Under Fire

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter I
Chapter: II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII

Prologue

Unlike many other days in the Crystal Empire, it was a rather stormy day. Heavy showers and lightning filled the sky. Everypony was inside their homes, watching tv or reading books. Up inside the castle though, Twilight Sparkle began her trip to the alternate universe through the magic mirror, in hopes of finding other alternate universes.

"I've studied the theory of alternate universes from Starswirl the Bearded. If this gateway leads into the one I went before, who knows how many alternate universes that are all the way out there to discover!" she said excitingly. Her friends had a rather concerned look on her face.

"Twilight, sugarcube, y'all sure this is safe?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah, what if you end up in some world wide pony war? It won't be pretty if you end up there," said Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, relax dear. Have some faith in your friend," interrupted Rarity, "Twilight's magic is surely capable of doing some amazing things. I'm sure whatever universe it takes her too, she'll be able to handle it."

"Thank you, Rarity. Just, make sure you guys keep an eye on Spike too. I hope he won't miss me for too long."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine," said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, we'll play games, and, OH MY CELESTIA, WE SHOULD THROW A PARTY! A "Goodbye Twilight hope you don't die in an alternate universe" party. It's gonna be SOOOOOO much FUN!" shouted Pinkie Pie. Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes a bit. She looked back at her friends, they all began to fear for the worst after Pinkie's rambling. She took a deep breathe and began to talk.

"Look, I understand you all feel like this is a bad idea, and I wish I could take all of you. But, Celestia said if I was to do this, I had to go alone. And I'm willing to do that. Who knows? Maybe even in some war torn Equestria universe, there will still be friendship all around, and I want too bring these lessons back to you guys, to make our friendship even stronger than before. I'm going to be fine, and I'll be extra safe for all of you." Her friends began to smile a little bit, beginning to show their confidence in their friend.

"Be safe Twilight dear," said Rarity.

"I will, thanks you guys."

"Good luck Twi, I hope y'all find what y'all are lookin' for," said Applejack.

"Thanks Applejack, I'll be back before the portal closes. Goodbye for now everypony!" said Twilight. All of her friends began to say their goodbyes as Twilight trotted closer to the magic mirror. Unlike last time, she had a sense of confidence stepping into the portal. As she began to step inside, a bolt of lightning cracked and found it's way into the castle. The bolt struck the mirror, and the mirror went from a pure white, to a dark black color. The mirror began to swirl faster and faster, and it began to take into a new shape, one with a darker frame, and black crystals embedded in the sides of the frame.

"TWILIGHT! NO!" shouted all her friends, but it was too late. Twilight stepped inside the portal, and she was gone.

"I'm coming Twilight!" shouted Rainbow Dash, but was stopped short by Applejack.

"Y'all lost yer mind, Y'all don't know what's inside that mirror," she said to Rainbow.

"Applejack is right, it's not like any of us have the skills like Twilight does, who knows what could happen to any of us," said Rarity.

"But it's Twilight! What if she's in danger?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, would she wants us to follow her? I mean, if we thought on Twilight's behalf, wouldn't she be disappointed if we followed her through?" said Fluttershy. The room went silent as the ponies began to worry about their friend.

"Well, no matter where that there mirror took her. I'd think it's best to get Princess Celestia over he'e," said Applejack.

Chapter I

June 6th, 1944

England

"Hustle up men! Today's the day we drop into France. Load up and let's get ready to take off!" shouted a man out to the waves of Airborne troops. Men of the 101st Airborne began to load up the planes and climbed in. With their parachutes packed and gear tied on, the men began to mentally prepare themselves for the biggest moment of their lives. This was the moment they trained their lives for, and it was that time. By one of the planes, a group of soldiers said their prayers and concluded their final sentiments in case they don't make it out alive, which some knew it was entirely possible for it to happen.

As the planes loaded up, Corporal James Matthews read the letter from his girlfriend one last time.

"Your parents have deep concern for your safety, but, I reassured them you were gonna be fine. I told them that you were the strongest and bravest person out of the entire army, and you'll make it out of there alive. I have full confidence that you'll return home and I get to hold you in my arms once more baby. Your family wanted me to tell you that they love you as well, and they told me to tell you to come home safely. But, again, I know you'll be back James. I just know it. Anyways, I miss you and I love you, Joyce."

James folded up the letter and put it in his front pocket. He looked down at his feet, boots tied on tight and equipment on his body. With one deep breathe he got up and walked on the plane. The plane was crowded with men, with giant parachutes equipped and dark face paint to blend into the night. Most of the plane was full, so James had to sit up front, near his commanding officer, Captain Nathan Kelly. James liked the feeling of being up front, so he would be one of the first out. It was one of the perks of being the company sharp shooter.

"You ready for this Matthews? This is the moment you've been training for," said Kelly.

"Yes sir I am," replied James.

"Good, remember, once we get to the LZ, we'll link up and continue on foot until further orders. I'm counting on you to keep my head attached to my body, can you do that?"

"I will do my best sir."

"That's what I want to hear Corporal. You're the Airborne's best sniper, you can do this."

"Thank you sir. I will sir." James felt some sense of relief, but at the same time, he felt some pressure mounting on him. Yes, he was very proficient with his weapon, and could easily take out targets 500 yards out or more. But, he never considered himself to be the BEST Airborne sniper out there. To him, he was just an average soldier, and if anything, he wasn't so sure if he wanted to be the company sniper. While he does stay away from some of the more intense action, his head becomes more valuable to hit, as he's always near one officer or another. Plus, he really didn't like the weapon he was issued, an M1903A4 Springfield rifle, fitted with an M73B1 scope, which was prone to fogging up and only having an 2.5x magnification. He wanted an M1 Garand, while having no scope attached, at least he could dish out faster shots with the semi automatic Garand compared to the bolt action Springfield. But, he had to make do with what he was given.

His thoughts came to a sudden end when he heard the plane rotors begin to spin.

"This is it," he thought to himself, and the plane began to drive off the runway and take off into the sky, the sun setting and thus beginning the biggest military operation in history, Operation Overlord.

Chapter: II

The planes whirred across the night sky as the soldiers inside waited anxiously to jump into battle. James sat up front near his Captain, the wind blowing against his face. He lurched in his seat as the plane began to hit some minor turbulence. But, no matter how many times he tried to calm himself down, he just couldn't do it. His thoughts began to race in his head, every lurch felt like a shell smacking against the plane. He thought to himself to look outside the window of his seat, to see the soothing clouds of the French sky. He turned around to see what looked like a billion planes in the sky, doing the exact same thing, flying. He turned around in slight disappointment, and sighed deeply. He always liked looking at clouds, especially with his girlfriend. The two would look up at the different shapes as the laid down on the ground and held each other in a deep embrace. He would stare at her beautiful face, and she would stare back. James began to think of her, her bright blue eyes, flowing brown hair, and the her smile that made him think nothing mattered in the world but the two of them. He always seemed to lose himself in her eyes, sometime even a little too much.

"Matthews, get the fuck up, we're about to jump!" said a voice, pulling him out of his seat. James began to gather his thoughts once again, now realizing it's almost time for him to do his job.

"Hook up!" shouted the jump master on the plane. He pulled out the little clip that would deploy his parachute and clipped it onto the railing above.

"Check equipment!" James waited patiently for his number. The soldier behind him patted his body and all of his gear. He began to hear the countdown of soldiers okaying the equipment.

"Ten okay, nine okay, eight okay, seven okay..." shouted the soldiers down the line.

"This is it James...get ready to call your number," he thought to himself.

"Five okay, four okay..."

"Here we go," he felt the shoulder pat his back. "Three okay!" he shouted and patted the soldier's shoulder in front of him. He did it. He felt good that he didn't completely screw up the call. But, his thoughts came to a sudden end when the plane knocked up and down. James felt the inside of his body shake up and down. This wasn't turbulence though, it was too rough. All of a sudden, a window from the plane completely shattered and glass flew all across the plane. He looked outside, and all he could see were yellow lines shooting up into the sky. The sound of booming guns below now filled the air, instead of the whirring of the plane rotors.

"We need to get the fuck off this thing!" shouted a soldier.

"We're about two clicks north of the LZ, we can't jump yet!" shouted the co pilot. But before he could turn around, an AA round punctured the skull of the co pilot, and splattered blood all across the plane cockpit.

"Fucking christ!" shouted the pilot, turning on the green light for the okay to jump. The light illuminated the plane and everyone began to jump out.

