Equestria: World War II (1939-1941)

by The Unseen

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia
Length: 158455

Equestria is transported to Earth right before World War 2 is supposed to begin and an evil entity breaks free of his prison, how will they survive?

Part 1 of the Equestria: World War II trilogy

A strange storm transports Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth, less than four days before Germany would have invaded Poland and World War II would have begun. Unfortunately, during negotiations with world leaders, an evil entity breaks free of its prison and causes the war, and Equestria is drawn into it. How will they survive this?

Takes place just under two months after the two opening episodes of Season 3. Events diverge from there.

Inspired by 'Summoning Equestria' by NicieLunar and 'Ponyville, USA' by Rox

Published 2023-06-23 18:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-16 16:22:10 UTC

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3

28TH AUGUST 1939

---------------------------------------------------------10, DOWNING STREET, LONDON--------------------------------------------------------
Prime Minister Chamberlain was nervous. He had slept for only four hours, and was about to give an address to the public that would change the world forever. It would be aired on radio and television, and multiple people would be seeing it. It was now 8:00am, just an hour before the aircraft would make an overflight of the new continent, which the public would hear about for the first time. "Sir, we are going to go live on air in thirty seconds." said the radio and television operator. Chamberlain sighed, straightened his tie, and brushed his hair one last time, as the broadcast began. "People of Britain, and the rest of the world, today, we have an announcement that will change our world as we know it forever. Yesterday, a large continent, quarter of the size of America, suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean, 300 kilometers off the coast of Ireland. A flight of Hawker Hurricanes flew near this landmass, and revealed that its inhabitants are not human.... but ponies." said Chamberlain. All over the world, two billion people were watching, who all gasped at this statement.

"Not just any ponies, but they seem to be unicorns and pegasi. They seem to have built large cities, even though they have primitive technology. As we speak, a flight of RAF aircraft is just an hour away from rendezvous with a pair of U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft and a reconnaissance overflight of this new land. Then, we will conduct first contact with ten Royal Navy ships and ten U.S. Navy ships. If all goes well and these creatures are friendly, then hopefully, it will open up a new era. I hope first contact goes well, and they are friendly. This is Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, signing off." ended Chamberlain. Hopefully, the world would accept these creatures, he hoped. Now, he was heading back to the operations room, and hopefully, the overflight would go well, and their planes were not destroyed.

"Peuple de Grande-Bretagne et du reste du monde, nous avons aujourd'hui une annonce qui changera à jamais notre monde tel que nous le connaissons. Hier..." in France, "ब्रिटेन और बाकी दुनिया के लोग, आज हमारे पास एक घोषणा है जो हमारी दुनिया को हमेशा के लिए बदल देगी। कल..." in India, and "Menschen in Großbritannien und im Rest der Welt haben heute eine Ankündigung, die unsere Welt, wie wir sie kennen, für immer verändern wird. Gestern..." in Germany, all over the world, replays of this same speech were being played in different languages, what would come to be known as the greatest speech of the world, and the day the world changed forever.

------------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 9:00am in Equestria. The three princesses were about to make an address to their citizens. Everypony was outside to hear this address, and they were all concerned it was about the strange storm that had hit their lands a day earlier. As the address was about to begin, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance stepped onto the stage prepared for them. "Greetings everypony. As you all may know, around 11:00am yesterday, Equestria and the Crystal Empire were struck by a strange storm that has had some strange effects on us. All ponies outside Equestria and the Crystal Empire were transported back home, while all the Gryphons, Yaks, etc. in our lands vanished. Unfortunately, this storm... also seems to have transported both Equestria and the Crystal Empire to another planet entirely." spoke Celestia.

Everypony gasped in horror at the last statement, wondering how this could have happened, and what would happen to them.

"On this planet, there seems to be no magic, and the Sun and Moon are unfortunately not in our control, and we don't know if it is inhabited, but if it is so, we can only hope that the inhabitants are friendly. We are trying to find more information now, but it seems our neighbors did not make the journey with us and still on our home planet. May fate help us all now." signed off Celestia, as everypony started to talk nervously, their theories about what would happen to them. Celestia was wondering what the inhabitants of this planet looked like. She hoped fervently that they would be ponies as well, but she knew there was hardly a 1% chance that it would be so, and that they would probably be different creatures entirely. In the meantime, the princesses had assembled a small team to help assemble material for the inhabitants of this planet about their world, and its history, and knew that this planet's inhabitants would probably do something similar, so she would do the same.

----------------------------------------------------10,000 FEET OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN-------------------------------------------------
Flight Lieutenant Donald MacArthur was worried. He had heard Prime Minister Chamberlain's announcement, and he was hoping that he didn't get shot down on this mission. He was one of the first pilots to be checked out on the RAF's newest toy, the Supermarine Spitfire. It was the fastest fighter ever made, and it was a dream to fly, and although this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, Air Command had armed his fighter's guns, just in case these ponies were hostile. Their mission was to escort the two American B-17 bombers across the new continent and back to London. They were now just five minutes away from the rendezvous point, and the bombers were just barely visible, as a speck in the distance, and should come into full view soon, as they began the final turn towards the new continent, which was just ten minutes away now.

As the B-17s came into full view, MacArthur and his comrade in the Spitfire next to him were realizing why this aircraft was called the 'Flying Fortress'. It was the biggest aircraft they had ever seen, and its wing could easily fit around two Spitfires. Then, a message came on their radios from the pilot of the first B-17.

"Tigershark 1, this is Raider 46 here. Our bomb bays are filled with cameras so we can take pictures of this new land, and we hardly have any defence. You loaded?" asked the B-17 pilot.

"Tigershark 1 here. Yes, our guns are fully loaded, and we're ready to provide cover fire, just in case they're killer ponies. replied MacArthur.

"Good, because we are now just two minutes away from the new continent, and the first city is just barely visible. Are you ready for this?" asked Raider 46.

"Yes." replied MacArthur.

"Alright, here we go..." replied Raider 46.

(imagine basically two of each flying over Equestria)

"Huh, that city on the coast over there.... doesn't it look a lot like New York?" asked Raider 46. MacArthur had spent some time in America on exchange tours, and he had visited New York a few times, so he recognized it instantly.

"Yes, it looks pretty much just like New York, except for what should be the Statue of Liberty." Indeed, in the place where the Statue of Liberty would be, instead of a woman holding the flame, it was a unicorn. He also noticed a harbor, similar to the one in Manhattan, and it had ships alright, but instead of metal like most modern ships, they were wooden, and used sails. He knew that this world's technology seemed to be primitive, but he wondered how they could have built such amazing cities without advanced technology. He then realized that all the ponies in the city were looking at their aircraft, and he wasn't surprised that they had never seen an airplane before, after seeing how primitive their technology was. He just hoped they wouldn't attack their aircraft.

--------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN-----------------------------------------------------------------------
On the ground, the ponies were starting to freak out. First they had been transported to a new planet from Equis, and now they had seen four unidentified flying objects, nothing like anything they had seen before. They were producing a low rumbling noise that was frightening. Everypony was coming up with theories on what these flying objects could be. "They're a new breed of dragon!" shouted a green Earth pony with a brown mane.

"But, if they're dragons, how can they fly without flapping their wings?" shouted a red pegasus with a gray mane.

"Calm down, everypony! Let's all just send a message to the princesses, warning of them of these objects!" said a white unicorn with a black mane, who pulled out a scroll, and a quill from a shop, and began writing to the princesses.

In the meantime, the four flying objects began flying over the city. Some pegasi tryed to follow them, but realized they were too fast and too high for them to keep up, and hoped that the princesses could find out what these objects were, while some wondered if this new planet was indeed inhabited after all, and these were the inhabitants. All they hoped was that they were friendly, and decided to keep an eye out for more of them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT-------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 12:10pm in Equestria, just an hour and a half since Celestia and Luna had received the worrying letter from Manehattan. The letter didn't say much, except that four scary-looking UFOs had been seen over the city, and that they seemed to be heading towards Canterlot. Just five minutes earlier, the soldiers had sent in a report that the UFOs were approaching Canterlot, and would fly past the castle. Now, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight were on the castle's balcony, watching the objects approach. At an altitude of about 10,000 hooves in the clear blue sky, they were monstrous looking, exactly as the Manehattan ponies had described. Using a telescope, they decided to take a closer look at the objects. The objects looked more dreadful than described up close. Two had narrow bodies that were made of metal, had straight rectangular wings, and on each wing, were two fan-like contraptions, similar to the blades of Pinkie Pie's gyrocopter prototypes, while the other two were similar, but were smaller, and had only one of the blade-like contraptions. All four were producing a strange rumbling noise that slowly got louder and louder as they came closer to the castle.

Cadance was the first one to realize, "These are not dragons... they're flying machines!" she exclaimed.

"What?! How were the inhabitants of this land able to make such large metal behemoths fly?" wondered Twilight, looking at the strange flying machines now approaching Canterlot Castle, when Luna decided to go and take a closer look at these behemoths.

"No, Luna, don't! We don't want to antagonize whoever's in those machines and make them attack!" shouted Celestia.

"Sister, I am just going to take a closer look at them. I'm just going to take a close look and see how those machines work, who is controlling them, and what they are doing in our skies." said Luna, as she flew off towards the big flying machines. As she got closer, she realized that on the underside of the two large ones were two big doors, that had swung open to reveal some camera-like objects, and realized that they were not here to attack, but just gather intelligence on their countries. She took a look at the exterior, and realized that both of them were silver, and number 46 was painted on one, while 47 was painted on the other. She also saw a marking on both of them. A blue circle, containing a white star with a red circle in the star's center. The small ones had different markings, however, with three concentric circles, one red, one white, and one blue. She realized these were protection for the big ones, and decided to take a closer look at these.

As she neared the first of the smaller ones, she realized there was a glass bubble on top, with something inside. It was wearing a helmet, but she could tell it was definitely not a pony. She could only see its head, and even that was fully obscured as it was wearing a helmet, but it seemed to be alarmed on seeing her, because it instanly moved its craft away from her, and she realized she had better get back to the castle before they decided to attack her, and instantly began heading back.

-----------------------------------------------------------10,000 FEET ABOVE CANTERLOT-------------------------------------------------------
MacArthur was looking down at the city they were approaching. It seemed to be a pretty affluent city, and had a huge castle at the end. The spire of the castle was extremely high, and MacArthur had told Raider 46 that it was probably around 2,000 feet tall. Raider 46 replied with a more accurate guess that it was most likely around 1,500 feet tall. They were busy making more guesses to its exact height, when MacArthur noticed something. "Raider 46, look out, theres a blue winged unicorn just off your left wing!" shouted MacArthur. A winged unicorn, with a picture of the Moon on her flank, was flying next to Raider 46. This was unlike the other ponies they had seen in the pictures. This one had both a unicorn horn and wings, and had a starry mane flowing like a river, and was curiously looking at the big B-17. "I'm not surprised," he thought, "considering they probably have never seen an airplane before...", when the pony suddenly flew towards his Spitfire without warning, and MacArthur instantly thought, "Holy fuck, what on Earth is it doing?!" pulled an evasive maneuver to avoid hitting it. He then saw the pony fly away from his aircraft with an alarmed look on its face, so MacArthur rejoined his comrades to continue the flight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT----------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna had just returned from taking a look at the strange flying machines. "Well Luna? What did you find out, huh?" asked the other two princesses and Twilight.

"Well, everypony, I have figured out what those machines are here for. They seem to be gathering intelligence on our world, in preparation for first contact. Sadly, I couldn't find out what was controlling them, but they are not ponies, though." said Luna.

"Well, that's good. It means they aren't going to attack us, and seem to be aiming for a peaceful first contact. But we must make preparations, if this is an alien race that has more advanced technology than us." said Celestia. "Twilight, you continue working with the first contact team, and make sure that the presentation is ready within another 12 hours. Cadance, those machines will probably pass by the Crystal Empire, so tell Shining Armor and the Crystal Pony Guards not to take them down." ordered Celestia.

"Right away, Princess!" said both of them, as Twilight ran to where the first contact team was working, and Cadance began writing the letter.

----------------------------------------------------10,000 FEET OVER THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE--------------------------------------------------
The remainder of the reconnaissance overflight was going without a hitch, after the incident with the pony over the capital city. They had flown over a few more towns and cities, and were now over a snowy land. They were flying by a huge city in the snow, which seemed to be protected by a large blue shield made of energy. It had a large castle that seemed to be made of diamonds, that looked beautiful. While they were admiring it, they saw all the other ponies in the city were again looking at them. They weren't surprised, but saw that some of these ponies seemed to be glowing with the same energy of the shield, and again, all the unicorns seemed to have magic. He wondered if this land was probably an entirely different nation from the first one, and wondered if these two nations were friendly, and wondered what powered this shield and their magic, as it reminded him of some mythological stories he had read.

As he was wondering, they passed the snowy land, and realized that their mission was completed, as they were about to fly over the ocean. Incredibly, the whole thing had lasted just under two hours. They had been maintaining radio silence since the beginning of the mission, and they reported in. "Control, this is Tigershark 1. We have finished up the overflight with Raider 46 and 47." reported MacArthur.

"Roger that. Tigershark 1 and 2, Raider 46 and 47, turn left 90 degrees, and climb to Flight Level 180." ordered Control. "Turn left 90 degrees, climb to Flight Level 180, Tigershark 1." copied MacArthur.

"Copy that." came another reply from Raider 46, as all four planes began to climb and turn. They would be back over British airspace in just over three hours, and should be landing with just over half an hour's worth of fuel remaining. The second they were on the ground, the photos from their cameras would be telegraphed to the first contact ships, which would leave once the intel was delivered.

As all four planes began turning and climbing back towards Britain, they had no idea that an evil essence was starting to awake on this land, that would plunge their world into chaos within two weeks.

Author's Note

Chapter 4 will unfortunately be delayed a little, as I am going on a personal trip, so Chapter 4 will probably be out by next Monday or Tuesday.

Chapter 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 3:00pm in Equestria, just around three hours after the mysterious flying machines were seen leaving Crystal Empirean skies, flying out over the oceans. In the garden of the castle, a certain entity trapped in a statue was beginning to wake. Even in statue form, Discord had somehow realized that Equestria, and the Crystal Empire had been transported to another world, one full of chaos and no magic, at that, and when he had noticed the strange flying machines, somehow, he had managed to get part of his consciousness outside the statue, and used to secretly read the minds of the creatures flying them, without them noticing. As much he hated to make sure they didn't notice, he didn't want the humans to know about him just yet. Using those brain scans, he found that multiple wars were raging on this planet, called Earth, whose only intelligent sapient species were humans. They seemed to be more technologically advanced than the Equestrians, and their way of life was much different compared to that of the Equestrians. Discord let off a evil chuckle that caused the statue to crack, as a plan began formulating in his mind.

As the plan continued to formulate, Discord was happy with most of it, but two parts made him a little annoyed. First, he had to try not to break his statue open too soon, and second, he had to make sure a peaceful first contact was made before he could kick it off. Although patience was not one of Discord's virtues, he had to wait to cause chaos, otherwise he would be imprisoned again or sent to Tartarus. Discord let off another chuckle, and the statue cracked again, and Discord instantly shut up, hoping to not crack the statue even further.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Celestia had come in to take a check on the first contact team, taking over from Twilight and Cadance. The team was led by Lightning Language, a blue unicorn with a gray mane. He was an expert in linguistics, as the inhabitants of this planet probably didn't speak Equish, so he had been hired to provide presentations for the inhabitants if this scenario unfolded. "We have prepared drawings, pictures, and other such visual mediums to prepare in case the inhabitants of this land do not speak Equish. There is a small chance they do, though, so if that happens, we have a lot of written material ready for them." explained Lightning Language, when Celestia asked him how much had been done. "We are about 70% done with the presentations, and should be fully done in another six or seven hours."

"Thank you, Lightning, for working so hard on this." said Celestia.

"You're welcome, your highness, it is an honor to do something this prestigious!" replied Lightning. Although Celestia hadn't slept in close to thirty-four hours, she was still able to pull a nice smile. Then, Luna came in to take over from Celestia, and then Celestia finally went to her room to catch a quick nap.

-------------------------------------------------------10, DOWNING STREET, LONDON----------------------------------------------------------
It had been just over an hour since the reconnaissance flight had touched down at RAF Gatwick in London after their successful overflight of the new continent. The second the two big B-17s had pulled up at their parking spot and the engines were shut down, a truck full of military men had pulled up next to them, unloaded all the film out of the big bombers' cameras, and sped over to 10, Downing Street, where first contact planning was going on. The second the film was developed, the planners grabbed all of it, and instantly began redoing their first contact plan entirely. The photos now revealed that the inhabitants seemed to have some primitive technology, seemed to be really intelligent and two countries of their world seemed to have been transported to Earth, and seemed to be ruled via a monarchy.

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was on his twelfth cup of coffee. He hadn't slept in close to thirty hours, and was busy dealing with every single world leader, who was sending delegates to Britain for first contact. President Roosevelt had already boarded a plane from the US, which would be arriving in around twelve hours. In the meantime, he decided to check up on the first contact team, and what they had found out. He went into their room, which was inside one of the recently constructed underground bunkers at 10, Downing Street, and asked the team leader, William Reynolds, what they had found out. "Very much, in fact, Prime Minister. We have figured out that two of the ponies' countries seemed to have been transported to our world. They have primitive technology, so we don't know how they managed to build such large cities, but seem to be intelligent. We are now around 5% through with the first contact presentation. We should be done and ready to load on the ships in another day or so." explained Reynolds.

"Thank you, Reynolds. I'll let the crews of the ships know that the timeline for departure." replied Chamberlain. Reynolds nodded, then went back to work with the rest of his team. In the meantime, Chamberlain decided he'd better go update his American counterparts.

"Okay, the American ships have left port already?" asked Chamberlain.

"Yes" came the reply from Roosevelt, who had somehow successfully managed to start a phone call from his plane, which was pretty amazing to think about. "They left port about fourteen hours ago, and will meet up with your ships at the agreed spot tomorrow."

"But what about your first contact presentations?" asked Chamberlain.

"Our first contact team is aboard those ships. The presentations are being prepared as they continue towards the new land." explained Roosevelt.

"Oh, I see now. Our vessels will depart about twelve-fifteen hours before yours reach that area, so they both reach the rendezvous at the same time." replied Chamberlain.

"Good, I should be arriving in Britain in around seven-eight hours time. I'll meet you then. Over and out." said Roosevelt, ending the call. Chamberlain sighed. He decided he had better go and get some sleep, because he didn't want to greet the American President in front of the public looking like a bum.

---------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 7:00pm in Equestria. Twilight was busy trying to find out how they were still able to use magic, even if there were no traces of magic on this planet, and she was just scrapping a theory that the entirety of Equis' magic had been transported along with them, when Cadance came in with a concerned look on her face. "Twilight, are you OK?" asked Cadance.

"Yes... I'm OK, Cadance." replied Twilight with a huge yawn, not surprising, considering she hadn't slept in almost thirty-seven hours.

"No, you are not, Twilight, you need sleep, and you need it now, so you're going to shut those books and go to bed!" ordered Cadance, enveloping Twilight in the aura of her horn and moving Twilight to her bed.

"But, Cadance, I need to do this. I need to figure out why you are still able to use your magic, even if we are on a planet without it! We need to figure it out, NOW!!" screamed Twilight, clearly unhappy to be taken away from her dear books.

"Whoa, we?! Twilight, we are not doing any more research today, you're going to bed, and that's it." said Cadance, as she used another spell to lull Twilight to sleep. As Twilight began snoring, Cadance decided to take a look at some of Twilight's notes, to see what she had found out so far. As she opened Twilight's books, she noticed a number of theories that Twilight had scrapped, including one that this world had a different kind of magic that ponies could not detect, and some really weird ones that she could not comprehend. Cadance then looked out of the window, to see this world's Moon rising into the sky. If it wasn't for the fact that Luna was busy keeping an eye on the first contact team, and that the Moon didn't respond to either of their commands, it looked just like the night sky of Equis. In the Moonlight, Cadance noticed something. The Moonlight seemed to reflect off of something near the borders of Equestria. It reminded her of the shield that surrounded the Crystal Empire, except this one was transparent, and Cadance realized that however they were still using magic, it was related to this shield.

She decided to wake up Twilight, so they could do research about this. "Twilight, wakey, wakey! We have more research to do!" said Cadance, softly, tickling Twilight to wake her up. On hearing the word "Research", Twilight instantly woke up.

"More research to do? Where? WHERE?!" screamed Twilight, excited to do more research. "Wait a second.... Cadance, you found something, didn't you?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, Twilight, there seems to be a transparent bubble, encasing our borders. Do you think this is why we are still able to use our magic? Also, the flying machines didn't seem to be affected by it, so I don't think it is a force field like the one over the Crystal Empire. Want to figure it out?" asked Cadance.

"Cadance, you may be right!" said Twilight, looking at the night sky, and seeing the bubble lit up by the moonlight. "I can see the bubble too! I think I have a new theory on why we can still use magic! We must tell Celestia and Luna right away!" said Twilight, running towards the throne room to fetch Celestia and Luna. Fifteen minutes later, Celestia and Luna had arrived at the balcony.

"Alright, Twilight, Cadance, explain why you dragged us out of a meeting with our first contact team, NOW." ordered a very unhappy Celestia.

"Your highnesses, have you wondered why, although we are on a planet without magic, we are still able to use it?" asked Twilight.

"You are right.... I was so busy that I wasn't thinking about it, but now I realize that for almost two days now, we have been on a planet with no magic, but we can still use it! How has this happened, Twilight?" asked Celestia, clearly wondering how this could have happened.

"Well, there seems to be a bubble encasing our lands, for around up to 3,500 hooves off our coast, and it seems to be that we are constantly recharged with magic by this bubble. However, if we leave this bubble, I have calculated that if we use our magic sparingly, it could last up to three days outside the bubble. If we use it a lot, though, it will last a maximum of around 18 hours." explained Twilight.

"I see. Luna, issue orders for no pony to go beyond that distance off our coast, in case they deplete their magic when we need it!" ordered Celestia.

"Right away, sister!" replied Luna as she teleported off to the throne room. Celestia finally decided to go to sleep, because she was having a bad feeling that tomorrow would be a long day, and something dark was on the horizon.

Author's Note

1 hoof = 1 foot (0.3 meters)

Chapter 5

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay posting this, my quarterly exams were going on, but lets get to the chapter!

Chapter 5

29TH AUGUST 1939

----------------------------------------ATLANTIC OCEAN, 50 KILOMETERS FROM EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------
Ambassador Dennis Rockmond was keeping an eye out for the British ships. Leading the US Navy flotilla of ships was the battleship USS Colorado. Although the Colorado had been in service for almost 20 years, she still had lots of teeth. Loaded with 8 45-cal Mark 1 guns, 14 51-cal guns, 4 23-cal guns, and 2 torpedo tubes, the ship could still put up a fight, and cruise along at 21 knots (around 40kph). However, the ship was so heavily loaded that they were only averaging around 12 knots (around 20kph). If even one more item was loaded onto the big battleship, it would exceed its Plimsoll line and sink. They were just around five hours from the new continent now, and were about to meet up with the British vessels. Although they were going pretty slow, they were making good time, and now were just five minutes out from the rendezvous point. From there, both US Navy and Royal Navy vessels would sail the last two hours to the new continent together. By his calculations, it was now around 9:00am in this time zone, and if all went to plan, they should begin first contact protocol at 11:00am.

(three of these)

(seven of these)

As they neared the rendezvous point, from his point on the bridge, Ambassador Rockmond could see the bridges of the British vessels appearing on the horizon, as a voice crackled out on the ship's radio, "This is Ambassador Albert Wood on board the HMS Nelson, we see you on the horizon, do you read me?" crackled a sharp, authoritian, British voice.

(two of these)

(eight of these)

"Ambassador Wood, this is Ambassador Dennis Rockmond aboard the USS Colorado, we read you loud and clear." replied Rockmond.

"Good, we are beginning our final turn towards the new continent, rendezvous at Heracles in five minutes." came the reply from Wood, as the British flotilla began turning towards the new continent, Heracles being the rendezvous point. Five minutes later, all ships were in their formation, and were successfully heading towards their next milestone, Arion.

"Arrived at Heracles, we are now awaiting your arrival." reported Rockmond over the radio, letting Wood know that the U.S. Navy flotilla had successfully arrived at their rendezvous, five minutes later, while the Royal Navy flotilla was on their final leg towards the point, hence the U.S. Navy ships had slowed down to wait for them. During this, Rockmond wondered how the appearance of this new land would change the global political scenario. Already, the Brits' overseas territories were either at war or seeking independence, then the Germans, with that cult leader as their dictator, could be starting a war anytime soon. Why, after the appearance of the new continent, the previous night, President Roosevelt himself had flown into Britain for first contact. His thoughts were then interrupted by a message from Ambassador Wood.

"Arrived at Heracles, we have heaved to on your port side."

"Alright, we are now in formation, getting underway." replied Rockmond, as all twenty military vessels started up their engines, and began sailing towards the new land at a speed of around 10 knots (18kph). Although most of the warships were at least fifteen years old, the flotilla still looked both beautiful and menacing at the same time, twenty gray shapes, moving through the water.

Just under two hours later, at around 10:40am, the twenty ships were now around twenty kilometers from the new continent, and they could start to see the New York-like city the reconnaissance planes had taken pictures of. As they approached, they saw pegasi in the air, looking alarmed on seeing their ships, and instantly speeding back towards the city. Realizing that the ships had been spotted, the two admirals realized that they would probably get to meet the rulers of this land at first contact, which would probably be in another hour, if they continued their present pace.

---------------------------------------THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, 20 KILOMETERS FROM EQUESTRIA------------------------------------
Flashfire and his fellow Royal Guard, Pirouette, were panicking. They had been stationed around fifteen kilometers from the borders of Equestria the previous day to look out for strange ships, if this world's inhabitants tried to make first contact. And after being on duty for close to twelve hours, at the end of their shifts, they had noticed some strange gray shapes forming on the horizon, and out of curiosity, went to go take a look at them. They had gone about three kilometers when they had gotten a good look at the objects. It was a flotilla of twenty large ships, none like they had ever seen before. They were at least three times the size of regular Equestrian vessels, and were all big and gray. Instantly, they realized that this world's first contact force was approaching, and quickly turned back towards Manehattan, where the ships seemed to be heading. They estimated that they had only had just under an hour before the ships reached Manehattan's port, so they flew at supersonic speed to get there.

They reached with just fifty minutes and no energy to spare, panting, "Commander.... the aliens are coming!" panted Flashfire.

"Wait, what?!" replied the stunned commander, a green unicorn with a brown mane.

"Yes, we saw twenty strange ships, around nineteen kilometers from our lands, most likely belonging to the inhabitants of this planet. Take a look in the telescope, they are just about seventeen kilometers away. We have less than an hour till they arrive." panted Flashfire, handing her the telescope. The commander looked in the telescope, and saw the alarming sight of the twenty large ships heading towards Manehattan.

"Oh my God... I'm writing a letter to the princesses right now!" shouted the commander, who instantly summoned a scroll and quill, and began writing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celestia and Luna were busy talking with the first contact team, who had finished their presentation the previous night, and were theorizing how they would make first contact, when a letter appeared. It was from the commander of the Royal Guard legion which had been stationed at Manehattan. The second she wrote it, Celestia shouted, "Alright, everypony! We're heading to Manehattan! The aliens' ships are approaching! Luna, call Cadance and Twilight! We're leaving in five minutes!".

"Right away, sister!" replied Luna, as she went off to get them. Three minutes later, Luna had returned with Cadance and Twilight, who had kept supplies packed for just this occasion.

"Good, you're all here! Alright, everypony! The aliens' ships arrive in just around fifty minutes from now. We're off to Manehattan!" said Celestia, as she and Luna began the teleportation spell, and within seconds, they were off to Manehattan.

Meanwhile, in the garden, Discord, even though he was in statue form, could hear the hubbub going on in the castle, and guessed that the aliens had arrived. He could hear that they were going to Manehattan, and heard the mention of ships, so he guessed they were going to Manehattan Harbor. He was around 10% free by now, and although he could get not whole body free yet, he could probably get part of his essence out, and watch first contact happen. He wouldn't be fully free for another few days, however. It took a while, but soon, his spirit was slowly floating of the statue, invisible to everyone, and he instantly was off to Manehattan.

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Ambassador Rockmond could see the NYC-like city getting closer. It really did look like New York City, and he could see the pony Statue of Liberty already. It was now around 11:00am, and they were now just around thirty minutes from the city, and they could start to see pegasi flying around their ships. They all seem to be wearing military uniforms of some sort, reminiscent of old English knight armor. They could see the city's port, which seemed to be empty. They could see a building, with multiple unicorns standing on it, including three unicorns with wings, and crowns. They seemed to be royalty, by the looks of it, and Rockmond guessed they were the rulers of this land.

Now, they were only 8 kilometers away from the city, and they were about to start slowing down, when Rockmond noticed something. He pulled out his binoculars, and noticed that one of the ponies on the buildings, a green unicorn with a black mane, also wearing armor of some sort, was doing something. It's horn was glowing, and encased in the same glow as the horn was a pair of binoculars. He instantly realized it. The ponies, or at least the unicorns, had magic. He could see some of the other sailors pulling out their binoculars and observing it with mixed looks of shock and awe on their faces. He wondered if their British counterparts were also doing so, and radioed. "Wood, are you seeing this?" asked Rockmond.

"Yes....holy fuck..... I can't believe this.... they have magic." came the reply from a stunned Wood, and Rockmond could see extremely stunned sailors on the Nelson, looking even more freaked out than the American sailors. He was feeling something was off in the air though, but maybe that was just him being paranoid. These aliens seemed harmless, and he intended to make sure first contact was made peacefully.

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Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight could see the twenty large ships approaching. These ships were none like any they had ever seen. They were large, gray, and seemed to be made of metal. Their hulls were blocky and utilitarian, the decks having large tubes resembling cannons on them. These seemed to be no merchant ships, these were fully armed warships, they had realized. Cadance had even called Shining Armor from the Crystal Empire for first contact, and he and his guards were also watching the large warships with a no-nonsense expression on his face. Meanwhile in the skies above, the invisible spirit of Discord was also watching the humans make first contact, and he also knew that these were warships, and if they started firing, they could cause some immense damage and chaos, which was normally what he liked, but he couldn't start anything like that until he was fully free, so all he had to do was just stand back and watch. As the ships were about four kilometers out, they see them slowing down, and they could start to see what kind of creatures were crewing them.

They were not ponies at all. They were bipedal creatures that looked like hairless minotaurs or deformed apes. Their bodies were devoid of fur or hair, with only a little on the top of their heads, and on their eyebrows. All of them seemed to be wearing military uniforms of some sort, and none of them seemed to be their commanders, who were probably in the ship's bridge. Ten of the ships were flying a striped red flag with a blue square full of white stars on their top-left, while the other ten crossed red and blue flags. This indicated that these ships belonged to two different kingdoms, who had probably formed an alliance to make first contact. As they came closer, Shining Armor pulled out a bullhorn, and said a message. "ATTENTION, UNKNOWN SHIPS. SLOW DOWN AND BEGIN DOCKING PROCEDURES." ordered Shining Armor, despite Cadance telling him that the aliens probably didn't understand Equish. Surprisingly, the ships instantly slowed down, making them think that the aliens somehow knew their language.

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The flotilla of ships was just beginning to slow down, when a sharp, authoritarian male voice was heard. It seemed to be coming from the harbour. "ATTENTION, UNKNOWN SHIPS. SLOW DOWN AND BEGIN DOCKING PROCEDURES." ordered the voice. The two ambassadors were instantly surprised by this, realizing that the ponies somehow knew English. They instantly began slowing down their vessels, and began their docking procedures, as all the military ponies who were in the building, including the three large winged unicorns, began walking towards the docks. The five U.S. and British battleships started beginning docking procedures, with their escorting destroyers close behind.

As the twenty ships arrived in port, the sailors realized that while most of the ponies were only about four feet tall, the three winged unicorns were even taller than them; about seven to eight feet tall, tall enough to look them in the eye. One was white with a rainbow mane that flowed, one was blue with a starry blue mane that also flowed, and the last was pink with a mane that didn't flow, for some reason. The ships' engines then shut off, and the gangplank extended to the dock, which was a little smaller than what they were used to, but was still enough to fit the battleships. Then, from the USS Colorado, Admiral Rockmond walked out, followed by Bryan Rogers, the leader of the American first contact team, and around ten soldiers, and from the HMS Nelson, Admiral Wood walked out, followed by William Reynolds, the leader of the British first contact team, also with around ten soldiers.

Two of the sailors were carrying radios, transmitting first contact live, through relay ships between the new land and Ireland, every fifty kilometers. These radios were being transmitted to all over the world, to which two billion people were listening, about to hear history being made.

These twenty-four men would be the first to step on Equestrian soil. As they walked onto Equestrian soil, at exactly 11:30am, Admiral Rockmond began first contact, "Greetings. I am Dennis Rockmond of the United States of America. We come in peace."

"And I am Albert Wood of the United Kingdom of Great Britain." said Admiral Wood. With these words, began a new era in both Equestrian and human history.

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The three princesses and Twilight, followed by Shining Armor and a lot of guards, began walking to the docks, as all the twenty ships began to dock. As the ships docked in port, they watched as stairs were lowered from the main deck, and twelve of the bipedal aliens descended from a ship that bore the red, white and blue star flag, and twelve more descended from a ship that bore the red and blue crossed flag. All of them seemed to be wearing military uniforms of some sort. Not surprising, considering they had arrived in warships. They were led by two who were wearing black and white suits. Celestia made him out to be the commander of their respective groups. The bipeds stopped in front of them. It was exactly 11:30am, as one of them, the leader of the group from the first ship, said, in perfect Equish, "Greetings. I am Dennis Rockmond of the United States of America. We come in peace."

The one leading the group from the other ship followed, by saying, "And I am Albert Wood of the United Kingdom of Great Britain." in Equish, but with a different accent.

Princess Celestia responded by saying, "Welcome to Equestria. I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. What are your intentions coming to our lands?" asked Celestia, relieved that they were here on a peace mission and not to invade.

"On behalf of the 32nd President of the United States of America, and 61st Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, we want to establish open diplomatic relations with your nations, and conduct scientific research and cultural exchange with your lands."

Celestia could see Twilight starting to freak out at the words 'scientific research and cultural exchange', so she gave Twilight a subtle look as to hold her excitement for a few hours. Luna and Cadance, although pleased to see that they were friendly, were still a little skeptical. Cadance then asked, "I am Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire, pardon me for asking, but if you come in peace, then why did you bring a flotilla of warships with you?"

Celestia and Luna gave Cadance warning looks, but they knew she had a point. A fleet of big metal warships didn't really say 'we come in peace.'

"We didn't know if you were hostile when your continent appeared on our planet, so we brought them for security purposes." came the explanation from Ambassador Rockmond. Cadance and Luna instantly understood. They would have sent their own military if they had not been able to do so.

"Alright, then I will gladly welcome you and your crews to Manehattan. We can start making schedules for establishing diplomatic relations and explaining how we ended up on your planet. In the meantime, it would be best if your crews on the remaining ships did not leave the harbor, but they can disembark from their vessels. " said a relieved Celestia.

"Thank you for your hospitality, we will gladly follow your instructions." said Ambassador Rockmond, as he signalled for the other sailors to disembark from their vessels. In the meantime, Discord, watching from above, smiled happily. First contact had happened. It was now a matter of days before he could put his plan into motion, and cause chaos on Earth. His spirit then went back to its prison, where it had come from.

Chapter 6

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 7

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It was around 3:10pm in Equestria, which meant it was around 4:40pm in Britain. Ambassador Wood was most definitely pleased. First contact and the diplomatic summit had gone well, and they had even gotten a tour of their city, Manehattan, by one of the princesses themselves! The fact they had allowed an unknown naval fleet to sail into their city and accepted the invitation for a meeting at the League of Nations was also pretty amazing as well.

Everything went better than they had planned, as they originally thought they were to spend at least six months translating their language, and another three months initiating diplomatic relations, but now the Equestrians were allowing the opening of diplomatic relations in just one day! That was really something to behold.

Wood still had multiple questions though. How could a whole continent suddenly be transported from a planet far away to Earth in a flash, that too, from a storm? It was just unheard of, except in the half ton of novels and films he had read and watched. He felt it was most likely either by some advanced technology beyond human dreams, or maybe divine intervention, which meant that God probably existed. He felt that scientists would probably spend 1,000 years solving this problem. Also, how did the Equestrians' city look so much like New York City, and why were still they having an absolute monarchy as a form of government? Wood put those questions aside for now, as their current task was to make a quick stop at their ships, report back to the American President and the British Prime Minister, and then begin their tour of Manehattan.

It was around 3:20pm when they arrived back at their ships. Wood and Rockmond climbed aboard the Colorado, where the phone line was already running. "Wood, Rockmond, how did it go over there?" came the voice of Prime Minister Chamberlain from the phone.

"Very well, Prime Minister. The Equestrians are willing to start up diplomatic relations with our nations, and even better, Princess Celestia accepted an invitation to the League of Nations meeting in two days, so we're gonna need you to send a plane to take them there."

"I can provide that. My personal Boeing 307 Stratoliner is currently sitting on the tarmac at RAF Gatwick, and can land on primitive dirt runways. If you can convince the Equestrians to build a quick primitive runway, I can send the plane down there to get you to Geneva. I will fly to Geneva with Chamberlain here." came the voice of President Roosevelt.

"Sure thing, Mr. Roosevelt. We can show them the marvel of air travel this way. Anyways, they are giving us a tour of their city now, so we need to freshen up quickly and leave. We will also be having dinner with the princesses tonight, so we won't be back in our ships till around 9:00pm here, which is around 10:30pm there, so this might be the last update from us today. You should hear from us tomorrow morning."

"Alright, over and out, Wood and Rockmond. Have a good time out there."

"You too, Mr. Roosevelt." said Wood as the call ended. "Alright, Dennis, let's go freshen up, we gotta leave again within another ten minutes."

"Sure thing, I needed to grab some coffee anyways." said Rockmond, as he left the Nelson, and got on board the Colorado to prepare for the tour of Manehattan.

Ten minutes later, at exactly 3:30pm, Wood and Rockmond, as well as a select retinue of about 50 scientists and cultural anthropologists, and around 8 soldiers, met up with Twilight, Luna, and their Royal Guards, ready for the tour. "Alright, Mr. Rockmond, Mr. Wood, are you and your men ready to see more of Manehattan?"

"Yes, of course, we are more than excited to see your beautiful city, your Highness." answered Rockmond.

"No need to call me such a formal title. Just call me Luna."

"That's fine, Your-, I mean Luna."

"Alright, let us start then."

They all began walking through Manehattan, when Luna asked Rockmond a question. "Mr. Rockmond, could I ask you some questions?"

"Yes, you may ask me questions. It's not illegal to do so."

"Alright, can you tell me how your country's government works, and what kind of government did your country adopt? Also, can you tell me about the United States' origins?"

Rockmond quickly thought of a way to explain the United States and its government in a simple and informative way, like a school teacher would. Thankfully, he was used to such questions from his kids.

"Well, the United States of America, also known as the U.S.A. or U.S., is a country on the continent of North America. Our government is a federal presidential constitutional republic, and it consists of 48 states, which even I can't name, so please don't ask me what the states are."

"That's alright, can you tell me more about your government?"

"Okay, uhh, the Federal Government of the USA is composed of three main branches: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, whose powers are vested by the Constitution of the US in the Congress, the President, and the Federal Courts. There are elections held, where the people vote to choose the next President. The origins of the US are a little negative, actually. Britain originally had thirteen colonies in our country, which wanted independence. It led to a war called the American Revolution, which lasted from 1765 to 1791, or in simpler terms, it happened 148 years ago. Nowadays, our relationships with Britain are actually pretty good."

"Oh, it's nice to see that your two countries, which were formerly enemies, are now allies! So your country is based on a form of democracy. But how could it last almost 150 years? Most of the democracies in Equis' history didn't last more than thirty years, you see."

"Wait, what? You've had democracies on your planet as well?"

"Yes, actually. You see, around 60 years ago, a group of around 50,000 Equestrians, known as the Autonomists wanted to split off from mainline Equestria, and create their own nation, with their own system of governance. This system was one where the citizens chose their rulers by elections. We let them split off, and they created their own nation. However, the unstability of their government lead to the Autonomists' nation collapsing less than twenty-five years later. There were some more attempts before that, but those nations didn't even last ten years." said Twilight.

"Our country also follows a democracy, you see. We have a king, and a royal family, too, but they do not hold much actual power anymore; basically they are just figureheads. Most of the actual power is held by the democracy, you see." said Wood.

"Huh." Twilight and Luna were both presently surprised. The humans had made democracies successfully work, while they hadn't succeeded in Equestria. How had it worked?

"How did you make democracy work in your countries?" asked Luna.

"Well, the thing is, most people on our planet don't want to live under a monarchy, as most monarchs on our world were cruel tyrants, you see, and didn't really care about their people. Therefore, the people got tired of it, overthrew their monarchs, and started democratic rule in their countries. A few countries don't follow democracy, some follow other forms of government. I don't want to bore you with an explanation of it right now, so I won't go into it right now."

"I see. Well, we, despite being a monarchy, have lasted for over 2,500 years. Anyways, we have reached the Manehattan Library, please take a look inside, there are multiple books about us in here, please do not damage anything."

There were a couple of Royal Guards outside the main entrance who were a little scared on seeing the humans, but Luna reassured them that they were friendly, and the Royal Guards allowed them to go inside the library. Everyone was shocked on seeing it. It could have swallowed the Library of Congress back in Washington D.C. and not even burped, with 30 kilometers worth of shelves, and around 400 million items inside.

The scientists and cultural anthropologists in the group instantly starting acting like kids in toy shops, ran towards the shelves, started grabbing books, and began to read them. A few minutes in, Bryan Rogers, the head of the American cultural expert team, asked a question. "Luna, it says here that you and your sister have ruled Equestria since the last 2,000 years. But that's not possible, is it? No living being can live that long."

"Actually, yes. Me and my sister are over 2,000 years old, having started ruling Equestria since we were 18 years old. In fact, we alicorns, unlike other ponies, are immune to aging and death. My niece, Cadance, is around 60 years old. Most ponies can live up to a maximum age of 180 years, maybe around 200 if they are lucky."

"Oh my god. Most humans can only live to an average of around 63-65 years. If we are lucky, we can live up to 80 or 90 years. The oldest person on Earth died very recently in France, at the age of around 122 years."

"Huh. That's strange, you can only live around a third of our lifespan. Hopefully, after diplomatic relations are fully established, we can begin joint scientific missions to help expand your lifespans." said Twilight, levitating a book and writing notes.

"Another thing to ask... how do you do that?"

"Oh, I just used my telekinesis to lift this."

"We know you have some sort of magic powers, it's just that we don't have magic on our world, or even believe it exists, for that matter."

"We know your world doesn't have magic on it, but you don't even believe that it exists somewhere out there?! So your world is based only on science?!" said a shocked Twilight.

"Yes, it is based only on science. And as for magic, it's just that most mentions of magic and other such things are in old myths and legends, but there is no proof that they ever existed on our world. In fact, they also contain stories of pegasi and unicorns as well, but again, there is no evidence they ever existed on Earth."

"Hmmm, interesting. There are actually mentions of bipeds like you in our stories, but, just like yours, there is no evidence they actually lived on Equis. Also, this is not the first time we have come into contact with a magicless species. On Equis, of the 6 dominant species on Equis, only 2 were able to use magic."

"Huh. Does this mean, that maybe, at some point in time, maybe a few thousand years ago, our worlds may have been in contact with each other?"

"Maybe. If we do some more research, we can figure out if Earth was in contact with our civilization before!" shrieked an excited Twilight.

"Alright, Twilight, go cool down for some time, don't overexcite yourself. In the meantime, Mr. Rogers, can we ask, what are humans' dietary requirements? We need to arrange our dinner for tonight, you see, and we need to make sure our dishes fit your physiology." asked Luna.

"Alright. Uh, we humans can't survive on vegetables alone. We need a decent amount of meat as well. Also, there are some things that you eat, which our bodies cannot digest, such as hay and grass."

"I see. We don't usually keep meat around, as we don't believe in harming other living beings for food, but there is some for when the Gryphons used to come visit our land, as they were meat-eaters. As for the fact that you cannot eat hay or grass, that will be a welcome challenge for our chefs. I will inform them right away." said Luna, as she wrote a letter, addressed to a posh restaurant in Manehattan, and teleported it, amazing all the humans once again.

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Discord was happy. Everything was going according to plan. In fact, for some reason, the statue had started cracking even faster now, probably due to all the chaos on Earth, he was already around 40% free, and he would be free just a few hours before Celestia's League of Nations visit. Now, he needed to think about the next part of his plan to put Earth into chaos for some time to come. Not just days, not weeks, not months, no, years to come. With all the political unrest now between Earthly nations, he decided he'd start a war.

Not just any war, one that would cripple this world for years to come. It wouldn't be some dispute between just one or two countries. It would be a large war, one involving the entire world. It would be a.... World War, for lack of words to call it.

Chapter 8

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It was now around 7:00pm in Equestria. It had been around three hours since the humans had arrived at the library, and they were now preparing to leave, for the Manehattan Museum. "Are you all ready?" asked Luna.

"All good to go over here." replied Ambassador Rockmond.

"Same here." replied Ambassador Wood.

"Alright then, follow me, please." said Luna, as she began guiding all the humans out of the library. As they left, the humans heard the library doors close behind them, and watched all the lights inside go out, guessing that the library had probably closed for the night. Forty minutes later, they were all inside the museum, and were looking at the artifacts and their histories. They had already been shocked at the library at how much the Crystal Empire's, Equestrian, and Earthly history had in parallel with each other, but here it was even more.

Apparently, over 500 years ago, in Equestria, apparently, there used to be a country called Prance, which vanished after the Prench Revolution, where the ruler of Prance, King Ponise XVI, was deposed and executed by Celestia for being a tyrant. It had multiple parallels with the Earthly French Revolution, which took place from 1789 to 1799. However, unlike the French Revolution, after which France still existed, but as a democracy, Prance fell after their Revolution.

There was also something similar to the more recent Russian Revolution, back in 1917, called the Ponysian Revolution, where 150 years earlier, the ponies living in the former Equestrian kingdom, Ponysia, rebelled, killed their ruler, Psar Ponylass, the last ruler of the Ponynov dynasty, and imposing their own rule. Unlike the Russian Revolution though, here, the Ponysians attempted to take over Equestria, until Celestia destroyed their kingdom by tearing off a chunk of Equis' Moon and flattening the Ponysian kingdom, killing them all.

Somehow, some things from that had survived, despite the whole Ponysian empire being flattened by a empire sized chunk of Moon rock. One of them was reminiscent of the Amber Room back in St. Petersburg, but this one was silver instead of amber, and the panels were backed in platinum instead of gold. Then again, platinum was just white gold.

They also found out that Celestia and Luna had enough power to control the Sun and Moon of their own planet. Apparently, they rose the Sun and Moon everyday. In fact, Luna could also see into and enter dreams, which was a little disconcerting, but was quickly resolved when they found out that she only did it during nightmares, and helped ponies face their fears.

However, they also learned something awful about Luna. They found out that Luna had been corrupted and turned into an evil entity known as Nightmare Moon, and Celestia had imprisoned her on Equis' Moon for 1,000 years, until she had come back, around three years earlier. That was when Twilight and five of her friends somehow used very powerful magic to turn her back into the Luna that she used to be before her corruption. "Luna, could I ask you something? Uh... how did this evil force turn you into... Nightmare Moon?" asked Rockmond.

"Mr. Rockmond, are you sure you want to hear this story? I don't want to you to think I am still evil."

"No, Luna, I feel you should, because I want to know what happened. "

"Alright." Luna sighed, and began to tell her story. "Over 1,000 years ago, me and my sister ruled Equestria peacefully. I ruled the day and she ruled the night. However, because ponies enjoyed the day and slept in the night, I became bitter and resentful of my sister, until I decided not to lower the Moon to make way for the Sun, causing an eclipse of dark energy that turned me into Nightmare Moon. After a lengthy fight, using the Elements of Harmony, the same magic that turned me back to Luna, my sister banished me to the Moon for 1,000 years. Believe me, it is the worst thing I have done, and I have wished so many times that I could turn back time and prevent this." said Luna, almost fighting back tears.

"Oh my God. Luna.... I understand what you've been through. Around twenty years ago, due to a petty rivalry, I made a bad decision which resulted in the deaths of some innocent people. Believe me, if I could turn back time, and reverse that decision, I would instantly do so. But, time spent cannot be recovered, and believe me, I spend every night while sleeping thinking about it." admitted Rockmond.

"Oh. I see, Mr. Rockmond. If you don't want to talk about it, then I understand. But.... do you still trust me?"

"Luna, I am a little wary, of course, but I don't think you are the evil entity you once were. I think you are a very good and kind-hearted person, you see, and I don't believe you are the pony you were before your corruption, so yes, I do trust you."

"Oh, okay then, uh, now that's out of the way, I wonder, why you were shocked when you read our history and culture?"

"Oh, you see, your country's history has a lot in parallel with Earth's history and cultures. I don't want to bore you with it now, but I'll explain later."

"Huh, our worlds must somehow be connected, then. We'll probably do more scientific expeditions after we establish diplomatic relations. Anyway, it's now past 7:00pm, we had better get ready to leave, so we don't miss our dinner reservation with my sister. I've already fed on your dietary details to the chefs, so they will try and make dishes appropriate to your physiology."

"Alright, Luna, I'll continue my research into your history."

As Rockmond continued his research into Equestria's history and cultures, he found more similarities to Earth. There was actually a Hundred Years' War in Equestria, over 1,300 years ago, which led to the founding of the Crystal Empire. In terms of cultures, there were even more similarities.

"Huh, these Hearth's Warming Days and Hearts and Hooves Days are just like Christmas and Valentine's Day! I agree with Twilight's sayings that our worlds must have been connected some time in the past. This is clear evidence that it was probably so." said Rockmond to himself.

"Wait, what? You agree with my theory?!" shrieked Twilight, who just happened to be walking by .

"Yes, I do, Twilight. There are festivals on Earth similar to your Hearth's Warming Day, and Hearts and Hooves Days. This proves that our worlds were indeed interlinked in the past."

"OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! I BETTER DO SOME MORE RESEARCH ON YOU HUMANS TO FULLY PROVE IT! IT'LL TAKE SOME TIME, BUT I WILL PROVE THIS!" shouted Twilight happily, shaking the museum a little.

"Whoa, whoa, Twilight, calm down, okay! We don't want to shake down the museum, now, do we?"

"Sorry, about that, Mr. Rockmond. I just love researching and proving theories." smiled Twilight sheepishly.

"I can see that. Anyways, we need to leave now, so we don't miss our dinner reservations." said Rockmond, as he began to go get his men ready to leave. "Alright, everyone, we don't want to miss our dinner reservations, so we better get ready to head for the restaurant."

"Well, I need to leave anyways, to inform Celestia and Cadance that you will be arriving soon." said Twilight, and then she instantly teleported out of the museum, in front of the awed humans.

"Well, that's something I probably never will get used to." said Rockmond to himself.

At exactly 7:30pm, all 50 men were at the restaurant, the fancy Italian style one known as Luziano's. Luna, Rockmond, Wood, and Twilight were sitting at one table, waiting for Celestia and Cadance to show up. They were a little less formal than they were during the summit, probably because there was no one else in the restaurant apart from the humans, the princesses, the restaurant staff, and the Royal Guards.

"Ah, Mr. Rockmond, Mr. Wood, how was the tour?" asked Celestia.

"It was amazing, your Majesty. Your culture and history has a lot in common with that of Earth. In fact, this city, Manehattan, closely resembles in a city in my country, you see."

"Ah, I know. Twilight told me all about that. Also, don't call me Majesty. Just call me Celestia."

"And you can call me Cadance." said Cadance, who had been silent all this time.

"Alright, so let's first give our orders, and we'll discuss later." said Celestia as a waiter walked to their table.

As the humans scoured the custom menu prepared for them, they found a lot of foods similar to Italian cuisine on Earth, including a few dishes that Rockmond recognized, such as spaghetti bolognese, and lasagna. A few minutes later, their orders were placed, and Celestia and Cadance began discussing politics with the humans.

"So, Twilight tell us that most of Earth's countries are governed by democracies?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, your high.... I mean Celestia. Most of Earth's countries are governed by democracies, as our people desired self-rule, you see." said Wood.

"But your country also still has a monarchy, Mr. Wood?"

"Yes, the democracy governs our own country, but we also have a lot of colonies in other countries. Those are ruled by the monarchy, but we are thinking of letting those be sovereign independent countries that govern themselves, so soon the monarchy may lose a lot of its power."

"Ah. It is amazing to see how you got democracies to work so well on your planet. My sister may already have told you this, but democracies didn't really last more than thirty years on Equis, so to most ponies, they feel that democracies will never work, and monarchy is the way."

"Yes, Luna told us all about the Autonomists, and their failed attempt at democracy, as well as some of the other attempts at that on your home planet, Equis. She also told us about her history as Nightmare Moon, even after which, we still trust you, don't worry."

Celestia was feeling a little worried about what the humans would think of the Equestrians once they found out about Luna's history as Nightmare Moon, but once she heard that they still trusted them, her heart lightened. "Yes, the Autonomists were the closest we ever got to a good democracy. The attempts at establishing democracy in Equis reduced after their country fell. Twilight also tells me there are other forms of government in some of your countries?"

"Yes, there are multiple forms of governments in Earth's countries. There are dictatorships, communist countries, and in fact, there a few countries still ruled by monarchy as well."

"Wait, dictatorships?! There are such countries on Earth?" asked a shocked Cadance.

"Sadly, yes, dictators rule a couple of countries on Earth."

"Oh. Also, what are communist countries?"

"Communism is a social and political ideology that opposes liberal democracy and capitalism, basically, they use a classless system in which property is owned by the public, and private property basically doesn't exist in this." explained Rockmond.

"Ah, I see. Does it work?" asked Celestia.

"Well, there is only one country right now that uses communism: the Soviet Union. They are the biggest country on Earth in terms of land, and are a major world power."

"Is this Soviet Union a part of the League of Nations?"

"Yes, the Soviets are a part of the League of Nations. They will also be present at the meeting the day after tomorrow."

The conversation was interrupted when a few waiters came in holding hot plates full of steaming food. The food was delivered, and they began eating. When they finally finished their main course, at around 8:00pm, the conversation continued.

"To go the League of Nations meeting, we are not going to use ships. We are going to use a new novel method of transport: aircraft. They are flying machines capable of reaching speeds of 600 kilometers per hour, and can cruise comfortably at altitudes of 24,000 feet, or in your units, around 24,000 hooves. We use them to go everywhere all over the world, as ships and ground transport take much longer." said Rockmond, scooping a spoon full of tiramisu.

The princesses were shocked by this. They had seen the strange flying machines the previous day, and assumed they were the humans', but thought they were for military use only. Now they found out they were used for civilians as well.

"Wow! How did you create such machines? We saw them when they flew over our lands the previous day, but we didn't know you were experts at such technology, and that they were able for civilian use as well." said Celestia.

"Yes, aircraft have many uses, for taking civilians to different places, for fighting in wars, transporting VIPs - Very Important Persons, you see. The problem is that air travel is very expensive as of now, and most people can't really afford it, so as of now, it is exclusive only to the rich. We hope to eventually open up air travel to the masses, but that will take a lot of time. The problem is to get an aircraft to land on your soil, it needs a large airstrip to land on. We need to construct a large dirt strip, smooth, free of rocks or any such debris, at least 4,000 feet long, around 150 feet wide, with no high obstructions higher than 1,000 hooves near it. This way the aircraft can land, and take you to and back from the League of Nations meetings. It can also be the foundations for a future commercial airstrip and the beginnings of air travel in Equestria." explained Wood, as Rockmond was busy finishing his dessert.

"Ah, I see. I will have construction begin first thing tomorrow morning. If our workers construct it double-time, it can be finished tomorrow night itself."

"Good. It will open up new trade routes and diplomatic relations with Equestria."

"Oh, dear, it seems there is a meeting scheduled, so we need to leave now. But before we go, we would like to ask you one last thing. Twilight would like to take a tour of one your ships tomorrow. Could you manage that?" said Celestia, looking at the clock.

"Sure, thing, we could also invite some Equestrian military forces as well for that."

"I will ask them and get back to you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we need to leave now, I suppose you know your way around Manehattan now?"

"Yes, we do. We can easily find our way back to the docks."

"Alright, then, we shall take your leave then. See you tomorrow morning!"

"See you in the morning, then." said Rockmond as the princesses and Twilight teleported out again, and Rockmond and Wood began getting their men back into the line. Things were going really well. Too good, felt Wood, as he felt something bad was on the horizon. Something evil. Something... chaotic.

Chapter 9

Author's Note

16-8-23

Yo, it's the Unseen here, a day after this chapter was uploaded, I made some edits to it, as I missed some stuff while writing, as I wrote this chapter on vacation.

Anyway, enjoy the story!

Chapter 9

30TH AUGUST 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 4:00am in Equestria. Celestia and Luna were asleep in their bedrooms, tired after the negotiations the previous day. She was sleeping very well, having a lovely dream, when suddenly, she felt like she was pulled up in the air, and the next second, she was standing in an ethereal soft blue sky. Celestia realized she was in a different dream. "Hello? Is anyone there?" came Luna's voice.

"Luna? What are you doing in my dream?" asked Celestia.

"That is what I was about to ask you, 'Tia. Why are you in MY dream?"

"Your dream? But this is my dream, unless you merged with yours using your dream magic."

"Huh. I've been off dream duty ever since we were transported to Earth, sister. What kind of magic is this?"

"I don't know, Luna, but whatever this is, it must be someone more powerful than us... it couldn't be!"

"Yes, it is me, my daughters." came a new voice. One that was melodious and soothing. One that belonged to the mythical pony goddess, Faust, the mother of Celestia and Luna. She had descended from the Heavens over 2,000 years earlier, given the baby alicorns, Celestia and Luna to the locals to be taken care of, and then disappeared to Heaven once more. She had only been seen once since then, around 1,300 years earlier.

Faust appeared into the light. A beautiful pale white alicorn with a beautiful red-brown mane, you would instantly tell she was a goddess. Considering they hadn't seen her for 1,300 years, Celestia and Luna instantly hugged their mother, crying tears of joy as they did. "Oh, mother, we thought you were... "

"Dead? No, as you can see, my darling children, I am very much alive, and I couldn't see you, because I was dealing with problems in the Heavens, you see."

"Oh, mother, we need to ask you about something, you see. Two days ago, something strange happened to...."

"Yes, 'Tia, I know. It was I who sent Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth."

"Bu-bu-but, why?"

"I only let you stay on Equis for that long because your duties there finished some days back. From now on, Earth is your permanent home. The humans will need your help, my two daughters."

"What kind of help, mother?" asked Luna.

"I cannot hold this dream much longer. You have to figure it out yourself. Goodbye, my daughters. We will meet again one day, and this time, you won't need to wait so long." said Faust, as the dream began to dissolve.

"Wait, mother!" shouted Celestia as the dream dissolved, leaving only Celestia and Luna alone in the dreamscape.

"Sister, what did mother mean when she said the humans will need help from us?"

"I don't know, Luna, but whatever it means, it means something is on the horizon, something bad, and fast." said Celestia, waking up in real life, no longer asleep, wanting to figure out what Faust's message to them meant.

"Sister, let's go back to sleep. We'll think about it later. Don't fret about it right now." advised Luna.

But Celestia couldn't go back to sleep, not after that message. For the rest of that night, she tossed and turned restlessly in her bed, until she got up at around 5:30am.

"Alright, time to raise the....." said Celestia, instantly realizing that on Earth, the Sun and Moon weren't controlled by the two sisters. "Oh, well, better get some extra sleep then." said Celestia, going back to bed.

At around 7:30am, which was later than usual, the two sisters had finished their breakfast, and were about to head to Manehattan once more, when Celestia noticed something with the Discord statue in the garden. She noticed that it was breaking open. Wait, it was back to normal now. Now that was odd. Celestia thought it was most likely a trick of the eye, probably because she couldn't sleep. The next second, she and Luna left for Manehattan. They would meet up with Cadance and Shining Armor there.

Meanwhile, in the garden, Discord breathed a sigh of relief. Celestia had almost seen that the statue was cracking, and he would be free. Thank god, he had got that disguise spell up and running in time, even though he was only 63% free. It would make the statue seem as if it was still intact, until it fully shattered. Then, the spell would probably falter, and start showing it cracked, until it would finally fade around fourteen hours later. Discord made another happy laugh, while planning the seventh phase of his plan to plunge Earth into a World War. The thought of chaos always made his brain release happy endorphins.

--------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The two ambassadors had been on the go since 5:30am, updating the folks in the US and the UK about the situation, and how it was going. They were going to go and talk to the princesses about their itinerary for the League of Nations visit, and also explain a little more about their history. Wood, in particular, had some things he wanted to admit about his nation. They had just finished their breakfast onboard the USS Colorado, when one of their sailors came in. "Sir, the princesses are here."

"Alright, Rockmond, let's go, shall we?" asked Wood.

"Hang on, let me wash up quickly. Don't want to smell of fish in front of the princesses." replied Rockmond, going to the sink to wash off crumbs of fries.

A few minutes later, at 7:35am, they were outside, meeting up with the princesses, along with Twilight Sparkle, along with a few Royal Guards, and a white unicorn with a blue mane, and a serious expression.

"Name's Shining Armor, I'm the commander of the Royal Guards, you see. Me and some of the other Guards are touring your ship with Twilight."

"Yes, Celestia mentioned you would be coming. I personally won't be taking on the tour, but Buck Danny, the Captain of the USS Colorado, will be doing so, as he knows more about the ship than me."

"Okay, then. Where is Captain Danny right now?"

"He will be joining you in a minute. We will be meeting up with the princesses in a few minutes to discuss the League of Nations visit. Oh, there's Danny right now! Enjoy the tour, okay?"

"We will, thanks for organising this, Mr. Rockmond!"

"Anytime!" said Rockmond, as he and Wood went off to join the princesses.

"Alright, are you all ready to take a look at an Earthly warship?" asked Danny.

"Yes, we are." replied Shining Armor.

"Alrighty, let's go." said Danny as he began taking the ponies towards the Colorado. Meanwhile, the two ambassadors met up with the three princesses and began talking about their itinerary. "So, we should be in Geneva for up to five days, during which we will not only attend the League of Nations meeting, we will also get you up to date on Earth's political situations, sign trade agreements, and also see about the opening of embassies."

"Five days? Okay, I can clear out my schedule for that time. As for the airstrip, construction began at around 4:00am this morning, and should be finished this evening, according to your specifications." said Celestia.

This impressed Rockmond and Wood, about how the ponies could successfully build things like an airstrip, in just over twelve hours, using magic. "Wow, okay, then the plane should arrive tomorrow at around 7:00am. It will be a six hour flight, but refreshments will be served on board. Once we arrive in Geneva, ground vehicles will transport us to the League of Nations headquarters, where there are multiple rooms for you to stay. Don't worry, we have briefed the caterers about your dietary requirements, so special meals will be made for you."

"Oh, alright then, so I assume everything is ready then?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, it is."

"Oh, good, then that's the timeline for the visit, I guess?"

"Well, I actually wanted to admit something about our nation. We are not that much of a nice nation, at least in our overseas colonies." said Wood.

"Wait, what? Mr. Wood, what do you mean?" asked Celestia.

" Our rulers in the colonies are very cruel to the natives. They torture them, and treat them as slaves, with racist feelings. They commit crimes with impunity against the native people. Efforts at resistance at usually met with brutal resistance, which usually means killing them with no remorse. I am the leader of a faction of our government that is trying to let them be independent country, and end such horrifying things. I do not support such inhuman things."

The princesses were shocked by this, especially Luna. When she dropped a piece of Moon rock on the Ponysian empire, she had given them notice before doing so. Only 2,000 Ponysians died that day. But the British government doing such inhuman things, such as slavery, and racism to the natives of their overseas colonies? That went against everything they stood for. But it was good to know that Wood was on the right side.

"I am deeply saddened and appalled to learn about Britain's actions in their colonies. As the ruler of a diverse and harmonious nation, I cannot fathom how anyone could treat others with such cruelty and injustice. Racism and slavery are forms of hatred that go against most of everything I stand for. I do hope your government eventually ends this practice. Wood, you are truly a good man, for trying to get your government to end this." said Celestia.

"Celestia, I believe in equality in everyone, and not violence just because of different skin colors, or anything of that sort. I believe in a peaceful world, where no one is discriminated."

"So do we, Wood. Hopefully, one day, that goal is achieved, and a new era, one of peace, is started on Earth."

"I too hope so, your Highnesses. Anyways, we need to get going now, to give the head of the League of Nations the itinerary confirmation, so everything is planned accordingly. Have a good day!" said Wood, heading back towards the Nelson with Rockmond.

"You too, Mr. Wood." said Celestia, as the princesses went back to Canterlot.

-------------------------------------------------------ABOARD THE USS COLORADO--------------------------------------------------------------
While the conversation outside was beginning, Captain Danny was beginning the tour of the USS Colorado. "Alright, here we go, we are going to first see the bridge of this ship. The bridge is the place where all I and all the main officers sit, command and control the ship, and control the weapons. Take a look around, but don't touch anything!" explained Danny as they walked into the bridge. The ponies were awed by the size of the bridge, and how much instrumentation was used to control the big ship.

The biggest ship ever constructed by the Equestrians was probably one-tenth the size of this large warship, and needed a crew of only around one hundred, while this ship required a crew of 1,300 humans, Danny had told them. It spoke of the complex technology in the ship.

"Wow! This is just the bridge, you say? This is probably the biggest area on this ship!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Actually, this is the second-biggest area. The biggest area is the engine room, which is around seven times the size of the bridge." explained Danny.

"Wait, what?! How big are the engines to need a room that big?!"

"They are really big, actually. It's so big that I can't even describe the size of it. You'll see when we go down to the engine room later."

"Oh, I can't wait!"

Shining Armor, meanwhile was asking Danny more technical questions. "I'm just wondering, how do you detect enemy ships? There doesn't seem to be any such method of that here."

"Ah, but we do have such a method. We use something called radar. It sends out signals, which bounce back to the sending antenna, on hitting an object. It defines the size and shape of the object, which helps identify if it is an enemy or friendly ship, or an aircraft. It can filter out things like birds and such."

"Ah, I see. But what if the radar stops working? Then how would you find out if they are friends or foes?"

"We have some analogue methods as well, but those are too complicated to explain, so I'll probably explain it when we have more time. We have to continue the tour now, so shall we go?"

The ponies, who had by now finishing looking at the bridge, instantly answered, "Yes, let's go!"

"Alrighty then."

The ponies left the ship's bridge, heading to the next stop: the crew quarters, to show them how life was like on a warship such as this one. "Welcome to the crew compartments, everyone. This is where all the ship's crewmembers sleep onboard, and here's an empty one. Take a look."

The ponies were amazed at just how cramped the compartment was, yet it had two bunk beds for two sailors. "Captain Danny, where is the bathroom? There doesn't seem to be one in this compartment." asked Twilight.

"The regular sailors don't have their own bathrooms in their cabins. They have common toilets and showers, while only the higher ranked sailors, like the officers and me, the Captain, have a bathroom in their own personal cabins, which are much larger than this one."

"Wait, so only higher-ranked sailors like you have bathrooms in your cabins? Isn't that kind of unfair?"

"Sometimes it is, but it persuades sailors to work harder to get promoted for such things."

"Yes, Twily, this is a military ship, after all. This is how they get their people to work extremely hard." explained Shining Armor.

"Wait a second. 'Twily'? Are you two related or something?" asked Danny.

"Yeah. She's my younger sibling, can't you tell?"

"Well, there's really no family resemblance between you two, so I couldn't tell that you were siblings."

"That is true. Anyways, back to the main topic. This is a warship, right? What kind of weapons does it have?"

"Ah. That's the next stop of this tour. We will see the ship's weapons systems next. This ship is heavily armed, believe me. Let's go."

A few minutes later, they were at the first four of the ship's huge 45-caliber Mark 1 cannons. "Alright, this weapon is a 45-caliber Mark 1 cannon. Essentially, it carries a huge projectile, called a shell, and a reaction with a chemical called gunpowder causes the shell to shoot out of the cannon at high speed, and if aimed correctly, it will tear right through an enemy ship, with a large explosion, totally destroying the enemy ship."

"Wow, but what will happen if the shell misses its target?" asked Twilight.

"If the shell misses its target, it is unguided, so it will probably just explode in the water."

"But won't that cause civilian casualties?"

"Well, most of the time, we try to put aim in such a way that civilian casualties are avoided."

"Oh, okay. How big is one of these shells?"

"The diameter of a shell is represented by its caliber. The Mark 1 gun uses 45 caliber shells, so they are around 60 feet, 60 hooves in your units, long."

"Whoa! Could you show us some of these shells?"

"There are some at the area where they are loaded into the cannons. Let me show you some."

A few minutes later, they were all at the base of the cannons. The ponies were surprised at the size of the sleek shaped shells, that could be loaded manually into the cannons. There were multiple smaller cannons which used smaller shells, that were also on display. Those shells were also still pretty large, surprising the ponies. The last part they saw was the engineering section, which contained the engines.

"Alright, welcome to the engine room. As you can see, this is the biggest area on this ship, even bigger than the bridge. There are eight oil-fired burners which provide steam that drives four turbo-electric drives that turn the propellers of the ship and move it forwards. There is a movable metal rectangle behind the propellers called a rudder, to change the ship's direction. For instance, if the rudder moves left, the ship moves right, and if the rudder moves right, the ship turns left."

"What happens if the rudder doesn't work, or the engines fail?" asked Shining Armor.

"If the rudder doesn't work, then the ship will keep going around circles, but this ship has enough weapons to hold out on its own until another ship comes to tow it out. If the engines fail, then we have a whole contingency plan that I won't go into detail right now, so I don't bore you. And that, everyone, is the end of the tour. I'll escort you back to the exit. So, how did you enjoy this tour?"

"We all were amazed at how much technological prowess your species have. Hopefully, with your help, both Equestria and the Crystal Empire will progress."

"Hopefully it will." agreed Danny.

Chapter 10

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 11

-----------------------------------------------------THE PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA--------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 3:20pm in Geneva. The ponies were amazed at just how large the main lobby of the Palace of Nations was. It was much bigger than the main lobby of Canterlot Castle and the Crystal Castle. There were multiple human soldiers standing guard, and they could see some reporters outside. But they decided to continue forward. "Celestia, we will first be meeting the American President and the British Prime Minister. But before that, an exhibition showing Earth's history has been prepared for you, just ahead. We'll take a look at that before we meet them. Is that fine?" asked Wood.

"Yes, Mr. Wood. I wouldn't mind seeing Earth's history before meeting up with your leaders." said Celestia.

The ponies then went off to the specially prepared exhibition, showing all of Earth's histories. The second the ponies entered the exhibition room, they could see a lot of parallels with Earthly history. The first section was that of medieval history. The countless wars in Europe, such as the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, reminded Celestia of a war that had taken place, 650 years earlier, between Equestria, and Gryphonia after a trade dispute, which had lasted for over 250 years, before Equestria finally won.

The similarities became even more apparent as they were nearing the end of the 18th century section. The American Revolution, where the US got their independence from Britain, was tragic. For the ponies, it was truly awful to see how many innocent lives had been lost in America fighting for independence and democracy. But what really hit Celestia and Luna hard was the French Revolution. Why, even France's flag was similar to that of Prance pre-revolution. Celestia couldn't really blame the French for revolting, considering how their King, Louis XVI, who reminded her a lot of Ponise XVI, was a tyrant. But what was surprising was that was where the similarities ended. The way the humans had described it, they thought their history would be pretty much a copy of that of Equestria's. But the difference here was that after the Revolution, Prance's new government had caused the end of the empire, whereas here, after one more tyrant ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte, the country of France was still around, and their leader was here, at the League of Nations.

When they entered the 20th century section, there was another shocker for them. The Russian Revolution, reminded Celestia of her bad memories from the Ponysian Revolution, such as the execution of Psar Ponylass by the Ponysian locals. It reminded Celestia of how she was forced to flatten the Ponysian empire with a large chunk of Moon rock. However, here, it was nice to see the country of Russia had successfully united themselves as the Soviet Union, albeit under communism.

But the most shocking one of all was the Great War. It had occurred as a result of political and social factors from years ago, such as the decline of the Ottoman Empire (which reminded her a lot of Saddle Arabia), Britain's old practice of avoiding permanent diplomatic relations, and the wars in the Balkan areas of Europe. These wars reminded Celestia of the wars of the Ponkans, over 1,200 years previously, where she and Luna had to bring Equestria in to end the Ponkan Wars. However, unlike in Equis, where it had been avoided, here, the wars had continued, sparking the assassination of the Archduke of Austria, leading to the Great War.

The Great War shocked the three princesses. This had apparently been Earth's first industrialized war, making use of new technologies, such as tanks, aircraft, and other such weapons. The death toll shocked Celestia. Close to twenty million humans dead, both civilians and military, and twenty million more wounded. Thankfully, that had been twenty-five years earlier, in 1914, and the war had ended after only four years. Celestia hoped there would never be another war like that.

Another shocker was the Great Depression. It pained the ponies to see just how some stocks crashing lead to such a large economic depression that had affected both the United States and the rest of the world. But with the statistics they had been given about the American economy, it was hard to believe that the Depression had occurred just ten years earlier, and how well the US had recovered.

After getting a little up to date on Earthly politics, the ponies were finally off to meet the leaders of the US and Britain. They had walked into an area not accessible to anyone except diplomats, world leaders, military personnel, and reporters. However, there were none of the latter category here. The only people here were military personnel, wearing American and British military uniforms.

They entered the room where they were supposed to be meeting the first two world leaders. Since the room wasn't too big, most of the scientists would stay outside, while only a few soldiers would join the three princesses, Twilight, and Shining Armor inside. They were waiting, when an old British man of about seventy, with black hair going white, and a large moustache, walked in, escorted by three British soldiers. "Good afternoon. I'm Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of the United Kingdom of Britain." said Prime Minister Chamberlain, offered his hand to the three princesses.

"Ah, you're the British Prime Minister. I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and this is my sister, Princess Luna. This is my protégé, Twilight Sparkle." said Celestia, her and Luna shaking Chamberlain's hand.

"I am Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire." said Cadance, also shaking Chamberlain's hand.

"And I am Shining Armor, the commander of the Royal Guards of Equestria." said Shining Armor.

"Welcome to the League of Nations, your Highnesses, Twilight, and Shining Armor. We hope you will enjoy your stay here." replied Chamberlain.

"We definitely will, Prime Minister Chamberlain. It is so nice to finally be visiting an Earthly city, and one hosting an organisation such as the League of Nations, at that. From what we saw, your planet is definitely highly advanced." said Twilight.

"Ah, we aim to please, Ms. Sparkle. Now, let's settle down and discuss things." said Chamberlain, motioning for everyone to sit down.

"Wait, a minute, aren't we waiting for the American President as well?" asked Luna, when an American man, in his late fifties, with white hair, came into the room, being wheeled in a wheelchair, escorted by two American soldiers.

"Sorry I'm late, I had problems getting down the stairs, but I'm now here. I'm Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the President of the United States of America. I am very pleased to meet you, your Highnesses, Twilight, and Shining Armor." said Roosevelt.

"Ah, President Roosevelt. It is so nice to meet you at long last. Your ambassador, Mr. Rockmond, speaks very highly of you. Also, I'm just wondering, are you injured, since you are in a wheelchair?" said Celestia.

"Ah, I am also finally happy to meet you at long last, your Highnesses. As for me being in a wheelchair, I have suffered from a disease called polio, since almost twenty years now. It has left me unable to walk properly, therefore, I use the wheelchair. Shall we begin our discussion now?" asked Roosevelt.

"Oh, I see. Yes, let's begin the discussion." agreed Celestia, as they all sat down to begin the discussion.

The first thing they discussed about was the opening of diplomatic relations and the opening of American and British consulates in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. The princesses offered land in the Crystal Empire, Canterlot, and Manehattan for this purpose. In fact, they also discussed the openings of Equestrian and Crystal Empire consulates in London and Washington D.C.

Next was the economic integration of these two countries with Earth. The problem was, the world's currencies were all linked to the value of gold. Since both Equestria and the Crystal Empire used gold as their main currency, if they used their current gold based currency on Earth, it would totally wreck the world economy. Roosevelt asked the princesses to shift their countries onto a currency note-based economy.

At first, the princesses were a little apprehensive of using paper-based money, as they were worried about forgery and inflation. Roosevelt explained that new currency notes included special codes to prevent forgery, and as for inflation, it mainly occurred if a country printed too much, such as Germany did back in 1923. They also told the princesses to melt down all the gold coins and turn them into gold bricks in case of economic emergencies, such as inflation or economic depressions.

Then Twilight asked about the export of new human technologies such as cars, radios, aircraft, powered ships, and television sets to Equestria and the Crystal Empire. They both replied that exports of such technology would begin, and they would also send human experts to help them set up infrastructure such as power grids, road networks, airports, etc. They also agreed to exchange Equestrian and Crystal Empire experts with the humans to generate new magical technologies, such as advanced electronics, aircraft, and medical treatments, including ones that could treat Roosevelt's polio, and Chamberlain's cancer, which he revealed he suffered from. That was when Shining Armor asked, "What about military technologies? I want to set up modern militaries for Equestria and the Crystal Empire, you see. Army, Navy, Air Force, all the works."

"Ah, we do plan to export military technologies such as battleships, tanks, fighter aircraft, and such to your countries eventually, but we'd like to get to know you better first, you see." explained Chamberlain.

"I understand, but I'm just a little worried, considering there still seems to be some amount of political unrest between a few countries." replied Shining Armor.

"Can't blame you for that."

The discussions continued, and they realized it was past 4:00pm. Thankfully, snacks were delivered to their room, including some British cuisine specially tailored to the ponies' dietary needs, such as Yorkshire pudding, Shepherd's pie without beef, fries (chips for the Brits), and other such dishes, which everyone enjoyed. After lunch, they decided to leave for the main assembly hall of the League of Nations, to declare their intentions to the other world leaders. Chamberlain and Roosevelt had already gone there, to let the other leaders know they were coming soon.

At exactly 4:15pm, the ponies walked into the large League of Nations assembly hall. It was large, with seats for all sixty-nine world leaders attending the meeting, the leadership of the League of Nations, and room for the media as well. All the world leaders she had seen when they took a look at Earth's current affairs were here. There was the Soviet Union's president, Joseph Stalin, the king of Britain, George VI. Getulio Vargas, the Brazilian president, was also here as well. But it was the German dictator who looked the most fearful. Adolf Hitler, with the caterpillar-like moustache. The ponies had seen reports of how his cult that ruled the country of Germany worked, and they felt something evil about the man the second they saw him.

A woman in her mid-forties, with blonde hair, was on the stage, speaking on the microphone. She was Anna Schmidt, head of the League of Nations. "Now that we are all here, I think we can get started. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, we are honored to welcome you to the League of Nations. I am Anna Schmidt, head of the League of Nations." said Schmidt, as the other world leaders were watching with their escorts. One of them was a certain spirit of chaos, disguised as Corporal Herman.

"Ah, it is an honor to be here as well, Ms. Schmidt. We would like to really admit something to the world, about our intentions." said Celestia.

"Yes, I request your Highnesses to take the stage and do so." replied Schmidt.

"Alright then." said Celestia, as she, Luna, and Cadance walked towards the stage. Celestia stood next to the microphone. She could see all the humans in the hall were a little tense. Celestia couldn't blame them. This was their first time seeing aliens, after all. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have something to say. We know that you have been on edge since our countries arrived on your planet. We know you feel that we are enemies. But the reality is exactly the opposite. We come in peace. We wish to open trade and diplomatic relations with your countries, and exchange technology and expertise."

The ponies heard quite a few world leaders sigh in relief when Celestia said these words. Even Discord sighed in the audience, thanking his stars that it was all going exactly according to plan. That was when Schmidt said, "Well, your Highnesses, we are all willing to welcome Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth, and we are also willing to let your nations join the League of Nations. We will begin the signing of agreements in a few minutes."

"Ms. Schmidt, Equestria accepts your offer for us to join the League of Nations."

"The Crystal Empire also accepts the offer to join the League of Nations." said Cadance.

"Alright then. Shall we sign the first agreement then, the one that enables Equestria and the Crystal Empire to do so?" asked Schmidt.

"Yes, let us sign it then." said Celestia.

The ponies and Schmidt walked to a table, where the agreements had been kept ready for signing, along with a fountain pen for signing. "Just read it, and if you find it okay, you may sign."

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance lifted the papers up with their telekinesis, which awed everybody in the hall, including the media, who was busy taking pictures and video of this event. Finding the terms and conditions to be satisfactory, the three princesses signed their agreements, officially making Equestria and the Crystal Empire part of the League of Nations.

The agreement signing continued all day and finally ended at around 6:30pm. An agreement was signed with the Americans to provide technology like cars, aircraft, and electronics, as well as technical support. Agreements were signed with the British for cars and electronics, as well as their technical support as well. They were also to provide raw materials such as cotton, jute, and crops to Equestria and the Crystal Empire. An agreement was signed with Brazil to import rubber and steel from them, so the Equestrians could build large buildings, and start up industries. Many other agreements were signed with Russia, France, Canada, China, and other countries.

As the day turned to night outside, the ponies were sent up to their rooms, where they were taught to use the television and radio. Celestia and Cadance struggled with the TV, but Luna, Twilight, and Shining Armor were able to understand it and successfully put on the TV. The news reports were all plastered with the headlines of the diplomatic agreements of the Equestrians and the Crystal Empireans, and most of them seemed to be saying good things about them. There were two or three claiming that they were crazy murderous psychopaths faking their friendly nature, but most of the people seemed to like the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans, and Earth would be peaceful under them, owing to their nature.

Little did they know that in less than twenty-four hours, a war would be started, by an evil entity originating from their lands.

Chapter 12

1ST SEPTEMBER 1939

------------------------------------------------------THE PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA--------------------------------------------------------
It was 5:30am in the morning over in Geneva. Most of the people in Geneva were still asleep, but the three princesses, Twilight, and Shining Armor were already up to discuss their plans for the day. The ponies in particular, couldn't sleep so well, after seeing some of the things in human history, such as the American Revolution. How could the British have been so cruel to the native Americans? How could they have done such inhumane things, such as enslaving them for no reason, and discriminating them? How could they have lived with doing such things?

Celestia had also been having flashbacks to the Ponysian Revolution after seeing the Russian Revolution that had occurred on Earth. She remembered some of the most horrifying things: the decapitated body of Psar Ponylass on the guillotine, the screams of the Ponysians as they watched a huge piece of Moon rock falling onto their capital, and all the other gruesome and profane things she had seen during that time. But Celestia decided to put those aside for now and deal with it later. She had a media event today. The princesses and Shining Armor were going to be interviewed by the League of Nations' media spokesperson, and the interview would be put in radio broadcasts, newspapers, and television news reports.

After that, they would have another meeting with all the world leaders, where they would discuss Equestria and the Crystal Empire's integration to the world economy. Then, that would be the end of their second day at the League of Nations. It was going to be a good day, Celestia hoped. Meanwhile, in the other building, just a three-minute walk away, Discord was outside Adolf Hitler's room, putting the final touches on this plan. If all went well, today would be the day the Second World War began.

At around 6:30am, breakfast was served in the dining hall. The ponies had really enjoyed the American dinner last night. This morning, they enjoyed a sumptuous full French breakfast, with croissants and baguettes. At around 7:00am, the three princesses and Shining Armor headed off for their interview, which would be pre-recorded, and then published later that day. They entered the League of Nations media room, which had four armchairs, multiple lights and cameras everywhere. They were greeted by Helen Roberts, the League of Nations media spokesperson.

"Ah, your Majesties, Shining Armor. It is an honour to get to be the first one to interview an Equestrian. I am Helen Roberts, media spokesperson of the League of Nations." said Roberts, introducing herself.

"Pleased to meet you, Ms. Roberts. It is an honor too, to be interviewed by a human for the first time." said Luna.

"Alright then. Shall we get ready for the interview?"

"Yes, lets get ready for the interview."

The ponies went to the armchairs, sat down, and were offered water by the attendants, which they accepted. They thought of all the questions that would be asked, and how they would answer. "Alright, here's how they will go. When I say 'Action', the cameras will start rolling, and I will introduce you. From then on, I will ask you the questions. Once that is over, I will thank the viewers for watching, and end the interview. When I say, 'Cut', the cameras will stop rolling. You got it?"

"Yes, we understand." said Celestia.

"Alright, lets begin the interview, then. Alright, everyone, we're about to start. Get the cameras and the microphones ready. Alright, here we go. Lights, camera, action!" said Roberts, at exactly 7:00am. The second she said 'Action', Celestia could see blinking lights on the cameras, indicating they were on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this all exclusive interview of the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean rulers, as well as their military general. We are about to begin the interview, starting with the twin rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They are known as the princesses of the Sun and Moon respectively in Equestria. Your Highnesses, could you tell me why is it so?"

"Well, the reason we are given those titles is because, on our old planet, Equis, we controlled the Sun and Moon. Everyday, I would rise the Sun in the morning while Luna lowered the Moon, and vice versa in the night."

"Oh? So you could move the Sun and Moon around on your planet? How so?" asked a surprised Roberts.

"Well, our solar system was geocentric, which means that the Sun and Moon used to orbit around the planets. However, they would no longer do so, after Discord, a being of pure chaos, managed to steal their gravitational force. We stopped Discord, but the Sun and Moon would no longer orbit around Equis, so we used our magic to make that happen." explained Luna.

"Ah, that sounds a little fantastical, but then again, since pegasi and unicorn used to be considered fantastical as well, I do believe that would have happened on your home world. But, I have a question. If you can control the Sun and Moon, why didn't ours respond to your commands, if you tried to control it?"

"We did actually try to control your Sun and Moon before we realized we were on another planet, but they did not respond to our commands. Also, your system seems to be a little different from ours. Why is that so?"

"Well, unlike Equis, our Solar System is a little different. The Sun is at the center of this system, and its gravitational force makes all the planets orbit around it."

Celestia and Luna were a little surprised at this. They had seen other systems like this in telescopes, but didn't know if there would be habitable planets in them. In fact, all this time, they had thought that Earth's system was geocentric, but now they knew that it was not.

"Oh, I see. In the galaxy where Equis is located, we have seen other systems like that through telescopes, but there are no habitable planets in those."

"Oh. Anyways, next question, for you, Princess Cadance, how was the Crystal Empire founded, and how does the palace made of crystals not collapse in bad weather?"

"Oh, the Crystal Empire was founded over 1,200 years ago by Princess Amore, who I am a distant descendant of. The Crystal Castle does not collapse in bad weather, because there is no bad weather inside the Empire. There is a magical artifact inside the castle, called the Crystal Heart, which creates a magical shield to protect the empire from any enemies, and bad weather. The shield is strengthened by the forces of love and unity. However, around 150 years later, King Sombra killed Princess Amore, and stole the Crystal Heart. Sombra was defeated, but he left a curse due to which the Empire vanished for a thousand years. It only reappeared around two months ago, with all the citizens the same age as they were a thousand years ago. However, Sombra also reappeared, but we defeated him, and the Crystal Heart was retrieved as well. After that, I became the Empress of the Crystal Empire." explained Cadance.

"Only two months ago? How did the citizens react when they found out it had been a thousand years?"

