World at War: Protectors of Harmony

by TasteDaRainbow

Purple Heart Lane – Part II

D-Day Plus 4

June 10th, 1944

Carentan Highway, Normandy

05:39 hours

---

Parker's POV

We take Carentan, we open our highway to Paris. But we need to get through their first line of defense if we want to capture the town. I just hope Rainbow gets back safely and informs Cole without a scratch. She's the second pony I believe that can endure all of this. Luna being the third in my list judging from her position and her age is over a thousand fucking years. She must've at least seen one war before. If she does, I hope she can put the spirits up for her ponies. 'Cause I have a feeling things will be getting downright horrible from here.

---

Lieutenant Ralph and his group managed to avoid the German firepower that night. The bullets miraculously missed as they whizzed past them when they were trying to squeeze their way through the massive gate. Reed got stuck — again — and had to let out a manly scream when a bullet scratched his helmet. The others were quick to help him get out from the gap before running towards a bush that led straight to a ditch. Lieutenant Ralph didn't want to take any risk as the Germans were still pinning them down with their machine gun. The paratroopers and the Germans switched gun fire that night. But the paratroopers stopped when Ralph ordered the rest to conserve their ammunition. They complied and let the Germans shoot them with machine guns and artillery fire. Parker was pretty sure God was on their side because none of the barrage and bullets hit them.

The Germans finally stopped once the sun had begun to rise. Ralph noticed this and took it as his opportunity. His only opportunity.

"Alright men, listen up," Ralph said as he gestured to Parker and the others to make a circle, "The Krauts are running out of ammunition I think, considering they've stopped. It's our time to make a run for it. Do not stop, I assume their MGs can shoot their way to the third bridge."

Parker nodded and so did the rest. Ralph nodded back as he put on his helmet that he had taken off hours ago. He peeked from the bush and saw several gray figures behind the sandbags in front of the barn.

"Fuck." He mumbled before concealed himself again.

He readied himself as he looked back to see other paratroopers gave him thumbs up. Ralph smiled and nodded before looking to the third bridge. He took a deep breath before finally letting adrenaline rush over him.

"Now!" He ordered as he sprinted out of the ditch and to the causeway. The others did the same as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Americans!" Someone yelled in German.

"Fuck you assholes!" Reed yelled while looking back at the barn when the MG started to lay their bullets to the running paratroopers.

"You fucking actual donkey, Reed!" Parker exclaimed in front of the young private.

"Wasn't my fault they saw us running like idiots!" Reed retorted as bullets whizzed past them.

"I'm demoting you!"

"But I already am a Private, Sir!"

"To civilian!" Parker continued. He couldn't help himself to smile a little.

"Oh come on, Sarge! You gotta be kidding me!"

"Looks like someone is up for a promotion!" Julian chimed in behind Reed.

"Shut the hell up, Julian!" Reed barked.

Ralph looked back at the argument. They didn't seem to care when bullets whizzed around them as they continued their argument. He shook his head and continued to focus on the third bridge. This is gonna be a long run, he thought to himself.

"88! Watch out!" Parker yelled as an explosion caused them to nearly fall flat on their faces.

…

Twilight jolted from her sleep as she heard an explosion not far from her position. She rubbed her eyes and scanned the area as some paratroopers looked at the source of the sound. She turned her head to the bridge and saw another explosion near the causeway. It took a moment for her to realize what was going on.

"Oh my gosh, Parker!" She exclaimed as she extended her wings. She was about to fly when Wade put a hand on her shoulder.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Wade asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna save Parker and the others." Twilight instantly answered.

Wade shook his head. "No, Twilight. Stay."

"But-"

"That's an order, Twilight."

Twilight froze on her ground. It was an order and she couldn't disobey it that easily. She looked back at the bridge and another explosion went off. The sound of gunfire could still be heard. She sighed and tucked her wings back. "Okay."

"Don't worry. They'll come back."

Twilight nodded defeatedly before sitting down. She looked at her friends before noticing some of them had woken up. Applejack, Andrew, and Fluttershy were conversing in a conversation. Wade walked back to Luna as both of them looked up at the sky. Luna began to tell him her story of how she controlled the night and dreams of the ponies. Spike and Sagi were having a card game. Rainbow and Pinkie were still snoring. Rarity was examining her boots, possibly thinking of how she could modify it to make it look better and more comfortable to wear. Twilight turned around to see the bridge was still being repaired by the engineers.

As she was too busy looking at the bridge, Diablo showed up with a medic. "Corporal," the private called out to Wade, "Peterson here wants to check on Applejack's wound."

Applejack turned around when she heard her name getting mentioned. "Alright," Wade replied as he stood up, "Hey, Applejack. Mind if we take your time a bit?"

"Not at all, partner." She replied with a smile.

Diablo went back to his card game with Spike and Sagi as Wade and Peterson walked to Applejack before tending to her wound.

"Do you feel better?" Peterson asked as he began to loosen up the bandage around Applejack's foreleg.

Applejack nodded. "Mhm, thanks for the treatment. It sure does help a lot."

"It's what I do, Miss." Peterson said with a chuckle.

"Jus' call me Applejack, partner." Applejack said with a smile, which Peterson replied with a nod and a smile of his own.

As the bandage dropped to the ground, the medic noticed that the wound was beginning to heal up. Peterson took it as a great sign and pulled another bandage before pouring alcohol on it. He then pulled a cloth before handing it to Applejack.

"Okay, this may hurt so I suggest you use this to bite." Peterson warned.

"It's fine, sugarcube. Ah can take it." Applejack said, though Peterson can sense the uncertainty in her voice.

Peterson looked at her in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

Applejack nodded. Peterson looked at Wade, desperately finding an assurance from him or to help him make Applejack listen because of how bad he didn't want her to get hurt.

Wade kneeled down next to Applejack and put a hand on her shoulder. "Applejack, this is gonna be painful, are you sure you don't want it?"

Applejack shook her head. "Y'all can take a wound without whining much. So Ah think there's nothin' wrong with learning from fellas like ye."

That made Wade smile as he pat Applejack's shoulder. "Very well then," he said as he stood up and crossed his arms, "She wants to do it that way then she'll get it."

Peterson nodded hesitantly before putting the cloth to his pocket. "Alright. You ready?"

"Ready as Ah'll ever be." Applejack said.

Peterson then quickly wiped the soaked bandage around her foreleg. The stinging sensation caused Applejack to shut her eyes as she gritted her teeth. "That sure hurts!" She exclaimed. The area around her wound began to feel like it was burning as Applejack tensed her muscles.

"Just a little more." Peterson said as he proceeded to pull out another bandage and quickly wrapped it around her foreleg. "And, we're done." He said.

