This chapter chronologically takes place on the same day as 'Leaving everything behind'.
Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I was very distracted which took my attention away from writing this chapter. But I eventually got my focus back on track and finished the chapter. I hope you like the chapter.
16th December 1945 - 8:00 AM (Equestrian time)
Twilight is on her hospital bed, waiting for the rest of her friends to show up. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Coco Pommel, Spur and Biscuit are present. Twilight has heard of the victory in Klugetown. She is delighted to hear the Soviets had fallen back there but at the same time, is devastated as Klugetown had essentially been erased from the map, pretty much flattened. To make it worse, around 100 thousand lives had been lost. Regardless of which side the lives were lost on, it's too many lives.
"When will they get here?" Pinkie Pie wondered.
"They're having a word with the CMC's about... about fighting... in a tank..." Coco Pommel is still in disbelief about the fact that the CMC got hold of a tank in the first place.
"They'll come once they had a chat," Fluttershy reassured Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy sounds much better. For the most part, Fluttershy has recovered, physically, at least.
"Have you received a letter back from her yet? It's been nearly two weeks since you sent out the letter and... and I haven't talked to her for years because of... what happened. Rainbow Dash especially has been worried for her. Have you heard back from her?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes actually, she is still in Ponyville and managed to stay unharmed," Twilight stated. Fluttershy sighs with relief hearing that this pony stayed out of harm's way.
"Who are we talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Before Twilight answers Pinkie Pie, somebody catches their attention. Everypony looks to their left. There is Nurse Redheart talking to an old-looking white man with short white hair, who is sitting on their hospital bed. The man is also wearing a military uniform, decorated with medals.
"I'm pleased you are doing alright. You should be ready to go back to America today-"
"No I'm not, I'm going to have a crack at those mongoloid Russians before I go back. Better hope the Lord shows mercy to them sons of bitches, because I won't," The man firmly interrupted, chuckling slightly aloud at the end. He gets off his hospital bed, he wobbles slightly, but quickly regains balance.
"Oh- man, it feels so good to stand. Haven't been able to stand for over a week," The man grinned, stretching his arms and legs. He turns around, reaching for a black helmet with 4 gold stars on that's on his bed, and puts it on.
Meanwhile, Nurse Redheart walks to Twilight's hospital bed.
"Hey," Nurse Redheart gives a brief smile, which disappears.
"Hi," Spur nodded.
"Twilight, good news, you're ready to be discharged. Luckily the tank shell fragments didn't cause anything um... too major," Nurse Redheart stated. Twilight nods. Everypony is delighted to hear Twilight will make a full recovery.
Then then see the rest of the mane 6 rush in, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity, huffing and puffing of exhaustion. They've rushed all the way from Sweet Apple Acres all the way to Ponyville Hospital.
"Bad- bad... news...big bad news..." Rarity gagged for air.
"CMC... CMC, tank..." Applejack breathed heavily.
"They got... in the tank... and drove off..." Rainbow Dash regained her stamina. Like Fluttershy, she too has virtually recovered, physically. Psychologically... that is another matter.
The others understood enough. The CMC have ran off with the Tiger 2. They don't know what to do, and start frantically panicking, saying what they must do to find them, until the old-looking man walks to them.
"How old are they?" The man inquired. He eavesdropped in on the covered.
"Who are you?" Biscuit inquired, raising an eyebrow. The man readjusts his posture, standing more up right.
"How do you not know who is is!? He is George Smith Patton!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed at Biscuit. Everybody should know who Patton is.
"On point," The man nodded, smiling.
"Now, how old are these... CMC?"
"Mid teens, roughly," Spur answered.
"Well... let them fight. They may get shot, and they may get killed... but living under occupation by them bastards will be far worse. Would you rather die in the honour of battle and make a difference, or, suffer for the foreseeable future under occupation knowing you could've made a difference?" Patton quietly asked, absolutely not in the shy and timid kind of quiet, but the slow firm-sounding kind of quiet. Everypony looks at each other. The CMC are just about old enough to fight. But at the same time the adults deep down want to bring them back home where it's safe, especially the mane 6. They have to figure out what to do to get them to come back but right now they have no idea what to do.
"This conflict could've been avoided... I bloody warned everybody that the Russians would not stop..." Patton muttered.
