Aleksandr

Chapter 4: And You Are...?

Sleep. I usually dreaded sleep. Then again, I hated everything. I have good reasons to hate sleeping, mind you. Some Wehrmacht asshole could easily slit my throat and I usually dreamt about the war. My dreams were usually about fallen comrades, or the horrors of WWII. Tonight, was the latter of the two. I had a nightmare about my good friend Yuri.

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"Hey Yuri, how's your family?" I asked while cleaning my SVT-40.

"I just got a letter from home last night. My little brother just turned 9. Mother's fine. Sadly, father's sick, but the doctors say he should recover. What about yours?" He said.

"According to the letter I received two weeks ago, they should be just fine. You know, I just hope we return from all of this." I answered. We were in a destroyed building, talking quietly amongst ourselves.

"Yeah, me too Aleks, me too." We continued to talk, unaware of the amount of danger we were in.

"I'm gonna check the perimeter, I'll be right ba--" He was going to walk around, but was interrupted by a German soldier, wearing a manic grin. This particular German had a Flammenwerfer on his back, which was pointed at Yuri.

"Беги!" I screamed. I was too late. The Nazi pulled the trigger, and a long gout of flaming liquid engulfed Yuri. The insane Nazi laughed his head off as Yuri was screaming in agony.

"YURI!!!! NOOOOOOOO!" I screamed, all the while anger burning in my heart. Fixing my bayonet, I kicked the German in his stomach, sending him flying into the street. In a fit of rage, I stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, effectively killing him. Rushing over to my mortally wounded friend, he spoke to me, fighting back screams. His voice was barely a whisper, but I remember what he said, verbatim.

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." He croaked out, before he drew his last breath.

"Goodbye friend, I'll forever remember you." He was the first friend I lost to those bastards. For some odd reason, everything stopped. Turning around I found a midnight blue alicorn, with a moon cutie mark. She was looking at me, tears in her eyes.

"You must be Aleksandr." She said to me.

"Yes. What is your name?"

"Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria." Same as with Celestia, I sharply saluted her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. I could have stopped this dream, prevent the emotional stress, but my curiosity got the better of me. I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. These nightmares emphasize who I am, and why I am fighting. Strangely, they help me keep going."

"How can such a dream be good? If that's how you cope, that's fine, although it's strange. It's almost time for me to turn in for the day, so I'll wake you up. Safe travels, Aleksandr."

"Same to you, Princess."

"Before I go, the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up in a few days, and I'm currently talking my sister into inviting you. If you have any questions, all you need to do is ask."

"Да, I will keep that in mind."