The Fight Of Our Lives

Edward turned to see the group of Germans already moving into position. All tanks were moving into firing position up the hill, and the Americans began to move to the left.

"Alright, we all got the plan.", Edward muttered, before looking to a petrified Twilight. "Twilight, you think you can get to your brother?"

"Huh? Y-yes.", Twilight said.

"Go! We'll cover you!", a soldier said, as he and the rest of the Germans ran up.

The Vickers E tanks were firing their machine guns, with Thorax and whatever troops were there falling back. Ahti fired his pistol, before joining the others.

"Fire!!", Jack yelled.

The Pony Of Shadows growled in frustration as he dodged several jets of flame. He fired a blast of dark energy that took out a Vickers E, and killing two Germans near it.

Jack ran up and fired a big burst of fire at the massive abnormality, before the shadowy figure sent a slash of dark fire at him, causing him to fall while clutching his face.

The newly inflicted scar on his left eye was cauterized and steaming slightly, as the soldiers under his command fired lead and flame at their foe.

"Kill it!!", a soldier yelled, before a spike of shadowy energy impaled him from the ground.

The Flammpanzer turrets were turned around firing, while the Hummels and StuG were firing whilst driving backwards.

Shining Armor and Cadence were galloping away as fast as they could, along with a few soldiers up front. Shining Armor jumped over a rock, gasping for breath as his wife and baby daughter joined him.

"What...what do we do?", Cadence coughed. "The shadows...they're..."

Shining was about to answer when he saw something.

"Geh! Geh! Geh!"

"Nach oben! Schieß das Ding!!"

Several Germans, were charging towards the Shadows from the right, firing as they went. The sergeant of the group spoke up, holding his MP-41.

"Erste Mannschaft, nimm die Flanke! Unterdrücke den Feind! Zweites Team, auf mich! Nach oben!", he barked, firing his weapon. Several Karabiners and Gewehrs opened fire from the side.

"What...what is that?", Cadence said, horrified that there were more sadistic brutes like Jack in this world. She hugged Flurry Heart in her hooves as tight as possible, but not too tight to choke her out.

"I don't know...", Shining Armor said. Then he heard more yelling, and more gunfire.

Shining Armor turned around and saw more Germans attacking down the hill from the left as well.

"Decke Feuer! Decke Feuer!", a soldier yelled. One soldier carrying an STG-44 opened fire, while two soldiers set up an MG-42 with a bipod, one setting up the gun, while the other took out the box of belted rounds.

"How many are there?!", Shining Armor cried, before he heard a familiar voice.

"Shining!"

Twilight and Edward galloped and ran over to Shining and Cadence. Twilight tackled the two in a big hug as Edward jumped to cover, before firing his BAR at the monster that everyone else was fighting.

"Twily! W-what're you doing here?", Shining Armor said, before an explosion shook them hard.

"We were looking for you!", Twilight said. "Now we know why!"

"How...how do you know these monsters?!", Cadence said.

But before Twilight could begin to explain, Edward grabbed her, wrapping his arm around her midsection while firing the BAR one-handed.

"We gotta fall back, now!", he said. All the soldiers were running past them, falling back.

The American troops were providing cover fire for the ponies and humans, as the tanks opened fire on the enemy.

The Char B1 fired its 75mm hull Howitzer, the shell striking the shadows in the face. He roared in pain, and was about to fire a large burst of dark magic when the KV-2 rolled up to the front.

"Fire!"

The KV-2 fired its 152mm Howitzer, and the shell ripped into the Pony Of Shadows, head on. A loud scream of pain could be heard as the explosion completely obscured the shadows from view, being replaced with fire and smoke.

Jack watched as the smoke billowed into the sky, before turning to the KV-2. The Flakpanzer 38(t) pulled up, firing its 2cm Flak 38.

"Go!!", a soldier in the Flakpanzer yelled, firing his MP-38. The BT-5 pulled up as well, firing DT machine guns.

Jack got up and took his singed Flammenwerfer and hurried away. The BT-5 and the Flakpanzer pulled back, the T-28 firing and moving forward.

The cloud of the KV-2's shell cleared, to show that the Pony Of Shadows was gone.

Everyone was quiet, and the hundred or so troops walked up the hill, with the twenty or so tanks waiting on the other side.

"Is it clear?"

"What now?"

Thorax looked up and saw Twilight and Shining Armor sitting next to the StuG III. "Twilight?"

Twilight turned and saw the Changeling ruler walking towards her. "Thorax? What're you doing here?", she asked.

