Blood Sandsby SinclairThompson.mlpChapterschapter 1:FlashbackChapter 2:Boot CampChapter 3:Shellshockedchapter 1:Flashback20 years......It has been 20 years since the terrible war that had claimed the lives of over 2 million ponies of all kinds. Twilight sat in her bench outside her house, her once dark blue mane with purple highlights had now faded in color. She smiled gently as fillies and colts with their mothers and fathers walked by, she never smiled much anymore after the true horrors of war that had been burned into her soul and seeing half her friends perishing with the war. After the war when she came home, spike the once small baby dragon, had grown since the war had lasted 5 years. She was glad to come home to him after seeing the horrors, later after 10 years he finally hugged her for the last time from living in the house with her and went on his way with his new love to start his own family, every now and then he comes over to see her with his wife and two children. "Well... its getting late i should head on in", said twilight as she balanced one hoof on the arm rest and got up. Being only 37 years old her legs ached from the stress they had gone through during the war. She entered her house and pushed the door gently till she heard the bolt lock in place, then went to her pantery and reached in and gingerly took out a bottle of equestrian whiskey, she never was one for drinking alcohol but she decided to give it a try. She uncorked the bottle with a short pop, she still remembered the day that that this bottle was given to her as a welcome home gift from the war, after grabbing a short drinking glass she poured the amber colored liquid into the glass. She then walked to her table in the middle of her living room and sat down in one of the chairs, her horn glowed softly and so did the small clear drinking glass with the amber colored whiskey.Raising the glass up to her lips she than took a small sip of the liquor, she winced slightly to the harsh taste almost spitting it out but instead swallowed it.The whiskey tasted oaky with a hint of caramel and despite the first taste being harsh it tasted rather delightful.Setting the small glass down twilight then scanned her bookshelves for something to read, her eyes then rested on one book and smiled gently then with her horn glowing she then pulled out the pieced together book.It was a scrapbook with her platoons picture after starying at the picture for a good two minutes she then opened the rough brown book and looked through the pictures of her past. The scrapbook brought tears to her eyes remembering her and her friends years in the equestrian army, she absolutely hated the war losing half her friends was just too much.Twilight then closed her eyes remebering the day the knock came on the door and getting the news that she was getting drafted into the armed equestrian forces, the day.....were it all began. 5 days prior to Equestria declaring War Solar Base Alpha 443 Location: 5 miles from the Solar Empire and New Lunar Republic border The base was in its usual routine of drilling the soldiers, testing the weaponry, and running political status.General Headsted was going over his usual morning proceduers, he was a tall earth pony with a brown buzz cut mane and had been in the equestrian military for 8 years."God damn republic who the heck do they think they are", said the general with irritation, the new lunar republic has been threatning the solar empire for pointless reasons.The solar empire was currently in a communist regime, but not an extreme version of communism, celestia did not treat her country, the ponies, or other countries like crap she just wanted to improve and strengthen her country to the point were the country could switch over to a democracy not conquer all and spread communism. "This day is rather beautiful, but it doesnt feel right", the general thought to himself, ever since he had gotten up this morning a sense of dread had been building in his stomach.But he just shrugged it off thinking that his senses were just working overtime from the wire thin tension between the solar empire and the republic. "General headsted sir",the general jumped a little and turned around to see a young 17 year old unicorn with a letter floating in the air beside him."Awww...scribe apprentace Scroll its nice to see you", the general said with an enthusiastic tone, he was glad to see the young unicorn he was a smart one with a good spirit."I..its good to see you to sir...i mean general, sorry", stammered the unicorn. "No..no its quite alright scroll, so what have you brought me today".The unicorns horn glowed slightley brighter as he levitated the letter to the earth pony, the general then grabbed the letter with his teeth and set it on his table."Thank you scroll i've always been very fond of you keep up the good work!", exclaimed the general the enthusiasm kind of startling the young unicorn."Thank you very much for the compliment general", said scroll as he saluted the general and then started to trot off from the command building. Headsted started to trot to the table when heard the distant roar of fighter jets,"thats weird i was never informed of regular test runs on the jets", headsted exclaimed, but then the dread that had been building in his stomach since the morning lurched making his legs tremble so furiously that he had to brace himself against his desk.Then slowly he turned his head to the open door were scroll was now 60 yards from, he had also stopped and looked into the sky his expression now in utter fear. Just as scroll was turning his head to the door, THADOOM!!!!!A missile from a jet struck right wear scroll was standing, the sharp crack of the explosion rippled through the building, the concusion sent the general flying across the room slaming against his desk. His vision was now blurry, his ears ringing, under the loud ringing in his ears he heard the faint sound of sirens, but not fire sirens the sirens he wished he would never hear, air raid sirens.Headsted pushed himself up and braced one hoof on the desk beside him as his vision cleared and his legs strenghtend, he then walked over to the door wear he had been blown from. Then his eyes widened in horror, the place wear scroll once stood was now a tiny crater but that wasnt what he was horrified from.Right beside the crater was the torn apart mangled body of the military courier scroll, his lower half of his body gone completely, his upper half mangled, his once enthusiastic face now mangled to the point wear you couldnt even recognize him.His intestines and other organs scattered around him and some hanging out of the body, his blood forming a medium sized pool around him. "no..no...NOOO",headsted screamed, his stomach heaved from the sight and vomited on the ground in front of him.Overhead jets screamed through the air and he caught sight of one of them, the jet was blue and painted on the fin, the abreviation NLR.Instantly headsted new what the abreviation was and who was attacking the base the new lunar republic.He then pushed himself of the ground, his legs shaking violently but he managed to stamer to the stairs that lead to the roof of the one story command building. Headsted made it to the roof, the sky now black and orange with fire and smoke, the wind carrying the smell of burning flesh and rubber.He was horrified at the sight:burnt bodies of stallions and mares torn apart and mangled some with no heads others blown apart, jets that tried to take off to fight the attacking ones were shot and burned on the runway before even taking off, medics scurrying and runing to count the dead and attend the wounded. "This..this...wont be forgiven, as long as i live IN THIS COUNTRY!",headsted screamed into the scorched sky, rage now burned in his eyes, hate that will never be extinguished.The wire thin tension that had held for so long, tensions that had worried everyone had now snapped. The war had begun. Twilight Sparkles house 4 hours after the attack "Hey twi wake up!", shouted spike joyfully from down below, twilight opened her eyes she just got done with a wonderfull dream, she glanced at her clock 9:00."Well i guess i should get up", said twilight as she yawned and sat up in bed, but she felt a weird feeling like something bad had happened but shrugged it off as a random feeling. Twilight slowly walked down the stairs, her mane and tail combed before coming down for breakfast."Good morning spike", said twilight cheerfully, the purple dragon turned and smiled warmly at her,"morning