Tendrils Of Warby RisecChaptersChapter One: The plungeChapter Two: The Fall of GriffoniaWorld at WarChapter Three: Jewel HarbourChapter Four: The Southern StormChapter Five: Burning SunsChapter One: The plungeEIGHT MONTHS LATER It was a sunny day all over Equestria. Ponies rushed to and fro their daily work habits, Ponyville was abuzz with life. Living in Ponyville and second in command of the Equestrian Royal Army was Twilight Sparkle, she was a very curious pony indeed. Twilight was steadily walking back to her home, she had just started reading a book she found on the shelves, it was called the 'Tendrils of War' and was written by an old Equestrian pony a long time ago. She was very curious about war, Equestria had no desire to fight, it had vast amounts of diamonds, food, trees, water, and harmony seemed to linger in every corner. Arriving at her home (The Ponyville library) she opened the door to see a large structure made of cards. "Spike? What are you doing?" She asked with a smile on her face. "I am trying to build a house, just a couple more cards and I will beat my record!" Spike said proudly as he pulled the last two cards from their box. "well um, good luck with that" Twilight said and galloped straight to her room where 'Tendrils of War' was waiting. She opened it's delicate hard cover and began to read. TWO HOURS LATER For two straight hours Twilight sat on her bed reading this book, she didn't realize it was almost dinner and that her friends were coming over. "shoot!" She swore as she put the book down and ran downstairs to the kitchen. She ran past Spike who was holding the last card with a where-do-I-put-this-last-card? look on his face. Twilight put on her apron with her magic and prepared the oven for the roast Spike had made. She put the dish in the oven just as there was a knock on the door. She ran back to the front door and opened it. "We're here!" shouted a pink pony as she ran inside "Pinkie! Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy " She said as she beckoned them in. "Why hello darling, nice apron" Rarity said as she started at the apron Twilight was wearing (which Rarity gave Twilight last year for Hearth Warming Day) They sat down and began to talk about their planned hiking trip. "I simply can't, it will be all muddy and my hooves will be ruined!" Rarity had been putting up a fight about going "Rarity, you are going, dun' worry now. It'll be fun!" Applejack said happily. Rarity just grumbled Fluttershy started to sniff the air and smiled "Are we having Spike's special roast today?" Rainbow Dash started to laugh and turned to Twilight. "Well? Are we?" Rainbow Dash almost shouted. Rainbow Dash was addicted to Spike's roast, last year she almost ate the whole thing at Twilight's birthday. "yes we are, Dashie. Spike made a lot this time" Twilight laughed "Yes!" Rainbow Dash squealed. THREE HOURS LATER The group sat at the table absolutely full. Rainbow Dash was licking the gravy from her hooves. Even Rarity, who always fussed about her diet was happy. "thanks Spikey-Wikey" She rubbed Spike's cheek. "nothing can get better than this" Twilight leaned back. The entire group stopped as Spike suddenly burped out a letter. The seal had a picture of a Unicorn's head, the sign of Canterlot. Twilight was not expecting a letter from the Princess any time soon. She wiped her hooves and unwrapped the letter as the gang surrounded her. "Dear Twilight, Something important has happened and I require you and the Mane Six's service in Canterlot. I cant explain a lot but please, it is very urgent and you must get to Canterlot immediately! Princess Celestia". The group did not hesitate. They cleaned up and ran out the door toward the train station, "Stay here and clean up, Spike" Twilight shouted as the group galloped out the door. "As always" Spike rolled his eyes. The night had grown colder. The six ponies waited as the next train pulled into the station. They jumped into the empty carriage and off they were, to the Equestrian capital of Canterlot. It took a total of 40 minutes and they arrived in the fancy train terminal. They galloped all the way to the gates of the Equestrian castle. There Celestia was waiting for them. At first Twilight thought Discord had returned, but taking one look from Celestia's face it wasn't that. "we got your letter, Princess. What's wrong?" Twilight said as they bowed "It is isn't much, but you all have a big part in Equestria's military, so you deserve to know" Celestia said. "Please follow me" They walked into the War Room, an enormous map was on one wall of the room, however it appeared new, Twilight stared at it. The other ponies also saw the change "What is that symbol on Germania?" Rarity asked Celestia paused and turned around. "I will explain everything in good time, but you need to keep this a secret" Celestia boomed "You have our word, Princess" Twilight said "and mine!" Pinkie added, Twilight rolled her eyes. Celestia coughed and thought of what to say "Well, it appears our neighbour, Germania has had a slight change of leadership." "Why is that bad?" Twilight asked "Our recon teams have reported that they have seen strange things over the country, we don't know anything, but we believe that they are preparing for war" Everypony gasped, "War?" Fluttershy stuttered. She began to tremble Celestia just shook her head "we don't know, but I would feel good if you stay in Canterlot for a while, things may change" The ponies bowed, and went outside to the castle's dormitory area. "What did she mean,war?" Fluttershy asked the question on everyone's mind "How can that one filthy country do anything? It shouldn't even be on the map" Rarity whined followed by a choking sound "Girls! I know you're all curious, but we need to wait it out. It could just be a simple misunderstanding, that's all" Twilight tried to reassure her friends, It partially worked. IN GERMANIA Things had turned around for the Germanians. The Flankalists planted bombs underneath the mansion of the previous government. The bombs were designed to just destroy the walls of the house. Gerais and the other rulers were tortured and hanged. The Flankzi revolution had succeeded in taking over the country, large posters of Flankzi propaganda went up, and the Hilat youth movement spread throughout the country. For once since the Second Crusade the country's economy rose, Hilat became a icon amongst his people. But he had a plan, Hilat wanted the whole world to feel the power of the Flankzi Empire, to do that he had erected massive factories into the side of Mount Rych, the most sacred symbol in all of Germania. Germanians were clever builders, lacking horns and wings, but have a more powerful mind than any Equestrian Earth pony. Flankzi designers had already designed tanks and flying vehicles, which were in the process of being built. Meanwhile one of the many things that infuriated Hilat were the recon ponies Equestria sent to spy on him. They were really easy to spot and Hilat just wanted to shoot them all down, but he needed to keep peace for now. He hated that thought. CANTERLOT CASTLE There was no more reports from the princess, but tension in the castle began to rise. Generals from all over Equestria gathered at the war room. Different emotions began to bubble up inside Twilight. First she felt angry at the Canterlot Inqusition for not informing her on anything, second she was scared at the prospect of war, third she felt curious to see what war was (the feeling she mostly felt). She was sitting on her bed reading through 'Tendrils of War' when there was a knock on the door. Behind it was General Redhoof. "General? what are you doing here?" She asked with curiosity in her voice "Well you know me, The Princess has requested you and your friends at the war room" The big stallion responded impatiently. Twilight did not hesitate. After passing security she and her friends arrived at the war room, a long rectangular room covered with machinery and posters. A long glass table stretched from one end of the room to the other, the room was filled with all ranks of the Equestrian army. The room smelt of cigar smoke. Celestia's face lightened up when she saw them. "Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity" She said notifying of their presence "We serve only the Inquisition and the Equestrian Army" They said all together and bowed Celestia got straight to the point. "At 1:35 AM Canterlot Time Germanian forces invaded and succesfully captured Polandia. The Polandian army fought back but they were severely outnumbered" The six ponies gasped. "Did we send reinforcements?" Rainbow Dash asked in a depressed voice There was a chuckling noise coming from the generals. "The Inquisition has decided that we should not interfere with Germania right now. We cannot risk fighting" Celestia answered Rainbow's question without thinking. "What? We can't just sit here while innocent ponies are getting slaughtered!" Twilight shouted back, she didn't care about respect anymore. Celestia shifted uncomfortably. "We have been discussing with them and have agreed on a 'non-violent pact'. They promised not to attack us if we promise not to interfere with their 'plans'. Twilight shook her head, turned and galloped toward the door. Rainbow Dash looked at the princess and said one last thing before the group walked out the door. "We are strong enough to fight" With that she turned around and galloped away. Chapter Two: The Fall of Griffonia"Move it, hurry up" Shouted Grian, commander of the Griffonian air force. It had been a stressful couple of days since Germania invaded Polandia and it was clearly obvious that Griffonia was next in Germania's 'plans' of world domination. Politics had failed, time to bring out the weapons. Grian was assigned to train the new air force recruits, it was a painful and exhausting job. Looking from the reports of the forces attacking Polandia Grian saw no air force of any kind was used. 'Perhaps they don't have one?'. But after all Polandia didn't put up much of a fight... "Grian, how do these suit things work?" asked one of the recruits. Grian turned his attention to the brand new battle packs. They worked a bit like a saddle, but providing it's wearer with armament. "See these straps? You fit them around you and press the green button on the side" Grian responded with irritation in his voice. He put the straps around the recruit and pressed the button. The two straps locked into place and two large long barreled guns slid out of the backpack. "G8-Fs. the finest gun for killing ponies who lost their place" Grian laughed and helped the rest. Germania was going down. TWO WEEKS LATER The knocks on the door persisted. Grian sighed, got out of bed and walked to the door rubbing his eyes. 2:00 AM in the morning, this better be important. He opened the door to see a young griffon wearing a lieutenant coat and cap. "Grian, The Council has requested you to be in the city hall in ten minutes" The griffon turned around and flew away before it could sink in. After a ten minute flight through the rain he arrived at the City Hall. There was electricity in the air, he didn't like it. He walked into the main hall, it was abuzz with shouting, loud chatter and barely audible music. Grian took a seat and waited for the sound to die down. "Grian, I am glad you could join us" Counciller Greer smiled and began to speak "Our friends, the 'Germanians' though it was acceptable to invade our land and slaughter our people. They are here people" "What?! DEATH TO THE PONIES" Yelled someone from behind The griffons roared and ran out the room to fight for their homeland. Grian hated when that happened. Griffons were so overdramatic when it came to the homeland. INVASION OF GRIFFONIA Grian and his squadron flew through the cold morning air. All armed and ready for battle. They were targeting a small town which was recently abandoned when the Germanians were approaching. "Target is in sight" Grian said through the mic. In front of them, just 5 kilometres away, was the small town of Griffonville, one of Griffonia's many agricultural hubs. About two days ago it was assaulted by Germanian tanks in their plot to destroy the farm towns, but the Griffons stationed there forgot to burn the crops to make sure the invaders couldn't help themselves to the wheat. They were now very close. "Initiate bombing run" Grian said and the griffons nose dived toward the ground, each one was holding onto four incendiary bombs, perfect for burning crops. As they passed over the town they saw the Germanian ponies look up and gallop towards their Anti-Air cannons, some of the griffons dropped their bombs which exploded in a torrent of fire upon the streets. The first patch of crops were up, Grian dropped two of his bombs, they fell through the air and exploded setting the crops on fire. Grian turned his head right to see one of the Germanian tanks move up to the burning field. It's cannon was replaced by four smaller barrels. Two Germanians sat on the back. "AA guns! Evasive manoeuvres!" The gun opened fire, there was screams as the bullets ripped apart a couple of griffons in mid-air. Grian turned toward the second crop field and dropped one of his bombs. He had a mission and he wasn't going to let ponies stop him. "We're taking too much casulties!" Yelled one of the griffons "Retreat, get back to base" Just as he said that, a bullet clipped his wing. Grian suddenly spiralled toward the ground, the fiery pain in his wing began to spread. He painfully pulled up and headed toward the last crop field. He could hear the AA cannon following him trying to get in range. Dropping the last of his bombs he banked right and landed onto a street and pulled out his pistol. He stood up on his hind legs and hid behind an overturned carriage just as a tank rumbled passed. He pulled out his mic. "This is Grian, I'm wounded and need help. Is anyone there?" He climbed onto the carriage and poked his head up, a group of armed Germanians were making their way toward him. Fortunately lying next to him was a wingless griffon riddled with bullet holes, it's dead talons holding onto a weapon. The weapon, a S-31 Carbine, felt heavy in his hands. He reloaded it and took the extra clips from the corpse. He breathed in, the first Germanian passed him, turned his head and screamed before a bullet went through his open mouth. The other ponies shouted and opened