Chapter 1: Enemies Arising
Chapter 1: Enemies Arising
It was many years earlier when Equestria had fallen into chaos with the call of Code 5. A new governmental force had been founded with one purpose; ending Code 5. It was the first of its kind, and like many firsts, there were flaws. One flaw had led to its downfall. The center of command was a single large base in the city of Canterlot, without any backup locations or command centers if the base succumbed to destruction. The flaw came into play when a massive horde attacked it full force. The last form of government in Equestria went down without a fight after the loss of the base. One would think that all horror would unleash with the loss of law and control, but after the passing of time, quite the contrary occurred. Everything became…quiet. Anyone could take a stroll, and they would find that there were no moans, there were no limping, decaying bodies following them, seeking a bite from the individual. It was peaceful, but how? To answer this, think about the recent past. With a good side, there is a bad side. With the ZPTF, there were raiders, bandits. With the crippling of ZPTF, these raiders and bandits made their blow. Invading the other bases and stealing whatever they needed.
They soon became the ruling force of Equestria, and they worked quickly with the undead compared to the ZPTF. Within a short time, they had eradicated the undead. So you could say, are they really the bad side? Sadly, the answer is yes. Although they made a great contribution of eliminating an enemy of humanity, they were still the bad side. In the eastern areas of Equestria was a tyrannical kingdom, the only way to have any bit of freedom was to be in their army. And the purpose of their army mainly consisted of small campaigns to other regions of Equestria, exacting control over the populations west of their territory, but only for a short time before returning to the east. They were a bully, mistreating those populations every so often with their campaigns. If one has knowledge of history, they know what happens next; resistance, retaliation, opposition against those who they proclaim as enemies. This was done on numerous occasions, but all were failures to the end. Some failed at the first fight, others may have victory, but the soldiers would come back with stronger force, and then that resistance would fail.
Some would be hopeless at that point, give up, and succumb to what they saw as an unbeatable opponent. But then there are others, who stay strong. Those people took the time to sit down and just think, unlike before where others had taken immediate action. These patient minds figured out that their tactics should take on the likeness of the advice a parent would give to a child about their allowance. Don’t use it the first chance you get, save it for another day. And that’s what these people decided to do. Don’t attack with what you have at the first moment, but take patience, and allow your resources to add up, to use it to a bigger effect later on. For years the people in the regions west of their tyrant attackers withstood the blows dealt to them, without retaliation. As time went on the kingdom had grown to believe that they had beaten everyone, that no one would resist them. But they later found they were majorly wrong.
Chapter 2: Light Some Lead Part 1
Chapter 2: Light Some Lead Part 1
The sun rose over the horizon, making silhouettes of the structures of the eastern ruling mass that had been raiders. A bit west of them, hidden within the trees, was a mass of an opposing team, about equal size of the former. One of the commanding officers of the latter looked towards the enemy through binoculars.
“Crack of dawn, there’ll be guards on watch but the majority should be either asleep or just waking up. They’ll be a bit tired, so we should hopefully have an advantage.” He looked back at the other behind him. “Are we all ready?”
“The tank and gundozer crews are armed and ready, sir.” One pony replied.
“Troops on hoof are ready as well, sir.” He nodded and grabbed a radio of his belt.
“Are you ready, Phantom crew?”
“All checks have passed, sir.” Bucky’s voice came back through.
“Ready for combat.” Epsilon’s voice came through.
“Excellent.” He said. “All troops begin your advance.” He was given a collection of affirmatives and everyone advanced. Tanks and gundozers; bulldozers that had been armored and armed to make up for the smaller amount of actual tanks, began to move forward, followed by soldiers walking behind the protection of the mobile artillery. It was still dark over where they were, being the sun hadn’t fully risen yet, keeping the troops hidden from the guards.
“Do not turn on your lights.” The pony reminded. “We want to get as close as we can before they notice.”
**************
Two guards sat in a watchtower, keeping a lookout on their surroundings despite the fact nothing major had happened for years. One of them had dozed off. He soon felt a hoof smack him gently.
“Wake up, would you? I can’t monitor everything by myself.” A mare said.
“Oh come on, it’s early, I’m still tired. Not like anything is gonna happen.”
“You can seep after we get of watch duty. And hey, you never know. Remember how that zombie police went down? Just a normal day and then all of a sudden and entire army of undead went at it full force.”
“I think you’re taking this too seriously.”
“Bet me?”
“I bet you a few sodas.”
