To say that Twilight was excited was an understatement. After so long studying, so long researching, she had finally picked up something! She had worked so hard, studied so long, and she had finally contacted aliens. All the Elements were gathered, and they were prepared to listen in, although some were annoyed that Twilight had disturbed their busy schedules. Twilight happily clapped her hooves together, creating a hollow knocking noise.
“Gather around girls!” she called to her friends.
The radio that Twilight had miraculously modified spat static loudly, causing everyone to flinch. Then, they heard voices on the other end. The girls pried their ears, listening intently.
“-Two one actual!” the radio screeched, “Multiple tangos sighted on rooftop, we are under heavy fire!” A series of explosions sounded in the background, causing everyone to flinch.
“What’s a tango?” asked Rainbow Dash, obviously puzzled.
“Ooh! Ooh! Let me guess. Is it something to eat?” Pinkie Pie shrilly questioned. She would have continued if Twilight hadn’t stuffed her hoof in her mouth.
“Shh!” Twilight hissed, “Listen!”
“We have multiple AAVs inbound on our position. They are Russian, repeat they are Rus-“ The radio was cut off violently, and another voice replaced the first one.
“Heavy casualties sustained! Simmons is down! I say again, Wild Dog-2 is down! We require fire support at this tim-SHIT!” the girls flinched at the expletive. “Suppressing fire! Left flank! Left Flank!”
A series of loud booming noises resounded.
“-Under fire from multiple hostile mortars. We require fire immediate fire support at this time. over! Targets marked with red smoke, how copy, out?”
“Solid copy, Wild Dog! Friendlies in the killbox, mark with green smoke, over.”
Fluttershy flinched at the usage of the word “kill”.
“-We have incoming MI-24 Hinds. Say again, Hinds! We require immediate anti-air support!”
“Connors! Get that Javelin up here now!”
There was a whooshing noise followed by a loud explosion.
The girls winced as they heard agonized screaming in the background.
“Tango down! Say again, Tango down!”
“Solid copy.”
“Incoming ADAM!”
There was a whistling screech that caused everypony to jerk back. A loud explosion and more screaming followed it. Twilight glanced at the others in bewilderment. What was happening? What was an ADAM?
“Central! This is Foxtrot-two-niner!” another voice screamed, “We have multiple hostile T-80Us closing on our position! Requesting an anti-tank run, over! Authorization mark, delta-niner-two-epsilon!”
“Solid copy, Foxtrot-two-niner. Paint targets with laser, over.”
“Targets painted!”
There was whooshing noise followed by a mechanical screaming noise. A thunderous explosion punctuated the transmission. There was more screaming. The sounds of brick falling punctuated the cacophony of war.
“-Actual! Tango down. Mark, one building destroyed. How copy, over?”
“Solid copy.”
“Cease fire! Cease fire! There are civvies in the killbox! I say again, there are civvies in the killbox!”
This voice was cut off by another.
“Damn it! We have lost War Hound! Say again, War Hound destroyed! Tank support lost!”
More thunderous explosions resonated in the background. The girls blinked. This sounded like a war the more they listened to it. But this was obviously with technology far beyond their grasp.
“Target annihilated. Bravo Zulu! Bravo Zulu!”
This produced several blinks of confusion. What did Bravo Zulu mean?
“Hitting LZ, danger close.”
“Go loud! Go loud!”
“Heads down! Putting out a 40 Mike Mike!”
“Grenade!” This was followed by an earth-shattering explosion and static.
“Multiple tangos sighted, line sierra-roughly thirty. I say again, three-zero!"
“SHIT! Civvies down! Civvies down!”
The girls grimaced at this. They assumed “civvies” meant civilians. They hoped that whatever happened wasn’t too bad. They heard more screaming from the other end, cut off by static.
“Enemy CAS inbound!” There was a sort of ripping sound, and several more explosions. The sound of flames overwhelmed the radio.
“Alfa-2-1 is down! I say again, he is down!”
“Come again, Alfa-2-1, transmission intermittent.”
