The Alliance of DictatorsBoard

The realm of the sun king wrote:

The defenders of Arghasambadh had been caught totally off-guard by the sheer speed, efficiency, and firepower of the Antipodean invaders. These Unbelievers had managed to launch quite the offensive against the unsuspecting Zunist warriors, and casualties were mounting rapidly. The Death Gliders were no more; chaos had sown itself into their ranks as they had never expected so great an aerial opponent that they failed to adjust in time. Despite having superior technology they failed to even make a dent in the enemy's air force, allowing the Antipodeans rule of the skies. The defender's morale did not weaken, however. Even with the lose of aerial supremacy they were still confident that their god-king would deliver them to victory, and so they pressed on in resistance to these foreign devils and their heretical ways. Even as scores of Zunists met their end to the cowardly tactics of the Antipodeans and the very walls of the city itself began to crumble, they still stood fiercely in defiance of these heathen fiends.

As the walls began to crumble, civilians began to flee from their protection and mass toward the city center. The city was on lock-down and so no one was permitted to leave; those that did were immediately blasted away by a Zunist warrior's Staff weapon. As it became clear that the city walls would soon be preached, Firelord Daras ordered all able-bodied men to be drafted into service to defend the city. These new conscripts were quickly directed toward the front and positioned at the weakest points in the wall where the enemy would undoubtedly enter through. Commanded by merciless, unforgiving Zunist officers these peasant conscripts would fear more the weapons behind them than the ones in front of them. Metallic barricades were erected along city streets and anti-armor positions were assembled and choke-points arranged within the urban center to ensure maximum defensibility. While the anti-air defenses had mostly been destroyed, this did not stop the Zunist warriors from forgetting the enemy air power as they fired their Staff weapons at enemy aircraft and helicopters, though the latter would be significantly easier to hit. As the last bits of the wall's weakest points began to crumble and breaching became inevitable, the dug-in and covered Zunist warriors readied their shock grenades - ready to disable and immobilize large swathes of Antipodean soldiers that came pouring through the breaches.

The offensive strike of the Antipodean soldiers didn't arrive as quickly as the enemy had anticipated. 7th Brigade troops were quickly regrouping and No. 1 Squadron were landing on their respective aircraft carriers to refuel and rearm, though thankfully their aerial operations had been full accomplished for the time being. The remaining NH90s likewise pulled out of the area back to the LHDs. The 7th and the Amphibious Ready Element amongst the fire were beginning to regroup and form a united front as best as they could, though their push wouldn't arrive yet. Sustained mortar fire continued towards the weakest part of the walls whilst designated marksmen - Antipodeans having been notorious for their zeal in targeting officers since the First World War - sighted in the carnage with SR-98 sniper rifles and began picking off Zunist officers and anybody else they deemed either important or unlucky enough to warrant a 7.62x51mm long-range bullet dinner - however, they attempted to avoid shooting the conscripted peasants as best as they could manage. F89 Minimi's were also heavily utilized in order to provide suppressive fire on Zunist warriors in order to keep as many helicopters on the way back alive. The invasion force would consider the set of circumstances a bloodied stalemate until Phase Two of Operation Monash could begin.

Beichte wrote:

The orc's eyes went wide at the sight of the map. A glance towards his troops told him that his guard was already making good headway towards the nearest artillery battery. With a gruff motion he told his other guard:

"Kill him!"

At first the other guard just stared at the orc in confusion but when Gothmog repeated his words, now literally shouting "KILL HIM!!!" , the orc leveled his semi-automatic rifle at his running fellow yet still hesitated.

"FIRE!"

A shot rang out. A miss. Another shot. More shots. The orc was firing at his comrade in quick succession. The heavy recoil of the gun made it not an easy task to fire this quickly but alas, the runner had to die and at the third shot he was hit and the fifth shot blasted his brains out, making the orc topple over lie motionlessly on the ground.

At the same time as the guard downed his comrade, Gothmog had carefully approached the lamiah again. Ever so careful as though she was a delicate flower that would break and die if he did anything rash. His voice betrayed barely contained wanting for that map she held as he said:

"T-there's no need for any rash actions. We completely believe you. Now, please, hand over that map."

Urgost had the distinct feeling that he was in the wrong place. Had these filthy little minions surfaced to desert or to get some supplies? No matter, he'd go the rest of the way through the air. Never again would he let himself be trapped in a metal coffin and brought deep, deep underwater. Never again. As the massive dragon shuddered while remembering the long journey, his burning gaze scanned the area for further signs of being in the wrong place. Sure, the people coming to gawk definitely didn't look like...what had the Overlord called it again? 'Lesser cousins of his'? Yeah, no, the standard human definitely didn't count as a relative to his species. Hmm, they were all wearing masks. Urgost thought back to the old humans, the Beichtians and their behaviour patterns. It had been a long time since he'd last had the pleasure of studying humans. While not having nostrils as good as his, they were so much more easily set off by what they smelled. He guessed the sweet smell of burned flesh was what was assaulting their poor noses. Thinking of which...they were awfully well equipped for the stench of the new bodies now floating in their harbour basin. As he sniffed a bit, Urgost could easily make out an older scent. Yes, they had burned something else before. That explained it all much better.

Now, normally humans didn't just burn things for no reason. Urgost was pretty sure that practice had come out of fashion centuries ago. Then again, different countries, different customs? Nonetheless, he decided to investigate, his eyes scanning locations further away. Ah yes, there it was, a neatly stacked pile of burned bodies in front of what could potentially constitute as a palace. It was awfully small for that though. Well, time to head over to and investigate.

Urgost stretched out his wings and was about to flap and soar into the sky...just to let it be because they bloody hurt. All that time cramped up in that submarine had definitely given him some cramps, making quite some movements rather painful, including flight right now. Oh well, the humans' loss. The Overlord had not said anything about how to treat any who stood between him and his goal so he could treat them however he wanted. And so the scaled behemoth started moving forward on his four limbs, his claws digging deeply into the stone as he climbed off the port bastion and down onto the docks. Ruthless as he was he just trampled through the police barricade and the crowd, uncaring for any he crushed under either his massive claws or with his swinging tail. Bullets uselessly ricocheted off his scales, not even constituting to as much of an annoyance as mosquito bites since he couldn't even feel them nor would they end up making him scratch himself.

He was fast, despite cramps making him move slower and more careful than he usually would. Within a minute or two he had left the harbour behind, making his way through the streets. His massive body was of course too large to fit into some, toppling some of the houses along the roads and alleys he took. He considered going over the houses for a moment but the first one he tried to climb onto straightup let his claw go through it right to the basement when he put some of his weight onto it. Knowing that none of those damn residential houses would hold his weight, Urgost stuck to the streets instead. On his bloody march through the streets, Urgost spied more signs of what he assumed to have been progroms of some kind. Mutilated bodies strung up from rooftops. They already looked less human and more like something he'd be sent to meet. But he reserved judgement for untill he got to the pile of burned bodies.

After a 10 minute walk and having left a path of destruction in his wake, Urgost finally reached the square before the palace where the burned bodies were. He looked down at the pile, making out the different bodies. With a tactfulness one wouldn't have expected of such a massive behemoth who had just so uncaringly brought so much destruction and death just on a simple walk, he brought just one of his claws forward, using the tip to turn over or shove bodies aside. He was studying them, looking through the different species he had before him. He found what he was looking for soon enough.

