May 2, 1945 – Soviet soldiers raise the USSR flag over Berlin while Cloudkicker Rainbow Dash looks on.
May 2, 1945 – Soviet soldiers raise the USSR flag over Berlin while Cloudkicker Rainbow Dash looks on.
As the final weeks of the war played out, many pegasi expressed a desire to fly to Berlin and witness the end of the Reich for themselves. Eisenhower flatly refused. With Germany dying, antagonism was looming between the Western and Soviet Allies. Allowing pegasi into the Soviet occupation zone seemed a recipe for disaster. When the issue was pressed, he gave a direct command for them to remain within the Western zones.
A few squadrons of pegasi claimed ignorance of his order and flew to Berlin as the last battle began. Fortunately for all involved, Eisenhower’s fear of hostility with the Soviets proved unfounded. Red Army soldiers were delighted at the sight of the pegasi – they were symbols of victory, of the hated Nazis finally being crushed between the Allied armies. Pegasi who landed in Russian camps were welcomed, and feathers they dropped were snatched up as good luck charms.
Rainbow Dash (the ringleader of the unauthorized “excursion”) led the Cloudkicker band in several recon and rescue missions in support of the Soviet attack. Until the very end, the Germans fought back with desperate ferocity. The final battle was marred with atrocities by both sides against each other and against the civilians, leading most of the pegasi to leave in disgust before its conclusion.
The photo was taken on the day Berlin fell. Five days later, on May 7, 1945, the Third Reich of Germany gave its unconditional surrender.
When asked why she remained in Berlin to the end, Rainbow said, “The end of a nightmare is the worst part of it, the part that makes you wake up with a scream. I knew this wasn’t going to be any better. The Nazis’ last stand wasn’t going to be pretty. And you know what? I didn’t have a great reason for going. I watched their last stand…because I wanted to watch them fall.”