Chapter 18
Perspective: Dinky
It’s been one day after they released us from the infirmary. My friends had woken up and I explained them where we were and what happened. They agreed to help out and were also glad that we were safe.
The young soldier was from Spain and also a big fan of the show and us, which explained why he was embarrassed. The reason why he was so nervous and worried was that he felt sorry for us and hoped that we would make it.
His name was Pablo. He was very young. Yesterday was his birthday and he got 22. He had never been in combat before and his pure nature made him look younger like 18. The armbands he was wearing were a birthday gift from his girlfriend, which loved to read like Twilight. She said to him that he was just like Flash Sentry. And to our surprise, every soldier of the European Federation Army here was a fan of the show and us. This was so embarrassing!
But every soldier smiled when they saw us and helped us. As Tom offered, we helped where we could and do best. Sweetie Belle entertained the troops with her beautiful singing, which also boosted their morale. Apple Bloom helped in the kitchen and the soldiers said that the apple products she made were the best. Scootaloo and I teamed up. She drove around the base with a scooter with trailer, while I distributed the mail. Like mommy.
We even got our Cutie Marks! We all had a red, pink and purple shield. Apple Bloom had an apple with a heart inside the shield, Scootaloo a wing with a lightning bolt, Sweetie Belle a star and musical note, and I a letter. Pablo and Tom commented that our parents would be so proud and so were they and every other soldier.
Apart of the regular soldiers, Tom’s Platoon of Kommandos, a Platoon of Grenadiers, Badgers, Cheetah Gunships, and Marksman artillery of the Enforcers Corps were deployed here.
I took a break with Scootaloo as Tom joined us. “How’s going, you two?” he smiled.
“Great! I just hope, that I can go soon home.” I looked down as I missed my father, mother and sister.
“That’s why I am here. I go to Equestria and bring him here. And then we bring you home.”
“Really?” Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she just heard.
“Yes my dear. Just wait at the barracks until I return. You all have done an excellent work. Now I must go. See you later!” He leaved.
Finally we can go home! I can’t wait to see my family again!
Perspective: Peter.
The next day, we all talked what we going to do. “We could you bring to the base with a chariot.” Celestia’s offered.
I waved my hands in disagreement. “That would be too dangerous. We don’t know at which base they are, and the anti-air defenses would turn the chariot into dust.”
“What about the Eaglefly? We could repair it and program it to find the base where they are.” Turner suggested.
“Good idea. This could work.”
The doors slammed open and a guard galloped in. “Your Highness, we got reports about a human troop transport heading towards Ponyville!”
“Oh no! The humans are coming! We’re doomed!” a young guard panicked.
“Do you know to which nations it belongs?” Celestia stayed calm.
“Yes, princess.” The guard was a unicorn and casted a spell which showed us a picture of the transport.
“That’s a MOWAG Eagle IV, the standard transport for the European Federation Army. They are coming to get me back.”
“But what if it is a ruse to get us into a false hope?” Twilight was suspicious.
“Twilight, they saved the foals and the Eagle has a white flag on the roof, so they either bring the kids back or get me back first and then them.”
“Then, I have an Idea.” Celestia's horn glowed like a light bulb in a cartoon.
In Ponyville, everypony said goodbye to me. They all had closed me into their hearts.
“I wish I could throw you a goodbye party!” Pinkie Pie cried. “I will miss you too Pinkie Pie.”
“Now hold up!” the Wonderbolts all landed in front of me. “Nobody who has our respect leaves without getting a goodbye from us!” Spitfire said as she and the others stood at attention.
“And a lot of the guards have respect for you too.” Arrow also saluted. “I could go with you. Shield you if somethings goes wrong.”
“Thanks for the offer but I go alone. If somethings goes wrong, you’ll get to test your skills as medic.”
He grinned. “You already know you’re in good hooves.”
“And we will be ready if you need us.” Flash Sentry saluted too.
“Here, let me try something.” Twilight’s horn glowed and she putted a spell on me.
“The spell I used, allows us to see everything with your eyes and we can communicate through your mind.”