fire, Grian jumped up as high as he could with both wings flapping, he pulled down on the trigger, the gun fired back, it's heavy recoil made his aim rather bad and most of them missed one of the shots hit one of them in the leg and missed the other who seemed to be very angry. Grian landed back on the ground and aimed for the last one's head, but before he pressed the trigger the Germanian shouted a profanity and ran away to get reinforcements. Grian dropped the Carbine and ran off. The pain in his wing was almost unbearable, but it was his only hope in escaping. With a beat of his wings he took to the sky, flew through the smoke from the burning crops and turned east toward the nearest base. His eyes became heavy and he became cold. But he continued on, he would not admit defeat in front of a mighty foe, not yet. Finally after what felt like an eternity he landed onto the airstrip and collapsed, two soldiers and a doctor ran out to his shivering body and examined it. Grian blacked out. Grian woke up, the feathers on his forehead dripping with sweat, his wing was bandaged. He got up and looked around, he was in a big white room, stretchers and tables were all over the place. "Ah Grian, you are awake" a griffon wearing a white coat approached him. His voice urgent. Before Grian could open his beak the doctor continued. "Come, we must hurry. The Germanians are coming from the west, they'll be here at nightfall" Grian looked out the window, the sun was dangerously low in the sky. There is still time. "Let's go" Grian stood up and flexed his muscles and wings, His bandaged wing still sore from the bullet. "where are we going?" Grian asked while limping after the doctor (who seemed in a rush) "To the trucks, they will take us to another base further east". "and then?" The doctor stopped and turned around. "I don't know" The doctor sighed and continued his nervous power walk. They arrived at the gates to the airfield, there were several Griffonian trucks lined up. Injured griffons were waiting to board. Grian was greeted by a pair of griffons when there was a loud shout. "THEIR HERE! ENEMY INFANTRY SPOTTED!" Everyone started to panic. "Get on the truck" one of the griffons pointed Grian to a already packed truck. Hopping into the back he sat next to a child with a bandage across one of it's eyes. The truck rumbled to life and accelerated, dust and dirt was kicked up and flew high into the air. The truck continued to speed up until they were followed by the rest of the vehicles. After ten minutes columns of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of the base. They were safe, for now. Germanian forces continued to cover ground, even though the griffons constantly bombed the infantry and tanks from the air. The griffons have to hold Talonopolis at all costs. It was the pride of the griffon empire and it's heart. The Germanians knew that. The Griffonian's only hope was to destroy enemy formations from the air. But even the sky was being taken from them. GRIFFONIAN BOMBING RUN, 100 Kilometers north "Roger, Target in sight" Delta Squadron was on route toward a diamond-mining town, it was recently captured by the Germanians and was a big loss for the griffons. They were sent to destroy the main entrance into the mine complex. "What is that?" One of the recruits suddenly said over the channel. In front of them, about 10 kilometres was a long cigar shaped construct. It was hovering far above the ground. The Germanian swastika clearly defined on it's tail. As they got closer they could see smaller craft guarding the big one. Suddenly they all turned toward the griffons. "Enemy fighters?!? Evasive Manoeuvres!" One of the younger griffons screamed in fear. The fight was over before it even started. The Flankzi fighter jets, short stubby planes with long wings and a propeller on the front, opened fire on the griffons. The high-strength bullets tore the griffons apart before they could retaliate. Bombs exploded in mid air finishing the job. On the ground, the Germanians looked up as blood, tissue and other body parts rained from the sky, some of them even vomited and ran into shelter. The war was now in the Germanian's favour. Talonopolis Talonopolis, home of the griffons. The Griffon Council, the head of the entire governance, decided to make a last stand. Every single remaining squadron was called forth, along with proud civilians who wanted to fight for their homeland. Grian walked through the main hall, statues of famous heroes lined the walls. The council called him to the Castle of Wings, home of the council and the government. He approached the massive door, the two guards opened it and he walked inside. The room was filled with fancy furniture, golden sculptures and other fancy pleasures Grian would never experience. Greer, head of the council stood waiting for the commander. While Grian wore nothing, Greer had on a fancy robe. Perfect Council clothing. "Commander Grian, I see your wing is better, yes?" Greer asked "I guess so... You called me?" Grian responded with slight confusion. Greer beckoned the befuddled commander to sit down. Grian leaned in. "I need you to lead the final war party, i reviewed your record. You are perfect for the job" Grian's beak dropped, his heart pounded. In no ways was he privileged. "I would rather be shot" Grian spat out. His voice began to rise. Greer's face remained unchanged. Grian saw hope in the fool's eyes. "Don't you get it? The war is lost" Grian added. Anger washed over Greer's face. "Explain how it is over!" "Our cities are destroyed, our army is in ruins. Our civilians are giving up hope. We need to leave Griffonia or else the Germanians will wipe us out" Grian said, not with anger fueling it, but fear for his race. Greer saw the change in tone. He whispered loudly, sadness filling his tone. "We would be forever disgraced, there is still hope. We have plenty of squadrons left, we still have a chance!" Grian considered this and looked away. "Don't do it for me or you. Do it for the future generations, so they can live without harm and worry just like before" Greer begged. "Very well" Grian whispered and walked out the massive door. The end of the griffon race was here. 50 kilometers west of Talonopolis This was it, line after line of armed griffons, flying to their doom. There was at least over 10,000 griffons here. In front was the massive flying construct, dubbed 'The Airship' by griffon engineers.A massive cloud of enemy fighters leading the airship. Grian estimated they had 10 minutes before in firing distance. He opened his beak. "To all my fellow griffons, I know this looks bad, and it is. But you need to keep in mind the survival of our race and homeland. Many of you will die, but as you breathe your last breaths, you will know you fought and died for the future generations of griffons. Let your guns be your fury, and your wings the guides to our salvation!" There was roaring and cheering throughout the squadrons. But the threat in front of them was almost upon them. "Arm weapons" Each griffon was equipped with two very powerful guns and two missiles. Perfect loadout. Each squadron leader reported in "Armed" The enemy fighter craft were now clearly visible. The black and grey paint job, the big swastika on each one's tail, the massive guns... The sound of the engines were now blocking out the sound of the rushing wind. Grian's heart skipped a beat. "FIRE!" The air was filled with the sound of zinging as bullets shot through the air and smashed into the enemy formations, one of the fighters was hit straight in the cockpit, it veered right and crashed into another fighter exploding and sending wreckage into the air. The enemy fighters returned fire. The squadrons broke into evasive maneuvers. The dogfight had began. Grian trailed a fighter and shot at it's wing, blowing it right off. He turned to another one and send off another salvo of bullets, smashing into the fuselage. Even though they were fighting in a massive space, the air seemed very tight, bullets, bodyparts, griffons, explosions and so on filled the air. He was slowly heading toward the airship, he could see small engines fixed into the grey metallic skin on metal beams. Finally he cleared the dog fighting area and approached head on toward the flying, metal beast. He armed his first missile and launched it. It left a trail in the air and finally impacted into one of the engines. The explosion was spectacular, suddenly a pair of fighters broke off from the fight and flew straight toward the commander. Grian's luck has run out. The fighters opened fire, a bullet went right through his left wing. Intense fiery pain filled his injured limb, Grian scowled, he opened fire and managed to destroy one of the enemy craft, it tumbled towards the ground. Another bullet went right through Grian's stomach. With a sigh the griffon stopped beating his wings and fell toward the ground. His goggles covered in blood, his life flashed before his eyes. With the last of his strength he pulled up and slammed into the ground, he slid and rolled to a stop on his back. He looked in the air, there were hardly any griffons, the fighter jets picked off the last of the squadrons. Blood rained from the sky. Grian closed his eyes. Griffonia officially surrendered to the Germanian Army only three days later. Talonopolis was bombarded and destroyed and the remaining griffons retreated Northwards to Equestria. The Germanians were left almost untouched by the fighting. World at WarGriffonia was in ruins, but in Germania it was a whole different story. In Germania's capital city of Berlinia, there was a massive party, Germanian commanders got drunk and laughed, FF Officers showed off to Germanian mares. Hilat, meanwhile, sat in his office thinking. Griffonia was his, but the fighting in Africana was intense, the Zebran Army was brutal as well as smart, Hilat didn't like that. Then he turned his attention to Equestria, home of the most powerful form of magic.Hilat knew that invading Equestria at this time would bring the end to Germania's wartime machine, Celestia was unbelievably powerful. But that didn't worry him. During the First Crusade, Germanian engineers realized how to harness magic, by constructing a massive tower known as a 'Spell-Tower'. 100 of them were erected into the Germanian countryside but most were destroyed in the Revolutions that followed. Hilat had acquired plans from Berlinia's archives and had already built the foundations for the new tower. Spell-Towers didn't use Sun Magic (The nickname for Equestrian magic), it used black magic. Black magic was deadly for unicorns because it could simply burn out one's horn, Hilat intended to use that against Celestia. Once she falls the rest of the Equestrians would soon follow. Next thing on Hilat's agenda was the battles in the Northern Ocean. When Germania captured Polandia, Hilat ordered a massive fleet of naval craft to be constructed. It was obvious that not doing so would make it easy for naval empires such as the Eastern Dogs to invade, after all, Polandia was a coastal country. Hilat was particularly proud of his U-boat fleet, which only had 10 submarines (more were being made). Another thing was his air force, specifically designed to match both Griffonia's and Equestria's air forces. The pride of the air fleet was the airship, named Blitzkrieg, it brought the destruction and surrender of Griffonia. [I did this on paint so it kinda sucks a bit] Meanwhile, he was secretly talking with the emperor of Japaran, Hirohitan. Japaran's naval force was the biggest in the world and outnumbered both Equestria and the Eastern Dog's fleets combined. Germania, meanwhile, was still building it's fleet. Japaran was slightly bigger than Germania, with roughly the same population number. However Japaran had no natural resources to fuel it's wartime efforts. Even before Germania rose up, Japaran was causing havoc in the Northern Ocean, tensions were building, Celestia had tried negotiating with the expanding country to avoid war but the talks broke down. Since the fall of Griffonia, Germania finally had a country bordering Japaran, Hilat wanted to ally with Japaran and combine their wartime efforts. That war machine would be unstoppable, thought Hilat. The Japarians were not horses but reptiles. Standing roughly 6 feet tall, they were mostly dark green in colour, they had a long tail sticking out behind them which could easily be mustered as a weapon. It was said the Japarians came from another continent because their race was uncommon in the Animal Kingdom. Like Germanians, the Japarians were very clever at designing vehicles, but their master creations involved the ocean. The Imperial Japarian Navy consisted of more than 600 vessels, 200 of which were aircraft carriers and 150 were scout ships. The remaining 350 ships were destroyers, bristling with cannons that could punch a hole in any enemy ship and armour so thick it took a lot of firepower to sink one. The Imperial Airforce was slightly smaller than Germania's, but was more advanced. The latest Japarian aircraft, the 'Galaxy' fighter craft was superior to both Germania and Equestria's airforces and was easily launched off the decks of aircraft carriers. Emperor Hirohitan was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, his army was ready for war and his men would die for honour. But he had to restrain his temptations as starting a war would bring the might of Equestria down on him. So when he heard of Germania's lightning war in the west he sprung into action. 2 weeks after Polandia surrendered, The I.J.N launched a front in the Northern Ocean, striking upon many Equestrian and Canine bases. The Germanian U-boats helped sink vital supply lines and allowed more reinforcements to be sent. But the biggest fight was yet to come. Hirohitan was ready. Chapter Three: Jewel HarbourTHREE WEEKS EARLIER The sunny ocean sun shone upon the Equestrian naval base of Jewel Harbour, it was a normal sunday, the naval officers relaxed in the sun, some hanged out with the local mares and some just felt like residing on their ships. The weather ponies working at the Cloudsdale weather factory said there were no storms lined up. Everything was normal, or so they thought. 