It was a moonless night, even the stars had dimmed, their glow shrouded in dark and cloudy skies. The wind blew hard, it pierced straight through thick clothing and straight to the core. Private Kant shivered, he felt terribly cold, even though he wore a greatcoat over his uniform, he carried no a rifle, but instead, a box labeled TNT along with a bayonet. He noted the fires lit on the walls of Canterlot. They were spaced evenly with about one-hundred meters between them, they silhouetted the pony guards who patrolled the walls.

Ponies. He still couldn't fathom it. They were in a world full of beauty and wonder and they were going to taint it with violence. Kant had been assigned to a special sapper group, the Major had given them orders personally, approach the gate under the cover of darkness, eliminate the sentries, and then plant the explosives. It was eliminating the sentries which scared Kant the most, he had never killed anyone, sure, he had been shot at and had returned fire, but killing a man at close range was something different altogether. He hoped there were no sentries outside the gate.

He was third in the small column, crawling slowly up the chosen path. The outside of the city was filled with lush open fields, with two large gravel paths leading to each gate. The gate with a massive moon plastered on the side of its parapet had a small ditch running parallel to the road. It likely cleared away rainwater on better days. Now it served to give the five-man group the little concealment they needed to approach relatively unseen. Behind Kant, there were two other sappers, each carrying small wooden boxes filled with sticks of dynamite.

Ahead of him, the column was led by two more experienced soldiers, Corporal Valk, and Sergeant Uller. As they continued crawling the length of the drainage ditch, Kant mentally rehearsed his mission. Approach the gate under the cover of darkness, eliminate the sentries, and then plant the explosives.

"Halt!" The harsh whisper returned Kant to the situation at hand, he began scanning for what might have caused a halt order. He noticed they were less than twenty meters from the walls of the pony city. There was what seemed to be a small customs office outside the gate. Light shone from the building, announcing it was occupied. The Sergeant glanced back at him.

"Corporal Valk, take Private Kant and secure the guard post, remember, we must not be discovered." He whispered orders for the other two privates to begin preparing their explosives while he kept a lookout. Kant left his explosives with the others as he followed Corporal Valk in their shuffle towards the small single room building. They crept around the side and took up positions at the door. Valk had a Mauser pistol in his hand in case anything got out of hand. Kant tried to rehearse the mission in his head, but all he could remember was, eliminate the sentries.

Valk tried the door, and without even so much as a creak it opened, he pushed quickly but quietly into the building, Kant staying right on his heels. They quickly searched the room for an occupant. The room possessed a small pony sized desk, along with a very small cushion. There were file cabinets set about the room, though they were by no means well-organized. Papers were strewn around the room, strangely, a mug of steaming coffee sat on the desk. Where is the guard? He thought.

A distinct sound of flushing water grabbed his attention and he glanced to his right. Beside the door, there was, in fact, an unseen extension to the building, a bland grey door swung open and out came a brown coated pony, flank first. He had a black mane, and as he gave them a surprised glance, Kant saw his piercing blue eyes.

For a moment, the time stood still. Both parties stared in disbelief at the other. The spell was broken as the pony nervously attempted to re-enter the side room he had come from. Corporal Valk rushed across the room, gripped the pony by his tail, and yanked him back, tossing him into the center of the room. The pony rolled and whinnied, and spoke. Kant did not understand the language, as he had never learned English, but from the tone and the fear in his eyes, he knew the pony was begging for his life. Eliminate the sentries.

"Go on, what are you waiting for? Slit his throat." The casualness of Corporal Valk's order disgusted Kant.

"The Major said to kill sentries, not murder poor ponies!" retorted Kant, this pony was no soldier, and Kant refused to harm him.

"Damn it, Kant, give me the bayonet and walk outside, I'll deal with this if you haven't got the stomach." The pony, oblivious to the nature of the argument going on in front of him, reached with his hoof and offered the Corporal the coffee on the desk with a sheepish smile. Corporal Valk grimaced and brushed it aside, its contents spilling over the hardwood floor.

"I won't let you, Corporal! I will not condone the murder of an innocent civilian for the sake of this operation!" Kant normally would never have spoken in such a manner to a man of higher rank like this, but all the stress of the last few days broke through his mental dam, even the brown coated pony flinched at the harshness of his words.

Before the Corporal could retort, a cacophony of gunfire filled their ears, followed by a large explosion. Private Kant remembered that a second sapper group had been dispatched to the other gate, they had most likely been forced to set off their explosives early. This was wonderful, he thought, if the element of surprise was already lost, they didn't have to kill the poor pony. The tension in the room eased slightly, as Corporal Valk came to the same conclusion. He laughed.

"Ha! Alright, Kant, you've done your good deed for the day, now get outside and help us start setting the explosives." As the Corporal walked outside, Kant wondered what to do with the pony, then he realized the pony had a pair of brown wings. A Pegasus, he thought. He took a moment to examine the wondrous appendages, then left the building, the pony awkwardly followed him out, confused. Kant faced the pony and pointed towards the city center, past the large outer walls.

