Because Twilight fucked up with a magic experiment or something,

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>>29563175
Lets meet the girls, shall we?

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>>29563182
First up is Miss Rarity. As an insurgency requires careful movement in order to combat a vastly-superior force, this little seamstress took naturally to the art of the Shinobi. She serves as the front-line scout for the Stardust unit, and generally remains out of the fray when possible.

Don't let her pleasant demeanor fool you, however. When the needle hits the fabric, as it were, she is most capable of holding her own in a fight, charging to strike down vulnerable aliens and ADVENT troopers with a swift blade.

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>>29563207
Next in line comes the team's medic and Specialist, Fluttershy. Using her newest little friend, the Gremlin, she is capable of healing any of her friends that she can see, as well as taking advantage of Coalition tech in order to turn the tables on ADVENT. She is looking forward to making even more new friends with her Gremlin, seizing mechanical units and turning them against their former masters in order to drive the aliens off of the planet.

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>>29563236
Pinkie Pie, with her bubbly and energetic personality, took to the Grenadier's role like hotsauce to cupcakes. With her brand-spankin' new party cannon, she specializes in delivering high-explosive party favors straight to ADVENT's front door.

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>>29563260
Eschewing her friends' tradition of taking callsigns relating to their Elements of Harmony, Rainbow "Painbow" Dash shows the aliens no mercy as the Assault of the Stardust unit. Packing a shotgun, she charges into the teeth of the enemy to deliver close-range fire, obliterating most enemies in a single shot. When the opportunity for a smashing attack doesn't present itself, however, she is also capable of taking down her foes with her old stand-by, the power of electricity, using an Arc Thrower to stun enemies in their tracks, rendering them helpless.

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>>29563303
Command of Stardust has been placed in the capable hands of one Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle. Without her magic, she felt she was lacking in the ability of her companions, until an off-hand remark from Pinkie reminded her of her battle with Queen Chrysalis's changeling army in the streets of Canterlot. Reminded of that day, she chose to be trained as a Gunner, using an autocannon to spray rounds across the battlefield. Whether she is suppressing an enemy squad or focusing on a single enemy, no invader is safe from Twilight's new "magic", the magic of superior firepower.

As she was trained as an officer, her squadmates look to Twilight to lead, as always. She can command them to push themselves harder, or she can pinpoint a high-value target for the squad to focus its collective efforts upon.

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>>29563341
Oh, I almost forgot about Applejack! Don't be too hard on me, everybody forgets about Applejack.

Except the aliens, anyway. The team's Ranger, Applejack packs a punch, pinning down enemies with accurate assault rifle fire, or taking them out in one punch with the power of her sawed-off shotgun. She and Rainbow argue constantly about who hits harder, but Applejack knows in her heart of hearts that, while Dash may be able to dash around her enemies, when the big bad is there in front of them, it'll be up to her to put the beast to rest.

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>>29563364
Cautiously leading her friends down the street, Rarity soon chances upon some hostile forces. It's a squad of ADVENT troops led by a monstrous abomination known as the Viper.

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>>29563419
As the team approaches the gaudy landmark to the subjugation of humanity, another squad of ADVENT rolls on in, led by an officer of their own. An opportunity like this doesn't come often, and Pinkie's trigger finger begins to itch and she prepares to engage the enemy.

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>>29563442
"What are we waiting for? Let's GO!" With a burst of exuberance, Pinkie Pie unleashes her party cannon on the troopers.

>>29563175
damn it twilight!

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>>29563458
With two of them wiped off the map for good, it seems that as bombastic as Pinkie Pie's introduction was, it may have proven to be a rash maneuver, as the remaining aliens entrench themselves around the monument they are assigned to protect and threaten Pinkie's flank.

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>>29563472
Applejack maneuvers to flank and finish off the wounded ADVENT Engineer, saving the team from a nasty flashbang grenade. However, flanked and in low cover, she is now more exposed than ever. A daring move, to be sure.

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>>29563489
"Don't you even think about it!"

Quick as lightning, Rainbow Dash rushes forward to support her friend, with a load of buckshot to the face of the ADVENT Gunner flanking AJ. With a "Thanks, sugarcube," Applejack breathes easier as her most pressing threat is taken care of. However, well within range of her position is an ADVENT Stun Lancer, a unit more than capable of rushing forward and taking AJ out of the fight.

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>>29563502
"Not while I'm around, you ruffian."

With a muttered oath and a quick check to make sure everything is where it should be, Rarity springs forward under the cover of stealth...

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>>29563524
... and silently dispatches the Lancer, not even revealing her position as the trooper falls before her blade.

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>>29563530
Seeing no other way to protect her exposed pink friend from the assault of the remaining enemies, Fluttershy makes a snap decision, sending her little robot friend to run interference around Pinkie, as well as covering her and Twilight's position with a smoke grenade.

"Oh, I hope nothing bad happens!"

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>>29563554
"Move your fat ass, Applejerk!"

With few remaining options, Twilight commands Applejack into superior cover for the onslaught ahead.

"T'weren't no call for that kind o' language, Twi!" Applejack shouts as she hunkers into her new position behind a pillar. Twilight responds with a sheepish grin, "Sorry, that's how they taught me to talk to people in Officer School. And hey, it worked, didn't it?"

