“Spike, please bring me that next sample.” Twilight called from across her personal lab, all attention focused on a screen displaying some test result. Spike dutifully rushed down carefully with another containment unit holding a glowing blue crystal.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Twi…? I mean, it’s not even the right color…” the young dragon said quietly.

“Oh it’s nothing to worry about, Spike.” she replied, using her magic to carefully levitate the crystal into the testing chamber with a small mouse, “Besides, this strain is a rare form that we’ve only seen in Changeling territory; it might hold the key to what I’m working on.”

“You still haven’t told me more than ‘it will change the world, Spike’ and ‘it will benefit all of Equestria, Spike’.” he deadpanned.

“That’s because you don’t need to know everything about this project yet. Celestia doesn’t even know what my own personal experiments are for.”

“Isn’t that a bit risky? Hiding research from the Princess?” Spike asked. His only reply was a small smirk as Twilight flapped her wings a bit for emphasis.

“Oh right, you’re one too…” he muttered. “Still Twilight, keeping information from either Celestia or Luna just seems like a bad idea, and it’s against the Charter, too!”

“The Charter was made without my input, and Luna barely had any say in it either.” Twilight snapped back, a hint of bitterness in her tone as the mouse tried taking a bite of the crystal but instead just started convulsing once he touched it, “And besides… the Initiative only has rules against unlawful, malicious experiments, not ones that will better ponykind and the rest of the world.”

“And just how will it do that?” Spike inquired, sarcasm overflowing from his voice.

“Well, put simply Spike…” Twilight began, grinning back at her most trusted assistant as the mouse inside the test chamber started moving again, his eyes shining blue and his fur now letting off a faint, crystalline sheen, “Tiberium is the key to the next step in Pony Evolution.”
____________________________________

It’s been barely a year since tiberium first made landfall, and five years since Princess Twilight Sparkle defeated Lord Tirek with the help of her friends. When the first asteroid hit Equestria, the world was a relatively peaceful place. Five days later, 20 earth ponies had been killed by green crystalline growths all over their bodies that turned the unfortunate victims into more of the crystal. A month later, Appleloosa was nothing more than a field of green crystals nearly 20 miles in diameter. By the time Celestia ordered a full-scale investigation, the first tiberium field in Equestria was beyond containment and growing rapidly.

Unbeknownst to Celestia however, the tiberium-enriched asteroid that destroyed Appleloosa was not the only one to hit the world. The Gryphon Kingdom’s mountain strongholds had already been hit, the wastes where the Changelings made their homes were already saturated, and mountains where dragons congregated had begun to show massive crystal formations.

Upon finding out, Celestia ordered a complete border lockdown once tiberium’s presence was confirmed in other nations while Luna set up a covert research facility to study how to rid the planet of the crystalline cancer. The following month, Celestia commissioned the Global Defense Initiative, intent on cleansing the planet of tiberium once and for all, inviting all of ponykind to join in the fight against the cancerous crystal.

This was her first mistake.

Princess Celestia, for all her wisdom, believed that the magic of friendship and the combined intellectual might of herself, her sister, and her beloved student would be enough to find a counter to tiberium that Equestria could then give to the other nations in the spirit of companionship. Despite the assurances of countless envoys, the other kingdoms felt that the lockdown and perceived espionage was more than just suspicious. With the creation of GDI uniting only equine nations, diplomatic tensions reached an all-time high.

The Gryphon Kingdom, once proud and mighty, was half-dead once GDI was founded. The mountainous steppes that formed their realm, rich in ores and minerals, proved to be a perfect environment for the green cancer, allowing it to spread unimpeded across the land. Not only were the clearings covered with tiberium fields as was the case elsewhere, but the geographical features of the realm gave rise to the world’s first tiberium glacier upon the mighty Ancestor’s Peak, grinding the ancient gryphon capital that sat upon it into dust. With the loss of much of the arable land to feed the livestock they depended on, famine spread throughout the kingdom with the many resorting to hunting as their ancestors had centuries past, yet those desperate enough to do so soon found their preys to be as tainted as the land itself. Despite the painfully apparent encroaching end, King Steelwing the Second continued to maintain an iron talon upon the remaining survivors, determined to keep order and the rule of law alive until the very end. However, many considered their doom to be but a matter of time, desperately turning to their ancestors in search for salvation.

