Ponyville, Castle of Friendship
Around Eight PM
====

"Well, how was dinner?" asked Twilight Sparkle, as she used her magic to levitate several dirty dishes into the kitchen across from the dining room she and her friends occupied.

"Pretty good." Applejack replied. "You've gotten better at cooking, Twi. I can tell."

"Agreed." Rarity added. "And I must add that it was quite filling."

Twilight waved her hoof in thanks, though she blushed in embarrassment. As the other Element Bearers began to help clean up, they didn't notice a small object outside fly in through the window. The object, a small quadrotor drone, maneuvered up towards the top of the room and anchored itself in place, beginning to stream its mounted camera feed to an unknown operator.

The Elements were oblivious to the drone's presence for a few reasons. One was that it was completely soundless and motionless on the ceiling, due to an optical cloak. The other was that the dinner dishes were well underway.

That is, until Rainbow heard the faint mechanical whirr of the camera lens focusing on them from the doorway.

"You hear that?" she said out loud.

"What?" Fluttershy asked.

"I heard something. And it came from above us." Rainbow hummed. "Sounded like a whine or something."

"Well, the fruit bats have been moving out of the orchard for the winter." Applejack suggested. "Maybe one got inside the dining room."

"I'll go check." Rainbow said, grabbing a nearby broom in case of trouble. As her eyes swept through the dining room, she heard the whirr once again, this time from above her. As she looked up, she could faintly see a small red light. Reaching with the broom, she swiped at whatever it was.

The drone decloaked as it fell to the ground, remotely deactivated. As the other Elements came in at hearing the noise, their eyebrows raised as one upon seeing the drone.

"That's not a fruit bat." Applejack said.

"Definitely not a fruit bat." Twilight said, picking the drone up and eyeing the markings on it. Not only was there writing on it, but a logo of a scroll with a sword through it. The text was in Equish, though more fine and almost tough to read.

SKELL TECH - UAV-X1

"Skell Tech? What's that?" Pinkie asked.

"It's a corporation, Pinkie. I've heard about them from Sunset in the human world." Twilight said. "Jace Skell is one of the biggest technological kingpins in their world. From what Sunset could tell, his custom-designed drones and robots are primarily used for military and scientific purposes, but some can be used by people with a good controller and enough know-how to use one. They're state-of-the-art in their world."

"Then why's this one here?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know." Twilight asked. "It's still a day or two before the portal opens, and this drone isn't one I've seen or read about before. It also looks like it's been modified."

"Modified?" Rarity asked.

"There's some kind of thing here that I don't recognize." Twilight said, seeing the two prongs on the underside. "It looks like it's charged with electricity…"

Before anyone could react, there was a crack of sound. As the drone's stun coil sent a blast of targeted electricity into each of the Element Bearers, enough to knock them unconscious but not harm them otherwise, they fell to the floor.

The last thing Twilight Sparkle saw were several humans in black, red, and yellow surround and restrain them before she blacked out.

====

As the humans secured their targets, two of them pulled out a laptop and hastily powered it up, activating a secure radio connection.

"Mother Den, do you read?" one spoke in accented English.

"This is Mother Den. Are the targets secure?" a distorted voice replied.

"Yes, moving to exfil now." the soldier replied.

"Good. The Extranjeros will meet you at the rally point. Keep yourselves out of sight. Do not lose the targets, or you will suffer the consequences."

"Understood. Strike team out."

As the soldiers activated their Night Vision optics and left the castle after retrieving the drone and carrying the Elements with them, they made their way towards the Everfree forest and the mountain range beyond.

It didn't take long for the soldiers to be greeted by a set of trucks armed with mounted machine guns to arrive and pick them up. They stowed the Elements in a sealed container and drove off towards the mountains.

Once they reached the mountainside, they moved towards a particular cliff face and pulled aside a holographic canopy. As they entered the mineshaft and sealed the entrance, the soldiers descended into the dark, the Elements with them.

====
The Next Morning
====

Once the news spread through Ponyville via a panicked Spike that each of the Element Bearers were gone, the populace sent an immediate SOS to Princess Celestia.

And it wasn't long after that when five Solar Guard Platoons descended, along with Princesses Celesita and Luna.

"Anything to report?" Celestia asked a Lieutenant, who sighed.

"There's no sign of a struggle, but there are burns of the floor of the dining room consistent with lightning or electrical energy. Plus, several locked windows were forced open, with no evidence as to how."

Celestia furrowed her brow.

"Secure a perimeter around the castle." she finally ordered. "I will see for myself what happened."

As the guards nodded and set up defensive posts, Celestia entered the dining room and summoned her magic. Lately, she had learned that the Castle came with a unique security feature. Whenever someone trespassed inside of it with evil intent, a sort of recording would follow them and monitor their every move until they left. The spell to view such recordings was only known to Celestia, who hadn't told Twilight about it due to her probable reaction.