“Alfa-2-1 is down!” the-what were they any way?-voice cried, “Alfa-2-1 is down!”
The transmission cut off again.
"We have BTRs incoming!
"Command, we are getting torn apart here!"
"Where the hell is our fire support?"
"Pop smoke! Pop smoke!"
"Launch that TOW!"
"Enemy APC down!"
More glances between the girls. What was an APC?
"Medic! We need a medic here! Oh...God...I think I'm going to puke."
More screaming from the radio, and several more punctual explosions. More flinching from the girls.
"All units, this is central. We have inbound TU-95s. Brace yourselves for high altitude bombing!"
"Fox three! Fox three!" This voice was muffled, and heavy breathing noises could be heard.He was cut off.
"INCOMING!" another voice screamed.
A series of loud explosions. There was a loud cry of agony. They thought they could hear the voice shouting, “Where is my leg?” The transmission cut off into silence.
Twilight desperately turned the knobs, trying to reestablish contact, to no avail. The radio continued to blurt white noise. She sighed and turned to her friends. Pinkie’s mane she noticed, had deflated and gone straight. Tears beaded the corners of her eyes. Fluttershy looked down, as if she didn’t know what to think. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stayed where they were standing, their eyes wide. They were still trying to process what they had heard. Rarity, had plopped down on her famous drama-couch.
Twilight had no idea what she had just heard. She knew that something was very wrong. It was obviously a war, but what kind of war? Pony wars had very generally short and relatively non-violent, but what was occurring over the radio was obviously something of a far greater magnitude than ponies could ever imagine. She glanced at the girls, noticing their confusion towards some of the terms. Truthfully, Twilight didn't know what a lot of the words meant either. She hoped that she would never have to find out first hand. Ponykind was not ready for something like this. She prayed that they would never have to learn first-hoof what it was like. The horror was great.
Author's Note
Just something random that popped up into my mind. Please feel free to comment.
Addendum: Reformatted 12/12/14 to fix wall of text syndrome.
Emergency Action Notification
Twilight once again found herself sitting before the radio, trying to find a signal. Despite the horror that had confronted her earlier that week, she found herself drawn back. She had heard a signal from light years away, issued centuries ago. She heard a great war fought with powers and technology beyond her understanding. She wanted to learn more. She wanted to find out what had happened, to get to the bottom of the issue.
She turned the knob on the radio, finding mere silence as a response.
“Come on…come on,” she groaned to herself, failing to realized that it had become a mantra.
She simply needed to find that sweet spot. She had to find it. She didn’t know why, but she felt it was her obligation to at least learn what had happened. She listened closely. The static died away into silence once again, causing Twilight to bit her lip in frustration and groaned sligh-
A harsh beeping noise screeched from the radio, causing Twilight to flinch. She reached for the radio in an attempt to shut it off. Then a voice came through the radio, harsh and emotionless.
“We interrupt your scheduled programming. This is a national emergency. Important details will follow.”
This was followed by a long harsh beep.
Twilight’s ears perked up as she digested this new development. She seemed to have found a broadcast. Whether it was from the same location remained to be seen.
The beep ended. The voice continued.
“The following is an Emergency Action Notification message broadcast at the request of the United States Government: A foreign invasion has begun in the Northwestern United States. At 1:44 PM Pacific Standard Time, Soviet warplanes attacked several targets including but not limited to the cities of: Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. Air attacks are also supplemented by a large scale ground invasion of Seattle. North American Aerospace Defence Command notes a second, larger wave of Soviet warplanes. United States Air Force units have been dispatched to intercept hostile Soviet targets. National Guard forces have been deployed to counter Soviet landing forces.”
Twilight listened intently, fascinated by the story unfolding before her. Apparently, it was a case of one nation invading another. But why? What was the point of invading another pony’s home? If they were so advanced as to be able to broadcast on a national scale, why did they turn to war?Twilight still didn’t understand enough. Not nearly. She continued listening.
