World at War: Protectors of Harmony

by TasteDaRainbow

Purple Heart Lane – Part III

D-Day plus 5

June 11th, 1944

Carentan Highway, Normandy

01:21 hours

---

---

Twilight opened her eyes very slowly as pain once again shot throughout her body, making her moan in frustration. She slowly regained her vision and was met with the dark sky above. The pain did not please her however, as she groaned again. She felt bandages around her forelegs, hindlegs, neck, forehead and her stomach.

"She's awake!" A voice she noticed as Applejack called.

"Don't go, let me check on her." A new voice spoke up. Twilight could hear footsteps of boots coming towards her and she turned her head to the right. She was greeted with a medic, who was smiling gently as he kneeled down next to her.

"How're you feeling?" He asked softly.

Twilight winced as another wave of pain washed her. "It hurts." She answered slowly.

The medic nodded before pulling out a small thing that Twilight couldn't describe. "This is a morphine syrette," he explained as he pulled out the plastic hood to reveal a needle that's attached to the small tube, "It contains morphine that will help you ease up the pain. I'm gonna inject it to you, alright? Hold still. This won't hurt."

Once the needle punctured her skin, Twilight felt the pain slowly disappear and her breathing became more steady. She smiled and nodded to the medic, gesturing her way of thanks.

"What's your name?" The medic asked.

"Twilight Sparkle, call me Twilight."

"Nice to meet you Twilight, I'm Peterson. If you don't mind, I'm going to check your wound again." Peterson asked politely, which Twilight gladly accepted.

Then, the image from the bombing displayed in her mind. How the strafing killed some of the paratroopers, and then came the bomb, that killed most of them. She could've sworn she saw a glimpse of a leg getting ripped from its owner. Twilight tried her best to shake the thoughts away but no matter how hard she tried, they stayed. Peterson noticed her expression and put a hand on her forehead.

"Hey, just relax," he spoke softly while making circles with his thumb, "You're safe now, you're fine."

"Where's Pinkie?" She asked.

"Your friend is fine too, she's with the others." Peterson answered calmly. Knowing that, Twilight let herself fall limp while Peterson tended to her wound. She could only hope Parker and the soldiers were safe.

…

On the frontline however, Americans were slowly turning the table. During a lull in the firing, H Company was given the order to cross the last bridge through the Belgian Gate. But it took a lot of time when the gap could only fit for one man. One after another, they slowly advanced with the cover of darkness.

I Company had to pull back from the casualties they were suffering. The Stukas in particular had caused a heavy toll, and when it was over, only twenty one men and two officers from the company's original eighty men made it back to the second bridge.

Parker was providing an overwatch from his position to see the enemy's movement. His mind, though, was filled with the images of Twilight, Pinkie, and Luna. The three of them were wounded when the Stuka strafed the I Company. And most likely they were broken. He regretted the decision of allowing them in the frontline. Especially when they have no combat experience. He was thinking too much; he didn't realize Wade approached him.

"Sarge?"

Parker jumped from his position and turned to the corporal. "Fuck, Wade. Little warning next time?"

Wade shrugged. "Thought you heard me." He then sat next to the sergeant as the two of them stared at the barn.

"Is it bad?" Parker asked, breaking the silence as the men of H Company continued their advance across the last bridge.

"What's what bad?"

"Twilight. Her wound." Parker answered.

Wade ran his tongue to his lips before replying, "All I see is shrapnels. None of them were serious but they're enough to make her in a lot of pain. I pulled some of them out when she was unconscious. Don't tell her."

Parker chuckled bitterly and didn't say a word after that. He sat still, watching the opposite side of the river as his mind continued to think about the ponies. Suddenly, a flare shot up from the Germans. Wade instantly sprang into action as he fired his weapon; the Germans did the same with their machine guns.

"Shit," Parker muttered as he readied his weapon, "Cover them! Jones, Cesaro, take cover behind that bridge! Give our boys time! Skippy, Andrew, over here!"

…

Back on the second bridge, Pinkie was sitting on the edge of the river. She refused to be accompanied, no matter how much her friends had asked her. She watched the flare as it shot up to the sky, illuminating the ground below. Gunfires started as the Germans could be seen firing machine guns to the paratroopers. She sat there, watching the scenery, but her mind was somewhere else. The crying of the wounded soldiers, the unmoving bodies of the paratroopers still stuck in her mind. She could even taste the stench of it alone. The pink pony closed her eyes, trying to distract her mind to some kind of the smiles she made to the ponies of Ponyville. And her friends.

"Pinkie Pie?" Luna's voice called out.

Pinkie didn't move, nor turn her head to see the Night Princess slowly approach her. Princess Luna sat next to her, following Pinkie's gaze to the scenery in front of them. Dark sky, accompanied by the light of the flare and flashes of gunfires from both sides. Pinkie let out a deep sigh, failing miserably to distract her mind from thinking of the horrible image she had seen not long ago.

Princess Luna sensed her uneasiness and wrapped a wing around the shivering party pony. "It's okay, Pinkie. Everything is going to be okay."

"How do you know?" Pinkie slowly asked, her gaze was still fixated to the front, "That flying machine came out of nowhere and… killed most of the soldiers. How do you know we're going to be okay if we cannot predict the unexpected?"

Luna didn't answer. Pinkie had the right point but telling everything is going to be okay would be fruitless in this situation. They alone did not know whether or not they would die here. Luna's wing then gripped Pinkie tighter as she answered, "We have to hope for the best, Pinkie. And we have to overcome our fear. No matter what we will get out of here together. Do you believe in that?"

Pinkie nodded in response. "Very well. Then I want you to stay strong like the Pinkie Pie I used to know. Not only it's for you, but to help your friends here to smile, laugh, and brighten the mood. You are the Element of Laughter, Pinkie. Do not forget who you are. Because they need you. We need you."

Pinkie sniffed a little before nodding again. She looked at her left foreleg, who had been wrapped in a bandage after Peterson treated her. Slowly, she was feeling really tired and she had never once thought that the ground was so invitingly comfortable. She closed her eyes, letting herself dozed off to a nap.

---

03:58 hours

Reed was patiently scanning the other side of the river when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around to see Parker and Wade. "Any news, Sarge?" He asked.

Parker nodded. "H Company has managed to cross the bridge, the Regiment ordered us to continue the attack now. We'll go after George Company. Prepare your gear. Wade, tell the rest to regroup on me near the bridge in ten minutes. I'll be checking up on the ponies."

"Aye, Sir." Wade responded as he walked away to look for the rest of the squad.

"My gears are all ready, Sir." Reed said, grabbing his rifle.

"Alright, wanna come check them up?"

Reed shrugged. "Eh, why the fuck not. It's better than having to sit my ass on this cold spot." He said as he got up.

"First," Parker interrupted, "Get me a stretcher, help me get Sagi back to the second bridge."

…

The battle seemed to never end. Both ponies and the paratroopers felt it. It was nearly dawn and G Company along with the Headquarters Company was making their way across the last bridge. With Belgian Gate in the way, it would take at least an hour or two to get all the men across. Parker, Reed and another medic were hurriedly walking down the causeway, Parker walked backwards to alert if any of the Germans had spotted them or not while Reed and the medic were carrying Sagi on the stretcher. Satisfied they were safe from the range of the German machine guns, they slowed their pace.

When they crossed the makeshift bridge, they were greeted by the sight of those who got wounded. Most of them were from the battered I Company. The medic showed them where they should lay Sagi down and they obliged, completely forgetting about the ponies' existence as they walked past them.

