Twilight, Soldier of War

Two Years, six months after arrival

Twilight stared down the other members of her squad, her eyes focused and her face deadpanned. Once more she rearranged the cards in her hands. It had only been a few games but she was getting better at this ‘Poker’ and she was determined to win back her losses.

They were still technically on duty, so no matter how much Twilight may have wanted to she couldn’t take off her armor. They were part of a company that had been assigned to escort the convoy of Balrog-class transporters to the frontlines, each carrying a few metric tons of supplies. The Company was spread among the dozen Balrogs and the numerous armored vehicles that followed close by.

The Balrog were the largest land vehicle in the world, nearing two stories tall and nearly just as long. The Balrogs were covered by multiple layers of titanium armor, making it more of a tank then actual tanks. The downside to all of this extra protection was having a maximum speed of forty miles-per-hour.

Skyler peeked over his cards that hid most of his face. “Your chips are looking pretty low over there Twilight; sure you don’t want to just fold?”

“And what, miss your look of defeat when I beat you?” Twilight shot back.

Nadia tossed a few chips into the ever growing pile “You’re certainly a confident one?”

“That’s the third time she’s shuffled her cards I’m guessing a three-of-a-kind.” Davis said, leaning close to Nadia.

“Hey no cheating!” Twilight called. She looked over her cards again, trying to decide if it was worth the risk to shuffle them.

“Lay off her you two,” Teagan said. Twilight gave him an appreciative grin. “Besides, she clearly has two-of-a-kind.” Twilight’s grin fell and she shot him a dirty look.

Skyler took a card from the pile and said, “So did you hear that the Commander turned down a promotion again.”

Davis let out a laugh, “I swear he’s determined to stay the same rank until the war ends. I’m guessing he gave the same reason as last time?”

“Pretty much, he says he can do more in the field then being some poster boy for the army.” Skyler explained.

“Poster boy?” Twilight asked. “For what?”

“I am surprised no one told you,” Nadia chimed in. “Back at the beginning of the war the Commonwealth launched a blitzkrieg right after the orbital strike. All of the other high ranking officers got killed in the first attack leaving the Commander the one in charge. But instead of trying to fight the overwhelming force the Commander ordered a fighting retreat, leading the Rats on a zig-zagging chase throughout the eastern countryside. The Rats were in such chaos trying to find them that the Commander was able to slip the army pass their lines. Those reinforcements were one of the reasons we were able to halt the Commonwealth advance.”

“That’s impressive.” Twilight admitted.

“Yeah,” Davis said. “And since then HQ has been trying to make him the ‘face of the war’ or so they call it.”

“Ok I’m calling, let see those cards,” Skyler said, smirking at Twilight.

“I’m out.”

“Same here,” Davis and Nadia called throwing their cards down.

Skyler's grin grew wider as she addressed Twilight, “So what’s it going to be, in or out?”

Twilight shot back with a grin of her own, “Oh I’m in.” she laid out her cards in a straight lined. “Straight.”

“Not bad, it would have been good if it wasn’t for this,” Skyler teased as he laid out his own hand. “Flush.”

Twilight’s head hit the table as she groaned, “Now I’ll be stuck eating nutrient bars for another month.”

Skyler reached out to collect his winning, but stopped as Teagan cleared his throat. Without saying a word he set his cards down revealing to the room a straight flush. “How do you always win?”

Teagan shrugged and said, “Probably because I spend more time playing than talking.” He collected his winnings, but just as easily as he stacked them into neat piles they were knocked to the side as the cabin was rocked and the wall exploded inward.

Twilight’s world was a blur. Her ears rang with a high pitch ringing as her mind tried to piece together what just happened. She set up from where she fell to the ground. Dust floated in the air, blown in from the now gaping hole in the port side wall. She waved a hand through it as she called out, “Is everyone alright?” Groans of “yes” called out as everyone picked themselves up.

“What the Hell was that?” Skyler called.

Twilight didn’t give an answer as she stepped over to the hole and gazed through. In the horizon over the rolling hills she could see them— tanks, rolls of them. “Commonwealth Armor!” She yelled. “At least a full company maybe more.”

Skyler stepped over and looked for himself, and he gave a small shake of his head as he sighed. “So much for winning my money back.”

