Equestria was fragmented and the split between the New Lunar Republic and the Solar Empire had taken a heavy toll on everyone. The bloody, bitter civil war had gone on for almost two years now leaving millions dead in it’s wake and forcing both sides into committing terrible atrocities in the name of victory. Both factions had long since begun drafting significant portions of their populations into military service; those that could fight were sent to the front lines and those that could not provided labor for the military industrial complex that fueled the war. There were no exceptions to this last rule in the Solar Empire and so, two months prior, Twilight Sparkle had received notification that she was being drafted into the 32nd military thaumic division.
Unfortunately, things were not going well for the Solar Empire. While they had started the war with a significant advantage both in resources and the size of their fighting force, the brilliant tacticians in the Lunar Republic had managed to whittle down that advantage and what had seemed at the war’s onset like a sure victory was quickly becoming a fleeting hope as Luna’s forces besieged Canterlot, Celestia’s last stronghold, on all sides. The last chance for the Empire was to hold off the enemy forces long enough to force a negotiation that would be more favorable to their side than what would be forced upon them were they to suffer a crushing defeat.
Twilight lamented the predicament she and her nation faced but a deeply rooted patriotism and loyalty to Celestia kept her going. She had vowed to defend the capital with her life if need be and that was why she was, at the moment storming a hill with a small detachment of other unicorns and pegasi to capture an artillery placement which had been bombarding the city for days.
“Move private!” a sergeant yelled at her, gesturing at the top of the hill “Our side’s going to start bombing this placement any minute if we don’t capture it first!”
Twilight redoubled her pace and charged up the hill, bullets and streaks of magic whizzing by on all sides. The battle had taken a mental toll on twilight though, she had seen far too many of her friends gunned down, blown up, and slowly poisoned by gas shells and she was nearing her breaking point. With this in mind it came as no surprise when she froze upon hearing the low hum of an approaching gunship. Twilight had heard that they would be getting reinforcements, but as the aircraft crested the horizon it was clearly a Republic craft, jet black as night and bristling with gun placements that almost screamed one thing: Death.
As the gunship opened fire what was a battle quickly became a massacre, and Twilight broke and ran, ignoring the cries of her wounded comrades. She had no idea where she was going but she had to get away, away from all the terror, away from the death, destruction, and pain. Unfortunately for her though, the lone fleeing mare did not go unnoticed despite the surrounding chaos. As Twilight made her way past an unnoticed foxhole it’s inhabitant rose up and fired. The purple unicorn herd the sudden crack of a rifle followed by dull *thump* and a sharp pain in her left foreleg. Thinking quickly despite her pained state, Twilight rolled to the side, hiding behind a convenient tree which had been left largely untouched by the battle. When she was sure that she wasn't being pursued, the mare resumed her retreat, now heading for a forest a few dozen meters away that made up the western border of the field.
Upon reaching the safety of the forest, Twilight’s adrenaline rush left her and her consciousness became dominated by the pain in her injured leg. The mare knew that she was running on borrowed time now due to her injury and she had to get help quickly, but returning to the battle in search of a medic was simply not an option; after the appearance of the gunship it was unlikely that there was any medic on her side left to run to. The grim reality set in for Twilight that she had little choice but to keep moving, hoping desperately to come upon a village or other settlement where she could get help....hoping....
Twilight’s continued limping along for what seemed like hours, her thoughts growing more foggy due to the significant blood loss from which she was suffering. Finally, she couldn't continue. The unicorn tripped and fell on a rock, hidden under fallen leaves. Letting out a cry she slammed into the ground but found herself unable to get up. “Help!” she cried out, hoping in vain that somepony else might hear her and come to her rescue. This was a silly thought this deep in the woods though. As twilight began to drift into unconsciousness she could have sworn she heard the crunch of rapid, distant hoof-steps on fallen leaves growing louder by the minute. She could have sworn that she heard a gasp and saw the edge of a yellow mane dip into her rapidly shrinking field of vision and a concerned voice asking if she was alright. That would be silly this deep in the woods though, but stranger things have been known to happen....
