A flash of light descended from the heavens, and had anypony been dumb enough to not have their helmet on already they would have been blinded by it. A kilometer away from the epicenter of the blast, located at the very edge of its effective radius, alien ‘infantry’ disappeared in a flash that atomized both the aliens themselves and the Tiberium field they had seeded, all in the same instant. Another klick away, the troops of the GDI strike force that had been slowly advancing towards the invaders’ latest base let out a cheer, even if they knew exactly what was waiting for them.

The ion cannon’s beam was devastating to all unshielded buildings and infantry that these aliens, or “Scrin” as ECU had officially designated them, fielded. This left their vehicles and aircraft damaged but intact once their shields were disabled, and as far as anyone could tell, permanently thanks to the ion disruption left behind by the attack. This left wounded walkers, crippled Planetary Assault Carriers, and listing hover-tanks going head-to-head with Mammoths and Predators with Kodiak Support in a scene that had been repeated several times since the Battle of Canterlot nearly two months prior.

Zone Troopers still hadn’t been put back into service.

“All units, fire and advance.” the Regimental EVA announced, and without fail every tank on the line obeyed. While she couldn’t lead every assault personally, Stalwart Shield was involved in every operation from the newly repositioned GDI HQ in Baltimare, and she’d be damned if she didn’t have armor cams running along half the monitors in her office during the onset of these engagements.

The Scrin still held massive swathes of land, most of Canterlot included after they landed an asteroid seeded with tiberium in the middle of the city. And while GDI could keep them contained with these precision strikes, the Ion Cannon Array was restricted by how quickly the armor could get to the battlefield. Regrettably, the Crystal Fury was the only Kodiak active that supported landing armor on a battlefield instead of being strictly air and artillery support. This left Nod to harass and reconnoiter the invaders along the outskirts of their own territorial gains while GDI lumbered around the planet rather than risk their carryalls being intercepted in the air by the newly-designated “Stormriders”.

With a sigh, Stalwart Shield shut off the main feed, ceding battlefield control to the general on site as she leaned back in her chair. EVA had cut most of the feeds as it became increasingly clear that the Stalliongrad was doing its job of keeping the skies clear for Brigadier General Shard and that the aliens were, once again, abandoning the area. If it weren’t for Scrin units suddenly deactivating once overwhelming force was confirmed, she’d feel better about their gains, but every time they wiped a base off the map, another one popped up in a Red Zone where they couldn’t touch it.

Like clockwork, a new cluster of Scrin structures popped up in a red zone and she dismissed the alert. EVAs categorized the data, her orderlies slotted it into the “Not Yet” folder, and she found herself walking out of her command room with a resignated sigh. The bunker she had been relocated to was no longer in the same compound as her office, though she rarely used the damn thing these days. Instead, she had given it and the Baltimare War Room to General Ironsides for use after GDI HQ had been relocated to her city. This meant that she had a half-kilometer hike from her new nerve center to get back to the old stallion on the rare occasion that he needed her in the same room during an operation.

This was not one of those times, but she felt it necessary to take a walk and get some fresh air. Across the road from her bunker she saw a second bunker, quite similar to hers. Just erected a bit more hastily and with a Nod flag pinned to the side. She had to stifle a laugh at the sight. She’d fought tooth and hoof to keep Nod out of her city in what seemed like decades ago, and here they were camped within the walls of the Baltimare Blue Zone like they were allies from Germaney or Great Britmane.

The earth pony guarding the almost-ramshackle defensive structure gave an almost-casual salute until the pegasus next to him elbowed him in the ribs. With a wince, the Nod guard followed his GDI escort and saluted the Marine general properly, only cutting it when she returned the gesture.

“Make sure to keep them on their hooves, Corporal, we might put some discipline in the Noddies before this alliance is over with.” she called out, getting a hearty laugh from the pegasus and a nervous chuckle from the earth pony, though she didn’t pay it much mind as she continued on her way.

