“Kill it! Kill it now!”

Captain Edward Teach yelled his order as the large brown dragon landed on the top of one of the Hydra’s, the beast roaring as railgun rounds pelted its body. The lizard sank its claws into the metal of the AI frigate’s control tower, the metal buckling under the sheer strength of the enraged creature. Sighing to himself as Teach watched the dragon rip the tower off to throw it into the ocean, the Captain tapped an order into his command console as the crippled Hydra’s guns went silent.

The dragon paused as a bright light grew in the bowels of the stricken vessel, the beast flapping its wings to take off but it was far too late.

With a large boom, a blindingly bright explosion radiated out from the Hydra as it self-destructed, the dragon screeching in agony as it was caught by the fireball and shards of metal. The glow died down, what little remained of the Hydra sinking to the bottom of the sea while the dragon wearily flapped its wings as it stared in a mad rage at Teach’s command ship. The glow of fires burning on the remains of the griffon fleet surrounding the combatants illuminated the dragon’s brown hide, the gems shimmering as the creature started a desperate dive to target the bridge of the command ship.

It never made it, two surface-to-air missiles rocketing out from one of the launchers on the cruiser to the left to home in on the approaching dragon. With its wings already damaged by the shrapnel from the destroyed Hydra, the dragon was unable to evade the projectiles meaning that the missiles hit it in the right side. The warheads detonated, tearing most of the dragon’s flesh off its side as it roared in agony, flapped three more times and then careened into the ocean two-hundred metres from the command ship.

Teach stared at the dragon as it weakly tried to stay afloat, his eyes moving towards the spot where the beast had destroyed his frigate. The captain narrowed his eyes, tapping some commands into his console the microphone hanging off his left ear activated. He wanted to finish this the old fashioned way.

“Captain Teach to navigation,” he spoke into the microphone as he stared out of the bridge windows. “Increase speed to flank speed, ram the lizard.” Teach sat back and smirked as he received an ‘aye aye’ and felt the ship underneath him move forward. Nothing destroys one of his ships and gets away with it.

The dragon barely had time to lift its head before the large metal bow of the command ship struck it just between the right shoulder and the neck. Powered by its powerful turbines the ship cut through the dragon’s body with ease, staining the bow red with blood as the dragon let out a final screech before expiring.

Captain Teach sighed happily as what remained of the creature sank into the sea, its death had really lifted his mood after the loss of a ship. He turned his attention to the city and from the looks of the mass of creatures flying towards him as they fled it seemed as if the assault had been a success. Once again orders where issues, the four ships sitting in the harbour amidst the destroyed enemy fleet as they aimed their numerous anti-air armaments towards the sky in preparation for the duck hunt.

General Prasad stood next to Lieutenant Quick Strike amidst the throng of Equestrian and UIP troops helping civilians into a central area in the city square. The pegasus had gotten over her squeamishness when they had entered the city after having exchanged the tank for an APC. Seeing the effects of urban fighting from front lines had been a terrifying experience for her but after encountering the first group of the local garrison and having them explain what the griffons and minotaurs had done her resolve had strengthened.

She hadn’t fought herself, Prasad preferring to keep her by his side which was something Quick Strike was secretly thankful for. Minotaurs and griffons were scary and fierce combatants who had numerous advantages over ponies. The pegasus had been kept busy however with Prasad explaining to her about certain tactics that the enemy seemed to favoured and how to counter them. Quick Strike had proved to absorb it surprisingly quickly, her cutie mark of a sword slashing through a cloud possibly meaning more than first assumed.

Strike hadn’t had as much luck with trying to explain the concept of cutie marks to the General with the human not seeming to get it at all. He had asked just how pony names were so accurate and matched the marks with Quick Strike informing him that it was magic. The human had seemed to pause at this, Strike unable to see his expression due to his helmet. She wondered what humans looked like under the armour as every one of them she had met all wore some sort of concealing head wear.

Quick Strike was snapped out of her reminiscing as another crowd of civilians walked past her, the ponies all shooting the General beside her fearful looks as they were ushered past by Solar guard. The humans were still an enigma to most ponies including the guards working with them and the fact that the siege of the city had been crushed effectively with minimal friendly casualties only added to their intimidating reputation. Quick Strike could still remember when the APC they were in was attacking the enemy, the thunder of the ‘gauss cannon’ it was armed with still stuck in her mind.

What had they gone through to have to rely on such extreme ways of war? The humans all seemed to treat this like a chore rather than a war. General Prasad certainly seemed to not care about the creatures that they were killing by the dozen, Strike unsettled at this as the human General had treated her with nothing but respect and kindness. A small part of her thought that if the humans had turned out to be the malicious and evil demons that they had been described as before they had begun to help then the aliens would make a little more sense.

“Lieutenant,” Prasad started as he held a hand to the side of his helmet. Quick Strike glanced up at him with a questioning look. A loud boom from the harbour followed by a flash of light drew the attention of everyone, pony and human. Quick Strike shuddered as a dragon roared in pain in the direction of the noise, pegasi and dragons had never gotten along. “Why is there dragons, did your commanders not feel the need to tell us that the griffons and minotaurs are working with them?” Quick Strike ignored the sounds of more roars and focused on the General.

“They don’t, dragons tend to be only out for themselves or their family groups so I don’t know why this one helped the griffons.” Prasad lifted his hand once again, Quick Strike not privy to what Prasad had described as their ‘Secure channels.’ Her borrowed headset only let her issue orders to a few selected Equestrian officers. The humans didn’t trust them that much.

“It seems like this wasn’t the only one,” the General informed her. “Troops in Baltimare report that a dragon was sighted and destroyed while Fillydelphia…” Quick Strike nudged Prasad with an armoured hoof when the human didn’t continue. She had figured out that bipeds didn’t seem to be too comfortable with physical contact as ponies were but she wanted to find out what was happening. Prasad removed his hand from his helmet and glanced down at Quick Strike before walking off towards a group of Equestrian and human soldiers setting up a makeshift command post.

“Wait, what happened to the Dragon?” Quick Strike asked as she hurriedly moved to Prasad’s side. The General didn’t look down at her as he waved a human officer over.

