Battle for Equestria

Chapters

Who am I?
my name is Woodwind
Narrowing it down.
Unexpected revelations.
Unexpected friendship.
Old friends.
History forgotten
Old friends reunite.
Prisoner of war
New Stalingrad.
The battle begins
Dead and back again.
Epilogue.
Forgotten War.

Who am I?

It was a beautiful summer day in Ponyville. The birds were chirping, the sun shone brightly and ponies were frolicking through the fields and town. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were in the meadow enjoying a nice picnic together.

"Oh Twilight, this was such a glorious idea you had to have this outing." Rarity said with glee, "And on the most perfect day."
"Thanks, Rarity." Twilight said happily. "I thought we all deserve a day to relax after what happened at the wedding last month."
"This was very kind of you, Twilight." Fluttershy squeaked.
"Ah agree." Said AppleJack. "And ya made some of the tastiest treats this side of Ponyville!"
"Silly, you made those treats, AppleJack!" Pinkie Pie said with a snort.
AppleJack tilted her hat over her eyes. "Aw shucks, i guess i did, didn't I?"
Everypony laughed and continued enjoying their wonderful outing, until...

"Uh-oh. Twitchy twitchy twitch..." Pinkie Pie murmured as her tail shuttered uncontrollably.
"Oh no! Head for cover!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she bolted into the tree nearest them.
"No,no, Rainbow. It's not gonna fall here." Pinkie Pie said looking around at the sky.
Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief.
"But, then where's something going to fall, sugar-cube?" Applejack asked nervously.
"I dunno, but i have a feeling it's not gonna be around here."
"Well then," Twilight said relieved. "Shall we continue or picnic?"
All the ponies shook their heads with delight and smiled happily. But a few minutes passed and Pinkie's pinkie sense acted up again.
"bububububuububb" Pinkie Pie stuttered as she began to shake uncontrollably.
"Oh no, it's a doozy!" Twilight yelled.
"Oh no! not another do-o-o-oo-o-o-o-ozy!" Pinkie Pie said as she shook again.

Just then, Rarity noticed something. "Look, there! Somethings falling!"
Twilight squinted to see what it was. But it wasn't a what, it was a who!
"That's a pony! And whoever it is, is falling fast!"
Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings and took off. "Im on this! Everypony, follow me, and try to keep up!" She zoomed through the sky towards the falling pony.
Twilight and the others ran after Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked too worried.
"Is somethin' the matter, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked back at her with fear in her eyes."Rainbow Dash isn't going to make it in time! i did the math and it's not good!"

"C'mon, Dash! You can't let this pony down!" Rainbow Dash said to herself. She straightened her body and began to go faster and faster; but she wasn't going to make it. The pony fell through the tree line of the Everfree forest.
"Oh no! No! No!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she came to a halt! She flew back to the girls who were still far behind.
"I didn't catch 'em!" Rainbow yelled in frustration. "AppleJack, run to the hospital and get a few doctors out here now!"
Applejack nodded, "I'm on it, gals! I'll be back lickety split!" She took off toward town and the rest of the ponies headed for the woods.
Rainbow Dash flew high above. "Fluttershy, with me. We'll look for the hole that pony made from above. We'll come back and tell where he is. Sound good?"
"Ok, we'll be waiting." Twilight said. "And hurry. If he lived, he might not have a lot of time!"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "We'll be quick. C'mon Fluttershy!"
"Oh dear, oh dear!" Fluttershy cooed as she flew after Rainbow.
Five minutes passed as the searched continued. The girls waited patiently for Rainbow's and Fluttershy's return.
Rainbow Dash flew back. "We found it! I'll guide you in. Fluttershy flew down to see how that ponies doing."
Twilight became a little less nervous. "Great, lets hope they're Ok!"

Fluttershy knelt down next to the pony. He was a light green colt, a Pegasus. "Oh dear, you poor, poor.... Pegasus? But.. why didn't you just use your wings?" She asked in astonishment.
She knelt closer to the colt. His sudden coughing sent her into the air in terror, but she quickly returned to his side.
She looked through the woods to see if anypony was on the way. "Oh please hurry girls! I don't know how long he'll last." She looked back at him. his brown eyes staring into hers. "Oh, stay still! You were in a terrible fall. I don't know what you broke. Can you please stay still for me?"

He looked at her, and said three simple words. "Who... am...I" And with that he drifted back into unconsciousness.
"Oh no! Please girls, hurry!" Fluttershy said with worry.
The ponies came running through the woods and Pegasi doctors flew into the hole with Rainbow Dash leading them.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy! We're here!" Rainbow Dash said as she swooped to her friends side.
Fluttershy stared at them then back to the colt, "Oh, i just hope you're not too late." Fluttershy said, visibly shaking.
"Is he ok? Did he wake up at all?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy stared at her with clouded eyes. "Yes, and he said, "Who am i?" i.. i don't understand."
"We'll find out soon enough, sugar cube." Applejack said as she put her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder as a reassuring gesture.
"Oh, i just hope you're right." Fluttershy said as she stared back at the barely living pony.

Everything was coming back. Sound, smell, but it was all unfamiliar. He had no idea what was going on.
He tried to open his eyes. They sluggishly responded. He saw doctors and other patients around the room, but he couldn't make the connection to what they were. He didn't recognize anything.
Nothing made sense. not even him. How can anyone not know who they were? He was scared. He had to get out of here.
He shot up from the bed. He felt the pain hit him on every inch of his body, but he didn't care. He tried to run but as his hooves hit the floor, he fell; hard.
A nurse noticed and tried to get him back into bed. "I need a doctor over here to help!" She yelled.
He stood and looked at her and just yelled, "Who am I?"
He then proceeded to run out of the room, He took in his scenery at a million miles an hour and tried to understand what was happening, but his brain couldn't make sense of any of it.
He began to run down the hall when he noticed six others coming down it towards him, and he recognized one of them. The yellow one with wings. Yes, he'd seen her before, but he didn't know where.
He ran to them. She was the only one he recognized and he needed her help. He suddenly remembered what she asked him. "I need you to stay still for me." He tumbled as his feet automaticly stopped causing him to tumble down the hall towards them, Stopping inches in front of their hooves
He looked imploringly at the yellow pony, "Please. Help me!"
She shyly turned her head, blushed, and stared at him through her hair covered eyes. Doctors and nurses grabbed him, tying him to a stretcher and carried him back to his room
"Jeeze," Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head. "What the hay was that all about?"
Twilight looked just as confused. "I don't know, but he seemed to respond to Fluttershy."
Rarity came up to Fluttershy and patted her shoulder. "Fluttershy, dear, didn't you say he woke up in the woods for a moment?" Rarity asked.
Fluttershy, still blushing, said, "Um, yes he did. I guess, maybe he recognized me?"
A Doctor came over to the ponies with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm so sorry about that, girls. are you alright?"
Twilight stepped forward. "We're fine. Don't worry. What about him?" She asked looking down the hall at the pony being carried off. "Is he alright?"
The Doctor explained everything to them. "He seems to be suffering from amnesia. He doesn't know who he is or what anything is for that matter."
Rainbow tilted her head and looked at the doctor. "So do YOU know who he is? Did you figure it out with his cutie mark?"
The doctor looked back at her and now he looked puzzled. "See, thats the thing. He doesn't have one."
The girls all looked more puzzled than him.
"What?" they all said in unison.
Twilight chimed in what they were all undoubtably thinking. "But how could a pony that old NOT have a cutie mark? I've never heard anything like it."
The doctor shook his head."Neither have we. But what we need to do now is associate him with familiar things, try to ease his memories back out. Since he is a pegasus, the most likely place to start would be Cloudsdale. When he's up to it, that is." The doctor said looking at Rainbow Dash, then to Fluttershy, "Why don't you two take him there."
Rainbow Dash stared down the hall into the room where he was being kept. "Yeah, sure. Maybe we'll find somepony there who recognizes him."
The doctor smiled. "That would be perfect. We'll let you all know when he's up to it." The ponies left the hospital without another word. Fluttershy took one last look down the hall at the young colt who was probably more scared than she had ever been in her life. And that thought scared her.

my name is Woodwind

Two weeks passed. The ponies were all going about their business. Rarity was making her outfits, Rainbow Dash was practicing some sweet new moves to impress the Wonderbolts, Twilight was studying, Applejack was bucking apples at the farm, and Pinkie Pie was being Pinkie Pie.
But Fluttershy was too distracted by what happened at the hospital to focus properly on her day to day routines. She was tending her garden in the back but worrying about all that had gone on.
"Oh why did he have to seek me out to give him a helping hoof. I'm no security blanket. I'm the opposite of that. I just don't know how i'm supposed to help him."
She looked up as she heard Rainbow Dash calling out her name as she flew above the house. "Fluttershy! The doctors say he's ok to go out now. You ready to take him too Cloudsdale?"
Fluttershy looked scared. "Oh i guess so."
They flew towards the hospital.
"Hey Fluttershy, you ok? You look a little more nervous than you normally do." Rainbow said with a smirk.
She looked away. She didn't know what to say. "Oh it's just... I don't know. I mean, I want to help him, but if i'm the only pony he remembers... i just don't know."
Rainbow took this time to try and reassure her timid friend. "Relax Fluttershy. Your the only pony on his mind. You should feel happy someponies thinking of you that much." Rainbow said nudging Fluttershy a little which threw her flight pattern a little off kilter.
"But who do you think he is?" Fluttershy asked, "I mean, what if nopony in Cloudsdale recognizes him?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Well thats what we're going to find out."
They reached the hospital. There were doctors outside with the mysterious colt, waiting for them.
The colt looked happy to see them, or maybe just Fluttershy.
He also seemed a little flustered as nurses stood by him with angry eyes.
"Well, i hope you can handle him." one of the nurses said. "He's been pretty problematic the entire time."
Rainbow Dash smiled. "Oh, he won't give us any problems, right?" She looked him dead in the eyes to let him know she was serious. He recoiled, then looked past her at fluttershy.
Thats the only pony he could recognize. She was the only connection to find out who he is. he knew it.
But he knew he had to be on his best behavior for them, so they wouldn't get mad. "Um.. I wont be a problem." He said shyly at the rainbow pony.
Whoever she was, she wasn't gonna let him get out of line.
"Now come on," said the rainbow one. "We're going to Cloudsdale."
he looked behind him at his wings. How was he going to make them work if he didn't remember how to use them?
He tried with all his might to flap them, But nothing happened. He kept flapping and flapping but nothing. Sweat started to bead off his forehead and he slumped down to catch his breath.
"Oh, come on! You don't even remember how to fly?" Rainbow Dash said with frustration.
He looked down at the ground. a tear rolled down his face and he slammed his hoof into the ground in frustration.
Fluttershy flew over to him. "It's ok. We'll bring you to town first, ok?"
The Colt looked at her and smiled. "Who are you?" He asked with a small amount of strain in his voice. It seemed he just barely remembered how to talk.
Fluttershy smiled. "Um, I'm Fluttershy and i'm glad you're ok.."
He smiled back. but still looked nervous. "So where are we going then?"
Rainbow Dash still looked frustrated. "We're headed into town. I guess we're going to see if anything their jogs your memory. If not this'll be a huge wast of time."
Fluttershy seemed a little distraught by Rainbow's attitude towards the pore colt. after all, it wasn't his fault he couldn't remember anything. They left the hospital and continued into town with the mystery colt trudging behind.

They made it to the market place. It was crowded with ponies and it seemed to make the colt nervous. They continued on until they saw AppleJack with her stand set up.
"Well, howdy there Rainbow, Fluttershy! Ya'll want a nice tasty apple? On me, of course." She said tossing them each an apple. She then noticed the colt bringing up the rear. "It sure is nice ta' see ya' again. You gave us all a scare when you fell from tha sky like that." She smiled at him and placed an apple on the counter of her stand and gestured him to take it.
"Care for one? They're tha most delicious in all Equestria, ah assure you."
He was a little hesitant, but he saw that everypony else was enjoying them, so why not him? He took a bite. It was so delicious!
"Names AppleJacke, by tha way?" She said with a smile. "Now we just need ta figure out who you are, I reckon."
But he seemed out of it. he wasn't paying attention, he was just staring at the apple intently.