As the recording played in Celestia's mind, she saw the events of the previous night...and the humans who had entered. Giving off a mix of a growl and a sigh of anger, she again summoned her magic and opened a portal to a realm she used to store a particular object.

It was a human-made cell phone. As Celestia pressed a few buttons and sighed, the phone rang once before a voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Samuel Michaels?" she asked.

"Princess?" the voice replied. "I wasn't expecting a call from you so soon."

"Neither was I." she replied, moving out of earshot and into a side room. "I understand your hesitancy to speak with me again, but there has been a troubling development here in Equestria that concerns your world."

"...go on."

Celestia explained the situation, and sighed once she had finished.

"...I see." the man replied. "We'll handle this, Princess. I'll have units on your side within a few hours. If humans really have made it to your world...it means trouble."

"Indeed." Celestia replied. "I will open the portal once you are ready. One question, however."

"Shoot."

"Who are you sending to aid us?" she asked. "You do realize that have my reservations about your intelligence agencies being here?"

"I'm not sending the CIA or any unit you've heard of." the man replied. "I'm sending the Ghosts."

"And who are they?" Celestia asked.

"You'll see once we reach your end. I'll call you when we're ready. POTUS out."

As Celestia hung up and stored the phone again, she headed into Twilight's basement and towards the now-active Mirror Portal.

====
Earth, United States, Washington DC
The White House, Central Command Room
====

As Samuel Michaels, President of the United States, entered the room alongside the Secret Service, Vice President Thames, and a few Generals, the room jumped to salute.

"At ease." the President said. "Call Fort Bragg, get Lt. Colonel Mitchell on the line. Tell him I need the Ghosts immediately."

"Yes, sir." an ensign said, typing into the computer as the image of Lt. Colonel Scott Mitchell, leader of the 5th Special Forces Group, better known as Ghost Recon, appeared on the screen.

"Lt. Colonel." Michaels said. "What teams do you have available?"

"Three, sir." Mitchell replied. "Callsigns are Aegis, Hunter, and Patriot. They're en route to Fort Bragg now from additional training in Colorado."

"Good work." Michaels said. "Have them ready within the hour. POTUS out."

As Mitchell nodded and ended the connection, Michaels sighed and brought his retinue to a conference room nearby, where they sat down.

"So, the Equestrians finally called?" asked Vice President Thames.

"Yes." Michaels confirmed. "Celestia just alerted me that one of the Princesses there has been kidnapped, along with five others. Catch is, the attackers were human."

"God damn." said General Anderson. "And I thought the coverup for the Canter City Incident was trouble enough."

"I agree, Anderson, but we have more pressing problems." Michaels said. "I want those three Ghost teams on the ground in Equestria within three hours with backup ready if needed. Have Lt. Colonel Mitchell come as well. I have a feeling we'll need his experience."

"I'll notify them now." Anderson said as he and the other two Generals left to relay the President's orders. Michaels sighed and wiped some sweat from him brow, pouring himself a glass of water from a nearby cooler.

"Thames, when we made First Contact with the Equestrians during the Incident, I was praying that we'd make it out in one piece." Michaels groaned. "Now, I'm starting to think that we'll need a lot more than just prayers to make it through this one."

"Hear, hear." Thames replied. "What now?"

Michaels stood up and pulled out a cell phone.

"Now, I need to make a phone call. Tell her that we're coming, and to make sure we've got proper support in place. Thames?"

"Right behind you."

As the two men reentered the Command Room, Michaels sighed, steeling himself for what would come next.

Yeah, I like this concept a lot more than the previous story I had up.

And just an FYI, this will feature concepts from Future Soldier, Wildlands, and Breakpoint, though it is primarily a crossover with Future Soldier in terms of setting and technology.

Dry. Twilight Sparkle's mouth feeling dry was the first thing she noticed. As she slowly came to her senses, her vision cleared in the time of a few seconds. As she struggled to stand up, she realized her hooves and legs were bound with cable ties, and something not in sight was nullifying her magic. She and her still-sleeping friends were inside a modified storage room, evident by the metal crates bearing the sigil of a wolf in red or a strange feline beast in yellow.

As she struggled further to break free, a voice with a Stalliongrad-sounding accent spoke up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, little pony."

She looked up to see the last thing she expected to see in clear view in front of her. A human wearing military garb colored brown and red, with some black-colored equipment, stood over her carrying a gun, an AK-12.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What's going on? Where are we"

"You are in no position to ask questions, pony." the human replied. "You are a prisoner of the Bodarks. Be quiet."

"Like Tartarus I'll be quiet!" Twilight retorted, only to be met by a stun gun to the back, which silenced her argument then and there.