Nod soldiers and personnel were allowed in the city to a certain capacity, but she was thankful that their vehicles weren’t permitted within the walls. The last thing she wanted to see was an Ursa tank rolling down her streets, or Celestia-forbid one of the newer models Nod had rolled out since the invasion, dubbed the “Scorpion”. She was fine with Nod soldiers being outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded in her city, but the only treads that would roll down her streets should belong to the sweeping eagle.

Stalwart Shield walked without purpose or direction, enjoying what few good sites remained as she continued on, and despite the fact that HQ was only a half a click from her bunker, she ended up walking nearly ten by the time she realized where she had been going. She was surprised when she found herself at a fence that encircled a 100 acre grassy field lined with headstones. A few meters ahead was the gate that led into the Defense Initiative Memorial Cemetery.

“Might as well visit…” she murmured to herself. After all, the war, while not at a standstill, had left the planet in a strange, deceptively calm state as GDI fought the aliens as carefully as they could, and Nod avoided open conflict altogether.

She made her way through the gate, giving a polite salute to the guards waiting there before she started towards one particular portion of the graveyard. While not completely empty, she passed very few ponies on her way to her destination. Jet Deck and Apple Bloom didn’t notice her as she walked past the portion of the cemetery dedicated to the Zone Trooper Corps. Eight old graves were at the head of over 30 fresh ones, and while she had wanted to give her condolences to the two troopers, she felt it best to let them find comfort in each other.

It took nearly 10 minutes for her to find the grave she was looking for, and when she found it, there was already a pony standing in front of it. He was a massive, maroon-colored earth pony with a dark green mane wearing a Nod uniform. His collar had a single barbed triangle, the Nod equivalent to a single star on a brigadier general. The most notable feature was the Black Hand emblem on his shoulders.

“I didn’t expect you to visit… you must be very busy these days…” Hyperion said without looking up from the headstone.

“I get away when I can, I don’t have to micromanage every anti-alien operation…” Stalwart replied as she walked up next to the Brotherhood brigadier, “I’m more surprised that you’re here… you haven’t visited his grave since you defected.”

Hyperion’s blue eyes met those of Stalwart Shield, and he let himself smile briefly before sidestepping closer to her, a gesture she reciprocated without hesitation. For a while, the two simply stood there, their eyes both fixed on the simple grave before them. A simple rectangular slab of marble with the GDI emblem engraved into the top of it, and a simple epitaph etched into the center.

“Brazen Shield…” Hyperion murmured as he had so many times before.

“Major General… GDI Army.” Stalwart continued.

“Honored Soldier…”

“Beloved Husband…”

“And…” Hyperion Shield finished, “Devoted Father….”
____________

If Ironsides could use one adjective to describe his schedule, it would be “packed”. Every day he was giving his input on some project or deployment, and with Princess Celestia no longer involved in the military decisions stacked on top of his severe shortage of senior staff, he was practically running GDI by himself.

That was why he found himself walking alongside Filthy Rich, an earth pony entrepreneur who had managed to spearhead the Flim Flam Scandal and get both of those double-dealing unicorns put behind bars where they belonged. After Filthy opened the lawsuit and GDI was given ample proof that the brothers were selling arms and supplies to both sides of the war, justice was quickly met and under the guidance of the stallion who caught them, their vast resources were put to good use funding the GDI war machine.

It was because of that, and because his only daughter had been killed in action, that Ironsides found himself able to tolerate a civilian with no military merit walking through one of the most secure research and development facilities on the planet.

“I take it you’re well aware of Project: TITAN’s current deadline, Mr. Rich?” Ironsides asked, though it seemed more like a statement than an inquiry.

“From what the project lead has told me, the staff are a little too aware of the deadlines they have to meet, not that I mind, they’ve been keeping things surprisingly close to the projected budget.” Filthy Rich replied, his calm demeanor off-setting the tenseness Ironsides felt as they walked through the various security checkpoints to reach the factory testing area.

