A Soldiers Story: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Chapters

Chapter 0: When One Door Closes
Chapter One: Another One Opens
Chapter Two: Those In Need
Chapter Four: The Battle for Canterlot Part 2
Chapter Four and a Half: Last Christmas (SPECIAL)
Chapter Five: The Battle for Canterlot FINALE
Chapter Six: When the Dust Settles
Chapter Seven: Death's Door
Chapter Eight: The Road Ahead
Chapter Nine: Reunting
Chapter Ten: Confrontation
Chapter Eleven: Now What?
Chapter Eleven 1/2: A Band of Brothers
Chapter Twelve: A New Day
Chapter Thirteen: The New Assignment
Chapter Fourteen: Testing
Chapter Fifteeen: Strengthening Bonds
Chapter Sixteen: A Run by the Orchard
Chapter Three: The Battle for Canterlot Part 1

Chapter 0: When One Door Closes

Author's Note

Greetings fellow strangers from the internet!

I would like to thank you for taking your time to read this story. It's my first ever attempt at writing something as big as this, so please bear with me as there is a high probability of me making a mistake. If you spot any mistakes, please don't be afraid to let me know.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this story to The Greatest Generation. Without their sacrifices, our world would be very different.

Now, without further ado, let us begin!

Chapter 0: When One Door Closes

The grey sky stood tall amongst the battlefield, as shells were thrown up into its depressing sky. The shells seemed to rain down from the heavens, mixed with a combination of metal and death. As they fell, raindrops followed suit, almost looking like a soldier's tears, one who was fearing for his life. As they landed on the soft dirt, a large explosion of fire and destruction followed it, a reminder of what could have happened if one was standing there. When the dirt settles, the only thing that is left of the ground is a large crater, showing the capabilities of man’s destruction. It’s funny. How one small shell can cause so much damage. Many more of these craters litter the old field, a sign of how much this small bit of land has changed.

Suddenly, a figure jumps into the hole, as more shouting comes from behind him. The sounds of a desperate evacuation. The man holds his body close to the ground, his helmet making an indent into the earth. He holds his rifle tightly, acting as if it were his bloodline. His face is smeared with blood and dirt. His silver eyes look up to the grey sky, watching as the shells fly through the air. He looks up and watches as another man runs past him, coming from the front lines. He can tell that the young man was fleeing from something, but he couldn’t remember what it was.

BANG

Oh yeah. That’s what he was running from. The krauts.

Suddenly, the man falls limp, his eyes still filled with terror, as he falls into the same crater as the other man. His body twitches, his eyes losing their life, until his body goes silent. He looks at the now dead man and instantly knows that this man was young. How his face was still as white a snow, showing no signs of battle. His hands were soft and smooth, a stark contrast to the man’s hard and rough hands. He looks at his forehead and sees a gaping hole through it, traveling from his front to his back. The rain pours onto his face, washing away the blood and tears from his face. After a moment, the man crawls to his body, and brings his fingers up. He brings his appendage to the body’s eyelids, and slowly closes them. Crawling back to his old spot the man brings a hand into his chest and pulls out a silver dog tag. Facing it towards him, he reads the name on the front.

John H. Lee
CPT
37321474 T43

John looks at his name imprinted on the plate and sighs. Sometimes, he forgets how meaningful a dog tag can really be. Dog tags only come home in two ways. Either a man comes home, bearing his tags on his uniformed chest, opening his door to a loving wife and to a son he never saw. Or, a path far too common, a stranger knocks on a door, being opened by a lovely woman holding an infant in her arms. The stranger goes into his pockets and pulls out a dog tag and solemnly tells the woman, “I’m sorry. He died as a hero.”

A single tear streaks down John’s eyes as he reaches to the dead body and pulls the dog tags off of him. Tucking it into his pocket, John finally gets up, taking one last look at the body before charging out. He hopes that he doesn’t meet the same fate.

His boots splash in the puddles of blood and water, his heart beating in his chest. He hears shouts in the distance, followed by the cracks of rifle shots. Pointing his own rifle, he peers into the darkness and spots a silhouette in the distance. Aiming down the sight, he slows his breath and pulls the trigger.

CRACK

A bullet flies out of the gun, speeding towards the figure. John strains his ears until he hears a sound that has been etched into his mind

THUNK

The bullet hits its target, and John watches as the figure crumples and falls on the ground. Continuing his charge, John reloads his weapon, completely unaware of his surroundings. As John looked up, he saw a single shell fall from the sky.

Directly in front of him.

Time seemed to slow as he watched the shell fall down from the sky. John’s life flashes before his eyes. All of the good times. All of the bad times. When he was happy, sad, mad, or just fine. He saw it all, and for the first time since the war began, John felt something that he hadn’t felt.

Peace

As the shell made touchdown, the only thing that he could say was, “ Oh shi-”

BANG

The shell exploded, sending John flying through the air. It seemed as if the world would not stop spinning. John’s ears rang from the explosion as he landed on the ground with an audible ‘thud’. As he slowly lost consciousness, he looked up into the cloudy sky to see the sun part through the dark clouds, forming a beautiful rainbow above him. Smiling to himself, he let a single tear fall down his cheek.

Then, everything went dark

Chapter One: Another One Opens

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

Chapter Two: Those In Need

Author's Note

Hello Strangers, and Welcome Back!

To start things off this chapter, I would like to clarify some things that I had forgotten to mention.

A. Yes, this story does indeed contain Anthro. I'll put clarification for this in the description as soon as this goes up.

B. A MASSIVE thank you to all of those who noticed things that I missed ( spelling errors, etc.) I am literally a one man team and I'm trying my hardest to create the best story that I can.

Speaking of which, if you have any suggestions or ideas that could better flesh out the characters and their world, do not be afraid to voice your opinion. Just remember that I may ignore it from time to time.

Now, without further adieu, let's return to where we left off.

Chapter Two: Those In Need

In 200 A.D, Lucian of Samosata wrote the first written mention of aliens in his novel Vera Historia. One could say that he wrote what everyone had on their mind. Since the dawn of civilization, humanity had always looked towards the stars and wondered if we were truly alone in this universe. Children were told stories of different beings that came from the stars and revealed things to humanity.

But never in his life, did John ever think that he would actually meet an alien, no less be one.

The two beings stared at each other, the air becoming tense. Both parties gripped their weapons tightly, John's hand gripping his pistol, while Iron Will grasped his spear tightly. The stress was slowly building, both of their hands were trembling on their weapons. John racked his brain, searching for every possible outcome of this event. John then looked into the pony's eyes. While they looked determined, John could practically smell the fear coming off of him. At that moment, John realized that this was not just a confrontation. It was a test of wills.

John slowly lowered his hand from his gun, seizing his trembling and dawning the best poker face that he could muster. “ I’m a human. Now, what are you?” The pony seemed to lock up even tighter, fear slowly breaking down his poker face. Iron Will simply stared at the creature. Not only had this creature heard him, but it had responded. The sheer voice from it sounded commanding, powerful, and dangerous. Whatever a "human" is, Iron Will thought, as he lessened the grip on the spear, it sounds powerful. Hell, he even killed a changeling with that stick of his. Whatever this thing is, I should probably establish a relationship with him.

After the intense stare-down, Iron Will finally responded, “ I’m a pony. Now, are you a friend or a foe?” As he asked this, the other ponies gripped their swords and spears a tad bit harder, prepared to engage with the human. Watching as the blades pointed at him, John wondered if this was what the Europeans felt when they first encountered the Native Americans. However, seeing a chance to diffuse the situation, John slowly began to smile as he calmly responded, “ If I was not your ally, then why would I have helped you?” After he said that, a brief moment of silence washed over the, resulting with both parties lowering their weapons, breathing a huge sigh of relief in the process.

Iron Will then extended his hand to the human and said, “ I am First Lieutenant Iron Will, commander of the 1st Platoon of the Tenth Division of the Lunar Guard. What is your name?” As he said this, John looked at his hand, almost hesitating to grab it.

Gripping Iron Will’s hand, John responded, “ I am John Lee, Captain of Alpha Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, United States Army. Is it alright if I call you Will?”

“Sure,” Will responded as he smiled back at John, chuckling during the process, “ my name can be quite the hooful.” John looked at him with confusion as he muttered to himself, “Hooful?” Suddenly, more green bolts surged above them, striking a tower in the distance. Will instantly let go of John’s hand and shouted, “EVERYPONY, RETREAT TO THE CASTLE!” Suddenly, the ponies that seemed so calm not a moment ago began to panic and start running down a road towards the castle. John gripped his rifle as he charged after them, running side by side with them.

As they approached the castle, the frequent battles began to dissipate in numbers, with only a few one on ones could be seen. However, as they passed by an alleyway, John skidded to a stop as he witnessed one of these mentioned battles. A changeling slammed his fist into a shadowy figure, while the latter screamed in pain, as it gripped something on its left leg/ John, seeing that this pony was in danger, raised his rifle once more, and pulled the trigger.

The changeling stood no chance as the bullet zoomed towards him, slamming itself into the changeling’s brain. It’s body fell limp, crumpling to the ground, dragging down the wounded pony with him. John charged into the alley, shouldering his rifle in the process. He grabbed onto the pony just in time to prevent it from falling to the ground. John dragged the wounded pony out of the dark, dirty alleyway into the light, where he managed to get a good look at it.

John could tell that this was a female, due to the fact that she obviously had breasts. Her entire body was covered in a blue armor that held yellow lightning bolts on the side of them. Her wings, which indicated that she was some kind of Pegasus, were also covered in the armor, but unlike her chest, it held signs of damage which allowed John to see her blue feathers. Her hair was very interesting to John, looking almost identical to a rainbow, the exception being that it was... hair. What shocked John the most was her left leg. It appeared as if the changeling that was fighting her had managed to stab her, explaining the blood gushing out of the wound.

John looked into the mare's wine colored eyes, which were dilated in pain. Fresh tears streamed down from her face as she looked into John’s silver eyes. She attempted to say something, but she winced in pain as she tried to open her mouth, preventing her from talking. John looked at this fearful mare and felt something that he had not felt in a long, long time; compassion. Before he could change his mind, he wrapped his arms around the wounded mare, causing her to tense up and hesitate to recuperate the action. John then slowly began to hush her, as her body began to loosen up, whispering, "Shh... it's ok. I'm here. You're going to be safe now." She then gripped onto John as tight as she could, lock him into a bear hug. She buried her head into his shoulder, her dirty hair meeting his dirty, green uniform.

The two stayed like that for some time, bolts of magic flying through the air around them. Slowly, John released her from the hug and looked into her eyes. “ Can you walk?” John asked her as she looked back at him. She then began to attempt to move her left leg, only to wince in pain, fresh tears streaming down her face. Seeing this, John quickly came to the conclusion that he has to move here. Although he had not seen a changeling in some time, he knew that more would come and potentially harm this mare. John then looked into her eyes again and told her, “ Listen, I’m going to move you. You are not safe here. This may hurt a bit, but you have to trust me, ok?” She sat there in silence for a second until she looked up at him and nodded, giving him the best smile that she could muster.

Gathering his remaining strength, John grabbed the mare and hoisted her into his arms. She grunted and cried, watching as more blood began to seep out of the wound. Seeing this, John began the mad dash back to the castle. He prayed that he could find help there. As he looked down into his arms, he began to see the mare fighting to stay awake. Seeing this, John kicked into overdrive, rushing past rubble and scrambling to the illuminated lights of the castle.

Iron Will collapsed against a pillar, letting out a long sigh as he slid down to a sitting position. It had been a very long day for everypony in that room, due to the dwindling battle outside. Reports were coming in that the changelings were finally dwindling in numbers, and that they could potentially surrender soon.

He looked across the room and saw all of the mares and stallions on cots, bloodied bandages covering their bodies. Although they were pushing the enemy back, it had come at a great cost. Fellow soldiers were reporting that they had lost about 1,000 good soldiers in this battle alone. How many more would have to die?

Will’s mind eventually wandered back to John, the human that he had met earlier. If any signs appeared in that fight that they had together, it was that this ‘human’ was much more equipped for war. He could wield technologies that they couldn’t even begin to fathom. Will began to wonder if that stick was the only deadly weapon that he had brought with him.

Will sat back up, allowing his helmet to fall off his body, letting his red hair blow through the wind. I might as well catch up with my fellow soldiers. Walking to a set of large doors, Will entered a grand hallway, filled to the brim with refugees. When the attack first started, the Changeling army went on a rampage through Canterlot, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. When the princesses had heard of this after the first day of fighting, they immediately opened the castle to all refugees. He still remembered that day when he and his fellow soldiers stood in front of the royal sisters and the legendary elements of harmony, bringing a smirk back to his face.

As he passed by civilians, he noticed a particularly large group surrounding one of his fellow soldiers. He approached the group, curious to what had them so interested. “... I honestly didn't think that we would even make it out. We were surrounded on all sides with no hope of getting out. I was about to give up, but then something strange happened. This being approached us, wielding a weapon that could kill a changeling with ease, firing magical bolts with a smokey effect. He helped us defeat the Changeling army today and is now among us, watching from afar."

As he heard this story be told, Iron Will began to wonder where John even was. While they were running back to the castle, John had disappeared, going off somewhere. Iron Will presumed that he would be ok, due to him hearing the sound from his mysterious stick shortly after he disappeared. However, some part of him was still worried about him. In fact, he was so worried that he did not hear another pony approach behind him.

“Is everything alright Lieutenant?” a voice asked him as he lay in thought. “ Kind of,” he responded, “ I was just wondering where a friend of mine went.” He heard the woman chuckle and responded, “ Perhaps if thou tells me his name, I could find him?” He tensed up the moment when the women said ‘thou’. Looking slowly to his right, he was stunned to find one of the royal alicorn sisters, the alicorn of the night to be precise; Princess Luna.

Her starry hair flowed against the non-existent wind, gracefully sparkling with beauty. Her armor was a dark blue with her cutie mark embedded in it’s chest, centered directly above her bust. Her fur was dirty and bloody, but still held that graceful charm to it. Her eyes radiated a feeling of wonder and charm. One could only imagine what things they have seen.

“P-Princess!” Iron Will stuttered, as he immediately fell on one knee and bowed. Luna laughed at the display, “At ease soldier, we are equals on the battlefield. The bowing is not necessary,” she assured him. Iron Will let out a sigh of relief, standing back up and stuttered again, “ S-Sorry.” She brought a hand up to his cheek and said, “ It’s alright. These are trying times, so we will accept your apology. Now tell me; who are you looking for?” Iron Will looked down and wondered how she would accept the knowledge of an alien helping them out

Suddenly, the doors on the opposite end of the halfway, the one leading to the throne room, were thrown open, revealing the human holding one of the element barriers in his arms. They collapsed to the ground together, the human taking off his helmet as he laid the mare down. He then looked down the hallway, tears beginning to stream down his eyes, and shouted, “MEDIC!”

Chapter Four: The Battle for Canterlot Part 2

Descending into the dark depths, John began to formulate ideas about what he wanted to do for the attack. “These ponies have primitive weapons, but they also have magic that acts as a counteractive to their lack of technology. Perhaps I could exploit this…” he thought as they finally reached the bottom floor of the castle.

Looking around, John noticed a table in the center of a dimly lit room. Sitting on two chairs were two other Pegasi. They had a similar uniform to the rainbow haired girl, except one of them was accommodated for male use. One had hair of orange and yellow, while the other had a dark blue hairstyle that reminded John about jocks back at school. Their uniforms looked mostly intact, suggesting that either they had not seen much combat, or they were extremely good. John hoped that it was the latter.

As they approached, the two ponies took note of Princess Luna and immediately got up and saluted her. “At ease Captains. Sit down, we have much to discuss.” Dropping their salute, the two of them proceeded to pull up chairs and sit down in them. Luna and John did the same, both settling in for the long talks ahead of them. “Thank you for coming commanders on such a short notice, but we really need some help in the south,” Luna said, as she rested her hands on her lap.

“It’s no problem Princess,” the fiery haired girl responded, eyeing John curiously.

“What the hell is that… thing? Is it some kind of ape,” the male asked, giving John a rather harsh look.

Well, this guy is going to be annoying, John thought as he frowned at the remark. Luna, noticing John’s frown, quickly responded, “This ape, Captain Sorin is going to help us with our attack. Captains, meet John, a human from the planet Earth.”

John sat up and extended his hand to Spitfire, which she gladly grasped, while responding, “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir. I am Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. This here is my associate and fellow Wonderbolt, Sorin.”

John moved his hand to Sorin, who showed signs of hesitation, before gripping John’s hand and giving it a hard squeeze to show dominance. Strangely for John, Sorin’s grip felt relatively weak compared to Spitfire and Luna, so he proceeded to squeeze Sorin’s hand harder than before. The moment he did that, Sorin recoiled in pain, ripping his hand from John’s grasp. Luna chuckled and stated, “He sure does have a grip.”

As the pair of four sat down again, Spitfire began to lay down information. “According to our scouts, we have taken a significant portion of the Changeling Army down, effectively causing an 80% drop in their total troop number. We have also received tips that they will attempt one final charge against us; aiming to take over the castle. We cannot allow that to happen. Now, this would have been a piece of cake with the help of the Elements of Harmony, but they are currently split up. Even worse, it has been reported that Rainbow Dash has gone missing, which means-”

Luna then interrupted her when she said, “Loyalty is in the medical ward and is being treated for her injuries. John managed to save her life by bringing her here.”

John thought to himself, “So her name is Rainbow Dash? That is a really pretty name.”

“Is this true?” Spitfire asked, a glimmer of hope sparkling in her eye.

“Well, if she has rainbow hair, then yes, it is true,” John said, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable with the stares, “She was fighting a Changeling in an alleyway and was injured in the process. I managed to get her out of there and bring her to the castle. Although, for the record, I would have done that for anyone.”

After he said that, something completely unexpected happened. Spitfire leaped from her seat; a look of pure joy plastered on her face. She ran over to John’s side of the table, causing John to stand up, anticipating some kind of hit from the mare. However, she then embraced him in a tight hug, shouting for joy, “THANK YOU! OH CELESTIA, THANK YOU!” John hesitantly brought his hands to her back, earning a dirty look from Sorin.

“Um… no problem,” John responded, still confused as all hell.

Eventually, Spitfire did let him go, backing away and smiled sheepishly. “S-Sorry about that. Rainbow is one of my best fliers and a close friend. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her, but thanks to you, I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

After regaining her posture, she returned to her seat and continued to lay down information. “Now, we are expecting a full-frontal assault on the castle sometime tomorrow morning. We will have our earth pony guards being the frontal force, and-”

She was interrupted again, but this time by John, who snorted at the supposed strategy. “Really? You are going to send earth ponies, who, from what I can tell, cannot use magic, which is potentially the strongest weapon you have, to be the backbone of this entire operation? That’s ridiculous! Not only would that be suicide, but that would give the Changelings an easy victory,” John argued.

“Silence ape! You have no idea what you are talking about!” Sorin shouted, angrily standing up, this time insulting the human directly.

Seeing this sudden aggressive stance, John also rose from his seat, responding, “I don’t know what I’m talking about?! I helped organize and design the greatest naval landing my world has ever seen! I know what I am doing, but I think YOU have no idea what you are talking about!” John pointed his finger at Sorin, who was surprised at how aggressive John could really be.

“SILENCE!” Luna shouted, her voice piercing through the shouts of their argument. John recoiled in surprise at the sheer volume of her voice. “Captain Sorin, I understand your hesitation to listen to him, but trust me, he knows what he is doing. Now why don't you stop acting like children and start listening to each other!” John and Sorin looked at each other, anger searing through Sorin’s eyes while a calm collectiveness filled John’s.

“Apologies Princess, I didn't mean to go shouting like that. It was uncalled for,” John apologized, sitting back down in his chair. After a moment, and an angry glare from Spitfire, Sorin eventually sat back down as well.

