World at War: Protectors of Harmony

Chapters

World at War
Contact!
Guns and Ponies
Run
Second Impressions?
One Way or Another
Lieutenant Blake
Five-Oh-Deuce
Purple Heart Lane – Part I
Purple Heart Lane – Part II
Purple Heart Lane – Part III
Purple Heart Lane – Part IV
Earth
First Impressions

World at War

D-Day Plus 2

Somewhere in Normandy

The roar of a jeep filled the air while the three men inside were trying their best to stay alive. As the jeep crested the hill it caught a fair amount of air as it jumped the bump in the old dirt road. Coming down with a powerful thud, the three passengers jerked violently as the jeep began to regain control.

"DIE, YOU KRAUT BASTARDS!!" Screamed the gunner as he opened fire with the massive Browning .50 BMG.

"WHERE THE HELL DID THEY COME FROM?!" Screamed the driver.

"I DON'T KNOW!! JUST SHUT UP AND DRIVE!!" Ordered the passenger.

As the jeep and panicking men race through the forest, Nazi troops began to funnel out of the tree line. The only thing they could rely on was the speed of the Willys jeep, and the cover fire being provided by the gunner.

The three soldiers are as follows:

The driver, Corporal Wade Charles, a 21-year-old from San Francisco, California. A college dropout, he decided to join the 101st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He started in Africa and has survived through everything, even the D-Day landing. The kid's smart and knows his way around a gun. Hell, he's even the squad's best sharpshooter; he stole an M1903 scoped Springfield rifle from a dead trooper and has been using it ever since. He's a crack shot at 550 yards.

The passenger, Sergeant Daniel Parker, a 20-year-old from Richmond, Virginia. He joined the 101st Division, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment in early 1943. Yet he survived D-Day, too. Rose through the ranks and became a Sergeant just after the invasion of Sicily. He was a former wood worker and decided that he wanted to see the world, and this was all he got.

The gunner, Private First-Class Cody Reed, was the same as Wade. A 19-year-old college kid from Deadwood, South Dakota; fortunately for him, he missed the D-Day landing by a day, but he was soon placed with his new squad. He was eager and gung-ho to fight, but being a new kid, he hasn't experienced combat like Parker and Wade have. At this moment however, he was the only one that could keep them alive. Like right now, they have driven right into the heart of an entire Nazi division.

"ARMORED CAR!!" Screamed Reed.

"LIGHT IT UP!!" Parker ordered while reloading his gun.

Reed immediately pointed the massive machine gun and unloaded on the Nazi armored car. Of course, it wouldn't penetrate it, but they desperately fought for their lives. The massive vehicle retaliated by firing on them, but by some miracle, the German gunner missed every shot. Wade pressed on the gas trying to get every ounce of power out of the jeep. Bullets whizzed over their heads, but by some miracle, they kept on going.

"FUCK!! FUCK!! FUCK!!" Reed screamed while shooting at the armored car.

"IN THE TREE LINE!!" Wade shouted. Then multiple Nazi troops poured out and made a line in front of their jeep.

"I GOT 'EM!!" Parker shouted while shouldering his Thompson and firing at every soldier he could get in his sight. He didn't rely on accuracy, as he was just shooting the living hell out of the Krauts to keep themselves alive. They continued to race down the old dirt road as the massive, armored car was still chasing and firing them. The Americans didn't know where the hell they were, but they knew for sure that they were miles from the nearest reinforcements and were surrounded by Nazi soldiers.

"PANZER!!" Parker screamed as he looked at the massive tank.

The beast came out from the tree line right in front of them and blocked their path. Its turret was slowly turning to the jeep, and they could only watch as the 75mm gun pointed at them. Parker saw a small path into the forest on the right just a couple of meters away before the Panzer. Without a second thought, his left hand took control of the steering wheel and quickly jerked it to the right. Wade wasn't expecting this as his hands moved on their own accord and just accepted the movement. Reed stopped firing as he leaned over to the machine gun in an attempt not to fall off the vehicle.

"WATCH IT YOU SHITHEAD!!" He shouted to Parker as he went back to his original stance and started shooting again.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND KEEP SHOOTING!!" Parker yelled back. The panzer seemed not to notice this as it fired a single shell and hit the armored car that was still chasing just behind, making it explode and stop his pursuit.

"WHOOO HOOO!! EAT SOME!! HAHAA!!" Wade shouted in glee as he looked back. The cheer soon died as they were swarmed by another rain of bullets.

Parker could hear Reed grumble something while he continued to swivel the machine gun left and right. The massive .50 caliber rounds blew holes in the dirt path and any unfortunate trees, sending small pieces of branches in all directions. Those that connected with bodies tore through the flesh, thus bringing the attacker to their knees, and ultimately… the ground.

The jeep continued to run with its maximum speed and the Panzer was still on their tail, cutting down the trees that were in its way and continuing to shoot them with its machine gun. Parker reloaded his gun as quickly as he could and continued to shoot anywhere, he could predict the enemies were. The dirt road was coming to an end. They could see it. All that’s left are some bushes.

"SHIT!! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TRACK!!" Wade shouted while Reed continued to fire at the tank.

"JUST GO THROUGH IT!!" Parker shouted back while looking behind. The Krauts were still shooting at them while Reed fought all the troops, including the Panzer itself.

"FUCK!!" Reed shrieked. "YA BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, SERGEANT!!"

"HOLD ON!!" Wade shouted, getting both Parker’s and Reed's attention. When the Sergeant looked back to the front, they were going to go through the massive bush.

"THE HELL DUDE?!" Parker shouted while gripping the door and his Thompson tightly.

"YOU TOLD ME TO GO THROUGH IT!! REED, YA BETTER HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!!" Wade shouted again.

Grabbing his M1 Garand, Reed immediately ducked down and held on for dear life. The jeep then went through the bush and the inevitable happened. Behind it was a slope. Despite the lack of trees and bushes, the track was bumpy and uncomfortable while they were running down the slope.

"SHIT!!" Reed shrieked from behind. The jeep bumped here and there while the paratroopers were driving forward and let the slope lead them to its destination. Forest. They saw another forest in front of them. Great.

"DUDE!! WATCH OUT!!" Parker shouted while pointing at a huge trunk laying on the ground. Wade didn't see this, and he had no time to react. The right front tire hit the massive trunk, sending them flying into the air. The jeep flew four feet from the ground, and it hit the ground, the three of them threw off the vehicle and were rolling until the end of the slope, along with the jeep. They rolled and rolled until Parker stopped when the back of his head got hit against a tree. His vision became blurry before he blacked out.

"Parker?"

"Shit! He's not waking up!"

"He's breathing dammit! Parker, can you hear me?"

"Dammit! Parker, can you hear us?!"

"Wait, Reed! Stop! Did you hear that?"

"What the-"

"INCOMING!!"

Parker groaned while regaining his own vision. His eyes were blurry, and all his body was in pain. He felt himself being dragged and he could hear explosions everywhere.

"THEY GOT US ZEROED IN!!" He heard Reed shrieking from behind. He must have dragged him. "THOSE BASTARDS WON'T LET US ESCAPE!!"

"KRAUTS INCOMING!!" Wade shouted. Then, he heard lots of gun fire in front of him. Parker held his head and let out another groan. He tried his best to regain his own vision. Stretching out his hands to try to reach his Thompson, he nearly passed out again, but he reached it nonetheless. When he took a hold of his gun, he put it on his lap and tried his best to gain his composure.

"DAMMIT, SARGE!! GET UP!!" Reed shouted to his ear. Parker winced and immediately covered his left ear. After his vision was clear enough, surely, he saw the Nazi troops were shooting at them while Wade tried his best to hold them.

"COME ON!!" Reed shouted again. "GET UP, GET UP, GET UP!!" He helped Parker to get onto his feet. It took a moment for Parker as he leaned on Reed's shoulder for balance. "WE GOTTA RUN!! WADE COME ON!! GET THE FUCK OUTTA THERE!!" Parker shook his head to clear his vision one last time and nod at Reed. Confirming him that he was okay. He let go of the Sergeant and looked at Wade. "WADE!!"

Wade looked back at them and nodded. He shot until his last bullet and when the time came for him to reload, he immediately joined his squad and ran from the enemies, deeper into the forest. Explosions caused the dirt to fly everywhere while trees fell after they got hit. Parker looked around him as they were being bombarded, he couldn't believe at the time that he was still alive in the middle of it, but they continued to run as fast as their feet could get. Another big explosion behind Reed caused him to stumble forward but his feet luckily caught him just in time before falling. Quickly regaining his balance, he adjusted his helmet a bit and started to run again.

"SHIT!!" Wade shouted through the explosions. They ran for what felt like eternity, but then the barrage suddenly stopped.

"Wait!" Parker stopped, followed by his other two friends. They turned their gaze to him.

"What is it?!" Reed replied, panting heavily.

"It stopped." Parker simply said while looking at the sky. Wade and Reed followed his gaze as they looked up. Yeah, the barrage did stop. Only the sound of rustling from the leaves could be heard around them. Finally... So that means...

"Uh oh." Parker realized something bad, still looking up.

"What?" Wade asked and looked at him.

"If the barrage stops... that means-" He couldn't finish his words as he heard them talking behind him. They weren't English, of course. They were still being chased by an entire group of Nazis.

"Do they fucking know when to just give up the chase?!" Reed whispered in annoyance.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Parker whispered back to them. They nodded and immediately ran forward as quietly as possible. Leaving the German troops behind.

Parker had absolutely no idea for how long they had been walking in the forest. But they could see the sun was slowly setting on the horizon. The day will turn into the night and that is just going to mess things up more since they have no lights to guide them. Especially a map. At least the Germans haven't found them, yet. That was one less thing to worry about. Luckily for these paratroopers, they found an old dirt path and decided to follow it.

"Hey," Wade started, breaking the silence, "We're pretty fucked up back there, aren't we? “He chuckled a bit at the thought.

"Well, we lost ten men already." Parker replied with a sigh.

"Damn those artillery," Reed chimed in, "If it weren't for them, they might still be alive by now."

"Hey guys, I think the forest is about to end." Wade said as he pointed at a light in front of them.

Parker and Reed looked forward and saw the dirt path going straight to the light. They smiled in relief as Parker quickened his pace. But when they got closer, Parker instantly stopped and raised his hand, signaling his friends a halt position. The three of them crouched down while gripping their weapons tight.

"Stay low." Parker whispered. They nod and proceed moving forward. That's when Parker saw a small shack, with multiple Nazi soldiers on its lawn were talking to each other. He looked back to his friends, who were wearing the same expression as he did. Serious, yet nervous at the same time.

"Alright," Parker began, "We need to eliminate all of them."

"What? Are you nuts?" Wade almost shrieked at his order, "We're only three of us."

"I count ten Krauts," Reed added as he counted all of them, "Are you sure about this Sarge?"

Parker sighed. "I know, but we need a place to stay, and this is the only place we could find. I believe no one else lived at the end of this forest." Reed and Wade paused for a moment. "So, are you with me or not?"

His squad looked at each other before nodding.

"Alright," Wade said as he looked back at Parker, "But I need to find a perfect spot for my sniper here."

"That should do it." Parker said, pointing to a tree. But, instead of the ground, he pointed it at the top. Wade looked at him with confusion.

"Are you saying that I-"

"Don't lie to me," Parker cut him off, "I know you're a good climber."

He sighed before nodding. "Fine. But this better be working."

Parker nods in approval. "I'm sure this will work. Before that, the signal is when you fire the first shot."

"Me?"

"Yeah, after that, me and Reed will get up from this bush and spray them with bullets."

"Charging your enemies when they're not ready. Classic." Reed said while checking his weapon.

"Then it's settled," Parker gripped his Thompson and looked at the grey soldiers, "Let's send these guys straight to hell."

With that, Wade immediately walked to the tree Parker had told him to be and climbed it with ease. His friends watched in awe as he climbed the tree and sat on one of the branches within ten seconds, making sure that the leaves were thick enough to make him unnoticed.

"No wonder you like monkeys." teased Reed.

"Says the one who was jumping up and down when he saw an ape." Wade retorted.

Parker chuckled and looked back to their targets. All of them didn't seem to notice the paratroopers.

This is gonna be easy.

Parker looked at Wade, who was looking through his scope and ready to take the first shot. He turned his gaze to Reed, who was gripping tightly his M1 Garand with a smirk on his face.

"They don't know what will come." He whispered.

"I know," Parker returned the smirk and looked back at them. A few moments of
waiting, Wade finally took the first shot.

BANG!

A helmet could be seen thrown off from the head of an unfortunate soldier. Blood spurts from his head as he quickly drops to the ground. The other soldiers looked at their teammate, but before they could react, Parker and Reed suddenly appeared from the bush while pointing their guns at them. Without warning, both fired relentlessly at the soldiers; whilst screaming. They could hear the marksman firing his sniper behind them and one by one, the Krauts dropped to the ground.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Parker shouted as all the German soldiers were on the ground; didn't move. He got out from the bush and walked closer to the dead bodies, crouching down, he checked the pulse for any signs of life. He got up as he was sure they were all dead and looked back at Reed. "Let's get these bodies to the bushes. I don't want to get ambushed again by those Germans." His friend nodded and quickly helped him carrying the dead. Wade came out from the tree line and immediately helped them with it. It only took a few minutes to hide the dead Krauts from the sight of any passer-by.

"We should check the shack," Reed said as he and Parker threw a dead body, "I think it's not safe. Someone's probably hiding in there."

Wade let out a chuckle. "Reed, if they were in there, they should've come out when they heard the fight."

Reed grabbed his weapon and looked at the corporal. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"There's nothing wrong about being cautious Corporal," Parker said, "We still need to check that shack."

Wade shrugged. "I'm just saying what I had in mind."

"Damn right you are. Alright folks," Parker said while clapping his hands, "Tomorrow morning, we'll be out of here and regroup with the others."

"And how are we supposed to know where they are?" Wade asked.

"That's why we'll be going at dawn. We're gonna need a lot of time if we want to find them fast."

Reed shrugged. "Aye. Damn, I really need to take some rest." He sniffed his own armpit. "And some showers as well."

Parker chuckled a bit. "Me too." He then began to walk to the small shack, followed by his friends behind. Once they were at the door, Parker gripped his weapon with his right hand while the other grabbed the doorknob. He took a deep breath before looking back at the others, who were pointing their weapons towards the door as well.

"Watch my back."

A nod was his only response before he turned the doorknob.

Contact!

"SHIT!!"

"TEN O'CLOCK!!"

"WADE!! GET DOWN!!"

"ARGH!! FUCK!!"

Parker rushed through the forest to the source of the gun fire and the shouting from his squad; along with the Germans could be heard screaming and yelling. He ran past the bushes and was greeted by a tree in front of him. But he managed to made his way to the left as he avoided the tree. Parker slide his way down when he saw a thick branch blocking his way. After minutes of running, he finally saw a river not far away. That's when he saw some grey silhouettes walking and running on the opposite side of the river. As Parker arrived at the scenery, he raised his weapon and started to shoot at the Krauts. They were caught off guard by him as he managed to drop two soldiers to the ground. The Krauts noticed his position and quickly aimed their guns to him and started to shoot back. Parker ran away and hid behind a rock.

"Fucking Krauts." He mumbled to himself as he shifted to a better position.

"Sarge!" He heard someone called his name and when he turned to look at it, Reed was there with Wade, who was laying on his chest. "Get over here!" Reed shouted again.

"Wade! What happened?" Parker shouted through the gun fires.

"They shot me in the ass, Sarge!" Wade replied.

Parker looked at the Germans before nodding to Reed. "COVER ME!!"

Reed nod and prepared himself to shoot. Parker took a deep breath before started to run to the others. Reed immediately came out from his hiding spot and quickly shoot at the Germans. Parker quickly slide down the dirt and hide behind the cover. Reed quickly hide too when he ran out of ammo.

"Shit!" He shrieked. Parker looked at him then to Wade, then to his wound.

"Woah. Enjoying the ride pal?" Parker asked with a smirk as he peeked and fired some bullets to the Krauts.

"Those Krauts better be paying for this," Wade replied, "DUDE, I WAS JUST GETTING SOME WATER WHEN THOSE PRICKS CAME OUT OF DAMN NOWHERE AND STARTED TO SHOOT US." He sighed as he looked at his wound. "I think it's probably from the gun fight we had earlier. The water's clear though." He chuckled.

"You lucky son of a bitch."

"I know right?"

"Well, we need to clear 'em off. Shall we?" Reed said as he ducked when a bullet wizzed nearby.

"Hell yeah," he said with a grin before he looked back to Wade, "You'll be all right?"

"I'll be fine," he replied calmly, "Just go and kick some asses for me, will ya."

Parker chuckle and pat his shoulder. "You got it."

Wade smiled at him as Parker backed away. Cocking his Thompson, Parker looked at Reed who was reloading at the moment. "Reed, I need you to run and take cover over there." Parker said as he pointed to a nearby large trunk. Reed looked at the trunk, then back to his Sergeant.

"You fucking kidding me, Sarge."

"No, I don't. You gotta do as I say, or else we all die here. We'll pinned 'em down from two sides."

"We're only three of us here god dammit!"

"At least we buy ourselves some time to escape, Private."

Reed looked at the trunk nervously. But then looked back at Parker and nod. "You better be right about this!"

"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!" Parker replied as he grip his Thompson and readied himself. Both of them nodded their heads and Reed ran at full speed while Parker was trying to get the Krauts' attention to him. He fired at least three bullets to each soldiers that was in his sight. He managed to get the Krauts to fire on him. He fired, ducked, reload, and fire his weapon again, he was doing it all in a quick motion. He finally saw Reed sliding down and quickly ducked behind the large trunk.

"What should I do now?!" He shouted. He pulled his feet closer to him as a bullet landed next to him.

"Do you need to fucking ask that?! Just hold them off!!" Parker shouted back while cocking his gun. He peeked from his hiding spot before started to shoot again. Desperately this time. He realized the number of Krauts were countless. They were more of them. He couldn't tell that they called a reinforcements or not, but hell they were a lot of them.

One o'clock

BANG!! BANG!!

Two more on your left

Dead

Click!

Fuckin' mag

"WHERE THE HELL DID THEY COME FROM?!" Wade yelled through the gun fires.

"We can't stay here anymore!" Reed shouted from his spot as he started to shoot relentlessly.

"I know!" Parker shouted back, grabbing his fresh mag, he reload his weapon. "This river is big though, they won't be able to cross it!"

"So, what are we waiting for!" Wade chimed in as he groaned from the sudden pain. "Argh! Fuck! My ass!"

Parker thought for a moment before he came up with an idea. "Reed!!" He called out. The Private immediately took cover.

"What is it?!"

"We'll give Wade some covering fire!! Wade, go to the tree line, we'll cover you!!"

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Wade shrieked. "I got a hole in my ass here, Sarge!!"

"You have two holes now for Christ sake!! Now get to the tree line!! Just crawl, you're gonna make it!! We'll catch up!!" Parker shot down another Kraut.

"Fucking hell!" Wade said as he started to crawl to the tree line.

"REED!! COVERING FIRE!!" Reed did as he was told.

"SARGE!! MY ASS!!"

"QUIT WHINING YOU NIMROD!! GO!!" Parker literally yelled at the top of his lungs. A clicking sound realized him that he had ran out of ammo. Parker got into cover as he reached for another mag. While doing so, he saw Wade made it to the tree line as he crawled through a thick bush.

"'Bout fucking time." Parker mumbled before turned his attention to Reed. "Private!! Come on!! We gotta get outta here!!" He shouted as he was being bombarded by tons of bullets. Gun fires could be heard everywhere and Parker was pretty sure the ponies have blocked the door with any stuff they could find before he got back. Well, if he ever got back alive.

"On three?!" Reed asked while shooting with his Garand.

"One!" Parker shouted back while peeking his head. "TWO!!" Parker quickly ran from his hiding spot, back to the tree line.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THREE!!"

He was expecting Reed to be with him the moment he helped Wade to get on his feet. But when he looked back, Reed was still holding the Krauts off. A grenade exploded in front of the young private, making him crouched down to take some cover. "REED!! GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!!" Parker shouted as he started to run, but stopped when Wade suddenly crouched on his grip.

"FUCK!! SARGE, I CAN'T RUN!!" Wade yelled while gritting his teeth. "MY ASS SARGE!! MY ASS!!"

"We can't stay here any longer dammit! REED!! LET'S GO!!"

After blocking the door with lots of stuff they could find, Twilight and her friends sat around and wait for Parker to come back. They could still hear the screaming and loud noises from the forest. They began to think of what might happen to him.

"Should we go look for him?" Rainbow asked, breaking the silence.

"No, we can't. He told us to stay here." Twilight replied.

"Ah know, but we can't just sit our haunches here and wait," Applejack said, "He's probably in trouble right now. He probably need our help."

"I know girls," Twilight said, "But he already told us to stay. He knows what danger it is outside. And we don't even know who he's fighting with."

"But why would he care about us though," Rarity chimed in, "I'm not trying to be rude, but didn't it seems... odd? He didn't know us, and he didn't want us to get hurt?"

Twilight groaned. "Isn't it obvious? He's a nice stallion, of course."

Rarity put a hoof under her chin. "Hmm... I guess you're right."

"He's friendly." Fluttershy added.

"He's not a stallion, silly!" Pinkie said.

They continued on their rambling until they didn't notice that the gun fire has stopped. Rainbow was the one who notice this and quickly made up her mind.

"I'm going out there and find him," Rainbow said, "With or without you."

"Ah'll go with Rainbow." Applejack added.

"Me too!" Pinkie shouted excitedly.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, "Don't go. We need to stay."

"While waiting for him out there in danger all by himself? No way I'm gonna sit here and wait."

"Rainbow's right, Twi," Applejack chimed in, "At least we know where he is and that he's safe."

Twilight frowned and narrowed her eyes. "You girls-" A sudden knock from the door interrupted their conversation. They all looked at the door for a moment until a familiar voice called out.

"Twilight! Open the door! We got a wounded here!"

"DUCK!!" Parker shouted as he put Wade behind a large stone. Wade winced at his pain. The Germans continued on to firing at them. Even though, the three of them were already far enough from the river. The Germans kept on pinning them down, as a result, they were forced to move from cover to cover.

"How the fuck they can still firing at us?!" Reed yelled next to Parker.

"How am I supposed to know that!!" Parker yelled back. He turned his attention to Wade. His friend was panting heavily whilst laying down on his chest. "Dammit. Come on! We need to get outta here and patch his wound!"

"Damn right we are." Reed replied. Parker helped Wade once more to his feet and they continued to run slowly back to the shack. They ran from cover to cover mostly because Wade couldn't stand the pain. It felt like eternity while the Germans continued on their bullet bombardment towards the paratroopers. Bullets flew past them but suddenly, the firing sound stopped; along with the bullets. Parker slowed his pace and looked at the wounded soldier next to him. Wade was clinging to his shoulder tightly while panting.

"Is it over?" He asked.

"I guess so..." Parker replied while looking back. "Yeah, they stopped firing all right."

"Sarge, I have an idea." Reed said. Before Parker could reply, Reed went off to a nearby trunk and dragged it to them.

"The fuck are you doing?" Wade asked.

"Look, you wanna walk or lay on this trunk. Me and Parker will drag you back."

Without hesitation, Wade released his grip from Parker and dropped his body to the trunk like a koala. Parker nod and they limply walk back to the shack.

The day was getting darker. Parker noticed the sun looming on the horizon, mere minutes from setting. And it's starting to get cold. However, a single thought ran through Parker's mind.