"Nobody wanted to listen to me... the press wrote me off as crazy, mad, or whatever... and now, we're paying the consequences. We should've not stopped in Germany but continued straight to the city Moscow, because this damn war would not have continued otherwise. We defeated the wrong enemy." Patton continued muttering. He sees this conflict as a continuation of the war that 'supposedly' ended in September. He blankly looks around to his left and right at the damaged walls of the hospital, which were from the air raid. Patton then thinks about the hospital staff, and he admires their bravery. He admires Equestria's bravery in general.
"Only if some of our boys were as brave to fight the Russians, we would knock their rotten teeth," Patton said to himself aloud.
"It ain't been easy t'ough. We knew good ponies who lost t'eir lives," Applejack murmured.
"Our win in Kluegetown was lucky to say the least. The Soviets are going to eventually take it," Said Pinkie Pie.
"Well get me in command of some divisions and I'll guarantee some wins against the sons of bitches," Patton responded. He has been waiting to have a scrap against the Soviets. Becoming a commander for Equestria may be his only chance at having his way. Maybe then those who saw Patton as crazy will finally listen to him, and maybe, just maybe, America will get directly involved.
"But you're expected to be back in America by today," Nurse Redheart stated.
"Tell Truman that I need to stay for a little longer," Patton smirked. He then looks back at Twilight.
"You... where's the nearest place I sign up? I will give Equestria victories, that's a promise."
"Um... I'll have to ask Shining. He's in the Crystal Empire, doing a debrief on the situation. But the Crystal Empire is hours away from here by carriage," Twilight responded.
"Well, the more we wait here, the longer we'll take. So, let's get a carriage, and get to the Crystal Empire as quick as we can." Patton sounds very adamant. Twilight nods and says bye to her friends as she leads a fully recovered Patton out of the hospital room.
"When did Patton come to Equestria?" Rarity asked.
"Just a few days ago. The Americans thought we could save him," Nurse Redheart answered.
"I smell somethin' fishy goin' on. How come could Amer'ca not save him bu' we could easily? There's def'nitely somethin' polit'cal goin' on," Applejack stated.
"Maybe America wanna support us but they send Patton down here knowing he would wanna command an army and to provoke the Soviets so in turn the Soviets provokes America so America looks like they have a good reason to supply us with weapons?" Pinkie Pie theorized without pausing, now gasping for air. Although nopony believe that's the reason, Pinkie Pie strongly believes to herself that is the exact reason.
"I just want this war to stop..." Fluttershy murmured, leaning on Rainbow Dash, who leans onto Fluttershy as well. Both pegasuses are comfortable with each other. They've been through a lot, and they're okay now, they think they're going to be okay. They know there's a deeper connection between one another, but both of them are afraid to confess in front of everypony else.
"R- Rainbow... can uh we go somewhere alone... I want to tell you something..."
"Sure Fluttershy, I could do with some fresh air. I uh... I got something to tell you too."
When outside the hospital room, the 2 pegasuses hug. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy knew each other became more than friends. They may not get another chance to confess.
(A few hours later)
Meanwhile up north...
Out of the major Equestrian regions, the Crystal Empire was the least hit by the air raid, thanks to the protection of the surrounding mountains. Cadence and Flurry Heart, as well as many regular Crystal residents, have already evacuated to Yakyakistan, which is currently safe and out of range from Soviet bombers. Unlike a lot of places in Equestria, in the Crystal Empire, there are still a large portion of buildings that remain intact, and casualties had been relatively light compared to other places hit by the air raid almost 2 weeks ago. All the Royal Guard's chain of command had been transferred from Canterlot over to the Crystal Empire for this exact reason.
Shining Armour is in the centre bit that's underneath the Crystal Empire's castle. There is a map of Equestria on a table, with some of it's east and south being coloured in red. The red colouring on the map are territories under Soviet occupation. He had just finished doing the debrief on the situation. He is right now looking at the map, looking for what is most likely the next target. It is very likely to be Rainbow Falls, or maybe Klugetown.
"The Soviet's next move is going to be a massive eastern offensive. Rainbow Falls is vulnerable. They're then going to try taking Klugetown again soon. If Klugetown falls they'll flood their way up north..." Shining Armour is looking for places that can be held and places he has to fall back from. He's certain that there's going to be a massive Soviet offensive along the east. He's also certain that further down south, Kluegetown, will inevitably fall. He looks up at the north, and looks at Rainbow Falls.
"What's the plan?" A Royal Guard unicorn stallion asked, who's wearing a gold helmet. Shining Armour turns around.
"We should hold onto Klugetown. Spread to order to the commanders to hold onto Klugetown," Shining Armour ordered.