“Okay. Now goodbye.” I left.
I almost forgot how heavy my gear was. After a while of walking along the road, I saw the Eagle. It stopped and a single Kommando stepped out.
“Tom! Man, I am glad to see you!”
“Me too. And don’t worry. I know you, you’re not a traitor. Now get in.” I got on the passenger seat.
“It’s nice to have you back.”
“Yes, it feels good to be back. What happened while I was gone?”
Tom looked disappointed. “War’s still raging and we didn’t win it yet. But victory is at hand. Every day we are getting closer.”
“And what about the Artillery and the battle we fought together?”
“Turns out, the Forgotten Army somehow managed to raid a Russian Army Base and got their hands on Russian Artillery. We won the battle, but we were needed somewhere else immediately after it was over. We looked for you still. And your little friends told me about you.”
“How got they into this?”
Tom expression went angry. “They were trapped in a Foxhole. The Forgotten Army found them and forced them to fight. Good thing, we used less-then-lethal weapons. I could never kill or hurt them. General Amadou de Bankole and even President Pérreau visited them and apologized.”
“President Pérreau and General Bankole?”
“General Bankole is the Commander of the Enforcer Corps and Pérreau is the President of the European Federation.” I explained to Twilight.
“Bastards.”
“I know. But after they recovered, they helped us out. Sweetie Belle entertained with her beautiful singing which also boosted the morale, Apple Bloom helped in the kitchen, and Scootaloo distributed with Dinky the mail. And the best is that they got their Cutie Marks.”
“For real?”
"Yep, mon ami. I show you when we arrive.”
After a long trip, we arrived. “Before we get to them, can you help me with the new recruits?”
"Sure thing Tom.” We got to the shooting range.
“Good day Gentleman, and welcome to the shooting range. My buddy here is gonna do a quick weapons demonstration to show you recruits how it’s done. No offense, but I see a lot of you guys firing from the hip and spraying bullets all over the range. You don't end up hitting a damn thing and it makes you look like an idiot. Lieutenant, show 'em what I'm talking about.”
I fired from the hip with my MP12.
“See what I mean? He sprayed bullets all over the damn place. You've got to pick your targets by aiming deliberately down your sights from a stable stance. Lieutenant, show our comrades here how the Enforcers take down a target. Crouch first, then aim down your sight at the targets.”
I did as ordered.
“That's all there is to it. You want your targets to go down? You gotta aim down your sights. Aiming down your sights also works for switching quickly between targets. Aim down your sights, then pop in and out to acquire new targets. Show 'em Lieutenant. If your target is close to where you are aiming, you can snap to it quickly by aiming down your sights.”
I quickly shot as many targets as they pop out.
“Now that's how you do it. You want to take down your targets quickly and with control. Now if your target is behind light cover, remember that certain weapons can penetrate and hit your target. The Lieutenant here will demonstrate.”
I shot through some wood and hit the target.
“And don’t forget: Switching to your sidearm is always faster than reloading.” I switched to my pistol and fired.
“Last but not least, you need to know how to toss a frag grenade. Lieutenant Hartmann, pick up some frag grenades from the table."
I picked them up.
“Toss the grenade down range and take out several targets at once.”
Said, done.
“Good. Note that frags tend to roll on sloped surfaces. So think twice before throwing one up hill.” Tom turned to me. “All right, thanks for the help, Lieutenant Hartmann.” Then he turned to the recruits again. “All right, who here wants to go first? Show me what you've learned so far.” A young soldier named Pablo used his sidearm. His aim was good but he was firing it like a revolver.
“Again.” He fired but then his gun jammed. I took his gun and fixed it. “You see that in the movies and video games? That’s an automatic; don’t bother trying to dampen the recoil. You do that with a revolver. You are soldiers of Europe, not a poorly trained militia. So don’t act like one. You will learn how a real soldier fights. You will forget everything movies and games taught you.” I gave Pablo his gun back. “Engravings… give you no tactical advantage whatsoever. But that was some fancy shooting. You’re pretty good.”