"As I said, be quiet." the "Bodark" replied. "Commander will see you soon. I would sleep, you'll need it."

As the Bodark departed, Twilight growled and cursed under her breath and struggled to break free, only to realize now that her wings were bound to her sides. Swearing again, this time a bit louder, she thrashed about trying to break free.

Only for a door to open and another being to speak in a toned, dark voice.

"You're wasting your time, Princess. You'll only make things worse for you and your friends."

She moved around to see a pony in a cloak and wearing a mask etched with claw marks stare back at her. A pistol lay in a holster at his side, and he leaned back in a metal folding chair.

"Who are you?" she demanded again.

"Who I am is not important." the pony replied. "However, I am known as the Scarred One to the Bodarks and Extranjeros in my employ."

"You mean the humans?" Twilight shot back.

"Ah, yes." the Scarred one replied. "They are soldiers and mercenaries, and some of the finest I have seen. But that is beside the point. I kidnapped you and the Element Bearers because I intend to tell you something that will shake your core."

"Try me."

"Equestria is not the realm you think it is." the Scarred One sighed wistfully, as if remembering a dear figment of the past. "I once believed like you do, that Equestria will be a realm of peace and harmony forever. That is all a lie. When I went to war once, it changed me to who I am now. Tell me, Princess, do you know the reason that we ponies haven't fought a war in over 1000 years?"

Twilight was taken aback as she struggled to answer. Then, the Scarred One smiled.

"It was because of me." he said quietly. "I gave Equestria everything and gained only death and scars in return. Now, I will return the favor. When the Equestrians come to rescue you, they will be slaughtered like lambs to the knife. Then, I will show this realm the true ways of war."

The Scarred One left the room without another word. At this, Twilight's friends began to wake and struggle at their own bonds. After Twilight gave them a rough explanation of what she knew, Rainbow spat at the ground.

"When I get my hooves on this psycho, I'll tear him apart!" she said angrily, thrashing about.

"Just calm down, Rainbow." Rarity said quietly. "We'll be rescued soon, I know it."

"Hopefully." Applejack replied. "Let's just wait and see."

====
United States airspace, Massachusetts
USAF C-130, callsign "Emissary".
====

As the massive plane flew over the land and towards Boston, Lt. Colonel Scott Mitchell stood in the ops center of the plane, looking down at the three Ghost teams assigned to the operation he was to lead, "Avalon Shield", if he remembered right.

First up in the roster was Patriot Team, led by "Nomad". They were fresh from wrap-up ops in Bolivia for Operation Kingslayer. Midas, Holt, and Weaver were currently deep in conversation, while Nomad was browsing on an MRT tablet.

Next was Hunter Team, led by Cedric Ferguson. They had taken down the Raven's Rock druzhina, and were returning from eliminating its leadership. Kozak, 30k, and Pepper were checking their weapons while Hunter Lead slept.

Finally came Aegis Team, led by Matthew Gates, or Castle Lead. They were a veteran unit, with several successful operations under their belt. Its members, Domino, Skate, and Ivy, or Thomas Sipes, James Trevor, and Caleb Adams, were looking over the mission briefing from the Oval Office.

Mitchell sighed and thought back to the briefing the President had given him and all three teams regarding a matter of the highest importance to national security. Apparently the Us Government had made first contact a few months ago at what was referred to as the "Canter City incident", and now the race they contacted was calling for help.

And the Ghosts would be the help that the US was sending. They were taking with them an armory's worth of weapons, tech, and ammo, several recon and assault drones, packs of explosives and other supplies…

Yeah, they weren't going to be back on Earth anytime soon with all the things they were bringing with them. Mitchell rolled his eyes and returned to the main area of the C130, and tapped into the radio.

"Pilot, ETA?" he asked.

"Five minutes out, sir." the Pilot replied. "We'll be landing at Fort McConnell, the President's waiting for us there."

"Copy that."

Mitchell returned to the passenger area, and slammed the frame three times, signalling "Get ready" to the Ghost teams, who gave three thumbs-ups in reply. As the plane descended and began to land, Mitchell watched the Ghosts form lines behind him.

"Sir?" Kozak asked. "We're ready to go."

"Then let's get this done." Mitchell said as the ramp lowered and the Ghosts disembarked. Waiting for them was President Michaels, several Secret Service Agents, and several engineers.

"Welcome to Fort McConnell, gentlemen." the President said. "We've made and sent the necessary overtures. The portal to our contacts's home realm should be opening soon. I trust that you've all read the briefing package?"

"Yes, sir." Mitchell replied. "All teams are good to go."

