I pushed the throttle to full power and pulled back on the stick as hard I could, forcing the Liset to climb as hard and fast as the engines would allow. The girls screamed in abject horror as the cockpit shook violently, all of them thrown from their hooves and towards the back of the ship. “HANG ON!” I shouted as I felt my feet and body become suspended in the air. Pulling myself forward with all my might I crawled into the chair before leveling out. “Girls, you need to get back in your seats now!”

The ship shook violently, causing everyone to stumble as we took another hard straif from an attacking gunship. Everyone was in a panic as they moved as fast as they could through the ship in order to get back into their seats and buckle up. The ship shook again as tracers tore past the front of the ship. “Ordis, keep those shields up and bring the archwings around!” I ordered. “I have an idea.”

I pulled back on both the throttle and the stick, flaring the flaps yet again. The Liset rotated as it suspended in the air… before she turned, and I forced the ship into a very steep dive. I groaned as I felt that pressure in the back of my head as gravity took hold. The girls screamed again as we raced towards the ground at full speed. I could hear the Liset starting to screech the faster we went. Just before we impacted the ground, I pulled back on the stick, forcing the Liset to level out mere meters from the ground as our pursers impacted against the ground. Both ships exploded in balls of flame and sheared metal.

I released the breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “Ordis, where the hell is that Galleon?” I requested as I looked up, trying to find the rogue ship.

“The ship has entered the atmosphere and is currently taking up position behind us.”

Reflexively, I looked over my shoulder, but still couldn’t find it. “Class?”

…

“Ordis?”

“Five…”

I felt a chill roll up my spine. A ship of that magnitude is armed to the teeth! Heavy cannons, air to air missiles, armor thicker than anything I could ever posses. No ship could ever go face to face with a dreadnought such as that. Even the best Corpus Frigates couldn’t best such a behemoth! I pulled the Liset around and faced it back towards Canterlot…

And that’s when I saw it.

That’s when we all saw it.

“T-That things huge! We’ll never destroy it!” Twilight squeaked as she shrank back in her seat.

“I just need to get inside,” I replied, either to answer her question, or to simply state my next plan. The looming ship eclipsed the sun as it’s shadow swallowed Canterlot and her mountain.

This was the epitome of Grineer weaponry.

But this was not a major invasion. This wasn't even close. The Grineer would have brought an entire fleet for such an attack. No, this was a high value target that had other means in mind. But such a ship was still very formidable. With enough troops to populate a small moon and plenty of ordinance to level Canter Mountain, we were going to have to be creative. I gave the scanners one last look, with the skies clear, I had one opportunity.

I’m going for it.

I pushed the throttle all the way forward and pulled back on the stick. “Excalibur! What are you doing!?” Twilight screamed in shock as we raced full speed towards the back of the Galleon.

“I need to get aboard!” I replied. “This might be my only chance!”

The ship’s engines roared as we climbed.

Galleons have one blind spot.

And I intended to go right up his ass!

One soldier aboard the Galleon watched the scanners as he monitored the battle raging below. A little blip on the screen grabbed his attention. “General, Tenno ship inbound!”

The mighty Grineer leader spared the lower ranking clone a single glance. Leaning to the left, he tapped a button on the left armrest of his commander’s chair. “All ships, Tenno craft approaching! Destroy it!” Releasing the button, he moved his attention back to the hollow screen before him. “All ground forces, advance! Do not let the Tenno push you back!”

The Liset bounced violently as explosions and puffs of black went off all around us as the flak only became thicker. I cursed under my breath, it was as though every ship turned their attention to us! The screams of the girls behind me, made me second guess my decision. “Dammit!” I shouted as I pulled away, banking away from the Galleon and back towards Ponyville. “FUCK! Ordis, get those ships off me!”

Behind us, the Odonata took up chase. Ordis activated her offensive missiles, firing a barrage of air to air missiles at the herd of attacking gunships. Many of the lightweight craft exploded, showering the forest below with burning husks of ships and shearing hot metal. I banked and weaved, dodging spray after spay of gunfire.

I fired a series of flares, dealing with a volley of heat seekers before I banked the ship around, trying to get behind three gunships. As I was doing so, a bright red alarm came on screen, signaling another lock. I pressed the button, but nothing seemed to happen. My eyes went wide when I saw that the flares were still recharging!

"ORDIS!"

The cephalon immediately targeted the missiles, tracking their planned route as he ran through the calculations. Pushing the engines aboard the Amesha and the Itzal to near breaking point, both crossed in an 'X' pattern behind the ship, exploding into a series of small debris and broken parts as they intercepted the airborne explosives.

"Missiles destroyed, Excalibur."

"I wish you didn't have to use the archwings, but it was an acceptable loss," I stated. It gained me some breathing room, but that ship is carrying a small fleet of gunships. I doubt I had enough ammo to fight such a fleet. Which is why it was imperative we destroy that Galleon!

"Excalibur, we could use some help down here!" Ember shouted over the radio.

"I'm heading around for a gun run," I informed. Banking around, I centered off towards the center of town yet again. The gun's roar reverberated throughout the ship’s cockpit as Grineer Lancers caught in the fire were torn to shreds and thrown into the air. I pulled back as soon as the run ended.

