Chapter 13

OPERATION MARKET

September 17

Eerde, Highland

0600 hours

The squad formed up around Red and he began to brief them their mission, "Alright listen up. We got two full objectives here. One, clear out the landing zone for the incoming gliders." He nodded toward Rainbow next to him, "That you and Jasper team. Also we need to find a stallion, he a resistance member and he's at a farmhouse somewhere around here."

"Isn't that farmhouse?" Applejack nodded at a farmhouse behind farm which is on the other side of a small hayfield.

Red look at it then back to his squad, "Yeah, that it. That me, Applejack and Pinkie. We'll bring the MG. Hop to it."

Red the other mantle over a fence and disappear into a cornfield then begins to lead the MG team toward the farmhouse that Applejack pointed out. It not much of a field though, but has small group of hay and some sheep that is just gazing on the grass, not bothering what happening around them.

They reached the farmhouse and when they got there, a stallion wearing a black suit and a hat stepped out from the house and greeted them by waving them over.

"Hello, I'm Nova, here," he handed Red a makeshift map with dotted line, "it not a lot but I've managed to find some Moratin position it…"

He was interrupted but Pinkie who exclaimed, "Whoa, he nice!"

Nova blushed as he continues, "Yes. Now I must go return to my son, Sweetcandy. He wanted to fight very badly once I'm out. Careful, there are some Moratins on the other side of this wall. This is all I can help you. Good luck Lieutenant Red."

Nova then walk out to the clearing where Red and the other came and disappeared, leaving them to deal with the Moratins. Three Moratins are standing on the other side of a low stonewall and did not notice Red and the MG team setting up right behind them. Before they have time to realize what behind them, Red shouted out an order and mow down the three enemy soldiers.

They went through a small street and came across a windmill.

"Now we got a map." Applejack asked as they got to the side of the windmill, "What do we do now?"

Red look around then at the windmill. He need to find a high ground to observe the area around them and said, "Wait right here."

The sound of gunfire and explosion fill the distance as Red climb a little stair and reach the highest point of the windmill and began to look around. Down below in front of him is a group of Moratins patrolling the area in front of another farmhouse and a stable. Something on his right caught his eyes on a small hill next to them and spotted a squad of paratroopers moving up the hill and into the surrounding areas. In the sky above him, a C-47 flew over a drop a load of paratroopers into the sky and they float gently to the ground and disappeared from view behind the tree line.

To Red, that their rally point for the regiment assembly that they have to reach.

The Moratin on the ground saw the floating paratroopers and walk over to the direction they landed, leaving the area unguarded.

Red went down from the windmill, told his team of what he saw and happened and leads them through the area toward the farmhouse.

They enter it and soon realized it empty after they secure the upper level. Red went downstairs and found Applejack looking at a family photo of two children and their parent.

"I wonder what happened to `em." She asked, setting down the photo back on the drawer and look at the other photo, "These ponies got the will to live' when all this happen all of the sudden."

Red was about to stay something when he heard the back door slam and some hoof step from the kitchen.

Red and Applejack begin to think it was Pinkie when Pinkie ran down the stair next to them and exclaimed, "Guys! They're outside!"

Whoever in the kitchen stop moving and before anyone else could react, Red open up and fire through the wall at the kitchen. They heard the body drop and could see the kitchen through the bullet holes on the wall. Then, bullets rippled everywhere around them as the Moratins outside opened fire at the house.

Applejack and Pinkie ran into the kitchen, set up their MG on the windowsill and fire at the backyard where the Moratins is at. They repel the attack and walked out with Red into the backyard and the field, now litter with dead bodies. They cross the field and reach a little trail that run parallel with the tree line.

"Well, that was fast." Pinkie said as they hit the trail and take it course downward, "We weren't having this kind of fight back at the region."

"That because we don't even know what we're doing." says Applejack, "and the Moratins were smart enough not to stand around like a bunch of idiots and wait to get slaughter."

