Prologue
LOST
Location: Unknown
Date: Unknown
In the dark-filled red sky, a bell tower stands on top on a hospital. The sound of the fire and the booming in the air was pierce by another sound of a mare screaming, which was follow by a gunshot, then a series of it.
On the ground and walking at the front small stairway that led up to the hospital is Red, holding his .45 as he passed the bodies of Moratins and silently looks at a dead mare on the stair, sprawling across the ground, her white coat was splatter by the redness of her own blood. Resting on top of her head is a WWII GI helmet that she was wearing as Red passed her body and enters the hospital.
Somewhere in the city, the rest of the Equestrian squad rushes down the street, fires everywhere. They stopped and examine around them, trying to look for their leader but it was hard with the fires and the smoke everywhere.
"Where is he?" Applejack asked when she stopped.
"I don't know but my eye is burning." Rarity replies by running one of her eye.
In front of them, Twilight thought a bit then said, "Doesn't matter. Keep looking." And they all push forward through the burning city.
At the hospital, Red slowly walks up a stair and found a stallion at the top of the stair, clutching his bloody chest.
"I'm sorry, Red." The stallion said, gasping for air.
Red kneels down in front of him and said, "No, it okay. You did good."
The dying stallion cough out blood as he said in a raspy voice "Did she…. Did she makes it out… okay?"
Red thought for a moment then says almost in a whisper, "Yeah. She's okay."
The stallion studied him for a moment, looking at him in the eyes and mutter, "Liar."
What Red didn't notice is a Moratin walking up behind him, rifle pointing at his back.
Before he could pull the trigger, he was shot repeatedly from behind and fall forward, revealing Peter pointing at carbine with smoke trailing out from his gun.
He put it down and nodded toward Red. Red nodded back and when he turned back to the dying stallion, the stallion look at him one final time then slump to the side, dead. His arm falls beside to his bloody M-1 Grease gun.
Peter walked up next to Red as Red reach out and took the stallion dog tag and held it between his hooves and against his lip as he was kissing it.
Peter put his hoof on Red shoulder and watches Red put the dog tag in his pocket and stand up next to Peter. They were about to start heading down the stair when a bomb exploded above them, causing the ceiling to collapse. Red and Peter ran down the stair as the woods crashes on top of the stallion dead body. They look back up and at that moment, Red couldn't take it as he back up against a wall bend his head down.
Why is this happening? He thought, overcome his guilt and despair.
Then he heard Peter calling out to him, "Red, he's gone. Red look at me."
Red looks up and sees Peter holding out his hoof to him, "Red, we need to get out of here. Let's get back with the other."
He took Red hoof and helps him to his hooves.
"Come on, I know the way." Peter said and Red follows him.
They were walking down a hallway that had glass on one side when a bomb landed near enough to shatter the glass.
Everything seem to be in slow-motion as Red yelled "Move!" and they ran down the hallway together, with more bombs landing nearby.
They reach to the end of the hallway and stop to catch their breath.
"That was one hell of a run." Peter said and Red nodded.
They continue forward when they saw movement in a room up ahead. They look at each other and walk into the room, readying their guns.
It was a big room with tables in the middle and medical equipments scattered all over the place. As Red walk, a glass bottle next to him shatters as a group of Moratin enters the room.
"Contact!" Peter yelled as they took cover and fire at the group.
Moonlight peered through the windows as they took out the group.
They ran down into another hallway and stop at a double door. Before Red could open it, a Moratin burst through the door, his whole body on fire as he scream in agony and fell to the ground. Peter watch in horror as Red went over to the burning pony and put a bullet through the Moratin head, ending his life. Red and Peter went through the door and run down the hallway and stop mid-between when the light above them flicker off.
"Red," Peter begin, worried, "Oh, Red. The people. All those innocent civilians."
Red didn't say anything as he went continue down the hallway. He entered a theater and stop in the middle of it when he heard a howling sound above him. Red look up at the skylight, his eyes reflected from the light when a bomb crash through the dome and it tail fin caught the steel frame and was hanging above the ground.
Red fell to the floor when the bomb came through and was trying to get up when a Moratin officer and two enlisted men walk up in front of him, gun pointing.
Red lifted up his .45 in response, aiming for their head.
Not far from him, Peter went into the theater to investigate what going on and stop when a gun flashes in front of his eyes.
Then, a black out….
4 days earlier
High above the highland and out of cloud cover, a C-47 Dakotas came into view, towing a CG Wilco glider along behind it. Next to it and around it, are more planes and gliders as they are heading their way to the drop zone.
On one of the glider and sitting on the driver seat, is 2nd Lieutenant Red as a four-man team from his squad is sitting on either side of the glider as their jeep, Venda, rest in the middle. They are now part of Operation Market-Garden and they are going to try to open up a pass in the Highland that will lead them to the Crystal Mountain.
Red- What is it that make a great soldier. Is it his brain? Or his heart. My dad asks me that as the age of seven at a breakfast table one day. He said it a choice on which you choose to believe. I had to keep it in mind because he never told me the goddamn answer. He's the smartest man I ever knew.
While Red is thinking about this, another flashback occurs…
March Air Field
Near Ponyville
September 16
Two P-51 Mustangs fighter plane flew over the airfield as Red walk down toward the field tent with Rainbow Dash, talking to her about the new team they'll be setting up in the squad.
"I can't have him, he too young." Rainbow says as they pass a truck full of ammo boxes, "I might as well get him kill."
