Western Front/ Champagne France/ December 29th/ 1916

Snow dotted the Trenches across the front. Jaques quickly took out his lighter and lit himself a cigarette before passing the lighter to all his comrades in his Trench.

"How do you think the Germans are doing." Jaques asked ending the peaceful silence that had accompanied his comrades.

"Hope their freezing their ass's off like us." Louis said as he exhaled smoke from the cigarette before coughing. He earned a small Grim chuckle from the others in the Trench.

"Heard there's a famine in Munich." Phillip another one of Jaques comrades said.

"Good Hope they all starve to death." Louis said before snatching the lighter off one of his comrades. He lit it and ran the flame close to his beard. Pops were heard as dozens of fat ticks and lice fell off and burst open their blood covering Louis's mud-stained uniform.

"Fucking ticks." Jaques could hear Louis grumbling.

"Mind if I have my lighter back." Jaques said extending his hand.

Louis handed it back to Jaques.

Jaques proceeded to light the lighter and run the flame near his blue uniform as popping, squelching, and chittering was heard as the ticks hidden on it became blood dots on his uniform as they popped from the heat. Phillip and some others recoiled in typical disgust before hesitantly taking the lighter from Jaques and one by one did the same.

Ticks were pests. Even in the cold the suborn bugs often refused to die. The Flame of a lighter did a much better job at killing them off than the cold ever did. Jaques watched as more snow slowly fell from the sky. Winter had not been as bad as it was in 1914 or 1915. Well for him and his compatriots at least.

He had no idea how it was treating the Germans.

Christmas was relatively the same. Just an eerie silence with the occasional pot shot being taken at some unlucky German bastard who dared stick his head out of his Trench. He had heard Rumors of the Christmas truce that had happened at the Front in 1914 though he had a hard time believing such thing was possible. Most times officers would have put a bullet through your skull if you as dared as suggest fraternizing with the enemy. Then there were some real hardliners.

Louis was the best example of one. He hated the Germans and would probably beat you for giving any sympathy to them.

Louis had apparently fought in Belgium early in the war and seen the stuff the Germans did to civilians. The battalion he served under had also been annihilated at the 2nd Ypres when the Germans released Gas for the first time.

Jaques wasn't there for that battle. He had been stationed in Champagne for the war so far and the only major battle he'd participated in was the bloodbath that was the second battle of Champagne.

He had been lucky for most of the war. He never got sent to the meatgrinder that was Verdun, never seriously injured at Champagne, and had not been killed the one time he poked his head out to gaze into No man's land.

He had been very lucky.

His internal thoughts were interrupted however when he heard Gunshots from the German side and...the buzzing of insect wings?

Changeling Hive 30 minutes earlier

"My ever so loyal Subject today is the time we find a new source of Love and Emotion! We are simply too starved and weak to properly fight the wretched Pony's with a new source of Love however we can acquire the strength we need to bring them to their knees! That Strength lies in other planes of existence. Planes not used to our might, hunger, and power! Today is the day we make history and gain the strength to bring Equestria to its knees!" Queen Chrysalis said loudly and passionately as her loyal Changeling Subjects cheered. Expect one. Luckily, the Queen did not notice him.

Thorax weakly and silently cheered. This really was not his day.

He decided that he had had enough of his species violent and scary ways. He never really felt like he was one of them. He really saw the Pony's as his way forward. Would they accept him though...

He doubted it...

Still risks are often worth taking yet...

The very day he decided to desert the hive the Queen had gathered them in the Throne room.

He and his brothers and sisters would be marching off into unknown lands to invade and cause more suffering for others.

Yet maybe this presented him with an opportunity. The Ponies he doubted would ever accept him yet...

Whatever creature on the other side of what his Queen was about to open would. He might be able to help them repel the invasion. Yes!

All he needed to do was slip off during whatever was about to occur and hope that whatever creatures awaited him would accept him.

It was a risky play, but he felt that the Ponies would never accept them. They were creatures of love and friendship. His species fed on that.

He heard loud roar, before he saw the Queen begin to use all of her magic and also calling upon the magic of the Hives strongest warriors to open a portal to another plane. For 5 minutes the Queen and the hives' strongest warrior struggled to keep the gateway open permanently but after much struggle the gateway was permanently opened. It looked like a giant structure with white paint that contradicted the hives' black colors. Part of it seemed to be buried in the hive itself. The structure was supported by white pillars that kept what he assumed was its roof from collapsing.

"Forward! Onwards towards Victory!" The Queen Cackled as thousands of his brothers and sisters marched across the gateway. Thorax being Dragged along with them.

The Inside of the gateway was dark and cold. As cold as the tundra's of the Crystal empire.

He saw the other side soon enough. It was obscured at first by his brothers and sisters who swarmed around in a giant marching and flying blob.

Out of anything he expected this new world to look like he was proven wrong swiftly as his mouth stood open for a few good seconds.

The first thing that hit him was the cold. It was winter in this world (If it even had seasons). Snowflakes were falling from a semi darkened sky. The setting sun gave the horizon a dark red color which hung in the sky ominously.

