All Types of Rain [Original]

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This chapter is also an experiment in mood-building using songs. Any tips on improvement is welcome. I tried to find some good songs. Only three for this chapter. Open the songs in a different tab and play it really quietly. I hope I did it good, and enjoy. If there's anything different you'd like me to do, say so. Oh yeah- and be weary of ads, just in case.

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All Types of Rain

By: The Grey Pegasus

= 5 =

Welcome to Vietnam

[Forward Operating Base]

Gazelland-Vietnam

July 24, 1015

1248 Local Time

"*Static* Alright, this one just came in. It's just newly refurbished, finally fixed from it's dirt nap. Let's see how this one sounds... hey- what's it called?... ... ... Oh, okay. Fellow ponies, here you go, the song's called 'Fortunate Son', by a 'Creedence Clearwater Revival'. Hope this is as good as everything we've dug up. Enjoy."

"Alright fellas, here you are! Stay safe, alright?!"

2nd Lt. Sharp 'Sharpie' Stargazer yelled out a farewell to the Ponyvillians as the Huey touched down to drop them off.

"Good luck and stay safe, girls! See you soon!" Cpt. Ditzy 'Derpy' Doo waved from the cockpit as she yelled her goodbye. Once all six mares and one dragon hopped off the craft, it immediately took off again, blowing down rotor wash on them until there was enough distance. They started walking towards the camp, with the sounds of multiple helicopters roaring in harmony with a playing radio and other sounds at the base.

Twilight listened around. She heard the song playing on the radio, and was somewhat irked by it. She was fortunate; she was the personal student of Princess Celestia! However, the more she listened, the more she also understood the song, very much now that she was actually in the field. Each of her friends were one of those. They were not really of any significance in daily life. They weren't any ponies of real importance. They were in fact, just normal, everyday ponies. And Twilight considered herself one too. They might have been the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, but that was the only time they were special. They had not been those for years.

Applejack was just an apple farmer. She assisted in managing the large apple orchard of the family owned business. The same could be said about her brother. Applebloom was grown up though, and with advances in machinery, would be able to manage the farm on her own. So she was a common citizen nonetheless.

Rarity was a tailor, but society could survive without fancy dresses. In wartime, only the basics were encouraged. Artisans were not a necessity. She, too, was considered a normal mare in Equestria.

Rainbow Dash had large ambitions and a great athlete. She was also on the weather control team. But it was commonly heard of for planned future star athletes to be suddenly yanked out of civilian life for service, or even volunteer themselves. She, also, was normal in that respect.

Of course, Pinkie Pie was an interesting case. In her personality, she was anything but normal. But in the large picture, the zany pony was just another resident of Equestria in the background. Party planning and baking were jobs, but Equestria could keep running without them. Pinkie was also, by that standard, another normal pony.

Fluttershy was a simple pony to explain. She did have her brief period of fame, but that was many, many years ago. Afterwards, though, she preferred to living her quiet life out in the outskirs of Ponyville. Taken into account her whole life, it could be supposed that she was decided to be relatively harmless to the flow of life to be removed from the equation of daily living.

And then Twilight herself. The only one with a still-present reason to be able to be called a 'fortunate' mare. The prized pupil of Princess Celestia. She could have stayed home and not have to get her hooves dirty. But Twilght zoomed out of the picture. Who was she really in Equestria? The only one under the tutorage of the sun princess? What did that mean? How does that affect others? Is it really a significant status? Now that she thought of it, it didn't really have a profound effort on others. In fact, before Ponyville, it kind of repulsed other ponies from her. What she really did the most for Equestria technically was to manage the public library. To help ponies find books that they needed. That was her role in everyday society. A librarian. And guess what? Society could do without those, too.

And so she was fine in her intent to join the military. She was just as fitting for the role as her five other friends she came with. It could also be said that Twilight was unfortunate, like the one in the song, in the fact that her closest friends were drafted. Friendships that lasted so long, that she would volunteer in the Marines, and would stick by her friends through thick and thin.

