I walked across the tarmac with a purpose, Scotty, Tucker, and Rob, following behind. Air Branch had convoyed us to a private strip outside the city where they had a jet waiting, the Seven-Five “Liberty” had no markings whatsoever, the standard for the AB boys. The pilot was a balding dude who looked like he’d been running missions since ‘Nam. He shook our hands as we boarded, “Call me, Mitch, you must be the Ground Branch boys. I’m your ride to the Portal.”

I nodded, “That’s us, boss, appreciate the lift.”

“Not a problem, any word on a conventional response?”

“Not yet, I just know we’re heading in now, let the politicians hack the shit out.”

He nodded and disappeared into the cockpit without a word. We settled into the plush seats, at least they sprung for something comfortable. I stared out the window as we spun up, Mitch’s voice coming over the P.A. “Gear is stowed in the rear, feel free to grab it and jock up once we get airborne.”

A few minutes later, we lifted off, sailing into the afternoon sky. Tuck wasted no time, breaking out our gear bags, we’d stay in civilian clothes until we crossed over, no need to get everyone all riled up. I spent the whole flight in similar straits to Scotty, worried sick, but I gutted it while we went over the orders, link up with Frank and the embassy personnel, get our bearings, and start hitting the bad guys wherever we found them.

Mitch came over the comms as we approached, “Jackson looks good, I’m gonna put her down there, been a pleasure, lads.”

I grabbed the PA headset, “Pleasure was ours, bud, you be safe out there.”

He chuckled, “Not fucking likely.”

“Amen.”

Jackson was a riot, civvies trying to evacuate, and Marines running back and forth trying to maintain order. We rolled right past all of it, no crews this time, they’d called ahead it seemed. Crossing the Portal came with none of the joy it had, none of that “coming home” feeling, only a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. We passed by the gate guards, nodding to them but never breaking stride; in a flash, we were on the other side. The once vibrant streets were entirely deserted, save for patrols of the Equestrian Army. They moved like they knew what they were talking about, and were competent soldiers in their own right, I could only hope they were ready for what was coming. An issue SUV was sitting at the curb, our ride, we all piled in and peeled out, heading for Embassy Boulevard.

Ten minutes later, we wheeled in the back gate, outside of being a ghost town, the war hadn’t yet reached Canterlot it seemed. But with Ponyville only thirty miles away, it wouldn’t be long now.

Frank was waiting for us in the parking lot, a grave expression on his face. “Don’t get comfy boys, we got an op.”

I shook his hand as we moved into the building, “What’s the deal?”

“Royalty has requested a priority evac from Ponyville, precious cargo times six. You’ve heard of the Elements of Harmony?” I nodded, “There ya go, The Griffs are hunting them down as we speak, looking to wipe out Equestria’s most powerful weapon short of the Princesses themselves.”

Jesus.

“How’re we fixed for transport?”

“I can chop you the Embassy’s helo, but you’ll stick out big time.”

“Fuck it,” Scott said from my right, “we’ll offset a mile and hoof it.”

“My thoughts exactly, you guys need a pilot?”

Tuck answered, “I’m up to date Frank, just show me the bird.”

Frank nodded, “Good deal, time is a factor boys, go fucking get ‘em.”

A few minutes later, we were buzzing the Canterlot rooftops, out of civilian clothes and into our gear for the op, black Multicam for the fading light, Pano-NOD’s to get the drop on these fuckheads. I cinched my helmet tight as the sun fell below the horizon, letting me know that Celestia was still okay. I turned my gaze to where Ponyville sat, plumes of black smoke marked the fires set by the Griffon advance force. Rob leaned over and touched my knee, and then his headset, I switched it on and flashed him a thumbs-up.

“You know we’re gonna kill every last one of these fuckers, right?”

I nodded, “Damn straight.”

Tuckers' voice cut across our little pre-game, “Flaring, we’re about a mile outside the zone boys, let's get it.”

