> Foreign Politics
>  by Zh3sh1re
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> First Intrusion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The snowstorm was raging outside. The building was impervious to them however. Its thick metal walls would be able to resist even an atomic bomb. The temperature inside was humid. A few scattered scientists worked around a giant room. One of them turned to another and asked in Russian.

"Do you have those energy figures?"

"I believe they are over there on the table,"

In the far corner sat a few men around a table. Most of them was wearing black suits. On one side sat a 5'4 feet tall man. He was wearing a green coat with red ribbons on the shoulders and collar. On his chest was a golden star with a red ribbon. His hair was combed back and a giant mustache decorated his serious face. 

On the opposite side of the table sat another man. He was wearing a light brown uniform, also with ribbons on his collar. A big red star decorated his chest. At his waist sat a thick brown leather belt with a canteen on its side and a big star as the belt buckle. The belt also held a leather holster with a Tokarev TT-33 pistol in it. A dark green officers hat rested on his head. Binoculars were hanging around his neck and a PPSh-41 leaned on the side of the chair. It could be seen a long way that he was a political officer. In other words, a Commissar. 

"I understand you know your mission completely, as I will tolerate no mistakes," the man with the green coat said

"I have the entire briefing memorized as well as my goals and objectives," The commissar said

"Then we are finished here," The man with the green coat said

He rose from the chair and began walking away when he stopped suddenly and turned back to him. 

"Oh, and das vedania, comrade," He said with a grin before walking off

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The large room housed two large pillars. The inner parts of them had a series of cannon like tubes sticking out towards each other.  The end of the tubes were pulsing with blue energy.

"Prepare for phase two!" A loud announcer speaker yelled 

The scientist started to turn a few switches and valves on a large control table. Lights flipped on and off with the turns.

"Generators are to 75% capacity,"

The blue light began to glow stronger. Thin strains of blue energy seeped out of the hole in the tubes and pulled towards the opposite tube.

"The wormhole is starting to form. Double up the rotations. Keep the energy stabilized at 0.6 gigawatt"

The thin lines slowly crept towards its counterpart being sent out of the opposite tube. A sharp electrical sound was heard as the lines met their counterparts. The tubes shooting out a thick beam of energy into the middle. A blue line formed in the middle and started to expand. It crept out until it reached the end of the tubes.

"Wormhole stabilized! We have a successful connection!"

A group of fifteen people stood a few meters from the portal. Some of them were in lab coats, other wore uniforms and held various weapons. In the middle was the political officer. His PPSh-41 hanged at his shoulder.

Dr. Andrei stepped forward and turned to the "crowd".

"Are you ready for transport?" The announcer asked

"We are ready, comrades. This marks a great day for the motherland when it takes its first step into another dimension. The first country in the world to step into a different dimension to ours. When we return, you will feel that you made the General Secretary proud for this is truly a historic day!" Dr. Andrei finished up his speech

"Das Vedania Comrades!" The announcer said 

He turned around and looked into the blue pulsating energy. He walked towards the wormhole stopping only a few centimeters from it. He looked at his hand and extended it into the wormhole. It felt strange. He took the leap of faith and walked into it. The people and the commissar followed without hesitation. After them came a large flatbed truck with a heap of materials on it.
The rubber wheels started rolling and it drove into the wormhole.

Behind a safety glass in the control booth stood the General Secretary with a large grin on his face.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

".. while interdimensional travel through the use of magic is hypothesized to work, it never has. Scientists believe that in a few hundred years it will be possible through the use of technology," Twilight read out loud

'Huh.. I wonder if I can somehow figure out how to do this with magic,' She thought

She used her magic to grab a large chalkboard and placed it in the middle of the room. She took a chalk from her desk and started to scribble down a long math calculation on it. She stopped writing and looked at it. She quickly realized that one of the numbers was wrong and changed them.

----------- A few hours later--------------------------------------------------------------

Her mind was blank. She came to realization that she wont be able to solve one of the equations she had written out.
She let out a groan of frustration before finally throwing the chalk into the chalkboard with her magic. She calmed herself.

'Maybe this isn't even possible. At least at the level of understanding that Equestria is on currently,' She thought

She hated not being able to understand something.

'I'll just go and grab a bite' She thought and gave of a deep sigh

She stepped outside the door and took a deep breath to fill her lungs with the clean air. She started to walk while looking around for anypony she knew. 

*CRACK*

A titanic pillar of lightning lit up the entire afternoon sky and ponies stopped in their tracks. The sound and light could be seen from Canterlot. The sound was one of the loudest things they had ever heard. Twilight stopped dead in her tracks and watched the giant pillar of lightning glow. Her mouth opened in a gape and she froze. The lightning pillar dissipated as fast as it had formed. She shook her head to clear it and looked around the street. Ponies were standing almost frozen. Some of them shook their heads and started talking to one another. Twilight turned around and ran into the library.

"SPIKE! Get down here!" She yelled 

A squeak could be heard from the floor boards upstairs and the door opened.

"Did you see that?" He asked

"Of course I did! All of Equestria must have!" She yelled

"No need to yell, Twilight," He said calmly and walked down the stairs and stood in front of Twilight

She looked down and took a deep breath, then turning her head once again to the dragon at the in front of her.

"Sorry, but i need you to send a letter to the princ-"

She was interrupted by the swooshing and fiery sound of a letter being sent by the princess.
The scroll appeared in a fiery blaze from Spikes mouth and landed on the floor. Twilight snatched the scroll and opened it. Her eyes scanning through the letter. 

"Well, what does it say?" Spike asked eagerly 

She cleared her throat and began reading.

To my most faithful student. Twilight Sparkle
I will be arriving in Ponyville with some of my best guards in fifteen minutes. Gather your friends and meet me outside the library.
Princess Celestia

Twilight was shocked how simple and short the letter was, but she didn't waste time.

"Spike, go the Rarity and Pinkie! I'll get Rainbow to get Applejack and Fluttershy,"

They both raced out of the door and off in different directions.

---------------------- At Ground Zero ---------------------------------------- Dr. Andrei POV

I was making sure to document everything i saw around me as i thought of the sentences. 

"The area around ground zero does not seem to contain especially anything, its seems to be a normal forest. It also seems to be getting dark, so it would be early in the afternoon,"

"Troops, spread out and secure a perimeter around the area," The political officer said to the soldiers.

"We should start setting up the receiver pad and the transmitter array," I said to the scientists

A bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck the ground. Everybody else and i shielded their eyes. When the light was gone we saw a truck standing steady on the ground. It seemed to be in good shape.

"Alright, unload the material and start the construction. We should also get the tents set up, but that can wait until we have finished the receiver pad and transmitter array," I yelled out to the scientists

----------------- Ponyville ------------------------------------------------------ Twilight Sparkle POV

I was running towards Fluttershy's house after being to Sweet Apple Acres. 

*CRACK*

Another lightning strike lit up the sky and landscape. I stopped and looked in shock and awe. 

"There it is again. I must hurry to get Fluttershy,"

I started running and in less than two minutes i was at her door. I banged my hooves at her door. Movement was heard from the inside. I could hear hoofsteps coming towards the door. The door opened up to reveal Fluttershy. 

"Oh my, Twilight is there something wrong?" She asked with concern

"No time to talk. We are going to meet the princess in front of the library in a few minutes" I told her

"Oh, alright. Lets get going then," She said with a determined look. 

She went out the door and closed it behind her. She nodded at me and we both went into a full gallop as we headed towards the library.

When we arrived at the library, a dozen guards were standing in a line. All her were there as well as the princess.

"Ah, My faithful student, it's good to see you, even though I wish it would have been under different circumstances," She said with a smile

"I trust you all know about the two lightning strikes that hit the Everfree forest a few minutes ago. We must go investigate. Be prepared for anything," She said, then waved at the guards to follow her

The guards moved into a six by two formation behind her. The group of friends moved up besides princess.
I thought nobody would ask the question so I decided to ask myself.

"What do you think it was?" I asked her

"I truly have no idea, my faithful student. But we must be ready for anything. Speaking of which." Her horn started to glow and a jewel encrusted box floated out of the carriage that was standing a bit away from the library. It opened and the five elements flew out of it and settled on the friends necks. Then the element of magic tiara floated onto my head. The box levitated back into the carriage.

"Alright, is everypony ready?" She asked

They all gulped but then nodded with determined looks on their faces, I included.

"Good. Soldiers, forward march!" She shouted

The guards immediately started marching forward with Celestia as spearhead. The group of friends walked around her.

"Princess, I'm worried," I said to her

"Relax, faithful student. We have a dozen of my best troops, the elements of harmony and me. I doubt there is anything of this world that could defeat us all," She said with a reassuring tone

"How did you know this wasn't a normal lightning, or an experiment by the weather ponies? It is over the Everfree forest after all," I asked her

"I felt something piercing the very fabric of the world when that lightning bolt hit. I cannot really describe it. It was also stronger that any lightning bolt I have ever seen or anything could create, Pegasus or Everfree," She answered

My stomach was turned into a knot. I had no idea what we were going to find. 

