//------------------------------//
// 1.8 The Eve of Battle 
// Story: My Little Pony: Northern Aggression 
// by A. Tuesday 
//------------------------------//

	July 20, 1861 E.T. (Earth Time)

Today, I have finally decided to

Using her magic, Twilight lowered the pencil back down into the grass. She couldn’t think of anything to write in this journal she had been keeping. Despite everything that happened, she couldn’t think of the event that would get the glory of being written down in her Earth journal.
Fortunately, she didn’t need to worry about it too much. The officer, who had been in charge at that encampment all those months ago, McDowell, now stood before her. His medals and buttons jangled happily against one another. “Miss Twilight?” the brigadier general asked.
The unicorn looked up from her work. “Yes?”
“I’d suggest gettin’ some shuteye. My plans are to move out at around 0200 hours, and it’d be best for everybody here to get some rest.”
The mare sighed. “I know, I know. I’m just waiting for Rainbow Dash. Has she come back yet?”
McDowell shook his head. “Not yet. But I’m sure she’ll be along shortly. I suppose if you want to stay up long enough to wait for her, that’d be alright.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The officer turned to move, but then looked back at the mare. “You sure you don’t want to be out there in the field, helping your fellow soldier? Your magic sure could prove useful.”
The scholar looked to the ground in contemplation. She raised her head to the officer again. “No, my statement still stands. I’m staying as far away as I can, if that’s quite alright. Goodnight, sir.”
The Brigadier General tipped his hat and continued on his way, telling every other soldier there to go to sleep, because tomorrow was going to be a big day.
Twilight contemplated this as she looked at the darkening sky. The period of night where the sky was a deep cerulean had come about, and the waxing moon made it all the nicer. Noises began to wind down there, in Virginia. It was peaceful.
Except of course, for Applejack’s snoring. She had clocked out around 20 minutes ago, tired from the rigorous extra training she had done today as well as the travel time to the spot they rested at now. Twilight couldn’t blame the orange pony, who was sound asleep on the cot next to her.
She worried for her friend. Tomorrow would not be pleasant; she knew that. The first real battle of the war. Twilight hoped in her heart it’d be the only battle – but, her newfound knowledge of strategy and battle told her it wasn’t going to be that way. If only her magic could get her back to Equestria…
Suddenly, an idea came to her to write about for tonight. She hadn’t thought about getting home in a while, and it might be best to write down her notes on what had happened the last times, maybe try to figure out a plan. She looked down at the paper in front of her, levitated the quill into the inkwell again, and wrote.

July 20, 1861 E.T. (Earth Time)

Today, I have finally decided that I shall draw out a plan for getting home tomorrow during the battle. I know for sure I’m not going to get involved in the battle itself – I’d only hinder the Union’s chances of victory. Not that there’s much of a chance they can lose – as far as I know, the Confederacy is even less experience than we are.
Nonetheless, it’d be wise to stay out. I have no idea how to fight in a war, unlike my two friends here. Rainbow Dash has been doing reconnaissance and some aerial stuff ever since we got here. Balloons are apparently “easy to shoot down”, and there’s no other form of air transport here. Rainbow’s superior flying skills will probably be a decisive blow in this scuffle.

She found that tonight’s entry almost seemed to write itself. The mare paused, realizing how far she had digressed from her original subject. But she figured it might be best to continue with her recap of everything. Just to remind her where she was, what was going on.

And Applejack, she probably is the best artillery gunner out there.

It was true. In the last couple months, Applejack’s work on the farm had paid off, and she operated the cannons and artillery guns with more finesse than the other gunners combined. She had managed to stay mostly out of the battle as well, but Twilight still worries for her friend. Constantly. It wasn’t like a good shot wouldn’t take a chance at the artillery people. Or artillery ponies.
She was glad they were on better terms. Ever since Applejack got into that cider…well, nothing was the same. It got close, and their friendship was almost to the level it was before. But, there was still some tension left. On both of their parts.
Twilight hung her head. She wished she hadn’t acted that way. It did no one any good. It was bad enough they were split up in the first place…
Forget those thoughts for now. Back to the journal.  