"Then let's move." Michaels said as they were escorted towards an open area filled with supplies. As they approached, a glowing white vortex appeared in the middle of the field. The President stood to the side as Mitchell, Patriot, Hunter, and Aegis teams entered, followed by the crates of supplies.

Michaels then pulled out a cell phone and redialed Celestia's number.

"Princess, the Ghosts are on their way. Expect their arrival soon."

====

As Celestia exited Twilight's Castle and headed to an isolated part of town, she reopened the portal in front of her. As the white vortex appeared, thirteen humans tumbled out, twelve of them in combat gear.

"Princess Celestia, I presume?" one of them asked, the only one without combat gear.

"Indeed." she said. "Welcome to Equestria, Mr…"

"Lt. Colonel Scott Mitchell. Leader and CO of the US Army 5th Special Forces Group, better known as Ghost Recon." Mitchell said. "These are Ghost Teams Patriot, Hunter, and Aegis."

"Well met." Celestia said. "Follow me, so I may begin introductions to the Guard Staff here. I also presume you want command of my Guards for a time?"

"If that's necessary." Mitchell said as they entered Ponyville, causing all the residents and Guards to freeze. Celestia cleared her throat and spoke.

"Stand down." she ordered. "These beings came to help us, and I expect them to be treated with the same respect you would accord to me. Lt. Colonel?"

Mitchell came forward and eyed the Guards with a raised eyebrow.

"These are Lieutenants Sharp, Kicker, and Broadside." Celestia said as the Guard Lieutenants came forward. "You are now under Lt. Colonel Mitchell's command, for now. Take his orders as if they were my own."

"Yes, Princess." Kicker said. "But I don't understand what's going on."

"Neither do we." Mitchell said to the Pony, who flinched. "But we're here to help, and that's what matters. I need a complete situation report of what happened and what we're up against ASAP. I also need those willing to unload supplies that we brought with us. Everyone else in the Guard, prepare for combat. Ghost Teams, stay here and direct their efforts."

"Yes, sir!" Gates said. "You heard him, let's move!"

As the Guardsponies slowly began following Mitchell's instructions, the Ghost Teams split up to begin directing them, not noticing a Skell Tech Stealth UAV watching them.

Update!

As the Royal Guards, being supervised and directed by a Ghost member or two, began sorting through the armory's worth of equipment, Lt. Colonel Scott Mitchell moved towards Princess Celestia.

"What is it?" the Solar Princess asked.

"I have a few questions, if you're able to answer." Mitchell replied. "How exactly did you contact Earth and President Michaels?"

Celestia gave a sigh and replied.

"You may want to sit down for this, Lt. Colonel."

Mitchell took a seat on a munitions crate as Celestia spoke.

"About six months ago, in Canter City, Massachusetts, a magical event opened portals across the grounds of the local High School, where my former student attends. That is a story for another time, however. When the event was stopped and the portals closed, we presumed it would be the end of it."

"We were wrong." Celestia continued. "One of the portals didn't close properly, and reopened inside the White House, in the "Oval Office". Somehow, while I was attempting to close it, I came face to face with your President."

"And what happened after that?"

"We both decided that it would be the best option to exchange a method of communication, but nothing more for the moment." Celestia spoke. "He gave me a cell phone with his personal number on it, and I said if I ever needed his or his nation's aid, I would call. Otherwise, there was to be no contact between our realms until that time."

"I see." Mitchell frowned. "Why did you call us now, then?"

"Because the attackers that kidnapped the Elements were human." Celestia said. "I have identified two separate marks on their attire that we can use to identify them."

"Show me."

Celestia summoned a holographic image of the Bodark wolf's head and the Extranjeros' Jaguar seal. Mitchell growled as he recognized them and what they stood for.

"I believe I know who we're dealing with." Mitchell said. "First are the Bodarks, or the ones with the wolf patch. They're elite special forces from a nation on Earth known as Russia. They supported a criminal group called Raven's Rock when they staged a coup there. With our assistance, Raven's Rock was dismantled, and we assumed the Bodarks went with it."

"As for the Extranjeros, they're from various countries in South America. When a Ghost Team toppled the drug cartel-established Santa Blanca government in Bolivia, the Extranjeros took over. They committed human rights abuses, silenced anyone that spoke out against them, and generally made themselves hated more than the Cartel government. They're on the same level as the Bodarks in terms of gear and training."

"Then why are they here?" Celestia asked.

"I can't say. They're mercenaries, they'll work for whoever pays them the most." Mitchell said. "But I have a hunch that someone in Equestria did just that. Are there any other ways to reach Earth from Equestria?"

"The Mirror Portal is one, but that only opens once every thirty moons." Celestia said. "And so far, opening a portal to Earth via regular magic has proven to be impossible, even for my personal staff of researchers."

"I'd check in on them if I were you. Maybe one of them is on the other side, and we don't know it." Mitchell suggested.