Everything went black. He was lost to the world as he fell into the void in his mind. The memory appeared. He was in a big room. There was a basket sitting on the desk in front of him full of apples. He heard himself munching on one as phones rang and the sound of voices filling the air all around him. One called to him shouting a name. "Woodwind".
The vague memory faded and he was snapped back to reality.
Rainbow Dash was pretty much in his face at this point. "Hello! Anypony home in their?" She asked as she waved a hoof in front of his face to snap him out of it.
"Woodwind" he said suddenly taking the other ponies aback.
AppleJack stared at him in confusion. "Um, what are yew talkin' about?"
He looked up from the apple at them all. "M-my name. My name is Woodwind..."

Narrowing it down.

The three mares looked at each other in astonishment.
Apple-Jack let out a smile, "Well all be! He remembered somethin'!"
Rainbow Dash looked excited now. "Sweet! Now we just need to show him more stuff for him to remember! C'mon Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy started smiling now. "Coming." She turned to Woodwind. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Woodwind.
He smiled at her and trotted along the road. feeling a little better about what had happened.
He skipped along the road with a smile on his face. He wasn't paying attention to anything around him which is probably why he and Pinkie Pie ran head long into each other when he rounded the corner.
He saw stars, and his head throbbed. Pinkie Pie seemed just fine, and was an inch in front of his face.
"Well, lookey here! You're better! My names Pinkie Pie!" She smiled as she helped him up and turned to the mares floating overhead. "Well, hey there Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy!
He took her hoof and stood up. "Thanks, my names Woodwind."
Pinkie Pie's smile suddenly grew wider. "You remembered your name? Thats super dooper! We need to celebrate! I'm on it!" And with that, Pinkie Pie bolted off.
Woodwind looked amused, but seemed a little bit more confused.
"Don't worry," Rainbow Dash started, "She's just being Pinkie Pie. But expect a party later."
Woodwind smiled but still looked confused. "A party?" he asked.
Fluttershy stepped in to help too. "Well, a party is a celebration with friends and fun activities."
Woodwind looked at her, "But i don't have any friends. We haven't run into anypony i know or who knows me." He looked down at the ground and frowned.
Rainbow Dash stepped in to cheer him up. "Aw C'mon, you got me and Fluttershy, AppleJack and Twilight, Rarity, and of course Pinkie Pie. That pony is friends with everypony she meets."
This was reassuring. He knew she meant that they were friends. He looked at Fluttershy who was smiling next to her. He didn't want to walk anymore. he wanted to fly, like them. "Can you teach me how to fly?" he asked.
Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other. "Rainbow, i think this is all you." Fluttershy said.
Flying wasn't her strong suit, so Rainbow Dash was the best one for this job.
Rainbow Dash hadn't taught before. She hadn't even considered it. She looked as frustrated as Woodwind did when he couldn't get off the ground.
"Alright, i'll teach you. But you have to work hard for this." She said with a sharp tone.
Woodwind straightened and smiled. Yes, Ma'am, I..." He trailed off, lost to thought.
He was once again lost in the void as another memory popped into his vision. He heard a voice. it was deep and strong. He heard cheers all around and felt what could have been confetti raining down. The voice continued, "You have to work hard for this. This isn't a game, Woodwind. But we all believe in you." He felt his arm shake as something wrapped around it.
"I'll do my best. You can count on me." he replied back. the cheers increased but became distant at the same time. He snapped out of it with Rainbow again waving a hoof in his face. "Hey, there. Welcome back to reality. Did you remember anything?"
He gave a smile. "I think I heard a party. There was cheering and I felt, I guess happy, but also proud and important." Fluttershy went down to him, "If it was a big party, That should narrow down where it was. There have only been a few big parties in Equestria recently."
Rainbow Dash smiled and wrapped her hooves around her. "Fluttershy, you're brilliant!"
Fluttershy blushed and a small smile crept up her face and she let out a sheepish tone. "Oh, um, thank you."

The day dragged on with flying lessons after that. Rainbow was trying to teach Woodwind and Fluttershy laid down under a tree, and immediately was surrounded by little woodland critters. Woodwind was curious about her so he decided to seek his answers from Rainbow Dash.
"So, Has Fluttershy always been, well, shy?"
Rainbow Dash just looked at him for a moment. "Oh yeah. She's the shyest pony I know, but she's really good with animals. Thats why she has butterflies as her cutie mark."
Woodwind looked puzzled. "What's a "cutie mark"?"
Rainbow Dash smiled as she and him did continued to do wing stretches. "Well, a cutie mark is a mark that appears when a pony discovers his or her special talent. So why don't you have yours?"
He looked at the sky, then back at her. "I don't know. i wish i remembered my life before any of this, but-" He looked up at her and continued. "I'm glad i met you all. You've done so much for me, and i can't thank you enough."
Rainbow Dash gave him a smirk, "Ah don't get all sappy. Now come on, we need to get those wings flapping and you flying!"
Woodwind smiled and looked back to Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash caught where his eyes were and cracked her tail to get his attention. "Hey, eyes over here." she said laughing slightly.
"Oh, my bad. I guess I just got... distracted..." Woodwind said as he continued to flap his wings.
Rainbow flew close to him and whispered in his ear. "You like her, huh?"
Woodwind shot back for a second. "N-no. I dont. I mean, I do- but I like her as just a friend. B-but that doesn't mean-"
Rainbow was laughing loudly now. "Oh please. You're more transparent than glass. But it's ok, your secret is safe with me."
She winked at him and continued the lessons.
Woodwind took one last look at the yellow Pegasus sleeping under the tree and felt his heart jump.
"I guess I do like her..." He thought to himself and continued to flap his wings.

Unexpected revelations.

The next week went by pretty uneventful. Woodwind spent all his time with each pony. He spent time at the Library with Twilight reading up on Equestrian history, he baked cupcakes and other delicious treats with Pinkie Pie, he even helped Rarity at her boutique designing outfits, although he knew he didn't do so well by the way she took over all his work. He spent more time with Rainbow Dash learning to fly, but he hadn't been able to spend time with Fluttershy.
His flying lessons were over for the day since Rainbow Dash had to fly into town. Something about seeing Pinkie Pie, so his lessons had to wait till later. This would be a perfect time to pay Fluttershy a visit and see if she needed help with anything. He walked back through town, which was the quickest way to get to her house. As he continued down the corner, he heard a strange, but a somehow familiar voice coming up behind him. Other ponies were giving it a wide berth, whatever it was it walked on its hind legs, was bald on its entire body except the top of his head, which was shaved in a short, jagged style. He was accompanied by a creature with a long black metal object in his arms and a small, narrow creature with wired rim glasses and a strange device in his hand. He pointed at Woodwind.
Who were these creatures? Why were they coming towards him? Woodwind shook a little bit as they got just a foot from him. The townsfolk talked amongst themselves, some backing away, some going into stores and houses to hide, and others to shocked to move.
"W-who are you?" Woodwind finally asked.
The creature in the middle, who was obviously the leader looked a little perplexed. "Are you sure this is the right one?" he asked the little creature with glasses.
it pushed its glasses higher up its snout and stammered an answer as the device continued to beep. "Y-yes sir. this is the one."
The leader continued to stare at him but continued to talk to the small one. "What happened? Why doesn't he remember us?"
The small one came up with an explanation pretty quick. "Maybe the machine affected his mind during the transition."
The machine? The transition? What was this creature talking about? How did they even know him? He decided to find out.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" he asked again, this time with more authority in his voice. The sharp authority in his voice was enough to get their attention.
"Well, if you really don't know, i guess i have to explain it to you. where to begin?" he started.

*****

The year was 2128. The sun barely shone through the clouds of smog and ash in the sky. His quarters were made as best they could. Better than most since he was the President. His daily routines were simple, wake up, get to work, and try to keep the peace long enough to live another day to start it all again.
A small man with wire rimmed glasses entered his office. "Sir, we have it ready. We need you to oversee the final preparations." Dr.Brust said as he shifted the papers perched precariously in his arms.
"I'm coming." he said as he looked at the window at the shattered city below. "I just need a minute."
The doctor left just as a tall man dressed in army fatigues strolled in. This was the first time Woodwind saw him since the battle of New Stalingrad. The wound he received there had formed a jagged scar across his face.
He strolled across the room and picked up Woodwinds Medal of Honor sitting on the mantle.
"So, how's it feel going from common soldier, to leader of the freakin' country?" he asked smiling at his old friend.
Woodwind let a smile creep across his face. "Well, Coal, it's better than the trenches. How was Berlin?" he asked.
The man let out a chuckle. "It wasn't fun for them, i'll tell you that much." He said laughing. But he was here for another matter. Something he had to ask. "So, i know you have the answer to what i'm about to ask."
Woodwinds smile faded and he turned his attention to the window again. Cole continued on. "How much time does the Earth have?"
Woodwinds eyes fell to the ground. He felt a lump in his throat. The words stung as they came out. "We have less than six months."
Cole stood there looking at the Medal. he finally set it back down and went to Woodwinds side by the window. "You think the doctors machine will work? Do you think we can really break dimensions?"
Woodwind patted his friends shoulder to reassure him, but he knew he needed it more than his friend.
"Well, lets head to the lab. i gotta see this for myself."

They went down to the basement, which was lined with computers, monitors and large obscure machines. But only one was surrounded by scientists. it wasn't complete, Woodwind could tell by that much. But Dr. Brust assured him it was ready.
"Ah, good you're here!" Brust said as he ran up to greet them. "We tested the machine and have seen many worlds and dimensions, but only one is habitable. it's this one."
An image appeared on the monitor of a small world. it zoomed in on the landmasses, then on a city, then a town. Woodwind stood there in astonishment.
"My god. it's inhabited." he exclaimed leaning over the monitor in front of him.
"Yes, but not by people like us." Dr. Brust said as he zoomed closer to reveal a creature laying underneath a tree. A 3-D image popped up above them. Dr. Brust continued.
"They are horses. They seem to be a very peaceful race."
Cole chimed in with a smile. "Well they should be easy to conquer them."
Woodwind shot him a glance, A hint of anger in his eyes. enough to make Cole realize he wasn't trying to be subtle.
"We are not bringing this war to another world! This race doesn't deserve the kind of trauma ours did."
Cole's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. "Sir, with all due respect, I already signed up for this op, so there's nothing you can say to stop me."
Woodwind shot back, "I'm in charge of this country, this op, AND who goes on it. And i don't feel you're fit for it."
Cole inched closer to Woodwind, his fists clenched.
Dr. Brust let out a small, choked cough to let them know he had more to say.
"Um, Mr. President, Commander Cole is the only one who seems strong enough both mentally and physically, who can currently handle the transition. until the machine is done, we can only send one person through.
Woodwind stepped forward, ignoring Cole who was just inches from his face.
"I'll do it. This kind of operation requires more delicacy than the Commander can handle. I know I can handle the transition, so i'll go."
Dr. Brust looked astonished, Cole just looked angrier. Dr. Brust stepped forward.
"But sir, you can't risk you're life like that!"
Woodwind stepped towards the floating image of the pony.
"I will negotiate a course of action with their leader. maybe we can save enough citizens and start a home there with their permission.
Cole scoffed and went face to face with woodwind again.
"You think you can solve this with diplomacy? With words? it's easier to just take what you want! And if their leader says no, then what? Do we just keep searching? We'll be out of time by then and the world will be a desolate wasteland!" He decided to add insult to injury. "You're a fool, sir. you've always been a fool."
Woodwind just smiled and decided to humor his old friend, despite how he just acted.
"I'll tell you what, While i'm gone, you hold down the fort for me ok?"
Cole stood their dumbstruck. his mouth was stuck open.
"S-sir. I don't know what to say." Cole stammered with a new attitude.
Woodwind patted him on the back.
"Well, just remember, it's only temporary."
Cole strode off to the back of the room with a smile on his face. "You can count on me." he shouted.

Woodwind was briefed on the procedure and what would happen. Brust explained that a diplomatic exchange would go better if he became one of them. A small organic chip was place on his neck, which would change him at a molecular level and turn him into one of them based on the many 3-D models they had from the observations. He was also tolled that this would be the first time they sent someone through the small portal. Woodwind stared at the larger portal on the other side of the curtain.
"What's that portal to?" He asked the doctor.
Brust looked over the curtain at the 20 foot tall portal.
"That one is for the civilians to go through when-" he corrected himself. "If the negotiations go well."
Woodwind smiled as they finished hooking the small device to the back of his neck. The Dr also placed another chip in his hand.
"That one is a tracking chip. The larger portal doesn't have an internal tracker that lets it open on the other side safely. So to let the portal open on the other side, that chip will help it get its coordinates when you arrive."
Woodwind stepped onto the platform in front of the man sized portal.
"I'm ready. Start it up."
Dr. Brust activated the machine. a bright blue light filled the room. lightning crackled around the platform and into the air. Woodwind took a tentative step forward. The portal glowed brighter and brighter. The humming was loud and unnerving. Woodwind took one last look around, and shouted to Cole. "I'll see you on the other side, buddy."
Cole gave him a thumbs up as Woodwind stepped through the portal and into a new world.

