Author's Note

This will jump around a little bit.

Guns and Pines

April 19th
North of the Traat River, Kingdom of North Zebrica

The rain had turned the roads into little more than shallow rivers of mud. Isra's boots were filled with frigid brown water as she marched alongside a tall armored car. She was now fully dressed in a proper olive uniform and cap with a short bolt action rifle at her shoulder. She was weary, her eyes barely open as she marched mechanically with her comrades, who were all in a similar state. The memories of the previous days still lingered in her mind.

For three days they had marched, and for all of them, they had been stalked by the invaders. Planes flew over them at great heights, their existence only known by the loud roar of their props and the great rush of their odd jet engines. The clouds had rendered them invisible, it was as if ghosts were watching them on their march. Carefully monitoring their every move, noting every step they took. They had finally been found, the invaders had met them in the forest of Equestrian pine trees.

There was a distant drumming of machine gun fire as she marched, it mixed with the thunderous applause of the rain to create a hellish roar all around them. Isra and her comrades, along with the armored car, were moving south along one of the many muddy roads cutting through the forest. She understood little of what they were actually doing, she was not a soldier so it was unsurprising, really. All she knew was to follow the orders of her superior officers, who just so happen to be in the armored car.

Isra was jolted from her thoughts when shouts came, there were men ahead of them. Isra gazed down the road as soldiers charged into the road from the west, accompanying them was a tank. She had heard rumors of growling beasts and their monstrous guns that far outgunned anything they had, but she had never seen one. The tank rattled through the water, its engine belching black smoke as it crawled along and blocked their path.

Isra and her fellow troops moved away from the car as the supporting Confederate infantry opened fire. She slipped and fell into the ankle-deep water. Isra looked up, spitting and sputtering as she did, and just in time to see the tank's beast of gunfire its titanic shell. In an instant, the armored car that had been firing upon the tank with its .303 machine gun was gone. In a storm of fire and sparks, the car turned to nothing but a twisted hunk of white-hot steel.

The subsequent shockwave from the explosion threw Isra from the road and into a ditch alongside. It had been rendered invisible by the tall floodwaters. She fell into the deep brown water, inhaling a huge gulp of mud and water. She kicked and flailed against the water and weight of her kit. Isra had never learned to swim, the very idea elicited terrible thoughts in her mind. These ideas were made more prominent by the situation as she sunk into the deep ditch.

Darkness crept in on the edges of her vision, which was already darkened by the brown water that stung her eyes. She hit the soggy bottom of the ditch, just as her vision had nearly faded. Then, like a jolt of electricity, her mind came back to her, she felt along the bottom, moving in whatever direction she thought the road was. She crawled along until the sharp incline of the roadside was finally found. She pulled herself up against the weight of her rifle and ammo pouches until the gray cloudy sky she could see.

Isra painfully hacked and cough up liters of water before finally taking notice of the chaos around her. The giant tank rolled down the road, its support fired upon her remaining comrades. That sense Isra had three days ago took over and she took her soaking wet rifle and began firing with other comrades. Like an automaton she racked the bolt back and chambered a round, firing it at a soldier and striking him in the chest. He fell down in a heap, the shot had managed to puncture his plates and kill him.

She racked another round and aimed it at another soldier putting a shot in his shoulder. She racked the bolt and fired at a third soldier, putting a shot in his chest and knocking him back. She had hit the plate, merely knocking the wind and a good bit of vomit out of him. The remaining troops had taken notice of her now. One of the men shouted at the gunner atop the tank, who was manning a light machine gun.

He turned his gun toward Isra, opening fire on her. She quickly dropped into the water, waddling along on bended knees until she reached a pine tree several yards from the road and got behind it. Shots zipped by Isra, thwacking nearby trees, she turned around and leaned out from her cover, firing a round. The bullet struck the turret of the tank with a pang, Isra racked the bolt and fired again, still missing the gunner.

"Damnit," She muttered, she racked the bolt again, only to find her gun empty. The bullets roared around her, causing her to hide yet again. With her hand shaking from adrenaline, she pulled a five-round strip clip from her new army issue bandolier and fed them into the magazine, closing the bolt. She ducked into the thigh-deep water and began crawling away from the road, concealing herself in the water as best she could.

The shots splashed around her as she retreated into the forest. Even they stopped and the gunfire was just as distant as before. She continued her crawl for some time before finally feeling safe enough to stand. Isra looked all around, taking in her surroundings, there was nothing but Equestrian pines all around. The gunfire behind her had grown silent, whether it was the distance or that her comrades were dead she did not know.