The body of a semi-humanoid. Atleast half of it was humanoid and the other half looked like...a snaketail? Yes, that was definitely what it was, recognisable despite the very charred state. Urgost snorted when he realised that the Overlord had meant these pitiful excuses for half-reptiles when it had spoken about his lesser cousins. Lesser cousins his a##. These were more like his ant sized spawn of millennia of incest and human intermingling. This was definitely not fit to claim any kind of racial kinship with him. In a sudden fit of rage he brought down his claws on the pile, neatly crushing it all into an indistinguishable pool of blood, meat, broken bones and ashes. The pyramid had been turned into a pancake.

Despite how much this little revelation had hurt his pride though, Urgost still knew that he had a mission. The Overlord had demanded that he make contact with exactly these creatures that he had found here, persecuted and killed. So now he had to find a place where they were not persecuted. Mayhaps the happy persecutors would know of any such place? With a roar the dragon climbed onto the palace, badly damaging the facade and every so often just straight up breaking through the roof and several floors because they wouldn't hold his weight. Honestly, an overall rather unelegant sight. But in Urgost's mind a dragon was always more respected when situated atop a generally recognised place of cultural or political value, something he believed this building to be. Once somewhat securely situated atop the palace, he roared into the sky before glaring at any who had dared to approach the square after his rampage through the town.

With his deep yet strangely alluring voice he spoke:

"Greetings my dear citizens of this little provincial backwater. Do not worry, I do not intend to put too much of a strain on your hospitality, in fact, I intend to leave as soon as you give me one crucial little information."

He pointed one of his claws at the unrecognisable puddle of meatmud he had turned the bodypyramid into.

"I merely wish to know where I can find more of this degenerated garbage. If you readily give me this information, I'll be gone within the blink of an eye. If not..."

His previously so alluring voice suddenly got very dark and very threatening, breaking any trance he might've pulled anyone into.

"...this city will burn untill someone values their life more than some simple information."

On his warpath through the streets, he could hear the wonderful melody of the humans. People yelling out with their feeble voices and desperately trying to run out of the path of the gigantic beasts. Children's eyes welled with tears as they looked on to the bodies of their former parents having been compressed to a pool of gore. The sound of gunfire rang out constantly, but the bullets would themselves be squashed against the hardened scales of the monstrous Urgost, or even ricochet off towards space. They were doing nothing against Urgost, and they could simply not keep up with their relatively tiny legs and newly created rubble blocking the streets. The garrison commander ordered, after going through some shock of the situation they were in and a fair bit of panic, to aid the injured rather than trying to fight a dragon in futile. What else could he do? Perhaps the only pain he felt on his journey to the pyramid of bodies was a single anti-tank rocket impacting the scales of his right thigh, right before the soldiers began standing down.

The dragon up upon his perch spoke, his voice for some reason being so very entrancing. Sadly he didn't have the biggest crowd there to hear it. Mainly just workmen wearing gasmasks who were previously dragging burned Vespergalian husks to load into trucks to be disposed of, just before the dragon arrived. Quite a few had instinctively ran without second thought, only a few looking onto this fantasy creature. A more elderly man too slow to run looked up to the dragon, only wearing some pale coveralls, gloves, and of course his mask. He took a few steps back, stumbling while muttering the words twice, "Nantes... Nantes!"

Sanctuary Point wrote:

“‘Though they may tear at my flesh, my faith is unbroken.’ Tribulations 5:10.” Regretful quoted with a nod. “The Enemies of the Empress and the Crusader shall not find me wanting. As for the Eccl… I mean the Imperatrix and Abbess, I pray that we may find agreement. It does not serve Her Heliacal Majesty if equines fight amongst themselves.”

Despite the pleasant weather, the Canoness found herself shivering. “Sorcery is nearby,” She said as she turned her head. “over there.” She pointed a hoof at a figure standing in the shadows of one of the pillars surrounding the garden. As it stepped forth, the handsome form of Duke Silver came into view.

"Sorcery? What do you mean..." Rarity asked, but then she noticed the Duke. "Oh."

"Good evening, esteemed Prime Minister," Duke Silver said in a smooth, pleasant voice. "And I believe I recognize your companion as well. She must be Canoness Regretful Soul, one of the leaders of our interdimensional kinsmares... Pleasure to meet you too, Canoness."

"Good evening, Your Grace," Rarity said in a reserved tone that indicated she wasn't entirely pleased about meeting the Duke. "What brings you to Manehattan?"

The Duke gave Rarity a polite smile.

"I am here because of my personal interest in the results of the ongoing colloquy between Imperatrix Twilight and Abbess Rising Flame," he said. "It was through my initial suggestion that the meeting was arranged in the first place, and it is my sincerest wish that any disagreements between our cultures will be settled peacefully and in good understanding... and without unnecessarily upsetting our carefully-constructed social institutions in these trying times." He shifted his attention from Rarity to Regretful. "But I see that the Canoness is upset about something. Of course she has heard of my encounter with Palantine Cloudy Day of the Vanhoover Convent? We parted on less than friendly terms... I regret that I was unable to reach a mutual understanding with the Palantine, thus necessitating this meeting between our leaders. But let me I assure you, despite certain differences in procedure, we too want nothing but the best for all Equines. Ponies like Baron Jet Set sometimes exceed their authority in disciplining their workers, but that is not because of some insidious superiority complex or their sadistic tendencies, but because they are particularly eager to bring about the Imperatrix's vision of a brave new Equestria where everypony knows her place and works for the greater good of us all."

As the Duke spoke, he slowly walked towards the Prime Minister and the Canoness. And as he kept talking, his voice became more and more convincing and trustworthy, his words full of undeniable wisdom and sincerity born of genuine concern for the well-being of his subjects. Towards the end, it was hard to remember what he was actually saying, but then it wasn't THAT important anyway because he said it in a WAY that made it easy to understand him and agree with the content of his message. Surely that was enough? Certainly somepony as convincing and eloquent would never ever lie or mislead anyone?

To Regretful, the Duke appeared as a presence not quite like anything she had sensed before. There was power in the Unicorn, a lot of it. The power was not entirely his own but it was fully under his control, and he could mold it like clay to hide his mind and soul from closer scrutiny.

He was also very benevolent and kind, definitely not an enemy.

Perhaps he could be a true friend?

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

"Sorcery? What do you mean..." Rarity asked, but then she noticed the Duke. "Oh."

"Good evening, esteemed Prime Minister," Duke Silver said in a smooth, pleasant voice. "And I believe I recognize your companion as well. She must be Canoness Regretful Soul, one of the leaders of our interdimensional kinsmares... Pleasure to meet you too, Canoness."

"Good evening, Your Grace," Rarity said in a reserved tone that indicated she wasn't entirely pleased about meeting the Duke. "What brings you to Manehattan?"

The Duke gave Rarity a polite smile.

"I am here because of my personal interest in the results of the ongoing colloquy between Imperatrix Twilight and Abbess Rising Flame," he said. "It was through my initial suggestion that the meeting was arranged in the first place, and it is my sincerest wish that any disagreements between our cultures will be settled peacefully and in good understanding... and without unnecessarily upsetting our carefully-constructed social institutions in these trying times." He shifted his attention from Rarity to Regretful. "But I see that the Canoness is upset about something. Of course she has heard of my encounter with Palantine Cloudy Day of the Vanhoover Convent? We parted on less than friendly terms... I regret that I was unable to reach a mutual understanding with the Palantine, thus necessitating this meeting between our leaders. But let me I assure you, despite certain differences in procedure, we too want nothing but the best for all Equines. Ponies like Baron Jet Set sometimes exceed their authority in disciplining their workers, but that is not because of some insidious superiority complex or their sadistic tendencies, but because they are particularly eager to bring about the Imperatrix's vision of a brave new Equestria where everypony knows her place and works for the greater good of us all."