---------------------- At Ground Zero ---------------------------------------- Dr. Andrei POV

"Alright, that should do it. Good work men, both the pad and the array has been successfully set up! We should get started on the tents. If it starts to rain, who knows what could happen to the equipment," I said out to the scientists

They began to pick up large bags and out of them came tents. These were set up in the matter of minutes, and now shielded the pad and array. There was also a barracks, command tent and a lab. Beside the barracks, the truck stood quiet. The propaganda officer walked over to me and began speaking.

"I wonder what we are going to find out here. I wonder if there will be intelligent life. And if there is, what level will they be on?" He said

"I don't know, but if there is, we should try to be as peaceful as possible to the-" I was cut of as one of the scientist yelled

"We have an object coming through!"

"Catch it onto the receiver pad!" I yelled back at him

*CRACK*

The lightning hit the receiver pad and the light blinded some of us. When the light dissipated, There stood the general secretary, with four bodyguards behind him. He waved his hand and they began looking around.

"General Secretary Stalin!" Both I and the Propaganda officer said simultaneously and both went into a salute. 

"At ease. So this is the world, Its beautiful," Stalin said as he looked around

He seemed very happy. More happy then i ever thought he would ever be. He didn't often show this kind of happiness. He was always seen as the cold hearted ruthless killer by many, but people admired his fierce debating skills and his amazing ability to absorb detailed knowledge. Outside of propaganda, not many knew Stalin's real personality. I was one of Stalin's only true considered friend. To be honest I felt bad for him. Both of his wife had died, one probably being his fault, I couldn't help myself. I both looked up and down at him at the same time. When he did show happiness, he really did it.

"I can't help but feel proud," He finally said

I went forward and reached out my hand. He grabbed it and smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Its good to see you old friend," He said

"Its very good to see you too," 

"So, what have you found out?" Stalin asked

"Not much, but we can safely say that this world contains life, just look around you. We have also seen some critters here and there,"

"We should do a more through search of the area," He said

"We should. Right now i think we should keep up the perimeter until we can get everything set up,"

"That would prob-" He was cut off as marching could be heard from the distance.

---------------------- Near Ground Zero ---------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle POV

We walked for a good long while. We were quiet and looking all around as we had entered the Everfree Forest a while ago. I looked up at the Celestia's face. It was concentrated and scanning each of the trees, taking note to every detail. We started to get close to the site where the lightning bolt had hit. Celestia put up her hoof to stop her guards and us. She started listening at a nearby voice. 

"Мы должны. Прямо сейчас я думаю, мы должны поддерживать периметру, пока мы можем получить все, что создали" it said

The language was something she had never heard before in her life. I looked up at Celestia, who had an expression of shock on her face. She took a deep breath and waved her hoof forward. The voices stopped and the marching sound of the soldiers hooves began.

---------------------- Ground Zero ---------------------------------------- Princess Celestia POV

We marched through a few bushes before we came out in a big opening. Before us we could see strange creatures that walked on two feet. Most of them stood as tall as me, nearly double the height of my student. Everypony stopped and looked at the opposing species. It seemed that time had slowed down as we stood and waited for the other to make a move. One of the strange creatures walked forward towards me. He was wearing a large green coat with decorations all over his chest and red ribbons at his shoulders and collar. He stopped a meter in front of me and we looked into each others face. I have lived for thousands of years yet i have never seen a poker face as good as his. This fell apart as some of the guards ran up between me and him to protect me. He took a step back and waved his hand. Out of random directions came more of them. These were holding strange shaped items. They in front of him and pointed the items at my guards.

"Enough. Get out of the way," I ordered the guards. 

They hesitantly stepped out of the way. He shook his hand again and shouted another sentence in the weird language. The other creatures stepped out of the way, standing on either side of him and slamming the butt-end of the items into the ground, holding the pose, noses pointed upwards.

'I must be dealing with a highly respect based people,' I thought

He said something more and another one of them came up and stood beside him and they walked until they stood two meters from me. This one wasn't wearing a uniform, he was wearing a white long thin coat. The green coated man began speaking in the strange language.

"I'm sorry but i don't understand you," I said

The one with the white coat shined up and said.

"You speak English?" He asked with a strange accent

"No, I'm speaking in Equestrian," I said

"Om our world, its called English. It must be a coincidence,"

"Then we can understand each other," I said

He said something to the other one and he got a smile on his face

"Being that I have never seen your kind before, that means you are new to Equestria, so let me say its a very good honor to meet you and welcome to Equestria," I said with a royal tone

"I thank you for the welcome," The green coated man said with a bad accent

He must not be used to the language, as it sounded very strange.

"May i ask. Who are you?" He asked

"I am Princess Celestia. I rule over Equestria with my sister, Princess Luna. Who might you be?" I asked

"I'm General Secretary Joseph Stalin, and I am the leader of the great United Soviet Socialist Republics," He said with pride

He extended his hand towards me. I reached out my hoof and put it his hand and he shook it, then let it go. I smiled at him and he responded with an even bigger smile. Then he continued.

"I hope this is the start of a beautiful relationship between our great nations," He said proudly

"I share that hope, newfound friend," I said, glad that it was peace they desired, and not war

Stalin and I sat down and talked about our nations and customs to become more acquainted. He told me some interesting things about his world. That his nation was really a coalition of fifteen nations and that they had just fought a devastating war and his nation was what saved the world from the "Nazis", as he called them. I could tell that he was proud of his nation and that he was a very powerful man. He told me how his species had adapted to living without magic, and he told me about their both shocking and amazing innovations, such as the highly advanced farming equipment and the giant machines they used. For moments during the conversation I could have sworn I became jealous that his nation was so prosperous, even after they had suffered such a severe war. He told me about how he turned his whole nation from a bad to live in farming country to an industrial giant, making it the most powerful in the world. He also told me about something called "Communism". I never fully grasped it concept, but mentally noted that i should ask him more about it later, maybe even using it in Equestria. After he had told me much about his world, I decided to tell him about my world, how we used magic to perform most of our every day tasks. I even needed to show him some of the spells I told him about because he just couldn't believe it. We must have at least talked for a few hours. There were just so much to tell each other. 

A scroll materialized in front of me. He was startled and jumped. He quickly realized his mistake and apologized.

"Its quite alright," I said and floated the scroll to me and unrolled it. 

 Dear Sister
Thy presence is required in Canterlot. There exist issues that we don't fully grasp and we would like some help. It will probably be a while before we can manage Canterlot while thee are away. We also ask if thee found anything in that forsaken forest.
Your Sister, Luna

I apologized to Stalin and said I had to write a letter, then I immediately floated a scroll and quill from a pouch that one of the guard was wearing and began writing. 

Dear Luna
We most certainly did. Not any little thing either! I found out that a new species has come into our world. They are called "Humans". One of the ones who came through is the leader of the most powerful nation on their world. The nation I believe is called "United Soviet Socialist Republics". USSR in short. He also stated that his nation desires nothing more than a friendship between our two great nations. They also seem to be a few hundred YEARS into the future, looking from a technological viewpoint. Do you know what this could mean? I will tell you the rest later, as I will be inviting him to Canterlot. Expect me to return in a couple of hours.
Princess Celestia

I walked back to Stalin after i sent it.

"Would you like to have dinner with me and my sister, in the capital city? I'm sure it would help us understand our two civilizations better," I asked with the politest tone i could muster

"It would be an honor," He said with a smile

He waved his hand at his guard and spoke in the language, which i assumed was named "Russian".

"Двое из вас следовать за мной,"

Two guards moved up beside him. Then he turned to the scientist and again spoke in Russian.

"Я буду отъездом в столицу нации, мы в данный момент находитесь Вы управляете сейчас,"

He nodded and walked away. Then he turned to me and said in an voice toned with excitement.

"Lead the way, comrade,"

-------------- A few hours and a carriage ride later------------------------------------------------ Stalin POV

The carriage landed with a thud as it touched down onto a long, gravel runway. I was surprised to see that there were pegasi in this world as well. I did not fully grasp the science behind the flying carriage, but I labeled it as magic.
Celestia opened the door with her magic and stepped out. I came behind her with my two guards behind me. Two of her guards also followed her. The capital city was beautiful. It was more beautiful that the crystal clear lakes at the Ural mountains. I guessed that the architecture was made with magic, as it seemed impossible for this city to be relying on this mountain by itself. Another one of the tall ponies were standing at the top of the flight of stairs that reached to the main gate. This one was dark blue and seemed to be a manifestation of the night sky itself. We reached her and she looked at me with a smile.

