Rubber treads softly squeaked and squawked as Jack swiftly walked through the castle halls, his eyes darting about as he cast occasional glanced over his shoulder. With his previous conversation and revelation in mind, every last human, save for himself, was suspect of being a changeling spy, fully capable of stabbing him or any other key figure in the back at their leisure. Suddenly, even with Samhain and his revolver close at hand, he felt exposed and woefully unarmed.

If they wanted me dead, they would have tried by now. Oh wait, they did. Twice.

His mind reeled back to the assassination attempts, and how the assassins not only managed to infiltrate the castle, but skirt the guard patrols and hit his quarters while nobody else was around. They had to have had inside help, and now Jack knew exactly where that help had come from. They may have made a few attempts since then, but as he used one of the most poisonous substances known to Equestria for a recreational high, it was doubtful anything short of a violent assassination was going to bear any fruit.

With that in mind, Jack made a mental note to go over his entire quarters for traps, and to set up his own against unwanted intruders.

Having been trapped within his own mental musings for a touch too long, Jack nearly walked right over a pair of fully armoured guards.

“Sorry!” He called out as he quickly scooted to the side and skirted the unarmed guard. As he was about to continue on, he cast one last glance at the pair. They were completely unarmed, save for the gilded metal horseshoes they were wearing. Their armour was a light purple, with heavy golden gilding, and a silk hood replaced their helmet. The pair paid Jack no mind, and said nothing to him as they continued on.

Must be those battlemages I've been hearing about. We'll see how they stack up against JSOG.

Pulling his thoughts free from the battlemages, Jack turned another corner and continued down toward the throne room. He hoped to find Luna, if only for personal reasons. As he walked, he began to notice ponies beginning to run around frantically. Not pausing his strides, Jack began to pick up his pace as a pair of guards galloped passed. The throne room doors were directly ahead, and he had nearly reached those doors when they boomed outward and the Princesses marched through with their entourage of trailing advisors. Jack skidded to a stop to keep himself from running directly into Celestia.

“Jack!” Celestia called to him as he scooted to the side. “Gather your unit and head to the docks, I do not have time to explain, but we are Situation Red!”

Failing to keep his mouth from falling open and his warning from dying on his lips, Jack scowled and cursed under his breath. “On my way!” Jack swiftly closed to the Princess’ side, and threw an arm around her neck to draw her ear closer. “Your humans have been infiltrated.” Drawing away swiftly, Jack glanced over to Celestia as she shot him a deeply concerned frown and a terse nod. Without another word, Jack broke into a flat run through the halls, toward his unit's barracks.

Sighing softly, Flitter eased herself down into her borrowed bed and splayed her wings out. Around her, her ponies were seeing to their equipment, and resting. It had been a long, long day, and they all deserved a good rest. They needed it. Beside her, Taven was loading magazines as he slowly chewed on a hunk of dried mango. “Hey Taven.” Flitter asked as she rolled onto her side to look at the dusky Batpony.

“Hmm?” Taven glanced over toward her as he set aside the fully loaded magazine.

“How are you feeling?”

“I feel like hammered shit, to be honest.” Flapping his solitary wing, Taven leaned back and regarded her as he set aside the next loaded magazine. “You?”

Letting out a quiet sigh, Flitter let her head flop mutely against the pillow. “Like I need a nap. I'm laying here, and I can't keep my eyes shut. My brain is wired.”

Scoffing a mild laugh, Taven glanced over at Flitter and smiled. “That sounds like a personal problem.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Flitter pulled a pillow over her eyes to block out the faint glow of light. “Hey Taven?”

“Yeah Flitter?”

“What was it like in the Coming Dawn?”

The question gave Taven a moment of pause as he considered it. “Well… not too terribly different from JSOG, to be honest. I mean, our commander wasn't bugnuts crazy, and we never saw action like this on a frequent basis.”

“Huh… if you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your other wing?”

“You’re feeling chatty.” A faint smile teased the edge of Taven's mouth as he glanced at Flitter. “I got careless. Got caught in a razor wire trap during one of our Darkflare raids, and my CO had to cut it off otherwise the bastards would have used me for target practice.”

Flitter winced heavily in sympathy as her wings shivers against the bed, which earned an amused breath from Taven. “Sorry about your loss… sheesh, I couldn't imagine how awful that must have been.”

“It wasn't that bad, really. Got magic on the wound right away, and plenty of painkillers. I do miss flying though.”

Rolling onto her side, Flitter smiled softly toward Taven. “I'm certain R&D will make a prosthetic for you, then maybe we can go flying some day after the war.”

Feeling a smile creeping up in return, Taven nodded to her. “You're on, Flitter.”

The pleasant moment didn't last more than a few seconds as Jack came skidding to a stop in the barracks. “We're on high alert JSOG! Get your kit and head to the docks asap!”

Bounding off the bed and to her hooves, Flitter yelled to get his attention. “Jack! What's going on?”

Shaking his head, he began backpedalling for the door. “I don't know, but the Princess is in a panic! I'll meet you there! Full battle rattle!” Without another word, Jack set off at a run through the halls while his unit pulled on armour and slipped loaded magazines into their webbing.

“Shitsnacks.” Flitter cursed as she pulled her vest back on. “It's gotta be bad if Celestia is pulling us all in and has Jack running around like a lunatic.” Shooting a look over at Taven as he adjusted his ballistic plates, Flitter spoke. “Taven, you take first squad with the heavy weapons, Minerva!”

Sergeant Minerva's head popped up immediately at the call of her name. “Yes ma'am?”

“You take second squad, Simoh and our fliers, I'll take third squad with the radio, we'll be the command squad on this one. Alright ponies, let's earn our paychecks!”

Within minutes, the tired group was fully loaded and gathered at the docks, awaiting the mooring of Stalwart Liberty. Jack was right behind them, as he jogged into the busy field in his armour. They'd been redeployed so quickly, Aurora hadn't had a chance to wash the blood off of it. Slung across Jack's chest was his reliable laser rifle, and a bandoleer of freshly charged cells. Nodding to the group, Jack joined them as they started toward the ship as the gangplanks went down.

