(Fast forward? Like a year or so? Oh, and to put it in perspective of the timescale of FoE, Julion left the Vault 10 years before Littlepip, so there'ld be 1.5 years left if we jumped a year before Calamity kills Bloody 2 and almost kills Julion, and I have an idea beyond just hurt pride to explain Julion's absolute hatred of Calamity)
(Sure thing.) One year later The Commando's had experienced another explosion in growth, now numbering at 600 trained Commandos. Diamond was having more and more recruits placed in his hooves and because of this, he had a greater responsibility to protect them and help them reach their full potential. The camp also had to be expanded to help house the newest recruits, with renovations to the sleeping quarters now being constructed into two story houses. Diamond had changed little over the past year, with the only difference being that his facial hair growing thicker. The ghoul commandos were helping with the training in astonishing ways, their experiences assisting the recruits. Diamond was pleased with this, seeing as the Ghoul Commandos were training the recruits. The Major then moved into the main hall and went inside
Julion had lead a highly successful campaign through the disputed areas of the war, putting down the two century long civil war in less than a year, however many Ghoul Commandos were simply and understandably tired of fighting and simply drifted off into the wastes, forsaking their Commando gear to Julion's Commandos in exchange for normal armor and weaponry. Only an additional 50 Ghoul Commandos agreed to help, the remaining 3,000 drifting off to try to establish normal lives. However, in addition to this campaign, in the shadows of the camp, when nopony could see, he and a certain silver pegasus who had stuck by his side for so long and so loyally were growing ever closer, in more ways than one. Julion and Silver had started rarely going on missions without the other, brushing it off with a simple "need for an additional voice of authority or charm", something that silenced questions. Now, with the Commando problem covered and all Commando Mark Co tech recovered from the Zebra lands, Julion had decided to refocus his efforts inwards to Equestria itself, taking more jobs to pay for his growing army. It was rare nowadays that all the squads were at base, nearly the entire time at least 2 had partial or full deployment to some job, everywhere from simple town protection from impending attack to clearing slaver and raider bases. However, Julion had something in mind. He was amassing a great wealth for his Commandos, with hundreds of thousands of caps in the Commando treasury. He had one more grand campaign in mind for once he had the forces, a campaign against Red Eye and the Talons allied to him. In the meantime, he had scouts scouring the Wasteland for Mark Co facilities, trying to hunt down any Mark Co superweapon he could use in the coming war...
Diamond was inside the newly renovated hall of the base, standing a story higher than the remainder of the barracks. With the lower area of the building supplying as a hall, the second floor was home to many Commando officer's work quarters, and the third was used as the sleeping quarters for the Commando's inner circle, housing the rooms of Julion and Silver. Not only did the Commandos realize that they had discovered a castle in the middle of the forest to use as their home, but they unwillingly found the legendary Castle Harmony. Diamond realized this as he went inside to the cafeteria, and he did not know how to react.
Silver glided over the Everfree, accompanied by a few pegasus Ghoul Commandos as she surveyed the area. Julion had determined to build up all their forces in one place wasn't smart, so he gave her the task of picking out points where camps to house 100 Commandos could be built, with the main base having a garrison of 300. The success of the Commandos warmed her heart, knowing she was making up for her time in the Enclave, she just hoped Julion wouldn't go down the wrong path...She knew she would be unable to not follow that handsome, cool stallion. Sighing as she thought about the smiles he had started giving her, knowing they truly meant something before snapping back to her mission
Because of his status in the Commandos, Diamond was often moved up to the front of the line in the cafeteria much to his displeasure, instead allowing the soldiers ahead of him go first. He even sat with them at tables, but would occasionally sit with officers. He never liked the idea of treating his own mares and stallions with disrespect, so he spent most of his time with them, getting to know them and learn about who they are. When one of them falls in combat, a strange sadness falls upon the recruits and Diamond, pushing all of them to train harder. The Commando's were expanding, and would soon require additional camps and bases. Julion was remaining careful with his expansion, not wishing to anger any 3rd party such as the Steel Rangers. Time and time again, Diamond would help with this expansion and if possible, secure alliances with towns.