*****

The strange creature had finished his story, and Woodwind sat their speechless. Twilight and her friends heard about what was happening in town and went to investigate. they arrived shortly after the creature started the story. Twilight looked shocked, Rarity and AppleJack just looked confused, Pinkie Pie was scratching her head with a dumbfounded look, and Rainbow Dash just looked angry. Fluttershy didn't come. Too scared to face the creatures.
Woodwind just sat their, contemplating the whole thing. Cole looked him dead in the eyes.
"You still don't remember us, do you?" Cole asked with a smile on his face. Woodwind shook his head. Cole's smile quickly turned into a smirk as he balled his fist, and punched the colt square in the jaw. Woodwind flew back about 5 feet and smashed into the ground. Twilight and the others ran to him to help. Cole rubbed his knuckles of the blood and bent down over Woodwind.
"It looks like i'm in charge permanently now. Which means we take this world my way." He turned to the man with the gun. "Sarge, Doc, lets go home and amass the armies. I want this world taken by the end of the week."
They left town, ponies continued to talk and encircle the group. Rainbow Dash glared at Woodwind.
"How could you! How could you bring these things here?" She yelled. "I mean how can YOU be one of them? How could you betray us like?!"
Woodwind sat up, a look of terror on his face.
"Rainbow, i didn't.. I couldn't!"
Rainbow got right in his face. "Well you did! You betrayed us!"
Woodwind looked at all of them. They all looked away, refusing to meet his gaze, except Rainbow who continued to glair at him.
Woodwind stood with his head lowered.
"I'm sorry everypony..." he started. "I didn't mean for this. I didn't."
Everypony remained silent.
Woodwind took the hint, and made his way out of town. Other ponies glared at him and whispered to each other.
It was a horrible walk of shame for Woodwind.
He walked for about a half hour. He never felt pain like this in his life. The town hated him, his friends hated him, and he hated himself.

Unexpected friendship.

The Pegasi of Cloudsdale had a storm set for the night. Fluttershy was finishing putting umbrellas over the little birds nests and tending to all her animals, big and small. It was hard work to do all alone, but it was rewarding. "Keep dry now, my little friends." She told her outdoor pets as she hummed a toon heading back to the house. She noticed out of the corner of her eye someone walking down the path to the lake. It was Woodwind. She decided to let him be and entered her cottage, just as the first bit of rain fell.
Woodwind slumped off the path and headed towards the lake a few meters away. The rain was coming down harder now, but he didn't care. He deserved it. A tear ran down his face as he dug at the ground with his hoofs.
"What have i done? Why did this have to happen?" He asked himself with a growl.
The rain came down harder now, and he hung his head low.

Fluttershy was reading her favorite book on nature and creatures as the rain continued to poor down. She couldn't help but wonder If Woodwind had gotten back to the hotel in Ponyville where he was staying. She looked down the road to see if she could see him. A flash of lightning lit up the land and saw him still sitting by the lake.
What was he still doing out their? She wanted to help, but she didn't know if she should. She turned to her bunny, Angle for help.
"Oh, Angle, something seems to be bothering him so badly. What should i do?
Angle made gestures and sounds that only Fluttershy could understand.
"Oh, I guess you're right Angle. I haven't spent much time with him since he's been here. I suppose i've been too shy."
Angle bunny grabbed Fluttershy's umbrella and strapped it to her back. and pointed to the door.
"You're right Angle. I suppose i should go see what's wrong with him." She went out into the rain and headed for the lake.

Woodwind continued to stare at his own reflection in the water. He ran the tip of his hoof in the water in slow, circular motions. When he stopped, the shape of his pony faced reflection warped and twisted into the creature he once was. He couldn't tell if it was an illusion, or reality.
He let out a frustrated grunt and slapped the water.
Suddenly the rain stopped, he looked out but the water was still dancing with raindrops.
He looked to his right and saw why he was now dry. It was Fluttershy. He was thrilled to see her but at the same time saddened to see her.
Fluttershy looked across the water and up at the sky.
"You know, this is where I like to come when i need to think quietly to myself. It really is the perfect spot."
He didn't say anything. he just grunted. She looked a little Flustered. She wasn't used to comforting ponies, just animals.
"So, um, what's bothering you? You can tell me."
He sighed and took a long look at her.
"I can't. You'll hate me just like everypony else."
Fluttershy looked at him for a while. What could be so bad that he'd think that.
"It can't be that bad." she said
He responded immediately with a harsh tone.
"No? The threat of Equestria being invaded all because of me can't "be that bad"?" he said almost shouting.
"Fluttershy recoiled back, startled by his tone and what he had said. Whoever he was in the past, seemed to be no good. But, that was the past, and he had no memory of it.
"Woodwind, You're a different pony that who you were before. You are who you are now. That's the pony who i know now and the pony who matters to us all."
Woodwind recoiled at the calm and delicate tone of her voice. It was reassuring and comforting. something he wasn't used to.
She continued to try and comfort him. "I know how frustrating you're limitations can be."
she looked down at the water and sighed.
"I've always been the most scared pony in ponyville. It has always held me back from doing the things i love to do, like helping my friends, or..."
Woodwind cut her off.
"Those with more fears, are braver than those without." he stated to her.
Fluttershy took the words in, seeming to understand, but she wanted to know more.
"Why do you say that?" She asked him trying to dig deeper.
"Well those without fears, have nothing to prove to themselves." he told her matter of fact like. "But those with fears, always have an obstacle to overcome, making them braver and stronger than anyone else."
Fluttershy looked confused about where he came up with that. Maybe something he remembered.
"Did you make that up?" she asked half smiling, "Just trying to make me feel better?"
He smiled at her and laughed. "You don't need to feel better about who you are, Fluttershy. And i don't know where i heard it from. It's just something i remember from when i was little. Something i never forgot." He seemed to look a little more distraught and Fluttershy didn't know what to do.
She started to pull away as she felt Woodwind lay his hoof on hers, but stopped herself. Woodwind was on the verge of breaking down.
"Out of all the Ponies i met, you are the sweetest one. You may say very little, but you know what to say when it counts." He smiled at her.
Fluttershy was taken aback by the sudden calm and sweet demeanor he was now expressing. She felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart was beating a little faster.
"Oh, ummm, i... You shouldn't stay out here." She said, changing the subject. "Come back to my cottage. you can sleep on the sofa if you'd like."
Woodwind looked relieved that he didn't have to spend the night in the rain.
"That's very kind of you. Thanks." he said as he stood up and shook the mud off his legs.
He and Fluttershy walked to the cottage together both smiling and laughing as they continued to talk. It was the longest they ever talked together. And they were both having a great time. But Woodwind was worn out after the day he had, And as soon as his head sank into the sofa he drifted off to sleep.
Fluttershy continued up to her room, still smiling about all they had talked about. He was such a nice pony. Why hadn't she spent more time with him? she wondered to herself, but she already knew the answer. She was too shy. But she thought back to what he said. "those with fears, are braver than those without". She'd have to remember that whenever she was afraid. And that made her feel braver than anypony else.

Old friends.

*****

Cole watched as Woodwind vanished into the portal. He let out a sigh of relief that he was gone. The Scientists were cheering and patting themselves on the back for their accomplishment.
Cole left for the barracks. He didn't care what Woodwind said. His plan would never work and he had become weak with his new position. He wasn't the same person he knew in the trenches; on the battlefield. Back then he was an unstoppable force of death. A far better soldier than Cole could have ever hoped to be. But, that was the past, and now the earth was dying. The ground was too poisoned by nuclear war to grow crops, Animals were dying, and food storages were quickly running out. This world was their last hope and Cole wasn't going to let his so called friend get in the way of that.
Brust saw Cole leave and chased after him. barely keeping pace even while running.
"Cole? Cole! where are you going?" he called out
Cole turned to face the diminutive man. "Dr, how much longer will it take to get the larger portal done?"
Dr. Brust looked confused. "Sir? It's already done, except for the guidance chip we gave The President to take to the new world, and it'll take that machine two weeks at least to get all the data back here."
Cole looked angry at that, but it gave him time to outline a plan and get his army ready. he continued the thunder down the hall, leaving a confused Brust in his wake.

"Yo, Hair-line? stop bluffing and play your hand already!" Crissy said as the card game reached its end.
Frank "Hair-line" Rood began to sweat as the bluff became more apparent. His frustration got the best of him and he slammed the cards on the table.
The other players let out a sigh of frustration as she revealed her cards. Double Aces.
"Damnit, teeny! How do you always know?" He yelled in a joking manner.
She laughed as she pulled the money to her.
"Just know you too well i guess." she said giving him a slap on the back of his balding head.
Hair-line reclined in his chair and started thinking about the past. "So, you haven't heard from Woody in a while have you?"
She looked shocked at his statement and a little embarrassed considering their past.
"Why should I have? What? Just because of what happened between us mean that i'm up his ass all the time?"
Hair-line laughed. "No, i heard it was the other way around." he said laughing. The other soldiers remained quiet. Hair-line never knew when to shut his mouth. And the slap across the face that followed made it apparent to him that he screwed up.
Teeny had a look on her face she got when she was ready to shoot someone in the head. And anyone she gave that look to was going to die.
Hair-line gulped and recoiled. "I-i'm sorry, teeny. I didn't mean it." he said.
She softened her look just a little. "Damn right you didn't. If i had a gun i'd-"
She was cut off as Commander Cole burst into the baracks.
She stood rigid and saluted. "COMMANDER ON DECK!"
He shot them all a look as they stood rigidly at attention. "Correction. That's President now."
They all looked at eachother and stood even straighter. Hair-line looked confused.
"But comm-" he quickly corrected himself, "Mr. President, what about Woody?" He asked looking worried about his friend. "Woody's taken my place as scout in the new world." Cole said with anger at the tip of tongue.
They all knew it was a mistake to cross the Commander, even for someone who was his oldest friend.
Teeny stepped in this time. "Sir, he must have had a good reason to take your place-" She said but Cole rushed her and put a hand on her throat and slammed her into the lockers behind them. The soldiers and Hair-line backed away, unsure what to do.
Cole's eyes were burning with anger and hate as he stared into hers.
"What are you trying to say, private? Are you saying i can't do my job? Are you saying he's better than me?"
Teeny grabbed at the massive hand encircling her throat. she could hardly breath. she choked out an answer. "N-no, sir."
He smiled an evil smile and slowly let her go. She fell to the floor, coughing. Cole stood there looking at them all. Other soldiers from across the massive barracks were coming to see what happened.
Cole cleared his throat ready to speak. "Soldiers, in two weeks time, we go to war! Woodwind gave me all his responsibilities while he's away. I want you all to train harder than you ever have in the time we have. Now pack you're gear and get ready for the fight to save you, your families, and you're fellow country men!"
The barracks were in an uproar of cheers and clapping. Hair-line raced to Teeny's side as the Commander left.
"Teeny, you ok?" He asked helping her up.
She spit on the ground where the commander had stood giving his speech.
"That sonofabitch! If he wanted to go to war in the first place, then thats probably why Woody took his position."
Hair-line looked puzzled. "Well what can we do about it? We can't stop him."
Teeny had that look on her face like she was putting together a million mile an hour plan together. "No, but i know who can. follow me."

