All Types of Rain [Original]

All Types of Rain

By: The Grey Pegasus

= 6 =

Into the Jungle

Camp Coppermine

Gazelland-Vietnam

July 25, 1015

0440 Local Time

"Hey. Rainbow. Wake up."

"Ugh... What time is it AJ?"

It was fairly quiet in the early morning hours. For H squad, however, it was time to get up. It was their first morning in Gazelland-Vietnam, and was soon to be their first mission. The night before, they were informed that they were going to be on patrol this day. Applejack had just shook her slumbering friend awake, and hopefully Dash would remember that there was no sleeping in. In all actuality though, there was still twenty minutes until they were required to get up, but Applejack was one of the working folks back home, and was aware of the advantages of waking up early.

"Time for you to wake up, Rainbow. Or should I say, Corporal?" The orange pony strode back near her cot, where she continued preparing for what was to come.

"Huh. Right." Rainbow looked over to her friend suspiciously. "Are you sure it's actually time to wake up?"

"Hmmm..." Rarity interjected, "I do believe the Corporal has a point. Is it really the designated time to wake up?"

Applejack stammered slightly. "Why, uh, of course it is! Need to get up bright and early! More time to wake up and be more alert, right? Don't want to be caught in the field still dozin' off!"

"Right..." Rainbow said in disbelief. Even in simple matters such as waking up, Applejack still had slight difficulties lying about it.

Twilight shook in her cot. The conversing ponies had caused her to become awake. "What's going on?" she asked wearily.

Spike stirred in his bunk. "Of course I had to sleep with the mares," he mumbled from under his pillow.

"I think it's too early to be awake for this," explained Rarity. "Celestia knows a mare still needs her beauty sleep."

"Shut yer trap, Rarity," Applejack shot back. "It's only twenty minutes. Like that makes a difference."

"Ha!" exclaimed Rainbow. "I knew it was too early!"

"The world's laziest pegasus would know."

"And I take pride in that."

"Look, how about we just fully wake up and get out to meet the others?" Twilight suggested.

Spike took his head out from under his pillow. "Do we have to, Twi? We still have twenty minutes."

"Well we're already awake- what's the point? Twenty minutes isn't really much."

The rest shared some looks and reluctantly agreed. Not one of them spoke as they filed out the tent opening. Outside, the found only Crystal Chroma waiting for them, next to a small fire pit.

"Good morning," the white pegasus greeted them with her Trottingham accent. "You're all up fairly early. And I trust that your night was not as restful as you'd have liked," she added with a friendly smile.

"Unfortunately, you're right," Twilight answered. "Except for Rain- Corporal Dash. She's a well-known heavy sleeper."

"Why are you guys calling me that like it's a bad thing?!" Rainbow complained in a relatively hushed voice.

"Maybe because you called yourself that too many times yesterday?" Applejack argued against the pegasus in a quiet voice, as to not wake any resting ponies.

"Well it is my rank!"

"Well you took it up to eleven!"

"Well I'm Corporal Rainbow Dash, so I'm allowed to!"

Crystal rolled her eyes at the ridiculous exchange. By the interactions between the two, she deduced that the two ponies were very close friends, brought even closer together by their competitive natures. "Alright, while you two work out your relationship problems-"

"Hey!" both mares snapped back.

Crystal smirked. "-Anypony care for some coffee? There's already some heated, along with some breakfast. The others should be out soon as well."

As if on cue, a white unicorn exited the second tent. "Good morning, uh, ponies."

"Oh, hey Vinyl," Rainbow said, with lingering traces of drowsiness.

"Mornin' Corporal," Vinyl yawned. Rainbow let out a barely audible grunt. "Any coffee boiling right now?"

"Yeah," Crystal answered, "Already got it covered." She motioned towards the pot of coffee and some toast heated on a grille above the fire.

"Sweet." Vinyl found one of the metal cups next to the fire, and levitated some coffee into it, then taking a drink. "Ah, that's a little better."

A red unicorn emerged from the tent moments after, though he didn't have much traces of sleep.

"Oh, there's Coal," Crystal pointed. "You should thank him for helping me prepare breakfast. He lit the fire and got the water for the coffee."

The others expressed their gratitude.

"So..." Twilight started, "Uh, how was your night?"

Coal looked at her with a blank expression. "Alright I guess... Well, would've been better if Pinkie didn't try to talk to me too much. Could've gotten to sleep earlier by a good half-hour or more."

"She just wants to be your friend you know," Rainbow explained.

"I know. I mean, I don't really have anything against it, but..." Coal just shrugged.

Remembering what Redwood had told them of Coal the day before, they didn't pursue the matter further, partially because they weren't sure how. Certainly what the unicorn thought had logical reasoning behind it, and so they couldn't think of anything to say.

Nonetheless, it didn't stop the pony of the subject from bouncing out of their tent. "Hi everypony! And good morning Coal," Pinkie gleefully exclaimed.

Coal sighed in return.

"Come on Coal," Rainbow urged, "Open up a bit."

"Ah, no thanks Corporal."

"That's an order?"

"Funny." At that, Rainbow stopped pushing the subject further. She still couldn't really argue against his way of thinking. Still, that didn't mean Pinkie couldn't try.

"Aw, come on Coal. I've got to get through to you eventually," Pinkie insisted.

"I'm not really going against you, you know. But can I at least enjoy a quiet morning? You talked all night."

"... Okay."

Within the next couple of minutes, Redwood and Power arrived at the scene to complete the squad.

"Mornin' folks. Got a big day ahead of us," Redwood said as he passed through the tent flap.

Power followed behind. "Doesn't quite describe it Redwood. Takin' out a fresh, new group of ponies on their first patrol. Gonna be interesting for me."

Redwood turned to the rest of the ponies. "Bet you're not exactly looking forward to it."

"Like I said," Applejack answered, "Gotta start some time. That's why we're here."

