> Collision War
>  by The Boss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Operation: Saving Grace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air raid sirens echoed through the streets of Canterlot as jets fought each other in the skies above, the sound of tanks and gunfire rang out over and over. Buildings were being rapidly reduced to rubble while panicked civilians followed instructions to evacuate. Smoke rose into the sky from burning vehicles, and corpses of Onorussian and Equestrian soldiers were lining the streets. This was what struck Altair Occisor first as he sat in a Huey helicopter with Static, Finn, and Major Adler. They had been the only members of their unit to reach the rallying point, the others were likely out in the city somewhere when the attack had started.

Local police officers and private citizens were holding on by a thread in the areas that had been targeted with portals, they mostly consisted of heavily populated civilian areas to the East. Altair sat with an assault rifle strapped across his chest and his sword upon his back. He had been issued a kevlar vest, as it seemed the Equestrians had yet to master the use of arcane weaponry. His helmet was his own, adorned with an Onorussian flag on one side and a silver crescent moon pin at the front. The hueys were part of the counterattack to regain control of the city, so far the enemy was being slowly whittled down, but the battle was far from over.

Finn, a man that had been Altair’s friend since high school, looked out at the burning buildings in the distance. The man had a concerned expression on his face, his mother lived in that portion of the city, right in the area that was under the heaviest of fire. Static, another young member of the unit, was adjusting the helmet on his head. The thestral was used to using a targeting helmet by now, as he was a quadruped, but he never could seem to find a comfortable liner. Major Adler was the calmest of the four man group, he was older than his subordinates by a decade or so and had served on Terra during the reclamation wars.

“Ready up, men! Our mission is to take out the enemy AA emplacements before they can become operational!” Altair adjusted the holographic sight on his weapon as the helicopter approached the area that was under siege by the enemy. “We’ll be getting support from units already on the ground and two helicopter gunships! Private Static, you’ll be handling the explosives.  Corporal Occisor, Corporal Finn and myself will cover you.”

“Roger that, sir!” Static replied as he picked up the bag that held numerous charges of Compound Gladius. Compound Gladius was an Onorussian designed explosive, C4 laced with specially designed arcane crystals that had been ground up and mixed into the explosive block. It could level a building in seconds, knock out a radio tower in a snap, and it would rip apart any anti-aircraft gun it came into contact with like a dog with a chew toy.

The helicopter stopped above an intersection, the door gunners kicked a pair of coild ropes out the side. They fell towards the ground and landed with a thud, Altair grabbed the end that was still attached to the Huey before he slid down the line. He landed with a thud and moved to secure the area with his assault rifle in hand, there were more than a few wounded soldiers laid up near a building that were being attended to by medics. They looked over at the soldiers rapelling in, it didn’t take them long to recognize the paratrooper patches on their uniforms.

“Hey! It’s the Fallschirmjager!” One of the wounded shouted as the helicopter flew off, leaving the four men in the intersection, a quiet murmuring went up through the wounded as Adler lead his troops towards the front. “I almost feel bad for the enemy!”

“Holy fuck! That one’s a Nacht-Trooper!” Another shouted, pointing to the silver crescent moon pinned to the Altair’s helmet. “Get some, Corporal! Make ‘em pay!” Altair nodded to the men as they passed, the Fallschirmjager were like rockstars in the Onorussian military, and it felt nice to hear that adulation. Of course, Altair couldn’t afford to dwell on it, he needed to focus on the mission at hand. Once they had cleared the field hospital, Major Adler began jogging towards the front. The sound of gunfire grew louder and louder, there were several burning tanks in various parts of the streets. One was Onorussian, one of the new Panther tanks, the enemy tanks were older model T-72s.

There were bodies of both sides strewn about the ground, this was Altair’s first glimpse of the enemy. They were like ponies, but bipedal, their uniforms looked like those of the Soviet’s during the invasion of Afghanistan. They were also armed with weapons similar to old Galils and AK-47s. What was most interesting was that they had only three fingers and a thumb on their hands, it was the most alien thing about them. Altair saw some of them had died in hand to hand combat with Onorussian soldiers, a diamond dog was slumped over one of the aliens, his neck was slashed while his paw was clenched around a knife embedded in the gut of the enemy soldier.

“Heads on a swivel, we’re nearing the rendezvous point!” Adler ordered as they approached another intersection. Two apartment buildings had collapsed, spilling rubble out into the road and created a small hill of concrete and brick that gave the four men cover. The lack of a military presence here told Altair just how fast the attack had come, ideally there would’ve been more troops but there only seemed to be him and his unit. There was a crashed Blackbird in one of the buildings, burning and belching out black smoke.

“Cobra!” A voice called out from somewhere among the rubble.

“Venom!” Adler shouted back quickly, two squads of soldiers emerged from one of the buildings with their weapons at the ready. A lieutenant stepped forward to Major Adler, a changeling with a bloody bandage wrapped around one of his hooves, he looked like he’d been through hell in the past half an hour or so. “Where’s Captain Summers?”

“Dead, sir. I’m Lieutenant Takeo, his XO.” The changeling replied, he winced in pain slightly and looked at the wound in his hoof. “Is this all they sent? We thought we’d be getting a whole platoon for this op.”

“Sorry, the rest of our unit is scattered all over the city, we’re all you have at the moment.” Adler replied in an apologetic tone. “Gimme a sitrep, what are we going up against?” Adler began walking towards the hill of rubble and peeked over the top to see what lay ahead, the two squads of soldiers followed him but stayed low. Takeo pointed over the hill with his horn at several enemy positions, there were two squads of enemy troops set up on the street ahead.

“They’ve been locked down tight for the past half an hour, that squad on the left has a wicked machine gun crew, that’s how they got Summers.” The changeling said in a tired voice. “They’ve got troops behind them setting up defenses for the AA batteries, we need to bust through before they can finish, or it’ll take a small army just to get past this hill. There was no cover between the hill and the enemy machine gun crew, just forty yards of open road.

“I think we can do something about them…” Adler said quietly before he pulled his radio from its pouch on his vest and brought it to his lips. “Tiger Seven, this is Eagle Five. Requesting fire mission forty yards north of my position, hostile MG team. Authorization Alpha Romeo One Five. Danger Close.”

“Confirmed Eagle Five, grab yourself some cover. ETA thirty seconds.” A voice replied from the radio, Adler dropped into a prone position on the hill of rubble. Altair and the others joined him, while the two squads raised eyebrows. Then they heard the telltale sound of rotor blades getting closer, dust began to kick up as a massive shadow presented itself over the intersection. Altair looked up and found himself staring at the belly of a Hind Gunship, armed to the teeth with rocket pods and machineguns. The enemy troops spotted it as well and began firing their Machine gun at the aircraft. ”Guns guns guns.”

Shell casings rained down around the Onorussian soldiers as loud gunshots erupted from the Hind’s forward mounted gatling gun. Altair watched as the bullets tore up the ground ahead of them, kicking up dust and rock as the rounds streaked into the enemy positions. To add insult to injury, the gunship let loose four of its rockets. The explosions ripped open a couple buildings, and certainly finished off anyone that had survived the initial volley.

“Ye-ha-haaaa! Get some!” Finn shouted as the dust began to settle, revealing the enemy soldiers had indeed been wiped out. Altair let out a yell of his own as they stood up and began advancing as fast as they could, their boots echoing loudly through the oddly quiet street. The bodies were bloody things, barely recognizable as the soldiers passed by the ruined street and destroyed corpses. The enemy anti-aircraft guns were up ahead, they appeared to be self propelled in nature with turrets to move the guns. Altair felt his heart skip a beat as one of the turrets began rotating downward and towards the three advancing squads.

“Sir! It sees us!” Altair shouted.

“Cover!” Adler ordered, Altair and the others dove behind rubble from the freshly collapsed buildings for cover. Adler grunted as his shoulder landed on a particularly angular brick fragment, all of them were now pinned down behind the rubble. What was worse, the AA emplacement was operational, which meant air support wasn’t an option this time. “I make that as… thirty yards ahead of us!”

“I liked this a helluva lot more when the AA Emplacement wasn’t operational!” Static shouted as bullets kicked up dust and debris close to him. Takeo was also taking cover with his troops, they seemed like they had just about had it. It was understandable, their uniforms had patches for the National Guard, they were likely never expecting their home to be invaded. Altair looked around for a couple seconds for any sort of way to change their fortune.

“Lieutenant, what’s on the other side of this wall!” Altair shouted over to the Lieutenant, who happened to be on the other side of the street. Next to Altair was a wall of one of the collapsed buildings, though from the looks of it the area beyond it was still intact.

“It’s a bakery, why?” Takeo asked, Altair looked at Major Adler.

“Sir, I think I found a way for us to get out of here.” Altair said, he gestured to the bag holding the explosive charges. Adler paused, as if unsure of what to do, but he also knew that if they stayed there they could very likely end up getting killed. “We place a charge on this wall, we can blow a hole large enough for us to get through, we can withdraw and regroup for a second assault!” Adler paused for a moment, then looked at Static.

“Static, rig up a breaching charge!” He ordered, the thestral nodded and unslung the explosives bag from his back. The stallion wound up standing higher than intended, Altair watched with shock as one of the bullets from the AA gun hit Static in the head. It punched through the helmet like it wasn’t even their, sending the thestral sprawling to the ground with a gaping wound in his skull. “Fuck!”

“Holy shit!” Altair shouted as he looked at the body laying on the ground, he rubbed his neck nervously as he saw the blood pooling around his dead friend. Adler grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him roughly.

“Keep it together, Corporal!” The major ordered, his intense blue eyes looking into Altair’s. “Grab those charges and rig up the blast! Don’t let him die for nothing!” Altair narrowed his eyes and nodded before grabbing the bag of explosives.  Altair pulled one of the charges from within and pulled off a chunk of the Compound Gladius, he scurried over to the wall and stuck it to the concrete before taking a fragmentation grenade from his belt. Compound Gladius detonated with an Arcane frequency almost identical to those given off by the detonator in a hand grenade, Altair unscrewed the detonator from the grenade and stuck it into the chunk of explosives.

“Take cover!” He shouted over his shoulder before yanking the pin on the detonator and running back to Adler and Finn. The fuse popped, and several seconds later the explosive went off. It made a tremendous boom as it punched a hole in the wall and created a cloud of dust. Altair grabbed the bag of explosives and slipped it over his back.

“Go!” Adler ordered, he watched the other two squads rush through the hole before his own men went through. The Major was the last to pass through the hole, they ran through the bakery, passing by abandoned bagels and donuts that had spilled on the floor during the blasts from earlier. The building provided sufficient cover to get out of the killing zone of the self propelled AA battery,  but it wasn’t like they could stay there forever. Adler and his remaining men moved to a doorway that lead out into the street, Takeo’s troops followed behind them. “Alright, my men and I will move forward and take out those guns. We need you to cover our advance, if they bring those batteries to bear on us the mission won’t last much longer!”

“We can do that!” Takeo replied with a grunt as he felt more pain from the wound in his leg. “First squad, set up in the windows. Second squad, I want you to set up your SAW in the doorway and really pour it on!” As the others got ready, Altair looked out the door. There were five enemy vehicles out there, but only one was operational at the moment. However, there was also a portal, and Altair could see a sixth vehicle coming through.

“Sir, even if we have enough charges to take out those vehicles, it won’t matter if they can keep sending more through.” Altair said as he pointed to the portal.

“Yeah, we need to do something to make sure those sons of bitches are deep sixed for good.” Finn added, he was still in shock from the loss of Static, but as time went on he was getting good and angry at the enemy. Adler nodded his head quietly, seeing the point of his two subordinates.

“Alright, first objective is to toss a charge through that portal and seal it up for good. After that we’ll focus on the operational AA gun, we can deal with the non operational ones when we aren’t running for our lives.” Adler said quietly as he looked at Altair. “Corporal, give me a charge. I’ll take care of the AA battery, you two focus on taking out that portal.”

“Sir, I’m faster! I should-” Altair began.

“That’s an order, Trooper!” Adler shouted, Altair stopped speaking, then nodded quietly. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Now, charge please.” Altair reached into the bag and removed one of the charges, this one was equipped with its own detonator which was remote controlled. Altair gave the Major the remote device next, though he still felt like he should’ve been the one to go into the breach. “Alright, Lieutenant! On my mark!” Adler, Altair, and Finn stacked up near the door as the two other squads got ready. “Do it!”

“Open fire!” Takeo ordered, the two other squads began firing at the enemy position while Adler lead his comrades out the door. Altair was breathing heavily as he headed towards the portal, his boots thudded heavily against the concrete beneath his feet while he passed by bombed out store fronts. The portal was located in an open park, the usual happy sounds of children playing in the grass was replaced by the chatter of gunfire. Altair and Finn dove behind a couple of bushes on the edge of the park.

“You take one charge, I’ll take the other!” Altair shouted as he unslung the bag of explosives. “First one there sets the timer and tosses.” The man slipped his rifle off and set it next to the now empty back. Finn was about to say something until he saw his comrade unsheath the blade on his back. “I want to give the Major some more time, we can by him time by making this as loud as possible…”

“I’m with ya.”

“Alright… Yell something loud and intimidating!” Altair shouted before he stood up and began charging towards the portal. He held the sword tightly, breathing heavily through his nose as he prepared himself for what could very well be his last act in life. “Tenno heika banzai!”

“Gott mit uns!” Finn shouted as he too began charging towards the enemy portal, the enemy soldiers that had been shooting at Major Adler were now drawn to the sound of shouting. They whirled around just as Altair had reached the first one, he slashed downwards with his blade, slicing the neck of his first enemy soldier. The Equestrians were stunned at first by the bloody display, allowing Altair to rush another one of their number and drive his blade through his gut. Finn began firing at the soldiers while Altair continued slashing and hacking while he pushed towards the portal.

Adler skidded to a stop next to the enemy vehicle, panting as he slide the explosive charge under its belly. The gunner was searching for him, but he was out of sight by now. The Major quickly ran away, towards the enemy portal, as he clicked the detonator. The explosives went off without a hitch, blowing the turret of the mobile AA unit into the air with a tremendous boom. He watched as Altair and Finn reached the portal at the same time, the two men tossed both charges through the portal before they dove away. The explosive was only visible for a fraction of a second before the energy vortex winked out of existence.

“Fall back!” Adler shouted loudly two his two men, he pulled a smoke grenade from his belt and yanked out the pin, then chucked it towards the other AA vehicles that were being readied as quickly as possible. Red smoke began to be carried into the air as  Adler reached both of his men, the three of them ran towards the bushes where Altair quickly grabbed his gun before they continued towards the buildings. “Steel Rain! This is Eagle Five! I need a bomb run a target marked with red smoke, grid ref one five echo! Danger close! Give it everything you’ve got, and hurry!”

Overhead, the sound of the jet engines on the B-52 were barely audible to those on the ground. The aircraft’s belly opened, revealing a dozen or so large bombs, each had a rather cheeky message written on them. The first one to fall simply said ‘Have a Nice Day’, and was adorned with a simple smiley face. Unbeknownst to anyone, this particular bomb had a slightly defective detonator. An Equestrian heard a whistling sound overhead, he looked up just as something slammed to the ground next to him. The stallion looked in surprise as a massive bomb had landed next to him, a smiley face telling him to have a nice day was staring right at him. He only had about half a second before the rest of the bombs hit the ground, which in turn set off the first bomb.

Altair stood near the buildings, watching as the enemy vehicles were pulverized by the falling bombs. His sword was sheathed, and he stood with his hands gripping his rifle. The booms echoed through the streets for nearly fifteen seconds before an eerie stillness fell over the area, Finn stood next to Altair, looking out at the carnage that they had wrought in the distance.

”The enemy is falling back through their portals, it appears this was a probing attack. All units, stand by for further instructions.” A voice echoed over the radio as Altair saw more Onorussian helicopters flying overhead, APCs and tanks began rolling past on the streets that were still clear of major debris. Altair pulled a cigar from his pocket and bit off the cap, then lit it with his lighter. Major Adler moved up next to the two subordinates, watching as the enemy vehicles burned and belched out black smoke.

“I have a feeling this won’t be a forty eight hour war…” Finn said as he stared at the wreckage, Altair let out a puff of thick smoke while nodding. “So… When do we go to their capital city?”

“Not soon enough… But we’ll burn it to the ground when we do…” Altair said bitterly.

“When the time is right, Corporal…” Adler added. “When the time is right.”

[♠]

Steven sighed as he watched the beleaguered troops walking back through the streets of Canterlot, casualties were higher than expected, the enemy was certainly no stranger to militarism. Even the civilians were difficult to deal with, the ones that his soldiers had extracted acted just as gruffly and viciously as some of the few POWs they’d taken. Most of the POWs had either overpowered their guards and escaped, were shot while escaping, or had committed suicide. The only ones that hadn’t died were the ones that had been sedated before they could try anything, four in all. Meanwhile, it was estimated the enemy had taken nearly five hundred prisoners. That, added to those who were killed or wounded, put the total loss at two thousand soldiers.

The man looked down from the balcony of the command building at his wife who was standing near the street, Celestia was doing her best to try and welcome the civilians from the strange other dimension. Apparently, they called themselves Onorussians. Their nation was made up of a mishmash of races, including humans that had survived some sort of global plague. Their leader was a man named Dominic Occisor, and apparently, he was not a man to be trifled with. If only Steven had known that before he had essentially kicked in the front door, maybe he could’ve devised a better strategy or opened with negotiations.

He was used to dealing with absolute evils, villains that just wanted to do bad things because that was what they did. With them, a frontal approach usually worked. With someone who thought in more than two dimensions, it was a different situation entirely. Steven had severely underestimated how loyal the soldiers and civilians were, apparently Occisor was a hero to them. Steven just hoped that Celestia could get the new comers to accept what was happening, to help them see Equestria as their new home.

“Fuck you! I won’t do what you tell me!” A voice shouted from the crowd below, Steven looked over and spotted a teenager. He punched the stallion trying to escort him along before grabbing his sidearm from his holster. “Gott mit uns!” The teen leveled the firearm at Celestia. “Die, Solar Betrayer!” Before he could pull the trigger he was put down by another soldier, the teen groaned in pain as he was shot multiple times and collapsed to the ground. This resulted in numerous other civilians starting to punch and kick their escorts in an effort to arm themselves, Steven and Celestia both stood in shock at what was unfolding.

The soldiers were eventually able to reinstate order, but not before two more civilians had been wounded. Celestia opened her wings and flew upwards, landing on the balcony next to Steven, her expression was one of shock and dismay.

“I… I don’t know where to begin…” She said in a quiet voice. “I mean, I thought they would be glad to come here… You certainly were.” The mare looked at Steven. “I fear we may have made a mistake, they truly seem to hate us…”

“I’m afraid there may be no going back, the little information we’ve gained about Onorus says that they play for keeps.” Steven replied grimly as he leaned against the railing. “Any nation that has attacked them has been wiped out or invaded and annexed, they control half the globe in their dimension, they’ve even got their sights set on other planets.”

“If they plan to invade more planets, we must stop them.” Celestia said firmly, she looked down at the ponies walking along below. Steven took a moment to look at her, she was taller than him by a head. Bipedal, like the other ponies, but so much more graceful. She wore a white gown, to match her fur color, and even when she looked stern there was still a look of motherly compassion in her eyes. “I fear that we will be the first that they attempt to conquer, so we must be ready…”

“I’ll see to it at once.” Steven said, Celestia sighed and nodded. The man put a hand on her arm, prompting her to look over. “Hey, everything’s going to be okay. We took down Chrysalis, Sombra, even Discord! Compared to them, these ‘Onorussians’ should be like a breath of fresh air.”

“Perhaps…” Celestia said quietly. “I’m going to go and see my sister, I need to know what she thinks of all this.” Steven nodded quietly and watched as Celestia’s wings opened, like an angel she took off into the sky. The man sighed when he felt someone tap his shoulder, he turned and saw one of his advisors standing there.

“Sir, you should hear what’s on the radio in the other dimension.” The advisor said, Steven nodded and followed the stallion through the halls of the command center until he reached the dark and dingy radio room. It was packed with ponies, all trying to hear a sound from another dimension.

”...Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Imperatrix Maria.” A man’s voice echoed over the radio. There was a brief pause as if someone was walking to a podium, the next thing the ponies and Steven heard was a woman’s voice.

”I speak to you tonight on behalf of my husband, as we speak he and his generals are hard at work…” The woman’s voice, Imperatrix Maria, said with a strong tone. ”Our nation has suffered a tremendous tragedy today, not at the hands of the Crystal Empire, the Minotaurs, or any other nation that calls this world home.” Steven didn’t know who this woman was, but she sounded just as strong as Celestia. ”Because of the nature of this surprise attack, nearly a thousand Onorussian soldiers lay dead. Among the dead are also three hundred civilians, and four hundred of the enemy.”

”I ask that all those out there who hear my voice, say a prayer for these souls, not just our own, but those of our foe as well… They fought well, and died well.” Imperatrix Maria continued, her voice carried through the room like a phantom. ”Congress has, at the behest of the Military, declared war on the enemy. A transdimensional nation known as the Kingdom of Equestria.” A surprised gasp could be heard over the radio. ”We have faced Equestria before and emerged stronger than before, I have no doubt the same will happen here.”

”My son fought in the battle today, it was the most scared I have ever been, and despite that I knew sending him was right.” The Imperatrix said firmly, her voice becoming heavy with emotion as she mentioned her son. ”We face an enemy unlike one we have ever faced before, and so we will be forced to make sacrifices unlike before… Many lives will be lost, but their loss will not be in vain, as the flag of our Republic will continue to fly… We will emerge victorious.”

”Gott mit uns! Gott mit uns!” The crowd on the other end of the radio chanted.

”Goodnight, and god bless…” With that the speech came to an end, Steven felt a bit more conflicted about the enemy now. The Imperatrix almost reminded him of Celestia or his own Mother in a way, the way her voice seemed to echo in his ears like that of a phantom from the past. She sounded emotionally hurt, and what was so concerning was that Steven felt guilty for making her feel that way… But he had to think of his own people, and if the Onorussians were coming, that meant he couldn’t afford to feel guilty. The man sighed and walked out of the radio room, leaving the others to continue listening to the radio from the other world.

> Operation: Red Sky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Altair quietly adjusted the sleeves of his fatigues, his new Sergeant stripes had just been sewn on and it was taking some getting used to. It had been two weeks since the Equestrian attack, they had tried to attack again, but had been stopped before they could get far from their portals. Parts of Canterlot were in ruins, it was where the new recruits were being given their orientation, to remind them of what they were fighting for. Altair meanwhile was marching with the rest of his unit in the fields that surrounded Canterlot mountain. Airships loomed overhead, an entire fleet that blotted out the sun at times, entire tank divisions were being brought out of the reserves, lining up in their own areas and fields.

It was, put simply, a staging area. Altair and his unit would be the first of many to invade the enemy dimension. However, Altair had a different mission than the rest of his unit. He and a squad of men would be making their way deep behind enemy lines, they would be searching for civilians that had been kidnapped by the enemy and helping them escape. He would also take out any targets of opportunity, and earn a reputation with the enemy, to help with psychological warfare. Altair would become a name whispered in hushed tones, something the Equestrians told their children about to keep them in line…

That was why Altair had been training his men so hard, he needed to make sure that they could handle extended periods of foraging and sleeping in the wilderness. The orders had given him the authority to pick who would be in the squad, as such he had hand picked what he thought was the best in his unit. His squad consisted of Finn as his second in command, then there was Private Reese. Reese was from Manehattan, an expert in explosives. He had had a juvenile record for setting fires, but it had been expunged… Of course, when you’re son of the Imperator, somethings can still be found out.