"I suppose so." the Solar Princess replied. "Let's get back to business, Lt. Colonel. We don't have time to waste."

====

As the Ghosts and Royal Guards began moving supply crates under a large tent, Second Lieutenant Thomas Sipes began looking over several containers of explosives. Then, he paused at seeing a block of Semtex missing from a container.

As he drew his Goblin PDR, he noticed three contacts on his HUD's mini-map. As he crouched to the ground and set off a sensor Grenade, he saw the forms of three young ponies hiding behind another crate, carrying the Semtex.

"You three!" Sipes called out. "Drop the Semtex and come out, now!"

The three fillies did so, and with shaking hooves, handed Sipes the explosives. As he looked over the block, he set it down and sealed the container.

"What were you three thinking?" Sipes asked. "That wasn't a toy you took. That was an explosives pack that could have easily killed all three of you if you managed to trp the detonator."

"We're sorry." the leader said, an Earth Pony with a mane ribbon. "We were dared to do it."

"Dared to do what?" Sipes asked, his anger momentarily subdued for his curiosity's sake.

"Steal something from this place and bring it back." the pegasus of the group said. "They said they'd stop bullying us if we did it and weren't caught."

Sipes raised an eyebrow.

"Listen up. I am mad that you tried to take the Semtex. If you had hit the detonator with that much of it, if would've blown you to pieces. However, you didn't want to do it in the first place, which makes me want to ask…"

"Who dared you to do this? I want to know, and I want to know now."

The fillies gulped and answered.

====

After notifying Lt. Colonel Mitchell and Captain Gates, his squad leader, Sipes followed the fillies to the town plaza, where two other haughty-looking fillies were sneering to each other. On a hunch, Sipes activated his helmet camera.

"I bet they chickened out, like always." the pink one said. "Dumb blank flanks couldn't even do a simple dare."

"They're so worthless." the other said. "And speak of the devil, here they are."

The pink one scoffed and huffed at the three fillies.

"You do the dare, or did you chicken out?" she asked.

"Oh, they did the dare." Sipes said, entering the conversation. "And I caught them carrying a block of explosives that, if they had hit the trigger, would've killed them and destroyed a large part of our gear and US Army property. So you two are in big trouble right now."

"You're not the boss of us." the pink one growled. "And how do you know that we dared them to?"

"One, they told me it was you. And two, I'm recording this conversation on my helmet camera. I even caught you when you said "They couldn't even do a simple dare". Am I right?"

The two fillies paled.

"That's what I thought." Sipes growled. "Listen up. You two are to leave them alone from now on, and if I hear anything about or see you two anywhere near our base or stockpile again, they'll be Hell to pay, and not just from me."

"Am I understood?"

The two fillies paled even more and nodded.

"Get moving."

They didn't need to be told twice. As they sprinted off, Sipes sighed and looked at the three fillies.

"You three stay out of trouble, okay?" he asked.

"Sure thing, mister…"

"Sipes. Second Lieutenant Thomas Sipes, US Army 5th SFG, Ghost Recon, Aegis Team." he said. "I'll see you all around."

Sipes left for the base, and the fillies waved goodbye. To their surprise, Sipes waved back as he disappeared from view.

====

"You get the situation taken care of?" Mitchell asked Sipes once he returned to the stockpile.

"Yes, sir." Sipes said. "Taken care of. Three local girls out on a dare from two bullies. I smoothed it out."

"Good." Mitchell said. "Get back to it. We have our heading on the human hostiles here. We just need to find out where they are."

"I believe Kozak's working on that right now." Nomad said as he approached. "He thinks that he found where they went, but not their exact position."

"Show me." Mitchell said. As the three men headed to the tech area, the sun reached the apex point in the sky.

Update!

And you also got more intel on the Canter City incident.

Next time - The Ghosts move out to rescue the Elements. And the Scarred One meets with an old acquaintance of his...

As Mitchell, Sipes, and Nomad entered the so-called "Tech tent" where Kozak had set up his gadgets and electronic equipment, the Ghost in reference motioned them over.

"I've got a few leads." Kozak reported. "First up is this drone's payload."

"Which is?" Nomad asked.

"It's a prototype Riot Coil." Kozak replied, motioning to a larger-scale blueprint on a nearby laptop. "Basically a supercharged Tesla coil with enough power to stun living targets and knock them out cold. The effects of it are similar to a Tazer shot or XREP shell, meaning our OpFor had plenty of time to get the hostages to a safe location."

"What else?" Sipes spoke.

"The drone's also been modified with a micro solar panel so it doesn't need to line up with a charging rack to replenish the battery." Kozak said. "Thing is, that normally would mean we couldn't trace the charging rack using the drone's internal coding."