“Look,” John started as he put his hands back on the table, “I understand that you want to end this battle quickly. Trust me, I know. However, we cannot ignore the fact that earth ponies are simply ill equipped to take on this task.” Sorin began to argue again, but John cut him off, “Let me finish. I have been fighting in my own war for four years. I understand that you want to end the fight as soon as you can. However, a swift victory comes at a heavy price. That price would be even higher if you do not understand what you are getting yourselves into. People- I mean Ponies’ lives are at risk and if we are not careful, some of them may not make it home. That is why we must be careful with our decision making. Casualty numbers aren’t just numbers, they are Ponies who have risked their lives for something greater.”

The room was silenced after John finished his argument. After a few minutes of silence, Luna responded, “Wise words Mr. John. You remind me a lot of my sister when you are speaking. Calm and collective, but fierce and unmoving.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Princess,” Spitfire said, gaining a massive roll of the eyes from Sorin, “So John, tell me, what would you like to do instead?” John paused for a moment, digging through his brain to find idea. He thought back to his preparations for D-Day back in ’44. Suddenly, an idea came to him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the crinkled-up map that he found when he first arrived here. Laying it on the table, John began to lay down his plan.

“Here’s my idea,” John began as he drew arrows and circles on certain areas. “ As you mentioned earlier, they will have one full frontal assault here,” John said as he drew a circle on the street leading straight to the castle, “Now, I’ve seen what unicorn magic can do, hell, it nearly took off my head when I first came here. The type I saw reminded me a lot of a certain weapon that we had back home, the M2A1 (PUT PICTURE HERE).

It was designed to be able to hit things far away and cause tons of damage in the process. That gave me an idea.” John then circled the area just in front of the castle, which was on an elevated position. “We place the strongest unicorns that we got at this position, and we tell them to hit the changelings with everything they got. You see, the changelings are charging up a choke point, which only allows them to move forwards, and backwards. So, that puts us in the perfect position to whittle their numbers using explosive magic.”

John then looked up from the map and pointed at Spitfire, telling her, “Then we can use our air superiority to not only keep them at bay, but to also whittle down their numbers even more. Finally,” John circled the front of the castle finishing off with a strike off the paper, “once their numbers are low, we can charge them using everything we got. Not only will this break their morale, but this should strike fear into the hearts of their soldiers, causing them to either retreat, panic, or surrender.” John then looked at both Sorin and Spitfire, telling them, “If we want this to work, we are all going to have to work together. I believe that if we follow this plan, not only would we minimize casualties, but we would also break the backbone of their army.”

Luna then clapped her hands, a proud grin on her face, “That sounds like an excellent plan! I will brief the troops of this plan. For now, though, please make sure that you rest and be fully prepared for tomorrow's attack. Come John, I will show you to your quarters.” John then stood up from the table, telling both Spitfire and Sorin, “Thank you for listening to me. I hope that we can meet again, but under much better circumstances.” John then ran up to the stairs, proceeding to follow Luna.

After the Princess and the human left, Sorin said to Spitfire, “I don’t like him. Who does he think is, talking to me like that?”

Spitfire scoffed at this and replied, “Oh, don’t be such a sore loser. You are just jealous that he had a better handshake then you. Besides, his logic makes complete sense.”

“Ok, first of all,” Sorin refuted, following closely behind Spitfire as they walked further down into the basement, “I am NOT jealous. I refuse to be beaten by some insignificant creature. Second, although it might make sense, that does not mean that this will work.”

Spitfire then rounded the corner, saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say Sorin.” She then opened the door to a medical room. The white room was covered in medical supplies, each specifically placed with care and efficiency. At the center of the room, pushed up against the wall, was a hospital bed with a single occupant. Her wings were muddy and bruised, showing the signs of battle. Her face was covered in multiple scabs and cuts, showing how weak the body can really be. Her leg was wrapped in bandages, some of which was soaked in crimson blood. Spitfire walked to the beds side and gripped the mare's hand. A doctor, who was caring for the injured mare, stood at a distance, giving Spitfire her time with the wounded soldier.

“How’s she doing?” Spitfire asked, silently praying that her tears did not show.

The doctor gave out a long sigh and said, “For all medical purposes, she should be dead. Her wound managed to cut through an artery and severely damaged her femur.” A single tear streamed down her face, almost coming to the verge of bursting into tears. That is, until the doctor continued, “But whatever that alien did, it saved her life. When he injected that serum into her, it managed to keep her heart beating long enough to allow us to patch up the wound and use magic to heal her. If he arrived a moment later, she would not have made it.”

Spitfire gave the doctor a smile and looked at her fallen friend, glad that she would be ok. Spitfire did not even want to think about what would happen if she had died. Standing back up, she gave one last look at the broken mare and exited the room, followed soon by the doctor.

Sorin, being the only one left in the room, gave the mare a devilish smile. Walking up to the bed, he carefully lifted the sheets to be greeted by her naked body. Whistling to himself he looked closer to find the object that he was looking for. Seeing that it was missing, he frowned to himself, but then he smirked to himself again. It is not every day you get to see the fastest mare in Equestria in all her glory. He sat up, deciding that he had to deal with certain “urges” in private. He left the room, telling the unconscious mare, “Sleep well girl. Soon, you will be all mine.”

As he left, he failed to notice the necklace that she gripped tightly to her chest, bearing the letters ‘J’ and ‘L’ on it.

Chapter Four and a Half: Last Christmas (SPECIAL)

December 24th, 1941

Valley City, North Dakota

8:35 P.M.

The snow fell softly onto the ground, the large flakes sticking onto anything it touches. The city streets lay empty, the soft lights from the buildings illuminated the cold, lonely road. One man quietly walked down the streets, his breath condensing into the cold air. As he walked, he couldn't help but look at the empty stores as he passed by them. He then noticed a newspaper blowing through the winter wind. Grabbing the paper, he looked at the headline and gave a soft sigh.

UNITED STATES DECLAIRS WAR AFTER JAPANESE ATTACK!

John grunted as he stuffed the paper underneath his jacket to protect it from the wind. The news of Pearl Harbor had shook the sleepy little city to it's core. Many of his fellow classmates were outraged at the news of what had happened. Many of his friends, including himself, had planned to join the Army once '42 rolled around. But for now, all they could do was wait.

Trudging through the streets, John covered his face from the winds blasting into his body. He passed by closed shops and businesses until he came across a building that he had lived in nearly his entire life. The building in front of him was named the Valley Hotel, which was built by his father after the first World War. He had designed it to not only be a functioning hotel, but a stable home where he could raise a family.

Opening the door, he was greeted with a blast of warm air from the hotel. The lobby was empty, the staff having left earlier in the night. John walked up the stairs behind the counter, which led to the place where John had lived his entire life. "Home..." John thought as he opened the door into the house.

As he walked in, he could smell the warm food from the stove, which caused him to take a deep whiff of it. "Looks like Mom made turkey tonight," John thought as he hanged up his coat and began to walk into the home. However, before he could, his mothers voice ringed throughout the house.

"JOHN! YOU BETTER TAKE OFF THOSE BOOTS BEFORE YOU STEP INTO THIS HOUSE! I JUST CLEANED THE FLOORS," she shouted to him. Sighing, John kicked his boots off and walked into the home. The fire was burning bright in the living room, providing warmth for all of those who were near it. John's father sat on the arm chair, reading his newspaper. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his mother placing fat chunks of turkey on three plates.

Grinning, John crept up behind his mother while she was placing the last hunks of turkey on the plate. Suddenly, he placed his hands on her shoulder and shouted, "BOO!"

"GAAAH!" his mother cried, jumping in the air with shock, earning a laugh from John. Turning around, his mothers shocked face turned into a disapproving look, but one that held amusement within it. "John! You should know better then to sneak up on your mother like that!"

"I'm sorry mom," he answered, still chuckling after what had happened," but I couldn't help myself. You were the perfect target."

Sighing, his mother gave him a small smirk and answered, "Yeah, I suppose I was in the perfect position."

Walking into the kitchen, John's father asked, "Is dinner ready yet?"

Walking over to him, John's mother gave him a peck on the cheek, replying, "Yes dear, I was just about to call you when John scared me."

Looking over at him, his father asked, " How high did she jump this time?"

"At least two feet!" he replied, earning a laugh from everyone in the room. Once the laughter subsided, they all took their seats and began to enjoy their well deserved dinner.

John slid into his pajamas as he looked at his cozy bed. It's blue sheets looked inviting, practically begging John to jump into it. Smirking to himself, John gave out a long yawn. He walked over to his bed, and was about to jump in when he heard the door to his room open. Looking over his shoulder, his mother entered the room. "Hey mom, come to give me a good night kiss?"

"John..." his mother started, looking at him with her soft, blue eyes, "We need to talk."

John's face fell instantly. What happened? Did he do something wrong? Wanting to find out, John followed his mother. As they entered the living room, John's father sat on his recliner waiting for them to arrive. When his eyes fell upon his son, he gave him a sad look. Nodding to the couch, John and his mother sat down. A moment of silence passed between them, with only the clock's soft 'tick' could be heard.

"Did something happen?" John asked.

His father looked at him, the eyes that he was so used to seeing was filled with sadness. "No John, we just need to talk." His father straightened his posture and stared at his son directly.

"Have I ever told you how I met your mother?"

John looked at his mother, "Yeah, you told me that you were childhood sweethearts and that you proposed to her right before you went on a business trip to Europe."

"Well," his father began," that story is not entirely true." His eyes widened in surprise, giving his father a look that urged him to continue. "While it was true that I proposed to her at that dock, I was not going on a business trip." His father pulled out a small box from under the table and placed it in front of him. Curious, John picked it up and opened it, only for his eyes to widen in shock. Sitting in that box was an old photo of men dressed up in uniforms. They were smiling, but John could tell that they held pain in their eyes. Furthermore, in the middle of the photo was a young man who was about his age. He was the one who was smiling the most, but his eyes held more pain then the others. When he finally placed the pieces together, he looked at his father seeing a sad look in his eyes. "I proposed to your mother at the harbor because I was leaving for war."

The weight of those words hit him like a brick. After all this time, his father had actually fought in the first World War. John finally understood why his father was so against his attempts to join the war. Whatever his father had seen, it had scarred him so much that he was afraid to let anybody else follow this path. "John, I need you to look at me," his father spoke. Father and son both looked into each others eyes as John's father continued, "Son, I was just like you all of those years ago. When I heard the call to fight for something greater then myself, I signed up with my friends. We wanted to go on an adventure, we wanted to be heroes."

John's father began to tear up as he recalled those dark memories, but he continued, "We weren't ready. Dear god, we were not ready for what the war had in store for us. I watched as good friends of mine, most of whom I grew up with, were torn to shreds by artillery. I was lucky that I even got to go home." His father placed a hand on his shoulder , staring deep into his sons eyes before saying, "I know that I can't change your decision, but I just wanted to ask; are you sure that you want to do this?"

John looked back at his father, his breath becoming shaky as he tried to hold back tears. "Y-Yes father," John responded, "I'm sure that I want to do this."

His mother suddenly began to cry prompting her son to comfort her as best as he can. Eventually, his father walked over and joined the group hug. The family sat there for a while, relishing in the feeling of being together.

"I'm going to get out of this alive," John said, looking at his father with a new found confidence.

"I promise."

Chapter Five: The Battle for Canterlot FINALE

5:00 A.M.

The air stood cold in the early morning sky. The stars were still shining in the sky, but quickly fleeing due to the arrival of the morning sun. The fog accompanied the night sky, covering the war-torn capital in a blanket made of clouds. On any other morning, this quite would have been peaceful and charming. However, for men like John, they could only think of one thing.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

John stood quietly on top of a mountain of rubble, purposely placed for a barrier that the ponies could use as a defensive tool against the changelings. Against the judgement of Soarin, John was given command of the Tenth Division of the Lunar Guard. He immediately prepared for the worst, ordering the construction of a barricade, which he was standing on top of right now. He had also put in place a night watch to watch for anything suspicious. Thankfully, nothing was reported so far. John silently prayed that the battle would have less bloodshed and minimal casualties. However, the only thing that he could do was wait.

8:00 A.M

The sun had finally raised above the horizon, vanquishing the cloudy blanket that covered the city, only to reveal the destruction and damage that the Changeling Army caused. In fact, it was less of taking off a blanket, and more of taking off a bandage covering a badly cut wound. Just as the sun peeked over the horizon, John finally noticed movement coming from the streets below.

“Look alive boys!” John shouted, turning back to look at the group.

“Here they come!” a scout shouted, looking through his binoculars.

Grabbing the other pair of binoculars on his neck, John put it to his eye, revealing the force currently charging up the hill. If he had to estimate, John would say that the Changelings were about 1,000 strong, compared to their 500. John held his hand up in the air, as the unicorns looked at it in preparation, a soft glow beginning to illuminate their horns.

“Wait for it,” John ordered, letting the opposing army charge up the hill with no resistance. When the changelings were close enough, about 1 mile away, John threw his hand down and shouted, “NOW! DO IT NOW!”

What happened after was truly a sight to behold.

The unicorns fired their magic, causing beams of vibrant colors to launch into the sky. They formed an arch, resembling a beautiful rainbow, causing some of the ponies to “oooh” and “aww”. John frowned a little as he watched them look at the bolts of light with awe. They had truly no idea what destruction they had just unleashed. The blots rained down from the heavens, mimicking the artillery shells from Czechoslovakia, and began to rain down upon them. When they hit the ground, a sound formed that John was awfully familiar to.

“BOOM!”

A large explosion followed the beams of magic, displaying a sight of pure and utter destruction. The changelings had no idea what hit them. Some of the ponies began to cheer, patting John on the back, telling him things like, “Good Job,” and “Nice call!” John slowly began to smile. For the first time in a long time, he felt genuinely proud of his decision. He had somehow managed to avoid all casualties and save the lives of his soldiers. Now, it was only a matter of time before-

“SIR!” a pony yelled amid the crowd. She stumbled forward, her wings arched in pain for having flown so hard and for so long. She finally stopped in front of John, panting as she tried to catch his breath. He looked at John, fear and concern filled her eyes as she informed, “We have a problem!”

8:00 A.M.
Wonderbolts Position

Lieutenant Clear Sky looked over the calm morning weather as she stood watch, carefully following any movements from the ground below. The Wonderbolts, per Luna’s orders, had to comply with John’s orders, something which Captain Soarin was not fond of. They had moved to this position late last night, opting to set up camp on top of a cliff, overlooking Canterlot.

Standing on this ledge, one could fully realize the true damage that had been done to Canterlot. The once beautiful city, the pride of Equestria, was now reduced to nothing but smoldering ruins and a burnt castle. Three days ago, this city looked magnificent. Its pearl white buildings shimmered in the sun, overlooked by the beautiful royal castle. This place was once the center of knowledge, innovation, and magic. Now, all of that has disappeared, like dust in the wind.

Clear Sky had been in the Wonderbolts for two months before the attack started. Before that, she was a rising star amongst the team. Rainbow Dash, the best flier within the group, had even complimented on her skill! But now, all those compliments were reduced to nothing but memories. Stupid, useless, memories. When they were called to arms, she was both excited and nervous. She finally had the chance to serve her Princesses!

However, when she finally landed in the battlefield, that perception had changed from excitement, to fear.

Killing was not easy. The day after the first fight, she was a quivering mess. She cried uncontrollably for hours. She only managed to stop when Spitfire managed to comfort her. She heavily relied on the support of her fellow Wonderbolts after that day. Eventually, by day three, she had gotten a lot better, resulting in less emotional trauma from dealing death blows with her sword. However, the Wonderbolts had almost lost all morale when it was reported that Rainbow Dash was missing. They had temporarily gone into panic mode, desperately grabbing on to any resemblance of hope. By day six, most had lost that hope, believing that this would be a fight that they could not win.

That is, until they heard the stories of the “human.”

It happened on day seven, when they finally went back to the castle for some much-needed rest. However, stories began to spread amongst the troops of the Tenth Division of the Lunar Guard. These rumors attracted crowds of ponies, both refugees and soldiers alike. They told of a strange being who called himself a “human.” They spoke of him saving the 1rst Platoon from a deadly enemy attack, using a new form of magic that was contained in some kind of stick to defeat the Changelings. This device supposedly called upon the magic of the user, firing a supercharged bolt of magic that could pierce even the strongest of armor, instantly killing its target in the process.

These rumors were instantly proven to be partially true, when this “human” busted through the castle doors, holding none other than Rainbow Dash in his arms. Seeing this incredible sight, her fellow soldiers had rallied behind this “human”, who she had learned was named John. In fact, he was the one who had ordered them to this position, much to the dismay and anger of Captain Sorin.

Speaking of the Captain, Clear Sky was beginning to have a suspicious feeling about him. It seemed as if, whenever John was mentioned amongst the soldiers, his mood would instantly sour, scoffing and even yelling at other soldiers for even mentioning the name. Nopony knew why, but Clear Sky had a theory. Everypony knew that Soarin had the hots for Rainbow Dash, everybody except her, that is. She theorized that, because John had saved Rainbow's life, Sorin held a deep grudge against him, probably due to jealousy.

Speaking of Soarin, he stood watch over the decimated city, his eyes carefully scanning the skies. So far, no enemies had been detected and Sorin appeared to be in a glad mood, for some odd reason. She continued to focus on the skyline, watching the stars dance in the night sky, as trails of smoke rose to the heavens from the city.

Suddenly, another soldier walked past her, holding some kind of document in his hands. Batting an eye at him, Clear Sky watched as he walked up to Soarin and, after saluting, handed him this document. Ripping open the envelop, Soarin looked it over, carefully guiding his eyes across the paper. Then he gave a smile to the soldier, but this was not a smile of good will. She thought that it was a wicked smile. He was planning something, and whatever that something was, it was probably not going to be good.

He then shouted at those around him, including Clear Sky, “Alright, listen up! We need to move out to aid Celestia on the other side of the castle.”

Clear Sky then asked him “But sir, what about the Tenth Division? Didn’t Luna order us to help out John?”

The moment that she mentioned John, Soarin’s face instantly darkened, although he tried to hide it behind a poker face. He then said to her, “They will be… fine.” He then spread his wings and started to take off. “Alright everypony. Let's move out!” he shouted as Clear Sky’s fellow comrades took off to the sky. She was about to spread her wings when she noticed the letter that Soarin had read. Curious, she closed her wings and grabbed the note. Flipping the folded paper open, she began to read the following.

“To the Acting Commander,

We have just received reports that the Changeling army has sent a special unit to flank the Tenth Lunar Division to destroy their magic support, thus granting them safe passage to the castle. As you already know, if they reach the castle, then all hope is lost. They cannot be allowed to defeat the Tenth Lunar Division under any circumstances. Your orders are as follows: assist the Tenth in the defense of their unicorns, so they can keep their bombardment going. I pray that you receive this note in time.

With Great Concern,

Princess Celestia

Clear Sky’s eyes widened as she read the note, the weight of the situation finally dawned on her. She looked around, trying to find any Pegasus that was left. She became frantic. How could he do this? she thought to herself as she searched frantically through the abandoned camp, has he doomed us all? She began to breathe heavy when she saw all the tents empty, their campfires slowly burning out.

Suddenly, she noticed a few ponies left at the far end of the camp, slowly putting their armor on. She noticed that it was, in fact, her squad. For the first time in my life, she thought as she ran towards them, I am GLAD that they are slow. When her squad first noticed her, they began to stiffen up, preparing to be yelled at. However, that fear turned into concern when they saw the panicked look on her face. “Sky?” one of them asked, slowly lowering his pack to the ground, “What’s wrong?” She then skidded to a halt in front of them, dirt being kicked up from her boots. “WE HAVE TO HURRY!” she shouted, throwing them their helmets. “MEET ME AT THE TENTH DIVISION ENCAMPMENT IN 10 MINUTES! HURRY! WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME!”

another word, she launched up into the sky, flying as fast as she could to the Tenth’s position.

