From The Ashes

by Horizon Sunrise

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Starlight Glimmer, Original Character, Spike, Tragedy
Length: 6469

Twilight is trapped in an alternate universe because of Starlight Glimmer. She has to find a way to fix this timeline to get back to her own, and learn that sometimes heroes have no choice but to do horrible things, a test on her morals.

This story ignores Season 6 and splits from the universe from "The Cutie-Remark".

During the last bits of the Cutie Re-mark, a new portal opens unexpectedly, dragging Twilight and Spike into another timeline. Without the spell, they are stuck in a timeline with the smell of war everywhere, a place where the magic of friendship is no more. To return to her timeline, she has to fix this timeline and end this ten year war against Starlight's regime.

But Twilight will realize that sometimes, she has to get her hooves dirty and commit horrible crimes to better the whole world and save her friends.

"Twilight, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run.
Hear them calling you and me,
Every Mares of Liberty.
Hurry right away, no delay, go today.
Make Celestia glad to have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her mare's in line."

Parodied from "Over There"

Based on WW1.

Published 2017-02-15 17:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-26 05:50:28 UTC

Chapter 1: A New World

Author's Note

Although we always talk about WW2, WW1 did happen and did kill millions too. Those soldiers who fought in those trenches, in the ships, on horseback and in the skies, are some of the bravest human beings to ever exist. Although a little modified, I'm writing this fanfic to commemorate those who died, those who suffered and those who's lives were changed forever because of the trauma of the war.

To all veterans, dead or alive, I salute you. Both in the allies and the central powers. You all were very brave and determined. And we'll never forget the sacrifises you did for your country.

Chapter 1: A New World

My life is filled with a lot of setbacks. It has changed so drastically from the poor little filly I was, fussing with a lost friend. From cults to time travel, my life have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Especially when that bookhorse came into my life! My ideology was going so well, my own pocket of civilization! And she came in and wreck everything! Then the whole time travel incident… WHY ARE HER FRIENDS SO IMPORTANT! I just don’t get it! I hate the Twilight Sparkle so much! Maybe that’s why I dragged into this mess in the first place.

“...and once I destroy the scroll, THERE WILL BE NO WAY TO CHANGE IT!” I said to Twilight and Spike. They tried to convince my to stop, but I’m not going to. If the cost of making Twilight miserable is the whole destruction of Equestria, I’ll gladly take it.

“Starlight! The scroll!” Spike pointed to the scroll. I looked up and…

“WHERE IS IT TWILIGHT!” I snapped at the ‘regal’ princess. All she did was look at me with those wide and shocked eyes. Those eyes of petty and fea-

Wait… she’s not looking at me.

I looked behind me to see a portal sucking Twilight and Spike in once again. I guess fate does want me to win.

The scroll drifted down to my horn and I teared it into a million pieces and watched them burn in my magic.

I am victorious! And I will shape this world in MY IMAGE!

-

“Twilight? TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT WAKE UP!” I opened my eyes. Seeing Spike’s worried eyes, I hugged him and stood up.

And I thought the universe I brought Starlight to was the worst.

I was standing in a pothole in the ground, the muddy water rose to my body. All around me were miles and miles of Barbed wire everywhere. The surroundings was littered with the smell of rotting flesh and… waste?

I got out of the pothole with Spike on my back. In the distance, I saw a hoof waving at me. The hoof kept ushering me to come to it. As time passed by, the hoof gestures became more frantic and fast. I was soon going to find out why.

I heard something falling from the sky… not just something, a lot of them. I looked up into the sky, and saw thousands of big metal pieces blocking out the sunlight. All of them were heading for me. I was stunned by the horrifying sight of the “cloud”.

“Twilight, we need to go now!” Spike slapped me into reality and I took to the hoof.

Normally I would be flying to safety, but my wings were locked in place when the metal things came down. Running through barbed wire was hard enough, (I had gotten an infinite amount of cuts on my hooves, it hurts… so much), but with the metal things colliding with the wire, it was flung all over the place. One bit of wire even managed to impale itself into my back. I screamed and cried through the wasteland.

