Applejack breathed in the crisp, Autumn air as she sat on the porch of the farmhouse, watching the rest of the earth ponies on her farm got their tents ready for the night. The hearty orange farm mare loved watching the night sky every night, soaking in the universe in it’s infinite splendor and beauty. It reminded her of simpler times, back when she spent nearly all her free time hanging out with her best friends Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, with stargazing being a favorite of all of them.

However, as she pictured Twilight, Applejack couldn’t help but sigh deeply. It was such a shame to watch her former best friend go from a loving friend to a power hungry, delusional leader after her ascent to alicornhood. AJ remembered her coup vividly, watching in despair as Twilight's supporters dragged Princess Celestia away to some unknown location, never to be seen again. After that moment, all Applejack could do was watch as Twilight consolidated her power and segregated the races, placing the unicorns on top.

As Applejack thought of the events leading to the current Equestria, her mind wandered to the rest of her friends...how they were faring in this new world. After the Forced Relocation Act passed in 5 ALR (After Luna’s Return), she heard nothing from the others as they were all split up and sent to different camps. Applejack was at least thankful that she wasn’t moved from Sweet Apple Acres, but she couldn’t help but constantly worry about what was happening to the rest of her friends. Were they suffering? Were they managing with the new world? Maybe finding happiness and new friends? The more Applejack thought about her friends, the more upset she found herself becoming as tears began rolling down her cheeks. Why did Twilight have to do this? Why would she break our friendship and separate us?

As Applejack desperately sought answers from nopony in particular, a movement in the sky caught her attention. A whitish streak, going rather quickly across the sky. Without thinking, she closed her eyes, and wished on that streaking star. I wish something would come and return everything to how it was before Twilight lost it.

Then, Applejack heard a bang from behind her, only to find her brother Big Mac standing right behind her. “You should probably head to bed soon sis.” he said bluntly, taking a seat next to her. At first, Applejack said nothing, then nodded. “I know I should….but before I go, can I ask you something Big Mac?” she replied. Her brother looked at her for the longest time, then nodded.

“Do you believe in wishing upon a shooting star?”

The whole building shook as an mortar shell landed near it, signaling the start of another Soviet attack. Within seconds, Soviet soldiers were swarming towards the German occupied store, fully intent on taking it back. However, the Soviet soldiers quickly found themselves under intense pressure from German gunfire, and were instantly bogged down, soon falling back to the safety of the ruined bakery across the street.

For Soldat Conrad Schmidt, this had become the norm after the Soviets broke through the German lines outside the city of Stalingrad and encircled the entire 6th Army, forcing the Germans to dig in and assume a defensive strategy. Soviet attacks would always start with a loud noise, whether it be a mortar explosion or a large cry of “Uraaaaaa!”, followed by a horde of Soviet soldiers and a hailstorm of gunfire before they beat a hasty retreat, leaving countless bodies behind as they ran. Despite the heavy casualties, the Soviets seemed to have no intentions of stopping.

It had only been six months since Conrad had joined up with the Heer, eager to serve the Fatherland just like his older brother Hans did, and he already wanted to go home and forget about the damned war. At the beginning, he was thrilled to be taking part of the capture of Stalingrad, one of the most iconic cities in the Soviet Union. But it wasn’t a walk in the park like Hitler predicted it would be. Instead, the Soviets threw everything they had into holding the city, fighting like the dogs of hell. Conrad had seen so many of his comrades either die or become horribly disfigured that whenever he tried to sleep, his dreams haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

Breathing out, Conrad reloaded his rifle and crawled under the window over to his commanding officer, Unteroffizier Hessler. “When do you think we’ll break out of this encirclement sir?” he asked, taking a position beside the window. Hessler was silent for the longest time, then sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know Schmidt….I don’t know. All I know is that we need to hold our position for as long as possible, and pray that we’re relieved soon. I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up.” Hessler replied. Conrad took in Hessler’s words for a few moments, then nodded. “Alright sir...thanks.” With that being said, Conrad readied himself to cross the window, inching towards the edge of the window and looking out of it as much as he could without exposing himself. Seeing no movement, he gripped his rifle, then went to move across the window when….

BANG

Next thing Conrad knew, he was on the ground, a fiery pain in his left shoulder as all hell broke loose once again. The Soviets were once again pushing across the street, this time supported by snipers from the upper floor of the ruined bakery. Time seemed to slow down as Unteroffizier Hessler screamed for his squad to open fire and reached down to grab Conrad to pull him to safety.

Conrad couldn’t help but scream as he clutched his wounded shoulder in agony, the fiery pain being some of the most intense pain he had ever felt. “Good god that hurts sir! Goddamn snipers!” he cried as Hessler pulled out some dressing from his bag. “Don’t worry Conrad, I got you. No Soviet is taking you to hell without my permission!” he said calmly, quickly applying the dressing onto Conrad’s wound.

As the Unteroffizier treated Conrad’s wounds, the Soviet’s pushed hard, throwing everything they had at the building. Screams broke out from the downstairs of the shop as the Soviets overran the defenses, killing any Germans they encountered. As they advanced up the stairs, Hessler readied his pistol, waiting for the Soviets to burst through the door. Then, with a roar, the door was broken down.

A hail of gunfire followed before the thud of bodies hitting the floor reached Conrad. He managed to turn his head to the side a little, only to see Hessler’s bullet riddled body, blood already seeping out from his wounds. Then, he heard the sound of boots approaching him, and he slowly lifted his head, only to see a young Russian soldier staring at him, rifle leveled straight for his head.

For a few seconds, nothing happened before the soldier growled. “This is for Nikolai you son of a bitch.”

Then there was a flash, followed by darkness.

Author's Note

I needed to rewrite this....I just felt as though it'd be better to start clean and try again. With that being said...I leave you with a simple question:

Do you believe in wishing on a shooting star?