twi breakfast is almost done". She smiled back and opened her front door and took in the cool morning air, she smiled seeing two fillies playing in their parents front lawn, she always loved seeing sights like this it just makes her more happy to live in ponyville. "c'mone twi its all done", shouted spike from the kitchen, the smell of bacon and pancakes wafting from the inside the house,"thanks spike", said twilight as she walked to the refridgerator and using her magic to grab the orange juice then walked to the table.It was now 10:30 it was a late breakfast but she didnt care. Twilight switched on the tv, expecting the calm morning news but was shocked at what she saw instead, the news read Attack from the NLR at Solar Base Alpha 443, estimated dead 4,356, wounded 375 and counting.Twilights jaw was left open in shock and horror, memories flooded her mind when she served in the equestrian military in the griffin war. Spike managed to stamer out words to twilight,"tw..twi..whats going on, whats with the violence", but twilight was still in shock from what she was seeing, then a video announcement came on it was celestia about to address her country. "My fellow ponies i am here today to address that our country has been attacked by the new lunar republic, this is an act of war on equestria and will not be ignored.We are going to fight this threat head on and not lay down and die just because af a surprise attack that has devastated one of our bases.We will win this war, we will not show mercy, and we will not let them attack one more inch of our soil again.Each mare and stallion will fight bravely in this conflict, because if we loose this war it will mean the end of our country, the end of our freedom, and the end of us!!" Celestia then walked off behind the curtains escorted by the equestrian special service ignoring the questions and cameras of the press.The network then went back to the regular news of things going on in equestria."Twi..twii are you all right?",qustioned spike, but before she could answer a knock came on the door. Her and spike both turned and looked at the door were the knock had come from, it came again twilight found the words to answer."Ju..ju..just a minute ill be right their", twilight stamered as she slowly got up and walked to the door.Using her magic she slowly opened the door, there stood a middle aged stallion in a military uniform."Hello miss twilight sparkle",the stallion said softly."I am here to inform that you will be departing to the war in three days", said the stallion a little more roughly. "Th..thank you sir," she said softly to the stallion feeling her legs become jelly."Your welcome, the bus to the camp will come in three days 7:00 am sharp", said the stallion tipping his hat then walking the other way. Twilight turned and looked at spike both with fear of what comes in three days, the horrors of war will soon come back to haunt twilight a second time. Chapter 2:Boot CampTwilight Sparkles house 2 days after recieving departure notice Twilight was still going through the shock of being drafted back into the service, tomorrow she will be going to one the many training bases to get the brushup on the physical and mental tests while new recruits will be going through new training and physical tests which is complete hell if your new. "Well twi i guess this means that i wont see you for a while", sniffled spike, tears forming in his eyes,"an..and theres always the possibility you could get killed and i d...dont want that tw..twi",said spike as he broke down in tears. "Oh spike dont cry, im a skilled soldier and you know that", said twilight softly hugging the baby dragon to calm him down from his worries."I wont let myself get killed spike...i promise", twilight said in a comforting voice, her natural sense felt spike calming down and the fact that he stopped crying and was now just sniffling."w..well alright twi i trust you", said spike as he released himself slowly from her hug. After she calmed spike down, twilight then walked slowly upstairs to pack her duffle bag for her departure to the base.All twilight really needed to pack her duffle with was essentials not playthings and other junk that she doesnt need, checking over everything and apparently had everything except for one more thing.Twilight trotted over to her closet and using her magic a green and lighter green camoflauged digi floated out of her closet.Twilight smiled slightley at the sight of the digi, these were given to all ponies as training and combat wear for on the field and the base. Twilight folded the digi and placed it on her chair,this clothing was what she would need to wear when she departed tomorrow morning for the base, she then zipped the dark green duffle bag and with her horn glowed softly set the bag down beside the chair the digi was resting on."Well buck, i never thought that i would thrust back into war but that doesnt seem to be the case right now", twilight said with a sigh and a pang of irritation, but at least she already knows what to expect when the lead starts flying.A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of how many young mares and stallions will die out of fear and confusion as their thrust into a war zone. "Oh how many lives will be wasted on both sides on the first battle, such a waste of ponykind war is", sighed twilight as she went to go sit on her bed preparing to go to sleep, just a little ways from her bed spike was sleeping soundly in his tinier bed, his sides going in and out from his soft breathing this brought a small smile to her face and conforted her. "Well i should go to bed now i gotta big day ahead of me",said twilight quitely as she turned off her light and laid down in bed, her mind strangley calm even though tomorrow she will be departing for the war effort.Twilight relaxed then closed her eyes going over her training that was taught to her during the griffon war. Its funny she thought, she still remembered how to assemble, clean, and disassemble a firearm. The next day... 6:40 a.m. Twilight breathed in the cool morning air her head busy with the thoughts of what came next, but she strangly felt calm not happy but....just calm.Spike stood next to her his eyes looking at the ground knowing that his best friend well practically his mom will be departing for a unkown amount of time with the threat of death around each corner.Twilight looked down the road and saw the military bus cruising up the road and would soon be arriving in front of her house. After seeing the bus, twilight then turned around and kneeled down to the point wear she was eye level with spike and put her hooves on his shoulders and started to speak,"spike dont worry about me ill be fine, while im gone you will be living with granny smith and applebloom"."Thanks twi i always liked staying on the apple farm and i can play with applebloom and help granny smith with the farm, but ill still be worr....", said spike before he was hushed at his last part of his sentence."I know spike that you'll be worried but dont be i'll be fine", said twilight as she gave him a promising smile, she glanced over her shoulder at the fast approaching bus. "I want you to have something before i leave spike", twilight said as she stuck her hoof in her pocket, she then pulled out a small silver key on a key ring and handed it to him."Take this its a key to our house if you ever need anything from here you can just walk down here and open the house to get it", said twilight as the bus stopped in front of her house its brakes making a slight squeak. "Hey twi theres one thing i wanna give you before you leave its something ive kept for a long time", spike said as he opened his little hand opened revealing a small silver figure of a dragon,"its my good luck charm but i figured that you will need it more than me".Spike placed the the small pendant in her hoof, she smiled then hugged spike,"ill miss you spike but dont worry ill be fine",said twilight holding back her tears."You too twi", spike said choking a bit. The two both released each other from their hugs, twilight smiled, turned around and slowly walked over to the entrance of the bus.She stepped in and saw and felt eyes on her, sighing she walked over to a seat by a window.The bus jerked slightly forward and started to move, she looked out the window at spike he waved slowly twilight did the same.She took the duffle bag of her lap and set it next to her, laying her head back she then snapped it back up, remembering that if your caught resting your head or