"We're going to need more than strafing runs!"

Dammit.

"Ordis, do you think can keep the skies clear?" I requested.

"I will *BZZT* TEAR THEM APART *BZZT* do my best."

"Alright," I disconnected from the command chair and hastily headed around it. As I headed towards the ramp, Twilight grabbed my wrist.

"Please don't go!" she begged. As I glanced down, my heart ached at her pained expression. She tugged on my arm harder, pulling it and hugging it tightly. "Please! Please don't go…"

I looked towards the rest of the girls, each of them with a pained expression of their own. I sighed under my breath. "Twilight-"

"Please!" she sobbed into my armor.

"Twilight," I said softly. Dropping to a knee, I grasped her shoulders with both hands and looked her square in the eye. Her lower lip quivered as she looked me in the eye. “I am the only one that can stop this.” I turned my head away and looked towards the rest of the girls. “We need to keep the Grineer contained. We’re going to do everything we can to push them back, I promise!” Letting her go, I removed my helmet and leaned forward. Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips against Twilight’s for one last kiss before everything else is over. “I love you, Twilight.” Standing up, I placed my helmet back on my head and stood up. “Ordis will keep you safe, all of you. I’ll be back, I promise!”

I ran down the ramp as fast as I could and towards the back of the ship as Ordis lowered the rear ramp as soon as I reached it. The rush of ear was near deafening as the ship continued to tear along through the skies. “Ordis? Bring the ship around and put me off near the center of town!” I shouted over the rush of air. Below me, I watched as the luscious green grass quickly turned into buildings. Pulling my sword from my back and with a front flip, I made a jump for it.

Not too far behind me, Storm followed, cannonballing through the air as aimed for the ground below. I immediately accelerated as I dropped as gravity took over, holding my sword over my head. The sounds of rushing air filled my hearing as I reached maximum velocity. It was mere seconds before I impacted against the ground, slamming my blade deep into the ground. I planned my attack perfectly, the slam attack throwing a small squad of lancers off their feet, the shockwave so powerful that one Lancer was thrown against a wall with a disgusting crunching noise. Another poor bastard was thrown through a window, violently smashing the glass as he violently entered the building. The remaining three lancers, who were laying on their backs on the ground, stared at me in horror. One of them frantically crawled away to try and create some distance while the other two got to their feet as fast as they could and leveled their rifles. Neither of them dared to fire as they pointed their rifles at me. All of them shared a look of concern and nervousness before they decided to slowly advance.

Now… it was my turn…

I grabbed my blade with both hands and pulled her from the ground as I spun on my heels. Like a shot from a gun I raised my sword over my head as time slowed. The Lancer facing me immediately dropped his rifle and held up his hands, silently begging for mercy as I made him my first target. But it was too late for him. Metal ground against metal as I buried my sword within his helmet, splitting it in two. His body went limp before I pulled my Skana from his broken and bleeding helmet. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the other Lancer as he started to raise his rifle, just as I turned towards him, he fired.

The sounds of bullets ricocheting filled the air as the Lancer emptied his magazine. With one hand, I swung my sword as fast as I could as I caught the projectiles mid-flight. Bullets raced past my head, and upper torso, impacting on the wall of a random building behind me. I blocked and glanced each bullet with the blade of my Skana before the rapid-fire weapon soon ran dry in seconds. When the weapon clicked, locking open, the Lancer lowered his Grakata and turned his focus towards the reloading the gun.

Idiot clones.

Grabbing onto the magazine, he started the process of removing it before he lifted his head. The empty rifle magazine impacted against the street, the Lancers left hand shaking violently as he stared at my form standing mere meters in front of him. His right arm began to shake as well as he dropped his rifle and turned to run, flailing his limbs in panic as he ran towards the main street. Pulling my Lex from my hip, the loud crack of the pistol echoed off the walls of the alleyway, preceding the punch of the bullet as the Lancer fell to his knees, landing face first in the dirt, dead.

Turning, I focused my attention to the remaining soldier, who had been watching his fleeing squad mate, yelped when he noticed me watching him. Holstering my pistol, I turned towards him fully and lifted my sword over my head. He threw his hands into the air in one last attempt to beg for mercy and surrender, but I didn’t listen as I heaved my sword with enough force that it punched through his armor and dragged him a meter, pinning him against the wall of the opposing building.

His head bobbed weakly as he attempted to stay conscious fought to stay alive. Stepping up, I grasped the handle of my sword as he weakly pawed at the protruding blade sticking out of his chest. Placing my foot against his shoulder, I pulled the weapon free with a wet squelching sound. Blood oozed down from the wound, staining the green armor. Turning around, looked towards the broken window, I quickly made my way over and jumped through. As I entered the home, the injured Lancer weakly lifted an arm towards me, probably thinking I was a friendly. When he finally figured out who I was, he turned away from me and tried to crawl away. Judging by the growing pool of blood beneath him and the gigantic shard of glass protruding from his armor and it was clear he wouldn’t survive.