“Jack, have you heard anything about the mission?” Flitter question as she cantered next to him.

Giving his head a shake, Jack cast a glance over his shoulder. “No, no idea. I'm going to see Captain Chord, don't get comfortable until I come back, alright?”

Looking toward her unit as they boarded the ship in orderly squads of three, Flitter shook her head. “I'm coming with you. I need to know as much as possible.”

Not pausing to argue, Jack simply nodded. “Have the guys hold tight then.”

“Alright. JSOG! Head to the muster area, we're going to find out exactly what's going on.”

Taven and Minerva both nodded in tandem, but Minerva was the one to speak. “Yes ma'am! You heard the boss, ladies! To the muster point!”

Looking to Jack, Flitter nodded to him, and the pair set off toward the bridge of the ship. The brisk walk would find them swiftly inside the bridge, and in the center of a beehive of activity. Maps were being pulled down, and Chord’s command staff were gathered around the planning table in the briefing room. The captain glanced up as the two special operations troopers walked in.

“Good, you're finally here. Knight Captain Kessle, Knight Lieutenant Falenas, these are Commander Bulwark, and Warlock Hail.” The commander gestured toward a royal guard, and a battle mage respectively. The pair nodded, and looked severe. Not wasting time in greeting, Flitter and Jack nodded their acknowledgement, and joined them at the planning table. Captain Chord began shortly after. “Alright ladies, gents, we have just been informed that a battalion sized battlegroup has split off from the main invasion force, and is on direct course for Ponyville. They are reportedly at full steam, and thus have a clear objective. The elimination or capture of the Elements of Harmony.” A string of muted curses went up around the table.

“Why weren't they evacuated at the start of the war?” Commander Bulwark questioned as she looked over the map of Ponyville and its surrounding land.

“I could not tell you the details myself, but whatever the reason, it's now moot. We are fully evacuating Ponyville by force. Commander Bulwark, Warlock Hail, Celestia requests that your forces secure Ponyville proper, and begin gathering people for evacuation. The Knight Captain and Knight Lieutenant’s team will be spreading out and retrieving the Elements. We do not have the luxury of time in this operation, we need to act decisively if we are to get through this without undue casualties.”

“How long do we have?” Flitter finally spoke as she ran ideas through her head.

“Intelligence states an hour at most. We will be arriving in Ponyville within twenty minutes.” Captain Chord answered resolutely.

Warlock Hail scowled lightly as he looked down at the map. “Any word on reinforcements?”

Arching a brow, Chord nodded once. “A platoon of Minotauren Pioneers have reported that they have entered Equestria with intent in helping with the war, but they are several days out. Besides them, a battalion of Crystal Guard are inbound toward Canterlot as we speak. Again, days. All other forces are either deployed or exhausted. Though, if the operation goes belly up, I'm sure we will receive reinforcements directly from Canterlot. Do not fear.”

“In that case.” Warlock Hail lifted his head to regard everyone. “My squad will hold back and secure the primary evacuation point, and act as artillery should the battlegroup make a move.”

Nodding in agreement, Flitter leaned forward. “JSOG is splitting into three separate squads. My command squad will set up with you and maintain comms coverage. First squad will stay in the Ponyville area with heavy weapons, and second squad will hunt for the Elements, though I'm sure they come to us. In that case, JSOG will act in a harassing manner, keeping Order's forces from focusing on the evacuation point. Jack?” Flitter cast a look over her shoulder at the tall man beside her.

“It's the best we've got. Let's get Snake and the other pilots fueled and ready, it looks like Ponyville has a lot of outlier farms, including the Element of Honesty’s.” He tapped the map for emphasis. “Do we have contact with Princess Sparkle?”

Captain Chord shook his head. “Negative, she's been unresponsive to both letter and radio all day, that's why Celestia is sending JSOG.”

“Shit.” Jack chewed his ruined cheek mildly. “No contact at all?” With a nod to confirm, he simply shook his head. “We might be looking at a vanguard force. Be prepared for imminent contact upon landing. What are our numbers?”

“My forces consist of forty earth ponies, twenty pegasi, and fifteen unicorns.” Commander Bulwark answered swiftly.

Warlock Hail answered next, though he didn't look up. “Four.”

Clicked his tongue, Jack nodded. “We're sitting at roughly thirty. Let's keep up good communication, and use the ship's defenses to our advantage if we're outnumbered. I'm going to alert my people.” The other commanders nodded to him as he turned and walked out, with Flitter staying in step behind him.

By the time Jack had reached his unit and explained the situation in full, Stalwart Liberty's PA system informed them that they were just bordering the operation area, and for all ground forces to make final preparations. Waving his unit forward, Jack and JSOG marched up to the flight deck, where two vtols and several carriages awaited.

“Wasn't there a third helo?” Jack questioned Snake as he clambered aboard and second squad joined him.

Shaking his head, Snake continued with his preflight checklist. “Not anymore. Whitmore was shot down yesterday, no survivors. Say what you want about carriages, the X-302 is a fucking deathtrap if it goes down.”

Wincing, and nodding in complete understanding, Jack patted his pilot's shoulder. “We'll keep the nasty shit off of you, if the going gets too thick, no hero business, alright? I've still got six lives to go, so leave it to me.” Jack smiled weakly at his own joke, while Snake shook his head.

Flitter's voice sounded in his heavy earpiece as he stepped back and engaged his harness lanyard. “Jack, we're all settled over here, good to go. First squad is in one of the carriages.”

Holding a hand to his ear, Jack sat in the middle of the craft and looked over to the other VTOL as both craft’s turbines began to spool up. “Solid copy, Command squad. Havoc is strapped in, I've got a wave from Taven and Heavy squad, looks like we're green to go.”

The radio in the chopper crackled to life, signalling launch as the flight deck crew waved off the choppers, followed by the first flight of carriages. The township of Ponyville came into view the moment they punched through the cloud layer. Despite evacuations across the board, the small town still seemed to be bustling with activity. The chopper's running gear barely touched dirt as JSOG disembarked, and split up quickly to cover their objectives. Townsponies panicked as the loud vehicles came whirling in without warning, and seemed to be on the verge of a panicked stampede. If it weren't for the swiftly following arrival of royal guard units, there most certainly would have been one. Voice augmentation spells allowed the leading pony to start bellowing out the evacuation order, seeing panic restored far too easily.