“All citizens living the Northwestern United States should shelter in place immediately. All other Americans are asked to remain vigilant and be prepared to seek shelter or evacuate at moment’s notice. Remember to keep necessary supplies: food, water, clothes, medical supplies, and a battery powered radio. If you lose power to your home, tune your radio to 770 AM for further information.”
Twilight had flinched slightly at the thought of families cowering in their homes as the chaos from the radio raged around them.
“The President has been notified of the attack, and is expected to speak in a few hours. Please stand by for this message.”
Another loud beep sounded. The message repeated itself. Twilight listened for any variation in the tone of the one reading the message or the message itself. There was none. It was as if the words themselves were recorded. She groaned in frustration as she realized that she could wring no further information from the radio. She hoofed the radio off as it once again repeated its tidings of doom.
“-is an Emergency Action Notification message-”
Author's Note
I wrote this to stay in practice. It is annoyingly bland to be honest. Comments and constructive criticism would be appreciated.
Twilight turned the knob again. It had been a few hours since she had last checked the radio. It had broadcast the speech from a national leader, who claimed that “America” would never be broken. It was delivered with a great deal of pain in the voice of whoever was speaking. Twilight thought she understood, but was certainly irritated when this was repeated on loop. Now there was something new.
A heavily accented voice shouted over the radio.
“Comrade Americans, do not believe the lies that your evil capitalist government feeds you. We have not come with malice upon our hearts. We are bringing to you red freedom from your fascist government, which treats you like slaves so that you will produce weapons for their unjust war against the motherland! They have exploited you all your lives and now it is time for the proletariat to rise up against the foul bourgeoisie oppressors. We have already liberated much of Europe, and they have welcomed us with open arms, contrary to what your wicked and greedy capitalist leaders have deceivingly stated. We beg that you do the same, Comrades. We are here on your interests, even though you do not believe so.”
Twilight recognized propaganda when she heard it. This was likely a message being broadcast by the occupying forces. It seemed that the war was politically motivated, and that defamation was a tactic that this side was especially fond of. The accent held a hint of Stalliongrad, Twilight thought, which was odd to her. Why were there so many linguistic similarities in a message from half a galaxy away? It was a massively confusing question. Were there similar evolutionary chains? Was the planet also populated by ponies?
The voice droned on.
“Remember, American comrades, although you are now part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, there are many of you who still hold sympathies for your foolish capitalist government. Therefore, martial law is in effect. The Red Army is your friend, and know what is best for you. If they ask you for aid, you must give it to them: it is for your safety. The cowards in Washington will try to bomb you now that you are citizens of the glorious Soviet Union! Rise up against the oppressors! Remember that anyone trying to leave Soviet territory will be punished severely for the greater good of international socialism and the freedom of all peoples.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, familiar to a degree with such drivel. While not as horrifying, the Changeling attack on Canterlot featured massive amounts of propaganda, reassuring the native populace that no harm would arrive to them. Lies. The Changelings drained many of them dry. They weren’t dead, but they certainly were nothing more than mere husks of themselves.
“Thank your comrades in the glorious Frontal Aviation Forces for protecting you from capitalist death squads. They have branded you traitors to their self-serving and self righteous popularity contest agendas.”
From what Twilight could tell from the “American president’s” speech, this was also a lie. He had prayed openly before his own nation for the safe deliverance of those trapped in the “Soviet” occupation zones. Twilight wondered if anyone really believed what the radio screamed was true.
“Because of Capitalist blockades, food has now been rationed. Bear this well comrades, all people must make sacrifices for the good of society. Remember that we are your friends, your liberators. Do not fear us. Love us, adore us. For we love freedom just as you do. Resist the Fascisti! Resist the capitalists. Glory to Communism! Glory to the Soviet Union! This is a great day for the Motherland!”
The loop was about to begin again. There was a crackle of static, and the accented voice was suddenly replaced by a clear, unaccented one.
“Fuck the commies! Resist for freedom and democracy! God bless America!”
The radio cut off.
Author's Note
This just popped into my head. Communism goes hand-in-hand with propaganda like this.