The Balrog shook as plasma rounds impacted the side. “Everyone out!” Skyler yelled. They moved as one, grabbing their helmets from where they laid on the ground, and raced out the cabin. Skyler sealed the door shut just as a plasma round found the recently made hole and set the room a blaze in blue fire. “And here I thought the Balrogs were supposed to be tough?” Davis said as he snapped his helmet on.

“They are,” Skyler replied. “They must have hit a weak point.”

“Why doesn’t this thing have a shield generator?” Twilight asked, generally curious.

Nadia laughed, “Have you seen the size of this thing it would take five generators at least to cover it, and Balrogs are not exactly high priority.”

The Balrog’s intercom blared static, drawing everyone's attention as Commander Cotreau’s voice came through. “For those of you without ears, the convoy is currently under attack by a Commonwealth ambush that means a lot of tanks, wolverines, and Juggernauts. Our escorts will hold them off the best they can, but there are a lot more of them than us. Skyler get up here to the bridge. Everyone else get to your stations and get those guns firing.”

Skyler turned to face everyone and quickly barked out orders. “Nadia and Davis get to the east side turret. Twilight, you and Teagan take the west.”

“I call gunner seat!” Nadia called as she ran off down the corridor with Davis giving chace.

Twilight and Teagan headed down the opposite corridor. Groups of the Balrog’s crew raced past as they neared the gun room; the loose plate floor sang out as each boot fell on it. Twilight stood in front of a door marked “Gun room 4” and turned back to Teagan. “Shooting or loading?”

“I’ll load, you shoot.”

Twilight hit a switch and slid the door a side. The Gun room was a small cramped room divided into two sections. The control station with the multi panel screen, giving the operator a clear vision of the battlefield from the inside. And the loading racks: two short rolling racks that led into pockets in the wall. Most of the loading was automatic, but it still required someone to load and unload the prepacked crates of ammo.

With a nod Twilight climbed into the gunner seat. She flipped a few switches and brought the turret to life. The screen flicked on, giving Twilight a clear view of the Commonwealth forces as they attacked the fleeing convoy. “Gun room 4,” the intercom blared. “This is the bridge; we detected you powering up. What’s your status?”

Twilight glanced over her screen before hitting a button to answer, “This is Private Sparkle in Gun room 4. We are green, ready to engage.”

“Understood. South-west, Balrog 807 is under heavy fire see if you can help them out.”

“Affirmative.” Twilight grasped the joystick, turning the turret to the specified location. Eight tanks were driving along side Balrog 807 each doing their best to take out the reinforced treads of the Balrog. Smaller armored vehicles, the wolverines, maneuvered around the explosions as they fired from their mounted guns on the last remaining port side turret. Twilight targeted the gunner on the lead wolverines. It took mere moments for the targeting reticule to lock on and with a short squeeze of the trigger armor piercing rounds reduced him to a red missed. She quickly followed it up with a barrage of high grade artillery plasma rounds. The lead wolverine was sent rolling as fire consumed it. More wolverines swerved past their fallen comrade and turned straight for Twilight’s Balrog.

“Looks like we got their attention,” Teagan commented. Twilight fired off another barrage of artillery rounds, but the wolverines easily dodged the slow falling rounds. She switched back to the ballistic rounds and aimed the reticule at where she believed the driver seat would be and squeeze the trigger. The wolverine swerved into another one causing the second to spin out of control and go into a death roll.

The remaining wolverines moved into a zigzag formation as they opened fire. “Short steady burst,” Twilight told herself. She could hear Teagan working as he hefted one crate after another, struggling to keep up with her.

Twilight picked the next target; one that was just a bit slower than the others, and a bit more predictable. She aimed where she predicted it would be and fired in a five second burst. She was rewarded by a surge of joy as her shots met their mark, but her rush was quickly replaced by annoyance when the wolverine veered back into formation.

“This is Gun Room One. We're running low on ammo here.” Nadia called over the radio.

Moments later Skyler’s voice came in answer, “We are transporting ammunition. That is not a possibility!”

Twilight did her best to ignore their bantering as she lined up the next shot. This time she was determined to finish off that wolverine. “Gun Room Four! Gun Room Four!” The intercom blaired causing Twilight to pull the trigger too soon, missing the target. “3 o’clock high, enemy hovercraft inbound take them out!”