Fuck, how should I say about those ponies to these guys

Their expression will be priceless, I'm telling ya

I hate to admit it, but you're right

They finally arrived at the shack and stopped in front of the door. Parker had to make sure they did as he said, so he decide to push the door open. And just as he thought, he couldn't open it.

"Is it locked or blocked?" Reed asked. "Weren't you bust it open earlier?"

Parker simply nod his head and called out for the ponies. "Twilight! Open the door! We got a wounded here!"

"Twilight?" Wade asked. "Who the hell is Twilight?"

"They're friends."

"Friends?" Reed asked. "They? What the fuck are you talking about."

He was about to reply but was interrupted when they heard lots of crashing sounds behind the door. Finally, the door opened widely and stood the purple pony looking at Parker with a big smile.

"You're back!" She shrieked as she jumped up to Parker and hugged him tight. The sergeant was taken aback by the sudden burst but managed to regain his composure and hugged her back with an arm. "I'm so happy to see you." Twilight cooed.

"Hey, we only know each other for like five minutes and you miss me already?" Parker said with a chuckle. "Told ya I will come back."

"Sarge?" Reed interrupted them. Parker put Twilight down and looked at the other two. Just as he thought, they were flabbergasted.

Hah, losers

Bad

Parker chuckled as he looked at Wade. "We need to patch your wound. Fast." He then looked back to Twilight.

Just as he said that, Parker could feel Wade leaned his head to his shoulder and he felt heavier than ever. He looked back at him and noticed that he was already unconscious. Reed dropped his weapon and land flat on his ass. He took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair.

"I didn't sign up for this." He groaned.

"Urgh..." Wade groaned as he went back to the living. "Tell me that was a dream."

"Nope." Parker replied while patting Twilight's mane. "It's not a dream."

"Right." His eyes rolled back for the second time and left unconscious on Parker's shoulder again. The sergeant sighed.

"I knew I should've told them to hide first."

Can't hide the fact that you're laughing though

Guns and Ponies

Parker slowly walked in with Reed's help carrying Wade into the shack. The ponies looked at them and saw the blood dripping from Wade's unfortunate ass.

"Oh dear." Rarity said while putting a hoof on her mouth.

"Put him down here." Parker ordered to Reed. Reed nod before gently laying down the wounded soldier and quickly inspect his wound. Wade groaned as they did.

"Got any bandages?" Reed asked.

"Who am I, a medic?" Parker retorted.

"Dang it."

"What happened to him?" Twilight suddenly asked right next to Parker. He sighed and looked at her.

"He got shot."

"Shot?" Rainbow asked while hoovering in the air. The ponies looked at Wade with worried looks.

They haven't seen anything like this before. That's for sure

"It's a long story," Parker answered, "Right now I have to find something that could patch the wound." He stood up while looking around the room.

"I demand an explanation after this." Reed said as he stood up too. Parker didn't respond as he began to walk around the room. He walked over to the old shelf and opened it. As he expected, dust greeted his face quickly, making him cough several times and closed his nose and mouth. As his vision's clear, he noticed some shirts were hanging in it.

"This should do it." He said as he grab the shirt out off from its place.

"Ya sure about that?" Reed suddenly asked next to him. "It's dusty. I'm sure as hell it will make the wound even worse."

"Why don't you just keep the pressure on the wound, Private." Parker asked.

"Right... sorry." Reed quickly ran to Wade, who was still unconscious and pressed his hand on the wound again. Parker looked at the shirt, then back to the shelf.

Ain't no way I'm gonna drag my ass back to that river just to clean this shit

Twilight seemed to notice Parker's concern and quickly offered a help. "I can handle it." She said as she levitated the shirt from his hand. Parker and Reed watched with wide eyes as she trotted off to the door and went outside like nothing was wrong; the shirt was floating in front of her.

"What was that?" Reed asked, still looking at the door.

"No idea." Parker replied.

"It's magic, darling." Rarity said.

"Magic?" Reed asked. Parker still have no idea how Reed could cope with this since he saw his expression at the first place.

"Here you go!" Twilight said as she walked in to the room with the shirt still floating with her. She then gave Parker the shirt and he inspected it. No dust, it's clean. As if she had already bought from a store several minutes ago.

"How did you-"

"Magic." Reed simply said. Parker put the thoughts away from his mind and quickly tear up the shirt. He walked to Wade and knelt down next to him, he was about to treat the wound when he stopped.

Reed looked at his sergeant in confusion. "What's wrong Sarge?" He asked.

"How the fuck am I supposed to wrap this thing to cover the wound."

"You're not a medic, just wrap it around his torso since he's unconscious."

"Mind giving me a hand?"

"Always have."

"Aight, here goes nothing." Parker slowly worked on the wound. First he gently wipe the blood so there wouldn't be any infection. Then he used the rest of the shirt he had torn to wrap it around Wade's torso. "Alright. He's good. We just need to get back to the others so the medics will fix him."

"Aye aye." Reed replied. Parker stood up and walked to the couch while placing his helmet on the table. He then pulled the couch and placed it at the door. Blocking it to prevent any unwanted visitors.

"We should do night shift if we're gonna stay here for the night," Reed suggest, "Those gun fires will probably alert more of them and they will come and search for us."

"You take some rest, Private," Parker replied as he sat comfortably on the couch, "I'm gonna do the night guard."

"Alone? Hell no, you're not doing it alone."

"That's not a suggestion, that's an order. You're my responsibility, Reed. All of you." He looked at the ponies. They seemed to be shocked at his statement. "It's my duty to keep you guys safe. To make sure you're going home in one piece. Even if it takes me a helluva lot blood and sweat to do so."

Reed just stared at him as he stared back. The private then let out a sigh and slumped against the wall. "Sometimes, I just wish you'd listen to me. You need rest Sarge."

"You know who I am." Parker chuckled lightly.

"At least you're still the Parker I know." Reed chuckled not long enough as it replaced by a frown. "You still owe me an explanation about this." He looked at the ponies.

"Ahh, yes," Parker said with a smile, "Private Cody Reed, meet these friends of mine." He pointed at them one by one while saying their names. "Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and that little dragon over there, is Spike."

They nod slightly at Reed, which was still confused. "They have names?" Which was replied by a single nod. "Well, pleasure to meet y'all, I'm Private First Class Cody Reed. You can call me Reed."

Just then, they heard a groaning sound. Parker looked at Wade, he was finally back to his consciousness. "Good to have you back, Corporal." He said with a chuckle.

"The fuck just happened?" Wade groaned, still laying on his stomach.

"You just passed out when you heard some horses could-" Reed was cut off by Twilight.

"Ponies."

"Right... sorry. You just passed out when you heard some ponies could talk." He continued.

"Animals can't talk." He said as he looked at his two comrades. "And damn you, ponies doesn't even exist." But then, his eyes fixed on the ponies that's sitting around me.

"Howdy partner." Applejack tipped her hat.

Wade blinked his eyes, then looked at his sergeant. "Am I hallucinating things or I'm dead. 'Cause I pretty much sure I got shot at-" He looked to his wound. "My ass..."

Parker sighed. "Alright. Ponies, let me introduce you with..." And just like that, they all blend with one another pretty fast. Wade still couldn't cope up but Rainbow managed to calm him down. The unfortunate soldier still thought that he was dreaming but a slap from Parker told him otherwise.

It wasn't long enough for them to talk until Parker eventually yawned. He closed his mouth with a hand and looked at the window. It was dark outside, probably seven in the evening; he searched for something that could tell him the time but there weren't any clocks in the room.

"Alright," He said, getting their attention, "I think we can call it a night."

Reed shrugged but quickly lay down on his back and closed his eyes while crossing his arms. "Wake me up if there are any Krauts."

"I will." Wade quickly joined Reed as he lay down while facing the wall. Wincing a bit at his pain.

Parker then looked at the ponies. All of them were trying to get into a comfortable position on the floor. It was rude of him for sitting on the couch all by himself, so he decided to join them on the floor. Placing his Thompson on his lap, he leaned against the wall.

"Would be better if the light's off." Reed suddenly said, which Parker obliged. He stood up and reached the oil lamp and then blew the fire off. The ponies let out a small whimper as the room suddenly went dark.

"Don't worry," he chuckled while walking back to his spot, "I'm here when you need me."

"Say what you want Sarge, you're gonna sleep anyway." Reed said sarcastically.

"Will you please just shut up and sleep already?"

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

With that, the room fell into another silence. A blissful one. It wasn't cold in the room, it was quite warm. So Parker didn't have to wrap the ponies with blanket or whatever he could find in the room to keep them warm. He slumped back against the wall, and it wasn't long enough before he heard snoring noises. All of them must've been asleep. Especially the soldiers. They're all tired after running from those Germans since morning. His thoughts then went back to the ponies. He's still curious about the ponies he just met. How the hell they would get back home? Are they his responsibility now? Are they gonna be here like... forever? So many thoughts ran through his mind. These ponies have no idea what they're dealing with. He could only hope that the ponies knew about war or have seen one. Even though from their expressions he could definitely tell that they haven't been, or seen one. He then thought about their way back to the camp. How would the other paratroopers thought about these newcomers. Most importantly, how would the General react to this. He shook his head in an attempt to put his thoughts away. He didn't want to think any of it for now.

The dark room only made his eyes heavier, not to mention the sound of peaceful crickets everywhere. But Parker convinced himself to not sleep, he must stay on his guard and hear anything suspicious outside. He was afraid those Krauts came back to slit their throats. Gladly, only the singing of crickets could be heard. It was almost felt like they're in a mountain. With no war, no fight, no worry. He just hope that-

"Umm... excuse me, Parker?" Yep, other than that, he could hear some shivering noises before. He looked at the source of the voice and saw two big purple adorable eyes staring at him. Albeit, sleepy.

"Yeah Twilight?" He asked calmly, not wanting to wake up the rest.

"I'm a little bit... cold..." She said with a yawn escaped from her mouth. Parker chuckled and put his weapon next to him.

"You can lay on my lap here if you want." He said with a gentle tone. He couldn't help but curious about what ponies actually felt like. She hesitantly walked closer to him, but then crawled up onto his lap and curled like a cat.

Damn, she's so adorable!

Get a grip idiot, she's a pony

He wrapped her in his arms. His body heat seemed to be working as she let out a sigh of delight and closed her eyes. Parker put a hand and stroke it gently to her mane. It was incredibly soft than he expected.

"Parker?" Twilight broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"What is this?" She asked while pointing a hoof to his weapon. Though, Parker could barely see through the dark but still, the full moon provided the room some more light.

"It's a gun."

"A gun?"

"Yep," He looked at her, those adorable purple eyes met his, "A gun, it's a weapon from which bullets or shell are fired through the metal tube." He pointed at the gun barrel. She looked at it while tilting her head.

"Why are you using this?"

Smart, yet curious pony she was. "If we're being honest, we used it to kill something."

She gasped and quickly turned her attention back to him. "Why would you kill something?"

"The simple answer is, we are at war, Twilight."

Parker surely could tell the expression Twilight had. Fear. She's looking at him as if he was going to hurt her. Bad. "War? You're killing your own species? I thought you're a good person."

"It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you." He hugged her close even more.

"But why do you want a war?" Her voice was slightly trembling.

"I don't," he replied, "Believe me Twilight, war isn't something that I want to see. I just did this because I had to do... and a part of me wants to see the world too. But this is what I get." Parker released the hug and looked at her straight in the eyes. "It seems like your world haven't fought in any war before?"

She shook her head. "No. Well... yes. But the war had over hundreds of years ago. We didn't have any war since then."

"So you didn't expect to see this coming."

Twilight shook her head again. "I'm... scared..."

Parker smiled warmly and put a hand under her chin. "Please... don't be afraid Twilight. I promise to keep you safe until you and your friends can find a way to get back home. No matter the risk is. If I had to die protecting you, then so be it. If that's the last thing I'm gonna do. I'll be always by your side when you're here. I'll protect you, and your friends."

She looked at him in disbelief. He guessed those fears have been washed away from her. "You promise?"

"I will prove it." Parker hugged her close again, which she returned. "So does that mean we're friends now, right?" He asked playfully.

She chuckled warmly. "I already see you that the first time we met." Then, a yawn escaped from her mouth. He released the hug and gently put her back on his lap.

"You should get some sleep. 'Cause tomorrow's gonna be a long day. And don't worry, I'll be here when you wake up."

Twilight chuckled again and rest her chin on his arm. He continued to stroke her mane until she fell asleep. Parker then looked at the rest of the ponies. They all seemed to be in the land of dreams. A peaceful one. They really didn't know what would happen. They haven't experienced war yet. How would they survive the hell he was in?

Guess it depends on me now, huh

I was wondering what will the General react to this shit

I did think about him treating them like a real animal

Mark my words, if he for real did that, lets shove our boots in his ass

I'll look forward to it

Parker remained silent while stroking Twilight's mane. With a low sigh, his mind went to his family. His sister, his brother, his mom and dad. Both his brother and dad served in the marines, invading Omaha Beach. Which he always pray and hoped for them to make it out alive. His mom and sister were alone in the house, waiting for their arrival. Parker would've written down a letter for them so they knew he's okay. He looked down to Twilight as something clicked in his mind.

She looks..

Just like her.. isn't she..

Very..

Parker looked up at the ceiling while letting out another sigh. "Father, even when things seem hopeless, we know that through You we are never without hope. We beg your intervention for a world on the constant brink of war. Beat the swords into plowshares and cause the lion to lie down with the lamb. May You bring peace to all lands. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen." Parker looked back down to Twilight. Her breathing was steady and a small smile plastered on her face. She seemed to be in a wonderful dream. He smiled, still stroking her soft mane.

"There's a lot of things that you need to know Twilight. I hope you and your friends are ready for those hell that will come."

Run

Parker jumped from his slumber but it felt like something was pressing him against the floor. He groaned while rubbing his eyes.

"The hell?" He slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a purple pony sleeping on his lap. "Oh yeah... it's her. Goodness sake I didn't wake her up. Jesus Christ, these nightmares are killing me." He groaned slightly before looking around the room and noticed that sunlight was coming from outside and through the window. "Damn it, must've fallen asleep."

"One of those nightmares again?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. Parker looked at the room and noticed Reed was leaning against the wall on the opposite side. "Must be a pain in the ass considering the face you're making."

"How long have you been up?"

Reed shrugged lightly. "Probably two hours or so. Couldn't sleep fucking yeah? And when I woke up, I saw you were already asleep with that pony on your lap." He pointed to Twilight. Parker realized that his hand was still resting on her mane. "Whatever you did, you did a damn great job on making her feel safe. Just look at that smile." Reed continued. Parker once again looked at her face and indeed, she was smiling. "Think you can handle 'em?"

The sergeant looked at Reed. He's looking at him with a worried look. "I don't even know. But I'm sure these folks are hungry."

"Horses eat hay right?"

"You sure are a farm boy. But these are ponies we're talking about."

"What's the difference?" Reed crossed his arms. "They look like horses to me. But smaller. And freaking colorful of course."

"Maybe they eat fruits too?" Parker then continued to stroke Twilight's mane.

"That would do too."

"Lucky for us then, we're on the edge of a forest. Might as well search for some food for them to eat."

"Wait, what about that dragon over there?" Reed pointed to Spike, who was sleeping peacefully with books as his bed.

Parker pondered for a moment before answering, "Sure as hell that little dude eats meat."

"He's small though-"

"I know."

"Alright." Reed shrugged. Placing his helmet on his head and grabbing his gun, he stood up. Parker was about to do the same but stopped when he realized he wasn't going anywhere with Twilight sleeping on his lap. It took a moment for Reed to notice and walk towards his sergeant. "You can stay here if you want. I can go by myself."

"You sure?" Parker couldn't be more worried.

"Of course. Just give me the orders." Reed smirked confidently.

Parker looked at him for a moment before speaking up, "Alright. Reed, I want you to go and look for some food we can eat while we're here."

"Will do, Sarge." With that, he moved the couch that was blocking the door and went outside. The room fell into another silence. Parker sighed and closed his eyes, trying to ease up his mind while listening to the birds chirping and singing.

Minutes passed and he then felt Twilight squirm a bit. He opened his eyes just as Twilight opened hers. They looked at each other for a moment before Twilight formed a smile on her face.

"Morning, Parker." She said, still a bit sleepy.

Parker smiled back and ran a hand through her mane. "Morning to you too, Twilight." She leaned into his palm while letting out a hum. He could only chuckle at her behaviour. "Sleep well?"

"It was great. Thanks for keeping me warm though."

Parker nodded. "My pleasure."

Wade slowly yawned while stretching out his back but then realized his wound as he winced again. "Shit!" He nearly screamed. "Fuck sake. I literally forgot I had that." He then lay on his stomach and turned his attention to Parker, who was already staring at him. "I swear to fucking God, Sarge, I'll slap your face with a cheese one day. How long have you been watching me."

"Who said I was watching you."

"You're doing it right now."

"You caught my attention."

"Whatever," Wade rolled his eyes, "So have you slept yet?"

"I fell asleep for a couple of hours." Parker replied.

"Figured."

Twilight chuckled slightly. "You don't have to stay up all night if you're tired."

Parker looked down at her. "Believe me, it's what I do. I mean, we do. But sometimes my eyes betrayed me."

Wade winced again at his sudden pain and Parker quickly looked at him. "Still hurt, isn't it?" He asked.

Wade shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing. I've been through worse than this, remember?"

Parker simply shook his head and let out a chuckle. "Hey, where's Reed?" Wade asked again while looking for the signs of the private.

"Oh, he's out looking for some food for these ponies to eat." Just as Parker said that, Twilight's stomach growled. He looked at her as she blushed in embarrassment and hid her face away from him. He laughed and ruffled her mane playfully. "Seems like someone is getting hungry."

She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I think I'm a little bit hungry."

"Don't worry. Reed is out looking for some food for you guys to eat. Say, you don't eat meat right?" She shook her head. "That's what I thought."

"Hey Sarge?" Wade asked, getting his attention.

"Yeah?"

"Are we taking these ponies back to base? I'm not sure how the whole division would react."

Instead of answering, Parker could only look at Wade, like he's searching for an answer on his face. He then leaned his head and looked up at the ceiling.

The hell am I doing

The hell are you doing? You're saving their lives, idiot. I wouldn't leave 'em behind if I were you

I know, but this is the whole fucking division we're talking about

If they didn't accept them then so be it, we'll come with the ponies

Are you out of your goddamn mind?

I am your fucking mind

"Parker?" Twilight snapped him out of his thoughts before looking at her. "You don't have to bring us there if you're not sure with the rest of your-"

Parker blinked at her words and quickly cut her off. "No. You're coming with me. Period. It's not like you have a place to stay. Heck, you don't even know this place. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you and your friends." She smiled and nodded.

"If that's okay with you. We'll come."

Parker smiled back and continued to stroke her mane. She leaned into his palm and let out a delightful sigh while closing her eyes. Soon, her friends woke up just in time when Reed suddenly burst through the door.

"Sarge! We got a situation!" He nearly shouted as he leaned on the door while panting. Twilight hopped off from Parker's lap as he quickly stood up.

"What's wrong?" Parker asked.

"The Krauts. They're coming. I don't know how many, maybe dozens of them. I don't know if they're looking for us or just passing by. But I'm damn sure they'll search this place. We need to get our asses out of here right now."

Parker nodded and ran to the table, placing his helmet on his head and quickly grabbed his gun.

"I don't have any asses anymore." Wade said in annoyance.

"I may have an idea for that." Parker said while looking at the door. Parker pulled Reed inside, earning a 'what the fuck' from his private as he closed the door. But then he kicked it with all of his might until the door knocked out from its place.

"What's happenin'?" Applejack asked as she and her friends watched Parker.

"We're getting outta here," Parker replied, "Reed, help Wade to lie down on this door. It should be strong enough to hold him."

"You're gonna drag me with that? Just like what you guys did to me with that trunk?" Wade asked as he reached Reed's hand. With a single nod from Parker, Reed helped Wade to lay down on the door. After helping Wade, Parker turned to the ponies while Reed prepared himself to drag Wade.

"It'll be better if you don't look back. When I say run, just run. Reed, think you can drag him alone?"

"Sure as hell Sarge."

"Alright, I'll take care of our backs. You ponies stay close behind Reed, okay. We're leaving now." With that, they walked away from the shack and onto a large field. Flowers could be seen for as far as the eye could see, trees were dancing gently here and there. The air was cooler than they thought. Apart from that, another forest could be seen in the distance.

Reed started to ask some questions about Equestria and Twilight happily answered all of it. Fluttershy couldn't stay away from Wade, the wound worried her too much. But Wade made sure it was all nothing and that she shouldn't be worried like that. While Reed was still questioning the land of Equestria, Parker noticed something on the far right. He stopped for a moment to take a good look. Silhouettes could be seen walking towards them. He was about to smile because the thought of other paratroopers would come to search for him came to his mind, but that wasn't going to happen as one of them shouted and pointed his weapon at them. It took a moment for Parker to realize that they were Germans.

FUCKING KRAUT BASTARDS!!

Parker immediately took the act. "Everyone! RUN!!" He yelled at the group. The group turned to face him but quickly crouched down when bullets flew and gun fires echoed from their right. Parker looked back to the Krauts and saw they were running towards them while firing their guns.

"SHIT!!" Reed shrieked as he looked at the ponies. "EVERYONE ON ME! LET'S GO!!" The ponies nod and quickly followed Reed who was struggling to run in front of them.

"DON'T LOOK BACK!!" Parker shouted while giving them cover fire. Bullets kept flying above them.

"POPPING SMOKE!!" Wade yelled as he reached for a smoke grenade and pulled the trigger. He then threw it which landed next to Parker.

"KEEP RUNNING!!" Parker yelled at the top of his lungs. He looked back slightly and saw a cloud of smoke which gave them some covering. But that didn't stop the Germans from shooting in any direction. Bullets kept bombarding them as they ran for their life. The Germans were chasing them with every power they had. Parker swore he even saw a halftrack with them. "RAINBOW, DON'T FLY!!" He shouted when he saw Rainbow hoover slightly above the ground.

"WHY?!"

"WE AIN'T DRAGGING YOUR CORPSE BACK TO THE BASE IF THE KRAUTS HAD EMPTIED THEIR MAGS TO YOUR BRAIN!!" Her eyes widened as Wade told her that. The thought of that made her want to puke. Throwing the thought off as far away as she could, Dash immediately did as he said and started to gallop along with her friends.

"SIR! ANOTHER FOREST!" Reed shouted while pointing a finger to their front, making his grip on Wade's temporary ambulance went unbalanced.

"JESUS FUCK, DUDE!!" Wade shrieked while holding the door for his dear life.

"JUST GO! JUST GO!" Parker shouted. Reed nodded and ran faster to the tree line. Parker turned around to fire some bullets in an attempt to make the Germans slow down. They immediately took cover behind the halftrack, who was shooting at them with its MG42; some tried to become one with the ground. Parker then continued to run just in time to see Twilight trip over a trunk.

"For fuck sake." He mumbled as he ran towards her. She let out a groan when he crouched down beside her. "Come on! We need to go!" Twilight was about to get up but kneel down back to the ground again.

"Ow... my leg hurts." She winced. Parker looked back to see the Germans were getting closer in each second. Desperate, he then strapped his gun around his shoulder and immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"It's okay. I got you." He said as he lifted her up and continued to run. She buried her muzzle on his chest while trembling in fear. Reed and Wade, along with the rest of the ponies were already inside the tree line and Reed was providing them some covering fire.

"Come on!" Parker said as he regrouped with the others. "We gotta keep running!" The ponies nodded vigorously as they ran deeper into the forest.

Second Impressions?

