Chapters December 14, 1940. The Neighponese Imperial Army defends their Island like a Timber Wolf guarding it's Den.
My name is Starlight Dust-Run, though corporal Roe-Buck just calls me Stardust. As a member of John Carlpon's Mare-ine Raiders, my squad and I had our "special" tasks. One of which being sent to a small scenic neighponese beach to clear out some of Pojo's infantry. We got there with little trouble, then came the challenge. Clearing off the entire off-the-Neighponese-coastline island, with only five other stallions, I might add. As we fired at the guards on towers, they heard the shots and immediately galloped to their battle stations and started picking us off one-by-one.
Private Pyle and I ran to take cover in a nearby shack, sounds fair, right? Fair, but fatal. We were captured, thereon out beaten, tortured, even burned. Nothing too fatal, only non-lethal attacks on our bodies to make us suffer, I'd rather have been dead. 4 days later, they were merciful enough only to keep us alive, I awoken to see a Neighponese sergeant standing directly in front of me.
"You think because you say nothing, you are strong?"
As the bloody war-torn bastard knelt in front of me, every fiber of my being desired to cut his puny little throat and I most certainly would have had I not been tied to a wooden post. He looked to an even bloodier lower rank soldier and through his wretched muzzle, spit out an order. a direct translation: "Cut their throats. The savages no longer deserve to live any longer."
As I watched the lower rank-colt cut my team-mate, neigh, my closest friend, down to the ground, I started to cry.. they say tears are a sign of weakness.. none of that matters, regardless. The Neighponese private started trotting towards me, I crawled backwards in what little increments I could, just barely enough to stall him. Because as he rests a hoof on my shoulder, not only did all fear and pain leave my body, I noticed in the background a few things shifting around.
Chapter 1: A Second Start
As I watched my torturer being cut down, my unknown silhouette of a savior fluently stated:
"Stardust, you're okay... Thank Celestia. We're gonna make the Neighponese suffer for what they've done to you."
I canter out of the shack only to see colt-sergeant Sullivan assaulting a Neighponese infantry with a rainbow of a vocabulary. After recollecting his bearings he kneels down to an old crate with a few rifles and 1 pistol resting upon it. Sullivan hoofs me the deadly accurate Neighponese Nam-huf pistol, and tells me to choose whatever other weapon I'd desire, so I chose the forceful Type 1001 Machine Gun with a rate of fire of about 15 rounds in 2 seconds.
"Roe-Buck, signal the strike team. Let's soften these tight fillies up."
Remember that beautiful beach I mentioned about 5 days ago? Yeah, North Ameripony strike missiles are relentless, beach+missiles=you doing math, ha. When the first section of the village was tattered into flames, we progressed to a circle-shack.
"SAVE RYAN!" Sergeant Roe-Buck yells out to the team, next to me, Lance Corporal Tuey pulls out an M1000 rifle and fires 3 bullets at the Neighponese attempting to throw Ryan over the balcony into piranha waters. 2 bullets hit the Neighponese' shoulders, and 1 deadly shot attacks the skull, impaling through to the other side. Ryan is safe.
We run to the other side of the shack and find ourselves met up with reinforcements, the ones you wouldn't like if you were a soldier. Quickly I glance over the area. Snipers: 2, infantry: too many to count, Flak positions: 1 big one. Time allotted to getting off the island: strep for it.
"TAKE OUT THAT MG!"
"I CAN'T GET A CLEAR SHOT!"
"THAN SHOOT THROUGH THE DAMN WOOD!"
Finally i get fed up with the MG placement and throw the both of the MK-2 Fragmentation grenades ,I had arrived with 5 days ago, at the heavily guarded Flak placement. *click* 1, 2, 3, THROW. Then the next one: *click* 1, 2, 3, THROW. Within a couple more seconds I witness a flashing light and flying limbs. As firing ceased to exist in that area, we went out and followed a trail and as I passed a disembodied head, I get a closer analysis at it, realizing it was the Neighponese sergeant from earlier, I leave my standard issue combat knife in the head, and make my way to catch up with the rest of the group.
"I want to get through the rest of this quick and clean. You hear me? Quick and clean!"
Sergeant Sullivan yell-whispers to us, we all understand his orders, though confused on his tone, even Roe-Buck looks back at me needing closure on what sarge just said.
Chapter 2: Two Sides of the Coin
As the war rages in the Ponicific, all of us in Europony have our own problems.
As the Gerpon Mare-macht makes its way into the heart of Stalliongrad, they slaughter millions of innocent lives, only to further their agendas. I serve under Captain Rezsnout, a decorated war hero, and my name is Nikolai Ponlinski.
I awaken to no more than five crows in a four hoof radius from where I lay, I remain still, and scan my general area. Gerpon patrol, a tank: Panzer, five to ten hoof soldiers, and one mounted flak turret gunner on the Panzer. The hoof soldiers scan the plaza fountain for any wounded, those that they find they kill. I got lucky, they had no idea that I was remaining. As they pass I start crawling to the other side of what potentially could have been my grave and as I prone my way to the far side I hear:
"Shh... Do not make any sudden movements or sounds, and follow me."
As soon as he spoke I knew it was Rezsnout, sharing the same place of abandon as I had, we crawled for no more than 7 hooves and lay upon a shattered piece of the fountain.