"Mmm," Rarity hummed in agreement. "Sad fact of the matter."

"Well, no sense in doing it with empty stomachs, right?" Spike suggested.

Power grumbled with a smirk. "I like the way you think there, Private. Eat up, fillies and colts. Long job ahead of us."

As they finished eating a satisfactory meal of toast and coffee, Power stood up and turned to his tent. "Okay squad, since we're about done with breakfast, it's time to get geared up. Normal procedure- leave what you don't need, unless of course it's small enough so it doesn't take up much space, and bring all standard equipment. Get to it, and we'll all meet up right back here when you're all done."

The rest of the squad spoke messages of understanding, then the group split off back to their own tents to do as they had been told. There was no telling how long they would be out in the jungle. It could range from a couple hours to days, or even weeks.

Back in their respective tent, Rainbow struck a conversation with Twilight as they gathered their belongings.

"Hey Twilight. You're the one that's been having the most mixed feelings about being here. How are you holding up with what we got ahead of us?" Rainbow inquired.

Twilight wore a weary look, as if she'd been thinking the same exact question the whole night. "I'm still not sure."

Somehow, being trained in the art of war made the task ahead less daunting. Sure, they were still scared, as it was still very much unfamiliar territory, but it was more like an uncomfortable itch rather than them expecting to walk straight into death. Still, Twilight was indecisive as to how she exactly felt about her current predicament.

Rainbow replied with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess we all are. Then again, like everypony else says, we're here now and got no other choice. Might as well pony up instead of breaking down in the field."

"Yeah... no choice in the matter. But you'd be one of the ones that adjust to this faster. You do dangerous stunts everyday as a hobby, and join in competitions. You're already accustomed to frightening situations and pressure, especially both of them together."

"Guess that's why I got promoted. Saw the awesome in me."

Twilight looked over to Rainbow. The pegasus still showed her regular brashness, but deep in her eyes, she could see uncertainty and fear- more of it than she'd ever see in the daredevil pegasus before. Rainbow hid it fairly well however, and that had to count for something. Hiding those emotions was an act of courage in of itself.

Before Twilight could respond though, another tentmate let out a hesitant whine. "I'm still not sure what I think about being in this uniform..." Rarity grumbled again, having conflicting feelings.

"Come on, Rarity, are you really gonna go through this now?" Rainbow asked as she put on boots over her hind hooves.

"Why of course, Corporal-"

The pegasus groaned and rolled her eyes.

"- I prefer to stay in style as much as possible, and this attire... is questionable."

Spike chuckled. "Yup. At least now you're forced to wear camouflage. And I'm glad that it means that I don't have to wear pink aprons this time around," he said, referencing the one time they went to watch the dragon migration.

"Well I'm a little more lenient as to what should be worn. It is for functionality and survival-"

"And you don't have a whole closet full of dresses to change in," Applejack interrupted as she walked out the tent exit.

"I'm willing to be less lady-like if it means I don't die," Rarity retorted to the former farmer as she left.

"But we all know you would love to have a red carpet roll out into the jungle if it was possible," Rainbow joked.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Can we please stop speaking of that day?"

"Fine, fine. Just stop complaining about what you have to wear." Rainbow paused in thought. "And don't let me hear anything about your helmet, Private."

The two other mares and one dragon just rolled their eyes and continued checking their bags and rifles.

==+==

Once Redwood had finished putting on clothes and equipment, he exited the tent. He spotted Applejack sitting on the ground, checking her saddlebags and packs, as well as the M60, and started going over to her. The mare noticed him, and beat him to the greeting.

"Hey there Heartbuck."

"Hey." Redwood paused. "You know AJ, you can just call me Redwood if you want... I can call you AJ, right?"

"Oh, okay. And... I think you're alright enough to call me AJ."

"Uh, thanks? Anyways, you almost ready to head out?"

Applejack turned her head to answer. "Huh? Oh, yeah, just finishin' up some things here. Don't want to forget anythin' important, right?"

For the first time, Applejack was able to look at Redwood much more closely. His coat and mane colors were comparable to a light shade of wood, probably that of his namesake. His mane was short and somewhat unkempt, but didn't seem to ever need any attention. He had deep emerald eyes, much darker than her own, and they seemed to always be in some sort of deep thought.

"Yup," he agreed, "One mistake and you might be gone. By the way, Shovel had me reassigned to be with you on the MG team."

"Oh really? So what do you do?"

"Well mostly I just carry extra belts of ammo, but it also means I can assist in setting up in the middle of combat, help feed the belt if you need help with that, take over the gun should something happen to you, and in very rare cases, help change the barrel."

"Help change the barrel?"

"Firing too long makes it heat up, which isn't good. Fortunately, some techs back in Equestria were able to add in some things to the metal so that it rarely overheats to the point where we need to switch out barrels. I don't know the specifics, but since it helps keep us alive, I'm all for it."

"Ah. Okay." Applejack just kept staring afterwards.

Redwood raised an eyebrow. "... You okay there AJ?"

"Oh... Yeah. I'm alright. I'm not really too scared or anythin', so I think I'm okay. Probably just distracted, since I've still got to get used to all this stuff."

"Okay then." Redwood observed her for a few more seconds. Her green eyes didn't shift much. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Applejack's eyes shot open. "Oh! Heh, my bad. I didn't mean anythin' by it. Just lookin' at your cutie mark. It's... peculiar."

Redwood glanced at his flank. It was adorned with the image of two compasses- one of the mathematical variety and one of the navigational instrument. The latter was situated in the middle of the two arms of the drafting tool. "Oh this?"

"Yeah. What does it mean?"

"There's actually a pretty interesting description behind it. How about I tell you it when we get back? And when the others are around, too. I'm sure they'd like to hear it also."

"I can work with that."

