One Month After the Fall of the Crystal Kingdom

“Thank you Stumpy. One month after the devastating failure of GDI forces to protect the Crystal Kingdom and its citizens, ponies all over Equestria continue to march in protest of the war, carrying lit candles in honor of those who’ve perished so far. Behind me you can see hundreds of thousands of ponies in one such march moving to surround Canterlot Pala-”

Bsssh

“What you’re proposing, Mr. Rich, is beyond ludicrous! Our taxes are already through the roof, the nation’s finances are in the red, and production throughout Equestria, let alone any of GDI’s member-nations, is at an all-time low! Ponies from all backgrounds are either being called to serve due to being part of the reserves, or abandoning the fields and factories to join the army!”

“Then what do you propose we do?! The only thing keeping Nod extremists and Tiberium itself out of our Blue Zones are GDI and the brave mares and colts fighting to keep us safe. They need supplies, they need better equipment, and they need reinforcements, and to get all of that GDI needs more funding to be provided and for the draft to be activated!”

Bsssh

“According to official sources from Canterlot Palace, the situation continues to worsen in Saddle Arabia as the GDI-backed government continues fighting the increasingly-violent Nod-backed rebellion in a civil war that has ravaged the once-prosperous nation throughout the last half-year.”

Bsssh

“As GDI forces continue to retreat from southern Prance, reinforcements from Germaney and Great Britmane are expected to help stabilize the situation across the sea while the Britmane navy, graciously placed under GDI control, continues to ensure no Nod force attempts a naval landing behind GDI lines.”

The holoscreen went blank, the floating transparent monitor disappearing a second later as Ironsides lowered his remote. Looking at the real-time strategic map built into his office, he had to painfully disagree with the newscaster’s assumption. The Prench front would not hold with only the forces currently being sent their way unless Equestrian forces arrived soon as well to help hold the line. That in and of itself was impossible given that GDI forces in Equestria were, from all standpoints, fighting a losing war. If the situation didn’t change quickly, Canterlot would be in Nod hands in a matter of months. As far as he was concerned, Saddle Arabia would become Nod country within the week.

“EVA, summon the Princesses and any chiefs of staff currently in Canterlot to the war room. I’m calling for an emergency meeting within the hour.”
______________

Sparks flew, both electrical and magical, as the Brotherhood’s top scientist put the finishing touches on her latest project. With a soft hum, she lifted her safety goggles and surveyed her work, smiling as the tools held in her magical aura found their way back to their proper storage case.

“Much sturdier than the initial prototype, wouldn’t you agree?” the purple alicorn asked.

“Are you sure it will hold your next experiment, Twilight?” a synthetic male voice responded.

“Well it doesn’t involve another dragon, so we won’t have to worry about a reaction like Spike’s… speaking of which, have you finished collecting the global tactical reports?”

“Putting them on the big monitor now, ma’am.” the same voice told her as a vast collection of images, stats, and graphs flooded the giant screen that dominated Twilight’s R&D lab, creating a border around the map that took up the center of the monitor.

“Give me the ‘war map’ filter first, please.” Twilight ordered quietly, watching as various red and blue icons faded into view. Anything from cutie marks or the various battle flags of different unit commanders popped up as well, with the majority of the cutie marks appearing in GDI territory, and an Apple dominating their numbers.

“There certainly are a lot of Apples on this map, now…” she mused.

“After the Brotherhood culled GDI’s numbers, the Apple Family has saturated their command positions, most prominently Applejack and Big Macintosh.” the AI announced.

“While most of the chaff has been removed from our own ranks as well…” Twilight mused quietly, “Well, at least she’s still alive for the time being… switch to the Tiberium vibration scans.”

“Certainly… as you can see, since the last world-wide scan the year prior, Tiberium has been consuming all matter and expanding underground and even beneath the seafloor. The increased rate of infestation is alarming, at best. Geographical scans done by Nod’s ‘Evangelical Department’ show crystalline roots as far down as the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, and are believed to be expanding outwards within the planet’s crust. We’re rapidly approaching the point in which Tiberium’s expansion will transition from quadratic to exponential.”

“Wow… you never talked like that in your past life. If I wasn’t so worried about our planet becoming a giant ball of Tiberium, I’d focus more on your enhanced intelligence.” Twilight grinned, looking at the camera lense that acted as the AI’s primary eye into the laboratory.