asleep that the drill sargeant will practically beat the crap out of you. Twilight sighed as the bus drove onward to the base,"well here we go again, back to hell". Solar Base Echo 6 miles from the border between the solar empire and the new lunar republic. The bus was closing in on the base, out the window twilight could see formations of soldiers march and jogging singing little tunes as they went along.Just ahead she could see the dark green barracks and command buildings inside the base behind the gates.Overhead she could hear the roaring of jets off to fight and also test their firing systems and whatnot, the bus stopped outside twilight could see the security fence slowly opening, once again the bus started rolling forward. Then after going midway into the base the bus stopped, turned off, and the front exit opened and in came the drill sergeant he was a large built, brown earth pony with a dark blue buzz cut mane."Alright you little bucks, when we unload you from here i want the new recruits on the left and the already in service on the right if you buck up i will beat your little asses, am i understood!!", yelled the sergeant,"SIR YES SIR!!!", yelled twilight and the rest of the ponies. Everypony had gotten off the bus and into each of their categories, the new recruits with the drill sergeant and the already in service with another pony, it was a blue, middle aged mare unicorn with a purple mane that was a bit longer then the sergeants but practically still a buzz cut.But something was off there was 50 ponies on the bus but she only counted 49, by the time she noticed this the drill sergeant was already in the bus and looking at the one sleeping pony with his head against the window. The sleeping pony woke up then the drill sergeant spoke in a soft voice,"well hello there sunshine did you have a good sleep?", the young earth ponies eyes were now wide with fear,"here lets get off the bus now", said the sergeant still in a soft voice as he escorted the young pony who was stumbling a little from fear."NOW YOU BUCKING SORRY PIECE OF SHIT YOU WILL GIVE ME 100 PUSH-UPS RIGHT NOW AND MAYBE THAT WILL WAKE YOU UP!!!!", screamed the sergeant in the face of the young pony, without saying a word and struck with fear the earth pony started his punishment. The unicorn with the group twilight was in chuckled a bit then spoke,"alright then, most of you might remember me from when we fought in the griffon war but i am sergeant smoke, call me smokey and i will beat the living shit out of you, am i understood?", she said roughly,"MAM YES MAM", shouted the group in response. "Good, now we're going to march in formation to the barracks and then you'll go find the one you are placed in, right after that you will report at the flag pole in the middle of the barracks, dont buck around either or there will be serious consequences", said the mare unicorn strictly, the group then got into formation and marched to the barracks. Finally they arrived in the center of all the barracks where the flag pole was located then the unicorn began to speak once more,"now this is where we are going to reform now bucking hurry up and find where your placed", said the unicorn shouting at her group making some jump a little. Twilight broke from the group and went on her way quickly to find the barrack she was stationed in, she reached in her pocket and pulled out a paper that held the information she needed, her horn glowed softly as she held the note in front of her to read. She scanned the note and after a few seconds found what she needed and read it silently to herself,"barrack: MB-43", twilight looked up and scanned the buildings for the barrack number, she found it in the upper right region and quickly started off for it.Twilight entered the barrack it was noisey with different ponies on on either side but no stallions for the obvious reasons of "playing around".Twilight walked along the rows and found her bunk she looked at the top bunk in a curious glance out of who would be her top bunk partner. "Well hi there sugarcube!!", said a friendly voice that she new and loved, one that she has known for most of her time in ponyville."Oh applejack im so glad to see you", said twilight cheerfully as she threw her hooves around her in a hug,"who slow down there twi", said applejack as she patted her friend on the back. "Where's the rest of the group did they get called in or not?", questioned twilight rather quckly, the mane six are already active duty so they didnt need to go through boot camp and all the other crap the recruits do."They'er already gatherin' by the flag pole in their formations", said applejack pointing in the general direction of the flag pole. "Well we should head out there now or risk getting our flanks kicked", said twilight as she and applejack started off to the gathering point. The area where the flag pole is located was now filled with square formations of ponies, twilight quickly scanned the area for her friends finally she found the rest but couldnt get to them because they were in formation.In the far left formations she saw rainbow dash, pinkie pie, and rarity.In the upper formations she caught sight of fluttershy and applejack, a stallion pegasus stepped in the middle of all the formations and started to speak. "Tomorrow we will be heading out to the war to fight the approaching republic, it will not be easy i assure you they are a superior fghting force what they lack in skill they make up for in numbers.I cannot guarantee that all of you young stallions and mares will make it back alive but i will make it my lifes duty to ensure the best outcome.This isnt like the movies we will not come back to the camp after each battle, at times we will be out fighting for 4 weeks at a time before even returning.I will be the first to step on the battle field and the last to step off and i will make sure that no pony is left behind". "If you see your fellow comrade wounded you will pick him or her up and aid them, if you see your fellow comrade get killed or blown apart you will shut their eyes for them and carry them out!!We will fight to the death for the motherland and for our freedom!DO YOU UNDERSTAND STAND ME SOLDIERS!!!!!", yelled the pegasus general. "SIR YES SIR", replied twilight and the rest of the formations in unison, nopony needed to look at each other for they were thinking the same thing. The horrors of war were about to unfold tomorrow on the front doorstep of equestria. Chapter 3:ShellshockedBorder between the NLR and Solar Empire 5:35 a.m. "INCOMING!!!!!!!", yelled a stallion as an artillery shell struck a group of ponies blowing them apart.The war had started and the border between the NLR and Solar Empire was now alive with gunfire and fighting.Twilight was galloping as fast as she could her heart beating a thousand times a second, bullets whizzing past her head , artillery and mortar shells impacting the ground showering her with dirt and debris. Twilight skidded behind one of the destroyed concrete border walls just as a republic soldier opened fire with a .50cal, applejack followed soon after,"wadda ya think we should do?",yelled applejack over the gunfire,"im working on that thought",yelled twilight as she quickly leaned over the side of the wall and squeezed of a few rounds from her carbine one of the bullets collided with the bottom jaw of a republic soldier practically ripping it off, she ducked behind again as the gunner continued firing in their direction. "Well we gotta move quickly sugarcube or risk gettin' turned to applesauce",yelled applejack as she lobbed a grenade at the gunner ahead the grenade landed right beside soldier, it detonated just as he was about to throw it back blowing him and his hoof off."Nice work applejack now lets go!!",yelled twilight as they both bolted from the cover over to a more secure piece of shielding with a few other soldiers. After they got behind the sandbags a mortor struck a soldier running to the cover they were hiding behind, twilight caught a quick glimpse of his head landing a few yards from them his eyes still blinking.She heard a young stallion mutter "oh my god" and then vomited behind her, the sight of the head made a shiver of horror down her spine as she shook her head and looked onward at the battle. "Twilight, applejack!!", two voices shouted with excitemnt from behind, twilight saw the faces of rarity and pinkie pie both gripping their weapons, rarity a light machine gun and pinkie with a highly improved version of the flamethrower."Twilight its such a