The ground shook as the artificial thunder of shelling continued. The bloodied earth had been softened by days of nonstop rain. The soft earth made digging easier for the Equestrian Royal Guard. They were entrenching. After weeks of non-stop defeats by the superior Germanean army, the Equestrian high command had finally decided to dig in and weather out the storm. Magical barriers were set up over the trench network, in the hopes that they would ward off Germanean shells. Blocking units had been sent up front to distract the Germaneans while construction neared completion.

General Shining Armor inspired his men by getting in the mud and digging with them. He attack the dirt with abandon, steadily digging the trench. Hundreds of miles had already been dug and lined with wood. The perimeter surrounded Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and Canterlot. They were the only three cities that hadn’t yet been attacked. All others had fallen. Fillydelphia was long gone, Manehattan had been reduced to rubble. Even Los Pegsus had been conquered in a week. That had been the Equestrian Army’s first true battle. After constant retreat, the Equestrian Army finally committed to a stand up fight. The hard fighting had taken thousands of lives, and reduced half of the city to rubble.

“Dig harder men!” Shining Armor ordered. “They shall not pass!”

A weary cheer broke out from among the ranks, as the Guardsponies redoubled their efforts. They had utter confidence in their leader. After a week of exhaustive work, they were almost done. The completion of the trench system was only hours away. The trench was done by the time the sun had gone down. The men settled down to rest as the unicorns cast defensive shield bubbles.

Dieter chuckled coldly as he heard the news. Trenches had been disastrous in the First World War. Dieter had been trained in officer’s school how to deal with them. The Equestrians simply didn’t know how to go about war. They believed that if they fought defensively, they could weather the storm. Dieter knew that it was an act of desperation, not of defiance. Dieter began to frown however, when he heard of the shield spells that were used to safe-guard the trenches. They could pose a problem.

Theoretically, Dieter had been told, the shields could be broken by infiltrators. No spell was perfect. They could be undone. Dieter knew of unicorns able to cloak their presence. However, to cloak themselves, and break a shield spell required a great deal of concentration. Dieter knew that recruitment would take time. He would have to form an elite unit, he supposed. In the mean time, probing assaults had to be planned, at least to keep the Equestrians’ heads down.

Dieter began to look into forming a new elite infantry group, the Infiltrators, Eindringlingesturmbrigaden.

“Hold on!” Shining Armor screamed as the shells began to fall.

All along the lines explosions sounded. There were bright flares of magical energy as the shields absorbed the impacts. More shells screeched from the Germanean positions. Pegasi dived through the air, bomblets dropping from magnetic holsters to strike Equestrian positions. Smaller munitions, such as mortars began to fall in between shields. The ponies caught there screamed as they were hit by high explosive ammunition. Casualties were lower, though. The trenches could be considered a success.

The shelling continued for hours, the cacophony lasting well into the night. There would be screaming as some shields flickered and died. Every time it happened, several more soldiers died. Each time the shields failed, a fresh unicorn would stand up to take his predecessor’s place. After a while, the shelling stopped.

Engines roared from the Germanean lines as their Panzers began to close in. Germanean infantry quickly followed, using the tanks for cover from Equestrian magic fire. The tanks advanced, machineguns blazing at the Equestrian positions. The bullets ricocheted from the shielding. The shields were only one way, and the Equestrian unicorns began to blaze away with their magic, their desperation fueling their magic barrage. Hissing sounds emanated from the Equestrian trench. Several Germaneans pitched back, struck by abnormally powerful magic. Some exploded from the inside, others were pulped, and there was one whose head burst like melon struck with a hammer. The soldier next to him screamed in shock as he was coated in red fluid. It was magic powered by strong emotion, the most potent kind. Several tanks detonated in blossoms of fire and smoke, their crews screaming in agony as they were flash-incinerated. The Germaneans pulled back. For the first time in the war, the Equestrians had victory. Five tanks were destroyed, and roughly a hundred and fifty Germaneans had died.

