Somewhere near Trotes, Prance
Sergeant First Class Swift Blade was marching along with his squad, weapons in hoof, as they advanced towards another town in Prance when the artillery hit. One moment, the road was quiet, the only sounds being the sound of hooves clopping against the cobblestone road. The next, there was a deafening explosion as a magical artillery strike hit the road ahead of the earth pony squad, sending up a plume of smoke, fire, and dirt. Being trained combatants, the seven-pony squad split up and dived for cover at the sides of the road, as another blast shook the ground.
There was a third blast, and a fourth, and finally a fifth, as the soldiers waited and hoped for the barrage to end soon, before one would hit them. When there was a sixth blast, and no more came afterwards, only then did the troops get up and group back up, resuming their march to the town.
Somewhere in Equestria
On the other side of an ocean, in a secure military bunker, sat a group of high-ranking officers of the Equestrian Military Forces. Applejack, leading general of the nation's ground forces, was discussing the lack of air support for her troops.
"Mah troops aren't jus' able to plow through the enemy that easily, especially with the amount 'a tanks those yaks have been makin'. Not without support. What's with the lack 'a air support recently?" Applejack stated aggressively, an iron gaze aimed towards the commander of Equestria's air forces as she leaned forwards ever so slightly.
Said commander didn't appear to be fazed by the stare. "General Applejack, I know your troops need the air support, but we're low on capable fliers, and it's not easy to train new ones. And it's especially difficult to train them in proper usage of the new anti-ground weapons we've been receiving. We just can't spare the ones we still have, especially with the threat of invasion from the east if Stalliongrad falls."
"At this rate, mah troops aren't gonna have enough strength left to take back Prance's capital!"
The commander of the Equestrian air forces sighed. "I'll see what we can do."
Stalliongrad, United Stables of Socialist Republics
Across another ocean, in Stalliongrad, a massive battle was raging, with a combined-arms Germane-Yak assault force trying to take the city, while a large army of unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi fought to keep them back. The sounds of screaming and explosions could be heard from a mile away. It was a fierce stalemate, with the defenders having the advantage of both numbers and defensive capabilities, but the attackers with the advantage of technology and supplies.
Eventually, one side or the other would have to end the stalemate.
For now, though, the defenders of Stalliongrad would have to continue to hold off the Germane-Yak forces, to protect their city and its citizens, lest it fall and force the USSR to surrender to the enemy's forces.
In the city itself, civilian ponies were rushing to and fro, as the factories worked overtime to produce enough supplies for the defenders, and construction ponies worked on repairing damages inflicted by artillery. The town hall's tower was the most prominent building, as it showed very little damage, and towered above all the other buildings. Inside, the Grand Marshall of the military forces of the USSR was seated, looking over documents detailing the current status of supplies and defenses, and positions of the enemy's assault forces.
He sighed. The stalemate had lasted for about 3 weeks at this point. They were getting supplies from Equestria but without military support they'd lose the city within a month.
They just had to wait, for now. But he had a plan, a trick up his sleeve, and he only needed to wait.
Trotes, Prance, a few hours later
Back in Prance, Sergeant Swift and his squadmates had just arrived at Trotes, waiting for the rest of the force that would attack the town to arrive. This would consist of several other squads of the 28th Earth Pony Regiment, a group of unicorns from the 8th Unicorn Battalion, and about half a dozen tanks. The technology had only been around for about half a decade, but they were highly effective. Their main weapon was a cannon that fired shaped stone enchanted to explode on contact, with a firing mechanism based off of Pinkie Pie's party cannon.
After about half an hour of waiting, the rest of the assault force reached the edge of the town, with Swift's squad joining up. The commander of the assault force, Captain Steel Shield, a dark grey unicorn stallion with an intimidating stare and the voice of someone used to war, went around, assigning each squad a call-sign, of which Swift's squad's was Delta, and, when all of that was done, waited until each squad was in position before giving them a final briefing before the assault.
"Alright, soldiers! This quaint little town here is Trotes, if you didn't notice the sign!" he barked, looking over each and every soldier with his steely gaze. "The plan is for our armor to go in first, to get their attention and thin out whatever troops they have outside."
"Delta and Charlie, you're going to give the armor infantry support, because we all know what happens when you don't give these tanks infantry support.