All thoughts of the wolverines were gone from Twilight’s mind as she wheeled the turret up high to face five commonwealth hovercraft, dead set on a bombing run. She didn’t bother with burst fire and held down the trigger, draining a full ammo crate in less than a minute. A thin layer of blue reverberated across the lead hovercraft as Twilight’s rounds made impact. But the sheer amount of constant fire quickly overwhelmed the shield. By the next volley of fire the lead hovercraft was sent careening into a group of allied strykers.

Despite taking one out it wasn’t enough to stop the remaining hovercraft from dropping their payloads over another balrog. The explosion impacted over the bridge, ripping apart its protective covering. The balrog began lagging behind, as whoever was in there was unlikely to have survived. Twilight hit the button from the intercom and said, “This is Gun Room Four, Balrog 38 has been taken out.”

“Roger that, we see it,” Came the reply.

Twilight barely had time to refocus on the wolverines before Cotreau came over her radio. “Twilight, Teagan. I’m sending someone to take over for you, so get to the bridge.”

Twilight looked over to Teagan and asked, “I wonder what’s going on now?” Teagan just gave a nonchalant shrug.

They race through corridors as they made their way to the bridge, doing their best not to break out into a dead run; a battlefield wasn’t the best time for a leisurely stroll. They ran into Davis and Nadia as they neared the bridge. “What are you two doing here?” Twilight asked. She didn't bother stopping, but the others kept pace with her.

“We heard the Commander on the radio and thought we’d come and join you.” Davis explained.

“There’s also the fact that our turret got taken out,” Nadia informed.

The bridge door slid open and the four of them walked in. The bridge was made of several control stations set up in a semicircle with Cotreau and Skyler standing in the center. Cotreau turned to face the new arrivals, and didn’t seem surprised that Davis and Nadia had joined. “I’ll keep this brief, because we sure as hell don’t have a lot of time. Colonel Wyatt has ordered me to take a team over to Balrog 38 and get it moving. The remains of the escort forces will concentrate their efforts around there and by us as much time as they can.”

“Commander,” Twilight interrupted. “I saw the bombs drop on the balrog even if the cargo is still intact there’s no guarantee we can get it running.”

“I’m going to have to disagree with that.” One of the worker said standing up from their seat. She was about the same height as Twilight but had a much deeper tan to her skin. Her dark hair was kept in a ponytail and her green eyes were like steel as she looked Twilight down. “As long as the engine is still intact we can get it moving.”

“This is Catherine, we will be escorting her over and keeping her alive while she gets the Balrog working. Any questions?” Cotreau said. when no one spoke up he continued. “Head to the cargo bay there’s a stryker we can use.”

It took them five minutes to go from the bridge to the cargo bay. The back of the stryker lowered and they piled inside. “Someone get on that gun.” Cotreau called as he took the driver seat.

“On it.” Twilight said, as she climbed on to a pedestal to stand through a hole in the ceiling. She gripped the heavy powered machine gun in both hands. It wasn’t as advanced as the guns on the balrog but it had a simplistic yet incredibly effective design. The cargo bay doors parted letting in the rushing wind. Twilight was jolted back as the stryker sped forward through the partially opened doors. They hit the three foot drop with a thud, and raced off in the direction of the awaiting balrog.

Twilight scanned the area. All around her the battle raged on, as the escort forces struggled to keep the commonwealth at bay. From what she could see there were less than one hundred strykers left. She spotted an allied squad taking cover behind their overturned stryker, as they worked to take out an approaching Juggernaut. Twilight wheeled around and fired three consecutive burst at the Juggernaut. The shots connected but did little more than drop its shield. The Juggernaut turned its attention on her, and with the spinning barrel of it’s gun it fired back.

Twilight heard the rounds bounce off the side of the stryker, and felt a burning pain shoot through her shoulder. But the distraction was enough for the pinned squad to launch a counterattack. The juggernaut fell under a hell of plasma fire. Their victory was short lived as artillery rained from the sky turning the area into an inferno. Twilight shut her eyes unable to look and drop down from her perch. She hit the ground with a groan. Davis was at her side at once, “Shit, she’s been hit.” he called.

“Get her patched up!” Skyler ordered as he took Twilight’s place on the gun.

Davis helped her up and took a seat next to Teagan. He quickly got to work examining the now visible hole in Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight pulled the clasp on her helmet with her good arm before removing it. “So how bad is it?” She asked, as she gritted her teeth.