A quick look around would show that they were dropped in the middle of a large field, right next to a well-sized outpost. It was relatively calm, and the inhabitants of the base seemed like they were just going about their daily lives in the jungle. Ponies were milling around, with worn clothing ranging from full outfits to only their dog tags.

With Twilight at the front of the group, they headed in the obvious direction. Not far from where they were dropped off was a sign, on which was written the name and general details about the forward base. Camp Coppermine was much different from Valiant. For one, there were no established buildings. All the structures were erected green tents, easily constructed wooden structures, and many crates stacked all over the place. As simple as the forward base looked, Coppermine had a strange homely feeling to it, different from the slightly more strict, orderly atmosphere of Valiant Air Base.

Rainbow walked up next to Twilight. "Hey, this place looks kinda nice, actually."

"I guess it's not as bad as some newspapers made it out to be," Twilight agreed.

"Well Twilight," Rarity noted, "the media's portrayal of things will always vary. And that fact will never change. In this case, I'm glad that what they said about Vietnam isn't completely true. I'd hate to live in the horrible conditions they sometimes describe."

"Maybe it changes from place to place."

"Don't matter none to me," Applejack declared. "We've been assigned somewhere decent lookin' and I ain't turnin' that down."

Twilight lead the group into the base, looking for a pony to ask directions from. It appeared there was one specifically waiting for new arrivals. He was probably an officer, but he was currently indistinguishable from any other soldier with his current appearance, wearing nothing but his identification tags. The earth pony appeared to have a very light yellow-tan coat, and a light brown mane with strands like straw.

"You the new ones command's told us about?" the stallion asked them when approached by the group.

"Yes, sir."

"Great. I'm Lieutenant Reed. Our platoon's the main one expecting fresh ponies. Names?"

The seven introduced themselves.

"Okay. I remember seeing you on the list. You've been assigned to 'H' Squad. It's the tenth tent down that way." Lt. Reed pointed down a row of tents, and Twilight nodded her thanks.

The ponies walked to where they were directed. On the way, they passed by random ponies milling around. Cooking some food, playing some cards, sleeping around, ponies were acting like they weren't even in a war zone. Their path also took them past the field hospital.

Rainbow started towards it. "Hey Fluttershy, that's where you're going, right?"

"I guess so. But I think it can wait for now. I'll go with you girls to meet your squadmates."

They took a last glimpse at the hospital. There wasn't much of interest... except for these two familiar unicorns. One was blue, and the other was orange. Both were wounded. Maybe they'll find out later.

Eventually, they reached the tent. They saw three ponies outside. There was an earth pony and unicorn stallion, and a pegasus mare. The earth pony was standing on his hind legs, propped up against some crates. The pegasus was just laying down on the ground, head down, looking like she wanted some sleep. The unicorn was resting on the ground with his back against some crates, with a lit cigarette hanging out his mouth. Twilight approached them.

"Hi. We're new around here, and the officer told us we were put in 'H' Squad, and pointed us over here. Is this it?"

"Yup. This is Hell Squad. All of it, actually." The pony that responded was the earth pony, who had a light tan coat and a mane of reddish-light brown. He wore his jungle green combat uniform loosely and unzipped, showing his bare chest, and his boots were off to the side. "I'm Redwood Heartbuck. Private Redwood Heartbuck. Nice to meet you lot."

"Nice to meet you."

"Her over there," Redwood said as he motioned towards the pegasus mare, "is Crystal Chroma. Also a Private."

"Hello. Nice to meet all of you," Crystal greeted them with a light and smooth voice with hints of a Trottingham accent and a smile. She was a pegasus of a build between Rainbow's athletics and Rarity's gracefulness. Her coat was an off-white, with a slight hue of very light blue. Her light pink mane was simple, but seemed to naturally smooth into style.

