//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Equestria: World War II // by The Unseen //------------------------------// 9TH SEPTEMBER 1939 -----------------------------------------------------------THE BURMA-CHINA BORDER------------------------------------------------------------ It was around 2:30am in this area, which meant it was around 8:30am in Equestria. Private Lee Ling and his platoon were not doing too well. Just a few hours back, a battalion of Japanese soldiers had ambushed their position, coming from Burma, and the Chinese platoon of close to 150 soldiers had been taken by surprise. Caught unawares, of the original 150 soldiers, only around 36 still remained alive. As if that wasn't enough, the Japanese had also brought in some heavy equipment. They had brought twenty Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks with them. The large tanks had no identifying markings, apart from the flag of the Japanese empire dangling from them. The China-Japan war had restarted, and it was not looking good for China right now. Ling's commander had not even been able to call air support in before he, along with some of their soldiers, were shelled by a tank, such had been the speed of the ambush. Ling and his remaining fellow soldiers were all armed with their Lee-Enfield rifles, which they had got a couple of years back, when Britain had exported them to China via Hong Kong. Thankfully, the West was on China's side, and had exported a lot of things to them, including some British anti-tank mines. They had received a small shipment of the mines the previous day, and Ling realized, that if he could find the mines, he could use them to destroy the tanks. Ling looked around, and in the corner, he noticed that a part of the small temporary store-room had been opened up, and inside was the crate of mines, still intact. However, gunfire, and tank fire, was still flying. Thankfully, enough walls of the small outpost were still standing, enough to give him cover. He quickly signed to his colleagues, about his plan, and to cover him. He began running, his Lee-Enfield in his arms. He only had a few spare magazines, so he had to make every shot count. He dodged behind a wall, just as a bullet flew by him. He quickly fired a few potshots at a Japanese soldier, and then made another run. He dodged behind another wall, as a tank shell shredded the one he had been standing behind a few seconds earlier. He winced as he saw that, and then, made the final sprint to the storeroom, but just before he ran in, a bullet tore right into his knee. Ling screamed in pain, as he jumped into the storeroom. He looked down at his leg, and realized that a bullet had torn right through it. It seemed to have missed all the vital arteries, but he couldn't really run unless he patched the wound up. Thankfully, the first aid kit was there, but when he opened it, Ling realized that there was not much inside it. Ling gritted his teeth and began to bandage his wound as best he could. He knew that time was running out, and he couldn't afford to waste any more precious moments. With his leg throbbing in pain, he picked up the crate of anti-tank mines and started to make his way back to the battlefield. "Guys, I got the mines. I'll try and place them near the tanks, you distract their attention. Copy that?" asked Ling into his radio. "Copy that, Ling. We'll try and protect you, but we won't have much of a chance against those tanks." replied one of his comrades over the radio. "Try as hard as you can. We're not going down without a fight. We're not letting the Japanese invade China, got it?" replied Ling. "Got, it Lee. Over and out." replied his fellow soldier, and the radio went dark, just like the night sky. It was now 2:52am. Only around one and a half hours had passed since the first attack. Ling was ducking behind the ruined walls of the outpost, when he noticed one of the Chi-Ha tanks coming towards his position from behind, Ling's comrades firing at it. He quickly threw a mine out into the tank's path, and hobbled away at full speed. He watched as the tank ran over the mine. Seconds later, there was a huge explosion, throwing all the soldiers to the ground. When they looked up, they saw that the tank was on fire, burning brightly, lighting up the night sky. The other tanks had stopped, and some of the soldiers were getting out, trying to figure out what had happened to their comrade. Ling and his comrades used this opportunity to fire, killing close to ten Japanese soldiers within a minute. Ling quickly threw a mine at a second tank, which exploded the second it ran over the mine. The Japanese instantly fired back, taken by surprise. However, Ling and his comrades were able to kill all of them. However, that was when a large explosion suddenly knocked all of the men off their feet. When Ling opened his eyes, he noticed that more Japanese soldiers were swarming the area. Half of Ling's comrades were down, either dead or badly wounded. Whoever was still alive was being executed. Ling attempted to play dead, so that the Japanese would think he was dead, and he wouldn't be killed. However, he had no such luck, as the Japanese seemed to have anticipated his move, since they were firing multiple shots into everyone, no matter if they were dead or alive. Soon, it was Ling's turn. As a Japanese soldier