“Well, the good news,” Davis began. “The bullet went all the way through, and you're lucky it was a bullet and not a plasma round. The bad news, you’re not going to be lifting a lot with that arm for a while.” He pulled a can from his bag, after attaching a small nozzle he inserted it into her wound. He paused before adding, “This is going to sting.” A foamy substance poured out of Twilight’s wound, causing her to gasp at the sudden sharp pain.

“Dammit!” She cried. “I thought you said it would only sting. What is that stuff?”

“Medical foam, keeps you from bleeding out.” Davis explained, taking an injector gun out next and popping a vile in the back. “And this is my little friend. It will make all your pain fade away, or more accurately it will make you stop thinking about it.” He inserted the gun into a port on her right arm, and almost immediately she felt something flow through her as her mind became clearer and more focused. She could still feel the pain but it was in the back of her mind, easy to ignore.

“Wow, what is this stuff?”

“Anizon.”

“Also known as the superhuman drug.” Nadia chimed in, from across the aisle.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion and Davis explained. “About thirty years back before the war there was an attempt to create so called ‘Superhumans,’ unfortunately for those involved it was a complete failure, but not a total loss. While they couldn’t turn people into super soldiers they made the next best thing: a drug that would enhance the human’s natural gifts, so to speak. The first drug they made is now what is commonly known as Berserker Stems, and if you’ve ever seen a berserker then you know just how dangerous that stuff can be. The next drug they made is the Anizon you just took, but don’t worry it’s diluted by about a thousand times compared to Berserker Stems.”

Twilight flexed her right hand a few times before asking, “Any side effects I should know about?”

“Oh, you know just the normal stuff: headaches, dizziness, hallucinations.”

“Hallucinations, hmm. Will I see anything good?”

“Yeah, a whole magical kingdom.” Davis said with a laughed. “But seriously, if you start hallucinating let me know, I’ll need to adjust your dosage.”

“Five minutes!” Skyler called from above. “Get ready.”

“Looks like story time is over,” Nadia quipped. She pull the magazine from her rifle and gave it a look over, before slamming it back in.

Twilight used her one good arm to put her helmet back on, while the pain wasn’t a problem anymore she still only had limited movement with her right arm. Catherine, who had kept quiet up to this point, spoke up. “You know when I joined up they told me that balrogs were the safest place to be.” She gave out a sad laugh as she stared at her hands.

Nadia snorted as she said, “They got you good.”

Teagan looked over to Twilight as she said, “If there’s no one on the other Balrog to open the cargo bay doors how are we going to get in?”

As if in answer Skyler jumped down from the gun and called out, “Brace yourself!”

Twilight was jolted forward from an unseen impact. Her stomach felt like it was doing flips as she felt the stryker spinning rapidly before violently slamming against something. The ramp of the Stryker lowered and light poured in. “Are we alive?” Nadia asked, stumbling out.

“Just barely,” Skyler replied.

Twilight found herself in the familiar setting of a cargo bay. She glanced from the bay doors, with a hole barely large enough for the stryker to fit through, to where the stryker had crashed into a shipping crate. “Why did we let him drive?” She asked herself.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Cotreau said as he walked passed Twilight. He peered into the stryker. “Catherine, are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m ok. Just a little shaken.” She said, stepping up to the commander.

“You’re the expert here, where do you start?”

Catherine looked around the bay before she spoke up, “The power is still working so the engine is still good. We should head to the bridge and see how bad it is.”

Cotreau gave a nod and gestured to everyone, with the wave of a hand, to move out. The balrog similarly built design made it easy to find the bridge. The corridors took on a blackened look, like fire had swept through them. This was soon proven true when they passed the charred remains of a crewman.

The Bridge was in shambles, most of the control panels looked melted and beyond repair. Bearly any of the ceiling was left, having been blown away in the explosion. It was only thanks to their helmets that the smell of burnt flesh didn’t suffocate them, Catherine wasn’t so lucky.

Catherine went from one control station to another muttering to herself about poorly maintained junk, as she looked for a working station. “This one has power,” she called, flipping the switches from a station at the far end. She gave a sigh of frustration and crouched down to pull off a panel from the base of the station. “I’m going to bypass some of the burnt out systems.”

“How long?” Cotreau asked.

“Five minutes.”

“Hurry.”