“Th-thank you sir.” He stuttered.
Then I leaved for the barracks. I saw soldier’s playing cards, repairing an Eagle IV, on guard towers, exercising, looking at their phones, smoking, and eating chocolate.
Those are the regular soldiers, right?”
“Yes, Twilight. These soldiers are equipped with combat helmets, BDU uniforms and FAMAS assault rifles. For transport they use the MOWAG Eagle and the Leopard 2 as their Main Battle Tank. Also they admire us Enforcers.”
Some soldiers talked about me. “Look, Enforcers! Now those are true Soldiers.”
“Perhaps, someday, you’ll be good enough to join them, eh?”
“Enforcers! Very impressive.”
“Look at them! Their equipment is magnificent.”
“I can’t wait to see the Enforcers in action.”
“I have seen them in battle, they’re unbeatable!”
“Enforcers are the best of the best.”
“An Enforcer! Now that is what a soldier should be.”
“It’s an honor to fight by the side of the Enforcers.”
“The Enforcers are the finest soldiers in the world!”
“You can see why Enforcers have the repetition they do.”
“It’s like us Wonderbolts! Ponies everywhere love us!”
“And one more we have in common is comradeship, Spitfire. I know and care for everyone in my squad and Platoon. They watch my back and I watch their back.”
I smiled proudly. After all, we had earned it.
I opened the door and was greeted by four foals. “Peter!” They hugged me.
“I missed you too kids. I and your parents are so glad that you’re alive and safe and sound.”
“And we got our Cutie Marks!”
They showed them me. Letting out a tear of joy, I replied, “I am so proud of you, and so are your parents.” I heard Derpy sniffing.
“And you know what? Everyone in this base is a fan of us too like you and Tom!” Sweetie Belle’s voice cracked.
“Really?” I looked at a squad of soldiers who smiled at us.
“Absolutely!”
“That’s right!”
“That’s it the truth!”
“That’s exactly right!” They said one after another.
“You never told us about this rifle.” Dinky pointed to a FAMAS rifle.
“Let me explain. It read about Russian weapons and I also one about this one.” I cleared my throat. “The FAMAS is the standard rifle for the European Federation Army. It has a magazine of 25 rounds. It can be fired fully-automatic, semi-automatic or in three-shot bursts. With that, it is useable in any situation.”
“And why is the action behind the trigger and not in front of it like at your MP12?”
“Simple Scootaloo. This is called bullpup. A bullpup is a firearm with its action behind its trigger group. This configuration permits a shorter overall weapon for a given barrel length. This maintains the advantages of a longer barrel in muzzle velocity and accuracy, while improving maneuverability and reducing weight. An often cited shortcoming of the bullpup configuration is spent casings being ejected into the face of a left-handed shooter, preventing effective use. To counter this, you can adjust the Cheek rest if you’re left-handed instead of forced to be right-handed.”
Apple Bloom shivered. “The bullpup rifles we were forced to use, weren’t so user-friendly.”
One of the soldiers patted her.
“That’s the OTs-14 Groza. 20-round magazine. It is as reliable as the Kalashnikov assault rifle, as it is based on the same internal design. And it provides high stopping power and lethality with Good accuracy, along with high damage and penetration of bullets and a decent rate of fire. Also an advantage is the Weapon compactness, relatively small weight and bullpup layout provide a good balance and reduced barrel jump. However, the short sight radius makes aiming problematic. The curved trajectory of the 9×39mm round makes it difficult to choose the aiming point. And left-handed shooting is impossible, because of an extractor situated close to the face on the right side of the weapon. Also the focus is at the pistol grip, which loads the right hand and decreases accuracy. Still, the forward placed grip makes the assault rifle compact, suitable for concealed carrying and so well balanced that it can be fired using just one hand.”
“How do you know so much about that?” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
Scratching nervously my back, I answered, “Well, I deployed an interest for soviet firearms when I was young, especially the AK rifle. But enough lessons about firearms, let’s get you home, shall we?” Tom stopped a jeep next to us. We got in. The radio played CCR Fortunate Son.
