It was nighttime. The shining light of the moon mostly blocked by the clouds, grayer than his uniform. The rain pouring down upon them. The dense fog severely limiting their sight. Their breath easily visibly as they inhaled and exhaled.

He and a handful of soldiers entrenched in some of the several shellholes on the ground, left there by the previous artillery barrage. Scaring the once green field. Roads and houses since long gone.
Then, he heard them approaching. First, he saw faint figures in the mist; but as they advanced, he saw them clearer.

Legions upon legions of orcs and goblins. The nightmarish creatures paying no mind to the torrent of artic cold water mercilessly cascading against their bodies.

Steiner and his men clutched their weapons tighter. He took a deep breath and then yelled "FIRE!"

Machine guns, rifles and smgs started delivering a deadly hail of bullets to the advancing beasts. But no matter how many of them fell, there were more to replace them. As their comrades were slaughtered before them, they kept thoughtlessly advancing, as if they were programmed to do so. Perhaps they were.

"Fuck you!" Wenck shouted as he pushed aside a goblin that lunged at him and crushed it's skull with his boot. He looked around him and saw his soldiers were being quickly overwhelmed. The German was yanked out of his thoughts as an orcish blade was buried in his stomach. The offending orc in pulled the sword back; Steiner, in turn, fell backwards agonizing.

The hellspawn raised its sword high, and brought it down on him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------<>-------------------------------------------------------------------

"AAH!" Wenck yelled as he woke up from his nightmare. His heart was racing, his body covered in sweat, he was painting heavily.

He looked around. He was in a hospital bed; the room's walls were painted white. The sunlight pouring in through the large window to his right; also to his right there was a small white table, above it a long string that was hanging from the ceiling. In front of his bed, there were two large double doors. To his left, a sort of white little night table; on top there was a small copper box, in its front on the centre a circular glass that allowed to see inside. Through the little window on the box there was a red orb that grew a little bigger and glowed brighter every time a 'beep' was heard, and then returned to normal. Wenck noticed a cable going from the box to his chest, and saw he was wearing a light blue hospital gown.

Suddenly, he started feeling an intense burning sensation across his chest and in his right leg. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold off the pain in hopes it would pass, but to no avail.

"AAAAAH!" He yelled "AAAH! HELP! HELP!"

Hoofsteps were heard rushing to the room and a white coated unicorn mare with a blonde mane, blue eyes and a syringe cutie mark that was wearing a white shirt bust in the room. With her magic she opened one of the drawers of the white night table, took out a syringe and injected its liquid in Steiner's left arm.

The pain immediately stopped, and Wenck's panting slowly died down. "How are you feeling?" asked the mare.

"Better now." Replied the Major.

"I am doctor Pointy Syringe."

"That does not sound encouraging." Wenck joked and got a chuckle from the mare "Where are the others?"

"The Princesses, the elements, the other two humans and a few royal guards are in the Ponyville Library."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

Wenck's eyes scanned the room once more "Where is my uniform?"

"Oh no no no sir. You are staying right here."

"I can handle myself."

"That's what a lot of my patients say. Before crying like foals."

"Did you ever have an alien soldier as your patient?"

The unicorn looked at him with a straight face.

"I've been through worse doctor, believe me."

For a few moments, the only sound in the room was the beeping of the copper box.

"Hmpf. I'll be right back." the mare said before leaving.

-------------------------------------------------------------------<>-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hahahahaha." everyone in the library was laughing. Though for Jean and Archie it also hurt from all the shrapnel wounds they received.

"That is so not truth!" said Pinkie as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I swear he did it!" Archie said.

A knock on the door was heard as everyone fell silent and it was opened by Twilight's magic, revealing Wenck and Pointy.

The two humans instantly stood up and saluted.

"A- *cough cough* At ease men." Wenck said as he limped inside and Archie and Pierre sat back down. Everyone was seated in the floor on the library. Steiner and Pointy took their seats on the right of the cream coated mare he had helped save two days ago. She was wearing a light blue military shirt and commander cap of the same colour with an emblem of an airship. "Luger."

"What?" Twilight asked.

Jean took the Luger from his belt and slided it to Steiner, who checked it was loaded and then holstered it.

"Hello Major Wenck Steiner." Celestia greeted him "Your friends here have told us all about you and your world. Please let us introduce ourselves. I am Princess Celestia co-ruler of Equestria and in charge on the Sun."