The moment his boots touched dirt, Jack was treading toward the tree library that served as Princess Twilight's home. Finding the front door unlocked, and the sign in the small window marked open, Jack entered gun muzzle first. Slicing the room with his rifle sights as he entered, Jack waved forward the pony behind him, and motioned for them to check upstairs.

Passing Jack, Baron nodded wordlessly to his command and stalked forward without a sound, while he moved toward the basement door. Two more ponies belonging to his squad moved behind him, silent like cats while his weight caused the floorboards to creak. Opening the basement door with one hand, while keeping his laser rifle trained on the opening, Jack paused for a moment and listened intently. He could hear voices downstairs, ones that weren't of the same high pitch belonging to Princess Twilight. Listening for a moment, Jack lifted three fingers, alerting his squad mates of the numbers he projected.

As silently as possible, Jack stalked down the thick wooden steps. Despite his considerable bulk, Jack made nary a sound as his eye adjusted to the basement gloom.

“We really need to get this thing fixed guys…”

“Yeah no shit, if she gets back before we do, we're screwed.”

The voices were definitely effeminate. Jack narrowed his eyes as he treaded down the stairs, and greeted the voices with his own and rifle muzzle. “JSOG! HOOVES IN THE AIR!”

The three mares surrounding a broken radio set sprung into action on trained reflexes. The table was knocked over, and they dove behind cover as weapons were drawn. “Who the-”

By the time their first words of questioning sounded, Jack had entered the basement proper, and his two squadmates followed in his wake, screaming in tandem with him as they trained their battlesaddles on the overturned table. “WEAPONS ON THE GROUND! NOW! YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY!”

“Like hell! Identify yourselves, now!”

“Uh… didn’t they-”

Jack’s laser rifle quietly hummed for a moment as his thumb toggled the power setting switch from low to high. “Five! Four!” His ears pricked at the sound of hooves clopping rapidly down the stairs.

The basement looked like the combination of laboratory and training room, with several offshoots going in several directions. The trio behind the large wood table stood their ground, training spears that crackled with magical energy at the commandos. “We are Coming Dawn Operatives protecting property of Princess Sparkle! Identify yourselves immediately or we will be forced to take you down!”

“Stand down!” Baron yelled from behind. “Blue on Blue!”

Jack immediately pulled his finger from his rifle’s trigger guard, and looked over his shoulder at Baron. “Sure?” At her nod, he exhaled and cursed flatly. “Fuck sakes.” His ire was immediately returned to the trio of guards as one peeked her head out. “Why the fuck didn’t you idiots answer the damn radio, and where the fuck is Princess Twilight?”

With tensions having been lessened, if only slightly, a sour looking batpony propped her forelegs up on the table’s edge and scowled at him. “Okay, first off, who the hell are you people, and second, why do you want the princess? Answer fast, or-”

“If you answered your damn radio, you’d know why we’re here!” Baron yelled over Jack. “The Royal Guard are evacuating Ponyville, and JSOG has been tasked with securing the Elements of Harmony, now, where in the nine hells are the elements?”

With her statement cutting down on their suspicions like a knife, the trio stood up and shared a look between each other. “What’s going on? I need a sitrep.” The lead mare asked.

“Enemy battlegroup is inbound within the hour, possibly battalion sized. Situation is red. Now, where is Princess Sparkle?” Baron demanded, her old Guard tone coming back in fully.

“She and Max went to Fluttershy’s to help settle the Breezies in. They said something about a picnic afterwards? Why didn’t-”

The batpony mare jerked suddenly in realization. “Spike’s at Rarity’s! The Princess will have no idea! No warning! Shit!”

With a pained groan, Jack shook his head. “What a shitshow. Report to Commander Bulwark, we’ll retrieve the Princess.”

“Like hell! The Princess and Max are OUR charges, not yours, Tin man! We’ll get them to safety!” The trio immediately began kitting up, all while glaring at the interlopers.

“Are you fucking- of course you are.” Jack let out a growl that ended in a subdued groan, before motioning to his squadmates. “Go, up the stairs Havoc. Let’s secure the rest of the elements. These hotshots can do whatever the fuck they please. If we beat them to the Princess, then it won’t matter anyway.”

While Havoc Squad moved from location to location, trying to find the elements and secure them, Hellion Squad and Heavy Squad were bunkering down and setting up the command post. The Royal Guard were swiftly getting the townsponies organized and ready for boarding, though Flitter could tell that they only had a fraction of the populace ready for immediate evac. Glancing over her shoulder, Flitter watched as Stalwart Liberty came to a hovering stop in one of the open fields. The massive ship was already sending out carriages to pick up the first groups of civilians.

Having ensured that her squad was properly entrenched, Flitter set off to find the leadership of the other units and coordinate. Approaching the guard commander, Flitter lifted a wing in greeting as he sent a flight of scouts off. “Commander Bulwark, I'm Lieutenant Falenas. We met in the briefing room.”

Nodding to her, the commander gave Flitter her full attention. “Right, the XO for that operator squad. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping we could talk tactics, JSOG is rather unconventional, so I'd like to avoid catching you off guard.” Flitter fluttered her wings as she looked back out to the town, and silently wondered if Cloudy was home…

“That sounds great, Knight Lieutenant. I've heard a lot of good things about your unit.” The commander paused to turn and yell at the guard behind her. “Get those pits dug, shooters behind the sandbags and fighters in reserve! I want spellslingers spread out in teams of two!” Turning back toward Flitter, Commander Bulwark removed her helmet and let her shock of mane fall free. “Sorry, let's talk.”

“Commander Bulwark!” One of the guard scouts yelled as they came in for a hard, fast landing. A neat little hole sat in the guard's neck protector, telling of a near hit. “Enemy spotted, full battalion strength with a warship!”

“Damn them to Tartarus! Inform the patrols and send up skirmishers to keep them off of us!”

“Sir!” The guard panted, wiping his muzzle with the back of his hoof. “It's the Mountain Rangers, they're working with the griffons.”