Applejack took several deep breaths as the pain was still lingering around her wound. "Told ya Ah can take it." She said with a tired smirk.

Peterson could only laugh. "You're one tough bastard."

"She is." Wade said as he playfully ruffled her head.

"Well, I should continue checking up on the rest of us. I'll see you guys around." Peterson said as he walked away.

"Thanks, pal!" Applejack waved at him and he waved back.

"You'll be fine, AJ?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, Ah'll be fine." She replied. Applejack decided to walk but the pain told her otherwise. She was about to walk when the stinging sensation shot throughout her left foreleg. Shocked, she almost fell when a hand prevented her from falling to her side.

"I told you to not be afraid when you're in pain." Wade said with a chuckle before cradling her on his chest like a father would do to his newborn children.

Applejack blushed in embarrassment. "Ah guess yer right."

Wade laughed wholeheartedly before walking towards Andrew and Fluttershy. "Shy, you good now?" He asked while slowly putting Applejack down.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. Thanks for making sure we're safe."

Wade smiled genuinely. "Promise is a promise." He turned around and walked away as Applejack continued her conversation with Andrew and Fluttershy.

Wade then walked towards Luna as the Princess of the Night watched the watery field in front of her. Some trees stood tall on the field as the wind made the leaves dance. It almost looked like the trees alone were dancing at a slow pace. The view made it look like there was no war at all. Except for the fact that black smokes filled the air not far from the view she was seeing. But with the breeze brushed through her fur and mane, the sound of birds chirping to one another in the distance, she could care less about the war, let alone the smoke. She turned to see Wade was standing straight with his weapon in his hands.

"You know, I never told you how much I miss being home," he began, "It looks just like this. Calm, windy, the field stretched as far as the eyes could see."

Luna smiled and nodded. "It is indeed beautiful."

"You wanna know what I'm gonna do after this war ends?" Wade asked, his eyes stared into the scenery in front of him.

"Tell me."

"I'm gonna hug my mother. I'm gonna hug my dad. I'm gonna hug my brothers. And I sure am going to make them pay for the last prank they did to me."

Luna chuckled. "Sounds like a one happy family."

"We surely are." Wade responded with a genuine smile, remembering the times back when the war wasn't on their doorway.

Luna turned to see the view again. It never ceased to amaze her that in the middle of a war, there was always that one moment you could cherish with. Whether it was alone, or with your friends that fought alongside you.

…

"That was so fucking close." Reed said between his breaths.

"For real it was." Ralph said as he regained his composure.

The four men were now taking a break after a long run while being shot by the Krauts. They were halfway to the second bridge already.

"Let's just keep going." Parker said as he began his walk.

"Right behind ya." Julian said.

They continued their walk until they finally arrived at the second bridge. The engineers were still working on it. They crossed the bridge one by one before walking to Cole, who was already waiting for their arrival.

"Sir." Ralph saluted, the rest soon followed.

"At ease," Cole said, "So, what's the situation, Lieutenant."

"The Krauts made a large gate on the fourth bridge, Sir. We managed to squeeze in one by one but we didn't get that far. There was a barn located around four hundred meters south from the fourth bridge. It's defended by an MG position and small infantry. I believe the German defenses rely on these buildings and vegetation to hold the area."

"So they have the high ground." Cole said to no one.

"Yes, Sir." Ralph responded.

"Alright, good job, Lieutenant. You may go back to the others."

"Thank you, Sir." Ralph then walked away.

Cole turned his attention to Parker and his squad. "As for you all, I believe you're babysitting our guests."

"Yes, Sir." Parker answered.

Cole nodded. "Rainbow Dash did a great job on giving us some information about your recent patrol. I don't wanna do this but we could use their help in aiding us."

"What do you mean, Sir?" Parker asked.

"You know what I mean, son," Cole said, "They won't survive in the frontline if they don't do anything. The least they could do is to defend themselves. And I heard that they don't have basic training or experience in combat. So I want you to train them."

"To be a soldier?" Parker hesitantly asked.

Cole nodded. He didn't say any words as Parker thought about it. Sure they don't have any experience in war but how could he train them? They were already scared shitless when the Krauts attacked them on that crossroad. Let alone kill, they believe that this war could be solved by friendship.

Cringe as fuck

Parker didn't know what to answer. And he didn't know how the ponies would react if they were in a desperate situation.

"Sergeant?" Cole snapped him out of his mind.

Parker blinked before looking at Cole's face. "Are you up for the task, son?" Cole asked gently.

This time, Parker nodded. "Yes, Sir. Leave it to me."

Cole smiled. "Okay, if they asked why would they do it. Tell them that it's on behalf of Lieutenant Colonel Cole. I'll take the responsibility."

"Are you sure, Sir? But they are my responsibility."

Cole put a hand on Parker's left shoulder. "They are our responsibility, son. If they want to stick with us, they have no other option than to kill someone. I don't want them to die before they find their way back home. But in doing so, they must fight if they were to be attacked."

Parker went silent for a moment to process his words before nodding. "Understood, Sir."

Cole patted his shoulder. "Good, I'm relying on you. Now go back to them. I bet my ass they're worrying all of you."

Reed snorted. "They're gonna be more than just mothers."

…

"What took you so long?!" Twilight angrily punched Parker's leg.

"Hey, easy," Parker said in defense, "At least I made it back."

"You know damn well you told me you'd be back as fast as possible." Rainbow chimed in.

"Told ya." Reed said quietly to Julian. Julian could only smirk.

"Doesn't mean I'll be back in five minutes, Rainbow." Parker retorted.

Twilight looked at him with a scowl. "You do that one more time I'll have to make you pay."

"Relax, Twi," Reed calmly said, "We're trained for this."

Julian nodded. "If you're acting like that continuously, someone's gonna think you're having a feeling for our Sergeant here."

Both Parker and Twilight instantly turned their heads to Julian. "I'm not?!" Twilight shrieked.

"But your actions-"

"You wanna get a promotion, Private?" Parker asked with a smirk.

"I won't mind, Sir." Julian shook his head once before standing in attention. Parker could only chuckle at his attitude before turning back to Twilight.

"As I was saying, we're fine. Not even a scratch."

Twilight looked at him for a moment before shaking her head and sighed. "The others are worried sick about you."

"Now that's something." Parker said as he looked at everypony's faces.

"So how's the situation out there, Sergeant?" Luna asked, eager to know what they were up against. Though, she already heard it from Rainbow Dash but Parker is the most experienced here than her.

Parker looked at her in amusement. "Well, there's a really large gate on the fourth bridge. We can easily destroy it-"

"If we have tanks." Reed added.

"-that, and it won't be easy to cross the field 'cause there's a barn not far from the bridge that's heavily defended. That machine gun can easily tear our men apart. And I assume those flak guns are somewhere around the area."