"However, the solar cell needs to have an assigned area via GPS to ensure it goes to proper areas to recharge." Kozak continued, motioning to a map of the Everfree with several red circles drawn on it. "Using the GPS data, I figured out how many places its gone to for a recharge. Using that as a base, I believe that our hostiles took the Elements near this mountain range, here."

Kozak pointed to the destination on the paper map, and Mitchell smirked in approval.

"Good work, Kozak." he replied. "Get the rest of the Ghosts together. We've picked up the scent."

====

Later, As Mitchell watched the three Ghost teams choose their weapons and equipment, Celestia came forward to stand beside him.

"I wish you and your team good luck." she said. "Hopefully we'll have everypony back safe and sound within due time."

"I agree." Mitchell replied. "Trust me, we'll get this done and be out of your...mane soon."

"And what if there is more to do?"

"Then we'll stay for as long as you need us." Mitchell replied as the three Ghost teams, supported by two Solar Guard Platoons, ventured into the Everfree, with the Ghosts in a defensive triangle formation.

====

"Jesus." Sipes spoke in a low voice. "How does anyone get anywhere in this forest?"

"Beats me." Midas replied, as he brushed away a few curious bugs flying near his head. "I'm getting flashbacks to our jobs in Caimanes during Operation Kingslayer."

"I second that." Holt added, chuckling. "El Cerebro had some pretty cool ideas. Too bad they were all based around drug smuggling."

"What exactly do you mean?" Lt. Sharp asked.

"A few years ago, we deployed to the country of Bolivia to topple the ruling government there." Nomad replied. "The term "ruling government" is kind of wrong, though. The Santa Blanca drug cartel controlled large portions, if not all of the country, and had a tentative alliance with their Unidad armed forces."

"Took over six months to do it, but we toppled the Cartel and arrested its leader, El Sueno. A few months later, we redeployed to extract compromised CIA assets, but the Extranjeros shot us down. Took an additional three weeks to bring them down."

"Man, Kingslayer was one wild ride, when I look back." Weaver smirked. "Hey boss, you still got the tapes from when...the jungle moved?"

"Yeah, stashed on my MRT." Nomad replied instantly. "What about them?"

"Just checking we still had them."

"What do you mean by the jungle moved?" 30K asked.

"That's a part of Kingslayer we'd rather not talk about right now." Nomad replied, and his tone silenced any further questions on the subject. "Focus up, objective area in two mikes."

As the Ghosts reached the cliffside, Gates motioned over to Nomad and Hunter Lead.

"You sure this is it?" Gates asked. "There's nothing here."

"Kozak?" Hunter Lead asked

"Yeah, I'm on it." Kozak replied as he brushed his hands along the stone before stopping and turning on his magnetic vision mode built into his Cross-com eyepiece.

"Bingo." he smirked, unhooking the holographic mesh from its mounts, revealing the cave system they had been searching for. "Clever bastards."

"What was that shit?" Adams asked with a tone of surprise.

"Holographic canopy." Kozak said. "If you program it right and have a good power source, you can mask nearly anything using the surrounding area. DARPA was researching it for use in tank camoflage systems. Seems these guys have a pretty good supplier."

"Focus up, Ghosts." Nomad said. "In we go."

As they proceeded into the cave system, while they descended they could see signs of habitation. Bags of waste, a few spent lanterns, and dead box batteries could be seen at an increasing rate. The Ghosts loaded and prepped their weapons while the Guards took the rear.

"Atrium up ahead." Trevor motioned forwards. The Ghosts exited the caves into a large open-roofed area, which was populated by crates of gear and ammo, various technological gadgets, a comms relay, and a large shipping container that lay in the back near a command center.

"Jackpot." Nomad grinned. "Griffin, do you copy?"

"We copy loud and clear." Mitchell replied. "We're watching through your cross-com feeds. Find the hostages and shut this operation down."

"Copy." Gates replied. "Let's move."

"Hold up!" Kozak motioned. "MG nest, upper balcony!"

Gates threw a Sensor Grenade, and the forms of at least fifteen hostiles guarding the crate and command post could be seen, with three men on the mounted machine gun.

"Alright, I've got a plan." Nomad said. "Hunter team, Sync Shot the MG crew, make sure they go down quiet. Castle Team, get the Guards and make some noise elsewhere. We'll need a good distraction to make it out of here. Patriot, follow me. Once we've retrieved the HVTs, search for as much intel as you can get."

"Roger that." the other team leaders said as they moved into position. As the Ghosts of Hunter Team dropped the MG crew with three synchronized shots, Castle took the Solar Guards and moved to a cave system on the right. Nomad motioned to Patriot team, and they activated their cloaking systems, advancing on the container.