100 km east, a small fleet of Japarian vessels was approaching, the bombers were lined up, their engines running and props spinning. Germania was busy destroying Griffonia and Equestria was distracted. Perfect. At 9:35 in the morning, the bombers and their escorts took off the carrier decks and headed for Jewel Harbour, Equestria was unaware an enemy attack force was heading for them. Stationed at Jewel Harbour was a young unicorn named Shield. He was a stallion and his mane was black but his body was white. Coming from an aristocratic family, his father was an old Equestrian admiral.That inspired him to join the Equestrian Royal Army. He was already a lieutenant. He sat in the warm sand, his friends sat on their backs taking a nap. Shield stared out at the bay, the sun shining off the water. His watch beeped as it hit 9:25. He got up and brushed the sand off his flank. "Where are you going?" Asked his friend, Camo. "Gonna take a walk" "See ya at the bar, drinks on me" Camo responded and sat back down. Shield trotted down the street, everything was so calm and peaceful. There was a gentle breeze in the air. After a quick walk he arrived at his favorite track through the forest, he enjoyed the fresh air and the chirps of birds. After a couple of minutes he arrived at the small secluded beach he called Shield's Nest. Before he moved to sit down he heard a faint rumble, at first he though it was a Pegusai patrol, but as it got louder the sound changed. Propellers. Indeed, in the distance a cloud of objects was approaching, the small dots turned to specks then to blobs then to winged contraptions. It was a main force of bombers escorted by fighters. Shield swore and galloped through the now quiet forest. The rumbling got louder. He galloped through the street shouting "ENEMY BOMBERS!" The other ponies looked at each other before the rumbling caught up. The air raid siren began to sound, it's rising and lowering tone shook the whole island. The Pegusai scrambled to the runways to gear up while the AA gunners rushed to their weapons. Explosions suddenly shook the ground, the civilians screamed and ran to cover. Suddenly a dive bomber nose dived toward where Shield was standing and opened fire at him, he jumped out of the way as the screaming plane roared over him, the red circle was visible on it's wings and tail. Japaran! There was a series of loud thumps as the AA guns opened fire, yellow lines raced toward the bombers above. He ran out from his cover, an explosion down the street alarmed him. A whole building exploded and collapsed into flames. The sound of dive bombers and explosions was deafening. After making sure the coast was clear, he galloped from his cover. It was obvious the Japarians wanted to blow up the Equestrian Battleships, there were four of them docked at Jewel Harbour. Shield was stationed aboard the E.S.S Celestial Light. It was one of 12 Equestrian Battleships ever built by the Equestrian Royal Navy and stood a chance against the superior Japarian forces. The path to the harbour was devestated, burning ponies littered the ground while the heavy machine guns set up to defend the entrance were in pieces. The Celestia Light came into view, its four mega cannons shone in the sun. "Shield! Get your bucking flank here right now" Yelled one of his fellow crew members.Shield obeyed and galloped toward an AA cannon, a smoking crater next to it along with the remains of a stallion. "Get on the cannon, protect the ship!" Yelled the ammo loader. Shield once again obeyed and clambered onto the rough seat. Putting his hooves on the steering wheel, he opened fire and immediately blew the wing off a dive bomber, it spun to the ground and exploded. Alas it was too late. The bombers above turned toward the ship, suddenly there was a whoosh. The handful of Pegusai defenders were in the air, they opened fire at the incoming group of bombers. One of the planes fell to the ground as it's engine exploded. The remaining aircraft shortly followed. But the pegusai's celebration was short lived as a squadron of fighters turned toward them with guns blazing. The pegusai were outnumbered 3 to 1 and were cut down. The fighters roared over Shield's head. "Keep firing! They mustn't sink the ship" The soldier's voice was burning with fear. More bombers turned toward them. Shield kept on firing until his hooves shook from the vibrations. Shield and the AA gun crew watched as a whole payload of bombs turned the Celestial Light into scrap metal. The ship erupted into smoke and fire. Remarkably the ship didn't list or sink. It's crew jumped off the decks, many of them on fire. Shield jumped off the AA gun and shouted at the AA crew. "Help the survivors, I'll go to the other battleships" The crew just nodded and manned the cannon. Shield, now covered in sweat and dirt galloped as fast as his hooves could take him toward the remaining ships. He passed another burning warship. But as he reached the third berth, the ship there was unharmed. Several dive bombers were burning on the ground. "Shield!" A familiar voice shouted out. It was Captain Wave's voice. The Stallion trotted up to him, his uniform ripped and dirty. The captain was Shield's mentor and role model. "Captain Wave! Why aren't you on the Light? "You saw what happened to it, hell. The Navy has no hindsight at all" The two stallions cracked up into laughter. In the background the sound of the enemy bombers dissapeared. "Come with me, I was put in charge of the Dawn of the Sun. This ain't over one bit" Shield followed as they boarded the battleship. All the crew were running around repairing the minor damage sustained to the vessel. They finally arrived to the ship's war room. An enormous map of the Northern Ocean was on a large table. A small pin with a red circle was stuck onto the map. "This is the situation, there is a small Japarian fleet which managed to bypass our defenses, this is where they are currently situated according to our scouts" Wave pointed his hoof at the small pin with the circle. "Are any more bombers coming?" Shield asked Wave just shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. Shield understood and excused himself. He trotted through the open decks of the battleship, columns of smoke rising from parts of the island. He stepped off the ship and bumped into Camo, his friend. "Yo man! I was looking everywhere for you" They laughed and shook hooves. "I'm glad you're alright" Shield replied and smiled "Come, we're gonna study one of the crashed planes" They approached the most intact dive bomber, it's fuselage penetrated with bullet holes and left wing snapped. Shield lifted the snapped wing off to reveal the cockpit, the glass was smashed. Inside was a Japarian, fully intact but dead. Camo pulled it's body out and lay it on the floor, the other stallions laughed at it. While Shield's friends were making fun of the body, Shield reached into the cockpit and pulled out some papers, it was written in Japarian but seemed important. Shield went back to Wave who was discussing something with the bridge crew. He handed the captain the papers with his magic. Wave read it over. "Where did you get this?" He asked "One of the crashed planes outside" Shield responded. Wave nodded and gave the papers to a crew member. As the sun went down, the temperature also dropped and was now at 2 degrees Celsius. No more enemy aircraft was seen in the area but the Japarian fleet remained. Shield was trotting through the dock, the ghostly wreckage of the Celestial Light sat where it did during the day. Sadness crept through the stallion, fighting did not accomplish anything. Then the sound of propellers filled the air. But this time the Anti air defences were prepared, massive spotlights turned on to reveal the familar planes. The screaming sounds of the dive bombers filled the air and explosions erupted into the air like flowers. The anti air opened fire and filled the air with yellow lines. More explosions. Shield rushed back to the Dawn just in time. Many AA cannons were erected around the dock but they were not used a lot. The enemy's target was not the battleship. Something about this attack was off, the dive bombers hit useless targets and shot at shadows, the bombers above were the same story. The attack only lasted 10 minutes. TWO DAYS LATER The Dawn of the Light left Jewel Harbour early morning, it has been two days since the last attack from the Japarians. Shield watched as the water frothed up as the battleship passed through it. They were heading toward Port Hoovesdam. two of the four battleships stationed at Jewel Harbour were sunk. The last two sustained minor damage. A defense fleet of Canine vessels promised Equestria that they hold back the Japarian fleet. Canines and Equestrians did get along very well. Shield was taking a walk on the deck when he spotted something floating on the water. It slowly grew closer. He galloped to the bridge. "Captain" Shield saluted. "Dismissed, Shield" Wave said and beckoned the stallion to get to the point. "There's something on the water" Shield shook his foot at the window. "It's only a civilian freighter, don't worry" Wave responded laughing. Shield picked up a pair of binoculars and looked at the ship. It was a civilian freighter, waving the Equestrian flag. He could see small figures standing on the decks, But then he spotted something rather peculiar, on the bow and stern of the ship were two large boxes. Four rods sticking out of them. "It's a freighter in disguise" Shield began to shout. "Calm down. You're being paranoid" Wave said and continued looking at the battle plans. The boxes on the freighter turned toward the ship. The flag was raised down and a new one was lifted. The Swastika was clearly defined. The enemy vessel opened fire, one of the shots smashed into the battleship. Wave looked at Shield and barked out orders. The four massive cannons on the battleship swiveled toward the Germanian vessel. The entire ship rocked as the cannons opened fire with such precise aim that only one of the shots missed splashing the water. The enemy vessel erupted into a ball of flame as the high-strength bullets sliced the armor. The ship shot back missing all of it's shots. The Dawn's cannons opened fire and finished off the ship. Five minutes later, the damage report came in. The only shot that hit the Dawn hit the main radar installation. The battleship sped away. Two days later the Dawn of the Sun reached Port Hoovesdam. Shield found his way off the ship and stepped onto Equestria for the first time in seven months. He and his division was to head south toward Germania, the war in Equestria was about to begin. Chapter Four: The Southern StormWhile Equestria was distracted by Japaran, Hilat ordered 157 divisions to move toward the Germanian-Equestrian border, his attack, code named Operation Barbarossa, was made. Hilat needed living space for his people, and Equestria was the solution. The Germanian Spell Tower was nearing completion. Hilat was so happy he was literally dancing in public. The day before Operation Barbarossa started, there was a party being held for the Germanian commanders and their families. There was music, a lot of food and everything was perfect. Hilat walked down the stairs, wearing his dark yellow uniform and Flankzi armband. The other commanders were wearing the same, apart from grey clothes and some war medals pinned to their uniform. They all welcomed him, shook his hoof and discussed plans. But Hilat ignored them, why spoil such a fun evening? Hilat looked around with his dark black eyes. In the corner, he spotted his mistress, Eve laughing with her friends. Next he spotted his most trusted general, Guderian. He commanded the battle at Polandia and was basking in his success. He was now going to command the front in Equestria. "General" Hilat trotted behind him. The startled stallion turned around and raised his right arm into the Flankzi salute. "My Leader" He said, holding a wine glass in his other hoof. "Are you ready for tommorow?" Hilat asked, already knowing the answer. Lowering his arm, Guderian responded "Yes, My leader, everything is set" With that he pulled out a golden pocket watch stenciled with the swastika and examined it. "Excuse me, My leader. I need to get to the airfield" Hilat smiled. "I will see you tommorow" Hilat walked away, leaving Guderian sweating. THE NEXT DAY In the early morning, The bulk of the Germanian invasion crossed the border into Equestria, their mission was to capture the small farming town of Hoovestown. The Germanian tanks followed and the first bullets opened fire an hour after crossing the border. The surprised Equestrians put up no fight and got cut down by the overwhelming enemy power. Hoovestown became the command headquarters for the entire front. Twenty minutes later three more villages fell to the oncoming soldiers, bombers bombarded airfields and villages with highly explosive bombs. The main Germanian army, called the Wehrmacht, advanced deeper into the country. Hilat's talons were now sunk into Equestria, the eagle has stuck. CANTERLOT The messenger galloped as fast he could, sweat was pouring down his forehead. He ran past the security guards and reached the guards outside the castle. "What do you want" Said the guard "I have urgent news for the Princess, I must see her right away" The guard could see the urgency in the messenger's eyes. "Right away" Celestia was in her study talking with Twilight and the rest of the Mane six. The messenger burst in and bowed. "Princess Celestia" The princess stared at him "What is it, messenger?" The panting pony looked up and cleared his throat, the other ponies in the room felt his urgency "The Germanians are here! They are advancing very quickly" Celestia and the Mane six stood there staring at him. Celestia responded "What divisions do we have near the southern border" "We had seventy, but most of it was destroyed by their bombers and tanks" An alarm was sent out throughout the entire Equestrian high command. Celestia ordered most of the Equestrian divisions to move south, but due to fears of a invasion by the Japarians left some divisions back. However by the time the Equestria was aware of the threat, the Wehrmacht had already advanced one hundred kilometers. They were met by hardly any resistance, and freshly bombed cities. The Germanians were heading for Las Pegasus then to Applelosa, a major cargo hub for Equestria's apple and diamond supplies. The Wehrmacht's tanks, nicknamed Panzers, were fast and had a very powerful gun. Equestrian soldiers were ripped apart by