Once I reached the hoof, I jumped down the hole it was in and saw a stallion holding a metal stick.

“Hey there, you ok?” He asked.

“Yeah… I’m fin…” I couldn’t finish my sentence before my mind went blank and I collapsed, with Spike following suite.

-

“Twilight Sparkle.” I opened my eyes. I was floating in a white void. This reminded me of the blue void that Celestia brought me into.

“Hello? Where am I? Who are you?” I shouted into the void. It worked the last time I was in this kind of place, why don’t I try again?

Luckily, my prayers have been answered. A gigantic blue outline of an alicorn formed in front of me.

“I am Astral, the god of time!” It shouted at me. “You. Twilight Sparkle. Have been sent to that universe for a reason. You are young and immature. So I have to slap some sense into you.”

“Hey! Mind I tell you I am the princess of friendship.” I argued. How dare he insult me like that.

He ignored my cries and continued. “I will only give you a riddle, you will have to earn your way to freedom from this point forward.”

Earn my freedom? This day keeps getting worse by the second.

“To save all lands
You must give into darkness.
A pure heart will turn grey
When there is no other option.
To fix this world
You must end it where it began,
Before walls crumble and metal rains,
And after you differ friend and foe.”

“That didn’t even rhyme!” That was the last line I said before blacking out once again.

Chapter 2: The Rise of The Terrible

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3: Meeting old friends

Walking in this timeline’s version of Canterlot was so much more different than in my timeline. Instead of the high-class ponies walking on the neat and posh pavements with nice houses, there were beggars everywhere on the streets, most of them mares and foals, most of them looked malnourished. Some houses were in ruins while others looked like a gust of wind would make it topple. There were no rich ponies here anymore, just a lot of ponies begging for food. I wanted to give them some food but I had nothing.

The streets that were usually for the really rare carriages were now populated with things with wheels they call ‘cars’ carrying ponies and those artillery cannons Fluttershy told me about. They also contained a lot of boxes which I guess are filled with supplies.

“Why are there so many beggars on the streets?” I asked Fluttershy.

“After the war broke out, The Equalists took over a lot of cities. These are the ponies that didn’t get brainwashed by Starlight Glimmer when her army marched in. They ran when the army marched into their cities and now has to resort to begging for food.” Fluttershy sighed. “Trade with Saddle Arabia and the Eastern Ponies have been totally cut off by Starlight’s E-boats. We are running out of supplies and we don’t have enough food to sustain the war and feed the people at the same time.”

“Oh…” I couldn’t say anything else until we reached the army camp.

“Ok Twilight, the girls are all in this army camp, but each one of them are in different sections of it.” Fluttershy pointed to the four pathways. “So who do you want to meet first?”

“I’m thinking Rainbow Dash.” I said.

“Then follow me to the Equestrian Air Force Training Grounds.” Fluttershy lead the way while I tagged along.

-

Once we arrived at the training grounds, I gasped in awe. All around me were pegasi training.Some were carrying a small metal stick (which I can only assume is a small ‘rifle’), diving down and shooting at the bulls-eye targets on the ground. Others were carrying a heavy metal cylinder, dropping it on a marked-out target. The cylinder instantly exploded on impact.

“This way Twilight.” I snapped out of my state of awe and walked with Fluttershy.

We stopped our tracks at a small and worn down building. We could hear Rainbow Dash shouting inside the building.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON’T HAVE ANYMORE RESERVES ON THE PONYVILLE FRONT!” Her voice echoed.

“Commander, we are losing pegasi fast in the Ponyville front. We need more reinforcements from base ca-”

“Denied Lieutenant! These ponies training now are supposed to help fight with the Northern front with the Crystal Empire. They need the wing power immediately!”

“Is Rainbow always like this?” Fluttershy nodded.

“Well… ever since you died, Rainbow became a bit more… violent and harsh. She said she wanted to join the Equestrian Air Force to avenge you and rose up the ranks. She is scary when she shouts at you. And on the battlefield.”

“You are all dismissed.” The doors opened and ponies with clothes and lots of medals walked out of the building. Rainbow was not in the group.