A messenger suddenly galloped up to Diamond and gave him an envelope, "Urgent letter from the Soldier, sir!" HE quickly explained before galloping, inside the envelope was a letter addressed to him in Julion's writing, Dear friend, I recently discovered that inside Fillydelphia, Mark Co based its manufacturing plants besides the weaponry. Now, you and I both know Mark Co facilities are extraordinarily difficult to get into, but I don't want to take the chance with Red Eye. I want you and however many Commandos you feel appropriate to sneak into Fillydelphia, insure Red Eye will never gain access to the Manufacturing Facilities. This isn't a death or glory mission, and for Goddesses' sake don't try to kill Red Eye, you'll never make it out. Remember, in, do what you're supposed to, get out. If you feel the danger is too great, you can withdraw at any time. On the reverse side is a map of fillydelphia as our scouts has mapped it, marking the location of the 3 Mark Co facilities and weakness in the Wall and patrol routes. Oh, and please don't start a war with the Steel Rangers. Sincerely, The Soldier
Upon receiving the letter, Diamond immediately mobilized in his full armour, the heavy Commando as black as night itself and took out his helmet, which completely covered his entire head. He then took his unnamed Mark.Co Anti-Material Rifle, an energy pistol and a camouflaged bowie knife. This mission required the best of the Commandos considering its importance, and Alpha Squad was currently performing a job that left them unavailable. The Major was going to take the entirety of Beta Squad and several other highly trained ponies, two of them being Commando Ghouls, to Fillydelphia. In total, there were 41 Commandos including The Major heading towards the pre-war metropolis. At around 6 o’ clock at night, the Commando’s left the Everfree and travelled in two Sky Carriage’s straight to Fillydephia, arriving in the middle of the night outside of the city and slipping straight through the wall during a change of guard. It turned out getting in the city was easy, but with the Steel Rangers and Red Eye’s forces far outnumbering the group of Commandos despite lacking in experience, and that they had to secure as much Mark.Co tech as possible before leaving AND getting inside the facilities, it was going to be difficult. And if a worst case scenario happened, Diamond was faced with the aspect of blowing up the facilities once Red Eye made it inside.
Bloody looked out across the Everfree from a cliff face that watched over the whole forest. Most definitely a permenant camp had to be established here, as it overlooked well everything in the forest. Marking it down on the map, she turned to her guards, "Well, our job is done, lets get back to camp."
The Major and all of Beta Squad stood upon the largest and most secure of all of the Mark Co facilities, the entrance being almost underground. The mission was going extraordinarily well since they had made it inside of the city, all other Commando's securing the two other smaller facilities in the city. Diamond ordered the Commando's to take cover wherever possible if Red Eye were to engage them, leaving Diamond and two other Commando's next to him. Communications had gone silent with the exception of Squad leaders confirming that they were inside of the facilities. Unfortunately, Diamond was having less luck. The getting into the facility was not working much to his displeasure. "Damn it." Diamond muttered under his breath. Eventually, a weird eye like computer popped out of the wall, moving around in sudden yet restrictive mechanical movements. Once it appeared, roughly five energy turrets shaped like Gatling guns sprung into life from the ceiling while the eye computer also sprung down a miniature turret of it's own. It spoke in strange techno babble, but understood that the soldiers outside were military. Once it corrected itself in that the ponies outside were soldiers and then realizing that they were commandos, a more feminine AI voice sounded through a speaker. "Welcome to the Mark.Co Urban Arcane Weapon facility of the city of Fillydephia, Equestria. Last recorded entry of Commando soldiers and other visitors or Mark Co employes was: 197 years, 5 months, 29 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes and 1 second ago. Remember, if you are a Zebra or Changeling infiltrator, our scanners can read your DNA, failure to be registered will result in death. If you are new to the facility, please state your name and number any present company alongside you if you have any." the voice sounded. "I'm the Major, and this here is Beta Squad of the Commandos. We number 26 in total and we have come to help secure the various technology here." The voice hesitated and all of the Commandos started to sweat and feel afraid until the turrets suddenly returned to the ceiling as the door opened, much like a stable door except that it was much more durable. "Thank you, Major. Have a nice day!" the voice said before disappearing, lights turning on to reveal a small factory of weapons. From what he understood, it was nowhere near the level of what Julion informed him of the MAD facility, but the sight was worth the trip alone. Schematics, weaponry and all sorts of goodies were placed about, untouched in over 200 years. Diamond had a wide smile as he turned around to his two Commando's before him, as the others suddenly moved back into his position. "Alright, you know what to do. Take as much as you can and load it into the carriages, then get out. We have don't know how long Red Eye figures out that we are in Fillydephia, so we are being pressed for time. Let's move out." Diamond said as the troops quickly ran into the facility and took as much as they could, while the Major went to the support structures of the facility with enough C4 to not only destroy the facility, but an entire city block when Red Eye finds the facility empty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once