. The map showed two colors; one red, belonging to one of the human faction known as 'Nod', and one showing blue, her forces and the reinforcements coming all the way to Baltimare. The pegasus mare had a gray coat with a blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark had a sword inside a stone. She is currently inside the main town hall for Manehatten, though calling it a town hall was something long gone. During the air attacks from those metal birds the humans summoned from the big ships, they managed to damage some of the buildings in the vicinity. They town hall looked like it was barely holding on. Multiple holes on the roofs and walls were being filled with whatever they can find. The smell of burnt fur and blood filled the air from the earlier attacks from the hovering beast, some still fresh on the floors. She looked around at the group assembled at the conference room they are use as a war room. Some of the commanding officers and other military personal were surrounding the table. "Alright, what have we got?" She started to address to the stallions and mares in the room. "Ma'am, we're losing the battle." One stallion addressed the situation at her. He pointed to various positions on the map. "Our beachhead has fallen to the enemy. They are sending everything have at us." "We evacuated the last of our ponies from the battle." A mare next to the stallion said. "We shouldn't have to worry about any civilian casualties. However, we need to pull all of our forces back towards a reasonable position." "What about our reinforcements?" Commander Stone send out a pegasus messenger towards Baltimare, a large city next to Manehatten. Surely they would send something to them? "The messanger returned to us with some grave news. Apparently, they are attacked as well by the same human faction known as 'Nod'." Another stallion said. Commander Stone sighed. "Then we have no choice. Send a message to everypony. We with charge their lines with everything we have." Everypony gasped at the commander's choice of words. A mare in her military uniform stood up. "Are you crazy?!?!?! We barely have enough forces to charge the front lines. Those-" A sound of a muffled explosion rattled the building. The sounds of fireworks and screams came from the other side. The other ponies in the room were confused as to what was going on, until a guardsmare came galloping in here. "Ma'am, our position has been compromised! We are under attack!" "A full frontal assault?" Commander Stone questioned her. She shook her head. "They look like the humans we are fighting, but they have those prisoners from the Manehatten Security Prison, ma'am." "Damn." She shouted. "Alright, all high ranking officials, please come with me. We need to get out of here." All of the high ranking officials got up from there chairs and followed Commander Stone out of the room and into the hallway. The second floor of the hallway was a mess. Debris from the ceiling were present on the hallway. A painting of Rosewood, the founder of Manehatten, was scorched, leaving only half of a smile. Some of the more luxuries furniture's were either A mounted gatling gun on an opened hole in the wall fired down on the intruders. Commander Stone caught a glimpse of the battle outside. Indeed, both he humans and the prisoners were working together to defeat the ponies outside. While the humans and some unicorns were suppressing the guard outside, some of the more non-ponies had a weapon in their paws, claws or hands. She saw a raging minotaur, Taurus was his name, plowing through the ranks of ponies with little ease. A human with some heavy armor had a long stick with a little fire coming out of the front. While the other humans were suppressing the Solar Guards, the human was flanking them from the left side. Once he was in position, the long stick unleashed a long fire spell at the guards, roasting them. Some of the guards came out screaming as they were on fire. "Miss, where are we going?" The stallion, Hammerhead, interrupted her thoughts. Before she could say anything, the gatling gun exploded, the ponies in it blown to smothering's. The rest of the ponies pulled they're heads down. "We shouldn't stay here!" "I know that!" She retorted. "That's why were going underground." She managed to get herself up. "There is a hidden passage in the library in here that leads to a steam train terminal. It was used during the Feather Wars, and is still operational." She motioned for the ponies. "Let's go!" The ponies got themselves up and managed to follow her. They went down the hallway and down the stairs. The ponies downstairs were barricading the door with whatever they can find. The battle was still raging outside, the screams of both sides filling the air. The rest of the guardponies armed themselves, but they themselves were worse for wear. Some of the armors were leather-based, since the golden and silver armors were either destroyed or melted during the air raid. The weapons themselves were worse for wear, some of them being dull or somewhat melted. Commander Stone cursed those snobby nobles from Canterlot for not giving them what they need. Their was a war going on, and all they do is throw large, fancy parties and buy expensive things, when those bits could be used to buy better equipment. Then again, they didn't expect the shield to hold on the country for much longer. When Commander Stone first stepped on the floor, the barricaded door exploded, the humans and non-ponies charging in. A teenage dragon opened his maw and spewed out some flames at a couple of guardsponies, the guards screamed in agony. A human used his magic stick to summon some of those strange magic at the ponies on the upper floor. "RUN!!" Commander Stone shouted to the officers. They did as they were told and started running towards the door on the left side that had a placate that said 'library'. She dodged and weaved against all the fire, sometimes using her wings to help her. She jumped and rolled inside the room. She dust herself off and looked over to where her comrades. Looking over her wither, she saw some of the officers being shot at by the magic the humans have. One of the military personal was thrown down to the ground by Taurus. He lifted his axe up and brought it down on the pony, slicing him in two. Another one was blown away by a human holding what looks like a big cannon on his shoulders. A couple more were mowed down by the humans. She wanted to help them. She wanted nothing more than to just charge at them with all her might and kill every single one of them. However, she can have another chance at it if she is smart and get out of here. The library itself was still standing, albeit a few items fell during the attack. It was dark inside, due to the light bulbs on the ceiling being destroyed, but she can still see clearly. A small desk sat in the middle of the room with some papers lying around the desk. A small bookcase sat next to it. Trotting over to it, she looked over the shelves. The books were still in fine condition. She reached towards a red book with her wing and gave it a pull. The bookcase began to rumble before it was lowered to the ground, revealing a staircase that lead into the dark. She stopped hearing the screaming and the shooting outside, but now she heard humans giving orders, telling the others to check every room. She trotted down the steps and disappeared into the darkness. It didn't take her long enough to reach the bottom of the stairs, revealing a large station underground. Town Hall was built upon an old underground train station that ran from Manehatten to Detrot. After a terrible earthquake that sank half the city into the ground, a new one was built right on top of it. The station looked like it was ready to fall apart. Old train cars were a little rushed, but appeared functional. Cracks were formed on the ceiling and on the ground. Some of the pillars that held this place had started to crumble. The sounds of battle were muffled down there. Every few seconds, there would be a mini earthquake, followed by some debris falling. The steam trains that once were alive and colorful were now rusted and broken beyond repair. Commander Stones eyes set on one steam train in particular. An old military train that was the first prototype to us magic crystals instead of earth ponies. The project was dropped for some reason. It did showed its age, but looks fine. She trotted towards the train. Maybe she could take it down to Detrot or Canterlot and ask for reinforcements. Maybe she could ask the Princesses or the Elements for help. Maybe- The sound of something scrapping the concrete floor was heard, her ears swiveled to find the source. She quickly turned around and got into a battle stance. "Who there?!?!?" She shouted at the darkness. The scraping continued, her ears swiveled to find the source. It didn't take long, as the scraping got closer in front of her. She turned her head towards the sheathed that held her sword. She bit at the handle and drew it. The clicking continued. She suddenly remembered something. Going into her satchel with one of her hooves, she procured a white crystal. Tapping it three times, the crystal brightened until she could see clearly. In front of her was a griffon, a griffon she was all to familiar with. "G-G-Gilda?!?!" She dropped her sword on the ground. Gilda smirked at her. "Hello, Commander Stone." She whimpered as she slowly walk backwards. Of all the non-ponies she would see, she was on the bottom of the list. Stone bumped into something. Looking over her wither, she spoted a set of tree trunk-like white skin. Looking up, she saw a human with a terrifying mask in its face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." It said in a feminine, mechanical voice. She had a long, metal rod that had red lights coming from the sides. The sound of Gilda's claws clicking on the floor turned her attention to her. The human female back away from them both and leaned against one of the pillars. Commander Stone looked into Gilda's as she came closer. She saw something in them. Something that she thought would never happen to her. Revenge. "You killed my father." Gilda started to say, coming close to Commander Stone's face. Those eyes screamed 'bloody murder'. "You killed my mother and you soon converted my brothers." Stone was practically shaking, but she put on a brave face and met her glare. "I did what I- "BULLSHIT!!!" She squawked. "YOUR PRINCESSES WERE JUST JEALOUS OF US BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET ON THE COUNCIL LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD, SO YOU GUYS STARTED DECLARING WAR ON US. YOU THINK YOU PONIES ARE SO SMART, KNOWING WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG. YOU GUY CAN'T EVEN KNOW HARMONY UNITL IT SHITS IN YOUR MOUTHS!!!" She breathed a sigh of relieve. "Now I found you, and I intend to make things right." She backed away until she was about five inches from her. "Gabriel." Out of the shadows, another human stepped in. It looked like the one that attacked the Solar Guards in the entrance. The glowing six-eyes gave her the creeps, like looking into an eyes of an abomination. The human went to the griffon and gave her the long, metal stick with a small fire on the front, a long hose connected to some tanks in the back. "Just pull the trigger and keep it at a distance." The human said in a muffled voice. The human female joined them, gun aiming at her. Stone could have swore she was behind her. "L-l-l-look," Commander Stone was already shaking with fear, losing her bravery moments ago. "I can do anything for you. I-I-I-I-I'm v-v-very imp-p-p-portant. Thing of all the secrets you could discover." Right now, she was already on her knees, tears running down her face. "I'm sorry for what happened to you and your family. I was just following orders! Please, you can't do this to me!" Gilda smirked. "Too bad." She saw her pull the trigger and a gush of flames flew at her. The last thing she will remembered was searing, hot pain. Two Hours Later The ship Salvation was docked in the captured harbor, the cables securing the ship as a small ramp extended. Kaiden came walking out of the ship, a triumphant grin on his face. Once he was on the ground, he looked around the harbor. The banners of Nod fluttered in the wind. The warehouse were being repainted with red, the symbol of a scorpions tail on the front doors. Vehicles were being loaded with whatever materials they can hold. Some trucks were loaded with ammo and supplies. Two Scorpion Tanks were rolling out and into the streets. A Warmech stomped its way towards the fight. Looking over the harbor, he saw everything falling into place. Thousands upon thousands of carriers were unloading troops, vehicles and supplies onto the beaches. Some Blackbirds and Carryalls flew over the landing party and towards the city. The building were already flying the Nod symbol, some even being repainted with red. He saw a Vertigo Bomber flying towards the pedestal where they first destroyed the giant statue and towards a carrier. Maybe he could order a statue of Kane to be constructed on that island now that they have captured the city. Whatever the case, victory was theirs. Mission Accomplished > GDI-Crystal Conundrum 1/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanhoover Captured GDI Territory Somewhere in the Pacific From high above a skyscraper that wasn't damaged during the attack, Andrew saw several GDI ships beginning to dock at the harbor, unloading troops and equipment for the war to come. The attack that followed on the city was a rousing success on GDI's part. The ponies were caught unprepared when the shield went down. Some tried to fight back, but were ultimately defeated when GDI landed every troop and vehicles onto the city. Luckily, no civilian casualties were confirmed when the attack began. He suspected that the ponies evacuated every civilian out of the city before the invasion. In less than a few hours, GDI had captured the city. He had to admit, he ponies created an exact replica of Vancouver, with glass covered buildings and famous sites. Although it was a little small for his liking, he still couldn't believe that he was actually on an alien county. When he was younger, he had a dream of being an astronaut so he can soar among the stars. He'd seen many science fiction novels and movies that dated back before the Tiberium Incursion of Earth. The idea of discovering alien planets and meeting its people fascinates him. Perhaps it was a blessing in disgusted that this happened. He was interrupted from his thoughts when a Condor transport flew over him and slowly landed next to him. The landing gears engaged when it landed. The ramp slowly opened to reveal one of his officers and a few of his soldiers coming off the ramp. "Sir,” The officer saluted to him. "General Granger is on the line. He wishes to speak to you." "I'll be right there." He said. Taking one last look on the horizon, he walked towards the ramp while his soldiers escorted him, with the officer right behind him. Once Andrew was aboard, The Condor closed the ramp before lifting off again, its twin rotors on both wings cleared some of the dust off the roof. Inside the Condor, Commander Andrew and his officer sat down on the left side while his soldiers sat on the right. The inside of the transport was no different than the others that he had rode on over the years, with the exception of some small metal boxes in the back. The officer pulled out his portable pad, pressing a few buttons on the screen before passing it to him. "You should be coming to him live." Andrew grabbed the pad from his hands. On the screen was the symbol of GDI, before it changed to the General's face. "Commander, congratulations are in order for your success. You've helped GDI establish a necessary base for future deployments. You may not know this, but you saved a lot of lives today." "I was nothing, sir." Andrew smiled. "Was there something that you need, General?" "Yes commander." He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid that time is not a luxury here. We have discovered something that could change the war." Andrew's smile disappeared. "What could be so important?" "At O-two hours, our satellites picked up immense radiation coming from the north." The screen now showed the area where the spike was located, before zooming in on the location. "At first, we thought our satellites were broken, until we found this." The area showed what looked like a large city town, only towns weren't made of crystals. A large tower-like structure stood in the center, glowing pink every two seconds. "From what we extracted from some prisoners, they captured a place called the 'Crystal Empire' and began using this structure to shield themselves from us." Andrew's eyes widened. "You don't mean...." "Yes. We believe we found the source of the Barrier." He couldn't believe it. The one thing that separated them from Equestria at the beginning of the Third Tiberium War, the one that caused thousands of deaths on both sides, was there the entire time. "There's more." Granger interrupted his thoughts. "For what they had said, they plan to power it up and create another shield. One that can be indestructible. Commander, if this shield is released, then they kick us out of Equestria and this war would have been all for nothing. I don't think another strike from the Ion Cannon would pierce it like last time." Andrew soon had his serious face on. "What do I need to do?" "We need you to fly down north and eliminate it. There is an expeditionary force that we sent to deal with this hours ago, but they haven't reported in. We assumed that they are experiencing difficulty due to the blizzard that's in the area. Nonetheless, you must destroy this structure before it releases this new Barrier upon the world. Good luck, Commander." With that, the screen returned to the normal setting. This was a serious mission that he was assigned to. A mission that held the weight of the world on his shoulders. I wasn't the first time he had been given this assignment. He had handled harder missions in the past, like the one time he broke into a Nod base in Cairo in search of the WMD. It turns out that Nod was using the stolen WMD's to nuke some major GDI cities on the East Coast. It was heavily defended, with turrets guarding the place and a large Nod garrison. The battle that followed was hard, but they had managed to prevent the destruction of GDI command. With that in mind, he had confidence that he can do it. He unbuckled his waist and traveled to the cockpit, where the pilot was driving the vehicle. "Take me to my ship." "Yes sir." The pilot responded. He felt the aircraft lurch for a second before it returned to its normal flight pattern. As he traveled, the sun began setting down upon the mountain, indicating a day's end. The Frozen North Unknown Territory 'He was right. This storm is unbearable!' Andrew thought when he saw the blizzard from the bridge. After consolidating with his forces, he decided to bring the ship with him on the journey north. The rest of his force would stay behind to secure the front. The only ones that had gone with him are Lt. Anderson and his power armor. After some minutes of traveling, they arrived at what the maps in the library called 'The Frozen North.' From what it had said, its home to a city called the Crystal Empire. They can't see anything for miles due to the blizzard active into the area. From what he had read in the public library, the one that wasn't damaged during the fighting, said that it was once home to a tyrant called King Sombra, who enslaved his own empire to his own desires. The Princesses, the ones that started this war, defeated him, but he used his magic to seal the empire for a thousand years. It also said that the empire returned a year ago. The ones that saved it were also the ones that he met before when they first introduced themselves. "Sir, scanner can't pick anything in this weather." He was interrupted by one of his officers. "We can't even pick up any radio signals. Perhaps we should call off the search." "Keep searching." Andrew said, more determined than ever. "The expeditionary force must be somewhere around here. We can't pack up and leave. The fate of the world is at stake here, people! We must try and find them. They can't have gotten-" "Sir, I have a distress call on the channel. One of the officers interrupted him. "It's weak, but its traceable on our scanners." "Patch it through." Andrew said. The officer nodded and pressed a few buttons. Static was the first thing that he heard, until a faint voice sounded barely over the static." "....to anyone.........this is Cap........ under hea......eed support......." "ATHENA,” He said to the ship. "Can you trace the signal?" "Affirmative, Commander." The AI said. "Scanners indicate that the signal is originating from somewhere over in the southwest." "Excellent." He said with satisfaction in his voice. "Take us there." "Affirmative." From his view on the bridge, the ship turned around towards the distress signal and lurched forward. The window was still bombarded with snow and hail from all directions, but the ship still held its course. After some time, Andrew saw some flashes in the distance, along with the occasional flash of blue, orange or yellow. Pressing a few buttons on his chair, the screen on top of him zoomed a little, which still revealed nothing. Pressing another button on his console, the screen changed from normal to thermal, where he could make out colorized silhouettes of both people and buildings. The four legged silhouettes he could make out as ponies. He counted maybe twenty-five ponies outside the base. What was strange was that all of them were unicorns shooting lasers out of their horns. "Get on with the line with the captain." One of the officers press a couple of buttons before turning to the commander. "We have them on line." "Attention Expeditionary Force, this is Commander Andrew of the Steel Eagles. We've hear your distress signal and are intercepting the aliens. Do your read me?" ".....out damn time." The voice is coming in without interruption, his gruff voice sounded over the radio. "This is Captain Martian of the ZOCOM Special Forces Unit. We are pinned down by those damn alien ponies. Those lasers cut through our armor like it was nothing. They have us surrounded. We need your support now!" "Roger. We'll get right on that." Commander Andrew started to address his crew. "Fire the cannons. Let’s send these basterds to hell!" Some of the officers scrabbled to their respectable positions as they prepared the weapons. The Kodiak is outfitted with the latest weaponry's when he first got it. It includes an air-to-air missile launcher, a miniaturized Ion Cannon and an Anti-Tiberium Terraforming Bomb. "Sir, all weapons are ready." One of his officers shout out. Andrew grinned. "Good. Let’s get this show started. From an outsider’s perspective, the ship shook for a blue light started to lit up underneath. The miniature Ions blasts doing the work as it sliced and diced against the ponies. Some of them are starting to project shields to protect themselves, while others started to fire on the ship. One ion blast broke any shield made by them and turned the rest into ash. One unicorn tried to muster as much adnominal as possible and fired at the ship. But it did little more than gazed it. The unicorn was surprised but soon was replaced with fear as the ion blasted at him. Two unicorns combined both their horns together, creating a blue-yellow shield. The ship fired an ion blast, but the shield held on. The ship fired two more ion blasts before the shield went down with unexpected results. The two unicorns were throbbing on the ground, screaming as they covered their heads with their hooves. The rest of the ponies soon broke off running with some of their injured. The ZOCOM troopers cheered in their power armor as the Kodiak cleared the snowy field of hostiles. The ship hovered for a second before it descended to the ground inside the base. It already had a makeshift airfield, so it was easier to land the ship without any trouble. Some of the snow blew away as the ship descended. Once the ship was already landed, the ramp opened to reveal a group of soldiers with equipment and vehicles, including two Mammoth Tanks. The Commander went out last. Andrew looked around at his surroundings, assessing the situation. It had the distinct looks of every ZOCOM forces. Two barracks were located on the right side of the base, along with a tech center and an Orbital Deployment Center to communicate with the GDI space forces. An armory for the ZOCOM troopers located at the right side of the base. A makeshift airfield for reinforcements or fighters coming back from missions. A Zone Trooper in a red armor with white outlines approached him. "Helluva time for you to shows up. Captain Martian, leader of the ZOCOM 5th Regiment. Thanks for the save there, son. We owe you." "You can give me a round once this is over." Andrew joked. "But not right now. General Granger sent me here to recuse you. Tell me what happen." "Command sent us on a mission to sabotage the shield generator in the city. But the ponies somehow knew we were coming and prepared an ambush. We only have a few wounded, but they shredded our armor like it was paper. I didn't think they would find us this quickly." "How many are you are there?" "One hundred and twenty strong, minis the ones we have wounded. The rest are coming out of Asia to assist us. They'll be here within the hour." "Good." Andrew was glad that they will be receiving reinforcements. "No doubt the ponies will be expecting us. I'll contact my men and see if we'll assist you." "We need all the help we can get." Captain Martian said. He pointed his armored hand to the northeast. "We flew by a city of sorts when we got here, but we never got the chance to do reconnaissance. We don't know how many there are. Can you send one of your men out there." "Sure." Andrew nodded. He turned around and went back to his ship, everyone around doing whatever they can to keep this place running. The Mammoth Tanks were parked in a now constructed War Factory. ZOCOM Troopers were loading up on the extra ammo they brought. A couple of medics from his ship helped the wounded in the tents by sterilizing the burns. Several Engineers rushed to help repair some of the turrets that were damaged during the engagement. He went inside the ship as several of his own Zone Troopers marched out of his ship. He went up several floors using the stairs, searching for the one person who could succeed in a simple recon mission. He arrived at the crew's holdings, where every crew lived in. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for as he arrived at a door marked '42'. He knocked on the door a couple of times. "Anderson, you there?" "Yeah, Commander?" "I need you at the Command Post as soon as you’re ready. I have a mission for you." "I'll be there, sir." Satisfied with that, he turned around and went back the way he came. After some time, he arrived at the ZOCOM Command Post. The inside was a fury of activity as both the members of ZOCOM and his officers ran to and fro to their stations. The screen showed the place they were camped at, along with the big city in the distance. The other screens show the outside of the ZOCOM base. The blizzard was starting to pick up intensely, which means that they would have to wait until the storm dies down. On one of the screen is the Earth, and its current condition base on the colors. The yellow zones represent Tiberium that has affected the place, but considered habitable by the ones that can't afford to live in the Blue Zones. It is suspected that Nod recruit’s members from the Yellow Zones, as well as operate from there. The Red Zones represent areas that have vast amounts of Tiberium and considered uninhabitable. It covered 30% of the world, including the Middle East and in the middle of America. The blue areas represent the GDI controlled zones and cities unaffected by Tiberium. Greenland is considered to be the largest zone, and the only country that is unaffected by Tiberium during its time on Earth. The East Coast is the main operating center of GDI. He had read upon the history of GDI during his time at West Point. GDI wasn't as large today as it was in the past. It was founded in accordance to the United Nations Global Defense Act that was pasted after World War II. It is original a covert multinational special forces group that operated by the name of Operations Group Echo: Black Ops 9 before 1996. They kept the peace by carrying out secret, peacekeeping missions outside of U.N. jurisdictions. GDI was equipped with both the military and political means to carry out its missions, ranging from ethnic unrest to regionalized armed conflicts around the world. Over the years that O.G.E: B.O.9. operated around the world, rumors about their existence began to spread through the mainstream. It was force to revel itself after the failed assassination of Saddam Hussein resulted in the death of a large number of agents. That was also the day Tiberium fell. Tiberium entered the earth and began to spread rapidly. It was controlled after some time, but it resulted in the Earth being covered with 70% of Tiberium. As thing seemed to be calming down, the Brotherhood of Nod rose up and started attacking the remaining cities that weren't under Tiberium. The U.N. couldn't handle the pressure of both controlling Tiberium and the ever increasing attacks by Nod. This caused the Security Council to expand and revise the mandate, as well as the purpose of the shadow unit. The organization was reconstructed and brought out of the shadow. Thus, GDI was born out of the chaos to combat Nod and Tiberium. He was interrupted by the door sliding opening and closing, as well as heavy footsteps. He turned around and saw Anderson dressed in his new power armor with the mini gun-like rifle in his hands, along with his helmet. He was able to see Anderson without the helmet on. His face was grizzled with a sharp jaw line and a smooth texture. His eyes were bluish-green, with a short scar coming straight down his left eye. He stood at attention and saluted to him. "Sir, reporting for duty." "At ease." He dismissed. The commando returned to his normal stance. "Lieutenant Anderson, I have a mission for you." "I'm ready for anything, sir." He stated. The commando was more than willing to bring the fight to those ponies. "I can see that." He said. "What I need for you to do is to scout out the city,” He pointed to the screen next to him, which showed the aerial view of the large crystal-like city. "and report back every detail you can tell me." The Commando raised an eyebrow. "Sir?" "I know, it’s not what you’re expecting." He stated. "But we can't send a group out in this weather. ZOCOM is busy hunkering down and waiting for reinforcements and were trying to help them out. I need one man to do this alone, and I can't think of a finer man for the job than you." The commando closed his eyes for a second as he developed a thinking expression, possible weighting his options. He opened them back up and proceeded to put his helmet on. "I'll do it, sir. You can count on me." Andrew smiled. "That is great to hear. Remember that this is a recon mission and nothing more. We need to gather intelligence on the city if we are going to attack." He saluted. "Will do." With that, he turned around and readied his gun before he went out into the cold air, the snow almost piling in when he opened the door. Andrew watched as he closed the door before going back to the holographic map. The blizzard continued, with snow falling to and fro from different places. For Lt. Anderson, he was just fine with that. After he was debriefed on the situation, he went on his way to his destination. He didn't like it one bit, but soon learned that he would still get those ponies after they found out what they are dealing with. He rockets jumped from rock to rock as the snow blew into his helmet. Although it has died down considerably with the snow a little clear, it would still take some time before the blizzard stopped. The rocket on his back melted some of the snow when he landed, but was soon consumed by more snow. He did enjoy the snow as much as anyone else. Growing up in the mountains, he was used to the cold air that the snow brought. Even though his power armor kept him warm or cold in certain conditions, he could still feel the cold air. He didn't know how long he has going; hours might have passed. Just as he was jumped to a large rock, he saw something shining in the distance. With a few boosts, he was standing on a glacier that over looked the shining thing he saw earlier, which turned out to be the city. Kneeling down, he used his helmet to scan the area. The city was long and huge, maybe even bigger than New York. The houses in the distance looked like it was melted in Tiberium and came out like crystals. A large castle stood in the distance, right behind the large structure that the commander said the ponies were using to power up the shield. The structure looked like the Eiffel Tower in France, all covered in blue Tiberium. A banner hung from the structure which showed the two alien ponies he met before in No Man's Land, circling the sun and the moon. The streets were empty and void of life, except for the ponies in golden armor that were patrolling the streets. Like many before, they were armed with nothing but spears and sword. He could also see a few galting guns, some cannons that dated back to World War I and some new guns that some of the ponies were carrying. It looked like a mix between a spear and a musket, with a long barrel and a flintlock at the end with a blade coming from the end. However, it was the same color as the Tiberium-like structures and had a glowing crystal at the inside of the gun. He also saw some kind of tank that had a slit where the gun would be. A large purple shield, similar to the Barrier that almost engulfed the world, surrounded the city. He could see that some snow had pile around the shield. 