"Go home pony! Live." The pony's eyes lit up in understanding and he stretched his wings to their full width, awing Kant. The Pegasus took to the skies and was soon a distant object far in the sky flying towards the city. Private Kant was relieved he hadn't had to kill the pony, or anyone else, for that matter.

Now if only the rest of the night could be like this. He thought grimly.

==========

"-are attacking! Twilight wake up!" The lavender pony grumbled and rolled over, facing towards the sound. She glanced at who was yelling so loudly in her room. She was surprised to see Corporal Walton, standing in his uniform, complete with a helmet and rifle.

"J-James, what's happening?"

"Princess I was sent ta' inform yeh', the Jerries have finally grown the balls to attack us, ya gotta get up ta' see Princess Celestia!" The revelation of the German attack immediately woke her from her stupor. She jumped out of bed and walked out the door, James following quickly behind her. The halls of the castle were filled to the brim with British soldiers and royal guards ponies. They made way for Twilight as she noticed a peculiar sound coming from the distance, she quickly realized it was gunfire, from the staccato of rifles to the rhythmic popping of machine guns, she gulped as she grimly realized war had come for Equestria.

"How did this happen?" She asked.

"German engineers managed to sneak right up to both of yer' gates, they woulda had complete surprise if it wasn't for an unscheduled change of guard on the sun gate, a gunfight ensued and the alarm was raised. The Jerries were prepared though, they've overrun the gates and we've been fighting them all over the city's lower districts."

As he finished, they came to a stop in front of Princess Celestia's personal quarters. There were two pony guards in front, as soon as Twilight approach they opened the doors to allow her entrance, Corporal Walton said he'd wait for her outside.

"I say, your highness, you're being unreasonable, allow us to exit through your postern gate and we'll trouble you no more."

"Captain, listen to me, I will not sacrifice you and your men to save my own hide, Faust! Why are you so stubborn!" Twilight shifted uncomfortably as she observed the tension between Princess Celestia and Captain Williams. They faced each other from across the room with varying degrees of frustration on their faces, they soon took notice of Twilight.

"Captain, if you'll excuse me, I must talk with Princess Twilight," Celestia said, her tone making it clear it wasn't a request. Captain Williams bristled and walked out without saying another word. As soon as he left the doors closed and Twilight found herself with her old mentor. They hugged.

"Twilight, you don't know how nice it is to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too Princess, though I wish it were in better circumstances."

"Agreed, Twilight, I have a task for you. I'm very close to uncovering a spell to fix this mess, I need you to organize the evacuation of ponies in the city, we need to bring them to the inner walls of the palace." Twilight beamed, an organizational problem she could fix!

"Of course, Princess! I'll do it immediately." Before she turned to leave, she noticed Celestia's demeanor had changed, she seemed less confident and had a haggard look on her face.

"Twilight, I have one more favor to ask. If you see Luna could you talk to her? And if need be, keep her from doing anything rash?" Twilight was confused, she had privately wondered about Luna's reaction at the death of poor Sergeant Stalber, she shuddered as she remembered his gruesome demise.

"Of course, I'll do that Princess, but why? Is something wrong with Princess Luna?" Princess Celestia smiled sadly.

"My sister was the one who found these humans, she discovered a peculiar dream of a certain Sergeant and had guided them to Canterlot, promising safety, afterward, it seems that they had gotten close, mostly meeting in dreams. I have tried to talk to her but she's been completely inconsolable. I'm afraid she might do something drastic." Suddenly Luna's reaction made more sense to Twilight and she felt a great remorse for the ruler of the night.

"I'll do everything I can Princess." Celestia smiled.

"Thank you, Twilight."

==========

"Yes, take only what you absolutely need," Twilight ushered the concerned pony past and faced the next, "you'll be brought back as soon as the fighting's over." She had begun organizing the evacuation process as soon as she left Princess Celestia's quarters. The royal guard had assigned a large contingent of guards ponies to help with the evacuation, they had opted to go door-to-door escorting civilians, and were moving quickly as ponies shuffled outside of their homes. The sounds of war echoed through the city, several fires were raging in the lower districts, though most if not all ponies had been evacuated from that area before it was lost.

Though the British were certainly tenacious and brave, they were simply being overrun and German soldiers were breaking through everywhere. They had evacuated the outskirts of their defenses and moved steadily inwards, just ahead of the retreating British. A royal guard pony appeared beside her and came to attention.

"Princess Twilight, we have evacuated this district as instructed!"

"Good work, keep using the system we developed and continue to work inwards, I'm going to see if I can help the soldiers somehow." Twilight knew the guards ponies could do their job without her help, truth be told, she was worried about Corporal Walton, she knew he'd be somewhere on the frontline and she wanted to help him. She pumped her wings and took to the skies and observed the scene below her.

