The Empire of the Setting Sun
The sun shone down on the Celebes sea, reflecting off the light blue waters as they hit the golden sands of a isolated island. Jungle birds chirped in the trees, insects devoured one another beneath the jungle's thick canopy. The island was a tranquil haven, a place of peace in this time of war.
All that was shattered the moment the first grey ship appeared on the horizon.
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Unidentified Island, Celebes Sea, 9:00 hours local time, 3rd September, 1945.
Vice-Admiral Ozawa stared at the island through the pair of binoculars as he rested his arm on the railing outside the IJN Nagato's bridge. There were no clouds in the sky, but there was a pleasantly cold breeze from the sea, cooling him from the stifling heat of the Asian sun.
"Vice-Admiral, the Jun'yo and Hosho have made it!" A young sailor shouted from inside the bridge.
"Excellent." Ozawa mused. "Our supply ships are here." The Jun'yo and Hosho had been aircraft carriers, when there had been pilots and aircraft. Now they were only useful as AA platforms and supply ships, roles they excelled in with their large hanger bays. They would be the lifeblood of Ozawa's fleet, carrying fuel and munitions as well as a brigade of Japanese Marines that would be invaluable in seizing the Panama Canal, and then destroying it once they had passed through.
The Nagato reached the island in a few minutes, but the pair of carriers were already there and anchored in the inlet where the remains of the IJN would regroup.
Over the next few hours ships trickled in on their own or in groups and eventually the inlet looked like a forest of superstructures and gun turrets.
"How many?" Ozawa simply asked as he leaned on the Nagato's wheel, the helmsman having gone to the galley for tea.
"More than we expected, Vice-Admiral. Three capital ships, the heavy cruiser Takao, the battlecruiser Myoko and your own Nagato along with three light cruisers and fifteen destroyers."
"Very good Kenji. More than we expected."
The Nagato's young captain smiled. "Indeed, Vice-Admiral. May I ask why you needed to gather the remains of the Imperial Japanese Navy together?"
"You'll find out in a few moments." Ozawa smiled micheviously, his plan was a cunning one worthy of Sun Tzu himself and one that would scar America forever. "Pass me the microphone, if you would."
"Certianly Sir." Kenji picked up the microphone and passed to Ozawa, who began to speak.
"Men of the Imperial Japanese Navy, hear me. The Americans have shamed both our country and our navy in the eyes of the world. However-" Ozawa paused for a moment.
"-the Americans fought without honour, without the skill required of a warrior! They firebombed Tokyo and utterly annihilated Hiroshima and Nagasaki without losing a single man. Hundreds of thousands of your countrymen died and the Americans claim it would 'lessen the lives lost'. So explain to me, men, how the massacring of innocent civilians lessened the number of lives lost? It merely changed the casulties from their side to our own, nothing more. The Germans are being put on trial for war crimes as we speak- yet the Americans who firebombed Tokyo, who burned Nagasaki and Hiroshima are being paraded around as heroes? Many would say victory wipes away all dishonour. Well they are wrong! The Americans have rewritten the rules of war, sailors. And it is time that the Americans tasted some of their own medicine, the bitter pill that it is."
"Everyone is to make ready to set sail by fifteen hundred hours. Battle stations men! If you wish vengeance on the Americans, then prepare yourselves."
A resounding cheer went up from the sailors of the IJN as they scrambled to prepare to wreak their vengeance on the Americans.
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American Naval High Command, Pearl Harbour, Oahu, 13:00 hours local time, 3rd September 1945.
Fleet Admiral Nimitz stared uneasily at the report he held in his hand. If this report was true, the Imperial Japanese Navy was nowhere nearly as thoroughly beaten as he had thought it was.
"What is it Admiral?" Jonathan, his aide, asked from the other side of the oak-panelled room. "Have more of the Imperial Japanese Navy surrendered?"
"Unfortunately not, Jonathan." Nimitz sighed, this could be a big problem considering his current fleet deployments. "It appears the IJN are not as beaten as I originally thought. Would you get me President Truman on the line? I fear we may have to use another nuclear device..."