"Stop, stop, stop." Parker said while trying to catch his breath. Everyone too began to collapse while breathing heavily. Reed leaned against a tree after safely putting Wade with the door down. Parker crouched, still having Twilight in his grasp. She curled like a ball while shutting her eyes closed. "Twilight," Parker said to get her attention, "It's alright. We're safe now." He looked back and it was quiet.

Guess we lost 'em for now

Parker could feel that Twilight was still shaking in his grasp, so he decided to comfort her. "Shh... it's okay. We outrunned them way better than I thought." She let out a sigh as she looked up at him.

"We're safe?" Parker nodded with a smile. She then jumped off from his grasp and quickly trotted to her friends and gave them a group hug. It only lasted a minute until one of them spoke up.

"What the hay was that?" Rainbow asked as she let go off the group.

"Darling, could you explain it to us?" Rarity chimed in, "Be honest, I can't stand to be inside this forest anymore."

Parker pointed his index finger up, signaling them that he was still catching his breath. "They're... those were the Krauts."

"Krauts?" Spike tilted his head.

"Just what the hay is Krauts?" Applejack asked.

"Remember the humans that captured and locked you inside that shack?" Reed asked. All of them nod. "Well, that's the Krauts... or Germans as they were."

"Germans?" Twilight looked up at Parker.

"They still have a lot to learn." Reed continued as he walked over to his sergeant.

Parker sighed deeply. "This might take awhile." He then looked at the ponies, who were all wearing confused expressions. "We'll explain all of it once we get ourselves back to base. For now, we just gotta keep moving." He said while standing up.

Just then, a twig snapped, bringing their attention. Parker immediately took an aim with his weapon towards the direction he heard, as well as Reed. He stood next to Parker and in front of the ponies. Both of them had their breaths steady as they heard the sound of rustles getting closer behind a bush.

"Fuckin' hell." Wade mumbled as he watched his friends were gripping their weapons tightly. The bush then began to shake more violently as whoever it was or who it was behind it got closer.

"Can I fucking shoot already?" Reed asked.

"Hold your damn fire, Private." Parker answered.

What came next, made their hearts stop beating for a couple of seconds. There, revealed a dark blue horse, but with a horn and wings; and its hair flowing elegantly, as if breeze were brushing through it. Sparkles could be seen on it's hair, making the hair look like a beautiful clear night sky.

I swear the wind isn't strong enough here to make that hair like… THAT

It had the same height as Parker and Reed. Parker glanced at Reed, and could see that he was making a silent, 'the fuck'. What they didn't notice was that the horse smiled at them.

"Greetings." The smile remained on her face.

Definitely a female

She's like a fucking Goddess bro

I don't fucking know why, but your common sense always flew out of the damn window every time I needed you the most

"I ain't gonna ask you politely. Who the hell are you?" Parker asked, still aiming his weapon. He then realized that if this horse can talk, Twilight must've known something. Before she could answer, he cut her off. "Wait," he lowered his weapon, "You must be these ponies' friend right?" Parker and Reed step aside, to reveal the ponies that were standing behind them.

"Please tell us you are." Reed said. Before anyone could speak, Twilight suddenly rushed to her.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed as she quickly pulled her into a hug. Parker and Reed let out a relief sigh, knowing that these ponies were getting back home.

Figured

"Oh Twilight, we were so worried about you." The blue horse said, returning the hug. "We thought that you're in danger." The other ponies too begin to hug their Princess.

"I'm so glad you're here." Twilight said as she broke the hug.

The blue horse chuckled warmly. "As I too Twilight." Parker couldn't help but smile at the sight.

So they're going back huh

Too soon

To their world. Where no war even exist anymore

Home...

Yes pal... home...

Twilight trotted over to Parker and then stood next to him while looking at the blue horse. "Princess, I want to introduce you to some friends of mine." She looked up at him. "This is Daniel Parker."

Parker responded with a single nod. The Princess nodded back, still with a smile on her face.

"This is Cody Reed." Reed put his right hand on his left chest and gave her a slight bow.

Twilight continued on while pointing a hoof at Wade, who was resting on the door. "And that's Wade Charles."

Wade nodded and winced at the same time. The Princess seemed to notice his pain.

"My, what happened to you?" She looked at him with concern.

"It's fine." Wade replied calmly.

"It's a long story," Parker added, "Apologies for the inconvenience before Princess."

"None taken." Luna replied with a smile.

"So, what's your name, Princess?" Reed asked. A bit impatient as his mind went back to the Krauts that were chasing them.

"Oh how rude of me," she cleared her throat before speaking, "My name is Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria. Planet Equis."

"Told ya they were aliens." Reed whispered while nudging Parker's arm.

"They are living beings," he corrected him, "Just like us."

"From another world. I can't think of anything other than aliens, man." Parker could only stare into his soul, making the wounded soldier shut his mouth instantly.

"What are you doing here, Princess?" Rainbow asked.

"Why? To bring all of you back to Equestria, of course."

"Good," Reed chimed in, "Bring them home. I bet you're not gonna like this place."

Luna frowned suddenly and then looked at her ponies. "I'm afraid we can't… not just yet."

"What?" Reed asked, slightly surprised, "But you said you're taking them back home."

"Yes. But I believe it's because most of our magic doesn't work here," Luna began, turning her attention towards Reed, "It needs time."

"What'd ya mean by that?" Applejack asked.

"Magic doesn't work in this world, nor does it exist. It will take time for me to gain my magic so that I can open the portal to our world."

"Does Princess Celestia know about this?" Twilight asked.

Luna nodded. "Yes. My sister helped me to open the portal to this world. It should be easier if the two of us are here. But one must stay behind to control the balance of Equestria. So with decisions made, Celestia sent me to bring you back. And she knows, it will take time."

"How long will it take?" Parker asked. Not wanting to stay here any longer than they should.

"We don't really know." Luna replied. She looked at her ponies with a worried look.

"Oh fuck this shit." Parker could hear Reed mumbling under his breath.

Parker sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn't what he expected it to be. He thought of any alternatives but he knew it was pointless. Their world didn't have magic to help them go back home. The ponies continued to talk while Parker headed back to Wade. Crouching beside his wounded comrade, he smiled bitterly.

"Guess we'll be taking care of them for now."

"It won't be much of a problem Sarge," Wade answered, trying to keep his spirit up, "I must say, they're lucky to have us. I don't know what would happen to them if they were found by other paratroopers." Wade chuckled a bit. "Guess we're the only ones who believed in aliens."

"They're not aliens though," Parker looked at the ponies, still talking about their things, "They have the same mind like us. They can communicate like us. They have emotions like us. And I bet they have families... like us..."

"Damn right you are." Reed chimed, resting his back against a tree. "They're one of us now."

"Well," Parker began. All of the ponies turned their heads to him. "Guess there's only one choice."

"Are you guys going to face those Krauts again?" Rainbow asked with a slightly annoyed tone while raising an eyebrow.

"We fight them every fucking day, Dash. Now, you guys are gonna-" He was cut off when he suddenly heard a voice coming from his right. He turned his head to see a German soldier walking silently while turning his head from left to right. "Get down." Parker whispered as he crouched down, the others quickly followed his lead.

"What? What's happening?" Rarity asked frantically.

"Keep quiet." Parker replied as he adjusted his weapon. Slowly, he made a hole through the bush so he could see the other side of it, just to see the soldier was walking towards them. His eyes widened and quickly concealed himself again. "Shit, there's a Kraut."

"They won't give up that easily." Reed said.

"What is going on?" Luna asked firmly, trying to process what these humans were up to.

"Just keep your mouth shut." Was the only reply she got from Parker. He slowly peeked his head once again and saw the German was already standing right in front of the bush while showing his back to him. Parker smiled at his opportunity.

What an unfortunate bastard

Parker put down his weapon slowly and proceeded to pull out his bayonet. The ponies looked with horror at the bayonet Parker was holding tightly.

"Human?" Luna asked while looking at Parker's weapon, "What are you going to do?"

Parker didn't answer her. He took a deep breath before attacking his enemy with a quick movement. He cupped his hand on the soldier's mouth and stabbed him three times on his chest. Making sure the German soldier was no longer breathing, he carefully dragged the dead trooper back to the bush and laid him down in front of everyone. Pulling out his bayonet, blood came out from the Kraut's stab wound and mouth. He cleaned his weapon on his sleeve before placing it back. Grabbing his gun, he stood up; but it wasn't over. Another German soldier already pointed his gun at him. He swore he didn't see any Krauts before when he killed that guy behind him. Parker didn't move, he just looked at the barrel of the Kar98K and then the Kraut himself.

"Parker?" Twilight asked loud enough and a bit stammered.

"Don't. Move." Parker replied sternly.

Parker slowly walked out of the bush while raising a hand. The Kraut signaled him to lower his weapon. Parker was hesitant at first but he knew he had no other option. One wrong move and he would be dead. He then slowly dropped his Thompson and raised his other hand. The German didn't seem to be satisfied as he approached the weapon and kicked it away with his feet before backing away again, gun still pointing at Parker. A sudden crack on Parker's right caught both of their attention. They both looked to the source of the sound, only to find Reed was crouching while looking at the Kraut in disbelief and fear; his bayonet on his grip. He knew he fucked up as well. It all happened too fast as the Kraut turned around to shoot Reed on his helmet in just a second, causing the private to fall backwards.

"NO!!" Parker yelled as he lunged himself to the Kraut.

Grabbing the torso of his enemy, Parker pushed him with all of his might until they hit a tree. Parker threw the weapon aside as he began endlessly punching his enemy on his face, chest, and torso. The Kraut didn't fight back as he was pinned down by Parker's punches everywhere; all the while he was cursing to the Kraut and his country. With fire still burning wildly inside, Parker pulled out his bayonet and stabbed his enemy right on his neck. He pulled it out, and then stabbed him on his stomach and twisted it. The Kraut could only open his mouth to scream but no voice came out as he slowly closed his eyes. Parker let the Kraut slide down to the ground, blood stained his hands. Parker stood there for a moment to calm himself down.

"You're pretty brutal there." Reed suddenly said behind him.

Parker jumped from his thoughts and turned around. Reed was smiling at him innocently. "What? I thought you're fucking dead?"

Reed shrugged. "Thought I was. But who knows this piece of trash could be a lifesaver." He showed his sergeant the scratch where the bullet just bounced.

Parker couldn't help himself to laugh. "Idiot."

"I always am."

Parker pulled out his bayonet from the Kraut before cleaning it and put it back. He then dragged the corpse back to the bush and piled it with the other one he just killed. After getting his Thompson back, he walked back to the ponies and noticed they were looking at him. He could definitely see the emotions from their eyes. Fear, horror, shock, disbelief and disgust all gather in one.

"You-" Luna stammered, "You just- killed them?"

"You killed other humans?!" Fluttershy exclaimed and started to sob, making Rainbow put a hoof around her shoulder while glaring at Parker, who stood still looking back at them.

"How could you?!" Rarity shrieked, "I thought you're a good stallion!"

"Keep your damn voices low," Parker said as he crouched down, not wanting to get his ass fucked up again by the Germans any time soon, "And if I didn't kill him, he'll kill us."

"Beg pardon? What the hay was that for?! He didn't try ta kill us! He didn't even do anythin' wrong!" Applejack nearly lost her temper as she was ready to kick Parker for miles away.

She's stupid enough to not notice that Kraut shot Reed before

He's out of their sight, I doubt they saw it

That doesn't explain how they didn't hear the gunshot

They're just idiots then

"He didn't do shit? Are you fucking blind? Didn't you see what he did to Reed? He nearly fucking died." Parker said, making the ponies flinch slightly at his tone, "We're in the middle of a goddamn war here. He hasn't done anything yet to you. But for me..." He looked at the dead soldiers in front of him. "He must've killed at least a dozen people out there. Heck, some of them must be our friends."

"Wait. War?" Rainbow asked, still trying to calm the yellow pegasus. Parker turned his head to see her straight in the eye.

"Yes, Rainbow. We're in a war. Where humans kill other humans." Wade said. The ponies gasped at his statement.

"Why do you want a war?" Spike asked uncomfortably.

Parker sighed. "I don't. Listen, we'll talk about this after we arrive at our base. For now, let's just keep going." He stood up before looking at Reed. "You still wanna drag his ass or want me to replace you?" He asked.

"I'm fine Sarge." Reed gave him a nod.

"Alright, stay on the front. We don't have much time before those bastards get on our tail." Reed nodded and shouldered his weapon before dragging Wade again. Parker turned around and saw the ponies were still sitting there, not moving. "Coming?"

"How could we trust you," Luna firmly said, "After what you did to that poor soul, you are just a monster. There is no way we'll be safe in your hoof."

Brain dead

Parker sighed once more. "Hands. And listen, in war, everyone is a fucking monster. We just fight because our lives are threatened. Our families are in danger. Yes, you can call me as a monster, demon or whatever the fuck you want. But we do this so they won't step a damn foot to our homeland and slaughter more than we could ever imagine. We stand for what's right. Defend ourselves from what's wrong. We never wanted a war, but when we faced the reality that the world is in danger, we must put a stop to whatever shit that's threatening our world. Whether by capturing them, or killing them."

"But why war?" Twilight asked, "Isn't there any other way to do it? What about the power of friendship to make the evil forces change their minds?"

"Do you really expect a cold blooded murderer would easily accept that?" The ponies didn't respond. "A maniac out there is trying to show the world what he's capable of by occupying another country. Slaughter anyone that stands on his way. It's true that fire can't be beaten up by fire. But sometimes, we just gotta stomp it many times before it gets any bigger." He then stood up. "Now it's either them, or us. Make up your mind."

He walked away to catch up with his squad, leaving the baffled ponies behind. The ponies however, were still trying to process his words and their actions. Luna thought it was best for them to not follow him but Twilight and her friends knew more about how the Germans treated them. Unlike Parker, the Germans were very harsh.

"Twilight." Luna began.

"Yes, Princess?" The alicorn in question looked up to see her.

"Are you sure he is safe? For us?"

Twilight looked back at Parker, who was still walking away from them. She didn't know what would happen if Parker wasn't there to save them. She wouldn't make it this far if it wasn't because of those paratroopers. But was it all just her luck? Coincidence? Or was it because they were being protected? Twilight pondered for a moment before finally made up her mind. "Yes," she said and stood up, "I'm sure we'll be safe around him."

"But he just killed his own species," Spike said as he looked at the dead human, "What makes you think that he's friendly?"

"Spike, didn't you see them before?" Rainbow said, earning the little dragon's attention, "How nice he and his friends were to us compared to those Germans he mentioned?" She looked at the two dead Germans behind her, shivering at the sight. "I mean, yes, I never thought he would be like that but he had a point though." Rainbow said.

"Ah agree with Dash and Twi," Applejack chimed in, "Best of us if we just stick around with 'em for awhile 'til the Princess could bring us back home. But if they tried to lay their dirty hooves on us Ah'll buck 'em to the next county."

"Fluttershy? What about you?" Twilight asked the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy response was only a nod.

"Spike?"

Spike fidget his claws for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, I think so too." He finally agreed.

"Rarity?"

"We certainly have no other option, dear."

"Pink-"

"Yes!" Pinkie exclaimed while bouncing on her spot. The Princess of the Night looked at them before nodding.

"All right," Luna made up her mind as well, "But we must be cautious with them. We don't know anything about this world, or whatever they are hiding from us."

As they walked deeper into the forest, Parker realized the sun was just above them. They all walked in complete silence. None of the ponies dared to speak, and so did the paratroopers as they listened carefully. The wind whistling through the trees was the only sound they heard as the paratroopers were cautiously looking around their surroundings.

"Hey Sarge!" Reed said as he stopped, followed by the group.

"What is it?" Parker replied from the back.

"Guess we're lucky enough." He simply said while looking to their front. Parker took a brief look and saw a road not far enough. He smiled while sighing.

"Yeah, we're not fubar after all." They continued to walk onto the road. As they managed to get a good view of the road, Wade's eyes widened while smiling from ear to ear.

"Sarge? I think this is the road that leads us to the base." He said while looking from left to right.

"Are you drunk?" Reed asked, a bit unsure of his statement. Ignoring the shit out of his friend's question, Wade pointed to a single tree that was taller than the others.

"I recognise that one, and yeah. It's on the left side of the street if we're heading out. Now it's on our right."

"You better be right or you owe me some French chicks." Parker said with the shitiest grin ever. The others soon followed as they continued to walk down the road. "Stay sharp guys."

After the long and silent walk, they eventually arrived at the place they had been searching for. Base. Parker let out a sigh of relief as he saw the post coming into view. Two soldiers were standing with weapons in their hands while laughing with each other. As they saw them, Parker could see their expressions changed.

"Hold it right there!" One of the soldiers shrieked as he pointed his weapon at them. The ponies took a step back, not knowing what was going to happen.

"Don't shoot! We're friendly!" Reed shouted as Parker waved his hands to the soldiers while slowly making his way to the front of the group. The soldiers recognized him though.

"Sergeant Parker?" One of them asked, slowly lowering his weapon.

"Yeah, it's me." Parker replied. The two soldiers then quickly walked towards them.

"Holy shit. So the news was right all along, you did went missing... for a while." One of them chuckled.

"Yeah, me and my men got fucked from those artillery barrage they sent to us. It was all hell." Parker looked over to the other soldier and noticed his mouth was hanging. "Uhh, dude? You alright?" The soldier in question slowly raised his finger and pointed it behind Parker. The sergeant turned around and saw that he was pointing towards the ponies. "It's okay. They're friends of mine. I need to see Lieutenant Blake immediately. You know where he is?"

"What are those?" He asked, still trying to process what was happening.

"Hey, I'm asking you, Private. Where is Lieutenant Blake?" Parker asked once more. The soldier blinked twice before looking at him.

"He's back in the Battalion CP... and I guess the Commanding Officer from the 501st is there too." He finally responded. Parker nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks buddy. Oh yeah, he needs to be patched up." He said as he looked over at Wade. "He's got two holes in his ass now."

The soldiers nodded as they carefully take Reed's position and bring him to the aid station. Reed walked past Parker while whispering, "We should be going. These soldiers are freaking me out." Parker looked around and noticed that the other soldiers were watching them. Mainly at the ponies.

Parker shook his head before looking at them. "What are you looking at?!" That seemed to catch their attention as they continued on with their things. He looked back at the ponies and gestured to them to follow. "Come on, we need to find a friend."

"Are you sure about this?" Luna asked nervously.

"Listen, you trust me or not?" Parker simply asked. There it was. One simple word, yet hard to decide. What she and her ponies had witnessed out there was more than enough. This world was at war and everyone in it was trying to kill one another. All they could see were humans killing each other with no mercy. But like Parker said. They were standing for what's right. They were defending themselves from a certain cold blooded murderer whose trying, and surely, wanting to conquer the world to become their slaves. Just like Equestria against King Sombra and Discord. But they didn't shed a single blood. Not just yet. But how could she be so sure when she didn't even know what was happening. She didn't even know this world, what conflict it has, and which side was good or bad. Parker looked around, his uneasiness grew as he saw other paratroopers were staring at them.

"Hello? Earth to Equestria?" He asked once more, waving his hand in front of the Night Princess. Luna blinked once, twice, then looked at him for a moment before nodding. Parker still saw the hesitation in her answer but he took it as a yes nonetheless.

"Stay close." He simply said before turning around and started to walk.

"You better be right." Rainbow said next to Luna.

Parker and Reed took the lead as they continued their way to the Battalion CP. Along the way, the soldiers that were doing their things suddenly stopped as they saw the two paratroopers with the ponies on their backs. They had their eyes fixed on them and talked to each other while looking at them.

Parker looked back from his shoulder to look at the ponies. "Stay calm, okay. I'll be here when you need me." Twilight closed her gap with him as she nervously walked.

"Alright. Here we are." Parker said while looking at the medium sized tent. "Stay here, when I call you guys, I want you to go in one by one okay?" He said to the ponies and Reed. They nodded in unison. Parker gave them his nod before opening the curtain of the tent.

"Lieutenant?" He called out and saw Blake was standing in front of the table, explaining some strategies and important objectives to be captured in the next fight. Three soldiers sat around the table, but Parker recognized one of them as Lieutenant Ronald Speirs, one of the commanding officers from the 506th.

"Sergeant Parker?" Blake turned his attention to the sergeant. The others around the table did so too.

"Awaiting orders, Sir." Parker chuckled.

"Damn it Sergeant, thought you were dead." He shook his head while placing his hands on his hips.

"Pretty much," Parker shrugged, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"All good pal," the Lieutenant replied calmly, "How did you survive out there? Many soldiers thought that you were dead. I thought the Krauts already treated you like an animal."

"It's a long story, Sir."

Lieutenant Blake gave him a single nod. "Alright. So, what brings you here?"

"If you don't mind Sir, I would like to ask for some help." He nodded again with a smile. Parker smiled back. "You see, I just want to introduce you to some of my new friends. And they desperately need our help."

"And who may that be." Blake crossed his arms.

Parker gave him a serious and concerned look. "Just don't freak out, Sir. Reed, bring them in." He ordered. Luna walked in first, followed by Twilight and the others, and the last was Reed. The soldiers in the tent had dumbfounded faces as they saw their new company. Except for Lieutenant Speirs.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked, still keeping his cool.

"Gentlemen," Parker began, "Let me introduce you to the ponies I've just met. This is Princess Luna."

"Greetings." She said a bit nervous. The soldiers that were sitting immediately stood up and took a step back. Blake was crossing his arms but the look on his face made it clear that the ponies nearly gave him a heart attack. Lieutenant Speirs however, still sitting on his chair with his stone face looking right at them.

"I must be dreaming." Blake said.

"You're not, Lieutenant." Speirs corrected him, his coolness began to collapse.

"Listen," Parker started to explain, "They're not from this world. And I would like your help to let them stay here until they manage to find their way back home."

"How long?" Blake asked after regaining his senses.

"I'm not sure how long," Parker replied, "But it will take time."

Blake, having enough of the situation, slammed both hands on the table. "What the hell are you thinking Sergeant?! You just let these aliens to stay here and eat all of our goddamn supplies?! Even our food isn't enough for all of the soldiers!"

The ponies were taken aback by the sudden burst as they took a few steps back; and their ears flattened against their heads as they heard the word 'alien'. Reed immediately stood in front of them. Parker flinched a little but remained still on his position, narrowing his eyes at Blake. "They have names, Lieutenant." He growled.

"I don't give a damn care!" Blake retorted. "We can't just-"

"Dammit Blake, these are civilians we're talking about!" Parker nearly shouted. However, his patience was no more when Blake shouted back.

"DUTY! FIRST! SERGEANT!!"

"THEY ARE LIVING BEINGS TOO!! JUST LIKE US!!" Parker yelled at the top of his lungs, slamming his hands on the table harder than Blake while looking straight into Blake's eyes, piercing through his soul. Parker's hands were shaking slightly but he didn't care. The other soldiers could just watch the scenery unfold before them in silence. Fluttershy immediately hid behind Rainbow, shivering in fear while looking at both the Sergeant and the Lieutenant. Blake was about to make up another argument when Parker cut him off. "They need shelter, Lieutenant. They need food, water, everything to keep them alive." Parker paused for a moment to settle down, never taking his eyes off of Blake's. "They're my responsibility. I found them in the first place and they're scared shitless. They just got captured by the Nazis." Parker put both of his hands back on his sides. "Where the fuck is your humanity? We can't just abandon people out there. Especially when they're not from our world. They know nothing. If they got caught by the Nazis, they're probably ended up in a lab, being experimented, killed, or being used against us. It's not that I want to use them against the Krauts. No. They're guests we have to protect. They know nothing about this war and I don't want to take any advantage of it. Using them as a weapon of war is wrong in any way. They just want to go home Sir." His anger slowly dissipated. "And before the time comes, they just need someone to protect them from this dark, horrid hell hole."