Up in the air, the soldiers looked like grey and brown colored ants, she could see the muzzle flashes and hear the gunfire as the sun reached its zenith over the city. She still couldn't believe that they were actually killing each other, it felt like she was watching a sick game. She descended slightly to get a better look and noticed a familiar face, Corporal Walton moving between soldiers, shouting and cursing, ushering them forward towards a barricade strewn about the street. She saw he was still some ways behind what was left of the British lines, she went down to warn him.

"Go on, get that machine gun loaded, we aven't' got all day!" Twilight landed quickly and observed her surroundings. She was on one of the many side streets of Canterlot, small suburban-style houses lined the street. The British had erected a sandbag palisade across it, with another one of their machine guns on a center elevated wooden platform. As she approached, she noticed there were five soldiers manning the position, including Walton. There's so few, if they're attacked, they won't hold. Twilight approached Corporal Walton, who finally took notice of her.

"Ello' there Princess," he gave an exaggerated bow, "fancy meeting you in a place like this eh?" He laughed, albeit sounded strange, she noticed he was unusually red-faced and sweating profusely.

"Hello James, are you ok? You seem tense." He grinned, though it looked forced.

"Tense, harr, what with the five of us against an endless tide of Jerries, why we'll hold em till judgment day!" Twilight noted the bitter sarcasm in his voice.

"Princess Celestia is trying her best to find a spell to bring you back to your world... and you'll always be accepted here in Equestria. Now or never. James, I've been meaning to tell you, I've really enjoyed our time together and-"

"Contact!" Suddenly a hail of bullets filled the air and before Twilight realized what was going on Corporal Walton had dived on top of her and pushed her to the ground.

"Princess, it might be time for yeh' ta' go." He grunted, rolled off her and grabbing his rifle off the ground. As he crept towards the sandbag wall Twilight paused to regain her bearings. She took notice of the other four soldiers, three were still firing, the other, Twilight saw, was grotesquely slumped over the machine gun, his eyes bulged and his mouth open in surprise, his upper chest was torn to pieces, no doubt hit by several rounds simultaneously, Twilight turned and retched. What do I do? She thought.

The sound of the machine gun broke her from her stupor. Walton had thrown the body from the gun and manned it himself, raining death on the grey-clad figures trying to advance up the tight street. Those that stood were cut down, and then those who ran followed. The survivors were huddled in alleyways and house entrances. Twilight took one look at the massacre and nearly retched again, she counted nearly a dozen bodies strewn about the street in various positions of agony. Corporal Walton swore as the gun stopped firing with an audible click.

"Bastard! Keep firing yer' rifles, give us time to reload this bitch." The three surviving riflemen began firing frantically, succeeding in pinning down the majority of the soldiers. Then came a shout in a language Twilight didn't understand and suddenly the street was filled with a mass of grey soldiers, shouting and screaming as they ran towards the palisade, bayonets fixed, Twilight saw the anger and determination in their eyes, and though the other riflemen were firing just as quickly as before, it seemed to have no effect on the charge, which surged forward, now only a few meters to the parapet. This is it, she thought, they were going to be overru-

Bratatatatatatata

Like a series of grotesque dominoes, the soldiers in the street fell backward, crumbling under the intense machine gun fire. Within a few seconds, the street was devoid of life and an eerie silence fell down upon the defensive position. Twilight was preoccupied with constant dry heaving; dead bodies were actually piled upon each other in the street. She was having a hard time breathing. Oh Celestia, this is Tartarus! this is terrible, I can't breathe! I can't brea-. Her panic was interrupted by a crushing hug from a certain Irishman. She realized he was speaking to her.

"...s'okay Twilight, yer' okay now, yer' gonna be fine." He said as he stroked her mane and she visibly deflated, and mumbled, tears flowing from her eyes.

"I.. I.. I didn't want this... How could anyone do this? James? How could you survive four years of this?" She sobbed and continued, "I didn't think it would be like this, this isn't like an adventure."

"That's how we all thought it was gonna be Twilight, we all marched off fer' our high lords and thought we'd be heroes, those who'er' left know this isn't a fairy tale, it's hell." Twilight was about to reply when a loud whistling screech filled her ears. Corporal Walton once more threw himself over her and they both felt the ground shake as a shell slammed within a few meters of them. Twilight glanced over and saw a shell protruding from the cobbled streets, it seemed to have failed to explode.

Corporal Walton cursed loudly.

Twilight saw the other three soldiers on the parapet frantically pulling out strange masks which, she thought, looked quite intimidating.

"Twilight."

"Yes, James?" She noticed the frantic, terrified look in his eyes.

"D'ya have a fancy spell ta' change the shapes o' objects, like this?" He raised his hand, which encapsulated another of the strange masks. It was only at this point Twilight began to smell something... odd.

"Do you smell that James? I think it smells like... mustard."

"DO YA HAVE A SPELL?!" He shouted at her, wide eyes focused solely on her.

"Yes, I do ha-" her voice was muffled by the mask which was now being forced onto her face. After the initial panic wore off, her horn glowed gently and the mask conformed to her face, becoming elongated. Immediately, she felt restrained, her lack of vision, sound, or breath made her nearly tear off the mask instantly. However, being vigorously shaken by the Corporal brought her back into reality.