pleasure to see you right now and you two applejack honey", yelled rarity over the gunfire so the two could hear her,"thanks you too and its good to see you to pinkie", said the two at rarity and pinkie pie. Pinkie was about to reply when a mare beside her yelled "we got three advancing up the hill towards us" pinkie swinged the muzzle of her flamethrower towards the direction of the three advancing enemy soldiers, twilight saw the three faces in utter horror just before liquid napalm shot out of pinkies flamethrower onto them. The three soldiers ran around in blood curdling screams as the napalm cooked their flesh and insides alive, the smell was nauseating and almost made twilight vomit.Pinkie slowly crouched behind the sandbags again and spoke,"i....i..i always hate doing that, oh its great to see you guys too",said pinkie pie with sickness in her eyes but still sounded a little enthusiastic. "Where's rainbow dash and fluttershy?", yelled twilight to rarity,"they're over there",replied rarity who was pointing her hoof to a small hill with sand bags and dead, mangled bodies all around it. There twilight could see rainbow dash firing a heavy machine gun into the republic troops the bullets riping their bodies almost in half, just a little ways from her fluttershy was picking off republic artillery gunners with a .308 sniper rifle.Twilight smiled a bit knowing all of her friends were not dead, she could here from one of the combat radios a transmission for reinforcements, "we need more reinforcements NOW!, the republic is pushing hard were losing to many ponies out here!!", the radio went back to static. "Buck their right we need to fall back",yelled rarity as she yanked twilight out of a trance, twilight could here other stallions and mares calling to fall back.Tank shells and bullets whizzed over head crashing and striking buildings some colliding with groups of solar soldiers their bodies and appendages flung in all directions. Twilight and rarity skidded behind a burnt out shell of a jeep and fired upon the advancing republic troops, applejack swung her sub-machine around firing half a clip before retreating behind the same cover."We need back-up soon sugarcube or we're as good as dead", yelled applejack as she flinched at the sound of bullets ricoching of the jeep, fierce winds blew the scent of burnt flesh and smoke making twilight gag. "We need to get to that gunning post", shouted twilight as she pointed her hoof at a heavy machine gun on top of a command building with a solar soldier slumped over it,"you mares get over there i'll provide cover as", shouted pinkie pie readying here flamethrower. "But what if you get killed..it...its just to many soldiers for you to handle", replied twilight with worry in her eyes, pinkie put her hoof on twilights shoulder,"c'mone twilight im pinkie pie remember.If i can brake through a fourth wall then i can take a few soldiers, now GO!!!", shouted pinkie pie as she stood from cover and spat the liquid napalm from her flamethrower on the advancing republic soldiers. With out a moments hesitation twilight and the other two bolted from the safety of cover to the heavy machine gun post behind them pinkie was dousing the advancing soldiers preventing them from going further. Twilight and the other two reached the post.Being on top of the command building you could easily fire down upon the enemy, twilight took the dead solar soldier off the machine gun and set him down gently, closing his eyes for him remembering the generals speech.Applejack took hold of the heavy machine gun, swung open the loading hatch and put in a new belt then cocked it and opened fire on the enemy below. Rarity aimed her light machine downhill and took aim on the advancing troops, twilight swung her carbine around closing one eye she looked through the rifle scope but first at her friends a little ways to the right.Rainbow dash was still firing at the soldiers she could see a small trickle of blood form her arm were a bullet had grazed it, fluttershy was still picking off soldiers with her rifle. Twilight focused once more on the advancing enemy she aimed and fired, the bullet passing through the head off a rublic soldier a small cloud off blood popping from the back were the bullet exited.She continued to fire on the troops from her peripheral vision she could see soldiers running around screaming as their flesh burned from the fire of pinkies flamethrower. "Theres just to many of them, we cant hold them off for much longer", shouted applejack as she loaded another ammo belt and continued firing, twilights eyes widened in shock as she too realized that they indeed desperatly needed reinforcements."I..i..i dont think we're going to make it theres to many of them",twilight said in shock as she kept aiming and firing as fast as she could. Just when twilight was about to tell rarity and applejack to retreat should heard a distinctive sound in the distance, the roar of jet engines!!Twilight swung around, rarity and applejack had to heard it and had done the same, the white jets roared overhead dropping napalm and bombs on the enemy below the great gatling guns from the jets spat lead so fast theat it tore the republic soldiers in half some of the bullets hit their heads popping them like bloody grapes. But that wasnt the only relieving sight, tanks also rolled out from behind they opened fire with a great thundering boom, their shells impacting the ground throwing great plumes of earth and republic soldiers into the air. The republic soldiers started to retreat back to the republic side of the border galloping as fast as they could, the tanks and jets still continued firing upon the retreating troops then started to stop..one...by...one. There was a still silence over the solar troops...then..cheering,"MOTHER OF CELESTIA WE DID IT!!!!",yelled applejack and rarity along with alot of other ponies as they thrusted their weapons in the air in rejoice. Pinkie pie ran up and hugged twilight, rainbow dash and fluttershy had made their way up the building to congradulate rarity, applejack, pinkie, and twilight also for surviving their first battle of this war."Oh my gosh twilight i cant believe we made it!!",shouted pinkie as she hugged twilight then let go to congradulate her other friends. Twilight just stood there in a trance and walked over to the edge of the command building and looked over the area where the battle took place. Bodies littered the area both solar and republic, some blown or shot completely in half their organs scattered everywhere, medics attending the wounded soldiers closing the eyes of the dead and carrying them off.The once brown earth that separated the two countries now dark red from the blood of the fallen.The sky black and red with burning and smoke, the wind carrying the smell of burnt flesh and fresh blood. The solar empire did indeed win the first battle, barely, but still a victory and even if they did win this war but at what cost?How many lives must be wasted and taken from their homes, how much blood must be spilled to declare this war a victory? Twilight stared off into the distance where they would be continuing onward to, on the other side of the border, the side...of the republic.They would not be returning back to the base tonight but continue onward chasing the enemy, taking more lives. The war was long from over..... Back in the solar empire Canterlot castle 3:45 p.m. Celestia sat in her office working and preparing for the next assault on the republic after the battle at the border."To many losses on the first day", celestia said sighing to her self, she stood up and slowly walked to her window overlooking canterlot. The sky was now gray with rain clouds but in the distance in the direction of the border the clouds were'nt gray but black and red from the fire and smoke."Why luna..why did you have to act like this?",said celestia softly to herself, grief and sadness sitting in her heart like a lead ball. War was never something celestia liked to her war was nothing but a waste of lives, she still remembered when luna was kind and soft a time when there was peace between the two countries.But now that time was long gone and now she had a war on her hooves, the solar empire is a much smaller country when compared to the new lunar republic by ponies and land mass. "This is not going to be an easy war i dont even know if we'll make it",said celestia softly again to herself as she went back to her chair and devising a new battle plan for the upcoming battles. Oh how many lives will be lost, how much of this generation will survive?