“How far in the hole are we going with this new-fangled experiment, anyway?”

“We aren’t. I’ve been covering any overages personally… I have the funds, and if anything is going to keep another parent from losing their child, it’s keeping the GDI coffers full.”

“I’d say I’m surprised, but two of my best officers speak very highly of you. Lieutenant General Applejack considers you a close family friend.”

“And the bond has only gotten stronger since the war started.” the earth pony retorted lightly, a weary smile breaking across his muzzle as they reached the last checkpoint, “The Rich family funded the initial Predator Project, and I plan on putting every bit I can into GDI until this war is over.”

“I’d say your resolve is surprising, but you’re one of the only self-made billionaire earth ponies in Equestria’s history… now then, ready to show off your new toys?” the grey stallion asked, gesturing to the door in front of them.

“Oh they’re ready. And ahead of schedule too. Once Nod is out of the city…” Filthy told him, smiling as they entered the testing bay, “We can really put the Titans through their paces.”

Ironsides did his best to not let his jaw hit the floor. In front of him were 20 massive mechs shaped like ponies. Each one, even the few in the rear of the area that were still having their weaponry installed, was over 7 and a half meters in height. The armor looked tough enough to shrug off attacks from an Avatar, and the flanks and shoulders housed missile pods. The most distinctive part of the design was the cockpit. While the rest of the design resembled a pony, the neck was surprisingly short, and the head was more like a flat slab of armor than a pony’s skull. Flanking both sides of the ‘head’ were railguns that seemed to match the Predator’s main armament, and the armor a meter on either side of the centerline was raised by a few feet, showing where the crew would reside in GDI’s answer to the Avatar.

“How many…?” Ironsides asked.

“The 20 you see before you… after that, if successful, they’ll replace the Predator Tank on the front lines, at least until the Predator refits make it through R&D.”

“That’s… well, they’re certainly tall enough. How many to crew them?”

“Four ponies, standard tank crew. Driver in the cockpit where you can see the tinted blast-glass, commander in ‘nerve center’ located right behind the pilot but behind a half-meter of armor, and two gunnery crew on either side of the turret, one pony per cannon. Predator-grade railguns can fire much faster than their Mammoth counterparts, and the missile launchers should keep curious aircraft or light vehicles from getting too close.”

“And ground targets?”

“If she doesn’t step on them, the ‘head’ of the Titan has a better range of motion than a pony would, and with the improved recoil compensators, the head won’t move when firing… and that’s if the belly-mounted MGs don’t cut them to shreds first.”

“This is to replace the Predator? What’s the next step for the Mammoth?” Ironsides asked incredulously. While he didn’t have any reservations about replacing the aging Predator tanks with these new metal monsters, the thought of Project: TITAN pumping out a full armor replacement for standard and heavy armor seemed an improbable goal to reach.

“The Mastadon Project still isn’t past the initial stages, but if the Titans live up to the expectations we’ve placed on them, we should have a Mark 2 Mammoth ready to crush any enemy it’s pointed at… that one won’t replace the Mammoth, though. Nothing will, to be completely honest.”

“Agreed… but not for lack of trying… well… shall we see what she can do?”

“We’ve got a team already inside the lead Titan, and while we can’t get them up to a full gallop in here, she can trot. Sergeant? Go ahead and pop the locks.”

“Roger that, sir, prepping Broadneigh Protocol.” came a reply over the nearby PA system. Shortly after, what little scaffolding was left around the nearest Titan Walker pulled away and the mag-locks on the joints switched off. Straight legs bent as they took the full weight of the combat chassis with ease, and after a few seconds of the pilot getting used to the feel, the walker took a few easy steps towards the catwalk where Ironsides and Filthy Rich were standing.

In succession, the missile pods extended from their armored loading bays on the four joints where the legs met the torso, rotated a full 360 degrees, and then retracted. Shortly after, main turret rotated around completely, then showcased its ability to engage air and ground targets by targeting the ceiling and floor before looking back at the two ponies on the catwalk.

