Ponies at War: The Sacred War

1942.

In the middle of a river, a group of boats made their way to the shore ahead. Some of them were ferrying hundreds of Soviet soldiers, both young and old, mares and stallion. Among them was a yellow-coated pegasus, Fluttershy. She was visibly shivering, feeling uneasy. Her uneasy breath were quite audible to the soldiers around her.

She was a stranger to this kind of conflict. She never thought she would be put into this situation. But most of all: She was afraid, very, very afraid.

She opened her eyes after keeping them closed for minutes, a vain attempt to contain her fear. She saw a same sight she had seen when she got on to this boat. Multiple Soviet soldiers around her, unarmed. The sides of the boat stood the armed ones, keeping watch of potential attack.

In front of the boat was a unicorn. She wore a different uniform compared to her comrades. She wore a cap instead of a helmet, blue pants with red stripes instead of green ones.

The unicorn raised her head up, eyeing the troops with her yellow eyes. She spoke up.

"Welcome to the Red Army, comrades. You are about to begin the greatest moment of your life!" She stood up with her right hand on the boat's railing.

"The rotten cancer of the German Reich have devoured Europe like a plague. Their relentless conquest throughout the continent struck terror deep into the hearts of many and claimed lives of stallions, mares, and foals alike. Not satisfied with the prize, they turned east to our Motherland. Now the devils are at our very doorstep and it is your duty to stand guard, defend our homeland. Our task is simple: Do NOT let the Germans reach the Volga and to defend the city of Stalingrad!"

Just as the unicorn finished her sentence, a city appeared behind her in the distance. Its flaming ruins turned the sky orange with a shade of red, as if it was Hell itself.

Suddenly, a very high pitch sound was heard. Mere seconds later, a small boat ferrying supplies next to the one Fluttershy was sitting in burst into flames. The explosion caused waves that rocked the boat.

"Steel yourselves, comrades!" The unicorn shouted.

"Pegasi!" A stallion warned. A unicorn soldier projected a shield protecting the boat with his magic as he and others opened fire with their rifles and submachine guns.

"We must give our lives to defend the city at all cost, comrades, the Motherland calls for you!" The unicorn kept shouting.

Fluttershy was startled from the gunfire, her ears were ringing as she tried to lessen the effect by covering them with her hands. It did not do much good for her.

"We must not retreat! Not a single step backwards! There is no place for us behind this very river!" And the unicorn kept shouting.

Another explosion occurred near the boat, the waves rocked the boat once more. This time, it caused the stallion projecting the shield to lost his balance. He fell to his knees and the shield started to flicker.

The German pegasi were performing another strafing run at the boat. The female unicorn took his place and attempted to shield the boat. Just as the shield was beginning to encompass the boat, the pegasi unloaded lead onto the boat. The bullets tore though the fabric acting as an improvised roof and hit a handful of the troops. One of them dropped dead in front of Fluttershy, she let out a frightened gasp from sheer shock.

One German pegasus was shot and his body fell into the river. The Soviet soldiers ceased their fire once they were out of side.

"The spirit of the Motherland shall protect us and we will emerge triumphant!" And the unicorn kept shouting. The male stallion regained his footing and his shield no longer flickered. The female unicorn deactivated hers.

"From this moment on, 'cowardice' no longer exists in our language!" Another explosion occurred, this time the water splashed onto the front of the boat. But the unicorn refused to stop shouting.

"Do not count days nor miles! Count only the number of the Germans you have killed! Kill the fascists, this is your mother's prayer! Kill the fascists, this is the call of our beloved Motherland! The cry from our Russian earth!"

The boat finally arrived at the docks.

"Move! Out of the boat!" The soldiers obeyed the unicorn. The steps and chatter were audible to Fluttershy, who were still quivering in fear. Her breath was shaky and her hands were still tightly against her ears.

Then, she heard footsteps coming towards her. She felt a poke by someone's boot.

"Get out, quick!"