Private Gregory Sultany sighed out of boredom as he strapped his PPSH-41 smg. He and his friend, Sergeant John Stracheli, had been underground for five hours already.

They were tasked with guarding the door to the only path that led from where the civilians were hiding in the mountain to an exit of the giant rock formation which lead to the footpath to Ponyville.

Since the path was unknown to most, Sven didn’t deem it necessary to station more that a few guards.

Sultany was sitting near a campfire, the only source of illumination in the darkness, which was about five metres from the door.The door was a very old dark brown colour covered by a lot of dark green moss and wet from the humidity of the mountain. It had a single gold doorknob.

“Ugh.” Sultany groaned “I hate this dark shithole.” he complained as he dusted some dirt off his dull, lifeless gray uniform.

“Quit bitching Grag. We still have three more hours in here.” John answered.

“But I’m bored!”

Stracheli put both his hand against his face and sighed. “For fuck sake” he muttered and then walked over to him. “Look, I’m bored too, just find something to do.”

“There is NOTHING to do down here Johnny! Come on, let’s play a game”

John was starting to get irritated. “Alright. there is this really fun game called ‘Shut the fuck up’. How does that sound?”

“Ugh. Why are you always so-” Sultany cut himself off as he heard several footsteps closing in towards him. He and his mate painted their PPSH-41s towards the noise, finger on the trigger. The footsteps stopped.

“HALT THERE! Show yourselves, states your name and business here.” John shouted at the darkness.

The answer came in two quick bursts of sub-machinegun fire. the first burst of two bullets reached Gregory first. A bullet found its way through the space between the first and second ribs and exiting his body from his back, shattering the scapula of its way out. The other one went right through the trachea and got stuck in his spine.

The other burst was much deadlier a three lead projectiles penetrate John’s cranium. One through the left eye socket and the other two making two holes in his forehead, turning his brain into a mashed goo of blood and gray matter.

Just like that. The two soldiers that had been guarding the secret path had died. mercilessly murdered. Five shots rang out, and then, there was silence for a few moments.

Three figures made their way towards the little fire which still illuminated as much as it could.

“Archie, pick up the guns and ammo and put them in your bag. Jean, get a torch and put out of the fire.” Steiner’s voice ordered.

-------------------------------------------------------------------Hours Earlier------------------------------------------------

Wenck sat in the bed in his room as he rubbed his temples. Silky Winds came up from behind, put her hooves around him and gave him a kiss on the cheeks.

‘Do I really have to do this?’ Steiner thought ‘It’ll make her suffer. But won't she suffer even more if I die?’ he sighed.

“Silky, I have something important to tell you.”

“What is it?” she asked in a concerned voice as he sat down next to him.

“I...I don’t love you, I never did.”

“W-what?”

“I am seeing another mare too.”

Her eyes began to water. “No, no this is not truth, you are joking.”

“I am sorry. I love another one, not you.”

Silky flew off a windows while crying, Wenck saw her disappear in behind a cloud in the sky.

He walked to the room’s mirror and punched it with enough strength to shatter it, a single tear rolling down his left cheek.“Es tut mir leid meine Liebe... Es tut mir leid, aber ich kann nicht entblößen, um dich weinen über mich denken. (I am sorry my love… I am sorry, but I can't bare to think about you crying over me.)” he whispered.

“Ja, now that that is taken care off…” Wenck made his way out of his room and towards Jean’s room. He knocked three times quickly, three time slow, three times quickly again. ‘SOS’ which was morse code for ‘Help’.

The door opened, revealing Jean who had bag under his eyes. He signaled Steiner to enter the room.

Sitting on the bed was Archie reading a book which was on his lap, who had a pile of more books next to him. The afternoon sun washing over him.

“So?” the Major asked.

Archie looked up to him. “Celestia confirmed it, it is the Lord’s Stone.”

“Verdammt. Can anything stop it?” Steiner said as he walked to the bed and sat down. Jean just leaned against the wooden door.