"Well, they were a little scared at first, but they adjusted to modern times within three weeks."

"Three weeks, eh, to adjust to being missing for a thousand years? You must have done it really well, then. Alright, now, back to Celestia and Luna. How was the kingdom of Equestria founded?"

"Well, before Equestria was founded, there were three pony tribes for each race: the pegasi, the unicorns and the Earth ponies, which had neither horns nor wings. They came together 2,000 years ago to form Equestria, and since we alicorns represent all the races, we were crowned the rulers of Equestria at the bare age of 18. I know you are probably asking, how have we survived 2,000 years and still look so young? Well, we alicorns do not age due to certain biological factors, but we can die from other things, such as drowning." explained Celestia.

"Wow, immortality is a thing that we can only wish to have. Anyways, now to other things. We see that you all have different marks on your body. Why is that so?"

"Oh, those are called Cutie Marks. They represent the talents of every pony. They are born without them, and once they find what they are best at, the marks appear magically. This does not mean they are stuck to only one thing. It only shows what they are best at."

"Ah, I see. I don't know if I would want my best talents posted on my body like that."

The interview continued till around 8:15am, by the time all the questions had been answered successfully. Roberts than bade the princesses farewell as they left to prepare for the next meeting between world leaders. They went back to their rooms, grabbed some water, and also drank coffee. They had tried it earlier that morning, and despite it being quite bitter, they liked it as it kept them awake for long meetings.

At around 8:25am, they were in the large League of Nations assembly hall. While Ms. Schmidt, the world leaders and soldiers from yesterday were there, there were a lot less reporters there this time. She could see the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, again, this time with the leaders from Italy and Japan. The evil aura still seemed to be emitting from Hitler, but Celestia could also feel an evil aura coming from Joseph Stalin, the Soviet President. That aura made Celestia certain he was probably a Russian version of Hitler.

Once the last three world leaders arrived, the discussion began. Today, it was about the integration of the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean economies with Earth's. First thing was a name change, as the humans felt 'bits' was a bit of a weird name for a currency, and the Equestrians also agreed. After an hour and a half of deliberation, it was announced that the Equestrian currency would change from the bit to the Equestrian dollar. At around 10:15am, over one and a half hours in, Discord, who was in the audience, began the first part of his plan.

"Hey! Why are we doing such a moronic thing!" shouted Discord, in the form of German Corporal Herman Göring. That surprised everyone.

"What do you mean, soldier?" asked Schmidt.

"You know exactly what I mean! Letting aliens participate in Earthly politics! The only people who should participate in politics are white people, that too, pure-blooded Aryan white people, not the filthy Polish or Russians! You know what, you people don't deserve to live!" shouted Discord, as he pulled out a pistol, and got ready to fire at Ms. Schmidt. Thankfully, a League of Nations soldier behind him pushed Discord and threw him off aim, but Discord still fired. Fortunately, the bullet did not kill anyone, but it ricocheted, right into the path of the ponies. Seeing this, a League of Nations soldier immediately jumped in front of the ponies just in time. The bullet flew right through his leg, and landed at the foot of the ponies' desk.

The ponies were shocked at how Corporal Herman had suddenly lost his mind, and how he had shot the young League of Nations soldier like that. They were especially when Herman suddenly aimed the gun at them, but just before he could press the trigger, a Polish soldier fired a bullet. Discord quickly escaped the Corporal's body, before the poor soldier was killed by a bullet that went straight through his brain. Hitler then instantly got up, "How dare you kill one of my best men! You should have left him alive, we would have punished him under our laws!"

"Mr. Hitler, your soldier was threatening the Equestrians and the head of the League of Nations, and also shot a League of Nations soldier. We had to protect everyone else here." said the Polish soldier.

"Zat's it! We have been miztreated by ze rest of ze world zince our defeat in ze Great War! Henceforth, we zhall leave ze League of Nations, effective thees instant! We are leaving!" said Hitler, as he and the remaining German soldiers covered the remains of Corporal Herman, loaded him into a stretcher, and left the Assembly Hall. Meanwhile, Cadance released that something was wrong with the soldier that the Corporal had shot. He seemed to be losing a lot of blood, more than what seemed to be normal.

"Sir, are you okay?" asked Cadance.

"No, something's wrong."

"Well, you just did get shot in the leg, I'm not surprised."

"No, I've been shot in the leg before, and I know how that feels. This feels worse... " said the soldier, as he blacked out.

"Oh no! Someone call a doctor!" shouted Celestia. She was horrified, as she realized the soldier, despite being out cold, had a certain look on his face. The look that showed that he had accepted his fate. Celestia wasn't going to let anyone else die today. Celestia realized that the bullet had probably torn through a vital artery or vein, and the doctors wouldn't get there in time. She immediately started up her magic. "Don't worry, I got you." said Celestia, as she immediately started up her magic, and began to use it on the soldier's wound. It was a truly magical sight, as the soldier's wound closed up, and except for the blood on his uniform, soon, there was no trace that he had been shot, as his eyes opened.

"Wait, what, I should be dead.... " said the soldier, looking at his previously wounded leg. "You saved me, but why?" asked the soldier, as he realized the Equestrians had saved him.

"You selflessly protected another species, that too, one you did not know so well, and one hated by some people. You protected five ponies with your own body, and when you were nearing the end, I could not let someone who had done a selfless action like that die." said Celestia, as the soldier got up, saluted them, and went back to his position among his stunned comrades.

That was when Celestia almost nearly had a coronary. She saw a flickering form of a certain draconequus, one that caused chaos. Thankfully, Celestia was able to contain it without alarming the humans. She hoped that she didn't have to use another big spell, because after saving the soldier, she only had around twenty hours worth of magic left.

Meanwhile, in the accommodation block, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi soldiers were packing up, ready to head back for Berlin. Before they left, though, Hitler went to his room's telephone, and dialled in the number of the head of the German military. "Fuhrer? What is going on over in Geneva? Apparently, one of our men was killed by the Polish. Shall we do it?" asked the German general over the phone.

"Yes. The time has come. Execute Order 66." said Hitler.

"It shall be done, Fuhrer. We will talk more when you get back to Berlin." replied the general.

"Sure." replied Hitler, and hung up the phone.

Less than half an hour later, they were on board the huge Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, which was starting up its engines for the three hour flight to Berlin. As the big plane began taxiing, mass German mobilisation had begun. Multiple Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf109 fighters and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka bombers were flying towards the Polish border, fully loaded. Multiple German Army tanks and armored units, and thousands of troops began advancing on Poland. Within an hour, the invasion of Poland would begin.

Chapter 14

-------------------------------------------------------THE PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA-------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 1:05pm in Geneva. The princesses were in their rooms, relaxing after lunch. They still hadn't recovered from that crazy shootout earlier. Celestia was thinking about how violent that had been, when a letter appeared right in front of her, addressed from Equestria. Celestia was surprised when she received. Somehow, her subjects had been able to send a letter to her, despite her being all the way in Geneva. She opened up the letter, and it was near-coronary time.

It read, "Your Highnesses, I hope your visit to the League of Nations is going well. We have some unfortunate news, however. We found the statue of Discord in the garden of Canterlot Castle, shattered and in pieces. We did some searches for magical energy, and found traces that he had somehow broken out. We have no found no traces of him either in Equestria or the Crystal Empire, which has lead us to believe that he is probably in the human world, and at the League of Nations itself. He might probably somehow try to get back at you for imprisoning him. Take care. Signed, Thunder Bolt, Commander of the Special Threat Division."

Celestia realized now that the apparition of Discord she had seen for a second right after the shootout was real. She had originally thought it was an optical illusion, but now she knew that he had escaped confinement somehow. She instantly burned the letter, and teleported the ashes away. She did not want the humans to know about this, not before they had good relations with them. In fact, she was sure that the shootout was Discord's attempt at having the royals killed to get his revenge. No, Discord was a sadist. He would first want the Equestrians to suffer heavily, and then he would kill them.

Celestia then gathered Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight in their luxurious suite's common room, and told them about what she saw and the letter she received. All of them were shocked by the fact that Discord had escaped, and especially horrified when Celestia told them her theory about Discord being responsible for the shootout.

“Discord is here?” Luna exclaimed. “How is that possible? We thought he was securely imprisoned in stone.”

“I don’t know, sister,” Celestia said. “But we can’t take any chances. He could be anywhere, and he could do anything. He could cause chaos and destruction, or worse."

"First, we need to tell Prime Minister Chamberlain and President Roosevelt about him."

They all agreed that they would keep Discord a secret from the humans for now, and would begin operations to find him once they got back to Equestria. But, first, they had to go for another meeting, starting in ten minutes.

At around 1:25pm, they were just over ten minutes into the meeting, discussing the import of crude oil from the Middle East and the US, when the Polish President, Władysław Raczkiewicz came running in with some soldiers and politicians. "Everyone, everyone, the Germans have invaded..." panted Raczkiewicz, out of breath.

"Calm down, Raczkiewicz. The Germans have invaded where?" asked Anne Schmidt.

"The Germans... they have invaded and taken over Poland." said Raczkiewicz.

"What?! I thought the Germans had signed a truce with Poland?" asked Celestia.

"They seem to have violated it, as less than two hours ago, they invaded. They took our country by surprise. Our capital, Warsaw, has been overtaken by the Germans, and our military is barely alive. They have retreated to a part of the country, which is under Polish occupation. Here, take a look..." said Raczkiewicz, turning on a projector, and showing everyone. The images shocked them. It showed a city, Warsaw, to be precise. There were pictures of injured, and dead people lining the streets of the city.

It showed people trying to escape from the Nazis, who were busy trying to gun everybody down. Celestia saw the bodies of numerous dead Polish soldiers, killed, trying to bravely defend their capital city. There were also numerous military planes, all wearing the Nazi Swastika, flying over the city. She instantly knew that this was Discord's work. He had staged the shootout to purposely, to persuade Hitler to invade Poland. That was when Raczkiewicz spoke up. "The current death toll is estimated to be around 40,000. Mainly civilians and Polish military."

This shocked Celestia. How could they kill so many innocents, and valiant military personnel like that? She made a mental vow, that she would find Discord, and avenge the lives of all the innocents lost. That was when Prime Minister Chamberlain spoke up. "This is an outrage. It goes against humanity. We will send a message to the Germans, to pull out of Poland, one of our greatest allies, within two days. If not, we will declare war against them."

That was when Albert Lebrun, the President of France, spoke up. "So will we, if the Germans do not respond. Poland is one of our biggest allies as well."

Celestia was shocked at these statements. They were willing to have their militaries fight the Germans to help another country! They were truly good people for helping out a fellow nation like that.

"Alright. Let's have our aircraft fly to forward bases, near the border with Poland and Germany. They will also be dispatched to the remaining parts of un-annexed Poland. Ground units will also be sent in. If the Germans do not surrender immediately, the Royal Navy will send ships to blockade German and Polish ports, which will starve them of resources, and force them to surrender. Despite the two best battleships in our fleet currently stuck in Equestria, we can still send multiple destroyers, and some of our lesser battleships as well." said Chamberlain.

"Yes, that will do. Thank you, Chamberlain, and Lebrun, for helping my nation." said Raczkiewicz.

"You are most welcome, Raczkiewicz. Your nation has exported its crops and minerals to us for years. We are just repaying the debt."

"When will mobilization of your troops begin?"

"In about an hour, when I give the orders, mobilization of British troops should begin."

"Mobilization of French troops should begin around the time." said Lebrun.

"Oh, good. Hopefully, the Germans will surrender, and Poland can be returned to us. Once so, we will have the Germans pay a large amount of compensation for the heavy losses taken during the invasion." said Raczkiewicz.

That was Celestia spoke up. "I don't mean to intrude, but, Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Roosevelt, could we speak to you in private after this meeting?"

"Sure, thing, your Highness." replied a surprised Roosevelt.

"Same here, your Highness." replied Chamberlain, who was also a little surprised.

Celestia hoped that they would be able to put a plan she had been working on since the last few minutes into action after the talk with Roosevelt and Chamberlain.

----------------------------------------------------------15,000 FEET OVER GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
As this was going on in Switzerland, meanwhile, over Germany, in his big Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor, Adolf Hitler was taking a call from the General. "Can I assume that Order 66 was executed successfully?" asked Hitler.

"Yes, Fuhrer. We executed Order 66 less than ten minutes after you gave the orders. By 12:40pm, we had overtaken Warsaw, and majority of Poland is under control. The remainder of the Polish military has retreated to the western parts of the country, near Russia. We have killed over 35,000 Polish military and civilians. Unfortunately, over 5,000 of our men were killed during the operation." replied the General.

"Oh, good. A pity about the men we lost. We will compensate their losses, by sending thrice the number of Polish people into the disinfectant chambers. We are planning to take over some former Polish military bases and use them as concentration camps."

"I see. We will have them prepared. In the meantime, how long till you arrive back in Berlin?"

"Not too long, now. We will begin the descent soon, and we should land by around 1:10pm."

"Okay, I'll great you at the airport."

"Alright then, see you there." said Hitler, as he hung up the phone, and decided to take a leak before they arrived in Berlin. He got up from his seat, and went into the bathroom. He finished taking nature's call, and took a look at himself in the mirror. He was admiring his face, when he saw something in the mirror. He looked at the reflection closer, and he could see a flickering form. It was not human, but something else entirely. It was a creature.

It resembled dragons from Chinese mythology, but it was not a dragon. It's body shape was that of a snake. It had a horse-like head, a deer antler on one side of its head, and a unicorn horn, resembling that of the Equestrians, on the other side. It had different-sized pupils, the right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. It also had a horse's mane, a bat's right wing, and another Equestrian feature: a Pegasus left wing. This creature emanated nothing but chaos. Something he liked, which was when someone knocked on the door, and the creature's flickering form disappeared.

"Fuhrer! We are beginning our descent, could you please get back to your seat?" asked the voice of one of the flight attendants.

"Coming, coming." replied Hitler, as he began unlocking the bathroom door. He looked back at the mirror, but could see no sign of the creature. That was odd. He would think more about it later, once he was back in Berlin. The big Condor began its descent, and by 1:05pm, it was taxiing off the runway at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport. The plane pulled up to its stand at the VIP terminal, the four big piston engines were shut off, and the propellers stopped turning. A few black Mercedes cars pulled up next to the plane.

(basically like five or six of these)

Hitler and all the German politicians on board got in the cars, which then drove down to the Reichstag, which was just under half an hour from the airport. When they reached the Reichstag, they quickly went down to the main meeting room, which was highly secure, with three-foot thick steel walls even a jackhammer couldn't penetrate, and a keypad with a highly secure code that changed every day. Nobody except the highest ranking German officials, such as Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and all the other men in their inner circle could get in this room.

The men all walked in. All the others, including the Nazi military general, and Joseph Goebbels, were already there, waiting for Hitler to show up. At around 1:30pm, the door closed behind them, with a solemn thud, as Hitler sat down at the foot of the table. "Alright, let's begin the meeting." said Hitler, turning on a projector. "As you know, earlier today, after that shootout at the League of Nations, in which one of our soldiers who was promoting the Nazi cause was killed, and caused our country to leave the League of Nations, Order 66, which was the codename for the order to invade Poland, was executed. We took the Polish by surprise, and we have captured most of the country, except for a small portion near the Poland-Russia border. Take a look." said Hitler, as he began showing images on the projector.

The images showed the aftermath of the invasion of Poland. The gory images of dead Polish soldiers and civilians pleased them, especially one of the main buildings of Warsaw, where the old Polish flag was torn down and replaced with the Nazi Swastika, but what angered them most was the images of the dead German soldiers. They were then discussing how many old Polish Army bases would soon be turned into concentration camps, when suddenly, the power went out. "Don't panic, everyone, the backup generator will come on in just a second." said Goebbels.

Thankfully, the backup generator did come on around twenty seconds later. But they realized that their walkie-talkies were not working. In fact, they were fuzzy, and Hitler probably guessed the soldiers would be trying to get back in contact with them, and figure out why they had lost contact like that.

"Don't panic, everyone. I will try and open the door, and then we can figure out why we lost our communications." said Goebbels, trying to reassure everyone. He then went to try and open the door, but when he tried to turn the large vault-like handle, it would not open. "What is this? The door won't open!" shouted Goebbels, causing everyone to fear they would die of starvation in the meeting room.

"Ah, that is because, I temporarily may or may not have melted the door's electronic components with that power surge, Joseph." said a new voice, in perfect German, with an accent. One that was sinister, yet had a certain tone about it that the Nazis liked.

"Who are you?! How do you know my first name?! How did you melt the electronic components of the door?! SHOW YOURSELF!" shouted a panicked Goebbels, who was hyperventilating badly.

"Ah, Joseph. I will show myself to you, Adolf, and the rest of the main Nazi leadership in a minute or so. You will be in here for the next ten to fifteen minutes, anyways, since the soldiers outside are busy getting cutters to try and open the door." said the voice.

"What?! Now show yourself! We don't like talking to just voices unless its on a telephone, you see. And also, no one calls me by just my first name!" said Hitler.

"Alright, then, I shall show myself. However, I do have a natural form, which might scare some of you, so, is it fine if I quickly shapeshift into one of you guys?" asked the voice.

"As much as I would like to see your natural form, I don't think I would like to scare my inner circle, so yes." replied Hitler, who suspected he knew who this voice was.

"Alright, don't be too frightened by my appearance." said the voice, as a man appeared into the room, out of nowhere. He was a handsome German guy with blond hair, probably in his early thirties, dressed all in black. Black shoes, black pants, black shirt, even a black jacket. He looked like a normal German human male, except for the fact that he was dressed all in black, and had a pretty sinister smile on his face. "Well, this is my human form. I am Discord, the spirit of chaos." introduced the man.

"What do you mean spirit of chaos?" asked Hitler, who found himself liking Discord already.

"Ah, well, as the title suggests, I cause chaos. Lots of chaos. I thrive in it. I revel in it. In some ways, Hitler, you and I are not so different."

"Ah, you hate Jews too?"

"Well, not really. My hate is for the Equestrians. It is probably as much as your hate for Jews."

That statement by Discord, shocked everyone. They did not expect him to be against the Equestrians, especially when they came in peace. "Why so? Why do you hate the Equestrians, when they come in peace?"

"They are not that peaceful. They imprisoned me, for some harmless mischief, that too! They stuck me in stone, for over 300 years! It was only when Equestria was transported to Earth, that I was able to free myself!" shouted Discord.

"Wait, what? Just for harmless mischief? You say you are the spirit of chaos, so you must have done something bad to get yourself imprisoned in stone for 300 years." replied Hitler.

"Nothing much, really. I just caused some chocolate to flood an Equestrian town, and I stopped the Sun and the Moon from rotating around Equis, the home planet from which we came. And for that, they imprisoned me!"

"What? You stopped the Sun and Moon from rotating around Equis?"

"Yes. I have quite a bit of power, you see. I could easily turn Earth's Moon to fragments, cause earthquakes, and other such things."

That statement made the Nazis even more happy. If Discord was willing to side with them, his powers would be useful. For instance, if the British tried to do something, they could probably have Discord destroy a city to stop them. That was when they realized that the soldiers had almost finished cutting through the door. They were only about three minutes from opening it.

". Also, I almost forgot, I got you these." said Discord, handing the Nazis a large document. When they opened it, it stunned them all. The General spoke up first.

"Oh, My God. These are the plans for..."

"Yes. The Hawker Hurricane. The current British frontline fighter. These are the original plans. I replaced them with perfect copies, so the Hawker engineers wouldn't know that they were gone."

"But..... how?" asked Hitler.

"I have my ways. I'll try and get you plans for the Spitfire, and maybe more of the British military's equipment, later. But first, a deal. If you let me stay in your country, and conduct my own black experiments, I will do all this for you. Is that clear?"

"I accept these conditions, Discord." replied Hitler, much to the happiness of the Nazis. That was when the soldiers finally cut the door open, and when they saw the strange man, they instantly raised their guns. Hitler instantly waved them down. "Soldiers, he is an ally, willing to help us conquer Europe. Lower your guns." The soldiers instantly complying, wondering how this man had managed to get in the room.

It was almost 2:00pm by the time Hitler and his men had finally gotten out of the room, along with Discord. They couldn't believe the whole ordeal had lasted just under half an hour. They hoped that with Discord's help, they could finally take Europe all for themselves.

Chapter 15

---------------------------------------------------------PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA-----------------------------------------------------------
It was now 2:40pm. The meeting with the world leaders had gone well. Equestria had signed deals with some Middle Eastern countries for the import of crude oil, and a deal with Russia for the import of wheat. They were now on their way for the meeting with Chamberlain and Roosevelt, where they would tell them about Discord. Hopefully, this would help Chamberlain know what the British military was up against, and hope that they would be able to fight back against the Nazis. Celestia also had a strategy of her own up her hoof to help Britain and France out.

They reached the room, the same one they had first met the two world leaders, for this meeting. Chamberlain and Roosevelt were already there, when the ponies arrived. The two world leaders had a bit of a concerned look on their faces. Not surprising considering the way Celestia had asked for a private meeting. "Ah, Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Roosevelt, sorry about that. Something came up, which we just had to discuss with you."

"What is it, your Highnesses?" asked Chamberlain.

"Well, we have just found out a new threat has escaped our nation, and came to your world." said Celestia.

"What?! What is this threat?" asked a shocked Chamberlain.

"Well, I suppose you have read our history?"

"Yes, but how does it pertain to this threat?"

"Well, the threat is Discord, the spirit of chaos. He has escaped from his imprisonment, and come to the human world. I have no doubt he is responsible for that shootout earlier today. He probably possessed that German soldier to start the shootout, and start the German invasion of Poland. No doubt he wants the war to occur."

That shocked Chamberlain and Roosevelt, as they had thought Discord was still imprisoned, back in Equestria. Now he was loose in their world. But first they needed proof. "How did you find about this?" asked Roosevelt.

Celestia instantly realized she had made a mistake by burning the letter she had received earlier that day. But that was when Luna saved the day, by showing a letter she had received. "Mr. Roosevelt, I had received this letter earlier today. Take a look." said Luna, levitating the letter to Roosevelt, who took it, opened it, and began reading. Now it was him and Chamberlain's turn to nearly have a coronary.

The letter was pretty much a carbon copy of the one Celestia had received. Celestia was a little unhappy with Luna for not telling her about the fact that she had also received a letter. But she would chew her out for that later. Celestia was the first to speak up. "You see, if Discord is free, I have no doubt that he has made a deal with the Nazis." said Celestia.

"Oh, no, this means the Italians and Japanese are next too!" said Chamberlain.

"Wait, why the Italians and Japanese too? I thought they were still here?" asked Celestia.

"The Italian Fascist dictator, Mussolini, left for Germany an hour ago, and the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, couldn't make it to the League of Nations, but we received intel from our intelligence services that he is also on his way to Germany as well, and will reach in under three hours! Italy and Japan are Germany's two closest allies. We call them the Axis powers. I guarantee that they will also make deals with Discord as well!"

"Oh no. If they do so, the war will become worse. I guarantee you the Italians will fight against the British and French forces, and Japan will continue the war against China."

"What do you suggest we do, your Highnesses?"

"Well, first things first, let us keep the news of Discord away from the general public, and restrict it only to top military units and world leaders."

"Yes, let us do that. It's better we don't cause mass worldwide panic."

"Mr. Roosevelt, I would recommend that America doesn't enter the war for as long as possible. Knowing Discord, he will find some way to make sure your country is involved in the war."

"We weren't planning on going to war anyway, unless we are attacked first." replied Roosevelt.

"Oh, good. Mr. Chamberlain, I assume mobilization of your military has begun?"

"Yes, the first set of Royal Air Force planes arrived in non-annexed Poland some time back, and the third set of Royal Army units is on their way. Also, the first set of Royal Navy ships is on its way." replied Chamberlain.

"Oh, I see. Try not to engage until the deadline is over. Also, we have a request for you."

"What is it, your Highnesses?"

"We request that you admit Equestrians to your military. We can send them, and once they have finished training, and getting used to human technology, they can go to the front. We also request military equipment, for our own modernized military."

"Your Majesty.... are you sure that is a good idea? Your lands appeared on our world just a few days back, and already you are throwing your citizens into a war? You are sending them straight on the highway to the danger zone. They might die, you realize."

"I know, but millions more will die if we don't stop Discord. He is out to destroy this world."

"I see. We will wait till the deadline for the Germans to pull out of Poland. If they do not pull out of Poland, and a war starts, then we shall put your plan into action."

"Hopefully, it works, and we can stop Discord, without much loss of life from either side."

"I too hope so, your Highnesses. If it doesn't work, may God help us all."

--------------------------------------------------------------THE REICHSTAG, BERLIN---------------------------------------------------------------
Hitler was standing outside the main door of the Reichstag building, waiting for Hirohito to show up. It was now almost 6:00pm. Mussolini had arrived an hour earlier, and was waiting in the conference room, as the main meeting room still had not been fixed from Discord's arrival. Last he had heard, Hirohito's plane had landed at Tempelhof Airport successfully. He was thinking about how Discord would be useful to the Nazis' goals, when he saw seven black government Mercedes cars approaching the building. Hirohito's convoy.

The black Mercedes stopped, and Hirohito came out. He looked happy to see Hitler, and the two embraced each other. "Hiroheeto, my friend. How are you doing?" asked Hitler.

"Very good, Adolf. What about you? I heard you invaded Poland." said Hirohito.

"Yes, we invaded Poland. Zey killed one of our soldiers at the ze League of Nations, but we were planning to invade zem anyways, so that just gave us an excuze to do so." replied Hitler.

"I thought so, my friend. Anyways, I heard you have something to show me and Mussolini?"

"Yes, it is something amazing." said Hitler, as the two walked into the Reichstag, surrounded by guards. They went to the main meeting room, where Mussolini was waiting. The trio of dictators happily greeted each other, where Hitler revealed that it was a person he wanted to show them, not a thing. They were waiting, when Discord appeared, still in human form.

"Hello, Mussolini, and Hirohito." said Discord.

"Who are you?! How did you appear out of nowhere like zat?!" shouted a scared Mussolini, while Hirohito just watched in horror.

"Ah, Mussolini, I am Discord, the spirit of chaos."

"What do you mean?" asked Mussolini, fearfully.

"Well, I am an enemy of the Equestrians. I did some harmless mischief to them, such as drowning a whole town in chocolate, and robbing their planetary system of its gravitational movement, for which they imprisoned me in stone for a thousand years. I was freed only when something transported their world to Earth."

"Wait, what?! A thousand years? You zaid your imprisonment was only 300 years!" said Hitler.

"Sorry about that, Hitler. Time isn't the same in imprisonment. While I thought only 300 years had passed, it was actually a thousand years."

"Also, how powerful are you?" asked Hirohito.

"Well, I could probably destroy this planet's Moon, and make the fragments rain down on Earth. That is 10% of my power, right there." said Discord, calmly.

"What?! What ees 100% of your power, zen?" asked Mussolini.

"Well, I don't know, as I have never used all 100% of my power." said Discord.

"I hope we never have to zee what zat looks like." said Mussolini.

"Well, fear not, I will not use it. Anyways, I have something for you." said Discord, as he pulled out the documents for the Hawker Hurricane's plans, and showed it to Mussolini and Hirohito, who were instantly amazed, on reading the plans.

"How did you get zis?"

"I told Hitler earlier, I have my ways. But I do have to ask something of you."

"What is it, Discord?" asked Hirohito.

"I want to conduct some black experiments of my own, in return for helping you in the war. I want labs, the best, set up in both your countries, Mussolini and Hirohito."

"Sure, we accept ze conditions, but what about the expenses?" said Mussolini.

"As for the expenses related to the setting up of these labs, put them as war costs."

"Alright, shall we make plans for the war, as we will not respond to Britain and France's demands?" asked Hitler.

"Yes, lets." said the three world leaders, as they and Discord sat down to prepare their plans. It was now almost 6:30pm, as they did this. They would be up well till midnight doing this.

-------------------------------------------------------THE PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA-------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00pm. Their plan discussion with Chamberlain and Roosevelt had ended an hour ago. Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and Shining Armor, despite being a little horrified at Celestia's plan, agreed it was the only way to stop Discord. They were now about to settle down for dinner, and they were discussing Celestia's plan. "'Tia, are you sure of this? We are sending our little ponies to war, in unknown places. Are you sure we cannot have the British forces deal with Discord for us?" asked Luna.

"Luna, the human forces will not know what they are dealing with, even with better weaponry. They will have no chance against Discord. Sending our ponies in is the only way to stop him and prevent casualties on both sides." said Celestia.

"I know, 'Tia. It's just, I'm concerned about how they will take to being dropped in a battlefield like that. The humans are nice, but their wars are awful. I mean, look at what the Germans did to Poland, in the pictures they showed us. How do we send them into that?" replied Luna.

“'Tia, I understand your point. But we must also consider the safety of our ponies. We cannot just send them into battle without proper protection,” said Cadance.

“I agree with Cadance. We need to make sure that our ponies have the best possible equipment to protect themselves,” added Shining Armor.

Celestia nodded. “I understand your concerns, but we have already taken care of that. The ponies will be equipped with the latest armor and weaponry. They will also be accompanied by experienced human soldiers who will guide them through the battlefield.”

Luna looked relieved. “Thank you, 'Tia. I feel much better now.”

Twilight smiled. “We’re all in this together. We’ll do whatever it takes to stop Discord and bring peace to Equestria.”

The group then sat down for dinner, discussing their plan in detail and preparing to leave for Equestria early tomorrow.

Chapter 16

2ND SEPTEMBER 1939

------------------------------------------------------THE PALACE OF NATIONS, GENEVA--------------------------------------------------------
It was 4:30am in the morning. The princesses were packing up their final things, getting ready for the six-hour flight back to Manehattan, on the same plane they had arrived on, the 307 Stratoliner. Their visit had been cut short by war preparations. Celestia was also nervous about how the public would take the news once they returned to Equestria. Sure, the renaming of their currency from the bit to the Equestrian dollar would be nerve-racking, and the shift to paper currency would be hard on the Equestrian economy.

But the fact that they would soon go to war was also pretty scary, considering it had been just a week since their arrival on Earth. She knew multiple Equestrians would die, and so would a lot of humans, but it was the only way to prevent Discord from destroying Earth. This was truly a case of cutting off an infected arm to save the rest of the body. Then, again, it was the only way.

They finished packing up, and the Royal Guards were also ready. Some of the Equestrian diplomats would stay back at the League of Nations, to handle the negotiations with the rest of the world leaders. Their flight would be leaving in an hour and a half, and by 4:40am, they were all at the entrance to the Palace of Nations, bidding farewell to some of the world leaders, such as Roosevelt, Chamberlain, and Lebrun. Their flight would arrive in Manehattan at 12:30pm Geneva time, or 10:00am Equestria time.

"I do hope that our plan works, Mr. Chamberlain." said Celestia.

"Hopefully it does, your Highness. If it doesn't, may God help us all." replied Chamberlain. The ponies then bid farewell, as they hopped into the six black cars that had brought them there when they had arrived. Again, it was only a short ten-minute drive to the airport, and by 5:00am, they were outside the posh VIP terminal, where they underwent security checks, which annoyed some of the Royal Guards.

They had an hour before their plane left, so they all went to the breakfast buffet, and enjoyed the large number of foods on offer. There were multiple cuisines: French, Swiss, Russian, Indian, British, Mexican, so many choices. The princesses, and Shining Armor chose some Indian cuisine, particularly masala dosas. These thin savory pancakes were stuffed with potato curry, making it a yummy and spicy breakfast food.

Some of the Royal Guards felt that the Indian and Mexican food was too spicy for their liking, and ended up having a full French breakfast instead.

At last, at 5:45am, around fifteen minutes before they were scheduled to depart, the ponies walked onto the tarmac, and boarded the big plane. Air travel had awed them so much that Twilight, who had written to her friends a lot about air travel since their arrival in Geneva, was already drawing up plans for future Equestrian and Crystal Empirean airlines, using data on aircraft she had found at the Palace of Nations.

A few minutes later, the four piston engines were started, and the big propeller airliner began taxiing to the runway. Takeoff was smoother than it was from Manehattan, probably because they were using a tarmac runway this time, unlike the dirt runway in Manehattan. The flight was uneventful, with some minor turbulence along the way. The meal service was also delightful, although not as good as the one at the airport.

Finally, at around 9:50am Equestria time, earlier than their scheduled arrival time, they were on final approach to Manehattan Airfield. The big plane pulled off a smooth touchdown and began slowing down. The plane stopped, and the propellers shut off. The doors opened, and the princesses got out to a loud crowd, all being held back from the airfield by a large number of Royal Guards. As they got out, Celestia looked at the plane. It would head back to Geneva in an hour.

As they left the airfield and entered the city, she was planning her address to the nation that evening in Canterlot. One would also occur in the Crystal Empire as well. This would announce the decision of the Equestrians to go to war. She knew it would cause a lot of uproar, sending her little ponies to war, in a world they did not know so well. But, again, it was the only way to stop Discord.

She was thinking of how to announce this, when Ambassador Rockmond, who had been with them during the whole trip, asked Celestia something. "Your Highnesses, I assume you are prepared for the announcement of our decision, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Rockmond, I am. I plan to announce it later in the day." said Celestia.

"How do you think your citizens will react, when they find out about your decision to do this?"

"Not too positively, that is for sure."

"Well, they'll later find out what war is like. Anyways, we are actually going to have to keep some of our warships here for a few months."

"Why is that so, Mr. Rockmond?" asked Celestia.

"They will act like American embassies, in a way, until the infrastructure in Equestria is upgraded. We will have monthly crew rotations, with other ships coming in. Once that is done, and a permanent embassy building is constructed, we can take them back to our home country."

"As I much as I am concerned about having a large warship like that docked at a major city, it will do, I suppose."

"Don't worry, your Majesty. Nothing should happen while it is here."

"Hopefully.... " said Celestia, turning away from Rockmond, and turning to Wood.

"Your Highness, for the same reason, we are also keeping some of our ships here." said Wood.

"That's fine, I suppose." said Celestia.

"Your Highnesses, uh, could we speak to you in private for a minute?"

"Yes, sure thing, Mr. Wood, and Mr. Rockmond. What is it?"

"Well, we are concerned that the Germans might try to attack your countries by air. We would like to build a few more airstrips around the border, and station Royal Air Force fighter aircraft there."

"Fighter aircraft? Again, I'm not sure that is a good idea, but I am a little concerned about an aerial attack by the Germans, so sure, you may station some in our countries."

"Don't worry, your Highnesses. Our militaries will try to protect your nations as best as possible."

Over the next two hours, time went slowly, as the princesses went back to the conference center, where they were discussing things with the rest of the Equestrian bureaucracy. They were also preparing to begin the change from the bit to the Equestrian dollar. The new currency note's design had been agreed upon, and that announcement would also be made that evening. It would be made in Canterlot. Since there wasn't an airfield where an aircraft could land in Canterlot, the princesses would use teleportation to take the humans to the venues of the addresses (in this case, Canterlot, and Crystal Castle).

At 11:30am, after lunch, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance told Wood and Rockmond what they were planning. They were pretty excited to see what something as fantastical as teleportation felt like in real life. The princesses had informed them, that despite being convenient, teleportation used a lot of energy, therefore, they mainly used it only for special cases, such as this. They were also excited to see Canterlot and the Crystal Empire for the first time. Twilight would also be coming to the Canterlot address, with her friends.

At 1:30pm, after reassuring their men, Rockmond, Wood, and a few others, went off to join the princesses. Rockmond and a few American diplomats would join Cadance at the Crystal Empire, while Wood and a few British diplomats would join Celestia and Luna in Canterlot. They were excited to see the capitals of the Equestrians and the Crystal Empireans, and especially excited to see what it felt like being teleported.

At 1:40pm, the humans met up with the princesses. "Alright, is everyone ready?" asked Luna.

"All ready over here, your Highnesses." replied Wood.

"Cadance, all good at your end?" asked Luna.

"Yes, we're all good over here."

"Alright, here we go..." said Luna, as she, Celestia, and Cadance began the teleportation spells. The humans felt like they were about to be sucked into large pipes. They felt as their feet were lifted up into the air, and everything became a superfast blur, as they were teleported. The next thing Wood knew, he was right outside the beautiful city of Canterlot, which looked more beautiful than in the pictures he had seen of it in the museum.

It was a beautiful city, built into a hill. Despite it looking precarious, it had been there for over 2,000 years, so it was pretty safe. He wondered how they would build an airport there. Thankfully, the hill wasn't too high, and there looked like a decent area, around half an hour away by car, where they could build an airport, with around two or three runways, and a safe approach and departure path.

The humans walked into the city, and they could see all the other ponies looking at them, some in fear, some in awe. They were all more richer than the ponies in Manehattan, from the way they were dressed and walking. One of them, a brown Earth pony, was even wearing a collar and tie, like an Earthly businessman or world leader.

They were discussing business deals and what not with their comrades, probably thinking how they would make use of human technology. Probably discussing airlines, oil companies, and other such things. They couldn't believe how beautiful the city was, and they were now approaching the Royal Castle. The gates opened, and they went in. The castle was large, and they all went to the conference room, where they would be staying until they went back to Manehattan.

The castle's conference room was more lavish than the one they were at in Manehattan, and it had waiters serving refreshments every few minutes. Some of the appetizers were pretty similar to Earthly dishes. They then met some Equestrian diplomats, and told them about their plans. They were willing to help the humans build an airport near Canterlot, but it would take a while, so until then, to get the ponies to the UK, they would have to go to Manehattan, and have RAF planes take them to military training camps in Britain.

They would be randomly distributed into Army, Navy, and Air Force. The military planners were already modifying several aircraft, ships, and tanks so ponies could operate them, and from now on, all new vehicles to roll off assembly lines, no matter if they were cars, trains, planes, or ships, would be pony-compatible.

It was now 3:00pm. Crowds were starting to arrive. The address that would send Equestria to war would take place in half an hour.

Chapter 17

Author's Note

Sorry I couldn't post this chapter last week, guys, had my exams on. Plus, my depression's getting worse, it's giving me writer's block, and all I want to do is just cry myself to bed, knowing I'm a failure. I don't know what to do. Sorry for the rant, just had to get that out of my system.

Chapter 17

----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT-------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 3:20pm in Equestria. Celestia and Luna's address that would put the country in war would begin in ten minutes. The human ambassadors and their retinue were also there, and they would be in the front row, with the VIPs, who had come from all parts of Equestria. Pretty much all of Equestria's 200 million-strong population was present there. They all wanted to know what this was about. All the announcement for this had said was 'something that would shake our whole nation to its core.'

They were all anxious and nervous to know. Wood was also nervous, hoping that the Equestrians wouldn't riot on hearing the fact that they were about to go to war. Just a few rows behind him, Twilight was sitting with her friends. She already know what they were about to head into, and they hadn't told anyone. They were extremely nervous, although Rainbow Dash was hoping she would be able to join the Royal Air Force and fly a plane, as she had gotten extremely crazy about them ever since Twilight had told her about them.

At 3:25pm, the address was about to begin. The ponies were nervous, as an anchor came onto the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, our rulers will begin their address in just five minutes. I request everyone to stay in their seats, and please wait patiently."

At exactly 3:30pm, Celestia and Luna came up on the stage, cleared their throats, and began the address. "Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you coming to Canterlot on such short notice. This will shake our nation to its very core. I assume you have all read the news reports from our League of Nations visit?" said Celestia.

The entire audience nodded. They had read about the shootout and the fact that a war had started between Poland and Germany, and two of the countries of the League of Nations was supporting Poland, and would fight with Germany if need be.

"Well, I'm guessing you know there is a war on, but this is what our announcement is about. Equestria, and the Crystal Empire, will be joining the war."

At this statement, the whole crowd was shocked. They were not expecting to enter a war, so soon after arriving on Earth. What would happen? Where would they fight? Why were they joining the war? What about the magic limits? How would they deal with those?

"I know you are probably asking why we are joining the war, but, due to security reasons, we cannot reveal that right now. But, you won't be fighting right away. You will be sent for training to Britain, an Earthly country which is one of the most powerful on Earth. After a month or two of training, you will be sent to the frontlines. You will be randomly distributed into their military's three arms: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Go to our recruiting offices. All citizens above the age of 18 years must try to enlist, and fight for our country." said Luna.

All the citizens looked worried. What would a human military be like? How would their weaponry be? Which parts of Earth would they be fighting in? Poland? Germany?

"I know it is a hard request on all of you, but we will fight, to protect our homeland, and Earth's nations." said Celestia. The audience broke into a mix of cheers and tears, more than willing to save their nation, and a whole planet.

The first one to respond was Rainbow Dash. "I will join!" shouted Dash.

"So will I!" shouted Applejack

"So will I!" shouted Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

More shouts of willingness to join came from the other citizens of Equestria. They were all willing to join the war, and protect their nation. Although the common Equestrians did not know, this war had been started by their ancient enemy. They would be walking into the toughest challenge their country had ever faced.

Celestia and Luna were instantly surprised by how many Equestrians were willing to volunteer for the war. They weren't expecting so many, and neither was Wood. He better call in more planes, and hoped the Equestrian recruiting offices would be able to handle the large amount of citizens enlisting in the war.

---------------------------------------------------------------THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadance's address was about to start. She and Shining Armor were already on the stage. Rockmond and his retinue were again in the front row of the seating, just outside the beautiful Crystal Castle. He could see how beautiful the city was, and he could also see the Crystal Heart, the object that powered the Crystal Empire's shield. He couldn't believe just being a loving person would fuel it. Again, pretty much all of the 50 million ponies living in the Crystal Empire were here.

As his watch ticked 3:40pm, the address began. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice. This announcement will shake our nation to its core. I assume you have been reading about the events on Earth, and our League of Nations visit?" asked Cadance.

The audience nodded. They had also closely followed the visit to the League of Nations, and the crazy shootout. The events on Earth were also known, as such the invasion of Poland by Germany.

"Well, I'm guessing you know there is a war on, but this is what our announcement is about. The Crystal Empire, along with our neighboring nation, Equestria, will be joining the war."

At this statement, the whole crowd was shocked. They were not expecting to enter a war, so soon after arriving on Earth. What would happen? Where would they fight? Why were they joining the war? How would they deal with those?

"I know you are probably asking why we are joining the war, but, due to security reasons, we cannot reveal that right now. But, you won't be fighting right away. You will be sent for training to Britain, an Earthly country which is one of the most powerful on Earth. After a month or two of training, you will be sent to the frontlines. You will be randomly distributed into their military's three arms: Army, Navy, and Air Force. Go to our recruiting offices. All citizens above the age of 18 years must try to enlist, and fight for our country." said Shining Armor.

This sent the whole audience into craziness. One part was protesting this, and the part was silent in fear. Why was their ruler doing this? Was she trying to kill them all? The Crystal Empire had just returned from a 1,000 year disappearance two months earlier, and already they were being thrown into something that was super new to them. Why? Why them?

"I know it is a lot to ask of you, and believe me, I don't want to throw you into a large conflict such as this, but it is the only way to defend our nation. I request you all to enlist." said Cadance.

Although the audience's panic reduced with Cadance's words, a few were still skeptical. They were still wondering if Cadance was insane, to send them into a warzone like that. They hoped that they wouldn't have to fight too much in the war, since they were new to this world.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Canterlot, the address, and most of the crowd had run off to nearby recruiting offices, to enlist. Wood was talking with the princesses, about how they would send the ponies to Britain. They would be using both ships and planes. RAF planes would arrive at Manehattan, until new airstrips were built, and British passenger ships had temporarily been requisitioned for this purpose, to transport the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans to the British military bases. Again, Manehattan would be used until new ports could be constructed.

They were also thinking about arms deals. In fact, Wood was thinking about what equipment Britain would be able to sell the US.

"How was the address?" asked Celestia.

"It went pretty okay. There were some protests, but most ponies were willing to enlist." said Cadance.

"Good. Also, Shining Armor, Wood here has some plans he would like to talk to you about." said Celestia.

"Oh, sure. Wood, what is this about?" asked Shining Armor.

"Well, I have some plans for selling military equipment to your country."

"Alright. What kind of equipment?" asked Shining Armor, curious about what sort of equipment they would offer.

"Well, first, for ground soldiers, body armor is being developed, specially tailored to an Equestrian body. We are willing to set up a factory to manufacture it here in Equestria. We can also manufacture all the different types of helmets in Equestria." explained Wood.

"That would do very well, yes. It will be worth having protection from all those bullets." replied Shining Armor.

"Alright, second thing we need is guns. For now, we can supply Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles, Bren light machine guns, and Enfield No. 2 revolvers to Equestria. They are the standard guns in the Royal Army, so it helps out with training, and technical support."

"Alright, will you be manufacturing those here as well?"

"No, we will ship them in from Britain for now. We'll wait some more time before setting up a weapons factory in Equestria."

"I can't blame you. I'd be cautious about setting up a weapons factory in a new land as well. Alright, what about explosives?"

"The explosives we can manufacture in Equestria. We can manufacture smoke grenades, regular hand grenades, anti-tank grenades, anti-personnel landmines, and anti-tank landmines here. Things like anti-tank guns, howitzers, and coastal defence batteries, anti-aircraft artillery and what not, we can ship in."

"Whoa, that's a lot of explosives, but sure, we need all the military capability we can get. What about vehicles?"

"We can manufacture smaller vehicles, such as armored cars, jeeps, motorcycles, and smaller trucks here. Bigger trucks, and tanks will have to be, again, shipped in. Also, here's what we'll do for the Navy. I can have the Royal Navy lease our training ship, the HMS Nile, to your Navy, to train Equestrian sailors on modern ships. I can also have a few frigates or destroyers leased to start off your Navy until you can procure your own ships. I may also be able to get a lease of one of our older aircraft carriers as well."

"Alright, that seems good. I'm just wondering, could you give us technical support to build a shipyard?"

"Yes, sure. We can do so, and bring a lot of jobs to your country."

"Sounds good to me. Alright, last thing before we discuss the prices. What about our Air Force? What kind of aircraft can you offer?" asked Shining Armor.

"Well, we can't offer fighters just yet, since you don't have trained pilots. But we can offer training aircraft. We can offer you our Slingsby Kirby Cadet gliders. They are used for basic flight training. We can also sell you our Avro Tutor biplanes and Miles Magister monoplanes. They are also used in basic flight training, to learn to fly powered aircraft. Then, we have the more specialized training aircraft, such as the Miles Master. It is used in advanced flight training for fighter pilots. We are also offering Airspeed Oxfords. They are twin-engine aircraft used for training pilots to fly bombers and transport aircraft. Once the Equestrian Air Force has a decent number of trained pilots, we can send in fighters and bombers."

"Ah, I see. Now coming to prices. All this equipment, what is the total cost we are paying for all that, plus infrastructure, and also, when should it all be delivered?"

"Well, it should cost around 60 million pounds, or around 60 million Equestrian dollars. But, due to your current nations' current financial situation, you'll be paying only a fraction of the price."

"Wait, what?! Why are you being so generous?" asked Shining Armor.

"Well, your rulers saved that League of Nations soldier, who happened to be British. If they had not intervened, and he had died, it would have caused an even larger shootout, with more loss of life. As a token of gratitude for preventing further fatalities, Prime Minister Chamberlain has agreed to the price cuts. But, lets make a formal deal first, alright?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Wood." replied Shining Armor, as he and Wood went off to sign the paperwork required to make the arms deal. This deal would later be called the kick-starter of Equestrian industrialization. Little did they know, that the Equestrians' bank accounts would take a ton of damage, over the next few years.

Chapter 18

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 19

3RD SEPTEMBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was 5:00am in the morning. Despite the early time, majority of the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans were already awake. Today was the big day. Today was the day, they would all go to Britain and begin their training, before heading to war. Every single pony was excited and worried about it at the same time. The first ship bound for Britain would be leaving later that day, at around 11:00am. The voyage to Britain wouldn't be too long, it would only be around a day to sail between Britain and Manehattan.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot, the castle was already hustling and bustling. The enlisting offices had had a large influx of recruits, but not all of them would be going to Britain. Of the two million Equestrians and Crystal Empireans who had enlisted, only around 100,000 would be going in the first few months, and the remaining, they would be kept in reserves, and would be sent in later. Some would even start their training in the Equestrian military, once all the equipment arrived.

Celestia was especially worried, wondering how Discord would counter their efforts to stop him. She knew he would be up to something, but she didn't know what. In the meantime, Celestia was preparing her speech for the first batch of ponies to be leaving for Britain. She would deliver it at the port of Manehattan, before the first ship left. As she was thinking how to motivate the ponies, Luna came in. "Sister, I resumed dream duty last night, and during that, I learned something about Ambassador Rockmond's past."

"What do you mean? You are able to access the dreams of humans, now, Luna?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, sister, it seems I can access their dreams as well. I went into Rockmond's, as he was having a nightmare of the worst sort, and found out this about him." said Luna, and told Celestia about what she had seen in Rockmond's past.

"Oh my. That is tragic, knowing that Rockmond has carried the burden of being responsible for his friend's deaths for over twenty years." replied Celestia.

"I know, sister. It is someone, that no one, human or pony, must carry. I'll talk to him later in Manehattan."

"Alright. Now, could you help me out with my speech?"

"Sure thing, sister." said Luna, as she grabbed a quill, and prepared to help Celestia out.

-------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 7:00am in Germany. Discord was at the lab, happy. War was on the horizon. The second stage of his plan to put the world into chaos was almost complete. The ceasefire would expire at midnight, later that day, but he knew very well that Germany would not surrender to the ceasefire. They were going to fight against the might of the Allies. Discord was currently waiting for the first test subjects to arrive from the concentration camps. A primitive dirt road had been built to the lab, and the truck carrying the subjects would be arriving in around ten minutes.

Discord had time, so he busily thought to himself. The previous night, he had stolen some more plans from the British, and replaced them with perfect fakes. This time, he had stolen the ones for the Royal Army's tanks. He was planning to develop a weapon at the lab, one that would easily destroy those tanks, along with their crews, using the plans. Discord smiled to himself. It was going to be a glorious war. He would finally have what he had always wanted. To rule a whole planet, with a system based on chaos. The truck arrived, and Discord put on his lab coat and headed to the entrance of the lab, eager to begin his experiments.

----------------------------------------------------------10, DOWNING STREET, LONDON-------------------------------------------------------
It was 6:00am in London. While most British civilians were either still asleep or waking up at this time of the day, majority of the Royal Army, Navy, and Air Force, were all awake, waiting near the borders between Germany and unoccupied Poland. Multiple squadrons of RAF Spitfires, Hurricanes, Whitney and Anson bombers had been flown to bases all over unoccupied Poland, and a naval blockade was also to be formed near Germany. Multiple Royal Navy destroyers, and a few battleships had been stationed for this. Multiple Army units were also ready, and more were on their way.

At 10, Downing Street, Prime Minister Chamberlain, and the British military brass were all inside the bunker, hidden on the lower floors of the building, getting ready to listen to the war live. They would also be checking out the latest intel, and repositioning their units to eliminate any threats. They would be in the bunker for hours at a time, maybe even days, so it even had a bathroom, and living quarters.

They were getting ready. As much as they hoped there was a small chance, they knew very well the Germans would not respond to their ceasefire, which would expire in seventeen hours' time. They would go to war, and so would the British. Multiple radios, television sets, telephones, and printers had been set up in the room, to help them monitor the war. Final checks were going on. Within two hours, the war would begin.

-------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 6:00am. Majority of Manehattan was already awake, to watch the sight of the first British ships coming into the harbor. In this case, it was two ocean liners that the British government had hurriedly grabbed and repurposed, to use as the Equestrians' transport to the mainland. These was the RMS Queen Mary, and her sister ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, each repurposed to carry at least ten thousand troops, human and Equestrian. For the next few days, it would be only transporting Equestrians. Also, two RAF DC-3s had also landed at the airstrip, which would take close to twenty-five Equestrians on each plane, for the three hour flight to inland bases.

Luna had already teleported to Manehattan, as she wanted to speak with Rockmond, about his past, and also, she wanted to see the ship arrive. She could already see the Queen Mary in the distance, its three smokestacks billowing clouds of smoke, followed closely by the Queen Elizabeth. The crowd was also large, everyone wanting to see the huge ships. Since the ships were so big, a couple of Royal Navy tugboats, which had sailed in the night before, would steer the ships into the docks.

As the tugboats began to head to the two ocean liners, which were slowing down, Luna flew to the USS Colorado, where majority of the sailors seemed to be awake, and, surprisingly enough, Rockmond was already awake, and he seemed more fresh than usual, probably because he had finally been able to sleep peacefully last night. "Ah, your Highness. I see you have also come to watch the arrival of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth?" asked Rockmond.

"Actually, Mr. Rockmond, I have to speak with you private. Could I do so?" replied Luna.

"Uh, sure thing, Luna." said Rockmond, a seeming a little anxious and confused, as to why Luna had asked for such a conversation. "Alright, what's this about?" asked Rockmond, once he made sure nobody was listening to their conversation.

"Well, Rockmond, as you know, I have the power to enter dreams, and last night, I found out that I can enter those of humans, as well."

"I knew that dream ended a little abruptly." sighed Rockmond. "You saw my dream, and ended it for me, didn't you?"

"Yes, Rockmond. I did end that nightmare you were having. It's my job, after all."

Rockmond nodded. "So, what did you see in my past?" he asked, curious.

Luna took a deep breath. "I saw the incident during the Great War, where you lost Chris and John. And I know that you have been carrying the burden of responsibility for their deaths for over twenty years."

Rockmond's eyes widened in shock. "How did you...how could you know that?"

"I saw it in your dream, Rockmond. And I wanted to tell you that it was not your fault. You did everything you could to protect your friends. You were a hero that day, and you are a hero now."

Rockmond was speechless for a moment. He had never spoken about the incident to anyone, and the weight of it had been a burden on him for so long. Tears began to form in his eyes. "Thank you, Luna. That means...a lot to me."

Luna smiled warmly. "You're welcome, Rockmond. And don't hesitate to talk to me if you need someone to talk to."

Rockmond nodded, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. Luna then thanked him for his service, and headed back to watch the two ocean liners arrive. The ships had stopped, and the tugboats had hooked up to them, and began to tow the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth into port.

They watched as the big ocean liner docked, and the gantry was lowered. The crew got out, and met up with Shining Armor, who would also be going to Britain, but by plane. They went off with him to explore Manehattan. In the meantime, they decided to get ready for the speech.

Later that day, at 8:30am, Celestia arrived from Canterlot, to give her speech to all the ponies. The stage had already been set, right outside the Queen Mary, which would take close to two hours to load, before it and the Queen Elizabeth departed at 11:00am.

At exactly 9:00am, Celestia came up on the stage, with all the ponies waiting to board their ships standing before the stage. "My fellow Equestrians," began Celestia, her voice projecting clearly through the microphone system. "Today marks the start of a great journey, a journey towards freedom, towards justice, towards victory. You have all volunteered to serve your country, and you have all demonstrated your love for Equestria. Today, you begin a journey that will test your courage, your strength, and your loyalty to your country."

The crowd listened to her every word, nodding in agreement. They were all filled with a sense of patriotism and pride.

"I know that many of you are scared, and that is natural. Going to war is never an easy thing. But I assure you, you are not alone. You will get the best equipment, the best training, and the best leaders that the British military can offer. You will go with the blessings of Faust herself, who is watching over you, and who will guide you on your journey."

Celestia paused for a moment, before continuing. "And so, my dear Equestrians, I leave you with this: remember who you are fighting for. Remember the values that Equestria stands for, and the sacrifices that have been made, by ponies and humans alike, to protect those values. Remember the great heroes of our past, who fought for the same cause, and who gave their lives so that we may have ours. And finally, remember that you are not just soldiers, but ambassadors of Equestria. You represent the best of us, and so I ask that you conduct yourselves with honor and integrity, and that you treat your fellow soldiers with respect."

The crowd burst into cheers and applause, as Celestia finished her speech. They were inspired, and ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead. As Celestia descended from the stage, she was greeted by Luna, who had been watching the entire speech from behind the scenes.

"Well, sister, I think you really motivated them." said Luna.

"I guess so, Luna. But I am a little concerned about Discord and his plans." replied Celestia, a worried look on her face.

"I know, sister. But we have to believe in our soldiers, and in ourselves. We will stop Discord, and we will win this war." said Luna, placing a comforting hoof on Celestia's shoulder. Celestia smiled gratefully at Luna, feeling a sense of reassurance and hope. She knew that Luna was right. They had to believe in their abilities, and in the strength of their soldiers. They would win this war, and they would restore peace and justice to Equestria and the world.

They watched as the ponies began boarding the two ocean liners. A total of 20,000 ponies would be heading to Britain on the first voyage over. The planes would carry close to two hundred ponies on the first day of flying time. The two princesses then headed down to the airstrip, where long lines were waiting to watch the two RAF DC-3s take off. They also noticed a small squadron of RAF fighters, Hawker Hurricanes, probably, stationed there, along with some newly built barracks for the pilots. Twilight was also there, saying goodbye to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who had enlisted.

"I'll miss you guys, and I just hope you make it out of the war alive, okay?" said Twilight.

"Don't worry, Twi, once I join the RAF, I'll fly my plane so fast, no enemy can take me down!" said a confident, yet anxious Rainbow Dash.

"Ah', don' worry, Twi. We'll be back before you know it, and we'll have plenty of stories to tell," added Applejack, putting a reassuring hoof on Twilight's shoulder. Then, they boarded one of the DC-3s. The princesses, and Twilight watched as the DC-3 turned on its engines, taxied to the beginning of the runway, and took off. Twilight knew this would be the last time she would see her friends for a while, as the plane disappeared into the sky.

They then went back to the harbour, as the final ponies began boarding the two ocean liners. They watched as the two ships started their engines, and tugboats began towing the ships away from the docks, where they could safely move under their own power. As this was happening, multiple ponies were waving goodbye, to all the enlisted ponies, who were standing on the decks of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth.

They knew that this would only be the beginning, of a very long ordeal against the Axis Powers, but they would not stop until the Axis, and Discord, were defeated.

Chapter 20

------------------------------------------------------NEAR THE POLAND-GERMANY BORDER-------------------------------------------------
It was now 11:55pm here, which meant it was around 10:25pm in Equestria. Flight Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur and his Spitfire squadron were flying just a few minutes away from the Poland-Germany border. The ceasefire was almost up, which meant, in five minutes, they would go up guns blazing against some Luftwaffe Bf109s. "Panther 3, how are you doing over there?" came the voice of MacArthur's squadron commander through the radio.

"All good here, Panther 1." replied MacArthur.

"Good, because, we're going to go weapons hot in five minutes, so get ready." replied Panther 1, as all forty Spitfires from both Panther and Aardvark Squadrons began doing final checks, before the dogfight. Thankfully, the Spitfires were just as and more capable than the Bf109s, so they stood a good chance against them.

At exactly 12:00am, the ceasefire expired, and the forty pilots watched as gunfire lit up the border. The war had begun. Below them was the town of Leglin. Earlier, 50,000 people had lived here, but now it was a ghost town, as the whole town had been evacuated. A large battle was underway, as a large Royal Army regiment was battling a regiment of the German Army. It was guns blazing, and already, twelve German soldiers had died.

On the ground, Commander William Weber's regiment was doing very well. Already, they had taken out multiple enemy soldiers, and three German armored cars, yet they had not lost one of their own. That was when a bomb landed in a house nearby, where a few of his soldiers were. He instantly pulled out his radio. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Mark! Albert! Everyone in the red house! Can you hear me?" shouted Weber.

"Commander, this is Albert here. I'm alright... " coughed the soldier, over the radio. "Mark is alive, but he's injured. Took a piece of bomb shrapnel to the leg. Everyone else... " paused the soldier. Weber let that sink in. He had just lost four of his soldiers. That was when he heard a siren, which he recognized as the sound of a German Stuka. Then another explosion, and all he could now hear over the radio was static. He looked through his binoculars and realized that everyone in that house was gone, as it was now burning, and the roof had collapsed. He could see more explosions, and realized that the German aerial bombing was becoming more frequent. More of his soldiers were reporting losses, and within ten minutes, his unit had lost close to seventeen soldiers. That was when he called in air support.

"Panther Squadron! We are getting bombed here! We've already lost multiple soldiers! Multiple Stuka bombers are dropping their payloads on us! We need air support down here!" shouted Weber over the radio.

"This is Panther 1 here, we see the Stukas, on our way." came the reply from Panther 1, who was flying 5,000 feet above him with his squadron. "Alright, guys, ready to smash some Stukas?" asked Panther 1 to his squadron.

"All ready here, Panther 3." replied MacArthur.

"Same here, Panther 6." replied another pilot, and similar replies came from every other pilot in Panther Squadron.

"Good, let's go. Descend, and kill those Stukas." replied Panther 1, as the whole squadron began descending. At around 2,000 feet, they began encountering Stukas and Bf109s. "Shit, everyone, put higher priority on the Stukas, as they are bombing our men on the ground, but try and destroy the Bf109s as well." said Panther 1. Guns began blazing in the air, as the dogfights began. Within a minute, two Stukas had been shot down, and so had a Bf109.

"Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust." hummed MacArthur, shooting down another Stuka. As Weber and his soldiers watched, more Bf109s and Stukas began falling out of the sky in flames. However, more Stukas and Bf109s kept coming in. "Oh, shit, I'm almost out of ammunition!" shouted MacArthur, looking at the amount of ammunition he had.

"So am I!" said Panther 6, and half of the squadron, which somehow, had only lost one plane.

"Roger that, Panther Squadron, return to base. We've done our job for today." ordered Panther 1. The squadron began ascending back into the sky, as more Stukas and Bf109s began arriving at the scene. Weber watched as the Spitfires flew away, shooting down enemy planes, before disappearing into the night.

He looked through his binoculars and saw the devastation that had been wrought upon his regiment. Bodies littered the ground, and buildings were destroyed. He knew that this was only the beginning of a long and brutal war, but he also knew that he had the support of the Royal Army and the help of the brave pilots of Panther Squadron.

As he took one last look at the destruction, he thought to himself, "We will fight, and we will win. For our country, for our freedom." And with that, he turned and began issuing orders to his remaining soldiers, preparing to face whatever else the war had in store for them. It was now around 12:50am.

In the town of Leglin, 150 people, mainly Germans, had died that day. However, 60 of the casualties were also British. Yet, with their sacrifices, they were able to keep the Germans from taking part of unannexed Poland.

---------------------------------------------GRIGORIONARI, THE GERMANY-POLAND BORDER-------------------------------------------
The normally peaceful town of Grigorionari had never experienced a conflict, not even during the Great War. Today, that was changing. It was now 1:20am. The town, of around 1,300 people, was now a warzone. Although most of the buildings were still standing, they were all pockmarked with bullet holes, or fire damaged. A ground battle was taking place. Two British regiments were fighting against a German regiment.

Private First Class Charles Haynes was having a hard time. Half of his unit had already been killed by German soldiers, who had ambushed them, and they were taking heavy fire from enemy positions. Bullets were flying everywhere, and Charles had to duck behind a wall whenever he heard gunfire. He looked around and saw his Sergeant, Robert Davis, shouting orders to his unit, trying to coordinate their attack.

Haynes had been deployed to Poland only a week ago, and already, he had seen more death and destruction than he had ever seen before in his entire life. He missed his family back in Manchester, and he wondered if he would ever make it back home.

All of a sudden, he heard a loud explosion, and he saw a tank on the German side firing at them. The impact caused debris to fly around, and Haynes was thrown off his feet. He managed to get up, but he felt a sharp pain in his leg. He had been hit by a piece of shrapnel, which had torn into his leg. He quickly got back up, and despite the pain, was able to limp out of sight of the Germans.

Haynes then realized that he had lost his gun in the explosion. He needed one, or else he would not be able to survive against the Germans. That was when he noticed the bodies of one his comrades, probably killed in the explosion. His gun, a Lee-Enfield rifle, was still clutched in his hands. Haynes carefully took the gun, and checked to make sure it was still loaded. He also took the ammunition his comrade had left as well.

He also was able to bandage himself up with a nearby crate of medical supplies, but he would still be limping. Haynes then limped over to the church, and took up a position in the spire window, where he met up with one of his comrades, Robert Ball. "Hey, Bob, how's it going?" asked Haynes.

"Pretty good, Charlie." replied Ball. "I've got a pretty good defense position. I've got my sniper rifle, my rifle, and pistol, all fully loaded, so I can last pretty decently, until one of those German Panzers sends a shell into here. Saw anyone else on your way over?"

"Not too many. Half the unit is gone. Sergeant Davis is still out there, coordinating the attack, but I don't know how much longer we can hold out. I got hit by shrapnel, but I was able to bandage myself up and found this rifle on one of our fallen."

"Well, we gotta keep fighting, Charlie. We can't let the Germans take this town." said Ball, as he looked through his sniper scope and took a shot at a German soldier. The soldier fell to the ground, dead. "One down, a hundred more to go."

Haynes nodded, and looked out the window. He saw Sergeant Davis and the rest of their unit charging towards the German positions. Bullets were flying everywhere, and Haynes could see their comrades falling to the ground. He knew that they had to help, or else it would be a massacre. "We have to do something, Bob. We can't just sit here and watch while our comrades are dying out there."

"I know. I have an idea. Follow me." said Ball, as he climbed down the spire and ran towards a nearby building. Haynes followed him, and they both climbed to the rooftop of the building. Ball pointed to a nearby water tower. "We're going to climb up there, and take out as many Germans as we can."

Haynes nodded, and they both began climbing up the water tower. They reached the top, and Ball set up his sniper rifle. He took aim, and shot at a group of German soldiers, who were about to ambush their unit. The soldiers fell to the ground, and their ambush had been foiled. That was when Haynes noticed noticed movement in one house. "Bob, can you hand me your binoculars?" asked Haynes.

"Sure thing, Charlie." replied Ball, handing Haynes his binoculars. Haynes took a good look at the house, and realized there were civilians inside. He then noticed more movement, and saw civilians inside quite a few of the other houses, and Germans were rapidly advancing on those buildings.

"Shit, Bob, we have a big problem."

"What is it, Charlie?" asked a concerned Ball.

"We got civilians in some of those houses, and the Germans are rapidly advancing on them."

"What? Civilians? I thought this town had been evacuated!"

"Looks like some people either didn't want to leave, or just got left behind during the evacuation. Either way, we can't let the Germans kill civilians."

"Agreed, we have to do something. We can't let them die." said Ball, as he took out his radio. "This is Private First Class Robert Ball, we have civilians in danger at the southeast end of town. We need backup and evacuation immediately."

"Roger that, Private Ball. We are sending backup and an extraction team as soon as possible. A couple of RAF Hurricanes are also on their way." came the voice of their commanding officer.

"Alright, we gotta hold out until backup arrives. You ready to kill some German pricks?" asked Ball.

"Thought you'd never ask." said Haynes, getting his gun reloaded, and ready for action. As the Germans started nearing the houses, the two began firing. Multiple Germans instantly dropped to the ground, with bullet holes in their bodies. They fought valiantly, until they began running low on ammunition.

"Shit, I'm almost out!" shouted Haynes.

"Here's my last rifle mag!" replied Ball, throwing Haynes the magazine. They continued firing, but within seconds, both of them were on their last few bullets. They began losing hope, as a couple of German Panzer III tanks had also showed up.

"We don't have the firepower to take on those tanks! Where is our backup?!" shouted Ball over the radio.

"Sorry, guys, majority of our units are bogged down. You're on your own for a while." replied their commanding officer, over the radio. The two soldiers began losing hope. They were out of ammunition, and the tanks were almost on them. They felt, though, even if the end was near, they would go out in a blaze, fighting till the end. That was when they heard two explosions, throwing them to the ground. When they looked up, they saw that all the Panzers were on fire. They heard the drone of an engine, and saw two RAF Hurricane fighters flying above them, guns blazing.

"This is Mage 1 here, don't worry, we have your backs." came a voice, one of the Hurricane pilots, through the radios. To the two soldiers on the ground, hearing this brought back their hopes. Now they had air support, and most of the German ground units had been destroyed.

That day, in Grigorionari, close to 200 people, all British and German soldiers were killed. Yet, they were able to prevent the town from falling with their actions. However, although they had won the battle, they had not yet won the war.

Chapter 21

4TH SEPTEMBER 1939

--------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 6:00am in Manehattan. The princesses had been making visits to the HMS Nelson every now and then, to check what was going on in the war. They were just six hours in, and already, the toll was shocking. Already, around 1,500 people had died, mostly German soldiers, but British soldiers and civilians were also part of the fatality toll. Celestia knew, that she would make good on the vow she had made at the League of Nations, to stop Discord, and avenge all the innocent people who had died because of him.

In the meantime, she was listening on the radio to the news, which was broadcasted over the radio on Earth. She heard as the newscaster announced the news, on how the war was going, and encouraging everyone in Britain to join the military, as they required soldiers. Celestia sighed as she listened to the broadcast. She knew that war was never easy, and that it would take its toll on everyone involved, both physically and emotionally. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a better way to resolve conflicts, other than through violence.

But for now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She turned to Luna, who was also listening to the radio, and said, "We need to do whatever we can to support our allies in this war. We must send aid and supplies, and offer any assistance we can."

Luna nodded in agreement. "We also need to prepare our own kingdom for any potential attacks. We must increase our defenses and be ready to defend ourselves if need be."

"Thankfully, British equipment is rolling off their assembly lines at fast pace, thanks to how well the humans have pioneered mass production assembly lines, and Shining Armor confirmed that the first of the training equipment for our militaries will be here soon, as British demand is also high." said Cadance.

"Good. What about base construction? How is that going?" asked Luna.

"Our training bases for our Army, Air Force, and Navy are under construction, thanks to the assistance of the human engineers who came in. Construction of those should be completed within the month, and they should be operational within another two or three months, once all the equipment arrives, and some ponies are trained as instructors." replied Celestia.

"Same here for our bases, equipment, and instructors." said Cadance.

"Alright. Also, how are we locating and defeating Discord, since two of Elements of Harmony have also joined the military?" asked Luna.

"I don't think we can use the Elements of Harmony this time. We used them to defeat Discord last time. He'll be prepared for them this time. We need something more powerful." said Celestia.

"You are right. We need something extremely powerful, something made of the purest magic of harmony, to defeat Discord this time. Also, we must imprison him in such a way that he can never return to Earth."

"I'll look in the library and archives. I might also try to contact our mother again. She might know what we are looking for."

"That's a good idea, although it may take a while. Hopefully it doesn't take a thousand years this time."

"Hopefully not. I'm off to the archives. I'll ask Twilight for help as well. Hopefully, we can find something powerful enough to defeat Discord once and for all." said Celestia, quickly teleporting away from the docks.

In the meantime, Luna and Cadance decided to go and see how well construction was going on the bases. They reached the first construction site, at the Manehattan Airstrip, soon to be Manehattan Air Force Base. It would be turned into a military airbase, which would handle mainly fighters and transports. Pilot training would be conducted further inland, near Ponyville.

"How is it going?" asked Luna.

"Very well, your Highness." replied Robert Frost, the British expert who had been sent in. "We have begun construction of the main barracks, the aircraft parking areas, and hangars. We will also build a second runway, which will be paved. Once that is constructed, the first runway will be upgraded from plain old dirt to paved asphalt as well. Once the other infrastructure is operational, and a supply chain is set up, the first Equestrian aircraft can be stationed here."

"Thank you, Mr. Frost, for updating us." said Luna, as she and Cadance walked off. They would later watch the arrival of the RMS Queen Mary carrying the ponies to the British military, live on television. Already, thanks to the RAF's transport planes, 200 ponies had arrived in Britain, but their training would not begin until the 6th of September, so to get them adjusted to life in a human country.

They decided to then go and have lunch at the nearby Black Palace restaurant. The Americans had shown them the pictures of their 'White Castle' restaurant chain, which was popular in their country, and the ponies had to admit, it looked highly similar to Black Palace, except that Black Palace was not a chain, like White Castle was. The menu items of White Castle were also highly similar to those of Black Palace, except they used meat as well, instead of just vegetables.

--------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-----------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in Germany, which meant it was round 6:30am in Equestria. Discord was happy. He had been watching the war updates on the television and radio, and he was happy that all was going to plan, despite it being only Day 1 of the war. He was also happy as the first stage of his experiments would finally begin. He and his team of scientists had been hard at work figuring out the formula for their serum, which would essentially create super soldiers, which obey the orders of the Nazis, to fight Britain and France. He knew some things would go wrong in the initial stages, but you couldn't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

Discord was putting on his lab coat, which he had hung on the door of his cupboard, in his room. Originally, the plan was to first test the serums on animals, but Discord had told the scientists that they would use the serums to enhance humans, not animals, so why inject them into animals? Hence, they would start directly with human trials. They didn't really care if their subjects lived or died, since they were the one thing the Nazis hated. So what if they mutated into monsters, or dropped dead? They didn't give a shit.

Discord left the living quarters and walked to the lab. The scientists had been hard at work, as they had found some flaws in the serum, and were trying to fix them. Discord was hoping they had fixed them, or else, he would not be happy. He walked into the main lab, where multiple scientists, all dressed in white lab coats, were hard at work.

"Good morning, everyone." said Discord, with a sly grin. "I hope you have something good to report."

"We have some promising results, Herr Discord." replied one of the scientists. "We have fixed the issues that we encountered the previous day, and we believe that we can begin testing on human subjects."

"Excellent." said Discord. "We will begin with human trials immediately."

The scientists quickly got to work, preparing the serum and selecting their first human test subject. Discord watched with a menacing gaze, eager to see the results of his experiments. The first subject, a young Polish woman, only in her late twenties, was dragged into the test cage. "Please! Leave me alone! Don't do this to me! PLEASE!" pleaded the woman, with tears in her eyes.

The scientists still dragged her into the test enclosure, which was enclosed by extremely tough glass on all four sides, so the scientists could watch the experiments live. It even had cameras on all angles, which would film all the experiments, so the scientists could review footage later. The scientists dragged the helpless woman into the enclosure, and while the remaining scientists left, one last scientist stayed back. He grabbed a syringe full of greenish-yellow liquid. The first version of the serum, to be known as Erweiterung in German.

Without hesitation, he jabbed the syringe into the woman's arm, and injected in the Erweiterung. Then, with the empty syringe in his hand, he quickly ran out of the test enclosure as the door began to close. The scientists watched as the woman's muscles began to convulse and bulk up, and bones cracked. Within seconds, she had become a super soldier. At first, the scientists were happy, but then watched as the experiment went wrong.

The woman's body began over-inflating like a balloon with too much air, and she continued screaming. Seconds later, her body suddenly exploded, and the scientists watched as blood, organic fluids, brain matter, and other gory things went flying all around the test enclosure.

Instead of being saddened, they were horrified by the gruesome sight. Even Discord was taken aback by the unexpected outcome. The room fell into a stunned silence as they all stared in shock at the remains of the experiment.

Discord's face twitched with anger, his eyes narrow and filled with fury. "You imbeciles! How could you let this happen?" he boomed, his voice reverberating throughout the lab.

The scientists stammered, trying to come up with an explanation. "W-we... We d-didn't anticipate such rapid cell division, and we weren't expecting, well, THAT to occur." one of them managed to say, pointing at the gory mess in the test cage.

"You fucking dolts! When I said an experiment, I said get good results, not a bloody mess!" shouted Discord. He waved his hand, and the gory remains of the woman disappeared, and the whole enclosure looked like what it had been before the experiment.

He stormed out of the lab, leaving the shaken and horrified scientists behind. Discord knew that setbacks were bound to happen in any experiment, but this was a particularly disastrous one. He would need to regroup and figure out what went wrong before continuing with his plans.

As he walked down the empty hallways of the research facility, Discord's mind raced with thoughts. He knew he needed to find a way to stabilize the serum, to prevent any more catastrophic failures. He also needed to find new test subjects, ones that would not result in such explosive outcomes.

Discord returned to his room, slamming the door behind him. He paced back and forth, thinking of his next move. He contemplated whether he should continue with these experiments at all, considering the risks and the gruesome results. But he couldn't simply give up now, not when he was so close to achieving his goals.

After a while, Discord made up his mind. He would continue the experiments, but with more caution and thorough testing. He would make sure every aspect of the serum was carefully examined and refined. No more lives would be lost in vain.

But first, he needed a new plan. He needed to find a way to gather more suitable test subjects, ones that could withstand the effects of the serum. Discord knew that the war provided plenty of opportunities in this regard. There were prisoners of war, captured soldiers, and even willing participants who would volunteer in exchange for promised rewards.

Discord knew that he couldn't afford any more failures or setbacks. He needed to succeed, not just for the Nazis, but for his own ambitions as well. The war had just begun, and he knew that chaos and destruction would be his allies in achieving his ultimate goals.

With a wicked smile on his face, Discord set his plan in motion. The war had only just begun, and he was prepared to plunge Equestria and the rest of the world into darkness.

Chapter 22

5TH SEPTEMBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in Equestria. The three princesses, along with Twilight, had been in the archives of Canterlot Castle since around 1:00pm the previous day. The only time they had taken breaks was to coordinate the war effort, and to eat. They had been researching for a way to defeat Discord, but hadn't found any, despite looking in books that were even older than Celestia and Luna themselves, and even one that was over 6,000 years old. Despite that, they did not mention a single method of defeating Discord, except for the Elements of Harmony, which the princesses knew, were not powerful enough to defeat him this time.

As if that was not enough, Celestia's plan to contact Faust had not worked. She had tried that the previous night, through Luna's dream magic, but they had been not able to contact their mother, so that was also a bust. They would try, until they were able to talk to her, even if it took months. They knew the war would last at least that long, since it was Discord's work, after all.

"Twilight, I think we should take a break and have breakfast. We've been at this for almost fourteen hours now." said Celestia.

"Yeah, maybe we should." replied an extremely tired Twilight, with bags under her eyes. She stood up, and heard a crack from her body. That alone showed just how long they had been sitting. The three princesses, along with Twilight, left the archives, groaning and yawning as they did, and went to the dining hall. Their breakfast consisted of pancakes and a refreshing glass of orange juice. It was a well-needed break from their constant research.

"How will we ever defeat Discord if we can't even find a way to do that?" asked a grumpy, sleepy, and frustrated Twilight.

"I don't know, Twilight. We can't do anymore research for some time, since we have to focus on the war efforts. Our ponies' training begins tomorrow in Britain. They will be highly focused on that, plus, we have to keep checks and make laws on the modernization of Equestria and Crystal Empire." said Celestia.

"I understand, Princess Celestia. I'll make sure to try and visit Britain every so often, and keep track of their progress." replied Twilight.

"Thank you, Twilight. That will be a great help. And Luna, can you make sure to visit the dreams of our soldiers tonight, to calm them and give them the courage to face Discord's army?" asked Celestia.

"Of course, sister. That is my duty. And I shall also keep an eye out for any information on defeating Discord in my dreams." replied Luna.

With their plans made, the four of them finished breakfast and went back to their individual duties. The war was coming, and they had to be prepared for it. It was going to take everything they had, but they knew they couldn't give up. The future of Equestria depended on it.

-----------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:40am in Germany. Discord was in the bathroom of his private chamber of the lab's living quarters, in his true form. This was the first time he had accessed his true form since the League of Nations shootout a few days earlier. He admired it, as it was pretty much the thing he represented, chaos. That was when he heard a knock on the door. "Dr. Discord? Are you there?" asked the voice of one of his scientists.

"Yes, yes, give me a second, I'm changing!" shouted Discord, quickly shifting back into human form, and putting on his lab wear. He left the bathroom, and opened the door of his room. "What is it, Jakob?" asked Discord.

"Dr. Discord, we've figured out what caused the failure yesterday?" replied Jakob.

"What?! What is it?" asked Discord, eager to find what caused that mess yesterday.

"Dr. Denis figured it out last night. He's waiting in the main lab."

"Okay, tell him I'll be there in fifteen minutes. I'll quickly grab some breakfast." replied Discord, dismissing Jakob, and quickly going to his room's kitchen to make some pancakes.

Exactly fourteen minutes later, Discord was in the main lab, joining Dr. Benin. Benin was a scientist who had come from the USSR, under a delegation sent by Stalin, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. He looked a lot like Discord's human form, a typical Caucasian man, with blond hair, and the same sinister smile on his face. "Ah, Dr. Discord. Ay assume yoo vould like to hear my findings?" asked Benin, in a thick Russian accent.

"Ah, yes, Dr. Benin. I would like to know what you found." replied Discord.

"Oh, sure ting, Doc-tor. Do you vonder vy de voman's body exploded during de experiment yesterday?"

"No, I do not."

"Vell, I have ze answers ve need. It vas a chemical in ze Erweiterung."

"What?! How is that possible? We've tested the components of Erweiterung so many times before." exclaimed Discord.

"I know zat, Doktor. But it seems zat ze specific combination of chemicals used in ze serum caused a chain reaction zat led to ze body's explosion." explained Benin.

"Oh, dear. I'll have our scientists find a substitute chemical. Anything else, Dr. Benin?" asked Discord.

"No, zat is all. Ve vill begin testing ze new formula immediately." replied Benin.

"Good. Keep me updated on the progress. And let's hope we don't have any more...incidents like yesterday." said Discord, with a chuckle.

The two of them ended their meeting, and Discord then went to the other lab, which produced more conventional, but highly destructive weapons. Using the Hawker Hurricane plans they had got them, the engineers working here were trying to get the Luftwaffe Bf109s to outfly the Hurricanes. He went down to the hangars, where the lead engineer, Dr. Franz, and his crew seemed to be getting ready to take one of the Bf109s up for a flight. "Oh, Dr. Discord! We were just able to conduct her first flight since she came in here! Would you like to know what we have done to her?" asked Franz.

"Yes, Franz. I would like to know how you have improved this aircraft." replied Discord.

"We've added a new supercharger system, a strengthened airframe, and a more effective cooling system. We've also redesigned the wings for better maneuverability. We think that with these modifications, the Bf109 will be a force to be reckoned with." explained Franz, excitedly.

"Well, that gives the advantages of speed and maneuverability. But we can't do shit if we can't destroy the Allied aircraft! What improvements have you made to its weapons?" asked Discord.

"Well, we have modified the guns to fire faster, and also have changed the ammunition to be more powerful. We've also added a new bomb carrying system so that it can carry more bombs than before." replied Franz.

"Good. Keep up the good work. We need every advantage we can get." said Discord, as he checked the aircraft, somewhat pleased with the work being done. He then stood back and watched, as one of Franz's test pilots got in, started the fighter up, rolled it out of the hangar, onto the forest airstrip, and took off.

As Discord left the hangars, he couldn't help but feel satisfied with the progress they had made in just a few months. Soon, Germany would be the most powerful nation in the world, and he would be the one to thank for it. The thought brought a smile to his face, and he went back to his private chamber.

But little did he know, the ponies of Equestria were also preparing for war. And they were not going to go down without a fight.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:23am in Equestria. The three princesses, along with Twilight, were in the conference room, after a quick nap and breakfast. They would be heading back to Manehattan in some time, from where Twilight and Shining Armor would be leaving for the United Kingdom, to boost the morale of their ponies, whose training would begin tomorrow. The two siblings were highly interested to see how a human military functioned, and what life was like in a human country, since they would be there until the first batch of ponies finished their military training.

As Twilight was explaining her trip plan with the princesses, and how they would keep in touch until a telephone network was set up in Equestria, one of the assistants came in. "Your Highnesses, Shining Armor has let us know that he will be in Manehattan in fifteen minutes. You better hurry, if Miss Twilight would like to catch her flight to Britain."

"Thank you. We will be leaving in around five minutes." said Celestia, who was a little nervous about her pupil going off to a land that she did not know much about. She was worried, about Twilight would take living in the human world for a few months, and seeing war would affect her. "Are you sure that leaving Equestria for such a long time will be good, Twilight?" asked Celestia.

"Of course, Princess! It will be amazing to see human culture up close, and I can also get up close looks at their military, government, and technology!" replied an excited Twilight.

"I know, Twilight, but you do realize that this is not a vacation, right? You will be there to support and encourage our ponies who are training for war." reminded Celestia.

"Yes, Princess, I understand. My main focus will be on the ponies, and I will do everything in my power to help them." replied Twilight.

"Good. And make sure you keep in touch with us regularly. We will worry about you otherwise." said Celestia, smiling.

Around eight minutes later, they were in Manehattan. Shining Armor was already there, waiting for them. "Alright, Twily! Are you ready for this trip? We'll be in Britain for around four to five months, and we'll be back in Equestria after that. Got it?"

"Yep, big brother. I'm so ready!" shouted an extremely excited Twilight, as they began walking to the airstrip, where the RAF DC-3 was waiting. They would be flying along with some other Equestrian and Crystal Empirean diplomats and military staff, who would also be joining them in Britain, not just to witness the ponies' military training, but also to break deals, and build a consulate in London.

Twilight and Shining Armor bid a fond farewell to the princesses, as they went in hopped in the DC-3, which was about to start its engines. The second the two ponies got in, the plane's door closed, and the engines rumbled to life. They watched as the DC-3 taxied out, and took off. They watched as the plane climbed away from Equestria, and knew that this was just one of the many first steps in a long ordeal.

Chapter 23

6TH SEPTEMBER 1939

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS-------------
It was now around 6:00am at this training camp, which meant it was around 7:30am in Equestria. Twilight and Shining Armor had woken up, and were in their room, preparing for their speech, which they would make in just over an hour. They were practicing how the speech would be made. They had arrived the previous morning, after a three-hour flight from Manehattan. They had met up with all the ponies who would begin their military training today, including Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Rainbow was going to the RAF, and Applejack was ending up in the Royal Army.

The two siblings would give a speech, and then the first day of military training for Royal Army and Air Force ponies would begin. The initial day would mainly be classroom training, and some physical training as well. It would be a while before they started doing the real deal. They were extremely nervous about the speech, and how well the ponies would do, despite being taught by well-trained human instructors.

The two siblings were busy practicing their formal speech, making sure their delivery was clear and confident. Shining Armor was going to address the Royal Army trainees, while Twilight would address the Air Force trainees.

As they practiced, they couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed with the responsibility of sending young ponies off to war. The looming threat of war had been the reason why they were there in the first place. They were part of a mission to build stronger ties between Equestria and the human world, and to learn from their military expertise, and to stop Discord. It was clear that they were going to have to work harder than ever to ensure that the ponies were as prepared as they could be.

Twilight was thinking of how to inspire the young RAF ponies, and Shining Armor was thinking of ways to pep them up, get the Royal Army trainees excited for military life. Twilight was having a hard time thinking of words. "Ugh! How do I motivate them to want to fight for Equestria, but also make them aware of the gravity of the situation?"

Shining Armor put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Twily. You'll think of something. Just speak from the heart and be honest. That's all we can do."

Twilight looked up at her brother and smiled. "Thanks, Shining. You always know what to say."

They continued to practice their speeches for another half an hour before heading out to the training field. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the crisp Scottish air made them feel more awake and alert.

They arrived at the field where the trainees had already gathered, waiting for them. As they stepped up to the podium, Twilight and Shining Armor took a deep breath and began their speeches.

"Dear trainees," Twilight began, her voice steady. "Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives. You have all chosen to serve your country in the Royal Air Force, and I want to commend you for your bravery and dedication. I know that serving in the military can be daunting, but I also know that you are all strong and capable ponies. You will be taught by some of the best human instructors, and I have no doubt that you will make us all proud. Remember that you are not just fighting for Equestria, but also for peace and stability in the world. You are making a difference, and your sacrifices will be remembered. So, I wish you all good luck, and may Celestia guide you on your journey."