The next and worst thing that hit him was the smell. He could already see some of his brothers and sister gagging and coughing. It was the smell of death. Rotting bodies, a strange bitter mustard taste in the air that made one's eyes water, the smell of wet mud, and most presently the smell of blood.

He shot upwards into the sky along with some of his brothers and sisters. His nocturnal vision allowing him to easily make out the landscape. It was covered in snow, craters, mud, and rubble. He also saw several lines of opposing ditches?

He could make out figures in the ditches. They seemed Bipedal and looked to be blue, brown, and grayish in color. Or they could have been wearing some kind of cloths that gave them those colors. Some Pony's wore cloths. It wouldn't surprise him if these creatures did as well.

"Thorax!" He heard someone yelling.

Thorax let out a yelp.

He turned around to see honor guard captain Linx hissing at him.

"Join your brothers and sisters in attacking the left line of ditches, stop dilly Daling." The Honor guard captain barked. Thorax quickly and nervously flew off towards the swarm moving towards the left side while the others moved towards the right.

His early chance of escape was gone but he'd get other chances.

Western front/ Champagne/ German lines/ December 29th/ 1916

They had first come in the sound of buzzing insect wings, then with hisses, and then unholy screeches.

Thousands upon thousands of insect-like creatures descended down on Captain Heinrich Lunge position. The sight made many of his men run out in terror.

"Get back to formation fools!" He barked.

"Get those Machine guns aiming at the skies." He barked again as he fired shots of his lunger Pistol up into the sky as one bullet ripped through the insect's throat causing it to screech and drop into the trench convulsing. He swiftly pulled out his saber and decapitated the convulsing insect like creature. Its green blood spilled all over his pants and boots.

"Any of you who dares retreat like cowards will meet the same fate! Do I have your understanding." He growled.

His soldiers fearfully nodded as they opened fire up into the sky as thousands upon thousands of the insect fell on them.

His worst fears were confirmed however when the creatures began to shoot down at them with green beams. These beams hit multiple of his men causing them to scream in pure agony as their flesh melted off them and they crawled on the floor desperate for some means of ending the pain before their bodies shut down.

One of the machine gunners managed to point his light machine gun up into the sky and open up with a torrent of gunfire mowing down dozens before his face was melted off with a beam.

The line was not going to hold. He already saw in the distance other pill boxes and trenches being overrun or their defenders breaking and running.

He quickly scribbled down a report on his notepad before shoving it in the hands of his company's runner.

"Go! Get out and alert the 5th division headquarters of this!" He barked as the runner gave a quick salute and ran out of the forward trench.

"Sir, we got some coming from the ground as well!" One of his soldiers said running up to him.

He rushed up to look out into No man's land, barely dodging one of the green beams. He saw hundreds of those creatures. The difference was these ones had sone kind of armor on. He opened fired on them as well as his remaining men while some continued to shoot up at the sky. There bullets bounced off the armor like Ping-Pong balls with the only bullets making it through being the ones that hit exposed parts of the creatures' bodies.

All around him men were dying.

"Fix Bayonets prepare for Melee!" He barked as he saw the creatures in the sky and ground about to swarm the trench.

His men quickly and frantically attached their bayonets to their rifles while the machine gunner's pullet out their trench clubs.

The creatures were circling around them in the sky and began to plunge down.

He let out a sigh. So, this was the end huh.

Killed by insect creatures from hell.

So be it.

"For The Empire! For the Kaiser!" He roared and his men as well as they were swarmed.

Western front/ Champagne/ December 29th/ 1916

The Insect creatures came from nowhere. They swarmed across the trench lines. Aime was in the secondary Trench lines, but he could already see the black swarm on the ground and air enveloping the first trench lines. He could hear the terrified screams of his comrades at the front trenches as they died or ran.

They were soon upon the second line. The swarmed down impaling unlucky men were their horns, shooting acidic green beams, or cocooning men in a sticky green substance.

His Friend Jennette was beating one of the insect creatures' head with a rock. Aime's pulled out his trench shovel and smacked it across the face of one of the charging creatures sending several of its teeth flying out of its mouth.

One of his comrades pinned one of them to the trench wall and shoved his trench knife into its throat causing it to spill green blood all over him.

Another rifle butted one before being hit by the green beams and having his flesh melted off.

One of the creatures sank its teeth into one of his comrade's necks killing him.

Aime's slashed the chest of the insect pony looking creature with his shovel sending it reeling back before being pinned down by another. It stared down at him menacingly it is giving a cruel grin off. They were demons of the fly lord Beelzebub no doubt.

He was sweating in fear as he watched as the creature charged its horn but then a loud scream was heard.

"Vive La France!"

The creature soon had a bullet go through its head as hundreds of men of the 9th Algerian rifles swept forward through one of the trenches connecting to the second line.

Bless the Africanus.

They stunned the creatures as they plunged their bayonets into them and engaged them in melee combat.

Their captain grappled with one of the creatures in blue armor. He shoved his revolver up the creature's mouth before firing multiple shots into it killing it.

One of the Africanus extended his hand to Aimes.

Aimes grabbed it as the Africano helped him up.

"Pull back to the rear will keep these demons at bay." The Africano said before Aimes nodded and took off running with the remains of his battalion.

Behind him the Africanus engaged in melee