“A psionic happened,” was all the General said which wasn’t any help to Quick Strike at all. She had to wonder however what could rattle the General so much even after all the horrors of war that they had witnessed in the last few hours.

James sat down on the bench as his suit continued to inject him with painkillers, nanomachines and life-preserving drugs. Equines and UIP troopers were all around the area escorting civilians out of the city while a group of APCs dragged the body of the fallen dragon off the main road.

Maybe mentally ripping the creature’s own ribcage out of her chest was a little over the top. He cursed silently to himself as he felt his muscles burn and his heart rate finally start to slow down from a rapid thumping. He was still only relatively new to this whole psionic thing so his body’s limit for the strain caused by overusing his abilities was still pretty low. His tendency to overdo things had stuck with him after he had left the employ of the ISA,

Ripping bones out of a flying dragon the size of a transport lander is far more difficult than freezing a bunch of soldiers.
Luckily none of the civilians had been crushed by the falling body although a few unlucky ones had been drenched in the blood that had rained from the sky when the dragon’s chest had burst open. Considering what had almost happened with the Griffons and Minotaurs, James could live with it.

Both UIP troops and Equestrians had been avoiding him as he rested, no-one wanted to disturb the agent as he let his suit repair his battered body. Luckily his organs hadn’t shut down this time, knowing that you were clinically dead but still fighting as your suit took over vital functions was not a good feeling. James had heard stories of some PWU agents relying solely on their suits for all body functions as their insides had all but withered away or been replaced with artificial organs.

Thankfully the painkillers had kicked in and everything had died down to a numb throb. As ponies were loaded into transports heading back to the capitol city the allied forces started to set up a staging ground for the invasion over the sea. James lost himself in his own thoughts as he spread his arms over the back of the small bench while he relaxed.

He had only drifted off for five minutes before a set of hooves approached him from behind and he felt a young presence brimming with curiosity and fear.

“I know you’re there,” he casually informed causing the pony behind him to tense up and its fear to increase. “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.” The equine hoofsteps resumed as the pony made a wide-circle around to the front of the bench. A sapphire-coloured pony child stood in front of him and stared at him with wide yellow eyes. It was what the locals called an ‘Earth’ pony and James guessed his age to be in the early teens. The colt judging from the muzzle brushed his brown mane back shifted from hoof-to-hoof.

“Are you the human that killed the dragon?” the colt asked as James chuckled. Out of all the ponies and soldiers around him only a colt had come up to talk to him.

“I am,” James answered warmly. “I’m sorry you had to see that, I got a little carried away.” The colt nodded and took a second to squint at James’s armoured forehead as he stepped a little closer.

“How?” he inquired. “You don’t have a horn so how could you do magic?” James chuckled again as the colt sat down on his rump.

“Now why should I tell you that if I don’t even know your name? I’m James Roberson.” The pony in front of him seemed hesitant to answer but relented.

“Full Harvest,” the colt muttered. “My parents are a little obsessed with the farm.” James shrugged, he’d heard worse names.

“At least they didn’t call you something stupid like ‘Orthodox’,” the human replied. Harvest brightened as the human didn’t have a go at his name.

“So can you tell me how you do magic now?” he asked excitedly. James in response waggled a finger in the air.

“It’s not magic, I’m a psionic.” Seeing the confusion on the pony’s face James decided to elaborate. “What that means is that instead of using a horn like unicorns do psionics use their minds. Only a small amount of people develop the capacity for the abilities and there’s nothing magical about it. All it involves are special parts of the brain developing and a lot of psionics go unnoticed unless they either discover their abilities or are tested positive in tests.” James had kept the explanation dumbed down which meant leaving out the discussion of cells, neural development and genetic changes.

Harvest seemed satisfied however with his face locked in thought as James reached up and removed his blank-faced helmet. The pony leaned forward a little to get a better look at the human’s brown face as the helmet was placed on the bench beside James. He didn’t find a muzzle but a small nose, small brown eyes, a smooth bald head and a mouth curved in a warm smile. Harvest was a little disappointed; he was expecting rows of eyes and multiple fang-filled mouths.

“You said something about a farm,” James asked. “Why are you in the city then, are you here for a holiday?” Harvest nodded, both of the conversing beings not noticing the frantic grass-green earth pony mare begin to gallop towards Harvest from the crowd in the distance.

“Our farm’s a day’s walk away,” Harvest informed. “We come in for a few days every month to sell things in the market and buy stuff we can’t make. Mom and sis came with me while Dad and my older brother stayed back on the farm. Have you ever been on a farm or have you-“

“Full Harvest!”

A female yell called out as the two turned to the left and spotted a mare running towards them. The green mare’s blond hair fluttered behind her as she galloped towards the colt sitting down. Harvest was pulled to his hooves as the mare reached him and grabbed him around the barrel.

“Harvest what are you doing!?” she quizzed the colt as she glanced nervously at the human sitting on a bench. “I told you to stay away from any humans,” she whispered but was still overheard by James.

“But Mom, James is really nice,” Harvest defended. “He said he’s a ‘psionic’ and he’s the human that defeated the dragon!” The mare glanced at the dead corpse of the dragon that was now being pushed towards the sea by a group of the humans’ strange war machines. Knowing that didn’t exactly ease her fears.

“No Harvest, we’re being taken to Canterlot so we have to go now.” She turned to the human and tried to force a smile but failed, “Please forgive my son for bothering you, I promise it won’t happen again.” James waved a hand dismissively.

“Oh, I enjoyed out little chat. He was no trouble at all.” The mare didn’t seem convinced and she quickly pulled Harvest away to re-join with the main crowd. James smiled as the colt gave him a wave goodbye and returned the gesture. He could understand the mother’s uneasiness and considering that even veteran UIP Army soldiers tried to avoid him her fear didn’t bother him too much.

A small smile was still on his face as James stood up and re-attached his helmet. He stretched and popped his limbs before walking off towards an alleyway away from everyone else. His job here was done so he begun to head back towards his handler as per his orders.

Harvest had watched James leave the bench from in-between the crowd of ponies heading towards a group of human machines on tracks as royal guards and human soldiers directed them forwards. His mother was pulling him with her with a hoof wrapped around his as they moved with the crowd. Harvest’s eyes widened as one second James was walking towards an alley and then in the next second the human disappeared with a blue flash. A nudge from his mother drew his attention to the front of him where he found a large metal ramp leading into the belly of a large metal beast.

