"Iron Will has a friend staying here." He slammed a meaty hand on the counter. "And he isn't taking no for an answer!"

The innkeeper/bartender hiked a furry brow at his fellow bull. "Does he have a name?"

"You'd know him if you saw him. Coughing up a storm?"

"That describes a few people." The innkeeper shrugged softly. "Whatever, they're taking up my rooms. Are you here to take them away?"

"Iron Will will take him off your hands." He slammed his hands together with a great thud. "Can't believe he'd be so rude. Iron Will won't accept this! Where to?"

With a grunt of annoyance, the innkeeper pointed down the hallway before slapping down a key. "Third on the left."

Iron will went to retrieve a spy.

Starlight groaned as she reached out a hoof, but it was impeded by something. A blanket, she realized. She was in a bed, tucked in nice and warm. It was in the way of her movement and she grumbled irritably. She cracked open an eye and immediately closed it again. The light seemed so bright!

"Turn it off," she mumbled as she started to sit up, but only got a few inches before she fell back on her pillow, her head throbbing in agony. "Ugh..." Maybe she had used a bit too much magic...

"Are you awake?" A man strode into the room, the door closing gently behind him. "I admit, unicorns are not my specialty."

Starlight dared to crack open an eye. There was a human dressed as one might expect a doctor. She cracked a little smile. "Tell me you took care of Twilight," she got out slowly, not daring to sit up again.

"The pony with you? Yes... She lost a lot of blood... I hope you will forgive me."

Starlight was suddenly sitting up despite the agony her entire body reported from the act. "She's not!"

He set a hand gently behind her back with one hand, another softly pushing her back down. "She's fine. You're the one I must apologize to. Ponies don't have blood types, I checked. At least no averse reaction from one to the next. You were the only pony here, and we had no time, and we were out of options. What I did was entirely unreasonably, and if you press it, I would have little defense, but--"

"--Please stop... Just say what you did." Starlight sank back onto her pillow, eyes closing. "Tell me she's alright."

"She's resting, and alive. I borrowed a good portion of your blood."

Starlight quirked an ear. "Is that part of why I feel as bad as I do?"

"Likely."

Starlight slowly exhaled, chest deflating. "If it helped keep Twilight around, then you're forgiven, Doc."

"You're very lucky." He pulled a chair up beside her bed. "In humans, doing that would be basically assuring the receiver would have a thousand complications. Our immune systems are very particular and would reject the alien blood immediately."

"Yeah?" She lifted an ear, but that was the only part of her she felt like moving at that moment. "But not with ponies, I gather."

"I've been keeping an eye on her, but she's recovering. I cleaned her wound, removed the bullet, and it's just a matter of time. She should awaken when she's ready."

"Bring her." Starlight managed a little smile. "I'd rather suffer with company. I mean... when it's safe."

"Which isn't now," he easily agreed, standing up. "For now, here." He set a remote just beside her. "You're welcome to watch something, and I'll let them know to start bringing you food during meal times."

And there Starlight was left to rest and recover.

"You hear that?" Lucky, the codename Hoku had thought up, was looking around. "Tell me that's what I think it is."

Hawkeye nodded, looking far more directly southwards. "Planes."

All three of them squinted through the gloom, but they could hear it. Jets, coming in hot and fast. The beach defenses had been reduced to rubble, and with it, the way was clear for backup from the air to arrive.

Spotlights came to life as a great rotored vehicle got into position over the conflict, making the battle easier to see. With the sharp report of automated fire, the beleaguered American infantry was finally given a reprieve.

While his squaddies cheered on the sudden attack on their enemies, Hoku was scowling. While enemy positions were being scattered, there were too few American movements on the ground. How badly had they been pounded? He pulled up and out of the ditch they were hiding in. "Time clean up." The others emerged with him, the fox trailing behind.

There was far too little movement of the infantry to harry or chase after the withdrawing enemy forces. Hoku led his unit in at a slow pace, eyes darting for signs of trouble.

"Private Hoku!" There, an officer, looking directly at Hoku and his allies. "You're still breathing!"

"They try stop that." Hoku saluted sharply. "We defend front."

"You did..." He looked off in the direction Hoku had come from, scowling. "We were inching that way, expecting to hit more combatants the entire time.

Hawkeye stood at stiff attention. "Pardon the language, but we fought like god-damned devils, Sir."

Lucky laughed. "More like we fought as if the devils were comin' for us, and they were!"

The captain nodded to each of them, but his vision was sliding past them, to the fox that was trying really hard to be small. "Who or what is that?"

Hoku gestured to the fox. "Prisoner. Surrender. Smart."

"Y-yes, Sir," piped the Fox. "Um, that's me... rather alive and captured... Um... I hope? You aren't going to do horrible things to me, right?"