"Good to finally meed thee. We have been excited to our meeting," She said

"Thank you, its good to meet the other half of leadership in Equestria," I replied

"Please, follow me to the dining hall," She said

Both me and Celestia followed her through the giant door and into the seemingly maze of corridors that made up the castle. It was one of the most impressive architecture I have ever seen. 

"Impressive. This castle is very beautiful," I said to Celestia

She looked at me and smiled

"From what kind of building do you rule?" She asked

"It not really one building, its more of a small collection of buildings surrounded by a wall. It is called, The Kremlin. At one of the sides, the building called "Saint Basil's Cathedral" stands. Its one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and there it stands in the middle of my our capital. Its multiple towers with the perfectly crafted domes on top reaches towards the sky. Each of them has a different color scheme with strong vibrant colors" I explained

"It sounds beautiful," She said with a smile

"That it is... That it is..." I said as a tear almost came to my eye

We continued to walk in silence until we reached a large door. Luna opened the door with her magic. I was met with a pretty big room. There were giant glass stained windows at one side of the walls. The opposite wall was covered with a giant rug hanging from the ceiling. It depicted Princess Celestia shaking hands with what looked like a griffin who wore a regal looking hat. Celestia noticed my awed expression and turned to me.

"That is when me and the griffin kingdom finally struck an alliance after years of tension. That was a few years back," She explained

I nodded, and she motioned me to sit down at the table. I sat down on one of the chairs. It was a very comfortable chair made of a leather like material. I guessed it was a mimic, since I didn't think the ponies would have used leather as a material.

Both Princesses sat down opposite to me. I motioned my guards to leave the room, and they did the same. One unicorn wearing white robes and a cook hat came walking with three plates hovering above him. He sat them down at the table, opened the lid and left. Under the lid was a bowl of salad mixed with various kinds of exotic fruits. I thanked whoever was up there that they did not include hay in it. I took a bite and experienced the taste. It was very good, but it couldn't hold up against a big grilled steak. They began eating with their magic and they gave me a fork. I wondered how they would use a fork with hooves, but i ignored it and returned to eating. I heard Celestia let out a breath of relief. Probably because she didn't know what i ate. The first one to break the silence was Luna.

"We trust that you find this food most appetizing?" She asked

"Very good. It's very good," I assured her

After that, Celestia spoke up.

"I was wondering if you could tell us more of your world, because I'm dying to know more about your culture," She asked

I smiled and said.

"Of course. What do you want to know?" 

"You could begin to tell us about the "War" you had a few years back," Celestia asked

I was shocked that she would ask something at a regal dinner.

"I prefer not to. We would only lose our appetite," I said, trying to avoid the question

"Please?" Luna and Celestia asked simultaneously

I gave them a pleading look, but  saw that they would not back down. I decided to tell them the short version, leaving out some of the details.

"Well, there was this man. This very evil man. His name was Adolf Hitler. He convinced an entire population to mercilessly kill people of a religion called 'Judaism'. They were, "Jews". He horribly slaughtered them because he thought that they were the problem why his country was weak. He also believed in the "Ultimate Race" called Aryans. So, he sought to cleanse the world from all gay, retarded or anyone else with problems that they deemed was unnecessary to keep alive,"

A long silence followed this. No one said anything and we ate in complete silence. Princess Luna finally broke the silence and asked. 

"What happened to him?"

"He killed himself. When my troops surrounded his capital, he locked himself in his personal bunker and put a bullet in his head,"

They looked at me with confusion, then i realized my mistake.

"What does "Bullet" mean?" Celestia asked

"You saw the objects that the men were holding that protected me when your guard ran in front of me, right?" I asked

"I did. What is their purpose?"

"You have bow and arrows... Right?" I asked

"Or course we do, but they aren't regularly used due to hard part of operating them. Only skilled experts use them," She said, probably wondering where i was going with this

"Well, they are kind of like that. Think of them as a bow and arrow, only it fires several hundred pieces of metal a minute," I said seriously

They looked at me, jaws hanging. I could tell they were VERY shocked. Celestia shook her head and asked.

"That can't be possible. There is no way you can make something like that happen without magic," She said with confidence. 

"But it is. Tell me, do you have an arrow range?" I asked with a grin

She understood what I was hinting at and got up and motioned me to follow. I also stood up and began walking after her, with Luna moving behind me. As i got out of the door, I saw the two guards sitting on the ground. I waved at them to follow me, Celestia doing the same to her guards. 

"This will be fun," I thought

-------------- A lot of walking later------------------------------------------------ Celestia's POV

'There is no way that can be true. Not without magic,' I thought

I looked back at him and he was standing with a grin on his face, beaming with confidence. We arrived at the range. It was pretty small, but it served the purpose of training the royal guard inside the castle, not having the time to go to the royal barracks. 

'He wont be able to beat the one I'm thinking off,' I thought

I waved a hoof and an average big pony stepped out of a table standing in the shadows. He had a cloak and hood on both black as the night, with a bow and arrow on his back. I stepped forward and turned to Stalin. 

"I am True Shot. If one of your guards beat me in accuracy, then I simply must applaud you, training such fine soldiers," He said with confidence

He just looked at me with a big grin, and then waved his hand, shouting out in Russian. 

"Алексей, давай учить этому человеку урок резкое съемки,"

One of his guards stepped forward, giving the thing that Stalin said could fire pieces of metal very fast to the other guard. He then took off a long stick like thing from his back. On the top of it there was a telescope looking thing. Out of the front of it, a metal pipe was sticking out. The guard motioned True Shot to go first. True Shot raised his bow and arrow towards the target. It was a good fifteen meters away. True Shot took aim and fired off a single arrow towards the target. True Shot hit it dead on, right in the middle of it. The guard just grinned and turned around and began walking further away from the target. True Shot looked at him with a confused face. He turned around about thirty meters from the target. He crouched and raised the telescope to his eye. He aimed for a second, then a giant bang filled the air. Both I, Luna and True Shot jumped at the sound. I looked at him and then at the target.

"What was that? I did not see anything come out of it," True Shot said

"Take a look at the arrow," Stalin said

I redirected my view towards the target. To my shock, the arrow was lying in splinters beneath the target. 

"That was one shot," Stalin said

I was looking at him with a very shocked and confused face. 

"Did you not say it could fire a hundred shots per minute?" I asked confused

"Not this one in particular, but that one can," He said and pointed to the object the other guard was holding

"Show me," I said with confidence, finally recovering from the shock

The guard stepped forward, giving one of the objects to Stalin, then proceeding to about ten meters from the target. He then looked back at Stalin, who simply gave a nod. Then, the most terrifying sound I have ever heard filled the air. It sounded as if you ripped a piece of thin cloth at a medium rate. I closed my eyes and then the sound suddenly was gone, going into an echo out into the sky. I slowly opened my eyes. What i saw made my jaw hit the floor for a second time.

The entire target was completely destroyed. There were just splinters and various pieces of hay lying about the area.

I closed my jaw shit with a clap and looked at Stalin, who had a victorious grin on his face.

'Note to self.... Don't attack his guards with mine!' I screamed in my mind.


A/U
Ah, it feels good to see that my flag ship is now on the way towards greatness! Critique is ALWAYS welcome. Also, there will be death in this fic, if you didn't catch the "DARK" tag at the top.
> The Shroud of Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Middle of the night. Canterlot Castle :Stalin: 


I was laying in my room that was kindly borrowed to me by Princess Celestia. It was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in. 

The room I was in was very regal looking, probably for guests of the Princess or important political ambassadors. It was round and had large, thick stone walls and a purple colored roof. Half of the room had windows looking out over the beautiful landscape. 

I had lain awake all night, thinking of the decision I would be making in the near future. I was not able to get any sleep at all. I stood up, deciding that I wouldn't be able to sleep no matter how long I tried.

I exited the door into the corridor. The two soldiers that were sitting outside my door were sleeping. I decided not to wake them, but rather confront them later about it. Maybe an execution would make their minds more awake. I looked down both ways of the corridors. One end split out into two other corridors and the other ended at a balcony. I quickly decided against walking into the maze of corridors, instead taking the way towards the balcony. I came out onto the balcony. 

The night was beautiful and you could see every star in the sky. I looked downwards over the railing. There was a large garden spotted with several statues and a giant looking maze. I took a deep breath and pulled out my pipe. It was a long wooden pipe with black paint and a star on the front of it. It was one of the biggest I had, and the only one I actually had with me into Equestria. I put the pipe in my mouth and patted my jacket for matches.

Suddenly a pair floated in front of me with a blue aura around them. I tensed up. Dealing with royalty, and one that rose the sun and the moon at that always made me very nervous. I sneakingly took them out of the air and looked behind me. There the beautiful Princess Luna stood, looking exactly like the night sky that surrounded me, and it made my nervousness forgotten in a second. She had a playful smile on her lips. I let out a smile and whipped out a match out of the package, lit it and stuffed it into my pipe. It began smoking, so I pulled out the match and shook it violently in the air until the flame dissipated and a puff of smoke flew towards the sky. I pulled in deep and then blew it out into the air, loving every second of it.