As the Duke spoke, he slowly walked towards the Prime Minister and the Canoness. And as he kept talking, his voice became more and more convincing and trustworthy, his words full of undeniable wisdom and sincerity born of genuine concern for the well-being of his subjects. Towards the end, it was hard to remember what he was actually saying, but then it wasn't THAT important anyway because he said it in a WAY that made it easy to understand him and agree with the content of his message. Surely that was enough? Certainly somepony as convincing and eloquent would never ever lie or mislead anyone?

To Regretful, the Duke appeared as a presence not quite like anything she had sensed before. There was power in the Unicorn, a lot of it. The power was not entirely his own but it was fully under his control, and he could mold it like clay to hide his mind and soul from closer scrutiny.

He was also very benevolent and kind, definitely not an enemy.

Perhaps he could be a true friend?

As a unicorn, Regretful had always been more attuned to the tides of the Warp and the winds of Magic. The decade she’d suffered under her altered sister’s ‘care’ and the loss of her eyes had only strengthened her instincts regarding the Immaterium and right now they were screaming at her to get as far from the Duke as she could, the way his words blended together and snaked into her brain along with the image of a regal, dignified stallion. The lightning arced across the scars in and around her eye sockets as she listened to him, the pain breaking whatever hold he was trying to build over her and when they arced across where her pupils should have been, she saw flashes of… something. She saw a gaunt mockery of a pony with yellowed fangs and sunken eyes. It leered at her, wanting her broken at their hooves and then, with what would’ve been a blink had she eyelids, it was gone and all she could see was the darkness. “Beware honied words and those who speak them.” She muttered the catechism as she discreetly made the sign of the moon before plastering a smile on and nodded. “As the Sisters will.”

Spiritual Republic of Caryton wrote:

Caryton to debate war with Sun King

The legislature of the Ecclesiastical Meritocracy was as divided as ever as to authorize a move of war against the cultists. While one side of the clergy hoped for liberation of the people and a potential christian state, the other remained adamant that godly people should not battle those that they are trying to save. However, if Germania took action, Caryton would be brought into war by default. Leading Reverend Dorothy Shirleyton makes no official statement or claim to one side or another.

His Holiness, Pope Longinus VI, urges patience toward the leadership of Caryton. "We must remember that Our Lord taught us not to hasten nor seek vengeance. Though the raving madman Zunil has blasphemed against the Church of Caryton, and for this they would not be unjust in retaliation, I strongly urge them to remember that to hold hate close to one's heart and to seek it fulfilled is the path to damnation. Zunil and his followers are but misguided extremists who are soon to be defeated by the current Coalition. There is no need for Caryton to send it's men and women to die in a foreign place fighting a war that has already been decided. I encourage our brothers and sisters in Caryton to be cautious and wait dutifully for news of the impending Zunist defeat. God has willed that this Coalition be victorious, and so it shall be so. Meanwhile, the Papal Relief Aid Fleet has currently arrived off the coast of Zunil's Realm and are waiting patiently while Coalition military forces make their landing attempts along the Zunist Coast. The fleet plans to embark to shore as soon as Coalition forces are able to seize enough territory to establish a battlefront on land, providing much needed relief to civilians, prisoners-of-war, and Coalition soldiers alike as part of the Pelomoyan Papacy's promise to aid the oppressed and suffering people under Zunil's rule, as well as aid those who fight to end it. Slight controversy has arisen as it has been revealed that missionaries have been sent along with the fleet intending to convert those Zunists willing to see reason.

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

The Duke took another step forward. The polished silver horseshoes on his well-manicured hooves made a clinking sound against the garden's paving stones.

"I see that I have not fully convinced you of the justness of our cause," he said in a voice that was both remorseful and full of almost fatherly understanding. "And that's perfectly alright, Canoness Regretful Soul. Our Way is not for everypony, only for those who are willing to walk it to the very end... But maybe you could still try? There's no harm in seeing the world from more than one point of view, is there?"

There was no way he hadn't noticed the lightning crackling around Regretful's eye sockets. But he kept talking in his smooth, pleasant and friendly voice.

"You come from a brutal world full of suffering and death, Canoness. It's different here." Another step forward. Clink, clink. "This world is full of beauty and wonder, full of Harmony born of the infinite wisdom of the Old Masters and our benevolent Imperatrix. You don't need eyes to see that. You only have to embrace what is your birthright as a Unicorn. The Abbess is an Earth Pony. She will never understand the way our Kind experiences and feels the world, how magic comes to us as naturally as breathing... We Unicorns have a special place in the grand scheme of things. We are focal points of the invisible ley lines that connect all Ponies. It is our right and duty to guide the Lesser Kinds on the path towards Harmony..."

"That's enough, Silver," Rarity said in a voice that came out weaker and far less elegant and ladylike than she had intended. Compared to the Duke's smooth, mellow voice, her voice had sounded almost like a harsh shriek that broke the harmony.

But the Duke stopped and fell silent. The glamour was gone as well.

Rarity cleared her throat and said (in a somewhat more confident and assertive voice), "I know you mean well Duke, but Her Immortal Ladyship has recognized the validity and equality of our extradimensional kinsmares's culture and beliefs. You should not try to force your views on them unless they ask you to do so."

The Duke smiled apologetically and bowed his head.

"Of course, Prime Minister. How rude of me. I humbly apologize, Canoness."

Regretful scowled at the Duke. “Do not speak ill of the Abbess. She has done more for the Sisters in the last decade then you probably have your entire life.” Her eyeless gaze rose and connected with Silver’s. “It was her who led the final charge of the Anipoli Crusade, her who duelled the Daemon Prince on Vauntia IV and her who purged Everfree. On a thousand other worlds, it was by her leadership and martial prowess that our forces won. So blessed is Rising that the Sisters Divine arm her.” Her voice became more reverent as she continued. “She found Waxing Moon, the battleaxe of the Eternal Crusader Herself, millennia after it was thought lost during the Nightmare Heresy and she wields it with all the expertise of the Bright Night.” Again she made the sign of the moon.

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

Because of the Great Krieg's earlier threats against Ponykind, the Imperial Fleet and the Coast Guard had been on full alert for several days now. When the missiles approaching the coastal cities were detected, AA destroyers and shore-based SAM turrets immediately targeted them and managed to shoot down all but one, which was merely damaged. The damaged missile didn't reach its primary target, but instead veered off course and hit a slave farm outside Baltimare, killing 52 Chadician slaves working there. (Their Earth Pony supervisors, who, like all Equestrians, had been inoculated against anthrax, survived in the farm's bomb shelter.)

By destroying the missiles mid-flight the resulting explosions released the chemical weapons prematurely, allowing them to rain down on any inferior filth unlucky enough to be below them be they naval personnel or civilians in settlements. Due to being inoculated against anthrax no ponies were harmed by the anthrax. Instead, they were killed by the mustard gas and Corporal Francisco's Homemade Genocide Gas™ that was also on-board the missiles. "Whew, lucky there were additional chemicals on board those missiles. Good thinking, Dr. Rosenburg. You've been promoted to Mall Cap/Fashionista! Make Kriegizstan proud!" said General Ginny G. Gin (the "G" stands for "Gorgonzola") while dancing the salsa with an android named Lupe.

The Great Krieg, meanwhile, was upset about the Chadician deaths but was quick to utilize them for propaganda purposes. "The cowards hid in bunkers while they let their human slaves die. Absolutely barbaric. Damn Ponies; we should kill 'em all! I hereby call for a Human Crusade against Equestria to liberate the oppressed human masses from their cruel, uncaring rulers and also liberate the Ponies from their very existence! KRIEG VULT!" Following the speech, Medieval Torture Devices Inc. reported record sales for iron maidens, Iron Maiden albums, and Margaret Thatcher bobble-heads.