Blake didn't say anything as he remained still in his position. Arms crossed, eyes fixated at the Sergeant across the table. Heavy silence filled the air as Parker waited patiently for an answer.

"I'm sorry," Lieutenant Speirs broke the silence, causing the others to look at him, "But what do you mean, 'used them'? Do they have special abilities or strength to be in a war?"

Twilight's mind slowly filled with unimaginable scenes she never wanted to think of. War. "They have magical abilities Sir," Parker answered, "They-"

"We can levitate things, teleport from one place to another, and have the strength to rival even the finest soldier you have." Everyone, even the ponies turned their attention to the answer coming from the Princess of the Night. Eyes filled with determination as she stepped forward next to Parker. She then looked at Blake, who was dumbfounded at the answer he just received. "You may think of us as nothing more than a burden, Lieutenant. But we wish no harm to your fellow soldiers. We are only here because of what Sergeant Parker told us about the war you fight. Standing for what's right and fighting those who believe they can conquer the world. If you accept us to be a part of your side, I certainly have no doubt with helping you in any way possible."

Parker looked at Luna with shock. Twilight and her friends had the same expression plastered on their faces. Reed just facepalmed himself this time.

"Oh boy." He muttered softly.

Blake stood there, absorbing her words and processing it in his brain. Luna remained still on her ground, waiting for an answer. Parker waited as well. For what felt like hours, Blake let out a sigh before speaking, "You sure are interesting, Princess." A smile slowly made its way on his lips. "I can't say that we can provide a good shelter for you and your hors-... ponies. But I can say that you can help us by any means possible." Twilight and her friends sighed in relief after hearing the answer. Only to stop when Blake spoke up. "But, under one condition."

"What it might be." Luna asked, relief washed her face as she knew they were being accepted.

"Stay close to Parker and his squad," Blake answered, "He has the full responsibility for taking care of you." He turned his attention to Blake. "And I know he's more than capable of doing it."

It took a moment for Parker to nod. "Aye Sir. Leave it to me."

Once again, Blake turned his attention back to Luna. "But I have to warn you. We're moving every single day. We're marching into the war. Like it or not, you and your ponies will be in the line of fire. But that doesn't mean that you have to go and fight. Leave it to the soldiers on the frontline. As for you and your ponies, you can stay on the back of the line. Whether you want to help or not, it's your choice." Blake nodded to Luna. Luna smiled and nodded back.

"Welcome to the army." With that said, Blake signaled the soldiers who were still standing to take their seats once more. "You are dismissed, Sergeant. You can take your ponies back to your place." He then started to explain the strategies again.

Parker looked at Luna and was greeted by her smile. Parker himself couldn't hold the smile as he saw that smile coming from the dark blue alicorn princess. Looking back at Reed, nodding as he did, Reed slowly led the ponies out of the tent. Parker turned back and was about to walk out when Blake's voice stopped him.

"Sergeant." Parker turned around once more. Blake nodded. "I'm counting this on you."

Parker's only response was a nod, following a smile before he walked outside. Reed and the ponies noticed him coming. Parker sighed as he took off his helmet.

"Well, that was... something." Reed said while chuckling.

"Hehe, yeah..." Parker replied, "I didn't expect to fight Blake though."

"Thank you." Luna finally spoke.

"Excuse me?" Parker asked, putting his helmet back on. He noticed that Twilight and her friends were still pondering in their own thoughts. Their expressions told him they're not okay. He was about to reach out to them before Luna's voice interrupted again.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For your help."

Parker chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, no need to thank me. Like I said, y'all are going back home in one piece. And most importantly, together."

"So what are we gonna do now?" Reed asked. Parker looked at him with a smile on his face, completely forgot what he was about to do before, then back to the ponies.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to Earth."

Author's Note

Sorry for the very long progress about this story. Real life has been hitting me hard but I'm sure with my spare time here and there, I'm still continuing the story until it ends. So stay tuned!

One Way or Another

Author's Note

I'm sorry for the late progress. Real life do hits me hard now. But don't worry, the others will be out soon too!!

One Way or Another

"And what's that picture thing on your butt?" Reed asked out of his curiosity.

After having a quick tour around the base — officially led by Parker — the group finally rested next to an M4 Sherman tank since there were no spots left for them to rest on. Then again, being as polite as they could, Reed borrowed a simple bench from nowhere for the ponies to sit on before he rested himself next to Parker. The ponies sat on the bench as comfortable as they could, all except Rainbow and Spike. Both of them were too distracted by the tank in front of them. Rainbow curiously flew here and there, examining each part of the tank. Spike however, casually sat on the main gun of the Sherman. His legs danced back and forth as he admired the dark green beast.

"Oh, on our flank," Twilight corrected, "And this is our cutie mark."

"Cutie mark?" Parker crossed his arms with his back rested against the tank while leaning his head a bit for Twilight's explanation.

Twilight nodded her head. "Cutie marks are a symbol of our talent and they are obtained when ponies discover a unique characteristic that sets themselves apart from others. It often represents the true meaning of ourselves."

Reed made a silent 'o' with his mouth while Parker slowly processed her words. "So basically," he started, "Cutie marks represent something about yourself that you are both very skilled at and really like to do." The ponies nod in unison.

"Like Princess Luna here," Twilight began as she moved a bit slightly to reveal Luna's cutie mark, "She's the Princess of the Night. Meaning she controls the night in our world as she raises and lowers the moon. Not only that, making sure that none of the ponies are having a nightmare is part of her duty too."

"Whoa hold that thought," Reed said, "Did you just say that Princess Luna can control the moon? Like, the big ass chunk of rock in the night sky itself?"

Pinkie suddenly appeared in his vision, making the Private reeled back a bit. "Of course she can, silly. She's the Princess of the Night after all. Princess Celestia, her sister and our ruler too, the Princess of the Sun. Therefore, she controls the Sun because the Sun can't go on itself without magic unlike your world here and-"

"Okay, I get it!" Reed said as he pulled Pinkie into a hug, her back on his stomach. "I swear you ponies are adorable in some ways. But really though, controlling the goddamn moon? Feels like a fucking God."

Luna smirked at his reaction. "I certainly have no doubt of doing so in here. But apparently magic doesn't exist in your world, so I believe it is not possible to control with even a combined magic of two alicorns."

"But what do you mean by the nightmare part?" Parker asked.

"I can enter the dream world to aid their nightmares," Luna answered, "To change the nightmare to a better dream so they will have a good night rest for the following day."

Reed let out a sigh with a slight chuckle. "Your world doesn't make any sense." Parker gave him a look that could melt his spine.

"We could say the same to your world," Rainbow hovered herself next to Reed, "I mean, seriously? No magic? How can you guys manage to do stuff without it?"

"Well, we may don't live with magic; nor can we fly or do anything extraordinary naturally," Parker said, "But, I guess not having such special natural gifts is what makes us so advanced. We don’t have that luxury, so we strive to do better and adapt, to become great at something or everything, and build and create things that allow us to do the seemingly impossible."

"Like this thing right here!" Spike exclaimed while patting the gun of the tank.

"Though, what is that thing dear?" Rarity asked curiously.

"This baby?" Parker said as he patted the side of the tank twice. "It's called a tank. Specifically an M4 Sherman. The one that Spike is sitting on is the main gun. Its 75 mm gun can wipe out mobs of soldiers, destroy parts of buildings, even other tanks." Spike looked down at the main gun, making a silent 'o' while Parker continued to explain. "This beast is a medium tank, and the armor of our side which helps us through almost every offensive to open the path for our allies. And boy, we got thousands of 'em. The Krauts have the tougher one though and it's called the Tiger tank. But with them outnumbered by us, I believe we can easily kick their asses back to the Reign."

"So it's a war machine?" Applejack simply asked.

"One hundred points to Applejack."

The ponies were about to ask more but they were interrupted by the unnatural noise coming from the sky. It was a strange, droning noise. All of them turned their heads to the sky behind them, the paratroopers followed their direction. The noise echoed louder and louder until it changed into a roar. Just then, three flying aircraft swung into view from behind the tree lines. The ponies stared in shock and awe as the flying machines flew past them. The paratroopers just watched with smirks on their faces as the planes flew by and disappeared from their sight.

Rainbow was the first one who broke the silence. "What are those?" Her jaw dropped slightly.

"Did I mention those flying machines before?" Parker stupidly asked.

The ponies shook their heads slowly. Parker could only chuckle at their reactions. "Well, basically they are planes. Those are P-47 Thunderbolts. They're specifically called fighters. Means they can fly with high acceleration and agile maneuverability. Typically the plane was used as a heavily armed fighter, carrying more or less eight 50 caliber machine guns. However, it could be fitted with a considerable bomb-load, meaning it could be use as a tactical fighter-bomber. They also can be used as reconnaissance and to escort our bombers."

"Bombers?" Spike asked.

It was Reed's turn to speak. "It's a big ass plane. They're really slow as fuck, unlike those fighters before. You just have to store shit tons of bombs in it before flying to the enemy's strategic cities or coordinated targets and give 'em hell." The ponies seemed to be processing his words. But Reed wanted them to learn on their own. "You'll know it once you see it."

"Umm, Parker?" Fluttershy asked quietly but managed to be heard by the Sergeant.

Turning his head to her, Parker replied, "Yes Fluttershy?"

"If you don't mind me asking… umm… do we have to be in the… you know…"

"Frontline?" Reed finished her sentence. Which elicited a slight whimper and a nod from the yellow pegasus.

"Y-yes…" She stammered.

Parker sighed as he pondered in his own thoughts. He couldn't risk the lives of the ponies and Spike to be in the line of fire. Then again, Blake said these ponies have to stay close with him. He had a point though, Parker doubt anyone else other than him would take good care of them. They only focused on one thing, that is to end the war before Christmas. He knew better that the others could care less about extraterrestrial beings. But bringing them into the line of fire? That was something that Parker didn't like to think about. These ponies have absolutely no idea how cruel and bloody it would be. All except Luna. The image of her being a Princess must at least know a thing or two about war. Or maybe more. But if the ponies didn't come with him, what would happen to them? Of course he knew they didn't trust him and the army completely but at least they needed some familiar faces to keep them feel safe. Keeping them believing that the paratroopers wanted nothing more than their safety. If they stay back, who knows they might go and wander around without telling them and end up in the hands of the enemy and use them against the Allies. Wait.

Use them against the Allies?

Parker thought even harder as some things crossed his mind.

Are we using them?

Now you're just a big FUCKING IDIOT. Bringing them to the frontline doesn't mean we're using them you douche

But they're not from here

God definitely screwed up a bit when He made me for you. Maybe even sleepy

And I don't even know why you bother

We're protecting them and we all fucking know who's the cold blooded murderer here. I really wanna rip his mustache and put it as one of my medals on my uniform

You have a uniform?

That doesn't matter. The point is, Hitler is a maniac. And we're the good guys

They don't know that

Then make them earn our trust. Proof them that we want nothing more than to help them

How?

Only one way to find out and you know it

There's always more than-

You know it's one way or another you half chewed pencil

Parker blinked his eyes several times. He's definitely gonna go crazy with his brain. Taking a deep breath, Parker asked the question, "Are you guys ready?"

The ponies stared at him rather unexpectedly and mostly fear. Parker let them have their time to think about the answer when a familiar voice called out.

"Well I'll be darned. Never thought I will be seeing you here again, Sarge."

Parker turned his head around and sure enough he wasn't hallucinating things. Two paratroopers walked towards him which he knew very well. The two walked to him with smile of relief on their faces, as did Parker.

"Guess who's back from the dead." Parker said as he pulled Glenn to a hug while patting his back multiple times. He then did the same to Andrew.

Both Glenn and Andrew were with them when they were doing reconnaissance. How were they still alive and well, Parker wouldn't have to know; nor did he care. He was just glad that some of his squad were safe. Though, it didn't help once he realized that he wasn't there to help them. Instead of making sure that his squad were okay, he — along with Reed and Wade — fled from the bombardment zone to save their lives.

"And there we thought that you were dead." Andrew retorted as he ended the hug.

"And here we are, holding our grudges to not kick you right on your ass." Glenn said with a smirk but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice which everyone could clearly hear.

Parker realized what he meant as his relief smile turned into a sad and mournful one. Still managing to smile, he said, "Yeah, sorry about leaving you. I really thought y'all didn't make it out from that hell hole. I was lucky enough to find Wade and Reed are still-"

"Hey ass licker." The ponies flinched from the vulgar language as they turned their eyes to the voice. The paratroopers did the same. "We were dead already when those Krauts dropped their shit ton of payload onto us, alright?" Reed put Pinkie down before he walked towards Glenn until his face was inches away from Glenn's. The ponies could feel the tension rise.

"Talk like that to the Sergeant again. Or I'm gonna have to put my feet in the place where it isn't supposed to be."

"Knock it off, Reed," Parker barked, shooting a glare at Reed, "We don't want the ponies to see us like the bad guys." That caught Luna's attention.

"Oh, I'd like to see you try." Glenn smirked even more.

"Quit your ass for fucks sake, Glenn," Andrew said as he gave Glenn an annoying look, "Is that your first fucking impression when we found out they're alive? And especially in front of our guests?" Glenn looked at his fellow survivor before surrendering himself. Giving a glare that Glenn swore it could melt his weapon, Reed walked back to his place. Leaning against the tank, he crossed his arms. The ponies were uncomfortably quiet all the time. Even Rainbow Dash had landed next to Reed.

"You sure don't like that guy, huh?" Rainbow asked quietly.

Reed shrugged. "You'll get used to it, Rainbow. It takes one asshole to know the others." Rainbow suppressed a giggle.

"Dash." Rainbow corrected.

"Gotcha." Reed smiled genuinely, looking her way.

Andrew shook his head with a sigh. "Anyways, we were all scattered after that ambush, of course we doubt that the rest of us are still alive."

"Hold that thought," Glenn cut them, "So, those are the ponies everyone's talking about?" He looked behind Parker.

"They are." Parker said before turning around. He motioned Andrew and Glenn to follow him. "Gentlemen, I'd like you to introduce the ponies that visited our world."

"Visited?" Andrew asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Supposed to be," Twilight smiled sheepishly, "We weren't planning on staying here for a quite long time but your world tells otherwise."

"That can be explained later." Andrew said, not wanting to process any of the things they had been through. Not in his state of mind begging him for a rest. "I'm Andrew. This is Glenn, the unending bastard." Glenn shot a glance at Andrew before nodding with a smile.

"Twilight Sparkle," Twilight replied, "You can call me Twilight. These are my friends." She gestured to the rest of the ponies. "Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Princess Luna, and Rainbow Dash." Before Andrew could respond, something clicked in her mind. "Oh, and there's Spike over… there…" Her voice trailed off as she saw Spike inspecting the .50 caliber machine gun the Sherman tank had on top of its turret.

"Spike?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows, "What are you doing?"

"Parker, what is this?" He asked curiously.

Everyone turned their attention to the little dragon, curiously inspecting the machine gun. His claw, though, made its naughty way to the trigger. Parker's eyes widened as the purple little dragon slowly — very slowly — pulled the trigger.

"Spike, NO!!!" He called out.

Reed could only turn his head around and stare at the sight. "Son of a-"

Three shots were fired before Spike jumped from the loud noise of the machine gun. His right leg slipped off from the tank as he lose his balance. And fell. Rainbow Dash, though, was directly below him. Spike closed his eyes as Rainbow was getting closer and closer. Meanwhile, Rainbow braced herself from the impact and to catch Spike as well. Except it never came. Spike could feel two hands wrapped around his barrel before slowly opening his eyes. Reed had caught him before he could land on Rainbow's back. The ponies had their breaths held after the shots were fired, but released it when they realized what they were doing. Spike chuckled sheepishly on Reed's hands.

Parker shook his head before chuckling lightly. "All right Private Troublemaker," he said as he picked Spike off from Reed and put him on his left shoulder, "You'll be no more than two inches away from Twilight and her friends after we're getting out of here and that's no negotiate."

Spike sat awkwardly as he fidgeted his claws. "Sorry."

"All good, Spike. No harm done."

"Spike," Luna began with a warm smile, "You shouldn't have messed with things you don't know. Especially when the said thing is completely out of our knowledge. And you know that." Spike nodded as he blushed in embarrassment.

"Hey, cheer up kid," Reed said with a grin, "With Parker, the next thing you know you'll be out there kicking asses with us."

"Hey, I'm not gonna brainwash someone." Parker retorted.

"You know better when I'm just trying to light up the mood, Sarge."

"And I know better not to put duct tape on your mouth 'cause you're the one who does that." Parker then turned to Spike. "And Spike, that is called a machine gun. It's basically a…"

His voice trailed off as Twilight smiled at the sight of Parker being so calm. Yet, she knew he had a lot of thoughts in his mind. She knew Applejack noticed it too. Whatever they were, he's definitely good at hiding it. Her mind wandered back to the question he had given to them earlier. Are you guys ready? The thought of it alone made her shudder. But the word war itself made her question why she's here. This wasn't according to the plan. Then again, the spell just brought her and her friends to another human race without even knowing what was happening behind it. Now that she realized it, she was gambling whether or not to go to this world. But curiosity got the best of her. And there they are, trapped in a world at war and forced to pick a side where she doesn't know which one is good or evil. She couldn't trust Parker and his friends. Not until she gained more information about the war they're in.

"Twilight?" A soft voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

Twilight shook her head lightly before turning to Fluttershy. "Yes Fluttershy?"

"About the frontline… umm… I think…"

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "You think?"

"I think we have to." She said nervously.

"Ah'm with ye," Applejack suddenly said, "Ah know he's hiding sumthin' and we don't know anythin' he's up to. But he's the only fella who took us in safe hooves. Unlike those critters back at the shack."

"I certainly agree with Applejack," Rarity added, "The least we can do is to be there and listen to him. But we have to, and must be cautious."

Closing her eyes, Twilight pondered for a moment. Sure they saw what Parker can do. He and his friends could easily outmatch them in any way. Are we afraid of them? That thought crossed her mind and Twilight couldn't be more confused. Parker didn't hurt them. Or not yet at least. But seeing him so friendly and calm, trying to make them feel welcome. Yet, he killed them. He killed those soldiers back in the forest. In front of their eyes. He didn't hesitate, he wasn't scared, he was determined. She could've sworn she saw him smiling when she pulled out that bayonet. Then again, he didn't hurt them. Instead, he took them in. Unlike those Germans/Krauts when they first saw Twilight and her friends. Okay, to be fair, if she found out a human walked into Ponyville before she knew what a human is she would've at least freaked out. But Parker was something else. She remembered the worry in his eyes when he pointed the gun at them. She remembered the way he calmed her down when she was having trouble sleeping. She remembered how he saved her life on that field. Twilight released the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Twilight," Luna's voice called out from her right, "Do you trust him?"

Do I trust him?

Opening her eyes, she looked at Parker. He was laughing alongside Spike, Reed, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Andrew and Glenn. She would even make an 'aww' when she saw Spike was being held by Parker in his one hand raised up and ran off to nowhere. Rainbow followed quickly behind.

Only one way to find out.

With a determined look, Twilight finally replied, "Yes."

Lieutenant Blake

Author's Note

The Italic word in the first scene was spoken in German language.

Lieutenant Blake

"I'm sorry, I can't be hearing this right. What did you just say?"

"My Leader, our intel said that they have encountered several new creatures with the Americans in Normandy."

"Creatures?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Any idea what creature they are?"

"Negative, my Leader. We only have sightings, we still don't know what they are and where they come from. But they looked like small horses. Some of them have wings, one has a horn, one has both a horn and wings, and the other two don't have both."

"How many of these horses are there?"

"Some say there are seven of them, and others say there are eight. Oh and one more thing, my Leader, there appears to be an oversized lizard too."

"This doesn't make any sense at all."

…

"My Leader?"

"Alright, send some recon squads and find more about the creatures. We can't afford the Allies to use them against us."

"Understood."

The paratroopers and the ponies got along very well. The news of the friendly colorful talking ponies had spread to all over the division of the Airborne and vowed to keep it a secret from anyone. Even their own Allies. Parker and his squad were more interested in hearing the story of the Crystal Empire. They were surprised when Twilight and her friends told them how Spike saved the day with Cadance. The paratroopers were on edge when they heard that Spike almost risked his own life just to get the Crystal Heart before King Sombra could lay a hoof on it.

"Well damn," Reed said, "You're one hero, Spike."

Spike waved his claw dismissively. "Naw, if it wasn't because of Twilight in the first place, me and Cadance wouldn't get the Crystal Heart to stop Sombra."

"So much for the land of friendship." Glenn said with a chuckle.

"At least it's better than this God awful shitty place." Andrew chimed in.

"We can tell." Luna said with a chuckle.

"Are there any more conflicts other than Sombra?" Parker asked, "I mean, surely it's not just that one."

"Oh, there are plenty, dear," Rarity answered, "But most of it was solved simply by the power of friendship."

"Like Discord!" Pinkie exclaimed next to Reed.

"Discord?" Reed asked, looking down at the pink mare.

"Discord is the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony who once ruled over Equestria in a state of unrest and unhappiness." Twilight answered.

"Until my sister and I used the Elements of Harmony to imprison him in a stone." Luna continued.

"Elements of Harmony?" Glenn asked, "Is that some kind of a weapon or something?"

Twilight's excitement grew as Parker and his friends began to take interest in Equestria. Though, she still had to ask a lot more questions about their world but that can be done later.

"The Elements of Harmony are six supernatural artifacts representing subjective aspects of harmony." Twilight answered.

"Artifacts?" Reed tilted his head, "Lemme guess, magic?"

"You can say that," Twilight replied, "Each artifact represents an element of friendship and only activates if the wielder possesses the corresponding trait and if all six are used in conjunction."

A moment of silence passed by as the paratroopers processed the words. Or trying to.

"Can you rephrase that?" Andrew began.

Twilight chuckled. "It means they can only be activated if the wielder has the same power it has and in order to use it, the six of the artifacts must be used at the same time."

"Is it just me or I'm feeling like I'm back at college again." Reed said. Everyone laughed at his statement.

"What, she reminds you of one of your professors?" Parker said.

Reed shrugged. "Kinda. Though, Twilight would be a good mentor. My professor was a huge pain in the ass." Twilight blushed from his compliment.

"Oh! I got it!" Spike suddenly exclaimed, which got everyone's attention. "Why don't we go to the Germans and ask for our friendship? I'm sure we can stop this war."

Glenn laughed bitterly. "If only it was that easy, Spike." The ponies turned to look at Glenn.

"Isn't it a good idea?" Rainbow asked, "I mean, I'm sure we can help you guys to talk about it with them and their leader to stop this."

"Like Glenn said, it wasn't that easy," Parker replied, "And second, it's already too late. The Brits already tried to appease Hitler — their leader — to stop the war. That didn't work, no matter how hard they tried. Hitler was already a maniac and decided to expand his territory all over Europe and Russia."

"We wouldn't be here if they did some Peace Treaty shit or something." Reed said.

"Sorry to interrupt, darling. But if I may ask, what are the Brits?" Rarity asked, "I assume it is one of the nicknames you give to other people, yes?"

"Correct, and they're one of our allies," Parker replied with a smile, "They're people from a country named Britain to be exact. That's why we called them Brits."

"Their accent is just like yours, Miss Rarity," Reed said with a grin, "Even though I certainly have no doubt of speaking in King's language." He continued with an almost perfect British accent.