“NOD’s down.”

I dropped my four-tube pano’s bathing the helo interior in a blue-white glow, the second the wheels touched, we were out and moving, across the open field towards Ponyville’s outskirts. Tuck killed the engine and trailed behind, even a mile out of town, I could hear the screams.

“Let’s pick it up, boys.”

We broke into a sprint, covering the distance as quickly as we could, the glow from the fires getting brighter the closer we got.

“Coming up on a bridge, two hostiles.”

“I see ‘em, Scotty.”

Two Griffons were standing just on the other side of the smalls stone bridge next to a blazing cottage; I could hear them laughing as we got close; a quick look revealed multiple bodies on the ground surrounding the inferno.

“Move to set,” I whispered, as my IR laser settled on the nearest Griff's head, Tuck pulled up next to me, tracing his own laser onto the other asshole.

“On target.”

I took a breath to steady myself, “Drop 'em.” Everything slowed down as Tuck, and I pulled the trigger simultaneously, I felt the trigger lose it’s slack, hitting the wall, a nanosecond later the wall snapped like glass. My target’s head exploded in a puff of vapor, white under my NOD’s, and he dropped straight to the ground, his buddy had no time to react before his brains met the cold night air. “Move”

We stalked across the bridge, Tucker stopping to put a few rounds into each Griffon, the bastards were hardy, never hurt to be sure.

“Check those bodies,” I whispered, moving across the yard, the bright glow from the roaring blaze flared out my night-vision, I flipped them up and out of the way as I closed in on one of the prone forms. The pony was dead, that much was certain even from a distance, the shape of her body the only thing identifying her as a female, her face was ripped away, blood had sprayed all over the grass in a wide arc, like a grisly halo around her ruined head. Arterial spray, her heart had been beating when they’d done this to her. I rolled her to the side as gently as I could, had to get a look at her mark. I gently peeled the side of her jeans down until I could see her hip. What looked like a harp greeted me, I quickly checked it against the photos of the Elements that Frank had supplied.

“Not one of them keep moving.” I gently laid her back down, giving her hand a squeeze, trying not to think about how it was still warm, how we’d been too late by minutes. I said a silent prayer and promised the poor mare that they were gonna pay.

A whistle broke me out of it. “The rest of the bodies are animals, someone killed the family pets, tore ‘em apart.” Rob’s voice quavered a bit, “We need to get to town.”

“Rog’ move.”

We moved through the clearing silently, keeping the Everfree Forest on our right. Voices off in the distance caught our attention, pleading voices, Scotty tossed up a few hand-signals, and we turned as one, sneaking into the brush, I could see snatches of what looked like a barn on fire through the undergrowth. The closer we got, the clearer the voices became, I could hear a mare’s voice, Southern-accented.

“Please, Ah’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t hurt ‘em anymore!” She sobbed.

Another voice answered, tinged with a Russian accent, “You will tell me where your friends are hiding, or you won’t have any family left by the time the sun rises. Tell me!”

I keyed my mic twice, letting the boys know to slow up, and we pushed right to the edge of the hedgerow. Three ponies were tied up in the dirt, one was standing, a ring of Russians stood around them, one of the soldiers holding the standing pony by the throat.

“Weapons free.”

Soft pops broke out to my left and right, I centered my optic on the Russian nearest me and unloaded five rounds, walking them from his chest into his face, his head splitting open from the heavy impacts. One of the Reds tried to grab some cover, but the newly freed pony snapped a leg out and, from the shriek the Russian let slip, snapped his femur like a twig.

“Go,” I whispered.

We moved through and fanned out, dead-checking the downed troopers with a few rounds apiece. I motioned to the tied ponies, Rob and Tuck cut them free, while Scotty and I held security. I jerked my head to the downed and still moaning Russian, Scotty nodded and walked over, kicking his AK into the darkness. Rob and Tuck joined us as we horseshoed around the injured man. Rob knelt down and began questioning him in rapid-fire Russian. The guy struggled to answer through the pain, but apparently, there were only a few Griffons in town, backed by two squads of VDV Airborne soldiers, one of which we’d just handled. Then the Russian started to laugh, I caught some of what he said in between chuckles.