"Get moving!" shouted the jump master. James didn't even hesitate to jump. Caught up in the moment, he moved as fast as he could to get off the now battered plane. He felt the sudden lurch of his parachute as he then began to glide down to the ground. He kept his eyes on his feet and began to recite his training. He landed on the ground, his body rolling as he made contact with it. It didn't take him too long to get back on his feet. He brushed the grass off and detached his parachute. He felt around for his equipment, but, to his surprise, almost everything was gone. Canteen, map, flash light, knife, even his pistol, gone in a flash. He looked around frantically for his equipment, and luckily found his Springfield on the ground near his parachute. He picked up his rifle, no damage to it. He felt around his waste belt for his ammo, only had one pouch of bullets, holding ten rounds inside.

"Damn it," he said to himself, and began to walk north, hoping to get to the LZ. James began to walk around slowly, looking for another Airborne soldier, but, there was nothing around him. No allies, no enemies, no life whatsoever. He was getting more worried by the minute, this was his biggest fear, doing his job alone. He walked slowly across the woods, not knowing where he was going, or if he was even going in the right direction. The tall trees of the woods loomed over him, with the only light being the moon up in the sky. He never felt so lost in his life, nor as terrified.

As he began walking across the country side, he saw a small clearing in the woods, illuminated by the moonlight. James walked closer to the small patch of land when he saw a bright surge of light began to blind his vision. He put his hand to his eyes, the bright light seeming to light up the entire forest.

"What the fu..." James began to say, but was cut of short when a force of energy launched him back and smacked him against a tree. His body slumped down the trunk of the tree and laid there lifelessly. He began to focus in and out of conscious, his head spinning around in circles. He could see something walking towards him, he turned his head to the sounds of the footsteps, but, his eyes finally shut and his body collapsed to the ground.

Chapter III

Nothing is more beautiful than the French countryside, the lush green hills, the beautiful patches of flowers, and the sweet, calming air that tops it all off like a cherry on a sundae. James loved the peacefulness of the country, as he walked slowly down the hills with the rest of his squad. A routine patrol, nothing terribly exciting. James moved around in the grass, not the least bit scared of the enemy coming up. But, that all changed with the blink of an eye. Something exploded to the right of James, and he felt the force of it knock him down.

"Contact! Krauts up on the ridge, open fire!" shouted a voice. A hail of bullets rained down towards the squad, the bullets ricocheting off the dirt in every type of direction.

"MG42!" shouted another soldier, as he took aim with his rifle, but was gunned down with a hail of bullets from the terrifying German machine gun, better known as "Hitler's Buzzsaw". The roar of the machine gun made James feel even more scared as he crouched down in the ground.

"Matthews, flank to the left and take out the 42. Go!" shouted Captain Kelly, firing a burst from his Thompson submachine gun. James stood still, trying to process what his Captain just asked him to do, to not only kill a man, but to do it alone with out any support. James stayed glued to the hill as if he were stuck to it.

"What the hell you waiting for kid? Take out that machine gun!" shouted another man.

"Tiger! Coming up on the right flank!" shouted another man. The tank fired a round, and it tore the soldier to shreds, body parts flying every other way. James covered his head as the dirt rained down from the impact of the shell.

"For fucks sake Matthews, take out that 4-" shouted Kelly, but a bullet went straight through his head, and his body collapsed to the ground. A small puddle of blood encircled his head as his face showed an emotionless expression. James was now in pure shock and awe. He didn't dare move, and all of a sudden, the firing stopped and footsteps began to get closer and closer to his position. James took three deep breathes and peaked his head over the ridge line, only to be greeted with a smack of metal to his face from a German.

"Hande hoch amerikanisch!" shouted the German, pointing an MP40 submachine gun up against his face. Soon, James was encircled around several Nazis pointing their guns at his face.

"Was haben wir bekommen?" said a Nazi, walking up to the squad of men.

"Ameikanisch scharfschutzen sir," said another German.

"Was sind ihre auftrage sir?" The German officer was silent for a moment, and spoke up once more.

"Erzahlen ersten Zug nach oben, werden wir die amerikanische linie morgen zerschlagen," he spoke up.

"Ja, sir" said the squad leader and the rest of the soldiers lowered their weapons and walked back to their position.

"Was ist mit ihm?" said a soldier, nodding his head in James' direction. The nazi officer looked down at James and snickered.

"Kill him," said the officer, in plain blatant english. James' eyes widened as he still laid down frozen in place. The officer walked back with his troops and the one soldier aimed his rifle at James' head.

"No, please, don't," begged James to the nazi. But, it was clear he was intent on following orders. He aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger.

Chapter IV

James suddenly sprung up to life, breathing heavily from the dream he had. After realizing it was all fake, he sighed and slumped down on the tree trunk.

"Oh good, you're awake!" said a female voice. James frantically looked around, not knowing where the voice came from. Thinking he was just hearing things, James turned around once more, only to be greeted by the face of a purple pony.

"What the fuck?" said James to himself, not knowing what to think of right now. Was he hallucinating? Did whatever exploded give him a concussion? He rubbed his eyes to see if this was all real, and it turned out to be true. There was a purple horse standing right in front of James. He just stared at it, remained silent, not knowing what to think of.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where's my manners? My name is Twili-" said the creature.

"What the christ? A-am I seeing things? Was i fucking drugged?" asked James in pure fear and shock.

"Oh no silly. You just were blown back from the magical surge from when I arrived here. I'm sorry about that by the way, are you hurt?" said the horse, slowly moving to James.

"Back off, I-i-i don't know what's going on. Where's my rifle? Am I still even in France?"

"France? What's that?"

"It's a country, the one I think we're in now. Where's my rifle? Why am I talking to a purple horse?"

"Um, excuse me, but, I'm not a horse, I'm a pony, specifically a unicorn."

"Unicorns don't fucking exist, especially talking ones. What's going on? Where's my rifle?"

"What's a rifle? Do you mean this thing?" James looked up in astonishment to see his Springfield levitating in mid air, a pink aurora surrounding it.

"I-Uh-dah-wha-uh..." James tried to find the correct words to say, but he couldn't. He never saw anything like this before.

"Um, is this what you call a...rifle?" asked the unicorn.

"Uh...yeah," said James, grabbing his Springfield from Twilight, "Wha-what is this?"

"Magic."

"There's no such thing as magic."

"Um, not true. If there was no magic, could I do this?" The unicorn used her horn to lift up one of the tallest trees in the forest, it levitated in mid air, until she put it back down into the ground. James stared in pure amazement, not knowing what to say.

"So, you said you have a name?"

"Oh yes," said the unicorn, clearing her throat, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, I'm a student of Princess Celestia, and currently studying the magic of friendship."

"The magic of friendship? Princess? Twilight Sparke? What the fuck? Am I even on earth right now?" Twilight giggled a little.

"Of course, I teleported here from Equestria."

"Wha-I never heard of this place? Is it like inhabited by more talking hor-ponies?"

"Of course, there's pegasi, earth ponies, unicorns like myself, and even alicorns. There's many other creatures too, like phoenixes, hydras, timberwolves, you name it. It's a magical world, where love and friendship is spread all around." James stared at Twilight in a very concerning way. He had a hard time processing what was going on.

"Okay, so, let me get this straight, you're a magical talking unicorn, who is from a place with other mythical creatures in an alternate universe?" he asked.

"That is correct," said Twilight proudly.

"What the fuck am I on?" James sat down with his rifle, not knowing what to do now.

"Um, sir, this is all real life, but, can you help me? I'm studying friendship in alternate worlds, so, what's friendship like here?"

"You're kidding me right?" Twilight shook her head and still smiled. James took a deep sigh and began to get up.

"Listen, I know you're trying to do your assignment, but I'm not the answer. I need to find my way to the LZ, I don't like being here alone," he said.

"But, you're not. I'm with you too. I mean, I don't want to push anything since we just met, but, can i come along?" asked Twilight. James looked down at Twilight, who had a pleading look on her face, but James wasn't moved.

"I think I'm seeing things. I gotta find that LZ, see the doc," he said to himself.

"What's an LZ?" asked Twilight.

"A landing zone, wait, do you know anything military wise?" asked James.

"Well, not much. Equestria hasn't fought many wars in centuries, so, there really isn't a need for a huge army."

"A peaceful land, god, I wish I was there."

"Why? This place looks peaceful enough, it's beautiful here."

"Do you have any idea on what's going on right now?"

"No, what's going on here?" James exhaled and began to walk away, remaining silent, trying to focus on getting out of the forest.

