Brothers in Arms

Chapters

Prologue
The Wrong DZ
Mission: Albany
The All-Americans
The Real Eagles
Over by Christmas
Five-Oh-Sink
The Four Fs
American Patrol
Can Never Escape
When the World is Free
Only So Much
What You Can Control
One Bridge Too Far...
Deadman's Gun
Our Own Masters

Prologue

From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remember'd; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile.
-King Henry V

P.O.V.- SSGT Matthew Baker-U.S. 101st Airborne Division, 502nd PIR, 2nd Battalion, Fox Company, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squad.

What is it that makes a great soldier? Is it his brain, or his heart? My dad asked me that question at the age of seven while I was at the dinner table. I remember it vividly, because he never told me the goddamn answer. But before he died, he did tell me one thing; soldiers have two families, those you raise, and those you raise hell with.

P.O.V. 3rd Person

Ramsbury Air Base
September 16th, 1944

“… And he kept tellin’ me how I didn’t look eighteen!” Baker’s new recruit, Franky LaRoche said.

“You don’t,” Baker replied.

“Heh, I know, yeah,” Franky replied nervously. “Hey you think you can talk to Corrion for me?”

“Sam? What for?”

“He seems to have it in for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Franky. Don’t worry about it,” Baker assured him before Franky was slapped on the back of the head by McCreary.

“You paint that yourself, Beans?” the vet joked, referring to the replacement’s given nickname scribbled in black on the back of his jacket.

“Don’t call me Beans!” he replied in a hushed voice.

Behind them, another replacement and veteran were talking. Private First Class Mike Dawson, born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England, had somehow ended up in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment as a Pathfinder for Normandy. The other, PFC Jack Courtland from Richmond, Virginia had fought with the original squad in Normandy.

“So, you’re saying you don’t know bollocks about the pistol?” Dawson asked, his accent sticking out.

“Nothing to tell, Daws. Just a bunch of crap some guys made up,” Courtland replied.

“Would you hold it?”

“People died there, man! Don’t go diggin’ where there’s already holes.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Courtland,” Dawson said before the two split up. Courtland moved towards the opening of a tent where Baker and Corporal Samuel Corrion were talking.

“Hey Corrion, are we still at the range at Thirteen Hundred?” he asked.

“Yea, I’ll talk to you in a minute, Jack,” Corrion replied.

When the U.S.A. had entered the war, Sam signed up early of his own free will and became one of the original members of the 101st. Still, he was just a corporal, and had been passed up for a promotion several times. It was starting to get to him.

“He’s too young,” Corrion told Baker, referring to Franky.

“It’s a bit of a grey area, Sam,” Baker replied, “but he’s a standout if I’ve ever seen one. Excellent shot! The kid hit a quarter at fifty yards. A quarter!”

“But he’s got no combat experience at all!” Corrion argued back.

“Everybody got replacements, but we got a good one. I’ll vouch for Franky personally.”

“I hope you’re right,” Corrion said as the two left the tent.

Walking out of the tent into the bright day, they passed another two soldiers talking. Again, one was a new guy, and the other was a D-Day veteran.

“I need you to find some paint, Jas,” Hartsock said.

Sergeant Joseph Hartsock, affectionately called ‘Red’ due to his hair color, hailed from Laramie, Wyoming where he had worked on a ranch and hunted most of his life. He had fought in Normandy quite a bit under Baker in the original Third Squadron’s roster. Following some distinguished service, he was promoted to the command of Second Squad.

“Sure! I’ll steal some paint for ya, sergeant,” PFC Gary Jasper, the heavy weapons recruit, replied.

“Requisition, private,” Hartsock corrected.

“What’re we paintin’?”

“We’re the tip of the spear, Jas. We need to look sharp when we go in.”

“Wilco!” Jasper said before running off.

Continuting on, Hartsock moved into a tent with four other soldiers inside playing cards. These were Roselli, Paddock, Friar, and Campbell.

“Why would you say that? He’s right there!” Roselli yelled.

“Stand back, Mussolini! Ain’t nobody talkin’ to you!” Paddock insulted the replacement.

“I swear to god, Paddock I’ve had it with that shit!” he yelled as he tried to move forward, only to be held back by Hartsock.

“What the hell is going on in her?” Hartsock yelled before being answered by Campbell, another Normandy vet.

“Well, eh, Paddock was saying some stuff that made him sound like a real dick…”

“If I see one damn bruise on any of you, it’ll be KP and latrines for a week!” Hartsock interrupted. “I know this is getting frustrating. I know we all wanna jump to it. Just know it ain’t that simple!”

“Maybe it should be,” Roselli said.

“Maybe you should bring that up with General Montgomery,” PFC Dean ‘Friar’ Winchell replied.

“Got a pen?” Roselli joked.

“The plan’s the same, guys,” Hartsock interrupted. “We punch through the German line. Punch straight into Berlin. Punch Hitler in the face. Win the war and be home by Christmas.”

“Hey Paddock,” Friar called.

“What you want, small fry?”

“Here’s a thought. If you’re gonna cheat, make sure you don’t use two queens of spades!” he said, dropping his hand on the table for the group to see.

“Aw, you son of bitch, Paddock!” Roselli sighed.

Walking back out of the tent, the troops gathered around the squad’s 4X4 Willys Jeeps. There were four of these, whose four-wheel drive proved useful in moving around quickly over almost any terrain, which was especially important as the squad were part of the recon element.

“Hey Jas!” Hartsock called out.

“Yea Red?”

“You got that paint I asked for?”

“WILCOOO!” Jasper sang out.

Courtland, Corrion, and McCreary were talking in a group, reminiscing about the last fight they were in.

“Is Mac still trailing around with Cole?” Courtland asked, referring to First Sergeant Greg ‘Mac’ Hassay, who led 3rd Platoon, Fox Company during D-Day.

“Well, he made him first sergeant,” McCreary replied.

“Anyone else a little werided out by that?” Courtland asked. “It’s like seeing your old boss.”

“Courtland, Mac’s kept us alive through shit no one should live through. We owe him a lot,” Corrion said.

The men were currently in the process of picking out names. The lead was already decided. Called ‘Those we Lost’ it bore the names of the originals that died in France. The other three were more light-hearted.

“You don’t wanna know what I had to do to get this,” Jasper joked as he set the can of paint on the ground.