“Consider me impressed. As soon as Nod is out of the city, they’ll get their proper test before being given over to General Shield.” Ironsides said, smiling widely at Filthy Rich, both of them completely unaware of the small surveillance bug on the wall next to them.
_________

“Well…” a tinny voice murmured, “Looks like GDI has a new toy to play with..”

The voice’s owner was an ill-tempered changeling queen who was relaxing almost comically on a throne made of tiberium in her personal palace deep in the Mareajevo Yellow Zone and a fair distance from Temple Prime. Her personal EVA was projecting various spy feeds from across the planet, filtering those of greatest interest based on a criteria that one of her drones had plugged into the machine. For all her bluster about changeling superiority and the divine right of her rule, even Chrysalis had to admit that without a select few drones she considered completely loyal, she’d be no better than the Ladybugs she sent to their deaths to keep her claim to the throne unopposed.

“A pity they weren’t ready for the peace conference… it would have been fun to see them fight that purple harlot’s machines.” she muttered.

Princess Twilight Sparkle… the very thought of having to work with that pony made her exoskeleton crawl. Working with ponies at all still filled her with ire even all these years later, and answering to an earth pony didn’t do anything to soothe her infamous temper. The fact that he had that damnable lunar whore playing guard-dog when she wasn’t keeping his bed warm only made her anger turn to unbridled fury.

Steelwing was the only member of the council that she didn’t completely hate, though the more he cozied up to Kane, that blue bitch and her purple groupie, the more she was regretting ever allying herself with that sad excuse for a ruler.

“He’d be better as stuffing for a pillow…” she thought, her mood only souring as she let her train of thought chug along.

The fact that Nod was the Changeling’s only option to survive this war was the only reason she hadn’t kicked off a Brotherhood Civil War by assassinating that blowhard “messiah” and replacing Nightmare Luna with one of her more loyal Minor Queens. Steelwing couldn’t be trusted either, and even if she did stage a massive coup, then she’d be fighting GDI by herself and a civil war, on top of the fight against the aliens.

“Wait a moment…”

The aliens.

“Maybe not the only option… EVA, bring up all the feeds and information we have on the aliens.”

“Of course, your majesty.” the AI replied, the throne now completely surrounded in a sphere of holographic displays. Aliens in the yellow zones that hadn’t been engaged by GDI, Red Zone surveillance from pirated Sky Sentry satellite transmissions, even the occasional frontline camera’s view from a Nod strike on alien patrols that wandered too far into Brotherhood territory.

From the onset of the invasion, the Brotherhood Science Division had seen the aliens thriving on tiberium, and as far as they could tell, they ran on it. With their arrival, changelings were no longer the only species on the planet who could live amongst tiberium formations with literally no harmful side effects. Even dragons had to control their consumption based on their size unless they wanted to risk overexposure and a death similar to Discord’s.

“They live off of it… consume it like a pony consumes hay….” the changeling monarch mused, “And all sources theorize… a hive mind. Well now isn’t that an interesting little convenience?”

“Orders, your majesty?” the EVA asked.

“That alien right there… the one moving on its own instead of with a pack. I want more information on that particular type of these things… this is a changeling-only assignment, and any information will come directly to me, not that purple bookworm, not her guardian demon, and definitely not Kane.”

“Cannot comply, withholding informati-”

“Override Code Cassius Delphi 327, authorization…” she began, her voice no longer her own and her form shifting to that of an earth pony, “Theory.”

“Override accepted, Kane.”
_______________

“Zone Trooper. The very name strikes fear into the hearts of Noddies the same way they wish the name Black Hand terrified us.” General Stampede stated. He was on a stage set up with a half-dozen GDI banners behind him, though he went without the podium as he orated. “You’re the best GDI has to offer, the power-armored hoof of Ironsides himself! A fighting force so powerful it took aliens from a different world to make us bleed. Not Nod’s gryphons, not their dragons, and not their Black Hand. Celestia-damn aliens.”

