The Great Trial Continues!by Dimitri2278ChaptersThe End of The World As We Know It (Edited)Waking UpWhen Worlds CollideThe Gathering StormThe ResponseLest We Forget Pt 1The Ozyokovo Outskirts (Edited)Lest We Forget: Part 2The End of The World As We Know It (Edited)Dec 8th, 1972 Yazov's Bunker, Omsk, Russia 1300 Dmitry Yazov paced back and forth as he impatiently waited to give the command to launch. He had decided to return to Omsk as, in his opinion, it was where it all started and where it all would end. The only sounds were the echo of his boots on the concrete walls of the small headquarters, the buzz of the lunch computer, and the breathing of himself, his radio operator, and two men whose fingers were gripped tightly to their launch keys. 'Any moment now, The Great Trial will be over,' he turned to his radioman. "Any word of the evacuations?" The man trembled as he took off his headphones and turned to look at him. His face was pale, his mouth quivered, and tears leaked from his eyes. "C-Comrade Yazov," he began in a shaky tone. "Comrade Savintsev, h-has said that all the civilians, military personnel, and equipment we could accommodate are in the bunkers," As he finished. Yazov used all his strength to not fall to his knees. Instead, he sniffled and could feel his eyes become watery as he turned his head to face the men at the computer, who looked as he felt inside. "Fire," he said in a quiet tone as he resigned himself, Russia, and the whole world to its fate. The two men wasted no time entering their keys and turning them simultaneously. Once they had done so, the bunker began to tremble as the rockets launched before hurtling towards Germany. As this happened, Yazov's legs finally caved, and he fell to his knees as tears and sobs erupted from him. "It...is done. You are avenged, my Motherland," he whispered to himself as the countdown to impact began. Silence once again reigned, at least, for the most part, aside from the buzz of the radioman continuing to give out the orders he had given him. Then, a few minutes later, the radioman turned to him with a frightened expression as he tore off his headset. "Comrade Yazov, we have lost contact with all our bunkers west of the Urals," Yazov and the others all turned to him with expressions of horror and disbelief. "How the hell-" he cut off as a wave of blinding light enveloped the bunker with such force all three were knocked unconscious by the blast wave. Dec 8th, 2042 Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Principality of Equestria 1350 Princess Celestia inwardly sighed as she sat with her famous mask on her throne as she continued to half-listen to a green mare named Marigold and a grey stallion known as Iron Harvest. Both argued about the famine raging across New Maretonia (The former USA and Canada) due to the population outgrowing the current agricultural infrastructure. Marigold, who was from the ministry of agriculture, advocated for the expansion of farmland under the current system. Iron Harvest, on the other hoof, was from a technological institute. His opinion was that human methods were best for feeding a large population. At first, things had gone well enough, with Celestia acting as mediator. Of course, she believed the mare was overall more correct, and this quickly became apparent. Especially once she had suggested that they go with Morriglod's plan. The stallion had tried to object, but, as so often was the case, he knew he was beaten, and he resorted to breaking down in detail why the plan would fail, Morriglod had retaliated, and the argument began. This continued, that is, until a unicorn stallion, wearing the silver armour of a royal guard Captain, rushed into the room, gaining Celestia's attention. "Y-Your Highness," he began in a winded tone as he bowed. "There is urgent news from New Stalliongrad," She inwardly thanked him as she smiled back at her guests. "I am sorry, my little ponies, but it would appear there is...other business to attend to. But I promise I will give you my answer, as you have given me much to consider," she said in a motherly tone, causing them to bow before being escorted by the guards outside. As they left, Iron considered turning back before continuing as a guard gave him a light push. Once they were gone, she gestured for the remaining two guards to close the gates to the throne room. Then she descended from her throne to meet the stallion. "What news do you bring, Captain?" The Captain had caught his breath and had adopted a stoic expression. "Princess, I have received reports of many magical anomalies across New Stalliongrad," Celestia remained physically unphased, though underneath, she was curious. "What kind of anomalies?" she asked in a neutral tone. The stallion shook his head before looking back up at her. "We don't have any idea. All we know is that, fifteen minutes ago, we were notified of 95 energy serges all across New Stalliongrad," he stated in a similar tone. "Were any ponies hurt, Captain?" she said as she used all her experience to keep her emotions from showing. Although she could see that he was frightened, he did well to hide it, just as he was trained to do. "No, your Highness. The surges disappeared as quickly as they came," Celestia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear," she began as she thought of how to respond. "Have the local guard regiments evacuate the areas where these anomalies occurred. Once this is done, have the various unicorn schools aid the guard in investigating the zones," The Captain seemed to hesitate before giving a curt bow and leaving to follow her instructions. Once he was gone, Celestia turned to her secretary. "Miss Inkwell, please cancel all my previous arrangements for today," she then began the trip back to her room, leaving the mare to attend to her work. 'I may as well use this as an excuse to get some shut-eye,' Celestia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear," she began as she thought of what the best response would be. "Have the local guard regiments evacuate the areas where these anomalies occurred. Once this is done, have the various unicorn schools aid the guard in investigating the zones," The Captain seemed to hesitate before giving a curt bow and leaving to follow her instructions. Once he was gone, Celestia turned to her secretary. "Miss Inkwell, please cancel all my previous arrangements for tomorrow," she then began the trip back to her room, leaving the mare to attend to her work. 'I may as well use this as an excuse to get some shut-eye,' Author's Note Please let me know what you think as quickly as possible. As, if I need to edit it, I can do so in a timely manner. Waking UpDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1430 An armoured grey and white-maned unicorn stallion paced back and forth as he faced away from a bawling blue mare with a pink mane and a dark blue pegasus stallion with a black mane who was comforting her. "So let me get this straight: at 1300, your son went downstairs to play VR when the serge happened. And the basement just...disappeared?" The stallion nodded in response. "It was horrible! Longspear just went downstairs to play his games when poof, gone! Just...I'll show you," he said as he left his sobbing wife, despite her attempts to cling to him, and led the guardstallion to the basement door. "See for yourself," he opened the door to reveal...a room with a grass floor. The guard put a hoof to his chin in thought as he closed the door with his horn. "I'm sorry, sir. But I'm afraid you need to leave," the stallion hesitated, so the guard put a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find him," the stallion nodded with teary eyes and complied with the order. He helped his wife before a few more guards came inside and escorted them out. Once they were gone, the unicorn turned to the others. "Alright, colts, let's get digging," Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1500 Yazov slowly began to regain consciousness as he heard voices overhead and felt something or someone rocking him violently back and forth. "Comrade Marshal. Comrade Marshal!" he shot up, opened his eyes, and saw at least a dozen soldiers looking at him with both shock and relief. As he began to regain focus, he felt a searing pain shoot through his skull as he lay back on the soft bed. "Ugh, my head!" he said as he brought a hand to it. As his vision swam once again, he could see the figures surrounding him. "Comrade Yazov, can you hear me?" asked one of them. "Ugh, yes, I can," groaned Yazov as he sat on the side of the bed. Another man outstretched his hand. "Can you stand?" Yazov nodded before gripping his hand firmly as he got off the bed while the other clasped his skull. "W-What happened?" he asked in a groggy tone. This time, an officer, judging by his peaked cap and black uniform, came up to him and gave a quick salute before standing at attention. "Comrade Marshal, allow me to address?" "Go ahead," replied Yazov as he continued to hold his head. "Well, about two hours ago, some sort of...force knocked us all unconscious," he began as Yazov gestured for him to continue. "And we have failed to connect to any other bunkers using the network," As Yazov finally began to recover from his headache, he lowered his arm and turned to face the man, whom he now recognized was Captain Leonid Smirnov, the man in charge of the headquarters communications. "Comrade Captain, would you mind sending someone to get some anti-biotics? I don't know what happened, but it feels as though I hit a wall," he said as the searing pain of previously began to be replaced with a dull throb. As he regained more clarity, he quickly realized he was back in his room. "Of course, Comrade Marshal," said Smirnov before turning to another soldier. "Well, you heard him, get me some drugs and a medic!" he bellowed as several soldiers saluted him before rushing to carry out his orders. Once they had left, Smirnov walked over to a desk by the bedside and picked up Yazov's cap before walking over to him. "Your hat, Comrade Marshal," he said as he presented him his cap. Yazov quickly took it before placing it on his head. "Thank you, Comrade Captain," he began as he furrowed his brow. "When did you get up?" "Well, you see...we only woke up a few minutes ago. As it would appear that since I and a few others were sitting when the blast hit, we had it better than you and those standing," said Smirnov. "I see..." began Yazov, as he put a hand to his chin. "Comrade Captain, what is the situation?" he asked with a cocked brow. It was Smirnov's turn to pause and collect his thoughts. "Well, Comrade, we have about 300 soldiers in this headquarters, with an estimated 1,023,000 civilians and soldiers scattered throughout the rest of the complex," he began as Yazov nodded for him to finish. "Of those 300, roughly 2/3 of them are in a similar state as yourself," "I see... Well, that certainly makes things difficult," began Yazov as he took a hard look around, seeing the priceless equipment seeming unscathed from the blast, aside from some loose items. "Form up!" bellowed Yazov, as the men in the room assembled facing him in a single line, with the highest-ranking and tallest on the right at attention. "Alright, I will be leaving to check on the injured in the infirmary. Therefore, I expect you all to get back to your stations. Do you understand!?" "Yes, Comrade Marshal!" they replied in unison. Yazov gestured to the Captain to come forward. "I will take two men with me. The rest are yours," he said as he saluted him before turning and marching away as two men left to follow him. Smirnov then turned to face them. "Well, you heard the man. Dismissed!" with that, they quickly broke formation and ran out the door. Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1500 "Come on, guards! For Equestria!" yelled an armoured white pegasus stallion with a blue mane as he charged at a group of human soldiers with a spear in his hoof and many more stallions and mares following behind him. Before the men could bring their guns to bear, the stallion threw his spear with incredible accuracy and hit one just below his helmet. "Get some!" he then drew his sword as he got into the fray, slaying soldier after soldier as he advanced. Soon enough, he spotted his main objective, an elevated position reinforced with sandbags and barbed wire. Above the defences flew the dreaded flags of the USA and the HLF. (Human Liberation Front) 'Come on, I'm so close to the checkpoint,' With a growl of determination, he charged the position. Followed by what remained of the guards. As he drew closer, however, he heard a familiar "click" before looking down. "Oh, crud," he said as the landmine exploded, causing the world around him to pause. "Damn it!" he shouted as a menu popped up in front of him. He sighed before pressing quit, and the world went black. "Ugh, I was so close!" said a blue teenage pegasus colt with a white mane as he tore the VR set off, keeping his eyes closed in the process. He then flopped back onto his bed. "Dang nab- Ouch!" only to find himself in pain as he landed on the cold hard floor. "Ah, wha-" his eyes snapped open, and he looked around. Seeing grey concrete walls with pipes running alongside them, with pannel lights on the roof providing light. "What in Tartarus? This isn't my basement!" he yelled as he got back on his hooves and dusted himself off. 'Where in Equestria am I?' he asked as he picked up the damaged VR set. "Looks like I threw it a little hard, huh?" he asked himself as he heard two sets of heavy hoofsteps coming down the hall behind him. "Oh, thank Celestia, I thou-" he stopped himself as he turned and came face to face with three sets of jackboots. As he looked up, he saw two humans wearing khaki fatigues and sidecaps, while the one closest to him wore a black dress uniform and a peaked cap. The men all seemed shocked and confused as the young colt began to quiver in terror. "H-Huma-" he didn't finish, as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted. Then, the man in the peaked cap turned to the others. "Either I hit my head harder than I thought... Or there is a small colourful horse on the floor?" The other two men nodded as the three of them all turned back to the colt, with one kneeling down and poking it. Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1515 The soldier then stood up, his face as pale as a ghost. "C-Comrade Marshal, it's real," The other man then turned to Yazov. "What should we do with it, Comrade Marshal?" he asked as he put a hand to his chin. 'I knew TheGreat Trial would leave a mark. But I never thought it would create such a creature,' he then knelt down beside it, flicking its mane out of its face. "Come, let's take it in for interrogation. After all, it did speak English," the soldiers both nodded, as one picked it up, while the other continued with Yazov towards the infirmary. Author's Note And so it begins! Let me know what you think! When Worlds CollideDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1700 "Alright, Colts, keep digging!" shouted Captain Cold Steel in an encouraging tone above the din of shovels and pickaxes as he stood above various other armoured stallions who continued to grunt and groan as they dug an ever-deeper hole. Around them stood the ruins of the house that had once stood above the pit. 'We have been digging for an hour, and there's still no sign of the basement,' he shook his head and turned to walk away...only to stop in his tracks as he heard a shout from the hole. "What was that!?" he shouted as he walked up to the edge and found all the guards gathered together with their eyes looking up at him. They then moved aside, allowing him to see a domed grey surface beneath them. "What is that?" "We don't know, Sir," began one of them. "But it looks like concrete," he then tapped it with an armoured hoof for emphasis. "What should we do, Sir?" Cold Steel put a hoof to his chin and turned to the sun as he pondered his options. 'This looks like a human structure. But, how is it still here after the barrier? In fact, how did the basement of this house just disappear if this was here already?' then, an idea crossed his mind, an idea which caused a smirk to form. "Yes, that will do," he whispered as he turned back to them. "Alright, I need all of you to get out of the pit! We're going to blast our way inside!" with that, the pegasi quickly flew up before landing beside Cold Steel while the earth ponies scaled their ladders. "Now, let's get a spell going!" Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1700 With a slight groan from Longspear, he slowly began to regain consciousness. "Ugh, what a weird dream..." he tried to put a hoof up to his head... only to find himself unable to move. "What the-!?" his eyes shot open to find himself chained to a chair in a darkened room with only a single light above his head. "H-Hello!?" he shouted as he attempted to struggle out of his bindings. Then, somewhere in the darkness, he heard a door open and heavy hoofsteps before he heard a slam. Soon enough, he could see the faint outline of a human who stopped just before he entered the light. Cold beads of sweat began to pour down from his forehead as his "dream" came back to him. "Privet Comrade," said the deep masculine voice with a slight accent. He then heard what sounded like a chair being moved, and he saw the human sit down. "Wha- How are you still human!?" Longspear shouted in a panicked tone. What happened next surprised the teenage colt, as instead of torturing or shooting him, the man sat back in his chair while staring at him in a combination of confusion and curiosity. "What do you mean by that?" he asked with a furrowed brow. Longspear shook with fear as his mind ran wild. 'Why did he ask that? Does he not know?' he then took a deep breath to regain his composure and stared at the man with a puffed-up chest. "Celestia defeated you monkeys 20 years ago! Since you were all so focused on killing each other and destroying your world! Which is why she turned all of you into ponies since you wouldn't listen, and she used the barrier to ensure you all would either convert or be destroyed!" he yelled with faux determination as he tried to not show how terrified he was. As Longspear finished, the man remained frozen in his seat, and he shakily looked down at his hands as he began to sniffle and sob. The young colt, believing he had in some way paralyzed or crippled the man with his words, internally celebrated. 'Wow, I...did? I did it! I defeated the last human-' his thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the man began to break out into a grim chortle. Slowly, shakily, he rose from his seat and marched into the light. As he did, he stopped and stared directly into the young colt's eyes, and Longspear found himself recoiling from the man's stare. He noted that the man had huge bags under his eyes and appeared to have had very little sleep. But his eyes...these were what keep him shaking in fear, unable to speak or even breathe. Sure, he had seen the 'demon monkies' expressions in many films and movies being shone as filled with anger, hatred, malice, or pure insanity. But this man...it was as though he was devoid of any life or emotion. The only thing that shone past this simple first impression was an unyielding fire that burned just behind the surface. "Say that again," he said almost in a whisper. But with enough of a commanding tone to cause Longspear to tremble. "I-I s-said..." he sputtered and paused, unable to even so much as to speak to the man standing over him. The man then threw his chair over, causing the colt to hit his head on the hard concrete floor. "Ah!" he screamed as his vision went red before it began to swim. "Put him in a cell," ordered the man, as Lonspear heard two sets of heavy footsteps before feeling another jolt of pain to his head, causing his vision to fade to black. Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1725 Two men wearing khaki fatigues sat talking near one of the many exits to the bunker. "So, how long do you think it will be before we get to go up again?" asked one as he put his cigarette back in his mouth. "I don't know Comrade, I don't know-" the other paused as a crack formed in the roof just off to their right. Both men jumped up and unshouldered their AK-74's before running to take cover in the next hallway down. "What the hell is going on!" The other man shook his head. "We're being breached! Go sound the alarm!" the man nodded and ran down the hall. As he did, the soldier who remained peaked out from behind the corner, just in time to see the concrete break and multiple colourful horses in armour come crashing through the roof. Using wings or their hooves to land safely on the floor beneath them. "Alright, spread out and search the area!" ordered one of them as the rest saluted and carried out their orders. 'What the hell?' The soldier took a breath before silently checking his AK. Once he was satisfied, he readied a grenade. "FOR THE FATHERLAND!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, and before the ponies could react, he threw the grenade. Before he ran after his colleague with the alarm sounding as he did, followed by an explosion. 'The bunker is breached!' Author's Note Please, tell me what you think. The Gathering StormDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1725 "Ugh, come on, almost-" grunted Cold Steel as he, along with several other unicorns, poured all their magic into the beam that was melting through the concrete. "There!" with that, the concrete gave way, and he ordered three pegasi and three earth ponies to head into the hole. A Sargeant was the last to jump down. "Alright, spread out and search the area!" the stallion shouted. 'There, now, all we have to do is-' "FOR THE FATHERLAND!" came an echo from inside as Cold Steel glanced in just in time to catch a glimpse of a small object hitting one of his guards in the chest and bouncing off. When he realized what it was, Cold Steel quickly ducked as a loud 'bang' emanated from the hole, followed by a stream of gas. He, and the other unicorns, quickly used their magic to push the gas aside, allowing him to see that all the guards that had entered had their fur peeling off like burning paper while they seemed to be coughing up their insides. "What in Celestia's name..." he said as they did the same, only to recoil and run back the way they came. "Fall back! We have to get help!" Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1730 Various NCOs (Non-commissioned officers) and officers could be heard barking orders to their men as they set up barricades around the breach point and prepared to receive the invaders in the hall. The bodies of the gassed ponies had been moved to the lab for study, as the doctors hoped they might be able to understand what these creatures were. As for Private Ivan Chatalov, he sat beside his friend Private Kirrel Bojshenko behind a barricade. "Those things didn't even get a cut on me," he said, watching as two soldiers in gas masks pulled one of the ponies. "But, why were they even trying to get in? In fact, how did they even know where we were?" asked Pvt. Bojshenko as he lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "I don't know..." replied Pvt. Chatalov as he ran a hand over his AK. "I still can't believe the air isn't toxic outside," Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1800 Captain Smirnov ignored the alarm as he had been trying desperately to call for reinforcements. "Work damn you!" he shouted as he slammed a fist on the radio in frustration...only for him to still hear nothing. "Damn it, where is that mechanic!?" he yelled as a young soldier came running in before saluting him. "Comrade Captain, is it still not working?" asked the soldier as the Captain shook his head. The soldier shrugged and got to work on fixing the radio for the fifth time. "I still don't know why this isn't-" he paused as the radio suddenly crackled to life. "on..." Cpt. Smirnov then gently pushed the dazed man aside as he slipped his headset back on. "H-Hello!? This is Base Orel! Can anyone hear me, over!?" he waited for a few moments that seemed to drag on for hours...until the radio crackled to life once more. "This is Base Aist! What happened, over!?" came the response, which was soon joined by another, and another. Over the next few minutes, all bases in the surrounding area had responded and were waiting to hear their orders. Cpt. Smirnov, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of responses. He pulled off the headset and turned to the other man. "Go find the Marshal and tell him to come back here," he ordered, as the soldier gave him a quick salute and ran off to carry out his orders. Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1800 After the failed attack on the bunker, Cold Steel led what remained of his force to the fortress outside Maresk. The fort was well situated atop a mountain, with thick walls and many gates and towers. By the time of their arrival at the first gate, dusk had already fallen over the snow-covered plains. "Who goes there!?" yelled one of the guards in a watchtower. "I am Lieutenant Cold Steel of the 21st guards' regiment!" he yelled in response, and the gate was opened before him. Soon after, he was brought before the commander, an off-white pegasus with a dull grey mane named Long Pike. The stallion stood overlooking a map when Cold Steel entered before closing the door behind him. "Sir," he said as he saluted him. "I have come with news," The weathered stallion turned his head slowly and glared at him. "Oh? And what pray tell, would be so important that you would need to come directly to me?" he asked as he turned to face him fully, exposing his eyepatch and many scars. Cold Steel had never been this close to his superior before, and he felt uneasy about his appearance, tone, and one-eye stare. "I-I'm sorry, Sir. B-But I wouldn't have come to you unless it was important. You see, I believe we found a bunker full of humans-" he was cut-off, as Long Pike suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up to his eye. "What do you mean by humans? There aren't any left," he said as spit flew onto Cold Steel's face before he scowled. "B-But Sir, I'm telling the truth!" he sputtered as Long Pike stared him down. This lasted for roughly a minute (though, for Cold Steel, it felt like it lasted for hours) Before Long Pike let him go. "I...believe you," he said as he put a hoof to his chin. "However, I wish to see for myself," "Sir?" asked Cold Steel in a confused tone. Long Pike turned back to his table and put a hoof to his chin. "How many Guards do you have under your command?" "23 Sir, the other seven were killed by some form of gas," Long Pike nodded at this. "How...interesting. I don't recall the humans using such weapons," "We saw it with our own eyes...I don't even want to think about it," said Cold Steel with a shiver. Long Pike then turned and gestured for him to join him. "Lieutenant, would you mind showing where this bunker is?" Lt. Steel hesitated for a moment before walking over and standing beside him. "It's here, Sir. Just under where this village is," he pointed to a small settlement southeast of Maresk. Long Pike then turned and grinned before patting a hoof on his back. "Good, then get your Guards ready. We're going to pay them a visit," Lt. Steel tried to shy away from the touch. "I'm sorry, Sir?" Long Pike then turned and gestured for him to follow. "If it is humans, as I suspect it is, then we'll need to deal with this quickly and quietly," with that, Cold Steel followed him out of his office. As he did, he noticed a painting that hung on the wall beside the door. It was a picture of Celestia leading Royal Guards as they placed the flag of Equestria on a pole while she tore off a white, red, and blue flag that had hung there previously. Below the picture was written the words: "Awarded for the Purification of New Stalliongrad." Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1803 Yazov had slowly made his way throughout the infirmary when he had heard the alarm. His guards had then rushed him back to his room for safety, and there he waited until he heard a swift knock on the door. "Come in!" he called as a young private walked into the room and saluted him. "Comrade Marshal, we have the radio back up," he said as Yazov stood up from his bed and put on his cap. "Then we have no time to lose," he said as he stood up and walked out of the room, with his guards following behind him. A few minutes later, he arrived at the communication room. "Captain," he said as he entered the room. "What is the situation?" Cpt. Smirnov turned and saluted him. "Comrade Marshal, thank goodness! It feels like the whole of Russia is on the other end!" Yazov nodded and stepped up to the radio, and took a breath. "I'll take it from here. But first, turn it to a public broadcast and get me a camera," he began as the Captain saluted and did as ordered. Once everything was set up, he and the others waited. 'Here goes nothing,' Yazov took another deep breath. "Comrades! Today, at 1515, a pegasus was found inside my bunker, and, after a brief interrogation. It was found that we somehow have arrived in a world where such creatures have destroyed our Russia and turned its people into ponies! Then, at 1725, armed ponies breached the bunker and were only stopped by the bravery of our soldiers! Therefore, I once again call upon all Russians to commit to another Great Trialagainst these invaders! I also request all to start an immediate offensive in your local areas!" As he finished the broadcast, he could hear nothing but silence... "URA!" shouted one, then another, then another! Soon enough, all he could hear were shouts, cheers, and declarations. 'And so, it begins,' he stood up and turned to Cpt. Smirnov. "Take it from here. I have a campaign to plan," with that, he left, and, as he walked down the hallway, he could hear the Sacred War playing on the speakers as his men stood in the halls and cheered him. He only stopped as he came to a door and opened it to reveal a room dominated by a massive table with a world map. Several officers were waiting inside for him and saluted him as he entered. Dec 8th, 2042 Moscow, New Stalliongrad 1508 A young pink filly with a red mane sat alone in front of the TV while her favourite movie played. Sure, it was human-made, but Wall-E still carried the right message- Suddenly, the TV went static before automatically switching to an image of a human wearing a black dress uniform and a peaked cap. "Uh, mom, did you switch the channel!?" she shouted as a red mare with a white mane appeared from the kitchen. "No, why-" they both were silent, as the man began to speak in a foreign tongue, with Equish subtitles appearing below. Once he had finished speaking, the screen changed back to the movie. The filly turned to see that her mother was visibly shaking. "Uh, mom? Are you okay?" The mare remained still as she tried to understand what had just happened. Then, without a word, she hugged the filly as she began to cry. Author's Note Well, the cat is out of the bag now. The ResponseDec 8th, 2042 Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Principality of Equestria 1430 Princess Celestia stood with a troubled expression as the recorded broadcast ended, and her guards wheeled the TV out of the room. "What shall we do, Princess?" asked the same captain from earlier. Celestia put a hoof to her chin as she tried to think of a response. 'This has never happened before! How am I supposed to defeat humanity twice!? Especially when I have so many unsatisfied ponies to deal with!?' she remained in silence. 