"... And that over there is Private Coal Embers," Redwood introduced the unicorn.

"Hey," Coal acknowledged. His appearance was much like the other two, except that he also decided to keep his helmet on. He had a coat of dark red, like a piece of coal that was glowing with warmth, and his mane was the orange of flames.

"How 'bout you mares?" Redwood asked. "And dragon," he added with a hint of impression.

"Well I'm Twilight Sparkle-" Twilight started.

Redwood's eyes perked up. "Wait. Stop right there. I remember who you six are- you're the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony!" Redwood exclaimed. Then realization hit. "... Why are you here then?"

"All of us except Twilight and Spike over there received a draft notification," Rarity informed him. "So they volunteered so that we wouldn't be split."

"Wow. That's a solid friendship," Redwood remarked.

"I'm sorry," Crystal spoke, "but I forgot your names. I feel ashamed of it, too," she added with a slight frown.

"That's okay," Twilight said. "It's been a while since we've been famous around Equestria. Which is one of the reasons why they got drafted."

"I'd love to hear that story later," Redwood commented.

"Yeah. Later," Twilight replied with a frustrated tone. "Anyways, girls?"

"Well I'm Applejack of the Apple family. Proud heritage of apple farmin'" Applejack introduced herself.

"Rainbow Dash, one of the greatest fliers Equestria has known," Rainbow announced.

"The legendary performer of the Sonic Rainboom," Crystal noted. "All pegasi know you, Rainbow." Rainbow grinned.

Rarity stepped up. "I'm Rarity, pleased to meet all of you."

Next came Pinkie. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! And I'm here to make ponies happy when they're down!" Her charm extended to the ponies they just met, and smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Celestia- or Luna, depending how you look at things- knows we need a pony like you," Redwood said with a smile. "This place can be too mopey sometimes."

Fluttershy went last. "Hi. I'm Fluttershy, and I'm here to work at the field hospital and help the injured."

"That's nice," Crystal complimented. "You seem like a very caring pony, and I'm sure they would appreciate your help." Fluttershy smiled.

Before Redwood could speak again, however, another pony came from behind the Ponyvillians.

"Hey- I'm not late to the party, am I?"

Rainbow turned around first. "Vinyl? Vinyl Scratch? You're here too?" Vinyl Scratch stood there looking like similar to the other fresh soldiers. Her helmet and M16 rifle were slung over her sides, along with... a guitar? Her vest was mostly opened, so the humid air wouldn't bug her too much. She also wore her iconic purple shades.

"Yeah. Dude over there told me this was H Squad. Am I right?"

Twilight answered her. "Uhh... Yeah. You're right."

"Welcome to Hell Squad," Redwood told her.

"Awesome," Vinyl declared. "Did I miss anything?"

"Just introductions, really. I'm Redwood Heartbuck, her over there is Crystal Chroma, and back there is Coal Embers. All Privates."

"Sweet. I'm Vinyl Scratch, the fabled DJ," the white unicorn musician announced.

"I always thought dubstep was fun music," Redwood remarked.

"Well I heard they play some pretty sweet band music down here."

"They do in fact do that. In fact, the radio's always playing some."

"So I heard. I love it."

Pinkie interrupted. "So if you're a famous DJ, why are you here? Did you get drafted too?"

"Drafted? Nah, I volunteered. Figured it was time to try something else. Spice up my life a bit, y'know?" Vinyl confidently answered.

"So you joined the Marines?" Twilight questioned.

"Yeah. Why not? It's helping Equestria, right?"

"I guess so. But I never thought many would be willing to enlist on their own."

"Matter of fact," Redwood proclaimed, "I volunteered myself. And so did Crystal. Coal over there's the only one that was drafted out of us three."

"Oh."

"Well, Ponyville did have a secluded lifestyle," Rarity pondered. "I'm not at all surprised that others would be willing to volunteer for service. Though I would still never do it myself."