Shining Armor then took over, addressing the army trainees. "Good morning, soldiers. Today you embark on a journey that will challenge you in ways you have never been challenged before. You will be pushed to your limits, physically and mentally. But I have faith in you all. You have all chosen to serve Equestria, to protect it from those who would do it harm. That takes immense courage and grit. You will be trained by some of the best human soldiers, and I have no doubt that you will excel in your training. Remember, you are not just fighting for Equestria, but also for your comrades, for your families, and for the future generations of ponies. So stand tall, be proud, and let's show the world we Equestrians are made of!"

The trainees cheered and applauded, their spirits lifted by the speeches of the two siblings. Twilight and Shining Armor smiled at each other, relieved that it had gone well. The training had officially begun. They were ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead, for the good of Equestria.

As the first day of military training commenced, the ponies were given their schedules. Today would be mostly spent in the classrooms, learning about human weaponry. They would be learning quite a bit of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, about the principles behind things like guns, grenades, cars, and airplanes. They would also be spending a lot of time in the library, learning about Earth's history and current affairs, so they could comfortably talk to humans and not feel left out of their conversations.

Meanwhile, the physical training would be taking place in the afternoons, when the sun was at its highest. The ponies would start with basic calisthenics, then progress to fitness drills and running, followed by more advanced training such as obstacle courses and combat simulations.

The first class of the day for the RAF ponies, who Twilight was overseeing, was to be Physics. This class would basically teach the ponies the basics of Physics, and the principles of flight. Rainbow Dash was in this class, and Twilight was extremely happy about this. Rainbow had always been passionate about flying, and Twilight knew that she would excel in the Air Force. As they walked to the classroom together, Rainbow in an RAF cadet uniform, one of many designed specially for ponies, Twilight explained the basics of physics and how it was related to flying.

"Physics is all about the laws and principles that govern the world around us. In the context of flying, it's all about lift, drag, and thrust. In other words, how to get an object off the ground and keep it flying. It's going to be tough, but I know you can do it, Rainbow."

Rainbow grinned, her eyes shining with excitement. "Thanks, Twilight. I can't wait to get started!"

As they entered the classroom, Rainbow took her seat, ready to learn. The instructor, a human named Sergeant Miller, began the lesson by explaining the basics of lift and drag. "Alright, everyone. I'm Sergeant Miller, and I'm your Physics teacher for your flight training. Today, we're going to learn about the basics of flight. It's going to be a little different, nope, a lot different, from what you probably know. Can everyone please tell me what you know about Physics?"

"Ummm, its how the world works?" asked Lyra Heartstrings, who had also ended up in the RAF.

"Yes, Ms... ?" replied Miller.

"Lyra, Sergeant Miller."

"Yes, Ms. Lyra. Physics is essentially the science of all the principles that govern our world. It's all about what keeps birds in the air, what keeps us from floating around all the time, and what not. Got it, everyone?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" replied all the ponies.

"Good. Today, we'll learn all about the main physics of flight, and what makes airplanes fly." And with that, the class began, and the ponies eagerly absorbed the knowledge that was being taught to them.

Meanwhile, in the Army ponies' class, which Shining Armor was overseeing, the trainees were going to go to basic combat training. The Army trainees would be learning basic hand-to-hand, or in this case, hand-to-hoof combat. They would be today starting with training dummies, and later fight against sparring partners. Applejack was in this class. They met up with their trainer, Sergeant Quelch.

"Alright, listen up, ponies!" shouted Sergeant Quelch. "Today, we begin your combat training. This is where you'll learn how to defend yourself, how to fight in close quarters combat, and how to take down an enemy. We'll begin with the basics of hand-to-hand combat today. This will include techniques like blocking, striking, and grappling. You'll learn how to use your strength, as well as your wit, to defeat your enemies. But first, we'll start with some basic strikes. First, let's go out to the ground, and get yourself ready. It's going to be long and sweaty!"

Five minutes later, all the ponies were out on the ground, wearing their workout clothes, getting ready to get ready for some practice fighting. "Alright, ponies! Today, we're going to learn some basic blocking techniques. We'll do striking later, once you've got the hang of blocking an attack. Here's what you do. You square up to your opponent, get your hooves into a good stance. Keep your hooves shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. This will give you a stable base and make it harder for your opponent to knock you over. Now, when your opponent throws a punch or tries to hit you, you're going to block their attack. Got it so far?" said Quelch.

"Sir, yes, Sir!" replied the ponies.

"There are a few different ways to block, but we're going to start with the basic ones. Today, we'll do the high block. To do this, you bring your hoof up and across your body, aiming to intercept the attack with the side of your foreleg. Keep your other hoof up to protect your face and head. This will block any attacks coming from above. Try it on these practice dummies!" ordered Sergeant Quelch, pointing at a half ton of human-like training dummies kept for this purpose.

"Sir, yes, Sir!" replied the ponies, as they all chose a dummy, and began practice blocks, against the dummies. There were quite a few mess-ups in the first few minutes. However, all the ponies, including Applejack, eventually got the hang of doing basic blocks. Quite a few ponies, including Lyra Heartstrings, tried to get away by using magic, but they were instantly punished by Sergeant Quelch. "What if you are unable to use your powers, in the middle of a battlefield?! Stop trying to cheat! You're cleaning the barracks today, WITHOUT MAGIC! Got it, Lyra?"

"Yes, Sergeant Quelch." replied Lyra, who was pretty unhappy about it. Despite similar things, the first day of training went pretty well for the ponies, who were excited to learn more, before they would enter a real battlefield.

Chapter 24

8TH SEPTEMBER 1939

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
Discord was writing something in his room, despite it being 3:30am. Since the last two days, his scientists were working on trying to stabilise the newest version of the Erweiterung serum, now being called the E-serum, since they had officially named their whole black programme as Erweiterung. The modified Bf109s would known as the Bf109Es, E standing for Erweiterung. They were also soon going to begin work on Panzer III tanks, which would be called Panzer IIIEs. Two had been trucked in from some random German military base, and the modification parts were currently in the fabrications shop being made.

Today, however, Discord was focusing on getting the second version of the E-serum stabilised and ready for testing. Ever since they had removed the chemical that had caused the failure of the human trial of the first version, it had been unstabilised, and therefore, they had to stabilise it or it could cause an even worse failure. He was busy drawing molecular structures, trying to figure out how to stabilise the E-serum. He was busy figuring how the state of bonds between the atoms currently was, when another scientist came in. "Dr. Discord, we may have stabilised the E-serum!"

"Wait, what? You stabilised the E-serum?" replied a surprised Discord.

"Yes, we believe we have found a solution to the instability issue. It involves altering the composition of certain molecular bonds and introducing a stabilizing agent. Our initial testing shows promising results."

"Alright, how long will it take until we can conduct some human testing?"

"We could do it in a few hours, if you would like, Dr. Discord."

"Okay, let's do it at around 9:00am. That should give everyone time to prepare."

"Alright. I'll let everyone know. See you then, Doctor." said the scientist, as he left the room. Discord then stretched back, and decided to take a nap, so he would be ready for the next human trial of the E-serum. He woke up at around 8:00am, or 5:30am Equestria time, quickly freshened up, and within twenty minutes, was in the lab. Most of the other scientists, looking a little groggy, were also there.

"Alright, is everyone ready for the second trial of the E-serum?" asked Discord.

"Yes, Dr. Discord. Almost all of us are, except for some of our Russian compatriots. They should be here in sometime." replied one of the scientists.

"Vas somvone toking about us?" asked Dr. Benin and his crew, as they walked in.

"Ah, there you are, Dr. Benin. We were just mentioning that you and your team are the only ones missing. Welcome. We are about to begin the second trial of the E-serum." Discord responded.

Dr. Benin and his crew joined the rest of the scientists, and the room became filled with anticipation. The E-serum had the potential to greatly enhance human abilities, and Discord was eager to see the results of this trial. After the last one, he greatly needed some good results. They watched as their second test subject, another young Polish woman, was dragged into the test enclosure. "Please! Don't do this! Let me go!" shouted the woman, as the scientists coldly dragged her into the enclosure.

One of the scientists grabbed a syringe, full of the new version of the E-serum. With the removal of the chemical that had caused the previous failure, the colour of the serum had changed from greenish yellow to pure green. The scientist quickly injected the serum into the woman. Then, he and his comrades quickly ran out of the room, and closed the blast doors behind them.

The room fell silent as everyone waited anxiously for the effects of the E-serum to manifest in the test subject. Discord was leaning against a wall, watching the woman through a small observation window. Suddenly, the woman's body jerked and convulsed, and the scientists watched horrified as the experiment began to go wrong again. They watched horrified as the woman began mutating.

They watched as the woman's fingers turned into claws, and her teeth turned razor sharp. Leathery wings sprouted out of her back. Her eyes turned yellow, and her skin turned all green and scaly. She had become a horrifying monster. She let off a loud roar, frightening everyone. Discord and his scientists had used the DNA of certain animals in the E-serum. The chemical that had been removed probably had stopped the animal DNA from completely taking over the subject's body, but now it was removed, the animal DNA had taken over.

Discord and his scientists watched as the monster woman began banging on the test enclosure, cracking the glass. Discord quickly ran to a control panel and pressed a button, releasing chloroform into the enclosure. Within seconds, the monster woman was knocked out. "Dr. Discord? Should we kill her?" asked one of the scientists. An evil plan then began to formulate in Discord's mind.

"No. Tell me, is our submarine base at Hamburg complete?"

"Yes, it will be ready to construct and test some U-boats in a few months, but what does it have to do with... that?" replied the scientist, pointing to the monster woman.

"Well, we can use her as a torture instrument for spies, and as a guard for the U-boat base. Sedate her, secure her, and transport her there when the base is complete. In the meantime, give her a more secure enclosure, within fourteen hours, because the chloroform should last that long."

"Got it, Dr. Discord. I'll have a strong enclosure shipped in quickly. What about the E-serum?"

"Well, this version doesn't do much other than turn humans into monsters, so let's begin work on the third version. We'll start tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll go and check on the Bf109E program." said Discord, leaving the room. As he walked towards the hangars, he felt extremely frustrated. The first two attempts of the E-serum had failed. It was like Faust herself was trying to stop him from finishing the E-serum.

At least the Bf109E program was going well. They had completed their third Bf109E test flight yesterday, and so far, the new components seemed to be working well. Hopefully, it would help the Nazis plunge the world into chaos. Soon, the China-Japan war would also restart, adding to the chaos. It was all part of his plan to defeat the Equestrians.

As he arrived in the hangars, he noticed all the people rushing out towards out of the hangar, towards the runway. He realized something had happened. "What's happening? Did something happen?" asked Discord.

"Yes! Frederich, the lead test pilot, took up one of the Bf109Es for our fourth flight, and he had an engine failure! He's currently on his way back, and we are preparing for him to make an emergency landing!" said one of the hangar staff, hopping into one of the jeeps with Discord, and driving out. They parked on the side of the runway, whose lights had been lit up, exposing the forest around it. They had cleared some of the trees around the airfield for safe flight operations, but not all of them, making it a difficult approach path. Frederich would be having a hard time, trying to make a landing on it, in a heavily-modified single engine fighter which had suffered an engine failure.

At around 5:30am, they saw the lights of Frederich's plane appear in the distance. Despite having considerable experience, Frederich seemed to be having trouble controlling the fast fighter, and Discord hoped dearly he didn't break the aircraft too badly. He watched as Frederich came in rather fast, and silently, since the engine was not running at all, the plane wobbling a little. The Bf109E touched down hard, and he watched as one of the main landing gears collapsed, and the plane skidded down the runway, the jeeps and fire equipment following fast.

As they neared the aircraft, they saw a small fire under the left wing, and watched as Frederich opened up the canopy and hurriedly got out of the burning aircraft, as the fire equipment rolled up and began extinguishing the fire. Discord then went up to Frederich. "What happened up there? Tell me, now!" shouted Discord.

"I don't know, Mr. Discord. I was just climbing through nine thousand feet when the engine quit on me. I tried to restart it but it wouldn't relight, so I made an emergency landing." replied Frederich.

"Alright, you did good, but try to keep the aircraft more intact next time. Guys, is the aircraft fine?" asked Discord, to the project head and his staff, who had by then extinguished the fire.

"I don't know, Sir. There is a lot of damage to the aircraft, but if we work a lot of all-nighters, the aircraft should be back in the air within three months. Till then, we'll have to suspend the Bf109E program." replied the project head.

"Wait, what?! Why should we suspend the program? Don't we have the other Bf109E prototype?" asked a bewildered Discord.

"Well, Sir, we had a bit of a.... mishap with the other one this morning."

"What do you mean, a mishap?! Why didn't you inform me? What happened to the other Bf109E?"

"Well.... we were testing the engine on the second aircraft, when it suffered a failure. All the staff is alright, but the aircraft is out of commission."

"Ugh! I'll have some engine experts come in and fix the issue. In the meantime, try and get another Bf109 in for modifications, fast!" replied a frustrated Discord, as he went back into the hangars. He definitely felt something was off. It was like Faust herself was sabotaging the Erweiterung program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE----------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 3:00am in Equestria. In the bedrooms of Canterlot Castle, Celestia was happily sleeping, while Luna was on dream duty. They were in their dreamscapes, when suddenly, they were forcibly merged. "Huh? Luna, did you do something?" asked Celestia.

"No, I didn't do anything, sister. This seems to be our mother's work. The dreamscape is showing something." said Luna, as the dreamscape shifted before the eyes of the two sisters. It shifted to a planet, one that they knew. "Is that.... Equis?" asked Luna, who recognised it from her being on it's Moon for 1,000 years. The planet looked beautiful as ever, except for the fact that part of it was in permanent sunlight, and the other in permanent darkness.

The place where Equestria once used to be was now a large crater, shrouded in permanent sunrise. Multiple gryphons were surrounding it, investigating how the huge country could have disappeared like that. They all seemed to be investigating the flora and fauna, trying to find traces of the storm, of which there were none, apart from the huge crater. Among them was Zecora, who had not been transported to Earth. There was also one where the Crystal Empire once was, also being investigated, albeit by the yaks.

She then noticed another crater, albeit much smaller, a little further from the former site of Equestria. This was once where the Ponysian Empire used to stand, until Celestia had crushed it with a large chunk of rock. It brought back painful memories for Celestia. She remembered how the rebel regime that had executed Psar Ponylass had forcibly enslaved all outsiders in their land, including Equestrians, gryphons, and Yaks. They had even enslaved the outcasts among their own nation! The gryphons and Yaks wanted to slowly and steadily win the war, but Celestia was so angry with the Ponysians she had crushed their nation with a piece of Moon rock.

As Celestia continued reminiscing, their mother suddenly appeared. "My daughters. I do not have much time. The Heavens beckon. I have some important information for you." said Faust.

"What is it, mother, apart from the fact that Equis still exists?" asked Luna.

"Well, I have been able to partially thwart Discord's plan. He is doing inhuman things, that I do not even wish to speak to you about. However, he will be back in action within a few months, so try to stop him as fast as you can. I know the location of something that might be able to defeat HIIIIIIM!!" screamed Faust, as she suddenly disappeared, and the whole dream ended. The two sisters woke up startled in their beds. It was now about 3:20am in the morning. They couldn't go back to sleep, so they decided to go and check on war updates.

Chapter 25

9TH SEPTEMBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------THE BURMA-CHINA BORDER------------------------------------------------------------
It was around 2:30am in this area, which meant it was around 8:30am in Equestria. Private Lee Ling and his platoon were not doing too well. Just a few hours back, a battalion of Japanese soldiers had ambushed their position, coming from Burma, and the Chinese platoon of close to 150 soldiers had been taken by surprise. Caught unawares, of the original 150 soldiers, only around 36 still remained alive. As if that wasn't enough, the Japanese had also brought in some heavy equipment. They had brought twenty Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks with them. The large tanks had no identifying markings, apart from the flag of the Japanese empire dangling from them. The China-Japan war had restarted, and it was not looking good for China right now.

Ling's commander had not even been able to call air support in before he, along with some of their soldiers, were shelled by a tank, such had been the speed of the ambush. Ling and his remaining fellow soldiers were all armed with their Lee-Enfield rifles, which they had got a couple of years back, when Britain had exported them to China via Hong Kong. Thankfully, the West was on China's side, and had exported a lot of things to them, including some British anti-tank mines. They had received a small shipment of the mines the previous day, and Ling realized, that if he could find the mines, he could use them to destroy the tanks.

Ling looked around, and in the corner, he noticed that a part of the small temporary store-room had been opened up, and inside was the crate of mines, still intact. However, gunfire, and tank fire, was still flying. Thankfully, enough walls of the small outpost were still standing, enough to give him cover. He quickly signed to his colleagues, about his plan, and to cover him.

He began running, his Lee-Enfield in his arms. He only had a few spare magazines, so he had to make every shot count. He dodged behind a wall, just as a bullet flew by him. He quickly fired a few potshots at a Japanese soldier, and then made another run. He dodged behind another wall, as a tank shell shredded the one he had been standing behind a few seconds earlier.

He winced as he saw that, and then, made the final sprint to the storeroom, but just before he ran in, a bullet tore right into his knee. Ling screamed in pain, as he jumped into the storeroom. He looked down at his leg, and realized that a bullet had torn right through it. It seemed to have missed all the vital arteries, but he couldn't really run unless he patched the wound up.

Thankfully, the first aid kit was there, but when he opened it, Ling realized that there was not much inside it. Ling gritted his teeth and began to bandage his wound as best he could. He knew that time was running out, and he couldn't afford to waste any more precious moments. With his leg throbbing in pain, he picked up the crate of anti-tank mines and started to make his way back to the battlefield.

"Guys, I got the mines. I'll try and place them near the tanks, you distract their attention. Copy that?" asked Ling into his radio.

"Copy that, Ling. We'll try and protect you, but we won't have much of a chance against those tanks." replied one of his comrades over the radio.

"Try as hard as you can. We're not going down without a fight. We're not letting the Japanese invade China again, got it?" replied Ling.

"Got, it Lee. Over and out." replied his fellow soldier, and the radio went dark, just like the night sky. It was now 2:52am. Only around one and a half hours had passed since the first attack. Ling was ducking behind the ruined walls of the outpost, when he noticed one of the Chi-Ha tanks coming towards his position from behind, Ling's comrades firing at it. He quickly threw a mine out into the tank's path, and hobbled away at full speed. He watched as the tank ran over the mine.

Seconds later, there was a huge explosion, throwing all the soldiers to the ground. When they looked up, they saw that the tank was on fire, burning brightly, lighting up the night sky. The other tanks had stopped, and some of the soldiers were getting out, trying to figure out what had happened to their comrade. Ling and his comrades used this opportunity to fire, killing close to ten Japanese soldiers within a minute. Ling quickly threw a mine at a second tank, which exploded the second it ran over the mine.

The Japanese instantly fired back, taken by surprise. However, Ling and his comrades were able to kill all of them. However, that was when a large explosion suddenly knocked all of the men off their feet. When Ling opened his eyes, he noticed that more Japanese soldiers were swarming the area. Half of Ling's comrades were down, either dead or badly wounded. Whoever was still alive was being executed.

Ling attempted to play dead, so that the Japanese would think he was dead, and he wouldn't be killed. However, he had no such luck, as the Japanese seemed to have anticipated his move, since they were firing multiple shots into everyone, no matter if they were dead or alive. Soon, it was Ling's turn. As a Japanese soldier prepared to press the trigger, Ling remembered all his memories, and hoped that one day, this war would end, and both countries could be at peace. These were his final thoughts, as multiple bullets ripped through him, killing him instantly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:30pm in Equestria. The three princesses were walking to the ports, where Mr. Wood, had called them. They would be meeting up with him on the HMS Nelson. They had wondered what Wood had to tell them. As they arrived at the Nelson, they noticed that were very few sailors outside their ships. That was odd, as the previous few times, majority of the sailors had been outside their vessels, admiring Manehattan.

As they walked towards the Nelson, they noticed that only two soldiers were out, guarding the gangplank leading to the ship. This was even more odd. The three alicorns walked up the gangplank, and went up to the bridge of the ship. There, they found Wood, Rockmond, and some other diplomatic staff surrounded around a TV set. They seemed to be watching a battlefield. That was when Wood noticed them. "Ah, your highnesses. We've got a huge problem." said Wood.

"What is it, Mr. Wood?" asked Celestia.

"Well, see for yourselves." said Wood, increasing the volume of the TV. It showed the ghastly scene of a battle, dead soldiers, destroyed buildings, and vehicles everywhere. The announcer's voice then came on.

"At around 1:30am China time, or around 8:00pm in Britain, the China-Japan war restarted, with the Japanese ambushing the Chinese soldiers on the border with no provocation. As of now, the Chinese have suffered close to 300 fatalities, and around 75 fatalities have been suffered on the Japanese side. We pray for China in their time of need, and hope they are able to win this war." said the announcer on TV, as it was muted.

"I suppose that Discord is the one motivating this? Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan, declared war earlier today." said Wood.

Celestia instantly recognized it. The attacks on the Chinese soldiers had been without provocation, like the one on Poland, and had thrown the political scenario between the two countries into chaos. This was definitely Discord's works, as chaos was what he wanted.

"Yes, this seems to be Discord's work. He is probably manipulating Hirohito, like how he manipulated Hitler." said Celestia.

"Well, we better move the ponies into battle fast! The war's getting worse, and the China-Japan war is already spilling into our overseas colony of Burma, and also, we have had a couple of incursions in our other colony of India!" said Wood.

"I know, Wood. But we have to make sure they are trained properly first, and are ready for life in the human world." said Luna.

"Speaking of that, there's something else we have to show you." said Rockmond, as he pressed the TV's change channel button, switching to another news channel, where a crowd of protestors was shown. He unmuted the TV.

"..... as the China-Japan war restarts, the anti-Equestrian protests are also getting bigger. Their cause is growing, and so are their demands. Here's what their leader, Bret Stiles, says." said the TV announcer. The camera shifted to an old man, still rather healthy for his age, which seemed to be around 60. The three princesses put him as Bret Stiles, as the man began speaking.

"Those horse creatures have no place in our militaries! They do not even belong in our world! How are we admitting place in our military to fucking ALIENS, when we are not showing other races in our militaries?! Plus, their arrival on Earth also caused the war! Go home, Equestrians and Crystal Empireans! You little shits don't belong here!" shouted Stiles into the microphones held out by reporters, rallying the crowd around him, as Rockmond muted the TV.

"That's the problem. Stiles' organisation, Equestrians Not Allowed, also known as ENA, has already been protesting the admitting of Equestrians into the military. His people have been protesting outside training bases since some days now. His organisation currently has over 4,200 members, and more are joining. They have to be dealt with. Already, close to 200 members of ENA have been arrested, but so far, we can't keep up with all of them." said Rockmond.

"I see. We shall deal with ENA later. In the meantime, how's everything going in training, and our modernisation?" asked Luna.

"Well, so far, so good. The training reports of the Equestrians I'm seeing are good, despite it being only three days since the start of training. Also, our prospectors, with the help of Equestrian prospectors, have discovered a huge coal deposit around 25 kilometers from Ponyville, and we plan to build a mine there. With that, we can start supplying electricity to Equestria, and the Crystal Empire. A similar, but smaller deposit has been found there as well." said Wood.

"Good. Hopefully we can build the mines, and use the coal as fuel for power plants. Well, we have to leave now, Mr. Rockmond, and Mr. Wood. See you tomorrow." said Celestia, as the three princesses began leaving the ships. They had more pressure on them now than ever, now that they had to deal with the ENA as well as with Discord. Hopefully, they would be able to stop them, and keep Earth safe.

Chapter 26

10TH SEPTEMBER 1939

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS--------------
It was now 7:30am here, which meant it was around 6:00am in Equestria. Twilight and Shining Armor were talking with the trainees, who were having breakfast, before they headed out for more training. The ENA problem was something they had not expected to deal with. Around 150 members of the ENA had been protesting outside the base since the last two days. Due to this, the ponies, who were planning to venture into the town of Rosvar for some off-time, which was just a kilometer from the base, could not do so.

The trainees had been complaining about the ENA the whole day, as they had heard some of their addresses on TV and radio, and Twilight had heard rumours that some of the trainees were planning to assassinate Bret Stiles if they got the choice. The base security were collaborating with the Rosvar Police to try and remove the protestors, but they weren't on base property yet, so they couldn't be arrested for trespassing.

This had highly disappointed the ponies, as Rosvar had an old castle they had planned to visit, and there were also a lot of shops, full of things they could send back to their families in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Lot of products were being made specially for ponies, and soon, all vehicles, old or new, would be both human and pony-compatible. Even the restaurants and pubs in Rosvar had started offering pony-compatible meals.

The Royal Army trainees were still learning hand combat maneuvers, but were taking theory classes as well, such as Biology, History, and Geography, which was important, so they'd know wherever they might be fighting in. The RAF trainees were only during theory classes, but were also doing practical classes in survival skills, which the Army trainees would also start soon. They would also get to ride as back-seaters in RAF fighter planes, most likely Hurricanes, but maybe Spitfires, the next week, which Rainbow Dash was extremely excited about.

In the meantime, Twilight and Shining Armor were talking on the telephone in Shining Armor's room to the British ambassador, Wood, who said he would call Celestia and Luna later. Until they got a telephone network running in their home nation, they would relay all calls through the American and British warships docked in Manehattan. "How do we deal with the ENA? Already trainees want that Stiles guy dead." said Shining Armor, over the phone.

"Well, we can't arrest him yet, since he hasn't really done anything criminally wrong so far. We'll wait for him to make a mistake, and once he does, we'll take him and ENA down." replied Wood.

"Hopefully, we should. Also, how's construction going over there?" replied Shining Armor.

"Well, the airfields at Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire are being built, but pace is slow, due to the lack of an effective transportation network. The army bases are coming up pretty well, and should be finished this month. We have found some large coal and iron ore reserves, near some of the more rural towns. There, we plan to build mines, which we can use to help you set up industries. We will mainly start with coal, to get power plants up and running, and build up a road network. Once that's done, we'll make use of the iron reserves."

"Oh, good. Hopefully the modernisation of our countries can start soon. Also, what news of our large order of military equipment?"

"Well, close to 500 Lee-Enfield rifles, 300 Bren LMGs, and 700 Enfield No.2 revolvers can be delivered to you as soon as the base becomes operational. Once that is done, we can began construction of the explosives factory, where we'll manufacture smoke grenades and regular land grenades. Also, our training ship, the HMS Nile, will soon be in your possession temporarily, once we negotiate the lease agreement. Then, it can be delivered to your upcoming Navy base, at Fillydelphia. As for your vehicles, we can deliver quite a few jeeps and trucks, once your army bases are operational. As for your aircraft, I still don't have any details about them, sorry about that."

"That's fine. Hopefully, the future Equestrian Army, Navy, and Air Force will be ready to take on any threats those damn Nazis, Italians, or Japs have for us."

"Hopefully. Anyway, I need to go now, have to take a call with Prime Minister Chamberlain in some time, so I'll talk to you tomorrow. See you later, Shining Armor." replied Wood.

"See you later, Wood, and thank you." replied Shining Armor, as he cut the call. He sighed, and turned back to Twilight. "Well, that was a long call. Well, Twily, we gotta get ready. I have to meet a British politician at that fancy restaurant in the town, so we better get ready." said Shining Armor as he went into his bathroom. "See you in half an hour, Twily." smiled Shining Armor, as he closed the bathroom door. Twilight then decided to go back into her room, and change up.

Twenty-five minutes later, the two siblings were ready, and were heading outside, to where a car was waiting for them. It had been assigned to take them anywhere at a moment's notice. As they headed out to the main facade of the barracks, they saw the car, a brand new black coloured Austin 12 sedan, assigned specially to them. It was easily identifiable by the British and Equestrian flags on the bonnet.

"Mr. Armor? Ms. Sparkle? I'm Edward Bowman, your driver." said a rather young man, in his late twenties, well built, with brown hair, and green eyes. He was wearing a suit, and waiting outside the car for the two siblings.

"Ah, Mr. Bowman. Thanks for driving us. Also, Mr. Armor sounds very weird. Just call me Shining Armor, or Shining if you want." replied Shining Armor.

"Alright then. If you're Shining, then I'm Edward, or Eddie for short. Now let's go, so we aren't late." said Bowman, as he opened the rear door of the car for the two siblings, who got in. A few seconds later, they were about to leave the base, and despite the car's windows being closed, they could hear the shouts of the protestors outside. The protestors probably could tell the gate was about to open, because they were shouting louder than usual.

As the gate opened and the car began to drive out, the protestors all attempted to run into the base, but thankfully, a half ton of Royal Army soldiers had been deployed, so they instantly put up barricades, and a half ton of the protestors ran into the barricades. Although some attempted to climb over, they got arrested. However, some protestors noticed the car, and unfortunately, they realized there were ponies inside. They instantly ran towards the big Austin, scaring Twilight, who instantly held Shining Armor, who looked a little nervous as well.

Thankfully, Bowman noticed the protestors running towards the car, and hit the gas pedal. Unfortunately, the car was underpowered, and despite them gaining some speed, they wouldn't outrun the protestors, even if they were in a car. The two ponies noticed that Bowman was sweating, since he was rather nervously. He then suddenly swerved, and the two siblings almost got thrown into the door, as Shining Armor quickly stopped them with his magic. The sudden swerve was enough to keep them on the road, but not without a scratch.

As they avoided most of the protestors, a couple tried to jump at the car, and thankfully, Bowman was able to avoid most of them, but two of them were unfortunately sideswiped by the car as Bowman tried to avoid them. One was thrown away while the other was hit by a fender going close to 60 kilometers per hour, and collapsed on the spot. "Bowman! Stop! We have to help him!" shouted Twilight, looking shocked at the unconscious man.

"No can do, Ms. Sparkle. If we stop, all the other protestors will no doubt attempt to beat you up, and maybe try to kill you. No doubt the people at base would have noticed, and they'll probably send ambulances. They'll anyway need some, to deal with the injured protestors." said Bowman, as he began speeding away from the base, the car back under control. Twilight watched as the injured protestor's comrades ran towards him, and there was already a pool of blood under his chest and head. Twilight hoped that he was still alive, as she looked forward, the town of Rosvar ahead of them.

Chapter 27

---------------------------------------------------------------ROSARIO'S, ROSVAR--------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:17am in the small town of Rosvar, in the Scottish Highlands. Twilight and Shining Armor had just arrived at the restaurant, Rosario's, where they would be meeting with the British politician, who was actually the Minister for Coordination of Defence of Britain. He had come to town the previous day, and requested to meet with Shining Armor. The two ponies were getting out of the large Austin sedan which had brought them here. As they got out, they noticed a dent on the front fender, where the protestor had hit the car. Twilight hoped that the man was still alive, even if he was a member of Equestrians Not Allowed, aka ENA.

They were listening to a radio placed in the restaurant, which was rather empty, since not too many wealthy people lived in Rosvar. Edward Bowman, their driver, was just walking into the restaurant after parking the car. They were waiting for the Minister for Coordination of Defence, Lord Chatfield, to show up. That was when five black Rolls-Royce Phantom IIIs, with Union Jacks on their bonnets, pulled up outside the restaurant. Out of the third car, the middle car, climbed an old man. He was rather old, in his mid-sixties, but seemed pretty healthy for his age. He was wearing a suit, and was definitely Lord Chatfield.

(five of these but with Union Jack flags on the bonnets)

Chatfield and his retinue climbed out of the car, and walked into the restaurant. They walked in, and sat at the large table, with Twilight and Shining Armor. "Ah, Miss Twilight, General Shining Armor. Pleased to meet you. I'm Lord Chatfield, Minister for Coordination of Defence of the United Kingdom." said Chatfield.

"Pleased to meet you too, Lord Chatfield. The military you run seems to be extremely well-trained, and utilises their equipment the best." said Shining Armor.

"Ah, we aim to please, General. Anyways, I heard about that awful thing with those ENA people at the base." said Lord Chatfield.

"What? How? It just happened like, twenty minutes ago!" replied a shocked Shining Armor.

"Well, the base commander, who was responding to the incident, called me on the way to the restaurant, as our cars have telephones installed in them. I don't blame you, or your driver, for the fact that your car smacked into one of the ENA people like that." replied Chatfield.

"I just hope the person is okay. We don't like anyone dying, even if they hate us."

"I also got calls from the town hospital, and they reported that most of the protestors escaped that stampede with minor injuries, mostly cuts and bruises, while some of the protestors who got a little more banged up, by trying to jump over the shields, got a maximum of a broken leg or arm. The protestor who got hit by your car survived, but unfortunately, he is in a coma, due to brain damage." reported Chatfield, rather solemnly.

This shocked the two siblings, especially Twilight. They were hoping the man had survived, but not like that. He probably would never even get up again, and even if he did, he would not be able to even live without help. Chatfield could sense Twilight's discomfort, and quickly decided to divert the conversation.

"Well, let's order our food first. I'm starving." said Chatfield, as he opened up a menu, and began to decide his order. The two siblings also grabbed their menus, and began to look at all of the restaurants' new Equestrian-friendly menu options, which had been added two days after it was announced the Equestrians would be fighting in the military, since the Rosvar base trained a lot of cadets.

As they waited for their food to arrive, Lord Chatfield brought up the topic of the ENA's recent protests against the integration of Equestrians into the British military. "I must say, Miss Twilight and General Shining Armor, I am in full support of your kind joining our ranks. Your abilities and strengths will undoubtedly benefit our country's defense efforts," Chatfield stated firmly.

Twilight and Shining Armor both nodded in agreement, grateful for the Minister's support. However, they couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the thought of facing such strong opposition from the ENA. They still had to deal with Discord as well, for he was still loose, somewhere on Earth, and working with the Nazis, Italians, and Japanese. As they continued their conversation, Lord Chatfield brought up a potential solution to the ENA's protests. "I have an idea, Miss Twilight and General Shining Armor. What if we organized a series of public events showcasing the abilities and strengths of Equestrian soldiers? This would give the British people a chance to see firsthand what your kind can do, and hopefully, it would help to alleviate some of the fears and prejudices that the ENA has been spreading."

Twilight and Shining Armor both agreed that this was a great idea, as it would not only help to educate the British people but also provide a platform for their kind to showcase their skills. Lord Chatfield promised to work on organizing these events as soon as possible.

As they finished their breakfast, Lord Chatfield excused himself, promising to keep in touch with Twilight and Shining Armor. It was now 9:15am. The two siblings left the restaurant, feeling both hopeful and apprehensive about the future. They knew that there would still be challenges ahead, but they were determined to face them head-on, with the support of their allies like Lord Chatfield.

-------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY------------------------------------------------------------
Discord was watching TV in his room, and he was pleased. ENA would be something else that the Equestrians would have to deal with as well, making it harder for them to deal with him. In the meantime, he had to get the Erweiterung programme back on track. The third Bf109 had arrived, and was being modified to a Bf109E, while the two other prototypes were out of commission. It was 10:15am here, and while the other two Bf109Es may have been out of commission, this third one hopefully would not.

Meanwhile, as for the Panzer IIIEs, they were also being worked on, and the first test should come in within a few days. They also planned to make similar modifications to Panzer IVs, since they would eventually replace the IIIs. As for the Super Soldier program, as it was called now, well after they turned the woman into a monster, they were trying hard to make an actually effective and properly working version of the E-serum. The monster was now kept in a large enclosure, in the former underground cellars of the base, which had been converted to prisons for the test subjects.

Discord smiled. He was still mad about how the whole Erweiterung program had been sabotaged by Faust, but thankfully, nothing else like that had happened since then. He was watching an interview of Bret Stiles by an American news channel, as ENA members were also now coming from America as well. ENA now had over 4,500 members, from different countries, mostly from Britain, but also from America, Russia, Japan, Germany, and other such countries.

The shot also showed Stiles showing off the ENA's new headquarters building in Manchester, as well as their logo, a very graphic illustration of a Equestrian chopped in half by humans. "What do you think of our new headquarters?" asked Stiles on the TV, to the reporter interviewing him.

"It's very, ah, vivid." replied the reporter.

"Ah, it's actually very beautiful. It portrays our dedication to the cause. Just yesterday, we had only 4,200 members, and today, we have 4,500. In just 24 hours, close to five hundred new members have joined us! At this rate, we will have close to 8,000 members by the end of this year." replied a very happy Stiles.

"Ah, but why do you hate the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans?"

"Well, there is one big reason. EARTH IS FOR HUMANS, THAT'S WHY! We transformed this planet from something backwards, into a place of technology and advancement, all by ourselves! And now, those fucking horses want to join us? No, we are better than them! We have better technology, bett..... " shouted Stiles, as Discord switched off the TV. Discord chuckled at that outburst. Really. Earth was not for humans. It was only meant for Discord, once he had spread chaos across the planet.

Discord decided to go and take a nap, since he had to go and check on the Panzer IIIEs, which would make their demonstration runs in a couple of days, so he better have a nap now, since he might not have it soon. Discord thought about how he would rule Earth, as he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 28

13TH SEPTEMBER 1939

-------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:30am here. Discord was in the tank stables, as they were called, since they resembled horse stables, but for tanks. These tank stables had been built at their secret facility as garages for the tanks, in this case, the first three prototype Panzer IIIEs. These tanks were hopefully going to be the first successful product of their Erweiterung programme, which so far, had been nothing but setbacks, with the E-serum failures, and the grounding of the two Bf109E prototypes.

Discord was talking with the tank operators, a pair of Russians, Nikolai Belinski, and Albert Belinski. The two were twins, and highly identical, both in their early forties, both with brown hair, and rather muscular builds. The only way to tell the difference between the two was that Nikolai had green eyes, and Albert had blue eyes. The two, again, under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Hitler and Stalin, had been assigned to join the Erweiterung programme as the test operators for the tanks.

"Alright, you two. You're going to have do the best you can out there. Otherwise, one of you will be an only child. GOT IT?" asked Discord, to the Belinskis.

"Don't worry, Mr. Discord, we got this." said the two brothers, as they began climbing into the tank.

The top ranking military brass, including Joseph Goebbels himself, had flown down from Berlin the previous night to watch the first armed demonstration of the Panzer IIIE. If this worked, after some other evaluation tests, the IIIEs would be dispatched to supplement the IVs on the battlefield, and maybe they would even get to make IVEs as well. But today, all they had to do was finish off the IIIE's first demonstration. Discord was already not pleased about having to do evaluations on the IIIEs, but Hitler had told him that even if Erweiterung was a black programme, they had to make everything appear legit, so all the equipment rolled out by the Erweiterung programme, or at least the prototypes, had to undergo evaluations.

The IIIEs, however, would not enter service with every battalion yet. It would enter service only in a few off-the-books tank units at first, to see how it would work. Then, it would enter official service. As the demonstration was about to begin, the Belinski brothers quickly climbed into one of the IIIEs, the one that had been prepared for the demonstration. As the IIIE began moving, Discord quickly teleported, to the stage, and demonstration-cum-test ground, around two hundred meters from the tank stables. Here, where the audience of Joseph Goebbels and top ranking military officials, both Soviet (with German translators) and German, was waiting.

"Ah, everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we begin?" asked Discord, into the microphone.

"Yes, we've been waiting some time now." said Goebbels.

"Good. Shall we then, unveil, the next evolution of tanks, the first Panzer IIIE?!" shouted Discord, as the large tank, painted black in colour, with no identification markings on it whatsoever, except for two Nazi flags dangling off it, roared into the arena at high speed, impressing the audience.

"What are the differences between this and a normal Panzer III?" asked one of the Nazi officials.

"Well, the Panzer IIIE has multiple differences. For one, it's way more powerful than a regular Panzer III. The engine has been tuned from around 300 horsepower to more than 360 horsepower, taking the top speed up from forty kilometers per hour to around 52." explained Discord.

"What about reliability? All that extra power is of no use if the tank breaks down in the middle of a battlefield."

"Well, this engine should last up to 600 hours, maybe even 700, without an overhaul. It's probably going to be more reliable than even the Panzer IV!"

"Hmmm, how does it manage that?"

"Well, we have used a new oil, which has higher heat resistance, and does not thin out so easily, which reduces the wear and tear on the engine. It greatly helps make it more reliable."

"I see. But what about the weapons and armor?"

"Well, the armor has been heavily improved. It can now withstand bullets from a Hurricane, and although those from a Spitfire may not be fully deflected, whoever is in the tank at the time should not be injured. As for weapons, lets not talk about them, let me show them to you!" shouted Discord, as the Belinski brothers pointed the tank's turrets at some cars on the field.

That was when the Nazi officials noticed movement in some of the cars. "Is there someone in those target vehicles?"

"Yes, we have used some of those filthy Poles, blacks, and other non-Aryans from the concentration camps as test subjects, to show just how damage some of the new weapons can do." said Discord non-chalantly. At this, all the Nazi officials applauded, while the Soviet officials looked a little disturbed, once their translators had told them what Discord had said.

"First up, the new and improved, 50mm gun!" shouted Discord, as the tank's main weapon, its large 50mm gun, fired. The first car was instantly hit by the gun, destroying it and its occupants in a cloud of smoke. The Nazis cheered as pieces of car and body parts flew everywhere.

"The 50mm gun now fires shells faster, and the shells are also more lethal, with some minor redesigning! Check out that carnage!" said Discord, as the smoke of the burning car dissipated, revealing the carnage. The car's chassis was heavily twisted, half of the body panels missing, and the vehicle itself was on fire. But the worst was also revealed a few seconds later. Severely mutilated and burned body parts, some from men, some from women, and even some from children, lay around the car. Still, the Nazis cheered.

"Well, apart from that, there's really only one other new weapon we put in, and that is, the Automatic Projectile Launcher-1, also called ALP-1!" shouted Discord, as a large protrusion on top of the tank, full of turret like holes, began firing burning projectiles, that reminded the Russians of Sergei Korolev's GIRD-06. They watched as the projectiles completely destroyed the remaining four cars, destroying them and their occupants completely.

"And that is the end of the demonstration, everyone! If you would like to know more about the ALP-1, you can talk to our engineers! We will be adopting this technology on present German military equipment as well! Thank you, and see you next time!" said Discord, as he walked off the stage, with all the military officials clapping. It was now 8:30am. The whole thing had taken just over fifty minutes.

As Discord walked towards the facility, he was stopped by Joseph Goebbels. "Mr. Discord, I must say that was quite an amazing demonstration, of a truly revolutionary weapon!"

"Well, its all in the destruction, you see." replied Discord, happy that finally something of the Erweiterung programme had worked.

"Well, after that one, we'll try and speed up the ALP-1's entry into service, but I'd say it would take at least two or three months to get it approved." said Goebbels.

"I see. What about the Panzer IIIE, the tank itself?" replied Discord.

"Well, the IIIE will still need some time, as your engineers say there are some bugs that have to be ironed out. It should take around the same time period to get the IIIEs in service."

"I see, but you can get it done?"

"I'll try my best, Discord." said Goebbels as he walked off, to go and talk to his fellow politicians. As Discord walked back towards the main facility, he felt happier than he had been before. Things were starting to work, and his plan was being executed rather nicely. It wouldn't be too long before the battlefields got more intense.

---------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE--------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 10:00am in Equestria. The three princesses, and Twilight, had been up in the castle's archives since 5:00am, trying to figure out what Faust had told them, before she disappeared from their dream. Twilight had flown in the previous day, from Britain. They now knew there was something extremely powerful, something more powerful than the Elements of Harmony, something that could defeat Discord. They had been searching since the previous night, when Twilight came in, holding an extremely old book.

"Everypony! I might have figured out how we can defeat Discord!" shouted Twilight.

"What? How can we do so, Twilight?" asked Luna.

"Well, this book states it all. The Destroyer of Discord. It was a powerful artifact that had the ability to nullify all magic and powers, including Discord's chaos magic. It was said to be once created and wielded by Faust herself." said Twilight, showing them the book, which had a rather old picture of a large sparkling gem, and another picture, of Faust wearing it. Twilight was the first thing to notice something about the picture of Faust wearing the Destroyer of Discord.

"Huh... Celestia, doesn't Faust's necklace look like yours?" asked Twilight, pointing at Celestia's necklace, which had a large amethyst in it.

"Huh, it does, Twilight. This means that the Destroyer of Discord can be wielded by me, Faust's daughter!" said Celestia.

"Also, you see what was said, right? What happened to it?" asked Cadance.

"Well, after Faust once defeated Discord, around 200 years before Celestia and Luna were born, it disappeared. No one has known about it's whereabouts for more than 2,200 years." said Twilight.

"Well, our mother definitely was trying to tell us where the Destroyer of Discord was in that dream. Keep up the good work, Twilight. Try and find some other books that tell us where the Destroyer of Discord might be. In the meantime, we also have to start the first part of Equestria's modernisation, so let's get ready to start that up." replied Celestia.

"Alright, Princess. I'll try my best to find anything related to the Destroyer of Discord." said Twilight, as the princesses began leaving the library. They knew that it would be a long journey to stop Discord and save Earth, but hopefully, their plan would succeed.

Chapter 29

Author's Note

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024, everyone!

Chapter 29

18TH SEPTEMBER 1939

------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 10:00am in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Celestia and Luna were about to leave to meet up with Rockmond and Wood at Manehattan. They were making advancements on the modernisation of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Cadance would also join them at Manehattan. They would check on the progress of the modernisation plans, and the ponies' military training. They would also begin plans to find where Discord would probably be hiding.

Celestia and Luna teleported, and three seconds later, they were at Manehattan, at the docks. At this point, the sailors had gotten used to the teleporting, so it wasn't as surprising as the first time they saw it happen. As they walked nearer to the ships, they could see Rockmond and Wood waiting for them, outside the USS Colorado. "Ah, your majesties. Great to see you again. There have been major updates since our last check." said Rockmond, holding a large folder.

"Ah, I see. Shall we begin then?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, let's." said Rockmond, as he and Wood, along with the two princesses and some escorting soldiers, from the US Navy, Royal Navy, and the Equestrian Royal Guards, began to leave the docks. Just then, Cadance arrived.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone. Are we already leaving to check on the progress of construction?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, we are." said Celestia.

"Alright, no point wasting time then. Let's go!" said Cadance, as they began walking out of the city, towards the airbase, which would also be used as a civilian airport. The squadron of Hurricanes they had observed there the last time they had visited was still there. The airbase infrastructure had also been changed a little. Some temporary hangars had been constructed, in which the Hurricanes were parked.

Some large tanks, that stored the Hurricanes' fuel, had also been set up. The tanks had been shipped in by another Royal Navy destroyer, and with the help of multiple human technicians, and some ponies, they had been built. They were to be supplied by a large ship, an oil tanker. It would start coming from next week.

As they approached the airfield, they could hear the roar of engines in the distance. The sound grew louder as they drew nearer, and soon they saw two Hurricanes taking off into the sky. The princesses and their companions watched in awe as the planes soared into the clouds, their wings glinting in the sunlight.

Cadance turned to Celestia and Luna. "Do you think we'll ever see a day when Equestria and the Crystal Empire have their own air forces?" she asked.

Celestia smiled. "It's certainly a possibility. We've already begun modernizing our military, and who knows what advancements will be made in the future? But for now, we must focus on training our ponies and working alongside our human allies, so we are able to defeat Discord once and for all."

As they walked by the airbase, they could see the construction was also progressing. The foundations for the permanent hangars were being built, and the ground for a paved runway and taxiways was being cleared by some large earthmovers, that had been shipped in on a British cargo ship the day before. They paused for a moment, and the ponies watched the huge machines easily digging up the ground, admiring how good the technology humans had made was. The three princesses hoped they could get their hooves on such technologies for their own nations.

As the ponies walked by the main runway, they watched as two Hurricanes came in to land. At first, Celestia thought these were the ones that had departed just a few minutes prior, but then she realized that those Hurricanes had different numbers on the tail. The Hurricanes were apparently being used for aerial patrol over Equestria and the Crystal Empire, each pair operating two-hour flights, so as to not deplete the airbase's fuel supply.

As they were doing this, Rockmond spoke up. "Your highnesses, uh, now, for one of the other major updates we have to show you. We received this letter from the Equestrian head of our combined expedition team, which has a location spell on it. They didn't write much in the letter, though. They want us there personally." said Rockmond, as he showed a wrapped-up scroll to the princesses. Cadance took the letter from Rockmond.

"Huh, they really want us there. Let's find out what this is about." said Cadance, as she activated the location spell, and the whole group was teleported. Once the teleportation was over, the three princesses, their escorts, and the humans took a while to figure out where they were. That was when Celestia realized their location.

"We're in the Ponkan mountains!" said Celestia, recognizing the place. "This is where two of the Ponkan kingdoms used to be, before the wars that wiped them out!" Rockmond and the humans, who had seen the history of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, at the Manehattan Museum, instantly knew what Celestia had been talking about. The place where the Ponkan Wars, similar to the wars in the Balkans that had led to the Great War. That was where they where. It was now 11:50am.

As they looked around, looking for any sign of where to go, that was when a human, accompanied by a brown-yellow pegasus wearing a hat and a military green vest, came towards him. "Ah, your highnesses! It's me, Daring Do!" said the pegasus.

"Ah, Daring. Good to see you again. You're the pony leader of the expedition team?" asked Celestia.

"Nope, I'm not the leader, just the second-in-command. "The main leader of the expedition team is actually John here." said Daring Do, pointing to the man with her.

He was around the same age as Wood and Rockmond, who were in their forties. He seemed rather fit for his age, and was wearing hiking gear. "Hi, I'm John Price. I'm the leader of our combined expedition team." said the man. "We've got a pretty amazing discovery to show you all. Come on." said Price, as he walked back towards the direction from where he and Daring had come, with the combined entourage following.

As they continued walking, they reached the crater of a once-active volcano, that had gone extinct close to 300 years ago. As they reached the crater, they could see multiple humans and ponies around the volcano, studying it with scientific equipment the humans had brought with them. "Um.... why are you all camped out the crater of an extinct volcano?" asked Celestia.

"Well, your highness, we have actually discovered rich mineral deposits, of a mineral we have not seen before. Take a look." said Price, as he urged the princesses and some of the humans to follow him. They followed him down to one of the tents, where they had kept samples of the mineral. However, it had been kept isolated, in a large lead box.

"Why have you kept this mineral in a lead box like that?" asked Celestia.

"Well, your highnesses, this mineral is radioactive. We had brought a Geiger counter, to measure the radioactivity, in case we found something like that, and we have. We do not have a name for this mineral yet, but it is highly radioactive. Lead is the only material that can stop the radioactivity, so we have encased it in a lead box. However, we do have some pictures of it taken before we stuck it in the box. Take a look." said Price, as he showed them some pictures, showing a glowing green rock, being placed into the lead box, by a human wearing what seemed to be a protective suit and gloves.

"What kind of properties does it have?" asked Celestia, knowing that Twilight would love to study this mineral.

"Right now, we don't much about it, apart from the fact that it is highly radioactive. We haven't even named it yet, so we are simply calling it Material Z. Radioactive materials are relatively new to us. They are mainly used in medical applications. We have a technology called X-ray, which uses radioactive materials, to see inside the human body, mainly the bones. It helps us to locate fractures, breaks, and study the human body. We are also experimenting with it to check industrial parts for cracks, and in to reveal hidden things." said Price.

"I have heard of your X-ray technology, but I didn't know it used such materials. We have had radioactive materials on our world as well. However, occurrence of such materials as a mineral was extremely rare, and we rarely found any traces of radioactivity on our world." said Celestia.

"We have also found something else. Material Z does not get affected by magic in any way, and I fear that it could be used for bad purposes, turned into a Material Z weapon. One that cannot be stopped by magic, one that could probably destroy a whole city, especially now that we have discovered nuclear fission." said Price. "For now, this discovery will be confined to our small group, and some of the higher-ups in our countries' governments, so that does not happen."

"Don't worry, Price. You have our word. We will keep the news of Material Z confined. Any other updates?" said Celestia.

"Well, we have also discovered high-grade coal deposits, around 50 kilometers south of Ponyville. A smaller deposit, containing more medium-grade coal, has been found 100 kilometers west of Fillydelphia. We have also found medium-grade iron ore deposits, south of the Crystal Empire. These deposits will help begin the modernisation and industrialisation of your country." said Price.

"Thanks for the update, Price. We have to get going now. See you next time we meet." said Celestia, as the princesses, the two ambassadors, and their soldiers began leaving. They left the tent, and then teleported back to Manehattan. It was now 1:00pm. The discovery of Material Z had changed things. This could help them build a weapon that could end the war, and the threat of Discord. Hopefully, it would.

Chapter 30

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 31

27TH SEPTEMBER 1939

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
It was 6:30am here in Chicago. Bret Stiles was in his private quarters, doing yoga. He had learned it many years ago while on a trip to India. Even though he was 62, he still did it, and it kept him rather fit. Stiles sighed as he began a stretch, and felt his bones start to ache a little. They weren't as strong as they once used to be. Thankfully, despite not being that successful as an explorer, he was able to siphon from his family's fortune, and buy a large farm, which was just inside Chicago's city limits. This was now the ENA's American headquarters.

As Stiles continued doing his yoga, he began thinking about how the Earth was for humans. They had developed the planet from a backwards world, to a industrial powerhouse. Humans had done that, all by themselves! And now, they would have to work with the Equestrians, aliens, outsiders to their world! The same creatures had started a new war, and restarted an old one, for God's sake! He actually felt bad for the German soldier who had been killed at the League of Nations, trying to stop the Equestrians from participating in Earthly politics. Sure, the League of Nations had said it was in self-defence, as he had aimed the gun at Anna Schmidt, head of the League of Nations, but still, he did the correct thing, trying to shoot the Equestrians before he was killed.

The Earth was for humans only, and that was it. Why were aliens being allowed by the British government to join their militaries, when they were barely allowing other races of humans in? Let the blacks, the women, and other races in first, the Equestrians later! Or even better, don't allow Equestrians at all! Make them go back to their own planet! Stiles sighed, as he finished his yoga.

As he finished, his deputy, John Jones, walked into the room. He was as devoted to the cause of the ENA as Stiles, if not more. "Ah, Mr. Stiles. Good morning. We have some news on our comrade, Edward, in England, who was ruthlessly run over by that car carrying the Equestrian military general, Shining Armor." said Jones.

"What? Is Edward out of his coma?" asked Stiles.

"No, Mr. Stiles. Edward is no more. There was too much brain damage, and he passed away last night." said Jones.

"Well, we have to hold a vigil for him, and let our members know."

"Actually, I already let all of our members know. We will be holding the memorial service today, at 9:00am here. It will be at different times at our centres in other countries."

"Good, Jones! What would this organisation be without you? We will get back at the Equestrians for murdering Edward, that is for sure!"

"We will definitely take our revenge on the Equestrians, someway or the other. We will probably find some ideas at Edward's vigil today. See you later, Bret. I have to go get ready for the service." said Jones, as he left the room.

Two and a half hours later, at exactly 9:00am, Stiles entered the huge ENA assembly hall that had been prepared, wearing a fresh powder blue suit. He was surprised at how quickly most people had gotten here. So far, most of the ENA's members in the US lived on the East Coast, majority in Chicago, so most of them just took a bus or drove down. Already, there were around 1,100 people in the hall.

Stiles began to speak. "Good morning, everyone. I'm sure you're wondering why you were called here so early in the morning. Well, we have some bad news to tell you. I'm sure you have all heard about Edward, our member who was purposely run over by a car carrying the Equestrian military general, Shining Armor, right?"

All of the ENA members nodded. "Yes!" shouted all of them.

"Well, here's the bad news. Edward died last night, due to a large amount of brain damage. He was in coma since the incident, and the doctors unplugged him as he was probably never going to wake up." said Stiles.

The whole audience went silent at that. They were all hoping that Edward would have survived, but the news that he was dead shocked them. They instantly erupted in uproars. "They murdered Edward!" said one.

"We'll kill Shining Armor and his family!" shouted another.

"We'll burn down Manehattan, that alien ripoff of New York City!" shouted another.

"Alright, calm down, everybody! CALM DOWN!" shouted Stiles through the microphone. The hall instantly went quiet again. "We are going to get back at the Equestrians, but that will come in due course of time. Today, we're holding his memorial service. We will forever remember him as a martyr for the cause of Equestrians Not Allowed." said Stiles, as a picture of Edward was brought on stage. "Today, we are putting our first picture on our new Wall Of Heroes, located in the main lobby, where we shall keep pictures of all our martyrs who die for the cause of the ENA, and Edward is our first one." said Stiles.

The audience began clapping, but some of them were still a little unhappy. "When do we get back at the Equestrians? When do we make it clear to them that Earth is for HUMANS ONLY?" asked one.

"That will come in due time, my friends. We haven't got any opportunities yet, so we will have to wait, but if we do, we will be able to prove that Earth is for humans only, and the Equestrians don't belong here." said Stiles. "Until then, we wait, my friends. That is all for today. Thank you." said Stiles, as he left the stage, to the members' claps. It was now 9:25am. As he left the stage, Stiles already had a plan forming in his head. Something nasty, to show the Equestrians who was the boss on this planet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:25am in Equestria. Celestia was in her room. Staring at the Sun, rising on its own. Earlier, it used to be so warm to look at the Sun. Now, sometimes, Celestia felt a little useless looking at it. Hard to believe it had only been a month since Faust had transported Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth. As she looked at the Sun, she knew she couldn't control the Sun anymore, but she could be useful by ruling her nation and stopping Discord.

As she came into the dining room for breakfast, she noticed Luna already there, making and eating an Equestrian-friendly English breakfast, something the Equestrian chefs had learnt from British chefs onboard the HMS Nelson. There was no meat in it, so it did not have bacon, unlike a regular English breakfast. "Ah, 'Tia. Finally joining me?" asked Luna.

"Yes, sister, I am. I got hungry." said Celestia, grabbing a plate of food. As she sat down at the table, she asked Luna, "Any updates on where the Destroyer of Discord might be?" asked Celestia. After she had come down on the 12th to see Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, Twilight had flown back to Britain three days later. However, she had taken a large number of books with her, to figure out the location of the Destroyer of Discord. In their last call four days earlier, Twilight had told Celestia that she had had no luck so far.

"Nothing as of yet, sister. Twilight might still be looking, and she also has to keep an eye on our trainees." said Luna. Speaking of the trainees, that was another thing. The rumours of a plot to assassinate Bret Stiles, the leader of the ENA, were growing, and Celestia worried that something like that could actually happen. "We also need to keep a track on the ENA. Apparently, just a few hours ago, the ENA member who was run over by that car carrying Twilight and Shining Armor died in hospital." said Luna.

"What? He died?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, 'Tia. Wood had one of the Royal Guards send me a letter. It seems he had suffered severe brain damage in the accident, and was in a coma." said Luna. "Thankfully, his family knows it was an accident, and they are not suing."

"Oh, dear! As much as I don't like the ENA, I was hoping he'd survive." said Celestia.

"Well, hopefully the showcase will show ENA our worth. The experts have been working with them, and they plan to visit London in the next month or so."

"Hopefully they do. The showcase might be the only way to show that we are willing to fight, and are just as good as the humans."

"I hope so, too, 'Tia." said Luna, as the two sisters continued to eat. That was when Celestia realized something.

"What about Material Z?" asked Celestia.

"Well, they found lots of it in the place where we visited them, so they have temporarily cordoned off the area, since it is highly radioactive. However, as they were all wearing those radioactivity-proof suits, no illnesses or anything due to the radioactivity has been reported. They collected a few more Material Z samples, which were sent to Britain on a plane a few nights ago. It has been sent to a lab, where it's properties will be determined." said Luna.

"Oh, I see. I just hope it isn't used for wrong purposes, as Mr. Price mentioned, it could be turned into a weapon, unaffected by any magic." said Celestia.

"So do I, sister, so do I." said Luna, as she continued eating. The two sisters hoped that the showcase would show the humans what they were really capable of, and hoped ENA would not interfere after that. Hopefully, the modernisation of Equestria would start soon, and the hunt for the Destroyer of Discord would go well.

Chapter 32

2ND OCTOBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Canterlot. The two princesses were once more in the library, looking for any clues on the Destroyer of Discord. They had been looking since 5:30am, and hadn't found anything at all. It was as if the Destroyer of Discord had simply disappeared after Faust had last used it, 2,200 years ago. As if it wasn't hard enough as is, their mother had left no clues on where to find the Destroyer of Discord, and they hadn't heard from Faust in a while.

In the meantime, the two sisters were poring over a book that was older than them by around 800 years. It showed Faust's final fight against Discord using the Destroyer of Discord, and then, nothing. It was if Faust had either destroyed it, or had hidden it somewhere. It was definitely somewhere on Equestria, or the Crystal Empire, or maybe even Earth, as Faust would not have transported their lands to Earth if it was still on Equis.

As the two sisters were poring through another old book, around 3,500 years old, Celestia noticed something. Something about the fate of the Destroyer of Discord. These lines grabbed her attention, "After Faust used thou instrument to imprison Discord for thy final time, she conceal'd it, broke thy into pieces, and scattered it across worlds, where no one, except one worthy, can find thy Destroyer of Discord, reassemble, and use thy powers."

Celestia then showed Luna. "Huh. So Faust broke the Destroyer of Discord, and scattered it across worlds. Anyone who is worthy of wielding it can reassemble it and use its powers, huh? Then, why has no one found the Destroyer of Discord yet? There are many people worthy of it, sister, such as the Pillars of Old Equestria, Princess Amore, and others I have forgotten about. Why has Faust made sure nobody might be able to find it until now?" asked Luna.

"Well, maybe, Faust was preparing us for the duty of finding Discord, Luna. Maybe, she made sure that only we could find it, as she thought only we were worthy, and not some other pony." said Celestia.

"I guess so. But it doesn't give the exact locations of where the pieces of the Destroyer of Discord might be located. The only clue it tells us that some are in Equestria, and some are on Earth. That is literally all we know about its location, sister."

"I know, Luna. It's not much, but now we have something to go off of when we look for it." said Celestia. As the two sisters began to leave the library, they knew that finding the Destroyer of Discord would be hard, considering the measures that Faust had taken to hide it, but they would one day, definitely find it.

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS--------------
It was around 9:10am here, which meant it was around 7:40am in Equestria. Twilight and Shining Armor were preparing to go down into the town of Rosvar, as Twilight wanted to place some orders from the store in the town, which would be delivered through the post office.

Hopefully, this time they wouldn't encounter, or run over, any ENA people. It had been sometime since the death of the ENA member that their car had hit the previous month, and Twilight just hoped ENA wasn't out for blood, otherwise, it would not go well. As they walked out to their car, which their driver, Edward Bowman, had brought out for them, they could hear some shouting from the gate. Some of the ENA people were back. But the shouting was much less, compared to the last time they were here, so they were definitely much lesser in number.

The two siblings got into the large black Austin, and Bowman started up the car, and began driving. Within seconds, they were at the gate. As the gate opened, they could see quite a few protestors, around 80 percent lesser than last time, but still a decent number of them. However, unlike the last time, they didn't charge at their car. However, they were looking at the car rather menacingly. One of them even showed them the middle finger.

As Bowman continued to drive away from the base, they watched as the protestors stopped looking at the car, and continued shouting at the base. The car drove into Rosvar. As they drove into the town, Bowman put on the radio, and Twilight and Shining Armor listened to a news report.

On the 28th of September, the Soviet Union had invaded Poland, and while Germany had annexed only the western Poland and had occupied central Poland, the Soviet Union had annexed eastern Poland. Apparently, Joseph Stalin had begun the invasion on the pretext that there was no longer a Polish state. As if the British and French militaries didn't have enough as it was. Now, the remaining Polish military garrisons were fighting the Soviets as well as the Germans, and so far, things were not looking good for them.

As the car continued to drive into the town, they watched daily life going on in the town. A woman was taking her children to school, another was going home after buying groceries, and other people, going to work. How would this peaceful scene look once Discord, with the help of the Nazis, conquered it? Shining Armor swore to himself that he would stop Discord, and preventing Earth from becoming a chaotic wasteland. It was now 9:40am. As the car began to slow down, Shining Armor realized they had arrived at the store, and Shining Armor readied himself for quite some shopping.

-------------------------------------------------------------------KOCK, POLAND-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The inhabitants of the town of Kock, in Poland, were living a nightmare of a war. 18,000 soldiers of the final remaining Polish military garrison, Independent Operational Group Polesie, a.k.a. SGO Polesie, were bravely fighting against a large German Army contingent, consisting of more than 30,000 soldiers. This battle had been raging since 5:30am, for more than five hours. The brave soldiers of SGO Polesie were fighting hard against the Germans, and were holding them back.

However, it had not been without losses. The Polish side had already lost around thirty soldiers, and the German side had lost around fifty. Also, the small town of Kock, in which around 4,600 people lived, had also taken damage. Already, around six people had died. SGO Polesie hoped to not cause further civilian casualties, and deal with all of the Germans. The commander of SGO Polesie, Franciszek Kleeberg, was ordering his men. "Anti-aircraft batteries, there are multiple German Stukas approaching us! Take them out!" ordered Kleeberg, through the radio.

"Roger that, General!" replied the commander of the anti-aircraft batteries. Kleeberg could hear the sound of the batteries firing, and watched, as one of the Stukas went down in flames. He didn't see anyone eject, so most likely the pilot did not make it. Good, another scumbag German dead. He watched as another two Stukas went down. The remaining three Stukas did drop their loads, but most of them missed, except for one, which took out three of Kleeberg's soldiers.

Kleeberg's crew instantly retaliated, taking down two Stukas. That was good, but they couldn't do shit against the Panzer IVs that were approaching, as SGO Polesie lacked heavy equipment. It was a miracle Kleeberg had been able to get so many soldiers together, as most of the Polish military units had been decimated by the Germans and Russians. Whatever aerial units they had were stuck in France, and they couldn't come back due to the danger of German Bf109s. Kleeberg sighed, and continued fighting. This was going to be a long battle, that was for sure. Kleeberg called up another unit, "Grupa Drohiczyn Poleski, how's it going for you guys?" asked Kleeberg, through the radio.

"Not so good, General." replied the voice of Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz Gorzkowski, the commander of Grupa Drohiczyn Poleski. "We just sighted a group of Panzer IVs, around eight of them, coming our way, towards the main gate, and another six coming from the south, near Jasiołda's position. I'm not sure we can take them all, General."

"Hang on, I'll let Grupa Jasiołda know." said Kleeberg, quickly switching his radio frequency to that of Grupa Jasiołda. "Grupa Jasiołda, be advised, there are six Panzer IVs approaching your position. Get ready to deal with them."

"Copy that, General Kleeberg." replied the commander of Grupa Jasiołda. Kleeberg acknowledged the reply, and got back to fighting. This was about to be a long battle.

Chapter 33

3RD OCTOBER 1939

-------------------------------------------------------------------KOCK, POLAND-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 2:35am over here, and the battle against between SGO Polesie and the German Army was not going well. The first fourteen Panzer IVs, which had been seen at around 11:20am, more than 15 hours earlier, had been successfully destroyed, but then, they had been followed by another thirty tanks, consisting of Panzer IVs, which had taken them by surprise. Already, General Kleeberg was facing heavy losses. Of the 18,000 men of SGO Polesie, consisting of six units, each unit had lost at least ten men. Close to 140 men had died already from SGO Polesie, and 50 people in the town of Kock had also been killed. It had not been in vain, though. They had killed more than 170 German soldiers. They had also taken 50 German soldiers captive.

General Kleeberg let off a command to the two tank battalions, which only had some outdated Renault FT-17 light tanks. These were extremely slow, but since they were small, they were being camouflaged among the trees, and had been able to destroy some of the Panzer IVs earlier. He just hoped they could do so now, as a large number of Panzer IVs were approaching their position. "Tank Battalion Alpha, get ready to fire on those Panzers." said Kleeberg, through the radio.

(basically these but with Polish Army markings)

(quite a few of these)

As the Panzers closed on Tank Battalion Alpha's position, the FT-17s, and the soldiers hidden among the trees began firing at them. The FT-17's 37mm machine guns did a bit of damage, but the large number of anti-tank mines hidden in the area by the Polish soldiers did a lot of damage. Within seconds, five of the Panzers were destroyed, and the others were trying to figure out how this had happened. That was when aerial bombing began. A large number of Stukas had seen the explosions, and instantly recognized what had happened.

Kleeberg was about to warn his Tank Company Alpha of the Stukas, when the ground began shaking, as multiple bombs began to hit the ground, and only static came on the radio. Kleeberg quickly called, "Plisowski! Can you raise Tank Battalion Alpha on your radios?" asked Kleeberg to General Konstanty Plisowski, the commander of Grupa Forteczna Brześć, which Tank Battalion Alpha belonged to.

"Negative, General Kleeberg. Alpha is gone." replied the voice of General Plisowski. That hit Kleeberg hard. There were sixty men in that battalion, and all of them were gone. Kleeberg started to get angry. He quickly ordered another company, "Grupa Drohiczyn Poleski! Kill all the Germans!"

"What, General Kleeberg?" replied Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz Gorzkowski, the commander of Grupa Drohiczyn Poleski.

"Yes, Gorzkowski, kill all those fucking Germans! I WANT THEM ALL DEAD!" shouted an angry Kleeberg.

"Fine, General!" said Gorzkowski, and Kleeberg could hear a large amount of gunfire, from where Grupa Drohiczyn Poleski was fighting. He could hear multiple gunshots, as the battle raged near the west side of the town. Kleeberg continued fighting. He could hear more gunfire, and some explosions as well, as the battle continued to rage. That was when he got a call on the radio from Flotylla Rzeczna, the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the Wieprz river, just a few kilometers south of the town.

"General Kleeberg, we can see some German patrol boats approaching our position. What do we do?" asked the commander of Flotylla Rzeczna. "Do we destroy them?"

"We don't want to lose more men right now, but try and destroy them if you can. If they fire first, you fire back." said Kleeberg.

"Got it, General Kleeberg." replied the commander of Flotylla Rzeczna, as he signed off. Kleeberg sighed, and continued fighting alongside his men. They had lost more than 200 people by now, killed more than 250 German soldiers, and had captured more than 100 German soldiers. That was when Kleeberg realised he could do some interrogation on the captured soldiers. He had been so engrossed in the fight, that he had forgotten that he had taken those people captive. Kleeberg asked his second-in-command, "Where did we keep those fucking scumbags of Germans that we took prisoner?"

"They've been kept near our main FBO, sir. We have been trying to prevent our soldiers from torturing them, so that you have some intact prisoners to interrogate." replied the second-in-command.

"Good. I'm heading there now." said Kleeberg, quickly running to his jeep, which was driven by one of his soldiers. It instantly drove towards the main FBO, which they reached at exactly 4:00am. Kleeberg went into the tent, where the prisoners had been kept. He asked the soldiers who had been kept on guard there, "You didn't do anything to them, did you?"

"No, Sir. We did not. We wanted to, of course, but we resisted the urge to do some rather inhuman things to do the prisoners." replied one of the soldiers.

"Good, because I'm going to be the only one who does such things to those scumbags." said Kleeberg.

"Wait, what, General? You won't let us do anything to them, but you are letting yourself to do it?" asked the astonished soldiers.

"Well, I didn't want to hurt them, but the circumstances force us to. We need information on their military units. Who is the most recent one we captured?" asked Kleeberg.

"Well, we brought him in just around fifteen minutes ago. We've kept him near the right side corner of the tent."

"Thanks. I'll deal with him." said Kleeberg, as he went into the tent. He went to the right side corner, where the German soldier was sitting, his hands tied up. Kleeberg grabbed him roughly by the collar, and hoisted him in the air.

"AAAH! STOP! What do you think you are doing?!" shouted the soldier, in German, which Kleeberg understood rather well.

"Well, my friend, just give me the information I need, which is the strength of your forces, and the units you have, and I'll let you go." said Kleeberg, very calmly, dropping the soldier, who fell with a grunt.

"No! I won't give away the secrets of the mighty German Army, especially to you, a filthy Pole!" shouted the soldier. "I won't let you prevent Hitler from making a new land for the Nazis!"

"So, you refuse to tell me. Maybe this will convince you that it is better for your health if you tell me." said Kleeberg, as he drew a knife from his uniform, and stabbed the soldier in his left thigh. The soldier instantly yelled in pain, as blood began gushing out of the wound. "Want the pain to stop? Tell me." said Kleeberg.

"No, I am not telling you!" shouted the soldier, with a lot of anger and pain in his words.

"Then you can suffer." said Kleeberg, stabbing the man again in the thigh. This time, he also twisted the knife around, causing a lot more damage than the previous stab. The soldier screamed and started crying, and all the other prisoners were watching, horrified at what Kleeberg was doing to their comrade. "Do you want more? I can make it more painful." said Kleeberg, stabbing him again.

"NO! I WILL NOT TELL YOU OUR SECRETS!" shouted the soldier, in a mix of screams and cries.

"Fine then." said Kleeberg, as he held the knife up high, and before the soldier knew it, in a flash, he was missing his right pinkie finger. He screamed again, as the pain reached him, and saw Kleeberg, holding his bloodied severed finger in his hands. "If you don't want me to cut off another of your fingers, just tell me anything about your force right now." said Kleeberg.

"Fine! The rest of Poland has fallen to the Germans, and our friends, the Russians. We've got air support stationed around two hours from this town. We also have a decent number of Panzer IIIs and IVs on their way in as well. That's all I'll tell you!" said the man.

"Thank you very much. Now, I'm done with you. I'll let you rest peacefully." said Kleeberg, as he brutally plunged his knife into the soldier's neck, severing the carotid artery, and spraying blood everywhere, including on Kleeberg himself. Kleeberg dropped the convulsing body of the soldier, who would probably bleed out in a minute or two. As Kleeberg turned to the other shocked soldiers, he told them all, "If you don't want to end up like your comrade here, tell me the strength and units of your forces, and you'll be let go. You understand that?"

All of the soldiers nodded their heads. Kleeberg grinned sadistically, and called some of his soldiers in to interrogate the others. As he much as he hated to be a little sadistic, in this case, he was fine with it, as he hated the Germans, as they had invaded their nation without warning, and killed multiple innocents. They deserved to die. As Kleeberg got ready to interrogate the next soldier, he knew that it was a little inhuman to torture them, but they had imprisoned Polish people for no reason in concentration camps.

He felt it was important to use their enemies' own tactic, to strike back against them. As he got ready, he hoped they would win this battle, and keep a remainder of Poland unoccupied. He just hoped this would work, as he felt this battle was entering its final stretch.

Chapter 34

4TH OCTOBER 1939

-------------------------------------------------------------------KOCK, POLAND-----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00am in the town of Kock, Poland. General Kleeberg and SGO Polesie were fighting with a renewed vigour, now that they had intel on enemy positions from the prisoners. They were ambushing the German tanks guerilla-style, and had so far killed more than 250 German soldiers, and taken more than 50 more hostage. However, the Poles had suffered losses of their own as well, losing close to 300 of their men, to stop the advancing Germans. It had not been in vain though. Most of the town of Kock remained untouched, and only around a total of 150 people from the town had died so far.

As the battle continued, more Panzers were destroyed, and more Germans died. That was when Kleeberg heard a huge explosion from where one of his anti-aircraft units was fighting. He quickly radioed them, but all he heard was static. They were gone. He instantly noticed multiple Bf109s in the sky. He ordered his remaining five anti-aircraft units to fire at them. He heard, and saw them firing, as multiple Bf109s began plummeting from the skies, in flames. He began cheering, "YES! Come on, my men! We can do this! Take them out!"

Encouraged by Kleeberg's words, the men continued fighting, downing multiple Bf109s. As that was happening, he got a sudden report from a team posted on the very outskirts of the town. "Commander! Commander! More infantry is coming!" shouted the voice over the radio.

"More infantry? How many units are there?" replied Kleeberg.

"Not many, General. Just some foot units and six Panzer IIIs." replied the leader of the team. "We could probably deal with them now, to be honest."

"Then do so! That's an easy force to deal with! We don't have that much ammunition left, but you should be able to deal with them."

"Already on it, Commander. We are firing at them NOOOAAAAAHH!!!!!" shouted the team leader over the radio, as Kleeberg heard an explosion, and seconds later, only static was heard. Kleeberg instantly knew that his men were dead. But how? There weren't any planes in that area, and those six Panzer IIIs would have been easily dealt with, along with the foot units, as they were using guerilla tactics.

That was when he heard more explosions, coming from the place where the border team had been lost. How on Earth were those units advancing? Surely there was more to them than the border team suspected, weren't there? The men continued fighting bravely, but word of more losses began coming in. Whatever unit this was, it was strong, and it was decimating SGO Polesie by the minute. They didn't have time to call in before they were lost, for fuck's sake! What was this?

As the new unit came into view in the distance, it was exactly what had been described, some foot units, and six Panzer IIIs. These seemed like normal Panzer IIIs, albeit these ones had a new weapon, one with multiple holes in it. It seemed to be a projectile launcher of some sort. That was when the weapon turned, and fired at another unit. Multiple projectiles shot out of it at high speed, and within seconds, that whole unit was obliterated, with no survivors. Kleeberg instantly knew that they wouldn't be able to face it, so he radioed, across all frequencies, to his men. "SGO Polesie, we won't be able to stand up against that crazy weapon on those Panzer IIIs. Surrender immediately. It is the only way to prevent more bloodshed." said Kleeberg, to his shocked soldiers.

"Are you crazy, General! We can't just surrender to the Germans! We can't give up our country like that!" shouted one of the unit commanders.

"I know, but it is the only way to save our lives, and we are done for anyways." said Kleeberg, as he lay down his gun, and walked up to the German tanks, which had arrived at the FBO by now, with his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. A man, probably the German commander, stepped out of the tanks, and walked towards Kleeberg.

"Ah, you must be General Kleeberg. You've killed quite a few of my people, you know." said the German commander.

"Well, the way I see it, YOU invaded our nation, and killed many of MY people." replied Kleeberg.

"Who cares about that? Anyways, are you ready to surrender now?"

Kleeberg had a heavy heart. He didn't want to give up Poland to the Germans at all, but now, this was the only way to prevent further loss of life. "Yes, I surrender." said Kleeberg, very reluctantly.

"Good. I may just spare your life for surrendering." said the commander, as his soldiers began to spread out everywhere, and began tying up the Polish soldiers. He then went back to his tank, and made the radio call. "Well, it's done. Kleeberg and SGO Polesie have surrendered. Poland is ours now." reported the commander over the radio, to his superiors at the Reichstag, in Berlin. This moment marked not just the end of the Battle of Kock, but also the end of the invasion of Poland.

--------------------------------------------------------------THE REICHSTAG, BERLIN---------------------------------------------------------------
At the Reichstag building in Berlin, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, the top German and Soviet politicians, along with Discord, were listening in to the end of the Battle of Kock. They were extremely happy to find out that the battle had ended with German victory, and were currently celebrating. They were happy that they had finally been able to take Poland at last. Everyone except for Hitler, Stalin, and Discord, were drinking vodka that the Soviet politicians that brought with them.

As the other politicians celebrated, Hitler and Stalin were both congratulating Discord. "That was a good idea, Discord, to send the first six Panzer IIIEs in, even though they weren't officially approved for service yet!" said Hitler.

"It was a good idea alright, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take Poland, and we would still be fighting SGO Polesie in Kock!" said Discord.

"I'm just wondering, could we also buy some of the Panzer IIIEs? That way, we can protect our country from all the embargos that the Western countries, and the League of Nations, will place on the Soviet Union." asked Stalin.

"Actually, we are not welling to sell tanks to your country, but we can modify whatever tanks the Red Army has under the Erweiterung program." said Discord.

"Oh, well, I guess that will do." replied an annoyed Stalin. He was definitely unhappy that he couldn't get the German tanks.

"Meanwhile, Discord, speaking of the programme, how is it going?" asked Hitler.

"Very well, actually. We have got the first two Bf109E prototypes back in the air, and the third one is being modified, and should be ready to fly in a couple of months. Also, we have done two more successful trials, and the E-serum is ready for use. We have a rather good idea to present you soon."

"Oh, really? That's good! I'm looking forward to seeing what this idea is." said Hitler, as he left the room to grab a rest. Discord continued celebrating with the other politicians for a while, and then decided to leave as well, as he was flying back to the Erweiterung program's base the next day. He was happy with how things were going. Poland had already been taken, and Stalin was going to soon use hook or crook to force the Baltic countries to sign pacts with the Soviet Union. Soon, the whole world would be in chaos.

Chapter 35

5TH OCTOBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in Canterlot, and Celestia and Luna were rushing. They had been called by Wood, in Manehattan, again, and he said it was extremely urgent. Apparently, it was related to Discord. The two sisters quickly finished their breakfast, and teleported to Manehattan, where they met up with Cadance. They quickly ran to the docks, and onto the HMS Nelson. They went into the ship's conference room, where they noticed Rockmond and Wood, waiting for them, looking rather sombre. "Your majesties, looks like, Discord may have won this." said Wood.

"What do you mean, Mr. Wood? The Soviets have only helped the Germans out in parts of Poland." said Celestia.

"No, it's over. The last unannexed part of Poland has been taken by the Germans. They surrendered yesterday. The news came out only two hours ago. Most of Poland's military has gone and hidden in Romania and Latvia." replied Wood.

"What?! The Polish surrendered? I thought they were going to keep fighting for their country, until the very end."

"Unfortunately, it looks like the Germans forced them to surrender, after a final two-day battle in the town of Kock. It's a rather dirty name for a town, yes, but the Polish soldiers fought bravely. They killed more than 500 German soldiers, and took around 300 captive. However, the Germans killed close to 400 Polish soldiers, and after the surrender, took more than 18,000 of them captive. Take a look." said Wood, as he turned on the TV, and began showing them the horrifying images and video captured during the battle.

It showed the Germans brutally beating and killing Polish soldiers, but there was also some footage of the Polish bravely fighting back, but most of it was showing the brutal torture inflicted on German soldiers by the Polish. As everyone in the room watched the footage in horror, they wondered if soon, Discord may succeed in his plan. That was when Celestia spoke. "Discord may have won this battle, yes, but he still hasn't won the war."

"How? Poland has been taken, and the China-Japan war is still raging." said Wood. "And so far, China doesn't seem to be doing so well."

"Yes, but Britain and France are still fighting the Germans, right?" replied Celestia. "We can fight them, if we all unite. As much as I don't want to rush our little ponies into a battle, we should try and get them on the front lines as soon as possible. Then, we can hopefully stop his plans, and imprison Discord entirely, once and for all."

"I do admire your enthusiasm, your Majesty. But the Atlantic blockade of Germany is also facing a bit of trouble. Constant attacks by German U-boats have caused the loss of a British aircraft carrier, a British battleship, and a civilian ocean liner, with the loss of close to 1,500 lives. We have only been able to destroy one of the German U-boats, and a few German patrol boats, but that's about it. We also have to deal with ENA. Plus, the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans' won't be ready for the battlefield until February or March."

"That is fine. Once they get some decent real-world experience on the battlefields, we can use the planned showcase to prove to Earth that we belong, and we are willing to fight. We can also use it to hold a huge diplomatic summit to get more trade and investment into our country."

"I originally never thought about the showcase being used as a diplomatic summit, and now that we have the idea, we can use that as a good opportunity to have one." said Wood. As the three princesses continued discussing with the ambassadors, an idea began to take shape. One that would hopefully, make ENA's members, including Bret Stiles, have their mouths open in awe.

------------------------------------------------------------THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW-----------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Stalin and his retinue were waiting for three heads of state to arrive at the Kremlin. Konstantin Päts, the president of Estonia, Kārlis Ulmanis, the Prime Minister of Latvia, and Antanas Smetona, the president of Lithuania, would all soon be arriving from their respective countries, as Stalin had some business to conduct with them. Stalin was thinking about making a contingency plan against the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, as he felt that Hitler was plotting against him, when he noticed multiple black cars pulling up outside the Kremlin. The three Baltic leaders had arrived.

As the three leaders arrived at the Grand Kremlin Palace, Stalin greeted them. "My comrades! Welcome to the capital of the Soviet Union!" said Stalin.

"It is nice to see you, Joseph, my friend." said Ulmanis, via an interpreter, as he didn't speak much Russian. "You said you wanted to conduct some business. What kind of business do you want to conduct?"

"Well, I would like to set up some Soviet military bases in your countries. That way, we are all protected in a war." replied Stalin.

This shocked the three Baltic leaders. As the they exchanged worried glances, Stalin continued, "I know you may be hesitant about this proposal at first, but trust me, it's for your own good. The Germans are becoming increasingly aggressive, and we need to be prepared for any eventuality. With our military bases in your countries, we can defend you against any potential German invasion."

"Are you sure about that, Stalin? I thought the Germans only wanted Poland, and you helped them out with it, carrying out fucking war crimes in the process!" replied Smetona, also via an interpreter.

"I may have helped out the Germans carry out war crimes in Poland, yes, but you do realize I am trying to improve the relationships between our nations?" replied Stalin.

"No, you are trying to colonise our nations, just like how Britain colonised India and Africa back in the old days! That is what you are doing, Stalin! You just want the whole of Eastern Europe to join the Soviet Union!" shouted Ulmanis.

"That I do. But it is the only way to keep the Germans from invading, should they choose to break the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and strengthen our countries." said Stalin, start to get angry.

"Are you sure? Because we don't want to join the dictatorship you run, Stalin!" shouted the three Baltic leaders, as they began to leave the room, only to stop by a large number of armed Soviet soldiers, all pointing guns at them.

"Well, you have to let me set up my bases there. Otherwise, I may invade your countries, and send some of the people, including you three, to my gulags, where you will have a very unpleasant experience." said Stalin, with a cold smirk on his face.

"Stalin! Do you realise that you are threating to kill three heads of state in cold blood?" shouted Päts.

"Oh, I am, and can easily kill you, and take over your nations, unless you concede to my demands." said Stalin.

"Fine! If it means we will still be alive to rule our nations, we concede!" said Päts, to the shock of the other two leaders. As the guards put their guns down, Stalin grabbed a few documents for the three Baltic leaders to sign. It was going to be good for the glory of the Soviet Union.

Chapter 36

15TH NOVEMBER 1939

-------------------------------------------------------THE SOVIET-FINLAND BORDER-----------------------------------------------------------
It was around 9:25am here. Commander Thomas Niemi and his contingent, of around 80 men, were standing watch from their bunkers, drinking hot chocolate to get relief from the biting cold. They had been stationed there two weeks ago, ever since intel had come to the Finnish Army that the Soviets were planning to annexe Finland, like how they had done to Poland. As part of Joseph Stalin's plans for the Soviet Union, he had demanded that Aimo Cajander, the Finnish Prime Minister, give up substantial border territories around Finland in exchange of land elsewhere.

Apparently, the Soviets wanted this for security reasons, mainly the protection of Leningrad, which was just twenty miles away from they were right now. But Cajander had apparently refused, and due to which, Stalin was extremely pissed, and he had left Helsinki a day earlier, after he had met Cajander about this. The rumour he was planning to give Finland the Polish treatment, and the Finnish did not want that.

Hence, multiple Finnish Army units had been dispatched to prevent any Soviet invasion, and they had been feeling useless, when Stalin decided to ask for formal negotiations. But now that Stalin had called them off, they were feeling like something big was going to happen soon. Plus, the tensions between the Soviet Union and Finland gotten worse in the last two days, due to the shelling of a Soviet border post near the Finnish town of Mainila, resulting in the deaths of four Soviet soldiers, and Stalin was blaming the Finnish Army for this, but the Finnish Army was denying the allegations of such a thing, and they felt that there had been an accident resulting in a shell exploding at the post itself.

As they continued looking out at the endless white sheets of snow, they suddenly heard the roar of engines. Aircraft engines, and a second later, they began to see the aircraft come into sight. Multiple Soviet Polikarpov I-153 biplane fighters, along with some Polikarpov I-16 monoplane fighters.