Not long after the two earth ponies finished conversing, the rest of the squad came out, decked out in full combat gear. Sgt. Power Shovel made an announcement.

"Okay squad, the time is just about 0545. In fifteen minutes, we're gonna get going to the camp exit and make for the jungle. Lieutenant Reed informed me that there's been reports of enemy gazelle movement, and they want us to do some recon, and engage if an opportunity comes up and we're able to do so."

"Knowing Shovel," Redwood whispered to Applejack, "that means we're going to fight if we find any of them."

Applejack looked at him and lightly nodded.

"We're probably going to spend at least a night in the jungle, just a heads up. Depending on our mission success, we may either spend one night to an entire week before we head back to Coppermine. I know it's your first patrol for you new ones, but a mission's a mission. Understood?"

"Yes sir," they collectively replied.

"Alright, if there's anything any of you need to do, you've got fifteen minutes."

"Hey," Rainbow said to her friends, "You think Fluttershy's awake? We should probably tell her we're gonna be gone for some time."

"Good idea," Twilight agreed. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind being woken up anyways. It would be better to let her know instead of just leaving."

"Hey, Sarge, we're gonna go see a friend real quick. That alright?" Rainbow asked their leader.

"Fifteen minutes. Do what you'd like Corporal." With that, the five Element bearers left to find their timid pegasus friend at the field hospital.

"How you think Fluttershy's doing after our short time here? I mean, she had to sleep separate from us in the middle of a war zone," Rainbow asked the other four.

"I certainly hope she's doing fine," Rarity supposed. "She did seem somewhat adjusted to the concept after basic training. Though I'm sure she'll still be somewhat shook up."

"I hope Fluttershy's doing fine as well," Twilight agreed. "She never asked to be brought to a place like this. But if her medical expertise is that skilled, I guess she might as well be here to help ponies get home alive."

"I don't think she'd be here if it weren't for her skills in treatin' injuries and all that," Applejack admitted. "Hopefully we won't have to go the Fluttershy for that either." They passed the last few tents, and the field hospital was in sight.

"Well I'm sure Fluttershy will brighten up once she sees us," Pinkie happily declared.

Rainbow walked up to a soldier posted outside.

"What can I do ya in for?" he asked.

"Hey. I'm Corporal Dash. Uh, Hell Squad-"

"The ones being sent out on patrol today, right?"

"Yeah. We're here to see a friend before we go. She's a medic."

"Okay then. Right inside folks, and just ask one of the ponies in there if ya can't find her. Try and keep quiet."

Rainbow nodded her thanks, and stepped inside the large tent with the other four in tow. The sight wasn't all that bad. The conditions of wounded ponies varied, but it seems like the doctors knew their job, and did the best they could to remedy whatever problem there was. The general arrangement of the tent seemed to house around 70 beds, enough for about the wounded of two platoons. They were organized in what appeared to be an orderly 12 by 6 arrangement, with multiple aisles to walk in between the stretchers.

Fortunately, a quick scan around would reveal their friend sleeping in one of the bunks separate from the medical stretchers in the far left corner from the entrance. The five walked over, with Rainbow at the front.

"Hey. Hey Fluttershy."

The pegasus in context stirred a little, probably not even fully aware of her surroundings.

"Fluttershy."

"EEEPP!!" squealed their friend as she abruptly woke up. Fluttershy launched in the air a couple feet, before crashing down behind her bed, peeking up to see who it was. "O-oh, hi girls." She slowly stood up. It appeared that none of the sleeping ponies were woken by the commotion she caused.

"Little jumpy 'Shy?"

"I... I guess so. It's just the part where we're stuck in hostile territory and all that."

Twilight walked up to comfort the frightened pegasus. "It's alright Fluttershy. We understand. No problem at all. I guess it'll just take some time for you to settle down and feel relaxed within the safety of the camp."

"Yeah, that's probably right. I'm sorry for all that though. I don't know how long it'll take me to get used to being here."

"You'll get used to it eventually, we're sure." Twilight glanced at the rest of her friends. "But we came to tell you something important."

"We're going on patrol 'Shy," Rainbow plainly stated. Though there were hints of a downcast tone, she kept a straight face. "We're gonna be gone for we don't know how long, and we don't know what'll happen in that jungle."

Rarity stepped closer to add more to the explanation. "We're due to leave in ten minutes, and we thought- no, knew it would be smart to stop by and inform you of this. It was on such short notice as well. We only found out last night."

Fluttershy stayed silent, but her gaze of fearfulness for her friends conveyed all the emotion they needed to know.

"Don't worry 'Shy," Rainbow assured her friend. "We'll all come back safe. Right girls?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Of course," Rarity smiled.

Twilight nodded.

"You know that's right Dash," Applejack confidently declared.

"Damn straight," the corporal agreed.

The group collectively looked at the yellow pegasus with confident, reassuring smiles. Fluttershy stepped around her bed, and they all took part in a group hug. They were all coming back, no doubt.

"We got to get going, Fluttershy. Just... stay relaxed and all that. Settle down a bit. We'll all come back fine, okay? See ya sometime later." With that, the other four said their farewells as they turned and followed Rainbow out to go back to the other ponies of H Squad.

==+==

"Finished?" Crystal asked the approaching mares.

"Yeah," Rainbow confirmed. Also, she only fully noticed Crystal's complete load-out now, as earlier, she was occupied with the plan of finding Fluttershy. "You're also a markspony?"

"I pride myself with precision," Crystal explained as she cradled her M14 in one of her forelegs. "Came with my civilian profession, and carried it over. Finished training with one of the top marks in my group."

"I can relate to that," Rarity said. "I was an expert at the art of dressmaking, and completed basic training at the top of the board in rifle skills."

"Interesting. I was an artist of many trades, but I'll tell you more about that later-"

"Later?" Rainbow questioned. "Why not now?"