"Doesn't matter much anymore. You're all here now. Welcome to Vietnam," Redwood stated. "And again, welcome to H Squad, more commonly known as Hell Squad."

"Why is it known as that?" Twilight inquired.

"Is that how awesome and ass-kicking this squad is?" Rainbow excitedly asked?

"Ha," Redwood scoffed. "We wish. It's named 'Hell' Squad because this squad is essentially that- hell. It's like the letter 'H' is cursed so that the squad is like a deathtrap. Our leader, Sergeant Power Shovel, well he's pretty decent. But I think the possibility of glory is starting to get to his head. He's getting pretty reckless."

"The sergeant's basically the reason for bad luck these days," Crystal continued. "At least, that's how we see him. In fact, we talk to other ponies in our platoon a lot, and agreed that if we were one squad up the list, we'd be nicknamed 'Grave' Squad. Because that's what it is."

"You notice how there's only three of us left?" Coal asked them.

The newcomers just stared blankly.

"Yeah. It's Shovel's fault we lost more than half the squad. Poor strategic judgement. Only two got out alive other than us. They're injured, and gonna be sent home. Not fit for duty anymore."

Redwood grunted in annoyance. "That's Power for you. Even earned the name 'Grave Digger' after a couple patrols. But more often than not, it's for anyone that lands in the squad, rather than the gazelle bastards we're supposed to be putting in graves." Redwood sensed something, and looked down the row of tents. "Well, shit. Speak of the devil."

They turned to the direction Redwood was looking at and saw an earth pony with a dark blue body and a mane of dark brown. Sergeant Power 'Grave Digger' Shovel appeared to be slightly larger than Redwood, which wasn't much above the pony average size.

"Private Heartbuck! These the new soldiers the platoon leader told me about?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright new ponies," Power started, "I lost much of my squad in our last encounter, and I deem the remaining three not fit for any promotions. I lost my corporal in our last engagement, and command has granted me permission to assign one of you privates as a new one, straight from arrival. Now, which of you... mares.... is the feistiest?"

"Um, feisty?" Twilight remarked. All heads turned to Rainbow.

Power noticed this. "Alright then. You- the pegasus they're all looking at. I assume that you're the one with the most fighting spirit with the looks they gave you. What's your name?"

Rainbow looked surprised. "Private Rainbow Dash, sir!" She stood proud at her name.

"Congratulations. From now on, you will be known as Corporal Dash-"

Twilight had an argument. "What does being ready and eager to fight have to do with being promoted to a higher rank?!"

"Come on, Twilight, you're just jealous that I'm a higher rank now," Rainbow boasted.

"Rainbow, are you sure you're up for the possible responsibilities? Lives are on the line."

Rainbow stammered. "Uh, yeah, of course I am." Then she thought a little bit more. Twilight was the one with more intelligence, and the unspoken leader of their group of friends. "You know what, Twilight's the smart one. She should be promoted, not me."

Power had an answer ready. "I am a leader of a military fighting unit. We're soldiers, and if we're not going in to fight, we're not doing our job! Therefore, somepony who is ready to fight and dish out pain will be willing to go in and kick some ass! And that's our job! Those I've had under me cowered in fear, afraid to move up, and no progress was made, no ground was taken! They were afraid to go out and fight. Therefore, the one I have promoted to Corporal will help rally the others to do the job. Brains are no good if nopony's willing to move."

"That's still absurd!" Twilight objected.

"You're the smart one, eh? Well let me tell you a story. I was a private, much like you. I liked the sergeant as a pony, but as a warrior, his tenacity was something to be desired. He was smart, but he couldn't bring himself to execute his plans. If he thought something might go wrong, there was no follow-through. He had no faith. One day, we were out on patrol. He was unfortunately killed, as was our corporal. So I took it upon myself to lead the ones that remained and fiercely fought back. Lost two more ponies, but those gazelles were driven back."