it's machine gun. However Hilat was yet to reveal his secret weapon. On the border, Wehrmacht sappers were in the process of attaching the army's massive rail artillery pieces to the Equestrian rail network. By the time the Wehrmacht reached Las Pegasus the artillery would be halfway to Applelosa. Hilat decided not to use his airship yet, the Royal Equestrian Airforce or R.E.A.F would be more protective up north near Canterlot, the Germanian airforce barely had any resistance from the pegasus divisions. This pleased the leader very much. ONE WEEK LATER The Equestrian Army was still quite some time away from Las Pegasus. Celestia ordered any of it's defenders to dig in. The Wehrmacht were now only thirty kilometers from the outskirts of the city. Hilat had been using a three pronged attack. The Western Prong fought along the Africana border, the middle prong focused on reaching Canterlot whilst the most successful prong was headed for Las Pegasus. LAS PEGASUS "What do you mean? They can't be that close!" Said Commander Redhoof, he was put in charge of the Las Pegasus defense. A promotion he did not want. The voice on the other end of the line responded. Redhoof's eyes opened wide. "That's only 32 kilometers from the city center!" The voice assured him. Redhoof swore and slammed the phone down onto its cradle. The enemy had created a sort of pincer movement around the city. Leaving hardly any room for reinforcements. The constant bombings had slowed down the evacuation. A lot of civilians were going to die. The Equestrian airforce in the area were all wiped out. The Equestrian defenders were scrambling to set up machine gun posts all over the city while snipers set up in the high rising business districts. The first artillery fire hit at dawn, his scouts reported the bulk of the enemy would reach the city at midday. Buildings collapsed from the combined fire of the bombings and enemy artillery. Redhoof was calculating his chance of survival when a nearby explosion shook his bunker, dust fell to the floor. A messenger galloped into the room, he was covered in dirt and blood. "General, the first of the enemy tanks have reached the city" Redhoof swore. Anger in his voice "The entire air force command should be hanged!" The angry General shouted and slammed his hoof on the table. OUTSKIRTS OF LAS PEGASUS "Quickly! GET THE AMMO HERE RIGHT NOW" Yelled the lieutenant. The privates used their magic to pick up the boxes of ammunition for the line of machine guns. One of the privates was holding an anti-tank missile launcher. The sound of gunfire picked up as a fresh supply of enemy troops approached. The sound of clanking filled all the defender's ears as an enemy grenade landed at the feet of a young machine gunner. He screamed before it exploded, sending his body into the air and his machine gun into pieces. Then the sound of rumbling filled the air. A large squarish contraption suspended on caterpillar tracks and a large turret on it's top entered the scene. Everyone panicked as it fired. One whole part of the trench exploded, blood and guts and metal was sent into the air. "Fire the anti-tank!" The lieutenant shouted at the private holding the missile. The private aimed at the tank but before he could do anything a bullet went right through his head. The bewildered lieutenant quickly picked up the missile before it hit the floor. He targeted and opened fire, there was a rumble as the missile was launched. Two seconds later the missile struck the side of the tank. Fire and smoke went into the air. The lieutenant dropped the smoking launcher and looked at the wall of smoke, as it dissipated he could see a huge hole in the side of the burning tank. But before he could confirm the tank was destroyed a big squad of enemies approached the broken defense line. With that, the lieutenant jumped out of the trench and ran as far as he could before he was cut down. The sound of the enemy dive bombers was deafening. Not only did the sound carve fear into the Equestrians, it also brought down their morale. Most of the soldiers noticed the lack of friendly air power. Redhoof was simply furious at the air command, they make a muck up of everything. Earth pony messengers entered his bunker updating him on the status of the fight. The southern districts were overrun. As the reports came in, they got worse and worse. The battle for Las Pegasus was deteriorating for the defenders. "Get down!" shouted Sargent Goldmane, his squad fell to the floor as a bomb exploded nearby, the loud sound of machine gun fire was clearly heard in the distance, it was hell. A pair of Stukas flew over their heads with a loud whine, Goldmane beckoned his demoralized squad to get up and continue, they ran past a burning tank before reaching a road, tank tracks were visible. But before Goldmane give the all clear sign enemy fire zinged at his squad. He ducked just as a bullet hit a young private in the head, he collapsed. Using his magic Goldmane got his machine gun and returned fire at the enemy, which he identified as a Germanian scout squad. He pulled out a grenade, armed it and threw it, a couple of seconds later there was a cloud of dust and an explosion. The enemy fire stopped. Goldmane beckoned his squad to get up and move on, they were the only survivors of the 25 Infantry division which was responsible for holding the Eastern suburbs. They failed their mission when the tanks rolled in, and air support was almost non-existent. Goldmane was far then certain that the other divisions defending the city had failed, so they were falling back to the city center. There were only a mere six divisions. Six versus fifty-two, who will win? Thought Goldmane. By the time they arrived at the Equestrian headquarters in the city center the sun was now low in the sky, they passed hundreds upon hundreds of wounded ponies, ammunition was scarce. Goldmane entered the secure bunker, handed his paperwork to the guards and walked to the infirmary. Injured soldiers were lying against the walls of the bunker, their grim faces stared at the Sargent with a look that showed that death was with them. Inside the infirmary the story was no different. Goldmane approached a unicorn with a white doctor's coat. He noticed the lack of vital equipment in the room. It was virtually empty. "Excuse me, do you have any painkillers?" He asked the doctor "I'm very sorry but we have no supplies left. We're pulling out" The last bit struck Goldmane hard. "We're retreating?" The doctor sighed "yes, General Redhoof gave the order, the enemy has the city surrounded" "What will happen to the injured?" "The most important injuries will be taken on truck, but i'm afraid the minor cases need to gallop" The doctor excused himself and walked out the door leaving the Sargent all alone in the room. A cold wind had blown up, the sky was becoming dark, but some light was still visible on the horizon. Goldmane left the bunker and saw the enormous flood of troops marching through the only route that left the city. The Equestrian flag was still hung on a flag pole nearby. Goldmane examined it's lethargic movements, the yellow sun was bathed in the dark yellow ambiance of the burning city. He also noticed the soldiers putting white flags on the trucks to show the city was lost to the enemy. The pony also noticed that the bombing and artillery had stopped. Enemy scout planes were flying overhead like vultures watching the retreating Equestrian lines. Las Pegasus has fallen. Chapter Five: Burning SunsA cold breeze blew through the city of Las Pegasus, whipping up ash and paper and anything else, the Equestrian flag, riddled with bullet holes gently waved, it's symbol of hope vanquished here. The bulk of the enemy had finally reached Las Pegasus in the cloudy morning, it's soldiers tired, worn out and injured from the fighting. Makeshift runways were built for the supply planes while tanks crushed the small roads built for carriages. The Wehrmacht now had it's eye on Appleloosa. The hub of Equestria's enormous and vital supply lines, if that were to fall the Equestrian military would need to waste precious resources finding other methods of moving their supplies. AFRICANA Africana was a rather large country bordering Equestria and Germania, it was home to the newly formed Zebran United Front, a coalition between the fragments of the previous broken government. The Germanians had arrived to expect worried soldiers with no strength to fight, but they had underestimated the Zebrans. Zebras were very fond of magic, but unlike Equestrians who used their horns, the Zebrans used other means such as building physical weapons that carry their messages of magic. Africana has an intensely hot climate and 78% percent of it is desert. But it's resources has kept the Zebrans a powerful empire. The Germanians were seeking to acquire the vast oil fields and diamond mines, as well as living space. But had to go through the disciplined and various forces of the Africanan army. Africana was not home to just Zebras but a whole variety of animals, some the Z.U.F used to it's desire. The enormous elephants were used as heavy shock troops and troop carriers, whilst the deadly hyenas were used to fight the enemy in close combat situations. Together, these forces had slowed down the Germanian offensive in Africana. Casualties were rising higher than any other front. And yet the Germanians continued, no matter how many times their artillery fired or how many strafing runs their aircraft did the Zebras stayed and fought. Field Marshall Rommen was nicknamed the Desert Fox by his enemies due to his skilled mind and tactics. The Germanian Africanian Korps was advancing deeper into Africana. The sun was blazing hot, so hot that for breakfast the tank commanders fried eggs on top of the sizzling surfaces of their tanks. As they advanced deeper, the more skilled foes they faced. It was a hot sunny morning as Rommen's military force rumbled through the dusty hills, the dust the tanks and vehicles picked up could be seen for miles around. Many of the tanks were overheating and the convoy was constantly stopped because a Panzer's engine caught fire. But Rommen never complained, he needed more intelligence on the enemy forces. Hilat ordered him to commence Blitzkrieg against the enemy, despite Rommen's objections. If they moved any faster their tanks would explode from the hot harsh temperatures, and the dusty hills made good vantage points for snipers. The field marshall stood near one of the Panzers, standing upright and holding a map in his hooves. it confirmed his fears, much of the military lines were pinned down and some of their supply lines were being cut off by the pesky Hyena legions, which would be disastrous if they were cut off. Fuel for the vehicles was running so drastically low that the engineers had to siphon gas from destroyed tanks. Morale in the Afrika Korps was beginning to fade. Rommen could sense the hesitation in much of the soldiers when they saluted him. He and everyone else knew that the situation in Africana was beginning to deteriorate, but Rommen could not disobey his leader's orders. "Field Marshall, we can get moving again" A young mechanic trotted to him drenched in oil. Rommen looked up from his map and adjusted his officer's cap with one of his hooves. "There is supposed to be an enemy legion out here" Rommen said. This just brought confusion to the small mechanic's eyes. "I apologize, Field Marshall, I am only a mechanic" The pony stomped his right foot, raised his right hoof and yelled out. "HEIL HILAT". Rommen returned the salute and the mechanic walked off. In a few moments there was a roar and the convoy was slowly moving again. But something didn't feel right in the Field Marshall's stomach. The convoy was currently situated between two large sand dunes which concealed the tanks quite well. Rommen beckoned to a soldier to come to him. "What is your name soldier?" Rommen asked him. "Lucius" The soldier replyed. "Can you please climb up that dune" He said pointing a hoof at the dune. "and tell me what you see" Without hesitation, the pony clad in sand-yellow galloped up the slope holding an MP40 in his hoofs. Just as he got to the top, he stopped and looked around. Just then, there was a clap of thunder and the next moment, the soldier was lying dead at the bottom of the dune. A pool of blood had collected around his head. The convoy stopped instantly as the soldiers scrambled around. Rommen walked up to the dead soldier and saw the problem. Snipers There was a bullet hole in the pony's forehead. Dead accurate. This only confirmed the Marshall's fear. While the convoy was stopped, the enemy had time to put up defences all around them. They could be attacked at any moment! Rommen shouted for his adjutant to come for him. "Yes, Field Marshall?" Get the Luftwaffe on the line, we need to see what we are dealing with. Tell them to conduct reconnaissance missions in the area" The adjustant nodded and raced off to find a radio. The sound the Panzers made when they were idle began to irritate Rommen, how long could they stay like this? It is absolutely ridiculous. The adjutant returned. "The Luftwaffe are launching Stukas into the area to watch for enemy activity" Just as he said that, there was an explosion as one of the Half tracks blew into flames. All along the dunes were enemy soldiers, which opened fire at the stricken Germanian troops. Many ponies were cut down instantly while the others scrambled to find their enemy. The Panzers turned their turrets and opened fire at the dunes. This just brought up dust concealling the enemy and soon the Panzers became useless. The sound of MP40s and MG42s filled the air as the Germanians retalliated, the sound of a Panzershreck filled the air as the zebrans launched another rocket. This time blowing up a supply truck. Rommen hid underneath a panzer with his adjutant. Then, just as the Germanians were about to give up, the loud whining of the Stukas could be heared. The strafing runs commenced and very soon, the enemy fire stopped, and their screams filled the air as they were cut into bits by the powerful cannons. Rommen got up, many ponies were lying on the dusty blood soaked ground, dead or dying. Smoke and dust was everywhere. The Stukas flew overhead watching for any more enemies. This was a big blow to the Afrika front. Without warning, Rommen shouted to all the living troops, he could no longer obey his orders. "SOLDIERS OF THE WEHRMACHT! WE ARE FALLING BACK"
