Chapter 1
"Some people talk about the glory of war, others say war is hell; but the thing is they're both wrong. There is no glory in war and as for war being hell, war is war and hell is hell and of the two war is worse, You may ask why. The answer is simple: who goes to hell? Sinners, right? Well there are no innocent bystanders in hell, war is chock full of them., But enough of my rambling, you're probably wondering who I am.
My name is Rainbow Dash and this is my story."
"It all started a little over four years ago, when a group of griffins raided and killed most of the inhabitants of a small town that the griffins falsely claimed was within their territory. Thankfully some Pegasi were flying nearby and helped the townsfolk fight off the invaders, killing the griffins leader in self-defense. Unbeknownst to them, the leader was the son of the griffin king, who declared war on Equestria by attacking Los Pegasus, destroying the town and slaughtering hundreds of civilians."
"That's all it took, Equestria officially went to war. The girls and I as well as hundreds of thousands more were drafted. I ended up in the 221st division of ground troops (army);, Twilight became a battlemage under the eye of Princess Celestia; Rarity sewed uniforms for the troops;, Fluttershy became a M.A.S.H. unit nurse (thankfully far away from the fighting);, Pinkie Pie became part of the armored division alongside her husband Cheese Sandwich (after all he owned a tank -granted it was for parties, but still);, and Applejack - well, Applejack was the only one who was able to stay in Ponyville supplying apple products for the war effort. Heck even her brother Big Macintosh joined up as a tank mechanic."
"The war raged for four years. My division fought battles all over Equestria, fighting the griffins wherever we went. The things I saw in those battles I won't forget. Once I found a young griffin no older than sixteen in a fox hole. He was mortally wounded but looking at a photograph of who I assumed was his family. Even though we were enemies he gave me two letters and begged me to give them to his mother and fiance. He died shortly after that. I gave him the traditional griffin funeral rites (after all me and Gilda grew up together and even went to a griffin funeral once), and after that my eyes were opened and I began to pity the griffins. I'm sure a lot of them were homesick and worried about their friends and families. I'm sure many of them never wanted to be there in the first place but had to be."
"Eventually I became corporal thanks to my bravery and leadership."
"One battle I remember the most.,"
"It was a cold dreary day."
"The griffins decided to push towards our position., Artillery slowed them down but they just kept coming even as pieces of their squadmates fell from the sky as they were blown apart. The fifty cal machine gun nests cut many of them in half as my squad went out to meet them;, as we charged into battle a grenade went off nearby, and the last thing I remember was a excruciating pain in my leg though I was able to make it to a foxhole before I passed out."
"When I woke up I was shackled to a wall in a small cell approximately eight feet by eight feet. I looked around but the cell was empty other than me. My left leg started to throb so I looked down to see my leg was half gone. The stump was bandaged tightly with clean bandages so I assumed the griffins had plans for me. Minutes later the door to my cell opened. A griffin walked in; he was at least six foot with a scar over his right eye, "so you're awake. I guess I owe Thomas twenty bucks., Anyway you probably have a lot of questions - well, I'll answer them. First the reason your leg is gone is that the lower half was shredded courtesy of a Grenade;, second you're our prisoner now and we'll do whatever we want to you to get the information we require, get it? And don't try to escape - you couldn't even if you tried. Anyways, here's your food." he said. producing some bread and water and setting them in front of me before unlocking my shackles allowing me to eat."
"As he left I heard the door close and a lock click into place. Unfortunately the other griffins weren't as friendly. I was questioned repeatedly about where our troops were, how many there were, and coordinates of our artillery, but I never told them even after I was beaten repeatedly for days as well as gang raped. I never told them anything though they never stopped trying. They always found new painful ways to try to extract the information they wanted, even to the point of slitting the throat of a squadmate of mine in front of me, but I never cracked. After what seemed like years locked up I was strong enough to make my escape."
"A griffin always came around noon to interrogate me (there were no guards posted at my door; I guess they thought I was too weak to try and escape) and he always had a gun, so all I had to do was beat him, get the gun and make my escape. The problem was that I only had one leg so I couldn't move very fast. If I was going to escape I would need another leg or at least some help, so the next time I was questioned I decided to make a deal: a prosthetic for information on our artillery."
"I'm not proud of what I did but it got me a prosthetic. I spent days practicing walking in it getting ready for my escape. A week later I was ready; when he came in, I swung my prosthetic like a baseball bat hitting him in the temple and killing him instantly. I grabbed his gun, put my prosthetic on, and crept out the door, killing any griffin that got in my way as well as freeing half a dozen prisoners on the way. I armed them and together we managed to take over the fort we were stuck in., I decided to call high command to come get us and what I found on the table near the microphone was a griffin code book. I couldn't believe it - we had been trying to break their secret code for over three years and here it was in front of us I quickly grabbed the book and pocketed it to give to high command,. When I called them they told me we were too far behind enemy lines to get to us, so we had to walk. It took two weeks of straight walking for the seven of us to get back to our territory, and another week to get to a base. Even then I had to give my serial number for them to believe it was me.
Turns out I was in that griffin base for nearly six months., A medic checked out my stump and said he couldn't do better himself. I told him thanks."
" I then talked to the base captain and got a meeting with one of the Generals whom I gave the code book to. After that I was sent home. Three months later the war was over thanks to me and I was reunited with my friends and my daughter Scootaloo. Thankfully they were all alright. I was given a purple heart as well as a medal of honor for my troubles. I also wrote a book on my experiences in the army and even was able to give the letters to the young griffin's mother and fiancee. It turns out when the war broke out he ran away from home looking for adventure in the army, faked his name and age to join up, and well you know how it ended."
"Well that's my story, I'm still haunted by the things I witnessed and endured. Thankfully Twilight and her friends are there for me."
"Twilight personally came to my house and put a spell on my pillow to give me a dreamless sleep though I still sometimes have nightmares"
"Am I proud of everything I did? No, but I am glad the war is finally over and that my friends and daughter are safe."
"What comes next for me I don't know, all I know is that whatever comes next I'll be ready for it."