Tendrils Of War

A 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"