Revolution Equestria

by SeriousTWILEY

Gathering Storm

Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria
March 25th, 2060

Cadence returned to the balcony, once again greeting the mob outside as Anon and Gramov departed from the room.

Briskly walking down the hall next to Anon, Gramov began to speak, “Well Anon, it looks like you might find yourself in combat again sooner than we thought.”

Anon nodded, “Always a pleasure to serve sir.” said dryly and without looking at Gramov

The old man smiled, “Don’t give me that lad, I know that nobody actually likes getting shot at. If you did then there’s something seriously wrong with you.”

This caused Anon to smile, and the two continued in silence down the marble hallway for a few more moments before Gramov spoke up again, “I’m going to Leningrad, to meet with the Red Army high command. But I have a very special task for you.” Gramov stopped walking as he said this, and turned to face Anon.

“Anything you need sir.” Anon said with conviction

Gramov sighed, “You won’t be so sure when I tell you” he said with a sigh, “Anon, you will not be taking command of your column in the 41st Airborne”

Anon’s brow furrowed, “Am I being reassigned?” he said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

“You might say that” Gramov replied as they started to walk again. “I’m sending you a green column, it will be-”

“What?” Anon nearly yelled, forgetting all notion of chain of command, he began to protest, “A green column? You can’t be serious! Are you telling me that I’m going to have to deal with a bunch of candy-ass new recruits, constantly bitching about their damn feet hurting? How the hell can you do this to me?”

Gramov was unphased, “If you’re mad now then you’ll be furious in a minute” he said, ignoring the hateful glare that Anon was giving him, “I’m sending you a mixed unit.”

Anon’s piercing glare narrowed to a suspicious gaze, “What exactly do you mean by a ‘mixed unit’ Field Marshall?”

A smile crossed the old man’s thin lips, “Ponies Anon, I mean ponies.”

Anon’s eyes, formerly narrowed to slits, now widened to saucers, “What!” he yelled, “This is ridiculous sir! How will they fight? They don’t even have godamn fingers!”

Gramov was beginning to become fed up with Anon’s irritation, his gaze and voice turning hard, he replied, “We’ve already thought of that, we’ve designed weapons for them and they’ve been in production for months, now let me tell you something else.”

Anon opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by his superior, “Zip it you little shit. Now I chose you for this because you get along with Princess Twilight better than any other human, that’s incredibly important for this mission. If you’re wondering why, it’s because this isn’t about the military, this is about propaganda. You know as well as I do that the war for hearts and minds makes the real war seem small in importance. This is supposed to show the unity between us and Equestria, you’re a well-known, highly decorated officer, and you’re best friends with one of Equestria’s rulers. If there’s a more perfect candidate to lead the Red Army’s first Equestrian troops then I can’t think of one.”

Anon stood aghast for a moment before organizing his thoughts, once he was ready he opened his mouth again, only to be silenced by Gramov a second time, “Here’s another thing!” the old man had begun to sweat from the excitement, “I can guarantee you that you’ll have a decent amount of volunteers from Equestria, and tiny equines have just as much of a right to be a part of this army as anybody else.”

Once again Anon was temporarily at a loss for words. “I-” he began,

Gramov interrupted yet again, “I would also appreciate it if you would train your batch on your own. I have big plans for you Anon, and I want you to be as close to your troops as possible.” Gramov finished his last sentence with a small fit of coughing, his aging lungs exhausted from his outburst.

Anon finally had a chance to speak, “When does the training begin?” he asked slightly sheepishly, for fear of being set upon by Gramov again.

“Three days.” said Gramov as he stared down the hall.

Anon clicked his heels together and saluted, “Thank you for this opportunity sir.” he said, trying not to sound begrudging, he then turned down the hallway and made his way towards the exit.

As the younger officer walked away, Gramov called after him, “You’re a good commander Anon, and a good soldier. Most importantly you’re a good man!”

With a quick look over his shoulder, Anon gave a respectful nod. After he was facing forwards again he let out a wistful sigh.

Anon was once again within the dull brown confines of his barrack. He made his way down the rows of bedding until he reached his own, stopping in front of it. He briefly examined the large, navy blue footlocker that sat at the foot of his bead, and after fumbling with the heavy steel lock for a brief amount of time, he opened it. The lifting of the locker’s lid revealed average contents, extra clothes, a razor, a toothbrush, and an assortment of miscellaneous belongings. But none of these everyday items interested Anon, digging through the piles of neatly folded clothing he found the object he was searching for. It was an AK-47, much like the ones used by every other Red Army soldier, and yet different. Anon ran his hand over the wooden stock, feeling the texture of the wood and closing his eyes as his fingers closed around the handle.