"I am Princess Luna." a dark blue alicorn with a dark blue and black mane that fluttered in an invisible wind stated."I-"

"There is no need for introduction, I know who most of you here are. Twilight told me." Wenck turned to the pegasus on his left.

"Airfleet Commander Silky Winds." She said "Thank you for saving me the other day."

"Well, you saved me too, so I guess we're even."

"Still, it was very brave of you."

Wenck nodded, and then proceeded to stare at the airship cutie mark of said mare. 'What the fuck is that?'.

"See something you like?" Silky joked.

"What? No, of course not. I mean, not that you're not pretty! No wait! I meant that you're pretty but not...Uhh..I meant that...Oh, fuck me."

This threw everyone in the room into a fit of laughter, except for Steiner who was face palming and Cadence who was looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry Major, it was just a joke." Winds was actually blushing slightly "Anyways, I got to get going." she said as she walked to the door and brushed her tail on Wenck's face. "I'll be seeing you around." She said as she winked at him before taking off into the sky.

'What have I done?' Steiner was blushing profusely.

"Haha! Looks like Wenck is getting all the mares!" Jean mocked him.

The German glanced at him and smiled "At least I didn't accidentally fuck Applejack." he countered.

Princess Mi Amore raise an eyebrow as Jean and the orange pony blushed, remembering the moment.

Celestia coughed and got everyone's attention. "For your incredible bravery I want to bestow upon you Equestria's highest military decoration. Faust's Cross." at the mention of the award Shining Armour's jaw dropped. That award was only given in acts of extreme bravery and combat skill.

"I'll pass on that one." Steiner as everyone looked at him surprised. He then took out a Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds from his pocket and threw it to the centre of the room. Jean and Archie couldn't believe what they were seeing. "I got that trying to save my friends, and failed. I don't want any more awards. I don't need any more memories."

Celestia regarded him with sympathy. She knew his pain well.

"What I do want, is to know what those things were."

"Very well." Celestia said as she picked up the Knight's Cross with her magic and put it back in Wenck's pocket. "Five thousand years ago there was city south of Equestria. A city so imponent, with buildings that could touch the sky, factories working day and night, harbors and docks.
Airships and planes flying in its sky. Battleships and submarines in its waters.
A city that was cut by three rivers which connected on its centre; the Vltava, the Volga, and the Rhin.
This city was the centre of science, technology, culture, alchemy and magic in the world. This city was called Erebor.
The race that built and inhabited it, the humans. Their kings, the bloodline of Daenerys Targaryen. The Valyrian Empire." Celestia took a little break before continuing, she now had the attention and interest of everyone in the room. "However, this golden age of prosperity did not last long. For the enemies of Valyria quickly grew. One above all, the orc Novenor, ruler of the Xanthian Kingdom."

"An orc? Why didn't they just kill him?" Wenck asked.

"Because he is no normal orc. He has incredible strength and a natural talent for hate magic, the most powerful of dark magics." Luna said.

"Valyria was divided between two main parties. The loyalists to the Targaryen crown, otherwise known as the Valyrian Axis; and the democratics, or Freedom Fighters, who were lead by an ambicious greedy man that sought only personal fortune and welfare, Spaci Venotenko. Novenor allied with him declared war on the Targaryen loyalists.
Their weapons were much like yours, so you know how much destruction was caused." Celestia's horn lit up and images flashed in the centre of the room. Infantry men firing rifles, smgs and mgs; tanks rolling, firing, and exploding; massive armoured airships, some that didn't even need a balloon to stay afloat since their had powerful turbines, letting loose volley after volley of HE and AP rounds from their giant cannons; mass shootings of innocent civilians. War. "The war raged on for 2 years before other nations got in the fight. The Griffin Kingdoms, Diamond Dogs and Minotaurs sided with Novenor. While Equestria and Zebraica joined the Valyrian Axis." A few tears running down the white alicorn's cheeks as she remember the suffering, the pain, the death. "Eventually, we won. We locked Novenor in Tartarus, his forces scattered away and his allies surrendered. But the humans could never rebuild, their casualties well over ninety million. And eventually, the race went extinct.
But now, Novenor escaped Tartarus, and is rebuilding. We must prepare for far."