"Listen here, girl! Yer' a fine lass, ya 'ave gotta' survive this an become a better person, learn from all of this, don't make our mistakes, I didn't give yeh' that mask ta' see ya' waste yer' existence, now run! Please!" He practically was croaking at the end, his voice fracturing as he breathed. Twilight noticed the eerie mist which flowed down the street. She noticed the three other riflemen resuming their frantic fire on the parapet, but noted they now wore their masks. Finally, she noticed the state of Corporal Walton.

"James!" He fell to one knee, smiling at her, his nose oozing blood. His eyes bloodshot and his skin was beginning to blister, she felt a small burning pain but it was lost in the wave adrenaline pumping through her body.

"Promise me," He paused, coughing up a vile phlegm-like substance, "promise me you'll live a happier life than I have."

And then he spoke no more.

==========

He still couldn't believe it, even as he received the order, even as he strapped on his respirator, he hadn't believed it, but it was true. They had fired mustard gas into the city. As he moved along the streets, his rifle by his side, he glanced at the many bodies which lay strewn about, he noticed they were mostly fellow Germans, and could only mourn for a moment, before continuing on his mission in front of him.

Truth be told, Private Kant felt somewhat guilty as he observed the carnage, his actions during the initial raid were instrumental in breaching the gate. He tried to console himself with the fact that he had yet to fire his rifle, which meant he hadn't directly killed anyone. He was also secretly pleased by the lack of pony corpses, it seemed the Equestrians had evacuated the residential areas before the fighting had arrived.

"Hurry up Kant, we need to get to the castle, the gas worked, the British are broken!" Kant detested Corporal Valk's euphoric reaction to the use of such a terrible weapon, yet admired his enthusiasm to succeed, something Kant sorely lacked at the moment. As they jogged through the streets, sporadic gunfire, though muffled by their gas masks, could be heard rising to a crescendo throughout the city. This is it, we've won, but at what cost? He wondered as he passed more and more bodies.

They soon took notice of a gunfight up ahead of them, it seemed the British were staging a sort of last stand at a sandbag barricade, they were brave, but foolish, as the Germans had ten times their number and steadily approached under suppressive rifle fire.

"Come on, Kant! Hurry or we'll miss the fun!" Corporal Valk gleefully shouted as he broke into a sprint to catch up with the advancing soldiers. Private Kant rolled his eyes and increased his pace. He was shocked by the sheer amount of bodies in the locale, some were even piled on top of each other like discarded dolls, as he neared the parapet, he could see that these bodies were the handiwork of an experienced machine gunner, judging by the number of empty shell casings lying scattered on the ground. As he climbed over the parapet, he came upon a strange scene. The British riflemen had clearly fled up the street, and larges groups of soldiers were either streaming after them or melting into the surrounding streets to outflank stronger British holdouts.

Right behind the parapet, however, was a different sight altogether, there was a small huddle of soldiers in the middle of the street transfixed by something Kant could not see. He suddenly registered the sound of a woman crying. He rushed to the circle and shoved his way through to the center. In the middle of the circle, a lavender pony with both wings and a horn was crying her eyes out over the body of a British soldier, it was clear the soldier was suffering terribly from the effects of the gas. His nose was oozing blood whilst he continued to cough up bile with now coated the ground underneath him. It was clear he had breathed too much gas and would soon asphyxiate as the foul substance filled his lungs with fluid.

"What the hell are you all doing standing there?! What is going on?" Private Kant instantly recognized the straight-faced Sergeant Uller who shoved his way into the center of the circle, he glanced at the terrible scene and visibly paled before Corporal Valk stepped out of the crowd.

"Sergeant, we didn't know what to do with the pony, she has wings and a horn, which seems to signify royalty in this land... and Sergeant, that Tommy is already dead, permission to put him out of his misery." The Sergeant nodded.

"You and you, pull that pony off, careful now, we'll bring her back to the Major." To soldiers bent down and grabbed the purple pony, who struggled and cried out in English, most likely in protest. Though all Kant could discern was pleading, though not for herself."

Private Kant flinched at the crack of the pistol shot. He turned and saw Corporal Valk holstering his Mauser, a smoking hole protruding directly over the heart of the poor Tommy, who now laid still. He also noticed the purple pony's struggles increased violently for a moment before she sank down in apparent defeat. Sergeant Uller spoke first.

"Alright, men from assault group A are to regroup at the shopping plaza, assault group B will make for the-" He trailed off, glancing down at the bayonet embedded in his chest.

"Wha-" was all he could muster before falling like a sack of potatoes. All of the soldiers turned their gaze to the pony, who now had a purple aura surrounding her and any nearby objects, including rifles discarded on the street. Once more she spoke, and though Kant couldn't discern the words, it was clear what she meant, vengeance. Corporal Valk struggled to pull his Mauser back out of its holster as the two soldiers nearest to the pony were flung like ragdolls, flying twenty meters through the air before colliding into nearby buildings and collapsing with a sickening crunch.

