The Section is all sat in the forward trench line as the majority of the Royalist forces gather along the battlefield waiting for the artillery strike to end before attacking the village of Woodside. I'm in the process of loading new cartridges into my empty magazine when the airship flies overhead towards the rest of the forces, as I continue loading I quietly start singing under my breath, "Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Oh, won't you please take me home," I continue to sing as I scan over the gathered forces, Georg had once again joined us in the trench.

He glances at me as I sing, "Do you always sing in life threatening situations?"

I look up to him, "Nah, the song just popped into my head."

"As long as you don't go into a full blown improv song like Ponies usually do," He slumps back against the trench wall as he rummages around a pouch on his armour.

"Wait, they burst into song? Like a musical or something?" Thank god I haven't come across that, I hated being forced to go to see musicals back home.

Georg nods, "Yup, I heard that Ponyville is particularly renowned for it. Aren't you staying there?"

"Yeah I am, if anyone starts to sing around me like that then I will just turn and walk away," Georg just chuckles as he retrieves a packet from his pouch, opening it up he removes a cigarette and a match, "You got any to spare?"

He looks to me momentarily before passing one over to me, "I thought that ponies were against smoking these?"

I place it in my mouth and light it with my zippo, "Do I look like a Pony?"

Georg smiles, "Fair enough," Lighting his own cigarette he places the rest into his pouch. "So why are you fighting for the Equestrians?"

I exhale a plume of smoke as I unbuckle my helmet and place it on the floor, "I've got no way of returning home, they also took me in after we got past our initial misunderstanding and granted me citizenship and a job in their military. As for why I'm fighting for them, what else would I do here? I spent most of my adult life in the army, before that I was a car mechanic in a garage whilst I was in college but I've seen nothing to indicate this world has any cars."

"So you're just sticking with what you know?" I nod in response, "At least you're playing it smart, better than diving into something you know nothing about."

"Exactly, I trained Sunny and Chaser over there in some combat despite the vast difference in weapons here and back home," I reach over to my rifle and place the full magazine into the magazine housing, "Speaking of which, I was told that your forces found a research facility where the Militarists were attempting to replicate my rifle in some way?"

Georg shrugs, "I've only heard rumours. From what I've heard they were constructing some sort of metal ball similar to a cannonball but much smaller, they also had an abundance of chemicals and some sort of wooden sticks with a metal tube attached. Though from what I've seen of your weapon I can understand why they'd want to replicate it." Sounds like they were producing something similar to a musket, I've been here for about a month and I've already brought changes.

I look over the rest who seem to be watching the airship as it fires towards the enemy lines. The one who has me concerned is Sunny, she's just sitting there with her ears hanging low as she stares into space, "Sunny?" She doesn't respond, "Sunny is everything okay?" Still nothing. Raising from my spot I walk to her and rest my hand on her shoulder causing her to jump, "Sunny what's wrong?"

Her large eyes look up to me, "N... Nothing, I'm fine."

I push her slightly to one side, she gets the hint and follows me down the trench away from the others as they watch us, "Sunny, you are a terrible liar. Tell me what's wrong."

She looks down to the floor, "I don't think I can do this... I'm scared, John," Her eyes begin to tear up.

I kneel down before her and run my hand under her chin lifting her head up to look into her eyes, "Sunny... I won't let anything happen to you."

"It's not that simple. I... I don't want to die. How can you fight knowing that you will likely be killed."

I sigh as I stand and turn away from her, pausing I look out over the bodies of those who died in the earlier fight, "Because... Maybe If I die I will finally find peace," Silence. Sunny doesn't say a word as she moves up to me.

There's a pregnant pause as she looks up to me, a tear running down her cheek, "You want to die? Why?"

"I've got nothing to live for. All my family will never see me again, everything I owned back home is gone. I worked hard to get where I was and now it's all gone. I don't know, maybe if I die here I will wake up back home with my family and be able to continue with my life. I have nothing here I'm not losing much if I do end up six feet under-"

Sunny presses both her forehooves against me and pushes me backwards, "Don't say that! You have me, Chaser, Princess Luna and Twilight along with the other elements of harmony who care for you! You have us, and we want you to make it back with us. You deserve a good life, John."