Sheathing my sword, I bent over and grabbed the Lancer by his shoulder armor. He begged and pleaded in Grineer for me to spare him and let him live as he weakly tried to break away from my grasp. In response, I made him sit up before I dragged him along the floor. As I got closer to the window, I grabbed his Grakata and tossed it out the shattered window, letting it clatter loudly outside before I pushed him up and into a sitting position. He continued to beg and plead, each word weaker than the last.

“Stop, stop,” I said softly in Grineer before the Lancer took my words to heart and stopped his wiggling. “I hope this was worth it,” I said again, under my breath as I reached up and removed the Lancers helmet. His face was fairly clean compared to most veteran Lancers. He must have been recently cloned. His light grey flesh and gold eyes were taught and clear, indicating his youthful age. He was nothing more than a child fighting a war against his will. He must have heard dozens of stories that we were nothing more than killing machines in this war.

"~Why?~" he asked in Grineer.

I didn’t answer immediately.

I’m not sure what compelled me to do this anyway. “You're going to die,” I admitted. He didn’t say anything, just, blinking at me. “Here,” I lifted one of his arms and helped him towards his feet. The Lancer winced and screamed in pain as the glass shard moved around within the wound. “Come with me.” Slowly, I eased the shorter Lancer through the home and towards the backdoor. Grasping the handle with one hand, I opened the back door and into the back. With a grunt, I set the Lancer down against the wall of the building and onto the soft grass. He winced in agony as I eased him down into a sitting position. All he had probably ever stared at for his entire life was the hard, metal hull of that Galleon. Positioning him towards the vast, green and luscious valley of the Equestrian countryside. To the side, I looked into his eyes…

They sparkled with wonder and awe.

"~I never knew there was this much green in the galaxy…~"

I gave the Lancer one last pat on the shoulder. “Do you really think this is was worth it? To destroy it all?” He didn’t answer. But I knew the answer. He... knew the answer as well. Standing up, I headed back into the home. Behind me, the Lancer removed his glove and rubbed his bare hand against the grass with a smile.

Gunfire reverberated through the air as bullets impacted nearby as I took up cover behind a tipped over cart full of produce. Fruits and vegetables exploded with each bullet impact, occasionally punching through the wood and out the back. But they did do a good job of absorbing most of the gunfire. Peeking over the top, there were about a dozen Lancers on the street as they focused their fire on me. Next to me, Storm growled, her fangs dripping with saliva as she bared and licked them.

"Kill…"

Storm let out a ferocious growl as she shot out towards the group as I raised my rifle over the top and opened fire with my Soma. Metal buckled and tinked loudly as the armor piercing rounds tore through three of the Lancers armor. Minding Storms location, bullets whizzed over her head as I did my best to cover her. Like an out of control train, she ran headlong into the fray, bullets harmlessly impacting against her shields. With a mighty leap and a guttural roar, she jumped the closest Lancer, sinking her deadly fangs into his armor and tearing at his esophagus.

She landed with a roll before turning and facing another clone. With fangs bathed in blood, she roared, leaping several feet and tackling another poor soul, clamping her mighty, bone crushing jaws around the soldier’s helmet, crushing his skull with a metallic and metal bending crunch. Releasing the corpse, she turned towards another Lancer. The weakling dropped his rifle and turned to run. With one last mighty leap, she tackled the Lancer from behind, tearing into his armor as though it were paper and peeled it away like a tin can, revealing the soft flesh underneath.

The soldier screamed in agony as her fangs sank into his soft flesh. He tried to turn and fight back, but it was all in vain as the Kubrow adjusted her stance, widening it before she shook her mighty head violently. Like a rabid dog, she tore into him, rending flesh from bone. While she was distracted, one of the few surviving Lancers slowly advanced and raised his rifle.

I whistled towards the clone, causing him to turn around in confusion and look at me. With a simple swipe of my blade, I slashed between the Grineer soldier's helmet and torso armor where it was at its weakest. He gagged and choked on his own blood as he dropped his rifle and grasped the wound, blood seeping between his gloved fingers. I simply watched as he fell to his knees, then landed on the ground, squirming violently as he gagged for air. Storm released her meal and looked up at me expectantly.

With a tilt of my head, she stood up and began following me as we made our leave. The two of us dipped into a back alley and came out on the main street and into the heart of the fight. All around the torn main street that goes through town, dozens and dozens of Grineer Lancers, Troopers, and Butchers littered the land like a plaque. Doors were kicked in, carts overturned as all these clones did nothing but bring destruction everywhere, they went. I heard a scream within a nearby home and watched as two Lancers dragged three mares out of the building and into the street by their manes. I instantly recognized them as the local flower ponies that sell flowers in the market. Daisy, Roseluck, and Lily are their names.

They screamed and begged, attempting to pull themselves free from their captor’s grips. The pair of Lancers cursed in their native tongue as they struggled to keep the trio in check. The Lancer holding only Daisy shouted before he cracked her behind the head with his rifle. The pink mare yelped in pain before the Lancer tossed her against the dirt.