It was Flitter's turn to pale and curse, before cantering off to her squad to radio a warning to the other two squads.

Jack's boots pounded up the street as distant gunfire echoed through the streets, causing evacuating ponies to jump in surprise. “Hall, Hurricane, go to the bakery! Lightning, Busey, hit up the outer fields for cloud homes! The rest of you, secure the trail to the apple farm and the cottage!” The rapid fire affirmatives sounded, and were followed by combat booted hooves galloping off, and wings flaring. Jack was alone as he pounded up the steps to the boutique. Shouldering the door open, Jack flipped up his face shield and yelled. “Rarity! Spike!”

He swiftly checked his corners, slicing through each room with his rifle as he listened for a response. His ears pricked at the sound of childish giggling, and his blood ran cold. Nearing the stairs, Jack patted himself down for his sabot pistol, and slung his rifle over his shoulder. With a low hum, the sabot pistol charged to full power. The giggling sounded again, setting his teeth on edge. “Not gonna kill any more of mine you son of a bitch…” His face shield clicked down, covering his face.

Having entered the living area above the showroom, Jack slowly checked each room, fully prepared to blast whatever opposition he found into bloody chunks. Clearing each room until he was staring at the final door at the end of the hall, Jack took a deep breath, before slowly cracking the door open.

Four bright, young faces looked up to find themselves staring down the barrel of a pulsed sabot pistol, their playtime coming to a halt as Jack followed it. Sending his barrel up and pulling his finger from the trigger guard, Jack breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Oh thank Christ…”

“Mr. Knight Captain!” Spike stood and waved, while the cutie mark crusaders shared looks of confusion and niggling fear. “What're you doing here, looking for Rarity?”

Shaking his head, Jack entered the room and checked the corners, before stowing his pistol. “Have you gotten any letters from Celestia today Spike?”

Nodding, the young dragon looked up at Jack. “Yeah, I gave it to Rarity when she left. Why? Is everything alri-”

Spike was interrupted by a chorus of loud gasps. “It's him!” As Jack lifted his head in confusion, he was tackled by three over-eager fillies. The flurry of high pitched words and thanks only served to further confuse him. After a minute or two, the girls finally calmed down enough to explain to him who they were, why exactly they were so excited to meet him. “You saved us from the zombies!” Scootaloo exclaimed excitedly.

“You dun bucked their butts!” Applebloom added with equal gusto.

“It was really brave…” Concluded Sweetie Belle with shyness.

Caught off guard by the trio and the blast from the past they represented, Jack found himself stuck in the back foot. Laughing slightly in surprise as he scratched the back of his neck, Jack couldn't help but smile a little incredulously. “Well… ain't that something.” Pulling his helmet free, Jack turned toward the little dragon. “Spike-”

“Mr. Kessle, what happened to your face!?” Spike exclaimed in horror as he looked upon Jack's ruined visage. The ruined side of his face was beginning to heal nicely with magical aid, and the mean coloured bruising had begun to go down finally.

Touching his medical eye patch, Jack smiled through his instinctive wince. “War happened, Buddy. Don't you worry none, it's not enough to keep me down.”

“You see!” Spike pointed at Jack as he looked to the girls. “I told you he was super cool and tough! He's just as cool as Max!”

With a nervous laugh he didn't feel, Jack rubbed the back of his head, before shaking. “Right. Spike, where are the girls? I need to know, right now.”

The sternness in Jack's voice grounded the small drake immediately as he touched his clawtips together anxiously. “W-why? Is something wrong?”

“Yes, where did they go?”

“They all went to Applejack’s farm for some reason, I was told to stay here and watch the girls, i-is… is everything gonna be-” Spike was stopped mid sentence as the windows in the room shook from nearby shell impact. Jack was up and peering through the window in a moment, trying to spot hostiles. With the gravity of the situation beginning to slowly dawn on the children, Jack was forced to act.

“Okay, I'm going to get you four to safety, but I need you all to follow me and do exactly as I say, when I say it, alright?” He was checking his laser rifle over as he spoke, and when the children nodded nervously, the rifle hummed as the safety was flicked off. “Okay, follow me, quickly now.”

Tromping down the steps, Jack quickly moved to the front door and peered out. The sound of nearby rifle fire set him on edge, but he could still see the royal guard herding civilians out. Pulling his helmet down, but leaving the shield up, Jack moved into the street with the four following him. Screams of panic and terror laced the air, earning scared whimpers from his charges as he stalked forward, searching for targets.

“Captain!” A familiar voice called out from nearby, drawing Jack's immediate attention. The tension between his shoulder blades slackened when he spotted one of his squad. Beckoning the stout earthpony over, Jack took a knee and scanned the street again as the soldier cantered over. “Yes sir?”

“Priority escorts, take these four, and get them on Stalwart.” Jack motioned to the four youngsters hiding behind him. “I don't want them waiting in a line for a carriage, you call for a VTOL if you have to, just get them up there. Do I make myself clear?”

The private nodded his head, and quickly saluted. “Yes sir, okay kids, follow me!”

“W-w-wait!” Sweetie Belle cried. “Where are you going?”

With the four children looking up to him with fear in their eyes, Jack crouched down and smiled to them as earnestly as he could muster. “I'm gonna save the elements, and then I'm gonna kick the bad guys’ asses. Private Blue is going to take you to the safest place in this whole valley.”

“B-but-”

The following question was interrupted by a shell falling nearby. Jack looked to Private Blue and jerked his head towards the evacuation area. “No buts, you four get out of here, I'll see you soon, okay? I need to go.” Standing, Jack mentally went over the map of Ponyville in his head as Private Blue escorted the four to safety. Without further pause, Jack began to jog down the street toward the forest, as he touched the heavy headset mounted on his head. “This is Havoc one one, Hellion one actual, do you copy?”

The response was delayed, but hearing Flitter's distorted voice eased him. “We're here Jack, we've got enemy contacts, battalion strength.”

His temporary ease vanished instantly. “Get the rest of my squad to fall back to your position. I've found out where the elements are, and I'll be heading there immediately. I need a VTOL to Apple Acres, asap!”