'I should speak with the others,' she turned to look at him and the others in the room. "Excuse me, my little ponies. But I need you all to leave the room," she ordered as they bowed and left, closing the doors behind them. Once they were gone, she walked down from her throne and turned to face it, lighting her horn in the process. She then aimed a beam of golden magic at the sun embedded in its surface. As the spell made contact, it retracted as the floor opened up and pulled the throne back from the expanding hole, and she opened her wings and flew inside as the floor closed above her, causing her to light her horn for light. When she came to the bottom of the fifty-foot hole, she found a small corridor just large enough for her with a pointed roof cut out of the stone, which she proceeded to walk inside. As she did, the many torches that lined the walls lit up as she passed, casting golden light on the tunnel. After about five minutes, she came to a small reinforced wooden door, and she lit her horn and began to deactivate all the protection spells she had placed on it. When she was finished, she opened the door to find a room filled with a large still pool of pitch-black water. She took a breath before entering the water and sinking into its depths. The next moment, she arose to find herself emerging from a pitch-black lake, whose waters were still and unmoving, even as she flew above it. In front of Celestia stood a grand palace, which was even more beautiful and spacious than the castle in Canterlot. She flew up to the doors and opened them to find its halls filled with beautifully dressed ponies dancing and partying. She paid them little mind, remembering that they were simply meant to serve as a distraction. As she made her way to the end of the room, she looked out the window to see that, on the other side of the lake, stood a magnificent, glowing tree on a hill with a rod of iron leading up to it, only to disappear in a dense mist. She shook her head and turned to find a grand staircase. Instead of using them, however, she extended her wings and flew up flight after flight of stairs until she came to a set of massive doors. These she opened with her magic, and stepping into the room, she found she was surrounded on all sides by great mirrors that stood even taller than her. Once she was in the center, she summoned forth as much power as she could. Before, she cast a great beam of light that reflected off each mirror until all were hit. Then, each began to shift like water as her refections began to change, each acting on their own or looking slightly different from the other. Then, without warning, they each stepped forward, with roughly a hundred in total. "Greetings sisters'," said Celestia as she observed all the variations of...herself. "Why have you called us here?" asked one with a cold tone. The Celestia in the center sighed as she looked at the doppelganger that had spoken. "I...have a problem," "What kind of problem? Surely you can put down another rebellion," said another, this one in an annoyed tone. "After all, I had to deal with a civil war...one which nopony will ever remember. So, I'm sure you can-" "ENOUGH!" bellowed the central Celestia in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she turned to look at each of them in turn. "No, I can't!" she began as the others fell silent. "I don't know how, but some humans have managed to survive the purification and have declared war!" When she had finished, she stood huffing in anger as the rest began to laugh. "Oh, come now, I'm sure it's not that bad," Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad 0650 "Grandpa Breaker, what are you doing?" asked a young red colt named Clay Cracker with a grey mane as he watched an older stallion searching through several beat-up boxes filled with various odds-and-ends in the cobweb-filled attic of their house. The old grey stallion pulled his head out of one of the boxes, with his dull black mane flicking back as he turned to face the colt. "I-I don't know what, moy boy. But I know it's important," he answered in an accented voice as he once again began sifting through the boxes. As he did, the young colt put a hoof to his chin as he began to look, spotting various old papers and letters, with some even dating back to before the conversion. "Well, how do you know it's important if you don't know what you're looking for?" "I...can't remember. All I know is that it has something to do with that speech we heard yesterday," said Breaker while he continued looking. The colt seemed shocked upon hearing this. "What does this have to do with that?" Clay asked as he turned and found a faded, black and white picture of a man wearing a plain-looking uniform. He picked it up before shaking his head. "I mean, you can't even remember," Breaker sighed as he turned. "I may not remember, but I just know there's-" he paused as his eyes centred on the picture in the colt's hooves. "Grandpa?" asked Clay as the older stallion nodded to the photo. "This?" he nodded again, and Clay hooved it over. "That's what you were looking for?" "Yes, Grandson, this is what I was looking for," he said in a strained tone as tears began to form at the edges of his eyes as he continued staring at it, as a sad smile appeared on his muzzle. Clay walked up and sat beside him before laying his head on his shoulder to get a better look. "Who is it?" he asked as he looked on in confusion. "This, moy mal'chik, is your Great-Great-Grandfather," Breaker said in an even more accented tone as tears began falling down his face. "He fought in the-" Breaker paused as he furrowed his brow, only to close his eyes and smile as he laid back, pulling his grandson close while holding the picture so that both of them could look at it. "He fought in the Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna or the Great Patriotic-" He paused as Clay burst into laughter. "You're sounding like that guy from the TV!" The old stallion nuzzled him before clearing his throat. "As I was saying: he fought in the Great Patriotic War against the Nazis. Who thought we were all..." he paused as he turned to Clay as realization dawned on him, as Clay was looking up at him in confusion. "Grandpa, why did you stop?" he asked as the old stallion sat up and Clay followed suit. Then, Breaker sighed before turning his head to look at him. "Because, today, I realized why you're father decided to fight against...her," The colt looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Breaker closed his eyes. "Do you remember why your mother left you with me?" he asked in a peculiar tone as Clay put a hoof to his chin. "I remember her saying something about having to leave with Papa, but that was all," he said before turning back to the older stallion. "Well, my boy...they were arrested for conspiring against Celes-" he paused as his ears perked up. "Grandpa?" asked Clay as he began to hear a low rumble coming from outside. "What is-" he was cut-off as Breaker jumped up and rushed down the stairs as he gestured for him to follow. Once they were both downstairs, they left out the door as the rumbling grew louder. As they did, Clay noticed many of his neighbours had done the same. "Stay here," said Breaker as he patted Clay on the head before turning and walking towards several others who were grouped together. "Privet!" he greeted as they smiled. "So you remember too!?" asked a red mare with a black mane. Then, a dark green stallion with a white mane stepped forward and shook his hoof. "I'm glad it wasn't just us. It's good to have you back. In fact, it's good for all of us to be back!" Breaker smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. "I know we already know each other, but what are your names, your real names?" In all, there were roughly twenty ponies in this group. But, before they could start, they heard a panicked yell, and they turned to see Clay pointing at the road. Then they turned to see large objects approaching from the east. "Is that who I think it is?" asked the dark green stallion. "I think... Yes, it's the army!" yelled one of the mares in the crowd as a large red stallion with a red and black mane turned to the others. "Quick, somepony-someone, we need a flag! We need to show them where our loyalty lies!" he then began ordering ponies about as they each broke off to find anything they could scrape together to form the white, blue, and red flag of their former nation. As this was going on, Breaker rushed back to Clay. "Grandpa, what was that about? I didn't understand-" he was cut-off as Breaker hugged him as tears fell from his eyes. "It is alright, just stay here. I have to get something," Breaker then rushed inside before running back out the door with a white table cloth clenched tightly between his teeth. He ran up to the group as two others brought forth a red cloth and a blue cloth. "Alright, now, let's put this together!" yelled the same stallion as several mares and stallions stepped forward with saddlebags. They then pulled out sewing equipment and put the flag together as Breaker turned to the road. He saw numerous armoured vehicles spread out while continuing their advance. He was joined by the red stallion, and they both nodded as they began to walk towards them. Once the approaching force was roughly a kilometre away, they spotted soldiers dismounting out the back before spreading out and moving beside the vehicles. "HEY, COMRADES!" yelled Breaker as the soldiers continued to advance, seemingly unable to hear him. The red stallion then turned to him. "It's no use... what is your name?" The older stallion then turned to him. "It's Karol, Karol Vlasov," Karol began. "And yours?" "Well, mine is Alex Bogdanov," he said with a smile. "I'm just happy to use my real name!" "Agreed!" said Karol with a laugh before he turned to see several gobsmacked soldiers staring at them as the driver of the vehicle stuck his head out. "HELLO, COMRADES!" Author's Note I hope you enjoy it! Lest We Forget Pt 1Dec 9th, 1978 Omsk, Russia 0720 Cpt. Ivan Kiselev could not believe his ears as he stared at the two ponies from the open hatch of his BMP-1K. "What?" he asked in confusion as his continued attempts at wrapping his head around the fact that these ponies had spoken perfect Russian. The aged grey stallion and his red-coated companion both seemed to be equally confused. "Did you not hear him? We wish you greetings, Comrade! Welcome to the village of..." the Red stallion seemed to pause for a moment before turning back to the soldiers. "Ozyokovo, Comrades!" he announced as he beckoned them to follow him into the small village. Cpt. Kiselev, unsure of what to do. Quickly sunk back inside the cramped turret and got on his radio. "Attention all units, you are to wait for my signal to enter the town. Over?" "Yes, Comrade Captain," came the response as he switched the channel on the radio. "This is Cpt. Kiselev of recon company alpha, requesting permission to speak to Maj-Gen. Sergeev. Over?" After a moment of waiting- "Go Ahead, Cpt. Kiselev"was the response. "Comrade General, I wish to report that, as we were preparing to capture the village of Ozyokovo. We have run into an unexpected problem. Over?" he said as he tried to think of the best way to describe his awkward situation. "What kind of problem?"answered the General. Cpt. Kiselev nervously shifted his collar as sweat began to run down his forehead from his tankist cap. "Well, Comrade General. It would appear that some of the ponies still speak Russian. Over?" he said in as calm a tone as he could. "What!? How the hell is that possible!?" bellowed the General. "I don't know, Comrade Commander! But, they have invited us into their village. What are your orders, Over?" The General gave an audible sigh. "You may enter the village. But, if they prove to be traitors, you are free to engage," With that, he took a deep breath before nodding. Even though the only one who could see him was the gunner in the turret with him. "Understood, Comrade General. Cpt. Kiselev, out," with that, he switched the radio so he could communicate with his unit. "Comrades, you are free to enter the village. However, if they try anything, you are free to engage," with that, he pressed his throat mic. "Dimitri, move forward. But try not to hurt any of the ponies...yet," "Understood," as soon as Dimitri responded, Cpt. Kiselev nearly smacked his face into the gun breach as the vehicle began to move. When he settled, he once again stuck his head outside his turret to get a better idea of how things were going, just in time to see the white, red, and blue of the Russian flag be hoisted above the village. Normally, he would expect his own soldiers to do this. But instead, he was shocked to see it was the group of ponies he had spotted earlier. 'Maybe they are on our side after all...' Once Cpt. Kiselev felt they had gotten close enough. He pressed his throat mic. "Okay, Dimitri, stop here," he ordered, this time making sure to brace himself as the BMP lurched slightly before stopping completely. Once he was sure they weren't moving, he carefully lifted himself from the turret before dismounting off the side. He landed on the dirt road before walking up to the group of ponies. "Long live Russia! URA, URA, URRAAA!" they cheered as he and his men got closer before slowly walking up to them. As they got closer, he could see several had tears flowing from their eyes, while others looked upon them with hope or longing. "Come Comrades, let us celebrate the rebirth of our nation!" Cpt. Kiselev, try as he might, could not help but feel something within him begin to stir, and while he couldn't put his finger on it. He allowed a slight smile to grace his features as he turned to face his men. "Comrades! While we may not understand what has happened to our glorious motherland, let us celebrate its return!" he yelled before turning to the ponies and gesturing for his men to follow. "Company, Form up in two columns!" he bellowed as his soldiers nervously, though quickly, formed up in two lines to his right, a good few paces from the ponies. "Company, to the front, MARCH!" with that, they all began marching into the town. As they did, the ponies moved to give the soldiers space as they cheered while several mares threw flowers at them. 'This was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one,' Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad 0730 'This can not be happening!' Gold Dust could only gawk at what she was seeing as she stared out the window as her neighbours tore up the Equestrian flag. She quickly turned and rushed down the hall, her hooves creaking on the wooden floor, as she turned and opened one of the doors. Inside was what appeared to be a nursery, with two cribs inside. She walked over and carefully reached into one and pulled out a waking grey pegasus colt with a lighter grey mane. "Ooh?" sounded the colt in confusion as Gold carefully placed him on her back. "Shh, it's okay, mama's got you," she said as she turned and reached into the other crib as she used her wings to keep the colt occupied. Inside the other was a cyan unicorn filly with a golden-grey mane. As soon as the filly was touched, her eyes shot open, and she began to cry. "No, no, shh, we have to be quiet, Star," she whispered in a futile attempt to keep her quiet. Then, just as it seemed things couldn't get any worse, the colt began crying as well. "No, we-" the colt then pulled out one of her feathers as he continued to thrash in response to his sister's panic. "Ow! No! Stop. Swift Saber, you stop that right-" "High the tri-colour banner is waving, March is thundering over the ranks," At that moment, her ears perked up as she heard a faint sound coming from outside. She was so confused that she hadn't noticed that both of her foals had also stopped to listen. She put Star on her back and proceeded to make her way to her room. 'What is that?' As she entered her room, it only seemed to grow louder. "In a thin haze, the columns are fading, In the morning, the battle awaits." Gold Dust had quietly snuck over to her window cill and peeked out. She had to hold in a gasp as she beheld the impossible scene below her. In place of the Equestrian flag now stood a tri-coloured flag of white, blue, and red. Below that stood a large group of ponies who stood in a circle around a young, white earth pony mare with a black and white mane. 'Is that, Shade Maker?' "Soldiers' Mothers and wives, darling sisters, Left in sorrows will never forget, How the regiments marched toward sinister, Distant glow of the purple sunset." She once again was forced to hold in a gasp. 'She's the one who's singing!?' As she stared, she noticed something off to her left, and when Gold saw them, she could not believe it. "Are those humans!?" It was only when they all turned towards her that she had realized what she had done. 