Most of those who did not know Sagi was dead, gasped as they saw he was lying on the stretcher. Finally, the medic led them to the casualties of the battle. Those who died were neatly arranged on the causeway. The medic and Reed put the stretcher down before moving Sagi's body next to another dead GI. Finished, the medic pat Reed and Parker's shoulder before taking the stretcher with him, continuing his task of treating the wounded. The ponies followed them without them noticing. Parker kneeled down next to Sagi and pulled out his dog tags.

"Rest well, Sagi. You've done enough." He softly spoke before putting the dog tags in his pocket and stood up.

Satisfied, he turned around to be met by his guests. All who were looking at Sagi. Parker looked at each of their faces. Twilight, Pinkie and Luna were the worst. Seeing they were the ones who mostly saw the entire battle and got wounded. He took one last glance to Sagi before sighing.

"Is he…" Fluttershy quietly said, she couldn't complete her words because of how scared to imagine if Sagi had already left. To her disappointment however, Parker nodded his head.

"Yes, Shy. He's gone."

Fluttershy broke down in tears as she sobbed quietly. Rarity instinctively wrapped a hoof on her friend's shoulders, looking at Sagi. Rainbow and Applejack were still flabbergasted by the fact that the soldier they knew just days ago was now gone. Spike clutched the cards Sagi gave to him before they went to battle, holding back his own tears. Twilight, Pinkie and Luna could only watch in grief.

Parker sighed and kneeled down in front of them. "Look, I know it's tough but y'all gotta keep going." All of their faces turned to Parker as he spoke. "After George Company has crossed the bridge it's our turn to cross. I can't leave you guys here, I'm afraid another retreating German troops might come this way."

The ponies nodded solemnly, they didn't have any options anyway and Parker's words were right. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie can stay here for a while until morning comes. Y'all are wounded." Parker continued.

"What?!" Applejack and Rainbow simultaneously shrieked.

Rainbow shook her head quickly. "No, I'm going with you." She said confidently.

"Like Dash said, Ah'm going too." Applejack added.

"Y'all are crazy." Reed spoke up behind Parker, but he couldn't hold back his smirk of his excitement.

"It's only my wing. I can still run." Rainbow stated.

"I'll go too." Twilight spoke suddenly.

Parker was shocked to hear her statement and quickly forbade it. "No, Twilight. You're wounded all over your body."

"I still wanna go," Twilight answered desperately, "It's not fair you have to face the death you can't see and feel all the suffering on your own. The least we can do is to be there for you. To support you and your friends. I'll do my best to help. And so will everypony else."

Pinkie looked at Twilight as she pondered over the words for a moment. Her mane was deflated but regained some of its puffiness a little bit before answering, "We will always help a friend in need." She looked at Parker, who was bewildered by their answers.

"You and your soldiers are true gentlemen, darling," Rarity spoke up, "We are all here if you need anything."

"Buck yeah," Rainbow smirked, her eyes filled with determination Parker felt yesterday, "I'm sure I can knock out another machine gun group in ten seconds flat."

"Those critters oughta learn a thing or two 'bout messin' with us." Applejack added, smirking alongside Rainbow.

"They better pay for what they did to Sagi." Spike angrily said as he tightened the grip on the cards he was holding whilst looking at Parker.

"Your kindness is something we cannot express in words, Sergeant Parker," Fluttershy added, "As much as I don't want to go but I can see you're scared too. But like you said. We fight for what we love."

Parker looked at them in astonishment before turning his attention to Luna. The princess stood there, smiling at him and gave him a nod. Her face expressed what Parker did not see when she nearly got killed by the Stuka. Confidence.

"Look, for one last time you don't have to fight," Parker spoke again, trying his best not to make them involved in the conflict that wasn't theirs, "Just stay behind the line and let us do the job."

"But we're here aren't we?" Spike retorted, "I don't mind fighting as long as I'm fighting a good fight." The ponies agreed in his statement as they nodded their heads.

Twilight limply stepped forward until she was standing in front of the sergeant. "Like we said, we're helping." Twilight said confidently.

Parker couldn't say a word anymore. His mind couldn't process the situation he was in. He was grateful nonetheless that the ponies were willing to help them. But at the same time, the feeling of guilt washed over him. He had to make them experience things he was sure they didn't want to see. But here they are, all volunteered to help them in this war. Parker finally let out a deep sigh before standing up.

"Alright, stay close to me."

Reed smirked behind him, one of satisfaction and confidence.

…

"Sarge!" Flynn called out as he saw Parker and Reed came back to where he ordered his men to regroup. Parker and his companions silently walked their way towards them.

"All are here, Sir," Wade greeted before looking at the ponies, "Why are they here?" He asked, he almost lost it when he saw Twilight was being carried by Pinkie on her back.

"Helping," Parker answered, "Even though I didn't let them, they insisted on coming with us."

"Well shit." Cesaro quietly said.

"Are they sure about that?" Skippy asked.

"Positive." Reed answered.

"Alright, move on, are they finished yet?" Parker asked.

Glenn shook his head. "Not quite done, but they're almost there. I count a dozen left, that includes the Colonel and the Major."

Parker nodded. "Alright, stay here. I'm going to have a word with the Colonel." His squad nodded and watched as he left the group.

"Say," Jones broke the silence, "Are you guys absolutely ready for this?" He asked while looking at the ponies. The others turned their attention to the equines, waiting for their answer.

Twilight whispered to Pinkie to put her down and her friend did as she was told. The purple alicorn stood up, wincing at the pain she felt. "We're ready."

The paratroopers looked at each other, finding themselves somehow communicating telepathically. "Then you might as well learn some things for self defense." Wade spoke up. "Tell me, can your magic hold a gun?"

…

Parker walked cautiously towards where he assumed the Colonel and the Major were. He eventually saw them with a group of men, waiting to cross the massive gate. "Colonel!" He called quietly, but loud enough to gain Cole's attention.

Cole looked to his right and saw the sergeant approaching his position. As Parker crouched in front of him, Cole asked, "What's the matter son?"

"Requesting permission to take the ponies to the combat, Sir." Parker answered.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it too dangerous?"

Parker weakly shook his head. "They wanna come with us. I can't stop them. But I'm afraid they will get hurt, or worse."

Cole nodded at his explanation and pondered it for a bit. "Okay, if they wanna come then they can come. But I will order your squad to stay out of the fight when we're engaging our enemy's position. We can't risk them to die. And we do not want to make ourselves like forcing them to fight with us."

"Of course we don't, Sir. Hell, I can just take them back to our country but you know how word spreads. I'm just afraid they see me as a person who used them for us."

Cole put a hand on Parker's shoulder, saying, "We do not have the intention to do so. All they wish is to go back home. So we will make them feel like being at home here until the time comes." Parker nodded, which satisfied Cole as he looked at the bridge. "Alright, we're up. I'll see you on the other side, soldier."

With that, they parted ways.

…

"I will talk about this to Parker, until then, no one tells him anything about this. Is that understood?" Wade ordered the group.

The nods from the ponies and multiple 'aye' came from the paratroopers responding to him. It wasn't long enough until Parker returned.

"Alright guys, here's the plan," Parker stated as he looked at his entire group, "Cole ordered us to stay out of the fight. We absolutely cannot risk their safety." He looked at the ponies as he said so. "Until the checkpoint is clear, we are to hold our asses and support our boys behind the line."

"What?" Reed was dumbfounded before crouching next to Parker. "But Sarge, we are part of the 3rd Battalion. We can't sit our asses watching them fight."

"I know, but we cannot risk their lives. Best thing is to avoid any possible contacts. That, and we must follow orders."