There was a muted, distorted curse over the radio, before Flitter responded. “Are you sure you want to head there alone?”

“I'm sure, I don't want to risk any of them getting caught out there, and you'll need all hands on deck for this one. I'll secure the elements, and rejoin you at our OP. Copy?”

“I copy Jack, good hunting.”

“Stay safe Flitter.”

Setting down the radio pickup, Flitter looked to Mythic. “You heard him, get the rest of Havoc flagged down and pulled back, then get a check in from Heavy on enemy positioning.”

Mythic nodded sharply and began working the dials with rapid precision. “Havoc squad, retasking immediate, how copy?”

Flitter didn't hear the rest of the transmission as she cantered down the line, checking the positions that had been dug along the main avenue. She idly noted she could see Founding Mare's down the street, and wondered if she would see any of the ponies she'd worked with. As she cantered passed a gun nest, she paused as she did indeed spot a familiar face setting up a foxhole. “Private Marvich!”

The huge stallion looked up toward her as he finished setting down his medical bag. “Knight Lieutenant Falenas. Good to see you.”

Flitter paused in the foxhole, hunkering down as the sounds of distant fighting grew closer. “Let me guess, you were press ganged by the Royal Guard at the last minute?”

A moment passed as the stallion stared at her, before shaking his head no. “I was put into airship crew for transfer back to Stalliongrad, but fight came first.”

“Ah, that's my second guess. I'm glad you're looking out for us, Private. How are your medical stocks?”

Showing a brief moment of surprise, the stallion glanced at his heavy pack. “Plenty, but is never enough.”

Nodding, Flitter glanced over her shoulder back toward the forward post she'd run from. “Guard has spare supplies, I'll make sure you're resupplied when you need it. I need to keep moving, keep your head down Marvich! I'd hate to see it get blown off!” Flitter shot a grin at the big stallion, and was rewarded with the sight of the huge stallion looking slightly embarrassed. Setting off again, Flitter didn't slow until she found Taven's Squad in their observation post. As she entered the house, a stray round nipped by her head, imbedding itself in the door frame.

“Hot damn Lt, you almost gotcher head blown off!” Corporal Shepard grinned up at her from behind the overturned table he was hiding behind.

“That I did, Shep. Is Knight Sergeant Varenikov upstairs?”

“Sure is ma'am! Watch the stairs, they're a little rickety and they got a window next to em.”

"Noted.” Flitter shot the corporal and his loader a smile and nod, before setting g off up the stairs. The reason for the warning became clear when she spotted the smashed out window and the bullet hole across from it. Slipping under the sight line, Flitter entered the second floor. Finding Taven was simple, as he was busy setting up their second radioset and overseeing the medium machinegun get set up.

Looking up at Flitter, Taven smiled briefly as his operator dialed in friendly frequencies. “The Lt. graces us with her presence. We're nearly set up here, got brief eyes on the enemy.”

Finding a spot to sit for the moment, Flitter glanced toward the big bay window the machinegun team was setting up in. “Gimme your report.”

“Sure thing. We've got forward scouts, harassing the guard and scaring civs. Simoh has plugged two of them, but it won't be long before the vanguard hits us. We won't be here much longer, it's a shell magnet. Speaking of shells, they're holding off with the big guns, but they're hitting us with the three inch mortars. No casualties so far, but it's only a matter of time before they find their range.” Taven spoke quickly, his nerves speeding up his voice as he worked.

“Right. If you find their firing position, radio it in and I'll authorize a howitzer fire mission from Stalwart. I want those guns out of the picture. Now, those scouts, are they…” Flitter's voice trailed off, and she was hesitant to speak, though Taven knew what she was going to say.

“No. As far as we can tell, they're civilians. No uniforms, but a basic rifle saddle. Conscripts, we figure. Haven't seen hide nor hair of the Rangers yet, but I bet five bits we will soon.” Uneasy agreement rolled through the heavy weapons squad.

Nodding, Flitter ran her hooves up her cheeks and to her helmet fringe. “Great. I… I'd love to ask you don't kill them, but I'm not going to. You do whatever you need to do to keep yourselves and the civilians safe. Copy? But if you see any of those mask wearing fucks, you put them the fuck down.”

A smirk broke across Taven's features as he craned his head upwards to the rafter. “Y’hear that Simoh? You see any of those mask assholes, you send them to meet their god!”

Up in the rafters, Simoh was perched with his rifle poking out through the roof thatching. “I copy. Ready to punch one way tickets to Tartarus.”

“Oorah boys and girls.” Flitter smiled. “You got things handled here, so I'm off. Havoc squad is repositioning to help out here, Jack's securing the elements as we speak.”

“Oorah.” Taven thumped his hoof twice on the wood floor. “Keep your head down Flitter, we'll radio if anything comes up.”

Nodding, Flitter rose, and prepared herself to run back down the line, while Taven and his squad hunkered down in preparation for the storm.

Several kilometers away, Jack's boots raised puffs of dirt and dust with every pounding footfall. His gear jostled against his armour as he ran at full tilt, his rifle tucked against his chest. Over the treetops, he could make out a bright red barn on a hill. It had to be the apple farm. Passing under a large sign that read Apple Acres and marked the entrance, Jack steadied himself and was afforded a short breath as he began to slow to a jog. An old farmhouse sat near the barn he'd seen, and several others. A fleeting feeling of nostalgia hit him as he jogged down the dirt road, toward the farmhouse. Equestrian humans killed about, harvesting apples despite the chilly time of year, and hints of snow on the ground. The humans paused to watch him jog, their silent stares sticking to him as he went.

Mounting the steps with a single stride, Jack paused just as he reached for the door knob. The sounds of feminine voices met his ears, but not from the house. Readying his rifle, Jack began to quickly circle the farmhouse. As he rounded the house, he spotted two ponies on the back porch. A large, red earthpony stallion, and a withered old green mare. The stallion sat on the back steps, while the old mare slept on a rocker with a blanket over her. Before the pair, in a snow speckled field, was the elements of harmony, and Max.

“Hey.” A deep, earthen voice spoke, drawing Jack’s attention to the large red stallion as he rose from the steps and stared at Jack. The challenge of authority was silent, but palatable between the pair as Jack came to a stop.