While the Gryphon Kingdom went through a period of unprecedented death and suffering brought upon by tiberium, the Changeling swarms were going through a radical change. Exposure to the reviled crystal did not kill them in the same horrendous way it did equines and gryphons, nor did it destroy vital pieces of lands as it did elsewhere. After all, changelings do not require food or water like the other races do, thus the loss of arable farmland means nothing to a hive. The spread of the crystal into the mighty, subterranean hives did, however, radically alter the race’s social structure due to the rampant mutations it brought upon their insectlike forms. Tiberium growths appeared upon the bodies of drones, warriors, and queens alike, the power granted to them differing not between swarms but between individuals. Suddenly underlings were able to challenge and even usurp power from the old queen, leading to a shift in leadership and the social order of the hives and swarms, most notably when Queen Chrysalis reclaimed her former castle from Thorax, converting his entire faction back into loyal drones and leaving him in exile. Inevitably, the once semi-stable lands of the changelings were now embroiled in endless civil war.

With a great portion of his people gone and the sudden unilateral unification of the equine nations under the Global Defense Initiative, King Steelwing understandably feared for the future of the Gryphon Kingdom, its independence, and, most importantly, the future of his people. Likewise, the new Queens of the more stable hives in the changeling lands, seeing the power the green crystal granted them, grew worried of GDI’s apparent goal of containing and eradicating tiberium from the face of the planet. Starting with a pact between the Changeling Queens, headed by the newly reinstated Queen Chrysalis after successfully holding on to her power, to ensure they could protect what was now theirs, a strange alliance was born between the Changelings and the Gryphons out of fear of what GDI had in store for them. Yet, despite what GDI’s militarization and membership showed, Equestria and its allies were far from united in their goal of eradicating what many were now silently considering to be a ‘sacred’ gift.

_________________

An iron-grey unicorn with a close-cropped white mane and tail galloped as fast as his aging legs could take him straight towards Canterlot Castle’s Throne Room. As he approached the large double doors, the guards gave a swift salute and had them open before he had even ran half the hallway. Unlike the guards of old, adorned in gilded plate-mail, these unicorns had on grey fatigues with similar colored vests, pads for the joints, and boots. Strapped to their hips as well as the unicorn’s were a new technological marvel brought on by the Tiberium Age. GD Mk I Pistols, ballistic weaponry for use by magic users only.

The guards stiffened a little as the older stallion trotted by, giving them an excellent view of the four silver stars that adorned his shoulders and the name tag that was plastered across the left side of his chest; “Ironsides.”

“Good afternoon, General.” said one of the guards. Ironsides simply replied with a polite nod as he entered the throne room. Much to his surprise, there was already a crowd of various officers and divisional directors standing around, trying to gain audience with the two alicorns seated at the far end of the room. Scowling, the aged unicorn let out the least discreet cough he could muster while still striding forward, keeping his perpetual scowl on as the crowd of ponies split dead center, making a path for him.

“Ah, General, I see you still know how to make an entrance.” a calm, almost serene voice chimed in.

“Well, considering the rumornet believes I’m old enough to keel over any minute now, certain things cannot wait, majesties.” he replied without breaking his stride. The General had been at this little banter game with Celestia for years now, even before Princess Luna had been rescued from her evil half, and he’d only gotten better at it much to the chagrin of his competitors. In a way, he was Celestia’s second-dearest student, coming in just behind Princess Twilight Sparkle. Where Twilight focused her studies on the arcane arts and, in time, the magic of friendship, Ironsides had devoted his life to defensive magic, tactics, and reforming the Canterlot Royal Guard for the modern age.

Needless to say, when he informed the Sun Princess of the necessity for a new all-equine defense force for the survival of the old world order, she heartily agreed and even made his sweeping eagle cutie mark the emblem of the Global Defense Initiative.

“Does this require privacy, old friend?” Celestia asked once he had approached the pedestal she and Luna shared.