Reese had thick black hair like Altair’s, but he was shorter. He had a bulky frame despite that, and intense blue eyes. He had his own little quirks, like humming show tunes when he was bored, something that had thoroughly gotten on Finn’s nerves. The fourth member of the squad of soldiers was Private Rook, he had shaved his head clear of any hair and walked with a bit of swagger in his step. He had tan skin, as before he had enlisted he had worked on a farm on Terra. His specialty was ranged combat, a skill that he had picked up hunting in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Altair’s mother had recommended him highly, and considering she was considered one of the greatest snipers in history, Altair was inclined to agree. 

The last member of their merry warband was a woman, Private Patterson, daughter of Doctor Patterson and an equally gifted field medic. She hadn’t originally wanted to take the assignment, but after seeing the carnage that had resulted from the Canterlot attack her mind was changed rather quickly. All of them had some training in special ops, but Finn and Altair were the only ones who were certified Fallschirmjager, jump training for one mission would’ve taken too long, so they would make a tandem jump while one of the squad members was walked through a rudimentary jump procedure. They had yet to draw straws for who would get that unenviable task.

The group was fully kitted out as they marched closer to their barracks, this would be their last training session before they shipped out with the rest of the invasion force. The sound of marching music echoed from their building, meaning someone inside was likely listening to the military radio channel. The five of them fell in step with the march music, their boots thudding imperiously against the dirt. 

Altair quietly thought to himself about the two ideologies that would be going to war, Onorussians were Utilitarian Imperialists by nature, while the enemy was like the Crystal Empire… Monarchists. It was true, the Onorussian people had elected his father to rule for the foreseeable future, but Onorus still had a congress and representation of the people… He knew from personal experience that his leader drove the same car that many other people drove, ate the same food, slept in the same kind of bed… Monarchists treated their leaders like, well… Royalty.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Altair ordered as they stopped outside the barracks. “Let’s head in and get cleaned up, I’m sure we all have places we want to go before tomorrow.” The others sighed in relief and unslung the backpacks and helmets they’d been wearing. “Hey, I know it sucks, but at least you get a shower after this. In the field we won’t have that luxury.”

“He’s right, you’ll be wishing we’d had time to do more.” Finn added with a chuckle as they walked to the doorway. Altair pushed the door in and stepped inside, not really taking notice of who else might’ve been inside the barracks. At least, not at first. Only once everyone was inside did Altair see a mountain of a man standing near the radio with his back to the door, he wore an olive drab dress uniform and had the smell of cigars around him.

“Atten-hut!” Altair suddenly ordered, everyone snapped to attention. The man chuckled faintly as he turned down the radio and turned around, Finn, Rook, Patterson, and Reese all went wide eyed when they saw his face. It was none other than the legend himself, the man that had taken on a Redwood Wolf, he who had pulled an entire nation into existence by his bootstraps, voted sexiest man of the year seven times running… Imperator Dominic Occisor.

“At ease, please.” He said, the five of them relaxed slightly. “Really, as you were. I just came to talk to my son.”

“Your son? I don’t think he’s here…” Rook said with a bit of surprise, Altair stepped forward quietly.

“Father.” He said respectfully, the Imperator walked forward and wrapped his arms around the newly minted sergeant. Then, much to the surprise of everyone on the room, he proceeded to lift the six foot five man off the ground and hug him like a bear. “D-Dad! Dad! Air! Air!”

“Hahaha! I still got it!” Dominic said with a grin, all the others had moved to their bunks and removed their heavy gear, only to go back to staring at the two of them. They couldn’t believe they hadn’t seen the resemblance before. “I just came to tell you you’ve got a pass, and I’ve got a chopper waiting. You should come home and spend some time with you mother’s before tomorrow.”

“I… I had made plans with Cassidy, I had already told Mom and Mother. They said it was fine.” Altair replied, his father put a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re less than a day away from jumping behind enemy lines, you really think they’re ‘Fine’ with not getting to see you?” His father said in a deadpanned tone, Altair paused and looked at the floor. “Look, it’ll take two hours, three tops. You’ll still have plenty of time to get ready for your date with Cassidy. Come on, do it for your old man.”


“Alright.” Altair replied, he smiled faintly and shrugged his shoulders. “To be honest, I kinda wanted to visit them too.” Patterson and the others let out a little aw… but quickly shut up when both Occisor’s turned to look at them. It was hard enough seeing that stoney glare on the Sergeant’s face, but seeing it from Dominic as well made it really quite terrifying.

“Let’s go then…” Dominic said as he started walking with Altair towards the door, he paused for a moment. “Oh, before we go, anyone here need a lift to Canterlot?” No one replied. “No? Okay then, nice meeting you all!” With that the two Occisors stepped out the doorway.

[♠]

Altair sighed quietly as he laid next to Cassidy under the blankets in their bed, his arm around her soft bare shoulders. The two of them were covered in sweat and stark naked, they had just made love for the first time. Altair pulled his girlfriend closer, allowing her to rest her head on his chest and drape her arm over him. She looked up at him and noticed his expression had shifted to one of worry.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did you not like it?”

“Huh?” Altair asked. “No! No, I loved it! Are you kidding?” He said quickly before he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just thinking about tomorrow…” Cassidy scooted up closer to him so that she could better hear what he had to say. “Cass… I’m scared…” The man looked at her with an expression of shame. “I know I’m supposed to be strong and tough, but…”

“You don’t need to ‘be’ anything.” Cassidy said firmly. “You just have to pretend to be, and hope the others believe you.” The woman sat up, making sure to keep her chest covered by the blanket. “I’d be worried about you if you said you weren’t nervous about jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft.” The woman leaned a little closer. “Your Mom told me that your dad had the same feelings, so don’t think it’s just you. Okay?”

“Okay...” Altair said with a slight nod. “Now that I’ve got that little bit of nervousness out of the way… Want to go for another round of hot chocolate?” Cassidy scoffed slightly, then began giggling.

“Hot chocolate? How long have you been working on that one?” She asked incredulously.

“‘Bout a week, week and a half.” Altair replied with his own grin, Cassidy leaned in quietly and kissed him on the cheek. The man smiled faintly as he turned his head so that his lips met hers, bringing his hand up to caress her cheek. His pale skin contrasted heavily with her milk chocolate brown, but he didn’t much care about that. They had endured a lot of static from others because of that, but it only made Altair love her more. She was the light of his life, the one he looked forward to seeing every day, and dreaming of every night… “Cassidy… I need to ask you something.”

“No no no…” Cassidy replied, as if she knew what was going through his head. “Don’t ask me a thing, not until you come back safe. Okay?” Altair stopped himself, then nodded dutifully.

“As you wish.” Altair said softly.

“Oh, now you’re pulling things out of the Princess Bride?” Cassidy asked, Altair smirked even wider, prompting Cassidy to kiss him once again before she rolled on top of him. Before things could go any further though, there was a knock on the door.

“Sergeant! You told me to tell you when it was an hour to midnight!” A voice from outside yelled, Altair and Cassidy sighed at the same time before Cassidy rolled off of Altair’s chest. The man got out of the bed and quickly pulled on his boxers, then began to put on the rest of his clothes. Cassidy watched him closely, unsure of what else there was she could say, she desperately wanted to hear what he was going to ask her, desperately wanted him to stay by her side, but she knew that wasn’t possible… Not at the moment. Altair finished putting on his clothes, then quietly walked to his desk near the window. He picked up a pen and began to write on a piece of paper.

”Revered Father and Mothers. I go now to fulfill my destiny. I hope it is a destiny that will bring honor to our family… If it requires my life, I shall sacrifice it gladly to bring glory to our proud nation.” Altair wrote, short and simple, just as it needed to be. Altair stood up straight and grabbed something from the corner of the desk before he adjusted his fatigues, he then turned to face Cassidy.

“I have to go now…” He said quietly, Cassidy nodded. “I love you. I promise, I’ll send you letters whenever I can.”

“You just come home safe to me. Don’t you worry about any damn letters, I don’t want letters, I want you.” Cassidy replied firmly, Altair nodded respectfully before he slowly walked to the door. He stopped for a couple seconds before he opened the door and stepped outside. He looked at the object he had grabbed, a picture of him and Cassidy together… He tucked it into his pocket and looked around. His father was standing across the hall with his arms folded.

“Was wondering when you’d come out.” Dominic said as he leaned against the wall, Altair walked towards him with an uncertain expression. “I know, you’re probably wondering why I’m here. Well… It’s pretty important to me, alright? I need to give you some things.”

“What? Did I forget something?” Altair asked, his father shook his head. Altair could see he was holding a bag, the man reached inside and withdrew the first item. A pair of mirrored sunglasses that looked like they’d been made twenty years ago.

“These were yours, but you lost interest in them when you were a kid… Your mom hung onto them for you though. She wanted you to have them back.” His father said as he handed them to Altair. “They’ll fit you better now that you’ve grown into them.” Altair remembered them, he had found them in the wreckage of an old B-17 with his mom while they were hunting… He’d almost forgotten completely about them. His father withdrew another item, this one Altair didn’t recognize. “This is Taffington’s top hat. Remember Taffington? Your Mother would summon him up and she would do the funny voice?”

“Yeah! I remember him!” Altair said as he took the tiny felt hat and looked it over. “How did mother get his hat though? I thought he was magic.”

“Your mother can move the fucking stars, you think a hat is gonna be a problem for her?” His father said in a deadpanned voice, Altair shrugged in understanding. He tucked the little hat into his pocket, then put the sunglasses in his breast pocket. “And lastly, something from me… Two things, actually.” His father reached into the bag and withdrew an old black revolver, it was inscribed with faded gold lettering. “My father’s revolver, my revolver… Now, your revolver.”

“Father… This is… This is your most cherished thing from Terra…”

“No, son. You. You are my most cherished thing from Earth. You’re the result of so much that I love… Don’t ever think I love something more than you.” Dominic said, his eyes getting a little misty as Altair took the handgun and reached to his holster. He removed his luger and handed that to his father, then slipped the revolver into its place. “Now… Before I bust out the water works, the last thing I wanted to give you.” Dominic reached into his bag and withdrew something old and made of leather, it was battered and had been stitched back together numerous times… Altair had seen it in tons of historical pictures, but never in person… His father’s long black jacket. “Wear it well… With this, you can carry us with you.”

“I won’t let you down, Father.” Altair said as he took his father’s jacket and slipped it on. It fit perfectly, and gave him plenty of extra pockets. With that one motion, the torch had been passed from father to son. “Promise me you’ll take care of Cassidy… If something should happen to me.”

“I promise.” Dominic said as he hugged his son. “But it doesn’t matter, because nothing’s gonna happen to you.” Altair nodded as he finished the hug. “Now… Go get those sons of bitches.”

“Don't worry, I’m going to make them wish they had never heard the name Occisor.” Altair said dutifully, his father nodded proudly and gave him a pat on the back as Altair began walking away. His fears had melted away, replaced by a drive to add his name to the history books as a great soldier like his father. He would carry out his mission, strike fear into the heart of the enemy, and when it was over he would come home to the woman he loved. In nature, the strong survived, and Altair was nothing if not strong. It was time for these Equestrians to face the wrath of the Onorussian people.
> Operation: Bear Claw
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moon was just starting to go down in the southern plains of Equestria, the fields were being sewn by their farmers while foals were boarding the busses to take them to school. One farmer, an earth pony by the name of Fresh Cut, was riding along on his tractor out in his field. He had headphones on, allowing him to listen to the radio. The news was discussing the other world and how everyone would need to do their part if they were going to win against the Imperialists. Fresh Cut was certainly doing his part, not just because he cared about his country, but also because the government had paid him quite the fortune to help supply food to the troops when they eventually invaded the other world to liberate it.

The stallion’s fingers gripped the steering wheel lazily, it wasn’t like he had to worry about hitting anything out in his field. Meanwhile the cart behind him was busy dispersing corn seeds equally among the dirt. Ever since the human had come to Equestria there had been so many technological advancements it was crazy, ideas no one had ever thought of, and he was just giving them away instead of selling them for himself. That was what had endeared King Steven in the eyes of the people under his rule. That rule was what Fresh Cut was trying to help spread, with his food and with his work, he hoped to help his fellow Equestrians show the people of the other world the good that could come from rule under a King and Queen.

He wiped his forehead and looked up towards the sky, expecting to see the mail pony flying towards him. What he saw instead was that all the clouds were starting to evaporate, orb after orb of light began to appear in the sky, like dozens of stars. Soon there became too many for Fresh Cut to even count. All at once they became brighter than the sun, forcing him to look down as a tremendous boom echoed for miles and miles. The drone of engines replaced the peaceful chirping of birds, slowly Fresh Cut looked up once again, expecting to see clear sky… But the sky was barely visible.

There were metal ships in the sky, so many that the stallion couldn’t count them all. They blotted out the sun, their engines belching black exhaust, all of them flying a fearsome blue banner from the bows and sterns. Their bottoms were dotted with dozens of turrets, some had large bomb bay doors. These weren’t Equestrian ships, they looked more like griffon vessels, but what was most troubling was the fact that they were all turning towards Canterlot. At that moment, Fresh Cut’s neighbor landed next to him. His neighbor was a pegasus by the name of Dawn Cloud, he wore overalls that were almost identical to Fresh Cut.

“W-Where do you reckon’ they’s from?” Fresh Cut asked in a shaking voice.

“I dunno… B-But I don’t plan on askin’ ‘em….” Dawn Cloud replied. “T-Think I’ll walk on home…”

“Likewise.” Fresh Cut said.

”Aufmerksamkeit alle Schiffe ... Es ist Zeit, den Luftschiff-Blitzkrieg zu beginnen!” A raspy voice echoed from above through what sounded like a PA system, it was followed by a rather heart wrenching laugh. Many of the ships began to descend to the ground, blocking any route of escape for the farmers, while the faster looking vessels began to fly off towards Canterlot.

Altair leaned in the jump door aboard the airship as they left the rest of the fleet behind, most of the ships would be there to defend the engineers as they set up the Onorussian base of operations right in the heart of Equestria. There weren’t many ways for the Equestrians to get reinforcements to this part of their country, giving the Onorussians more time to set up a foothold. Altair, meanwhile, would go with the faster ships to begin his mission into the heart of the enemy nation. At their current speed they would be at the drop zone within the hour, they would meet another fleet of airships when they arrived. The ships they’d left behind were older models from the age of the Griffon Kingdom, while the ones they would meet were the true heavy hitters of the Onorussian Airship fleet.

Altair wore his father’s jacket as he stood in his jump equipment, he was willing to stand in that doorway until it was time for the jump. He watched the ground below him, so familiar, and yet so alien… It was all so surreal, as if he was going to invade his own country, and yet he knew that that was far from the case. Truth be told, Altair couldn’t wait to get some action. He would aid in the initial assault, but after that he and his squad would be on their own, making their way to Canterlot by foot and wreaking havoc along the way. As time went by, Rook eventually made his way into the jump chamber.

“Sarge.” He said as he approached his commander, Altair turned and nodded to him. “Mind if I ask y’all a question?”

“Go ahead.” Altair replied with a shrug while adjusting the strap on his rifle.

“Well, sir, we’re all just a little surprised who you are… We’re wondering why you didn’t mention that the Imperator was your old man.” Rook said simply, Altair hummed for a moment and leaned against the doorway.

“I wanted to earn your respect myself, not have you respect me out of respect for him.” Altair replied just as simply. “That’s just how we do things in my family, I guess.” Rook nodded quitely and walked to the doorway to look down.

“Hooboy, I didn’t know better I’d say we were just shy of Ponyville.” Rook said, then paused. “Or, that is to say, Our Ponyville.” He looked over at Altair. “Say, ain’t that gonna get confusin’?”

“Oh, I have no doubt.” Altair replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, the others began to filter in as more time went by. “Hey, look, sweet apple acres is even bigger here than it is back home.” The Sergeant pointed to the apple orchard that they were approaching, then looked at his squad. “Alright, who’s jumping alone and who’s strapping in with me and Corporal Finn?”

“I’ll jump alone, sarge. Always wanted to try that anyhow!” Rook said enthusiastically as he picked up the extra parachute that was resting on a nearby wooden bench. Finn began walking him through how to use it while Private Reese waited next to them. Private Patterson walked up to Altair and adjusted her helmet.

“Finn said I should jump with you, Sergeant!” She said in an excited tone, Altair nodded and helped strap her into his harness for the tandem jump. Eventually all of them were ready, and just in time, as the red ready light blinked on.

“Alright, hook up!” Altair ordered, the three jumpers hooked up while their two passengers readied themselves for what could be the scariest part of their life. “Equipment check!”

“Three okay!” Reese shouted before patting Finn on the shoulder.

“Two okay!” Finn shouted, then patted Altair.

“One okay!” Altair shouted before he walked closer to the door with Patterson, the others followed close behind him. He leaned in the doorway and looked down at the ground, there were more buildings now than before, mostly farms. He could also see more fallschirmjager getting ready in the other ships, this was it, the counter attack would begin as soon as that light turned green. Outside he saw flashes of light as more airships jumped from Altair’s world to this one, large battleships and cruisers, including the ONV Exterminatus, the largest, most heavily armed and armored airship in the fleet. “Get ready!”

“Feet first into hell!” Finn shouted as he gripped the harness, the light flashed green and all hell broke loose. The battleships began firing at something unseen, while Altair gave the order to jump. He watched Finn jump without a problem, but Rook stopped at the door. Not one to wait, Altair gave the man a hard shove, then jumped after him. Altair’s chute opened without a hitch, and he saw clean chutes from Rook and Finn below him while the airships continued sailing overhead. More and more parachutes opened as they went along, hundreds of paratroopers were dropping behind enemy lines with the intention of holding another foothold until tanks could be brought up from the staging area to the south. There were dozens of bangs as portals opened, allowing Onorussian fighter planes to come in, which only added to the terrifying amount of vessels approaching Ponyville.

Onorus was all about quick victories, if they could take Ponyville or at least get close to taking it, it would be like severing the jugular on the entire enemy war machine. For all Altair knew, perhaps his mission would stop before it began. He could see massive shells from the guns streaking overhead as he continued floating towards the ground, they would impact the city of Ponyville in the distance. High rises were being blown apart, houses and storefronts reduced to rubble by the cruel and unfeeling might of the Onorussian war machine.

Altair grunted as he landed, quickly he undid his harness and began running towards Finn and the others with Patterson struggling to keep up behind him. There was no use hiding their chutes in broad daylight, so they were simply left out in the open. The sound of gunfire began to ring out in the distance as the first defenders met the Paratroopers that had already landed.

“Come on, let’s move. They’ll have seen us by now.” Altair ordered as the others got onto their feet, Finn readied his weapon while Patterson caught her breath. The gunshots were getting closer, which likely meant so were the enemy soldiers. The area they had landed in was an open field, good for landing in, bad for fighting in. There was little cover, no grass to hide in that was tall enough, and the only decent cover was fifty yards away at the edge of a road. The squad silently began running towards that road, and more importantly, the trees lined up next to it. Altair’s heart pounded in his chest as he got closer to the trees, he could see enemy troops moving down the road in half tracks. “Cover!” He dropped to the dirt, as did the others, and prayed they hadn’t been spotted by the enemy forces. He let out a sigh of relief as the half tracks rolled by without so much as slowing down for a look, only after they were gone did he stand up and begin moving again.

[♠]

Steven watched in horror as smoke billowed from Ponyville, shelling and bombing had commenced almost as soon as the city had come into range of the enemy ships guns. Paratroopers had landed and were fighting with local guards and even farmers, and most frightening of all were the reports of tanks and other military equipment being landed further to the south. Apparently the enemy called this type of warfare Luftschiff-Blitzkrieg. The thing that scared Steven most was that if the enemy managed to take Ponyville, or encircle it, the main trading and transportation hub in Equestria would be blocked off.

A large vessel was in the distance, larger than all the other ships and painted a heavy black, it’s guns weren’t directed at Ponyville however. This large vessel was slowly turning its broadest side towards Canterlot, the massive tree trunk like cannons were being spun around on their turrets. Steven was currently between the two cities, riding in a truck towards the impromptu command center that had been set up. When the ship was in broadside orientation the guns went loud, massive explosions echoed from high above and Steven could see massive shells streaking towards Canterlot.

The explosions from the shells were almost as loud as those that had launched them, they blew apart several buildings while one landed just short of the gate to the castle. The crater it left was massive, and the explosion blew open a water main which began to flood the surrounding streets and stores. That was only the first volley, Steven was forced to watch as the massive ship fired yet again. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw a golden shield appear over the city, but that relief turned to shock as the shells shattered the shield and struck the city once again. Now that Steven was closer, he could make out the name on the hull of the vessel… ‘Gottestöter’. Followed by the number five. To think there were four more of those monsters out there…

Celestia gritted her teeth as she saw more of the shells landing among her city, blowing Canterlot’s buildings apart and negating her shield somehow. If she couldn’t stop the ship with a shield, she would stop it with her horn. The mare’s wings snapped open on her back as she took flight, her eyes narrowed as she propelled herself along with her magic, zooming towards the enemy airship like a missile. She was so much like a missile, in fact, that the ship’s Phalanx gatling guns targeted her and began firing. 

By the skin of her teeth she managed to dodge the first volley, and the second, but the third managed to catch her in the lower leg. She gasped and looked down to see she was bleeding… She had never seen herself bleed before. The mare gritted her teeth as she got even closer, her horn glowing brightly. She was going to put all she could into her attack before whatever weapon that was could harm her further. The spell grew brighter and brighter, she poured more and more of her energy into the attack, more than she had used in the fight against her sister thousands of years ago, more than anything she had used before. It was so bright that she could see the enemy sailors covering their eyes as she got even closer.

When it began to hurt, the mare let the spell fly. She sent it hurtling towards the middle of the ship, the ball of swirling ball of energy slammed into the ship and knocked it sideways in the sky. The spell then exploded, melting through the steel of the ship’s hull. IT recieved quite a bit of resistance from the armor and special paint that were made with Terran Materials and thus helped nullify magic. Even with such heavy armor, the hull was blown inwards on one side and outwards on the outside. Anyone near that part of the ship was vaporized.

Celestia panted as she watched the smoldering vessel begin falling from the sky, she brought a hand to her mouth as she realized the ship was falling over a group of houses. Before she could do anything else, the vessel slammed down in a massive crash, crushing the houses and creating a massive crater. The ground trembled, and moments later there was an earth shattering explosion as the powder magazine of the massive warship ignited. This powder wasn’t gunpowder though, no, it was arcane in nature. In such quantities, it burned as hot as thermite and as fast as C4. Shards of metal shrapnel and burning arcane powder scattered over the surrounding area, igniting trees, grass, and other houses that had survived the initial impact.

Celestia didn’t have much time to dwell on that, however, as she saw there were dozens of other ships firing on Ponyville. Factories were being blown to pieces, schools and other public services were crumbling under the withering fire, and all the while there seemed to be nothing to be done, for if they shot down one of the enemy ships it would come crashing atop hundreds if not thousands of civilians.