I just smirk as I find myself unable to give a sufficient reply. I begin to walk back to the others, stopping momentarily I look to Sunny, "If that's the case then I will make sure we make it back to Equestria in one piece."

As soon as I'm back with the others Sunny shortly joins the rest of us. A loud succession of whistles can be heard over the battlefield as the artillery fire ceases, the Royalist forces rapidly advance towards the village with a number taking to the air. We just watch as the attacking force moves over the top of the hill and vanishes over the horizon, I would like to be in the fight but I need to ensure the safety of the rest of the Section. The best plan would be to ensure the ground we gain isn't lost in order to allow Alpha Company to reinforce the new front line.

I retrieve my helmet and secure the chin strap. I turn to everyone, "Okay, we move out in five minutes! I want to ensure our forces aren't encircled from the rear and trapped in the Village! We will advance and keep a passage clear to allow those injured to be evacuated and allow additional forces to join the assault! Once we get into Woodside expect to fight the enemy in close quarters combat as the rest of the force push through, after speaking to the Major we agreed that our section will clear any opposition remaining within Woodside! Once it's clear we will hold ground until Shining Armor and the rest of the Company arrive!" Everyone nods to me and begin to gather their kit, looking to Sunny I can't help but feel worried about how she will cope.

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We scale the trench wall and slowly advance along the battlefield. The airship has numerous fighters surrounding it all engaged in melee combat, unable to effectively determine who's friendly I decide against firing at them. The village is approximately six-hundred meters from our position, the distance between us and the village however is filled with corpses and those who are still fighting. Before pushing further I remove my bayonet from my armour and attach it to the end of my rifle.

Pushing forward we continue along the fields, I ordered the others to engage as quietly as possible at first in order for us to avoid detection, once I fire my rifle everyone will be alerted to our presence. Jogging at a steady pace I swing the rifle onto my back and draw my pistol, pulling the slide back I switch it to my left hand as I take hold of the sword in my right. As soon as I see a target who's distracted I advance rapidly on him, as soon as I'm positioned behind him I thrust the sword directly into and exposed section of the armour on his back. He falls forward as he screams in pain, the unit he was attacking finishes him off delivering the killing blow before joining the fight further in.

The rest of my section are soon engaging individual enemies who are separated from the majority of the force. I push forward and am immediately confronted by a wounded enemy, he locks eyes with me as he advances towards me. He strikes first with a downward slash which I'm easily able to block, I counter by kicking against his chest causing him to stammer backwards. In his anger he charges forward again jabbing his blade toward my chest, I quickly jump to the side and bring the sword around which comes into contact with the back of his neck. He falls to the floor as blood drains from his wound, finishing him off I press my foot onto the back of his head and thrust the sword directly into his spinal cord which ceases his movement.

I'm brought back to the fight when I hear something impact metal, spinning on the spot I see an enemy drop directly in front of me with a bolt lodged into the chest plate. Looking to the side I can see Silver Spark loading another bolt as he nods to me, as he loads the bolt he fails to notice another enemy moving rapidly towards him from the air, acting on instinct I raise my pistol and take aim.

PHAT

The round goes clean through the wing causing him to fall short of his target and collide into the floor in a bone-shattering impact. As he tries to regain his composure I line up another shot aimed directly for his head.

PHAT

The round penetrates his helmet but fails to push fully through the skull and helmet, his head drops straight down with an entry wound just above the eye. Glancing toward the rest of the battle I can see that firing my weapon has alerted a number of the others on the battlefield, however they are too caught up in their own fights to immediately target us.

I watch as the others begin engaging with the Militarist forces, John had just finished off a downed Griffin in front of Silver Spark with his pistol. I can't do this. I start to slowly back peddle to keep away from any attackers. I can't fight... But I can't leave the others. I watch as another Griffin starts to fight John, trying to help I cast a shield in order to try and protect John. My magic surrounds him as the enemy's sword makes contact with John's arm causing him to drop his pistol.