“Now is our chance, let’s move in.” Fluttershy said as she dragged me into the building.

The interior was everything that I expected for a meeting room. There was a big table in the centre with twenty or more chairs surrounding it. At the farthest chair sat a blue pegasus looking at some documents.

“Hello Flutters, hello Twi.” She said without looking up. I was stunned by her calmness as she said my name. I was about to say something (about how I thought she didn’t really care about my counterpart’s death. How rude!) when a sudden of realization struck Rainbow.

“Wait… Twilight?” She looked up from her papers. Those pupils shrunken as she studied me for a while. As she stood up, I saw the battle scars Rainbow has suffered. Her left wing was no more, replaced with a metal one. Her left eye was covered with an eye patch and there were countless of cuts and bruises on her body. She has suffered through so much.

She pulled out a glove and put it on her hoof. I was going to ask what is the glove for when a forceful slap flew towards me.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy screamed.

“Sorry, was checking for changlings… those rogue ones are a real pain. Only changling venom can reveal them.” Rainbow looked at Twilight. “Is it really you egghead? I thought you were dead. The head is still in our memorial… ” A load of questions piled up.

“Look Rainbow, I’m from another timeline. I’ve been sent here for a reason, maybe to fight this war with you. But I need all of my friends to help me stop this.”

“I’m sorry to say Egghead, but that is not how it works right now. This war isn’t decided by who has the most magic, but who can last the longest in a war of attrition.” She sighed. “We thought the first belief was true at the beginning, so Celestia sent herself and the elements into the battlefield. She is now forever beside your memorial, with the elements destroyed.” It took me a little while to get what she was implying.

I wished I never did.

“Celestia…” The tears in my eyes leaked out. The cold reality hit me like a sledgehammer. This was not like the previous wars Equestria has fought, no Elements of Harmony to fix the world, no one pony that can change the war. This was brutal… nasty, brutish and long.

“But hey… We’ll win this war.” Rainbow cheered. “So… do you want to meet the rest of the girls?”

“Yeah… I think-”

“Wait! Hold on…” Rainbow took out a piece of paper and read it. “AJ and Rarity are leading the charge on the Crystal Front right now. So… good luck with that.”

“LEADING the charge?” I exclaimed.

“Oh yeah… so basically I’m the chief commander of the Equestrian Air Force. Applejack is the chief commander of the Equestrian Army and Rarity got a slot in the Artillery division as Commander. Pinkie…” Rainbow paused. “You wouldn’t believe it unless you see her. That is… if you want to…”

I gave Rainbow a questioning look.

“After you died, Pinkie changed. She has gotten… a bit out there. Sometimes she scares me…”

“Oh please! How bad can it be?” Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy facehoofed.

Chapter 4: Flames

It was bad. Real bad.

We flew to a secluded part of the base camp. This part of the camp has only one building made out of cement. The trees have all been scortched down, making a baren wasteland.

“I’m warning you Twilight, but there is a reason why Pinkie has her own area in base camp.” Rainbow said, with Fluttershy nodding in agreement.

“She is our friend, I don’t think she will hurt us.” I said confidently.

“Ok then…”

As we walked closer to the building, we could hear the conversation in the building.

“What is Starlight planning with the new weapon?” Her voice was muffed by her mask.

“I will not tell you! You monster!”

“Welp… tried the easy way, time to pump it up a notch.”

“Ah!” Looking through a small peephole I saw a stallion lying on a table, strapped onto it. There was this tube that was spewing out fire at the stallion as he screamed. I would have also screamed too, if Fluttershy didn’t cover my mouth.

The pony in the dark suit didn’t stop. The flames kept on burning him. The smell of the burning flesh made me want to puke.

Finally the flames stopped coming out of the tube. What remained of the stallion were his upper body and head. All his lower hooves were blackened so much that it was barely recognisable.

“You gonna budge now?” The pony in the black looked at him menacingly.

“Never…”

“Guards, send him back! I’ll deal with him tomorrow.” Instantly two royal guards dragged the table away, further into the house. That was the most I could see from the peephole.

Then the pony looked at the peephole.