'Uh-oh,' She saw the crowd begin to advance towards her house. "I think that's my signal to go," she quickly turned, went down the stairs with her fouls in her mouth before putting them in their previous position. She then grabbed a pair of saddlebags, stuffed them full of food and water, and was about to make a run for it. When her door was kicked open, and one of the now armed humans approached her. Had she been thinking clearly, she could have tried to go some other way. However, her maternal instinct had reminded her to put her foals before herself. So, she sat in shock as the human struck her with the butt of his weapon. "Come, Comrades! Let's make sure there are no others!" he yelled as her vision faded to black. Author's Note Part two should be coming soon. The Ozyokovo Outskirts (Edited)Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk Fortress, Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 0800 Lt. Cold Steel tried to keep himself from shivering, his breath fogging as he breathed. To his sides and rear stood the entirety of the 21st Guards' Regiment, 2,500 ponies, all trying to stand perfectly still with their eyes fixed forward. They had been standing for fifteen minutes when Colonel Long Pike appeared from one of the entrances to the courtyard and stepped up to a stage made of wooden crates. "My fellow Guardsponies!" he began. "Today, we once more march to cleanse this land of disharmony! Today, we will show these heathens the true power of Celestia's light! To victory!" "TO VICTORY!" cheered the guards, feeling reinvigorated by his speech. "Now," began Col. Long Pike as he pulled out a map board. "We have been informed by our scouts that the humans have moved to occupy the towns and villages closest to the anomalies we located the other day," he said as he pointed to the map with his wing. "However, most of their local forces are advancing toward Maresk to the west. So we have been ordered to attack their flank from the north," he said, making a sweeping gesture. "But, Sir, why not stay in the fort? Surely our walls and shields can hold out?" asked a captain in the front rank. In response, Col. Long Pike gave a cold chuckle. "Oh, sure, it would hold...until we all starve to death!" he shouted before turning to the officers and stomping his hoof. "You see, if we defend, the enemy will have the initiative. And if they take Maresk, we'll be cut off from any hope of resupply. That is why high command wants us to attempt a break-out and link up with all our forces in the local area. Am I understood!?" "SIR, YES, SIR!" came the reply. Long Pike then used his wings to fly over the gathered soldiers. "Good, then let's get this show on the road! For Equestria!" Dec 9th, 2042 FillykovoMaresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 930 Even though he had been forced to march through the unforgiving taiga, Lt. Cold Steel couldn't help but feel warmed by the Colonel's speech. And, as the 21st had been joined by the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 252nd Guards' regiment. (a further 1225 guardponies) Along with a small group of unicorn mages from the Maresk academy of magic, he could not help but feel confident in victory. But then, a look of realization crossed his face as his heart felt as though it would give. 'Wait...didn't he say that all the villages closest to the anomalies were... No...NO NO NO- "Hey, are you alright, Sir?" "Wha-" he shook himself from his stupor as he turned to find one of his sergeants behind him with a look of concern. "What?" "You spaced out for a second, Sir. Are you alright?" Lt. Steel coughed into his hoof before turning and continuing the march, with the echo of his company not far behind. "I'm fine. Just, fine- What the- Oof!" BANG! he felt himself get thrown to the ground as he felt a warm liquid run down his back. "Wha-" he turned to see the Sargeant lean forward as blood ran from his mouth and the hole in his head. Knowing what was coming, Lt. Steel instinctively rolled to the side to avoid the body as it fell to the ground, painting the snow with its blood. As all of this was going on, the only thing he could hear was distant shouting, followed by more gunfire. He wanted to run, to see his family, but all he could do was stare into the lifeless eyes of the Sargeant as all of his years of training flew out the window. For the first time in recent memory, he had lost all his composure. He thrashed around as he watched a group of five humans retreating from the woods ahead as several pegasi shot after them. As he watched, he could feel nothing short of pure rage within his core as he charged up his horn. Then, with careful aim, he fired his spell. WHOOSH! It hit one of them, causing the human to fall as a gaping hole formed in his chest. "FOR EQUESTRIA!" he shouted as he used magic to draw his sword. He turned to his company, which, just moments before, had been as panicked as he was. But, now that he was back, his company took courage and did as ordered, following him as they charged the woods. Unfortunately, they had been caught in a march column and were not spread out enough to cover the entire wood. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo, Omsk, Russia 935 After Alpha company had captured Ozyokovo, Lt. Nikolai Bogdanov and his razvedka (scouts) platoon had been ordered to occupy the woods to the north of the village. Luckily he had, as a large enemy force had been marching down the road, presumably coming from the fortress he had been notified was to the north-east of the village. So, as he sat in his BTR-60PB, he could hear the gunfire from up ahead. "Forward driver, let's get in there!"he ordered on his throat mic as he readied his 14.5mm KPVT machinegun mounted in the turret. "Affirmative!" replied the driver as the vehicle swiftly rumbled towards the enemy. As Nikolai looked through his periscope just in time to spot a large force of armoured ponies chasing off the three squads he had deployed to ambush them. "FOR THE MOTHERLAND!"Lt. Bogdanov yelled as he opened fire, hitting one that had just cut down one of his soldiers with a floating sword. Dec 9th, 2042 FillykovoMaresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 935 "CHARGE!" shouted Cold Steel as he fired another spell into the fleeing humans. (now numbering 16, since others had also gotten up as they got closer) "GIVE EM' HECK, BOYS!" he continued to lead his guards forward, not even bothering to listen as a barely audible rumble came closer. Then, suddenly, a metal beast appeared through the brush and pines, followed by two others. However, Cold Steel could not care less as he continued his charge. He was so close that he swung his arming sword and struck a human in the back. "COME ON, FORWARD-" RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT he was cut short as he turned to see his guards cut down before his eyes. He turned to see that the fire came from the metal beasts, and so shocked was Lt. Steel that he didn't even notice as he was thrown to the ground before losing consciousness. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo, Omsk, Russia 940 After the BTRs showed up, it only took roughly fifteen seconds for the ponies to retreat after the BTRs cut a swath through their ranks. Now, Sgt. Filipp Egorov and what remained of his squad (5 out of the original 7) Stood inspecting the dead and wounded. "Hey, what's that?" asked one of his men: Pvt. Vladimir Kuzmin. As he pointed at a pony wearing an ornate suit of silver armour. "Looks like an officer of some kind," Sgt. Egorov replied as he stepped up to the body. He moved the pony off before flipping the human body that it had fallen on top of. "Poor Shasha. He survived so much. Only to fall to this," he said in an empty tone as he picked up the blood-stained straight sword. Meanwhile, Pvt. Kuzmin had been bent over the unicorn, checking for anything of value, When he spotted a puff of steam exit his muzzle. "Uh, Comrade Sargeant?" He dropped the sword before turning to face him. "What is it?" he asked sharply. "I-I think this pony is still alive," he said in a nervous tone as Sgt. Egorov prepared to pull out his pistol. "Wait, shouldn't we take him back alive!?" Sgt. Egorov stared at him with nothing but anger as his hand shook over his holster. "Why should we! This- These ponies stole our motherland!" he began as he quickly pulled out his pistol and aimed it directly between his eyes. "They killed our friends, wiped out our nation! So why should he not pay for what they've done!" he had tears forming at the edge of his eyes as he put his finger on the trigger. "And you don't think I feel the same way!?" yelled Pvt. Kuzmin as Sgt. Egorov shook himself from his enraged state. "Look, Comrade, if we bring him back alive, he might have some valuable information," Sgt. Egorov cocked a brow as he continued to hold his pistol over the pony's head. "And if it doesn't?" "I'll shoot it myself," Sgt. Egorov seeing the determination in the Private's eyes nodded before holstering his Makarov. "Alright, Vlad... You bring him back," he bent down and picked up Shasha's SVD and the bloodied sword before turning and walking towards one of the BTRs. Author's Note Please, tell me what you think Lest We Forget: Part 2Dec 9th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker, Omsk, Russia 0940 As Grand Marshal Dimitry Yazov sat listening to the various proposals of the Generals' staff with interest, he couldn't help but feel sorrow. As he knew that yet another Great Trial was ahead of him, he also felt his heart stir with anger and hatred as his forces spread out into the countryside. Which further confirmed that what the Lieutenant had said concerning the young colt was true: These ponies had indeed turned his people into more of themselves. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to eliminate these ponies from the face of the earth. His troops were still redeploying from the bunkers, which meant they would have supply problems for at least the first few days. Worse still, he had also heard reports of the ponies mobilizing their local forces to slow down or even break the advance, which would slow progress even further as his commanders had to move units to intercept. They also had to do this while lacking air support, as they had to move the entire airforce from the bunkers with all their logistics, which could take days, if not weeks. "Comrade Yazov, are you alright?" asked one of the generals who Yazov recognized as Maj-Gen. Leonid Sergeev. In response, Yazov quickly shook himself from his inward contemplation. "Yes, I'm fine. Now, let us continue," he said as he gestured for them to continue. Sergeev coughed into his sleeve before turning to the others, who nodded for him to continue. "So, as I was saying, my troops are still deploying, but I have the forward elements of the 150th Gds. Motor Rifle Regt. Occupying the village of Ozyokovo to ensure our attack on Omsk is secure," he explained as he pointed to an empty spot on the map. Yazov scratched his chin as he tried to recall if he had heard that name before. When he realized he did not, he turned to his commanders. "Excuse me, Comrade General, but is that a new village?" In response, the Major-General nodded in affirmation. "Indeed, it is quite small and appears to be populated by older ponies," he replied. "Thankfully, we took the village with no resistance early this morning, as the populace welcomed our troops," At this, Yazov, and the others, nearly lost all composure as they sharply turned to Maj-Gen. Sergeev with wide eyes. "What do you mean? I thought they hated us!" shouted Lt-Gen. Sergei Mikhailov as he stared at him in shock. Sergeev turned to the man in response. "I thought so too, but they just let us in. Hell, they even threw a parade for us, not to mention speaking Russian," he explained. In response, Yazov, with the rest of the general's staff, seemed to contemplate their next move based on this information before the others turned to him, wordlessly asking him what they should do. "This is a most...unexpected outcome. However, I think it best to leave them, at least for the moment," he responded, with the others nodding in agreement. "Now, how long do you predict it will take to assemble enough forces to liberate Omsk?" In response, General Dimitri Petrenko, commander of the 1st Army Group, turned to Yazov. "The 1st Army Group should be ready by the end of the day, Grand Marshal, as our troops are deploying from every exit in the complex," "Very good, Gen. Petrenko," replied Yazov as he stood up. "Now, I leave it to you, Comrades. I have a speech to plan," the others stood up, and Yazov exchanged a salute before turning and marching out of the room. Dec 9th, 2042 Ozyokovo Village, Omsk Oblast, Russia 0950 In the aftermath of the morning's events, Clay Cracker couldn't think of a moment in his life when he felt so powerless, aside from the last time he saw his parents. After about an hour of waiting, the musty smell was starting to irritate him, but after the human's arrived, his Grandpa commanded him to stay in the attic while they talked with them, and while he could still hear their voices, he didn't understand a word. Either way, he was afraid. After all, his whole life, his teachers, friends, and even his Grandpa had warned him of the evils of humanity, yet, after the speech the other day, the pony he thought least likely to want the humanities return had suddenly switched sides. Then, he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of heavy steps hitting the wood floor, and then, without warning, the attic entrance opened. As if on instinct, he slowly began backing away from it as a tall human, wearing a plain khaki uniform, slowly came up the ladder. However, instead of coming up, he stayed put on the ladder with just his head and shoulders poking above the floor, regarding him with a pair of icy blue eyes peeking out from his oily brown hair. Then, he turned to look back down the ladder before looking back at him. "You, come," he said with a thick accent before gesturing him to follow before descending back down the ladder. Clay mentally paused for a moment, weighing his options: On the one hoof, if he stayed put, he would likely get himself in trouble, so he did as the man instructed and followed after him. When Clay came down, he was surprised to find at least six humans loitering around in the living room, eating freshly baked bread; Clay could tell as soon as the attic opened that his Grandpa had been baking as the aroma always filled the house. Speaking of the stallion, he could see him chatting with the same man who had come up to get him on the couch near the burning fireplace. "Ah, there you are, Clay. I hope Captain Kiselev didn't scare you too much?" said Breaker, or his other name, which he had forgotten. In response, Clay turned to man, then to his Grandfather. "Uh, I mean, I'm not scared. But I don't understand. What's going on?" he replied. The man chuckled before standing up and looking down at him. "Well, Comrade, I was hoping you and your Grandfather could answer me the same thing," he said before turning to Breaker, asking him something in that strange tongue that he couldn't understand. "No, he does not speak Russian," replied his Grandpa. "But, he was born after the end of the last war, so it's hardly surprising," The man seemed to ponder this before nodding to himself. "I see... Can you teach him?" he asked the stallion, whose eyes went wide as though he hadn't considered it, but he nodded vigorously. "Very good, you make Marshal Yazov proud," he said as the stallion stared at him in confusion. "Wait, who?" asked Breaker as Clay continued to listen. After all, if he could understand them, then all was well. In response, the Captain looked at Breaker with a cocked brow. "Don't you know? I'm talking about Grand Marshal Yazov, the liberator of Russia-" Breaker cut him off with a chuckle. "What? You mean with his attempt to overthrow Gorbachev?" he asked as the Captain shook his head in annoyance. "Who is this Gorbachev? I have never heard that name," he replied as he appeared to think before turning back to him. "How do you not know him? He was the last General Secretary of the USSR!" shouted Breaker as the Captain, and the others' eyes went wide in shock. "How the hell is that possible!? The USSR dissolved in 1942!" he shouted as Clay slowly began to back away. Soon enough, they were all erupting in angered tones as they bellowed back and forth in Russian. However, this abruptly ended when a man threw open the front door. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo Village, Omsk Oblast, Russia 1001 As Sargent Major Sergei Eremeev opened the door, he was confused to find Cpt. Kiselev and the others looked at him as though he had interrupted something important. "Uh, Commander, LT. Bogdanov has returned, and he requested to see you," he said as the Captain shot up from the couch, put on his greatcoat and took his ushanka. "Alright, let's see what he has to say," replied the Captain as he turned to regard the stallion still seated on the couch. "But when I'm back, I wish to hear the rest of what you have to say," Author's Note Sorry for the long wait. It took me a while to feel passionate about this story again, but you can expect it to continue now that I'm back.