"Um. Excuse me sir, but, I asked you a question," said Twilight. James didn't even look back at her.

"Just ignore it James, if you ignore it, it'll go away, and you'll wake up from this dream," he thought to himself. But, that was clearly not the case. Twilight all of a sudden popped in front of James' path.

"Don't just ignore me, I just asked you a question," she said. James fell back a little, but caught himself before he could fall.

"H-how did you do that?" he asked.

"Um, magic, duh? I can use my horn to teleport anywhere I think of in a close proximity." James stared at Twilight once more. Again, he struggled to find the right words, when all of a sudden, he heard some foot steps in the back. James fell to the ground and laid low.

"Um, what are you-" began Twilight.

"Sh," said James, cutting her off. He peaked up the hill a little bit, to see if there was anything coming. But he saw nothing. He kept his eyes glued in the forest, waiting for some sort of sound, anything that shown some presence of life.

"What are you staring at? whispered Twilight.

"Nothing, wait, why am I still talking to you? I have to stay focused," he replied.

"Focus on what? I don't see anything?"

"That's because they're hiding from me too. I just need to see if there's anybody else out there."

"Oh I can help." Twilight proudly used her magic to clear an area of the forest. The trees shrunk into miniature figurines, like they were plastic models. Behind the trees was a small squad of German soldiers.

"Das Amerikaner!" shouted one of the nazis and pulled the trigger of his MP40. The bullets smacked and ricocheted off the ground and trees. James and Twilight ducked down, as the hail of bullets flew over their heads.

"What's going on?" asked Twilight to James.

"War!" he shouted and pulled out his rifle. As if it were instinct, he aimed down the sight of his A4 Springfield and fired. The bolt action sniper spat out a .30 caliber bullet and it pierced the nazi skull, a small explosion of blood shot out from the bullets impact. James cycled the bolt of the rifle, and fired again. This time it hit another nazi in the chest, no way he was getting up either. He cycled the bolt once more and repeated the process, until another squad of German soldiers came running in.

"Jesus christ, another squad," said James, now beginning to load his rifle with bullets. He fumbled one of the rounds and it fell to the ground. He began to panic and searched frantically around the ground to find it. As he looked up, he could see a German soldier running towards his position, with a bayonet attached to his Mauser 98k rifle. James' life flashed before his eyes, and as certain he would die right now.

As he closed his eyes, he heard an all too familiar sound, the sound of a Thompson submachine gun firing in the air. The nazi fell to the ground, body covered in bullets. The remaining nazis turned around to the hail of machine gun fire from the right side, but they were all gunned down. James peaked his head up and saw his commanding officer.

"I thought it was your job to keep my head on, not the other way around," he held out his hand to help James up. James felt a sense of relief as he brushed himself off. Twilight still looking at him in pure astonishment. The purple pony caught the captain's eye, certainly catching him off guard.

"Woah, what's that corporal?" he asked James. He began to panic once more, not knowing how his CO would reply. Finally, he just decided to tell the truth and let out a deep exhale.

"Uh, I don't know any better way to say this sir, but, that's a magical talking unicorn from an alternate world."

Chapter V

Twilight emerged out of the foliage and met face to face with the squad of American soldiers armed to the teeth with weapons of all sorts.

"So," said Captain Kelly, "you're the magical talking pony?"

Twilight nervously nodded, she was still terrified of what she saw. She slowly trotted up to James and gave a concerning look at him. The look on her face made James feel somewhat guilty inside, he never expected to feel this way when he joined the Airborne. He knew it was gonna be hard to kill another human being, but, to feel guilt from another human being, let alone a talking pony, he then decided to make it up to her. An idea came popping in his head, to show Twilight he wasn't so bad after all.

"Sir, " he began, "can I have one request?"

"Depends corporal, what is it?" asked Kelly. James took one long exhale, and spoke up.

"You see, this pony is not from here..."

"No shit," said a man in the background, holding his machine gun on his shoulder.

"Not now Benning, continue corporal," said Kelly.

"Anyways," James continued, "her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she wants to know how friendship works in alternate universes. She's from a land where, war basically is non-existent. She's means no harm whatsoever to any of us, and if any of the Nazis catch her, who knows what they would do to a talking, magical hors-pony." Captain Kelly had a confused look on his face.

"What are you getting at Matthews?" he asked.

"Well sir, there isn't any other way of saying this. Can she come with us?" he finally asked. James felt foolish after what he just said to his superior. He knew in his heart there was no way the Captain would say "no", but, Kelly was a different kind of CO than anyone else in the Airborne. His leadership was clearly shown throughout bootcamp, and even during the war. Kelly was a hardened veteran and knew how to fight well. But, having somepony like Twilight around would cause some questioning to his leadership, and James thought he wasn't willing to risk it.

"Well corporal," he began, "if she's gonna come along, she's your responsibility, can you handle it?"

"I'll do my best sir," James replied. The Captain smiled a bit.

"And that is why you're the best Airborne sniper out there, you know how to take care of your comrades," said Kelly, he then turned his attention to Twilight. He put down his Thompson and walked up to her.

"You better know what you're getting into, are you willing to take these risks?"

Twilight had gulped a little, but she made up her mind.

"Yes sir," she replied confidently.

"Then lets get back to base, fall in everyone. Looks like Matthews and his purple companion are all we're gonna find in these woods."

The squad got up and began to walk back to the base at Sainte Mere Eglise, where many Airborne troops rested and geared up for some assault or another. Twilight looked around, machine guns laid on to of crates, jeeps driving up and down the street, and men taking care of others that have been wounded in action. Twilight followed James around, not knowing what to do, if there was anything she could do.

"Listen up, the boys at Omaha and Utah are still at risks of those guns, our job is to take them out. We're moving out in an hour or so, get ready," said Kelly. The squad sat down on a set of stairs near the HQ, to catch up on their rest and relax for a bit. Some pulled out cigarettes to ease themselves for battle. Twilight sat next to James, she looked up at him nervously.

"Hey don't worry Twilight, these guys don't bite, right?" he said.

"Most of us don't, unlike Millar here," said Benning.

"Eh shut your pie hole Benning," replied Millar. Twilight showed a somewhat reassured smile to James, and he smiled back.

"So, let's introduce ourselves to her, if she's gonna stay for god knows how long," James said.

"Alrighty, my name is Ed Benning from Philadelphia, BAR gunner," he said, holding his machine gun proudly in his hands.

"Private First Class Michael Millar, Arlington, demolitions expert," he said, pumping his shotgun at the same time with a smile on his face.

"Sergeant Riley "Finn" Finnigan, Boston." said the next man, holding out his revolver.

"Private Tom Kearney, Brooklyn, riflemen," said the next man.

"Private Lewis Arroyo, Chicago, riflemen," said the next man.

"T-5 Sergeant George Winters, St. Louis, radioman," said the last man.

"It's nice to meet you all, so, what did all you do together before this...war?" asked Twilight. The men looked at each other with a puzzling look. James decided to speak up.

"She doesn't know about the States at all," he said. The men looked at each other now understanding why Twilight asked that question.

"Well, none of us knew each other before the war," said Kearney.

"Huh? But, that doesn't make any sense," said Twilight.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Millar.

"Well, when I met all of my friends, they were all in the same town together, so, how did all of you become friends even though all of you are from different regions?"

"The war brought all together," said Arroyo.

"But that's impossible! War tears people apart, not bring them together. That's why there's no war in Equestria, none of us what to tear each other apart. Both literally and figuratively."

"Well, that isn't the case here," said Benning. Twilight had a confused look on her face, not knowing how to process the new information from this alternate world.

"Yeah, most of us volunteered to go to war," said Finn. Twilight had a shocked look on her face.

"Are...you...CRAZY?!" she exclaimed, "Why would anypony volunteer for something as awful as war?"

"Twilight," said James, "this world isn't as simple as your world. There's a lot of complications here. We all have our reasons to join the army. Plus, it's important to respect one another's decisions."

"I get that James, but, why though? I-I don't understand," said Twilight.

"War is awful, yes. But, sometimes it's necessary."

"War is NEVER necessary. Why fight when people can discuss things logically and peacefully before resorting to violence, it makes no sense."

"Heh, no arguement there," said Benning.

"This world is rather complicated Twilight, and it takes a lot of explaining to understand the circumstances of war," said Winters.

"Exactly," said James, "this world is complicated to get. You'd understand it more if you were born here."

