“Phillydelphia uplink successful. Welcome back General.”

“EVA, ETA until the Discord and Phillydelphia are able to provide support for our forces in Baltimare.”

“GDA Phillydelphia will be within range in two hours, thirteen minutes, and nineteen seconds. GDA Discord is being significantly delayed by a massed Nod air attack. Estimated time of arrival between two and three hours. Update: Captain Windcatcher of the GDA Phillydelphia requests authorization to support the GDA Discord.”

“Granted. The Phillydelphia is to launch six of its squadrons in support of the Discord and hold four for later deployment in support of Baltimare.”

As the EVA unit acknowledged the order, General Stalwart Shield took a second to look at the stream of incoming reports regarding the Zone Trooper platoon calling itself “Wolverines”. So far they had secured Horsehoe Bay’s naval facilities and the entire perimeter of Camp Reckless, with both areas currently being reoccupied and secured by GDI units. As a single, thunderous force they stabilized whichever section of the front they appeared at and then moved to the next one.

A satisfied grin on her muzzle, Stalwart Shield proceeded to turn to another monitor detailing the combat capabilities of a single Mammoth tank.

“EVA, ready my chariot.”
________

“I say again, this is Angel Bunny requesting any backup we can get! Nod’s pushing our flank and we can’t hold it much longer. Bravo platoon is down to three mission capable Predators, Alpha down to two, and I have Black Hand trying to take my position!”

“Angel Bunny, this is Zone Trooper squad Alpha, moving to assist. Have your support infantry start laying down suppressing fire while we hit Nod from behind.” came a stoic reply.

The stallion sitting in the command seat of the Angel Bunny didn’t question the order and relayed the information to everypony on the flank. After a few moments of the EVAs coordinating their actions, what few GDI soldiers were left began popping up in pairs, firing at the advancing Black Hand and the regular Nod soldiers that Confessors were whipping into another battle frenzy. Nearly 10 more minutes passed and the tank commander was about to open up another channel when his radar showed 4 Friendly IFF tags fly past. Any trooper on the ground only saw four contrails fly overhead between the buildings.

At first, the Black Hand gryphons thought it was a missile strike from a reserve artillery unit, but there was no shockwave, no explosions, not even a plume of smoke rising from the ground behind the line. All they heard after a muffled impact was heavy machine gun fire and the screams of their more expendable brethren.

“Someone tell me what’s going on back there!” a Black Hand Brother-Captain ordered, practically screaming it over the radio.

“Heavily armored GDI soldiers are hitting the rear! It’s those bastards that took out Silverhoof’s un- buck! Fall back behind cov-urk!”

“Lieutenant? LT? Answer me!” the gryphon barked, getting static and more screams in return. It was only their overpowering volume that made him realize they stopped coming from the radio and were instead coming from his troops.The gryphon barely managed to get one good look at what was attacking as a gunmetal grey equine form crashed a few meters ahead of him before launching into battle once more and leaving behind a small beeping canister just a few meters from the Black Hand fireteam leader.

“Oh buck.”
________

“Basilisk platoon, move into the building next block and garrison it to provide cover fire!”

“Seth.”

“What do you MEAN Basilisk is gone?! Fine, Cerberus acknowledge previous orders.”

“Seth.”

“All air wings, report in. I want every bird covering our advance now that we got unknowns giving us trouble.”

“Seth!”

“Air wings, please report in. Air wings? Ah buck it. Flame tanks, focus fire on the unknown targets. Disregard potential friendly fire, just take those bastards ou-”

“HEY HOOFY!”

“The buck did you just call me!? I don’t care if you’re Black Hand or not, you will respect the chain of com-”

“You’re relieved of Command, I already have a squad of Brothers going to arrest you for battlefield incompetence and inability to command. I’m assuming control of this situation and we are getting the blood-soaked-heathen-Tartarus out of this city.”

“Mutiny! Betrayal! I’ll see you burn for this, Hyperion! I’LL SEE YOU B-HRK!” Trenderhoof spat back before he felt a gryphon grip his throat.