“You sure this is okay, Red?” Campbell asked.

“Well, we all picked radio callsigns,” he replied.

“This’ll help keep the jeeps straight,” Baker said.

“And crush the Germans with our scary zoo animals!” Jasper said. “Sheisse! Ein zebra!” he yelled, pointing into the air with one hand and sticking the index finger of his other over his top lip, pretending to have a mustache.

“The zebra is a fierce animal!” Hartsock said, continuing the joke.

“Hey, swordfishes are plenty tough! One time my friend Nathan got speared through his hand with its…is it a beak?” Campbell said before looking at the last jeep. “Wait, what was the other one?”

“Toucan,” Corrion answered, getting a confused look from Campbell. “Hey, it’ll peck your damn eyes out, man.”

“Alright guys!” Baker said as he rallied the men. “Guys, I don’t do speeches, that was always Mac’s thing, but tomorrow we’re heading into Holland and opening up a goddamn highway. So hit the mess and get some sleep; it’ll be the last we get of either for a long damn while.”

P.O.V. Baker
Well, what happened the next day wasn’t exactly planned to happen. It wasn’t something me or Mac or anyone in the whole division could’ve seen coming. It was impossible for anyone to know, but I like to think. Looking back, I ask myself what I would have done if I did know. Would I have gotten off the plane, or decide to go anyway? I guess it doesn’t matter really, cause it still happened all the same. When realization struck me, the first thing I thought was ‘did we just avoid a nightmare, or fall into one?’ I guess everyplace has their own little version of hell.

The Wrong DZ

September 17th

“That ground is getting fucking close!” McCreary yelled over the sound as the men sat in the now descending glider.

“We’ll be fine!” said T/5 Nathan Holden, the squad’s radioman.

“How do you know?” McCreary yelled back, not getting any answer.

The glider descended through the sky, quietly coming closer and closer to the ground. It was a relatively normal trip. The sky was clear with a few clouds and the sun shining brightly; this was perfect weather for an airborne operation. The only off thing was a massive, dark cloud the formation flew through. But, when they came out, everything was ok, so the operation continued on.

Looking out one of the windows, Corporal Thomas Zanovich thought he saw something, barely noticeable but something. It was like a blue blur that seemed to be following at a distance before shooting off quickly.

“Hey, did you see that?” he asked to no one in particular.

“See what?” Courtland asked.

“There was some sort of blue blur outside the glider!”

“Zano, we’re in the sky!” McCreary responded, “The whole damn thing is blue!”

Before Zanovich could respond, all the eyes turned forward to see their drop zone. The glider’s DZ was a large, open field. It came closer and closer until it finally touched down. It skidded along in a straight line at a fast pace for some time before finally coming to a rest just before it hit a tree.

“Move! Move! Get the jeep out, now! We have a link up to get to!” Zanovich ordered.

The men soon took a seat and the jeeps began to roll down a dirt road towards the rendezvous. Looking around, they could see dozens of other gliders landing in fields, troops jumping out of C-47 Skytrains and parachuting down, other already on the ground running and carrying out their assigned tasks. Operation Market seemed to be going off without a hitch.

Twilight Sparkle had just finished re-shelving the library. It had taken several hours of hard work by her and her assistant, Spike, but everything was where it was supposed to be. It was worth the time and effort, at least until her friend Rainbow Dash came bursting through the door at top speed and crashing into the shelves.

“Ugh, Rainbow! What’s wrong with you!?” she yelled from under a pile of books. “Do you know how long it too-”

“There’s no time!” Rainbow said, picking her friend out of the pile. “Something crazy is happening! I was on weather patrol over the field north of the Everfree, and I saw these giant, noisy, metal birds, a-and…”

“Calm down, Rainbow!” Twilight interrupted, confused about what she was talking about. “Now what’s this about metal birds?”

“Giant metal birds!” Rainbow corrected her. “And not only that, but these other creatures were jumping out of their bellies and floating down! I didn’t know what they were, so I came to see if you knew.”

Twilight looked on in confusion. It sounds ridiculous, but why would Rainbow lie to her?

“Was it another one of her pranks, maybe?” she thought. “No, she’s too frantic. Maybe she just hit her head and saw something.”

“Rainbow, why don’t you go home and get some rest. I’m sure it was nothing,” Twilight suggested.

“NO! I know I saw something out there! There’s no time to sleep!”

“No time for napping?” Twilight giggled. “You definitely hit your head.”

“Agh,” Rainbow grunted in frustration.

Before either could continue, they heard a strange noise that sounded like a distant buzzing noise coming closer. Rainbow zoomed outside to confirm what she thought it was. She then went back into the library, picked up Twilight, and flew her outside.

“See!” she said pointing towards the sky.

Twilight didn’t expect to see anything, but sure enough, there was something metal flying through the air. The two continued to gaze at it as it disappeared beyond sight.

“So do you know what it is?” Rainbow asked.

“N-no. I’ve never seen anything quite like that before, but from what I saw, it looked more like some kind of machine,” Twilight replied. “You said other things were jumping out of it?”

“Yea, they didn’t look like they could fly. They just sort of, floated down.”

“Ok. Let’s get the others, then we’ll go investigate.”

“You think they’re dangerous, Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know, Rainbow. But that’s why we need to hurry,” she replied.

“Well they’d better not hurt anypony, or I’ll buck them into next week!”

By the time Baker and his squad had reached the RV point, they had realized something was off. The farmhouse where they were to meet the Dutch Resistance member was nowhere to be found, so he decided to continue on and ask Mac about it. Maybe they were at the wrong DZ.

“Baker! Hey, Baker!”

He turned and saw his old commander, Mac, walking alongside Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole.

“Matt! I’d heard they’d put you guys in recon. Can’t say I’d figured you’d be waiting in our DZ,” Mac said.

“Actually Mac, I wanted to ask you about the DZ-“ Mac cut Baker off before he could finish.

“Sir! A few of these men fought at-“ now it was Mac’s turn to be interrupted.

“Baker? Yea, I remember. I’m not good with names, but I certainly heard yours enough after D-Day,” Cole said. “I could use a favor if ya’ll are up to it.”

“Actually sir, I wanted to ask you if we missed our drop point. None of the landmarks fit,” Baker asked.