"Daisy!" both Roseluck and Lily screamed, horrified at the state of their friend. They yelped as the second Lancer tossed them like rags and took his rifle from his partner as both mares grunted on landing. Lily moved towards Daisy, the latter holding her head and sobbing. Roseluck stared at her friends with an open mouth before she felt emboldened, quickly stood up…

She yelped and fell backwards back against the dirt when the Lancer kicked her in the nose. She landed violently on her side, clutching her bleeding and possibly broken nose. Metal ground against metal as I slashed one Lancer horizontally across the gut, opening him like a sardine can. As he turned out of the way, I spun around his body, bringing my sword down diagonally across the second Lancers torso, rendering his armor useless as my Skana tore into his flesh.

"Girls come on, it's not safe out here!" I urged as I helped Roseluck and Daisy to their hooves. I opened my shield, blocking numerous bullets from several advancing enemy soldiers as I ushered the mares back inside their home. This was going to be problematic. There were to many civilians within the town! All of them were at risk from stray gunfire, explosives, and kidnapping! Equestrian's were the perfect beings to be used for Grineer purposes. Literal work horses and easy to control.

We were the only thing standing between the Grineer and total domination.

I drew my pistol and fired around my shield as I retreated through the front door and into the home.

We needed to get the civvies out of here.

"Ember, Drax, Serenity!" I shouted over the gunfire into the radio. "We need to evacuate the town!"

The radio cracked to life as gunfire filled my comms. "How the hell do you intend to do that!?" Ember shouted at me as I heard her rifle open fire. "Die you…" her radio cut off mid-sentence.

"I have two mares and about seven children in here!" Serenity shouted before I heard her empty both barrels of her shotgun. "Get off of me!"Next came the sounds of wood shattering and what I assumed to be a body hitting the floor. "Get'em Spike!" There was more gunfire, followed by the sounds of screaming. "The Grineer seem to be really pushing here!"

"Drax?"

The sounds of roaring, panic screams, and tearing metal were heard. "I am at castle!" Another roar. "I 'ave many civilian take up sanctuary vithin building!"

"We need to do something about the civilians though," Serenity stated.

We needed to get ponies out of the hot zone but going door to door was going to be a problem.

We had no other choice…

"Evacuate the town! We have the southern side! Make a push towards Sweet Apple Acres! That's where we'll evac. the civilians!"

I heard a shattering noise in another room within the home, forcing me to turn around and face that direction. "They're coming through the back door!" Lily screeched. I charged into the kitchen, pulling a random knife that had been resting on the counter I jammed it into the eye hole of the first Lancer that entered the building. He screamed in agony as I forced the larger kitchen knife into the significantly smaller hole. Shoving him out of the way, I kicked the second invader backwards out the door, making him stumble and fall to the ground with a roll. The third foot soldier tripped over his partner but still entered the building regardless.

Reaching for my Lex, I raised the weapon, but the Lancer dropped his rifle and caught my arm with his hands. I punched the grunt in the helmet, while he let go with his left hand and punched me in the gut. Wrapping his hand around my neck, he cried out as he pushed me into the kitchen, violently shoving the injured Lancer out of the way. I grunted when I collided with one of the counters in the room as the Lancer that had me by the neck tried to strangle me to death. Wrapping my own hand around his wrist, my jaw clenched as I dug my fingers into his armor, bending it to my will and I slowly removed his hand by twisting his wrist.

He tilted his head in confusion and probably awe as he watched me out-strength him. With a crack, the Lancer leaned to his right as I forced him to bend to me. With a shove, I made him swap places with me, slamming him against the counter. Grabbing him around the neck, I heaved the grunt into the air with one arm, smashing the top of his helmeted head through the bottom of an upper cabinet, shattering several plates and bowls within. He grunted in pain as he ended up sitting on top of the counter. Stepping back, I drew my pistol and raised it towards his head and pulled the trigger.

His head recoiled back, cracking against the wall before going limp. Turning around, the injured Lancer, who still had the knife in his face, sat on his knees, clawing at his helmet and the knife. He was so distracted that he failed to see me approach. Grabbing him by the shoulder, I rested my open palm against the end of the handle and with one mighty shove, buried the knife to the hilt within the Lancer’s skull. His arms went limp before I released him, letting him flop lifelessly to the side and onto the floor.

“Girls!?” I shouted into the home. Exiting the kitchen, I entered the living room. “Girls!?” I shouted again as I grabbed onto the handrail of the stairs and ran up them as fast as I could, shouting for the trio while opening each door I could find before I came to the last one. I entered the bedroom, examining it; other than some flowers, a bed, some desks and a few posters, it was empty. There was a closet that I immediately focused on and decided that this was my best option. Heading towards it, I grasped the handles and tore the doors wide open, not off their hinges, but they banged loudly against the wall. There was a deafening shriek from inside before a dress hit me in the face.

“Ah! Daisy it’s me!” I shouted into the dress before I pulled it off my helmet. Once I could see, I tossed the dress to the side and held up my hands. “Daisy it’s me! It’s me, it’s me, it’s me!” I grabbed the near hyperventilating mare by the withers and forcing her to look at me. I bought flowers from them once before for Twilight, so they knew who I was. Her look of terror began to relax as her large eyes began looked me up and down in recognition. “Daisy, where are the other girls?”

