… AND ANOTHER THING, I’M NOT SAYING THAT THE GRIFFISH CONTINENT IS SAFE, BUT IT’S GODDAMN BETTER THAN EQUESTRIA- Oh.

Hello there. Just ranting offscreen for a bit.

Now, what ALSO isn’t mentioned in the history books is the role of the 1st Engineers in the push from the south. SOMEONE had to drive the trucks and demolish the buildings and dig the graves for the dead civilians, and the 15th Armored sure as hell weren’t pulling out the tanks themselves.

The 1st Engineers had the “honor” placed upon them of being the “Infantry” during the Armored attack, which meant that they were going to make it seem like there was an army of tanks and SIX armies of infantry. But that couldn’t be done until the skies were cleared. And within a day of the first attack, The Wonderbolts, the ELITE Equestrian Air Force, were directly overhead. The floating air base was a problem, as the Griffonese army hadn’t planned for all-out air assault. The 1st Engineers had Half-Tracks with Anti-air capabilities, but using them would give their position away. So, the attack stalled, and since the first line of trenches has held by the Griffonese infantry, and the first line was connected to the second and third, there was no sleep that night for either side as the fighting continued, with the Equestrians attempting to re-take the first line of trenches and hold the second line, and the Griffons trying to take the second line of trenches and hold the first line. And the gaps in-between the trenches were the only way for the armor to cross, but that was filled with landmines and AT cannons, so Armored movement all but stopped until there was enough light to discern between a felled tree and a cannon pointed right at the tank. And with the Wonderbolts, the open areas were only made MORE dangerous for both sides, with the Wonderbolts dropping bombs non-stop. And when the second day of attack came, the Griffonese artillery stopped, as the Wonderbolts, despite the danger of FLYING INTO A BARRAGE OF ROCKETS, posed enough of a threat to the Griffonese Artillery that, from the second to the third day, the sound of The Harpsichords of the Emperor had all fallen silent. And that lull in the constant shelling allowed those who remained in the village to dig in inside the ruins and still- standing buildings. Despite it being no longer tenable, the Equestrians were going to die with a grenade in one hand and the pin in the other. And if worse came to worse, there was always the option of retreat through the Everfree.

Two days after first attack, Eastern trenches, Ponyville, Equestria.

The sniper Gregory Palon scanned the cloud base overhead. Behind him stood his squad, next to them was the rest of the platoon, next to them was the rest of the company, next to them was two more companies. It was the same as yesterday, and it was still morning. A stiff breeze blew through the trenches, and everyone was wrapped up in coats, hats, and scarves. Greg himself had an old bucket hat, from when he fished on the coast as a child. He knew that one shot would alert the Wonderbolts that they were within kill range, and they would re-situate the cloud base over Ponyville, out of range. He sighed. All these targets were too low ranking or unimportant to kill. He swept over the base one last time before he put down the-Wait. A flash of blue and a mess of color on top. He re-focused. Is it? Is it? He adjusted the scope. Blurry. Blurry. Too close in, can’t make out features. Farther out. Farther.

Oh my god. It is.

“I HAVE A SHOT ON-”

The whole platoon turned in anticipation of the news.

“RAIN

BOW

DASH”

And all hell broke loose.

“TAKE IT! TAKE THE SHOT!”

“OH MY GOD!”

“GET THE LIEUTENANT!”

“POWELL! HEARST! GET OVER HERE! BRING THE BINOCULARS!”

Quickly, it spread through the trenches and over the radio, from the 9th Artillery all the way to even the 15th Armored and the 1st Engineers. Those who had telescopes used them, those who had binoculars shared them with another. Others squinted or took off glasses if they were farsighted, or put them on if nearsighted. Other snipers, who could’ve taken other shots simultaneously, all used the scope too see the once-in-a lifetime chance to get THE Rainbow Dash, THE Element of Harmony, THE Wonderbolt, and the orchestrator of every raid, airstrike, and assault of the Wonderbolts during this siege. It was silent. All radios were on. If someone sneezed in the east, they would hear it in the west. Gregory checked his aim. Then adjusted. Then zoomed in. Then adjusted. Then-

“FOR THE LUVAGOD, TAKE THE DAMN SHOT!”

Powell emptied the whole clip, five bullets.

Every one hit.

Author's Note

A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic. ~Joseph Stalin
Yeah, he was a bastard. Killed 20 Million.