"Come on, there's ten of us and one of it, show the equine bastard!' Corporal Valk shouted as he worked the pistol free and aimed it at the pony. For a moment, time stood still.

He fired.

Her aura formed a thick shield and simply absorbed the force of his rounds, other soldiers regained their senses and began firing rapidly at the purple barrier, attempting to destroy it with sheer firepower. Private Kant started backing up. None of the other soldiers noticed the aura expand, encapsulating even more objects, including the machine gun, still mounted on the parapet, which began to slowly swivel around, pointing its muzzle towards the group of German soldiers.

Private Kant started to run.

Bratatatatatatata

One by one the soldiers firing on the purple deity died, mown down by the machine gun. Corporal Valk threw himself to the ground to avoid the wall of death. The firing ceased, the last round in the belt expended, and Valk found himself the last man standing, dazed, he pushed himself to his feet, haphazardly dusted himself off, then faced her.

She came up to no higher than his waist, yet was more intimidating than any British tank. Her aura of death continued to flow through the environment around them, the machine gun now mobile, lazily floating through the air, tracking its target, a fresh belt loaded. Her eyes were bloodshot, comically large and vacant of tears, they were, however, filled to the brim with unbridled rage, and as she advanced, it occurred to Valk that he might have to defend himself.

He disposed of his now empty pistol and drew a long and sharp knife, he grinned savagely, this would do, he thought. As the purple demon got within arms reach, he made his move, with one sharp thrust, he launched into the attack aiming for her neck. However, to his horror, he realized his knife had ceased movement as soon as it touched her damnable aura, and now she grinned savagely.

Scores of bayonets from his fallen comrades began to float lazily towards him. His fighting options exhausted, he now attempted to beat a hasty retreat, but found his hand glued to his knife, as the purple aura pinning him to his position via control of his clothing, as the bayonets approached from all angles, he heard a single word, which he recognized all too well. Die.

==========

The terrible scream Kant heard only encouraged him to run faster, his rifle still firmly gripped in his hands, he was terrified, and knew that his only option was to hide until the monstrosity forgot about him. He rushed around a corner to be confronted by a large gathering of German troops, NCOs were rounding up soldiers, saying that the Major had personally lead attacks that broke through at the other edge of town, and now it was time for them to follow suit. Kant tried to warn them, but it was too late.

A lavender blur slammed down in front of him, and as the dust cleared, the pony stood, facing away from him. Now unthreatened, he began to observe her more closely. He noticed the mustard gas had affected her too, though she wore a strange looking respirator, her coat was burned to the skin in some areas and she was clearly bleeding in several places.

Too late his compatriots realized the danger she presented and began firing futilely at her shield. She once more called upon the discarded weapons of fallen soldiers to fight for her, and like a sorceress, she guided them to cut down his allies, his friends, his brothers in arms. Kant took notice that the purple barrier, while seemingly impenetrable, only covered her front, and with surprising resolve, Kant took a kneeling position, raised his rifle to his shoulder, aim for the heart he thought, and then with surprising smoothness, he pulled the trigger.

Fate was not on his side, the rifle jammed.

Instantly the purple demon turned her attention to him, his friends having long since fled or died. He took note of her maniacal grin and increasingly twitching eyes, he also noticed her gas mask was torn slightly, and finally, he noticed she held a rifle in her magic, and that he was looking straight down the barrel.

Crack.

The round went low, and tore through his abdomen, Kant fell backward and only just kept himself from landing fully on his back, he reversed a few feet until he rested his back on the wall of a street corner shop. He coughed and sputtered, bodily fluids escaping through his horrible wound and his mouth.

He suddenly had the urge for fresh air and tore off his mask, he took a long breath, savoring what very well might be his last. He looked up and saw the purple pony staring at him, mere inches from his face, the still smoking gun held above her, she glanced at him curiously, hesitating to shoot. Seeing his chance, Kant adjusted his glasses and spoke.

"Bitte."

==========

"Bitte." Twilight flinched, and she returned to reality. Her magic faded and a dozen objects fell to the floor, discarded. She had just wanted to help James, and when they killed him, she only wanted revenge, to make them pay for murdering him, for taking him away from her. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed on the nameless soldier, once his mask had been removed, she had come to a stark realization.

He looked like James.

This alone would have stopped Twilight's onslaught in its tracks, and was only compounded by the word he spoke, though she could speak his language, based on his tone and situation, it was clearly a plea for mercy. She began to cry. What have I done? She thought.

"I'm so sorry!" She blurted out, though she suspected he couldn't understand her, as her sensory systems returned, she felt like she was suffocating and quickly tore off her mask with her magic.

She looked to the wounded soldier and smiled slightly. He returned the gesture, albeit weakly. Twilight could see the blood oozing out of the soldier's body, and she knew it was her fault. She nearly froze as she realized there was very little she could do for him. She could seal up the wound, but fixing the damage would require an extensive knowledge of his internal systems which she simply did not have the time or equipment to even begin to understand.