“I’d prefer this was kept for your ears only, your grace.”

“Very well, follow us.” Luna replied as she gestured behind the thrones with a slight flick of her head.

Obeying dutifully, General Ironsides followed both demi-goddesses from the throne room out the back entryway. Magic washed over them as magical scanners searched for any trace of tiberium, listening devices, or the subtle hint of changeling magic that they all gave off when impersonating somepony. Once past the scanners in the surprisingly short hallway, all of them entered Celestia’s ‘Situation Room’. With subtle grace, Celestia and Luna took their seats and Ironsides levitated two folders from his vest and unto the table in front of them.

“How bad?” Luna finally asked before even prodding the folder with her magic.

“That depends on you both, believe it or not, at least with the first bit of news.” Ironsides replied, “As much as I hate to admit it, even with all the reparations he’s consented to over the past 5 years, I am sad to report that Sir Discord has been declared Killed in Action.”

“Surely you jest!?” Luna interjected, her eyes widening but not nearly as much as Celestia’s did.

“I wish I was, but he is in fact very much dead as of five hours ago. While assisting in a tiberium cleanup of Braylin, a few visceroids started attacking. He rushed in to defend but was infected in moments… nopony has ever seen the crystal infect anyone as fast as it infected him and as of 0350 this morning, there is a perfect replica statue of Discord standing in the middle of a contained tib field inside the Braylin Blue Zone.”

“This is… most unfortunate, but I believe Fluttershy will take solace in the fact that he died in such a selfless manner.” Celestia stated quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I wish that was the only bad news I have to report, ma’am.” the general added with a solemn frown, “There was a bombing at the eastern gate of the Canterlot Blue Zone this morning. An earth pony was carrying a wagon filled to the brim of tiberium. The manifest said hay and wheat but the scanners picked up not only the crystal, but the ID of the bomber. When he was about to be detained, he shouted something akin to ‘Justice for Earth Ponies! Justice for Appleloosa!’ before biting down on a detonator and blowing himself and the wagon up. None of our guards were hurt, they took cover before he finished screaming. Supervisor Fluttershy’s ZOCOM specialists have already begun cleanup and the gate should be open by tomorrow morning.”

“Who was the bomber?” the Solar Princess asked.

“Majesty, I don’t think it would do you good to know the identity of a single po-”

“One of my subjects died trying to send a message, General.” Celestia interrupted, “I should at least know the name of the pony who gave so much in vain.”

“Very well…” Ironsides sighed after a few moments of contemplative silence, “His name was Braeburn Apple, cousin of the Bearer of the Element of Honesty.”

“Dear Mother Faust…” Luna cursed lowly, “Do Applejack or Princess Twilight know what has transpired?”

“We’ve withheld all information pertaining to the bomber’s ID and will not be letting anypony know until the family has been notified.”

“We wish you to delay in that notification, General.” Luna spoke up, “The death of one who was family to a Bearer of an Element of Harmony deserves more than a soldier. We will deliver the news personally.”

“I agree. While I still have matters to attend to, my sister is more than capable of bearing such news with the utmost care and a gentle hoof.” Celestia added in.

“It is settled then; We shall be the bearer of bad news, as it were…” Luna finished with a small, saddened frown before turning back over to Ironsides, “Tell us, General, where is the good Colonel now?”

“She’s been heading up the Predator Program since the approval of the Minimum Militarization Bill, majesty.”

“Ah yes…" Celestia muttered with poorly-hidden disapproval, "...the tanks…”
____________________

A gathering of unicorns, pegasi, and one or two earth ponies were standing in a small clearing about three kilometers out from the Manehatten Blue Zone as a nearby steady roar continued to send up plumes of sand and dirt. In front of the uniformed stallions and mares were several tons worth of steel, speed, and firepower moving surprisingly fast for something its weight and size. The tracked vehicle slid to a halt next to the gathered officers and the engine began to die down. Small clanks of metal-on-metal were the only indication of locks being taken off before the top hatch popped open and an orange mare with a blonde mane, barely contained inside an open-faced helmet, popped halfway out of the angular Predator Main Battle Tank she had been testing out.