The End of The World As We Know It (Edited)Dec 8th, 1972 Yazov's Bunker, Omsk, Russia 1300 Dmitry Yazov paced back and forth as he impatiently waited to give the command to launch. He had decided to return to Omsk as, in his opinion, it was where it all started and where it all would end. The only sounds were the echo of his boots on the concrete walls of the small headquarters, the buzz of the lunch computer, and the breathing of himself, his radio operator, and two men whose fingers were gripped tightly to their launch keys. 'Any moment now, The Great Trial will be over,' he turned to his radioman. "Any word of the evacuations?" The man trembled as he took off his headphones and turned to look at him. His face was pale, his mouth quivered, and tears leaked from his eyes. "C-Comrade Yazov," he began in a shaky tone. "Comrade Savintsev, h-has said that all the civilians, military personnel, and equipment we could accommodate are in the bunkers," As he finished. Yazov used all his strength to not fall to his knees. Instead, he sniffled and could feel his eyes become watery as he turned his head to face the men at the computer, who looked as he felt inside. "Fire," he said in a quiet tone as he resigned himself, Russia, and the whole world to its fate. The two men wasted no time entering their keys and turning them simultaneously. Once they had done so, the bunker began to tremble as the rockets launched before hurtling towards Germany. As this happened, Yazov's legs finally caved, and he fell to his knees as tears and sobs erupted from him. "It...is done. You are avenged, my Motherland," he whispered to himself as the countdown to impact began. Silence once again reigned, at least, for the most part, aside from the buzz of the radioman continuing to give out the orders he had given him. Then, a few minutes later, the radioman turned to him with a frightened expression as he tore off his headset. "Comrade Yazov, we have lost contact with all our bunkers west of the Urals," Yazov and the others all turned to him with expressions of horror and disbelief. "How the hell-" he cut off as a wave of blinding light enveloped the bunker with such force all three were knocked unconscious by the blast wave. Dec 8th, 2042 Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Principality of Equestria 1350 Princess Celestia inwardly sighed as she sat with her famous mask on her throne as she continued to half-listen to a green mare named Marigold and a grey stallion known as Iron Harvest. Both argued about the famine raging across New Maretonia (The former USA and Canada) due to the population outgrowing the current agricultural infrastructure. Marigold, who was from the ministry of agriculture, advocated for the expansion of farmland under the current system. Iron Harvest, on the other hoof, was from a technological institute. His opinion was that human methods were best for feeding a large population. At first, things had gone well enough, with Celestia acting as mediator. Of course, she believed the mare was overall more correct, and this quickly became apparent. Especially once she had suggested that they go with Morriglod's plan. The stallion had tried to object, but, as so often was the case, he knew he was beaten, and he resorted to breaking down in detail why the plan would fail, Morriglod had retaliated, and the argument began. This continued, that is, until a unicorn stallion, wearing the silver armour of a royal guard Captain, rushed into the room, gaining Celestia's attention. "Y-Your Highness," he began in a winded tone as he bowed. "There is urgent news from New Stalliongrad," She inwardly thanked him as she smiled back at her guests. "I am sorry, my little ponies, but it would appear there is...other business to attend to. But I promise I will give you my answer, as you have given me much to consider," she said in a motherly tone, causing them to bow before being escorted by the guards outside. As they left, Iron considered turning back before continuing as a guard gave him a light push. Once they were gone, she gestured for the remaining two guards to close the gates to the throne room. Then she descended from her throne to meet the stallion. "What news do you bring, Captain?" The Captain had caught his breath and had adopted a stoic expression. "Princess, I have received reports of many magical anomalies across New Stalliongrad," Celestia remained physically unphased, though underneath, she was curious. "What kind of anomalies?" she asked in a neutral tone. The stallion shook his head before looking back up at her. "We don't have any idea. All we know is that, fifteen minutes ago, we were notified of 95 energy serges all across New Stalliongrad," he stated in a similar tone. "Were any ponies hurt, Captain?" she said as she used all her experience to keep her emotions from showing. Although she could see that he was frightened, he did well to hide it, just as he was trained to do. "No, your Highness. The surges disappeared as quickly as they came," Celestia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear," she began as she thought of how to respond. "Have the local guard regiments evacuate the areas where these anomalies occurred. Once this is done, have the various unicorn schools aid the guard in investigating the zones," The Captain seemed to hesitate before giving a curt bow and leaving to follow her instructions. Once he was gone, Celestia turned to her secretary. "Miss Inkwell, please cancel all my previous arrangements for today," she then began the trip back to her room, leaving the mare to attend to her work. 'I may as well use this as an excuse to get some shut-eye,' Celestia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear," she began as she thought of what the best response would be. "Have the local guard regiments evacuate the areas where these anomalies occurred. Once this is done, have the various unicorn schools aid the guard in investigating the zones," The Captain seemed to hesitate before giving a curt bow and leaving to follow her instructions. Once he was gone, Celestia turned to her secretary. "Miss Inkwell, please cancel all my previous arrangements for tomorrow," she then began the trip back to her room, leaving the mare to attend to her work. 'I may as well use this as an excuse to get some shut-eye,' Author's Note Please let me know what you think as quickly as possible. As, if I need to edit it, I can do so in a timely manner.
Waking UpDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1430 An armoured grey and white-maned unicorn stallion paced back and forth as he faced away from a bawling blue mare with a pink mane and a dark blue pegasus stallion with a black mane who was comforting her. "So let me get this straight: at 1300, your son went downstairs to play VR when the serge happened. And the basement just...disappeared?" The stallion nodded in response. "It was horrible! Longspear just went downstairs to play his games when poof, gone! Just...I'll show you," he said as he left his sobbing wife, despite her attempts to cling to him, and led the guardstallion to the basement door. "See for yourself," he opened the door to reveal...a room with a grass floor. The guard put a hoof to his chin in thought as he closed the door with his horn. "I'm sorry, sir. But I'm afraid you need to leave," the stallion hesitated, so the guard put a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find him," the stallion nodded with teary eyes and complied with the order. He helped his wife before a few more guards came inside and escorted them out. Once they were gone, the unicorn turned to the others. "Alright, colts, let's get digging," Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1500 Yazov slowly began to regain consciousness as he heard voices overhead and felt something or someone rocking him violently back and forth. "Comrade Marshal. Comrade Marshal!" he shot up, opened his eyes, and saw at least a dozen soldiers looking at him with both shock and relief. As he began to regain focus, he felt a searing pain shoot through his skull as he lay back on the soft bed. "Ugh, my head!" he said as he brought a hand to it. As his vision swam once again, he could see the figures surrounding him. "Comrade Yazov, can you hear me?" asked one of them. "Ugh, yes, I can," groaned Yazov as he sat on the side of the bed. Another man outstretched his hand. "Can you stand?" Yazov nodded before gripping his hand firmly as he got off the bed while the other clasped his skull. "W-What happened?" he asked in a groggy tone. This time, an officer, judging by his peaked cap and black uniform, came up to him and gave a quick salute before standing at attention. "Comrade Marshal, allow me to address?" "Go ahead," replied Yazov as he continued to hold his head. "Well, about two hours ago, some sort of...force knocked us all unconscious," he began as Yazov gestured for him to continue. "And we have failed to connect to any other bunkers using the network," As Yazov finally began to recover from his headache, he lowered his arm and turned to face the man, whom he now recognized was Captain Leonid Smirnov, the man in charge of the headquarters communications. "Comrade Captain, would you mind sending someone to get some anti-biotics? I don't know what happened, but it feels as though I hit a wall," he said as the searing pain of previously began to be replaced with a dull throb. As he regained more clarity, he quickly realized he was back in his room. "Of course, Comrade Marshal," said Smirnov before turning to another soldier. "Well, you heard him, get me some drugs and a medic!" he bellowed as several soldiers saluted him before rushing to carry out his orders. Once they had left, Smirnov walked over to a desk by the bedside and picked up Yazov's cap before walking over to him. "Your hat, Comrade Marshal," he said as he presented him his cap. Yazov quickly took it before placing it on his head. "Thank you, Comrade Captain," he began as he furrowed his brow. "When did you get up?" "Well, you see...we only woke up a few minutes ago. As it would appear that since I and a few others were sitting when the blast hit, we had it better than you and those standing," said Smirnov. "I see..." began Yazov, as he put a hand to his chin. "Comrade Captain, what is the situation?" he asked with a cocked brow. It was Smirnov's turn to pause and collect his thoughts. "Well, Comrade, we have about 300 soldiers in this headquarters, with an estimated 1,023,000 civilians and soldiers scattered throughout the rest of the complex," he began as Yazov nodded for him to finish. "Of those 300, roughly 2/3 of them are in a similar state as yourself," "I see... Well, that certainly makes things difficult," began Yazov as he took a hard look around, seeing the priceless equipment seeming unscathed from the blast, aside from some loose items. "Form up!" bellowed Yazov, as the men in the room assembled facing him in a single line, with the highest-ranking and tallest on the right at attention. "Alright, I will be leaving to check on the injured in the infirmary. Therefore, I expect you all to get back to your stations. Do you understand!?" "Yes, Comrade Marshal!" they replied in unison. Yazov gestured to the Captain to come forward. "I will take two men with me. The rest are yours," he said as he saluted him before turning and marching away as two men left to follow him. Smirnov then turned to face them. "Well, you heard the man. Dismissed!" with that, they quickly broke formation and ran out the door. Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1500 "Come on, guards! For Equestria!" yelled an armoured white pegasus stallion with a blue mane as he charged at a group of human soldiers with a spear in his hoof and many more stallions and mares following behind him. Before the men could bring their guns to bear, the stallion threw his spear with incredible accuracy and hit one just below his helmet. "Get some!" he then drew his sword as he got into the fray, slaying soldier after soldier as he advanced. Soon enough, he spotted his main objective, an elevated position reinforced with sandbags and barbed wire. Above the defences flew the dreaded flags of the USA and the HLF. (Human Liberation Front) 'Come on, I'm so close to the checkpoint,' With a growl of determination, he charged the position. Followed by what remained of the guards. As he drew closer, however, he heard a familiar "click" before looking down. "Oh, crud," he said as the landmine exploded, causing the world around him to pause. "Damn it!" he shouted as a menu popped up in front of him. He sighed before pressing quit, and the world went black. "Ugh, I was so close!" said a blue teenage pegasus colt with a white mane as he tore the VR set off, keeping his eyes closed in the process. He then flopped back onto his bed. "Dang nab- Ouch!" only to find himself in pain as he landed on the cold hard floor. "Ah, wha-" his eyes snapped open, and he looked around. Seeing grey concrete walls with pipes running alongside them, with pannel lights on the roof providing light. "What in Tartarus? This isn't my basement!" he yelled as he got back on his hooves and dusted himself off. 'Where in Equestria am I?' he asked as he picked up the damaged VR set. "Looks like I threw it a little hard, huh?" he asked himself as he heard two sets of heavy hoofsteps coming down the hall behind him. "Oh, thank Celestia, I thou-" he stopped himself as he turned and came face to face with three sets of jackboots. As he looked up, he saw two humans wearing khaki fatigues and sidecaps, while the one closest to him wore a black dress uniform and a peaked cap. The men all seemed shocked and confused as the young colt began to quiver in terror. "H-Huma-" he didn't finish, as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted. Then, the man in the peaked cap turned to the others. "Either I hit my head harder than I thought... Or there is a small colourful horse on the floor?" The other two men nodded as the three of them all turned back to the colt, with one kneeling down and poking it. Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1515 The soldier then stood up, his face as pale as a ghost. "C-Comrade Marshal, it's real," The other man then turned to Yazov. "What should we do with it, Comrade Marshal?" he asked as he put a hand to his chin. 'I knew TheGreat Trial would leave a mark. But I never thought it would create such a creature,' he then knelt down beside it, flicking its mane out of its face. "Come, let's take it in for interrogation. After all, it did speak English," the soldiers both nodded, as one picked it up, while the other continued with Yazov towards the infirmary. Author's Note And so it begins! Let me know what you think!