the procedure was done, and the carriages were completely loaded as they were quickly moved out of the city with the facilities seemingly stripped of absolutely everything that was not bolted down, all 41 Commandos regrouped in an extremely isolated area of the city. The Sky Carrages would not return back to Fillydephia for roughly another six hours, making it dangerous as it would be in broad daylight, leaving the Commando's stuck inside of the city for an entire day and putting them in a dangerous position. Just outside of town was a train station that miraculously had a somewhat working train and carriage with enough surviving railroad tracks to be in a safe area for extraction. But once they were on it, the attention of the entire city would be upon them. Even worse, the station was in downtown Fillydelphia, the most heavily populated area in the city. Not taking any chances, Diamond grunted as he and the Commando's traveled across the city to the station. Praying that he did not encounter something
Silver and her guard landed back in camp and she dismissed the ghouls before trotting off to the HQ, where Julion would be waiting for her to return with the map... ******* "Mission go well?" Julion asked Silver as she stepped in. "Smooth as could be." She replied, putting the map on his desk, which he opened and studied it for a bit. "This is good...I'll dispatch the squads to their respective new camps tomorrow." He said before coming around his desk and placing a gentle hoof on Silver's shoulder, "Thank you..." He said quietly before quickly kissing her cheek, "Now get back out there so nopony questions anything." Silver nodded slowly, trying to stop herself from blushing, "Y-yes sir!" She replied before trotting out
Diamond & the group of the Commandos were a street away from the old train station, all of which was heavily guarded. They had managed to sneak their way across most of the city, having to silence some of Red Eye’s goons every now when one of them catches something suspicious. The Commando’s went into stealth mode as they made their way towards the entrance of the station. From what Diamond’s HUD reported, there were fifteen signatures inside of the building itself and two Griffon slavers with heavy weapons at the entrance itself in heavy armor. It was the only entrance into the station, and Diamond had to deal with them to keep his fellow soldiers alive. “Alright.” Diamond spoke into the communications channel quietly. “Flower and Leaf, I need you land a headshot on the guards in the entrance. From there, we head straight inside, quickly mow down all of the slavers inside and quickly board the train out of this damn city. All Commandos flip off safety and set PEAR to kill. “ The two commandos, both pegasi mares, quickly got into position, aiming their rifles perfectly at their targets. “Drop them.” The two mares fired their PEAR’s as the blue bolts quickly sped to their targets, alerting the Slaver’s for a split second before they both dropped to the ground dead in an instant, falling down at roughly the same time. From there, the Commando’s went inside to find them down a staircase leading downwards to the train itself. “Fire at will...” Suddenly, the Commando’s aimed down the sights of their rifles as the Slaver’s were quickly overwhelmed by the sudden attack, nine of them fell to the ground within the first three seconds with the remainder desperately trying to find cover before being taken down by the blue bolts. The firefight lasted for nine seconds as the Commando’s deactivated their stealth and galloped towards the train station, two of them driving the train itself while the remainder took the first and second carriage. Diamond was inside of the first carriage as he placed a small laptop onto a table just as the train began to leave the station, the other Commando’s cheering once the train quickly sped out the city. Diamond then looked at the laptop as the computer shown footage of a camera, and the several hundred slavers confused at finding absolutely nothing in the Mark.Co facilities, alongside the allied Talons leading as their commanders. Diamond then took out a detonator from his pocket as several Commandos surrounded to watch the display. “And now, to wrap things up.” The Major said as he pressed the button, as the footage of all three facilities suddenly burst into flame to the surprise of the slavers, who did not have time to scream before a deafening explosion occurred in Fillydephia as all three Mark.Co facilities and a entire city block surrounding the facilities exploded and were engulfed in hellfire. By the time that Red Eye realised he was under attack, the commando’s were long gone in the bullet train. It was then that Diamond had a creative idea. Once the Commando’s were off the train at a station sixty kilometers from the city, Diamond and several Commando’s filled the opposite side of the bullet train with any remaining explosives, and got a more technologically adept Commando to start the electronic start console with nopony on board to return back to Fillydephia at maximum speed with the brakes destoryed. He even fit a camera to see the reaction Red Eye’s soldiers would receive when they see an unstoppable train travelling over 270mph filled with enough high powered explosives to turn the speeding train into a miniature balefire bomb that would level the train station and anything 200m from the building. In doing this, the Commandos would have not only completed their mission in securing the technology and destroying the facilities, but also removing a critical asset to Red Eye in trade. The train began to move backwards towards the slaver city, picking up speed rapidly as the sun came up, with the Commando’s cheering. The mission was an astonishing success, with no casualties or injuries, as the Commando’s began to return to the Everfree, sky carriages to arrive soon to reduce travel time. It was all in a days work.