“Sister!” A voice called from Celestia’s right, the mare turned to see her sister Luna approaching with a contingent of her lunar guards. “We came as soon as we heard, what may we do to help?”

“These ships, they’re resistant to magic, and they’re weapons are powerful. It will take all my strength to push them away from the populace, but you will need to be the one getting rid of them.” Celestia said urgently, Luna paused and looked uncertain.

“Thou knows we hath given up violence…” Luna said quietly, Celestia frowned and looked down.

“Yes, sister… But our subjects are in danger.” Celestia replied, Luna bit her lip and looked at her guards. With a wave of her hand they began flying away, towards the battle to help in the fight. Luna’s horn glowed softly as she was encased in blue light, seconds later the light faded and she was covered from head to hoof in armor.

“For our subjects…” She said simply before Celestia began flying towards one of the enemy airships.

Steven looked up as his wife and her sister charged towards the airships, their wings beating powerfully as their horns glowed. Celestia’s magic began pushing two of the ships away from the city, while Luna’s horn glowed brightly. She was far more adept at combat magic than Celestia, when her spell lanced forward it cut through the hulls of the two airships like a knife through butter. The ships were cleaved in twine, sending their respective pieces hurtling towards the ground. The metal that had been hit by the the spells glowed hot, while screaming airshipmen were flung from their vessels like ragdolls.

This carried on for some time, the airships began focusing more and more on defeating the two alicorns and less on destroying ground forces. Luna grunted as a shell exploded in front of her, flinging her backwards as she felt her armor be pelted by fragments of metal. She hissed in pain as some of the fragments pierced her skin, something she had never had happen to her before. She responded by firing off two spells towards the enemy vessel, a cruiser by the looks of it, they struck the bow and caused one of the turrets to explode, sending the metal hulk flying off the deck and towards the ground below. The remaining six airships began to turn south at high speed, it seemed that they were withdrawing from the air. That still left the dozen or so fighter planes that continued to buzz around overhead, but they were being engaged by the Equestrian’s own Air Force.

[♠]

Altair and the others watched from the cover of some bushes as the remaining airships fled the airspace, it had been one of the most devastating defeats that the Onorussian military had ever faced before, and all because of two alicorns. The gunshots on the ground were still loud and violent, paratroopers were still out there fighting it out, even though they had lost all hope of taking their original objectives with the destruction of the fleet. Altair quietly stood up from the bushes and removed his helmet as he watched the flames burning through a hole in the hull of one of the crashed cruisers.

“Fifteen ships…” Altair heard Finn whisper. “We lost fifteen ships…”

“Almost an entire fleet… Fifteen brave crews…” Altair said as he clenched and unclenched his fist, the man bowed his head quietly and said a prayer to himself. “By my Mother’s stars… We shall avenge them.” The man put his helmet back on and gripped his rifle tighter. “Let’s move. It won’t belong they send someone to put out the fires…” Altair and the others dropped down into the bushes and began moving along the road that they had been following for some time, the smell of burning fuel and flesh filled the air with its odor. Dead bodies were scattered about in trees and among the ground, some intact, some not so much… A fall from such heights usually didn’t end in an open casket funeral.

The sound of sirens became clear on the road, half a dozen emergency vehicles drove past without so much as a glance at the rustling bushes. They were more focussed on putting out the fire before it spread into some sort of massive inferno. They were accompanied by two trucks of soldiers, who also seemed more interested in the burning ship than the possibility of there being troops in the bushes. Altair let them pass without incident, they were accompanying civilians after all. They moved in silence for what felt like an hour before finding themselves coming up on a crossroads, Altair signaled his squad to stay low as they got closer. As he expected there were enemy soldiers guarding it, as well as a half track with a fifty cal mounted to it.

“Reese.” Altair said in a hushed voice, the private moved closer. “Got anything in your bag of tricks we can use to take out that half track?”

“I got a couple things that could turn it into a twenty ton paperweight, sir.” Reese replied, almost sounding giddy at the prospect. “You want high explosive or something simpler?” Altair paused for a moment before he looked over at his subordinate.

“I think it’s cocktail hour…” He said simply, it took Reese a second before his eyes went wide and a big grin crossed his face. Reese slipped his bag off his back and opened it, from within he pulled a large glass bottle with a rag stuffed in the top. The bottle was filled with grease, oil, ethanol, and sugar. It was well made, and had a stick taped to the side to make it easier to throw long distances. Altair took his lighter from his pocket and lit the rag, then signaled Reese to throw the bottle. With the stick, the bottle sailed through the air and landed on the front of the halftrack, it shattered and ignited the rest of the liquid inside. Fire billowed up and forced the gunner to turn away.

Altair and the others stepped out of the bushes, firing off their weapons at the other soldiers. Shell casings clattered to the ground as the Equestrians were caught mid surprise, the five enemy troops went down without much of a fight while the gunner on the fifty cal began running away. Rook raised his sniper rifle as the Equestrian sprinted along the road.

“Nein!” Altair ordered, prompting the sniper to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “We don’t shoot unarmed combatants in the back, we aren’t animals.” Rook nodded and lowered his weapon while flames continued to lick at the half track. Altair gestured for the squad to keep moving, they made their way back into the bushes, it was only the first day, they would need to set up a base of operations before too long, then they could really get to work. The stallion they had spared would later go on to speak of a scar faced soldier, who carried a sword and commanded a team that moved like ghosts… A crescent moon pinned to his helmet. With those few details, the legends of the ‘Lunar Wraiths’ were set into motion.

Meanwhile, back in Onorus, news of the attack’s failure was already starting to spread. The optimism that the war would be a quick one vanished, like the lives of so many men that had died. However, the optimism was not completely replaced by despair. Many people only became more determined to win the war, recruitment was on the rise, war bonds were selling like hot cakes. The Crystal Empire had widely backed down, now seeing just how serious the Onorussians were about protecting themselves. The Republic had never been so united, the war had cooled some of the oldest hatreds in the country. Companies that had fiercely competed before were now offering deals of collaboration to make better guns, tanks, and bombs. So, in spite of the defeat, the world was confident that Onorus would prevail. Onorussian flags still flew high, Onorussian hearts continued to beat, and Onorussian soldiers would continue to fight.
> Operation: Applewood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 29th
C-Day plus Nine
Sweet Apple Acres, Equestria
00:47:30
‘Inferno’

Altair quietly adjusted his grip on his sword as he and Finn moved through the darkened rows of trees, the sky was dark with very few stars, the moon was also dim above. There was little that could be done about the lack of visibility, as the only source of lights was the farm house in the distance. Thankfully that was the destination of the two men, their faces covered by black bandannas. Altair still wore his father’s jacket, which shielded him from the cold spring night air better than just his fatigues. He and Finn were carrying molotov cocktails in their back packs, and only had their sidearms.

The Apples were being contracted by the government to supply a majority of the food for the armed forces, that meant that they had painted a big ol’ target on themselves. Rumors of the ‘Commandos’ that operated in this area didn’t seem to phase them, they’d denied extra security other than putting Big Mac outside with a shotgun. It wouldn’t do them much good, as Altair and Finn had been placing molotovs every couple of trees or so. Even if they were caught, one toss of a match and they could send the entire orchard up in a blaze. Patterson and Rook were watching from the distant hill through binoculars and a scope, and Reese had been sent to set up incendiaries in the other parts of the orchard.

Altair placed a molotov near the base of a tree as they neared the edge of the orchard, the first thing they would do would be to set the barn afire… That would hopefully draw the entire family out into the open, so that Reese could set the house alight. Altair wasn’t about to burn a house down with the family inside, worst come to worst he would have to clear the house before hand. Altair and Finn both stopped when they heard a dog begin barking from the house ahead, a bright flashlight flicked on and began scanning over the treeline. Altair and Finn dropped to their stomachs seconds before the light passed over them, it continued on, meaning that they hadn’t been spotted.

“Whinny! Get back here!” Altair heard a deep voice yell as the dog barking got closer, Altair slipped his sword into its scabbard and drew his revolver.

“Split up, you take the barn, I’ll take care of the dog.” Altair ordered, Finn nodded and began running towards the barn while Altair stood up and waited. The dog charged at him, snarling and barking like mad. Right when it was within ten feet of him, Altair barked right back at it. He’d picked up a thing or two from the Diamond dogs, making his bark sound convincing enough. The dog stopped and continued barking, so Altair barked right back. He was louder and meaner sounding, establishing himself as the dominant presence in that orchard. He glared at the dog through the darkness, and after a couple seconds the dog turned tail and ran away.

He was glad the dog had learned to stand down, Altair hated the thought of killing an innocent dog for protecting its master. The man began moving quickly through the trees, occasionally stepping on a twig or breaking a branch, drawing Big Mac further and further away from the farm house. Until finally, Altair reached the edge of the trees and came to a stop. He hid behind the trunk of one of the trees and waited until the flashlight flicked on again, as the flash light got closer Altair stepped out into the open and leveled his revolver at the source.

“Drop your weapon.” He ordered, his voice heavily accented to the stallion. Big Mac stared at him, the masked figure, cloaked in a black jacket. Altair drew the hammer back on his revolver and narrowed his eyes.

“You ain’t got the nerve, boy.” Big Mac replied, to which Altair responded by lowering his aim and shooting Big Mac in the kneecap. The stallion groaned in pain, dropping both his shot gun and his flashlight to the ground. Altair kicked the shotgun away and drew the hammer back on his revolver, then leveled the barrel at Big Mac’s head.

“Stay down, or the next one will kill you.” Altair said coldly before he began walking towards the farmhouse. He was stopped when Big Mac grabbed his leg and moved to bite him.

“Stay away… From my family!” The stallion grunted as he pulled himself closer, Altair leveled the revolver at his head. There was something noble about his wanting to protect his kin, but Altair didn’t have time to dwell on nobility. The man pulled the trigger, splattering the stallion’s brains against the grass. His hand went limp and let go of Altair’s leg, allowing him to turn and begin making his way back to the farm house. By now Finn had lit the barn on fire, the pigs and chickens next to it were making an awful racket, and one by one each light in the farm house flicked on. Altair watched as Applejack, Applebloom, and both their boyfriends rushed out to see what was going on. Applebloom looked around, and for whatever reason, she spotted the dark silhouette of a figure approaching.

“Big Mac?! What’s going on?” She shouted, the figure didn’t answer as it kept walking towards them, until the light of the fire revealed the shadowed figure of a human. He wore a long black coat and a black bandanna, and there was a cold hatred in his eyes. He leveled a black revolver at them as he approached.

“We are going to burn your house down. Is anyone else inside!?” He demanded, Appleblooms boyfriend, an earth pony like her, started to move towards him. The human fired a shot into the stallion’s chest, dropping him to the ground. Applebloom screamed and fell to her knees, trying to stop the bleeding. “I will ask again! Is anyone else inside!”

“No, you monster!” Applejack screamed back at him.

“Reese, the house is clear.” Altair said into his radio, not two seconds later there was a bang in the house. The windows blew out as a wave of natural gas ignited, the old house that had stood for nearly two hundred years began to burn like kindling while the barn burned right along with it. Moments later, the molotovs that Reese had set were set off. They started a chain reaction, lighting up the others spread through. Applejack and the rest of her family began sobbing at the sight of their trees going up in flames. Altair used that time to slip away into the shadows, he made his way to a hill overlooking the carnage where he would wait for the rest of his team.

As he stood there waiting, he watched the flames growing higher and higher into the sky, and for some reason he began to chuckle. The chuckle turned into a full on laugh, and just like that, the laughter ended. He didn’t feel much of anything, he had just killed two stallions and helped set fire to a family’s livelihood, and yet… All he felt was… Hungry. He had a hankering for some barbecue, and that was it. No remorse, no anger at himself… Nothing that his father had ever described to him. If anything… Altair wanted to do more…

Finn and the others filtered up to the hill as the fire spread to more and more of the massive orchard. It was even starting to spread to the surrounding farms, the mission had been a tremendous success. It was nowhere near enough to avenge the lives lost on C-Day, but it was a good start.

[♠]

Steven stood in the war room with his hand against his forehead, the fires at Sweet Apple Acres had wiped out nearly a quarter of the Equestrian food manufacturing ability. That’s what he deserved for putting so much of his agriculture in one place, and there was no undoing what had been done. What he was more concerned about was the presence of ‘The Lunar Wraiths’, an Onorussian Commando unit that had been wreaking havoc on the citizens of Ponyville since C-Day. Patrols were being slaughtered, their corpses hung out on trees along roads, and now they were wiping out war important materials.

That was just a drop in the bucket though, compared to what had been happening in the south. The Onorussians had gained a foothold in the southern plains, and were using old Changeling tunnels to move troops and supplies. Two Onorussian divisions were bearing down on Appleoosa and Dodge Junction, bombing raids carried on every night, and the enemy had even started employing cruise missiles fitted with jericho trumpets. Put simply, Steven was facing an enemy that knew how to do something very well… He was facing an enemy that knew War very well, a society that had perfected war to a science, to the point that they could simply order someone on their planet to surrender and they would do so without a fight.

“I know that look.” A mare’s voice called out from the shadows, Steven looked up to see Princess Luna step out into the light with her arms crossed. “You’re trying to find out what to focus on first, the invading army or the psychological weapon that are ‘The Lunar Wraiths’.”

“Any suggestions?” Steven asked, Luna shook her head. “Is that because you don’t have any, or because you sympathize with the Wraiths?”

“I decline to answer.” Luna said in a harsh tone as she approached the table that displayed all the forces at play. “My sources tell me that these Wraiths are lead by the son of the Onorussian Imperator, is that true?” Steven nodded. “And he was raised by a human, as well as their version of myself?” There was another nod. “It is likely that he is a member of the Lunar Order then, an ancient group of soldiers devoted to me. If that is the case, he should be your biggest concern.”

“Why?” Steven asked as he looked at the pieces on the board.

“Because, General… The Lunar Order were fanatics, if I had tasked them with destroying the sun they would have found a way to do so or died trying.” Luna said in a serious tone, her wings twitching slightly. “While I find it interesting that this order survives in the other world, I must honor my duty to this one… And help you destroy the man they call Altair.”

“Altair… So that is his name.” Steven said as he rubbed his chin.

“Yes… Named after the brightest star in the Earth constellation Aquila, if I’m not mistaken about what you’ve told me.” Luna replied, she hummed softly. The name was truly a nice one, she would’ve chosen it for her son, if she had ever taken a permanent mate. “My sources have also told me that he has a family history of depression, and he himself is very agressive, leading me to believe he has anger issues…”

“What are you saying? I should handle this maniac with kid gloves?” Steven asked incredulously.

“He is by no means a maniac.” Luna said firmly as she used her horn to set up a glow around sweet apple acres on the map. “There are twenty farms and orchards closer to where you believe he is that could’ve done just as damage to the orchard and surrounding farms, yet he went out of his way to strike here. Why?” Steven shrugged. “Because the Apples are a symbol of hard work and perseverance, their farm was one of the most talked about in the country, and Applejack is an element bearer.”

“He wasn’t just striking at our food… He was striking at us…” Steven said with a bit of realization, Luna nodded.

“I know this because… Because it is what I would have done.” Luna admitted as she looked over the map. “Which leads me to believe that the other version of myself is responsible for unleashing him on us… And if that is the case… He is more dangerous than the army to the south.” Luna looked at Steven intently. “They’re far away, but Altair… He can get into the minds of every Equestrian, the slightest noise at night could spark panic, a simple automobile accident could be perceived as an assassination attempt. Altair is a weapon far more powerful than a bomb or a gun… If my other self trained him, he will become the sum of all our fears.”

“Sir! They’ve sighted the wraiths in Manehattan, near an oil refinary fire!” An aid shouted as he ran in with papers.

“Sir! The wraiths just hit a highway, caused a three car pile up in applewood!” Said another aid almost immediately afterwards. Luna folded her arms under her breasts and looked at Steven with a knowing expression, the man rubbed his temples and looked at the dossier he had been given about Altair Occisor. The picture of him made him look like a mean son of a bitch, especially with the scar running down his cheek. He was a boxer, a Fallschirmjager, a Lunar Trooper, and now the boogey man of Equestria’s Nightmares. Steven clenched his fist quietly and pounded it down on the table.

“Alert all commands. Altair Occisor is now public enemy number one!” He ordered in a bitter voice. “Make killing or capturing him a top priority.” Both aids left their reports and nodded before rushing out the door, Steven looked over at Luna and saw that she had a bit of a frown on her face. “What? I thought you wanted this.”

“Just because I have to help you doesn’t mean I have to like it.” The mare replied bitterly. “I know that if I were my other self, hearing what you just said would make me very upset. You would’ve just threatened my son.” The mare glared at him. “Despite what my sister may tell you, my heart is not made of stone.” Before Steven could reply the mare had walked away and out into the hallway, Steven looked at the map for a moment before he reached under the table and turned the knob on a radio.

“...-nd so we must not let the setbacks of the past make us fear the future!” The shouting baritone voice of Imperator Dominic Occisor echoed through the radio, Steven paused to listen to what his opponent had to say. ”Onorus will prevail, as it always has and always will! The enemy is weak, their soldiers and equipment inferior! They do not stand a chance against the might of the Onorussian people! Gott mit uns!”

”Gott mit uns! Gott mit uns!” The crowd chanted in the background, Steven rubbed his temples again. He wouldn’t have been so damned upset if the speech wasn’t completely true, Onorussians were bred from birth to treat the military as the ideal career, they outnumbered Equestrians eight to one on the battlefield. Equestrian tanks and vehicles ran on gasoline, the Onorussians ran on renewable ethanol, and even a few had arcane reactors. The most advanced armor the Equestrians had couldn’t compare to Onorussian power armor, what Steven needed was an ally with a close approximation to what the Onorussians had. Someone that the Onorussians considered an actual threat, someone that could take the fight to them on their world… Someone like Emperor Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, the only other nation that had stood a chance against the Onorussians. Yes… Steven needed to get in contact with that stallion, together they could do great things…

[♠]

March 29th
C-Day plus Nine
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, Equestria
02:59:09
‘For a Just Cause’

Altair lay beneath the branches and leaves that made up his lean to shelter, his sleeping bag was as comfortable as he could make it, and his jacket hung in the doorway as a makeshift barrier between him and the outside world. The forest was silent, all the creatures there could sense a pack of five predators among them. For Altair, the mission hours ago was still running through his head. Two dead, and so much war material destroyed, it would’ve taken a bomber wing and who knew how many crews to wipe out that same amount… Two lives, versus hundreds… His mother had taught him to be cold, but his mom had taught him that war was at its core, a very bloody math equation. So far, the math seemed to add up.

He would kill those two men again if he had to, even to save just one Onorussian life, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Sure, there were likely people out there that would disagree, but they had never been in the field like he had. With that in mind, he justified the deaths to himself, and his conscience became quiet once more. The man reached into his jacket and withdrew his picture of himself and Cassidy, her smiling face was all it took to remind him what he was fighting for, what he was willing to do anything to protect. The man tucked the picture back into his jacket and rolled onto his side, Altair’s eyelids grew heavy and he didn’t resist as they closed on their own. Within a couple moments he had slipped into a calm sleep.
> Operation: Lion Heart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 19th

C-Day plus Thirty

Outskirts of Ponyville, Equestria

23:39:02
‘The only easy day...’

Altair quietly looked to the night sky as the distant sound of artillery and gunfire echoed over the landscape, the rumble of distant tanks and machine gun fire paired well with the cacophony of war. His jacket blew quietly in the wind while he rested his hand on his revolver, the distant lights of Ponyville were completely blacked out save for search lights that cut through the dark night sky in search of Onorussian bombers or paratroopers. This was usually the time that Altair and his squad would go out and cause mischief, but they had been signalled to stand down, much to their surprise.

He had a radio in his pocket, picking up the signal being broadcast by the Onorussian’s. They played music and spoke to the Equestrians about surrendering, but it also made a good way of signalling the Lunar Wraiths to stand down, or to give them a specific order or target. At the moment it was playing a slow dancing song called ‘The Road to Berlin’, which did little to calm Altair’s nervous squad. For all they knew, their base of operations had been discovered and an enemy battalion was on its way. They’d had to move four times since they had struck the Apple Orchard, but they would hold their position as long as it took. Eventually the song came to an end, and that was when the announcer began to speak.

”What lovely tones.” He said, Altair raised an eyebrow, that was the code word that a message was about to be broadcast. ”This next song goes out to all the boys fighting in Ponyville Center, we all wish we could visit to help.” That was all Altair was going to get, and that was enough for him.

“Alright, we got new orders!” Altair shouted as he turned off the radio, he ran a hand along his chin. A beard had been growing in, as they had used their last razor blade a week ago. Finn and the others stepped out of the trees and looked at Altair, all of them had a mash up of Onorussian uniforms and clothes that they had borrowed from the populace over the past month. “Our boys are pinned down at Ponyville Center, command wants us to move in and kick ass.”

“Ponyville Center… That’s the sport center, right?” Finn asked, Altair nodded. “Alright, I’m game! I been meaning to pick up a baseball bat anyhow!” The others chuckled slighlty, save for Altair who was looking a bit off. “What’s wrong, Sarge?”

“It seems to me they were urgent, so taking the stealth approach isn’t an option here.” Altair said as he looked at the four others. “This could get messy, very messy. Anyone wants to back out here, I’d understand.” None of the others spoke up. “Alright then… Finn, remember that farmer we ripped off a couple days ago?”

“Yeah, why?” Finn asked.

“Didn’t he have a nice new truck in his barn?” Altair asked, Finn nodded, then paused and looked at the Sergeant with a rather uncertain expression.

“Oh, Sarge… You can’t seriously be saying…” Altair only nodded. “Man, sometimes I wonder if maybe we’re the baddies.”

“Well wonder on your own time, we’ve got a truck to steal. Move out.”

[♠]

Hard Harvest quietly sighed as he sat at his dinner table, listening to the distant sound of gunfire and air raid sirens. At least the fighting seemed to be staying far away from his farm and his new truck, that truck meant the world to him, he’d saved and saved to get that truck. It had custom tires that would run even if he accidentally ran over a nail, an armored body to protect him if the Onorussians decided to strafe him, and to top it all off a kick ass sound system. All of it was wrapped up in a beautiful matte black paint job. And the engine, oh the engine, it purred so beautifully… Come to think of it, he could hear it purring at that very moment.

“Son of a bitch!” He shouted before rushing to his front door and throwing it open, the five humans that had stolen his food days before were piled in the truck and peeling out, kicking up dirt and gravel as they tore down the road. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” The stallion was hit in the face by a sheet of paper, which he pulled off and looked at with annoyance. It was some sort of paperwork in Onorussian, as well as a note in Equestrian instructing him to take the paper to an Onorussian outpost to pick out a truck of his choosing. It was signed, of course, the Lunar Wraiths.

“Think he’ll take us up on our IOU?” Finn asked from the passenger seat as Altair floored the gas, Altair shrugged before he pushed the power button on the radio. The speakers began blaring the Onorussian channel again, this time they were playing some Black Sabbath, Iron Man to be exact. “Oh, fuck! I love this song!”

