Author's Note
Ey guys, I decided to take a break from “The Lost Crafter” to write this one-shot. I might make another one or a whole story based on this in the future, but, for now, this is just a little something I did for fun to take a break. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed.
I Forgive You
Time Keeper was pretty nervous about today. One day, he was a simple watch maker, the next, he was on the front lines of the biggest war in Equestrian history. They awaited for the changelings to arrive. If they managed to repel them, a substantial amount of forces would come in to support them and allow them to counterattack. If they failed, the changelings would make their way to Canterlot, and they’d lose the war. All the pressure was on their squad’s back.
He sat with his back to the trench and his Lee-Metford Mk 1 in hoof. He looked to his right at the pony setting up the Lewis Gun. That machine gun is crucial to their defense. His commanding officer walked through the trench, inspecting every little bit. They needed to get this right, otherwise it would be over for Equestria. One pony in particular who didn’t seem so nervous was his good friend Star Charmer. She walked through the trenches as if it was nothing. Star Charmer always had a big smile and an optimistic attitude. Just like her name suggests, she was really charming. Time Keeper had grown quite fond of her, and he cared about her a lot.
“Hey, T. How’s it going?” She asked.
“Hey, Star. I’m good. Just a little nervous.”
“Yeah, I am, too. I sure hope we can pull off a victory today. If we don’t, our entire race will die.”
“Well that eases the pressure.” Time said sarcastically. He sighed as he put his head into his hooves.
“Hey, Time Keeper, it’s gonna be okay.” She told him. “Have confidence in our troops. Sure there may be only a few hundred of us, but we are all strong. As long as we’re together, we can do anything, no matter the odds.”
“You’re right.” He said. “Well, we should probably prepare for the battle.”
“Yeah, we don’t wanna get caught out.” She agreed. They peeked their heads over the trenches. Several ponies stood outside of the trenches. They had their binoculars out scanning the horizon for anything unusual.
“Keep your eyes out.” The commanding officer, Colonel Quick Loader said.
“Yes, sir.” The lookouts said returning their gaze to the horizon. One guard came running up to the colonel. He said something to him that no one else could here.
“Troopers, we’ve just received word that the reinforcements are on their way. Once these changelings arrive, we just need to hold them off for about an hour.” Everyone had a hushed sigh or relief. “Listen up, this is the most critical hour in Equestrian history. What happens in this hour will dictate the future of Equestria and pretty much the whole world. This is what our service has lead us up to. This is what the days of training prepared us for. This is what the brothers and sisters we’ve lost are wanting us to win. This is our time to shine, our hour to show who we are. Now let’s do this! To your stations.”
“Sir, yes sir!” They all yelled. They continued to stare at the empty horizon. Nothing. Time checked himself over to make sure he was ready. He had his grenades on his belt well as some ammo clips, his Colt Pocket Hammerless, and his combat knife. Around him, there were 2-inch medium mortars and QF 1-pounder “Pom Poms” were set up around him. They aimed for the skies preparing to fire. That’s when he heard it.
“Hostiles inbound!!!” One of the lookouts yelled. He peered over the trenches. Sure enough, there was a hoard of changelings approaching them.
“Open fire!” Someone yelled. Instantly, both sides started shooting at each other. Changeling G98’s killed many ponies right off the bat, but the Lewis Guns did a good job of cutting down many of them. Explosions rang through the air as both sides shot mortars at each other. Time Keeper cocked his rifle and began firing at the enemy. Despite being a watch maker, he was a good marksman and got many headshots. His friend Star Charmer followed suit. The Pom Poms took most of the airborne changelings out. Creatures were screaming left and right.
“Man down!”
“Watch your left!”
“Give ‘em everything you’ve g-ah!”
Time Keeper narrowly avoided a mortar shell that landed a few yards away from him. He watched as a body of his comrades was sent high into the air.
“Fall back from the front trench!” The colonel yelled. “Cover them!”
“Sir, yes sir!” Time Keeper raised his rifle and covered the retreating troops. Despite being good shots, they couldn’t protect the retreating troopers from the mortar fire. Many ponies were killed, the only trace of them was a small crater. The changelings continued to advance. The Equestrians held their ground as they fired upon the horde. Time watched as explosions erupted around him, and ponies dropped left and right.