Jonathan swallowed nervously. "Why would that be Admiral?"
"Because the Japs will slip away if we wait for any other assets to arrive to eliminate them. Get me the President, Jonathan. Now! Lives are at stake!"
"Yes Sir!" Jonathan saluted before he ran out of the office.
I really need to get a telephone in here... Nimitz mused.
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The White House, Washington DC, 01:32 hours local time, 3rd September, 1945.
President Truman rolled over in his sleep, the future of the world weighing heavily on his sleepless mind. Still, the night was calm and silent, a much better environment to make important choices that the hectic Oval Office.
That was when the phone next to his bed rang, it's ringing harsh on Truman's ears and ruining the blissful silence the moment before.
Truman sighed as he reached out and picked up the phone, the President's work never stopped.
"Admiral Nimitz? Yes, what do you... Are you sure that none of your assets can intercept and destroy the fleet? Very well. I will inform the 509th that they need to fulfil their duties again. Good day, Admiral."
Truman put the phone down and sighed again. Why did things always have to be brought to him?
Truman dialled the number for the 509ths base on Tinian before he picked up the phone.
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North Field Airbase, Tinian, 14:35 hours, 3rd September, 1945
Charles Sweeny was startled from his nap by the ringing of the phone on his desk. The war was supposed to be over, for God's sake!
He picked up the phone. "The War's over for- Oh, it's you Mr President, what can the 509th do for you today? Japanese naval remmants? Surely Admiral Nimitz can- Oh. I'll get my crew on it, Mr President. You can count on us."
Charles groaned as he pushed himself out of the chair, his boys wouldn't like this. Charles sprinted out of the small shack, heading for the Grand Artiste's hanger.
He found his crew sitting around the aircraft's tail, cards clutched in their hands. The face of Fred, the crew's co-pilot, looked up at Charles and grinned.
"Finally managed to get enough done so you could play blackjack?"
"No, the President wants us to do a little bombing."
Upon hearing this, the crew swiftly relocated money and cards into the various pockets on their flight suits before climbing into the B-29, Charles in the lead.
Deciding to skip the pre-flight checks, their pilot, also called Charles, powered the engines up with a mighty roar as the bomber taxied out onto the runway before soaring up into the afternoon sky.
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Unidentified Island, Celebes Sea, 14:45 hours local time, 3rd September, 1945.
The whine of propellers filled the air, blotting out the sound of the frantic preparations of the Japanese. Ozawa glanced up and raised his binoculars, spotting a lone B-29 flying over the ocean. The Americans had obviously found them, but underestimated their strength if they thought a lone bomber could destroy them. His sailors calmly continued in their preparations, the AA crews would deal with any Allied bombers.
Ozawa watched as the bomber flew over the fleet and released a lone bomb before circling back to the north. He watched the bomb drop, confused about what why the Americans would only release one bomb before the realisation dawned on him.
"They wouldn't stoop that low, would they?" He muttered under his breath as the bomb struck the water, before he was blinded by the flash and saw no more as the atomic shockwave destroyed his fleet in a single hammer blow.
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Ozawa slowly came to his senses as he lay on the floor of the bridge before he pushed himself up and reached for the radio.
"All ships, report in!" Ozawa bellowed into the radio as the other members of the bridge crew slowly awoke.
"Jun'yo, reporting for-" The captain of the Jun'yo coughed. "Duty, sir."
"Hosho, all hands accounted for."
"Takao, ready to fight for the Empire."
"Myoko reporting in."
"Hasu is present."
"Sakawa, Kitakami and Kashima accounted for."
"Harukaze, ready for combat."
"The Yukikaze stands ready."
"Ushio and Hibiki battered but ready to fight."
"Suzuutsaki, Natsuzaki, Yoizuki, Harutsaki, Fuyutsaki and Harustsaki reporting in."
"Sawakaze, Shiokaze, Yakaze and Namikaze awaiting orders, Admiral."
Kenji coughed as he stood up next to Ozawa. "That's all ships accounted for Admiral." He said before he turned to the navigator. "Current position?"