No... I can't let him die! I have to help! Without even thinking it over I start to gallop towards him with my spear held out directly beside me. John is below the Griffin as he receives a number of strikes from the Griffin's sharp talons. Just a few meters away I scream at the top of my lungs causing the Griffin to momentarily glance to me, I can see the horror and fear in his eyes as I close the gap. I force my eyes shut as I feel the spear meet the resistance of his flesh, a screech reins out from his mouth as I find myself unable to push the weapon further. Opening my eyes I see the Griffin slumped forward on top of John, the only thing keeping him up is my spear.

OH CELESTIA... OH SWEET CELESTIA I KILLED SOMEPONY! I immediately pull the spear back and drop it as I look in fright, the now opened wound sprays blood forward over John as the lifeless form collapses on top of him. John grunts as he pushes the Griffin off of him, sitting up John runs a hand over his own bleeding arm, the shield was enough to soften the impact but failed to fully protect him.

John looks to me, blood splattered over his armour, uniform and face. Oh Celestia, I think I'm going to be sick. "Sunny... You saved my ass," I just stare straight ahead as he looks to me, my legs begin to tremble, "Sunny?" He picks up his sword and pistol as he stands, "Thank you... I know it isn't easy to do but we have to continue to help the others, we can't abandon them."

I levitate my spear as I look ahead towards the others who are fighting together against another group. Nodding I look to John again, "O-okay, lead on," I don't know if I can, but I have to try.

I'm gliding through the air as an enemy moves on Blaze's position. Moving forward I sweep low against the floor as I approach the rear of the Griffin as he continues engaging Blaze. I'm behind him in seconds, pushing my entire weight against his back I force the blade straight through his armour and into his back, my momentum knocks him straight down as I land on top of his body. As soon as he's down on the ground Blaze brings her two swords on top of his head, one causing a large gash on the rear of his skull whereas the other penetrates. What is happening to us?

I pull my sword from the lifeless body and glance to Blaze as she does the same. She looks at me with fear in her eyes, the only thing which seems to be keeping her standing is the adrenaline, "Blaze, stick close to me. Okay? We will get through this."

Her eyes widen as she glances behind me, I turn around to be met by a bolt flying towards me. Luckily it is caught in an orange aura and rapidly slows in speed, coming to a halt a few meters from my face it drops to the floor. Oh Sunny, I could just kiss you for that. Glancing behind me confirms my suspicion as I see Sunny and John approaching, John seems to be injured as he has a lot of blood over his body, especially his left arm. As he gets closer he raises his pistol and aims... towards me!?

PHAT

Behind me is a considerable thud, rotating on the spot I see a Griffin body lying face first in the mud. As John gets next to me he holsters the pistol along with his sword and brings his rifle around, "Wake up, Chaser. You can't be having daydreams here."

"Seemed like the perfect time to me," I glance around rapidly as the others move to either side of John, "We need to get to the village. We are a bit too exposed out here."

John pats my back, "Agreed, we need to regroup with the others then move into Woodside and clear it out. Reinforcements should be here before too long,"

"I'll go and scout for the others," John nods to me as I take off into the air in search of the others. I need to find them quick.

I've been picking off a number of Militarists at range with this crossbow for a majority of the fight, I have to give the Griffins credit when it comes to weapons. Each shot I've fired off has been enchanted to make them incendiary to inflict more damage, if I fail to kill my target the enchantment causes anything the bolt tip makes contact with to be set ablaze.

I can see another target approaching, lining the sight up with my eye I fire off the bolt. The bolt soars through the air to my target, in a matter of seconds it makes contact with his chest plate partially piercing through. The Griffin drops his sword as the enchantment begins to ignite the area of the armour and the flesh underneath. He manages to remove the bolt and cuts off the straps on his armour with his talon causing it to drop to the ground leaving his uniform as his only protection. Patting down his chest he puts the small fire on his shirt out, he glances at me as I load another bolt.

Retrieving his sword he sprints towards me as he lets out a war cry. I take aim and fire off another bolt but this time it fails to connect as he dodges to the side, swinging the crossbow around my barrel I take out my sword with my magic which causes the enchantment within the set the edge of the blade ablaze. As soon as he gets closer I conjure a small ball of fire and hurl it towards him, he has to dive forward in order to duck underneath. I close the distance as he gets up, once I'm next to him I bring my sword down onto him which he is able to block with his own.

