"Happy New Years!" Dashie proclaimed.
"Happy New Years! Woooo yeah!" Tom grinned, bringing a bottle of brandy to his lips. He cringed upon contact. "Ugh, give me a Rolling Rock any day. This fancy stuff isn't for me."
"Oh suck it up," Dashie said, rolling her eyes as she chugged a bottle of hard apple cider. "You know, we may have just been sitting here, but at least I've been able to keep London safe half the time."
"Yeah..."
"Oh come on, think of it!" Dashie proclaimed. "The less London is bombed the less the Prime Minister will be ordering retaliatioty attacks!"
"Heh, you're right there. I guess it's making the war a little lighter than what it could be. You're sure you're not over-excerting yourself, right?"
"Yes mom, I'm absolutely sure," she said, sticking her tongue out. "Thunderstorm - sleep for a day. Thunderstorm - sleep for a day. I almost wonder why the Germans haven't figured out that I'm not just some piece of propoganda."
Tom gave a shrug. "Well you know ole' Addy, he loves making shit up any chance he gets."
"That whole invasion of Grass though..." Dashie shivered. "Scary thing, total conquest... if it happened to Equestria...
"It's called Greece, Dashie," Tom smirked. "But yeah... I'd hate for it to happen to America."
"Ugh, you humans and your country names. Mine are at least easy to remember! Nation of ponies? Equestria. Nation of crystal ponies? Crystal Empire. Nation of griffins? Wingmaria."
Tom rolled his eyes. "I'm sure most of our country names have significance in whatever native language they were named in."
"Yeah well..." Dashie grumbled. "Doesn't matter if I don't know what they mean. Sounds like they're just throwing darts at a board covered in random names."
"Maybe, but you know what we do have that's awesome?"
"Thumbs, right?" Dashie deadpanned.
"Well, I was going to say awesome radio shows, but that works too."
"Oh go schuck some corn," Dashie groaned. She then gave a sigh. "Still, you humans have a leg up on us..."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, despite our magics, despite the fact that the leader of our nation is pretty much a living god... there's still just as many wars. Always."
"We'd probably do the same thing in your shoes. Remember the Teranids? They still made war when they had to."
"True..."
She took a deep sigh.
"I still don't want to kill anything, Tom. The griffins killed my father, yeah... and I know they were supposed to be built as killing machines. But remember Gilda?"
Tom put on a nostalgic smile. "How could I forget? That poor thing..."
Years Prior
Tom and Dashie sat next to each other, laughing over some long-forgotten in-joke. Her wings were just starting to work at this time, growing steadily every day. Stunted, yes, but she would become a full pegasus in time.
Then... came the new kid.
Tom's eyes widened at her sight. He had never seen a griffin before, at least not up close. He had always pictured them as fierce: deadly, creatures, yet this one...
"Hello class," the teacher called. "I'd like to introduce you to our newest student, Gilda!"
Crickets chirped.
Gilda sulked her head, glancing away from the students nervously.
All around, Tom could hear various mumbles:
"What's she doing here?"
"Weren't we just at war like five years ago?"
"Must be some stupid political ploy... you know, for her daddy to say she's the first griffin in a pegasi school. Bleh."
"Now class, does anyone want to say hi?"
Tom turned to Dashie, grinning at her. "Come on..."
Dashie simply turned away from him, and the rest of the class remained silent.
"So, you're saying you're not going to even give her a chance?" Tom asked, as Rainbow fluttered by him. So far, she was doing a good job at this, though doing tricks was still not her forte.
"Nope, and you know darn well, Tom, why."
"Yes but... they couldn't all be evil, could they?"
"You say the Germans are..."
"N-No, I just say... t-the Nazis seem evil."
"Uh-huh."
Tom gave a grunt. "Alright, so I'm somewhat of a hypocrite. Be the bigger man, er- mare."
"Tom... we both read up on the griffins. They are literally built for violence. They don't deny this."
"Maybe there's something to them besides war..."
