Dieter had been marching for days. It hadn’t been non-stop, after all, Dieter had stopped to eat and rest. However, he only paused for a few minutes each day. Dieter had been well conditioned, and was well used to long marches. Dieter was slightly annoyed however, when he arrived back at Canterlot. He had been traveling in circles! In hindsight, it was easy for it to happen in the tangled mass of the Everfree Forest. Dieter considered turning back into the Everfree Forest simply to avoid the naive ponies. However, logic dictated that he could find some meat to eat in Canterlot. Ponies were herbivores and didn’t eat meat, so he would have to kill something. House pets were safer than manticores, Dieter knew this first hand. He had eaten several different animals on the Easter Front without issues, but the manticore that he had butchered and eaten had caused severe stomach sickness.

Once again, Dieter was stared at by a number of ponies as he marched into the city. The ones his eyes set upon shrank back from his glare. Good, they remembered him. A bird landed in front of him. Dieter supposed it would have to do. His hand shot out, wrapping around the bird’s plump form. Dieter lifted the struggling creature to his eyes. The animal chirped in terror at the cold, blue eyes that seemed to burrow into its soul. Dieter quickly squeezed the bird to death. The ponies gasped in horror at the brutal killing that had occurred. They still weren’t used to it.

Dieter carried the limp form into the nearest restaurant. He slammed open the door with enough force to splint the wooden cabinet that it struck. The cook stared at him apprehensively.

“Get me a cutting board,” Dieter demanded quietly, with cold indifference.

The cook brought out the cutting board, and fled deeper into the restaurant, where he assumed Dieter could not find him. Dieter smiled. If he wanted to kill the cook, he would already be dead. Dieter drew his combat knife and quickly beheaded the life less corpse of the bird. He held it by the foot and allowed the blood to drain. He then sliced the bird open, and proceeded to gut it. The intestines and other organs went in the trash to rot. The corpse was deboned. Dieter threw the headless corpse into a pot. Without ceremony, he began to boil it. Within half an hour, the bird was fully cooked, and an aromatic smell rose from the pot.

Dieter brought his meal out on a plate. He noticed several Royal Guardsponies standing in front of the restaurant. Upon seeing him, they began to inch back. He had severely injured their commander, and was fully capable of killing them with ease. They began to explain to the civilians how Dieter had “special clearance”. They fled. Dieter smiled coldly. Once again, this race had proved itself weak. He began to eat, using his knife to cut off strips of the bird’s flesh; It was very tender. He noticed that several of the ponies had begun to vomit through their nostrils, like all horses. They obviously didn’t like the thought of eating meat. Dieter quietly finished his meal.

There a flash of bright light. Dieter saw a pink alicorn flying towards him. This, he assumed, was Princess Cadence. If he remembered correctly, she was Shining Armor’s wife, and the embodiment of love. Dieter stared at her with cold disdain. The naive and ignorant tended to be with each other. What was the old American saying? “Birds of a feather flock together”?

Cadence stopped before him. Dieter rose, not out of respect. He was done with his meal, and was prepared to leave.

Cadence stopped him with a hint of sadness.
“How could you do this?” She asked quietly, obviously disturbed by the eating of meat in her presence.

Dieter grunted, “I was hungry, and I needed the protein.” His face was a mask of calm.

Cadence spoke with softness, “You can’t just take another life like this! We must live in peace, love and harmony.”

“Love? Harmony? Peace?” Dieter chuckled. “Such concepts are alien. I have walked through hell and back. I have seen my friends torn to shreds, my own brother disemboweled by friendly shell fire. How do you expect me to believe in such naive concepts?”

Candence blinked. “Love can heal anything. I banished the Queen of Changelings with love when she attacked Canterlot. I used love to do it.”

Dieter laughed coldly. “Chrysalis, you mean? That parasite? She was regrouping her army to renew her assault on the capital. She attacked me in her arrogance. I killed her without guilt. Your love did not stop her. You merely gave her pause to consolidate her power. I kill her, and in doing so exterminated that pitiful species.”

Cadence blanched. “You killed her? How could you? You could have given her a second cha-“

Dieter smiled like a wolf, “A second chance? In nature there is no second chance. The strong survive, the weak perish. She was weak, so she died. That is the purest embodiment of the Third Reich. Your species is weak. Unless you miraculously find strength for yourselves, you too, will die. History can only repeat itself.”

Cadence began to cry. “How could you believe something like that? What kind of world do you come from? What kind of people can find it in their capacity to exterminate entire races?”

Dieter held up a silencing hand. “My people do. If I did not believe it, would I have crippled your husband?”

Cadence sobbed, “You did that to Shiny? Why?” She fairly choked over the last word.

“He was weak.” Dieter replied. “He was weak and arrogant, it was inevitable. Better in sparring than in war.”

He turned and walked away, while behind him, Cadence wept in horror.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Nuggetmanu2 for proofreading and suggestions. Thanks to all readers, I am glad for your support.