I hid as quickly as possible, scared of the pony. I looked at Rainbiw Dash and Fluttershy, surprised that they are unfazed by the incident. I must say, in this universe, Fluttershy is more bold.

The door opened. The dark suit pony came out of the house with an axe. She raised it, aiming at me! I closed my eyes and hold out my hooves.

“Pinkie stop!” Rainbow shouted. “She is no rogue Changling! She is from another timeline here to fix things. Honest.” She hesitated for a bit, then put down the axe and took out her mask.

The mare under the mask does not look like Pinkie at all! Her face was covered with cuts and burn marks. Her mane was straight, replacing the fluffy mane I’m used to. Her coat was also a darker pink. There was one feature that was missing in this Pinkie that makes me shiver.

She isn’t smiling.

“Hello, Twilight.” Pinkie looked down. “I’m guessing you are terrified of me. Your eyes tell a lot.”

“What… what happened to you Pinkie!” I raised my voice. “You just burnt a Stallion! Without even any care for him! That was-”

“Twilight,” Fluttershy cut me. “This is war. All’s fair in love and war. You have no right to question Pinkie!”

“It’s ok Fluttershy.” A tear dripped from her face. “I have to tell someone else other than just you and RD.” Fluttershy backed off, letting Pinkie talked.

“Twilight… have you ever seen your whole family being slaughtered by the enemy with nothing you can do?”

-

After Starlight Glimmer declared war on basically everypony in the region, I had to flee Ponyville as it was too dangerous, or at least that’s what they said. I was sad for Twilight but I knew I had to move on.

Back then I was childish and naive. I wanted smiles from all ponies. But I have never thought that sometimes, some ponies will never smile.

Before I left, I tried to unify the two fighting armies together once for a ‘Let’s stop fighting and have a party’ party. But I was immediately shot at by a sniper. I must say, their snipers are not the best, missing a stationary target. I kept trying and trying, but they forced me to stop.

I moved back to the rock farm with my family. I was so happy that they were in one piece.

Life in the rock farm was the same as I remembered it. It was so peaceful and cheerful. Until she has to ruin everything!

Just two days after my arrival, Starlight and five of her elite ‘Stormtroopers’ (Armed with a standard issue rifle with a bayonet and some explosives) ransacked the whole farm and captured all of us. There was nowhere to hide, they searched everywhere and violently pulled us out of the house. They lined up everyone just in front of the house, but Starlight pulled me out of it. She made me look at my battered family.

“Well, Well, Well. If it isn’t the element of laughter herself.” Starlight smirked. “ You were always smiling, let’s see whether you can laugh your way out of this!” She turned to her stormtroopers.

“Kill them.” All of the troopers raised their rifles. One by one, my family fell, and I could feel my heart breaking in two. First Dad, then Mom. Marble… Limestone…

All that was left was Maud. She looked at me and did the one thing I thought she’ll never do.

She cried.

“NO! STO-”

Bang! The last shot. The ground stained with her tears. Her soul was sent to the afterlife with the rest of my family. I was the last pie now. No family to love anymore. And to add insult to injury, Starlight lit up their bodies with magic.

Starlight laughed. After all that she did, she laughed. Her evil and snarky laugh made my blood boil and that made me finally grow up. My soul died with my family, and there can no longer be remorse for the enemy. I felt my mane flattening and my colour fading away from me as I lose my control.

“So Pinkie! Now you will-” My hoof connected to her face. The sound of her jaw breaking pleased me as I saw her stumble with the bottom jaw hanging from her face.

“Gesh hhar!” She commanded. Immediately the five aimed down their sights at me. I ran up to one of them and snapped their neck before they reacted. I picked up the rifle and charged at the next pony. He instinctively raised his flamethrower but I came at him at such speeds that he has no time to pull the trigger.

The bayonet pierced through his heart. As I pull out the bayonet, the sweet warm blood poured onto me. I turned around, seeing the three stormtroopers shooting at me, and… somehow missing me. (I swear. Sometimes these ponies are actually the stormtroopers from Star Wars. Or maybe it’s just Horizon’s idea.)