“Well you did design me this way, my past self just gave it the necessary ‘boost’ to keep me from ending up like my older brother.” the AI quipped as Shining Armor’s face appeared on the screen, smiling at his sister.

“Well, CABAL didn’t have such an honorable and upstanding host brain to base his memories on, now did he, LEGION?”
______________

Ironsides stared at the five ponies who had arrived at the War Room. Before him, at the head of the Strategy Table, sat the Princesses. Next to them on either side were two faces he was always glad to see; General Chuck Stampede, newly assigned branch commander of the GDI Army, and Lieutenant General Applejack. If only he had more like them… Next to the General sat the former head of Equestrian Intelligence and current head of GDI’s Intelligence Collection Bureau, Director Enigma, known to most outside the intelligence community as rich playboy Fancy Pants. His real name however was a closely guarded secret.

“Thank you for attending this meeting on such short notice. I won’t waste your time with pleasantries and get right to the point. We’re in trouble.”

A moment of silence overtook the War Room’s Strategy Table, every present pony expectant to hear the bad news.

“I take it from your expressions that you all already thought as much. Good, that’ll make this easier.” said Ironsides, nodding to a micro-camera currently focused on him. Instantly, holographic displays materialized in front of those present detailing a great number of reports.

“I’ll transmit the full report to your personal EVAs after this meeting so you can review it at your leisure. Long story short, we are running out supplies, out of ammo, out of medicine, and out of horsepower. Prior to the loss of the Crystal Kingdom, Nod forces continuously harassed our lines with mass probing attacks, quickly retreating to the safety of their damnable stealth fields. Each attack killing and wounding some troopers, destroying some vehicles, wasting our supplies each time.”

“That changed a month ago. Ever since, morale has plummeted and Nod attacks have become bolder each time, pushing the front deeper into our heartland. EVA’s projections put Canterlot under Nod control in a little under three months.”

The Princesses remained silent, the gravity of the situation slowly becoming apparent for them. Director Enigma, on the other hoof, seemed perfectly calm, almost as if this information was of no surprise to him. In all fairness, he most likely knew already. Meanwhile, the two guest generals made their thoughts perfectly clear.

“HORSEAPPLES!” yelled Applejack, smashing her hoof against the table as she stood up. “What, we’re all just supposed to drop like flies and play dead?! If the problems’ we’re too defensive, then let’s go break some eggs!”

“Damn right! General, the only thing you’re telling us is that Nod has us surrounded with our flanks to the wall! That just means they can’t hide no more!” added General Stampede.

“Don’t be ridiculous you two!” the Moon Princess spoke up “We’ve just been told we’re running out of supplies and equipment, we can’t mount any sort of offensive like this!” Princess Luna then turned towards Ironsides. “General, is there any way we could increase production? Nationalize the factories? Move ponies from the fields to the assembly lines?”

“I’m afraid that would not help, my dear princess.” said Enigma, finally making his voice known. “Even if we could theoretically cover all of our supply and equipment needs, we don’t have the horsepower to make use of it. Since the start of this conflict, adding in losses taken on the Equestrian, Prench, and Saddlian fronts, GDI has suffered an approximate one million, five hundred and seventy thousand casualties, with an estimated 43.6% percent of those filling our hospitals to the brim and leaving our doctors with a task far beyond any of them. The remaining 56.4% are KIA.” he said, getting tragic, knowing looks from the others present. “With that in mind, any additional recruitment will begin drawing from our workforce. Instituting the draft will leave us with little more than a force with slightly more equipment than the regular Nod militia.”

“And I ask again, Director. Should we all just put our guns to our temples and pull the trigger already, or are we going to do somethin’ about this?!” Applejack practically yelled her question.

“There is one thing.” said Ironsides, focusing all eyes on him. “When this war started, Nod came out of nowhere. Their equipment, the Black Hand’s advanced weapons, the milita’s mass produced gear. Equipping as many troops as we’ve seen, the vehicles they use, the speed with which they’ve been deploying new gear. Even at full capacity, our industry would be hard pressed to carry out such a feat and we’re talking about the industrial power of the entirety of Equestria and its allies. To have been able to prosecute this war as they’ve had, Nod must hold a key piece of technology that is allowing them to wield and project as much power as they have so far.”