She could only hope that she would not be too late.

Location: Tenth Lunar Division
Time: 8:30 A.M.

“HE DID WHAT!” John shouted as he heard Clear Sky relay the events that took place earlier. Turns out, not only did Soarin betray him, but a unit of the Changeling Army was moving to flank them. I thought we were on the same side! Why did he betray us in a moment like this? These questions would have to wait, however, as the looming threat of the flanking unit came upon them. “How many pegasi do we have?” John asked, looking at Iron Will.

He appeared to pause for a moment, slowly calculating the number in his head. He then looked at John and responded, “If we include Clear Sky and her squad… about 15.”

John then turned around, facing the Changeling Army that was currently being bombarded with a torrent of magical attacks. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath, bringing his hands up to cover his face. The loss of the Wonderbolts cut their man/pony power down by 90%. Their chances of countering the flanking troops were extremely low. However, it was not impossible. John racked his brain, going back to the preparations for D-Day back in ‘44. He remembered that most of his troops had to be reassigned due to a lack of troopers in the other divisions. He remembered that he had created a unique group whose main purpose was to be a example for the others and to raise morale within the Company. That memory caused him to get an idea.

John turned around and ordered, “I need all available pegasi and members of 1st Platoon to follow me. If it is a fight they want, it’s a fight they'll get." After saying that, the camp sprung into life, soldiers frantically put on their uniforms while pegasi double checked their supplies. John ran back into his tent, flipping it open and reached for his rifle. He slung the weapon on his back, the barrel of the gun barely touching the back of his head. He reached for his green helmet; his only protection forms the torrent of magic that could be coming their way. Strapping it on his head, he ran out of his tent to find the rest of the group prepped and ready to go.

As he approached the front of the group, Iron Will and Clear Sky approached him. Halting just in front of him, they both gave a salute and said, “Sir, the unit is formed!” John then raised his hand and saluted them back. The pair of three dropped their arms all at once, as John asked them, “So, are you ready for this?” Both gave a nod and motioned their troops to start following them. With a smile on his face, John and his unit began the long march to confront the approaching army.

Location: Tenth Street, Canterlot
Time: 9:00 A.M

The city streets were quiet as they silently marched through the city. Each pony gripped their spears tightly, anticipating an attack at any moment. As they walked, Iron Will took a long glance at John. He strode with such confidence and purpose, straining his ears to hear even the quietest of sounds. His eyes were trained on the road, constantly flickering between buildings, rubble, and the empty alleyways. His hands gripped his weapon tightly, his finger hovering right above the trigger.

As they walked, they could practically feel the tension in the air. Feet hit the cold cobblestone, its cracks filled with green and red blood. As they walked, each soldier began to feel more and more nervous. Suddenly, John’s hands bolted upwards in a fist, causing each pony to stop dead in their tracks, their breaths hitching in the process. Ears perked up, carefully listening to the area around them.

Then, they heard it.

A soft noise soon began to make its presence known, as it soon began to grow in volume. The ponies gripped their spears and swords tightly, as sweat began to trickle down from their heads. John bent down on one knee, grabbing his rifle off his shoulder. Checking if the weapon was loaded, he stranded his eyes down the empty street, towards the direction where the noise was coming from. Cocking the rifle, he brought it up to his head, prepared to fire at a moment's notice.

Suddenly, a single changeling rounded the corner, seemingly talking to somepony behind him. Everypony held their breaths, wondering what would happen next. John smirked, put his finger on the trigger, and whispered,

“There you are.”

‘BANG!’

The rifle threw out smoke as a bullet pierced through the morning sky. It soared through the air, flying over the smoking rubble, heading straight towards the unsuspecting changeling, just as the rest of their platoon rounded the corner. The bullet slammed into the changeling’s chest, connecting with a strangely satisfying ‘THUNK’. The changeling's eyes widened with terror, before he crumpled to the ground, gripping his chest with pain. The rest of the changeling platoon watched the event with a mix of awe, anger, and terror. They whipped out their weapons, looked down the street at the awaiting ponies, and charged at them.

The ponies then ran towards the attacking force, opting to meet the changelings head on. John ran ahead, leading the group, his rifle gripped firmly in his hand. As he ran, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a sharpened blade from his pocket. Attaching it to his gun, he charged headfirst into the enemy, letting out a war cry in the process, generating more adrenaline for his fellow troops.

John made contact first, thrusting his bayonet into an unprepared changeling. The changeling shouted in pain, before John ripped the spear out, green blood trickling down the blade. Realizing the ineffectiveness of a rifle in close quarters combat, John quickly shouldering his rifle amidst the chaos, he gripped his Colt M1911 and raised it to another changeling, firing another bullet into its skull.

Using his peripheral vision, he assisted other soldiers struggling with other changelings, using his pistol to get them off the ponies. However, to say that it was a bloodbath would be an understatement. Ponies and changelings alike were covered in each other's blood, their swords drenched in the blood of their victims. As they fought, ponies and changelings alike became wounded, their bodies piling over each other, making combat more difficult.

John kept firing with his pistol, dodging swords, and spears as he went. Sweat poured down his blood drenched face. He panted as he kept firing his pistol, stepping over bodies and leaning in multiple directions to avoid sword cuts. However, as John fired a pistol at an enemy, a changeling took the opportunity to charge up a bolt of heavily charged magic. Unleashing its destructive power, the ponies could only watch as the bolt of pure magic soared straight towards John, connecting with him on his waist.

A loud explosion echoed across the battlefield, signaling that the hit was successful. Clear Sky watched in horror as the smoke enveloped John’s last known location. Both changelings in ponies stopped fighting, looking at the spectacle with awe. The changeling that fired the bolt, who appeared to be the leader of the group, smirked with happiness. Now, the changelings could defeat this small force of ponies and move to the location of their unicorns. Then it would be only a matter of time until-

A loud ‘BANG’ rang out, a single bullet flinging towards the cocky changeling. Right before the bullet connected, his eyes widened with horror. The bullet lodged itself into his head, instantly killing him. The changelings shook in horror as they looked at the clearing smoke and saw a horrifying sight.

John stood there; an angry look plastered on his face. His pistol, which still smoked from the gunshot, was slightly blackened by the magical explosion. His entire uniform was ragged and torn, especially on his right side. However, the most shocking thing about him was his right hip. The impact zone of the magic bolt was bloody, a large circular wound opened on his hip. Blood seeped from the wound, causing most of the ponies to feel nauseous, some of them even began to puke. His right arm, the one that held the gun, was burned, some charred skin peeked through the tattered uniform. His eyes though, his silver eyes, were burning with pure rage and anger. It sent goosebumps down everypony's spines, causing them to freeze in place with fear.

His glare also had a reaction from the changelings. Seeing this strange creature, with pure hatred in his eyes, look at them with such negative energy, caused them to immediately surrender. Changelings began to flee, some running as far away as possible from the human, while others threw up their hands to surrender. Clear Sky, who saw the entire event unfold, reeled in shock when John spoke to her in a dark voice, "Get these prisoners to a secure location. If they try to escape, kill them.” When she didn't move for a couple of seconds, he used his hands to grab her by the collar, bringing her close to his mouth, and asked, “Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” She then frantically nodded, fearing his fiery gaze. “Good,” John said, dropping the mare and retreating his right hand to his wound.

Medic ponies, who had been called in earlier in the battle, rushed to John and tried to help him. However, before they could even get near to him, John shouted, “NO! Take care of the wounded soldiers, on both sides. Once they are secured and safe, then do me.” Hearing the utter anger and pain in his voice, the medics winced a little bit, especially while they looked at his wounds. Nevertheless, they nodded and proceeded to do their job. They began to lift soldiers onto cots, and started to move back to base, along with the frightened captives.

Seeing that the attack had been stopped, John let out a sigh of relief, his head beginning to feel lighter due to his injuries. Watching the last of his troops depart, John collapsed against the ground, his breath becoming shaggy and his eyes beginning to droop. He laid on his back, his eyes gazing up towards the heavens. Smiling to himself, John closed his eyes, and waited for death to take him.

Location: Tenth Street, Canterlot
Time: 12:30 P.M.

Iron Will walked amongst the burning city, his feet carefully stepping over the rubble. Flying by his side was Clear Sky, her eyes scanning the road ahead, carefully looking at every nook and cranny in the city. A small squad of 15 ponies, all of whom had fought at Tenth Street earlier that day, was spread out amongst the street, looking under fallen buildings and rubble.

John’s attack plan had been a massive success. With the power of the unicorns’ magic, the Changeling Army’s final assault failed miserably. Their solders could not get past the sheer bombardment that the unicorns gave them. Therefore, once the soldiers from Tenth Street returned to the camp, everypony cheered, for they knew that they had won.

At approximately 12 P.M., it was reported that the Solar Army had achieved victory with the help of the Elements of Harmony (excluding Rainbow Dash). It was a massive relief for the Royal Sisters that the battle was over. The battle resulted in about 5,000 casualties over the course of five days, 2,000 of those casualties resulting in deaths. This solidified this battle as the bloodiest in Equestrian history.

However, that dark thought was shadowed by the utter joy and relief that they had won. The forces of the Solar Army were celebrating, along with the Elements of Harmony (especially Pinkie Pie), and the Wonderbolts, who had randomly appeared on the Solar Army’s side of Canterlot. They were partying with the civilians in the Royal Castle, overseen by Celestia, who was relieved that the battle was over.

However, for the Lunar Army, there was a lot less celebrating.

The Lunar Army originally celebrated with the others, for approximately 15 minutes. However, after news broke out that John was not with them, and that he was M.I.A., Luna became immediately concerned, ordering that he had to be found as soon as possible. The entire Army, much to the confusion of the Solar Army, sprang into action. They spread throughout the decimated city, checking every nook and cranny. According to Luna, it was imperative that he be found, and hopefully still alive. While the rest of the Lunar Army searched randomly throughout the city, Iron Will and Clear Sky knew exactly where to go; Tenth Street.

That led them to this moment, walking amongst the former battlefield, carefully avoiding the small amount of blood that pooled on the ground. Noticing the crimson fluid, Iron Will followed the small trail of blood around a corner into a dark alleyway. The blood led to a body, lying against the wall, his hands drooped by his sides.

Not too far off, his green helmet lay there, blood still fresh on its green paint.

Chapter Six: When the Dust Settles

The sword cut through her exposed leg like a knife slicing through bread. Rainbow Dash screamed in pain as she was violently thrusted against the wall by the changeling. She gazed down at her leg in shock as she watched blood seep out of the wound. She slowly began to slump to the ground, laying against the brick wall behind her for support.

She gazed up at the changeling, her eyes dilating in fear, as she brought her hand down to her bloody wound. The changeling’s sword rose high in the sky, threatening to strike the mare down. Her breath began to quicken, as fresh tears sprung from her eyes. Her entire life flashed before her eyes, from the first time she flew, when she met her friends, to when she finally joined the Wonderbolts. “P-Please... don’t do this,” she begged, trying to get the changeling to stand down. However, the changeling continued to raise his sword, preparing to cut her down. She closed her eyes, curled up against the wall, and accepted her fate.

“CRACK!”

Suddenly, the changelings head was hit with something hard, causing blood to erupt from the other side of its head. The changeling’s eyes temporarily widened with shock before loosing all signs of life within it. The body slowly crumpled to the ground, dropping his sword at her feet. Opening her eyes again, she looked in awe at the body, as she watched blood seep out of its head. “W-What happened?” she thought to herself, “I didn’t hear any magic being charged, and that hole looks too small to be done by an arrow.”

Looking to the entrance of the alley, she immediately found the culprit. A bipedal figure stood at the entrance, holding some strange type of stick, with smoke slowly rising from the tip of it. She could not tell who, or what, it was, due to the low light in the alley. The being approached her, quickly rushing down the alley to her side. Suddenly, a light illuminated from its chest, revealing a sight that she never expected.

She could instantly tell that this creature was not a pony, due to its lack of a muzzle. Its face was masculine, with bright silver eyes and a small cut on his right cheek. It wore a green helmet, hiding some of its dark, blond hair. The creature quickly put that strange stick on his back once again. Quickly looking over her once, it grabbed onto her and began to pull her out of the alley. She shouted in pain as she felt her leg being dragged across the rubble.

Suddenly, sunlight pierced through her eyes, indicating that she was out of the alley. The creature suddenly stopped dragging her and moved to face her once again. She looked down at her leg again and saw the wound in a better light. She shook in fear as blood seeped out of the wound, seemingly at a much faster pace. The creature seemed to notice her shaking and dropped down to one knee and gave her a warm hug. She tensed up at the sudden contact, but she eventually began to feel the pain fade away, her fear disappearing with it. Suddenly, the creature spoke to her in a very soft, but soothing voice, “Shhh… it’s ok. You're safe. Everything is going to be ok.” She buried her head on the male’s soldier as she simply concentrated on breathing.

As she sat there, hugging this strange male, she began to feel something that she had never felt before. Her heart throbbed in her chest, and the wound slowly drifted away from her mind. She gazed into his eyes and felt a sense of safety and security, something she had not felt since this entire ordeal began. Her mind began to focus on the feeling of his strong hands on her shoulder, ensuring that she did not fall over. It reminded her of her own father when she had a nightmare.
It was incredibly comforting for her. She let out a long sigh, further melting into their hug.

Unfortunately for her, this blissful state could not last forever. The strange stallion parted from the hug and appeared to give her body a once over. Now, Rainbow Dash had always called herself, “hot” or “sexy”, but she never had a stallion look at her like he was now. As he gazed over her body, checking for any hidden wounds or cuts, she could not help but blush. She knew that he was just checking for any other injuries, but she couldn’t help but imagine… dirtier motives.

The strange being looked at her again and appeared to be in thought. He looked at her leg, reminding her of her damaged leg. The pain came back, but it was duller and less of a nuisance. “Do you think you can walk?” the stallion asked her, gracing her with his silver eyes. Rainbow looked back down at her leg. She attempted to move the appendage, only to be greeted with a sharp pain.

She screamed with pain, fresh tears forming in her eyes. However, those strong hands grabbed her soldiers again, bringing her close to his chest. Her tears lightly soaked his shirt, as she gripped him tightly. She buried her head in his chest, seeking comfort for her pain. She heard his voice pierce through the cloud of pain, as he said, “We’ve got to move. This is a dangerous spot to be in.”

Suddenly, this strange being lifted her up into his strong, welcoming arms. Rainbow gripped onto his shoulders tighter, as to not fall off. “Hang on,” the stallion said as he dashed down the street, towards the castle. The world around her began to fade away, all sense of feeling going with it. Her eyes began to slowly close, slowly slipping into the haze of unconsciousness. .

Rainbow Dash’s eyes fluttered open, allowing the blinding light of the room to encase her. Struggling to adjust to the light, her surroundings slowly began to become clearer. She appeared to be in a white hospital room. Her bed looked nice and clean, covering her presumably wounded body. Curiously, Dash lifted her sheets to check the damage for herself. Much to her surprise; she did not look half bad. Her entire left thigh was wrapped in bandages, dried blood proving that there was indeed a wound there. Her breasts were also covered in bandages, although she did not know why, but she assumed that it was just for privacies sake. Other than those bandages however, she was completely exposed.

Dropping the sheets back down, covering her naked body, Rainbow continued to look around the room. On her right was a beautiful window, overlooking Canterlot, which was still heavily damaged. The memory of that battle caused her to wince a bit. She never truly realized how incredibly lucky she had gotten. If that create- no, if that stallionhad never arrived, she would have died, cold and alone.

Speaking of him, I never did ask for his name, did I? Rainbow thought as she smiled to herself.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Rainbow instantly recognized the mare. Her white fur and her red cross cutie mark identified her as Nurse Redheart, the nurse in Ponyville. "She must be here to help with the wounded," Rainbow thought as the nurse walked around the room. She appeared to be looking for something, checking in drawers and cabinets. Smirking to herself, Rainbow decided to pull a little ‘prank’ on the white nurse.

Right when the nurse began to reach for something in one of the higher cabinets, Rainbow Dash shouted, “HEY!”

Nurse Redheart, surprised by the sudden noise, let out a yelp and fell onto the floor, sending little cotton balls cascading off the cabinet. The nurse franticly looked around the room, looking for the source of the noise. However, when she noticed that Rainbow Dash, who was now giggling and laughing, was awake and she instantly frowned.

“Rainbow Dash! That was very rude of you! I could have gotten hurt!” Redheart shouted at her, causing the mare to laugh even harder. The nurse sighed at her antics, sitting back up and moving to the bed. She then began to poke and prod at Rainbow Dash at seemingly random places, instantly annoying the mare.

“Hey! Cut that out,” Rainbow grunted, annoyed that she was now the one being targeted. Redheart continued to poke and prod at her in random spots before giving her a soft hit on the head, which caused Rainbow to softly say, "Ow."

“Are you done?” Redheart asked, looking at her patient with a tad bit of anger in her eyes. This caused Rainbow Dash to flinch a bit, her ears folding down onto her head.

“Y-Yeah. Sorry Nurse.” Redheart sighed as she moved across the bed and slowly began to work on Dash’s injuries. She lifted the sheets back up and started taking off the bandages on her leg, which revealed a nasty wound where the sword had pierced her, which Rainbow winced at.

“How are you feeling?” Redheart asked as she began to wipe off some of the dried blood from her skin.

“Ugh, not too well,” Rainbow Dash responded as she felt a sudden wave a nausea wash over her, seemingly from looking at the wound. Redheart walked over to a cabnet and grabbed a bottle of water. Walking over to the nauseous mare, she handed her the drink, which Dash drank down greedily. Once she finished downing the liquid, she asked her, “How long was I out?”

“Three days,” Redheart replied, returning to the wound with a damp cloth, “give or take a couple of hours.” She then dabbed the wound with the cloth, soaking up dried blood. Once the blood was removed, Dash could clearly see that the wound had healed up nicely. Although there was still a cut, it had stopped leaking blood, leaving only a nasty scab.

“How bad was it?” Dash asked, flexing her leg a tad bit, no longer feeling the sharp pain.

Nurse Redheart sighed, pulling up a chair to her side, before replying, “You got incredibly lucky. The sword had almost hit the main artery in your leg. If it did, you would have surely died.” Dash shuddered a tad bit, not realizing how incredibly close she had gotten to dying. Redheart then continued, “Even then, where you did get hit caused enough damage. By the time you got here, you already had lost a ton of blood. To be honest, under normal circumstances, you probably would have died either way.” Dash looked at the nurse with a mix of relief and fear, further amplifying her feeling of narrowly avoiding death. However, what the nurse said next made her heart flutter a bit.

“However, whatever that… human put into you, it managed to keep you alive long enough for us to heal you. Also, whatever he gave you seemed to have combined with our magic and it is healing you at a much faster pace than normal. With that, you are doing far better than what we have projected, and you should be able to leave in two weeks.” Redheart then redressed her now clean wound with some brand-new cloth. “Do you think you can walk?” Redhead asked her, standing up from the chair. Rainbow tested her leg, swinging it over to the cold floor. She applied pressure to it, anticipating the pain to appear in her leg, just as it had earlier. However, the only thing that she felt was a strange numbness in her leg.

“Yeah. I think I can,” Rainbow replied, fully standing up with the support of her wings. She was then thrown a hospital gown by the Nurse, who was giving her an embarrassed look. Confused, Rainbow looked down at herself and noticed that she was practically naked.

“Put some clothes on before you go out, ok? Your friends will be waiting for you,” Redheart said, before exiting the room leaving Rainbow Dash to change in peace.