The hum in the air was distinct, easily recognized by anyone. It drew everyone's attention to the gaping hole in the ceiling as a hovercraft descended into view. Time seemed to move in slow motion for Twilight. Cotreau was shouting to take cover. Skyler and Teagan fired from behind a control station, but the plasma seem to do little against it’s shield. Twilight eyes were fixed on the forward gun of the hovercraft as its barrel spun to life. They were all going to die, Twilight knew it. Her mind was racing, and her heart was pounding. How could it just end here? After everything they sacrificed to just end here.

She felt a fire spread over her, starting in her stomach and spread out as if to consume her very being. She closed her eyes and let the fire take over. Time resumed and she could hear the hovercraft firing its gun and even feel it, like pin pricks on the back of her mind. Twilight opened her eyes to see her good arm outstretched and a transparent blue shield was extending from it, encompassing the whole room. All eyes were on her and the same look of shock was held by all, even Twilight.

Skyler was the first one to snap out of it, “Spotlight, I don’t know what you're doing BUT DO NOT STOP!”

“Twilight, how long can you hold that?” Cotreau called next.

“I don’t know I’ve never done this before.” Twilight said as she strained.

“Teagan, get to the armory and get one of the heavy weapons.” Cotreau ordered. With a nod Teagan bolted from the room. “Catherine, how much longer?”

“Just another minute.”

“Everyone else focus fire, bring down its shields!”

The pin pricks in the back of Twilight’s mind slowly turned into a beating drum. Her vision began to blur and she shook her head as she fought to stay focused. “I can’t hold it for much longer!” She cried.

“Don’t give out on us yet, Twilight,” Cotreau ordered.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she fought to keep the shield up. Magic flowed into her arm centering on the palm of her hand, setting her arm a blaze from the inside out. She couldn’t understand how she was casting magic without a horn. She felt like a foal casting magic for the first time.

The sounds of the battle was drowned out by the beautiful sound of Teagan’s boots slamming on the ground as he made his return. He dropped to one knee when he entered the room and through a long circular rocket launcher over his shoulder. “Get down!” He yelled, firing his weapon. The missal shot forth and impacted on the bow, knocking the hovercraft back. Smoke spewed out from the plane and began spinning out of control, careening off to the side.

The moment the hovercraft was out of sight Twilight let the shield drop. Her body felt ragged and her legs gave out from under her as she lost consciousness.

The subtle beeping of a monitor was the first thing Twilight heard when she woke up. The white walls of her square room and the electric bed she found herself lying in were enough to tell her she was in a hospital, let alone the IV drip and blue gown she wore. She set up groggily and reached over to her right arm to pull out the IV before swinging her legs over the bed. She touched her shoulder and hissed at the slight pain. The door opened and drew her attention as a nurse walked in.

The nurse looked up from her clipboard and her eyes went wide, “You're awake,” she said more to herself then Twilight. Without giving Twilight a chance to speak she turned and left the room. Twilight just hung her head, she didn’t know what time it was but she could tell it was going to be a long day.

It wasn’t long before Two white coated doctors came into the room. One was a middle age man with a receding hairline. The other she recognised, “Dr. Carafe?”

“Just Rolland please, and it’s good to see you again Miss Sparkle”

“Just call me Twilight.”

The doctor stepped forward and pulled a pin light from his coat pocket. He shined it into twilight’s eyes as he asked. “How do you feel?”

Twilight winced away from the light and said, “A little sore, but otherwise I’m fine. How did I get here?”

“From what I’ve been told,” Rolland begin. “After you passed out the convoy was able to make it to the frontlines. From there Central Command ordered you and the rest of your squad flown back here to Eastelf, and that was a week ago.”

Twilight waved the doctor off as he tried to perform more test. “I said I’m fine.” She snapped. The doctor huffed in clear annoyance but stepped away.

“How is she?” Rolland asked the doctor.

“You heard her, she’s fine. I’ll leave her to you.” said the doctor as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Why am I in the capital?” Twilight asked as she turned her eyes on Rolland.

“Well, it’s not every day we have someone turn into a human shield generator.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes that. Command asked me to look into how you’re able to do that and see if there was any way to replicate that ability.”

“So what? I’m just a genny pig now?” Twilight accused. She understood the need to get answers as well as anyone, but Rolland made it sound like she wasn’t going to be given a lot of choice in the matter.