"So, what's the plan?" Spike asked.

"Not sure. We still have to wait until that bridge over there to be repaired. I think Cole's gonna give 'em artillery fire but I really don't know what he has in his mind."

Reed sighed. "I'm gonna see if there's anything for our friends here to eat." He said as he walked away.

"I'll come with him." Julian said before following his friend.

"Alright," Parker said as he sat down in front of the group, "So we just have to wait then."

"I fucking hate waiting when those Krauts knows exactly where we are." Sven said annoyingly.

"Woah, calm down, Private. Cole is gonna take care of it."

As if on cue, the sound of explosions rang through the air. They turned around to see that the high ground was being bombarded by American artillery. The paratroopers cheered as they noticed the bombardment.

"That should teach 'em a lesson."

"Fucking Jerry."

"Merry Early Christmas you bastards!"

"I thought it's too early for Early Christmas." Glenn said with a smirk.

"If only I know that." Skippy chimed in.

"Hey, Parker." Pinkie called out.

Parker turned his attention from the bombardment sight to look at her. "Yes, Pinkie?"

"Is it okay if I have a party for all of you?" She asked hesitantly, "Like you said, to boost morale."

Parker smiled. "You know, we have our own ways to boost our morale but do as you please, party girl."

Pinkie smiled happily for the first time that day. "Really?!" Parker nodded once again to assure her. Though, Pinkie instantly disappeared in a blur as she latched herself onto Parker.

"Thank you thank you thank you so much!"

Parker could only chuckle. "Pleasure is all mine, Pinks." He ruffled her mane playfully.

I doubt there will be a party

So do I

"I thought you knew how bright Pinkie could be." Twilight teased.

"I'll save my excuse for later," Parker retorted, "Now help me get her off."

"No."

"You little-"

"Hey, it's fine, Sarge," Skippy chimed in, "Not everyday we see you getting tortured like this."

"I'll grab my beer." Sven jokingly said.

"Don't forget mine, dude." Cesaro called out.

Luna could only chuckle and shook her head from the sight. Pinkie wouldn't stop blabbering and Parker couldn't do anything to stop her. None of his comrades didn't save him anyway, they just laughed. She could tell that he obviously gave up from the look on his face. Twilight giggled when Parker looked back at her for help.

"That's for worrying us." The purple alicorn said as she grinned at him.

Luna then turned her attention to Rarity, who was examining her boots all day. With her magic, the unicorn hover the boots in front of her while rotating it in all directions. "Something in mind, Rarity?" Luna asked gently as to not jump the fashionista.

Rarity looked up at the Night Princess. "Oh yes, Princess," she replied, "I've been examining the boots we've worn and I have an idea to modify it. The way they were made are simply for humans. But I will change all of ours once I have the time to do so. I have already planned on parts I am going to begin with."

Luna smiled. "Wonderful, Rarity. We could use a little bit of your fashion. I cannot lie, these boots are a bit uncomfortable." Luna said as she looked down at her hooves. The boot on her right hoof had it's toe cap pointing towards her left, while the other one was fine.

Rarity nodded in understanding. "And this is far from my taste. How can this be called fashion?"

"I don't think they care about fashion here," Spike chimed in as he walked to them, "I don't want to sound horrible but, they know they're putting their own lives on edge. So why bother?"

Rarity put a hoof under her chin. "Makes sense. Oh, but I just can't imagine if they do meet their terrible fate."

Spike looked at Parker, who was still in the reign of Pinkie. "Yeah, I don't know what we're going to be without him."

They looked at the sight in silence. Spike noticed each and every one of their faces had smiles on it. Like they were not scared of what is waiting for them in the next battle.

"It amazes me to see them," Spike began, getting both Rarity and Luna's attention, "They're here, laughing, smiling, when they know they are going to fight for another day. And they know they might die because of it. I still don't get it how easy they just tossed terrible thoughts like that."

"Simply because they're making the best of it," Luna answered, her own face facing Spike, "They know they might not be able to live tomorrow. So they are making the best memories they could cherish." Spike smiled at her response.

Luna looked at the young dragon for a moment before taking her attention back to the paratroopers and her ponies in front of her. They barely knew each other but they were now laughing, teasing, and even trusting one another. In the matter of days, without them noticing, they strengthened their own bond. Two different species, one of ponies, the other of humans. Luna could've sworn Twilight would be doing more research about this if it wasn't because of the war. But it wasn't the case anymore. All of them wanted this war to end. All of them wanted their freedom back.

All of them wanted to go home.

---

12:34 hours

Hours passed by as the engineers worked harder to fix the bridge under constant barrage of artillery fire from the Germans every now and then. The paratroopers were realizing that the Germans didn't want them to advance and take the town and began to formulate a plan to cross the bridge faster. Having enough of it, Cole ordered some paratroopers to make a makeshift bridge next to the bridge where the sappers were working. Most of them were hesitant but Lieutenant Ralph and his squad volunteered to do it. Again, under intense artillery fire, the paratroopers tried their best to finish the bridge as soon as possible. But from Lieutenant Ralph and his men's action, more and more paratroopers began to help the construction of the makeshift bridge. Satisfied with their work, Cole walked through the crowd of paratroopers, eager to find one particular squad for his special task.

"Sergeant Parker!" Cole yelled once he spotted Parker and his squad, ignoring the eyes of the soldiers that were waiting for their assault once the bridge was done.

"Sir!" Parker stood in attention, followed by his men and the ponies.

"I want you and your men to cross the bridge and lay down some covering fire before they can kill any of our soldiers that are currently trying to make a bridge." Cole ordered.

"Understood, Sir." Parker said almost immediately.

"Sorry, Sir," Reed interjected, "But why us?"

"You have more experience from the last scout you did," Cole answered matter-of-fact, "So you must know the position of our enemies and distract them from preventing our advance."

"I thought Lieutenant Ralph was there too." Wade chimed in.

Cole shook his head. "I would've ordered him to do so if his men didn't volunteer to make the bridge for us to cross. So I can only rely on you and your squad, Parker."

Reed nodded. "Understood, Sir."

"I'll give you five minutes to get your asses over there and make way for our battalion." Cole said before walking away.

"You heard him, ladies." Parker said with a smirk as he cocked his gun and the others did the same while preparing their equipment.

"Finally, I'm getting bored of sitting my ass here all fucking day." Sven lamented.

"Oh shut up, you'll get your kills soon either way." Damien retorted.

"Not like you could beat me anyway." Sven mockingly said.

"I'll kick your ass right now, Sven."

"Alright, knock it off," Parker said in a serious tone, "You'll get my permission to kick his ass once our battle is over."

Flynn laughed jokingly. "You're dead, Sven."