“Yea, I know. The damn pilots really screwed the pooch this time. The only landmark in the area is that big damn forest in front of us, and that’s not even on the map!” Cole explained. “In fact, I havn’t been able to get in contact with anyone or anything higher than division level. Apparently, we’ve lost all contact with our home base. Hell, Col. Sink can’t even reach London!”

“Sir, what should we do?” Baker asked.

“The rest of our men and equipment are coming down now in this area. Since you guys are recon, I want you to scout down that road and through the forest. I already radioed one of your jeeps to meet up here,” said Cole before he was answered by the horn of said jeep blaring angrily at a soldier standing in the road.

“In Holland the horn still means ‘get outta me fucking way!’” Zanovich yelled. “Uh, sorry sir.”

“We’re ready to move out when you are sergeant,” Holden called.

After driving a short ways down the road, they reached the entrance to the forest. The road was drivable, but since it was so narrow and the woods so thick, Baker decided to continue on foot in case of an ambush. The woods themselves were dark, with little sunlight coming in and a light fog hanging near the ground. Several odd noises that sounded like some strange beast hounded the soldiers every now and then as they marched onward.

Baker’s third squad was broken up into three teams. The base-of-fire team contained Zanovich, Franky, and Dawson. The assault team was made up of Corrion, McCreary, and Courtland. Lastly, the support team was made up of Jasper (who could use either a bazooka or, in this case, a Browning 30.Cal MG), his loader, private Timothy Connor, and Holden.

The base-of-fire team was armed mostly with rifles, but could utilize other weapons. Their main job in combat was to lay down suppressing fire on enemy positions. This would prevent the enemy from moving.

The assault team’s job was to flank the enemy once suppressed. Armed mostly with close-range weapons like the Thompson sub-machine gun, they would finish off the enemy by going round his side and firing on his exposed position. Alternatively, they could close the distance directly and use grenades to destroy the target.

The support team’s role was mixed. If they carried a machine gun, they would usually be used to suppress. If they had a bazooka, they would be able to destroy enemy positions in light cover.

Still, the jobs were not always permanent, nor were the men. During the fighting in Normandy, one team would be playing a new role due to the battle’s requirements. And, due to the heavy losses in Normandy, many teams found themselves working with troops from other teams or even from other squads.

“How solid is our intel?” Holden asked. “Do we know if Germans are even in the area at all? It seems like a foolish move.”

“We don’t know for sure; that’s why it’s called recon,” Zanovich replied.

“Oh yes. I’m quite aware of the ramifications. We protect the brass by dying first. I understand.”

“The Gospel according to Holden!” Zanovich chuckled.

Continuing on a short ways, Baker suddenly ordered the squad to halt. They stood still and listened, confirming Baker’s suspicions. Voices were heard nearby and getting closer. Baker silently ordered the men off the road and to take cover in the woods, with the machine gun ready to open fire if necessary.

“You hear that?” Corrion asked. “It sounds like English.”

“Might just be some of the locals trying to find us,” Baker replied.

“Or the Huns are trying to trick us,” Dawson said.

“That’s weird, it sounds like girls,” Courtland whispered.

“Well, looks like we’re about to find out,” Corrion said.

Baker raised his hand and ordered the squad to take aim, if it fell, they would open fire. Luckily, Baker was too stunned by what he saw to act, as was everyone else. Out of the clearing and coming down the road, oblivious to the danger they were in, were six talking, multi-colored, miniature horses. Upon closer inspection, Baker saw two had wings, the blue and yellow ones, and another two, the purple and white ones, had horns. The last two, one that was orange and another that was bright pink, didn’t seem to have any kind of special attachments. He tried to listen in on what they were saying.

“Really, darling; aren’t you being a bit paranoid? Perhaps the princess was just testing some new contraption,” suggested the white one.

“No, Celestia would have told me if she was testing a new invention,” the purple one said. “I don’t think even she would know what these things are.”

“Um, m-maybe w-we should just leave them alone. I mean, what I they’re dangerous?” asked the yellow one in the back.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure that whatever it is these things are, they won't be much of a threat.” the purple one answered again.

“Yea, they didn’t look very tough to me!” the blue one boasted.

Ducking down into cover, the squad exchanged confused and bewildered glances with each other. Each soldier had the same kind of look on his face, as if there was a silent universal chorus of ‘did you see what I saw?’ The only one to actually speak was Jasper’s loader, Connor.

“Hey Jas,” he whispered.

“Y-Yea?” Jasper replied, eyes still fixed on the contacts.

“What did you say about crushing the Germans with zoo animals?”

Mission: Albany

P.O.V.-Baker
At that moment I realized something was very wrong. Should I open fire or just let them pass. Or, I could go out and talk to them. But what if they were hostile? What if this was some kind of trap by the Germans? It may seem like a difficult choice, but when you know every choice you make determines the lives of your men, the answer is usually quick and clear.

P.O.V.- Third Person

“What? Why can’t we open fire?” Japer whispered to his commander.

“We don’t know what we’ve gotten ourselves into, Jas. Just let them pass us,” Baker answered.

“Besides, what’s the worst they could do?” said Courtland.

“Well…they could run up to us and explode!” Jasper exclaimed in a hushed voice.

“Really, Jas?” Baker deadpanned. “They don’t know we’re here, so just let them go by.”

Little by little, the would-be targets moved out of sight, though it wasn’t until it was totally silent that the men felt secure again. They got out from their positions in the woods and regrouped on the narrow road.

“What the hell is going on here?” asked Corrion, who was more curious than anything.

“I’m not sure, but we have to have to keep moving,” Baker said. “I’m guessing that there’s some sort of civilization in the direction we came from. Maybe we can find some answers there.”

“Yea, or a bunch of new bad guys that want to roast us over an open fire,” said Jasper.

“It’s just recon, we’ll run in, see what we can find, run out, and report back,” Baker said. “Now let’s get moving, from what I can see the sun’s going down.”

“Christ, how can you even tell in this place?” McCreary said. “This forest is way worse than the ones in France.”

The troops started to march down the road once again, this time being far more attentive to their surroundings. They kept their eyes open for anything that looked out of the ordinary; but, as they went on, such sights became more and more common.

The fog that covered the forest floor seemed to thicken. Large, strange shadows stalked them. The trees at one point seemed to be making the evilest of faces. It was really a test of even the older vet's nerves as the tried not to lose it.