They climb a slope and found themselves staring into a forest where paratroopers are milling around, getting everything organized, regrouping and collecting supply bags.

"Red!" came a voice. Red looks down and spotted Ace waving him over and standing next to their regiment commander, Colonel Cole.

Red and his team reaches them and walk with them to the center of the forest when Ace said, "I know they sent you guys on recon." Then he speak directly to Cole, "Sir, these soldiers are."

"Red?" Cole said, not looking at Ace, "Yeah, I remember. I'm not so great with name but certainly heard your after D-Day. But I got a job if you are up to it. The division is sending in a whole mass of gliders coming in from the southwest and I need you guys to clear the landing for them. I've already radio in your guys to bring in the jeeps so you won't have to walk the whole way."

Sitting on the driver seat is Jasper honking the horn at some passing soldiers, "In some random pony world, the horn still mean get out of my fucking way." then he looks at Cole, embarrass, "Sorry, sir."

Next to him, Rainbow places her radio pack on the back of the jeep and exclaimed, "We're ready whenever you are, Red!"

Before Red could leave, Ace asked Red, "Before you go, can I borrow Twilight and Jasper?"

"Why?"

"Because my squad doesn't come in till the next wave and I need men to clear out a village."

Red look at Twilight who is talking to her friends that came in then said, "Fine. But don't get her killed."

Ace smiled, "I won't."

Leaving their jeeps on the side of the road and walking toward a hill, Rainbow said to those around her, "How good is our Intel? Do we know that the Moratins will be attacking the gliders? Seem like a foolish move."

In front of her, Marsh reply with a snigger, "We don't know for sure that why it called 'recon'."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of the ramification. We protect the brass by dying first. I understand."

"The Gospel according to Rainbow!" Marsh laugh when a glider came over low and crash through trees, it wings snapped off as it hit the ground on the other side of the hill.

"Holy shit, did you see that!" LaRoach says as they came up the slope of the hill, "I bet nobody survive that!"

They climb up and see Moratins soldiers attacking the downed glider as well as other gliders on the field.

"What are we waiting for? Let get 'em!" Rainbow yelled and they went down the hill and attack the Moratins from the rear.

As far as he could tell, Red could see dead glider men laying out of the gliders or inside it as the survivors take cover behind the rubble.

They stopped the Moratins from attacking and cause them to retreat as the squad reach the gliders and help the survivors out.

While Fluttershy help the wounded, Red order his squad and the glider men to set up a defensives perimeter around the field and wait for the rest of the gliders to land.

"Okay," Red begin to tell them as they set up the perimeter, "The Moratins will attack at any moment so don't let them get through."

About ten minutes later, the Moratins has attack like Red predicted and they begin to fight back for the rest of that morning.

By the quarter to twelve, they got back to the assembly area after defending the landing to receive their next mission. They found Twilight and Jasper teams sitting beside a tree and they look like they came out of a dumpster and they were exhausted.

"Oh my, what happen to you?" Rarity asked them when they came over, holding their snots because they can't withstand they smell coming out of them.

Twilight look at them, tired as she was, then said in a raspy voice, "Ace was trying to kill us."

Red shook his head and walk over to the command tent that was pitched in the middle of the forest and that is the regiment CP.

"I understand why nopony want to be around Ace," Twilight begin to say, coughing a bit, "It seem that Ace don't even know how to prevent other from dying that fast."

"Well listen here," Applejack explain, "on what Red has told me, Ace will just get everypony killed no matter how many times they'd told him, he just doesn't care about anypony he was leading in the first place."

"Now I felt sorry for those guys in Ace's squad." Rainbow said when Red came over to them and announcement, "Get ready. We're going up with the 506th to open up a bridge that crosses a river."

The other groan and curses then got up, replenish their ammo and canteen and soon follow Red and other squads out of the forest to link up with the 506th.

This operation has been going smoothly but will soon change once the Moratins redirect themselves and attack the way they should be.