"It's not easy to take a life. I never enjoyed killing, but I did what I had to in order to protect those who fought by my side," Twilight said.
"It's good that you do not find enjoyment in the act of taking the life of another, even in defense of yourself or those you care for," Celestia said, "I just wish you did not have to experience such an act".
"I know this may be rhetorical, but would you kill again?" Luna asked.
"If my life or the life of somepony I care for was in danger, I would not hesitate for a second to take the life of the aggressor," Twilight said.
"That is both a good and troubling thing," Celestia said.
"Do not think me a simple killer, for I am not. I will not, however, let another of my friends fall because I hesitated while they were in danger," Twilight said.
"I do not think of you as a killer, Twilight. I fear that you may fall victim to the darkness that once took my sister away for a thousand years," Celestia said, "I do not know what I would do if I had to banish you to the moon as I had to do to her".
"I assure you, Princess, that won't happen," Twilight said.
"I hope you are right," Celestia said.
"Ah don't want ta sound uninterested, but do ya mind skipping the details on this battle?" Applejack asked, "I want to get to the real meat of the story".
"I don't really mind. I didn't even move from behind the sandbags, so it's not like I'm skipping out on anything all that interesting," Twilight said.
"Damn it all!" Dreadson yelled as he noticed Twilight was not where he left her.
"Is everything alright, sir?" Corporal asked.
"It seems our purple friend managed to escape during that little skirmish," Dreadson said.
"She didn't escape, sir," Corporal said.
"Then might I ask where it is?" Dreadson asked.
"She's resting by the sandbags, sir," Corporal said, "And she's a pretty good shot, too, sir".
"Good shot? You mean to tell me it has a weapon of its own?" Dreadson asked.
"I gave her my 1911 and told her how to fire it, sir," Corporal said.
"We know next to nothing about that thing, and you gave it a gun?" Dreadson growled.
"I figured it was the right thing to do, sir," Corporal said.
"And what gave you that idea?" Dreadson asked.
"She needed a way to defend herself from the Germans, sir," Corporal said.
"And did it not once occur to you that it could have easily turned your gun on you and us?" Dreadson asked.
"It did not, sir," Corporal said.
"That's what I thought. However, it's going to trust you more so right now than me. I want you to go over there, get your gun back, and bring our purple 'friend' over to me," Dreadson said.
"Yes sir," Corporal said.
Corporal began walking back to Twilight, afraid of what was to come. The captain was not known for being a fan of violence, but he was no stranger to it. Knowing that Twilight knows how to fire a gun might cause him to come down a tad harshly on her, and Corporal was powerless to stop him if it came to that. This was a thought he did not like one bit. However, he intended to remain in the captain's good graces, so he did not dare disobey the order given to him.
"Twilight, you awake?" Corporal asked as he gently shook Twilight.
"Yea, just a little scared," Twilight said.
"And why's that?" Corporal asked.
"It was too easy for me to pull that trigger so much. I knew that each pull of it could kill whoever was in front of me, but I still did it without a second thought," Twilight said.
"You did what you had to. None of us are proud of what we do, but it is something that has to be done. If we don't take their lives, they will take ours. If they take our lives, it won't be long before they take the lives of those we hold closest. I do not fight for myself, but my brothers around me, for my friends and family back home, and for innocents that I do not even know exist," Corporal said.
"Still, why is it so easy?" Twilight asked.
"Motivation to protect those you care about. You consider me your friend, and would not want anything to happen to me. You also want to make sure you stay alive to continue to make sure nothing happens to me. This is why the killing is easy. Do not take pride in killing, do not smile as you pull that trigger, but do not be afraid to kill when those you care for are in danger," Corporal said.
"It still scares me," Twilight said.
"Well, we can't dwell on this right now. The captain wants to see you, though I don't exactly know why," Corporal said.
"Best to not keep him waiting," Twilight said as she got to her hooves.
"And I'll be taking this back," Corporal said as he bent down to grab the pistol.
"Not like I want to keep it on me right now, anyway," Twilight said.
With that, Twilight and Corporal began their walk back to Dreadson. Twilight was already afraid of the captain, now she had to deal with him after a battle. She was afraid he'd try to kill her for sure if he found out she could handle their weapons, so she decided to keep that a secret as long as possible. When the duo arrived at where the command tent used to be, Twilight gulped silently. She had taken notice of the captain, and he did not look too happy. Not wanting to upset him more than he probably is, she walked over and sat down in front of him.
"I hear that you were given one of our weapons and was told to use it. Is this true?" Dreadson asked.
"That's correct," Twilight said, trying not to let fear take hold.
"I want you to follow me, then," Dreadson said.