"That is a bad habit, thee know," She said with a playful tone.

It was still very uneasy talking English. I caught myself before I could respond in Russian. 

"Yes, but it helps take the stress away. Want to try?" I asked.

Her eyes became plates when i asked the question. 

"We would very much like to try, as we have never tried before. You probably find that very weird, being a few thousand years old and has never smoked." She said with smile

I simply smiled and took out a piece of cloth out of my pocket and wiped the end of it, then gave it to her. She picked it up with her magic put it in her mouth. She inhaled deep, then taking it out and began coughing out smoke. 

"Why dost thou use that, it tastes simply horrid!" She said with shocked eyes staring and gave the pipe back to me. 

"To me it doesn't," I simply stated, picking the pipe out of the air.

I again wiped the end, then put the piece of cloth back into my pocket. I put the pipe inside my mouth and took another deep inhale, pulled the pipe out and blew it out into the air.

"How come you are standing out here this fine night, princess?" 

"We never sleep during the night, as Alicorns dost not require sleep, even though it pleases us overmany," She said.

I looked out over the beautiful landscape while slowly sipping my pipe. The thoughts of the coming plans entered my mind once more. I couldn't help but almost feel bad for what was going to happen, but it is deemed necessary for us to triumph over those damn Americans.

'If they just would have continued with the ships of supplies this situation would never have occurred. We would not have to go through with the plan. I would rather have had them as allies, even though their ideas on economy are almost revolting.' I thought.

"What is thy thoughts directed at?" She asked.

"Nothing important," I said, keeping my pokerface as I shifted my mind towards brighter things.

I was glad she did decide to not dig any deeper, as she would not like what my thoughts were pointed at. We said our goodbyes and I left for my room. I would be heading back tomorrow and begin preparation of the coming event. The feeling of guilt hit me. I never felt guilt, so why did I have it now? Had the ponies perhaps figured out my plan and were changing me? My normal paranoia started its engines and showed its hand of scenarios that could come from this, many ending in my death. I shook my head to clear it, then lay down on my bed and drifted off to an uneasy sleep.


Tunguska Base (Ground Zero base) :Dr. Andrei Azarov: 


I was sitting in my tent, working out some of the necessary calculations for tomorrows test. The test would be very dangerous, and we could only hope that it would work out perfectly. The base was now covered by a large cloth roof hanging between the trees. We had also put up electric fences around the area. It was good that we had almost indefinite resources with a direct line back to the motherland. The long line of small diesel generators that was powering the base was humming loudly. Those things had taken a few hours to set up. It was only a temporary solution, as it was only capable of sending notes and the like.

The old receiver pad was now replaced with a very big one. This was necessary for the things we were going to bring in as soon as we had the new generator set up. The Americans were foolish thinking that they had already harvested the power of the atom. They had barley begun to test its usefulness. We already had a working prototype. We had nearly swallowed our tongues when they said that they were going to send it to us, along with some scientists to operate it. It was interesting that Stalin was putting such an effort in making this "colony" thrive. Overwhelming to say the least.

I gave out a loud yawn and put the pencil down. I stood up and walked over to my Camp Bed. I lied down without taking my clothes off. I didn't care at the moment. I whipped the covers over me and drifted off to sleep.


Canterlot Castle :Stalin:


I slowly awoke as some of the suns beams danced across my face. My eyes creaked open and stared into the spotless stone ceiling. I thought about todays schedule and the things I was to prepare. I slowly rose from my bed and put on my clothes. I straightened the medals on my chest and combed my hair. I checked the room for any personal belongings I maybe had left, but couldn't spot anything. I nodded, Satisfied with my packing. I picked up my light briefcase and stepped out the door. 

My guards were standing at attention, anticipating my arrival. I waved my hand and they started tailing behind me, keeping any of the servants at a distance. I entered the large throne room. Sitting on the thrones were the majestic Celestia and Luna. I couldn't get over the fact that they were monarchs. Celestia did make me feel on edge, but Luna was a welcoming change, making me feel more relaxed and confident. She smiled at me. 

"Good Morning, General. I trust the bed was comfortable?" She asked

"Of course. It rivals even the Kremlin beds. Thank you for offering the room for the night." I say back to her

"It is of no concern. Will you be leaving soon?" Luna asked

"As soon as possible hopefully. I still have some things to attend to at Tunguska base." I said, hoping they would not prod for more information. Luckily they didn't.

Celestia waved her hoof and a servant came in to the room. 

"Please call a chariot for these fine gentlemen back to their base." Celestia commanded

The servant nodded.

"It will arrive at the courtyard in ten minutes. Do you need anything else?" She asked

"A cup of tea would be satisfactory."  Luna intervened

"It will be done." She said and smiled, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Celestia looked back at me.

"I will take my leave then." I said and turned to the door

"Of course. Feel free to ask me anything in the future. I will send you the treaties regarding our future cooperation. Have a good day, And again. Welcome to Equestria." She said.

I nodded and left the throne room, glad to be out of there. The princesses always made me feel very uneasy. The guards tailed me like usual. I felt them too become more relaxed as we went further away from the princesses. We walked through the maze of corridors. I rounded a corner and-

*BLAM*

I walked straight into a pegasus. I stumbled back. The pegasus fell on his flank, looking shocked. My guards reacted in mere second and the pegasus had two PPSH-41's pointed to his face, ready to turn his face into a molten goo. The pony's eyes widened and stared at the two tall men pointing things at him. I stood up and straightened my shirt, then waved the guards off. They backed up to my side, shouldering their weapons.

The pegasus was a dark-ish tan color with violet looking hair. His light green eyes stared up at me, still sitting on his flank with an O for a mouth. His cutie mark seemed to be a wave of a wind or something similar.

"Eh- Oh.. My.." He started

I just grinned and waited for him to stand up. He slapped his mouth shut and stood up, not taking his eyes of me.

"Sorry for walking into you." I said

His eyes were like saucers and his mouth opened again.

"You- You talk?" He asked

"Hah, Apparently." I chuckled

He blushed at the stupid question. 

"Erh- It was my fault, I'm sorry." He said

I smiled and extended my hand. 

"General Secretary Joseph Stalin." I said

He placed his hoof inside my hand and I shook it.

"Zephyr, Zephyr Verve."  He smiled back at me.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Good day to you." I said and walked away, my guards giving death stares to the pegasus as they walked passed. The pegasus simply ignored them and waved goodbye with a smile. 

I did not look back, but simply smiled and continued to walk down the corridor.


Arriving at Tunguska base after a long carriage ride.


I stepped out of the carriage that took me back here and the ponies flying it did not waste any time and left. I chuckled at their fear of us. The base had begun to take shape, as it was now surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. Not a pony would make it in here without me knowing. For the sake of the cover, the soldiers in the towers had been outfitted with a new prototype of silenced Mosin Nagant's and are ordered to only take down ponies directly observing the base from a close distance. Those in royal armor are not to be shot under any circumstances.

The flag of the USSR flied proudly over the base and the base of a few buildings had popped up. They would soon become the newly developed nuclear reactor and the garage where we could maintain our vehicles. 

I was interrupted in my thoughts by another crack of lightning striking down the receiver pad. A huge war machine made of iron now stood before me. It made me crack a smile. A newly made IS-3 tank. One of the most powerful tanks in the world. Soon it would mow down ponies in the name of the motherland. It drove off the platform and parked next to a few T-55 tanks, standing in a row. The ponies would not even know what hit them.

I continued to walk down the base, inspecting the troops when I saw Dr. Andrei standing talking to a few scientists. He saw me and walked over to me. He quickly saluted.

"At ease." I said with a faint smile.

He took his hand down and relaxed some.

"So, How was it? In the capital I mean." He said with interest.

"It was majestic to say the least. The castle was one of the most gorgeous things I have seen. Yet, I did not notice any kind of military besides the royal guard, which I think is mostly ceremonial." I described.

He appeared to be deep in thought for a few moments before responding.

"That will make it even easier. The natural resources of this world will give us the final push to beat those capitalist pigs over the sea."

I smiled at the nickname of our enemy. It made me think of when the hammer and sickle will fly over the White House in the short future.

I was interrupted by yet another crack of lightning striking the receiver pad. This time, a 203mm M1931 howitzer behind a truck materialized on the pad. These were the machines that would initiate the first stage. It was dragged off by the truck and another materialized almost as soon as it left the pad. They were quickly pulled under the cover of the trees to hopefully avoid detection my any ponies stupid enough to fly over the area. 

The sun began dipping down over the horizon. I observed it as far as I could until it dipped down behind the trees of the Everfree. I faintly smiled. 

"I think I will go rest now. Where is the my tent?" I asked Dr. Andrei.

"Over there." He said and pointed towards a medium sized tent. 