She swallowed dryly, her eyes snapping to the bed for the briefest of moments then back to me. Turning around, I looked at the only bed in the center of the room. Holding up a hand, I urged Daisy to stay where she was before quickly heading over towards the bed. Dropping to all fours, I pulled the sheets upwards, revealing the pair of ponies underneath the bed. The other two girls screamed, panting loudly as they stared at me in horror.

"Come on girls," I said softly, reaching under and ushering them out of their hiding spot. As soon as the pair were out, they stood nearby and hugged Daisy. Stepping over, I gingerly grasped Roseluck's muzzle and gave it a quick examination. "It doesn't appear broken," I assured before wiping a fresh drop of blood from her nostrils. Turning towards Daisy, she whimpered as I gently lowered her head and examined the knock on her head. Running my hand through her fur, a there was a bruise forming, but that was it. "You're going to have a bruise and probably be sore for a while. But you're not bleeding."

Standing up, I ushered the girls to follow me. I was about halfway down the stairs when Ordis came over the radio. "Excalibur, I am picking up large troop movements near the school." My eyes went wide. If there is anyone that doesn't deserve this, it's the children.

"Change of plans," I stated, turning towards the trio of nervous mares. "Girls, I need your help." They all looked at me with this expectant nervousness. "I need you guys to go door to door and get ponies out!"

"WHAT!?" they blanched.

"Girls!" I took a knee and held out my hand. "I have to go help others and I can't afford to go door to door… please?" I could see the looks of horror and panic on their faces as their lower lip quivered in fear.

Roseluck steeled her resolve and swallowed hard. "W-What do you need us to do?"

"Go door to door, kick them in if you have to!" I ordered. "Tell everyone you can to go to Applejack's farm and hunker down!" Roseluck grasped Lily and Daisy's hooves and gave each of them a firm squeeze and a nod of assurance and determination. "Stick to alleyways and force yourself in if you have to," I continued, standing up and grabbing my rifle. "Keep your heads on a swivel and stay out of sight!" I shouted behind me as I exited the building, covering the girls as they slipped out the front door and into the alley.

I whistled loudly for my Kubrow as I planned out in my head on how to get to the school in the fastest way possible. Storm came strutting around the corner, head held high, a scratched and gnawed helmet in her mouth. "Come on girl. We have a school to save!"

Miss Cheerilee did her best to stay strong in front of her students. But even she could feel her knees going weak as she stared up at the yellow, one eyed, armored… thing staring down at her and her students. She spared a nervous glance towards the three others standing nearby, clad in their bulky green armor. They seemed to be conversing in some strange language she didn't recognize. The sounds of explosions and gunfire did little to ease her mind, or the fact that that yellow human kept pointing his large, double barreled weapon at her and her students.

Young Twist hugged the mare tighter, whimpering along with her classmates as they watched the soldiers with varying degrees of unease. The teacher shushed them and did her best to keep her students quiet and calm in this very tense situation. She knew that if her students started to panic, things would only get worse. Call it teachers intuition if anything.

She jumped when a particularly loud explosion went off nearby.

Her students screamed, causing the unnamed soldier to lift his weapon and shout at them.

Every pony in the room screamed yet again in terror when the door imploded as I came barreling through, tackling the first soldier in my sight and dragging him across the room. With a ferocious roar, Storm tackled another one, taking his screaming form across the room and shattering through an adjacent window. The pair rolled along the edge of the building. The upper half of her torso and head appear like a shark as she opened her mouth and went for the kill.

There was a snapping sound, followed by a wet splat as a streak of blood splattered against the window.

The Lancer grunted when he impacted against the opposite wall. I kneed him in the gut, forcing him to double over, where upon I elbowed him in the back. Holding up my left arm, I opened my Venka and burying them to the knuckle in the soldier’s spine. The Trooper guarding the children opened fired with his twin-barreled Sobek shotgun. I held up my left arm, each round of buckshot eating away at my shields. Turning away, I grasped the edge of the teacher’s desk. Turning, I heaved it with all my might. The sturdy wood desk barrel rolled through the air, striking the Trooper with enough force to dent his armor, crush his ribcage, and throw him off his feet. The final Lancer raised his rifle.

Behind him, the glass shattered violently, causing everyone to scream once more as Storm came through the window, sinking her fangs into the shoulder armor of the Lancer and dragging his flailing form through the window.

I winced when I heard his neck break, but ultimately ignored him as Storm hopped back through the window, panting happily.

"Excalibur!" Rarity's, Applejack's, and Rainbow's honorary younger sisters squeaked when the saw me. Running up, they swarmed my ankles, jumping up and resting their front hooves on my legs.

"Where's mah family!?"

"Where's Rarity!?"

"Where's my aunts!?"

I was immediately bombarded with questions as the little ankle biters frantically asked for the whereabouts of friends and family members and as to what was happening.