"I'm sorry James. But, I've studied on what little wars there were back at my home. And all I've heard were terrible things, nothing good ever came out of all the wars in Equestria, just death and destruction. Why is it different here?"

"Well...it's a long story to get. It involves a lot of politics."

"What do you mean?"

"War is different here. It's...well...it's hard to get war when you're first explained to it. And because your world is a lot different then ours, it's...well..." James was interrupted with the voice of the Captain.

"Gear up men, weapons and ammo only. We're taking out those guns right now," he shouted.

"How many krauts we facing today Captain?" asked Benning.

"Enemy strength is unknown, but, assume for the worse," he replied.

"Oh this outta be fun," said Millar.

"Y'all heard the Captain, gear up," shouted Finn. The men disbanded and loaded up on their gear.

Chapter VI

Captain Kelly's men walked down the road leading up to the Brecourt Manor, where four 105 mm guns pointed towards the shore of Utah beach, where the US VII Corp would land. If those guns were to fire, all hell would break loose on the beach, which could jeopardize the entire operation. So, taking these guns were essential for the assault to go as planned, with minimal casualties. As the men walked down the road leading to the gun positions, a rustling noise was heard in the bushes. Every man pointed their guns at the bush and waited. Twilight looked confused.

"Why are you pointing your guns at that bush? It isn't doing anything." she asked.

"Any noise, no matter how little, could be an enemy," replied James. Then, the bushes rustled once more, and out came another Airborne soldier, carrying a lot of equipment with him, including a full 30 caliber machine gun set up.

"Jesus Christ Lozano, we would've mowed you down if you didn't come out, what happened?" said Benning.

"The fucking drop is what happened. I was lost for awhile, until I found Merritt about 3 clicks back with the 30," said Lozano.

"Well, where is he?" asked Twilight.

"Woah, what the fuck is that?"

"No time to explain, you have enough ammo and everything?" asked Kelly.

"Yeah, I picked it off of Merritt, two crates."

"Good job, Twilight, if you're gonna come with us, you're gonna need to play your part. Help carry some of Lozano's equipment, he could use it."

"Yes sir, but, what happened to Merritt?" she replied.

"What don't you get? The bastard's dead! For fuck's sake, why is this thing coming with us?" said Lozano angrily.

"Lay off her Rich, she ain't from here. She's from a different universe and she don't know about war or anything," said James.

"Then why is she coming with us?"

"Because I said so," interrupted Captain Kelly, "and if you don't want help carrying all that equipment, you can walk all the way back to HQ, which is another 5 clicks down the road. Your choice private. Either way, she's coming." Lozano went silent, and with that, he put down the two crates of ammo and the tripod. "Alright, now let's get moving, the manor isn't that far away."

Twilight lifted the ammo and tripod with her horn and began to walk, until she was stopped by James.

"Hey Twilight, if I were you, I would keep the magic at a minimum, you don't want to draw any attention to the krauts, who knows what they'd do to you," he said. Twilight didn't argue, she put the tripod on her back and carried the ammo boxes in her mouth.

"Uh, that's probably not the best idea either. Here I'll take them." James slung his rifle over his back and picked up the two boxes of ammo. They walked down the road up to the manor, where Lozano spoke up again.

"Sir, I still don't think bringing along a purple horse is a good idea," he said.

"What's your problem with her?" asked James.

"Well Matthews, what role will she play in helping out this assault?"

"She'll help you feed the gun," said Finn.

"Like hell she will. I ain't getting my ass shot because my position was given away by a bright purple horse."

"I'm a pony!" said Twilight angrily.

"Same god damn thing. Listen, you don't belong in this world, so go back to your own."

"That's fucking enough Lozano, whether you like it or not, she's your assistant gunner now," said an irritated Kelly.

"But sir..."

"No buts private. You'll work with her, and that's a fucking order. Now let's get moving, we're almost there."

The squad remained quiet as they walked closer and closer to the German positions.

"Matthews, get up in that tree and tell us what you see," said Kelly.

"Yes sir," he replied and climbed up a tree overlooking the area. He picked up his Springfield and looked down the scope. Seconds later, he put down his rifle and signaled to Kelly.

"Christ, four 105's, three MG42's and a ton of infantry," said Kelly. The men crouched down by a hedgerow. "Listen up, there's trench line that connects all the guns together. Lozano, set up here and wait for my command to fire. Sarge, take the rest of the squad with you around the right flank. Get into that trench line as fast as you can, once you do, move to the first gun and clear it out, any questions?"

The squad remained silent, understanding their jobs.

"Let's go then," said Kelly. The men scrambled every which way, and Twilight was left with a very confused look.

"Hey, pony, over here," said Lozano on the ground.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she replied.

"Whatever, get that tripod out and that ammo box open, you're my new assistant gunner for some reason. That means you point out targets for me and help feed the ammo into the gun. Can you do that task?"

"Mhm."

"Then get over here, wait for the Captain's signal." Twilight went down on the ground and opened the box filled with ammunition. She picked them up and gave it to Lozano.

"What the fuck? Do you even know how to load the gun?" he asked stubbornly.

"I don't even know what this thing is. Let alone how to use it," said Twilight.

"Here. This 'thing' is a Browning 30 caliber machine gun, model 1919A4, you open the feed cover, put the belt of ammo on to the gun, close it, and cock it back twice. Now you're ready to rock." The two sat in silence as they waited for the assault to begin.

"Lozano," said Kelly, "do it." Lozano aimed in and began firing the machine gun. At 550 RPM, the Browning spat out faster than chewing tobacco. The machine gun echoed through out the manor, and the assault had begun.

Chapter VII

The 30 caliber Browning began firing at the scattering Germans along the line, however, there was one problem all together, and that's an MG42. Anybody who tries to attack this deadly German machine gun head on is asking to be ripped to shreds. With a rate of fire of 1,200 RPM, it is the fastest firing infantry weapon on both sides on the war. The MG42 fired on the 30 caliber hiding in the hedgerows.

"Fuck, c'mon Matthews, take out that MG42!" said Lozano, firing simultaneously while shouting. Twilight looked up at James, who was scoping in on his rifle. Within seconds, the Springfield echoed across the manor, and with two shots, the machine gun crew was history.

"Twilight, Lozano, displace, get inside the trenches, let's go men! Let's take these guns!" shouted Kelly. Lozano picked up the ow hot 30 caliber machine gun from prolonged fire. The burning hot barrel of the gun touched the back of his shoulder, burning through his uniform and part of his skin.

"Ah! Holy fuck!" he shouted. Twilight looked behind him and lifted the 30 caliber with her horn. Lozano looked up amazed at what he was seeing. This purple unicorn was levitating a 31 pound machine gun, filled with ammunition and everything.

"C'mon," said Twilight, "we have to get moving!" She helped Lozano up with her hoof as he got up.

"Twilight, Lozano, get in the trench god damn it!" shouted Finn from inside the trench, firing off rounds from his small but lethal M1A1 Carbine rifle.

"Screw the tripod, let's go war horse!" he said. Twilight looked at him with a somewhat angered look on her face, but just ignored it and followed him. A barrage of rifle fire hit by the trench line as Lozano dived right in. Twilight ducked down, now somewhat scared at what was happening. As more bullets whizzed over her head, the more she wanted to just teleport into the trench, but then, she remembered James' advice: lay low on the magic a bit. Twilight took one big gulp and dove out of the hedgerow and went falling down into the trench.

"There you are, c'mon, let's get this thing rocking!" said Lozano, placing the 30 caliber on a small wall of sandbags that provided a line of fire to the first gun.

"First gun up ahead, Lozano, suppressive fire on that gun, Millar, Kearney, on me. Grenades first, then we destroy the guns," said Kelly.

"Yes sir," said Kearney, finishing off the last of the ammo inside his M1 Garand, with one shot, the rifle spat out the metallic en bloc clip like a kid spitting out his vegetables. The loud ping noise was audible across the field. The Germans then fired on Kearney's position.

"Stay low! Let Matthews and the MG team deal with them," said Millar, moving farther down the trench line. When they got in range of the gun, the three pulled the pin on their grenades and threw them. Within seconds, the three Mk. II frags exploded with tremendous force, propelling some Germans from the pure shock wave of force from the grenade.

"Clear the gun area, let's move," said Kelly, as the three charged into the gun position and finished off what Germans that didn't die from the explosion. "First gun neutralized, Millar, you're up."