“Watch the right!” A pony yelled. Time Keeper looked over and saw a group of five changelings trying to flank them. One pony quickly pulled up his rifle and shot one. He, then pulled out a grenade. Before he could throw it, however, a changeling quickly shot him dead. He fell back and the grenade fell off the handle, activating it. Time Keeper looked and his body was falling right next to Star. He knew the grenade would detonate once the top part hit the ground. Without thinking, Time Keeper through himself at her and pushed her away from the explosive, knocking both their rifles out of their hooves. Once it blew up, Time quickly got up. He pulled out his pistol and shot one of the changelings. He reached over and grabbed Star’s pistol and shot another, before shooting the last two simultaneously. He dropped her pistol next to her and picked up his rifle. She did the same.
“Thanks.” She said.
“No problem. Now let’s focus on the battle.” He continued to fire at the rushing changelings. After gunning several down he dropped back under cover to evade bullets and shells while he reloaded. He looked over the trench to see the changelings being held back. Their advance was halted, and the changelings began to fall back, slowly. Time got back down in the trench to avoid an explosion. In front of him, laid at a dead earth pony. Normally, that wouldn’t surprise him, but he saw a stab mark in its neck. Upon close inspection he saw they were from a knife.
“What the buck?” He asked. How the hell did he get stabbed by a knife? Changelings didn’t carry knives. If they were ever in melee combat, they’d use their fangs, which were surprisingly effective. So how did-?
“T! Look out!” He looked to his left and saw a shell land a few get away from him. He was sent flying back. When he landed, everything went black.
Time Keeper slowly woke up. His vision was blurred, but he could see the dead bodies that lay around him. He slowly got up, picking up his rifle. He only had a few clips left on his belt. He ignored the pain that ran through his body as he shot at more changelings.
“Time Keeper?” Someone asked to his right. He looked over to see Star Charmer. “I thought you were dead.”
“So did I, but here I am.” He said. “How long was I out for?”
“45 minutes. Now come on, let’s continue firing.”
He peered his head over the trench. He continued to shoot the changelings with his rifle. After unloading another magazine, he got back down to reload. After removing the clip inside, he replaced another one. Cocking his gun, he picked his head up. However, when he pulled the trigger, nothing shot. He tried again. Nothing. He tried cocking it. Same result. He went back down to reload.
“No, no, no, no, no!” He yelled in frustration. “Please, not now.”
Quickly putting in another clip, he tried again. No difference. His gun was jammed.
“Shit.” He said under his breath. He through the gun aside in anger. He looked around the dead bodies. He needed a Lee-Metford MK 1. However, around him laid Type 38’s and Martini-Enfields. There was also a flamethrower, but he didn’t want to use it. He needed to find a Lee.
“Hold this position.” He told his comrade. “I’m going to be right back.”
He then took off in a sprint through the trench. After a good minute of dodging mortar shells and bullets, he found what he was looking for.
“Perfect.” He said. He, also, took a few ammo clips while he was there. Quickly loading the gun, he fired at a changeling attacking from his left.
“They’re falling back! Push!” The colonel yelled. The troops did as ordered and rushed out of the trenches. The bayonets took the lead, the infantry not far behind them. They jumped into the trenches and began making work of the changelings. Fierce fighting broke out. There were ponies stabbing changelings with bayonets, changelings biting ponies, and explosions happening around the trench. Time pulled out his knife and stabbed a nearby changeling. He could barely hear, the sounds of explosions rang through his ears. However, he could still hear the screams of the dying. After a few minutes, they flushed the changelings out of the trench. The changelings were now holding in the furthest trench away from their base.
“Time Keeper,” Colonel Loader said, “I need you and Star Charmer to go around that hill and flank them. We’re dwindling with troops so we need to surprise them. You must be careful you don’t alert them, otherwise you’re bucked and this whole operation would go to Tartus.”
“Got it.” Time said. “Star, come on!”
The duo made their way through roughly 90 yards of trenches. They needed to get around that hill without alerting the changelings. They quickly ran around it reaching the other side. There was a small forest to their side that they used to stay hidden. His walkie-talkie started to buzz.