“Did I mention that the ‘security’ detail I placed around you for your ‘safety’ was more meant for the security of this mission? I don’t think I did. Brother, go ahead and ex-” Hyperion started before the feed started bleeding static and the angle shifted from Trenderhoof’s command post to an extraordinarily ordinary rivet on the floor and a table leg. Before Hyperion could give the order again, the gryphon holding onto Seth’s neck was knocked off his claws into the camera’s view with the bumbling unicorn following him as three massive explosions ripped through the air.

“CELESTIA’S FLANK WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT!?”
________

As Hyperion was busy trying to rip Trenderhoof a new hole to soil himself with, GDI’s fortunes continued to improve in the current battle. What was left of Nod’s air cover was in full retreat towards the relative safety of Nod anti-aircraft weaponry, but only a small fraction of them actually made it anywhere near friendly lines to regroup.

Like a vengeful god showing itself to the world below, the GDA Discord burst through the thick morning cloud cover customary of a coastal town with point defense batteries blazing. All around her hull, Orcas swarmed out to smite anything that dare even look at the Kodiak-class carrier and the rear of the Nod line soon found itself under heavy fire from multiple squadrons of the GDI fighters. In similar fashion, the Phillydelphia broke through the cloud cover and her guns reached optimal firing range of the Brotherhood troops still outside what was left of the Baltimare Tiberium Containment Wall.

16-inch guns opened up with pinpoint precision, courtesy of unicorn magical targetting technology put to its best use. Three separate Nod soldiers simply ceased to be as the railguns’ shells found their mark, hitting each pony square on the head and then detonating with such force that the everything within a mile of the impact zones shuddered. Buildings groaned, Nod soldiers were knocked off balance and in some cases thrown to the ground. Tanks too close to the detonations were knocked on their sides, flipped over, and a few were even imbedded in the wall.

One Ursa in particular was at the perfect distance from the explosion to be thrown through a weakened portion of the wall and into a tall office building. As the flaming wreck of the tank hurtled through the second floor of the building, smashing straight through support beams and quite a few Nod soldiers that had garrisoned the structure, the structure began to crumble on top of its inhabitants.

As the former office headquarters of FlimFlam International collapsed on top of two platoons of Nod infantry, the Zone Troopers who had been advancing on the building jumped away, heading towards yet another call for help in the ruined city.
_________

Boot Camp was supposed to be a somewhat controlled, halfway decent environment for GDI Marines to learn how to be marines in a moderately safe training environment. Camp Reckless was chosen early on even before the war started as a new training location due to its proximity to the ocean, proximity to GDIMC Command, and because it was safe from any Nod attack. That all changed when Kane told Trenderhoof to take Baltimare and everything in and around it.

Silver Spoon was not expecting to be getting live rounds, combat-ready battle armor, or a helmet that wasn’t a training tool. Instead, she was fully armed, armored, and holding position on a berm at the end of a rifle shooting range with the rest of her recruit training company. Once the attack had made it inside the walls, every recruit in the fourth phase of training, also known as “Combat School”, was given weapons, armor and sent to non-critical locations where they could post up behind good cover and hold the line under the extremely close gaze of their drill instructors.

Since they had arrived, Nod had rushed the berm no less than 5 times. and the recruits were barely holding on. The only reason no pony had cut and ran was because they were more afraid of their Drill Instructors than the ability of the Nod soldiers currently massing at their flanks.

“Oh this is not good….” Silver Spoon muttered as her HUD highlighted a squad of Black Hand moving in. Along with them, Confessors. A lot of Confessors. “If only Diamond were here…”

“Hold the line, recruits!” one of the instructors barked, “You’ve got Kane so scared he had to send in the big guns! Black Hand just means that their regular soldiers are too afraid to fight you! Give’em hell, Marines!”

“Aye aye, ma’am!” they all called out in unison, the morale boost of not being called a recruit for once kicking in immediately. While she hated them, Spoon had to admit that the DIs were damn good at motivating a group in a pinch. She almost felt like they’d pull this off before another recruit let out a terrified yelp and started panicking.

“Flame tank! FLAME TANK!”