They continued to go down the road for a couple of hours. They constantly held their weapons at the ready. Several strange noises followed them during their trip; most them sounded like the low growls of a predator stalking its prey. The men were becoming anxious, hoping they would soon exit the terrifying place.

Eventually, they came across a sign that seemed to answer that question, but raise more. It was a small, old wooden sign on the side of the road; being little more than a stick with another plank of wood fashioned to point in the direction they were already going. What was off was the name and that it was in English.

“Ponyville,” Franky read. “What kind of name is that?”

“It’s not Dutch, that’s for sure,” Corrion answered. “Does anyone see any other signs; maybe to Eindhoven?”

“I don’t see any others,” McCreary answered.

Before anyone else could speak, the squad heard something; like the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves in the forest. Soon, it was followed by a low growl.

“Oi! You hear that?” Dawson asked.

“Yeah, sounds like it’s in front of us, somewhere in the woods,” Baker answered. “I don’t like this. Get ready guys.”

There wasn’t much cover on the road, and everyone knew it was unwise to run into the forest where the noise was coming from. The troops knelt down and scanned their surroundings; Jasper got into a prone position and covered the front of the road with the 30.

The men waited for a few tense seconds before they heard a much louder roar, followed by a massive beast jumping out onto the road and began charging t them. The troops immediately swung around to face the new opponent. No order was needed as all ten opened fire on the animal, stopping it in its tracks.

The whole encounter lasted about ten seconds. The large predator, which might have stood a chance if it was just one soldier, was overwhelmed by the barrage of bullets. Even after it hit the ground in a bloody heap, the men continued the barrage until Baker ordered a cease fire. The forest became quiet again, save for the clicking sound of reloading guns.

He cautiously approached the animal, checking for signs of life. After putting a couple more bullets from his M1 Garand into its now exposed skull for good measure, he began to look it over. At first he thought it was some kind of lion, but upon closer inspection, found that it had a large scorpion tail and the wings of a bat.

“What the hell is that thing, sarge?” Franky asked.

“I don’t know. Looks like some kind of weird hybrid creature,” Baker said, struggling to find the words to describe it.

“Well, one thing is for certain guys,” Corrion said, “We sure as hell aren’t in Kansas anymore.”

The men fell quiet for a second, letting the thought come in. If they weren’t in The Netherlands, then where were they? McCreary was the first one to respond to this thought, trying to lighten the mood.

“It would’ve been funnier if Paddock were here to say that,” he said, referring to third squad’s Kansas native.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, everyone couldn’t help but chuckle a bit; eventually it broke out into a round of laughter.

“Heh, alright, alright,” Baker called to his men, trying to calm them down. “Let’s keep it moving. I guess the next stop will be Ponyville.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She didn’t know exactly what to expect when her and her friends arrived, but this was certainly one of the crazier things. Standing near the forest clearing where they could get a good view, but far back enough so that they wouldn’t be seen, they observed the fields.

There were bi-pedal creatures running about each doing some sort of task; and, they were everywhere.Each one wore clothes; more specifically, some type of green uniform. Some of the others were light brown. Each one also wore a metal helmet on their head. Also noticeable was that each uniform had symbols; some had a white heart painted on their helmet, while others had what looked like a spade. Some had a single yellow stripe on their side, while others had three; some even had diamonds on their shoulders. There were two things on each uniform, a strange symbol that looked like a flag on one side, and what looked like an eagle's head on the other.

They worked with a number of strange machines, such as long wooden and metal sticks that made a loud pop like thunder. Others had some kind of machine that they road around in at astonishing speeds; and it didn't seem to be pulled or pushed by something. It was truly shocking to see such a force.

“Huh, they looked a lot weaker when they were floating down,” Rainbow said, stunned by the sight.

“What do you suppose they want?” Applejack asked.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight answered. “But, I think it’s best if we let the Princess know before we try anything. Let’s watch a little more, then head back.”

They continued to watch, seeing another flying machine come overhead. Just as Dash said, more of the creatures jumped out and plummeted towards the ground. Before they hit it, some kind of chute would come out of their back and restrained them, allowing them to float safely to the ground.

“It’s amazing! How do they make that thing fly?” Twilight thought out loud.

“I curious as to what they make those chute things out of,” Rarity said. “And their clothing style is quite…interesting, as well.”

Before they could continue, they hear a series of pops, similar to the ones the creature’s sticks made. But, these were more far off, and they came from behind them.

“Did you hear that?” Dash asked. “That came from behind us, near Ponyville!”

“Let’s hurry back,” Twilight said. “Something bad might have happened.”

Doubling back down the road, the six ran through the forest. They were about halfway back to town when they reached the sign. Just in front of it was a horrifying sight. A Manticore was lying dead in the road in a pool of its own blood.

Each of them displayed varying degrees of shock. Fluttershy turned her head away and cried softly, Pinkie’s mane fell straight in a depressed state, and Rarity outright fainted. The others stood back as Twilight moved forward to inspect it.

She looked it over, trying her best not to be sick. She found that there were dozens of small holes in the animal. To kill a creature as deadly as a Manticore must have required something with a lot of power; something that was very deadly. From the sound of those pops they heard earlier, she guessed that they must have come from the creatures.

“What should we do, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“We keep going and tell the Princess about this as soon as we get back.”

“Hey, look at these tracks!” Rainbow yelled from her spot.

Going to where she was, they found several prints in the dirt. It was hard to tell, but there were so many that they were easily recognizable. They weren’t hoof prints, however. These were longer and less round, and they all pointed towards their home town.

“Oh no!” said Twilight as she realized the final part. “Those things must be heading towards Ponyville!”

“What!?” Rarity yelled, snapping out of her seemingly sub-conscious state.

“We have to hurry! Who knows what they’ll do if they get to town before us!”

Baker and his men had finally reached the end of the forest. When they got out, they were greeted by the scene of a small village. It seemed to be made up mostly of cottages, and the residents were of the same kind of horses they had spotted earlier. It was already dark, so most of the remaining ones seemed to be heading into their individual homes.

“What should we do, Matt?” Corrion asked as the squad gathered around and took a knee to listen.

“Ok, at least we’ve found out where those horse things came from. Let’s head down there and see if we can’t get some answers.”

“But we still don’t know if they’re hostile or not,” Dawson said.

“Then we’ll just have to do this quietly,” he said as he stood up. “On me guys, and stay on your toes.”