”Are you in position?” The colonel asked.
“Yes sir.” He whispered back.
”We’re gonna begin our assault.” Just as he said that, Time could see ponies rushing over the trenches. Time then raised his rifle and began firing at the changelings inside the trench. While the trench protected them from the running ponies, they were sitting ducks to Time Keeper. He got one more kill before reloading his rifle. He then killed many more before they realized where he was. By that time, it was too late. The ponies began pouring into the trenches.
“They’re making their way into the trenches.” Time said. “Hold your fire. We don’t want to hit any of them.”
Much to his surprise, he heard a loud bang from his left. He watched as a charging pony dropped. There was another bang before he looked to see what was happening.
“Star! What the buck are you-!”
“I didn’t want it to have to end this way.” She said as she pointed her gun at him. He slapped it away before punching her across the muzzle, causing her to bleed.
“You’re a traitor!” He yelled.
“Guess again.” She said. Green blood poured out of one of her nostrils. He gasped.
“You’re a changeling.” He said softly. She sighed.
“Yes, I am a changeling.” She told him with a solemn tone. She transformed into one.
“But-but I cared about you. I treated you like a sister. I loved you!” He stated in disbelief. “That was all a lie?!”
“No. It wasn’t. I felt a deep connection with you, too. I had wished you didn’t find out.”
“Then why did you shoot those ponies?”
“While I care for you, I still have a job.” Time sighed.
“Well I, also, have a job to do.” He said as raised his pistol.
“You wouldn’t shoot me.”
“Try telling me that when you’re dead, bug brain.”
“Fine, but will you shoot Star Charmer?” She morphed back into the pony she was disguised as. Time became reluctant to pull the trigger. He had his hoof on it, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Hey, dumbass! Pull the trigger. His brain yelled. His heart, however, didn’t want to. You can’t kill her. She’s your friend! He held the pistol with a shaky grip as he settled his inner conflict. If Star made any moves, he’d shoot.
“Pulling the trigger is what your squad wants you to do. But is it what you want to do?”
”Time Keeper! What the buck is going on up there? Why do you have a gun pointed at Star? Is she a changeling?” The colonel asked through the walkie-talkie.
“Yes sir.” He responded.
”Shoot her an come help us in the trench!” He ordered.
“Well?” Star asked. “What are you going to do?”
Time closed his eyes. For my friends, my family, and my country.
“What year were you born in?”
“1899, why?”
“I need to know what to put on your gravestone.”
Bang!
He looked at Star’s corpse. She was now in a changeling which reminded him why he shot her. Time had a duty to do. He turned to head back down to the trenches. He jumped in and joined the fighting, using his rifle and knife. No one could tell which side was winning, but that didn’t matter. Both sides would fight to the last creature’s last breath in order to achieve victory. Then, there was a loud noise that caught everyone off guard.
It was a gunshot, nothing special, but after that, several changelings dropped dead simultaneously. There was only one gun that could do that: an A-5. However, no one in their squad had an A-5. So where did it come from?
“Reinforcements!” A pony yelled. “The reinforcements are here!”
Hundreds of ponies came rushing across the trench bridges, and several jumped them. They started firing at the changelings. Many were equipped with BAR light machine guns or A-5 shotguns. They poured into the trenches and instantly began killing. There were too many ponies and the changelings saw no hope. They tried to flee, but most were gunned down by the BAR’s, A-5’s, or Lewis guns.
“Come on, troops! Time to counter!” The colonel yelled.
“Yahoo!” Some of them cheered. Others put their hooves in the air as they ran. Now, they were pursuing the changelings back to the hive.
Time Keeper sat alone in the woods. He watched as the Sun went completely under the horizon, and the moon filled the sky. They had defeated the changelings a good day prior. Now he was just honoring an old friend. In front of him sat a rock. He let a small tear fall from his eyes as he read what was on it.
“Rest in peace Star Charmer. 1899-1918.”
He got up and saluted her grave. Then, he turned to head back to the base. Before he left, he stopped and turned his head to face the burial site. He said one thing before leaving.
“I forgive you.”