"The sunken road was filled with pieces of uniforms, weapons, and dead bodies."
-Lieutenant Ernst Junger, German Soldier on the Somme, 1916
Twilight Sparkle flopped down on the ground, belly-side up in what felt like moist dirt.
Gathering her senses, the purple mare got to her hooves and dusted off her frazzled mane. In an attempt to gather her bearings, Twilight started up a small hill that overlooked the land beyond it. From what she could tell, it was still morning, the sun just now glistening the hilly mounds of dirt with it's grace. Twilight was almost at the top, her forehead breaking the horizon from the small summit.
"My element shouldn't be too far away. I've only got to check my surroundings so I suppose I could use this hill as a reference point if I wander too far. Now to find out just where the hay I am-"
Twilight gasped.
After reaching the crest of her rugged climb, Twilight had a striking overview of the fields sitting in front of her. Only, they weren't grassy rolling plains that danced in the wind like back home. The open spaces were filled with flooded craters and long wiry fences with tiny pricks on them. The air around her was eerie; almost as quiet as Fluttershy save the low groan of the wind and the crickets.
"What is all this?" Twilight asked in disbelief, saddened at the damage done to the landscape.
Upon further inspection of the ground ahead of her, Twilight could faintly make out long slits dug into the ground snaking their way through the ground paralleling each other. Shapes shifted and scurried along these narrow dugouts in the soil, each line staring at each other from across the decimated land.
"Something's out there. I better not interfere . . ." Twilight said cautiously as she began a light trot down the hill to search for her element.
Sifting her way through the terrain, Twilight found it harder and harder to take a step as her hooves continued to get bogged down by the muddy earth beneath her. She found it even harder to advance when she came across those wire-like fences. Shrugging it off, Twilight tried to step over them but caught her foreleg on one of the barbs, the cut she received drawing some blood.
"Ow! Why in the name of Celestia would anypony put this here?" She seethed as she rubbed her cut foreleg.
She observed the wire more deeply and noticed several stakes embedded in the ground holding the sharp death traps in place. With careful practice, Twilight enveloped the stakes with her telekinetic grasp and removed them, thus clearing her path forward. The atmosphere around her grew even more uneasy, the sound of metal clinking on each side of her. The noises were coming from the slits in the ground, by now shouting had begun to emanate from these areas.
"C'mon lads, lets go give fritz the business!" Shouted a voice in clear Equestrian coming from her right.
"Hier kommen sie!" Cried another voice on the left in a strange dialect.
Twilight whipped her head back-and-forth between the two lines, gazing at the activity in confusion. The voices were so determined, frantic. She heard more metallic clinking and shouting, then it grew quiet on the side that had been speaking Equestrian. She couldn't understand the others, but she listened closely on the ones speaking her vernacular tongue. The voices shrank to a low murmur except for one soul that seemed to stand out. Twilight couldn't hear it well, but he seemed to be giving a speech, riling his friends up for something.
" . . . No retreat men! For king and country!" The voice finished.
Twilight squirmed where she stood, the tone of his voice insinuating something serious.
"I better get outta here before-"
A high-pitched whistle screamed through the air causing Twilight to cringe and cover her ears with her hooves. A loud cacophony of screams and yells filled the air as hundreds of dark silhouettes rose from the slit in the ground on her right. Twilight stood in awe as she watched the figures rush forward through the misty morning fog, standing stock-still at this stunning display.
Thwip . . . Thwip . . Thwip-Thwip . .
The strange sounds, resembling loud balloon pops, began as soon as the entities started towards the opposite end of the field as the air around Twilight was filled with a sudden heaviness. The area around her head was engulfed with tiny gusts of air, one of the small gusts blowing straight through her hair, leaving it slightly singed.
"What the . . ." Twilight began.
About to reach for the small hole in the locks of her mane, Twilight glanced at the rows of silhouettes moving toward her. Like rain from a storm cloud, the forms began dropping to the ground, each fallen figure emitting a pained cry. The two-legged creatures appeared closer and closer until they emerged from the fog. The ones that had not fallen wore metal caps and were covered in dirty cloths as they ran on two legs, breathing rapidly as they rushed by Twilight, not even noticing her. The beasts wore terrified faces, none of them seeming to be happy about anything.
They looked so . . . alien.
As Twilight ducked low, she couldn't help but notice a smaller being with a smoother complexion approach at a quickened pace just like the others. He donned a panicked face as he ran past several of his fallen comrades. The younger creature abruptly stopped in his tracks directly in front of Twilight.
Had he spotted her? Was he going to turn her in? Thoughts raced through her mind.
So many things were happening that Twilight couldn't piece together. Instead of reacting to the purple pony in front of him, the animal dropped to it's knees, staring straightforward then down at his upper torso. Twilight looked too and spotted a small red blotch forming on the thing's clothing. It reddened everything that it touched, and that was when Twilight realized it was blood.