When Worlds CollideDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1700 "Alright, Colts, keep digging!" shouted Captain Cold Steel in an encouraging tone above the din of shovels and pickaxes as he stood above various other armoured stallions who continued to grunt and groan as they dug an ever-deeper hole. Around them stood the ruins of the house that had once stood above the pit. 'We have been digging for an hour, and there's still no sign of the basement,' he shook his head and turned to walk away...only to stop in his tracks as he heard a shout from the hole. "What was that!?" he shouted as he walked up to the edge and found all the guards gathered together with their eyes looking up at him. They then moved aside, allowing him to see a domed grey surface beneath them. "What is that?" "We don't know, Sir," began one of them. "But it looks like concrete," he then tapped it with an armoured hoof for emphasis. "What should we do, Sir?" Cold Steel put a hoof to his chin and turned to the sun as he pondered his options. 'This looks like a human structure. But, how is it still here after the barrier? In fact, how did the basement of this house just disappear if this was here already?' then, an idea crossed his mind, an idea which caused a smirk to form. "Yes, that will do," he whispered as he turned back to them. "Alright, I need all of you to get out of the pit! We're going to blast our way inside!" with that, the pegasi quickly flew up before landing beside Cold Steel while the earth ponies scaled their ladders. "Now, let's get a spell going!" Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1700 With a slight groan from Longspear, he slowly began to regain consciousness. "Ugh, what a weird dream..." he tried to put a hoof up to his head... only to find himself unable to move. "What the-!?" his eyes shot open to find himself chained to a chair in a darkened room with only a single light above his head. "H-Hello!?" he shouted as he attempted to struggle out of his bindings. Then, somewhere in the darkness, he heard a door open and heavy hoofsteps before he heard a slam. Soon enough, he could see the faint outline of a human who stopped just before he entered the light. Cold beads of sweat began to pour down from his forehead as his "dream" came back to him. "Privet Comrade," said the deep masculine voice with a slight accent. He then heard what sounded like a chair being moved, and he saw the human sit down. "Wha- How are you still human!?" Longspear shouted in a panicked tone. What happened next surprised the teenage colt, as instead of torturing or shooting him, the man sat back in his chair while staring at him in a combination of confusion and curiosity. "What do you mean by that?" he asked with a furrowed brow. Longspear shook with fear as his mind ran wild. 'Why did he ask that? Does he not know?' he then took a deep breath to regain his composure and stared at the man with a puffed-up chest. "Celestia defeated you monkeys 20 years ago! Since you were all so focused on killing each other and destroying your world! Which is why she turned all of you into ponies since you wouldn't listen, and she used the barrier to ensure you all would either convert or be destroyed!" he yelled with faux determination as he tried to not show how terrified he was. As Longspear finished, the man remained frozen in his seat, and he shakily looked down at his hands as he began to sniffle and sob. The young colt, believing he had in some way paralyzed or crippled the man with his words, internally celebrated. 'Wow, I...did? I did it! I defeated the last human-' his thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the man began to break out into a grim chortle. Slowly, shakily, he rose from his seat and marched into the light. As he did, he stopped and stared directly into the young colt's eyes, and Longspear found himself recoiling from the man's stare. He noted that the man had huge bags under his eyes and appeared to have had very little sleep. But his eyes...these were what keep him shaking in fear, unable to speak or even breathe. Sure, he had seen the 'demon monkies' expressions in many films and movies being shone as filled with anger, hatred, malice, or pure insanity. But this man...it was as though he was devoid of any life or emotion. The only thing that shone past this simple first impression was an unyielding fire that burned just behind the surface. "Say that again," he said almost in a whisper. But with enough of a commanding tone to cause Longspear to tremble. "I-I s-said..." he sputtered and paused, unable to even so much as to speak to the man standing over him. The man then threw his chair over, causing the colt to hit his head on the hard concrete floor. "Ah!" he screamed as his vision went red before it began to swim. "Put him in a cell," ordered the man, as Lonspear heard two sets of heavy footsteps before feeling another jolt of pain to his head, causing his vision to fade to black. Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1725 Two men wearing khaki fatigues sat talking near one of the many exits to the bunker. "So, how long do you think it will be before we get to go up again?" asked one as he put his cigarette back in his mouth. "I don't know Comrade, I don't know-" the other paused as a crack formed in the roof just off to their right. Both men jumped up and unshouldered their AK-74's before running to take cover in the next hallway down. "What the hell is going on!" The other man shook his head. "We're being breached! Go sound the alarm!" the man nodded and ran down the hall. As he did, the soldier who remained peaked out from behind the corner, just in time to see the concrete break and multiple colourful horses in armour come crashing through the roof. Using wings or their hooves to land safely on the floor beneath them. "Alright, spread out and search the area!" ordered one of them as the rest saluted and carried out their orders. 'What the hell?' The soldier took a breath before silently checking his AK. Once he was satisfied, he readied a grenade. "FOR THE FATHERLAND!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, and before the ponies could react, he threw the grenade. Before he ran after his colleague with the alarm sounding as he did, followed by an explosion. 'The bunker is breached!' Author's Note Please, tell me what you think.
The Gathering StormDec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1725 "Ugh, come on, almost-" grunted Cold Steel as he, along with several other unicorns, poured all their magic into the beam that was melting through the concrete. "There!" with that, the concrete gave way, and he ordered three pegasi and three earth ponies to head into the hole. A Sargeant was the last to jump down. "Alright, spread out and search the area!" the stallion shouted. 'There, now, all we have to do is-' "FOR THE FATHERLAND!" came an echo from inside as Cold Steel glanced in just in time to catch a glimpse of a small object hitting one of his guards in the chest and bouncing off. When he realized what it was, Cold Steel quickly ducked as a loud 'bang' emanated from the hole, followed by a stream of gas. He, and the other unicorns, quickly used their magic to push the gas aside, allowing him to see that all the guards that had entered had their fur peeling off like burning paper while they seemed to be coughing up their insides. "What in Celestia's name..." he said as they did the same, only to recoil and run back the way they came. "Fall back! We have to get help!" Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1730 Various NCOs (Non-commissioned officers) and officers could be heard barking orders to their men as they set up barricades around the breach point and prepared to receive the invaders in the hall. The bodies of the gassed ponies had been moved to the lab for study, as the doctors hoped they might be able to understand what these creatures were. As for Private Ivan Chatalov, he sat beside his friend Private Kirrel Bojshenko behind a barricade. "Those things didn't even get a cut on me," he said, watching as two soldiers in gas masks pulled one of the ponies. "But, why were they even trying to get in? In fact, how did they even know where we were?" asked Pvt. Bojshenko as he lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "I don't know..." replied Pvt. Chatalov as he ran a hand over his AK. "I still can't believe the air isn't toxic outside," Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1800 Captain Smirnov ignored the alarm as he had been trying desperately to call for reinforcements. "Work damn you!" he shouted as he slammed a fist on the radio in frustration...only for him to still hear nothing. "Damn it, where is that mechanic!?" he yelled as a young soldier came running in before saluting him. "Comrade Captain, is it still not working?" asked the soldier as the Captain shook his head. The soldier shrugged and got to work on fixing the radio for the fifth time. "I still don't know why this isn't-" he paused as the radio suddenly crackled to life. "on..." Cpt. Smirnov then gently pushed the dazed man aside as he slipped his headset back on. "H-Hello!? This is Base Orel! Can anyone hear me, over!?" he waited for a few moments that seemed to drag on for hours...until the radio crackled to life once more. "This is Base Aist! What happened, over!?" came the response, which was soon joined by another, and another. Over the next few minutes, all bases in the surrounding area had responded and were waiting to hear their orders. Cpt. Smirnov, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of responses. He pulled off the headset and turned to the other man. "Go find the Marshal and tell him to come back here," he ordered, as the soldier gave him a quick salute and ran off to carry out his orders. Dec 8th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 1800 After the failed attack on the bunker, Cold Steel led what remained of his force to the fortress outside Maresk. The fort was well situated atop a mountain, with thick walls and many gates and towers. By the time of their arrival at the first gate, dusk had already fallen over the snow-covered plains. "Who goes there!?" yelled one of the guards in a watchtower. "I am Lieutenant Cold Steel of the 21st guards' regiment!" he yelled in response, and the gate was opened before him. Soon after, he was brought before the commander, an off-white pegasus with a dull grey mane named Long Pike. The stallion stood overlooking a map when Cold Steel entered before closing the door behind him. "Sir," he said as he saluted him. "I have come with news," The weathered stallion turned his head slowly and glared at him. "Oh? And what pray tell, would be so important that you would need to come directly to me?" he asked as he turned to face him fully, exposing his eyepatch and many scars. Cold Steel had never been this close to his superior before, and he felt uneasy about his appearance, tone, and one-eye stare. "I-I'm sorry, Sir. B-But I wouldn't have come to you unless it was important. You see, I believe we found a bunker full of humans-" he was cut-off, as Long Pike suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up to his eye. "What do you mean by humans? There aren't any left," he said as spit flew onto Cold Steel's face before he scowled. "B-But Sir, I'm telling the truth!" he sputtered as Long Pike stared him down. This lasted for roughly a minute (though, for Cold Steel, it felt like it lasted for hours) Before Long Pike let him go. "I...believe you," he said as he put a hoof to his chin. "However, I wish to see for myself," "Sir?" asked Cold Steel in a confused tone. Long Pike turned back to his table and put a hoof to his chin. "How many Guards do you have under your command?" "23 Sir, the other seven were killed by some form of gas," Long Pike nodded at this. "How...interesting. I don't recall the humans using such weapons," "We saw it with our own eyes...I don't even want to think about it," said Cold Steel with a shiver. Long Pike then turned and gestured for him to join him. "Lieutenant, would you mind showing where this bunker is?" Lt. Steel hesitated for a moment before walking over and standing beside him. "It's here, Sir. Just under where this village is," he pointed to a small settlement southeast of Maresk. Long Pike then turned and grinned before patting a hoof on his back. "Good, then get your Guards ready. We're going to pay them a visit," Lt. Steel tried to shy away from the touch. "I'm sorry, Sir?" Long Pike then turned and gestured for him to follow. "If it is humans, as I suspect it is, then we'll need to deal with this quickly and quietly," with that, Cold Steel followed him out of his office. As he did, he noticed a painting that hung on the wall beside the door. It was a picture of Celestia leading Royal Guards as they placed the flag of Equestria on a pole while she tore off a white, red, and blue flag that had hung there previously. Below the picture was written the words: "Awarded for the Purification of New Stalliongrad." Dec 8th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker 1803 Yazov had slowly made his way throughout the infirmary when he had heard the alarm. His guards had then rushed him back to his room for safety, and there he waited until he heard a swift knock on the door. "Come in!" he called as a young private walked into the room and saluted him. "Comrade Marshal, we have the radio back up," he said as Yazov stood up from his bed and put on his cap. "Then we have no time to lose," he said as he stood up and walked out of the room, with his guards following behind him. A few minutes later, he arrived at the communication room. "Captain," he said as he entered the room. "What is the situation?" Cpt. Smirnov turned and saluted him. "Comrade Marshal, thank goodness! It feels like the whole of Russia is on the other end!" Yazov nodded and stepped up to the radio, and took a breath. "I'll take it from here. But first, turn it to a public broadcast and get me a camera," he began as the Captain saluted and did as ordered. Once everything was set up, he and the others waited. 'Here goes nothing,' Yazov took another deep breath. "Comrades! Today, at 1515, a pegasus was found inside my bunker, and, after a brief interrogation. It was found that we somehow have arrived in a world where such creatures have destroyed our Russia and turned its people into ponies! Then, at 1725, armed ponies breached the bunker and were only stopped by the bravery of our soldiers! Therefore, I once again call upon all Russians to commit to another Great Trialagainst these invaders! I also request all to start an immediate offensive in your local areas!" As he finished the broadcast, he could hear nothing but silence... "URA!" shouted one, then another, then another! Soon enough, all he could hear were shouts, cheers, and declarations. 'And so, it begins,' he stood up and turned to Cpt. Smirnov. "Take it from here. I have a campaign to plan," with that, he left, and, as he walked down the hallway, he could hear the Sacred War playing on the speakers as his men stood in the halls and cheered him. He only stopped as he came to a door and opened it to reveal a room dominated by a massive table with a world map. Several officers were waiting inside for him and saluted him as he entered. Dec 8th, 2042 Moscow, New Stalliongrad 1508 A young pink filly with a red mane sat alone in front of the TV while her favourite movie played. Sure, it was human-made, but Wall-E still carried the right message- Suddenly, the TV went static before automatically switching to an image of a human wearing a black dress uniform and a peaked cap. "Uh, mom, did you switch the channel!?" she shouted as a red mare with a white mane appeared from the kitchen. "No, why-" they both were silent, as the man began to speak in a foreign tongue, with Equish subtitles appearing below. Once he had finished speaking, the screen changed back to the movie. The filly turned to see that her mother was visibly shaking. "Uh, mom? Are you okay?" The mare remained still as she tried to understand what had just happened. Then, without a word, she hugged the filly as she began to cry. Author's Note Well, the cat is out of the bag now.