The troops jogged quietly into town, keeping an eye open for anything major. Most of the residents were already sleeping soundly at this point, but the troops still stuck to the alleyways so as not to attract attention.

“Where are we even going?” Courtland asked.

“I was hoping to find the town square, but now I don’t know,” Baker replied. “Let’s just keep looking and see what we can find. We’ll start by going into houses; with any luck, the owners won’t be home and we can find something useful.”

“Where should we start?” Franky asked.

“What about the one across the street? There’s no lights on inside,” McCreary suggested pointing to the strange looking house.

“The hell is that thing made of, gingerbread?” Holden whispered to himself.

The troops hustled across the street, being careful to avoid any beams of light. They all stacked up in front of the doorway, with Corrion on one side and Courtland on the other. On Baker’s order, Courtland quietly checked to see if the door was locked and, upon discovering that it was, promptly kicked it in. The men poured in, quickly and quietly, checking around for any signs of hostiles. When the call of ‘clear’ echoed, the men relaxed.

“Alright guys,” Baker said as he found and flipped the light switch. “Check for anything that could tell us where we are or- Zano, what the hell are you doing!?”

The men looked over to see the corporal munching happily away at a set of what looked like a set of fresh cupcakes.

“Wha?” he asked, trying to finish chewing before he spoke again. “They’re pretty good! Certainly better than the crap we get in the rations.”

Baker opened his mouth to respond, but closed it when he heard something at the door. Spinning around with guns at the ready, the men came face to face with the same six creatures they saw in the woods earlier.

The looks on their faces differed in each. The pink one seemed to be confused, the blue one looked like she was ready to charge the soldiers, and the rest had solid fear displayed on their features.

The men’s faces were mostly the same. A hint of fear in each that didn’t show from behind a wall of determination and focus, all of them pointing their weapons at the new arrivals. Only Zanovich, who was standing over to the side with his BAR in one hand and a half eaten treat in the other, was different; displaying a look of surprise and confusion.

There was absolute silence. During the standoff, none spoke for fear of the consequences. Everything would have gone quite bad if it wasn’t for Pinkie unintentionally breaking the deadlock.

“Hey! Those are my cupcakes you’re eating!” she said, pointing a hoof to Zanovich.

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” he replied.

“It’s ok!” she said as she bounced over to him. “I’m always glad to see sompony enjoy my work!”

“Well thanks, I guess,” he replied.

“My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?” she asked, getting very close to his face.

“Uh, Thomas Zanovich.”

“Zano-what now? That’s a funny name!” she giggled, causing the paratrooper to blush a bit from embarrassment.

“W-well you can just call me Zano if you like.”

“Zano? That’s even funnier!” she laughed. “I think I’ll call you that!”

Zanovich groaned in frustration, causing McCreary to chuckle a bit. His chuckle then became an all-out laughter that spread around to the other and caused the men to relax and lower their weapons.

“I guess we should start working things out now,” Baker said to the group of mini horses.

Author's Note

5 points for you if you got the sheep squad reference.

Remember, this is BIA. It will start getting into military conflict and it will get darker as we go along. Just thought I should warn everyone.

Thanks for all the support I've been getting. Make sure to comment and etc. if you feel like it. And thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and stay tuned!

The All-Americans

P.O.V-Baker
I can’t begin to describe the amount of relief I felt after that. Leading men through war is hard; but here, we were, for the most part, all alone. We were in uncharted waters, all on our own, and the whole world either with or against us. From the moment I saw that pink one laughing, I knew it was with us.

September 18th

Following the close encounter and early introductions at the bakery, the troops and ponies had relocated to the town library, so as not to draw attention. They had all remained quiet until they got there; sure these ponies knew they meant no harm, but the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the sleepy village.

Opening the door to the library, everyone and pony piled in, quickly cramming the building. Once inside, the men began to look around. They would switch alternatively between talking with the ponies and inspecting the collection books in the library. Despite the request from Twilight, they kept their weapons close at hand; knowing it would be foolish to surrender their arms in unknown territory.

“Spike, we have visitors!” Twilight called to her sleeping assistant. “Can you make some coffee while I talk to them?”

The men heard a yawn and groan, followed by slow footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Uh, who would want to visit us this late at ni-” he stopped as he saw the humans standing about the room. “Whoa, what are you?”

“I’m a human; what are you, a giant lizard or something?” McCreary replied.

“Hey, I’m a dragon, y’know!” he said, now fully awake. “It’s just…I’m still little!”

“Ah, I’m just messin with ya, kid,” McCreary replied in a light hearted tone before ruffling his head.

Baker was sitting on the couch, with most of the group joining around. Twilight ran about excitedly, putting some things into place before sitting down next to Baker with a quill and paper.

“I can’t believe this!” she said excitedly. “I actually discovered a new species, far more technologically advanced than us or anypony, and I get to interview it! Oh, you don’t mind, do you?”

“No, I don’t mind if you ask me some questions,” Baker said, eliciting a squee form Twilight that caused the men to look around in confusion and try to find where the strange noise had come from.

“Ok, first off, what are your full names and where are you from?” she asked.

“I’m Staff Sergeant Matthew Baker of the United States Army,” Baker replied, soon followed by the rest of the squad.

“The United States? I've never heard ah that place before,” Applejack stated.

“You got a map?” Baker replied and, upon first glance of it, confirmed the men’s suspicions.

“Oh great, we really aren’t on Earth anymore,” Corrion stated.

“So you’re not even from this world!?” Twilight asked.

“I guess we aren’t,” Baker replied.

“Well, that explains why we’ve never seen anything like you here,” Twilight said. “What do you call yourselves, anyway?”

“I guess you could call us humans, men, people,” Baker said.

Twilight scribbled this down in on the paper as Spike brought back the coffee.

“Hey, uh, you wouldn’t happen to have any whiskey, would you?” Zanovich asked. “I really need something strong to drink for all this.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have anything like that. Equestria is mostly a dry country. The only alcohol we have is wine,” Twilight responded, getting a groan from Zanovich.

“It’s alright,” he replied, taking out a small carton. “Hey boys, who’s up for a Lucky Strike?”

“I’ll take one,” Franky said.

“Your only seventeen, Beans,” Corrion replied.

“Yea, so what’s wrong with that?” he asked.

“Never mind,” Corrion sighed. “I’ll take one too, Zano.”