I raised the rifle fired three consecutive shots. Three bodies fell on the rocky floor. I looked around for Starlight Glimmer, but was nowhere to be found. A true coward, she is.

I moved over to the ashes of my family and dropped my rifle. Five dark spots on the floor, five lives I hold dear lost. I laid on the ground and screamed!

The release of the anger and frustration of their deaths have given way to my tears. I laid there for hours, not moving an inch.

-

“From that day forward, I lost my powers and my cheerful spirit. I joined the Equestrian Army as an infantry unit. But after a few years into the war, the higher-ups saw my bloodlust and gave me the flamethrower you just saw. I was given this land here to torture the Prisoners of War, that is the soldiers we captured while fighting, to extract information about her new plans.” By that time, I was stunned by her backstory.

Starlight has specifically targeted Pinkie Pie to make her life miserable. I’m starting to think that maybe I shouldn’t have tried to reform her in the first place.

“But that’s all in the past Twilight,” Pinkie tried to say cheerfully. “Since you’re here to help, I guess you can just sign up at the boot camp and get your gun!”

“Remember Twilight,” Rainbow warned. “This war means real business, that means ponies are going to die in front of you everyday. You can back out at any moment, just tell AJ or me.”

“Thanks Pinkie and Rainbow, but I have to stop this war. I’m sent here for a reason, so I will fulfill my mission to… hopefully get back.” I’m now more comfortable about fighting now, thanks to Pinkie’s backstory.

“Nice!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Let’s get you signed up!”

Chapter 5: Frontlines

Meanwhile, on the Northern Front.

‘Dear Granny Smith and Apple Bloom,

Sorry I’m not be able to come to this year’s Apple family reunion. I can’t just let my ponies die out there without a leader. I hope you two can understand and forgive me.

Both me and Big Mac here are holding well against the Equalists. We might have a chance to push them all the way out of the Crystal Empire and eliminate them! Then we will only need to focus on the Ponyville front. If they are careless enough.

Big Mac looked might dandy in his huge body armor of his, mowing down the troops as he marched forward. I am still leading and commanding down in the trenches. Soon enough we will be back home.

Now this part is for my beloved Apple Bloom. Pass the letter to her please.

Apple Bloom. You must understand, even though I’ve wrote this like more than I need to, that Big Mac and I might not come back from this fight. Everyday we risk our lives to save Equestria from certain doom. I know you are strong Apple Bloom. You will live on with us gone.

My only wish is for you to tell our stories to everypony and share our sufferings to your grandchildren.

Never forget us, my little Apple Bloom.

Your best sister forever,

Applejack.’

I placed down my quill. My SMLE rifle rested on the other side of the table. I looked outside of the command centre, out to the nightmarish world we have created. Ponies in trenches, waiting to die. Behind the trenches, Rarity and her artillery division shelled all the barbed wire lain in ‘No Mare’s Land’. The other side was barely visible, but I knew it would have looked the same. I attached it onto a pigeon and let it fly to Canterlot. Thank you Fluttershy for the pigeons.

“You ready AJ?” Big Mac walked in with his body armor and heavy machine gun on his back. “One last push, and we win in the Northern Front.”

“Ah know Big Mac,” I picked up my rifle and loaded it. “This one last push, and we can see Granny Smith and Apple Bloom again.” Both of us rushed out of the command post.

-

“Ok Ponies, here’s the strategy.” All the Squad leader gathered around me as I finalize the battle plan. “Right after Sunset,Big Mac will lead the charge with Squad beta. Smash through the frontlines and, most important of all, take out the Heavy Machine Guns. After ‘All Clear’ signal is given, you continue to advance while all of us finish off the remaining Equalists.” I turned to Rarity.

“Rare, I need artillery cover as Big Mac advances.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

“Ok everypony, battle stations!” Everypony rushed back to their squad. I got ready with Squad Beta and Big Mac. We counted the timer as the sun sets down the horizon.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

“CHARGE!” No Mare’s Land was now filled with Equestrian forces with Big Mac leading the charge. Bullets bounced off his armor like it was nothing. As we jumped down to the enemy trenches, we were met with heavy resistance and even heavier machine gun fire. Our squad was being gunned down. All around me splattering of skulls were heard. I aimed down my SMLE, pulled a trigger, and now one machine gun post is un-mared.