As his hooves clacked on the metal he wondered if James was also going to Canterlot, the colt and his mother being squeezed onto a hard bench in between a throng of ponies all stored in the metal hold. Three royal guard were the last to enter the machine before the ramp closed behind them, Harvest’s mother hugging him close as with a rumble the transport holding them began to move, heading towards Canterlot as outside the body of the slain dragon was claimed by the sea.

Bronze Shield, Storm Front and their thirteen troops were all resting on beds within the temporary medical centre that had been built in the market located in the outskirts of Baltimare. Human and Equestrian medics moved between the hundreds of beds commandeered from houses and stores, the ponies on them all in various states of wear. The injuries ranged from concussions to missing limbs, surgeons attending to the most serious of cases while tents and shade-cloths were erected to shield the beds from the sun.

Bronze and Storm had been immediately tended to after the priest had escorted them back, the group having run into more griffons along the way. Bronze had earned a few more cuts from a griffon warrior but after some magic from a unicorn medic his wounds had been sealed and bandaged.

Storm Front had one foreleg almost covered in bandages from when a griffon had bit her during the escape, a large wound having been torn in her flesh from the sharp beak in addition to her other cuts and scraps. Out of their soldiers Bronze Shield and Storm were the only ones awake, the rest having taken the opportunity for sleep as soon as they were able.

Bronze was still wary around the strange bipeds, his time with the priest not helping his fear. Dietrich had left as soon as he had given Hail over to the medics after stating that many needed his services elsewhere. Bronze hadn’t had time to offer a hesitant thanks before the black-armoured figure had disappeared into the mass of equine and human soldiers.

“Well,” Storm muttered from her bed next to his, Bronze glancing over as the pegasus shifted her wings. “At least we made it out of that tea shop.” Bronze couldn’t help but smile at that. The mare was right, they had come so close to death and yet had survived. He couldn’t be prouder of the guards that had been under his command.

A slight rumbling from outside accompanied by a surge of humans and fellow guards rushing past their tent flap caused the two to glance at each other with concern. Bronze winced a little as he got off the bed, his joints aching from the past few days as Storm made to follow.

“Storm,” Bronze sighed as the pegasus flapped down to stand on three legs. “You shouldn’t be going anywhere with that leg.” Storm looked down towards her bandaged leg as she held it off the ground.

“I’ll be fine,” she stated as she hobbled towards the tent opening. Bronze rolled his eyes and followed, the two equine guards exiting out into the warm sunlight. All around them on the cobbled ground stood equestrian guards and human soldiers all gazing to the right of the market. When Storm and Bronze looked towards the source of the commotion their eyes widened.

Standing taller than almost all of the high-rise buildings around it was a large bipedal beast with four smaller ones around it. The large machine had large gouges in the metal around its main body, an arm riddled with weapon barrels covered in a layer of dries gore. The other held a large lance, however it was the severed dragon’s head impaled on the tip that was the source of most of the whispers and attention of the crowd.

“Soldiers of the UIP and Equestrian guards,” a male voice boomed out from the large machine. “I have just received a report from our commanders that no hostiles are left alive in the city. The city is back under friendly control.”

A massive cheer went up from the Equestrians in the area, some of the humans joining in while others merely stood and watched for their leader to go on.

“There are still things to be done before we can celebrate however.” The cheers died out, the reminder that they still had duties to do calmed most of the soldiers. “First off we need to attend to the wounded; I know many of you Equestrians are standing here battered and your drive to continue working is commendable. However, infection is one of the biggest killers on the battlefield so anyone with a wound is to see a medic, no exceptions.

Secondly we have the task of setting up a staging point. This war isn’t over yet and your fellows are still held within the Griffon lands. The Brass back in Canterlot are finishing up the plans right now so I predict that we’ll have a day before we move out again. Some of you will stay behind of course and you will unfortunately be in charge of the clean-up.”

Bronze winced at this. He couldn’t pick which was worse out of fighting or burying all of the bodies left over. While any dead Equestrians would be no doubt transported back to Canterlot the griffons and minotaurs were still an unknown.

A whirring sound drew Bronze’s focus back to the huge walker, the lance lowering to set the dragon’s head on the ground. The massive head came off with a wet plop as the machine drew its weapon back.

“One last thing,” the human leader announced. “Before we all return to our respective duties I have one thing left to say. I want to stress that we are close to ending this; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. After this war is over our respective nations will return to a state of strained relations due to prior incidences.” Bronze noticed that many guards and humans exchanged looks at this. He had heard of the ‘incidences’, everypony in the guard had and could understand why things would end up this way. It mattered not if the soldiers didn’t despise each other, the leaders of both Equestria and the UIP had come to an agreement.

“I am proud that all of you, pony and human, have managed to not let these differences sway you in your tasks.” The human commander continued. “All I ask is that you continue to work together when we take the fight to the griffon and minotaurs. Now everyone get some rest, patrol schedules will be passed around shortly.” The Commander paused as the machine he was in tilted downwards. “Oh, and someone have that head transported back to Canterlot, I desire for it to be mounted on my wall.” A silence descended over the area at the strange request. Soon however a team of human soldiers moved towards the head with a large tracked transport, orders were orders.

The crowd dispersed as groups of ponies and humans moved away, Storm and Bronze heading back to their tent.
It seemed like they would need to grab all of the sleep they could get, both wishing to be included in the attacks against the two rival nations.

James walked straight into the command room in Canterlot, no need for stealth as his presence had already been revealed.
Army officers and soldiers gave him a wide berth as he walked into the buzzing room, only the Equestrians not veering away with unease. He spotted his handler standing next to a female army Colonel and the two Equestrian rulers. James approached them as Barry, his handler, clapped his hands together as the ponies and Colonel shifted uncomfortably.

“Good work Epsilon,” Barry congratulated. “It seems like your training has been paying off. The dragon was a bit much however; I noticed that you needed a pause after it.” James focused on the holo-map on the wall behind the group showing the country of the Minotaurs.

“Once ISA always ISA,” James retorted dryly. Barry smirked, the cold officer almost laughing at the phrase which was very true.