Everyone turned their eyes to the young private while he casually stared at them back with a grin. Keeping his arms crossed, Reed raised one of his eyebrows. "Art thou surprised?"

If their jaws could fall off to the ground, it would be Rarity's and Luna's. Both of their eyes focused on Reed as they looked at him in astonishment. Curiosity started to flood Luna's mind as questions began to file in. Same goes for the flabbergasted pony fashionista.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rainbow nudged Reed's shoulder. "Since when have you become a very complicated pony- person?" She asked, hovering next to him.

"First of all, Dash, it's an accent," Reed answered, turning his head to see her, "And second, an accent doesn't define your personality. Now I don't know about your world but here, I can do shit tons of stuff but I am who I am."

"Right." Rainbow muttered.

"I swear, he had a hard time reloading a fucking Garand back in training." Parker muttered loudly.

"I may have slipped my fingers, okay." Reed barked.

"The Brits can do better." Andrew teased with a smirk.

"I can do better with-"

"You're going to meet a lot of Brits if you're lucky later on." Another voice cut Reed's words. The ponies turned around to see Lieutenant Blake with another soldier behind him walking towards them. Parker could see the rank of Corporal on the soldier's left sleeve; while he and his squad immediately stood up properly and saluted the Lieutenant. The ponies that were sitting on the bench stood up as well.

"As you were." Blake said. The paratroopers went back to their position. Before the ponies could sit however, Blake got their attention.

"I have a couple of tents already set up for the ponies to sleep. And some food if they're hungry. I can-"

The sound of a growling stomach interrupted him. They all turned to the source of the noise and saw the purple dragon smiling sheepishly on Parker's left shoulder.

"Sorry. All the things that happened today were enough to make my stomach a little angry." Spike chuckled with his face turned to the color that could match a tomato.

Blake shook his head slightly while chuckling. "That's my cue. I don't wanna interrupt, but I can tell all of you must be tired and hungry."

"We could use a little rest if we are going to have a big day soon." Luna said calmly. Twilight and her friends however, were still in doubt whether or not they should go.

"Alright then, come with me." Blake turned around and was about to walk when he realized something. "Oh, and Parker." He turned his head to the right, looking at Parker from his shoulder.

"Yes, Sir?" Parker replied.

"You and your squad stay here, I'll be back after our guests here get some food and a place to stay properly."

Parker nodded. "Understood, Sir."

Smiling slightly, Blake nodded back before gesturing to the ponies to follow him.

"All right, here we are." Blake stopped in front of two tents facing him. The colors were pale dark green and from the cleanliness of it, it looked like it was set up moments ago.

Blake turned around to face them with his hands in his pockets. "These will be the tents for y'all to rest. I figured that you have grown close with Parker, so we set up the tent next to his. I'll order my men to get you guys some food and make sure you get a proper rest after that. Because we're not going to stay here any longer."

Luna bowed her head slightly. "We thank you for your hospitality, Lieutenant."

Blake smiled calmly. "No need to thank me. It's part of our duty to keep innocents safe." He then nodded before turning to face the soldier next to him. "Corporal, I need you to give our friends here some food and water. Make sure the food is for vegetarians." Blake stared at Spike for a moment before continuing. "All except one."

"Yes, Sir." The soldier replied before jog to his destination.

"Sir?" Rainbow asked, earning Blake's attention, "What do you mean by make sure?"

It took a moment for Blake to finally realize what she was asking. "Oh, in case if Parker hasn't told you yet, humans are omnivores. We eat plants in the form of different vegetables. Not only that, we also eat the flesh of animals and fish products. Cooked, of course."

The explanation alone was enough to make the ponies shiver. Though Spike, Luna, Rainbow and Fluttershy looked rather calm.

"So, you're on top of the food chain?" Twilight asked.

Blake could hear the uncomfortable feeling from her voice. But he nodded anyway. "Apex predator, that is correct." Blake walked to the tent before opening the flip. "Come on in, don't want those legs collapsed before all of you are on your own bed."

Rainbow Dash was the first to fly in, leaving a trail of rainbow on her tail while Blake stood dumbfounded.

Luna giggled. "Apologies for her attitude, she must be pretty tired and eager to get some rest."

"I can tell." Blake replied as he saw the cyan pegasus quickly claim one of the beds as hers before looking at him with a sheepish smile.

"Hehe, sorry. It's anypony's to pick, right?" Rainbow asked innocently.

Blake nodded before gesturing to the remaining ponies to get inside. "Make yourselves comfortable and the beds are all yours to pick. Get yourselves a rest before the food comes."

As if his words were heard, the Corporal's voice called out to his Lieutenant outside. "Sir? The food's here."

"We're in here, Corporal." Blake called back while his guests were picking their own bed.

The corporal walked through the flip of the tent, carrying four lunch boxes with two other soldiers behind him. One of them carried the other four lunch boxes while the other one carried a bag which Blake assumed to be bottles of water. "Seven vegetarian meals for our guests, Sir." He said.

Blake nodded. "Thank you, Corporal. You may hand it to them." The corporal wasted no time to give the ponies and the little dragon their food.

While the soldiers were giving out the food, Blake spoke up. "I know I've said this before when Parker introduced all of you to me." He stopped when the corporal and the other soldiers had done their tasks before walking back and stood behind their Lieutenant. Saying his thanks, Blake continued. "But all of you have to be careful once we're moving. Stay away from the crossfire, and avoid any interaction with the enemy."

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Why not? We can help to talk with them. Ah think they'd listen."

Blake shook his head. "They can't speak English like us. If they saw you or had you in their grasp, you'll be taken with them so they can do God knows what they're doing with our surrendered brothers."

"Brothers?" Fluttershy tilted her head, "All of you are a family?"

"Not in blood, but in bond," Blake replied, "I doubt every civilians we'll meet will aid us in pushing back the Nazis before they could take all of Europe. So we're in this together until we stop those bastards for good. And probably get some of his mustache with us." Unbeknownst to him, the soldiers behind him smiled slightly.

Before the ponies could ask any questions, Blake decided it was time for him to take his leave. "Alright, I don't have much time. I still need to discuss something with Parker and his squad before going back to CP. Make yourselves at home and I'll get you guys some boots if you want to."

"Oh, yes please," Rarity replied, "I've seen mud everywhere and I don't want to get my hooves dirty."

Lieutenant Blake shook his head while chuckling to himself. "It's gonna get a whole lotta worse once you're on the battlefield." With that, he turned around and left the tent. The other soldiers followed closely.

"Ah really don't like where this is goin'." Applejack began as she was certain that the soldiers couldn't hear them.

Luna sighed. "Neither of us wanted this to happen." She then turned her attention to Twilight. "As for you, Twilight. I expect you to be more careful with things like this; not merely jump into conclusions or actions out of your own excitement. Not only that, you did not even send a letter about this to Celestia."

Twilight pressed her ears to the back of her head. "I know. I'm sorry, Princess. I was just too excited about the spell until I completely forgot about any negative effects it might have caused." She said as she hung her head low. "I'm the one to blame."

Luna smiled as she walked up to Twilight and rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight, we all make mistakes. And remember that life's greatest lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes." The Moon Princess placed a hoof under Twilight's chin before lifting her head up to meet her eyes. "Mistakes are meant for learning. Not repeating." Luna said, her smile still present.

This put Twilight at ease as she smiled back. "Forgive me, Princess. And thank you."

"There's no need to ask that, Twilight." Luna nuzzled Twilight's cheek gently, which Twilight happily reciprocated. Lifting her head up, Luna turned to look at the rest. "Alright, we all should be getting our rest. Lieutenant Blake said tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Like preparing for a party?" Pinkie asked enthusiastically. Everyone in the tent stared at her, unamused. "What?" The party pony asked innocently.

Rarity groaned from her bed before lying down on her back. "I believe it will be much worse than that."

"Oh my gosh, this meat tastes good." Spike said out loud to no one.

When he realized what he just said, he took notice that the rest of the ponies were staring at him in disbelief and disgust. Swallowing what remains he had in his mouth, he burped.

"Sorry. Never really had these before." He smiled sheepishly.

"Parker." Blake's voice interrupted Parker's train of thoughts.

Parker and the rest of his squad were still waiting for Blake's return after he made sure that their guests had a proper place to rest. Immediately standing up from his position, Parker gave Blake a slight nod.

"Sir."

Blake noticed that all of the squad already gathered behind Parker. He took this as his cue. "I've set up their tent next to yours. So it'll be easier for you to watch them." Parker nodded in response. "And I am sure to give you the responsibility of taking care of our new guests here."

"Yes, Sir. You can count on me."

"Not so fast, Parker." Blake interrupted, getting Parker's attention. "I have to ask you, are you sure of taking them with us?"

Parker raised an eyebrow. "If I doubt myself I wouldn't be willing to protect them, Sir."

"Parker, I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into," Blake explained, "If the Krauts know about them, I bet they're gonna be focusing their target on those poor fellas." He hesitated before saying, "And you're in their way."

"I thought we were supposed to protect the weak." Reed said out of nowhere.

"Cut it, Private." Parker ordered from his shoulder before turning his attention back to his Lieutenant. "Sir, I found them and they're my responsibility. There's no way in hell that those Krauts will lay a hand on them."

Blake could only sigh at his response. He knew Parker would be this stubborn. "We can take them back to our country, they don't have to face any of this."

Parker narrowed his eyebrows as Blake began to annoy him. "With all due respect, Sir. Have you lost your damn mind?"

That's what you call 'with all due respect'?

Shut the fuck up

"That's what you call 'with all due respect'?" Reed asked.

Hah

Parker shot a glare from his shoulder towards Reed, making the private nod in embarrassment before shutting his own mouth.

"I take it that you don't like them, Sir?" Parker asked again. But before Blake could respond, Parker cut him off. "Sir, you know we can't trust our own people back in our homeland. I don't want to see them a couple of weeks later, joining us and fighting for us. We won't make them as a weapon of war and I will make damn sure that they're going back home in one piece."

Blake stood there as he processed the words. He could only sigh as he turned to walk away. "You know you're one of the best soldiers I have in this company, Parker. I just don't want to waste your life by protecting someone that doesn't even know the bonds between all of us. Especially when they know nothing about war." With that, Blake walked away.

Parker just stared at Blake, who already got into a jeep and disappeared from his sight. Sighing, he turned to see his squad that were looking at him.

"He literally just said that when he didn't even know the bond between us and the ponies?" Reed asked in disbelief.

Parker could only shake his head before walking towards his tent. "I'm gonna make sure to shove those words back up his ass."

Five-Oh-Deuce

The rest was nonetheless a good one for everyone that night. Well, all except for one. Twilight had been stirred in her sleep for almost two hours. She couldn't find herself to sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

"Urgh," she groaned before face planting into her pillow, "This is ridiculous." She had been thinking about what Blake had said before. And she was honestly afraid of the words.

It's gonna get a whole lotta worse once you're on the battlefield

She kept thinking of how Parker easily took down the other soldiers back in the forest. He didn't show them any mercy. And neither did his enemy. Those were just a couple of soldiers. What about the real battlefield? What could possibly happen to all of the paratroopers she had met and seen in the camp. She doubted that she had the nerve to go out there and see it herself. She couldn't imagine how many deaths she would see from both sides. She sighed while rubbing her temple. Closing her eyes as she did, she managed to calm herself.

"I hope this will end well…" She spoke softly to no one, before finally letting herself off to sleep.

...

Next to the tent however, the same thing was happening to Parker. He sat on his bed, elbows on each knee while crossing his fingers with his chin on his hands. His comrades were already fast asleep. Parker stared at the green colored side of the tent, thinking about the recent events he and his squad had just faced. With a sigh, he closed his eyes.

What the hell am I gonna do with them

He was quite surprised that even his own brain didn't retort back just like it used to. He hated to admit it but he needed whatever soul in his brain to talk to him.

Why would I even tag them along with me in the first place

God knows what He is doing up there. He rested his forehead to his hands, and couldn't stop thinking about the ponies they just met. He surely wanted to help, but part of him actually told him to just leave them behind because they were none of his business. They were just the same as every civilian they've met once they stepped foot on Normandy.

No… they're not from this world. It's clear as day that they need every help they can get

He stayed like that for a couple of minutes before pulling his head up and looked around to see his fellow comrades. Sleeping peacefully when they knew they had another day to fight for their lives.

I couldn't have picked better soldiers than them

Parker trusted them that they could help him to take care of those ponies. He could see it before, their eagerness, their patience, their loyalty, their words. But sometimes, things can go sideways and Parker has already prepared himself for that. Whatever it is, he damn sure he would take care of it. He laid back down to his bunk, with his arms on his belly, he closed his eyes. Letting the crickets do their work in making music to his ears. For the first time in days, Parker could feel himself genuinely smiling.

I'm going to take them back home. No matter what shit will be thrown at me

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly before yawning and stretching her hooves, along with her back. She sat up almost immediately while rubbing her eyes. She could've sworn the bed felt like her bed back in her house. She couldn't blame herself for feeling like that after an exhausting day. She fell asleep after she ate the meal that was served for her.

Rainbow slowly opened her eyes, revealing her tired magenta eyes before scanning the tent she slept in. And what she saw shocked her beyond her thoughts. The rest were still asleep, she was the only one who was already awake. Usually, Rainbow was the one who slept more than her friends. But seeing what they had gone through, she couldn't blame them for taking a good long rest. She hopped off from her bunk and stretched like a cat would do after they woke up. Flapping her wings and stretching them, she trotted to the flap of the tent. Before she went outside, she took one last glance at her friends. They were all sleeping peacefully in their own dreams. As much as she wanted to prank Pinkie and woke her up, she wouldn't dare to do it now. They all must be exhausted, and so did Rainbow.

Opening the flap of the tent, Rainbow walked outside. She was instantly greeted by the paratroopers, walking around with their own business. Jeeps and tanks drove past the street filled with mud. Some paratroopers even nodded to her, which she nodded back. She wouldn't be surprised either, she had been told that Parker and the ranking officers have spread the news about their existence and vowed to not tell it to anyone outside of airborne. She flapped her wings several times before looking up to the gray sky above. No doubt that it was morning already. She thought exploring the base probably would be a good idea. Besides, they all know that there are talking ponies in their area, right? What could go wrong. Getting to know some of them wouldn't hurt. And to see some of those planes fly by was something Rainbow definitely was going to learn. Taking the fresh air through her nostrils, she took off from her spot and flew throughout the base.

…

Blake and Parker could be seen walking down the street amongst the busy paratroopers. Parker had all of his gears on him, his gun strapped to his right shoulder with his helmet on his head. Blake had his arms on his back, looking to his front while they were in a conversation.

"Will there be armored support, Sir?" Parker asked, looking on the street around him.

"There will be, soon enough," Blake responded, "But before that, we must take Carentan first. Our order is to guard the right flank along the upper Douve River before we engage into the town itself."

"Expecting a heavy resistance?"

"We're still not sure," Blake shook his head a little, "The town is lightly defended but I'm expecting hand to hand combat. 'Cause we're gonna check each and every door and corner in that town."

"Sounds like an easy task then." Parker said nonchalantly.

"Not that easy if you have those ponies on your back." Blake retorted.

That made Parker stop dead in his tracks. He gave Blake an unamused look. "The hell is your problem, Lieutenant?" He annoyingly asked, "I thought we're over with this shit."

"We don't know what's coming ahead of us, Parker," Blake said, keeping his composure, "And I'm sure you know as much as I do that taking civilians to the frontline is not allowed. We're gonna get our asses kicked if they found out."

"That's why we're keeping it as a secret," Parker answered, "The whole damn airborne knows it that we have those ponies on our side. And they even fucking sworn to not tell it to anyone else. Even the goddamn Marines!"

Blake was about to say but Parker didn't give him a chance. "Look, I'm fucking tired, alright. I don't need a lecture about a Kraut is gonna shoot me because we have those ponies with us, they're gonna shoot us anyway. This war is already making me tired and you're making it worse. I've had enough with your bullshit. So if you don't like the ponies you can choose another platoon to lead. You don't know anything about them, neither do I, but I want to help them because they wanna go home. Just like us. They may be ponies on the outside, but their soul is just as human as us." With that, Parker walked away, but Blake had not yet finished.

"You don't know if they are siding with Krauts or not." He said with his arms crossed, waiting for Parker to turn to him. Instead, he got the opposite, Parker only stopped and looked at him from his shoulder.

"This ain't Sicily, Sir." Parker retorted with a clear sign of venom in his voice. Without waiting for Blake's response, Parker walked away, leaving Blake standing there, watching his back as he disappeared into the crowd.

In the distance, a rainbow tail could be seen quickly hiding behind a tent before Blake turned around and walked away.

…

Luna sat outside on a bench with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike, seeing the sea of paratroopers walking to and fro, minding their own business. Reed had told them that their existence had been recognized by the whole division and they wouldn't spread a word about them. Applejack and Pinkie decided to take a short walk around the base to get to know the paratroopers better. Rarity stayed in the tent, not wanting her hooves dirty because of the amount of mud she saw in the base. As for Rainbow, they could only hope she wouldn't cause any trouble as her bunk was empty when they woke up.

"I thought it wouldn't take that long for Reed to grab our breakfast." Spike whined slightly. His stomach was practically begging for food.

"Well, we can't expect him to be fast, Spike," Twilight spoke up, "Who knows he's having a little more task to do out there."

Luna nodded. "Agreed, Twilight. As much as I hate to admit that I'm hungry, we cannot expect our hosts to be fast like we usually do. Especially under their circumstances."

Spike could only sigh as he pressed himself further to the bench, feeling the embarrassment washed all over him. "I suppose you're right."

Fluttershy smiled as she pat Spike's head. "Don't worry, Spike. I'm sure Reed will be here anytime soon."

"What's with all the commotion?" Reed's voice came from their right as they turned their heads to see that Reed was carrying a bunch of meals for them.

"Oh nothing, Spike here just can't wait to have his meal." Fluttershy answered.

Reed smirked at the little dragon while putting the meals on a nearby crate. "I suppose all dragons eat that much, eh?"

"Wasn't my fault I'm born a dragon." Spike retorted with his own smirk.

Reed shook his head while chuckling. "Damn right you are." He then proceeded to give them their respective meals. "Veggies for everyone."

"No meat?" Spike asked.

"Sorry kid, I think you're gonna get it when it's lunch time." Reed answered as he pulled a smaller crate for him to sit on. He grabbed his own meal and was about to open it when he realized half of the ponies were not there.

"Where are the others?" The private asked.

"Rarity is still in the tent. As for the rest, I suppose they are walking around the base for some refreshments," Luna answered after chewing her breakfast, "Not everyday in Equestria you get to see humans this much."

"Well, y'all aren't in Equestria anymore." Reed said as he began to munch on his meal. He then realized what he just said before looking at the Princess. "At least not yet. Sorry." He apologized with an embarrassing smile.

"No need to apologize. We will go back home shortly after we regain enough magic to teleport ourselves back to our world."

"So when will they be back?" Reed asked again. Mentioning about the half that went to take a look on the base.

Luna pondered for a moment before answering, "I'm not quite sure, but I doubt that they will return shortly, considering they are not familiar with your base yet."

Twilight choked as she remembered something. "Of course they don't know about the base! They would've been lost by now!"

"Woah, stay calm, Twilight. I wouldn't be too worried, I believe they're gonna run across Parker. Or if not, they can ask other men where Parker's bunk is. And to think that Dash has wings, she could spot us easily."

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "They better not causing any trouble though."

"What about Rarity?"

"She doesn't want to get her hooves dirty." Fluttershy said.

Reed smacked himself internally for not giving them boots to wear. "Ah shit, I forgot to bring you guys boots to wear." He then got up and grabbed one meal before going into the tent to give it to Rarity.

"I suppose I'll accompany her." Fluttershy said before trotting back to the tent. Moments later, Reed got out and sat down on his seat.

"Man, she sure is a drama queen." He lamented.

"That's not even the half of it." Luna giggled.

Reed just blinked several times before nodding his head as he continued on his meal. Planning on taking the boots for the ponies to wear as he ate faster. At least for Rarity to shut the hell up. They all looked at the sky as a familiar sound became louder and louder, roaring across the sky.

…

Two Thunderbolts flew across the sky along the base, making the all too familiar sound of a plane propeller. And in that base, two figures in orange and pink colored coats were walking on the busy road of the paratroopers. Well, at least one of them was walking.

Boink Boink Boink

"Urgh… Pinkie, will ya quit bouncin' around?" Applejack said in an annoyed tone. She quickly changed her expression with a tip of her hat as she saw a paratrooper walk past her. He gave her a nod in return.

"How can I when I get most of their attention?" Pinkie answered, "Hi!" She waved to the paratroopers that walked past them while bouncing. Even a Sherman, as Applejack recalled, stopped on its tracks because Pinkie was in the way while blabbering how fun it would be to have that tank in her party. For Applejack, that was the stupidest idea Pinkie has ever planned. The orange earth pony had to use every ounce of her willpower to not use her apple bucking skill to take Pinkie back to Equestria.

"Ah know yer excited to meet humans, but can ye please calm down for five minutes?" Applejack practically begged.

"Okay!" Pinkie exclaimed and stopped her bouncing. They walked and greeted anyone that reached out to them, until Applejack decided to go back.

"Hey Pinkie, Ah think we should go back." She stated.

"Why? I thought we're going to-"

"What are you girls doing here?" A familiar voice called out. Both Applejack and Pinkie quickly turned around to see Wade with his full gear. "You know you're gonna get easily lost if you wander around here all by yourselves." He continued.

Applejack couldn't help but smile in relief. "Well howdy, Wade! Thought yer gonna be at the aid station for a couple o' days."

"I actually was, but-"

Pinkie practically jumped onto Wade's hands and he barely missed it. Wrapping her forelegs around Wade's neck, she practically screamed into Wade's right ear. "Oh my gosh, Wade! It's so good to see you back! I thought that you wouldn't be here with us because of how bad your wound would be and that you're going home without even telling us about your condition! All of us are so worried about you! You wouldn't know how much-"

"Pinkie…" Wade said through his gritted teeth.

"Yes?" Pinkie looked at him with a smile from ear to ear.

"MY ASS IS STILL FUCKING HURT!!" Wade screamed, not even caring if other paratroopers heard him.

Pinkie immediately hopped from his arms and rubbed the back of her head while chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry."

Applejack could only shake her head. "Sorry about that, Wade. Pinkie is just too excited to meet other paratroopers around here. And ta see ya lookin' mighty fine after being shot."

Putting his hands on his knees, Wade breathed heavily. He then used his right palm to slap his right ear multiple times. "Sure. No problem. Next thing I know she'll be making a party for all of us."

"I'm still planning it! It's on my list!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Wade snapped his head to look at her in disbelief. "Never mind that." As the pain subsided, he regained his composure and stood up straight. "As I was asking, what are you girls doing here anyway? You still haven't got a place to sleep?"

Applejack shook her head. "We have our own tent next to Parker's. But me and Pinkie here are just wandering 'round the base to make a better acquaintance with yer fellow paratroopers."

Wade shrugged. "Sounds promising. Wanna head back? I'm sure as hell breakfast has been served there."

"Breakfast? I forgot I haven't had breakfast." Pinkie giggled.

Applejack nodded to Pinkie before giving a smile to Wade. "Ya betcha."

Wade gave her a smile in return. "Awesome, let's go then."

…

"They are so awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed gleefully as the Thunderbolts flew right above her. She had never thought of seeing something that doesn't require magic to be flying. Not to mention they were flying that fast.

"I gotta ask Parker more about those fighters." She said loudly to no one.