The ResponseDec 8th, 2042 Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Principality of Equestria 1430 Princess Celestia stood with a troubled expression as the recorded broadcast ended, and her guards wheeled the TV out of the room. "What shall we do, Princess?" asked the same captain from earlier. Celestia put a hoof to her chin as she tried to think of a response. 'This has never happened before! How am I supposed to defeat humanity twice!? Especially when I have so many unsatisfied ponies to deal with!?' she remained in silence. 'I should speak with the others,' she turned to look at him and the others in the room. "Excuse me, my little ponies. But I need you all to leave the room," she ordered as they bowed and left, closing the doors behind them. Once they were gone, she walked down from her throne and turned to face it, lighting her horn in the process. She then aimed a beam of golden magic at the sun embedded in its surface. As the spell made contact, it retracted as the floor opened up and pulled the throne back from the expanding hole, and she opened her wings and flew inside as the floor closed above her, causing her to light her horn for light. When she came to the bottom of the fifty-foot hole, she found a small corridor just large enough for her with a pointed roof cut out of the stone, which she proceeded to walk inside. As she did, the many torches that lined the walls lit up as she passed, casting golden light on the tunnel. After about five minutes, she came to a small reinforced wooden door, and she lit her horn and began to deactivate all the protection spells she had placed on it. When she was finished, she opened the door to find a room filled with a large still pool of pitch-black water. She took a breath before entering the water and sinking into its depths. The next moment, she arose to find herself emerging from a pitch-black lake, whose waters were still and unmoving, even as she flew above it. In front of Celestia stood a grand palace, which was even more beautiful and spacious than the castle in Canterlot. She flew up to the doors and opened them to find its halls filled with beautifully dressed ponies dancing and partying. She paid them little mind, remembering that they were simply meant to serve as a distraction. As she made her way to the end of the room, she looked out the window to see that, on the other side of the lake, stood a magnificent, glowing tree on a hill with a rod of iron leading up to it, only to disappear in a dense mist. She shook her head and turned to find a grand staircase. Instead of using them, however, she extended her wings and flew up flight after flight of stairs until she came to a set of massive doors. These she opened with her magic, and stepping into the room, she found she was surrounded on all sides by great mirrors that stood even taller than her. Once she was in the center, she summoned forth as much power as she could. Before, she cast a great beam of light that reflected off each mirror until all were hit. Then, each began to shift like water as her refections began to change, each acting on their own or looking slightly different from the other. Then, without warning, they each stepped forward, with roughly a hundred in total. "Greetings sisters'," said Celestia as she observed all the variations of...herself. "Why have you called us here?" asked one with a cold tone. The Celestia in the center sighed as she looked at the doppelganger that had spoken. "I...have a problem," "What kind of problem? Surely you can put down another rebellion," said another, this one in an annoyed tone. "After all, I had to deal with a civil war...one which nopony will ever remember. So, I'm sure you can-" "ENOUGH!" bellowed the central Celestia in the Royal Canterlot Voice as she turned to look at each of them in turn. "No, I can't!" she began as the others fell silent. "I don't know how, but some humans have managed to survive the purification and have declared war!" When she had finished, she stood huffing in anger as the rest began to laugh. "Oh, come now, I'm sure it's not that bad," Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad 0650 "Grandpa Breaker, what are you doing?" asked a young red colt named Clay Cracker with a grey mane as he watched an older stallion searching through several beat-up boxes filled with various odds-and-ends in the cobweb-filled attic of their house. The old grey stallion pulled his head out of one of the boxes, with his dull black mane flicking back as he turned to face the colt. "I-I don't know what, moy boy. But I know it's important," he answered in an accented voice as he once again began sifting through the boxes. As he did, the young colt put a hoof to his chin as he began to look, spotting various old papers and letters, with some even dating back to before the conversion. "Well, how do you know it's important if you don't know what you're looking for?" "I...can't remember. All I know is that it has something to do with that speech we heard yesterday," said Breaker while he continued looking. The colt seemed shocked upon hearing this. "What does this have to do with that?" Clay asked as he turned and found a faded, black and white picture of a man wearing a plain-looking uniform. He picked it up before shaking his head. "I mean, you can't even remember," Breaker sighed as he turned. "I may not remember, but I just know there's-" he paused as his eyes centred on the picture in the colt's hooves. "Grandpa?" asked Clay as the older stallion nodded to the photo. "This?" he nodded again, and Clay hooved it over. "That's what you were looking for?" "Yes, Grandson, this is what I was looking for," he said in a strained tone as tears began to form at the edges of his eyes as he continued staring at it, as a sad smile appeared on his muzzle. Clay walked up and sat beside him before laying his head on his shoulder to get a better look. "Who is it?" he asked as he looked on in confusion. "This, moy mal'chik, is your Great-Great-Grandfather," Breaker said in an even more accented tone as tears began falling down his face. "He fought in the-" Breaker paused as he furrowed his brow, only to close his eyes and smile as he laid back, pulling his grandson close while holding the picture so that both of them could look at it. "He fought in the Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna or the Great Patriotic-" He paused as Clay burst into laughter. "You're sounding like that guy from the TV!" The old stallion nuzzled him before clearing his throat. "As I was saying: he fought in the Great Patriotic War against the Nazis. Who thought we were all..." he paused as he turned to Clay as realization dawned on him, as Clay was looking up at him in confusion. "Grandpa, why did you stop?" he asked as the old stallion sat up and Clay followed suit. Then, Breaker sighed before turning his head to look at him. "Because, today, I realized why you're father decided to fight against...her," The colt looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Breaker closed his eyes. "Do you remember why your mother left you with me?" he asked in a peculiar tone as Clay put a hoof to his chin. "I remember her saying something about having to leave with Papa, but that was all," he said before turning back to the older stallion. "Well, my boy...they were arrested for conspiring against Celes-" he paused as his ears perked up. "Grandpa?" asked Clay as he began to hear a low rumble coming from outside. "What is-" he was cut-off as Breaker jumped up and rushed down the stairs as he gestured for him to follow. Once they were both downstairs, they left out the door as the rumbling grew louder. As they did, Clay noticed many of his neighbours had done the same. "Stay here," said Breaker as he patted Clay on the head before turning and walking towards several others who were grouped together. "Privet!" he greeted as they smiled. "So you remember too!?" asked a red mare with a black mane. Then, a dark green stallion with a white mane stepped forward and shook his hoof. "I'm glad it wasn't just us. It's good to have you back. In fact, it's good for all of us to be back!" Breaker smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. "I know we already know each other, but what are your names, your real names?" In all, there were roughly twenty ponies in this group. But, before they could start, they heard a panicked yell, and they turned to see Clay pointing at the road. Then they turned to see large objects approaching from the east. "Is that who I think it is?" asked the dark green stallion. "I think... Yes, it's the army!" yelled one of the mares in the crowd as a large red stallion with a red and black mane turned to the others. "Quick, somepony-someone, we need a flag! We need to show them where our loyalty lies!" he then began ordering ponies about as they each broke off to find anything they could scrape together to form the white, blue, and red flag of their former nation. As this was going on, Breaker rushed back to Clay. "Grandpa, what was that about? I didn't understand-" he was cut-off as Breaker hugged him as tears fell from his eyes. "It is alright, just stay here. I have to get something," Breaker then rushed inside before running back out the door with a white table cloth clenched tightly between his teeth. He ran up to the group as two others brought forth a red cloth and a blue cloth. "Alright, now, let's put this together!" yelled the same stallion as several mares and stallions stepped forward with saddlebags. They then pulled out sewing equipment and put the flag together as Breaker turned to the road. He saw numerous armoured vehicles spread out while continuing their advance. He was joined by the red stallion, and they both nodded as they began to walk towards them. Once the approaching force was roughly a kilometre away, they spotted soldiers dismounting out the back before spreading out and moving beside the vehicles. "HEY, COMRADES!" yelled Breaker as the soldiers continued to advance, seemingly unable to hear him. The red stallion then turned to him. "It's no use... what is your name?" The older stallion then turned to him. "It's Karol, Karol Vlasov," Karol began. "And yours?" "Well, mine is Alex Bogdanov," he said with a smile. "I'm just happy to use my real name!" "Agreed!" said Karol with a laugh before he turned to see several gobsmacked soldiers staring at them as the driver of the vehicle stuck his head out. "HELLO, COMRADES!" Author's Note I hope you enjoy it!
Lest We Forget Pt 1Dec 9th, 1978 Omsk, Russia 0720 Cpt. Ivan Kiselev could not believe his ears as he stared at the two ponies from the open hatch of his BMP-1K. "What?" he asked in confusion as his continued attempts at wrapping his head around the fact that these ponies had spoken perfect Russian. The aged grey stallion and his red-coated companion both seemed to be equally confused. "Did you not hear him? We wish you greetings, Comrade! Welcome to the village of..." the Red stallion seemed to pause for a moment before turning back to the soldiers. "Ozyokovo, Comrades!" he announced as he beckoned them to follow him into the small village. Cpt. Kiselev, unsure of what to do. Quickly sunk back inside the cramped turret and got on his radio. "Attention all units, you are to wait for my signal to enter the town. Over?" "Yes, Comrade Captain," came the response as he switched the channel on the radio. "This is Cpt. Kiselev of recon company alpha, requesting permission to speak to Maj-Gen. Sergeev. Over?" After a moment of waiting- "Go Ahead, Cpt. Kiselev"was the response. "Comrade General, I wish to report that, as we were preparing to capture the village of Ozyokovo. We have run into an unexpected problem. Over?" he said as he tried to think of the best way to describe his awkward situation. "What kind of problem?"answered the General. Cpt. Kiselev nervously shifted his collar as sweat began to run down his forehead from his tankist cap. "Well, Comrade General. It would appear that some of the ponies still speak Russian. Over?" he said in as calm a tone as he could. "What!? How the hell is that possible!?" bellowed the General. "I don't know, Comrade Commander! But, they have invited us into their village. What are your orders, Over?" The General gave an audible sigh. "You may enter the village. But, if they prove to be traitors, you are free to engage," With that, he took a deep breath before nodding. Even though the only one who could see him was the gunner in the turret with him. "Understood, Comrade General. Cpt. Kiselev, out," with that, he switched the radio so he could communicate with his unit. "Comrades, you are free to enter the village. However, if they try anything, you are free to engage," with that, he pressed his throat mic. "Dimitri, move forward. But try not to hurt any of the ponies...yet," "Understood," as soon as Dimitri responded, Cpt. Kiselev nearly smacked his face into the gun breach as the vehicle began to move. When he settled, he once again stuck his head outside his turret to get a better idea of how things were going, just in time to see the white, red, and blue of the Russian flag be hoisted above the village. Normally, he would expect his own soldiers to do this. But instead, he was shocked to see it was the group of ponies he had spotted earlier. 'Maybe they are on our side after all...' Once Cpt. Kiselev felt they had gotten close enough. He pressed his throat mic. "Okay, Dimitri, stop here," he ordered, this time making sure to brace himself as the BMP lurched slightly before stopping completely. Once he was sure they weren't moving, he carefully lifted himself from the turret before dismounting off the side. He landed on the dirt road before walking up to the group of ponies. "Long live Russia! URA, URA, URRAAA!" they cheered as he and his men got closer before slowly walking up to them. As they got closer, he could see several had tears flowing from their eyes, while others looked upon them with hope or longing. "Come Comrades, let us celebrate the rebirth of our nation!" Cpt. Kiselev, try as he might, could not help but feel something within him begin to stir, and while he couldn't put his finger on it. He allowed a slight smile to grace his features as he turned to face his men. "Comrades! While we may not understand what has happened to our glorious motherland, let us celebrate its return!" he yelled before turning to the ponies and gesturing for his men to follow. "Company, Form up in two columns!" he bellowed as his soldiers nervously, though quickly, formed up in two lines to his right, a good few paces from the ponies. "Company, to the front, MARCH!" with that, they all began marching into the town. As they did, the ponies moved to give the soldiers space as they cheered while several mares threw flowers at them. 'This was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one,' Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk, New Stalliongrad 0730 'This can not be happening!' Gold Dust could only gawk at what she was seeing as she stared out the window as her neighbours tore up the Equestrian flag. She quickly turned and rushed down the hall, her hooves creaking on the wooden floor, as she turned and opened one of the doors. Inside was what appeared to be a nursery, with two cribs inside. She walked over and carefully reached into one and pulled out a waking grey pegasus colt with a lighter grey mane. "Ooh?" sounded the colt in confusion as Gold carefully placed him on her back. "Shh, it's okay, mama's got you," she said as she turned and reached into the other crib as she used her wings to keep the colt occupied. Inside the other was a cyan unicorn filly with a golden-grey mane. As soon as the filly was touched, her eyes shot open, and she began to cry. "No, no, shh, we have to be quiet, Star," she whispered in a futile attempt to keep her quiet. Then, just as it seemed things couldn't get any worse, the colt began crying as well. "No, we-" the colt then pulled out one of her feathers as he continued to thrash in response to his sister's panic. "Ow! No! Stop. Swift Saber, you stop that right-" "High the tri-colour banner is waving, March is thundering over the ranks," At that moment, her ears perked up as she heard a faint sound coming from outside. She was so confused that she hadn't noticed that both of her foals had also stopped to listen. She put Star on her back and proceeded to make her way to her room. 'What is that?' As she entered her room, it only seemed to grow louder. "In a thin haze, the columns are fading, In the morning, the battle awaits." Gold Dust had quietly snuck over to her window cill and peeked out. She had to hold in a gasp as she beheld the impossible scene below her. In place of the Equestrian flag now stood a tri-coloured flag of white, blue, and red. Below that stood a large group of ponies who stood in a circle around a young, white earth pony mare with a black and white mane. 'Is that, Shade Maker?' "Soldiers' Mothers and wives, darling sisters, Left in sorrows will never forget, How the regiments marched toward sinister, Distant glow of the purple sunset." She once again was forced to hold in a gasp. 'She's the one who's singing!?' As she stared, she noticed something off to her left, and when Gold saw them, she could not believe it. "Are those humans!?" It was only when they all turned towards her that she had realized what she had done. 'Uh-oh,' She saw the crowd begin to advance towards her house. "I think that's my signal to go," she quickly turned, went down the stairs with her fouls in her mouth before putting them in their previous position. She then grabbed a pair of saddlebags, stuffed them full of food and water, and was about to make a run for it. When her door was kicked open, and one of the now armed humans approached her. Had she been thinking clearly, she could have tried to go some other way. However, her maternal instinct had reminded her to put her foals before herself. So, she sat in shock as the human struck her with the butt of his weapon. "Come, Comrades! Let's make sure there are no others!" he yelled as her vision faded to black. Author's Note Part two should be coming soon.
