Equestria: World War II (1939-1941)

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It was almost 4:00pm in Canterlot, which meant it was almost 5:30pm in London. Celestia and Luna were sitting in front of the TV set once more, getting ready to see Winston Churchill's address to his country about the situation in France. He was going to assure his country and calm down the citizens, to motivate them, to increase their morale such that they would be able to fight in the war.

As the Princesses waited for Churchill to make the address, they watched the news channel recap all the events that had been happening in France lately, which also gave them an update on the current situation. The death toll had shot up rapidly, going past 7 million, as close to 2 million people had died so far in the recent battles and invasions in Europe. That toll now included a total of 200 pony soldiers. The total pony toll in the war was now 300, as many had been killed during the surprise invasion of France by Germans.

As the House of Commons stopped speaking, and Churchill got up for the address, the Princesses fell silent, eager to listen to the skilled orator, as he walked up to the microphone, sighed, and began speaking. "On Friday evening last I received His Majesty's commission to form a new Administration. It was the evident wish and will of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and that it should include all parties, both those who supported the late Government and also the parties of the Opposition." said Churchill, pausing for a second, and then continuing.

"I have completed the most important part of this task. A War Cabinet has been formed of five Members, representing, with the Labour Opposition, the unity of the nation. The three party Leaders have agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in high executive office. The three Fighting Services have been filled. It was necessary that this should be done in one single day, on account of the extreme urgency and rigour of events. A number of other key positions were filled yesterday, and I am submitting a further list to His Majesty tonight. I hope to complete the appointment of the principal Ministers during tomorrow. The appointment of the other Ministers usually takes a little longer, but I trust that when Parliament meets again, this part of my task will be completed and that the Administration will be complete in all respects." said Churchill, explaining how he had formed Britain's wartime government.

"Sir, I considered it in the public interest to suggest that the House should be summoned to meet today. Mr. Speaker agreed and took the necessary steps, in accordance with the powers conferred upon him by the Resolution of the House. At the end of the proceedings today, the Adjournment of the House will be proposed until Tuesday, the 21st of May, with, of course, provision for earlier meeting, if need be. The business to be considered during that week will be notified to Members at the earliest opportunity. I now invite the House, by the Resolution which stands in my name, to record its approval of the steps taken and to declare its confidence in the new Government." said the old soldier, again pausing, to catch his breath, before once more continuing.

"Sir, to form an Administration of this scale and complexity is a serious undertaking in itself, but it must be remembered that we are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history, that we are in action at many points in Norway and in Holland, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean, that the air battle is continuous and that many preparations have to be made here at home. In this crisis I hope I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at any length today. I hope that any of my friends and colleagues, or former colleagues, who are affected by the political reconstruction, will make all allowances for any lack of ceremony with which it has been necessary to act. I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined the government: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.'" said Churchill, with emphasis on the final sentence.

"We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realised; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, 'Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.'" said Churchill finished off his speech, with the loud and thunderous claps of the House of Commons.

In the conference room of Canterlot Castle, Celestia and Luna were also clapping, amazed by Churchill's speech. Even they couldn't make such a good speech, even though they had been doing it for more than 2,000 years. Churchill was truly one of the best orators they had ever seen, and the Princesses really hoped to meet the man in person one day, probably when he visited Equestria for the military showcase. They had spoken to him a few times over telephone calls already, but they definitely had to meet him in person.

As the Princesses began planning their next steps as to how to find the HNA, as well as the Destroyer of Discord, and other daily matters. As they were thinking so, one of their soldiers burst into the conference room. "Your Highnesses, we have captured another HNA member, who claims to know what Neighsay has done with the missing scientists, and what he is planning to do!" said the soldier.

"What?! Is this true?" asked Luna.

"Yes, your Highnesses. We have brought him to the new prison located outside Canterlot, and that is where he is being held. He is refusing to talk to anyone except for you, and he has already made that clear multiple times. You yourselves need to interrogate him, so we can figure out what Neighsay and the HNA are up to!" said the soldier.

"Alright, we'll leave right away! Get the car, we're heading out now!" said Luna, as the two sisters rushed to get ready, and head to the new high-security prison. The human experts hired by the Equestrian government felt that having criminals imprisoned right under Canterlot Castle was a huge safety risk, so a large new high-security prison had been built well outside the city of Canterlot. It was extremely remote, built on a large isolated island in the middle of Equestria's largest lake, with only one way in or out.

At exactly 5:00pm, the Princesses were in their limousine, The Sisters' Chariot, and along with their escort cars and soldiers, the convoy began driving out of Canterlot Castle, heading for the prison. It was a two-hour drive to the prison, which was well outside Canterlot, so the Princesses had sometime to review the facts. The case file that they had been given told them that a relatively higher up HNA member had been captured in a recent raid on a HNA meeting. During this, they had found that one of the HNA members present was a relatively higher rank, and although he still didn't know where Neighsay was, he did know what they were planning, but he would only tell the Princesses about it.