"Thank you." I said and dismissed him and began moving towards the tent. I stationed my bodyguards outside my door and got in. 

The room was very vaguely decorated. It contained only a bed and table. I lay down at the bed and went over the plan in my mind once again. I continued to focus on it for a moment before finally falling down into the deep pit of sleep.


Canterlot Castle, Celestia's chambers :Princess Celestia:


"Well, Sister? Do you think he is being honest?" I asked and took a sip of my tea.

"I dost not know. He seems to have a fairly decent way of acting completely neutral, like some other I know." Luna said, and prodded me with her hoof, giggling. I smile at her.

"We should hope for the best, dear sister." I said.

"Oh, and maybe thee will finally be able to fill that empty bed spot in thy chambers." Luna giggled loudly. My composure horribly smashed, blushing like a madmare.

"Oh, stop it. I never even thought that way." I say and giggle.

We regain our composure quickly and she turns serious.

"But we should be careful. Thee heard him speakest about the dreadful war that he experienced not so long ago." She stated as if it was a fact. I nod at her.

"We should do our best to stay on his good side, as we know not what kind of military experience the USSR has." I say.

"Indeed, sister." Luna said and took another sip of tea.


Tunguska base, My tent :Stalin:


I awoke with a startle, laying still for a moment to try and remember if I had had any dreams. It was a good way to solve any personal issues by remembering what your dreams show you. I shake my head when the dream escapes my grasp once more.

My eyes creak open, revealing the green tent roof. It somehow had an old coffee stain on it. I tried to figure out how it would ever have gotten there.

I stand up, moving out of the tent door and the morning sun dances across my face. I close my eyes, attempting to shut out the sunlight. I slowly creak them open, giving them time to adjust to the light.

The guards quickly snap to attention, picking up their weapons. I wave them away. They leave immediately. 

I walk down the path from the tent, looking around. The reactor housing is built up. It surprises me how fast they have been able to put it together. Only the finest in the union could have done such a task. I open the door and looks inside. Its a cramped control room with buttons and levers all over the walls. I wonder to myself how anyone could remember all those buttons and switches. I close the door and walk off to inspect the other preparations. 


Six Days Later


"Our primary plan is to assault the mountain ridges here, here and here." General Ivan is directing the to be ground operations in Equestria.

"We have placed artillery hidden in the groves over here, ready to open fire upon the train tracks leading to and the entirety of Canterlot. These cannons will firstly open fire upon the tower of the princesses. This whole operation will be severely easier if they are out of the picture. While this is commenced, our ground troops will take the opportunity and occupy the nearby village of Ponyville. These men will also have tank support, though I do not expect them to need it, but you never know." He stepped back from the table with the map.

"Alright, Any of you wants to add anything?" I ask. I learned my lesson of not listening to my generals during The Great Patriotic War when loosing so many soldiers. I did not care for their lives or their families, but they are soldiers. Its always good to have many.

The generals shake their heads.

"Alright then. Comrades, soon begins out glorious conquest of this land. With this step, we might finally defeat those wretched Americans, and liberate the ponies of Equestria from the tyranny of their fascist monarchies. Ura!"

"URA!" The generals exclaim. 

None of them noticed the rainbow streak, flying desperately out of the base.

"Oh, Horseshoes. I knew they were not to be trusted!" Rainbow tells herself. She has to warn somepony. 

Anypony....


 
> Planning and Espionage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ponyville Library


"I'm telling you, Twilight! They're plotting against us! We have to send a letter to Celestia!" Rainbow exclaimed and slammed her hoof into the floor. The rainbow maned pegasus had barged in the door and began shouting about the humans and that they were going to attack us.

"Don't be silly, Rainbow. The Soviets would never do such a thing. They're a peaceful nation." Twilight said and took a sip out of her tea cup and read a few lines of a book in front of her.

"Thats what they want us to believe. I saw it! They had a giant map with various lines on in their big tent! There were also strange machines, placed all around and were aimed at Canterlot!" 

"You were in their base? Rainbow! This is a serious deal. If we do something to make them not trust us, they could cancel the entire trade partnership!" Twilight closed the book hastily and looked at Rainbow with a scowl.

"Don't do this Twilight. You of all people should know that trusting your friends is important." Rainbow stared back at her.

Twilight looked away into the ground, deep in thought. She remained such for a few seconds until she looked at Rainbow Dash again.

"Okay, I trust you. But if we are going to send a letter of warning to Celestia, we need proof. We can't blindly accuse them of plotting against us." Twilight said.

"How do you propose we get that?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, we perhaps should try getting our hooves on that map you were talking about, but that might be hard, its in their command tent. They control all the work force and give out orders from there, so there will be people inside there at all times."

Rainbow sat down and thought about it. 

Ding!

"Maybe a distraction?" She exclaimed.

"Rainbow, you're a genius!" Twilight said, stroking Rainbow's ego.

"I Am?.. I mean of course I Am! I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash!" She struck a heroic pose. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over to the window. The day was beginning to dwindle and the sun had started its descent. 

"If we do it during the night, I think we have much better odds." Twilight stated.

"Yeah, No sweat. Just let me go all ninja on their flanks. They won't notice a thing!" Rainbow let her ego shine.

'I hope this goes well.' Twilight thought with concern.


Vladivostok Harbor


A truck sped down the concrete roads of Vladivostok down towards the dock. Inside sat the highly decorated Admiral Stepanov Yumashev. Stepanov had been sweating ever since he stepped on board the train in Moscow and were sped across the country in only a few days, thinking it must be extremely important seeing has he hasn't been told why yet.

The truck pulled to a stop at the docks. Stepanov opened the door and was temporarily blinded by the light. He opened his eyes.

The lone captain stood stunned at the concrete dock. He closed his eyes several times to ensure he wasn't dreaming, even tried pinching himself. Nothing worked.

In front of him, at the dock was the legendary soviet Kirov-class cruiser that supported the soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol and the Kerch-Feodosiya operation. The big white letters on the side showed it's name. MOLOTOV.

The captain could simply stand and gawk at the amazingly big ship.

"Impressive, isn't it admiral?" An unknown voice said. Stepanov turned around, seeing a technician. 

"Welcome to your new ship." He grinned.

"W-What?...." Was the only thing the Admiral managed to say.

"I am Head-Technician Arseny. Come with me, admiral. I will explain." Arseny said with a grin and began walking. The admiral followed without hesitation.


Close to the Tunguska Base


"Quiet down, Rainbow..." Twilight whispered to and looked the mare known as Rainbow Dash with as scowl, who was hiding next to her. Twilight popped out with her binoculars once again from behind the bush and looked at the various scientists and soldiers walking around.

"Alright, get ready to dash for the command tent." She closed her eyes and her horn glowed a faint purple. The tree on the far side of the base caught fire. She opened her eyes and saw as the flames climbed higher and higher on the lone tree. Many of the humans ran out of their tents and started to put it out. 

"Now!" She hissed and sprinted across the compound, towards the now empty command tent with Rainbow right behind her. They ran into the tent and looked across the insides, various maps over the entire walls, and a big map on a table in the middle of the tent. She trotted quickly over to it and gasped at what she saw. Rainbow soon walked to her side and looked at it. 

"Rainbow... I know what this is..." She bit her lip. "...these are attack plans. They look a bit different from the ones I have seen, but it's looking startingly close to the plan the griffons tried to take Canterlot with during the First Griffon-Pony War." She looked around quickly before hastily ripping the edges off the spikes that held it open and rolled it.

*CLI-CLICK.* Twilight froze, as did Rainbow.

"Spies, eh?" A male voice sounded behind the two. "Turn around, dog." Twilight slowly and shakily turned around, immediately staring down the barrel of a PPSh-41.

"Think you could spoil out plan, dog!?"

Rainbow gritted her teeth. 'I'm not a dog!' She spun around, not giving the guard even time to react. She delivered her hoof straight into his leg, and it emanated a sickly crack. The man fell down to the ground, yelling out in pain. Rainbow stuffed her hoof into his mouth and looked at him with fire in her eyes. "I am not a dog!" She delivered another blow to the side of his head, at his temple and he fell unconscious. 

Twilight was awestruck. "R-Rainbow..." Rainbow looked to Twilight. "Come on, we need to go!" Rainbow sprinted out of the tent. Twilight, acting entirely on instinct and curiosity, grabbed the dangerous weapon, vaulted it over her neck and ran after Rainbow. They ran across the camp once again, still seeing that the rest of the guards and scientists were desperately trying to put out the fire, and they seemed to be doing it rather effectively, using some sort of hoses that sprayed water. 

She didn't have any more time to look at it before she run into the bushes that surrounded the compound, and towards Ponyville.