As Zanovich lite his and passed his lighter to them, he noticed the ponies were giving him a strange look.

“I’m guessing you don’t have tobacco here, either?” he asked.

“Uh, n-no,” Twilight answered, coughing a bit from the new smell “Ok, back on track. Let’s see; names, home, species. Ok, why do you have all this equipment? Does it have something to do with your job?”

“Yes, we’re soldiers.” Baker said.

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked.

“It means we fight in wars,” he answered her, earning a collective round of gasps from the ponies.

“Why would anypony want a war?” Twilight asked.

“So you don’t have war, either?” Baker asked.

“No, we do; but, it’s been several thousands of years since the last one. At least in our country, Equestria; I’m not sure about everywhere else.”

“So you don’t have a standing military like us?” Courtland asked.

“Well we have the royal guards, but other than that no,” she replied. “Usually, the six of us can handle whatever problems come around.”

“Geez, I’m sure glad I don’t live here,” Connor whispered to Holden, who nodded in agreement. “They’re nice, but they wouldn’t last a minute against the Nazis.”

“Well, it’s a long story, but I’ll give you the basics,” Baker said, pulling out a small paper map of the earth. “It started when a man named Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party came to power in the country of Germany. He militarized it and within about a year he conquered Poland, France, and most of the rest of the continent of Europe before the English were able to stop him from crossing their channel and invading their island.”

Dawson couldn’t help but smile slightly in pride as Baker continued on.

“After that, he tried to invade a country called Russia; but, that didn’t turn out to well for him. Our country entered the war when Germany’s ally, Japan, attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor. After about three and a half years of fighting, us and thousands of troops from other allied nations landed and liberated France. We were on our way to liberate another country called Holland before we wound up here.”

“Yea, and the sooner we get back, the sooner we can kick their asses back across the Rhine,” McCreary said.

“You said a swear!” Pinkie gasped.

“What, you don’t have freedom of speech here, either!?” McCreary yelled.

“N-no we do, It’s just that most ponies try not to swear of their own will, so it’s a little frowned upon,” Twilight replied.

“Oh, well I guess you all should get used to it, because I’m pretty sure me and everyone else is gonna continue for a long damn while,” he replied, chuckling to himself at the ponies’ wincing expressions.

“So that’s it, basically. We’ve been fighting to liberate territory that’s been taken by a madman. We’ve also heard rumors about some kind of extermination camp, but we’re not sure if that’s just propaganda or not,” Baker finished.

“Well, that certainly seems noble of you,” Rarity said. “But, don’t you miss your home?”

“Every day, we all wish we were home,” he replied, some of the troops’ heads dropping in depression.

“Well, have you tried being friends with this Hitler?” Twilight asked. “My teacher, Princess Celestia, taught us that the magic of friendship can do anything!”

“In your world, maybe,” Dawson said. “England and France tried to appease Hitler before the war got started, and he just ended up stabbing us in our bloody back. All he recognizes is power, so it’s up to us to stop him.”

“So you don’t have friends?” Twilight asked. “I mean, surely you all are friends, right?”

Baker thought deeply for a moment on how to answer, going back on all the experiences he had with these men.

“Yea, but after what we went through, these guys are more than friends. I consider them my family. We’re like brothers.”

The troops smiled and nodded in approval, both at their leader and at each other. Jasper and Connor silently slapped hands, McCreary threw his arm around Franky’s shoulder and leaned on him, causing both to chuckle, and Courtland and Corrion quickly reminisced by themselves about their time during training.

“Ok, so moving on to the equipment, could you explain your clothing?” Twilight asked.

“I must say it looks dashing on you, darling,” Rarity said. “But why do you where that awful helmet? It messes up the entire outfit.”

“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda cool!” Pinkie said, appearing on top of Baker’s head from underneath the helmet before jumping down to his other side, now wearing it. “Why do you have these weird goggles on it?”

Baker, deciding to leave the question of ‘how the hell did she do that?’ for later, quickly snatched the helmet off and held it in his hands.

“The helmet itself is for protection during battle, …the goggles used to belong to another friend of mine, George Risner, before he was killed in France,” Baker explained.

“Oh, sorry,” Pinkie apologized. “Well, what do those markings mean?”

“The ‘R’ stands for recon, which means we go out and find the enemy and gather intelligence; but, we often end up getting into fights, as well. The heart is the symbol of our regiment, the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is in turn part of a division, which is composed of a few regiments. The number 13 is a reference to the original thirteen men of the squad I led in Normandy, France. They called it ‘Baker’s Dozen’.”

“Hey, you mind if I get a refill?” Jasper asked.

“Not at all!” Twilight replied, levitating the cup from his hand.

“How, how did you do that?” Jasper asked, bewildered again.

“With magic,” she replied.

“Great, magic,” Japer sighed. “Next you’re going to tell me you’ve got cats that can shoot lasers.”

“So you don’t have magic in your world?” Twilight asked.

“No, we don’t; nor can we fly or do anything as extraordinary naturally,” Baker 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 those flying machines!” Dash said.

“Yea, like airplanes.”

“Why do you jump out of those things, anyways?” she asked.

“Well, we’re not regular army infantry. We’re an elite type of soldier called a paratrooper. We fly behind the enemy lines and jump into their territory. Once there, we attack them, destroy supplies, capture vital areas, and other things like that.”

“Yea, you guys sound a lot tougher than I thought at first,” Rainbow said. “But the uh, … planes? Yea, the planes you jumped out of seemed pretty big and slow."

“Those were just transport planes; our C-47 Skytrains,” Baker said. “We’ve got other’s that can shoot down other planes called fighters, like the P-51 Mustang, and ones that attack ground targets, like the P-47 Thunderbolt. You’d like them much more.”

“Sorry, but I think we’re getting off track again,” Twilight interrupted. “Not that I don’t find this fascinating, but I do need to finish notes so I can write a letter to the Princess.”

“So this princess is also your teacher?” Holden asked.

“Yes, and the ruler of Equestria,” she answered.

“You mean you don’t have a king or queen?” Dawson asked. “I mean, England has Princes and Princesses, but we’re always ruled over by a king or queen.”

“No, we don’t have either. Princess Celestia has been co-ruler along with her sister, Princess Luna, for over a thousand years; except for that period when Luna became Nightmare Moon and was banished, but I’ll tell you about that later.”

“So they’re both over a thousand years old!?” Holden asked. “Let me guess, Magic?”