They left the barracks and headed toward the lab wing. Hair-line started to look paranoid. "Teeny are you crazy? Common soldiers aren't aloud down here!"
She shot him a smile. "We were given special permission by Woody to come down here."
Hair-line kept a cool face from there on out. He didn't want any of the passing scientists to think they were up to no good.
They reached the main lab doors and nearly ran head long into Brust who was doing his usual juggling act of papers and folders.
Teeny was glad it was him they ran into. out of all the scientists in the building, he was the most trustworthy.
"Dr. Brust! we need to talk to you!" she said practically shouting.
Dr. Brust fumbled his papers and folders. "Please, follow me to my office." he said calmly.
The two soldiers walked down the many winding halls back to his office. Dr. Brust entered the code to his door and the three entered and took their seats.
His office was an absolute mess. The entire floor was a carpet of papers and empty folders. His desk was littered with styrofoam cups, empty or half full of days old coffee.
It was hard for little neat freak Teeny to take in. "Damn, Doc, how can you live in this mess?" she asked astounded.
Hair-line laughed. "C'mon, Teeny, a little organized chaos is good. Right Doc?"
He ignored the question and got right down to business. "So, what can I do for you two?"
Hair-line decided to start. "We wanted to ask you about what happened when Woody took Cole's place."
Teeny stepped in. "Yeah. Why in the hell is Woody in that world instead of Coal?"
Dr. Brust sighed. "The President didn't take to the Commanders... brash form of action." he stated. "Cole wanted to invade, but Woodwind wanted to go in diplomatically."
Teeny looked angry. "That freaking Presidents position has gone to his fat head! He never used to think about the safe course. He thought with his gun, not his mouth."
Hair-line smiled. "Well i for one like the new Woody. He seems safer to follow."
The Dr. Smiled. "Well, he's certainly a better leader than Cole. I for one can't imagine what damage he'll do to that world."
Teeny looked a little distraught. "He's just going to ruin another world. Can you send us there? Can we go see him?"
Dr. Cole thought long about it. "The machine Woodwind went through is toast. it was a one shot deal." He stated. "But-" he continued. "The large machine will be ready in two weeks time. Cole has already requested that himself, a guard and I are the first to go through. He wants to find Woodwind and bring him home."
Hair-line snorted. "From the sound of things, I think "bringing him home" is the last thing he wants to do with him."
Dr. Brust took in a deep breath. "I had a feeling. but after we return, I will come and fetch you after all the scientists had gone. I'll send you through to see him."
Teeny smiled and reached out and hugged the Doctor. He was unused to displays of affection like that. especially from women. The two soldiers left and waited. They'd see their friend again. And, help him end that wretched Cole's meaningless life.

*****

History forgotten

Fluttershy awoke early that morning to tend to all her early rising animals like usual. She tiredly walked to the bathroom, giggling at the mess her mane was in.
She combed her mane, humming to herself.
An aroma of freshly cooked food filled the house. Curious, she went down to the kitchen to investigate.
Thats strange, she thought. She looked to the sofa where woodwind had slept, but he was gone. She sat at the table and rubbed her sleepy eyes at the delicious looking breakfast in front of her. She looked around for Woodwind but he was no where in site.
When she finished eating, she went out the back door to feed her pets. To her surprise, The pets were all eating their pellets and plants.
"Woodwind must have fed you all." she said to her pets as she floated to each one, checking sure each got what they needed.
"Theres no need to check. I made sure they were all fed."
Fluttershy whirled around to see Woodwind floating down from over the house. She couldn't believe it. he was flying!
"Woodwind, you did it! you're flying!" She said happily and flew up to meet him. She saw Angle bunny riding on his back munching on a delicious carrot.
"Yea, i finally got the hang of it." he said with a smile. "So did you enjoy your breakfast?"
Fluttershy smiled, "Oh yes. It was delicious. How did you know it was my favorite?"
He turned to Angle bunny. "Angle here helped me find all your favorite things in the market this morning. I decided it was the decent thing for me to do since you let me stay here last night."
She started to turn red. "Oh? You didn't have to do anything special for me. It was the least i could do for a friend."
They flew to the ground and he let Angle off his back. "I owe you, Fluttershy, a debt that no breakfast can repay." he told her with a laugh.
They laughed together until a yell came from above
"Hey! What do you think you're doing here?"
It was Rainbow Dash. She bolted to the ground in between him and Fluttershy.
"I thought i told you to leave! We don't want you here anymore."
He lowered his head and frowned.
"Rainbow, i came hear as a diplomat, not an invader." He said.
Rainbow Dash just looked more angry. "You're not even one of us. You're one of THOSE creatures. You lied to us in more ways than one! How can we trust you?!"
He began to get more defensive at this point. "If I hadn't lost my memory i'm pretty sure I would have told you who, and WHAT i was!"
Rainbow Dash turned her head away from him. He continued to speak.
"I can only say how sorry i am this happened, but our home is in ruins. From what i was told, their race-" He corrected himself. "MY race, is on the verge of destruction. We just needed a home."
"Your kind is not welcome in our world." Another voice said from above, the two mares bowed in its presence. Down from the sky floated a beautiful, tall, pure white Mare with elegant wings and a long, spiral horn. light seemed to emanate from her very being. On her back was Twilight who jumped down and smiled at him.
"Woodwind," She said. "This is Princess Celestia. She's the ruler of Equestria. I told her about what happened and she decided to speak with you personally."
Woodwind gulped. He didn't know what to expect but he knew it wasn't good.
She leaned in and started to speak. "Woodwind, i have to tell you a story. One you probably won't like to hear."
He moved closer to her. "Please, tell me."

Old friends reunite.

Woodwind was dumbstruck. They all were. Twilight was the first to speak.
"Princess, how come their is no mention of this in the Canterlot archives?" Twilight asked in astonishment. Celestias answer was simple and obvious.
"Luna and I thought it best to keep the human war out of history. We didn't need this horrible time on record."
Rainbow Dash stood with her mouth ajar. "Is this real? This CAN'T be true!"
Celestia hung her head. "I'm afraid it is, Rainbow Dash. And that is why we can't help the human race now."
Woodwind hung his head low but he understood. "From what i've heard our race do, from you and that man in town yesterday, I completely agree with you. But what is going to happen to me? I remember nothing of being a human, and i don't know what will become of me if I should return home."
Celestia looked him in the eyes, "You are to return home and destroy their way into this world. We can't risk Equestria's safety again."
Tears were in Flutteshy's eyes now. "Please Princess, don't send him back!"
Everypony stared at Fluttershy with an astounded look on their face.
Fluttershy was never this direct. Not even with her closest friend Rainbow. She had made it obvious that she wasn't ready to have their new friend leave.
Twilight put a foreleg around her, but she shook it off and ran for the woods.
Woodwind stared at her as she ran. His friendship with her was so important to him.
He looked back at them all. "I'll do everything i can to stop this." He stated. "I promise."
As he headed to get Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity came running up the road, shouting his name.
Pinkie hooped right in front of him and blocked his path. "You need to come to town, quickly!" She shouted. Rarity ran up next to her.
"Yes, there's two of those.. things in the center of town, asking around for you."
His eyes furrowed and he ran at a full gallop into town, whoever they were, they were gonna get it.

Teeny was a little uneasy about this whole thing. all these horses were looking at them, whispering, Hell, they were talking! It wasn't right. Hair-line just stood there and smiled.
"Well, this is quaint. I kinda like it here." he stated as he sat on edge of the fountain and lit a cigarette. Teeny wasn't about to let her guard down like he was.
"We need to get Woody out of this place. We need him back."
Hair-line smiled at that. "Do we need him back? Or do YOU need him back?" He asked smiling as he puffed in the grape flavored cigarette.
She was about to shoot back an insult when they saw a light green colored horse with wings stop in front of them. Teeny was looking it over and Hair-line started to snigger.

Woodwind look defiant. he had to keep an appearance of power in front of these creatures. Power was everything to them. "Well, i heard you were looking for me." he stated. "What do you want?"
The others came up behind him. The Princess looking at the humans with hate in her eyes.
The female one spoke first. "Woodwind. Woody? don't you recognize us? It's Teeny and Hair-line. We were in the same platoon together under the Commanders lead?"
Twilight stepped in. "He doesn't remember any of you, thankfully, since his head injury." The two creatures had a look of worry on their face. The male stepped forward.
"C'mon, Woody, It's us! And we're not here to cause trouble. We're hear to help you."
Woodwind looked back at Celestia and the others. "I'm listening." He said cautiously.

They all headed for the library, where they could talk in private. Hair-line and Teeny laid out a plan. They had come from the Everyfree forest which was where the human base of operations was being built. but they didn't know how it could be of help. Woodwind thought hard about what they said. "There's no way we can hold off this "Cole" guy. He seems tough and i don't know how anypony will fair in a fight against him and his army."
Princess Celestia stepped in. "We can set up a forcefield around the town. If what you say is true about the firepower they have, it won't last long, but it will be long enough for us to evacuate all the innocent ponies here."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Woodwind had another plan. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to go to Cloudsdale, organize a storm. The biggest storm ever."
Everyone looked at one another. Rainbow Dash understood. "That should level the playing field!" She flew off to Cloudsdale to organize it. Twilight had to ask.
"What would a big storm do to help?" She asked. Woodwind had no idea, but it mad sense. Teeny explained it "It'll keep their aircraft grounded and give us a fighting chance! Good thinkin', Woody!"
Celestia headed for the door. "I'll head back to Canterlot and send your brother and half of the Royal guard here to assist." And with that she was off. A smile spread across Twilights face.
"Yes! I get to see my brother again!" She yelled smiling
Woodwind stepped over to her. "This isn't a social call, remember. This is war."
The words burned as they slid off his tongue. He hated that word, and it was being thrown around a lot today. "Now Fluttershy I need you too-" He stopped mid sentence when he realized where she went.
The forrest. "Oh no! Fluttershy!" He yelled and flew out the door.

Prisoner of war

She had no idea how long she'd been walking. it seemed like forever. The tears were drying on her cheeks, crusting the light layer of yellow fur under her eyes. She fell to her knees and let more tears fall. "It's just not fair!" She cried out. "He's my friend and i don't want him to go!" She got up and stomped her hoof in a puddle.

A twig snapped behind her. She turned her head as fast as she could. There was nothing. Then everything went dark. Something grabbed her by the back of the neck. it tied a sack over her head. She screamed in terror and tried to fight back. It was no use. They were too strong for her. She fainted from the fright and the creatures carried her away.

Everything was coming back to her slowly. She awoke in a small metal cage. There were two tall creatures with what looked like big black metal sticks. A larger one came over, and the other two straightened as he got right up to the cage. Fluttershy lunged to the back in fear. The creature stared her dead in the eyes and spoke.
"You're right to be afraid. Your world is ours now."
She hid her face in fear from him and shakily spoke. "W-what do you want f-from me?"
He smiled and lit his cigar. "I want you to tell me where Woodwind is."

Woodwind raced to her cottage, it was empty. He went to the spot they were talking last night. Empty. He was frantic. He called her name as loud as he could. No reply. He kicked the dirt in frustration. he put his head down and saw his way of finding her.
Her hoof prints were barely visible in the wet ground. They led straight into the forest.
He followed them in a panic gallop. "Oh please no. Please let her be alright." He said as he reassured himself.
He ran for what seemed like forever.
Then the tracks stopped in a small clearing. He looked around and called for her. Still no reply. Something was horribly wrong. He looked closer at the ground an saw it.
boot prints. Two sets, leading into the middle of the clearing. Their was what looked like a scuffle. His heart sank. "...Fluttershy." Tears streamed from his eyes as he shouted as loud as he could. All that answered back was the emptiness of the forrest. He didn't know what to do. His anger was building. His stomach became a rock, and his thoughts raced. What did they do to her? Where did they take her? He couldn't sit around and do nothing. He flew back to library to tell them all what had happened.

AppleJacks eyes began to water. "Are yah sure you don't know if she's alright?"
He hung his head low and croaked, "No."
Rainbow Dash, who was back now from Cloudsdale, stomped her hooves in anger. "We have to go after her! We have to save her!"
She began to fly for the door but Woodwind stopped her. "And we will!" he said, "But we need a plan to go about it. We don't even know where they-"
And then it hit him. the guidance chip the doctor gave him. It must have fallen when he crashed into the forrest. He pulled out a map of Equestria from one of the shelves and studied it for a minute.
"Their here!" He pointed to the map at a spot in the middle of the forrest. "Thats where i crashed, and thats where I dropped the guidance chip!" Twilight checked the map. "Are you positive?" She asked. He looked at her hard. "I know it. Now i need a team to go with me."
Rainbow instantly flew forward. "I'll go!" She yelled puffing out her chest.
Woodwind smiled. "Good, Anypony else up for it?"
Pinkie Pie hopped forward. "Oh me, me me! I'll do it!"
Woodwind smiled, "Well alright. Lets get going."