A/U note.
Alright, Instead of trying to get long chapters, I decide to go for short but sweet instead. I just can't pump out 3000+ word chapters. I have no Idea how people even do it.
> Superiority is Measured in Firepower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The docks of Manehattan was rumbling, like they always were. Boats were unloading their cargo on the various decks, which consisted of spices, tobacco, sugar and various other foreign goods. Others were preparing to sail away to all across the world of, the ponies had named several hundred years ago, Equis, in hopes of finding new treasures to bring back to the peaceful superpower known as Equestria.

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack*

The captains four hooves clacked against the deck, as he looked around the royal flagship, The Castle. The various shipponies were trotting around, performing different kinds of tasks, readying the strong wooden vessel for any battle that might be looming on the horizon. 

The ship itself was made almost purely our of pockenholz, tied together by a few tons of the finest steel available. The ship had three lines of 42 gun ports, each one armed with a powerful ballista's with enchanted iron tips, capable of cutting through, then causing fires inside, even the toughest of ships. 

The ship was truly state of the art, as it contained one of the first ship shield-stones, officially known as Project Temple, but was nicknamed the changey-stones, capable of creating a bubble shield around the ship, capable of withstanding even the most terrible assaults. 

The technology was build upon the one that defended Canterlot against the changelings a year back, which is the cause for the nickname. Though it was a failure, the changey-stones was very good looking in all the tests, and were put into the ship only a few months after it's first stable platform.

The captain nodded in satisfaction and walked up the stairs at the back of the ship, towards the wheel. The steerspony were checking the instruments and adjusting his course accordingly. 

"Anything new, steerspony?" The captain said with a commanding voice.

"Nothing to report, captain. We have begun our patrol route towards Baltimare and Horseshoe Bay." The steerspony responded. 

"Good." The captain grinned, and went into the door furthest back on the ship, leading to his personal quarters. He looked around his, almost royal-looking quarters. He went over to the ice-box, and opened it. He reached into it and fished up a bottle of red wine. 

He grinned, thanking himself for bringing this. He popped the cork and poured a glass. He sat down and relaxed into the chair, smiling in content and slowly sipping the wine. He slowly raised the glass to his lips one more time-

*CRACK* A very loud thunder-like sound echoed throughout Manehattan bay. The whole ship violently shook to the side, causing the captain to drop his glass on the floor, spilling it's content on the green carpet. He grit his teeth in anger and immediately proceeded to the door, leading to the deck. He smashed open the door and stepped out. 

"Alright, who is the smart-ass who-......" His eyes widened in shock as all the shipponies stood at the railings, looking out into the horizon, where a GIANT gray ship floated. He blinked several times, making sure he wasn't imagining. 

"Uh..." In all his years, he had never seen anything like it. He quickly snapped back to reality, and began to bark out orders. 

"ALL CREWPONIES READY FOR BATTLE!" The crew began sprinting to their posts, making themselves and the ship ready for engagement.  The captain walked up to the steerpony.

"Take us up to broadside. I want to know what kind of ship this is, and who it belongs to." He ordered.

"Aye aye, captain!" The steerspony turned the giant wheel, moving the ship into a broadside course. The captain went over to the railing and raised his binocular, eyeing the strange vessel in the distance. 

The Castle slowly made it's way over to the side of the giant vessel, which was almost four times as big as The Castle. The side was adorned by a couple of very strange letters. On top of one of the many metal poles sticking up from the roof of the ship, a white flag flew, with a blue line at the bottom. A red star adorned the left side, and what looked like a hammer and a sickle crossed over each-other on the right.  

The captain gulped.

"I want every ballista on this ship, loaded and ready for battle! Activate the shield!" He barked out over the ship. There was a loud shuffle, and several clicking sounds. The ship shook as the shield-stones activated, and a purple aura was formed around the ship.

"All ballista's loaded and ready, sir!" A crewman shouted back. "Shield is ready to take tartarus agaisnt it, sir!" The ship-magical technician yelled. The captain was unsure of what to do and started to inspect the giant, gray vessel. It looked strange indeed. 

A loud hiss was heard from the giant vessel, and the sound of machinery rang in the captains ears. He gritted his teeth. One of the giant boxes with tubes sticking out of it started to move, and it seemed to aim at The Castle. The captain took this as a sign of aggression, and in his nervousness, he barked one of his last orders. 

"FIRE!" The order was initiated immediately, and the ballista's clicked off, firing their long harpoon-like spears towards the vessel.

The air was soon filled with a sound of KLONK-like sounds, then small puffs of magical fire being started, Every single harpoon had hit.., The damage was non-existent. The harpoons had bounced harmlessly off the hull, and all the magical fire had managed to do was create small black patches on the heavy-duty steel. The captain could only gulp.

The boxes stopped turning, and they found themselves aiming directly at the hull of the smaller wooden ship. The captains grin faded into a wide frown, knowing what was about to happen.

On the other vessel, the Admiral known as Stepanov grinned in satisfaction. "Let's drop some lead on those mother-" He was interrupted by the fire command officer. "FIRE!"

*CRACKA-BOOOOM* The Molotov fired it's three 180mm B-1-P cannons right into the hull of the smaller wooden vessel. The purple transparent shield cracked instantly and broke apart, and the ship exploded instantly in a colorful explosion of burning pony and ship parts. The only thing left was a few burning planks floating on the surface of the water. 

Stepanov smirked as he saw four more wooden battleships moving towards the Molotov, and he stood up. He walked over to the window and inspected the ships, which he proceeded to chuckle at. 

"It's time for a bit of a.... winter wrap-up." He smiled devilishly and sat down in the captain's chair yet again, tapping his fingers against the arm stead.

"Full speed ahead. Take aim for the closest ship." He said casually. The guns flared, illuminating the entire bridge, and he smirked as one of the wooden ships disappeared into the depths of the harbor. 

"Boom...." 
> The Heart of the Pegasi
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning had been normal, quiet and quite pleasant in the pegasi city of Cloudsdale. The clouds swooshed soothingly around the sky-born city. The city almost glowed in the morning sun, as if it was magical.

At a table at the eastern side of the city, near the very outer wall, at the small diner called "The Heart of the Pegasi", a lone mare was seated and sipping her morning coffee. The morning had been uneventful, seeing that she was one of the few pegasi in Cloudsdale that didn't have work at the moment. 

She had one of the very rare days off from her job at the Weather Control Office. Since the weather was completely planned for over a week, leaving it's employees in a rather harmonic mood. The office only needed a few employees working and such, most of them got the day off.

The brisk morning air blew in over Cloudsdale, making some of the looser clouds shift gently in their very important task of holding the city intact and together. The clouds were strong, there were no pony saying otherwise, but clouds were magical things. They seemed to be hard as rock, flexible as rubber, but at the same time, they look like a pool of water in the middle of the air. 

Such was the thought process of the young mare as she sipped her coffee. She leaned back against the chair, and smiled in ultimate content. "This is life...." She said with a satisfied voice.

But... Suddenly a strange sound entered her ears. She snapped back to attention, and began to look around for the origin of the truly strange sound. "Hmh... That's odd...." She said to no one in particular. The sound was unlike anything she had ever heard before...


The skies near Cloudsdale


The radio sparked in the mix-match group of fighters, consisting of both Yak-9's and IL-2's, but not only that. Because this was a mission to destroy the city's capacity to retaliate, three Tupolev Tu-2's had been assigned to the task-force, designated Red Tide. 

They were really the only planes available in large numbers anymore, and the jet's had barely taken of the ground. Due to the importance of this mission, it was deemed more safe to give the task to something a little more reliable than experimental planes. 

"Comrade, establish formation and hold it. According to our maps, we are upon the city of Cloudsdale in a few moments. Protect the bombers at all cost. To bring down the city, we need their bombs."

The Tu-2's were armed with thermite incendiary bombs, capable of leveling most cities due to raging fires. The clouds are made of water, so from the scientists effort, it was understood that they would impact the clouds, and cause very large areas to dissipate.

"This is Sickle. We have spotted the city through the clouds. We are raising ourselves to an altitude better for bombing. I suggest you ready yourself, and steer clear of it." The Tupolev navigator said to the fighters around it over the radio. He watched with satisfaction as the heavy aircraft began to raise, and the fighters darted to the sides, making room.

"All units, time to introduce them to HELLFIRE!" The pilot said, smirking behind his high-altitude mask. The bomber looked through the scope, seeing the floating city below. He clicked the open bomb-doors button, and the bombs began to drop like droplets in a rain-weather.


???


Pain... Her whole body hurt, and felt as if it was on fire. She tried to move her body, but everything hurt too much. She opened her eyes, but immediately shut them due to the light. She tried again, slower this time. The sight destroyed her heart.

The giant city, built upon clouds, thought to stand forever, was burning.

She was lying below it, on the soft grass. Of course, she couldn't feel it. Her skin was gone. That her eyes remained was a mystery. She began to cry softly as she looked up at the once proud city, being turned into vapor. Not a trace being left, except for the black water stained with soot raining down to the earth..