“Deal.” She looked through her binoculars into the distance. The landscape was still dark, but she took notice of a reflection. It was gone after a second but she still peered towards it. As the sun rose the landscape gradually got lighter until she was greeted with a terrifying sight.
“Holy shit!” She dropped her binoculars and grabbed her radio. After a few words from her a loud siren went off within the city. Her partner looked at the mass making their way towards them.
“Dear lord…” He said in astonishment.
“You owe me a few sodas…” The mare remarked. She grabbed a sniper rifle and chambered a round. Many people rushed out of buildings with their weapons, ready for battle.
**************
“We’ve been spotted.” The commanding officer said into the radio. “Hold your fire unless I command otherwise.” The platoons of armor and soldiers kept a steady advance towards the opponents. Gunshots suddenly rand out as the opposite side opened fire towards the troops with large machine guns.
“Return fire!” He commanded. The soldiers manning the machine guns on the normal tanks returned fire towards the enemy weaponry, and the soldiers on foot returned fire from the cover of the armor. The artillery refrained, being overkill if used on the opposing machine guns. Suddenly a few rockets were launched, heavily damaging some of the tanks. The main guns on the tanks and gundozers took aim at the enemy artillery and opened fire, bringing the battle into a full-fledged fight of deadly levels.
“They’re stronger than I thought.” The commanding officer said, observing the battle from his position hidden behind the tree line.
“Sir these people infiltrated the ZPTF bases when the HQ went down. It’s likely they obtained some rather large weaponry.”
“How large and how much?”
The griffon with him thought a moment. “This will be an interesting battle, sir.”
A Sherman tank pressed forward towards the city. The turret rotated in the direction of opposing artillery. “Fire!” The cannon boomed and the artillery was destroyed. “Nice shot.” Suddenly the vehicle shook as another cannon fired on them, damaging the turret. The pony manning the machine gun on top screamed in pain. Another crew member pulled them down into the protection of the armor.
“The main gun has been damaged. We can’t turn or fire.”
“Keep advancing, provide cover for the soldiers.”
“Affirmative.” The tank continued its course. The crew member pulled the hatch shut to cover them. She turned to the wounded machine gunner. There were no visible wounds. “You okay?”
“No.” She replied. “The jolt from impact broke a few ribs, got my foreleg too.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here.” The mare radioed back. “Mare down, we’re sending her back.” She then opened the hatch of the Sherman and helped the wounded mare out of the tank, climbing out after her. She helped her down the back of the vehicle to a few soldiers. “Get her out of here.” Two soldiers helped her down and began escorting her back from the battlefield. The other mare climbed back into the tank.
“How close are we?”
“Closing the distance more slowly, these guys are packing some heat.” The tank jolted again and stopped, refusing to move forward.
“Shit, our track’s been hit. We gotta abandon this thing.” The mare nodded and opened the hatch. She climbed back out, followed by the driver. The jumped down off the back of the vehicle, joining the group of soldiers. A lone enemy galloped down the field towards them. The driver saw him jump up in front of the barrel and toss something down it.
“Take cover!” The driver shouted. Suddenly the tank blew up on the inside, scattering shrapnel in all directions.
“Tank 5 has been taken out.” The griffon reported to the commanding officer, viewing the battle from a tree. “It took two hits before being immobilized.”
“The second was aimed at a weaker point; the rest of the vehicle can resist some hits.” The stallion responded. “The enemy’s artillery seems to consist of trailer cannons, our odds seems rather good.”
**************
“Who the hell are these people?!” The mare exclaimed. She sniped another soldier just out of cover of a tank. Suddenly a cannon next to their tower was blown to bits, the shrapnel splintering the wood supports.
“Whoa!” She and her partner went tumbling down as the tower crumbled beneath them. She cried out in pain as a part of a support landed on top of one of her rear legs. The stallion quickly pushed it up enough so she could slide out. He grabbed her forelegs and dragged her behind cover of a building.
“Shit, my leg’s broken.” She winced. The stallion looked out towards the tank that had caused their tower to fall. First he saw the turret get hit. A few moments later he saw a wounded mare getting helped out of the tank. He was way too far out of range for his shotgun to be effective, and he wasn’t very good at aiming with a sniper rifle. He went back behind cover of the building.