“Me too.” Altair replied, turning up the song even more. The others were riding in the back of the truck, and they could still hear the music blasting as their commanding officers nodded their heads along. The rural farms began to be replaced by suburban homes and cul de sacs, the cars were more upscale, and Altair even saw a couple beige mini vans and picket fences. “God damn, I hate the suburbs!” Finn pointed ahead of them to a road block of red and blue flashing lights.

“Check point!” He announced.

“I see it. Let’s see what this baby can do…” Altair said with a grin spreading across his face. “Hang on back there.” He slammed his foot down on the gas as the music began to pick up, flicking on the spotlights mounted to the top of the truck to blind the cops ahead. He aimed the truck for the space between the two police cars. The police officers soon noticed that the truck was not slowing down and got out of their vehicles with their handguns drawn. Bullets pinged off the armored body of the truck as the cops tried to stop the vehicle, it careened past them and smashed through their two cars. It shoved both of them aside and continued roaring down the road.

“Holy fuck! I want one of these!” Finn shouted.

“Me too! This thing kicks fucking ass!” Altair said in an excited voice as they roared down the road, blasting metal from the speakers and psyching themselves up for the biggest fight of their lives. They were soon out of the suburbs and had gotten on the highway, the road was empty save for a couple more police cars with their lights on. An Iron Maiden song came on the radio as the two cars began chasing the truck, it sounded like ‘Run to the Hills’ by the sound of the intro. “You guys okay back there?”

“We’re fine, but there’s two cops that want a word with you, sarge!” Rook shouted back.

“Send them my regards!” Altair shouted as he swerved to avoid yet another police car. “Can’t believe the cops are worried about a stolen car while their city is under siege! Talk about dedication!” Rook, Reese, and Patterson turned back towards the three cars that were now chasing the truck.

“Aim for the ground just ahead of them! The bullets will ricochet up into the floor, it won’t kill them but it’ll give ‘em one hell of a scare!” Reese shouted before he began firing, his bullets sparked against the asphalt before they ricocheted up and punched through the floor. As predicted, the police car began to swerve in a panic before it turned and began flipping through the air like something out of an old movie.

“Where’s our exit?!” Altair shouted over the gunshots and music, Finn reached into the glove box and pulled out a map. “Fuck, you think that farmer would’ve sprung for a god damn GPS!” A bullet struck the side mirror, shattering it. Rook held his sniper rifle as steady as he could, firing off occasional rounds to try and disable the enemy’s engines. Reese meanwhile had pulled a molotov cocktail from his backpack, with a grin he lit the rag and chucked it back at one of the cars that was moving in to perform a PIT maneuver. Of course, the cop aborted this attempt as his vehicle was suddenly set on fire.

By now Slayer’s ‘Angel of Death’ had come over the air, and there was only one cop car left in the chase. The highway was leading them closer and closer to the fighting, bullets kept flying in both directions.

“I don’t know! I can’t read fucking Equestrian! It’s hard enough reading a map when you’re NOT getting shot at!” Finn shouted at Altair. “You think you can do better, you do it!”

“I’m fucking driving!” Altair shouted back as the cop car pulled up alongside the truck, it seemed they were going to try and shoot the drivers to stop the chase. Altair rolled down the window and pulled his revolver, holding the truck steady with one hand as he leveled the weapon at the enemy police car. “Sorry about this, buddy! Sure you’re just doing your job! Nothing personal!” With that Altair pulled the trigger two times, the car went spinning out of control and careened into a concrete freeway divider. “Now, where’s the exit?!”

“We should have two miles, wait! There!” Finn pointed to the exit they were just about to miss, so Altair turned the wheel hard. The tires screeched and smoked as the truck drifted, they went down the ramp at blistering speed, but thankfully the bombing had put traffic at an all time low so they didn’t hit anyone. The radio changed songs again, this time playing a japanese song called PONPONPON, much to the surprise of Everyone in the truck… Except Altair. He actually kinda liked it… Not that he would ever admit it. Finn reached towards the radio, but Altair slapped his hand away.

“What if we get new orders?” Altair said, perfectly covering the fact that this was one of his favorite songs. Finn scowled and crossed his arms as they continued driving along through the empty streets, eventually they saw signs of combat. Burning cars in the distance, ruined buildings, and a pair of burning out power armor suits that seemed to be locked in a fist fight… That was rare, very rare… Altair turned down a street that had a sign for Ponyville Center, ahead of him he saw a platoon of Onorussians with Power Armor support fighting a platoon of Equestrians… With Power Armor support…

“What the fuck?” Finn and Altair said in unison as they pulled up behind the platoon, Altair killed the engine and hopped out. He grabbed his rifle from the seat beside him and adjusted the sword strapped across his back, with that ready he and the others moved forward to what appeared to be the unit commander, who was crouched behind a burnt out sedan. He was an older man, Altair had seen him at dozens of government parties and events.

“General Hinkman!?” Altair asked as he approached with his rifle ready, the older man looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Sergeant Altair Occisor! We’re here to help!” Hinkman smiled as he saw the team of famed ‘Lunar Wraiths’.

“You hear that you Queasy bastards! The Lunar Wraiths are here!” The General shouted over the sedan, for a couple seconds the gunfire seemed to taper off before it went back to its full speed. “Damn fine to see you, Sergeant! We need your brand of chaos here!”

“Did they capture power armor, Sir?” Altair asked, the general shook his head.

“The damn Crystal Empire gave them the specs!” Hinkman replied with a grunt as a bullet pinged off the body of the car. “We were supposed to move in to the center and make it a forward observation post, it was supposed to be undefended, but that tin can out there is making that a little difficult.”

“Don’t worry, General. I’ve got a can opener.” Altair said as he slipped his rifle off and set it on the ground, then reached up behind his back and grabbed his sword. “Unless that thing is made of Lunar Steel, this shouldn’t take too long.” The General appeared skeptical, but the crescent moon that was pinned to Altair’s jacket told him to trust the young man. “Give me covering fire and I can deal with the power armored fellow.”

“Alright boys! On my mark provide covering fire!” Hinkman ordered his men, the soldiers all slipped fresh magazines into their weapons as the enemy continued to fire away. The enemy trooper in the Power Armor began stomping towards the line of men. “You sure you’re up for this, Sergeant?”

“I was born for this, sir.” Altair replied as he drew his blade from its sheath, the Lunar Steel ringing out how eager it was to taste blood. HInkman nodded quietly before he popped up with his side arm and began firing, this was the signal for the others to start firing at the enemy. Altair ran out from behind cover, straight at the power armored soldier. He bobbed and weaved between wrecked cards, using them as cover to protect against the fire from the power armored stallion’s machine gun. Altair ran out and up onto the hood of a car, then to the roof, before he leapt off. The Power Armor was in capable of tracking him from above so close and so fast, the man angled his blade downwards and put all his weight into the hilt.

Power Armor was very much like a tank, there were some parts that were weaker than others. Among them were the joints, the back, and in the case of Crystal Empire models, the top of the head. They had put the main cooling vents there, to make it easier to spot their troops using thermal imaging… Of course, since this suit was based off of Crystal Empire designs, Altair’s sword punched through the weaker steel and plunged down through the skull of the armor’s operator.

The suit let out a groan and slumped forwards, Altair was standing on its shoulders. The man pulled the blade from the helmet and jumped backwards, landing on his feet with a slight grunt. Altair noticed that the gunfire from both sides had stopped, he turned and looked around to see the Equestrian stallions staring at him with shock and horror. The man leveled his blade at the closest one, who promptly tossed his weapon to the ground and put his hands in the air. To the Equestrians and Onorussians alike, it looked like Altair had just slain the second strongest man on the field with a single blow, but in actuality intelligence and planning had played just as big a part in the victory as strength and agility.

“Kneel…” Altair ordered the stallion that had put his hands up. The entire field remained silent as Altair glared. He felt every instinct in his body telling him to do this, every ancestor bearing down on him to assert his dominance once and for all. The stallion looked a little surprised. “Kneel!” The stallion quickly got down on his knees, mumbling and begging. Altair walked towards him and stood over him. “Your comrade has given you two choices!” He pointed to the surrendered soldier, then to the sagging metal hulk of the power armored stallion. “Join or die!” Gradually the Equestrians tossed their weapons down and knelt on the ground, allowing Hinkman and his soldiers to walk forwards. Hinkman stopped next to Altair while his soldiers secure the twenty prisoners.

“You are certainly your father’s son.” Hinkman said in a respectful tone. “We’ll take it from here, Sergeant. I was told to give you your new orders. Report to the Staging Area to the south for debriefing, from what I hear, the brass are going to give you a medal.”

“Sir, I have operations in the works, I can’t just-” Altair began.

“I’m not the one giving the orders, I’m the one relaying them. General Barker is the one you should be getting upset at, and the only way you can do that is to head south.” Hinkman said as he took a cigar from his pocket. “Look, kid. Take some time off once in awhile or you’ll end up like an Elmo from back during the Plague.”

“Yes, sir…” Altair said reluctantly, he gave the man a salute. “Just wish I could watch when they finally raise an Onorussian flag over this city.”

“Oh, you just might be able to, they’re putting up one hell of a fight.” Hinkman said with a nod. “You’re dismissed, Sergeant.” Hinkman returned the salute before he started moving forward with the rest of his men, Altair sighed and looked at his four squad mates.

“Back to the truck, we’re going on a road trip!” Altair ordered as he began walking towards the truck, his soldiers all stared at him as he walked past, surprised at just how intimidating the man could be when he wanted to be. Compared to what they had seen used on the Equestrians, he was downright cuddly the rest of the time. The four eventually followed along, but each seemed to be having their own thoughts about what they would’ve done if they had been on the receiving end of Altair’s glare. The piled into the truck once again and started driving south, this time the radio was turned off.

[♠]

April 20th

C-Day plus Thirty One

Somewhere North of Appleloosa, Equestria

02:37:11

‘...Was Yesterday.’

Altair quietly looked out over the road ahead of them, it was devoid of any real life save for the occasional military checkpoint that they would pass through. Farms and houses were dark, some on purpose and some because power lines had been cut. That left the five members of the squad in a state of cautious relaxation, the occasional flash of artillery shells behind them was still something that kept them on edge. Altair thought back to what he had done over the last month, he had killed no less than twenty enemy combatants, but only two civilians that had been classified as enemy combatants. He was proud of that figure.

The man had picked up a pair of Night Vision Goggles off of a dead Equestrian soldier at a checkpoint a few miles back, which Altair was now using to see the road without his headlights on. The last thing he needed was for someone to take him out because he was driving with his headlights on in the middle of nowhere. Finn meanwhile had his head leaned against the window with his eyes closed The three in the back were all huddled together but otherwise fine, they enjoyed getting a look at the night sky. The stars in this world were so dim, as if its Princess Luna didn’t have the same passion that the Onorussian version had. Patterson could’ve sworn she’d seen something fly past when the stars seemed to flicker, but it didn’t happen again, so she thought it was just her tired eyes playing tricks on her.

That was until the truck suddenly lurched to a stop, the tires screeching loudly and leaving black skid marks on the pavement. All three members of the squad in the back of the truck stood up and took aim over the cab of the truck, though at what they had no idea. A soft blue glow had appeared down the road, a cloud of energy. Altair removed his NVGs and rubbed his eyes until they had adjusted to the darkness, when they had adjusted he too saw the glow much clearer…

“Finn… Take the wheel, no matter what happens… Get back to the FOB.” Altair ordered in a quiet voice, Finn looked at him with a raised eyebrow as the Sergeant opened the door and slid out of the cab. “That’s a direct order, Corporal.” Finn nodded quickly and slid into the driver’s seat, watching as Altair walked down the road towards the glowing cloud. His boots echoed down the road, his breath hitched in his throat. He had left his rifle in the truck, prompting him to reach over his shoulder and draw his sword.

Altair stopped ten feet in front of the glowing cloud, something he knew very well. A soft glow enveloped a horn and soon an orb of light was glowing, floating between Altair and a hooded figure. Taller than him by a head, the cloud seemed to be the figure’s mane. The figure’s hands were navy blue, three fingers like all the other ponies, and clutching a large sword in her right hand.

“You... ” Altair said quietly, his grip tightening on his own sword. “I had a feeling we would eventually meet…” The figure quietly reached up and pushed her hood back, revealing his Mother’s face. Altair knew it wasn’t really her, but seeing such an angry look on that mare’s face still reminded him of the times he had made his parents cross with him.

“My sister wants you dead… I don’t.” Luna said as she walked a couple feet closer to Altair. “She doesn’t wonder what her other self is like… But I do.” Altair adjusted his grip on his sword. “Come with me, and I promise no harm will come to your friends.”

“I know how powerful you are, so… Your threat is valid… But if you are anything like my mother, you know I cannot simply give you my sword.” Altair replied, Luna seemed stunned by that statement, but she nodded quietly. “I’ve ordered my troops to continue on without me.” Altair signalled Finn to go, and like a good soldier Finn drove down the road, leaving his sergeant behind. Only once the truck was out of sight did Altair say something else… “Now… Shall we begin?”

Luna squared up her stance as she raised her sword, a move that Altair copied almost exactly. Each narrowed their eyes at one another, then in one instant they charged at each other. Altair and Luna’s swords clashed with a shower of sparks, the man grunted as the larger mare was much stronger than his usual opponents, but he knew had to handle stronger opponents. He would use her strength to his advantage, make her tire herself out by exerting so much force. Altair blocked or parried each blow that Luna sent his way, the sparks would light the area for a brief second before vanishing into the darkness. It was like an unstoppable force had met an immovable object. Each of them was fighting at their limits, and perhaps even a little beyond. Altair saw Luna’s horn begin to glow, he had only a second to deflect a blast of magic. While magic wouldn’t do any real harm to him, it would still hurt like a bitch.

The bolt of energy flashed off the blade of the sword and back at Luna, she grunted as it hit her gut, searing her robe slightly. That was the first real grimace of pain he had seen on her face, on his mother’s face… And he had been the reason for it. It shook him to his core, that he was fighting the mare that could’ve just as easily been his mother. Luna picked up that something was different about her opponent, his attacks were less aggressive, his blocks less effective, it was like he was just going through the motions.

“What is wrong with you?! What happened to your fighting spirit!?” Luna shouted at him as she delivered another hard blow, Altair barely managed to block it this time. “Tell me, damn it! Did my other self really raise someone who gives up!? Your Mother must be a cheap knock off of me!”

“Don’t you dare!” Altair roared, and suddenly Luna wished she hadn’t kicked the hornets nest. He was enraged, and what was more, he was fast. His eyes followed every move Luna made before she could even make it, her arms began to feel drained. “My Mother taught me never to turn against the night, but you have forced me to fight the very thing I swore to protect!”

“Oh? What? Your country!?” Luna asked as she parried one of his blows.

“You!” Altair shouted, he grunted and brought his sword around. Luna felt the wind against her neck, the feeling of cold steel just barely stopped from cutting her throat. Her sword was held away from her, but Altair’s was right near her jugular. He was panting, his eyes bloodshot and watering. “She made me swear to protect the night! You ARE the night! Even if you aren’t my Mother…” The man glared at her. “Don’t make me destroy you. Don’t make me deprive your people of your beautiful stars… I could not live with that on my soul.” Altair quietly lowered his sword from her neck and slipped it over his back into its scabbard, Luna stared at him in astonishment.

“I was wrong…” Luna said quietly as she slipped her own sword into its sheath. “Your mother raised a wonderful son…” The mare looked at the ground, the only light coming from the orb she had created at the start. Altair felt the overwhelming urge to step forward and comfort this mare, she could’ve just as easily been his mother. He took a step forward and put a tentative hand on her shoulder. “I wish I could tell her I’m sorry…”

“Tell her? Why?” Altair asked.

“For what I’m about to do to her son…” Luna said quietly, before Altair could react her horn glowed brightly. Pure energy shot into his chest, the pain was incredible, Luna clenched her eyes shut as she heard the man start screaming in pain, she felt his hand tighten on her shoulder. She kept shooting him full of energy until she felt his hand let go, when she opened her eyes she was shocked to see him on the ground. He ripped open his jacket as he gasped for breath, Luna could see glowing beneath his fatigue shirt… When he ripped that open she saw why he was having such a hard time breathing. Arcane Cysts were uncommon in Equestria, but Luna knew they were more prevelant in humans from Onorus… Especially those that had had one before. Altair’s chest was covered with them, and judging by his ragged breathing, they were inside his body as well.

“I-I… I feel… Cold…” Altair said weakly before he closed his eyes, Luna snapped out of her shock as she scooped him up in her arms and began flying back towards Canterlot as fast as she could.

“Oh… Mother, Father, wherever you are… Forgive me!” Luna said as her eyes started to water. She had only meant to knock the man out, not disfigure him with scars and cysts. She was sure Celestia and Steven would tell her she wasn’t at fault, but she could’ve just walked away, she could’ve done something differently… She hated killing, she’d made a vow never to take another life after the first Onorussian attack, she wasn’t about to break it now. She had to get the man to Canterlot, even if he was the enemy she couldn’t let him die.
> Operation: Stone Heart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date Unknown
C-Day plus ?
ΣΠΙΤΙ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΝΟΥ Detention Center, Equestria
??:??:??
‘The Beast In Me’

Altair quietly sat in the dark confines of his cell, he wore only his fatigue pants and boots, the rest of his clothes having been confiscated when the shadowy ‘Solare Bureau’ had abducted him from his hospital room in the POW camp, at least that’s what he’d been told… He had been unconscious the entire time. He was wanted for special ‘interrogation’, that meant torture. His chest ached with every breath, the surgery to remove the arcane cysts had been a painful one, done with barely enough anesthesia, and no painkillers afterwards. Now he sat in a small cell with only some straw to sleep on, his entire body ached. His hair and beard had grown long and full, covering a good portion of his face, the parts that weren’t already covered in scars and healing cuts. His eyes were sunken and bloodshot from sleep deprivation, his chest and back scarred from the surgery that had removed the cysts.

The hardest thing about being imprisoned here wasn’t the torture, no, that title went to the soul crushing loneliness. There was no one else in the cell, not that there was room, Altair hadn’t spoken to anyone other than interrogators in so long he was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to talk without feeling the compulsion to hide bits of himself away. Even Cassidy’s voice was a distant echo in his mind, he could hardly remember her face or how her skin felt against his. All he could think of was the pain and the constant questioning, and the monsters that lived inside his own mind. Each day it grew harder not to bash his head against the wall, each second felt like an eternity...

The man looked up as the door to his cell was pushed open, the bright light from the outside flooding the concrete room. The familiar figure of a mare appeared in the doorway, Major Sunset Shimmer of the Solare Bureau, or ‘Ol’ Bacon Head’ as Altair liked to call her.

“Major, so nice of you to stop by… I would’ve cleaned up, but I didn’t know you were coming.” Altair said as he sat on the floor, the mare strode into his cell and chuckled as if she found his joke funny.

“You Onorussians are so funny, you know?” She said as she stopped in front of him. “Stubborn too, I wish our soldiers could be half as stubborn as yours, but that’s what you get when you have someone like King Steven in charge of the military.”

“Trying to appeal to my hatred of your King? New strategy, or are you just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks?” Altair replied, the mare adjusted her well pressed uniform before she scowled and stepped out of the room. Altair stood up, knowing fully well what was coming next, a burly looking soldier stepped in with a stun baton. “Hey there, Bruiser. How’s the wife?” ‘Bruiser’ responded by jamming the stun baton into Altair’s side for several seconds, the man let out a cry of pain as he doubled over and gritted his teeth. “O-Oh, really? T-That’s too bad…”

“Take him.” The Major ordered, the stallion nodded and grabbed Altair by the shoulder, then he dragged him out of the cell and out into the corridor that was lined with other cells. The other inmates moved towards their doors and peeked out, there were diamond dogs, minotaurs, even several dragons, but Altair was the only human. The only one deemed ‘Dangerous’ enough to be locked in such a secure facility. They marched him down the corridor until he had reached the familiar interrogation room, the stallion shoved him through the door. As usual the chair was all set up, the tools were all shiny, it was all very impressive… At least, it had been the first time.

“Love what you’ve done with the place.” Altair grunted out as the stallion shoved him down into the seat and strapped his arms in place, Major Shimmer stood by the door as the stallion left and closed it behind him. Once he was gone, Shimmer walked towards Altair and gestured to a mirror near by.

“We have special guests today, they’re annoyed that you haven’t talked yet… They wanted to be sure my methods were thorough.” Shimmer said in a sinister tone, Altair turned and grinned at the mirror as he felt the familiar surge of adrenaline.

“Let’s do it! Come on!” He shouted, before turning back to Shimmer. “Come on, Bacon Head! Grab the knife! Cut me! Come on! Do it!” Sunset Shimmer paused, surprised by this new turn of behavior. “What? Does it take the enjoyment out of it for you if I want you to do it? Huh? Oh, sorry, should I be more scared?” The mare responded by walking over to a light switch and flicking it on, Altair screamed in pain as electricity from the seat jolted through his body. It was lower amperage, but higher voltage. “You fucking bitch! Come on! Is that all you’ve got! Come on! Lemme ride the lightning!” Shimmer flicked the switch, and again Altair began screaming as his body convulsed.

Shimmer stopped when she saw a light on the wall flash on, she turned off the switch and walked to the intercom next to the light. Altair panted and groaned as he heard someone speaking to her, afterwards she huffed and left the room, leaving Altair by himself. Minutes passed, at the eight minute mark the door opened again, only this time someone else entered the room. Altair recognized him vaguely, he’d seen him as an arcane puppet during the first attack… King Steven, in the flesh this time.

“So… You’re the infamous Altair Occisor…” He said as he closed the door. “Not as impressive as I’d imagined…”

“Take these restraints off… Then we’ll see who’s impressed…” Altair replied through gritted teeth as he continued sitting there. “Do you come to see all your little friends down here, or should I feel honored?” Steven scowled slightly as he walked forwards and looked down at Altair, he wore a clean uniform which contrasted heavily with Altair’s unkempt look.

“What frequency does the Onorussian Command Structure use to build their portals?” Steven asked flatly.

“Occisor, Altair… Sergeant… Onorussian Army… 137-29-0467…” Altair replied in a tired voice, Steven scowled even deeper. The man pulled his hand back and slapped Altair across the face with tremendous force, Altair spat a bit of blood out of his mouth and onto Steven’s uniform pants.“Occisor, Altair… Sergeant… Onorussian Army… 137-29-0467…”

“Did you enjoy killing my subjects? Hmm? We know you delighted in the destruction of the Apple Family’s life work!” Steven shouted as he grabbed Altair by the throat, the man glared right back at him coldly. “I won’t ask you about your military… I want to know what makes you tick… I’m going to show my people just how much of a miserable person you are… I’ll pick you apart until there’s nothing left!”

“Occisor, Altair… Sergeant… Onorussian Army… 137-29-0467…” Was Altair’s only reply before he spat in Steven’s eye, the King growled and wiped it away before he punched Altair in the face, causing the captive’s nose to bleed. “You’re really new to this whole interrogation thing, aren’t you? Hell, Bacon Head hits harder than you.”

“It’s almost like you enjoy being hurt. Is that it, huh? Are you into BDSM? Is that your deep dark secret?” Steven asked, Altair began laughing loudly, his voice echoing through the room.