Isra moved along forward, hoping to either find more of her comrades or at least another road. She was slow and careful with each step, feeling for holes or weak spots with everyone. She kept on like this for quite some time until she heard something. It was splashing as if someone or something was running toward her through the thigh-deep water. Isra readied her rifle, raising it in defense.

She turned just as the splashing got to her and was surprised to find another soldier in a matching uniform. She glared at him curiously as he fell before her, holding his hands up in a poor attempt to shield himself from her rifle.

“What in Tartarus are you doing here?” Isra asked angrily, lowering her rifle. “Who are you?”

"I-I," He began breathlessly, coming to his feet. "I am Private Hamas Bennouna of the 12th Infantry Division,"

"So you're with the regular army then," Isra responded in her young voice.

"Are you not?" Hamas asked.

"I'm a... I'm a volunteer," Isra's adrenaline rush was wearing off now, she was returning to the same tired state from before her initial engagement. She leaned against a nearby tree, letting her rifle rest in the water. "Wh-where did you come from?" She breathlessly asked.

"You shouldn't rest your rifle in the water like that, and I came from the fourth battalion... Our commander called a retreat and I got lost in the mess," Hamas turned and pointed away from them. "There's a road... To the east of here... We can follow it to Colonel Khara. She's got her base south of here," Hamas started off east, Isra following closely behind him. They trudged on through the cold water for close to an hour before they finally reached the road.

It appeared as a long cutaway from the trees where light from the clouded sky was most intense. With it came the sound of engines, dozens of them to be exact. Hamas stopped Isra before they could reach the road.

"There are trucks," He said before holding his finger up, singling her to be quiet. He got down and started to crawl through the water, Isra following suit. The two reached the road, keeping low with their heads just above the water. They looked north to where the engines were coming from and found the shocking sight of Confederate vehicles. Two trucks blocked the road going north and sever men waved flags around guiding half-track ammo and troop carriers.

Among them were the tremendous 75mm self-propelled guns and specialized trucks carrying 40mm anti-air guns. They were being guided down a road turning east through the forest.

"They're gonna bombard the eastern flank," Hamas exclaimed in hushed horror. "We need to find Colonel Khara," Hamas started south, crawling through the water with Isra following suit. They did this for some distance until they were surely out of sight of the invaders. Once they were sure of this, they got back on the road and started down the path at a steady gait. They ran and ran stopping only when the thunder of two helicopters overtook them.

They passed low over the trees going northeast, paying them no mind. Isra noted the strange pods hanging from their sides.

"They call them attack helicopters," Hamas said. "They have rockets and more guns than regular helicopters... They're horrible weapons... Let's go!" The two kept going.

"How do you know this?" Isra asked Hamas as they ran.

"Because they attacked us before our retreat, they killed scores of our men!" Hamas answered. The two continued their run until they met two soldiers on horseback riding along the road. The two told the men of their mission and climbed upon their horses, galloping south until they reached camp. Isra and Hamas climbed down from the horses and dashed through the winding maze of white canvas tents until they reached the largest of them at the center of the camp.

Standing in this tent at a table looking over a map of the forest was Colonel Nyla Khara of the 12th Division. She was a seasoned leader and one who was more deserving of her position than many others. She turned to face the two soldiers, giving them a visual of the horrible bayonet scar across her closed eye that marked her aging face.

"What do you want?" She asked in her calm and harsh voice.

"...Colonel..." Hamas began as he wheezed. "The... The Confederates are going to bomb..."

"Calm down, soldier, who are you?" Khara asked.

"I... Am Private Hamas Bennouna of the Fourth Battalion... We have spotted artillery to the northeast,"

"Very well, Private..." Khara responded. "Very well..."

April 19th
Kharak Airfield, Kingdom of North Zebrica

Kharak Airfield was a hastily assembled dirt landing strip surrounded by tents and housing more than a hundred fighters and dive bombers. It was boring being a pilot there, it seemed there was nothing going on south of the Traat River and even the stuff in the north had not been a call to action. Here was found Saira Saoudi, a dive bomber pilot in the Zebrican Air Force, and a rather brash individual.

She was at a table inside one of the long tents at the field sitting at a wooden cable spool being used for a table. A cigarette hung out of her mouth as she sat neck-deep in a game of poker. She looked down at her hand it was straight from ten to six, surely a winner. A devious grin formed on her face as she stared at the only player left in the game. It was an Equestrian-born pilot by the name of Skyward Bound, a well-trained captain, and a gambling addict.