chapter 1:Flashback20 years......It has been 20 years since the terrible war that had claimed the lives of over 2 million ponies of all kinds. Twilight sat in her bench outside her house, her once dark blue mane with purple highlights had now faded in color. She smiled gently as fillies and colts with their mothers and fathers walked by, she never smiled much anymore after the true horrors of war that had been burned into her soul and seeing half her friends perishing with the war. After the war when she came home, spike the once small baby dragon, had grown since the war had lasted 5 years. She was glad to come home to him after seeing the horrors, later after 10 years he finally hugged her for the last time from living in the house with her and went on his way with his new love to start his own family, every now and then he comes over to see her with his wife and two children. "Well... its getting late i should head on in", said twilight as she balanced one hoof on the arm rest and got up. Being only 37 years old her legs ached from the stress they had gone through during the war. She entered her house and pushed the door gently till she heard the bolt lock in place, then went to her pantery and reached in and gingerly took out a bottle of equestrian whiskey, she never was one for drinking alcohol but she decided to give it a try. She uncorked the bottle with a short pop, she still remembered the day that that this bottle was given to her as a welcome home gift from the war, after grabbing a short drinking glass she poured the amber colored liquid into the glass. She then walked to her table in the middle of her living room and sat down in one of the chairs, her horn glowed softly and so did the small clear drinking glass with the amber colored whiskey.Raising the glass up to her lips she than took a small sip of the liquor, she winced slightly to the harsh taste almost spitting it out but instead swallowed it.The whiskey tasted oaky with a hint of caramel and despite the first taste being harsh it tasted rather delightful.Setting the small glass down twilight then scanned her bookshelves for something to read, her eyes then rested on one book and smiled gently then with her horn glowing she then pulled out the pieced together book.It was a scrapbook with her platoons picture after starying at the picture for a good two minutes she then opened the rough brown book and looked through the pictures of her past. The scrapbook brought tears to her eyes remembering her and her friends years in the equestrian army, she absolutely hated the war losing half her friends was just too much.Twilight then closed her eyes remebering the day the knock came on the door and getting the news that she was getting drafted into the armed equestrian forces, the day.....were it all began. 5 days prior to Equestria declaring War Solar Base Alpha 443 Location: 5 miles from the Solar Empire and New Lunar Republic border The base was in its usual routine of drilling the soldiers, testing the weaponry, and running political status.General Headsted was going over his usual morning proceduers, he was a tall earth pony with a brown buzz cut mane and had been in the equestrian military for 8 years."God damn republic who the heck do they think they are", said the general with irritation, the new lunar republic has been threatning the solar empire for pointless reasons.The solar empire was currently in a communist regime, but not an extreme version of communism, celestia did not treat her country, the ponies, or other countries like crap she just wanted to improve and strengthen her country to the point were the country could switch over to a democracy not conquer all and spread communism. "This day is rather beautiful, but it doesnt feel right", the general thought to himself, ever since he had gotten up this morning a sense of dread had been building in his stomach.But he just shrugged it off thinking that his senses were just working overtime from the wire thin tension between the solar empire and the republic. "General headsted sir",the general jumped a little and turned around to see a young 17 year old unicorn with a letter floating in the air beside him."Awww...scribe apprentace Scroll its nice to see you", the general said with an enthusiastic tone, he was glad to see the young unicorn he was a smart one with a good spirit."I..its good to see you to sir...i mean general, sorry", stammered the unicorn. "No..no its quite alright scroll, so what have you brought me today".The unicorns horn glowed slightley brighter as he levitated the letter to the earth pony, the general then grabbed the letter with his teeth and set it on his table."Thank you scroll i've always been very fond of you keep up the good work!", exclaimed the general the enthusiasm kind of startling the young unicorn."Thank you very much for the compliment general", said scroll as he saluted the general and then started to trot off from the command building. Headsted started to trot to the table when heard the distant roar of fighter jets,"thats weird i was never informed of regular test runs on the jets", headsted exclaimed, but then the dread that had been building in his stomach since the morning lurched making his legs tremble so furiously that he had to brace himself against his desk.Then slowly he turned his head to the open door were scroll was now 60 yards from, he had also stopped and looked into the sky his expression now in utter fear. Just as scroll was turning his head to the door, THADOOM!!!!!A missile from a jet struck right wear scroll was standing, the sharp crack of the explosion rippled through the building, the concusion sent the general flying across the room slaming against his desk. His vision was now blurry, his ears ringing, under the loud ringing in his ears he heard the faint sound of sirens, but not fire sirens the sirens he wished he would never hear, air raid sirens.Headsted pushed himself up and braced one hoof on the desk beside him as his vision cleared and his legs strenghtend, he then walked over to the door wear he had been blown from. Then his eyes widened in horror, the place wear scroll once stood was now a tiny crater but that wasnt what he was horrified from.Right beside the crater was the torn apart mangled body of the military courier scroll, his lower half of his body gone completely, his upper half mangled, his once enthusiastic face now mangled to the point wear you couldnt even recognize him.His intestines and other organs scattered around him and some hanging out of the body, his blood forming a medium sized pool around him. "no..no...NOOO",headsted screamed, his stomach heaved from the sight and vomited on the ground in front of him.Overhead jets screamed through the air and he caught sight of one of them, the jet was blue and painted on the fin, the abreviation NLR.Instantly headsted new what the abreviation was and who was attacking the base the new lunar republic.He then pushed himself of the ground, his legs shaking violently but he managed to stamer to the stairs that lead to the roof of the one story command building. Headsted made it to the roof, the sky now black and orange with fire and smoke, the wind carrying the smell of burning flesh and rubber.He was horrified at the sight:burnt bodies of stallions and mares torn apart and mangled some with no heads others blown apart, jets that tried to take off to fight the attacking ones were shot and burned on the runway before even taking off, medics scurrying and runing to count the dead and attend the wounded. "This..this...wont be forgiven, as long as i live IN THIS COUNTRY!",headsted screamed into the scorched sky, rage now burned in his eyes, hate that will never be extinguished.The wire thin tension that had held for so long, tensions that had worried everyone had now snapped. The war had begun. Twilight Sparkles house 4 hours after the attack "Hey twi wake up!", shouted spike joyfully from down below, twilight opened her eyes she just got done with a wonderfull dream, she glanced at her clock 9:00."Well i guess i should get up", said twilight as she yawned and sat up in bed, but she felt a weird feeling like something bad had happened but shrugged it off as a random feeling. Twilight slowly walked down the stairs, her mane and tail combed before coming down for breakfast."Good morning spike", said twilight cheerfully, the purple dragon turned and smiled warmly at her,"morning twi breakfast is almost done". She smiled back