“Am I interrupting something?” a familiar female voice called out from behind him.

Anon immediately stood up straight, instinctively hiding the rifle behind his back like a child trying to keep stolen candy from his mother. Standing between the rows of steel framed beds was Twilight Sparkle, a cheerful smile on her face.

Anon returned he disposition, “Hello there smartypants, feeling better are we?”

Twilight began to make her way closer to Anon, “The doctors said that I just needed some rest. Said that I was suffering from extreme exhaustion… No thanks to you.” she added with a slight furrowing of her brow.

The human’s smile vanished, and he looked towards his boots, “Look Twilight, I really can’t convey how sorry I am about that… I was… I… sometimes…” he stammered.

“You don’t have to worry about any of that Anon, I understand that you were under a lot of stress, and I am grateful that you got me and Spike out of there alive” she said as she rubbed up against Anon. Anon had begun to scratch her ears, Twilight tried to look up at Anon, intending to make a joke about her not being a dog, when she noticed the object in his other hand. “Why have you got that out?” she said as she pointed a hoof at his rifle.

Anon smiled, “Heh, oh this old piece of junk? I was just getting it ready for when I enter active service in a few days.” he said as he held up the weapon for Twilight to get a better look.

“What exactly is so special about this one?” she asked as she took the rifle from Anon with magic.

“It was my father’s rifle, he used it in the Great War.” Anon said, his eyes becoming slightly glazed as memories from his past boiled to the surface.

Meanwhile Twilight examined the rifle with great interest, it was somewhat different from the hundreds of other AKs she had seen. The stock was wooden and fixed, as opposed to the folding, metal stocks of other weapons. The wood was also a much darker colour, nearly the hue of fertile soil. The black paint on the metal components had nearly worn off, leaving the stamped steel of the gun a shining silver, dotted with patches of darkness.

Finally Twilight noticed the crude writing carved into the stock, reading it aloud she said “Sic semper tyrannus?”

Anon looked down at her, and with a small smile answered, “Thus always to tyrants.”

Twilight raised her eyes from the rifle to Anon, “Did your father carve that?” she asked with genuine curiosity.

Anon let out a small chuckle, “Heh, yeah. He was a real believer, was a die-hard commie ever since I met him.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, her curiosity and confusion deepening, “Since you met him? What, did he abandon you at birth and find you later?”

The mist over Anon’s eyes immediately vanished, his sense of the present returning, “What? Ugh… er… nevermind!” he snapped back defensively. As he spoke he turned around and packed the rifle back into his footlocker.

Twilight approached Anon’s side, craning her neck until she made eye contact, “Anon” she said, “I’ve seen the way you behave, you shut out your emotions, you change the subject whenever the topic of your past comes up. I know that you’ve been through some bad times, but you can’t keep it bottled up like this.” Twilight’s words were heavy with emotion, and Anon could hear her sincerity. Anon let out a sigh, and Twilight pressed on, “Haven’t you ever told anybody else about this? Your parents? Your childhood? It has to do with that writing on your arm doesn’t it….”

Anon knew that he couldn’t keep brushing her off, and as he gazed once again into the deep purple of Twilight’s eyes, he suddenly didn’t want to. “My record will tell you that I was born somewhere in what’s now East Canada. It’s lying.”

Twilight’s concerned was momentarily subdued by simple curiosity, “Where were you really born?” she asked.

“I have no idea, somewhere in the former United States probably.” Anon replied, his gaze turning to the building’s only window, “From what I understand, my biological parents were Muslim immigrants. When the Fascists took control in America, they were deemed ‘undesirables’ and forced into hiding. Eventually we were all captured, and taken to a death camp in Ohio.”

The little Alicorn’s ears flattened against her skull, and her eyes widened as much as evolution would allow, “You mean, were…”

Anon returned his gaze to her, “Yup. The tattoo is my serial number. I was five when I arrived there. I was beaten, starved, worked, hell, even raped.”

The mare let out a gasp, and Anon continued, “My parents were both killed, forced to dig their own graves and then shot while standing in them. I was ten by the time that happened.”

Twilight was barely able to find her voice, but gathering her composure she managed to stammer out a barely audiable, “H-how did you survive?”