"Not too important, especially with not enough time." Rainbow looked like she was going to say something, but Crystal interrupted the notion. "And don't worry, I've got a good feeling that we'll get out of this patrol alive. So it can wait."

"Good feeling about yourself or all of us?"

"Well, more for myself," Crystal admitted, "but one can hope for others as well. Now, along with being a markspony, being a pegasus, as you should know, Corporal, gives even more advantages to my position. The natural keen eyesight of being part avian. Of course, there's also the power of flight."

"Even if we can only use them to speed between cover?"

"Be a little more creative, Corporal!" the white pegasus said with mock disgust. "Don't underestimate that skill, yes, but when we're still unseen, we can take flight! To the fullest extent. If they don't know we're near them, it doesn't matter where we're near them. Being in the bushes would be the same as being in the sky."

"Oh! Got it. Nifty."

"Add all this up, and you get me!" Crystal pointed towards herself with a hoof. "I serve as the squad's primary scout and precision fire support." The pegasus glanced at Rarity. "Though I think I'll have a little more help with 'precision fire support' now."

"I'll be happy to," Rarity obliged.

Before further conversation could be made, Power's voice rang out again. "Squad! It's time to go. Let's get ready to head out. Form up."

Crystal looked back at the rest of the Ponyvillians. "One last thing I'd like to say- I hope you're all ready to pull the trigger if it comes to that."

The new Ponyvillian recruits took a collective look, some more confident than others. Twilight felt a gut-wrenching feeling, and her rear hooves shook in her combat boots. To kill. To take one's life. Did being in a war really grant her that authority so casually?

Sergeant Shovel spoke from the middle of the group. "Okay, for you new Marines, let me give you a quick run-down on how combat patrol operations are done. For now, we're going to take this path into the jungle. Lieutenant Reed said there were reports of enemy movement out west, around here." Power had a map open on the ground and pointed to a position on it. "We're gonna have to get over there on hoof. Find any traces of the enemy. Then track them. Estimate of about eight hours of travel to get there. We have about three days out, then three days heading back in. A total of a week on this mission. The objective is simple. Find some 'zelles, and kill as many of them as we can. Understood?"

"Yes sir," his soldiers replied.

Hell Squad filed out of Coppermine and headed for a clear cut path of the jungle. Twilight looked back at their new home. Tents were everywhere. Wooden watchtowers were placed around. Defensive trenches were dug on the perimeter. Crystal said she had a good feeling that they'd get out of this alive. It wasn't an assurance that they wouldn't run into anything in the sea of green and brown, but it was something to rest her thoughts on. Yet it was a thought that she was sure nagged every soldier that went on combat patrols: Would she make it back to see this sight again?

At this time of the patrol, the group was still loose in formation, walking in a disorganized line. Twilight never liked going into something blind knowledge-wise, and so decided to consult the three experienced ponies of their group.

"So what are we going to have to be careful out here for?"

"Well, there's some poisonous plants," Crystal informed her. "But only when ingested. Not much to worry about. Snakes are another thing, but they aren't often encountered. Obviously watch your steps. Tripping isn't smart. Injuries can range from scratches to broken bones. And for non-natural, traps. Redwood- care to take over?"

"Sure thing," the earth pony acknowledged as he turned his head to the others. "'Zelle traps can be nasty. Then again, there's no such thing as fair fighting. Anything goes. That includes some dirty traps in the grounds. They range from covered pits with sharpened branches at the bottom, to assembled mechanisms that'll clamp spikes on the sides of your legs as you trip onto it. There's also tripwire-activated traps and... a whole lot of other bad things. Basically, anytime you're in the jungle, anything can kill you. Even worse when you can never tell if something's about to kill you."

Feeling that the mood became very sullen and discouraged, Applejack made a random comment. "Maybe Pinkie'll get a Pinkie Sense for stuff like that if we get lucky."

Redwood raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie Sense?"

Twilight explained. "A series of random body twitches and spasms that may connect together in a certain combination. Though the mechanics of why this works, never mind the how, I can't explain, they are quite useful for foretelling a possible future event. Each combination, or even a twitch by itself, that Pinkie discovers will always correspond to the same situation any time it occurs."

"Again, if it helps, I don't care how it works, I'm all for it."

A silence fell over the group, as if conversation was decidedly halted by all, just because they could. The only conversations occurring now were the ones taking place within each pony's head with themselves.

==+==

Somewhere in the jungle

Vietnam

July 25

0930 Hours

It had been a couple hours of walking on trails and cleared paths through the jungle. Up until now, talking had been sparse, and they continued in a general formation of somewhere between a line and a cluster. Sergeant Power finally gave an order.

"Squad, we're deep enough in. Get in patrol formation. Basically, spread out. Chroma, you're taking point."

"As usual," the mare replied as she moved to take the frontmost position in the patrol formation. The others had spread to their own spaces, with their leader near the middle of the group. Between the sergeant and Crystal were Rainbow and Twilight. To either side of Power was Pinkie and Spike. The rear consisted of Applejack, Redwood, Rarity, Coal, and Vinyl, with the two white unicorns farthest back.

"Hey, Redwood," Applejack called over to her fellow earth pony. "Why'd we split up?"

"Major casualty prevention. Should we be ambushed, we're spread out instead of concentrated. That way, the 'zelles can't take multiple of us out at once."

"Ah."

With the group now covering a larger combined area, they continued their trek towards the objective. Talking was now limited to just the pony nearest them, but even then, the sounds of their voices might alert any hostiles in the area.

==+==

Somewhere in the jungle

Vietnam

July 25

1926 Hours

"Hey. Sarge. It's only a half hour until 2000. When are we gonna find and secure a place to stay the night?" Redwood whispered.

"Just give it fifteen more minutes. Then we'll find a good spot," Power replied.