"Yes sir, get ready for a boom," he said. He pulled out a small package of TNT and rested it on the base of the gun and set the fuse. "Get back, it's gonna blow!" Seconds later, the gun blew up sky high, giving off a small mushroom cloud of just pure smoke and force. As the smoke cleared, the gun was left mutilated and twisted.

"Twilight, Lozano, move up!" said Kelly. The two got up and moved over to the destroyed first gun position. The two entered in to see complete destruction. Pools of blood from the amount of dead corpses on the ground, pumped with shrapnel wounds and bullets. Twilight looked up down at the dead Germans. One caught her eye though, it was a young German soldier, probably around 19, who laid dead with a gaping wound in his stomach from a huge blast of bullets. Twilight's just stared at the dead German, the remorse began to creep into her mind.

"Hey, war horse, get over here, help feed the gun!" said Lozano. Twilight ran up to Lozano and help the belt of ammunition as the 30 caliber spat out more lead down by the second gun. Twilight looked over at Lozano, who had an devilish smile across his face as his hand laid down on the trigger, completely gunning down fleeing Nazis as they ran for cover. "Hahaha, run you dirty Kraut bastards!" Twilight had a troubled look on her face, as she looked on the battlefield, she noticed a squad of Germans entering the trench line behind them.

"Hey," she said, "there's some bad guys running behind us."

"Fuck, cover my six," said Lozano.

"How?" Twilight's nerves began to reign in as the squad of Germans drew closer. Lozano pulled his M1911 pistol out of his holster and handed it to Twilight.

"Take this!" he shouted and fire it.

"I don't know how to use this thing!" she exclaimed.

"Learn it, it's not that hard!"

"I can't even get my hoof to fit in this hole!"

"Fuck it!" Lozano turned the machine gun around and mowed down the squad of German soldiers coming down the trench line. All of a sudden though, the gun stopped firing. The steam from the exhausted gun had warped the "Fuck! Jam!"

"What is a 'jam'?" asked Twilight nervously.

"The gun won't fire!" Then, a German fired a round of his Mauser rifle, but it ricocheted off the destroyed gun. As he struggled to cycle the bolt, Lozano dropped the machine gun and tackled the German to the ground. The two opposing forces clashed closer than ever. Twilight looked on as the two soldiers defended their lives, with the knowledge that only one was gonna live. Soon, the German laid on top of Lozano and pushed the knife closer and closer to Lozano's chest. Twilight knew she had to do something, she couldn't just let someone she knew die like this. She took on deep breathe and she charged towards the two struggling soldiers. She turned around and bucked the German off Lozano. The nazi soldier smacked against the trench line wall, even getting lodged inside the wall from the sheer force of Twilight's kick. Lozano looked up with pure shock of what Twilight just did to the enemy.

"Thanks," he simply said, dusting himself off. The German soldier then slowly woke up after being knocked out for a little. His head spun around as he tried to come to.

"Is he okay?" she asked Lozano, "I didn't mean to hurt him that much."

"He won't be hurting no more," said Lozano, and grabbed his M1911 off the ground and fired it directly square in the German's head. The .45 ACP round took off a chunk of his skull and the blood spilled out of his head. Twilight looked horrified at the scene that just took place. She looked at Lozano with a shocked and disturbed look on her face. She just witnessed what was basically a murder, a cold blooded, ruthless murder.

"No mercy," said Lozano briefly. Twilight remained silent as she looked at the dead body of the German soldier, who could've been saved and continue to live his life, but it was cut short by the echo of the death and destruction of war.

Chapter VIII

Twilight and Lozano ran down the trench line and met up with the rest of the squad.

"What happened to the 30 caliber Lozano?" asked Kelly.

"Barrel's warped, gun's gone," he replied.

"God damn it again? How the hell did you end up company machine gunner?" said Benning.

"Go to hell Benning."

"Not now, listen Benning, Arroyo, get some fire on that machine gun by the third gun, everyone else, on me, we're taking the second gun," said Kelly. Benning nodded and poked his head above the trench line. He fired a burst of his Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR. The loud, distinctive sound of the BAR sounded across the trench line, like it was a miniature 88 artillery piece.

"You got a back up, Lozano?" asked Kelly.

"Yeah, I got Merritt's Grease Gun," he replied.

"Good, you're leading the assault, grenades first."

"Yes sir."

"What should I do sir?" asked Twilight. Kelly remained silent and looked down at the concerned mare. As scared as she was, he noticed she was willing to do her part on the assault. He crouched down and looked her square in the eye.

"Listen, you're gonna have to learn to kill another person, it's hard to do, but, I know you have the guts to do it. I want you to take these grenades and throw them at the gun position. Can you handle that?" he asked.

"I'll do my best sir," she replied.

"Good, now here, you pull the pin and throw it at that artillery crew. You don't need to come up until we've taken it. Make sure you don't hold it for too long, or it'll explode on you. Throw two at a time, make sure you don't throw any on our team, I don't want you to be a victim of friendly fire." Twilight nodded and held the Mk. II frags in her hooves. The miniature explosives felt a little a rock in her hooves, nothing she can't throw easily. Even though she didn't have the best arm, how hard could it be? "Let's go, Twilight. Throw two frags on that gun position now!" Twilight pulled the pin with her mouth and threw the little explosive at the gun position. It flew high in the air and landed by the gun's base. Within seconds, a massive explosion launched the crew through the air and all around the ground. Twilight threw another one with the same results. "Benning, Arroyo, displace. Everyone else, move up!" The squad of men got up and ran down the trench line to the gun position.

As she rounded the corner, she looked at the wounded Germans from the grenade. The rest of the squad moved up and executed all of them. Millar pumped his Trench shotgun and blew the limbs off of a wounded German, who had shrapnel wounds around his face. Lozano let loose his M3 Grease Gun into the crawling Germans, one of which had a leg missing. Even Kelly poured lead bullets into fleeing Germans, retreating from the oncoming slaughter of the American paratroopers. Twilight watched in pure shock at the merciless men who gunned down wounded men, holding onto their last breathe of life, in hopes of living another day.

"Sir," shouted Winters, holding the radio to his ear, "Dog Company is coming up on the left flank." Twilight watched as more paratroopers came running out of the hedgerows and down into the trench.

"Captain Kelly, we're here to take the remaining guns. You boys pull back, we'll take it from here." shouted one of the soldiers.

"Roger that soldier. Easy Company, we're pulling back. Lay down some cover fire on that gun position, dog company needs to move up across the field," said Kelly.

"Come at me you Kraut bastards!" shouted Arroyo, firing his M1 Garand towards the trench line. Twilight stayed low to the ground as she watched the other soldiers get up and move across the field. One paratrooper stepped over the wooden wall of the trench line, but immediately fell flat on his face. Twilight ran over to the soldier on the ground.

"Oh dear Celestia, are you okay?" she asked. The soldier didn't respond. She flipped the body around and saw a body completely covered in bullets. The soldier had an expressionless look on his face, with one solitary bullet lodged into his head. Twilight backed away from the dead soldier and leaned against the wooden wall. She put her hooves up to her cheeks in complete shock, only to feel something wet on her face. She looked at her hooves to see them covered in blood. She stared at her hooves in a state of fear. She trembled in horror as she realized she touched a dead soldier, who was murdered in cold blood.

"Twilight, get moving, we're pulling back," said Benning. Twilight got out of her catatonic phase and hopped over the trench line and into the hedgerow. She looked around her and saw everybody come out of there alive and well.

"Let's get back to HQ and give the Major the good news. Looks like we saved a lot of lives at Utah beach everybody," said Kelly.

"Hell yeah, those Kraut bastards messed with the wrong boys!" said Lozano.

"Uh, and the wrong pony," said James, jumping down from the tree he was in. Twilight gave James a fake smile to hide the overwhelming guilt she felt. She looked down at the ground and just trotted with the rest of the squad back to the HQ. Her mind raced with the devastation of war and the flashes of the events of murder began to catch up with her. She then felt light headed and slowly laid down on the ground, her eyes closing, her hearing fading, and she only saw the boots of James running towards her body. She finally fully closed her eyes and her brain slowly stopped functioning. Her body smacked against the dirt ground and her mind went blank.

Chapter IX

The darkness slowly faded away. Color began to seep it's way through and it's vividness lit up the dark room of nothingness. It was as if life was taking over the vast land of darkness and death. Slowly, the color began to take place once more, and then, it was crystal clear. Twilight woke up, finding herself resting on a hay bale in some old barn. Inside was James and the rest of the men she fought with.