The soldier coughed and shifted, reaching into his grey coat. Twilight flinched slightly but relaxed when he pulled out a small wallet. As he tried to open it, his shaking hands lost their grip and the contents spilled into his lap and began to blow away in the wind. He frantically tried to collect his things, hopelessly as they began to float away, there was a problem Twilight could fix.

Within an instant, she collected the various cards and pieces of paper and floated them around her, sitting down in front of the wounded soldier. He observed the many objects anxiously until settling his eyes on one item and sighing visibly. Twilight followed his gaze to a floating item to her right, a picture.

The picture was faded brown and showed a human standing in a beautiful dress, Twilight realized it was a female, judging by her facial and bodily features. On the edge of the picture, there was a single word written in ink, Maria.

Twilight turned her gaze back to the soldier, happy she'd saved such a prized object. His eyes continued the gaze softly at the picture, and he had developed a small happy grin as he watched.

He did not, however, breath.

======

Everything was going to plan. Mostly.

Major Strasser walked nonchalantly down the street as he contemplated his decisions. He hadn't enjoyed the order to load his last artillery shells, which were mustard gas, and fire them down upon the city. His inhibitions were overcome by his desire for revenge, they had forced his hand! At least the Princesses had had the foresight to evacuate civilians and not actively fight against his assault.

He glanced down at the dead, grey-clad and khaki-uniformed soldiers were sprawled across the street. A great many wounded. Those who could walk were being sent to the rear areas, where Captain Wexer had been left in charge of the medical bay, back at the camp. The rest would be carried there after the fighting had moved on. There could be no doubt in victory, the British were horribly outnumbered, outgunned, and with the recent breakthroughs throughout the city, outmaneuvered. It was only a matter of time.

Unless...

The Princesses were the only factor he was concern about, whilst their magic could not effectively damage humans, they clearly could control human-made objects, as demonstrated by what happened to his brother.

Regret. That's what was cutting through Major Strasser, not of attacking the city, but of failing his brother, he could only hope he could earn his brother's forgiveness by defeating these stubborn Englishmen!

"N-news, Sir!" A young private spoke after saluting. He turned to face the private.

"Spit it out, and take off your gas mask, the fumes have thinned out."

"Y-yes, Sir," He said, frantically removing his mask, "I came to r-report that the easternmost f-forces have been effectively destroyed."

What.

"Explain." He said, frowning, how could the British have done this, Sergeant Uller was in charge over there, he's a competent commander.

"I-it was the purple one, P-princess I mean, s-she tore through our ranks and scattered everyone, Sergeant Uller is dead, Sir."

"Hmm," the rules of the game had changed, "alright, send word throughout the platoons, avoid contact with the ponies, but engage their conventional forces if they threaten you, engage this purple one on sight." The power of this Princess was something he had greatly underestimated, and now his men had paid the price.

All the more reason to finish this as quickly as possible.

"Oh, and I'm taking the remaining reserve groups, we're going on a special mission."

==========

It's my fault Twilight thought. She still sat across from the deceased soldier, she thought of his life, his family, and all the things he would have done, had she not killed him, of course.

She realized that her actions had been somewhat justified, he was apart of an army that had put Canterlot under siege, bombed with horrible weapons, and had killed numerous people. Nevertheless, she couldn't shake the guilt, which weighed on her heart.

Suddenly, her ears flicked.

What was that sound.

Until that moment, sounds had been limited by distant gunfire and occasional explosion, she could now hear the thudding of scores of footsteps. She glanced around, she noticed grey-clad soldiers filling the street and advancing towards where she sat. She considered for a moment that she should move, but disregarded the thought, she would stay and protect this soldier from them, to succeed him where she had failed to protect James.

Behind her, scores of British soldiers were hidden, placed in windows, on rooftops, and in the stairways to cellars, unseen to any advancing up the street.

"Give em hell, lads! Fire!" As one, the British soldiers opened fire on the advancing German soldiers, a dozen or so fell almost immediately, the rest taking cover and returning fire.

Bullets whizzed past Twilight, as she tried her best to figure out what exactly was going on, and how to best keep the poor soldier safe, her senses dulled by her state of mind, she hardly noticed a very alive German soldier approach her, and upon seeing the corpse of Private Kant, raising his weapon at her.

"ENOUGH!"

The Royal Canterlot voice pierced through the air as Princess Luna slammed down onto the cobbled road, sending chunks of rock in all directions. Her eyes glowed a piercing white and she had adorned her battle armor. What's more, she carried a massive shimmering blue spear, crackling in her magical aura, floating menacingly beside her.

The shock of her arrival caused a lull in the battle, she had placed herself between Twilight and the German soldier who had raised his weapon against her. Consequently, she had also placed herself between the German and British lines.

"Can you not see the foolishness of this battle! There is nothing for you here but misery and pain! Begone, or we shall send thee screaming to the depths of Tartarus!"

Silence reigned over the battlefield. Soldiers stood practically frozen in their previous positions, each looking to each other for what to do, no one wanting to make the first decision, lest it be their last.