(around twenty of the first and forty of the second)

Niemi and his troops watched horrified as some of the planes began dropping bombs, and one of the bombs managed to land of the bunkers, and watched as pieces of bunker, human body parts, weapons, and other things were thrown everywhere in the huge explosion. Absolutely none of the men inside could have survived that. Niemi quickly spoke into the radio in Finnish, "Come on, my men! Take down those planes! Avenge our troops!"

"Roger that, Commander!" replied one of his men, as they began firing the lone anti-aircraft gun they had with them, and within seconds, two I-153s and an I-16 had been shot down. That was when they heard a roar of a different kind of engine, one of ground vehicles. As they looked towards the lone gravel road that passed through this border crossing, they noticed them. A large convoy of Russian T-26 tanks, were approaching them, at a speed of around 15 kilometers per hour. There were quite a few of them, at least ten of them, and they were all coming, accompanied by infantry.

(around twenty of these with the Soviet Red star on the front)

The Soviets began firing at the Finnish, who fired back. The Finns retaliated brutally, killing three Soviet soldiers for the death of one Finnish soldier. However, the Soviets had the T-26s, which instantly fired at the Finnish soldiers, and within twenty minutes, a quarter of Niemi's contingent was dead. The Finns quickly destroyed a pair of the T-26s with the three anti-tank guns they had. It was now around 10:25am. The soldiers also had a radio to keep themselves updated on the progress of the invasion.

As they were fighting, they heard an emergency news report come over the radio, and they all listened to it as they fought. "Attention, all citizens of Finland. At 9:35am this morning, the Soviet Union has declared war on Finland. Our capital, Helsinki has been bombed, with the deaths of at least forty people, and at least a hundred injured. Our forces so far have prevented the Soviets from advancing further into our country. Everyone, please evacuate, hide in the bomb shelters, and do not come out unless it is safe to do so. To our forces fighting to us, good luck. Please keep our country safe." said the radio announcer, signing off.

Empowered by this announcement, Niemi ordered his crew, "My men! The people of Finland are counting on us! Do not stop fighting! Continue until all of the Soviets are dead!" shouted Niemi into the radio. "Do not let them give us the Poland treatment at all costs!" Bravely, the soldiers continued fighting, taking down multiple Soviet soldiers. In fact, some of the Finnish soldiers had decided that if they would die in this battle, they would take some of the Soviet bastards with them. They would charge forward, until the very end.

As they continued fighting, more tanks were destroyed, and more Soviet soldiers began dropping. However, the Soviets were starting to call in serious backup, including some more aircraft, and began to give the Finnish soldiers a pounding. Niemi quickly called over his radio to headquarters, "This is Commander Thomas Niemi here! Me and my battalion are under heavy fire by Soviet troops! We need air support!"

"I'm sorry, Niemi, but the closest air support is currently engaged. You're on your own for a while." came the reply. Niemi wasn't surprised at this, as the rather small Finnish Air Force had only 62 aircraft, of which only 46 were fighters, and the remaining were bombers. As Niemi continued fighting, and no sign of air support anywhere, he knew this might be his crew's final fight, so they would go out in a blaze.

"Alright, my men! Listen up! They might not get air support out here for a while, and by then, we might be dead, so I want you all to give it your all, so that if we don't make it, we don't die in vain!" shouted Niemi over the radio. The men continued fighting more, empowered to make a final stand. 42 minutes later, as the ammunition begin to run low, and hope began to falter among Niemi and his men, that was when the Soviet side was bombed. Multiple of the T-26 tanks exploded, and the body parts of multiple Soviet soldiers went flying everywhere. All of the Finnish soldiers looked to the skies, and noticed them.

The Finnish Air Force had arrived. Two of their Bristol Blenheim bombers had arrived, and were raining down Hell on the Soviets. A message came through Niemi's radio, "Commander Niemi, this is Razors 1 and 2. We've got your backs." came the message from the pilots of the Blenheims. Niemi and his crew continued to fight, while the Blenheims continued circling, occasionally dropping a bomb or two on the weakened Soviet forces.

(two of these)

It was now close to noon. As Niemi and his crew continued to fight, they knew that this would be a long war, but it would be worth it, to keep their beloved country safe, and to stop the charge of the Soviets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was around 8:30am in Canterlot. Celestia and Luna were eating their breakfast, and checking up on everything with their assistants. Equestria and the Crystal Empire were progressing fast, in terms of modernisation and the opening of diplomatic relations with the Earthly countries. They had sent a team of Equestrian scientists to Britain, where they would be creating new medical treatments, new scientific discoveries (including the propertied of Material Z) and other such things. Both countries were also beginning modernisation.

The military bases for the new Equestrian and Crystal Empirean militaries was nearing completion, and would soon be operational. One was near Canterlot, one was near Manehattan, one was near Ponyville, and the other two were near the more rural towns of Equestria. The Crystal Empireans' two bases were also nearing completion. The naval bases on the coasts of both countries were also under construction, and one would soon be receiving the HMS Nile, the training ship which had been leased to the Equestrians by the British Royal Navy.

The airbase in Manehattan was still undergoing expansion, but most of the infrastructure was near completion, the only things still being built were the new runways and taxiways. Construction of airbases that could jointly be used as civilian airports were also being planned for Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire. Power plants were also under construction in marked out industrial zones near all of the major parts of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and plans for power grids, road networks, and other civil amenities, such as a postal network, telephone exchanges, etc. were being drawn up, and plans were being executed.

As the two sisters pondered just how well the two countries were beginning to modernise, when a letter teleported into the room, right in front of Luna. A little annoyed at this interruption, Luna picked up the letter, and unrolled it, and when she did, she was surprised by the contents. "Huh, that is odd." said Luna.

"What is it, Luna?" asked Celestia.

"It seems that we have to clear our schedule. Apparently, the League of Nations has called an emergency meeting in two days, and since Equestria and the Crystal Empire are now members of the League of Nations, we have to go." said Luna.

"Why? Why would the League of Nations call a meeting on such short notice? Also, how will we get there?" asked Celestia.

"Apparently, the Soviet Union invaded the country of Finland this morning, in an act of unprovoked aggression, and the League wants this meeting to decide their fate at the League." said Luna. "The ambassadors again want us to meet with them at the ships. It will be like this until we get telephone exchanges, radio, and television set up here at Canterlot Castle."

"I see. Luna, we're leaving in ten minutes, tell Cadance to meet us there in twenty!" said Celestia.

"Actually, the ambassadors say that a copy of this letter has been sent to Cadance as well, so she will be meeting us there." said Luna, getting up from the table, as did Celestia. The two sisters quickly freshened up again, and by 8:50am, they had met Cadance in Manehattan, and were walking up the gangplank of the USS Colorado. They walked into the same cabin, that they had gotten used to at this point.

"Ah, your majesties." said Rockmond. "I'm assuming you saw our letter?"

"Yes, we did, Rockmond. You said that the Soviet Union invaded the country of Finland?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, they sadly did. Thankfully, the Finnish people defended their country bravely, and so far, Finland has stayed unoccupied. Their capital city, Helsinki, was bombed by the Soviets, with the deaths of around 80 civilians, and so far, the Finnish side has lost a total of 425 men, whereas the Soviets have lost around 1,300 on their side. Take a look." said Wood, switching on the TV. Again, at this point, visuals of war were now pretty much familiar to the two sisters.

But this time, it was different. The damage to the urban areas was lesser, compared to the pictures they had seen of the destroyed Polish cities at the League of Nations two months earlier. The Finnish soldiers had truly fought back bravely. However, she couldn't believe that the Soviet Union had indiscriminately bombed a city full of civilians like that. The damage to Helsinki was not that little either. Quite a few buildings had been destroyed, but most were relatively undamaged, albeit with some shrapnel or fire damage.

They were also shown footage of the battles between the Soviet and Finnish militaries, which the Finnish had mostly won. However, the Soviets had also won a few of the battles, and taken small parts of Finland near the Soviet Union-Finland border. Celestia instantly knew that this was all Discord's plan. They really needed to find the Destroyer of Discord, and soon, before Discord plunged the whole of Earth into chaos.

It was now around 9:40am. As they continued talking with the ambassadors, they continued to write up an itinerary for their next League of Nations visit, not knowing that someone, specifically a certain American and his organisation, was going to gatecrash it.

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
It was night time in Chicago, and while most of the city was asleep, some people remained awake. Some of those people were at Bret Stiles' compound just outside the city. ENA had gotten the news of the fact that there would be a League of Nations meeting on the 17th, and that the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans would both be attending this. This was the perfect chance to take their revenge for Edward, their man who had died after being run over by a car carrying two Equestrians.

Stiles was plotting how to assassinate one of the Equestrians or Crystal Empireans. They were definitely not going to kill their rulers, as that would start another war, which would further lead the world to ruin, with the geopolitical scenario already having two wars going on, which had been started by the Equestrians. China-Japan had restarted only after their arrival, and now, the Soviets had invaded Finland! All this ever since the Equestrians had arrived on Earth. Earth was for humans only!

As Stiles and his thinkers plotted how to get into the League of Nations with a smuggled weapon to carry out this assassination, when Stiles' deputy, John Jones, came in. "Ah, Mr. Stiles, one of our members wants to meet you. He says he can carry out the assassination at the League of Nations." said Jones.

"Really? Send him in!" said Stiles, wondering what this member had to offer. Jones sent the person in. He was a young man, in his mid-30s, with black hair, wearing glasses, a pale blue shirt, and cream-coloured pants. "Ah, young man, what's your name?" asked Stiles.

"My name's Thomas Hill." replied the man.

"Well, Thomas, you said you can carry out the assassination at the League of Nations?" said Stiles.

"Yes, Mr. Stiles. I can, and I can easily access the League of Nations as well, even though I am not a diplomat." said Hill.

"Wait, what? How?"

"Well, as my day job, I happen to be a news reporter. I appear to support the Equestrians on the outside, but in reality, I despise them. Earth belongs only to humans, and hence, I support your organisation, Mr. Stiles."

"Ah! Well said, Thomas! But how will you conduct the actual assassination? Knives are too slow, and guns would be of no use, unless you can safely smuggle them in." replied Stiles, impressed by Hill's words.

"I will use a gun. I am a skilled marksman, and I like to hit the shooting range on my off days. In fact, I have a Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol, and a few big guns at my house. I plan to use the M1911 for this."

"But how will you bring the gun in?" asked Stiles.

"Well, I will smuggle it in pieces, hidden in different things. One or two parts will be hidden in my luggage, and the remaining will be scattered through the camera and microphone equipment that we will use. That way, they won't detect a gun hidden in there. Similar thing for the ammunition as well. When I go in before my attack, I will conceal the gun and ammunition with a long coat. I know the fast draw, so I will do that, and then begin my attack. I might die, but it will show everyone that ENA does not accept aliens in our society." explained Hill.

"I'm impressed, my boy! Here's a thousand dollars, to buy all the ammunition you need, and that coat you need, if you don't have one. We will help you as much, but you will have to go it solo at the League of Nations, alright, kid?" said Stiles, handing Hill around 1,000 dollars.

"I know, Mr. Stiles. I thank you for your support in this mission. I will prove ENA's cause to the world. I promise you that. Watch the news of the League of Nations visit on TV on the 19th. Goodbye, Mr. Stiles." said Hill, as he left the room.

"Goodbye, Thomas. May you be successful in your mission." said Stiles, bidding goodbye. The whole room began clapping. This would still remain a secret, and hopefully, soon, the Equestrians would be terrified of the might of ENA.

Chapter 37

Author's Note

I just wanted to let you all know, the next few chapters after this may be delayed, guys, as the national exams are going on in my country, so I might not upload for a week or two. Once the exams are over, I promise that my upload schedule will go back to normal.

Chapter 37

17TH NOVEMBER 1939

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 4:00am in Canterlot, which was meant it was around 6:30am in Geneva. Celestia and Luna were getting ready for their flight, which would depart at 5:30am for Geneva. They were again borrowing the American President's Boeing 307 Stratoliner, since an RAF DC-3 would not have enough range to fly non-stop from Manehattan to Geneva. The American President had arrived at the League of Nations the day before, and he had sent the plane out to get the princesses from Manehattan. Twilight and Shining Armor would be flying in from Britain. Again, it was a six-hour flight, which meant they would arrive at around 2:00pm Geneva time.

They were just finishing packing up, when Luna thought about something. "Sister, what about the ENA? They hate us like anything, and I wouldn't be surprised if they try to do something at the League of Nations."

"Well, Luna, precautions have been made to keep the ENA out of the League of Nations. We can't do much about them in the main city, but we will be fully surrounded by soldiers carrying guns, so we should be fine." said Celestia, hoping that the ENA wouldn't try anything. At 4:20am, fully packed up, they met up with their guards, and the select diplomats who were coming along with them to the League of Nations, and a minute later, they were in Manehattan.

They met up with Cadance and her retinue, which also consisted of guards and diplomats, and they began walking down to the airbase. All of the ponies were carrying pills to help them out with the time differences, which had taken some of the guards and diplomats by surprise on their previous visit to the League of Nations a couple of months earlier. They reached the airfield at exactly 4:30am, and waited in the new VIP lounge, which had been built by the British engineers. While they waited, they watched some of the Spitfires stationed there heading out on early morning patrols. The dirt runway had been lit up temporarily by using magic lanterns, but until a new asphalted runway was built with permanent lights, night flights into the Manehattan Airbase were dangerous.

At exactly 4:55am, they noticed the lights of the big Stratoliner approaching the runway, and they watched as the big airliner came into sight and touched down on the runway rather smoothly, considering the hardness of the approach. The airliner taxied off the runway, and down to one of the four temporary dirt stands. One of the new imported fuel trucks, part of the airbase's ground infrastructure, came to refuel the parked aircraft the second the engines were shut down. For now, until fuel reserves were found, a tanker ship was coming to replenish supplies, and until ponies were trained for such specialised operations, this was all being done by humans, mainly from Britain.

At 5:10am, they boarded the plane, and within 15 minutes, they were lining up on the runway for takeoff. Soon, the ponies felt pushed back in their seats as the throttles were advanced, and the plane began speeding down the runway. Seconds later, they were in the air, climbing away from the Manehattan airbase. They heard the hydraulics noises as the landing gear was retracted. As the plane continued its climb, all of the ponies, including the three princesses, decided to take a nap to ease the effects of the time differences that would get them.

It was now around 5:50am. All of the ponies were asleep, including Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, despite the heavy throb of the plane's four piston engines. As Celestia slept, she saw Luna in her dream. "Oh, Luna! What are you doing in my dream?" asked Celestia.

"Oh, sister! What are YOU doing in MY dream?" replied Luna.

"Oh, looks like our mother is finally talking to us again, after two months." said Celestia, recognizing this was Faust's work. Finally, they were going to get more intel from her again, after quite a while. As the two sisters watched, out of nowhere, in a bright flash of light, Faust appeared in the dream.

"Ah, my daughters." said Faust. "I am sorry that I wasn't able to finish our talk in our last meeting."

"Well, mother, we were able to figure out about the Destroyer of Discord, and that you hid it across Equis and Earth." said Celestia.

"I see. You were always sharp, my daughters. Yes, I was talking about the Destroyer of Discord, and yes, I did hide it in Equestria. However, some pieces are on Earth. 2,200 years ago, I fought Discord for the final time, and defeated him. After this, I decided to break the Destroyer in two and hide its pieces, for in case he came back more powerful than he was. I had already visited Earth multiple times, and the humans worshipped me like a god, so I hid some of the pieces here, to be safeguarded by the humans." explained Faust.

"I see. So, where on Earth is it hidden?" asked Celestia.

"I'm sorry, my daughters, but that I cannot tell you. Discord might be listening into our dream, and I don't want to inadvertently ruin your chances of defeating him. But I can tell you where one part of it is, Celestia." replied Faust, rather sadly.

"What?! Where is the first part, Mother?" asked Celestia.

"It's here, Celestia." said Faust, pointing at Celestia's necklace, with a large amethyst in its center. "This is one half of the entire Destroyer of Discord, and currently, it lies with you, Celestia."

"Wait, so I had half of the Destroyer this whole time?!" asked Celestia, who was surprised by this revelation.

"Yes, my daughter. I kept half of it with you, so that if someone took it, it would be useless to them. The Destroyer of Discord can be used only when both of its pieces are mated together. The other half is the part that I broke into four pieces, all hidden across Equestria and some places on Earth." explained Faust.

"I see. But where are the other pieces, then?" asked Luna.

"Well, Luna, I am not telling you that yet. I must go now, or the Heavens will banish me for meddling with the affairs of mortals. My daughters, stop Discord, at all costs." said Faust, as the dream ended. The two princesses woke up with a start. It was now around 6:20am Equestria time, and the inflight service was beginning on the plane. The breakfast was beginning to be served. All of the other Equestrians were beginning to wake up, smelling the luscious breakfast.

The breakfast service was very well done, and the ponies enjoyed it. Despite being six hours long, most of the flight went by pretty quickly, and at around 11:20am Equestria time, or 1:50pm Geneva time, soon after the lunch service had finished, the plane was beginning its approach into Geneva. The ponies saw the city come into sight, as the plane continued to descend. As they got closer to the airport, they could see multiple cars and other vehicles on the roads, and quite a few vehicles heading to the Palace of Nations. A few seconds later, the plane touched down with a bump, and began slowing down.

Around five minutes later, the plane pulled up at its spot outside the VIP terminal, and the engines shut down and the propellers stopped turning. The door of the big aircraft opened as the airstairs were lowered. The ponies all got off the plane. As they got off, they noticed all of the same world leaders' planes as the previous time, albeit with a notable exception, the Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor owned by Adolf Hitler was not here. They went into the doors of the VIP terminal, and went through the new security checks, now that passports were beginning to be issued to the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans.

Soon, they were out of the VIP terminal, and getting into the six black Fords that had taken them to the League of Nations the previous time. As they exited via the VIP terminal, they could see multiple human news reporters trying to get pictures, with large cameras. They were trying really hard to get good pictures of the Equestrians, but they were being blocked by multiple human policemen and soldiers. Once everyone was inside the cars, their engines started, and they began moving away from the League of Nations, with multiple escort vehicles in tow, more than last time. The princesses wondered why that was.

Twenty minutes later, at around 2:20pm, they had arrived at the League of Nations, and were heading inside. They had just entered the doors, and met up with Twilight and Shining Armor, who had flown on an RAF plane a few hours earlier, when they noticed Anna Schmidt, the head of the League of Nations. "Ah, Ms. Schmidt." said Celestia.

"Ah, your Highnesses. This meeting was called on extremely short notice, but we had no choice. The Soviet invasion of Finland was so sudden." said Schmidt.

"Yes, it was very sudden, and also very tragic. When will it start?" asked Celestia.

"In ten minutes, your Highnesses. All of the other world leaders, except for the Germans, Italians, and Japanese, are here. The assembly hall is just down the corridor over there." said Schmidt, pointing towards the hall. "I will show up soon."

"See you later, Ms. Schmidt." said Celestia, as the three princesses and their retinue walked towards the hall. Soon, they were in, and waiting at the tables assigned for Equestria and the Crystal Empire. As they waited, someone else was also waiting in the hall for the Equestrians. Among the large retinue of news reporters was Thomas Hill, the ENA member. He had already assembled his Colt M1911 pistol, which was waiting in a holster in his pocket, along with quite a few magazines of ammunition. He was waiting for the right time to strike. The cameras were live, broadcasting to TV viewers all over the world, including Discord, who was watching it from Germany.

At exactly 2:30pm, Schmidt entered the hall, and got on her microphone. "Dear members of the League of Nations, welcome back. Today, we convene to see the fate of one of our own members, in this case, the Soviet Union." said Schmidt. Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union, stood up.

"Vhy is zat so, Miss Schmidt? Are ve being expelled from ze League of Nations?" asked Stalin.

"Well, not yet, Stalin. Due to the Soviet Union's unprovoked attempted invasion of Finland, and the bombing of Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, and multiple other places, causing civilian casualties, your seat in the League is now unsure." said Schmidt.

"Vat? We zid nothing!" said Stalin. "Ve vere not bombing ze cities of Finland, ve vere just dropping aid supply to ze starving population of Finland."

"Ah, yez, dropping aid baskets filled with Molotovz over our country, Stalin? Zis war breaks three different peace treaties zet between our countriez!" shouted one of the Finnish diplomats.

"All right, calm down, everyone!" said Schmidt. "As of today, due to war crimes, unprovoked aggression, and crimes against humanity, the Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations." At this sentence, Stalin, and all of the Soviet diplomats and soldiers began protesting.

"Zis iz unjust treatment! The Zoviet Union haz done nothing wrong!" shouted an angry Stalin.

"It is not unjust treatment, Stalin, it is the deliverance of justice. Now, pack up your bags, and the Soviet delegation to the League of Nations is also to leave, within four hours." said Schmidt, as the angry Soviets began to leave the hall. As the ruckus began to quieten down, Schmidt continued talking. "Alright, that's the end of today's meeting. We'll re-convene after a few hours. Thank you." said Schmidt, as she got off the chair, and began to leave the hall. In the media segment, Hill got ready. It was time for the ENA to get revenge now.

It was now 2:50pm. As all the world leaders began to disperse, Hill swiftly grabbed his gun, and before anyone knew what was happening, Hill began taking his shots, shouting, "FOR THE ENA! EQUESTRIANS NOT ALLOWED! THIS IS FOR OUR COMRADE, EDWARD!".

The second the first shot was fired, everyone began panicking. Schmidt instantly ducked for cover as they Celestia instantly realized that someone was firing, and knew she had to protect everyone here. She quickly created a shield with her horn, and began expanding it to cover the huge hall, and deflect all of the bullets. "Quick, everyone! Get under the shield now! It should deflect all of the bullets!" shouted Celestia.

All of the world leaders, and the diplomats, who were cowering under desks, quickly scurried under the shield, as the soldiers desperately tried to kill Hill, who had temporarily stopped firing to reload his gun. It was a miracle so far that only one person, a League of Nations soldier, had lightly been grazed in the arm, by one of his bullets. Meanwhile, while most of the reporters had run away, a few brave cameramen had stayed behind, to capture footage of the shooting, which was being broadcast live to everyone, including Discord, who was happy that someone was trying to kill the Equestrians, but was unhappy that it was not him who was doing this.

That was when Celestia noticed that some of the Equestrian diplomats were still not in the shield. "Come on, everyone! Get under the shield!" shouted the princesses, as Luna and Cadance created shields to help Celestia. That was when Hill, who had finished reloading, since the gun was stuck temporarily, began firing again. Multiple League of Nations soldiers were scattered everywhere, to try and figure out where the shooter was firing from, and kill him.

The first shot missed, as the first two of the three remaining Equestrian diplomats got into the shield. However, just before the third diplomat, a unicorn, could, Hill fired again, and this shot did not miss. It hit the young diplomat in the head, splattering his blood and brain matter all over the floor. Everyone watched in shock, as the Equestrian diplomat fall to the floor, dead before his body even touched the floor.

The second they took in the horrifying sight of the body lying there, an angry Luna decided to try and kill Hill, just as another of Hill's shots found a target, this time, a League of Nations soldier. It hit the young man in the chest, shooting through a lung and his heart, killing him instantly. They were horrified, watching his body fall to the floor, as blood began pooling. That soldier could have been barely thirty.

"Luna, don't! We want the shooter alive, to try and find out why he is doing this!" shouted Celestia, as Luna's horn began to glow.

"Sister, he has killed one of us, and has also killed one of the soldiers who are trying to do their duty. We must stop him." said Luna, as ran out of the shield, and let off a blast of magic at the balcony where he had been standing, instantly causing it to collapse. Multiple pieces of the gallery began raining down, and soon, the shots had stopped. The princesses deactivated their shields. Multiple soldiers with guns charged towards the debris, to figure out what had happened to Hill.

As the soldiers went closer, they noticed a hand poking out from the debris. They checked it for signs of life. There was none. It was the dead body of the shooter, Thomas Hill. He had already been injured from a shot, that a League of Nations had managed to land on his shoulder, right after he had killed one of the other soldiers. But it was most likely the collapse of the gallery that had killed him.

As they removed some things and pulled out Hill's remains, some of the other soldiers covered the other two dead bodies with a white sheet and cordoned them off. Everyone, shocked by the sudden turn of events, began going into emergency mode. Schmidt instantly ordered, "Do not let anyone leave the Palace of Nations at this time. We must have Bret Stiles arrested. The ENA is now considered a criminal organisation. That shooter was part of the ENA, as evidenced by the slogans he shouted as he begun this senseless act. In the meantime, I personally will notify the families of the victims of the shooting." said Schmidt, as she grabbed a telephone and began calling in the police and emergency services.

As the ponies stared shell-shocked, Twilight began crying, having witnessed the deaths of the Equestrian diplomat and the League of Nations soldier. As the princesses looked at each other, they knew that now they had two main enemies: Discord, and the ENA.

Chapter 38

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 39

14TH JANUARY 1940

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS--------------
It was now 7:00am at the base, just a few kilometers from the town of Rosvar. It was a rather cold morning, but despite the low temperatures, Twilight and Shining Armor were boarding an RAF DC-3, bound for an airfield near the battlefield where the French had invaded Saarland, in Germany. They would go to the battlefield to see what the war was like, and what conditions the ponies would endure fighting in this war.

They would also get to see the French military in action for the first time. So far, there had not been many major battles, so it was being called the Phoney War. However, in the major battles, close to 200 men had already died on both sides. The Battle of the Atlantic was also still raging, with more than 3,000 deaths from that.

So far, majority of the war casualties so far had come from the invasion of Poland, where more than 90,000 people from all sides had died. So far, 30,000 people had also died in the Winter War, and around 90,000 people had also died in the China-Japan war, making for more than 213,000 deaths in the war so far. That was truly sad, and Twilight wondered how much more the death toll would rise before the war would be stopped.

As the two siblings took their seats on the DC-3, they noticed the flight training for the ponies going on. It would be the final month of basic training for them, before they and the Army ponies would move to their assigned military units on the field, after a graduation ceremony next month. Then, Equestria and the Crystal Empire would truly be at war. Twilight had occasionally talked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash during their training, and Rainbow was extremely happy to be flying planes. Applejack was also happy to be fighting alongside humans in this war. Even if both of them might die, they would die fighting for a cause.

Soon, the plane was taxiing towards the runway, and a few minutes later, at exactly 7:15am, it was in the air, climbing away from the base, with its gear in its belly. The flight wouldn't be too long, around four hours of flight time. Of course, as on all of the other flights they had taken, refreshments would be served on board. The four hours passed by rather quickly, and the flight was pretty much fine, except for some mild turbulence along the way. Soon, they were landing at the airfield, which had a rather primitive dirt runway. Quite a few RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires were parked at the base, part of the RAF's aerial support on this part of the battlefield. The ground troops here would be French.

At the airfield, they were met by a convoy of military trucks, which would be taking them to the forward operating base (FOB). Twilight and Shining Armor got into one of the trucks, and sat on the bench seats in the rear. Here, they were met by Fred Martinez, part of the British contingent who were fighting. "Ah, Monsieur Shining Armor. Madame Twilight." greeted Martinez. "I'm Commander Fred Martinez of the French Army. I look forward to showing you a human battlefield."

"I am looking forward to seeing one, Commander Martinez. I also wouldn't mind looking at some of the tactics your country's troops use." said Shining Armor.

"Ah, I would show them in action, but we haven't seen any major combat in a while, Monsieur Shining. I'll have to show them on paper, unfortunately." replied Martinez, as the truck began moving.

"I see. It's a shame, otherwise I would have loved to see the French Army in action today."

"Well, it's good, since we haven't had too many losses on our side so far, otherwise, it would have been worse."

"Can't argue with that." said Shining Armor, as the trucks continued heading towards the battlefield. The road went from paved to a dirt road, which was rather bouncy. Since the trucks had high suspension, it wasn't so bad, but they still bounced around a bit. Soon, just around half an hour after their plane had landed, at around 12:50pm local time, they arrived at the FOB. It was relativity quiet, with not much action going on.

"Welcome to FOB Versailles. Are you two ready to see what a human battlefield looks like?" asked Martinez, as they all got out of the truck.

"Yes, we are!" replied Shining Armor, who was starting to get a little excited.

"Alright, then follow me." said Martinez, who led them towards the heart of the FOB. As they walked, Twilight noticed the various tents set up for different purposes - medical, supply, command, field kitchens, and sleeping quarters for the soldiers. The air was filled with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and a hint of anxiety. She couldn't help but think about the lives of these men, far away from their homes, fighting for a cause they believed in.

Commander Martinez led them to a small hill overlooking the battlefield. From this vantage point, they could see the vast expanse of land stretching out before them, dotted with trenches, barbed wire, bunkers, and other military vehicles. Multiple artillery howitzers were also deployed to dispel the threat of German armour.

"This is where the French and German forces have been engaged in occasional skirmishes for the last few months." Martinez explained, pointing to a specific area where smoke was rising. "As you can see, the conditions are far from ideal. The weather is harsh, the terrain is difficult to navigate, and the enemy is relentless."

Shining Armor looked out at the battlefield, his expression somber. "It's a far cry from the training camps we've been in," he remarked.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I can't even imagine what it must be like for these men, living in such harsh conditions and constantly under the threat of attack."

Martinez sighed. "It's not easy, but we must endure. We've been fortunate so far, with minimal casualties on our side. However, we cannot let our guard down. The enemy is cunning and ruthless during their attacks, and we must be prepared for anything."

"It must be hard, being responsible for so many troops, and having to fight so far away from home, knowing that any day could be your last." said Twilight.

"I know, it is nerve-wracking, but the atmosphere has been a little cool, especially considering the fact that we haven't been attacked much at all." said Martinez. "Anyways, let's go see what life is like in the trenches." continued Martinez, as they began to head towards the trenches. As they descended into the trenches, Twilight and Shining Armor couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and sadness. The conditions were indeed harsh, with muddy, slushy trenches filled with the smell of damp earth and sweat. Soldiers were huddled together, trying to find any semblance of warmth in the cold.

All the while, some of the soldiers were braving the cold, attempting to get to their stations, keeping a watch out for German soldiers. As the two siblings watched, they heard a loud alarm begin to blare. "Wait, why's the alarm sounding? What's going on?" shouted Twilight, over the din of the alarm.

"Merde!" shouted Martinez. "That alarm means we are under imminent attack! All men, to battle positions!" shouted Martinez, pulling out his portable radio and barking orders into it. As he heard the response from his radio, his face became anxious and shocked. "Alright! Get ready to attack!" shouted Martinez.

"What's going on?" asked a concerned Shining Armor.

"A large platoon of Nazi soldiers, accompanied by multiple tanks is heading our way! They've already fired at us, and now, we're going to counterattack! Follow me, you'll see our tactics in action after all!" shouted Martinez, as he began running.

Soon, Martinez and the two siblings had reached one of the forward-most trenches, which was facing the oncoming Germans. They could see multiple Nazi soldiers charging towards them, and alongside the soldiers were multiple tanks. "Merde, those are Panzer IVs! We need the anti-tank units trained on those Panzers, NOW!" barked Martinez through the radio, as the French troops began firing at the enemy.

As the situation escalated, Twilight and Shining Armor found themselves in the midst of a real battle, far different from anything they had experienced before. The atmosphere was tense, and the sounds of gunfire and explosions filled the air. Martinez was barking orders and coordinating the French troops, and the siblings were trying their best to stay out of the way while also understanding the gravity of the situation.

Twilight couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and sadness at the same time. She had heard about war and its consequences, but seeing it firsthand was a completely different experience. The harsh conditions, the fear in the soldiers' eyes, and the sheer chaos of battle were all too real.

Shining Armor, on the other hand, felt a mixture of emotions. He was worried for the lives of the soldiers who would be fighting alongside them, but at the same time, he felt a sense of pride in their determination to protect their homeland. He knew that his sister had likely never experienced anything like this before, and he hoped that they would both be able to learn from this experience and use it to help their people in the future.

As the battle continued, Twilight noticed that despite the chaos, there was a certain level of organization among the French troops. They were following a plan, executing their tactics with precision. It was clear that Commander Martinez had been preparing them well, and now they were putting their training to the test. They continued fighting with great vigour, and began to drive back the enemy, destroying three of the tanks. Soon, the Germans were defeated and were retreating, with the loss of more than 10 men from their side, and not a single loss from the French side. It was now around 4:30pm.

The soldiers began celebrating their victory, happy to be alive for another day. Twilight and Shining Armor realised that they had to head back to Rosvar, now that they had gotten the data they needed. They thanked Commander Martinez for being able to show them their tactics, and hopped onto one of the trucks, which took them back to the airfield, where they boarded the plane home. As the two siblings boarded the plane, they felt that soon, it would soon be Equestria and the Crystal Empire's time to shine.

Chapter 40

22ND JANUARY 1940

------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was 4:30am in Canterlot. Despite this early hour, most of the castle was still awake, as it was an important day today. The princesses would be flying to London to inaugurate the first Equestrian and Crystal Empirean embassies, which would be located in Belgravia, a district in Central London. Equestria and the Crystal Empire were rapidly modernising.

The electricity and water infrastructure was finished and was getting ready for operation, and the military bases had started receiving equipment, and would be operational within a week as well. All in all, the first phase of Equestria and the Crystal Empire's modernisation was almost done. Soon, the second phase would begin, with the building of road, rail, and aerial networks throughout both countries. Key industries were also beginning to be set up as part of this, such as food, iron and steel, fuel, etc.

As the princesses got ready for the trip, which would include a visit to the British Prime Minister's residence at 10, Downing Street, and also to Buckingham Palace, the British Royal Family's residence, Luna voiced her concerns. "Sister, the ENA have a large presence in Britain, especially in London. How do we know they will not try a repeat of the League of Nations attack?"

"Well, Luna, I spoke with Ambassador Wood about this, and he said that the British authorities will do everything to prevent another attack on us, and they have already arrested a few ENA members on suspicion of this." said Celestia, reassuring her sister.

"If you say so, 'Tia. I'm still keeping my guard, after the League of Nations attack." said Luna, who was just finishing packing up. "I know it's been two months, but if ENA was behind the attack at the League of Nations, you and I both know they will stop at nothing to kill us."

"I know, Luna. But so far, Bret Stiles has vehemently denied that the ENA is behind the attack, and we don't have definite proof that ENA is up to something. Plus, we still have to find the Destroyer, and stop Discord. We still don't know where he is." said Celestia.

"Well, sister, that is why as part of diplomatic relations with Britain, we will send a contingent of agents from S.M.I.L.E. to work with S.I.S., the British intelligence agency, to keep a tab on the ENA, and also to begin an operation to figure out where Discord is." said Luna.

"Well, while they try to find Discord, we will try to find the Destroyer of Discord. We know that our mother split it in half. I have one, and the other half was split into four pieces, and scattered across Equestria and Earth. That's all we know about the Destroyer's location so far." said Celestia.

"Don't worry, sister. We will find it, no matter what it takes, and we will defeat Discord." said Luna, as the two sisters finished packing up. Soon, they were getting ready to leave the castle, along with the diplomats who would be assigned to the consulate in Britain, including their newly named Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Duke Moon, a gray unicorn with a bluish mane.

At 5:00am, all of them teleported to Manehattan, and walked to the airbase. They would be using the leased 307 Stratoliner for some time, until they got their hands on new aircraft of their own. As they walked by the docks, they noticed the large warships docked there, now a familiar sight, alongside the Royal Navy's training ship, the HMS Nile. It was actually called the Conway, but Ambassador Wood had accidentally called it by its old name, Nile.

The ship had temporarily been leased to the new Royal Equestrian Navy, which would begin operations soon. The Conway reminded Celestia of Equestria and the Crystal Empire's now-obsolete sailing ships, just a little larger. There was also another new visitor, a large British cargo ship. Some of its crew were doing some sightseeing, while most of them, with the help of some ponies, were unloading the vessel. It was carrying arms shipments, of weapons, and vehicles, for the Army and Air Force bases. The initial batches would be imported until all the factory infrastructure was set up, which wouldn't be for a while.

As they reached the airbase, they could hear the drone of aircraft other than the Spitfires. As they reached the airbase, they saw the new aircraft. The first set of aircraft for the Royal Equestrian Air Force had arrived, which comprised of around thirty Miles Magister advanced trainers, twenty Miles Master fighter trainers, forty Slingsby Kirby Cadet gliders, and ten Airspeed Oxford bomber/transport trainers. Not all of these aircraft were at Manehattan's airbase. Half of them were parked at another new airbase in the Crystal Empire, which had finished construction recently and had been opened to military aircraft operations. The ones here had Equestria flags, while the ones there had Crystal Empire flags.

As they reached the VIP terminal of the airbase, they were met by multiple news reporters, who were trying to get more information. However, they were instantly pushed back by the pony security guards, who had increased their guard after the attack at the League of Nations. The reporters continued asking questions.

"Your Majesties! When will our modernised militaries begin operation?" asked one.

"Your Majesties! When will our nations go to war?" asked another.

"Your Majesties! Is this a good idea, sending our citizens into unfamiliar environments, to fight in a war of the kind they've never seen before?" asked another reporter.

"Your Majesties! How will diplomatic relations between our nations and those of Earth proceed?" asked another reporter, as the princesses and their retinue all went into the VIP terminal, where the doors were closed, and the noise of the reporters was blocked out. The princesses felt a little guilty on the third reporter's question, as they were indeed sending their subjects into unfamiliar environments, to fight in a war. Some would die, that was for sure, but it was the only way to stop Discord, by having human and ponies fight together.

As they passed through passport control and immigration, the ponies were rather enthusiastic, and waiting to reach London. So far, the only human city they had visited was Geneva, and they hadn't seen much of the city there, as they had mainly been only between the Palace of Nations and Geneva Airport, so seeing the city of London would be a new one for them, as they would also be visiting some of London's iconic monuments.

Once passport control and immigration were dealt with, the ponies walked to the boarding area, where they would soon be boarding their plane. The leased Stratoliner was waiting outside their window, and the American flag on the tail had been replaced temporarily by two flags, one of Equestria, and one of the Crystal Empire. It didn't have an Equestrian or Crystal Empirean tail number, however. It still wore an American tail number, and would do so, until Equestria and the Crystal Empire acquired its own aircraft.

Soon, it was boarding time, and at around 5:50am Equestria time, or around 6:20am Britain time, the ponies boarded the plane, and by 6:10am, it was in the air. As the plane climbed away from Manehattan, the ponies felt that this was going to be a good trip.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN HAMBURG-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Germany, which meant it was now around 8:00am in Britain. Discord was at the almost finished U-boat base in Hamburg. He knew about the Equestrians' visit to London today, for which the SS had sent spies to London to monitor. They would monitor the visit, but would not attempt an assassination or anything. The last thing the Nazis wanted was for them to cause a global crisis.

This U-boat base would not only construct, work on, and modify U-boats, it would also build modified U-boats under the Erweiterung program. However, Discord knew the threat of Allied spies would be there. Which is why he had a little surprise for spies who tried to come into this facility.

As he walked deeper into the underground part of the facility, the purpose seemed more dark, and more gruesome. As he reached the deepest part of the facility, it was very quiet down here. A large amount of soundproofing had been installed, to hide the noises from here to the rest of the place. This was a jail cell, or in actuality, a torture chamber. This was how they would deal with spies, and inside the torture chamber was another cell, separated by two sets of doors from the torture chamber. This was not a cell, more of an extremely strong enclosure.

What the enclosure contained was a monster. In this case, the monster woman created during the failed test of the second variant of the E-serum. Discord looked through the second door's viewing window. The first door was manually controlled, while the second door was automatically controlled. Discord watched the monster, currently asleep. She had a rather human looking face, but her skin was a scaly emerald green. Her fingers were claws, and out of her back sprouted leathery bat wings.

Whatever she had become, Discord had witnessed what she could do a couple of months ago, at the main Erweiterung facility. She seemed to have lost her humanity, and primal animal instincts had taken over. Whatever was left of her brain had turned her into a wild beast. Discord smiled at that, thinking how gory it would be once she had torn up some spies, and walked back towards the main facility. As he was about to close the door, his form suddenly flickered, and for a few seconds, his true form was visible, before he went back to his human form.

Thankfully, no one was in the facility, which was good, otherwise, Discord would have been chased out as a monster. This only meant one thing. Not enough chaos was on Earth, since his magic, fuelled by it, was starting to dry up. Well, the time was soon coming to start another war.

----------------------------------------------------------20,000 FEET ABOVE THE ATLANTIC----------------------------------------------------
In the confines of the Stratoliner's pressurised fuselage, the ponies were getting ready for their arrival. It was now 9:00am in London, which meant they would be on the ground in just under an hour. The excitement was high for this visit, and it wouldn't be dying down for a while. As the ponies were finishing off the breakfast service, the flight attendants came around to collect the plates.

At 9:35am, the announcement came on the plane's PA system that they were descending, and would be on the ground in under twenty minutes. The ponies could feel their ears start to pain as the aircraft began to descend, due to the changes in cabin pressure and altitude. At exactly 9:50am, the plane began its final approach over London, towards Gatwick Airport, which had been temporarily taken over by the Royal Air Force as an air force base, but still handled civilian flights. Soon, the plane touched down, and began slowing down.

The plane taxied off the runway, and headed towards the military side of the airport, RAF Gatwick, where it parked up next to a few RAF planes. As the engines shut down, a large convoy of cars pulled up outside the aircraft. As the doors of the aircraft were opened, the ponies walked into the rather gloomy weather of Britain for the first time. The ponies wondered if they could use pegasi in Earthly cities to change the weather, so that way, it didn't always look gloomy. The only thing is, they would have to do their work away from airports and flight paths, so that they didn't get hit by planes, but if they could get approval, it might work.

The ponies walked away from the plane towards the main cars of the convoy, in which they would be travelling. These were five large black Rolls-Royce Phantom IIIs, which would be the cars assigned to the princesses, diplomats, and some of the guards. The other vehicles were all black Rolls-Royce Phantom IIs, assigned for the remaining guards.

(around five of these)

(around ten or fifteen of these)

Soon, at 10:20am, once all the ponies had gotten in, the cars began driving towards the Prime Minister's residence at 10, Downing Street. Since the airport was outside the city, it would be around an hour and a half of driving to get to Downing Street. As they left the airport, the cars drove onto a modern roadway, of which a few lanes had been closed to accommodate the large convoy of vehicles. Celestia decided to grab some shut-eye before they reached the city. Around thirty-five minutes later, Celestia woke up.

At this time, they were on the A2 motorway, passing through the suburbs of London, and Celestia could see a large amount of modern villas and houses. All of their inhabitants seemed to have woken up to come see the Equestrians, despite the rather gloomy weather conditions. They were swarming the tops of flyovers to see the Equestrians, despite them being on the highway below, and police seemed to be having a hard time holding back the crowd.

As they continued through the suburbs, they saw large commercial complexes, schools, shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, and other establishments. It was a pretty amazing sight. They also passed by a police station, which was pretty modern, compared to those in Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

Some time later, they were driving through the city of London, passing through its streets. They were driving through a large residential area, with apartment buildings this time, instead of villas. These buildings were still rather small, with only about three or four floors. They also passed under a large railway bridge. They asked the driver about it, who informed them that it was part of London's large local railway network, which impressed them. He mentioned that it led to the nearby London Bridge Station, which was a large station. Soon, they were approaching Tower Bridge, which passed over the River Thames.

As they passed over the river, they noticed multiple cargo barges sailing on the river, along with ferries full of tourists and vehicles. They passed underneath the bridge's two towers, from where the hydraulic controls of the bridge were operated, to raise or lower it, every time a large vessel passed underneath. However, they would not see that in action today. As they approached the end of the bridge, they noticed the Tower of London, a large castle that had been built by the British Empire more than 500 years earlier.

They continued passing through the city, towards Downing Street, passing by multiple underground train stations, and past St. Paul's Cathedral. They passed by the Middle Temple Gardens, Somerset House, Charing Cross Station, and Trafalgar Square, before the cars turned into Whitehall, for the last part of the long drive. As they drove into Whitehall, they noticed the buildings belonging to the Ministry of Defence, as the cars turned onto Downing Street. While the roads were empty, the sidewalks were full of pedestrians and reporters, wanting to catch a glimpse of the Equestrians. However, they were held back by police.

The convoy arrived at 10, Downing Street, a large, terraced building. It was more than 250 years old, and had 100 rooms. The crowd here was lesser, due to the presence of more military and police. The gates of 10, Downing Street opened, and the convoy drove inside. As the last car drove in, the gates closed. They had arrived at the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

As the cars stopped, the ponies began getting out of the vehicles, and looking at Downing Street. London was a city that had truly enjoyed them, and it was pretty amazing to be visiting the home of the head of state of a foreign country for the first time. As they ponies walked towards the door of the building, the princesses knew, that this would be a pivotal first step, in the opening of diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.

Chapter 41

-------------------------------------------------------10, DOWNING STREET, LONDON----------------------------------------------------------
It was now almost 12:00pm in London. The ponies were just getting out of their cars after arriving at the British Prime Minister's official residence, at 10, Downing Street, in London. They would meet Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain today, and later go down to Buckingham Palace to meet the British Royal Family. Despite Equestria and the Crystal Empire having been on Earth for a few months now, the princesses were still surprised by how well democracies worked on Earth, as the numerous attempts back on their home planet, Equis, had not worked at all. They seemed so efficient and fast here on Earth.

10, Downing Street surprised them a lot, as it was rather simple for the home of a head of state. It was a two-storey building made of classy-looking black bricks. One of the Prime Minister's guards had opened the door for them. The ponies walked into the reception of the building, and were surprised by how simple it was, considering it was the home of a head of state. It just had some portraits, and a small shelf to store your shoes, if you wished to take them off. The ponies continued walking into the main corridor of the house. Along the way, they noticed the portraits of the previous British Prime Ministers, from the first till the most recent.

The ponies walked up the main staircase, into the Cabinet room, which was a large conference room. Prime Minister Chamberlain was already there. "Ah, your Highnesses. Welcome to my humble abode. It's nice to see you again." said Chamberlain, warmly greeting them.

"It is nice to see you again, also, Prime Minister Chamberlain." replied Celestia.

"Alright, let's get down to business. So, soon, your countries will be entering the war. I assume the equipment for your modernised militaries has begun arriving?" asked Chamberlain.

"Yes, the first batches have begun arriving." replied Celestia.

"Good. Hopefully, the whole batch of equipment arrives soon, to train your citizens for the the battlefield, and gets you into the war. But now, it's time to go confidential. Okay, close the door and draw curtains on all the windows. All non-essential personnel must leave the room NOW." said Chamberlain, and all of that was soon done. The only people left in the room after that were Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Chamberlain, and a few of their guards.

"Your highnesses, I assume you have made some headway in figuring out where Discord is, or how to defeat him?" asked Chamberlain.

"We haven't made any headway in finding his location, but we have made some headway in finding a method to defeat him." said Celestia.

"Wait, what? What is this method?" asked a stunned Chamberlain.

"Well, we have found about an artifact called the 'Destroyer of Discord'. It is a gem, which gives its wielder enough power to defeat him, once and for all. It was created by mine and Luna's mother, the pony goddess, Faust, who used to defeat him millennia ago." explained Celestia.

"Wow, that does seem fantastical, and as much I don't believe it, I didn't believe pegasi, unicorns, and talking ponies existed before your arrival on Earth, so I am convinced. Have you figured where this Destroyer of Discord is located?"

"Well, we have figured out I hold one half of it here, on my necklace." said Celestia, showing it to Chamberlain.

"Huh. What about the other half?"

"Well, about that. As it turns out, more than 2,200 years earlier, our mother broke the Destroyer of Discord in two halves. The first half was kept in my necklace, which she gave to me after I was born more than 200 years later. The other half was split into four pieces, which were placed over Equestria, and some places on Earth."

"Wait, so you're saying that the pieces of a highly powerful artifact could be located, somewhere on Earth?" asked a stunned Chamberlain.

"Yes, definitely." said Luna.

"Well, shall we begin a joint expedition to find this artifact?" asked Chamberlain.

"To find the pieces of the Destroyer of Discord, yes. To use it to defeat Discord, however, I shall do that, along with Princess Luna." said Celestia.

"Your Highnesses, are you sure that you should be the ones to defeat Discord? This might be his plan, so that he can kill you."

"Yes, I am sure. Discord does not know the location of the Destroyer. Also, our mother made sure that I and my sister are the only ones worthy of wielding the Destroyer of Discord." said Luna.

"Well, then, I hope you're sure about this. If we are to organise a search for it, then it will be the most confidential treasure hunt ever. The records of each person involved in this search will be checked multiple times, to make sure they are not spies working for the Axis, right from their birth certificates, their bank accounts, even their shopping bills, if that's necessary! This will be off-the-books, to make sure Discord doesn't find about it, and it will be so, no matter what it takes." said Chamberlain.

"It will have to be so, Prime Minister." agreed Celestia, and the four heads of state made an agreement right there, to keep this treasure hunt off the books.

"Come on, let's get ready to inaugurate your new embassies, we don't want to delay it any further. Guards, you can open the doors and curtains." said Chamberlain, as he got up. Luna noticed that he seemed rather weak for some reason. He seemed ill, for some reason. "First, some lunch. Let's head to the dining room." said Chamberlain, as he began walking towards the building's dining room. It was now around 1:20pm. The ponies, along with Chamberlain, walked into the rather modestly-finished dining room, and sat down in their chairs.

Lunch was brought about, which had been expertly made by a hired chef for the occasion, and they made vegetarian versions of the cuisines of Britain's colonies, such as India, Yemen, and Hong Kong. The food was extremely well made, and was enjoyed by the ponies.

Soon, the ponies, along with Chamberlain, were heading towards the Rolls-Royces that had brought them here, to go to their new embassies, at Crawford Place. This time, the drive would last just around 15 minutes. At 1:50pm, the ponies and Chamberlain got into the cars, which started up, and soon, the vehicles were all on the road, heading towards Belgravia. The cars left Downing Street, and took a right turn. They drove by Clock Tower, a large clock tower, known to the residents of London as Big Ben, which was 75 years old. They also passed by Westminster, the house of the British Parliament, and multiple other government buildings.

At around 2:05pm, the cars reached the heavily crowded area where the embassies were located. The whole place was swarmed by crowds, except for a path that had been barricaded off for the cars. As they drove along, they noticed policemen arresting multiple people. They had been holding signs, which were now scattered everywhere. The signs all read the slogans of the Equestrians Not Allowed, or the ENA. Celestia sighed. She wasn't surprised at all. Bret Stiles would definitely have sent people to oppose the opening of the embassies.

They passed by the ENA people, who were being hauled away by the police, and arrived at the two embassies, located adjacent to each other on B310. The two buildings that were the embassies were large and white, with three storeys. The only thing that marked them apart were the flags on them. The cars pulled up outside the embassies. A stage had been set up for the speeches. A large amount of soldiers were also around, to protect them. The princesses, followed by Chamberlain, walked up to the stage.

As the ponies and Prime Minister Chamberlain prepared to inaugurate the new embassies, the atmosphere was filled with anticipation and a hint of tension. The ENA protests were a reminder of the challenges they faced in integrating with Earth's societies, but the princesses remained determined to forge ahead.

Celestia, Luna, and Chamberlain stepped onto the stage, where they were greeted by the applause of the gathered crowd. Despite the gloomy weather, spirits were high, and the crowd's energy was high. They were eagerly waiting for the inauguration. Chamberlain came up to the microphone, and began speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and dear friends, it is with great pleasure that I stand before you today to inaugurate the new embassies of the magnificent lands of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Our special guests, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance, have graciously joined us to mark this historic occasion." Chamberlain paused to take a breath, and then continued speaking.

"As you all know, Equestria and the Crystal Empire have forged an alliance with Earthly countries in the face of adversity, and this symbolic step further strengthens the bond between our worlds. I must express my gratitude to the citizens of Great Britain for their warm welcome and understanding during these trying times. We have witnessed some protests by the Equestrians Not Allowed group, but I urge everyone to remember that progress often comes with challenges. We must learn to embrace our differences and work together for a brighter future. Now, I present to you, the new embassies of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, a testament to the unbreakable friendship between our nations. May these walls stand tall and strong, as a symbol of unity and hope for generations to come. Please join me in welcoming Princess Celestia. Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance, who will now share a few words with us."

With a smile, Celestia and Luna stepped up to the microphone. "Thank you, Prime Minister Chamberlain, and a warm hello to everyone present here today. We are truly honored to be a part of this special day. Our journey on Earth has been filled with many surprises, and we have learned so much about your world and your people." said Celestia.

"Equestria and Earth may be different in many ways, but we have discovered that our shared values of courage, friendship, and determination are what truly unite us. The opening of these embassies signifies our commitment to fostering peace and understanding between our worlds. We understand that there have been some challenges along the way, and we appreciate the support and understanding of the people of Earth." continued Luna. Then, Celestia finished off her talk.

"Together, we will overcome these obstacles and continue to build a brighter future for all. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of London for their warm welcome. We are truly humbled by your hospitality. Thank you." said Celestia, as she stepped off the stage, with a large amount of cheering by the crowd.

Princess Cadance followed Celestia and Luna, her voice echoing through the crowd. "Greetings, dear friends. I stand before you today, filled with hope and anticipation for what the future holds for our two worlds. Our journey on Earth has been nothing short of extraordinary, and we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from and grow with you. The opening of these embassies is a significant step towards bridging the gap between our cultures and fostering a deeper understanding of one another. We must remember that it is through our differences that we can learn and evolve. To the citizens of Earth, we extend our hand in friendship and ask for your continued support as we face the challenges that lie ahead. Together, we can create a world where harmony and understanding prevail. Thank you, and may the bonds of friendship between our nations continue to strengthen and flourish."

As the speeches concluded, the crowd erupted in applause, showing their appreciation for the princesses and their words. Then, the official inauguration began. Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Chamberlain cut the ribbon that closed off the doorways, officially opening the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean embassies. Then, the national anthems of Equestria and the Crystal Empire played, and the whole crowd, except the remaining ENA members, stood in attention.

After the national anthems were over, Duke Moon, the newly appointed Equestrian ambassador to Britain, stepped to the microphone began his speech. On stage, he was also joined by Amber Night, the newly appointed Crystal Empirean ambassador to Britain. The duo expressed their gratitude to the people of Great Britain for their warm welcome and support.

They highlighted the importance of the newly inaugurated embassies in strengthening the bond between Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and Earth. They also addressed the ENA protests, emphasizing that progress often comes with challenges, but they must work together to overcome them. They concluded their speech by reiterating the commitment of Equestria and the Crystal Empire to fostering peace, understanding, and cooperation between their worlds.

Following Duke Moon's speech, Prime Minister Chamberlain and the princesses unveiled plaques that would be placed in the embassies, symbolizing the official opening and the deepening friendship between Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and Earth. As the ceremony came to an end, the crowd continued to cheer, and the atmosphere remained filled with excitement and hope for the future of their newly formed alliance. Soon after that, the time had come to head to Buckingham Palace. Originally, they had planned for King George VI to inaugurate the embassies, and not Prime Minister Chamberlain. However, the Royal Family had another commitment, due to which they couldn't show up.

Chamberlain wouldn't be joining them at Buckingham Palace, as he had to deal with war-related things. The ponies got in the cars, except for the new diplomatic teams who would be living in the embassies, who had gone in to explore their new home. It was now 4:30pm, as the cars began heading towards Buckingham Palace, which was a drive of less than ten minutes from there. As the cars left Crawford Place, little did the ponies know that at Buckingham Palace was a piece of what they were looking for.

Chapter 42

------------------------------------------------------BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON----------------------------------------------------------
It was now almost 4:40pm in London. The cars carrying the princesses and their retinue stopped outside the Buckingham Palace. The palace was more than a hundred years old, and despite it being not as large as Canterlot Castle or the Crystal Castle, its relatively modern style of architecture impressed the ponies. The princesses wondered if they could replace their old castles with such relatively modern buildings.

The ponies got out of the cars, and began walking towards the palace. Multiple reporters were swarming around the area, but had been blocked from accessing the palace grounds by the soldiers, who were were long black caps and red uniforms. Apparently, they were known as the King's Guard. They were extremely coordinated, as they opened the door of Buckingham Palace to the ponies.

They went in the palace and were greeted by the King of Britain, George VI, and his wife, Queen Elizabeth. "Greetings, your Highnesses." said George VI. "I am honoured to meet fellow monarchs, especially ones as mighty and powerful as you."

"I am also honoured to meet a fellow monarch, Your Highness, especially one who rules a powerful nation such as yours." said Celestia.

"Ah, Princess, alas, the monarchy does not truly rule Britain anymore. It's the parliament, the democracy that holds all of the power. The monarchy is just a figurehead nowadays. The only place the monarchy still has real power is in our colonies, such as India and Burma." said George VI.

"I know, but still, even if the monarchy is a figurehead, it is still impressive to see that it exists today, unlike in other Earthly nations, where the monarchy is a thing of the past." said Celestia.

"I know, Princess. Anyways, let's talk inside. Follow us. We'll go to the state rooms." said George VI, as he and Queen Elizabeth walked inside Buckingham Palace. The ponies followed them inside, and began heading towards the state rooms. As they continued walking, that was when Celestia and Luna felt something. They felt a different kind of magic. Faust's magic. This was the first time they had felt it in a place on Earth.

Since Faust couldn't come to Earth herself right now, that meant only one thing. A piece of the Destroyer of Discord was here, on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. That was something they did not expect. The two sisters knew the Destroyer of Discord was somewhere on Earth, just not in a large metropolis like London. That was when they realised that everyone had stopped walking, and was looking at them.

"Alright, why are you looking at us? Why have you all stopped?" asked Celestia.

"Well, your Highnesses, your horns are glowing." said King George VI. "Are you using your magic right now?" At this question, the two sisters realised their horns were glowing, but not in their usual auras. They were glowing a beautiful and strange purple aura.

"Ah, it seems our horns have detected the presence of a powerful Equestrian artifact somewhere in the palace compounds." said Luna.

"Wait, what?" asked George VI.

"Yes, a piece of a powerful Equestrian artifact is somewhere here, in the compounds of this palace. It's a long story, but first, we must find it!" said Celestia.

"Alright. Does that aura tell you where it is?" said George VI, as they all began jogging down the corridor.

"No, I'm not sure it do...." said Celestia, just as they passed a bank vault, where the aura started glowing brighter. "Hang on, that aura has gotten stronger... near this vault. It must be in here!" said Celestia.

"Your Majesty, that vault contains jewels, mainly diamonds. Do you think we would keep an alien artifact in there?"

"I don't think you knew it was an artifact from our world. It must have been disguised as a large diamond. Open the vault." said Celestia.

"If you insist." said George VI, as he opened the door, which had a combination lock. It was like a jewellery store as they opened the vault, with multiple jewels kept enclosed in bulletproof glass cases. However, there was one odd thing about them. One of the cases had the same glow as Celestia and Luna's horns emanating from it, and it was the most central one. It contained a crown.

"That's my crown." said Queen Elizabeth, shocked and amazed at the same time by it.

"One of the diamonds on the crown seems to be a piece of the Destroyer." said Luna, as they entered the vault. They walked closer to the case, and saw the first piece of the Destroyer of Discord. It was the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond, on the top of the crown. It had been surrendered to Britain by Indian rulers close to a century earlier, and had been with the British Royal Family since. The Indians believed that the Koh-i-Noor had been stolen from them by the British, and wanted it back the second their country got their independence, if ever. Apparently, men could not touch the Koh-i-Noor, as it cursed them. Must have been something Faust had done to prevent Discord from getting his hands on it. However, women were safe from its curse. Celestia wondered why her mother would have made the Destroyer like that.

As they marvelled at the Koh-i-Noor, King George VI spoke. "I never knew this. So, we have had an Equestrian artifact in our possession for more than 90 years now. That's crazy."

"You wouldn't have known it was an Equestrian artifact, until we located it. But we need it returned to our country soon." said Luna.

"What? Why do you need it so soon?" asked Queen Elizabeth. Luna wasn't surprised at enough, because she didn't know about the situation with Discord. Only heads of state knew about it. However, George VI knew instantly, as Prime Minister Chamberlain had briefed him about it.

"My love, that jewel is probably the only thing that can save the entire world from destruction. I'll tell you about it later, but we must let them take the Koh-i-Noor. Plus, it is from their country, so we have to return it to them." said George VI to Elizabeth.

"Oh, I see." said Elizabeth, a little reluctantly. As the ponies began to leave the vault, George VI began talking with the princesses.

"We will have to announce that it is an Equestrian artifact, we just won't reveal that it has magical powers."

"How will we fool the public and Discord into thinking so?" said Celestia.

"Well, we will just announce that jewellers who were fixing a defect in one of the jewels on the crown noticed something off about the Koh-i-Noor, and did some checking. We can say that they used tiny inclusions in the diamond to determine its age and where it actually originated from, which in this case is Equestria. That is a method we have used to date diamonds in the past."

"Hmmm, that is a good cover story. Hopefully, Discord won't get suspicious at that." said Luna.

"I hope not, or else, this could be the end of everything, and everyone we know." said King George VI, a little fearfully.

As the ponies headed towards their staterooms to continue their stay at the Buckingham Palace, the morale among the princesses began to rise, now that the first piece of the Destroyer of Discord had been found. It was the first big success in their quest to defeat Discord.

Chapter 44

4TH FEBRUARY 1940

--------------------------------------------------------THE FRANCE-GERMANY BORDER---------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am here. It was a rather cold morning on the France-Germany border. It was still the Phoney War for now, due to the highly decreased amount of skirmishes and battles here, but still, the soldiers were alert, as they would probably never know when it could become a real war. Among these were the first batch of newly deployed Royal Army ponies. This batch included Applejack, and Lyra Heartstrings. They were among the first to enlist, and had been excited at first to be deployed after months of training. Now, they weren't as excited, after facing quite a bit of sexism from the human men in their regiment, who questioned if females could fight on the frontlines.

Applejack and Lyra were eating their breakfast alongside some of their fellow pony soldiers in the regiment. Most of the male pony soldiers, who used to support them, had now abandoned them, to try and make better friendships with the human soldiers. Applejack was not happy about that. Abandoning their friends that they had grown up with just to get on the good side of the aliens? That was a new low. Applejack did like the humans in some ways, such as their technological advancements and their fighting tactics, but did not like their sexism and racism.

Applejack and Lyra were eating sandwiches. Most human foods contained meat, which the Royal Army kitchens had successfully adopted to Equestrian-friendly cuisine, which did not use meat. However, it had no grass or hay, so that a human soldier could consume it if in a scenario where it was needed, which was fine with the ponies. The Equestrian sandwiches had a lot of vegetables in it, as well as cheese, so it had a bit of flavour, but it was mostly bland, like all the other military food she had eaten so far.

As she continued eating breakfast, one of her fellow Equestrians came up to her. "Hey, Applejack, do you think we'll see any action today?"

"Ah' don't think so. Them Germans have been pretty quiet lately." replied Applejack.

"Well, apparently, the Commander got intel that the Germans may try to take this position today, so we may have to go on duty soon."

"Ah' see. Hopefully them Germans don't try anything today, or they'll face tha' wrath of tha' Allies." said Applejack, as she continued eating. "I don' fancy getting into ah' battle on my fifth day of deployment."

"I hope so too." said Applejack's fellow soldier, as she walked off to talk to her comrades. Applejack continued eating her sandwich, as she thought about how far their worlds had come in the time since they had come to Earth. So much technological advancement. In fact, she was actually shocked and surprised at the same time how humans didn't have magic, and used machines to grow crops. However, to the humans, farming was more like a chore or job, without passion. The Apples didn't like that part about Earth's agricultural practices.

Applejack felt that farming should be the perfect balance of work and passion, else it would get too boring or too exciting to do. Applejack and Lyra finished their sandwiches, and headed to the Commander's tent to report for duty. "Commander, Private Applejack, and Private Lyra Heartstrings reporting for duty!" said Lyra.

"Alright, Privates. You're on patrol duty today. You'll be meeting up with Corporal Cake on the east side, in the trenches. We have intel that the Nazis may be trying to attack today to capture some ponies, so we'll have to defend this camp. Dismissed!" said the Commander.

"Roger that, Commander!" said the two ponies, as they went to get their gear, and get out on duty for the day. They grabbed their standard arms, which were Lee-Enfield rifles, and a Webley Mk. IV revolver, along with enough ammunition for a battle, just in case. They wanted to both come back home from the war alive, not in a coffin for their families to mourn over. At first, they thought Corporal Cake would mean the Cake family from Ponyville. That was when they remembered that the Cakes had not enlisted, and the corporal they would be reporting to was Jonathan Cake. That was one thing the ponies found funny about the British. They always had funny last names.

They went into the trenches, and reached Corporal Cake's position in the trenches. A few other ponies were already in their positions, conducting patrols, keeping an eye out for German military. "Ah, Private Heartstrings, Private Applejack. You'll be relieving Privates Golden Harvest and Minuette today. They've been on patrol duty for the last 7 hours." said Corporal Cake.

"Roger that, Corporal Cake!" said Applejack and Lyra, as they joined their fellow soldiers on patrol. The two ponies got out their rifles, and began their patrol. As they passed by one of the human soldiers, who was on overwatch duty, he decided to be a little sexist to them.

"Say, aren't you ladies in the wrong place? Women, human or alien, can't fight! Maybe you can be a nurse, but not a soldier!" laughed the soldier, as they walked on, although Lyra wanted to knock him out cold with her magic. They continued the patrol, when the alarm began blaring, gunfire was heard, and the ponies' walkie-talkies began blaring.

"Attention, all units! One of our patrol units has detected a large platoon of German soldiers heading straight for FOB Charlie! Neutralise them!" shouted the voice of Corporal Cake over the radios, as all of the soldiers took up attack positions, and began firing at the enemy. Lyra and Applejack took up positions as well, and also began firing at the Germans. They had done good in the shooting part of military training, so despite the fact their Lee-Enfield rifles weren't so great, they were doing pretty good, and within the first twenty minutes of the battle, they had killed twelve German soldiers.

However, that was one another message came over the radio. "Shit, the Germans have entered the trenches! All soldiers, retreat back to FOB Charlie, kill as many as you can!" said the voice of Corporal Cake.

"Roger that, Corporal!" said Lyra over the radio, as the ponies began their retreat. Applejack didn't want to, but Lyra convinced her that the Germans were targeting the ponies, so it was safer to head back to the FOB. As they ran back towards the FOB, they noticed the same soldier who had mocked them earlier being attacked by two German soldiers. He had already been stabbed by them twice, by the looks of it, to reveal where the pony soldiers were. "Applejack, we have to help him!" whispered Lyra, as the duo hid so as to not be noticed by the Germans.

"No, Lyra! We'll get captured if we try to save tha' sexist fool!" said Applejack.

"If we don't, then he's a goner. Plus, he may reveal our location to save his own life, and I don't want us to be captured!" said Lyra.

"Fine." said Applejack. "Let's kill those bucking Germans!" shouted Applejack, grabbing her Webley revolver, as her rifle was out of bullets, while Lyra grabbed her rifle, which still had two bullets. The duo instantly charged at the Germans. Lyra shot the first man twice with the rifle. It penetrated the German's body armor, killing him instantly. However, as Applejack tried to shoot the second German, her Webley revolver jammed. Just as the German was about to fire, Lyra fired a large blast of magic at the German, blowing him up like he had a bomb strapped to him. Soon, there was nothing but bits and pieces left of the German.

The British soldier whom they had been attacking for information was shocked at this. "Why... why did you help me?" asked the soldier, as Applejack and Lyra quickly did some first-aid and began dragging him to safety.

"Well, for one, I was feelin' in the mood to kill some Germans today. Next time, I won't be so nice until ya stop being sexist. Got tha'?" asked Applejack.

"Yes, Ma'am." said the soldier, as they dragged him towards safety, with blood still bleeding from his wounds. Normally, they would have done more, but Lyra didn't really know any healing spells for such large wounds. As they reached the FOB, multiple medics took over saving the soldier from there, and as the duo left, the soldier gave them a quick salute, before he was wheeled off for treatment.

It was now 11:00am. The whole battle, incredibly, had lasted just under two hours. Despite the fact that four Allied soldiers had lost their lives that day, they had killed close to 30 German soldiers. As the injured were treated, and those not injured at all or lightly injured took a quick break before continuing their daily patrols, they knew that this war was only just beginning.

Chapter 45

20TH FEBRUARY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 6:00am in Canterlot. Celestia was in the dining room, finishing her coffee before going around to the main matters of the day. The princesses liked this human drink, which despite tasting bitter, kept them awake, which was useful for Heads of State such as the princesses, who usually spent quite a few nights awake. In fact, the public had also started liking coffee, which was now being imported to Equestria from Brazil and some Asian countries.

As Celestia finished her coffee, Luna came in after getting up following a busy night. Since Luna could now see into human dreams, she had to handle the dreams of humans as well now, which did tire her a little. Equestria and the Crystal Empire's modernisation was also going strong.

Now, all the buildings in the towns and cities of the two countries were powered by electricity, which included Canterlot Castle and Crystal Castle. They also now had a proper water network, with pipes, sinks, toilets, and showers installed in every household in the two countries. The telegraph, telephone, and postal networks were also fully set up and operational. Despite the fact that these had been up and running for some time now, they still seemed like wizardry to some of the ponies.

The road network was around 60% complete, and the Manehattan Airbase's asphalt runway had finally been completed. The airbase in the Crystal Empire was also fully operational, and the ones in Equestria were all either finished or in the final stages of construction. The landscape was starting to change at a rapid pace, thanks to all the modernisation of the two countries. It hadn't even been a year since their arrival on Earth. The princesses admired how fast their nations were modernising.

The wars, however, were still raging. The Phoney War was relatively calm, but the toll of the Battle of the Atlantic had shot past 5,000. The China-Japan war, now called the Second Sino-Japanese War's toll was now well past 700,000, and that of the Winter War was now more than 150,000, even though Celestia had heard a rumour of peace talks between the Soviet Union and Finland. Close to 900,000 people had now died as a result of Discord's actions. The hunt for the Destroyer of Discord was on, thanks to the partnership between S.M.I.L.E. and S.I.S.

The partnership between S.M.I.L.E. and S.I.S. had also received intel that Bret Stiles was probably lying about not being responsible for the League of Nations attack. The intel had said that the man behind the attack had approached Stiles, who had apparently funded the purchase of ammunition and a coat for this very attack, enabling him to kill two innocents. As if that wasn't enough, the intel had also indicated that the ENA was planning something very nasty for the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans, by the looks of it.

They had also gotten some intel on what the Germans were planning. Apparently the German military was working on a secret programme of some sort, headed by a very mysterious figure. Celestia wondered what this secret programme was producing. The Soviets, Italians, and Japanese were also part of this programme, the intel had uncovered. That was concerning. So far, that was all the intel they had been able to get from the Axis powers. It was not much, but it was atleast something.

Celestia decided to get ready for a meeting later that day, when one of the assistants rushed in. "Your Highnesses, there is a telephone call coming for you. It's from the head of the League of Nations, Anna Schmidt." said the assistant.

"What? Why would she be calling us?" asked Luna.

"She says its important, your Highnesses. You need to be in the new conference room ASAP." said the assistant.

"Alright, we'll come there now." said Celestia, as she and Luna began heading to the conference room. The new electric lighting in Canterlot Castle made the castle much brighter at night, and the bulbs were much more brighter than the candles used previously, especially mixed with magic lanterns. The two princesses arrived in the recently-built conference room, and took their places around the table. Already, multiple other Equestrian diplomats were sitting around the table.

"Your Highnesses, are you there?" asked the voice of Schmidt through the telephone.

"Yes, Ms. Schmidt. We are here. What is this about?" asked Celestia.

"Well, I'm supposing you have heard the rumours of peace talks between the Soviet Union and Finland about the Winter War?" said Schmidt.

"Yes, I have." said Celestia.

"Well, that rumour is true. Peace talks are in the works between the Soviet Union and Finland. However, they cannot be held at the Palace of Nations." said Schmidt.

"Why? I thought the main hall was being fixed after the attack?" asked Celestia.

"Actually, the main hall is fully fixed, but the Soviet Union is no longer a part of the League of Nations, hence it cannot be held at the Palace of Nations." said Schmidt. "We want to conduct the peace talks in Equestria."

Celestia was genuinely surprised at that. "What? Why so? Our nation is also a part of the League of Nations!" said Celestia.

"Equestria has a huge history of maintaining peace. The history of your nation indicates that majority of the peace summits on your home planet were held in your country. It is also a mostly harmonious nation. Also, this is a great way for your country to show up in the global stage by hosting such a high-profile event, including your showcase in a few months." explained Schmidt. "Will you be willing to host the peace talks?"

Celestia and Luna thought about it. It would be a great boost in prestige for her country, and could also help in the opening of more diplomatic relations, as well as things such as tourism. It would also take a lot of preparation, considering it might be on pretty short notice.

"We would gladly be willing to host the peace talks. When will it take place?"

"It takes place in three weeks. Will you be able to get everything ready by then?"

"We should be able to. We will hold it in our capital city, Canterlot. Are any other world leaders expected to come?"

"A few of the bigger world leaders, such as Prime Minister Chamberlain from the UK, and President Roosevelt from the United States, are expected. We aren't expecting many others, though. Since it has been decided that you are hosting the talks, I'll make the announcement in some time. I hope you're ready."

"Yes, we are, Ms. Schmidt. We'll begin making the preparations for this right away." said Celestia.

"Thank you. The League of Nations team along with some envoys from both the Soviet Union and Finland will get in touch with you later. Over and out for now." said Schmidt.

"Over and out, Ms. Schmidt." said Celestia, as Schmidt hung up the call. The princesses and the other diplomats looked at each other. It was now 7:00am. This was going to be a challenge to organise within three weeks, in Equestria's first major event being hosted since their arrival on Earth.

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00pm here in Chicago. The evening time meant most people were coming back home from work, and children were playing or completing homework after coming back from school. At Bret Stiles' farm outside of Chicago, however, the Big House was still busy, as it had been since the last 13 hours. Bret Stiles, his deputy, John Jones, and the rest of the ENA's inner circle were planning.

They had just heard about the announcement that the Winter War peace talks would be held in Equestria. They were highly angry at that, as they were hoping the talks would have been held in an Earthly nation, such as Britain, the USA, or France, not an alien country! Earth was developed into what it was by HUMANS ALONE, and yet, humans were willing to take help from aliens! That really was what pissed the ENA off.

As the ENA inner circle continued making ideas, one of them suggested, "Why don't we have one of our members pull off a repeat of the League of Nations attack?"

Stiles instantly slapped him on the back of his head at that. "Idiot! We can't pull off another terrorist attack. We're under enough scrutiny already after the martyrdom of Thomas Hill at the League of Nations, and another attack would just get the ENA shut down and all of us arrested. Plus, we say that we are not an extremist organisation like the Ku Klux Klan! We gotta follow those ideals!"

"What, so the League of Nations attack was not us being extremist?" asked John Jones.

"For one, that was not started by us, Thomas Hill was behind that one all by himself. Just because we regard him as a martyr doesn't mean that we have become extremist!"

"Well, we can't just rely on mass protests alone to stop this! We have more than 15,000 members, some of them have to be rich politicians, right?" asked Jones.

"I wish. The only rich members we have are a few lawyers and businessmen." said an annoyed Stiles. "Well, this opportunity, we'll have to pass up. But the next chance we get, we're doing something to terrify the Equestrians, show them who's the boss. Let's get to planning in advance for that." said Stiles, as he and the rest of the ENA circle got back to the plan, to make the Equestrians tremble.

Chapter 46

12TH MARCH 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was 4:00am in Canterlot. Today was a big day for Equestria, as the country today would be hosting its first major event since it had arrived on Earth. Today, the leaders of Finland and the Soviet Union would be visiting Equestria, to participate in peace talks meant to end the Winter War. A large amount of preparations had been made for this event, as it had to go well, to attempt to end the Winter War. This was the just the first step to hopefully stopping Discord's plans. The modernisation of Equestria had sped up a little for this.

The brand-new Canterlot Airport was now to open to operations, with a new VIP terminal. The dedicated passenger terminal was also in the final stages of construction, so soon, Equestrian airlines would also start operations. It was located far from the main city, since the main Canterlot City was built into the side of a hill. The plains surrounding the hill on which Canterlot was built were perfect for suburbs, and infrastructure like an airport. That was where the airport had been built.

The passenger terminal at the Manehattan Airbase, now called Manehattan Airport, had also been finished. Passenger terminals had also been built at the airports in Ponyville, Fillydelphia, and the Crystal Empire. Soon, the two countries would have passenger air travel for the wealthy. A new rail network was also now operational, with British LNER Class A4 high-speed locomotives being imported to run the new and improved Friendship Express, which ran to towns that didn't have airports. A new road network was also finishing construction, with all the main cities connected, and only the connections to small towns still under construction.

All in all, the future of the modernised Equestria and the Crystal Empire looked good, if they were able to stop the wars and make sure Discord was defeated for good. Celestia and Luna were already awake, preparing for the event. Already, Canterlot was awake, preparing for the arrival of the foreign diplomats. The reporters who would be covering this event had already arrived via the newly-modernised Friendship Express or by planes sent by their governments. They were being hosted in a large guest-house built for such events in Canterlot. Celestia and Luna were revising their speeches for the event.

The discussions about the terms of surrender would probably take the most time to discuss in this event, as the Soviet Union wanted Finland's territory, but Finland wasn't willing to cede any territory to them. That would probably take hours, or even days of discussion. Cadance had also come in from the Crystal Empire to join them. She had been invited to this talk officially as a guest.

The whole world, except for ENA and Discord, were extremely excited about this big event. Soon, the embassies of Britain and the USA would soon be completed, and the large warships that had served as temporary embassies since their arrival on Earth would no longer be needed to be docked all the time at Manehattan. The inauguration of the embassies was another event coming up soon.

As Celestia was rehearsing her speech, she heard a distant horn in the distance. It was the horn of the modernised Friendship Express. The modern locomotives had loud horns, and Celestia planned to put a few sound-deadening spells over Canterlot to reduce the impact on her citizens' sleep. The train was delivering the final load of reporters before the event. After this delivery, all train services would be suspended for a few hours, until the diplomats were at Canterlot Castle. This was for safety reasons, as they had intel ENA members might be coming to Equestria to stop the meeting.

Plans were also being made of taking human exchange students at prestigious Equestrian and Crystal Empirean schools and colleges so that they could study magic, to create magic-enhanced technology and such things. However, this plan was vehemently opposed by Chancellor Neighsay, the head of the Equestrian Educational Association, or EEA. The rest of the EEA were open to this idea, however, Neighsay had opposed it. He felt that Equestrian schools should give admission only to ponies, and not to humans at all.

His ideology was that Equestria and the Crystal Empire should have no contact with humans at all, as he felt that the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans were a better, more peaceful, superior species than the humans, who he said were barbaric and brainless. Well, this had gotten him kicked out of the EEA, and the new head of the EEA was willing to take humans as exchange students in Equestrian schools. However, Neighsay had formed a new organisation, called Humans Not Allowed, or HNA: a blatant ripoff of the ENA. Apparently, they were trying to find a way to send Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to Equis, and remove it from Earth.

Good luck with that, thought Celestia. Faust would never allow that, and she would have made sure nobody could copy whatever spell she used to transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire from Equis to Earth. Still, the HNA only had 50 members as of now, a mere spot compared to the ENA. They were not a threat as of now, so they were not keeping an eye on them at all.

Celestia continued rehearsing her speeches, as the train pulled into the station. Soon, the peace talks to end the Winter War would begin.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:30am in Germany, which meant it was now around 5:00am in Equestria. Today, they would inject the first of Germany's new enhanced soldiers with the E-serum. This would be the beginning of the black side of the German Army. The black operations. These would all be off-the-books, and they would be the beginning of the Allies' defeat. Discord now had an official alias in the human world. His name as a human was Abelard Möller, an Obergruppenführer, a senior group leader in the the Schutzstaffel, Adolf Hitler's paramilitary organisation.

Under this alias, he had a large villa in the city of Berlin, near the Reichstag, and controlled not just the U-boat facility in Hamburg, but also weapons factories in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Bremen. Being a high-ranking officer, under the Erweiterung program, which was now an official part of the German military, he could run stuff like this. The program was now working on a new weapon, a concept suggested by one of his engineers. It was essentially a guided projectile, which flew like an airplane as it was guided towards its target.

It was soon time for the peace talks to end the Winter War. He couldn't ruin this one, since the Soviets were there, and Germany couldn't afford to lose the support of the Soviets just yet. But soon, they would have to backstab the Soviets, before they got a little too greedy. Else, it would mark doom for the Third Reich, and Discord's plans. Discord smiled, as he got ready. This year would be the beginning of two more wars.

Chapter 47

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Equestria. Celestia had just received word that the plane carrying Joseph Stalin had just landed at the Canterlot Airport. She and Luna were waiting outside the castle to receive him, as his convoy was reported to already have left the airport. The Finnish leaders would arrive a little later. The previous Prime Minister of Finland, Aimo Cajander, had left office after the beginning of the Winter War, and his replacement, Kyösti Kallio, would be joining them today.

The first motorised vehicles had been imported to Equestria, which were mainly service and government vehicles, such as fire engines, ambulances, airport vehicles, goods trucks, buses, and government limousines. Passenger cars would come in later. The airport was a near forty-minute drive from the main city of Canterlot, so for the public, airport buses would be provided until private cars were more widespread.

Celestia could see the limousines in the distance, entering the main city of Canterlot via the newly-built highway, part of the Golden Quadrilateral, the new main highway that connected the four main cities of Equestria, Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Ponyville. The convoy drove into the city, by all its houses, which were waving to the occupants of the cars. The cars drove through the castle gates, and towards the main facade of Canterlot Castle.

The cars stopped in front of the castle, and the center car stopped in front of the princesses. The car's door opened, and Joseph Stalin emerged from it, followed by one of his ministers. "Mr. Stalin. Welcome to Equestria." said Celestia.

"Ah, your Highnesses. I look forward to seeing your vonderful country. I also look forward to taking back our territory from ze Finnish. Their land is actually ours. Ze Finnish stole our land from us years ago, and they have ze balls to say that it is theirs? That is why we did what we did. We just vonted our land back." said Stalin.

"I know, but war isn't the way. Anyways, we will talk more about this later today, and figure out how much land the Finnish will cede, Mr. Stalin. In the meantime, you can see the exhibition we have prepared inside Canterlot Castle, to showcase our history, while we wait for the Finnish Prime Minister." said Celestia, not pleased at how Stalin was talking about the Finnish as thieves, when they clearly were the victims in this case.

"I vill do that, your Majesty. I vood like to see your country's history." said Stalin, as he and his diplomats walked into the castle, followed by his retinue of diplomats. The cars that had brought them here began to drive off, for some cleaning before they would pick up the Finnish Prime Minister. The princesses hated Stalin a lot, due to some of his views, and the fact that they had heard rumours that he tortured his people, if they did not obey him.

Plus, he was also a very harsh father. Celestia had wondered how any woman would marry a man such as Stalin. Yet, he had a wife, and a few sons. She had heard that Stalin was so strict with his first son that his son had attempted to end his own life by shooting himself in the chest. However, the attempt had failed, as the bullet had missed his heart, and Stalin had apparently laughed when he heard the news, "The boy can't even shoot straight."

Celestia and Luna decided to go back in for some rest, as the Finnish Prime Minister's plane still hadn't arrived in Equestrian airspace yet. It would be a while before his plane arrived, and the peace talks officially began.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:00am in Germany, which was meant it was 7:30am in Equestria. The injections of the E-serum into the first of Germany's new super soldiers was about to occur. Discord already had the syringe in his hand, and was about to inject it into the first soldier, a rather young fellow, about 23. He seemed a little weak. Well, that was about to change for him. They had picked only the most patriotic soldiers in the German Army for this unit, as they had to dedicate their life to their nation for the missions they would be put on.

Discord went up to the young man, and asked him, "What's your name, soldier?"

"Herman, Sir." replied the soldier.

"Well, Herman, you are lucky that you are the first person to be injected with the fully tested version of the E-serum. You will not be this weak man that you are right now, you will be stronger than ever before. Probably strong enough to lift a car, or tear a man in two with your bare hands. Do you see what being loyal to your nation gets you?" asked Discord.

"Yes, Mr. Möller." said Herman.

"This will be a painful injection, but the fruits of it are what counts." said Discord, as he jabbed the syringe into Herman's vein in one swift motion, and injected the E-serum in. Herman screamed in pain, since the syringe was in his vein. The second the last drop of the E-serum went in, Discord pulled the syringe out of Herman's arm, and quickly put an antiseptic bandage on it. He watched as Herman's muscles began to bulk up, and he grew larger. Soon, he looked like a bodybuilder who had worked out all his life.

Herman looked incredulously at his new body, as if he had never envisioned himself that strong one day. He instantly thanked Discord, and went off to join the rest of his comrades, looking at him enviously, as if they couldn't wait to get their injections of the E-serum. Discord instructed the rest of the scientists to inject the soldiers, as he was going to check how the assembly lines of the Panzer IIIE and the Bf109E were doing. The first production Bf109Es had rolled off the line, and would soon enter service with the Luftwaffe. They would easily kill multiple Hurricanes, and match up with the Spitfires.

The Panzer IIIE production line was still going well, and the enhanced tanks were still rolling off the assembly lines. The Panzer IVE project had been temporarily put on hold, as the IIIEs would suffice for now, and the IVE program's budget would overshoot what had been allotted to the Erweiterung program.

As Discord headed back to his room after checking on them, he decided to turn on the TV and see what was going on with the peace talks of the Winter War that were being held in Equestria. Last he had heard, Stalin had already arrived in Canterlot, and was at Canterlot Castle at this time. As he turned on the TV, it showed a live broadcast of a convoy of cars stopping outside Canterlot Castle, and a new person getting out.

The Finnish Prime Minister had arrived. Kyösti Kallio. Aimo Cajander's replacement. It was really because of Cajander that Finland had been taken so easily. Kallio had replaced him after Cajander had been forced out of office. The peace talks would soon begin. Soon, the Winter War would end.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in Equestria. The ponies and the humans were all gathering in the castle's newly-built conference room, which could seat 120. Today, all of the seats were occupied, by the princesses, Joseph Stalin, Kallio, the Soviet and Finnish diplomats. Soldiers were also in the room, as a guard for the princesses. Reporters were not allowed in here.

The peace talks were now starting. Celestia was the first one to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, humans and ponies, we gather here today on this day to end the Winter War. Today is a day of peace." said Celestia.

"Ah, your Highnesses. Vot is zis treaty you vould like us to sign?" asked Stalin.

"Well, the Canterlot Peace Treaty outlines the concession of Finnish territory to the Soviets. The treaty outlines that Finland concede half of Finnish Karelia, a part of the Salla area, the Finnish part of the Kalastajansaarento Peninsula in the Barents Sea, and in the Gulf of Finland, the islands of Suursaari, Tytäsaari, Lavansaari, Peninsaari, and Seiskaari." said Celestia. "That is all the Finnish are willing to cede to your country."

"Also, we are willing, uh, to hand over whatever equipment and installations are in zose areas." said Kallio, the Finnish Prime Minister.

"I see. Ve are not so happy with zose terms, as we vant one last thing. Ve vant to setup an overseas naval base in Finland. In thees case, in the Hanko Peninsula. Ve vant a lease on ze peninsula for 30 years, and annual rent of 8 million marks." said Stalin.

"We can allow that. Anything to end this war." said Kallio.

"Fine then. Those are the terms of this treaty. Once it is signed, all Soviet troops must exit Finland, by the time the clock strikes 12:00pm in Leningrad tomorrow, or 11:00am in Finland. All of the Soviet and Finnish diplomats must sign here, if you agree with these terms." said Celestia, pointing to a copy of the treaty.