“Never tried it, but who knows, my girlfriend might want to, which is fine with me.” Altair grinned widely at Steven. “You’re dumb too, huh. Don’t you realize Onorussians don’t care about sex scandals?” Steven slapped the man hard across the cheek. “Hey, keep working out, you might hit as hard as my mom eventually.”

“Your mom? Why don’t we talk about her?” Steven said in a sing song voice. “The sniper that all my men fear, you know, she reenlisted when they found out we’d captured you? It was all over the news.” Altair continued to sit there, not engaging the man in any way. “What if I told you we had captured her too?”

“I’d call you a liar.” Altair replied with a smirk, Steven raised an eyebrow at him. “My mother is a ghost, the only way you’d get close to her would be when she’s standing over your corpse, confirming the kill.” Steven let out a slight huff and turned to the side. “However long you’ve had me, you haven’t broken me. So either put one in my head or send me back to my cell.” Steven crossed his arms. “Oh wait, you can’t kill me… That would make me a martyr, wouldn’t it? I can think of the statue now, sure they’d make me look very heroic, don’tcha think?”

“What is wrong with you, huh? It’s like you want us to kill you!” Steven said, dropping the act of a big tough guy.

“Because I do!” Altair shouted back at him. “I’ve wanted to die since I was sixteen, but only now am I finally able to say it outloud!” The man almost seemed happy to admit he had a death wish, much to Steven’s shock, as well as the people watching from behind the glass. “I love my family, I love my country, but I don’t want to be around anymore. I just want to close my eyes and never open them again!” Altair chuckled as he hung his head, his fists clenching and unclenching. “You people haven’t held me captive… You’ve freed me! You’ve shown me that all the killing I’ve done, everything I’ve destroyed… I don’t have to fear the dark side anymore… I can embrace it.”

”Sir! Enemy helicopters and airships spotted!” A voice announced loudly through the intercom, Steven turned and looked at Altair with an uncertain expression. ”They’ve found the facility, sir! We need to evacuate!”

“Help me move him!” Steven shouted back at the intercom, Altair began laughing to himself. “We can’t let them set him free! We’ve turned him into even more of a monster!” The door was kicked open by Major Shimmer.

“We are leaving! Now! Don’t worry, we’ll have a guard posted to him, the Onorussians won’t get in here!” Shimmer grabbed Steven by the shoulder and dragged him out, Bruiser stepped in with an assault rifle in hand before the door was closed. Alarms began to blare throughout the complex, above him Altair could hear the sound of gunfire and explosions. Altair began to move his hands back and forth in his restraints, the metal clasps had been a little loose when Altair was first locked up. After however long he was held, he had loosened the screws even further, that added with metal fatigue told him that if he could get them a little weaker he could escape.

“Hey, Bruiser! Did they ever tell you why I’m in this place?” Altair asked when he felt the screws pop loose, he kept them in place for the moment. Bruiser turned and looked at Altair with a flat expression. “Apparently I’m a villain. Been called a lot of things before, never a villain.” Bruiser rolled his eyes.

“That’s why you’re locked in here with me.” The stallion said in his gruff tone, Altair chuckled and shook his head as he continued sitting there. “What’s so funny, hooman?”

“You.” Altair replied simply as he looked at Bruiser. “Because I’m not locked in here with you…” Bruiser gestured to the door, then his own gun. “No no no… You’re locked in here with me!” At that moment Altair sprung up from his chair and tackled Bruiser to the ground, he used the metal shackles attached to his wrist as a weapon, beating on the stallion’s head with it ruthlessly before he plunged one of the loose screws into the stallion’s throat, killing him. Altair smiled faintly as he stood up and undid the locks keeping him restrained, he then grabbed the assault rifle and pushed the door to the outside corridor open. The beast had been uncaged.

Meanwhile, Corporal Jay Bird stood in the control room of the detention center alone, all the other guards had been called away to fight off the Onorussian assault. He was a new hire, he’d never been in the control room alone, and now they were under attack on top of all that. More importantly, he had to make sure none of the prisoners escaped, after all, these prisoners were the most dangerous ones in Equestria or the entire world. Villains too powerful to be turned to stone or couldn’t be sent to tartarus for various reasons. All he had to keep them penned in was a handgun and a prayer that the power would hold out. The Earth Pony quietly paced back and forth with his gun in hand, his nervousness made it possible for him to hear the door as the door knob turned.

The stallion turned and looked over to see a human, but not one of the assaulters… No, this was the prisoner, the one they called ‘The Eagle’, the most dangerous inmate in the entire complex. What was worse, he was covered in blood and holding an assault rifle. Jay Bird tossed his gun aside and put his arms in the air.

“I surrend-” He was cut off as the human pulled the trigger, shooting him several times in the chest. The pony collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath as the human slowly stepped over his body and over to the control panel, ignoring the pained groans and begging for help on the floor. After several minutes of this, the man simply turned and put two in the stallion’s head before going back to the control panel. The man pushed a button on the control panel, and a loud ping echoed through the base.

“Greetings my fellow inmates! You may not know me, but that’s not important!” Altair said as he leaned his rifle against the panel. “What is important is that we have all been kept here for far too long. They call us monsters, freaks, killers… But what we really are is enlightened…” The man smiled slightly. “I give you now what these bloodsucking Equestrians have kept from us all for far too long! Freedom!” With that, Altair began pushing buttons on the keyboard, slowly the cell doors began to open. The other guards were being overrun on both sides now, but prisoners and Onorussian soldiers.

Altair felt the compulsion to begin laughing again, so he did. He watched as the Equestrians were slaughtered on the screens by both sides, they would eventually find him one way or another. For the first time, Altair truly felt what it meant to be in control. Not in control of a unit or a squad, but hundreds of people, watching them fight. Altair didn’t realize that this was how dictators were born, and that he was travelling down a path of darkness from which there was little chance of escaping. The most damning thing was that if Altair had known, he probably wouldn’t have done anything different.

“Gott mit uns.” He said as he sat down and closed his eyes, dreaming of getting to see Cassidy again. All of this, everything he had done here and in the past, had been for her. He resolved to himself then and there that this Equestria was a true enemy of not only Onorus but of Cassidy… And for that they would get no reprieve, no commuted sentence. And once Equestria and the rest of this world was under the Onorussian banner, only then would Cassidy be safe. It was for this purpose that Altair would propose a new division of the army, the Armed Onorussian Opposers. He continued to plan it all out in his head as the chaos raged on around him, the symphony of destruction playing as yet another bloody page was being written in the book of history. This new Division would be the elite of the elite, even better than the famed 88th Division. Of course, first he had to get out of the blasted prison and convince his father of its importance, but thinking big was important too.
> Operation: Aftermath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 1st
C-Day plus 212
New Liberty, Onorus
‘Broken’

Cassidy and Altair sat cuddled on the couch in the Occisor ancestral home atop the hill looking down at New Liberty, the desert stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see save for the smattering of skyscrapers in the distance. Altair’s father had given him and Cassidy this house as a gift, stating that now that they were eighteen they needed to have their own place to be adults. Altair and Cassidy had moved in not long after, and now they sat together. Cassidy was worried about Altair though, he was far from the same person he had been since he had left for the war. She had seen all the scars on his body that the Equestrians had made, but she knew that the biggest scars lay beneath the surface, in the mind.

She had been doing her best to make Altair better, but there were some things that just couldn’t be fixed. Every night she would to to bed with Altair staring up at the ceiling, and every morning she would wake to the same sight, as if he had never even blinked for the entire night. When he did sleep, it was during the day, and it was fraught with screaming and whimpering. As far as the military was concerned, Altair hadn’t broken, he hadn’t given up military secrets… As for Cassidy, the Equestrians had broken the man she loved and rearranged him into some mockery of his former self. He still loved her, she still loved him, but what they had before was gone… Replaced by something different.

Altair was sleeping on the large couch with Cassidy next to him, she had learned that just hugging him and staying close did wonders to help him sleep. Letting him know that there was someone next to him after nearly six months of isolation was all she could think to do, and it seemed to be working. She hated what the Equestrians had done to him, she hated the Equestrians in general, but most of all she hated that there wasn’t more she could do to help him. She knew that he would eventually go back to the fight, he had sworn revenge, and Cassidy knew that Altair always made good on his word.

For now though… Cassidy would spend her time healing the wounds both physical and mental, and after that she would go back to her singing… It was her only way of coping with what had been happening over those long months. As it was winter, the Onorussians had been holding their position outside of Ponyville. The city was in ruins by now, barely a shell of its former self, but that wouldn’t stop the Onorussians from taking it. That was what the newsreels had been saying so far, and she didn’t doubt that Altair would be taking part in that attack when the time was right. He had been promoted to Second Lieutenant for his fortitude and strength, even given medals, but Cassidy knew that was little in recompense for what those Monarchists had taken from him.

Cassidy felt the man shift and groan, that meant he was likely going to wake up soon. The woman sighed and stood up, intending to go to the kitchen and get dinner started. Altair was left alone, his mind racing as he felt the two comforting arms leave his side… It didn’t take long for his eyes to snap open, leaving him staring up at the ceiling. The man ran his hands down his face, feeling all the new scars that had formed, leaving him even more disfigured than before. Somehow Cassidy still managed to stomach his face, though he didn’t know how, that just made her all the more worth protecting in the man’s eyes.

Altair stood up from the couch and adjusted his t-shirt, then tucked it into his fatigue pants. The man could hear Cassidy humming in the kitchen, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened them again and walked to the door that lead to the garage. He stepped out into the dark workspace and closed the door behind him, the smell of musty old wood flooded his nostrils as he walked to a punching bag hanging from the rafters. The man began to beat on the bag hard, right off the bat he was pouring on the force. The bag swung back and forth with each punch he landed, his teeth were gritted as his eyes grew more and more narrow.

”You can make the pain stop! Just tell me what you know!” Shimmer’s voice echoed through his mind as he landed a particularly hard blow. ”I could do all sorts of things to you! You know? In fact, I might just do it for fun!” Another hard blow, this time accompanied by a growl. ”How about I take a hot poker and-”

“Fucking die!” Altair roared as he hit the bag so hard it snapped off the line and fell to the ground, he followed it to the ground and began pounding on it even as the fabric began to rip and his bare fists met sand. “You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you! You hear me!?” The man stopped himself, panting heavily as he straddled the punching bag, his fists bleeding from little knicks in the skin. He caught his breath, staying still until he heard the door to the garage open. Altair felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, slowly he turned to face Cassidy. “T-They did things to me, Cassidy… Things I can’t get out of my head… Things I didn’t tell the military…”

“I’m here for you, honey.” Cassidy replied as she knelt down beside him, keeping her hand on his shoulder. “Tell me what you need, tell me how I can help.” Altair brushed the sand off of his hands before he turned and hugged Cassidy tightly, burying his head in her shoulder. Then he began to do something she hadn’t ever seen him do before… He began to weep. “You let it out honey… Let it all out… Don’t let it weigh you down anymore, okay? You need every bit of strength if you’re going to get those sons of bitches.” She rubbed his back up and down as the man continued to cry.

[♠]

Steven rubbed his temples as he read over the latest casualty reports. The Onorussians had wiped out the divisions sent to defend Manehattan and Baltimare, not just defeated, wiped out. Ever since Altair Occisor had escaped custody and returned to his homeland, the Onorussians had shown no mercy in their attacks. Each one was to the death, they had stopped taking prisoners, in some cases they even hit targets with civilians working in them. Even with power armor and reverse engineered energy weapons, the Onorussians were plowing through Equestrian resistance.

What was more, there were rumors that Altair Occisor would be returning to the battlefield, and Steven could only shudder to think what horrors awaited them if that was the case. The rumors were already effective morale across the board, especially since there was a massive tank battle predicted to go down between the Onorussians and Equestrians just south of Ponyville. Once again they were going to duke it out over the jugular of Equestria, which Ponyville remained, even if it had been reduced almost entirely to rubble. The Onorussians had come close at least three times so far, but the Equestrians had always pushed them back just far enough to keep the city secure.

The other parts of the country were falling much quicker than Steven could hope to stop them, the Onorussians were making gains of hundreds of miles every day. Cities once thought untouchable were now within striking range of the fearsome Onorussian Bear. The worst part was the stalemate in Ponyville however, fighting there was so intense that both sides had sustained heavy casualties. The Onorussians hated stalemates, and Steven feared they would opt to use a different method of breaking through, a non-conventional method. There were no real ‘rules of war’ between the two countries, something both sides had been taking full advantage of.

Steven stopped his pondering, he looked around the room as he heard alarms blaring in the distance. The room was dark and lined with maps, plans, and all manner of other documents. There was a window to the outside, something Steven regretted when he heard those alarms blaring. Equestria had been the first to use chemical warfare, starting out with only Tear Gas, but the Onorussians had escalated with Mustard Gas, prompting the Equestrians to do so as well. Ever since Occisor had been freed the Onorussians would launch an occasional gas attack on Canterlot’s military district. The tell tale thuds of shells hitting the ground outside only served to make Steven more wary. The man pulled his gas mask from his desk and stood up, leaving the room to seek out more permanent shelter.

The hallways were filled with more soldiers, all wearing gas masks as they made their way to the gas shelters. It was calm and orderly, at least until a thick black fog began to seep through the ventilation system. It was heavy and moved low to the ground, this was something knew, for all they knew their gas masks were useless. Steven began to pull on his gasmask but stopped, the others couldn’t smell it, but it smelled almost like…

“Napalm!” He shouted before he started running as fast as he could away from the creeping clouds of flammable gas. The soldiers began to panic as they realized they were being surrounded by a very large bomb. No matter where they ran they encountered the thick black fog, it was permeating every part of the Castle. Steven burst through the door of Celestia’s room, she was coughing while trying to pull on her gasmask. “Forget the mask! The gas is flammable! Grab whatever you need, we have to get out of here!” As if to punctuate his point, the sound of explosions echoed in the distance. The flames had started when someone had tried to use the thermostat to clear the gas, only a tiny spark of static electricity set off the chain reaction.

Meanwhile, from a distance, platoons of Onorussian soldiers were watching through binoculars while the radio played the finale of the 1812 overture. They began cheering loudly as they caught sight of the first blast that was ripping its way through the Equestrian stronghold that was Canterlot Castle. This wasn’t so much a tactical move as it was a political one, the Imperator wanted to show just how angry he was. As if by divine providence, each explosion was timed to one in the recording of the Overture. The ancient castle was being blasted apart as its marble halls compressed the combustible gasses, flames poured out of windows, roofs and walls were blown out, and guards inside were incinerated.

Citizens of Canterlot watched in abject horror as the castle they had known since childhood was destroyed right in front of them. Onorussians on the other hand were cheering and rejoicing as they watched the enemy’s decadent palace being consumed by the intense flames of the napalm. The music continued to play, adding a fine soundtrack to the entire scene that the Onorussian troops could heartily enjoy.

Celestia panted heavily as she and Steven stood on the lawn of the castle, the heat from the fire was still so intense that she could barely take it. The mare had teleported the two of them out at the last moment, something that Steven was taking by vomiting next to his wife. Humans weren’t meant to be teleported, it had taken considerable energy to move him in time, considering his predisposition to arcane resistance. Soldiers screamed as they ran out of the building, many of them bathed in flames and trying desperately to get their clothes off.

“This can’t be happening! This… This can’t be happening!” Celestia cried out as she watched her home burning and crumbling to the ground. The mare collapsed to her knees as more shells began to fall into the blaze, releasing more napalm or simply blasting more of the castle to pieces. “Why don’t you just leave us alone! How much most you destroy!?” Celestia screamed towards the night sky as it was lit up by the fires of the burning castle. Tears streamed down Celestia’s cheeks as Steven sat beside her, watching the fire with her as  everything they had ever owned went up in flames.

Steven was more concerned that every bit of intel the had had on the Onorussian’s was in the castle, as well as the royal vault, which was being used to help fund the war effort. Equestria was barely holding up under the strain of the Onorussian military as it stood, the only hope of keeping the country alive was to open up more fronts, force the enemy to fight more than one enemy. Steven would need to to call in every favor he had with the Saddle Arabians, the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, and Dragon Lord Ember. This war was going from an Interdimensional conflict to a global war.

[♠]

Altair and Cassidy sat close together on the couch, two empty plates resting on the coffee table while Wolfy slept on the floor. The dog was in her twilight years, and had been getting slower, despite all that she had been one of many good things for Altair. Altair bent down to rub her head, the dog yawned and rolled onto her side to open up the possibility for belly rubs. Cassidy had once been nervous around Wolfy, but now that she had been taking care of her over the past six months she had come to like not just the german shepherd but all dogs in general. She leaned down and gave Wolfy the belly rubs she so desperately deserved, both Altair and Cassidy chuckled when the dog rolled onto her back as if to demand even more.

The two of their hands touched after a couple seconds, prompting them both to pause and look at one another. Altair smiled faintly, in that moment Cassidy could see that he was still in there, even under all those scars on his face and body. She took her hand from Wolfy’s belly and put it on his cheek, caressing it for a moment. Altair did the same, putting his hand on Cassidy’s soft cheek. Wolfy sat up and walked out of the room, as if sensing the tension between the couple. Slowly the two of them leaned closer, closing their eyes as their lips finally met, the two of them began to kiss passionately. Altair’s arms slipped around Cassidy’s waist and held her closer, she put her arms around the back of his neck, holding onto him until finally their lips seperated.

“Let’s go upstairs…” Altair whispered before he kissed her neck, Cassidy gasped and leaned her head back. She felt her cheeks flush red as her body became much warmer. As his parents had pointed out a couple times prior to their moving into their new house, Altair and Cassidy were much louder and energetic than most… It had been one of the reasons they had been politely nudged to move.
> Operation: Breath Taker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 2nd
C-Day plus 213
New Liberty, Onorus
08:037:08
‘Sinner Soldiers’

Altair quietly sighed as he lay on the couch by himself, he had redressed in his fatigue pants and t-shirt for bed. Of course, Altair hadn’t gotten much sleep, but he’d gotten enough. When he heard the knock on the front door he wasn’t sure it was real or if he was dreaming, but another firm knock told him it was in fact real. The man sat up and then walked to the door, Wolfy following him slowly. He pulled the door open and grimaced as bright morning light assaulted his eyes, after he blinked them a couple times things became far clearer.

“Uncle Putin?” Altair asked in a surprised voice, sure enough Putin was standing there with a briefcase in hand. “What’re you doing here? I would’ve gotten better dressed if I’d known…”

“I’m afraid this isn’t a social call, nephew.” Putin replied as Altair stepped aside to let him in. “I’ve been tasked with evaluating you for a new mission, Lieutenant. Concerns about your mental health have been spreading through Canterlot, you know?” Altair nodded as he lead his ‘Uncle’ to the kitchen and started making a pot of coffee, meanwhile Putin set the briefcase on the table and began going through his papers. “Cream, no sugar please.”

“Yes, sir.” Altair replied in a professional tone as the coffee brewed. “I was worried I was out of the war, you’re saying I may have a new assignment?”

“You may, though I’m not sure how much you’ll like it. It would require you to go back into the heart of Equestria.” Altair turned to face Putin and walked to the table, he then took a seat across from him, the light shining through the window next to the table and onto his face. “The High Command has put forward a plan to enlist certain soldiers, soldiers who have certain feelings towards the Equestrians…”

“People who’ve been captured and interrogated.” Altair said flatly, Putin nodded. “What do they want with us?”

“They think you’ll bring a certain… Flare. Your operations would be more political than tactical, breaking morale on top of the usual tactical objectives.” Putin explained as he laid out a couple photographs on the table depicting dams, bridges, skyscrapers. “They’re clinging to anything now that their castle is in ruins, so we’re going to give them nothing to cling to. Put simply, we need attack dogs, and your name was at the top of the list.”

“Heh, Head Mutt, I like the sound of that.” Altair replied with a grin. “Plus they know my name already, they know I’ve got an axe to grind, that’s why I’m at the top of the list.” Putin nodded. “And what, they’re worried I’ll be to aggressive?”

“No, the opposite… They were worried that your incarceration might’ve made you softer…” The older man said, Altair began giggling to himself, the laugh actually made Putin uncomfortable with how genuine it was.

“Soft?” Altair asked rhetorically. “I want nothing more than to mount everyone of their soldier’s heads on pikes, I want that bitch Major Shimmer locked in the deepest hole we have, and I want them to know they fucked with the wrong damn guy!” Altair pounded the table and gritted his teeth, slowly he saw a grin form on his Uncle’s face. Putin simply extended his hand for a handshake.

“Welcome to the First Berserker Battalion, Lieutenant.” The Russian said, Altair grinned widely as he shook his Uncle’s hand firmly. “You’re former CO, Lieutenant Colonel Adler, will be running your unit. You’ll be his XO, running most of the ops with the rest of the men.”

“Adler’s a good man, I look forward to serving with him again.” Altair replied simply, he paused and looked at Putin. “Will I get to wear my Fallschirmjager fatigues again?” Putin nodded with a grin.

“We’re going for a dirty dozen look, this unit is going to be public knowledge, the meaner you look the better.” Putin said, Altair grinned even wider and leaned back in his seat, he steepled his fingers and looked at the table. “Let’s finish our coffee, afterwards we will need to head on over to Fort Victoria, we’re going to need your help weeding out some of the recruits.” Altair nodded as he stood up and went to the coffee maker, he poured two cups of coffee and added the fixings before bringing them back to the table. The two men continued talking details while they sipped their coffee, eventually they were on their way out the door, with Altair leaving a note for Cassidy telling her where he had gone.

[♠]

October 2nd
C-Day plus 213
Clip Clop Meadows, Twenty Miles South of Ponyville, Equestria
09:30:07
‘Crash of Thunder’

Clip Clop Meadows was quiet as the sun rose in the sky to the East, the meadow sat between two areas of land, the rural fields that surrounded Ponyville and the more arid lands to the south that eventually became the desert. The land was devoid of snow, the air was warm, it was almost like summer time… The Equestrians had forgone winter as long as they could to be sure to grow as much food as possible. Rabbits frolicked through the meadow, deer and elk bugled in the distance as they did every morning, and birds chirped their cheery songs of hope and happiness.

A rumble like thunder echoed in the distance, a constant rumbling noise that put the animals of this pristine habitat on edge. It was one of the few places that hadn’t been touched during the war, as most of the time there was no tactical objective. No factories, no roads, no houses, just peaceful meadowlands and pristine nature. The rumbling noise grew louder, and was now punctuated by the squeak of metal. The animals began to flee, birds stopped their song and took to the air while the deer and elk fled for the trees. Rabbits and other ground animals hunkered down in their burrows as deep as they could, the meadow became as quiet as the dead.

Steven stood on a mountain overlooking the meadow with a pair of binoculars, several of his generals standing with him. This would be the most important battle of the war so far, if the Onorussians won even the slightest victory they would be able to push all the way north and finally take Ponyville. The man felt his heart beating heavily in his chest as he saw a cloud of dust and sand on the horizon. Hundreds of grey tanks, some flying Onorussian flags. His binoculars were so strong he could see the faces of dozens of tank commanders, all of them seemed rather young, but each looked ready to fight.