Skies over Cloudsdale


"Haha, comrade! The city is burning! This mission was a piece of ca-..." The radio was cut off, and replaced with static.

"Hammer three... Are you there..? Comrade..?" The pilot of one of the Yak-9's began to speak, calling out to the plane. He had no idea what just happened to it, until...

"Chyort!" He screamed as a burning IL-2 whizzed past his cockpit. He pulled the plane to the left, narrowly avoiding it. Then, it began to happen. Purple explosions sounding all around his plane. "Comrades! AA weaponry is firing upon us!... Can anyone see them!?" His voice was desperate. The explosions were getting nearer, and he wasn't going to be able to keep away from them forever.

"There! On the ridge, down by that hill!" Another pilot informed him. "I'm going in for a strafing run." He saw the plane in question turn down, and lining up with the small dots on the ridge. His machine guns began to bark and chatter, tearing the ground where the targets where standing.

The dust picked up by the impacts settled, allowing him to get a good look at the site. Several ponies, riddled with holes, in pools of blood. He snorted. "Good riddance, Svoloch." He said with hate in his voice. That pilot was his friend.

"All planes, return to base... Our mission is done here." The Yu-2 plane stated, and turned around. Silently, he pondered if this was the first casualty of the war. He didn't think so, but... It sure as hell might have been. The ponies hadn't offered much of a resistance, but what did he know? He was just a pilot... 

Not that he cared that much to begin with. He was a soldier of the USSR, and he was proud to serve the motherland. As long as he got to kill more ponies, the ones who had mercilessly killed his friend, he was happy.
> Peaceful Occupation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bushes rustled as the brown-clothed man ran along the bushes. In his hand, a small envelope. Due to the necessity of this mission, no radios were to be used until the start of the attack, just in case. The envelope contained the orders to launch the attack, but of course, the soldier holding it did not know that. One could not trust such information to a mere peasant soldier. 

His boots smacked against the ground with each step, and his PPSH-41 bumped up and down as he ran. His breath was heavy, for he had rung for quite a while. All around him as he ran, he saw soldiers and tanks hidden from view in the various bushes and trees. Speaking of tanks, he almost hit his head on the barrel of an IS-2, but managed to avoid it in the last second, and continued sprinting towards his goal.

Within a few minutes, that goal was reached, as he saw the officer he was looking for, standing with binoculars, looking over their target. He had a map in front of him, with several arrows drawn unto it.

"Comrade, Officer!" The soldier said sharply, and went into a salute. The officer saluted back, and the soldier reached his hand out, with the envelope inside it. The officer nodded, and took the orders, ripping them open. The soldier retreated his hand, and waited for more orders.

One could see the smirk that rose on the officers mouth as he read further into the letter, before finally putting it into his pocket, and looking at his watch.

"Fifteen minutes left, comrade." He said and nodded, satisified with the orders. "I'll see to it you get a promotion for this, Private...?"

"Vilord, Officer." The soldier said briskly. The officer nodded, satisfied, before waving him away. "Return to your unit, Private."


A bit away, but still in the bushes


"Comrade Officer! We have received orders to start the bombardment. The Molotov has just struck the dock-city of Manehattan." A soldier said, relaying the orders. The Artillery officer nodded, and winked towards one of the crews, and they winked to the next, and on it went, till all the crews were prepared, and ready. 

He began counting down with his fingers, the crews mimicking his movements.

"Three... Two... One... Fire!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and the crews responded instantly. "OPEN FIRE!" They responded, and yanked the cords with which they fired their artillery with. 

The trees flew back with the force of almost a hundred guns firing, the muzzle flashes glowing in the bushes. 

The sounds of artillery was soothing to the officers ears. Too long had he been without battle, even though it was only a few months ago they defeated the fascists.


Ponyville


Twilight was thrown awake by the sound of loud explosions and the hooves of her friend Dash shaking her. "Twilight, wake up!" She shouted. Twilight groaned, and stood up. She slammed open her eyes, though, as an explosion shook the house. 

"W-What's going on?" Her voice was shocked and panicked, exactly how she felt in that moment. 

"The soviets. They're attacking Ponyville. We need to get out of here, stat." She said and flew over to the door. The various friends had packed some essentials, and ran for the door. Twilight joined them, and the small group ran outside.

The air outside reeked of firework-smell, and explosions and screams were heard all around, as well as distant gunfire. "Come on!" Dash yelled. Panicked ponies ran down the main street, in a desperate attempt to escape the damned village. The six friends joined them, running down the streets, avoiding the many ponies attempting to flee.

A giant explosion rocked the ground, making many ponies fall. One of the shells had hit nearby, causing a massive hole in the ground. The bloodied bodies of ponies lay on the ground, some of them in bits, and even more just lying there, screaming in pain. Twilight stood and stared at a mare close to her, her lower part gone, but her eyes still focused on Twilight. Her lower jaw shuddered, before she was ripped away from the deathly glare by Dash.

Rarity yelled to the others, leading them into an alleyway. Explosions still shook the ground, and sometimes it was hard to stand. Fluttershy was crying outright, and all the ponies in the small company seemed shocked to the core, yet they still ran. Within moments, they reached the suburban areas of the city, the gunfire and explosions now sounding a bit further away, but still very close. 

Many houses were burning, others transformed into craters. Burnt wood and flesh contaminated the air, and it made it hard to breathe. They all knew they were close to the edge of the city, and could make it there in a few minutes if they hurried. This idea was violently stomped on, as large metal carriages with long cannons came bustling out of the trees, moving towards Ponyville. Warriors swarmed around them, supporting their offensive. 

Twilight gawked at the sight for a few moments, before she was pulled into a dumpster by her six friends. They felt the ground shake as they sat in the darkness, the heavy metal carriages passing them by, and the shouting of warriors as they joined them. 

It took only a minute or two before the gunfire and explosions were again in the distance, and a relative silence fell unto them. AJ took a peek out of the container, and gave the all clear. 

With hasty steps, they ran for the forest. Twilight stopped, and looked back at the burning Ponyville. She had barely registered what had happened, but she knew that their lives would forever change. She looked at it for a few more seconds, before she ran after her friends into the Everfree, with their ultimate destination, Canterlot.



> Blades vs Rifles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The explosions shook the building around Iron Skin, as a lone stallion grabbed his trusty blade. He was one of the Royal Guards left in Ponyville, tasked with protecting it. Suffice to say, it didn't go as planned. Many had routed before the fighting even started, but not Iron Skin. He was no deserter, and he had to follow his orders, even if it meant death.

He had ran to the barracks as soon as the fighting started, and now that the final piece of his uniform was there, the blade, he was ready. Several other Royal Guards had readied themselves as well, or were doing so as Iron Skin did.

"Alright, Gentlecolts, listen up." The commanding officer spoke up. His name was Offensive Strike, and was about as inexperienced as the other stallions here when it came to war. He was a Sergeant, and had until this point only had a few stallions under his belt. Now that he had an entire company of 230 stallions, all ready to die for the crown.

He was leaning over a map of Ponyville. "What we've seen so far, is that the humans use vehicles that are similar to chariots, having a large destructive power and being made completely out of iron. We cannot take these out with any of our physical weapons, and have because of that, I've decided to rely on spells to get the job done. We need to seperate ourselves into group of six, four unicorns skilled with explosive spells, and two shock pegasi." He nodded. 

"The humans use a form of guerrilla warfare when it comes to fighting, relying on cover, and small groups of six or seven warriors instead of large formations. The reason for this is probably due to their advanced weaponry. We shall not be marching in any form of formation when in combat. Stay behind thick cover, and don't expose yourselves to their ranged weaponry." He nodded. "We don't know their capacity of melee combat as of right now, but from what I've seen, none of them carry any sort of swords. Be careful, though. They might have other ways of fighting in melee."



"Their assault is coming from the northern side of Ponyville, and is supporting it with catapults. We're going to take up positions in several places in the Market Square, ambushing them when they come through the narrow streets towards the Town Hall." 

He points towards the secondary school, then the Book Store. "I need two groups of unicorns on each of these positions, their main focus on taking out their chariots. Our melee infantry will focus on attacking their warriors." He looks at some of the young scared faces of the stallions around him. "In the event that we die on this day, we will at least buy the families of Ponyville more time to retreat.

He looks at all the stallions around him. "Any final questions...?" He asks. The room is silent, the only sounds coming from the explosions and gunfire outside. "Good. Then let's get this done."


Some time later


The rumbling sounds of the human chariots approach Offensive Strikes ears. They lay themselves down automatically to try and shut some of it out. The strange, alien-sounding language is heard, shouting as they move from building to building, oppressing anypony who stands in their way. Interesting enough, they leave the ones who don't go against them alone, and some even tells them in rusty Equestrian to stay indoors, or stay at home.

Iron Skin's hoof grips his sword tighter, knowing all hell is about to break loose. It's do or die, and he has no intention of dying today.