"Alpha, you take the houses just down the road. Easy will clear out the remaining buildings, and Baker will establish a perimeter."
He swept his gaze one final time across the soldiers.
"Am I clear?"
Everypony spoke out in unison, loud and clear. "Yes sir!"
He smiled, the smile of one who has seen more war than one should have to. "Then grab your gear and check your weapons and ammo, we're moving out!"
EAF training grounds, Equestria
Rainbow Dash watched as her most promising recruits flew around the training course, wishing she could be in the actual fighting herself. Alas, being an Element of Harmony made her too important to be sent off to war, where she might be captured, wounded, or killed. So here she was, overseeing the training of new recruits for the war effort, teaching them how to fly with the extra weight caused by the gear they would wear, and how to use the weapons they would be given. She swept her gaze over the recruits again, and watched as they completed the 800 laps they had been given before landing in front of her, waiting for her to dismiss them.
Rainbow smiled at them, sweeping a gaze across the line of hopefuls. "Alright, recruits, you did well. Could have been faster, but this is an exercise in endurance, not speed," she said, in a tone designed to gather attention. "Dismissed!"
The recruits gave a smart salute in unison, before breaking from the line and heading towards either the barracks or the mess hall, some staying to practice flying a little more. It would only be a few more months before they would be able to join the war themselves. They had undergone intense training, and the training was to prepare them as much as possible for the actual thing. Once they finished training, and left to actually take part in the fighting, their training would be put to the test, and hopefully it would keep them alive until the war was over or they were allowed to go home.
Rainbow thought about that often, and hoped that they would be able to keep themselves safe when the time came.
Trotes, Prance
Sergeant Swift and his squad marched alongside Charlie squad, both squads trailing behind the six tanks as the assault force marched into Trotes. As the tanks rolled down the road leading into the small town, Swift heard somepony yell something in Germane, as more yelling followed afterwards. Then there were several loud gunshots and a flurry of movement as Germane troops moved to defend the town. One of the bullets pinged off the armor of the tank in front of Swift's squad, before the tank returned fire with its own gun, the bullets tracing lines in the air as they thudded into the ground and sides of buildings, a few of the Germane soldiers collapsing. The other five tanks joined in, providing a wall of suppressive fire, as Alpha, Baker, and Easy squad moved up, advancing with the protection of the suppressive fire. Charlie squad moved up to the side of one of the tanks, as Swift's squad did the same, using the tanks as cover, while taking shots at the Germane soldiers holed up inside of the buildings.
The combined barrage of bullet hell from the six tanks finally ended, beginning to move forwards again, finally entering the town proper. Alpha squad, led by the assault's commander, Captain Steel Shield, moved to take the first house, as Easy's squad kicked in the door of the building to the left of the tank group, and rushed inside. Gunfire and yelling could be heard from within as the tanks continued their advance, Delta and Charlie squads keeping pace with the tanks, and keeping watch for hidden ambushes.
Down the road, a Yak tank could be seen approaching the group of Equestrian forces. Slow and heavy, with very heavy armor and a large and powerful cannon, it could be recognized from a mile away. Swift was one of the ponies who saw it.
"Shit, look out! There's a Yak tank down the street!" he yelled, turning to the radio operator of his squad. "Get on the radio and warn the tankers! That thing could take us all down if we can't take it out first!"
"Yes, sir!" the radio operator, Corporal Written Note, replied, grabbing his unicorn-built radio set and turning it on. "This is squad Delta to armor support, be advised there is a Yak heavy tank coming right down the road at us. I'd suggest shooting it before it shoots us!"
"Roger, this is Cavalry 1, we see the target. Sight, get the gun aligned, now!" a mare voice shouted over the radio, most likely the commander of Cavalry 1, the lead tank of the group.
The lead tank's turret started to rotate, agonizingly slowly, towards the Yak tank now clearly visible to the rest of the tankers. The Yak tank's turret turned to the left, before the cannon lit up with a bright flash of light, the barrel visibly moving back from the recoil. The shell arced towards the group of tanks, Charlie squad diving to the right of the tanks to avoid being caught by the explosion, as the shell hit the ground a mere five hooves in front of the lead tank. The dirt and rocks dislodged by the explosion showered onto Cavalry 1, as they returned fire, their cannon making a loud POOM as the projectile rocketed towards the Yak tank, hitting the front of the hull directly. However, the shell only put a sizable dent into the Yak-built thick armor plating.