“Y’all may wanna cover yer ears for this next part!” she shouted over the still rumbling engine as the turret began to turn downrange at an armored practice target that had been set up that morning. Some live fire practice was in order.

Everypony present did as they were told, donning their protective ear-mufflers before one of the pegasi gave Colonel Applejack a nod. With a gleeful grin, the former farmer gave the gunner a light tap on the flank with her rear hoof and braced herself for the best part of commanding a 40-ton death machine. With a kick that nearly caused her to flinch, the 150mm cannon belched fire, steel, and death straight down range and hit the ‘bunker’ that her gunner had locked on to. The bunker ceased to exist, covered by a cloud of smoke and flames. After a few moments the fog cleared, the left half of the bunker missing.

“Rounds expended, permission to reload?” the loader unicorn asked.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure all them stuffed shirts got the idea the first time.” Applejack replied, “Good work team, y’all go ahead and bring’er around to the viewing station while I play nice with all these shiny collars.”

“You got it, ma’am.” the driver answered as she climbed out and off of the prototype tank.

Once down and away from her ride, its engine roared into gear again and thundered off towards the stands a few dozen meters away. Meanwhile, Applejack walked towards the nearly 50 ponies that had attended her presentation.

“As y’all can see, if anypony were to stir up some major trouble… and if Princess Celestia would let us do more than just build and test’em, the Predator is just the first step in keeping containment and harvestin’ operations safe an’ sound. A hundred and fifty mike mike cannon tends to discourage anypony from even starin’ at a harvester funny, and the top mounted machine gun is perfect at keepin’ my mares inside safe from ponies on hoof.”

“Top speed?” one of the pegasus officers asked.

“Don’t let’er name fool ya, Granny Smith’\ over there can clock in at 38kph; nearly double the newest harvesters at top speed with an empty hold and drunk driver.”

Applejack was not expecting silence. Applause? Sure. Startled swearing? Absolutely. But this silence and ruffling of uniforms was not, making her turn to scowl at the officers. Her scowl quickly gave way to a neutral, almost blank look as she snapped a salute.

“Your Majesty, welcome to the Predator MBT testin’ grounds.” she said.

“No need for formalities with us, dear Applejack. We’re here on personal matters, not that of business.” Luna replied with a soft smile, “Though we would ask for privacy to speak with the Colonel, everypony.”

Taking the order in stride, the gathered officers all trotted over to the tank as her crew began to exit out their hatches. All the while Luna and Applejack walked slowly behind them, taking a longer route as the Lunar Princess let the smile fade.

“We wish the motives behind this visit were better, Applejack. We bring rather… troubling news.”

“Princess Celestia ain’t shuttin’ down my program again, is she?” Applejack groaned, flipping up her helmet’s black visor so she could look her co-commander-in-chief in the eyes.

“We are afraid that it is not that simple… it is in regards to your cousin, Braeburn Apple.”

“Was he arrested at another ‘peaceful’ protest?” the earth pony replied, rolling her eyes at the thought of having to pull strings to get him out of the brig again.

“He is dead.”

Applejack stopped in her tracks, completely motionless, with her eyes nearly as wide as her head.

“Wh… he… what…?” she managed to sputter out.

“This morning, an earth pony blew himself up, along with a wagon of tiberium, at one of the Canterlot Blue Zone gates after declaring that there should be justice for Earth Ponies and for Appleloosa… that earth pony was your cousin, Braeburn.”

Colonel Applejack was a veteran of no less than 10 skirmishes with visceroids, mutant raiders, and even the odd tiberium-worshipping terror cell here and there. She had nerves of steel, the constitution of a buffalo, and many considered her to be just as invulnerable and untouchable as the princesses. She was one of the few ponies with an actual kill count and was no stranger to facing death head on. So, when the same mare who had successfully kept GDI’s Armor Division afloat even with Celestia fighting it every step of the way fell to her knees with tears in her eyes, Luna was understandably shocked.