"Yes sir," The Royal Guard unicorn nodded. He then walks off. Meanwhile, Shining Armour notices a large pink carriage, towed by 2 ponies. They stopped, and coming out is Twilight and another figure, a human, and they walk to Shining Armour.
"Twilight and... Patton?" Shining Armour recognizes the man. He was a major figure in the war. Almost everybody knew about Patton, no matter which side they were fighting on.
"Hey, Shining, I've brought somebody along," Twilight greeted, nodding. Patton also nods, politely smiling. He walks over to Shining Armour while extending out his right hand. Shining Armour reaches with his left forehoof. The man and unicorn shakes them, before letting go.
"First off, I apologize on behalf of my country, for being so blind to the Russian threat until now," Patton sincerely apologized. Only if Patton had his way in May, none of this would've been happening he thought.
"No no, it's understandable, everyone wanted peace. Unfortunately the Soviets only have revenge in mind-"
"Revenge? This conflict they started isn't about revenge. Let me tell you now, that's a whole load of crap. The Russians just wants more territory under the guise of revenge," Patton interrupted.
"To be fair-"
"Don't be fair to the Russians! That's why you're losing the damn war! Those commie muggers only understand war! We should do nothing else other than kick those bastards back into Russia where they belong!" Patton interrupted, sounding even more firm than last. For a moment, there's an awkward silence.
"I want you as a commander," Said Shining Armour. He likes Patton's attitude. Usually, nobody, pony or not, becomes a commander or general or any place in Equestria's Army this quick. But because Patton was one of, it not, the best western general of the war, and having him in command of some forces will make a big impact, and maybe give Equestria some sort of initiative.
"Well I didn't travel up here for nothing," Patton smiled, and Shining Armour smiles back too. Patton is one step closer to fighting the Soviets.
"Twilight, continue to help everypony with your friends, in any shape or form. Whether that's going to greet soldiers at the front to boost morale, or anything, anything to help anypony," Shining Armour requested. Twilight nods as she got back in the carriage, which the 2 ponies began towing away with.
"Sorry that your first impression of Equestria is the state it's currently in," Shining Armour apologized.
"Less chit chat, and more on the situation. I need to know what's going on. I imagine you Equestrians run your army differently to how us yanks run ours," Patton demanded.
"Well, the Soviets are pushing the south. In the north, they're closing in on Rainbow Falls. In no time, they'll be on the Crystal Empire's doorstep," Shining Armour replied. He shows Patton the map, and the American general knew exactly what to do.
"Abandon the whole south. Given how shit Russian logistics are, it's gonna be a... well, a logistical nightmare for them to get their heavy equipment through a desert. The desert will act as a barrier of sorts, it'll be incredibly difficult for the Russians to get their tanks especially across the sand. We can also have some any air units harassing them, and have some ground forces north of the desert to pick them off, it should an easy turkey shoot down there. We're going to make the south a living hell for them," Patton suggested.
"The biggest threat are the Russians coming from the east. We should focus on the Russians in the east before worrying about the Russians in the south," Patton explained. He then looks for Rainbow Falls on the map, with is near the top.
"We need to keep Rainbow Falls at all costs, because if that falls, the bastards will have an open road to the Crystal Empire. I suggest a counterattack, the Russians won't expect it," Patton suggested. Shining Armour is already impressed by Patton.
"I should warn you, in the east you'll be facing Zhukov," Shining Armour stated. Zhukov's name sends shivers down the spines of Equestria's generals and marshals, and Shining Armour. Nopony in Equestria is a match for Zhukov.
"Do you think I give a shit?" Patton chuckled, unfazed by Zhukov's name. He isn't scared of Zhukov.
"No," Shining Armour chuckled back.
The same Royal Guard unicorn stallion from earlier teleports back, with some information.
"The one leading the offensive on Rainbow Falls actually isn't Zhukov," They stated.
"Then does that means we're facing Vasilevsky? I thought he was in charge of the Soviets coming from the south," Shining Armour raised an eyebrow.
"Not him either... and you won't believe me when I say this. Intelligence suggests that Cozy Glow is in command of the Soviet assault on Rainbow Falls," The Royal Guard unicorn stated. Shining Armour knew what this meant. Cozy Glow somehow got out of Tartarus and defected to the Soviet Union.
"Well... at least Patton doesn't have to face the wrath of Zhukov," Shining Armour shrugged.
"No no no, you are going to put me up against Zhukov. I'm your only match against him," Patton sternly demanded. As much as Patton utterly loathed the Soviets, he recognizes that Marshal Zhukov is very dangerous, and was one of the few competent Soviets at commanding his forces.