Holding up a hand in greeting, Jack’s eyes flicked to the distant treeline and the girls. “I’m Knight Captain Kessle of the Joint Special Operations Group. I’m here to evacuate the Elements of Harmony.”

The big stallion paused mid-stride, having just descended the stairs. “Evacuate?”

Nodding, Jack closed the distance with self-assurance; he knew who this pony was, thanks to the extensive files he’d read on the Elements. “You’re Big Macintosh, right? Brother of Applejack and Applebloom?” At the stallions nod, Jack checked over his shoulder. “I’m getting all of you out of here, no arguments. The young ones are already safe, and you have two minutes to grab anything you absolutely can’t leave behind.”

Big Mac didn’t look entirely convinced as he remained stationary. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

A fair question, and possibly the longest sentence the stallion had ever uttered, if the file was right. Jack nodded to him, before jerking a thumb over his shoulder toward town. “That’s not thunder.” The distant boom of mortar shells just barely reached the farm, and was easily mistakable for how soft it was. Fortunately, if one stopped long enough to listen closely, the irregular thump-crack was telling. Telling enough for the big red stallion to nod once, and set off into his home. “If only this next pile of shit was gonna be that easy…” Shaking his head, Jack set off again toward the group at a jog. As he drew closer, he could see the six ponies and one human having a quaint little picnic. Fluttershy’s ears pricked at his approach, and she was the first to turn her head toward him. By the time he reached them, the entire group was aware of his presence. Twilight and Max did not look pleased, while the others seemed to be ranging from pleasantly surprised to ecstatic.

“Knight Captain Kessle, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Twilight spoke out loudly as he slowed his jog. She didn’t sound like she was enjoying the pleasure of his company at all, as her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Hey big guy!” Applejack waved.

Jack lifted an armoured gauntlet in greeting as he came to a stop before them. “Ladies, Max. I’m sorry but I’ve got to cut your picnic short.” The chorus of curious questions and murmurs met him in return, and only Dash moved from the group.

“Why? What’s going on?” Dash asked, before asking another question. “Where’d your cool helmet g-” She was interrupted by Max and he rolled his eyes and snarked at Jack.

“How’s the war going, Knight Captain?”

The inane question may not have been meant to offend, but offend it did. Doing his best to quell the anger that immediately boiled in his chest, Jack lifted the faceshield on his helmet and showed the girls and Max his ruined face and empty eye socket. “I don’t know yet, I’ve lost a lot of friends and killed way too many people to count, on top of being in a meat grinder operation nearly every single day. How’s it going for you?” FUCKER. How's the war going, how'd you like my boot up your ass you princess humping, civilian sack of unwashed assholes!? How- no, no, chill Jack. Chill. Getting pissed won’t solve any of this.

With the mood thoroughly ruined, Princess Sparkle shot a disapproving glare at Max, before looking up at Jack apologetically. “I’m sorry… What are you here for?” She truly seemed to mean her apology, as she struggled to keep eye contact with him.

Clearly no longer in the mood to play nice, Jack spoke in answer as Dash hovered and examined his grisly facial wound. “Princess, have you received any letters from Celestia today?”

“Well, no, Spike is looking over the girls. But if anything important came up, my guards were supposed to come and find me.” Twilight glanced over at Rarity, who had seen Spike last. For her part, Rarity lit up with embarrassing remembrance as she levitated her saddle bags forward and rooted around.

“I’m so sorry Twilight, it completely slipped my mind that Spikey Wikey had given me a letter!”

Smiling kindly at Rarity, Twilight took the letter from her. “It’s alright Rarity, it happens. It can’t be anything important, I hope.”

Rolling his eye, Jack leveled a look at the young mare. “Nothing needing your immediate attention, I’m sure. They just sent me, my entire unit, Stalwart Liberty, and an entire unit of royal guard to help you with your tea party.”

Twilight paused mid-scroll unroll as his sentence struck her like a brick. “Wh-”

“I’ll save you the read. I’m evacuating all of you to Canterlot. Ponyville is being attacked by a battalion sized force of Order’s soldiers. I’m under direct order from Celestia to evac all of you, which really should have happened about twenty or so minutes ago, buuut, because of this great big old snafu, I’m standing here and you’re all still having a picnic.”

The shocked silence that met him was not comforting in the slightest, nor was the lack of movement. Rarity was the first to speak, while Fluttershy seemed frozen in fear. “Darling… how… large, is a ‘battalion’?”

“Anywhere between three hundred to eight hundred enemy combatants. We have confirmation that the turned Mountain Rangers are with them, so roughly two hundred or so elite forces out of that.”

Twilight shook her head as Rarity fainted. “This… this isn’t possible. Ponyville is the closest town to Canterlot, we can’t already be under attack… wh-”

“Tell that to Order’s forces.” Jack put a hand to his headset and spoke into it as he turned away from the group, though out of the corner of his eye, he could see Twilight unrolling the scroll and reading furiously, only to confirm his story. “Hellion, do I have an eta on that chopper yet?”

The response was shortcoming, thankfully. “Your ride should be nearing the LZ shortly, is everything alright on your end?”

Jack sighed hard. “Oh yeah, peachy. Just fuckin peachy. Over and out.” Taking his hand off his headset, he glanced over and gave the floating Dash a mild smile. “Hey shorty. How’s it hanging?” Thankfully, the girls were breaking down their picnic fast, and he could hear the distant thumping of approaching rotor blades. He had time for a short chat.

Smiling back nervously, Dash’s eyes were held toward Ponyville and the fingers of smoke that were beginning to rise above the trees. “S’alright, I guess… Stuck here doing weather crap while there’s a war going on. Could be doing anything, but I’m here. Are you alright?” She looked up at him with genuine worry. “Sir?” She added quietly.

With a brief exhale through his nose, Jack shook his head. “Too many friends, dash. Help me get your friends to safety, alright?” Her silent nod helped calm him, if only somewhat, before Twilight was struck with a brilliant idea.

“I’ll just teleport us all to safety!”