The gray handlebar mustache on his forest green face concealed the emotionless grimace it held. Saira let out a sly chuckle and pushed the stack of chips next to her forward.

“All in,” She said with a sure grin.

“Saira!” A voice called out from nearby, making the young pilot jump in surprise. Saira turned to see her sister, Sanae. Despite their relationship, the two couldn’t be different from one another. Saira sported long gray hair that looked odd compared to her sister’s equally long chestnut brown hair. Saira was the taller of the two, being the oldest, and was pretty well built compared to her sister.

“Hey there sis, how’s it goin’?” Saira asked just as casually as ever.

“What are you doing here?” Sanae asked enraged at her older sister.

“What does it look like? I’m beating Captain Bound’s ass at poker,” Sanae looked at the old man who was puffing on a black opium pipe.

“If ya don’t mind, Airman Saoudi, we’re in the midst of a game here,” Captain Bound said in his harsh southern Equestrian accent. Sanae grumbled and stepped back, allowing them to finish the game. “Ah reckon ah’ll go all in too,” Bound said slyly, sliding his chips forward.

“Try and beat that!” Saira exclaimed slamming her hand down on the spool. Bound looked at her cards and began a hearty and triumphant laugh.

“Take a look at this,” he said victoriously as he lay a full house down before her. Saira slammed her fist down on the table, nearly knocking over the stacks of chips before.

“Damnit,” she muttered viciously, turning away from the laughing man in defeat. Upon turning she was met with the absolutely furious eyes of her sister. Minutes later they were outside, walking among the tents of the airfield. Saira strolled along with annoyance across her face as her sister scolded her for the millionth time.

“How many times are you gonna do this?” Sanae cried furiously. “You can’t just keep wasting your money like this on gambling and cigarettes!” She plucked the cigarette from Saira’s mouth. “You know these things are bad for you, right?” She dropped it and stomped on it with her boot.

“What’s the big deal?” Saira asked, pulling another cigarette from her pack and sparking it with a match.

“The big deal is you’re gonna get yourself in a mess you can’t wiggle your way out of,” Sanae “have you forgotten that the reason you’re even in the military is that it was either this or prison? Mother and father might have tolerated your shenanigans, but the government will not!”

“Whatever, I wish you’d stop being such a prude,” Saira chuckled.

“Mark my words, your brashness is gonna get you killed someday,” Sanae replied with hot rage.

“If you do your job as gunner it won’t,” Saira said with her usual sly grin. Sanae and Saira had joined the Air Force at the same time, Saira to avoid jail time and Sanae to monitor her sister. This somehow ended with them being part of the same team in a Manehattan Air Works Model 5 Dive Bomber. The two of them were shaken from their argument by the shrill moan of an air raid siren. The two of them immediately began running toward the center of the base, expecting an air attack.

They met up with a fellow pilot, who was also running in the same direction.

"What's going on?!" Saira asked the pilot, who was smiling as he ran.

"The colonel called on us!" He shouted back with excitement. "We're finally getting to attack the damned invaders!" Saira's face lit up, for the few days they had been sitting there they had not once been called to action. Now, Saira would finally have a real reason for being there. They found their plane, the ugly single-engine bomber with its wings just below the cockpit and its long canopy sporting a pan-fed machine gun.

The two sisters got into their positions whilst the three bombers were being loaded to the plane's belly and the two .303 nose guns were loaded. They started their plane, taxiing down the runway among other bombers and fighters. Before long they were airborne and pushing north toward the river.

"So what's goin' on here?" Saira asked through her breathing mask.

"Colonel Khara asked for us," Captain Bound answered from his fighter through the com system. "She needs us to destroy artillery set up to destroy their eastern flank.

"How are we gonna know where it is?" Another pilot asked.

"Will know, trust me, we'll know," They flew for nearly an hour before finally reaching the pine forest where this battle was taking place. The expansive field of tall pines lay out before them with planes and helicopters prowling over it like hawks searching for their meal. Luckily, they all seemed to be slow attack planes much like Saira and her sister.

"No fighters here," Saira said, switching her radio to her plane's shared system.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Sanae replied. “Just don’t do anything stupid and we’ll be fine,”

“No promises,” Saira started laughing, drowning out the annoyed groan of her sister. They flew for some minutes before finally spotting their target. Among the smoke and rain was a massive cutout in the forest where more than a dozen self-propelled guns were parked in a long line pointing southwest.