They were now in the jungle for nearly fourteen hours. The hour was getting late, and it was almost sunset. There was still light, but it was fleeting away. It would be preferable to find a place to stop and secure the area soon, because running into enemy forces later at night was not a good idea. Night engagements were not recommended, due to all the difficulties of nearly everything, making outcomes dangerously more unpredictable.

The squad was still walking along, though much more cautiously. They were on their top guard, as they didn't want to be taken by surprised by anything. Pinkie was generally trying to keep a positive attitude, but also showed great seriousness to the situation. After she took another step, she felt a strange sensation.

My ears are twitching, my back feels pinchy, my tail is twitching, and my knee feels pinchy... Pinkie wondered what it could've meant. Maybe... it's a new Pinkie Sense combo? I wonder what it means. Pinkie was never sure what new combos could mean, only finding out what it was after the event, but sometimes she could base it off of the ones she already knew. I'm not sure what ears twitching is, pinchy back means lucky, twitchy tail means something would fall, and pinchy knee means something scary...

For some reason, she felt that lucky, falling, and scary didn't exactly fit, and the twitching ears puzzled her. However, she wouldn't have time to mention it to anypony else.

*Crack* *Whizz*

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Coal yelled as he felt a bullet pass near his head. As soon as he yelled that out, the rest of his squadmates heeded to his command. A line of fire erupted roughly 150 yards away from them, muzzle flashes lighting up the darkening jungle.

"WELL NEW PONIES! IT SEEMS LIKE THINGS HAVE GONE DOWNHILL! BUT REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS ALWAYS A CHANCE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!" Power screamed out his declaration over what they were sure was gazelle gunshots. Along with assault rifle fire, the more experienced members of the squad also heard a support machine gun in the mix. "NOW! POSITION YOURSELVES IN A SOMEWHAT ORDERLY FASHION!"

"What does that mean Sergeant?!" Twilight asked. Some bullets whizzed past her, with dirt being tossed up a couple yards away.

"Get in some decent positions! And stay behind cover! We're not giving up ground!"

"Whatever you say, boss!" Vinyl said as she ducked into cover. She was in the back of the group, but was one of the first to be able to fire back. The chatter of M16 bursts filled the air around Hell Squad.

Redwood turned to his partner. "Well you heard the stallion AJ! Let's set up in that ditch!"

"Alrighty then!" Applejack and Redwood crawled on their bellies until they got to a good spot. After a quick unfolding of the M60's bipod and chambering a round, Applejack started sending some rounds over to the general direction of incoming bullets. The rattling of heavy automatic fire added to the sounds of battle. Redwood returned fire with his own M16.

Meanwhile, Rarity also took a position in the rear of the group. She found a nice position behind some brush and a tree, and started shooting back as well. Unfortunately, her keen eyesight was not much use, as the jungle was too thick, and with daylight depleting, she could only catch shadows moving.

Coal had been caught somewhere near the group, and was backed up behind another tree. Though it was hard to determine if the shots were made blindly or were able to be somewhat aimed, nonetheless, if he were to poke out the sides of the tree trunk, he could get snagged by a bullet.

Pinkie Pie and Spike were hunkered down near their own positions. Both looked unsure whether to shoot back. It appeared they were questioning their morals in the middle of getting shot at, but they couldn't be blamed for that.

"Come on everypony! Shoot back! I need you all to fire at their position, or else we're gonna lose!"

Still, it appeared that morals would have to wait, and so the two did as ordered.

Rainbow Dash was adjacent to their sergeant when the fighting broke. Though slightly hesitant for the same reasons as the others, she seemed to get through to herself before Power gave the order. At the least, being next to their commander would give her some idea of being higher ranked.

Twilight was trying to stay as low as possible behind a mound of dirt. Lifting her rifle up with magic, she fired away. However, bullets found places closer to their mark, and her concentration was broken. The rifle dropped to the ground, and all Twilight could do was pull it back and hold it in her hooves.

"Yeah, you're gonna find that bullets and magic don't exactly mix well!" Coal called out from his position. "I recommend keeping it in your hooves for now! Use our horns some other time!" He peeked around the corner of his tree a launched a grenade from the M79 he held towards where the flashes of light originated.

"Okay then!" Twilight replied. Though thankful for the advice, she was irritated by the fact that it wasn't as easy to concentrate on levitating her weapon in the midst of battle. It seemed to work in theory, but if she well knew that tested theories don't always come out the way it was supposed to. She poked up and fired a few shots with the rifle in her physical grip, feeling the recoil.

Overall, the small squad of Marines, consisting mainly of fresh-out-of-training recruits, seemed to be doing decent at holding their ground. They were sure that they at least downed two or three after a couple minutes. But it wasn't enough. The gazelles just kept bearing down on them. Worse, the Equestrians couldn't see how many they were up against. They were also getting exhausted, this being their first instance of actual combat. The sergeant decided it was time for progress.

"We need to move forward! You ponies in the rear lines! Start moving up! Everypony not moving is gonna give suppressing fire!"

A certain red unicorn was against the idea, however. "Sarge! You crazy?! We can't handle this any more! We're pushing it as is, sir! We should just fall back! We don't have the force to take this!"

"Yes we do, Embers! Move up!"

His fellow experienced pegasus spoke up. "I think he's right Sergeant! I can't see what's going on out there! Too risky!"

"Wars aren't won without risk Private Chroma! We can win this! Just push them back!"

A purple unicorn started getting the gist of the matter, and redirected part of her mind to do a job it was comfortable doing- think. "Sergeant! I'd have to agree with them! Against the statistics, this is a pretty bad idea! We don't know what we're up against and it's getting dark!"

Shovel still didn't yield. "Means we got to finish this fast then!"

"You're crazy Sarge!" Coal yelled from behind them. "Crazy, dammit!"

"That is IT! EMBERS! YOU'RE MOVING UP FIRST, ELSE I REPORT YOUR REFUSAL TO FOLLOW ORDERS!"