“Indeed,” he gestured back towards the Colonel and the two Princesses. “Colonel Straken and the Princesses here have just finished forming our next steps in regards to the counter-attack. I’ll let the Colonel continue the briefing as this is her forte after all.” Barry stepped back, the Army Colonel wrinkling her nose before looking at James’s blank faceplate.

“You’ll be heading to the city of Baltimare and placed under the command of the officer in charge,” stated Straken in a harsh tone with no trace of friendliness. “You will attack the port city of Salt Peaks at night after missile strikes. According to recon flyovers the majority of Equestrians are still held there in large warehouses on the docks. The Griffons appear to be starting to distribute them around to surrounding towns and cities so we’ve had to move up our schedule.” James furrowed his eyes under his helmet.

“You mentioned a bombardment,” he recalled as Straken nodded. “Wouldn’t that result in possible death of Equestrian civilians?” Straken was about to answer when the white-coated Princess stepped forward, Celestia if James remembered correctly.

“Colonel Straken and the Admiral have assured us that the contents of the weapons you are using before the attack are non-lethal.” James noticed that the Princess had long tear streaks under her eyes; evidently the loss of some of her soldiers was hitting her hard. James reached out to her mind, finding it smothered in sorrow and fear.

Celestia’s eyes widened as she felt a warm feeling envelop her, the human ‘psionic’ staring right at her as she felt some of her emotions stabilise. She sniffed a final time, with the intervention Celestia’s mind cleared a little and she was able to think more clearly. Throughout this exchange the others watched the two and waited until James broke his gaze to look back towards the Colonel. Celestia gave him a brief nod in thanks before Straken cleared her throat.

“Yes, well as the Princess said, we will be using a knockout gas deployed from canisters to cover the city in an attempt to maximise target neutralisation and contain civilian panic. The members of the initial assault will be exclusively UIP due to a lack of gas masks for equine forces. The Equestrian guard will be tasked with securing the city after the gas has been dispersed and co-ordinating with other UIP forces to transport civilians back to Equestria. While the primary invasion force lands after the city is secured a task squad led by the ISA will infiltrate the Griffon capitol to submit our demands to the King.”

“And if he refuses to surrender?” James inquired.

“Then he and the entire Royal family dies,” Straken replied with no compassion. “This will throw the country into turmoil and weaken resistance to a full occupation. After all Equestrians and our forces are withdrawn the fleet will target the area and reduce the griffons to slag. If they refuse to surrender then they will pay the full price for their choice of slavery.”

James nodded, while the Princesses obviously found the threat of genocide abhorrent judging from their horrified faces, it was a standard method of the UIP to eliminate populations that used nation-wide slavery. It was harsh but it certainly got the point across. The griffons were actually fairly lucky in that the UIP commanders were willing to let them surrender and as a result live.

“When do we attack?” James asked.

“Tonight,” Barry spoke up with a nod from Straken. “It doesn’t give our forces much time to prepare but a hard and fast strike will be the most effective way of breaking the will of our opponents.”

“What of the Minotaurs?” Princess Luna spoke up, Celestia sharing her sister’s curiosity. “They have not taken any of our subjects but they will surely help the griffons repel an invasion so what is to be their punishment?” Colonel Straken smiled a cruel smile that radiated malice.

“I was just about to get to them. We are about to make contact with their Emperor and start negotiations. I think you’ll find that they will cease to be a concern of ours.”

Steel Legion, Emperor of the Minotaur Lands, sat on his throne and drummed his brown-furred fingers on the throne as he read the latest report from the battlelines. A frown was firm on his face as he read about the forces that they had lost in the expulsion of the joint Griffon-Minotaur forces from Equestrian soil. It appeared as if Celestia had struck a bargain with the very foes that had beset her own country.

He snorted as he glanced over the numbers of troops lost, Steel having ordered his surviving generals of the attack to withdraw to the ring of stone forts surrounding the Empire. He was going to have to clean out some of his incompetent military commanders, the Empire having never suffered a blow like this in recorded history. Even his best General had fallen prey to insidious magics of the humans with reports that no-one was able to fire a shot before the majority force was executed with only a few escaping to bring him news of the failure.

His throne room which was hewn from the tan stone of their rocky homeland buzzed with activity as guards and advisors moved around in a hurry. Steel had ordered that all war-related activity happened around him as he wanted to stay constantly updated. Maps of the known world were pinned on walls and spread over tables as positions of Equestrian and human forces were marked as information from scouts filtered in.

The enemy were moving troops towards the coast cites from what they could see, most likely in preparation for an invasion across the sea. Steel wasn’t worried, he was confident that the forts his grandfather ordered built would hold even against the powerful human weaponry. What little magic the Minotaurs possessed was useful in construction and fortification. Natural magic and enchanting resulted in strong stone; metal weapons and armour while also helping fields grow.

Food wouldn’t be an issue and with a strong grasp on healing magic the mages could keep the country running under a siege for years. It was a pity that few minotaurs were born with magical abilities otherwise Steel would have ordered them to fight against the Equestrians. As it was the few hundred that existed had been kept back and protected like precious metals.

Finishing reading through the report Steel huffed and threw the scroll down to the floor as he closed his yellow eyes and breathed deeply. Armoured hooves approached his throne, a minotaur nervously clearing his throat as Steel snorted in annoyance.

“What is it?” the Emperor asked as he opened his eyes to stare at the yellow-coated bull who was armoured in iron plate. The guard straightened and gripped his drawn axe tighter.

“Emperor sir, a diplomat from the humans has arrived and is requesting an audience.” Steel sat up in his throne. The humans had the nerve to send a diplomat after what they had done?

“Bring the human in soldier!” Steel ordered. The guard hesitated however and glanced back towards the open throne room doors where the sounds of frantic activity came from.

“The diplomat… is not a human Emperor,” he informed to Steel’s confusion. “It seems to be a living thing in the shape of a giant dragonfly.” The Minotaur emperor leaned forward intrigued. Now this was interesting.

“Bring it in,” Steel ordered. “I wish to see this for myself.” The guard nodded and disappeared through the throne room doors as the officers and nobles stopped and glanced towards the doorways. The marching of many hooves accompanied by the clanking of metallic limbs on stone approached and it wasn’t long before thirty guards surrounding the diplomat walked into the throne room eliciting gasps of shock from all watching.