The Ozyokovo Outskirts (Edited)Dec 9th, 2042 Maresk Fortress, Maresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 0800 Lt. Cold Steel tried to keep himself from shivering, his breath fogging as he breathed. To his sides and rear stood the entirety of the 21st Guards' Regiment, 2,500 ponies, all trying to stand perfectly still with their eyes fixed forward. They had been standing for fifteen minutes when Colonel Long Pike appeared from one of the entrances to the courtyard and stepped up to a stage made of wooden crates. "My fellow Guardsponies!" he began. "Today, we once more march to cleanse this land of disharmony! Today, we will show these heathens the true power of Celestia's light! To victory!" "TO VICTORY!" cheered the guards, feeling reinvigorated by his speech. "Now," began Col. Long Pike as he pulled out a map board. "We have been informed by our scouts that the humans have moved to occupy the towns and villages closest to the anomalies we located the other day," he said as he pointed to the map with his wing. "However, most of their local forces are advancing toward Maresk to the west. So we have been ordered to attack their flank from the north," he said, making a sweeping gesture. "But, Sir, why not stay in the fort? Surely our walls and shields can hold out?" asked a captain in the front rank. In response, Col. Long Pike gave a cold chuckle. "Oh, sure, it would hold...until we all starve to death!" he shouted before turning to the officers and stomping his hoof. "You see, if we defend, the enemy will have the initiative. And if they take Maresk, we'll be cut off from any hope of resupply. That is why high command wants us to attempt a break-out and link up with all our forces in the local area. Am I understood!?" "SIR, YES, SIR!" came the reply. Long Pike then used his wings to fly over the gathered soldiers. "Good, then let's get this show on the road! For Equestria!" Dec 9th, 2042 FillykovoMaresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 930 Even though he had been forced to march through the unforgiving taiga, Lt. Cold Steel couldn't help but feel warmed by the Colonel's speech. And, as the 21st had been joined by the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 252nd Guards' regiment. (a further 1225 guardponies) Along with a small group of unicorn mages from the Maresk academy of magic, he could not help but feel confident in victory. But then, a look of realization crossed his face as his heart felt as though it would give. 'Wait...didn't he say that all the villages closest to the anomalies were... No...NO NO NO- "Hey, are you alright, Sir?" "Wha-" he shook himself from his stupor as he turned to find one of his sergeants behind him with a look of concern. "What?" "You spaced out for a second, Sir. Are you alright?" Lt. Steel coughed into his hoof before turning and continuing the march, with the echo of his company not far behind. "I'm fine. Just, fine- What the- Oof!" BANG! he felt himself get thrown to the ground as he felt a warm liquid run down his back. "Wha-" he turned to see the Sargeant lean forward as blood ran from his mouth and the hole in his head. Knowing what was coming, Lt. Steel instinctively rolled to the side to avoid the body as it fell to the ground, painting the snow with its blood. As all of this was going on, the only thing he could hear was distant shouting, followed by more gunfire. He wanted to run, to see his family, but all he could do was stare into the lifeless eyes of the Sargeant as all of his years of training flew out the window. For the first time in recent memory, he had lost all his composure. He thrashed around as he watched a group of five humans retreating from the woods ahead as several pegasi shot after them. As he watched, he could feel nothing short of pure rage within his core as he charged up his horn. Then, with careful aim, he fired his spell. WHOOSH! It hit one of them, causing the human to fall as a gaping hole formed in his chest. "FOR EQUESTRIA!" he shouted as he used magic to draw his sword. He turned to his company, which, just moments before, had been as panicked as he was. But, now that he was back, his company took courage and did as ordered, following him as they charged the woods. Unfortunately, they had been caught in a march column and were not spread out enough to cover the entire wood. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo, Omsk, Russia 935 After Alpha company had captured Ozyokovo, Lt. Nikolai Bogdanov and his razvedka (scouts) platoon had been ordered to occupy the woods to the north of the village. Luckily he had, as a large enemy force had been marching down the road, presumably coming from the fortress he had been notified was to the north-east of the village. So, as he sat in his BTR-60PB, he could hear the gunfire from up ahead. "Forward driver, let's get in there!"he ordered on his throat mic as he readied his 14.5mm KPVT machinegun mounted in the turret. "Affirmative!" replied the driver as the vehicle swiftly rumbled towards the enemy. As Nikolai looked through his periscope just in time to spot a large force of armoured ponies chasing off the three squads he had deployed to ambush them. "FOR THE MOTHERLAND!"Lt. Bogdanov yelled as he opened fire, hitting one that had just cut down one of his soldiers with a floating sword. Dec 9th, 2042 FillykovoMaresk, New Stalliongrad, Greater Equestria 935 "CHARGE!" shouted Cold Steel as he fired another spell into the fleeing humans. (now numbering 16, since others had also gotten up as they got closer) "GIVE EM' HECK, BOYS!" he continued to lead his guards forward, not even bothering to listen as a barely audible rumble came closer. Then, suddenly, a metal beast appeared through the brush and pines, followed by two others. However, Cold Steel could not care less as he continued his charge. He was so close that he swung his arming sword and struck a human in the back. "COME ON, FORWARD-" RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT he was cut short as he turned to see his guards cut down before his eyes. He turned to see that the fire came from the metal beasts, and so shocked was Lt. Steel that he didn't even notice as he was thrown to the ground before losing consciousness. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo, Omsk, Russia 940 After the BTRs showed up, it only took roughly fifteen seconds for the ponies to retreat after the BTRs cut a swath through their ranks. Now, Sgt. Filipp Egorov and what remained of his squad (5 out of the original 7) Stood inspecting the dead and wounded. "Hey, what's that?" asked one of his men: Pvt. Vladimir Kuzmin. As he pointed at a pony wearing an ornate suit of silver armour. "Looks like an officer of some kind," Sgt. Egorov replied as he stepped up to the body. He moved the pony off before flipping the human body that it had fallen on top of. "Poor Shasha. He survived so much. Only to fall to this," he said in an empty tone as he picked up the blood-stained straight sword. Meanwhile, Pvt. Kuzmin had been bent over the unicorn, checking for anything of value, When he spotted a puff of steam exit his muzzle. "Uh, Comrade Sargeant?" He dropped the sword before turning to face him. "What is it?" he asked sharply. "I-I think this pony is still alive," he said in a nervous tone as Sgt. Egorov prepared to pull out his pistol. "Wait, shouldn't we take him back alive!?" Sgt. Egorov stared at him with nothing but anger as his hand shook over his holster. "Why should we! This- These ponies stole our motherland!" he began as he quickly pulled out his pistol and aimed it directly between his eyes. "They killed our friends, wiped out our nation! So why should he not pay for what they've done!" he had tears forming at the edge of his eyes as he put his finger on the trigger. "And you don't think I feel the same way!?" yelled Pvt. Kuzmin as Sgt. Egorov shook himself from his enraged state. "Look, Comrade, if we bring him back alive, he might have some valuable information," Sgt. Egorov cocked a brow as he continued to hold his pistol over the pony's head. "And if it doesn't?" "I'll shoot it myself," Sgt. Egorov seeing the determination in the Private's eyes nodded before holstering his Makarov. "Alright, Vlad... You bring him back," he bent down and picked up Shasha's SVD and the bloodied sword before turning and walking towards one of the BTRs. Author's Note Please, tell me what you think
Lest We Forget: Part 2Dec 9th, 1978 Yazov's Bunker, Omsk, Russia 0940 As Grand Marshal Dimitry Yazov sat listening to the various proposals of the Generals' staff with interest, he couldn't help but feel sorrow. As he knew that yet another Great Trial was ahead of him, he also felt his heart stir with anger and hatred as his forces spread out into the countryside. Which further confirmed that what the Lieutenant had said concerning the young colt was true: These ponies had indeed turned his people into more of themselves. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to eliminate these ponies from the face of the earth. His troops were still redeploying from the bunkers, which meant they would have supply problems for at least the first few days. Worse still, he had also heard reports of the ponies mobilizing their local forces to slow down or even break the advance, which would slow progress even further as his commanders had to move units to intercept. They also had to do this while lacking air support, as they had to move the entire airforce from the bunkers with all their logistics, which could take days, if not weeks. "Comrade Yazov, are you alright?" asked one of the generals who Yazov recognized as Maj-Gen. Leonid Sergeev. In response, Yazov quickly shook himself from his inward contemplation. "Yes, I'm fine. Now, let us continue," he said as he gestured for them to continue. Sergeev coughed into his sleeve before turning to the others, who nodded for him to continue. "So, as I was saying, my troops are still deploying, but I have the forward elements of the 150th Gds. Motor Rifle Regt. Occupying the village of Ozyokovo to ensure our attack on Omsk is secure," he explained as he pointed to an empty spot on the map. Yazov scratched his chin as he tried to recall if he had heard that name before. When he realized he did not, he turned to his commanders. "Excuse me, Comrade General, but is that a new village?" In response, the Major-General nodded in affirmation. "Indeed, it is quite small and appears to be populated by older ponies," he replied. "Thankfully, we took the village with no resistance early this morning, as the populace welcomed our troops," At this, Yazov, and the others, nearly lost all composure as they sharply turned to Maj-Gen. Sergeev with wide eyes. "What do you mean? I thought they hated us!" shouted Lt-Gen. Sergei Mikhailov as he stared at him in shock. Sergeev turned to the man in response. "I thought so too, but they just let us in. Hell, they even threw a parade for us, not to mention speaking Russian," he explained. In response, Yazov, with the rest of the general's staff, seemed to contemplate their next move based on this information before the others turned to him, wordlessly asking him what they should do. "This is a most...unexpected outcome. However, I think it best to leave them, at least for the moment," he responded, with the others nodding in agreement. "Now, how long do you predict it will take to assemble enough forces to liberate Omsk?" In response, General Dimitri Petrenko, commander of the 1st Army Group, turned to Yazov. "The 1st Army Group should be ready by the end of the day, Grand Marshal, as our troops are deploying from every exit in the complex," "Very good, Gen. Petrenko," replied Yazov as he stood up. "Now, I leave it to you, Comrades. I have a speech to plan," the others stood up, and Yazov exchanged a salute before turning and marching out of the room. Dec 9th, 2042 Ozyokovo Village, Omsk Oblast, Russia 0950 In the aftermath of the morning's events, Clay Cracker couldn't think of a moment in his life when he felt so powerless, aside from the last time he saw his parents. After about an hour of waiting, the musty smell was starting to irritate him, but after the human's arrived, his Grandpa commanded him to stay in the attic while they talked with them, and while he could still hear their voices, he didn't understand a word. Either way, he was afraid. After all, his whole life, his teachers, friends, and even his Grandpa had warned him of the evils of humanity, yet, after the speech the other day, the pony he thought least likely to want the humanities return had suddenly switched sides. Then, he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of heavy steps hitting the wood floor, and then, without warning, the attic entrance opened. As if on instinct, he slowly began backing away from it as a tall human, wearing a plain khaki uniform, slowly came up the ladder. However, instead of coming up, he stayed put on the ladder with just his head and shoulders poking above the floor, regarding him with a pair of icy blue eyes peeking out from his oily brown hair. Then, he turned to look back down the ladder before looking back at him. "You, come," he said with a thick accent before gesturing him to follow before descending back down the ladder. Clay mentally paused for a moment, weighing his options: On the one hoof, if he stayed put, he would likely get himself in trouble, so he did as the man instructed and followed after him. When Clay came down, he was surprised to find at least six humans loitering around in the living room, eating freshly baked bread; Clay could tell as soon as the attic opened that his Grandpa had been baking as the aroma always filled the house. Speaking of the stallion, he could see him chatting with the same man who had come up to get him on the couch near the burning fireplace. "Ah, there you are, Clay. I hope Captain Kiselev didn't scare you too much?" said Breaker, or his other name, which he had forgotten. In response, Clay turned to man, then to his Grandfather. "Uh, I mean, I'm not scared. But I don't understand. What's going on?" he replied. The man chuckled before standing up and looking down at him. "Well, Comrade, I was hoping you and your Grandfather could answer me the same thing," he said before turning to Breaker, asking him something in that strange tongue that he couldn't understand. "No, he does not speak Russian," replied his Grandpa. "But, he was born after the end of the last war, so it's hardly surprising," The man seemed to ponder this before nodding to himself. "I see... Can you teach him?" he asked the stallion, whose eyes went wide as though he hadn't considered it, but he nodded vigorously. "Very good, you make Marshal Yazov proud," he said as the stallion stared at him in confusion. "Wait, who?" asked Breaker as Clay continued to listen. After all, if he could understand them, then all was well. In response, the Captain looked at Breaker with a cocked brow. "Don't you know? I'm talking about Grand Marshal Yazov, the liberator of Russia-" Breaker cut him off with a chuckle. "What? You mean with his attempt to overthrow Gorbachev?" he asked as the Captain shook his head in annoyance. "Who is this Gorbachev? I have never heard that name," he replied as he appeared to think before turning back to him. "How do you not know him? He was the last General Secretary of the USSR!" shouted Breaker as the Captain, and the others' eyes went wide in shock. "How the hell is that possible!? The USSR dissolved in 1942!" he shouted as Clay slowly began to back away. Soon enough, they were all erupting in angered tones as they bellowed back and forth in Russian. However, this abruptly ended when a man threw open the front door. Dec 9th, 1978 Ozyokovo Village, Omsk Oblast, Russia 1001 As Sargent Major Sergei Eremeev opened the door, he was confused to find Cpt. Kiselev and the others looked at him as though he had interrupted something important. "Uh, Commander, LT. Bogdanov has returned, and he requested to see you," he said as the Captain shot up from the couch, put on his greatcoat and took his ushanka. "Alright, let's see what he has to say," replied the Captain as he turned to regard the stallion still seated on the couch. "But when I'm back, I wish to hear the rest of what you have to say," Author's Note Sorry for the long wait. It took me a while to feel passionate about this story again, but you can expect it to continue now that I'm back.