This went back and forth for months. Casualties mounted on both sides as they entrenched. Equestrian assaults were batted back with contemptuous ease, but Germanean attacks were stopped as well. As the war dragged into its second year, it seemed that the war would last forever. Germanean assaults across multiple sectors were rebuffed.
The Griffins did not have the same kind of success. After a protracted battle, Olympus fell, the mountain sheered in half by relentless shelling. Almost half a million griffins died in the dramatic collapse of the Griffin capital, and the Kingdoms were quickly annexed. Iron Crosses and First Reich flags were everywhere to be seen in the Griffin Kingdoms, and yet another foe was crossed off the list. Sporadic resistance continued, but was easily crushed.

In the meantime, the new elite units, the Eindringlingesturmbrigaden (Infiltrator storm troopers) were formed. They consisted completely of unicorns with high magical capability and focus. They were capable of cloaking, and could undo advanced shield spells. They were trained extensively in counter-trench tactics by Dieter himself. Only two hundred of these ponies were recruited, and they were immediately identifiable by their uniforms, which were black. Their symbol was the twin lightning bolt, similar to that on Dieter’s original Waffen-SS uniform. They reported directly to the Fuhrer, and as a result often saw themselves as superior to the other fighting forces of the First Reich.

Hochrot Nacht crept with the rest of her squad to Equestrian trench network, invisible. They truly were invisible, having used cloaking spells to hide their presence. She could not see her comrades, and she was confident that they could not see her. However, she felt them through their telepathic link. She could feel confidence exuding from their links. They were ready, they had been trained in tactics by the Fuhrer himself. They could do it.

“Okay,” she thought to her squad-mates, “Everypony ready?”

Each responded subconsciously. They were all in the affirmative.

They began to work on the shield spell, focusing on it, smashing it with their minds. The thickly wrapped shield spell began to unravel. They poured more focus and emotion into it, and the spell suddenly shattered, like glass. Now! Hochrot Nacht pulled out one of her grenades. Taking cover behind the earth works, Hochrot felt the ground shake as the grenade detonated. There was sudden screaming. She and her squad leapt into the trench, firing wildly at the sleeping forms of the Equestrian soldiers. Blood spurted, painted the walls of the trench red. A coppery stench reached her nostrils. She remained unaffected. She was long used to blood. Equestrian soldiers began to wake, and an alarm was sounded.
“Attention!” An officer cried through a loudspeaker, “We are under attack! To your pos-“ He was cut off by a bullet to the eye. The loudspeaker emitted a deafening noise as he screamed.

Shining Armor was awoken by gunfire. Scrambling from his position in his trench, he saw black uniformed soldiers. A young corporal screamed as a bullet punched through his jugular. Blood spattered over Shining Armor, caking itself on his armor. He screamed in anger at the wanton death around him. He charged his horn. His shot struck one of the soldiers in the chest. The soldier didn’t react. The spell dissipated around him. Shining Armor reeled in agony as a shot took him in the leg. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his eyes screwed shut in pain. He waited for the shot that would end his life, take him from his wife and children, but it never came.
He opened his eyes to find one of the soldiers standing over him, aiming at his head with its submachine gun. He tried to move, but felt himself held down by a strong spell. He tried to use his magic. The soldier smacked him, causing the spell to dissipate just as he came up with it.

“The Fuhrer wants to see you, General,” said the soldier, a tinge of amusement in her voice.

This scene repeated itself all across the Equestrian trench system. By morning, the trenches were held by Germanean forces. Artillery was dragged to the front, tanks advanced over the trenches. The trenches were hastily converted to advancement zones. Months of stalemate were broken. Over three hundred thousand Equestrians had died in the assault. The Germaneans had only lost two. It was a kill ratio of roughly a hundred and fifty thousand to one. It was crushing for the Equestrians, who found themselves once again retreating towards Canterlot. Germanean spirits were high, and the Eindringlingesturmbrigaden hailed as heroes.
Victory was within reach.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Nuggetmanu2 for proofreading and suggestions. Thanks to the readers for support. Please feel free to comment.