Everyone in the rooms was silent. All the ponies, even Shining, had tears in their eyes. Everyone except for the humans, for them all that was routine.

"But" Celestia said wiping the tears from her eyes "let's not think about that now, it'll take time for him to prepare an actual invasion. So, why don't you all come to Canterlot? Get to know each other better, and the other ponies. Your actions sure did leave an impression on everyone."

Jean and Archie looked at Steiner. "Alright, but what's the real reason?" Wenck deadpanned.

Luna and Celestia were shocked inside, how did he know? "The world leaders are gathering...To see you in person. They will be given books of everything Twilight found out about you. They'll just ask you a few questions."

Wenck grunted. "Fine, we will answer their questions, but know that we are not museum pieces."

"Understood Major."

-------------------------------------------------------------------<>-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stop looking around the sky Jean" Archie said to the man sitting next to him on the train "there are no Messerschmitt in Equestria."

"I know, it's just...Old habits die hard." Pierre replied. His mind flashed back to that moment. His division was on a train, the green trees and olives under the afternoon sky was all that could be seen through the windows. All the sudden they heard the engines of the planes. And then, the bullets going through the wooden walls of the wagons, ripping apart bone and flesh alike. Blood splattered in the walls, men with loose limbs crying in agonizing pain. A few strafes and they were gone, and so was half the division. It was too quick, too bloody.

Wenck and Shining were sitting on a table in the back of the wagon. The German sharing his war stories, Armour listening with a mixed look of intrigue and sadness in his face. He was wearing his captain armour with a sword on his side.

The four princesses were in the opposite table talking amongst themselves. And the rest the elements were still trying to get over what they saw and heard.

"So" Steiner said "What kind of technology and armament do you have?"

"Well" Shining replied "We have airships, though not as big as the Valyrian ones. They are steel plated though, just like our sea ships. The cannons are mainly 155mm. Though our Flag Airship, Equestria Royal Airship or ERA Starswhirl has two turrets, one on the back and one on the front, with two cannon of 355 mm each. Our alchemy and medicine is pretty advanced too."

"Why do you have swords and not rifles and such?"

"That knowledge was long lost, and even though our inventors tried to replicate them, they only have been able to build some old gunpowder rifle prototypes. Hey look! The ERA Moonlight."

Sure enough, through the window Wenck could see a steel plated ship, hanging from a giant zeppelin-like balloon. The ship itself had a propeller on the back, two in the sides on the back, and another two in the sides on the front. Six 155mm cannons on each side. On the sides of the balloon there was Equestrian sun and moon flag. Truly a wonder of technology.

"Holy mother of shit." muttered Steiner.

"And Commander Silky Winds’s ship is bigger and doesn't need a balloon due to more powerful propellers and magical anti-gravity resistance. It is the Flag Airship after all."

"Is she in command of the Air force?"

"Second in command. The commander in chief of all the equestrian armed forces is Celestia, which would make her Airfleet Admiral, among other ranks. Though her sister can share command."

"Makes sense."

"So, she's got her eye on you."

Wenck gave him his best 'the fuck?' face.

"Come on, you know it's true."

"Sie sind ein Arschloch. She said it herself, she was just kidding."

"Twenty bits when we get to the castle she asks you out."

"I don't have money."

"You know I'm right."

"Fine, deal." Wenck shook Shining's hoof.

"Hey, I forgot to ask .Can you duplicate things with your magic?"

"It is hard, but I can try. What do you need?"

"I only have one magazine left." Wenck took out his last mp40 magazine and put it on the table.

Shining closed his eyes in concentration as his horned and the magazine glowed purple. Sweat started dripping down his forehead. A ghostly figure of the magazine started separating from the physical one. When they were apart, Shining's horn stopped glowing and the ghostly figure turned physical. "That was really hard." he said panting "You should get twilight to make more for you."

"Danke." Wenck said as he put the ammunition away.

"We'll we arriving to Canterlot Castle withthin ten minutes" a voice said from a speaker.

As all the humans looked out the window to the city, a bunch of phrases like 'Holy shit' and 'Don't surrender frenchie' were heard.

Author's Note

You can't deny you're getting some action. Anyone here caught the references?

And whoever can guess in which famous bombing Steiner's family died, that person will win...Umm...My congratulations.

Once again, if you liked the story; please like it, favourite, and share it.

Thanks!