and opened her front door and took in the cool morning air, she smiled seeing two fillies playing in their parents front lawn, she always loved seeing sights like this it just makes her more happy to live in ponyville. "c'mone twi its all done", shouted spike from the kitchen, the smell of bacon and pancakes wafting from the inside the house,"thanks spike", said twilight as she walked to the refridgerator and using her magic to grab the orange juice then walked to the table.It was now 10:30 it was a late breakfast but she didnt care. Twilight switched on the tv, expecting the calm morning news but was shocked at what she saw instead, the news read Attack from the NLR at Solar Base Alpha 443, estimated dead 4,356, wounded 375 and counting.Twilights jaw was left open in shock and horror, memories flooded her mind when she served in the equestrian military in the griffin war. Spike managed to stamer out words to twilight,"tw..twi..whats going on, whats with the violence", but twilight was still in shock from what she was seeing, then a video announcement came on it was celestia about to address her country. "My fellow ponies i am here today to address that our country has been attacked by the new lunar republic, this is an act of war on equestria and will not be ignored.We are going to fight this threat head on and not lay down and die just because af a surprise attack that has devastated one of our bases.We will win this war, we will not show mercy, and we will not let them attack one more inch of our soil again.Each mare and stallion will fight bravely in this conflict, because if we loose this war it will mean the end of our country, the end of our freedom, and the end of us!!" Celestia then walked off behind the curtains escorted by the equestrian special service ignoring the questions and cameras of the press.The network then went back to the regular news of things going on in equestria."Twi..twii are you all right?",qustioned spike, but before she could answer a knock came on the door. Her and spike both turned and looked at the door were the knock had come from, it came again twilight found the words to answer."Ju..ju..just a minute ill be right their", twilight stamered as she slowly got up and walked to the door.Using her magic she slowly opened the door, there stood a middle aged stallion in a military uniform."Hello miss twilight sparkle",the stallion said softly."I am here to inform that you will be departing to the war in three days", said the stallion a little more roughly. "Th..thank you sir," she said softly to the stallion feeling her legs become jelly."Your welcome, the bus to the camp will come in three days 7:00 am sharp", said the stallion tipping his hat then walking the other way. Twilight turned and looked at spike both with fear of what comes in three days, the horrors of war will soon come back to haunt twilight a second time.
Chapter 2:Boot CampTwilight Sparkles house 2 days after recieving departure notice Twilight was still going through the shock of being drafted back into the service, tomorrow she will be going to one the many training bases to get the brushup on the physical and mental tests while new recruits will be going through new training and physical tests which is complete hell if your new. "Well twi i guess this means that i wont see you for a while", sniffled spike, tears forming in his eyes,"an..and theres always the possibility you could get killed and i d...dont want that tw..twi",said spike as he broke down in tears. "Oh spike dont cry, im a skilled soldier and you know that", said twilight softly hugging the baby dragon to calm him down from his worries."I wont let myself get killed spike...i promise", twilight said in a comforting voice, her natural sense felt spike calming down and the fact that he stopped crying and was now just sniffling."w..well alright twi i trust you", said spike as he released himself slowly from her hug. After she calmed spike down, twilight then walked slowly upstairs to pack her duffle bag for her departure to the base.All twilight really needed to pack her duffle with was essentials not playthings and other junk that she doesnt need, checking over everything and apparently had everything except for one more thing.Twilight trotted over to her closet and using her magic a green and lighter green camoflauged digi floated out of her closet.Twilight smiled slightley at the sight of the digi, these were given to all ponies as training and combat wear for on the field and the base. Twilight folded the digi and placed it on her chair,this clothing was what she would need to wear when she departed tomorrow morning for the base, she then zipped the dark green duffle bag and with her horn glowed softly set the bag down beside the chair the digi was resting on."Well buck, i never thought that i would thrust back into war but that doesnt seem to be the case right now", twilight said with a sigh and a pang of irritation, but at least she already knows what to expect when the lead starts flying.A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of how many young mares and stallions will die out of fear and confusion as their thrust into a war zone. "Oh how many lives will be wasted on both sides on the first battle, such a waste of ponykind war is", sighed twilight as she went to go sit on her bed preparing to go to sleep, just a little ways from her bed spike was sleeping soundly in his tinier bed, his sides going in and out from his soft breathing this brought a small smile to her face and conforted her. "Well i should go to bed now i gotta big day ahead of me",said twilight quitely as she turned off her light and laid down in bed, her mind strangley calm even though tomorrow she will be departing for the war effort.Twilight relaxed then closed her eyes going over her training that was taught to her during the griffon war. Its funny she thought, she still remembered how to assemble, clean, and disassemble a firearm. The next day... 6:40 a.m. Twilight breathed in the cool morning air her head busy with the thoughts of what came next, but she strangly felt calm not happy but....just calm.Spike stood next to her his eyes looking at the ground knowing that his best friend well practically his mom will be departing for a unkown amount of time with the threat of death around each corner.Twilight looked down the road and saw the military bus cruising up the road and would soon be arriving in front of her house. After seeing the bus, twilight then turned around and kneeled down to the point wear she was eye level with spike and put her hooves on his shoulders and started to speak,"spike dont worry about me ill be fine, while im gone you will be living with granny smith and applebloom"."Thanks twi i always liked staying on the apple farm and i can play with applebloom and help granny smith with the farm, but ill still be worr....", said spike before he was hushed at his last part of his sentence."I know spike that you'll be worried but dont be i'll be fine", said twilight as she gave him a promising smile, she glanced over her shoulder at the fast approaching bus. "I want you to have something before i leave spike", twilight said as she stuck her hoof in her pocket, she then pulled out a small silver key on a key ring and handed it to him."Take this its a key to our house if you ever need anything from here you can just walk down here and open the house to get it", said twilight as the bus stopped in front of her house its brakes making a slight squeak. "Hey twi theres one thing i wanna give you before you leave its something ive kept for a long time", spike said as he opened his little hand opened revealing a small silver figure of a dragon,"its my good luck charm but i figured that you will need it more than me".Spike placed the the small pendant in her hoof, she smiled then hugged spike,"ill miss you spike but dont worry ill be fine",said twilight holding back her tears."You too twi", spike said choking a bit. The two both released each other from their hugs, twilight smiled, turned around and slowly walked over to the entrance of the bus.She stepped in and saw and felt eyes on her, sighing she walked over to a seat by a window.The bus jerked slightly forward and started to move, she looked out the window at spike he waved slowly twilight did the same.She took the duffle bag of her lap and set it next to her, laying her head back she then snapped it back up, remembering that if your caught resting your head or asleep that the drill sargeant will practically beat