//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 // Story: Equestria: World War II // by The Unseen //------------------------------// 3RD SEPTEMBER 1939 -----------------------------------------------------------------------CANTERLOT----------------------------------------------------------------------- It was 5:00am in the morning. Despite the early time, majority of the Equestrians and Crystal Empireans were already awake. Today was the big day. Today was the day, they would all go to Britain and begin their training, before heading to war. Every single pony was excited and worried about it at the same time. The first ship bound for Britain would be leaving later that day, at around 11:00am. The voyage to Britain wouldn't be too long, it would only be around a day to sail between Britain and Manehattan. Meanwhile, in Canterlot, the castle was already hustling and bustling. The enlisting offices had had a large influx of recruits, but not all of them would be going to Britain. Of the two million Equestrians and Crystal Empireans who had enlisted, only around 100,000 would be going in the first few months, and the remaining, they would be kept in reserves, and would be sent in later. Some would even start their training in the Equestrian military, once all the equipment arrived. Celestia was especially worried, wondering how Discord would counter their efforts to stop him. She knew he would be up to something, but she didn't know what. In the meantime, Celestia was preparing her speech for the first batch of ponies to be leaving for Britain. She would deliver it at the port of Manehattan, before the first ship left. As she was thinking how to motivate the ponies, Luna came in. "Sister, I resumed dream duty last night, and during that, I learned something about Ambassador Rockmond's past." "What do you mean? You are able to access the dreams of humans, now, Luna?" asked Celestia. "Yes, sister, it seems I can access their dreams as well. I went into Rockmond's, as he was having a nightmare of the worst sort, and found out this about him." said Luna, and told Celestia about what she had seen in Rockmond's past. "Oh my. That is tragic, knowing that Rockmond has carried the burden of being responsible for his friend's deaths for over twenty years." replied Celestia. "I know, sister. It is someone, that no one, human or pony, must carry. I'll talk to him later in Manehattan." "Alright. Now, could you help me out with my speech?" "Sure thing, sister." said Luna, as she grabbed a quill, and prepared to help Celestia out. -------------------------------------------------------------SOMEWHERE IN GERMANY------------------------------------------------------------ It was now around 7:00am in Germany. Discord was at the lab, happy. War was on the horizon. The second stage of his plan to put the world into chaos was almost complete. The ceasefire would expire at midnight, later that day, but he knew very well that Germany would not surrender to the ceasefire. They were going to fight against the might of the Allies. Discord was currently waiting for the first test subjects to arrive from the concentration camps. A primitive dirt road had been built to the lab, and the truck carrying the subjects would be arriving in around ten minutes. Discord had time, so he busily thought to himself. The previous night, he had stolen some more plans from the British, and replaced them with perfect fakes. This time, he had stolen the ones for the Royal Army's tanks. He was planning to develop a weapon at the lab, one that would easily destroy those tanks, along with their crews, using the plans. Discord smiled to himself. It was going to be a glorious war. He would finally have what he had always wanted. To rule a whole planet, with a system based on chaos. The truck arrived, and Discord put on his lab coat and headed to the entrance of the lab, eager to begin his experiments. ----------------------------------------------------------10, DOWNING STREET, LONDON------------------------------------------------------- It was 6:00am in London. While most British civilians were either still asleep or waking up at this time of the day, majority of the Royal Army, Navy, and Air Force, were all awake, waiting near the borders between Germany and unoccupied Poland. Multiple squadrons of RAF Spitfires, Hurricanes, Whitney and Anson bombers had been flown to bases all over unoccupied Poland, and a naval blockade was also to be formed near Germany. Multiple Royal Navy destroyers, and a few battleships had been stationed for this. Multiple Army units were also ready, and more were on their way. At 10, Downing Street, Prime Minister Chamberlain, and the British military brass were all inside the bunker, hidden on the lower floors of the building, getting ready to listen to the war live. They would also be checking out the latest intel, and repositioning their units to eliminate any threats. They would be in the bunker for hours at a time, maybe even days, so it even had a bathroom, and living quarters. They were getting ready. As much as they hoped there was a small chance, they knew very well the Germans would not respond to their ceasefire, which would expire in seventeen hours' time. They would go to war, and so would the British. Multiple radios, television sets, telephones, and printers had been set up in the room, to help them monitor the war. Final checks were going on. Within two hours, the war would begin. -------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was now 6:00am. Majority of Manehattan was already awake, to watch the sight of the first British ships coming into the harbor. In this case, it was two ocean liners that the British government had hurriedly grabbed and repurposed, to use as the Equestrians' transport to the mainland. These was the RMS Queen Mary, and her sister ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, each repurposed to carry at least ten thousand troops, human and Equestrian. For the next few days, it would be only transporting Equestrians. Also, two RAF DC-3s had also landed at the airstrip, which would take close to twenty-five Equestrians on each plane, for the three hour flight to inland bases. Luna had already teleported to Manehattan, as she wanted to speak with Rockmond, about his past, and also, she wanted to see the ship arrive. She could already see the Queen Mary in the distance, its three smokestacks billowing clouds of smoke, followed closely by the Queen Elizabeth. The crowd was also large, everyone wanting to see the huge ships. Since the ships were so big, a couple of Royal Navy tugboats, which had sailed in the night before, would steer the ships into the docks. As the tugboats began to head to the two ocean liners, which were slowing down, Luna flew to the USS Colorado, where majority of the sailors seemed to be awake, and, surprisingly enough, Rockmond was already awake, and he seemed more fresh than usual, probably because he had finally been able to sleep