"What does that prove?"

"It proves that I want somepony to rely on to help give the troops some fighting spirit. And if it's going to be Dash, then it's Corporal Dash. Don't act like you don't think you're up to it Corporal- I sense it in you."

Twilight snorted in defeat. She couldn't talk sense into Shovel.

"Also, both guys on my machine gun team were injured in the last skirmish, and won't be able to be back in duty. So which of you other mares is the strongest?" All heads easily turned to Applejack.

Applejack looked slightly unsure. "I guess, I am, sir. Private Applejack Apple. One of the strongest ponies around... I guess."

"You got some fight in ya?"

"As much as Rainbow does. Just not as hot-headed."

"Hey..." the pegasus in context said in an irritated manner.

"You know it's true, Dash."

"Well, uh... I'm a higher rank than you!"

"That don't even make any sense right now!"

"Still."

"... Whatever."

"Ha!"

Power seemed pleased enough. "Good. So stow that M14 somewhere because from now on, you're carrying the M60. Right over there, next to Heartbuck, is your new friend." With the muzzle facing up and stock on the ground, Applejack saw the hefty M60 resting vertically on some crates. She did not deny to herself that, while also very menacing, it looked very alluring. A nice strong gun for a nice strong pony.

Pinkie waved her hoof in front of the former farmer. "Applejack..."

The orange pony was knocked out of her thoughts. "Oh... what?"

"You were just... kind of staring at it. You can go over and get it, you know. I think it's yours now."

"Oooh." Applejack cantered over to the machine gun, placing her M14 beside it, and replaced it with her newly assigned weapon. "Hey Rainbow, you might have a higher rank, but I've got the better gun," Applejack teased as she looked over the M60.

"... Darn it."

Power continued assigning tasks. "Next, I need a pony to work the squad radio."

Vinyl offered her services. "I got experience with stuff like that."

"Good. What's your name, Private?"

"Private Vinyl Scratch, sir."

"Private Scratch, you are now this squad's radiopony."

"Cool."

Twilight spoke up. "Sergeant Shovel, sir?"

"Yes, what? But first, who are you?"

"Private Twilight Sparkle, sir. I have a question- did you happen to have any specialized ponies make it out of your last patrol alive?" Twilight was incredulous. They just got there, and already three positions had been replaced.

"Yes, in fact, I did. That would be Private Embers over there. He's the squad grenadier."

Twilight was out of questions. Fortunately, it looked like Sgt. Shovel wasn't staying much longer.

"That's about it, squad. You're free to do what you'd like, while I go over to Corporal Torchlight and join in on some blackjack." With that, Shovel left the group.

Twilight looked nonplussed. "I'm not sure about Shovel over there."

"He might've been a good soldier before, but if he was, he's getting worse. Or at least in terms of being a leader. It must've all gone to his head, so that's what he is now," Redwood explained.

"He pretty decent in terms of attitude, but not many see past how bad his leadership can be. He either can't come up with a strategy or just becomes reckless, and believes that with enough force, the enemy will give out," Crystal added.

Twilight looked around. "Since we're not really doing anything, do you mind telling me what we'll have to deal with around here?" Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Vinyl, and Spike went over and sat next to Redwood and Crystal. Rainbow was still talking to Applejack, who was looking over her new gun.

"Sure thing," Redwood responded. Twilight and Spike went over and sat next to him. Vinyl went along as well. "So where are you all from? I know you're the bearers of the Elements, but your hometown escapes me."

"Oh, well we're from Ponyville," Twilight answered.

"Ponyville, you say? Well I'm from the small town of Pranceton. Nice cozy place. But Ponyville... Ponyville... Oh I remember why that town's significant to me now!" Redwood said with a grin.

"Why is it?"

"Well, it was a very long time ago. I would guess that you would remember an incident involving an Ursa Minor and a mare named Trixie?"