Only to have it immediately shot down by Applejack. “I ain’t leavin’ without mah family, an’ you remember how ‘great’ teleportin Granny went last time, when she hurt her hip and y’all sent her to the hospital.” Under Applejack’s glare, Twilight wilted and her plan died.

Despite that, Jack loved the idea. “Twilight, you should transport yourself and the others, I can escort AJ’s family. I have a chopper inbound as we speak, he’ll be here within minutes.”

“W-what about my animal friends?” Fluttershy asked nearly silently as she hid behind her mane. “I… I can’t just leave them…”

“Oh for the love of-”

TWANG

Jack’s quiet exasperation was interrupted as a bullet struck his helmet, and sheared off the bolt holding the faceplate in place. Falling on his ass in surprise saved Jack from the follow up that would have surely killed him. “DOWNDOWNDOWN!!” He roared as he began pumping rapid fire laser bursts into the tree line. The enemy response was swift and precise, several rounds nearly striking him in vital areas as he stood to shield the shocked Elements with his body. “GET TO THE HOUSE! NOW!!”

PRAKKPRAKKPRAKK

His rifle cracked in response as the treeline sharpshooters found their range. As Twilight brought up her shield, she was just a little too slow to save Dash from being struck in the side. With a shocked gasp, Dash’s gait faltered, and she hit the dirt hard.

“DASH!” The girls all cried in tandem, shock and horror lacing their words as Dash finally let out a pained cry, letting them know she wasn’t dead yet. As Max moved to grab her, Jack scooped her up and held her against his chest with one arm.

“TO THE HOUSE! NOW!” This time, his words were heeded quickly, as the girls galloped for the farmhouse where Big Mac and Granny were waiting with a bag between them. The pair had taken cover at the shooting; the group barely reached the house when the first mortar landed nearby, sending up a blast of soil and shrapnel. With everyone inside and taking cover, Jack gently laid down Dash and looked over her wound. It wasn’t deep, the round has skipped across her ribs, dangerously close to her wing. She wouldn’t be flying until it healed, but she’d live. “Grab that table cloth!” Jack yelled, prompting a now flat haired Pinky to snag the table cloth and bring it over. Pressing it against Dash’s side, he motioned for Pinkie to keep pressure on the wound. Sliding close to the back window, Jack wrestled out his PDA and brought up the picture of the map he’d taken as he pressed his hand against his headset. “Hellion, come in! This is Havoc, I have attackers on the farm, repeat, attackers on the farm! I need a fire mission from Stalwart, grid location Two-nine-echo-foxtrot-one-six-charlie, five rounds Willie Pete, full spread!” A stray round punched through the wood above his head, earning a terrified scream from Rarity as Twilight twitched and snarled. “Now!”

“BASTARDS!” Twilight yelled as Max tried to pull her down into cover. “SHOOT MY FRIENDS!? I’LL SHOW YOU ALL!” The young princess began charging her horn to attack as black clad soldiers began to materialise from the treeline.

“TWILIGHT!” Jack bellowed, catching the mare’s attention.

“WHAT!?” She bellowed back, fury in her eyes.

“If you drop that shield, they’re gonna perforate this house and us with it! Keep that shield up!” Jack peeked up and fired out through the considerate little hole Twilight had made for him earlier. His words didn’t seem to calm her whatsoever, but the mare didn’t remove the treeline from existence. Of course, she didn’t have to, as the five round fire mission came down and burst within the trees. The high explosive white phosphorus rounds did their gruesome work well, and for a moment, the fire incoming on the house ceased.

Luck was finally on Jack’s side, as the moment he touched his headset to report the effect of the mission, he spotted the VTOL setting down in the front lot of the farmhouse. “That’s our ride! Keep up the shield, everyone, head for that chopper, now!” Without pausing, Jack scooped up Dash again in one arm, before scooping up Granny Smith in the other and jogging for the door.

The jostling earned a pained cry from Dash as Jack ducked through the doorway, but for her part, Granny Smith looked as thrilled as could be. “I haven’t been carried like this since my wedding day!” She exclaimed happily, earning a laugh from Jack as he loaded her and Dash into the chopper. Waving in the others, Jack clipped himself in and sat down with his feet on the runners.

“Where the hell are those three guards… God dammit, Snake, get us out of here, we can’t wait!” The VTOL lifted off, with Snake at the helm, and the pilot didn’t offer any resistance to possibly leaving people behind. His door gunners sent a few short bursts into the burning tree line to deter any attackers, but largely it was unneeded. As the chopper gained altitude, Applejack watched with hard eyes as her home slowly vanished. Twilight looked utterly furious, and Fluttershy was catatonic. Rarity had fainted once again, and Pinky was still near tears as she held pressure on Dash’s oozing wound.

Holding a hand to his headset, Jack let out a sigh of weak relief. “This is Havoc, package secured, on our way back.”

In the forest, Ada watched idly as her diversion force took artillery fire, and the VTOL lifted off the ground. She and her team had been waylaid momentarily in killing three guardsponies as they’d run down the dirt road, the time in which had cost them an easy capture at the farm house when her diversion force had fired early. If Ada had been in full control of her faculties, she’d be pissed, but right now, all she felt was cold.

Cold, and the thirty two pounds of man portable air defence system sitting on her shoulder. Lifting the FIM-92 Stinger up, she calmly tracked the VTOL as it neared her position. She squeezed the weapon system's trigger when the tracker system emitted it’s lock tone.

FWOOOSH

The missile leapt from its launcher, and adjusted its flight path toward the approaching VTOL, which veered violently in a vain attempt at evading. The pilot was good, but not good enough as the twenty two pound high explosive warhead slammed into its port engine and blasted the arcanotech motor from it’s housing. The VTOL began to spin, spiraling uncontrollably as it rapidly descended; spewing smoke, fire, and debris.

Handing the launcher to the griffon next to her, Ada waved her team of JSOG operatives forward, and shouldered her rifle. She was hunting, and her game was deadly.

When the missile had struck Snake’s VTOL, Jack would have been thrown clear of the craft if not for his lanyard; the fall surely would have killed him. Unfortunately, as they neared the ground, the secondary explosion from the shredded engine sent shrapnel streaking through the cabin, clipping Jack’s lanyard and sending him hurtling towards the ground as Twilight reached out with her magic to catch him. His last hope of being saved was dashed as her magical telekinesis fizzled and died on his titanium armour.

