For your convenience, here is a map of the city in question.
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NOTE: Pay no attention to which faction controls which capture point. It does not correctly convey the story.

Applejack walked down a snow-crusted road, the city of Marelin now a burnt out shell of it's former glory. Now, with the addition of the neo-Ice Age, the snow only made it seem more gloomy. Hell, it was the whole reason for the goddamn war.

Starting in 2130, The planet spun out of control. The pegasi nor the goddesses could control it, the world dictating it's own weather. Soon it began to snow year-round, save for a few places along the equator, in which a sizeable portion of Equestria was located.

Equestria's two neighbors to the East, Ponyussia and Applekstan, were located in harsher climates; both had little room to grow the necessary food to survive. In an act of sheer desperation to stop their populations from starving together, they united under the Ponyussian-Applekstani Coalition, known as the PAC. From there, they launched a savage invasion into northeast Equestria in 2139.

Equestria was not renowned for it's military prowess. It was called an economic superpower for a reason. The only army Equestria even had were the militias in each province of the country.

Acting quickly, Princesses Luna and Celestia hastily unified these militias, pouring billions of bits into the war effort. Known as the Equestrian Union of Local Forces, or simply the EU, this poorly-trained fighting force suffered humiliating defeats.

Equestrians were strangers to war. Sure, they had heard about all the technological advancements that the government had bought for their defense. Firearms, combat armor, tanks, gunships, even the new-line battlewalkers and Titan Motherships. However, no one even contemplated them being put to use. They had sat in warehouses, hardly ever used.

As the war raged on, the EU suffered heavy losses, losing each city for thousands of dead ponies. Nevertheless they gained something important, knowledge. With a powerful economy at it's back, the oligarchic government could pour vast resources into its new-born war machine.

The EU began to learn to better drill and train it's soldiers. Command structure was updated, protocols started again from scratch. Officers and leaders attended the few military academies that began to appear. Factories would create tanks and battlewalkers, turning out hundreds a week. In Fillydelphia, research was spent on finding more effective weapons and systems.

By 2142, the EU was a tested, proven, and potent fighting force. Thanks to their die hard spirit and learn-on-the-run tendencies, the Equestrian nation quickly transitioned from fighting tariffs and trade policies, to fending off an invading army. It was time to avenge their losses, and it would start at Marelin.

-~-

As Applejack continued down the snowy, cracked and eroded road, she wondered how it came to this.

It was just a normal night in Ponyville. Or it was, until gunfire shredded through the night sky. Unknown at the time, the PAC had sent a raiding party deep within Equestria. It wasn't meant to do any real, substantial physical damage. No, it meant to hurt something far worse. They wanted to break the Equestrian's spirit, showing them that the PAC could hit them anywhere.

Applejack had just finished up a hard day of applebucking. Luckily the air wasn't too cold, and apples still grew. As Sweet Apple Acres came into view, a sweeping light came from down the road. It collided with the barn, exploding violently on contact. What little was left of the barn was up in flames, and all Applejack could do was lay on the ground and cry. She contemplated running to check if they were okay, but a logical certainty nagged at the back of her brain. For her whole family, there was no chance of living. She only hoped it had been quick.

Meanwhile, gunfire, explosions and screams ripped through the night. It lasted only for an hour, but that was all that was needed. Ponyville simply ceased to exist, reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble.

The next morning, Applejack picked her way through the debris, bodies and carnage towards the town square. It would be a wonder if any of them were alive.

Miraculously, all of them were. Rainbow Dash was in bad shape physically, trying to fight off a PAC soldier, before getting hit with shrapnel from an explosion. However, she said she'd live.

All of the others were in a state of mental disarray. They got to watch as their homes burned, their friends killed. With the exception of one pony, it was basically the same story for all of them. Fluttershy, on the other hand...

No one knew. Her cottage was still as pristine as ever, her animal friends shaken but alive. That was, until the yellow pegasus brought out a locket the next day and showed them a picture of her with Angel. There had been a few rumors about what had happened to the comical bunny, but they assumed Fluttershy was the only pony who knew the truth.

With anger brewing within them, they all decided to join the EU. Applejack initially suggested it, and it took no real persuasion to get the others to join. Big Macintosh kept talking about how he would sign up each year at the end of applebuck season, but smooth persuasion had kept him from doing so for years now. The EU didn't discriminate against gender, new war technology and studies proving that mares could fight as well as stallions.

Throughout boot-camp, their talents had been reviewed and special roles were assigned to each of them. Pinkie Pie and Rarity both ended up in desk positions. Their charisma and social skills were better used in logistics, morale upkeep, and the like. Neither of them had any real battle skills to offer, so the EU put them both to their greatest use.