"I tell ya, you ain't got nopony to report about if you keep this up!"

"Move your ass!"

Coal let out a heavily disgruntled sigh, and dashed to the next tree he saw. Galloping as fast as he could, he could hear the whistling of the bullets passing near him, hoping each one wouldn't be the last sound he heard. He dove to the base of the tree once near it.

"This is still a bad idea Sarge!" Rolling on the ground to peek around the tree, he fired another 40 millimeter grenade at the enemy position. One of the flashes stopped.

"Scratch! You're next!"

Orders seemed easy to follow before for Vinyl. They were just simple instructions. But she definitely had trouble following this one. Still, an order was an order. "Uh, yeah, sure thing, boss!" The white unicorn also ran through the gauntlet of bullets and made it to cover. She was still behind most of her squad though.

Coal was still disagreeing. "Sarge! We're not going anywhere except dead on the ground or back!"

"Why do you keep doubting my orders?! We're trying to win a war for Luna's sake! It's gonna get dangerous!"

"Because I want to get out of this one alive! You heard the others! We don't have the best of circumstances right now!"

"Come on Embers! Just keep pushing on! We're not gonna lose this!"

"What's losing to getting out to fight another day?!"

"If we kill all of 'em, we get to fight another day! Now get closer and get some new angles!"

"New angle for me, same angle for them. I have to move to shoot, they have to wait for a stupid pony to order me around," Coal muttered under his breath. He got ready to sprint behind some rocks. He grumbled in frustration, then made his move. Halfway to his destination, he dropped.

Redwood watched him from his position. "COAL'S DOWN!"

Pinkie, holding back her shock, looked to the unicorn a few yards behind her, and could barely make out a hole in his helmet. She shrunk down in fear.

Rainbow decided to put some input in. "Hey Sarge?! I think we should go for a retreat! This isn't working, in case you haven't noticed!"

"Come on Corporal! I thought you said you had fighting spirit! I didn't promote you for nothing! Show me that I didn't promote you for nothing!"

"I'm not getting up and dying like Coal!" She glanced over at their deceased companion, and it only served to further lock her in her position. The sight was so terrifying, she stopped shooting back. Rainbow could only hope that it wouldn't happen to her either. She was stuck in shock.

"Corporal! Move up! Help rally the others!"

No answer.

"I thought you were one for action! You're a pegasus for Luna's sake! Warrior race of ponies?! Show me it!"

Still no answer.

"Are you listening to me Corporal?! Get going and go forward!"

Rainbow still sat looking in no particular direction with hollow eyes.

Sgt. Shovel took a hold of Dash and attempted to shake some sense into the mare. "Come on Corporal, I need you to move! Don't just cower there in fear! Move for Celestia's sake! I gave you an order!"

The contact seemed to knock her back into reality. "Are you crazy?!" Rainbow pushed the stallion off her... with a little too much force. Power was tossed into the line of fire, and his body jerked as three bullets found their mark in his chest, neck, and head. Rainbow reeled back in shock.

"Hey! What the hell are we gonna do-" Redwood stopped as he saw the recently deceased body of the squad leader. "The sergeant's dead?!"

"Uh, yeah! So what do we do now?!" Rainbow yelled back.

"Well... that's your job to tell us Corporal! You're the second in command!"

"ME?! Wha-what..." Rainbow Dash trailed off in disbelief. She returned to her state of shock, the same one moments before she got their sergeant killed. She was just placed in command by the accidental death of a pony, which she somewhat caused. And because she was the next highest in rank, she was the next in line in leadership. Add to the fact that the transfer of role was in the midst of a deadly ambush, and the normally brash pegasus couldn't rally herself to the job.

Rainbow, are you sure you're up for the possible *responsibilities? **Lives are on the line,* Rainbow mentally recalled Twilight's opposition to Power. "I... I don't know..." she whispered to herself as bullets continued whizzing in the background.

Then she remembered her own statement that followed. ...Twilight's the smart one... She turned her head until she found the purple unicorn.

"Twilight!"

Twilight looked over. "What is it, Dash?!" She poked up from cover to fire some blind shots, rifle in her hooves rather than her telekinetic grasp.

"Help me out with this!" Rainbow was still in such a dilemma, that she hadn't even fired back since the demise of her superior.

Twilight looked confused. "What do you mean?!"

"Shovel's dead!" Rainbow was didn't like that she had to use that word, but it was short and accurate. "I need help! I'm not exactly sure what to do!"

"What?!" Twilight looked over, and found that Sgt. Power Shovel had indeed been killed by enemy fire. Though Rainbow had already told Redwood, Twilight didn't hear it, being too focused on all the incoming shots and shooting back. "I, uh, what do you think?! You're the corporal, right?!" Twilight couldn't exactly think straight at seeing a dead pony.

"I'm not sure! But I think we should just bust outta here!"

"Sounds good to me! Let's get out of here!" Twilight tried to think of a way to help. "Rarity! Can you see anything or hit anything?!"

"No! Not really! I can see movement, but there's too much in the way!" the white unicorn answered.

"Uh, Crystal! How 'bout you?!" Rainbow looked over to Crystal. In the blink of an eye, she swooped up to a tree branch, with some leaves raining down from above as she flew past them. Rainbow nearly forgot that pegasi were recommended to do that.

"Corporal!" She fired off a few shots into the general direction of the enemy. "I can't see the enemy! Too much brush in the way! But I'm sure there's too many of them!"

"Alright! That's it! We're getting out of here! AJ! Keep laying down fire to cover me and the others!"

"You got it!" Applejack continued to let the M60 eat through the ammunition belt.

"Okay! Crystal! Twilight! Spike! Pinkie! Retreat!" Rainbow barked out her order.

"Affirmative!" Crystal flew down from her tree position. Before fully retreating, however, she went over to Sgt. Shovel's body and yanked off his dog tags for confirmation of death. After quickly finishing the act, she dashed back to behind the rear firing line, behind the MG team earth ponies and two white unicorns.