Two hours later, at almost 7:00pm, the cars had arrived at the lone bridge that led to the prison. It was the only way in or out of this large inland lake, and no boats were allowed near here except for police boats. The cars drove onto the bridge, and into the prison complex. The Princesses had more soldiers with them than ever, for this very reason. The prison was full of inmates, especially some dangerous ones, and they all probably wanted a piece of Celestia and Luna for creating this place and imprisoning them there. Some of them would be happy, as it was better than the previous places where they had been imprisoned, but most wouldn't.

The prison had a sealing spell placed on it, so any prisoners inside could not use their magic, and only the guards could. This prevented any inmates from breaking out of the prison. Any new inmates who entered the prison had a sealing spell placed on them. They would be able to use their magic again only once they were released from prison. The Princesses got out of the cars and walked into the large prison complex.

Thankfully, the Princesses still had their magic available to them, and they were not affected by the sealing spell. As they walked towards the main interrogation room, where the HNA pony was being held, other prisoners were at the doors of their cells, watching the two sisters and their soldiers as they walked down the corridor. While most of the prisoners bowed to the Princesses, some were shouting expletive words, and other unprintable words at the Princesses, angry at them for putting them in this place.

However, these inmates were quickly handled by the prison guards, who quickly silenced them with spells that temporarily put them in silence bubbles until the Princesses were gone. The Princesses were soon at the interrogation room. "Are you sure that this pony does not mean any harm to us? You could have had someone disguise as us and then talk to him." said Luna.

"We tried multiple methods, your Highnesses, including the one you suggested, but he saw right through it, and he only wants to talk to you. As for harm, well, he doesn't have any weapons on his body. We checked multiple times, and his magic has been sealed since his arrest, so you'll be safe in there." assured the prison head, as the highly secure doors opened, and the Princesses went in to talk to this pony, a light brown unicorn by the name of Chestnut Coats.

The second Coats saw the Princesses, he began chuckling. "Ah, you're here. I never thought you'd actually show up, you know, your Highnesses. Do you know what the police have done to me since I was brought in here? They starved me, beat me, took me away from all my frien..." said Coats, who was silenced by Luna lifting him in the air with her magic.

"They've fed you, haven't hurt you once, and you got your demand fulfilled, to talk to us. What do you have to say?" asked Celestia, sternly.

"Well, first, you must tell the prison guards to stop treating me like an animal, your Highnesses! I'm not like one of those Earth horses, who aren't even sentient, you know!" said Coats, shouting, as he kept squirming in the air, still suspended above the table in the room by Luna.

"Talk! Then we'll see about what we can do for you!" said Luna, starting to use her royal voice.

"Alright, alright, okay, I'll tell you about Neighsay's plans!" said Coats, chuckling a little, as Luna finally put him down, and he fell with a thump on the chair, but couldn't escape, as he was chained to the table with hoofcuffs. The second he was back in his chair, he began chuckling, as he began telling the Princesses the information they wanted. "Ah, your Highnesses, I shall graciously tell you all I know. Neighsay wants to go home, which you probably already know. That's why he borrowed your scientists."

"We know that he wants to somehow build a portal to go home. Has it begun construction already?" asked Celestia.

"Don't worry, its already began construction. Expect it to be complete by around next year. When it activates, the portal created shall send both our countries back to Equis and probably destroy Earth in the process. Thankfully, I don't know where the Rift Gate is located, else you would have gone and stopped him from sending us back to our actual home, not this barbarian war-filled planet you brought us to!" said Coats, his expression shifting from happiness to anger at the Princesses, thinking that they were the ones who had transported Equestria and the Crystal Empire from Equis to Earth.

"First of all, we were never the ones who transported our countries to Earth, it was a force that did so against our will, and two, Neighsay wants to destroy Earth? Why?!" asked Luna, shocked at this revelation.

"Well, he feels that this planet is not worthy of existence, and as he is the Herald of Peace, he wants to make sure that the humans can never harm anyone again. So, hence the reason why." said Coats, clearly deranged and brainwashed by Neighsay's crazed ideology that he had instilled in the HNA.

"But then, do you also know the identity of whoever helped Neighsay to get the explosives for the Manehattan bombing? We know it was someone working in our government. Is there anyone like that in the HNA?"

"Ah, your Highnesses, at least you were smart enough to figure that out. It is actually someone you know." said Coats, as he suddenly began violent convulsing, and foam began coming out of his mouth. "That's the end. I have to turn off the light now. Good night." These were Coats' last words, as he suddenly dropped down to the ground, and his breathing stopped. Despite the Princesses' efforts to revive him, and the help of medical staff who entered the room, they called it. Chestnut Coats was dead, somehow poisoned, by the looks of it.

"Looks he committed suicide." said the medical examiner, as she checked the body. "There is a small plastic capsule between his teeth. It must have contained some sort of poison, that he swallowed, so that he would die a martyr for the cause of the HNA." It was now 9:00pm. Despite not having had their dinner yet, the Princesses were high on adrenaline, as they now knew the stakes were higher. They knew Neighsay's plan. All they had to do was find him.