The rumbling of several 1-ton Demag D7 halftrack vehicles filled the air. "Long story. Uhh, have you met Ahti?", Thorax asked, gesturing to the Vickers E tank behind him.

Timeskip: an hour

The halftracks and tanks returned to base camp, the troops all resting on the flatbed vehicles, the tanks not too far behind.

A squad of Royal Engineers were setting up anti-personnel mines outside the perimeters waved as the vehicles pulled through the main gate. Some German soldiers stared as they set up barbed wire and sandbags.

An American soldier walked by, carrying a box of Bouncing Betty S mines, when the German transports rolled by.

The line of vehicles passed between a Sturmpanzer and a T-35, as they parked near Ponyville. All the troops unloaded, as Twilight and Thorax made their way to Celestia.

"Twilight!"

Twilight turned to see Spike and Ember sitting in a tent, which sone side was held up by being tied to the 128mm barrel of a Jagdtiger. They were waving, as a T-18 Kubinka rolled behind the tent.

"I'll catch up in a minute.", Twilight said. Thorax nodded, as Twilight made her way to the two dragons.

Twilight trotted past a soldier carrying an M2 Browning on his back and reached the tent. "Spike, where've you been?", she asked, as she hugged the young dragon.

"I've been here with Ember. She's been crying about her busted wing for a while now.", Spike said. Ember blushed in embarrassment. "Wha?! N-no I haven't!", she said.

"Come on, I'd be crying too if my wing was gone. Thought, I don't have wings.", Spike said.

"I recall the saying that there's a 'chance' I may not fly again.", Ember replied.

"So, it's a risk.", Twilight said. "Besides, don't dragon wings grow back again?"

"Not when hit with dark magic. It'll either slow down the growth, or stop it.", Spike said. "I asked Celestia about dark magic, and she told me that."

Ember sighed. "I'll sure miss flying.", she said.

"Don't say that. Even if your wing doesn't grow back, there's another chance it can be healed with magic.", Spike said.

Ember looked up, an expression of hope on her face. "You think so?", she asked.

"Yeah. Well, it's possible.", Spike said.

"I have to get going. Celestia and Thorax are waiting for me.", Twilight said. "I'll meet up with you later!"

Twilight left the tent, and hopped on a Hetzer, as it drove towards the town square, presumably where Celestia was.

The Hetzer drove by Lena, who was being questioned by a soldier next to the A7V, whilst a Renault FT and a Panzer I drove by from the opposite direction of the Hetzer.

Twilight hopped off the Hetzer onto the side of a Matilda II, and jumping off to see Celestia talking to Thorax, the two of them sitting next to a Nebelwerfer.

"Princess!", Twilight called, as she trotted over. Celestia stood up from the German rocket launcher and walked over to Twilight.

"I see you rescued Shining Armor and Cadence?", Celestia asked.

"Yes, princess. We also rescued a German soldier named Jack. He's in the medical tents.", Twilight said.

"I see.", Celestia said. She turned to look at an M2 Gun Motor Carriage rolling by, followed by a Willys MB jeep.

"So...what do we do now?", Twilight asked, as a British soldier with a Lee-Enfield walked by, carrying a satchel of BREN ammunition magazines.

Celestia was about to answer, when the crunching of footsteps caught their attention. A group of American and German pilots ran by, as Twilight looked on in confusion.

"I ordered a rescue mission on Cloudsdale. These brave individuals volunteered to fly to Cloudsdale and check on it. With the Pony Of Shadows nearby, it will be very risky, so I sent a contingent of my Royal Guard.", Celestia explained.

Twilight blinked. "OK?", she asked.

"Rainbow Dash also volunteered.", Celestia added.

"Wait, what? She's got PTSD, she won't last a minute! It hasn't been very long, she needs to recover, if she doesn't, then she might-", Twilight ranted, when Celestia interrupted.

"Twilight. She'll be in the middle. The humans have a formation at which they protect their guide.", Celestia said. "She'll be fine. Trust me." Then she looked up into the sky. "The mission should start any time now.", she said.

As if on cue, the buzz of plane engines filled the air from afar. P-47s, ME BF 109s, FW 190s, Spitfires, and Hurricanes launched from the makeshift airfield, with three B-17s and a Heinkel 111 following. Twilight could just barely make out Rainbow Dash and the group of golden armored Pegasi flying within the small fleet of planes.

"I hope you're right, princess.", Twilight said, as she walked away.

