Years passed. Under Dieter’s leadership, Germaney became a powerful military power, with weaponry and destructive potential beyond any nation’s comprehension. Using Dieter’s vast knowledge, Human technologies were reverse engineered, including tanks and artillery. A strict military hierarchy came into being. The unicorns were officers due to their intellectual and tactical capabilities. The pegasi’s role was primarily one of air support. The only Equine species capable of flight, they were used in a role similar to bombers. The earthponies were reduced to the role of grunts, doing all the heavy labor. All of this became heavily classified. For all the outside world knew, they still used spears. Military equipment was never paraded.

Tensions between Germaney and its surrounding nations began to rise as they became increasingly hostile and militaristic. Surrounding nations tensed themselves in apprehension at the giant on their borders. They formed an alliance against the Germaneans known as the Alliance of Freedom. Equestria was declared the leader of this alliance, despite its apparent military weakness. The Allies were confident that they would have victory. They knew that Dieter had killed entire species. But, they reasoned, he was only one man. They were blissfully unaware just what kind of power Germaney possessed.

On July 2, 1256 E.F., an Equestrian pegasi scout was shot down of Germaney. This was all the excuse Dieter needed. On the next day, July 3, Germaney declared war on Equestria. In response, the Hooviet Union, Prance, and the Griffin Kingdoms declared war on Germaney. Dieter had already prepared for each eventuality, coldly laying out plans for a war unlike any other seen in the world’s history.

Captain Stormtalon puffed up with pride as he saw the neat, ordered rows of the Griffin army. Confidence seemed to ooze from the Griffin forces. The Germaneans would be easily defeated. They were, after all, spear wielding savages.

“Crossbows, aim!” Stormtalon ordered.

There was a clattering sound as crossbows were leveled to the forest before them.

Let them come, Stormtalon thought, they would fall before the griffins’ superior fire power.
There was silence. Stormtalon blinked. Why wasn’t there any movement? Surely the Germaneans would attack soon? Invasions usually came with a lot of noise, and a mass of charging bodies. Perhaps they had chickened out? Stormtalon felt strangely disappointed. He had wanted a good fight. He hoped that they were still coming. Griffins loved to fight.

There was the sound of thunder in the distance. A sudden whistling screech bombarded Stormtalon’s ears. What was that? There was a massive flash of light, and dirt was thrown wildly into the air. There was a strange crimson mist. Stormtalon realized with a start that it was blood. There was screaming. He looked back. Several of his men had limbs blasted off by the strange projectile. They writhed in the dirt, agonized shouts escaping from their beaks.

More thunder sounded. There were several more shrieks from the air. More explosions resonated. The ground shook. Stormtalon was struck by a moment of indecision. It was soon ended when he saw his aide, Private Leatherbeak, decapitated by a piece of shrapnel. As Leatherbeak’s vitae spattered over Stormtalon’s pure white feathers, he knew exactly what to do.

“RETREAT!” He screamed. They couldn’t deal with something like this!

The Griffons turned tail and began to flee. Some ran, some flew, all moved as fast as they could. A succession of smaller explosions came from nearby. Pieces of lead whizzed through the air, striking griffins in the back. They shrieked as they pin-wheeled to the ground, ichor making strange patterns in the air. Stormtalon allowed himself a glance back.

Grey ponies advanced on their hind legs. They wore grey uniforms and black helmets. Upon their faces were strange masks that gave them a bug-eyed, insectoid appearance. Upon their right front legs were red bands marked with downward pointing swords. The swords were superimposed over Iron Crosses. It was the symbol of the Germanean Reich. The strange, boxy weapons magnetically clamped to their front hooves spat fire at alarming rates, shredding easily through the griffins.

A beast burst from within a forest. It growled. Upon closer inspection, Stormtalon found that it wasn’t an animal at all, but a contraption made of metal. It had an angular turret, with a large cylinder sticking out of it. Stormtalon could only assume it was some type of weapon. The turret of the strange vehicle swiveled to face the main body of the fleeing griffin army. A large explosion sounded, and smoke billowed from the open end of cylinder. Stormtalon cried out as he was thrown onto his back by a large blast.

He tried to scramble onto his feet. They wouldn’t respond. He looked down to find that his legs had been completely amputated from the knees downwards. He didn’t feel any pain, just numbing cold. The adrenaline must have dulled the agony. More scything pieces of lead flew through the air, and Stormtalon almost wept as he saw his comrades falling, crimson holes opening in their backs and sides. Blood slicked the earth.

After a few minutes, there were no griffins left standing upon the field. The ponies went about the grisly business of field executions. Screams were suddenly cut off by sporadic shots. One of the Germaneans came to stand before him. Stormtalon glared up at it defiantly. The pony leveled a weapon at Stormtalon’s head.

“Do you have any final words?” The pony asked, its voice muffled by its gas mask.

“Damn…you…!” Stormtalon hissed.

The pony twitched its hoof. The trigger on its Maschinepistole-1254 was magnetically pulled back. A round spat from the barrel, punching through Stormtalon’s skull, shattering it like a melon. All over the battlefield, such scenes were being repeated. Blood coated the Germaneans, and they continued, indifferent. They left nothing alive as they continued their advance towards Olympus, the Griffin capital. Hundreds of thousands of hooves thundered against the ground. Following them were hundreds of tanks. Overhead, pegasi air units pumped their wings, closing in on targets for bombing runs. Artillery units spat shells overhead onto distant Griffin positions.

Similar events occurred over all the allied countries, as Germanean technology took them by surprise. In Equestria, frightened civilians suddenly found pegasi bombers demolishing Detrot. The pegasi were soon followed by artillery, tanks, and foot soldiers. In the massive Hooviet Union to the East of Germaney, Germanean units marched hundreds of miles in a day, killing many. To the west, Prance found Germanean troops inside their capital, Cloparis. The Prench surrendered within hours, finding themselves at the mercy of Germanean blitzkrieg tactics. By the end of the day, roughly two hundred thousand allied troops lied dead in the dust of the Germanean advance. The Germaneans had not lost a single soldier.

Dieter smiled in cold satisfaction. According to the reports, all was going according to plan. The war was already going in Germaney’s favor, and the war was only a day in. Dieter knew that victory was likely assured. Dieter’s smile faded as he remembered that this was the way he had felt when France had fallen, and Europe was conquered. Dieter didn’t need to be reminded how that had turned out. He would stay on guard, and the world would be his.

“Flee,” Dieter whispered to the figures representing hostile forces on his strategic map, “Flee, it will only slow the inevitable.”

He turned and quietly left the room. His blue eyes glinted like ice in the sun.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Nuggetmanu2 for his proofreading and ideas. Thanks to the readers for your support and suggestions. Feel free to comment, your opinion is valued.