"Here, take my rifle. My hoof is wounded and I cannot take aim, you will do it for me. Do not load the chamber yet, just look. You see that decorated mudak? That is fascist SS general Ponrich Amsel, and that rat no longer deserves to draw breath. Do not shoot, we must wait for the right moment, otherwise our chance will be forever lost. Wait for a mark you'll know at the sound of, then take your shots on the patrol. "
Chapter 3: The Mare-Macht
Bombers flying over-head, their engines break a dead silence with a loud, obnoxious roar. This, was Rezsnout's signal. Load the Mosin Ponagant 1 round at a time, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, full chamber. I look through the scope and watch as Amsel trots into the building carelessly, he was not yet my target. I fire on the patrol, not missing a shot then a soldier came out from behind a wall, k-9 unit, great. I look again through the scope and fire the round, through the dog's body, then the soldier.
"Your aim is flawless. come with me."
I follow him to an abandon bar, we walk in, nopony lies in wait. Rezsnout flips a bar door and walks behind the counter, and grabs a PonyPSh-41, the fastest shooting rifle of it's time, an entire clip in 10 seconds flat.
"This tavern used to be filled with laughter and joy from friends and loved ones, it still haunts me now.." I hear Rezsnout reminisce about the days before the war, I could feel nothing more than sympathy for him.
"Rezsnout, I..I"
"No, trouble yourself not about it. We need to continue."
I can tell he no longer has motivation to fight, well at least one thing.. a vendetta. He wishes Amsel gone, dead for what he has done to his comrades those that were never even armed.
Chapter 4: Ponilieu Beach
"Good luck. All of you."
All of us in Sullivan's squad hear as we get ready to storm the once flawless Ponilieu Beach. The hatch draws down from our Amphibian carrier and we drive straight through the water.
"Navy's been bombing the hell out the island for two days straight, keep your heads down and your eyes open and we should be through this in three days and..."
We all look to see one of our bombers flying right out of the sky. None of us could believe what we all had just witnessed.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"WAS THAT ONE OF OURS?"
"EVERYPONY, KEEP your heads DOWN! YOU HEAR ME? KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!"
Had his voice been able to, we all knew Colt-Sergeant Sullivan would have thrown his voice even higher than it had been to get his point through to us, but we all understood what we were told. We finally reached the shoreline but not before getting stuck.
"DRIVER! Drop the ramp! That gun could zero in on us at any time!"
"IT'S THE CORAL, WE'RE STUCK ON THE---"
Private Koopman had just fallen, not even reaching the battlefield, I lean in, collect his pony-tags and before I stand up, I hear a bullet whiz past my head.. Thank Luna for being honorable.
"DROP THE RAMP!!"
The boat gets shot by a true AA Anti-Air flak position and throws the squad in the bay. Underwater I see the true horrors of war, not even getting a chance and dying. Getting shot whilst swimming for your life.. okay, maybe not true horrors, but would you want to be in this predicament? A short moment later I feel a hoof wrap around mine. It's Sullivan.
"Stardust. You're still in one piece. Plan's gone to shit, Pojo's got a whole line of infantry lined up on the shore, we need for immediate missile strike. Call in a position, and the Canterlot Air force will do the rest!"
As I call in the Air Strike, I hear this response:
"Bravo Romeo Oscar November Yankee 47, 91. Coordinates Received, firing for effect!"
Within no more than 7 seconds the Air team was already overhead bombing the beach.
"What the hell? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance!"
We Gallop in whatever way we could to reach the shore, its all clear, 1 or 2 wounded that we refuse to let them draw breath. We pass the beach and trail onward to our next "checkpoint". A small bunker armed with a Mounted Machine Gun but the soldiers inside deny their ability to fight, and attempt to surrender. Roe-Buck declines their surrender and orders the M2 Flamethrower unit to "Burn 'em".
Chapter 5: Trench Gun Warfare
Let's see, past the beach, past the bunker, oh yeah.
After those events we come across an opening to a path of trench network channels, We have no choice but to go in, I'm armed with my M1000 rifle and a traditional Colt M1911 pistol and only a few grenades. Weapons start firing and several near death experiences from my squad mates and 9/10 come out alive. As we exit the trench channels Lance Corporal Tuey acknowledges a neighponese soldier climbing into a tree.
"What's he doing?"
We all sit in wait, little to our knowledge something awaits us in turn. The soldier climbs the tree and sends out a flare, rendering us blind for a moment. The Noises of the flare burning and grass shuffling only lead us to believe we were ambushed, I pull out my Colt and start firing at the grass, the flare dies out and I see four Neighponese bodies on the ground, and 2 Ameripony soldier. One of them, is Private Ryan. Remember Ryan? From a couple of chapters ago? He's no longer with us.
"Damn, we lost Ryan, he was our best gunner, and my only brother."
We all turn to Roe-Buck, he'd never let us see a tear crawl from his eye, but this time he didn't care. How was he going to explain this to Ryan's family back home? We all sat there for a brief moment and let Roe-Buck absorb what had happened. He always told us that his family was made of steel, for a time we all believed it, I still do. For anyone to shed a tear over a relative who had just fallen before you, truly had the heart of a horse in my book. Private Polonsky had the closest ties out of all of us to Ryan and Roe-Buck. Not even Sullivan knew them as well as Polonsky.