The two of them almost make me wish I did something productive. Almost. But, I made my position clear to Lincoln that one time we talked. I am going to remain out of this war as much as I can. If I have to give strategically advice, then so be it. But, I’m not fighting a war that isn’t mine.  
Still, I can’t help but feel maybe if I intervene, this could end quickly. But, what if it isn’t supposed to? What if it’s supposed to drag on forever?
Who knows? I sure 

The paper was thrown out of her hands as a blur of cyan crashed into her, knocking her off her cot and only stirring AJ. After a brief cower in fear, Twilight opened her eyes to see and exasperated but excited Rainbow Dash standing on top of her.
Her pegasus friend smiled, “Hey, Twi’! I’m back!”
“I can see,” grumbled Twilight, “You knocked my journal all over the place.”
“Pssh,” Dash waved a hoof in the air, showing off a new boot specially made for her, “Even on the battlefield, you’re still an egghead.”
The purple mare couldn’t help but chuckle. Dash did the same as she got off her friend and walked over to her cot. The unicorn magicked all her papers into a neat stack, and lied down on her cot again, just relaxing. Two boots followed by another two flew into the air as Rainbow bucked them off her hooves. She exhaled as she flopped on her own cot.
The scholar sighed. “I’m glad you’re back. I was getting worried.”
“Worry about me?” Dash jokingly asked, “Me? You know how I am, Twilight. I’m invincible.”
“Now, now,” Twilight countered, “Just because it’s kind of hot outside doesn’t mean your head needs to get the same way, too.” The two of them shared another laugh.
The pegasus let out a relaxed sigh. “Yeah, yeah. It doesn’t matter. I got the information we needed. We’ll be sure to get those Dixie Devils tomorrow. McDowell has the plans. We’re set. All thanks to me.”
Twilight shook her head at her friend’s brashness. “Doesn’t calling them Devils seem a bit harsh?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” She paused, looking for the words. “I mean, we haven’t been told anything about them, yet. Lincoln told us he’d tell us later. All we know is that they’re disliked. What if they’re ordinary people just trying to get by?”
Rainbow turned to face her philosophical friend. “If they were ordinary people, why are we fighting a war with them?”
The scholar wanted to counter, but couldn’t find any reason against Dash’s statement. Twilight had wondered why a war was being fought, considering that no one had told her yet why she should be fighting for the Union. The answer was usually, “Why not?” But, Rainbow’s idea had put it into a bit of perspective.
At any rate, it was another reason why Twilight felt she shouldn’t be fighting. She hadn’t found a reason to yet – she felt she needed at least that.
“Got ya there,” Rainbow noted, “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to catch some Z’s. Big day tomorrow, you know? First battle, lots of flying. G’night.”
“Goodnight, Rainbow,” Twilight said softly, and sat up to resume her journal. The pegasus began to move around in her bed, trying to find a good place of rest, as Twilight resumed her journal.

Who knows? I sure don’t. 
At any rate, Rainbow did put a new spin on things. Maybe we don’t need to intervene because we can. Maybe we just need the right motivation to fight. A reason to dislike the Confederacy. So far, I’ve found none.
And until I do, I’m staying out of the battle. I’m praying to Celestial for the others.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

No sooner had she written down the last word than she fell back onto her cot, suddenly overcome with fatigue, and fell fast asleep on the surface, her papers still at her back hooves.