The ground began to tremble as the Equestrian tanks appeared on the horizon, they were only half as strong in numbers as the Onorussians, but they could still win the day if they could out maneuver the enemy. Overhead the sound of jet engines caught Steven’s ears, he looked up and watched as jets from both armies began to circle one another, as if waiting for their forces to meet on the ground. There was some sort of sick beauty to all this, a ballet of destruction was unfolding before Steven’s eyes. Carefully coordinated movements, technology and flesh and blood soldiers, all being put to the purpose of killing one another…

The Equestrian tanks were painted yellow in honor of the old Royal Guard, while the Onorussians had painted theirs grey, Steven had learned it was in honor of the fallen nation of Thestra. The more about the Onorussians Steven learned, the more he saw them less as his enemy, which was dangerous for someone of his position. Minutes felt like hours as the tanks drove closer and closer towards one another, towards destiny. The first puff of smoke escaped an Onorussian tank, seconds later there was an explosion in the meadow below. The peace had been shattered.

Steven didn’t move from the spot he stood, he lowered his binoculars and watched the scene below. His generals rushed around him, fighter planes were shot down and crashed in the fields, tanks were blown apart, trees splintered, bodies burned, and all the while Steven stood there with an expression of deranged wonderment in his eyes. Black smoke billowed into the air, cannon fire became the only thing for miles, droning on and on like a funeral dirge.

Steven couldn’t bring himself to move as he watched his tanks become encircled by a pincer maneuver, rather than surrender their crews went out fighting and took some twenty enemy tanks with them before they had been completely wiped out. Overhead the Onorussian air force had overwhelmed the Equestrians with sheer numbers alone, they dominated the skies. It wasn’t long before a convoy of tanks and APCs began driving towards Ponyville, meanwhile many of the tanks began to fire at the mountain. This was when Steven’s feet finally gained the will to move once again, he and his generals were evacuating the mountain, Ponyville had been lost. His goal now was to bring the rest of his allies into the war before the Onorussians choked Equestria into submission. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with any more tremendous disasters along the way.

[♠]

October 2nd
C-Day plus 213
Fort Victoria, Thirty Miles East of New Liberty, Onorus
13:43:46
‘The Bastard Battalion’

Fort Victoria was known as the Special Forces capital of Onorus, located precisely in the hottest part of the desert, surrounded for miles by sand and unexploded ordnance, and full of angry alpha male types that all had it in for the Equestrian regime Eight hundred of these angry fellows happened to be wearing different uniforms, covered in scars, tattooed, or some mixture of all those above. However, there were some that hated the Equestrians more than others, and those that were suspected of not being aggressive enough had been called together in a special unit that would be working with the Battalion’s Executive Officer.

He was none other than the Nova Imperator himself, he wore Fallschirmjager fatigues, and he looked like one mean son of a bitch. All in all there were fifteen men that needed to be weeded through, and Altair Occisor was going to be the one to do it. The fifteen men stood at attention, each one of them puffing their chests out to try and look as tough as possible. For Altair, this was a big responsibility, so for the good of the unit he was going to put the fear of both himself and god into these fifteen men. They stood in the courtyard while the Lieutenant walked in front of them, he had been issued a new side arm which now glistened menacingly in its holster.

“Some of you may be wondering why you’re here!” Altair shouted as he continued to pace along in front of the soldiers. “Put simply, we’re not sure you have what it takes to serve in this unit!” He looked over the soldiers each time, some of them were strong, some were getting strong, all of them looked like they’d been bulking up for some sort of revenge plot.. “Now, it is my job to make sure each and every one of you is man enough for this mission. You're going to get bruised, you’re going to break bones, blood will be shed, hearts tested!” Altair stopped his pacing and stood still in front of the men. “Anyone not want to go?!”

“No, sir.” The soldiers replied firmly.

“What!? I couldn’t hear you ladies!” Altair shouted.

“No, sir!” The soldiers shouted even louder, Altair put his hands on his hips.

“Then let’s start simple! Three mile hike! Full pack! Meet me at the gates in ten minutes!” Altair ordered. “If you’re late, five days of KP duty! We do not leave any of ours behind, if you slow us down you put the entire unit at risk! Now move out, ladies!” The soldiers ran off towards their barracks, Lieutenant Colonel Adler approached from across the courtyard with a grin a mile wide on his face. “Sir!” Altair snapped into a salute, Adler returned it.

“At ease, Lieutenant.” The man replied, Altair nodded and stood at ease. “So far you’re off to a nice start, in about three weeks we’ll have them whipped into shape.” Altair raised an eyebrow at that time table. “We deploy at the end of the month, Lieutenant. We need to strike while the iron is hot, a month is the longest we can afford to wait.”

“Understood, sir.” Altair replied as he looked around the courtyard. “I’ll make sure you get the meanest hombres this side of the Changeling-Dixon line.” Adler smirked at that and patted the lieutenant on the shoulder. “If you’ll excuse me, sir. I promised the men a hike.”

“Dismissed, Lieutenant. Give ‘em an extra mile for me.” Adler said with a grin, Altair nodded and saluted once more, then turned and started walking to the gate. From that point on the soldiers under Altair’s command wished that they had never been born, some of them thought about quitting right then and there, just when they thought they were done the lieutenant would tack on another mile to the hike. Hours passed until finally the beleagered men walked back through the gates of Fort Victoria. Their uniforms had white salt stains, their heads ached from dehydration, and their feet felt like they’d been left inside ovens all afternoon.

“Hit the showers, boys!” Altair ordered, the soldiers groaned in response before they began walking towards the barracks again. Altair meanwhile walked to a secluded corner where he proceeded to start cursing under his breath as he rubbed his temples. He was just as tired, sweaty, and dehydrated as the men, the only difference was he wasn’t allowed to show it. His bones ached just like the rest of them, his muscles were sore, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse.

”Lieutenant Occisor, please report to the visitor center. Lieutenant Occisor to the visitor center.” The PA announced, Altair let out a sigh of relief as he stood up and began walking towards the building that visitors came to when they wanted to see one of their loved ones. It was a large building, inside there were couches and tables and a little cafe for family members, but that was nothing compared to the building’s best known feature. It had working Air Conditioning. Altair reached the center within a couple minutes, once he was inside the refreshing cool air washed over him and made all the aches and pains start to fade. He only revelled in it for a moment before he continued walking forward.

Eventually he caught sight of Cassidy sitting in the waiting area with a glass of iced tea, she looked up when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Altair walked over to her and sat on the couch next to her, awkwardly smiling and rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

“Hey, Cassidy…” He said quietly.

“Hey.” She replied, smiling softly. That was a good sign. “I get you’re probably worried about last night, huh? I know you tend to think the worst when something goes wrong.” Altair paused, but it was the truth, so he nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not really upset… Just got a little worried in the moment, you know?” Once again Altair nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night, what could happen from it…” Cassidy trailed off. “I love you, Altair. Whatever happens, I know that we’ll work through it together…”

“Marry me.” Altair blurted out, Cassidy paused in surprise, as did Altair. He hadn’t meant to say that, he’d wanted to get an entire thing together… Well, now he had to roll with it. “Not just because of might happen, I’ve wanted to ask you since before my first deployment.” He reached out and took hold of her hand as he saw her start tearing up. “When I was locked up, the only thing that kept me from breaking was thinking about you… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Cassidy.”

“Oh… Altair…” Cassidy said as she teared up. “Of course! Yes! Yes!” She smiled and watched as Altair mimicked putting a ring on her finger. “What was that for?”

“I wanted to let you pick the ring, y’know? Since you’re the one who has to wear it… But, it felt like the right thing to do.” Altair replied, Cassidy smacked him, that was the slightly goofy fellow she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. She started to pull Altair into a passionate kiss, at first it was the most romantic moment of her life… Then she heard someone blasting ‘Take my breath away’ from Top Gun. She looked around and saw the pudgy black woman behind the counter at the cafe had held her phone up in the air so the song could be heard, Altair and Cassidy chuckled slightly… Then looked back at one another and kissed again, far more romantic and loving than their earlier embrace.
> Operation: Noahs Ark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 1st
C-Day plus 242
Clydesdale Dam, Two Miles north of Tall Tale, Equestria
11:37:27
‘A Dam Shame’

Clydesdale Dam, one of Equestrias engineering marvels, a facility that produced nearly twenty percent of all power used on the western coast. Specifically it powered factories, thus negating the need for coal, and thus preserving the environment. Of course, that also meant that taking it out would knock out the Equestrian’s ability to produce anything on the west coast until they could bring the old coal plants back online. The Equestrians had a bad habit of putting all their eggs into easily destroyable baskets, for even if Clydesdale Dam was safe from air attack, it was far from safe from the Berserkers.

Two captured Equestrian trucks barreled towards the front gate at full speed, the first one was loaded down with a squad of the Onorussian Berserkers while the second truck was fitted with a twenty millimeter cannon. The guards at the gate watched the trucks zooming closer, kicking up dust as they passed by the fir trees that lined either side of the dirt road. Altair readied the Desert Eagle he had been issued as his new side arm, then slipped it into his holster and grabbed hold of his captured Equestrian assault rifle. They were similar in design to the STG-44, though they had cherry wood stocks as opposed to oak.

“Looks like our new AA gun is here ahead of time, they’re really booking it…” One of the gate guards said to another, that was until the trucks reached the first checkpoint and didn’t stop. “What are they doing?!” The wind blew the cover off the back of the second truck, revealing that the twenty millimeter was armed and operational. “Oh fuck…”

“Onorussians!” Another soldier shouted as alarms began to blare throughout the Dam, soldiers all flocked to their positions inside the facility, knowing that these attackers would likely be coming to destroy the turbines that allowed the dam to produce power. They would meet their doom there of course, so many Equestrians protecting the turbines, there was no way the Onorussians could get in. Altair rolled down his window as they got closer to the gate, he leaned out with his rifle and began firing at the enemy soldiers near the guard house. He wasn’t very accurate, but it was more about instilling fear than anything else. He began laughing loudly as he saw the soldiers leap for cover behind sandbags, the first truck crashed the gate, sending sparks flying as the two metal chain link pieces went sailing to the sides. The second truck screeched to a stop and turned sideways, allowing the cannon and its operator a chance to take aim down the road at any vehicles that might approach.

“Come on, boys! Plant the charges on the AA Guns before reinforcements arrive!” Altair ordered as the truck stopped in the middle of the dam, blocking any traffic in either direction aside from that which was on foot. There were eight guns in all that needed to be knocked out, Altair had one bag of Compound Gladius ready to blow his target to kingdom come. Equestrian soldiers began pouring out of the two stairwells that lead to the top of the dam, one of the berserkers tossed a bag of explosives down the stairwell. There were screams from inside before the bag exploded and sealed off the entrance, leaving only one way for the enemy to come in and out.

The dam was impressive up close, massive and curved concrete, the top of it was just wide enough for one truck to move through at a time, and there were eight AA emplacements built on wooden scaffolds that lined the outside of the Dam’s top. The surrounding area was nothing but trees and mountains, and the sunset made the reservoir of water that the dam held back sparkle like a thousand diamonds. Altair shook off the thoughts about this area’s natural beauty, he was sure it would look just as nice with a big ol’ hole in the middle. He let his weapon hang on its strap as he calmly strode towards the SAM missile launcher that he intended to wipe out.

”Lieutenant! Got movement on the road! Holy shit, those are Crystal Trucks! The Crysties are here!” A voice announced over the radio, seconds later Altair was able to hear the cannon begin firing over and over again. ”Hurry up, sir! All due respect, but these guys are rolling heavy!”

“Roger that, everyone pick up the pace!” Altair ordered into his headset as he hopped up onto the scaffold next to the SAM rig. With hurried care, the man stuffed the bag of explosives in between the missiles and set the timer before he ran away and dove to the ground. There was a deafening explosion as the missiles were blown to bits, as Altair got back to his feet he saw two more missile pods explode, as well as two AA guns. Altair rushed forward and took cover near the truck as more soldiers poured out of the only remaining exit, with the captured rifle in hand he began to fire at them. Casings clattered to the ground as he and two other members of the squad gunned them down while they came out into the open. A pile of bodies began to form outside the exit, and still the soldiers kept coming. Two more explosions echoed through the pass as the last of the missile batteries were destroyed, that left one AA gun in place.

“Reaper! Where’s that last gun!” Altair shouted into his headset while he reloaded, the others were moving back towards the truck and climbing into the back.

”They’re getting closer, sir! We won’t be able to hold them off for longer than a couple minutes at this rate!” the voice of the cannon operator announced as he continued to fire at the end of the bridge. Altair swore under his breath before he stood up and pointed to one of his men.

“Krieger, with me! We’re gonna go see what’s taking so goddamn long! The rest of you stick to the plan!” He ordered, the others nodded while Altair and the soldier began running towards the final gun emplacement, which was closest to the enemy exit point. The two men fired several more rounds at the oncoming enemy horde, Altair’s weapon clicked empty. Since it was captured he tossed it aside and instead drew his desert eagle. Just the sight of the silver plated, regally engraved hand cannon was enough to send one of the Equestrians running in the opposite direction. “You hold them off, I’ll set the charges and get Reaper!”

“Yes, sir!” Krieger replied as he took up a defensive position with his rifle, Altair rushed towards the scaffold and was saddened to see that one of his men was laying face down in a pool of his own blood. He had set the charges, but hadn’t managed to hit the timer in time. Altair moved to the timer and hit the switch, nodding to his fallen comrade before he rushed away from the soon to be destroyed gun. He grabbed Krieger by the collar, prompting him to start running as the final gun was destroyed in a massive explosion.

“Start the truck! Start the truck!” Altair shouted over the radio as he and Krieger got closer to the truck.

”Sir! The F-117 will be on us in sixty seconds! You need to hit the gas!” The driver of the truck shouted, the sound of the cannon firing grew louder, the other truck was driving across the bridge with the Crystal Empire vehicles hot on her heals. Altair and Krieger panted heavily as they both climbed into the back of the first truck.

“Go! Go! Go!” Altair shouted, the tires screeched and the truck began barreling towards the other side of the dam. It blew through the stack of corpses, the second truck not far behind, still firing at the enemy like mad. The Crystal Empire trucks were crossing the bridge, along with humvee like trucks that could outrun the trucks. “Time check!”

“Fifteen seconds, sir!” He heard the driver shout as they got closer to the edge of the dam. “This is gonna be close!” The cloth canopy covering the back of the first truck flew off with the breeze and floated harmlessly into the water. Altair looked up the river, between the two mountains that helped make up the reservoir. He saw the faint outline of the stealth strike plane zooming closer and closer. Just as he thought the end was near both trucks finished crossing the dam. The F-117, was now able to get close enough to the dam without fear of being shot down by the AA defenses. The bomb bay opened and a large cigar shaped bomb fell into the water. It was a specially designed bomb, more like a torpedo in actuality, intended to destroy dams. This would be its first test in the battlefield.

Three enemy vehicles passed over the bridge before the bomb went off in spectacular fashion, a massive spurt of water rose into the air while cracks spread through the dam’s concrete surface. Water rushed to fill the void left by the explosion, the force of this rushing water blasted the cracked concrete to pieces. The dam had been broken, and now a massive flood of water was making its way down the valley towards the city of Tall Tale.

“Yeah! Get some!” Altair shouted while the others cheered at the sight of so much destruction, it was a shame they wouldn’t get to see the flood that followed their handiwork. The second truck finally ran out of ammunition, but the three enemy trucks were still hot on the heels of the berserkers. Altair saw one of the humvee like vehicles pull up alongside the second truck with a machine gun aimed at the driver’s seat. Before anyone could do anything the gunner had pulled the trigger, the truck burst into flames and careened off the road into a massive crash. Altair readied his desert eagle while the others all prepared their own weapons. The vehicles pulled closer, but the first one was shot full of holes by the Onorussians, it too went out of control and ended up slamming into a tree.

“Panzerfaust!” Krieger shouted as he pointed at the second enemy vehicle, a truck like theirs, which had a stallion in the back with a panzerfaust on his shoulder. The Equestrians had a nack for making World War Two era weaponry, but that didn’t concern Altair at the moment, he was more concerned about being blown to pieces. He leveled the desert eagle at the man and closed one eye, he just hoped his mother’s shooting genes paid off in this instance. He pulled the trigger, seconds later he saw the enemy soldier’s head burst open in a spray of red.

“Fuck I love this thing!” Altair shouted as he took aim at the Humvee driver, the first shot fractured the bulletproof glass, but it didn’t shatter it. “Target his glass, he won’t be able to drive if he can’t see!” The others nodded and began firing at the bullet proof glass, eventually the driver swerved right and slammed into a ditch.  “Ahaha! I love this job!” The truck turned down a side road which lead to a clearing that was usually used as a camp site by the locals. In this case there was a black huey helicopter setting on the ground. The truck came to a stop close to the chopper, allowing the squad of berserkers to hopped out and started running towards the helicopter.

Altair hopped on one of the miniguns mounted in the doorways while the others took their spots in the chopper. Krieger manned the other gun as the two pilots throttled up and took to the skies, with the chaos of an entire metropolitan city being flooded by hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and other debris, there weren’t many people pay attention to radar screens. It had all gone on so fast that the government thought it had been an accident, of course, that wouldn’t last for long. Hopefully it would buy them enough time to get back to friendly airspace before anyone came to intercept them.

[♠]

“He’s back!? After everything we did to him, he’s just… Back!?” Steven shouted in rage and surprise as he saw the security footage of the Dam Attack. There, clear as crystal, was a picture of Altair Occisor. He was tall, muscled, and mean looking. He wore mirrored aviators, Fallschirmjager fatigues with the sleeves rolled up, and he was wielding a hand cannon like he’d been born with one. Celestia and the others were all standing with Steven, watching the footage in the same shocked horror. “Before… Before he hardly ever harmed civilians… Now he’s helping wipe out entire cities…”

“You did this.” A cold voice echoed through the room, all eyes turned to the back where Princess Luna was sitting with her arms crossed and a sour expression. “You turned him into this. You created the monster you now fear…” The mare stood up and adjusted her gown as she walked towards the screen, she pointed to Altair’s face, he was grinning like a mad man as he gunned down half a dozen Equestrian soldiers. “Before you got your hands on him I could see some semblance of decency in his smile… But this grin, this is the grin of a predator.”

“What do you suggest we do, sister? You were always better at fighting the real monsters of the world.” Celestia asked as she nervously looked at the grinning man on the screen, the room was dark and spooky enough as it could be at that time.

“He is the product of a monster, not the monster.” Luna siad venomously as she turned her glare to Steven. “You authorized his torture, you pushed him to the point of insanity and perhaps a little beyond.” The mare glared around the room, stopping on Celestia. “And you, sister… You were ready to use forbidden magic to rip his mind apart, for what purpose? To get information that may or may have not been in his head?” The mare looked back to the screen. “No… The last time I helped you, you used my help to create this madman… Deal with him on your own, I wash my hands of this.” Luna walked towards the door, her Lunar guards following along with her. “Consider the use of my generals off limits as well.” With that, half the generals in the room turned and walked to the door with Luna.

“Wait, you can’t just leave! That’s an order!” Steven shouted.

“We don’t serve you, human.” One of the Generals hissed back. “That man was a Lunar Knight before you got your hands on him, even if he was the enemy… You tortured one of our brothers!” Steven felt a chill run down his spine, the Thestrals were the only troops holding Manehattan and Baltimare from the brink of destruction. If they suddenly stood down… No, he couldn’t let Luna give that order.

“MPs! Detain Princess Luna and her staff!” Steven ordered, two solar MPs stepped in front of the door, blocking Luna’s path.

“Sister… I have never liked your choice in suitor, but I’ve accepted his ignorance of my right to rule to this point…” Luna calmly turned to Celestia, her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed. “Either urge him to recall that order… Or… Or we will once again be at war.”

“Sister, I-”

“Do you support our right to rule alongside you as equals or don’t you!?” Luna demanded, Celestia took a step back as she looked between Steven and her sister. On the one hand, Luna was her sister, she’d always loved her, but she took her pride more seriously than practical reasoning. She preferred tradition over what Celestia saw as progress. Steven on the other hand was new to her life, but she still loved him, and she charished the time they spent together more than anything else… Either way she would be betraying someone she loved, either way… There was no escape.

“I’m sorry…” Celestia said quietly. “Without your forces, the enemy will gain even more of a stranglehold, we need to hold out until the rest of our allies can land their forces…” Luna’s eyes began to tear up even though her expression remained calm. “I… I don’t think you’re competent to rule as an equal at this time…”

“So… That is how it is…” Luna said as she wiped her eyes, her expression becoming one of utter hatred. “One thousand years I waited to be your sister again, to rule with you again… But you haven’t changed in the slightest for the better.” Her horn began to glow softly. “Very well… If you aren’t my sister… You are my nemesis, as is your country.” The mare looked to her generals and guards. “Brace yourselves.” In a flash of light Luna and her men had vanished before anyone could stop her, leaving both Steven and Celestia in stunned silence…

[♠]

Altair leaned back in his seat as the helicopter continue flying through the air, his hand resting on his Desert Eagle. In all honesty, Altair felt more like a mercenary than a soldier, and honestly he didn’t have a problem with that. He didn’t want to be Nova Imperator, he didn’t want to be a general after all… He wanted to sell his personal brand of mayhem to the highest bidder. The man smirked as he adjusted his aviators, he supposed his career as a merc would have to wait until after the war ended. For now he was on the government’s payroll, and that meant he played by their rules.

Ahead of them was FOB Maria, the Onorussian power center in the theatre. It was a heavily fortified area, so seeing a couple tanks moving around the outer walls wasn’t uncommon. Seeing dozens of them all driving towards one place with APCs and Humvees was though, Altair sat up and readied the minigun for action as the helicopter pilots were diverted from their landing area to circle the patch of land being surrounded by tanks. Altair could see a small contingent of figures at the center of the cordon as the helicopter circled overhead. The other members of the unit looked out the side door at the strange scene while Altair patted the barrels of his minigun. Eventually the helicopter stopped circling and instead allowed Altair to train the weapon on the figures down below.

”Lieutenant, command’s on the horn for you!” One of the pilots shouted over the intercom, Altair nodded and flicked the microphone on his headset on.

“Go for Occisor.” Altair announced.

”Lieutenant, Princess Luna just walked up to our gates with a white flag, and she won’t talk to anyone but you.” An older man’s voice called through the radio, Altair scowled faintly as he recalled she had been the reason for all his suffering in the first place. ”Now I know you two aren’t the best of friends, but we need to know what she wants. We’re getting reports of mass surrenders in Manehattan and Baltimare.”

“I understand, General Hinkman. I’ll deal with it.” Altair replied, he turned and looked at the pilots. “Set us down in front of the ponies!” The man gestured for them to land directly in front of the group of ponies that were waving a white flag over their heads as their only salvation. The blacked out huey maneuvered towards the group of ponies before it set down on the ground. Altair hopped off the gun and gestured for Krieger to accompany him, the two of them stepped out of the helicopter and began walking towards Luna. “Well well well… If it isn’t my favorite alicorn princess! What’s it been? Six months?”

“We had no idea they would do that to you, Altair.” Luna replied, the man rolled his eyes at her.

“Not the point.” Altair said simply as he crossed his arms. “I’m more interested in how we’re meeting now, and with mass surrenders of your troops no less!” The man grinned widely as he stepped a little closer, the sun glinting off the mirrored shades perched on his nose. “You really miss me that much?”