"Hey! Wasn't my fault!" Sven said with his hands in the air.

"Parker?" Twilight called out softly, gaining his attention as he turned back to face her.

Twilight didn't have to tell him of what she was feeling because Parker already saw it through her eyes. The fear that consumed her wasn't going any better if he brought them with him. Especially facing the Krauts now.

Parker sighed mentally. "You don't need to go, Twilight. All of you can stay here. I can order a squad to keep you company if you want."

Twilight looked hesitant for a bit before slowly nodding her head. "Alright, I guess we can stay." Though, part of her wanted to help them instead of waiting for them to come back. Again.

"Hell no," a raspy voice called out behind her, "If you're going, I'm going with you."

"Dash," Reed chimed in, "This is a serious matter. We're going to be the bait so that the others can finish the bridge to advance."

"But I've dealt with them before." Rainbow retorted, which only made Reed sighed.

"This is a real deal," Cesaro interjected, "High chances that we're getting killed. So sit back here until we get back."

"It's not the same as a scout mission, Rainbow," Parker added, "We're actually going to fight them. We're going to trade bullets without running away. We're going to try and kill them."

"But Cole said it's for a distraction." Applejack chimed in.

"Exactly," Jones replied, "Distraction doesn't mean we're just going to do a home run. In this case, we're buying our boys here time to finish the bridge."

"And it's very dangerous for you ponies to come with us since you have no combat experience," Wade stated, "No offense."

"Then why are you going when you know you're getting yourselves in danger?" Fluttershy asked softly. Her eyes pleaded for them to stay but the paratroopers thought otherwise.

Reed could only smirk at her question as he cocked his rifle. "We're paratroopers, Shy. We are supposed to be behind enemy lines. We are meant to be surrounded."

"Fucking right." Jones cocked his gun.

"And I didn't sign up to babysit someone." Glenn added, which made the rest of the paratroopers glared daggers at him.

"I swear, you're lucky you haven't got your ass kicked." Diablo said as he shouldered his weapon and grabbed his cigarette from his mouth whilst blowing a smoke.

"Alright fine, I signed up for it." Glenn retorted sarcastically before turning around and walking to the bridge.

"I promise you, everything will be okay." Wade said to the ponies as he followed Glenn.

Parker nodded. "Alright, let's move!" He ordered. As his squad all walked towards the bridge, he gave one last look and said, "Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it."

"You always said that!" Twilight shrieked, "Don't you care about us too?"

It took a moment for Parker to respond to her question. "As long as I'm doing the right thing to protect you then I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure you're safe." That silenced Twilight as she couldn't find any other argument to make him stay. Parker tipped his helmet before turning around to catch up with the others.

Twilight looked at him briefly before giving in to the fact that nothing can stop them from fighting. After all, this is war, and they are soldiers.

We fight for what we love. Not because we hate what is in front of us.

Those words stuck in Twilight's mind like moss on a tree trunk. Turning around, she sat next to Applejack with her head hung low. Still thinking of a way to help them. Applejack put her right foreleg around her friend's shoulder.

"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked softly.

Twilight stared at the ground for a moment before weakly replied, "No."

"I can't believe them, they're fighting again without us?" Rainbow said in frustration.

"I think it's for the best if we stay here, Rainbow." Rarity responded.

Rainbow huffed at her words. "That doesn't mean we're just going to sit here and let them fight for us. Again!"

"Technically, they're fighting for their country," Spike chimed in, "With, or without us, they're going for it."

"Whatever," Rainbow scoffed as she knew she had no encounter for that, "But still, they literally-"

"Silence, Rainbow Dash." Luna ordered with a very serious tone. She stared at Rainbow as the cyan pegasus immediately shut her mouth.

Luna took a deep breath before she continued to her subjects, "I know it must be painful to see our friends on the frontline again. Not only fighting for their country, Parker and his men promised to protect us until we find a way back to Equestria. That's why they insist us to stay behind the line."

She turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash. Her gaze softened as she spoke, "Rainbow Dash, I do believe you do not want them to get hurt. Trust me when I say I feel the same way as you do." This managed to put Rainbow at ease as she nodded her head slowly in understanding.

"However," Luna continued, "If we can look at the circumstances we are in right now, they are right. We don't have any combat experience like they do. The conflicts you've had in Equestria are far more harmless than the conflicts they are having here. Thus, they ordered us to stay. They don't want anything bad to happen to us. You can clearly see how it is affecting Parker when Applejack got wounded. And from his perspective, it's clear that the only way for us to be safe is to not come into contact with the enemy."

Applejack recalled when Parker wouldn't leave her side to make sure she's okay. She remembered looking straight into his eyes, filled with determination, compassion, love, but mostly guilt. He blamed himself for something that was inevitable for her to experience. Though Applejack already told him that it wasn't his fault, Parker's only response was giving her a sad smile. That man took his responsibility to a whole new county, she thought to herself.

"So what should we do now?" Pinkie asked, looking around at her friends. None of them seemed to have an answer though. Lots of gunfires suddenly rang through the air. The group noticed that the battle had already begun between Parker's squad and the Germans. Shouts of orders that they clearly recognize as Parker filled the air along with the sound of guns peppering and artillery explosion, although it was distant.

And Rainbow Dash couldn't take it.

"That's it!" She exclaimed as she flapped her wings, readying herself to fly, "I'm helping them."

"Rainbow," Spike called, "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Ah'm with Rainbow." All eyes then turned to Applejack. She was standing next to Twilight, eyes filled with determination to go. "Ah'll admit that Ah'm afraid to go and fight with these folks. But we won't do any good if we jus' sit our flanks here and let 'em do their work."

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she brought her head up to see them, "Parker wants us to stay, then we're staying."

"He told us, not ordered us." Rainbow repelled.

The argument continued as Luna sat idly, watching her ponies go on with their own opinion. Though, she could clearly see that Twilight wanted to go as well but at the same time Parker told them to stay. That and she was scared to go. And she could only assume that Applejack and Rainbow Dash wanted to help in any way they could. Even though they hadn't been in a war before, she could see that they wanted to repay what he and his squad had done to them. Especially under the pressure they were in right now.

A tug on her left foreleg made the Night Princess look to the purple dragon next to her. "What do you think, Princess?" Spike asked, watching as his friends all went on with their argument.

Luna looked back at her ponies before sighing mentally. This was way worse than her Night Court to handle, let alone the war. "If we learned something from it, it's worth the try isn't it?"

That caught Luna off guard. "What did you say?" She asked before looking back to the young dragon.

Spike looked back at her. "Yeah, we won't be able to know the basics and help them if we just stay out of it. Of course it's going to be hard but for me, I'm not wasting my time here gaining nothing. Just like Twilight learned friendship in Ponyville. Though, right now it's an accident for us to be here at a time like this."