“The weapons on that tank have been disabled.” He said to her. He looked out again just as the left track was destroyed. “It’s been stopped.” He looked down at a few grenades he had on his belt. “I’m gonna deliver a final blow.” He racked his shotgun and galloped out into the field towards the damaged vehicle. He grabbed a grenade as he went, pulling the pin a few feet short of the cannon. He leaped up and tossed the explosive down the barrel. He quickly galloped back as the vehicle exploded, diving back behind the building.
“I did it in.” He said, grinning. The mare gave him an approving nod. She looked down at him.
“You’ve been shot.” The stallion looked down to see blood starting to soak his shirt.
“Oh hell… We’d better get to the medic, fast.” He got up and helped his partner up, limping away from the front lines towards the med bay. Behind them the remaining tanks made it to the city. The soldiers ran out from behind the vehicles and began their attack. She looked back behind her.
“Oh no…” A soldier took aim at them with their M1 Garand and fired. The stallion was hit in the back and went down, and with her broken leg, so did she.
“This is it, we won’t make it.” He said quietly.
“Aw, I won’t get my sodas.” She said, a sad grin on her face. Three soldiers surrounded them.
“Back off, they’re down.” One of them ordered. “Disarm them and get them to cover, let medics get to them.” The other two nodded and took their weapons, dragging them up against a building. The three then ran back into the battle.
“Wasn’t expecting that.” The stallion said. He ripped a part of his shirt off and pressed it against his wounds, putting pressure on them.
“They’re wearing kilts.” The mare replied. “Englishmen are respectful, right?”
“I guess. So what sodas do you want?”
“Coca-Cola.”
***************
“Some of the tanks have made it to the city perimeter.” The griffon reported. “We’re losing quite a few of them though.”
“How many?”
“We’ve lost 12, and that’s not the end of the enemy’s barrage. That artillery is knocking us out cold.”
“How many troops have made it into the city?”
“Not enough to take it over. We need to take out those cannons to have any hope in succeeding.”
“Alright, I’m calling in reinforcements.” He picked up his radio. “Phantom crew engage the enemy.”
Chapter 3: Light Some Lead Part 2
Chapter 3: Light Some Lead Part 2
The officer was given an affirmative from the operators and he lowered the radio. Minutes later a new sound was added to the gunfire. He and the griffon with him looked up as the sound of engines filled the air above them. A silhouette appeared in the clouds, becoming larger and larger until a Lancaster bomber plane burst from the clouds, flying low over them. The nose art on the front of aircraft like many WWII bombers displayed was a ghostly figure and the word phantom inscribed above it in curvy black lettering all capitalized. The stallion radioed his orders to the flight crew.
“Take out the enemy’s artillery so our troops can advance.”
“Roger that, sir.”
**************
“Pen, you locked and loaded down there?” Epsilon called down from his place in the right hand pilot seat.
“Affirmative.” The purple mare replied, seated in the nose turret of the plane.
“Fire at will. Aim for the heavy weapons on the front lines.” Bucky said, seated in the left hand pilot seat. Some of the machine guns on the front lines turned towards them and fired. The nose turret was hit, cracking the glass. Pen Brush scowled.
“You did not just shoot my turret.” She maneuvered her weapons downwards and returned fire, raining lead on the machine gun operators. Bucky turned the plane so it flew perpendicular to the line of heavy weapons. Pen fired on them as they flew down the line, dropping enemy soldiers as her line of fire passed over them, a few of the heavy weapon crews going unscathed. Once they had completed the flyby she ceased her fire. “Most of the guns have been disabled.” She called up to the pilots. “Only a few left, I think the platoons can handle them.”
“Roger that.” Epsilon replied. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, looking towards it. He saw a large group of smaller figures being lead away from the front lines. He radioed to the CO. “Sir the children within the city are being taken far from the front lines. They’re being sheltered in building in the eastern-most part of the city.”
“I hear you loud and clear.” He sent a message to the rest of the troops. “Avoid the building farthest from the front lines at all costs. Children are being sheltered.” The troop leaders replied back with affirmatives. The rest of the tanks and gundozers advanced into the city with the obstacle of artillery and machine guns drastically diminished.
“Phantom crew your job here is done. You may return to base. Good work.”
“Roger that, sir.” Bucky replied. He turned the plane back and began flying away from the battlefield.
“Hah, bet those bastards didn’t see this coming.” Epsilon said, grinning. His grin disappeared when he felt the small rapid vibrations from being hit by machine guns. “What the hell? I thought all the machine guns were taken out down there.” Suddenly the windscreen was cracked by bullets. “What the hell?!” A BF109 fighter plane burst out of the clouds ahead of them and flew by overhead.