Fluttershy looked up at him, "B-but you already know where he is. I-I heard you were there yesterday." She said quietly, closing her eyes hoping this was all a dream. Cole laughed.
"Oh. Is that where he's staying? In that pitiful town?" He asked staring at her with hateful eyes. She instantly began to regret saying he was in Ponyville. She had to trick him.
"N-no. He's not staying there. H-he left last week." She said sinking her head down. Cole hit the cage in anger, causing her to squeal and scurry to the back.
"I know you know where he is. If I could still track him I would, but unfortunately he destroyed the tracking device we put on him. So now, I need someone we know he's close to." He said, staring her dead in the eyes.
She turned her head and started crying whispering to herself, "Please Woodwind. Save me..."

They had been crawling on their bellies for at least twenty minutes, much to the distain of Rainbow Dash. "ughh, Why do we have to crawl there? Flying would be easier."
Woodwind had heard this ten times before. "First, Pinkie Pie can't fly," He said gesturing at the smiling pink pony in between them, "And second," he said pointing up at a sensor attached to the tree three feet ahead of them. "Thats why."
Rainbow squinted at the small, glowing sensor on the tree. "What is that thing?" she asked.
"It's a security drone that will alert the camp to our presence if we cross it. And if we cross it, we're more than likely dead."
She gulped and slunk lower to the ground.
The rest of the belly crawl was silent, except for the tiny giggle from Pinkie every so often, who was enjoying herself a little too much.
The ledge came up suddenly. Below, the scope of the camp was greater than he expected.
The camp was huge. Probably about a mile in diameter. Rows of tanks were lined up in the back, being loaded with anti-personnel shells. The Planes and choppers were being fueled and loaded, and troops were going about their duties and getting ready to go to war.
Pinkie Pie was the first to let out her disbelief. "Holy guacamole!" She recoiled back and started to shake. All the happy energy she had before was drained away. She was regretting coming, Woodwind could tell. He sighed and slunk back a little ways. "We have to wait till nightfall, when the camp is mostly asleep. We'll find her then."
Rainbow Dash nodded. Pinkie gave a salute.
The next five hours went by slowly. The mares played tic-tac-toe in the dirt to pass the time, but Woodwind kept watch on the camp.
He began to notice their pattern. Every hour the guards switched shifts. The patrols went through the middle of the camp every fifteen minute, and the guards on the wall closest to them turned his back on their position every 10 seconds. The math was easy to do. As soon as the sun went down, they'd wait five extra minutes, At that time, the guard on the wall will be facing away from them, The guards in center patrol would be finishing and heading back to the edge of the camp and the guards would be switching shifts at that time, too so it would give them four minutes of uninterrupted recon through the center of the camp. He smiled "Get ready girls. We go on my mark."

Fluttershy was awoken with a start as a bowl of water was thrown on the floor in front of the corner she was hiding in. The monster in charge had let her out and put her in his office. He sat at his desk just staring at her. "I thought you could use some seeing as how you've been cooped up here for hours."
Fluttershy pushed the bowl away and sank into the corner.
"I know you don't feel like talking to me. I understand." He stood up and lit another cigar and inhaled its sweet smoke. "But i'm afraid you have no choice. Tell me where we can find him, and you're free to go."
She looked up at him. He was standing a few feet away from her smiling. She could tell he wasn't being truthful.
"You're lying. You're not going to free me." she said shakily.
He smiled and inhaled the cigar again. "You got me. I've never been a good liar. But, if its all the same to you, I'd like to know where you all are hiding him."
This time he was right in her face. He breathed a heavy puff of smoke in her face which caused her to cough.
"I-I don't know who you're talking about." She said and lowered her head.
He smiled wider. "Now who's the bad liar?" He raised a fist to hit her, but an explosion stopped him cold. Alarms began to ring and soldiers were running up and down the halls. Fluttershy hid her head even more.
"Woodwind!"

"Good work Rainbow!" Woodwind yelled from above. He grabbed another rocket launcher from the tower and shot at the guards coming out of their barracks. They flew through the air wildly and hit the ground with loud thuds. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" he yelled at the top of his lungs with a laugh. "Rainbow, get Pinkie and get out of here. I think i know where to find Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash threw her spent launcher at a guard running along the wall. It hit him square in the chest with a thud and he fell into the brush below. Rainbow swooped Pinkie up and flew back to town.
Woodwind headed for the more formal looking building. He looked inside the window and saw him. The man who was in town that day. He ran out of the room with his gun drawn. He knew his name now.
Cole.
In the corner of the room, Fluttershy continued to cower. He had to get her.

Fluttershy's heart was pounding. She didn't know what would happen to her, but she knew it couldn't be good. Cole grabbed his weapon and headed for the door. "You stay here. I'll be back to finish this conversation in a minute."
He bolted out the door and slammed it behind him.
Fluttershy broke down again. She couldn't believe this was happening.
A loud crash broke her out of her hysteria. Nothing could have prepared her for who she saw.
She bolted out of the corner like a bullet and slammed into him. She hugged him as tight as she could. She never felt more safe than she did right then.
"Fluttershy! I'm so glad to see you!" He said hugging her back. He heard voices outside the door. He pushed the desk in front of the door right as it began to open. The yells were getting more frantic and one of them he easily could make out. Cole was back.
"C'mon, Fluttershy, lets go!" He said trying to grab her. but she flew towards the desk to grab something.
"Hurry! There's no time for that!" He said grabbing her and flying out the window.

Cole had had enough. "Give me that gun!" He shouted. He grabbed it and shot the wooden door with the entire clip and kicked it down. He yelled in anger and threw the rifle at the wall in the now empty room.
"This war is not going to end well for them! They're going to suffer for this!" He stormed off and with that, the soldiers ran to their posts to finish preparing for battle. This time, they worked at double the pace.

They landed outside the library and Fluttershy was met with hugs and cheers from all her friends. Woodwind just stood their and smiled. They all acknowledged him and walked over. He kinda hesitated but walked to meet them.
"Ah reckon we all owe yah a big one. You brought Fluttershy back safe an' sound, just like ya promised." AppleJack said smiling.
Rainbow Dash flew over and roughed his light brown mane up. "You were AWESOME!" she said.
"I can't believe we did it!" Pinkie Pie bounced around them. "That was amazing! We went in and zoom, BOOM! Blew stuff up, took out the bad guys, and ZOOM we were off!"
They all laughed at Pinkies innocent account of what happened.
The ponies stood back and let Fluttershy talk to him. "Here, I grabbed this before we left."
She lifted up her wing, and underneath it was his Medal of Honor. "I saw that monster just staring at it, but it had your name on the plaque, so i assumed it was yours, unless... i was mistaken." She grabbed it with her mouth and clipped it to his fur. He just stared at it deeply. Another memory came flooding back and he was lost once again to reality.

New Stalingrad.

*****

October 21, 2126. New Stalingrad. 21 miles behind enemy lines.

"WOODY!" Hair-line yelled "GET DOWN NOW!"
He dove out of the way as a mortar landed right where he stood. His armor took the brunt of the blast and left him with nothing but a scratch.
They were going to pay for that.
A tank rolled up the road and stopped a few feet away from them. It's cannon went off with a thunderous crack as it hit the building where the Russian mortar team was located. The building went up in flame and burning soldiers were jumping from the roof. Teeny ran over and dragged him into the building. "What the hell were you thinking being in the open like that?" She scolded smacking him on his solid steel chest plate. He just laughed. Cole came over and held his hand out to him. "We're the advanced recon team, Sergeant, so try not to get killed before we reach our objective, ok?"
He accepted the hand up and jumped to his feet. "Aw, why you gotta ruin the fun?"
The Captain arched a brow at him.
Woodwind took the hint.
"Sir." He finished and looked at the ground.
"This is Tank column 3. We're right outside, team gamma, and ready to continue when you are, captain."
Cole pressed the ear piece and replied. "Copy Tank column 3 this is gamma team, we're green and ready to ride your rears, over." He snapped off the ear piece and grabbed his gun. "Lets head to the Capital people!"
Hair-line smiled one of his usual lets kick but smile. "Lets go, Woody! We gotta card game to finish when we get back."
Woody smiled. "Oh yeah, thats right. I was just about to whoop you and teeny there for 200 dollars wasn't I?"
Hair-line shut his mouth quick and looked at the Captain. "Was it really necessary to save his sorry ass, Sir?"
Cole smiled. "Unfortunately, yes. We need him on this op."
Hair-line smiled at Woody and they all left the blown out store and stepped into a shower of ash, and fire.
The tanks continued to roll down the road towards the gigantic capital building off in the distance.
The way there was surprisingly quiet, which made them all nervous.
Cole flashed a hand sign at his team. It was the sign for eyes open. Another few miles in they were a block away from the capital. Woody smiled. "Well this should be easy." He said as he stepped into the open. A hand grabbed his pack and pulled him back, just as a sniper round ripped the cement apart where he stood a moment earlier. Teeny looked him dead in the eyes and grabbed his helmet from his pack. He took it from her and put it on. It was an experimental piece of equipment. Made from an experimental alloy, just like their armor. It was strong stuff. It didn't buckle easily. It could take a 50. cal round and not have a scratch. But the Russians had made their response to counter it. They called it the Nuclear bullet. it was a round made with a tiny reactor inside. when it hits its target, a tiny nuclear blast sends a fatal shockwave that kills the target instantly. No matter what they're wearing. He leaned over to Teeny. "Thanks, hot stuff." He said.
She smiled. "Thank me later. We got a job to do now."
Cole started the 5 second countdown.
4.
they cocked their weapons
3.
They primed smoke grenades
2.
They lobed them.
1.
Show time.

Bursting from cover and clouded by smoke, they began firing at the building with the 50. cal machine gun draped on Woody's shoulder. He was their tank, but it didn't mean they left the real ones behind. Two tanks rolled up each side of the street and shot down the 5 foot thick steel doors.
Russian troops poured out of the hole and opened fire on them. "Time to give them a taste of Papa Smurf!" He yelled. using his helmet to control the big blue gun mounted on his shoulder and exploded the soldiers with a fire rate of 1000 rounds a minute. Bits of flesh and bone flew into the air, peppering their armor in a mist of red.
"Woody, Take Teeny and Hair-line inside, I'll go right and find another entrance!" Cole shouted over their com. "Copy sir, Have fun flanking."

The lobby was an absolute mess. bussiness men and soldiers were twisted and broken into impossible shapes, and there was an inch layer thick of soot and ash everywhere, but otherwise it was dead silence. Woody felt uneasy about it. "Captain, how is everything on your end?"
Nothing but silence.
"Can anyone raise the Captain?" he asked his friends. The two shook their heads.
"Damn, well lets find the head honcho around here."
His friends nodded and followed.
The elevator ride up was a little shaky. The top of the building revealed an elaborate pent house filled with relics and items from Russias past. They looked over to the oak desk by the large window. The President was slumped in his chair, foam dripping from the side of his lips. Teeny checked on his vitals.
"He's dead, sir. Cyanide capsule."
A loud rumble shook the building. bits of ceiling came raining down as the three tried to keep their balance. "What the hell was that, Woody?" Hair-line asked as the building shook again. Woody looked out the window and saw what it was.
"Oh, shit! Captain, can you hear me? They launched a nuke! Captain are you there?
His voice came through accompanied by gunfire.
"I know! They launched it right as i got here! It's headed for D.C!
The two soldiers with Woody shifted on their feet, in an unsure manor.
"We have to get a line to the President! Alert base camp!"
Cole responded, "We're being jammed! We can't get through!"
As if by fate, an old fashioned phone began ringing on the desk across the room. it was an old corded red phone. Woody had heard stories about it. It was the direct line between both the Russian President and the US president. Woody picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello? Who is this? Address yourself." replied the familiar voice.
"This is Sergeant Woodwind of the 183 Marine infantry, Mr. President."
The President sighed. "I had a feeling i'd hear from you someday. You're a legend in the US, son."
He smiled but remembered what was happening. "Sir, A nuke has been launched and its headed for the capital! You have to get out of there now!"
The President sighed. "We were tracking it the moment it launched. It'll be hear faster than we can escape its blast radius. We accept what's about to come."
Woody stood their in disbelief. "Sir, What about the country? Who's going to lead it and keep the people safe?"
He heard the president chuckle. "I may have just met you, but i know your legacy. I want you to take my place."
Woody couldn't speak. he collapsed into the chair beside the phone.
"I know you'll do the country proud. I already sent out a message to all the senators on the west coast about what's to happen. I'm also giving you the congressional Medal of Honor for your services."
Woodwind started to tear. "I'll do you proud Mr. President," He said. "You can count on it."
The president chuckled as someone in the background yelled 5 seconds to impact.
"Semper Fi, Marine." he said.
The line went dead.
Woody dropped the phone and murmured so only he could hear what he said.
"Semper Fi, Mr. President."
The Captains voice came back on the radio. "Marines! We're pulling back now! Lets go!"
Woodwind put his helmet back on and they all headed home. Only this time, his friends weren't under the command of a Sergeant, They were under the command of the new President of the United States.