“Apparently only hitting it against the Element of Magic will stop it.”

“Hitting it? Just...clashing the rock against the crown?”

“Yes. However, that will cause quite a powerful explosion.”

“Well, at least there’s a way. Anyways, we need to get the Element of Magic.”

“Not so easy.” Jean got into the conversation. “The Elements are behind two giant blast doors stronger than a fucking German bunker. Only Celestia’s or Luna’s magic can open it.”

“Hold on…” Steiner started searching his memories for-”I remember! Sven said there was a one of a kind device that could copy and replicate magical signatures.”

“So.” said Archie “We’ll have to steal the device, copy Celestia's magical signature, then get the Elements, and somehow leave Canterlot without anyone noticing.”

“Yes. That means no loose ends.” Wenck sighed “We’ll have to do it at night. As for an escape route, I read about an unknown path under the mountains were the civilians are which takes you to the path to Ponyville.”

“Alright, so we do all that. Get to Ponyville…” Jean said.

“And meet up with Novenor.” Steiner finished the sentence.

-------------------------------------------------------------------That night-------------------------------------------------

Wenck walked down the stairs to the Canterlot Storage Room. He Luger and knife in their respective holsters and MP40 strapped to his left shoulder, hanging by his side.

He got to the door where two human soldiers were standing guard. They saluted and he answered with his own salute.

Steiner opened the door and closed it behind him. ‘No guards in here? Strange. Well, I guess everyone is needed to defend the city.’

“Hello?” a voice said behind him. He turned around and in front of him was a yellow coated mare with pink mane, green eyes, and a cutie mark of three pink butterflies. Fluttershy. ‘Oh no.’

“Uhh, mister Steiner?” the shy mare said “C-can I help y-you?”

“Oh, eeh, yes…I...I am looking for a machine. Sven told me to come get it.”

“Oh, o-okay. What is it?”

“It is a device that copies replicates magical signatures.”

“Oh! Yes. I remember it. Hold on a second, i-if you want of c-course.” Fluttershy said as she started going through an inventory list.

‘Scheiße! Verdammt! I can’t kill her. But...I have to. No, no, there must be another way. Ugh, Scheiße! Scheiße! Scheiße!’

“Umm, mister Steiner?”

Wenck turned around “Yes?”

“I left your machine by the door.”

“Oh, thank you very much. Oh, hey. you have something in your face”

“W-what? G-get it out!”

“Calm down, I got it.” Steiner kneeled as he put his left hand over his knife. He stared at her for a few moments before saying “I’m sorry.”

Before Fluttershy could reply the Major folded his right arm and spun his upper body around. His elbow connected with her temple, and knocked her to the ground. She was unconscious.

“Fuck me.” he got up and walked towards the device and picked it up, it was really simple. It looked like a big rectangular calculator made of copper. It had several buttons and a large metals stick of about thirty centimetres protruding from the top. Next to it there was a folded sheet of paper with a title what read ‘Instructions Manual’.

Wenck put the instructions in one of his uniform’s pocket and with the device in his left hand he walked towards the door. As he was about to open it, he got an idea on how to take out the human guards.

He opened the door and put on a worried look on his face “Fluttershy just fell to the ground unconscious, she blacked out. she need help now.

“You go get the medic herem I’ll keep watch.” One of the guards told his the other which nodded and started to run off.

“Hey, wait!” Wenck called to the guard that was about to run for help ”Take this.”

As he approached Wenck, the valyrian soldier suddenly felt something in his neck. He barely had time to react as the darkness started to swallow him. His friend who was with Fluttershy already didn’t hear him fall to the ground and choke.

The other soldier hear footsteps behind him. He turned around to see a knife as it travelled through the air into his right eye socket. That was it. The guard fell to the ground dead.

Wenck sighed, he had a few spots of blood on his uniform. He picked up his knife, cleaned it with the clothes of the dead guard and walked away.