He pushes his blade back against mine knocking me back, this gives him breathing room allowing him to get up from the floor. He brings his sword in a side swipe allowing me to parry it with relative ease. In his anger he makes quick yet very predictable strikes which I counter with each step I take back. Once I see a break in his relentless attacks I push him back with a wall of flames, this attack breaks his concentration allowing me to bring a swift sword strike against the side of his neck. He falls to the floor as his uniform and feathers smoke slightly from the flame attack.

As I sheath my sword and retrieve my crossbow Chaser, Sky Mist and Blitz all land alongside me, "What is the plan?"

Blitz steps forward, "The Lieutenant wants us to regroup so we can clear the village. We just need to find Firefly, Moonshadow, Colbalt and Georg. Have you seen them?"

Raising my crossbow I point it towards the village, "They moved closer to the front in order to allow Firefly to treat the critically injured."

At that moment John, Sunny Shield and Blaze join us. John is covered in blood. I Should have guessed he would dive straight into the fight. He looks to the dead Griffin I just fought against as he speaks, "We need to move to the others, separating was a stupid idea."

Firefly is treating once of the wounded Royalist forces as myself, Colbalt and Georg are positioned around her creating a makeshift defence line. Why is she treating them now? This is going to get us killed. We have already defeated a number of enemies as they tried to finish us off. Colbalt has been injured when one of the Griffins attacked him with their talons, he has lost some blood from the deep cuts on his foreleg but he seems to be holding strong.

I glance to his wound as he softly sways from side to side, "How are you holding up?"

He raises his hoof and inspects it, "I will be better when I get this patched up."

I hear Firefly call from behind us, "I'm nearly done stabilising him. Once he's out of harm's way I will take a look at you, just keep pressure on it."

Colbalt levitates a knife from his armour to one of the deceased Griffins and cuts off a section of the uniform from him. Levitating them both back to him he places the knife back in the scabbard as the makeshift bandage wraps around his wounded leg. He tests out his leg a few times as he glances around, his eyes soon widen as he looks back to me, "We've got company!" Great, this fighting is leaving me exhausted.

Looking forward I can see four advancing enemies, lifting my hammer I advance on them. Two move around me to attack the other leaving me to engage the last pair. They both attempt to assault me at the same time, I bring my weapon around blocking both strikes. In an attempt to incapacitate one as soon as possible I spin around to buck one at full strength, the kick impacts the chest plate of one denting it and knocking him to the floor.

With one down I can focus on the other. He brings his sword around which impacts the side of my armour but fails to penetrate. Jumping to the side I bring the hammer in an upward motion which only impact his wing creating a mighty crack, the impact causing him to yelp in pain as he moves back. He takes another swing with his sword but this time I'm able to block it with the handle of my warhammer. In an attempt to finish the fight I swing my hammer around which impacts the side of his head, he is knocked to the floor and is no longer a concern to me.

Catching my breath I turn back to move to the others in order to assist them in the fight. Looking to the others I notice the one I bucked earlier is no longer on the ground. I scan around in an attempt to look for him. I catch him out of the corner of my right eye and turn to face him, he is mid swing and the only thing my eyes focus on is the blade approaching me...

I rapidly advance towards Firefly and the others with her, everyone I have met up with is just behind me. I can see Colbalt and Georg fighting two Griffins near Firefly and another body which I am unable to make out. Raising my rifle I line up the shot at another injured Militarist unit who is advancing on them.

PHAT PHAT

Both shots make contact with the injured form, he slumps over and collapses against the floor as he holds onto his wounded chest. I kneel down and try to line up the shots on the last two enemies but can't find a clear shot due to my team fighting against them. Luckily the Pegasi make a quick flyby and attack them from the rear, ending the fight.

With the fighting at an end near us I make my way up to the three and halt nearby as everyone gathers around, everyone except Moonshadow, "Where's Moonshadow?"

Colbalt hobbles past me and looks towards the injured Griffin I shot, "He was just over there fighting that Griff... Oh, buck!"