*****

The battle begins

Everypony was staring at him as he continued to stand their, just looking at the Medal. Apple-Jack stepped forward.
"Is this what happens when gets one o' his flashback thingies?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, but this is the longest he's ever zoned out."
Teeny and Hair-line came outside.
"What's going on with him?" Teeny asked.
"He's remembering something." Twilight explained.
Woodwind finally looked back up at the others. "It's time to get ready for battle."

Cole was pissed, all the soldiers could see that, so everytime they saw him storm by, they worked three times faster. His second in command can running up.
"Sir, a storm is brewing over the first town in our path, they call it, Ponyville, and it's going to keep our birds grounded."
Cole looked even more pissed. "Well what else can go wrong today? Lets call this place target number one." He said looking down at the video tablet. He suddenly got a confused look on his face.
"What is that pink bubble expanding over it?" He asked.
The Soldier took the tablet back and studied the shield that now encircled the town.
"Hmm, thats odd. it wasn't their a moment ago. It looks like some sort of force field. Thats not good."
Cole slapped the tablet out of his hand. it hit the ground and smashed in two. "Oh you think, Sergeant? Damnit. send out the tanks. i want them to pound the hell out of that shield. Give everyone you can a rocket launcher. We're not giving up." Cole stated as he stormed off.
"Yes sir." The sergeant said as he motioned the tanks to roll out.

Twilight waved to her brother as the pegasi landed the chariot in the town square. "Shining Armor! It's so good to see you" She said as she galloped to him and gave him a huge hug.
"Twilly!" He said hugging back "It's so good to see you!"
"Hows Cadence?" Twilight asked letting her brother go.
"She's great, i'll tell her you said hi when i get back?" he asked.
"And give her a hug for me, too?"
"Shining Armor smiled. "Of course, little sis."
His look became more serious as Woodwind approached. "So your the-" He tried to search for the right word, knowing what he was, but decided to be respectful. "Colt who's leading this battle?"
"Yes, and you're the Captain of the Royal guard I hear." Woodwind stated. "I also hear you're quite good and conjuring up force fields."
"Best in Equestria far as I know." Shining Armor stated proudly.
"Can you set it up? I don't know how long we have until they come." Woodwind said gesturing toward the forest.
"Uh- yeah, no problem." He said and began the spell. His horn began to glow a bright blue. It became brighter and brighter until a beam of purple light burs into the air. It elegantly curved outwards at around one hundred feet and arched around the entire town.
"There." Shining Armor said out of breath. "Its ready. Should we start evacuating? I have enough Pegasi pulled chariots waiting to get the residents to Canterlot."
"Don't separate families but make sure the children get a seat first. They're the ones we need to protect."
Shining Armor and a group of guards ran from house to house evacuating the residents.
Just then a loud crack of thunder resinated through the air and the rain began to fall, running down the sides of the forcefield like water on a rock.
"Good. The pegasi have started the storm. Teeny, I want you to assist in the evacuation and provide protection detail."
Yes, sir. You can count on me." She saluted and headed for the opposite side of town.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Rarity as she and the others trotted up behind him.
"I want you six on the chariots out of here. It's not safe."
"No can do, Sugarcube." AppleJack said. "This here's our home an' we'll do whatever it takes to protect it. Right Big Mac?" She turned to her brother who was carting two wagons of apples.
"Eeyup." he said as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his massive front leg.
"Like it or lump it, pal, we're staying to fight!" Rainbow Dash said as she bumped her front hooves together. Rarity stepped forward now.
"I'm sorry, Dear, but you're just going to have to put up with us." she said running her hoof through her mane.
Pinkie Pie rolled over with her party cannon. "I'm not going no where either! We're friends! We gotta stick together!"
Twilight rested a hoof on the overzealous Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie is right. We're going to stick together no matter what. This is our home and we'll defend it to the end."
Woodwind didn't argue with the five. He knew they had every right to fight and he'd accept their help. "Ok, girls. Why don't you go and see if anypony needs help."
They all left. but Fluttershy stayed there, just looking at the ground.
"Fluttershy? You can leave to Canterlot you know." He told her knowing exactly how she felt.
"B-but, what will happen to you all?"
He sighed. "I don't know. Hopefully we'll be fine. But there's no shame in leaving if you're not up for this."
She reached out and gave him a hug. "Please, be safe. for me?" She pleaded.
A loud thunderous crack sounded through the air and an explosion rippled the shield. Woodwind flew up to the top and yelled to the royal guard soldiers, and anyone else who stayed behind to fight. "They're here! Everypony get to your stations!"
He flew back to Fluttershy. "If you're going to leave, it has to be now."
She let out a gulp and nodded. "I-i'm sorry I couldn't be much help." She said and frowned.
Woodwind pushed the hair from her eyes. "It's ok. You stay safe, ok?"
She smiled. "Ok. I'll be safe. good luck." She hugged him one last time and left for the carriages.
More tanks came to the edge of the Everfree forest and opened fire on the town. The forcefield was holding.
barely.
The town was in a panic as ponies raced for the evac. Fluttershy waited as families and foals were being loaded on and flown to Canterlot. She looked back to see the shield being barraged by explosions. It was beginning to buckle and crack under the pressure. "Oh please hurry." She said as she began to shift anxiously.

Cole had reached the tank line at the edge of the forest with the rest of the soldiers. He turned on his mic. "Soldiers, you know what to do. Rockets at the ready. We all fire together. That goes for you tank column."
Everyone and everything was aimed at the town. "Ready, Aim, FIRE!"

And with that, the loudest explosion to assail Woodwinds ears rocketed towards the force field. Despite shining armors best attempts to hold it. It exploded into tiny, purple magic fragments. Woodwind was distraught. The evacuation wasn't finished and the whole army was now rushing from the woods into the town. He had an idea. It was a long shot but he had a feeling it might work.
"Rainbow, You know how you told me about the sonic rainboom?" Woodwind asked joining her and the other pegasi working the storm.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"The force of your sonic rainboom should be enough to knock them off their feet and halt them long enough for the evacuation to continue. but it needs to be low enough to have an affect. Can you pull it off?"
Rainbow Dash smiled "I'm on it!" She yelled as she flew high into the sky, then bolted towards the ground.
This is what she was made for. Speed. and not just any kind of speed. Butt kicking speed.
She flapped her wings as fast as they could go. the ground was closing fast. She smiled. "HERE I COME YOU JERKS!" She yelled as air and light bent around her.

The resulting explosion was something Cole never expected. That one pony falling from the sky created a blast that sent him sailing thirty feet away, knocked his entire battalion to the ground, flipped almost every single tank ten feet into the air, crushing some unfortunate soldiers as they landed, and managed to piss him off ten times more than he already was. He stood and turned on his radio.
"I want this town now! Go, go. go!" He yelled.
All the troops charged for the town. the remaining few tanks thundered past and laid waste to the first few houses.

This gave Woodwind an idea. He flew to the Cakes now vacant restaurant . At least it would have been if Pinkie Pie wasn't their with her party cannon. As he opened the door, a stream of confetti and streamers shot inches above his head.
"Pinkie Pie?! What on earth are you doing here?!"
Pinkie Pie peaked out from behind the cannon and began stuffing it full of cupcakes and glitter now. "Duh! I'm protecting the Cake's bakery!"
Woodwind looked a little flustered. "Pinkie, we have to leave right now. This place we'll be flattened in minutes, and-"
He was cut off as the door was kicked down and two armed men entered.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Pinkie shouted as she fired the cannon. Woodwind ducked as cupcakes and random party favors pelted the faces of the two soldiers and in the unfortunate case of the taller one, right in his eyes. He ran out of the building screaming and the other followed.
"THAT'S RIGHT YOU COWARDS!!! FEAR PINKIE AND HER PARTY CANNON!!! " She shouted to them from the door shaking her hoof in the air. Woodwind just rolled his eyes and continued what he came here to do. He grabbed a knife from the drawer with his mouth and cut all the gas line the kitchen and basement. He ran back upstairs, grabbed Pinkie, and jumped out the front door just as a tank came thundering through the bakery. Pinkie Pie began to tear up. "All my hard work protecting it wasted!" She began to cry hysterically.
The tanks turret began to turn towards them. Woodwind grabbed Pinkie and flew into the sky. He smiled. "C'mon you fool. Fire that gun."
The tank sent a shell into the air after them, and it missed by a long shot, But the flash from its massive barrel ignited the gas around it. engulfing it in a massive fire ball. The flash was visible throughout the entire town in the darkness of the storm. Pinkie Pie stared at the burning husk that used to be the bakery with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
Fluttershy jolted back as she heard the explosion. They were getting closer, but then she realized. Why was she waiting for a ride? She had wings. She bolted into the air and flew towards Canterlot. it was good to be out of there, but something nagged at her. She kept thinking about her friends fighting and Woodwind. how could she just run off and leave them like that? She had to go back, but what could she do? She couldn't fight, or be any use to them. But she had to go back. For her friends.
For him.
She took in a deep breath and flew back towards town.

Woodwind returned to the ground with Pinkie to see nothing but chaos. The royal guard was engaging the soldiers and they weren't fairing to well. The humans opened fire on them, their armor useless, they fell to the ground wounded or dead. The guard moved in as close as they could, making their weapons useless. Their short spears cut into the flesh of the humans. Death hung in the town like horrible fog.
It was time to stop organizing. it was time to fight.
And he saw his target.
Cole was in the center of town, fighting off the guards with ease.
"Is that all you got? Taking your world will be a breeze with fighting like this!"
Woodwind scowled and shouted at him. "Here's your challenge, Cole!" Woodwind yelled as he slammed into him. The resulting fight was a flurry of fists and hooves. Cole smashed Woody's face into the cobblestone and Woodwind kicked him in the face, shattering his nose. Cole flew back in pain and Woodwind rushed in. Cole knew exactly where to hit him. As Woodwind rushed in, He used the butt of his pistol to smash the back of his neck. Their was a crack, but it wasn't bone. It was the chip keeping Woodwind in his current form.

To say what happened next was painful was understating things. "He felt his body slowly change at a molecular level. He screamed in pain as he began to grow fingers and toes, his face began to shrink and distort into what it once was, And his arms and legs began to grow.
After it stopped, he lay curled in a ball of the cobblestone, gasping for air.
Hair-line saw everything from where he was. Cole was about to finish the job when Hair-line jumped on his back and began repeatedly punching him in the face.
Cole was too strong for the smaller man, though and threw him to the ground. He got up and Woodwind stood as well, shaky from being used to walking on four legs for so long.
Hair-line looked over but looked away quickly. "Wow, dude, it's good to see you back to your old self but put some pants on, please."
Woodwind looked down to see what he was talking about. To his shock he was butt naked.
"Hair-line do you got any?" He asked blushing.
"In my bag." Hair-line said pointing at the sack on his back. "Woodwind quickly put the khacky shorts on.
"Glad you always keep an extra pair after you crapped yourself in Africa." He said laughing.
Hair-line looked a little angry, "Yeah, well, it helps to be prepared when your Sergeant is standing butt naked in the middle of town."
"Touche." He said and turned to faced Cole again.
Cole began to laugh. "So, can we continue this circus act you call a fight, or are you going to surrender?"
Woodwind had a better idea. "Lets make this interesting. Halt your armies and i'll halt mine. The winner of this fight decides the fate of Equestria. Deal?"
Never one to decline a bet, Cole called on his radio. "Halt the assault."
Woodwind smiled and yelled at the top of his lungs. "HAULT"
The armies stopped at once, and the pegasi stopped the storm. Cole looked around as the storm seamlessly ended by the sound of his voice.
"How in the world?" He thought shaking his head. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was this. Cole knew no matter who won, he'd begin the assault again. It was just going to be satisfying to have a little uninterrupted fist fight with his old friend.
Everypony gathered around whispering to one another and staring at the two humans who were about to have a world deciding brawl.
Unused to being his true self, Woodwind stubbled forward on his hind legs. This wasn't working for him, so he decided to go back down on all four. It still felt awkward, but better. Cole scoffed and flew at him at lighting speed. Woodwind side stepped and put his strong fist down on his back. The ponies cheered and hollered for the now human Woodwind. It was a sight to behold. Hundreds of humans trying to take Equestria, and one human standing to protect it.