Blood, and lots of it.
It was then that the alien creature glanced up at Twilight for the first time, acknowledging her presence. It's lower lip quivered as it stared at the mare in question. Twilight could only stare back as the creature's eyes rolled up in their sockets, the frail thing falling over on it's back. Twilight, shocked from what she just saw fully understood everything now. The thing in front of her was dead, just like all the others that had fallen back there.
Dead.
There was a word she had not used in a long time.
A tear had formed at her eye as Twilight took in the full scope of her surroundings. Looking out of the crater, she could see other rushing creatures cry in agony as they slumped to the ground. Some remained still as the blood pooled around their limp bodies. In the distance, Twilight could see another, older creature waving his fellows on while he blew a whistle. The thing twitched, and fell over. It's head slumped towards Twilight, revealing the left half of it's partially mutilated face. Half of it had been torn straight off, revealing the muscles and tendons that sat beneath it's skin.
"Charge!"
"Keep moving, keep mo- ARGH!"
The screams and dying yells echoed around Twilight as she too hit the watery muck that was now mixed with blood, passing out from a sudden, extreme lightheadedness.
Twilight awoke with a start, remembering where she had been before the darkness claimed her.
Her cut hoof ached a dull pain as she shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. How long had she been out? It was darker now, the sun had been down for hours now. Blinking repeatedly, a dark shape came into view in front of Twilight. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that the lump of red cloth in front of her were the limp bodies of the creatures she had seen earlier. The dead things were everywhere.
A wave of memories flooded Twilight's mind, overwhelming her with grotesque scenes.
The ferocious charge.
The older animal's face torn off.
The dead youngling that had fallen at her hooves.
Remembering all of this simultaneously proved too much for the fragile mare, causing her to reel over and throw up. The stench in the air didn't help at all as she emptied her stomach of the daisy sandwich she had consumed earlier. Sitting back up, Twilight inched away from the rotting pile of flesh as she wept tears of fear and disgust. As she backed up, her hoof fell in something squishy, producing a sick meaty sound when she retracted it.
"W-what the? Oh Celestia no . . ." Exclaimed Twilight as she examined the thing she had just defiled further.
Unbeknownst to her, Twilight had planted her hoof in what appeared to be the eviscerated stomach of one of the dead beasts, it's innards and unmentionables covering the purple mare's now-gored hoof. Unable to withstand it, Twilight threw up again, dirtying the puddle that she wallowed in. Ignoring the revolting stew she was sitting in, Twilight hugged herself as she rocked back and forth in the bloodied crater filled with dead things. She began speaking unintelligibly, blubbering hysterical phrases to herself.
"I . . . I wanna go home . . . " Twilight spoke as she choked on sobs.
Her episode continued for another twenty minutes until she calmed down enough to leave the crater. It was getting cold out, and Twilight needed to find some type of shelter. Even though she had just witnessed an unimaginable slaughter, her original mission materialized in her mind.
"Find your element Twilight. You need to be strong." She said to herself.
Upon leaving the hole, Twilight wandered aimlessly through the cooling night, tripping on the dead of the day's previous fiasco. The sight of all these corpses sickened Twilight, causing her to collapse back down to her hooves. She was about to break into tears again until she saw something that brought hope and anxiety to her heart.
A faint light in the distance.
Dismissing her alarmed conscious, Twilight clumsily trotted toward it, on the verge of crying. As she neared the slit in the earth, she could make out faint voices speaking to each other in their own native tongue. It definitely wasn't Equestrian but it was a sign of life, and that was good enough for her. She approached the edge of the trench dug in the ground and hopped in, falling loudly onto the solid boards. Though the impact hurt, she was on a dry surface, much better than the freezing cold soil back there. She was so relieved that she almost didn't notice the burly aliens rush her, pointing long tubes at her head.
"Was ist das?"
She stood up quickly, taking a pathetic defensive stance. The monsters in front of her wore metal helmets similar to those out in the field save the sharp spike protruding from the top. They muttered to each other, probably debating on what to do with her. Growing more frightened by the second, Twilight spoke in a scared tone.
"Please, please don't hurt me! I don't want any trouble!" She yelped.
The beasts recoiled, sharing glances as they spoke to each other in their own language.
"Es spricht? Scheiße "
Twilight stood there for what seemed like an eternity, just hoping that they didn't choose to kill and eat her. After discussing Celestia-knows-what, a distinguished representative of the animals approached her, it's tube still focused on her forehead.
"Englisch? Sie sprechen sie?" It seemed to ask.
Twilight gulped and chose her next words carefully.
"Please, don't hurt me! I just need to find my tiara and then I'll be on my way!" Pleaded Twilight as she took a step towards the thing.
The creature that had just spoken noticed this, and was obviously provoked as it had begun to scream nonsense that Twilight could hardly make out.