“We… we did not know this would be so… hard, for you, Lady Applejack.” Luna whispered as she kneeled down next to her and wrapped a wing around the tanker. “We believed it best that we deliver the news in person, rather than send an impersonal missive o-”

“Thank you, Princess… for... for….” Applejack muttered back, unable to get a coherent thought across. Luna simply kept watch over the mare under her wing silently, waiting for her to gather her thoughts and regain her composure. After what seemed like an eternity, Applejack finally began to stand again.

“If it’s not too much to ask, ma’am… I’d like to take some leave immediately, and have a message sent out to my family an’ my friends.” Colonel Applejack requested.

“Of course, dearest Applejack. You are free of all duties until you deem yourself fit once more.”

“Thank you, your majesty… I… I better start gettin’ to those letters.”
____________________

Twilight Sparkle looked back at a mutated mouse she had in containment with an inquisitive smile. The test subject had shown a full acceptance of the crystal on a molecular level and was healthier than ever. It could run faster, had shown evidence of increased night vision, and was even passing intelligence tests with greater ease than before. That is, so long as he had steady exposure to tiberium. She was about to pull him out and place him with the other test subjects when she heard a familiar belch from upstairs.

“Twilight? Letter for you!” Spike called, “It’s from Applejack!”

“Well bring it down, silly!” she replied, her good spirits showing both in her facial features and her vocal tone as she brought a cup of tea to her lips.

“Alright alright!” he called back, tossing it down to her from the top of the stairs, not even staying to see her catch it with her magic. He was almost back to his bed when he heard her cup drop to the floor and shatter, rushing back downstairs as quickly as his legs could carry him.

“What happened!?” Spike shouted.

“We… we’re attending a funeral, Spike.”
_______________________

Rarity silently stuck another pin into the mannequin she was working on, taking great care not to tighten up the fabric across the chest lest this new dress uniform for GDI enlisted be too tight for young colts and mares to move in. With a smirk, she cut a sliver of cloth off the shoulders and let herself bask in another job well done. Once satisfied, she trotted lazily over to her desk and dropped the remaining pins she had, taking another look at the prototype railgun blueprints she had rewritten that morning for what had to be the twentieth time.

“Such an elegant, precise, weapon…” she mused with a sigh before a magically-carried scroll dropped down in front of her, right on the blueprints.

“From Applejack?” she muttered, the soft smile on her face growing larger as she broke the seal, “Why I haven’t heard from her in ages! This must be about her newest proje-oh… oh darling this….”

Rarity was at a loss for words, the blueprints and her latest success forgotten as her mascara started to run.
___________________

Rainbow Dash walked the bridge of the Kodiak-class surveillance vessel GDA Double Rainboom. The behemoth of an aircraft hadn’t broken low orbit since its launch three years ago and it had a constantly shifting crew that was, for the most part, all pegasi save for the odd unicorn here and there. For the past three months, she had been aboard and in command after some much needed R&R back in Cloudsdale after a rather nasty tiberium outbreak that required almost every rescue craft she had aboard to scramble and begin containment operations.

“Bearing is stable, ma’am. We should be back over Canterlot for a tib scan within four hours.” a mare at the main navigation station announced.

“Good, but try and shave that down by 20 percent if you can.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Ma’am, scroll coming for you.” one of her orderlies cut in as he galloped up behind her, “It’s from Colonel Applejack and marked as urgent.”

“Thanks.” the Sky Admiral told the young colt, laying it out on the tactical table at the center of the bridge, “Must be something about the Predators that she wants to brag about if it’s this urgent…”

Rainbow Dash let her sentence fade out as she got to the heart of the letter. Her jaw dropped a little and her wings fell flat at her sides as she let out the only thought she could manage.

“Poor Little Strongheart…”
______________________

Cannons went off, confetti spread around the room, and streamers flew into every possible corner of the Canterlot Servicepony’s Hospital as Pinkie Pie literally bounced around the room, singing a celebratory tune that she made up as she went. The GDI patrolmare laying down on a hospital bed, with her remaining three limbs propped up with care, smiled as a stray streamer landed on her upper lip and remained stuck there, giving her a neon blue mustache.