Swift's squad ran ahead of the six tanks, using a building on the street corner as cover. "Any of you have any thermal grenades?" Swift asked, turning to look at his squad while adjusting the straps on his helmet.
"I have some," one of the privates said, reaching into his vest and pulling out a couple of thermal grenades.
"Alright, the plan is to rush the Yak tank, burn through the hatch with one of the grenades, drop the other one inside, and burn the tank out. Understood?"
His squad nodded in understanding, as Swift ejected the ammo clip of his rifle, checked it, put it back in, and readied the weapon again. "Okay, let's go!"
Two of the six tanks had moved behind the buildings to the side, as one of the other four tried to join them, only for the engine to quit. Cavalry 1 and the other two tanks with her had moved to protect the stranded tank, an engineer climbing out of the second tank to the right and running over to them, a toolbox in aura. One of the two tanks in cover fired at the Yak tank, the shell whizzing by, harmlessly. The Yak tank returned it a few seconds later, the shell hitting the building being used as cover, and knocking a large hole in the wall, nearly collapsing half of the building.
"This is Private Quick Fix, I'm almost done fixing your engine, Cavalry 5. Just give me another minute or so."
"Roger, just hurry it up before we all turn into scrambled eggs, okay?"
Swift yelled out across the street towards Charlie squad. "Hey, can anypony toss a smoke grenade out there?"
"Can do, Sergeant," one of the members of Charlie squad replied, grabbing a smoke grenade from her vest and pulling the pin off with her teeth. She then threw it down the street, ahead of the tanks, and a few seconds passed before a large cloud of smoke appeared, blocking the Yak tank from view. Swift saluted to the mare, and gave a few signals to his squad, before quickly running around the corner of the building, heading down the road and towards the Yak tank, his squadmates following behind him.
. . . . .
Commander Hard Hoof, Maremacht, 2nd Armored Regiment
Hard Hoof put a light yellow hoof to her head, rubbing just underneath her horn. The Equestrians had only gotten lucky, that was all. The smoke grenade that had been thrown to block her tank's view would only increase the time it would take to annihilate their tanks. Taking the hoof from her head, she grabbed the radio in a yellow aura matching her fur color, putting it to her ears and listening.
"We are under fire! They've taken the hotel! Where is everypony? Two of my troops are dying, and another one's dead! I need a medic!"
She briefly considered calling for infantry support, but decided against it. It would be foolish to attack a Yak tank on hoof. Doing so would leave you as filled with holes as a slice of Swiss cheese.
Or, at least, that's what she thought. "Kommandant, I see some infantry!" the radio-operator gunner yelled, from his position in the front of the tank. "Running through the smoke!"
"Then shoot them! Show them why you don't rush a Yak tank head on!" Hard Hoof barked, adjusting her hat before peeking out the commander's cupola.
Through it, she could see at least 4, maybe 5 earth ponies running straight towards her tank, with foolish bravado. She tsked briefly, watching the one in the lead aim his rifle at the tank and fire.
The radio-operator gunner, in his position at the machine-gun in the front-most portion of the tank, aimed towards the group of ponies attempting to rush his tank, hesitating for only a moment before pulling the trigger.
As luck, or fate, or whatever controlled these things, would have it, that hesitation cost him. The bullet from the Equestrian-built rifle somehow managed to directly hit the barrel of the machine gun, damaging it severely. As the trigger was pulled, the barrel completely exploded from the force, the gunner jumping back in surprise and confusion.
"Kommandant, I... uh, I think we have a problem."
"What is it?!" Hard Hoof shouted aggressively.
"The gun is broken, I cannot shoot at the enemies."
"Why is it BROKEN?!"
"They shot it!"
"HOW IN ZE HELL DID THEY SHOOT IT?!"
"That's what I'm asking!"
Cursing under her breath, Hard Hoof looked out at the Equestrian squad again. This time, she could see that there were 7 of them. At this point, they had reached the tank, and the smoke had cleared away. She could only see one tank left out in the open, the rest most likely having run away with the cover of the smoke to allow an escape.
Oh well, she would just have to deal with these fools herself. She grabbed her automatic rifle, and unlocked the hatch, pushing it open and outwards and peeking her head outside.
. . . . .