'This must be the place.' He thought to himself as he saw the large city. Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, he started to call his commander. "Commander, I have located the city." "Copy that. What do you see?" "Thing is as big as a state, sir." He described the things that he saw. "It also looks like its covered by some Tiberium-like structures. The big damn thing in the center is glowing so brightly I think you can see it from miles away. The ponies seemed to have some old tech that they have. They also have some.... weapon that looks like a musket, but its covered in Tiberium and it glows, sir." "Anything else?" "Yeah. They have these strange tanks just sitting next to the shield structure. I don't see any guns on them, but they have this horizontal slit coming across it." "Roger that. Our reinforcements are here and were...........as.......do........we.... The line was all fizzy and he could barely hear what he is saying. "Come in, Commander. I can't hear you. Your breaking up." All that he heard was static. "Damn." He murmured. Before he could try again, something was happening on the outside of the shield. He zoomed in with his helmet and saw what was happening. A hatched was open right outside the shield. Two pony guards, one with a horn and another with wings, were coming out from the hatch that was buried in the snow, concealing it. It looked like they were talking to each other. 'This should be interesting' He though with a grin. He knows the Commander told him to just scout out the area, but he didn't tell him to never investigate anything.......strange. He backed up a couple of feet, getting ready to jump. Once he was a good distance away, he got into a reading position. He then ran, with his power armor helping him thanks to its lightweight material. Once he was at the edge, he jumped off and activated his jetpack, flying him over a great distance towards the hatch's. The pony guards must have heard something, because they turned around and saw him coming down. But it didn't matter to him. As soon as he touched down, he opened fired on the guards. The first shots struck the unicorn, his front legs and most of his head was blown completely off. The pegasus was shocked to do anything, which gave him time to fire shots at him. It torn through his armor like it was made of plastic. He heard voices shouting in the distance, which means that they heard the gun shots. Wasting no time, he jumped into the hatch. It was a problem for him to get through, since the hatch was too small for him. A little bit of C4 came a long way. Turning on his light on his helmet, he looked all around him. The inside of the tunnel he was in is very big, enough for him to actually stand up. Like all the other structures, it had the same Tiberium-like crystals sculptured inside the tunnels. Behind him was a dead end. To the front of him, the tunnel seemed to go on forever. With no choice, he continued on, the clanking of his armor echoed in the tunnels. His flashlight helped him see in the long darkness. After some time, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, voices coming out of it. He ran towards the light and the voices. He got closer and closer to the light until he went through it. The light faded in his eyes to revealed another room. It was a large room that was similar to a GDI prison. The entire room is the same as any structure inside the city, with stairs sculptured into the blue and white crystals. Rows of cells lined up on the wall, revealing to be ponies that glittered with the same Tiberium-like crystals. Some of them had their wings bound to their bodies and little rings on the horns. The guards in the golden armor were patrolling the upper floors, with the same weapons as the ones outside. "What the-” He was interrupted by a laser shot from above. Looking up he saw a pony guard shooting at him with the same crystal musket he saw. "INTRUDER!! WE HAVE AN INTRUDER!!!!" The pony yelled at his comrades from above. Anderson wasted no time and fired his gun at the pony, his flesh torn until he was bloody mist. He heard the other guards coming down the stairs, their hooves echoed across the room. He saw some of the guards approaching his position. He fired at the nearest group that was almost down at the stairs, tearing them to shreds. He saw some body parts being blown off. He rushes towards the stairs and up some levels, firing at any pony that got in his way. The other group of ponies were standing in the last position the other pony who yelled for his comrades was at. Anderson started shooting the ponies left and right. The crystal structures did little to block his bullets as they were destroyed or obliterated. The crystal-like ponies in the cells started taking cover behind whatever they could find, some even getting under the bed. The guards fired back with the same musket weapons that they have. However, the shot merely bounced off of his power armor. A pegasus pony jumped off the edge and used his wings to glide. He cared the same serum that turned people into ponies. Anderson saw this coming and aimed his gun at the pony. The pegasi knew this and turned left as he avoided the shots. Anderson kept shooting as the pony kept zigzagging, trying to avoid the shots. Some of the missed shots hit some guards’ ponies. Some of the shots collapsed a crystal stairwell with some ponies on it, injury some while the others had stray bullets hit in vital area. Anderson decided that enough was enough, so he stopped shooting and got a flash grenade out of one of his satchels. The pony though that he was out of ammo and decided to dive-bomb towards him, the potion hanging from his mouth. Once the pony was almost close to him, he threw the grenade and covered his eyes. The pony stared wide eyed at the grenade before it exploded. The white flash blinded everyone in the room as they covered their giant eyes. He used this chance to shot the pegasus down. The shots hit the wings, tearing them out of its socket. The stallion screamed at the loss of its wings as he started to fall. Anderson heard a 'splat' as the pegasus it the ground. He soon started shooting the remaining guards as they were still disoriented. He stared strafing left and right as he started shooting above. The crystals did little to get in the way. He heard the screams of the guards as they were shot down. After what felt like an eternity, he heard the gun clicked as it ran out of ammo. Pressing a button on the side of his gun, the large ammo box twice the size of a box drops to the ground with a loud 'thud'. He reloaded another ammo box and stuffed it right in the chamber. He heard one pair of hooves thumping on the ground. Then another. Then another. Then he heard thumping all around him. He saw the ponies in the cells smiling and cheering at him, stomping their hooves on the group as a sort of approval. He blinked at the weird scene before him. The ponies were just cheering at him for killing other ponies. 'Did I miss something?' “Oh thank goodness!" One of the ponies said from behind him. Whipping around at the voice, he saw a stallion in one of the cells. He had a ruby red glittering coat with a yellow mane and tail. "I never thought we would be free!" "Eeerr...yeah...." He said awkwardly. It was awkward. A bunch of ponies, which were humanity's enemies, were cheering at him for killing other ponies, which were his enemies. "What is going on around here? How come your all in here?" He frowned. "We don't know. Everything fine in the Crystal Empire until those Equestrian's showed up and locked everyone up here." He spat at one of the bodies that was closed to him, glaring at him. "Good riddance to them, I say." He looked back at him. "As for how this happened, I think Prince Shining Armor and Princess Candace would know what had happened. They are locked up on the lower levels filled with anti-magic traps." The commando smirked. "Well, son. It's lucky I'm not magical." He looked around and saw another entrance at the bottom level down below. Before he could do that, he aimed his gun at the cell, the pony behind it gave a yelp before ducking down. He opened fired on the cell. The crystals that were holding the pony were destroyed. Now, there was a hole where the bars used to be. With that done, he jumped off the catwalk and landed on the ground, the power armor protecting him from impact. He went on his way. The entrance he went through came up to other rooms similar to the ones he was in. Rows of cells filled with crystal ponies wanting to get out. The guards tried to stop Anderson from advancing, but his power armor was indeed strong. He mowed them all down and released one of the crystal ponies to free the others. He didn't have time to be a hero right now. He went into the next tunnel, which he ran into some guards. They probably heard the gun fire in the next room and went to investigate. Luckily, they were in a narrowed tunnel, which means that they can't move or grab their weapons. Anderson revved up his gun and shot them all down. The screams echoed through the corridor. After all the ponies were dead, he continued down the long hall, stepping away from the bodies. He came upon the same room as before. Like before, he killed the guards, freed one of the ponies, and continued on his way. Eventually, he reached a large room with several different hallways. Each one was a different color, with one hallway being red and another being blue. On the top of each hallway, there were signs that told where they go to. Anderson saw the one marked 'SPECIAL PRISONERS' on a red crystal hallway and down the hallway. The hallway itself seemed to stretch out forever as time went on, until he came to the end of the hall. There was a large stair case that seemed to go down underground. Know it might be the place the stallion said their leaders were held, he went down the steps and into the darkness below. After a couple of minutes, the stairway ended on the ground floor, his boots touched the ground itself. He turned on the light in his helmet to help him see into the darkness. As his light turned on, it immediately illuminated the hallway he was in, an eerie glow coming out of the crystals. The room was huge, enough to fit in a couple of Mastodons. The room glowed an eerie red, with some crystal spires coming out of the ceiling. At the end of the hallway was a large metal door that glowed with the same pink shield as the one outside. A whole battalion of ponies, armed with the same musket-like weapon, stood in the way between him and the door. They were behind some sandbags and some tables they huddled together. The unicorns cast some shields on some of the troopers. One of the ponies, a unicorn stallion with a green mane, tail and a ridicules mustache, came up from behind them. "Hm. I dare say that you are surrounded by the best human hunter in Equestria." He said in a posh accent. "I knew your kind would not resist the shield our glorious Princess created. Once it is fully operation, your kind will be doomed. If you surrender now, then we would convert you into one of us. It's currently better than being dead." The Commando smirked under his helmet. "Sorry, pal. But I ain't dying today." He started shooting the huge, crystal icicles hang right above the big crowd of ponies. As soon as his shots made contact, the large crystals and the small icicles that were stuck around it started breaking apart from the ceiling before beginning to drop on the ponies. He heard the ponies screamed as it came crashing down, crushing or impaling some of them. Anderson has to cover his eyes as the dust began to blow everywhere in the room. After a few minutes, the dust finally settled. He opened his eyes and watched as the dust cleared, seeing the damaged he done. The unicorn stallion that was boasting jumped out of the way, just as several small spikes came crashing down. He was currently pinned down by a crystal. One Pegasus mare had been pinned by her wings by a few small crystals, before another one impaled her in the head. A regular stallion was crushed by the larger crystal. A unicorn mare looked like she was trying to save someone, from position she was in, before a spike impaled her in the stomach and then the head. Some of the ponies that weren't in the center of the crystal still received injures from shrapnel, moaning and wailing over something like a broken leg or a concussion. 'I am the definition of awesome.' He though as he smiled at his handy work. He saw that the shield that had been surrounding the door had disappeared at some point. He walked towards the large door. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw one of the ponies trying reach for his musket spear, but Anderson lifted his gun and fired a couple rounds at the pony, killing it. A mare with a shattered horn tried to take him from behind with a sword, but he heard the mare coming. As the mare jumped, he twisted around and smack her with his gauntlet. The mare flew and hit a wall by her back, hearing some bones snapping. He shot another pony with his gun as the pony was trying to get his musket. Once he was at the door, he started to think on how he could break in. It wasn't moments later that he slapped himself in the head and realized that he had C-4 with him. Placing the C-4 on the large door, he back away and got to cover behind a giant crystal that came down. Once he was behind cover, he pressed the button on his left wrist. A 'boom' echoed among the room as the floor shook and pieces of crystal flew everywhere. Looking up from his position, he saw the giant hole that he made on the large door. Grinning to himself under his helmet, he went inside the large room. Inside the room, was a number of metal cages that looked medieval, including some torture devices. In the left corner of the room was a series of chains that glowed in different colors. A stretcher was in the middle of the room that had some blood on it. In the middle of the room was a large pink shield that surrounded a large cage that was big enough for several people. In the middle of said cage were two ponies. One had a pink coat with a mane and tail that had a combination of violet, rose and gold. She had a lithe figure unlike the rest of the ponies he seen and a tad bit taller. She also had a horn on her head and wings on her back, just like the Princesses that came to No Man's Land. She had a mark on her flank that depicted a Tiberium-like heart. Another one next to her is a stallion that had a white coat with a blue mane and tail. His mark had a shield with a purple star as its coat of arms. Both of their legs were clamped in chains while their horns had these little, black rings on them. From the look of the bruises, they were interrogating recently. They lay asleep, wrapped in each other’s hooves despite the chains. 'This has to be it' He knocked on the pink shield to wake them up. "HEY!!!! RISE AND SHINE, CUTIEPUFFS!!! WAKE UP!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Just then, a blast of laser interrupted his thought train. Unlike the last ones, this one apparently pushed him back some feet. From out of the new hole in the door, he saw the unicorn who was boasting earlier had lifted the large crystal off of him and currently in a battle-ready position, his hooves spread out while his horn glowed. He was covered in some small cuts and a piece of shrapnel coming out of his left hind leg. "YOU THINK YOU COULD JUST KILL ME!!! YOU ARE WRONG, YOU FILTHY, DIRTY A-” He didn't finish his sentence when gun shot was hearing and a hole was formed in his head. His eyes widened in terror as he slummed down, blood coming out from the hole. Anderson, holding a custom made Model 454SS8M in his hands, its barrel was smoking hot. "I am awesome." He finally said. Withdrawing his revolver, he looked over at the large cage, which now started to shimmer for a little bit before it disappeared completely. The two ponies started to wake up. "Mmm....aaa...what?" The pink pony, which is a mare judging by the voice, started to stir her eyes open, along with the other pony. When she rubbed her eyes with her hooves, only to have them widened at the site of a dead pony and a strange bipedal creature standing next to the body of said pony. She nudges the other pony next to her. "Honey. Honey! Wake up!" The other pony started to stir. "Mmmmashahhawaht?" His eyes suddenly widened at the site of the disaster the same as the mare. "W-what's going on here!?!?!" "I'll tell you what." The GDI Commando started to say. "This is a break-out. So I suggest you get going before more guards arrive." "Wait, how are you and how did you know where to find us." The stallion who woke up gave him a hard stare. "Furthermore, why should we trust you?" "Son, I just saved your ass from those other ponies. Now, I don't know what's going on between the ponies, but we could try to stop them." He put a hand on his chest. As for who I am, my name is Lieutenant Anderson, part of GDI and the 5th Division. We came here because we heard the ponies were creating some new form of shield that's supposed to be indestructible. I came across your ponies saying that your here." He hoisted his gun. "Let's be honest, I just saved you two. I could have just left you here to rot. But I didn't." He forgot to mention that he wanted to jump into the action after the reconnaissance, even though he was ordered not to. The two ponies looked at each other and then looked back at him, before looking at each other again. From the look on their faces, they were trying to decide whether or not to follow him. They probably didn't expect anyone to rescue them or they're people. After a while, they both nodded to each other and looked back at the commando. The pink one spoke first. "I am Princess Candace, ruler of the Crystal Empire. And this,” She unflared her left wing and pointed it at the white stallion. "is my husband, Shining Armor. We'll help you however we can." She withdrew her wing. "But first we must find our guards. I suspect that they are somewhere in here." The commando nodded. "I understand. Go to your ponies." He cocked his gun back. "I'll free your guards." With that notion, Anderson went out the newly-made hole and into the unknown. > GDI-Crystal Conundrum 2/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- GDI ZOCOM Forward Base of Operations 10 Miles from the Crystal Empire Green Zone "Come in, Anderson? Can you read me? Anderson?!?!" He shouted at the microphone in front of him, trying to get through to his commando. Unfortunately, all he heard was static from the channel, nothing being transmitted. "Damn it!" He banged his fist on the controls in front of him. "What happened?" Captain Martian questioned. He was already in in his Zone Armor with his rail gun in his hands. "I lost contact with one of my scouts." He said, not say that it was his commando that was lost. Of course, he didn't believe that he was lost or anything. He knows him better than anyone in his battalion. "I'm betting its just interference from the storm." "I hope so." The captain said. "We can't afford any more delays. The Barrier is growing by the minute. We have to assault it now!" It was true for what he said. The Barrier had started to expand since they have arrived. It now covered at least half a square mile of the Frozen North, nearly reaching their base. The commander sighed. "Your right. We can't afford any more delays. We need to destroy the Barrier before it destroys us." He looked back at the controls. "I'll command my forces here while you try to flank around the Barrier." The captain saluted before he left out of the command post, barking orders to his ZOCOM troopers to get ready to move out. Once he was out of ear shot, he had gone over to the holographic map. "I just hope that he doesn't anything stupid." Inside the Crystal Empire "Are you sure that you don't have a plan?" Shining Armor whispered to Anderson as they, along with Cadance, hid in an alleyway near a home. They could see the marketplace down the road crawling with troops. They probably had heard the tall tale signs of fight down below them, or someone must have escaped and told them what was happening. Ponies with the weird gun-like spears were patrolling the place, some behind makeshift barricades with them pointing at the empty streets. Tanks were also rolling around the castle as well, rumbling as they go. In the middle of the patrolling "How needs plans anyway?" Anderson said as he grabs his fragmentation grenade from one of his poaches. He had a few remaining grenades. He hoped it would be enough for the battle that is to come. Coming out of the alley, he threw the grenade over the barricade. The ponies stationed there saw him threw a strange cylinder towards them. Before they could even investigate, it exploded, destroying the barricade with it. Anderson started shooting his minigun at the ponies that went to investigate, shredding through their armor like it was paper. As soon as the barricade fell, thousands of imprisoned crystal ponies started charging out of the alleyways and homes, storming the ponies. Some of them were armed with home materials like rolling pins and pans. Some of the former guards raided the armory down in the prison and armed with armor and weapons, guiding the ponies and barking orders. He covered them by firing on the approaching ponies. They didn't have enough time to set up a firing line before the waves of crystal ponies crashed into them. They started beating them up with whatever they could find, even their hooves. The Equestrian ponies in the courtyard saw what was happening and saw the rows and rows of civilians charging at them. They hesitated. They thought that the humans have broken into the Crystal Empire. They didn't expect the entire populace to rebel against them. "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?!?!?!" An earth pony guardsmare shouted. "OPEN FIRE ON THOSE TRAITORS! THATS AN ORDER!!" They were hesitant at first, but they didn't waste a second as they aimed their staff guns at the civilians advancing towards them. The civilians saw the massive firing line and started to retreat........They soon fired on the advancing populace ...Only for a massive shield to cover them. Shining Armor, with his horn glowing, summoned a shield to protect his citizens. Sure, he wasn't born in the Crystal Empire, but he did have a duty as a prince, as a former captain, to protect the innocent. Seeing that their prince was helping them, the charged again with renown vigor. Anderson helped out with the civilians by strafing his minigun left and right on the ponies, forcing them to look for cover. Two tanks have arrived on the scene. The first one started to fire on the massive shield, attempting to break it. Shining grunted and tried very hard to keep the shield up, but he knew he would drop it if they kept this up. Anderson saw how he was struggling to kept the shield he made up, so he decided to help him. Using his jetpack, he flew across the courtyard. He started shooting his gun while midair, killing any ponies he saw. Once he landed on the ground, he rushes towards the tank on the other side of the courtyard. The crew must have spotted him, as one of the guns on the sides fired beams of magic against him. He dodged left and right as the beams pasted him. One of them hit his shoulder pads, making him stager a bit. He regained his moment and continued on. Using his jetpack again, he boosted up on top of the tank. He saw the hatch and landed on it. The ponies must have heard it, as the hatch opened to reveal a brown unicorn stallion with a white mane. He had a sword in his magical grip and proceeded to swing at him. He caught it in his grip and grabbed a grenade with his one free hand. He pulled the pin with his mouth and dropped it inside the hatch. He then punched the unicorn stallion in the face, making him fall down. He closed the hatch and jumped off of the tanks, before sprinting away. The tank exploded. Any ponies close to it were blown away. Anderson admired his handy work. However, that victory was short lived. He felt rumbling behind him. Turning around, he found himself face to face with a tank, its hole already starting to glow. 'Ah shit.' He thought. The tank was soon surrounded by a pink aura, before it started to lift itself off the ground. The crew that was manning it opened the hatch and got out, screaming as they went. The tank went flying into a group of Equestrian ponies that were shooting at the civilians. Anderson looked stunned for a second, his mouth hung open. He saw Cadance, a princess he saved from the prison, the so-called 'Princess of Love’, throwing the remaining tanks around like they were toys, hitting some of the Equestrian troop in a bloody mess. She had a fury in her eyes that is like anything he had seen before. NOBODY BUCKS WITH MY DOMAIN OR MY PONIES!!!! I WILL BUCK ALL OF YOU UNTIL YOU BEG FOR MERCY!!!! The surrounding Equestrian ponies were running scared of the enraged princess with tails between their legs. Shining Armor stood next to Anderson, looking at the scene with his jaw literally hitting the floor. Princess Cadance continued to throw anything that was near her, like trash containers and weapons, and throws them at the soldiers. By this point, the soldiers retreated back to the castle courtyard, most likely to rally any troops. The crystal ponies started finishing off the soldiers by beating them with items in their hooves. They crystal ponies were no strangers to violence. Before Sombra ruled over them, they had beaten back invaders that had threatened their livelihoods. The had fought back against them. They continued to stare at her before she landed right in front of them. She cleared her throat. "Perhaps we should continue?" They didn't need to be asked twice. GDI ZOCOM Forward Base of Operations 10 Miles from the Crystal Empire Green Zone "Sir, there’s something happening inside the city!" One of his officers reported. The commander went over to his officer and looked over his shoulders. The screen showed the thermal overview of the Crystal Empire. He could see mini red dots all over the place and smoke coming from the city itself. "It looks like there is fighting going on." 'Anderson, you crazy son of a bitch.' Andrew thought as he looked at the next screen, showing the real overview of the Crystal Empire. The blizzard that had assaulted the had died down, allowing him to actually see what is going on. He saw buildings on fire and thousands of ponies fighting each other. He could see the difference of the ponies, with ones with no armor and sparkling fighting against the golden armored ponies. If he would have to make a guess, it would seem to be an uprising of sorts, and Anderson is somewhat involving. Zooming in, he could see Anderson shooting at the golden ponies. Behind him were two ponies that were helping him. The first one had white fur and a blue man and tail. The next one had a pink fur and a mane and tail that had a mixture of pink, violet, and white. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head. 'Nothing gets through to this guy.' "Get our units ready for battle." He said to the officer in front of him. "Tell them to make sure they don't fire on the sparkling ponies helping Anderson." "Yes, sir” The officer replied. He pressed some buttons on his console. Turning back to the holographic map, he saw the blue dots in his base move, along with the ZOCOM troopers aiding them. 