“There they are, watch yourselves now,” Bound called through the radio. “We’ll keep watch while the bombers do the work,”

“He doesn’t have to tell me,” Saira told her sister, still speaking through the crew system. She and three other bombers turned away from the opening and pulled up high. They went until they were almost touching the clouds before banking left and turned down. Saira led the dive, pointing the nose of her plane straight down at a single artillery piece. As she continued her dive, 40mm anti-air guns started firing all around her.

Luckily for her, the scared-to-death gunners were having trouble finding their target.

“Bombs away!” She loudly proclaimed as she released the first bomb before yanking her control stick up with mere yards between her and the ground. As her plane shot up She could see the flash of her strike behind her. “Bullseye!” She reorientated her plane for another dive, aiming for one of the half-track ammunition carriages. Saira let another bomb loose, lighting the truck up like a torch.

She continued low, strafing the fleeing artillerymen with her plane’s machine guns. She yanked the plane up at the tree line and began putting her plane up for another dive. Then it happened, a roaring explosion cut the air as a nearby bomber was blown to pieces.

“What in Tartarus was that?!” A fellow pilot cried over the radio. Saira switched her radio to communicate with the other pilots.

“I don’t know!” Bound called through the radio. “It must be a… Dear sis-“ his radio cut out and another explosion sounded from nearby, Bound’s plane was gone. Just as it happened, Saira spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Off in the distance, we’re four thin trails of smoke. Saira's eyes widened as she spotted what was making them.

"Fighters!" A pilot frantically shouted. "Move!" Saira kept her plane level, watching intently as they hooked around and pointed right at her. There were two of them, armed with rockets and painted navy blue. They had no props, but rather two imposing air intakes on either side of the cockpit to support their mysterious jet engines. They neared her at impossible speeds. Quickly she dropped the plane, just in time for her to avoid the hailstorm of shot bursting from their cannons.

The arrow-shaped fighters roared over her plane, shaking it as they did. Sanae aimed her machine gun at the jets, firing off a quick burst of shots to no avail. They came back around, one firing off a missile at Saira’s plane. She quickly.

“Saira! Turn!” Her sister cried, Saira, banked left narrowly avoiding the missile which exploded in the distance. One shot another missile, striking a bomber, turning it into a ball of flame that fell into the forest. The other struck a fighter attempting to intercept it with its cannon, shredding it to bits. Saira turned and dove to avoid the chaos as best she could, her sister firing shots at the planes as best she could.

How is this possible? Saira thought to herself as she continued her evasive moves. Two fighters against more than a dozen should be an easy victory.

"Saira!" She was taken from her thoughts by her sister yet again. She turned and peered behind her, rising from the forest was a twin-engine attack plane. The beast was at least twice the size of her plane and carried more ordinance under its wings than she could imagine. It rose behind the plane like a slow dragon, Saira pushed the throttle forward to get away. Her plane picked up speed, roaring back south as the plane pursued her.

"Drop the bomb!" Sanae shouted as she began shooting at the plane. Saira released her plane's final bomb, letting it fall into the forest with a boom. The plane picked up speed with the slow jet still gaining on it. "Damnit... My guns jammed! Saira bank!" Sanae called, but it was too late. The massive rotary cannon in its nose erupted with a shower of sparks and a line of tracers. Joining the cannon were four heavy machine guns in dual weapon pods on either side.

Saira's plane was ripped to shreds, the flaps and ailerons were torn from the wings, and the tail fins were riddled with bullets to such a degree they fell away.

"Sanae?! Sanae?!" Saira called, unhooking her straps.

"I... I'm stuck, Saira!" Sanae answered. "Help me!" Saira peered behind her and then ahead, the plane was going down, and there was nothing she could do. "Saira...! Saira...! Please...! I've been shot!" Her controls were useless, her wings were practically gone, and the fire was overtaking the whole craft. "Saira...?! Saira, help me!" Saira did not respond to her pleas. "Saira!" Saira pulled herself out of the plane, jumping from the burning plane.

Saira pulled the cord on her emergency chute and watched as the fireball that was her plane fell to the earth below. It hit the forest with a fiery flash. Saira stared at the pillar of black smoke that took to the sky as she slowly drifted to the water-logged forest floor. Her chute snagged in the branches of a pine tree, stopping her hard. Saira unhooked her chute and fell into the deep water below. As she stood up she saw the two fighters zoom past overhead, the attack plane close behind.

She was also met with another sound, it was the sound of a war song being chanted by soldiers, Zebrican soldiers. Trudging through the water were olive-dressed soldiers with rifles in their hands. Some carried the blue, red, and black falcon-marked banner of North Zebrica. They had bayonets fixed as they walked, paying her no mind as they passed her by.