His audience, a mixture of officers and staff non-commissioned officers seated behind him, and nearly 400 Zone Troopers standing in formation, fully armored, in front of him on a parade deck. Training had been stepped up after their success at Dodge City, on top of all the other operations where Zone Troopers had either turned the tide or won a battle out-right. With plenty of volunteers and candidates to choose from, many of whom were Dead Six candidates, the Zone Trooper Corps was quickly expanding into the branch it needed to be.

These three companies were the start of that, having completed an intense training regime that made almost 150 of the original class wash out of the program. Even then, one particular pair of ponies, two yellow earth ponies with the Zone Trooper insignia on their shoulders, couldn’t help but wonder if they were up to the same level as those they had buried mere months ago.

“Mares, gentlecolts… you’re the best we have, and you will be called upon to take the biggest burdens, the most hazardous of assignments, and every mission the assholes with the stars on their shoulders label impossible.” Stampede continued, “You will not bring everypony back, but I know in my heart you all will give as good as you get, and that as long as your suits still have power, as long as there’s one Zone Trooper still standing, none of GDI’s enemies will be able defeat us… I’m proud to have so many of you with us, even if you’re technically under the Marine flag… though I believe I’ve talked enough. To close out our ceremony, I’d like to welcome the senior enlisted member of the Zone Trooper Corps, and your new battalion First Sergeant. First Sergeant Jet Deck!”

Deck inhaled slowly as his rank was being spoken, only exhaling as he stood up and walked over to the GDI Army Branch Commander. With salutes exchanged, and his host having found his seat, Jet Deck looked over the mass of troopers he was now in charge of.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, everypony. We’re GDI’s first and last line of defense. We’re called upon to make the pre-emptive strikes and to hold the last line in the sand. You’ve heard it drilled into you that we’re the best there is. That only Havoc and his team are better, and they have to use our armor sometimes. You’ve been told that GDI R&D has made us the impervious metal hoof of Celestia and that her providence makes us invincible…. I’m here to tell you that you are not. Every single pony in this ceremony is mortal. I almost died twice after the Blueblood Massacre from wounds alone. I almost died during the Battle of Baltimare. Gunny Bloom and I buried over 30 Zone Troopers after the aliens attacked, out of our original 50 from before Baltimare.

“We, are not, invincible. Never let anypony tell you otherwise, even if it’s an esteemed general or Celestia herself. That kind of thinking got Blueblood killed. It got everypony I knew before the Zone Troopers killed, and it gets Confessors killed all the time… I will try to bring every single one of you home when the war is over... I know I won’t be able to. But I promise each and every one of you that I will die trying if that’s what it takes to bring one more home.”
___________

The ceremony closed shortly after. Major Blizzard, formerly of Easy Company, dismissed the battalion and the troopers dispersed to their respective barracks. Trooper detachments weren’t deploying for another week while ICB got a better picture of the alien deployments and shuttles were prepped for orbital transit.

Only three ponies stayed behind, Major Blizzard, Jet Deck, and Apple Bloom. For a moment, the trio were silent as they looked at the now empty parade deck emblazoned with the GDI eagle. It wasn’t until the older of the three managed to gather his thoughts that the silence was broken.

“An interesting way to speak to them, First Sergeant.” Blizzard said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Too many dead heroes in this war already, and I don’t need them throwing themselves at enemy fire like they can’t be hurt.” Jet Deck replied, “All three of us have learned that lesson the hard way.”

“Blueblood, I know… surprised to meet a survivor, given how few of you are left. Are you one as well, Gunnery Sergeant?”

“No, sir.” Apple Bloom answered, “I was at Smokey Mountain that day fighting against Spike.”

“Bad business both of those…” the Major replied quietly, “Look… I’m not going to pretend to know what you two have been through. Hell, most of my own unit made it out of Canterlot alive, if incapacitated, thus the transfer. I’m in command, there’s no question about that, but we all know it’s NCOs that lead when the chips hit the fan, and that is especially clear with such an experimental unit. I’ll be relying heavily on you two these first few months, especially with how spread out the surviving Wolverines are.”