“We are going to kill all these Ponies, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

Rob moved so fast it surprised me, stepping forward and kicking the Russian in the face like he was going for the field goal, the guy’s head snapped into the ground, I heard something break, his limbs twitching wildly, must’ve been his neck. I left the guy to handle it and moved towards the ponies we’d rescued, they were huddled together against the fence, a big red stallion with a blond mane cradled three mares, they were all crying to some degree, but the stallion simply stared into the darkness, blood streaming out of multiple cuts on his face. His head swiveled around, and his grip on his family tightened as I took a knee next to them, slinging my rifle and holding my palms out.

“Hey Bud, listen, we’re here to help, okay?” He nodded but said nothing, “I’m with the American Government, we’re looking for the Elements of Harmony.”

The mare to his right, a pretty blonde cradling a smaller yellow filly with a bow in her hair, snapped her gaze to mine. “What do ya want with ‘em?”

“We’re here to get them out, Princess’s orders.”

Her green eyes narrowed, “Well yer lookin’ at one, but Ah’m not leaving, not while they’re out there murderin’ ponies.”

“I can respect that, but we need to make sure that you and the rest of the Elements are safe.”

“Ain’t no buts about it, Ah ain’t leaving.”

“AJ.” The big stallion rumbled, “Might be time to go.”

I remembered AJ or Applejack from the profiles, country as hell and loyal to the bone, we had something in common.

“Mac, Ah can’t just leave them all like this.”

Screams echoed through the night as if to illustrate her point.

I cleared my throat, “Listen, if you get killed or captured by these guys, Equestria loses a weapon, one that may very well determine its survival, my guys and I will save your friends and as many ponies as we can, but we have to get you and your family to safety now.”

If looks could kill, I’d be crispy, her green eyes looking murderous, but filled with a sadness that nearly broke my heart. I was asking her to run from a fight, to leave her friends and neighbors behind, for some vague concept. I’d be pissed at me too. She opened her mouth to speak when a twig snapped in the brush, I rolled over her and the others, covering them with my plates and scanning the darkness through my NOD’s.

Nothing moved until a single item popped out of the bushes, flying in a high arc and landing in the dirt.

Is that a fucking can of Grizzly?”

“Blue,” I whispered, and the boys relaxed.

A full squad popped out of the hedges, one of them stepped forward. “Evening boys.”

“Dwight?”

“Guilty, Bud. Green is here to help.”

“Fuckin A. We have one of the packages here, can you take her and her family and get off the X?”

Dwight nodded, “Shifty, Luke, get these ponies outta here and double-time it back.” His boys nodded and pulled the ponies to their feet. They all looked like hell. But they were gonna live. Applejack shot me one last look over her shoulder, “Look for mah friends in Twilight’s library, the center of town, ya can’t miss it.”

I nodded my thanks. “We’ll get them out.”

Dwight watched them go, fading like ghosts into the darkness, “Let’s go clean ‘em out. Callsign for the op is Whiskey.”

“Oxide.”

“Got it, we’ll take the West side of town and work our way to the center. Let’s move, boys.”

Dwight and his team melted into the shadows, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Dwight Walker was a friend from way back, a team leader in Delta, or Task Force Green. His presence showed me that Washington was upping the ante, we weren’t alone here.

“Let’s go, guys.”

We pushed, hopping fences and weaving through apple trees, the orchard stretched for a bit, must’ve been something in the daytime. Before we knew it, our little team had arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville. The town was ablaze, dead and wounded lined the streets, the Griffons seemed dead set on erasing this place from the face of the planet.