“I think one last battle and then it will be over.”
“Do you think we will go home when the war is over?”
“I hope so, Peter... I hope so.”
“Hey look! An Eaglefly! Spooky.” Scootaloo spotted an Eaglefly that flew past us.
A Marksman drove past us. “I heard when a Marksman fires, that you’ll deaf for a week.” Dinky looked after the Marksman until it was out of sight.
“How were you able to use the rifles?”
“Simple, Peter. The Magic in Equestria allows us to grab and use objects like we have hands.” Sweetie Belle explained.
“Clear the street! Clear the street!” a soldier screamed. “INCOMING!” As the jeep reached the street, the rotor of a damaged cargo helicopter hurled toward us. It killed the driver and the jeep spun out of control, ramming over a soldier. We fell out and explosions were around us. The foals were unharmed but disoriented.
“Peter, over here!” I picked Dinky up, while Tom got Sweetie Belle. Two regular soldiers got Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. We moved toward the trenches.
“Get them to the bunker. GO!” Tom ordered. Two killed soldiers were in the trenches and a house was destroyed by an explosion. An officer waved at us to get in but was also killed.
The bunker was connected to the trenches and was rumbling from the explosives. We sat the kids down in a corner. “Protect them with your lives!” I ordered the two soldiers that helped us.
“Jawohl!”
“We won’t failure you sir!” The other saluted before firing at the enemy. The four ponies now realized that we were attacked.
“Stay here! You will be safe from the fighting!” I left with Tom and other soldiers for the trenches.
“Peter! Wait what are you doing!?! Peter!!!” The foals cried out as we were heading for the trenches. I could tell that they were crying. I’d would stay with them and comfort them, but holding the line and clearing the trenches was now more important to guarantee their safety.
“GRENADE!”
“Goddamnit! Let's go!”
“We're on it, six.”
“On station six, standing by.” The soldiers reported.
It was the Forgotten Army again. They were attacking from a hill and in large numbers. One hostile jumped down to stab an ally but I saved him by scoring a headshot on said enemy. Then my gun jammed. I switched it for the OTs-14 Groza. Cocking it, I fired at the enemy. It was like hell. I never saw such a massive attack before. I preferred rifles over MG’s and SMGs anyway and ammo should be no problem.
A Cheetah Gunship was giving support. I was about to walk under a bridge, as an Engineer jumped on me from above and struggled with me. Spotting a grenade on his chest, I first punched him into the face, then pulled the pin of the grenade he was wearing on his belt. Pushing him back, and crawling back, the explosion tore him in half, and limbs even pieces of bones were left of him. Disgusting, but I was used to it.
Joining Tom, the hostiles used ladders to get across the trenches. “Check the ladders, Peter!” He was engaged in a fist fight with a hostile, but pinned him down and knocked him out.
“Watch out! They’re using flamethrowers!” I warned him as a regular soldier was burned, screaming in pain as he died. I took the flamethrower out so we could move forward and reloaded. The Russian rifle was not bad but my right hand was getting tired.
They came from all directions. “Incoming!” a soldier warned. Even if we were now a distance away, I still took a quick glance where the bunker was and prayed that they would survive this hell of an attack.
Tom was holding me back, as a Badger was hit by RPGs. Tom moved on first but the Badger exploded and collapsed over the trench, so I crawled under it.
“Move it, Peter! Come on!” We were now at a more open area of the trenches. “Give me cover! Merde! Infantry coming right at us! We got a minefield up ahead, but we couldn’t activate it! Here use this…” He grabbed a detonator and activated the mines, killing many hostiles.
We regrouped with other soldiers as the Cheetah was hit and went down. “Ugh! God damnit! Mayday, Mayday! Jesus Christ!” The pilot shouted via radio.
“Here they come, Peter!” I grabbed the detonator for the next line of mines.
Hey that rhymes! No stay focused.
“Wait for it.” They came closer. “Now! Do it!”
The mine killed many hostiles. “Get the stragglers!”