'I hope he knows what he's doing' Inside the Crystal Empire The entire courtyard was now locked down. Barricades were being built on the entry points to stop or slow the enemies’ advancement. The remaining tanks stood next to the Crystal Heart, ready to fire in case the crystal ponies got through. The remaining mages casted shields on the barricades and started enchanting weapons. Shinning Armor, Cadance, and Anderson watched the Equestrian ponies from one of the high buildings that overlooked the castle courtyard. Both Shining and Cadance had a worried look on her face. "There is just so many of them." Cadance said as she observed the surrounding ponies. The civilians weren't currently engaging them, as they were back in the marketplace, licking their wounds and healing them. "Yeah." Shining Armor said. "Our soldiers aren't even fully equipped to go against them." The former soldiers of the Crystal Empire, the ones that were directing the militia during the assault, were also arming themselves with whatever the Equestrians left behind. It wasn't enough to push them back. "Not if you have a Mammoth Tank rolling in and kicking they're asses." Anderson replied. He pointed at the heart that is connected to some crystal-like tower. "You said that they can clone those?" "Yes they do." Cadance said to Anderson. "I don't know where the real Crystal Heart is, but I have a feeling that its somewhere in our city." "That's good." He said. "If we destroy that thing, then GDI will be able to roll in." Shining looked over to him. "You really think they could help us?" "Absolutely!" He said with a grin. "Trust me, I know my commander since I was first employed. He would help you guys out." "If you say so." Cadance said. She looked down on the fortifications below. "But we can't go in with all those fortifications. We need a plan." "Don't worry, I already have one." He cocked his gun. "I'll distract them with everything that I have. While they will be focused on me, sneak around and try to destroy it." Shining nodded. "Sure, we'll do that." He glided down towards the ground with the help of Cadance holding him with her hooves. Anderson activated his jetpack and jumped of the building, flying towards the ground. It wasn't long that he reached one of the barricades that the ponies were behind. He was currently hiding in an alleyway between two houses, where he could see the barricade and the ponies manning it. He didn't know where Cadance and Shining Armor were, but he could guess that they were somewhere around where he's at, waiting for the signal. He looked over what he had. He had a few rounds of ammo left and only two grenades left. He would make those count. Pulling the pin, he got out from behind the alleyway and threw the grenade. The ponies saw him coming out and started to shout for others near them. The explosion went off, killing some of the ponies that were in close proximity of the blast. The barricade was in ruins. The entire courtyard was in full alert, ponies shouting orders and galloping towards the source. Anderson started to fire behind the building he was hiding in on the ponies when they come towards the ruined barricade. The first group of ponies were shot down. They soon took cover behind the buildings, hoping to avoid the gun fire. Anderson decided to do something about it. Firing a few place shots as to pin them down, he activated his jetpack and flew up towards the roof of the house. At the same time, some of the unicorns in the group started to fire on the cover, along with some earth ponies with crossbows. He hopped from roof to roof as he got closer to the ponies. They didn't seem to know about this and continued to fire on the cover he was once behind. Once he was on top of one of the groups, he fired on them from above. The ponies screamed as they were gunned down. One of the ponies in the other group shouted something to his comrades. The saw him killing the other group and readied their weapons, but Anderson was quick to jump down and gun them down like the others. The ponies in the plaza were staring at what they saw. To them, they saw an armored being descending upon the heavens and struck them down without remorse. "GET HIM, YOU MORONS!!!" The mare who was commanding before shouted to the fear stricken ponies. The ponies got out of there stupor and charged him. The pegusus were the fastest ones to get to him, welding swords and other weaponry. Anderson just grinned. He started to press a few buttons on his wrist, causing his jetpack to activate. He boosted his way into the air and flew straight into the pegasi horde. They were stunned by his bravado, but they still kept coming towards him. He fired his gun at them. He had managed to hit a few of them while the rest scattered in the air. He dropped down into the floor and heard screaming coming from all directions. Some of the ponies decided to surround him and gang up on him. He once again activated his jetpack, jumping up in the air before they even got close. The result was them colliding with each other. He landed on the ground with safety. A unicorn had a sword in his magical grasp, coming right at him. He tried to fired one shot at one of his front hooves, but he heard to gun click, meaning that it was out of ammo. He put the gun away and got ready to receive him. The unicorn jumped up at him and swung his sword. The sword broke as soon as it struck his armor. The unicorn had a shocked look on his face when Anderson grabbed him by the mane and threw him. However, he didn't take into account the power armor's strength. The unicorn flew all the way to the crystal doors, which caused them to crash down. While he wasn't looking, an earth pony mare jumped on to his backside and started using its front hooves to bash down on him. Luckily, the armor was much tougher than the mare’s hooves, which resulted in her screaming as she held her hooves. He grabbed her mane and threw her into a group of three ponies who were closing in on him. A Gatling gun on the roof started revving up before it started firing at Anderson. The magic beams hit him a couple of times before he moved to cover at a nearby abandon house. The gun kept on firing on the house, tearing away everything that was inside. He had to go into the kitchen and use a refrigerator as cover. He reloaded his gun, emptying his empty magazine and loaded in another one. This went on for about sometime, before the firing stopped. Confused, he went over to the window and took cover on one of the sides. He wanted to see what was going on. He saw that he was surrounded by ponies. Several unicorns, three earth ponies with their crossbows, twelve pegasi hovering over his houses, and a couple of tanks aiming at him. The earth pony mare from before stood in the middle of the circle. "ATTENTION, HUMAN!" She used her voice amplification spell to him to hear her. "YOU ARE SURROUNDED! GIVE UP AND COME ON OUT! WE WILL MAKE USE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL LIFE WITH THE OTHER NEW FOALS!" Anderson looked over her withers and saw Shining and Cadance near the Crystal Heart. Their horns were glowing as they're eyes were closed, like they were in deep concentration. Anderson smiled and looked back at the mare. "You'll never take me alive, you four legged freaks!" He flipped them the bird. The mare looked pissed of more than anything. "KILL HIM!" The unicorns charged their spells and fire on the house. The earth ponies fired their arrows as well. The unicorns inside the tanks fired spell after spell at the house. Anderson hand to make a plan and fast. HE looked around and saw a door that lead to a backyard. Pegasus might be stationed above him, ready to ambush him, but he had no choice. With a charge, he broke through the door and into the backyard. Already, several pegasi were hovering, clutching the potion in their hooves. They were ready to dive-bomb him, but he heaved his gun up and fired away. He had managed to hit a couple of them before they ganged up on him. They released the potions hit him. However, he moved out of the way before it hit him and shot his gun. One of the pegasus was shot in his left wing, which caused him to crash next to another pegasi. They both crash to the ground. The remaining three pegasus decided to engage him head on. They landed on the ground, glaring at him for killing their comrades. Anderson stared intensely at them, keeping his finger on the trigger. They both stared at each other for a long time, before the remaining pegasus spread their wings and decided to charge at him, screaming as they did. He lifted his gun, aimed down the sights, and fired. He had managed to hit three of the four pegasi. The last one slammed into him, pinning him down on the ground. He brought his hooves down on his face. However, he didn't really pin him down. Anderson had managed to grab him by the throat, and threw him near a swing set in the backyard. The pegasi hit his head on the metal bar the held the thing in place. He slumped into the ground and laid there, stars dancing over his head. He jumped onto the next roof and aimed his gun at one of the groups of ponies that had come to investigate. Before he started firing, the shield turned bright pink. The saw something shining on the comer of his eyes. Looking over he saw Shining and Cadance glowing got brighter and brighter, almost blinding everyone in the courtyard. He noticed that the fake Crystal Heart was glowing as well. It got brighter and brighter until it completely shattered. With the fake Crystal Heart destroyed, the shield went down, and the Empire was left completely exposed. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!?" The commander was nearly almost blinded on what had happened on the screen. He saw the shield, the one that had almost reached the base, exploded into a million pieces. He had already ordered his troops to get ready to assault the fortified city. They were hesitant at first, seeing as the Barrier was expanding by every second. Thankfully, the Barrier didn't require an Ion Cannon this time. It seems like it was just a weak version of it. The ZOCOM troopers with the railguns had hammered it to death, making it fall back a couple of inches. It wasn't enough, but it did buy them time. He told them that he had a plan and they trusted him for it. In truth, he didn't have a plan. He had to pin his hope on Anderson and what was happening in the city itself. It looks it payed off in the long run. Before he could call a retreat and summon an Ion Cannon to break the shield, the shield began to glow brighter and brighter, almost blinding everyone in the base. Then, the shield began to crack, like before, then it cracked into a million pieces. "Sir, it seemed that the shield is down." One of the officers reported. "ZOCOM forces are ready to assault it, as well as ours. Shall we proceed?" "Do it." Commander Andrew said. From his position, he could see his officers scurrying around the base, going to their posts. He went back to his position on the holographic map. Already, he saw his forces and ZOCOM moving out, heading into the city itself. His assault force consisted of a main body of infantry, a few Wolverines and Titans, and some Goliath APC's. He kept some of his heavier forces in reserve, including the Mammoth MK II in reserve in case something happened that was completely out of control. He just hoped it wouldn't come to that. From his position on the roof, Anderson hear what sounded like jets coming towards him. Looking over head, he almost let out a cheer when he saw a group of five Firehawks in a V-formation coming towards the courtyard. Once they were in range of the Remaining Equestrian forces, the dropped bomb upon bombs upon them. Anyone caught within the blast was immediately destroyed. One unfortunate pony was close to the blast zone, scorching his face. Another one had a metal fragment lounged in his neck, blood seeping out of the wound. He soon heard gunfire and explosions coming from the city itself. He could see an outline of a Titan in the distance taking on a group of ponies how weren't at the courtyard to stop it. With one blast out of its side cannon, the group was eliminated. He heard battle cries coming out of the ruined barricades. He looked over and saw the crystal ponies charging into the soldiers. They must have saw and heard the shooting going on around them and came over to help. It wasn't part of the plan, but he did appreciate the help. The rest of the ponies were taken by surprised by this, but quickly regained from their initial shock and charged at the populace. He decided to join in on the fun. He boosted up on the roof of another house with his jetpack and saw the force that was occupied with the populace. A group of Equestrian ponies were clumped up together, hiding inside that house and shooting at anyone that was in range as they were rushing in. He decided to stop it before anyone else got hurt. Before he could rush over and shoot at them, something came over his head. An Orca Fighter had flew overhead and, surprised fired its missiles at the Equestrian ponies inside the house. The house came tumbling down. From behind him, he heard Shining Armor whistle. "Man, I hate to admit it, but that was pretty awesome!" "Yep. It does seem like that." He turned around to see them. They were unharmed, only a few visible scratched on their coats. "It seems like we won this fight." "It's not over yet." Cadance explained. "We need to find the Crystal Heart and try to restore it. If we don't, then the blizzard would cover this entire place!" "What are we waiting for?!?" He emptied his magazine and reloaded another one in. "Let's get this shit done!" With that in mind, the trio went through the blasted crystal doors and into the castle. Inside the Crystal Castle "Report, anypony?" An old grizzled earth pony mare, Peach Cobbler, asked to her subordinates, and some of the officers of various companies. She had a peach white coat with a black mane and tail, with a little bit of gray in it. Her cutie mark was a pair of peaches that were sliced. They were inside an old war room that had seen better days, but they had cleaned it up since they occupied the Crystal Empire. The table from which they were using had a spell that allowed the table to show the holographic model of the Crystal Empire, and Equestria. Perhaps The blue dots in the city represented Her Majesties Forces while the red dots represented the humans that have entered into the city. The yellow dots were the civilians that have rebelled against the Equestrians. Right now, the situation wasn't looking good. With the shield gone, the humans have entered into the city with those mechanical beasts that they enslaved for their use. What made it even worse was that the civilians they have suppressed were helping the humans. Another residing 'boom' echoed in the castle, which resulted in the castle shaking. "Our shields are gone! What the buck do you-?!?!" One of the stallions on the hologram said before being cut off completely. "Look, we can't keep keep this up." One of the stallions, an earth pony with a red coat and a black mane, said. "If we stay here, then we would be slaughtered. These humans are far more advanced than what our princesses said. We need to fall back!" "Fall back to what??!!?" A pegasus mare said. "The humans have the only exit in this entire Celestia damned wasteland! If we go out, we'll be slaughtered!" "What if we fought through them?" A young earth pony mare asked. "If we do that, we might as well paint targets on our backs and yell at them where we are." A unicorn stallion stated. The humans metal monsters will surely find us no matter where we go, and the human’s magic will surely kill is from a mile away. Not to mention that the crystal ponies are helping them. They could be on us the second we step out of the castle." The whole group started yelling each other at this point. Some were arguing to try to hold their ground against the humans and their abominations, while others just wanted to get the hell out of here and far away from them. Some of the ponies who argued knew of the humans might, as they have previous engagements with them that ended in a bloody slaughter for the ponies. "ENOUGH!" Peach Cobbler yelled. The entire room went silent when she spoke. Her bright blue eyes scanned the entire room before setting on one of the stallions who spoke earlier. "Is there no other way to get out of the Crystal Empire?" The stallion shook his head. "There is no other way we know." She sighed, bowing her head. "I see." The explosions gotten closer, indicating the battle cries of thousands of crystal ponies that demand the blood of the Equestrians. She raised her head. "The we would have to surrender." The room exploded in a furry of yelling and accusations, some calling her a coward while others were calling her insane. "QUIET!!!!" She once again yelled. The yelling had died down. "I know that it isn't something that any of us would do. I don't want to surrender to these stinking apes, but we have no choice. We have no way of get out, nor do we have the numbers to fight back. Even if we try to hold this castle with the Crystal Heart, they would still find a way to get through it. Let's not forget what happened the first time we used it." They all shivered as they remembered what had happened when they first entered on this world. When the Princesses announced that they were going to save humanity from themselves, and from behind the shield, everypony was swelling with pride. At first, there was fear that they would invade somehow, but those fears were quelled when the Princesses said that they have made copies of the so-called 'Crystal Heart', which made the giant pink shield that cover the entire land of Equestria. Those that didn't accept Celestia's potion would be incinerated. It was so strong that not even human technology and its metal beasts would puncture it. That is, until now. She remembered the day the shield went down, a day of chaos and ruin. She was stationed at Las Pegasus when this happened. She was there to oversee the recruitment. May stallions and mares wanted to do their duty to Equestria and started to sign up for the army, happy to do something. Of course, some of the ponies weren't very happy with the whole war thing. Some of the ponies right next to the recruitment station protested about it, saying things like the war is a bad idea. There was even one old stallion who was preaching in town, saying that humanity are gods, and they need to bow before them instead of the princesses. His voice fell over deaf ears as they ignored him, thinking that he is crazy. There was even a funny moment when a young pegasus colt walked up and wanted to sign up. Fortunately, his mother arrived and dragged him home, fussing over him all the while. That moment put a smile and a laugh on anyponies faces. That was short lived, however. Some time had passed since she got there. She was inside one of the many restaurants in the marketplace when she heard something from above her. She couldn't describe what it was, but the entire sky brightened up blue for some reason, even though it said that it would be a sunny day. Then she saw it, a beam of blue light pierced the heaven above and come down on the shield. Everyone started to panic, running around while some shut their doors and windows. She had to admit, she was scared beyond belief at first. It's not everyday a beam of blue light came crashing down on the shield like something had fallen out of the sky. She couldn't believe that the humans had possessed this powerful magic. However, when the beam of light stop, the shield was fine, no scratch on it whatsoever. She let out a sigh of relief, but not before she hears a cracking sound. She saw cracks appearing on the shield itself, as if it was actually made of glass and someone dropped it. The cracks grew and grew, until the shield collapsed. The shards suddenly rained down on the city. The ponies soon started running around, scream as the shards landed. The old stallion that was preaching before started...well, preaching, say that it’s the end of the world. Peach Cobbler quickly got up from her seat and started to take command of the situation, trying to help the civilians by directing them to emergency bunkers. However, she was clubbed over the head by something, which made her fall to the ground and slip into darkness. She woke up on the outside of Las Pegasus in an emergency camp. She got carried out by an armored pegasus mare and transported here. The doctor who treated her told her that a small piece of metal had fallen off of a roof and hit her in the head. Once she thanks the doctor, she went on her way to help the ponies as best she can. She pasted a lot of injured ponies along the way, some of them where waiting outside the medical tents due to the number of patients they have. They had injuries of all sorts, some of them were missing some limbs. It didn't take her long to find the one in charge, a middle-aged buck in a royal guard armor, standing in the middle of the camp. He shouted orders to various ponies, how obeyed them with the upmost certainty. She approached him and asked if she would join the search. He said no, saying that they need all the help he could get. He didn't matter if she was in charge of the civilians, they had a job to do. They argued for what seemed like hours, before the stallion snorted and told her to get on an emergency chariot to the city. She did as she was told and jumped on to an emergency chariot located at the end of the camp. They were carrying wounded ponies off of them and recuse teams on and off. She got on one of the chariots that was ready to take off and flew with them. She was miles outside the city, which meant that it took a while to get to the city. What she saw was something that will haunt her for the rest of her life. As the chariot touched down, she could see the full extent of the damage that was done. What once was a bright and beautiful city, it became something of a wasteland. Buildings were destroyed by the large shards that rained down on the city. A casino building called Five Shots was split into two by a larger shard. Another large building was destroying, though it looked like somepony had poured hot lava over it, resulting in a twisted version of it. She saw some of the bodies of some ponies how were trampled on during the confusion, which resulted in some deaths. One pony was sliced by the shards into two, showing some of the entrails. She saw a body of a young pegasus mare under a large rubble, her now dead eyes widened in an expression of pain. Peach almost vomited at the site she seen. She helped wherever she could, moving rubble with her magic and saving some ponies that were trapped in said rubble. Ever since that day, she had been hailed as a hero to both the city of Las Pegasus and Equestria itself. She was also sad to hear that General Rock, the one in charge of the recruitment of Las Pegasus, was found dead at one of the hotels, crushed by an elevator. Being the closest to him, she was immediately promoted and sent to the Frozen North to subdue the populace there. "But are you sure it's the only way? Maybe we can send a message to the Princesses. They could save us!" She snapped back to reality by the comment the stallion made. The room murmured in agreement, some were agreeing to this idea. She shook her head. "They won't be here. They never even cared for us." Everypony gasped at that comment she made, some were even glaring at her. "How......DARE YOU?!?!" A mare how commanded the sixth company said. "The Princesses will save! They always have! If we could get a fast pegasus to deliver a message, then-" "YOU DON'T BUCKING GET IT, DO YOU!?!?!" Peach Cobbler yelled. The mare immediately silence. "WE. CAN'T. WIN!! EVEN IF WE FOUND A PEGASUS THAT IS FAST ENOUGH TO DELIVER A MESSAGE TO THE PRINCESS, IT WOULD BE TOO LATE! WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD!" She took a deep breath and sighed. "Like I said, I don't like surrendering to those damn apes, but what chose do we have? They have us outnumbered and outgunned a hundred to one. If we try to fight them, we'll just be slaughtered. It’s not worth it! These are ponies lives we are talking about. Isn’t being alive more important than pride?" There was silence in the room as everyone was in deep thought. They weighted the options, the pros and cons, and some of the family’s that are waiting for them at home. They all knew it was cowardly, to surrender to the enemy. They all knew it, but they knew that if they didn't, they would die. Many of the ponies in the table were whispering their opinions to each other. After sometime, one of the stallions cleared his throat. "We have.... come to an agreement." Before he could say any more words, the back wall exploded, throwing everypony on the ground. Peach Cobbler was also on the grown, hearing nothing but ringing in her hears. The guards that weren't caught in the explosion had sprung into action as they withdrew their weapons from beside them. However, the weapons were suddenly surrender by a glowing pink arura. The weapons were grasped from their owners and thrown across the room. Once everypony was back on their hooves, including Peach Cobbler, they saw who assaulted them. A large bipedal creature stood before them. It was unlike anything they had seen before. It was twice the size of the regular human soldiers. His armor was bulkier, stronger if the scorches and scratches mean anything. It's hooved-like feet were bigger than anything she has seen. It held a strange weapon in its hand, which looked like a gatling gun she saw when she first came here. Perhaps it’s one of those human magic things they call a 'gun'. Behind it, two ponies she thought she would never see again were standing before her. Shining Armor, former Captain of the Royal Equestrian Guard, and Princess Cadance, Alicorn of Love and former ruler of the Crystal Empire, stood before the gathering general. She says something in the princess’s eyes, something that she and everypony in the room shivered. Rage. "Give. Me. My. Kingdom." Her horn glowed. The weapons that were thrown across the room were surrounded by the same pink arura she had on her horn. The weapons floated in midair, all of them aiming at the surrounded Equestrian's. "NOW!!!!" The fury and rage within her eyes meant that she was serious about what she said. The Equestrians would later speak about the pink terror and her metal beast. Mission Accomplished > Nod-Cloaked and Daggered 1/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manehatten Nod Controlled Territory Somewhere in The Pacific "I got to hand it to them." Ajay began to say as he drank from a fancy looking cup. "These Equestrians sure know how to make some good tea. I never even liked it until now." "I'll say." Kaiden say as he drank from a fancy cup. He never had any tea before, mostly because they were in somewhat short supply. He had heard stories that there used to be tea in India and Central America. He even heard that there was once an empire that depended on tea. Since Tiberium entered the earth and transformed it, every species of plants almost, or went extinct. Tea was one of them, but GDI had managed to preserve it for themselves. He could see why they would love tea so much. It had been a couple of days since they captured Manehatten from the alien forces, and even days since the Barrier went down. The battle lasted for a rough few hours, but they had managed to break the last of the pony army, running away from the city. At least, they tried to run, but Venom and Harpy aircraft mowed most of them down before they could even set foot out of the city. They were running with tails between their legs. Banners of Nod hung on every corner of the street. The city was Nod's territory now. Most of the forces had captured sections of the city, and the subway system that some of the pony soldiers were using to transport troops and supplies. His troops had some help from the inmates, including the mafia member that knows his way around the city. There was some resistance in the city, most in the form of Newfoals, humans how had been turned into ponies. He shuddered as he remembered seeing them for the first time as he observed them from the cameras in the NOD armor. The way they smiled.........it was unnatural. It was as if they were mindless... He had confirmed that half of Nod's territories were recaptured, include half of Russia and China. The Equestrians were putting up a fight, but they couldn't fight against a righteous army scream for vengeance after what happened at Temple Prime. Already, they had established a foothold in the alien’s country with little to no resistance at all. For all he knew, he could conquer the whole nation in but a few days. However, they have specific orders to hold this place until the main force arrives, which wouldn't be here until a few days. Until then, they just had to sit back and wait for further instructions. Kaiden and Ajay were sitting in a ruined place that had once been a café of sorts. The once pristine tables and chairs had all but been destroyed during the invasion. The umbrellas had been burnt, nothing remained but a skeleton. Some of the chairs had disappeared or destroyed. They were luck that there were some extras in the back that hadn't been hit. The inside fared no better, as it was completely scorched. Some of the foods inside the shop had been nothing but dust. A body of an unfortunate stallion was still there, its entire body filled with shrapnel. Across the street from them, the banners of Nod hung proudly over some buildings. Even the few larger buildings had the Black Hand symbol on them. A few Scarab APC's were parked right next to him, their guns swiveled as they looked for any hostiles. A couple of Nod troopers were guarding the perimeter around them. Kaiden took another sip from his tea, savoring the taste of the fine drink. "So what is it you sent me out here for?" He asked Ajay. While he was on the ship, he received a message from Ajay that they had to meet him inside the city. He was obligated to see him, seeing as he wanted to see the sites of the city anyway. Ajay put his cup down and reached towards the tablet on his left side of the table. He picked it up and pasted it along to Kaiden. "Kilian has another job for us." He said as Kaiden picked it up. "In addition to guarding this place, she wants us to eliminate a thorn in Nod's side." Kaiden powered up the tablet, which showed the Nod symbol once the screen lit up. It then changed to a video of a man standing on the pedestal. He had a large black beard and a milky white eye on the left side with a scar running down it. His right eye was hazel. He spoke with a tone like that of Kane. "Kane is dead! GDI is dead! Humanity is dead, destroyed by the wars that we have brought up for years. Those that we blindly follow promised us peace and prosperity, when it is they that are warmongers and slavers. Now it is time for a new order to rise, my children. Celestia is our one true messiah. We will cleanse this world of sin, and make a new paradise that only the faithful will make. True Peace through Conversion!" The man saluted, and the sound of applause erupted throughout the room. After a couple of seconds, the video blacks out. "There's a new group that had arisen after the whole fiasco with the aliens." Ajay said as he explained the situation to Kaiden. "They call themselves the P.E.R.: Pontification for Earth Reborn. They think that this 'Celestia' is some sort of god and following her example of converting everyone into ponies." He scoffed. "Bunch of idiots if you ask me." "So what does this have to do with us?" Kaiden asked. "They started out as a small group, doing bombings in both GDI and Nod territories." Ajay explained. "After Temple Prime was destroyed, they got bigger and deadlier. They not only have Nod joining their ranks, some GDI dogs had managed to join them as well. They're attacks are becoming more and more intense, pushing some of our forces back. What's more? They are being supported by none other than Princess Celestia herself. They have ponies within their ranks. Kilian wants us to deal with them, swiftly and without mercy." "This P.E.R. seemed to have pissed us off if she's targeting them." Kaiden said. It was no surprise, as Kilian was devoted to Kane's cause. Of course, dealing with a terrorist organization