As they did, a Bodark soldier cried out upon seeing the casualties on the machine gun. As both sides opened fire, the Ghosts moved to attack positions.

Update!

As bullets began to fly all around the Ghosts, Nomad motioned his team forward towards the cargo container. While Hunter Team provided support fire, and at the same time suppressed the hostiles on the balcony, Castle and the Royal Guards moved to the right flank.

"Holt, get the door!" Nomad ordered as he cleanly dropped a Bodark whose head strayed out of cover. "We'll cover you!"

"Copy!" Holt replied as he smashed the locks with the stock of his weapon. As he pulled the door open and took cover behind it, the other three Ghosts moved in and soon found each of the Element Bearers unconscious inside.

"Shit, they're down and out!" Weaver replied as his M110 recoiled against his shoulder. "We've got to move them one by one!"

"Easier said than done!" Kozak replied as he took out a lone Extranjeros rusher armed with a shotgun. "Those bastards have us pinned down! We can't get to you from here!"

"Copy!" Nomad replied. "Castle Lead, can you get us some breathing room here? We're knee-deep in bad guys!"

"Copy, we're coming to you now!" Gates replied. Nomad peeked out of cover and saw the Bodarks and Extranjeros on the balcony were now shooting to their right flank at Castle Team and the Equestrian Royal Guards. Taking a chance, Nomad and Weaver opened fire, dropping the remaining hostiles in the atrium.

"Clear?" Nomad barked.

"Clear." Gates replied. "No signs of any additional hostiles, but…"

"But what?" Hunter Lead asked.

"There's a sizeable cache of supplies missing from a depot we found on the eastern side." a Guard spoke up. "And there's also residual magical traces of a teleportation spell being cast recently. Most likely, some of these hostiles escaped."

"And their leader is most likely with them." Sipes said, clearly frustrated. "Alright, we'll deal with that later. Guards, search the remaining area, we'll get the Elements back to Ponyville. We found a vehicle depot here, we'll appropriate whatever transport we can find."

"Understood." Lt. Kicker replied, as his Guards moved out. As Nomad radioed the news to Lt. Colonel Mitchell, Holt, Weaver, Kozak, 30K, Pepper, and Adams each retrieved an unconscious Element and followed Gates to an adjacent tunnel.

While the Elements were loaded onto a pair of military-grade pickup trucks, Kozak began searching the local area network through a laptop he found in the comms relay area, atop a server that was still active.

"Huh…" Kozak murmured, seeing the files on the computer transfer to a high-cap USB drive. "Seems whoever's here had some serious business going on."

"Why's that?" Nomad asked, as he approached.

"Whoever's the leader of the OpFor has been sending messages to a recipient known as "Wolfmaster", to an encrypted destination. They're also referencing another contact known as "Battlescar". Battlescar's apparently the leader of the OpFor, but he answers to or takes orders from Wolfmaster."

"Huh." Nomad frowned. "Wolfmaster and Battlescar. Any ideas as to where they're heading?"

"That's the good news." Kozak replied. "I've managed to trace a still-online IP address on this laptop's system and decrypt the location. The bad news is...it's an address registered to a classified Skell Tech data server on Auro Archipelago...on Earth."

Nomad's eyebrows lowered in curiosity and disbelief.

"So these bastards have some way of transferring messages or possibly more to Earth somehow." Nomad growled. "I thought Princess Celestia told us that wasn't possible. Pull that data and anything else you can find."

Kozak nodded and returned to work, and Nomad turned to see the Royal Guards approach.

"We've swept all areas." Lt. Sharp said. There's no one else here. What next?"

"Start moving all the supplies and gear you can find onto those trucks." Nomad ordered. "Take everything that isn't nailed down. Seeing as you don't know how to drive a car, a Ghost will take the wheel."

"Understood!"

As the Guards began carrying out Nomad's orders, Midas came up and crossed his arms.

"So, is it just me, or does Princess Celestia have something to hide?" he asked. "I got a pretty good feeling she's telling us the truth, but not the whole truth."

"Yeah, me too." Nomad replied. "Let's deal with it later. We need to get the hostages out of here before anything else happens."

====

As the trucks drove back towards Ponyville with the Elements aboard and loaded with additional supplies, the Scarred One and the remaining units under his command watched from atop a cliff face nearby.

"Should we take them out, sir?" a Extranjeros merc asked.

"No. I have my orders from Wolfmaster. Let them believe that they've gained the upper hand for now. As for us, we proceed back to Headquarters on Auroa and prepare for Phase Two."

"Yes, sir!"

As the Bodarks and Extranjeros disappeared in a flash of white, the Scarred One smiled under his mask before following his soldiers, disappearing into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

====

Twilight Sparkle groaned slightly as she felt a thin sheet on top of her, and a mattress below her. The bed was cramped but large enough for her to fit inside, and when her eyes opened, she saw she was in Ponyville Hospital's recovery ward.