I look over to the gathered forms and sprint over, as I get closer a large form in golden armour comes into view. Slowing down I can see Moonshadow lying on the floor, Firefly gallops past me and moves directly to him. As soon as I get to them I place a hand on him and roll him to face me, he has a deep wound on the side of his head along with a deep puncture wound at the base of his neck. Kneeling I place my hand on his neck and feel for his pulse.... Nothing... Fuck. I brush my hand over his eyes lids closing them as the rest all gather around.

Another one dead under your command? -I bolt straight up- This is going to be the first of many here, John. -I frantically swivel around trying to find the source of the voice as everyone else looks to me in confusion- Many more are going to die, and you're just going to have to accept that you are powerless to stop it. I look to the end of the road entering the cleared out village. Standing at the entrance gate is Williams, only his figure appears to be partially transparent. This time however I can see another two figures, one is sat next to him with his left leg missing below the knee... Taylor? The last is the dark form of a Pony in golden armour, a bleeding puncture wound on his neck with a cut along his face... Moonshadow.

Without thinking I step over Moonshadow's body and start to slowly walk towards the figures, I can hear the other calling me but I fail to comprehend anything they say. As I get closer I increase my speed, the others are soon following behind me. When I'm am around fifty meters away the figures move down the road out of sight, Williams lifted Taylor and supported him as he hopped out of view. At the entrance to Woodside I halt at the first cross road and rapidly look down each one, however just like at the castle I am unable to find them.

The others all meet me on the crossroad, Chaser steps up to me and taps me with his hoof waking me from my trance, "John? Everything okay?"

I look back to everyone, "None of you saw that?"

They all look to each other with concern. Firefly speaks up, "Saw what? You just looked to the village and ran off towards it."

I'm going insane, I could have sworn I saw them all. I can't let them all worry about me... I need to make something up. "I saw movement, we had to advance before we were caught off guard. You all didn't see them?"

Sunny holds her spear closer to her body, "No we didn't."

I begin to walk towards the other end of the village, "Be on guard," We advance through the village and meet little to no resistance, just the odd straggler who I easily take out. The Royalists must have cleared the village of the main force and moved on. Finding our way to the exit of the village we are met with large-scale fighting in the distance, the airship we arrived in earlier is now in flames and crashing down towards the battlefield. Scanning the area I can see an artillery gun which some Royalist forces are attempting to turn around to face the battlefield, I step up to them instantly earning their attention, "We are going to hold the village. You lot join the rest of your unit, we will man the artillery and engage the enemy as we hold the ground."

They all look to each other before one steps forward once he clocks my rank slide and the others behind me, "Yes, Sir!" They all gather their weapons and fly towards the battlefield.

Turning back to the others I tap the artillery gun, I say artillery but it's actually an old cannon similar to the ones on the airship, "Get this gun turned around and ready to fire! Georg I take it you know how to load and fire one of these?"

He steps up to it as the Unicorns all levitate it and rotate it in a matter of seconds, "That I do, we even have plenty of ammunition. I will need a couple of you to bring me ammo as I load it."

I nod to him, "Blaze and Chaser I need you both to work with Georg on the artillery. Sunny, Silver Spark you two join me at the sandbag line and set up a firing line against any attacking forces. Firefly, see to Colbalt's injury then come to me. Once you're patched up, Colbalt I want you to help with the artillery as their spotter. Sky Mist I want you to hover overhead and be the initial spotter for them, once Colbalt takes over you will spot for the firing line to identify any attackers. Everyone clear on what they've got to do!?"

Immediately everyone moves to their assigned positions as they all shout out, "Yes, Sir!"

After a few moments, the first cannon ball is loaded into the artillery. Georg moves behind the gun and calls for the others to adjust the cranks on it to change the elevation. Once he's satisfied he pulls the firing cord.

BANG

The cannon fires off and digs slightly into the mud, we watch as the first cannon shell flies towards the battlefield. After a few seconds, it makes contact with the ground behind an enemy firing line, the shrapnel tears into a few knocking them to the ground. Content with his firing angle he loads in another round and calls for the others to adjust the aim slightly. Content once again he pulls the firing cord.