Rainbow Dash was about to put on the gown, when she felt something bump against her chest. Looking down, she saw a strange necklace hanging from her neck. Curious, she removed it from her neck and took a good long look at it. The necklace was very simple in design, with chainmail holding the entire thing together. However, at what she assumed to be the bottom of the necklace, was the letters “J” and “L”. Suddenly, another memory rushed into her head, bringing her back to that day.

Rainbow Dash was close to death. She had loss all sense of feeling. She couldn’t see, talk, or feel. Hell, she was barely able to breath. She was enclosed in darkness, trapped within her own mind. She wasn’t exactly sure how close she was to the threshold of death, but she knew that she probably didn’t have that much time left. Being in this place felt like she was gliding through water. Soon, she began to see a light slowly approach her, beginning to engulf her entire vision. Her breathing slowed down, as she prepared to take her final breath...

"MEDIC!"

A loud voice boomed into the darkness, as Rainbow Dash eyes opened sharply with surprise. She felt a very sharp pain in her leg, and she cried out in pain. Her eyes fluttered back open, revealing that she had somehow ended up at the castle. Looking down at her leg, she noticed that it was hastily wrapped in a white cloth, which began to soak up with blood. Her tired eyes looked up at the human. His eyes were filled with relief, with a slight tint of fear.

At that very moment, something changed inside of her. The pain from her leg disappeared once again, as her heart throbbed harder inside of her chest. As she stared up into his eyes, she knew that she didn't want to leave him. She was tired, sure, but she finally had a reason to keep up the fight. She had to keep fighting... for him. She lightly gripped his shirt, and brought his head down where he could hear her. She looked up at him and croaked out in a weak voice, "Help me."

The creature took a moment to fully process what she had said, before his eyes widened and he shouted, "MEDIC!" As he directed some doctors over to them, Rainbow reached under her battered uniform and pulled out her Element of Harmony. Seeing his breast pocket, she slipped the pendant into the small pocket. The human looked at her, seemingly not noticing what she had done. As the medical team approached them, the human pulled out a small necklace that was hidden underneath his uniform. He seemed to pause and look at it, but then he reached down and placed it in the palm of her hand.

As she was placed onto the stretcher, her eyes widened with surprise. As the doctors carried her off to the medical ward, she smiled softly and brought the necklace close to her chest.

Closer to her beating heart.

Rainbow Dash twirled the necklace in her hand, fully realizing how she had gotten it. "But why?" she asked herself, "Why did he give me this? She had given him her necklace as a sign of trust and compassion. Perhaps that's what he meant by it. Giving off a dreamy sigh, Rainbow slipped the necklace around her neck. She shivered a tad bit as the cold metal touched her fur. Slipping on the hospital gown, she took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

She could only hope, that her savior was safe as well.

Chapter Seven: Death's Door

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

Chapter Eight: The Road Ahead

One Month Later…

The sun shone brightly through the curtains, illuminating the hospital room that housed its lone occupant. John laid there on the bed, unresponsive to the outside world, but still alive. Nurse Redheart walked around the room, checking over his limp body and taking his pulse every fifteen minutes. Sighing to herself, she gave a long look at him. Although the Princesses revival had been successful, the human, who Redheart learned was named John, had still not woken up from his coma.

Redheart frowned at that thought. It had been nearly a month since the Battle for Canterlot, and most of the wounded soldiers had already recovered, including Rainbow Dash. When she had learned that John had still not recovered yet, she had done everything in her power to help him in any way. She would clean him, change his bedsheets when they had moved him, and she would stay up very late, carefully watching over him. However, they all knew that it could not last forever. When the Princess ordered them to go home, Rainbow had practically begged to stay with John. When the Princess politely denied, she flew over to the hospital and demanded to see John. Redheart remembered the pure look of determination as Rainbow told her that, if she couldn’t see him, then she would force their hand by fighting them. Redheart almost had to call a guard, but then she saw Rainbow’s face soften from one of rage, to one of sadness with a tint of fear. Finally, the two of them agreed that she could have an hour to see him.

And what an hour it was.

For the entire time, Rainbow had been by his bed, talking to him about anything she could think of. She talked to him about herself, mainly her involvement with the Elements and her role within the Wonderblots. She talked about the reconstruction of Canterlot and how the entire city was in his debt for what he had done. She then spoke about Ponyville and that she would like it if he came with her home. She told him of all of the neat things that they could do together. She spoke about her friends, and how she was glad that they were all together again.

Yet, by far the most interesting moment of the hour was the last five minutes.

In those five minutes, Redheart experienced a complete shift in Rainbow Dash’s attitude. As the visit went on, she noticed that Rainbow’s voice became more panicked and scared. It all came to a head when she was talking about how rainbows were made. She was talking like she normally does when she suddenly stopped speaking. Redheart had raised her head from her clipboard, wondering what had happened. She then witnessed something that she never saw Rainbow do before. Rainbow looked at the man, tears finally welling up in her eyes, when she finally let the floodgates loose. She buried her head deep in his chest and began to bawl. She begged him to wake up, to come back to her. She expressed how scared she was that he would never wake up again. Redheart, witnessing the display, almost had to call in some staff to remove her from him, but out of fear, she decided against it.

Yet, despite all of that, the last couple of minutes showed Redheart a side of Rainbow Dash that she had never seen before. She remembered that moment well.

“Y-You’ll be okay though,” Rainbow choked out, a faint smile forming on her muzzle,” I know that you will! You are to awesome to die from that.” She removed her head from his chest, bringing her face up to his head, staring at his closed eyes. “W-When you get to Ponyville, I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll help you with whatever you want.” She brought her face even closer to his, close enough where her breath washed over his face. “All that I ask,” she whispered as she brought her lips towards his, “is that you’ll stay with me.” With that, she closed the distance and connected their lips. The kiss was not filled with erotic passion, but was filled with love and emotion.

And with that, her time was up.

That kiss had caught Redheart off guard. Thinking back to all of the times she had treated her, she always remembered how she pushed away hugs (except when it was from Pinkie Pie, mainly because that was impossible to do) due to not being “sappy”. But now, as she glanced at the unconscious man, she began to believe that she was not telling the truth. After all, a mare only behaves like Rainbow did when they are in love. “Whoever this man is,” Redheart thought, “he must mean everything to Rainbow.” However, as she pondered these thoughts, she failed to notice the man’s eyes open

His eyes opened, before quickly shutting them due to the blinding light. He felt like he had just woken up in his tent somewhere in Czechoslovakia. He groaned, a sudden migraine piercing his head. Opening his eyes for the second time, he surveyed the room. For starters, he definitely was not on Tenth Street anymore. He laid on a comfy bed, the first bed that he had laid down on for months. He was in a white room with cabinets and jars laid across the counter, filled to the brim with cotton balls, popsicle sticks, and other medical equipment. He looked over to the window, only to be greeted with blue skies and white puffy clouds.

Turning his attention to the center of the room, he noticed another pony pacing about the room. She had white fur and wore a tight hospital uniform. The red cross on her hat seemed to suggest that he was in some kind of medical center. She appeared to be distracted at the moment, constantly looking down at the floor as she mumbled things under her breath. Suddenly, another bolt of pain from his migraine made him groan in pain, grabbing the mare’s attention.

“Oh, sweet Celestia! You’re awake!” the white mare exclaimed, rushing over to the table to grab her stethoscope, and returning quickly to John’s bed.

“I wish I wasn’t,” John whispered to himself, earning a slight chuckle from him before putting a hand on his forehead as another ripple of pain shot through him.

“How are you feeling?” the white mare asked, bringing the stethoscope to his chest.

“Ugh, like I just got nicked by a bullet. God, this headache is killing me.” John replied, rubbing his forehead with his left hand.

“Well,” the white mare responded, listening closely to his heart, “a coma will do that to you.”

“Wait,” John pondered, gaining a look from the mare, “a coma?” She nodded his head while John’s gears in his brain began to work again. “How long was I out for?”

“Well…” the mare began, while removing the stethoscope from his chest, “I don’t know how I should tell you this but… you’ve been out for a month.”

That sudden bombshell temporarily lifted the fog from his migraine, allowing his brain to work at maximum capacity. “ONE MONTH?!” John shouted, looking around the room before spotting the window. Despite the mare’s protests, John jumped out of the bed, and rushed over to the window. Throwing open the rest of the curtains, he was greeted with a surprising sight.

The city of Canterlot stood before him, but not in the way he had remembered it. Smoke no longer rose out of collapsed buildings. Magic bolts no longer flew across the sky. Buildings looked repaired and reinforced, no doubt to prevent another attack. The Equestrian flag flew proudly on top of government buildings. The Royal Castle loomed over the city in the distance, appearing to be undergoing repairs.

John looked back at the white mare, and angry look plastered on her face. “Heh, all these nurses are the same,” John thought to himself, remembering his experiences with nurses in the past. “Where exactly am I?” John asked her.

“Well, you are in the Royal Guard Recovery Ward right now, located on the east side of Canterlot. I am Nurse Redheart, and will you please get back to the bed. You need to rest.” Redheart then grabbed him by the hand and led him back to the bed.

“Ugh, fine. But can you get me some aspirin? I’ve got a killer headache,” John replied, sitting down on the surprisingly comfy bed.

“Well,” Redheart began, walking to a cabinet and opening it, “I have no idea what aspirin is, but I do have some stuff that can help with that headache of yours. Give me a moment to fetch it.” She then walked out of the room, disappearing in the halls of the hospital.

John let out a sigh, letting all the tension that occurred over the past couple of weeks to fully register in his brain. Bringing up his hands to his head, he began to rub his throbbing head. As he rubbed, he could not help but think of the war back in Europe, and everything that he had seen. Images flashed inside of his head, showing decomposing bodies, skinny men, dismembered limbs laying in the streets, and bullets flying through the black sky, mowing down his fellow brothers. A single tear streamed down his face.

“It’s over now,” John thought to himself as he rubbed his head, “but could I have done a better job? Could I have saved more people?” John faintly heard the nurse re-enter the room, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, the images of the war became more intensified, showing all of those that he had failed to save. His brothers… his friends… More tears flowed from his eyes, as he remembered that body of that boy that he saw in Czechoslovakia.

“…Sir? Is everything alright?” Redheart asked, looking at John with concern. When she had reentered the room, she noticed John covering his face, hearing him mumble something to himself. He looked up at her, and she noticed the stains of tears cover his head.

Rubbing his eyes, John quickly looked away before saying, “Yeah… I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Redheart asked him, slowly walking towards him, “If you need something then let me-“

“I SAID I’M FINE,” John suddenly shouted, causing Redheart to jump back a bit. John’s eyes suddenly changed from one filled with remorse to one filled with rage and anger in an instant. In fact, it was so sudden, she thought that he would attack her. His breathing became heavy, as he tried to control his emotions. A single tear shed from his eye, softly falling from his freshly scarred cheek.

A couple minutes passed where all they did was just look at each other. Redheart knew that something was clearly wrong with him, but whatever it was, he clearly did not want help. Whatever he had seen, whatever he had done, he had closed it off inside his mind. “Poor soul. He must be terrified.” Redheart thought to herself as she stared at him. She broke the silence when she said, “Well… if you need anything, just let me know.” She then turned around, placed the pills on the counter, and exited the room, leaving John to his lonesome.

John sighed as he brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his sorrow filled eyes. “ I should not have snapped at her like that.” John thought to himself, wiping off the tear streaks from his face. Standing up, he noticed that he felt considerably weaker than normal. Looking down at his legs, he noticed bandages wrapped tightly around his right side. “Damn,” he thought to himself as he looked at the white bandages, “I must have been hit harder then I thought.”

Looking at the door, John strode over to it; carefully not putting any pressure on one leg. Reaching for the knob, he slowly opened the door and peered off into the hallway. Looking back at the table, John saw the rations left on the table. “Yeah, there is no way in hell that I am eating that,” John whispered to himself as he slipped out into the empty halls, working his way towards his primary target; the kitchen.

Chapter Nine: Reunting

"So, how have you been doing?" Iron Will asked his college in front of him.

Lieutenant Clear Sky, who was slowly sipping her coffee, looked up at him and gave Iron Will a smirk. "I've been doing alright Will, how about you?"

" I could say the exact same thing," Iron Will replied. The two of them had been in Canterlot for nearly a month after The Battle For Canterlot. It had been a long and grueling month, but in the end, it was worth it. Thanks to the nonstop work that the soldiers of the Solar and Lunar Army's went through, Canterlot was rebuilt faster than what anypony had expected. In fact, it was so quick, that by the second week of reconstruction, most of the citizens of the damaged city had managed to start opening businesses again, bringing vital jobs back into the stagnating economy. In fact, the majority of families had already moved back into their homes by the first week of rebuilding, since the residential areas where the least damaged and the first to be rebuilt.

To be entirely honest with himself, after the dust had settled, he found himself in a very good position to be in. For starters, he had met Clear Sky when they were both assigned to find John after the initial battle. He still remembered the look of horror on her face when they saw his broken body in the streets. The two of them quickly carried his battered body to the medical ward. The two of them oversaw the initial operation, but they eventually decided to just let the doctors work.

After leaving the room, they received a special assignment from Princess Luna, who ordered them to wait for John to wake up. Once he was recovered, they were to bring him to the castle to catch him up to speed on what he had missed. However, after nearly a month of waiting, the two of them had a lot of time on their hands. Over time, they made this trip to the Café a weekly thing, mostly just cracking jokes to one another or how they were doing. Nevertheless, it has been a blast for the both of them.

Clear Sky looked off to the distance, here mind seemingly weighing on some heavy topic. Noticing this, Iron Will asked her, "Miss Clear Sky, are you alright?"

She blushed lightly when she heard him say "Miss", as she quickly brought her thoughts back to the stallion at the table. She gave him a soft smile and said, "Iron, we've worked together for nearly a month. You can just call me Sky." She turned her eyes back towards the direction of the hospital as she continued, " I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"Oh?" Iron questioned, leaning in slightly into the table, "What do you have on your mind?"

She gave him a long sideways glance, as she quietly whispered to him, "I'm worried about John."

Will gave his own sigh and responded, "Sky, we have talked about this."

"I know ok!" Sky shouted back, causing most of the ponies in the establishment to focus on them, wondering what was about to happen. She suddenly realized how loud she just shouted that, so she quickly sat back down and said, "Sorry." Once the rest of the patrons had gotten beck to their beverages, Sky continued with her response, " I know what you told me, but I cant help it! It's been nearly a month and he still has not waken up yet." She looked down at the floor, a look of sadness clouded her face as she finished, " Will... what if he never wakes up."

Suddenly, Iron Will understood what had his friend so worried. He brought his hands over hers and grasped them tightly as he comforted her. " Look, I understand why you are so worried, and to be perfectly honest, I am worried too. Yet, we can't loose hope. Sure, he may not be awake right now, but at least he is alive. He never gave up on us on the battlefield, so we can't give up on him now."

Clear Sky looked at Iron Will, a look of shock and awe plastered on her face. She then began to smile and let out a small chuckle. "You know, that has to be one of the most mature things that I have ever heard anypony say to me." She looked into Will's confused eyes, which urged her to continue. "Heh, thanks for that. I think I needed to hear that," Sky spoke, a small blush adorning her grinning face.

Another blush grew on Wills face as he stuttered, "T-Thanks."

The two of them stared into each others eyes, there faces slowly growing closer and closer to each other. The blushes on their faces grew brighter and brighter the closer they got. Their lips were merely a few inches away from each other. They both knew that it was only a matter of time until the-

"LIEUTENANTS!"

A soldier burst into the small café, causing both soldiers to yelp and move away from their suggestive position. Iron Will, being startled by the soldier, angerly replied, "This better be important soldier! Me and the Lieutenant were in the middle of something." Clear Sky blushed as she remembered a few moments ago and slowly brought a hand up to her lips, wondering what would have happened if the messenger hadn't suddenly appeared.

"I assure you sir," the soldier began, handing Will a letter, "it is of the upmost importance."

As the soldier turned around to leave, Will tore open the letter and began to read it in silence. As he read, his eyes became wider and wider as a smile grew on his face. Clear Sky looked at him with curiosity and asked him, "What is it?"

Iron Will turned a look at Sky, with a bright smile plastered on his face, and responded, " I don't think you have to worry anymore Sky."

Royal Guard Recovery Ward
East Canterlot
10:53 A.M

John took a large bite out of a delicious donut, feeling the sweet frosting flow down his throat. Although the donut was only a simple vanilla one, to John, it felt like heaven. As he ate, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the other young nurses, including Redheart, watch him with blushes on their faces. "Nurses never change," John thought as he chuckled to himself. He grabbed the large glass of milk next to his plate and downed it in three satisfying gulps, washing the rest of the donut down with it.

An elderly lady, who was in charge of the meals for the Ward's occupants, chuckled as she saw John devour his donut. "Be careful eating that fast honey, you don't want to get yourself sick," the elder mare softly warned, watching as John let out a small sigh.

"Trust me mam," John began, wiping off the remaining frosting off of his face, " with how hungry I am right now, I don't think it's even possible for me to get sick."

The old mare chuckled a bit at his response, which warmed John's heart. It had been such a long time since he has seen anyone laugh. It felt good to see that again. Taking another, albeit smaller, bite from another donut, John observed the room and noticed the lack of other patients. "Damn," John thought as he looked around the room,"either not that many ponies got hurt, or their magic stuff is a lot more effective than I thought."

As he sat there, munching on his donut, he failed to hear the stomping of boots rapidly approach him. Suddenly, he was thrusted against the back of his chair as a white pegasus crashed into him. John was shocked, and for a moment, he began to try to throw her off him, thinking that she was an enemy, but before he could, the mare spoke, and he recognized her voice immediately.

"JOHN! You're awake!" Clear Sky exclaimed, a joyous look growing on her white muzzle.

"Lieutenant Clear Sky?" John asked, looking at the mare with relief.

"Yup, that's me!" she exclaimed, lifting her face to his. She quickly brought her hand to his hair, and proceeded to give him a noogie. "I'm glad that you didn't loose anything in there." He let out a laugh at her antics, quickly bringing up his own hands to combat hers. Hearing him laugh after so long soothed Sky's soul, and a huge wave of relief washed over her. "Thank Celestia he's alright." she thought, finally releasing his dark-blonde hair from her relentless attacks.

John eyes then looked behind her, to the double doors that she had emerged from. His silver eyes changed from a joyful look to a more curious one. "Hey," John began, doing a double take of the room around them, "where's Iron Will? I thought he'd be with you?"

Clear Sky finally removed herself from John's lap and stood up, stretching out her wings to their full extension. Looking back to those doors, she answered, "Yeah, he should be coming right about..." She then looked to the clock and waited five seconds until she finally finished, "now."

Immediately afterwards, seemingly on command, those double doors bursted open, revealing an exhausted stallion behind the doors. His black fur glistened with sweat, the salty liquid dropping to the hospital floor. His red eyes surveyed the room until they finally landed on Clear Sky, seeing her, he gave out a snort and said, "Cheater."

"Hey, it's not my fault that I can fly," Clear Sky rebutted, a tad bit of arrogance ringing through her voice.

"Yeah, but that still doesn't make it fair," Will muttered, recovering himself after his long run. After taking a couple deep breaths, he finally stood back up to his full height, and noticed the human sitting at the other end of the room. Suddenly, a large grin formed on his face as he gleefully greeted, "John!"

In response, John sat up and briskly walked towards him. Iron Will also walked to meet him, trying to make the same long strides that John was walking. When the two finally met, they both clasped their hands together for a strong handshake. "It's good to see you again Lieutenant," John greeted, his voice both professional and joyful at the same time.

"Likewise Sir," Iron Will replied, letting go of John's hand. He then moved his hand onto John's shoulder and, with a strong pat, asked, "How are you feeling? That wound must have hurt."

"Heh, you have absolutely no idea," John answered, chuckling softly. "I'm fine now, but when I woke up earlier, it felt like I had just finished crawling out from hell itself."