I waited for the signal. “Net yet...” Another wave of Terrorists came in. “Do it!” The bastards took heavy casualties but they kept coming.
“Fall back! Fall back!” a soldier shouted.
We retreated up the hill to some bunkers and defended our position with regular forces. Tom fired a mounted MG while I fired along with my OTs-14.
T-80 tanks moved in. “Tanks on the way!”
“Merde, we got armor moving up! Russian T-80’s!” A T-80 fired at the bunker putting me into shellshock. As my vison became clear and the ringing stopped, Tom shouted, “Russian tanks! No wonder they're getting bold... Grab that Milana 2 missile launcher and take out those tanks!” “Got it!”
With the Milana 2 I destroyed all 4 tanks. “Roger that, Einstein, Typhoon is inbound. 2 minutes, please stand by. Be advised, Typhoon on station. Keep your head down.”
A Eurofighter dropped High Energy Bombs on the hill, killing the remaining hostiles. “High explosive ordnance on target. Have a nice day. Typhoon out.”
Tom cheered. We moved to the end of the trenches while the regular forces covered us. A ladder leaded into a tunnel which rumbled from artillery. Tom and I got out of the tunnel to meet up with a group of regular forces on a hill. A lot of radio chatter was in my radio.
“Galileo, this is Typhoon, over. What's your status?”
“Low on fuel, inbound two minutes.” The Forgotten Army advanced up the hill. The Kommando took cover and talked to the squad leader of the soldiers.
A medic tried to help a wounded soldier but was killed by a headshot.
“Talk to me!”
“We're almost out of ammo. There's a weapon cache in that bunker on the right-“ Bullets flew past overhead. “Damn!...but we can't get to it. They closed our right flank!”
“Stand fast, Two-Nine, you're covered.”
“Negative, I'm on final right now!” two pilots talked on the radio.
Tom spotted some explosive barrels. “Those barrels, they’re explosive?”
“Yeah, we got pushed back before we could take them away.”
“Good to know...Soldiers! Hold your positions!”
“Six, Typhoon.”
“What's your position?”
“Just hang tight.”
“Okay, standing by.” A Eurofighter bombarded a treeline at the bottom of the hill.
“Go, go, go.” We advanced to the bottom of the hill near the barrels. “We need to improvise, Peter.”
“I know!” We took out knifes to cut holes into the barrels. Then we kicked it towards the enemy.
They burned. “That should hold them.”
“They're making another push! South East side!”
“They won’t stop!” I reloaded as we moved into a decaying forest that was burning. Artillery strikes almost hit us.
“This is our own Artillery! Does she know we're here?”
“I doubt it as there is too much radio chatter!” I replied while firing.
“Get up the hill!”
Another Cheetah Gunship supported us. We pushed them back. “Keep pushing!”
Finally at the top of the hill, I was knocked down into shellshock. Getting up, I saw Terrorists and soldiers fighting. A hostile kicked a soldier to the ground and killed him without remorse or mercy. Tom was behind him and pulled the trigger but his rifle jammed. The enemy punched him with the butt of his rifle in the head and ge fell stunned on his back. I saved Tom by killing his attacker with my sidearm before he could kill him.
We came into another bunker which was damaged and burning. A medic took care of a wounded soldier. A regular soldier removed blocks of wood off his body and got up to join the fight. Another was coughing from all the smoke from the fire. God, I hope the bunker where the kids are, hasn’t taken damage.
“Do not, I repeat, Do not engage.”
“Fire. Put it right there.”
"I'm coming around again, stay with me!”
“Belay that order; get your ass out of there!”
“Repeat your last!”
“More hostiles moving in!...infantry and armor! They must have a damn division hid out there!”
At the end of the bunker was a jeep with a TOW on his back. Tom and I jumped into it.
I destroyed 6 tanks with it. Then Eurofighters killed the remaining hostiles.
“The battle is over, but not the war.”
“Yeah another victory for Europe. But I never saw such an intensive attack on a base. I bet those guys were Russians disguised as Forgotten Army just like in Rovaniemi back then.”