peacefully last night. "Ah, your Highness. I see you have also come to watch the arrival of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth?" asked Rockmond. "Actually, Mr. Rockmond, I have to speak with you private. Could I do so?" replied Luna. "Uh, sure thing, Luna." said Rockmond, a seeming a little anxious and confused, as to why Luna had asked for such a conversation. "Alright, what's this about?" asked Rockmond, once he made sure nobody was listening to their conversation. "Well, Rockmond, as you know, I have the power to enter dreams, and last night, I found out that I can enter those of humans, as well." "I knew that dream ended a little abruptly." sighed Rockmond. "You saw my dream, and ended it for me, didn't you?" "Yes, Rockmond. I did end that nightmare you were having. It's my job, after all." Rockmond nodded. "So, what did you see in my past?" he asked, curious. Luna took a deep breath. "I saw the incident during the Great War, where you lost Chris and John. And I know that you have been carrying the burden of responsibility for their deaths for over twenty years." Rockmond's eyes widened in shock. "How did you...how could you know that?" "I saw it in your dream, Rockmond. And I wanted to tell you that it was not your fault. You did everything you could to protect your friends. You were a hero that day, and you are a hero now." Rockmond was speechless for a moment. He had never spoken about the incident to anyone, and the weight of it had been a burden on him for so long. Tears began to form in his eyes. "Thank you, Luna. That means...a lot to me." Luna smiled warmly. "You're welcome, Rockmond. And don't hesitate to talk to me if you need someone to talk to." Rockmond nodded, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. Luna then thanked him for his service, and headed back to watch the two ocean liners arrive. The ships had stopped, and the tugboats had hooked up to them, and began to tow the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth into port. They watched as the big ocean liner docked, and the gantry was lowered. The crew got out, and met up with Shining Armor, who would also be going to Britain, but by plane. They went off with him to explore Manehattan. In the meantime, they decided to get ready for the speech. Later that day, at 8:30am, Celestia arrived from Canterlot, to give her speech to all the ponies. The stage had already been set, right outside the Queen Mary, which would take close to two hours to load, before it and the Queen Elizabeth departed at 11:00am. At exactly 9:00am, Celestia came up on the stage, with all the ponies waiting to board their ships standing before the stage. "My fellow Equestrians," began Celestia, her voice projecting clearly through the microphone system. "Today marks the start of a great journey, a journey towards freedom, towards justice, towards victory. You have all volunteered to serve your country, and you have all demonstrated your love for Equestria. Today, you begin a journey that will test your courage, your strength, and your loyalty to your country." The crowd listened to her every word, nodding in agreement. They were all filled with a sense of patriotism and pride. "I know that many of you are scared, and that is natural. Going to war is never an easy thing. But I assure you, you are not alone. You will get the best equipment, the best training, and the best leaders that the British military can offer. You will go with the blessings of Faust herself, who is watching over you, and who will guide you on your journey." Celestia paused for a moment, before continuing. "And so, my dear Equestrians, I leave you with this: remember who you are fighting for. Remember the values that Equestria stands for, and the sacrifices that have been made, by ponies and humans alike, to protect those values. Remember the great heroes of our past, who fought for the same cause, and who gave their lives so that we may have ours. And finally, remember that you are not just soldiers, but ambassadors of Equestria. You represent the best of us, and so I ask that you conduct yourselves with honor and integrity, and that you treat your fellow soldiers with respect." The crowd burst into cheers and applause, as Celestia finished her speech. They were inspired, and ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead. As Celestia descended from the stage, she was greeted by Luna, who had been watching the entire speech from behind the scenes. "Well, sister, I think you really motivated them." said Luna. "I guess so, Luna. But I am a little concerned about Discord and his plans." replied Celestia, a worried look on her face. "I know, sister. But we have to believe in our soldiers, and in ourselves. We will stop Discord, and we will win this war." said Luna, placing a comforting hoof on Celestia's shoulder. Celestia smiled gratefully at Luna, feeling a sense of reassurance and hope. She knew that Luna was right. They had to believe in their abilities, and in the strength of their soldiers. They would win this war, and they would restore peace and justice to Equestria and the world. They watched as the ponies began boarding the two ocean liners. A total of 20,000 ponies would be heading to Britain on the first voyage over. The planes would carry close to two hundred ponies on the first day of flying time. The two princesses then headed down to the airstrip, where long lines were waiting to watch the two RAF DC-3s take off. They also noticed a small squadron of RAF fighters, Hawker Hurricanes, probably, stationed there, along with some newly built barracks for the pilots. Twilight was also there, saying goodbye to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who had enlisted. "I'll miss you guys, and I just hope you make it out of the war alive, okay?" said Twilight. "Don't worry, Twi, once I join the RAF, I'll fly my plane so fast, no enemy can take me down!" said a confident, yet anxious Rainbow Dash. "Ah', don' worry, Twi. We'll be back before you know it, and we'll have plenty of stories to tell," added Applejack, putting a reassuring hoof on Twilight's shoulder. Then, they boarded one of the DC-3s. The princesses, and Twilight watched as the DC-3 turned on its engines, taxied to the beginning of the runway, and took off. Twilight knew this would be the last time she would see her friends for a while, as the plane disappeared into the sky. They then went back to the harbour, as the final ponies began boarding the two ocean liners. They watched as the two ships started their engines, and tugboats began towing the ships away from the docks, where they could safely move under their own power. As this was happening, multiple ponies were waving goodbye, to all the enlisted ponies, who were standing on the decks of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. They knew that this would only be the beginning, of a very long ordeal against the Axis Powers, but they would not stop until the Axis, and Discord, were defeated.