seems like something the Black Hand would do, but if what Ajay said was true, then this might be a problem for them. "Yeah." Ajay said. Kaiden handed the screen to Ajay, how took it. "They attacked Kilian's base in the Australian Outback. Took them completely by surprised as well. They rolled up in Nod vehicles and she let them inside the base. That was when they started shooting. The whole base was in confusion. Kilian would have been a goner if it wasn't for a Nod force in the area. These guys are dangerous, and she wants them gone." He pressed a few buttons on the tablet before he set it down on the table for him to see. The screen changed to the map of Equestria, the entire continent green and bright. He had forgotten how beautiful it was. He had heard that Earth used to be a vibrant place before Tiberium changed the Earth. Was this being the world was like before Tiberium entered the Earth? The screen enhanced on a mountain range northeast of Manehatten, where a speck of something was on top of the mountain. The screen enhanced some more, revealing to be a base of sorts. "After some digging around, we found out where one of their bases is, right in the middle of Equestria." The base itself was located next to the mountain itself. He saw the base itself vibrant with life. He saw different Nod vehicles and personal go to and fro. He also saw some ponies chatting with the humans, a strange sight to see since the war started. They were not wearing the same army colors as Nod, only a mixture of white and green. He could also see some GDI personal and vehicles inside the base as well. To the left side, a row of Juggernauts was parked right outside a building. A Mammoth and a Scorpion tank were rolling into the facility. Nod and GDI defenses were powered up as the scanned the entrance for any intruders. GDI and Nod air defenses were scanning the skies for any contact. On one side of the base, a line of GDI and Nod vehicles stood. He recognized all of them, ranging from the Scorpion Tanks to the Mammoth Tanks. A couple of Orca fighters were resting on the sidelines, her piolets talking to each other. On the other side was a large industrial-like building, smoking coming from the chummy stack. Said smoke is pink and cartoony-like. A flag flew on top of said building, depicting a horse with wings on top of the Earth. The name P.E.R. written on top of the Pegasus. A shield surrounded the entire base, the same one that kept Manehatten from being bombarded for a little while. "Apparently, it’s one of those facilities that make that damn serum everyone’s talking about. Now from here, they passed it along to the ponies and then to the rest of the PER members around the world." "The serum? The one that turns humans into ponies?" He asked. Ajay nodded. "Yep. Unfortunately, it’s not the only facility in Equestria, but it is the largest." He pointed at the screen. "Plus, with all this extra security, this must be the most important one the P.E.R. is using. Considering that the facility is making those serums, it’s no wonder they have heavy fire power. Kilian wants us to destroy the facility and these P.E.R. scumbags." This is news to him. He didn't know that there was a third faction that had arisen from Kane's death. However, he knew something like this was going to happen. Kane was a very great leader, and a messiah to the world gone to hell. He believed Tiberium is the next step towards human evolution. To many, including GDI, they thought he was crazy. However, he had survived two Tiberium wars, so maybe he might be the real deal. He knew Kane was alive. It was only a matter of time. "So Kilian wants us to destroy this facility and these 'PER' guys?" He asked. It wasn't much of a challenge to him, especially since he was a legend among the ranks of Nod. They didn't call him the 'Legendary Insurgent' for nothing. "That's right." Ajay answered. "She wants us to send a message to these traitors." He pointed at the large pink shield. "However, a shield basically covering the whole base, which means getting in would be a problem. But,” he leaned over and pressed the screen, changing it to the outline of the base. "from what our scouts and hacked satellite images, this shield is different than the one Manehatten. Its modified to bring in PER vehicle and personal only. I don't know how it works, but I suspect it’s that magic thing those ponies keep talking about. So, assaulting it would be useless." "So we need some men to hijack some PER vehicles to go inside the base, disable the shield like before, and blow up the base." Kaiden explained as he saw the base and the shield protecting it. "There's bound to be an outpost of some type somewhere that stocks up. If I could find it, we could have infiltrated the base with just a few men, maybe even launch an attack inside the base, leave our enemy confused." "Now that's what I'm talking about." Ajay grinned. "Go inside the base and wreck everything that you can find. Wish I could go with you. Might be one hell of a show, but someone must defend this city while your away. Don't worry, I'll send in some bombers your way once the shield is down. Would be one hell of a fire show." "Appreciate it." Kaiden got up from his seat and went to his Scarab APC. The vehicle hissed before a ramp in the back started to lower down. "I'll call you as soon as the shield is down." "Give them hell, Kaiden." Ajay said as Kaiden walked up to the ramp and disappeared inside. The Scarab's engines came to life and it drove away. It was followed by four Raider Buggies that protected it from either side and two Attack Bikes that stood in the sides. Inside the vehicle, he grabbed a tablet and pressed a few buttons on it. The screen lit up with the symbol of Nod, before it changed to an image of one of his officers. "Tell Batter Up I want to see him." His officer nodded and went away from the screen. Kaiden held on to a support with his left hand as the ride turned bumpy. He couldn't see what was going on outside with no windows inside the vehicle, but he could tell that they were pasting through some debris or small holes from the battle. It wasn't a few minutes later that he saw a unicorn stallion with a white coat and a green mane and a scar that ran down his right eye came into view on the screen. He had to admit, it was a little strange that a unicorn was here in Nod territory, especially on his ship. However, Gabriel vouched for him, claiming that he and the prisoners they released helped him with finding the shield device. If he vouched for him, then there was no reason to not trust them, even if they were in the prison for a reason. He let them live in the city, which was the prison they were once housed in. He didn't know why they would chose to still live in the prison, but he didn't question it. The unicorn named Batter Up looked at the screen, his look of fascination. Kaiden interrupted his gaze. "I assumed that your Batter Up." The unicorn looked surprised, but he quickly regained his composure. "Yeah, that's me. What do you want?" "You are part of a mafia family, are you not?" "Yeah. I'm part of the family." "Tell me, does your family have any.....connections to any peo-ponies of authority." Batter raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we got connections. Our boss escaped our hideout when the royal guard came busting out the door. What about it?" "Do you have people inside the P.E.R.?" He put a hoove under his chin. "Yeah, I think we do. The boss was thinking of selling the serum to you humans. Why is that?" Kaiden smiled. "I want you to tell your contacts to shut down the communication lines when we make our attack and to assist us in Natasha's infiltration." "Uhh....sure. Let me get in contact with the boss. I'm sure he'll do it." "Good, and tell your boss that if it isn't done, I'm coming for him next. He can try to hide, but we will find him eventually." With that, he ended the transmission and lend back. "I hope it does come to that." Foal Mountain Southeast of Fillydelphia and Northwest of Canterlot Green Zone. The early morning sun rose on Foal Mountain, indicating another day in Equestria. At the base of the mountain, the PER facilities were hard at work, working on the serum that they would spread to the entire world. One base stood at the entrance of the mountain, guarding against any humans that dare to step foot. It was a small base, with barely any These humans and pony fanatics are ready to die for their new cause if needed be. As both pony and human guards woke up for another day guarding the base, a rumbling was felt where they stood. At first, they dismissed it as some sort of earthquake that erupted in another city, but then they realized that the rumbling grew and grew until the entire base was shaking. Equipment fell to the ground and both Pony and human PER guards scrambled to get everything together. The ground erupted as the Montauk sprang up from the ground, lasers and machine guns erupted from inside the machine. Nod infantry started to charge out of the hole, guns blazing as they hit any PER member they could see. The PER guards were unprepared as they were massacred outside. The ponies and humans that were inside the buildings during the commotion were coming out, ready to beat the enemy. Some were armed with human tech, while a few others had the serum inside a bottle. They started shooting at the Nod infantry, killing some of them. Another hole erupted next to them, a Scorpion Tank shooting its laser cannon and a couple of Fanatics charging them. They tried to kill them, but they soon realized that Kane's presence is strong in these fanatics. A few even tried to convert them by tossing the serum at them. It worked, but as the serum hit the fanatics, the explosives detonated. They soon realized that these Fanatics can't be slowed down or stopped. Once the survivors got close enough, they started to detonated the explosive strapped to their chest, causing an explosion that killed everyone within vicinity. In less than a few minutes of fighting, the PER forces were obliterated, broken from the sudden assault. Some tried to retreat into the mountain, but Natasha sniped them all with her laser rifle. A unicorn summoned a shield to protect its comrades, only for it to be destroyed by a Scorpion Tank with a laser add-on. Only a few had managed to escape the attack, but were cut down by Venoms doing strafing runs on the survivors. Some of the shots missed, but Tiberium snipers started picking them off. By the time the PER would be alerted of Nod's presence, it would be too late. "Commander, our forces have successfully capture the base." HADES voice rang inside the Montauk as the Commander looked at the screen in front of him, which showed an overview map of the mountain. He could see the big base nestled in the mountains. He could see the pink smoke coming from the factory where the ponies were making the serum. "I have hacked their communication lines while you made the attack. So far, no one is alerted of our presence." "Excellent." Commander Kaiden said as he surveyed the base he captured. "Are the vehicles still intact?" "Negative." HADES said. "Some of the PER's vehicles were destroyed during the assault." He cursed under his breath. So much for infiltrating that base. However, if anything, he always found a way. "Is there any bases near us?" "Scanning." HADES said. The screen showed the bases scattered around each other. "there is a base in which a good number of vehicles are stored. Security level is low." He smiled. "Tell Natasha she is to assemble a strike force for the facility. Tell them to shut down the shields and make for the factory. If someone is leading them, kill them." "Sending the message now." HADES said. Kaiden looked at the map showing the position of his troops and the enemies base. Several smaller bases were scattered around the area, most likely to protect the entrances. From the aerial view, he could make out some bases that are already on high alert, if the indication of the personal running around and vehicles starting is anything to go by. 'So much for stealth.' He sighed. He was never really good at any stealth operations; he was more of a 'hit and run' type of commander. He always left the operations to Natasha, who is good at stealth than he is. Hell, she was the one that capture Hampton Roads during the attack on the White House, which was a distraction for GDI. He still remembers that one. It would be a day he would cherish. The White House itself wasn't anything special, since command doesn't run ops there anymore, but it was an important monument to GDI, and had cause a decrease in moral. He had read somewhere that the president ruled from that place, and that America was bigger before Tiberium entered the world. It was hardly a fight to begin with. The defenses GDI had were little to no threat to him. It would had been a little harder if they had air support from Andrews, but he had destroyed that base hours ago. In a matter of hours, he had Nod banners flowing on the White House. This was the distraction that Nod needed. While the GDI Commander Andrew was busy retaking Washington D.C., she sent her best commando to secure the Hampton Roads for GDI. It was the largest port for GDI, and the most important. Securing it would mean Nod troops from North Africa could send in reinforcements and supplies for the entire eastern sea board. After she had destroyed the carrier, Kaiden sent in some reinforcements to help her out. By reinforcements, he sent in a dozen or so Fanatics. They were itching to serve Kane, and he couldn't deny them that. It was a cake walk for her. After some time, he had received a transmission from her that the port was secured, and the GDI aircraft carriers and ships were destroyed. Nod troops started to take over the base and moved supplies and personal in the area. He shook his head, forgetting the memory and focusing on the task at hand. The bases were on high alert now, and would attempt to take him out. However, there is a plus side to all of this. The base he occupied is located next to a mountain pass, which meant that the enemy would have to go through it instead of around it. "Set up defensive positions around the base. I want four Reckoning vehicles at the north and south entrances, and a team of rocket troopers in the vehicles." He started giving orders to his subordinates. "Start make every turret we have in our arsenal and tell every squad member to hunker down. And tell our command center in Manehatten to send reinforcements." "Message already sent, sir." An officer with an Australian accent said to Kaiden. "Also, we received an unknown transmission from an unidentified source. Patching it through now." Kaiden's screen changed from the Nod logo to a man. It was no doubt the same man he had seen in the propaganda video Ajay had shown him. He was in a spacious office that was white and pink, an ungodly mixture to him. Behind him was the PER flag, hung in full view for him to see. The man smirked at Kaiden. "So, the Nod cowards sent their very best commander to stop me. Heh, such a waste. Looks like Kilian doesn't really have the man power to come after me." "Obviously, you haven't heard of me and my exploits." Kaiden said as he looked in annoyance at the interloper. "I have heard of you, Kaiden." He said. "They call you the Legendary Insurgent because you fought with Kane during the Rio Insurrection. Your famous, but your fame is about to come to an end." He stood up from his chair and looked him dead in the eye. "Let’s make one thing clear: Kane is dead, and Nod is now run by a manic with a dead dream. Tiberium is a poison upon the planet. No longer will I be a pawn for the tyrannical and the oppressed. Celestia is our one true god, and conversion is the only way to survive this dead world. Even now, I have millions of troops under my command, and marching towards Washington as we speak. After I bring it down, I will come after Kilian next. I will show GDI and Nod that resistance is futile, and you will be the start." He smirked. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll just convert you. It will be quick and painless." The screen returned to normal. "We'll see about that." He murmured as he looked at the map presented on the other screen. He could see red triangles, which are the enemy, closing in on him. He was lucky that there was a mountain pass that was wedged between him and the enemy, which meant that they would have to go through it. It was perfect for him. Plus, with the new underground network he had created, he could call in reinforcements whenever he liked. He started by pressing a few buttons on his chair, making the map change from the screen to a holographic view that showed up in front of him. With a shift hand, he moved his hands all around the map, guiding his troops. Shredder turrets and Laser turrets were made, guarding the front entrance. He ordered his engineers to start repairing the PER turrets that were damaged during the assault. He even ordered a couple of Saboteurs to occupy some of the GDI buildings that were under PER control. There was no doubt in his mind that GDI vehicles were a challenge to destroy, as he witnesses during his campaigns in Africa and North America. With GDI vehicles under his control, he would very well hold this position for a long time. A couple of Scorpion tanks started to dig themselves into the entrance. A couple of Wolverines, bipedal monstrosities that shred infantry into nothing, stood at the entrance. His infantry started to occupy some of the abandoned building and the Reckonings that have transformed into immobile bunkers. The Tarantula Drones, a landmine robot, hovered over the outside of the base and dug into the ground, clocking themselves in invisible when they started to land on the ground. Four units of Cobra Artillery started to position themselves in the middle of the entrance. Once they were there, they started to transform into the artillery themselves, their long ranged plasma cannons aimed at the mountain pass. Stinger turrets were set up right next to the RPG launchers. He was confident that he would hold them at the mountain pass, but he knew they would find another way to him. He was ready for the PER, but he knew that it would be impossible to hold on for long. He had to rely on Natasha and her Shadow Team. Natasha looked through her scope, scouting out the enemy base that was right in her sights. For her advantage from high up next to the small outpost, she could see what was going on. Already, she could see human and pony personal scrambling to their posts, the outside looking hectic than ever before. She could see Nod and GDI vehicles entering and exiting the base. Some of the vehicles were already parked right next to a GDI Command Post, the PER symbols being shown at the sides. The base was not heavily defended, but it did have a couple of Vulcan towers and only a few armed guards. Right next to said command post was a couple of Nod power plants. She already knew that the plants were giving power to the turrets. "What's our approach?" A Shadow Team member said next to Natasha. She looked over her shoulder to find one of her teammates over her. The rest of them were inspecting their equipment. "Should we start moving in?" "Yes." Natasha said, pointing to the base. "Wait here until I drop their defenses, then make our move." She lifted her right arm and pressed a button on her wrist. The tall tale signs of the invisibility device activating were heard, cloaking her. She ran down the small mountain she was on, making sure that no one was seeing her while she moved. Once she was on the ground, she went towards the base. She was surprised that there wasn't a barbed wire or something to separate the base, but she dismissed it as those PER fools being incompetent. As she passed through the base with ease, she came upon a building. As she passed said building, she heard footsteps coming towards her. Quickly, she hid behind one of the barrels as a couple of PER troopers, a human and a unicorn pony, passed her. They were talking about what they would do after the war is over and when everyone is converted. She ignored their conversation and proceeded to the plants. It was hard as she sneaked over towards her objective. She had kept running into a couple of patrols and a vehicle almost crushing her. She knew she was invisible, but she couldn't be too careful. She knew that the unicorns have magic, and can detect her unlike the humans. Still, she proceeded to the generators. After a couple of minutes, she finally made it to the post. She spotted a couple of guards outside the power generators. She brought her rifle up towards her shoulder and aimed at one of the guards. She pulled the trigger and fired, a bright blue beam coming out of the gun. The shot hit the guard and surprised the other one, which she quickly aimed and fired. The last guard went down with ease. With that out of the way, she moved towards the plant. She looped over the fence and towards the plant. She then proceeded to plant the C4 at the base of the structure. "Hey guys." Someone said from behind her. She turned around and aimed her gun at the unsuspecting person, which happened to be an earth pony mare wearing a modified version of the GDI armor. "I just saw a flashing light, so I-HOLY CELESTIA! ITS AN INTRUDER!" She shot the mare dead, but the damage had already been done. It didn't matter anymore as the alarms ran throughout the base, pony and human PER soldiers starting to file out of the bases and towards Natasha. She fired she weapon at the advancing horde, her laser rifle flashing as it shot down the troopers. She had managed to kill at least several PER soldiers before the rest went to cover behind whatever they could find. The PER soldiers started to fire on Natasha, which prompted her to take cover behind a couple of barrels. They kept on firing in short bursts at her. She cured under her breath when a stray bullet almost hit her. She pressed a button on her wrist and once again turned invisible. She decided to turn the way she came in from, sneaking away from the PER soldiers as they continued to fire on the cover she was at. Once she far away from the plants, she pressed the button on her wrist and watched. The plants exploded. She could hear several cries of pain and agony as they were in said explosion. She could see all the defenses going offline, if the light on the guns mean anything. She turned her head to see her Shadow Team members gliding towards the ground and killing off the defenders. At the same time, several Black Scarab APC's burst from the ground, the drills helping them out. Several Nod soldiers came running out of the APC and started firing at the PER defenders. The human and pony soldiers tried to stand their ground, some unicorns even erecting shields to protect them. However, the mass bombardment of bullets was too much for the unicorns, which lead to the small shields being destroyed. Several other members of the PER ran to the vehicles to get them powered up, but were ultimate cut down by Tiberium Snipers. She cursed under her breath when bullets whizzed past her. She turned invisible and started to make towards a building in her line of sight. It was under fire from the Nod troopers as they pinned the PER soldiers inside. The unicorns inside fired lasers on Nod, which killed one and wounded a couple. She got behind the building, just as a soldier was coming out of a doorway. Without missing a beat, she raised her rifle and fired at him, killing him at the spot. A few more rounded the corner, a pegasus mare and two humans, and almost started to fire at her, the pegasus standing on her hind legs while aim her rifle. She fired at them in quick succession. Two of her shots hit both the humans in the chest. The pegasus mare was horrified that her comrades were slay with ease from the Nod Commando. She dropped her weapon to the ground and tried to fly away, but Natasha had managed to zero in on her before she had a chance to flap her wings. She was killed before she could take flight. She went inside the building. On the first site, she killed an earth pony mare and a human soldier, the laser penetrating their armor. Two more soldiers fell to Natasha's rifle. An earth pony stallion charged at her with a sword in his mouth. She thought it was cute, until she shot him straight in the head. Another PER soldier behind her aimed his rifle, but he knew he was behind her. She spun around and fired at him, killing him. Natasha wasted no time and continued. She could hear foot, and hoove steps, coming down the stairs. She aimed her rifle on the steps. A couple of seconds later, three soldiers come running down the stairs, two unicorn stallions and a human. She couldn't help but smile as she fired, killing them on the spot. Three more came running down the starts, but Natasha's rifle sang lasers of death at the attackers. She turned around when she heard a screaming coming from behind her. She spun around and saw a human with a bottle of serum in his hand running towards her like a Nod Fanatic. She fired her rifle and killed him before he got close. Before he went down, he threw the bottle at her. The bottle flew towards her. She knew what it was, the serum that turns humans into ponies. She stepped out of the way before the bottle hit her. At the same time, a human PER soldier sneaked behind her with a knife in his hand, trying to take her by surprise. The bottle of serum hit the PER soldier, covering him in purple liquid. Natasha raised her rifle and kill the bottle thrower, his face full of anguished and surprise. She heard a cry of pain and the cracking of bones besides her. She looked and saw the PER soldier that tried to ambush her morphing before her, his bones bending and mending into hooves or whatever ponies possess. She wasn't sickened by this, as she had seen Nod soldiers running into Tiberium and morphed into Vicseroids, blobs that hang out in Tiberium fields. Still, it was sick of hearing his pain as he morphed, so she put him out of his misery. The once human was now nothing more than ash. She cleared out the rest of the building, making sure to check every nock and cranny for soldiers. Once she was done, she went back outside and helped the Nod troopers clear out the rest of the base. In but a few moments, the PER were eliminated. The last few stragglers were eliminated. Some of them made it out of the base, but were cut down by Nod troopers waiting for them outside the base. The pegasi started to fly away, but were fired upon by Missile Troopers and Nod Militants. As soon as the battle began, it ended in but a few minutes. The Outpost was finally secured, which meant they executed the second phase of the operation. > Nod-Cloaked and Daggered 2/2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOD Forward Base Outside Foal Mountain Conversation Factory Green Zone Kaiden looked at one of the screens as he examined the situation that was going on in the battle. The battle was a stalemate for both sides. His forces had captured the nearby outposts that made up the entire mountain. It was a slow and bloody battle that was going worse for Nod. While the P.E.R., having GDI vehicles and weapons at their disposal, relentlessly launched attacks on Kaiden's forces. This made it harder for his forces to push up against the traitors of mankind and the ponies that promised them a "different way". The mountain pass made it harder for his vehicles and War Mechs to pass through. Subterranean attacks were out of the question, due to the fact that the base was on the very top of the mountain. Plus, the shield was also still up, denying his forces from pushing against the enemy. While they did had somewhat of a numeric superiority over Kaiden and the loyal followers of Nod, they were working closely with ponies. This meant that they had to take orders from the ponies, ones that want to give humanity a chance to "convert their filthy human ways." However, they weren't dealing with just any normal commander. They were dealing with the "Legendary Insurgent" himself, and that would prove to be their downfall. "HADES, open a comlink to Natasha." Kaiden said as he looked at the giant screens that showed a bird's eye view of the battle going on. He had gotten off of the Montauk and was currently stationed at the Command Post that they already set up. Various officers and soldiers were scrambling to their posts while others were at their stations directing his forces. Two large screens were present. One large screen showed a blue outline showing blue and red dots on the map of the mountain. The blues represent his forces while the red arrows represent the enemy. The other screen showed the battle in real time. There were also smaller screens that showed the base he was in. He could see War Factories working on ever vehicle he could think of, ranging from Scorpion Tanks to Avatar War Mechs. He had built laser fences along the perimeter of the base. The outpost he captured wasn't big in a sense, but he made some defenses in place in case some of those PER heretics tried anything. Three gates, two in the front near the mountain and one in the back, were the only entrances he put in place. Two Shredder Turrets and two Laser Cannons were being built on the other side of the wall, with the nodes connecting to the turrets being built inside his base. The nodes themselves served to power the turrets, and repair them when necessary. It was thanks to Nod technology that this happened. His Air Towers were launching Banshees, Vertigo Bombers, and Vipers into the air and traveling towards the front lines. Several air pads were located right next to the Air Towers themselves, several Black Wing and Carryall transport choppers grounded there. They were being filled with both infantry and cyborgs, ready to be transported to the frontline. Looking over to the other screen, it showed a makeshift railroad staging area currently being operated by his troops. He found out that the underground railroad system ran from Manehattan to Vanhoover also ran under the outpost he was in. As soon as he found out about it, he ordered his engineers to utilize the railway system to their advantage. After some time, they had managed to blow a hole into the ground and use the train system to transport troops from Manehattan. Even Ajay sent in a few of his own troops to assist Kaiden. He could see troops unloading ammunition of various kinds from the train. One particular personal was carefully unloading a box full of Tarantula Drones as to not drop them. A squad of Cabal were leaving the train, their long cloaks with a symbol of the Black Hand seen on the back of his armor. He changed his vision to the pad he had in his hands. Just like the ones on the screen, he could see the battle going on. With a tap of his fingers, he saw the see the mountain factory from the large screen, seeing its vehicles and infantry coming out. The factory looked more like a massive fortress if anything. Various turret emplacements were scattered among the mountain base, ranging from Obelisk laser towers to GDI RPG towers. There were also anti-air emplacements scattered as well among the base. Even if they managed to break through the shield, the Vertigo Bombers that Ajay will send from the Manehattan based will be shot down before the could even bomb the base itself. 