“Fuckers.” Tuck whispered.

We kept pushing, ignoring the weak cries for help, the only way we could help any of them was by ending this. It still broke my heart, and I could tell by the rage in Rob’s eyes that he wasn’t too far in back of me. We moved through the buildings, clearing the corners and stepping over bodies the whole way. I heard voices ahead and held up a hand, peering around the edge of the bakery I was pressed against. A group of Griffons flanked by the last squad of Russians walked through the town square like they owned the place, a crack of rifle here and there signaled the end of an innocent pony’s life. A massive oak tree sat on the other end of the square, just beyond a half-destroyed fountain. It was the only thing not on fire.

Bingo

I keyed up my mic, “Whiskey, Oxide, eyes on target structure, no visible damage, but the hostiles don’t look to be on guard. What’s your location?”

Dwight’s gravelly voice came back, “Stand by.”

I never heard the shots, the four griffons just dropped like bags of cement, the Russians took a second, shock I think, before they took rounds and fell in bloody heaps to the cobblestone. In less than five-seconds, Ponyville was clear.

“Clear.”

Oxide is moving, meet you by the castle entrance.”

“Rog’”

Scotty took my left side, Tuck on my right, Rob brought up the rear. As we closed on the library, the ten-man Delta team emerged from their ambush positions, hopping out of windows and sliding off roofs. We stacked on the door, the D-boys taking point, but when the first man touched the handle, he was thrown into the guy behind him, his hand blistering and smoking as he choked back a scream. I stepped out of the stack and cupped my hands over my mouth, fuck noise discipline.

“Twilight Sparkle! US Government! Princess Celestia sent us to get you and your friends out!”

I waited, and I’d about given up… when the door creaked open, revealing a shorter purple mare, with a deep purple almost black mane shot through with a pink stripe, it was her. She leveled her tear-stained gaze to mine, taking a deep, rattling breath before collapsing into the closest Delta's arms.

“Medic up!”

We rushed her inside, a group of ponies, mares, foals, and stallions were clustered around the first floor, with more peeking down from the spiral staircase, the Delta medic laid Twilight out on the couch, out of the corner of my eye I watched two Deltas run-up to the second floor to set up overwatch, wouldn’t be cool if we got ambushed. A group of mares surrounded her, all manner of pastel colors, a rainbow-colored mane, and a small dragon blocked my view of the prone mare. Voices clamored for answers as I thumbed through the photos I’d been given, matching faces.

Rarity Belle

Rainbow Dash

Pinkie Pie

Fluttershy

Twilight Sparkle

Applejack.

I turned to Scott, “Full-house. We need to get them back to Canterlot as soon as she can move.”

He nodded, “What about the civvies?”

“We get them out too, no exceptions, Dwight?”

“Yeah, bro?”

“What do we have for transport?”

“I’ve got two Little Birds and a Forty-Seven on standby.”

“We’ve got an S-Sixty One, we can take thirty.”

“The Forty-Seven can hold fifty. Time to take a headcount and cram ‘em in wherever.”

“Alright. Excuse me, please!” I shouted, addressing the room, “We are here to get you all out, I need to know how many of you there are and how many can move under their own power, let us know if there are any wounds that need attending. We’ll be evacuating you all to Canterlot shortly.”

A mare pushed her way through the crowd, her two-toned pink and blue mane were singed around the edges, and her eyes were wet with tears. “Please, you have to help me find my wife! Her name is Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings. Please!”

My heart stopped.

A lyre, not a harp.

I had to be sure,” Ma’am, is her mark a lyre?”

I would have given anything to unsee the explosion of hope in her eyes, “You’ve seen her!? She’s alright?… Right?”

I reached out, but she pulled back, shaking her head, I watched that hope shatter into a million jagged pieces, “No!, No! You tell me she’s alright! Tell me!”

“I’m sorry.”

Her scream as she collapsed to the floor would haunt me until the day I died.