Rainbow Dash heard this from a little bit away, and she and Applejack joined in.

"Trixie? The Great and Powerful Trixie? Do you mean that big headed jerk?" Rainbow complained.

"Her attitude was a sour as a lemon," Applejack added. "Caused us so much trouble. I could barely stand her voice and the stuff pourin' out of it."

Redwood was taken aback. "Whoa. Was that really how bad she made herself be?"

"One big braggart basically," Twilight answered. "Why?"

"Wow. I guess now I can fully understand what she felt when she talked to me after that incident."

"Wait, what?!" Rainbow asked. "You know Trixie?"

"Okay, okay, just hear me out. She's not a bad pony-"

"I'll believe that when I see it," Spike declared.

"Let me explain. Geez. Anyways, she's not even a full-time stage magician. Her actual job is testing and working with special effects, like fireworks. She just does the magic thing kind of as a hobby."

The mares in front of him still looked disbelieving.

"She does shows once every two weeks or so, and afterwards, always stops by to talk to me. How we got to know each other is a different story. Now, I remember that day actually. She looked horrible coming into the cafe. Felt really bad for her-"

"If only you knew what she did," Rainbow interrupted.

"And she explained to me. Apparently it was just an off-day type thing, where she decided to experiment with going all-out crazy, and seeing if that would work and make her popular."

Twilight had a question. "Wait, wait, so you're telling us that it was all just a front?"

Redwood chuckled. "That's pretty funny, actually. Part of her ramblings was how angry she made some ponies get with her show, when she thought that it was clear that it's her job to be like that. It's an acting job. She made some so mad, three mares challenged her."

Rainbow and Rarity grumbled at the memory, and it didn't go unnoticed by Redwood.

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing," they answered simultaneously.

"They were put to shame by Trixie along with me when we came up to show how much of a fraud she was," Applejack explained. "But you seem to be telling the truth about her not being a bad pony. You make her out to be a friend you really care for. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones, if you really mean everything you said."

"Well I do. She's just another normal pony with good days and bad days. I'll tell you more about her later if you'd like, but there's another thing. What's with Ponyvillians being in this squad?"

"What does that mean?" Twilight inquired.

"The MG guys that got injured? Two young stallions from Ponyville-"

Then it hit her. Now she remembered why those two unicorns from earlier seemed significant. "Snips and Snails were the machine gun crew? They're the ones in the hospital?"

"Yeah. Those two. Told us they volunteered for adventure or something. They were pretty good. Heck, they were relatively calm under fire, and even after getting shot. But thanks to Shovel, they're out of the war."

"Wouldn't surprise me if those two were calm under fire," Spike admitted. "They were the ones that searched out an Ursa Major for the Trixie incident."

"Oh really? They never told me that."

"Yeah, those two are crazy. But they're okay," Spike added. "If I remember right, they're just a year above the age for stallions to volunteer."

"They were young alright. But Luna knows this army needs ponies. I guess it's better than being drafted. Just walk up to a recruiter and say it yourself, rather than get a letter from the War Ministry that might as well say, 'Welp, sorry shitface, but you're going to war!'. At least, I think that's how I think it feels."

Applejack hung her head. "I know that's how I felt." The others seemed to agree.

Rainbow had something else to say. "You know, that's not the first time I heard that. Did you come from Camp Hayfield? Or even under Blackwind?"

"Me? Naw, I was under Steelring. Why?"

"It's just that it sounds like we've heard that line before..."

"Hey, when you yell as loud as those guys, you'll hear anything..."

==+==

As the others split off, Pinkie Pie approached Coal. The unicorn seemed friendly, but a loner that didn't want much business with the others.

"Hi! You're Coal, right? I'm Pinkie Pie, and you're here all alone, so I came over to talk to you!"

"Yeah. Hi there Pinkie."