“My sister has turned against me, I will not allow my soldiers to do for her any longer.” Luna replied, she looked at the ground sadly. “I… Wish to request asylum in the Military Republic of Onorus. In exchange I will share all that I know about the Equestrian forces… I just want this war to end.”

“Uh huh… And?” Altair asked with a raised eyebrow, Luna looked surprised. “Anything else you want to say? It’s like… Two words… Well, maybe a little longer?” Luna still didn’t get it “I was expecting ‘I’m sorry I got you tortured for half a year, Altair! Won’t happen again!’... But I guess blinking silence will have to do.” The man gestured for a couple of the tanks to roll forward. “These nice metal men are going to keep an eye on you until the MPs come to pick you up, have fun! Later tater!” With that Altair and Krieger walked back to the helicopter.

“Holy fuck… You just said ‘Later tater’ to a Princess.” Krieger said as they got closer to the chopper.

“I say it to my mom from time to time, they’re essentially the same person.” Altair said with a shrug before he climbed into the helicopter and relaxed. “Alright you magnificent men in your flying machine! Take us uppity up up!” The pilots scowled under their masks as they pushed the throttle up and the helicopter took off once again. Altair activated his radio and rolled his neck a couple times. “General Hinkman, the Princess wants asylum, said she’d give us their whole operation in return.”

Outstanding, soldier. We’ll have the MPs pick them up.” Hinkman replied.

“Oh, you know me, sir. I love to please!” Altair grinned and leaned back in his seat.

[♠]

Altair let out a quiet sigh as he stood on the edge of the perimeter of the FOB fence, staring up at the night sky and the moon. On Equus Prime, he could look up at that moon and know that Cassidy was looking up at the same one, but here in  this strange new world… There was little he could do to forget that she wasn’t looking at the same moon… She was so very very far away. He couldn’t wait until he got home, until the war was over, then he could finally marry her and make everything official.

At the end of the day… All he wanted was love, all he wanted was to feel whole again. Altair's expression became hard and cold, overhead he saw a fleet of airships departing towards Canterlot, their hulls bristling with offensive weaponry. The man had sworn to bring an end to the war, in the beginning he had wanted to do so without much bloodshed, but now it didn’t really matter. He had helped wipe out an entire city with a flood, there were practically no more lines to cross. The Equestrians were almost done for with half of their production facilities without power, it was only a matter of time until Canterlot was conquered.

Overhead the sound of prop engines  caught Altair’s attention, they were too high pitched to be airship propellers and Onorus was only employing jets in this theatre of war. Spot lights flicked on seconds later as the air raid sirens began to blare, Altair looked up and saw dozens of fighter planes escorting bombers. Tracers began flying up into the night sky, as well as missiles. The aircraft had been flying so low they weren’t visible on Radar, right up until the last minute or so of their flight. Bombs began to fall, explosions rocked the base as Altair began running back towards his barracks. The Equestrian air force had been effectively wiped out, meaning that these planes had to be from one of their allies.

It seemed that they war might not be so close to completion after all...
> Operation: Sturmgeist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 15th
C-Day plus 256
Somewhere South of the Eastern Crystal Mountains, Equestria
02:34:12
‘Ghosts of the Storm’

Altair adjusted the straps of his parachute as he sat in his seat, the droning of the C-130’s engines echoed through the aircraft while the other berserkers were readying themselves as well. Each of them wore white camouflage fatigues, like them, Altair also wore the fatigues. He had opted to wear a black beanie rather than the helmets they’d been issued. His Desert Eagle was nestled comfortably in its holster while he looked over the Captured STG-44 he had traded an Equestrian trader a couple of his MREs for. It had a custom mahogany stock and grip, a custom tuned chamber, and a holographic sight.

He didn’t know much about their mission, neither did his men, they had all been pulled off of two day passes for a special assignment. All they had been given was a photograph of a unicorn and cryptic instructions about ‘Meeting a contact’ in whatever place it was they were going. Altair shrugged and tightened the strap on his rifle, it wouldn’t be long until they were over their drop zone. Krieger walked towards Altair, he was around Altair’s age with light blonde hair, blue eyes, and a firm jaw. He was also about as muscled as Altair, making them almost look like twins, if Krieger wasn’t a couple inches shorter.

“Hey, LT.” Krieger said as he took a seat next to the lieutenant. “Know anything else you don’t wanna share with the guys?” Altair shook his head. “So we’re going in blind then?”

“Of course, where would the fun be if we knew what it was we were doing.” Altair said snarkily. “Don’t worry, Sergeant. We’ll be back in time to catch the latest episode of Hell’s Bells.” The red light on the wall flashed on, prompting Altair to stand up and walk towards the back of the C-130. He hooked up his rip cord as the cargo door dropped open, exposing the men to the cold air. Each of them hooked up and watched the light on the wall, meanwhile they could see snow and fog flowing behind the aircraft. In an instant the light went green. “Let’s rock!” Altair sprinted down the ramp and lept out the back of the plane, he fell for a couple seconds before his chute opened. Despite the wind, Altair managed to land in the LZ. He turned on his infrared transponder so the others could find him, then pulled on a pair of night vision goggles. In all the snow and wind all he could see where the other transponders floating down from the plane.

Altair moved towards them as they landed, rounding up all the members of his team. Next he hooked his NVGs into his wrist mounted PDA, a waypoint appeared on the screen. This was an adapted technology developed originally for quadruped pilots, but it proved invaluable in low visibility environments. The others synced up their PDAs, Altair signaled for them to follow his lead as he gripped his rifle and began to trek through the snow towards the waypoint in the distance. After fifteen minutes of trudging along Altair finally saw light ahead, cutting just barely through the thick fog and snow. As the team got closer they could see two rows of houses running along a single road, with a single house on a hill at the edge of town.

”This place looks familiar…” Altair heard Krieger mention, Altair had to admit his subordinate wasn’t wrong. ”I’m getting really eerie vibes from this place, sir. Feels like we’re sneaking into some nazi base from an indiana jones movie.”

“I agree, but keep the chatter to a minimum unless you remember something important.” Altair replied as they trudged down a hill towards the village in the distance, the buildings were all uniform, cookie cutter like. There were no real colorful buildings either, all drab grey, more like a military base than a village. The waypoint lead them around the eastern edge of the village, they could hear engines and talking from inside the town.

”Looks like the Equestrians are here alright. Krieger whispered.

”Negative, those aren’t Equestrian trucks.” The voice of the teams sniper announced from his position overlooking the village. ”They’re just civies, but they’re packing some serious hardware. I count… Five RPGs so far.”

“You mean Panzerschrecks?” Altair asked as he stopped behind one of the buildings for cover.

”Negative. RPGs. Onorussian RPGs.” The sniper replied.

”One of our weapons shipments got hit today, sir… Could be where they got them.”

“But why send us, unless…” Altair trailed off as he peered around the corner and spotted two ponies moving a crate, he recognized the symbol on the side immediately. “They have a Nocturne Artifact.” That sentence sent chills down the spine of every man present. “They must’ve been transporting it to Onorus when the convoy was hit. Kilroy, keep an eye on that box, don’t let it leave your sight.”

”Wilco.” The sniper replied before Altair signaled his men to keep moving towards the waypoint. The men moved through the gap between the two buildings without being seen, their boots leaving marks in the snow behind them. Those marks were quickly blown over by snow and wind, they passed by some of the buildings until the reached the second to last house in the row. Altair stood up and knocked on the window.

“Eagle” He called quietly.

“Hawk.” A voice from inside replied before the window was pushed open, Altair and the others moved in quickly and shut the window before removing their NVGs. It took a couple seconds for their eyes to adjust, when they did they saw a unicorn mare with magenta fur and a purple mane. “Are you the Nocturne Team?”

“We’re Berserker’s, Ma’am.” Altair replied as he tucked his goggles into his kit bag. “The Nocturne Team was wiped out during the convoy attack.” The mare looked a little nervous at the news, but she simply sighed and looked at the ground.

“My name’s Sugarbelle, I’m the last person living in this town after King Steven got rid of Starlight Glimmer.” The mare said as she offered her hand, but she retracted it when she spotted the name ‘Occisor’ on Altair’s fatigues. “You’re the mad man…”

“Mad man? No. Dedicated to a fault? Maybe.” Altair replied flatly. “Let’s discuss your dislike of me AFTER we deal with the potentially world ending artifact out there.” The mare nodded 

“The Nocturne Agency made contact with me several months ago, helped me supply myself.” Sugarbelle said. “In return I was to inform them if anyone ever set up shop here, especially if they were armed… Well, they did.” The mare moved to a window with a view of the stallions outside. “Those are Crimson Partisans, they’re a group of resistance fighters that are particularly violent. I think they want to turn this village into one of their outposts.”

“Any idea where the artifact fits in?” Krieger asked, Sugarbelle shook her head. “Maybe they don’t know what it is?”

“If they knew enough to set up an ambush for the convoy, we have to assume they know more than we do.” Altair said decisively. “We’re going to have to take them out before they can activate whatever artifact the Nocturne Agency was after. Ryan and Collin, you take the left side and draw their attention. Krieger and I will move in behind them, secure the artifact, and aid you once we get it far enough away.” The four men nodded and checked over their weapons once again.

“What about me?” Sugarbelle asked.

“I don’t know, go write me hate mail or something.” Altair replied as he and his men moved back to the window and slipped back out into the snow. “Oh, and stay away from your windows, this is gonna get messy.” With that the four men had moved off in seperate directions, all of them with their weapons raised in a tactical position. Altair and Krieger moved through the shadows towards the enemy trucks. “I need a position on that crate, Kilroy.”

”Turn left.” The sniper said, Altair and Krieger turned left down an alley way and stopped at the edge. Both men could see the crate out in the open as stallions in mishmashed uniforms patrolled the area. ”Hold up a sec, LT. Three Victors coming up the road, I see… To trucks and a fancy looking SUV.”

“Alright… All units hold position.” Altair ordered as he dropped to one knee, the heavy snowfall made him harder to spot from a distance. The three vehicles entered the area, both trucks pulled off to the side while the SUV drove towards the center of the village. It stopped next to the crate, after a couple seconds the passenger side door opened and a stallion in a suit stepped out, he moved towards the back and opened the rear door. A dainty white hoof stepped out, another Unicorn appeared. Her fur as white as snow, her main coiffed and purple, she walked towards the stallions with the crate with a lofty, superior expression.

She began talking with the two stallions, then smiled as they opened the crate, inside was a gem unlike any that had ever been seen, it seemed to swirl with a dark energy inside, as if it was containing something. Altair watched as the stallion from earlier returned with a silver briefcase, he held it up as the unicorn opened it and revealed it was full of Equestrian money.

”This doesn’t look good, LT. We’re outnumbered here…” Kilroy replied.

“They don’t know that.” Altair replied. “Alright, follow my lead…” Altair stood up and moved out into the open. “MACOs! Don’t move!” He shouted loudly, all eyes turned to him as four other men stepped out into the open. “Any of you so much as fucking looks at the trigger finger and we all go up in smoke, there’s a reaper drone circling overhead!” The stallions all looked up, but in the wind and snow they could neither confirm or deny the existence of a drone. “Now, all you need to do to walk away from here with your assets intact is to surrender the crate and the mare!”

“You’re bluffing! He’s bluffing!” The mare shouted.

“How can you know? How do you know that if you shoot us you won’t be blown to tiny pieces.” Altair shouted back, the Equestrians all looked at one another, then cautiously raised their hands. “Thank you, now, if you wouldn’t mind loading up the crate and miss chatty here in one of your trucks, we’d appreciate it. Keep the guns and the money.” The mare began to protest as she and the crate were loaded into one of the trucks. They hesitantly watched as their biggest client and their most valued treasure yet was driven off into the night, then quickly packed up their gear for fear the drone would open fire.

Altair, having picked up Kilroy, was flooring it through the flat wasteland with the heat on and the radio blaring. The others all were still relaxing from their ordeal.

“Has anyone told you you have balls of steel?” Krieger asked from the back, he had just slapped some duct tape over the mouth of their prisoner to shut her up.

“Every goddamn night.” Altair replied. “Focus on relaxing for now, we’ll meet up with our exfil in an hour or so. The storm picked up, so we may end up sleeping in the truck.” The others nodded as they continued driving on into the night.

[♠]

Altair quietly sighed as once again they were aboard the C-130, this time flying back towards Onorussian held Manehattan. The artifact was being guarded by Krieger and the others, leaving Altair and their prisoner to be alone. The two of them were sitting near the back of the plane, well, the prisoner was sitting. Altair had crossed his arms and stood in front of her, she wore a white pant suit and a white fur coat was resting beside her, her mouth still covered by duct tape. Just as Altair was about to ask her the first question he had on his mind alarms began to blare through the aircraft, he lost his footing and ended up falling as the plane suddenly began to climb, the crate slide forwards slightly but was stopped by the other.

“I have Zebra fighters on my ass here! Hold on! I can lose them at a higher altitude!” The pilot announced over the PA as the plane continued its steep ascent, Altair could hear gunfire outside as the zebras tried to down the plane. It seemed that whatever the artifact was, the Equestrians wanted it just as bad as the Onorussians. ”Holy fuck, the Zebs are fighting a couple Queasies!” Zebras fighting Equestrians? So now all three countries wanted what was in that crate. ”We’re leveling out higher than either of them can fly, should be safe for now.” Altair stood up and walked towards the mare.

“I’m gonna remove the tape, you’re gonna be quiet.” Altair said flatly before he reached forward and removed the tape quickly. The mare yelped, but stayed quiet thankfully. “Alright… Now, why don’t you tell me what’s so damn fascinating about that crate and why is everyone trying to kill us for it?”

“I don’t know, darling. I just wanted the gem.” The mare said, she was obviously lying, her expression shifted more than once.

“Let’s try this again.” Altair said simply before he drew his Desert Eagle and leveled it at the mare’s head. Her face went white with fear. “What’s with the gem?”

“It’s something that King Steven helped Celestia make!” The mare blurted out nervously. “I was sent to buy it from the hooligans by Celestia!” Altair rolled his eyes at her and moved the gun a little closer. “They removed her darkside! Put it in that crystal! That’s all I know, I swear it!”

“Oh, I’m sure there are more gems rattling around that brain of yours, but for now… I can see why they all want it so bad. I assume unleashing that dark side would be bad.” Altair hummed as he holstered the weapon. “You should’ve seen the look on your face, it wasn’t even loaded!” The man quietly sighed and began walking back towards the crate, there was a sudden explosion outside and the aircraft began to list to one side.

”Shit! They hit us with a SAM! I can barely keep control, gonna have to set her down somewhere!” The pilot announced nervously, the soldiers quickly strapped the crate down before they too rushed to their sheets and strapped in. Altair gripped his straps tightly as the plane dropped in altitude, it began to level off as it hit heavier air, but even that didn’t help it.

“When we hit the ground, as soon as you can you secure that gem, fuck the crate! Get as far from the plane as possible, we’ll use our RF transponders to find one another afterwards!” Altair shouted to his men over the sound of alarms and engines as the plane got lower and lower in the sky. “Remember to scatter as little as possible, we still need to be able to find each other once we’ve hit the ground.”

”Brace! Brace! Brace!” The pilot announced, not long afterwards Altair could hear grass scraping against the bottom of the plane. Seconds later the aircraft hit the ground with a tremendous thud, Altair hung on for dear life as the plane skidded along the snow covered ground. The lights went out, allowing Altair and the others a glimpse of the fire on the wing… Slowly the plan skidded to a stop, though some holes had opened up further near the front of the plane. ”Evacuate!”

Altair unstrapped himself and rushed to the crate, with a grunt he pulled it open and grabbed the gem from inside. The others were busy kicking out the emergency exit while fire licked at the right side of the plane. Altair was about to join them until he heard the scream of the mare they had captured, the man looked at her quietly. Part of him said to leave her, but the other part made him run towards her and unhook the seat straps. With her still hands still duct taped he dragged her towards the exit and tossed her to his men. The pilots hurried along, one of them limping while the other helped carry him. They two exited the plane, leaving Altair as the last one to go.

“Let’s move!” Altair shouted over the sound of the wind and snow. “This thing is likely to explode!” The group began rushing through the snow towards a faintly visible treeline a hundred yards away while the C-130 burned more and more intensely behind them. When they were halfway to the trees the plane exploded into a massive fireball, incinerating all evidence of who or what had been on board. In the distant tree lines they could see a couple flash lights flick on as Equestrian and Crystal Empire trucks rolled into view. “They found us way too fast! The gem must have some sort of tracker on it.”

“Maybe the mare does!” Krieger shouted back, Altair looked at the mare and saw her try to tuck her necklace down into her pantsuit. “I knew it!”

“Leave her! We need to keep moving!” Altair ordered.

“Lieutenant! I can’t go, my legs busted up.” The wounded pilot groaned, Altair moved over to him and hefted the man onto his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“No one under my command is getting left behind today, soldier! Come on!” Altair grunted as he started trudging through the snow, his assault rifle hanging from its strap while the others followed him, leaving the mare out in the snow. They continued moving while their pursuers stopped to scoop up the mare they had left behind, allowing them more time to get to a different portion of the tree line. “They’re going to lock this area down tight soon… We need to keep moving south!” Altair flicked on his radio as they trudged through the snow, the sky was starting to light up with the morning sun, though it was hidden behind the thick snow clouds. “Eagle Eye, this is Wizard! Need emergency extraction! We’ve been shot down behind enemy lines, in possession of Nocturne Artifact! Do you read?!”

”We read, Wizard. Negative on emergency extraction, we can’t risk sending a chopper into that storm.” The radio replied.

“Damn it, Eagle Eye! I’m holding their key to winning the war, send me a god damn chopper!” Altair shouted back, but once again the negative message came through. “Fuck! We’re on our own until this storm clears up!”

“Not likely to happen, sir! They’ve been using these storms to prevent us from bombing runs in the area!” The unwounded pilot announced as they kept moving through the cold and snow. “The only way we got through was with a C-130, a helicopter won’t survive!” Altair was cursing even more under his breath as he and his men made their way through the trees, the enemy was closing in on them from behind.

“Alright… Alright! Here’s what we do! Fan out and keep moving south, look for farm houses, maintain radio silence! If you see one with a large enough vehicle and you get it running, radio in and we’ll head to your position! Move!” The others nodded and began fanning out as they left the trees and entered more fields, the snow was up to their knees and their fatigues were starting to soak through. There was little in the way of buildings or farm houses to be found, these fields were simply empty to be empty. What was more, there was no way they’d all be able to get their comrades together if they spread out anymore. “Okay! Okay! New plan!” Altair looked at the gem he’d grabbed. “We’re holding a WMD, why don’t we use it?!”

“Last I checked, unleashing demon creatures from hell was a bad thing, sir!” Kilroy shouted back as they moved closer again, Altair shook his head and looked at the enemy approaching in their trucks.

“No no no, like we bluffed with the Reaper drone, only this time we actually have something destructive!” Altair shouted back, the others looked at one another. They could either keep running and die tired, or stand their ground and pray that lightning struck twice. “Kilroy, help me with him…” Kilroy moved closer and took the wounded pilot off of Altair’s shoulders. “Krieger, take the men and get as far away as you can, I’ll deal with the Equestrians.” The man grunted and pulled his sidearm from its holster, he then held it up against the gem in his other hand and turned to face the trucks as they rolled closer. Equestrians hopped out as spotlights lit up Altair and the weapon he held.

“Freeze!” One of the stallions shouted.

“Drop your weapons, all of you, or I blow this thing open and unleash hell!” Altair shouted back, he drew the hammer back on his weapon to show he was serious. His squad wasn’t entirely sure he was bluffing to be quite frank, some of them believed he was just crazy enough to pull the trigger.

“You wouldn’t do that!” A female’s voice shouted, an alicorn stepped out into view. A purple alicorn, Altair recognized her as Princess Twilight Sparkle. She must’ve been sent to secure the artifact by Steven and Celestia, judging by how nervous she appeared. “You would unleash a demon on millions of innocent ponies!”

“You’re damn right I will!” Altair shouted back. “Your government made me into this... An agent not of the moon or son, but of Chaos... You think I won’t pull the trigger?” The man glared at the princess, she looked deep into his eyes and saw… Conviction. He was serious, dead serious, he was willing to free the demon held within the gem if his demands weren’t met. “Now drop your guns and pile out of that truck over there!”

“He isn’t bluffing, guards! Stand down!” Twilight shouted to her soldiers, they kept their weapons raised. “Didn’t you hear him? He’s going to wipe out half the country if we don’t do what he says!”

“How do we know he won’t do it anyway?” One of the stallions shouted back, Altair and the others stood silently as each side tried to determine what the other would do.

”Sir, we’ve found an old cave to hide in. Waiting on you.” Altair heard a voice whisper through the radio in his ear, Altair sighed quietly as he looked between the gun and the gem.

“Not gonna make it, Sergeant. Keep moving.” Altair replied quietly. “I expect the Berserkers to come for me.”

“We’ll bust you out, sir. Just make sure they don’t get their hands on that gem.” Krieger replied in a serious tone, Altair nodded before he tightened his finger on the trigger. The weapon let out a thunderous bang as the bullet shattered the gem, a flash of bright light filled the clearing.

“What have you done!?” Twilight shouted as a fearsome glowing form appeared next to Altair, melting the snow on contact as it became more and more dense. Finally, Day Breaker was free of her prison, though she didn’t recognize the creature that had freed her. She was still weak, she would need to recover some of her power, still… She thanked her rescuer by simply blowing him a kiss, then she vanished in a flash of light. Altair dropped his Desert Eagle and raised his hands, smiling smugly.

“I warned you.” He said simply in a sing song voice as the Equestrians grabbed hold of him and dragged him towards their trucks, Twilight watched the fragments of the gem simply evaporate into nothingness… A shocked expression on her face. “Come on! Wasn’t fighting us getting a little boring!? Now you and all your friends will have another adventure to go on!” Altair began laughing loudly as he was shoved into the back of one of the trucks, leaving Twilight standing in the snow… She didn’t know what monster she faced was worse… The demon of Celestia, or the Demon of Onorus.
> Operation: Freedom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

January 3rd
C-Day plus 305
Prison Camp #035, Trottingham, Equestria
11:23:08
‘Parare. Act. Vincere.’

It was a bitter cold winter in Trottingham, snow fell rapidly from the sky while the air bit at the skin of the dozens of humans standing huddled together. The Equestrian guards in the watchtowers were also freezing, but not to the point that they were slack in their duties. The barracks were all above concrete slabs, making tunneling out of the camp nigh impossible. The guards were confident that this, coupled with their superior fire power, would keep even the most daring of prisoners in line. Of course, their most daring prisoner up to that point hadn’t come close to the tenacity that Altair Occisor had for creating chaos.

The Lieutenant in question was resting on his bunk, eating an apple while he stared up at the bunk above his and the numerous drawings he’d pinned to the wood above his head. They had been so detailed at first, drawings of Cassidy’s face and the city back home… Now they were distorted by the fading memory in his mind. The man wore his dirty winter uniform over his fatigues, his knit cap had small holes in it, and his hands were calloused from the labor that the warden had forced him and his fellow POWs to take part in. All that suffering, all the fighting that Altair had done to stay soon… It was all about ready to pay off… The Equestrians had stopped them from tunneling out, that meant they would simply have to fight their way out.