Jack’s curse was a short one, as he slammed through the treetops and hit the dirt hard; bouncing through the underbrush before coming to a stop just as the VTOL crashed before him. The craft’s second engine shattered against the trees, and the fuselage continued onwards with a soul rending shriek as it crashed against rocks and trees, before coming to a stop.

With an agonized groan, Jack realized he was still alive, and pushed himself up to begin jogging toward the nearby crash. His rifle was still with him, cinched tight against his armour. A secondary explosion helped guide him through the thick trees, and soon the fires acted as markers for him. His heart leapt as purple magic enveloped the crashed VTOL’s bay door, and forced it open. As far as he could tell, everybody seemed still alive at first glance, though hurt badly.

“Injuries…” Jack wheezed out as the elements stumbled out of the shattered craft, and he entered the clearing. The crew of the vehicle were badly injured, and one of the door gunners was dead in his harness. Cursing himself softly, Jack climbed into the craft to pull the rest of them out. There, he found AJ and Big Mac, huddled over Granny, who he could only assume had died instantly in the crash. Their tears only pushed him onwards as he checked on Snake. The plucky pilot was still alive, though sans both legs. The propeller of engine two had broken free from it’s moorings, and had sheared through the cockpit. Snake was shivering as he looked down at both his stumps, shock setting in swiftly. Grabbing the pilot’s shoulders, Jack ripped open his medical pouch and fished out the only thing that could save Snake’s life. The cauterpads that had saved Jack’s own. “Snake. Snake!” Jack grabbed the pilots chin and pulled his gaze up. Snake’s eyes were wide and his pupils were pinpricks of colour in a sea of terrified, bloodshot white. “I’m gonna get you out of here.” He said as he stuffed a gauze pad in Snake’s mouth, and secured the cauterpads. “You are going to fucking hate me… but I’m getting you out of here.” Jack held the pilot down as he activated the pads. Snake’s entire body went rigid as he let out a swiftly building howl of muffled agony; the cauterpads reached temperature and cauterized the large open wounds. Seconds later, Snake collapsed into his flight seat, and fell unconscious. Cutting open the pilot’s straps, Jack hefted Snake up, and carried him out of the crashed chopper. “Head count! Who’s here?”

Before him, all of the girls, save AJ were gathered and looking somewhat worse for wear. They were hurt and scared, save for Twilight, who looked livid as she did her best to fawn over Max’s wounds. Setting Snake down, Jack shouldered his laser rifle and tried to shake the red fog from his head. When it didn’t abate, he realized it wasn’t fog in his mind, but blood in his eyes. Putting an armoured gauntlet to his head, he found that his helmet had been ripped free during his tumble, and his forehead had a three inch long gash across it. Wiping the blood from his eyes, Jack went down on one knee.

“I need you all to listen carefully, we’re not far from Ponyville. Twilight, can you teleport everyone there?”

“M-max, i-i-it’s gonna… it’s gonna be okay…” The girl was in tears over the wounded Max, who was doing his best to calm her. She was torn between furious, and terrified, while the others were just as scared. He had to do something. He had to make the call.

Lining up the sights of her rifle on Jack, Ada let out a soft, slow breath, and squeezed the trigger. The air rifle puffed, and she was rewarded as Jack slapped his neck, and the dart that was now stuck in it. Surprise was plain as day on his bloody face as he stumbled back, and his eyes flicked to the treeline. Ada slipped back behind the tree as she loaded the next dart. One would be enough, but two would be certain. As Jack stumbled and lifted his rifle, Ada peeked out again, and caught him in the cheek with the next dart. He let off a burst of lasers as he fell over backwards, his system being flooded with enough tranquilizer to drop a bear. Switching to her carbine, Ada rose from the shadows and spoke to her team. “Non-essential targets are to be terminated.”

Suppressed shots rang out, and the big red stallion was the first to fall, two holes in his head saw him dead before he could blink. The surviving door gunner followed, a three round burst in the chest killed him in an instant. Ada was moving forward when the princess screamed, and her element glowed with power. Ada moved forward still, cold and calculating.

As Twilight rose into the air, Jack fought and struggled against his own body as it slowly shut down on him. Come on… COME ON! UP! GET THE FUCK UP! Jack roared at himself mentally as he rolled onto his side and tried to level his rifle with the enemy. The elements were now all rising into the air, and glowing. He could see Ada moving towards him. In that moment, she was beautiful, and terrible. He was dead. He’d done all he could, but now she was going to die as well when the elements of harmony blasted everything in the crash site. He had his sights on her, he could kill her right now, and save her the pain. His finger slipped into the trigger guard, but for all his might, his finger wouldn’t budge any further. He collapsed to the ground on his side, his limbs going numb from the powerful drug.

Hey Jack Mark spoke inside his mind. What comes to mind when I say, Harmony?

Unity… peace? Uh… friendship lasers?

There was a chuckle as Twilight screamed with indignant rage at the turned members of JSOG. Close, Jackie boy. In this case, it means Order.

The blast of harmonious energy washed over the entire crash site, blanketing everyone within it with Order’s mind controlling magic. The elements slowly drifted to the ground, their eyes still blazing blue with energy. Ada waved her team forward, before executing Max with her carbine. One shot between the eyes, and the Hero of Equestria fell dead to the ground.

“Discordian dog.” Was all she said as she treaded toward Jack. Behind her, one of her team shot Dandelion Price, Snake, through the top of the head, killing him instantly. “Tell the Emperor that we have prevailed. Then radio First battalion to commence their covering assault on the defenders.” As Jack’s consciousness slowly fled him, the last thing he saw were Ada’s eyes looking down at him, their beauty marred by Order’s blue magic. “Hullo luv…”

Author's Notes:

Whoo, man, this chapter is probably gonna piss a lot of people off. I've been working this chapter over in my mind for quite awhile, and the ones that follow even more so. I'm still not sure if I like how the ponyville segment went, but I suppose I'll figure that out a few months down the line when I come back and re-read it with fresh eyes.