Twilight had returned to the library to check on spike who was hiding in the storage room. "Spike! I need you to write a letter to the princess!"
Spike came out from hiding in shock. "You really think nows the best time to write a letter to the Princess?"
She shouted. "Spike just do it!"
"Ok, ok! What do you want me to write?"
Twilight cleared her throat. "Ahem. "

Dear Princess Celestia,

I hope all is well with the evacuated citizens of Ponyville, but i need you to help us. I need you to send the elements of harmony to aid in this fight. We can use their power to repel the invaders. I await your quick response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Spike rolled the letter and sent it on its way.
"It's sent. Now what?"
"Now?" she asked. "I guess we wait."
Fluttershy was almost back at town. It was too quiet. there was something wrong. Why was their no more fighting?
She pushed the first thought that came to mind away. Could they have all been killed?
She thought positively the rest of the way there. She flew faster this time. the town coming up quickly, and she saw why the town was so quiet. A human was fighting that monster Cole. But Woodwind was no where to be seen. Then it dawned on her, could that human be Woodwind? She had to hurry and find out.

Woodwind was at a huge disadvantage. He still didn't remember how to function in his old body. It was something he never wanted to experience again anyway. He was just a little bit smaller than Cole, but Cole still held the power in the fight.
Woodwind ducked as Coles massive fist flew over his head, and gave him a low kick to the legs. This sent Cole tumbling to the ground giving Woodwind his opportunity. He jumped on his back, smashing his fists into Cole's head.
Cole rolled and pinned Woodwind to the ground, encircling his throat in his mighty hands.
Woodwind was gasping for air, clawing at the hands on his neck. He took his fingers and dug them into Cole's eyes. The man fell back clutching his face, his left eye socket was gushing blood.
Woodwind stood and charged him again.
The cold blade of the knife sunk into Woodwinds soft belly. The breath was knocked from him and blood began to gush wildly. But he shakily kept advancing to Cole. Woodwind didn't realize how much the wound had slowed him down. Cole landed a jaw crushing blow to his face and Woodwind collapsed to the cold, wet cobblestone. He looked up at Cole through clouded eyes. He had his gun aimed at his head.
"Anything to say before you die?" Cole said as he cocked the weapon.
Woodwind just smiled. "I'll ask you that later." He said with a cool collectiveness.
Just then Rainbow Dash tackled Cole to the ground and quickly flew away before he could get a shot off at her.
He tumbled 5 feet and slammed his head into the fountain.
Giving Fluttershy enough time to come out of hiding to get to Woodwind.
"Oh no! What happened to you? Are you ok?" She asked helping him up.
He began to shake as she pulled the knife out. He let out a winded yip and shut his eyes tight.
He heard Cole advance on them. "Get out of the way, horse! I'll deal with you when I finish him!"
Fluttershy felt the fear rise, but she remembered what Woodwind had said.
"Those with fears, are stronger than those without."
She stood defiantly in between them.
"N-no! I won't let you hurt him!" She yelled.
Cole had had enough of this. He grabbed her by the mane and lifted her to his face level and pointed the gun at her. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life, you stupid little horse!"
"Put her down you gutless coward!" Woodwind yelled as he stood to his feet, covered in blood.
"You want her, Woody?" He yelled, as he chucked her at him, "Catch."
He threw Fluttershy at the wounded Woody.
Woodwind caught her and sunk to the ground.
Cole pointed his weapon at the two and fired.

Dead and back again.

The girls, all except Fluttershy, were back at the library while the battle had suddenly ceased.
AppleJack was confused. "Why did th' fightin' stop? What happened?" She asked.
Twilight shook her head. "I don't know but we need to use the elements quickly."
Rainbow stepped forward. "But Fluttershy left. We need her to make this work."
Pinkie Pie jumped in now. "Yea! Without Fluttershy, this won't work."
Twilight frowned. "We have to find her. Rainbow, do you think you can search the skies around town for her?"
Rainbow Dash nodded taking both hers, and Flutteshy's element neckless'. "I'm on it!" She said flying out the window.
"The rest of you, lets get into town. I want to know exactly what's going on." Twilight said as she ran out the door.
It was easy to figure out where everypony was. They could hear the shouts and yells from the center of town. They headed for town at a steady gallop.
A loud bang startled them into a run. Something had happened because after the bang, everything went dead silent. The four ran as fast as they could. When they got there, they weren't expecting what had happened. Everypony and everyhuman was standing their, dead silent, staring at the human bleeding on the ground. Rainbow Dash held a hysterical Fluttershy, Teeny and Hair-line were at Woodwinds side, trying to resuscitate him, with no luck. Teeny was yelling in frustration and Hair-line was tearing up.
"Oh no!" Twilight yelled as she raced to her two friends.
"Rainbow Dash! What happened?" She yelled hoping somepony would give her an answer. She hated not knowing.
Rainbow Dash just shook her head, unwilling to answer.
Cole stood up laughing.
"So that was all you could muster, Woody?" He yelled mockingly, "I trained you better than that! Now our assault continues! Lets go men!"
No one moved.
"I SAID LETS GO, MEN!"
Everyone remained still.
Teeny yelled back at him.
"No one wants to follow a psychopath like you!" She stood and approached him.
He pointed the gun at her. she stopped and began to tear.
"You gonna shot me now? Why don't you just shot everyone here!"
Cole began to shake. "Is that how you all feel?" he shouted backing away. All eyes were now on him. He bolted past them all and headed for the forrest.
The soldiers threw down their guns and put their hands on their heads. The Ponies began to cheer. They had done it. They won.

Fluttershy bolted out of Rainbow Dash's embrace and raced to Woodwind.
"Please be ok." She sobbed. "Please get up."
But he didn't move.
She broke down.
"Please don't leave me like this! Please don't go!" She fell to the cobblestone and held her head. Her friends surrounded her and embraced her tightly.
"Do not fret, my good friends, for this is not to be his end."
They all looked up to see Zecora standing over Woodwind. Twilight let out a small smile.
"Zecora. What are you doing here?" She asked.
Zecora smiled at her, but continued to mix something at the same time.
"I heard the sounds of a big fight, and foresaw the fate of a noble knight. His death would prevent what he had to make right, To stop his enemy from continuing the fight."
Twilight looked more confused. "But, Zecora, they all surrendered. See?"
Zecora looked around at the humans. All on their knees and their hands on their head.
"Thats all I saw of his story, but i can bring him back to fight for glory."
Fluttershy flew to Zecora, "You can bring him back? You can save him?"
Zecora fowned.
"Alas, this potion can bring him back, but its effects do not last. Ten minutes he'll have to walk this earth for, but after that, he'll die once more."
Fluttershy shut her eyes and silent tears fell. Everypony looked at the ground as Zecora poured the pink fluid down his throat.
After ten seconds, he exploded off the ground and gasped for air.
"What in the world happened!?" he yelled getting to his feet.
Fluttershy tackled him with a hug. "Oh you're back! It worked!" She shouted still crying.
Twilight ran to him. "Our friend Zecora gave you a potion that will let you live for ten more minutes. Cole ran off into the woods. We don't know what he has planned but you have to stop him!"
Woodwind took this all in quickly. He ran to Coles second in command, knife in hand, and grabbed him by the throat. "What was his backup plan?! I know he had one!"
The man was silent.
Woodwind punched him in the head, "What will he do!?"
The soldier recoiled. "He brought a nuke! If all else failed, he was going to set it off!" Woodwind bolted into the woods. Everyone followed him, even the soldiers.

Cole typed furiously on the control panel next to the massive bomb. "They think they won, do they? Those arrogant shits! I'll show them what it means to mess with President Cole!" The nuke began to hum as it primed. Cole grabbed the remote and waited for it to give the green light.
Woodwind burst into the camp.
"Cole you coward! Show yourself!"
The camp was as quiet as a grave. He could here the distant thump of footsteps coming up behind him. He began to shout again, but gunshots from the hanger sent him scattering to cover.
But not for long.
Taking that potion was like being injected with adrenaline. He bolted from cover and sprinted to the hanger. Cole ran out the back and up the cliff behind them.
Woodwind was in hot pursuit. He ran up the hill like it was nothing Coming to a stop seeing Cole clenching the remote in his hand.
"You came back just to die again!" He yelled over the roar of the rapids below.
"Anything to say before you die?" Woody said taunting him. Coal yelled in frustration and was about to hit the button.
Woody let the knife fly from his hand and it hit its mark.
Cole screamed as the blade pierced through his wrist and out the other side, causing him to drop the detonator. Woody tackled him and the two went tumbling towards the edge of the cliff.
"Up there!" Twilight yelled, seeing the two humans on the top of the cliff. The other humans were heading back through the portal, not wanting to be around when a nuke went off. Twilight, her friends, and Hair-line and Teeny ran to the hill to see the two continuing their scuffle.

"You're the most obnoxious man I ever met, Woody! You never knew when to back down!"
Woody smiled as his fist connected with his jaw. "I've always been better than you! You never could handle that! The fact I was made president made you jealous!"
Cole smashed a rock into Woodwinds stomach. "I would never be jealous of a coward like you!" He shouted smashing the rock into the back of Woody's throat. Woodwind slammed to the ground.
Cole pulled the knife out of his wrist and lunged it towards Woodwind.
He rolled and the knife slammed into the ground where he was just a second earlier.
He swung his leg and connected with the back of Cole's knee, Sending him to the ground.
But ten minutes was up.
Woody could barely breath and his strength ebbed. the world was fading in and out as he felt his heart beat slower and slower. Cole punched him in the face and stood up quickly. Woodwind looked up as Cole picked up the detonator again. "It's over!" He shouted, "You lose!" He was about to hit the button. Woodwind dove at the man, knocking the remote from his hand, and the two tumbled.
Straight off the cliff.

Fluttershy was the first to run to the edge. She peaked over to see nothing but the rushing river below.
"Woodwind!" She yelled, hoping for an answer.
but nothing.
Fluttershy flew down to river to see if she could find him.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she chased after her. "It's over..."
"No! I have to find him!"

He grabbed at the shore with the rest of his strength and pulled himself up.
He could no longer breath. The light began to fade from his eyes and he fell to the dirt. But just before it ended, a bright flash came down from the sky and landed in front of him. "You have proven yourself a true hero of Equestria. Now hold still. this might hurt a little bit."