Anon’s eyes once again shifted, this time to the ground, “I was small enough not to get noticed, I’d hide out with other prisoners until they were due to be liquidated, then I’d move on to the next group. I got lucky if I saw my parents once every two weeks. By the time they were executed, it was 2046, the War was in it’s second last year. Anti-fascist rebels were pouring in from the north, and one day the soldiers just packed up and left the camp. Inmates, supplies, everything… just abandoned. Several hours later we saw Black Bloc guerillas emerging from the forest. They broke open the gates and let us all out, we couldn’t have been the first camp that they’d seen because they had food waiting for us. I was sitting alone, when I saw a man in his twenties walking towards me, he was holding that rifle you just saw. Then he asked me if I was hungry, and handed me some bread. That’s the man who I’d come to call my father, he raised me after that hell, raised me like I was his own son….” Anon’s story abruptly stopped, and he silently stared at the wall in front of him.

Twilight was speechless, “Anon I… I had no idea that… that this is what you were covering up…” tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, “Does anybody else know about this?”

“Boris” Anon replied simply.

“Anon” Twilight began as she wrapped her front hooves around the human in a warm hug, “If there’s anything you ever need, I’ll be here for you.”

Anon’s hand found her mane, and idly scratched it. “Thanks Twilight,” he answered, “But I’ve held onto it for thirteen years, I think that I might be able to bear with it a while longer.”

Twilight’s tears were flowing freely now, “I wouldn’t .” she said as she cried into his shirt.

A few hours later, night had begun to come on, and Twilight ceased her efforts to cure Anon of his psychological problems, and made her way back to the library. The streets of Camp Columbus were beginning to grow scarce in the way of sunlight, and the floodlights that had been placed on every structure were shining bright. The streets seemed oddly deserted, and as Twilight made her way down the road she thought that the news of war must have put a damper on the normally positive spirit of the town. It seemed like the gentle calm before a summer storm. Twilight’s hooves made quiet clopping sounds as she made her way down the dirt street, but a flash of red caught her eye as she took another step. Trapped beneath her hoof was a small piece of paper, the bold yellow writing and red imagery showed it to be nothing more than a propaganda poster, nothing special in such a place. Twilight was about to continue on her way home when something about the poster caught her eye. It wasn’t uncommon for Red Army posters to feature a human in combat gear, standing heroically or roaring ferociously, but this poster was slightly different. On this particular poster, was the image of a pony, wearing a what appeared to be a modified Red Army uniform, and reared up on its back legs. Strapped onto its back was what appeared to be an altered AK-47, and the whole image was made complete by bright streaks of red throughout, gloriously illuminating the whole seen in scarlet light. Twilight took a step back, and removed her hoof from the poster. Written in bold yellow letters, was a message, ‘Brave Equestrians! Now YOU can take the fight to the Griffin invader! Enlist in the Red Army today!’. The mare examined the scrap of paper for a moment, and furrowing her brow, she used her magic to place it in her saddle bag.

Half an hour later, Twilight was stepping into the library. Spike was napping in a chair, a book laid comically across his face. Twilight showed a smile as she telekinetically picked him up, and made her way upstairs. As she lay Spike down in his bed, she noticed a Red Army officer’s hat, one that Anon had gotten for her for research purposes. Making her way to her bedroom mirror, she magically placed the hat on her head. It was of course, too big for her, and slid down over her eyes. With a hoof she tilted it up, and looked at herself in the mirror.

Doing her best to harden her soft features into a harsh glare, ‘I’m not going to let what happened to Anon happen here… I can’t just sit in Canterlot while this happens… I have to do something’ she thought. With action on her mind, she removed the cap and sat down on the bed. Reaching out with telekinesis, Twilight rummaged through her saddle bag, and found the muddy poster. With a quick glance at the heroic pony soldier and their bold message, she sighed, folded the poster, and climbed into bed.

Comments

[Redemption]

Great, now I got twilight singing the Internationale stuck in my head...

[SeriousTWILEY]

3117481

Pfft... she'd sing Katuysha.

[Eben]

Finally a story thick with political based conflict and dire decision making. (Although the the themes are some what questionable.) long live socialists.

[SeriousTWILEY]

3303602

What do you mean by "questionable"?

[Eben]

3307174 Well simply put, the implications about the Australian. Also 'Rabbit Poon'. Not areas readily explore by most Fimfiction authors, however they do not in any way detract from the story. It just slightly unusual.