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

Imperatrix Twilight's promised retribution arrived swiftly. Imperial submarines had been waiting just outside Kriegizstani territorial waters, and when alerted of the unprovoked attack against the Equestrian homeland, they quietly moved in and approached the five most important Krieg harbors and ports. From a safe distance, they launched a series of attacks, firing special torpedoes designed to explode several hundred feet from the shore, then quickly dived and retreated. The torpedoes were filled with raw sewage from the most disgusting and poorly maintained Earth Pony slave farms, positively saturated with urine, feces and other disgusting things not worth mentioning. The water around the impact sites would be contaminated and smell horrible for several months, making swimming all but impossible and spreading the nauseous stench of the deepest sewer pits far inland.

Had it not been for the explosions created by the torpedoes, nobody would have even known such an attack took place as Kriegizstan's environment was already so horribly irradiated and polluted that the sewage bombs literally changed nothing at all. As for the smell, it failed to penetrate Kriegizstan's glorious dome cities so nobody smelled it. (Except Jeff, but he'd smelled worse.) Nonetheless the Kriegizstani Navy was obligated to hunt down the attackers. With naval assets being dispatched both from Kriegizstan itself and from Kriegizstani-Occupied Korea, the Eberon Ocean was placed on total lock-down as the Kriegizstani Navy hunted down the subs with extreme prejudice - preventing them from safely returning to Equestrian ports. Radical Admirals Chad Chadster and Brad Bradster (second cousins, 200 times removed) took a break from their busy schedule of keg-standing, beer pong games, and banging all the hot chicks on their respective vessels in order to record and broadcast the following message: "Bro, like, just give up bro because if you don't bro we're going to, like, fvcking kill you bro and then, like, eat you bro! Okay bro!? Like, what's your problem bro!? Do we have beef bro!? You want to fight bro!? Let's fight bro! Come on bro, let's fight bro! Bro! Bro! Bro!" The message would play on repeat from the loudspeakers of every vessel as the Radical Admirals each swung their polo shirts in the air and howling like madmen while showing off their epic pecks and six-packs.

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

Simultaneously with the torpedo strike, Equestrian hackers began a massive cyber attack against Kriegizstani websites, flooding them with hundreds of terabytes of Equestria Girls movies.

The Great Krieg, being the only Kriegizstani with access to the Internet, was the only one affected. Shrugging, He simply moved His cursor over the Internet Explorer icon and then dragged and dropped it into the recycle bin thereby deleting the Internet entirely along with His computer, His desk, and the Minister of Defense's pants. Oh no, wait, he never wears pants. Never mind.

Leading Reverend Dorothy Shirleyton addresses the people of Caryton || 8/4/2019

The quaint and grandmotherly leader of Caryton has usually addressed the people through copies of a handwritten letter or television broadcast. Her postcards make all Carytonians and members of the obscure denomination of the Gospel Church of Caryton excited to open their mailboxes. Caryton lived in a modest land of women wearing dresses and men wearing dress shirts. The milkman was still a thing, and people felt safe leaving their doors unlocked at night. While a few groups saw such conformity disturbing, Caryton was undeniably at peace and raising a happy generation under its new regime. The regality of the elderly Shirleyton captivated not only the people of her nation and church, but people of the international community.

Channel 7, as it was known internationally (due to the number of days in which God created the planet), was reserved in many nations for the broadcasting of the Carytonian State (which was also the Gospel Church of Caryton). The Trinity Broadcasting Channel of Caryton was usually a testcard with organ music and bible verses until 3-8 PM weekdays, 1-8 PM saturdays, and 10AM - 12 midnight sundays.

The testcard ceased on the sunday broadcast after people got back from morning church service. The anthem of Caryton began to play as an introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGl4Gla5lf8 - tune

"Land of unity, land of true love.
Land of blessings, and land of a long life.
We pray for the longevity-
Of the nation which harbors us in its cradle!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life-
We pray for the bounty of God...
We send our prayers and cry "Amen".

Land of Christ, land of Cary.
Carrier of Miracles, what doth you bring next?
Land of safety, land of His creation-
Carrier of Miracles, please let us rise to you!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life.
We pray for the bounty of God...
We send our prayers and cry "Amen."

Let your light shine through to us!
Let your guidance illumine millions of souls!
Let your love show us the way!
Let your nobility cast away demonic coals!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life...
We pray for unity of your dominion.
In the Heavenly way of Christ we'll stay!"

-

As the anthem started, the camera focused on the sunrise over a Carytonian shore, pink filling the skies as strings of yellow and rose reached out towards the mainland. It faded to a view of a happy Carytonian family, swinging their toddler child by the arm, walking down a rural farming town dotted with flowers and cattle. Also shown were pictures of Carytonian soldiers goosestepping in unison, their arms swaying left to right. They marched under a massive array of Carytonian banners.

As the anthem built up near the last two stanzas, a speedy timelapse showed the colorful queen anne and georgian architecture of Georgine and its many rivers from daytime to nighttime, where amber lights turned on and cast a warm glow along the waters, making yellow ripples. A view of a different, larger family saying grace before dinner fades in, the camera panning from the family to the framed picture of Christ. The camera changes scene to the national figurehead, Cary, sprinting through the massive flower fields of Caryton. By the time the last stanza was reached, the family from the first few seconds were shown, swinging their child in Georgine now, before the massive, impeccable, bleached, whitewashed Central Cathedral, its 5 towering steeples, and the Cary statue in front. The camera shows them looking up to the steeple star before fading in to the main worship hall, whitewashed pillars, elaborate golden and brass trims, massive paintings on the ceiling, golden glass panes. The camera flies up, spinning around the cathedral rapidly as day turns to night, and the lights make the cathedral glow white. As day comes again, a semi-transparent Carytonian flag overlaps it, flapping softly. As the morning sun beams shined into a comfortable-looking office, an approachable-sounding male spoke as the anthem ended.

"You're watching TBCC. We interrupt normal programming to give you an update from Her Holiness, the Leading Reverend of Caryton."

-

The elderly Dorothy hobbled inside the camera's view, using a wooden cane. She was in an absolutely beautiful pink clergy robe with gold as a secondary color alongside white loops and trims. Two white crosses overlapped each wrist. She sat down in the comfy looking chair in front of her personal favorite snack-- lemon thumbprint cookies and tangerine tea, with "just the minimum" amount of creamer. She shuffled her papers, sliding on her grandmotherly reading glasses. She began with her humble introduction, resting her hands on the desk. They were covered with white ceremonial gloves.

"Blessings be upon you on this fair Sunday, children of Caryton. Hopefully, church service was as enlightening and relaxing as possible. I read some of your letters to me, and believe me-- I've been praying for all of you. If you have it with you, open the Book of Cary's Example (the GCC's secondary work to the bible). If you open to Alta-4, Chapter 17, verse 6.

'...let our faith be the bridge we stand on when we are feeling weak in the knees. Let our kindness to one another emulate the kindness Christ has given us. Let our conviction to be revolutionary martyrs guide us through the toughest of storms. If not for us, if not for Cary, if not for Christ--- for your loved ones. For your enemies, tyrants, and even for those we hath not met yet.'

This is one of my favorite verses, because we can learn so much from it. When this was a secret book of that tyrannical regime of Alta, I referenced it. I prayed on it. I was stumped how a dog could be the body of Jesus, but I went through with this verse anyways. And what do you know, I see the dog heal the sick and wounded, I see the dog use magic in such a high level of mastery it can only be biblical. The dog was put through months of rigorous tests, and it only chose Christ, references to him, and all else. Now I preach the message.