Twilight made it into an academy, her scrutiny of battle plans and cool thinking granting her top marks as a commander. Quickly, she was taken out of boot-camp and placed with other cadets to learn the finer art of tactics and strategy. Her intuitive mind quickly grasped and expounded on what she learned, and it wasn't long before she was in command of an entire brigade of ponies.

Rainbow was quickly sent into training with helicopters, both the lethal gunship and the tactical air transport. Her ability to control the mechanical birds was sublime, to say the least. Too bad she couldn't perform sonic rainbooms in one either.

Fluttershy.... Well, she was mysterious. She disappeared after the first week of training, only returning very infrequently. Each time she returned, she appeared less and less like herself. She had grown thick-skinned, unfazed by anything. Her caring personality had grown harder than a rock, occasionally telling one of her friends that, “They didn't know anything.” When Fluttershy finally returned for good in the last week of basic training, she carried the largest rifle any of them had seen. From watching her in the range, she could hit anything from well over a mile. She hardly said goodbye before being deployed.

Applejack? Well, the long days spent repairing farm equipment and working with machines had given her a leg up towards the engineers. She was trained to repair the most complex military equipment in the heat of battle, from tanks and gunships to anti-armor railgun turrets. But that wasn't all, because she could also destroy such equipment as fast as she could repair them. Armed with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher and motion-activated mines, taking out ground machinery was her niche.

On top of that, her rugged character and tested common sense struck a chord with the drill sergeants. Upon deployment she would lead a squad of 5 other ponies, while her friends were split into their respective assignments. For them, their home was gone and there was no way they could go back. Too many bad memories, horrible visions awaited them there. It was almost like they were numb to their past selves, rage and emotion fueling their drive for revenge.

-~-

The bulky gray and orange combat armor shifted uncomfortably on Applejack. It was the heavier model, designed to take harder punishment. Her helmet was also a little small, pinching her ears uncomfortably. It covered her whole head and face to protect from shrapnel, but it certainly wasn't designed ergonomically. She had been wearing it for weeks now, only now it was going to be put to use.

Marelin was the first city in the EU's long awaited counterstrike. The PAC was preparing for weeks for this, and it didn't take a genius to tell how bad it was going to be.

“Hey Applejack,” A voice called from behind her, “What the hay are we doing in this place again?” Applejack looked back, a fully armored stallion trotting up to her side.

“Well, ah reckon ya din't listen the first time ah said it, Sunbeam” Applejack replied. Her voice sounded sketchy through her mask, her breath showing through the vents of her helmet. “Command wants us to be linkin' up with a few other squads an' take the town square.”

They both continued down the road. It was freezing outside, the weather well below zero degrees Faustenheit. The snow crunched under their hooves, their breath steaming out of of their masks. Applejack looked back, making sure her squad had formed up. They were all a good bunch of ponies, but they were still ponies and made mistakes... Regrettably more than most squads.

To her relief, everypony was there. There were three assault ponies, Miller, Heath and Haybale. Miller could also serve as a medic in a pinch, but to be honest, the EU medical training wasn't nearly as long as it should be.

The squads' reconnaissance pony, Obsidian, stayed towards the back. He was a little reclusive, but dependable nonetheless. Next to Applejack was Sunbeam, the team's support gunner. He was responsible for resupplying and providing cover for his squad. A machine gun was strapped to his back, which could quickly be attached to his foreleg, laying down suppressing fire in a heartbeat.

The EU combat armor has a docking station on each foreleg, which universally fit with most guns. With an inward twitch of a hoof the gun would fire, the recoil absorbed from the stock that rested against a pony's shoulder. The docking station could also be moved up and down, allowing a pony to run while a gun was still attached to their leg.

As the squad kept walking on, a dozen more ponies came into view. They were friendly, their orange shoulder plates giving them away. Applejack led her squad over to them, instantly spotting two other ponies with gold insignias on the right shoulder. They signified a squad leader, the ones who were placed a little higher up on the chain of command.

“Howdy,” Applejack greeted them, “Any word from command?” She'd seen them both around at camp earlier, but formal greetings were reserved for officers. Applejack didn't care much for ponies respecting her solely for her rank either.

“Applejack, right?” One of them asked. She sounded like a mare, but nopony could tell as her face was covered by her helmet. “Anyways, no word from command, although we should get a message soon.”

“Yep.” The other leader, obviously male by his deep voice, added in, “We've seen a few other teams set up along other roads, probably preparing to take other key points in the city.” He pointed at the destroyed skyscraper to their left.

“Well, that's just-” Applejack started to reply, but her voice was cut short by a voice over her intercom in her helmet.