Chapter One: The plungeEIGHT MONTHS LATER It was a sunny day all over Equestria. Ponies rushed to and fro their daily work habits, Ponyville was abuzz with life. Living in Ponyville and second in command of the Equestrian Royal Army was Twilight Sparkle, she was a very curious pony indeed. Twilight was steadily walking back to her home, she had just started reading a book she found on the shelves, it was called the 'Tendrils of War' and was written by an old Equestrian pony a long time ago. She was very curious about war, Equestria had no desire to fight, it had vast amounts of diamonds, food, trees, water, and harmony seemed to linger in every corner. Arriving at her home (The Ponyville library) she opened the door to see a large structure made of cards. "Spike? What are you doing?" She asked with a smile on her face. "I am trying to build a house, just a couple more cards and I will beat my record!" Spike said proudly as he pulled the last two cards from their box. "well um, good luck with that" Twilight said and galloped straight to her room where 'Tendrils of War' was waiting. She opened it's delicate hard cover and began to read. TWO HOURS LATER For two straight hours Twilight sat on her bed reading this book, she didn't realize it was almost dinner and that her friends were coming over. "shoot!" She swore as she put the book down and ran downstairs to the kitchen. She ran past Spike who was holding the last card with a where-do-I-put-this-last-card? look on his face. Twilight put on her apron with her magic and prepared the oven for the roast Spike had made. She put the dish in the oven just as there was a knock on the door. She ran back to the front door and opened it. "We're here!" shouted a pink pony as she ran inside "Pinkie! Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy " She said as she beckoned them in. "Why hello darling, nice apron" Rarity said as she started at the apron Twilight was wearing (which Rarity gave Twilight last year for Hearth Warming Day) They sat down and began to talk about their planned hiking trip. "I simply can't, it will be all muddy and my hooves will be ruined!" Rarity had been putting up a fight about going "Rarity, you are going, dun' worry now. It'll be fun!" Applejack said happily. Rarity just grumbled Fluttershy started to sniff the air and smiled "Are we having Spike's special roast today?" Rainbow Dash started to laugh and turned to Twilight. "Well? Are we?" Rainbow Dash almost shouted. Rainbow Dash was addicted to Spike's roast, last year she almost ate the whole thing at Twilight's birthday. "yes we are, Dashie. Spike made a lot this time" Twilight laughed "Yes!" Rainbow Dash squealed. THREE HOURS LATER The group sat at the table absolutely full. Rainbow Dash was licking the gravy from her hooves. Even Rarity, who always fussed about her diet was happy. "thanks Spikey-Wikey" She rubbed Spike's cheek. "nothing can get better than this" Twilight leaned back. The entire group stopped as Spike suddenly burped out a letter. The seal had a picture of a Unicorn's head, the sign of Canterlot. Twilight was not expecting a letter from the Princess any time soon. She wiped her hooves and unwrapped the letter as the gang surrounded her. "Dear Twilight, Something important has happened and I require you and the Mane Six's service in Canterlot. I cant explain a lot but please, it is very urgent and you must get to Canterlot immediately! Princess Celestia". The group did not hesitate. They cleaned up and ran out the door toward the train station, "Stay here and clean up, Spike" Twilight shouted as the group galloped out the door. "As always" Spike rolled his eyes. The night had grown colder. The six ponies waited as the next train pulled into the station. They jumped into the empty carriage and off they were, to the Equestrian capital of Canterlot. It took a total of 40 minutes and they arrived in the fancy train terminal. They galloped all the way to the gates of the Equestrian castle. There Celestia was waiting for them. At first Twilight thought Discord had returned, but taking one look from Celestia's face it wasn't that. "we got your letter, Princess. What's wrong?" Twilight said as they bowed "It is isn't much, but you all have a big part in Equestria's military, so you deserve to know" Celestia said. "Please follow me" They walked into the War Room, an enormous map was on one wall of the room, however it appeared new, Twilight stared at it. The other ponies also saw the change "What is that symbol on Germania?" Rarity asked Celestia paused and turned around. "I will explain everything in good time, but you need to keep this a secret" Celestia boomed "You have our word, Princess" Twilight said "and mine!" Pinkie added, Twilight rolled her eyes. Celestia coughed and thought of what to say "Well, it appears our neighbour, Germania has had a slight change of leadership." "Why is that bad?" Twilight asked "Our recon teams have reported that they have seen strange things over the country, we don't know anything, but we believe that they are preparing for war" Everypony gasped, "War?" Fluttershy stuttered. She began to tremble Celestia just shook her head "we don't know, but I would feel good if you stay in Canterlot for a while, things may change" The ponies bowed, and went outside to the castle's dormitory area. "What did she mean,war?" Fluttershy asked the question on everyone's mind "How can that one filthy country do anything? It shouldn't even be on the map" Rarity whined followed by a choking sound "Girls! I know you're all curious, but we need to wait it out. It could just be a simple misunderstanding, that's all" Twilight tried to reassure her friends, It partially worked. IN GERMANIA Things had turned around for the Germanians. The Flankalists planted bombs underneath the mansion of the previous government. The bombs were designed to just destroy the walls of the house. Gerais and the other rulers were tortured and hanged. The Flankzi revolution had succeeded in taking over the country, large posters of Flankzi propaganda went up, and the Hilat youth movement spread throughout the country. For once since the Second Crusade the country's economy rose, Hilat became a icon amongst his people. But he had a plan, Hilat wanted the whole world to feel the power of the Flankzi Empire, to do that he had erected massive factories into the side of Mount Rych, the most sacred symbol in all of Germania. Germanians were clever builders, lacking horns and wings, but have a more powerful mind than any Equestrian Earth pony. Flankzi designers had already designed tanks and flying vehicles, which were in the process of being built. Meanwhile one of the many things that infuriated Hilat were the recon ponies Equestria sent to spy on him. They were really easy to spot and Hilat just wanted to shoot them all down, but he needed to keep peace for now. He hated that thought. CANTERLOT CASTLE There was no more reports from the princess, but tension in the castle began to rise. Generals from all over Equestria gathered at the war room. Different emotions began to bubble up inside Twilight. First she felt angry at the Canterlot Inqusition for not informing her on anything, second she was scared at the prospect of war, third she felt curious to see what war was (the feeling she mostly felt). She was sitting on her bed reading through 'Tendrils of War' when there was a knock on the door. Behind it was General Redhoof. "General? what are you doing here?" She asked with curiosity in her voice "Well you know me, The Princess has requested you and your friends at the war room" The big stallion responded impatiently. Twilight did not hesitate. After passing security she and her friends arrived at the war room, a long rectangular room covered with machinery and posters. A long glass table stretched from one end of the room to the other, the room was filled with all ranks of the Equestrian army. The room smelt of cigar smoke. Celestia's face lightened up when she saw them. "Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity" She said notifying of their presence "We serve only the Inquisition and the Equestrian Army" They said all together and bowed Celestia got straight to the point. "At 1:35 AM Canterlot Time Germanian forces invaded and succesfully captured Polandia. The Polandian army fought back but they were severely outnumbered" The six ponies gasped. "Did we send reinforcements?" Rainbow Dash asked in a depressed voice There was a chuckling noise coming from the generals. "The Inquisition has decided that we should not interfere with Germania right now. We cannot risk fighting" Celestia answered Rainbow's question without thinking. "What? We can't just sit here while innocent ponies are getting slaughtered!" Twilight shouted back, she didn't care about respect anymore. Celestia shifted uncomfortably. "We have been discussing with them and have agreed on a 'non-violent pact'. They promised not to attack us if we promise not to interfere with their 'plans'. Twilight shook her head, turned and galloped toward the door. Rainbow Dash looked at the princess and said one last thing before the group walked out the door. "We are strong enough to fight" With that she turned around and galloped away.
Chapter Two: The Fall of Griffonia"Move it, hurry up" Shouted Grian, commander of the Griffonian air force. It had been a stressful couple of days since Germania invaded Polandia and it was clearly obvious that Griffonia was next in Germania's 'plans' of world domination. Politics had failed, time to bring out the weapons. Grian was assigned to train the new air force recruits, it was a painful and exhausting job. Looking from the reports of the forces attacking Polandia Grian saw no air force of any kind was used. 'Perhaps they don't have one?'. But after all Polandia didn't put up much of a fight... "Grian, how do these suit things work?" asked one of the recruits. Grian turned his attention to the brand new battle packs. They worked a bit like a saddle, but providing it's wearer with armament. "See these straps? You fit them around you and press the green button on the side" Grian responded with irritation in his voice. He put the straps around the recruit and pressed the button. The two straps locked into place and two large long barreled guns slid out of the backpack. "G8-Fs. the finest gun for killing ponies who lost their place" Grian laughed and helped the rest. Germania was going down. TWO WEEKS LATER The knocks on the door persisted. Grian sighed, got out of bed and walked to the door rubbing his eyes. 2:00 AM in the morning, this better be important. He opened the door to see a young griffon wearing a lieutenant coat and cap. "Grian, The Council has requested you to be in the city hall in ten minutes" The griffon turned around and flew away before it could sink in. After a ten minute flight through the rain he arrived at the City Hall. There was electricity in the air, he didn't like it. He walked into the main hall, it was abuzz with shouting, loud chatter and barely audible music. Grian took a seat and waited for the sound to die down. "Grian, I am glad you could join us" Counciller Greer smiled and began to speak "Our friends, the 'Germanians' though it was acceptable to invade our land and slaughter our people. They are here people" "What?! DEATH TO THE PONIES" Yelled someone from behind The griffons roared and ran out the room to fight for their homeland. Grian hated when that happened. Griffons were so overdramatic when it came to the homeland. INVASION OF GRIFFONIA Grian and his squadron flew through the cold morning air. All armed and ready for battle. They were targeting a small town which was recently abandoned when the Germanians were approaching. "Target is in sight" Grian said through the mic. In front of them, just 5 kilometres away, was the small town of Griffonville, one of Griffonia's many agricultural hubs. About two days ago it was assaulted by Germanian tanks in their plot to destroy the farm towns, but the Griffons stationed there forgot to burn the crops to make sure the invaders couldn't help themselves to the wheat. They were now very close. "Initiate bombing run" Grian said and the griffons nose dived toward the ground, each one was holding onto four incendiary bombs, perfect for burning crops. As they passed over the town they saw the Germanian ponies look up and gallop towards their Anti-Air cannons, some of the griffons dropped their bombs which exploded in a torrent of fire upon the streets. The first patch of crops were up, Grian dropped two of his bombs, they fell through the air and exploded setting the crops on fire. Grian turned his head right to see one of the Germanian tanks move up to the burning field. It's cannon was replaced by four smaller barrels. Two Germanians sat on the back. "AA guns! Evasive manoeuvres!" The gun opened fire, there was screams as the bullets ripped apart a couple of griffons in mid-air. Grian turned toward the second crop field and dropped one of his bombs. He had a mission and he wasn't going to let ponies stop him. "We're taking too much casulties!" Yelled one of the griffons "Retreat, get back to base" Just as he said that, a bullet clipped his wing. Grian suddenly spiralled toward the ground, the fiery pain in his wing began to spread. He painfully pulled up and headed toward the last crop field. He could hear the AA cannon following him trying to get in range. Dropping the last of his bombs he banked right and landed onto a street and pulled out his pistol. He stood up on his hind legs and hid behind an overturned carriage just as a tank rumbled passed. He pulled out his mic. "This is Grian, I'm wounded and need help. Is anyone there?" He climbed onto the carriage and poked his head up, a group of armed Germanians were making their way toward him. Fortunately lying next to him was a wingless griffon riddled with bullet holes, it's dead talons holding onto a weapon. The weapon, a S-31 Carbine, felt heavy in his hands. He reloaded it and took the extra clips from the corpse. He breathed in, the first Germanian passed him, turned his head and screamed before a bullet went through his open mouth. The other ponies shouted and opened fire, Grian jumped up as high as he could with both wings flapping, he pulled down on the trigger, the