BANG

The round once again hits the target eliminating a number of hostiles. I spare a glance to the ammo we have for the gun, turns out a number of munitions were stored here to be used as a firing position. I'm guessing they had the idea to set up near civilians to prevent artillery strike to target them, didn't help them when the airship came overhead and destroyed the other four artillery guns.

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We continued to fire artillery into the battle for a substantial period of time, in all honesty it's hard to keep track of time when in combat. Throughout our attack, though we did have a few enemies who tried to attack our position from the air, they were easily defeated by our firing line before they got into position. In the small break we had from physical attacks, Firefly had been able to stitch the cut on my arm and cleanse it with her magic to prevent infection.

We continue to hold the firing line until we hear lots of movement coming from the village, tapping the others we all turn and aim our weapons to the road. The movement gets louder and more rapid, it sounds like a large unit is moving on our position. Aiming down my sight the first thing that comes into my field of view is golden armour, I release the trigger as I see the Company we were holding for finally arrive. They all march past us and position near our artillery and stand in an attack formation ready to assault the enemy and reinforce the Royalist forces.

Captain Shining Armor approaches me and the rest of the Section as the three manning the artillery continue to fire. He scans over us, "Looks like you've been deep in the fight, Lieutenant. You're one Pony short."

I glance back to Colbalt and Firefly, "Moonshadow was killed protecting a wounded unit, his body is on the other end of the village near an overturned waggon of sorts."

Shining Armor nods, "We will retrieve him as soon as we are able," He moves past me and looks over the rest of the Company. "MOVE IN AND ENGAGE THE ENEMY, SUPPORT THE ROYALIST FORCES THEN HOLD GROUND AROUND THE VILLAGE!" The individual officers of various Platoons begin to shout their own orders as they move onto the battlefield to join the fight.

I look to my own Section, "You heard the Captain, prepare to move out!"

"No, Lieutenant. Your Section is to remain here and defend our logistical team as they begin to set up field operations. This village is an ideal location to establish a forward base."

"We are more use on the battlefield!" I step closer to him causing him to straighten his posture.

"You will follow orders! I may have given you the freedom to operate how you see fit, but when I give an order you will follow it! is that understood!?"

I hold my tongue as I clip the rifle back into the sling and place it over my back, "Yes, Sir." I move away and join the others as they continue to gather around the artillery as it fires.

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It is late in the afternoon by the time the remaining hostiles retreat, the Royalists didn't advance on the fleeing opposition due to orders they received from their Major on the field. We spent the rest of sunlight hours assisting in digging a new trench line moving down the hill toward the earlier battlefield, The hill that Woodside sits on provides ample sightlines and a strong defensive position.

I join the others as we sit in a damaged barn which I claimed as ours for the night, despite the damage to the wall from earlier artillery it still has a strong structure and rooftop which will provide plenty of protection from the elements. Chaser comes back into the room with a small crate and drops it to the floor, "Rations are here, dig in everypony." Rummaging in the crate he throws a packet towards me which lands on my lap.

Lifting the packet I tear the top off and look inside at the contents. What the actual fuck? I can't eat this shit. Inside the packet is an assortment of oats and dried hay. And I thought rations back home were bad. Georg looks to the one given to him and has essentially the same expression as I do. He looks to the rest as he pushes his away "Yeah... I'm not eating this. I have my own rations." He brings out his two packets and glances to me, "I heard that Humans eat meat from your Captain. This may be more to your liking, it's only a small one compared to normal but it should do the trick for tonight."

The new packet lands on my lap, I pick it up and glance over it before turning it over and reading the label out loud, "Pork sausages, dried biscuits and white whole bread. That's fucking better!" I haven't had any meat since I got here, staying away from pork whilst in Afghanistan was bad enough but staying away from meat all together whilst being here is hell, I absolutely love meat. "You got some way to cook the sausage I take it?"

He moves to me and takes my packet, looking through a bag he selects a small cooker and sets it up. He fills a mess tin with water and places the sausages in to cook as the water boils, as we wait I tuck into the fairly sizeable packet of biscuits. Soon enough though he gets another mess tin and places half the sausages in it and passes it over to me along with a knife and fork. I decide to cut the sausages in half lengthways and place them between the two slices of bread I was given making myself a sausage butty, A classic British combination. It's not the greatest quality meat but it sure as hell was better than the alternative.