Steel examined the strange form of the creature that had entered, six dark-grey metal legs propelling it forward as two solid wings on its back shifted. Steel couldn’t figure out how it could possibly fly with such weight and he stared right back into the six red eyes mounted on a downwards-triangular head. The… thing was brought forward and was halted six metres from his throne.

“What do you want creature?” Steel inquired, his guards tensing as a burst of static emitted from the metal insect.

“This ‘creature’ is merely a drone,” a female voiced lectured from the machine. “It is an automated construct that has been sent to deliver our terms for your surrender.” Steel burst out into laughter at this.

“My surrender?” he questioned with a chuckle. “Why would I surrender to something that doesn’t even show her face to me when delivering this ludicrous demand? Our defences are strengthened and you’ll find that minotaurs will fight to the last for their land so bring the full might of your forces, they will break upon our walls!” Troops and nobles applauded their ruler and bellowed in agreement. Steel stood up and stared down at the machine as mocking laughter rang out from whatever allowed it to produce sounds.

“Ah, such a heroic speech Emperor,” the human controlling the device replied. “The thing is we do not need to throw our forces at you and I am fully willing to demonstrate to you just how we will destroy your primitive nation.” Steel returned the laughter and stepped towards the insect machine.

“What empty threats spoken by a feeble-hearted female! You hide behind proxies threatening the greatest peoples in the world. Unlike the changelings we will not let ourselves become pawns in your schemes. Celestia and Luna may be blind to it but I will not allow the Minotaurs to be manipulated by trickery!” Another chuckle from the machine was the response Steel got.

“Very well then, eliminate the first target.”

Steel was about to asked just what the human meant by that when the sky flashed blue and a mighty earthquake shook the ground. Steel managed to keep his hoofing as chunks of masonry rained down around the occupants of the throne room. The Emperor looked out a window looking out to the left of his castle towards the ring of forts in the distance.

A giant blue doom was consuming a large area before it exploded with a large boom. A second tremor shook the ground as trees surrounding the area were blasted into the air by a wave of out-rushing air.

Steel blinked his eyes as the glow died down. Instead of two of the forts there was nothing left but a massive crater torn in the earth. Dirt and stone began to rain from the sky as they returned to earth, the area inside and around the crater blackened by intense heat. Spot fires started to grow into blazes as steam wafted up from the devastated area. The Emperor turned to face the ‘drone’ with his former bravado gone.

“For your information the next ten targets are your remaining forts,” the human informed. “The next thirty-seven after that are your towns, villages and cities and the one after that is your own castle. That was one shot from a single space-to-ground adjustable bore bombardment antimatter-energy cannon. That cannon is capable of one shot every five seconds. A single planetary-assault cruiser carries forty of those cannons on its underside.

We have two of those ships orbiting above your country right now. You can’t touch them and they could turn your entire country to nothing in a minute. After that any Minotaur would be hunted down and slaughtered by regular forces leaving the so called ‘greatest people’ a stain upon the history books. Surrender now or your race dies, I will have no qualms with ordering such an action.”

Steel glanced out the window again and then back to the soldiers and nobles in the room with him.

“I’m done playing nice with you,” the human continued with annoyance clear in her tone. “Hurry up and pick so I can actually go off and contribute to a war that actually means something.”

The Emperor didn’t know what shook him more, the fact that two of his strongest forts had just been wiped out in a second or the human’s willingness to wipe out his race. His soldiers and advisors looked to him awaiting an answer as the drone stayed still. Steel sighed as he stared back out at the crater in the distance and imagined what that would be like if it had hit a major city and not just some forts. It seemed like his hands were tied.

“What are your terms?” he asked bitterly without turning to face the drone. All around minotaurs breathed in relieved. While they didn’t want to surrender they did recognise what fighting on would do. The majority of them were thankful that their ruler had the courage to blemish his own honour and pride for the sake of his people.

“You cease hostilities against Equestria and us while also ceasing your support of the griffon nations. You will not expand your borders towards Equestria and the UIP will have all rights to your airspace.” Steel waited for more terms but was surprised when the human didn’t say anymore such as demanding land or wealth.

“Is that all?” he inquired.

“Yes, you can even keep the spoils your forces have plundered. Now choose.” Steel really needed more time to think about this. Nods from his closest advisors and generals however swayed him.

“Fine then,” he relented. “We’ll stop our attacks and I’ll send a diplomat to Canterlot to sign a peace treaty. I hope you monsters are happy.”

“No need to be so sour about it,” the human answered. “If it’s any consolation I couldn’t care less if you lived or died. It’s purely business. We’ll be watching so I suggest you honour you agreements least you wish to see some of the more sinister weapons we have for destroying civilisations. Good day to you.”

With the human’s final words the question of how the drone could fly was answered. The two wings extended to the sides and racks of thrusters on each on activated. With yellow glows in the engines the drone lifted off the ground as minotaurs backed away. The six legs dangled in the air as the machine left through a window, the glass having broken with the prior earthquakes. Steel watched it depart with a scowl. One day he’d have his revenge and his soldier’s sacrifices would be worth something.

Until then he’d have to play along, Steel returning to his throne in preparation to organise the rebuilding of his country. The Minotaurs were out of this fight, the Emperor wondering whether the griffons would receive the same offer as he had.

“Piece of cake,” Straken commented to the two Equestrian Princesses as she moved away from the drone-control console manned by a group of technicians. Celestia and Luna were still staring at the projection against the wall showing the massive crater that had been torn in the ground.

“Was that,” Luna began before swallowing a lump in her throat. “Was that really needed?” The two Princesses couldn’t expel the moment when the weapon had hit the area, a blue bolt impacting the earth before a large blue dome consumed the area in fire. Straken picked up a water bottle and took a swig of the cool liquid.

“It worked and we now have one less enemy to contend with. You should be thankful that this petty war just leaped forward in regards to the conclusion. If all goes well the Griffons will be begging for mercy in a few days. Then you will be rid of us and you can go back to your simple lives.” For one of the first times since the war began Celestia felt anger swell up at the Colonel’s dismissive tone.