“I thought much of the same thing, General.” said Enigma “Which is why we’ve been hard at work trying to decipher their secrets, and we believe we have it. Tiberium Refinement and Processing, or, as appropriate an acronym as fate would give us, TRAP.”

In a second, those in the room went from patiently listening to non-subtly stating their confusion.

“Hold on, hold on, hold your bucking horses! Are you telling me the Noddies have been using that accursed rock to… build tanks?!” said General Stampede, a look of disbelief dominating his face.

“If that’s how you choose to interpret it, yes. Based on intelligence reports, that’s how they’re building the majority of their equipment as well.” Enigma answered.

“Sister, you know what this means?!” said Luna. “This could help us turn the war around.”

“I agree my dearest Luna.” said Celestia, turning her gaze and focus completely towards General Ironsides. “General, I want you to coordinate with ZOCOM and use their research to create a weapon to remove large quantities of Tiberium from the planet’s surface to deny Nod their precious resource.”

Before Ironsides could answer the request, Enigma chimed in with a suggestion of his own. “Actually Princess, I believe that we should take this technology for ourselves.” he said. “Tiberium surrounds much of the territory outside our Blue Zones, and occasional breaches within our territory offer the perfect opportunity to-”

“No.” said Celestia, cutting off Enigma’s proposal. “Absolutely not! I will not permit the use of this… this cancer on our world! This is a plague to cleanse from our land, not something we can farm!”

“Then would you sit idly by and watch as GDI falls and the entire planet is consumed by Nod and Tiberium, your Highness? I thought you cared about the ponies under your charge.” the pale unicorn quipped, standing up to emphasis his point.

“Now see-” Celestia began before Director Enigma did what no other pony on Earth besides possibly Luna would dare to do. He cut her off.

“We have a chance to remove two threats at once, majesty. ZOCOM already harvests Tiberium for research on how to fight it, all while Nod harvests it to fuel their war machine. You personally put me in my position after years of loyal service to you and I will say in no uncertain terms that if we do not crack the code as Nod has and put this cancer to use fighting for us instead of against us, we will lose this war and Kane will sit on your throne, watching the world become ever greener.”

Celestia stood silent for some time, half in shock over the fact that one of her ponies had the courage to stand up to her in such a manner, and half just trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he was right.

“What is your suggestion then, Director?” Luna finally asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m glad you asked, Princess. I think it’s time we beat the Brotherhood at their own game. I propose an operation that will allow us to gain their knowledge of Tiberium and, with ZOCOM’s help, use it to turn this war around in our favor. Retake the initiative.”

“That would require one hell of a black op…” Ironsides murmured, “We’d have to locate one of their refineries and work from there.”

“You plan on pursuing this course of action…?” Princess Celestia asked quietly, looking at the old general.

“With all due respect, your Highness… you told me to win this war, and right now the only option that I can take to do what you’ve ordered me to, is to work with Director Enigma on this TRAP business. I’m sorry, but we’re going to need to compromise on this if we are to survive.”

With a deep sigh, Princess Celestia gave in. “Very well, I will leave you all to it. I shall have no part in the planning, the less I know about how we’re going to… use the crystal, the better.” the solar monarch whispered before she walked out of the room, with Luna following close behind.

“We will tend to her. Generals, Director, continue your work and brief us later. For now, We must head to the mess and see if they can bake a cake for our sister on short notice.”

“As you wish, Princess.” Fancy Pants replied with a respectful bow, smiling up until the door slammed shut behind the blue alicorn, “Now then, onto business. General Ironsides, you are to provide a false briefing for her majesty, this operation is to be kept out of royal hooves. Whether we want to admit it or not, Princess Celestia is responsible for this entire war after ordering the Princess of Friendship to burn her work, as well as imprisoning the Bearers of Laughter and Generosity, leading to their defection.”

“That’s darn right seditious, Director.” Chuck growled.