Pinkie gave an expression of thought. He wasn't being hard, or at least trying to avoid her like Cranky Doodle Donkey all those years back. But he wasn't being very open either. Fortunately, Pinkie was a top-notch operator in friend making, after many years of experience. After a little bit of thinking, she decided to try the basic inofmation route.

"So where you from, Coal?"

"Detrot."

"Well I'm from Ponyville!"

"Great."

"Do you like your family? Because I love mine!"

"Yeah, they're okay."

"How big is your family? Are you married?"

"Eh."

And he was still being difficult. Coal wasn't even making much eye contact with Pinkie. He mostly kept looking down at the ground, eyes closed under his helmet. Pinkie re-assessed the situation. Maybe if she talked about things in the surroundings or his posessions, he would open up.

She looked around the unicorn. He didn't have much personal effects lying out in the open, so there were only a few objects to start a conversation on. She spotted an interesting weapon propped up next to him alongside an M16.

"You're the grenadier, right?" Pinkie asked.

"Yup."

"So this is yours?" the pink pony asked as she picked up the weapon.

"Yeah. I carry that M79 for the team. Launches 40 millimeter grenades to where it's pointed."

"... Is it fun to use?"

"It's okay."

"But explosions are cool, right?"

"As long as it's not next to me, yeah, explosions are cool."

Pinkie was still trying to crack through to Coal. There were only vague hints of any type of emotion in his responses. But before she could ask more questions, another device sitting on top of some crates caught her interest.

"Hey, what's this?"

The unicorn looked over. "Oh, that? They told us a little bit about it earlier. It's a... M9 flamethrower. Yeah. It's actually been sitting there for some time now. We never found a use for it. There were always other better things to use."

Pinkie stared at it. It was possibly highly deadly to its user. Highly lethal to the enemy if it worked. And looked like lots of fun to use.

"... Can I have it?"

Coal gave a questioning look. "Well, nopony else is using it, but it's not like it's practical anyways. Or maybe they'll have a use for it, I don't know. Maybe you should ask one of the officers first."

Pinkie kept staring at the flamethrower. It was pretty enticing. She could have a whole lot of fun with that. Her train of thought suddenly went back to making friends with Coal. She decided to take a new approach and go talk to the ones that had known him longer.

"Okie doki loki then! Nice talking to you Coal!"

"Yeah."

Pinkie left and decided to consult Redwood. He seemed to have done much of the talking so far.

"Hey, when you yell as loud as those guys, you'll hear anything..."

"Hey Redwood!" The rest of the group turned to Pinkie.

"Oh hey Pinkie," Redwood greeted.

Pinkie sat down next to him. "So you guys have known Coal for a while now, right?"

"I guess so. Why?"

"He's not being very open. He doesn't seem shy though. It's like he doesn't want to make friends."

Redwood sighed. "No, he'd like to make friends, but he's got an interesting way of thinking. Can't even blame him for thinking like that. I've tried to get stuff out of him for so long, and he finally told me why he's not outgoing. Outgoing here, at least. We're in a war, right? Even though it feels like we're not right now?"

His audience nodded.

"Well Coal knows that. And I heard that when he first arrived, he made friends with some ponies. Got to know them well. But it's a war... and some ponies die. He got hurt so much when they died, that he just vowed to keep to himself."

"You never told me that," Crystal noted.

"It never came up."

"Why is he like that?" Twilight asked.

"He feels that it's easier on him if he doesn't get personal with the ones around him. If they die, well at least he didn't know too much about them. He doesn't have to worry about the guilt of knowing how much the death of that pony would affect others, since he didn't know much about their life before he met them. That's why he stays to himself."

"But don't you work better if you know each other more personally?"

Crystal spoke up. "He actually manages to do his job really well. I mean, he knows our attitudes well enough. I suppose he just doesn't socialize much so there's less attachment to others that he might lose. He's still a good soldier though, and works well with others in the squad."