“I have to bury hundreds of my ponies after this ‘petty war’ and comfort all of the families that they leave behind,” Celestia snarled out. Colonel Straken turned around and fixed the Princess with a cold gaze while officers, both Equestrian and human, stopped to observe the confrontation. “Our lives will never be what you call ‘simple’ again.” Straken said nothing for a while, an uneasy silence descending over the room.

“In my time spent as a Colonel I’ve buried thousands of my own troops lost in wars that make this on look timid in comparison.” Straken stated this with no emotion as she continued to stare at Celestia while Luna glanced between the two. “When I turned eighteen standard years of age I spent four years on the frontlines in the general infantry, as do all able-bodied UIP citizens. I fought in more wars during that time then years that I had been alive. After I left the general infantry I joined the special forces and dropped into some of the most hostile warzones imaginable.” Straken paused, Celestia’s glare having dropped as she realised why the human seemed so dulled to her ponies’ suffering.

“A soldier’s duty is to fight and die for their people,” Straken continued. “Your soldiers have done that and although they pale in comparison to our forces even I admit that they have performed their duty adequately. I know that my esteemed colleagues in the ISA also killed subjects of yours.” Sarcasm dripped from the Colonel’s voice when she praised the ISA, Celestia and Luna catching a brief sneer at the mention of the intelligence agents. “When you do remember the lives taken by both the ISA attacks and this war ask yourself this: how many would have been lost if the Griffons and Minotaurs won?”

With a final glare Straken broke the gaze and walked off, leaving Celestia to mull over the words. Luna reached out a wing to place it over her sister’s back but it was brushed off. Luna noticed that Celestia had a slight, weary smile on her face.

“Sister,” Luna addressed, Celestia glancing up with tired, bloodshot eyes gained through days of stress. “Maybe it would be best if you took some rest. I am used to staying up for long periods of time so I am able to look after things. Our subjects look to you and from the sound of it this war will soon be done.” Luna gave Celestia a quick nuzzle. “They will need you to comfort them afterwards and act like the mother they see you as. You need all of the rest you can get.” Celestia sighed, she knew Luna was right. The days after would be a trial in themselves.

“Okay Luna,” Celestia relented with another nuzzle. “If you need anything do not hesitate to wake me. I don’t think Colonel Straken will go easy on you.” Luna grinned, the first genuine display of happiness that she had displayed since the war began.

“She’ll find me a tough opponent, I will not bow easily.” Celestia gave her a parting nod before leaving out of the door escorted by four solar guards. Luna looked to her own guards, two nocturnes all she had brought with the rest of her small force spread out with the human special units. Luna felt a twinge of pride knowing that it was her guards who the humans had requested accompany their best forces. The nocturnes had a hard time fitting in with Equestrians and hopefully this would help their reputation with the day guard.

With a flick of her wing she signalled them over, the mare and stallion saluting as human officers shot the bat-ponies passing glances. With her soldiers by her side Luna moved back over to Straken, the Colonel busy going over a holo-map with an assortment of other humans in green uniforms. Luna was only given brief looks from the humans as she joined the circle, her presence no longer abnormal after the days spent in the room with them but there was still a lack of trust. Luna examined the map as the humans returned to their conversations. A part of her was slightly invigorated by being in a hub of military command; she had always been more aggressive than Celestia.

Hopefully she would no longer be needed in this room in a week’s time, she felt guilty in the fact that she found it a nice change to siting alone in the night court.

James walked away from the transport VTOL and into the bustle of a city full of troops preparing to embark over the sea to Griffonia. As he walked to the city square the air buzzed with Viper gunships and the roar of heavier orbital transports with their four side-thrusters. Equestrian soldiers and UIP infantry lined up in rows as aircraft touched down in preparation to load them up.

The PSU agent strode through the activity, searching for a member of the UIP command. While he didn’t mind the equines he still didn’t trust them enough to ask them anything and to be honest he doubted that they would know. Spying an army lieutenant preparing platoons of soldiers for transport James moved towards him. The officer saw him approach and immediately halted his activity.

“I am required to report to the commanding officer,” James asked as regular troops paused to watch their lieutenant and the PSU agent converse. “Do you know their whereabouts? I can’t seem to locate them on my scanner.” The Lieutenant pointed towards a large mech having multiple gashes repaired by a team of engineers.

“He won’t show up, he’s ISA.” The woman’s answer was gruff and abrupt, the soldier obviously wanting to spend as little time with the PSU agent as possible. James actually smiled a little at this, an ISA agent was probably one of the only ones here who would even give him the time of day without soiling himself.

“That explains that, what is his name then Lieutenant?”

As a PSU agent James outranked the soldier and bringing it up would no doubt make any further inquiries go much smoother. It worked, the Lieutenant pausing before answering.

“It’s ISA Commander Ni-“

“Is that who I think it is!?”

James and the Lieutenant turned and looked at a soldier wearing heavy black armour as he pointed at them. James grinned and waved at Chalmers; his day just got a whole lot better. The ISA agent almost bounded over towards them as James stepped away from the Lieutenant. Chalmers skipped a salute or handshake and just straight-out embraced James as soon as he reached him. Equestrian soldiers watching looked towards UIP soldiers for an explanation but the humans were just as confused.

“When the hell did you get here you bastard!? It’s been so much fun!” James chuckled at Nigel’s enthusiasm; it was rare for any of the old unit to meet at work these days. They still met up for birthdays and the like but the four members of their old ISA Mortus squad were kept busy in their respective careers.

“I arrived with the fleet,” James informed. “I was stationed in Fillydelphia to deal with a small hostage crisis and a dragon.” Nigel let go and stood next to James, his heavy armour giving him an extra head of height over the tall black man.

“You had those too huh? Did you rip the dragon’s head off with your wizard skills?” James rolled his eyes under his helmet. Nigel still insisted on calling him a wizard, a given thing ever since James had been recruited by the PSU.

“I did not,” James answered. “I did the stupid thing and decided to rip its ribs out of its chest. Seems like I can’t get away from those bad habits I picked up from you.” Chalmers placed a hand over his right breast and tilted his head.