"Like humans?" Dashie laughed. "Tom, humans weren't built for anything. You just happen to get into a lot of wars... the griffins on the other hand..." She winced slightly. "Anyway, nuff' talkin' bout this. Check out what I learned!"
With that, she did a very basic midair backflip, all the while grinning.
"Oh crap! You nailed it!"
"Darn right I did," beamed. "I can do it better than any other pegasus could, and I've flown like half the time they have!"
"Heh, yeah-"
Suddenly, a series of shouts came from across the playground.
"That's right, we know you hurt Cloudfoot. He plays alone with you for an hour then has to go to the nurse! Explain that!"
"H-He scratched himself on a tree thorn, I swear!"
"Likely story," the bully growled, as more and more pegasi surrounded the crowded griffin.
"Oh no..." Tom gulped, glancing at the hopeless theme before turning towards Dashie. "Rainbow, you have to do something!"
"Why? What if she really did-"
"You know darn well she's innocent. She's like a shrinking violet, why would she hurt anyone?"
"I dunno, Tom..."
He narrowed her eyes. "Put yourself in her shoes.... metaphorically speaking, don't they seem awfully familiar?"
Rainbow gave a grunt.
"You always say that the pegasi were born to fight for those weaker than them. Well now's the chance to gain some honor! Suffering any bully isn't either of our fortes."
She glanced away from him, taking a deep breath.
"Come on, Rainbow. It's what your dad would have wanted."
Suddenly, her eyes widened, before narrowing once again.
"You're right."
And suddenly, like a streak of lightning, she was in the middle of the ring of pegsai, all the ready to pounce on the defenseless griffin.
"Leave her alone!" Dashie growled.
The crowd gave a cry of bafflement. "You of all people are defending her?"
"You're darn right I am!" she cried. "Did any of you boneheads bother to check Cloudfoot to see if he might have the same story you've made up?"
"The evidence is enough!"
"You're all acting irrational. You're taking out your hate on this defensless griffin because you're stereotyping her... I'm not, so why the heck are you? What gives you the right, huh? You lose your father, grandfather, whole family to them?"
The group remained silent, glancing at each other occasionally.
And silently, they seemed to come to an agreement, before sauntering away.
Dashie then turned to a weeping Gilda, smiling. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Y-Yes," she croaked. "T-That was very brave of you."
"And it was very brave of you to come to this school." Dashie then grinned. "Hey, wanna come hang out a little after school? I bet that homework you're getting is tought for someone who doesn't live in Equestria."
Gilda blinked in bafflement. "You'd do that?"
"Who wouldn't? Come on, let's see what kind of flight tricks you have!""
And in the distance, Tom smiled warmly.
Tom stood motionless after travelling down memory lane.
"-Germans forcefully deporting Jews from Germany, France, Poland, and the Netherlands. This is thought to be of Hitler's 'final solution.' A barbaric ploy. In other news, Italian and German troops continue to march on Greece, as every free nation in Europe braces for invasion...
"Tom?" Dashie said, his imagination going haywire.
"[Greek] Artillery, open up!"
Shells filled the sky. The shells fell...
[Italian] "Keep moving! Keep moving! Pick a target and fire in five seconds..."
Twenty Italian tanks crossed a blackened field, opening fire and decimating Greek defensive formations."
"Mommy... where's daddy going?" a little girl cried, as an aging man wearing a golden Star of David on his uniform was escorted from her home.
"H-He'll just be going away for a while, sweetie," the mother weeped. "Just a little while..."
"But why?"
The mother narrowed her eyes. "B-Because they think he's different... than you and I."
"But why is that a bad thing?"
...
"I don't know."
"Dashie," Tom finally said, narrowing his eyes in determination.
"Yeah?"
"What did you always say about what the strong should do?"
"Easy! It is the duty of a pegasus to protect those who deserve it. Weak or strong."
"And what have I always say about bullies?"
"That they don't do the world any good."
"Who is Hitler?"
"A bully."
"And Hitler isn't just a bully, but a liar - he's got his whole country twisted around his thumb."
A small smile came to Dashie's face. "What do you propose we do about this?"