Pinkie struck a pose. "Well it's my mission to be best friends with every pony around, and I'll be great friends with Coal Embers even if it takes the entire time we're deployed!"

"That would certainly be something," Crystal commented.

"Well," Twilight stated, "if I've learned anything from being Pinkie's friend for so long, it's that she's never backing down from that."

"Well before you get to that, you want a tour of the base? We'll be glad to give you one."

The newly arrived soldiers looked amongst each other. They seemed to come to an agreement.

"Sure thing," Twilight answered. "Fluttershy's going to be at the field hospital anyways, and I'm sure we'd all love to know where things are around here."

Redwood stood up. "That settles it. Let's go then."

==+==

Camp Coppermine

Vietnam

July 24

2043 Local Time

Most of the day was spent walking around Camp Coppermine. They now knew where certain facilities were, important meeting areas, and interesting ponies to talk to. Other things they were made known of included some officers and other areas of interest. The day had now ended, and the ponies retired to their respective tents.

The group was split in two. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike went together. Pinkie offered to switch with Spike in hopes that she could get to know Coal more, so she was with Redwood, Crystal, Coal, Vinyl, and Power.

In the first tent, Applejack was disassembling the M60. Rarity was inspecting her M14. Rainbow was fast asleep. Spike was lying down just watching the others. Twilight was writing a letter in respect.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I don't know if this letter can get to you from down here. It's me, Twilight. I hope you're fairing with our departure a little better now.

We've all safely arrived in Gazelland-Vietnam. Not much has happened so far. We've met our squad, which seems to be filled with nice ponies. One of them, Pvt. Redwood Heartbuck, really helped get us settled as much as possible here in the short time he was given. Pvt. Crystal Chroma is also a very nice mare that helped us feel comfortable. There's one more- Pvt. Coal Embers. He keeps to himself much of the time, but we think that Pinkie Pie's charm will soon break through to him.

Over all, things have gone well so far. I don't know what might happen in the following days. Hopefully this won't be the last letter I'll ever send. From what we've been told so far, our sergeant isn't the most competent. We've already had to replace three positions, with Rainbow Dash already receiving a promotion to Corporal. I'm not sure how bad he is, but maybe we can help him change as well.

Again, I'm not sure if this letter will ever reach you. I hope it does. And hopefully not the last.

Forever your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight hadn't bothered to bring any wax or ribbon to seal it. It was too expensive. She did, however, bring a spool of string, which should do the job. Redwood came in just as she finished tying up the letter.

"What's that?" the earth pony asked.

"It's a letter to Princess Celestia."

"Oh, right. You're her personal student."

Twilight nodded as she gripped the parchment in her magical grasp. It was light enough that the magic restraining atmosphere didn't affect her. "Spike, do you mind trying to send this to the Princess?"

Spike looked up. "Will that even work?"

"Well it's not exactly unicorn magic..."

"Alright then... Maybe you should send a copy by normal means just in case."

"I'll do that with my other letters later."

Spike breathed his flames on the letter. The ashes flew away. If they headed towards Canterlot, they didn't know.

Redwood looked on. "Well that's one way to avoid the PX."

Twilight looked confused. "PX?"

"Postal Exchange. They censor stuff, by the way."

"Oh."

"Anyways, I just came by to tell you to get some sleep. Sergeant just told us that we're going on patrol tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?! We just got here!" The others in the tent looked at Redwood with mild shock.

Applejack could be heard slamming pieces of the machine gun back into place. "Well... we've got to start some time right?"

Rarity checked the mechanisms of her rifle and snapped the bolt. It gave a resounding clack. "I suppose so. No avoiding that."

"If it'll make you feel better, not all patrols end with bullets flying. Of course, you got to watch for nasty booby traps in the ground, but we'll talk about that tomorrow. For now, get some sleep. We wake up at 0500, leave at 0600, according to the sarge."

Twilight laid back on her cot. "If I can get any sleep."