"Nicht ein weiterer Schritt! Näher, und ich werde deinen Kopf wegblasen!" It yelled, jabbing it's metal tube closer to her.
Twilight flinched and cowered up beside the wall of the trench, whimpering in fear. She could still hear the creatures conversing wildly until they seemed to reach a realization.
"Warten Sie, Captain. Siehst du nicht? Es ist eine verdammte Einhorn!"
"Was? Das ist lächerlich! Diejenigen, gibt es nicht!"
"Kein Kapitän! Werner ist richtig! Schauen Sie sich die Horn!"
The group of monsters gazed at Twilight for an extended duration until they began laughing foolishly. The thing that had been yelling walked right up to Twilight and grasped her by the scruff of her neck, displaying her to it's friends.
"Heilige Scheiße, es ist ein Einhorn!" It spoke heartily.
The group howled with laughter as the thing holding Twilight moved toward one end of the trench. As she passed the dirtied sections of the dugout, they eventually came to a lit area of the trench where a young creature, much like the one in the field, sat as it flipped through the pages of . . . a book?
"Friedrich! Das ist mehr Ihre Gasse. Kümmern sich um sie!" The thing carrying Twilight spoke.
The younger animal looked up in astonishment as Twilight was chucked into it's lap, both the creature and the purple mare flinching in surprise. In retrospect to many of the other bipedal things, this one must have been no more than a mere boy, it's features hinting something of the masculine gender. It kept glancing at Twilight and back at it's superior with a look of confusion.
"Kapitän, was ist es?" It asked.
"Was bedeutet es aussehen?" The older beast spoke as it walked away, no longer interested.
Twilight and the boy stared at each other for what seemed like hours, not bothering to move. He wasn't laughing like the others, in fact he looked a lot more curious. More understanding.
"Sie sicher sind, ein interessantes Geschöpf." It spoke with interest.
Naturally, Twilight couldn't understand a thing.
She became fed up with her situation, now more and more assured that she would never find her element and most likely end up a rotting corpse in the middle of a war-torn field. Because that's where Twilight felt she was right now.
In the middle of some heavily disputed war.
Twilight saw that the boy was still observing her, making mental notes in his head. He picked up the book on the ground and wedged the book mark in so as not to lose his place. After he set it down, Twilight could clearly see the title as it glistened in the waning candle-light.
The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer
A German Translation
The boy had noticed Twilight gazing at his book and found some amusement in this, the grin on his face widening. Twilight looked up at the boy just as he did down to her, a new understanding dawning between the two. The boy clasped his upper appendages to his chest and spoke slowly.
"Friedrich."
Twilight was perplexed.
A name? His hometown?
A wave of confidence rushing over her, Twilight placed a hoof on her chest and spoke in a nervous tone.
"Twilight."
The boy recoiled just as his comrades had earlier, obviously shaken at the pony in front of him uttering words. His eyes went wide and his mouth agape as he seemed to be struggling to comprehend something. Twilight felt like a stranger in a strange land. If everypony was going to react this way when she tried to talk, then she might as well have no business trying to communicate. She was tired, scared, and, having enough of the day's past events, curled up where she sat on the cold floorboards and tried to sleep. The relief of slumber apparently not coming to take her away, Twilight sat with a defeated look on her face.
She was never going to get home.
The boy saw this look of demoralization on the purple mare's face and did something Twilight never would have imagined anypony would do at the moment.
He began to read.
"Hier beginnt die Canterbury Tales . . ."
He read in a low voice so no one but Twilight and himself could hear. Her ears picking up the spontaneous voice, Twilight perked her head up and watched as the boy read line after line. He was engaged in his book, as was Twilight who stood up and trotted over to the younger creature, taking a seat in the open spot next to him. They sat like this for a while, one reading, one listening. Even though she couldn't understand a word of it, Twilight found a peculiar reassurance in his voice, as if nothing could harm her. At times he laughed and rubbed the mane on Twilight's head playfully, ruffling it further.
She didn't care though.
Eventually, the voices in the trench quieted down as did the boy's voice. He was growing tired as the night went on just as Twilight had begun to, her eyelids having difficulty staying open. Closing her eyes, Twilight allowed sleep to take her while she sat wrapped warmly in the blanket of the boy next to her.
Any dreams Twilight may have been having at the moment had faded away, the light of the morning stinging her eyes. The boy was already up, gathering up his spiked helmet and a metallic tube. He pulled back the bolt on it, ejecting a small capsule that fell to the ground with a distinct 'clink'. Twilight stood up and started toward the boy, but he held up a hand in rejection. He didn't look mad nor full of hate, instead it looked as if he was giving a warning. Neither spoke, but Twilight could easily understand what the hand meant.
Stay put.