“Bad habits?” he acted with mock hurt. “I’d hardly call showing some creative flair a bad habit. What’s the point of doing a job if you don’t enjoy it?” James shook his head before his attention was directed to the damaged mech by Nigel. “See that?” the ISA agent continued. “The army gave me that and I used it to kill a dragon of my own.” James took a closer look at the damaged war-machine, the gashes did look a lot like claw marks.

“Really, how did you manage it?”

“Simple,” Chalmers replied. “He got the drop on me but I recovered, he tried to melt me but his flames did jack-shite and then I nicked him in the wing with the energy lance. The moron tried to rip me apart so I blew his guts open and then cut off his head.” Nigel looked towards his mech again. “Then all I did was pop his head on the lance and bring it back here. They’ve already sent it back to Canterlot; I want that bitch mounted on my wall.” James burst into full out laughter.

“Never change Nigel, never change,” he ordered as he patted his friend on the back. “Anything else happen?”

“I’ve got a son now,” Nigel bluntly informed. James took a moment to process the information.

“Wait… what?” the PSU agent asked as he stared at Chalmers. A good father was one thing that he could never see his friend being. He knew Nigel could be a good guy but the thought of a kid raised by him actually scared James. There was also another question to be asked. “How?”

“He’s a pony colt. Bunch of slavers killed his parents and then I killed the slavers. Somewhere along the line he started to see me as a replacement and it just developed from there. The kid’s good though, he’s only something like eight or nine but the trauma got to him pretty bad. He’s doing better now though so things are looking up.” James kept on staring during the explanation as more transports arrived and touched down on the outskirts of the city.

“I’m sorry,” he replied with another head shake. “I just can’t see you as a father, you lack responsibility.” Chalmers huffed in return at the snub.

“I am very responsible, for example…” Chalmers paused to turn to a large gathering of army officers in olive-green armour surrounding a holo-map. Nigel cupped his hands to his helmet’s speaker, more out of habit then practicality. “Oi! Major!” A single officer seemed to sigh and broke off from the group. He looked the same as all the other officers; his icon on the two agents’ HUDs however displayed his rank.

“No Commander, I cannot get your walker fixed any faster by yelling at the engineers again.” The Major informed.

“Forget that,” Nigel ordered. “There is a change of plans. The PSU agent and I will go in by ourselves in the first wave. We require a crewed gunship and you’re now in command as you are the highest army officer here.” Chalmers turned back to James. “See? I was responsible in making sure that the chain of command was respected and I appointed the next highest officer as the leader before I go out to mess stuff up. Isn’t that right Major?”

“Indeed sir,” the army officer responded, glad that the ISA commander was thinking ahead for once. “The attack is due to begin in an hour,” all three glanced up at the sky as the sun started to dip behind the horizon. “I’ll have your gunship ready in a few minutes.”

“Very good Major Jenkins,” Chalmers congratulated before giving the officer a parting salute. The major returned it to both agents before rushing off to follow his orders. Nigel nodded his head and grasped James’s left hand in a shake.

“Just like old times,” James commented, any qualms about responsibility out the window with the prospect of going into battle with his buddy again.

“Just like old times,” Nigel agreed as a gunship flew down and lowered its rear access ramp while it hovered above them. “Let’s go crack some skulls like we used to while we have the chance.”

“Target conditions are clear, winds are ideal for maximum weapon dispersal.”

The information was transmitted over the comms system of the ‘Diplomat’ strategic bomber while the large aircraft soared through the upper atmosphere of the planet. The twenty crewmembers sat within the large cockpit, weapons officers preparing the bomber’s payload while pilots and navigation officers attended to their own tasks. Each of the crew was in the grey-blue armoured flight-suits of the UIP Navy, fully enclosed helmets containing full life-support systems.

The outside of the aircraft was a flat triangular wedge, the steel-blue machine propelled along by racks of small thrusters located along the back. It was sleek, deadly and was almost invisible to modern sensors, not that such invisibility would be needed against griffons.

“Confirmed,” the Chief Weapons Officer replied to one of his subordinates. “All lights are green. Estimated time of arrival?” One of the four pilots at the front of the cockpit glanced down at a readout to his left.

“We are within the target corridor, awaiting confirmation from High Command.” The Communications Officer, sitting on the right of the cockpit opposite the weapons officers gave a thumbs up.

“Confirmation received. Attack forces are in position. Command gives authentication for launch.”

“Roger,” the CWO responded. The weapons had already been assigned their targets and all he had to do was push a single icon on his screen. As the icon turned from green to red after his activation.

Outside, two of the cruise-missile bays of the bomber opened, four large missiles dropping from the craft like bombs. They fell to within two-thousand feet of the ground before their engines activated, the weapons heading straight to the Griffon lands. The bay doors of the bomber had already closed and it had vanished higher into the atmosphere, its job already done.

The four fat weapons continued to their targets in under a minute, their large engines propelling them at six-times the speed of sound. They passed over a mass of aircraft heading towards the Griffon country and split up, all heading to different areas.

One of them descended upon a large port town, the glow of its engine causing many griffons to look up and see it as a shooting star. The missile was far more malicious however, pointing downwards braking thrusters fired and slowed it down to just under Mach one. A small sonic boom roused the populace already sleeping in the early hours of the night, griffon soldiers guarding warehouses full of Equestrian prisoners gripping their spears tighter.

Grey panels on the side of the missile shot away from the main body, forty silver canisters launching out of the sides of the missile. As the main missile exploded harmlessly in the sky the canisters plummeted towards the port city below.

Five-hundred feet above the ground and the silver contained broke open and released their contents upon the unprepared city. An odourless, almost colourless gas that looked like harmless mist quickly covered the port city and surrounding area. As the town was blanketed in fog griffons outside breathed in the mist, convulsed and then dropped to the ground paralysed.

Griffons in the skies fell down to impact with crunches, many dying in the falls or soon after due to injuries. Houses and buildings with open windows or chimneys also were soon host to the gas, the occupants collapsing like their fellows outside.

As Griffons either fell victim to the gas or sought shelter indoors a number of human aerial gunships and transports arrived and began to disgorge troops to take the city. A long night of violence and bloodshed was approaching, the sharp crack of a gauss rifle signalling the first invasion of Griffon soil in hundreds of years.

“Shut the Fuck up!”