"Damn dude, I'm sorry to hear that." Will sympathized, changing his look to a more comforting and apologetic look.

However, instead of continuing the conversation, John instead looked at him with confusion. "Dude? What are you talking about? I'm not dressed up nicely at all," he asked, his right eyebrow raising slightly.

"What? No, I meant it in a way as another way to say 'fellow'," Will responded, giving John a confused look of his own.

The two both looked at each other like this for a while, until Clear Sky finally broke up the awkward conversation. "While it is nice to finally catch up with you again John, we are here for another reason," she said, brushing her black hair away from her eyes.

"Oh? And what would this mission be?" John asked, turning is silver gaze unto Clear Sky.

Deciding to explain it himself, Iron Will answered for her. "Yeah, we were ordered by Princess Luna to take you back to the castle once you had woken up."

John turned his gaze back to Iron Will, with a stone cold expression on his face. Will was actually worried that he might have done something wrong, but that all changed when John's expressionless face changed to a smirk. "Alrighty, just give me five minutes," he answered, and then sped off to the recovery rooms.

Clear Sky and Iron Will were confused as to why he sped off, but about four minutes later, they finally got there answer. The door was opened once again, revealing John in his army uniform. Although it had been damaged during the battle, it had been repaired within a week after the battle, which a mare by the name of Rarity persisted to do. In his right hand, was the green helmet that he had worn into battle all of those weeks ago. Sliding the helmet onto his head, John smiled at them and said, "Alright then troops, let's move out."

Author's Note

FINALLLY IT'S OUT!

This chapter took abnormally long to write, and I deeply apologize for that. I had to go through a lot during April, so I was not able to focus that much as I should have. Not to mention that I think I was suffering from a little bit of writers block.

However, I am glad that I finally got this chapter done. The next one should be a little bit easier to write, since school is winding down and I know what I want to do next for the part.

I also would like to thank all of you for supporting me and motivating me to get this done. Without all of you guys who have gave me support, I probably would have never got back to writing. I would specifically like to thank Donares, zar630, and Norwegian Boy. Go give them a follow.

One thing I would like to point out in this chapter is John's confusion with the word "Dude". I did some research and I found out that, from the 1870's to the 1960's, "Dude" referred to a person who was dressed up with extreme fashion. I thought that was interesting, so I decided to make it a throwaway line.

School should be done in about four weeks, so I should be able to crank out some more chapters soon.

Until then, keep surfing the web my friends.

-InternetStranger

Chapter Ten: Confrontation

The sun shone brightly upon the rebuilt city, as the entourage of two ponies and a man strode through the packed streets. The spring sun shone brightly upon them as they made their way to the looming castle. As the group walked, John stretched out his legs from his month long hiatus. "Note to self; when this all done, I need to get back to training," John thought to himself as he walked through the streets.

As they walked, John couldn't help but notice the ponies who where looking at him. If he had to judge by looks, he would assume that the majority of these ponies were the high class elites. Most of them looked at him with curiosity, some just ignored him, while a few actually gave him a smile. When they smiled at him, he made sure to give one right back at them, with the aim of easing concerns about his nature.

Eventually, the small group finally arrived at the front steps to the grand castle. As he stood their, John realized just how tall this castle was. The only thing that he knew that could possibly match its size was the Empire State Building, and even then, he knew that it probably was taller than that. As the group looked up to it, Clear Sky broke the silence, "Impressive, isn't it."

"Heh, you can say that again," John replied, gazing up at the building with awe, " I just never noticed how tall it really was during the battle."

"Well, being in a battle does do that to you," Iron Will pointed out, as he walked towards the front gate. He then appeared to be talking to the guard stationed at the gate. He then pointed towards him and Clear Sky, which the guard followed his hand with his own eyes. The moment his eyes landed on John, he quickly gave Iron Will a sharp salute and began to bark orders to the others. Finally, the mighty gates to the grand castle creaked open, allowing access to the small group.

"Come on John," Clear Sky ordered as she began to move towards the castle, "The Princess is waiting for us."

The inside of the castle was a lot more majestic than what John ever thought. The warm light of the sun blazed through the beautiful stained glass windows, depicting multiple events throughout Equestrian history. As the small entourage passed these windows, John took a moment to admire some of the works of art. However, before they entered the thrown room, the last window caught John's attention.

The window in front of him depicted an image of six ponies, five of them making the shape of an oval, while surrounding a single mare in the center. The mare in the center had a purple body color with a combination of pink, purple, and dark blue for her hair. Upon her head was a crown, bearing a large jewel in the shape of a star. Looking at the other ponies depicted, he noticed that they all had some kind of jewel over their heads. As his eyes traced the circle, he noticed that one of the ponies looked eerily familiar. The mare had a light blue color with rainbow hair. Above her was another jewel in the color of a lightning bolt.

Staring at it a little while longer, John realized that the mare in the window was the same one who he had saved a month ago. His eyes widened with shock as he finally began to put two and two together. "Whoever that mare was, she must be incredibly important," John thought as he looked at it in silence. Suddenly, he heard Clear Sky shout, "Come on John! We need to get to the throne room!" As he stepped back to join the others, he took a final look at the window before rushing to join the others.

When he finally caught up to Clear Sky and Iron Will, they were standing in front of a large door. Behind it was probably the throne room, since the great door was guarded by guards. Interestingly enough, John noticed that these soldiers were dressed up differently than the others. Instead of Iron Will's darker armor, these ponies dawned golden armor, which shimmered in the light from the windows. In the center of their breastplate was an image of a golden sun, which was clearly the opposite of the crescent moon on Iron Will's.

As soon as the guards saw the group, the stood at attention and gave us a sharp salute. Iron Will and Clear Sky puzzled over the reason why these soldiers were saluting them. Sure, they were a higher rank, but they were dressed in civilian outfits. However, when they looked back to John, they noticed that the soldiers weren't saluting them, but they were saluting John instead. John then saluted back to them, which signaled them to finally open the doors to the throne.

When the grand doors opened, it revealed a large room. This room had multiple windows lining the walls, with banners of a sun and moon covering each of them. At the end of this room was a marble platform bearing two thrones. One of these thrones was made of what appeared to be gold, with an image of a golden sun atop of it, the same one that was on the golden guards armor. The other one, which John assumed was Luna's throne, was very similar to the golden one, but it appeared to be made out of obsidian instead. Instead of a golden sun, this throne had a familiar crescent moon.

However, as John looked down the hallway, he noticed two figures standing at the end of it. One of these ponies John recognized was Captain Spitfire, who John remembered was the leader of the Wonderbolts. However, standing next to her, was a pony who filled John with unrestrained anger. This pony stared down at John, his eyes widened with surprise. His light grey fur began to gather sweat as he saw the enraged human. John let out a low growl as he shouted in a dark voice, " YOU!"

The soft clicks of shoes echoed through the hallway, as the two sisters walked side by side to the throne room. Their ethereal manes flowed through the air, flying against the untouchable wind. As the two of them walked, Celestia took a small glance at her sister. They had just received the news that the human, who Luna had called John, had just arrive at the castle and was prepared to meet him.

Celestia decided to wear a simple white dress, partially showing off her curves and body features. While most ponies would consider her choice as suggestive, this was simply what Celestia chose for a semi-formal outfit. However, she noticed that her sister was wearing a more interesting outfit than her. Luna wore a dark blue dress with thigh cuts that went all the way to the bottom of her panties. The dress itself was even more impressive, having a design of constellations embedded within the soft fabric. Luna had her mane neatly combed, it's silky appearance revealing the painstaking work that must have been used. However, what caught Celestia's attention was what she had on her face.

"Luna," Celestia began, getting her sisters attention, "are you wearing makeup?"

Luna looked back at her sister and responded, "Indeed I am sister."

As Celestia looked closer however, she noticed a tint of light blue on her sisters lips. Quickly stopping her sister, Celestia continued, "Sister! You're wearing lipstick?!"

Luna blushed lightly as she answered her sister, "Yes..."

Celestia's smile changed from an excited one, to a more knowing one. "Luna, let me guess. You are trying to impress that human."

Luna quicky became flabbergasted as she quickly stuttered, " I-I am not!"

"Oh I'm so proud of you little sister!" Celestia teasingly responded, wrapping her sister into a tight hug.

Luna just stood there in the embrace before mumbling , "Thanks."

Celestia let her sister go, and the two of them continued their walk to the throne room. However, as they approached the room, they began to hear strange noises coming from the chamber. As they got closer, the voices became louder and more violent. As she pushed open the door, Celestia asked, "What's happening in there."

When she opened the door, she was able to see the human deliver a mean right hook on Soarin's face. Her eyes widened with surprise as the Pegasus stumbled away from the human. Luna quickly appeared behind her sister and let out a small gasp. The human quickly strode up the the fallen pegasus and pulled out his pistol as he shouted, " I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU BASTARD!"

Luna quickly shouted, "John! Stop this!"

However, John appeared to be blinded by his anger and rage as he cocked his pistol and pointed it directly at the fallen pony. Luna tried to run up to him, but as she approached, she looked at his eyes. Behind the veil of anger was a soul filled with pain and sadness. She slowed down her sprint to a halt, as she soon realized exactly what had happened. However, Spitfire then rushed up in front of Soarin and pleaded, " John, calm down! What did Soarin do to deserve this!?"

At the mere mention of Soarin potentially being innocent, John somehow became even angrier. "What did he do? WHAT DID HE DO?! ARE YOU THAT BLIND?!" John shouted, suddenly kicking Spitfire to the side as he pushed his gun closer to Soarin's head.

Celestia ran up beside her sister, quickly shouting to her, " Come on sister! We have to stop him!"

However, Luna quickly brought up her arm, signaling Celestia to stop. "Wait," she whispered, "we'll see what he has to say before we act."

John's hand began to shake as he shouted at Soarin. "THIS BASTERED ABANDONED US! HE PUT OUR ENTIRE OPERATION INTO JEPRODY!"

Spitfire, who had recovered from the sharp kick on her side, asked him, "John, what are you talking about? We were ordered by Celestia to help her."

Celestia cocked her eyebrow, as she tried to recall ever sending a letter for help. " I never sent any message like that," she spoke, causing all of the eyes in the room to widen, with the exception of John.

Spitfire was about to ask what Celestia was talking about, but then Clear Sky suddenly spoke, "It's true Captain. Princess Celestia never asked for our help."

Spitfire's eyes somehow widened even further, looking at Soarin with shock, "Then, what was in that letter?"

Clear Sky quickly dug into her saddlebag and pulled out the orders from that battle. She ran over to Spitfire and gave it to her. "This is what it actually said Captain. We were ordered to help them in their battle."

Before Spitfire could ask another question, John suddenly bent down and grabbed Soarin by the neck. He lifted the surprised pegasus up and pinned him against the wall. Holding the pistol directly against his head, John somehow shouted even louder, "WHY! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED." However, everypony in the room quickly noticed that tears had begun to fall from John's eyes as he continued, "IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO LAUNCH THAT ATTACK." After he said that, he gently lowered the pegasus to the ground as his voice became quieter and more mournful. He then suddenly let him go as he finally said, "If it wasn't for you, nobody would have died."

After this, he fell unto both knees and began to weep, his tears streaming down his mournful face.

Author's Note

Finally, we got a confrontation!

We finally are able to see one of the main points of this story with John's reaction. I'll let you discern about what his arch will be, but the only thing that I'll say about it is; victory comes at a price.

Chapter Eleven: Now What?

Author's Note

Finally!

Let me tell you guys, I have worked on this chapter for wayyyy to long. I know that a lot of you have been waiting for a new chapter to come out, and I'm just as excited to finally move on to the next part of the story. More importantly though, I think I'm starting to get my grove back, so hopefully more chapters will come out more often.

Finally, I realized a new story! I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes this story, since it's super similar to this one. I'll also be working on that story as well, but I'll try not to leave this one in the dust.

I wish you all a happy Veterans Day!

-InternetStranger

Chapter Eleven: Now What?

The room stood in shocked silence as the seemingly invincible man broke down into tears before them. His tears plummeted from his downcast face, falling like the bullets that he fires from his rifle. As those tears splattered against the cold marble floor, Celestia felt her heart move with pity. It had been such a long time since she had seen one of her military's larders weep over casualties. In fact, the last time she saw this was during the war against Sombra, where they had experienced some of the highest casualty rates in Equestrian history.

As Celestia watched, Luna finally moved from her spot and rushed over to the morning soldier. Wrapping her arms around him, she unfurled her majestic wings and wrapped them around him and began to comfort the man who she considered to be her friend. "Shh... it's ok, I'm here for you. I'm here." John pressed his head into her shoulder, weeping into her silky dress.

Spitfire stood in silence for a few brief moments, trying to process everything that had just happened. Her mind went from one of sympathy to a mind filled with rage towards the one she deemed responsible. Looking at Soarin with focused eyes, she began her quick march over to where he was standing, who was quietly trying to make himself unnoticed. "What the hell was THAT all about!" she shouted at him as she accusingly pointed her finger at him.

"S-Spits', I assure you that this all over not-"

"Over nothing?! OVER NOTHING?!" Spitfire quickly countered, her rage quickly building towards the stallion that she had once trusted, "Do you understand that, because of YOUR decision, we lost good ponies in the line of duty? If you had just stayed PUT, then not that many ponies would have died!

Soarin quickly tried to respond, "Spits', you've got to understand, I didn't know that the Changelings were coming!"

"Yet," Spitfire angerly countered, "my point still stands."

Soarin tried to say something, but he came up with nothing. Spitfire sighed with frustration and said, "You know what? I'm done with this. While this is getting looked into, you are put on a indefinite leave!" Soarin's eyes widened as she continued, "Despite what you may have thought, you still had orders, and I am incredibly disappointed that you didn't follow them." After she finished, Spitfire turned around, signaling that her decision was final.

As his eyes began to burn with anger, Soarin quickly turned around and stormed off in a huff.

John felt his tears smear against Luna's dress as he wept over those ponies who had fallen under his command, even though he knew them for such a short time. He couldn't help but think about not only the ponies, but all of his men that had died under his command. He didn't even know what to think about it any more. He knew that most of the blame landed on that bastard, Soarin. Yet, he couldn't help but have a deep sense of regret over what had happened. "I should have brought a larger force," John thought as he continued to morn, "If I had brought thirty more troops, we would have crushed them."

After a while, his tears finally dried and he began to take deeper breaths. He began to slowly regain his posture, and he looked up at Luna's face. He didn't see the face of a princess, or a war leader. Instead, he saw someone who genuinely cared about him. Finally deciding to take initiative, John broke the embrace and said, "I'm sorry you had to see that your majesty."

Celestia quickly reassured, "No, it's quite alright. It's a perfectly natural response."

Luna, seeing what he was thinking, quickly added, "This wasn't your fault John. It never was."

Smiling, John said, "Thank you princess.. it's just that I wish I brought more ponies."

Celestia, walking towards the human, replied, "You couldn't have possible known how it could have gone. Besides, if you had the Wonderbolts, then everything would have been fine."

As she brought up the Wonderbolts, John began to feel anger return to his body. "I've got to keep it cool," John thought as he slowly got back up, "I'm representing the human race here. I can't make them believe that we are a race filled with hatred." John calmly turned to Celestia and asked, "Where's Soarin? That bastard needs to stand trail for what he has done."

"I sent him on a indefinite leave, and we'll launch an investigation into what happened," Spitfire said, joining the small little group. Placing her hand on John's, she asked, "Are you going to be ok?"

He sighed and replied, "Yeah, I think so." However, as he said that, something started to bug him. Looking back to the letter that was in Clear Sky's hand, a worrying question popped in his head. "Wait a second," he stated, as he slowly looked up at Clear Sky, "Why do you still have that letter?"

Clear Sky looked confused and said, "What do you mean?"

John simply looked at her for a couple of seconds until he said, "Are you telling me that, with something as important as that, you've never turned it in?"

"Well," Iron Will explained, " we've been so busy with rebuilding Canterlot, we kind of forgot about it."

John gave the two of them a blank stare before covering his face and letting out a groan. "Idiots," John thought, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Soarin was pissed off.

As he stormed away from the castle, his mind raced with how badly everything had gone. Storming into an empty alleyway, he violently halted in his tracks. Letting out an angry scream, he slammed his fist into a nearby dumpster, generating a loud 'Thunk'. He pounded his fist into the container, shouting at the top of his lungs, " DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!" With the final clang, his hand finally started to show signs of damage, revealing little streaks of blood on his hand. Letting out a frustrated groan, he leaned against the wall as his mind was finally able to comprehend what had just happened.

His first thought had drifted to that damn letter. He frowned even harder, as he finally realized how that mare got her hands on it. " I should have held on to that letter, or at the very least destroyed it," he thought to himself as he slowly nursed his wounded hand. Looking back up towards the castle, Soarin felt a growing rage against those inside of it. If it wasn't for that stupid Clear Sky, then his plan would have worked perfectly. He would have been able to get that stupid human out of his way and have no competition with Rainbow Dash, and nopony would ever know.

Alas, here he was, grumbling to himself about what could have- nay, what should have been his moment of victory. Getting off of the wall, he clutched his bleeding hand tightly, as he began to make his way back to his penthouse in Canterlot. As he walks though the streets, he immediately begins to scheme. Once word gets out of his unexpected absence from Wonderbolt events, the press will immediately be on his ass. As he neared the penthouse, he concluded that the best option, for right now, is damage control. Hopefully he'll be able to keep things under control until that stupid investigation happens, but he'll cross that bridge later.

For now, he has to wait for another opportunity to get his revenge.

John ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh of disappointment. After the revelation about the letter, the two princesses escorted John to a more private location. This time, the small group was inside a small study, with a small fire in the fireplace. It brought an orange tint into the room, which washed over the group of three. John then grumbled, "I still can't believe that your communication lines are that bad."

Luna slowly nodded her head as she responded, "I will not deny that, but do keep in mind that the Equestrian army has not been used since..." Luna's face then grew very solemn as she had trouble finishing that sentence.

However, Celestia then interjected and finished, " the Equestrian Civil War."

John raised an eyebrow as he then pressed, "How long ago was this?"

Celestia let out a sad sigh as she answered, "It's a moment in our history that we are not proud of, but to answer your question; it has been about 1,000 years since it happened."

John's eyes widened as he let out a low whistle, trying to take in this new piece of information. "Sheesh, that's quite a long time ago." However his mind quickly screeched to a halt as the meaning of that sank in. "Wait, if that was 1,000 years ago... and you two act like you went through it..." John wondered as he looked at the Princesses, "...How old are you?"

The sisters looked at each other and, seeing an opportunity to talk about herself, Luna answered, "Well, I'm about 2,000 years old, but Celestia here is a little bit older, more like 3,200. Is that right sister?"

Celsetia grabbed her tea cup sitting nearby and brought it to her lips, taking a light sip of the calming liquid. Holding the cup up with her pinkie, she answered, "Something like that. Luna has a better memory then what I have, and it's been such a long time, but I do think that's correct."

John quickly laid down on the couch and let out a loud groan, mumbling "This is starting to hurt my head."

Celesta chuckled as she countered, "Then why are you asking it?"

John wanted to argue, but he didn't really feel like getting into a debate right now. He quickly sat back up and said, "Let's change the subject! Why did you want to see me your majesty?"

Celestia set down her teacup as she responded, " Yes, I suppose we have been delayed long enough. As you know, your actions from over a month ago have not gone unnoticed. Luna told me about what you did, and I'll say, you've certainly made your mark on Equestria, well done."

John blushed at the complement, before responding, " Thank you Princess, but I was just doing my duty as a soldier. I didn't do it for the glory."

Luna smiled at his answer before joining in on the conversation. "Indeed, both of us can tell that you didn't do it for honor. Unlike so many others in Equestria's military, you were one of the few to not only command your troops successfully, but also lead them into battle. You went above the call of duty that day, and for that, you are deemed a hero to our ponies."