"Fine then. We shall sign." said Stalin, as his diplomats got up to sign the Canterlot Peace Treaty. The Finnish diplomats also got up to sign the treaty. The Soviet diplomats first looked at the treaty, and once they found its terms and conditions satisfactory, they signed with the pens that had been placed for this. The Finnish diplomats did the same next. The Canterlot Peace Treaty had been successfully signed, without any incident. The first major diplomatic event hosted by Equestria had been a success.

"The soldiers of ze Red Army shall leave Finland by tomorrow. We will deliver the orders now." said Stalin, going to one of the newly installed telephones to make the call to the head of the Red Army to do so.

Celestia and Luna smiled, and after excusing their hosts, left the conference room, and headed for the throne room to get to the rest of the day's matter, as it was now 10:00am. Just as they sat down in the throne room, a soldier came in. "Your Majesties, there has been a bit of an incident involving a human." said the soldier.

"What? Did a drunk human journalist try to rob a house or something?" asked Luna.

"No, your Majesties. Apparently, a unicorn brutally assaulted and beat up one of the British human journalists. He was badly injured, and is unconsciousness in hospital right now with a broken arm and head wounds, as the pony hit him very hard in the head."

"What?! Was this attack provoked?" asked Luna.

"No, he was taken by surprise. Since it occurred in a public place, the attacker fled the scene, and we have not been able to find him yet. As for the victim, he was instantly transported to hospital by the witnesses."

"Do you know who the culprit was?" asked Celestia.

"We believe it was a member of Chancellor Neighsay's organisation, Humans Not Allowed, or HNA. We believe so as the unicorn was shouting slogans such as 'Human Go Home' and other extremely profane things."

"Oh, well, find this person at all costs and shut down the HNA at all costs. We don't want another ENA situation on our hands." said Celestia.

"Right away, your Highnesses!" said the soldier, as he went off again. Celestia sighed. This was not good. Now, HNA was also committing crimes, like how the ENA was suspected to have. Hopefully, they would shut down the HNA, before they went out of control like the ENA had.

Chapter 48

30TH MARCH 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT AIRPORT----------------------------------------------------------------
It was another important day for the three princesses, as they were getting ready to board their flight at the Canterlot Airport. Today was their second state visit, to the United States of America. They would be opening Equestria and the Crystal Empire's American embassies in Washington D.C. They had been joined by Cadance, Twilight, and Shining Armor, who had come to the castle early this morning. It was 11:30pm in Equestria, which meant it was 4:00am in Washington D.C. It would be a 10 hour flight to Washington D.C., so they would land around 2:00pm there.

The treasure hunt organised by the British Prime Minister for the pieces of the Destroyer of Discord had also begun, with a mix of pony and human crew members in it, including Daring Do. It was top-secret, as Prime Minister Chamberlain had promised, and as far as the intel delivered by the S.M.I.L.E. and S.I.S. showed, the Axis powers had not heard anything about it. The Winter War summit had been a success, and as promised, Joseph Stalin had pulled the Soviet troops out of Finland within the agreed timeline, and the concessions of Finnish territory as well had been done as well.

The new Equestrian Army, Navy, and Air Force had also begin operations, with trained human and pony soldiers training them on modernised equipment, and now, the Equestrian Air Force had 100 Hawker Hurricane and 40 Supermarine Spitfires on order for the trained pony fighter pilots. 50 Vickers Wellingtons had been ordered as their new bomber fleet, and 30 new DC-3s had been ordered as transports. Some of these aircraft had already been delivered, but as of now, majority of the new Equestrian Air Force consisted of trainer aircraft.

The HNA was still an issue. The human reporter who had been assaulted by a pony belonging to the HNA was still in the hospital due to complications, and his attacker had been arrested. However, Neighsay and the 48 remaining HNA members had gone into hiding, and Celestia wondered what they were planning.

As for the new Equestrian Navy, the HMS Conway had been pressed into use as a trainer ship, and they had taken a long-term lease on five County-class heavy cruisers from the Royal Navy, and had ordered twenty K-class destroyers, fifty Flower-class corvettes, and fifty Admiralty tugs, all British. A shipyard had also been built in Fillydelphia, where British and Equestrian engineers would collaborate to build vessels, for both civilian and military customers. Currently, it would soon be producing minelayers and minesweepers.

Twilight and Shining Armor would join them on this state visit, having returned from Britain following the graduation of the first batch of military ponies. It was a miracle, so far, that no ponies had been killed in combat yet. A new strategy was currently being followed by the Allied powers, to try and stop Germany's industrial arms production, they were attempting to cut off shipments of Swedish iron ore to Germany by laying mines in the channel between Norway and its offshore islands to destroy any shipments that attempted to come through.

The ponies soon boarded their flight, and settled in their seats. The doors closed, and as the plane's engines started up, Celestia decided to get some sleep on the plane, to help fight some of the effects of the time differences when they arrived in America.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 10:30pm in Germany. Despite the late time, the Erweiterung facility was still active, producing arms, and super soldiers. The first unit of super soldiers was now ready for their mission, but now, they had a new problem on their hands. The Allies were attempting to cut off their shipments of iron ore by mining the channel between Norway and its islands. If this plan worked, it would starve Germany of supplies, and end the war, which Discord did not want.

Hitler himself had come to the facility to discuss this with Discord. "What do we do, Möller? The Allies are trying to cut off our iron supply!" asked Hitler to Discord, using Discord's human alias.

"Well, Fuhrer, I suggest we take Denmark and Norway for ourselves, to protect those shipments. Plus, it will expand the reach of the Nazi Empire." said Discord.

"That would be good, but won't that be dangerous, facing the wrath of the Allies, now that the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans have joined them?" asked Hitler.

"No worries. The Erweiterung program is producing weapons more advanced than ever before, and we can use those against the Allies. It will be good if we take Denmark and Norway to ourselves. Plus, we should also think about taking some of the Soviets' territory for ourselves." said Discord, secretly using his manipulation powers to convince Hitler.

"Wait, what? Why should we take our ally's territory?" asked Hitler.

"Think this way, Fuhrer. The Nazi Empire needs more land, to host its growing population. The Soviets' territories of Ukraine, the Baltic, and Byelorussia, they are perfect for this. However, we cannot just take it by asking. Stalin won't let us take it. We will have to take it by force, even if we lose the Soviet Union as an ally." said Discord.

"I like the plan, but I don't like the idea of losing an ally. Stalin and the USSR have been the only good nations to us since the war began. But, I guess we don't really need them anymore, since you joined us, Möller. When do we begin?" said Hitler, falling under Discord's influence.

"Soon, Fuhrer, soon. Soon, we shall soon have parts of Europe entirely to the Nazi Empire, and the Allies will soon know the might of the nation that they dared to anger." said Discord.

"Ah, yes, I like that attitude, Möller! You've made my day!" said a laughing Hitler, happy with this plan. Discord also smiled. Soon, more wars would begin, in other parts of the world. "Shall we have some of our fine German beer?"

"I don't take much alcohol. It makes a man weak. True strength comes from being sober." said Discord.

"I know that, but what's wrong with a drink or two every once in a while?"

"Alright, sure." said Discord, pouring some beer into a glass, and drinking it. It was bitter, burning his throat, but it gave him a feeling of self-satisfaction, something that he enjoyed. Only thing was that he couldn't more than a whole bottle before he got extremely drunk. "Did you know that the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans are visiting America tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am aware, Möller. You do realise we cannot carry out an assassination on American soil. They will attack us immediately, and our military cannot survive the might of the Americans, unless we call our friends, the Soviets in. And now, we are going to betray them, you realise."

"I know, hence we will deal with the Americans later. Anyways, our first enhanced soldier unit has begun its missions, and as of now, they are deployed on a classified mission on the border. We are also working on an enhanced spy unit as well. Once we get some Equestrian POWs, we can give humans magic."

"Ah, that would be a sight to behold, humans having the magical powers of the unicorns."

"Well, if we can capture some pony POWs, that can be possible, Hitler. We'll give them the same treatment that we give to the Jews and others in our concentration camps."

"Ah, that would be nice, to show that our country accepts humans only, that too, pure-blooded ones, with the exception of you, Discord, and does not accept spies!"

"Yes, it will be the era of a new world order. One ruled by Germany, Italy, and Japan." laughed Discord, as he Hitler drank another glass. Discord smiled, and thought about how his plan would eventually make Earth his own planet, one of chaos.

----------------------------------------------------------20,000 FEET ABOVE THE ATLANTIC----------------------------------------------------
In the confines of the plane's pressurised fuselage, the ponies were just now waking up. More than six hours had passed since the plane had taken off from Canterlot, and they were now just four hours away from landing in Washington D.C. The airport at Washington D.C., Hoover Airport, had a very short runway, 4,200 feet long, and the Stratoliner's landing run needed more than half of the runway, especially a heavily-loaded one. Due to this, it was considered quite unsafe.

It would be a sketchy landing, but Celestia trusted the human pilots. In fact, the runway at Hoover Airport had been widened just to handle the Stratoliner. As they neared the country of America, all of the ponies aboard the plane began waking up, to have lunch, and get ready for their arrival. Four hours later, at around 1:50pm, the plane was on final approach to Washington-Hoover Airport.

Thankfully, the pilots had balls of steel, which were required to land the big aircraft on such a short runway. They successfully were able to land the big plane on the short dirt runway, even if it was quite hard, and required hard braking that almost pulled the ponies out of their seats.

The plane taxied off the runway, and parked at the airport's terminal building. All flights had been temporarily halted during their arrival, so no passengers were present at the airport right now. Multiple reporters were present at the airport to cover the arrival of the Princesses on their second state visit. The Princesses were nervous, but excited to see the land of liberty. As the Princesses left the airport after going through immigration, they were met by a huge convoy of cars. Including them was the American President's own car, a Lincoln limousine known as the Sunshine Special. It was the Princesses' vehicle for today.

The ponies got into the cars in the convoy, protected by multiple U.S. Army soldiers and Secret Service agents. They then drove off for the White House, which was just a 15-minute drive from the airport. As they left the airport, they saw that multiple humans lined the streets, welcoming the Equestrians to the US, and waving at them. Thankfully, the Sunshine Special was a convertible, so they could wave to the people of America, as the roof had been taken down. As they arrived at the other side of the bridge that led to the White House, they saw multiple government buildings, such as that of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Soon, they passed through the secure gates of the White House, and arrived at its entrance. It was truly a magnificent building, made fully of sandstone, painted pure white. This was the American President's official residence and workplace. His office was located in the West Wing of the White House. It had been built almost 150 years earlier, right after the end of the American Revolution.

The cars pulled up at the East Wing of the White House, which was the main entry for visitors and guests. It was a relatively new part, having been built not even 40 years ago, back in 1902. The Princesses and their retinue stepped out of the cars, and walked into the doors of the White House. The entrance was a little small, but it was well-furnished, with a large amount of wood panelling, and pictures on the walls. They passed through the colonnade, and through the windows, they could see the beautiful White House Garden, planted full of ornamental hedges and seasonal flowers. Fluttershy would have loved it, thought Celestia.

They passed into a billiards room, another human trend which was widely being adopted in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. A lot of clubs and pubs there had installed billiards tables, and the game was being widely played in the circles of socialites and other rich ponies. They also went by the library, which held more than 2,700 books on America. It was also frequently used for media tapings. There was also the China Room, an exhibition hall for state and presidential tableware.

Finally, they reached the East Room, where a large conference table had been set up, and President Roosevelt was waiting here, along with his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. The Vice President, John Nance Garner, was also here, alongside a few other American politicians. "Ah, your Highnesses. It is nice to meet you again." said Roosevelt, as the humans all got up to greet the Equestrians. Roosevelt got up with great difficulty, and he was using a cane and leg braces, since he was paralyzed. His wife helped him to get up and walk.

"Are you sure you are okay to walk, especially with your illness, Mr. Roosevelt?" asked Luna.

"Well, it is pretty painful and hard, especially with leg braces and a cane, but I have to. I can't show this side of my life to the public. How would they react when they realised that their President was a disabled man, who can't even walk without heavy assistance? No, I must walk, to keep public morale and faith in their President strong." said Roosevelt.

"I see, but you don't have to torture yourself just to greet us." said Celestia.

"Well, for the photos now, I will have to stand. Then, it's back to the wheelchair for me." said Roosevelt.

"Alright then." said Celestia, as they all posed formally for the White House photographer, who snapped two pictures, and then showed a thumbs up to indicate that the picture was perfect. Then, he went off, and everyone decided to sit down and exchange some talk before they left to inaugurate the embassies, which were at Dupont Circle. Celestia spent some time chatting with Eleanor Roosevelt, who was an advocate for women's rights, labour laws, and civil rights, which impressed the Princesses.

Shining Armor on the other hand, was chatting with General Hap Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces, General George Marshall, Chief of the United States Army, and Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief of the United States and Chief of Naval Operations. They were chatting about military techniques, equipment, and similar things. In fact, Shining Armor was discussing about sending some Equestrian Army soldiers to the US to learn from the most elite US Army soldiers.

Twilight on the other hand, had excused herself and gone off to the library to read a bit on American history and politics, as if she hadn't read enough on the plane.

Soon, at around 6:00pm, it was time to leave for Dupont Circle, for the inauguration of the embassies. It would only be a 5-minute drive from the White House. President Roosevelt couldn't join them, as he had other obligations. However, his wife, Eleanor, would be making the speech instead. Night was already falling over the city of Washington D.C., as the ponies left the White House along with Eleanor Roosevelt, after bidding farewell to the President. They got into the cars, and made the quick 5-minute drive to Dupont Circle, where a large crowd had already gathered.

The crowd was surging with excitement, as the Princesses, and Eleanor Roosevelt, stepped out of the cars, and walked onto the stage. The excitement was high, as Eleanor Roosevelt began to speak. "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we all gather here to celebrate a new day in our relations between America, Equestria, and the Crystal Empire. It is our honour to welcome the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans to our beautiful country, and open their embassies here. It is a new day in our relations between America, Equestria, and the Crystal Empire." said Eleanor, to a lot of cheering. "I now request the Princesses to speak." said Eleanor Roosevelt, as she stepped to the side to let the Princesses speak.

With a smile, Celestia stepped up to the microphone, to face the crowd. "Thank you, Ms. Roosevelt, and warm greetings to the people of America. It is an honour to visit the land of liberty, and see such a technologically advanced nation as yours. Your nations have both been kind enough to welcome our species to Earth ever since our arrival on Earth, and we are truly grateful for that." said Celestia, as she paused to take a breath. Luna continued the speech after that.

"Our countries are different in many ways, but the opening of our embassies will foster peace, understanding, and technological and scientific exchange between our worlds. Together, we will overcome obstacles such as the ENA, and continue to build a brighter future for all. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of America for their warm welcome. We are truly humbled by your hospitality. Thank you." said Luna, as she finished off the talk, and stepped off the stage. A speech was also made by the new Equestrian ambassador to the US, Silvershine, a silver pegasus with a shiny blue mane.

The tape to the embassies was cut, and the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean national anthems were played, marking the inauguration of the embassies. After the national anthems ended, a huge fireworks display was started, as part of the inauguration, marking the end of the ceremony. The fireworks display was a big hit, and everyone applauded the marvelous display.

It was close to 6:30pm when the event ended, and all of the museums had closed down for the night. Since the White House could not accommodate so many guests, the Princesses and their retinue would be staying in their respective countries' embassies. Eleanor Roosevelt bid them farewell, and drove back to the White House. The princesses then went inside their embassies, even as a crowd of reporters tried to follow them inside, but were held back by soldiers and police.

The princesses ignored the crowd outside, thanks to the heavily sound-proofed walls, and walked up to their rooms, to grab some sleep. Tomorrow, they would see the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, before flying back home to Canterlot. It had been another good day in the opening up of relations between Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and other Earthly countries. Hopefully, that was how it would go for all other Earthly countries.

Chapter 49

31ST MARCH 1940

------------------------------------------------EQUESTRIAN EMBASSY, WASHINGTON D.C.-------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Washington D.C., which meant it would be around 1:30am back in Canterlot. Today was the second and last day of the Princesses' first state visit to the USA. However, they wouldn't be leaving until it was night-time, giving them a lot of time for their tour of the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. In fact, they had also organised a quick visit to an elementary school, to interact with all of the children there. It was going to be a good day, thought the princesses.

The princesses went off and had their breakfast, took their baths, and prepared to tour the city of Washington D.C. for the whole day. Soon, at 8:00am, the US presidential limousine, the Sunshine Special, which had been sent for their usage today, pulled up outside the embassies, along with its convoy. The princesses, Twilight, and Shining Armor got into the Sunshine Special, and soon, the large convoy drove off, the first stop would be the elementary school. School had already started, but the children of one school were extremely excited to attend today.

As they arrived at the elementary school, they could see some of the children waving to them. In fact, some of the children were stepping out of their classrooms to wave to the Equestrians, excited about meeting real-life alien princesses. The cars drove into the school, as more kids stepped out of their classes to see the Equestrians, despite their teachers trying to maintain order. Some had even made 'Welcome to America' flags and were flying them.

The ponies realised what a warm welcome was coming up, and were actually eager to meet these schoolchildren now. Twilight, in particular, was excited to find out how the American education system worked, and how she could have something similar implemented. She had heard a lot of great things about it while reading about America. The cars pulled up outside the main building of the school, where a man in a suit was waiting for them. He was probably the principal of the school. He was surrounded by people who seemed to be school administrators.

The tour of the school was conducted by a pair of the students, and the Princesses noted how well the American education system had been designed. However, they were appalled by the fact that white-skinned people had separate classrooms and facilities from the African-Americans, and how the segregation system worked. This racism horrified the Princesses, but they did not show it.

However, their moods as they entered the classrooms and talked with the students. The students were very fun-loving, and had dreamed of meeting and talking with real-life princesses, and rulers. They were also amazed to see creatures they had thought were myths in real life. The Princesses asked the students what they wanted to become when they grew up, and a lot of the replies were cute, such as pilot, ambassador, businessman, and one student who wanted to one day become the President.

The Princesses also visited the side of the school for the black children, and despite the fact that this facility was up to the same standards as the white side of the school, some of the children confided in the Princesses that most of the white students treated them as inferiors, and they were racially teased on school premises. One child even asked the Princesses if they could have the racism stopped all over the world. Celestia said that she could probably make it happen one day. At the end of the tour, in the principal's office, the Princesses confronted him about the racism, and he promised that it would soon stop.

After this, at around 10:00am, the Princesses headed for their next stop, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. They had heard many great things about this museum, and the things it exhibited, which especially excited Twilight, who was eager to see the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. With a final wave to the children, who had presented the Princesses a memento, a large scale model of the school to the Princesses, the convoy of cars drove out of the school premises, and headed for the Smithsonian.

As they drove out towards the Smithsonian, they had a feeling, that it would be a good day today. As they headed towards one of the most famous museums in the whole world.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 3:00am in Germany. Despite the very early time, Discord and his crew were awake at the Erweiterung facility. The factory was still producing a decent number of Bf109Es and Panzer IIIEs, and soon, the Panzer IVE would also begin rolling out, as its tests were almost completed, and soon, it would wreak havoc on the Allied forces. However, this programme wouldn't be fully controlled unless they got their hands on some pony POWs. Then, the Erweiterung programme could finally begin what it was meant to do.

The U-boat base in Hamburg was also now handling U-boats, and construction of some Type VIIE U-boats were underway. Soon, the U-boats would effectively be silent underwater, but all that needed was some pony POWs to fully make it happen. So far, the Nazi Army hadn't even captured a single pony POW, which was very annoying. It also showed valuable intel, such as how well the pony soldiers had been trained, and their willingness to fight, which seemed to be very high. It was going to be difficult to capture a pony soldier, but it would be worth it.

Discord had also been keeping tabs on the Princesses' visit to the USA since the minute they had left Equestria, and currently, they were on their way to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Their cars had just left an American elementary school. The American school system disgusted the Germans, who firmly believed only in the school system devised by Adolf Hitler himself, along with the rest of the Nazis.

He had read a lot about how Hitler had begun his rise to power, by making promises to the people of Germany, and getting the Nazi Party elected. From there on, Hitler had used hook and crook to turn the German government from a democracy into a dictatorship. Discord preferred the dictatorship method. People wanted one man, one vote. Well, in a dictatorship, they got it. One man, and one vote. That was how Discord would rule the Earth once his plan had been completed.

Anyways, time to get some sleep. It wouldn't be a good idea to run the Erweiterung program with only coffee and 3 hours of sleep. He just wondered what the ENA were up to right now, since they had been a little too quiet lately. Now, the HNA had also popped up, which was annoying. Their ultimate goal was to create a spell that could send Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to their home planet, Equis. That was never going to be possible, not with Faust's spell. No one could master Faust's magic, unless they had the lifespan of the Princesses. Anyways, he needed to sleep, else he wouldn't be able to think for a while.

-------------------------------SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, WASHINGTON D.C.------------------------------
It was now 10:25am in Washington D.C. The Princesses' motorcade had just pulled up outside the Smithsonian. Twilights' eyes were like marbles looking at the museum building, which was quite old, having being built 30 years earlier. The museum was apparently full of old artifacts and what not, showcasing the history of Earth and mankind. The only other thing that would trump this, for Twilight at least, would be the Library of Congress.

The ponies got out of the cars, and walked towards the main entrance to the museum. Once again, more reporters and the public were waiting outside, to see the Equestrians in person. For this visit, the museum had been temporarily closed to the public till 3:00pm, as it was such a large museum. As the Princesses walked from their convoy towards the museum, two gun shots were heard, coming from the crowd, and the crowd started to panic. The soldiers escorting the Princesses also panicked, and assembled themselves around the Princesses in a defensive formation, guns in hand.

Right after that, a scuffle ensued in the crowd, as a man with a gun charged towards the Princesses, but instantly got tackled by two policemen, who forced him to the ground, and put him in handcuffs. They handled him roughly, and took away his gun. They also checked through his pockets, and removed whatever extra ammunition he had. That terrified the princesses a little. Even as the man was being taken away, he was screaming, "FUCK HORSE ALIENS! THEY DON'T BELONG ON OUR PLANET! BRET STILES WILL NOT TAKE DEFENSE OF ALIENS LIGHTLY..." before one of the police officers slapped him to shut him up.

The ponies were shocked at that. They weren't surprised that an ENA member would attack them at such a large public event, especially one where there could be innocent casualties, but after the League of Nations attack, that had been surprised. Although, they were wondering how that man was able to get a gun into this event. They asked one of the police officers how he might have been able to do so.

"Well, your Highness, procuring a gun is easy in this country. Our gun laws enable you to buy a gun, only if you have a permit. The permit is only issued to someone who is at least 18 years old, and is only for a specific type of gun. The permit also specifies how the gun must be displayed in public. This guy must have a concealed handgun permit, to own this gun. This seems to resemble a Colt 1911 semi-automatic, the same kind used in the League of Nations attack." explained the soldier.

This revelation shocked the Princesses. They knew that common people could own guns in America, but they didn't know the details. The fact that it was this easy to get a gun here shocked them. "Okay, but how would he have been able to bring the gun here? Metal detectors were installed for this event, right?"

"That's the thing, your Highness. Metal detectors were installed, but this gun seems to be made not of metal, but ceramic. It has been painted black, to make it look like metal. That's why it was not detected. The metal detector couldn't have picked up the ceramic." said the policeman. "We've only seen these guns used in one other case, an assassination."

"So you're saying the ENA might be up to something worse than before?" said Luna.

"Not sure about that, but I'll let my superiors know to keep an eye on all known ENA members in this city." said the policeman, as he walked off to let his superiors know.

Meanwhile, the ponies, despite being spooked by the shooting incident, elected to continue the tour. The crowd was also mostly calm now, as they entered the museum. The museum was indeed very large, and had a large number of exhibits inside. The old dinosaur fossils impressed Twilight, who was making notes about how prehistoric life on Earth must have been. She was also taking pictures, on a human camera that she had bought before this visit, intending to do some research.

The geology section was full of rare gems, which made the Princesses think the Destroyer of Discord was probably hiding in this gallery. However, unlike last time, their horns did not light up, so it was not in the museum. The human origins gallery was loved by the biologists on the diplomatic team, so they could get an understanding of how the humans had evolved. The whole museum tour took them almost 4 hours, so they decided to eat lunch at the museum's cafeteria. Although most of the items on the menu had meat, there were some pony-friendly items on the menu, such as French fries, sandwiches, salads, and wraps, so they ate those, which were pretty delicious, except for one of the wraps.

Finally, at around 2:50pm, they left the museum for the Library of Congress, which Twilight was bursting with excitement to see. It was a quick 5-minute drive from the Smithsonian. The Library of Congress was huge, alright, but it wasn't as big as the Manehattan Library, which was twice as big as this. However, the Library of Congress was older, being around 140 years old, while the Manehattan Library was just around 60 years old.

The Princesses walked into the library, which was filled with a lot of books. The scientists and scholars in their diplomatic group started acting like children in a toy shop, the same way the humans had when they first visited the Manehattan Library. They were informed that while anyone could come inside to read, only high-ranking government officials and library staff could actually borrow books. This saddened Twilight a little, so she was determined to do a lot of reading while they were here.

Celestia and Luna also decided to do some reading, picking some books about the history and government of America. As they began reading, they learned a lot about some of the horrifying parts of the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the darker sides of American history. They also saw the reason behind America's gun laws.

According to the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, an American citizen could own a gun under the right to bear arms to defend oneself. That was something the Princesses did not approve of. After what they had seen, they decided that guns would not be allowed to the public in their nations, and only the police would carry guns, that too, only in extreme situations. Only the military would carry guns everywhere they went.

Luna on the other hand was looking at a different part of the Constitution, the fundamental rights. She was reading it, and the rights it guaranteed to the citizens of the USA. As Luna read it, she understood why America was called the land of liberty, why so many people wanted to come from other countries to America. This planted the seeds of an idea in Luna's head, one that would change Equestria and the Crystal Empire completely. She would tell Celestia later on the plane.

As the ponies continued reading, Twilight continued reading books at a crazy pace, since she wouldn't be able to borrow them from here. It was now around 4:30pm, and already, she knew the whole history of the US, from its formation in 1776, to the present day. Meanwhile, the idea in Luna's head continued to grow, something that would hopefully please the liberal Equestrians, who had been demanding that Equestria and the Crystal Empire become constitutional monarchies, like in Britain.

After a half-ton of reading, finally, at around 6:00pm, it was time to leave for the airport, to catch their flight home. The ponies put all the books they had taken back in their places, and then, got into the motorcade, which took them on the 10-minute drive to the airport. They got into the airport, went through immigration, and were soon at the boarding area, waiting to board their plane, which would depart for Canterlot at 7:00pm. The waiting was relatively short this time, and at around 6:45pm local time, or 1:15pm Canterlot time, the ponies boarded the big 307 Stratoliner, and 15 minutes later, it was climbing away from Washington-Hoover Airport, for the 10 hour flight back home.

Inside, the ponies were all getting ready for the dinner service, and then, some sleep, so that they could get back to their homes safe and sound. As the plane climbed towards its cruising altitude, Luna decided to tell the Princess her ideas. "Cadance, 'Tia, you know how the Liberal Union of Equestria has been sending us petitions for the establishment of a parliament, which would turn our country into a constitutional monarchy like in Britain?" asked Luna.

"Yes, I know, Luna, and we are NOT conceding to their demands. We have ruled our nation for over 2,000 years. Under our rule, Equestria has experienced an unparalled era of peace, prosperity, and domestic tranquility. That doesn't seem to be so, with the democracies on Earth. Plus, we have immortality, so we can advance our nation for years to come. It's not that I don't trust democracy or don't want change, it's just that I feel that that our monarchy is stable enough as is." said Celestia.

"Same here, Luna. I've ruled the Crystal Empire for only 8 months, yet, my country is in the same state as Equestria is right now. My country isn't becoming a democracy either." said Cadance.

"I'm not saying that our countries change from monarchies to democracies. I'm saying we partly fulfil their demands to keep them happy." said Luna.

"And how do we do that?" asked Cadance.

"Well, during our time at the Library of Congress, I read the Constitution of the United States, and was impressed by how it guaranteed liberty to its citizens through its fundamental rights. I say we make a similar sort of thing, 'Declaration of Ponykind's Rights', to reaffirm the legal rights of our citizens. It will be sort of like a constitution, but still governed by an absolute monarchy." explained Luna. "It will atleast satisfy the liberals."

"I like that idea. Luna, I trust you to prepare such a document for our country within the next six months. This will help you get some experience in lawmaking, and help modernise Equestria." said Celestia, who agreed with Luna's plan.

"I will craft a similar document for the Crystal Empire as well." said Cadance, who also agreed with Luna's plan.

"For now, we will keep this secret, until the day we announce it." said Celestia. Luna and Cadance agreed with this plan. Luna was happy that her plan to bring the ideal of liberty to Equestria had worked. Democracy was not going to happen, but liberty definitely would happen, thought a happy Luna, as she went off to sleep, ending their state visit to the USA on a happy note.

Chapter 50

5TH APRIL 1940

------------------------------------------------------THE GERMANY-DENMARK BORDER-------------------------------------------------------
It was now 2:00pm in this area, which meant it was 3:30pm in Equestria. Commander Artur Holland his tank crew, in their new Panzer IIIEs, were driving along the roads to the border crossing between Germany and Denmark. The Allies had been attempting to cut off Sweden's shipments of iron ore to Germany, which was vitally needed by Germany for their industrial and military needs. The Allies had laid mines in the channel between Norway and its offshore islands to destroy any shipments.

In fact, a cargo ship carrying iron ore to Hamburg had already hit one such mine. Although it hadn't sunk, it had been pretty badly damaged, the Allies had seized the ship, its crew, and cargo, stating that the vessel had been involved in war crimes.

Today, they would prevent that from happening. To make sure Sweden stayed safe from the wrath of the Allies, Germany would take Denmark and Norway, as well as their territorial waters, to make sure that they had all the natural resources these countries had to offer. This way, Germany's industry and military's supply chains would stay satisfied, and they wouldn't suffer from any shortages.

They knew that the Allies would instantly arrive to fight them as soon as they heard the news that they were invading Denmark and Norway, but that was no problem with the new equipment they had been taking. Plus, they would also have aerial support from the mighty Luftwaffe, should that be needed, and there were close to forty Panzer IIIEs in this tank company, so they would be able to hold out for quite some time, and possibly progress even more into Denmark.

They were approaching a border post, driving on a dirt road, and they would reach the post in 3 minutes. As they approached, it felt more isolated than usual, which was surprised. They hadn't even seen any agricultural land in some time, so this place was in the boondocks, as the Americans would say. As they approached the border post, they could see the Danish troops getting to their positions, and heard the alarm ringing, knowing they were under attack.

As the Panzers charged towards the border post with no intention of stopping, the Danish troops began firing at them. However, Holland instantly activated the ALP-1 weapon on his Panzer IIIE tank, which shot multiple rockets at the Danish border post. The second the rockets hit the post, it caused a massive explosion, and when the post was visible, they saw that it was totally destroyed, on fire, and majority of the soldiers were dead. However, there were some survivors, who had been taken by shock at how their whole unit had just been wiped out in a single blow. Some of the soldiers who had been accompanying the tanks then grabbed their guns, and began executing the remaining Danish soldiers.

Holland began egging his men, to not execute the soldiers instantly, but instead, capture and torture them, so as to get information as to where more Danish military units could be hiding, so that there would be no surprise ambushes, despite the intel they had been given saying there was no such chance. "Once you're done getting information from those guys, you can kill them, or just take them with us. I don't care. If you're going to kill them, make it painful." said Holland to his troops, as they gleefully proceeded to carry out his orders.

Once that was all done, they proceeded to head towards the first town they had seen in some time, Hanvus, which was a mining town. It was small, with only 1,400 people living in it, and it had a large oil mine in it. The Germans were going to try to capture this mine, which would be vital to war efforts. It would supply the fuel to power the infrastructure of the proud land of Germany, thought Holland, as the company of Panzer IIIEs headed towards Hanvus at around 45 kilometers per hour.

They also saw and heard multiple Luftwaffe aircraft above them. That was when a voice came in his radio. "Tank Company Jötnar, this is Razor 1, your air support here. Do you read me?" asked the voice.

"This is Commander Artur Holland of Tank Company Jötnar, we read you loud and clear, Razor 1." replied Holland.

"Good. I'm the leader of a pair of Stukas, and we'll help you out on your way to Hanvus. There is a roadblock about 5 kilometers from your current position. It is being guarded by multiple soldiers, as well as L-180 armored cars. You should be able to get through it, though." said the pilot of Razor 1.

"Thanks for the advance warning, Razor 1. We'll take this town easily." said Holland, as the tanks began going offroad, to avoid any anti-tank mines placed on the main road, if any had been placed. However, as they went offroad, they also decided to go near the roadblock, to take it out, and make the town easier to access for German reinforcements. As they got nearer to the post, they realised explosives wouldn't do, as they would trigger the mines, and that would cause more destruction, which was not what they wanted to do.

Thankfully, the IIIEs had been equipped with a new weapon to avoid just that. As they neared the post, the soldiers could hear the tanks, and went on alarm, and someone went and placed more mines, so as to be ready for them. Little did they now what was coming, thought Holland, as some of the tanks snuck out of the forests, in front of the troops who began firing. The tanks skillfully avoided the mines that had been placed, and although one did explode under a tank, thanks to the IIIE's improved protection, it did not damage the tank in anyway, apart from making its crew's ears ring.

Holland and the four tanks that had emerged from the forest with him then activated their new deadly weapon, a gas dispenser. It dispensed the same Zyklon B gas that the Nazis used at their concentration camps to disinfect those who were unfit for the regular German population, such as Jews, the disabled, brown, and black people. Thanks to the rate of dispersion, the gas began surrounding the post instantly, suffocating all the soldiers, making them all gasp for air, and attack each other in their frenzy. Soon, all of the Danish soldiers lay dead. The tank crews were protected however, as the Panzer IIIEs had been certified against chemical weapons of all sorts.

That was when Holland radioed, "Tank Company Jötnar, proceed forward." Then he called up Razor 1. "Razor 1, be advised, the post has been destroyed, beware of Zyklon B gas that we have deployed. Tell all German units coming this way that they will have to wait until the gas is dispersed."

"Roger that, Tank Company Jötnar. We'll let them all know. Over and out." replied the pilot of Razor 1.

"Alright, Jötnar, continue on. We're almost in Hanvus." said Holland, as the tanks continued on, charging towards the town of Hanvus. Soon, they were arriving in the town. Already, most of the small town was under shelter in their homes, but a lot of people were also in the mines. Ten of the tanks, including Holland's, headed to the mines, while the remaining thirty tanks headed to the main town to take over it.

As they arrived at the mines, it was desolate, except for the two security guards guarding the mine gates, who instantly ran off on seeing the tanks, which just charged through the gates and headed to the mine shafts. As the tanks arrived at the mineshaft entries, they were surprised to see all of the miners there, standing with their hands up. Good.

They had surrendered. Holland hopped out of his tank, grabbed his bullhorn, and began speaking a speech in Danish, that he had memorised. "Citizens of Hanvus, your town, and the rest of your country, today, is being taken over by the German Reich. You will have a good life under our rule. However, those who are unfit to live in the lands of the German Reich will be deported to our disinfectation centers. Those who are Jews, disabled, or suffer some mental illness, please come towards our tanks. We are not killing you."

As the terrified miners began conceding to Holland's demand, he heard a voice coming from his radio. "Commander Holland. The whole of Hanvus has been taken. Most of them surrendered to us instantly, however, there was a daring group of Danish soldiers and citizens who attempted to stop us. They have been dealt with." came the voice one of Holland's officers. Holland grinned on hearing this news. Then, another broadcast came, this time from the main German command, back in Berlin.

"The German Army, to all of those units who are hearing this, here is a progress update on our conquest of Denmark and Norway. Almost half of Denmark has been taken since we began the invasion at 12:00pm today. Norway is fighting back, so we haven't taken as much, only an eighth of that country. Keep fighting, whoever is hearing this, and take these lands, for the German Reich." said the voice, signing off and ending the broadcast.

Holland grinned even more on hearing this. The Nazi Empire was increasing, and with it, so would the might of Germany. The Allies would soon know that they had underestimated Germany, and soon, they would pay for inflicting such harsh treaties on Germany after the end of the Great War, thought Holland, as his men began herding the miners, to the place where they would be kept.

Chapter 51

-------------------------------------------------------------------OSLO, NORWAY----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00pm in Norway, which meant it was 6:30pm in Equestria. It was a horrifying day for Private Thomas Olsen of the Norwegian Army. Germany had invaded Norway, and its neighboring country, Denmark, without any provocation, and already, they had taken the southern part of the country. The last he had heard, half of Denmark had been taken, just 5 hours into the invasion, which had begun at 12:00pm. As for Norway, the southern towns and cities, such as Kristiansand and Fredrikstad, had been taken, and German forces were closing in on Norway's capital city, Oslo. They were currently stationed on the outskirts of the city.

Plus, most of western Norway had already been taken, and German forces were taking the northern parts of the country as well, before coming in from all sides to take Oslo, and hence the whole country. Already, Oslo had been attacked twice by German aircraft. Of Olsen's platoon, which had originally consisted of 180 soldiers, only 120 were still alive, and only 95 were still able to fight. The Phoney War was now over. The real war had now began. Thankfully, the brave efforts of the Royal Norwegian Navy in the Drøbak Sound had given time for their military to prepare.

In the Sound, Birger Eriksen, the commander of Oscarsborg Fortress, which housed numerous naval and torpedo batteries, had successfully sunk the German battleship, Blücher. There had been no fatalities from the Norwegian side, and thankfully, at least 650 German sailors had died in the battle, and a thousand more had been taken prisoner by the Norwegians. This had given time for Haakon VII, the King of Norway, to escape Oslo.

However, the Germans were regrouping quickly, and soon, they had lost contact with Oscarsborg Fortress. Rumours had come that the Germans had used chemical weapons to their advantage in Denmark, and had done the same to the men in the fortress. They had prepared for this quickly, by grabbing all the protective gear they could find at various laboratories, hospitals, and other such places in the city, to protect them from such chemical weapons, if they were to be used here.

They weren't alone, though. The Norwegian Army Air Service was also there to try and protect them. However, of their 81 rather outdated aircraft, only 76 had been operational, and already, close to 50 aircraft had already been shot down, destroying majority of their aircraft. Thankfully, a few of their aircraft were still operational, which would help them out.

As the soldiers were relaxing, waiting for the enemy, they got an alert on the radio, in Norwegian. "All units, there are multiple Stuka bombers on their way, and they will reach Oslo in five minutes! Also, there are multiple units of Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs on their way towards your position, be prepared, it's going to be a firefight down there!" said the commander of the Norwegian Army, over the radio.

"Roger that, Sir! We are ready to face them, and we will lay down our lives for our land." said Olsen's commander, signing off the radio. "Alright, my men, we will probably die in this battle, but we shall lay down our lives, knowing that we tried to protect our land. Charge, one last time!" said the commander to his men.

"Yes, Commander!" shouted the men, including Olsen, as they heard the rumble of the tanks coming in. As they took our positions, hiding to ambush the tanks, with each passing second, they could hear their rumble growing louder, and some of the soldiers placed the few anti-tank mines they had on the road, to give the tanks a rather warm and explosive welcome. As the tanks neared, they could see what type they were. These were Panzer IVs. There weren't too many, only around 25 of them, which was weird. Usually, a tank company consisted of at least 40 tanks.

As the tanks came near, the mines went off, and the first two tanks in the company were instantly destroyed. The crews of the remaining tanks seemed surprised. The Norwegian soldiers weren't surprised, as most soldiers had apparently instantly surrendered at their posts the second they saw the large tanks coming their way. As the tank operators were still surprised, the soldiers instantly came out of hiding, sprinting towards them, and firing. They also began throwing grenades at the tanks. This would be a suicide attack. Most of them would not make it back alive from this. However, they would go down fighting, until the very end.

Olsen and his friend jumped on one tank, quickly opened the hatch, and threw a grenade in. They closed the hatch, and quickly jumped off the tank, as the grenade went off in its cabin, killing whoever was inside, as a shell inside caught fire an exploded, destroying the once-mighty Panzer. The remaining tanks instantly began aiming at the soldiers, to try and kill them. However, they were just too scattered, and when one of the tanks fired, it only managed to kill two soldiers.

Soon, taken by surprise, the tanks lay destroyed, with 12 captured German soldiers, 63 dead German soldiers, and the unfortunate loss of 8 Norwegian soldiers. The soldiers rejoiced, having been able to stop their advance. However, they could see more German troops heading their way, a company of almost 400, so they weren't going down without a fight. As the soldiers neared, the Norwegians began firing at the Germans once more. Although hopelessly outnumbered, they continued fighting valiantly. As Germans began falling dead one by one, they called in air support. That was when Olsen felt something explode next to him. The explosion threw him off his feet, and onto one of the now useless tanks.

A German Stuka bomber had swooped out of the sky, and dropped a bomb on the remaining 87 Norwegian soldiers. The bomb had instantly killed 20 of the soldiers, and more were injured and wounded, including Olsen, who taken a piece of shrapnel in the thigh. Using a first aid kit in the tank, he quickly removed the shrapnel, and tied a tourniquet around his injured leg. However, he couldn't really run with his injured leg, and decide to fight the Germans from the tank, using its metal body as cover.

As he continued fighting, bullets kept pinging off against the tank's metal body, but none penetrated it, and more German soldiers continued to drop dead. However, soon, Olsen was running out of ammunition, and so were his fellow soldiers. They had taken some of the ammunition from their dead comrades, but they didn't have much left. Soon, they would run out, and Oslo would be taken by the Germans, as there were still around 300 of the German soldiers left. That was when Olsen had an idea, for a last charge.

There were some boxes of plastic explosive in the tank, and he began strapping some of the explosives to his body, underneath his bulletproof vest, and inserting the blasting caps, making the charges active. He also began tossing some to his fellow soldiers, who were also using the tanks for cover, and he used sign language to tell him his idea. Some didn't want to use it, but most of them were willing to go along with it.

As they began running out of ammunition, they began coming out towards the Germans with their hands in the air. The Germans began smiling sadistically, as they lowered their gardens, and began heading towards the surrendering soldiers. As the final soldier ran out of ammunition, and began coming towards the Germans, the plan was put into action. Olsen and his comrades, suddenly put their pockets in their hands, and all yelled at once, "Ære til Norge!" This slogan, meaning 'Glory to Norway!' would be their final words, as they activated the blasting caps, triggering the explosives.

Olsen smiled, looking at the Germans, as he triggered the explosives, and soon, he knew no more. With these simultaneous explosions, the Norwegians, despite ending their own lives in the process, took those of multiple German soldiers, killing close to 150 in one go. As their surviving friends started up one of the surviving tanks, and began to flee, they mourned their fallen comrades, as they headed towards the port, where a Norwegian ship would be waiting to transport them to safety.

That day, on the outskirts of Oslo, close to 400 men had died on both sides in this battle. However, despite their sacrifices, the surviving Norwegians knew, in their hearts, that this would only buy them time, and that it would be a while before they would see their home country again.

Chapter 52

6TH APRIL 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was 4:30am in Canterlot, which meant it was 5:00am in the UK. Despite the early morning hour, the whole of the castle was awake, as the princesses were having an emergency conference call with the leaders of the Allied countries. The previous day, Germany had invaded the countries of Denmark and Norway. The country of Norway had still not been taken yet. However, the King of that country had been forced to flee his capital. However, Denmark had surrendered to the Germans after just 6 hours, and their country had been occupied by the Germans.

Multiple people had died, mainly military, but quite a few civilians had also died, and rumours had come that chemical weapons had also been used during the invasions. That was against the rules agreed upon by the member League of Nations countries. Chemical weapons had been banned since the end of the Great War.

The call would start soon, and the two Princesses were already heading to the conference room. Cadance would also join this call from the Crystal Empire. This time, Equestrians would also be joining the battle for Norway along with the Allied powers. The Royal Equestrian Air Force, as well as the Royal Crystal Empirean Army, would both be fighting in this. In fact, the British had consulted the Crystal Empireans specifically because their kingdom's climatic and geological conditions were similar to those of Norway.

The Princesses reached the room, where the call would take place. Celestia glanced at how much the castle had changed since Equestria had arrived on Earth. The bright electric lights and fans were everywhere, and they made the castle brighter than ever. They also could be switched on and off with the flick of a switch, so they could be turned on even in the daylight, as long as there was a constant supply of electricity.

The telephone network had also been fully set up, and the sale of telephones and such communication equipment had begun in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. The improved postal network was also fully operational now. As the Princesses sat down their seats, the new technology expert, Sparks, informed them, "Your Majesties, we will start the conference call now."

"Thank you, Spark." said Celestia, as the call began, and the voice of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain came through the telephone.

"Good morning, your Highnesses. Sorry about the early timings of this call, but it couldn't wait. Denmark has already been taken, and we cannot let Norway fall to the Germans." said Chamberlain.

"I know, Mr. Chamberlain. We cannot let the Axis powers win. It will give Discord a rise to power, and he will throw Earth into chaos. We cannot let that happen? How is the hunt for the pieces of the Destroyer of Discord going?" asked Cadance.

"As of now, we are still looking, but so far, no luck with finding any pieces of it yet, despite the large amount of source material given to us by you. So for now, the only piece found is the one that was recovered at Buckingham Palace."

"I see. They should eventually be found. No matter what, they will turn up. How is the situation in Norway right now?" asked Celestia.

"So far, relatively okay, compared to Denmark. The capital of Norway, Oslo, has still not been fully occupied yet, so troops are trying to fight off the Germans who are trying to get further into Oslo. We have sent in air support, in the form of Hurricanes, a few Spitfires, and some Wellington bombers. Some of these aircraft are being flown by Equestrian and Crystal Empirean troops."

"I see. A Royal Equestrian Air Force Hurricane squadron is also on their way. They will be additional support for your troops. What about the French?"

"The French Army and Navy will provide ground and sea support, but air support will mainly come from the Royal Air Force. The operation will begin soon to take back Norway. We can't let any more innocents die. 20 Danish people were killed in Denmark, and reports have come that 200 Germans were also killed. In Norway, close to 2,000, mostly Germans, have already died. We can't afford any more fatalities on our side."

"I know, Mr. Chamberlain. The operation begins at 7:30am local time there, right?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, it should be around 9:00am in Equestria then. We'll begin the main operation then. Hopefully, we are able to take back Norway from the Germans, and hopefully Denmark as well, if we take Norway."

"I too hope so, Mr. Chamberlain." said Celestia, as the call continued. They decided to end the call earlier than planned, as in a few hours, they would soon be back in the room, to hear the operation to take back Norway live. Celestia sighed, before heading back to her room for a quick nap. Hopefully, this operation would be successful.

--------------------------------------------------------------THE REICHSTAG, BERLIN---------------------------------------------------------------
It was a day of celebration in the Reichstag. Germany had successfully acquired a new country for themselves, and was in the midst of taking another one, rather easily at that. However, they knew that the Allies would soon interfere. Thankfully, it was a good thing that they came prepared. Pretty much half of the equipment they had deployed to Norway were from the Erweiterung program. They had deployed multiple Panzer IIIEs and Bf109Es. The Type VIIE U-boats were still in the development phase, with prototype parts beginning fabricating, and the Panzer IVE program was still in limbo as of now.

Discord was among those here at the Reichstag today. Mussolini, Hirohito, and Stalin were also here, along with Hitler. They were planning to expand the Erweiterung program, as keeping it in Germany alone would be too risky. They were planning to set up facilities for it in Italy, and also in the Okinawa Islands of Japan. This would be the expansion of the Axis empire, and hopefully, the beginning of a new world order.

As Discord, still in his alias of Möller, was chatting with his fellow generals. They were all discussing military strategies, and when a little drunk, off-the-books stuff, which also gave Discord more intel into Germany's activities, just in case Hitler wanted to betray him or something of that sort. Also, they were discussing another important topic. The capture of pony POWs. They had been wanting to capture some Equestrian or Crystal Empirean soldiers for a while now, as they wanted to study them, and extract their magic, and give the Germans superpowers.

Well, so far, none of their attempts had worked, as the pony soldiers had been so well trained, none of them had been captured. Instead, they had taken multiple Germans captive instead. That was annoying, and a large blow for the Nazi ideology, which believed that humans, that too, pure-blooded German Aryan humans, were superior than any other species. They needed some pony POWs to enforce this, and keep the Erweiterung program running.

Discord was also keeping his side of the bargain with the Axis powers, as he had stolen for them the plans of the current models of the Supermarine Spitfire, certain Royal Navy ships, some French ships, and the schematics of certain guns that the Allied militaries were using, enabling the Nazis to be one step ahead.

The dream of pony POWs would hopefully come true today, thought Discord, as he and his fellow generals chatted happily about this. They would do so. As for their new super-soldier program, their first missions had already started, and now, an enhanced spy unit had been formed, made with the E-serum. They were already beginning to plant moles in the British and French governments, and maybe one in the ENA as well.

The ENA was still a thorn in their side. Discord had planted a mole in the ENA so that they wouldn't interfere with the plans that he had for the whole world. The HNA was still no threat to them yet, so they were not even paying attention to them. They were a mere spot on their radar as of now.

As Discord laughed with the other Nazis, he thought about what he and Germany could do, if Hitler wasn't in power. Someday, Hitler would grow old, and he wouldn't be able to run the Reich anymore. Then, he would take over Germany, and use it to conquer the world. He would reveal his true form, and make Earth into a planet of chaos. That would be fun, thought Discord, as he continued chatting with his fellow Nazis.

-----------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE OVER DENMARK---------------------------------------------------------
It was a scary day for Mage Squadron, as they flew at 5,000 feet, through the skies of unoccupied Denmark. Their Hawker Hurricanes were good, alright, and were able to hold out against German Bf109s, but they had heard stories from some Spitfire pilots that they had encountered some Bf109s which had seemed to maneuver in strange ways, which were impossible for the planes. They also managed to keep up with the Spitfires.

That concerned the pony pilots in this group, which included Flight Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. Rainbow had only just joined an operational Hurricane squadron as a Flight Lieutenant, after being a Flying Officer for a few months. She had finally managed to make it into the pilot's seat on a fighter aircraft. This was her first mission, and she was excited to have the chance to shoot down some Bf109s.

There were only a couple of other pony pilots in her squadron, which made Rainbow feel a little isolated. At first, being a female, she was ostracized by some of the humans in Mage Squadron, but after an incident where she had saved a fellow pilot's life, she had gained their respect. As the flight of 30 Hurricanes flew over the snowy Norwegian landscape, Dash decided to call up. "This is Mage 6 here, uh, are we expecting company? I don't see any Bf109s."

"Mage 6, we will be expecting company soon. We have reports that a flight of Bf109s is coming in soon, so be prepared, we may have a dogfight on our hands... OH SHIT, THEY'RE ALREADY HERE! WEAPONS FREE!" shouted the leader of the squadron, flying Mage 1, as numerous Bf109s suddenly came into sight, flying towards them head-on. The Hurricanes instantly turned off, and began flying in random directions, as the Bf109s began firing at the Hurricanes.

These Bf109s, unfortunately for the Hurricane pilots, seemed to be the new Bf109s that the Spitfire pilots had talked about. They seemed to be totally outgunning and outflying the Hurricanes. Not surprised, considering they could keep up with a Spitfire. Rainbow Dash passed by one of the Bf109s, and she watched horrified as the Bf109 made an extremely tight and fast turn, and was soon on her tail. Dash was surprised at how the Bf109 did not break apart making such a high-G maneuver, as she tried to get out of its crosshairs.

Despite the fact that they were only 5,000 feet from the ground, Rainbow Dash pushed the stick downwards, and her Hurricane began a dive, speed accelerating as the dive continued. The Bf109 followed her, also pulling a dive, and attempting to gain on her, just a second one also began following. However, Rainbow did not pull out of the dive, despite the fact that the ground was getting closer and closer every second. At the last second, just around 700 feet from the ground, Rainbow pulled up, very sharply, and put the Hurricane into a steep climb, barely avoiding the ground.

The pilot of the first Bf109 expected this move and pulled up quickly, climbing on a dime, while the pilot of the second Bf109 was taken by surprise and was unable to pull up before smashing into the ground at high speed, probably killing him in the ensuing explosion. Rainbow now at least had a kill to boast to her name. However, so far, that was the only Bf109 that had been taken out of the fight. Of the fifteen Bf109s they had encountered, 14 were still left, and of the 30 Hurricanes, 3 had already been shot down. Thankfully, none of them had been piloted by ponies, as 10 of the Hurricanes in this squadron, including Rainbow Dash's, were piloted by ponies.

However, Rainbow Dash still had to deal with that one Bf109 that was still chasing her. She tried everything to get on its tail, but this Bf109, aside from being one of the new mystery ones, also seemed to have a very skilled pilot flying it, as this guy was still on her tail. Good thing, Rainbow wasn't in its crosshairs yet, so she had a chance against it.

As the Bf109 attempted to get Rainbow's plane in its crosshairs, Rainbow slowed her aircraft down, and got behind the Bf109 quickly, with the sudden loss of speed. She throttled up again, and just as the Bf109 entered her crosshairs, she fired a burst from her guns, just as the Bf109 attempted an emergency maneuver. That ruined the shot, but a couple of the bullets hit the Bf109's fuselage, and one even hit the tail section. However, the Bf109 kept flying, albeit not as aggressively as before.

Taking this advantage, Rainbow finished off the Bf109, firing multiple bullets at it, causing it to burst into flames, as fuel began leaking from its tanks, and the German fighter began going down. Just as Rainbow turned to fight the rest of the battle, she noticed two Hurricane coming up next to her. She knew their pilots. Both were ponies. One was piloted by an Earth pony, Golden Hearts, and the other was piloted by a unicorn, Thunder Wing. They radioed her. "Hey Rainbow, looks like you finally got a kill!" said the voice of Thunder Wing.

"Make that two. I tricked one of those German pilots into crashing earlier." replied Rainbow, smugly.

"Well, let's get back to work, we can't let you have all the fun!" said Golden Hearts, as the three Hurricanes headed back towards the fight, with renewed vigour. However, soon, they were in trouble. Five additional Bf109s had arrived, to support their comrades, and soon, the 27 remaining Hurricanes were in trouble. Golden Hearts had a Bf109 on her tail, and when Rainbow saw her in trouble, she quickly flew towards her plane. However, just as Rainbow reloaded her guns, the Bf109 got its crosshairs on Golden Harvest, and fired.

Rainbow watched in horror as the bullets shredded Golden Harvest's plane, causing to begin going down in a spiral. Thankfully, Golden Harvest ejected, and Rainbow hoped that the Germans wouldn't capture. Unfortunately, Thunder Wing also met the same fate some time later, one of his plane's wings getting shredded by another Bf109. Thankfully, more support was coming in. Some RAF Spitfires had arrived to assist them. Rainbow was happy to see the other planes, as they took over. She just hoped that Golden Harvest and Thunder Wing weren't captured, thought Rainbow, as Mage Squadron, now minus six planes, began heading back to their base, as the Spitfires dealt with the Bf109s.

Chapter 53

7TH APRIL 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Canterlot Castle. It was a heavy day for everyone at the castle right now, since it was reported that the first Equestrians had unfortunately been lost on the battlefield. A unicorn had been lost when his RAF Vickers Wellington bomber had been shot down near Denmark, and his body had unfortunately washed up, along with those of the other crew members, who were all human. Two Earth ponies had unfortunately been killed in Norway by the Germans.

As if that wasn't enough, three were also missing. A unicorn, Thunder Wing had gone missing in Norway after he had ejected from his RAF Hurricane when he had been shot down. An Earth pony, Golden Harvest, another RAF pilot, had also been lost in the same area. Rumours were coming in that they may have been captured by advancing Germans. So far, three were confirmed dead, and two were missing. Celestia really was hoping that Golden Harvest and Thunder Wing were still alive.

As she thought about what she would have to say to the families of the dead, one of Celestia's assistants came in. "Your Highness, the plane carrying the remains of our fallen warriors will be landing at the Canterlot Airport in an hour. Are you ready to leave for the airport? We and their families will be there to bring them home." said the assistant.

"Yes, we'll leave for the airport in five minutes. Get the cars ready." said Celestia, as the assistant left. Celestia sighed, and got ready for the amount of crying, as well as what she would have to say to console the grieving families, as she went off to meet Luna in the new Canterlot Castle garage. It held their recently acquired Lincoln limousine, which had been acquired freshly from the USA. It was similar to the one that the US President had, but painted in the sky blue of the Equestrian flag. It was called, 'The Sisters' Chariot.

As Celestia was walking towards the garage, she suddenly saw a flickering form. It was Discord, smirking at her. As Celestia charged her horn, as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Celestia thought it was just a trick of her mind, since she had been so stressed lately, and it was probably just an illusion made by her mind, as she continued heading towards the garage. As she arrived at the garage, Luna was waiting there. "Sister, are you ready for this?"

"I am, Luna. It's going to be sad, but I have to be strong, to bring our fallen home." said Celestia, as she and Luna climbed into the limousine. The Crystal Empire had also lost two soldiers, who were being brought back home today as well. Their bodies would be on another plane, that was heading to the new airport in the Crystal Empire. The limousine, followed by its bodyguard vehicles, began driving out of Canterlot Castle.

As they drove out, all of the citizens of Canterlot, on seeing the sky blue Lincoln, began waving at it, knowing the Princesses were inside the vehicle. Despite the waves, there was a sombre nature about them, knowing what they were going out of the city for. It was a relatively short drive to the airport, which was just thirty minutes from the city. With the new roads and the fact that there were barely any other cars, they reached in just 20 minutes.

As they arrived at the gates of the airport, they were advised that the plane carrying the fallen would be arriving in 35 minutes, so they would have some time to prepare. The grieving families were already inside the airport, so they were advised to be ready for them. As the cars drove into the airport grounds, towards the tarmac, they could hear the loud sounds of crying and mourning.

The cars drove up to the VIP terminal, where the families were all waiting. Most of the families were all crying and bawling except for two of them. The cars stopped in front of them, and the Princesses got out of their limousine. The families, albeit still crying a little, bowed down respectfully to the Princesses on seeing them. "Your Highnesses, why did you send our sons to war? They're dead because of you!" shouted a mother, attempting to lunge at Celestia, but was stopped mid-air by the guards.

"They knew what they were going into when they enlisted. They knew the risks, and gave up their lives in the line of duty." explained Celestia.

"This was your fault! YOU made our two sons go into a battlefield, on a planet which was not familiar to them, and now they're no more! This was your fault!" cried the grieving mother, as her family took her aside, so that she didn't get arrested by the guards.

Then, a father from another family came to Celestia. "Your Highness, we are actually quite proud of our son, which is why we are not mourning."

"Why is that so? Did you hate him?"

"No, your Highness. We were given the details of how he died. He bravely gave up his life to save some wounded soldiers. We are happy and proud that he died bravely in the line of fire, trying to save his friends, not like a retreating coward. We are proud of him for this reason." said the father, trying to hold back tears.

"He must have been a really good and selfless person, for him to give up his own life to save his friends." said Luna.

"He was. And we wouldn't have it any other way." said the father, as the plane, an RAF DC-3, came into their sights in the distance. They watched as the plane smoothly touched down, and taxied to its parking spot. As the engines stopped, the pallbearers, in luxury hearses, pulled up next to the plane, and got out of the hearses. The plane's doors opened, and the pallbearers walked inside, and lifted the coffins. As they were loaded into the hearses, a band began playing a funeral tune, sombre and sad.

As the band stopped, a two-minute period of silence was observed, in honour of the fallen warriors. Then, once that was done, the doors of the hearses were closed, and the families hopped into the vehicles which had been provided for them, as they began driving out of the airport, to the graveyard, where the final rites and burial would be done. This emotional farewell for the fallen warriors made the twin sisters' eyes tear up as the hearses began leaving the airport, when an assistant ran up to them. "Your Highnesses! We have received word of an explosion in Fillydelphia!" said the assistant, panting.

"What? An explosion in Fillydelphia? What do you mean?" asked Luna.

"Yes, it levelled a whole building, a large shop. At least four ponies have been reported dead, as well as two human reporters who were checking the shop out. Some people saw a pony running out of the building just five minutes before the explosion. It was former Chancellor Neighsay."

This shocked the Princesses. The HNA had just committed a terrorist attack on Equestrian soil, and had killed six innocents, four of them probably being collateral damage. This was an important matter. "We're going to Fillydelphia, right away! Prepare the plane!" said Celestia. She was going to see the scene, and just hoped that someone had survived to tell the tale.

Chapter 54

--------------------------------------------------------------------FILLYDELPHIA------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 11:00am in Equestria. The plane of the two sisters had just landed at the Fillydelphia Airport. The city was in a state of shock, following the bombing just a couple of hours ago. A lockdown had been declared, and everyone had been asked to stay inside their homes, and not venture out unless it was absolutely essential, such as going to the hospital. Only essential personnel, such as doctors, police, and government officials were allowed to come out of their homes, and no one else could.

The sisters hopped into the vehicle that had been sent for them, a sky blue Rolls-Royce Phantom III, and drove towards the main city. They would be heading directly to the site of the bombing, to meet with the officials and survivors. They would also be checking in on the intel, to find Neighsay, since he was assumed to be the one behind the bombing. They were shocked that the HNA would do something like this on their home land, the land they claimed to be defending from the humans.

As they drove into the city, they could see the amount of desolation, and the only ponies visible were those watching the Princesses' convoy from the balconies of their homes. Soon, the Princesses arrived at the site of the bombing. Earlier, a large three-storey shop known as 'Nightlights' Shoppe', used to be here. Now, the whole shop had been burned down, with only a few of the outside walls remaining, scorched by soot. The bomb had apparently caused an explosion inside, which had led to a fire. The site was still smoking and smouldering, but majority of the fire had been extinguished.

As the Princesses were cleared through the cordon around the shop, where even press could not access, they could see the horrifying state of the devastation. A large tent had been set up outside, where all the first responders, policemen, and medical staff were gathering for shelter, body identification, first aid, etc. In the body identification zone, there were twelve bodies, all covered by tarpaulins. Of these, four were human, since they were too large and bipedal to be ponies. But the remaining eight bodies were of ponies, Celestia could tell.

This was horrifying. The humans had probably been the target of the bombing, and the ponies were all collateral damage. All were probably innocent, murdered for Neighsay's crazed ideology, for no fault of their own, thought Celestia, as she walked over to the police chief to talk to her. "Ah, your Highnesses." said the police chief, bowing to the Princesses. "I assume you have come to see the aftermath of this tragedy?"

"Yes. Were there any survivors and witnesses who saw exactly who planted the bomb?" asked Celestia.

"There is one human survivor, your Highness. He and his four friends here were reporters, making articles on culture in Equestria. They were just visiting, when the bomb went off. However, you cannot talk to him right now. He was transported to a hospital with major injuries, and is currently in critical condition. He has been stabilised, but due to a brain injury, he is currently unconscious, so you won't be able to talk to him for a while. However, some of the pony survivors did witness it, so you should be able to talk to them. We are still looking inside the building, so the death toll may soon rise."

"I see. I'll go to talk to them." said Celestia, heading towards the place where the few witnesses had been kept. They would talk to them, and while the police would figure out who the bomber was, the Princesses decided to see if they could get some more information out of them.

They walked over to the witnesses, who despite being injured and a little traumatised, still tried to bow down to the Princesses, despite some of their injuries. "Sit down, my little ponies. In your current state, you do not need to bow down to us." said Luna.

"Your Highnesses, we saw the bomber. We couldn't see his face, as he was wearing a hat. We are still trying to get over the sight of ponies who we knew were dying before our eyes. We saw him leave a suitcase in the store, and then leave. When he checked his watch outside, he began running away from the store. At first, we thought he might have forgotten the suitcase, and felt he would realise he had left it at the store. We felt he would come back and grab it. After five minutes, we realised he wasn't coming back to get it, and we were going to take it to the lost and found area, when..." the witness paused. This was the moment the bomb had gone off, realised the Princesses and the ponies.

"I saw that pony running from the shop. While he was running, his hat came off, and I recognised him as former Chancellor Neighsay. However, I didn't report him, as I didn't think he was doing anything that illegal. Now I wish I had." said another witness, breaking down in tears on saying the last sentence. The Princesses could understand, considering he may have stopped the bombing had he done so. As they continued talking to some of the other witnesses, the police chief came up to them.

"Your Highnesses, we have analysed the main bombing site, and we have found some evidence of what the bomb was made of." said the chief, rather gravely.

"You did? What was it made of?" asked Celestia.

"Well, it wasn't made using any Equestrian explosives. Those are relatively weak to cause such damage. This was made with a human explosive. Some sort of plastic explosive, by the looks of it. It could probably be Nobel-808. I'm surprised they even got this stuff here."

"What is plastic explosive, and how do you know so much about it?" asked Luna, surprised at this.

"Oh, as part of the diplomatic exchanges between Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and the human countries, we went to America for a police training seminar, and I also took some sessions with some military officers as well. As for plastic explosive, it is a form of explosive material, but it is soft and moldable, like modelling clay. It enables a user to shape the charge into anything they want, using how much they want."

"I see. But what is so dangerous about Nobel-808?"

"Nobel-808 is an extremely powerful explosive. It's quite a simple chemical compound, but it's also quite volatile. It looks harmless at first. It looks like green modelling clay, with a distinctive smell of almonds. Due to its volatility, the British are using it in the war, and they are also working on using it for anti-tank weapons and grenades. It is also extremely hard to get. Only militaries have legal access to it."

"So, does this mean the HNA somehow now has military-grade explosives?" asked a horrified Luna.

"Yes, somehow. There are two options as to how they have Nobel-808. One, the HNA got it illegally, on the black market."

"And the other option?" asked Celestia, dreading what it could be.

"There is an HNA mole among those ponies who have been sent to train and are fighting with the Royal Army. That seems a very unlikely option, so it's most likely they somehow got it on the black market. However, I would recommend checking all of the military ponies, just in case." said the police chief.

"I see. We shall do that, just in case that is what it is." said Celestia. "We should also start implementing stricter security checks at such large shops, in case someone is hiding a weapon or anything like that on their bodies."

"That is being worked on, your Highnesses. We are trying our best to make sure an attack like this does not happen again. Also, the Royal Equestrian Army and the police have now begun a hunt to catch Neighsay and the other HNA members. We will find them, no matter what." said the police chief, her expression now stern and determined. As she was saying this, four more bodies were brought. These were those of ponies, but smaller than adult ones. These were fillies. The toll was now 16, including 4 fillies. The sight of the bodies of the dead fillies being brought out shocked the Princesses.

"We shall send agents from S.M.I.L.E. as well, to hunt down the HNA, and bring Neighsay to justice." said Celestia, determined to stop them after seeing that horrible sight. As the day went on, the death toll rose to a total of 18. This only made the Princesses more determined, to find Neighsay's location, and bring him and the HNA to justice for this.

Chapter 56

18TH APRIL 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 3:00am in the city of Canterlot. The Princesses were asleep in their beds in the castle, and they were having a rough night. They had received news that the bodies of four missing pony soldiers, including the two who had been missing for more than a week, Golden Harvest and Thunder Wing, had been found in the forests of Norway. Although they hadn't seen the bodies, which were still in Britain, being prepared to be taken back to Equestria and the Crystal Empire after autopsies, they had been told of the condition in which the bodies had been found, and it had terrified them.

The bodies had been found with multiple bullet wounds, as if they had been executed. As if that wasn't enough, the bodies were missing their eyes. At first, coroners had said that since the bodies seemed to have been lying in the snow for some time before being found, they suspected that the corpses had been ravaged by animals after the soldiers were killed in a battle.

However, after the autopsy, it was determined that the eyes had been removed by humans. Not roughly, but with precision, to avoid damaging the rest of the bodies, as if a surgeon had removed the eyes. That was extremely odd. Why had the eyes been removed from the bodies like that? The fur on them had also been discoloured, as if they had been drained of magic. That was not surprising, as a pony's magic usually left their bodies after death, so the bodies eventually lost their colour, around a day or two after death.

As the Princesses slept, suddenly, their dreamscapes were merged again. "Sister, our mother is back, after a few months." said Luna. "I wonder why. She hasn't talked to us since the day of the League of Nations attack."

"I don't know, Luna. Our mother's ways are mysterious, and considering that we hadn't seen her for more than 1,300 years before she sent Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth, who knows what she is up to?" said Celestia, as the clouds in this dreamscape shifted, and Faust stepped out.

"My daughters, I am sorry that it has been a few months since we last talked. However, I see, that you have finally found the first piece of the Destroyer of Discord." said Faust, sounding a little apologetic.

"Yes, mother, we found it at the Buckingham Palace, in the British treasury." said Luna. "It was originally given to the Indian rulers, they said."

"Yes, I originally disguised it as an ordinary diamond, and left it on Earth for it to be found and given to the Mughal emperors. I eventually found out that it ended up in Britain. The other pieces are still scattered across the Earth, and you have to find them. While those treasure hunters you hired may find the places where I kept them, you are the only ones who can use them, and utilize them to defeat Discord. The other pieces are all still where I left them, thankfully. Also, I have something to show you." said Faust, as the dreamscape shifted, and it showed a place that the Princesses had once called home.

It was the planet of Equis, the place where Equestria and the Crystal Empire had once been located, and where the two kingdoms had been started and had grown into what they had become, before Faust had sent them to Earth. It was in the state that Faust had showed them last time, albeit different. The Sun and Moon were still in their half-suspended state, unable to move without the two Princesses. Celestia now felt guilty about not sharing the spell to move them to the other species, such as the Griffons, as they would have been able to move the Sun and Moon without the Princesses around.

However, as they came closer to the planet, they could see something was different. The planet seemed to be more technologically advanced, as they could see smoke, similar to that from the new factories that had recently opened up in Equestria. However, there were also other things. The scars of battle, near the former sites of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Scorch marks, arrows, and something that looked suspiciously similar to gunfire.

As they came closer to the planet, Faust asked, "My daughters, do you know about the concept of time dilation?"

"Not really, mother. We know that it is a theory that has been suggested by human physicists and astronomers. My protege studies a lot of these theories."

"Well, the theory is basically that as the universe grows, kind of like time zones on planets, time extends as you go further out into the universe. In this case, do you know how far Equis is behind Earth?"

"I'm guessing around 100 years?" said Luna.

"Well, every time a month passes on Earth, 16.5 years pass on Equis. In the 8 months since I sent you to Earth, more than 130 years have passed on Equis."

"What? 130 years?!" asked a shocked Celestia.

"Yes, unfortunately. In fact, when your transportation to Earth began, the year on Earth was 1909. Due to time dilation, it took Equis 30 years to reach Earth, but for you, it felt like a few hours."

That shocked Celestia. The fact that so much time had passed on Equis since they had been transported to Earth was something that they had not expected.

"Since you left, to fill the power vacuum left behind by the Crystal Empire's disappearance, the Yaks have taken over what used to be the Crystal Empire's territory. However, Queen Chrysalis, wanting some of it for herself, went to war with the Yaks, and now, half of the Yak population has been murdered by the Changelings." said Faust.

"So you are saying that the Yaks and Changelings have been at war since we left?"

"No. Thanks to the other races in Equestria, such as the Griffons and Zebras, stepping in, Chrysalis was defeated. However, civil war began between all of these three races, owing to them wanting the former territory of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and in the war that ensued, which lasted 30 years, the entire race of Yaks was wiped out."

At that, the Princesses were shocked. Just for their former territory, the Zebras and the Griffons had wiped the entire race of Yaks. Faust continued on. "After that, the Griffons and Zebras, along with the other species, managed to sign a peace treaty, so that nothing like that would ever happen again. Since then, Equis has been relatively peaceful, and for the last 100 years, it has been undergoing industralization as well, ever since the Griffons developed the Alefron's Tool. It is capable of converting magical energy contained in crystals into useful energy such as electricity."

That surprised Celestia, about how the Griffons had managed to discover something like that. The fact that there was even any magic left on Equis after Faust's actions.

"With the invention of the Alefron's Tool, it has sparked an industrial revolution. Soon, others began following the Griffons' steps and began their own industrial revolutions. The difference was that the others' industrialization was fueled by either coal or oil. The industrialization of Equis is mostly fueled with magical energy residing in magical crystals, and the electricity from converting that magical energy. This allowed the Equestrians to enjoy the benefits of industrialization without suffering from pollution, keeping their realm from being polluted with toxic waste. The best thing about this method is that the crystals can be refilled. They only need to bury the empty energy crystals underground for several months, during which the crystal will absorb the thermal energy radiation created by the planet's core, thus giving them access to an almost unlimited amount of energy." explained Faust.

Celestia was surprised at how well Faust had explained it. Too well. "You had something to do with this, didn't you, mother?" asked Celestia.

"Well, yes. I gave them the thing that helped them build the Alefron's Tool. When I sent the storm to send Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth, I purposely gave it a side effect that would turn the soil upon which they stood into a magical substance. The craters where your lands once stood on Equis are full of it, and the supply should last around 1,500 years. I gave it to them around 30 years after your disappearance had passed on Equis." said Faust. "This is a replay of when I did that." said Faust, showing them one of her memories, of when she did so.

The memory began playing, and the Princesses watched, as the desperate citizens of Equis watched Faust descend to Equis, seeing her for the first time in 1,400 years. They watched as she gave a quick talk to the citizens about this material she had gifted them, and to use it wisely. Just as she was about to leave, she was stopped by two figures. Spike and Zecora, both much older, Spike a fully grown dragon, but Zecora an old zebra.

"Oh, great Goddess, we would like to know one thing before you leave us again. What is the fate of Equestria and the Crystal Empire? Are they no more, or do they still exist somewhere out there?" asked Spike.

"Ah, Spike, do you really want to know what happened to your friend, Twilight Sparkle, even if the bond between you wasn't so great?" asked Faust.

"I do, even if I find out she is no more."

"Okay. Equestria and the Crystal Empire still exist. They are no longer on Equis, but I transported them to another planet, far away from here. A world that needed their help." said Faust.

"But why, O Goddess, dost thou send them away? To a world unknown, without a single stay? Why wouldst thou depart them from their native land, and leave them to face the unknown, so grand?" asked Zecora.

"Zecora, a grave threat was about to break free from its prison. If they stayed here on Equis, you would all have been no more by now. Plus, this other world needs their help. Hence, I sent Equestria and the Crystal Empire to that planet, which also needs their help. That is their new home from now on. Don't worry, your friends are alright." said Faust, as she continued to fly upwards. "Farewell, citizens of Equis! We shall meet again one day!" said Faust, as a bright light enveloped the area, and she disappeared once more.

As the memory ended, the Princesses watched with fascination. Even if Equestria and the Crystal Empire were no longer on Equis, their mother had still helped its inhabitants, even if it had taken her 30 years to do so. That was when Celestia remembered something. "Mother, the Sun and Moon are still frozen in their places around Equis as we left them, right? What about that?"

"Well, thanks to that, over 30 years, the part of Equis where the Crystal Empire and Equestria used to stand became a desert, and the other part became a frozen wasteland. However, with the Alefron's Tool and the industrialisation that followed, since then, they have been working on a method to move the Sun and Moon again." explained Faust.

"But, Mother, why are you showing us this, and not telling us the Destroyer of Discord's location?" asked Celestia.

"Ah, my daughters, today is your birthday! Consider this a birthday gift, making up for all of the birthdays I missed over the years. I was unable to take care of you two, and hence I left you with the villagers that day. This is for missing all of the important moments in your life." said Faust.

"Thank you, Mother! I'm surprised you remembered that today was our birthday!" said Celestia, as she and Luna hugged Faust.

"I know, my daughters. Anyways, I have to go now, as the Heavens beckon once more. We shall meet again soon." said Faust, as she disappeared once more in a flash of light, leaving the dreamscape empty once again. At this, Celestia and Luna decided to continue sleeping, as they figured they deserved an extra hour or two of sleep on their birthdays.

Chapter 57

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am at Canterlot Castle. The Princesses had just woken up, after meeting Faust in their dreams again once more, and were getting ready for another day. Today, they had scheduled a call with Prime Minister Chamberlain, from Britain, to check on the progress of the war. The pony death toll had also grown, from 5, to almost 20, within the space of just under two weeks. That was quite sad, and Celestia knew the death toll would rise, as the war progressed.

As the Princesses ate breakfast, Luna decided to give her sister a status update on her current project. "Sister, I am around halfway through crafting the Declaration of Ponykind's Rights, and it should be done in another two months. It should easily satisfy the Equestrian liberals." said Luna.

"Ah, well done, Luna." said Celestia, pleased with her sister's progress. "Hopefully, it will satisfy them, and make them cease their demands for our country to become a full democracy."

"Also, what about the demands from that place, Our Town? They're relatively small, but they seem to want to become an independent country, ruled by that principle of theirs that they call Equalism. It just seems like a version of communism to me, sister." said Luna.

"Well, I am not conceding to their demands either, sister. We are not becoming a communist nation, or a democratic one for that matter. We are staying an absolute monarchy, and soon, what you are creating will hopefully satisfy them all." said Celestia, as she read the newspaper, to hear what the public was saying, in Equestria and globally. The news in Britain was not looking good. The public were not at all happy with the way the campaign in Norway was going, and they were currently against Prime Minister Chamberlain as the British Prime Minister. In fact, rumours had come that he was going to step down soon as the Prime Minister, and someone else would have to replace him.

Soon, at around 7:30am, when it was around 9:00am in Britain, the conference call with Prime Minister Chamberlain began. "Good morning, Mr. Chamberlain." said Celestia.

"Ah, good morning, your Highnesses. Many happy returns of the day, on your, 2024th birthdays, I believe?" said Chamberlain.

"Thank you, Mr. Chamberlain. I'm actually surprised you were able to remember how old we were!" said Luna.

"You're welcome, your Highnesses, but now, we have to get down to business. The Norwegian campaign, isn't going as well as we'd hoped, to put it lightly." said Chamberlain, turning grave.

"How bad is it? The last we heard, close to 800 people on our side had died, and the Germans had lost close to 1,400." said Celestia.

"No, the toll has risen with the deployment of these mysterious Bf109s, and some similar Panzer tanks have also been deployed by the Germans. Now, more than 1,100 have died on our side, and the Germans have lost close to 1,800. Also, close to 350 Norwegian civilians have also been killed during various skirmishes and encounters." said Chamberlain.

"Oh, my God. This war has to end. Is there any update on where Discord's location might be?" asked Celestia.

"So far, we have able to deduce that he may be in one of the Axis countries, as we have received intel that a new German military officer has mysteriously appeared on the scene and is running things in the army now. Apparently, this man might be Discord in disguise. Don't worry, it is still top secret, and the documents related to this can only be accessed by people or ponies with very high security clearances."

"Good. I don't want the public to know about Discord at all, even after the war is over. The fact that such a powerful entity is present on Earth may cause worldwide panic." said Celestia.

"Also, I have another important thing to tell you. I am planning on resigning soon." said Chamberlain, rather sadly.

"What?! The media rumours that you are planning to resign are true?" asked Luna, surprised at this decision that Chamberlain was planning.

"Yes, they are rumours as of now, but soon, I will confirm my decision."

"But why? Why are you resigning as the head of state of your country, in such a critical time of war?" asked Celestia.

"Well, there are two reasons. First, my own country doesn't seem to like me anymore, considering what is happening in Norway right now. The second reason is my own health. I have been suffering from bowel cancer for a while now."

"What? You're terminally ill? Why didn't you tell the public about this?"

"Not terminal yet, there is a small chance that it can be treated. However, I didn't tell the public about this, as they wouldn't feel confident, having a man stricken with cancer as their leader." explained Chamberlain.

"When are you going to go public about this?" asked Luna.

"Not yet, your Highnesses. Probably by the end of the month, I will declare my decision to step down as the Prime Minister. Now, anyways, enough about me. Back to the war, and politics. Where were we?" asked Chamberlain, quickly changing the topic. As this conversation continued, something was soon about to happen that would change the whole world forever, and make Celestia's fears come true.

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
It was now 4:00pm in Chicago, which meant it was 8:30am back in Equestria. At the ENA headquarters in Chicago, being a weekday, it was relatively quiet at the large farm, on the outskirts of the city. Bret Stiles and his men were in the Big House, annoyed, and brainstorming plans to do away with the Equestrians, as well as multiple scenarios where they could put their plans into action.

They were just creating an assassination plot, to try and kill the Equestrians if they visited the city of Chicago, when they heard a knock on the door. When they opened the door, it was a young postman. "P-P-Parcel for you, Mr. Stiles. It has a s-s-stamp that shows it seems to have come from another c-country, and it i-is marked 'VERY IMPORTANT, FOR BRET STILES ONLY'." said the postman rather nervously.

"A parcel just for me? I wonder what it is. Give it here, young man." said Bret Stiles, as his deputy, John Jones, took the parcel from the postman, and gave it to Stiles. They tipped the postman, who ran off once he got the money. Then, once he was gone, Stiles opened the package, and the first thing he found inside was a handwritten letter, which he read out loud.

"To: Bret Stiles. I highly oppose your beliefs and your species, but in a way, you and I are not so different. Maybe we can help each other out, despite our conflicting beliefs. This is the only correspondence you shall have with me. Signed, a friend who is also your enemy." read Stiles. "Huh, I wonder who this person who claims he is a friend and an enemy is." said Stiles, as he removed the letter, and unveiled the contents of the package, which amazed the entire inner circle of the ENA.

The package contained sealed documents. To be precise, official documents from the Equestrian, British, American, Crystal Empirean and French governments. They all read one thing, 'DISCORD: TOP SECRET'. As they began reading the documents, they began realising the horrific threat that had come to their world, and a new plan began to formulate in their minds. As they continued reading, Stiles spoke up.

"Gentlemen, although we cannot thank this anonymous source, I feel I must thank them. However, we must reveal this not just to our members, but to the whole world, as the governments seem to be keeping this whole thing extremely hush-hush. We must reveal this, and show the whole world that the Equestrians are a bunch of filthy liars, and that they must go home, and take this spirit of chaos with them!" said Stiles, in multiple cheers to the rest of the ENA main circle.

As they formulated the plan to reveal this to the world, they could imagine how everyone would fall at the feet of the ENA, and abandon the Equestrians, once their plan was completed.

Chapter 58

25TH APRIL 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Equestria, and it had been a relatively calm morning so far. The only issues that had concerned the Princesses so far were the large migration rates. A lot of ponies had been hearing a lot about the land of liberty that was the United States, and had been applying to immigrate there, and Great Britain, as they felt they could get a new life there, and open up new businesses, and bring Equestrian products to human countries.

However, the line was so long, that the waiting period for a passport and visa to immigrate to these countries was almost two years, so currently, the immigration system of Equestria was getting a major rework. For now, only rich businesspeople, royalty, military, and government officials from Equestria were able to go to these countries for now.

Another issue was the investigation into the bombing of Nightlights' Shoppe in Manehattan. While two more ponies had unfortunately succumbed to their wounds, bringing the death toll up to 20, the lone human survivor and some other pony survivors had been stabilised, thanks to some new medical procedures that had been jointly developed by humans and some Equestrian doctors who had visited some of the leading medical institutions in the government as part of a diplomatic exchange tour. However, the lone human was still unconscious, and would be, for sometime, so they wouldn't be able to talk to him for now.

The investigation was proceeding, and the new Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, of Equestria, had determined that there was very little chance of a mole having secured the Nobel-808 used in the bombing to the HNA, and they were looking at the most likely angle, which was that the HNA had managed to get some from the black market which was starting to infiltrate Equestria and the Crystal Empire. The black market for these two countries was starting to get serious. So far, it had been mainly harmless things, such as human magazines, books, gadgets, and even cars. But now, if the HNA gotten such a powerful explosive from the black market, it had to be stopped now.

As Celestia was getting an update on a large raid on an illicit store selling black market goods in Maretonia, a large group of ponies and humans suddenly came running into the throne room. The ponies were all soldiers, but the humans were the ambassadors and their retinue, now accommodated at the new British and American embassies in Canterlot, and the need for the large warships docked in Manehattan was no longer needed, so they had been sent to be used in the war.

"Your Highnesses, the unthinkable has happened!" said Ambassador Rockmond.

"What? What do you mean, Mr. Rockmond?" asked Celestia, shocked at what the American ambassador to Equestria had just said.

"The ENA... they've leaked Discord's existence to the whole world!" said Ambassador Wood.

"What?! The ENA?! HOW?!" shouted the shocked Princesses, wondering how the ENA could have gotten their hands on Equestrian documents.

"They released a video about this, we have to go to the conference room to see it, and its targeted specially at Equestrians." said Rockmond, as they ran to the conference room, along with a large group of ponies, who were the new damage control and public relations team for the Equestrian government.

They all ran to the conference team, and when they reached, they turned on the large new projector system, which had been connected to a television in the room. As the television switched on, Rockmond put on a channel, which seemed to be owned and run by the ENA, as anti-Equestrian propaganda began playing, narrated by Bret Stiles himself.

"To whomsoever is watching, whichever part of the world you live in, you are in grave danger. The Equestrians and Crystal Empireans have set an evil like no other upon our planet, when they arrived here. The entity of chaos, known as Discord, who was thought to have been imprisoned in stone on their planet, has escaped, and is on this planet right now, in one of the enemies our countries are fighting as we speak. We encourage you to break contact with any Equestrians or Crystal Empireans you know as of this moment, as Discord is a shapeshifter, who can take the form of any human or pony." said Stiles, taking a breath, before he continued.

"An anonymous source helped us secure classified Equestrian government documents, that prove Discord's existence and the fact that he is on Earth as we speak, having escaped from what the Equestrians say is a secure prison. This is proof from the Gods themselves, as the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans don't belong on our planet, or probably came here just to get rid of this ancient evil by unleashing it upon OUR planet." said Stiles, his voice full of venom. The documents were also shown, and they shocked the Princesses. These were copies, of the official top secret Equestrian documents. How had the ENA gotten these?

"If any Equestrians or Crystal Empireans are watching this, FUCK you, and GO BACK TO YOUR OWN PLANET! Now, for our human viewers, let me show you how to rid yourself of Equestrians..." said Stiles, as Rockmond muted the broadcast, and turned it to a news channel.

"As the world has found out that Discord, the spirit of chaos, has somehow escaped from his prison and is somewhere on Earth right now, and is pulling the strings behind the wars, mass panic is spreading around the world, and people are starting to believe the end of the world is near, and they are now stockpiling supplies in case the war turns into such a scenario." said a news reporter, and footage was playing of people stealing things such as food, drinking water, and supplies from shops to sustain themselves.

"How the hell did the ENA get hands on classified documents? Only a few people had the security clearance needed to access the Discord files. We may indeed have a mole in our works. The same mole who may be behind the Fillydelphia bombing." said Wood.

"I was starting to think there was no mole, but now, that seems to indeed be the case, following what the ENA have done. We must execute Bret Stiles, and destroy his organisation!" said Luna.

"Easy there, your Highness. We can't go after Stiles and the ENA just yet. In just 12 hours since they revealed Discord's existence to the world, the ENA's member count has shot up, from around 12,000, to more than 16,000. The ENA are gaining strength, and the public wants to hear a statement from you."

"I see. We shall deliver that statement today itself. Spark, get the broadcasts ready. We will deliver a statement to the whole world on the Discord situation, and we shall tell the public that all effort is underway to find him." said Celestia. "We shall have the CBI began an investigation to find this mole, and have him arrested for the rest of his or her life."

"Yes, your Highnesses. Also, the American President is calling, and so is every major world leader, as well as Anna Schmidt, head of the League of Nations. We have to respond to them first." replied Spark.