Sky High yelled at the hundreds of pony slaves chained up in the warehouse. Surrounded by Griffon soldiers with cloth tied around their beaks in an effort to protect against the gas, the Equestrians were lying on the dirt ground and whimpering as explosions and human weapon retorts echoed outside. Nervous Griffon soldiers had boarded up windows and doors and were posted all around the area. Some guarded the ponies on the ground while others kept an eye on things from catwalks suspended above the main area.

This warehouse was one of the newer ones constructed by Emperor Kestrel, a wooden structure re-enforced with metal that was used to store goods for sea trade. Currently it was one of the few being used to store Equestrians captured. The Griffon forces had only managed to transport roughly a thousand ponies back to their homeland, three hundred already sent to the capitol of Soaring Heights as gifts to nobility and the Emperor himself.

This newest warehouse stored two-hundred slaves, the most out of all of the buildings on the docks. Fifty-three Griffon guards had made it inside before the gas had hit, a few of the ponies already passed out from the small amount that has entered through windows before they were boarded up.

Sky High pressed his ear against the door as a heavy dragging sound approached. Griffons pressed themselves against walls as human flying machines flew overhead. The ponies had gone quiet save for the occasional sob from a child, the equines just as afraid as the sounds of fighting as the griffons were. Suddenly, rapid knocks on the door caused Sky High to jerk back and grasp his sword tighter, griffons around him holding their breaths as the knocking stopped.

“Hello?” A male voice called out from the outside. “UIP postal service, we have a parcel to deliver.” Sky High was almost offended, did they expect him to open the door with that obvious trick?

Evidently his co-operation was not required as the door burst inward, with a large weight throwing Sky to the ground. Soldiers panicked and pressed their mouth coverings on tighter as gas bellowed in through the broken doorway, while the ponies had no such protection.
Two bipeds, both in black fully-enclosed armour stepped in through the door and stood in front of Sky, who was still trapped under the thrown object.

“I’m sorry sirs,” the largest biped apologised as he pointed down at the thing on top of Sky, the trapped griffon’s eyes widening as he realised that the object pinning him was the shattered body of another griffon guard. “He didn’t have a fragile sticker on him so he broke during transit, these things happen.” Sky felt gas seep in past his white handkerchief, his eyes fluttering as the large human stood over him and withdrew a one-handed weapon from his waist. “Here at UIP Post however we pride ourselves on our fine customer service, so I’ve brought another package as a compromise.”

With a loud bang Sky High’s life ended, the retort of the weapon increasing the panic in the warehouse as more ponies and griffons began to succumb to the gas.

“The package was death,” Nigel informed as Griffons scrambled for their weapons. James walked up beside him and shook his head.

“Really?” he commented as Griffons began to re-organise. “You still use that boring line?” Chalmers took a second to shoot a griffon preparing to fire a crossbow as he looked at the PSU agent beside him.

“Well what do you recommend then, since you’re so knowledgeable about comedy?” Nigel huffed as James shrugged.

“I don’t really know. What about ‘that’s what happens when you don’t use enough stamps’?” Chalmers lowered his gun a little as another crossbow bolt from above pinged off his armour.

“Damn it that one’s good,” he replied after a pause. Shaking his head he faced the griffon troops still standing, eleven on the left and ten on the right. “You want left or right?” he asked James casually as he pulled out his second hand gun. The psionic sized up the enemy troops as bolts embedded in the wood around him, the psionic deflecting them away from him. Nigel just stood there and let his armour shield him from the ineffective projectiles.

“I’ll take the right; you’ll get pissy if I kill more than you.” Chalmers snorted and was about to retort but before he could utter a single word James’s armour glowed a light blue. The psionic flicked his wrist and one of the griffons was flung back into the wall, the soldier’s body pulping as his iron armour crumpled. Before the others could react James quickly teleported towards them and re-appeared next to a startled soldier holding a longsword.

Slashing the griffon’s unprotected throat open with a knife, the PSU agent then outstretched a hand to the remaining eight soldiers on his side. With a chorus of cracks he used his powers to snap their necks, all of his griffons dead within ten seconds. Chalmers rolled his eyes under his helmet as he raised he two handguns at his eleven griffons.

The hybrids stared at the human who had just killed their comrades and then back at Chalmers. Deciding that the human blocking the only exit was a better target than the one that could kill them without using a weapon the soldiers attempted to bum rush Nigel. To reach him however they had to travel twenty metres through a carpet of unconscious equines, something that would prove their undoing.
None took flight, instead using their wings to hold their mouth coverings on while they tried to dash forward in three legs as one talon was used to hold their weapons.

“So easy it’s getting boring now,” Nigel lamented out loud as he allowed the griffons to reach within ten metres of him. Just as they surged forward in a final attempt to escape he opened fire, bullets designed to pierce power-armour cutting through the soldiers and detonating in explosions of blood and feathers while James watched admits his own pile of corpses.

It was over in seconds, the griffons stood no chance with the combination of the deadly projectiles and the blinding gas. Their bodies thumped down next to and atop the knocked-out ponies on the floor. As the last one died Nigel sighed and put away his guns, James walking up to pat him on the shoulder.

“Come on, there’s plenty more in the city,” he re-assured while Nigel still sulked.

“It’s not fair,” Chalmers complained as the two walked to the door. “Why do you get Jedi powers? I’m a higher rank than you.” As they walked outside into the gas-filled city James pointed towards a large-scale battle happening over at the next warehouse.

“You don’t need them, you getting psionic powers would probably lead to the death of all the universes in existence somehow.” Two squads of standard UIP infantry gave the two agents passing glances before entering the warehouse James and Nigel had just vacated. The two friends strolled down the war-torn street as weapons fire from the warehouse behind them signalled the execution of the griffons still alive.

“I doubt it,” Chalmers retorted before shrugging. “You are right about nothing changing it however. How about with the next batch we only kill them in hand to… talon?” James nodded, cricking his neck as they casually approached the loud battle only a hundred metres ahead.

“No complaints here,” the PSU agent answered. “Let’s just get this over with so we can go beat the crap out of their Emperor as soon as possible.”

“Oh how I’ve missed this,” Nigel commented as the two friends dove into the fight, griffon death-cries soon drowning out the other sounds of battle.