“There are one more surviving!” Big Mac shouted. His heavy machine gun mowed down any infantry backup and elite forces, but he can’t reach those machine gun posts. The many dents in his armor may let the armor give way at any moment. I looked at the mare in the machine gun, or… filly?! Her face was filled with fear and her frantic motion tells me that she was not prepared for this. I was dazed by that filly.

Just then, her head exploded. The machine gun stopped firing, the blood leaking from the body stained the ground around it. Whether by Sniper or by the reinforcements, I didn’t care. All I knew is that she died too young.

“Starlight is now using fillies to fight this dang war!” I shot another soldier. She has gone too far!

Maybe at that time I couldn’t think straight after that, or I just lost my sanity. I place my SMLE rifle on my back and grabbed one of Starlight’s MP 18 sub-machine guns carried by the elite soldiers from the muddy earth. I ran in front of the safety of Big Mac’s armor and charged straight to their last commanding post.

“Applejack! Where are you…” that was the last words I heard before I was too far from Big Mac. My blind rage unleashed, I bucked down the door of the command post, bayonet charged one officer and mowed down another two.

The lead commander aimed his pistol and shot my stomach. Although hurt, I bucked the pistol off his hoof and pinned him down.

“WHY! WHY’D YOU DO THIS TO THE YOUNG? YOU MONSTER!” I shouted. The blood from my stomach drip on the commander as he laughed maniacally.

“Everypony has to be equal! Regardless of age, talent or species, we will serve Starlight without end! For the glory of the Equalists!” I snapped his neck, his body rested as a hand grenade appeared out of his hoof.

“GRENAD-” Then the world became black.

Chapter 6: Armouring up

Get her to the emergency ward now!...

Sir, we are losing her!...

Come on Commander, be strong!...

“Beep… Beep…” The monotone beeps continue as I opened my eyes. Instead of seeing the nasty frontlines, I was lying on a hospital bed. My body was covered in bandages. All my friends were around me. There was Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twi-

“Wait a darn minute!” I reacted with confusion. “Why are you here Twilight, I thought you were dead! Am I dead too and is this the celestial space?”

“No Applejack, you are very much alive.” Rarity patted my back.

“Then why in tarnation is she doing here!” I shouted unexpectedly. The twilight imposter was startled and looked away from me.

“Honestly AJ, we don’t know, but she is here to fight.” Rainbow responded. “She has volunteered herself to fight in the Equestrian Army. She was supposed to-”

“NO! I'm not letting her die in the frontlines!” I screamed to Rainbow. “We have already lost Celestia in this war. Luna and Cadence are struggling to maintain control of the ponies at home. And now Twilight is back… she needs to be protected at all costs!”

“Applejack…” Twilight walked up to me. “I came from another universe to this universe for a reason. I believe that helping you all fight in this war is the reason. Please… let me help you.”

“Twilight, I don't think you understand the gruesome tactics and war crimes we commit each day. If you're like our Twilight, you'll not survive the first day in the trenches, least be mentally scarred by the war.” I sighed. I looked at Twilight's determined face. I couldn't say no to a determined soldier.

“Oh Darnit! Fine. You can fight, but you will be receiving specialized training from me when I'm discharged. Now don't do anything stupid!” I said.

“OK everypony.” The doctor, scalpel heart, entered the room with a checklist. “The commander needs some rest. You can come visit her tomorrow.” Reluctantly, all of my friends left the room.

“So commander..." He looked at the report on her injuries. "You're very lucky. The blast didn't damage any internal organs. No loose metal in your body. Just a lot of scratches. We'll keep you here for one night and let the cuts heal, then you can leave.”

“Thanks doc…”

“Oh by the way… you received a new nickname for your bravery in the field.”

“What is it scalpel?” I asked, intrigued.

“Apple of the Crystal Empire.”