The next several hours were a patchwork shifting between unconsciousness and vague awareness of surroundings for twilight. The mare was aware at intervals of disjointed snippets of reality: The rub of leaves as she was dragged along the ground.....the creak of an opening door.... the sharp pain of a hot iron in her wound....the firm pressure of a bandage....and finally, nothing as she lapsed once more into dreamless sleep....several more hours passed in this state.
Twilight gradually became aware of a bright light seeping into her lidded eyes. “SPIKE!!” she called out, her voice hoarse and cracked “Close the blinds!”. Not hearing a response, Twilight sighed and resolved to get up and do it herself. Upon attempting to stand, Twilight let out a pained yelp and fell down again as daggers of agony pierced her injured leg, reminding her of what she had been through. This memory however led her to the more confusing questions of where she was, who had rescued her, and whether their intent was good or ill. The pain had jolted Twilight’s eyes open, but as she looked around she began to groggily recall some of what she had felt after collapsing in the woods. The first thing she noticed, her leg, was still aching but the telltale seared flesh showing around the bandage that now encircled her bullet wound meant that somepony had known enough to cauterize it, stopping further blood loss. The limb had also been immobilized in a splint rendering it immobile. After taking stock of her own condition, Twilight surveyed the room in which she had been placed.
The mare seemed to be in a living room of some sort, left sprawled on a light green couch which sat near two large oak bookshelves, though most of the books it seemed had been carelessly tossed on the ground. The librarian began to fill with rage at what seemed to be such total disrespect for literature, her confusion temporarily forgotten, but the anger quickly dissipated when she saw the reason for the ransacked shelves. Whoever had rescued her must have been looking for the book which lay open on a small table in front of her. It seemed to be a text on basic surgery, open to an entry on foreign object removal and puncture wound treatment. After a few minutes of internal debate, Twilight decided that she could let the careless treatment of the books slide if it had been done to save her.
Suddenly, Twilight’s ears perked up, she had heard a dull thud from the floor above and muffled cursing, probably her unknown host. Very cautiously, Twilight lowered her three uninjured hooves onto the ground and managed to stand up off the couch. Unfortunately, the unicorn was still light headed from blood loss, and this coupled with having only three hooves on which to balance caused her to come crashing down off the side of the sofa, landing face first on the carpet but fortunately causing no further injury. The mare made a few feeble attempts to get up, but during the fall she had managed to wedge her injured leg beneath the couch and couldn’t shift position without causing herself immense pain.
Judging by the sudden sound of hooves galloping down a nearby stairway, this commotion had not gone unnoticed by the pony upstairs. “well” twilight thought, her nose digging into the rug “I guess I have to meet them sooner or later”.
Derpy had been having the most wonderful dream, an entire land made of muffins, some of them the size of buildings! Unfortunately, Derpy had tried to eat one of them, and after being woken by a loud crash, she discovered that she had been gnawing on her bedside lamp, and knocked it off it’s stand in the process. After cursing at the lamp and her own clumsiness a few times, the groggy pegasus picked up all the pieces, threw them out, and began her day. Derpy’s morning routine was interrupted however when, halfway through brushing her hair, she heard a loud *Thud* downstairs. The mare dropped her brush in surprise, suddenly remembering the hike she had taken the previous evening, the unicorn she had found in a clearing, shot, bloody, and dying. She remembered dragging the mare home, treating her wound, hoping desperately that she would pull through. After several hours vigil, night fell though, Derpy had done all she could for the injured pony and had been barely able to drag herself to her own bed before collapsing.
The gray pegasus raced downstairs, praying silently that a corpse would not be waiting for her on her at the bottom. As Derpy reached the bottom floor and turned into her living room she skidded to a halt over the motionless unicorn, her eyes wide with fear and concern. “Are you okay!” she practically yelled, fearing the worst.... an agonizing moment passed and Derpy was about to check for a pulse when the unicorn lifted her head, staring back at the pegasus with unmistakable gratitude “Yes....thank you”
Author's Note
(AN: This is the first fanfic I've written in a looooooong time, so I'd appreciate constructive criticism. I never really intended to publish this, but what the heck. If you want me to continue the series by all means tell me since I'm working on some other fanfictions that I enjoy working on a bit more and this one may end up being a one shot otherwise.)