“Yep!” Twilight answered. “And they raise the sun and moon. Celestia moves the sun and rules day, while Luna raises the moon and rules the night. They also have several other powers, but I really do want to finish these notes; so can we continue, please?”

The men just marked it down as another crazy thing in a crazy land where the laws of science didn’t apply and agreed to move on.

“Can you tell me about the symbols on your uniform?” she asked.

“Yea, the stripes on the side of every soldier’s arm show his rank, from private on up. The little flag on this side is the flag of our country. And this,” Bakers said, pointing to the eagle’s head, “is the patch for our division, the 101st Airborne.”

“Our motto is ‘Rendezvous with Destiny’,” Courtland added on proudly. “Nickname: ‘Screamin’ Eagles’.”

“It means a lot because it's our country’s national bird and an important symbol in our history,” Baker finished.

“Ok, last thing for now,” Twilight said. “How do you’re weapons work?”

Baker dropped the magazine from his SMG and took out a single bullet.

“This is a bullet, the bullet goes into a clip along with other bullets; the exact number in a clip depends on the type of gun and the clip itself. The clip fits into the gun and feeds the bullets into the gun,” he said, putting the clip back in. “When I pull the trigger, the bullet gets propelled fast enough to penetrate the target and kill it,” he said, but restrained from giving an example.

“That’s what killed the poor manticore!” Fluttershy exclaimed from the back of the group.

“What?” Corrion asked.

“The animal you killed!” she said, clearly unhappy, but not psycho level.

“It was charging right at us! What were we supposed to do?” Corrion asked.

“I’m sure there was another way! You didn’t have to kill it!” she said.

“I didn’t get through everything France just to end up a meal for some oversized cat!” Corrion yelled, causing Fluttershy to shrink back and whimper. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve just…been through some bad stuff; it’s nothing personal, I promise.”

“Oh, it’s ok, I understand,” she said, now coming closer to the kneeling soldier. “I know you had to protect yourselves; it’s just, it makes me really sad to see animals get hurt.”

“What was your name, again?” he asked, smiling warmly.

“F…Fluttershy,” she replied, much calmer now.

“I really am sorry, Fluttershy. I don’t want to kill if I don’t have too; it’s not something I take a lot of joy in,” he said.

“It’s ok, I’ll forgive you!” she told him before pulling him into a light hug, and catching the soldier off guard.

While Fluttershy and Corrion worked things out, Baker began explaining the weapon types to the others.

“This is a rifle, specifically an M1 Garand. It holds eight bullets, or rounds, and is semi-automatic, meaning that a bullet will fire each time I pull the trigger; it’s better for long distances. This, the Thompson, is a fully automatic sub-machine gun; which means I can hold the trigger, it will fire all thirty rounds in a continuous stream; this is better for close quarters.”

He took out a grenade and held it in his hand.

“Lastly, the MK 2 fragmentation grenade will, once you pull the pin, explode and shower metal fragments, called shrapnel, after a few seconds. We usually use these against clusters of nearby enemies.”

“What about that small one?” Twilight asked, looking closely at the pistol. “‘For Matthew’; did somepony give you this?”

Baker thought back to when he first got the gun as a child.

“Mom said I couldn’t keep it,” the young Baker said to his father; handing him a case. “Sorry dad.”

His father took the case and examined its contents; a nickel-plated Colt M1911 with the words ‘For Matthew: Brothers in Arms’ engraved on the side.

“Yea, someone did. My father gave me this pistol when I was young.”

“Can I see it?” Twilight asked, levitating it out of the holster before Baker snatched it out of the air.

“No!” he nearly yelled. “I mean, I’d prefer to keep it to myself, thanks.”

The rest of the group stared awkwardly at him, with Applejack giving him a suspicious look.

“You sure you’re alright?” she asked. “You’re actin’ kinda funny.”

“I’m fine!” Baker said sternly, only getting an angrier look from the farm pony.

“It’s getting late,” Twilight said, trying to defuse the situation. “Let’s get some rest and we’ll feel better in the morning. You all are welcome to stay in Ponyville, if you like.”

“That sounds good; I don’t think I want to go back into that forest during nighttime,” Courtland said.

“Well, assuming you guys can’t walk on clouds, let’s break up and have two of each of you stay with one of the five of us.”

“Uh, ok,” Courtland responded, trying to connect everything.

“You sure about this, Twi?” Applejack whispered to her friend. “I can tell that one’s hidin’ something.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Applejack.” She responded before turning back to the group. “Ok, let me just write a quick letter to the princess and we’ll organize everything.”

She turned and left while Holden, who had been talking on the radio quietly, motioned for Baker to step outside with him.

“Sir, Cole wants a report,” he said.

“Let me talk to him,” Baker said. “Sir, what’s the situation in the field?”

“Bad!” came Cole’s voice from the other end. “Not only has the whole damn division come down in this area, but those idiots form the 82nd wound up here, too. You got any clue as to what the hell is going on, Sergeant?”

“Sir, if you can give me till morning, I’ll have all the answers for you.”

“What? Baker, where are you anyways?”

“It’s…hard to explain, but if you give me until tomorrow, I can sort this mess out. Just try and keep everyone in that area.”

“Alright, Baker; I’ll take your word for it. But you’d better hurry the hell up.”

“Yes sir, out.”

The two men walked back inside in time to see Spike light a letter on fire and send its strange looking ashes out the window.

“How did, never mind,” Baker said.

While Rainbow went back to her home in the clouds, the other five took two soldiers with them. Baker and Holden stayed with Twilight, Corrion and McCreary went with Applejack, Jasper and Connor went with Fluttershy, Zanovich and Franky went with Pinkie, and Dawson and Courtland went with Rarity.

During the night, Twilight awoke to hear some strange grunting and moaning coming from downstairs. Quietly going down, she saw it was coming from Baker; whose twisting and upset facial expressions told her he was having a nightmare.

Walking closely to his head, she wondered what he was dreaming about. From the looks of it, it was something bad, but she was still curious. She had learned a spell from Luna that allowed her to enter and witness the dream; albeit they had to stay hidden or else they could be recognized by the dreamer. She decided to try it gently tapped her horn on his forehead.

At first all she saw was white, but everything came into being soon. She was sitting in some bushes concealed from view. The area was only one dirt road that was blocked by fallen limbs from trees; the sides were blocked by strange, long, tall hedge.