"That depends a little on how cooperative you are." The captain turned his full attention on Hoku. "I have to help gather who's still standing. You do the same. Anyone too hurt to walk, get them to medical yourself."

The fox raised a hand as best he could, having to raise both behind his back. "I'll help?" The captain gave him a withering look. "I'd... rather be helpful to the people what could do mean things to me, Sir."

With the sound of slowing rotors, the great helicopter-like craft landed nearby, disgorging new souls to help with the effort, but they didn't move very far from the craft except one that hurried down the hill towards the rest of them. "Get your sickest, especially bleeders, on board. We're pulling out."

The captain and Hoku looked to the new man with equal surprise. "Orders from the top. A ground war's too bloody expensive. With the beach defenses down, we can isolate them. Don't ask me for specifics, I'm not the brass." He hiked a thumb for the great chopper. "More's inbound to get the rest of you, but prioritize the wounded for now."

"Are you going to America?" Eyes turned to the fox. "I was... kind of curious about it... Do they really have, I mean... Um... so... not monsters, maybe, or are monsters, and I'm just digging my grave with every word?" He laughed nervously, tail twitching with obvious agitation.

Lucky elbowed the fox lightly. "I expect we'll be last, seeing as we have all our parts in order."

The captain nodded as he turned away. "Right. Help those who need help evac as quickly as possible. Seems this deployment is ending sooner than expected."

In the seas, the flurry of aquatic attacks seemed to be slowing. With the TSDI forces forced to attempt to defend the minotaur's homeland, civilian ships were left to a modicum of peace, sailing the waters without military boats threatening or firing on them.

At least until the fish folk, the pisces, joined the frey. Incensed at the sudden use of such terrible weapons, they threw themselves from the waves, turning what seemed like still waters into effective attacks on boats ill-equipped to deal with them.

On the bright side, they seemed perfectly content to stop a ship and relieve it of cargo. The ship and its crew were left intact, making them more of a pirate menace than a full-on military strike as had been happening. They were stopping commerce and slowing things down, which they felt was good enough to lend a helping hand to the TSDI that they had begun to see as the underdogs in the exchange.

The president addressed the nation. While it was televised, of course, it was also written down and printed and distributed far and wide. His message had to reach everyone, and much of the world would not be watching him live.

"This war must end," Rason declared firmly. "We began it, thinking we were fighting the TSDI, but it has become clear that it is not the TSDI that we should be facing." He gestured behind himself at the image of Commander Power. "This man has seized control of his nation, stolen it from his people. He has toppled one of the few democracies we shared this world with and replaced it with a bloody dictatorship. Not with the love and attention of our allied monarchs, but as a ruthless military commander that will stop at nothing to expand his sphere of influence."

"I do not propose we lay down our arms, but I am willing to do so. If the Minotaur Council approaches me, sending their President of Foreign Affairs, I will offer them terms for our surrender, but this will not happen. The minotaurs are victims, just as we were, and we will save them from a bull mad enough to detonate a nuclear bomb on his own soil. For the sake of democracy itself, we will liberate our fellow people and return to them a government made by them and for them." He gestured emphatically as he spoke, sweeping over the crowd that stood before him.

"We will not abide the rise of a new Russia. There will be no cold war. We know the one responsible, and we will remove him from power. Members of the TSDI, if you see this, if you get the printed version of this, know that our hand is still out. Join us in freeing the minotaurs, the founding nation of your collective. Do as you promised to do and help them. It is time we turned our attention on the real threat here."

The crowd cheered. It was lovely having one specific person to focus their hate on. It was so rare to have one specific person to blame for all of their trouble, but there he was, all trussed up and ready for the frustration of the crowd. The American people wanted steak for dinner, and they knew just what bull needed to visit the slaughterhouse to make that happen.

Chrysalis scowled at the image. "You weren't supposed to figure it out that quickly..." She threw her remote, clutched in her magic. Propelled in green force, it destroyed the helpless television, sparks dancing in its death throes.

"At least..." She still had her hidden ace. "Poor fools have no idea they're already under my control..." It was time to activate her sleeper agent. "Time to do what I put you there to do." She rose to her hooves and strode for the exit with a sly smile on her snout. "'President Rason', you will deliver to my deserving hooves America on a silver platter, and the rest of the world will tremble before me."

Sure, the war was not yet over, not by far. The way she had ratcheted things, many TSDI forces would fight to the last, trying to keep America free. Their pleas would just sound like the ravings of a bloodthirsty conqueror making light of their enemies. They would fight, and America would win, not as weakened as she had hoped. That was alright...

She wouldn't crush it. She would simply take it for herself. The land of the free. "It is to laugh."

Author's Notes:

Chrysalis' plans are crumbling, but she has backups, yo! Hold my beer, gonna take over this world.

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