(Alright) At around 10 in the morning, the Major arrived back with the 40 Commando's under his command to a heartwarming welcome. Food and drink was prepared when they got back to feed the starving soldiers as they soon relaxed. Training was called off, and this gave these soldiers a much needed rest. While this occurred, Diamond went upstairs and sat down on his bed. He needed a minute to rest before he got back to work in assisting to build more Commando camps, one of them holding a critical position in the Everfree after Bloody found it. Wearing the bottom half of his armor, leaving Diamond in a tank top, he then got back up and sat at his desk and looking out of a window that shown an enormous part of the Everfree forest, and of his soldiers below and the entire courtyard. The mission might have been over in under 24 hours, but it felt like a lifetime.
(Alright) Upon being called into action, Diamond was in his full armor and used his large energy "Cannon" while also having an energy pistol, a knife and four energy grenades. The Major felt happy that he was essentially a walking tank, because after all, it's easy to smile when you're armed to the teeth. Heading towards New Appleloosa with Julion and Silver, they had an important task to do.
(Oh, I changed up how the assault went, I decided it really wouldn't be pre-New Apploosa Julion to just go in and kill innocents just because their leaders were loyal to Red Eye, he would likely make a limited incursion, corner and put a simple choice to the leaders of the town (revoke loyalty to Red Eye and die, or renounce your ties with him for the betterment of the Wasteland.) so it'ld just be Julion and a few of his most trusted, him, Bloody, Major, and the future Bloody Two) Julion turned to face the three ponies traveling with him once New Apploosa came into sight, "Alright everypony, you know the drill, fire only when fired upon, avoid killing innocents at all costs, and round up those in charge of the town. If they refuse to do what is best for the Wasteland over feeling obligated to return the favor of being granted a water talisman, then we will replace them with ponies that will. Bloody, you're on point, remember, guns put away until you are attacked. Major, Deadly Silence, you're with me. We'll support you if you run into any trouble Bloody." He ordered. Bloody nodded, get herself into takeoff stance and giving him a soft smile before taking off and flying towards the town, fading out of view as she activated stealth. Julion had no idea that was the last time he would see her healthy... With that, Julion looked over at the stallion and mare behind, motioning with his head, "Come on, remember the story, I'm just a well off trader hoping to set up a caravan connection to New Apploosa and you two are my bodyguards."
(One question. Does Silver actually die in this changed version, since I thought that the whole "Healthy" thing would mean that she would end up essentially paralyzed) The Major nodded as he activated his disguise, merely being normal clothes over his armor, and a large brown hood that hid his face from view. The armor/disguise made him look larger than he already was and already very intimidating, so hopefully no trouble would come from the inhabitants. Upon reaching the gate, Diamond nodded at Julion to begin his story. If it all went well, Red Eye would lose a valuable partner and no casualties would be taken. Unfortunately, the Major had a strange feeling. He knew that deep down, something was wrong. "I have a bad feeling about this..." The Major said quietly.