Finally, the young German soldier who had aimed his rifle at Twilight turned and ran. One by one, the Germans began to fall back, first at a brisk walk, then to a run, finally, to a full sprint back down the streets they had paid so dearly to conquer.

It was a rout.

The nearby British soldiers began cheering and whooping as they left their defenses and swarmed around Princess Luna, who beamed and asked for no thanks. A soldier asked her what came next.

"What comes next, brave warrior, is the capitulation of our enemy, onwards, to final victory!" The men cheered and followed as the Princes of the Night led them down the streets of her city, towards the gates, and finally to the German camp, to demand there surrender from a very shaken medical Captain.

Twilight continued to guard the poor soldier's body.

======

She'd done it!

Celestia had thought she'd heard of the sort of spell required to return Captain Williams and his men to their homeland. She'd crawled through her near endless notes, diaries she had written throughout the centuries in a futile attempt to keep track of the endless events that passed her by in millennia of rulership.

It was through this that she had discovered a time travel spell. She suspected an anomaly of some sort had allowed Williams and his men to be transported into Equestria. If she could simply roll back time, the anomaly would probably not even occur, and if it did, she would know in advance what was coming. It was foolproof!

At least, the sleep deprived and ever-so-slightly desperate Celestia thought it was. Though she had spent a great deal of time refining the spell to the scale required. She grabbed her notes in her magical aura and trotted towards the doorway of her studies, she heard voices outside, she smiled as she recognized Williams, she could tell him right away and end this madness.

Crack.

Bang.

Crack.

Her heart dropped as three shots were fired in quick succession. She galloped forward and threw open the doors and observed the room. Williams was leaning on a stone pillar for support, his revolver in his hand. He had clearly been shot at least once and was coughing violently.

"Captain Williams!" He turned towards her and smiled.

"S'okay Princess, it missed my important bits." He tried to push away from the pillar but slipped and fell to the ground.

Celestia glanced around the room quickly and noticed it was empty save her and her wounded friend.

"What happened?" She asked as he pulled a small bandage out of his breast pocket, grunting as he bandaged himself.

"That damned Major, he somehow slipped through the defenses. I confronted him outside your door, he drew his sidearm, I drew mine, and we fired. I think I got the best of him though. He fled through that hallway over there." He said as he motioned to the hallway in question.

"There are too many innocent ponies in this castle, I'm going to find him and stop him, once and for all," Celestia said with a look of determination, perhaps he would listen to reason now that she had a way for him to go home.

"Let me come with you." The Captain said as he attempted to push himself up, Celestia caught him just before he fell, and gently lowered him back to the ground.

"No, you can hardly move, stay here and rest, I will send medical personnel to tend to you as soon as I can." Leaving him no time to argue with her, Celestia began trotting down the hallway previously marked by Captain Williams. She soon spotted blood splattered on the marble floors of the castle, they were also smeared across a large wooden door present just a few meters down the hallway, Celestia knew it well.

She approached the entrance to the Canterlot Royal gardens cautiously, creeping just close enough to peer through the now open door. She almost smiled as she viewed the serene place before her, lush flora, as well as the occasional animal, made the gardens a wonderful relaxation spot. She soon spotted the source of her troubles.

"Major Strasser." She said, pushing through the doorway. The Major looked up at her from where he sat, upon a small stone bench near the middle of the garden, near a large and majestic fountain. He smiled weakly.

"I-it's a very beautiful garden." His voice strained and Celestia noticed there were two grotesque holes in his chest, with blood spilling out in frequent pulsing bursts. The Major saw where she was looking.

"Truth be told, I've been running on adrenaline for a little bit now, if you wish to take revenge, you'll have to make it quick, I'm afraid." He said.

"Revenge?" Celestia said, baffled, how could he not see she'd tried everything in her power to prevent violence, not pursue it!

"Well, I've always wanted to die on my feet," he said as he pushed himself to his feet, "go on, your fellow Princess did a number on my men, though they provided a necessary distraction for my infiltration, but that damned Captain had to in just the right spot to intercept me, by chance I assume." The Major faced her, his arms spread wide. "Well, go ahead, take your victory!"

Princess Celestia nearly gasped as she viewed the full extent of his injuries, she could see one of his lungs through the ragged hole in his chest, and through the other she could see his intestines, which were cut and oozing out their own foul pus. She could clearly see he had been mortally hit. She thought over his statement, should she kill him? She now had the chance to avenge all those he had caused to die with his warmongering. I could avenge Luna's loss.

"No." The Major visibly sagged as she spoke the word. His legs buckled and he sank to his knees. Gone was his grin, replaced with an amused look.

"You have principles Princess, I'll give you that. However," He grunted as he straightened out, still on his knees, "I feel that instead of arguing with you, or justifying myself, I'll simply force your hand."

He pulled his pistol out of its holster and pointed it directly at Celestia.

She charged her spell.

He fired.