"Alright, Luna, you talk to Schmidt and some of the European and Asian leaders. I'll talk to the American President, and some of the other leaders. This evening, we shall give our statement." said Celestia, as the two sisters nodded in agreement, and ran to the telephones, to begin answering the world leaders. As the two sisters began the process of damage control, they knew that from today onwards, Discord would step up his game, to take the Earth for himself.

Chapter 59

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now almost 5:00pm in Equestria. Celestia and Luna were getting ready to give their address to the whole world about the Discord situation. After their address, Cadance would also make an address in the Crystal Empire, stating their reactions to the revelation, and what steps they would be taking to prevent Discord from infiltrating their society. The Princesses' address would be broadcast live to the whole world, on television and radio. Everyone would be watching it, even soldiers on the frontlines.

The hunt for the Destroyer of Discord was still on, but it had been temporarily halted now that the whole world knew that Discord was out, and further steps were being taken to ensure that the hunt was kept secret, as they didn't want Discord to figure out that the Destroyer was on Earth, and that it was being hunted for. The Princesses couldn't help wondering if Discord was the one who had sent the classified documents to the ENA, by secretly stealing them from the castle. But chaos magic detectors had been installed all over, even in the archives, and they hadn't detected Discord, so it was more likely that there was a mole in the Equestrian government.

As the Princesses got ready to make the address, the new technology assistant let them know that they would be going live in five minutes, and that they got be ready before that. The Princesses nodded and continued to prepare their address, thinking of what they would say to a world that had now found out that they had unleashed a horror like Discord upon them. They carefully wrote the address, to make sure that they didn't accidentally put the world into more panic than it already was.

The surveillance on the ENA and HNA by the S.M.I.L.E. and S.I.S. had also stepped up, now that such a thing had occurred. They wanted to make sure there had been no further correspondence between the two organisations, and to make sure that they weren't planning something else together. In fact, they were now planning to send a mole from S.I.S. into the ENA, and a S.M.I.L.E. mole into the ENA, to get more intel on their activities, and what they were planning next.

As they got ready for the address, they were a little stressed. Not surprising, considering the whole world had found out that a spirit of chaos was on their planet, and it had come from the peaceful land that Equestria was supposed to be. They all wanted answers? The Princesses would give them to the public. As they thought about, Spark said, "Your Highnesses, we're going live in 60 seconds. Get ready."

"Thank you, Spark. We're pretty much ready over here." said Celestia, feeling ready to give her statement to the whole world. A minute later, the broadcast began, on both radio and television, and Celestia began reading her statement. The camera panned across the grand throne room of Canterlot Castle, showing the majestic architecture and ornate decorations. The princesses, Celestia and Luna, sat regally on their thrones, their expressions grave and serious. The air was thick with tension as they began their address to the world.

"My dear citizens of Equestria," Celestia's voice echoed across the globe, "and citizens of the world beyond our borders, we gather before you today to address a matter of utmost gravity. As you are now aware, a spirit of chaos has been unleashed upon our world. Discord, once thought to be contained, has broken free and is now wreaking havoc across the land." The camera cut to a shot of the Princesses' faces, their eyes filled with concern and determination. "We understand that this news has caused great fear and uncertainty among our people. But we want to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to contain this threat and restore order to our world. We have mobilized our military forces, and our agents are working tirelessly to track down Discord and put an end to its destructive path."

Luna spoke up next, her voice filled with a sense of urgency. "We urge all citizens to remain calm and vigilant. We will not tolerate any acts of violence or aggression towards one another. We must stand united against this common enemy and work together to rebuild and protect our world."

Celestia continued, her voice firm but measured. "We will also be taking steps to increase security measures throughout Equestria, including installing chaos magic detectors in major cities and towns. We will work closely with our allies and partners to share intelligence and coordinate our efforts against this threat."

As the Princesses concluded their address, the camera panned out to show the throne room in all its glory. The audience was left with a sense of hope and determination, knowing that their leaders were working tirelessly to protect them from the chaos that had descended upon their world. As the cameras switched off, now that the broadcast was over, the Princesses knew that replays of this statement would be played world over. Hopefully, this would calm people and ponies all over.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
In a dark dingy basement in a large rural house, somewhere well away from any cities, the HNA was gathered. They had just heard the Princesses' statement live on the radio, and they were making a new plan. Since they had no plans to work with the ENA or ANY humans for that matter, they needed a new way to send Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to their home planet. Those barbaric humans did not deserve to mingle with the peace-loving Equestrians. Why, they had caused their countries to get involved in this horrid war, and already, 15 ponies had died fighting on the frontlines with the humans.

The humans had no place in the peace-loving land that Equestria was, and the head of the HNA, former Chancellor Neighsay, had been fired from his position in the Equestrian Educational Association for saying exactly that. They had wanted to have human students study with ponies, and vice versa. But no, just because he had said the right things, Neighsay had been kicked out of the EEA, for telling the truth. Well, they were going to regret it, though the HNA members, as they waited for Neighsay, and their member who had helped them expose the truth on the Equestrians covering up Discord's escape to the public.

There were now a total of 70 members in the HNA, and since the truth on Discord had been exposed to the world, a total of 20 new members had joined the HNA. However, they were nowhere as large as the ENA, which now had upwards of 16,000 members. Suddenly, one of the doormen at the room declared, "All rise for the honorable Supreme Leader of the HNA, former Chancellor Neighsay!"

All of the HNA members stood up, as Neighsay entered the room, along with another pony. This pony was wearing an HNA uniform, but under it was a suit, the kind worn by an Equestrian diplomat. They instantly recognized this pony. He was Slick Shady, a high-ranking diplomat who had recently been working with the HNA. In the public eye, Shady was seen as a pony who quite enjoyed working with humans, and he had even been photographed with the American President. However, in reality, he hated humans, and this was the side of him that the public did not see or know, except for the HNA.

It was thanks to his government clearance that the HNA had secured Nobel-808 to carry out the bombing in Fillydelphia, and the documents about Discord, which they had sent to the ENA, to purposely turn humans against ponies. However, now with the Princesses' address, that plan had not worked as well as they thought it had, as a lot of people still seemed to be siding with the Equestrians. However, that was when Neighsay began speaking. "Greetings, my followers and fellow human-haters. Today, we gather to celebrate our, um, partial success , thanks to our distinguished member, Slick Shady!" said Neighsay, and all of the HNA members began cheering. But Neighsay interrupted them by speaking again.

"My friends, this is not a time for celebration. It is time to get to work on our ultimate plan. We need to go back to Equis, and soon. The war is heating up. And for that, our friend here, Shady, has gotten someone. Guards, bring them here!" said Neighsay, as his guards dragged four ponies into the room. They were scientists, going by the lab coats they were wearing, but seemed to have been badly beaten up, presumably as they had been kidnapped.

"Humans Not Allowed, these ponies you see before you are some of our leading scientists, who have decades of experience studying magic, and currently, they were researching about portals to other worlds." said Slick Shady, in a cunning voice. "We have given them a surprise recruitment into the HNA, and they are going to create the portal that will send us home."

"Thank you, Shady, for bringing them here. Soon, we shall be back on our home planet, where we truly belong, without any pesky humans around!" said Neighsay, to a really loud cheer by all of the HNA members. As they continued cheering, they hoped that soon, they would be back home on Equis.

Chapter 60

8TH MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:00am in Equestria. It was now spring season, and summer would soon start by the end of the month. Today, however, it was a cloudy day. Since the weather team couldn't control the weather on Earth, it would be weird for Equestria to once more face extreme weather conditions.

The schools would also start their summer vacations, and would start again, with an all-new curriculum. It had included certain subjects known to humans as well, such as Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, but now, with human concepts. In Biology, for instance, they would be learning about both the human body as well as the Equestrian body. They would also learn about human history as well as Equestrian history, so they would also be learning about things such as the Great War, the Hundred Years' War, etc., as well as the Ponysians, and what not.

The Princesses were busy inside Canterlot Castle, dealing with a lot of things. Rules had finally been drafted and implemented by the operation of aircraft for commercial and private purposes in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Under these rules, Equestria had finally got its first airline, called Air Equestria. It was run by Filthy Rich, in collaboration with an American carrier named American Airlines, who owned stock in Air Equestria. It operated a few DC-3s, entirely different models from the military ones used by the Royal Equestrian Air Force, and currently only operated domestic flights within the main cities of Equestria, and a lone international flight to the Crystal Empire.

As the Princesses got ready to meet with an American diplomat, suddenly, a British diplomat came in, yelling, "Your Highnesses! The British Prime Minister is resigning!"

"What? Prime Minister Chamberlain is officially resigning?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, your Highnesses. The Norway debate, which started the day before yesterday, ended in the House of Commons in London, and the Parliament have decided that Chamberlain's government has not done a great job in the conduct of the Norwegian campaign, and that he has to resign. That, and his health isn't getting any better. His cancer is getting worse, and he wants to deal with his health first and foremost. Hence, he is stepping away as Prime Minister." said the diplomat.

"But who will be his replacement?" asked Luna. "Britain's government can't function without a Prime Minister, and the monarchy no longer has power in Britain itself."

"Well, Chamberlain will resign today, and his replacement will be sworn in tomorrow. His replacement is Winston Churchill, the leader of the coalition government. The man is a former soldier. He served in the Royal Army for more than five years. However, we don't feel that Churchill is a good choice as the Prime Minister."

"Why not? A former soldier seems just like the kind of man to lead a country in the midst of wartime."

"Well, your Highnesses, Churchill's accession to the premiership was at best the equivalent of an abrupt wartime marriage. He probably could not have won a majority in any of the political parties in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords was completely silent when it learned of his appointment. He isn't that great a choice as the Prime Minister. However, he was the only choice, so we had to take it." said the diplomat, rather glumly. Luna guessed he was probably a member of the Conservative Party, which was Chamberlain's party.

"When will Chamberlain be resigning?" asked Celestia.

"Today afternoon, your Highnesses. He will be delivering his final speech as Prime Minister at 3:00pm London time, and then, tomorrow will be Churchill's swearing-in ceremony. It will be broadcasted all over the world."

"I see. We shall see the swearing-in ceremony on television. Also, how is the status of the arms factory being constructed in the industrial area outside of Ponyville?"

"The gun factory is around 75 percent complete, your Highnesses, and it should open later this year. The munitions factory is around 65 percent complete, and should also open this year. Now, the five County-class heavy cruisers that have been leased by your Navy have also been delivered, and we are currently doing a few crew familiarization and training missions with these vessels. The first five of the new K-class destroyers have been delivered as well, and the remaining ships are all still under construction. The shipyard in Fillydelphia is also working overtime to get the ships out. All of the remaining vessels should be delivered by October next year."

"I see. Hopefully, they should strengthen our Navy. Also, how is the joint S.M.I.L.E.-S.I.S. operation against the HNA going?"

"Well, your Highnesses, we have conducted a deep investigation, and we have figured out that the HNA is involved in the kidnapping of four Equestrian scientists almost two weeks ago." said the diplomat. Celestia head heard about the kidnapping of the four scientists from the team that was investigating how Equestria and the Crystal Empire had been transported to Earth. The police had been searching for them since to no avail. All they could determine was that the ponies had been abducted from their houses, all within half an hour of each other, and had been taken somewhere.

The kidnapping of those scientists was extremely puzzling, as no ransom demands had been made or anything of that sort, yet, they still hadn't been returned to their families. "Why would they take those scientists?" asked Luna.

"Your Highnesses, the S.M.I.L.E. team found that these scientists were researching portals. Specifically, ones to go back to your home planet, Equis. They had made a lot of research on how to build a prototype large enough to send some ponies home. Those notes were also stolen by the HNA."

This statement shocked the Princesses. The HNA had abducted four ponies, just so that they could go back to an Equis which was now much different compared to the Equis they had left behind during their transportation to Earth. Faust would never let that plan work, but if the HNA did succeed in having the portal built, it could destroy the whole of Earth. "We need to step up our investigation, fast. Those ponies' lives depend on us. We cannot let the HNA finish their plan. They need to pay for what they have done." said Luna.

"Yes, your Highnesses. It is already done, and we are working on finding their location. Trouble is, they could be anywhere in Equestria, or even in the Crystal Empire."

"I know, so we have to launch a manhunt for the HNA members first, and then finally deal with Neighsay. Start with all known HNA locations, and get them to confess. If they do so, we may find Neighsay and the scientists' whereabouts, as well as the identity of the mole."

"On it, your Highnesses. We will stop the HNA, no matter the cost." said the diplomat, as he began calling the S.I.S. officer in Equestria, to let them know the new plan. Celestia and Luna sighed, knowing that it would take a while to catch Neighsay, and stop his plan, but they had to be dealt with. Discord was also still on the loose, and they had to deal with him. But eventually, both of them would slip up, and that was when the Princesses would catch them.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 2:30pm in Germany. Discord and the men at the Erweiterung facility were working on a new project, but this one was different from the others. It was a military project, but not related to weapons in any way. It was not a gun, tank, or aircraft, or anything of that sort. It was a new form of cipher, an improved version of the Enigma machines currently used by the Nazi Army.

Through their intelligence sources, the Nazi Army had uncovered the horrifying secret that the Enigma machines were not as secure as they thought, and the Polish had cracked their code almost a decade earlier, back in 1932, using the bomba method. The Lorenz cipher was also not as secure as they thought, as they had figured out that British cryptologists were working to decode it.

Hence, they were working on a new cipher, one based on the Enigma, but in reality, was an entirely new code and machine. This version of the Enigma, which would be called the Enigma M3E. This version would be the ultimate cipher, giving it a total of four rotors, and encrypting messages even more. Discord had heard of an operation going on at Bletchley Park, a large mansion located in a small county town in Britain, which was on to decrypt the German ciphers. That wasn't going to work, especially once the new Enigma M3Es had rolled out.

Also, the Thaumic energy generator/extractor that they had been using to get the magic out of the pony POWs was currently full of Thaumic energy, aka magic, which he would soon try to put in humans, and create humans with superpowers, in a way. That would be exciting, thought Discord, as he continued working on the new Enigma. The thought of world domination was always therapeutic for him.

Chapter 61

9TH MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:00am at Canterlot Castle, which meant it was almost 11:30am in London. The Princesses were getting ready to watch the swearing-in of the new British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, live on television. Neville Chamberlain had stepped down the previous day, after the end of the Norway Debate, and his health had taken a toll for the worse. In fact, in his final conversation with them before stepping down, he had sounded much more ill than he had been before, thanks to the fact that he had bowel cancer.

The stage had been set in London, and all that was being awaited was the arrival of Winston Churchill, after which the swearing-in would begin. They turned on the television, and waited for the broadcast to begin. Soon, the broadcast began. "Dear viewers, ladies and gentlemen, humans and ponies, wherever you may be watching from, we are just minutes away from the swearing-in of Winston Churchill as the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. He shall be here soon, and the proceedings shall soon begin." As he finished speaking these words, the camera shifted to show a large convoy of cars pulling in. Churchill had arrived.

The cars arrived, stopped outside the large stage set up at the Palace of Westminster, where the British Parliament was headquartered. Then, Winston Churchill stepped out of one of the cars. He was a rather large and plump man, wearing a black and white three-piece suit, and he walked towards the stage. He was almost as old as Chamberlain, at the age of almost 66, but he still seemed quite healthy for his age.

Churchill took the stage, and the proceedings began, and he was sworn in. The whole ceremony took about an hour and a half. Then, to finish it off, Churchill began his first speech, as the 62nd Prime Minister of Great Britain. "On Wednesday last evening, I received an order, to become the new Prime Minister. I must say that I am honored and humbled by this new responsibility," Churchill began.

"I know that I have big shoes to fill, following the departure of Neville Chamberlain, a man who was my friend and colleague. But I also know that the times we are living in are perilous, and we must act with courage and determination to face the challenges that lie ahead." The Princesses watched intently, fascinated by the solemn tone of Churchill's voice. They had heard of him before, of course - who hadn't? He was a famous writer, orator, and statesman. But they had never seen him in action before.

"I have been asked to lead this great nation through a time of war and uncertainty," Churchill continued. "A war that has already begun to take its toll on our people, on our economy, and on our very way of life. But I am not one to shy away from a challenge. I am a man who has always believed in the power of the human spirit, and I believe that together, we can overcome any obstacle that comes our way."

The Princesses nodded in agreement, their ears perked up with interest. They knew that the war would be long, and Churchill was definitely a leader who would be a great ally in the war.

"But make no mistake, my friends," Churchill warned. "The road ahead will be long and difficult. We will face many challenges, many setbacks, and many losses. But I promise you this: we will face them together, as one nation, as one people. We will stand strong against the forces of tyranny and oppression, and we will emerge victorious in the end."

As Churchill finished his speech, the Princesses applauded loudly, joined by the ponies watching in the castle's great hall. It was a momentous occasion, and they knew that they were witnessing something special. And so, with Winston Churchill at the helm, the fate of Great Britain was now in his hands. Soon, the next part of the war would begin.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 1:30pm in Britain, which meant it was almost 2:30pm in Germany. At the secret Erweiterung facility, Discord had just watched Winston Churchill's swearing-in as the new British Prime Minister live on the television. This was the perfect time for the Reich to make their next strike, along with their allies. Britain was too busy getting its new government sorted out to interfere with their plans. This would be the perfect time to attack one of the Allied countries, while Britain was not ready to retaliate.

The German Army wouldn't do this one alone, though. The Italians, lead by the great Benito Mussolini, would also help them out. Mussolini, the Prime Minister of Italy, unlike Hitler, had taken the reign of the Italian government by force, and had used it to create his fascist regime, which Discord admired, and use once he had established his new world order.

But for now, those plans would have to wait, as it was going to be sometime before he could put those plans into action. For that, he needed not just a small part of the German military, but a part of its government as well. For that, he had to get involved with a sect of the Nazis, which wanted to eventually overthrow Hitler, and make an evolved version of the Nazi government. That would be fun, thought Discord, as he thought about he would convince them that he was one of them.

The Erweiterung facility was working overtime now, with Panzer IIIEs, IVEs, and Bf109Es rolling off their production lines almost every hour, and they would soon have to expand this facility. The U-boat facility in Hamburg was also almost operational, and soon, it would begin producing enhanced U-boats for the German Navy. These U-boats would be truly silent killers. No one would be able to hear them underwater, so they could easily sneak up on their enemies, and blow them to kingdom come.

For that, he was planning to use some of the Thaumic energy he had stored in the Thaumic energy generator in the facility. Around 50 percent of it would be used to create the super soldiers, and the remaining would be used for other secret projects. Soon, the world would reel under the might of the Axis.

Chapter 62

10TH MAY 1940

----------------------------------------------------THE GERMANY-LUXEMBOURG BORDER---------------------------------------------------
It was now 4:00am here on this border post on the Germany-Luxembourg border, which meant that it was almost 6:30am back home in Equestria. Private Robert Becker, of the Luxembourg Army, and his fellow soldiers were all enjoying their so far, so good night patrol shift. Since the previous two days, the German military movement around the borders of Luxembourg, Holland, and Belgium had increased, so all of those countries had temporarily shut their borders and had increased the military presence.

Despite the fact that these three countries were neutral in the war, none of them wanted to be invaded, and had hence taken protective measures. The current intel suggested that the Germans were looking to soon take France for themselves. That wasn't possible, thanks to the Maginot Line on the France-Germany border. It was heavily fortified, and no German military unit could break through it without suffering severe damage.

The death toll from the wars had also grown, and was almost at 3 million. Majority of the dead were humans, as only 150 ponies had died. In fact, many people felt that this would be a repeat of the Great War, which was now already being called World War 1, and this war as World War 2. That was quite horrifying to think about. Millions of soldiers were now being sent to the frontlines. The Equestrians were also pledging a lot of soldiers, with them having already sent around a million from their total population of around 200 million to fight.

The Crystal Empireans had also dispatched a lot of soldiers, again, around a million, from their total population of 51 million. That was close to 2% of the Crystal Empire's population right there. As of now, more than 20 million soldiers were fighting on the frontlines of all the battlefields, and more were being sent in every day. It was looking like it was indeed going to be a repeat of the Great War.

As Becker stopped with one of his fellow soldiers to have some cold water that the other soldier had brought with him in his bottle, since summer was nearing, alarms began ringing. Over the loudspeakers on the post, they heard a voice. "Attention! Multiple German military units have been spotting, steaming towards the post at full speed! Take them out, now!" shouted their commander. Becker instantly dropped the water bottle, and he and his fellow soldiers went off to fight the invading Germans.

Becker got to a trench, grabbed a BREN light machine gun, and began scanning the area for the Germans. He almost instantly saw them. Close to 500 German troops, accompanied by Panzer IVs, were coming in hot towards the border post. There were close to twenty Panzers, and Becker just hoped that they could defend the Germans from taking Luxembourg. They didn't want to end up like Norway, which had been fully been taken by the Germans the previous day, after Winston Churchill had been sworn in, and had pulled all British military units out of that country.

As he got ready to fire his gun at the charging Germans, who were now coming real close to the border, he saw one of the Panzers began to fire. However, it was not firing its main turret, but a different weapon, a large one, mounted near the main turret. It was not the tank's second gun, as fiery rocket-like projectiles began flying out of it, aimed at the border post. He watched horrified, as the projectiles exploded on the post, and the explosion threw him to the ground. When he looked up, he saw debris and human body parts raining down around him. Most of his fellow soldiers had just been killed instantly, in one swoop.

As the traumatised Becker tried to get up, he noticed a few other survivors rising, groaning in pain, but definitely alive. However, that would not last, as the tanks began charging through the wreckage of the border post, and the soldiers accompanying them began heading towards those survivors, intending to kill all of them. The second he saw this, despite being in quite a lot of pain, he and a couple of other soldiers in front of him began charging at the Germans, intending to stop them from eliminating their comrades, and putting together a small Luxembourg border resistance force.

However, as they ran for the Germans, shouting "Doud fir all Nazien!" in Luxembourgish, which meant "Death to all Nazis!", the Germans turned to face them with their bare hands, dropping their guns, and entering a fistfight with the Luxembourgian soldiers. Becker and some of his comrades saw one of the German soldiers lifted one of the Luxembourgian soldiers, and watched horrified as the German, with a gleeful expression on his face, tear Becker's comrade in half, with his bare hands.

They watched horrified as he threw down the two halves of the lifeless soldier's body, and the German's comrades began charging at them next. They instantly took out their guns, and began relentlessly firing at the Germans. However, something extremely horrifying and weird happened. Some of the bullets bounced off the soldiers' skin, as if they were made by metal. It was only a few bullets that penetrated which showed that they were human. As they continued charging, despite multiple bullets having been fired at them, Becker and his comrades instantly hit the ground running, and began heading away from the border post, deeper into the country of Luxembourg.

It was now 4:20am as they ran off, traumatised by what they had just seen. The Germans had people with superpowers with them. Capable of ripping a live person in half. They had to let the Allied intelligence know, else they would be in trouble. As the soldiers ran into the night, they just hoped to God that the Germans wouldn't find them, else they were goners.

-----------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE OVER BELGIUM---------------------------------------------------------
It was just around 6:00am here in Belgium, and in the skies over the country, Flight Lieutenant Robert Love and Lion Squadron were speeding over Belgium at an altitude of 6,000 feet in their Hawker Hurricanes. They were shocked by just how surprising this whole thing had started. At around 4:00am, the Germans had attacked the posts on their border with Belgium, and were taking the country. They had charged through in a surprise attack, and the Belgians, who had been woefully unprepared, got taken like rookies.

Most of Belgium's military infrastructure had been destroyed on the ground itself, and only those who were already airborne on patrol missions had escaped, which included Lion Squadron's Hurricanes. They were trying to escape Belgian airspace as fast as they could, and get across the English Channel into Britain. They would take shelter in Britain, and return when Belgium was freed, as they had no chance of fighting the Germans in their weakened state. Only seven of the eighteen Hurricanes in the squadron were airborne at the time when their base had been hit by German Stukas and Bf109s, and all of the other aircraft were most probably burning on the tarmac, so as of now, they were probably the only intact aircraft still left of the once-mighty Belgian Air Force.

As the seven planes sped towards the English Channel, hoping the Germans still hadn't reached that part yet, Love's commander, flying Lion 1, suddenly shouted over the radio, "Shit, Lion Squadron! Multiple Bf109s are closing on us, we might be a fight soon, get ready!"

As the commander spoke these words, Becker looked around, and saw quite a few Bf109s coming for their Hurricanes, and realised that they were indeed about to enter a dogfight, so he turned off the safeties of his plane's gun, and tensed himself for what was about to happen. Soon, the Hurricanes were in a fight against multiple Bf109s. These seemed to be the strange new Bf109s that everyone was talking about. So far, only one or two of these had been shot down, and when Allied soldiers had attempted to recover the wreckage, the Germans had usually beat them to it, and had already transported the wreckage away. All of the Bf109s whose wreckage had been recovered by the Allies were normal ones.

Soon, Becker himself was engaged in a fight with a Bf109 on his tail. This guy was not leaving his tail, no matter how many evasive maneuvers he pulled to get out of the German's crosshairs. As the Bf109 began firing, Becker quickly moved his Hurricane out of the path of his bullets, and tried to quickly figure out a way to get this bastard off him, or even shoot him down.

As the Bf109 began firing again, Becker felt a code-brown moment in his pants, as a few bullets struck his tail, but did not critically damage his aircraft, and thankfully, he would still stay airborne, for now at least. As he began an evasive maneuver, he suddenly saw the Bf109 catch fire and began spiralling down behind him. Out of the large smoke cloud that the Bf109 left behind, Lion 1 popped out. "Don't worry, Lion 4, I got your back."

"Thanks, Lion 1! I don't think I can hold out much longer, though!" said Becker.

"I know, we're almost out of ammunition, and more Bf109s are coming! Thankfully, the Channel isn't too far away, so throttle up and get out of here, I'll help the others out!" said Lion 1, as he turned off and began to help out the other Lion Squadron fighters. Becker instantly obeyed, pushed the throttle to its highest power setting he could get it to without damaging his engine, and began heading towards the English Channel.

As he headed off towards the Channel, a couple of the other Hurricanes from his squadron joined him, but however, as they neared the Channel, which was now in their sights, there was no sight of Lion 1. "Guys, where's Lion 1?" asked Becker.

"Lion 12 here. Sorry, 4, he didn't make it. He got shot down while trying to save Lion 7, and unfortunately, 7 didn't make it either. Only us 4 are left. We're almost out of Belgium, let's make their sacrifices count." said one of Becker's pilots, as the Hurricanes began flying over the English Channel, heading for Britain at high speed. As they left Belgian airspace, hearts heavy for the loss of their comrades and country, they just hoped that there would be a country for them to come home to one day.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
As the chaos in Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg got worse, Discord got more better. This was the next big part of the Nazis' master plan, to take Europe for themselves. They couldn't have directly taken France as the Maginot Line was heavily fortified, and breaking through it would have been almost suicidal. No, thanks to their idea of a flanking maneuver, they were going to take France from the side they least expected. The bastards would never know what hit them, thought Discord, as he continued to get live updates on the situation.

Plus, he and his comrades in the Wehrmacht, the unified German military, had come up with the new tactics of Blitzkrieg. It was a sort of military attack developed using Chaos Theory, a new science invented by Discord himself. It basically involved taking the enemy by surprise in a large attack, using multiple military units. It was basically beating your enemy using chaos, and Hitler had loved this idea so much that he had instantly approved it's use.

Discord thanked his stars, that his slow control of Hitler was beginning to take its effects. When they had first shaken hands, the previous year, Discord had secretly placed a charm on Hitler that had slowly begun to put him under Discord's control. It was very slow to act, as he didn't want Hitler to suddenly change, as that would make the Nazis suspicious of Discord. No, it was better to make it slow-acting, and now, it was finally showing its effects. The first part was Hitler instantly approving Discord's Blitzkrieg tactics. Within a few years, Hitler would fully be under Discord's control. He would only be a pawn, and Discord would be the true head of the Third Reich.

That was sure to be a hoot, running his own nation, through a man who would pretty much be a zombie by the time he was done with him, thought Discord, as he watched the chaos unfold in the three neutral countries on the TV. Watching kept him awake better than coffee.

Chapter 63

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Canterlot, which meant it was almost 9:30am back in Belgium. It was a chaotic scene at Canterlot Castle, as they had just gotten word of the invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg by the Germans, which meant that France was next. That was not good. The Germans seemed to hellbent on taking Europe for themselves, and from the way that they had attacked the three countries, Celestia could tell that this had Discord all over it, going by how the attacks had sent the chaos, and the tactics they had used to begin their invasion of the three neutral countries.

The attacks had rapidly increased the death toll, which as of now, had passed 3.5 million, and was estimated to go past 5 million within a few days. That was how brutally the Germans had slaughtered the people of Europe. In fact, intel had come in from survivors that the Germans had somehow strengthened their soldiers enough that they could rip a human in half with their bare hands. That was horrifying.

There hadn't been any reports of them using chemical weapons since the opening days of the Denmark invasion, which meant that it was probably a myth, spread by Axis spies to scare the Allied countries. However, a lot of people were starting to feel the ponies were starting to lose morale in the war, considering how close to 150 pony soldiers had died on the frontlines since the last month, when the first three had been killed in battle. Since then, three had been found dead with similar damage to the bodies of Golden Harvest, Thunder Wing, Brisk Whistle, and Muscle Mystery, with the eyes removed.

However, apart from those three ponies, the bodies of all the other pony soldiers had been recovered quite quickly after their deaths, and nothing was unnatural about how they had died in battle. However, the public was starting to feel that the Equestrians could not fight as well as they once could. They needed to show the world what they could do, and for that, it was time to bring back a plan that had been on hiatus for a while now.

The military showcase. The plan had been put on hiatus for sometime due to the war, and the ENA along with the HNA leaking Discord's existence to the whole world. Now, it was time to put those plans back into action. It would now be hosted in Equestria itself, as the nation now had the facilities to host such a prestigious event. In fact, Celestia even planned to invite Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt to the showcase as the chief guests of the event. They even planned to invite contingents from their military to show their abilities in Equestria.

As the Princesses began leaving Canterlot Castle for a quick visit to the city of Manehattan, to inaugurate the newly constructed Canadian embassy, they realised how much had changed in their country since Faust had transported them to Earth. The Royal Guards were no longer wearing their traditional armor, which had now been replaced by more modern and conventional military armor used by human militaries, just heavily modified for the Equestrian body. They also no longer carried weapons such as spears or arrows, and instead now carried guns. They did have their magic available to them, so that was also good.

The traditional city that Canterlot was had been heavily modernised, with asphalt roads, electric streetlights, and cars starting to be imported and sold by car companies in Equestria, and the buildings starting to have electricity supplies, piped water and sewage. A large industrial area had also come into being further from Canterlot, in the plains. Hard to believe how well the citizens of Equestria and the Crystal Empire had adapted to life on Earth.

An hour later, they were on their plane, as it was taxiing towards the runway, getting ready for the short three-hour flight to Manehattan. As the plane taxied out, the Princesses were talking with their advisors, who were also aboard, about what would happen during the showcase, its location, and how they would attract people from all over to come see this spectacle.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:30am in Germany, which meant it was 8:00am back in Equestria. Discord and his men were preparing for a large party that they were going to hold in a day or two, after they took France. They had decided that a break was needed after working for so many months nonstop, so they had decided to throw a true German party. Discord was going to be participating as the emcee, but he was also very happy about another plan, since the Enigma M3Es had finally rolled out, and were being dispatched to German military units everywhere.

Plus, the first Type VII U-boat had arrived in Hamburg for conversion to a Type VIIE, the first truly silent U-boat. It would be the ultimate military vessel once it was completed, just short of an aircraft carrier. There had been reports of spies trying to figure out what was going on at the U-boat facility in Hamburg, but Discord knew that once they were captured, they would not escape. The monster woman kept there, known as Vryolakas after a mythological creature, would finish off the spies once the information was extracted from them after their capture.

Discord smiled, thinking about how his new world order would be, as well as a backup plan for if the Princesses did figure out where he was and tried to defeat him. The Elements of Harmony weren't going to defeat him now, since his power had grown a bit since he had escaped his imprisonment after his arrival on Earth. Only the Destroyer of Discord would stop him, and its location had not been known since the last time Faust had defeated Discord. He didn't feel it was on Earth, since he hadn't heard any chatter about it, which was good, as that was the one thing that could defeat him, no matter how powerful Discord was.

As he directed the caterers for the buffet, which would be an important part of this party, he thought about what would happen if the Destroyer was on Earth. This was a situation that he had already prepared for, but he felt that there was only a 0.5% chance of that. As he told the caterers what food items to serve, he thought about this in the back of his mind, but he soon stopped thinking about it, as there was no chance that it was here on Earth.

Chapter 64

11TH MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------THE FRANCE-LUXEMBOURG BORDER---------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00am here, and it was a stressful day for Private Charles Macron, and his French Army platoon on the border with Luxembourg. The German Army had rapidly advanced through the small nation that Luxembourg was, and was rapidly charging towards France. If they took France, it would be a crippling blow to the Allied nations, and France would once more be in dark times, as it had during the era of Napoleon, and before the Revolution. That was a horrifying thing to think about, thought Macron, as he got his sniper rifle, and was on overwatch, keeping an eye out for Germans. This outpost thankfully had an anti-aircraft gun, to deal with German Stukas and Bf109s.

As Macron and his comrades continued the overwatch of the borders, eyes peeled for any Germans, they suddenly heard aircraft engines. It was extremely loud, and only got louder, indicating a plane, or many planes, were coming, low and fast. No aircraft in the French military was that fast, and no Allied planes were in the area, which only meant one thing. Germans! The alarm began ringing, and the anti-aircraft gun began to be aimed, as the planes came nearer. Soon, it began firing, as the planes were directly above them, and getting ready to rain hellfire.

As the gun began firing, the crew watched as two Bf109s dropped out of the sky. Then, they saw multiple German tanks charging towards their positions. They would hopefully be able to deal with them before they could break the border open, as a large number of soldiers had been moved to this post in the last day. They had strength in numbers, while the Germans had the stronger equipment.

As the Germans raced towards the border, guns blazing, the French soldiers began firing back, with all of the might and equipment they had available. As the French began to fight, a loud explosion was heard, and with a shock, they realised that a bomb, dropped by a lone Stuka that had not been detected, had destroyed the anti-aircraft gun, and the soldiers manning it.

As the horrified soldiers began running helter-skelter, panicked by this, Macron and his friends continued fighting, determined to prevent the Germans from entering France at all costs. If France was lost, they couldn't imagine what would become of the rest of Europe, once the Nazis had established their rule everywhere across the continent. Macron and his friends were not willing to surrender, and they continued shooting at the Germans, who were closing in. Multiple German soldiers had already fallen, and two tanks had already been destroyed.

As the French continued fighting, Macron suddenly heard multiple of his fellow soldiers shouting, as they were trying to restrain a few of their own. "You filthy traitors! You want to give ourselves up to the Germans! What are you thinking, you putain assholes!", as the soldiers at the post began beating them up. Macron was horrified and disgusted at his fellow soldiers on hearing this.

"WHAT THE FUCK! YOU GUYS WANT US TO SURRENDER TO THE GERMANS?" shouted Macron.

"Yes, it is the only way to avoid bloodshed! They'll kill us all if we continue to fight!" shouted the cowards, as they continued to get beaten by their fellow soldiers.

"You're crazy! Do you know what the Germans will do to our country if they take France? They'll pillage our nation, rob it of all of its gold and wealth, and turn it into their paradise!" said Macron, as he took out his gun, and began aiming it at the two traitors, who began screaming at that, as some of Macron's fellow soldiers began cheering him. Two seconds later, he fired a shower of bullets upon the traitors, killing them instantly. Traitors had no place in France, thought Macron, as he continued firing at the Germans.

However, soon, the Germans activated their most powerful weapon, the Zyklon C gas dispensers, and soon, the whole area was covered in the poisonous gas, and melting the French soldiers' lungs, including Macron's. He was violently thrashing around, unable to breathe, desperate for air, as his lungs melted. Soon, he and the other French soldiers were all no more, killed by the poison, bravely trying to fight the Germans.

The Germans, however, were unaffected by the gas, as the tanks were gas-proof, and the ground soldiers were also wearing gas masks, to avoid inhaling in the Zyklon C, or their own lungs would also have been melted by the gas. As the gas dissipated, it showed that all of the French soldiers were dead. Not even one was still alive, not even a spider. The happy Germans began breaking down the border post, their path into France now obstructed. Soon, it would be their country.

----------------------------------------------------------------CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES, PARIS-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am here in Paris. The warm summer day in France had turned into a nightmare from a calm day. Out of nowhere, without any warning, German troops and aircraft had suddenly burst into Paris, and the whole country was starting to be taken by force. The beautiful avenue that Champs-Élysées normally was had turned into a warzone, between the French and the Germans. Already, the French seemed to be losing.

Some of the luxurious shops and boutiques on the street were ablaze, and others were battlegrounds. In one of the few intact remaining ones, Rarity, a few ponies, and some French people were taking shelter from the battle outside, which was raging in insanity. Rarity had never been in a battle before, and she had not enlisted in the military like how Rainbow and Applejack had, so she now she felt how terrified they must have been whenever they went into a battle, and they were trained military now. She was a civilian, caught in this horrifying war.

Rarity and some of her friends had been touring Paris, the city of love, they had heard. They had been in France for the last week, and had been thoroughly enjoying so far. The fashion, the monuments, it was all beautiful. Now, that had been destroyed with the invasion by the Germans. The roads of the city were in ruins, destroyed heartlessly by the Germans.

Rarity and her friends were all huddled in a boutique called 'Maison des vêtements', trying to figure out how they could escape the Germans. Road and rail routes out of Paris would have been blocked off, so the only way was by air. Unfortunately, the Le Bourget Airport in Paris was still around 20 to 30 minutes from where they currently were, which gave the Germans plenty of time to kill them. They had already lost quite a few in the crossfire outside, and they didn't want to lose anymore.

"What do we do? We can't just stay here, the Germans will kill all of us!" said Rarity.

"Well, we have to do something! We need to get to Le Bourget, or else we'll be stuck here in occupied France! Who knows what the Germans will do, especially to you ponies!" said one of the Frenchmen who was there.

"Well, how do we get there, and if we do, what is the probability that there will be an intact plane, with pilots, to get us out of this city?"

"Well, we could just steal a car from the underground parking lot. I don't think anyone is there right now, so we should be able to use that to get out of here." suggested one of the other ponies.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" said some of the humans, as they followed by Rarity and her friends, ran downstairs to the parking lot, where thankfully, some cars were still intact. The keys were on the wall, as the store had valet parking, and two of the humans were chosen to drive. They chose two of the larger limousines, to accommodate more. Soon, they had started the cars, and the door was opened, as the cars began charging out of Maison des vêtements, headed for Le Bourget.

The Germans were taken by surprise, as the two cars charged down the streets. In fact, they were surprised enough to see that people had escaped that they were too slow to get their guns before the cars disappeared from their sights. In fact, the two cars were speeding so fast down the streets of Paris that their occupants were both happy and terrified at the breakneck speed. Thankfully, the one time they encountered a German patrol, they just ran the Germans over, although one did fire, but the bullet only hit the cars' mirror.

Soon, after a 23-minute ride of terror, at exactly 9:00am, they arrived at Le Bourget Airport, and ran inside, hoping to get on a plane as fast as they could. As they ran onto the tarmac, on which multiple planes were burning, they noticed one plane that was somehow intact. It was a French-made Potez 62 twin-engine monoplane airliner, which had Air France markings.

(this but with Air France markings)

They quickly ran to the plane, whose passenger door seemed to be open. As they ran inside, they saw the surprised pilots, coming outside to see if Germans were trying to stop the plane from taking off. "You're all French?" he asked in French.

"We are, the ponies aren't, but we all need a ride out of here. Let's go!" said one of the humans, as they all ran to the seats. The pilots, despite being stunned, quickly went back to the cockpit, as they began starting the plane's engines, and closing the door. Soon, the plane was taxiing. However, the main runway was unusable due to damage suffered by German bombing. Thankfully, they had one last option. The main taxiway, which was not at all cratered by any bombing.

The Germans probably didn't expect it, but so did anyone on board, and they held their breaths as the pilots throttled up at the end of the taxiway, and the plane began rolling. Thankfully, there was just enough room for the plane to get airborne, and it was in the air just by the end of the taxiway.

As the plane began climbing away from Paris, and towards the coast of France and the English Channel, the ponies watched sadly as the burning city disappeared, especially Rarity, who had loved Paris, and gotten compliments for her accent from many of the French people she had met, who had said that if she wasn't a pony, she seemed like a born and raised citizen of France. Rarity and the others just hoped that one day, the war would end, and they could come back to France again.

Chapter 65

16TH MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am, and was another hectic day at Canterlot Castle. The Princesses were having a hectic time recently. Five days earlier, the Germans had suddenly invaded the country of France, without any warning. Paris, the capital city of France, had been taken by the Germans, and most of the French troops, upon just seeing the Germans, instead of fighting, had cowardly surrendered to them. In fact, when it had been heard that Paris had been occupied by the Germans, the Americans instantly began increasing their Navy, and Celestia was fearing they would soon enter the war.

Thanks to that, most of the country had been taken, and the only unoccupied part of France were the areas of Calais, Lille, and Dunkirk, which were near the Franco-Belgian border. It was not only French troops who had been trapped there, the trapped also included multiple Allied soldiers fighting in Belgium, who had been cut off from the English Channel by the Germans. It also included a large contingent of pony soldiers from the Royal Equestrian Army, and Shining Armor was collaborating with the head of the British military to have them brought home safely, since they would not be able to survive if they stayed in that area.

They would probably have to abandon most of their equipment during that time, but the equipment could be replaced, while the lives of the soldiers couldn't, and even though it would go to the Germans, programmes to make more advanced weapons were already in the works, and some of them were already starting to bear fruit.

Some Equestrian engineers had been working with British aeronautical engineers, and they had managed to successfully develop two flying prototypes of a naval Hawker Hurricane variant. While the older ones needed sleds, the new ones had a conventional landing gear, so they could operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers. Rumours were now abuzz that the new naval Hurricanes would be entering production soon, and the new Royal Equestrian Navy would be the first export customer.

Another thing that was also in the works, was Equestria's first aircraft carrier. A reputed American shipyard was working with one from Equestria to design and build three such aircraft carriers, which would be known as the Princess-class aircraft carriers. These would host a large number of aircraft, including fighters, which were important for an aircraft carrier. Apparently, the first one would be in service by 1943 or 1944, which would definitely help the Navy out a lot.

Apart from that, another big thing that was in the works was the military showcase, for which preparations were now in full swing. It was expected to take place sometime in June or July, around the time the summer holidays began in most countries around the globe, which would let a large number of people come to watch it. That would increase the tourism opportunities to Equestria, especially once the big cruise lines such as Cunard Line recovered from the war, and could start tour packages to Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

As for the hunt for the HNA, that was still going on, and despite a few HNA members having been arrested, none of them knew where Neighsay was, or what he had done with the kidnapped pony scientists, as they said that only some of the higher-up HNA members knew that, and they also did not know the identity of the mole who was working with the HNA. However, they had confirmed that there indeed was a mole in the Equestrian government, and it was a diplomat who had given the Nobel-808 to the HNA to carry out the Nightlights' Shoppe bombing in Fillydelphia. So now, searches were discretely being made of every Equestrian government official's backgrounds, to figure out who the mole was.

However, so far, not a single concrete suspect had turned up, as most of these diplomats were loyal to the country of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and none of them were against the humans, as they were all interested in the humans technologies, and what not.

As for the hunt for the Destroyer of Discord, the searchers had finally gotten a lead as to where a piece of the Destroyer of Discord could be, and were on their way to South America to make sure that lead was true. They had gotten a lead that it was hidden with a tribe in the forests of Brazil, so they were fully prepared to face them.

That was still going to take a couple of months, though, to find the tribe, gain their trust, and truly find if they had the piece of the Destroyer of Discord in their possession. While that was going on, some stability had also come to Equestria and the Crystal Empire, as both of their stock markets, which had taken a heavy hit during their transportation to Earth, had finally been stabilised, now that they had been integrated with the global economy of Earth. That was good, because goods were now being imported and exported and the money was flowing in to boost the economy.

In fact, so far, it had been relatively smooth sailing, almost, thought Celestia, as she got ready to meet Cadance for another discussion on daily affairs. It was hopefully going to be smooth sailing for a bit.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am over here in Equestria. In the dilapidated house, located well away from the big cities of Equestria, the HNA were happy. Construction of the portal that would take them home to Equis was beginning. They would build it in such a way that the portal would grow large enough as it continued working to transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to Equis as well. They also had decided that once the two countries were on their way home to Equis, the portal would close behind them, with an explosion that would destroy Earth along with all of the humans and other creatures on the planet.

Neighsay was extremely overjoyed, and couldn't wait for the day when this same plan would be complete, so that way, he and his fellow ponies could go home to Equis, and they could get rid of the barbarians that the humans were. The universe was probably better without the humans around, as it would be more peaceful. The Equestrians were the true dominant race in this galaxy, far superior.

He decided to go outside, to where the portal was being constructed by the scientists they had borrowed from the Equestrian government. The scientists had first said it was not possible to construct the portal back to Equis, since they had been investigating the very few remaining traces of the storm that had first brought them to Earth, and they had found traces of magic unexplainable to the the scientists, who had felt that there was a 99.5% chance that they were permanently stuck on Earth.

However, a bit of convincing by the HNA had made the scientists begin construction of a portal to bring them back to Equis, using that 0.5% chance. It was going to use an incredibly rare kind of magic, called Rift Magic, and it would be called the Rift Gate. The Rift Gate was going to be the tool that they would use to get back to Equis. So what if maybe a century or two had passed on Equis, they would be able to surprise its inhabitants by returning ponies to that planet.

As Neighsay gave a quick check on the scientists, who trembled whenever they saw him, he chuckled. The HNA was going to be the savior of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, that was for sure, thought the mad pony that Neighsay had become.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:30am over here in Germany. As another day of work began at the Erweiterung facility, Discord was overseeing the dispatches of its latest product, Zyklon C gas. This was a field-wieldable version of the Zyklon B gas used by the Nazis in their concentration camps, only this was more lethal, stable, and much faster-acting, so it was deployed on the field by Panzer IIIEs and IVEs.

They had originally used Zyklon B at first, which had worked, but they realised it was too slow to act, and it was a little too volatile for use on the field, as one Panzer IIIE crew had found out the hard way in Norway. They had been able to stabilise Zyklon B, with the same chemicals, but by using a different chemical process, which was trademark to the Erweiterung facility only, so that the Allies couldn't replicate the formula if they got their hands on a sample of Zyklon C.

The Zyklon C had already proved its worth during the battles between Germany and the militaries of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. The French, especially, were cowards. They had just run away and surrendered their capital city to the Germans. In fact, when they heard that, Discord and his fellow Germans had booed at their TV screens. They were disappointed as they didn't get a good fight with the French, since they wanted some more damage.

As Discord thought about what was next, he knew that Winston Churchill would be making a statement on the situation in France later that day. He wondered what the old man would have to say, and it was probably a lot, considering Churchill himself used to be a soldier. As Discord decided to see it later that day, he also thought about letting the Italians have some of France as well. They were getting restless, and that would not be good. Soon, the Italians would also have a piece of the pie that was France.

Chapter 66

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

Chapter 67

20TH MAY 1940

-------------------------------------------------------BLETCHLEY PARK, MILTON KEYNES------------------------------------------------------
It was now 11:00am here in Britain, which meant it was around 9:30am back in Equestria. Twilight and Cadance were stepping up to the large mansion that was Bletchley Park. The mansion, which had formerly been owned by a builder, had been bought two years earlier by the S.I.S. for use as the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). This was a part of the British intelligence agency that broke the encryptions used by the German military.

Recently, the head of the operation being run here had actually asked if Equestria and the Crystal Empire had any skilled cryptologists to send for this programme. Apparently, the Germans were using some sort of new encryption that seemed impossible to break, and they had a lot of great things about pony cryptologists, and they had asked for their expertise. Celestia had heard that Twilight had recently been taking a cryptology course at a now-famous university in Equestria, so she had sent Twilight here, and some more pony cryptologists would follow shortly.

Cadance had also come along to drop Twilight off, as she was anyway conducting a state visit to Britain, so she had decided to accompany Twilight on the beginning of her stay at Bletchley Park. Twilight suspected she would probably be here for some months, to help break whatever this mysterious encryption was. As the car carrying the two stopped outside the mansion, Cadance asked, "Twilight, are you sure about this? You probably won't be coming back home for months, maybe even years, so are you ready?"

"I know, Cadance, but I'm so ready for this! This is an opportunity like no other, and I'm definitely taking it! If I refuse now, I won't get it again!" said Twilight.

"Look, I know you feel confident after staying in that military base with your brother for a few months. But still, its been a while since you were outside Equestria. But are you truly sure?" asked Cadance.

"Yes, Cadance, I'm ready for this. I've been preparing for this ever since Celestia assigned me this task, and if I fail at this, the fate of the whole world could be at stake. I'm ready." said Twilight, as she began getting out of the car, taking her things. "I'll see you in a few months." said Twilight, smiling as she waved Cadance goodbye, and began heading towards the mansion, with her things along. She headed towards the main door, where a man was waiting. He was quite a young fellow, in his late twenties, with brown hair, and a friendly face.

"Miss Twilight Sparkle, I presume?" asked the man.

"Yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle, unless there is another purple unicorn that looks just like me and has the same name, of which the chance is less than one trillion! So, yes, I am Twilight Sparkle! And you are..." said Twilight, not knowing who this man was.

"Alan Turing. I'm the lead cryptologist working here at Bletchley Park. I'm quite skilled, but we are having a lot of trouble trying to decrypt what the Germans have been using lately. They've been using some of the craziest encryption I've ever seen in my life. If you want, you can take a look at it, but me and my team have basically have been banging our heads over it. It's that complicated."

"I'm more than happy to take a look! I wonder how good this encryption is if even you can't break into it, considering the things I've heard you've done." said Twilight, as she and Turing headed towards the area where the cryptologists were currently working.

As they headed towards that part of the large mansion, Twilight asked Turing, "So, how has it been going so far in breaking the Germans' encryptions, and figuring out whatever they are up to?"

"Well, the Polish have somehow managed to make a machine called the Bomba. It was built in 1938 by a reknowned Polish cryptologist, his name was Marian, I believe, and it has successfully been used to break the codes of some of the Enigma machines used by the Germans. Those are the cipher devices they use to communicate with their higher-ups on the field, and they were considered so secure that the Germans used them to encrypt the most top-secret messages. However, it is quite a rudimentary method."

"Rudimentary? How so? Have any messages already been intercepted?"

"Well, the Bomba is based on a procedure that uses indicators. In the Enigmas, each message has its own key. Usually, the transmitting operator informs the receiving operator of this message key by transmitting some plaintext or ciphertext before the enciphered message. This is the indicator, as it indicates to the receiving operator how to set his machine to decipher the message."

"Isn't that an insecure method, as the Germans could change that system at any moment?"

"Yes, and indeed, they have. They changed the indicators earlier this month, so all of our hard work has basically gone down the drain, and now, we have to start all over again. Plus, our intelligence has found that the Germans seem to have rolled out a new model of the Enigma, which so far we have not been able to decrypt at all. However, we are working on decrypting some of the relatively older models, which the Germans are still using, thankfully, otherwise, we would never know their next moves."

"Oh, I see! So how are you able to decrypt those, if you have been able to, without the Bomba method?"

"Well, thankfully, I have developed a new method for that. You're about to see the unveil of the method that I have developed, and here's my team now!" said Turing, as they reached the part of Bletchley Park where the main team of cryptologists was working, and when Turing entered the room, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him and Twilight.

"Gentlemen, this is Twilight Sparkle, an exchange cryptologist who has come all the way from Equestria to join us. She's quite skilled, and she's going to be working with us to help decrypt the new Enigmas. But today, I also have something else to show you. We have all been having a hard time trying to decrypt the Enigmas, ever since the Germans changed their indicators, so the Bomba is pretty much useless right now. However, I've been developing a new method to help get over the Bomba's limitations." said Turing, who was standing in front of a large whiteboard.

"So what is this new method? Will it actually work?" asked one of the other cryptologists, a little skeptically.

"Well, this new method is a bit more of a general approach. We're going to use crib-based decryption to complete our mission here. Crib basically means any known or suspected plaintext in an enciphered message."

"Didn't the Polish already try that in the early days of the war?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, but they used only six leads on the plugboard, the Forty Weepy Weepy method. The cribs are going to be essential to the method I've made to solve the Enigma keys. Here's the thing. No letter can be enciphered as itself, so I've combined every plaintext fragment, a corresponding ciphertext fragment can often be tested by trying every possible alignment of the crib against the ciphertext. That is what I call crib-dragging, and it's quite painful, so I dug up some more information." said Turing, as he began writing on the whiteboard.

"I had some captured Enigma operators of the German Army interrogated, and they revealed that they had been instructed to encipher numbers by spelling them out rather than using the top row of the keyboard. I reviewed the decrypted messages and determined that the word eins, or 'one', appeared in 90% of the messages. I automated the crib process, by creating the Eins Catalogue. This assumes that eins is encoded at all positions in the plaintext. This catalogue includes every possible rotor position for EINS with that day's wheel order and plugboard connections. It is going to help reduce our workload, and make it easier. I also have plans to create a new device, an improvement on the Bomba. Who's going to help me?" said Turing, as his colleagues clapped at his method, and began cheering for him.

"Alright, you're all helping me build this device, especially you, Miss Twilight! Come on, let's get to work!" said Turing, as he, Twilight, and his cryptologists began getting to work right there on the spot. They began the planning and creation of the new cipher breaking device, one that would help change the course of the war entirely. If it worked, it would probably help shorten the war, by a long time. If it didn't, Discord would dominate the whole world.

Chapter 68

30TH MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am in Canterlot Castle, which was hectic as usual. It had been over a week since the HNA prisoner, Chestnut Coats, had committed suicide while in prison after being interrogated by the Princesses. The Princesses were still trying to figure out Coats' final words, which revealed a hint as to whom the mole in the Equestrian government. "It is actually someone you know." The Princesses knew a lot of ponies, but they had assumed it was probably someone in their inner circle, someone from their government, one who they knew very well. It definitely wasn't Twilight, but it could be quite a few others.

As Celestia thought so, one of the Equestrian diplomats who was in that inner circle, Slick Shady, a pale white unicorn with a blonde mane, stopped by. "Your Highnesses, the first day of practicing for the military showcase has begun, ahead of it beginning next week. The invites have also been sent to the British Prime Minister, who will be attending this event. The American President won't be attending as he has additional engagements at that same time, but the Vice President will be coming."

"Ah, good, Shady. Are any delegates from the other human countries coming?" asked Celestia.

"Quite a few, actually. Delegates are coming from Canada, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Croatia, and some Asian countries such as Korea and China."

"Ah, good. I thought Spain, Portugal and Croatia supported the Axis countries?" said Luna.

"They do, your Majesties, but they are relatively neutral countries, and they haven't said anything about who they currently support, so they could be on our side after they see our military prowess." said Shady.

"I hope so too. Also, have those people from Our Town made any more demands?"

"Oh, Our Town. That small communist town up in the south, right, near the mountains that mark the border with the Crystal Empire, population of around 400, right? Well, they have made another demand asking to be split into another country, one ruled by communism, but apart from that, not much activity from them lately. The liberals wanting Equestria to become a democracy have become more active lately, your Highnesses, so is the Declaration of Ponykind's Rights ready yet?"

"Yes, Shady. The final draft of the Declaration of Ponykind's Rights is ready, and we shall begin implementing it from the 1st of June. We shall make the announcement tomorrow. It will be like a constitution, but for an absolute monarchy."

"Good, that should keep the liberals happy. The next week will be quite busy. Also, any news on how the hunt for the HNA is going? Those bastards need to be locked up for good. They've killed way too many here- I mean innocents." said Shady, quickly correcting himself, almost revealing his true nature to the Princesses.

"I know, Shady. Don't worry, we will catch them before their plans are completed, and Neighsay will face a punishment as heinous as the crimes he has committed." assured Celestia, not even paying attention to Shady's slight slip-up. However, Luna had noticed it, and wasn't going to tell Celestia here. She would tell her in private, or else, Shady might figure out that the Princesses were on to him, and Neighsay would speed up his plans. That would not be good, thought Luna, as she gave Shady a look as the diplomat walked out of the throne room.

As the Princesses went to their rooms to quickly freshen up for the rest of the day, Luna voiced her concerns to her sister. "Sister, I feel something is not right about Slick Shady."

"Why do you feel so, Lulu? He's one of the most trusted diplomats in this castle, and I trust him enough to have access to classified information and material." said Celestia.

"Well, Sister, I noticed that when he was telling you that the HNA has killed so many innocents, he almost said something else instead."

"Oh, Luna, it might have been a simple slip of the tongue, he was probably thinking about something else. We are going through a time of war, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"No, Sister, he was about to say the word 'heretic'. We know what the HNA thinks of those ponies who are friendly with the humans, and trust them. That is what they believe of those who work with and are friendly with humans. For all you know, Shady could be one of those working with the HNA."

"I don't think so, Luna. Shady is one of the most human-loving diplomats in the country. I don't think he would join Neighsay and his crazed ideology. He really likes to work with humans, and he even has been photographed with President Roosevelt."

"I know, Sister, but still, I feel something is off about him, and feel like we should keep an eye on him. I don't trust him anymore."

"If you say so, Luna. I don't think it will turn anything up, but I'll do it. We anyways need to keep an eye on all the people in our inner circle, the traitor that Coats mentioned could be any one of them."

"The traitor could be anyone, Sister, but I already have my prime suspect now. Anyways, has any update come from the team who is looking for the Destroyer of Discord?"

"Well, the last we had heard from them, they were somewhere in the middle of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, and were on their way to the place where a piece may be located. If it is there, that will be the second piece of the Destroyer of Discord that we have found. It's been a week since we last heard from the expedition, and they should let us know in about a week if they found it. Also, Luna, are you ready for the implementation of the Declaration of Ponykind's Rights tomorrow? This is going to convert our nation into a constitutional monarchy, so it will be a big change."

"Yes, Sister, I am ready for it. I have been working on it for months now, and I have been preparing for its implementation for all that time as well, so I am more than ready."

"Good, because if all goes well, this should satisfy the liberals, and hopefully temporarily cease the demands from Our Town as well." said Celestia, as the Princesses left the room, ready to head out, now fully freshened. Little did they know that the war was soon going to be heating up.

Chapter 69

31ST MAY 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in the city of Canterlot, and it was busier than usual, as today was the implementation of the set of laws that would change the Equestrian government entirely. Today would be the day that the Declaration of Ponykinds' Rights came into power in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. They would be like constitutions for both countries, albeit that they would still be ruled by monarchies.

That was something new, that no country on Earth had ever seen before. The closest they had come was in Britain, where the monarchy now subjected to a constitution by the British Parliament, and now had power only in the country's overseas colonies. But here, Equestria and the Crystal Empire would still be an absolute monarchy, albeit kept in check by what was essentially a constitution.

The idea was new, and it had never been tried before in any human nations, so this was a big day for the two nations. For this event, parts of the city of Canterlot had been temporarily closed during the two hours that the event was to take place, for security purposes. They didn't want a repeat of the League of Nations attack, or the failed attempt on their life at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. to happen at this event.

Thankfully, the new gun laws were coming into place, so no Equestrian citizen could own a gun, and only the specialized police units would be able to carry guns, and that too, only in the most extreme situations. As they got ready for the event, the Princesses hoped that Axis spies wouldn't somehow ruin the whole event, as Discord probably would have wanted something like that to happen. Thankfully, the chaos magic detectors had been installed everywhere possible, and they had detected no trace of any chaos magic.

In fact, they had also begun to modify the chaos magic detectors to detect any instances of rift magic as well, to try and triangulate an approximate position to where they could find Neighsay. Ever since the suicide of Chestnut Coats, they hadn't captured any HNA members, and it was as if the whole HNA had gone off the grid ever since then. There were known to be 69 remaining members, and Neighsay probably had them all in one place to avoid giving away the HNA's location.

That wasn't surprising, considering now that Chestnut Coats had basically given away what the HNA's end goal was, Neighsay would be taking every step to hide all traces of him from the Princesses, as he wouldn't have wanted his plan to be ruined by them in any way. As the Princesses thought about that, they got ready to go on stage. The time was nearing, for the revamp of the Equestrian government.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am in Equestria. In the dark dingy basement of the rural house that was the HNA's headquarters, the radio was on, and the whole HNA was listening to it. Today was another day of mourning for them, as today would be the day the Princesses adopted more human principles into their governments, and totally changed their governing system with these same principles. Whenever something like this occurred in Equestria, it was a day of mourning for the HNA, as Neighsay believed that this was a sign that doomsday for Equestria and the Crystal Empire was nearing, as they adopted the barbaric practices of the humans.

He believed that the HNA were the only pure ones, and that those who believed in the Princesses and the humans were heretics, unpure ones, and those who didn't deserve to go back. They would probably kill them all when they got back to Equis, if the Rift Gate was even finished. The Rift Gate had finally started construction, but it needed some rare materials to finish its construction, and they would somehow have to steal these.

The materials they required were so rare that the amount of the stuff that they needed was under heavy security in a large bank in Canterlot, and even Slick Shady couldn't use his government credentials to get some of the stuff to them. They would need a new way to get the materials, in this case, by stealing them, or else, they couldn't liberate their countries by sending them back home to Equis.

Using a theory by human physicists, something that they originally didn't want to, but had been forced to accept due to its accuracy, they had determined that close to 150 years had passed on Equis due to time dilation, so they were also preparing a message to deliver to the occupants of Equis, since they hadn't seen ponies on Equis in a couple of centuries. So, their message was that they had come back to Equis to save themselves from the land of war that Equis had been sent to, and that they would be truly peaceful under the rule of Neighsay and his followers.

As Neighsay and his men heard the beginning of the ceremony which marked the implementation of the Declaration of Ponykinds' Rights, they all fell into a more sombre mood, feeling that their peaceful practices would soon be destroyed by the barbarians that the humans were. Already, Equestria and the Crystal Empire were at war. Discord was free and somewhere on Earth. How long would it be until the countries fell to him, thought Neighsay, suffering from the delusions he had created to brainwash his members. Instead, they had also worked to brainwash Neighsay himself.

As the members listened to the military parade of the fully modernised Royal Equestrian Army organised for the occasion, to be called Republic Day from this day, 31st May 1940, onwards, march by the Canterlot Castle, one of them spoke up, "Supreme Leader, I know when we can rob the material we need to build the Rift Gate from the Western Bank of Manehattan."

"What? When?!" said Neighsay, happy and surprised by this.

"The military showcase being organised next week. Everypony in Equestria will be trying to get to the grounds to watch it, and the focus will be on the Princesses and the human leaders who are coming to Manehattan to see this showcase. There were be lesser security around certain areas that day, as most of it will be concentrated on the area that will be taken by the human leaders, and the path not that secure includes..."

"... the Western Bank of Manehattan!" shouted Neighsay, happily, as the whole of the HNA cheered along with him.

"Good, good! My men, with this revelation, we shall begin to plan our heist! This will be what helps accomplish our goal of returning our lands to Equis, and destroying Earth! Let's get to work on the plan of this heist right away!" said Neighsay, as the HNA immediately got to work. The showcase was in a week. The plan had to be finished by then.

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
Over at the ENA headquarters in Chicago, it was now 3:00pm over here, which meant it was 9:30am back in Equestria. Bret Stiles and his members of the ENA were quite unhappy lately, as there hadn't been activity from them, ever since the second attempted assassination attempt on the Princesses of Equestria and the Crystal Empire by one of their members in Washington D.C, and them leaking Discord's existence to the whole world.

Since then, the ENA had mostly been quite, except for the usual anti-Equestrian protests that went on daily. They now had around 31,000 members, and growth of their organisation had become quite stagnant of late. That annoyed Stiles, considering they had been losing their power quite a bit, and since they had revealed Discord was on Earth, they hadn't done much. It was as if the entire ENA had suddenly lost its mojo.

That was not good, thought Stiles, as he continued to think of a way to get his organisation and its members back on their feet, so they could continue their crusade. Little did he know, that soon, that particular opportunity would come.

Chapter 70

7TH JUNE 1940

----------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN---------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 6:00am in Manehattan, and it was another important day today for the beautiful country of Equestria, as today was the beginning of the military showcase through which Equestria would prove its might to the whole world. The trust in their militaries had started to fall recently, as the pony death toll in the war was now almost 200, so they had to prove that they were capable of fighting, and fighting very well at that. Hence, they had put together this large showcase for it. The Princesses had flown down to Manehattan earlier that morning, at 4:00am, and they were waiting for some of the human leaders.

Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, along with King George VI of England, would be coming today as the chief guests of the showcase. The American Vice President would also be arriving, along with delegates from many other countries, such as Spain, Portugal, and Finland. The planes carrying them would all land at Manehattan Airport, and from there, cars would take them to the place where the showcase would occur.

The Princesses were at the airport, waiting for the planes with the delegates aboard to land, as they would be personally accompanying them to the venue of the showcase, which was located outside the city of Manehattan. The Princesses were nervous as usual. The implementation of the Declaration of Ponykinds' Rights had gone down very well with the public the previous week, and it had finally satisfied the liberals in the two countries. However, Our Town still hadn't been satisfied, and demanded to know why the Princesses preferred capitalism over the more peaceful principles that Equalism and communism were. However, the Princesses had just ignored their demands.

The hunt for the HNA was now stronger than ever, as well as that for the Destroyer of Discord, and they were still waiting to hear from the search team, who was in Brazil right now. They were still in an extremely isolated area, and the Princesses desperately hoped that they hadn't been eaten by cannibal tribes in the Amazon jungle. Else, so was that chance of finding the Destroyer of Discord.

As the Princesses prepared for the planes to land, they wondered what Discord was up to. They had recently received news that the S.I.S. had lost contact with a spy they had sent to Germany to check on a new German U-boat base that had been built in Hamburg, so they guessed Discord was probably doing something to him. They just hoped that he was still alive, and he would be able to make it back to Allied territory. They were still working on getting their ponies out of the Dunkirk area, where they were still trapped after the sudden German invasion of France.

As the Princesses waited, they got a call from the Air Traffic Control tower, who told them that the planes carrying the representatives had made contact with them, and the first one would be landing in around half an hour, so the Princesses got ready, as this first plane was carrying Winston Churchill.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN HAMBURG-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now around 8:40am in Germany, and Discord was extremely happy. Vryolakas, the woman who had been turned into a monster by an early test of the E-serum, was finally going to get her first taste of blood. The Germans had captured a British spy, an S.I.S. agent, who had somehow snuck into Germany. He had been posing as a photographer, and trying to spy on the new U-boat base here in the city of Hamburg.

Well, he would almost have gotten away had it not been for the fact that one of the employees of the facility had seen him doing so, and had reported him to Discord, who had had the man arrested right away, after finding out his identity. His name was Albert Lancaster, and this was apparently his first assignment. He was quite young, at 27 years of age, but he was extremely skilled, considering he had been in Germany for the last 8 months and had not been detected until the previous week.

That was horrifying to think about, considering a spy had gotten away for so long. Well, he was going to get what he deserved, thought Discord, as he headed towards the prisoner area, where Lancaster had been kept, and the cell of Vryolakas was nearby. This was going to be good, thought Discord, as he entered the cell, and saw the sight of Lancaster.

Most of Lancaster's blond hair had been ripped off in interrogation, probably to torture him into confessing who he was. He was extremely emaciated, as the Germans had been starving him for the last 3 days. Despite the amount of pain he was, Lancaster still looked Discord in the eye. "You the leader of this whole operation? I assure you, I'm not telling you filthy Germans anything!" said Lancaster.

"I know that, Lancaster, right? I'm not here to interrogate you... I'm here to set you free." said Discord.

"What?! Are you joking?" said Lancaster, laughing at that statement.

"No, Albert. I am not joking. We've got all we need from you, so we're going to release you in a little bit. You're going to have to wait for a little bit, but you're going to be set free soon, and take you back to your home country." said Discord, coldly.

"Wait, what?!" said the dumbfounded Lancaster. "You're taking me back to the UK?"

"Yes, back to the UK. We just do have to get everything prepared, but soon, you'll be out of here." said Discord, as he began to leave the room, since Vryolakas was now behind a soundproof door that led to this cell. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Wait here." he said sternly to Lancaster. As Discord left the cell, the door closed behind him. Then, he locked the door, and as Lancaster heard the sound of the door being locked, he instantly ran to the door, and began banging on it.

"HEY! LET ME OUT! YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO RELEASE ME!" shouted Lancaster with a horrified expression. As Discord watched coldly through the window of the cell, with a smirk on his face. Since no one was in the area, he turned into his true form, which terrified Lancaster. "D-D-D-Discord?!" The second he saw that, Lancaster, fell to the floor in fright, and Discord then talked into the walkie-talkie in German, "Release her."

Lancaster, despite the fact that he was horrified beyond belief on seeing that Discord was here in Germany, wondering what they meant by that, but that was answered when he heard a loud roar from the opposite side of his cell, and saw Vryolakas, as a door began to open. He watched horrified, unable to move, paralyzed by immense fear, as Vryolakas launched herself towards him, intent on taking her prey. As she charged at Lancaster, he attempted to flee from this monster, something he had thought he had only read about in books and myths.

Before he could escape, however, the monster woman caught him, and began tearing into his organs. Lancaster could only scream in horror as Vryolakas began to devour him, and Discord watched this gruesome display from behind the thick steel door. He watched as Lancaster screamed his final words, as Vryolakas bit off the spy's head gruesomely, killing him in an instant. As Discord laughed happily at this display, now that the spy was dead, he planned on watching the military showcase that would start soon in Manehattan. He wondered what the ENA and HNA were up to, as they had been too quiet lately.

----------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN---------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 6:35am in Manehattan, and the mood was now serious inside the VIP terminal at Manehattan Airport, as the first of the planes had landed. It was now pulling up to its parking stand, just outside the terminal building. It was a Douglas DC-3 with Royal Air Force markings. As the plane stopped on its stand, the propellers began to slow down and stop spinning as the engines were shut down. Finally, the plane's door opened, and multiple Royal Army soldiers began stepping out of the plane, escorting the main guest of the showcase today.

The guest stepped out right behind the soldiers. The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. This was the first time any of the Princesses would be meeting him in person. He had been unavailable when Cadance had recently made a state visit to the UK, so she had been unable to meet him. They had spoken to him over the phone, but had not met him in real life, ever, so it was the first time they would meet him in person.

Churchill stepped out of the plane, went through immigration quite quickly, and then headed into the reception area of the terminal, where the Princesses were waiting. He was quite old, at 65, but he was still quite strong. "Ah, your Highnesses." said Churchill.

"Welcome to Equestria, Mr. Churchill. It is an honour to finally meet you." said Celestia.

"Ah, your Highnesses, it is an honour also for me, to finally meet YOU in person. I am more than happy to grace the showcase of the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean militaries with my presence. I assume the others are already here?"

"No, not yet, Mr. Churchill. You're the first. We're just waiting for the other planes to land." said Luna.

"Ah, I see." said Churchill. "I'd be willing to wait for a little bit, but the others should hopefully show up soon." said Churchill, as he went over to one of the plush leather sofas to sit. Soon, over the next hour, planes carrying delegates from all of the other countries around the world began landing, carrying the Vice President of America, diplomats from Portugal, Spain, Thailand, and many other countries. Soon, by 7:30am, all the planes were on the ground, and the delegates were all in the cars that would take them to the showcase, with the Princesses' limousine, The Sisters' Chariot, in front of them, behind multiple escorting vehicles.

As the cars began to leave the airport premises, little did they know that in the city of Manehattan, a sinister plot was being put into action.

Chapter 71

----------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN---------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now almost 8:00am. As the convoy of the world leaders' cars departed the Manehattan Airport, in the main city, a nasty plot was being put into action. Near the Western Bank of Manehattan, Neighsay, Slick Shady, and some other HNA members were waiting for the right moment, to rob a certain item they were looking for from one of the bank's vaults. They needed a rare magical element called Aetherium, which was found only on Equis. Now that they were no longer on Equis, they no longer had access to it, as all the mines were on Equis, outside of Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

More than 200 years ago on the planet of Equis, Aetherium had been used in experiments where scientists had attempted to open rifts to other worlds. It had even managed to open a Rift from Equestria to a barren desert planet for almost three hours straight, but that was as far as this went before the program was shut down by Princess Celestia after an accident where a scientist was cut in half when the rift became unstable and sucked him in. Thankfully, Aetherium was usually a stable element, unless it was activated in such a device.

If the Aetherium was not kept in a certain stable state, it would become unstable, and the consequences would be catastrophic. The failed experiment 200 years earlier had been a result of that. Plus, the Aetherium had to be calibrated using a special instrument, which enabled it to be able to open a gate to a specific world. This instrument was also stored in the vault with the Aetherium.

Normally, Neighsay didn't like to do the grunt work himself, especially after he had planted the bomb at Nightlights' Shoppe in Manehattan, but Shady had convinced Neighsay that if they let the lesser members of the HNA go ahead with the robbery, they would probably be captured, and would give away their location and ruin their plans. Hence, Neighsay had agreed to it. He and the other HNA members had come up with a plan to rob the Western Bank of Manehattan.

As they prepared, they knew that the amount of police and military near the bank would be less, as this part of the city was not as heavily protected today as much as the area through which the human delegates would be heading through on the way to the showcase, which was taking place somewhere outside the city. The HNA didn't care much about the showcase venue. All they wanted was to accomplish their goals, by getting that Aetherium to build the Rift Gate.

They knew that while there wouldn't be as much police to deal with, they would still have the security guards at the bank to deal with, and despite the fact that most ponies had probably gone to watch the showcase, some would probably be taking advantage of the calm on the streets to go to the bank and get their business done. As Neighsay, Slick Shady, and the others headed towards the Western Bank of Manehattan, they knew that the bank had a security spell on it, to prevent anypony from bringing a weapon into the bank, such as a gun. It would also make sure that they didn't use their magic to commit crimes inside the bank.

However, Slick Shady knew a way to disable such spells to commit the robbery, and he was preparing to execute it. If the spell was executed perfectly, they would be able to steal the Aetherium. As they headed towards the bank, Neighsay spoke. "Gentleponies. Are you ready to execute what most would consider a crime, but something that we are doing for the greater good?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader Neighsay." said Slick Shady, smirking a little at Neighsay. All of the other ponies with them nodded, indicating they were ready for the robbery.

"Good. Put on your masks. It's time to get that Aetherium." said Neighsay, as he and the other HNA members put on masks to hide their faces, and pepped themselves for the robbery. They had also made a pact to carry poison capsules with them, so that if they would be captured by the police in case things went wrong, they would use the capsules to kill themselves, so they would not give up any information, and die as martyrs of the HNA's cause.

As they ran towards the entry door of the Western Bank of Manehattan, Slick Shady began disabling the security spell. They knew that from the moment the spell was fully disabled, they would only have a few minutes before the police would arrive, as the police would receive an alert automatically when the spell was disabled. As Neighsay, Shady, and the HNA members entered the bank, the partially disabled spell had enabled them to bring knives in, and they brandished them as they pushed the security aside. "THIS IS A ROBBERY! PUT YOUR HANDS UP, AND GET ON THE GROUND!" shouted Neighsay, as he brutally stabbed one of the bank security guards who attempted to stop him, which made the receptionist in the bank scream.

Neighsay ran to the manager's cabin, and dragged the unicorn out, holding his bloodstained knife to his throat. "If you want me to spare your life, take me to the vault where the Aetherium is kept!"

"I can't do that! Only a few ponies have access to it, and you crooks are not one of them!" said the manager, as he screamed, as Neighsay brought the knife so close to the manager's throat that it was touching him, causing the manager to scream.

"If you don't want to lose your life, take me to the vault where you have kept the Aetherium, or else I WILL kill you!" said Neighsay.

"Alright, alright! I'll take you there! Just don't kill any of these people!" said the manager, as he began taking Neighsay towards the high-security vaults. As he did so, Neighsay signalled to Slick Shady and one of the other HNA ponies to follow him, while the remaining were to keep an eye on their hostages, and to make sure no police officers were heading their way yet.

As Neighsay, Shady, their comrade, and the manager headed towards the vaults, Shady let Neighsay know that the security spell on the Western Bank of Manehattan was fully disabled, and they only had around ten to fifteen minutes before the police showed up. "Hurry up, you slow oaf, we can't take too long!" said Neighsay, purposely kicking the manager, to make him get to the vault of Aetherium faster, and within another minute, they were at that exact vault. "Open it." ordered Neighsay, as the manager, despite being extremely scared, twisted the combination lock, to open the vault.

As the large vault door swung open, it revealed what the HNA was looking for. Surrounded by glass enclosures were a few metal cases. Although they couldn't see the contents of the cases, they knew what they contained. Aetherium. Their goal was here. "Quick, everypony! In the vault. Let's get that Aetherium." said Neighsay, as he and the other HNA members began securing the cases of Aetherium. Neighsay himself turned his back to the others for a second, to grab a couple of the cases.

However, as he was grabbing the case, he suddenly heard a loud bang, and Neighsay shouted in pain, as he saw blood appear on his back, and the Supreme Leader of the HNA fell to the floor. As he looked up to see what had happened, despite his vision beginning to go dark, he saw all the shocked HNA ponies staring at one of them. The masked Slick Shady. He was holding a gun in his magic aura. The fact that Slick Shady, one of his most trusted members, had betrayed Neighsay, hit him like a cold slap.

"Shady... quomodo potuisti!?! How dare you give us away to the Princesses!"

"Oh, no no no, Neighsay. I'm not giving the HNA away to the government. I'm just making sure you don't do it. You're too weak for the cause. I regret it." said Slick Shady, without any remorse, as he shot the horrified manager, killing him instantly. "Come on, HNA, we still have to leave with what we come for." said Shady, coldly, as he and the other HNA members, despite being shocked by this, continued to take the Aetherium cases. The mortally wounded Neighsay could do nothing but watch as Slick Shady took over his whole organisation, and soon, the lights went out.

--------------------------------------------------ROYAL EQUESTRIAN ARMY PROVING GROUND------------------------------------------
It was now almost 1:00pm here at the Royal Equestrian Army Proving Grounds, located around four hours from the city of Manehattan. The showcase had begun around 11:00am, and was going well. The Royal Equestrian Air Force had just finished demonstrating aerial combat in their Hawker Hurricanes, and now a few brand new Supermarine Spitfires were showing off their moves as well.

The Princesses were enjoying the amazing show that was taking place before their eyes, and so were their guests. Their chief guest, Winston Churchill, was carefully watching the display, checking their tactics to see how effective they would be in a real battle. As the simulated battle continued between the Spitfires, one of Celestia's aides came up to her and whispered in her ear. "Your Highnesses. There has been an emergency situation in Manehattan that requires your immediate attention."

"Is it that important?" asked Celestia.

"Yes, your Highness. I wouldn't be interrupting you in the middle of such an event if it was so important." said the aide, as Celestia and Luna instantly got up, excusing themselves, as they went off to wonder what had happened. As they reached the room where the aide had guided them to, they were surprised and shocked to see Master Metal, the head of the CBI, or the Central Bureau of Investigation.

"Your Majesties, I truly apologize for dragging you out of the showcase like that, but we have a crisis on our hands. Just around four hours ago, a robbery took place in the city of Manehattan." said Metal.

"A robbery? Is that so concerning to the CBI?" asked Luna, a little annoyed at first.

"It usually wouldn't be, your Majesties, but the place that was robbed was the Western Bank of Manehattan, one of the biggest banks in the country. A group of nine thieves somehow disabled the security spell, and brought knives into the bank. During the robbery, they took something very rare that was stored in one of the vaults. They took cases of Aetherium."

This horrified the Princesses. They immediately realized who was behind the robbery. It was the HNA. The scientists the HNA had kidnapped were working on an idea to build a Rift Gate back to Equis using Aetherium. Ever since the original portal experiments back on Equis more than 200 years earlier, the Aetherium had been closely safeguarded, and had been kept in the Western Bank of Manehattan ever since they were transported to Earth.

"The HNA were behind this, weren't they?" said Luna.

"Yes, they were definitely behind this. Unfortunately, two ponies were killed during the robbery. The bank manager was murdered, shot in the head, and the other victim was one of the HNA members. In fact, it was actually the pony who we've been looking for. Take a look." said Metal, as he took some crime scene photographs out of a file and showed them to the Princesses.

They were horrific, showing that the vault had been totally emptied of all its content, which was around twenty cases of Aetherium. They also showed the bodies of the two who were killed in the robbery. The first body was that of the bank manager. He had been fatally shot in the head, and had probably died before his body had even hit the ground. However, the body of the second pony shocked the Princesses. It was that of former Chancellor Neighsay. He had been shot in the chest, and had probably bled out on the floor. The leader of the HNA was dead. But who had killed him?

"Did the police kill Neighsay?" asked Luna.

"No, your Majesties. By the time they got there, the robbers were gone, and we had found the dead bodies of the manager, the hostages, and that of Neighsay. Looks like one of his own people betrayed him."

"But who could have betrayed him?"

"That is what we are trying to figure out. However, we did some forensics on the bullet that had killed him and the manager, and we found who shot him. It was the traitor."

"What?! You've figured out the identity of the traitor?"

"Yes. The bullets were custom-made, and had his name engraved on it. It was Slick Shady. He was also the one who disabled the security spell. However, since this morning, he seems to have gone dark. He has not come home, and he is nowhere to be seen."

This shocked the Princesses. The fact that Shady, who was one of their most trusted diplomats, was the traitor, hit them like a cold slap. They had let him privy to their conversations. They had given him access to the classified information. And he was working with the HNA all along. As the Princesses comprehended this, they realized that from today onwards, it would be a whole new game.

Chapter 72

10TH JUNE 1940

-------------------------------------------------------------COL DE PELOUSE, THE ALPS-----------------------------------------------------------
It was 4:00am here, and was quite a freezing cold morning here in the Col de Pelouse mountain pass, in the Alps. French Army Commander Arthur Durand and his regiment, the 5th Alpini, were on patrol. This mountain pass was located on the border between Italy and France, and with the recent fall of France to the Germans, it looked like the Italians would soon be coming for their share of the country next. The French had recently attempted to retaliate against the Germans, and they had succeeded in retaking a part of Paris. However, the Germans were starting to outnumber the French, and it looked like Paris would soon be back under German control soon.

The Allied troops who had been stranded in Dunkirk were also finally out. The Royal Navy had using multiple ships to evacuate British and French troops from Dunkirk, and take them back to England. More than 350,000 stranded soldiers had been taken to safety in England through this operation, which had ended on 4th May. However, the French soldiers who were in the south of France were still fighting, and that part of the country was still not annexed yet. France's overseas territories were relatively safe as of now, but if Paris fell, those would also be under German occupation. Durand had kept his soldiers on high alert, to keep an eye out for any invading Italians.

Durand then decided to quickly head back to his tent and grab a quick meal, since he hadn't eaten anything since dinner, and since he had to stay awake for his troops. He quickly grabbed a can of pea soup, heated the can a bit, opened it, and ate the soup. As he was just finishing his soup, he heard gunfire, and one of his soldiers came running to him. "Commander Durand! A large group of Italian soldiers are trying to get into the French side of the border! Thankfully, we spotted them in time, but we've already lost one of our men!" said the soldier, panting.

Durand instantly got up, and took out his rifle. "We'll teach them not to mess with us French!" said Durand, as he and the other soldier ran towards the area where the battle was taking place. The snow made it harder, as the Italian soldiers were wearing white winter coats, to camouflage themselves with the cold terrain around them, so it was harder to see where the Italian soldiers were. It didn't help that it was dark as well. The area was lit by torches and lights from the French camp, but that wasn't enough to detect the camouflaged Italian soldiers.

The lack of light and the camouflage worn by the Italians weren't the only thing not helping. They were more than 9,000 feet above sea level, and at high altitude, the soldiers kept getting exhausted faster. While the French soldiers were relatively used to the high altitude, the Italians weren't. This made them take more breaks from shooting, giving the French soldiers more windows to take them out. By 5:00am, the French had already killed 24 Italian soldiers, for the loss of 10 of their own.

However, that was when the French heard a noise that initially terrified them. It was the sounds of aircraft engines. Somehow, the Italians had gotten air support. They couldn't see the planes, as the Sun still hadn't risen yet, but they could tell that they were probably fighter aircraft, and they currently weren't engaging. Probably they couldn't see the enemy in the dark slopes below. When the Sun came out, it was all over. Durand ordered, "Alright, men, get ready to shoot down those planes! When the Sun comes out, they'll see us, so get the big gun!"

"Right away, Commander!" said the soldiers, assembling the pieces of a small anti-aircraft cannon that they had brought with them. Soon, as the Sun began to rise, and the battle continued to rage in the Alps, the Sun began to light up the silhouettes of the planes. Despite them not being able to ascertain their types, one thing was clear. These planes were single-engine fighters. They were too sleek and fast to be any Italian fighters, and their shape didn't resemble the French Dewoitine fighters that the Italians had taken from the French Air Force.

They matched the description of what seemed to be German Bf109s. This horrified the French, realizing the Italians had probably somehow gotten their hands on these sleek German fighters. The men got the cannons out, preparing to shoot the planes down, as the Sun began to rise more. However, as the time reached 6:30am, the Sun was fully up, and the planes came closer, they started coming closer to the scene of the battle. Till now, they had only been circling around the battlefield, and had not interefered in any way.

As they came closer, the French saw that these were not Bf109s at all. They were British Hawker Hurricanes. That was odd. How were these Allied planes still here, that too, when most Allied planes had either been flown back to England or destroyed on the ground to prevent them from being captured by the Germans. Plus, if these were Allied aircraft, why had they been circling for so long, instead of engaging the Italians, and why had the pilots not made contact with them? That was odd, thought the French, as they looked up at the Hurricanes.

However, as they watched, holding off against firing against the Hurricanes for a second, everything changed. They watched as the Hurricanes suddenly dive bombed, coming at them at high speed. They were not going for the Italians, though. They were going for the French! Before the French soldiers and Durand could even react to this, the planes began strafing them. Taken aback by this, they began firing, but it was too late. The shots reached the surprised French, and began tearing them apart. Soon, before they could even have a chance to react, the French contingent was annihilated by the Hurricanes. Durand, however, was still alive, but mortally wounded. As his vision began to blur, he saw something horrified.

He watched as the forms of the Hurricanes shimmered, and soon, what he saw were German Bf109s. As the lights began to go out, his brain, in its final moments, realised only one thing. The Germans had somehow disguised Bf109s as Allied planes. The final image he saw was of the Bf109s, and the last thing he heard was the sound of the Italians cheering.

------------------------------------------------------------------VALLETTA, MALTA--------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am here in Valletta, the capital city of the British territory that was Malta. Flight Lieutenant Murray Thomas of the RAF was having a hard time. The Italians had out of nowhere, invaded the small island nation of Malta, and from what they had heard over the broadcasts from Fighter Command, he had learned that the Italians had also invaded France as well, and that the French were having a hard time.

Malta was also having a hard time, as the Italians had begun their siege of the small island country at 6:00am, and taken everyone by surprise. Thomas was flying over Valletta in his Supermarine Spitfire, as the Italian planes were swarming over him and his fellow pilots like flies. The Italians were flying Macchi C.200 Saetta fighters, which were smaller than the British Spitfires, but vastly more maneuverable.