The prisoners had no qualms with dying while escaping, it was better to die free than live as prisoners, but they wanted to ensure there was as best a chance of success as possible. A successful escape would draw resources from the enemy and help win the war. For Altair, he wasn’t so much concerned with winning the war as he was getting revenge… The faces of King Steven, Celestia, and Major Shimmer hadn’t left his mind, they were still clear as crystal to him, but those he loved were fading like the light of a dying lightbulb.

Altair reached under his bed and withdrew one of his tools to help with the plan for the escape, slowly he had been having providentia agents smuggle in his revolver… Piece by piece. The final piece had arrived days before, meanwhile the others had been steeling munitions from the guards, and they had already managed to stash a couple rifles from the armory. The guards had no idea where they were hidden, or who had done it, so they had been conducting random searches and other disciplinary acts… Unofficially, they had also cut down on the coal that the prisoners could use to heat their barracks.

The others were slowly pulling out their own weapons, some had taped sharpened butterknives to pieces of wood, others simply wielded two by fours like a bat. All throughout the camp, the prisoners were filing into the barracks slowly without raising suspiscion and arming themselves. Altair readied his revolver with six rounds of hollow points, then he stood up from his bunk and grabbed the best looking picture of Cassidy. He tucked it into his pocket before joining the other armed prisoners in waiting near the door. The Onorussians watched as two prisoners began to fight, this drew the attention of the guards away from the barracks. With that cue, the two men with rifles stepped out into position, taking aim at the tower guards. Both were snipers, so they hit their mark when they pulled the triggers. The first two guards went down simultainiously while the third was shot after the men racked fresh rounds.

The guards didn’t realize what had happened at first, when they did the alarms began to blare as the prisoners shouted and cheered while surging out of their barracks and towards the gate to freedom. Altair shouted and cheered as he ran along, more and more Equestrians were coming out, only to be met by the horde of angry Onorussians. The remaining tower guard began firing at the crowd, mowing down half a dozen in the first pass and half a dozen again on the second. The two snipers quickly dismissed him, meaning the Onorussians would only be fighting a ground battle.

Altair grabbed a gasmask off one of the dead guards and pulled it on, surprisingly it fit his face well. Others began doing the same as riot guards stepped into view, they began tossing tear gas into the horde as the two sides clashed. The problem with forcing prisoners to do hard labor is that while it tires them out it also makes them muscled beyond belief. This was what the Equestrians learned when their nightsticks were yanked from their grasp and turned against them. Altair leveled his handgun at one of the riot guards and pulled the trigger, splattering the stallion’s brains all over the guard behind him.

“Come, comrades! For Mother Onorus!” One of the rioters shouted as they bashed the head of a guard with a two by four. He was an older fellow, a colonel named Viktor Zernvo, he had been the one to orchestrate the plan for the escape, a real hard ass from back in the days of the EOL war. “Altair, create more openings for our men to slaughter these monarchist pigs!”

“Ura!” Altair shouted back before he began firing at the riot guards, the sirens began to blare even more loudly as prisoners armed themselves with the weapons of fallen guards and began to rip the riot guards protective line apart. Within a couple minutes the line had collapsed and the guards were running for safety, most of them ended up getting beaten by angry prisoners however. Altair and the others meanwhile came upon the first of two gates that separated them from freedom.

“Their prison gates are made of wood! Break them into the kindling we use to burn this place to the ground!” Zernvo ordered, the horde bellowed in response as they began to rip boards out of their places and tossing them aside. The barbed wire didn’t cover enough to stop them from doing it now that there were no guards left to shoot at them from the watchtowers. The gate was quickly dismantled, as was the second, meaning nothing stood between the soldiers and freedom save for one person. The Warden, a mare that Altair had hated since he had first met her in that prison all those months ago. The crowd began to disperse past her, there was little she could do to stop them, but some knew just how much Altair hated her. Colonel Zernvo was among them, he stayed behind to watch as Altair slipped his gun into his belt and rolled his neck, then cracked his knuckles.

Sunset Shimmer was panicking, all of her prisoners were flooding the forest, her guards were dead, there was nothing she could do to stop any of it except stand there like a rock in the middle of a stream, hoping to survive. Then her worst fears were confirmed when she heard a crowd of prisoners begin to chant ‘Vashira! Vashira!’, which was Onorussian for ‘Vengeance! Vengeance!’. Like an ancient titan, Shimmer saw Altair Occisor walking towards her. His face partially hidden by his mask, but the scars still partially visible. The hatred in his eyes was all too clear.

“S-Stay back!” Sunset Shimmer shouted as she took a step back, Altair continued walking towards her, his muscles bulging as he clenched his fists. The crowd’s chanting became even louder, even more bloodthirsty. Sunset Shimmer put up her fists in a defensive posture as Altair stopped in front of her. The mare yelped when he moved so fast that she didn’t have time to react in time, her world became nothing but pain as his fist connected with her jaw.

“What’s wrong, Major?! You were so tough in prison! I had been training just for this moment!” Altair said in a vicious voice as he punched her again, this time bloodying her nose as she lost even more of her balance and sense of direction. “Without your knives you are nothing but an animal! A monarchist pig! And me?!” Altair grabbed her by the throat and leaned in real close. “I am the butcher!” Sunset Shimmer’s eyes went wide. “Squeal for me, piggy!”

The crowd cheered wildly as they watched Altair throw the mare to the ground and began raining punches down on her face and head. Other prisoners began to light the entire camp on fire or stripping the guards of their armor and weapons for later use. Altair stood over the brutally beaten corpse of his torturer with his fists in the sky, soaking in adulation from his comrades.

“Good, Comrade! Good!” Zernvo cheered as he ran towards Altair. “Now! We must go before reinforcements arrive!”

“I can’t go with you, comrade.” Altair replied quietly. “This Monarchist whore was only the first of those I must deal with.” Zernvo was going to try and talk him out of it, but he knew from spending time with the Nova-Imperator that he would have little effect on him. “Do not worry, my friend… You have shown me back to the path I was born to walk, I will not forget this. This is not the last time we will see eachother.”

“Oh? Where do you suppose we’ll see eachother again?” The Colonel asked incredulously.

“In Canterlot, when we hang the Onorussian flag over their conquered nation.” Altair replied with a grin, his fists still covered in blood. “When you return to Onorus, give this to my fiance’.” Altair took the picture he had drawn of her from his pocket and gave it to the Colonel. “Tell her I’ll be home soon.”

“Of course, Comrade.” Zernvo replied dutifully, with that both men shared a salute before the Colonel rushed back to help the other men with their escape.

Altair instead began walking towards the motor pool of the base, he left the mask on his face to maintain warmth, adjusting his tattered scarf, causing it to flap in the wind. He stepped into the motor pool uncontested and approached the only vehicle that hadn’t already been taken by the more eager escapees. It was a motorcycle, much like the old BMWs ridden by the Germans during the second world war. Altair swung his leg over the top of it and sat down, he pushed the starter and smiled when the engine rumbled to life. Altair kicked the vehicle into gear and tore off down the road, he had grown up riding in snow and dirt alike… Every journey began with a single step, and this… This was step one.

[♠]

Steven looked at the report about what had happened at the prison, the soldiers that had been sent to reinforce the guards had found it torched to the ground with bodies strewn about the ground. So far it hadn’t been confirmed that Altair Occisor was among the dead, but judging by the fact that Major Shimmer had been beaten to death so brutally, Steven laid good odds that the man was not only alive but on his way deeper into Equestria. Unfortunately, Steven didn’t have the resources to look for him and go after all the prisoners from the camp, which meant that he couldn’t go after the dangerous man until they’d recaptured those that had escaped. That left him a clear, if not long and winding, path to the capital city and so many villages in his way. Even if the castle had been destroyed, the city was still a strategic asset.

“Quite the pickle, huh?” A voice asked from across the room, Steven looked up and spotted a human leaning against a cane, he had a serpent lapel pin and devilish yellow eyes. His hair was bleached white, and his teeth looked almost… sharpened. “Well, nothing you don’t deserve.”

“Discord?” Steven asked, almost surprised to see the chaos god. “Discord!?” Surprise rapidly turned to anger. “How are you here?! I killed you!?”

“No. You killed my…. Eight millionth cousin. How could you?” The man said in a sing song voice before he chuckled. “I’m from Onorus, and I gotta say, you should fire your interior decorator… Or hire a new author. The detail in this place is just… Lacking.”

“What? Never mind, what do you want? Why are you here?” Steven asked, the man hummed and walked towards Steven’s desk. He leaned against it and snapped his fingers, a nail file appeard in the man’s hands and he began to file several nails… Metal nails, used in carpentry.

“Because you fucked with my friend’s kid.” Discord said simply, still filing the nails. “More importantly, you fucked with him so bad that instead of looking up to his wonderful and beautiful mother, he’s looking up to me.” Discord looked at Steven. “Even to a guy like me, that’s cold.” Steven glared at the man and began to reach into his desk, only for the chaos god to snap his fingers and make the desk dissapear. “Altair was a good kid before you got your hands on him, a little idealistic, but at least he believed in right and wrong… Now you’ve gone and given me a disciple I never asked for. So… I’m going to make lemonade here and help him overthrow your government!”

“You can’t, you have limited power here.” Steven said simply. “Maybe you can make him a can of soup or something, but I believe you used most of your power making my desk disappear.”

“You’d be surprised what I can do with limited power.” Discord said cheerily. “I love a challenge.” The Chaos God snapped, once again the desk was back where it was. “Anyway, I just wanted to inform you of your imminent demise! Tata!” Before Steven could get another word out the chaos god had transformed into a fly and buzzed away… The King looked at his desk, dreading the report he would likely be receiving shortly. He could only imagine what hell the man known as Altair Occisor was about to unleash upon his country.

[♠]

Altair quietly walked down the streets of a small village, his bike had run out of gas on the outskirts and he had wandered in looking for gas. The handgun in his belt gave the civilians something to see and fear, even the local police were too afraid to come out and face him. He still wore the mask, though he had drawn fearsome looking fangs on the outside to add to the mystery and intimidation factor. Atop his head was an Equestrian helmet that he’d taken from a dead soldier, aside from that there was little about him that screamed ‘Military’. All he lacked was a Chaos Serpent Tattoo to be considered a Disciple of Discord.

The man’s boots crunched the snow beneath his feet as he approached the gas station, there were several cars and trucks parked there, some of which had been filling up with gas when talk of the man had sent their owners running for someplace to hide.

“I fear no stallion… But that… Thing…” Altair heard someone whisper in the shadows. “It scares me.” Altair walked up to the door and looked inside, there was half a dozen ponies hiding behind the counters. They all yelped as he pushed the door open and stepped in… The haunting sound of soft humming filled the gas station convenience store.

“He’s the guy who’s the talk of the town… With a restless gun!” Altair sang quietly to himself as he walked down the aisles, he grabbed a couple cans of Wringles chips, as well as a six pack of rootbeer. With them in hand the man simply walked back outside and towards one of the trucks parked at the gas pump. He tossed the items in the passenger seat, whistling the rest of the tune as he closed the passenger door. He turned to walk around the front of the truck and found himself standing twenty paces or so from a stallion wearing a sheriff’s deputy uniform, he had his hand near his holster. “Oh no no… Don’t do that.”

“B-Beg all ya want! Y-Yer comin with me!” The deputy said, trying to sound intimidating.

“No, I wasn’t begging, silly… I said no because if you draw on me, I have to draw on you… And honestly… Who do you think is the faster draw?” Altair asked as he tilted his head to one side, the deputy looked between Altair’s hand and the gun in his belt, then took a deep breath. “Now, either draw or step out of the way… I’ve got places to go, people to kill, y’know?” The deputy took a deep breath and puffed out his chest, then shook his head. “Suit yourself.” Altair reached for his gun, so did the deputy. Altair had drawn his weapon in about two seconds while the deputy had forgotten to unhook the leather strap keeping his gun in the holster… He was now staring down the barrel of a very mean looking handgun.

“P-Please! I-I have a family!” The deputy said as he put his hands up.

“So do I.” Altair replied, keeping the weapon pointed at the stallion. “And you’re standing between them and I…” The deputy stepped away, Altair followed him with the gun. “You know, you’re the only one that had the sack to face me and even try to draw on me? If you ever run for sheriff lemme know, I’ll endorse you!” With that Altair lowered the gun, only slightly, before shooting the deputy in the leg. The stallion yelled in pain as he fell to the floor! “Don’t worry, I aimed for the fleshy part of the thigh, but it’ll look good in campaign ads! Y’all take care now.” With that Altair holstered his weapon and walked around the front of the truck, he hopped into the cab and hot wired the engine before peeling out of the parking lot.

The man left the village behind in his mirror, humming to himself as he took one of the cans of root beer and opened it. He sipped slowly as he tore down the highway at high speeds, even with the snow and ice. It was just him, his snacks, his truck, the road, and a little tiny fly that kept landing on the dashboard every now and then. The fly wasn’t bugging him, so Altair was content to let it live and let live… But only so long as it didn’t bug him. Altair had liked the last hamlet alright, but he wasn’t sure he’d like the next one as much… If he really hated it he might just burn it to the ground… Honestly he didn’t understand why Onorus didn’t bomb the Equestrians back to the stone age, they had enough Thermo-Arcane bombs to do the job… Hell, Altair would’ve pushed the button himself if he had the chance! Whatever the reason, it gave Altair a chance to be himself, straight no filter… Free.

> Operation: Unthinkable
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

January 6th
C-Day plus 308
Canterlot, Military Republic of Onorus
22:12:16
‘Faith and Loss’

Cassidy quietly paced back and forth, a nervous expression on her face. Ever since the news of Altair’s escape and his subsequent decision to continue his mission she had been a nervous wreck. She hated the Equestrians more than she wanted to admit, they were the ones that had turned Altair into whatever he had become. The generals were referring to him more and more like a weapon than a person, but she knew from the drawing she had been given by one of the escapees that deep down, somewhere beneath all that twisted hate… He was still in there. That wasn’t what had her panicked though, no, that honor fell on the decision being made beyond the door marked ‘War Room’.

As a future part of the Imperatorial Family, she now got to know more about what was going on behind the closed doors of the war department. The decision would be, put simply, whether or not it was time to deploy Thermo-Arcane weapons. It had been less than a year and already casualties were nearing those seen during the Second World War. What this meant was that if Altair was anywhere near one of the cities they decided to bomb… Well, one could see why this decision made Cassidy upset. The woman stopped pacing as she saw the door open, several generals stepped out… Down the hall, she could see another general walking with a large briefcase handcuffed to his wrist… They had made their decision.

[♠]

Steven looked up as he heard the radio monitoring Onorussian airwaves stop playing its usual music selection. It was instead replaced by the announcer saying ‘We interrupt this broadcast with a special address from the Imperator.’, something that rarely happened on Onorussian radio. Steven sat up at his desk and turned towards the radio.

”My fellow Onorussians… I stand before you tonight not as your leader, not as a general, but as a father… And unlike some would want you to believe… A human being.” The imperator’s baritone voice filled the rooms of every person listening to Onorussian radio, which was quite a lot of ponies. ”I come before you all, Onorussian, and I’m sure Equestrians listening in tonight, with somber news.” Steven turned it up, unsure of what he was hearing. ”To date, between our two nations, over thirty million lives have been lost. This number is unacceptable, and necessitates a drastic change in military strategy… Or more hopefully, a cessation of hostilities.”

”I want my son to come home. I want your sons to come home. I want them home alive.” The imperator continued, almost sounding on the verge of tears. ”So I deliver this ultimatum to the Equestrians with the hope they will heed my words. Surrender your armed forces unconditionally within the next half hour or we will resort to the use of Thermo-Arcane weapons. I urge civilians to evacuate major cities and areas near military installations… That is all. Steven dropped his pen in shock as he stared at the radio, meanwhile the door to his office was busted open by several soldiers and generals.

“Sir! We need to evacuate you immediately!” One of them shouted, but Steven was still in shock from the news. This was it… This was what he had feared most the entire time, that things would escalate to the point that things would become unsalvageable. Now he had two choices, surrender everything he and the ones he loved worked so hard to build, or watch it turned to cinders. The ball was in his court, if he didn’t do something, he would surely watch everything he had built burn… Perhaps that was what the Imperator had been thinking as well, and if that was the case, maybe Steven could convince him that attacking with Thermo-Arcane weapons would have the same effect on his people as it would on Equestria… Yes, Steven could assure that the destruction was mutual, that would make the Onorussians stop.

“Right… Order our generals to bomb one of their cities if they bomb one of ours, but not Canterlot…” Steven ordered as he stood up and walked towards his generals. “I want the Imperator to see what will happen when he bombs us.” The Generals nodded as they stepped out of the room and into the hallway. “We’ve lost far too much to surrender now… God forgive me.”

[♠]

Altair began to laugh as he drove along the highway, patting the steering wheel as he rolled down the window and cheered loudly out the window. The radio had just confirmed it, they were gonna glass the bastards, turn all of Equestria into a full on chaotic wasteland of death and despair. He grinned from ear to ear beneath the mask as he watched cars start driving like crazy to get away from the nearest city. Altair simply pulled over and killed the engine, he was a safe distance away from any cities or military targets, so he could sit and watch the fireworks. The grabbed a couple of his snacks before he got out and walked around to the back of the truck, he then hopped in the bed and sat down facing Canterlot.

“So… It finally got to you.” A voice said from next to him, Altair looked over and saw Discord sitting there in his human form with a neutral expression. “The family curse and all that they did to you, you finally let your dark side win.” Altair shrugged and popped one of the potato chips into his mouth. “I suppose your father let his win when he faced the plague, but he came back from it… Not sure you can do the same.”

“Not sure I want to.” Altair replied with a shrug as several cars drove past at breakneck speed. “Maybe I’m just tired of fighting how I feel, pretending to be someone… Something that I’m not.” Discord raised an eyebrow at his last statement. “A decent human being, and you know what? I’ve accepted that I’m a terrible person, I’m glad for it… Because even if I have to suffer, I can make the enemy suffer just as much.”

“Ah, what about when there are no more enemies?” Discord asked.

“There are always enemies.” Altair said sternly. “My father denies that he thinks the same way, he has to, but I don’t.” The man ate another one of his chips. “The Crystal Empire, the Zebras, Caribou, Minotaurs, and so many more…” Discord could see something very… Very dark in the man’s eyes. “They should all be wiped out if they refuse to join our cause.”

“What about the people who love you? Your parents? Cassidy? What would they think if they heard you talking like this?” Discord asked again, Altair looked over at him with an almost dead expression, something that made the chaos god want to look away. “You released a demon here, have you ever thought maybe you’re thinking like this because of her?”

“So what if I am?” Altair asked with a shrug. “If feeling free means being the bad guy, why would I want to go back to being ‘good’?” The man could hear the howling engines of jets overhead, prompting him to look up and see a pair of Vulcan bombers on their way to Canterlot. “It’s all relative… And it doesn’t matter in the end what ‘side’ you were on. None of this matters… Not you, not me, nothing… Half the time I wonder if I even want to see another sunset. And you know what? Homicidal thoughts and suicidal thoughts are pretty damn similar…”

“So… That’s it, then? No more noble crusade to end the war and get the girl? You’re just going to sit here while millions die?” Discord asked, Altair nodded and ate another chip. “Why?”

“Because they don’t matter to me.” Altair said with a shrug. “Because it won’t aid me in anyway to help them… Because I like big flashes of light? Take your pick.” Discord had watched Altair grow up since he had been just a baby, from his first steps to his first days of school, even his first date with Cassidy. He had been a good kid, got decent grades, stood up to bullies… But… It had always felt like he was going through the motions in the later years. Now Altair realized that maybe, just maybe, this man was more like him than he was his own family. Embraced, and yet still outcast, expected to act one way while being drawn towards another… Discord looked at Altair, who had now pulled a pair of sunglasses from his jacket, he put them on and ate another chip. “Alright… First bomb should be dropping in… Three… Two… One…”

As if on cue, Discord saw a flash of red light on the horizon, brighter than a thousand suns, and giving off immense levels of Arcane Fallout. To Altair it was harmless, but to the ponies of this world it was lethal. Altair began laughing as he saw more flashes on the horizon, the light reflecting off of his glasses. Discord had seen thousands of years in his life, civilizations that had risen and fallen… He had grown numb to the destruction of ages, and it seemed he had found an ally in the young man sitting beside him.

“So… If you don’t care about your family anymore…”

“I care about them very much, but no one else really…” Altair corrected the chaos god. “I just don’t care about all they say about me…”

“Right… Well, anyway, if you’re looking for something to do you could always come work for me.” Discord said with a shrug, Altair looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I haven’t had anyone to work with in eons, and I’m sure the me in this world felt the same way. Since this place is short a chaos god, would you mind filling in?”

“You need to ask?” Altair said, Discord smirked slightly. “But no god like powers, alright? I like to keep things interesting.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way…” Discord said with his own smirk, the two men simply sat there, watching the world begin to burn. “Here’s to a new world…”

Across both dimensions, flashes of light were spreading across continents as two planets fell into full on Thermo-Arcane War. Onorus was being hit, the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, every last nation was being engulfed in Thermo-Arcane flames. Even Earth saw some flashes of light in key areas, the worlds were being transformed, morphing together as one massive ball of hate and radiation floating through a single cosmos… For the first time in history, two realms had merged into one. The destruction brought about by such an event was masked by the sheer volume of Thermo-Arcane destruction spreading across the massive new world.

Missiles from Onorussian submarines struck Equestria while Equestrian missiles struck portions of Northern and southern Onorus. The Imperator and his family watched the destruction from the safety of a bunker while the entire world they had fought to build unraveled, surrounded by a cocoon of fire that would transform the world into what it should have been… A world of chaos, a world where the human species would thrive. One that the Imperator had been too afraid to create up to that point, a world where Humanity would once again be the apex predator.

Cities in ruins, communities in tatters, and millions dead… While millions more would suffer and starve, and even more would harbor hate and anger for decades to come. Deep down, this was the world that the Occisor Clan had dreamed of since the very beginning. From Rome, through the ages… As the skies darkened and Nuclear Winter was set in motion, Altair took one final look at the sun before it was blotted out. The war was still on, he would still reap his revenge, though now…. It would be under a far more darker sky.

> The End.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Altair quietly sighed as he and Discord walked along the road, passing by destroyed cars and charred skeletons while the ruins of Canterlot loomed in the distance. Trees that were once covered in snow were now charred beyond any hope of survival, shadows of those that had been vaporized dotted the numerous walls that the pair passed by. The city was deathly quiet, not a single sound to be heard save for the creaking of burned out highrises and the groan of other dilapidated structures. Smoke drifted up through the air from still smoldering trucks and other wreckage, occasionally Altair saw a skeleton or two…

The world was as he felt… Dead inside, wanting to cry out, wanting to scream to the heavens ‘Why me?’... All his life he had wanted the world to understand, and now… Now they knew, everyone knew… Even those that had died knew. Discord and Altair silently wandered through the city, towards the west, where the sun was starting to set. In the end, Cassidy and his parents had lost him to his own mind. There was no tomorrow, there would never be another sunset… Through the ruined streets of Canterlot a single gunshot echoed… Twenty years of suffering finally came to an end...