~

Two days later

I waited for Applejack in front of her office (which was surprisingly one big house), standing in ‘attention’. (I don't know why Rainbow calls standing still with no movement or facial expression is called that but… meh). The uniform I was supposed to wear was hot and uncomfortable. The helmet was cool and made my head itchy. The door opened, and the bright light that shined caught me off guard.

Applejack was wearing a black coat with a lot of medals attached on her chest. She was carrying two different rifles and a sword dangling from her torso. One of the rifles had an apple engraved on its side. I must say… Applejack looked more dressed then ever.

“OK Twilight, we need to start with your basic training. We are short of our new SMLE Mark III rifles so we have to make use with our older models.” She tossed me one of the rifles, which I caught with my magic. “This is the Martini-Henry Mark IV. Made during the first bloods of this war. A very reliable rifle in my books. Packs a huge buck. But sadly only can fire one bullet before reloading…”

“Wow…” I could only admire the sheer beauty of this weapon. At the side of this weapon, there was an engraving on it, which says “Twilight Sparkle. Onwards Equus.”

“That is our motto. The engravings are there to differentiate the rifles. And remind the soldiers why they fight.” Applejack motioned me to follow her.

“Come on Twi, we need to start training!” I followed her, looking forward to the day ahead.

~

OK… never count your bullets till they're made.

“GET YOUR FILTHY FLANK HERE SOLDIER!” Immediately at the training grounds, Applejack changed to a very menacing state. She ordered me to run around the field, occasionally commenting on how slow I am on running, harshly. (it's not my fault I’m a bit bigged-sized)

“EVEN GRANNY SMITH CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU” I was shocked by her insults and shoutings. Applejack really changed during the war.

After 10 rounds (or was it 15? I can’t remember after that intense ‘workout’), she taught me on how to load and fire the Martini-Henry. She wasn’t kidding when she said that the Martini-Henry packs a huge buck. When I fired the weapon, I was almost thrown off-balance and the target I was aiming at was obliterated.

Some more lessons on infantry equipment (A shovel, seriously?) and directions to attack and fall back (don't want to be caught in the ‘shelling’ as they called it), I was thrown back into more wing-ups, rounds ‘round the field and obstacle courses. I finally understand why BBBFF said that it was hard in the military.

“Ah…” I collapsed onto a bench, panting. Applejack stared at me from above.

“You ok sugarcube?” That caring tone of her voice made me smile.

“Yes Applejack… I’m fine. Can’t believe you’ll shout and order ponies like that.”

“I need ta get ya’ll moving somehow.”

I sat upright and looked at Applejack. Looking at her medals, I thought of something I hadd to ask her.

“Hey Applejack.”

“Yes Sugarcube?”

“How was your life in the war?”

Chapter 7: Apple of Your Country's Eye

“Ah…” I was stunned. No one has ever asked me about her past before, not my family, not even my soldiers.

“What wrong Applejack?”

“Nothin… Also address me as commander!”

“Come on Commander, this is just friends talking about their past. No big deal right?” she pat my back.

“I’ll tell you Twi, it's not pretty. I did some horrible things.”

“I'm always here for you AJ. Don't forget that.”

Darnit Twi! Always know how to force words outta my mouth.

“Ok… I'll be warning y’all, it's not nice and peachy.”

~

Sometimes… you need a little less gun.

That statement was one of those I said to myself over and over again. And surprisingly, the first kill I have obtained in the war was not by my SMLE rifle, but with my hooves.

I was tending to the farm with Big Mac while Granny Smith took Apple Bloom to Canterlot for… somethin (I don't actually remember but that's besides the point) when Starlight declared war. Since we were in the countryside, (the part where all armies tend to march off to first apparently), we saw the gigantic army of the Equalists. Honestly, that was the most intimidating thing I've ever seen in my life. Millions of ponies marching with their Gewerh 98 rifles, ready to kill at a moment's notice.

I hid inside the barn as they marched through our fields into Ponyville while Big Mac ran off to another house. Back then I was scared of them, I didn't know what to do. I just sat there. I could hear loud explosions and raging fires.

After a few hours, the barn doors were forced open. Two soldiers entered the barn and began checking for survivors.

“Dammit why do we have to enter the spooky barns. Our comrades are now celebrating at the town square for our victory!”