Reed nodded in annoyance, knowing full well he was going to be fucked if he dared to challenge the CO. Wasting no time, Parker ordered them to follow him as they once again, crawled carefully to the gate. It was almost dawn, and soon enough a bloody fight was about to begin.

---

06:01 hours

It was already dawn and the 3rd Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment had finally managed to cross the bridge. Cole ordered his men to rally on the east side of the causeway, they were widely distributed and hugging the ground to avoid being seen. The sun was waking up, making the gray sky visible to the naked eye. Now that they can see clearly, the so-called barn was not a barn after all. The center of the enemy's positions appeared to be a large farmhouse, flanked by hedgerows, on the higher ground which rises out of the marshes on the right-hand side of the road. Seeing the only way to go to the farmhouse was by the field with no cover, Cole sent a scout group and was sure enough to be spotted by the enemy. When the leading scouts on the right approached the farmhouse, they were fired on by rifles, machine guns, and mortars. In an attempt to neutralize the position, an artillery concentration was placed on the area but had no perceptible effect. Frustrated, Cole ordered something that his men couldn't think of.

"He wants what?" Andrew asked, not sure what he heard was right.

"He ordered a bayonet charge," Parker said once again, "That motherfucker is crazy."

"Just like fathers before us, eh?" Reed stated with a cocky smile, "I like the sound o' that."

"What's a bayonet charge?" Spike asked, clearly the ponies were thinking the same thing as they were looking to the paratroopers for answers.

Parker pulled out his bayonet, lifting it up so the ponies could see. "This is a bayonet," Parker explained, "Surely you recognized this when the first time we met." The thought made the ponies shudder.

"It's basically a huge knife, you can tell the length is at least ten inches. This weapon was designed to fit on the end of a muzzle of a rifle, musket, or similar to that," he grabbed Reed's rifle and then proceeded to stick the bayonet to the muzzle of a rifle, "With this thing on the end, it will turn this gun into a spear for close quarter combat."

"Reminds me of the Royal Guards," Spike interrupted, "The difference is your weapon can shoot."

"Exactly." Parker said as he pulled his bayonet out and handed the weapon back to Reed. "That kind of weapon is used for bayonet charge. We will run as fast as we can towards the enemy's position in an attempt to defeat them. It sounds desperate but that tactic usually works."

"Oh my, that sounds… suicidal…" Fluttershy quietly spoke, her last word was very quiet to hear.

Parker chuckled. "That strategy was often used in the first world war, Shy. Expect this one to be a win too."

"Then what're we waiting for?" Glenn asked before pulling out his own bayonet and put it on his weapon's muzzle.

"We're staying here, remember?" Parker said before yawning. He hadn't been resting for quite awhile now that he remembered it.

"We're gonna let them have all the fun? C'mon, Sarge. We all know this is a one time opportunity. Like Reed said, just like our fathers before us." Glenn continued.

His eagerness was being ignored however as Parker sat down, eyes sleepily looking at the ground. "We got orders and that's what we're gonna do."

"For fuck's sake, Glenn," Andrew started, "You damn know we have our orders. And they have theirs."

Glenn spread his arms innocently. "I'm sure the ponies can decide too." He looked at the ponies while hoping they would make the same decision as he does.

Parker couldn't argue at the moment, he was getting really tired recently and waited for the ponies to answer. Andrew put a hand on his face while muttering something no one can hear.

Luna looked at her ponies before saying, "Well, what do you think?"

As much as she didn't want to go, Twilight steeled her nerves and gave Luna a nod. Which followed by the rest of the group, with Rainbow and Applejack hoof bumping each other.

"I assume we can go and help." Luna stated with a nod.

Parker's sleepiness washed away when he heard that answer. Glenn silently celebrated his victory but his smile said it all, making Andrew smack the back of his head. Before Parker could even say anything, he heard a muffled explosion behind him. He turned to see that the artillery had fired several smoke shells on the field between them and the farmhouse. Then, the sound of the whistle blowing could be heard. Before the group could even process, the 3rd Battalion charged forward. Leading them was Cole and Stopka as they went through the smoke screen.

"Wow." Rainbow muttered in amazement. She got goosebumps by just watching them bravely running towards what she could assume was their death.

"Well?" Glenn said as he stood up, "C'mon and let's get ourselves some Krauts to kick!"

For the first time in his life, Reed couldn't agree more as he smiled victoriously. "Hell yeah!"

"Fuck it, fine." Parker muttered before instantly sprinting towards the farmhouse. The rest soon followed, sprinting behind their sergeant. Some have their bayonets on but most of them did not prepare for it. They still charged nonetheless. Twilight however, was left behind as she realized her wounds were making it hard for her to run.

"Hey! Wait up!" She called. However, they were too focused on running; Twilight's calling fell on deaf ears. "Argh!" She groaned in frustration.

"Twilight?" A quiet voice called, making Twilight jump and turn around instantly, only to find Fluttershy was still sitting on her spot.

"Fluttershy? Why don't you go with them?"

"Umm… well, I'm a bit… scared."

"A bit or a lot?"

"Umm… a... a lot…"

Twilight chuckled before limply walking towards her friend. "We're all scared, Shy. But we can't stop, not now. They helped us in the first place. And now we're helping them in return. Besides, we all always help a friend in need, right?"

"I… I suppose you're right."

Twilight smiled. "C'mon," she said, beginning to walk towards the farmhouse, "We can't make them wait."

Parker ran with all of his might. He was feeling very sleepy but every step he took now, the adrenaline rushed in. By the time he reached the farmhouse, he noticed two paratroopers were making their way in the house to sweep it. Parker instinctively went around the farmhouse to search any enemies that could be trying to flee or hiding. Instead, he found nothing. He lowered his weapon and called out for the soldiers inside the house.

"Found anything?" He shouted.

"Nothin'! All clear here." The paratrooper shouted back from the second story of the window.

Parker looked up to see the soldier in question. "You sure it's clear in there?" Rainbow, Applejack, Flynn, Cesaro and Reed turned up from the corner and approached Parker as they saw him.

"I would be dead if there's a Kraut hiding in this closet." The paratrooper said with a chuckle. That made Parker chuckle as well.

"Guess they pulled back." Parker said to the group next to him. Before Applejack could ask however, a machine gun started peppering them with bullets. The paratrooper that was on the second window took a bullet to his neck before falling near Parker.

"Shit! Get to cover!" Parker ordered before he hugged the ground, the rest followed instantly. With no cover, they were pinned down. "Someone get us a fucking medic!" Parker slowly rolled the wounded soldier to hug the wall behind him.

"I'll get 'em!" Flynn said before standing up and ran from the firefight.

"Dash, Applejack! Get out of here!" Reed exclaimed before firing his rifle. Turns out, the Germans hadn't pulled back yet. To the west on higher ground the enemy still occupied rifle pits and machine gun emplacements along a hedgerow running at right angles to the road.

Rainbow would normally fly away but since her wings were in no condition to be flying, she picked up a rock and threw it to the window behind her.

"Applejack, in here!" She shouted before slamming herself to the window with such force, it broke.

"Ah'm getting shot at right now, genius!" Applejack retorted as a bullet struck the ground just in front of her.

"I got you!" Cesaro called out. He rolled himself until he was right next to her. "Keep your head low."

Before she could say anything, Cesaro lifted her up in his arms and carefully made his way to the window. "C'mon!" Rainbow exclaimed while peeking from the window she just broke in. Cesaro couldn't get Applejack in without him being exposed towards the Germans.