the crap out of you. Twilight sighed as the bus drove onward to the base,"well here we go again, back to hell". Solar Base Echo 6 miles from the border between the solar empire and the new lunar republic. The bus was closing in on the base, out the window twilight could see formations of soldiers march and jogging singing little tunes as they went along.Just ahead she could see the dark green barracks and command buildings inside the base behind the gates.Overhead she could hear the roaring of jets off to fight and also test their firing systems and whatnot, the bus stopped outside twilight could see the security fence slowly opening, once again the bus started rolling forward. Then after going midway into the base the bus stopped, turned off, and the front exit opened and in came the drill sergeant he was a large built, brown earth pony with a dark blue buzz cut mane."Alright you little bucks, when we unload you from here i want the new recruits on the left and the already in service on the right if you buck up i will beat your little asses, am i understood!!", yelled the sergeant,"SIR YES SIR!!!", yelled twilight and the rest of the ponies. Everypony had gotten off the bus and into each of their categories, the new recruits with the drill sergeant and the already in service with another pony, it was a blue, middle aged mare unicorn with a purple mane that was a bit longer then the sergeants but practically still a buzz cut.But something was off there was 50 ponies on the bus but she only counted 49, by the time she noticed this the drill sergeant was already in the bus and looking at the one sleeping pony with his head against the window. The sleeping pony woke up then the drill sergeant spoke in a soft voice,"well hello there sunshine did you have a good sleep?", the young earth ponies eyes were now wide with fear,"here lets get off the bus now", said the sergeant still in a soft voice as he escorted the young pony who was stumbling a little from fear."NOW YOU BUCKING SORRY PIECE OF SHIT YOU WILL GIVE ME 100 PUSH-UPS RIGHT NOW AND MAYBE THAT WILL WAKE YOU UP!!!!", screamed the sergeant in the face of the young pony, without saying a word and struck with fear the earth pony started his punishment. The unicorn with the group twilight was in chuckled a bit then spoke,"alright then, most of you might remember me from when we fought in the griffon war but i am sergeant smoke, call me smokey and i will beat the living shit out of you, am i understood?", she said roughly,"MAM YES MAM", shouted the group in response. "Good, now we're going to march in formation to the barracks and then you'll go find the one you are placed in, right after that you will report at the flag pole in the middle of the barracks, dont buck around either or there will be serious consequences", said the mare unicorn strictly, the group then got into formation and marched to the barracks. Finally they arrived in the center of all the barracks where the flag pole was located then the unicorn began to speak once more,"now this is where we are going to reform now bucking hurry up and find where your placed", said the unicorn shouting at her group making some jump a little. Twilight broke from the group and went on her way quickly to find the barrack she was stationed in, she reached in her pocket and pulled out a paper that held the information she needed, her horn glowed softly as she held the note in front of her to read. She scanned the note and after a few seconds found what she needed and read it silently to herself,"barrack: MB-43", twilight looked up and scanned the buildings for the barrack number, she found it in the upper right region and quickly started off for it.Twilight entered the barrack it was noisey with different ponies on on either side but no stallions for the obvious reasons of "playing around".Twilight walked along the rows and found her bunk she looked at the top bunk in a curious glance out of who would be her top bunk partner. "Well hi there sugarcube!!", said a friendly voice that she new and loved, one that she has known for most of her time in ponyville."Oh applejack im so glad to see you", said twilight cheerfully as she threw her hooves around her in a hug,"who slow down there twi", said applejack as she patted her friend on the back. "Where's the rest of the group did they get called in or not?", questioned twilight rather quckly, the mane six are already active duty so they didnt need to go through boot camp and all the other crap the recruits do."They'er already gatherin' by the flag pole in their formations", said applejack pointing in the general direction of the flag pole. "Well we should head out there now or risk getting our flanks kicked", said twilight as she and applejack started off to the gathering point. The area where the flag pole is located was now filled with square formations of ponies, twilight quickly scanned the area for her friends finally she found the rest but couldnt get to them because they were in formation.In the far left formations she saw rainbow dash, pinkie pie, and rarity.In the upper formations she caught sight of fluttershy and applejack, a stallion pegasus stepped in the middle of all the formations and started to speak. "Tomorrow we will be heading out to the war to fight the approaching republic, it will not be easy i assure you they are a superior fghting force what they lack in skill they make up for in numbers.I cannot guarantee that all of you young stallions and mares will make it back alive but i will make it my lifes duty to ensure the best outcome.This isnt like the movies we will not come back to the camp after each battle, at times we will be out fighting for 4 weeks at a time before even returning.I will be the first to step on the battle field and the last to step off and i will make sure that no pony is left behind". "If you see your fellow comrade wounded you will pick him or her up and aid them, if you see your fellow comrade get killed or blown apart you will shut their eyes for them and carry them out!!We will fight to the death for the motherland and for our freedom!DO YOU UNDERSTAND STAND ME SOLDIERS!!!!!", yelled the pegasus general. "SIR YES SIR", replied twilight and the rest of the formations in unison, nopony needed to look at each other for they were thinking the same thing. The horrors of war were about to unfold tomorrow on the front doorstep of equestria.
Chapter 3:ShellshockedBorder between the NLR and Solar Empire 5:35 a.m. "INCOMING!!!!!!!", yelled a stallion as an artillery shell struck a group of ponies blowing them apart.The war had started and the border between the NLR and Solar Empire was now alive with gunfire and fighting.Twilight was galloping as fast as she could her heart beating a thousand times a second, bullets whizzing past her head , artillery and mortar shells impacting the ground showering her with dirt and debris. Twilight skidded behind one of the destroyed concrete border walls just as a republic soldier opened fire with a .50cal, applejack followed soon after,"wadda ya think we should do?",yelled applejack over the gunfire,"im working on that thought",yelled twilight as she quickly leaned over the side of the wall and squeezed of a few rounds from her carbine one of the bullets collided with the bottom jaw of a republic soldier practically ripping it off, she ducked behind again as the gunner continued firing in their direction. "Well we gotta move quickly sugarcube or risk gettin' turned to applesauce",yelled applejack as she lobbed a grenade at the gunner ahead the grenade landed right beside soldier, it detonated just as he was about to throw it back blowing him and his hoof off."Nice work applejack now lets go!!",yelled twilight as they both bolted from the cover over to a more secure piece of shielding with a few other soldiers. After they got behind the sandbags a mortor struck a soldier running to the cover they were hiding behind, twilight caught a quick glimpse of his head landing a few yards from them his eyes still blinking.She heard a young stallion mutter "oh my god" and then vomited behind her, the sight of the head made a shiver of horror down her spine as she shook her head and looked onward at the battle. "Twilight, applejack!!", two voices shouted with excitemnt from behind, twilight saw the faces of rarity and pinkie pie both gripping their weapons, rarity a light machine gun and pinkie with a highly improved version of the flamethrower."Twilight its such a pleasure to see you right now and you two applejack