That hit Luna real deep. The dragon was right. If they were to go back to Equestria for a long time then maybe learning something new wouldn't hurt. But something new as a soldier? How would that work? Sure Luna has some experiences regarding the conflicts back when the Elements of Harmony were not yet to be discovered; but what about Twilight and her friends? They barely have the knowledge of war, let alone a war on Earth. They have dealt with many threats in Ponyville but again, those were not even close to war. But seeing how desperate they wanted to help and if it meant gaining their trust, strengthening their bonds, and giving them experience, Luna saw no reason why they shouldn't do it.

"Silence everypony." Luna ordered with a gentle but serious voice. Everyone that was still arguing instantly stopped before looking at their ruler. Luna thought for a moment as doubts began to rise in the back of her mind. But she tossed it aside nonetheless and assured herself that the decision was worth it. It was the least they could do to give the soldiers something in return after what they did.

Luna brought her face up to meet Twilight. "Twilight, from the deepest part of your mind, what would you do?"

Everyone looked at her as Twilight's brain searched for appropriate words to describe it. "I would help them, Princess."

"Rainbow, what would you do?"

"Like you would ask that, of course I'd help them."

"Applejack?"

The orange earth pony nodded. "Ah ain't letting them fight alone without me."

It was enough of an answer for Luna. The rest just simply nodded, assuring her that they have the same answer as the three she just asked. With a new determination, Luna rose from her seat.

"Very well." She spoke. The others too began to stand up from their seats. "From now, we will not hide behind their backs. We do not need to let them finish the dangers that lie upon us in this world. They do not need to risk their own lives to protect us. From now on, we will not sit and watch anymore. We will help them with anything that we are capable of, either from our magic, strength, or even speed. We can learn from the experience and strive to be better. We will not cower anymore. Today, we stand side by side amongst these courageous men."

Smiles began to form on each of their faces as they nodded to each other. Parker wouldn't need to worry about them anymore. They could take care of themselves, even in this war. But Luna's mind wouldn't stop beginning to think about the consequences. Most importantly, by volunteering themselves to the war, will this mentally change them from who they were? Forever?

…

"Sagi, Wade! Give us some covering fire!!"

"Working on it, Sarge!"

"Damien, Cesaro, pop some smoke grenades so we can advance!!"

"Aye, Sarge!"

"The rest, follow my ass!"

The bullets whizzed over their heads as the squad tried to advance to the third bridge. They used the ditch to cover themselves while crawling their way forward. The bait was working, the Germans were firing at them instead of the bridge. But their lives were in Parker's hands.

An artillery shell exploded near the squad. "Fucking hell!" Reed cursed.

"I guess they want us to have a taste of our own medicine!" Glenn added.

"Get ready to run!" Parker shouted out of nowhere, catching the group off guard. "Damien, Cesaro, after you throw the smoke grenade, make sure to join Wade and Sagi to lay down some covering fire!"

Both paratroopers in question nodded before rummaging through their gears to find the grenade.

"On my mark!" Parker yelled. Damien and Cesaro had their fingers on the pin of the grenade, ready to toss them.

"One!" They peeked over to find a right spot to throw the grenades.

"Two!" Parker felt adrenaline pumped faster in his veins.

"THREE!!" Damien and Cesaro threw the grenades near the bridge and proceeded to open fire on the enemy's machine gun.

"LET'S GO!!" Parker ordered as he got out from the ditch and ran as fast as he could, the rest followed.

BOOM!!

Another explosion was expected by Parker. But this time, it sounded distant, it wasn't anywhere near him and his squad. Before running through the smoke, however, Parker managed to take a look at the enemy's position. He couldn't see clearly but he could've sworn he saw the explosion near the Germans. Followed by a rainbow trail on top of it.

…

13:04 hours

Luna and the rest slowly pushed their way towards the bridge. They planned to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Cole to make sure he knows that they're going to the frontline by their choice. They eventually arrived at the bridge where they could hear more gunfires. Artillery shells exploded not far from them, making Fluttershy shivered and second thoughts filled her mind.

"I-" She stammered, "I t-think I'm going to stay here…"

Rainbow instinctively hoovered next to her friend and wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy's neck. "Oh c'mon Shy, we're all scared but Parker needs our help."

"And a friend always help their friends in need." Pinkie exclaimed behind them, grabbing both of the pegasus into a crushing hug.

"Twilight," Luna called, "Can you track Lieutenant Colonel Cole's whereabouts?"

"I don't think I can but I'll try." Twilight replied as her horn began to glow.

"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice spoke nearby. They all turned to the source of the voice, only to find Cole calmly looking at them.

"Ah, Lieutenant Colonel," Luna responded, "We've been looking for you."

Cole raised his eyebrows before nodding. "What can I help you with?"

"We wish to help Parker and his men."

Cole stood still, dumbfounded by the request Luna asked him seconds ago. "Can you elaborate on that please?"

"We wish to help Parker and his men in their mission. We need your permission to go out there and help them." Luna responded again.

Cole blinked before crossing his arms. He let the words sink into his mind for him to process it. He then looked up at Luna. "You know what you're facing, right?"

"Yes," Twilight replied this time, "We know."

"Are you absolutely sure? Chances you might get killed are high." Cole said sternly.

Twilight nodded. "We know… but we can't stay here doing nothing while you and the rest of the soldiers give your lives to protect us."

Cole snorted. "I wouldn't say we're giving our lives to you. We're fighting for our homes and for the freedom of this world. But at the same time, you guys happened to stumble upon us, unaware and unprepared for the events that's waiting for you. And all you want is to get the hell outta here, just like us. So we're protecting you." The ponies nodded in understanding.

"And it would be fair if we do something in return." Luna said with a calming smile, assuring Cole that they are certain with their decision.

Cole stood still, pondering over his own thoughts. He looked at every face in front of him. Their eyes clearly showed determination. It made him smile internally, happy to know that his guests were willing to fight. Fight or stay, either way, they are going to see a lot more gore from the aftermath of a battle so they must be prepared for it. And being in one battle is enough for them to learn. Cole's lips curled to a smile before looking across the bridge, to the sound of gunfires, artillery explosions and shouts of orders.

"You may need to learn some things first," he added before walking away, "Follow me."

…

14:09 hours

"Alright, we stay here and keep them distracted," Parker ordered between the raid of bullets, "And conserve your ammo! We need to hold this position until our boys can get here!"

Parker and his squad managed to make their way near the last bridge. However, they were receiving intense machine gun fire, along with the 88 mm from Carentan itself, making it hard for them to advance more. The Germans have positioned themselves good enough to pin them down. The left side of the causeway wasn't that dry but it was clear enough from water. Desperate, Parker ordered his men to scatter along the embankment.