"Twilight?"

She turned to see Celestia come in, relief clear on her face.

"Celestia." she replied. "What happened? Where's everypony else?"

"They've already woken up and are speaking with your rescuers." Celestia replied. "You've missed quite a bit, but I can catch you up as best I can for the moment."

Celestia told Twilight about the Ghosts coming to their aid, her conversations and agreement with President Michaels, and their plans for the near future, as well as the identities of the hostiles.

"I...I see." Twilight rasped. "Well, the Scarred One or whatever their leader's name is...he said that Equestria hasn't fought a war in over 1000 years because of him."

Celestia flinched ever so slightly, almost unnoticeable to nearly anyone, but Twilight caught the expression.

"Thank you, Twilight." she replied. "Come, let's go see Lt. Colonel Mitchell and plan for what lies ahead of us."

As she helped Twilight out of bed and into the hall, the Princess of Magic could see Celestia's expression, once of relief, now had a tinge of worry or remorse hidden in plain sight.

====

As Twilight and Celestia entered a large room, they were surprised to see the Ghosts, Mitchell, and the other Elements having a small party. There was confetti, streamers, and plenty of baked goods.

"When dd this happen?" Twilight asked.

"A while ago, thanks to Miss Pinkie." Gates said. "Word of the rescue op spread quickly once we made it back."

"Yeah." Applejack affirmed. "Anyway, how are you holding up, Twilight?"

"I'm fine." Twilight said, however she felt like it was a lie. In truth, she was unnerved by the Scarred One's declaration to her.

"Which leads me to our next topic…" Mitchell said. "Princess, what aren't you telling us about Equestria and Earth?"

Celestia remained silent.

"We traced a signal from a laptop here in Equestria to a location on Earth. You said that wasn't possible." Mitchell continued. "Plus, the OpFor got here somehow, using a method that you haven't told us about."

"So I'll ask again, why aren't you telling us what we need to know in order to help you?" Mitchell demanded. The Elements were prepared to protest this statement when Celestia sighed and sat down.

"You are a perceptive one, Lt. Colonel." she sighed. "I admit that I did not lie to you, but told you a partial truth. Much of what happened on Earth as a result of the Canter City Incident was true, such as my meeting with President Michaels. However…"

"It is possible for a sufficiently knowledged spellcaster to worldwalk, as we call the process of travelling between realms. It takes knowledge of both realms in the mind of the caster, and powerful magic, the theory of which I personally outlawed and destroyed every copy of ages ago."

"However, it is possible nonetheless to worldwalk between Earth and Equestria with relative ease. Our worlds are like magnets in that they have been attracted to each other. Equestria is a realm of peace and harmony, Earth is one of chaos. If somepony from Equestria could reach Earth, it wouldn't take as much magic to return home."

"What about their leader?" Midas asked. "The Scarred One? What do you know about him?"

"I know nothing." she replied.

"Bullshit." Midas countered. "You do know. Your speech quivered when you said "nothing" at the end."

Celestia looked away, shame clear on her expression.

"I do know who he is, but not his motives." she admitted. "960 years after I banished my sister, I unified part of the Lunar and Solar Guards into a new brigade that would act as our first line of defense. I hoof-picked their commander, Golden Plume. He was brave, swift, a capable soldier...but ambitious beyond all else."

"Plume was prideful of his new post, and I had to strain, for lack of a better word, on multiple occasions to keep him in check. However, when a bandit raid attacked an Equestrian settlement in the northlands near what is now the Crystal Empire...I reluctantly allowed Plume to deploy his troops. I gave him direct orders that the renegades be taken alive."

"Plume...disregarded my orders and slaughtered them, with no mercy given." Celestia sighed sadly. "However, he became convinced that the settlement's leaders were corrupt and allied with the bandits, and had them killed as well. Once he learned that I was coming personally to arrest him, he fortified the settlement and threatened to kill everypony else there unless I let him and his troops go free."

"What happened?" Nomad asked.

"I had to storm the settlement by force with a battalion's worth of Guards. Plume's forces, who were far more loyal to him than to me, fought to the death. Soon, he was the only one left. I overpowered and captured him, court-martialing him in Canterlot. He was promptly found guilty, and the judge recommended that his crimes warranted the death penalty."

"However, I decided to exile him. After vowing revenge, I banished him to a world he could never return from. How he made it to Earth, I truly do not know."

"I see." Mitchell said. "Now that we know, Princess, we need to move forward. We don't have time to waste."

Update!

Next time - The Scarred One covertly meets with Wolfmaster on Auroa, and the Ghosts talk with Jace Skell. Celestia confers with Princess Luna about her past sins.