"If you can defend Rainbow Falls, then I'll transfer you over to command forces that are up against Zhukov," Shining Armour responded. He knows Patton is amazing at commanding forces under his command, but that's with American forces. He wants to see how Patton would fair with commanding some of Equestria's forces first. Patton is getting a bit frustrated with Shining Armour seemingly skeptical of him by questioning his capabilities because Shining Armour wanted him to command some of Equestria's forces, but keeps questioning his capabilities.
"Alright, deal, and believe me..." Patton sternly speaks and brings his face slightly close to Shining Armour's, who shuddered a little bit.
"...Rainbow Falls will stay out of commie hands." Shining Armour can feel how determined Patton is, and because of the stories surrounding him, Shining Armour has faith in him.
"Alright. I'm now going to teleport you to my other commander. They are planning the defense of Rainbow Falls as well," Shining Armour stated. Before Patton questioned about teleportation, Shining Armour teleports Patton.
"Shouldn't we have that guy commanding on the battlefieldfield?" The Royal Guard unicorn asked.
"This is Equestria, not western Europe or Africa. Plus, we already lost two field commanders. Patton is too valuable to risk losing. It was a miracle he was in Equestria in the first place," Shining Armour stated.
"Patton was extremely dangerous, according to our former German allies. He should be on the battlefield commanding," The other unicorn protested. Shining Armour thinks for a minute.
"If Patton comes back to me, I'll have him command on the field," Shining Armour grudgingly agreed. But he does have a feeling that Patton will most certainly come back and request to be put on the field.
(Under Rainbow Falls)
Patton freaks out as he's teleported, but quickly regains his composure. Teleportation is so disorientating, because one moment he's in one place, and then before he knows it he's at a completely different place. Patton can't understand know how unicorns can teleport themselves without getting disorientated.
Patton looks around, left to right, front and behind. He's in a concrete room, which is lit by 2 oil lamps, and a small map of Rainbow Falls on a rickety wooden table. He wishes he was out on the field. Maybe Shining Armour is still skeptical, or he values him so much he's unwilling to put him on the field. But whatever the reason, for now he'll have to make do with this position.
Also present, is a white unicorn stallion with a blonde. He is wearing a gold helmet, and a mane coming out of it that's a bit long for the usual stallion, let alone a serving stallion, and God forbid a stallion in command. To Patton, it suggests this stallion isn't entirely professional.
"Ah, so you're the other new commander? Our two previous commanders got killed a few days ago. I've been trying to do my best on my own while they find me a new commander. But we've been pushed back and morale is lacking. Now, we're about to lose Rainbow Falls too," The unicorn points at the map. Patton takes a look. On the map are 6 tiny Soviet flags on sticks with a small circular base, east of Rainbow Falls on the map. Westwards of Rainbow Falls on the map, there is only 3 tiny Equestrian flags, also on the same small sticks on circular bases. Patton takes back his thoughts of this stallion having no shred of professionalism.
"May I suggest what I would do? I believe we can hold onto Rainbow Falls," Patton stated. With those tiny flags, Patton can literally and visually explain how he would defend Rainbow Falls. Both the human and unicorn general look at each other in the eye. It only just clicked in the unicorn's head, who exactly he's staring at.
"Go ahead," The unicorn nodded.
"First, we lure the Russians through that valley between the mountains," Patton starts explaining as he puts 3 of the tiny Soviet flags east of Rainbow Falls in the map, in a line from north to south.
"We get two of our divisions to hide in the mountains. When the Russians have passed, those two divisions will launch a surprise counterattack before they get a chance to fire their artillery and cut the Russian divisions off from resupply at the same time," Patton moves forward on the map a tiny Equestrian flag above the Soviet one in the middle, then another tiny Equestrian flag beneath. He then brings forward the last tiny Equestrian flag forward, facing the Soviet one in the middle head on.
"We will use our third division fight them head on. It should be more than plenty to overwhelm this division here," Patton continues explaining, taking the tiny Soviet flag in the middle off, putting it to the side.
"Now, these two other Russian divisions will be far apart, and our divisions should have an easy time picking them off," Patton explained, taking away the 2 other tiny Soviet flags off the map and putting them to the side. The unicorn thinks for a moment, then made a decision.
"Then, we immediately go on the attack. If you do something the Russians aren't anticipating, they will fold. Trust me, they will fall back," Patton added. He finished explaining his plan. To the unicorn, it definitely sounds as though Patton knew what he was doing.