Speaking of Parker, Rainbow heard everything about his argument with Blake before. After his argument, Rainbow knew here and there that she could trust him, considering he defended them behind their backs, and against his Lieutenant. But she felt responsible for putting him up for such a task; protecting them. She definitely didn't like Blake but with Parker around, everything would be just fine for her and her friends. At least that's what she thought. And she didn't trust Glenn either after the encounter with Reed, not to mention to speak with such language to his squad leader. Rainbow didn't know whether it was allowed or not, but it was still rude and disrespectful to her.

Taking in the last fresh air, the cyan pegasus was about to fly back to her friends when she saw two familiar figures walking down the busy road with things on both of their hands, facing her direction but did not see her hovering above. "Hey Andrew, Reed!" Rainbow called out as she waved.

Both paratroopers looked for the source of the voice but to no avail, they didn't realize that Rainbow was on the air. And Rainbow noticed this, so she flew towards them, just in time when they were about to walk again.

"Holy-" Reed nearly let go of his stuff from his hands. "Jeez Dash, a little warning next time?" Andrew thankfully wasn't as surprised as Reed.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I just yelled your name from up there." She pointed with her foreleg to the sky. Both men stared at it for a moment before looking back to the cyan pegasus.

"I forgot that you love to fly." Reed stated.

Before Rainbow could retort, Andrew cut her off. "Rainbow, we're so sorry but can we have the talk later? We came across Parker and he said he's gonna give us some briefing about our next mission."

"Oh! Yeah, I've heard that one," Rainbow answered, "Something about Doo… ugh… Dough River, right?"

Andrew laughed a little. "Dough River?"

"How do you know?" Reed asked while cocking one of his eyebrows.

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head while chuckling. "Parker and Lieutenant Blake were talking nearby when I was looking around the base."

Reed did not buy it. "Are you telling us the truth?"

Rainbow groaned. "Fine, but they walked right below me and I couldn't help myself about what they're talking about. I'm sorry." Her ears dropped against the side of her head as she hung her head low.

"That wasn't a good thing, but it's alright Rainbow. We forgive you." Andrew said, cutting Reed off.

Rainbow sighed in embarrassment. "I'm still sorry. Should we get back now?" She asked as she looked up to her friends.

"Yes. We got these boots for y'all to wear before we head off to the battlefield. And I bet Parker is already waiting for our asses, we should get going right now." Andrew stated. With that, they jogged through the road with Rainbow following them in the sky.

…

Parker walked down the road, his mind wouldn't stop thinking about his argument against Blake. He was still angry over the fact that Blake didn't like any of the ponies. Or so he thought. Sure he had his own story in Sicily, but it's just the past.

Blake will surely kick your ass for mentioning Sicily

That ain't happening

What if it does

We'll just cross that bridge later

Fair enough, where are we heading?

Carentan

Kickin' some Krauts?

Bet

Moments later, Parker saw the ponies were sitting on the bench. They seemed to be in a deep conversation because none of them saw Parker's presence. Parker coughed into his hands, snapping their heads to look at him.

"Fine morning I see?" Parker asked with a smile.

Twilight nodded. "It's good to know that the rest of the paratroopers are friendly."

"We did spread the news. So might as well make yourselves at home." He then sat on the small crate, waiting for Reed and Andrew's arrival.

"Hey Parker," Spike called out, "What are we gonna do after this."

Parker looked at him. "We're gonna take the town of Carentan. Haven't received that much report 'cause Blake has it all with him. But he said Lieutenant Colonel Cole will brief us shortly, then we will move out in half an hour or so."

"What?" Twilight said in confusion, "I thought Blake is a Lieutenant."

Parker shook his head. "He is a Lieutenant. Specifically, First Lieutenant. Lieutenant Colonel is a rank higher than First Lieutenant. Their primary function of Lieutenant Colonels is to serve as commanders of battalion-sized elements. Although, they can also serve as staff officers at the brigade level or above, aiding in the planning, resourcing, and functioning of units. Meanwhile, First Lieutenants are in charge of platoons in combat, while serving as the executive officer to his company commander."

"Carentan, huh, I thought so." A voice called out behind him. Parker and the rest turned their heads to the voice and they saw Wade, along with Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

"Looks like we got our sniper back." Parker said with a huge smile. He got up and embraced Wade, lightly patting his back.

"Good to see you, Corporal." Parker said before pulling away.

"Glad to be back, Sarge." Wade answered.

"So glad to have you back, Wade." Twilight said cheerfully.

Wade waved at the rest of the ponies. "'Tis but a scratch."

"Why don't you take a seat?" Parker asked with a smirk, offering the crate he sat on moments ago.

Without hesitation, Wade walked to the crate and sat comfortably. He slung his Springfield from his shoulder and took a sigh. "Finally, walking around the fucking base makes my legs sore a bit. Thanks, Sarge." Wade replied with his own smirk.

Parker put his hands on his sides while chuckling. "Tough bastard."

Luna could only chuckle as the two reunited once more. She then looked over at the two earth ponies. "Applejack, Pinkie Pie," Luna began, getting their attention, "Your breakfast is already waiting to be eaten."

Applejack looked around, finally spotting her meal on top of a large crate. "Alrighty Princess," she answered with a smile, "C'mon Pinkie, mah stomach is already rumbling like a bull in a rodeo." She and Pinkie then grabbed their own meals in each mouth before walking into the tent to finish their breakfast.

Soon enough, Glenn arrived, along with Reed and Andrew. Rainbow Dash followed them closely while flying a few feet in the air.

"Where have you been, Private?" Parker asked Glenn as he checked his equipment.

Glenn snapped his head as he caught Parker waiting for his response from the corner of his eyes. "Oh, I was out to grab another gun. The old one is jammed sadly. Then I came across these three before getting back here." Glenn said as he cocked his Garand.

"Shit, Corporal," Reed said with a smirk, "Never thought I would be seeing you this soon."

Wade looked back at him. "Couldn't let you bastards have all the fun."

"We still can make it without you."

"Quit your whining, Private. One day, you'll thank me for saving your ass."

"Two packs of cigarettes?" Reed smirked once more.

"Deal."

"Alright, free boots to everyone!" Reed exclaimed as he showed several boots in his hands. "Anyone that wants these boots can get them on their own bunks." He continued as he walked to where the ponies slept the night before.

"One size fits all." Andrew added as he caught up with Reed.

"I'll get mine." Rainbow said as she dashed towards the tent before Reed managed to open the flip.

"Rainbow!" Twilight called out, "Your breakfast is already here!"

"I'll eat it later!"

"But we're going in another half an hour!"

Rainbow poked her head from the flip. "I'll eat it when we're on our way there. Easy."

"It's fine, Twilight," Parker chimed in, "I'm sure she'll have her breakfast later. You all should wear your boots as well, today's gonna be a long day."

Saying her 'thank you', Luna got up from her bench and walked towards the tent, followed by Twilight and Spike. Parker sat down on a crate before taking off his helmet, Glenn was still checking his Garand.

"Are they ready for this, Sarge?" Glenn asked as he sat on another crate across Parker.

Parker pondered for a moment before replying, "I think they're gonna be ready once they get used to it. For now, I'm not really sure what their reactions would be."

Glenn nodded. "Guess it's just a matter of time, eh?"

"Yes it is."

Not long after, Reed and Andrew came out from the tent and joined the others. "I swear, Rarity won't stop talking shit about the boots," Reed annoyingly said, "I could've just picked one and shove it in her mouth."

Parker chuckled. "Take it easy, Reed. She'll get used to it."

"Wasn't her fault either to be here in the first place." Wade added, checking his scope as he looked through it.

"Reed," Parker said, "Tell our guests to be quick if they don't wanna miss the briefing. I'm sure they wanna hear it as well."

"Why me again?" He asked, annoyingly raising an eyebrow.

Parker grinned. "We all know you're their maid here, Private."

Reed scowled. "Fine! But this is just because you're a Sergeant." He then got up and proceeded his way to the tent.

Moments later, Reed got out with the rest of their guests behind him. Reed had to hold his laughter because apparently Spike had all his legs covered by his boots. And not to mention it was stupidly hilarious to see the ponies with boots. But the ponies had their boots tugged in comfortably, the end of the boots didn't even reach their knees.

"You guys ready?" Parker asked while standing up from his seat.

Luna nodded. "We're all ready."

Parker looked at Spike who seemed to be having trouble with adjusting his boots. "Ya good there, Spike?"

Spike looked at him as he grunted. "I can't seem to walk properly with these on."

Everyone chuckled at the little dragon until Parker decided to pick him up and put him on the back of his neck. His two legs came out from Parker's shoulders. "Better?" He asked with a smile.

"Much better." Spike replied satisfyingly.

"Very well, let's get going, the others are already waiting for our arrival."

…

"Sergeant!" A soldier called out to Parker while he and his group were walking down the dirt road.

"Yes, Flynn?" Parker asked as he stopped, the others soon followed.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cole moved the briefings near the trucks so we can move faster. He ordered me to find you and bring you there as soon as possible." Flynn explained.

Parker nodded. "Lead the way, Private." He then looked back at the ponies. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot that my squad isn't just these guys. There will be more."

"How many men are there in your squad, Parker?" Twilight asked.

"Total of fourteen men. Fifteen if you count me in." Parker replied, his head still looking forward.

"Where were they before this?"

"They all got wounded from our first battle but they should all be okay right now."

Not long after, they all made it near the convoy. Lieutenant Colonel Cole was sitting on a turret of a Sherman, waiting for them. His eyes lit up when he saw Parker and his group slowly approaching the crowd.

"Sergeant Parker," he called out, "How's our guests doing?"

Parker replied with a nod. "Fine as day, Sir." He then joined the crowd with his group. Some nodded to him as he nodded back.

"Very good, Sergeant." Cole proceeded to stand up as he looked over the crowd. "Gentlemen," he began, "Our next objective is to take the town of Carentan. It is the only town that can link up armor vehicles from Utah and Omaha. We have to take it if we wanna liberate France."

The chattering of the soldiers began throughout the crowd as Cole stepped off from the tank and walked out of sight. Lieutenant Blake then proceeded to stand in front of the crowd. "Alright ladies! Gear up and let's get the show on the road!"

With that, the paratroopers slowly walked to the trucks and hopped in it. Cole had assigned a specific truck for Parker and his squad in order for the ponies to stay with Parker. They came second in the convoy as one by one, Parker's squad and the ponies hopped in.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Parker asked as he crouched at the edge of the truck while taking Spike off his back to sit with the ponies.

"Cesaro here." A private called out right next to Luna as she and her ponies were in the deepest part of the seat.

"Diablo." Another one called out next to Reed.

"Glenn here."

"Flynn, Sir."

"Wade."

"Reed down here."

"Andrew." He said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Dante, on duty."

"Sagi here."

"Damien, all healed up."

"Julian."

"Skippy here!" One private exclaimed.

"Sven."

"Jones right here."

Parker stood up and nodded. "Alright folks, the convoy won't take us directly towards the town. They're gonna stop once we've reached a certain crossroad and began our walk." He closed the ramp and sat down next to Wade. "If any of you haven't introduced yourself to the ponies then make sure you will. Now's the right time."

Parker felt something nudge against his arm and turned to Wade. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry to say this, Sarge," Wade whispered, "But I have a bad feeling about this."

Parker nodded before looking outside as the convoy rolled out from the base. "So do I, Corporal. So do I."

The introduction between his men and the ponies went deaf into his ears. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. But in war, something bad always happens everyday. But for Parker, he couldn't imagine one of the ponies getting shot, wounded, or injured. This is their first time being in a war, all except Luna. As for the rest, he wouldn't know what they are going to be after seeing the bloodbath. Hopefully… just hopefully, they all can take it.

Reed sighed defeatedly across Parker. "They won't come out without an injury." He said quietly.

Purple Heart Lane – Part I

Author's Note

Battle took place in Carentan Highway. Or known as National Road 13. But after 502nd's bravery for pushing the enemies back from Carentan while suffering heavy losses on that same road, the world recognizes the road as Purple Heart Lane.

Purple Heart Lane – Part I

D-Day Plus 3

June 9th, 1944

Carentan Highway, Normandy

23:47 hours

Parker's POV

Our convoy got attacked right after we passed Saint-Come-du-Mont. We had to stop in order to prevent casualties. We fought our way through small arms fire until we reached the crossroad. Things went straight out of hell right there. We didn't expect the Krauts would be hurling up to fight back. It was lucky that they didn't fight for long. They pulled back but their 88 pinned us hard for one day. They attacked us five times. Each attack accompanied by those 88 shitting on us. Flynn and Andrew got wounded but they insisted on staying. I thought I could keep the ponies safe but I was wrong. Applejack nearly got hit by the 88 on their third attack. The explosion was close to her and she got shrapnel on her left foreleg in return. Her friends watched when the medics tended to her. The horrors were painted in every face as they heard Applejack's wailing. Her scream of pain, her tears, and her expression when she looked at me. She was downright terrified but she hid it. She remained strong, just like I hoped. But I couldn't guarantee it would last long. But for now, at least I know one pony could endure this. The rest is still unknown to me.

10 hours earlier

Parker dragged Rainbow as she crashed to a nearby tree when the fight suddenly started.

"You alright?" He asked as he checked on any injury.

Rainbow shook her head while her vision came back to her. "Wow, that was embarrassing." She couldn't imagine herself flying straight towards a tree out of a gun fight.

"Stay here." Parker said as he quickly went to the fight.

"Parker!" Twilight called out while peeking from a small bush to get a view on the Germans, "They're attacking us again!"

"I know! Now get down before you get shot! Find a place to cover yourself!" Parker yelled from the top of his lungs as he sprinted towards his squad. The Kraut soldiers came from the bridge and attacked them in surprise. This was the third time they have launched the attack.

"Reed! Go get the ponies to safety! They must be out of the fight!"

"Got it, Sarge!" Reed replied while bullets whizzed past his head. "You heard the Sergeant! Follow me!"

"Andrew's hit!" Jones yelled as he dragged Andrew to a safe spot.

"Just a scratch! I'll be fine!" Andrew retorted as he clutched his left arm.

A massive explosion sent paratroopers flying within its radius range. Parker's eyes widened as he knew what the Germans were doing. "88!" He screamed, looking at the sky as another round exploded behind him. This time, Parker's expression went to horror as he heard Reed yelled somewhere.

"Sarge! Applejack's hit! I need a medic!"

Parker watched the bridge they were about to cross, his weapon on his shoulder and his arms crossed. It was scheduled that they were going just after midnight. The sound of cricket, bombardments from afar, and the soldiers talking to one another accompanied his mind of thoughts. He couldn't shake the sight of Applejack. He looked up at the night sky but couldn't see any moon or stars. The smoke must've filled it, he thought.

"Sarge." Someone called out behind him.

Parker looked back to see Jones and Dante walking towards him. "Hey Jones, Dante, what's the matter."

"Nothing, Sarge," Dante replied with a clear Spanish accent, "Just wanted to see what you're up to."

Parker nodded. "We're going in right after midnight. I suggest you get some rest before we begin."

Jones shrugged. "We already have. Besides, the view looks nice."

Parker looked back at the bridge, Douve River stretched from west to east underneath it. He could barely see the hills that lead to Carentan. He could've sworn he felt the Krauts were watching him as well. The breeze of the wind blew past Parker and his men while they were enjoying the calm scenery. None of them spoke, they cherished the moment before they went back to their battle. The highway was the keypoint for armor support to Paris. And they were gonna make sure to clear it for their allies.

"Think you two can watch the bridge for me?" Parker asked, still looking at the bridge as his two men stood on either side.

"Will do, Sarge." Dante replied firstly.

"You can count on us." Jones smirked slightly.

Parker looked at his two men before nodding. "Stay on guard." He patted both of their shoulders before walking back to his group.

…

Parker's group were huddled underneath a large tree and was surrounded by other paratroopers that claimed their temporary resting spot. The ponies gathered in a small group, practically as close as they could to the tree.

"Twilight!" Applejack called out. Twilight had been staring at the night sky for almost ten minutes and Applejack had to call her out several times.

"Yes?" Twilight blinked and looked at her friend.

"Are ye okay?" The cowpony asked.

Twilight nodded with a fake smile. "I'm okay."

Applejack looked uncertain but nodded nevertheless. She immediately winced when she tried to stand with her wounded leg.

"Easy there. Does it hurt, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked.

"A bit. But Ah'm fine, Shy," Applejack replied while caressing her wound, "And ya asked that more than six times tonight."

"I'm just making sure," the yellow pegasus said, "But it hurts, isn't it?"

"It was mighty hurt the first time Ah felt it. But Ah can take it. If these folks can endure pain without magic then so do Ah."

Rainbow smirked. "What's with all the tears then?"

Applejack frowned as she looked over at the cyan pegasus, who was leaning her back against the tree. "Ah thought Ah said 'tis hurt a lot the first time Ah felt it."

Rainbow shrugged. "I can take more than that."

"That's enough," Twilight interrupted, "Rainbow, you shouldn't be thinking of a competition right now."

"I didn't?" Rainbow said in confusion, "All I want to say is that stop trying to look tough. Even Wade was way worse when we first met him."

"That's because he got shot, dear," Rarity chimed in, "That's more of a pain than getting hit by a shrapnel."

"Either way, both are just the same," A voice interrupted their argument, "I don't know why you're arguing about this but lemme tell ya something."

Parker crouched between Twilight and Applejack as he looked at the group. "What Applejack said or did wasn't just an act for a show off. She remained calm despite being in pain so that y'all don't have to worry about her too much." He looked at Applejack with a smile. "And I respect that. Not only will it boost your morale but it'll make you stronger than you think."

Parker looked at Rainbow, his expression turned into a serious one. "And Rainbow. The only truth of war is no one left untouched. Soldiers will always have a wound from battle. But it'll make them stronger."

"Why?" Rainbow asked softly.

"Because we fight for what we love. Not because we hate what is in front of us." Parker looked down to his knee before taking a deep breath.

"Lieutenant Speirs once told me." He said, the others eagerly waiting for him to continue, mostly Rainbow. "I can tell that you all are scared. All of you." Parker looked at Luna. "You don't have to be afraid to let it out because we're all scared too. I'm scared as well." He looked back at the ponies, then Rainbow. "But when I couldn't do anything, Speirs told me that I was being a coward. And that I still have hope. But-"

"The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it." Lieutenant Blake said as he walked behind the large tree.

"How did you know?" Parker asked as he stood up. The ponies could only wait for the two to finish.

"I was with you when he said that, remember?" Blake said.

Parker nodded slightly before sitting back in the group. "Yeah, now I remember."

Blake then looked at the ponies. He scanned each and every one of their faces. "I hope it'll get to you. If you stick with us until this war ends, you'll know soon enough how helpful those words are."

With that, Blake walked away to check the other paratroopers. The group fell silence as they tried to process Blake's words.

"Parker?" Pinkie broke the silence.

Parker looked at her. "Yes, Pinkie?"

"I… I don't want to go…" She said quietly. This was the first time Parker heard Pinkie say that. Without a single happiness in her voice.

Parker smiled. "Pinkie, going with us doesn't mean you have to kill and fight with us. We're going to protect you until you find your way back home. But I wanna be honest with y'all. I doubt that you will be out of this without a single wound."

The ponies looked at him in disbelief. Twilight couldn't imagine how painful it was to be shot. Let alone getting shot, Applejack just got hit by a shrapnel and she was in tears.

Parker knew the expression from each ponies and quickly acted on it. "That's why I want you guys to stay strong," he said, getting their attention, "Blake said that because he wanted you to act something when one of those bastards tried to attack you. Why? He doesn't want you guys to get hurt. What if me and my squad died protecting you before you knew it?"

"NO!!" Spike exclaimed, making everyone slightly alarmed by his voice. "Please don't…" he begged, "You're the only one I can trust here."

Parker looked at him with a calming smile. "Then stay strong. At least for me."

Spike looked at him hesitantly before nodding.

Parker nodded as he stood up. "Applejack, think you can walk?"

Applejack slowly stood up with the aid from Fluttershy. As she stood up straight, she wiggled her wounded leg several times before looking up to Parker. "I'll be doing jus' fine. I can walk." Her smile gave Parker assurance.

"Alright. We'll be leaving in a couple of minutes. It's almost midnight and we're gonna take that town." With that, Parker left the group.

Applejack sat back down slowly on the grass, reminiscing the feeling of it before she had to b
leave. Luna looked at all of her ponies and knew here and there they were all scared.

"My little ponies," she began, Twilight and her friends looked at her, "I know this must be very tough to all of you. Considering you never have been in war. You may have fought the evil ones, but not as close to killing them. What Sergeant Parker said is right. We have to remain strong. Not just for his sake, but for ours as well. We do not have to kill, but we have to defend ourselves when the enemy is too close to reach us. I trust Parker and his squad to be the Protectors of Harmony for they have shown great hospitality and honesty. Today, we shall not be afraid of what we are going to face. We shall stand our ground and show them that we can be more than they think we can." Luna looked at each and every one of their faces, they all had more determined faces than before. She smiled when her words had struck deep in them.

"Come here." She said as she extended her wings. They soon reached for a group hug.

"Remain strong my little ponies," she continued as Luna's horn lit slightly, "We will soon find our way back home."

The light from the moon itself made the Royal Garden the most beautiful place in the palace. Lush grass paths wound between immaculately-kept flower beds that boasted everything from red-pink amaranth bushes to burning yellow-orange dahlias to soft white blue-speckled stargazer lilies. Their fragrance barely tinted the air with hints of passing sweetness. Weeping willows swayed in the breeze, their full branches casting wide, generous shadows across perfectly manicured and exquisitely comfortable patches of sitting grass.

On the path, a white alicorn could be seen walking ever so slowly in the middle of the garden. The alicorn huffed and looked at the smooth dark blue sky that stretched infinitely over the pond and past the hedge that encircled the gardens. It looked so clean and pure. Stars sparkled everywhere, making a final touch to the night sky. The breeze made it even better as the alicorn's mane swayed not only because it can do it itself, but the wind helped her make it gorgeously waving about.

The alicorn stopped in the middle of the garden, surrounded by beautiful flowers, bushes, small trees and the singing of crickets. Her horn glowed a golden aura around it for a few seconds before dissipating into thin air. Princess Celestia looked up to the beautiful night sky before closing her eyes.

"Hold on a little longer, sister," she spoke softly, "I will continue to help you as much as I can."

D-Day plus 4

June 10th, 1944

Carentan Highway, Normandy

00:16 hours

It was already past midnight and the paratroopers already readied themselves for their assault. Parker and his group were in the middle of the line, trying his best to keep the ponies to remain calm. Moments later, Lieutenant Colonel Cole began his walk, followed by the rest of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. They all walked in two lines, both on each side of the road to the first bridge. Parker looked around cautiously. Though he could barely make out the scenery because of how dark it was, the moon didn't provide them any light because the smoke got in its way.

Reed, Wade, and Cesaro were ordered to surround the ponies while Parker led his squad. Reed — walking on the right side of the ponies — gripped his Garand tightly, daring any Krauts that would ambush the ponies or his brothers.

"Why are we exposing ourselves like this?" Rainbow asked.

"Because, Dash," Reed said while looking around, "Can't you see that both sides of this road are flooded, not to mention it's a bit marshy."

"So we have no choice?"

"Exactly."

"It's so dark." Fluttershy spoke quietly.

"There will be light in no time." Cesaro jokingly said from the back of the line of the group.

"Hell no," Wade chimed in, "I ain't getting my ass fucked by those 88."

"Those critters better pay for what they've done ta me." Applejack annoyingly said while walking limply.

Reed noticed this and shouldered his weapon. "Hey Applejack, need a hand?"