“Sergeant Applejack, your squad and the rest of second platoon are to take control of the city square and hold it until reinforcements alive. Do you copy?” The sound of a assertive mare, albeit recorded, came through her radio channel.

Her helmet's Heads Up Display (Or HUD), which she had payed little attention to turning on, now automatically came to life. The HUD contained a mini map of the city, and from a large green dot that represented herself a translucent line ran from her to the edge of the map. At the edge, a small golden sword existed.

Applejack turned in it's direction, noticing it ran down towards the city square. “Ah copy, command.” She said into her microphone. Almost instantly, the translucent line on her map turned purple. It was time to go.

“Okay, colts an' fillies, let's get a move on!” Applejack said out loud. The other squad leaders looked as if they had received the same message, checking their weapons.

“Applejack,” The mare told her, “You and I will head down the right side of the street, towards the heart of the square.” She looked over at the stallion nearby, “And you will take your squad on the other side, flanking the packies from the side. Sound good?”

“Ah suppose.” Applejack replied, and the stallion simply nodded. She placed her submachine gun in the docking port of her right foreleg, clicking the safety off. Engineers weren't meant for taking on enemy infantry, but by no means were they defenseless if they had to fight back.

“Obsidian, you git on point!” Applejack snapped off the orders to her squad. “Sunbeam, you an' the rest form up behind me!” She quickly trotted down the side of the road, Obsidian leading just in front of her. The other squad followed her own, as they advanced down the road without a word.

Once more the snow began to fall, as nearly 20 orange armor-clad ponies came into view of the city square. It was a single monument, an obelisk-like structure jutting out of a raised platform, thick concrete walls surrounding it. It was in the middle of an intersection of two streets, Equestrian ponies coming in on it from the north.

Obsidian dove behind the rubble of a destroyed building, pushing his back up against it. Applejack skidded in next to him, lowering herself out of view. “What d'ya see Obs?” she asked.

Obsidian was peering over the edge of the debris, looking through his rifle's scope. “Half a dozen PAC on the monument's platform.” He said, his voice sounding quiet and composed, almost in a whisper. “There could be more around, but nothing says so.”

Applejack picked her head up just above her cover, looking at the monument's defenders. The PAC equipped their soldiers in a black armor, with spots of gray. Referred to as “Packies” by the EU, they were known for their stubborn attitude, often dying before the possibility of retreating reached their brains.

“Only six defenders? Ah dunno, something seems funny.” Applejack shrugged, “Well, we best be gettin' this over with. Orders are orders.” She looked back, the rest of the squad lined up against the remnants of a house. She waved her hoof, signaling them to set up alongside her and Obsidian.

The other ponies quickly crept up alongside them, checking their weapons one last time. Sunbeam rested his light machine gun along some rebar, aiming down its sights.

Applejack aimed her own submachine-gun out in front of her, “Obsidian, take one of em' out.”

“With pleasure.” He replied. Applejack frowned at the comment. She didn't enjoy killing other ponies, but rather seeing it as a necessity to perform her duty for the EU. If someone posed a threat to her, her friends, or Equestria, she wouldn't restrain in shooting at them; although taking pleasure in it wasn't included.

A lone shot rang out into the sky. One PAC soldier's head exploded, the rifle's bullet shredding through his helmet. A nearby pony let out a shout of surprise, turning it's head towards Applejack's squad. The soldier fired it's assault rifle at them, bullets ripping at the ground, whizzing past their heads.

Aiming her own weapon, Applejack fired a burst, the Turcotte Rapid SMG spraying bullets everywhere. She knew she was too far away to provide any real help, but the thought hadn't made it to her mind by the time she fired.

On cue, Sunbeam opened up with his machine gun, causing the enemy soldiers to duck under cover. Applejack looked over to her squad, most of whom were firing on the enemy. “Sunbeam, you keep 'em busy!” She called out, the support pony answering with a grunt.

“Miller and Haybale, you two are comin' with me!” She ordered, standing up. Applejack jumped over the debris, charging over to a pair of concrete roadblocks. The packies would take much longer to be eliminated if someone didn't get up close and personal.

She dove right behind cover, as a PAC pony got up and began spraying rounds at her. Haybale and Miller were on her heels, hiding behind the roadblock adjacent to her.

Applejack peered over the concrete slab, greeted by a few bullets screaming over her helmet. She dropped back down, her back pressed up against her cover. The pony had them pinned, a sticky situation that she'd prepared for. Close quarters were her element, excelling at it even in the beginning days of basic training.

Taking a deep breath, she checked her ammo. Her HUD read 20 bullets left in her magazine. It would do. “One... Two... Three!” She whispered to herself.