However, John's face grew solemn, as he sadly spoke, " I'm no hero Luna. The real hero's are the ponies who died that day. They should be the ones honored and remembered."

Celestia smiled like a mother who was proud of her son, before responding, " You're humility is admirable John, don't forget that. However, we would still like to reward you for your efforts."

He sat there for a bit, the soft crackles of the fireplace filling the empty room. John then nodded and said, "Alright, I accept your reward."

Celestia nodded and said, "Thank you John, you will not regret this."

John smiled at her and nodded his head. His started to ponder what his reward could be. "Mabey I'm getting knighted? Could it be a special unit? Or maybe it's some kind of medal?" he though to himself, as more wonderous thoughts flowed into his head. However, he noticed that Luna and Celestia were still watching him, as if they were going to say something. John decided to break the silence by asking, " Is there something else Princess's?"

The two sisters looked at each other and, after having what John assumed was a silent conversation, nodded their heads together. Celestia looked at him and said, "We have another task for you if you want it."

John leaned forward in his seat, placing both hands firmly on his lap before saying, "I'm listening."

Luna straightened herself and explained, " You see, although we were able to ward off the Changelings, we don't exactly know where they went. We fear that the next time that they attack, they'll strike us somewhere where it hurts. Now, after much deliberation, me and my sister decided that, if they were to attack again, they'd attack at a town called 'Ponyville'. "

"Ponyville..." John thought to himself as he listened, "Wasn't that place on that map when I first got here?"

"The problem is that we don't know when they'll attack," Celestia said, adding some more information, " While Ponyville is the home to the Elements of Harmony, they may not be able to stop an all out assault on their own."

Luna added, " Ponyville does have it's own royal guard, since one of the Element's is a Princess, but it is extremely ill-equipped and un-trained compared to the Solar and Lunar Guard."

"And that's where you come in," Celestia proposed. " We're asking you to go down to Ponyville and help train those guards, while keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity." Celestia looked at John, who rubbed his hand over his chin as if he was in deep thought. Celestia quickly added, "You don't have to if you don't want to, it's just a request. If you refuse, we can always set up-"

"I'll do it," John confirmed, interrupting Celestia. "It's evident that your military is ill-equipped for another attack. If the Ponyville guard is as un-trained as you say, then there is no way they'll be able to halt any attacks. Thankfully, I do have some experience with training troops, so I'll know what to do. Besides, it'll be good to explore Equestria a bit."

"Splendid!" Luna said as she stood up, which caused her beautiful dress to flow across her body.

John and Celestia stood up as well, as John asked, "When do I ship out?"

Celestia responded, " We would like you to get going as soon as you can. We have your gear at the Lunar Guard's barracks, head on over there to get your stuff."

John nodded and began to move towards the exit. However, he quickly stopped himself a few paces away from the royal sisters. He then did an about face, stood at attention, and gave the two of them a sharp salute. The two sisters saluted him back as John turned back around and headed through the exit, preparing himself for whatever Equestria would throw at him.

Chapter Eleven 1/2: A Band of Brothers

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

Chapter Twelve: A New Day

Two Days Later...
Ponyville, Equestria
10:23 A.M

The sky above Ponyville was a bright blue, the crisp wind pushing along white puffy clouds. A passing cloud moved through the perfect sky, before being instantly dissipated by a passing bolt of a rainbow blur. This bolt flew through the sky, demolishing any cloud that stood in its way. Within a blink of an eye, all of the clouds were vanquished, leaving the rainbow bolt to suddenly disappear, revealing a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane.

Rainbow Dash looked behind her to view her handiwork. With not a single cloud left in the sky, she smirked to herself thinking, "Heh, I still got it." After the fight in Canterlot, once she had fully recovered, Captain Spitfire had sent her back to Ponyville so she could fully recover. Rainbow used this as an opportunity to not only continue training but also to kick back a little bit with her friends. After all, she knew damn well that they were what she needed right now.

Pleased with her work, she spread her majestic cyan wings and flew off, lazily gliding over the waking town below her. Between the Wonderbolt's most recent performance and the attack on Canterlot, she wasn't around that much back home. "I should go check up on Fluttershy, Rainbow thought as she drifted closer towards the outskirts of town, "I wonder if she has any news about that human?" She looked down at her neck, revealing a necklace that had the letters 'J' and 'L' imprinted on it. Grabbing the necklace with her hand, she let out a sad sigh.

It had been so long since she had heard anything about his condition. From what she was told, he was still in that damn coma, but he was otherwise healthy. Ever since she woke up from her own stupor, she had that moment where he saved her replay inside her mind over and over again. "Why did he do it?" she wondered as Fluttershy's house came into view. While there was no doubt that he saved her because she was hurt, she still felt another hidden motive. Recently, as she thought about what had happened, her thoughts gravitated towards his silver eyes. If he only did it because he had to, then why were those eyes filled with such care and fear, as if nothing else mattered to him except her safety?

Landing on the cottage steps, she pushed off her thoughts into the back of her head. Walking forward, she knocked on the door to signal her presence. After a brief moment, she heard a tiny, "Coming!" as the door finally opened, revealing a yellow pegasus. Unlike her friend, Fluttershy was the definition, besides Rarity, of femininity. Her body was well kept, with her light pink mane combed to near perfection. She wore a simple dress with images of flowers on it, which hid her perfect hourglass frame. Out of all of her friends, Fluttershy definitely had the best bust out of all of them, which was barely held back by her frilly dress.

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow and softly said, " Oh! Good morning Rainbow!"

The cyan pegasus smiled and responded, "Good morning to you too, Flutters!" Looking around the cabin, Rainbow asked, "Hey, can I come in?"

Fluttershy smiled and responded, "Sure! I was just about to have some tea." As she moved to let her friend in, Rainbow mused about her oldest friend. Despite her nearly crippling shyness, Rainbow was one of the very few who was extremely close to the yellow pegasus. Being one of the mare's oldest friends, Fluttershy had no need to be shy when she talked to her friend since the two were that comfortable with each other. As Rainbow continued to think, the two of them walked into the dining room. A hot kettle of water awaited them at the table, with a variety of tea packets to choose from.

As Rainbow sat down at the wooden table, Fluttershy walked into the kitchen to grab two teacups. She then asked, " How was your flight today?"

Rainbow smirked and said, "Easy as always. I was almost able to get back to my record time for smashing clouds."

As Fluttershy walked into the room, holding two teacups, she answered, "That's good news Rainbow! You'll be back with the Wonderbolts in no time." However, she noticed a slight hesitation in her friend's eye, which confirmed what she had already guessed.

"Um, Flutters?" Rainbow asked, with a hint of timidness in her voice, "Is there any news on-"

"No Rainbow, there's no update on his condition," Fluttershy interrupted. It had been like this nearly every day since the Mane 6 had returned to Ponyville. She could tell that Rainbow always had that human on her mind, even if she knew it or not. Her concern was very sweet, but she knew that Rainbow needed to calm down about all of it. Looking into her friend's eyes, she noticed dark bags under them. Concerned, Fluttershy asked, "Rainbow, have you been getting enough sleep lately?"

Rainbow quickly rubbed her eyes, as if she was trying to remove the evidence. "Of course I have! Why wouldn't I sleep?" she responded.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, bringing out a more motherly but serious voice, "Rainbow..."

Rainbow looked like she was going to stand by her position, but as she looked into Fluttershy's eyes, she sighed as her ears drooped and eyes closed. "No Flutters, I haven't been getting enough sleep," she admitted, hanging her head in shame.

Sighing, Fluttershy softly said, "Rainbow, you need to stop worrying about it. It's not healthy for you."

"I know, I know," Rainbow admitted, "but I can't stop feeling worried about him. It's been two weeks since we've gotten an update." Her breathing grew heavy as she continued, " I can't bear the thought that the human who saved me might be in a permanent coma, or worse." Tears began to well up in her eyes as she choked out, " E-Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Every time I go to sleep, I relive that moment where he saved me. Then I think about him on that hospital bed, b-barely h-hanging on to l-life. W-What if he never wakes up? W-What if h-he's..." Rainbow then began to sob as Fluttershy quickly rounded the table and hugged her dear friend, allowing her to cry into her shoulder. As the two embraced each other, Rainbow choked out in a small, sad voice.

"Why did he do it?"

The two of them stayed like that for a while, as Fluttershy tried to help her friend as best as she could. As Rainbow's tears began to subside, Fluttershy told her, "You can't lose hope Rainbow."

Rainbow looked up at her oldest friend and responded, "Yeah, I know, but I can't help but worry."

Fluttershy nodded as she responded, "That's a good thing. Worrying shows that you care." As Rainbow sat back up, Fluttershy asked, " Do you still have that-"

Suddenly, a knock could be heard from the door, drawing Fluttershy's attention away from Rainbow. She quickly excused herself and walked towards the door, wondering who it could possibly be. Fluttershy opened the door to be greeted with the sight of a purple alicorn. She was slightly smaller than herself but still taller than Rainbow Dash. Her purple fur was covered with a grey sweater and a nice checkered skirt. Her purple and pink hair covered was in a small ponytail, revealing her purple eyes. Her wings were folded onto her back but showed signs of a recent flight.

"Oh, hello Twilight!" Fluttershy greeted as she reached for a quick hug.

"Good morning Fluttershy!" Twilight responded, joining the yellow mare in her hug.

As the two embraced, Fluttershy noticed that her friend was more giddy than usual. She had a big smile plastered onto her face. As the two separated, Rainbow Dash came from the table, greeting, "Oh, hey Twilight. What brings you here?"

When Twilight looked at the prismatic mare, Fluttershy could tell that Twilight got even more excited, "Rainbow! You're just the mare I wanted to see!"

Before things could get out of hand, Fluttershy asked the hyperactive Twilight, "What's going on Twilight?"

Twilight turned to her and explained, " I need everypony to get to the train station as soon as they can!" Turning to Rainbow Dash, Twilight continued with a knowing smile, " We're receiving a very important person today, and I need all of you to be there to greet him."

At first, Rainbow was confused with the use of "person", as she only heard that term when describing her human friends on the other side of that mirror. However, the pieces quickly clicked into place, and her eyes widened with disbelief and a little bit of hope. "Y-You mean..."

Twilight smiled back at her and answered, "As I said, you should get there as soon as you can."

The train station was packed with ponies either going on trips or waiting for loved ones to return. After some time, Twilight managed to get all of the girls together to greet this "human". Twilight looked down at the letter still in her hands as she thought about its contents. When she received the letter this morning, she had initially thought it was about the possible strengthening of the guard in Ponyville. While she was right, it certainly wasn't what she was expecting. Opening the letter again, she read through the message once again

Dear Twilight,

It is my pleasure to inform you that we have finally found a way to get you some proper defenses to Ponyville. While we do believe that you have a sufficient number of guards, the recent attack on Canterlot has called into question the ability of the Ponyville Garrison. As such, we have decided to send in a specialist to properly train the guard. While we were worried about finding the proper pony, it turns out that the answer wasn't that far away.

Two days ago, our resident human awoke from his coma, and after some questioning, we have decided that he is the perfect pony, or in this case "person", to do the job. He'll fill in more information about himself but I'll share some information about him now before you meet him. This human's name is John Lee. He is a Captian where he came from, so he has experience in dealing with training soldiers for proper defense, which is what Ponyville desperately needs right now. As you probably remember, he was the one who brought Rainbow Dash back to the castle safely, so be sure to thank him for that. He'll brief you more about himself if you ask him, although he does have some reservations about certain things.

He should be arriving in Ponyville sometime this afternoon, so be prepared to welcome him to the community. I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you two can be friends.

From Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia

While she was glad that Ponyville was finally getting some proper training, Twilight was still a little bit worried about the human. From what Rainbow had told them, this "John" was a true warrior, something that has never been seen since the Great Crystal War against Sombra, but even then, this human was something more than that. After some quiet debate, Twilight thought, " If the Princess trusts him, then I need to trust him too. I'll keep a close eye on him though, just for safety."

Looking around at her friends, she silently observed her friend's expressions. Fluttershy looked... well, shy as always. Applejack looked rather indifferent since she never really had much contact with the human. Rarity was shining her nails, obviously aiming to dress for success. She had a curious look on her face as if she was wondering what he was like and if he lived up to her high-class standards. Pinkie Pie, as usual, had an excited look on her face, while she was bounding around in place. Twilight knew that she was just being herself, but the pony who was certainly not acting normal was Rainbow Dash

The usual confident mare was twisting in place, curling a strand of hair with her finger. She was looking directly at the train station, seemingly lost in space. She was acting unusually shy, so Twilight decided to ask, "Rainbow, are you doing ok?"

Rainbow Dash appeared to snap out of her trance as she registered Twilight's question, " Oh! Yeah, I'm fine."

Applejack cocked her head at Rainbow as she countered, "Girl, that's got to be one of the most obvious lies you've ever said."

Rarity joined in as she said, "I concur Darling. There's something that is obviously eating at you Rainbow, what's wrong?"

Rainbow Das hesitated to answer for a couple of seconds before sighing and responding, "Alright, you've got me. I'm just super nervous." When the girls gave her a confused look, she quickly added, "W-What I mean is, this is the first time that I'll really meet him. What if he's not who I think he was? What if he's actually a huge jerk?"

However, as she said this, a train whistle suddenly blew in the distance, alerting them of the oncoming train. They watched as the locomotive slowly moved into the station, the wheels hissing from the slowdown. The whistle blew out once more, and the doors slide open. They watched as ponies, both young and old stepped out of the train, mixing with the crowd already at the station. However, there was still no sign of the human. As the flow of ponies slowed to a trickle, Twilight began to think that he must have been on another train.

However, out from one of the doors stepped a large figure.

Chapter Thirteen: The New Assignment

Author's Note

Greetings Fellow Internet Users!

It feels super good to finally push this chapter out. I've been working on a bunch of projects right now (including another story that's about 2/3rds done). Most of them are academic junk, but I've also been working on other projects, so I've not had as much time as I'd like to work on the story. Not to mention the fact that, since I have a job now, my free time during the weekends is limited.

I'll keep cranking out chapters, and I've already got the concept for the next chapter done, so I'll start grinding on that one soon. Anyways, I hope everyone has a good New Year!

-InternetStranger

Chapter Thirteen: The New Assignment

As he stepped off the train, he could hear his body crack as he stretched from his long train ride. After his meeting with the Princess', he was given some supplies and a free train ticket and promptly sent on his way. As he was leaving the castle, a mare, who seemingly worked for the Princess, approached him and handed him a box. Thanking the mare, he had set his stuff down and promptly opened the box. He was pleased to find his uniform and helmet, along with his weapons and equipment.

As he took a look around him, he noticed how small the little town really was. It actually reminded him of home, which was a comforting feeling. As he grabbed his duffle bag from the ground, he could feel ponies' eyes stare at him. He knew that this would probably happen, with being an "alien" and all of that. However, he had absolutely no idea that it would be this intense. He knew that he couldn't fault them for that, since, in their position, he would have done the same thing.

As he stepped into the crowd, he noticed six mares waiting for him outside of the building. The first one was a yellow pony, who was standing behind the other mares. She was wearing a wool sweater, covering her massive bust. Her eyes hid behind her silky pink mane, which John thought looked very pretty. By the way, she conducted herself, he instantly knew that she was the shy one in the group, especially since she was trying her hardest to avoid his gaze. However, if only for a moment, their eyes met, and a small, yet noticeable blush appeared on her furry face.

Standing in front of her was another mare, but this one was drastically different than her. She was an orange pony, with her blond mane in a tight ponytail that let her stetson hat rest comfortably on her head. She wore a flannel shirt with a white undershirt, showing off her formidable abs and impressive bust. Her legs were squeezed into some tight jeans, which accented her ass decently. Her emerald eyes bore into him, casting silent judgment over him. Just by looking at her, John knew that he would have to be careful about what he did near her.

On her right was a short pink mare. She had a large curly mane, with a deeper pink than the rest of her body. She was the largest of the group, but nowhere near enough to be considered "fat". Her face beamed a beautiful smile, as she seemed to be fidgeting in place. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with an image of a pink cupcake on it. She was also wearing some shorts, which accented her lower body well. However, as he looked closer, he could tell that she could pack quite the punch, especially with those arms of hers.

On the other side of the orange one was a mare as white as snow. Her purple mane was combed to perfection, flowing gracefully down her head. She wore a stylish pair of red glasses, which appeared to be in the Friz Quadrata style. He could tell she was the most elegant of the group, simply by the way she stood, showing off her elegance to those around her. She was wearing a purple sundress, which disguised her hourglass body pretty well. Her body was a nice balance between bust and ass, which John was certainly interested in. Interestingly enough, she reminded him of those French girls that he met back in Paris, but in his honest opinion, this mare outclassed all of them.

On the far left side was the mare that John had expected to see. Princess Celestia informed him that this mare was supposedly the "Princess of Friendship". Just like Celestia and Luna, she was an alicorn, although she looked younger and less experienced than the sisters. She had a bright purple coat, with a violet mane with a streak of pink running down it. She was wearing some regal clothing, although he could tell that she was to most right down the middle of the group. Like the white mare, she had a balance between her chest and rear, but she had a pudgy belly, but not as much as the pink one.

However, the one next to her got John's attention, because she was the only one he recognized. This mare was the rainbow girl that he had met at the Battle of Canterlot (the name was not yet official, but that was going to be the presumed name). If he recalled right, her name was the only one that he knew, which was Rainbow Dash. She looked almost the same way that she did during the battle, besides the fact that her wings were fixed, there was a lot less blood, and she was dressed in more civilian clothing. She wore a tank top with the rainbow lightning symbol that was on the necklace. Combine that with some very short and tight athletic shorts and you had the pristine look of an athlete. Although she certainly was not as "well endowed" as the other ponies, she still had a moderately sized bust, and her ass certainly made up for her lack of the chest department. He looked into her eyes, the wine irises shining brightly in the morning sun. When she noticed him looking at her, those eyes lit up with so much joy and relief. He made a mental note to talk to her later.

Taking a deep breath, John approached the mares, making sure that he appeared as professional as possible. Striding up to them, he asked the mares, more specifically the purple one, "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to know where," he looked down quickly at the tissue with a hastily scribbled name on it, " Twilight Sparkle is?"

The purple mare stepped forward and answered, "That would be me."

The human looked at her, taking a brief moment to take a good look at her. Then, he walked forward and bowed his head respectfully, while softly grasping her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, your majesty," he said, softly kissing her hand.

Twilight's face blushed hard as she stammered out, "O-Oh! There's no n-need for that."

The human looked up, smiled, and said, "Mabey, but I still think that it's proper."

Twilight stood there stunned, as the white one seemed to be beaming with joy. Somehow, she blushed even harder as she stammered, "T-Thank you."

The human straightened back up, his now impressive height making itself known among the stunning mares. He then reached for his helmet and removed it, showing off his dirty blond hair. "I suppose I should introduce myself," the human said as he gave a respective bow to Twilight, "I am Captain John Lee of the United States Army. I was sent here by the Princess's to assist in the training of your local garrison."

Suddenly, his hand was grabbed by a pink hand as it was shaking violently. The pink pony had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shouted in rapid succession, "HI, IM PINKIE PIE AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO PONYVILLE!" She had seemingly limitless amounts of energy as she zoomed around his body, asking questions in quick succession. "Where's the United States? What's that patch on your arm for? Do you like cake? I like cake! I can make you a cake for your party that I should throw-"

Pinkie Pie was then grabbed by the orange mare who said, "Woah! Settle down there, partner. We don't want to give him a headache."

When the orange mare let her go, Pinke Pie took a deep breath and collected herself. She then looked at John with a more calm and controlled face as she said, "Sorry! I just get so excited when I meet new ponies! Well, humans in your case, but that's besides the point."