Offensive Strike sees the first chariot around the corner, only a few meters away, and he counts the seconds. "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." He stands up and screams at the top of his lungs. "CHAAAARGGEEE!"

The small pony formations move out of cover and sprints with all their haste towards the surprised human soldiers. Some of them manages to raise their weapons and open fire, ending several stallions lives immediately. 

Then, the stallions reach the human lines. Several spears pierce through the warriors bodies, warm blood dripping from their very un-used spears. Swords rip through their brown clothing, and spills even more blood. Quickly, the numbers of casualties are evened out. Iron Skin impales a nearby soldier on his sword, and blood splatters over his face and chest. He grunts and rips his sword out, charging for the next warrior.

The groups of unicorns charge up their spells, firing at the chariots with all their magical might. The spells burn against the iron shells of the chariots. Then they realize...

Their plan has been doomed. 

The spells are not strong enough to break the strong defenses of the chariots, which respond with effective machine-gun fire, spitting fire and metal, tearing the unicorns apart in seconds. 

Offensive Strike inhales in horror as he sees the ineffective fire coming from the unicorns, his friends and mates being cut apart by their weapons. He looks around, and sees the fighting, and the bloodied corpses of humans and ponies alike all around him. The humans are rapidly getting the upper hand.

He screams again at the top of his lungs. "RETREAT!" He cannot watch this bloodshed any longer. They have made an impact upon the human numbers, and that will have to do for now. He turns around, and, accompanied by several mates of his, runs for the cover of the houses. 

The chariots open fire with their smaller, chattering weapons, the dirt ripping everywhere as they sprint. One of his mates is hit in the flank, and he falls down. Offensive stops, grabbing the ponies foreleg and begins hoisting him out of there. He sees the stallion cry, muttering sadly about how he wants to hold his little foal. It pierces Offensives heart, and just as he's about to comfort him as they run, a bullet pierces his skull, splattering brain-matter and pieces of his eye unto Offensives face.

He grits his teeth and drops the dead stallion, and begins running again. That moment, he will forever remember, to the day that he dies, weather that's today, tomorrow, or in the coming week, he doesn't know.

The small group of retreating stallions get further and further away from the human soldiers, who's offensive has stopped to regroup. They reach the edge of Ponyville, and sprints into the Everfree, their destination, ultimately Canterlot.
> Shady Arrangements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You do know how important this is, right?" The shady figure asked the other shady figure beneath the destroyed, burning and smoking towers of Horseshoe Bay. 

The air was deathly quiet, more quiet than it had been in the last 300 years, but that was understandable. The Kirov-Class ship still lay in the harbor. After singlehandedly destroying the entire fleet that was stationed in the harbor, it proceeded to try and level as much of the city as possible. Much of it hadn't survived the violent bombardment coming from the large cannons. Civilians were keeping their heads down, and voice shushed.

Worse yet, the news of the loss of Ponyville had spread quickly to the ruined city, and the ponies had lost even more hope.

The shady figure had a black hood over his face, and a long black coat over his body. One could hear his armor clinking beneath, though, so it wasn't hard to realize that he was a royal guard. He gave the other shady pony a medium-sized package, wrapped in brown packaging paper. It almost looked like a gift, and in a way, it was. For the Soviets, that is.

He accepted the package and nodded to the guard. "I do, and I'll succeed." His eyes narrowed. "That's what you pay me for, is it not?" The Royal Guard grimaced beneath his hood. The crown would rather not deal with mercenaries, much less assassins, but this pony had sneaking skills unheard of in the kingdom, and though he was hunted before, he was now an ally of the state, and to all of ponykind.

"Then get to it." The guard said and turned around, walking off without hesitation, only his thoughts echoing in his head.

Shadow smirked and disappeared into the ruins of the city, handling the package with care. His hooves hit the ground softly, barely making a sound. His wings unfurled and he flew through the buildings, but staying out of the sky at all costs. 
Some pegasi had learned the hard way the mistake of flying over the buildings, and Shadow had seen it himself.

Pegasi turned to a bloody mush as they flew too close to the ship. The humans seemed to have developed a way to combat flying opponents already, and they used this technique to a degree of perfection, at least in his eyes. Even though he hated the crown for the most part, they did not want to kill random ponies, something the humans did without remorse, and it sickened him deeply.

The sun had begun to go down across the horizon, and the shadows of the ruined city stretched across the streets further and further.


On board the Molotov


"Are you sure?" Admiral Stepanov asked the telegram officer. 

"Sure as anyone can be. The orders are to fire upon these coordinates." He said and pushed the note towards Stepanov. The said coordinates had been checked, and rechecked. They were the coordinates for the Royal Palace. 

Stepanov smirked to himself. "It seems that this war will end much sooner than I thought it would." He nodded softly and walked out of the office towards fire-control.


The edge of the harbor.


It had gotten darker, late afternoon had come. The time had come. Shadow sneaked down the stairs to the water-level, and then he dove into the water, propelling himself with his wings quietly. The ship was lying just inside the harbor, casting menacing shadows across it.

Shadow shuddered at the cold water, but he steeled on and quickly reached the ship edge. His eyes peeking around the large steel frame, then up it. It was at least a good six or seven meters to the edge. He took out his suction-cups, and attached them silently to the hull, and climbed out of the water, one hoof after the other.


Fire Control


As Stepanov entered the fire control station, the officers saluted sharply, before returning to their tasks. He walked over to the commander of the station, and pushed the note of coordinates towards him. 

"These are the new coordinates. I want the guns trained on it, and ready for my command." He said with a nod. 

The gruff officer nodded. He had a mighty beard, and a bald head. His uniform had a great many medals on it. "Alright, Admiral. We'll be awaiting your word." He said and returned to the tactical map, marking the coordinates, which another officer radioed to one of the gun-towers. 


Edge of the ship


Shadow's head poked across the edge of the ship, and saw several crewmen walking along and working with various things. He hoisted himself across the edge and immediately sprung under some stairs and hid in the darkness. He waited patiently as several patrols of guards walked past him. 

He soon saw his opening, and went for it, running to one of the large metal doors and hoisting it's heavy frame open, looking inside, he saw a pair of stairs running downwards, empty. Good. He tip-toed down the metal stairs. As he exited the stairs, he was a long corridor to either side, a sign with directions sitting on the wall in front him. Unfortunately, this was in their strange language, which he didn't understand.

He instead opted to listen for the sound of the engine, which very clearly was coming from the right. He ran down the corridor avoiding patrols and the like, and very soon came to a door which stood wide open. Inside he saw several crewmen working on very large machines that occasionally sputtered oil and steam. "These must be the engines..." He whispered to himself.


Bridge


Stepanov walked into the bridge, his heavy steps echoing across it. The officers saluted him, then went back to work. He looked over the officers for a moment, and then took a seat and looked down at his watch. Around seven... It'd be time soon.


Engine Room


Shadow quietly walked into the room, the crew busy with maintaining the giant engines of the large steel ship. He managed to sneak behind one of the engines. The place smelled heavy of oil and sweat.

He took a quick look to the floor, which was dusty. "Good. No one going back here." He opened the pack and put it down. It exposed a single, fairly large crystal with runes on it's surface, glowing a deep red, as if the gates of Tartarus were contained within. He gently touched one of the runes with his hoof, and it glowed. It started to blink slowly, and he smirked.

"Time to get the heck out of here." He said and turned around, coming face to face with the stomach of a crewman. Both of them stared at each other for just a second, equally shocked, before Shadow threw a strong punch right into his face, breaking his nose and making him fall backwards.

Shadow jumped over the screaming crewmate and sprinted out into the corridor, seeing several guards coming from the corridor to the right. He sprinted to the left, and up the stairs he came down through, some bullets whizzing past him.

Outside the door, another guard stood, raising his weapon. Thankfully for Shadow, it was a few moments too late, and he pounced him, grabbing his weapon and aiming it at the guards coming up the stairs. He quickly located the trigger, and pulled it, letting loose a few shots which made the soldiers keep their head down. He was shocked at the recoil and missed most of the shots though. 

Shadow grunted and threw it aside and jumped overboard, diving down into the harbor and swimming away from the ship. He should be al- ARGH!

A pain arched through his back and leg. He looked back, and saw a large wound in his left hind leg. He gritted his teeth and let it hang limp as he continued to swim under the water, until he was far enough and was able to move out of the water, and up the stairs once more, limping horribly.


Bridge


"It makes no matter." He said simply when he heard of the intrusion. "Are the guns trained?" The officer infront of him nodded. "Alright... Fir-"

The entire harbor cracked with the sound of a large explosion, the giant gray ship engulfed in a tornado of fire, it's shadow melting into the water, which oozed off steam. The light lit up the entirety of the harbor, drawing looks from some of the ponies around it, which finally, after several days of being killed, got revenge.