With a grunt, she twisted and popped up behind the roadblock. Quickly strafing to the side, she avoided a burst of fire that whizzed past her. Drawing her own weapon to her shoulder and aiming through her red dot sight, Applejack let loose a barrage of lead.

The enemy pony screamed, as four bullets shredded through his light armor and fragmented within his body. He slumped to the ground, spraying his assault rifle in the air as he went. As the orange earth pony continued charged forward, she heard the crunching of boots behind her. Miller and Haybale were following her lead.

Now only yards from the concrete walls surrounding the memorial, another PAC pony showed it's head. Without thinking, Applejack sprayed her gun towards the pony. The bullets missed but served their purpose, forcing him to duck behind the wall.

The squad leader hauled herself up against the wall. She looked back at Haybale and Miller, who were following her. Miller dove next to her, as Haybale fired her assault rifle before following suit.

Applejack loaded a fresh magazine, her HUD previously indicating only a few rounds left. “Listen up y'all.” A plan formulated in her mind, “Haybale, you cut around to the other side of these stairs here.” She pointed to the stairs to her left. “Miller, you get ready with that shotgun on the bottom o' your rifle, an' we'll both stack up on this side. Once ah throw this grenade on the platform, we'll rush in.”

She looked back, and both ponies nodded. Motioning for Haybale to go, the stallion raced past the small stairs that led up on the platform. Leaning against the wall, he nodded to Applejack.

Applejack planted her leg along her chest, a grenade clicking into the docking port on her left foreleg. Twitching her hoof inward like firing her gun, little lights along the grenade flashed red, indicating it was now armed. The earth pony lobbed the cylindrical grenade over her head, clearing the wall.

'One one-thousand... Two one-thousand-' She counted in her mind, rewarded by a large explosion. It shook the ground under their hooves, accompanied by a scream of pain.

Haybale rushed around the corner and up the stairs, Applejack hard on his heels. The wall formed a ring around the monument, with Haybale and Miller rotating around in one direction. Applejack went around the wall opposite to them.

One PAC pony heard Applejack coming, turning around to face her. He didn't get much farther than that, the mare cutting him down where he stood. He fell to the ground, several holes in his armor steaming as the heat and sweat condensed on contact with the cold air.

Stepping over the body, she continued her cautious advance around the monument. Around her, she could hear the sounds of gunfire. A pony screamed in pain as a shotgun blast ripped through morning's dawn.

As she came up towards the last part of the circular wall, a lone PAC soldier was hiding behind a barrel, perpendicular from Applejack. Obviously, the pony was taking cover from Haybale and Miller, who were on the other side.

The pony looked up, seeing Applejack in plain view. Applejack motioned to fire, only to hear a despairing
*Click!*.

'Horseapples! Why the hay does this piece of crap have to jam now!?' She thought frantically, looking around for cover. To her dismay, she was in the open with no real cover nearby. Instinctively, she slapped her left foreleg along her flank, rewarded with a sharp click.

She pulled the blade from its sheath, holding it out menacingly in front of her. Applejack didn't like the idea of having to resort to crudely killing a pony with a knife, but it was either that or getting gunned down.

Applejack was about to spring forward, as her hostile enemy stood up and pointed it's gun at her. Then a boom roared out from behind the monument, its origin obscured from her view. The PAC soldier was flung against the wall, it's rifle flying from it's grasp. As the body came to rest along the ground, it was visible that the pony's two forelegs were completely gone. Blood was beginning to pool on the platform.

Applejack rounded the corner in curiosity, greeted by Miller. She ejected a steaming shotgun shell, pumping the shotgun attachment on the underside of her rifle. “Well, that looks like all of 'em, eh AJ?” She asked, her voice coming through raspy from her helmet's audio.

“Ah reckon so,” The Applejack replied, breathing heavily. Adrenaline was still rushing through her veins, pushing her heart levels to the limit. Close calls like that did not forget themselves easily.

She sheathed her knife, freeing her left foreleg. “Now, all we have to do is sit tight till the others show up.” She looked over to Haybale, who had shoved the dead PAC pony over the wall. “Haybale, tell the others to git themselves over here.” She was responded with a curt nod.

As he trotted off the platform to retrieve the others, Applejack took the time to clear the jam from her gun. After a few minutes of work, the gun was back in working order, although her HUD showed only half a magazine left.

She ejected the old mag, replacing it with a fresh new one. The ammo count on her HUD flashed white, it's number rising back up to 26. Her mini map showed two blue circles coming up behind her. They were friendly, just not in her squad.