"Kids. Kids. Kids I don't know!" I held my hands up and shouted over their frantic requests. "I'm sorry but I don't know about your parents!" Most if not all of them wilted in horror at the declaration, some where borderline in tears. But I did turn my attention towards the two I did know where their loved ones were. "Sweetie, Rarity is aboard the Liset, same with Applejack. I don't know about your grandmother or your older brother, Applebloom." I turned towards the final Crusader. "I don't know where your aunts are Scootaloo…"

Miss Cheerilee stepped up towards me but faced her class. "Ch-Children! Please stay calm and let him speak!"

I turned towards the purple mare to address the current situation at hand. "We're evacuating the town! We need to-" I heard a soft tink and movement out of the corner of my eye. A small, rectangular, metallic object hit the floor from through the door. "GRENADE!"

Without a second thought, I shoved the mare out of the way and dove on top of small explosive, using my body as a shield. The explosion was deafening as I was thrown straight into the air, impacting hard against the ceiling. I came crashing down against several desks, shattering them into several pieces of wood when I landed against the floor.

"Ow…" I moaned as I propped myself up on my hands. As I lifted my head, my eyes went wide when I saw what I was outside.

Heavy Gunners, Lancers, Troopers made a firing line, pointing all their weapons at the school.

"GET DOWN!"

Just as my words left my mouth, the room began to explode, bullets tearing through the soft walls of the school. I dropped to the floor and reached out, wrapping my arms around a nearby Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, pulling them towards me and agaisnt my torso, using my body as a shield while holding their heads down with my hands. The small building was showered with puffs of sheetrock and insulation rained down upon us like snow.

Children screamed at the tops of their lungs as desks were torn to shreds, shattering violently with each bullet impact. After enough hits, they shattered under their own weight, clattering and banging against the floor. Books were shredded as well, sending sheets of paper fluttering into their air. Storm crawled her way forward while making sure to keep low and out of the line of fire, using her larger form to shield as many students as she could. Most of the bullets went over our heads, but shards of glass, wood, and other debris, rained down on us like lethal snow.

After what felt like an eternity, it was over.

Lifting my head, I peeked over the top of a shattered window and looked outside. I immediately spotted my sister as she stared down at the burning husks of the aggressors that were previously shooting at us.

"Thank you, Ember!"

"You owe me!"

My answer was my middle finger.

Turning, she headed back into the streets and doing her part. Turning around, to my horror, several students were screaming in agony. Miss Cheerilee was sitting against the wall, nursing a leg wound, one pink filly was screaming at her own leg wound while a grey filly did her best to comfort her. Another colt was screaming, blood oozing from the bullet wound that had torn through his side.

Shit…

Other wounds were minor cuts and bruises that required little to no attention. Pulling Applebloom's bow from her hair, I grabbed the teachers rear left leg and wrapped it, tying it off. Next, I turned towards the filly. Grasping her front right leg, she screamed in pain as I manipulated her leg and examined the bleeding wound. Looking around the destroyed room, I found a lone first aid kit resting against the back wall.

"Toss me the medical kit!" I ordered, pointing towards the small white box with a red cross on it. One colt rapidly ran over towards the object in question and took it off the wall and threw it at me. Catching it with one hand, I set it on the ground and opened it. There wasn't much else other than bandages and wraps within the kit. Pulling out the wraps, I found a stray jacket and tore a shred from it. Wrapping the wound, the pink filly yelped painfully and wailed in agony before I moved onto the colt. Reaching around his smaller form, I found an exit hole on the other side of his ribcage. "Good news is that it went straight through." I gave him a body scan and held up the holographic 3D model. As I had assumed, it went right through, punching a small hole that some stitches would easily fix.

"You'll live bud!" I assured the small grey colt with a windswept mane. "Just need to keep the wound clean!" I dressed the wounds and hit him with a health booster. "Kids we need to move. We can't stay here!" I turned towards the teacher, but still addressed the class. "If you can walk, help those that can't. Come on." I helped the teacher to her hooves. She limped along as I headed for the door. Opening the door, I heard a whizzing noise before my shields exploded and something bore itself into my shoulder.

"AH SHIT! SNIPER!" I shouted, pressing my back against the wall, sliding down it into a sitting position.

You bitch!

I cursed my luck. There must have been enough damage to their forces that they were dropping special troops. Leaning put slightly, I peeked around the corner ever so slightly. It wasn't hard spotting the bright red laser coming from her rangefinder. I pulled my head back just in time as the bullet impacted the opposite wall. Drawing my Lex, I leaned out, lined up my sights and pulled the trigger.

The laser faded, indicating my hit.

Holstering my pistol, I opened my Venka on my right hand and carefully shoved one of the tips in the bleeding wound in my shoulder. Ignoring the pain, I worked the tip of the claw under the bullet and pried it out of the wound. The lead bullet clattered against the floor as my armor began to self-heal.

"Come on kids, we have to go!" I said, standing up and leading the way.

Big Macintosh looked toward the sky in confusion as he watched multiple alien ships coming in for a landing. As the stallion watched on, his grandmother slowly limped her way out of the house and towards her grandson. "Whut in tarnation is goin' on Big Mac?" the elder mare asked her grandson as she looked to the skies.