"A long time ago my father said he wanted to see me fly. Of course he meant metaphorically... and I wasn't sure fighting Germans in a country that wasn't even mine was doing that. But now I see..."
"Both of ours wanted it, and I succeeded!"
"And now we'll both fly higher than ever before. The Nazis started the war. The Nazis are doing horrible things to their own people and the people they conquer. No... sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe in, instead of sitting in the sidelines."
"So... what's the plan?"
Suddenly, Tom snagged his old flight helmet from a nearby table. "Take a guess."
Dashie gave a shiver, still glancing at her shot-through wing. "I-I still don't want to kill anything Tom... and I really want to go home. You're right, I should be back there fighting for Equestria..."
"But you have a good fight here ahead of you! One worthy of a pegasus. You won't even need to kill anyone if we do this right!"
Dashie took a deep breath. "You're right. Saddle up pardner, cus it's game time. And this is a game we'll play to win! HOORAH!"
...I'm liking where this is headed.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw9286-1357354024508434.gif
2438347 DRAT! Luna ate my rainbow popsicle!
2438347
1 fighter & 1 pegasus against the entire German luftwaffe? cause that's what it sounds like.
Actually Greece is not the countries real name.... in Greek, they call themselves "Heleneco" meaning "birthplace of Helen". aka. Helen of troy (the girl which was taken to troy and started the Trojan war) meaning that the Trojans referred to the Greeks as "Hellenic's" (people of Helen) and the name went on from there. that's why in that movie... i think it was the one with Thesius... they refer to the soldiers as Hellenic
Greece is just a nickname which stuck over time.
another, meh... fact brought to you by MEH!
This time... We play for keeps!
Disaster wrought the air, flak exploding dangerously close to the wings. It was all or nothing now; they had to make it. I they didn't... Who knew what was gonna happen in the next few days. Another shell rocked the small plane, sending shivers down their spines, and wracking the plane's body. With puffed cheeks and held breaths, they readied. Hell was upon them- and this time, hell ain't gonna even stop them. With one last bellow, they dived.
To fight for one's beliefs is commendable.
To fight with one's beliefs is righteous.
To use those beliefs to hurt and maime, thou art despicable.
To meld those beliefs and spring up from nothing; that is truly thy humanity at work.
With strong bone and sturdy frame, we prepare.
~Arty
2438513 It seemed to me that they were heading straight to the source of the "bullying": Berlin.
I'm starting to doubt the legitimacy of this story :/
Ever since you've came back you've put less effort into it. That or you got out of practice. But there are parts where the transfer of information is kinda thin and modernized. Like Tom's view on hitler and the rounding up of jews. America and Briton didn't really care. Jews were popular for everyone to pick on in that era.
Hell a transport overstuffed with jewish immigrants came to America and were sent away!
That and I think the allies only realized what hilter was doing when they literally marched right into a concentration camp. it was only nearing the end of the war that his plan was really discovered. If I'm wrong then prove it with a link.
2438529
Loved your comment-- simple yet beautiful. Now I'm inspired to write some random thought: Humanity has great potential for both good and evil, and an amazing ability to rise up from the pits of oppression and create something truly beautiful in its wake. It is both the strength and the weakness of the human race as a whole, but when the right path is chosen, the results are astounding and unique. To me, 'humanity' is a word that describes not only a species, but an ability and a mindset.
2438513
Hmm...
THIS! IS! BRITAIN!
#YOLOSWAG
2438549
so... 1 pegasus and 1 fighter against Hitler and all his guards?
2438529 dude episode speech or poem whichever you want to call it
2438660 stupid auto correct that was meant to be epic
2438639 Sounds about right. Maybe trying to sneak past, or as Tom mentioned, "Doing it right".
2438664 You know there is an edit button, right?
I have a question that hopefully won't (but probably will) cause any unwanted spoilers; is the Pacific War going to come into play later in this story? Specifically the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
2438586
*cough* canis ezo kage *cough*
On a serious note though I agree it's been getting kinda forced
2438660 Oi, thanks! It was a spur of the moment thing, you know?
With light comes darkness,
With darkness comes despair.