'That will certainly be a problem.' He thought as he looked at the base defense. He only hoped that the pony mafia member kept his end of the bargain. "Contact has been established. Visual on screen." The large screen changed to Natasha's face, her short black hair is the only thing he can remember of her. "What is the situation on your end?" Kaiden said to Natasha. "We have already captured the outpost without any problems." Natasha gave her report to the commander. "We have also acquired several PER vehicles and armor to allow us to enter the base undetected." "Has the outpost sent an alerting signal to the main base?" She shook her head. "No, Commander. Our Saboteurs have made sure that our presence remains undetected." Kaiden was pleased to hear that everything had gone well without a hitch. "Good." He said. "Our "friend" says that the checkpoints are entirely manned by ponies alone and that all of them have been bought off by now." He didn't trust the unicorn pony's word. Hell, he didn't trust Batter Up to keep his end of the bargain. Still, he was the only one that could help Nod infiltrate the mountain base from within. "Once your inside, do whatever is necessary to shut down the shield, and cause enough mayhem while you are at it." "Understood, Commander." Natasha said as she saluted. "Oh, and give take the commander of that base alive. I have some......" plans" for him." With that, the transmission between them had shut off, leaving Kaiden once again observing the battle. He had hoped that everything he had done up to this point would come into fruition. Inside Conversion Factory. Codename: Olympus Somewhere in the Pacific Green Zone To say that the factory where the PER are stationed at the mountain would be a gross understatement. To a passing aircraft, it would look more like a tiny village than anything else around the area. That is because they haven't seen the inside. Nestled in a dormant Volcano, the Factory base looked more like a big city than anything. A large gate was present on the outside of the base. The building itself was several feet wide, enough room for more than one vehicle to maneuver through. On top of the huge gate was a variety of Nod and GDI defenses. On to two sides of the gate were Nod Obelisks, absent of the red glow and replaced with a purple glow. Various GDI and Nod buildings were scattered all over the place, each one making vehicles or aircraft for the war to come. Several GDI and Nod airstrips were hugging the left side of the base, various aircraft ranging from Firehawk's and Banshee's were being flown from the battlefield and back. Anti-air defenses of GDI and Nod variety dominated the circle of the volcano, each one aiming at the sky incase some unlucky bastard gets in its sights. Several buildings were embedded in the walls of the volcano itself. One of the buildings itself was a large factory at the base of the mountain. Pink clouds were coming out of the long cylinder chimneys, something that would baffle any scientist. "Jesus, look at the size of this place." One of the Nod infiltrators said as they watched from the inside of the Goliath. There were no windows in the APC to look out of, so they had to rely on the camera mounted on the turret to see everything. "It's even bigger than Temple Prime." "No kidding." Another Nod soldier wearing a PER uniform said. "I think it's much bigger than New York." While the others were awestruck at the base, Natasha was currently checking her weapon for anything scratches or rusts on it. The last thing she needed was the weapon malfunctioning while in a firefight. They had successfully infiltrated the base with no resistance. They had attacked the base they were in with no casualties, save for a few wounded troopers. After that, they had managed to find some PER uniforms laying around in the armory and decided to wear them to avoid suspicion. They soon took the vehicles out of the garage and started to move out towards the mountain base. The trip was silent for the most part, except for the occasional chatter among the troops. When they finally got to the gate, they meet up with the mares and stallions in said gate. Batter Up's bribe came through to the stallions and mares in the station. With that being said, they allowed the gate to be open for her men, allowing the Nod infiltrators to successfully infiltrate the base. "Soo, where do we go from here?" A Shadow Team member said as the APC kept rumbling. "According to the map we found, there should be a parking garage somewhere in the base," Natasha said as she kept checking her rifle. "Once we are out of sight from the PER, we are to find the shields and destroy them." It was easier said than done. She had done missions like this since she was first indoctrinated into the Brotherhood. Back then, they didn't have to worry about some cute little bastards running around converting everyone into more of them. "We are getting close to the garage." The driver said to his cohorts. Natasha looked at the screen. She didn't see the garbage per say, but she did see several long square rectangles that are common in a parking lot. In fact, it looked more like those parking lots back in GDI territory. The garage itself was embedded to the mountain, where she could see various GDI and Nod vehicles coming in and out. There was also a small post there, where an earth pony mare was reading a newspaper while looking bored. Natasha didn' know how the mare was holding the newspaper with nothing but her bare hooves, but she ignored it. She saw through the camera that the APC was approaching the building and soon saw only darkness. 'Looks like we're in' She thought as she felt the sharp twists and turns from inside the vehicle. Whoever had designed the place must want someone to get killed. She was lucky that she was wearing a seatbelt around her waist. It continued on for what seemed like hours until the vehicle pulled to a stop. "Alright, everyone out." She said to her cohorts. At her command, the ram slowly reeled down, allowing her and her Shadow Team to go outside. As she had suspected, the garage was indeed inside the mountain itself. She could see granite all around her, including the floors themselves. "Alright, here's the plan." She started to get everyone's attention. "You two" She pointed at two Nod personal in PER armor. "will find where the shield is being held at. When you find it, destroy it." She then pointed to three of the Shadow Team members. "You three will come with me." She looked back at the rest of the squad members. "The rest of you will stay and guard the vehicle, but I want you to move it somewhere close to the exit. It may be our only getaway vehicle. "What about you." One Shadow Team member said as he checked his pistols. "What will you be doing?" She craned her neck and smirked, her face twisting into an evil grin. "I'm going to pay a visit to someone special." Commander Ryan Mccloden looked at the screens that showed him the battle before him. He saw that his forces were being pushed back by those whom he once called his friends and allies. While he knew he outnumbered the Brotherhood ten to one, The PER commander knew that facing off the so-called "Legendary Insurgent" was suicide. They all knew who he was, how brutal he was in the Third Tiberium War, and the tactics he used that almost brought GDI to heel. Even Nod members who have once served under him knew what was to come. Ryan, however, was convinced that Kaiden was fighting a losing battle. As long as they were safe under this shield, nothing could stop him. The PER commander saw his lines moving back towards the base. Kaiden was winning the battle, but it was far from over. He had heard from Canterlot that they were sending in reinforcements to aid him in battle. They told him that several battle airships and destroyers were on their way to assist him. They told him that it would be a little while before they arrive, so he and his men would have to hold them back for as long as they can. They were already safe behind the shield that covered the entire base and the conversion factory. No matter how many times Kaiden would bomb this place, the shield itself would never break. Hell, he might as well try to use an Ion Cannon on this thing. He marveled at the advanced shielding technology that the ponies had. Humanity had developed shielding during the two Tiberium Wars years ago, but never to as close as this. To think that this shield is impenetrable is something to behold. This is why he chose to be with the PER He didn't always work for the PER. In fact, he would see this as heretical to join something that didn't go along with Kane's vision. But he had seen what humanity has become, and he knew that through conversion, would their world be saved from a horrible fate. Like many of his personal here, he was once a simple Nod commander with his own base settled in the Korean Peninsula. When the Third Tiberium War began, he was ordered to attack the GDI city of Nagasaki. The city itself is important to Nod forces stationed in the Pacific. It was a large base that held a lot of supplies, including an arsenal of nukes. Capturing this would not only greatly increase morale for Nod, but they would have an arsenal of nukes to use on GDI cities around the world. Prior to his invasion, he landed off the coast of Niigata undetected and continued on to Nagasaki. He made sure send his scouts over to Nagasaki to see what he was dealing with. From what the scouts reported, the security was high, due to the war going on. The cities defenses, if it would be called that, were many. There were a high number of turrets and anti-air emplacements all around the city. There were even several Mammoth Tank MKII all around the city. Going in there would be suicide. However, Nod has a few followers that could.....get the job done. He waited for several hours until explosions were heard all around the city. He saw that loyal followers have hit some few military centers on the map. It wasn't much, he could use the distraction to sneak troops into the city. With that in mind, he attacked Nagasaki immediately. He attacked the city from both sides. The first forces lead an amphibious assault on a major trading port in the area. With that, he calls on his Destroyers to bombard the city. While this was happening, he leads another group near the outskirts of the city. The fighting on the front was rough, especially since it was heavily fortified. However, his forces from the amphibious assault from earlier had flanked the towers while they were pinning his forces down. They had never expected a flank from both sides. By the time GDI had to regroup its forces, half of the city had already been overrun. Their forces were ready to rout after several of their Mammoth Tanks were destroyed, along with half of their forces from the unexpecting assault. He also captured some important Tiberium facilities inside the city itself, allow his mechanized forces to refuel and rearm. The battle was going well. His forces have routed the city defenders, and his aircraft controlled the skies. The GDI forces were almost on the run, and the city would soon be his. His dreams were soon crushed. While the battle was going on, he heard a report from one of his scouts that a large GDI force from Hawaii was heading to Nagasaki. At first, he dismissed it, knowing that there wasn't a chance that GDI had called for reinforcements since he had knocked out their communications early on in the battle. Just then, he heard an explosion on the other side of the harbor. A soldier reported that three of their destroyers were blown up, and he could see several unknown ships on the horizon. He shifted his birds-eye view of the battle to the harbor, where he could see the destroyed remains of the report from one of his destroyers that several GDI battleships, as well as several ships heading to the harbor. He counted four destroyers and a couple of aircraft carriers, with Firehawks and Orca Bombers already in the air and heading to the city. He could also see a lot of carriers heading towards the shore. Filled with GDI reinforcements. In quick succession, his forces suddenly became overwhelmed by the reinforced GDI. Between the bombardments from both the destroyers and the bombers, as well as the assaulting infantry and tanks, his forces were cut in half. He tried to send in more troops to assist him, but GDI was already gaining ground throughout the city. His remaining forces were routed and driven from the city. With his forces defeated, he retreated back to the Korean Peninsula and set up his defenses in case they would try to attack him. He tried to contact Temple Prime to see if he could get some reinforcements to his base. He knew that GDI would likely try to attack his base while he was weakened. The officers that tried to contact Temple Prime had been unsuccessful. They say that they couldn't contact Temple Prime, saying that the couldn't find any signal anywhere. He argued with them to keep trying. He was increasingly paranoid now, both from the fear of a GDI counterattack and Temple Prime not responding. Surely, something couldn't have happened to it. It was not twenty minutes later that a signal was found. It was not from Temple Prime like he expected it to be. Instead, it was from Kilian. This was broadcast on all channels, including his. She had a message that would shake him to his very core, a message that would change his life forever. Kane was dead, and Temple Prime was destroyed by the ponies. He looked outside into the base he fortified, seeing fellow men and ponies working together to overthrow their tyrannical governments and usher in a new world order. While it was sad that he was fighting against his people he had once considered his comrades, it was necessary for the future of this world. Besides, the ponies said they might have found a way to eliminate the Tiberium from this world. This wasn't some idle propaganda he heard from some random propaganda he found. From what he heard, the ponies had found a way to deal with the Tiberium of this world, something that has never been done since it first came to Earth. GDI had said that Tiberium was dangerous and that long exposure to it would result in the crystallization of your skin or death. Kane had said that Tiberium is a gift to humanity, that it would lead to a new age in human evolution. Whichever was true or not, it was destroying Earth like it had been for years. It was a miracle that GDI had found a way to contain it. He was currently inside one of the command centers that overlooked the entire base. Two doors occupied the room, the main one and the one right next to him in case something happened. The rest of the room consisted of consoles detailing every part of the base, from its infrastructure to the battle going on. On the far left He was lucky that the base was built on a dormant volcano. The crater itself was huge, enough for a base to be built. Plus, there was still lava down there to be used for thermal energy. The pink shield that surrounded the base did its job as it held against artillery bombardments and bombing runs by Kaiden's forces. He knew that it would hold them off until reinforcements from Canterlot would come and save them. All in all, it was a good day for him. "How are the shields holding up?" Turned and asked one of his subordinates. All around him he could see humans and ponies working together in harmony, something he would stand and die for. Of course, after all was said and done, he and the rest of the humans would be transformed into ponies under the watchful gaze of Celestia. "Shield is still holding at 100%." A unicorn mare with a pink coat and a blue mane and tail said while she was seated on the control panel. "Also, the last of our outposts have been captured by Kaiden's forces. They have us completely surround and are preparing for a siege." "Good." He said with a sly smile on his face. "The shield will hold on while we wait for reinforcements from Canterlot to come." Now all that they have to do is sit back and relax, and not worry about anything else. The base was firmly secure, and every patrol reported that nothing had come in. Now he could just go to the break room to finish that- An explosion rocked the entire command center, nearly knocking Ryan off his feet. He had managed to grab onto something to prevent him from falling. Someone was saying something "What was that?!?!?!" A random human officer said. He couldn't tell what Ryan looked outside the glass window to see the damage. He was thankful that none of the military structures were damaged, or the power generators that powered up the base with thermal energy. However, his relief turned to horror when he saw where the explosion came from. A small C-like building was in flames. Half of the building was reduced to rubble like it was hit by artillery. He could see some of his soldiers already on the scene, some trying to put out the fire while others were running around helping whenever they can. He could already see wounded coming out of the building. All around him he could see some of his soldiers trying to put out the fire, either with buckets of water or fire hoses stashed somewhere in this base. It was chaos down there, but it wasn't compared to what happened next. The entire pink shield had suddenly form cracks from the continued bombardment, something that has never been done before. With one lase barrage, the shield that protected them for so long suddenly broken form the assault. It broke like glass being smashed, pieces of the shield fell upon the base. While some of them were small, a few of the pieces were large enough to do damage to the base. Luckily, the missed all the important structures, but it didn't matter. The shield center, the one that protected them from Kaiden and his forces, was destroyed His eyes widened as he says their one and only advantage destroyed. "No." He whispered. Someone was trying to ask him something, but he ignored them and focused on the ruined structure. Who was this possible? This base is encircled by the Barrier, and nothing can come in or out unless the user controlling the shield wanted them to. Was there a spy among them? If so, was he/she here by the beginning? The large door that leads into the command center was suddenly blown open, killing a human official near it. He quickly turned around, just in time to duck as a laser missed him by a long shot. He yelped as the shot missed him, only grazing his left cheek. He quickly got into cover as soon as several other shots hit the position where he was at, causing the window to shatter. A few other shots entered the room, killing a few guards in the process. The others that were still alive were quickly grabbing their own rifles or vitals. He felt pain on his cheek as he saw the intruders that almost killed him. A woman in a PER uniform, along with three others in PER uniform, had entered the room and started shooting, killing three guards before they could retaliate. The personal in the room panicked, either trying to get out the front door or hiding under their stations. The guards, both human and pony, started to fire at her, which caused them to move to cover. A few beams came out of that one woman's rifle, hitting a few of his colleagues in the head. She continued to hit them with deadly precision meaning she was a markswoman of sorts. The first laser hit a unicorn mare holding an assault rifle in the chest, while the second one hit her in the head. The next one hit a human guard in his left arm, the guard screaming in pain as his entire arm blew off. The next two shots hit both a human and a pegasus stallion in the head, killing them instantly. An earth pony with a purple vital in its mouth charged at the human, jumping on a console before jumping into the air at the intruder. She saw it coming and aimed her rifle at the pony, a red beam hitting him squarely in the chest. He dropped the vial on another marine in the process, causing the marine to scream and spaz as the potion took effect. The women shoot the soldier a couple of times, leaving a fully gray earth pony mare lying dead on the ground. "Sir, we have to go!" He heard a voice shouting next to him. He turned and saw a marine crouched next to him. marine said to the commander, snapping out of his daze. "We need to-" A stray beam had hit him in the chest, causing him to fall down dead before him. He got out of cover and almost went towards the exit, right before a stray bullet hit him in the knee. He fell to the ground, screaming as he felt pain in his knees. Blood was oozing out of his knee. His clenched his eyes and teeth shut as pain once again flare up. He had never once been shot during the war, always safely away from the frontlines. He heard from the other troopers that there would be He heard the firefight dying down to the last few shots. He had hopes that the intruders were killed. "You three, secure the room." He heard the female say to her subordinates. He heard footsteps coming towards him. He opened his eyes and saw the women from before. "You know, for being a "secure base," it's almost too easy getting in." She said with a smirk on her face. "You....fucking...bitch." He gritted his teeth, showing defiance even though he might die here. He felt her foot connecting to his stomach, making him wince in pain. "That is no way to treat a lady like that." The woman said. He soon felt something pressing against his cheek. "I would love nothing more than to kill you right here and now, traitor, but we have orders from Kaiden to capture you." He saw the rifle being lowered. She then ordered one of her subordinates here, an older man with black hair and a scar on his face. "Don't worry. We'll make your trip much more...comfortable." The subordinate lifted his feet and brought it down on his face. The last thing he felt once again was pain. NOD Forward Base Foal Mountain Green Zone Kaiden watched with glee as the shield that had become a nuisance for so long was finally being broken in front of him. Literally in this case. He wasn't there when GDI first blew up the so-called "Barrier" that had protected ponies from human retaliation and destroying any technology that it came across. He had heard stories about how nothing could destroy it, as a couple of prisoners praised. However, he did see GDI's Ion Cannon coming down from the heavens and destroying the Barrier like it was nothing He pressed a few buttons on his console, opening up a line with Ajay. In a split second, Ajay's face appeared on the screen "The shields are down, and the base is wide open for an attack." Kaiden said to Ajay. Ajay grinned at the news. "Well hot damn. You actually did it." Ajay said. "A bomber is on its way as we speak. It should be there soon" Kaiden raised an eyebrow. "One bomber?" He questioned. He had served with Ajay during the duration of the Third Tiberium War. They had worked together in important campaigns in North America, Brazil, and even Temple Prime. There was no way he would send in one bomber into the base. Ajay smirked. "Well, it just so happens I've got a little "surprise" coming in." He said. Kaiden was very confused about what he meant by this "surprise" until it finally clicked in him. "You don't mean..." Ajay nodded. "Yep. I suggest you get your boys out of there before the shit storm hits." His face soon disappeared from the screen. Kaiden soon pressed a few more buttons on his armchair, bringing up an image of Natasha inside what he assumed was a transport of sorts. "Has the....package been secured." He asked. Natasha nodded. "Da. We have the commander with minimal casualties." "Good. I want you and your team to get out of there as fast as you can. Ajay just sent in a bomber carrying a nuclear bomb, and it would be here within 30 minutes." Kaiden said. The last thing he wanted was his favorite commando being killed inside a traitors base. "We will make haste then. We will see you on the other side." She said before her communicator was clicked off. "Order all our forces to pull back, and I also want this base destroyed the moment we evacuate." Ordered Kaiden. Immediately, his officers gave the order to all is divisions to pull back. Kaiden looked at the screen showing his forces, who were now pulling back from the frontlines. The PER would be confused by this, and some would assume that they had won the day. 'If only they knew what was coming.' Kaiden said as he smirked. Thirty Minutes Later.... A large, bright explosion was seen from the far side of the mountain, a mushroom cloud forming on top of said mountain. Kaiden had to shield his eyes for a minute before the light died down. He and his divisions have managed to get out of harm's way before the bomb dropped. Right now, he and his forces are resting on flat land, where finally rsBlackbird transports and 'I swear, I think Ajay is a little insane.' Kaiden thought as he saw the mushroom cloud form over at the once large base. When he first met Ajay after his indoctrination into the Brotherhood, he seemed like a swell guy. He was a true loyal commander to Kane's cause. However, sometimes he thinks he's a little too loyal to Kane's vision. He turned around to see his forces already getting ready to leave. Already, he could see several Blackbird transports already picking up troops and vehicles all the way from Manehatten. The Montauk was also present as well, the ramp to his transport already loading some of his more elite troops. He decided it was too risky to fly with the rest of his unit back to Manehatten. He would use the Montauk to tunnel his way back to the city. He saw Natasha coming up to him, now back in her own cloths. She gave him a firm salute. "Natasha, how is our guest doing?" He said. He was referring to Commander Ryan's capture. Natasha and her team escaped the facility via Orca Transport, safely returning them and the now captured Commander Ryan back to Kaiden's base. "He's doing well. I had to shut him up when his preaching was causing me a headache." Natasha said. Kaiden smirked. "Well, at least he won't be a bother for a while." His expression turned serious. "However, this presents us with another dilemma. How many of our generals and commanders have turned over to the PER?" It was a dilemma indeed. Not only did they turn traitor and decided to work with a psychopathic bitch, but now they know every military secret within the Brotherhood. He could only imagine what kind of secret they could uncover. However, he would have to worry about that another time. "If there are traitors within Nod, we'll stomp them out, no matter what." Natasha interrupted his train of thought. He noded in acknowledgment. "Your right. We'll find them and crush them. In the meantime, we must regroup our forces at Manehattan. We need to get out of here before those reinforcements arrive." He said. He didn't want to be here when the reinforcements get here. With a simple nod, she went on her merry way, climbing onto the ramp and disappearing inside. Kaiden looked at the mountain one last time, seeing the mushroom cloud dispersing after a while. Radiation would be active in the area, but this action would send a message to the rest of the traitors that are working with the Equestrians. With one last look at the destroyed base, we went back to the Montuak, knowing in his hear that there will be tougher battles to come. Mission Accomplished > Interlude > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Washington D.C. GDI Territory Blue Zone ".....And in conclusion, I would like to thank the brave men and women fighting against the alien invaders and the infested scourge that is Nod. Their sacrifices have brought us one step closer to victory and liberty for all." Redmond Boyle finished his speech as he stood at the podium overlooking the small crowd of people in the room, his smile never falltered even when he is facing the reporters from all around GDI territory. Redmond Boyle was once the Treasurer Commissioner of the GDI Treasury before the attack on the Philidelphia. Ironically, he was supposed to be on the Philidelphia before the attack, but a raid by a small Nod force withdrew his plans to make sure nothing was stolen. When the Philidelphia went down, along with all of the command staff on it, he became the current acting Director General to lead GDI to victory. Not everyone was happy with the decision at first, since there was a history of corruption surrounding him. Since all of the current command staff, including the previous Director General, were killed on the Philidelphia, he was the only survivor that was granted emergency power. He and the reporters were currently located inside of the White House. It was a miracle that the White House, the symbol of the Free World, was undamaged during the Nod surprise attack on Washington. Of course, anyone with half a brain could figure out that Nod only captured the White House for propaganda purposes, to demoralize the GDI defenders before they rallied behind Alexander. "Now if there are any more question I would answer, feel free to ask." With that sentence, the entire room was ablaze with shouting, each reporter wanting to ask the leader a question. Boyle scanned the room for a second before he pointed a blonde hair woman. "There has been rumors that Commander Andrew had liberated a group of ponies in the north called the Crystal Empire from this "Equestria". What are your thoughts on this?" "It just comes to show that there are some ponies out there who stand up against Celestia like any other human being. This liberation in the 'Crystal Empire' will be treated as such: a liberation of the grasps of an oppressive regime. After all, as the old saying goes, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' We will see to it that these 'crystal ponies' will receive the help they deserve. After all, GDI stands for freedom, even if that freedom extends to another race." He then pointed to another reporter, an African-American woman. "What is GDI going to do about the terrorist organization called the P.E.R., Ponification for Earth Reborn. Is it a bigger threat next to Nod?" "The P.E.R. are nothing more than a bunch of deserters and dissidents who gave up on the concepts of liberty and justice long ago and follow a mad ruler hellbent on destroying humanity. And I wouldn't worry about them being equal in power to that of Nod. Rest assured, this terrorist cell will be hunted down and destroy with utmost priority." He pointed to another reporter, a man with a short black hair. "There is a rumor going around that Kane had died in Sarajevo. Is this true?" "I am happy to report that yes: Kane. Is. Dead. His long reign of terror has finally come to an end. I think we can all agree that GDI will sleep peacefully tonight knowing that one less terrorist threating the safety and stability of GDI." "What about the unstable Tiberium growth happening in Eastern Europe after the Temple was destroyed? Already, millions of people have died in this-" "We are doing everything we can to help those unfortunate souls in Eastern Europe, but for the time being, our focus is to this terrible war and its swift end." The room erupted into questions but not before Redmond exited the room. Canterlot Capital of Equestria Somewhere in the Pacific "We have to think of a war plan!" General