In front of the limbs was some kind of vehicle; it was different that the one’s she’d seen before as this one seemed more built for combat. She saw one soldier sticking out from the top, while another four were standing on the road. The only one she recognized was Baker.

“I’m gonna have to shove through it,” the one on the vehicle said, climbing back inside.

She watched as the machine pushed through the limbs and onto the other side, followed by the infantry. She climbed out of the bushes and onto the road to get a better look. Suddenly, there was a strange ‘whoosh’ sound and something hit the vehicle, badly damaging it. The soldier popped out of the top again, holding what she recognized as a Thompson that Baker showed her.

“You have to go! Matt, get the hell outta here!” he yelled, firing at several other soldiers who were wearing grey and shooting at them. “Damn it! I’m out of ammo!”

He threw the gun aside and pulled out a pistol; continuing to fire. She recognized it was the same gun that Baker had; it had ‘To Matthew' on the side. She continued to watch in horror as the man was hit repeatedly by bullets and killed.

“Twilight?” she heard Baker say, who had turned around and spotted her.

In an instant they both woke up. Baker sat up and rubbed his head, while Twilight was shaking and barely standing. She quickly pulled him into a hug and buried her head into his shoulder, crying softly.

“I’m so, so sorry!” she said. “I was curious about why your dream was so bad, so I-.”

“It’s alright,” Matt said, returning the hug. “Just…don’t do it again.”

Baker, Twilight, and the others got up early in the morning, so as not to draw attention, and met near the forest. Unlike the day before, the trek through the forest was relatively uneventful and quick; nothing eventful really happened. Coming out on the other side, Baker spotted Red and second squad, and asked the ponies to stay behind his squad while he explained the situation.

“Red, it’s good to see you!” Baker said.

“You too,” Hartsock said. “We managed to get all of our stuff together after we linked up with Sink.”

“Tell him about the jeep!” one of his men, private Derrick McConnell yelled from the rest of the squad’s position.

“When we crashed my jeep took a beating,” Hartsock admitted.

“He hit a tree!” McConnell continued.

“Well, it wasn’t steering right at the time,” Hartsock said.

“Oh, no! A conspicuously placed tree that could be a German in disguise!” McConnell said in a mock heroic tone. “Take cover, men! I’ll save us!”

Before Hartsock could reply, he heard giggling coming from behind Baker’s men and, leaning over a bit, spotted the ponies.

“Matt, are those…h-horses?” he asked, a slight amount of fear present in his voice.

“Hey we’re not horses! We’re ponies!” Rainbow corrected him, only adding to Hartsock’s shock.

“Uh, Red, why don’t you just take us to Sink?” Baker said, pulling him aside. “We’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Well, this is easily the craziest, most damnable thing I’ve ever experienced,” said Sink after Baker and the ponies explained everything to him and the other senior officers.

“So, what should we do, sir?” Baker asked.

After the senior officers talked to each other for a few minutes, Sink returned to Baker.

“Well, Sergeant, we can’t keep two divisions of men in the field all day. How far away is this town?”

“A few miles through the forest, sir,” he replied.

“Ok, it may be small, but we have to concentrate somewhere. That’ll be our base of operations and we’ll set up camp in or around town. We’re going to move the troops there now. Since you know the way, your squad’s jeeps can lead the column. Mount up and lead off when you’re ready.”

“Yes sir,” Baker replied before leading his men and the ponies to the four jeeps.

The ponies seemed a bit cautious about the vehicles at first, but they soon warmed up to them.

“Does it have some kind of engine that propels it forward? Like a train?” Twilight asked.

“Sort of, yea; the engine powers everything and makes the wheels turn,” Baker said, trying to save the details for latter and get on with the mission. “It can go up to forty miles per hour.”

“This little thing can go that fast?” Twilight asked.

“Yea, it’s really useful for getting around,” Baker said.

Twilight looked at the writing on the hoods of two of the jeeps. One, called ‘Zebra’, had ‘Bullet Magnet’ written on the side; obviously some kind of dark humor. The other was named ‘Those we Lost’ and had several names written below it.

“Are those the men that got killed in the first battle?” she asked.

“Yea, we wrote their names down so we’d never forget them,” Baker replied.

She went over the names: Muzza, Risner, Allen, Garnett, Rivas, Desola, Paige, Doyle, Obreiski, and Leggett.

“Wow, a lot of people died, huh?” she asked.

“Yea, we lost a lot of friends in Normandy,” Zanovich said, running his hand over the names. “Damn, I miss you, Obi.”

Over to the side, the rest of the group was talking to the soldiers some more.

“Excuse me, sir,” Rarity said to Hartsock, “I couldn’t help but notice that some of the people are wearing different patches. That means they’re from another…division, correct?”

“That’s right,” Hartsock said. “They from one called the 82nd Airborne. Their patch is AA because their nickname is All-Americans.”

“Why do they call themselves that?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s because they’re made up of men from all areas in the United States,” he answered. “They actually have more combat experience than us. The 101st and the 82nd were both in France, but the 82nd dropped in Sicily and fought on in Italy a year before. They’re pretty proud, too. ‘All-Americans, all the way!’ as they say.”

“They must’ve been through some bad stuff, too, huh?” Rainbow replied.

“Yea,” Hartsock said. “Hey sorry about calling you horses earlier; I just got a little jumpy is all. I’ve…had some bad experiences with horses.”

“It’s cool, bro,” Rainbow replied, sticking out her hoof to him.

Hartsock at first shook it, but got a confused look from the Pegasus. He then balled his hand into a light fist and tapped it against the hoof.

“That’s more like it!” Rainbow replied.

The troops mounted up on the jeeps, with the first three carrying two ponies each. Twilight and Pinkie sat with Baker in the lead. The sun was shining rather brightly today, and the forest was near as dark as it had been in the morning or the previous day. Getting settled in and into formation, they heard a little tune being whistled somewhere in the column.

“Hey Matt, you hear that?” Zanovich called.

“Yea, I hear it Zano,” he replied, a grin coming onto his face.

“Mind if we sing along, sarge?” McCreary asked.

“Sure,” Baker replied.

“Ooh, I love singing!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“I don’t think you’ll know this one,” Baker said. “We just came up with it.”

Well he was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright!
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tied!
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar!
You ain’t gonna jump no more!