Rolland rolled his eyes and shot back, “Don’t blow it out of proportion, you’re free to refuse any testing your uncomfortable with, and you will be receiving double your normal pay while testing is ongoing. Of course, you're also free to refuse testing altogether, but before you do let me just say the test we perform could save a lot of lives.”

Twilight could only guess that the shield was a result of a magical surge brought about from her magical abilities being dormant for so long, and if that was the case no amount of testing would allow Humans to do the same, although she couldn’t be sure. But she had a feeling if she didn’t agree she wouldn’t hear the end of it. With a sigh she relented, “Alright, I’m willing to work with you, but nothing invasive. You can draw blood if needed but that’s where I draw the line. Also, I’m only agreeing to this until my shoulder heals up.”

“Six months.” Rolland countered. “Please, at least give me that much time.”

Twilight bit her lip as she looked at Rolland’s pathetic pleading face. “Fine, but that’s it.”

“Excellent! Now let me begin by asking you a few questions—”

The door burst open and Davis stumbled in panting. “Twilight, you're awake.”

“That I am,” Twilight confirmed with a grin.

“Oh, that reminds me” Said Rolland, cupping one hand over a fist. “I let your team know you were awake. I guess there here.”

“Davis you didn’t need to sprint.” Nadia’s voice called from the hallway as she and the others made their way into the room. “It’s not like she was going to run off.”

“So, sleeping princess how do you feel,” Skyler asked coming to stand near the bed.

“I’ve been better, but what has everyone been doing for the past week?”

“I would love to say we’ve been on a vacation, but for the last week we’ve been in debriefing hell. I’ve told the story of how you pulled a shield out of nowhere so many times I think I have it memorized.”

“Seriously Twilight,” Nadia groaned out. “I’m glad you saved our ass and all, but the next time do you think you could do it in a way that won't make me hate every second of the day.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Twilight said halfheartedly.

“We’re glad to see you’re ok. It will be good to see you up and around again,” said Cotreau, surprising Twilight with the crack of a smile.

Davis let out a gasp as he looked at Cotreau, “A smile, so the rumors are true.”

“Shut it.”

“Can we talk about the elephant in the room now?” Nadia asked. “Twilight, what was that?” Her question hung in the air as everyone looked to Twilight for answers, even Rolland, who had been quietly observing.

Twilight’s mind immediately began to cook up a believable story, likely something about the Anizon causing an unknown reaction. But as her mind was piecing together the story she stopped. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Rolland, she trusted with her life and she knew they felt the same. She hadn’t known Rolland long but she could tell he wasn’t a bad person, just a bit fixated at times. And she was going to be working with him, leading him on as he tried to get the proverbial golden apple. Was she ok with that? Could she keep lying to them all? As she looked into the eyes of everyone around her she knew the answer.

She took in a deep breath and stealed herself, quietly deciding the best way to this was just to say it. And in a single breath she said, “Everyone there’s something I have to tell you. I’m not Human, I’m a pony from the planet Equus which lies within another dimension. I’m one of the four princesses of the nation of Equestria.” Twilight finished and took in a breath, noticing how dead quiet it had become.

Everyone glanced among themselves not knowing what to say. Skyler turned to Rolland and asked. “Dr. Carafe, is she on any medication?”

Twilight was a bit insulted at that but she supposed she couldn’t blame them for being skeptical.

Rolland picked up a chart from the wall and flipped through it. “Apart from antibiotics, everything should have been out of her system days ago.”

“Now that we’ve determined that I’m not on drugs,” Twilight said, drawing everyone's attention again. “I can’t say exactly how I cast the shield, I’m still trying to figure it out myself. But back in my world I could cast shield spells like that as easily as breathing.”

Teagan placed a hand under his chin, before he asked, “I had a dream I was a bird once, is it anything like that?”

“No Teagan, that’s not quite what I’m talking about.”

“So you're an alien then?” Davis asked slowly as he tried to wrap his mind around this.

“Because of a spell I am physically human, but technically speaking, yes I’m an alien. My species is called pony, and before you ask no we are not the same as the horses you have on this world, although we do share some similarities.”

Nadia placed her hands over her mouth but couldn’t stop her crackling laughter as she burst out, “Oh god, you’re really a pink pony princess!” Her resistance fell to pieces and a well of laughter poured out of her.

“For your information, I’m purple not pink.” Twilight informed. But this only seemed to make Nadia’s laughter all the worse.