gun fired back, it's heavy recoil made his aim rather bad and most of them missed one of the shots hit one of them in the leg and missed the other who seemed to be very angry. Grian landed back on the ground and aimed for the last one's head, but before he pressed the trigger the Germanian shouted a profanity and ran away to get reinforcements. Grian dropped the Carbine and ran off. The pain in his wing was almost unbearable, but it was his only hope in escaping. With a beat of his wings he took to the sky, flew through the smoke from the burning crops and turned east toward the nearest base. His eyes became heavy and he became cold. But he continued on, he would not admit defeat in front of a mighty foe, not yet. Finally after what felt like an eternity he landed onto the airstrip and collapsed, two soldiers and a doctor ran out to his shivering body and examined it. Grian blacked out. Grian woke up, the feathers on his forehead dripping with sweat, his wing was bandaged. He got up and looked around, he was in a big white room, stretchers and tables were all over the place. "Ah Grian, you are awake" a griffon wearing a white coat approached him. His voice urgent. Before Grian could open his beak the doctor continued. "Come, we must hurry. The Germanians are coming from the west, they'll be here at nightfall" Grian looked out the window, the sun was dangerously low in the sky. There is still time. "Let's go" Grian stood up and flexed his muscles and wings, His bandaged wing still sore from the bullet. "where are we going?" Grian asked while limping after the doctor (who seemed in a rush) "To the trucks, they will take us to another base further east". "and then?" The doctor stopped and turned around. "I don't know" The doctor sighed and continued his nervous power walk. They arrived at the gates to the airfield, there were several Griffonian trucks lined up. Injured griffons were waiting to board. Grian was greeted by a pair of griffons when there was a loud shout. "THEIR HERE! ENEMY INFANTRY SPOTTED!" Everyone started to panic. "Get on the truck" one of the griffons pointed Grian to a already packed truck. Hopping into the back he sat next to a child with a bandage across one of it's eyes. The truck rumbled to life and accelerated, dust and dirt was kicked up and flew high into the air. The truck continued to speed up until they were followed by the rest of the vehicles. After ten minutes columns of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of the base. They were safe, for now. Germanian forces continued to cover ground, even though the griffons constantly bombed the infantry and tanks from the air. The griffons have to hold Talonopolis at all costs. It was the pride of the griffon empire and it's heart. The Germanians knew that. The Griffonian's only hope was to destroy enemy formations from the air. But even the sky was being taken from them. GRIFFONIAN BOMBING RUN, 100 Kilometers north "Roger, Target in sight" Delta Squadron was on route toward a diamond-mining town, it was recently captured by the Germanians and was a big loss for the griffons. They were sent to destroy the main entrance into the mine complex. "What is that?" One of the recruits suddenly said over the channel. In front of them, about 10 kilometres was a long cigar shaped construct. It was hovering far above the ground. The Germanian swastika clearly defined on it's tail. As they got closer they could see smaller craft guarding the big one. Suddenly they all turned toward the griffons. "Enemy fighters?!? Evasive Manoeuvres!" One of the younger griffons screamed in fear. The fight was over before it even started. The Flankzi fighter jets, short stubby planes with long wings and a propeller on the front, opened fire on the griffons. The high-strength bullets tore the griffons apart before they could retaliate. Bombs exploded in mid air finishing the job. On the ground, the Germanians looked up as blood, tissue and other body parts rained from the sky, some of them even vomited and ran into shelter. The war was now in the Germanian's favour. Talonopolis Talonopolis, home of the griffons. The Griffon Council, the head of the entire governance, decided to make a last stand. Every single remaining squadron was called forth, along with proud civilians who wanted to fight for their homeland. Grian walked through the main hall, statues of famous heroes lined the walls. The council called him to the Castle of Wings, home of the council and the government. He approached the massive door, the two guards opened it and he walked inside. The room was filled with fancy furniture, golden sculptures and other fancy pleasures Grian would never experience. Greer, head of the council stood waiting for the commander. While Grian wore nothing, Greer had on a fancy robe. Perfect Council clothing. "Commander Grian, I see your wing is better, yes?" Greer asked "I guess so... You called me?" Grian responded with slight confusion. Greer beckoned the befuddled commander to sit down. Grian leaned in. "I need you to lead the final war party, i reviewed your record. You are perfect for the job" Grian's beak dropped, his heart pounded. In no ways was he privileged. "I would rather be shot" Grian spat out. His voice began to rise. Greer's face remained unchanged. Grian saw hope in the fool's eyes. "Don't you get it? The war is lost" Grian added. Anger washed over Greer's face. "Explain how it is over!" "Our cities are destroyed, our army is in ruins. Our civilians are giving up hope. We need to leave Griffonia or else the Germanians will wipe us out" Grian said, not with anger fueling it, but fear for his race. Greer saw the change in tone. He whispered loudly, sadness filling his tone. "We would be forever disgraced, there is still hope. We have plenty of squadrons left, we still have a chance!" Grian considered this and looked away. "Don't do it for me or you. Do it for the future generations, so they can live without harm and worry just like before" Greer begged. "Very well" Grian whispered and walked out the massive door. The end of the griffon race was here. 50 kilometers west of Talonopolis This was it, line after line of armed griffons, flying to their doom. There was at least over 10,000 griffons here. In front was the massive flying construct, dubbed 'The Airship' by griffon engineers.A massive cloud of enemy fighters leading the airship. Grian estimated they had 10 minutes before in firing distance. He opened his beak. "To all my fellow griffons, I know this looks bad, and it is. But you need to keep in mind the survival of our race and homeland. Many of you will die, but as you breathe your last breaths, you will know you fought and died for the future generations of griffons. Let your guns be your fury, and your wings the guides to our salvation!" There was roaring and cheering throughout the squadrons. But the threat in front of them was almost upon them. "Arm weapons" Each griffon was equipped with two very powerful guns and two missiles. Perfect loadout. Each squadron leader reported in "Armed" The enemy fighter craft were now clearly visible. The black and grey paint job, the big swastika on each one's tail, the massive guns... The sound of the engines were now blocking out the sound of the rushing wind. Grian's heart skipped a beat. "FIRE!" The air was filled with the sound of zinging as bullets shot through the air and smashed into the enemy formations, one of the fighters was hit straight in the cockpit, it veered right and crashed into another fighter exploding and sending wreckage into the air. The enemy fighters returned fire. The squadrons broke into evasive maneuvers. The dogfight had began. Grian trailed a fighter and shot at it's wing, blowing it right off. He turned to another one and send off another salvo of bullets, smashing into the fuselage. Even though they were fighting in a massive space, the air seemed very tight, bullets, bodyparts, griffons, explosions and so on filled the air. He was slowly heading toward the airship, he could see small engines fixed into the grey metallic skin on metal beams. Finally he cleared the dog fighting area and approached head on toward the flying, metal beast. He armed his first missile and launched it. It left a trail in the air and finally impacted into one of the engines. The explosion was spectacular, suddenly a pair of fighters broke off from the fight and flew straight toward the commander. Grian's luck has run out. The fighters opened fire, a bullet went right through his left wing. Intense fiery pain filled his injured limb, Grian scowled, he opened fire and managed to destroy one of the enemy craft, it tumbled towards the ground. Another bullet went right through Grian's stomach. With a sigh the griffon stopped beating his wings and fell toward the ground. His goggles covered in blood, his life flashed before his eyes. With the last of his strength he pulled up and slammed into the ground, he slid and rolled to a stop on his back. He looked in the air, there were hardly any griffons, the fighter jets picked off the last of the squadrons. Blood rained from the sky. Grian closed his eyes. Griffonia officially surrendered to the Germanian Army only three days later. Talonopolis was bombarded and destroyed and the remaining griffons retreated Northwards to Equestria. The Germanians were left almost untouched by the fighting.
World at WarGriffonia was in ruins, but in Germania it was a whole different story. In Germania's capital city of Berlinia, there was a massive party, Germanian commanders got drunk and laughed, FF Officers showed off to Germanian mares. Hilat, meanwhile, sat in his office thinking. Griffonia was his, but the fighting in Africana was intense, the Zebran Army was brutal as well as smart, Hilat didn't like that. Then he turned his attention to Equestria, home of the most powerful form of magic.Hilat knew that invading Equestria at this time would bring the end to Germania's wartime machine, Celestia was unbelievably powerful. But that didn't worry him. During the First Crusade, Germanian engineers realized how to harness magic, by constructing a massive tower known as a 'Spell-Tower'. 100 of them were erected into the Germanian countryside but most were destroyed in the Revolutions that followed. Hilat had acquired plans from Berlinia's archives and had already built the foundations for the new tower. Spell-Towers didn't use Sun Magic (The nickname for Equestrian magic), it used black magic. Black magic was deadly for unicorns because it could simply burn out one's horn, Hilat intended to use that against Celestia. Once she falls the rest of the Equestrians would soon follow. Next thing on Hilat's agenda was the battles in the Northern Ocean. When Germania captured Polandia, Hilat ordered a massive fleet of naval craft to be constructed. It was obvious that not doing so would make it easy for naval empires such as the Eastern Dogs to invade, after all, Polandia was a coastal country. Hilat was particularly proud of his U-boat fleet, which only had 10 submarines (more were being made). Another thing was his air force, specifically designed to match both Griffonia's and Equestria's air forces. The pride of the air fleet was the airship, named Blitzkrieg, it brought the destruction and surrender of Griffonia. [I did this on paint so it kinda sucks a bit] Meanwhile, he was secretly talking with the emperor of Japaran, Hirohitan. Japaran's naval force was the biggest in the world and outnumbered both Equestria and the Eastern Dog's fleets combined. Germania, meanwhile, was still building it's fleet. Japaran was slightly bigger than Germania, with roughly the same population number. However Japaran had no natural resources to fuel it's wartime efforts. Even before Germania rose up, Japaran was causing havoc in the Northern Ocean, tensions were building, Celestia had tried negotiating with the expanding country to avoid war but the talks broke down. Since the fall of Griffonia, Germania finally had a country bordering Japaran, Hilat wanted to ally with Japaran and combine their wartime efforts. That war machine would be unstoppable, thought Hilat. The Japarians were not horses but reptiles. Standing roughly 6 feet tall, they were mostly dark green in colour, they had a long tail sticking out behind them which could easily be mustered as a weapon. It was said the Japarians came from another continent because their race was uncommon in the Animal Kingdom. Like Germanians, the Japarians were very clever at designing vehicles, but their master creations involved the ocean. The Imperial Japarian Navy consisted of more than 600 vessels, 200 of which were aircraft carriers and 150 were scout ships. The remaining 350 ships were destroyers, bristling with cannons that could punch a hole in any enemy ship and armour so thick it took a lot of firepower to sink one. The Imperial Airforce was slightly smaller than Germania's, but was more advanced. The latest Japarian aircraft, the 'Galaxy' fighter craft was superior to both Germania and Equestria's airforces and was easily launched off the decks of aircraft carriers. Emperor Hirohitan was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, his army was ready for war and his men would die for honour. But he had to restrain his temptations as starting a war would bring the might of Equestria down on him. So when he heard of Germania's lightning war in the west he sprung into action. 2 weeks after Polandia surrendered, The I.J.N launched a front in the Northern Ocean, striking upon many Equestrian and Canine bases. The Germanian U-boats helped sink vital supply lines and allowed more reinforcements to be sent. But the biggest fight was yet to come. Hirohitan was ready.