Sergeant First Class Swift Blade, 28th Earth Pony Regiment of the Equestrian Military
Swift felt unstoppable. He had just saved his squad from a most certain death by machine-gun, somehow, through sheer luck. As the rest of his squad ran up to where he was, he pointed a hoof at the private with the thermal grenades. "Private, can you get up there and place one of those on the hatch?" Swift asked the private.
"Yessir, I can do that," the private replied, grabbing one off of his vest and climbing onto the side of the Yak tank. As Swift watched, the hatch of the tank opened as the private was climbing on the top of the turret, a Germane unicorn wearing an officer's hat staring right at the private's face, an automatic rifle in aura. She shouted something in Germane, and the private shouted in response, nearly falling off the tank.
Swift moved quickly, pulling his rifle out and aiming it at the Germane officer's head, pulling the trigger. Instead of a BANG, however, there was a metallic CLANG as the rifle suffered from a malfunction, the bullet apparently not having been fired properly. Swift cursed, ejecting the bullet and manually loading in another, as the unicorn aimed the automatic rifle at the still-recovering private. Luckily for the private, Corporal Written Note had reacted right after Swift did, and did not suffer from a malfunction. His rifle successfully fired with a loud BANG, the bullet flying towards the unicorn and nailing her right in the horn, shattering it and sending out sparks of raw magic from what remained of it. The unicorn screamed in pain, falling backwards into the tank, the rifle falling to the ground as it was released from her magical grip. Swift turned to Written Note. "Well done there, Corporal, nice shot!"
"It was pure luck, just like your shot."
"Well, whether it was luck or skill, Private Lance owes you one for that. And I hear that those Germane auto-rifles are worth a lot, you should keep it."
"No, you can have it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Alright, then."
Swift turned back to the private who had narrowly escaped death. "Private, you alright up there?"
"Yeah, I-I'm good," Private Lance replied, grabbing one of the thermal grenades, hitting the release button, and throwing it into the still-open hatch, where it burst into flames upon impact. He then jumped down, and ran to Corporal Written Note. "Thank you, Note, I really owe you for that one."
"Nah, I was just doing my job. Don't worry about it," Note replied, trying not to be too prideful.
"Well, you saved my life. I'll never be able to repay you for that."
"You just might be able to, in time."
"Alright, we did what we came here to do, now let's go back and rejoin our armor," Swift yelled to his squad, turning away from the now-burning Yak tank, after grabbing the Germane auto-rifle, and trotted back towards where the group of tanks were.
A few hours later...
The assault couldn't have gone more flawlessly. Trotes had been recaptured, and the Germane forces had all either retreated or surrendered. The 28th Earth Pony Regiment only had nine casualties, of which there were two dead and seven wounded, and the 8th Unicorn Battalion suffered from only one wounded, a mare who had heroically held a shield up around several earth ponies as they carried a wounded soldier towards cover, as they sustained enemy fire. Captain Steel Shield debriefed and congratulated every one of his troops, saying how this was only another step on the long road to the capital, Pareigns, but another important step all the same.
A few weeks later, Stalliongrad, United Stables of Socialist Republics
The stalemate in Stalliongrad was about to come to an end. A large army was being formed in the city proper, as the defenses outside of the city remained the same, showing little to no indication that a retaliation was being prepared. Factories had begun producing new tanks a few weeks ago, and there were at least three thousand soldiers ready to fight, with ten thousand militia members ready to join them, being composed of regular citizens who owned a weapon, knew how to use them, and were very angry at the repeated attempts at taking their fair city. Alongside the several hundred tanks sat a much smaller group of about half a dozen peculiar looking vehicles, which appeared to be motor-carriages with several large tubes mounted on the back. But that didn't make this army any less impressive. The Grand Marshall stood in front of the army, giving a patriotic speech about oppression and tyranny, and that they would break free from their metaphorical cage to strike back. The entire scene was worthy of a propaganda poster. Eventually, as the speech reached its conclusion, the Grand Marshall gave some final words.
"Not one step back!"
At this, the entire army screamed in agreement, the Marshall stepping away from the army as it began to move out of the city, heading towards the Germane-Yak's makeshift military base.
As they marched, they sang. They sang patriotic songs, they sang songs of stories and legends long past, and songs of friendship and comradeship. The singing could be heard from a mile away, or at least half of that.