"You okay Twilight?" asked James, putting his hand around her head. Twilight slowly got up and looked around, gathering a sense of where she was. She rubbed her head to help ease the slight head ache.

"Ugh. Wha-what happened?" she asked.

"Y'all fainted in the middle of the road. Matthews here picked you up and escorted you to this barn outside of HQ," said Millar.

"You looked liked you saw a ghost or something and you just, fell down," said James. Twilight looked down and took a deep breathe.

"I saw some horrifying things today, some were very disturbing," she said.

"What happened?" asked Arroyo.

"Well, in one case, some bad guys-"

"Nazis," interrupted Kearney.

"Yeah, nazis were behind us moving down the trench line. Lozano handed me this thing, it looked like some sort of weapon, but, I couldn't use it because my hoof was too big. So he turned around and killed them, but, the weapon had a 'jam'. So, he ran up to this guy and was fighting him with his hands. The nazi took out a knife and was almost gonna stab him, until I kicked him into the trench line wall."

"Good job Twilight, you saved a life," said Benning.

"No, I didn't! In the end, Lozano shot the poor guy in the head. I didn't mean to hurt him too bad, but, he was waking up, and, he just...SHOT him, straight in the head. It was in cold blood, just...straight...MURDER!" She looked around at the men, who didn't seem shocked at all, and just looked at one another. "Why aren't you guys mad? Lozano just killed a man in cold blood! Shouldn't he be punished in some sort?"

"Twilight, listen," began James, "as much as I hate to admit it. Lozano did the right thing."

"What!" she shouted.

"Let me explain, they would've done the same thing he would'v done if given the chance."

"No! A normal being would so mercy to him. Help him to live another day..."

"Twilight, it isn't that simple."

"Then what is it with this world? Why are all of you so cold hearted?"

"It's all because of war Twilight."

"Well, why are we fighting this war then? Huh? Why did everyone resort to killing each other instead of having peace?" Twilight had an angered look on her face, so furious that James was even a little scared. After all, Twilight could do magic, who knows what could happen to him. Finally, Captain Kelly walked into the room.

"Twilight, calm down, and let us explain why we do the things we do," he said. He put his hand on her shoulder, he gave a stern, but, reassuring look on his face. Twilight then sat back down in her seat slowly. "There's a legitimate reason why we're in this war. It's because of an evil man named Adolf Hitler. He's the leader of Germany. What he ordered his men to do is awful. Hitler took over these countries one by one, with brutal force and no mercy. We tried to peacefully stop him, but, he didn't listen. Instead, he gave the command to murder innocent people all over the country. Cold blooded murder, and eventually, we had no other choice but to go to war. Hitler was asking for a fight, to take over the entire world, and be the supreme leader of everyone, and we couldn't allow that."

"So, why do people kill others in the way Lozano did to that other soldier?" she asked,

"Well, it because they are willing to fight for Hitler's word. They defend their horrid country, and are willing to kill us anyway they can. So, we have to fight fire with fire. Is it awful? Yes, but, at this point, there's no alternatives. We have to keep fighting until Hitler's army is gone, and peace is restored across the world." Twilight remained silent and processed what Kelly said. Her thoughts began to run rampant. She began to cry a bit.

"But, still? How do all of you kill in such a awful manner?" the tears running slowly down her face.

"We're doing it to defend our country. If we weren't here, Hitler would've been on our doorstep in our home country, killing the innocent and destroying anything that lies in it's path. Now Twilight, I know this is a lot to process, but, I want to show you something. It's my own reason for fighting this war." Kelly stood up and took a picture out of his front pocket. It was an old black and white picture of eight men standing next to each other. They were all smiling and held all of each other in a friendly embrace.

"What is this?" she asked.

"My old squad," began Kelly, "This was taken in 1942, at basic, when I was part of the 82nd Airborne. Our first combat jump was in Italy, 1943. I was a Lieutenant back then, leading a squad of men fresh out of basic. When we dropped, the heavy winds set our chutes off case. I ended up finding about three guys from my squad. For about 20 minutes of wandering around looking for other men, we came across an German machine gun position. The three of us tried to flank it, but, we were overrun quickly. Both men I was with were wounded and then executed in front of me. When the German came up to me, he spared me because I was an officer, I had intel on where all the landing zones were, and where we were advancing. They want me to give up that info, but, I didn't plan on doing that, so, I remained quiet. They finally throw me in a jail cell. On that night, I saw the rest of my men in the jail cell directly in front of me. They looked tired, beat up, and afraid. Immediately after they threw me in the cell, they opened my squad's jail cell. They all poured out and walked outside to the courtyard. I looked out my window, and they lined up my men in front of a wall, spotlights on them and everything. Seconds later, they brought out a firing squad. They loaded their rifles and all fired at my men and killed all of them. Seconds later, a team of British soldiers took the position over. I was liberated and sent back to the States to recover from my wounds. After a couple months, I joined the 101st, and here I am now." Twilight looked up in pure shock, but, she wasn't the only one. Every person in the farm looked at their Captain in shock of what happened to him.

"I'm, I'm so sorry sir," she said simply, looking down at her hooves.

"It's fine Twilight, but, I want to show you one more thing." Kelly took off the front of his shirt. Across his entire chest, there was one big scar across it. "The German interrogating me beat me up badly. He had his assistant take a bayonet and sliced it across the entire front of my body. After that, I was punched and kicked more and more, until they gave up and threw me in the cell. So, Twilight, they're maybe some good people out there, but, we can't trust the enemy, because if we do, this might happen to you." Twilight remained silent as Captain Kelly put his shirt back on and got up. He turned around to his men.

"That goes for all of you guys. I already lost one squad, and I don't want to lose this one. Remember, kill one, save a thousand. Get some rest, and wait for orders to come through." Captain Kelly walked out of the barn and went back inside of the headquarters. The entire barn was silent, no one knew how to follow up on what Kelly just revealed.

"You heard the Captain," said Finn, "get some rest." The men walked all around the barn, getting into their sleeping spots. As James was climbing into his, Twilight trotted up to him. She looked him square in the eye with a fearful, but, determined look on her face. She muttered two words: "I'm ready."

Chapter X

"This, is an M1 Garand" began Arroyo, "it's a semi automatic, .30-06 caliber rifle. With one pull of the trigger, one bullet fires out. Effective range 500 yards, gas operated, loads in via en bloc clip holding eight rounds." Twilight examined the rifle and took down notes in her note pad, like the student she was back in Equestria. "You load the weapon by inserting the clip inside the weapon from the upper receiver, push it down until you hear it click, push the bolt forward, and you're ready to rock." Arroyo aimed down the sights and fired the eight rounds in quick succession. The rifle ejected the clip and made the iconic, yet unforgiving ping that was one of the Garand's characteristics.

"That ping at the end means you're out of bullets, and the Krauts know that. So be sure to keep your head down when reloading," said Kearney.

"But how am I going to fire the weapon?" she asked.

"I got that covered Twilight," said James. He pulled out two sets of metal objects that seemed like torture devices. "Millar made them. Use one to hold the weapon easier and handle the recoil, the other one, you use to fire." Twilight picked up the first object, nothing special, just a clamp that holds the rifle in place. The other one looked as if it were a pirate hook, except less curved. Twilight picked up the rifle, she fumbled it the first time, but then learned to use more muscle to keep the weapon in place.

"Make sure the front sight lines up with the rear one, so look through the little peep hole and line it up with the line at the end of the weapon," said James. Twilight adjusted her positioning and pulled the trigger on the weapon, nothing came out. She tried it again, nothing.

"Why isn't this working?" she asked.

"It isn't loaded," said Kearney. Twilight looked down and blushed a little, she tried to grab the clip with her mouth, but was stopped by James.

"Maybe it's okay to use your magic to load the weapon," he said. Twilight nodded and used her horn to load the rifle. She pushed the bolt forward and aimed in once more. She pulled her hoof back and fired it. The Garand screamed like a cat having it's tail pulled and spat a round out down the target range. Twilight smiled a bit.

"I did it," she said, turning around. The men looked at her and smiled.

"There you go Twi!" said James encouragingly.

"Woo hoo!" she said, as she jumped, the Garand spat out another round accidentally and it smacked against the ground. Twilight jumped in fear and the rifle fell of her hooves. The three men jumped back in surprise and they all looked at one another.

"Maybe you'd outta use your magic to fire the weapon too, I'll get Millar to make something to help you hold the rifle though," said James.

"Um, is there another one I could use?" asked Twilight, "Perhaps something with less backwards force?"