Applejack shook her head. "Ah'm fine, sugarcube. Jus' needa get used to it, is all." She winced once her wounded leg touched the ground.

Reed did not buy it as he instinctively grabbed Applejack and cradled her in his arms. "Like Parker said, don't hesitate to ask for help." Applejack frowned before giving in and leaned further onto Reed's chest. He didn't blame her for being so affectionate, they all scared shitless.

The rest of the walk went without a single word. They all stopped all of the sudden and they had to crouched down so as to not alert the enemy.

"What's happening?" Luna asked quietly.

Wade shrugged. "Don't know, just follow the orders and we're good to go."

Then they saw Parker slowly walk to the front of the line. Few moments later he came back and other paratroopers began to spread out. Before anyone could ask, Parker signalled his squad to huddled together, the ponies did the same.

"Alright," Parker began, "Those bastards have blown the second bridge that we're about to cross. The engineers are gonna fix it. In the meantime, we have to wait."

"Dang, this day couldn't get any worse." Andrew lamented.

"No shit." Jones chimed in.

"That's not all guys," Parker interrupted, "Lieutenant Ralph has picked us to come with him on a recon mission. I need two volunteers."

"I'm in." Reed said immediately as he set Applejack down gently.

"Same here." Wade spoke up.

"No, Corporal. You're gonna stay here and watch our ponies."

"Fuck, alright."

"Another one?" Parker asked.

"Fuck it," Julian said, "Count me, Sir."

Parker smiled. "Good, now let's go."

"Wait." Rainbow said, interrupting him.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Parker turned around to look at her.

"Can I come?" She asked hopefully.

Parker shook his head. "I can't let you come. It'll be too risky and it's dark here. Don't underestimate your enemy."

"I'm not underestimating," Rainbow retorted, "I just wanna come with you guys."

"Rainbow-"

"Sarge," Reed put a hand on Parker's left shoulder, "At least she wants to learn something. If they wanna help, they can help, right?"

Parker looked hesitant for a moment before turning his attention to Luna. "With your permission, Princess. Can Rainbow come with us to do a reconnaissance mission?"

Luna nodded almost immediately. "Yes she can. But do make sure she comes back."

Parker nodded. "You know who I am." He then looked at Rainbow and gestured to her to follow. "Now come on, the Lieutenant is waiting. And do not fly until I say so."

"Aye, Sarge."

"Corporal, find a place for them to rest while the bridge is getting fixed."

"But there's literally no place except here, Sir," Wade responded, "The others did the same, just sit and stay on guard."

"Alright then." Parker said before turning to the bridge.

The group then made their way to the second bridge where the engineers were working. Lieutenant Ralph was on the side of the bridge that barely could hold one man to walk through it. He noticed Parker and his squad approaching and quickly checked his ammunition.

"Alright," he said once Parker and his men stood in front of him, "These are your men, Sergeant?"

"Yes, Sir. They're all ready to go." Parker responded.

Lieutenant Ralph nodded before noticing the cyan pegasus next to Parker. "What is she doing here?" He asked.

"She's gonna help us, Sir. Maybe if we got caught up in the crossfire she could easily fly back here and warn the others."

Ralph nodded again. "Good idea. Just don't do anything stupid ya hear?" He spoke to Rainbow.

Rainbow nodded firmly. "Clear as day." It took a moment for her to realize what she just said. "Where the hell did those words come from?" She blinked. "Whoa, what?"

Reed laughed quietly. "Guess human language has finally gotten into you."

"Oh, shut up."

"Alright, let's stay on mission and try not to make a sound." Ralph said as he walked through the bridge that was being repaired by the sappers.

Parker went in second, then came Reed with Rainbow following him. And last was Julian. They all quietly made their way through the causeway. Not long after they crossed the bridge, a noise could be heard somewhere but then something unexpected happened.

…

"We're sitting ducks, you know that?" Dante said in annoyance.

"Well, not like we have any other option," Glenn retorted, "If you wanna get sucked with that mud right there then be my guest."

"Shut the hell up, guys," Wade ordered, "Stay on guard and be quiet."

Glenn snorted. "I wonder why Parker chose you as a Corporal."

Wade shot a glare at Glenn. "If you won't stop being a dick for one day I'm gonna have to pull a trigger on your head."

Glenn nodded mockingly. "Yeah right, like you-"

"Glenn, fucking stop it already," Andrew interrupted, "Show some hospitality in front of our guests, would ya?"

"More like civilians."

"Quit your fucking whining, Glenn," Sven chimed in, "Do you know how many fucking times I had to deal with your stupid bu-"

BOOM!!

Their heads turned to the sound and they saw the explosion not far from the bridge in front of them. The ponies knew what was about to happen.

"Incoming!!" Someone shouted as another 88 shell exploded on the side of the causeway, causing the paratroopers to scream in pain who got wounded by the shrapnel.

"Get down!" Wade ordered as he looked around.

"What are we gonna do?!" Luna asked as another explosion rang through the air.

"I don't know!" Wade answered. Fluttershy instinctively flew away from the group but Andrew caught her mid air by one of her hindlegs.

"Fluttershy, what the fuck are you doing?!" He asked as he pulled her to him.

"I'm scared!" She whimpered as she quietly sobbed.

Andrew pulled her close to him and tried to comfort her as best as he could. "It's okay, we're safe. They're just aiming for the bridge."

"But what if they got us here?" Twilight frantically asked. None of the soldiers answered her question. All except one.

"Just stay strong, Twilight. Never let fear distract you for doing something stupid that could make yourself in even worse state." Wade said as he looked at the bridge, unfazed by the explosions in front of him. He stood up and immediately warned the others. "Get away from the bridge! Find some cover!" He yelled.

Another explosion caused the screams of the paratroopers to fill the night sky. Soon enough, orders filled the air as the paratroopers that got caught in the killzone hurriedly moved to a safe spot. Wade wouldn't stop warning the others. Fluttershy held Andrew for dear life while crying to his chest. The yellow pegasus wouldn't stop sobbing and trembling. "It's okay, Fluttershy. You're safe, I promise you're safe." He spoke softly to her ear while caressing her back.

"God help us." Jones spoke quietly to no one.

…

"Shit." Parker mumbled as he saw the Krauts bombed the bridge but none of the shells hit it.

"My friends!" Rainbow exclaimed. She was about to go back but stopped by Reed's hand.

"They're gonna be okay, Dash," he said, trying his best to calm her down, "Seems like they're targeting the bridge. Your friends are dozens of feet away from that killzone."

Rainbow didn't answer, she heard the screams of the paratroopers that got hit by those 88. She couldn't imagine if she got back and her friends got hit too.

"Rainbow," Parker's voice got her attention as she turned around to look at him, "You can go back, we can handle it from here."

Rainbow stared at him for a moment before looking back to the second bridge, then back to him. "No," she responded, "I'll make sure that you guys are alive before I go back there."

"Are you sure?" Reed asked.

"Positive."

Parker nodded. "Alright, let's catch up with the Lieutenant."

Rainbow tried her best to ignore the screaming pain of the paratroopers behind her. She knew she must stay strong for the sake of her and her friends. Once they were done, she would immediately fly back to her friends. The cyan pegasus was hoping that everypony was okay, including Parker's squad.

She recalled the day when they got ambushed. The convoy had to stop because the drivers were hit and they had no choice but to walk through the gun fight. They pushed their way to the crossroad and thought that the Germans had retreated to their base. But instead, they attacked them five times that day and got Applejack wounded. No matter how hard Parker tried to protect them, they got Applejack. It was unexpected. Rainbow could see the weight in Parker's eyes, after Applejack got hit by the shrapnel, he didn't leave her side. He stayed there and talked to her as if he was her father. He only left if some officers called him, but if he wasn't doing anything, he stayed with Applejack. That alone told her how much he did his duty and to fulfill his promise. He looked at Reed, then to Parker's back as he walked carefully.

I won't let him down

With a new determination, Rainbow walked cautiously with the group. Scanning here and there for any hostiles while the barrage of 88 was still going.

…

Those 88s are definitely behind that barn

There's not even a single light coming from there, genius

Because they've stopped, retard. Probably they pulled back and left the barn

Still, they would be stupid enough if they put those batteries there

You're an idiot

No you

You

You

Fucker

Loser

Ralph and his group had safely crossed the third bridge and were now watching a farm from the fourth bridge. They could barely see anything because of the dark. And no one dared to use a flashlight. They discovered a large belgium-anti tank gate on the fourth bridge, causing them to stop their advance and watched from afar instead. But Lieutenant Ralph didn't give up just yet.

"Alright, here's the plan," Ralph quietly said as he turned to his group, "Rainbow Dash, I want you to fly as quietly as possible over this gate and wait for us on the other side. Me and the rest will force our way through the gate."

"I can just lift all of you to the other side, you know?" Rainbow said nonchalantly.

Ralph shook his head. "It's too risky. We'll get spotted easily. I don't want you to get shot as well."

Rainbow then nodded in understanding. Ralph gestured to her to go first before turning back to others. "Okay, we just have to find our way through this shit."

"We can squeeze through it." Parker simply said.

What

"What?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah, squeeze. You can literally see there's a small gap underneath the gate. Those Krauts were stupid." Parker stated as he pointed towards the base of the gate. There was indeed a small gap that would only fit for one man to go through.

I remember the last tight thing you slid in was an air vent

I would smack you, but in Airborne, we don't hit little girls

…

Ralph nodded. "Alright then, let's go." He said as he proned and started to crawl his way to the other side. Parker followed suit not long after Ralph got out. Just after Parker got out, the gate suddenly creaked and it nearly crushed Reed who was about to crawl towards the other side.

"You lucky bastard." Julian said with a grin.

"Am I right?" Reed said as he looked through the gap. It was still there but smaller than before. "Think we can squeeze through it?"

"We won't know if we don't try." Julian stated.

Reed nodded before finally giving in since there was no other option. He laid on his back and put both of his hands on the gate and pulled himself. But failed miserably.

"Ah shit." Reed groaned as he looked at his belly, who got in the way.

"Reed, what's the hold up?" Parker quietly asked, not looking away from the high ground in front of him.

"I'm kinda stuck," the private replied, "This gap is too fucking small for me. Son of a bitch." He lightly punched the gate on top of him. It creaked, making the young private to hold his breath in fear of this being the end of his career. Getting crushed by a massive gate. His mother would be so proud.

Rainbow Dash — who was standing next to Parker — looked at Reed. And she almost lost it as she quickly put both of her hooves on her muzzle. "You- you're blaming the gate when your fat belly literally got in the way?" She asked while trying her best to hold her laughter.

"Fuck off, Dash, I'm not fat. This gate literally made the gap smaller for me to crawl." Reed annoyingly retorted.

Rainbow was still holding her laughter when Parker stood up and walked over to Reed. "Gimme your hands." Parker said as he shouldered his weapon.

Reed obliged and Parker successfully pulled him out. And then Julian came next. He squeezed through it easy enough and quickly joined the others. Lieutenant Ralph examined the field in front of him before thinking of a way to go to the high ground.

"Alright, we don't have any choice," he said, "We have to go up there. Without a single fucking cover."

"Sir, I don't think it's a good idea." Julian said matter-of-fact.

"I know it isn't, but we won't know our enemy's location if we don't go up there. And it's our job to do the reconnaissance for the others."

"What if this turned out to be fubar, Sir?" Reed asked. Rainbow looked at him in confusion.

It took a moment for Lieutenant Ralph to reply. "Then our pegasus friend here will warn the others. Just keep her safe."

Rainbow was starting to not like this. She looked at Parker as the Sergeant looked back at her. He smiled and nodded before gripping his Thompson tightly. "Don't worry. Stay behind me." He quietly said. Rainbow felt safer and she nodded.

"Go." Ralph ordered as the group walked cautiously to the barn in front of them. They all quietly walked their way towards the barn. All except Parker.

See, told you there's no one

I highly doubt it

Dude, you're gonna thank me one day for giving you the best gut feeling ever

You're not my gut feeling

But I can think

But you can't feel

"Fire!" Someone suddenly shouted in German.

Time seemed to slow down as the five of them came under intense fire from a machine gun coming from the barn. Parker and the others immediately laid down on the grass while blindly shooting their weapons to the barn.

Pfft, no one

I miscalculated

Your miscalculation are going to get us all killed

Worth the shot

Oh Jesus

"Sir, we can't stay here!" Reed exclaimed as he unloaded his entire clip to the enemy.

"I know!" Ralph replied, "Rainbow Dash! Get the fuck out of here and warn the others! Tell 'em the barn is heavily defended by a machine gun and light infantry!"

"I'm not leaving you guys!" She said behind Parker as Parker continuously shot at the Krauts.

"That's an order!" Parker exclaimed as he reloaded his weapon. Rainbow looked at him in disbelief as Parker looked back from his shoulder. "Go Rainbow! We'll catch up!"

"Parker, I'm not leaving any of you!" Rainbow desperately said.

"If you don't warn the others, we'll all die here!" Parker replied between gun fires, "Go! We promise we'll be back!"

Rainbow's breathing rapidly increased after a grenade exploded in front of them. She looked at Parker for a moment before deciding what she had to do.

"Rainbow Dash! Go now!" Lieutenant Ralph ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Rainbow exclaimed before placing a hoof to Parker's shoulder, getting his attention.

"What is it, Rainbow?!" He desperately asked, "I thought Lieutenant Ralph ordered you to go now!"

"Promise me you'll come back!" Rainbow said.

"I promise! We'll all be back before you know it! Now go!" Parker ordered as he began to shoot again.

Rainbow nodded before spreading her wings and pulled herself into the air. She took one last look at the squad below her. She could see Julian got up and ran as fast as he could to the gate, Reed followed shortly. That left Lieutenant Ralph and Sergeant Parker who were still in the fight. Julian and Reed proceeded to give covering fire for them to run back to the gate. She sighed in relief when she knew they would be back shortly before flying back to the second bridge.

…

The barrage of artillery fire had stopped. The engineers quickly began their task again. Lieutenant Colonel Cole had been informed that there were no casualties. Thankfully, the bombardment was only focused on the bridge but the Krauts were stupid enough to not hit it. Some were severely injured, some were slightly injured and the rest survived without a scratch. Several gunfire could be heard after the bombardment was over and it was still going until now. He looked up at the sky as he heard the sound of what seems to be a bird coming closer towards him. Not long after that, a cyan pegasus landed behind the working sappers as she frantically turned her head left and right as if she was in need of help. Cole was about to call himself crazy from seeing such a thing when he realized that he had been informed about the talking ponies and one little dragon roaming in his battalion. Hell, he even saw them before yesterday. Stupid old man.

"Lieutenant Cole?!" The cyan pegasus called out with a clear sign of fear in her voice, "Has anyone seen Lieutenant Colonel Cole?!"

"Hey kid," Cole walked up to her with his deputy behind him, "Hey, relax, take a deep breath and let it out slowly." He instructed.

Rainbow did exactly what he told her. As she regained her composure back, she looked up at Cole and his deputy. "You must be Lieutenant Colonel Cole?" She asked.

"That's right, kid. Name?" Cole asked as politely as he could.

"Rainbow Dash."

"Okay, Rainbow. What's wrong?"

"Uhm… So, I was with Lieutenant Ralph and Sergeant Parker along with some of his men with their reconnaissance mission. We crossed the third bridge without any trouble but on the fourth bridge, there seems to be a large gate that you need to break through if you want to get to the other side."

Cole nodded, letting her continue. "But when we squeezed our way in, we came under heavy fire. There's a barn not too far from the fourth bridge. Lieutenant Ralph and the rest got ambushed. It's defended by a machine gun and a small amount of infantry." She finished.

Cole nodded again. "What about our patrol?"

"They are on their way back. I think so…" She trailed off. The gunfire was still heard and a flare could be seen fired to the air in the distance.

"Please come back…" Rainbow said quietly.

Unfortunately, Cole heard it. "Hey. Look at me," he said, getting her attention, "They'll be back. Don't think otherwise, okay?" Rainbow nodded slowly.

"You did a great job on telling us, Rainbow Dash," Major John Stopka — Cole's deputy — said, "I'm telling you not even our newest recruit would even be brave enough to go out there."

Rainbow's face lightened up a bit and smiled at the Major. "Thanks, but I was doing what they ordered me to do."

"And you did the right thing by obeying their orders," Cole stated, "Well done, Miss Dash."

Rainbow's stress washed away the moment Cole and Stopka congratulated her. For Cole and Stopka, they had succeeded in calming the cyan pegasus.

Cole smiled as he gestured down the causeway. "Now go and tell the news to your friends. I'm sure they're waiting for your arrival."

"What about Parker and the rest?" She asked hopefully.

Cole placed a hand to her shoulder. "Don't worry about them. They'll be okay, now go back to your friends and have some rest before we start to move out again."

Rainbow looked at him for a moment as if she was searching for confidence in him that Parker and his squad would be back. After a moment of silence, she hesitantly nodded before walking back to her group. Cole and Stopka watched her as she reunited with the others.

"What do you think about them, Sir?" Stopka asked as he looked at Cole.

"They're one of us, Major," Cole replied with a smile, "They're definitely one of us." He then went back to his business, followed by Stopka. The sound of the gunfire never seemed to end.

…

"Dashie!" Pinkie went in a blur as she immediately hugged Rainbow. The cyan pegasus barely had the time to react.

"Nice to see… you too… Pinkie." Rainbow choked out.

"Pinkie, you're crushing Rainbow." Twilight stated. Pinkie gave one more bone crushing hug before letting her go.

"I'm so glad you're okay." The party pony said with a large, sad smile.

Rainbow took several deep breaths before coughing. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Rainbow," Applejack called out as Rainbow looked at her, "Where's Parker and the others?"

Rainbow's heart skipped a beat when she asked it. She hung her head low and said, "We got ambushed after we crossed the fourth bridge. They're fighting their way back now."

"Then why are you here so soon, dear?" Rarity asked, "Shouldn't you be with them in their time of need?"

Rainbow raised her head to look at Rarity. "It's not that simple Rarity. I insisted on staying but Lieutenant Ralph ordered me to go back and tell the others about their situation. Even Parker told me to go back."

"What did he say?" Luna asked softly.

"It's an order."

"Don't worry too much, guys," Andrew interrupted, "They know what they're doing."

Pinkie turned around to face Andrew. "How can you be so calm? Shouldn't you be worried that your friend is in danger?"

"Stay positive." Sagi replied while checking his Garand. "Hey, Damien. Pass me that cigarette will ya?"

Damien was sitting on the side of the road, watching the field in front of him as he let out another smoke from his mouth.

"Damien!" Sagi called out again.

"What?" Damien asked as he turned around.

"Pass me that cigarette."

Damien pulled the cigarette from his mouth and gave it to Sagi, which he happily took it. Damien then pulled out another cigarette from his pack and lit it up with a lighter before turning to watch the scenery in idle.

"Rainbow?" Spike called out.

"Yeah, Spike?" Rainbow said from her spot.

"When will they be back?"

Rainbow sighed. "I don't know, Spike. The machine gun hit them hard, last time I saw them they were close to death itself."

Another flare was fired in the distance behind Rainbow. They all looked at the dimly red light filled smoke in the air as it slowly made its way to the ground, all the while the sound of gunfire continued on.

"They'll come back." Flynn broke the silence.

"Yeah," Wade chimed in, "Never let those negative thoughts get to you because it'll only break you little by little. Before you know it, you're already broke if you let that happen."

Rainbow looked at Wade, then back to the flare. "Yeah, they're gonna be alright. They are tough guys after all." She said with a weak smile.

"Damn right you are." Sven said.

"Alright, listen up everyone," Wade began as he turned to face the group, "The bridge ain't gonna be repaired anytime soon so I suggest we take some rest before the sun rises." He then looked at Rainbow. "Especially you, Rainbow."

Rainbow couldn't argue with him. She was already feeling tired and wanted to close her eyes. She nodded before walking to her friends as they tried their best to stay comfortable on the causeway. Most of them were surprised to see Rarity didn't complain much about how they would sleep like that. Rainbow didn't care much, she instantly laid next to Andrew. Fluttershy was fast asleep in his arms. Rainbow yawned before finally letting herself off to sleep. Her final thoughts were the sound of machine gun fire and Parker ordered her to warn the others.

Purple Heart Lane – Part II

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Purple Heart Lane – Part III

D-Day plus 5

June 11th, 1944

Carentan Highway, Normandy

01:21 hours

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Twilight Sparkle, call me Twilight."

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

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

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

"Where's Pinkie?" She asked.

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

…

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

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

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

"Sarge?"

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

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

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

"What's what bad?"

"Twilight. Her wound." Parker answered.

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

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

03:58 hours

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

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

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

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

"Alright, wanna come check them up?"

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes, Shy. He's gone."

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

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

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

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

"What?!" Applejack and Rainbow simultaneously shrieked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Alright, stay close to me."

Reed smirked behind him, one of satisfaction and confidence.

…

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

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

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

"Well shit." Cesaro quietly said.

"Are they sure about that?" Skippy asked.

"Positive." Reed answered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With that, they parted ways.

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

06:01 hours

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Umm… well, I'm a bit… scared."

"A bit or a lot?"

"Umm… a... a lot…"

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

"I… I suppose you're right."

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

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

"Found anything?" He shouted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Fuckin' hell!" Parker cursed loudly.

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

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

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

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

"Dashie, what happened?" Pinkie frantically asked.

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

"Where's Parker?" Luna asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"MORTAR!!" One of them shouted.

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

"Princess Luna!"

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

"Keep firing!"

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

"Covering!"

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

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

"Can you walk?" He asked again.

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

"What?" Luna asked quietly.

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

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

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

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

"Fire now." The soldier whispered.

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

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

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

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

"Say that again, Sergeant?"

"I said-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Genius

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luna nodded. "I can endure this."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes, Sir." Parker responded.

"Can I come?" Spike hopefully asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What?!" Her friends simultaneously shrieked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

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

"Yeah?" Parker called.

"Do you think they can make it?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"For you Spike, you can-"

BOOM!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Rainbow, Twilight, you alive?"

"Breathing!" Rainbow answered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What?!" Parker called back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yeah?" He asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Purple Heart Lane – Part IV

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Earth

Just another relaxing day in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was speeding through the air, like she did on most days. She enjoyed the wind going through her mane, she enjoyed the adrenaline from going so fast, she enjoyed just about every aspect there was for flying. That's to be expected from the fastest flyer in Equestria.

"This is going to be a great day!" Rainbow Dash said with a smile. The wind rustled her rainbow mane and tail, "I don't have any more weather patrol, might as well to take some nap and-" She was cut off, by the familiar voice of Twilight.

"Rainbow Dash!" The purple alicorn shouted, causing Rainbow to put on her brakes, nearly causing her to crash into a cloud. She looked down at Twilight with an annoyed look.

"What is it Twilight? This better be important!" Rainbow said, flying down to where Twilight was.

"It is, Rainbow. Do you remember that time I had to travel through a mirror, to go get my crown from the human world?" Twilight asked. Rainbow did remember that, she even remembered when Twilight said, 'hands' and she had no idea what it meant.

"Um.... yes, why do you ask?" Rainbow asked, with a curious look.

"Well," Twilight pulled out what seemed to be a piece of paper, "This spell can let us go to another human world like that one, except this one is different in many ways." Rainbow went into thought.

"So... you are going to another version of the world you went to?" Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her head in confusion. Twilight nodded.

"Yes, but in order for it to work, we need six ponies or more..." Twilight's voice trailed off, not really wanting to be rude to Rainbow. She, however caught onto this, and smiled.

"Sure, I would love to go with you to this, weird human world," Rainbow Dash put her hoof to her chin in thought, "I wonder what it will be like to be a human..."