"Reed, cover me!" He exclaimed while looking from his shoulder.

"The fuck do you think I'm doing?" Reed shouted back before rummaging through his pocket for a fresh bandolier.

That was an 'okay' for Cesaro already as he got up to put Applejack to safety. When he was about to put Applejack inside, a bullet struck his right shoulder. Cesaro fell from the wound he got and dropped Applejack inside without her preparing the impact. Applejack's wounded foreleg was unfortunate enough to be the first one to hit the floor. She gasped in pain but was soon distracted when he heard Cesaro's crying of pain.

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Cesaro!" She shrieked, she burst to the window and peeked her head out to see Cesaro was groaning in pain, clutching his right shoulder. The bullet had pierced through, the pool of blood itself told her the wound was worse than she initially thought.

"Fuckin' hell!" Parker cursed loudly.

Just then, smoke grenades were thrown in front of the German's line of defense. Before Parker could react, a bunch of paratroopers charged forward, bayonets were still fixed on their weapons. Some of them threw grenades while the others ran through the smoke, determined to outrun the German positions. Amongst them were Parker's squad, with Wade leading the charge. Seeing this as his opportunity, Parker quickly got up and dashed towards Cesaro.

"This quick?" Cesaro complained, gritting his teeth.

"Let's get you outta here," Parker said, "Reed! Put the pressure on that soldier, he's fucking dying!" He ordered while pointing towards the wounded soldier who fell from the second floor of the house. He was clutching his neck while blood quickly poured out, covering his hands and the grass beneath him.

Reed did as he was told while Parker made his way towards a safer area with Cesaro on his shoulders. Rainbow and a slightly recovered Applejack hurriedly made their way outside. They were greeted by their friends but not Parker and Cesaro.

"Dashie, what happened?" Pinkie frantically asked.

"The Germans ambushed us. They were holding behind the fence surrounding this house." Rainbow answered while screams started to fill the air. Looks like the paratroopers have breached through and were attacking the Germans in close combat.

"Where's Parker?" Luna asked.

"That's it, we're looking for him right now."

"Cesaro got shot and Parker had to take him back to safety." Applejack explained which made them gasp.

"Oh no, we need to find him." Fluttershy worriedly said.

A mortar shell landed on the road where they started the assault. Another raid of bullets whizzed past them, making them and the paratroopers scrambling to find some cover. All of the 3rd Battalion managed to cross the open field and assembled near the farmhouse. But because most of them were out in the open, they instantly lay on the ground, firing their weapons to the enemies. Applejack realized they were caught in the crossfire, thus making them sitting ducks.

"We need ta get outta here!" She shouted, clutching her hat for dear life with a hoof.

Luna used her magic to make a shield large enough to cover their escape. "Go now! I will hold the shield!"

Rainbow was looking for any signs of Parker when she realized something. "Hey! Where's Twilight?!" She exclaimed, trying to get her voice out between shouts of orders and gunfires.

Rarity looked around before pointing a hoof to their left. "There she is! Fluttershy is with her!"

All of them looked where Rarity pointed and sure enough Twilight and Fluttershy were hurriedly running for cover. "We have to help them!" Pinkie frantically said.

"Hey, what're you guys doing?" One of the paratroopers managed to make his way to them. With Luna's shield, he was sure enough he'd be safe. "You gotta get out of here right now! Go inside that house!"

Nodding their heads, Rainbow leaped from her position and ran towards the house. Applejack quickly followed her. Rarity grabbed Spike and put him on her back before catching up with Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"But our friends," Pinkie said while pointing a hoof where Twilight and Fluttershy were at, "They need help!"

"I got 'em, just get outta here before you get yourself hurt." The soldier said before turning around and yelled, "McGee, East, help those ponies over there!" The soldiers nodded before sprinting their way towards Twilight and Fluttershy.

"Now go, it's not safe here." The soldier continued as he ran to Luna.

"Thank you!" Pinkie said before running towards the house.

"Hey, get outta there! We'll cover you!" The paratrooper said as he ordered his squad to give Luna some covering fire. They advanced near the shield and were firing their weapons when they heard a familiar sound coming from the sky.

"MORTAR!!" One of them shouted.

Luna heard this but she was very unlucky at that moment. Somehow, the mortar shell hit directly on her shield. Having used her magic for most of the day, her shield wasn't strong enough to hold the explosion, and thus was broken. The explosion caused several soldiers to be wounded. Luna flew backwards and hit some of the paratroopers before they tumbled together to the ground like sacks of potatoes.

…

"Fucking. DIE!!" Glenn shrieked as he stabbed a German soldier right through his heart. He shot his weapon when his enemy was still alive. In an instant, the body went limp as blood came out from his mouth. Satisfied, Glenn pulled the bayonet out and scanned his surroundings. Sure enough the Germans were fleeing their position.

"That was one heckuva fight." Skippy said behind him, checking the body of a German to see if he was dead.

"It's not over yet," Wade interrupted, "They're gonna come back. This place is important for both us and them. I highly doubt they won't try to retake this position from us."

"Then let's give 'em hell when they're back." Glenn confidently said.

Gunfires once again filled the air. "Hey, look!" Andrew exclaimed while looking to the south of the farmhouse. Sure enough, the retreating Germans still held the ground to the south from which they continued to fire on the American positions.

"Those bastards seriously don't know the word 'surrender'." Sven annoyingly said.

"I doubt they didn't get sucked by Hitler at this point." Dante said with a snort.

"Knock it off. Bayonets fixed, we're going for them." Wade said in frustration. He was running out of patience because of the lack of rest he felt.

…

Bullets kicked up dirt everywhere once they touched the ground. Mortar shells landed everywhere, forcing the paratroopers to take cover behind every possible object that could resist the debris and shrapnels. Unfortunately for Luna, she was laying in the open with other paratroopers who got wounded from the initial impact of the mortar explosion.

"Princess Luna!"

"I want an MG position on the left flank!"

"Keep firing!"

"Get that pony outta there for God's sake!"

"Covering!"

Luna tried her best to stabilize her breathing as she heard the muffled voices of orders passed through. She opened an eye and was greeted by a paratrooper lying on his back next to her. Breathing. But he was wounded, the bleeding on his stomach told her.

"Hey." He called out to her. Luna was too focused on the wound she didn't realize the soldier was looking at her.

"Can you walk?" He asked again.

Luna tried to stand up but her body wouldn't let her. She limply fell and shook her head to the wounded GI. The soldier understandably nodded before taking his rifle and said, "I can't shoot, least you can do is to cover me while I drag you back." He placed his M1 Garand next to Luna. Seeing his hand, Luna noticed some of his fingers were not there anymore and blood was covering his hands.

"What?" Luna asked quietly.

"Cover me." He stood up and let out a groan, his uniform was stained with more blood by his movement.

"No, stop. You're hurt." Luna said weakly. Although she could use help right now, seeing him in such a state and forcing himself to help her is too much to see.

"I'll be fine." He said and limply walked to grab her between her shoulders. "Use your magic to lift the gun and aim it towards the enemy. Pull the trigger to fire. It's easy."

Luna did as she was told and managed to levitate the rifle using her magic. The soldier then slowly dragged Luna between the rain of bullets, ignoring his own pain. Luna closed her left eye and aimed the rifle. She wasn't sure if this is going to work but she didn't have any other option right now. She felt the magic seeping through the trigger of the rifle and prepared herself for the recoil.

"Fire now." The soldier whispered.

With a deep breath and a steady aim, Luna fired the weapon.