"Come on, you wanted to be squad leader so I'd put him in as a test." Red said, "Beside, you were doing so well as leading other people in situation."
"That was one time!" Rainbow exclaimed as Angel was walking down the runway when Jasper hit him in the back of the head and shouted, "Hey there carrot!"
"Don't call me carrot." Angel said as a newly replacement, Friar who will be Jasper bazooka assistant, said to him, "You have the name 'carrot' on the back of your jacket."
"That was his idea." Angel pointed at Jasper who has walked over to Peter and Rarity and stand next to their jeep, Venda, and Peter's jeep.
"So tell me again," Jasper ask Peter, "Why we want white paint?"
"The Moratin are scared of zebras so I want us to look sharp once we go in." Peter replies back with glee, "You think you can find some?"
"Wilco." Jasper said as he walked away.
When Peter and Rarity are walking toward a tent, Rarity said to herself, "Where Zacora when you need her?"
They enter a tent where an argument between ponies that are playing a card game or some sort.
"What going on here?" Peter said once he saw the opening of the argument.
One of the soldiers from Peter's squad, PFC Paige, pointed at Twilight, "She cheated! Trying to slip a card from under the table."
"I did not!" Twilight protested, "I don't even get what this game is all about!"
"Guys," Peter says, trying to break up the argument, "We fight the enemy, not each other. Now all I can say is that once we get in there, we'll punch through the line, punch straight to Arnhem, punch every Moras bastards, punch Ace in the face and be home by Christmas."
"You mean the Heartwarming celebration?" Twilight asked.
Peter look at her with confusion then nodded, "Yeah, yeah. We'll go with that."
Seeing that the air is friendly, Peter was about to leave when Pinkie said to Paige, "Hey Paige! If you want to have a four in the row." She set down her card to reveal four aces, "Keep yourself a spare."
"Oh, goddamn it Pinkie!" Marsh whined as LaRoach next to him said, "There goes my paycheck."
While Pinkie collected her bits with an evil laughter, Peter walk down the airfield when he spotted Jasper with two cans of white paint.
"Jasper, you got the paint?" Peter asks.
"WILCO!" Jasper acknowledges and follows Peter to one of the jeep as he said to him, "You never know how much it is for me to get this."
Once they got to the jeep, Red was calling everyone to form up around him.
When he got everyone around him, Red clears his throat then said, "Alight, I don't do speeches that are all Aces' thing. But tonight we're going into the Highland, and to open up a goddamn highway. So hit the mess and get some sleep. It'll be the last you'll ever need."
Back at the present, Red stare out of the glider window when in front of the V-formation they're in, C-47s are cutting the cable line attaches to the gliders so the gliders can move freely and glide to the ground. When their line is cut, Red glider slowly went down to the ground as it passes some farmhouses scattered across the acres.
"The ground is getting fucking close!" Marsh said to Angel as Angel replies, "We'll be fine!"
"How do you know?" Marsh asks as the ground outside is coming up fast.
Red- What is it that make a great soldier. Is it his brain? Or his heart.
The ground went up with a thud as the glider touches down and skid across a fielding it landed on. Ahead of then is a huge oak tree that they are propelling toward so Red hit the break and hold on to it as the glider slowly stop, with it nose touching the bark of the tree.
Once they stop, the ponies inside the glider climb out and open the back of the glider to get the jeep out. Red directed Twilight, Marsh and Angel and LaRoach to get the jeep out as he watches other gliders landing nearby. The rest of the squad are in another gliders and somewhere out there in the landscape.
They got the jeep out and jump in as Marsh drives it and led them down a trail that went between the two fields where gliders and supply parachutes are landing all over the place.
They cut around a corner and Red spotted another group of his squad off the side of the road, getting their jeep out and getting ready to follow them.
The squad he commanded has been split into three different team, Fire team, Assault team and the Support team.
The Fire team is the group that gives out the base of fire, or suppression on the enemy. This team consisted LaRoach and Rarity with Twilight leading them.
The Assault team is the group that attack, flank or charge the enemy with a heavier firepower than the Fire team. This team has Marsh, Angel with Rainbow leading them.
Lastly, this led down to the Support team, which has bigger guns and firepower than the two other teams combine. This team have Applejack and Pinkie, which they man the machine gun and Jasper and Friar, which they man the bazooka.
The only two people that are left out are Spike and Fluttershy because they choose to be non-combatant. Fluttershy is the squad medic and must be protected. Spike on the other hand, can support the teams with encouragement and occasionally will pick up a gun only when threaten.
The new change that has been placed into the squad is tactic and maneuvers. As Red has briefly told them, if they want to survive, they must learn to work together as a team.
One military they were taught is called the Four F's; Find Fix, Flank and Finish.
Find the enemy.
Fix the enemy with suppressive fire from the Fire or Support team.
Flank the enemy by sending the Assault to the side or rear.
Finish them off.
This tactic will work perfectly only that they never use. Another tactic is from Ace himself, "Fire one shot. It'll piss the enemy off to make the second shot count!"
Given that they now have jeeps, the Equestrian squad [or 3rd squad which they are] is now assigned to a newly formed 2nd recon platoon which they go out and locate the enemy and sometime attack them. In the platoon, Peter lead 2nd squad and Ace lead 1st squad and the platoon itself.
During this operation, Twilight team and the non-combatant group has been sent to land with Peter's squad so Red only have the Assault team and the Support team at his disposal as they stopped next to a gate and jump out of their jeeps to start their mission.