In the air, Rainbow Dash flew next to a Hurricane, the buzzing of propulsion systems filling the air. She looked to the right to see a Royal Guard on the lookout.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to the makeshift portable radio tied to her neck. "A hundred kilometers ahead.", she said.

"Copy."

"Affirmative."

Two FW 190s veered right to cover the flank, while a P-47 veered left. The three B-17s flew up ahead, Brownings armed. The Heinkel stayed in the middle, and Rainbow Dash could see the MG-15's spider sights sticking out the nose.

She shuddered when she remembered the dogfight at Cloudsdale, but she shook it off, remembering that these Germans were now on their side.

Then she gasped. "Spitfire and the others don't know that!", she thought.

Then a bolt of lightning zapped the Heinkel right next to her, striking the thin metal frame of the greenhouse style nose.

The golden energy electrocuted the whole hull of the plane, before disintegrating. Rainbow Dash looked up, to see several Pegasi with the back-mounted lightning cannons.

"Break!", the commander yelled, and all the fighters veered in several directions. The B-17s immediately pulled up, the Heinkel close behind.

Spitfire, Soarin, and the rest of the Wonderbolts dove downward, seeing the heavy bombers' larger and potentially more dangerous design approaching them.

"Fire!", Spitfire yelled. Several bolts of lightning struck the first B-17, luckily dispersing across the hull.

"Return fire!", the bomber commander yelled. Almost at once, a continuous barrage of 50 Caliber rounds shot towards the Wonderbolts.

The Pegasi broke formation, as did the bombers. Spitfire flew around a B-17 with the words, Reaper's Vanguard, trying to find a weak spot. But every angle she could find resulted in a 50 Cal. firing back at her.

"There's weapons all over this thing!", Spitfire said. She fired a few bursts of lightning, which all grazed the bomber.

Soarin, High Winds, and Misty Fly were getting chased by the bomber Angel of Belladonna, guns blazing. Fleetfoot and Blaze attacked from above, getting ready to blast a hole through the top, before the dorsal turret of the bomber fired up at them, forcing them to break off the attack.

Surprise waited on a cloud, before aiming her lightning cannon at the nose of the Reaper's Vanguard. She was about to fire when several 7.92x57mm rounds ripped through her cloud. Surprise quickly looked up to see the Heinkel flying above her, firing its ventral gun.

Surprise jumped off and was about to pursue when a blue blur tackled her.

"Ow, what in-", she said, before she saw who tackled her. "Rainbow Dash?!"

"Tell them to stop attacking!", Rainbow Dash said. "They're here to help recover Cloudsdale!"

"What? Dash, these are the ones who killed those Pegasi-", Surprise began before the blue flier cut her off.

"No, these are the ones who are gonna help us fight the Pony of Shadows!", Rainbow Dash said. Then even more buzzing filled the air.

"What the-"

Suddenly, dozens of fighters blasted through a nearby cloud, racing past the two Wonderbolts. Surprise gasped when she saw where the attack force was heading. Within the flotilla of fighters, Surprise could see the Royal Guard flying with them.

"Cloudsdale!", she said. "They're diverting fire to those giant monsters while the other ones get a clear shot at the city!"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Thanks.", she said. She quickly pressed on her miniature radio.

"Everyone, maintain your heading! Cloudsdale is up ahead, but do not attack! Hold fire!", she said.

"Roger!"

"Affirmative!"

"Acknowledged!"

Surprise gasped and stared at Rainbow Dash. "You...them...", she muttered.

"I'll explain in a bit. Come with me.", Rainbow Dash said, helping Surprise to her hooves. At this point, the yellow maned Pegasus was too confused to even think, so she clumsily flew after her.

The four bombers saw their fighter escorts flying towards their destination, and immediately broke off the attack. They quickly steered their way towards Cloudsdale. Spitfire and the others saw where they were going, and quickly followed.

Rainbow Dash quickly knocked on the cockpit of a P-47, and gestured to fly ahead. The pilot nodded, and all the P-47s in the attack force flew up ahead, while the RAF fighters, the Spitfires and Hurricanes, flew back to take their place.

The Thunderbolt fighters shot past a cloud, while the rest of the Pegasi and planes approached. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in anticipation, before something caught her attention.

A loud boom, and the blazing of gunfire reached her ears, and Rainbow Dash immediately accelerated towards Cloudsdale, the fighters and Royal Guard following.

When Rainbow Dash blasted through the cloud, the first thing she was met with was contact from the yellow nose of a Messerschmitt 262.