“That plane isn’t ours…” Bucky said nervously.
“Shit… It’s only one plane, much smaller than us. We can take ‘em.” Suddenly the front of the bomber was bombarded with more gunfire. Two more of the same plane flew by.
“Spoke too soon, Epsilon.” Bucky said. He radioed to the CO.
“We’ve got three German fighter planes engaging.”
“Are you serious? Dammit, these guys have more weaponry than I thought. Take them down if you can, don’t give up your aircraft.”
“Affirmative sir.” Bucky veered the Lancaster off to the right, so as not to lead the fighter planes to their airstrip. “Three fighter planes versus a bomber, what’s our chances?”
“I’m not liking them.” Epsilon replied. “But I’m hopeful.” Machine gunfire rang out as the bomber began attacking the fighter planes as they came into view again. One of the planes flew off ahead of them. “Get them Pen!”
She aimed her turret and opened fire. Sparks flew as some of her barrage made impact with the plane. It disappeared into the clouds and she stopped. “I lost visual.” The glass on her turret was suddenly riddled with cracks as the plane opened fire on the front, having flown around to attack head-on. Up above her the windscreen was bombarded with bullets, a few breaking through on the left side and hitting Bucky. His uniform was stained red and he slumped down over the controls.
“Oh shit, Bucky!” Epsilon quickly switched the control of the plane to his side. The Lancaster was once again bombarded from the front. “Take that asshole out!”
Pen aimed directly at the incoming fighter. She returned fire on it and could see the favorable results. The windscreen on the enemy plane cracked and holes riddled the wings and parts of the fuselage were damaged. The fighter veered downwards, smoke emitting from the engine.
“Take that you slimy wanker!” Epsilon cheered. He looked worriedly over at his friend. “Bucky? Come on man, don’t die on me.” He shook the wounded pony’s shoulder. A groan was given in response. “Oh thank god…” The plane rumbled on the right side. He looked over to see one of the four engines smoking. It gave out and the propeller stopped turning. “Shit.” He pushed forward on the wheel and descended the plane to a lower altitude to prevent losing oxygen. His view became clear as he descended out of the clouds, the two remaining fighter planes tailing after them. Their enemy was now in plain view. Epsilon set his face in a determined scowl. “Let’s make some noise.”
**************
The CO looked despairingly towards the dogfight that had ensued with the aircraft. He looked back towards the battlefield. The griffon was up in a tree surveying the fight. He took note of something odd. “Sir, gundozer 2 has broken off from its course.”
“What? Where is it going now?”
“They’re speeding up towards the city area furthest from the front lines.” He zoomed in his binoculars. “They’re heading for where the children are being sheltered.”
The officer did not like what he heard. He grabbed his radio. “Gundozer 2 what the buck are you doing?”
“Taking out any future tyrants.” A crewmember replied.
“You’ve been ordered to stay away from that building. Stand down, NOW!”
“Negative, sir. We’re taking them out.”
“I’m telling you to stand down, that’s a direct order.” He was given the words of a death wish.
“No.” The makeshift tank continued towards the shelter, arming the artillery and taking aim. The CO took immediate action. “Tank 4 pursue gundozer 2.” He gave the final order. “And blast them to hell.”
“Yes sir.” The Sherman tank turned in the direction of the gundozer and went to full speed, racing to get there before the armored bulldozer could fire on the shelter. The gundozer came around the last building, leaving nothing standing between them and the shelter. The barrel of their artillery turned towards the structure.
The guards protecting the children inside the building looked fearfully at the armor taking aim at them. The children managed to get a glimpse at the scene unfolding and a lot of them screamed and began crying, trembling at the thought of death.
“Take aim…” The commander of the dozer said slowly. A grin came across his face. “Fi-!” He was halfway through his final command when the vehicle exploded in a mess of shrapnel and flames.
The guards had their eyes clenched shut. Their lives flashed before their eyes as the explosion erupted, but only for the images to fade away as they realized that they were still breathing. They opened their eyes to look at the destroyed armor that had been moments away from blowing up the building. They watched as the dust settled to reveal a Sherman tank behind the dozer, the end of the barrel smoking. Overcome with relief and shock, each and every one of the guards fainted.
“Gundozer 2 has been eliminated.” The tank commander radioed to the CO.
“Good work.” The stallion leaned against a tree, sighing in relief.