…

By noon, the German forces had finally been forced to retreat. Wade's surprise attack worked very well. They caught the Germans off guard while they were harassing the Americans with machine gun fires and mortar shells. At the same time however, Parker showed up to aid with a group of men he had quietly ordered from Blake's platoon. With the aid of Parker, the paratroopers managed to drive the Germans off.

Lieutenant Colonel Cole wished to take advantage of the enemy's disorganization and keep the attack moving, but the 3rd Battalion was in no condition to push on. All of the men in the battalion managed to cross the causeway and assembled near the farmhouse, but the units were badly mixed and had suffered heavy casualties. Seeing no opportunity to push on, Cole decided to send a word to the rear to ask the 1st Battalion from the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment to come up and pass through the 3rd Battalion to continue the attack south to the high ground at La Billonerie, nicknamed Hill 30.

The 1st Battalion Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Cassidy, was on the north side of the fourth bridge with his men when he received the word. However, what Cole didn't know is that the 1st Battalion also had been hit hard — especially from mortar fire — and was just disorganized as the 3rd. Instead of relieving the 3rd, Cassidy ordered his men to help reinforce the ground gained by the 3rd Battalion.

"Cole." Cassidy called while walking up the porch of the farmhouse.

"Hey, Cass." Cole responded before shaking hands. "Nice to see you're here, my men can't continue the attack. The Krauts hit us hard last night and I can't muster the force we need to push on."

Cassidy sighed before replying, "Me too, Cole. The mortars took a toll on us and my men are mixed right now. We lost a lot too."

"Ah shit." Cole said, his attention turned to the right, to the town of Carentan that could be seen from his position.

"I suggest we hold this ground," Cassidy broke the silence, "I have a feeling the Krauts are gonna be back. They know this is the entrance to the town and they won't let us take it."

"I have the same gut feeling as you do," Cole continued, "Alright, I'm gonna ask Colonel Sink to continue the push for us once we hold off the counter attack we expect."

Cassidy nodded before turning away to brief his men. Cole did the same.

…

"The fuck were you doing with my men?" Blake furiously asked Parker. Parker expected this to happen since he took some of his men to charge the remaining German resistance. He believed they could be pushed back with a flick of a wind. They were fleeing and disorganized, and Parker took that to his opportunity. The same could be said to Wade as he and the rest of the squad made contact with Parker when they finally pushed the Germans out.

"Giving them no breathing space, Sir." Parker replied with a bored expression.

"And who are you to have the authority to do so?" Blake asked again, their helmets almost touching each other.

"I don't have one but you don't have the instincts that I have."

"Say that again, Sergeant?"

"I said-"

"Hey guys, c'mon," Reed interrupted by forcing himself to stand between the two, "Let's have a celebration that we kicked their asses outta here, alright?"

"And who the fuck do you think you are, Private?" Blake frustratedly asked. His fist was ready to knock out Reed right here and there.

"I am Private First Class Cody Reed and I'm here to talk some sense between the two of you." Reed turned his attention to Blake. "If y'all acting childish like this I'm afraid I have to make a report."

Blake snorted. "Report? You? Like they're gonna believe you anyway."

"I have witnesses." Reed looked to his left and sure enough Parker's squad and some of the men were standing there, watching them.

Blake nodded silently. "You're lucky you're still alive, Sergeant." He said before walking away.

"I'll look forward to my funeral." Parker jokingly said.

Genius

"Sarge," Reed called, "Please, this isn't the time. Luna is wounded."

Parker's expression changed immediately. "Ah shit."

The ponies were told to rest inside the farmhouse. Cole had decided to make a command post on the second story of the farmhouse. Peterson was called to tend to Luna's wound. Slowly but surely, he treated her while the others could only wait.

"There," Peterson muttered after wrapping a bandage around Luna's left wing, "Feeling better?"

Luna nodded with a weak smile. "Thank you." She said tiredly.

Peterson smiled back and patted her shoulder. "I know this is tough but it'll be over soon."

"When?" Spike asked, fiddling with his pack of cards.

Peterson turned to him. "Let's hope we'll end this war by Christmas."

The answer made Spike sighed. Footsteps were heard coming from the porch and they turned to see Parker walk in with his helmet on his left hand and his gun on his right. He looked at Twilight and her friends before turning his attention to Luna.

"How's Cesaro?" Applejack asked worriedly, she couldn't shake the thought of his cries of pain.

Parker looked at her with a slight smile. "He'll live. He's enjoying his ass in the aid station right now."

"He sure won't." Damien called behind him from the porch. "Lemme tell ya somethin' Sarge, it's not cool."

"Let's hope he enjoys it." Parker said with a chuckle. He slowly walked towards the couch where Luna was laying and kneeled next to her. "You feelin' alright?" He asked softly.

Luna nodded. "I can endure this."

Parker sighed, putting his helmet on a nightstand next to the couch. "Sorry to drag y'all into this. I know will eventually happen-"

"Parker," Luna stopped him, "It is our choice. We do not blame you. Besides, I've finally learned how to use your weapon."

"What?" Parker lifted his head and saw a rifle was leaning on the side of the couch close to Luna's head. "Who gave you that?" Parker quickly asked.

"A paratrooper dragged me out of the battlefield," Luna explained with Twilight and her friends listened carefully, "He was wounded. He got shot on his belly and most of his fingers were torn apart. He couldn't shoot but he insisted on dragging me out of there." The image was still fresh in her mind and she shuddered a bit. "He told me to give him some covering fire with his rifle. So I used my magic to pick the rifle from the ground and aimed it. I think I saw Wade on the German line but I am not sure. Next thing I knew I was firing the rifle before the soldier himself got shot by another round to his chest. And he died. He died saving me." Luna paused, trying to control her emotions as Parker waited patiently for her to continue. "I didn't get to know his name."

The ponies lowered their ears when they heard the paratrooper had died. Parker nodded in understanding and placed his weapon next to his helmet. "So you can fire a rifle now?"

"I believe so. And I want to keep it for my sake and my ponies."

"That would require my permission." Cole suddenly interrupted. Everyone turned to see him walking down the stairs from his command post, followed by Colonel Cassidy behind him.

"Damn, Cole," Cassidy started, "You're lucky your division is the one to keep their sake and get to talk with them a lot."

"If my boys didn't find them we wouldn't have known." Cole smiled at Parker, which the sergeant immediately stood up.

Cole stopped in the middle of the living room and smiled at Luna. "And it is a yes from me. As long as you keep that gun pointed at the Germans."

Luna chuckled. "You have done no harm to us. Why should we betray you?"

Cole nodded. "Sergeant Parker," he called, "1st Battalion will be with us for the rest of the day. Your squad will guard the right flank along with some of my men and Cass's men. I have appointed your squad to lead a patrol by midnight, but that depends on the circumstances. Take as much ammo as you can."

"Yes, Sir." Parker responded.

"Can I come?" Spike hopefully asked.

"Spike," Twilight called, "It's too dangerous. We should stay here." There it is, just as Parker thought. They were having second thoughts and it was clear enough for Parker to see the signs.

"But Twilight, I wanna help." Spike whined.

Cole sensed the uneasiness and quickly said, "I know it's hard for you guys to deal with this. And we won't force you to help us. But if you want to help us then we won't stop you."

"You said we can help them." Spike continued. His eyes told Twilight that he was willing to go.

"It's alright," Cassidy said with a smile, "Let this be the way to strengthen our friendship."

In an instant, something clicked inside Twilight's mind. She looked at Spike who was determined to go with Parker while the sergeant was patiently waiting for her answer. Twilight steeled her nerves before saying, "Okay, Spike. You can go. But I'll go too."