“Alright, everyone calm down,” Cotreau said, while looking at Nadia. “Assuming this is true Twilight, how did you get here and why are you fighting in a war?”

Twilight brushed her bangs out of her eyes and gave the room a half smile. “That’s a long story.” As she finished the tail of the crystal mirror and her first trip through the room had become quiet, everyone looking almost somber.

“So you joined the war to help save lives,” Skyler repeated with a shake of his head. “And to think I joined for the paycheck. Can’t believe I’m getting out done by an alien,”

“I believe her,” Rolland said, from his tucked away corner.

Twilight looked almost shocked as she said, “Honestly, you were the last person I expected to believe me.”

Rolland deadpanned, “You performed a feat that should have only been possible within a comic book. At this point I’ll believe anything.”

“Point taken, but you still want to work with me even though I’m not human?”

“On the contrary, I’m even more excited.”

“Oh, that’s...great.” Twilight said with a fake smile clear on her face.

***

Three years after arrival

Twilight felt her magic surging through her body and into the palms of her hands, waiting for her to cast the only spell she could. It had become almost second nature to her after six months. She and Rolland were in a warehouse, one normally used for testing experimental weapons. A human shaped dummy was set up at the end of the firing range. Twilight positioned herself behind a wall of safety glass twenty feet away. Twilight pushed her arms out in front of her and allowed her magic to wrap around the dummy, encasing it in a tightly sealed bubble.

“Railgun firing test five,” Rolland called from behind a control panel, adorning a pair of earmuffs. “Commencing test in 3...2...1.”

Twilight only saw the flash from the railgun, it’s high density round moved far too fast for her to track. But she could still feel it at the back of her mind, as the round impacted and reverberating, like a wave off the shield. Six months ago a blast like that would have caused Twilight to collapse with a head splitting pain, now it was easily ignored. Volley after volley was fired each one bouncing off and each one weakening the shield just a bit more. Until the fifth volley broke through rendering the dummy into shrapnel.

Twilight placed her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. “Let’s take a break,” Rolland called, taking off the earmuffs. Twilight gave an appreciative nod and leisurely walked over to a small cubed room.

Twilight grabbed a bottle of water out of a mini fridge and gulped down half of it before coming up for air. She glanced over to Rolland, who was at his desk typing away at his computer. “Any improvement?” Twilight asked, screwing the cap back on her drink.

“Much,” Rolland said with a smile. “Your shield strength has increased by 13% since our last live fire test.”

“That’s fantastic,” Twilight said peering over his shoulder. “I was hoping for 8% at least.”

“With this level of improvement I’m sure your endurance has increased as well, we should test that next.”

Twilight gave him a critical look. She crossed her arms and said, “You said the firing range would be the last test.”

Rolland swirled around in his chair and gave Twilight his best puppy dog face. “Come on Twilight, today is your last day of testing one more test isn’t going to hurt.”

Twilight rubbed her brow with a sigh, “Fine, but only because I’m curious as well.”

Rolland turned back to his computer and energetically typed away, making ready for the next test. Twilight stepped over to a supply cabinet standing next to the fridge. She opened the door and pulled out an injector gun and one of the dozen vials of Anizon she kept there. It had become so easy for Twilight to gain access to Anizon, with a simple requisition form she received dozens of vials a week.

Rolland never looked away from his computer but commented, “You’ve been using that stuff a lot lately.”

Twilight pulled the needle from her arm as she turned to face him. “Well, do you want more test,” She asked rhetorically. “Casting spells without this is too taxing on my body. Hands were not meant to cast magic, now horns on the other hand.”

“Just be careful, I would hate to see you end up like the berserkers.”

“Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

A knocking on the office door draw their attention. “That’s strange?’ Said Rolland. “I wasn’t expecting anyone.” He rose from his chair and opened the door and gasped at the formally dressed man in front of him. He had a face like leather and a full head of perfectly trimmed black hair. He wore an officer's uniform that was rather plain except for the five stars on his shoulder. “General Jeroen!” Rolland exclaimed. “What brings you here?”

Twilight stood at attention with an arm raised in salute. She became painfully aware of just how underdressed she was in a simple brown tank top and pants.

“At ease,” General Jeroen said, stepping around Rolland. “This is an informal visit. I was nearby and thought I’d stop by to see this ‘Witch of the West’ before she returns to active duty.”