Twilight sat back down and pulled a ragged cloth over her to ward off the morning chill. The boy, pleased he had done right, nodded at Twilight and walked toward the other end of the trench. Each of the odd creatures were now out of sight, but Twilight could hear a distinct voice that she recognized from the night before.
The superior.
It spoke proudly, and seemed to be encouraging the others. Twilight's mind had flashed her memories of what had happened last time she heard such a familiar speech. As if on cue, a screeching whistle tore through the air and the bipedal animals went over the top, yelling battle cries that seemed to pierce the morning air. Moments later, Twilight heard a sound that sent a chill up her spine.
Articulate pops coming from the distance coupled with pained cries.
It ended as soon as it began, the popping and the screaming seeming to die down like a fire snuffed out by water. A nauseating stench drifted by that resembled death, and lingered in the trench for a long time until the wind blew it southward. Twilight waited hours for the boy and his company to return, but they never came. She grew worried, and decided to take a walk around the trench. Perhaps she could look for food while she was up. Twilight fished through the dugouts, finding only trinkets of sentimental value among other strange things. She cringed whenever she came across pictures of the creatures with what seemed to be a female and their offspring. She was about to move on when she heard a noise . . . no, a voice.
And she could understand whatever was speaking the words.
"Sergeant, do you think fritz is still in there?" A younger voice asked.
"Only one way to find out. Mills! Gibson! Search that trench!" An older voice replied.
Panicked, Twilight looked for a place to hide but found she was too late when two pairs of wrapped leggings hit the ground in front of her, both of the faces they belonged to looking shocked.
"Sergeant! We got something over here!" One of them shouted.
Twilight yelped as she jumped back, hitting the wall of the trench. There would be no running this time.
"What in the blue blazes is that thing?"
"I don't know. Looks like some kid dumped a can o' paint on a Shetland pony."
The others accompanying the two creatures that had spotted her arrived and gazed in curiosity. Breathing heavily, Twilight tried to inch away, but found that there would be no chance of escape considering the amount of the monsters hindering her path.
"Should I shoot it?" One of the animals asked as it pointed it's metal tube right between Twilight's eyes.
"No you daft idiot! Why would you do that?" The other one said as it slapped the helmet of his fellow group.
Twilight was considering making a break for it until an odd sound got the attention of her and the animals surrounding her. A faint whistle. Not like the ones from before, but a lighter, more airborne sound.
"Get down!" One of the things said as an explosion of unimaginable size hit home and claimed the lives of everything in it's wide girth.
Twilight was sent ten feet into the air, landing with a prompt thud. Clearing her head, Twilight gazed upon the charred bodies of the beasts that had cornered her, the guts and gore exposed and simmering in the heat. Before she could allow her stomach to empty itself, Twilight was up and galloping onto a ramp out of the trench. Her hooves clopping on the ground and her raspy breathing was drowned out by the rain of fire that had begun to fall from the sky. Similar from that one in the trench, multiple explosions erupted around her, sending dirt and debris flying through the mid-morning air.
Go faster! Was all her mind could tell her as Twilight raced through a maelstrom of hellfire.
Seeking shelter, Twilight spotted a wooden building in the distance. Galloping up to the large double doors, Twilight stood before the frail structure and wondered if this was a good idea or not. The roof could easily cave in, putting a messy end to Twilight Sparkle. Not to mention the mysterious bombs raining from the heavens. An explosion went off twenty feet from where Twilight stood, pushing all reason out of her mind.
In place of staying outside, Twilight chose the darkened space of the building.
Wandering inside, she could now tell that this had once been a mill of some sorts, it's gears and levers long corroded by time and the war around it. She could hear screams outside as Twilight shut the doors behind her. Seconds later, small holes in the walls ripped open, letting in droplets of light. One ray, by way of complete coincidence, shone upon something that sat in the corner. The light reflecting off of it glinted in Twilight's eyes as she walked over to inspect it. To her surprise, the light had been bouncing off of the last thing she expected to see in this world.
Her tiara, one of the jewels reflecting the light that now seeped through the holes in the mill.
Sighing in relief, Twilight started toward it just as another explosion tore a hole in the roof. The splintered wood fell to the ground, separating Twilight from her ticket home.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" She cried.
More explosions decimated the mill as Twilight weaved through the debris, getting closer and closer to her element as the fire danced around her. She was within five feet of the tiara when a wooden beam fell to her leg, pinning her in place. The structural supports hung precariously above her, about to fall and crush her skull.
"Come on Twilight, just a little more . . ." she said as she enveloped the tiara with her magic.
The fire had weakened the supports, and a large 2x4 snapped off the roof and careened toward Twilight. Her element was right in front of her prompting Twilight to give it her all and lurch forward, scraping the skin off of her trapped leg.
Her hoof made contact with the tiara, and the purple pony was gone in a flash just as the wooden beam crashed to the ground.