My Little Pony: Soldier Side
Chapter 6: Guns of the North
Just like their Air Force and Navy, The Imperial Army of Orel is a powerful and well-armed force. Some of the best trained soldiers and the biggest guns come from the Tsarina's Kingdom in the far north. Like the Griffon Kingdom armies fighting on the Southern Front, the soldiers of Orel were prepared for the brutal winter where the ponies were not.
Fighters such as the MIG I-231 and medium bombers like the Arkhangelsky AR-2 or heavy bombers like the Tupolev TU-85 are the most widely used aircraft of the Imperial Air Force. On the ground, The Imperial Army hits hard with the T-44-100 tank. Fast and agile with an 100mm gun, it's a tank that you don't want the gun to be pointing at you.
Tsarina Guzel is the Commander of the Imperial Military. She was inspecting the troops that were ready to mobilize and defend the land. Her fur and pelt are as white as snow and her beak and talons silver, but she is kind and gentle. A war veteran herself in the Imperial Air Force, she knows when it is time to take affirmative action. Now is that time.
Guzel went to visit a factory in the city of Yastreb, "Supervisor Grigori, it is good to see you are well," said the Tsarina,
"Your Majesty, this is a most unexpected surprise," said the Gyrfalcon-Snow Leopard griffon, kneeling to the beautiful Tsarina,
"Please rise to your talons, I only came out of curiosity, I have heard new weapons are being developed for the war effort," said Guzel,
"Oh yes, Your Majesty, we are putting new weapons through their trials as we speak," said Grigori, showing her a new self-propelled gun that was now going into production, "our new mobile artillery pieces, the SU-152-44 and SU-107-44, we found that the chassis and body of our SU-102 is a great platform for the new weapon system," he explained
"You requested a mobile artillery platform that can keep up with tanks and main infantry, and give the support soldiers need in the field, this is what our engineers made, she is beautiful and deadly accurate," said Grigori and ran through some of the features that it comes with, "the main armament will be an 152mm howitzer D-1 or a 107mm field gun"
"Good work, I will see to it that you and your engineers will be rewarded for your contributions," said the Tsarina, and went on her way to the Imperial Arsenal outside the Imperial Capital of Lev. This was where infantry weapons were developed, manufactured and tested. The old Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 was replaced by the new Tokarev SVT-40.
The Tsarina looked down the sights, and test fired it at the range, "Have you had any reliability issues during testing?" she asked,
"No, none at all," said the supervisor for the infantry weapons, a bald eagle-white lion griffon named Galina, "they are ready,"
"A weapon is only as good as the soldier welding it," said the Tsarina, looking over pistols, machine guns, and submachine guns for the war,
The standard pistol is the Baltiets Model 1942. The main submachine gun pressed into service is the PPS-43. Some two million had been produced since the war began in the Griffon Kingdom. The machine gun is a vital weapon for the infantry and included the Degtyaryov KB-P-180 light machine gun and the SG-43. This is a well-armed fighting force.
Where the Griffon Kingdom soldiers have the M42 Stahlhelm, the Imperial soldier wears the dark green M36 peaked cap with a black visor, or the SSh-36 helmet. The Tsarina returned to her palace after a day of inspecting weapons, troops, ships, and tanks to make sure the military is ready to mobilize should Equestria invade of Orel. Guzel sighed.
'Our Army is strong, our Air Force and Navy are modern and mighty, and Equestria seeks to make the griffon species but a footnote in history, that I cannot allow' Guzel thought, looking out of her bedside window, 'we are part of this world, we breath the same air, walk and fly on the same ground and sky, so what makes one better than the other?'
"Hear me, Celestia, these acts against our species will not go unpunished," said Guzel, retiring to a hot bath,
The Tsarina is not like other Princesses as she has no maids. The only help she gets around the palace is a cook, "What a day, a productive day," she said,
She came out of the bath, and drying herself off when...,"Your Majesty!" called out a voice from the halls, it was a Imperial Guard
"Be calm," she said, and was handed a notice from Equestria from Princess Celestia herself. She held the paper notice between two talons, and clinched a fist at her side. She calmed herself with a light sigh, "So...the Princess of Equestria has requested an audience with me, something tells me this is a ploy, but I will be in attendance," she agreed,
"Permission to speak my mind, Your Majesty?" he asked, she nodded to grant to him with a light smile, "I think you should attend the meeting, but you should be armed in case something were to happen to you," he advised, Guzel knew the Head of the Imperial Guard makes a point, and looked at the Baltiets Model 1942 pistol presented to her that day
"As Head of the Imperial Guard, I understands your concern, and I will take your advice," she said, and retired for the night. The next morning was the day of the meeting with Princess Celestia. Tsarina Guzel wore a white peaked cap with a silver badge of an eagle and lion holding up the sun and matching top with her medals, "Let us be on our way,"