“Oh buck me…” the grey earth pony whispered, only to find her jaw drop when the tank exploded.

The explosion and successive spread of the pressurized napalm in its tanks covered most of the Confessors and those around them. The Black Hand seemed to have anticipated this and were airborne by the time the explosion rippled out, only sending one back to the ground. The other four however, were taken to the ground violently by what appeared to be missiles, at least until Silver Spoon got a good look at the one that landed literally right in front of her position.

A Zone Trooper was bucking the ever-loving life out of that gryphon, her augmented limbs cracking the black armor after a few hits, and then punching through before the dual .50 guns on her side blasted his head away. The view was awe-inspiring for the recruits given it was similar to what was happening to the other three Black Hand who had been tackled out of the sky by these power-armored knights.

The formerly snooty Earth pony mare on the other hand, took notice because of what was written on the trooper’s armor. Stenciled in perfectly right where the cutie mark should be, was her rank, her designation as a Zone Trooper, and the name “Apple Bloom” with what she recognized was the old Cutie Mark Crusader emblem in the background.

“No way…”

And then Apple Bloom looked at her.

“No way.”

“Sergeant!” Apple Bloom called out to the Drill Instructor standing right behind Silver Spoon, “Zone Troopers are pushing up, if you think these kids can handle it, tell your CO to send platoons to cover the roads!”

“You got it!” she replied, giving a respectful nod before sending one of her recruits to go inform Captain Thunderstruck of the plan. Silver Spoon on the other hand, was still dumbfounded and frozen in place. Here was a pony that she and Diamond Tiara had taken way too much pleasure in bullying, antagonizing, harassing, and all around just being grade-a bitches to, and now she was pulling her flank out of the fire, literally. An earth pony blank flank until her late teens was now one of the most powerful infantry fighting forces in all of GDI while Silver Spoon’s closest friend was six feet under, feeding the worms.

“I need to be a Zone Trooper.” she muttered to herself as four pony-sized missiles bounded and rocketed off towards the enemy. “I have to be one, someday.”
__________

“AB, squad on your left, 200 meters. Wanna take them out?” Jet Deck asked over a private channel. For the most part, the two talked only to themselves unless the EVAs decided that it was necessary for full-squad communication.

“Negative, Bravo squad has’em. I was thinkin’ we could go after that point I just marked on yer HUD.” the farm mare replied with an unseen grin.

“Grid 254 by 134…. is that… no bucking way. Hydra battery inside the city?”

“My guess is they were tryin’ta get better shots at the bay without the wall gittin’ in the way. Wanna go show Nod why they shouldn’t buck with ya?”

“You bet your perfect flank I do.” he whispered.

“What was that?” Apple Bloom asked, her head snapping over to look at him as they continued galloping and jumping across roofs.

“I said you bet your flank I do!” he corrected without missing a beat, cursing the EVA for enhancing what was supposed to be an unintelligible whisper.

“Then let’s jet!”
__________

“By your wise yet humble command, a general retreat has been issued for all Nod forces in the Baltimare Blue Zone.”

Hyperion’s position as a passenger onboard his personal command-variant Ursa was not exactly the safest place to be given the current stream of GDI Orcas bombing any and every Nod unit they could target. The continuous bombardment from the two Kodiaks didn’t make it any safer given their ability to disable his vehicle without even having to hit him directly. And yet, through a cruel twist of fate, it was also the safest place to be as he was protected from the apparently never-ending shower of shrapnel and debris being created by all the explosions taking place around and amongst his forces. Fate was a bit of a bitch.

“EVA, are any air units available to provide us with cover from those bucking Orcas?” he asked, although he believed he already knew the answer to that. The fact that he was right just made him angrier.