FOB Reignas, Germane-Yak alliance, near Stalliongrad
The current general in charge of the siege on Stalliongrad, a yak of old age, was sitting in his command cabin, looking over maps and documents, when his assistant, a Germane pegasus, burst in through the wooden door.
"Sir, our scouts have reported seeing a large enemy force. We think they've finally sent an attack back at us," the assistant explained, in a somewhat panicked manner.
"I should have expected this. Send out the order to prepare the defenses, and get me a report on how many there are," the yak general grumbled in a low but aggressive tone, getting up from where he was seated. "And get my armor ready for me. I'm going to assist our troops. If the force is as strong as I fear, we're going to need to retreat, so destroy as many of our documents as you can."
The pegasus saluted smartly. "Yes, sir. I'll give the orders immediately."
Twelve minutes later
The entirety of FOB Reignas was a flurry of movement. An alarm was going off, as soldiers scrambled to get to their assigned posts, and vehicles seemed to be speeding every which way. Tanks, Germane and Yak, rolled through the main entrance, infantry following them, as engineers set up makeshift barriers and activated mines. If you were to listen closely, you might just be able to make out a faint song being sung off in the distance. That was the singing from patriotic soldiers and citizens, marching to take back their country from an oppressor.
In one of the base's watchtowers, a light blue unicorn mare stood, holding a pair of binoculars to her face, as she held her sniper rifle in a telekinetic grip. Squinting a bit, she could make out a large, darker colored blob, which stood out in complete contrast to the mostly white landscape, and it appeared to be getting bigger. Putting down the binoculars, she grabbed her radio with the hoof she used to hold her binoculars, and pressed the button to turn it on. After a second of static, she could make out the voices of her comrades. Moving her hoof to the right, she pushed and held down on another button, allowing her to speak through the radio. "This is Second Lieutenant Sharp Eye, I have a visual on the enemy forces," she stated factually, keeping a close eye on the blob in the distance. I estimate another ten, fifteen minutes until they get here. You better hurry up and get your shit together, everycreature, because they don't look happy."
As she said this, there was a strange whoosh sound off in the distance. The sound repeated several times, as she looked up at the sky above the army to spot what was causing the noise.
It sounded like it was getting closer, and Sharp Eye could make out several shapes flying towards the base, each seeming to be propelled by some sort of constant explosion at the rear. They got closer, and closer, and she turned on her radio again.
"I see something and I don't like it. Watch your heads, I have a bad feeling about this."
As she said this, the flying shapes continued to get closer. She could only watch, counting how many there were, silently, as they flew right over the tanks outside the base walls. There were about eighteen, each being about half a hoof in diameter and four hooves in length. She watched as several flew right into the wooden walls, exploding and crumbling several portions of the walls. The others flew over the walls, hitting buildings and vehicles in the base proper, destroying one of the barracks and several motor-carriages. Another one just barely missed her own watch tower, instead hitting the portion of wall in front of her, spraying her with splinters. She didn't blink, and instead brought her high-powered rifle to her face, looking down the scope at the angry Stalliongrad army.
Road to Stalliongrad, USSR, near Stalliongrad
The peculiar vehicles had launched their rocket payloads, and were now switching out the rocket-launching mechanism for carriage-mounted heavy machine guns. The army's singing had only increased in volume as the distant Germane-Yak base exploded several times, and they increased the speed of their marching. The tanks rolled forwards at a faster pace, each one having at least three ponies riding on the outside. It would only be a few more minutes until they reached the base.
A bullet struck one of the many soldiers in the lead of the assault force, tearing through his helmet and penetrating the skull, sending gory fragments up in the air. His allies near him yelled in anger, and the less well-trained of them fired off a few shots at where the bullet came from. Another bullet struck one of the soldiers on the tanks, nailing them right in the head. As the tanks got closer and closer to the base, several shells flew past, some hitting the tanks, while others went wide, hitting the road instead. One of the tanks exploded in a large fireball, the soldiers being blown to bits and pieces with it. Many more of the tanks fired their cannons in return, the shells flying through the air and hitting many tanks at the base, most of them missing or, if it was a good shot, if not completely destroying the targets, only dealing a glancing blow, ricocheting off the armor. The battle had finally begun.