John chuckled, amused by the mare's antics and personality, "It's quite alright, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pie."

The orange mare, who had previously held Pinkie Pie back, stepped forward and extended her hand. John, seeing the gesture, met her hand with his own, and the two gave each other a firm shake. "Well, she's stronger than Soarin, that's for damn sure," John thought to himself as he felt the mare's strength during the handshake.

She then exclaimed in a southern accent, "Howdy partner! I'm Applejack, and it's such a pleasure to meet you."

John smiled as he responded, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, and may I say, you sure do have quite the handshake."

Applejack laughed, a small tint of pink appeared on her cheeks as she answered, "Yours is not so bad either."

As their hands separated from the shake, the white one, who had looked at the handshake with dissatisfaction, interjected, "Darling, there are so many better ways of introducing yourself to a gentelcolt." She strode towards him, brushing past Applejack with a smug grin. When she was about a foot away from him, she grabbed the edges of her sundress and gave him a formal curtsy. " Bonjour Monsieur, my name is Rarity Belle. I run the Carousel Botique here in the town, and may I say, it is such an honor to meet the one who saved my friend."

John, sensing her more noble introduction, grasped her silky white hand and whispered, " The pleasure is all mine, mademoiselle. Besides, J’ai toujours eu un faible pour les belles dames (I've always had a soft spot for beautiful ladies.)."

Rarity swooned over his words as she said, " Tu me flattes, mon chérie (You flatter me, my dear)!"

John chuckled at the mare's expression. "Yep, just like those french girls," he thought to himself. He then looked at the yellow mare. She still hid behind her pink hair, her eyes barely visible. "And who may you be?" The mare let out a small 'EEP!' as she cowered behind her hair even more. John confused, said, "Woah! Easy, I'm not going to hurt you." The mare still hid behind her hair, which caused John a sigh.

Applejack, sighing, mentioned, "Sorry about this partner, but she's just very ... shy."

Nodding, John was about to move on when he heard a soft voice say, "I-I'm F-Fluttershy."

Making sure that he heard it right, he asked, "Your name is ... Fluttershy?"

The timid mare nodded, his soft pink hair blowing gently in the wind. Ignoring how ironic her name was, he told her, "Well, Fluttershy, you have a very pretty name."

She moved a little bit of her hair out of the way as she asked in a louder voice, "R-Really?"

He nodded at her and suggested, "Perhaps you and I can have some tea together sometime?"

Fluttershy nodded and answered, "Yeah, I w-would like that."

Smiling at her he then walked over to the final mare he wanted to meet. To be frank, this mare was the one that he was most excited to meet. Ever since that day, he had been wondering how she was doing. He was very glad to see that her wings were healed, with it's cyan feathers blowing softly in the wind. He could tell that she was waiting for this moment as much as he was. Her wine-colored eyes showed excitement, but also anxiousness and nervousness. "Alright, here we go," he thought to himself as he walked towards her.

Rainbow's heart throbbed with nervousness as her savior strived towards her. She watched as each muscle of his body rippled and contracted. Those silver eyes pierced straight into her heart, easing all of her worries and fears. What she saw on his neck, however, made her heart flutter. Shining out in the open, her necklace hanged out in the open, glittering in the morning sun. She brought a hand to still her beating heart as she reached down her shirt and grabbed the necklace that he gave her, bringing it out into the daylight.

When he finally stopped in front of her, he smiled, saying, "You know, I don't think we've properly met yet."

Rainbow's blush became more apparent as she stammered, "N-No, I don't think we have."

He removed his helmet from his head once again and knelt on one knee. Looking into her eyes, he said, "My name is John Lee, but you can just call me John."

Flattered by the gesture, she reached her hand down to him and said, " I'm Rainbow Dash, but you can just call me Rainbow."

Seeing her hand, he brought the hand to his face and gave it a soft kiss, much like he did with Rarity. Rainbow's blush became even more pronounced as the two stared deeply into each other's eyes. Rainbow felt like her heart was almost ready to explode as the man stood up and grabbed her other hand. John then said, "You know, I would like to get to know each other. Perhaps you would join me for dinner sometime."

Rainbow smiled and answered, "Yeah, I would like that." In a gesture that surprised everyone that knew her, she stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips, revealing a blue lip mark on him. She then whispered, "Thank you for saving me."

Now it was John's turn to blush as he stammered, "A-Anytime, Rainbow."

The two stared into each other's eyes for a while longer until Twilight interjected, "*cough* Well, if we are done here, I would like to speak to John about the state of the guard and ask some questions about him."

Rainbow and John finally separated and answered, "Yeah, I should get going." He then turned to Rainbow and asked, "Do you want your necklace back?"

Rainbow quickly answered, "Keep it. Consider it my gift to you."

As he began to walk off with Twilight, he told her, "Then keep my necklace as well. Consider it my gratitude for the gift."

Then, Twilight and John walked off towards the castle, where John knew that he had a lot of work to do.

As they walked off, Rainbow let out a deep sigh, her heart fluttering over that kiss she gave him. She held his necklace close to her heart as she whispered, "Isn't he wonderful?"

Overhearing her dear friend, Rarity knowingly asked, "Rainbow darling, do you mind explaining what just happened?"

Rainbow, sensing a tad bit of hostility in her voice, answered, "I just kissed him so I could thank him. It's nothing more than that!"

Applejack decided to jump in on the fun as she said in a sing-song voice, "Ah think somepony's lyyyyyyying!"

"W-What?! How could I be lying about that?!" Rainbow countered.

"Darling, you didn't really think that you could fool me when it comes to love?" Rarity asked, befoe pointing out, "You never showed any signs of affection towards anything other than Tank. Must I also remind you of your stance on public affection Miss 'I'm Not Sappy'?"

Rainbow stuttered, trying to come up with a counterpoint, before frustratingly admitting, "FINE! I like him, ok?!"

Rarity, noticing her friend's frustrated and annoyed tone, quickly said, "W-Wait a minute dear! There's nothing wrong in liking somepony!"

However, it was too late, as Rainbow Dash spread her wings and launched into the sky, presumably out of embarrassment. Applejack and Rarity both looked on as a rainbow contrail slowly dissipated into the sky. A moment of silence passed between the two of them before Applejack said, "Welp, at least we know that she likes him now."

Bewildered, Rarity exclaimed in shock, "Did you seriously not catch on until now?!"

Confused, Applejack answered, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Groaning, Rarity rubbed her temples as she mumbled to herself, "Applejack, sometimes you can be so thick in the head!"

Applejack, frowning, countered, "Then do you mind explaining what that little curtsy was all about then?"

"It is simply a gesture that a lady makes to a stallion, not that I expected you to know that," Rarity answered, which certainty irked Applejack.

"What is THAT supposed to mean sugarcube?!" Applejack angerly answered. "Are you saying that I can't attract a stallion like him?"

"Aha! So you do like him!" Rarity answered, causing Applejack to blush.

"D-Don't change the subject Rarity!" Applejack countered, pushing herself right up against Rarity. "Besides, it's not like you are entirely innocent either."

Rarity pushed right back up against Applejack as she countered, "At least I'm not afraid to act on my feelings!"

The two mares squinted at each other, a competition brewing between them as Applejack challenged "We'll see about that Miss "One Night Stand"!"

Rarity smirked as she answered, "Yes, we shall darling. Yes. We. Shall..."

Chapter Fourteen: Testing

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

Chapter Fifteeen: Strengthening Bonds

The sound of boots clacked as an entourage made their way through the crystal walls of the castle. Mares brandishing sharp swords marched alongside them, resembling the long columns of men, marching with their rifles, as they paraded through the streets. Indeed, despite the technological downgrade, it was comforting to know that they did indeed have guards with them.

The marble walls of the castle glistened with the illuminating light from the sun, as the entourage made their way through the twists and bends of the hallways. Still wearing his green uniform, John marched his way down the hallways, trying his darndest not to look awe-struck at the intricate hallways of the castle. Besides, he had no time to admire the beauty of the walls, for he was a man on a mission. He had to watch the Ponyville guard practice their fighting maneuvers. To be frank, he was grateful that they weren't entirely incompetent. Hell, the guard reminded him of the freshly trained recruits back when they were shipped over to Europe. All prim and proper, but lacking experience in combat.

John smiled as his thoughts drifted back to when he was training. He was incredibly naive back then, believing that the good old U, S, of A, could kick the German's ass back to Berlin in time for Christmas. Oh, how wrong he was back then. Hell, he had even heard his father tell a similar story that he had heard from a British man back in World War 1. History has a sick sense of humor, continuously leading soldiers into a false sense of security before dragging them through mud and blood in the fields of France.

Looking to his side, a familiar face greeted him. Iron Will marched right beside him, with his own uniform clanking with medals and whatnot. A closer look would show that most of those medals were peacetime awards, which just showed how dedicated he was to the army. He did feel a little bit sorry for the guy. After all, it was tough to go from peacetime to war. He was probably one of the few outsiders who truly understood this.

"So! What do you think of the troops?" Iron Will asked.

John let out a small sigh as he said, "They're... adequate."

Confused, Iron Will responded, "Adequate? What do you mean by that?"

"They're trained and they've proven that they can execute maneuvers and tactics correctly, but I did see one major issue.”

Iron Will nodded his head as the group marched toward the throne room, "Are you going to report it to Princess Twilight? We are having dinner with her tonight."

A moment of silence passed between the two of them before he responded, "Yeah... I think I will."

The clanking of dishes filled the dining room, as Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, John, and Iron Will sat around the crystal table, consuming their privately made dinner. Twilight ate her food regally, carefully calculating how she raised her fork and inserted her scrumptious delicacy into her mouth. She had decided to wear more formal attire; a velvet dress that flowed down her body with her hair combed straight, letting the velvety locks flow gracefully down her neck.

Rainbow Dash had an entirely different strategy compared to her purple friend. She more or less forced the contents down into her mouth as fast as possible, which often left a mess on her portion of the table. Unlike her friend, she had worn more casual attire, which was also her Wonderbolts-issued "kickbacks". It was a bright blue flight jacket, with the Wonderbolts insignia sewn proudly onto the sleeves. Her name was sewn on the right side, just above where her breast was. She had also decided to wear a pair of tight-fitting jeans, which John had silently admitted that it accented her quite well.

Rarity was the most elegant of the three of them. Comparing Twilight with her, Rarity's style completely exposed Twilight's unfamiliarity with high-class society. At the moment, she was holding a wine glass in such a way that it reminded John of the ladies of Paris that he had seen while on leave. It was clear that she had not just followed ladies' etiquette; she was ladies' etiquette. The way she dressed, the way she positioned herself, and the way she talked distinctly called John back to the streets of Paris, where he was able to witness what this so-called high-class society was like. After all, you couldn't see much while growing up in a small town. Tonight, she had decided to wear a brilliant white dress, which just showed her confidence in how she drank her wine. Her hair was neatly combed, allowing her luscious locks to flow gracefully down from her scalp.

Tonight's dinner had gone along swimmingly, which John greatly admired. He was about to compliment them on the dinner when Rarity suddenly complained, "Rainbow Dash! Would you please eat more like a lady and less like an animal?! You're making a mess of the table!"

Pausing halfway between her bites, Rainbow uncaringly countered, "Eh, so what? It's not like I'm doing anypony harm."

John completely expected Rarity to just drop the topic, so he was surprised when he noticed that Rarity seemed to have a plan for this situation. She smirked at the prismatic mare as she responded, "Oh I know darling. I'm just trying to save you from embarrassing yourself."

Rainbow stopped eating as she looked at her friend with confusion, "Embarrassment? Why would I be embarrassing myself?"

Rarity then leaned over the table and gave her friend an evil smile as she said, "Since you're eating like a pig in front of our guest."

Rainbow looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her face. She looked at John for a brief moment as her face flushed red with embarrassment as she bashfully looked down at her plate before taking slower and more refined bites.

John let out a hearty chuckle of amusement, causing the two girls' hearts to smile at him, either in triumph or embarrassment. Despite being embarrassed by her friend, Rainbow Dash was at least grateful that the two of them had managed to get John to laugh. She hadn't really heard him laugh before, so it was nice to finally hear it. Twilight had observed the entire situation silently, and she had smiled with amusement at her friend's predicament. Deciding now was the time to get into the conversation, Twilight suddenly asked, "So, how was the guard's performance today? I hope that they're up to your standards."

John's smile faltered a bit, as his expression turned to a more serious look. "Ah yes... I was actually going to talk to you about that."

Rainbow quickly barged herself into the conversation as she asked, "What's wrong with them? They looked fine to me when I watched them."

"That's exactly the problem!" John pointed out, garnering Twilight's interest, "They're just ok. They're just like freshly trained soldiers that we got during the war. There's nothing necessarily wrong with them training-wise, but the problem is that they’re inexperienced!"

Twilight looked confused as she said, "But we've been simulating possible battle situations for them, they should have some exper-"

"Experience will always beat out a controlled environment Princess," John quickly pointed out, "Take my word for it. Sometimes, things will happen that training and controlled environments could never account for."

Rainbow quickly asked, "Could you give us an example?"

John thought about it for a moment. Was it a good idea to tell them about what had happened? There were a lot of parts of the war that he would rather not tell anyone. But then again, the memory he was thinking of was rather tame compared to his... other experiences... Besides, perhaps hearing a tale would entertain them a bit. "Well... I suppose I could tell you about one time."

Rarity's ears perked with interest as Rainbow grinned with excitement. It would be quite fascinating to hear about how his world worked and what his war was like. "Go ahead Darling," Rarity beckoned, "You have our attention."

John nodded his head as he began, "Well, this all happened about 6 months ago..."

November 5th, 1944

50 Miles North of Laon, France

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

The massive 'THOOM' of a tank could be heard next as a platoon of men quickly scattered into the ditches off of the road. A cloud of dirt quickly rose from where the shell had landed, as the rumbling of an enemy tank could be heard quickly approaching. Dirt smeared John's eyes as he lay down by the side of the road that he had ducked under. With all of the dust kicked up in the air, he couldn't see if anyone was hurt.

A soldier shouted through the dusty air, "Where the hell did that come from!"

Another voice, which he quickly recognized as Charles, shouted back, "It must have flanked us from behind! These damn hills gave them cover! They just waited until we were in a spot where they could attack and put us into a meat grinder!"

Seemingly right on queue, the rapid fire of a machine gun could be heard, causing the platoon to lay lower to avoid the spray from the tank. The thumps from the bullets could be heard impacting the top of the ditch, causing the soldiers to pray that the bullets would miss them. John looked over at the two other men on this side of the ditch. They looked young, and he could tell that they were shitting themselves at that moment. "Come to think of it, I think these guys were some of the freshies shipped in yesterday. These poor bastards had no idea what war is like..." He knew that he had to do something, anything, to make sure these kids didn't get cold feet every time a German attack came.

“Wait, what even is a tank?” Twilight asked, as her academic mind began to beg for answers.

Smiling, John answered simply, “It’s a type of vehicle that we have. Imagine a chariot but it’s larger, made out of steel, self-automated, and has a large cannon in front of it. It’s not something that you’d want to mess with.”

“The way you speak of this ‘tank’, it sounds like it is a common occurrence,” Rarity spoke, as she was curious about this strange machine.

“Oh, it is,” John answered, “ The key thing to remember is that we often have our tank with us. It’s not that common for a foot soldier to take care of a tank since our tanks normally take care of them. In this case, we had no choice.”

Seizing control, John shouted, "Do we have any Anti-Tank gear?!"

He could hear some mumblings and shouting from the other side of the ditch until he heard a loud, "We thought it was with you!" sound out over the rambling of the tank.

"Shit..." John mumbled to himself. He knew damn well that somebody should have brought that equipment with them and yet here they were; stranded out in the middle of nowhere and being put up against a fucking tank. He knew that if they got out of this alive, and that was a big if, he was certainly going to have to chat with someone if they got out of this. Why did he have to come out on patrol with them today? He thought it was an easy bonding opportunity, but now it was a fight for survival. John let out a frustrated sigh. Some days, he questioned his life choices.

However, as the roar of the tank came closer, a sudden thought popped into his head. He turned to the two Privates by his side and he shouted, "Rule one of warfare; Training doesn't prepare you for shit! If you two want to make it out of here, then you will listen to me and do exactly what I tell you two. Do I make myself clear?!"

The two soldiers nodded their heads profusely, which basically gave him the green light to enact his plan.

He once again shouted over the whizzing bullets above him as he said, "Charles! Have your men over there create a distraction! I've got an idea as to how to take this thing down." He wasn't sure he heard him, but then he heard the loud cracks of rifles and the "PING"s of bullets colliding with metal. The tank's machine gun, now having a direction to shoot towards, began firing at the other group, creating the perfect window of opportunity.

Motioning the two Private to follow him, they crawled against the dirt, ensuring that the tank crew did not see their movements. Once he was sure that the tank could no longer see them, John drew his pistol and urged the others to follow him out of the trench. They dashed towards the back of the tank, and John began his tactic. He climbed onto the roof of the tank and, once helping the other two Privates up, carefully made their way to the hatch of the tank. He positioned the group so that they surrounded the hatch. Looking at the men with him he silently began to count down,

"3,"

"2,"

"1..."

"And then we breached the hatch and we managed to stop the tank," John concluded, bringing an end to this small tale. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around at his company. Twilight Sparkle looked entranced by his tale, seemingly trying to comprehend what he had just described to her. It appeared as if she was writing something down in her lap, probably taking notes on what he had just told her. He didn't blame her for it either, after all; he'd probably do the same thing. "Hell, Charles would have probably gone through their entire Library already," John thought to himself as his eyes wandered to his other companions.

Rarity appeared to be astonished by his short little story as well. Hell, knowing the type of people she reminded him of, she was probably going to ooze about the heroism contained within his small story. The same could be said for Rainbow Dash, although she appeared to be focused on taking in each and every word he had said. She certainly looked like she enjoyed that type of action-hero.

However, the last pony didn't reveal his true feelings. Iron Will simply sat there, giving him a strange look, almost as if he was staring into his soul.

Before he could ask what was wrong, Rarity gave him a soft smile as she spoke, "Well darling, that was certainly quite the tail."

"I'll say!" Rainbow Dash interjected. Her face wore an expression like that of a kid on Christmas Eve. "Who would've thought that war sounded so cool!"

'CLANG'

The clattering of silverware echoed in the room as John dropped his utensils on its shiny surface. He wore a long expression, almost as if what she had said struck something deep inside him. He didn't know what it was, but he did know one thing for certain... he did not like what she had said. For a moment, he considered reprimanding her for her thoughts, but, deep down in his heart, he knew that was the wrong thing to do. With his mood laid in ruin, he softly muttered, "Yeah... cool."

Unaware of his change in tone, Twilight Sparkle sat up from her chair, "John, it has been a pleasure speaking to you once again, and thank you for that interesting story. I'll need to talk to you later about a new strategy for training, but that conversation can wait until later."

He smiled as he replied, "You'll know where to find me."

"That I do. Goodnight, John." With that, Twilight sat up, gave him a small nod, and disappeared out of the dining hall, assumingly to retire to her chambers for the night.

When she departed, Rarity also stood up as well. "I suppose that I should take my leave as well, darling." However, instead of moving towards the door, she softly strode towards John, her high-heels clanking against the marble floor. "I would like for you to stop by my shop later this week. I would very much like it if I could make some new clothes for you."

John looked at her and rebutted, "Don't worry about it Ma'm. I could probably-"

"I will hear nothing of the sort! I only want the best for one of my new friends. After all…" she then leaned close to his face, feeling his soft breaths nestle into her cheeks, "I am the Element of Generosity." With a wink of her eyelashes, she quickly turned and strode towards the exit. Before she left the room, she looked back at him and, with a sultry smile and wave, spoke, "Ta-ta darling!" With that, she departed the room for the evening.