The navigator stared at the radar for a second before he looked over to the manual instruments and the nautical clock.
"Nav radar's totally down, but off of the manuals I would say 41.5 degrees north, 74 degrees west." The navigator grinned. "I don't know how you managed it sir, but you must be a tactical genius. We appear to be only a few miles away from New York."
Ozawa turned away from the windows to Kenji. "Within bombardment range?"
The captain smiled. "Easily."
"It's time the Americans got a taste of their own medicine. Issue orders to all gunners that they are to fire at will."
Kenji saluted as he walked over to the radio and barked the order to fire into it.
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"So who hates Manehattan?" Twilight asked as she took a sip of the Oreo milkshake that was resting on the table, her five friends and Spike drinking various other flavours of milkshake.
"I do! I do!" Pinkie answered, her boundless energy allowing her to guzzle the entire milkshake in one go while still talking. "They're all so serious! Nopony wants a Pinkie Pie party! They just ignore you with those frowny faces!"
"And what's with all those 'no-fly' laws?" Rainbow asked. "I should be able to fly anywhere."
"And the buildings and fashion." Rarity shivered in disgust. "I thought the Equestria State Building and Celestia Building were iconic landmarks but they're just... Hideous. And don't even get me started on the fashion.... Black and grey everywhere! Are they all colour-blind or something?"
At that point Spike opened his mouth, no doubt to complain about the fact there were no gems anywhere, before there was a loud, thunderous roar from the sea.
"There weren't any thunderstorms due today, were there Rainbow? I would hate to ruin my mane..." Rarity asked as Pinkie's head suddenly did a full 360 degree turn.
"I don't think so, I checked and what did the Pinkie Sense say?" Twilight added while Rainbow stared at the sky, distracted by something.
"Hmmm..." Pinkie thought for a few seconds. "A full head rotation to the left means... Big explosions, things falling from the sky and... Lots of them."
A low whine filled the air, causing the six ponies and Spike to look up before a shell slammed into the ground in front of them, spewing a plume of dirt and dust into the air.
"What the buck was that?" Twilight asked.
"Ah dunno, but it ain't gonna be good. We need to get someplace safe gals."
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Ozawa watched in satisfaction as the mighty guns of his fleet blasted away at the defenceless city. The Americans would no doubt be celebrating the end of the war- but the war had come to their door.
There had been no sign of any American aircraft or ships for the half hour they had been bombarding the city, a small mercy. No doubt the crews were warming up boilers or fuelling planes even as the bombardment.
"All ships are to proceed south, following the coastline until we reach Philadelphia and from there we move onto Baltimore and then the American Capitol, Washington DC itself, following the same tactics we've just used."
The ships turned and left silently as Manehattan burned.
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The. Six ponies dodged through rubble-strewn streets, the formerly cold and business-like ponies of Manehatten panicking and milling in throngs through the streets, looking for shelter and scattering whenever the whine that preceded a explosion was heard.
Eventually the survivors of the bombardment reached Central Park, where the surviving doctors and nurses had set up tents for treatment since the hospital had been destroyed in the first salvo.
Twilight and the rest were panting as they reached the camp, Manehatten was a bigger place than they had thought.
"Spike, can you get paper and a quill? I need to send a letter..."
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The IJN fleet repeated the procedure twice, once for Baltimore and once again for Philadelphia. The fact that no American aircraft or ships had been spotted all day however caused a feeling of unease among the sailors, like they were all part of a joke on a colossal scale.
The fleet was mere minutes away from wreaking their vengeance on Washington DC and wiping away the shame of dishonour as they rounded Cape Charles before all activity on the bridge stopped as they stared at where Washington stood.
Or, rather, where it should have stood. Instead, a small fishing village stood where the capital of America should have stood.
"What...?" Kenji muttered. "This... How is this even..."
"Navigator!" Ozawa shouted. "Are our coodinates correct?"
"Coodinates are 100% correct Vice-Admiral, checked them on both the radar and manually."
Washington has vanished before our very eyes. Or... Ozawa mused as he remembered the bomb.
Have we vanished before the eyes of the world?