Impossible. He thought as he watched his bullet stop and float in the air, about a meter from Celestia, who had stopped it with a wave of magic, it fell to the ground as she ended the spell, and she began advancing on the Major.

He fired again, and again, and again, but no round would get any closer to the Sun Princess before coming to an abrupt halt and falling to the garden floor below. He briefly considered falling back as she got closer, but decided he would live or die where he was, truth be told, he was tired and just wanted the chaos to end. His weapon clicked as it ran out of ammunition, and he let it fall from his hand as Celestia reached him. He closed his eyes.

"I wanted to save you." His eyes shot open as he viewed the alicorn, there were tears in her eyes.

"W-what." Was all he could muster. She sighed.

"I've seen too much war, I've killed and gotten too many souls killed. All I wanted was for you to see the error of your ways, I've found a spell to revert time, when cast, it should return all those back to where they were sometime in the past, at an event that was anchored in time. I don't know if those who have died will return, or if they will remain lost in their world as well. This entire endeavor of yours was pointless, and all those who've died, yours or theirs, died in vain. What possible reason could you have had for doing what you did, YOU'VE DESTROYED SO MANY LIVES, HURT SO MANY SOULS, WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE? MONSTER!"

Seldom did grief or anger cause Celestia to use the Royal Canterlot voice, but this was one such occasion, she thought of her sister, so enamored with the poor Sergeant Stalber, and the destruction of their relationship. She thought of the destruction of her home, and of the lives ruined with the crack of every rifle shot. The Major's face was blank, he stared off past Celestia, gazing at something no one else could see. Finally, he spoke.

"I-im not sure, I-I-I-" He trailed off as his body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. He continued to move his mouth as if to speak but made no sound. Then, his body went still, and he thought no more.

Sighing, Celestia stepped past him and made her way through the gardens, she made her way past exotic plants and animals, and arrived at the edge, the outer side of the garden was a massive balcony over the entirety of Canterlot, she saw some streets red with blood, others torn to pieces by explosive shells, she saw grey and khaki-clad soldiers lying piled throughout the streets, and began to cast the ancient, forgotten spell. She knew it would reach into the near past and revert to a point in history which was always destined to happen.

She hoped that whatever anomaly which drew these soldiers to Equestria would not reoccur, and hoped they'd find peace in the hell that was their world.

Magic swirled around her as she continued to funnel more and more raw energy into the spell. Her notes specified that nothing inside an unspecified radius of her would change, and ponies within the radius would retain their memories, this meant even if the anomaly sent Captain Williams and his men seeking refuge once again, she'd know in advance what to do to prevent this massacre.

She felt the energy build to a breaking point as she was raised into the air by the spell, she prayed to Faust that it would work, and then with a grunt, released the energy, activating the spell.

She was instantly blinded by a pure white light, one even more powerful than that of the sun, and felt herself being tossed through limbo, and back again into the living world. She barely caught herself as she fell back down to the ground. She was still in the Royal Gardens, which was to be expected, and a cursory glance towards the city below relieved a great tension.

It had worked. No more were the streets of Canterlot filled with the bodies of soldiers, no more blood flowed down the gutters. She sighed in relief.

"Sister, we've been looking for you everywhere, why did you disappear from the c- ASSASSIN!"

Celestia spun around just as Luna fired a powerful spell at a very much alive Major, she saw the fear and confusion in his eyes, the fear of going to and from limbo, while Luna merely saw the weapons in his hands. If Luna used a freezing spell again spell, it would dissipate upon contact with the Major and she could stop this, prevent just one more death.

Her sister, fearing for Celestia's life, had not used a common spell, she'd summoned herself a spear made of pure mana and launched it at the Major at impossible speeds. He jerked violently as it pierced his chest. It continued straight through and dissipated as it began exiting through his back. He grunted and fell over, and tried to raise himself in vain.

"No! Not again!" Celestia cried as she raced over to him, trying in vain to plug his gaping wound. It was a futile gesture, as no sooner than her magic attempted to seal the hole, it dissipated and more blood began to ooze out. The Major had already fallen into unconsciousness and would soon die, again.

"Sister, why do you care so much for this villain, I saw him sneaking up behind you with a sword... and this strange metal device." Celestia realized her sister had no memory of the last few days, proving her theory on the use of the spell. She knew by the time that any medical ponies could arrive he would already be dead. Celestia also noticed that besides his pistol, he had drawn a long and ornate sword from its sheath on his approach behind her. She turned to Luna.

"I have so many things to tell you, dear sister, but first, what day is it?"

Author's Note

And so it ends...

or does it?

Thanks to all those who've managed to get this far. Thanks for putting up with my first time writing.

Peace, for the most part, has returned to Equestria, and the broken pieces of the world have been set back into their places This is, however, not necessarily the end of our story. There will be a sequel, of sorts, continued in a more traditional HiE format, it will also be significantly longer, one day, I suppose.

Cheers,

-Lesser Grammar

Ps: Sorry to those with proper Irish accents, as the one I created for Walton was basically borne out of the purest stereotypes.