"If it works, it'll be devastating to the Soviets. Let's go with your idea," The unicorn agreed. Patton nods and smiles.
"Wait, I never asked your name," Said Patton.
"Commander Blueblood sir," The unicorn answered.
"Well, Commander Blueblood, let's start pushing those bastards back," Patton lightly smiled, shaking Blueblood's left forehoof with his right hand.
(East of Rainbow Falls)
Morale has been low in Equestria's forces in the north. The Soviets had pushed them from Manehattan all the way to Rainbow Falls. Amongst those fighting is Sunburst. While the once-a-day letter from Starlight helped a little bit, he too is lacking in morale.
Sunburst is in a green army tent, with Celestia's cutie mark on on side and Luna's cutie mark on the other. He has an new STG 44. He uses it when he's too exhausted to use lethal magic. He also has a small but long periscope, which he uses with the rifle so he can fire on enemy forces without exposing himself. Even with these advantages, they lost a lot of unicorns in the surprise attack on the 5th. At the moment, Sunburst escapes this reality, as he is reading a tear-stained letter from Starlight.
"Trixie has made a recovery, and I'm so relieved she did. But, since the Soviets have completey overran the Changeling Kingdom, I haven't heard any firm proof on whether Thorax or his brother escaped or not. To make things worse, Chrysalis is back and she's working together with the Soviets. There's even rumours of unreformed changelings and even these 'fellow' ponies assisting them too."
"Me and Trixie are in the occupied territories currently helping ponies escape the occupation. We are wearing cloaks and masks to conceal our identities. So far, the mass killings and deportations have seemed to stop, only because resistance has ceased. How could Soviets inflict this much fear and misery? Helping anypony that can escape Soviet barbarism is a must. This conflict is no longer about so-called Soviet vengeance, but a full-fledged war of annihilation."
"I cannot tell you where I will be right now exactly for obvious reasons, like keeping me and Trixie safe. Teleport a letter to the town I used to be in charge of long ago, behind the lone house like we have been recently doing. I'll pick the letter up by tomorrow evening and read it. In case if I die and never see you again, I want to say something I haven't told you yet and I wanted to for a long time, I like you Sunburst, I really do. I just wish I could tell you to your face. But, as long as you know I like you, I'll at least be happy that you know I like you."
"From Starlight."
Sunburst cried quietly from reading the letter. To his left are sheets of paper, an ink pot and a feather. He uses his magic and starts writing his letter.
"It's been nearly two weeks two weeks of constant defeat. After one of our commanders was killed, we began losing ground at an even faster while we scramble to find another two commanders. I hate life as a soldier. But knowing it's my duty and it's for Equestria, I'm willing to do everything I can do."
"Everyday, I always think about you, because I feel the same way. I like you too Starlight. Whatever happens next, just know we'll meet again right? I'm scared, but knowing you love me, I feel slightly better. I can't wait to see you again, but for now, I must do my duty and help defend Equestria."
"From Sunburst."
After writing the letter, he re-reads it, getting tears on it. The 2 unicorns knew each other for a long time. They have known each other since they were foals, and although they didn't see each other until they were reintroduced to each other by Twilight a whole ago now, they greatly missed each other in that time since. But when they met each other again, they would work out problems together, whether it was their own or helping others with their problems.
Sunburst lets the ink dry, then he rolls the letter up and puts it in a glass bottle. He uses his magic to teleport the glass bottle to the location Starlight told him to send it. He knows Starlight loves him, and hopefully Starlight will get the letter and know he loves her back. He is determined to live, because he wants to see Starlight again.
Sunburst turns his head right and looks at his green helmet. He levitates it with his magic and puts the helmet on. Then after he stops crying, he leaves the tent he is in. Outside are other Equestrian tents. Outside it's heavily raining, heavily enough to make the grassy mud wet and sludgy. Finally, more meaningful reinforcements have arrived. More of the 3 types of ponies are present, as well as human volunteers in uniform, yaks and changelings, all of them wearing green helmets. There is also a massive group of hippogriffs. There are even a few dragons, albeit, the ones that are only slightly bigger than the humans. There's also a drastic increase of additional tanks and tank destroyers, mostly Panzer IV's and Stug III's. Sunburst looks up, looking from the bottom to the tippy top of the enormous, large monolith, Rainbow Falls itself. They can't fall back, because if the Soviets gets to the railway that's further west, it'll lead the Soviets to Rainbow Falls and the place will fall.
Stepping forward into the middle is an earth pony stallion. They are wearing a silver helmet.