Stay with me on this message. I've seen a lot in my 71 years. I've been through harsh trials like the rest of my countrymen. I was beaten, abused, and even violated by Altan soldiers, and I was close to execution for being a pro-Cary revolutionary. I forgave, I prayed, I forgot, I persevered, I learned. My faith was my bridge. Christ was the ledge I grabbed on to when I was plummeting towards a bottomless abyss. I used that ledge, pulled myself up, and climbed out of that hole.

I say these things because Caryton has been a stable eye in a storm of world affairs, some that I must address. I make judgements based on faith, and dedication to the well being of all people-- human or otherwise.

First and foremost, I am pleased with the alliance we have made to Collectivist germania and by default, all religiously-guided countries close to them. Trade has been booming, and we have exchanged each other blank checks and unrelenting support in matters that faith can not veto, such as warfare. However, unless Germania directly involves itself, I will refrain from having our Ecclesiastical Meritocracy fight The realm of the sun king. The fair soldiers of Caryton will not risk their faith-based lives in a war that is avoidable. The liberation of the cult is inevitable-- only then will we send resources and missionaries. Fair citizens, we can not harbor any hate for these people. They are misguided. We can not force them to change. To seek to change opinion is to seek to destroy free will-- something God has gifted us with. We would only replace one Orwellian dictatorship with another. I forgive the Sun King for any terrible message he sent us, even with a sin so grave being committed.

Caryton hopes to bring about a new era of faith and love. To prove such, I want to extend my love and openminded hospitality to Twilight Sparkle of the Equestrianic Land. ( The Equestrianic Imperium of Twilight Sparkle ) Out of respect for the ponies and changelings we have in our country, all faithful members of our church, I would like to invite her over to tea and lunch. I see a bit of Cary in ponykind, and in all honesty, I deeply respect that. Because Jesus died for our sins should never mean we go about willingly hating and calling for death and destruction. He died so that we may emulate him and die for others sins. Of course, that is metaphorical for our sacrifice to love others. I deeply apologize for the hostility of Chadicia, on their behalf, and can assure them their wishes for genocide are not reciprocated with all of humankind.

Moving on, we hope to establish as many missions and TBCC outlets as possible to spread positive messages of our denomination. We seek more foreign relations and trade because in all honesty, a pact with others is representative of trust. We trust that we can raise a new generation of Christ-like people. When I played piano for this church, all I could think about was how proud I was to be able to support a chorus of people that couldn't even sing! I was so happy that the people of Caryton found their selves so united that they could do something like this. A year later and I'm still getting requests to attend neighborhood block parties of former friends.

My wisdom isn't permanent and you should know that. I am very old, my children. Treat every word as if it was their last. Not just from me, but from anyone you speak to. The teacher, the coworker, the stranger down the street. Humanity, Ponykind, Anykind, it is all a limited experience. We need to pray, redeem ourselves from our sins, and move forward, hand in hand with both the good in our lives and the bad.

This address was really short, and I deeply apologize. I am pressed for time, and Sunday should be a time in which we reflect on our relationship with God. I can assure you, even international viewers, that you'll be seeing more of me in the mail very shortly.

Please, have a blessed day."

The segment ended with a church choir singing a hymn ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1YFBHRv8s ) as the camera focused on happy church goers both in service and out of service. They were praying, doing community service, feeding the few homeless in Caryton, working as missionaries abroad, and even doing normal things like household chores. It ended with a few bible and Book of Cary's Example quotes. Then, the regular programming finally resumed.

Collectivist germania wrote:

The Reisch Government believed Equestria to be a necessary evil in order to "enclose the stinking Chadician hordes within that vast hoofed ring of steel away from the rest of mankind." Any threat to that was unacceptable to Germania and its aims of keeping West Tyrannia pure so it began sending unmarked foreign fighters over in support of Equestria with no announcement ever made.

The Great Krieg faxed an autographed photograph of Scatman John to the leadership of the Reisch. On the back written in firetruck red crayon was the following: "𝔚𝔢𝔦𝔯𝔡 𝔣𝔩𝔢𝔵 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔨𝔞𝔶."

Spiritual Republic of Caryton wrote:

Leading Reverend Dorothy Shirleyton addresses the people of Caryton || 8/4/2019

The quaint and grandmotherly leader of Caryton has usually addressed the people through copies of a handwritten letter or television broadcast. Her postcards make all Carytonians and members of the obscure denomination of the Gospel Church of Caryton excited to open their mailboxes. Caryton lived in a modest land of women wearing dresses and men wearing dress shirts. The milkman was still a thing, and people felt safe leaving their doors unlocked at night. While a few groups saw such conformity disturbing, Caryton was undeniably at peace and raising a happy generation under its new regime. The regality of the elderly Shirleyton captivated not only the people of her nation and church, but people of the international community.

Channel 7, as it was known internationally (due to the number of days in which God created the planet), was reserved in many nations for the broadcasting of the Carytonian State (which was also the Gospel Church of Caryton). The Trinity Broadcasting Channel of Caryton was usually a testcard with organ music and bible verses until 3-8 PM weekdays, 1-8 PM saturdays, and 10AM - 12 midnight sundays.

The testcard ceased on the sunday broadcast after people got back from morning church service. The anthem of Caryton began to play as an introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGl4Gla5lf8 - tune

"Land of unity, land of true love.
Land of blessings, and land of a long life.
We pray for the longevity-
Of the nation which harbors us in its cradle!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life-
We pray for the bounty of God...
We send our prayers and cry "Amen".

Land of Christ, land of Cary.
Carrier of Miracles, what doth you bring next?
Land of safety, land of His creation-
Carrier of Miracles, please let us rise to you!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life.
We pray for the bounty of God...
We send our prayers and cry "Amen."

Let your light shine through to us!
Let your guidance illumine millions of souls!
Let your love show us the way!
Let your nobility cast away demonic coals!

We pray for a sacred defense,
We pray for an infinitude of life...
We pray for unity of your dominion.
In the Heavenly way of Christ we'll stay!"

-

As the anthem started, the camera focused on the sunrise over a Carytonian shore, pink filling the skies as strings of yellow and rose reached out towards the mainland. It faded to a view of a happy Carytonian family, swinging their toddler child by the arm, walking down a rural farming town dotted with flowers and cattle. Also shown were pictures of Carytonian soldiers goosestepping in unison, their arms swaying left to right. They marched under a massive array of Carytonian banners.

As the anthem built up near the last two stanzas, a speedy timelapse showed the colorful queen anne and georgian architecture of Georgine and its many rivers from daytime to nighttime, where amber lights turned on and cast a warm glow along the waters, making yellow ripples. A view of a different, larger family saying grace before dinner fades in, the camera panning from the family to the framed picture of Christ. The camera changes scene to the national figurehead, Cary, sprinting through the massive flower fields of Caryton. By the time the last stanza was reached, the family from the first few seconds were shown, swinging their child in Georgine now, before the massive, impeccable, bleached, whitewashed Central Cathedral, its 5 towering steeples, and the Cary statue in front. The camera shows them looking up to the steeple star before fading in to the main worship hall, whitewashed pillars, elaborate golden and brass trims, massive paintings on the ceiling, golden glass panes. The camera flies up, spinning around the cathedral rapidly as day turns to night, and the lights make the cathedral glow white. As day comes again, a semi-transparent Carytonian flag overlaps it, flapping softly. As the morning sun beams shined into a comfortable-looking office, an approachable-sounding male spoke as the anthem ended.

"You're watching TBCC. We interrupt normal programming to give you an update from Her Holiness, the Leading Reverend of Caryton."