"We can't stay in one group!" He shouted whilst firing his weapon to the MG position, "We need to spread out! Find yourselves a nice, cozy spot!" He pointed to the field on their left.

"Hey Diablo, you're with me!" Reed said as he ran across the field.

"Right behind ya!" Diablo responded as he followed Reed.

Parker nodded to the rest as they scrambled to get a better position to pin the Germans back. The causeway itself rises some six to nine feet above the marshes. With the western bank of the causeway falling away sharply to the water's edge, only the more gradually sloping eastern bank offered an opportunity to dig in.

Parker positioned himself comfortably in a ditch right next to the causeway as he returned fire. Another artillery shell landed near him, causing Parker to cover his face to the ground as the debris went everywhere. He lifted his head up to aim at the Krauts, only to spot a cyan pegasus going absolutely fast on top of his enemies. The next thing he saw was an explosion. A grenade explosion.

"Sarge!" Reed called out behind him, "You seeing what I'm seeing?!"

"Hell yeah I am, what the actual fuck is she doing?!" Parker said out loud.

"I don't know but that's fucking awesome!" Andrew laughed, "Good job, Rainbow!!"

An artillery explosion silenced them as they were being barraged by shells and bullets again. Rainbow was flying above the pinned down squad in an evasive maneuver as some of the Germans started to open fire on her. She tried her best to go back to Applejack — who Cole tasked her to give the grenade supply for Rainbow to dive bomb the German's MG positions — when a bullet managed to graze her left wing, causing her to gasp in pain and spin around uncontrollably to the ground. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to wait for the impact when it never happened. Opening her eyes, she saw her body was being surrounded by a purple aura.

"Rainbow! Are you alright?" Twilight called as she sprinted to her friend, her magic slowly put Rainbow down to the ground.

Wincing, Rainbow put a hoof at her wound. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she looked at the blood, "I guess."

"We need to-"

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Parker yelled on top of his lungs as he stomped his way to the duo, ignoring the fact that bullets and artillery shells were all around him.

Dude, you're gonna die

FUCK YOU AND FUCK KRAUTS!! I WANNA KNOW WHY THEY'RE HERE

"P-Parker," Twilight stammered while managing to smile, "We're trying to help-"

"I told you girls to stay put!" Parker shouted, but not as loud as before.

"We said we're going to help, we're helping." Rainbow stood up, trying her best to hide the pain.

Parker was about to retort when he heard a familiar sound from above.

"GET DOWN!!"

Before Twilight and Rainbow could register, Parker grabbed the two of them and threw himself to a ditch. The explosion caused the ground to shake and several debris landed on them. Breathing heavily, Parker instantly got up to check them. Thankfully, none of them got wounded from the explosion. But Rainbow's left wing caught Parker's attention.

He kneeled down next to her as Rainbow shook her head to get rid of her dizziness. "Ouch." She winced before extending her left wing, revealing the wound.

"Thank God, it's just a graze." Parker said with a sigh.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, it's just a scratch, I'll be flying again in no time."

"No, you're not," Twilight interjected, "You need to patch the wound before it gets infected."

"C'mon Twi, Parker said it's just a scratch as well."

"That doesn't mean it should be ignored." Rainbow turned her head to see the stern look of Parker. "Find a medic who can fix that wound. Otherwise…"

Rainbow gulped before standing up. "Gotcha, Sergeant!" She exclaimed before running back to the second bridge. Parker could only chuckle.

Another explosion ruined the mood, but this time, it wasn't coming from where his squad was. It was behind him this time. Parker turned his attention to the causeway and saw the paratroopers were beginning to advance. They were slow because the Germans had to make them crawl on the ditch to avoid being hit. Parker however, didn't realize he was still standing on the causeway which made him the most vulnerable target for both the machine guns and artillery barrage.

Just as Parker heard another artillery shell was coming, a familiar voice shrieked. "PARKER, LOOK OUT!!"

He was about to jump to the ditch when a dark blue dome surrounded him. Parker watched in awe as the shell exploded near him but the dome protected him from the shrapnel and shockwave. And this was his first time to actually see how an artillery shell touched the ground this close. Before he knew it, the dome dissipated slowly. But Parker didn't move, he was still dumbfounded by the scene just seconds ago.

"Sergeant!" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning around, he saw Princess Luna sprinting towards him before stopping inches away from him. "Are you alright? Did my magic work?"

Parker blinked once, then twice, before his lips turned into a big smile. "That was awesome! I can finally see the impact of an artillery shell that close!"

Please don't turn to a nerd

Fuck off, Brain, not listening

Luna could only blink at his childish reaction. "Sergeant, this isn't the time! You have to take cover!"

As if on cue, they got bombarded with machine gun bullets. Parker instinctively pulled Luna to cover as Twilight scooted over to give them more space.

"First," Parker said as he stared at Luna and Twilight, "Are you out of your FUCKING MINDS??!! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"We are helping you," Luna responded sternly, "Lieutenant Colonel Cole gave us the permission to do so."

That managed to shut Parker up, but he didn't back down. "That still doesn't answer why you are willing to do this. You fucking know you're going to get yourselves killed."

"We are not planning to," Twilight called, "We aren't going to kill if it's not necessary, we are here to support you, give ammo, treat the wounded, scout missions, anything that does not involve us to come in contact with the enemy."

"But there are still possibilities that you can get killed," Parker retorted before sighing, "You know this isn't going to end well for all of you."

"Parker, it's our choice," Twilight calmed him, "And helping one another is what friends do." She smiled before putting a hoof on one of Parker's hands.

Parker looked at the purple alicorn, before looking down to her hoof on his hand. It wasn't the time for him to argue with them, so all he could do was just sigh.

"Alright, where's Applejack?"

"She was given the task of giving Rainbow the grenades for her to dive bomb the German's positions." Twilight answered. Parker couldn't think of how Rainbow managed to pull the pin. "But if Rainbow is wounded, I don't know what she'll be doing now."

"Spike?"

"Spike, Fluttershy and Rarity are with Private Peterson, he's giving them a brief for treating the wounded." Luna responded.

"Pinkie?"

"Hi!"

The voice made Parker turn around instantly, gun raised and aimed directly at Pinkie's face. Her smile disappeared in an instant as she saw the barrel of the gun was pointing at her. Parker was stunned before swiftly lowering his gun.

"Pinkie…" his gaze softened and his voice was calm, "You really shouldn't do that again next time."

Pinkie still didn't answer him, her eyes were fixated on the weapon on Parker's hands. Parker put a hand on Pinkie's shoulder, finally able to gain her attention as she looked up from the weapon to meet his eyes. "Pinkie, don't do stuff like that next time alright?" He repeated his words slowly.