As Thomas quickly evaded of the Italian fighters that were chasing him, he saw an odd sight. A squadron of Hawker Hurricanes with RAF markings was approaching. This was weird, as they hadn't gotten any confirmation that backup was on its way, and these Hurricanes hadn't even attempted to contact them, as all RAF aircraft were using common radio frequencies. Plus, as the Hurricanes came closer, Murray recognized the registration markings and a shark mouth on one of the Hurricanes.

The marking was from a plane that had been shot down during the occupation of Denmark. Murray knew this as he happened to have known the pilot of that Hurricane, who's body had unfortunately washed up on the shores a day after, and the wreckage of his plane was pulled out of the water a month after. The second he noticed this particular Hurricane, with the same registration and shark mouth paint job, he became suspicious, and primed his guns, getting ready to fire at the Hurricanes, as they came closer.

The second Murray's Spitfire flew closer to the Hurricanes, as he expected, they began firing at him. Murray instantly avoided their gunfire, and began chasing the Hurricanes, intending to shoot them down. All of his fellow pilots also followed him, chasing the Hurricanes and the Italian fighters at the same time.

Thankfully, soon, Murray was on the six of one of the Hurricanes, and his more maneuverable Spitfire was just barely keeping with the Hurricane, which was surprising, considering the Spitfire was leaps ahead of the Hurricanes. Thankfully, he soon locked onto the Hurricanes, and as he began firing and shredding the plane, he watched as the Hurricane's form began to shimmer, and soon, in its place, was a German Bf109. As the Bf109 began to go down in flames, Murray was flummoxed by what he had just seen. How could the Germans just disguise their fighters as Allied planes?

Soon, the Italians began to overpower, with backup coming in, and as Fighter Command ordered them to retreat, the Spitfires began flying away from Malta, heading towards England. As Murray looked back at Malta, he hoped that they would be back one day, and they would figure out how the Germans were doing this... dark magic.

Chapter 73

14TH JUNE 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am here at Canterlot Castle, and the Princesses had felt that the times were soon going to get darker. Four days earlier, the Italians had invaded southern France, and besieged the British overseas territory of Malta. Close to 400 had already died on both sides in France, and close to 1,200 had died in Malta, mostly Italian and German soldiers. However, some of the dead from the Allied side had been pony soldiers. 50 ponies had died in Malta, making the current pony toll in the war around 350.

As if that was not enough, witness reports from these battle sites revealed that the Germans were somehow using Equestrian magic. They had already heard reports of super soldiers from the German Army who were strong enough to tear people apart, but now they had another concerning threat. Multiple RAF units and Royal Army units had reported seeing that the Germans had somehow used magic to disguise their Bf109 fighters as the Allied forces' Hawker Hurricanes.

That was horrifying, as they now had to keep checking even their own Allied planes to make sure they weren't these disguised German fighters. The only way they had been identified was that they had pulled maneuvers which would cause a real Hurricane to break apart mid-air, and that some of them had markings from planes that had either been shot down or removed from service. The worst part was that a British spy who had been planted in Germany had gone missing, as he had not made contact with his handler in a week, and now rumours were starting to come from Germany that he had been caught and killed by the Germans.

That wasn't even the beginning of the bad news. The Soviets had also started occupying the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as they had signed pacts with them earlier to create military bases in those nations. The Soviets had not really invaded the countries, just casually marched into them, and their militaries had done essentially nothing to stop it. Now, those nations were being occupied by the Soviets.

Plus, Equestria had suffered the rather grim milestone of its ever air accident. To keep up with the growing strength of the Royal Equestrian Air Force's fighter squadrons, they had leased some older model Hawker Hurricanes from the Royal Air Force in Britain. During a night training flight over the ocean in one of these Hurricanes, one of the pony pilots had crashed his plane into the sea. The wreckage and the body of the pilot had been recovered, and the new Equestrian Aviation Safety Board (EASB) had started an investigation into the crash, and they were already suspecting that the pilot was disoriented.

As the Princesses got ready to deal with a lot more paperwork, they knew that some more good news had also come. The expedition team hunting for the Destroyer of Discord had finally made contact with them. However, they had not found the piece with the tribe in Brazil, and they were now heading to another location they believed held the Destroyer of Discord, somewhere in Peru.

As for the hunt for Discord, they had centered on a figure who they thought was Discord. The mysterious Oberguppenführer, Abelard Möller. He had just showed up out of nowhere, around February or March. They had used some of the intelligence supplied by the spy, now presumed dead, Albert Lancaster. Möller's background seemed normal, but as human and pony analysts had dug into it, they had found some small discrepancies that suggested his identity was fake, created in haste, as if to disguise a certain someone, in this case a certain spirit of chaos.

This was making them think that was most probably Discord's human guise. It certainly matched, and he was the man behind a secret German weapons programme, presumably the one that was making these strange super soldiers and making whatever was disguising the German aircraft. It was also probably the one behind the strange injuries on some of the dead pony soldiers.

The hunt for the HNA was also in full swing, the CBI working days and nights sleeplessly to find Slick Shady and the HNA, before they could complete the Rift Gate. Now that they had the Aetherium stolen from the Western Bank of Manehattan, they would probably be working full steam to complete the Gate. As before, it seems they had gone completely off the grid, ever since Slick Shady suddenly betraying Neighsay and his government. The CBI had also figured out how Shady had gotten the gun he had used to murder Neighsay and the bank manager during the robbery. He had gotten it from a black market dealer based in the more dingier parts of Manehattan, whom the CBI had arrested.

While all that was going on, the Princesses had also been working on a new arms deal with the Americans, to get their technical help, to license build the brand-new Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber in Equestria, to try and help get an aerospace industry into Equestria. Under the contract, which would be signed within a few months, a few prototypes of the B-24, which had made its first flight in December last year, would be flown to Equestria, and a factory would be built in New Hoofshire, which was a small city, where the new Equestrian government company, Equestrian Aerospace, or EA, would assemble the B-24 under license from Consolidated Aircraft.

As the Princesses walked out into the main throne room of Canterlot Castle for today's work, they were wondering what their old enemy, the ENA, were up to. They really hadn't heard much from them since they used the documents that the late Former Chancellor Neighsay had sent them to reveal Discord's existence to Earth.

It was if the ENA had gone basically silent, except for the protests they were still holding, and an incident a day earlier where stones and bricks had been thrown by ENA members at the Equestrian embassy in London. They had done some minor damage, breaking a couple of windows. A brick had also hit a pony who was standing outside the embassy for some fresh air, and caused a minor concussion. The culprits had been arrested, but had gotten bailed out around six hours later, which had infuriated a few people.

The migration of ponies to other countries on Earth was also still going up, but not so much. A decent Equestrian community had built up in New York City, which was the next state visit that the Princesses were planning to do, and a smaller Equestrian community was also starting to build up in London. The Princesses were also planning to make state visits to China, some other Asian countries, and maybe some South American countries as well. As the Princesses began planning for the next few months, little did they know that at the ENA headquarters in Chicago, something big was going on.

---------------------------------------------------------ENA HEADQUARTERS, CHICAGO---------------------------------------------------------
It was now 12:00pm in Chicago, and at the ENA headquarters, Bret Stiles and his men were getting ready to execute another plan. Thankfully, one of the richer members of the ENA had bailed out their members who had been throwing stones and bricks at the Equestrian embassy in London, or as Stiles had called it, 'raining down projectiles of righteousness at the evil horse aliens'.

The plan that Stiles and his inner circle had charted up was hopefully going to bring back the influence that the ENA had been losing lately. Already, their member count had reduced from 25,000, to just around 23,000. They had mostly been quiet for the last few months, and soon, they were going to be back with a bang. This plot was already being put into action, and in a few months, it would all culminate in one big fiery showdown. Stiles had a plan that not only involved rallying his dwindling members but also drew from a reserve of old extremism that he hadn’t tapped into for far too long.

The purpose of the plan was to craft an event so loud it would roar across continents, an audacious act meant to shake the very foundations of Equestrian and human society alike. He envisioned something that would rival the chaos sown by Discord himself, who had, after all, had put Earth in a state of war in the blink of an eye. What if he could use a fraction of that chaos?

Gathered in a dimly-lit back room of the headquarters, Bret laid out his grand vision for his inner circle—men and women who hungered for a cause. "We need to reclaim the narrative," he said passionately, drawing fervent nods from the band of ardent followers. "We’ll hijack their attempts to integrate with Earth! Instead of welcoming them with open arms, we’ll unveil them as the culprits behind every problem we face! War? Strife? Economic downturn? It’s all because of the ponies washing ashore, spreading magic and chaos!"

With the flickering overhead light adding a sinister aura to his determined expression, he continued, “I want to disrupt their state visits. A black market deal that spirals out of control, loud enough to draw media attention and spark fear among the masses. We’ll claim they’re preying on our weaknesses, establishing mines and influence in our backyards before we even know it.”

The circle murmured their agreement, their excitement palpable. "What if we forged documents implying they were hoarding military secrets?" one suggested. “Rouse the public, make it seem like they’re preparing for something sinister while they pretend to befriend us!” Another chimed in, “And gather evidence of their supposed magic-infused technology while we’re at it!”

Bret smiled deviously. “Exactly! A classic smoke and mirrors. And while we’re at it, let’s target Gatsby to the horses themselves. We infiltrate their embassies, leak misinformation, and spread panic. They thrive on smiling faces in the sun while they grin around back with malicious intents. It’s time to unveil the truth!” said Stiles, beginning to laugh, along with the ENA's inner circle. Soon, the time would come.

Chapter 74

3RD JULY 1940

-------------------------------------------------------MERS-EL-KÈBIR, FRENCH ALGERIA--------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00am here in Mers-El-Kèbir, on the coast of the French colony of Algeria. Despite the fact that the French colonies were still not occupied by the Germans yet, the place was still on high alert, since at any moment, Germans could come storming into the town's naval port, and take it for themselves. The master of the Mers-El-Kébir port, Charles Mercier, was in his cabin, reading the newspaper. The country of France had finally surrendered to the Nazis on 22 June, and they had signed an armistice with the Germans.

Under this treaty that they signed, half of France's territory would be taken by the Germans and ruled under German rules only, but the remaining half and the colonies remained with unoccupied France. It was being headed by Marshal Philippe Pétaine, who the French thought of as a traitor to his country. When the Germans had invaded Belgium, he had sent most of the French forces into that country, which had left in a gap in France's own borders, that had led the Germans to invade in the first place. That, and he had collaborated with the Nazis to give up part of his own country to the enemy, the fucking traitor.

The worst part was that Paris was no longer the actual capital of France. While Paris nominally was still the capital of France, Pétaine and his government had set themselves up in a large government-owned mansion in the holiday of town of Vichy, on the Allier river. France didn't even feel like the country that used to be, it was as if the Germans had eaten the whole country and given the leftovers to Pétaine and the unoccupied region, now called Vichy France. So far, only the northern and western parts of the country had been annexed by the Germans, but the French people were scared that they would come for more.

As Mercier wondered what would be happening, he suddenly heard the sound of aircraft engines. They were coming in low. Mercier instantly realized what was about to happen, grabbed his shotgun that he had been keeping with him in his office for protection, and ran out. As he ran out, he saw one something that made him want to put the shotgun down. The planes were not German. These were British planes. Allied aircraft. Maybe they were coming to liberate France from the Germans.

At first, he was a little suspicious, as he had the rumours of the Germans being able to disguise their planes as Allied planes somehow, but those went away when he saw the planes were making the right maneuvers. Mercier recognized this, being a bit of an aviation geek. As he began to put his gun away, he also saw some British military vessels. That was odd. The ships hadn't called him, since he was the harbour master here. He recognized the ships from times he had handled them in the past.

There was the HMS Hood, a battlecruiser, and two battleships. The HMS Valiant and the HMS Revolution. A few cruisers and destroyers, which he couldn't recognize. As he wondered what the Royal Navy ships were doing here without clearance or prior messages to him, he saw one of them, the Hood, move its guns. Before he realized what was happening, without warning, the big battlecruiser fired a shell, and it landed right on one of the French ships that was docked.

In this case, the ship that got hit was a destroyer, and the shell hit that ship, causing it to instantly burst into flames with a large explosion. In the chaos, Mercier also saw bodies fly off the destroyer, probably sailors who were conducting routine maintenance on the ship. As he watched horrified, realising that he couldn't do anything against the large vessels, as the battlecruiser, along with the other battleships, began firing again at the French ships. However, suddenly, one of the docked French Navy ships suddenly turned its own gun, and fired at one of the British ships. However, the shell only grazed the stern of one of the British battleships, which instantly turned its guns to fire at the French ship.

A naval battle had now begun, and Mercier began to run back to his cabin to call the French Navy for help, and just as he was about to enter the cabin, he heard the planes from earlier, and he watched as they began dropping bombs on the French ships, adding to the already chaotic situation around him. He couldn't believe this. The British were attacking their own allies! Why?! Why?! WHY?!, thought Mercier as he was the phone, calling the French Navy, who agreed to instantly send five destroyers to the port. He also found out that one of the French submarines, the Surcouf, which was the largest submarine in the world at that time, had also been captured by the British.

He watched as he saw nine more planes come towards the port. There six Fairey Swordfish biplanes, and three Blackburn Skuas escorting them. All were bombers, probably coming in to drop a few more on the French ships. He realized that the ships probably had no way of defending themselves against the aircraft, and braced himself for an explosion.

(six of the first and three of the second)

However, as he watched, he saw one of the ships turn its guns, and fire at the British planes. It fired a single shell, which headed directly towards one of the Skuas. Unfortunately, the shell didn't hit the Skua, but it exploded close to the plane, which was hit by its debris. The plane began to descend, and started to turn away from the Mers-El-Kèbir port, and Mercier followed the plane as it continued towards the ocean, trailing smoke. However, the other planes were continuing with their missions, and they continued to drop bombs on the port, and one of them nailed the stern of the destroyer Mogador, badly damaging it.

However, that was when he saw something that made him happy. Five French planes were approaching them. These planes were American-made Curtiss H-75s. He watched as the French planes began chasing away the British planes. However, he knew they were not still out of hot water yet. There was only one way in and out of the harbor, that was currently being blocked by the British ships. And he had already suspected the British ships had laid a nasty little surprise out for any French vessels that came to destroy them.

(this but with French flag and markings)

As Mercier watched the naval battle rage, he was suddenly surprised, as some of the British ships began finally retreating out of the harbor, having felt that they had crippled the French fleet enough. However, just as Mercier thought the British ships were done with the carnage, he suddenly heard and saw a loud explosion, and barely had time to react as the shockwave ripped through his cabin, broke all the windows, and threw him right into the wall. Mercier was almost knocked unconscious as he was thrown onto the wall, and then knocked onto the floor. As he got up, he walked to the door of the cabin, which had been blown off by the shockwave of the explosion.

As he walked out, he saw something horrifying. A ship, in this case, the French Navy battleship Bretagne, had been completely destroyed and burning on the water, sinking from the stern. The ship had not been docked, but had been out in the water and fighting back against the British vessels when it had been hit by something, probably a torpedo. It had probably hit the ammunition, causing the large explosion, and completely destroying the ship's stern. Mercier watched as the ship began to slip under the waters, totally destroyed. Multiple pieces of debris, and human body parts, were floating in the water.

As Mercier took in the horrific destruction of the Mers-El-Kébir port, he collapsed, as he realised that a piece of shrapnel had pierced him in the abdomen, and he had only now realised this. As he lay bleeding on the ground, he wondered what had caused Britain to turn on their own ally, and attack them so fiercely, as if they were attacking Germans instead of the French. He just hoped that this was a case of mistaken identity, and not what he thought it was, as he lay bleeding on the rubble-strewn tarmac, as his vision began to go blurry, and as the lights began to go out, the last thing he saw were the burning remains of the Bretagne.

Chapter 75

2ND AUGUST 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am in Canterlot. Summer had finally hit Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and the Sun was shining brightly in the sky. Despite this, at Canterlot Castle, the mood was quite sombre, as every time it felt that they came a step forward, they got knocked back three steps. Almost a month earlier, they had been shocked when the British had mercilessly betrayed their ally, and attacked the ports in the French colony of Algeria, to destroy the remainder of the French naval fleet.

They had brutally attacked the ports there with a large amount of manpower and firepower, and gone all out in attacking the French fleet at the port of Mers-El-Kèbir. They had also seized French vessels that had been stationed in Algeria, including some of their submarines. 1,200 French people had died during these strikes, of which 980 alone were from the French battleship Bretagne, which had been destroyed entirely during the battle with the British ships when a torpedo had struck it in its ammunition hold.

The only British casualties in the entire operation were a pair of airmen who had been killed when their plane, a Skua, had been hit by debris from a French shell, which had caused the plane to crash into the sea before the pilots had a chance to eject.

Following this, the League of Nations had demanded an explanation for this, especially Marshal Philippe Pétaine, the head of the current Vichy France regime, as to why they had attacked their own ally. At first, the Princesses were wondering if Discord had somehow made his way into Britain and taken control of Winston Churchill, making him commit this act, but Churchill himself had come forward to explain this act. She remembered the conference call like it was yesterday, and the argument between Pétaine and Churchill.

"Explain yourself, Churchill, as to why you attack a French colony, destroyed French military assets, and murdered so many French sailors in cold blood!" Pétaine had shouted.

"Well, Marshal, there was a reason we had to. One, you aren't even allied with our country, anymore for one. You're working with the Germans. Two, just because you still keep your fleet now, doesn't mean you will keep it in a year or two. The Germans could take it from you at any moment, and with your advanced submarines, we would be taken completely taken unawares. We had to." Churchill had explained it calmly. Pretty much everyone had understood Churchill's explanation. However, Pétaine was so angry at the destruction of the fleet, that he had violently exploded at everyone.

"Oh, sure! The Germans have already left a decent part of my country for me, and they have promised no further inference! Did you really think we'd accept your silly and false explanation? We henceforth sever all diplomatic connections with Britain and its allies, starting this instant!" Pétaine had said, instantly dropping the call. None of the Allied nations had a single word from the French since then, and Pétaine had pulled all French diplomats out of them instantly.

The day after that, Germany had incessantly begun bombing Britain from the air. The German air force, the Luftwaffe, had ruthlessly begun attacking ships in the British channel, no matter if they were British ships or ones from neutral countries. Recently, they had also begun attacking the harbours on the coast of Britain. This had led to large loss of life and airmen among the Royal Air Force, who had lost multiple aircraft and pilots trying to defend Britain against the Germans. However. recently, the tables were starting to turn, with the Luftwaffe beginning to lose multiple aircraft and crews, so it was looking like they would retreat soon.

However, there was another dark cloud on the horizon. There was still not even a single sign of Slick Shady and the HNA. They had truly gone dark after the robbery at the Western Bank of Manehattan, and Slick Shady betraying Neighsay. The CBI had arrested a few more of the lower-ranking members of the HNA, but so far, none of them knew where Slick Shady and the HNA had vanished to, but just that only a few more months were left before 'The Day of Liberation', as Shady called the activation of the Rift Gate and their return to Earth. They were running out of time, and the Princesses knew they had to find them, no matter what, before that date, which was approximated to be around December.

As the Princesses got ready for another busy day, little did they know, that soon, they were finally going to get a clue to the HNA's location.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
In the dilapidated house located somewhere in the forests of Equestria, the unicorn, Riftweaver Spark, was suffering. Ever since he and his fellow scientists had been kidnapped by Neighsay and the HNA, they had not been treated well. Spark himself estimated that he had probably already lost almost ten kilograms of weight, thanks to how little the HNA had been feeding them. He was starting so thin that his ribs were starting to show.

The HNA hadn't just underfed him and his comrades. They had also tortured them, to make them build the Rift Gate that would take them back to Equis, and when they refused on the first day after their kidnapping, they were tortured with red-hot iron rods, until they were forced to accept this mammoth task. In fact, they had thought it would be impossible, since they only had their notes, and nothing else to build the Gate with.

However, the HNA had given them a decent toolbox, and there was plenty of timber from the forests around them. The only thing they had needed was the Aetherium, which was super hard to get. At first, they were relieved, since the HNA wouldn't have access to it, and would have probably been unable to get their hands on it. However, almost two months earlier, the HNA had mysteriously somehow got some for them. Mysteriously, Neighsay had left along with Slick Shady, the bucking traitor, but only Shady had returned.

When the HNA and the scientists asked him about it, Shady had stated that Neighsay had turned traitor, and attempted to give them away to the police, and had been forced to kill Neighsay. Everyone accepted this statement, except for Spark and his fellow scientists, who already suspected that Shady had murdered Neighsay so that he could take over the HNA, and lead them instead of Neighsay.

Today was the day the scientists would begin another plan as they continued to build the Rift Gate. They would begin their plan that would hopefully help the Princesses to find them. It would probably take them a bit of time, but the scientists had calculated that they would be able to be rescued and have the Princesses rescue them around a month or so before the HNA put their plan into action. But how were they going to get a message to the Princesses, when they didn't even know where they were, and were being constantly monitored by HNA members?

The theory of their idea was really simple. They would use the emissions of the Aetherium to their advantage. The Aetherium emitted a rare kind of radiation emission. It wouldn't harm people, even if it was activated, but the only problem was that no matter how much Aetherium was used, it was barely traceable. It was probably not even going to be picked up on a radiation detector.

That would be changed. Earlier, the scientists had made up a lie that the Aetherium they had taken was not powerful enough, and they would have to steal some more. As they had expected, Shady had refused, and had asked the scientists if there was a way to make it more powerful. The scientists had stated that a machine they had stolen would help them make it more powerful, but it would take time. Shady had told them to 'make it quicker', so that was what the scientists would do. They would increase the strength of the Aetherium over time, and at the same time, they would use the emitted radiation to their advantage.

Suddenly, just as they were next to the almost-complete frame of the Rift Gate, getting ready to start their work on enhancing the Aetherium, suddenly, a group of HNA ponies, led by Slick Shady, came in. "WAIT! What do you think you're doing?!" shouted Shady.

The scientists froze for a minute, thinking Shady had discovered their plan, but then what he said next disproved that. "Working on radioactive materials like that in close proximity to our members! We're installing lead shielding to block any of that radiation!" said Shady, as the other HNA ponies began using carts to bring some of the lead shielding.

"But, Shady, the Aetherium barely emits any radiation, and if it did emit harmful amounts, we would have died by now!" said Spark.

"That may be so, but I am not taking any chances. You will work in this lead shielding, so no radiation is released into the air. That is an order." said Shady, as they began installing the shielding. Spark let off a light groan. The plan they had involved the radiation, and it was the only method they had. But now, even that had been stopped by Shady. They would have to do it somehow, someway.

Chapter 76

4TH AUGUST 1940

--------------------------------------------------------BERBERA, BRITISH SOMALILAND---------------------------------------------------------
It was not even at 7:00am, and was already a hot and sunny day in Berbera, the capital of the foreign territory of British Somaliland. Above the skies of the city, a flight of RAF Bristol Blenheim bombers was on patrol. In one of these bombers, Flight Lieutenant Robert Owens was flying the bomber above the skies of Somaliland, along with fourteen other Blenheims. Along with him were his navigator-cum-bomb aimer, a pegasus, Bulky Buster, and his gunner, Swift Wind, a unicorn. His bomber was the only aircraft that had only one human crewmember. While there were a few other ponies in the squadron, his particular plane was the only one which had only one human on the crew.

(fifteen of these)

Lately, everyone stationed here in Africa had been on edge since the bombing of French Navy vessels in Algeria, and that was concern that the Axis would try to retaliate for the attacks, since France was basically under the control of Germany at this point. "So far, nothing visible in the skies. You guys see anything from your views?" asked Owens.

"Nope, all clear from my point of view." replied Buster, and Wind soon replied that he also hadn't seen anything. So far, their patrol had gone without anything eventful since they had taken off around an hour earlier. They still had a lot of fuel and weapons on board, and they had around seven hours left on their patrol. As the bombers lumbered around the city of Berbera, in the desert surrounding the city, they saw some dust clouds. At first, they thought it was normal, as it could have been the wind. But there were numerous clouds, and the wind was not blowing, which made them suspicious.

"Serpent 8, this is Serpent 1 here. Do you think you can check out those clouds? I have a feeling about them." said the commander of the squadron, to Owens.

"Roger, Serpent 8, I'll go check it out." said Owens, as he began turning the plane away from the rest of his squadron to check the commander's suspicions. As he flew a little lower to check what this was, he felt explosions in the air, around his aircraft, and he realised what he had encountered. It was a large formation of tanks. But they didn't seem like the models used by the Germans. They seemed quite small for German tanks. Whatever country operated them, they were definitely not British models.

(around ninety to one hundred of these)

"Serpent 8, its a huge tank company! I can't tell what kind they are, they're not German tanks, but they're not British ones either! They're firing at us, and heading towards the city! We gotta stop them before they take Berbera!" said Owens.

"Roger that, Serpent 8, we're coming to help you, hold on!" said Serpent 1, as the other Blenheims flew towards the position of Owens' plane. Meanwhile, Owens was trying to guide his plane away from the deadly shots being fired by the enemy, while his comrades flew towards him as fast as they could without destroying their planes.

"Buster! Get ready to drop the bombs, we need to stop these tanks!" said Owens, shouting to Bulk Buster, as he opened the bomber's bomb bay doors.

"On it, Owens! Working on aiming them right now! Already got two bombs ready to go!" said Buster, as he began to aim the bomb. A few seconds later, he gave the confirmatory message. "Owens, drop them now!"

"Dropping now!" said Owens, as he pressed a switch, and two bombs dropped out of the plane, heading towards the tanks. Soon, impact came, as the bombs hit their targets, destroying six tanks in one swoop. Thankfully, the other Blenheims in Serpent Squadron had also come to their aid, and soon, tanks started to be destroyed fast. However, the pilots had estimated that around 100 tanks were in this one company alone, and they had also been able to figure out what country and type they were.

These were Italian tanks, to be precise, Carro Armato M13/40 medium tanks. They had heard that these had entered service with the Italian Army only a month earlier, but weren't expecting them to be deployed into battles so early. These tanks, being smaller than the German Panzers, were much more nimble, and hence were a little harder to hit successfully. However, the desert made the tanks slower, which helped the lumbering Blenheims go at them more easily.

As the bombers continued to inflict some damage on the tanks, that was when Serpent 1 shouted, "SHIT! ITALIAN MACCHI FIGHTERS! ALL PLANES, GUNS OPEN, NOW!" As Owens watched horrified, he saw a large number of Italian Macchi fighters converging on the bombers. They had no means of self-defence apart from the 7.7mm machine gun in the port wing, and a Vickers K gun in the dorsal turret, since their plane was a Blenheim Mk. I, and not one of the newer Blenheim Mk. IVs.

"Alright, Wind, get ready! I hope you have enough ammunition, we're going to need to last a fight against those Italian planes!" said Owens, getting ready to pull some evasive maneuvers with the heavy and slow bomber.

"Roger that, Owens! Already loading the dorsal turret!" said Swift Wind. "Here they come!" shouted Wind, as the Macchis closed in on their plane, and Owens quickly put the bomber into a steep descent, as one of the Italian fighters headed towards them at full speed. As the Macchi began firing as it flew over them, Wind fired at the Macchi, which was hit, and began spiralling down towards the desert in flames.

"We've called for backup, but they might not be able to get here in time!" radioed Serpent 1. By now, two of the fifteen Blenheims in the Serpent Squadron had already been shot down, and the others were having a rough time dealing with the Macchis. However, it was a losing battle. Fifteen minutes later, of the thirteen remaining bombers, seven of them had been shot down, including Serpent 1. By that time, backup had still not arrived, and the pilots already knew it was a losing battle.

"Alright, guys, we gotta get outta here! Those Italians are gonna kill us all if we don't retreat! We better head towards Egypt, we'll be safe there!" said Owens, as he and his remaining airmen set full throttle, and began flying away from Berbera, heading towards Egypt. They knew that they were being cowardly, leaving behind the territory they were supposed to protect like that. But it was the only way, and they knew that one day, Britain would either have Somaliland back to itself, or the countries it comprised of would be independent.

Chapter 77

27TH AUGUST 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am in Equestria. Today was a bit of a special and a sombre day for the Princesses, as this day marked exactly one year since Equestria and the Crystal Empire had been sent to Earth by the storm that Faust had sent. Most ponies still didn't know what had sent them to Earth, only the Princesses did. They would never give out that fact, since it would probably spook ponies that Faust had done it, and most of them probably would not believe that Faust was real anyways, since it had been 1,300 years since her final physical appearance, back on Equis. In fact, a few conspiracy theorists had suggested that as theories, which had promptly been laughed off by ponies as crazy.

In fact, a group of ponies had put forward a petition that this day be celebrated as a national holiday in both the nations, as a sort of 'Welcome to Earth Day', but another group had put forward a petition to make it a 'Mourning Day', to mourn the loss of Equis, and the beginning of an era of war in Equestria and the Crystal Empire, as well as the loss of things such as the ponies' ability to control weather, the Princesses' tradition of controlling the Sun and Moon, since they could not control those of Earth, and many other things.

Some had even rioted at first, when they found out that ponies and horses were used as beasts of burden on Earth. That had lasted until they found out that the ponies and horses on Earth were just animals, and were not sentient, not like the ponies from Equis. So far, the Princesses were looking at the idea of a 'Welcome to Earth Day', but now, they had had to put those plans on hold.

Almost a month earlier, the Italians had made another move against the Allies, by invading Britain's territories in Africa. They had brutally taken the territory of Somaliland from the British, and brutally killed any British soldiers who stood in their way. The death toll from this alone had taken the total war toll to 11 million, which was just around half that of the Great War, now called the First World War, since this war, the Second World War, seemed like a repeat of that, but worse. Unfortunately, the pony death toll had also risen in the war.

The toll earlier had been around 400, but now it had gone up to almost 4,000. Majority of the fatalities had been during the battle in the Atlantic, when two Royal Navy vessels leased temporarily to the Royal Equestrian Navy had been destroyed by torpedoes from German U-boats. One, a destroyer, had been attempting to protect a British civilian ocean liner, that had inadvertently lost its way and sailed right into the battle. They had been able to save the ocean liner, but at the cost of their own lives. Of the 214 sailors aboard the ship, only 11 had survived to tell the tale.

The other ship, a battlecruiser, had been snuck upon a German U-boat and destroyed. Of the 1,433 crew members aboard the ship, only three had survived. Both of these ships had been sunk within 24 hours of each other, with the loss of more than 1,600 sailors. Multiple ponies serving with the Royal Army had also lost their lives during the Italian invasion of British Somaliland, so the toll had shot up by 10 times.

It had been a grim time for Equestria, and the previous night, the bodies of around 1,200 ponies who had died in battle had finally been returned home. Celestia had been at the docks in Manehattan when the ship carrying the coffins arrived, and she had had to help console the family members of the fallen.

Celestia pondered how much Equestria and the Crystal Empire had changed in just one year. In her life, compared to a regular pony, one year was like one day, but it was much busier and stressful. Some more news had also come back from the team that had been looking for the pieces of the Destroyer of Discord. They had got another location, in Peru, which seemed to have better hopes than the previous locations they had been looking in, so they were refreshing themselves before they left for Peru.

In the meantime, the Princesses were also trying to figure out Discord's location, which they now knew was somewhere in Germany. They knew that he was probably behind the German weapons program. The same program that had created the strange soldiers who were strong enough to rip a human in half with their bare hands, and the strange German fighters. They had also found out that he had somehow convinced the leaders of Germany, Japan, and Italy, to sign a document that had apparently been called the Tripartite Pact, which formally gave them the title of the Axis powers.

After this, the Princesses had made a short state visit to London, where they had signed with a pact with Winston Churchill, to unite them formally as the Allied powers. The hunt for the HNA was also still on, but still hadn't turned up any leads so far. However, a small, rather suspicious energy spike had been picked by Chaos Energy Detectors up in the forests surrounding the Swamps of Neigh Horseleans. However, it had not turned up since then, and experts had felt that it was probably due to equipment sensitivity.

As the Princesses began another busy day, they felt that something big was going to happen, very soon.

--------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGH HORSELEANS FORESTS------------------------------------------
In the dark forests of Neigh Horseleans, surrounding the infamous swamps, in the dilapidated house, Riftweaver Spark and his friends were still stuck at the HNA's compound, forced to build the Rift Gate. Before their plan had failed thanks to Slick Shady erecting the lead shielding around their workspace, which stopped the Aetherium emissions from being detected. Due to this, they had to find another way to have the Princesses find them.

They couldn't just escape, as they were way too weak for that, and besides, even if they could, they wouldn't get far, before they were recaptured by the HNA, and even if they were able to avoid them, they didn't know the area well. They knew they were somewhere in the deep forests of Neigh Horseleans, extremely far from society. They would probably just end up dying in the forest, either of starvation or from being attacked by a wild animal.

They only had one option left, and that was to wait until December, when Slick Shady would carry out 'The Reckoning', the finale of the HNA's plan. The day he would send Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to Equis, and destroy Earth in the process. Their plan was to sabotage the Rift Gate as it began, which would destroy it in the process and save Earth. It would probably kill them and the HNA, but it was better than killing an entire planet. That would be their plan. They had to just bide their time and wait for the right moment. They would either die as heroes, or live long enough to see themselves become the villains.

Chapter 78

9TH SEPTEMBER 1940

--------------------------------------------------8,000 FEET ABOVE MERSA MATRUH, EGYPT------------------------------------------------
It was a very hot day in the city of Mersa Matruh, in the British territory of Egypt. The entire area was on edge, ever since the Italians had invaded Somaliland, wrested it away from the British, and annexed it into Italian East Africa. Since then, the Royal Air Force had been flying Hawker Hurricanes, Bristol Blenheims, and even Spitfires into Egypt more frequently than ever, with the threat of an invasion by the Italians or Germans always imminent. In fact, rumours had now emerged that the Italians and Germans were creating a combined military force just for that, using German Panzer tanks crewed by Italian Army members.

In fact, Andersen bomb shelters had been distributed to members of the public, like how it was being done in Britain, to protect members of the public from enemy aerial bombing. Precautions were also being taken to keep the British forces supplied, by reinforcing Malta, which was still under British control despite it being under siege daily by the Italian military. 8,000 feet in the sky above the city, a group of RAF Hawker Hurricanes were soaring, on patrol for Italian planes. Flying one of the Hurricanes was Flight Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, on her first ever deployment outside of Europe.

Rainbow and her squadron, Mage Squadron, had been in Egypt for the last two months, and this deployment was scheduled to last around six months, so they still had four months left before they would be heading back home to Britain. Among the pilots were a few who were allied with Free France. This new political entity was a group of French rebels, led by the French military general, Charles de Gaulle.

Charles de Gaulle and his compatriots had fled France following the formation of Vichy France, as they opposed the idea of France surrendering to the Germans. That had been a good move, following that and the British attacks on the French forces in Algeria, a lot of the French forces who had fled France following their surrender to Germany had joined sides with de Gaulle, and after his famous address on 18th June, Free France was gaining more supporters by the day.

As Rainbow and the other pilots cruised over the desert, Rainbow asked, "Mage 1, do you think we'll be attacked today?"

"I'm not so sure, Mage 5. Doesn't look like we'll be attacked today. So far, there hasn't been any reported Axis movement in the area, and those Italians aren't probably going to make any moves yet. Anyways, we better continue our patrol, you never know." replied the squadron leader, Mage 1. As the planes continued flying over the coastal desert city, they felt that it was calm, too calm for the day. That was when they got a distress call from a Royal Army commander. "This is Commander Rosings of the 7th Support Group. We are under attack! Italian troops are closing on us, they are taking us by surprise! They are invading Egypt! We need air support!"

"Commander Rosings, this is Mage 1, we're on our way! Give us your location, pronto!" replied Mage 1.

"We are now east of Mersa Matruh, near Zawyet Eilet Nuh! We're not going to last too long at this rate, the Italians are coming at us like crazy!"

"On our way right now, Mage 1!" said Mage 1, as he and the Hurricanes began turning east, towards Zawyet Eilet Nuh. They would hopefully reach in time to help Commander Rosings and his division. This was it. The Italian invasion of Egypt had begun. They had to stop it, otherwise Egypt would end up like Somaliland, which was not in a good shape since the Italians had wrested it away from Britain. The Italians had renamed the country from British Somaliland to Italian East Africa, since was under their rule now. Rumours had come that they would also remove Berbera's status as its capital, and shift the capital to some other city.

As the Hurricanes arrived over the scene of the battle, they all began strafing the Italian forces, who were busy trying to deal with the British forces, and were barely taking a glance in the air. They were taken by surprise by the British Hurricanes, and the RAF pilots were all quite surprised at the fact that the Italians hadn't brought any air support or anti-aircraft units with them. However, that was when Rainbow noticed something. "Mage 1, there are multiple aircraft coming towards our position from the sea, at high speed! I can't tell what type they are!"

"I see, Mage 5. Commander Rosings, can your men identify them? We're unable to identify them from our current position." said Mage 1.

"Hold on, one of my scouts is using binoculars to take a look at them right now." said Rosings, and the line went silent for a moment, as Rosings listened to the scout. "Oh no! My scout has reported that the approaching aircraft have Italian markings, get ready for a fight!" said Rosings. The second the RAF pilots heard this message, they instantly began doing flight control checks and checking their ammunition, readying themselves for the dogfight. Not even a minute later, Rainbow Dash could see the Italian planes, Macchis, closing in on Mage Squadron.

Instantly, Rainbow and her fellow pilots began dodging the bullets, and the dogfight between the Macchis and the British planes began. Rainbow instantly got behind the tail of one of the Italian fighters, just as another one started chasing her Hurricane. The second the Macchi in front of her was in her crosshairs, Rainbow fired a burst from her guns, and took out the right wing, causing the Macchi to catch fire and spiral to the desert in flames. Now to deal with the one chasing her.

As Rainbow quickly dodged right to avoid a burst from the Macchi's gun, the pilot anticipated her move. Three of the bullets hit her Hurricane, but they didn't seem to hit anything critical, because Rainbow's plane was still flying, and no alarms popped up on the control panel. Rainbow quickly dived towards the ground to avoid the Macchi, and began to do an outside loop. She just hoped the Hurricane wouldn't break apart, as this was an idea she had just thought of on the moment. As Rainbow entered the first half of the outside loop, descending rapidly, the Macchi began following her.

As the Macchi was about to fire its guns again, in a split second, Rainbow rolled her Hurricane wings level and began climbing at high speed, straining the airframe to its limits. The Macchi pilot was taken by surprise, and before he could react, he plowed into a sand dune, as Rainbow Dash had been only 200 feet above the ground when she pulled up. As the battle raged, within 15 minutes, eight Macchis had been shot down, and none of the Hurricanes had been lost. Soon, all of them had been routed, as had the Italian ground forces. However, they knew that this was only the beginning, and the Italians would keep attempting to take Egypt, until the Allies fully pushed them out.

Chapter 79

14TH SEPTEMBER 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 7:00am at Canterlot Castle, where being awake at this hour, and the castle being filled with so much activity this early in the morning was now a usual sight. It had been just 5 days since the Italians had made their next move in Africa, attempting to invade Britain's other colony there, in Egypt. However, unlike their invasion of Somaliland, the British had prepared for a surprise ambush, and was holding back against the invading armies of Mussolini. They had put up a strong defense, and so far, despite fatalities on both sides, the Allied troops were holding the Italians at bay, and that had been helped by Equestrian and Crystal Empirean reinforcements.

They still had a bit to go before the Italians were driven out of Egypt entirely, but so far, all was going on well on that side of the battlefield. Meanwhile, the hunt for the Destroyer of Discord had finally had something good happen, as the hunters, who had reached Peru, had gotten a legitimate clue as to where the second piece of the Destroyer could be located, and were heading there now, and this time, there was a chance that they would find it. The Princesses were also keeping in touch with Twilight Sparkle, ever since she had left to join the British cryptologists at Bletchley Park. The last they had heard, she was working on an advanced method to break the codes of the German ciphers.

The hunt for the HNA was also starting to finally turn up some clues. They had a motive as to why Slick Shady had turned against his country and joined the HNA. As it turned out, Shady's twin brother, the only family he had, as they were orphans, had joined the Royal Equestrian Army, and had been deployed in Denmark, during which he had gone missing, and had been presumed killed in action. Shady had been very attached to his brother, and his presumed death was probably what had made him what he had become.

The CBI had also temporarily figured out a location where Shady could be. His twin brother used to have a vacation house near the Neigh Horseleans swamps. However, he had sold it some years previously, around two years before Equestria and the Crystal Empire were transported to Earth by Faust, and the last update on the property, around a year previously, had confirmed that the house was abandoned and that no one was staying there. Although some people were still suspicious about this location, the CBI had ruled it off their list, even though the mysterious reading on the magic detectors had been noted somewhere near here, writing it off as nothing more than a mere coincidence.

However, the December date for the 'Grand Finale' of the HNA's plan was approaching, and they were running out of time. The hunt for Shady had stepped up in intensity, and the CBI had finally caught one of the higher-ups in the HNA. He wasn't that high up, but he wasn't street trash either. His interrogation hadn't revealed much to their location, but it had revealed to them more about the HNA's ideology. It wasn't helping them find Shady and the others, though.

Another issue was Discord. They were still trying to figure out what Discord had done to some of the German soldiers. They had heard multiple stories, and even seen pictures, of some German soldiers literally ripping Allied soldiers in half. They hadn't even managed to kill any of these soldiers on the battlefield, as whenever they shot these soldiers, the bullets wouldn't kill them. It would just wound them, and it only seemed to make them charge more brutally at Allied soldiers, as if getting shot had triggered an 'aggressive mode'.

That, and they were still working on a way to counter the disguised German Bf109s. They hadn't really popped up much lately, but some had been used during the bombings on British ports. Apart from that, they still hadn't gotten any new intel on Discord's location, apart from the fact that he had not left Germany even once since their arrival on Earth. As the Princesses got ready to attend a court hearing regarding a proposed new law relating to amateur radio in Equestria, little did they knew that soon, they would get the intel that they had been wanting for sometime soon.

--------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGH HORSELEANS FORESTS------------------------------------------
In the forests of Neigh Horseleans, at the dilapidated house that had formerly belonged to Slick Shady's twin brother, the scientists were suffering even more than ever. They were now on a tight deadline to complete the Rift Gate, as Slick Shady wanted it to be done by December. He was busy working on the first contact plan for the inhabitants of Equis, as he had calculated that when they returned to Equis, at least 250 years would have passed since the two countries had left that planet.

So far, nobody knew anything about what Shady was planning to say when they returned to Equis, as he had locked himself up in his room for the last few days, working on the first contact plan. He had also heard rumours that a few HNA members had been arrested, which was another reason why he had forced Spark and his friends to speed up the work on the Rift Gate. They wondered what Shady was working on in that room.

In that particular room, which happened to be his late brother's room, Shady was busy throwing another crumpled paper, his 42nd one to be precise, into the fireplace. He was having a lot of trouble trying to figure out his 'Welcome Back to Equis' speech for the HNA and Equis' inhabitants. It was as if despite the fact that he had so many things to say, he couldn't figure out how to say it. No matter what. Whenever he tried to do something in this room, it just never worked out well. That wasn't surprising, considering that this was his brother's room. Shady remembered the final time he had seen his brother alive, shortly before he was deployed. He remembered that final meeting.

"Hey, little bro, are you okay?" Shady had asked.

"Yes, Slick. I'm more than ready to head to Britain. I want to serve my country. You don't have to be so protective of me." said Clumsy Honest, Shady's twin. Despite the fact that there wasn't much family resemblance, they were twins, and hence were very protective of each other. Honest had been drafted to go to Britain to fight in the war.

"You do realise the Princesses might be crazy, to send you to fight in a new world entirely?"

"I agree, their plan to send us to fight on the human battlefields does sound crazy at first, but now I understand why. We're being tasked with spreading friendship on the battlefields, to stop the war. That's what we're going there to do. I'm willing to do it, brother."

"Okay, but please come back alive, alright? I don't want to lose you. Not after Mom and Dad."

"I promise, Slick. I promise." Honest had said. That had been the last time Shady had seen his brother in person, as he had left a few hours later for Britain. They had talked a few times over the telephone, but that was about it. A few months later, Shady had received word that Honest had gone missing fighting in Denmark, and was presumed dead. Shady had fallen into depression then. He had lost the only remaining family he had.

The Princesses had done this. They killed his brother, by sending him and many other ponies to fight on those battlefields, not suited for the ponies' way of life. They had also murdered innocent ponies, by sending them to their deaths. They would pay for this. He would not stop until the Princesses paid for the deaths of Clumsy Honest and all of the other ponies who had died. They would pay.

Chapter 81

15TH OCTOBER 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am here in the city of Canterlot. The Princesses were rushing around the castle to their next meeting. Ever since the end of the Italian invasion of Egypt, a lot had occurred in Europe. Germany and Italy had helped Bulgaria take back Southern Dobruja from Romania, which had been more than one-third of Romania's territory. This area had been part of Bulgaria until the Second Balkan War in 1913, during which Romania had wrested it away from Bulgaria. However, the two Axis nations had forced Romania to sign the Treaty of Craiova, which had given Southern Dobruja back to Romania.

This combined with earlier losses of Romanian territory to the Soviet Union and Hungary had led to a large number of riots in Romania, and King of Romania, Carol II, had been forced to flee the country, and he had sought asylum in Equestria, which had been granted by the Princesses. The monarchy in Romania had been replaced by a military dictatorship, led by Marshal Ion Antonescu, who was pro-Nazi, and wanted Romania to have good relations with Germany.

In the meantime, the pony death toll and the number of ponies who had been deployed to the battlefields by Equestria and the Crystal Empire had increased so much that at least one pony was dying everyday in the battlefield. That toll had now risen to 4,200 in the last month. The total toll of the war was still stagnant at around 10 million, but that had increased lately with the Germans starting to bomb cities in Britain. In fact, German planes had been able to reach London and reduce a decent number of its buildings to rubble. Of course, the RAF were able to try and stop German bombers, but multiple civilians had died due to the incessant bombing. This had enraged the Princesses. How could they bomb a city full of civilians for no reason, without any reason? They had been at it for a month now, and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

In fact, the REAF had temporarily sent a small unit to London to help the RAF defend themselves against the nonstop aerial attacks by the Germans. In fact, in some time, the Princesses would soon make another state visit to London soon, postponing their planned visit to New York City by sometime. This would be their way of showing support to Britain during the war, and they would also visit a base on the frontlines as a gesture of goodwill to thank the soldiers who had bravely helped defend the Allied nations during the war.

In their own country, the demands from Our Town were starting to get more frequent and demanding. The small town had a population of only around 900 ponies, but they wanted to break off and start their own country, which would be governed under their principle, which was essentially the system of communism which was used by the government of the Soviet Union. Of course, the Princesses would never let that happen, as they had heard reports through the intelligence services of the Allied nations how miserable life really was in the Soviet Union under communism, and they did not want the same thing to happen to their ponies.

As the Princesses turned their attention to the most important thing on the platter since the year began, they looked at the newest report from the CBI for the hunt for Slick Shady and the HNA. They were still looking for a potential location for where Shady and the HNA could be, and a location that had previously been dismissed by the CBI had now resurfaced: the old house that Shady's late brother had owned near the Neigh Horseleans swamps. Recently, a biologist who had been doing some research in the swamps had reported hearing a loud noise, as if there was a large crowd. This had been near the location of Shady's brother's old house.

They had sent a plane over the area, but they couldn't see anything due to the thick forest. As there was only one road that passed through the area, and the sound of vehicles would also probably alert them, they had planned a covert operation to secretly take down the HNA, which would start very soon, in less than a few minutes from now. They were in place for the operation. If this was the place, this would hopefully be the end of the HNA, and they could seize the Rift Gate.

--------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGH HORSELEANS FORESTS------------------------------------------
In Clumsy Honest's old room, Slick Shady was again reminiscing, the last few conversations he had with his twin brother before his death. He remembered the day that he had gotten the news of his brother's death, the day his whole life fell apart. All his life, his brother was the only constant. Their parents had died years ago in an accident, around 60 years earlier. They had died when the Friendship Express had derailed after someone had deliberately placed a rock in the tracks near the city of Fillydelphia. The train driver had not noticed it until the last moments, and despite his attempts to stop the train, it was going quite fast at the time, and had derailed, killing the driver along with 26 other ponies, including Shady and Honest's parents.

Despite the fact that Shady and Honest were twins, they were both only around 12 years old when their parents died, and were placed in an orphanage. They were ejected the second they turned 18, and until Shady joined a university, Honest was like an older brother to Shady, and took care of him with the meagre earnings that he got at his job as a baker's apprentice in Fillydelphia. The second Shady graduated from university and joined the Equestrian government, he started doing the reverse, and started supporting Honest.

The other thing he started doing was trying to figure out who had killed their parents that fateful day by derailing the Friendship Express for no reason. The perpetrator had never been found, even after 60 years, and Shady had been angry about it. Despite the fact that Honest had told him not to fixate on this, as it had been decades since that fateful day, Shady had persisted in his quest, and had found the pony's identity, but knew that he could not have him imprisoned without evidence, of which there was none, so he had to take matters into his own hands. That was when his brother was killed by the human barbarians, and Shady joined the HNA, then headed by Neighsay.

At that time, when Neighsay was planning his attack to terrify Equestria and the Crystal Empire to stop them from collaborating with the humans, Shady had discovered that the pony who had derailed the Friendship Express had been planning to visit Nightlights' Shoppe in Fillydelphia. The same city where he had murdered their parents. How poetic it would be if he got his justice there. That was when Shady discovered a group of 5 human journalists would also be there, and suggested to Neighsay that they bomb the building. With the help of the Nobel-808 he had stolen, he had been able to have Neighsay destroy the building, and take the lives of 18, including 4 of the 5 human journalists.

However, he had not managed to kill the pony who had murdered Shady's parents, despite the fact that he was in the building when the bomb went off. However, he had managed something better. While the pony had survived, he had lost his three grandchildren and one of his daughters in the explosion. Shady had heard a radio interview featuring him, where he had been lamenting and crying that his life was over with the loss of so many members of his family, and he didn't want to live anymore. Shady had laughed during that, having gotten his revenge. However, then he had lost faith in Neighsay.

Neighsay had decided to construct the Rift Gate, but had decided to leave Equestria and the Crystal Empire on Earth, because he believed that they should suffer slowly on Earth, but Shady wanted to be a savior and return them back home to Equis. It was due to this disagreement that he had killed Neighsay in the robbery at the Western Bank of Manehattan, as he didn't want to be a savior, and had also driven Neighsay's name into the mud among the HNA by calling him a traitor.

Now, as he reminisced over all he was doing, meanwhile, not too far from the old house, the Commander of the Royal Guards, Shining Armor, and his men, were getting ready to storm the building. Shining himself was disguised as a truck driver, driving a large mail truck down the road. His men were in the back, all kitted out, and ready to use invisibility spells the second they jumped out of the vehicle. They were about to storm the compound and take out Slick Shady, to save the experts and stop the construction of the Rift Gate. Shining's second-in-command was sitting next to him, also pepping himself up.

Shining Armor normally didn't participate in CBI operations, since he was a Royal Guard, but their Tactical Squad had specially asked for him today so he could lead this operation against the HNA. They were essentially police special forces but with military-level clearance and weaponry, and today, they would be conducting a raid against the HNA. The plan begun very soon, with Shining Armor and his colleague in the passenger seat posing as postmen on the way to the nearby town to delivery mail and priority packages. While the truck was actually carrying some boxes, they were mostly loaded with bricks, and most of the men in the back were 15 CBI ponies, dressed in full tactical armor, having guns, ready to take down the HNA.

There were two other vehicles on the road, a goods truck supposedly owned by a toy store, and a bus owned by an intercity operator. All these vehicles were carrying CBI Tactical Squad ponies, making for a total of around 60 men to raid the HNA compound. They were all going to capture Shady, or even kill him if necessary, to save the scientists he had captured and stop his plan to destroy Earth. All the vehicles had been driving near the property for some time now, and had all found parking spots near the building. They knew the HNA couldn't escape with the swamps nearby, and this was the only good road, they pretty much had no means of escape.

Shining turned off the truck's engine, and opened up the hood so that if anyone saw the truck, they would think that it had broken down, and the driver had gone off to fetch help. One of the soldiers would stay back posing as a postman so that the HNA would think that he was trying to figure out what was wrong with the truck if they saw him. Meanwhile, Shining walked to the rear door of the truck and opened it, and as he did so, all of the soldiers inside put on invisibility spells, that they would take off only as they entered the HNA compound.

The raid began, and Shining Armor also put on an invisibility spell, as he was leading the raid into the place. From the old plans they had been given, they had known that there was only one gate in or out of the compound as well, so it would be easily to keep the HNA inside. As the ponies ran towards the compound, making very little noise thanks to sound suppressing spells as well as the invisibility spells, they were able to see the compound, which was very heavily occupied by multiple ponies, around 40 of them. In addition to the main house, temporary barracks had also been constructed and built here out of wood, to house the other HNA members, and they could see that a few more were also being built, probably for more new members.

As they got ready to raid the place, they all cocked their guns, loaded them, slid a bullet into the chambers, and began running towards the compound, intending to take them by surprise, similar to the tactics that Germany was using in their civilian aerial attack against Britain, surprising them in a large mass coordinated attack, and overpowering them. Hopefully, the HNA wouldn't attempt anything to try and kill them.

As the CBI Tactical Squad began heading towards the compound, in a true surprise attack, as they entered, they deactivated the invisibility spells, and Shining Armor shouted, "Attack! Get Shady!" as they charged into the compound, to the surprise of the HNA ponies, who were shocked at how stealthily the CBI had snuck up on them, and how they had found their location. As the CBI Tactical Squad charged in, guns at the ready, the HNA ponies started charging at them, to try and stop them.

Meanwhile, from his room in the big house, Shady heard the loud noise, and looked outside the windows to see the horrifying sight of the CBI Tactical Squad storming his compound. He was surprised that they had been able to find him, given that he had hidden so far away from civilisation, but he had prepared for the eventuality that they would trace him here. He couldn't run away from the compound due to the surrounding swamps, and they would probably be caught before they tried to reach the road, which was quite far from the compound, so he had another plan up his sleeve.

He couldn't use teleportation to teleport the Rift Gate and all of the HNA members away from his brother's old house, so he would only use it to teleport the Rift Gate, the experts, a few others from the HNA core circle, and himself to a new isolated location where he had already stocked items for that very purpose. The spell he would use was untraceable, so the Princesses wouldn't be able to find him. As for the other HNA members? He wasn't going to let them give him away, so he had a final surprise for them, thought Shady, as he grabbed his things, and ran along with the select members to the area behind the house, where the Rift Gate construction was progressing well. However, of the four kidnapped, one was missing. Riftweaver Spark and two of the others were there, cowering due to the loud gunshots. One was missing.

"No time to find him, we need to get out of here so we can conduct the Return, else our plans will go to waste!" shouted Shady as the rest of the HNA inner circle hog-tied the remaining experts. The trap was set, and soon, it would be triggered. Thankfully, he had told the other HNA members that their lives didn't really belong to them, but to Faust, and she could take them away at any moment, so they would be more than willing to give up their lives fighting.

Meanwhile, in the large melee at the front, Shining Armor and the CBI Tactical Squad were caught up in the large number of ponies who were trying to beat them up, to stop them from getting to Slick Shady at all costs. They had initially tried to be non-lethal, trying not to use their guns, which they had at their ready. Majority of the time, they tried to use the butts of the guns and stunning spells to fend off the people, but one of them had fired shots at an HNA pony after that pony had come at him holding a large sword intending to attack him, and had ended up killing him, and now, all of the HNA members had grabbed shovels, knives, and other items that could be used to deadly effect, leading to Shining Armor authorising the team to use their guns, and hence, the shots had been fired. Already, 5 of the HNA ponies had already been killed, and one pony from the Tactical Squad had been seriously wounded.

As Shining and his soldiers charged towards the big house, he was able to find an opening through the crowd towards the house. "Guys, we can get in through there! CHARGE!" said Shining, as he and around 10 of the Tactical Squad ponies ran through the door behind him, and blocked it off with a half ton of items to try and slow down the HNA ponies chasing them, while they tried to find Shady. As they searched through the house, they were met by a suspicious smell of almonds coming from the ground floor corridor, but they climbed the staircase first. As they climbed through the three floors of the house, they were horrified as they saw open cupboards, and empty drawers, as if the occupants had hastily packed up and left. They had to find them, fast.

As they ran towards the back door, one of Shining's men saw something that horrified him, calling, "Commander! We need to get out of here NOW! They're going to kill us all!"

"What?! What is it?!" said an alarmed Shining Armor as he looked at what the soldier had seen. Blocks of green clay-like material lined the walls, timers attached. The remainder of the stolen Nobel-808 plastic explosive that had been used in the bombing of Nightlights' Shoppe in Fillydelphia. There was a timer that indicated that the bombs were going to go off in exactly one minute. The entire ground floor was lined with bombs. He was going to level the entire place and kill them all! "EVERYONE, GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted Shining Armor over the radio as the soldiers ran towards the back door. As they stepped out the door, they saw what they had been looking for.

Shady and the remainder of the HNA, alongside three of the missing scientists, were here, standing next to a large lead structure that Shining Armor guessed contained the Rift Gate. Shady's horn was glowing, and it encompassed himself and all of the HNA members, along with the scientists and the Rift Gate. He instantly guessed what Shady was about to do, and instantly fired a beam of his magic at them, trying to stop the teleportation. Unfortunately, he was a split second too late, and he could do nothing but watch in horror, as they teleported away, and the beam of magic hit a random tree behind the compound.

Unfortunately, all that was left for Shining Armor and the CBI Tactical Team to do was to get their team out of here before the bomb went off, there were only 30 seconds left before they detonated. They quickly ran around the side as fast as they could, as in his panic, Shining and the soldiers had forgotten that they could teleport, albeit with a lot of exhaustion afterwards.

As they ran, they saw some of the other HNA ponies, who had gotten into the house, stay inside, having seen the bombs and preparing for impending death. He wondered why the fuck they were doing, not running away to try and save themselves. Most of the CBI Tactical Squad had retreated by now, and only some were still fighting, waiting for Shining Armor and his men to reach them before leaving. They were willing to die trying to save their commander. As they saw Shining, a large explosion knocked Shining Armor, the team, and the HNA ponies off their feet. Barely even two seconds later, before they had even hit the ground, more explosions were heard, and everything went orange, as more shockwaves sent them flying into multiple objects, such as trees, rocks, and fences.

A few minutes later, Shining Armor and some of the other HNA ponies opened their eyes to look at a scene of utter devastation before them. "No...." was all Shining Armor could say looking at it. The big house was on fire, burning to cinders, as was the entire HNA compound, including the barracks used by the other HNA members. The bastard. Shady had probably planted bombs there as well, so that no one would escape, and tell the government about Shady's plans. Multiple bodies were lying on the ground, some burning, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Some of Shining's own team members had been killed as well. He was wounded, as some fragments of shrapnel had hit him, but the adrenaline in his veins made sure he couldn't feel the pain just yet.

As the other soldiers began to get up, they saw a lone pony stumbling towards them, terribly injured. He appeared to be the fourth scientist, who had not been seen when Shady and the others teleported away. Despite his own injuries, Shining Armor ran to him right away, and saw a mortal wound, from a large piece of debris sticking out of his stomach. As he collapsed, covered in blood, Shining Armor grabbed him, and watched as he tried to say something. "S-S-Shady, h-he, tried to k-k-k-ill us. I-I-I escaped, but he-he-he will kill t-the others..." said the scientist. This sentence was forever left incomplete, as he suddenly coughed up a large amount of blood, and took his final breath.

"NOOOO!" screaming Shining Armor, as he gently put down the body of the now-departed scientist. He had just lost more than eight of the ponies had been asked to guide and protect, failed to stop Shady, and now, he couldn't even save an innocent scientist. As the pain from his injuries also began to make itself known to him, Shining Armor collapsed. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the burning HNA compound, as his men looked over him, trying to get him out of there.

Chapter 82

Author's Note

As I write the final chapter for 2024, I just want to let you know that we are approaching the end of this first part of the story, it will be over by the 100th chapter. The plan is to write the final chapter of this story by March, and begin the next part, from 1941-1943, by April. I will also try and write some more chapters for Run That Race, and bring that one out of hiatus! Happy holidays and Happy New Year 2025, everypony, and here's to a good next year!

Chapter 82

28TH OCTOBER 1940

----------------------------------------------------------ROYAL CANTERLOT HOSPITAL-----------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:00am in the city of Canterlot. In the Critical Unit of the Royal Canterlot Hospital, the country's most prestigious and expensive hospital, the Princesses were sitting in the chairs outside one of the wards, alongside Night Light and Twilight Velvet, Shining Armor's parents. It had been two weeks since the raid at the HNA compound had gone horribly wrong, and had resulted in the deaths of more than 110 ponies. Majority of these had been the HNA ponies, brutally backstabbed and murdered by their own leader, Slick Shady, in such a brutal way. One of these had been one of the ponies that they had been attempting to try and save. One of the four scientists that the HNA had kidnapped had escaped shortly before the compound had exploded, thanks to the bombs planted by Shady.

The large explosion and the forest fire that had followed due to the bombs had exposed this covert operation to the public worldwide, following which the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean governments were facing a large amount of backlash and criticism over how they had handled this operation to take down a dangerous terrorist group which had military-grade explosives using only a small tactical team of around 60, when they should have just used the military, who would have expected such a thing. However, no one, human or pony, had expected such a thing. The CBI had not anticipated this in their intel, as they had heard that Shady had apparently disposed of the remaining stolen Nobel-808.

However, after the entire New Horseleans raid had gone wrong, multiple CBI employees in the intel department had resigned from their posts, as they felt guilty that so many had died, and they felt that they had made the mistake which had led to this. Of the 114 fatalities, all of the HNA ponies, a total of 98 of them, had died. The closest one had come to survival was a lone pony who had been found alive, but had died on the way to hospital. The remaining 16 fatalities had been the scientist and members of the CBI Tactical Squad. Of the surviving ponies, multiple had been critically injured, and one had unfortunately died a few days after the raid.

Among the critically injured had been Shining Armor, the commander of the Royal Guards, who had been asked to help the CBI Tactical Squad out during the doomed raid at the HNA compound. The explosion had left the unicorn stallion with minor external injuries, which he had been protected from thanks to the body armor used by the CBI Tactical Squad, but he had lost consciousness shortly afterwards due to internal bleeding. He had survived, but was now in the Intensive Care Unit, or ICU. Originally, he had been in a hospital in another town, before being shifted to Canterlot. He had been in critical condition since the raid, and had been unconscious since. He hadn't regained consciousness, and while doctors expected him to live, it would probably be a few more days or so before he would finally wake up.

Originally, Twilight was planning to fly down from Britain right away to see her big brother, but her parents had told her explicitly not to do so, and told her to stay at Bletchley Park, where she was still working on breaking the code of the new German Enigmas with Alan Turing and the other cryptologists. They had said that if her brother did not make it, she had to continue working, to try and stop the war. They didn't want to lose their only other child as well.

Thankfully, Shining Armor's body was strong, and his mind even more so, because he was still alive, even after all these days in the ICU, and thanks to the help of a group of British surgeons who were guests here at the hospital as part of an exchange program, he was beginning to pull through. The main injury had been healed, and now all that was left was for him to regain consciousness, and it would be another month or so before he could finally be discharged, and would take even more time before he could rejoin the Royal Guards.

However, as of now, he was on the road to recovery, but in the meantime, the Royal Guards lacked their leader, and the Royal Equestrian military lacked its General, and Princess Cadance was missing her husband. She hadn't even been able to come to Canterlot to see him, due to how busy she had been lately thanks to the war and the busy nature of Earthly politics in general. In fact, this felt worse than their wedding in Canterlot two years earlier, where Cadance had at least been able to help her husband. However, here, she couldn't have even been with him on that fateful day, and now, she was wishing she had been the one leading the raid at the HNA compound, not Shining.

However, everyone knew that even if Cadance had been the one leading the raid, the outcome would probably have been the same. Nobody had expected that Slick Shady was willing to kill the HNA members like that, especially in such a brutal way. The only solace was that it would have been a quick death for most of them. However, Shady, the remaining three scientists, and a few of the core HNA members were still missing, and the Rift Gate was still somewhere out there. The December date of its activation was fast approaching, and if they didn't activate it soon, the whole world was gone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------KONITSA----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:00am here, and it was a warm day in the small town of Konitsa, in Greece, located near the border with Albania. This small town normally catered to tourists, as multiple hikers would stop here before trying to trek through the nearby mountains, but today, it was a day of chaos. Just three hours earlier, Albanian troops, led by Italians, had invaded Greece, and one of the places they had tried to take was Konitsa, since it was relatively close to the border.

The residents had heard the declaration of war on the radio against the Greek Prime Minister, Ioaniss Metaxas. Benito Mussolini had issued an ultimatum to him seeking the cession of Greek territory to the Italians. Metaxas had rejected this and Mussolini had declared war, sending in troops to take Greece for themselves. Most people had been expecting something like this since August, when the Italians had sunk the Greek light cruiser Elli while it was in dock using one of their submarines, killing 9 sailors. Since then, with accusations of Greece allying with the British from the Italians, the situation between the two countries had been coming closer to war since then.

In the town of Konitsa, multiple tanks were rolling through. These were the Panzers that the Italians seemed to have somehow acquired from the Germans, not the Italians' own tanks, which were causing even more carnage. The military had been called, and now, they were almost on scene. A group of RAF Bristol Blenheim bombers was on the way, coming in fast, as Metaxas had called the British for help. They had pledged air support and material support, but not ground troops. However, the air support would still help.

Sitting inside one of the Blenheims, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, was RAF Flight Lieutenant Alan Cutter, its bomb aimer and navigator. Cutter was busy priming the bombs for release, as his plane sped towards the town. There were 20 planes in all, as they headed towards the beleaguered Greek town. They were coming in from Egypt, where they had been stationed. As they headed towards the town, they knew that they had an added advantage today.

The Equestrians had recently introduced a new vital field upgrade for the guns that planes used for protection. They had enchanted all of the guns with special new spells that reduced the time a gun needed to cool down, and increased the time for which it could be fired before a cooldown by around twelve seconds. 12 seconds did not seem like a lot of time, but in a battlefield, every second counted. Rumours were that they were also beginning developing of an automatic bomb aiming mechanism as well.

As the Blenheims closed in on Konitsa, facing heavy anti-aircraft fire, Cutter called up the pilot, "Tom, we're ready to go over here, all the bombs are primed and ready for release."

"Alright Alan, get ready, we're heading into the hot zone, get ready, the bloody pizzafaces are going to hit us with everything they've got... CRIKEY!" shouted Tom, as a large gun blast exploded right next to the plane, sending shrapnel flying through the aircraft.

"Tom, are you okay?!" shouted Cutter, hoping he was okay, considering some of the shrapnel had penetrated the aircraft, which was somehow still flying level. He got no answer. "TOM, ANSWER ME!" shouted Cutter. Thinking his headset was bad, and trying to avoid what really might have happened, he called up the plane's gunner. "Hey, Johnny, are you able to contact Tom? He isn't responding!"

"Sorry, Cutter, he isn't responding to my calls either. You'd better get into the cockpit and check, my way is blocked by debris, I'm surprised it didn't hit me!" said Johnny. Cutter, realising what might have happened, acknowledged the message, and ran towards the cockpit. As he entered the cockpit, he could instantly tell what had happened, and he saw the horrific scene. One of the glass panes of the cockpit windows was broken, and Tom was slumped at his seat, dead. A piece of shrapnel had gone right through his head, killing him instantly. This was not good. The plane had been flying without a pilot for almost three minutes now, and they were almost above Konitsa.

Cutter quickly removed Tom's body from the seat, and took the controls. Despite the fact that he was only primed the bombs and was the navigator, he did know the basics of flying an aircraft, even if it was much smaller than this big old bomber. "Johnny, Tom's dead. I'm at the controls, we still have to finish our mission!"

"I got that, Cutter. We better do this fast, and I hope you know how to fly a plane, because you can't arm the bombs and fly this plane at the same time! We can only drop one load, and then we have to return to base!" said Johnny.

"I know that, Johnny! We'll head towards Ioannina, we can land there and refuel! Plus, the Greeks are on our side!" said Cutter, as he began slewing the bomber into a bank as they arrived above Konitsa, dodging anti-aircraft fire from the Italians, and looking for a worthy target. They needed to make their bombs count, since they could only drop one load.

As the lumbering bomber approached the smoke-filled skies over Konitsa, Cutter steadied the aircraft with gritted determination. The chaos below erupted in a cacophony of gunfire, the deep rumble of tanks, and the cries of residents trying to escape from the advancing Italian forces. Would they make it? The weight of their mission bore heavily upon his shoulders as he tightened his grip on the controls, navigating through the flak that danced around them like malicious fireflies.

“Look for a target, any target!” Cutter shouted over the din of the aircraft’s engine and the whistling wind. Peering out of the cockpit, he squinted against the smoke, trying to spot the advancing enemy. Through the haze, he could make out the stark outlines of Italian tanks—metal behemoths rolling relentlessly down the narrow streets of Konitsa.

“Got it! Those tanks!” Johnny, the gunner, hollered from behind him, though fear tinged his voice. “Let’s cut them down! We need to cripple their advance!”

Cutter's heart raced as he caught sight of the armored vehicles. He could see the soldiers spilling out of them, scrambling for cover. “Hold on tight!” he yelled, pulling the yoke hard to the right, sending the bomber into a tight dive. The ground rushed up to meet them as they descended fast, the horizon spinning dangerously below—one wrong turn could turn their mission into a nightmare.

“Get the bombs ready!” Cutter commanded, concentrating fully on keeping the bomber steady. He knew they had one chance; he had to make it count.

“Swinging into position…now!” Johnny shouted, gripping his sidearm tightly, more concerned about the anti-aircraft guns that dotted the landscape. He was ready to return fire if necessary.

With the tanks coming into view, Cutter felt the adrenaline surge through him. “Three…two…one…DROP!” he yelled, yanking the lever that released the payload. The bombs cascaded from beneath them, tumbling down like silver raindrops, aimed precisely at the line of tanks.

Time seemed to slow as they watched the bombs fall. Then there was an excruciating moment of silence shattered by thunderous explosions as the munitions struck true, leaving plumes of smoke and fire in their wake. One tank went up like a Roman candle, while its comrades were either incapacitated or thrown into disarray from the shockwave.

“Yes!” Johnny whooped, “That’ll teach ‘em! Now let’s get to Ioannina!” Focus shifted back to escape, and Cutter pulled back on the controls, pulling the bomber skyward just as a barrage of bullets zipped past them—a testament to the chaos they had created. He felt the heat of the battle below, but all that mattered now was getting out alive. As they set course for Ioannina, Johnny called up Cutter. "SHIT! CUTTER! ENEMY AIRCRAFT ARE ON OUR ASS, ITALIAN MACCHIS! CAN YOU FLY FASTER, WE CAN'T OUTRUN THEM!" shouted a panicked Johnny.

"I'll try, but we're in a bomber! Those are fighter aircraft, get ready for a fight!" said Cutter, as he tensed himself up for the fight. Soon, the Macchis began to close in on them, Cutter made a radio call. "This is Thunderstrike 3, we have lost our pilot, aircraft currently being flown by navigator, we are unable to continue the mission, heading to Ioannina."

"Roger that 3, we'll see you at Ioannina Airport." replied Thunderstrike 1, as Cutter got ready for the Macchis, which were closing in. He could hear the sound of the gun beginning to fire, manned by Johnny. The increased firing time was helping, as they were able to fire longer bursts at the Italian fighters before having to cool down.

As some of the Macchis began to show up from the front, Cutter quickly activated the machine gun in the left wing, and began firing at the Macchis. Within five minutes, they had shot down two Macchis, but more were coming. However, as they came closer to Ioannina, they started backing off, due to heavy Greek military presence here. However, just as the two British pilots began descending, thinking they were home free, and was just about to contact Command, when he heard a huge bang. It almost knocked him out, and the next thing Cutter knew, the plane was in an uncommanded descent.

He quickly pulled back on the control column to arrest the descent, he noted that the control column felt heavier than usual. "Johnny, what was that? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Alan, but we seem to be leaking! One of those damn Macchis snuck up on us and fired a big burst at us before turning back!"

That was when Cutter realised the heaviness on his control, and what might have caused it. "Johnny, the leak, it isn't..."

"Hydraulic fluid? Yeah, it is. We better descent fast, and we had better tell them to have the equipment rolling, because if we have to crash land without landing gear, we don't want to explode!" said Johnny. As Cutter copied the message, he contacted Command, who had set up a field post at Ioannina Airport, and they instantly gave him clearance to land, even though he was still around ten minutes from the airport, as the bomber descended through 6,000 feet.

As the plane continued to lose hydraulic fluids, Cutter quickly lowered the landing gear, despite the fact that he was still above 5,000 feet, as if he lowered it too late, it wouldn't come down. Even if it created drag and burned fuel, the plane still had enough fuel to make the landing, and he would have to come in fast, and the flaps didn't seem to want to lower. As the plane came closer to the airport, Cutter started pulling back on the throttles, but not so much as to make the plane fall out of the sky.

Soon, the runway was in sight, and Cutter began descending lower and lower, knowing the landing would probably be rough. As they arrived over the runway, Cutter quickly pushed the throttles to idle, and the Blenheim slammed onto the runway. Unfortunately, the landing began to wrong when out of nowhere, the right side landing gear leg collapsed, as the hydraulic leak had caused it to not lock into place fully, and the plane slewed right and went off the runway.

Thankfully, there was nothing to hit, as the runway was surrounded by fields, and the friction from the wing hitting the ground helped stop the plane quickly in some fields. At first, the ride was rough, and there was so much dust that both the men in the aircraft thought that the tail had detached from the aircraft, and that it would explode at any moment. However, they soon saw that this was not the case, as Cutter shut down the engines, and looked outside, realising the aircraft was mostly intact, and there were no fuel leaks.

As Cutter stepped out of the cockpit, looking at Tom's body before leaving, he ran into Johnny, who had already left the aircraft, and waited as the fire trucks came to them. As they waited, they heard on Johnny's portable radio that the Italians had lost many, and the British and Greeks were fighting back well. This made them happy, and they knew that Tom's death had not gone in vain, as Britain was finally starting to fight back after its defeats in Africa and Europe. Soon, the Allies would start winning more.

Chapter 83

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 84

9TH NOVEMBER 1940

----------------------------------------------------------WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON-------------------------------------------------------
It was 9:00am here, and it a cold gloomy morning in the city of London today, with winter fast approaching. The city of London was on high alert, with German planes attacking more frequently, in what was now being termed as the Blitz, the anti-aircraft units stationed all around the country were on higher alert than ever. Already, more than 10,000 people had already died around the country due to the indiscriminate German bombing of residential areas, for the deaths of only 500 German airmen.

Today was also a sad day for the country, but one that also required more security. Today was the funeral of the former Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, following his death a few days prior. Tensions were also at a high between the Allied powers and Spain, which had signed a pact with Germany the same day to join the Axis. As part of this, Spain had taken over the French African territory of French Cameroon, renaming it as Spanish Cameroon. Following this, the freedom struggle in Cameroon had kicked into high gear, and it had led to fierce rioting and protests that had quickly been suppressed by the new Spanish government. Soon, they were intending to merge with their other colony, Guinea, to create a new Spanish territory in Africa.

Today, the state funeral of Neville Chamberlain would have three special guests in attendance, the Princesses of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. They had all been good friends with Chamberlain, and they had been invited to the funeral, as it was because of Chamberlain that Equestria and the Crystal Empire were having a good relationship with other countries, and starting to get industries in, as well as a decently powerful military.

The Princesses were just now arriving at the church where Chamberlain's funeral would be held, the famous Westminster Abbey, located in the City of Westminster district of London. This church had been built almost 900 years earlier, and had been standing since then. More than 2,000 people had been buried at this church, majority of them rather prominent figures in the country's history, including some of the former British Prime Ministers, and some of the monarchs of England.

As their car pulled up outside Westminster Abbey after the ride from RAF Gatwick, where their plane had landed, the Princesses recounted some of the sights they had seen. Multiple houses had been badly damaged and destroyed due to incessant German bombing. During the ride over, they had taken a diversion as the roads were being cleared from debris from destroyed buildings and crashed planes. They had even passed the crash site of a British fighter that had gone down in a battle a few days prior. The whole city seemed quiet, since it was on high alert, and most residents were either inside their houses or underground them in the bomb shelters.

As the Princesses got out of the cars and walked into the old church, they knew what they had to do. They had read a bit about the funeral traditions of humans, particularly those of the Christian religion, and they knew what would happen. The funeral wouldn't be too long, probably only around an hour or so, so after the funeral, they would head to Downing Street for some time, and then go back to Equestria and the Crystal Empire the next day. As they entered, they saw that Chamberlain's secretary was the usher, who helped them out to their seats.

The funeral wasn't too long, and the Princesses found that Churchill and Edward Wood, the Earl of Halifax, were the pallbearers there. After the funeral, the Princesses left for the Treasury building, followed by Churchill, who would arrive around thirty minutes later. The Princesses arrived first, again, taking longer than it usually would have, due to road damage from German bombing.

As they walked into the Cabinet War Rooms, which were going to be the new residence of the Prime Minister during the war, they were also given directions to a large underground bunker that had been built below the house, designed to protect the occupants during an air raid. If they had to, they would run into the bunker if needed. Thankfully, there was low chance of a German air raid today, especially with the increased aerial defences around the city due to the Princesses' state visit.

As they waited for Churchill, they looked at some revised figures. The total death toll of the war was now around 10 million, and the total pony toll in the war was now more than 6,000. At least one pony soldier was dying every day on the battlefield, and a few of the ponies who had emigrated from Equestria to London had also been killed in the Blitz by German bombing. With the rest of Europe having fallen to the Axis, Britain, Equestria, and the Crystal Empire now pretty much stood alone in their fight. The Battle of the Atlantic was also taking a toll on shipping, both civilian and military. Britain was getting starved of supplies.

Equestrian and Crystal Empirean industries were still not producing enough to supply Britain, as they had only just finished being set up, and were currently trying to keep the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean troops supplied, as well as keeping up with the market there. Currently, the British were being supplied by the Americans, despite the fact that the Americans hadn't entered the war yet. Their had a massive industrial capacity, since it was one of the largest countries on Earth, so they would be able to supply not just their own markets, but also the British market, at the same time. They were sending multiple ships to Britain everyday, and the empty ones that had survived the voyage there were heading back to pick up more goods.

Soon, around thirty minutes later, at 11:00am, Churchill arrived at the house. "Ah, sorry to keep you waiting, your Highnesses, I wanted to pay my final respects to Neville before I arrived. Couldn't leave without a final goodbye."

"I understand, Mr. Churchill. Anyways, shall we get down to business? There are some things between our nations that we would like to discuss." said Celestia. "Such as the hunt for the Destroyer of Discord."

"Ah, yes, your Highnesses. We are waiting for updates, but we should be receiving an update from them any second now. I scheduled a call with them, and that phone will ring any second now." said Churchill. They didn't have to wait more than a minute, before the phone rang. Churchill's secretary picked up the call and said, "Sir? Its the search team. They want to talk to you and the Princesses."

"Alright, connect them." said Churchill, and a second later, the call was connected through a speaker mounted in the room for this very purpose. The voice of Jonathan Thompson, the expedition leader came in.

"Prime Minister, are you there, Sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Thompson, I'm here, and so are the Princesses. Did you find what you're looking for?" asked Churchill.

"Yes, we did, Sir. We found the second piece of the Destroyer of Discord, here in Peru. We found it, and it's not a false claim this time. It is with us right now, and we will be bringing it back to Equestria. It matches the same magic signature that was detected from the first piece. It's definitely an actual piece, as the tribe we took it gave us a timeline for when it appeared in their care, and it matches around the time that Equestrian history tells us. We'll be in Equestria in a couple of weeks to deliver it, so be ready." replied Thompson.

"Oh, good. We'll need the other pieces, though, if we want to fight Discord. Are there any leads as to where the other pieces could be?" asked Luna.

"No, your Highnesses. We don't have the strength right now, to find the other pieces. My men are tired, and its been a long few months searching for this piece alone. We will take a short break after our return, and then, we embark on our search again. Anyways, we have to leave now, our ship departs in an hour. We shall see you in Equestria." said Thompson, signing off, and disconnecting the call.

"Well, that was brief, and it was some good news in these times. Anyways, lets get to discussing the next thing on our minds, the..." began Churchill, but he was interrupted by the air raid sirens going off. That only meant one thing. The Germans were about to start another bombing run on the city. The Princesses knew that the Germans had been using their brand-new Heinkel He 111 bombers on the city of London. These bombers had not been seen much in action before the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, but they had been seen in use as transports in the European countries that Germany had taken over.

"Quick! To the bunker! Our countries need us to survive!" said Churchill, as they ran towards the underground bunker. They ran through the staircase, and into the bunker, followed by multiple soldiers. The heavy steel door closed behind them, and now, they would be sealed off. They could hear the sirens still going off, somewhere above their heads, and they knew that they would probably survive, but they prepared for the worst scenario.

Chapter 85

15TH NOVEMBER 1940

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
It was a warm day here on the coast of Equestria, and the time was now 9:00am. This would be the spot where the Return, as Shady called it, would begin. This would be the place where the Rift Gate would be activated, and it would be the spot where Earth's destruction would begin, and the barbarians would be destroyed. But not if Riftweaver Spark had something to say about it. The four scientists had made a promise, that they would either die as heroes, or live long enough to see themselves become the villains, and they intended to die as heroes, as they would not allow Shady to finish his plan to send them back to Equis.

They were still a couple of weeks away from the activation of the Rift Gate, however, and Shady wouldn't let them out of his sights, not now, after the destruction of the HNA compound. One of their own had gone missing in the chaos, and while they had been pretty much isolated from the outside world since the destruction of the HNA compound, they knew that their comrade would probably have died in the explosion, if he hadn't been able to make it to the CBI squad in time.

Despite the fact that this place was entirely off the grid and totally isolated from the rest of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, they were able to survive as they were on the coast, and Shady had made a small vegetable patch, just like how there had been a small farm at the old HNA compound, so they had a good supply of food, and since they were on the coast, they were able to desalinize the seawater to drink, and they could take baths in the sea as well.

That was good for Shady, because they were fully self-sufficient, they would not be detected at all, but for the scientists, it just lowered their hopes of being saved, since this place was off the flight paths taken by Equestrian military aircraft, and they didn't conduct any army or navy exercises in the area either, so they were pretty much stranded. The only way to find them would be to send a beacon to the Princesses, but Shady had placed a spell on the cave, so that any spells being directed outside would be stopped instantly. They were essentially fully cut off from the outside world now. They hadn't even heard from the outside world in some months now, not even a single update on the news or the war, in the seven months since their abduction.

The war would probably still be raging, and at a fiercer rate by now, considering that it had been seven months, and the last update they had heard was from a new member of the HNA who had joined just two weeks before the destruction of the HNA compound, and they had heard that France had fallen, and the Allied forces had managed to defeat the Italian forces in Africa. Since then, they had not had a single update on the war.

The scientists were now working on a new plan to try and get the message out to the Princesses of their location, and they knew they had to do it before Shady activated the Rift Gate, but they were not even getting time to do so, as Shady was purposely making them work for longer hours, sometimes making them go whole nights without sleep, to have the Rift Gate up and running in time. In the meantime, their abuser, Shady, was in the warmer parts of the cave, protecting himself from the cold weather, as winter was beginning to hit Equestria and the Crystal Empire again. He was thinking back to the nights he spent with his brother, and all the sacrifices they had made to keep each other alive.

He had often wondered why it had been his brother who had gone missing that day in the battlefield, and why it had not been some other pony, or even a human. Why? WHY?! WHY COULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN SOME DUMB HUMAN INSTEAD?! thought Shady, remembering all of the moments he had with his brother, knowing that they were all from a time that would never be his again. Soon, the humans would pay for killing his brother. He'd show them. He'd show them all.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 10:00am here, and at the Erweiterung facility in the forests of Germany, Discord was preparing for his next programme. Only a few squads of the super soldiers enhanced with the E-serum were deployed in the field, before Discord had axed this part of the Erweiterung programme, and had begun working on a new idea entirely. He was going to create monsters, ones that would entirely be controlled by the Germans, and ones that would be invincible in a battle. He would be splicing humans with DNA from multiple animals to create them.

Yes, there had been Vryolakas, created from a failed trial of the E-serum, but she was more like a wild animal than a sentient creature. These would have sentience, but controlled by the Nazis, and they would submit only to their orders, and not to anyone else. They had already figured out certain species whose traits they could use in these monsters, such as the Habu snakes from Japan, the black widow spiders of America, the Bengal tigers of India, and many other such animals.

These monsters would also be under the control of Discord, and would be his puppets, just like how he was controlling Hitler. Soon, the gas chambers at the Nazi concentration camps would be fully operational, ready to begin the annihilation of the Jews, their Final Cleansing. These had been tested previously with prisoners of war, and while the gas they would use, Zyklon B, was not so great as a field chemical weapon, it was great for making people suffer, and so would be used in the gas chambers.

This would be the beginning of the end of the Steps to Death, and the motto of this stage was, 'You Have No Right To Live'. Now that the Jews, the disabled, the mentally unfit, the blacks, and all of those who were not white Aryans were now in the ghettos and concentration camps, they would finally get rid of them, and make the German population pure, devoid of their corruption.

That was the end goal of the Steps to Death. The purification of the population of Germany. Only the Aryan Christians were welcome as residents. If anyone from another religion came here as a tourist, that was okay, but not if they wanted to live here. As Discord got ready to see which test subjects they would use to create their new monsters for this new programme, he wondered how the Princesses were dealing after narrowly surviving the German air raid during their visit to London a week previously.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 5:00pm in Canterlot Castle. Today, it was more quiet than usual, since Luna was taking a quick nap ahead of finishing her day's work. However, rather than a peaceful sleep, Luna was having a horrifying nightmare, thinking back to that day in London almost a week earlier, when they had been caught in one of the many German air raids that had been striking the city.

The Princesses were inside the underground bunker at the Treasury building in London, along with their aides, the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill and his aides, and some soldiers from both nations. All they could hear was the sound of the air raid sirens going off, warning them that German planes were about to start bombing London. The bunker was heavily fortified, and had enough food and water to last fifteen people a month, if the exit path was blocked to debris causing a collapse.

The Princesses had lived through many dangerous things, considering that they had been alive for more than 2,000 years, but this was something else entirely. The closest anything on Equis had come close to this was the time Celestia had dropped a large chunk of Equis' Moon onto the Ponysian kingdom and destroyed it, more than 150 years earlier. Even then, Celestia had been a few miles away from the kingdom when the impact occurred, which had not only destroyed the entire kingdom, but killed around 2,000 Ponysians, all of whom were the remnants of its new tyrannical government, which had enslaved not only creatures of other species, such as the Griffons, Zebras, and Yaks, but also other ponies, of their own kind.

It had been due to Celestia wanting to end the war quickly at the behest of the United Lands, which was an organisation similar to that of the League of Nations on Earth, that she had crushed the Ponysian Empire with a large chunk of Moon rock. As Celestia was thinking about it, they heard a loud boom, that was muffled by the thick steel walls of the bunker, but still quite loud, and it shook the entire bunker, and possibly the building as well. That could mean only one thing. A bomb had landed either on the Treasury building itself, or very close to it. This made the ponies panic, but the Princesses and Churchill stayed calm. They were panicking internally, yes, but they could not show it, to motivate everyone in the room.