“General I work with truths regardless of whether they’re friendly to the ears of the monarchy, and this is one ugly truth that Kane likes to repeat on a regular basis during his propaganda speeches. Our monarchs, just like those blasted aristocrats, are not helpful to the war effort, and if we’re to succeed in this ambitious endeavor we must keep this operation out of their ears. Now then, General Ironsides, I need you to find us the perfect place for Nod to ambush our front line troops.”
______________

The first thing she noticed was the heart monitor. The tell-tale beeping that let everyone within earshot know that she wasn’t dead yet, despite the Brotherhood’s best attempts to kill her. All she could see was perpetual darkness, but she could feel the fresh wrappings around her head keeping her eyes covered, for what little good that did.

“Hello…?” she grumbled, still groggy from being out for so long.

“Greetings.” came an immediate reply. She couldn’t recognize the voice. It wasn’t an EVA, that was for sure, and it wasn’t the same tone she remembered nurses having when talking to patients. This masculine voice was more… formal.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a friend. You’re in Canterlot right now, safe and sound for the time being.”

“Why should I believe you?” Rose asked, not bothering to face where she heard the voice coming from.

“Because you’re not restrained unless you count the IV drip and the electrodes monitoring your health. Would you like some water?” the voice answered.

“No thanks.” the battered officer replied quietly. Even though she was parched, she wasn’t going to take anything until she was completely sure she wasn’t a prisoner in some sort of messed up interrogation.

“Very well… Rose Shard, Colonel, GDI Army, formerly attached to the Crystal Kingdom Garrison under Major General Shining Armor. You served with distinction up until the nuke and Slavik gave your forces the worst one-two punch we’ve ever seen.”

“Did anyone else make it?” she asked, finally facing the pony talking to her. His long silence was all the answer she needed.

“You’re the only survivor who did not defect. I’m sorry, Colonel, but you’re all that’s left.”

“I’m just a Captain, though.” she replied, attempting to keep a stoic face after being given such news. In truth, she struggled to hold back the tears.

“You were a Captain. Five divisions-worth of soldiers are now KIA or MIA, which leaves quite a few blank spaces on the promotion list and your warrant was signed by Ironsides himself at the end of a little meeting I was having with him.”

“And who are you?” she asked again.

“I’m the pony who is willing to give you a chance to make Nod hurt as much as they’re making you hurt. I represent GDI’s Intelligence Collection Bureau, and I’m here to recruit you.”

“What would I be doing? I don’t really know much about being a spook.”

“My dear Rose Shard…” Fancy Pants mused quietly, giving a grin to leave Kane himself to shame, despite the fact that she couldn’t see his face, “You’re going to wield GDI’s dagger, and I’m going to show you which ribs to slide it between.”
______________

In the depths of a GDI bunker hidden deep beneath Baltimare, one that even General Stalwart Shield wasn’t aware of, ponies from all walks of life were keeping their eyes on various monitors, While most of the large atrium was taken up by monitoring and listening stations, the biggest eye-catcher in the room was a massive holographic display of the planet and everything in orbit around it.

“Just another day keeping an eye on the doc’s ‘boogeymen’...” a tired-eyed operative groaned, an opinion shared by much of the staff around him.

For two months now, the abandoned fallout shelter-turned-top-secret project bunker had been using magical connections to various arrays throughout GDI territory to keep an eye on the skies. Ever since Doctor Moon Dancer had gotten hard evidence of a possible alien species interfering with the Tiberium War, it was up to the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit to keep watch over the skies and protect Earth from any possible incursion.

Too little too late in Moon Dancer’s opinion, which she let everyone that was a part of the project know.

“Month and a half of constant surveillance and not a damn thing on the scopes… just our own Kodiaks and satellites.” another operative yawned in reply, “Almost makes you wish these guys would just up and attack us already, get it over with.”

“Wouldn’t joke about that, no telling if the Good Doctor is in today.” the first operative replied with a smirk before everyone in the room got the shock of their lives as the globe started pulsing red.

“Warning, non-equine signal detected. Warning, non-equine signal detected.” the EVA assigned to the facility announced as a single spot, about 900 million kilometers from the planet was enhanced and targeted. A red reticle circled the object, whatever it was, showing every pony in the room that something was in orbit that hadn’t been sent up by ponies, gryphons, or any other species.

And it was talking to someone.

Author's Notes:

Before we get any complaints about naming the planet that Equestria is on Earth, just know that multiple times in the show they refer to their planet as Earth, and even a race of ponies is named after their connection with the planet.