Ironside yelled from across the war room he was in. "The humans are gaining ground everywhere!" The grey earth pony stallion, who had years of experience on him, was currently located in the Canterlot War Room filled with other members of the Equestria Royal Military as they discussed the next move to make. "We are thinking of a plan." General Mayflower of the Equestrian Army said as she pointed at Manehatten, which had a flag of a triangle with a scorpion tail on it. "Nod has already taken Manehatten and destroyed one of the potion factories in the east." She then pointed to Vanhoover, which had a flag of an eagle ready to swoop down on a prey. "GDI had captured Vanhoover and, if the reports are correct, taken over the Crystal Empire with the help of the Crystal ponies." "Damn traitors!" Wing Admiral Fleetfoot of the Equestrian Royal Airforce said as she slammed her hooves on the table. "We'd freed them from King Sombra and this is how they repay us." Her yellow wings flared. "I'd say we crush this rebellious kingdom and teach these 'GDI' dogs a lesson." "Easier said than done." High Magi Book Marker commented. The unicorn stallion wore his traditional robe of red with yellow outlines, his hood down for everyone to see his charcoal coat and a mixture of "We are already spread thin as it is. With both Nod to the south and GDI to the north, we can't spare an extra pony to fight them off on both sides." "What about those P.E.R. fellas?" Mayflower questioned as she turned her head to Warhorn. "Aren't we supplying them with those potions you mages made?" He scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and what do we have to show for it? They haven't even accomplished each objective. If anything, they are a waste of time." "They are our only hope now." General Ironsides said. "The Barrier that our Princesses created has been destroyed by hooman magic-" "We already covered that humans cannot do magic." BookMarker interrupted with an annoying look on his face. "It's their damned technology that they used to destroy the Barrier." "Then how do you explain the light that struck down the Barrier?!?!" Fleetfoot demanded, already glaring at the High Magi. Indeed, the "Light from the Sky" had been the subject of controversy ever since it happened. The Circle of Magi thought that this was the work of human magic that they have heard about from the frontlines. These included rolling metal beasts that they ride and powerful artifacts that could make entire cities into nothing but craters. The Magi assured everyone that these rumors are false and that the humans are incapable of such feat. Ever since the Light came down and destroyed the Barrier, the pony population demanded answers. Everyone tried as best they could to smooth things over, but it isn't that easy. "My informants tell me that they have a technology in space called "the Ion Cannon"." A voice spoke out. Everyone turned to the voice in the room. Director Face Mask of the Equestrian Intelligence Agency smirked as his hindlegs were on the table. The head of the Agency had a Brown coat with white spots in some area. His black mane and tail were combed perfically, like he was getting ready for the Grand Galloping Gala. "They had it for sometime ever since the Second Tiberium War. I'm surprised Nod didn't destroy it first when they attacked GDI. There must be some strategy behind it." "Speaking on the topic of Tiberium," Bookmarker made sure to turn the attention back to him. "we should discuss how best to deal with this substance once the war is over." "If we can win that is." Mayflower commented. "With GDI and Nod baring down on us from both sides, it's going to be hard to win, especially with the technological advantage they have." "Our Princesses will think of something." Fleetfoot said triumphantly as if it was a matter of fact. "She got us away from the Council's wrath. Dealing with some monkeys with wrenches is nothing to her. She'll pull something." The all nodded in agreement on that. Some the topic of Tiberium started, with the High Magi saying something of the magic properties inside. Deep down, Fleetfoot was being to think that this war was a mistake. If the humans can summon light from the sky, then what hope is there to win? Knock. Knock. "Come in." Princess Celestia said as she heard the door open. She was behind her desk going over the notes of the purification serum when she heard the knock on her door. She saw Princess Luna walked into her room. "Ah, dear sister. What brings you here?" Princess Luna looks worse for wear. Her once regal midnight mane and tail are no longer flowing while several hairs were popping out of them. She had several scorch marks on her fur, while there are some dirt and grime in her fur as well. There were bags under her eyes for not sleeping well for the last six days. "Tia, we need to talk. About this war and what we are doing." "Why, whatever do you mean?" Princess Celestia said, a look of concern on her face at the state of her sister. "And did you succeed in your campaign against Italy?" "Twas a failure." Luna said with her eyes now looking at the ground. "GDI had managed to smash our beachhead once we landed. We had managed to get out with only three ships left and dozens of ponies. The others were left behind to cover our escape. Many pony lives were lost." "Don't worry, Lulu." Celestia said as she nuzzled her neck. "They will be remembered for their bravery." "Well," Luna was chowing on her lips. "That's just it. I just don't think we can win this war anymore. With the Crystal Empire captured, and out biggest serum factory obliterated, we can't seem to stand up against the humans when they come. Our ponies aren't used to fighting something they don't understand. These humans are resourceful, and they have technologies that are beyond what we have." "We are already researching magic-powered guns and tanks for this war." Celestia said with a smile. "The humans will be eradicated from our lands and we can show them the error of their ways." "That's the thing, sister. We can't." Luna was already looking at her with tears. "When the Light came down on the shield, many of our subjects think that we can't win this war. There is also talk of ponies that want us gone for good. I'm scared, sister." She soon started to cry as she started to hug Celestia. "I don't want to die like this, knowing that our subjects hate us for what we are doing." "Shush, my little moon." Celestia soon joined in on the hug, her sad smile directed at her. For some time, the two sisters sat there, embraced in each other's outstretched hooves. Luna kept hickuping on Celestia's fur, her tears matting her fur. "Everything is going to be all right. I will make the pain go away." Confused on what she said, Luna looked up to Celestia to see her horn glowing a sickly green. Luna panicked at what she saw, staring at it with a wide-eyed terrified expression. Before she could react, Celestia's horn touched her forehead. Luna's eyes started to glow the same green before it quickly disappears, her eyes now in a drug-like state. "Now, I need you to select a group of ponies to investigate these claims and arrest them immediately." Celestia said in her commanding voice. "If they resist, then kill them. If our subject will rebel against us, then we will be ready for it." "Of course, Tia." Luna said with a big smile on her face, her iris glowing a sickly green. Inside her mind, Luna tried to fight back against this unknown force assaulting her mind and taking over her body. The Princess of Dreams has finally succumbed to this unknown force, her screams of agony finally fading from her mind. "It will be done." She bowed her head at her older sister. With that said, she turned around and trotted out of the room, forgetting what just happened moments ago. Celestia watched her walk out, her smile slowly turned predatory. Unbeknownst to all, her eyes suddenly changed from her beautiful manga colored-like eyes to a sickly green with a slit in the center. She blinked and it was gone. > GDI-Tokyo Trouble 1/3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crystal Empire GDI occupied territory Somewhere in the Pacific "Commander," General Granger said with a smile on his face. "I want to extend my congratulations to you and your men on a job well done. Not only did you prevented another Barrier from forming, you also managed to knock one hell of a blow to Equestria. Hopefully, this would open a third front in the future, should the need arise." "Thank you, sir." Andrew said with a smile on his face as well. "I was only doing what needs to be done." He is currently on board the Kodiak as it hovered on top of the Crystal Empire. The city itself was currently being rebuilt after the battle that took place some hours ago. Of course, rebuilding a city made entirely out of crystals themselves turned out to be a monumental task, if not impossible. The Crystal ponies offered to help with said rebuilding, due to the fact that they themselves knew how to rebuild something out of crystals and where to get them from. At first, some of his officers thought that this was a bad idea and could try something that could take them by surprise. Alexander spoke on behalf of Cadence and her subjects, say about how they were prisoners and helped GDI win the battle. Andrew was hesitant about Alexander's word, but in all the time he served under his command, he never steered him wrong. So he allowed the Crystal ponies to help with the rebuilding as long as they are watched over so they don't try anything funny. You can never be too paranoid about your enemy. "I'm happy about what you have done today, but we have even bigger problems." The General said as he put on his serious face. "No doubt you heard about the Directors speech regarding the P.E.R." "I never heard of them until now." Andrew admitted. When he toned into the Director's speech, he was skeptical when the one reported questioned Redmon about the PER "Ponification for Earth Reborn." Ganger explained. "They think that Celestia is some sort of goddess and think that turning into a pony can atone for our sins. Or so they say." A picture of a man standing on the pedestal. He had a large black beard and a milky white eye on the left side with a scar running down it while his right eye has a hazel iris. "This is Jebediah Greenman. He was once part of Kane's Inner Circle and commander of Nod forces in the Middle East. After the destruction of Sarajevo and the death of Kane, he disappeared completely off the map. A few weeks later, he showed up again but under a new banner. "Is Kane really dead this time?" Andrew questioned the General. He was hoping that Kane maybe dead and that the war (not excluding the one with the ponies) was over. However, from what he can gather from the previous wars, Kane had survived time and time again. He didn't know how he survived for so long after the first two wars, but he was more concerned about the war with the ponies to think about something like that. "From what the reports we gathered, the temple at Sarajevo had come under attack by the ponies. A few hours later, there was a huge Tiberium explosion. The ponies must have done something to the Tiberium to trigger that type of reaction. Kane wasn't found at the site when we rummaged through it. As far as the public is concerned, Kane may as well be dead for now." "I understand, sir." Andrew said as he stood at attention. "I'll keep a lookout in case he comes back." "Good." Granger nodded. "Now, back to the topic at hand. Jebediah is currently leading the PER as we speak. Lately their attacks have gotten more and more violent. We have reports that not only Nod and GDI defectors have joined their ranks, but ponies from Equestria have joined them as well. This leads us to believe that Celestia might be supporting the PER in some way." "Have we found out where they are hiding yet?" Granger shook his head. "So far, nothing, but we have figured out that they are originating out of North Africa, Indonesia, and have reports of activity coming out of Central America. Until we can find out where-" "General Granger, sir." A young GDI lady wearing an officers badge came running up from the side of his screen before coming to a stop. She saluted. "Commander." She acknowledged his presence. "I'm sorry to describe you sir, but Tokyo is under attack!" "Under attack?" Granger said looking at her. "By who?" "We think it's the PER." The officer answered. "A station in Nagasaki reported a distress call a moment ago." "This is unfortunate." Granger then turned his attention to the commander. "Commander, Tokyo is the only staging point in Asia for our forces and the only place to cross the Pacific Ocean. If the city falls, then we lose the only port to Equestria, and our forces will be cut off. Take your units over there and help retake the city. Don't worry about the Crystal Empire, we'll fortify it until you return. Good luck, Commander." Andrew saluted before the screen returned to the GDI logo. "No rest for the wicked, I guess." He sighed as he returned to his command seat. "After the end of this war, I deserve a very long vacation." He murmured to himself. It wasn't that he enjoyed being in GDI when he first signed up. It has its benefits and strengths. But, ever since he took command of the GDI forces after the start of the Third Tiberium War, it's been one disaster after another. It almost feels like he's the only one leading GDI instead of Granger. He shook his head. He deserves more than a week off. Maybe he'll ask the general for two months off. "Warning." ATHENA started to say. "Increase in radiation detected in the hanger. Response unit in route." Andrew for his part pressed a few buttons on his command chair. His screen changed to the picture of the hanger, just in time for a bright pink light to brighten upon his screen. It almost blinded and anyone staring at the screen for a few seconds. When the bright light finally died down, he looked again to see two ponies in the hanger. One of them was a unicorn stallion with a pristine white coat and a blue mane and tail. The other was a species similar to Celestia when he first saw her, but her build was smaller than hers. She sported a set of wings and a horn that had a color of both gold and pink. Her mane and tail were the colors of violet, rose red and gold. He knew exactly who they are. Already, the response teams have entered the room and raise their weapons at the two ponies. Both of said ponies were shocked. He decided to intervene before something bad would happen. Pressing a button on his command chair, he said "Stand down. They are friends." The response team obeyed his order and lowered their weapons. "Come up to the command center. I'll be there." It took them some time to find where he was at. He couldn't blame them for getting lost a few times. It was a massive ship that he "borrowed" back in Washington, D.C. He eventually had to send a guide down to take them in the right direction. After a couple of minutes. The massive doors to his command center slide open, revealing both Cadence and Shining Armor. They both looked around the place with wide eye expression. "Princess Cadence. Shining Armor." He nodded at both of them. "Do what do I owe the pleasure?" "We just thought of coming and saying thank you for everything you've done for us." Cadence said with a genuine smile on her face. "I wouldn't even imagine what would happen to me if you haven't shown up." "Same here." Shining Armor said. Andrew noted that, for being a stallion the size of a dog, he had a very physic built than for what his troops have reported. "You guys really saved our rumps back there and helped us retake our city. We can't really thank you enough." Andrew smiled for his part, which is weird considering that the whole human race was at war with these ponies right now. Guess he really made an impression. "It's all in a days work." He said. "I could stay and help you folks, but I have been called somewhere else." Both of the ponies started to frown. "Really?" Cadence said. "Are you sure you wouldn't stay around for a celebration?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we got word that Toyko is under attack by the PER. I have to go with my army and assist with the local defenses there." He still wondered how the PER had managed to evade GDI for so long after this whole war started. Sure, there were a lot of Yellow Zones and Red Zones for any armies to hide at, which Nod always takes advantage of. He wouldn't be surprised if they were coming from a Yellow Zone or a Red Zone. Both of the ponies looked at each other before looking back to him, then looking at each other again. With a nod from both of them, Cadence asked: "Then perhaps we can come with you then?" Andrew for his part raised an eyebrow at the question. To say it was a strange request would be an understatement of the century. He shook his head. "Sorry ma'am, but I can't let civies participate in a war. Besides, you-" "I won't take "no" for an answer!" Candace nearly snapped at the commander, stomping right up to him. Some of the guards in the room nearly drew their rifles at the two ponies, causing Candace to hesitantly stop. The commander held up his hand to stay their hand. The guards were hesitant at first, but they did as they were told. After the situation had dissolved, Candace continued. "I won't sit back and let my aunt run rapid destroying everything your kind worked so hard to build. I feel partially responsible for what is happening right now. I want to help." The commander looked to Shining Armor for his consideration in the argument. "She's right." Shining said. "You helped us with Celestia, now its our turn to give back. The Crystal Army has your back!" The commander wanted to argue that they are not allowed to fight, that they would make themselves a target for being of royalty. It wasn't that he was against ponies fight with GDI, but there were factors to consider. Firstly was the fact there was tension between them and the humans, which wasn't a surprise itself. In fact, after his liberation of the Crystal Empire, and the rumors of friendly ponies helping GDI take the city, there had been a massive controversy over the whole thing. Most of them wanted those ponies in POW camps before they could betray their forces, while the more like-minded types think that it would be a waste of type, and that trusting them would be the better option. The more......"extreme" types thought that killing them would be the better option, seeing as they are "unholy abominations led by Satan himself." Redmond Boyle soon spoke out and said that the ponies are to be trusted after helping out GDI in the city. Still, that doesn't mean that people are too trusting of a species, even if they rebelled in the first place. The second was that they are royalty that turned their backs on Celestia, and would likely be a target for anyone on both sides. From what he had heard, Cadence and Shining Armor know a thing or two about combat so they can take care of themselves if need be. However, they have not faced a technologically superior foe before. By all means, he would say no and have some people escort them out of the ship and onto the surface of the Crystal Empire. But he knows the stubborn types when he sees one. "All right." He finally said. "I'll let you two stay and help me, but lets make one thing clear." He points a finger to himself. "I don't care if your royalty or not. If I order you to do something, you'll do it to the latter. Do I make myself clear?" It wasn't like he didn't like them or anything, but he'd be damned if they were to rush in without knowing what they are facing. Besides, if they died, the Crystal Empire would be very upset. "We understand." Shining Armor said recently. He soon turned to his command staff stationed on the bridge. "I want all of our troops ready within the hour. We head to Toyko immediately." "Um, actually" Cadence started to say, interrupting his order. A smile soon spread on her face. "I think there is a way we can help each other?" Commander Andrew gave her an incredulous look. "Oh, and what is that?" Two Hours Later...... Tokyo, Japan GDI territory Green Zone The skies above Toyko suddenly lit up with an explosion that came too close to the Kodiak. The ship rocked back and forth as it dodged the incoming explosions with the best of its ability. It was a miracle that the ship itself was not torn apart immediately, but it felt like it could happen at any moment. 'They must have gained control of the local AA batteries at some point.' He thought to himself. He could feel the vibrations of the ship as it slowly dodges incoming fire. He was lucky that the Orca Command Ship, though an older model, still possessed strong armor that could hold itself in an open sky battle. "Someone get us out of the AA's radius!" At his orders, the ship itself did a heavy left turn as it steered away from the battle. "Get us close to the outskirts of Toyko. I want a base of operations established and our troops deployed the moment we land." 'Let's see the situation on the ground.' He thought. Pressing a few buttons on his command chair, the screen soon lite up and showed the current battle going on in Toyko. It wasn't a pretty site. Half of the city was already in ruins, with huge buildings already decimated by the attacks. He could see flashes of yellow light everywhere in the city, indicating that the city was not entirely abandoned. He soon saw where the frontline was at by the increased flashes of light on the southern half of the city. Strangely, he could see container ships with some blobs down there. Scrolling to zoom in, he saw GDI and Nod equipment and vehicles stationed there. Instead of the blue or red coloring, as both sides were known for, it was replaced with the nasty pink color. The symbol of a globe with a horses head with its wings spread apart were shown on the vehicles and the flag that was currently flying over the harbor. He could see a mixture of both GDI and Nod vehicles stationed near the ships, as well as a mixture of human and pony soldiers. He could see equipment and vehicles coming out of the containers, as well as several large jars of purple liquid being rolled out of a red container. 'They were using unmarked container ships to slip past the defenses.' He thought. "Sir, we have an incoming transmission from Tokyo." One of the officers said on the console. "Patching you through now." The screen in front of Andrew came alive, showing him a man of Japanese descent. By the looks of it, he could guess that the commander was somewhere in an office building that has been converted into a war room. "Commander, thank god you'd come!" He said in perfect English. "I'm Commander Shinso Okamoto. I'm in charge of the defense here in the city." The sound of the battle raging was heard outside of the building, with flashes of yellow coming out of the window. "Nice to meet you, commander." Andrew greeted. "I wish it were under better circumstances. The sky is too hot for me to land my forces near you. We're going to find someplace to land safely and land somewhere close to you to help you, but it seems those anti-air guns and giving us a hard time." "It's those AA towers. Those PER basterds captured some of them earlier on during the attack. All of our resources are spent trying to defend the city." He shook his head. "We don't know how the hell the slipped past our defenses to begin with. It's like they showed up out of nowhere." "They are using unmarked container ships to slip through." He said. "Don't worry. I'm bringing my own forces into the fray. I'll spare some manpower to take both the AA guns and the harbor back." Shinso beamed at the prospect. "Thank you, commander. That is the first good news I've had in a while." An explosion close to him fizzled the screen for a bit before returning back to normal. "I'll try to hold them off as fast as I can, but they outnumbered us greatly. We also still have civilians who stayed behind that need evacuating. Try and get those AA towers down as soon as possible, then help us take back the city." "Understood." The screen soon returned to the GDI logo as Andrew tried to come up with a plan. Once he established a base of operations, he would use Candance's little "surprise". 'Speaking of which...' Pressing a button on his console, the screen changed to that of the hanger. He could already see Shining Armor and Princess Cadence down in the hanger. Off in the far corner, a couple of unicorn mages were gathered around at a small crystal object that is the shape and size of a football. Their horns glowed as he saw their faces scrunched in concentration. A bunch of crystals were floating around the object, their purpose in this unknown. From the corner of his screen, the radiation level of the room was in the red. He didn't understand at all of how ponies could survive under high radiation levels. That was a question for another day. "Candance, can you read me?" He said. Both of the ponies ears perked up as she and her husband looked around the room. "I'm speaking through the intercom. Is this device of yours almost ready?" "Almost." Shining Armor said first. "We still don't know if it will work or not. This is still a very early prototype." The prototype he was talking about is some sort of portal device that would allow his forces to come over from the Crystal Empire and join the battle. It was meant for Celestia's forces earlier on in the war, to allow them and the PER to attack GDI and Nod from the Barrier instead of by airship or boat. He was lucky that he capture the Crystal Empire earlier on before the device was finished. The pony scientists he captured said that the device was nearly finished but still needed a few adjustments before it could be fully functional. "Try to do your best." Andrew assured him. Deep down, he was nerves about this whole thing. If what they said was true, this was still a very early prototype, and things could go wrong if they did something incorrectly. His mind told him that should tell them to stop this experiment and retreat back to the Crystal Empire, but by the time he would gather his forces and head back, Toyko would already fall to the enemy. He already made a promise to Shinso that he would help with the assistance however he could. 'I hope they know what they are doing.' He thought grimly. Perhaps in hindsight, he should have thought this thing through. > GDI-Tokyo Trouble 2/3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tokyo, Japan GDI territory (currently under seige by PER forces) Green Zone "Is this portal thing ready yet?" Shining Armor asked as he inspected the small crystal ball along with several crystal shards surrounding it. He had to admit, it was pretty impressive on how much his nation had advanced after King Sombra died at the hands of both of them. In all honesty, he didn't even know such a device existed until several months ago, when Celestia contacted them about making a research facility right in the heart of the Crystal Empire. It was a little weird at first, but it made sense seeing as if the Crystal Empire was attacked, it could just shield itself off for some time. Back then, the only enemy they would have to worry about was the Griffins and the Zebras. "We are not quite sure, to be honest." One of the scientists, A bright yellow unicorn by the name of Dr. Mango, said as he closely examines the piece with the other four unicorn scientists. He could hear the battle in "Toyko" in the background, the human defenders desperately trying to hold on to the city. They were outside of the Kodiak trying to make this stupid portal work so that Alexander's men could come through. He had seen Celestia's troops use it from time to time, but for the life of him, he and his scientist couldn't get the damn thing working. If they didn't get it working, then they might as well pack it up. "This is a strange piece of crystal magic that we haven't even explored yet. Even if we managed to get a concept of the idea, we don't even know if it would even reach the one in the Crystal Empire. It might not be powerful enough even if it's the five of us." "What's this about a conduit?" Princess Cadence trotted towards them. "Alexander asked me to come down and ask what is the delay." "They are having trouble with the portal." Shining greeted Cadence. "They say that they couldn't get it working even with five powerful unicorns on our side." "The power that is surging from this small magic piece is mind-blowing at best." Dr. Mango pointed at the crystals. "The amount of magic it uses could drain at least five unicorns for a while, and it still won't be operational." "Meaning that there is no way for it to work?" "Precisely." Shining Armor cursed under his breath. The commander was counting on them to bring in reinforcements for the coming fight. He had managed to trust them this far despite what some of his higher-ups say. He'd be damned if he couldn't do something about the fighting. "At least tell me you have some sort of solution to this problem?" Dr. Mango shook his head. "Not a chance. Not unless we have some sort of large conduit of sorts that powerful than both of us. We don't even have enough mages to power up the portal." "What about an alicorn's power?" Candence interjected as she inspected the magical device before her. "Would it be enough to get the portal working?" Mango hummed and he put his left forehooves on his chin. "Maybe." He said. "Alicorns do have strong magic pools that seem to replenish over a short time than most powerful unicorns. So in theory, it could work in the long run." Shining looked on in horror at what his wife is suggesting. "Candance, you can't-" "I need to Shining." She interrupted as she trotted over to him. "Everyone is depending on this plan to work. I won't let Celestia's goons to slaughter any more civilians." She nuzzled him. "It will be alright. I can do this." Shining was torn between actually stopping his wife from powering up a literal sponge and saving human civilians and soldiers. His ears perked up when he heard a large explosion coming from inside the city. "Shining." Alexander said through the small earpiece he received. The humans called it a "communication earpiece." It was almost like someone was talking in his head. "The defenders can't hold any longer. The PER are making a heavy push. If we don't get these reinforcements now, there wouldn't be anyone left to save." Shining bit his lip as he started to think really hard. He didn't want his wife to be hurt by this strange device before them. At the same time, he wanted to prove to the commander that there were still some ponies who don't support Celestia's decision to go to war with humanity. After some mental back and forth, he took a deep breath and turned to his wife. "Alright. Maybe it might work." "Of course it will, my love." She once again nuzzled her stallion before trotting over to the crystal device. The rest of the mages, after seeing her coming over, manage to part ways with the device and let her have a shot. Once she was near the crystal contraption, she closed her eyes and lean her head down. Her horn soon started glowing a moment later. Almost at once, the separate crystals started glowing. One by one the crystals started to levitate up into the air and around the small crystal pedestal. Once