prepared to press the trigger, Ling remembered all his memories, and hoped that one day, this war would end, and both countries could be at peace. These were his final thoughts, as multiple bullets ripped through him, killing him instantly. --------------------------------------------------------------------MANEHATTAN----------------------------------------------------------------------- It was now 7:30pm in Equestria. The three princesses were walking to the ports, where Mr. Wood, had called them. They would be meeting up with him on the HMS Nelson. They had wondered what Wood had to tell them. As they arrived at the Nelson, they noticed that were very few sailors outside their ships. That was odd, as the previous few times, majority of the sailors had been outside their vessels, admiring Manehattan. As they walked towards the Nelson, they noticed that only two soldiers were out, guarding the gangplank leading to the ship. This was even more odd. The three alicorns walked up the gangplank, and went up to the bridge of the ship. There, they found Wood, Rockmond, and some other diplomatic staff surrounded around a TV set. They seemed to be watching a battlefield. That was when Wood noticed them. "Ah, your highnesses. We've got a huge problem." said Wood. "What is it, Mr. Wood?" asked Celestia. "Well, see for yourselves." said Wood, increasing the volume of the TV. It showed the ghastly scene of a battle, dead soldiers, destroyed buildings, and vehicles everywhere. The announcer's voice then came on. "At around 1:30am China time, or around 8:00pm in Britain, the China-Japan war restarted, with the Japanese ambushing the Chinese soldiers on the border with no provocation. As of now, the Chinese have suffered close to 300 fatalities, and around 75 fatalities have been suffered on the Japanese side. We pray for China in their time of need, and hope they are able to win this war." said the announcer on TV, as it was muted. "I suppose that Discord is the one motivating this? Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan, declared war earlier today." said Wood. Celestia instantly recognized it. The attacks on the Chinese soldiers had been without provocation, like the one on Poland, and had thrown the political scenario between the two countries into chaos. This was definitely Discord's works, as chaos was what he wanted. "Yes, this seems to be Discord's work. He is probably manipulating Hirohito, like how he manipulated Hitler." said Celestia. "Well, we better move the ponies into battle fast! The war's getting worse, and the China-Japan war is already spilling into our overseas colony of Burma, and also, we have had a couple of incursions in our other colony of India!" said Wood. "I know, Wood. But we have to make sure they are trained properly first, and are ready for life in the human world." said Luna. "Speaking of that, there's something else we have to show you." said Rockmond, as he pressed the TV's change channel button, switching to another news channel, where a crowd of protestors was shown. He unmuted the TV. "..... as the China-Japan war restarts, the anti-Equestrian protests are also getting bigger. Their cause is growing, and so are their demands. Here's what their leader, Bret Stiles, says." said the TV announcer. The camera shifted to an old man, still rather healthy for his age, which seemed to be around 60. The three princesses put him as Bret Stiles, as the man began speaking. "Those horse creatures have no place in our militaries! They do not even belong in our world! How are we admitting place in our military to fucking ALIENS, when we are not showing other races in our militaries?! Plus, their arrival on Earth also caused the war! Go home, Equestrians and Crystal Empireans! You little shits don't belong here!" shouted Stiles into the microphones held out by reporters, rallying the crowd around him, as Rockmond muted the TV. "That's the problem. Stiles' organisation, Equestrians Not Allowed, also known as ENA, has already been protesting the admitting of Equestrians into the military. His people have been protesting outside training bases since some days now. His organisation currently has over 4,200 members, and more are joining. They have to be dealt with. Already, close to 200 members of ENA have been arrested, but so far, we can't keep up with all of them." said Rockmond. "I see. We shall deal with ENA later. In the meantime, how's everything going in training, and our modernisation?" asked Luna. "Well, so far, so good. The training reports of the Equestrians I'm seeing are good, despite it being only three days since the start of training. Also, our prospectors, with the help of Equestrian prospectors, have discovered a huge coal deposit around 25 kilometers from Ponyville, and we plan to build a mine there. With that, we can start supplying electricity to Equestria, and the Crystal Empire. A similar, but smaller deposit has been found there as well." said Wood. "Good. Hopefully we can build the mines, and use the coal as fuel for power plants. Well, we have to leave now, Mr. Rockmond, and Mr. Wood. See you tomorrow." said Celestia, as the three princesses began leaving the ships. They had more pressure on them now than ever, now that they had to deal with the ENA as well as with Discord. Hopefully, they would be able to stop them, and keep Earth safe.