"What?!" Her friends simultaneously shrieked.

"But Twilight, you have bandages all over your body." Rainbow stated.

"Yes darling, are you sure you can keep up with them?" Rarity worriedly asked, "You sure look like you could use more rest."

Twilight politely shook her head. "I'm fine, girls. We have magic in our body that allows us to heal faster compared to human bodies. No offense." She sheepishly said to Cole.

"None taken, Miss Sparkle." Cole said with a genuine smile.

"So yes, just like that I assume I will have my full recovery in just two days."

"Then what about me?" Rainbow asked, showing her bandaged wing, "I could use them to fly right about now."

"Peterson will have that checked up," Reed said from the doorway, "But I can confirm you won't be dive bombing grenades for now."

Rainbow glared at the young private, who casually smirked at her. "No need. Her wound isn't that bad," Peterson said next to Parker, "I'm sure she'll be able to fly tomorrow."

Rainbow gave the 'I win' expression towards Reed while the private scoffed before turning back to his group.

"Twilight," Parker called her, "You positive you wanna come?"

Twilight nodded, assuring Parker that she was absolutely going with him. Parker looked at Cole for any answer and Cole chuckled a little before nodding his head, giving him his own answer.

"Alright, I'll inform my men." Parker said as he walked out of the living room.

"Miss Sparkle," Cole started, "I heard what you said earlier but with those wounds of yours, I suggest you take more rest and let your magic do your work."

Twilight shook her head, saying, "It's all right Colonel. I've seen your men get wounded and yet, they came back to fight. So why shouldn't I go a little with a limp?"

Cole laughed while Cassidy casually shook his head with a smile. "You sure bring a lot of surprises." Cassidy stated.

"Well," Twilight rubbed her hoof, "I'm actually afraid of going. But seeing your men bravely fighting for the past couple of days washed the thoughts away."

Cole smiled. "You will find the answers soon, Miss Sparkle. I am actually surprised you and your friends can go this far. I doubt anyone that hasn't seen a real battlefield — or hasn't experienced it in years in this matter — can overcome their fears in minutes. But all of you truly show me how capable you are. As horrible as it might be to get used to it, things always take time."

Twilight nodded. "Now if you excuse me," Cole continued, "I have some work to do."

"I suppose I'll order sandwiches for our ponies before they take off?" Major Stopka suddenly said from the stairwell.

…

Parker had ordered his men to secure the perimeter around the right flank before deciding where they would holed up for the day, all except Julian. Inviting some of the other paratroopers from the 1st and 3rd Battalion, they trudged their way towards their destination. Parker and Julian casually waited outside for Twilight and Spike to finish eating sandwiches that Major Stopka ordered.

"Hey, Sir?" Julian asked while sitting on the stairs of the porch.

"Yeah?" Parker called.

"Do you think they can make it?"

Parker looked at him, arms crossed while his Thompson leaned against the stair railing. "What do you mean?" He asked in confusion, although he knew what he meant.

"Like, if one of them died or maybe more, what would we do?" Julian continued.

Parker stared blankly at Julian. He wasn't sure what to answer so he sighed. "Let's not think about that now, Private. I'm afraid I'll get distracted by having so many thoughts like that in my mind I wouldn't be able to lead you guys to the battlefield."

Julian nodded. "Sorry, Sir. Just out of curiosity."

Few moments later went by in silence before Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash came out. "Rainbow, you comin' too?" Parker asked as he realized the cyan pegasus was walking alongside her friends.

Rainbow nodded. "I just wanna see it up close, that's all."

Parker contemplated his decision for a while before giving in. He said 'alright' before gesturing to them to follow him. Parker could see his men were setting up defensive positions on the crossroad up ahead, it was pretty much isolated from the other position. But knowing his men were a bunch of lunatics dying for war told him they were going to be just fine. The walk was pretty far and with Twilight still wounded, they had to keep their pace with the purple alicorn. It wasn't as bad as it was considering they enjoyed the view and with the gentle breeze of the wind makes it hard to not enjoy it.

"Reminds me of Equestria." Twilight broke the silence while looking around the scenery.

"I can tell." Parker smiled, letting the wind calm himself down.

"Except for the smoke rising from that town." Spike pointed to their left, and was sure enough black smoke rose high in different places.

"Welcome to war, buddy." Julian stated behind them.

"I know you have explained this but why couldn't you solve this without violence?" Twilight asked behind Parker, "Surely even there are few possibilities to avoid war."

"Well, Twilight," Parker began, "Like I said, it's complicated. After the First World War, the German was greatly reduced in size. The Treaty of Versailles obliged Germany to cede some of its territory to other countries."

"What's the Treaty of Ver… Versua…?" Spike asked.

"Treaty of Versailles," Julian corrected, "Or more like 'How To Make Sure There Will Be War Again' Treaty."

"Yeah that. Wait, what?" Spike was utterly confused.

"It's a peace treaty, one of the most important treaties after World War One, or so we thought," Parker answered, "It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied powers. To which they blamed Germany for the start of war. But in truth, her ally did start the war instead of the Germans as far as I know. But the Treaty of Versailles was so unfair, it would choke Germany to death."

"How so?" Rainbow asked, somehow she was very interested in hearing the start of World War Two.

"In one of the articles, there's a treaty known as war guilt clause, in which they forced the perpetrator to accept full responsibility for starting World War One and pay enormous reparations for Allied war losses. Unfortunately, they all agreed on one thing. The Germans were to blame." Parker explained.

"In lack of other words, I'd say they're fubar." Julian jokingly said.

"They're definitely fucked all right." Parker said with a smirk.

"Then what happened? Why did the Allies not have any sympathy towards the Germans? Did they not know it would cause a devastating crisis inside the country?" Twilight excitedly asked.

"I doubt all of them wanted to sign the treaty," Parker answered, "I believe some of them have sympathy for Germany, even if it's just a little. The biggest problem of Versailles is that they viewed each other as enemies instead of humans."

"So the Germans were not happy when they received the treaty?" Rainbow asked.

Parker nodded firmly. "Absolutely, there was chaos all over the place. People started to protest about it. I wouldn't blame them, I'd be mad as fuck if my savings were wiped out because of the inflation they suffered. And mind you, I'm not as detailed as Andrew when it comes with this thing. I just know the important ones but if you wanna ask more, you can ask Andrew about it. His dad was a World War One veteran and taught him a lot of things."

"I'm going to take notes about all of those." Twilight happily said, her mood was getting brighter while she listed tons of questions about the war she would ask more. And the thought of learning human history on why they were so advanced even without magic made her even more excited. The planes, the tanks, the weapons, the architecture, the nature, all of them. She didn't have the time to visit Sunset's world because of how busy she was but now that she was here for a while, she will study as much as she can from them.

Just as they finished the talk, they arrived at where his squad was setting up defensive positions. "All right, I suppose we're here." Parker said before gesturing to Julian to join the others.

"Okay guys, here's the deal," Parker said, turning to his guests, "I believe we're going to be attacked anytime soon. These guys are gonna dig some holes for us to cover ourselves from a possible attack. Now I want you guys to listen to this carefully." Parker crouched and eyed the three of them seriously. "It's life or death here. You will either killed or be killed. Once the Krauts come to us, I want you to do exactly what I said. Is that clear?"

The ponies and the little dragon nodded their heads. Satisfied, Parker smiled and stood up. "I can trust Rainbow to lead you since she was the closest one to ever made contact with the enemy." He continued. Rainbow puffed her chest in pride with a slight smirk. "As for Twilight and Spike, I can make you guys to assist us here with the ammunition. With your magic I'm sure it'll be easier to pass them without having to get up from your position."