The room stood silent for not but a moment when Rainbow Dash, the last of the three girls, finally spoke, "Ugh, I hate it when she does that."

John, understandably confused, asked, "What? You mean she always does that?"

Almost as if she didn't expect a follow-up question, her face scrunched up momentarily, before quickly saying, "W-What I just mean is that she likes to tease stallions. It's... kind of her thing."

John nodded his head, not noticing the sigh of relief coming from his female companion. "I assume that you will also be departing?"

She nodded her head, "Yeah, I've got an early morning flight tomorrow for training. The Wonderbolts can be pretty strict, especially in war-time conditions."

"Fly? You don't have an airplane?" John said, before quickly realizing how stupid of a question that was, "Right, wings. I forgot about that."

A look of concern grew on Rainbow's face as she asked, "Are you ok?" He looked up at her with confusion before she quickly said, "Being away from home and all of that. It must be pretty hard."

He sat there for a moment. Home. He hadn't thought about that place in a very long time. For a moment, his mind drifted back to that place. The great open plains of North Dakota, the cool waters of the Sheyenne River, and his father's store. Home had called for him, but he could not answer. He still had a job to do.

"It is, but I've been handling it pretty well... I guess as well as you can after you are transported to a completely different planet." John finally answered.

Rainbow nodded her head, satisfied with his answer, “Heh, I suppose that you’re still trying to get the hang of all of this.”

“It’s certainly been a new experience, that’s for sure.”

She then slightly looked away, refusing to look into his silver eyes as she suggested, “Well… I could always show you around town… help you get to know the locals and all of that.”

John smiled; while she was acting strange, it would certainly be nice to get to know the locals. “I think I would love that, Rainbow Dash.”

She looked back at him in a look of shock, almost as if she hadn’t expected him to say yes. She gave him a sheepish smile as she said, “When do you want to meet?”

“How about tomorrow morning at 10? We can have a nice breakfast before going off.”

Rainbow, in a more confident manner than what she had been like, nodded her head. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then… Captain.” She then turned and, after one last smirk, spread her wings, and flew through the door.

John sighed as he watched the pegasus leave, seeming as if he could finally relax a bit. He went back to his chair and grabbed his Greatcoat that he had left in his bag, but before he could throw it on, he heard a voice call out to him. “You didn’t tell the full story, did you?”

John turned around to look at Iron Will, and he answered him, but this time, in a more somber tone, “Was it that obvious?”

“I don’t think they noticed, but it’s pretty obvious when another soldier isn’t telling the full story.” John refused to look at him as he continued, “What didn’t you tell them?”

“... the ending.”

Will walked to his fellow soldier, a man who he began to see as a friend, as he said, “Do you need to get it off of your chest?”

“...It’s my burden to bear.”

He wanted to say something more, but something told him that he wasn’t going to get anywhere. With a sigh of defeat, Will softly spoke, “Alright… but I’ll be there if you need me.”

He turned to leave, somewhat anxious to return to his cot for the night. However, he heard John speak to him in a serious tone, “When we opened the hatch, I knew that the Germans would be expecting us. So, I pulled the pin off of one of my grenades before the hatch opened.” John spoke in a scarily blunt voice, with no emotion seeping from his words. “I… never did get a look at their faces when we opened the hatch. I’m glad that I didn’t… because those faces would be haunting me to this day.”

Iron Will reapproached his friend, albeit cautiously. He wasn’t sure what his mental state was at this moment, but he didn’t dare test it. “What’s a grenade? Is that one of the things hanging off of your belt?”

“Indeed,” he confirmed, as he took one of the strange devices off of his belt. “It’s funny, you know? That such a small device can cause so much death.” He held out one of the grenades for Iron Will to hold. Grabbing the cold object, he carefully expected it. It had a simple design, with a circular device with a handle at the top, which was firmly held down by some kind of pin. As he looked at it, John continued, “When that pin is pulled, you only have a couple of seconds to get rid of that grenade, otherwise…” He looked away from Iron Will as he silently finished, “You’ll be blown to bits.”

He scrunched up his face as he processed what he was just told before realization dawned on his face. “...Those men…”

“After the hatch opened, I just tossed one of those into it. We closed the hatch, and after a few moments, a loud bang could be heard from inside. Then it was just…quiet.” John then looked directly at Iron Will, his cold eyes piercing right through his soul. “I can still remember their cries of fear after we closed that hatch. The banging on the inside, the crying, and the praying, I remember all of it… and then nothing.” He looked away, refusing to meet Will's shocked expression as he finished, "Sometimes, when it gets quiet... I can still hear that banging."

Silence passed between the two of them, as Iron Will took in what he had just heard. While he still didn’t understand much, he did know one thing.

Whatever war he was in, it was a very different experience from theirs.

Author's Note

So.... it's been awhile.

I've been slowly typing away at this chapter for a while now, but life certainly does have its ways with messing with you.

Anyways, a little bit of info about this chapter.

Before you say anything, John's tactics for taking down the tank wasn't something they really did in WW2. You can actually find some good film on what they would do to take down a tank on Youtube. I'd highly recommend looking at it.

Second of all, the point that John is trying to make is that he had to think on his feet in this situation. Since they had no Anti-Tank weapons on them, John was forced to not use his training, and instead rely on quick thinking and adaptation. But I assume that most of you got that from the story.

Anyways, I'll be working on the next chapter soon, while I also rattle away on my other stories.

So until then, cya.

-InternetStranger

Chapter Sixteen: A Run by the Orchard

The morning dew settled onto the quiet grass of early morning. The world itself was still asleep, while the sun barely peaked above the horizon. In a few hours, the world would be bustling and on the move again. But not now, in these tranquil hours of predawn, the world itself was at peace.

But not for John.

His legs flared in pain as he ran along the dirt road. His gasping breaths were the only noise that could be heard in this early morning. His eyes were glued to the winding path, as he traveled along the wet grass. John had always enjoyed early morning runs, even during his time at basic down in Georga.

The cool air filled his lungs as the morning sun barely peaked over the horizon. He was near the end of his 5-mile run as the terrain changed back to a straight dirt path. The trees begin to change from a deep sea of green to a vast swath of apple trees. He looked up at the apples as the thought of breakfast entered his mind. Perhaps he could have a nice apple pie when he met with Rainbow this morning.

The thought of the prismatic pegasus brought a smile to his face. It really was nice of her to show him around the town. After all, if you’re going to defend something, then you might as well know what it even is that you are defending. He was thinking about where Dash was going to take him when he began to approach a wooden gate.

Leaning on said gate was that farmgirl that he had met the first day he was here. She was munching on an apple as she leaned on the white paint of the wood. She wore exactly what you would expect from a farmer. She wore a tight pair of short jeans, accenting her excellent rear while also showing off her cutie mark; three red apples against the orange backdrop of her fur. Her flannel shirt was tied into a knot around her chest, barely containing her mammaries. Her stetson was tilted down, as she gazed longingly at the empty road.

As grew closer, he could hear her softly humming, as she slowly chewed on the apple in her hand. He looked at his watch and concluded that he had plenty of time to spare. So, when he was about ten feet from her, he slowed his running to a jog as he announced himself to the farm mare. “Early bird?” he asked the mare, getting her attention from her morning breakfast.

She smiled as she replied, “You could say so. ‘Cept that would mean that you are one as well.”

“Guilty as charged,” he simply replied. Coming to a halt in front of her, he took a few deep breaths as he felt his heart rate slow to normal levels. After all, after a long run, it was good to catch his breath. “I’m surprised that you’re not doing farm chores right now. Wouldn’t this be the best time to get it done?”

“Well, I was doing it, but can you blame a mare for getting hungry?”

“No… no I don’t believe I could.”

“Exactly,” she finished as she took yet another bite from her apple. Small trailers of juice dripped from her mouth, trickling through the orange fur on her chin. Her green eyes looked at him, and he noticed a small smirk growing on her face. “Say, ah suppose you’re probably hungry Sugar. Y’all want to stop by and have some breakfast?”

“I’d love to Ms. Applejack, but I’m already having breakfast with Rainbow this morning. She wants to show me around town today.” John announced.

“Oh…” Applejack said, her smile faltering temporarily, “That’s a shame. I feel like we haven’t gotten the chance to get to know eachother.” She looked away from him, a strong flush of embarrassment flushing her cheeks. She had heard about his dinner last night from a surprisingly cocky Rarity, so she knew she'd have to arrange some kind of meal for the two of them. "Still, I guess I have the advantage of it just being the two of us," Applejack thought.

John smiled as he put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll swing around sometime. I promise you that.”

She smiled as she softly spoke, “Then I’ll hold you to it Sugar.” He smiled at her and began to walk away from her, presumably to finish up his run. However, before he could get far, he heard Applejack call to him, “Hey, hold up Sugar!” Turning around, he was surprised to see an apple flying toward him. Catching it in mid-air, he held the red fruit with curiosity. It had a particular shine to it as the morning rays of the sun glistened in the distance. He looked back at her, who was now brandishing a small smirk, as she said, “It’s for the road Sugar. Just because y’all have breakfast doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a snack!”

He looked at the apple, tossing it between his hands. Smiling at the orange mare, he nodded his head as he said, “Thank you.” Then, taking a large bite from the red fruit, he continued on his way back. He smiled as the sweet taste of the apple assaulted his taste buds, making this a new favorite of his.

As he walked away, Applejack looked on with envy. Rainbow was certainly one lucky mare to score a fantastic breakfast with that man. She sighed as she watched the man’s figure slowly fade into the distance. She knew full well that she didn’t know much about him, but from what she heard about in Canterlot, she knew that he was a great man. In fact, she was staring at the horizon for so long, she didn’t even notice someone walk behind her.

For a moment, Applejack couldn’t sense their presence, but they quickly made themselves known. “Whatcha doin' sis?” the voice asked. With a startled jump, Applejack quickly turned around at the owner of the voice.

Standing there in a simple white t-shirt and blue overalls, Apple Bloom looked at her sister in confusion. She had been acting like this for a couple of days now, ever since that strange creature had come to town. She’d seem distant when she was working, and she kept looking down the road towards Ponyville. While she did have her suspicions, she decided to finally confirm them. “For land's sake Apple Bloom! Don’t scare me like that!”

“What? It’s not my fault that you didn’t hear me coming.” She then walked next to her sister, leaning on the fence the same way Applejack was. “Besides, from what I saw, you have a good reason for being distracted.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Applejack muttered.

“It’s that creature isn’t it?” She asked, looking down the road where he had been just a few short moments ago. “Heh, no wonder you’re in such a tizzy, you like him!”

“Bloom, what kind of nonsense is that?” Applejack countered, “He’s just a good friend.”

“From how you were looking at him, I think you want him to be a little more than just a ‘friend’.”

“Bloom!” Applejack cried, a sharp blush accenting her orange cheeks, “That’s got nothing to do with ya! He’s a dear friend of mine and I do not think of him like that.”

“Aaand that’s a lie” Bloom pointed out, “Come on sis! You know that you can’t hide the truth from me. Besides, you can trust me.” She then leaned closer to her flustered sister as she whispered, “So, what is it then?”

A long moment of silence passed between them as Apple Bloom wanted for an answer. Finally, her sister softly mumbled, “Ok… mabey I do like him a bit.”

Her sister smiled with delight as she backed off from her sister, “That’s all I wanted to hear sis.” She then turned back around and slowly sauntered back off into the woods. “Oh, by the way, make sure you finish your part of the orchard. I remember how mad Granny got last time and I do NOT want to go through that again.”

Continuing to look back down the road, Applejack steadied the stetson on her head. If she wanted to have him, she knew there would be a fight. Rarity and Rainbow both wanted him, so she’d have to bring her A game, and as she turned back towards the orchard, a plan began to form in her head.

Chapter Three: The Battle for Canterlot Part 1

John staggered up the cracked stairs, his brow covered with sweat and blood. He and the wounded mare had finally made it to the castle. Its towers loomed over them, providing shade against the setting sun. As he sprinted up the steps, he looked down at the mare in his arms and noticed that she had fresh tears in her eyes, accompanied by fear. “Don’t worry,” John reassured her as the pair reached the final steps, “we are almost there!”

The man rushed to the front entrance of the castle, running past deceased guards, still gripping their spears tightly. John threw open the doors as he ran into the throne room, the rainbow haired girl, gripping tightly to his shirt. The throne room had obviously seen better days. Beautiful pieces of stained glass were scattered across the room. Banners and flags lay scattered among the floor. The thrones themselves laid in surprising condition. One of the thrones was gold, bearing the image of a sun on top of it. The other was as dark as obsidian, bearing a crescent moon on top of it, similar to the sun throne.

John rushed inside, noticing light coming from another door to the left of the thrones. He heard the mare beginning to gasp for air. He had seen this too many times before. She needed help. NOW.

He threw open the doors to enter a long halfway, packed to the brim with ponies They looked at him with shock, awe, and a little bit of fear. John took off his helmet as he let the girl lay down on the ground. Her eyes looked at him in fear, her bloody hands still gripping tightly to his uniform. Looking at her, John remembered how every friend, every comrade, and every brother looked at him before their deaths. They pleaded to him, begged him to not let them go, to not let them die. But every time, he let them slip from his grasp.

But not this time.

He would not let her die.

Bringing his head up, tears starting to trickle down his face, he shouted into the awed room, “MEDIC!” He let his hands travel down to the wound on her leg, blood still gushing out of it. Applying pressure to it, he heard the mare grunt in pain. Seeing this, John shouted even louder. “I NEED A GODDAMN MEDIC OVER HERE! NOW!” He looked over to see torn cloth strewn across the floor. Grabbing the white piece of cloth, he began to wrap the wound up as best as he could. “Come on! You are going to be ok! I need you to keep fighting for me ok?” John told her as ponies began to spread out to give the pair space to work. She began to close her eyes, her hand slowly falling limp. Reaching into his pocket, John pulled out a shot filled with morphine. Taking the cap off, John stabbed it into her leg, causing her to jolt back awake. “Come on! You have to stay awake!” John told her as the morphine worked through her body.

She then looked at him, tears of pain filling her eyes, and spoke in the most heartbreaking voice possible, “H-Help Me.”

John looked at her, his own tears streaming down his face as he looked back up and shouted in an even louder voice, “MEDIC!”

It only took a couple of seconds for the supposed medics to arrive. They rushed into hallway, causing the crowd watching them to back off even more. As they approached the pair, John reached into his chest and pulled out a simple necklace. It was given to him by his mother before he was sent off to war. It was a simple chain necklace, but at the center of it was the letters ‘J’ and ‘L’, John’s initials. He took it off his neck and placed it into the palm of this mare. She looked at it, showing a few glimpses of happiness . When the doctors finally arrived at their location, they placed the girl onto a stretcher and began to carry her down the hall to another pair of doors.

Giving a huge sigh of relief, John placed his hand over his left breast pocket, only to feel something inside. Curious, John reached into the pocket and pulled out a necklace with a pendant at its center. The necklace itself was made of gold, its brilliant shine dancing across the room. The pendant itself was of a white cloud, harboring a lightning bolt of red, yellow, and blue. She must have put this in my pocket while I was rushing her here, John thought as he twirled the necklace in his hands. Then he began to smile, putting the necklace through his head, letting it slide down to join his dog tags.

After sliding on the necklace, he heard another pony approach him. Turning his head, John came face to face with Iron Will and another pony who he had never seen before. This new pony had hair that seemed to defy the laws of physics, but John ignored that. In fact, John was fascinated by the twinkling stars in her hair. He then heard her say, “Is this the one you wanted us to find?”

Looking to Iron Will, he heard him say, “Yes,” as he extended his hand out to John to lend a helping hand, “yes he is.”
Grinning, John grasped the hand, lifting himself back to standing position, taking his time to take a closer look at the two. It appeared that he was taller than both, Iron Will standing at a proud 5’9 while the starry mare was slightly taller than Will, standing at a proud 6’0. However, John still stood taller than both, coming in at a whopping 6’4. The starry mare had a horn on her head, just like Iron Will, but she also had wings, just like the rainbow haired girl that he saved.

John looked at the both of them, feeling glad to be in some familiar company, before saying, “Sorry about that back there. I had to make sure that she was ok. She looked too young to die.”

The starry mare quickly dismissed the apology, replying, “No, don’t apologize. In fact, we should thank you. If you did not help her, then she would have surely died, and our nation would be doomed.”

John pondered this new information, bringing his hand up to his chin. So, she WAS important, John thought as he continued to think, it is a good thing that I helped her then. He then replied to the mare, “I would have done it if it was anyone else.”

John then held out his hand to the mare, introducing himself. “I am John Lee, commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army. I presume that you are the leader here?”

The mare gave him a warm smile and gripped his hand, replying, “Yes. We are Princess Luna, and we oversee this quadrant of the battlefield.”

A warrior princess? John thought as he continued to shake her hand, I have never heard of one of those before. He then bent one knee before Luna and kissed her hand, responding, “Then it is an honor to meet you in person, Princess.”

Luna blushed at the gesture, due to never receiving it before. Her sister had received this gesture many times before, but she had never received it herself. “Thank you,” she said as John slowly rose to his feet.

The three stood there in silence for a while, slowly comprehending everything that had happened. Luna broke the silence by telling John, “Follow me.” Obeying her, John began to walk back towards the throne room, opening the door for her. As they walked, Luna began to ask questions, “So, John. You say that thou are from this ‘United States’. Tell me, where is this nation?”

“Well,” John answered, scratching his head as they walked, “from what I have gathered, I’m not from this planet. Hell, I might not even be from this galaxy.” Luna took this new piece of information in, thinking, I have never seen a creature like him, and his body appears to be immune to any of my mind-probe magic. Perhaps he is truly telling the truth.

As they walked, John began to tell Luna about his home world. He told her of the majestic mountains in Colorado, the mighty Mississippi River, and the looming skyscrapers of New York City. She seemed to be interested, but when John began to mention his role in the Second World War, he immediately got Luna’s attention.

“Hold on, are thou telling us that your world has gone through not one, but two world wars!”

“Yes,” John replied, a grim look on his face, “the first world war ended 27 years ago. We thought that that one would be the worst war the world had ever seen. How wrong we were.”

“I have a proposal for you,” Luna said, stopping just behind a large pair of doors behind the throne. “Our kind has not experienced a true war for thousands of years. Hence, we are ill equipped and prepared for battle. However, you seem to be fully prepared for dealing with war.”

John looked at her curiously and responded, “Yes, that is true. What are you getting at?”

Luna sighed and turned to John and asked, “I am asking that you lead the final assault to protect our city.”

John simply stared at her in shock and awe. “Me? Leading? I-I am honored your majesty, but why me and not you?”

Luna sighed and said, “I am worried about the safety of Loyalty, the element that you managed to save. I am going to stay behind to give support to my ponies who are sheltered within our castle walls. I will offer medical support to them, especially to Loyalty.” She then turned and placed a hand on John’s shoulder. “Look, I chose you because of who you are and what you can do. You are the most equipped for this position. You have had previous leadership experience, and you can kill efficiently. Besides, you have inspired our soldiers, and given hope to my ponies.”

John simply stared at her in shock, fully processing this information. Panic began to take over his mind. He had never felt this panicked since he was given command of the 1st Infantry Division. However, John was better than that. Taking a deep breath, getting a grip on his brain, John looked back at Luna and responded, “Ok. I’ll do it.”

Luna smiled and leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the cheek, causing them to turn into a bright red. Luna then opened the door to reveal a staircase, leading down into the pitch-black basement. “Hurry,” she said as she used her magic to illuminate the stairs, “we don’t have much time.” John brought his hand to his cheek, grazing over the place where Luna had kissed him, causing a dopey smile to form on his face. He then followed Luna down into the basement, to prepare for the upcoming assault.