But with light on the horizon,
Thou hast no reason to flee,
But rather, to hold fast and become strong.
~Arty
2438807
The bombing at Pearl Harbor wouldn't be for an entire year, as this chapter is suppose to be New Year of 1941. The best the US would be involved in the war is pilots volunteering in Great Britain, and perhaps troops which had been deployed in China and the Philippines to help those countries fight the Japanese, one of the many reasons why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in the first place.
At that point removing Hitler from the equation would change nothing (unlike in the middle of the war when top German military wanted to stop it and even tried Hitler's assassination) - there was whole German and Soviet elite who wanted to conquer more and more.
Moreso even if for some miracle German would stop advancing due to internal squabbles - it only means that in late 1941 / early 1942 Stalin will strike.
While it is unknown how serious were soviet offensive plans in 1941, soviet ideology demanded world domination in the same scale as Nazi's. And weak Germany would be too dainty to miss.
WW2 was too complicated to be stopped at early stage by removing one leader, no matter how important he was, imho.
:(
I think you mean 'retaliatory'.
Still a good chapter nonetheless. Looking forward to more.
>> 2439895
Removing Hitler would be the worst move ever, actually. The allies stopped trying to assassinate him after realising how insane he was and how he would drive the axis to defeat better than any saboteur could.
2438717 hey Spitfire! Nice spitfire!
2441065 So adorable, right?
2441242 yup adorable....
Good for the next fighting scene:
2438615
No.
THIS. IS. ATLANTA!
GO DAWGS!
The Greek invasion didn't have any German involvement until April, 1941. Italy suffered humiliating defeat after humiliating defeat in Greece for months after they invaded in October, 1940; they remained stuck in Albania with most of the country in Greek hands until a disastrous counterattack in March, 1941. It was at that point, with Operation Barbarossa being prepared in earnest that Britain (Churchill, specifically) made allusions to exploit Germany's exposed southern flank by landing troops in the country. Hitler called Mussolini a bumbling idiot and invaded in April.
Your telling of events here is a major historical inaccuracy, and I notice you still have not addressed or even acknowledged the Tripartite Pact inaccuracy. Also, the term "Final Solution" didn't get tossed around even in Germany until well after Operation Barbarossa got started. It was used, but only in SS circles, as early as 1931.
2438513Yea, I almost feel bad for the Germans.
2443516
Oh you!
Well, looks like these two comrades are about to rejoin the fight for all the right reasons...good chapter!
Ack. I notice you've changed things to look more historically accurate, but now I feel bad for trying to influence your story when it's your story to be writing. There are times where my being a student of history and an insufferable know-it-all really bite me in the kiester.
This is for every wound we lived through
For everyone who refused to succumb to pain
For everyone who had to deal with their own bodies betraying them
For everyone who sports the scars from noble deeds
For everyone who sacrificed their well-being for love and honor
For everyone who carries the light of hope, no matter how small it may be
For everyone who fights for what they believe in
For everyone who never gives up
For everyone who felt like their best wasn't good enough, but kept giving anyways
For everyone who refused to go quietly into the night
For those who had their hearts ripped out but kept going
For those who shoulder the weight of the world, day in and day out
For those who withstand the unjustified torments of others
For the wounded, the broken, the beaten, the bullied, the bruised and the battered
This is for those that endure.
Two beings from far and distant planes
Met each other through dreamland's way
Through time and effort, the two became friends
One fought for her country, while the other fought for vengeance
Through grief and stride, the two fought their wars
Although through different means
Above the clouds, the two gracefully soar
Each answering to a call of duty
There is only one thing they both share above any quality
Is invaluable asset of loyalty
When one is in danger, the other follows
They would be at each others side sooner than tomorrow
Now at the side of the one they call "friend"
Their true adventure can finally begin
As one war rages on, so does another
The two will be at each others side, like sister and brother
Now the time for waiting has passed
Now is the time for them to kick some ass
2458631>>2483340 These are just absolutely beautiful.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.Share this:
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3172523 I read this for a family presentation thingy XD