"You mean recoil?" asked Arroyo.

"Yeah, that."

"Alright, I got something." Arroyo went to the table and picked up another weapon. "This is an M1A1 Carbine. It's semi automatic, but fires a smaller cartridge, the .30 carbine. Not that effective at range, but it's compact, fitted with a folding stock, and very controllable. It has an external magazine that holds 15 rounds. You load it inside the magazine well, make sure it's locked in, pull the bolt back to chamber a round and fire." Arroyo then fired 8 rounds out of the small rifle. It had an irritating and some what metallic sound to it, something Twilight cringed too.

"Um, how about something with a less annoying sound?" she asked. Arroyo gave her a dirty look, and she just smiled back at him. He turned around and picked up another weapon, this one looked very different from the previous two. "This is a Trench Gun. Also known as the Winchester Model 1897. It's a pump action shotgun, that holds six shells of 2 and 3/4 buckshot. Shotguns are good a close range, but not that good at longer ranges. It comes with a knife holder, or bayonet lug, in the front, and a heat shield on the barrel to help deal with the weapon overheating..."

"Uh, Arroyo, are you sure it's okay to give her a shotgun? I mean, she could barely handle the Garand recoil," said Kearney.

"You know what, fuck it," he said in an antagonized tone, "Twilight, come up here and pick a weapon." Twilight trotted up and examined the arsenal of weapons on the table. She trotted up the table, each one with a different name labeled on it. At the very end, she saw a weapon with a menacing look to it.

"What's this one?" she asked. The two men looked in shock at each other, but, Arroyo stilled answered her.

"Thats, uh, an Thompson submachine gun, M1A1. It fires a .45 ACP bullet at a rate of 600 rounds per minute. It's a blowback, fully automatic weapon, meaning you can hold the trigger down and the weapon will still fire. It has a 30 round box magazine and an effective range of 50 yards. It's a close quarters weapon, meaning it's not the best at range. The recoil is pretty heavy with the weapon while firing full auto. You load it by inserting the magazine in into the mag holder, make sure it's all the way up, pull the bolt back and fire." Twilight picked up the weapon and held it in her hooves. She aimed down the sheet metal iron sights and fired. The weapon fired three rounds in quick succession with one pull of the trigger.

"Oohh," said a delighted Twilight. She then smiled a bit and decided to hold down the trigger. She felt the power of the weapon as she fired it. As if the world was in slow motion, she had a good feel with the gun. She could control it with relative easy, it looked like it deals a lot of damage, and it had a menacing look to it. She had never felt this much power in her life. Once the weapon was empty, she had a bright smile on her face. "I want this one," she said in a very upbeat tone. Arroyo and Kearney looked at each other in a surprised look. Neither of them had ever seen someone have kind of accuracy with the Thompson than Twilight did. They remained silent as they just stared at her. James walked back with the new metal clamp for Twilight's hoof.

"What's going on guys? How's Twilight's shooting?" he asked. The two paratroopers turned to James and just motioned their head to Twilight wielding the deadly submachine gun. To their surprise, James didn't seem that surprised. "Here's those clamps to help hold the weapon. You adjust the clamps to hold the weapon in place tightly so you can aim and shoot properly."

"Thanks James," she replied, putting on her new clamps and aimed her new weapon. She fired the weapon on full auto and emptied the entire magazine, with near perfect accuracy. Kelly soon walked over to see Twilight's progress. When she finished loading the weapon, he walked over to her.

"Now listen Twilight," he began, "you're gonna have to kill people, can you handle that?" Twilight nodded with great confidence.

"I'm ready to do my part sir," she said proudly.

"That's good. One tip though, try to conserve your ammo, fire in bursts to have even better control of the weapon."

"Yes sir, thank you sir." Kelly got up and turned to the men by the range.

"Get ready to move out soon," he said, "we're taking Carentan."

Chapter XI

All was quiet along the trail that lead into the town of Carentan. Nothing but a slight breeze that rocked the rusty fences back and forth. This wasn't just any ordinary position. Carentan linked Omaha and Utah beaches, where German armor can advance through the town and out flank the soldiers by the beaches. The importance of Carentan meant that the entire 101st Airborne division was sent into attack. Captain Kelly took a look over the ridge line, now as acting commander of the attack. In result, Finn was promoted to Lieutenant. Twilight was introduced to the 101st as somewhat of an outsider, until she showed them her shooting skills with fully automatic weapons. By then, Twilight became a welcomed face across the division.

"Move up the middle fast, strike quickly. I'll be behind you with the rest of the company," said Kelly to a man. He looked over one more time and every second felt like an eternity. Twilight crouched down with her Thompson at the ready, James right beside her. The two exchanged a look and both nodded their heads. Within seconds, the assault began. "Go!" said Kelly. The man got up and the assault began. Kelly went down the line, giving the troops the all clear to go. As soon as the men got up close, the terrifying sound of machine guns drowned out all the sounds before the assault.

"Get down! Get down!" shouted men ducking down in the ditch. The bullets ricocheted off the ground and whizzed by over the air. Twilight hugged the ground with James, as they held their heads down to avoid the barrage of bullets. It wasn't long before the two heard the voice of Captain Kelly.

"I want third platoon to flank to the right, second platoon to the left. I want machine gun fire from the right flank hitting that MG! Go!" he shouted.

"Let's go third platoon, on me. Lozano, Jordan, get that 30 firing on that machine gun. Move up to the wall and flank them, get moving!" shouted Finn. James and Twilight ran across the field, trying to quickly as possible to get out of the way of machine gun fire. They smacked against the wall blocked from machine gun fire. As one soldier moved around, the soldier fell down and the crack of a rifle echoed across the battlefield.

"Sniper, second story on the floor. Matthews, you're up," said Finn. James nodded and peaked around the corner, eyes attached to the scope. Crosshairs to the head, James fired at the German sniper. Direct hit. He then ran across the roadway and into a chicken coup. Once again, he aimed his rifle down the scope and fired. The Springfield's bullet penetrated the assistant gunner's head and he fell down. However, the gunner was now aimed in on James, and he fired. The wave of bullets that crashed down on James' position was overwhelming, he was stuck in place.

"Ah! Jesus Christ!" he shouted, luckily adverting away from the MG fire.

"JAMES!" shouted Twilight.

"I'm fine Twi, just stay where you are," he replied. Twilight then knew she had to do something. She sprinted towards the roadway leading into the town and straight towards the machine gun emplacement.

"Twilight! What the fuck!" shouted Finn. But, Twilight didn't care, she pulled out a grenade and lobbed it at the machine gunner. Only seconds past until an explosion destroyed the machine gun, along with the gunner. She got up to the surprise that she survived all of that.

"First platoon move out!" shouted Kelly, now running down the hill too and into the town, along with an entire wave of paratroopers. She then ran back towards the building wall where Finn's platoon ran into the town.

"Let's go third platoon, clear out these houses. Two a house. Matthews, Twilight, clear that two story house and provide overwatch," said Finn. Twilight and James ran up to the building overlooking part of the town. Twilight smashed the door down while James entered inside, and searched around the house.

"Bottom floor cleared, let's move upstairs," said James. Twilight got up and lead the way up the stairs, as she trotted up she saw a German soldier, aiming an MP40 at her. She quickly pulled the trigger on the Thompson and sprayed the enemy down with a hail of bullets. The German was pushed back with great force from the bullets hitting him. The wall behind him was now covered in blood as his body now laid lifeless on the floor. Twilight moved on and kicked down the next door, two more Germans inside. She coated the room with bullets, killing everyone inside the room.

"Top floor clear!" she said. James walked in and stared at the bodies covered with bullet holes from head to toe. He looked over at Twilight, who was looking over the ledge, watching the assault unfold. He was now paralyzed in pure shock, just looking down at the floorboard, completely dazed by the fact that someone as innocent as Twilight could turn into a vicious, ruthless killer like the rest of them. "James, you all right?" James' head began to clear and he realized where he was now.

"Yeah I'm fine, go find Finn and help with the rest of the assault," he said. Twilight nodded and ran down the stairs to continue the fight. Twilight ran down the sidewalk of the street, stepping over the mass amounts of dead bodies that laid on the ground. She found Finn, who was taking cover from a heavily defended house.

"I want a bazooka up here now, put a hole in that house," he said. Twilight leaned against the wall next to Finn.

"Sir, we took the two story house back there," she said.