A week had passed since the war had ended. The residents of Ponyville had returned home and began cleaning up the mess.
Fluttershy was tending to her animals slower than usual. She kept thinking what she could have done differently. If only she could have been braver. But what's done is done. She couldn't change it despite how hard she wanted to.
If only she told him.
Twilight came running up the road, calling Fluttershy's name.
"Oh, hello Twilight. Is there something I can do for you?" She asked.
"No, but the Princess did something for you. Follow me!"
Twilight began sprinting down the road. Fluttershy followed reluctantly.
"Oh, Twilight, The princess didn't have to do anything for me. I'm- ok." She said. but she was lying to herself. She wasn't ok. She was far from it. She cared for him so much. And he was gone forever.
They reached town to see a massive party being held. Obviously Pinkie Pies doing.
"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked. "Whats with the party?"
"The princess has declared today, Woodwind day. We're celebrating how one selfless person, er, pony," She corrected. "helped save all of Equestria from being plunged into the darkness of war."
Fluttershy smiled. "This is so kind of her to do. But she did this for me?"
"Nope!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she hopped to them. "She did something even better!"
Rarity, AJ, And Rainbow Dash came over as well.
"You believed in him when we all didn't" Rainbow Dash said.
"That's right, darling. Because of your belief in him, he ended up saving us all." Rarity continued.
"We all learned an important lesson on friendship today." Twilight continued.
"You showed us that no matter what someone was like before, doesn't mean they can't be forgiven. You stood by him till the end and he couldn't have asked for a better friend."
Fluttershy blushed. "Thank you all so much." She said. "But what did the princess do for me?" She asked again, hoping to get an answer.
"Follow us." Twilight said.
They reached the buffet where the princess was sitting with her sister, enjoying the sweets and delicate food. Even Teeny and Hair-line were still there, talking to the princess.
"Princess Celestia?" Twilight said as she approached the table. "Fluttershys here now."
Celestia smiled. "Ah, Fluttershy. It's so good to see you again. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am for doubting you about Woodwind."
Fluttershy was shocked. The princess was apologizing to her?
"Oh, princess, you don't need to apologize."
"Oh, but i do. You believed in him when nopony else would. And you made me see that everypony deserves a chance. Which is why i did this."
She called out to the back of the curtain encircling the picnic tables.
"You can come out now."
Out from behind the curtain stepped the light green pegasus with the light brown mane. Fluttershy couldn't contain herself. She tackled the Pegasus to the ground.
"Woodwind! You're alive! You're ok!"
He laughed. "I told you I'd be ok." He told her.
She kissed him. it was something she wanted to do for so long, but never had the courage. "I love you." She finally said. "I wish i told you sooner. I thought i'd never have the chance."
"You mean the world to me." He told her. "I'm sorry i put you through so much hurt. but i sacrificed myself to keep you safe." He turned to the Princess.
"I can never thank you enough for what you've done."
"I did it because you proved yourself to be a better pony than all of us. Your friends too. Which is why I have agreed to let them stay.
Hair-line and Teeny stepped forward. "We're ready, Princess."
Woodwind stepped forward. "Are you sure about this, guys? Once you're changed, there's no going back."
Teeny stepped up. "We've made up our minds. We want to do this."
"Well then all right. Step forward." The princess said as she began the spell.
Teeny and Hair-line were lifted off the ground, encircled by a brilliant light. Woodwind and the others shielded their eyes .
When they turned back around, two new ponies stood before them.
Teeny was transformed into a light tan mare. she still had her short cropped, dark brown hair.
Hair-line became a dark blue unicorn. He was still balding, unfortunately.
Woodwind smiled as his friends struggled to keep their balance.
"How do you feel?" He asked. Hair-line was the first to answer.
"Like i just got kicked in the gut." He said as he tried to keep his balance.
"This isn't so bad. I can get used to it." Teeny said smiling.
Everyone began to cheer. Woodwind held Fluttershy close and felt, for the first time in his life, a sense of peace. His life finally had purpose. And now, he was going to start living a life he could only dream of. He was going to live a life of peace.

Epilogue.

Five years later...

Woodwind was sleeping peacefully in bed. It was around 8am and Fluttershy had already gotten up early to tend to the animals. Today was saturday though, the day Woodwind got to sleep in.
He felt tiny hooves bouncing on his chest.
"Daddy! Daddy! Get up! You promised to take us on a picnic today!" the tiny voice said.
Woodwind sat up and started messing her mane.
"Yes i did, little filly! Now c'mere." He said playfully as he picked her up and began tickling her tiny tummy.
"Hahaha. Daddy, stop it! That tickles!" she shouted.
Just then the Foals began to cry in the next room.
"Oh, no." he said getting up to get them
Fluttershy came floating up the stares humming.
"Don't worry, Woodwind. I got them."
Woodwind laid back down and his daughter snuggled up under his chin. Her light pink mane covering his face.
"Daddy? Can you tell me again how you and mommy met."
Woodwind laughed.
"I tell you that story all the time, Squeaks."
She smiled as she climbed on top of his head and stared down at him.
"I know daddy, But it's my favoritest story ever!"
Woodwind stood up and began walking to the kitchen, the filly still sitting atop his head.
"Let's go, Daddy! Make me breakfast!"
Fluttershy came out of the foals room. The foals sat happily in the baby carrier draped over her back, drinking their bottles.
"Sleep well?" Fluttershy asked, kissing him on the cheek.
"Of course. How about you?" He asked kissing her back.
"Always, since i have my handsome stallion to snuggle." she said
"Ewwww! Gross!" Said the tiny voice on his head. she flapped her tiny wings and floated to the ground.
"Do you want me to get breakfast started?" Fluttershy asked.
"Uh, sure. I'll take the foals off your hooves for a while." Woodwind said, grabbing the saddle off her back and placing it on his.
"Ok. Come on, Squeak. Lets get you something to eat." Fluttershy said smiling at the foal.
"Yay! Thank you mommy!"
Fluttershy went downstairs followed by Squeak who was rattling off the things she wanted to eat. She was a little firecracker.
Just like me. Woodwind thought.
He followed and set the twins down in the living room to play with Angle. They giggled and laughed and crawled after the aging bunny.
"You ready for the picnic today, Fluttershy?" He asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Oh, yes. So is everypony else. I talked to all the girls and they said they could make it."
"Yay! I get to see Aunti Dashy!" Squeak yelled smiling as she ate her breakfast.
There was a knocking at the door and Spike walked in.
"Good morning, Spike." Fluttershy said. "What brings you by?"
"Oh Woodwind wanted me to write a letter for him to the princess."
"Oh? What are you going to write about, honey?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know." He admitted. "Just need to say a few things. Shall we head upstairs, Spike?"
"Of course." Spike replied and followed him upstairs, but not before grabbing a cookie off the table.
They entered the bedroom and spike took a seat at the desk.
"Ready when you are." He said putting the quill up to the paper.
"How shall i begin?" He asked.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's been five years since I last talked to you. Time sure does fly. I just wanted to say I never stop thinking about what you've done for me. You gave me life, a home, and with that i was able to start a wonderful family. The things i would have never been able to have in my old life. You gave me a purpose, and for that, I owe you everything. Thank you Princess Celestia for believing in me.

Your loyal subject,

Woodwind.
Spike sent the letter.
"That was really nice." He said. "Better than a lot of the letters i have to write for Twilight."
Woodwind laughed. "Well I hope we can do this again soon. I'll see you at the picnic later?" He asked as Spike began to leave. "Yup. I'll see you then, Woodwind."
Spike left and Woodwind was left alone with his thoughts.
He looked at the picture of his wedding day on the nightstand. Eveypony dressed in the most elegant tuxes and dresses. Princess Celestia insisted that they use the royal garden for it. It was the happiest day of his life Next the that was Hair-line and Teeny's wedding last year. His old friends had finally tied the knot and settled down. Teeny was even pregnant with their first foal. Next to that was a picture of Squeaks just after she was born.
The day he became a proud father.
And finally a family portrait. He loved this picture. It was taken just days after the foals were born, and when Squeak was even tinier than she was now. He smiled thinking back to the day he met Fluttershy.
It was so long ago.
Squeak ran in and jumped on the bed.
"Daddy, It's time to go!" Squeak said jumping around him.
Fluttershy had the picnic basket on her back and the foals in the carriage on her side as she came into the room.
"Come on, Woodwind. I can't hold Squeak back anymore." She said smiling at the silly little filly.
Squeak smiled back and nudged close to her mothers legs.
"Ok girls. Lets go have fun!"
"Yay! Aunti Dashy!" Squeak yelled and bolted out the room.
"I'm so proud of her." Fluttershy said. "She's strong. Just like her father." she said nuzzling into his neck.
"I love you." He said holding her close.
"I love you, too." She said as she kissed him. "Now lets get going. We're going to be late."
They all headed down the road for the park. Woodwind looked towards Canterlot off in the distance.
"Thank you again, Celestia."

The

End

Forgotten War.

*****

Celestia awoke with a start from her dream. Her sister, Luna still sound asleep next to her. Their world was in war. The humans had spread from their land in an attempt to conquer all of Equestria. They were an advanced barbaric race that desired nothing more than power. Celestia walked over to the stand her armor rested on.
It was battered and scared from the multiple battles she was in. Her and her sister, and the rest of the royal army were able to hold back the invading humans for a time, but their machines of war were becoming to much for the Ponies to compete against, even with magic. But it was magic that would win the day. Her friend, and mentor, Starswirl the Bearded, was working on a spell called, "The World Rift." It would effectively create an alternate plane in the fabric of space, replicating their world, and make it a place for the humans to live. It would Take His, Luna's, and Celestia's full magical powers to do. The Human race was amassing near the Outland's where the refugees and army were hiding. Canterlot was taken, The Humans had even reached Cloudsdale with their machines. But their greed would get the better of them. For this spell would get rid of them once and for all.

"Princess?" Celestia turned to see Starswirl the bearded entering the tent. "The spell is ready for us to do. Are you sure the humans will fall into the trap?"
"Their greed will cause them to. They want everything. And they will stop at nothing to take everything."
Luna awoke and went over to her big sister.
"Sister?" She said sleepily, "I'm scared. What if this doesn't work?" Luna asked with tears in her eyes.
Celestia couldn't lie to Luna. She had to tell her the truth, no matter how blunt it was.
"Then we are done for."

The day waned on. The soldiers stood uneasy at their posts, The refugees huddled their young close and feared the worst. Others retreated deeper into the Outlands. Celestia, Starswirl and Luna stood in the front of the camp watching the approaching dust cloud with apprehension. Celestia could tell Luna was the most frightened of anypony. She was still young, just a filly. Starscroll just stood their as calm as always. Celestia always respected Starswirl for his bravery and collectiveness.
Celestia could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't without her fear. She let out a sigh as she could see the humans approaching. Some in flying contraption, others in vehicles that rolled on wheels, others on foot. They shouted and roared war cries as they approached.
Starswirl turned to the young princesses. "It's time, girls. Are you ready?"
They both nodded.
The three of their horns glowed brightly. They pressed them against his as he chanted slowly to himself. A hole began to form in the ground. It grew larger and larger as he continued his chants. Celestia cracked her eye and looked to Luna. The young filly was beading with sweat. She wasn't used to using so much magic at once. Celestia called out to her. "Keep strong, Luna. I believe in you!"
Luna called back to her. "It hurts Tia! I can't keep this up."
Celestia reassured her young sister more. "You can, Luna. You are so strong!"
Starswirl began to raise of the ground. his chanting became louder and louder, And the humans grew closer and closer.
A brilliant flash of light lifted off the ground. It raised into a large arch covering the entire land. It split into two and went across Equestria, and the entire world, banishing the humans to their own.
The bright flash nearly blinded Celestia, even through closed eyes. She opened them and saw the humans machines screeching to a halt and the flying ones sputtering and falling out of the air. All were vacant. She looked up at Starswirl the bearded, but he was no where in site. He had vanished. Luna opened her eyes, squinting as she adjusted back to normal light. "Is it over, Tia? she asked.
Celestia smiled to her little sister. "Yes, Luna. It is done!"
The two princesses embraced on another. The whole camp was in an uproar of cheering. Their world was theirs again.

Celestia returned to her tent, ripping off the uncomfortable armor like a burden on her shoulders. Their was a note laying on her bed. It was from Starswirl.

My dear Princess Celestia,

Im afraid I wont be around for the celebrations this day. I didn't want to tell you what the spell would require, because i knew you would have refused to do it otherwise. It required that i sacrificed myself, to save you all. I have taught you and Luna well. I know Equestria will flourish under the rule of you two. I know great things will come from you. Be strong for your sister, and for yourself.

Your faithful teacher,

Starswirll the Bearded.

Tears streamed down Celestias face. The unicorn she had known all her life, the most father like figure she and Luna had, was gone forever. Luna came prancing in as she removed her pitch black armor. A huge smile spread across her face. Celestia turned away so Luna wouldn't see her crying. But it was too late.
"Tia? Are you okay?" She asked with worry.
Celestia couldn't tell her. She just couldn't. She incinerated the letter with her magic and turned to her sister.
"Tia? Whats wrong?" she demanded again. "And where's Starswirl?"
Celestia had to lie, to protect her sister. it was justified, too. After all, she was just a filly. "Starswirl had to leave for a while. But he said he would be back soon. I'm just sad because he's gone. Thats all." She said.
She decided to change the subject. "You did so well today, Luna. I'm so proud of you." She said embracing her little sister.
Luna's face lit up. "Thank you, Tia."
She then remembered her job. "Oh no! It's almost time to raise the moon!" She ran out of the tent and headed for the top of the hill behind them. Celestia was so proud of her. Of all of the ponies who fought and died in this war. It was finally over. There could finally be peace.

*****