Somewhere in the Badlands, Equestria
Princess Twilight Sparkle was overseeing the testing of a newly developed "missile system", a new weapon that supposedly would be able to singlehoofedly win the war. She sighed as the latest test went awry, the large rocket lifting into the air for about five seconds, before the engines gave out and it fell to the ground. "Ugh, not again. There must be something wrong with the nitrogen-oxide fuel mixture. Lieutenant, can you get this cleared up for another test? I'm going to go give the engineers the adjustments I'm making."
The lieutenant, a dark blue earth pony stallion with a grey goatee, nodded. "Affirmative, your Highness. I'll give the orders immediately." Saluting quickly, he did an about-face and trotted off towards the launch site.
Twilight, herself, walked off towards the research bunker, a building made of magic and steel-reinforced stone, built partially into the ground, and started making mental notes on the way. There could be a great many things that were going wrong. The fuel mix was the most likely issue, but it could also be the wiring, or the heat resistance of the engine. These were only the beginnings of the possible problems, there could be a great many more after putting in the weapon's armament. Who knew what problems an extremely powerful explosive charge could cause during flight?
Oh well. At least she was doing it for the greater good. She'd much prefer a peaceful alternative, but after that fiasco in Baylin it seemed that peace wasn't very likely to happen. As much as she'd prefer a peace treaty, sometimes you had to beat your enemy into submission. She didn't much like it but there wasn't much more to do.
Several days later, Bearlin, capital of Germaney
In the capital building, Aryanne, the leader of the Neighzi Party and an extreme nationalist, sat at the head of a table, several higher ranking officials seated in other seats. They consisted of the commander of Germaney's air forces, the general in charge of the eastern armies, and her head scientist for weapons research and development, along with their assistants.
Aryanne sighed, resting a hoof on her forehead, before setting her forelegs down on the table and leaning on them, before turning her head to the yak general. "So, General, care to explain how your expertly trained forces were defeated and pushed back by a mob of angry peasants?" she questioned, her tone a cold and bitter one.
The yak grunted, unfazed by her tone, and promptly adjusted his helmet. "They were more than just a 'mob of peasants', as you describe them. There were at least a few thousand of them, and Fort Reignas didn't stand a chance against that many soldiers. They had tanks, as well, and some sort of a mobile artillery weapon. I barely made it out alive myself. There were just too many."
Aryanne took this in, thought about it for a second, then nodded in understanding. "I see. Having sheer numbers does surpass most anything at certain times. Commander Lightning, what have your reconnaissance fliers reported on the Russian advance?"
Commander Lightning, a pegasus stallion with a faded red coat and a strikingly neon yellow mane and tail despite his age, turned to one of his assistants and took a stack of documents from them, before looking at the documents and reading them. "According to the latest report, which was yesterday, they are about eighty miles off from the border of Yak-Yakistan," he read, his faded yellow eyes poring over what was written. "It is estimated that they will reach the border within the end of the week." He set the documents down. "I personally believe that if we are unable to stop their advance, they'll reach the capital of Yak-Yakistan within the end of the month."
Aryanne nodded, taking in the information, and sighed again. "Most of our forces are in the west, dealing with the Equestrian forces. I do not see any way of destroying the enemy army easily, not yet." She leaned back into her chair, taking her forelegs off the table as she turned to look at the one pony who had not spoken yet. "Professor Beaker, you have been quite silent so far. How has your research team been coming along with the new zeppelin?"
Beaker, a bespectacled, pale-white unicorn mare, adjusted her glasses as she read over the documents in her hoof once again, before clearing her throat. "We've managed to get the prototype to fly, now we're just working on fuel efficiency and weaponry. Estimates are that it'll be ready for production and deployment within two months, if we don't hit any more major obstacles. I must say, your idea of making a war-zeppelin was a fairly good idea."
Aryanne smiled, the first real smile she had had that day. "Good. Soon, they'll all see why we have the most superior military! This meeting is now dismissed, go back to your jobs and have a good day."
As everypony and yak began exiting the room, Aryanne took out a bottle of wine from under her part of the table and opened it, taking a swig before setting it down again. Yes, she thought, soon they'll realize the full power of the Germane war machine. It was only a matter of time.