“Shut your mouth private! We are searching for anymore ponies for Starlight to incorporate them into our ever growing army.”

Oh no. I'm not gonna be made to fight for a cause I don't even know! I stood my ground and came out of my hiding spot behind the two ponies.

“Come get me ya hornswogglers!” I ran into the shed.

“Get her!” they loaded their weapons and ran towards me. I looked around for anything to defend myself with. There was nothing else in the shed left except… a shovel!

I grabbed the shovel and waited for their unwelcomed arrival.

“Where are you, you little- ‘plonk!’” my shovel smashed into the face of a soldier. His muzzle was bleeding and he toppled down to the ground as the concussion took over him.

The other soldier raised their Gewerh 98, ready to fire. With all my might, I bucked him, causing him to drop his weapon and fall down. I grabbed the gun and fired.

“Bang!” His face exploded into a million pieces, his blood splattering on my coat. I just stood there, dumbfounded by what I’ve done.

A few hours later, I met up with Big Mac and we ran to Canterlot.

~

I’m guessing I’ve just destroyed Twilight’s mind.

“Wow Applejack…” She said.

“And that’s not the end of my story.”

~

Now it is 5 years later. Big Mac has been posted to fight in the Ponyville Front while I was posted to Vanhoover as a general to defend it at all costs.

Why defend it at all costs? Well apart from Manehattan, which has already overtaken by the Equalists, Vanhoover was the only trading city we had left. Without Vanhoover, we will not get any more resources and technology from Saddle Arabia, and that will cost us the war.

My squad took our positions in the newly constructed bunkers on top of a hill and prepared our machine guns. Far out from the city, there were an uncountable amount of artillery stations and over a million Equalists.

We waited for their arrival. Normally they would charge up the hill immediately like idiots,bring mowed down by our Machine Gun posts, but this time, they weren’t coming first. Instead, millions of shells took their place in the sky.

The shells were devastating, destroying many of our machine gun bunkers and buildings. The forest that once surrounded the city was in ashes. The sky turned from blue to black in one day. The deafening explosions occurred almost every second.

We tried to hide in the buildings at first, but the shells raised them to the ground, killing a lot of our troops. We couldn't dig underground either! The soil is too wet and we didn't bring shovels with us to defend Vanhoover. We just hoped and pray to Celestia that the shelling would stop.

After 2 days of shelling, it finally stopped, meaning that the Equalists will be marching in soon. We tried to recover anything we could, but we have been reduced to 3 divisions and 4 machine gun posts around the city. Intelligence had it that the Equalists prepared 9 divisions to attack Vanhoover.

Many of our mares gave up hope and even considering surrender to the Equalists. Moral was in an all-time low for our army. Being the General, I had to find some way to encourage them to fight. We have to stand strong for Equestria. We had to stand strong for…

And that's when I realised the true reason why we were fighting.

I ordered every mare to the Town Square (which was not nothing more than a wooden box and debris flooding the surroundings). Those faces of fear and uncertainty stared at me, ponies from all over Equestria, there were even some griffins and changlings in the masses. Once I've gathered everypony, I said one of my most famous speeches in the entire war.

“This war has been a sad and miserable one for all of ponykind. With Celestia gone and the victory of Starlight’s brutal regime being ever so possible, I can see why this can seem so hopeless. But they shall not pass!”

“Let me tell you, we are not here to fight against Starlight, not even to fight for the protection of Luna and Cadence. We are here, in these trenches, facing certain death from shells, to give others a future to look forward to, and to be remembered.” Everypony looked at me with brightening faces.

“If history remembers one in every thousand of us, then that future will have countless stories of who we were and what we did. But until that day comes, we will stand. We will look death in the eye, and we will FIGHT!”

Everypony cheered. Even with Starlight’s army approaching, with all the destruction around us, we all cheered.

~

“...and, as we all cheered, they did not pass. We successfully defended Vanhoover and that battle gave us the opportunity to turn the tide of the war.” Applejack concluded.

“Wow Applejack, you really can inspire.” I looked at her with amazement.

“Yup! NOW BACK TO TRAINING!”