"At attention!" They demanded aloud. Everybody present slams their feet or hooves down, creating a loud clunking noise as they immediately stood frozen still. Sunburst returns to looking horizontally, like everyone else
"Our new commanders, Patton and Blueblood have planned out a massive counterattack. I expect everypony to be sharp, and well prepared. Our division is going to be directly confronting the advancing Red Army divisions, while the two other divisions flank around and attack their rear. If we do our jobs properly, we will push them back-" As he was speaking, a bullet flies straight through the ponies head. Their helmet flies off as the the pony's brains, shattered skull and blood flying outwards, going everywhere, staining the ground below.
"Snipers-" Somepony cried out, being cut off as a bullet hit their skull. Their head explodes in the same bloody fashion.
All forces around flinch as they immediately rush to their positions. Sunburst is in the division that's confronting the brunt of Soviet forces. Ahead, roughly 500 metres away, are rapidly advancing Soviet infantry, T-34-85's with more Soviet infantry riding them, and trucks driving with them. Bullets and tank shells starts flying from both sides. But something seems off, the Soviets look much more unprepared. The Soviets have definitely been caught off guard by the sudden reinforcements.
BWMPH! BWMPH! BWMPH...
Immediately, the Tiger 1's are on the move, destroying T-34-85's left right and centre. The Stug III's follow close behind, covering fire.
BWOMPF! BWOMPF- DING! BWOMPF...
The T-34-85's quickly fire back. But some shells bounce of the Tigers. Tanks on both sides are beginning to be destroyed, but to the Soviet's surprise, Equestria's forces aren't entrenched, but are pushing forward. Equestria starts shredding into the bewildered Soviets. So confident the Soviets were, they were also woefully unprepared for an Equestrian counterattack.
POW POW POW POW POW POW POW POW... Sunburst has a magical field raised to protect him while also using his magic to use his STG 44 to spray down Soviet infantry. The Soviet bullets meanwhile bounces off his shield. Other unicorns to his left and right are doing the same thing. In the air, pegasuses, changelings and hippogriffs drop anti-tank mines, grenades and molotovs on the Soviets, from 50 metres in the air.
VVVRRRRRMM! In the air are some Soviet aircraft, but there aren't too many, due to the bad weather limiting their use. Most of them are Yak-3's, but a small mix of La-7's being used as well. They are lining up on the problematic unicorns that are ravaging the comrades on the ground.
BRRRRRTRTRTRT! BRRRRRTRTRTRT! BRRRRRTRTRTRT! BRRRRRTRTRTRT...
The Yak-3's and La-7's strafe the unicorns. The barrage of bullets from the Soviet fighters overwhelmed the magical shields used by the unicorns. The shields shatter, and many more being instantly killed by the strafing. More are also killed by the retaliating Soviet infantry.
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Sunburst screams as what feels like knives tearing at his body. He got caught in the strafing run. He collapses face-first into the mud. He weakly reaches for his neck and he feels a hole that's gushing out blood. The version around him gets darker and darker, and he feels 3 people picking him up, but he can't see who they are as he quickly blacks out from blood loss.
Due to the limited Soviet air support because of the weather, uninjured unicorns and AA weapons were slowly able to deal with them. Most of the planes were destroyed, only a handful managing to escape as their comrades on the ground continued getting slaughtered by the rapidly-moving surprise counterattack pushes on. The lightning-quick surprise assault swiftly brushes the ill-prepared Soviets to the side in their blood. Other than in Klugetown, the Soviets have been unstoppable. The Soviets weren't expecting a counterattack, and to add to the lethality, the counterattack is largely orchestrated by Patton, which the Soviets have yet to be aware of. Over the next few days, Equestria goes on to pushing the Soviets completely away from Rainbow Falls in the north.
(Unknown amount of time passed by)
Sunburst regains consciousness, and looks ahead and everything around him is dark, except for this bright light. He starts panicking, thinking he is dead, but as he moves, the sheer pain stops him. Only when he fully opens his eyes, he finds himself in a green tent, much larger than the tent he slept in that was out in the field. He can barely look left and right, and sees other injured ponies on beds, all of them being stallions, all being in bandages, some with more or less bandages. Sunburst looks down, seeing he's on his back, in bandages, and has a blanket over him. But he is grateful that he is alive.
Sunburst tries thinking of how much time passed since being shot blacking out. There are mares visiting, very emotional mares, hugging a stallion. They must be loved ones mares of the stallions. There are also some foals visiting too. From seeing the foals, Sunburst can definitely tell he is far away from the front lines, because there's no way would visitors, especially foals, be allowed anywhere near the front lines. But Sunburst is grateful knowing he is alive. Judging by the surroundings, Sunburst is certain that at least a day or 2 has passed. But he isn't for sure exactly.