She turned around, seeing that it was the two other squad leaders she had talked to earlier. “Hullo!” Applejack called out, snapping her submachine-gun into place along her right hip.

“Hi.” replied the mare, while the stallion simply grunted in acknowledgment. “Thanks for clearing out the square for us. I don't think any of us could have done it better, and thank Celestia we didn't lose anyone.”

“Aww shucks,” Applejack replied, flustered. She was glad she had a helmet on, to hide her blushing. “It wasn't just me that did it, the others did a mighty fine job, too.”

“Indeed.” the stallion jutted in hastily, “Either way, we have to prepare for a counter assault. They certainly had enough time to call for help.”

Applejack nodded in agreement. His logic made sense, and it was guaranteed that the PAC would hit back hard before EU reinforcements could get their asses in gear.

“My squad is going to be setting up over there.” the stallion continued on, pointing towards one end of the intersection. As he did, several blue dots appeared on her HUD, making their way over to where he had indicated. The spot was out in the open, besides a destroyed wall flanking the street.

“Meanwhile, I'll be setting up on the other side of the intersection.” The mare added. Her location was much more covered, with more debris and obstacles in the way. “You can sit back here along the monument and provide support. You've done more than your share of work today.”

Normally, the orange earth pony would be offended if somepony told her to sit back while others did the majority of the work. But, the adrenaline was quickly beginning to fade, a wave of exhaustion streaming over her. The fall from her energy-high had left her legs wobbling, and she admitted she could use a breather.

“That sounds alright, ah suppose.” Applejack said. The two ponies nodded curtly, before trotting off to their respective squads. Applejack turned around, noticing the rest of her squad had caught up to her. “Howdy yall,” she greeted them.

“Nice work there, Sarge,” Sunbeam called out, “Where'd you learn to dash around like that?” He walked up to the wall surrounding the monument, resting his Bianchi LMG along it's crest.

“Now, ah told ya not to use them fancy rank terms on me.” Applejack glared at him, “Besides, ah used to win the barrel lead each n' every year at the state rodeo, not meanin' ta brag.” She turned to Obsidian, who was waiting nearby.

“Obs, go find yerself a nice perch to keep watch from.” She changed the subject. Applejack scanned the tops of nearby buildings. “Go try that un' over there, ah think there was a ladder leadin' to the roof.” She pointed at a small commercial building with a small balcony.

Obsidian left without a sound, leaving Miller, Haybale and Heath unaccounted for. “You three, you can jus' find somewhere comfy to hole up in. Ah wouldn't put it past the Pee-Ayy-See to be back for more.” Applejack put emphasis on the abbreviated letters, scorn in her voice. She may have respected them as an enemy, but that didn't stop her from expressing her pent-up fury at them.

They nodded, going off in separate ways amongst the walls of the square's monument.

“Finally.” Applejack sighed, looking over to Sunbeam who was set up nearby, “Let's just hope that the packies know what's good fer 'em and don't come back.”

“I wouldn't plan on it.” Sunbeam replied grimly. “It's too quiet, too unlike the PAC to weakly defend this crucial location.”

“To be completely honest, ya scare me Sunbeam.” Applejack said, exhaling deeply, “'Cuz you always say what I ain't wantin' to.”

Sunbeam said nothing, instead dropping a small, metallic box on the floor. It was a resupply hub, a mobile cache of spare ammunition and grenades. Applejack rummaged through it, retrieving a few spare magazines for her sidearm, and an extra grenade.

As she looked up over the wall again, she began to fell the ground shake. Up ahead, a snowy cloud was forming along the road that the stallion's squad guarded. Hydraulics whined and gears turned as the cloud got closer and closer.

The ground shook fiercer as it got closer, pounding in rhythmic succession. Applejack gulped, hoping the fear growing in the back of her head was wrong. Could they stop it? Sure. Would it hurt? Certainly.

Suddenly the ground stopped shaking, the robotic sounds ceased. As the snowy veil fell, it confirmed her thoughts. At the foot of the intersection was a 20 foot tall war monster. Standing upon two robotic legs was a massive rotating turret, two cannons jutting out from it's center. On top of the turret resided a smaller machine gun, although it was still potent to infantry like herself.

The mechanical beast stood there for a second, almost as if letting the awesome sight set in to the EU soldiers. Then with a hiss of hydraulic-power, the main turret rotated, its twin cannons aiming directly at the stallion squad leader.

'Horsefeathers.' Applejack thought. For the stallion she never got to really meet, his fate was sealed. There was nothing she could do for him, and undoubtedly he wasn't going to be the only pony to die before the battlewalker would fall. Things were going to get messy.

Next Chapter: The Count Begins Estimated time remaining: 41 Minutes