As the Princesses wondered what was going on, as soon as the air raid siren had started sounding, it stopped. Luna checked her new hoofwatch, a new innovation that were pretty much pony-friendly version of the wristwatches worn by humans, and saw that it had only been 20 minutes since the siren had started sounding. That was when the door opened. Multiple human soldiers, all British. "Your majesties, Prime Minister Sir. The German planes suddenly turned back, even before British air defenses were scrambled. It's as if they accomplished their mission, without even bombing any civilian targets." said one of the soldiers.

"What? Do you think they were sent in simply to kill us?" asked the Princesses.

"I'm not sure, your Majesties. It looks like that, because these were the new Bf109s that were disguised as Allied Hurricanes, and the Germans also disguised a pair of those new Heinkel He 111 bombers as Bristol Blenheims, which we haven't seen before, so it looks like that was the case. That explosion you heard was a bomb that narrowly missed the building, you can come out now, its safe." said the soldier, as they all began leaving the bunker.

They could smell smoke as they climbed back into the building. As they passed by the windows, they saw that shrapnel from the bomb had penetrated the building, and one had started a small fire that had now been extinguished, but was still smouldering. As they headed towards the door, they saw a scene of carnage, and the Princesses instantly ran to help, along with their soldiers. The bomb had exploded right in front of the building, and had created a large crater. Tragically, a mother and her small son had been caught just as they were about to enter the building.

Celestia watched horrified as the badly injured mother cradled her son, who was only around 8 years old, in her arms, who was also badly injured. The two sisters instantly ran towards them, and the mother instantly held out her son to the Princesses, sobbing. "Please, your Highnesses! Please, save my son! I don't care if I lose my own life, please, save my son!" wailed the woman, as Celestia got ready to use her magic to save the gravely injured boy. He was in bad shape, with a large piece of shrapnel that had pierced his stomach. Despite that, he was still alive.

Celestia tensed herself quickly, as the spell she would use to save the child would require a decent amount of energy, as she began to cast it. A golden aura enveloped the boy's body, while Luna began to use her magic to try and save the lady. However, just as the magic began working its effect on the boy, the mother suddenly began to violently convulse, with blood dripping out of her mouth, as Luna tried desperately to save her. As Celestia continued pushing harder, she saw the shrapnel piece began to leave the child's body, and saw that the wounds were starting to heal. Soon, the shrapnel was gone entirely, and the wounds begin to heal, including the internal organs.

However, as for the mother, it was a different state. While she had stopped convulsing, she was barely conscious, and Luna was unable to figure out what was causing this, as the shrapnel in her body had also been removed, and she was trying to figure out if it had been an internal injury. As she tried to do so, the child was finally healed, and Celestia lowered the boy gently to the ground. He was now out of danger, and was about to wake up, and human doctors took over, as they took hold of the boy for observations. As Luna continued to try and save the mother, she saw the mother open her eyes barely, and looking at her child, who was now starting to wake up, she muttered one last thing, looking at the Princesses. "Thank you." said the mother, with a grateful smile, as she suddenly closed her eyes, and her heart stopped beating.

Remembering this horrifying sight, Luna suddenly woke up with a start, remembering how the woman had barely held on, and how cruel it was that her son had lived, but she had not survived. She remembered having a breakdown and crying in her room later on, feeling guilty for being unable to save her life, despite the fact that even her sister, and Prime Minister Churchill himself had told her that she had done everything that was possible, and could not have expected the sad outcome.

As Luna headed towards her bathroom to freshen up, she noticed that her pillow was covered in tears, and her own eyes were full of tears, from that horrifying and tragic memory, that she wanted to remember, just to realize the cost, of what innocents would pay, if the war was not ended, and Discord was not stopped.

Chapter 86

30TH NOVEMBER 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a cold winter morning at the Canterlot Castle. As the snow had begun to fall, the new municipal corporations that had been set up in all cities across Equestria and the Crystal Empire were getting ready to send out snowplows to remove snow from the roads and pavements, and the power plants were at full capacity to keep the country running, especially once it got colder, and if blizzards occurred, that would be a problem.

Despite the fact that it was now 7:00am, thanks to the cloudy and snowy weather, it was not sunny at all, and the weather felt extremely gloomy, not helped by the fact that the war was still raging, and the toll was getting higher daily. The current death toll was now estimated to have passed 10 million, but it was now relatively stagnant, thanks to the fact that the number of battles going on had reduced heavily, the only three raging now being the China-Japan war, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the Italian invasion of Greece, which was being held back by the Greeks, along with Allied support.

However, the pony toll in the war had gone up, from 6,000 to almost 8,000, following the destruction of a Royal Navy frigate that had temporarily been wet-leased to the new Royal Equestrian Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic following it being hit by a torpedo from a German U-boat, and the deaths of multiple ponies in the Italy-Greece war. That had been a sad day for the whole nation, as close to 1,100 ponies had died in the initial shelling alone, and another 500 had died while the ship had sunk, awaiting rescue.

Apart from that, the hunt was still for the HNA, and it was getting more intense, with December starting the next day, and this month would be when Shady planned to activate the Rift Gate and destroy Earth. They had to find him, fast. The pressure on them was so high that the other day, the Princesses themselves had gone to the destroyed remains of the old HNA compound, which had been cordoned off ever since the failed raid that day. They had attempted to try and find any clues that could help them figure out where Slick Shady had taken the Rift Gate and the scientists to.

However, despite spending more than three hours looking through the remains of the compound, they hadn't been able to find anything. The maximum they could find was a partly-burned book containing the HNA's manifesto, rules, and way of life. It gave them some insight into the HNA's way of life and what Shady had been doing here, but not enough to tell them where they had disappeared off to.

This had led to a loss of morale among everyone in Equestria and the Crystal Empire, enough that the Princesses were planning an initiative to give Christmas or Hearth's Warming gifts to all the Allied soldiers who were fighting in the war, just to boost morale among the Allies, which for now consisted only of the British, Equestrian, and Crystal Empirean forces. The gifts would be small things, such as books, mugs, and even things gifted to them directly from their families.

As they thought about how they would find the HNA, they knew that they would have to use rather unconventional methods to find their location. They hadn't found any trace of Aetherium emissions across the entire continent, but they knew he wouldn't leave Equestria or the Crystal Empire either, due to his immense hate for the human countries, so they were looking in some of the more remote regions of the country, as if the HNA compound hadn't been remote enough already. They knew the place would not be populated, as Shady would not want anyone to know where his location was.

The problem was that many of these places were so remote that it would take days to reach these places, and by the time they arrived, Shady might have begun his plan already. They had to be discreet about this, and they had to do it quick, so as to swiftly and efficiently take down the HNA for good. Once that was done, Shady would be arrested, and probably given the death sentence for the crimes he had committed, and the Rift Gate would probably be disassembled, and the Aetherium would probably be kept in the vaults of the most secure military facility in the country.

That was the current intention of the Princesses, and they would make sure it was done, even if they had to be the ones to fight Shady. Their new security experts had stated that it was too big a risk for the nation to have both the Princesses fight a threat like Shady, but they had essentially told him that they would be fine, considering that both of them had fought worse threats than that when they were still on Equis, such as Discord, and the Changelings, for instance. They could easily handle Shady, but fighting Discord would be harder.

As the Princesses thought about when the HNA would most likely begin to put their plan into action, little did they know that the Rift Gate was almost complete, and soon, it would be ready to put the grand finale of the HNA's sinister plan into action.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
As this discussion was going on inside Canterlot Castle, Slick Shady was inside his cave, with only a solitary lantern keeping him company in this dark corner. Despite the fact that it was early in the morning, in the darkest reaches of this cave, there was no natural light, and currently, only this one lantern was active, and it would help Shady read his diary. After the death of his brother, Clumsy Honest, Shady had made a diary where he would write messages to his brother, as if he was still alive, just to try and keep the memories of Clumsy Honest alive.

As he began reading his latest entry, he smiled sadly. Dear Clumsy, we have escaped the wrath of the tyrannical Equestrian agency known as the CBI, lead by the traitor who leads the Equestrian military and is also the Prince of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor. He tried to get the CBI's so called 'Tactical Squad' to arrest me. However, I outthought them, and I unleashed the fires of liberation upon the oppressors, and seriously injured, if not killed, most of them.

However, many of our members had to sadly voluntarily sacrifice themselves for our cause, giving themselves up to the fires of liberation, and their deaths shall not to go in vain. We will activate the Rift Gate, and we will make sure that the Princesses pay dearly for sending us to this cursed planet. We will bring this land back home to Equis, and we will destroy the barbaric people that the humans are promise. I promise.

That was all that this entry wrote. Shady began crying tears of nostalgia and gritting his teeth, as he was now fully devoted to the cause. He had accomplished all of his other goals, such as getting revenge on the pony who had killed his parents, taking over the HNA from Neighsay, and getting rid of Neighsay. Now, it was his final goal, to send Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to Equis, and destroy this barbaric planet, Earth, for good.

Chapter 87

2ND DECEMBER 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
The snow was now falling in Equestria and the Crystal Empire, as winter had finally arrived in the two nations. As the winter morning unfolded, despite the cold weather, school was being held, as the snow was not so much as to cancel school, so a large number of unhappy fillies who wanted to play in the snow were heading to school. Today was a great day for the two Princesses, as the first ever human film starring a pony actress was being released today. It was called Fantasia, made by the renowned American animation studio, Walt Disney Productions.

While the film itself was being animated, which was a novel technology to Equestria and the Crystal Empire, since all of their films had been actually filmed, the actress who would be providing the voice for one of the main characters was the famous pony singer Countess Coloratura, since this film was a musical, and the film itself was using a new type of sound system for cinema theaters, called Fantasound, which Walt Disney, the owner and founder of Walt Disney Productions, had said would revolutionize the film industry forever.

As part of this, the Princesses themselves had been given tickets to the premiere of the film. However, they had been unable to accept the invitations themselves, but instead, the newly appointed Ministers of Culture and Literature of both countries would be attending the premieres of the films on behalf of the Princesses. The Princesses themselves were planning to have a private theater built inside Canterlot Castle, so they could watch films for relaxation, and so could their cabinet and staff, just for this purpose.

However, despite those good moments, dark times were still going on. The pony death toll had now passed 10,000, following the sinking of six merchant ships carrying goods from America to Britain with multiple pony crewmembers on board, three alone by the infamous German battleship, Bismarck, which was the newest and biggest battleship in the Kriegsmarine, the German navy. Rumours had been spread that the Bismarck had been roaming in the Atlantic Ocean, and in an attempt to prevent the ships from being destroyed, they had been split up.

Tragically, these rumours had been planted by the Germans themselves, and the Bismarck had used the opportunity to sneak up on three of the ships and destroy them, killing more than 700 ponies. The other three ships had been picked off by German U-boats. Interestingly enough, despite the fact that some warships had accompanied these ships, their underwater radars had not even been able to detect any trace of the U-boats, and one of the ships had an underwater microphone that had faintly detected some sounds from the U-boats right before one of the merchant ships had been sunk by a torpedo from the U-boat.

This was concerning, if the Germans had been somehow able to silence their U-boats in some way. That was not good, and that meant that the U-boats could easily and silently sneak up on and destroy Allied ships. These were probably being produced as part of the new German weapons programme, and if this was true, they could easily decimate the Allied fleet, and that would not be good.

In fact, a research division of the Royal Equestrian Navy was working hand-in-hand with the Royal Navy to try and figure out how to find these U-boats and destroy them, and see if they could use the Royal Navy's submarines to retaliate. As for the Bismarck, since it was essentially one of the largest ships ever made, it could sink any Allied ship as of now, and the only way to destroy it was with aerial bombing. Worse still, the Germans had built and were currently sea-testing another battleship of the same class as the Bismarck, and this ship would soon enter service, so they would have another one to deal with.

While they were working on dealing with that, they were still working on solutions to deal with the super soldiers and the disguised German planes. Some solutions had already worked in theory, and a prototypes for a few practical ones were also being built, which would hopefully give the Allies an edge in the war. If they could disable those super soldiers and the disguises used by the German planes to pose as Allied aircraft, that alone would give them an edge in this war.

As the Princesses continued reviewing what was on today's cards, they also remembered that they had a meeting with a representative from the American aircraft manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft Limited, as the plans to assemble their B-24 bomber under license in Equestria was in its advanced stages, and currently, discussions were underway to find an appropriate location for the factory where the bombers would be built, and currently, despite the fact that this bomber wasn't even scheduled to enter service until the next year, Equestria and the Crystal Empire would its second and third export customers, and its third and fourth customers, following the US and Britain.

As they got ready to meet with the representative from Consolidated Aircraft so the plans could be finalized, little did they know, that soon, their hunt for the HNA would be at an end.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
At the Erweiterung facility in Germany, today was a day of celebrations. The Hamburg facility had finally modified one of the Kriegsmarine's Type VII U-boats into a Type VIIE, which was effectively silent underwater thanks to the improvements made to its engine and propeller by Discord, and it had been field tested successfully. Now, Hitler himself had approved the serial modification of regular Type VIIs into Type VIIEs, a process which took at least three months, so it would take sometime to get a few into active service, but it had been approved, which was a win for the program nonetheless.

The facility was cheering, and scientists were chugging beer like it was Oktoberfest, so they were having a large amount of fun, and people were getting drunk as skunks. Meanwhile, Discord was in a corner of the facility, having left the party earlier, and was thinking about how to go about the process of splicing humans with animal DNA to create monsters to serve the Nazi military.

Once the party was over, everyone would be off for the day, and would be back to work the next day. However, Discord had felt that the Erweiterung program needed a new facility, outside Germany, as just one facility was not enough to keep the program running, in case the Allies were able to reach the facility and bomb it. He had been thinking about setting up a second Erweiterung facility in Italy or Japan, and it was high time that he did.

He had decided that the second facility would be located in Italy, probably in one of the islands located off the coast of Italy, and he remembered the day that he had met Mussolini and Hirohito for the first time. They had agreed to work with him to set up facilities, so they probably would agree to his plan, else, he would not be able to take Earth for himself.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
At the new HNA cave somewhere on the coast of Equestria, Shady was finally happy. The construction of the Rift Gate had finally ended. It was now in front of him, ready to be activated, and ready to send them all home. However, the scientists had insisted that it be activated at least once as a test run, just so that they would be sure that the Gate worked properly, and despite the risk that it gave of them being detected by the government and stopped, their relentless asking and pestering him had forced him to agree, so he could be free to read his diary and recount life before the death of his brother.

As he made another look through the letters he had written to his brother in the diary, he looked through one he had written the day after robbing the Western Bank of Manehattan. Dear Honest, I did my duty today. When we and Neighsay robbed the Western Bank of Manehattan, during our entry into the bank, after disabling the security spell placed on the bank, Neighsay suddenly went crazy, and to announce our arrival, stabbed one of the security guards. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to injure him, and it convinced everyone that we were real.

Originally, our plan was to take some of the bank employees as hostages, and use them to convince the manager to give us the Aetherium, and in return, we would spare their lives. But Neighsay abandoned the entire plan, and directly threatened the manager himself. Even though I was mad at him at first, I guess the sight of a blood-stained knife being held to his throat was enough to convince the manager to give us access to the Aetherium. However, I knew that Neighsay was no longer fit to lead the HNA, and despite the fact that I despise humans themselves, I do like their weapons.

While we were in the vault, I was able to use my gun to end Neighsay's tyranny, and I had to kill the manager as well. We took the remaining Aetherium and then left the city to your old house in the Neigh Horseleans swamps, where I disposed of the gun, and now, construction of the Rift Gate has finally begun, and soon, we can all go back home to Equis. I will make sure this happens at all cost. I promise.

As Shady re-read the diary entry one last time, he knew that the test run of the Rift Gate would happen soon, and he would take all measures to make sure it was not detected by the Princesses. If it was, then he would take them along with him.

Chapter 88

12TH DECEMBER 1940

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
As the scientists got ready for the test run of the Rift Gate, which would soon be activated and ready to create a marvelous display, or at least what Shady and the remaining deranged HNA members could call marvelous, the destruction of an entire planet while sending a whole continent back to another planet, or as Shady called it, the Saving of Ponykind. To the HNA's deranged mind, they would be honoured as heroes of Equestria and the Crystal Empire by the public, and once back on Equis, they would depose the Princesses, and send them to Tartarus for having sent them to Earth with it resulting in the deaths of so many ponies.

They would also make sure to get rid of all those who supported the Princesses, and they would surely get the attention of the pony goddess, Faust. Shady himself was a Faustist, the name given to that group of ponies who believed that Faust existed and worshipped her, even though it had been 1,300 years since she had last been seen on Equis, and her existence seemed all but a legend at this point. They felt that this act would earn them the approval of Faust herself, and that they would be worshipped as deities by the ponies.

For the last few days, Shady had been nonstop rehearsing his speech for the inhabitants of Equis, considering that their current calculations had stated that more than 260 years would have passed on Equis since they had been transported to Earth. He was preparing a speech for the land's current inhabitants, stating who they were, in case the inhabitants of Equis had forgotten what ponies looked like, and what had truly happened to Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and how they had come back to Equis.

As the scientists got ready to activate the Rift Gate, Shady looked admiringly at it. It didn't look like much as of now, just a few wooden stairs leading to a large wooden base, on which the Gate itself had been constructed. For now, it was just a hollow ring-shaped doorway made of metal. The Gate's radius alone was over 10 hooves, and it was almost 4 hooves thick. The inside was lined with blocks of Aetherium, and they had already been calibrated to the approximated coordinates of Equis, using old data from over 200 years earlier, after the final experiments with rifts had been shut down by Princess Celestia all those years ago.

In fact, some of the data they had was over a thousand years old, from before Princess Luna turned into Nightmare Moon and was banished to Equis' Moon for one thousand years by Celestia. The scientists didn't have high hopes about this at first with such old data, but Shady had convinced them to use it and have higher hopes, and by 'convinced', Shady had essentially tortured them, and the scientists had essentially changed their minds right then and there, since the torture was not good for their health.

It had taken Shady having to dispose of Neighsay and destroy his brother's old house to finish the Rift Gate, but now it was ready. The scientists had told him that when the Gate was activated, the large metal circle that was the Gate would levitate above the base, and the portal to take them back to Equis would appear at first, but then, it would grow bigger and bigger, and would stretch the base as well, until it essentially swallowed the entirety of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and that would be what would send them home. Once they were safely on their way back to Equis, the Gate would close with a large bang behind them, leaving behind a black hole that would destroy Earth entirely.

Once this was done, the HNA would make their speech to the other inhabitants of Equis, and he was sure that Faust would make him an Alicorn once they did their duty, and he would probably be the first male Alicorn ever. Then, he would change the whole of Equis for the better, with his faithful compatriots by his side. As for the scientists, they knew that they could not let Shady finish his plan, not when so many innocents would be killed. They would stop him at all costs, even if it cost them their own lives.

As they got ready for the test run of the Rift Gate, they knew that this would hopefully help send a signal to the Princesses to help them pinpoint Shady's location, defeat him, and hopefully save them. Soon, at exactly 9:00am, they got ready to activate the Rift Gate for its first test run. Despite the cold weather, there was no snow on the coast, but it was quite cloudy. Still, no planes or ships came near here, so it was perfect if you wanted to disappear so that the HNA could test the Rift Gate.

As they got ready, for one last time, the scientists calibrated the Aetherium, and got ready to activate the Rift Gate. All it needed was a single press of a switch, and the second the switch was pressed, the Gate activated, and the whole ground began shaking, as the Gate began to power up.

They watched as a bright blue glow began to appear around the edges of the gate, as the portal to Equis began to open. As they watched, the ground began to shake more, and a loud roar was heard as the portal continued opening, and they watched as soon, the blue glow began to show what seemed to be somewhere on Equis, due to the presence of Zebras and Griffons. However, the land seemed different, as it seemed to be... a mine? That was odd. They could see the Zebras and Griffons starting to look at the portal with surprise, and one was even pointing at one of the ponies who was standing visibly in front of it. That was not surprising, considering that it had probably been over 260 years since ponies had been seen on Equis.

Then, as the portal began to glow more, the shaking suddenly stopped, and the portal closed quite abruptly, and it caused a shockwave that sent everyone flying. When they looked up, the portal was still intact, but now it was no longer active. That was surprising. "What in Faust's name just happened?!" asked Shady. quite angrily. "Why did the Gate shut down early?"

"Shady, that happened on purpose. If we left it turned on for too long, your plan would have begun too early, and we would have been found by the Princesses. That's why we turned it off now. Better to be safe than sorry." said Riftweaver Spark, sounding as truthful as he could be, to truly make his lie look real.

"But why?! Why didn't you let the portal open fully then, before you turned it off?!" asked Shady, still quite angrily.

"Well, we detected a small anomaly, so we shut it down eaRLYYYYY!" shouted Spark, as Shady lifted him up in the air, looking very angry.

"YOU TOLD ME THE GATE WAS READY FOR USE, THAT THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS WITH IT! YOU LIED TO ME, AND I DON'T LIKE LIARS!" shouted Shady, as he threw Spark down from quite a height, causing Spark to cry in pain. That was when one of the other scientists intervened.

"Shady! Don't kill him! You won't be able to have the Rift Gate fixed without him!" said the scientist. "Look, just give us a few days! We can figure out what the problem was, and have the Gate back up and running!"

Shady considered this for a moment, and then said, begrudgingly, "Fine. But next time, you're not getting a trial run. We're starting off with the Saving of Ponykind right after you fix it."

"You have our word." said the other scientist, as he ran to help Riftweaver Spark. They had bought themselves a little more time. But sooner or later, their luck would run out, and hopefully, the Princesses would be able to figure out where the HNA was by then.

Author's Note

This is what I imagine the Rift Gate to look like, this is a screenshot from Fortnite back in 2022, I think? This is what gave me the idea of the Rift Gate in the first place.

Chapter 89

24TH DECEMBER 1940

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was Hearth's Warming Eve in Equestria and the Crystal Empire, the second they were celebrating since their arrival on Earth. This festival, while some ponies on the battlefield were celebrating it as Christmas, most considered as Hearth's Warming. The gifts to be dispatched to all the soldiers on the battlefield had been sent out, and a few had already arrived on the frontlines for the soldiers, so that their morale would be increased. The time was now 7:00pm, and the festival would start in another five hours.

However, despite that, it would still be a sad festive season, due to the war, with the amount of soldiers dying everyday on the battlefield, the toll had now reached 12 million. The Second China-Japan war was still raging, and had spread into Korea, which was Japanese territory.

The Blitz was still raging over Britain, and multiple civilians were losing their lives everyday due to incessant German bombing, and due to this, the Americans were starting to get more involved in helping their British friends, especially after the fall of France. In fact, the Princesses had felt that the Americans were soon going to enter the war, despite the fact that they had agreed not to fight until they were attacked by the Axis countries first. In fact, they had already sold the British some of their destroyers in exchange for British bases, and American aircraft were being moved to these bases.

The Greco-Italian War was still raging, but Greece still had the upper hand against Italy, so the current estimation was that the Italians would fully pull out of Greece by February, and meanwhile, in Africa, the British, the Equestrian, and Crystal Empirean forces had jointly begun Operation Compass, which would finally drive the Italians out of their territories in Egypt and Somaliland. It had first begun with decimating the remaining Italian forces in Egypt, and it had been brutal, enough that Celestia would consider some of the things the ponies and humans had done to Italian forces as crimes.

An incident had occurred during a raid of one of the Italian positions, that had been praised by people and ponies from the Allies, but condemned by some. During the raid, some of the human soldiers who had lost family due to German and Italian bombing raids had teamed up with some pony soldiers, and when they had captured some Italian soldiers, they had brutally tortured the captured soldiers, stabbing them, covering them in excreta, even sodomizing them, before killing them.

They had taken cheerful pictures with cameras, showing the horrific torture, and the worst part was that they had been laughing at the plight of the soldiers. Yes, the Italians were the enemy in this case, but they didn't deserve that painful of a death. When the bodies of the Italians had been examined by Equestrian coroners, they had seen the horrific damage done to them by their own soldiers. One of the Italians had been stabbed over a hundred times, and another had been sodomized more than six times.

In fact, the second the news had come out, despite the protests from people and ponies around the world, asking him to keep those soldiers in the military so they could do similar things to German and Japanese soldiers as well, General Shining Armor, the head of the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean militaries, had removed those soldiers from duty, and while they would not be removed from the military, for now, they would be restricted to domestic assignments only. As for the British soldiers, last they had heard, they would also be placed on domestic duty for now. All would face disciplinary action, but for now, they would be on restricted duty.

Also, Equestria had almost come close to disaster, 12 days earlier. Some remote coastal towns had felt a small earthquake, which was not surprising, considering that part of the country lied on the border between two major tectonic plates. However, there had been no reports of any seismic activity during that time period, which had made some ponies, including the Princesses, suspicious. The search for Shady and the HNA still hadn't turned up anything, but this small earthquake had helped shorten the search area. However, it was still decently large, so they would be searching for some time. They knew that the Rift Gate had probably been completed, but they hadn't found any trace of Aetherium emissions yet.

As they thought about this, wondering where Shady and the HNA were, little did they know, that soon, their plan was soon to begin its final stage.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN EQUESTRIA------------------------------------------------------------
At the HNA's cave, Shady was happy, tears in his eyes. Today was their final day on Earth. Tonight, they would activate the Rift Gate for the final time, and transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire back home to Equis. When the Rift Gate opened, on this small beach in the south of Equestria, it would expand and create a giant Rift, that would slowly suck Equestria and the Crystal Empire into it, and the second the last part of both countries went through, the Rift Gate would deliberately explode, and the Aetherium would explode, and it would create a black hole that would swallow the Earth and the rest of the system where the Earth was located.

That was what it would do, and Shady had personally made sure that Riftweaver Spark and his fellow scientists had not purposely sabotage the Gate in any way, or else they would be left behind on Earth, and would die along with the planet. Shady and the other HNA members were all holding a small party to celebrate the end of their days on Earth, and by this time tomorrow, they would be celebrating Hearth's Warming together, all back on Equis. The plan for now would be to have Equestria and the Crystal Empire suspended above the planet, as the area where it had once been would have probably been occupied by now.

As they drank and ate merrily, celebrating the end of their life on this awful planet that the Princesses had brought them to, Shady thought about what his brother would say, on seeing this. In fact, he had decided to write one final message to his brother, before the big plan began. He quickly excused himself, went back into the cave, turned on the lantern, and tears began to flow down his eyes, as he opened the diary one last time, and began to write down the final message. Dear Honest, began Shady, as the tears continued to flow.

The time of our reckoning is almost upon us. In just a few hours from now, we shall liberate Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and take us all back home, back to our beautiful world of friendship, peace, and harmony. I wish you were here to see it. These days, I have severe migraines and headaches that cause me to black out. I do not know why, and I do not understand them. Whenever one of those headaches is finished, I wake up, and multiple things seemed to have happened during the time when I was blacked out. Whatever this is, it hasn't stopped me from finishing my goal. We will send our nations home, tonight. I just wish you were still here to see it. Thank you, for the last time, your brother.

As Shady began to cry once more, he decided to cry now, so that his emotions wouldn't leak out in front of the HNA. He couldn't afford to lose face like that, by showing his emotions. That was when he had another headache, and the tears instantly stopped and dried up. He wasn't Shady any more. He was something else. He decided to sit it out in the cave, until the time had come for the Grand Finale of the HNA's plan, which would start just three hours from now on.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now almost 10:00pm in Canterlot. The city was almost asleep, but the important business districts and the government buildings were still busy, even at this late hour, as the government never stopped functioning, and the ponies who worked the night shifts would be busy. Celestia and Luna were in the main Throne Room of the castle, as Celestia was about to go to bed, and Luna would stay awake for some more time till she went to sleep well past one in the morning.

As they were about to head to their rooms for the night, suddenly, they felt the ground begin to shake, as if an earthquake was occurring. That was odd. Equestria and the Crystal Empire were on the border of two tectonic plates, yes, but no seismic activity had been recorded. Was this a sudden earthquake? As if on cue, the air raid sirens, which could also be used as sirens to warn of an incoming natural disaster, also began blaring. That was not good. That was one when of the soldiers came running into the room.

"Your Majesties! Come to the balcony, quick! You have to see this!" said the soldier. The two Princesses instantly ran to the castle's balcony, and they were treated to quite a sight. Despite the shaking, it was quite amazing and horrifying to see. As the cacophony of the sirens blared behind them, and citizens ran amok with panic on the streets of Canterlot, all else was forgotten, as everyone was pausing to look at one thing. A large blue pillar of light, far away from Canterlot, but so large that it was if it was just a quick drive from the city, was visible.

This pillar of light, with the shaking, could only mean one thing. Shady and the HNA had activated the Rift Gate. All they had to do was fly in the direction of this, and they would find them. They had to get there as fast as they could, or else they would not stop the Earth from being destroyed. "Your Majesties, I think this is it. This is the end. They've activated it." said the soldier, in fear, realizing what would happen soon.

"Not if we can help it." said Celestia and Luna, in unison. They were ready to fight Shady personally, and they knew he wouldn't go down without a fight. "We will stop him. Even if we have to give up our own lives in the process." said Luna, as they got ready to make one of the fastest flights they had ever made in their lives.

As they primed their wings one last time, knowing that the fate of an entire planet depended upon them, the two sisters launched off the balcony of Canterlot Castle, and after a quick dive to gain speed, began flying towards the pillar of light. They couldn't teleport there, as they wanted to conserve their magic for when they had to fight, and they didn't know the exact location of where this light was coming from. Despite how blinding it was, they continued their flight. The magic of friendship, peace, and harmony burned in their hearts, as they flew towards the dark blue light of evil and destruction.

As they flew towards the HNA that fateful night, this would be the last time the Princesses would be seen for an entire day. As they continued flying over Equestria, the two sisters exchanged smiles, knowing that this could be the last time one might see the the other alive.

Chapter 90

----------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE OVER EQUESTRIA---------------------------------------------------------
All they could see was blue. It was endless. Everything was blue. They couldn't see anything that wasn't blue. That was all that Celestia and Luna could see, as they flew over Equestria, heading towards the coast at high speed, where Shady had activated the Rift Gate. It had been just over an hour since they had left the Canterlot Castle, but they were closing in on the area where the Rift Gate seemed to be. Despite the blinding blue light being generated by the Rift Gate, they were able to see, although all they could see was blue light.

Suddenly, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it reduced in size, and almost disappeared, until it was a small pillar of light which clearly marked where the Rift Gate was. The two sisters instantly flew towards it, getting ready for a fight. They knew that they had to stop Shady, even if they themselves did not make it. It had been some time since they had fought an enemy in person, but they were Alicorns. They had fought Discord, Tirek, and other evils. Celestia had even fought her own sister, after the Nightmare took over. This one would be relatively easy for them.

However, as they neared the pillar of blue light, which was rapidly fading, they could see a glow of blue light spreading out around the ground near a large rock formation, which was probably where the HNA was gathered. They soon began to hear voices, including that of Slick Shady. The Princesses quickly landed on one of the rocks, to avoid being seen, and to get a better look. They knew that the military would be scrambling aircraft and other forces to look for the Princesses, but they probably wouldn't have known where the Princesses had gone, so they would be having a hard time finding them and the HNA, and if they did, it would be too late.

As they thought about how to take down the HNA swiftly, they could see Shady, and then they saw the Rift Gate. It was as imposing as the remains of the plans they had salvaged from the old HNA compound had said it was, and it had already been activated, and the blue portal home to Equis was visible in the center, with multiple stunned griffons and zebras looking at it from Equis. "Go, go, go! We have to get to Equis now, if something goes wrong during the transportation of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, we'll at least still be there! I'll follow you later, GO!" shouted Shady, as the other HNA members began jumping into the Gate, and disappearing to Equis, stumbling a little bit thanks to the ground shaking because of the Rift Gate's power and energy.

As the Princesses were getting ready to jump into action, suddenly, time just stopped. Not slowed down, like it would if they were filled with adrenaline, stopped entirely. Even the waves stopped moving, and the ground stopped shaking. It felt as if the Princesses were in a photo, stuck in time. That was when they saw a bright light behind them, and when they turned around, it was an Alicorn they had never expected to see for this sort of a situation. It was Faust. Her mane glimmered red, like stars in the moonlight, and even though people had often said that the Princesses were the prettiest ponies to ever live, even Faust's beauty stunned the Princesses for a second, before Luna spoke up.

"Ah, mother, did you really go silent all for so long just to come and help us fight the HNA?" asked Luna, rather sarcastically.

"No, my daughters. I normally wouldn't stop all of time itself, for an enemy that would normally be as insignificant as them, but I have to, because, I am here to warn you." said Faust, with a bit of a sad look on her face.

"What? Apart from the HNA and the Rift Gate, what else must we be warned about?" asked Celestia.

"Well, it's better if I show you what you might be up against." said Faust, as she cast a spell with her horn, and a black screen, similar to that of a movie theater's, appeared before them. However, this was no film. This showed a scene from Equis, and it showed multiple zebras and griffons, all holding energy weapons reminiscent of spears and early guns from Earth, all powered by the element that Faust had created for the citizens of Equis using the former sites of Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

They were fighting an evil entity, one that all of them recognized. It was a large amorphous black cloud, that was sentient, but in this case, the cloud had taken the shape of a large pony. It was the Nightmare, the same force of darkness that had been generated by Luna's resentment and anger towards her sister, that had turned her into Nightmare Moon, who had been imprisoned on the Moon of Equis for a thousand years, before finally being returned to normal by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, using the Elements of Harmony.

Luna had once theorized that the Nightmare, the informal name she had given to the force that had corrupted her, had not been destroyed by the Elements of Harmony, but had somehow separated from her entirely, being heavily weakened, but had gone. She had scrapped this theory on the grounds that the Nightmare could not have survived without a host, since she had believed that it was like a parasite that took control of its host's body.

This proved Luna's theory had been wrong, as not only had the Nightmare survived, but it didn't seem to have a host. It had grown more powerful than when it had been defeated by the Elements of Harmony, but was still too powerful for the griffons and zebras to defeat it without magic. They were trying everything against it, but it looked as if the Nightmare was too strong for them to fight as they seemed to be fighting a losing battle against it. They watched horrified as the Nightmare used its magic to trap some of them in their worst nightmares, allowing the Nightmare to easily defeat them.

Then, they watched as the Nightmare headed towards more of the mines, towards what seemed to be the portal opened by the Rift Gate for the HNA to step through. That was where the vision ended, and Luna spoke up, shocked. "The Nightmare has awoken on Equis, and is trying to get to Earth?"

"Yes, unfortunately, Luna, my daughter. It has returned, and now, it seems to be heading towards the Rift Gate, and it will destroy the Earth if you do not stop it, as it has become too powerful for any pony or human, except for a being as powerful as me, to end its reign of terror." said Faust, sadly.

"So why are you not helping us, mother? Are you not letting yourself do so?" asked Celestia.

"No, my daughters. The other gods of Skyros are not willing to let me help you, stating that the Nightmare will be necessary to continue the cycle of creation and destruction that continues in the universe. They say that the end has come for Equis, and the Nightmare will die along with the planet."

"What?! You're saying we have to destroy Equis?!" shouted Celestia, in horror, realizing that Faust was essentially telling them to cause the destruction of their home world.

"Yes, and I truly regret it, my daughters. I never wanted it to come to this, but the heavens would not let me interfere, hence, this is the only way. I am sorry, my daughters." said Faust, with a sad face, as she suddenly disappeared again, in a flash of light, and the two sisters realized that time would soon resume.

"Sister, we have to stop the Nightmare from coming through the Rift Gate, else, Earth will be doomed. That, and Mother mentioned that we have to destroy Equis!" said Luna.

"I know, Luna, but first, we have to shut down the Rift Gate, so that we can stop Shady, save the experts, and the Nightmare won't be able to get through!" said Celestia, as they quickly glided down to confront them. As they were gliding down, Riftweaver Spark and his friends hoped that the Princesses had seen them. They knew that the blue pillar of light that had been created by secretly hiding a blue-burning chemical in the Gate, would have been seen by the Princesses. It had also given them an advantage, by temporarily overwhelming the HNA with how bright the light had been.

They had not escaped, as the HNA had tied them so that they would die along with the Earth, but they had another plan up their sleeves to stop the HNA, even if it cost them their own lives. Just as they watched some of the other members run through the Rift Gate and enter Equis, they saw two shapes launch off the cliff surrounding the beach where the HNA had set up the Rift Gate, and they instantly knew that they had seen their signal.

The Princesses flew gracefully through the air and landed right behind Slick Shady, who hadn't even noticed their presence, due to the fact that the ground was shaking so much due to the fact that the Rift Gate was powering up to transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire back to Equis. The Princesses landed with a gentle thump, the sound barely audible above the humming power of the Rift Gate. Shady, still barking orders, jumped at the sudden presence. He whirled around, eyes widening in disbelief.

"No, no, no, no, nooooo! How... how did you find us?" he stammered, his composure cracking. He hadn't expected a direct confrontation. He'd envisioned a clean getaway, leaving Equestria behind, forever.

Celestia stepped forward, her voice ringing with authority. "Shady, your actions have taken over a hundred lives, and endangered thousands of others. This ends now."

Luna mirrored her sister's stance, her eyes blazing with righteous anger. "You've betrayed your home, your people, for your own twisted ambition. You will not be allowed to succeed!"

Shady, regaining a semblance of his swagger, smirked. "Oh, I think I already have. Look around you, Princesses. The Rift Gate is active. Equestria and the Crystal Empire are about to become a part of Equis once more. What can you do to stop me now?" He gestured to the Rift Gate, a swirling vortex of blue light that pulsed with raw energy, showing the HNA ponies on Equis waiting among the awed griffons and zebras for Shady. "It's not just my ambition. It's those of all those ponies who joined me, to spread the Fires of Liberation! I am the Herald of Peace, for Equestria and the Crystal Empire! In reality, you are the ones who are the traitors! First, you sent us to another planet, and don't go about that bull-buck you say, that you didn't do it! Then, you send your own citizens into a war like no other, in places that are not theirs, and then, you say that you are just doing your jobs! You killed my brother! You deserve to die with the Earth!"

"No, Shady! You've killed so many innocent ponies! You betrayed your own followers, and your brother's legacy, by destroying his old house, and killing all of your followers!" said Luna, seething with resentment, recounting what he had done.

"No, they gave up their lives to the Fires of Liberation as part of the cause! They knew that, and my brother would have been happy to know that his property had been destroyed not by vandals, or thieves, but for a good cause! The fires spread through the Nightlights' Shoppe as well, and destroyed those barbaric humans!"

"No. None of them did anything wrong. They were all innocent, killed for your senseless ideology!" said Celestia, recounting the sights they had seen at the sight of the bombing at Nightlights' Shoppe.

"No, the ponies from one family were not innocent at all! They were relatives of the one who killed my parents! They all deserved to die!"

"For what, just being related to him? They did nothing wrong. You betrayed not just your organisation, but also the pony who took you into the HNA in the first place, Neighsay! You murdered him in cold blood just so you could take over the HNA!" said the Princesses.

This hit Shady like a cold slap, and he started to tear up, as he recounted the day he backstabbed Neighsay, shooting him in the back at the Western Back of Manehattan. "No, I had to take it from him. He wasn't willing to save this continent. I had to." stated Shady in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner, as if he were recounting a happy day.

"Clumsy Honest wouldn't have wanted this, Shady. Not now, not ever. He died fighting like a warrior, and he is at least remembered as a good pony. You, on the other hand, will always be remembered as an evil, depraved pony, unless you shut down the Rift Gate, surrender, and show genuine remorse for what you did." said Celestia, trying to convince Shady to stop.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! DON'T YOU SAY A WORD ABOUT MY BROTHER, YOU SCUMMY RULERS! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" shouted Shady, powering up his horn to try and attack the Princesses, but Luna quickly fired a burst from her horn, blasting Shady towards the ocean, unconscious. Meanwhile, the Princesses sped towards the scientists, freeing them from their restraints.

In the light from the Rift Gate and with the aura from their own horns, the Princesses could see the extent of the abuse the scientists had been subjected to by the HNA. Their bodies were marred and riddled with scars from beatings and whippings, and their coats were browning from dust and dirt, and their manes were unkempt, and in some cases even cut off. They were also extremely thin, with their ribs showing, as the HNA had barely fed them, and had even starved them sometimes.

"We have to shut down the Rift Gate. How do we do it?" asked Celestia, as the scientists got up.

"We can't shut the Gate itself down. He made us build it in such a way that it could never be shut down once it was activated. We can only do one thing." said Riftweaver Spark. The unicorn's white coat was stained brown with dirt and dust, and his mane was unkempt, and parts of it had been cut off in ugly patches,

"What is that way? Tell us, quick!" said Luna, realizing that they couldn't shut the Gate itself down.

"We can alter the Aetherium matrix in such a way that the Gate itself is transported back to Equis, but not Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Once it is on Equis, it will explode, but the Gate will close, and Equis will be destroyed, along with the other HNA members. That is the only reason why we didn't consider this plan." stated Spark.

"We have to destroy Equis, now. There is a force on it, that will come to our planet if we do no... IT IS ALREADY HERE!" shouted Luna, as the first tendrils of the Nightmare began to come into the portal, onto Earth. "No, sister, I will stop it myself!" said Luna, pushing Celestia aside, as she fired a burst of magic at the Nightmare. However, this did not stop the Nightmare, as it continued to come through the Gate, to the horror of everyone present.

Luna again charged at the Nightmare, and this time, it spread out to form the shape of receiving hands, as if it wanted to take Luna back again as its queen. "Luna... come to me. We will be more unstoppable then ever, if you join me." Luna could hear the Nightmare speaking to her, but she knew that she had to stop it. As Spark and the others ran towards the Rift Gate to try and shut it down, the Nightmare began to grab Luna, to try and take control of her again.

"Luna, look at me. Look at what has happened to you on this wretched planet." stated the voice of the Nightmare, again, as it began to show Luna her memories, as it began spreading over her body. Luna could only hear a faint shout from her sister as the Nightmare began showing her many things. The day she became Nightmare Moon. Celestia banishing her for a thousand years with the Elements of Harmony. Her days on the Moon. Her uncertainty and insecurity about herself, even after she had been turned back to normal. The day she had failed to save the woman in London after the German air raid.

That was when the Nightmare shifted. It began to form the face and body of a human woman. The same woman who had died in front of Luna in London. It was the same person, just made of dark amorphous clouds. "Luna. Why couldn't you help me? Why did I die, but not my son? Why, Princess?" said the Nightmare, in the form of the woman, as Luna struggled to fight back. "Well, Princess? Imagine. If you were Nightmare Moon, you could have saved me. But no, you choose to remain old goody-goody Luna. You always choose to remain the neglected younger sister."

As the Nightmare continued talking, it then took the form of Celestia. "Oh, Luna, you stupid little filly. You've always been a dark spot in Equestria's history, and its better off if you just became Nightmare Moon again, so I could banish you for good." All of these were some of Luna's darkest thoughts, things that she felt Celestia would have thought about before she became Nightmare Moon. It then took the form of Winston Churchill. "Oh, your Lowness, you should have saved that woman, but no, you were unable to, because you can't do anything, not when you're Luna." This weakened Luna's confidence further, and the Nightmare continued to spread over her body.

As Luna struggled to fight back against the Nightmare, Celestia knew that she would not be able to fight it, either. As the scientists began to reconfigure the Aetherium's matrix, she heard a voice. "Ah, Celestia. Why should I let the Nightmare have all the fun?" said Shady, getting up, but with his eyes now yellow, as Shady's horn lit up, and he fired a burst of chaos magic, that threw Celestia into a cliff wall. Despite the pain coursing through her body, the adrenaline flowing through her veins was giving her strength.

"Discord! What are you doing?! You already started the war, and led to the deaths of millions of innocents, what is in this for you?" said Celestia, full of anger.

"Oh, me? If the Nightmare is handling Luna, the least I should do is let old Shady here have the satisfaction of handling you, you marvelous cake-loving sunbutt!" said Shady, with Discord's voice, as he began to fire another one at Celestia, who was still getting up.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, Luna noticed her sister lying on the ground, and a mix of anger and hope began to course through her. She remembered the days her sister had always stood by her side, since the day they had been left by Faust with the villagers. The day she had taken the throne of Equis along with Celestia, the days they had survived on their own in the old castle along with Star Swirl the Bearded. The things she had done with her sister after they had arrived on Earth. Her implementation of the Declaration of Ponykinds' Rights, supported by her sister. She also remembered the feeling of freedom she had felt after being turned back to Luna by the Elements of Harmony.

Luna began to fight back against the Nightmare, as its tendrils began to lose its grip on her. "No! This is not possible! You'll always be mine!" shouted the Nightmare, as it fought to take back Luna's body, and began to lose its form, beginning to melt back into its cloud form.

"No, you won't!" said Luna. "You were never part of me, you were just always an uninvited guest. You are never going to be me, or part of me, and you will never control anyone, AGAIN!" shouted Luna, as she fired a large burst of energy right into the Nightmare, making it fully let go of Luna, and it retreated back into the Gate, severely weakened, with a final shout of pain. As Luna recovered, she saw Discord about to fire a burst at her sister, who was still not fully recovered from the first blast. Before Discord could kill her sister, she fired a burst that threw him almost into the ocean.

At first, Luna was surprised that Discord had decided to show up by possessing Slick Shady, as she wondered how he would have known that the Rift Gate had been activated. As she and Celestia watched, they asked the scientists, "Is it done yet?"

"No, your Highnesses, it's taking us way longer than usual, because the Aetherium is already activated! Please hold him off until then, a single hit on the Gate could destroy Earth!" said Spark, who was hurrying along with his scientists to alter the Aetherium's matrix. The shaking on the ground was getting stronger, as the Rift Gate continued to power up. Soon, it would be able to transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

The Princesses, meanwhile, continued to fight Discord, who had possessed the body of Shady. Shady's horn glowed, as he created a puff of smoke that confused the Princesses. However, when it cleared, they were facing seven Shadys. Discord had used chaos magic to create clones of his temporary body.

"Seven of me? How delightful!" Discord cackled, his voice still echoing from Shady's form. "Let's see if you can handle a little chaos, eh?"

The Princesses exchanged a look. They'd faced worse odds. They knew they couldn't afford to waste time; every second was precious.

"Celestia, take the left," Luna commanded, her voice steely. "I'll handle the right. Focus on disrupting the chaos magic, and don't let him get close to the scientists."

Celestia nodded, her eyes narrowed in determination. They charged.

Luna, moving with a speed that surprised even herself, unleashed a torrent of magical blasts at the Shady clones on the right. They fizzled and vanished, revealing nothing but empty air. The real Shady, or rather, Discord in Shady's form, was clearly using them as a distraction.

On the left, Celestia was employing a different strategy. She used her magic to create shimmering barriers, forcing the Shady clones to alter their course and exposing them to her attacks. She was methodical, precise, and relentless.

Discord, however, was not one to be easily outmaneuvered. He swirled his chaos magic, creating gusts of wind, patches of slippery ice, and sudden bursts of gravity, hoping to throw the Princesses off balance. He understood he had to keep them occupied for as long as possible.

"You think you can beat me, just with brute force?" Discord taunted, his voice dripping with amusement. "I am the master of chaos, the architect of the unexpected! You can't anticipate what I'll do next!" Luna gritted her teeth, feeling the sting of Discord's taunts. She knew he was right. But she refused to give in to his games. She had to focus. She had to protect her sister. She had to save Earth.

Celestia, using her own magic to counteract the chaos around them, kept advancing, one step at a time. "We have faced your chaos before, Discord," she replied, her voice calm amidst the swirling madness. "We have learned to anticipate the unexpected. And we will not let you win."

Meanwhile, the scientists, working furiously, were making the final adjustments to the Aetherium matrix. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, but their focus remained unwavering. Riftweaver Spark, directing them, shouted, "Almost there! Just a few more adjustments! The Gate is getting ready to transport Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Equis any second now!"

Soon, only one Shady, the original one, remained, as the scientists realized something. "Your Highnesses! We have a problem!"

"What is it?!" asked Luna, who was beginning to panic.

"The Aetherium... we can't alter it alone from here. One of us has to go through the Gate, into Equis." said Spark.

"I see, but you'll be able to make it back, right?" said Celestia. Despite the fact that the Princesses were both optimistic, they had already guessed what Spark was about to say next, going by his face.

"No. Whoever goes through will have to die along with Equis and the other HNA members." said Spark, sadly, but with a look of determination on his face.

"No! Is there any other way? Anything?!" asked Luna, in a state of shock and horror.

"I'm sorry, your Highnesses. It is the only way." said Spark.

"Haha! One of you is going to have to die-ie, so that you can wiiiiin!" laughed Discord, happily. At that, the Princesses fired another burst, just as part of the Gate began to grow. It had begun. A large gale of wind, albeit one sucking everything towards the Gate, and the body of Shady was caught in it. Just before his body passed over a part of the Rift Gate, the Gate began to expand, and part of the Rift caught Shady's body right in the middle. Shady's body was cut in half, with the his hind legs and tail being sucked back into Equis, while his head and forelegs stayed on Earth.

Despite that, since Discord still possessed Shady's body, despite the fact that only half of Shady's body was still there on Earth, with blood and internal organs spilling out, he was still alive, only temporarily. "Well, you win, for now, I guess. Have fun sacrificing one of your own to destroy the Gate!" said Discord, one last time, as Shady's body fell silent, for good.

"Your Highnesses! We have decided. It shall be me who gives up his own life." said Spark. This statement shocked the Princesses.

"No! We'll do it, you don't have to do this!" said Luna.

"No, your Majesties. This is my way of atoning for building this Gate. I chose to do it to save my own life, even though I knew what the HNA would use it for. I promised myself, while I was their prisoner, that I would either die a hero or live long enough to see myself become the villain. And I have decided." said Spark, with a smile on his face, as he began to walk towards the Rift Gate, which was starting to roar and shake the ground even more, causing rocks to start falling from the nearby cliffs, and it caused waves to start going backwards, since the Rift Gate was facing the Atlantic Ocean. "Goodbye, my friends, and your Highnesses." said Spark, one last time, as he stepped through the Rift Gate, back into Equis.

As he entered Equis, the other HNA members, who were already there, were shocked. "What are you doing here? Where's our Supreme Leader?" asked one of them, shocked.

"Let's just he paid for what he did, and he was unable to make it." said Spark, as he cast his magic on the portal, and began casting what would be his final spell. On both sides of the Rift Gate, every pony, griffon, and zebra, watched in shock, as the Rift Gate began folding inside the rift, and began to reappear on the other side, on Equis.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" asked some other HNA members as they tackled Spark to the ground to try and stop him.

"Just making amends for all of the bad things I've done throughout my life." said Spark, as he continued the spell, despite the HNA ponies tackling him to the ground of Equis. That was when some of them panicked, as the Nightmare was coming for them. As the spell finished, and the final pieces of the Rift Gate came into Equis, the Aetherium began to overload. Spark looked back at the Nightmare, which almost upon them, and with a smile of determination, said to the Nightmare, "This is the end for all of us." as the Aetherium overloaded. A blue light washed over him, and soon, he knew no more.

On Earth, the rift closed suddenly with a large boom. The ground stopped shaking, but the closing of the Rift Gate had created a shockwave, that sent everyone and everything flying in all directions. The Princesses and the remaining scientists were flung in all directions, but none of them got thrown out to the ocean. All of them hit rocks. The last one of them to hit was Celestia, and then, silence.

Chapter 1

Author's Note

I joined the fandom only at the end of 2021, so I am not too familiar with MLP lore, so there will be inaccuracies in some things, and I am not too great at writing things, so there may be some grammarly errors, and as this is my first ever story, you can let me know what inaccuracies and issues are there, so I can correct them in subsequent chapters.

Also, in this universe, ponies can live twice as long as humans (up to 170 years).

Chapter 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT-------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was 11:00am in Canterlot. Most of the ponies of Equestria were already awake and at work, but Canterlot Castle had been up and running since 5:00am. Princess Luna was taking a nap, and Princess Celestia was standing in the balcony, relaxing after a diplomatic meeting with the Griffons, and was taking a breath of fresh air, before she once more was plunged into another 8 hours of meetings, and law approvals.

Celestia looked at her Sun, and smiled down upon her kingdom, which she had ruled for over two thousand years, upon Canterlot, Ponyville, and the far reaches of the Crystal Empire. It had been just under two months since Twilight and her friends had saved the Crystal Empire after it had reappeared after one thousand years. It looked as happy as it always was, except for the storm clouds which were gathering on the horizon. Celestia had noticed them a few hours earlier, and thinking it was odd that storm clouds would be gathering, as summer was near, and there were no storm forecasts.

She had written to Twilight, and asked her to tell Rainbow Dash and the weather team to check those clouds out, and hopefully, it would be resolved in a few hours. Celestia then went back outside for her next meeting, with the Diamond Dogs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------PONYVILLE------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Ponyville, at the Golden Oak Library, it was not as peaceful as it was in Canterlot. Twilight had received the message from Celestia around two hours earlier, and instantly told Rainbow Dash to tell the weather team and check it out, while she and her dragon assistant, Spike, looked up her books, to see if the ones on weather mentioned anything about strange storm clouds appearing near the beginning of summer. The last report from Rainbow Dash had come just around twenty minutes earlier. She had said that the clouds weren't just near Ponyville, but also near Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire.

Twilight was still in her book, and trying to figure out which combination of certain weather phenomena would cause these storm clouds to appear, when Rainbow Dash came in at high speed, and an expression of alarm on her face. "TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT! THE STORM CLOUDS AREN'T MOVING AWAY FROM PONYVILLE, CANTERLOT OR THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-".

"Wait, WHAT?" Twilight replied in shock. "Those storm clouds aren't moving away from Ponyville, Canterlot, or the Crystal Empire?!"

"Yeah, whenever we try to move them away, they just start moving in faster, and when we tried to budge them, some lightning just knocked one of the other pegasi on the weather team out cold! He's alright, but at the rate they're going, they'll reach Ponyville in just around twenty minutes, the Crystal Empire in twenty-five, and Canterlot in thirty! Those storm clouds also look like they could cause some serious damage! We gotta get everypony into shelter!" came the reply from Rainbow Dash.

"Alright, I'm going to run to the Mayor's office and tell her to get everypony to safety! Meanwhile, round up everypony else in town and tell the weather team to back on the ground ASAP! Oh, but first, I had better write letters to Celestia and Cadance!" said Twilight. "Spike! Go get some scrolls and a quill, fast!" she told Spike.

"Sure thing, Twilight!" said Spike, running to a cupboard, grabbing the requiring supplies, and giving them to Twilight, who instantly grabbed them, and began writing the letters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celestia was in the middle of a meeting with some delegates of the Crystal Empire when the letter from Twilight arrived, and although she was annoyed at this unwelcome interruption to her meeting, but when she opened the letter, one look at its contents was enough to convince her to postpone the meeting.

It read, "Dear Princess Celestia, the storm clouds don't seem to be normal at all, and the weather team isn't able to repel them. The clouds seem large enough that the storm could cause serious damage, I would advise everypony in Canterlot to get to safety within thirty minutes. Some clouds are also heading towards the Crystal Empire, but I have already notified Princess Cadance about the threat. Please, stay safe. Twilight"

"Alright, everypony! We cannot continue this meeting now, let us all get into shelter now! Guards, all of you, tell everypony in Canterlot to take shelter either underground or here at the castle. I'll go let Luna know, you all must leave now!"

Celestia told her guards who instantly ran downstairs, while Celestia teleported and burst into Luna's room. "Luna, are you in there? We must get to the throne room right away!" panted Celestia.

"Why, what thou is the matter, sister?" replied Luna, surprised at her sister's sudden appearance.

"I will explain on the way, but we must hurry, Luna!" said Celestia, as the two alicorns ran towards the throne room.

----------------------------------------------------------------THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cadance and Shining Armor were worried. The letters from Twilight had come just about twenty minutes earlier, and now, the clouds were nearing the Crystal Empire. They had already gotten everypony to safety at Crystal Castle, but now they were standing on the balcony, watching the storm clouds get nearer to the Crystal Empire. Thankfully, the clouds were being repelled from the Empire itself by the shield, but they were still lingering above. Some weather experts at the Crystal Empire were studying the clouds, trying to figure what these were.

Cadance looked at the clouds, and looked at Ponyville and Canterlot in the distance, hoping that Twilight, Celestia, and Luna had got everypony over there to safety, wondering what would happen to them in these storms, just as lightning started to strike, causing Cadance and Shining Armor to run back into the Castle.

As Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor watched from their respective lands, the storm clouds converged, covering Equestria and the Crystal Empire, flashing lightning. Then, in a horrifying yet beautiful display, columns of lightning started striking the borders nonstop, a bright light appeared causing everybody to black out, a huge roar was heard, and then, Equestria and the Crystal Empire were transported away from planet Equis forever.

Chapter 13

-------------------------------------------------------------------JASTRDANSK---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was almost 11:00am in Geneva, which shared the same time as Warsaw. Jastrdansk, a small town on the Germany-Poland border was having a very quiet day. Most people had been tuned to their radios or televisions watching the Equestrians' visit to the League of Nations. The town was small, with a population of only around 7,500. It mainly made its income from farming, and the export of iron ore. There was an iron ore mine three kilometers from the town, where around two thousand of its inhabitants worked in various capacities. Since they were so close to Germany, the Polish Army had a base a kilometer away, containing multiple soldier platoons, and an armored division as well.

Arthur Kowalski was working in his potato field, his tractor parked outside. He had just been listening to the Equestrians' League of Nations visit on the radio, and had heard the awful shootout live. To get his mind off that, he had gone back to work harvesting his potato field. He was busy loading harvested potatoes into the trailer attached to his tractor, when he heard the distant rumbling sound of an engine. At first, he thought it was probably his neighbor's truck.

However, as the noise got louder, he realized it was not from an engine, it was from multiple engines. And it was too quiet to be his neighbor's truck, which had a broken muffler. That was when he saw the vehicles making the noise in the distance. They were not trucks, cars, or even tractors. These were military tanks. That was odd, he thought. The Polish Army would never conduct any exercises this close to a residential area. That was when he saw the flags. These tanks did not fly the Polish flag, but the Nazi Swastika. The Germans had violated their ceasefire and had begun the invasion of Poland!

Kowalski instantly dropped the potatoes hanging from his hand, ran into his tractor, started up the engine, and drove towards Jastrdansk at high speed, to warn the people about the invasion. By his count, they had less than half an hour before the tanks entered the town and began blowing everyone up, so they better get into hiding. Unfortunately, most people were at their homes, but Kowalski had managed to get into town and activate the air raid sirens, since he was a member of the town council. The Polish Army had also been called.

As the tanks began rumbling into Jastrdansk, the townspeople could hear the roar of aircraft engines, as flights of German planes flew over, on the way to Warsaw. Meanwhile, on the surface, the shooting was about to begin. 22 year old Private First Class Walter Weber and his troop contingent were driving into town on troop carriers. No one could believe that the Germans had breached their ceasefire just like that. They were ready to drive the Germans out. They had ordered all the residents to get underground, or hide inside their homes.

As they arrived at the town gate, they faced the German tanks, which continued faster on seeing them. One of them turned its turret, and fired at one of the Polish troop carriers, killing all twenty soldiers on it. This sprang the remaining soldiers into action. They all hopped off their troop carriers, and began firing at the German tanks, as they took up defensive positions. Multiple German soldiers escorting the tanks began firing back as well. The Polish soldiers fought back bravely, especially Weber. He was able to take out around twelve German soldiers, and even managed to destroy a tank by throwing a grenade into its open hatch.

However, the Germans eventually gained the upper hand, and within twenty minutes, of the initial platoon of two hundred men that had been dispatched, only 34 remained alive, but not before taking down over sixty German soldiers, and twelve tanks. Sadly, it had not been without civilian casualties, as close to ninety civilians in nearby houses had already died. Although they had called for backup, it was still ten minutes out, and they were almost out of ammunition. That was when Weber had a brainwave. He noticed an intact German Panzer III tank parked empty. If he and another soldier could get to it, then they would have an advantage against the German tanks. However, there were still multiple bullets flying, and a stray bullet in the right place would easily kill him.

(one of these but with a Swastika on the front and a German flag dangling off it as well)

Thankfully, Weber noticed some body armor plates in a case carried by one of his dead comrades. He grabbed the plates, and put three on, to give himself some protection. He noticed his colleague, Private First Class Artur Pashkov, fighting nearby. He told Pashkov his plan in sign language, and slid him the case with the armor plates. Pashkov instantly put the last three of the plates on, and sign language, said, "Weber, you are nuts, but right now, we have no choice."

"It is a crazy plan, but, are you ready?" asked Weber, still in sign language.

"Yeah, I am ready." replied Pashkov.

"Alright, LET'S GO!" shouted Weber, as he and Pashkov began a mad dash to the tank. They both ran like bats out of Hell, trying as hard as they could to dodge bullets. They successfully got in the Panzer, despite getting hit by four or five bullets, which were thankfully deflected by the body armor. Despite having no tank training, they were able to start it up, Weber as the driver, and Pashkov as the gunner.

Despite some difficulties with the controls of the tank at first, they were able to use it to pull some of their comrades out of hairy situations. The radio was still functioning, so they were able to use it to determine where German reinforcements were coming from. However, morale dropped among them when they smoke coming from the directions of both the military base where they started, and the iron ore mines. The base probably had survivors, who had probably been taken prisoner by the Germans by now. But the smoke coming from the iron ore mines was thick. If anyone was there when it had been attacked, they would probably have died by now.

They then heard on the radio that more German reinforcements were coming. That was when a loud explosion made the whole tank shake and their ears ring. A Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka bomber had tried to kill them by dropping a bomb, which had missed, but landed behind their tank, causing that explosion. Weber then realized that the big Panzer kept wanting to turn right. One of the tracks must have been damaged by shrapnel from that bomb. From his position, Pashkov could see the Luftwaffe bomber coming back for another attempt to bomb them. Pashkov instantly aimed the turret, and right before the bomber entered his sights, he fired the turret. It landed a direct shot in the Stuka's bomb bay, causing the bomber to explode mid-air, leaving no chance for the crew.

Both of them celebrated, having destroyed the German bomber. That was when another explosion, this one larger than before, rocked the tank. A Nazi soldier in hiding had fired a Panzerbüchse 39 at the Panzer, landing a hit. One Weber looked up, he noticed that the tank had stopped moving, and the turret was gone, along with Pashkov. He realized that Pashkov had probably died when the turret had been blown off. Weber realized he had no ammunition left in his guns, and he was about to be killed.

Knowing that the end was near, Weber poked his head outside the tank, looking at the Sun one last time, before a bullet entered his neck, severing his carotid artery. Weber fell back inside the tank, as blood gushed out of his neck. Knowing that he would bleed out in less than three minutes, Weber closed his eyes for the final time, remembering all the good times from his life, from the day he was born 22 years earlier, the day he joined the Polish Army, and what not. He hoped that one day, the Nazis would be beaten, and Poland would be freed from their grasp, as life began to leave his body.

That day, in Jastrdansk, over seven hundred people were killed. The main fatalites were around 140 civilians killed during the battle, along with eighty Nazi soldiers, and around 180 Polish soldiers. 300 people had also been killed at the iron ore mines, when one of the mining tunnels had collapsed during the incessant bombing. However, more people would die today, as the Nazi war machine continued the annexation of Poland.

-----------------------------------------------------------OKECIE AIRPORT, WARSAW--------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 12:30pm in Warsaw. Private Kasper Paul was in his PZL P.11 fighter, taxiing to the runway at Warsaw Okecie Airport. They had received multiple reports of German fighters and bombers flying towards Warsaw, which meant that the Germans had violated the ceasefire and began their invasion of Poland. They knew their P.11s would be outmatched against the Luftwaffe planes, but they were the best equipment the Polish Air Force had.

The squadron of thirty P.11s got onto the runway, took off, and climbed to 10,000 feet, as more lined up behind them. The air raid sirens were going off in the city below, and majority of people had gone underground. The P.11s had been flying around Warsaw, and Paul was wondering how long it would be until the Germans showed up, when a message crackled on his radio. "Tigershark Squadron, be advised, a large flight of German bombers, escorted by multiple Messerschmitt Bf109 fighters, has been seen twenty kilometers east of Warsaw. There seem to be twenty Stuka bombers escorted by around forty fighters. They are heading for the industrial areas of the city, and will be there in ten minutes. Destroy as many of them as you can."

The leader of the squadron then replied, "Control, this is Tigershark 1. Roger that, over." He then gave the remaining pilots orders. "Alright, everyone. We will be reaching the target area in four minutes. This means we have just six minutes to stop our industry from being decimated. Despite us being outgunned by the Bf109s and Stukas, we must make use of our P.11s as possible. You get hurt, you hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off. Got it?"

"This is Tigershark 3. Copy that." came the voice of one of Paul's fellow pilots.

"Tigershark 8 here, copy that."

"Tigershark 11 here, copy that." said Paul. As the messages kept flowing, Paul could already see the German planes in the distance, and behind him, he could see thick smoke billowing from parts of Warsaw. The ground forces had already arrived, and this meant that tank battles and what not were raging through the streets of Warsaw. He hoped they could repel the Germans. Paul then focused himself on the task, as they neared the location of the enemy aircraft. He could already see some Bf109s heading towards their planes. Paul switched off the safeties of his P.11's two machine guns, and got ready to fire.

(basically imagine forty of the first and twenty of the second with a few of the first coming in hot)

He began firing as the first Bf109 started flying towards him, guns blazing. Unfortunately, he was unable to hit it, and the German fighter instantly changed course, with Paul in hot pursuit, despite his plane being much slower. He struggled extremely hard to take the Bf109 out, despite another one on his tail. That was when he got a lucky shot, and turned the tail of the first Bf109 into Swiss cheese. The stricken Bf109 instantly began spiralling to the ground. Now, he had to deal with the second Bf109, which was chasing him.

Paul instantly pulled a barrel roll, despite it being a slow one, and now, he was the one chasing. This time, the Bf109 pilot wasn't as good as the previous one, and Paul easily took out part of the Bf109's wing, causing the fighter to burst into flames, and spiral to the ground in an inferno. Paul then realized that some of his squadron mates weren't doing so well. Of the original forty Bf109s, only twelve had been shot down, and of the Stukas, of the twenty that had been there, eight still remained. That was still enough to destroy part of Warsaw's industrial area.

Plus, of the thirty P.11s, only seventeen were left. Paul instantly flew towards the Stukas, dodging multiple Bf109s along the way. Unfortunately, due to his plane being pretty slow, he couldn't reach in time, before the first two Stukas dropped their payloads, destroying a large food factory. However, since the Stukas had to pull up after dropping their bombs, they were slowed down, enabling Paul to take some potshots at the Stukas. One of the Stukas took a direct hit to the engine, and began descending in flames, while the other, despite taking some hits on its tail and fuselage, continued flying, albeit at a more slower pace, to prevent more damage.

Paul then took some hits from a Bf109 chasing him, putting bullet holes in his fuselage. He was able to shake off the Bf109, which was when a message crackled in his radio. "All Polish aircraft, retreat from Warsaw immediately and head west! The city is about to fall to the Germans! More reinforcements are coming, and we do not have enough forces to repel them! I repeat, all Polish aircraft, retreat now and head west!"

Paul was extremely shocked at this statement. They were ordering them to abandon Warsaw! How could they do such a thing? He instantly sent a reply, "Control, this is Tigershark 11 here. We can't just abandon our capital like this!"

"Don't worry, it's only temporary. We'll head west towards our ally, Russia, regroup, and one day, come back stronger than ever, and take back Poland!"

Despite Paul feeling like that day would never come, he felt it would be wise to obey orders. "Fine. Control, this is Tigershark 11, heading west now." replied Paul, to control, as he began his turn. The eleven remaining P.11s of Tigershark Squadron had also turned west, and so had every Polish Air Force aircraft in the area. That day, over 20,000 people had died in Warsaw, most of them civilians. Despite the Polish losing over 200 aircraft that day, they had still managed to shoot down close to 130 Luftwaffe aircraft.

However, this was just the beginning of the war. It would be sometime before Paul and all the other Polish military members who were still alive would see Warsaw again.

Chapter 43

25TH JANUARY 1940

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS--------------

It was now 7:00am at the base, just outside of Rosvar. Since it was January, it had snowed heavily, and it was a pretty cold morning, with the weather again gloomy. Despite this, the mood was high, as today, the trainees were graduating from training, and would be heading to their units. They would begin heading to the battlefield from today. Soon, ponies would be in combat, fighting alongside humans. The princesses would make a speech at their graduation ceremony, which was in under four hours, and would encourage the ponies to fight for their nation.

Morale had also risen now that a piece of the Destroyer of Discord had been found, and it would definitely help. Today felt like a good day, despite the gloomy weather. As the trainees began waking up, and doing some final exercise before the graduation, the three princesses were preparing their speeches for the trainees, to motivate them to fight for their nation on the battlefields of Earth.

The princesses marvelled at how well the ponies had been trained for military life. However, some discrimination was still around, thanks to the ENA, and thanks to the fact that female ponies were also in. The male ponies were accepted among the human soldiers, but the females were not accepted as much, since human women really didn't join the military as much as the men, as the military was mainly seen as a man's job.

Celestia wasn't surprised. In all of Earth's histories, men had fought the wars, and women had mainly stayed back to run the household. Only some women had emerged as revolutionaries, but still, only now were women getting things like the right to vote in Earth's nations, thanks to all the feminism and suffragette movements on Earth. Still, it was unhappy to see how women were treated lesser than men on Earth. In Equestria and the Crystal Empire, all women and men had the same rights as each other. One was no less than the other.

As the princesses began preparing their speeches, they also thought about how hard military life was. Twilight and Shining Armor had told them about their visit to a real battlefield sometime back, and getting caught in the midst of one such battle. It had astounded them how the human soldiers were willing to put up such conditions to fight for their home. It was truly a saddening thing. The war toll was now 215,000. They knew that they had to stop Discord, and put an end to him for good this time.

As they prepared for the speech, Celestia thought about it how it had been almost four months since their arrival on Earth. Despite the short timeframe, a lot had changed in Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Both countries were modernising and were going to war. Discord had broken out of his prison. The whole of Earth was in danger. It was overwhelming, but they would have to all work together to fight their way out of this situation, and save the world.

The princesses began rehearsing their speeches, which were long, but also powerful, to hopefully motivate the ponies. As they began their rehearsals, it was now 7:10am. In just under four hours, the graduation would begin.

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 8:10am in Germany. Discord was smiling. Equestria and the Crystal Empire were about to enter the war. Today was the graduation of the ponies from training. The ponies would enter the war. Soon, the time would come to cause some more chaos. Discord remembered his first conversation with all three Axis leaders, Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito. He remembered it well. Especially one part.

"Also, how powerful are you?" asked Hirohito.

"Well, I could probably destroy this planet's Moon, and make the fragments rain down on Earth. That is 10% of my power, right there." said Discord, calmly.

Well, that was a lie. Destroying Earth's Moon and making its fragments rain down on the planet took more than 85% of his power. Discord had said that only to get the Axis trio to trust him. In reality, no creature was that powerful, except for Faust herself. It was the only way to get them to trust him. Anyways, the super soldier program, another part of the Erweiterung program, was going to start soon. Under this, German soldiers would be injected with the E-serum and would basically be superhumans. They would be a perfect black operations unit, in and out, without much mess. They could also be used as a propaganda tool, but without exposing the Erweiterung program.

Discord smiled thinking about it. He was also ready for the next part of his plan once pony soldiers were deployed on the battlefields. If the Nazi Army captured some as POWs, under the Erweiterung program, Discord could extract their magic, and put it in humans, even if it killed them. He didn't care about the number of lives it took. He would complete his plan, no matter the human cost.

-------------------ROYAL ARMY/AIR FORCE TRAINING CAMP, SOMEWHERE IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS--------------

It was now 10:50am here, just 10 minutes before the princesses would make their speeches to the military pony graduates. The stage had been set up, and most of the graduates were already in their seats, with some of the latecomers taking them only now. Originally, it was planned to be held outdoors, but now, it would be held indoors, as it had snowed heavily during the night. Hence, it was being held in the base's auditorium.

Behind the stage, the princesses were nervous. Normally, this speech would have been easy, if they were still on Equis. But they were not on Equis anymore. They were on Earth, and the ponies would soon be sent into a war, none like they had fought in before. And it had been a while since Equestria and the Crystal Empire had participated in a war. The last major one Equestria had participated in was 150 years earlier, before the fall of the Ponysian Empire. The Crystal Empire's last major war had been 1,100 years ago, more than 100 years before they had disappeared.

As the clock ticked down to 11:00am, the nervousness did rise, but the princesses kept their cool, knowing that if they were nervous, they would blow the entire thing. As 11:00am came, the princesses stepped onto the stage, and stepped in front of the microphones. Celestia was the first one to begin speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, humans and ponies, today, we gather to celebrate the end of one phase, and the beginning of another, in your lives." said Celestia. "Today, my little ponies, we celebrate your graduation from training, and your induction into the military."

At this, all of the ponies began applauding. Celestia's nervousness started to disappear on seeing her subjects so happy. "I would like to open my speech with a quote by a famous human poet, who once said, 'In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.' Today, as you stand on the precipice of a new journey, remember that the life you bring to these years will determine the impact you make in the world. You are about to embark on a path that will test your strength, your courage, and your resilience. But remember, it is not just about the battles you will fight; it is about the character you will build along the way."

Celestia paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. Then, Luna began speaking. "As you step into the battlefield, you carry with you not only the strength of your hooves and wings, but also the spirit of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. You are a symbol of hope, a beacon of light in the darkness that threatens our world. The bond you share, both among yourselves and with the humans you serve alongside, is a testament to the unity and friendship that can overcome even the most daunting challenges."

She then turned her gaze towards the humans present in the audience. "To our human allies, we stand united in our quest to bring peace to the world. Your strength and determination have been an inspiration to us, and we are honored to fight by your side. Together, we shall face the darkness and emerge victorious, for the sake of our homes and the innocent lives that depend on us."

Then, Cadance continued, her voice filled with determination and hope. "As you go forth to defend our lands, remember that every step you take brings us closer to ending the war once and for all. You are the guardians of peace, the protectors of our world, and the embodiment of the unbreakable spirit that resides within each of us. May your hearts be filled with courage, your minds with wisdom, and your actions with honor. May Faust be with you." said Cadance, as the princesses stepped off the stage with a large round of applause.

As the princesses went off to personally congratulate the graduates on entering a new phase of their lives, their hearts had some sadness. As they walked towards them, they knew that this would probably the last time the princesses would see some of them alive. But their sacrifice would inspire their comrades, to fight in their honour, make sure that their sacrifices would not go in vain. It was the only way, cutting off an arm to save the whole body, to defeat Discord.

Chapter 55

15TH APRIL 1940

------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY-------------------------------------------------------------
The four ponies had been suffering for a while now. Golden Harvest and Thunder Wing had been shot down more than a week earlier during a dogfight over Norway against German Bf109s. They had successfully ejected from their planes, but during their attempt to friendly space, they had been captured by German forces, and instead of being taken to a prison, they had been taken to this facility, deep in the German jungle.

This facility seemed to be some sort of factory-cum-prison, as they had seen a little bit of it before hoods were forced over their heads, and they had been led to this cell, inside the facility, where they had been since then. Despite their attempts, they had not been able to break out with their magic. Whenever they attempted to use a spell to break out, it wouldn't work, and it was not affected. However, they could use simple spells to lift the plates of food, which the Germans gave them.

The only thing was, the Germans were also trying their best to get information from the two ponies about the strength of the Allied military, torturing them for it. Already, in their attempts to get the information from the two, they had purposely broken one of Thunder's wings, and broken Golden Harvest's leg. However, they hadn't given up any information, instead retorting with, "Why don't you get it from your own spies?" This had led to them breaking Thunder Wing's wing out of anger, to teach them to not be so smart.

Five days into their imprisonment, two more pony prisoners had joined them. They were army ponies, from the Crystal Empire, who had been captured after their unit had been completely ambushed and destroyed by the Germans, also in Norway. They had delivered news about a terrorist attack carried out by the HNA in the Equestrian city of Fillydelphia, which had levelled a whole store, and killed 16, of which 4 were humans. That had horrified them, and this only strengthened their resolve to survive.

However, the prisoners were not worrying about their fates, as they were more than glad to give up their lives in the service of their country. However, the big question on their minds right now was how they could have such a spell in such a facility, that too, in a country that was economically crippled. Could it be that a certain magical entity was here, supporting the Axis powers, specifically Germany?

As they thought about that, they heard a commotion, and saw that a large number of soldiers were gathering around their cells. That was odd. Usually, there were only around four or five soldiers guarding their cells, since the spell prevented them from escaping. As the commotion grew louder, the soldiers silently went silent, and began saluting, as a man came into the cells. He was a rather sinister-looking fellow, wearing the uniform of an an Obergruppenführer, a senior group leader in the the Schutzstaffel, the German paramilitary organisation.

Although he seemed like a typical German military man, with blond hair, but he had a pretty sinister smile on his face. That was when he asked the soldiers, "Sind das alle Gefangenen, die Sie fangen konnten?" He was speaking in German, but the pony prisoners got the context. He was annoyed that there weren't more prisoners. That was when another man, a scientist wearing a lab coat, answered.

"Sir, der Magieextraktor sollte in der Lage sein, genug thaumische Energie von diesen vier zu gewinnen, um ein paar magisch verstärkte Menschen zu erschaffen." Again, although the four prisoners couldn't understand German, they got the context. They seemed to be talking about... extracting their magic, and using the Thaumic energy obtained?! That was shocking. They had to escape, before the Germans could use their magic to do horrific things. The scientific term for magic was Thaumic energy, and it could destroy Earth if it was not used properly.

As the Obergruppenführer continued talking with the scientists, the pony prisoners began whispering with each other. "We need to get out of here, quick! Even if one of us makes it out of here alive, we still have to escape this country, and get to Canterlot, or even London! The Allied leaders must learn what is going on in this country!" said Brisk Whistle, one of the Crystal Empirean prisoners.

"Well, it can't be me or Thunder. We're injured, and we wouldn't be able to make it." said Golden Harvest. "It has to be one of you two."

"Are you sure? We might not make it out alive either." said Brisk Whistle.

"I know, but you two are the fittest among us, and despite the fact that the Germans aren't treating us well, you've at least been eating that slop they've been feeding us."

"I guess so. We'll try, but no guarantees. If we don't make it out, I just hope whoever's imprisoned here after us will make it out." said Brisk Whistle, as the group broke up, as the soldiers entered the cell, roughly put the ponies in restraints, put hoods over their heads, and began parading them out of the cell, towards another section of this facility.

So far, from they had heard, secretly eavesdropping on the German soldiers during some of their conversations, they had found out that this facility was somewhere in the Black Forest, deep inside it. It was quite far from the German city of Stuttgart. That was all they knew so far as to their location. This was definitely a factory of some sort, as they could hear the clanging of hammers, the noise of grinders, and other machinery, clanging and banging as they assembled whatever this factory was making, which was probably weapons for the German Army.

After a rather short walk, they stopped, and the hoods on their heads were removed, and the ponies saw the horrifying room they were in. There was a huge machine, which reminded them of an electrical chair used by humans to execute criminals who had gotten death sentences, except that this one led to a large generator, probably what they used to store the Thaumic energy they would be obtaining from the ponies after sucking out their magic.

On seeing it, they became rather frightened, as to what their fates would be. A pony could easily live without magic, but they would be finding it harder to do simple tasks, and they wouldn't be as resilient to things such as injuries and illnesses. That was a horrifying thing to think about, losing their magic.

As the ponies quivered, frozen by the sight of this horrifying machine before their eyes, they were prodded by the soldiers. "Come forward!" shouted the Obergruppenführer, rashly pulling Golden Harvest by her broken leg, towards the machine. Even as she cried out in pain, he did not even take a single glance at her, as he pulled her, and strapped her into the machine. Then, he ushered the remaining ponies out of the room, and as the door closed, the ponies were led to a window, as the scientists activated the machine.

The ponies watched horrified, as a green aura, Earth pony magic, began coming out of Golden Harvest's body, and began going down the wires into the Thaumic energy generator. All the time, Golden Harvest was screaming in pain, and her eyes began going to gray, as the magic began coming out of her. However, instead of stopping, the magic just kept coming, until, eventually, her eyes became fully white, with the pupils zapping out of existence. At this, the machine finally stopped, and Golden Harvest slumped to the ground, dead.

Thunder Wing instantly broke down on seeing his friend die in front of his eyes, and so did the other Crystal Empirean prisoner, but Brisk Whistle did not break down. The second he saw this, he made a dash for the door, and before the German soldiers could register it, he was running out of the room, and through a laboratory, where other experiments were going on. As he made his escape, he purposely tipped over some chemicals, causing a fire behind him, and blocking off the path. However, just as he rounded another corner, the Obergruppenführer was in front of him, holding a gun.

Before he could register how the man had gotten here, the man fired bullets at him, and one went into his neck, severing a vital artery. As Brisk Whistle fell to the ground, his daring attempt over, bleeding from a fatal wound to the neck, he watched the eyes of the man who had shot him. The man's eyes suddenly changed to yellow with gray pupils. There was only one creature from Equis that had such eyes. It was Discord, the spirit of chaos himself, realised Whistle, as the lights began to go out.

He was almost dead, nearly bled out. But now he realised how the war had started. Discord had somehow escaped from his prison, and had escaped to Germany, where he seemed to have somehow become a high-ranking military official. This was the last thing Whistle, as he closed his eyes. As his comrades were put into the magic extractor, Whistle's soul began to leave his body, and during his final moments, he thought about what chaos Discord could bring upon the world, and hoping that the Allies could stop him and the Axis, before that chaos happened.

Chapter 80

19TH SEPTEMBER 1940

--------------------------------------------------8,000 FEET ABOVE MERSA MATRUH, EGYPT------------------------------------------------
It was now 9:00am here, and a very good day today in the city of Mersa Matruh. Today was the day that the British militaries, along with help from the Equestrian and Crystal Empirean militaries, would finally kick the invading Italian Army out of Egypt. They had been relentlessly bombing the Italian militaries and shooting down their planes to prevent them from gaining a stronghold in Egypt. So far, it was all going to plan, and the Italians had begun retreating. However, there were still some left. Today was all about finishing off those little buggers.

As a group of some of the planes tasked to this, in this case, a group of REAF Hawker Hurricanes, cruised above Mersa Matruh, got ready for the first part of the final major strikes against the Italians, they got the go message. "Alright, all aircraft, begin your strikes! The Italian 10th Army is around 50 kilometers west of your position, multiple tanks are visible, go get them!" came the message from their commander.

"This is Timberwolf 1, roger that, we're going in!" replied the squadron leader. "Alright, Timberwolf Squadron! Here we go, let's get those bucking Italians!"

"Roger that, Timberwolf 1!" replied the pegasus High Winds, who was flying the Hurricane that was Timberwolf 8. There were a total of 25 planes in this squadron, and all of them were now heading west of the city at high speed. Formerly a performer for the Wonderbolts, High Winds was now a Hurricane pilot for the Royal Equestrian Air Force, and she was quite a good pilot. She already had shot down three planes in combat, but today, they wouldn't be facing any enemy aircraft today, it would be air-to-ground combat today.

As they headed towards the location of the Italian forces, they all primed their weapons and got ready to fly some strafing runs against the Italians. Soon, they reached the location where the Italian forces were located, and began the strafing runs. The Italians attempted to fire back with their anti-aircraft guns, but the ponies flying the Hurricanes destroyed those first, and focused their efforts on the remaining troops, who were taken quite easily by the Hurricanes. Just as the last Hurricane levelled off after climbing following its strafing run, they got a distress call on their radios. "This is Sepoy Dilip Chandekar of the 4th Indian Division! We are getting attacked by Italian troops, yaar! Please, help us! We are being surrounded!"

The pony pilots knew that the British had sent troops from their colony of India to fight in the war, and they had a division of the British Indian Army in Egypt. They didn't know they had been fighting in the war, and honestly, they were surprised at that. "Sepoy, uh, Chandeh-kar, this is Timberwolf 1, of the Timberwolf Squadron of the Royal Equestrian Air Force. Give us your location, we will give you air support." said Timberwolf 1.

"Thank Mahadeva, you are there, Timberwolf! We are near Siddi Barani, can you give air support? The Italians have Panzer, yes, Panzers! They are on us and going to kill us all! Help us!" shouted Sepoy Chandekar over the radio.

"Hang on, we're on our way!" said Timberwolf 1, as all 25 Hurricanes began heading towards Siddi Barani at high speed. This was new. The Italians had German-made Panzer tanks. If what the Indian Army Sepoy had said was true, then they had to be faster, else those soldiers wouldn't last too long. As they headed towards Siddi Barani, High Winds began priming her guns once more, to destroy the tanks. She would need a bit to deal with Panzers.

As the Hurricanes approached Siddi Barani, they could see the gunfire being exchanged between the Indian soldiers and the Italians. The Indians didn't seem to have any heavy infantry or artillery with them, so they were probably getting pummelled by the Panzers, if that was even a thing. The things that High Winds had read about India, its natives seemed quite illiterate, and she wondered if they would even be able to distinguish between a light Italian tank and a Panzer. As they got closer, they could see the tanks, but were too high to make out the exact type, but they seemed quite big.

As the planes began closing in on the site of the battle, they could see that the Indian soldier had indeed been telling the truth. The tanks were indeed German-made Panzer IIIs, but these had Italian markings instead of German ones. They instantly swooped down to destroy the tanks, which instantly began firing at the planes. The first five Hurricanes quickly tried to dodge the shells being fired by climbing away at high speed, but one of them unfortunately hit the left wing of a Hurricane, which began to spiral down in flames. Thankfully, the pilot, a Pegasus, was able to open the canopy and fly away from the plane before it hit the ground, but the Equestrian pilots got so angry at seeing one of their comrades get shot down, that they went for the tanks with all they had.

Despite the best efforts of the tanks to try and shoot them down, High Winds and her other comrades were not hit by any of the shells, except for a couple of their fragments. Winds was firing multiple bullets at the Panzers, and she destroyed two of them within 30 seconds. The other planes also fired at them, and soon, all of the Panzers lay in ruins, burning on the Sahara. "Thanks for the help, Timberwolf Squadron, we can deal with the remaining guys on our own! The Italians have stopped advancing, uh, looks like they are trying to retreat! Also, we've picked up your pilot who ejected, he's alive, just some small cuts that can be fixed." said Sepoy Chandekar.

"Anytime, Sepoy Chandekar. Anyways, we're going to stay on patrol for a little bit, we don't have much else to do. Looks like the Italians will soon be out of here." said Timberwolf 1, as the other pilots climbed to around 5,000 feet to continue an airborne patrol. The Italian invasion of Egypt was over. That was good, thought the pilots, as they watched the Italians run away like scared kittens.

-----------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT CASTLE------------------------------------------------------------------
It was now 1:00pm in Canterlot Castle, where the cheering had finally stopped. The Italian invasion of Egypt had just ended, after the Italians had retreated, but they had not left the country. However, they had stopped fighting the Allied forces, and the current situation had made it look like they were going to try again later. That was not going to happen, not if the Allies had something to say about it. If the Italians were going to try again, they would be prepared, as they were planning a huge operation to deal with the Italians in Africa once and for all.

The Princesses were pleased with the latest developments, but they were still having a hard time looking for the HNA and Slick Shady. The December date which was when the Rift Gate would be completed was fast approaching, and they still had no clue on where Shady was. They had the motive, which was the assumed death of Shady's brother, Clumsy Honest, on the frontlines, but since then, there had been no new breakthroughs in the case. The CBI had been working hard, and so had the Princesses, but so far, nothing new. At this rate, it would take a miracle to find Shady and stop the HNA.