“Congratulations on everyone surviving that nasty, nasty, ambush two days ago! I got so happy that you all woke up and were alive that I felt like you all deserved a party!” Pinkie sang out to the entire hospital wing, currently packed with a whole platoon of ponies all in various states of injury and dismemberment. The worst of them were missing up to three legs, while the least injured colt was simply missing a large chunk of his left ear and had plenty of scarring over the same side of his face and neck.

“Heh, thanks Miss Pie, this… this actually really means a lot to us.” the platoon’s officer told her, smiling at her antics and at the fact that his ponies were giving genuine smiles of their own.

“Well I am the premiere party pony in all of Equestria!” she declared, pushing back the memory of a hospitalized and quarantined Cheese Sandwich from her mind.

“Miss Pie?” one of the nurses called from the doorway, “There’s a letter for you here from a… Colonel Applejack? It’s priority mail.”

“Okie Dokie Loki!” the pink party pony said with a smile, bouncing her way to the door, “Don’t worry everypony! I’ll be riiiiiiiiiiiiiight back!”

“The letter is right there on the table in the next room, dearie. I don’t want to intrude.” the nurse added as she began walking back to her desk.

“Thank you very much.” Pinkie replied, still bouncing as she broke the seal and spread the paper out across the small table. Almost instantly, her hair flattened out and lost it’s signature poof, the lights all around her went out, and her lip began to quiver. Pinkie Pie was very glad that the ponies in the next room couldn’t hear her let out an anguished cry.
______________________

Supervisor Fluttershy was a surprisingly busy pony. She had to continually organize reclamation efforts, sonic emitter technology tests to approve and send out, and an entire division of GDI to arm, armor, and have ready to fight the cancerous crystal killing their planet. The weight of it all was only curbed by the fact that she almost never had to make any public appearances, and worked mostly through intermediaries to get her messages across.

One such assistant, Twilight Velvet, was happily helping the yellow pegasus sort through the latest avalanche of letters that had just been dumped into her IN tray. She had joined up once her daughter, Twilight Sparkle, began working on tiberium research and decided that if she could help GDI’s cause at all, she’d do whatever a mare her age could manage. Once the pile had been organized properly, with the letters all being ordered by size, who sent them, and any priority markings, Velvet grabbed the OUT tray with her magic, only to feel another letter land on her flank after a faint magical pop sounded behind her.

“Hmm…? Oh, Fluttershy dear, this one just came in. It’s from your friend Applejack and says it’s urgent.”

“Oh, thank you very much Mrs. Velvet, could you bring it here please? If it’s not too much trouble since you alre-”

“It’s nothing, dear.” the elder mare replied with a faint smile. While she appreciated her boss’s courtesy, sometimes it was a little much.

“Thank you…” Fluttershy replied, smiling as she opened up the letter, but only for the briefest of moments. She hadn’t even gotten halfway down the page before tears collected at the corners of her eyes and Velvet had to rush over to comfort the crying pegasus, sitting on the highest chair of authority in ZOCOM.
___________________

Princess Luna rested on a cloud a few hundred meters above Ponyville, observing the processions below. The funeral had hit the 3-hour mark just a few moments prior, and those present were beginning to march out of the funeral home. The Princess of the Night watched as her subjects… no, her friends, carried a decorated casket, the Element Bearers doing their best to comfort the now-widowed Little Strongheart. The casket itself was part of that, she knew. The bomb Braeburn had used would have at least left some remains that could be cremated, or even buried. However, combined with the tiberium he carried on his wagon, nothing had remained. That casket was empty, serving a purely-ceremonial purpose to at least give some closure to a grieving family.

“We… can’t keep watching.” she told herself, closing her eyes and shifting her head. Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes once more, looking straight ahead at the massive tiberium glacier to the east. The monumental testament to all their fears that had replaced Ancestor’s Peak.

“Equestria, even with GDI doing all it can, is not well. And yet we at least have something to give us hope. Those left outside have nothing.... Sister’s beliefs are going to doom us all, and we fear it is already too late to make a difference… but I will at least try.” Luna declared.

With a flap of her mighty wings, the Night Princess took off towards her research facility.

“We swear by the Moon that we put in the sky every night, We will make Celestia see the truth of salvation through Tiberium, whether she wants to or not.”