Chapter Three: Jewel HarbourTHREE WEEKS EARLIER The sunny ocean sun shone upon the Equestrian naval base of Jewel Harbour, it was a normal sunday, the naval officers relaxed in the sun, some hanged out with the local mares and some just felt like residing on their ships. The weather ponies working at the Cloudsdale weather factory said there were no storms lined up. Everything was normal, or so they thought. 100 km east, a small fleet of Japarian vessels was approaching, the bombers were lined up, their engines running and props spinning. Germania was busy destroying Griffonia and Equestria was distracted. Perfect. At 9:35 in the morning, the bombers and their escorts took off the carrier decks and headed for Jewel Harbour, Equestria was unaware an enemy attack force was heading for them. Stationed at Jewel Harbour was a young unicorn named Shield. He was a stallion and his mane was black but his body was white. Coming from an aristocratic family, his father was an old Equestrian admiral.That inspired him to join the Equestrian Royal Army. He was already a lieutenant. He sat in the warm sand, his friends sat on their backs taking a nap. Shield stared out at the bay, the sun shining off the water. His watch beeped as it hit 9:25. He got up and brushed the sand off his flank. "Where are you going?" Asked his friend, Camo. "Gonna take a walk" "See ya at the bar, drinks on me" Camo responded and sat back down. Shield trotted down the street, everything was so calm and peaceful. There was a gentle breeze in the air. After a quick walk he arrived at his favorite track through the forest, he enjoyed the fresh air and the chirps of birds. After a couple of minutes he arrived at the small secluded beach he called Shield's Nest. Before he moved to sit down he heard a faint rumble, at first he though it was a Pegusai patrol, but as it got louder the sound changed. Propellers. Indeed, in the distance a cloud of objects was approaching, the small dots turned to specks then to blobs then to winged contraptions. It was a main force of bombers escorted by fighters. Shield swore and galloped through the now quiet forest. The rumbling got louder. He galloped through the street shouting "ENEMY BOMBERS!" The other ponies looked at each other before the rumbling caught up. The air raid siren began to sound, it's rising and lowering tone shook the whole island. The Pegusai scrambled to the runways to gear up while the AA gunners rushed to their weapons. Explosions suddenly shook the ground, the civilians screamed and ran to cover. Suddenly a dive bomber nose dived toward where Shield was standing and opened fire at him, he jumped out of the way as the screaming plane roared over him, the red circle was visible on it's wings and tail. Japaran! There was a series of loud thumps as the AA guns opened fire, yellow lines raced toward the bombers above. He ran out from his cover, an explosion down the street alarmed him. A whole building exploded and collapsed into flames. The sound of dive bombers and explosions was deafening. After making sure the coast was clear, he galloped from his cover. It was obvious the Japarians wanted to blow up the Equestrian Battleships, there were four of them docked at Jewel Harbour. Shield was stationed aboard the E.S.S Celestial Light. It was one of 12 Equestrian Battleships ever built by the Equestrian Royal Navy and stood a chance against the superior Japarian forces. The path to the harbour was devestated, burning ponies littered the ground while the heavy machine guns set up to defend the entrance were in pieces. The Celestia Light came into view, its four mega cannons shone in the sun. "Shield! Get your bucking flank here right now" Yelled one of his fellow crew members.Shield obeyed and galloped toward an AA cannon, a smoking crater next to it along with the remains of a stallion. "Get on the cannon, protect the ship!" Yelled the ammo loader. Shield once again obeyed and clambered onto the rough seat. Putting his hooves on the steering wheel, he opened fire and immediately blew the wing off a dive bomber, it spun to the ground and exploded. Alas it was too late. The bombers above turned toward the ship, suddenly there was a whoosh. The handful of Pegusai defenders were in the air, they opened fire at the incoming group of bombers. One of the planes fell to the ground as it's engine exploded. The remaining aircraft shortly followed. But the pegusai's celebration was short lived as a squadron of fighters turned toward them with guns blazing. The pegusai were outnumbered 3 to 1 and were cut down. The fighters roared over Shield's head. "Keep firing! They mustn't sink the ship" The soldier's voice was burning with fear. More bombers turned toward them. Shield kept on firing until his hooves shook from the vibrations. Shield and the AA gun crew watched as a whole payload of bombs turned the Celestial Light into scrap metal. The ship erupted into smoke and fire. Remarkably the ship didn't list or sink. It's crew jumped off the decks, many of them on fire. Shield jumped off the AA gun and shouted at the AA crew. "Help the survivors, I'll go to the other battleships" The crew just nodded and manned the cannon. Shield, now covered in sweat and dirt galloped as fast as his hooves could take him toward the remaining ships. He passed another burning warship. But as he reached the third berth, the ship there was unharmed. Several dive bombers were burning on the ground. "Shield!" A familiar voice shouted out. It was Captain Wave's voice. The Stallion trotted up to him, his uniform ripped and dirty. The captain was Shield's mentor and role model. "Captain Wave! Why aren't you on the Light? "You saw what happened to it, hell. The Navy has no hindsight at all" The two stallions cracked up into laughter. In the background the sound of the enemy bombers dissapeared. "Come with me, I was put in charge of the Dawn of the Sun. This ain't over one bit" Shield followed as they boarded the battleship. All the crew were running around repairing the minor damage sustained to the vessel. They finally arrived to the ship's war room. An enormous map of the Northern Ocean was on a large table. A small pin with a red circle was stuck onto the map. "This is the situation, there is a small Japarian fleet which managed to bypass our defenses, this is where they are currently situated according to our scouts" Wave pointed his hoof at the small pin with the circle. "Are any more bombers coming?" Shield asked Wave just shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. Shield understood and excused himself. He trotted through the open decks of the battleship, columns of smoke rising from parts of the island. He stepped off the ship and bumped into Camo, his friend. "Yo man! I was looking everywhere for you" They laughed and shook hooves. "I'm glad you're alright" Shield replied and smiled "Come, we're gonna study one of the crashed planes" They approached the most intact dive bomber, it's fuselage penetrated with bullet holes and left wing snapped. Shield lifted the snapped wing off to reveal the cockpit, the glass was smashed. Inside was a Japarian, fully intact but dead. Camo pulled it's body out and lay it on the floor, the other stallions laughed at it. While Shield's friends were making fun of the body, Shield reached into the cockpit and pulled out some papers, it was written in Japarian but seemed important. Shield went back to Wave who was discussing something with the bridge crew. He handed the captain the papers with his magic. Wave read it over. "Where did you get this?" He asked "One of the crashed planes outside" Shield responded. Wave nodded and gave the papers to a crew member. As the sun went down, the temperature also dropped and was now at 2 degrees Celsius. No more enemy aircraft was seen in the area but the Japarian fleet remained. Shield was trotting through the dock, the ghostly wreckage of the Celestial Light sat where it did during the day. Sadness crept through the stallion, fighting did not accomplish anything. Then the sound of propellers filled the air. But this time the Anti air defences were prepared, massive spotlights turned on to reveal the familar planes. The screaming sounds of the dive bombers filled the air and explosions erupted into the air like flowers. The anti air opened fire and filled the air with yellow lines. More explosions. Shield rushed back to the Dawn just in time. Many AA cannons were erected around the dock but they were not used a lot. The enemy's target was not the battleship. Something about this attack was off, the dive bombers hit useless targets and shot at shadows, the bombers above were the same story. The attack only lasted 10 minutes. TWO DAYS LATER The Dawn of the Light left Jewel Harbour early morning, it has been two days since the last attack from the Japarians. Shield watched as the water frothed up as the battleship passed through it. They were heading toward Port Hoovesdam. two of the four battleships stationed at Jewel Harbour were sunk. The last two sustained minor damage. A defense fleet of Canine vessels promised Equestria that they hold back the Japarian fleet. Canines and Equestrians did get along very well. Shield was taking a walk on the deck when he spotted something floating on the water. It slowly grew closer. He galloped to the bridge. "Captain" Shield saluted. "Dismissed, Shield" Wave said and beckoned the stallion to get to the point. "There's something on the water" Shield shook his foot at the window. "It's only a civilian freighter, don't worry" Wave responded laughing. Shield picked up a pair of binoculars and looked at the ship. It was a civilian freighter, waving the Equestrian flag. He could see small figures standing on the decks, But then he spotted something rather peculiar, on the bow and stern of the ship were two large boxes. Four rods sticking out of them. "It's a freighter in disguise" Shield began to shout. "Calm down. You're being paranoid" Wave said and continued looking at the battle plans. The boxes on the freighter turned toward the ship. The flag was raised down and a new one was lifted. The Swastika was clearly defined. The enemy vessel opened fire, one of the shots smashed into the battleship. Wave looked at Shield and barked out orders. The four massive cannons on the battleship swiveled toward the Germanian vessel. The entire ship rocked as the cannons opened fire with such precise aim that only one of the shots missed splashing the water. The enemy vessel erupted into a ball of flame as the high-strength bullets sliced the armor. The ship shot back missing all of it's shots. The Dawn's cannons opened fire and finished off the ship. Five minutes later, the damage report came in. The only shot that hit the Dawn hit the main radar installation. The battleship sped away. Two days later the Dawn of the Sun reached Port Hoovesdam. Shield found his way off the ship and stepped onto Equestria for the first time in seven months. He and his division was to head south toward Germania, the war in Equestria was about to begin.
Chapter Four: The Southern StormWhile Equestria was distracted by Japaran, Hilat ordered 157 divisions to move toward the Germanian-Equestrian border, his attack, code named Operation Barbarossa, was made. Hilat needed living space for his people, and Equestria was the solution. The Germanian Spell Tower was nearing completion. Hilat was so happy he was literally dancing in public. The day before Operation Barbarossa started, there was a party being held for the Germanian commanders and their families. There was music, a lot of food and everything was perfect. Hilat walked down the stairs, wearing his dark yellow uniform and Flankzi armband. The other commanders were wearing the same, apart from grey clothes and some war medals pinned to their uniform. They all welcomed him, shook his hoof and discussed plans. But Hilat ignored them, why spoil such a fun evening? Hilat looked around with his dark black eyes. In the corner, he spotted his mistress, Eve laughing with her friends. Next he spotted his most trusted general, Guderian. He commanded the battle at Polandia and was basking in his success. He was now going to command the front in Equestria. "General" Hilat trotted behind him. The startled stallion turned around and raised his right arm into the Flankzi salute. "My Leader" He said, holding a wine glass in his other hoof. "Are you ready for tommorow?" Hilat asked, already knowing the answer. Lowering his arm, Guderian responded "Yes, My leader, everything is set" With that he pulled out a golden pocket watch stenciled with the swastika and examined it. "Excuse me, My leader. I need to get to the airfield" Hilat smiled. "I will see you tommorow" Hilat walked away, leaving Guderian sweating. THE NEXT DAY In the early morning, The bulk of the Germanian invasion crossed the border into Equestria, their mission was to capture the small farming town of Hoovestown. The Germanian tanks followed and the first bullets opened fire an hour after crossing the border. The surprised Equestrians put up no fight and got cut down by the overwhelming enemy power. Hoovestown became the command headquarters for the entire front. Twenty minutes later three more villages fell to the oncoming soldiers, bombers bombarded airfields and villages with highly explosive bombs. The main Germanian army, called the Wehrmacht, advanced deeper into the country. Hilat's talons were now sunk into Equestria, the eagle has stuck. CANTERLOT The messenger galloped as fast he could, sweat was pouring down his forehead. He ran past the security guards and reached the guards outside the castle. "What do you want" Said the guard "I have urgent news for the Princess, I must see her right away" The guard could see the urgency in the messenger's eyes. "Right away" Celestia was in her study talking with Twilight and the rest of the Mane six. The messenger burst in and bowed. "Princess Celestia" The princess stared at him "What is it, messenger?" The panting pony looked up and cleared his throat, the other ponies in the room felt his urgency "The Germanians are here! They are advancing very quickly" Celestia and the Mane six stood there staring at him. Celestia responded "What divisions do we have near the southern border" "We had seventy, but most of it was destroyed by their bombers and tanks" An alarm was sent out throughout the entire Equestrian high command. Celestia ordered most of the Equestrian divisions to move south, but due to fears of a invasion by the Japarians left some divisions back. However by the time the Equestria was aware of the threat, the Wehrmacht had already advanced one hundred kilometers. They were met by hardly any resistance, and freshly bombed cities. The Germanians were heading for Las Pegasus then to Applelosa, a major cargo hub for Equestria's apple and diamond supplies. The Wehrmacht's tanks, nicknamed Panzers, were fast and had a very powerful gun. Equestrian soldiers were ripped apart by it's machine gun. However Hilat was yet to reveal his secret weapon. On the border, Wehrmacht