Sunburst feels something grabbing his right forehoof. He can also feel the bandages on the forehoof slowly getting soaked. Sunburst looks right, and the unicorn he sees crying into his right forehoof makes him weakly smile. Sunburst isn't in good condition at all. He is too weak right now, otherwise he would get up and give the crying unicorn a massive hug.
"What day is it..." Sunburst asks in a raspy voice to the unicorn. The unicorn has a pink coat and a purple mane and tail with a turquoise strip. The cutie mark of the unicorn is a star with 2 turquoise streams.
"Nineteenth..." The unicorn mumbled under tears, hugging Sunburst's forehoof.
"W- where... am I..." Sunburst asked in the same weak raspy voice.
"With me... Starlight..." The unicorn replied with a mixture of a whisper and mumble and sorrow.
"What about... Trixie... is she safe too..."
"Barely... me and Trixie almost got caught... we barely escaped without being caught..." Starlight nodded and reassures Sunburst. Starlight hugs Sunburst's hoof tighter. The stallion yelps, and Starlight loosens a little bit.
"Where is she..." Sunburst weakly asked, but in a slightly better voice as he's as relaxed as he can be.
"Trixie has gone looking for somepony... a batpony to be specific..." Starlight added in detail.
"I don't know who they are... but what I do know is... is that this batpony got called up to be a medic... they can heal injuries with a light bite," Starlight explained further in detail, still sorrowfully mumbling. She lets go of Sunburst's forehoof to wipe her eyes.
"Don't worry about me... go with Trixie... worry about ponies... who still need help escaping..." Sunburst reassured in a weak voice as he closes his eyes and trying to relax his body.
"We can't... the Soviets are looking for us... we still need new disguises... I got your letter... and then I heard you got strafed... I thought you were dead..." Starlight stated, still mumbling under her tears.
Soon, Trixie walks in, bringing with her a massive batpony. This bat pony is slightly bigger than a regular stallion. They have sunset orange irises and the castle-slit-looking pupils look like the eye pupils of a cat. Their ears look really soft and fluffy. They have a short grey light mane and a short dark grey tail. Their coat is light black. Her cutie mark looks like a clock. Their left wing is a really hard, sharp grey bat wing, a lot harder and sharper than a normal batpony wing. But their right wing looks like a metal prosthetic pony wing that stallions would use. The batpony also have large shiny white upper fangs that stuck out.
"Is that him?" Sunburst asked. From the appearance, to Sunburst, the batpony looks like a male.
Sunburst flinches and covers his eyes as he saw the batpony biting into the injured stallion in front of him. When he uncovers them, he sees the stallion is no longer injured and getting off their hospital bed. The batpony then walks over to Sunburst, who starts trying to move back, he didn't want to be bit. The batpony hisses, which made Sunburst freeze still. With Sunburst now staying still, the batpony lightly bites Sunburst. Now, Sunburst feels all the pain in him go away just like that.
"Thank you sir," Sunburst smiled as he got up.
"I'm a she!" The batpony hissed while showcasing all 4 sharp fangs as she moves her head forward towards Sunburst, who feel back down on the bed. She looks at the 3 unicorns with a blank expression.
"Oh um... I'm sorry..." Sunburst slowly apologized as he starts taking off the bandages that are still on him.
"It's fine, I know, I'm a huge. Others here mistaken me for being a male too. I'm Screech. My mother was one of the best rodeo ponies while my father was massive and comes from a line of batponies breed to fight dragons... which gives me my size." The batpony accepted the apology while also sharing a tiny bit of her background. Screech's focus then shifts to helping more of the injured fighters, and walks off to do so, moving onto the next fighter to heal.
Sunburst has got all the bandages off him. Starlight lunges at him and has both of her forehooves around him.
"I feel better already." Sunburst starts walking, with Starlight still attached to him and Trixie following the 2 close behind, out of the tent.
As they walk outside, they immediately feel the temperature drop, they felt like they got slapped. It is highly windy, and snowing. But the snow is too light for it to build up on the muddy ground in large quantities, but a decently large layer. The mud underneath became frozen, and sludgy in other areas.
Sunburst now knows where he is exactly. They are in the centre of Rainbow Falls. With all of the residents evacuated, the place had been transformed into a medical base. For every building, there is 6 tents. Inside the buildings, where normal ponies should be living in, had been turned into bases with medical supplies. Dotted around the place are Flak 30's. There are also a few of the more effective Flak 88's around too.