Marescow, capital of the USSR
In the capital of the USSR, inside of a large hexagonal-shaped fortress, was a room filled with a large rectangular table, with twelve fancy chairs to go with it. However, only four of the chairs were filled, with a muscular, mustached, red unicorn stallion seated at the head of the table. He wore a green uniform and a fur ushanka, with at least a dozen medals pinned to the uniform. The nameplate on the table in front of where he sat simply said "Grand Leader of the USSR", but to most he was known as Glorious Leader Stallion. Very few knew his real name.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was seated in one of the chairs, her assistant Spike not present due to some business in Canterlot. Across the table sat a griffin and a zebra, the griffin being an ambassador from the Griffish Isles, and the zebra being one from the Zebrican Empire.
The Grand Leader cleared his throat and looked at all three of the creatures seated before him. "So, to begin this meeting, I would like to ask how your day has been for each of you!" he stated rather cheerfully, a grin growing on his face. "Hospitality is important to foreign relations, after all."
Twilight grinned, finding this quite amusing for such a serious-looking official to do. "I'm... very good, thank you for asking," she responded carefully, barely hiding her amusement. "What's got you in such a cheerful mood? There is a war going on, after all."
The griffon and the zebra nodded, wondering the same thing. The Grand Leader chuckled, rubbing his hooves together. "Why, I'm glad you asked, Princess Twilight Sparkle! It just to happens to be the war itself that has me in such a good mood!"
"And... how, exactly?" the griffon asked, lightly tapping the table with a claw. "I fail to see how war could have anyone in a good mood."
The Russian pony looked towards the griffon, nodding. "Yes, yes, death and destruction aren't things you would normally expect to bring happiness, but this is different! The fact that our troops, with Equestrian and Griffish aid, have managed to not only defeat those bastard Neighzis at Stalliongrad, but have pushed them back almost to the border, is what has me so happy! If this were not to have happened, this meeting most likely would not be taking place, and my country's proud flag would not have been raised today." To add emphasis to his last statement, he pointed a hoof at one of the windows behind him, where a USSR flag was visibly fluttering in the wind. "And that would never have happened without any of your help!" He pointed a hoof at Princess Twilight, "Equestria's shipments of supplies and food," he pointed at the griffin, "the Griffish Isles supplying us with weapons," he pointed at the zebra, "the Zebrican Empire's rocket-artillery carriage design, all of your contributions have helped us greatly! That is why I called all of us here for this meeting, so that I had the chance to personally thank each of you."
The zebra cleared her throat before speaking. "I believe we all owe each other thanks as well. Without the military aid that Equestria and the Griffish Isles sent, the Zebrican Empire would almost certainly be part of the Germane-Yak empire."
Princess Twilight and the griffin looked at each other and then back at the zebra, before Twilight spoke up. "And Equestria owes the Griffish Isles for almost all of our weapon designs. Our own weapons might be original, but most, if not all, were based on the Griffish designs that were donated. For that, we owe the Griffish Isles many victories. Not only that, but it's thanks to their bomber planes that we've been able to slow Germane-Yak military production so much. I personally find their bomber planes quite revolutionary."
The griffin laid his claws on the table, before turning to Twilight. "It's thanks to Equestria's regular shipments of supplies that we've even managed to keep going throughout this war. For that we are extremely grateful."
The Grand Leader smiled at everyone present. "If there's only one good thing that will come out of this war, I'd suppose it would be the strengthened friendships between our countries. I pray that the Pale Horse does not take any of you from this world for a long time."
With that, the four engaged in conversation about daily life and how the war was progressing on their ends. As their own personal friendships were strengthened, so too were the diplomatic friendships between the different countries. In more war-related news, the Zebrican Empire was nearly completely liberated. The remaining Germane-Yak forces had mostly been forced out, and those that remained were retreating from the country. In Prance, Griffish and Equestrian forces were advancing on Paris, and the city would most likely be removed from Germane-Yak control within the week. Within the Grand Leader's own country, the Russian offensive was nearly past the border between the USSR and Yak Yakistan, and with resupplies and reinforcements they might be able to take Yak Yakistan out of the war, leaving only Germaney to fight against both sides.
All in all, it appeared that the tide of war had changed for the better. The path ahead seemed clear now, and the Germane-Yak alliance was in the process of losing the war. At this rate, the war would be over in time for the next Hearth's Warming. Just as long as they didn't have any more tricks up their metaphorical sleeve, of course.
Author's Note
Well, here's a war story, which I don't see done too often around here. Hope you enjoyed! Criticism and feedback is appreciated.