Twilight gulped then got up and began to follow the captain. She knew she was in for it now. She was pegged as a threat, and she stood no chance of going home now. She summoned up memories of all the good times she'd had back in Equestria to try and distract her from her upcoming execution. However it pained her to remember her friends, family, and the princesses, she wanted thoughts of them to be her last. She saw an end to the terrain closing in, and readied herself. She wanted to flex her wings, but resisted the urge.
When the duo had reached the cliff, Dreadson pulled out his personal 1911. Twilight steadied herself for the shot, and hoped it would be quick. However, the shot never came. Instead of taking aim at Twilight, Dreadson handed her the pistol. Was he going to ask Twilight to take her own life? Twilight refused to move, or grab the gun.
"I am not going to hurt you. I want to see if you really know how to properly use this," Dreadson said.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Twilight asked.
"If it is true that you, a hooved creature, can use this gun properly, then I want to see it for myself," Dreadson said.
"You want to see if I'm a threat, in other words," Twilight pointed out.
"No, actually. I want to see just how well you can use this, more so out of curiosity," Dreadson said.
Twilight gave him an unsure look, and held it for what felt like forever. If she started to take the gun, would he try and turn it on her? Does he have another hidden away in case she takes this one away too quickly? Twilight eventually shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts. His tone sounded sincere, and he did not look threatening at the moment. Figuring she was truly safe, Twilight wrapped the pistol in her magic and lifted it out of the captains hand, causing him to step back out of shock. All it took was one simple gesture to tell Twilight where to fire.
Twilight first walked beside the captain so she could keep an eye on him in case she needed to defend herself. Once she was in a favorable position, Twilight aimed the pistol at the cliff and pulled the trigger seven times, pausing after every shot to check her peripherals. After all seven shots were finished, Twilight levitated the pistol back to Dreadson, who was standing in awe at the display. When the trigger was pulled, the slide flew back, but there was no recoil. All seven shots were fired in the exact same direction, from the exact same position, offering the best accuracy anyone could ever display.
Dreadson finally took notice of the pistol hovering in the air after a few moments, and took hold of it. After he ejected the clip, he re-holstered the pistol and walked over to Twilight and bent down and extended his hand. Twilight slowly extended her hoof to return the gesture, still wary of the captain.
"You fire better than any of my men. Hell, you fire better than the entire fucking military. I wouldn't normally do this, but I would like to extend an offer to join the corps. Become a United States Marine, fight by our side," Dreadson said, "Do you accept?".
Twilight was baffled by this sudden offer. She was once being interrogated by the captain, and now he was asking her to join his fighting force. If she said yes, she'd undoubtedly be thrust into more combat situations. The danger of dying in combat weighed heavily on her mind with that thought. However, should she say no, what would happen? It was unlikely she would be given a gun to defend herself, and she still had no idea how to get home. In the end, she chose to take the fighting chance, and accepted the captains offer.
"Normally, you'd have to go through boot camp for this, but I doubt they'd take you. With what I just saw, I can tell you'll be a valuable asset to the corps," Dreadson said, "So, welcome to the United States Marine Corps, private".
"I did tell you name, right?" Twilight asked.
"I do not remember it. I had a counter attack to deal with, after all," Dreadson said.
"Oh yea. Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said.
"Welcome to the corps., private Sparkle," Dreadson said.
Twilight just bowed at this.
"Ah thought you said they were cynical," Applejack said.
"Humans are cynical. But I had handled myself well in combat, and had not turned the pistol I was given on any of the other Marines. I am also able to fire the guns I aim with absolutely zero recoil, so my accuracy is the best in their world," Twilight said, "With that kind of resume, who wouldn't want me to join them?".
"But, Twilight, why exactly did you accept that offer? You knew it would involving more fighting, more killing... so why?" Rarity asked.
"I wanted to have a fighting chance of getting home. If I declined, I'd probably be left without a weapon for defense, and I'd be easy pickings for any Germans who happened across me," Twilight said, "I also wanted the company".
"Twilight, what are these things?" Pinkie asked, holding a grenade.
Twilight quickly took notice of the missing pin, and swiftly bucked the grenade away, then summoned a rather large shield. The explosion that came after a couple of quick seconds caused every pony in the room to cower and cover their ears. After dropping her shield, Twilight glared at Pinkie with a look of annoyance.
"Do NOT touch anything that I have with me unless you ask first!" Twilight yelled, "Anything you can remove will probably kill you if mishandled... they're NOT toys!"
"What was that thing, anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"That was a Mark two fragmentation hand grenade. They have about a five second fuse, and the explosion sends shrapnel in all directions. If I didn't put that shield up in time, at least one of us would've been sent to the infirmary, if not the morgue," Twilight explained.
The whole room went silent for a little while, trying to take in the fact that they just came so close to fatal injury.