On the other front, while the smoke deters ADVENT from shooting at the exposed Pinkie Pie, the Viper manages to slither around and fire a cloud of poison onto her and Twilight.

"Ugh, this isn't good. This is like the baked bads all over again!" Pinkie does not handle being poisoned well, going into a panic.

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>>29563589
Meanwhile, the ADVENT Officer remains in place, opting to mark Rainbow Dash, as well as shoot at her with his increased aim. Luckily, the incoming fire misses Dashie by a multicolored hair.

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>>29563601
"Enough of all this hoo-ha!" exclaims a frustrated Rarity and, with a snarl, breaks her concealment to run up and shoot the wounded Officer in the back. The strange alien pistol she wields creates a cloud of dense smog around her position, reconcealing her from enemy eyes.

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>>29563645
With Rarity's former position now vacant, Rainbow Smash moves up to deal a killing blow to the Lancer that attacked her bumpkin friend.

"Take that, you punk!" In a hail of lead, the Lancer is dealt with, freeing Applejack to move up and keep watch.

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>>29563659
Twilight puts down heavy fire onto the Viper's position, pinning it in place and screwing up its ability to shoot at her friends...

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>>29563675
While Applejack decides instead to toss a flashbang grenade at the serpent, further disorienting it.

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>>29563681
With the snake contained, and little else to do, timid Fluttershy decides instead to try and make friends with the nearby ADVENT security tower.

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>>29563687
Even inanimate objects are no match for her kindly demeanor, and the Gremlin returns to Fluttershy with a gift from the tower in tow, a shiny new advanced PCS.

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>>29563694
Braving the barrage of Twilight's autocannon, the Viper slithers around its pillar to reposition itself and goes into Overwatch.

"Darn it all!" speaks Twilight. "How am I supposed to hit anything when I feel this sick?!"

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>>29563698
"Hey, girls!" shouts Twilight over the roar of battle, "We only got the one left! Take it the fuck out!" She commands her squad to focus all their fire on the remaining Viper, and leads by example with a wild burst from her cannon.

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>>29563704
'Maybe I CAN do something useful'

Inspired by Twilight's coarse but commanding language, Fluttershy moves up and takes a long-range shot on the entrenched monster, scoring a solid hit.

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>>29563713
Applejack rushes forward with a frown. "Oh, Twi, if'n only Granny Smith could hear you now..." Regardless, she puts her opening to good use, moving right up into the face of the creature and greeting it with a hearty double-helping of buckshot, smashing its grotesque face and putting it out of commission.

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>>29563722
With the area clear and all enemies dealt with, Rarity sprints up to grab the alien treasure and throw out a flare, signaling the Skyranger to come pick up the squad.

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>>29563730
Dash, meanwhile, makes her way to the monument and plants her own little "Sonic Rainboom", an X4 charge powerful enough to level the structure.

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>>29563734
With the gaudy eyesore demolished and all enemy activity neutralized, Firebrand is clear to pick the Stardust unit up without a fight, and Operation Pyramid Wine is a success.

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>>29563743
"Hoo, boy, but that was a rough one, wasn't it?" With a sigh, Applejack kicks back on the Skyranger and puffs her stogie. "Thought I was a goner fer sure when that 'un ran up on me with that there shocker stick o' his."

Dash just reaches over and slaps her knee. "Yeah, but you weren't, and I took good care of him." A smug grin comes over her face. "Like I said, nothin' to worry about. I'd never leave you hangin' like that."

"Well, I thought I was gonna be goofing off with the great pony in the sky, too! Like, ptuie, hack, bleeeeehhh!" Waving her arms around, Pinkie reminds them of her close encounter with the Viper's venom glands. "I don't want THAT taste in my mouth EVER again!"

Fluttershy looks downcast at her pronouncement. "I... I should have done something. I should have helped you. I even brought a Medkit and everything, but you were just too far away." The Gremlin beeps and boops at her, and she jumps and turns to face the little machine. "Would you, really? That would be wonderful if you could have healed her for me, little guy! You can really do that?"

Rarity looks over the splashes of alien blood and viscera covering her with disgust. "Well I for one, could do with a little fashion healing of my own. Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to get these stains out of my outfit?"

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>>29563798
Twilight waves her hand to get their attention.

"The important thing, girls, is that we all got out in one piece, and that we did it as a team. We'll beat these guys one step at a time, one fight at a time, until these humans don't ever have to worry about evil aliens ever again! Now, on three. One, two..."

"Goooooo, STARDUST!"

With a flurry of cheers and hurrahs, they exit the Skyranger and return to their quarters, a successful mission behind them, but many more in their future before the ADVENT Coalition is defeated for good.

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>>29563817
So, what's the verdict, ya cunts? Questions, comments, bitches, moans, complaints? First time I've done something like this. It's more of a hassle than I thought it was going to be. I need to get my screenshot game on point.

>>29563853
Too long;Didnt read.

Maybe stream gameplay instead?

>>29563853
I fear that the screenshot + explanation unfortunately doesn't work very well for me, and I personally love XCOM

It was fairly nice, more as something to break up reading in other threads for me,

>>29564775
>stream gameplay
Wouldn't even know where to start.

>>29567450
Any input on something I might be able to improve on? I don't know if I'm going to continue this, since it made a simple mission take two and a half hours to complete, but if I do, I'd like to make it a better, more engaging experience for /mlp/.