sappers were in the process of attaching the army's massive rail artillery pieces to the Equestrian rail network. By the time the Wehrmacht reached Las Pegasus the artillery would be halfway to Applelosa. Hilat decided not to use his airship yet, the Royal Equestrian Airforce or R.E.A.F would be more protective up north near Canterlot, the Germanian airforce barely had any resistance from the pegasus divisions. This pleased the leader very much. ONE WEEK LATER The Equestrian Army was still quite some time away from Las Pegasus. Celestia ordered any of it's defenders to dig in. The Wehrmacht were now only thirty kilometers from the outskirts of the city. Hilat had been using a three pronged attack. The Western Prong fought along the Africana border, the middle prong focused on reaching Canterlot whilst the most successful prong was headed for Las Pegasus. LAS PEGASUS "What do you mean? They can't be that close!" Said Commander Redhoof, he was put in charge of the Las Pegasus defense. A promotion he did not want. The voice on the other end of the line responded. Redhoof's eyes opened wide. "That's only 32 kilometers from the city center!" The voice assured him. Redhoof swore and slammed the phone down onto its cradle. The enemy had created a sort of pincer movement around the city. Leaving hardly any room for reinforcements. The constant bombings had slowed down the evacuation. A lot of civilians were going to die. The Equestrian airforce in the area were all wiped out. The Equestrian defenders were scrambling to set up machine gun posts all over the city while snipers set up in the high rising business districts. The first artillery fire hit at dawn, his scouts reported the bulk of the enemy would reach the city at midday. Buildings collapsed from the combined fire of the bombings and enemy artillery. Redhoof was calculating his chance of survival when a nearby explosion shook his bunker, dust fell to the floor. A messenger galloped into the room, he was covered in dirt and blood. "General, the first of the enemy tanks have reached the city" Redhoof swore. Anger in his voice "The entire air force command should be hanged!" The angry General shouted and slammed his hoof on the table. OUTSKIRTS OF LAS PEGASUS "Quickly! GET THE AMMO HERE RIGHT NOW" Yelled the lieutenant. The privates used their magic to pick up the boxes of ammunition for the line of machine guns. One of the privates was holding an anti-tank missile launcher. The sound of gunfire picked up as a fresh supply of enemy troops approached. The sound of clanking filled all the defender's ears as an enemy grenade landed at the feet of a young machine gunner. He screamed before it exploded, sending his body into the air and his machine gun into pieces. Then the sound of rumbling filled the air. A large squarish contraption suspended on caterpillar tracks and a large turret on it's top entered the scene. Everyone panicked as it fired. One whole part of the trench exploded, blood and guts and metal was sent into the air. "Fire the anti-tank!" The lieutenant shouted at the private holding the missile. The private aimed at the tank but before he could do anything a bullet went right through his head. The bewildered lieutenant quickly picked up the missile before it hit the floor. He targeted and opened fire, there was a rumble as the missile was launched. Two seconds later the missile struck the side of the tank. Fire and smoke went into the air. The lieutenant dropped the smoking launcher and looked at the wall of smoke, as it dissipated he could see a huge hole in the side of the burning tank. But before he could confirm the tank was destroyed a big squad of enemies approached the broken defense line. With that, the lieutenant jumped out of the trench and ran as far as he could before he was cut down. The sound of the enemy dive bombers was deafening. Not only did the sound carve fear into the Equestrians, it also brought down their morale. Most of the soldiers noticed the lack of friendly air power. Redhoof was simply furious at the air command, they make a muck up of everything. Earth pony messengers entered his bunker updating him on the status of the fight. The southern districts were overrun. As the reports came in, they got worse and worse. The battle for Las Pegasus was deteriorating for the defenders. "Get down!" shouted Sargent Goldmane, his squad fell to the floor as a bomb exploded nearby, the loud sound of machine gun fire was clearly heard in the distance, it was hell. A pair of Stukas flew over their heads with a loud whine, Goldmane beckoned his demoralized squad to get up and continue, they ran past a burning tank before reaching a road, tank tracks were visible. But before Goldmane give the all clear sign enemy fire zinged at his squad. He ducked just as a bullet hit a young private in the head, he collapsed. Using his magic Goldmane got his machine gun and returned fire at the enemy, which he identified as a Germanian scout squad. He pulled out a grenade, armed it and threw it, a couple of seconds later there was a cloud of dust and an explosion. The enemy fire stopped. Goldmane beckoned his squad to get up and move on, they were the only survivors of the 25 Infantry division which was responsible for holding the Eastern suburbs. They failed their mission when the tanks rolled in, and air support was almost non-existent. Goldmane was far then certain that the other divisions defending the city had failed, so they were falling back to the city center. There were only a mere six divisions. Six versus fifty-two, who will win? Thought Goldmane. By the time they arrived at the Equestrian headquarters in the city center the sun was now low in the sky, they passed hundreds upon hundreds of wounded ponies, ammunition was scarce. Goldmane entered the secure bunker, handed his paperwork to the guards and walked to the infirmary. Injured soldiers were lying against the walls of the bunker, their grim faces stared at the Sargent with a look that showed that death was with them. Inside the infirmary the story was no different. Goldmane approached a unicorn with a white doctor's coat. He noticed the lack of vital equipment in the room. It was virtually empty. "Excuse me, do you have any painkillers?" He asked the doctor "I'm very sorry but we have no supplies left. We're pulling out" The last bit struck Goldmane hard. "We're retreating?" The doctor sighed "yes, General Redhoof gave the order, the enemy has the city surrounded" "What will happen to the injured?" "The most important injuries will be taken on truck, but i'm afraid the minor cases need to gallop" The doctor excused himself and walked out the door leaving the Sargent all alone in the room. A cold wind had blown up, the sky was becoming dark, but some light was still visible on the horizon. Goldmane left the bunker and saw the enormous flood of troops marching through the only route that left the city. The Equestrian flag was still hung on a flag pole nearby. Goldmane examined it's lethargic movements, the yellow sun was bathed in the dark yellow ambiance of the burning city. He also noticed the soldiers putting white flags on the trucks to show the city was lost to the enemy. The pony also noticed that the bombing and artillery had stopped. Enemy scout planes were flying overhead like vultures watching the retreating Equestrian lines. Las Pegasus has fallen.
Chapter Five: Burning SunsA cold breeze blew through the city of Las Pegasus, whipping up ash and paper and anything else, the Equestrian flag, riddled with bullet holes gently waved, it's symbol of hope vanquished here. The bulk of the enemy had finally reached Las Pegasus in the cloudy morning, it's soldiers tired, worn out and injured from the fighting. Makeshift runways were built for the supply planes while tanks crushed the small roads built for carriages. The Wehrmacht now had it's eye on Appleloosa. The hub of Equestria's enormous and vital supply lines, if that were to fall the Equestrian military would need to waste precious resources finding other methods of moving their supplies. AFRICANA Africana was a rather large country bordering Equestria and Germania, it was home to the newly formed Zebran United Front, a coalition between the fragments of the previous broken government. The Germanians had arrived to expect worried soldiers with no strength to fight, but they had underestimated the Zebrans. Zebras were very fond of magic, but unlike Equestrians who used their horns, the Zebrans used other means such as building physical weapons that carry their messages of magic. Africana has an intensely hot climate and 78% percent of it is desert. But it's resources has kept the Zebrans a powerful empire. The Germanians were seeking to acquire the vast oil fields and diamond mines, as well as living space. But had to go through the disciplined and various forces of the Africanan army. Africana was not home to just Zebras but a whole variety of animals, some the Z.U.F used to it's desire. The enormous elephants were used as heavy shock troops and troop carriers, whilst the deadly hyenas were used to fight the enemy in close combat situations. Together, these forces had slowed down the Germanian offensive in Africana. Casualties were rising higher than any other front. And yet the Germanians continued, no matter how many times their artillery fired or how many strafing runs their aircraft did the Zebras stayed and fought. Field Marshall Rommen was nicknamed the Desert Fox by his enemies due to his skilled mind and tactics. The Germanian Africanian Korps was advancing deeper into Africana. The sun was blazing hot, so hot that for breakfast the tank commanders fried eggs on top of the sizzling surfaces of their tanks. As they advanced deeper, the more skilled foes they faced. It was a hot sunny morning as Rommen's military force rumbled through the dusty hills, the dust the tanks and vehicles picked up could be seen for miles around. Many of the tanks were overheating and the convoy was constantly stopped because a Panzer's engine caught fire. But Rommen never complained, he needed more intelligence on the enemy forces. Hilat ordered him to commence Blitzkrieg against the enemy, despite Rommen's objections. If they moved any faster their tanks would explode from the hot harsh temperatures, and the dusty hills made good vantage points for snipers. The field marshall stood near one of the Panzers, standing upright and holding a map in his hooves. it confirmed his fears, much of the military lines were pinned down and some of their supply lines were being cut off by the pesky Hyena legions, which would be disastrous if they were cut off. Fuel for the vehicles was running so drastically low that the engineers had to siphon gas from destroyed tanks. Morale in the Afrika Korps was beginning to fade. Rommen could sense the hesitation in much of the soldiers when they saluted him. He and everyone else knew that the situation in Africana was beginning to deteriorate, but Rommen could not disobey his leader's orders. "Field Marshall, we can get moving again" A young mechanic trotted to him drenched in oil. Rommen looked up from his map and adjusted his officer's cap with one of his hooves. "There is supposed to be an enemy legion out here" Rommen said. This just brought confusion to the small mechanic's eyes. "I apologize, Field Marshall, I am only a mechanic" The pony stomped his right foot, raised his right hoof and yelled out. "HEIL HILAT". Rommen returned the salute and the mechanic walked off. In a few moments there was a roar and the convoy was slowly moving again. But something didn't feel right in the Field Marshall's stomach. The convoy was currently situated between two large sand dunes which concealed the tanks quite well. Rommen beckoned to a soldier to come to him. "What is your name soldier?" Rommen asked him. "Lucius" The soldier replyed. "Can you please climb up that dune" He said pointing a hoof at the dune. "and tell me what you see" Without hesitation, the pony clad in sand-yellow galloped up the slope holding an MP40 in his hoofs. Just as he got to the top, he stopped and looked around. Just then, there was a clap of thunder and the next moment, the soldier was lying dead at the bottom of the dune. A pool of blood had collected around his head. The convoy stopped instantly as the soldiers scrambled around. Rommen walked up to the dead soldier and saw the problem. Snipers There was a bullet hole in the pony's forehead. Dead accurate. This only confirmed the Marshall's fear. While the convoy was stopped, the enemy had time to put up defences all around them. They could be attacked at any moment! Rommen shouted for his adjutant to come for him. "Yes, Field Marshall?" Get the Luftwaffe on the line, we need to see what we are dealing with. Tell them to conduct reconnaissance missions in the area" The adjustant nodded and raced off to find a radio. The sound the Panzers made when they were idle began to irritate Rommen, how long could they stay like this? It is absolutely ridiculous. The adjutant returned. "The Luftwaffe are launching Stukas into the area to watch for enemy activity" Just as he said that, there was an explosion as one of the Half tracks blew into flames. All along the dunes were enemy soldiers, which opened fire at the stricken Germanian troops. Many ponies were cut down instantly while the others scrambled to find their enemy. The Panzers turned their turrets and opened fire at the dunes. This just brought up dust concealling the enemy and soon the Panzers became useless. The sound of MP40s and MG42s filled the air as the Germanians retalliated, the sound of a Panzershreck filled the air as the zebrans launched another rocket. This time blowing up a supply truck. Rommen hid underneath a panzer with his adjutant. Then, just as the Germanians were about to give up, the loud whining of the Stukas could be heared. The strafing runs commenced and very soon, the enemy fire stopped, and their screams filled the air as they were cut into bits by the powerful cannons. Rommen got up, many ponies were lying on the dusty blood soaked ground, dead or dying. Smoke and dust was everywhere. The Stukas flew overhead watching for any more enemies. This was a big blow to the Afrika front. Without warning, Rommen shouted to all the living troops, he could no longer obey his orders. "SOLDIERS OF THE WEHRMACHT! WE ARE FALLING BACK"