Smoke. Smoke and gunshots.	
That’s all Twilight could see as she looked around, trying to find Applejack. It was like a deep fog over here.
Not to mention the screams. The yells of all the soldiers dying on the field was absolutely mortifying. Twilight’s ear pressed back against her head as she called out for her friends.
“Applejack!” she called into the fray, “Applejack!”
BLAM! A union soldier’s head exploded in front of her, blood splattering all over her lavender mane. She recoiled in utter shock, but then shook her head. No, Applejack first. Why did she ever leave her artillery post?
Twilight realized she had remained in the same position this whole time, in the midst of the advancing Union Army and the steadfast Confederacy’s scuffle. Scuffle being the grossest understatement there ever could have been.
It was a nightmare. Blood and guts spilled everywhere, bodies dropped like bricks to the ground, and it was all Twilight could do to maintain her sanity and breakfast. 
The purple mare began to weave in and out of the soldiers, looking into the fray for her friend. Nothing.
“Apple- AH!”
She activated her magic instinctively, and looked up to see she had successfully captured an incoming cannonball. It hung in the air, swirling slightly, enveloped in a purple aura. Twilight lowered it to the ground gently.
She heard a whoosh overhead as Rainbow Dash appeared from the sky. Twilight looked up to her pegasus companion and shouted, “Dash! Have you seen AJ?”
“No, still lookin’!” called back her friend, as she reached into her saddlebag with her wing and pulled out a dart-like object. She heaved it downwards, towards the Confederacy. A large, fiery explosion followed, synchronized with the screams of agony from the Southerners.
Twilight cautiously advance, eyes wide, in between the Union soldiers who seems oblivious to the Equestrian pony. The mare realized with horror, among the bullets and badges and bayonets beside her, that there was nothing but her magic she could use to protect herself in this battle. And she highly doubted she’d see a bullet before it hit her.
Her heart began racing, exponentially increasing speed at a horrible rate. At one point, sound began to drown out, the only sound in her ears being the rapid thump-thump of her heart.
There was a muffled shout to the right. Twilight looked over to the direction of the sound, and almost heard herself say “What?”
Then, an explosion. From behind. She felt a splatter of liquid on her flank, and felt the vibrations of bodies hit the ground near her hooves. She froze in her tracks as a high-pitched buzzing replaced every sound she heard, including her heartbeat.
The pain in her head was awful, and to make matters worse, sound came back only to hear the words, “Retreat!”
Twilight looked around, panicking, having no idea what was going on as all the Union soldiers began to run the other way, back towards D.C. What was going on?
A fleeing soldier rammed into the idle horse and she fell face-first into the muddy ground. The pony turned over, looking up at the overcast sky, spitting out the bits of mud that had somehow gotten themselves into her mouth.  In contrast to the clouds, Rainbow appeared again, a bit scratched up, in fact.
“Twilight! Get up!” Rainbow screamed, “You need to move, now!”
“A…Applej…” Twilight attempted, recoiling from the reverberating pain going throughout her head. The cyan pegasus dashed away from the battle, leaving Twilight in the swarm of retreating Union soldiers…
…and an orange pony who donned a cowboy hat. 
Applejack!
“Twilight,” the usually-calm pony said hurriedly, “What’re ya doin’? We need ta go, now!”
Twilight began to pick herself up from the mud. “I was waiting for you! What’s going on?”
“The Confederacy,” AJ started, “They have the upper hand! Reinforcements! Twilight, we have to – “
A bang silenced Twilight’s hearing as a bloodied dot on Applejack’s forehead appeared. The red ichor dribbled from her brow as the orange pony’s eyes remained unwavering. She stood still only for a moment, before collapsing onto her side, lifeless.
“Applejack!” Twilight screamed, rushing against the seemingly infinite Union Army, “Applejack!”
But the pony didn’t respond. She just bled out more, the ground around her becoming a dark shade of red as the blood dribbled down her face and snout. She stared with empty eyes into the world in front of her.
“No!” Twilight began to yell, “Somebody! Applejack! No, please!”
The Union Army began to dissipate as a different army, traveling the same direction, began to take its place. The uniform was different, and their running was more of a chase-like than a retreat-like sprint.
The purple mare remained at her friend’s side, holding the pony’s body close to her, rubbing her friend’s back as if to make it all better. “Somepony!” the unicorn cried out, not caring about the proper term for the things here, “Somepony, please!”
A jeer of sheer amusement resounded in her ears, along with the trot of Earth horse hooves, causing Twilight to look up. An enemy soldier riding on an Earth horse trotted towards her and her friend, in quickening pace. He was holding something.
She only saw the glint of metal before the blade of the bayonet was jammed between her eyes.

“Twilight!”
The mare awoke with a start, almost on the verge of tears. She looked down at her body and saw that it was soaked in sweat, and yet she shook like she was hypothermic. She just stared at herself, still recoiling from the shock of the nightmare she just had.
“Twilight! What’s wrong?”
The unicorn turned to the voice, which belonged to Rainbow Dash, who looked frightened out of her mind. She simply gave her the 1,000 mile stare, not able to do much else at this point. The images of death remained crisp and clear in her mind.
“Twi’, you were shakin’ like a wet dog! What happened?”
The stare was now given to AJ, the asker of the question, on the other side of Twilight’s own shock. The scholar realized, gradually, that she was hyperventilating.
A trot of hooves began to come closer. Earth horse hooves.
Twilight screamed bloody murder and began backing away quickly, off her cot and straight into a nearby tree. She didn’t feel the pain of the impact. She just remained at the base of the tree, petrified.
The hooves stopped as Brigadier General McDowell appeared in front of the pony’s cot, stopping on his horse. Dash and AJ turned from their friend to the officer, surprised he was here.
“Well, aren’t you three on the ball!” the officer happily commented, “It’s 0200 hours exactly! I don’t even have to wake you up! Good to see that – time to move out!”