They watched as something came towards them. A spaceship for sure, if Big Mac's sisters tails were anything to go by. Slowly, they watched in confusion as a ball of flames and black smoke sailed over head and out of sight. The subsequent explosion in the southern field made both family members reflexively duck and look towards the immediate direction, watching as a ball of flames took to the sky in the shape of a mushroom. The pair spun on their heels yet again as more explosions and balls of flame came from their sleepy town. Gunfire and ricocheting bullets pierced the air, creating sounds never heard before by the apple farmers. Both ponies watched cautiously as I came running up, carrying the young colt in my arms with the rest of the class limping along.

"Big Mac! Granny!" Applebloom frantically shouted as she ran up to her older brother, hugging him tightly around the legs.

"Whut in tarnation is going on!?" the stallion demanded as he watched us approach while also hugging his sobbing younger sister. Gingerly, I set the injured colt down on the deck of the house.

"Mac, I need your help!" I said as I stood up. Everyone reflexively ducked when the Liset roared overhead, followed by another assault craft. "Ordis, you got an Ogma on your tail!" The Liset banked around, getting an angle on the craft before the main cannon open fired. The Ogma buckled, bouncing with each impact from the twenty mil. before it exploded. The obliterated ship screeched overhead, leaving a trail of flames and smoke before it impacted and exploded in one of the southern orchards.

"Where's mah sister!?" Big Mac demanded, referring to Applejack.

"She's aboard the Liset." Said ship roared over the home, shaking the ground as she tore by. I turned towards the red stallion. "Mac, we have this half of town, but we need to evac. everyone here!"

The stallion slowly turned his massive head towards the house and the gathered group of ponies. Following his gaze, I looked towards the home as well. Granny Smith was tending to the injured while many of the foals huddled under the awning of the home. I shifted my gaze back towards the stallion, watching as the gears in his head turning.

"The tracks ta Las Pegasus hug the southern orchard," the stallion explained, before he shifted his gaze back to me. "The train often stahps there. There's a pullout."

"Even if the train isn't there, at least we can get everyone heading down tracks and picked up!" Now we had an evac. route! Sweet Apple Acres was now ground zero for all civilian evacuations. "Mac, do you have something to help carry the injured?"

"Big Mac, get the hay cart outta the barn!" Granny Smith ordered the elder sibling. The stallion turned towards the barn before taking off in that direction in a dead sprint. With a grunt, he opened the door to the barn and disappeared inside. He was gone for several seconds before he came out, pulling a large wooden cart.

"If yah can't walk, get in!" the stallion ordered.

"Come on kids!" I ordered. I did my best to help those who couldn't climb into the cart. The stallion helped his grandmother in while I assisted Cheerilee into the back and the young colt was the last one in. Drawing my rifle, I stepped up next to the stallion as he was hooking up to the harness. "Lead the way!"

The stallion tightened the last strap and took off in a full sprint towards the southern orchard, pulling the cart as though it never existed. The sounds of gunfire became distant as they were absorbed by the lush, green apple trees of the orchard. Each small bump through the orchard must have been agony to those injured in the cart. I pitied them. It was several tense minutes before we came to a halt thanks to a fence at the edge of the property. I quickly removed the crossmembers and ushered everyone through.

We came out of the tree line right in front of the train!

We must have timed it perfectly for it to be waiting there for us. Running up, I ushered the less injured into the first car while Mac helped the injured. As we were doing that, one stallion, wearing a blue uniform and a handlebar mustache approached.

"What is going on here?"

"We're commandeering your train," I stated as I turned away from the students and approached the stallion.

The elder stallion raised a brow and turned towards Ponyville. "What exactly is happening?"

"You see that ship?" I said, stepping forward and pointing towards the looming Galleon in the distance. "That ship isn't here to make friends or write treaties. This is an invasion. Equestria is under attack. And they will plunder, demolish, and terrorize this planet to the best of their ability."

The stallion gawked at the looming ship off in the distance. "I haven't seen an airship that big since my time in the Griffonstone Civil war…" The stallion shook his head and steeled his resolve and turned around to face me, looking me dead in the eye. "Son, whatever you need, we are at your service!"

I glanced back at the roughly twelve train cars, then back at the stallion. "How many can this train hold?"

The stallion glanced at the cars, then back towards me. "About two-hundred comfortably. But we can make it work!"

I turned back towards Big Mac. "Mac? What's the population of Ponyville?"

"About three-hundred-an-fiddy!" Granny Smith answered as she held her sobbing granddaughter within her grasp. Big Mac nodded in agreement before ushering them onto the train and out of sight.

Dammit…

This was going to be a long day.

"I need to get back there. Stay here until I'm certain the town has been evacuated!" I requested from the rail worker. At his nod, I thanked him before turning towards the red apple farmer. "Mac, I'm headed back towards the town. I don't know how many trips this is going to take, but it's going to be a lot!"

"Wait!" the stallion shouted over his shoulder. "Ah'm commin' with yah!"

"Mac no!" his grandmother shouted before she moved faster than she probably had in years. The elder mare traversed down the steps of the train car and grabbed Mac by a leg and looked him square in the eye. "Ah forbid you!"

"But Granny, ponies need me!" he retaliated.