Twilight inwardly groaned at her nickname that had cropped up over the last few months.

“Dr. Carafe, in your report you’ve stated the unlikelihood of being able to adapt Private Sparkles abilities for widespread use,” General Jeroen said, flipping open a file in his hands.

“Unlikelihood is a drastic understatement. Even the brain scans we’ve conducted say that what she’s doing shouldn’t be possible. I’ve had two assistants quit because they claim she’s breaking logic.”

“Unfortunate. Private Sparkle, if these reports are accurate you can produce a shield equivalent to a Mark 8 Shield Generator.”

“Mark 10 sir,” Twilight corrected as she stared at a fixed point on the wall.

“I see, your file claims you're from the Islands, specifically the island of Bizohr. Although, we don’t have a specific address for you.”

“Sir, I had no formal address prior to enlisting, sir,” Twilight informed. But he didn’t seem to hear as he continued.

“And your commanding officer, Commander Cotreau, has given you quite the endorsement. And I quote, ‘Despite her lack of experience and her annoying habit of overanalyzing everything. She has consistently proven herself to be a valuable asset in the field, and on several occasions placing herself in harm's way to aid her fellow comrades. Her new abilities may cause concerns for some at HQ, but I believe her past actions are more than enough to show she is a loyal patriot.’” —General Jeroen closed his folder and locked eyes with Twilight—“I’ve known Cotreau for many years now, and I can tell you he doesn’t give out endorsements at the drop of a hat. But from everything I’ve seen so far I have to agree with him.”

“Sir, thank you, sir.”

“It will be good to have you back out in the field, god knows we need the edge. Dr. Carafe, I’ll leave you to your work, good day to both of you.” With a salute from Twilight General Jeroen turned and left. When he had vanished from sight Twilight’s posture fell and she let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding.

“That was unexpected.” Twilight said.

“To say the least,” Rolland concerned. He slapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Now let's get to those tests.”

Twilight gathered her belongings and placed them in a bag as she made ready to leave. She pulled a yellow folder from her bag and tossed it on Rolland's desk. Rolland turned his attention away from his computer and asked, “What’s this?” he flipped the folder open to a stack of bound pages and read the title ‘Teleportation Theory.’

“I found it in your things a while back,” Twilight explained. “Dr. Bevan’s theory on teleportation are shockingly similar to its magical counterpart. But Dr. Bevan was off in a few key points, so I’ve made a few corrections. When you get time can you look over it for me?”

“Certainly,” Rolland said, gently picking up the folder like it was the most fragile thing in the world.

Twilight through her bag over a shoulder as she stepped to the door. “I’m leaving, take care of yourself Rolland.”

Rolland didn’t take his eyes off the folder as he flipped through the pages, reading over Twilight’s corrections. “Yes you too.”

Twilight stepped out into the cool night air, as she left the warehouse heading back to the apartment she had called home for the last six months. “Hey princess!” A voice called as Twilight rounded the corner. She quickly spotted Nadia jogging up and carrying a paper grocery bag with the rest of her team not far behind, each wearing their own version of dull colored civilian clothing.

“Nadia? What are all of you doing here?” Twilight asked, as the group came to a stop in front of her.

“You're finally free,” Davis said. “Did you really think we wouldn’t come to see you once you got out?”

“You do realise I wasn’t in prison right?”

Cotreau stepped out in front of the others. He reached into a pocket and retrieved a metal badge, as he said. “This came in for you a few weeks ago, but I thought it would make a nice gift on your return.

Twilight took the badge in hand. It was a single black chevron with a diamond right below it.

“Congratulations, Lance Corporal.” Skyler said, beaming at her. But all Twilight could do was smile back.

Alright, it’s time to celebrate!” Nadia called. She uncrinkled her bag and pulled out a six pack of beer. She tossed everyone a can and held hers in the air. “To getting Twilight back, and promotions...and...oh screw it just drink.” With a roar of laughter everyone popped their tops and enjoyed their warm drinks.

Twilight’s head tilted backward as she swallowed a mouth full of the bitter liquid. The shimmering stars caught her eye as her drink lowered from her lips. She couldn't remember the last time she had just looked at the stars, they were truly beautiful. Her gaze brought her back to the others and a smile creeped across her lips, and they were even more beautiful with friends.