Pinkie's only response was a nod, which Parker smiled and nodded back. Looking back to Twilight and Luna, he spotted the paratroopers were still crawling their way in the ditch.

"Luna," Parker called, "I want you to use your magic to protect the paratroopers."

"Parker, I don't have the ability to make the dome large enough to protect all of them in this world. My magic is still not at its full capability." Luna answered.

"Noted, then use your magic to protect whoever you can. Or whenever a shell landed, make a shield surrounding the explosion area so the shrapnels won't hit someone."

Luna nodded before starting to crawl her way back to the advancing paratroopers. "Twilight, Pinkie, on me," Parker ordered, "And stay close, do not go up to the road, you got that?"

Both ponies nodded which then they followed Parker as he crawled towards his squad. Once they made it to his group, Parker saw his squad was getting obliterated. A machine gun group managed to position themselves to get a better angle on pinning them down, making it hard for them to fire back or even peeking their heads.

Parker crawled his way to the nearest soldier, Jones, and tapped his shoulder. "Private, what's the situation?!"

"We're getting fucked, Sir! There's an MG behind the hedgerows south from the last bridge! They're pinning us down! Diablo and Damien are wounded and Sagi's dead, Sir!"

Parker blinked as he turned to see his soldiers. Diablo was holding his stomach while Damien was trying to wrap a bandage around his left arm. Sagi laid next to him, unmoving, eyes closed with a hole on his helmet as blood made its way to his chin before dropping to the ground. Twilight gasped, as did Pinkie.

"Alright, take a man with you and get Diablo and Damien out of here, they must be treated. The rest are going to give you some covering fire. Wait for my command." Parker ordered.

"Got it, Sir."

Parker gave another tap to his shoulder and a nod before crawling his way to the last bridge. Twilight crawled behind him, trying her best to hold back tears as she passed Sagi's body. Pinkie however, stopped and tapped his arm lightly.

"Sagi?..." she softly called, hoping to receive any sort of response. Unfortunately, she didn't get any.

"Hey, Pinks." Damien called while wrapping his arm, "He's gone, there's nothing you can do about it."

That broke Pinkie's heart as tears formed on the corners of her eyes. Before she started to cry however, a hand grabbed her and pulled her to its owner.

"It's alright, Pinkie, he's safe somewhere else now." Wade hushed while stroking her back gently. Pinkie buried her muzzle to Wade's chest as she closed her eyes.

"How do you know he's safe?" She asked between her little sobs.

Wade looked at Sagi for a moment before replying with a tune, "To Saint Peter he'll tell, one more man reporting, Sir, I've served my time in hell." Smiling gently as he did.

Not far from them, Parker, Twilight and Reed were so doomed.

"I better get a fucking medal after this shit." Reed complained angrily while reloading. Finished, he peeked and shot anywhere he believed the enemy was hiding.

"You mean 'we', Private?" Parker asked while shooting next to him.

"How long have we been here?" Reed changed the topic.

Parker ducked as he ran out of bullets. "Three hours, maybe four. Why asked?"

"Counting the time before death takes me. Those fuckers were lucky they got Sagi."

"His sacrifice won't be in vain, Private. They'll pay for that." A mortar shell landed on the causeway, forcing them to take cover.

"Parker," Twilight called behind him, "What do you want me to do?"

"What can you do?" Parker asked, looking at her.

Twilight frowned. "I'm new here. Do you expect I can do whatever things you're doing right now?"

"Right, apologies." He said before peeking out to get a view on the Germans. The sky was getting dark already but not even a single company has made their way to his position. Too many machine guns and artillery fire to slow them down, they need a bigger distraction. But how?

BOOM!!

A big explosion caused Parker to look at the German position. Another one, and then there were a lot. His prayers have been answered, the American artillery were pounding the area, specifically from the 65th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and the 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion. The bombardment was a success as the German firepower subsided, allowing the paratroopers to advance faster.

"I suppose we just have to sit and wait, Twilight." Parker remarked.

Twilight looked at Parker before at the scenery of the bombardment. The explosions were everywhere and she could see the Germans were scrambling to take cover. She looked to her right to see the paratroopers were already halfway from her position. Luna stayed on guard, watching and hearing any sound of an artillery shell coming to the soldiers. A group of mortar squad managed to get up to the causeway and ran as fast as they could to Parker's position.

"You wanna get yourself killed?" Parker asked as he aimed his weapon towards the German position.

"No, Sir, but our order is to set up a mortar position as soon as possible." A member of the mortar squad answered before helping his comrades.

"There will be more, Sir. I count two other mortar squads making their way here," the other soldier remarked, "We need to pin them down as much as we can."

Parker nodded in response before looking back to where Jones' at. "Jones!" He shouted, Jones' attention turned from Diablo to Parker when he heard his name, "All clear now! Get them outta here!"

"Aye, Sarge!" Jones responded, "C'mon buddy, the medics ain't that far from us." He said as he tried to pick Diablo to his shoulders.

"I can't believe they shot me." Diablo complained as he too tried his best to get up but his wound got in the way.

"I got you." Damien's voice could be heard before Diablo's left arm was picked up to Damien's shoulder and helped him to his feet. With Damien's aid, Jones managed to take them out of the frontline to be treated.

---

22:56 hours

Hours passed, day turned to night, even with the pounding of their own artillery barrage, the Germans were still firing their 88s ridiculously accurate. The bombardment was scheduled from 1600 hours to 2330 hours and it undoubtedly reduced the effectiveness of enemy fire. But that didn't stop the Germans from finding a safer spot to slow the Americans. G Company was the first to arrive near the last bridge and had set up three mortar positions to counter the assault. I Company however, found themselves in a bad situation.

"Keep firing!" Parker shouted as they were once again raided by bullets. The never ending battle of reaching the last bridge was soon about to finish, but the Germans were putting up a hard fight even with the artillery barrage still going on around them. But they were more focused on targeting the I Company that was making their way towards Parker's position. Crawling in the embankment was no easy task as they often slipped or stuck on a pile of mud. Luna kept making shield after shield to protect them but somehow one or two still got injured.

Flare illuminated the skies as I Company had to stop again because of the raid of bullets, mortars, and artillery. Luna had to lay down between the soldiers to avoid being hit, but that didn't stop her from forming shields here and there.

"Keep pinning them! Fucking fire those mortars!" Parker desperately ordered.

"We nearly ran out of ammunition, Sir!" One of the soldiers said.

"Fuck! Twilight!" Parker called before ducking for cover. Twilight immediately rushed to his side.

"Yes, Parker?" She asked through the shouts and gunfires.

"I want you and Pinkie to run back to our rally point. Tell them we're running out of mortar shells and we need them right now!"