“Great Brother-Colonel, I regret to inform you that only 10% of our original air units were able to return to our mobile refueling stations. Only 13% of those are fit for combat.”
___________

Brother-Sergeant Bluefeather of the Black Hand valiantly led his squad of elite troopers in an orderly retreat, providing cover fire with his laser weaponry for any Nod units scrambling to get out of the damned city. However, as an command-variant Ursa tank rolled by on its way out of the city, through his helmet and the deafening sounds of explosions and combat around him, he could have sworn he heard some rather colorful and creative swearing coming from the retreating vehicle.
___________

Breathing deeply is usually recommended as a way to settle down a bit when deeply stressed or frustrated. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t work at all for Hyperion. “Fine then, “ he said, tapping his hoof over a few sections of his holographic map to properly display their current evacuation route, “patch me through to Mantis if she’s still alive.”

“By your command, noble sir.” came the reply, using one of his many customized dialogue strings as it always did. A few seconds later a static-saturated holo-screen manifested itself.

“Hyp-... ow nice of you to ca-... -ould really use some help ov-... ere.”

“Mantis, why are your tiberium troopers not following the general retreat?” he asked sternly, monitoring Mantis’ force on the southeastern sector of the city as it moved further south to the gate.

“They’re covering our retreat by making the rear too contaminated for GDI’s forces to follow directly, oh great commander.” replied Mantis, her changeling tone betraying her focus on other matters besides Hyperion’s call.

“Cancel that order and have them fall back with the rest. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care if your hose-bugs get killed or not but they better be behind the flame tanks when they reach points Darius and Cerberus if they want to be useful later, or else they’ll be trapped between GDI’s armor and a bunch of burning buildings.”

“Oh really now? You don’t seem as concerned about your own militia units.”

“Their confessors are some of the most fanatical, if unintelligent, members of the Black Hand. They won’t allow retreat and are probably calling me a coward, traitor, heretic, yadda yadda yadda right now. They’re not letting their units retreat, which serves us just fine. If anything, they can make themselves useful one last time and clog the treads of a Mammoth with their corpses or something. Maybe get lucky and drown a squad of GDI troops in their blood.”

“... That’s cold, Hyperion.” came Mantis’ reply, her voice losing its timber for a moment out of apparent stunned shock.

"It's math. They're cheaper to field than the Flame Tanks, Black Hand, and even your precious little tib troopers and thus easier to replace. Please keep in mind that your hose-bugs are trained regular-army specialists while militia are merely armed rabble on steroids with a sociopathic gryphon barking religious fanaticism at gunpoint. My primary concern is getting those of most value out of the city, out of Kodiak and Orca range, and back to Marajevo."

“Whatever you say boss. Just hope you don’t see me as merely a price-tag either.”

“My dear Mantis, how could you think that?” the stallion replied, a hint of humor reaching his voice, “You’re purely sentimental value, I can’t put a proper price-tag on that and thus you’re on the top of my list of get the buck out of this city alive, damnit.”

“You’re just saying that because I modified your EVA.”

“And because I need a proper XO after this is over so move your thorax already. Turn into a dog or something and get the buck out of this bloody city!”

Ending the feed, Hyperion turned back to his map display. What it showed to have just popped up a few block behind him left his blood cold. In a swift motion he stood on his rear hooves, opened the cupola, stood upright with his upper half sticking out of the tank with a pair of binoculars on his front hooves, and was suddenly left sprawled on the top of the Ursa. The gust of wind left behind by two massive objects passing by his sides knocked him over the top of the tank’s turret, with the massive explosion ahead of his vehicle confirming his worst fears. A Mammoth had just gotten on his tail.

Throwing himself down into the tank, he kicked the driver in the back. “DRIVER, INTO THE SIDESTREET! NOW!”
___________

“EVA, status report.” General Shield ordered.

“Nod forces in full retreat, Zone Trooper detachments are currently rallying all available units to make a final push. Infantry and armor are massing on the main breach of western containment gate A-01, Recruit Companies Kilo, Charlie, and Indigo are holding all major roadways. Orders ma’am?”

“Orders stay the same, we push forward and no one stops until the Brotherhood is out of my Celestia-damn city.” Stalwart Shield said, both to the EVA and over a general channel for morale purposes. Once the message was out, she settled back into the command chair of her personal Mammoth tank, the Adeptus Astartes. With another roar, the two main cannons opened up and turned an Ursa tank into three pieces of wreckage that each resembled more a burnt cheese sandwich than parts of a vehicle before promptly rolling over them.