"I'm sure I can." Twilight responded.

"For you Spike, you can-"

BOOM!!

The mortar explosion that landed on the orchard knocked four of them off the ground. It was close enough but luckily none of them had serious wounds.

"Krauts in the open!!" Sven shrieked before firing his rifle behind the causeway of the crossroad.

"Reed, Andrew, I want suppressing fire on the left flank! Do not let them get to that orchard!!" Wade ordered before firing back.

Parker quickly recovered from the explosion and forced himself to get up. He was on the causeway, completely exposed. Rainbow and Twilight were knocked out to the opposite side of the orchard and were safe from the bullets. But Spike was laying on the causeway, holding his ears while gritting his teeth.

"Spike!" Parker called before rushing over to him. A bullet managed to graze the sergeant's right arm and he stumbled before falling near Rainbow. Ignoring his pain, Parker got up and grabbed Spike by his shoulders before pulling him from the causeway.

"Spike," Parker called, "You all right?"

Spike's vision began to come back to him as he weakly opened his eyes, his claws were still holding his ears. "Yeah," Spike answered loudly, "Though, I can hear bells ringing."

Parker laughed at his remark. "You lucky bastard. Get up and get to cover with the rest of my men over there!" Parker ordered while pointing to where Wade was at. Sure enough they were protected by the causeway which rose high above the ground. Spike hastily nodded before crawling his way to where he was told.

"Rainbow, Twilight, you alive?"

"Breathing!" Rainbow answered.

"One piece!" Came the reply from Twilight, although her voice indicated to Parker that she was in pain.

"Get your asses moving with Spike! Sven, Jones, assist Reed and Andrew over there!"

"Got it, Sarge!" Sven said before tapping Jones' shoulder, "C'mon buddy, this way!"

Parker ran as fast as he could before crashing himself to the causeway next to Wade, who was firing relentlessly against the German counter attack. "Are we gonna be here alone?" Wade annoyingly asked while firing.

"We're about to find out." Parker said before taking aim with his Thompson and fired. Rainbow had to assist Twilight to get to a safer spot, the explosion knocked all of them and made Twilight suffer the pain from her wounds again.

"Twilight?" Rainbow asked worriedly after she had pulled Twilight to safety. They were behind Flynn, Glenn, Skippy and Damien who were desperately fighting back.

"I'm fine, Rainbow." Twilight said between her breaths. Rainbow wasn't sure but she nodded nonetheless.

"If anything, you can ask me alright?" Rainbow said before turning her attention to the Germans. She peeked her head out and sure enough countless soldiers with gray uniforms were advancing towards them.

"Where's Spike?" Twilight asked. Rainbow searched around and sure enough she saw the dragon was being taught by Dante about using the grenades.

"He's fine, he's with Dante." Rainbow responded before looking for Parker.

"Hey, Parker!" Rainbow called out as soon as she saw him.

"What?!" Parker called back.

"Will there be more of us here?!" She asked before peeking her head to see the Germans again, "Because we could really use them right now!"

"Dante! I need you on me!" Parker called before reloading. After tapping Damien's shoulder to teach Spike, Dante carefully made his way to Parker.

"What's wrong, Sarge?" Dante asked while crouching.

"I need you to inform either Cole or Cassidy. Tell 'em we're getting fucked here and we need that 1st Battalion right now."

Nodding immediately, Dante ran quicker than Parker could've thought back to the farmhouse. Parker cocked his weapon and resumed to hold with his men. They were too focused on the Krauts in front of them; they didn't notice that Reed's line was about to crack. The Germans were able to reach the other side of the causeway and Reed swore he could hear them reloading and cocking their rifles.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." He repeatedly said while reloading. Andrew cooked a grenade before throwing it to the other side, the next thing they heard was the explosion and painful screams.

"How much did you think I got?" Andrew jokingly asked with a smirk.

"About five." Jones replied. Unfortunately, the mood didn't last long as a German soldier suddenly emerged from the causeway and tackled Sven who was about to fire his weapon.

"Reed!!" He shrieked while wrestling the German on top of him.

Reed was about to assist when he got tackled by another German soldier. Soon, more Krauts poured in, overrunning their positions in the orchard. Fists, kicks, screams and rifle fires could be heard and Parker realized the other side was in deep trouble.

"Wade, come with me!" Parker ordered. Wade followed quickly and when they could see the orchard, sure enough the paratroopers were trying their best to hold off the attackers.

"FUCKING DIE!!" Parker yelled before emptying his magazine to the Krauts who were on the causeway, making their way to the scene.

When a click indicated that his magazine was out, Parker threw his weapon at a German soldier who was stepping on Reed's neck, aiming his rifle towards his head. The impact made the soldier flinch but before he could react, Parker tackled him with such force they both rolled several times. Wade was firing his weapon towards the Germans who were making their way forward to the causeway. He threw two grenades before emptying his bandolier. He was reloading when a German soldier — who had just knocked Andrew off — tackled him. They both tumbled together to the ground. Rainbow, Twilight, Spike and the paratroopers heard the commotion. They turned their attention to be greeted by Wade getting pinned down by a German soldier.

Rainbow gasped. "Wade!" She yelled before running as fast as she could to the Kraut. She hit the assailant with her head straight to his chest, causing the Kraut to back away from Wade as Glenn finished him with three shots in the chest.

Quickly recovering himself from what had happened, he grabbed his rifle and said, "Guys, Parker needs our help now!" He said before climbing to the causeway and onto the other side.

Glenn, Flynn and Julian followed while Skippy stayed behind to give them some covering fire along with Damien. Rainbow lifted herself up to see the other side of the causeway with Twilight cautiously crawling behind her before looking with her friend. Sure enough the paratroopers and the Krauts were in hand to hand combat. Parker was smashing a German soldier with his helmet in the face multiple times. Reed was rolling with his opponent, trying to get the upperhand of the situation. Wade headbutted a German soldier with the back of his rifle who was about to shoot Parker before another one managed to tackle him to the ground. Glenn savagely tackled two German soldiers and proceeded to endlessly beat them with his fists. Julian was pinning his enemy down, with a rifle around the German's neck, Julian pressed them hard, making sure to choke the Kraut to death. Sven was holding back a bayonet that was aimed to his heart while he laid on his back. Andrew kicked his enemy square in the face before grabbing his rifle and shot him multiple times. Flynn threw a grenade where the Germans were trying to advance before firing bullet after bullet to the enemy who were still in the orchard. Overall, it's chaotic. They could only watch in awe, watching the paratroopers fighting back with such ferocity, even though they were outnumbered. Even though the Germans were too many for them, Parker and his squad tried their best to kill as many as they could.

Twilight put a hoof to her muzzle, clearly disturbed by the chaos unfolded in front of her. But at the same time, she was glad that Parker and his squad were on their side. Rainbow however, was eager to join in the fight. Her eyes were trained on Sven and was about to jump in the party to assist when several gunfires were heard from her left, followed by some Krauts instantly fell to the ground. Both Rainbow and Twilight looked to their left to see a group of paratroopers were running towards them. Spike — who was curious all the time — peeked his head out next to Rainbow's and watched.

"Yes!" Rainbow smiled in excitement, happy to see the reinforcements finally arrived. Twilight couldn't help but to cheer alongside her friend.