-

The elderly Dorothy hobbled inside the camera's view, using a wooden cane. She was in an absolutely beautiful pink clergy robe with gold as a secondary color alongside white loops and trims. Two white crosses overlapped each wrist. She sat down in the comfy looking chair in front of her personal favorite snack-- lemon thumbprint cookies and tangerine tea, with "just the minimum" amount of creamer. She shuffled her papers, sliding on her grandmotherly reading glasses. She began with her humble introduction, resting her hands on the desk. They were covered with white ceremonial gloves.

"Blessings be upon you on this fair Sunday, children of Caryton. Hopefully, church service was as enlightening and relaxing as possible. I read some of your letters to me, and believe me-- I've been praying for all of you. If you have it with you, open the Book of Cary's Example (the GCC's secondary work to the bible). If you open to Alta-4, Chapter 17, verse 6.

'...let our faith be the bridge we stand on when we are feeling weak in the knees. Let our kindness to one another emulate the kindness Christ has given us. Let our conviction to be revolutionary martyrs guide us through the toughest of storms. If not for us, if not for Cary, if not for Christ--- for your loved ones. For your enemies, tyrants, and even for those we hath not met yet.'

This is one of my favorite verses, because we can learn so much from it. When this was a secret book of that tyrannical regime of Alta, I referenced it. I prayed on it. I was stumped how a dog could be the body of Jesus, but I went through with this verse anyways. And what do you know, I see the dog heal the sick and wounded, I see the dog use magic in such a high level of mastery it can only be biblical. The dog was put through months of rigorous tests, and it only chose Christ, references to him, and all else. Now I preach the message.

Stay with me on this message. I've seen a lot in my 71 years. I've been through harsh trials like the rest of my countrymen. I was beaten, abused, and even violated by Altan soldiers, and I was close to execution for being a pro-Cary revolutionary. I forgave, I prayed, I forgot, I persevered, I learned. My faith was my bridge. Christ was the ledge I grabbed on to when I was plummeting towards a bottomless abyss. I used that ledge, pulled myself up, and climbed out of that hole.

I say these things because Caryton has been a stable eye in a storm of world affairs, some that I must address. I make judgements based on faith, and dedication to the well being of all people-- human or otherwise.

First and foremost, I am pleased with the alliance we have made to Collectivist germania and by default, all religiously-guided countries close to them. Trade has been booming, and we have exchanged each other blank checks and unrelenting support in matters that faith can not veto, such as warfare. However, unless Germania directly involves itself, I will refrain from having our Ecclesiastical Meritocracy fight The realm of the sun king. The fair soldiers of Caryton will not risk their faith-based lives in a war that is avoidable. The liberation of the cult is inevitable-- only then will we send resources and missionaries. Fair citizens, we can not harbor any hate for these people. They are misguided. We can not force them to change. To seek to change opinion is to seek to destroy free will-- something God has gifted us with. We would only replace one Orwellian dictatorship with another. I forgive the Sun King for any terrible message he sent us, even with a sin so grave being committed.

Caryton hopes to bring about a new era of faith and love. To prove such, I want to extend my love and openminded hospitality to Twilight Sparkle of the Equestrianic Land. ( The Equestrianic Imperium of Twilight Sparkle ) Out of respect for the ponies and changelings we have in our country, all faithful members of our church, I would like to invite her over to tea and lunch. I see a bit of Cary in ponykind, and in all honesty, I deeply respect that. Because Jesus died for our sins should never mean we go about willingly hating and calling for death and destruction. He died so that we may emulate him and die for others sins. Of course, that is metaphorical for our sacrifice to love others. I deeply apologize for the hostility of Chadicia, on their behalf, and can assure them their wishes for genocide are not reciprocated with all of humankind.

Moving on, we hope to establish as many missions and TBCC outlets as possible to spread positive messages of our denomination. We seek more foreign relations and trade because in all honesty, a pact with others is representative of trust. We trust that we can raise a new generation of Christ-like people. When I played piano for this church, all I could think about was how proud I was to be able to support a chorus of people that couldn't even sing! I was so happy that the people of Caryton found their selves so united that they could do something like this. A year later and I'm still getting requests to attend neighborhood block parties of former friends.

My wisdom isn't permanent and you should know that. I am very old, my children. Treat every word as if it was their last. Not just from me, but from anyone you speak to. The teacher, the coworker, the stranger down the street. Humanity, Ponykind, Anykind, it is all a limited experience. We need to pray, redeem ourselves from our sins, and move forward, hand in hand with both the good in our lives and the bad.

This address was really short, and I deeply apologize. I am pressed for time, and Sunday should be a time in which we reflect on our relationship with God. I can assure you, even international viewers, that you'll be seeing more of me in the mail very shortly.

Please, have a blessed day."

The segment ended with a church choir singing a hymn ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1YFBHRv8s ) as the camera focused on happy church goers both in service and out of service. They were praying, doing community service, feeding the few homeless in Caryton, working as missionaries abroad, and even doing normal things like household chores. It ended with a few bible and Book of Cary's Example quotes. Then, the regular programming finally resumed.

The Great Krieg faxed an autographed photograph of Danny Devito to the leadership of the Spiritual Republic. On the back written in forest green crayon was the following: "Ding dong your religion is wrong."

The realm of the sun king wrote:

The Great Zunil has ordered 1,000 more dogs be slaughtered in light of the weakness of these Infidels and their Dead God.

The Great Krieg, unable to fax the autographed photograph of Smash Mouth to the not!great Zunil, had it air-dropped instead. On the back written in sunshine yellow crayon was the following: "Snape kills Dumbledore."

The realm of the sun king wrote:

Firelord Baramdur became aware now that some unseen force was operating deep in the countryside, destroying bridges and felling what few trees the relatively arid landscape possessed to block roadways. Such methods proved rather redundant in the end as Zunist hover tanks did not need bridges to cross running water, leaving only civilians affected by their sabotage as travelers required camels or horses for long-distances. Any local would have known such actions to be pointless, proving that those nefarious saboteurs were clearly not from the Realm of the Sun King. Regardless of how effective their tactics were, the Firelord wanted them dealt with immediately but was unable to do so while his city was under attack. Speaking into his liquid-metallic orb he conversed face-to-face with Juradash, Firelord of nearby Karshensog (where the Great Zunil had slain the titular Wizard of Karshensog over 6,000 years ago), and asked him to deal with the pests as his city was close by but had not yet been attacked by the enemy. Juradash agreed to aid him in his fight against the Infidels, and so dispatched his best men to meet these cowardly saboteurs in the rural countryside. These Blasphemers would surely pay for their insolence.

Meanwhile, just like in Argashambadh the Death Gliders found themselves beaten unexpectedly quick. Scores of aircraft had been downed, with surviving pilots trying desperately to direct their now-broken starfighters into the enemy's ground forces in order to inflict damage with their own deaths - prioritizing large groupings of Lenspherian soldiers and armor columns. As enemy ground forces began to target the Zunists' anti-armor emplacements they were quick to reinforce these positions with infantry in order to further protect them and ensure the enemy's annihilation. Unlike in Argashambadh the city walls had not yet been breached, allowing the defenders more time to assemble and strategize their defense.