“Target destroyed, but the other tank took cover and we’ve lost target lock. Friendly infantry asking permission to engage.” the tank commander stated.

“Have them hold back and not get ahead of the tanks. Coaxials, open up and clear the way for the grunts.” Shield ordered calmly as she brought up one of the tank’s hull cameras up on her helmet HUD. She could barely feel the slight vibration of the machine guns on top of the Mammoth peppering anywhere that there happened to be Nod troops running, hiding, or a mixture of both. Pink mist was all that was left wherever the ponies of the Brotherhood had made their last stand, green mist in the case of the Changelings, and much to Stalwart Shield’s morbid amusement, a Black Hand gryphon disappeared in a somewhat moist puff of feathers.
___________

At the beginning of the Battle of Baltimare, Nod had attacked with a corps-sized force of 50,000 strong with relevant armor, light vehicles, artillery, and air support. GDI on the other hand had the city garrisoned with a division-sized force of 10,000 strong and their attached support. Now the tide had changed and what looked like an untenable situation had practically turned into a rout with the arrival of both the GDA Phillydelphia and GDA Discord. Nod’s air power was gone and their Hydra SSMs blown to pieces by both Orcas and the valiant efforts of GDI’s new Zone Troopers. Merely 20,000 Nod soldiers remained, with their Black Hand elements reduced to half, support vehicles down to 40% of their original number, Ursas down to 30%, and flame tanks down to 60%. Despite still being numerically outmatched by Nod’s overwhelming numbers, GDI’s 7,500 marines were not outgunned. The arrival of the Kodiaks and Orcas put a serious dent to Nod’s offensive and defensive capabilities, but it was the Mammoths which truly nullified any numerical superiority Nod may had hoped to have. Their deployment in a tight, urban environment and near immunity to hoof-portable arms meant Nod had few, if any, ways to counter them or even hide. For Brother-Lieutenant Colonel Hyperion that meant that the only way to deal with GDI’s counter-offensive was to slow it down.

“EVA, are all charges in place?”

“Affirmative, wise brother. Engineering teams confirm the deployment of explosives in the selected structures.”

“Excellent. And I see the flame tanks are all in position. What are we leaving behind?” the stallion asked, still trembling a bit from the force of the after-shockwave from his lead-Ursa’s destruction.

“An estimated 200 soldiers will be trapped behind the improvised barriers, along with 12 Ursa tanks and 30 support vehicles. Multiple militia units will be left behind as well.”

“Acceptable. Detonate the charges.”

“Detonating, oh great dumbass.”

Before Hyperion could question his EVA unit’s sudden insult, the detonation of the charges and subsequent collapse of entire rows of buildings on their sides deafened everything in and around his command Ursa. Before the dust even began to settle, the flame tanks went to work lighting up the fallen debris, creating a huge, literal firewall which clearly split the front. It wouldn’t stop GDI, but it would buy Nod some time.
____________

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ENTIRE ASSAULT HAS BEEN STOPPED!?” a very angry Stalwart Shield barked into her headset.

“They detonated charges and covered their retreat, then created a natural firestorm along the barrier. We can’t get through.” a very nervous Major said in return.

“Tanks and infantry are completely blocked off?” she replied, her tone moving to a simmer.

“Zone Troopers are still engaging along the flanks and pushing forward.”

“EVA, have those Zone troops disengage and pull back to cover the combat engineers. Demo teams need to come in and clear us a lane ASAP while the flyboys have their fun.”

“Please confirm bombardment orders, General.”

“EVA, tell those Kodiaks to bomb those Nod bastards back to the Discordian Age.”

In perfect sync, the two Kodiaks opened up as the pilots of their Orca squadrons engaged with renewed vigor. Now that there was a very large, very bright, and extremely obvious barrier between GDI and Brotherhood forces. Chain-guns strafed the area, rocket pods were emptied out into the ruined portion of the city, and whenever the targeting EVAs aboard the Discord and the Phillydelphia calculated a clear shot, railguns opened up and thunder shattered the ground.