The rest of the night remained uneventful, everyone was tired and decided to turn in for the night. I claimed a small side room in the barn as my own for the night, officers prerogative after all. I'm sat on my makeshift sleeping bag as I clean my rifle, as I finish reassembling my rifle there is a knock at the door, "Come in," Slowly the door opens and Sunny walks in. Her eyes are red as she looks into my own, "Sunny? What's wrong?"

She walks to me and sits alongside me, turning her head away from me she looks out a small window towards the moon, "I don't know if I can do this, John. I can't keep killing."

I rest my hand on her back, almost immediately though she leans back into my arm and is soon pressed against my chest, "I know it's hard to do but you have a duty, you're a soldier and you have to fight for your country. Killing is never easy but as you saw back there it is either them or us." She sniffles slightly as she turns to me and brings her foreleg around me in an attempt to hug me. "It's something we all have to do though, Sunny. If you didn't kill that Griffin earlier what would have happened?"

"You would have been killed," Her voice is muffled as her face is buried against my t-shirt.

I nod, "Yes, exactly that. We have to act against our enemy to protect our friends and family from harm, and if that means killing then so be it."

She lifts her head to look up to me, "It doesn't make it easier though. How am I supposed to live with myself after this?"

I sigh, "You find a way to contribute back to helping others, that's what lots of people did back home. After war lots of retired soldiers join the workforce to give back to society, many become teachers to educate children whereas others often join the police to help those who are vulnerable back home. You will find something to do, Sunny. So will I when we get back." Though I doubt I will retire from the military after this war, I coped after two tours of combat back home.

She wipes her foreleg over her nose, "You promise me we will make it back?"

I pause as I look down to her, remembering back to the train ride when I first got here I try to reenact the movements Pinkie did, "I promise."

Sunny just chuckles as she shakes her head, "What in Equestria was that?"

I join in and chuckle with her, "No fucking clue, Pinkie did it when she made me a promise. That isn't a thing here?"

"No, it's not," She pauses as she glances to the door then back to me, "Wait here, I got you a little something," Getting up she leaves out of the door and leaves it open. I scoot back on my sleeping back and lean back against the wall and stare into the night sky. I'm woken from my trance when I hear the door close, turning back I can see Sunny levitating a small slice of cake on a napkin, "You didn't have any yesterday so I saved you a slice."

I take the cake and napkin, "Thank you. Want to share it with me?" Sunny smiles and she moves to me and sits, leaning back she presses once again against my chest. We both share the slice of chocolate cake as we look out of the window.

"I hope you know I had to fight Princess Celestia for this slice of cake," A smile forms on her face as she looks to me.

"You had to fight her?" My voice shows my disbelief.

"Well no, but rumour is that she enjoys a slice of cake every now and then. She may well have been after the last slice when you were busy moshing on the dance floor," Sunny lays down and rests her chin on my crossed legs.

Not really knowing what to do I just start to slowly stroke her mane. "You are just jealous of my amazing dancing."

Sunny laughs, "Please, you were just dad dancing. I've seen better dancing from my sister," She pauses as she glances up to me, "And don't even think about it," She lets out a small yawn

I raise an eyebrow, "Think about what?"

"I've seen what you are like with Princess Celestia's little sister. Don't think you can do that with mine," She playfully winks at me before resting her head back down.

I chuckle as I resume stroking her mane, "There's nothing going on between me and Luna, we just had one night out."

"Yeah, and on that night you got her drunk leaving her vulnerable to your advances," She looks back up to me and sticks her tongue out.

"Left her vulnerable? An immortal goddess with perhaps the strongest magic in existence, I think that makes me the vulnerable one," We sit there in silence as I continue to run my hand over Sunny's soft mane, before too long I can here a soft snoring. I lean down and whisper to her, "Sunny?" No response. Not wanting to disturb her I lean my head back against the wall and close my own eyes as I try to fall asleep.

I hope she will be okay. I can't lose her out here, she's perhaps one of my best friends in this weird world.