Twilight nodded. "To whom?" She asked again.

"Anyone!" Parker answered before firing his weapon. Twilight then told Pinkie to come with her and the pink pony followed her friend without asking a question.

Twilight and Pinkie had to carefully make their way towards the second bridge as they too began to be barraged by bullets. The flare gave away their position and the Germans did not think twice of shooting them.

They finally managed to meet up with I Company when one of them asked, "What are you doing here? This is a killzone!"

"We need more mortar shells on the frontline!" Twilight answered between the chaos, "They're running out of them!"

"Tell that to your orange pony friend! She's learning with ammunition back there with Lieutenant Colonel Cole and Major Stopka!"

"Thank you!"

Before Twilight and Pinkie could move however, another flare illuminated them, but this time, there was another sound that made the whole I Company terrified. And it was coming from the skies. Twilight noticed the look of the soldier who she just talked to.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking at the skies.

"STUKA!!" The soldier shrieked.

…

"NO!!" Parker screamed as he saw the I Company getting strafed by a Stuka. Then another Stuka followed closely, strafing its machine guns from above and when it got close enough, it dropped a bomb on the American soldiers. But most importantly, Luna, Twilight and Pinkie were amongst them.

His squad looked in horror as they saw the explosion. The Stukas flew away, leaving a graveyard on their trail.

"GIRLS!!" Wade screamed as he ran from his position and towards the battered I Company, completely ignoring the existence of the German soldiers still firing at them.

…

BOOM!!

Applejack, Lieutenant Colonel Cole, and Major Stopka looked in horror as the Stukas hammered the paratroopers. The bomb was the worst, as the explosion was a direct hit and caused men flying everywhere. Their screams of pain could be heard clearly.

"Oh my gosh…" Applejack quietly said as she shivers in place, couldn't imagine what those men were going through.

"Fucking hell." Cole muttered.

…

BOOM!!

"What was that?!" Fluttershy almost shrieked when she heard the loud explosion. Sure she heard the bombardment for hours but that one was big, and different.

Rarity perked from the medical equipment Peterson showed them. "I'm sure it's just another artillery shell as they called them, dear."

"But I saw planes," Spike added, "I'm sure the planes did that."

"Spike is correct," Peterson said as he walked towards them, Rainbow following behind him, "That came from a Stuka and it must've punched our boys."

"A Stuka?" Rainbow asked behind him.

"Yes, the Junkers Ju 87 plane, or Stuka for short. Didn't you hear the sound before they dropped the load? They offered pin-point aerial artillery support for the Krauts. Their 88s are useless here for infantry bombardment and they use that instead. Just like you did Dash," he looked towards Rainbow, "They're dive bombers. A deadly one."

Rainbow stood still, terrified by the fact those planes can deal more damage than she thought. And the fact that there are many of them makes it worse. No matter how bad she wanted to fight it, she couldn't beat steel with hooves and her flight ability.

"Dear Celestia…" Rarity muttered.

They looked at the remnants of the explosion in silence as smoke could be seen thanks to the flare. But the gunfires were still on going.

"Peterson!" Someone yelled out of nowhere.

Peterson turned to see Jones running towards him. "Yeah?"

"Diablo and Damien are wounded, they need you right now."

Peterson nodded before packing his equipment that he showed to the ponies. "C'mon, we have work to do."

…

Her ears were ringing. That's what Twilight heard. She couldn't hear anything else other than that. She blinked her eyes, her senses slowly getting into her. That's when pain shot throughout her body.

"Oww." She whimpered. Despite being in such pain, she moved her hoof to search for her friend.

"Pinkie?" She called. Her hearing was still not recovered yet so she could only rely on her hoof. She could only assume her face was covered with mud because of how cold it is.

"Pinkie? Are you there?" Twilight called again. This time, she got a response. But not from her friend.

"Holy shit, Twi, you're gonna be alright." Wade spoke up, although Twilight could barely hear what he was saying. "Sarge! Twilight's wounded!" He yelled.

"How bad?!" Parker asked as he made his way to him.

"Multiple shrapnels!"

"Get her back now! Where's Pinkie?!"

"Can't find her!"

"Go bring Twilight back! I'll look for Pinkie!"

"She's here, Sergeant!" Luna called between the dead bodies. Parker immediately jogged towards the Night Princess.

Parker could see Pinkie was being held by Luna. But when he got close enough, he was stunned. Seeing Princess Luna in such bad shape. Her coat was covered in both mud and blood, her usual blue colored coat was nowhere to be seen. Her face showed fear, even though she tried her best not to. Her starry mane was no longer flowing like he used to see from her. It went straight to the ground, just like a normal hair would be, not flowing without gravitational force. A trail of blood could be seen running down from her forehead to her right cheek.

"Parker!" Luna's voice pulled him out.

Parker blinked before spring into action. "Is she wounded?" He asked as he crouched near her.

Luna shook her head. "No, but she's not okay."

Parker noticed Pinkie's mane was no longer bubbly. It was deflated, just like Luna's. She's covered with dirt, mud, and blood. He noticed a bruise on her left foreleg, she must've gotten thrown by the explosion and hit something solid. In a word, injured. Pinkie's attention scanned through the scenery and noticed multiple wounded soldiers were scattered throughout the marshes — many of them were groaning in pain — and most of them laid there. Not moving. Dead. Her eyes turned to pinpricks as horror plastered on her face.

"God damn it." Parker muttered softly as he too took a look at his surroundings. Luna followed him by seeing the remnants of the I Company. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes when she heard the crying of pain, agony, and those that were no longer moving.

Parker's attention then turned back to Pinkie when he heard her whimper. Her eyes started to water too while seeing the paratroopers in such a state.

"Get her out of here and get yourself treated," Parker ordered Luna, "And make sure the medics treat Pinkie well. Make sure her friends are there and make sure to be by her side."

"What about you?"

Parker cocked his gun, replying, "Cleaning the mess."

Luna nodded before softly whispering Pinkie words of comfort. Parker turned around to see Wade was making his way back with Twilight in his arms. Satisfied, he made his way back to his squad.

Those motherfuckers are gonna pay for it

Comments

[Bronycommander]

you're on a roll, eh?

[TasteDaRainbow]

11432694
You can say that.

[Fireflight startrottor]

Parker noticed Pinkie's mane was no longer bubbly. It was deflated, just like Luna's. She's covered with dirt, mud, and blood. He noticed a bruise on her left foreleg, she must've gotten thrown by the explosion and hit something solid. In a word, injured. Pinkie's attention scanned through the scenery and noticed multiple wounded soldiers were scattered throughout the marshes — many of them were groaning in pain — and most of them laid there. Not moving. Dead. Her eyes turned to pinpricks as horror plastered on her face.

shell shock...😧