The paratroopers charged forward while firing their weapons cautiously to not hit friendlies who were engaged in the close combat. The Germans knew they couldn't do anything to push forward so they retreated. Some of them luckily made it out from the orchard but most of them were unfortunate enough to meet their fate. When they climbed up the causeway and were exposed, two machine gun positions behind the hedgerows not far behind Parker's line opened fire on them. Dante soon joined the party and kicked the German soldier who was pinning Sven down. Flynn ran from the middle of the chaos and bravely stood up on the crossroad while firing his rifle at the fleeing Germans. Soon enough, the attack was over. The Germans retreated back to their lines while being fired at.

Parker pushed a dead German body off of him and breathing heavily. He controlled his breaths, exhausted after fighting physically against more than three enemies. He laid there, arms wide spread with his eyes closed. He was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming towards him. No, hoofsteps. Parker opened his eyes to see Rainbow reaching out a hoof for him with a smile.

"I can say that was the most awesome thing I've seen in my life." She spoke up. Parker smiled back before chuckling.

"I was acting out of instinct." He said before reaching her hoof to stand up.

"That instinct may have saved our lives." Twilight said, following behind Rainbow with Spike.

"I didn't see the whole thing but I'm sure it must be awesome from what Twilight and Rainbow told me," Spike said proudly, "They sure got kicked after what they did to Sagi."

"Sergeant!" Dante's voice called out in the distance. Parker turned to where he was at and saw him waving his hand, Sven was laying in front of him with something that was sticking out on his right collarbone.

Parker's eyes went wide. "Oh shit." He muttered before running towards them.

"Oh my gosh." Rainbow said before catching up with Parker, Twilight and Spike followed with them fearing the worst.

Parker slid on the ground and stopped right next to Sven. "Sven?" He called but Sven didn't answer. His eyes were closed and a trail of blood came out from his mouth but the blood that was covering his neck was worse. Sure enough the thing that was sticking out was a bayonet.

"Sven? C'mon buddy, don't play with us." Dante called. Rainbow arrived at the scene and gasped quietly.

Parker sighed before taking off his helmet and placed it next to him. Glenn, Reed and Andrew approached them to see what was the problem. Twilight and Spike arrived just in time with the others. In an instant, all of them went silent when they saw Sven, covered with blood and unmoving. Parker hung his head low, another sigh came from his mouth.

"Fuckin' hell…" He said out loud to no one.

"Parker?" Twilight gently called, "Is he…?"

Andrew sat next to Dante before putting his ear on Sven's heart. Closing his eyes, he pulled his head up and made a cross with his fingers which Twilight and her friends didn't know. First, he put three of his fingers to touch his forehead, then below his chest, before going to the left side and right side of his shoulders. Then he put his palm to Sven's forehead and muttered something everyone couldn't hear. Andrew opened his eyes to see Parker and shook his head mournfully.

Twilight gasped as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. Spike clenched his claws tightly while Rainbow could only watch in silence, still couldn't believe that another friend of theirs just passed away. The cyan pegasus approached Parker and sat next to him. Followed by Twilight and Spike as they limply walked towards them.

Glenn was absolutely furious. It didn't help him in the slightest when the voice of a groaning pain echoed behind him. Glenn instantly turned around and searched for the familiar sound of a foreigner. He then picked up a German soldier who was wounded from a gunshot. Before the German could plead for mercy, Glenn tossed him near the causeway. The German soldier raised his hands up as Glenn began to mercilessly beat him.

"FUCK. YOU. KRAUT. BASTARDS." He said between the stomps he gave to the pleading soldier.

"Parker!" Twilight called out to the sergeant, who was staring at Sven's body.

Reed grabbed Glenn by shoulder, saying, "Dude! Stop it! Your action won't be able to bring Sven back, you idiot!"

Glenn ignored his friend and was struggling to get out of his grip. "YOU WANNA DIE, HUH, FUCKING KRAUT?!! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW PAINFUL IT IS TO DIE ON MY FUCKING HANDS!!"

"Glenn!! Get your shit together, man!!" Reed frustratedly said but his words fell on deaf ears. Glenn was literally trying to kill the German soldier who was cowering in front of him.

"Parker!" Twilight called again and a bit louder this time.

"Andrew!!" Reed called out while struggling to hold Glenn, "A little help?!"

"Sergeant Parker!" Twilight shrieked. This time, Parker blinked and turned his attention to her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

Twilight pointed a hoof at the chaos behind them. "Glenn is trying to kill an enemy!"

Parked turned and muttered 'oh shit' before quickly getting up to help Reed and Andrew. While the others were busy dealing with Glenn, Dante pulled Sven's dog tags and clenched it in his palm. Twilight, Rainbow and Spike could only stare at Sven.

"GLENN!!" Parker shouted, which made everyone slightly recoil from his outburst, "Knock it off right now!" He glared directly at Glenn's eyes and Glenn did the same in return. "Go back to your post, soldier."

Glenn looked at Parker before glaring at the German soldier behind his sergeant. Having no choice and the fact that disobeying his officer would lead into him facing the court martial, he nodded. "Yes, Sir." He muttered before walking away.

Parker stood there as Glenn walked past him, followed by Andrew and Reed. Few moments passed before Parker looked at Rainbow. "Rainbow, can I give you a task?"

Rainbow stood up from her position, still looking at Sven before finally meeting Parker's gaze. "Yeah?"

"Take the Kraut with you back to the battalion command post. He's a prisoner of war now."

If Rainbow was shocked, she definitely didn't show it. "Me?"

"Yes, Rainbow," Parker answered, "I'm counting on you."

Rainbow was hesitant for a moment before accepting the task. "Okay, so where's this battalion command post?"

"Colonel Cole's place, the farmhouse." Parker simply replied before walking off. "You may stay there or go back here. And take Spike with you."

"What?" Spike asked after hearing his name was being mentioned.

Rainbow patted the dragon's shoulder before saying, "Don't worry, Spike. We just have to take the German soldier back to Colonel Cole. He's a prisoner now."

Spike looked at the German soldier who was standing with his arms raised while Parker checked his uniform. "I don't know. Is he dangerous?"

"He can't do anything anymore," Twilight replied, standing up from her position, "You should go accompany Rainbow in case he's trying to do something bad to her. I trust you, Spike."

Spike nodded before looking back at the soldier who was scared shitless. From the looks of his face, Spike was damn sure he wouldn't do something stupid. But taking him back to Colonel Cole? His friends are all there. How will they react when he and Rainbow bring back a German soldier? Pinkie and Luna were the ponies he thought the most. They were the ones who got wounded and already saw the casualties of the battlefield right before their eyes. Spike sighed, he could only hope they wouldn't be as scared as he thought. Or worse. As Parker finished checking the Kraut, he nodded before pushing the soldier gently towards Rainbow, Twilight and Spike.

"He's all yours now," He said with a smile, "And don't worry, he can't do shit."

Rainbow nodded before leading the way back to the farmhouse. Parker once again had to push the Kraut since the prisoner was trying to process the things he was seeing. Understanding that he was going to be taken, the German soldier complied by walking behind Rainbow. Spike followed behind him as Parker gestured to Twilight to follow him back to their post.

Spike looked at the back of the German soldier in front of him. It's just going to be another one of those days here isn't it?

Comments

[Bronycommander]

nicely done

[Bronycommander]

11432769
mhm

[Darth_krayt]

My fuhrer we have informed that we lost the battle of Carentan and the Allies have taken a prisoner and a pony with the lizard Dragon thing are escorted him back to their line Fegelein forgot to send them reinforcements. FEGELEIN FEGELEIN FEGELEIN shoot them on his right foot on the big toe. Looks like somebody did some research on the first World War quite Genius of you