"In this world, you don't get changed into a human when you go through, you stay pony, I think." Twilight said.

"Aww... oh well, still I would like to go." Rainbow said. Twilight giggled at her response.

"Great! We just need our other friends for this to work." Twilight said, and Rainbow nodded.

"Well then, let's get..." Rainbow's voice trailed off, as she suddenly felt something was wrong. Something really bad, in fact.

"Rainbow? Are you okay?" Twilight asked, causing her to snap out of her little trance.

She blinked several times before coming back to reality. "Oh... yeah, I'm fine. Just got a feeling about something, that's all." Rainbow said, with a smile. Twilight gave her a suspicious look, but soon shrugged it off, as it just because Rainbow was being Rainbow.

"Alright, whatever you say," Twilight stated, "I'll go get Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Spike and you get the rest." Rainbow nodded as they went different ways to find their other friends.

"Wait!" Rainbow called, making Twilight stopped in her track.

"Yes Rainbow?" Twilight asked from her shoulder.

"Meet up spot?"

"We'll meet up here again." Twilight said as she trailed off.

"Alright!"

...

Rainbow Dash, along with her friends, were all gathered in an open field. Each of them had a look of curiosity on their faces, except for Pinkie, she had been bouncing all the time when Twilight mentioned about the human world they were about to enter.

"Umm... why am I here again?" Spike asked, looking at Twilight.

"I'm sure you won't mind if you come with us, Spike," she replied, "Besides, I know you'll come in hoofy if I need some advice."

Spike smiled at her and gave her a nod. She nod back.

"So... this is the different world from Sunset's?" Applejack asked.

"Darling, how will we get to this, 'Human World' again?" Rarity asked. Twilight walked up to the fashionista, smiling as she did.

"All we have to do, is use this spell, and then we should be there," Twilight then turned to Applejack, "And yes Applejack, this isn't Sunset's world. Is everypony ready?" She asked.

"Umm... is this... safe?" Fluttershy quietly asked.

"I'm sure it is, Fluttershy." Twilight looked to her friends and all gave her a nod of approval. "Alright, let's use the spell then." As she said that, her horn glowed with a bright purple light surrounded them, as they all turned into nothing but a white light, and slowly vanished into thin air. What they didn't know, something horrible was waiting for them... on Earth.

Twilight stirred as she regained her consciousness. She blinked her eyes several times, sat up and rubbed her head while letting out a groan.

"Ow, what happened?" After regaining her vision, she looked around the area she found herself in. She was in a forest, no, they were inside a forest. She noticed all of her friends lay unconscious on the ground. Realising what just happened, she stood up and walk to Rainbow.

"Rainbow?" She said as she shook the cyan pegasus. Her response was a groan. "Rainbow? Can you hear me?" She asked again.

Rainbow slowly nodded but still lay on the ground. Twilight sighed in relief and trot to the others to wake them up. After a few minutes of waking up, all of her friends sat in place while rubbing their heads. Applejack was the one who spoke up.

"What in tarnation..." She looked at her surroundings and notice they were inside a forest, and so did everypony else.

"Where are we?" Rainbow asked.

"Forest." Rarity simply replied.

"I-it looks like E-Everfree to me." Fluttershy said nervously.

"Who cares! Let's go!" Pinkie shouted to them while bouncing to a dirt path but immediately stopped by Twilight's magic.

"Hold it, Pinkie. We should stick together now. We don't know what's out there." Pinkie nodded vigorously with a big smile. With that, all of them followed the dirt path, hoping that they would get out of the forest. Rainbow was very quiet all along, she was on her thoughts most of the time.

"You alright Rainbow?" Twilight asked when she noticed her friend was lost in thoughts again.

Rainbow snapped back to reality once again. "Y-yeah Twi. I'm okay. Just has this bad feelings, is all."

"Well, your worries will soon be replaced with excitement once you see those hands you're so curious of." Twilight replied with a chuckle.

Rainbow smiled a bit. Her friends somehow knew how to distract her from her thoughts. "Yeah, I would love to see it."

After a few minutes of walking and small conversations, they saw a light not far away from them. Spike was the one who got excited first.

"Guys! I think there's the end!" He shouted while pointing his claw at the end of the road.

"Ah'll see if anything is clear," Applejack said as she trotted towards the light. The others soon followed her and stopped when they were at the edge of the forest. All of them were hiding in the bushes, just to be cautious for anything that might be a danger for them.

"Is that... humans?" Rainbow quietly asked while pointing a hoof to a group of humans. All of them turned their gaze to her direction and saw ten humans with grey uniform were talking to each other while holding something tightly in their hands. Behind them was some kind of a shack. A very small and old shack. Probably just fit in a room.

"They sure are humans." Spike replied with a smile and looked at Twilight, who was also wearing a smile. "Come on. Let's go and meet them." He said impatiently.

Twilight nodded and walked out of the bush, along with her friends. All of them approached the talking humans and when they were close enough, Twilight took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Hello."

The humans turned their gaze to the ponies and left wide eyes.

"Zum Teufel?!" (What the heck?!) One of the soldiers said. All of them immediately pointed their weapons to the ponies, but confusion still plastered on their faces. The ponies backed away in fear as they saw this.

"Umm... we didn't mean any harm." Twilight tried to calm them down but it was no use. They all spoke to each other until all of them nodded their heads. The ponies couldn't tell what they were talking about because the language wasn't like they expect it to be.

One of the humans walked to them and quickly grabbed Twilight by her horn. She let out a gasp and then shout in pain as the human dragged her to the shack.

"Hey! What are you-" Rainbow was cut off when something hit the back of her head and immediately dropped to the ground.

"Rainbow!" Applejack was about to help but stopped when a human hug her tightly from her back. "Let me go you-!" He didn't listen. Applejack was struggling until the human slammed her into a tree. Knocking her out of her consciousness.

Rarity was screaming when a soldier grabbed her by the horn and dragged her too to the shack.

"Rarity!" Spike shrieked but a soldier quickly lift him up and cupped his mouth with his hand. It only took a minute for the soldiers to dragged the ponies into the shack. Once the door opened, all of them got thrown inside and the soldiers quickly shut the door and locked it from outside. Rainbow managed to gain her composure and flew fast to the door in attempt to break it. But sadly, it didn't work, making her stumble backwards while panting heavily.

"What the buck was that?!" She screamed while rubbing her head. "If we able to get out of here, I'll buck their teeth down so bad!"

"Applejack?" Fluttershy suddenly said as she walked closer to the orange pony. They turned their gaze to Applejack and saw her lying on the floor, not moving a single inch.

"Applejack?!" Rainbow screamed as she trotted to her friend and shook her. "Applejack, can you hear me?!"

"Move aside, Rainbow." Twilight spoke up and sat on her haunches. Her horn glowed and beginning to scan her friend's body. She let out a sigh of relief as she found her friend didn't have any injury. "She's all right. She's just unconscious."

"What are we ever going to do?" Rarity asked, trembling in place. "These dust are keeping my coat dirty! And those humans didn't make anything better either. They should learn more about manners." Twilight looked at the ground and sighed. She didn't expect this to happen. Heck, she didn't know anything about this world. All she wanted was to take her friends and show the new world. She was the one who responsible for this. She looked around and saw an oil lamp hanging in the middle of the room, providing a dimly light to them.

"All right, let's just go back." She replied. All of her friends nodded vigorously. Twilight's horn began to glow purple and the light slowly got brighter and brighter. They closed their eyes and that's when all of their mouth left agape. A slight blast from her horn making Twilight suddenly stumble backwards and crashed to a pile of books.

"Twilight!!" Spike shrieked as he ran up to her. Twilight let out a groan and sat on the pile while rubbing her horn.

"I'm okay, Spike." She replied.

"What happened?" Pinkie asked frantically.

"I don't... know..." Twilight replied, "My magic didn't work."

"Nonsense, darling, I could still levitate some objects." Rarity said as she levitate a book with her magic. "See?"

"I know, but what I meant is that I couldn't use my magic to create the portal." The room was filled with heavy silence after hearing that words. "Let me try it again." Twilight said and stood up. Her horn began to glow again but to no avail, it still didn't work. "I guess magic doesn't work properly here." Twilight sighed and lowered her head.

"So, what do we do now?" Rainbow asked, her tone was quite high. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Twilight looked at the cyan pegasus with a sad look.

"We can't do anything, Rainbow." Rarity said. "Those humans are far more powerful than all of us." The room fell into another silence.

"This doesn't like what we expected at all." Spike said while crossing his arms. "I don't know these humans will be so cruel." Her friends nodded in agreement while Fluttershy still caressing Applejack's mane.

Twilight looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. "Who ever is out there... please... help us..." A tear managed to escape from her eye. "I'm sorry..."

First Impressions

Author's Note

Some improvements; Parker will have some conversations with his brain. The green text indicates his brain's response/convo. Enjoy!

First Impressions

Twilight just sat down in the small shack. She was trying to figure a way out but too scared to fight against those humans. All of them had some things that seemed kind of dangerous. Most importantly, she didn't know what it was. So, she had to wait until someone come and save them. Well, hopefully that 'someone' wouldn't be that bad like those grey uniformed humans.

Rarity was cleaning a small couch for her to lay down on. The dust though, made her cough and she complained sometimes. Rainbow was hoovering all around the room. She would just break the window easily and escape with her friends, but too scared of those humans. She eventually learned what hands were; it was that thing that knocked her out in the first place. Applejack was sitting next to Twilight, she was rubbing her head all the time and winced at the pain. Fluttershy was sleeping quietly on the floor. Pinkie though, didn't seem quite happy by this. She wanted to throw the humans a party before the humans could see that they mean no harm. But Twilight knew it was fruitless; and they didn't even know their language. Spike was inspecting some books. But he didn't understand the language. It was a funny thing for him; Twilight would always read books when she saw them. Especially if it's for research. But right now, she didn't seem to care. She was trying to figure a way out and walk away from those humans outside.

"Ugh... are we going to just sit here or what?" Rainbow said, breaking the silence.

"Rainbow, will ya calm down? Ah'm tryin' ta ease up mah pain here." Applejack said as she rubbed her head.

"Do you feel better Applejack?" Twilight asked while looking at her friend. Applejack slightly nodded.

"Don't worry, sugarcube. Ah'll be fine."

Twilight sighed and looked back down to her hooves. All of her friends were suffering like this and it was all because of her. She then looked around, trying to find another way out, just as she did dozens of times earlier, but it was useless. The window could be easily opened but some planks were blocking it from outside. The door could've been burst by her magic, but then again, she was too scared of those humans.

"I'm sorry girls." She began. Her friends turned their gaze to her, all except Fluttershy, who was still asleep. "You have to come through this because of me."

"No need to sorry, Twilight." Rainbow said as she flew to her friend and sat down next to her. "We've been through tough times together. I'm sure we'll find a way out."

"That's right," Applejack said, "Once the moon will rise, we get outta here and search for help."

"Well, darling. I for one don't want to interact with those humans anymore. I had enough with their rudeness." Rarity said with a hint of disgust on her face.

"I guess not all of them are bad," Spike chimed in, "I mean, we know in our world there are good ponies and bad ponies. So, I believe if there's a bad human, there will be a good human too."

"Spike is right," Twilight nodded, "I'm sure not all humans are bad. I guess they were just freaked out. We are aliens to them for now anyway."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they have to hurt us like that." Rainbow said, still upset with those humans.

"I know," Twilight replied, "But what I'm trying to say is-" She was cut off by a loud bang, which jumped the ponies from their position and immediately woke Fluttershy up from her dream.

"What was that?!" She shrieked as she looked around the room. The sound was getting louder and more sounds filled the room. It was loud enough until they have to shut their ears. Screaming, shouting and the loud noises echoed throughout the room.

Twilight looked at the pile of books, then to a table that was resting nearby.

"Quick! Everypony with me!" She shouted as she ran to the pile. Her friends followed and Twilight's horn began to glow. She levitate the table and placed it next to the pile, along with other stuff and placed them like a barricade on the corner of the shack. "Hide here!"

They quickly hid behind it. All of them hugged together as one and tried their best to shut their ears. Closing their eyes, they were trembling in fear as the sound got louder and louder, along with the screaming and shouting of the humans. They stayed like that for a while until the sound suddenly stopped. No one dared to look around, all of them were still terrified from the things happening outside.

"We gotta get outta here now!" Rainbow whispered as she released the hug. They finally separated from each other. Still shaking, Twilight peeked her head and looked at the door. She waited for a moment and perked her ears, trying to find a sound, voice, or anything outside the shack but nothing. It was quiet. Very quiet.

She sighed and looked back at the others, who were still shaking in place. Even Rainbow was shaking too. "Alright girls," Twilight whispered, "We don't know what's happening out there. I believe something bad happened outside. This is our chance to-" She was cut off by the sound of the door suddenly kicked open. She immediately closed her mouth with her hooves and her pupils turned to pinpricks.

"Dear Celestia, please save us." She whispered as a sound of hoofsteps came closer. Pinkie dragged Twilight and her friends to a group hug. She still didn't know how the party pony did that but this wasn't the time to think of it. She was scared. They were scared. The sound was getting closer and no pony dare to look up. All of them shut their eyes while facing the ground. It felt like eternity but then time seemed to stop when a deep voice with a language that was familiar to them spoke up.

"What the..."

"Watch my back." Parker said as he looked at his friends. Wade and Reed nod in unison and pointed their weapons to the door. He nod back before turning his attention back to the door. He took a deep breath before slowly turned the doorknob.

Click!

Locked. Parker groaned and took a step back. He raised his feet and kicked it open. Pointing his gun forward, he slowly walked inside. He looked around while his hands still holding the weapon tightly before he turned back to see his friends outside.

"Stay there." He whispered. They nod as he walked into the old shack. Dust, dust everywhere. An oil lamp was hanging in the middle of the room, providing him some light to see through the darkness. He could see an old couch sitting against the wall, a wooden shelf with a broken mirror on it, a pile of dusty books and other stuffs on the corner of the shack, some-

Wait...

Parker looked back at the pile. It seems odd. Looks like someone just placed it on purpose to hide his form. He gave a suspicious look before slowly pointing his gun to it. Someone must be behind it. He walked closer, and closer, and closer until he heard a whimpering sound. Parker stopped to hear it carefully and could definitely tell that it was a female voice. Well, if this place was haunted then it wasn't a surprise for him. He started to walk again; the voice was getting louder by each step he took.

Parker took a final step before he could see who was hiding behind it. That's when his brain went haywire. He couldn't tell what it was, no... they. There were a bunch of them, hugging each other and trembling in fear. His gun was still pointing at them, and his breath became faster.

"What the..." Were all the words that came out from his mouth.

At first, he thought it was just a bunch of toys or dolls. But as he thought that, all of their gazes turned towards him.

Holy shit, what the fuck?

He backed away a bit, still trying to process what was happening; also a little bit terrified. Their eyes were as big as a tennis ball, and... of course they're horses. Albeit, smaller. Still, they were fucking horses. What made him even more confused was that, they're colourful. Purple, orange, blue, pink, white, yellow. Fuck. Another one though, that's legit not a damn horse. It's a dragon. A small dragon, smaller than those horses; it had a light purple skin and green spikes on it's head until it's tail. How could a dragon be so small?

They looked at each other for a moment. Parker could see fear in their eyes, he thought maybe they wouldn't do any harm. He slowly lowered his weapon and let out a sigh.

No worries. Be positive. It's just some fucking dolls that-

"Hello."

Parker's eyes widened and immediately pointed his weapon to them. He opened his mouth to say whatever it was that would come out. But it never came.

...

What the fuck are those?

Small horses. And they just literally said hello. Colorful. And...

Yeah...

...

Faint in three?

Try one

Parker had nearly noped himself out of his consciousness. But no. He hated his brain. Regaining his composure, Parker finally got his voice back. "What... the hell... you can... talk?"

"Hey Sarge! Anything in there?" He heard Reed shout outside.

TALKING HORSES

SHUT THE FUCK UP

"Give me a minute!" Parker shouted back and he heard a groan. His eyes still fixated on these creatures. He inspected them and realized that they were not just ordinary, nor small horses. Some of them had wings, and some didn't. One of them had a horn and the purple one had wings and horn. "What... are you?" Parker slowly asked to them.

They were hesitant at first but the purple one managed to answer. "Umm... we're... ponies..." Ponies. That made sense as to why they were so small. Parker let out a sigh and lowered his weapon.

"Know what," he began, "I'm too tired to process these kinds of things and I would like to take some rest."

"Are you going to hurt us?" The purple one asked again with those big eyes of hers. Parker raised an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle.

They seem no harm

How the fuck do you know

Can you just believe me for one damn moment?

With a guy who volunteered himself to jump out of a fucking airplane to save the world? Damn right

His brain wasn't helping. "Of course not. Why would I be? You don't seem to be dangerous to me."

"So," the dragon began. Making the Sergeant startled a bit. "You're not gonna... do something bad to us?"

Parker simply shook his head.

"Hey Sarge! The hell are you doing in there?" They heard Reed shout again from outside.

"Stay here." Parker ordered them and turned around to meet the others. "This shack is clear, we can use it for a night and head back to the others." He said as he walked out of the shack.

"Good news it is then. Me and Wade are gonna go to a river nearby. We heard the noise from here, you wanna come?" Reed asked.

"I think I'll pass. I wanna get some rest." Parker turned around and walked back into the shack.

"Suit yourself." With that, both of his friends went to a river somewhere else.

I'll tell 'em when the time's right. I need to do this on my own first

Dude, it's talking ponies that we're dealing with right now. I'm sure as hell they'll blow their own eye balls once they saw our new company

Parker closed the door behind him and turned his attention back to the corner of the shack. They were still behind it, probably too scared to talk to him. Parker slowly walked to the corner and stopped when he could clearly see them. They were looking at him with those expression again, fear. Parker reached out his hand and grabbed the table. Dragging it in front of the couch, he placed his Thompson on the table, as well as the helmet.

"You guys don't have to be afraid," he said as he chuckled warmly, "I won't bite."

"You're... not like those humans outside?" The white one asked. Parker raised an eyebrow in confusion. The unicorn seemed to notice this. "I mean... the humans with grey... uniforms?"

"Ohh... you mean those Germans?" Parker replied. They tilted their heads in confusion.

They don't know about the Krauts yet, dingus

"Those guys with grey uniform and helmet, and their language that you don't understand?" They nod in unison.

How the fuck do you know they don't understand Germans?

They speak English. Period

"Yep, definitely the Krauts." Parker slumped back onto the couch and crossed his arms.

"Krauts?" The pink one asked as she walked closer to him. Parker sighed. These ponies had a lot to learn, so might as well to change the subject before they moved on to the World War.

"Nevermind that," Parker said, "What did they do to you?"

"They just locked us in here like that!" The rainbow one, with wings nearly shouted. "I mean, we don't mean any harm."

Parker nod. "I can see that." Before they could say anything else, he decided to cut them off. "Where are you from anyway?"

"We're from Equestria," replied the purple one, "Planet Equis."

Pfft

Fuck off brain, this is serious

"I see." Was all that he could say. Parker knew some things about space but he never would've thought that aliens exist. Probably there were a lot more of them. "And how in the world did you get here?"

"Well..." the purple pony smiled sheepishly as she rubbed one of her hoof.

Sir! Heart is not responding!

WORK THAT SHIT ASAP

ON IT BOSS

"I managed to cast a spell to bring us to other... I mean, your world and here we are!" She nearly shrieked.

Parker nodded. "Wait, hold on. You said... spell?"

"Yep."

"As in... magic?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded vigorously with a smile.

Parker tried to process what she's talking about. Magic? Does it even exist? Frankly, he didn't really much care about that since he's in the middle of a goddamn war. He sighed deeply and sink himself deeper to the couch as he closed his eyes. Parker really wish this was just a dream. Ponies? Magic? Spell? Dragon? What the hell is going on here. The sound of footsteps interrupted his train of thoughts. He opened his eyes to see all of them were walking closer him. Parker could just run out of the shack and pretend none of this has never happen before. But something made him stayed there.

Magic is never exist

And what did you expect from a being from an entire different world?

This doesn't make any sense

Since when you're making any sense of your own life anyway?

I have to shut you down one day

"Oh, how rude of me," Parker chuckled, "My name is Sergeant Daniel Parker. Parker for short."

"Parker?" The purple one asked, "That's an odd name."

Parker smiled at her. "I'm an odd guy."

"Actually," the pink one started with enthusiasm, "I like Daniel more than Parker."

Parker suddenly frowned. He never want to call by that name. None of his friends called him by that name. Even his closest one. "Please," he started, "Don't call me by that name."

"But why?" The pink one asked again.

"No one's ever called me by that name. So it's just seems weird to hear." Parker simply replied. The room then filled with silence as they stared at each other. "So," Parker broke the silence, "I haven't caught your name."

The purple one blinked. "Oh... right, sorry." She cleared her throat and then began to introduce herself. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship."

"Princess?" Parker raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm. But Twilight is fine."

"Right, Twilight then?"

She nodded and looked at the blue one while pointing a hoof. "This is Rainbow Dash."

"Sup." She said as she extended a hoof to me. Parker almost shook it, but... the way it's cocked. That position. No fucking way he would've shaken it. His own fist extended itself and without thinking any further, they brofist... brohoof? The fuck with that.

Rainbow smirked with enthusiasm. "This guy is cool, I admit."

"This is Applejack." Twilight said as she pointed to an orange pony with cowboy hat on it.

Applejack tipped her hat with a smile. "Howdy partner."

Parker returned the smile and nod.

"This is Pinkie Pie."

"Hiya!" The pink one jumped onto Parker's lap and hugged him while burying her muzzle on his chest.

Parker chuckled and instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Hey there." Pinkie continuously nuzzling his chest. "Pinkie, I'm smelly right now."

"So?"

"Isn't it bothering you?"

Pinkie looked up at him and simply boop Parker's nose. "Of course not silly!"

Weird...

Shut

"This is Rarity." Twilight continued.

"Nice to meet you darling." The white unicorn said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Rarity."

"This is Fluttershy."

The yellow one tried to hide her face behind her pink mane while looking at Parker with one of her eyes. "H-hello."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Parker said in attempt to calm her, "I'm not like those bad guys out there."

"She's always like that when meeting a new crea- friend," Rarity chuckled and put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"And this," Twilight said while looking at the dragon that was standing next to her, "This is Spike, my number one assistant."

"Nice to meet you Spike." Parker said.

Spike smiled back and nod. Parker didn't realize that all of them were sitting in front of him. All except Pinkie, who was still hugging him. Parker wanted to ask some questions but a gun fire distracted his thoughts. His eyes widened and quickly put Pinkie down to the floor and stood up. The ponies too began to stood up and looked around the room as more and more gun fires could be heard. Parker grabbed his Thompson and put his helmet on his head, the ponies scoot closer without him noticing.

"What is that?" Twilight asked while pressing her body to his left leg. Screaming and yelling voices could be heard with some gun fires.

"Fuck! Must be Wade and Reed!" Parker nearly shouted. He was about to walk to the door but stopped when the ponies were group hugging with his legs. Parker sighed and knelt down. "It's alright, I'll be back."

"You will?" Twilight asked while looking at him.

Parker placed his hand to her mane and ruffle it gently. "I will. Don't worry. This is what I've been training for."

She looked at the soldier with worried face but nod anyway. Parker pat her shoulder before standing up and walked to the door and opened it. But before he closed it, he looked back and made sure they have his words. "Block the door with anything you can find in the room. I'll call for you once everything is done. Don't get out before I come back." With that, he rushed to the battlefield while gritting his teeth. "Hold on there brothers. I'm coming."