Wenck stuck to the shadows as he walked through the palace. Hiding every time a patrol passed by as he made his way to Celestia’s chamber. He couldn’t afford to be seen with the device or blood stains in his uniform, not the same night several murders happened.

He also had to be fast, or else someone would find the bodies.

As he was walking along the last hallway to his destination he failed to notice a patrol of three soldiers coming towards him, he was lost in his thoughts.

“Sir.” a voice made Wenck stop in his tracks and look at the three men less than a metre from him.

“Good evening si- Hey...What is that?” the soldier that was in front inquired.

“A device that Sven told me to get.”

“Sven doesn’t trust no ones else than his own men to fetch things. Specially important things like those.”

“Important? this rusty old thing?”

“That is the ‘Magical Signature Copy & Replication Device’ not some ‘rusty old thing’”

“No, it’s no. Here, look at it.” Wenck handed the MSC&RD to the soldier, which took it and began inspecting it.

Steiner quickly pulled out his combat and surged forward, stabbing the first soldier in the neck, then pulling back quickly, the man’s trachea cut open.

Fast as lighting, and before any of the other two could react, he slashed the other soldier across the neck, cutting open his yugular as a torrent of blood erupted from it and the soldier fell to the ground, hand on the wound.

As steiner turned to slash to other man’s throat, he was hit with the butt of a rifle, making him slash the guard on the side. Wenck fell to the ground. He could shoot him, it would be too loud, and his knife has slid away too far. It he went to get it he’d be shot.

The Major quickly got up and kicked the soldier in the chest, making him lose grasp his rifle. Then, Steiner lunged towards him, inserted his hand on the wound on the side on the man and pulled out his intestines. In a horrible act of gore, Wenck got behind the man and used his intestines to choke him. The man couldn’t even scream because of how fast steiner moved.

After a few moments the man fell unconscious, a pool of blood already forming under him. Wenck laid him down, got up and stomped his foot down on his throat, crushing it. He then picked up the device, his knife, and ran towards the room.

The door to Celestia’s room opened. Revealing a German soldier covered in blood.

Archie and Jean were already there.

“What in bloody fuck happened to you?!” Archie yelled in a whisper.

“No time. There are dead soldiers right outside. We have to hurry.”

“Shit shit. Alright. You got the thing?”

“Yes, it’s right here.”

“Alright. Do it.”

“Wait.” Jean stopped him as he pulled out a magical dampener “Just in case.”

Wenck nodded and made his way to the bed. Celestia was peacefully sleeping, the shining yet smoothing light of the moon washing over her. For such an old being, she was very pretty.

“Okay, so it was…” Steiner turned the device on by pressing a red button. He then put the stick against Celestia’s horn and pressed a blue button. The little screen showed a green bar which was getting filled as the seconds passed. After a hell of an intense minute, the bar was loaded and the screen showed the word ‘Magical Signature Copied Successfully’.

Wenck pulled the device away. Celestia was still sleeping.

“Let’s get the fuck out.” Archie ordered, and they got out of the room.

“Right around the corner!” Jean yelled as they sprinting group turned left and got to the large doors of the stained glass room.

“No guards? The fuck?” Archie asked.

“Doesn’t matter, let’s go.”

They pushed the doors open and sprinted towards the even larger double doors that held the elements.

Wenck inserted the stick into the hole where Celestia’s horn should be. and he pressed a yellow button. In the screen of the device it could be read ‘Replicating Magical Signature’ as the stick started glowing a bright yellow.

The doors didn’t open.

“So? What the fuck are you waiting for?!” Archie yelled.

“Why is nothing happening?” Wenck inquired.

“Hold on!” he said. Steiner turned a knob on the device and the stick glowed an even brighter yellow.

This time, the doors glowed light blue and then opened. Revealing the elements.

Jean took the case and stuffed them in Archie’s bag.

“Let’s bug out!” Archie said, eager to get to the tunnels.

But as the group turned around they came face to face with a very pissed off Celestia.

Author's Note

Aaand the plot thickens!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and be ready for what's to come.

Until enxt time!