"Ah will not lose another member of this family!" she choked back a sob. "Ah buried yer father and yer mother… ah… ah ain't gonna bury you too!"

The stallion faced his grandmother, gingerly grasping her aging cheeks and giving her a loving look. "Pa, woulda' done the same, Granny. And you know it! Ponies are dyin'... I havta do this." He leaned forward and pecked the mare on the forehead.

The elderly mare shifted her worried gaze towards me. I could see the look in her eyes. If her grandson got hurt, my hide was on the line. "You better keep mah grandson safe, yah hear me!?"

I nodded. "Yes ma'am!"

"You promise?"

I glanced towards the stallion as he glanced at me with a hint of worry. "I'll keep him safe until we get back to the home. But he's on his own after that. I need to get back to the fight!"

She didn't seem to like that answer.

But her grandson cut her off before she spoke. "Granny… ah'll be fine."

Her lower lip quivered, tears rolling down her wrinkled face. "You come back to me yah hear? For the sake of yer sisters as well!"

"Ah will Granny!" His little sister came running out, sobbing and mumbling incoherently before she buried her face in her older brother's chest. He mumbled sweet and loving words into her mane before he pecked her on the top of the head and handing her off to her grandmother. "Ah'll be back!"

As he stood up, the stallion quickly hooked up to the cart and came after me. I turned and started running back towards the house, Mac hot on my heels as he followed my lead. The trees of the apple orchard raced past us as nothing more as blurs in this war, so insignificant, that they didn't warrant my attention. I could see the home through the trees, along with several ponies in the area.

And three Lancers herding them into a group!

I sped up, leaving the red stallion behind me as I opened my arms and tackled one of the Lancers to the ground. As I landed on top of him, I used my weight to pin him to the ground. I slapped his rifle out of his hand when her tried to fire on me then I palmed his helmet, pinning him fully to the ground. The second Lancer in the group turned to me and raised his rifle. He didn’t have time to fight when a massive red ball slammed into his side at full trot. The Lancer grunted with a spin, his rifle was knocked from his grip as it sailed through the air and out of reach. Coming full circle, the Lancer faced the stallion, drawing a Sheev dagger from behind his back.

Drawing my sword, I threw her with a grunt.

The sword impaled the Lancer in the side and threw him to the ground. I immediately turned my attention back to the Lancer underneath me. Yet again I opened my Venka and impaled the Lancer in the head. I heard a clicking noise behind me, followed by the remaining Lancer cursing at me. I glanced to the side to see if I could see him. The sounds of metal grinding filled the seemingly still air as I prepared to turn and strike the Lancer down. Just as I turned, Big Mac came barreling past me, sword in hand… er… well, mouth, I guess. Anyway, like a hot knife through butter, the stallion sliced through the grunt’s left leg, severing the limb at the knee. The grunt wailed in agony as the bleeding stub hit the dirt as he was forced to take a knee. Just to the side, Big Mac came to a sliding halt, rearing forward, the stallion bucked the Lancer in the helmet with all his might!

The flimsy metal helmet did nothing to protect the wearer as it caved in, crushing the poor bastards head within the metal.

The corpse swayed back and forth before finally falling to the side, impacting the ground with a meaty thud. Both of us stared at the body for several tense seconds before the stallion huffed and stepped past the body and dropped my sword.

“Thanks’ Mac,” I thanked.

“Don’t mention it… ever…” I could hear the anger, shame, and disgust in his deep tone of voice.

I knew how he felt. Killing someone for the first time has and will clearly leave a horrible taste in his mouth for the rest of his life.

“Mac?”

He spun on his heels and stared me down. “Ah said don’t!” he clenched his jaw at me, biting his tongue, thinking about his next word choice carefully. “I… Ah just killed somepony! Do you know how ah feel right now!? Ah feel sick tah my stomach!” I didn’t respond, opting to just listen and blink at him from behind my helmet.

“Believe me I know the feeling,” I admitted, glancing at the dead Lancer I had killed. For me, killing had become easy over the years. It’s not hard to put an excuse to each Grineer soldier I gun down. Just say that I was saving a life and leave it at that. To Mac though, he did it to protect me, nothing more. “Just try to focus on helping others. Don’t dwell on it.” Reaching down, I picked up my Skana and placed her back on my back while I approached the gathered group of ponies.

I immediately focused in on the flower trio. “Thank you, girls,” I thanked.

“We cleared every home from ours to the farm,” Roseluck told me.

I turned towards Mac as he and a few others were tending to the wounded. Some had head wounds, a few had cuts, others bullet wounds to various limbs and other areas. Many of them sobbed and wailed loudly due to the pain and the agony ensued on them. I knew for a fact that if some of them did not get medical help, they were going to die or suffer permanent injury or even succumb to their injuries.

“We’re going tah need a doctor,” Mac stated, stating the very thing that was on my mind.

“I know,” I replied as I looked around the group of twenty or so ponies. “Mac, keep ushering ponies toward the train, I’m going to make a push towards the hospital.” I drew my rifle and looked towards the active aerial battle happening in the skies. “I’ll be back as soon as I can with a doctor!”

With that, I headed back into the hot zone…