“Could be. This attack was way too good organized for the Forgotten Army. Unless they’re got better.”
“Maybe. But you better check on the kids. I will help with the clean-up.”
“Yeah I should.”
I did not forget them. I jogged back to the bunker, hoping it was still there. The damage by the attack was unbelievable. Destroyed vehicles, bodies of ally’s and enemies were everywhere. But the base itself was intact. If it was a raid by the Russians, they failed. “Lieutenant, come in! You’re alright?” Twilight reached me. “We lost the connection after the attack.”
“I am fine, we have won the battle.”
“What about my daughter?”
“I am about to check on her, Mrs. Breeze.”
The bunker was still intact. But it was littered with bullets holes.
Once inside, my heart broke. The scared foals were covered in dusk and crying while the two soldiers tried their best to comfort them.
“Thank you for your help. You have done well.” I thanked them.
“Kids?” I kneeled down to them.
They hugged me with tears in their eyes. “We were so scared! The explosions, the screams, we thought we would die!” Dinky said through sobs.
“Shh, it’s over now, shh…” I patted her. I even had to rock back and forth with them.
“We did you leave us? Why couldn’t you stay with us?” Scootaloo looked around.
“I have to fight as soldier. I leaved to guarantee your safety. What was I supposed to do?” I patted the dusk off them.
“You’re right. It had been too dangerous outside for us.” Sweetie Belle let out a weak smile.
“I am afraid; your trip home has to wait. I suggest we bring you back to the barracks.”
Good for us, the bodies were already brought away so they hadn’t to see another dark side of war. European soldiers saluted me and looked at the fillies with sadness, pity or even happiness as they were glad that our guests were not hurt.
Pablo was at the barracks. He was shocked by the battle but was also happy that the kids were alright.
“Kids! You’re alright!”
“Pablo!” They hugged him. Then Petro told me about him and his girlfriend. He was knocked out when the attack begun.
Suddenly the loudspeakers played a song. Wind of Change by the Scorpions. All soldiers singed. The CMC singed with us too in very happy voices.
“This was fun!” Sweetie Belle jumped in the air.
“Yes it was.” I laughed. I loved this song. It was one of my favorites. I showed them some of the videos that were used for our commanders. Combat Chain, WMD’s, etc. They hoped that a WMD wouldn’t hit their home.
A Badger stopped outside the door and opened its back door. “There is your cab home.”
“We will miss you!” They gave me, Pablo and Tom a last hug.
“Don’t worry Lieutenant, they are safe with us. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.” The driver said before the Badger leaved the base. He was escorted by two Eagles. Pablo was riding in one of them.
After they leaved, I helped on the base out. We prepared for another attack. We had no Intel about the attack and they hit us by surprise. Better safe than sorry.
In the evening, I repaired an Eagle as Tom joined me.
“What’s up?”
“I just miss them already. Do you think we will see them again, Peter?”
“Of course. They remind me so much of my son. I see them as my own daughters.” Tom chuckled.
“I know. The entire base has closed them into their hearts. And if the war ever reaches Equestria, we will defend it. Strange.” He looked on his watch. “It’s getting dark. Shouldn’t be the Badger and the Eagles back at this time? The ride isn’t that long.”
“That is why I am concerned. I will never forgive myself if they get hurt, killed or traumatized.”
“We haven’t seen them yet.” Twilight spoke to me.
“I am sure that they just got delayed by engine problems or something like that. They like daughters to me too.”
Several Gadflies’ landed and wounded soldiers were carried out. Also the alarm ringed.
“The convoy got ambushed! We gotta move!” a soldier reported.
“All Enforcers, get to your transports. We're heading out.” Our Commander ordered.
“Yes sir!” I prepared to enter a Gadfly with my Grenadiers.
“We got survivors but they are trapped behind enemy lines! We've lost contact!” a wounded soldier said.
“Everyone get to your vehicles! We're moving out!” a squad leader said to his men as also the regular troops prepared to move out. This is it. The war reached Equestria. The end… has begun.