"Yup! No argument there, Rainbow!" Spike hastily replied.

As Pinkie turned to run back, she spotted the lifeless Coal Embers. Though her emotions were heavy with depression and her mane somewhat deflated, she quickly changed course towards the unicorn. She reached his body and yanked off his dog tags, as she had seen Crystal do to Sergeant Power Shovel.

"I never got to be friends with you," she quietly said. More bullets flew past her, and her second reaction was to take the M79 grenade launcher that was assigned to Coal, before galloping with the others in retreat. "But I won't forget about you Coal."

==+==

Once mostly out of the line of fire, they started running. They ran back into the depths of the jungle in the general direction from where they came. Anywhere in the jungle was better than where they were minutes ago.

They weren't sure how far they ran, but as soon as they felt safe, they slowed their pace.

"Okay, uh, everypony stay spread out, but still kinda close," Rainbow ordered the squad.

Crystal panted. "Yeah, you got it Corporal. You want me anywhere specific?"

"Just stick somewhere near me."

Crystal nodded.

"AJ, Redwood, Pinkie- think you can stick to the rear, and cover us in case things get nasty again?"

"No problem, Dash," Applejack complied. "Come on you two, you heard her. Stick near the back." The two followed the orange mare to the back of the group.

Rainbow walked up next to Twilight. "Hey. How are you holding up?"

Twilight just wearily shook her head.

"Come on, Twi. I need help on this. You're the one with the brains and the leadership. Look at me. That's not really in me."

Twilight stared at her friend for a moment. "I... I basically broke down back there. I don't know why, but, nonetheless, I did. Look, can we wait until we get back to Coppermine to talk?"

Rainbow sighed from exhaustion, physically and emotionally. "Yeah, that's fair. We should probably focus on getting out of here alive first."

"Yeah. Exactly."

Spike spoke from the front of the group. "Hey, Rainbow, didn't Redwood mention something about finding a place to stay the night before we got ambushed?"

"Right..." Rainbow turned to find Crystal and Redwood. "Hey. Crystal. Redwood." Memories of Coal painfully flashed through Rainbow's mind. "Where do you think we should stay the night?"

"Alright," Crystal replied, "Just give me a moment Corporal." Crystal looked up and found the night sky. She flew above the treetops. Above the canopy, she saw the last red radiance of the sun fade away into the violet and black of the night. The pegasus looked around at the surroundings, in case she could spot somewhere useful.

Rainbow saw the pegasus drop back to earth. "Sorry Corporal. Nothing I could see. We'll just have to keep walking 'til we find a good spot. Of course, this is as good as any, but maybe we could find a spot better for holding down in case we get contact."

Rainbow nodded. "Redwood, what do you think?"

"As tired as I am, it's more important to find a good spot to rest in. A little bit of walking is nothing compared to having to fight off another ambush and run."

"Okay. I guess we'll just have to keep walking then."

They walked for another fifteen minutes without incident. Then, a voice spoke from the group.

"Oh, I'm so tired," an smooth accented voice said. "Is this good enough for stopping? Because I don't think I can go further."

A sigh was heard with a thicker accented voice. "Well I ain't sure if we can find any other spot different from this. I guess this is as good as any. But I guess it's Dash's call."

"Alright Rarity, you're probably right. We should just stop now. Get rested. And head back home tomorrow, deal with the higher ranked ponies and all that."

"Well if we're stopping here for the night, I say me and Redwood stay on guard. What'cha say, Heartbuck?"

"Staying on watch is definitely necessary, AJ. Come on, let's set up next to this tree."

Rainbow could barely see two figures split off in the dark and head next to a tree.

A Trottingham voice spoke next. "I'll take second shift, after, say, an hour?"

Another refined voice spoke. "I'll do it with you, Crystal."

"Thanks Rarity."

Rainbow turned to the rest of her companions. "Good. But for now, we rest and let those two keep some eyes on the jungle. I'd say... four hours of rest should be enough to recharge us. Then we'll move in the night some more, then get some more rest. Sound good?"

"Yes ma'am."

==+==

Somewhere in the jungle

Gazelland-Vietnam

July 26

0010 Hours

Hell Squad had gone their four hours without incident. The ponies took their respective shifts, with Vinyl, Pinkie, and Spike taking the third, and Twilight and Rainbow taking the last. The unicorn and pegasus woke their companions from sleep. It was time to move once again. Well-rested from the skirmish earlier, they were able to once again make their way through the jungle.

"So, which of us has the best navigational skills?" Rainbow asked. "Because getting out of the ambush alive means squat if we can't get out of the jungle alive."

After the rest, Twilight had seemed to get her mind working back to some extent. "I'm sure I can do something, Rainbow. We've all been issued compasses, and the stars are up, so we can navigate by those."

Redwood offered his assistance as well. "I can help too. I'm pretty skilled, and traversing unknown land isn't new to me. After all, I do have a compass as part of my mark."

"Oh yeah," Applejack exclaimed. "I remember that."

"... And I'll tell all of you about it when we get back. Now then, Miss Sparkle, er... Twilight, let's get us in the direction out of here, eh?"

"Be glad to."

The two ponies took some time to pinpoint their position. The compasses made it easier, but without a map, navigating would be difficult. The two eventually worked out a direction, and the squad started making headway in that direction.

After two hours of walking, Rainbow called for another stop. They again went through their four shifts, then continued their trek through the jungle. It was a harrowing and terrifying experience, with all the variables added up.

==+==

Camp Coppermine

Vietnam

July 26

1934 Hours

With Crystal at the head of the group, they finally came back in sight of Camp Coppermine.

A unicorn spotted them from within the camp perimeters. He turned towards the inside of the camp. "Hey! Everypony! Hell Squad's back!"