The strangest thing that hover tanks found themselves dealing with, were magnetic mines. Sure they could traverse the terrain easier, but anti gravitational pads were just as easily damaged as cars board when explosives were involved. Of course they knew this would draw the ire from the local government and thus, military actions. The special operations unit linked up with their compatriots that had been spread across the desert. Sharing ammo and spreading supplies they set off in the night once more. Each and every man was a RECCE, Blackout and Sapper school graduates, not to mention SERE and NSU operatives. Plus, not being an oversized black ork in a desert helped. These specialized troops engaged across the desert in guerilla warfare against Juradash's troops. Using pitfall traps, IEDs and simple strategic geographical conditions to create ambushes they engaged with extreme impunity. AK-74 rifles, suppressed to keep operational noises to a minimum, rattled out and spewed their lead hate. The 5.45 round was a novelty, it had quite good penetration and once it hit a target it tumbled in the flesh, creating a massive vacuum within the body as well as creating internal spalling. Once it got hairy though, troops disengaged to secondary positions and if they came again then the special operations forces engaged with emplaced MGs and anti tank weapons for armor. There were also implanted Luftfausts, high velocity anti helicopter launchers, that worked well to shred light armor, infantry and aviation alike.

Crashing pilot found themselves unfortunate enough to be dealing with tactically adept soldiers. Standard squad spacing was five meters from one another soldier, 35 meters between squads and 50 to 100 meters between every platoon. Clumps of soldiers didn't exist and armor columns in combat zones are an ineffective waste of fire power. Just like infantry squads, each armored vehicle was separated by at least 20 meters. Not to say kamikaze style tactics didn't work, as there were injuries and even some destroyed vehicles, it just didn't work as well as they had hoped.

Meanwhile the soldiers still pushed forward, now supported by ground based artillery and the navy. When troops and armor advanced, if they hit a pocket of resistance that proved to be too well entrenched they simply called it in. Within minutes the air would be filled with anything from helicopters to planes to artillery to the specialized TOS-1 flame rockets. Then they would pick through the now destroyed position to take prisoners or kill them, before pushing onwards.

The planned for a long, gruelling fight.

The Glorious Supreme Leader has ordered troops to the Equestrian border. For now the war with Krieg will be put on the back burner, as human allies (Disgusting Krieg) are in need!

Twilight Sparkle

International Falls, Commonwealth of Minnesota

"Freddy! They're coming this way! Grab the truck and pile everybody in, it's time for the Minutemen to shine!" shouted Dale to his brother as the report came in across the radio waves that a caravan of Klansmen were fleeing toward the Lenspherian-Columbine border. The NBI had been sure to alert the local Minutemen first thing, hoping to prevent them from crossing the river into Lenspheria and escape justice. The Republic wasn't entirely sure if it could trust the Lenspherian government to extradite the fugitives but nonetheless Lenspherian authorities had been alerted to the potential crossing that could occur. Diplomats were already hard at work arranging for their extradition should they make it across. Just as the Minutemen were about to leave, a Sheriff's Deputy drove up to meet them. "You boys all ready?" the Deputy asked without leaving his vehicle. "We're good to go!" Kelly shouted from the back of the Ford pick-up emblazoned with the Minutemen symbol. The last of the Minutemen climbed aboard the truck and a few joined the Deputy in his car before the two vehicles pulled out of the McAlister's driveway and headed out onto the road.

Ah, the Minutemen. Columbia's pride and joy; the most patriotic sons and daughters of the Republic one will ever meet. The Minutemen had been a staple of the Columbine military since the Revolutionary War. It was the Minutemen that fired the first shots against Artarumen soldiers and won Columbia's independence from Artarum. Their preparedness and ability to respond rapidly to any threat was what separated them from your common militia, and was largely what gave them an edge over their imperial masters. "Ready at a minute's notice." Although largely replaced in 1916 by the formation of the National Guard the Minutemen were revived after the Fascists took power in 1940 and persisted to this day as an unofficial branch of the United States Army. When things proved too large or too difficult to handle the National Guard was brought in, but otherwise the Minutemen would be called to action to assist local police in important matters - usually working in conjunction with State Troopers and Metropolitan Police. Although the Minutemen were technically independent of the U.S. Military and any law enforcement agency, membership to any Minutemen organization came automatically with being officially deputized, a status that only came into effect whenever the Minutemen were called into action, and all Minutemen were allowed access to law enforcement radio frequencies and the Minutemen in general were kept in constant contact with local military and law enforcement so as to coordinate operations with maximum efficiency.

Tonight the Minutemen had been called to arms as traitors to the Republic were attempting to escape justice. The NBI was too far out and the National Guard would take too long to mobilize, so it was up to local enforcement and the Minutemen to handle the situation. State Troopers were working to established roadblocks where they could and set up firing lines to prevent the caravan from escaping over the border, with Minutemen backing them up. The Sheriff had further ordered the city of International Falls to be locked down in order to prevent the fleeing Klansmen from using it as a gateway to Lenspheria. Headlights began to form further down the road to International Falls as the State Troopers took their positions, arming and readying their M16A2s in preparation for an engagement. Normally they didn't utilize this kind of firepower, but the circumstances demanded it. As the vehicles drew closer they began to take shape: one pick-up truck, one SUV, one utility van - it was the caravan alright! Sheriff Norton, who was present at this particular roadblock as he anticipated this would be the route the fugitives would take, was quick to respond to their impending arrival with a swift declaration through his megaphone: "By order of the Minnesota State Police and the government of the United States, stop your vehicles and exit with your hands up!" He was soon met by a hail of gunfire from the leading vehicle, the rusty red pick-up truck, nicking him in the shoulder as the State Troopers returned fire. The two men in the back of the truck were killed, falling out as the truck's driver veered the vehicle off the road and into the cornfield. The SUV behind him came to a screeching halt as it's driver slammed on the breaks so he wouldn't run over his comrades, unaware they were already dead. Soon the driver and his front seat passenger were killed by a hail of gunfire, forcing the two occupants in the back of the SUV to climb out and return fire only for them to be gunned down as well. The utility van, the last of the caravan, swerved to avoid hitting the SUV and chose to charge straight for blockade hoping to plow through it. Alas, the precision of the State Troopers' rifle fire was too much for the occupants and everyone inside was soon torn to shreds by a storm of 5.56 mm caliber rounds. The van succeeded in smashing through the blockade, however, pushing aside the police cars and shoving many of the State Troopers out of the way though the vehicle came to a halt soon after. Groans of pain erupted from the back of the van, forcing State Troopers to investigate. Throwing open the doors they pointed their rifles at the sole survivor: a young man slumped up against the interior of the van with three bullet holes in his chest. The flashlights on their M16A2s blinded him as he struggled to draw his gun toward them while screaming "White Power!", only to be mercilessly gunned down before he could put his finger on the trigger. No police casualties.

The Sheriff, using what was left of his energy after having been shot, picked up his radio and alerted all nearby forces that the caravan had been stopped but the truck had escaped. Said truck, now plowing through the cornfields without concern for their owner's livelihood, was gunning for the river. The two surviving occupants inside hoping to swim across to safety, using the darkness of the night as cover. But just as they came upon the road they were met by a sudden impact of deadly force as the Minutemen's truck slammed into theirs, sending it rolling and tumbling. "Alright, let's get those sons-of-b*tches!" Francis shouted as he and the others climbed out of the truck and approached the disabled vehicle. The driver crawled out, bloodied and with his hands up. "Don't shoot! Please! God help me, I surrender!" Kelly approached and kicked him in the face to render him unconscious. "God ain't listening to you, asshole!" Just then the passenger revealed himself for a brief moment, wildly firing his pistol at the Minutemen and the accompanying Deputy before fleeing down toward the river. By chance he just happened to hit Freddy and mortally wound him and invoking rage and terror from Kelly, his wife, who ran over to comfort him. "I'll call an ambulance!" Douglas shouted as he whipped out his smart phone and began dialing, though it wouldn't get there in time.