Nod vehicles were ripped asunder, Brotherhood infantry were annihilated, and what few Venoms and Harpies were around tried and failed to hold off the oncoming tidal wave of GDI aircraft. On the other side of the barrier, Stalwart could feel the ground shake as Kodiak bombardment made a few thousand Nod fanatics very intimate with the ground, and sent them to meet their so-called Messiah.
____________

“EVA, report.”

“Majority of remaining force has been able to exit the firing range of both Kodiaks and enemy Orcas have broken off. Presence of anti-air units has deterred further bombardment of main force and they are now focusing on stragglers, great commander.”

“Excellent.” said Hyperion, being able to sigh in relief for the first time in hours. “And what about our good friend, Seth?”

“General Hipster was able to safely leave the Kodiaks’ firing range two hours ago. He is currently guarded by assigned Black Hand units, merciful lord.”

“Good.” answered the Black Hand lieutenant colonel, mildly entertained by EVA’s latest choice of title. “We’ll have to pay him a visit then.”
____________

Apple Bloom, Jet Deck, and 41 other Zone Troopers all stood close together as the surviving ZT Drill Instructors finished their salute. With a single somber command, all the ponies in powered armor gave a salute as well, their eyes all resting on the single helmet resting atop a purposefully made pile of debris. Behind the helmet, 7 bodies, all covered in the GDI flag, were laying in a small formation, the highest ranking member of them at the head of it.

“Ready…. two.” the lead instructor said, her voice having lost its ability to truly bark orders hours ago. On ‘two’, everypony put their forelegs down and began dispersing. Some went off in groups or pairs, a select few walked off by themselves, but they all started somewhat in the general direction of the armor bay. Only two of the Zone Troopers stayed behind with the morgue detail.

Jet Deck sat next to Funny Cide’s body and took his helmet off with a small grunt. Apple Bloom took a seat next to him and did the same albeit a bit less gracefully. Even in military service with a regulation haircut, her mane tended to get everywhere and getting her helmet off wasn’t the quiet, elegant process she was hoping for.

“Hard to believe they’re gone already…” the stallion to her left muttered. “They always say to be ready to lose friends, what with how bad the war’s been going, but… you kinda wish it’ll never be your friend, ya’know…?”

“Honestly, I think we’re lucky that we only lost this many” Apple Bloom replied quietly, “More concerned ‘bout the ones that didn’t say goodbye.”

“I’m fine, if that’s what you’re asking… taking out those Hydras actually helped a bit… up there, that is.” Jet told her, tapping his head for emphasis.

“Doesn’t mean I ain’t worried ‘bout ya.” the farm mare told him, nudging him in the shoulder plate. “You survived Blueblood, and now you’ve survived Baltimare. Only difference this time is that I was here ta help ‘ya.”

“Let’s keep it like that, shall we? I… I don’t have as many episodes with you around. I also don’t want to become one of those cliche survivors who prattles on about ‘working alone’ and ‘can never have another team’ because of what happened. Everypony needs friends, and you’re the only one I have that’s still breathing.”

Apple Bloom’s reply was simple gesture that caused the trooper next to her to blush slightly. She nuzzled his cheek comfortingly before settling down with her forelegs crossed in front of her. After a few moments of him looking stunned into the distance, she made a little cough and gestured for him to follow suit. He was quick to follow settling down as well and finally realizing just how tired he was and how much his legs ached.

“Jet, you won’t be able to get rid of me even if you try… an’ after everything we’ve both been through, it’ll take Celestia herself to pull us apart.”

“I better get used to having you around, then.” he replied with a tired smirk as he sidled a little closer and put his head down on his hooves.

“Somepony’s gotta help you when the shell shock gets bad, might as well be me.” she whispered back, watching the trails of smoke along the skyline reach toward Celestia’s sun. A few hours later, one of their drill instructors would come to find the missing pair of Zone Troopers. When she found them, she took a picture of the two passed out Troopers and kept it both as a memento and as blackmail so she could mess with her trainees after the war was over. As for historians who were already building the textbook about “The Tiberium War”, it would become an iconic picture of hope on the battlefield. Two Zone Troopers, their helmets off, asleep due to exhaustion next to their fallen sister-in-arms. The male of the pair had his head resting in his own hooves, while the mare had rested her head across the unarmored portion of his neck that the lack of helmet exposed. Both were grimy, bruised, and their suits of armor had both been through hell, but still they slept with no cares in Equestria save themselves, and the 7 bodies beside them.