each crystal was levitated in place to form a circle, they started to move slowly around. Shining could already see the sweat coming from Cadence's forehead. The tiny crystal shards started to glow brightly with Cadence's color as they started to move faster. Her brow furled as she pours every magic stored in her body into the device. He almost thought that she would faint at any second. After what seems like several antagonizing minutes, the crystals soon started to slow down and a large portal started to take form. Cadence cut the connection before it could do any more damage to her body, collapsing in exhaustion. "CANDY!" Shining yelled as he ran over to her. The other scientists had managed to gather around the portal with a mix of awe and horror. Dr. Mango had managed to yell at them to get away from the portal before one of the human machines crushes them. "Cadence, are you alright?!?!" He asked in a worried tone. "I-I'm fine, Shiny." She said as she tried to get up, but collapses at the last minute. Shining had managed to support his wife by moving his head under her barrel and lifting her. She slung her arm over his shoulder to support her weight. "Just a little exhausted." "Shining, what is going on down there?!?" Alexander spoke over the radio. "I saw a bright light out on the bridge and then nothing. Is the portal successful?" "Yes." He said. "The portal is now active." He answered in the comlink he had. "You can tell your men to get through now." "Understood. I already informed Anderson about the portal. He should be coming through any-" "I LOVE THE SMELL OF BULLET SMOKE IN THE MORNING!" From out through the portal, Anderson came through unharmed. "LET'S KICK THESE SONS OF BITCHES WHERE THEY HURT!" He soon as he activated his jet pack and flew out of the way, a line of Mammoth Tanks, followed by Wolverines, Titans, Goliath APCs, and other arsenals of GDI coming out of the portal. Moments later, GDI infantry and crystal soldiers came out of the portal to support the advance. Shining could feel a smile coming on his face. He and his wife had taken a huge risk by using Celestia's portal technology. Now he would have to see if it would pay off. "This is Captain Belfast of the Steel Talons. We are now through the portal. I repeat, we are now through the portal." "Understood, Belfast. Make your way up to the frontlines and support the Tokyo defenders. We have reason to believe that the PER is using the same portal technology as well. Be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Anderson?" "Right here, boss." "There are still civilians that need to be evacuated, but the Anti-Air towers are preventing them from escaping. I need you to and several teams to take out the AA defense while the rest of the Steel Talons engage the PER. Captain Belfast will assist you in this mission. I'll give you the coordinates of where the sites are at. "Roger that." Belfast said as he stood seated in the vehicle of the Goliath. Be banged on the door that leads to the pilot seat. "You heard the commander. Head out to the marked coordinates." The pilot grunted a reply. The vehicle lurched for a second before it steadied itself. He took his time to check over his equipment before the upcoming battle. He opened the magazine to the M16 Mk. II Pulse Rifle and checked to see if anything is amiss. Captain Belfast had been with the Steel Talons ever since the start of the Third Tiberium War. Before that, he was stationed in Northern Europe, in a land called "Southern Germany", back when it was called Germany anyway. Nowadays, the world is identified as Blue, Yellow, or Red zones. When Nod destroyed the Philidelphia and launched an attack on the East Coast, a Nod army attacked a nearby port was stationed at. It was brutal to say the least, as they rolled over the GDI defenses like it was nothing to them. They were pushed back from the port city and almost surrounded by the hillside where they made their last stand. It would have meant the end for him if it weren't for Commander Andrew arriving with the Steel Talons. They had managed to push back the invaders. He had decided to volunteer to go with them since his last company was killed off by Nod. After he finished checking his equipment, he looked down at his helmet to see his reflection. He had hazel brown eyes and short blonde hair that some people mistook him to be bald at times. A long scar stretched from his right eye and almost down to his nose, a gift from a Cobalt artillery strike that landed right next to him. He looked around at his company. About twenty-four men were being rerouted for this mission to sabotage the AA site. He had at least three companies worth of troopers being transported in several Goliaths, making there way towards the coordinates. Of course, no one knew where it was at since all communication signals were jammed for the time being. The only intel they had to rely on was the account of a defender. Anderson was accompanying them, but he was using his jetpacks to move around instead of riding in the Goliath with him. "Damn crazy son of a bitch." He thought as he swept his eyes over to his men. While he was with some veterans who had been under Alexander's command for more than a year, he could still feel the fear and anxiety just by looking at their faces. Who could blame them? He had heard stories about what the serum does to your body after it gets in your skin. The prospect of being turned into a zombie horse that smiles all the time is creepy at best. He was there in No Man's Land when the so-called Princess Celestia declared war on humanity and what's left of it. He had heard that the eggheads down in D.C. are cooking up some kind of cure for the so-called serum. Some say that it might cure the mind control they had inside those serums. Of course, there were still just rumors. He didn't know how long he dozed off, but he was awakened by the sound of an explosion and the Goliath he was in violating turning. It was a miracle that he still wore the seatbelt. The Goliath jerked to a stop. Once the daze wore off, he opened the comms. "Big Lion Actual, what is going on?!?" "An AT missile just flew passed out heads!" The driver said. "We spot multiple PER hostiles towards our position." 'Looks like the intel was right then.' He thought as he unstrapped the seatbelt. "Alright, boys!" He started to shout. "The enemy is already upon us. Let's show them what Steel Talons can do." The company responded with the words "HURRAH!" being shouted inside the vehicle. He put on his own helmet and activated it. The ram lowered and they all poured out. They were standing outside of what remains of a large park. There were large craters everywhere from where PER artillery and air smashed anything in their path. There was a couple of twisted metal structure that might have been art at one point. A pond was empty, most likely due to leaking during the strikes. A couple of Kyo fish bodies were found right next to the empty pond, their tails and fins missing in the process. The first thing he noticed was how fancy the building before him was. It looked like Greco-Roman than Japanese by his standers. There was a large obsidian sign next to the steps of the building with Japanese characters written on them. His helmet translated the letters "Tokyo Museum of Western History." He didn't even know they had a museum like this in Tokyo. He didn't think He immediately got into cover by diving into what remained of a car before it got blown up. Bullets and what looked like purple lights were already streaking in the air. He saw four of his men being gunned down before they could even find cover. He looked over his shoulder to see the suppressors. The PER were taking cover behind makeshift barricades blocking the entrance. As usual, it was a mixture of human and pony troopers taking potshots whenever they can. He didn't know how many there were outside the building, but he could guess from the flashes of light that there were probably several soldiers guarding the entrance. He noted that the ones with horns were shotting of some sort of beam at the GDI troopers. He didn't know which one was part of the museum or if it was stripped down before they have taken over. Several machine gun emplacements started firing streaks of light across the battlefield. Most of his men had already taken cover, with several bodies already laying out in the open being dead. The Goliath APC opened up its quad cannons at the PER. The human and ponies who were behind cover were instantly killed and said cover destroyed in the process. A Firehawk streaked overhead. Unless it was a trick of the light, he could see flashing lights right inside the building. Bullets were whizzing out of the roof. One of those flashes struck the win of the Firehawk, forcing it to come barreling out of the sky. A moment later, the sound of an explosion was heard, along with a trail of smoke. "THE AA TOWER IS THERE!" He shouted to his men. "WE NEED TO GET THROUGH!" As if to prove his point, several shadowy figures shot out of the barricades and into the sky. They were using the sun to blind their approach. It did little to blind him, as he had adjusted his helmets shaders to see what it was that took off. It took him a moment to adjust, but he saw that the figures were indeed pegasus ponies. It was noted that they were wearing a modified version of the GDI armor that fitted their tiny bodies, with the exception of the wings. It would have been considered cute to him if they were already fighting of their lives. They weren't carrying weapons on their persons, but he did see a number of small purple liquid bottles on their armor. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was. "QUICKLY, SHOT DOWN THE PEGASI! SAM, HARRIS, PROVIDE COVERING FIRE!" He ordered as he pointed up to the sky. They stopped shotting at the covering foes and aimed their weapons at the flying ponies barreling towards them. Private Sam and Harris made sure that the PER forces weren't advancing. Indeed, as he looked over form his cover, he could see some of the PER forces moving out of their cover. Sam had managed to get a couple of shots off from his cover and hit one of the PER troopers, while Harris changed his setting to full auto and begone to spray the human and ponies. He had managed to kill five soldiers before the rest got to cover. The two Goliath behind him exploded as it was firing its weapon. That meant that the rest of the forces were already outside with some anti-tank weaponry. The rest opened fired on the advancing troops. Belfast aimed his weapon at the first pegasus in his sights and fire a few shots. The fire one missed but the second and third hit it right in the chest, causing it to spiral out of control. He quickly aimed his sights at the next flier and pulled the trigger. He missed, but he did manage to graze the left wing of the pegasus, making it over to the left and crash into another pegasus trooper. Both were soon spirling out of the sky. The rest of the flight group weaved and dodge bullets left and right, making it harder for his men to hit their target. One of his men must have gotten lucky and hit a pegasus mare right in the head. The two remaining ponies soon used their forehooves to reach for the potion attached to a makeshift bandolier. They soon threw the potion down upon them. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" He yelled as he did so. The rest of his company did as well. The cover he was once in exploded as pink liquid flew everywhere. He heard a scream and the cracking of bones next to him. He looked to see Private Sanchez spazzing out on the ground as his arms soon transformed into hooves. He had heard that the potion and the transformation only worked if the liquid hit the victims exposed skin. Sanchez must have had his armor pierced during the fight. He had almost gotten sick just by looking at the transformation. He aimed his weapon at Shacnezes head and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly. While he was sad, he had no time to mourn for his fallen comrade. The PER had destroyed the last of the transports and are currently advancing on his position. He could already see several coming over from the cover he was in, guns and those lasers from the horns of the remaining unicorns whizzing out against him. Several had missed him by luck, but he didn't want to test his luck right now. "Everyone, fall back now!" He said. "We need to try and draw them out to the park and away from their anti-tank support." "SUPRISE, COCKFAGS!" Out from the sky, Anderson descended down and down on the ground next to him. Belfast might have mistaken him for a guardian angel at some point if said angel wasn't extremely armed. The other PER soldiers halted and, realizing what he is, tried to get back into cover. Anderson's chain gun revved and unleashed a hail of bullets at the retreating traitors. It was bloody, to say the least. One unicorn mare with a blue main and a bright yellow coat was reduced to a red mist by the time she even realized what happened. One PEr soldier wearing GDI armor had his armor pierced and his abnormal removed from his body, his upper half falling to the ground while his legs were riddled with holes. Before he knew it, it was all over. The rest of his squad quickly moved up the ruined vehicles and started to pursue the retreating foe. He surveyed the carnage that Anderson unleashed. All of the PER soldiers were lying dead. The remaining soldiers that had gotten away were now retreating back towards the building. He blinked while still trying to comprehend what was happening. "Come on, you lazy ass!" Anderson said as he loomed over him. "Do you want to live forever?!?" Before Belfast could answer him, Anderson turned around and ran before activating his jet pack away from him. He was already leaping away towards the building. Belfast soon followed his squad and Anderson into the now defenseless building, trying to wonder if Anderson is some sort of crazy demi-god. 'This is an Alpha squad. First AA site is down. Repeat: First AA site is down! 'Bravo has cleared the second AA sight.' 'Hotel here. We cleared out the defenders and destroyed the third site. The air should be clear now.' "Solid copy. Return to the frontlines when you can. Command out." He hung up on the commanding squads and soon changed the voice channel to the defender's channel. "This is Commander Andrew. The AA sites have all been cleared. You should be safe to evacuate the remaining civilians." "Affirmative." Shinso Okamoto said. "Not a moment too soon either. We were starting to wonder if those sites would even be down." "The Steel Talons always get the job down, no matter how bad the situation is." Andrew said with pride in his voice. He may have served in little time due to the fact that Nod's surprise attack on the East Coast crippled the command structure, but the men believe in him. He heard the metal doors slid open. Turning around, he smiled when Cadence and Shining Armor entered the bridge of his ship. Like before, they marveled at the site of GDI's advanced technology all around them. Well, technically, the Klondike wasn't advanced per se. It was a relic of the Second Tiberium War once piloted by the most esteemed commander of that time. After he had acquired it, he had managed to install the latest software that GDI had on hand. It was limited at first, seeing as all effort was focused on driving Nod out of the East Coast. After he had recaptured D.C. from the enemy, he had managed to upgrade the ship to serve his needs. He addressed the two leaders of the Crystal Empire. "Thanks to whatever magic thing you did, we can now summon reinforcements from even a half a mile away. If this mission succeeds, then that means GDI will have an edge in the war." "It was no biggie." Shining Armor said with a wave of his hooves. "It was the least we can do after everything you guys have been through." "Indeed." Cadence chimed in. "It was the least we can do if it comes to defying my aunt." "I know." Shining pitched in. "To think that Princess Celestia would ever support a terrorist organization like the PER is just wrong. It isn't like her." "You know this 'Celestia' personally?" Anderson questioned. When the ponies declared war on humanity, everyone in the GDI territory called the so-called Princess Celestia the 'Solar Tyrant'. Of course, it was probably used from propaganda reasons to get some recruits, but after the destruction of Temple Prime in Sarajevo, it started to spread like wildfire across both territories. "Yeah." Shining answered. "I used to be part of her guard when we were still in our world. When the Crystal Empire appeared and Twilight and her friends saved it, she appointed me and Cadence to rule over it since there were no legitimate heirs besides Sombra." "I'm also kind of related to them as well." She looked over her wither to her wings. "I can see that." He commented. "But besides that, why would you want to go against your aunts like that?" "When Equestria was transported due to a spell that we both did, the Crystal Empire was taken with it. After we arrived in the new world, Princess Celestia started acting......strange. Like she wasn't herself." She sighed. "At first, I thought she was being a bit paranoid after the Canterlot Wedding. When Princess Celestia told us about this world and the need to conquer it for 'her little ponies', I knew something was wrong." "And then she made my sister make the serum." Shining Armor added with a hint of anger. "She was so casual about making it. She said that "Those savages need to be like us" and that we need to make this world our own. My Twilight would never say something like that, nor would she agree to help make some mind controlling serum." "So what did you do when you find out that something was wrong with Celestia?" "I confronted her about it. I told her about what we are doing was wrong and that we need to establish some sort of diplomatic relations. She then called me a traitor and ordered me and my husband arrested and thrown into the secret dungeons inside the Crystal Empire. I think you might know the rest." "It's not like this at all." Shining Armor said. "I've known Celestia for a pretty long time, and she would never do something like this. Not even to someone who is a close relative to her." "Something is wrong with her, and I'm hoping that you can help us with that. That is the main reason why we have this alliance." "You still want to save her even after everything she has done?" Andrew questioned. After everything that Candace and Shing Armor had been through, one would think that revenge would be on their minds. Being betrayed by a leader of a nation, especially if said leader is a close relative of yours, could drive someone to get back at them. "I still believe that my aunt can be redeemed somehow." She said with a fierce determination in her eyes. "I don't what has gotten my aunt into this madness, but I'm determined to find out why and stop this madness!" "I'm with her on that one." Shining Armor said. "I want my innocent sister back, not this monster they created." Andrew was admired by their strong dedication to something that may seem impossible to some. "Alright, I'll do whatever I can to make sure we can capture Celestia and this "mane six" they keep talking about." He looked at the screen in front of him. "But right now, we go bigger problems." The battle had gone the way he wanted. With the arrival of the Steel Talons, the tide was turning for the defenders. They had managed to gain some ground in the ensuing battle. The enemy had put up some stiff resistance to be expected since they used both GDI and Nod tech. However, be that as it may, the Steel Talons were the most experienced that had been with him since the start of the war. At least, that was what he wanted to believe. "It seems the enemy is using the same portal magic as we are." He said as he looked over the screen. The drone was able to get a birds-eye view of the battle raging before him. He had the drone do a close up at the dockyard where the PER are getting their reinforcements. As he had suspected, he was seeing a swirling light right inside the FOB of the PER. It was no doubt that they were using the same portal magic that Shining and Cadence did. A huge line existed at the beginning of the portal. He had managed to do a close-up with the drone and ordered one of the officers on the bridge to hack into the security systems of the docks. He did just that and the live footage of the dock was in a separate screen next to the drone. After another close-up, Andrew could now see the smiling ponies that were being lined up by the portals. "They are using the Newfoals as soldiers." Shining Armor gasped. "And look at the numbers. There must be a thousand of them, and they keep growing." "Those poor souls." Candence sympathized. "They might overrun us if they keep bring in those Newfoals." Andrew pointed out. He had heard stories about what would happen if a human got exposed to the serum. They would turn into ponies, but their minds would be destroyed in the process. They would become nothing but empty shells of their former selves. He had also heard that the PER were using the Newfoals as meat shields for their battles, especially if they put some explosive chest on them. They were especially dangerous in large groups, and were armed with the serum that they can throw at people. "The civilians are already out of the way of danger, so its safe to say that we can fall back for now." "You mean we are already giving up!?!?" Shining Armor gasped. "I thought we were here to save the people and the city." "We are not retreating just yet." He changed the screen to the outlay of the city. "Before you got here, I had word with the Second Armored Battalion, the Third Mechanized Infantry Division and the Fifteenth Air Cav that they are on their way to support us." Several arrows appeared at both right and left corners of the screen. He pointed to the outside of the city. "What we can do is surround the city and force the defenders into a siege. It might take some time, but we are all out of options at the moment." "I don't like it one bit." Candace said. "It feels like we failed somehow." "We did all that we could. That is all that matters." The commander said to her. He had felt her pain in a way. He had never once failed a mission even when the odds were against him. It wasn't like he had failed now. He was just trying to consolidate his forces and try again. "It isn't your fault. I'll inform Shinso Okamoto about this retreat. Hopefully, he might understand the situation we are in." Tokyo Police (converted into army headquarters) Tokyo, Japan Blue Zone "What do you mean we must fall back?!?!?" Shinso Okamoto shouted to the screen where the commander was present. Anyone in close proximity to his shouting turned his way, curious as to what he was talking about. The Toyko Police Headquarters was already bustling with activity. It was converted to an HQ for the reserves that are still holding on to the city. "I'm sorry, but the New Foals have already joined the battle with the PER. There are thousands of them on the frontlines already." The commander explained. "Already we are getting reports of our frontline collapsing to these infernal creatures." He switched the view from his ship the drone overlooking the frontlines. He could see a moving wave of color sweeping over the city and into the frontlines. It would have been a beautiful sight to behold if it wasn't already moving in to kill them or worse. The screen changed to a helmet cam of a trooper in some sort of ruined building that overlooked the battlefield. "THIS IS SERGENT FAUST OF SECOND COMPANY! WE ARE BEING OVERWHELMED HERE!" She turned her helmet in time to see a Mammoth Tank fire a shot out of its twin cannons while moving backward in retreat. Tilting her head, he could see a sea of color ponies came el mass at the retreating tank. Several soldiers were firing at the mass right next to the tank. They might as well have been shooting at an ocean as the swarm came descending down on them. The tank and the soldiers were soon covered with the sea of color, the soldier's loud screams and cracking of bones made Shinso sick to his stomach. An explosion erupted moments later. "Fucking hell. We need some goddamn orders." She turned her head and kept firing at the swarming masses. "Sergeant, they are coming up the building." She turned to see a trooper addressing her. "We are completely surrounded! There is no way in or out!" "Fuck!" She cursed. "We need an evac right now! We ne-" She didn't finish as the door that was barred right after they went in had suddenly exploded, catching the nearest trooper in the explosion. The sounds of hooves and the shouts of "Praise Celestia!" came moments later as the ponies streamed into the room. She turned her weapon, but a pony jumped her and the screen went blank. Shino cursed under his breath as he saw the footage. There too many of them to count alone, and the way they just charged them with no regards for their safety is something to behold itself. He had heard that the newly converted humans were stripped of intelligent and awareness when they first take the serum. He never would have believed it until now. "What do you suggest we do now?" He asked. "Several armor divisions are coming straight from Northern Japan to help reinforce the battle. Until they arrive, all we can do is try to hold them off." The commander informed him. "I know its not an easy decision to make, but we are out of options at this point." Shinso wanted to argue that there was something they can do. Even if the Newfoals are advancing like a tidal wave, they can still hold them off without abandoning the city. Now that the AA sites are down, they could use Orca Bombers and Firehawks to assist in the defense. However, even if the commander was young in a way, he had won thousands of battles against Nod and the ponies. So if he said that the battle was lost, he meant it. He sighed. "Alright. I'll order my remanding units to fall back." With that said, the screen changed back to the GDI logo. He turned to his remaining officers and said: "We will never fall back." "They are overruning our position as we speak!" One of his officers, Myzumo Kashimata, yelled as he flailed his arms around. "We barely have anything to counter them, much less try to beat them back." "I won't let this city fall on my watch!" Shinso argued. He walked over to the large window and looked out on the smoking city below. The capital city of Japan, which housed numerous skyscrapers, were already fallen to ruin. "My father and his father before him, all the way to the foundation of Tokyo and Japan, have always guarded this city against danger. And I'll be damned if I dishonor my fathers past got to nothing." "I don't think you even heard me." Myzumo carefully explained. "Even with the Steel Talons and their air support paving the way, the Newfoals are coming in the millions. They are charging our lines with nothing but the serum in their hooves. Holding them will be difficult, and trying to beat them back would be suicidal at best. We don't even have any weapons to deal with this sort of thing." "There is one weapon we haven't tried yet." He looked to his officers. "One that may either save us, or damn us." "What do you mean?" "I do have an idea, one that may be our downfall." He looked at his officers with intent. "I think we need to activate.......it" The room was dead silent when he explained what he wanted to do. For the first few minutes, nobody moved a muscle, nor did anyone say anything. Myzumo broke the silence. "You don't mean-" "I do. It's the only way." "But we haven't even tested out the targeting parameters yet." Myzumo said in a panic. "We don't know if it might attack our forces or not. Not to mention that this is the first time we are testing it. Anything could go wrong if we try to release it." "Don't you think I know that?!?!?" He nearly shouted, making several unofficial personal looked at the direction of the meeting. "We have no choice. If this city falls, then the Pacific forces are in danger of being overrun. I'll be damned if this city falls to them and I'll be damned if I let it happen on my watch. We must do this for the good of mankind." He could tell that Myzumo wanted to argue about this even more. His mouth opened and closed several times, failing each time to get a word out. He couldn't blame him. What they were about to do would be considered suicidal at best, and be branded traitors if they survived. If being the big term. From what he had heard of the weapon test on the thing is true... Myzumo then sighed. "I hope you know what you are doing." "I do too." He stated. "Make sure to punch in the command codes." Myzumo nodded. With that silence, the meeting was over. The officers and military officials pilled out of the room one by one until only Shinso was left alone in the room. All of them were staring at their commander like he had lost his mind. He turned once again to the ruins of the city he had once called home. He could see flashes on the horizon every now and again, and heard various explosions and gunfire in the distance. "You think you all are hot shit." He muttered to himself. "Strolling into my city and reducing it to ruins. But let's see how you fair when you handle.......the Shogun Executioner." > GDI-Tokyo Trouble 3/3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outside of Tokyo, Japan GDI territory (currently under seige by PER forces) Blue Zone ".....And I want several Juggarnuts along the ridge over there." Commander John McCoy said to his assistant as he pointed to said ridge he was talking about. From their position on the hilltop overlooking the trench line, they observed his army preparing trenches and mines and barbwire outside of the city. "The basterds may have some magic shmagic shields on their sides, but let's see what happens when they face good old GDI steel." An old man in his 50's, he sported a Wild Bill mustache that was well-trimmed. His short black hair had seen better days since he didn't have time to shower before coming here. He was currently wearing the standard GDI armor but the helmet was replaced with a bright blue beret with the symbol of GDI at the top. His bright green scanned the battlefield. "At once sir." Henery Valkov said as he pushed his glasses to adjust them. He is a young man in his mid 20's. His short blond hair was hidden under the military cap he wore. His hazel brown eyes scanning his paper to make sure everything was in order. He wrote everything down in his notepad that he keeps on him at all times, his pencil furiously scribbling down whatever the commander ordered. Already, an Orca transport flew in and slowly hovered down to the ground. Once it had touched the ground, the ramp opened up to reveal three Mammoth Tanks and several Goliath transports climbing down the ramp. A number of troopers were riding on the tanks themselves, eager to get into the fight if he is not mistaken. Meanwhile, somewhere beyond the trench line, several Disk Throwers were digging small patches of dirt and laying down the fragment disks before burying them. Several large trenches were built for the Mammoth Tanks and Titans Walkers for firing positions. From up on the ridge that overlooked the city, several