"Nice job Twi, go with Benning and Arroyo. As soon as that bazooka blows through that wall, the three of you, clear it out." Twilight nodded and met up with Benning and Arroyo around the corner. The two stood behind the wall, waiting for the bazooka to fire.

"Nice to see you Twilight, how you liking it so far?" asked Benning.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"All of this Twi, how you liking war?" Twilight didn't know how to respond, she tried to gather an answer, until a bullet ricocheted off the corner near Benning's head, he ducked down and avoided the chunk of wall that shot off. 'Ain't it great?" He had a bright smile across his face and cocked his BAR. He turned the corner and fired onto the building. Twilight peaked around and fired her weapon too. All of a sudden, the wall exploded. A giant hole opened up inside the building.

"Move up," said Arroyo, running towards the building. As he was halfway across the street, three rounds flew through the air and hit Arroyo's body. He fell to the ground, still conscious, but bleeding out.

"Fuck, Lou!" said Benning, looking for the German rifleman. Another rifle shot out sounded around the area and went through Benning's head. He fell down instantly, dead on the ground. Twilight looked at Benning's dead body in pure shock. Someone who seconds ago was smiling and laughing was now dead on the ground. She looked over and saw a small squad of Germans held up inside another building, who had a clear line of sight where Twilight was.

"Germans held up in that building at one o clock!" she shouted. She aimed her Thompson and fired off a short burst, but was interrupted with the barrage of rifle and machine gun fire.

"Stay back," said Finn, pulling a grenade out. He threw it towards the house and it exploded in front of it. Twilight ran across the street, firing her Thompson simultaneously. She went inside the destroyed building she was supposed to clear and examined all the dead bodies inside. She trotted up the stairs, only to find nothing but more dead Germans. At the corner of her eye, she spotted a massive weapon on the table. She remembered Arroyo's weapon training, where he described the enemy weapons, such as the Kar98k and MG42. But, this was an entirely different weapon, an RPzB rocket launcher, also known as a Panzerschreck. Two 88 mm rockets were laying down against the wall, undisturbed and capable of firing. Twilight picked up the launcher, along with one rocket, and went to the adjacent room. She looked out and saw the building where the squad of Germans were held up in. Twilight took one deep breathe and aimed the rocket launcher out of the window. She pulled the trigger and watched the rocket completely demolish the building. The massive explosion inside caused the building to collapse on top of the remaining Germans. She put down the rocket and looked down the alleyway farther. She saw German infantry running away from the wave of American forces coming around the corner. Twilight then ran out of the building and joined the rest of her platoon.

"Good thinking Twilight," said Finn, "let's drive these bastards out of the area." Twilight nodded and ran down the street once more, watching the vast amounts of paratroopers clearing out each building. She looked over and saw a squad of Germans running down an alleyway and out of the town. Determined to get revenge, Twilight chased them down, running at a full sprint to catch up to them. As she rounded the corner of the alley, she noticed that they were about to enter an embankment towards the woods that were on the outskirts of the town.

"Stop! Don't move or I'll shoot!" she shouted. The Germans turned around, all of them looking confused as they were being held at gunpoint by a purple pony. Some of them rubbed their eyes in shock, while others looked at the one next to them. All of a sudden, they all burst out laughing at what they were seeing. Twilight didn't take to kind to that. She loaded up another magazine in her Thompson, so it was fully loaded. As the Germans continued to laugh, Twilight held her weapon up and aimed it at them. The Germans were no longer laughing as they now were face to face with the business end of Twilight's weapon. She had an evil smile across her face as she raised her weapon up higher. "Always leave them laughing," she said as she put more pressure on the trigger. All of a sudden, she felt something push her aim out of the way. She looked up to see the one person she never expected to see. James.

Chapter XII

Twilight looked up in complete shock at who she was staring at. The Germans began to move away slowly, but were interrupted by James. He pulled out an M1911 pistol and aimed it at them.

"Don't move you fucking Kraut bastards," he said. The Germans then stayed in place, afraid of what was to become of them. Soon after, an squad of Americans rounded the corner and took the German prisoners away, only Twilight and James stood still. Twilight stood there with an irritated look on her face. James, on the other hand, had a much more relaxed look as he watched the squad of paratroopers being escorted away. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

"What was that for James?" she asked furiously. James knelled down to see Twilight's angry face, she was panting hard, covered in dirt and sweating. James didn't say anything, but just looked at her. Twilight began to breathe slower as she looked deep into James' eyes. All she could see was darkness, nothing but black. As she looked deeper, she began to really see what James was saying. Inside his eyes, she saw blood covering the wall, dripping down and creating puddles all over the floor. She went deeper into his eyes, wondering what else laid ahead. She made it to a hallway of some sorts, and going down the length of the hallway were the heads of dead Germans, mounted as if they were some prized trophy. Above each one had a number, labeling each of the heads. Twilight had enough, but, she had to go on. Farther down James' eyes, she saw the most horrific thing ever. She was back at home, all alone. Windows boarded up, no electricity, and she was going crazy. She was breaking glass, throwing books around the library, and screaming out orders. What really disturbed her was when her attention turned to the corner of the room, where Spike was. He turned around to see a massive scar across his face, the blood smearing down his cheek. Twilight then lifted up a lamp and held over Spike's head.

"Die you Kraut plothole!" she shouted and smashed it. The glass shattered everywhere, some even being lodged in Spike's head. He fell down, with a small pool of blood circling around his head. It was clear, Twilight killed him.

"Spike..." she said softly. The tears rolled down her cheek as her mind went back to reality, still staring into James' eyes. Finally, he spoke.

"Twilight, listen. You have to remember, you are not from this world, and that's a good thing. Despite the fact that we entered the war for a legitimate reason, you have to have a solid state of mind. Before this, I never thought I see you kill, but, executing unarmed soldiers, especially ones that can give us intelligence, is something only the craziest of people do," he said. Twilight looked down at her hooves in silence, not knowing what to say.

"Look, if there's one thing about friendship I can tell you, it's this: We aren't just soldiers, we're brothers. We take care of each other no matter what. War may drive people apart, but, it's things like this that bring people together. Those who survive together, no matter what, have the strongest bonds, and thus, the strongest friendship. Your friends, back in your land, they haven't been subjected to what you have dealt with the past couple days. But, if there's anything I want you to take from this, it's to be there for all your friends, and treat them as if it was their last day alive." Twilight looked up at James with tears slowly running down her cheek. "You're a good per-uh-pony Twilight, and don't let this war change who you really are." She then trotted up to James and hugged him. She held him tightly as she cried into his shoulder.

"What happened to me James? How did this happen to me? " she whimpered.

"It's okay Twilight, you did a great job. You were one of the important factors that helped take Carentan. You just have to remember to keep your humanity, unlike me," he said.

"What are you talking about James? You seem compassionate and level headed." James looked down at her with the dark bleak look on his face. "I may seem that way, but, if I had the chance, I would kill every single nazi soldier out there. Rifle, pistol, knife, or even fists, I wouldn't stop until each one was dead on the ground."

"Why?" asked Twilight. James took one deep breathe and pulled out a small necklace. Beside his dog tags, there was a golden star with six points on it. Twilight had a curious look on her face, she haven't seen this kind of star before. Before she could ask, James gave her an explanation on what it meant.

"This is 'The Star of David'. It represents my religion, in this case, Judaism. Something you need to know, the nazis have strict religious rights, to put it lightly. They don't like people like me because of my religion. So, they jailed all of them. That's my reason to fight, for my people enslaved by this evil government. I've killed so many nazis, and honestly, I enjoy seeing them fall to the ground and suffer. I'm too far gone to be the same as I was before the war. But, you're not. Twilight, if there's anything I ask, it's to not forget who you really are. Can you promise that?" Twilight stood in shock as she processed everything James revealed to her. The fact that people were being jailed because of one's beliefs made Twilight have a sick feeling deep within her stomach.

" I can, it's just that, I want to do my part. I want to fight for everyone here, especially for you James. But, no matter what happens, I'll always keep that promise," she said.

"Thank you Twilight. I don't want you to be scarred at what you witnessed in this war. Take the friendship lessons you learned here back with you, and make even stronger bonds with your friends."

"I will James, thank you." Twilight gave James a hug one more time. The two held each other in a deep embrace, letting out their emotions together. Seconds passed and the two got up.

"Hey you two," shouted Millar, "We're moving up towards the tree line by the outskirts of the town. Let's get going." Twilight smiled at James and he did the same. The two walked with the rest of their company into the woods that laid on the outskirts of the town. They walked proudly together, battle ready, and keeping a level head.