“You can count on us, sir.” Jet Deck said, a smile actually forming on his muzzle as his new commanding officer spoke. For once he was sure he wasn’t getting another Blueblood, even if he shared the dead stallion’s white and blonde coloration.

“I know I can. You’re a Fightin’ 400 member, and you’re an Apple. I couldn’t ask for better battalion staff to have fighting with me. And I expect every officer as deep in the shit as the rest of us when the time comes. Until then, enjoy some R&R, Celestia knows you both need it. EVA will update you on muster orders when they come down from somepony with a shinier collar, and then we can get to work making these aliens hurt.”
_____________

The past two years had worn on Director Fluttershy more than most ponies. The few friends she had that hadn’t defected to Nod at the start of the war were now either crippled or constantly throwing themselves onto the front line of this dreadful war. The tools she helped create to save the world were being turned into deadlier and deadlier weapons of war, and even if they were the enemy right now, her friends would never have a chance to be friends again if her creations killed them first.

“Director? We’re ready for you.” Twilight Velvet said, interrupting Fluttershy from her thoughts. She didn’t know it, but Velvet had been standing in the door for nearly five minutes, worriedly watching her boss as she stared through her paperwork instead of at it. Fluttershy looked up slowly, giving a tired smile as she walked over to her secretary. She could only imagine how this war was tearing her and Night Light up, even with how long it had been since Shining Armor was announced KIA.

“Thank you, Velvet…” the pale yellow pegasus whispered, “How’s the latest construction project going?”

“Well, the team wasn’t too happy with the sudden change of armament, but once Ironsides leaned on them, they got back on track… still feels strange, fighting aliens with sonic weaponry.”

“Nopony expected the tiberium containment projectors to work on them, it was more of a last ditch effort from what the reports say, but all we can do now is put that knowledge to good use against the invaders… and eventually Nod…”

“Sonics aren’t that effective against ponies or gryphons, but dragons and changelings have tiberium in their diet now, so we’ll eventually see what happens.” the magenta unicorn replied, “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“A hope we both share. If anything, this truce proves that both sides can live together without having to…. Having to be rude to each other. The less use the new tank gets in combat, the better.”

The remark got a rare smile from Velvet. Even though Fluttershy was her boss, and even though she had no relation to the family, the younger mare was practically a daughter to her these days, and even as the conflict tore the world apart, the head of ZOCOM continued to take the polite approach even when talking about the Brotherhood.

“She was designed for peacetime anyway… we shouldn’t have to use it against Nod, but we both know that once it’s done, Ironsides gets his hooves on it… but that’s neither here nor there. The team is ready to show you their progress, and their EVAs are already linked up with mine. I can put it on the big screen if you want.”

“Please.” Fluttershy said, trying to relax in her seat but failing miserably as a dirty earth pony appeared on the wall in front of her. He was bright red with a green mane, and she could make out various scars and burn marks that she knew were from construction, not combat.

“Director Fluttershy, good to see you. Glad you could take the time to look at what we’ve started building for you.” he told her, his excitement barely contained.

“The… pleasure is all mine. Now, let’s see the progress you’ve made on my mobile refinery.”

“Well, we’ve got the main frame down, and refinery facilities are already being fitted in.” the stallion said as half of the screen was filled with camera feeds from the factory, giving Fluttershy a real-time view of the construction process, “But we’ve actually come up with a new name, considering the project team helping us build the darn thing.”

“What could you even call such a monster?” Velvet asked, her jaw somewhat agape as she took in the vast structure.

“Well, given we’ve got Mammoth engineers working on this baby, it’s a ZOCOM project, and the chassis is basically a reworked and expanded mammy anyhow… ladies, say hello to the Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle, or as we’ve been calling it, the MARV.”