Juggarnauts were already setting up, aimed at the city. It was a pretty good defense overall, but it won't stop the Newfoals if what half of the rumors say about them was true. The call had come as a surprise to both of them. They were in Northern China dealing with a PER conversion factory first reported by a nearby Blue Zone garrison. The PER were the newest faction that had to arise during the same time the ponies invaded Earth. While the members had mostly been a low terrorist organization, they had expanded in recent weeks by accepting both GDI and Nod members into their ranks; especially with Nod after the death of Kane. The large influx of NOD believers and military officers defected to the PER, along with several members of GDI who decided that fighting against the growing Barrier was futile at most. At least, that was the popular opinion until the Barrier was destroyed by the Ion Cannon After finding out that the PER have a hidden conversion factory near the mountains, John deployed as many troops as possible to destroy it. It was a tough battle against the PER, as they used a mix of Nod and GDI vehicles and defenses to delay them as long as possible. They had forgotten that John didn't know the meaning of "delay", as he would just throw in Mammoth Tanks at the defenses and hope for the best. "There is never enough Mammoth Tanks on the field." He would say. "If we had enough Mammoth Tanks, then the Martin ponies wouldn't be invading us!" After destroying the facility (and much of the Zangu Mountain region), they have received a call from none other than Commander Andrew. The nature of the call was that Tokyo was lost and the PER were using massive waves of the Newfoals to overrun the city. He needs help with containing them as best as possible until reinforcement can be called in. Since his forces were the closest thing in the Asian theatre, he had answered him immediately and begin loading his troopers inside the transports before taking off. They soon landed several miles from the city itself, where they had received another transmission from Andrew that his troops were already falling back. "I'm telling you, Henery," John said as he inhaled in the nicotine from the cigar he was smoking. He blew out a puff of smoke from his lip. "If we were in charge of this operation, we would be charging those four-legged basterds back to Mars where they belong." A grizzled veteran of the first two Tiberium Wars, John was as much gunhoe in his dealings with a terrorist than most. He would rather sacrifice at least ten Mammoth Tanks to destroy a heavily armed Nod base. Which was where Henery, his new assistant, came it. His mission, while overseeing the Pacific operations against Nod and the ponies, he was also supposed to keep John McCoy in line and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. In retrospective, he should have known what he would have gotten into. Although, in his case as much as he hated to admit it, he was right. "For the last time, sir: They don't come from Mars," Henery said as he sighed. "They come from the land of Equestria which had shown up several weeks ago." He couldn't believe it was seven weeks since the arrival of a nation full of color ponies. The ponies have discriminately attacked both GDI and Nod bases during those seven weeks, up until the Barrier, as it was called, shattered by an Ion Cannon. With the barrier gone, GDI launched a counteroffensive before the ponies could scramble defenses. The same goes for Nod as well, though last he heard Kane had died at Sarjavo by the ponies. IT would have been a time for celebration if it wasn't for the ponies right now. Now the color horses were on the defensive and fighting a war on both sides. "That's what they wanted us to think, Henery," John said as he took a drag from his cigar. "They might have flying saucers over Washington as we speak, but they made one crucial error." He blew out a puff of smoke from his left lip. "They forgot that I can resist their mind-control technology." Henry groaned as he mental face slap himself. The one thing he hated about John was he was so dead set in his ways of think. Once he thinks of a plan, there was no point in arguing with him about it. Henery had been lucky a few times in the past. "They tried to throw it that back in Northern China, and they got their cream-colored asses handed to them." "They don't have mind control powers, sir," Henry explained. It wasn't technically true or false. The serum they had used during the war had transformed humans into one of those smiling monsters, which both sides refer to as a "Newfoal". Upon studying the captured Newfoals, it was revealed that there was some sort of molecules in the serum itself that allowed the transformed humans to be individually controlled. His brain already hurt just by thinking about it, as the scientists tried to explain it in extended detail. "Again, Major. That's what they want you to think." John said as he saw his army preparing for a long siege ahead. A group of Titans were strolling across the battlefield getting into position right behind a group of trenches to the gith side of the valley they occupy. MLR's were standing on top of a ridge that separated a system of trenches dug out, its rockets ready to take off once the Newfoals breakthrough. "You got to stop being mind-controlled, son. It isn't good for the mind." Once again, Henery groaned as he facepalms. He will never get it. "That's where they made the mistake right there: The Newfoals are incredibly stupid, Major." He was not wrong. While the Newfoals could overrun a GDI defense with sheer numbers, both sides learned later on that they lack the intelligence of a sentient being. This was considered a huge advantage, as both sides would use nuclear weapons should they retreat from the battle. While he was hurt by the death of these transformed people, he had to remind himself that there was no other way to save them. There are rumors that the big brains in the GDI science division are coming up with a countermeasure for the serum effects. He hoped to god that such a thing was possible before more die. He pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure the ponies won't be stupid enough to just charge this defensive line." He said. "They would probably be tired and regrouping by the time Andrew and the Steel Talons retreat from the city." "Ah, but that is what they want us to think." John interrupted. "The aliens will use their flying saucers to overcome our defenses, but we have AA guns stationed at every corner of the battlefield. They won't use their mind control minds very soon." Henery felt his blood pressure rise and a vein forming on his forehead. 'Someone please kill me now.' He thought. "And another thing, we-" John was about to say something when the ground suddenly shook beneath his feet. He wasn't the only one that felt it, as his commander was having trouble catching his footing. The GDI troopers were also feeling "What in my mother's personal hell fuck is that, major?!?!!" "I don't know!" He yelled as he tried to not fall over. The vibrations were increasing every passing minute. Was there an earthquake going on right now? "It could be an earthquake!" "Major! General!" A GDI soldier stumbled from all the shaking as he came up to both of them. "Something is going on near the city. You might want to see it for yourself!" Both he and John followed the trooper to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean leading into Tokyo Bay. He could already see a gathering of GDI troopers as they stared out into the ocean, almost like they are seeing something out there. Was it another PER invasion fleet coming to Tokyo Bay? Or has Nod finally see the city underfire and decided to invade them as well? Both John and Henery pushed through the crowd of troopers until the could finally see the ocean. What he had saw would definitely haunt his nightmares. The sea right next to the harbor bubbled as if something was starting was rising up from the water. At first, he thought it was some sort of submarine that was either theirs or the enemy. However, his earlier suspicions were dashed when he saw what looks like a head slowly emerging from the water. It looked like one of those samurai mask helmets he once saw at the Smithsonian back in DC. It's scary faces looking directly at them, almost like it sees the small ants gathered at the cliff as prey. The rest of the body slowly rises up from the water. Well, bodies was the correct term. Another three heads were seen on each side of the walker, along with another three bodies stationed at the tripedal base. Although he was far away, he could see that the giant mech was bigger than the whole city. The walker's upper body pivots on the tripedal base, spinning each of the bodies around. Each of its hands were carrying a samurai sword with the bade itself glowing an eerie blue. The outside of the base had the colors of the iconic red sun that are the symbol of Japan. His jaw literal hit as the mech finished rising. "Now that......is something else." John murmured as he looked at the mech as he did. He couldn't agree with him on that. This mech was huge; huge enough to crush the city with one passing. How did they not notice something like this sooner?!?! Did the enemy control it?!? How long have the Japanese withheld this information?!?! The mech started to move, its tripedal legs making it seem like it would fall over at any second. At first, it seemed to be heading towards them. Some of the GDI troopers, seeing the mech approach, dropped their weapons and ran away. He couldn't blame them for running away. Commander John was busy staring at the thing to notice his men running away. He wanted to tell him to get out of the way as well, until he saw the mech slowly turning away And started to make its way to the harbor. While it was lumbering, its tripedal base started moving a little, with each of the bodies moving their swords around for the show. Once the got close to the harbor, one of its bodies slashed its sword down on the container ship, slicing it in half before said ship exploded. He could hear yelling from the docks even from his location. The giant continued to lumber on, the bodies continuing to swing its swords as more explosions came directly from the harbor. "Henry?" "Yes, sir?" ".......I want one of those." Andrew's jaw literally hit the floor. The same goes for both Princess Candace and Shining Armor. In fact, he would go so far as to say that everyone in the bridge had their jaws hit the floor. He couldn't really blame them. Especially if they saw a three hundred-foot freaking mech running rampant on the PER harbor. As he had predicted, the PER were using Newfoals to rush every position on the front and overrun his troops. The good news was that the Newfoals don't even use weapons, so his troops didn't have to worry about being fired upon. However, the Newfoals were numerous when it came to rushing positions that are already fortified. They don't even fear death. It shook him to the core. How can Princess Celesia, with her message of peace through conversion, be willing to sacrifice her subjects? With the release of the Newfoals, the Steel Talons had to fall back one block a time, trying to keep the horde in distance. Sometimes, some of the troopers would take potshots at the ponies. This did not stop them nor do they care that their comrades die one by one. A tactic was used during this skirmish in which several Wolverines would strafe run the front of the Newfoal horde left and right, almost forming a wall of bullets. This kept the horde out of the soldiers' distance while killing a good number of them. Just as his troops reached the outside of the city, ATHENA alerted Andrew about a possible radiation surge in the water. At first, he thought that the PER had a hold of some submarine armed with nuclear missiles. There were a good number of them even after the First Tiberium War. They were mostly banned and scrapped for parts. One idea was harvesting nuclear power for a more sustainable energy alternative. After the arrival of Tiberium and the qualities it has, it was mostly scrapped to make way for Tiberium energy. He was worried that the PER had a hold of some WMD's to drop upon the city. He switched to the drone's perspective over the harbor to see if it was true or not. He was both relieved, surprised, and scared at what came out of the water. It looked like one of those giant mechs from those Japanese cartoons he used to watch as a little kid. In fact, he always dreamed that he would ride one of those mechs someday; defeat some evildoer from outer space. Now that he was seeing the monstrosity rising out from the water, he wasn't sure about those savings he had to enter mech fighting after the war is over. It towered over both the city and the harbor like a menacing cloud of thunder ready to crash down. Its body kept rotating in different directions, with its sword swinging wildly. Once the mech got close to one of the boats the PER were using, one of its swords slashed down, cutting it in half. The boat exploded a second later. He could see gunfire and lasers shotting at the mech, but it proved to be futile as it was not affected. It soon lumbered into the harbor itself, one of its bodies to the side slicing at one of the cranes. The gigantic swords waved in different directions as it attacked the PER base. An Avatar that was painted pink got crushed in one of its gigantic feet. A Titan was sliced downward as one of the mechs swords cut through it like butter. Silence reigned as they stared at the screen, looking at the rampaging robot giving the PER a run for its money. Cadance snapped out of her trance. "So um......Is this one of your toys?" She asked. "Definitely not," Andrew said as he kept his eyes on the screen. "Well, whatever it is it's giving those PER terrorists a pounding." Shining Armor commented as he saw the screen showing the rampaging robot. Several GDI Defense Towers exploded in one strike as the mech aimed his sword vertically and swung it. "Did you know something like this would happen?" "I don't think GDI had any weapons of that caliber," Andrew said as he turned and put his right hand on his chin. "Now that I think about it, we should have known we had this sort of weapon beforehand. All technologies from other nations and Zones have to be reported through GDI headquarters. All part of the international treaties after the First Tiberium War." When GDI was first formed, there were a number of treaties that let the organization oversee any technological advancement from any surviving nations and Blue Zones. To see a giant mech in action without any GDI personal knowledge about it is worrying at most. "Sir, we have an incoming call from Shinso Okamoto." One of the female bridge officers said. "He sounds very ecstatic." He nodded. "Put him on. I have a lot of questions for him." The large screen in front of him changed to Shinso's face, who had a very wide smirk on him. "Do you mind explaining to me what the hell I just saw?" He asked. "That is one of our greatest weapons our scientists have cooked up. We call it the Shogun Executioner." the screen minimized his face and showed the Shogun rampage once again. Millions of tiny dots were advancing upon to large mech, he could even see some climbing it. He suspected that they are Newfoals trying to destroy that thing. "As you can see, this large mech is unstoppable. Plated in titanium alloy and powered by two nuclear reactors, this machine can keep fighting till the end of time itself." Each of its bodies tried to shake off the Newfoals as they assaulted it, each of its arms moving from each of their three rotating bodies. "The Executioner also feeds on high electricity technology to power itself up." Several metal tall towers with rings inside were lined outside of a warehouse building, right in the middle of the mechs path. He had heard of a PER defense mechanism that looked much like Tesla towers back in the old days. It would shoot off bolts of electricity once a unit got close to it. They can be destroyed, but they were hard to take down due to the shielding technology these ponies have. He even heard that several towers could take down a Mammoth Walker. Once the mech got close, a shoot of electricity went straight to the giant. Several others joined in soon after. Andrew expected the mech to fall over very shortly, but to his surprise, it has done little to no damage at all. "The swords themselves act as a conduit for its super attack move." The mech stopped in the path of the warehouse. Several Mammoth Walker MKII and Nod Avatars started to converge on the mechs location, their guns and lasers firing at the Shogun. The giant did nothing as the lasers and bullets hit him. He wondered why it had stopped its attack just to take the abuse, but then the mech started to move its arms in the air. All of them clasped the three power swords as they were lifted up into the air. The hands themselves gyrated as the pointy end of the swords aimed right down at the ground. He noticed that the sharp side of the large samurai swords started to emit electricity and emit a powerful blue glow. As the PER vehicles started to advance and the Tesla-like towers still shooting off bolts of electricity, the robot slammed the three swords into the ground simultaneously. This, in turn, created an electric shockwave that even he could feel the full force of it from his bridge. The wave hit the various buildings and PER vehicles in the vicinity, destroying them outright. The base that was set up as well was quickly wiped out in a heartbeat. Even the portal that brought the Newfoals in from somewhere was destroyed, along with a million or so members of the PER and the Newfoals. After the shockwave had faded, what was left of the PER base was nothing more than a jungle of twisted metal and burning structures. Where people had once stood were now nothing but smoldering skeletons. The mech itself was not damaged due to the shockwave. It lifted its swords up and resumed to walk away, finding more targets to destroy. "Well," Shinso said as his face popped back into view, his face hardly suppressing a wide grin. "What do you think? Magnificent, isn't it?" "More like a monster in the making." Andrew looked at the moving giant with horror. "How long did you have this kind of technology? And why didn't you tell me this before?" He would like to know why such a giant robot wasn't in the hands of GDI already. "A while now. We originally planned to reveal it during the GDI Weapons Expo next month, but as you can see desperate times call for desperate measures." He explained. "As to why I didn't tell you, I didn't think we would need such a weapon when the battle first began." "So why now?" He asked Shinso looked at him with a serious expression "I don't want my city to fall to the PER any more than you can." He said. "Plus, it is a way to test it out before handing it over to GDI. Now you have seen what it can do." "He's right, sir." The officer from before pointed her finger at one of the screens in front of her. "Reports are coming in. The PER are falling back. The troopers are already capturing back the territory we lost." She brought up the screen again. This time it focused on the city. The colored wave of Newfoals that had once flooded the entire city were going the opposite direction. Most likely they are heading back to the harbor to deal with the walking monstrosity. He could see flashes of artillery from the Juggernauts lighting up the area. Pieces of the color waves disappear after a bright explosion, leaving craters on the ground as it was soon swallowed up again. Shifting the view to the east of the city, he could see what remains of the GDI attack force beginning to push back the PER forces who once held the area. He could see a large number of infantry along the field, including Zone Troopers and Disk Throwers. A number of Mammoth Tanks, Goliaths, Titans, Wolverines, MLR's, and Pitbulls quickly occupying the area. The rest of the PER equipment and vehicles had either fallen back to protect what remains of the harbor or made their last stand against GDI. Those that had stayed behind were quickly overwhelmed by the GDI advancing forces. While Andrew was disappointed that such a technology wasn't brought to his attention in the first place, he was also pleased that the PER are now being pushed back to the harbor. What's more; the Shogun Executioner is mercifully destroying the PER base with no pause. If anything, he can call this a win. "Alright," Andrew stared back at Shinso. "I'll let this little incident slide for now. However," He held up a finger. "the GDI Command Center will question you on the nature of this weapon. So be prepared for an inquiry." Shinso smiled. "Trust me, Commander. I'll be happy to answer any question, but right now let us win this war." The face of Shinso disappeared as the screen was replaced with the GDI logo. "So, we aren't doing anything at this point?" Shining Armor was the first to speak. "We just let that.....monster loose?" "I don't like it as much as anyone." Andrew looked at the prince and princess. "Yes, it's probably unethical to even allow this weapon to go unsupervised. However, at this point, I am willing to try anything to kick the PER out of Tokyo." Shining was about to say something but Andrew held up a finger. "War is neither good or bad. It's always measured by how big the weapons both sides have. Always has been, always will be. While I can condemn Shinso and his decision to unleash such a massive weapon on the PER without permission, I can't complain that it's doing its job effectively. Besides," He pointed at the screen, which showed the Shogun Executioner destroying a second base the PER set up. "would you really want to argue against that?" Shining opened his mouth and closed it several times, seemly torn between calling out the monster and agreeing with Andrew. "You make a valid point." Shining finally said. "I feel sorry for the PER." Princess Cadance said. "I know that they are our enemies, but I couldn't help but feel that they were tricked by my aunt into doing such terrible deeds." Andrew shrugged. "They have made their choice," He looked once again at the rampaging Shogun. "now they are paying the price." "GET THE REST OF THE SUPPLIES ON THE SHIP QUICKLY!" An earth pony mare with a black coat and a pink mane and tail shouted at the ponies and humans of the PER loading whatever equipment they could fit in the last cargo ship they have. They used to have many during the assault on the human GDI city, but they were all destroyed by the arrival of that.......thing "AND SOMEONE SEND SOME JUGGARNAUTS TO SHOOT THAT THING DOWN!" She pointed a hoove at the large metal monster currently on the other side of the harbor. Already she could see smoking coming from the ruins of the harbor, the giants' swords slashing in the air and ground. "But we can't." One of the pegasi said as he was carrying a box of ammo on his fetlock spoke from above her. "Nothing can hurt it. We tried everything!" "Then try to slow it down!" She shouted and glared at the pegasi with her pink iris. "The more shots that hit him the better. We need to leave this city now!" At this point, trying to destroy it will be futile at most. The best she could hope for was that the forces left behind would buy them more time. "Corporal Heartbreaker!" A posh voice rose up from all the confusion. She cringed as she turned around to see two high ranking stallions coming towards her. One is a unicorn stallion with a brown coat and a black mane and tail. He sported a silly mustache on his face that ended in curls. He was wearing a generals uniform with a froth of metals on his chest. Another is a pegasi stallion with an orange coat and light brown mane and tall. "Just what in the blazes are you doing?" "Leaving, General Melchett." She explained. "We can't hold the city for long, not with that thing running rampant." "That's because you aren't trying to hit the enemy enough with your hooves." Melchett explained. "War was never won by just by superior weapons alone. A good hoove strike will send that monster knocking down!" "....." Heartbreaker was speechless at Mellchet's rant. How can that thick-headed noble think its a good idea to knock down a 15,000 foot monster with nothing but hooves?!?! Who in they're right mind would even consider doing that?!?! "And another thing." Melchett waved a hoove at the city. "The enemy is quickly approaching. I want your soldiers to prepare to confront the enemy when they arrive. We'll send them packing back to their monkey hovels soon enough." "With all due respect, sir," Heartbreaker said through her teeth. "perhaps you have forgotten about the GIANT CELESTIA-DAMNED CREATURE REEKING HAVOC UPON OUR BASE!!!" She shouted those last words out. The general seemed unphased by her shouting. "That thing came out of the ocean and started to cut our harbor down to size. We threw everything we have at it. Tanks, aircraft, Tesla Towers, GDI, and Nod weaponry. NOTHING WORKS! WE. CAN'T. DEFEAT. THEM! IT'S OVER!" She glared at the general with as much fury in her heart as she could muster. She then closed her eyes and breathed in a "Not with that kind of attitude, soldier," Melchett said. He turned his head to his subordinate. "Darling, I want to report Miss Heartbreaker for insubordination. Then I want the next pony to be placed in the rank of Corporal." "Sir," Darling started to say as he used his wingtips to hold the pen and paper to write down his order. "I don't want to sound like a coward and all, but perhaps she is right. Maybe its time to-" "What is with everyone in a sour mood today?!!?" Mellchet's hat nearly flew off of the top of his head as he yelled. "We are Her Majesties Royal Army! Not some polly-cocking bush foals that cried home to mommy every time they get a bruise." He turned to Heartbreaker. "Now tell drop whatever supplies your troops are carrying and charge the enemy. I want this city taken before Old Nancy calls for tea time." Heartbreaker's eyes twitched as she heard the general ignore the BUCKING MONSTER RIGHT BEHIND HIM! How can such a general ignore the situation around him? GDI troops are advancing on their location as he speaks, and a giant freakin robot is destroying everything in its path, including two PER bases. Now he wants her to charge the enemy?!?! How he was put in command of this army was a mystery to her. Another explosion rocked the port as the monster finished off the third base, smoke rising in front of the monster like ti came from Tartarus. One of its heads turned..... Towards the direction of her. One of its legs began to move, then another. Soon it was stalking towards them, its swords lighting up. She heard the sound of jet engines in the distance as well. Looking up, she saw a mixture of Firehawks and Banshees and pegasi ready to engage the giant monster. They hit them with everything they had in their arsenal, but she knew that such weapons would not work on this creature. It was then that she finally made her decision. "You know what? Screw you and screw your war! We are retreating back to Equestria to assist in the defense." She turned her back on Melchett. "If you want to fight it, then go ahead. It's not like it would be much effective anyhow." She trotted away to her ship, which had already been filled with enough supplies and ammunition to make the journey to Equestria. That was where she has to be, defending her home from the human invaders. Not dying on some Celestia forsaken rock with no value. She could hear Melchett screaming at her to come back. She couldn't help but smirk. "Now you get back here this instant! I mean it! Don't make me bring out the Princesses Special!" Melchett yelled at her as she still walked away. "Running away is punishable by death you know." He cursed under his breath as she boarded the ramp and left out of his sight. Several seconds later, the last remaining cargo ship slowly sailed away into the horizon, going back to Equestria to assist in the defense. "Fine, go run away. See if I care. I'll just win this war myself." He turned his head to Darling. "Well Darling, it looks like it's just us against that giant." "Yes, sir." Darling gulped as he saw the giant moving close to them. The fighters that had been hitting the thing were all destroyed by its swords long ago. He didn't think that the humans would have mages on their side to summon such a terrible monster to this world. "Actually sir, I think I need to relieve myself." "And miss out on the chance of glory?!?" Melchett violently turned to Darling with a maddening expression on his face. "Not a chance, Darling. I'll be damned if we didn't take that thing down with our own bare hooves. Now chin up, raise your head, and let us charge into the breach once more." He turned around and gave a roaring battle cry. "TALLY HOOOOOO!" Melchett started to charge at the big machine creature, which was already halfway towards them. All around him, he could see PER vehicles blown to smithereens or melted by the creature's swords. Various flyers, including pegasi, were now laying on the ground, dead or dying. He soon made up his mind. Darling opened his wings up, giving it a might flap. He was soon in the air. He then turned the other way and flew, hoping to get as much distance against the creature as possible. He had to remind himself that he wasn't retreating. He was just advance towards future victories. "Wha?" He stopped for a moment as he looked up. It soon occurred to him that Darling wasn't in the air next to him. He turned around to see him fly off in the opposite direction. "DARLING, GET BACK HERE! I SWEAR I'LL BRING OUT THE PRINCESS'S SPECIAL!" He didn't notice the sky getting darker all of a sudden. While he was ranting at the shrinking form of Darling, the Shogun Executioner was closing in on the general. After dealing with the fliers, it searched for the next target to destroy. There wasn't much of anything left at this point. The PER base was destroyed beyond repair, most of the stolen vehicles were nothing but smoky hulks of metal, and the rest of the PER forces were either killed or surrendered. The Shogun would shut down after clearing the harbor, when its sensors detected a lifeform charging him. The machine decided through its advanced algorithm and multiple simulations to meet the enemy head-on. ".......AND YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAMSTER TO THAT END!" The general continued his rant. "But that is fine. I'll win this war by my" He turned around to see a red metal wall standing before. He looked up to see the giant machine staring down at him. Both of them stared at each other for a good long minute. Melchett's horn soon came to light and a long object came into view. A small cylinder object with a wooden handle and a mini whip at the end. A name was carved into the hull of the object. Princess's Special. "HAVE AT THEE, YOU UNCLOTHEN MONSTER!" The stick struck at the metal feet. Which it had done no damage to it whatsoever. The Shogun soon lifted one of its enormous legs and angled it on top of Melchett. He looked at the feet with wide eyes. "......Well drat." The Shogun's metal leg dropped on top of the general. The last thing the general saw was a large metal wall bearing down on him. Mission Accomplished