"Um... I was... out... for this long?" Sunburst feels a little bit sick. He remembers it was the 16th before passing out, and now it's the 20th. He also got used to the fighting, too used to it, to the point he felt disorientated by quietness. He was last on a rainy battlefield, where there was blood and carnage and strafing bullets from the air. But now it's eerily silent and the light snowing didn't help the atmospheric background. There is an occasional boom in the background here and there by artillery. But other than that, the fighting appeared to of ground to a halt.
"But I have to get back-"
"No you don't, I don't want you to have to spend Hearth's Warming on a battlefield," Starlight interrupted, looking at Sunburst in the eyes.
"But I have to get back to the lines. I'm a soldier now," Sunburst protested. He absolutely hates being a soldier. But he also sees himself needing to be on the field as a moral duty.
"There's other ways to help in the struggle. You could come with us," Trixie stated.
"But I'll be arrested for desertion!" Sunburst exclaimed.
"There will be too many fighters to keep track. We'll just say you got lost behind Soviet lines and we found you and are now helping us. And with your experience, if we're about to enter a firefight, you could tell us what to do," Starlight suggested.
"That could work," Sunburst nodded, agreeing to the idea. Sunburst follows Starlight and Trixie, as all 3 start walking, making their way back down without a trace.
Meanwhile in the UK...
(On the BBC, 20th December 1945)
"These are the 1:30 PM updates. It's been over two weeks since the invasion of Equestria began. The Red Army, while making deep penetrations, are still far away from Canterlot. As a matter of fact, in the north, the Red Army had been pushed back by a well-coordinated counterattack for over three days straight, only being stopped by the snow. As of today, neither side had made any moves, but the snow is protecting Equestria and giving them at least two months at best to reorganize. The very general who came to save the Soviets, General Winter as he's called, is now on Equestria's side. The very thing that helped in saving the USSR is now their greatest obstacle in their wat against Equestria. The winter."
"George S Patton, the flamboyant American general who was injured earlier this month and was sent to Equestria a few days ago, has made a full recovery. This is thanks to the hardworking staff in Ponyville Hospital. The rumour that Patton is behind the counterattack in the north due to the seemingly reckless push fitting Patton's style, is also true. This has caused a massive uproar particularly in the Soviet Pulitburo, and all diplomatic communications between us westerners and the Russians has been cut. Despite the unfortunate esculation with our former wartime ally, the next phase of Operation Horseman has not been enacted, yet. Until then, this conflict will sadly drag on, with no end in sight."
"Francisco Franco, the nationalist dictator of Spain, also stands by Equestria. Franco has even said that they will supply Equestria with arms. According to the dictator, they'll be ready to send arms over at earliest, by Boxing Day. While some politicians are saying the Spanish are seeking to regain some form of relevancy, whatever the reason, Equestria warmly welcomes the offer from Franco. Other than Spain, no other country has publicly stated they are considering sending Equestria arms."
"Add to the issues facing the Soviets, resistance movements sweep across the occupied parts of Equestria. The most notable group being the Cutie Mark Resistance. They have caused nothing but havoc behind Red Army lines, adding more to Soviet casualties, which are currently standing close to almost a hundred thousand. Not just the CMR, other resistance fighters are also causing havoc to their occupants."
"It is really sickening. We, as well as our allies fought with the Russians against Germany. But now, we oppose the Russians. We too, as well as Canada is sending humanitarian aid to Equestria. We can all come together and agree that this new conflict Stalin started was absolutely unnecessary. Peace talks between the two nations is becoming less likely, not without a one-sided conclusion. Unless phase 2 of Operation Horseman is enacted, the more likely the Russians will overrun Equestria at latest, by late spring next year."
"We will be back with the full news at 2:00 PM."
Phase 2 of Operation Horseman may not be enacted, but the US and now the UK and Canada are and will continue giving whatever humanitarian aid they can to Equestria. The western allies have to send out a clear message to the USSR about how they feel hopefully without further esculation. They will stand by Equestria.
Thought I'd change things up and add more positive ending to this chapter, compared to my other EPWT chapters.
Now... creditssssss! Screech is an OC that belongs to AxalKay. (For all readers on , AxalKay is on Wattpad and you'll need Wattpad to follow them if you wish to). I like Screech's character and (with permission ofc) liked her to have an appearance in EPWT. She will make another appearance, but I'm not sure when yet.