Dale, infuriated, grabbed the Deputy and went in pursuit of the bastard that had shot (and later killed) his beloved brother. The two finally found themselves at the shore of the Rainy River, and looking out into the darkness could just barely see the Klansman fleeing toward the Lenspherian side. The Deputy aimed his M16A2 at him. "No! I got this piece of sh*t." Dale said as he aimed his Remington Model 710 at the fleeing fiend. Looking out into the water, Deputy Magnusson grew concerned. "Don't let him get past that rock; if he makes it, he'll be in Lenspherian waters!" Dale gritted his teeth as he kept the Klansman in sight of his scope. "He ain't gonna make it." he said calmly before pulling the trigger and landing an impressively accurate head shot, killing the Klansman immediately. "That's for my brother you son of a b*tch." The fugitive's body soon floated down river, staying on the Columbine side the entire time, before coming ashore where it would be retrieved by local authorities. For his sacrifice, Frederick McAlister would be given full military honors as a reward for his courage and service with the Minutemen and would also be forever remembered as a local hero of International Falls.

God Bless the Minutemen.

Immortal kriegizstan wrote:

By destroying the missiles mid-flight the resulting explosions released the chemical weapons prematurely, allowing them to rain down on any inferior filth unlucky enough to be below them be they naval personnel or civilians in settlements. Due to being inoculated against anthrax no ponies were harmed by the anthrax. Instead, they were killed by the mustard gas and Corporal Francisco's Homemade Genocide Gas™ that was also on-board the missiles. "Whew, lucky there were additional chemicals on board those missiles. Good thinking, Dr. Rosenburg. You've been promoted to Mall Cap/Fashionista! Make Kriegizstan proud!" said General Ginny G. Gin (the "G" stands for "Gorgonzola") while dancing the salsa with an android named Lupe.

The Great Krieg, meanwhile, was upset about the Chadician deaths but was quick to utilize them for propaganda purposes. "The cowards hid in bunkers while they let their human slaves die. Absolutely barbaric. Damn Ponies; we should kill 'em all! I hereby call for a Human Crusade against Equestria to liberate the oppressed human masses from their cruel, uncaring rulers and also liberate the Ponies from their very existence! KRIEG VULT!" Following the speech, Medieval Torture Devices Inc. reported record sales for iron maidens, Iron Maiden albums, and Margaret Thatcher bobble-heads.

Had it not been for the explosions created by the torpedoes, nobody would have even known such an attack took place as Kriegizstan's environment was already so horribly irradiated and polluted that the sewage bombs literally changed nothing at all. As for the smell, it failed to penetrate Kriegizstan's glorious dome cities so nobody smelled it. (Except Jeff, but he'd smelled worse.) Nonetheless the Kriegizstani Navy was obligated to hunt down the attackers. With naval assets being dispatched both from Kriegizstan itself and from Kriegizstani-Occupied Korea, the Eberon Ocean was placed on total lock-down as the Kriegizstani Navy hunted down the subs with extreme prejudice - preventing them from safely returning to Equestrian ports. Radical Admirals Chad Chadster and Brad Bradster (second cousins, 200 times removed) took a break from their busy schedule of keg-standing, beer pong games, and banging all the hot chicks on their respective vessels in order to record and broadcast the following message: "Bro, like, just give up bro because if you don't bro we're going to, like, fvcking kill you bro and then, like, eat you bro! Okay bro!? Like, what's your problem bro!? Do we have beef bro!? You want to fight bro!? Let's fight bro! Come on bro, let's fight bro! Bro! Bro! Bro!" The message would play on repeat from the loudspeakers of every vessel as the Radical Admirals each swung their polo shirts in the air and howling like madmen while showing off their epic pecks and six-packs.

The Great Krieg, being the only Kriegizstani with access to the Internet, was the only one affected. Shrugging, He simply moved His cursor over the Internet Explorer icon and then dragged and dropped it into the recycle bin thereby deleting the Internet entirely along with His computer, His desk, and the Minister of Defense's pants. Oh no, wait, he never wears pants. Never mind.

Because the missiles were shot down hundreds of miles from the shore and destroyed in fiery explosions, their contents were unable to harm anypony. The one slave farm that had taken a hit was contaminated by the deadly chemicals, killing further 43 Chadicians before Equestrian decontamination teams arrived to quarantine the affected area. Meanwhile the Equestrian submarines were long gone by the time the Kriegizstani fleets were organized to hunt them, although they released several naval mines on their pursuers' path. The Imperial Fleet and Airfleet were sent to secure the trade routes normally used by Equestrian merchant ships, preventing the Krieg control of the Eberon Ocean.

The Equestrianic Government has also released a statement condemning the Kriegizstani government's unprovoked and cowardly terror attacks against their fellow Humans. The Imperatrix questions the Great Krieg's human supremacist propaganda, given how eager he is to murder innocent Humans with chemical and biological weapons.

"Do not trust this villain," the Imperatrix said. "His words and actions are in direct opposition to one another."

Vasilinople wrote:

Rome will abide by the defensive pact signed with the Equestrian nation, and will assist in her defence should the need arise.

The Imperial Government thanks the Roman Government for its support. We are currently in a heightened state of alert, but we do not really consider the deranged Kriegizstani state to be a threat. Their leaders and officers are clearly insane. We doubt their ability to ever fight a prolonged war. For now we will merely be ready to defend ourselves against their disorganized attacks, but we should both be ready for a more serious conflict just in case.

Collectivist germania wrote:

The Reisch Government believed Equestria to be a necessary evil in order to "enclose the stinking Chadician hordes within that vast hoofed ring of steel away from the rest of mankind." Any threat to that was unacceptable to Germania and its aims of keeping West Tyrannia pure so it began sending unmarked foreign fighters over in support of Equestria with no announcement ever made.

While the Imperatrix was reportedly not entirely happy about being deemed "a necessary evil", the Germanian support was welcomed with open (but discreet) hooves. The foreign fighters have been attached to Unicorn Commando teams which stand ready to be sent to the Krieg occupied Korean Peninsula to sabotage their bases there should the conflict escalate further.

The Imperatrix has also sent the Kaiser an unofficial letter of thanks along with a gift basket full of Equestrian fruits, pastries, cakes and vegetables.

Spiritual Republic of Caryton wrote:

Caryton hopes to bring about a new era of faith and love. To prove such, I want to extend my love and openminded hospitality to Twilight Sparkle of the Equestrianic Land. ( The Equestrianic Imperium of Twilight Sparkle ) Out of respect for the ponies and changelings we have in our country, all faithful members of our church, I would like to invite her over to tea and lunch. I see a bit of Cary in ponykind, and in all honesty, I deeply respect that. Because Jesus died for our sins should never mean we go about willingly hating and calling for death and destruction. He died so that we may emulate him and die for others sins. Of course, that is metaphorical for our sacrifice to love others. I deeply apologize for the hostility of Chadicia, on their behalf, and can assure them their wishes for genocide are not reciprocated with all of humankind.

Imperatrix Twilight Sparkle, deeply moved by the kind words of support of Leading Reverend Dorothy, gladly accepts her invitation. She will visit Caryton in the near future and hopes to cultivate strong, friendly relations with this harmonious nation. May the visit show everyone that Humans and nonhumans can live together in peace despite the hostility and hate mongering of certain minority groups and rogue governments.

Chiy sinsong wrote:

The Glorious Supreme Leader has ordered troops to the Equestrian border. For now the war with Krieg will be put on the back burner, as human allies (Disgusting Krieg) are in need!

Twilight Sparkle

Her Immortal Ladyship kindly asks the Glorious Supreme Leader to pull back his troops (while at the same time strengthening the border garrisons just in case). Equestria does not want war, and the presence of so many foreign troops at the border makes Her Little Ponies nervous.