honey", yelled rarity over the gunfire so the two could hear her,"thanks you too and its good to see you to pinkie", said the two at rarity and pinkie pie. Pinkie was about to reply when a mare beside her yelled "we got three advancing up the hill towards us" pinkie swinged the muzzle of her flamethrower towards the direction of the three advancing enemy soldiers, twilight saw the three faces in utter horror just before liquid napalm shot out of pinkies flamethrower onto them. The three soldiers ran around in blood curdling screams as the napalm cooked their flesh and insides alive, the smell was nauseating and almost made twilight vomit.Pinkie slowly crouched behind the sandbags again and spoke,"i....i..i always hate doing that, oh its great to see you guys too",said pinkie pie with sickness in her eyes but still sounded a little enthusiastic. "Where's rainbow dash and fluttershy?", yelled twilight to rarity,"they're over there",replied rarity who was pointing her hoof to a small hill with sand bags and dead, mangled bodies all around it. There twilight could see rainbow dash firing a heavy machine gun into the republic troops the bullets riping their bodies almost in half, just a little ways from her fluttershy was picking off republic artillery gunners with a .308 sniper rifle.Twilight smiled a bit knowing all of her friends were not dead, she could here from one of the combat radios a transmission for reinforcements, "we need more reinforcements NOW!, the republic is pushing hard were losing to many ponies out here!!", the radio went back to static. "Buck their right we need to fall back",yelled rarity as she yanked twilight out of a trance, twilight could here other stallions and mares calling to fall back.Tank shells and bullets whizzed over head crashing and striking buildings some colliding with groups of solar soldiers their bodies and appendages flung in all directions. Twilight and rarity skidded behind a burnt out shell of a jeep and fired upon the advancing republic troops, applejack swung her sub-machine around firing half a clip before retreating behind the same cover."We need back-up soon sugarcube or we're as good as dead", yelled applejack as she flinched at the sound of bullets ricoching of the jeep, fierce winds blew the scent of burnt flesh and smoke making twilight gag. "We need to get to that gunning post", shouted twilight as she pointed her hoof at a heavy machine gun on top of a command building with a solar soldier slumped over it,"you mares get over there i'll provide cover as", shouted pinkie pie readying here flamethrower. "But what if you get killed..it...its just to many soldiers for you to handle", replied twilight with worry in her eyes, pinkie put her hoof on twilights shoulder,"c'mone twilight im pinkie pie remember.If i can brake through a fourth wall then i can take a few soldiers, now GO!!!", shouted pinkie pie as she stood from cover and spat the liquid napalm from her flamethrower on the advancing republic soldiers. With out a moments hesitation twilight and the other two bolted from the safety of cover to the heavy machine gun post behind them pinkie was dousing the advancing soldiers preventing them from going further. Twilight and the other two reached the post.Being on top of the command building you could easily fire down upon the enemy, twilight took the dead solar soldier off the machine gun and set him down gently, closing his eyes for him remembering the generals speech.Applejack took hold of the heavy machine gun, swung open the loading hatch and put in a new belt then cocked it and opened fire on the enemy below. Rarity aimed her light machine downhill and took aim on the advancing troops, twilight swung her carbine around closing one eye she looked through the rifle scope but first at her friends a little ways to the right.Rainbow dash was still firing at the soldiers she could see a small trickle of blood form her arm were a bullet had grazed it, fluttershy was still picking off soldiers with her rifle. Twilight focused once more on the advancing enemy she aimed and fired, the bullet passing through the head off a rublic soldier a small cloud off blood popping from the back were the bullet exited.She continued to fire on the troops from her peripheral vision she could see soldiers running around screaming as their flesh burned from the fire of pinkies flamethrower. "Theres just to many of them, we cant hold them off for much longer", shouted applejack as she loaded another ammo belt and continued firing, twilights eyes widened in shock as she too realized that they indeed desperatly needed reinforcements."I..i..i dont think we're going to make it theres to many of them",twilight said in shock as she kept aiming and firing as fast as she could. Just when twilight was about to tell rarity and applejack to retreat should heard a distinctive sound in the distance, the roar of jet engines!!Twilight swung around, rarity and applejack had to heard it and had done the same, the white jets roared overhead dropping napalm and bombs on the enemy below the great gatling guns from the jets spat lead so fast theat it tore the republic soldiers in half some of the bullets hit their heads popping them like bloody grapes. But that wasnt the only relieving sight, tanks also rolled out from behind they opened fire with a great thundering boom, their shells impacting the ground throwing great plumes of earth and republic soldiers into the air. The republic soldiers started to retreat back to the republic side of the border galloping as fast as they could, the tanks and jets still continued firing upon the retreating troops then started to stop..one...by...one. There was a still silence over the solar troops...then..cheering,"MOTHER OF CELESTIA WE DID IT!!!!",yelled applejack and rarity along with alot of other ponies as they thrusted their weapons in the air in rejoice. Pinkie pie ran up and hugged twilight, rainbow dash and fluttershy had made their way up the building to congradulate rarity, applejack, pinkie, and twilight also for surviving their first battle of this war."Oh my gosh twilight i cant believe we made it!!",shouted pinkie as she hugged twilight then let go to congradulate her other friends. Twilight just stood there in a trance and walked over to the edge of the command building and looked over the area where the battle took place. Bodies littered the area both solar and republic, some blown or shot completely in half their organs scattered everywhere, medics attending the wounded soldiers closing the eyes of the dead and carrying them off.The once brown earth that separated the two countries now dark red from the blood of the fallen.The sky black and red with burning and smoke, the wind carrying the smell of burnt flesh and fresh blood. The solar empire did indeed win the first battle, barely, but still a victory and even if they did win this war but at what cost?How many lives must be wasted and taken from their homes, how much blood must be spilled to declare this war a victory? Twilight stared off into the distance where they would be continuing onward to, on the other side of the border, the side...of the republic.They would not be returning back to the base tonight but continue onward chasing the enemy, taking more lives. The war was long from over..... Back in the solar empire Canterlot castle 3:45 p.m. Celestia sat in her office working and preparing for the next assault on the republic after the battle at the border."To many losses on the first day", celestia said sighing to her self, she stood up and slowly walked to her window overlooking canterlot. The sky was now gray with rain clouds but in the distance in the direction of the border the clouds were'nt gray but black and red from the fire and smoke."Why luna..why did you have to act like this?",said celestia softly to herself, grief and sadness sitting in her heart like a lead ball. War was never something celestia liked to her war was nothing but a waste of lives, she still remembered when luna was kind and soft a time when there was peace between the two countries.But now that time was long gone and now she had a war on her hooves, the solar empire is a much smaller country when compared to the new lunar republic by ponies and land mass. "This is not going to be an easy war i dont even know if we'll make it",said celestia softly again to herself as she went back to her chair and devising a new battle plan for the upcoming battles. Oh how many lives will be lost, how much of this generation will survive?