Scootaloo never did let Apple Bloom live down the fact that her first nap with her “not my coltfriend” happened post-battle at a memorial site while both ponies were still neck to tail in armor.
_____________

“So… let me get this straight…” Kane whispered, his gaze switching between the screen that Spike was on, and the one featuring a very bloody Trenderhoof flanked by Black Hand and Hyperion, “A flag officer…. a general of the Brotherhood… panicked, tried to micromanage his forces at the fireteam level, and then tried to have his junior officers arrested for assuming control of a hopeless situation and salvaging it?”

“That is correct, my lo-” Hyperion started before Kane gestured for him to stop talking. He stopped mid-syllable and returned to his position next to a somewhat bruised gryphon.

“Hyperion, I appreciate your service. Your record is spotless and you are by far the stallion who should truly be in charge of the 1st Armor Corps… or at least what’s left of it, but right now I don’t need to hear a report from you. I want our dear friend Seth to come clean with me… after all, Honesty is part of harmony, is it not?”

“Y..yes, your eminence…” the battered unicorn murmured.

“So tell me. Did you or did you not completely botch this assault?” Kane asked. For what seemed like an eternity to those around him, though such lengths of times were trivial in his mind, Trenderhoof sat there, contemplating.

“I did…” he finally managed to say.

“And do you personally take responsibility for the thirty thousand ponies, changelings, gryphons, and diamond dogs who are now being buried outside of the Baltimare Blue Zone?”

“I…. I do.”

“Then it’s very apparent what the proper punishment for so many of our brothers and sisters dying in vain.” Nod’s messiah deadpanned while gesturing idly to Hyperion. Trenderhoof immediately began blubbering. Every plea, beg, offer, and deal known to pony-kind, and a few known to dragons much to Spike’s surprise, was spouting from the unicorn’s mouth as quickly as he could muster. Then Hyperion’s sidearm popped up from his armor and drilled a hole clean through Trenderhoof’s temple and out the other side, getting blood all over the two gryphons who were holding him in place.

“Brother Hyperion, you are now Brother-Brigadier General Hyperion.” Kane ordered, a wicked grin framing his face, “You’ll forgive the skip in rank but I need you to be in charge of the division that will be created out of the 1st Armor Corps survivors.”

“I am honored, my lord.” the newly promoted earth pony replied.

“Spike, you’ll need to hurry up with your assault now that Baltimare is ‘safe’ for the time being. As for this new division you’ll be heading up, Hyperion… you’ll be in charge of the 1st Fast Attack Division, stationed on the newest base the Brotherhood has constructed.”

“I was unaware that we were building any more permanent installations, sir.” Hyperion muttered, genuine surprise showing in his expression.

“Oh, it’s not permanent, and it should prove to be the answer to the ‘Kodiak Question’.” Kane told him, another savage grin flashing across his face as a file labeled “Discord-class Brotherhood Air-Assault Carrier” popped up on Hyperion’s screen. “Your new duty station needs a garrison, I suggest you read up on her schematics.”

Before the stunned Black Hand Brigadier could even reply, Kane cut the feed and Mantis walked into Hyperion’s field of vision.

“Well now… looks like we have a new toy to throw against GDI and a shiny new Earth Pony general to lead us into battle… try and live up to the hype, darling.” the changeling quipped, smirking at her new commander as he ignored the comment and the gryphons removing the body of Trenderhoof, and focused solely on Nod’s answer to GDI’s air superiority.

Author's Notes:

Many apologies for how late this chapter was posted, one of the cowriters moved literally from one side of the planet to the other and I also had some things going on with my work in the US military that sprang up and delayed us for a full month. Hopefully that doesn't happen again anytime soon.