"Really?!" a pony asked with mild shock. "How many of 'em, Torchlight?"

"A good lot of them!" Torchlight responded. The brown unicorn returned his gaze to the returning squad. "Hey! Hey Hell Squad! You're back!" He greeted the approaching ponies at the top of his lungs.

Crystal waved to him.

Redwood noticed the unanimous look of surprise and confusion the Ponyvillian mares gave each other. "That's Corporal Torchlight. He's a fun guy. Good soldier too. Most ponies are good friends with him. Since he likes to keep ponies happy, he helps us a lot with morale, being stuck in the unlucky squad. He's the one we didn't get to introduce to you guys yet."

"Sound's like Pinkie's type of pony," Applejack observed.

"Ooh, I'd love to meet a pony that likes to have fun!" Pinkie chirped, but heavy with remaining traces of depression over recent events.

Redwood chuckled. "I'd love to see what comes out of you two working together."

As they got to Camp Coppermine's entrance, they saw that Torchlight, along with some others, were waiting for them.

"Hell Squad! A lot of you actually managed to come back alive this time! And don't take that as a bad thing, but... geez, there must've been a better way to say that."

Redwood shrugged. "I think it might've been better if you didn't say that at all."

"Eh... you're probably right, Red." Torchlight started escorting them towards the field HQ.

"Still," Redwood continued, "We didn't really escape unscathed. Sergeant Shovel's gone-"

"Shovel's gone?" the unicorn asked. He looked at the group. "I see..."

"Yeah, finally dug his own grave like we thought he would. But he still managed to stick one pony with the curse. Coal's gone too."

Torchlight looked disappointed. "Coal... Coal Embers. Poor bastard. Never got to know him."

"Yeah, it's kinda ironic, now that you say that. He only told me this. He-"

"He didn't want to get to know others so that he wouldn't have too much connection with them if they died on duty," Crystal interrupted.

"Too bad that means we didn't get to know him either," Redwood explained. "I don't know if he intended that also, but it still makes me feel bad, not knowing him. I feel guilty about not knowing how his death is going to affect others back home." Redwood sighed. "I don't know. Even though he blocked his personal life off, I still feel bad about him."

"Well then Red," Torchlight spoke, "You've left that bitchy jungle with most of the team alive. That's a whole lotta ponies to live on in his name. It's the least you can do for him for now."

"That's right Red!" Pinkie said with an encouraging tone.

"We're all fighting on for some pony, aren't we," Redwood sternly declared.

"Sad truth of our job, Red. It was basically in our job description."

"Don't worry, Redwood," Crystal assured him, "Their lives aren't in vain. Equestria's here for a good cause. And like you said- we're all here to live on for those ponies."

Rainbow sighed. "You know that's right."

"So," Torchlight questioned, "Now that Shovel's out, who's the new squad commander?"

"Well that'd be Corporal Dash," Redwood answered.

"Oh, really? Power promoted one of the new ponies? Alright, I guess." Torchlight turned to Rainbow. "You're gonna have to head over to Lieutenant Reed to sort that out. At least notify him of the new changes."

Rainbow solemnly nodded. "Think I could hold that off until tomorrow though? We've kinda been through a lot."

The unicorn shrugged. "As long as you remember, I guess."

"I'll remind her," Twilight told them.

"Well, seeing that you've all been through so much for your first patrol, I'll leave you ponies alone. Anypony want to hang around, play some cards, et cetera, I'll be over by those tents." Torchlight pointed his hoof towards a group of tents down the rows.

"Alright, Torchlight. Thanks for the welcome home," Redwood thanked the unicorn.

"No problem, Red. Glad to see you lot back safe."

The ponies split off their separate ways, with the large remaining numbers of H Squad heading towards their tents. Torchlight came back around 2030 to invite them for some post deployment cool-down time, and most of them accepted. However, two ponies stayed behind.

Twilight found Rainbow alone in their tent. There was only one lantern lighting the interior. The pegasus was sitting on her haunches on her cot with a tired and concerned expression.

"Twilight, I don't know if I can do this. You were always the big leader. Not me." Rainbow looked at the unicorn with pleading eyes.

Twilight walked over to her friend. "Dash, doctrine says that you're the leader now. Besides, you can lead. You were a captain on the Weather Patrol. And there was that time you lead Ponyville's pegasi team to bring rainwater up to Cloudsdale."

"Yeah, but this is war. I don't want to be like Shovel. Headstrong, use force, push on, anything's possible with enough firepower. You're the smart one. Coming up with strategies is something that comes easy to you."

"I'm organized and can make good plans, sure, but you've also got leadership in you. You're probably better at it than I am!"

"But you were basically the leader of us Elements."

"Look Rainbow, I might've been the leader of our small group, and may help around the town a lot, like Winter Wrap-Up, but you're the better motivator. And more importantly, you're a lot better at acting on impulse than I am. I'd probably be suited to an officer's job with my skills, but in field? You're more natural for this."

Dash sighed and hung her head.

"Rainbow, look at me. You're a pegasus. You're one of the most, if not the most, headstrong ponies I know. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Where's the pegasus I knew that would always be up for a fight? Come on Rainbow, isn't this what you've basically been prepared for all these years?"

"It only got real to me after the deaths, the deaths, of Power and Coal. I... I don't know anymore."

"I never said you didn't have to be scared. You hid your fear really well the morning we left. I saw it. You were scared, deep down. But you hid it. That's a courageous act in of itself. Don't worry Rainbow, I know you'll be perfect for the job. Power might not have been a good leader, but he definitely saw the right stuff in you. You're a pegasus, Dash. Fighting's in your blood. Remember that."

Rainbow looked a little more confident. "Well, I guess if you put it that way, I'm up to it." She gave a determined look. "And if I'm the new Sergeant of Hell Squad, well, congratulations on being my second in command, Corporal Sparkle."