So Saira simply leaned against a tree and began to cry.

April 19th
Fort Ironside, Kingdom of North Zebrica

"Marshal Clemson," Clemson looked up and turned to face the voice, standing at the door of the hastily assembled tent church was Field Marshal Sunset Shimmer.

"Marshal Shimmer," Clemson responded with a smile. "It's good to see you, I haven't seen you since breakfast. Please, come sit," Sunset walked along the dirt floor and over to Clemson's spat just before a small pulpit. She took her seat next to Clemson, looking at the statue behind the pulpit. It was small, maybe half her height, and made from wood. It was in the shape of a cross with a near-nude man in a thorny crown hanging from it.

"Good evening, Marshal, we missed you at lunch and at the last meeting,"

"Yes, I'm sorry for my absence... I was busy,"

"It don't matter to me, you're just here to watch us, not take command," Clemson chuckled.

"I was looking for you, General Everett told me you were here... So... Is that Jesus?" The crucifix before them was rather unnerving to her.

"Yes, Marshal... He made the greatest sacrifice anyone could ever make..." Clemson looked down at his folded hands. "I came here to pray after I heard that the Zebricans pushed us out of the Pine Forest. Then after we figured out a way to counter it I returned... It doesn't help to get some divine help for these things," He smiled warmly before turning and looking at the thin canvas skin of the tent. The dull orange of the setting sun was passing through the outside, but it was still horribly dim.

"Let's go back to the command center," Clemson pulled himself up with the pew before him and grabbed his cane. "I'll fill you in on our retaliation strategy," The two left that sanctuary tent and made their way back to the command center at the fort's center. "Alright men," Clemson began as he stepped into the tent, causing the officers inside to snap to attention with salutes. Clemson gave a quick salute. "At ease," He said, and they all finished their salutes.

"We're gonna tell Marshal Shimmer how we're gonna take that forest back," Clemson turned to Sunset. "Tell me, Marshal, have you ever heard of a substance by the name of Napalm?"

"No sir, I'm afraid I haven't," Sunset answered.

"Well, Marshal, It's a petroleum-based gel. The best description I can give is gasoline jelly," Clemson went over to the table. "We load it in long metal tanks and strap 'em to the bottoms of planes. Usually, we do this to Mk6 Bloodhounds, they're single-engine attack planes that can haul three of 'em at once along with fuel and munitions," Clemson seemed rather proud that his military had those planes among their air force.

"And what do you plan to do with this napalm, sir?"

"I'm glad you asked, Marshal," He pointed at a map on the table showing the massive pine forest. "When napalm is dropped it lights up forests like torches. It's damn near impossible to put out and with enough, you can burn a forest to the ground," He turned to Sunset with a sinister grin on his face. "We're gonna burn 'em out like beavers... Then we'll push 'em to the river. Once we have the river and have pushed the forces in the east south of the river, we'll take the city,"

He looked to General Everett. "Are they ready?"

"Yes sir, the Mighty Bees are fueled and loaded," Everett answered with a grin.

"Good," Clemson turned to Shimmer. "I hope to see you at suppertime, Marshal. In the meantime, I'll be watching the takeoff,"

April 19th
North of the Traat River, Kingdom of North Zebrica

The night was dark, the waters were cold, and Isra was tired. She knelt in formation alongside a dozen of her comrades under the now clear star-filled sky. It had been a long day, the fighting had gone on for hours and the final charge had left even the most seasoned among them weary. They were going to be there for some time, they had to wait for the river to lower so that artillery could finally be brought across. Then, they would finally start pushing the invaders back.

Isra wanted to sleep, she could think of nothing better than sleep, on the ground or a cot, it did not matter. Her rifle, though fairly light, was still heavy in her arms. Her eyelids grew heavy as she sat there among her equally tired comrades. But they stayed awake, doing their duty for the kingdom. Still, Isra was nearing sleep, she was just about to close her eyes when she caught a familiar drone.

It was the humming of a plane's engine, no, it was multiple. Isra's eyes widened in terror, she recognized the engines clear as day. That familiar roaring drone brought to mind images from days prior, it was those attack planes.

"We need to retreat," She whispered to a closeby soldier. Before they could respond the planes were on top of them, shaking the ground with their monstrous roar and blotting out the stars with their wings. Then there was fire, explosive fires broke out all around them, the flames twirling and flicking as if in a cruel dance. They came from nowhere as if they had erupted from the ground. Isra and her comrades wasted no time, jumping up and running down the road south as fires erupted around them.