So, my destiny was to help potentially save the world? That was a lot to take in.

Thankfully, I had plenty to focus on with my own mission out here, which meant I was still stuck in this encampment. The soldiers who had been playing the bagpipes had thankfully stopped playing the bagpipes, which meant that I could focus on what I was meant to be doing without constantly having drones going in my ears.

Not just the bagpipe type of drone, but the other type of drone too. These buzzed about above us, presumably as battlefield recon units. An obvious choice, as it means that no soldiers are being risked whilst looking at enemy defenses. Not only that, the commanding officers can see the battlefield objects directly rather than them simply being described to them. Allows for a clearer picture.

Unfortunately, if they get shot down that means you lose your images, and the enemy knows you are there. Always a balancing act, knowing what will work and what won't when on the battlefield.

But I had quite enough to be getting on with without having to focus entirely on the ins and outs of waging war, and that would mean exploring the camp. I hopped off from in front of the area and began to wander around, to listen in, to see if there was any news to find. If Izzy had been here, she would probably have said something about sniffing glitter to see the universe.

But she wasn't, nor was Sunny. I owed her plenty of apologies for the last few years, not least those playdates. Now, I know I'm not the one responsible for that as it was a different pony in this body at that time, but it was still an inhabitant of this body who did that, and as such the blame kinda falls on my shoulders. I had to keep working and ensure this mess gets cleaned up.

I stopped in front of the blacksmith's facility, and it seemed that he was pretty busy. He was working on doing some last minutes repair to some weaponry he had on the table. When he saw me, he looked up. "Mornin'! Nice day for fishin' ain't it? Huh huh!"

"I'm sorry, I don't quite follow," I said. If that was a reference, I didn't get it at all. Some pop culture jokes will be easy to spot (like Izzy imitating the Psycho shower during the song in the house), but that was one was probably extremely obscure.

"Ah, I see you are not a conoisseur of canternet culture," the blacksmith said. "Oh well. That can be sorted out another time, but right now I must ask if you are in need of any repairs to your gear."

"Have you any news about the other parts of Equestria?" I asked.

"Not a huge amount," the blacksmith said as he went to work. "But at least there is no war in the south. The earth ponies may be building up an army, but I thoroughly doubt they'll know how to work one. I heard from a buddy that a bar he was at tossed an earth pony out recently. He thought wearing fake wings would fool us! Then he tried paying in earth pony dollars! What a lark!"

So it seemed news of my exploits had already made it up here, I see- and that the attitudes were ingrained just as fiercely as I'd feared. I nodded. "Thank you, and good luck. Don't let me keep you from doing important work."

"Best of luck to you," the blacksmith said, as he went back to work. And that, as they say, is that. I sighed and wandered off, keen to find something else to do. I looked around, stumbling and wandering about as I needed to figure out what to do. At least my bike didn't fall into the river. And how would we even use bikes, given that we could gallop? I know Sunny uses roller blades, but those aren't the same thing really. I hopped along, keen to figure out what else I could do around here to acquire information from the local troops and hopefully figure out a coherent path.

It was then I had a surprisingly good idea. A good idea, coming from me- novel, eh? I had first learned of this epic destiny from that dream realm I had been in earlier, which was presumably a place that could only be accessed in dreams based on how I had spaced out.

So what if I intentionally went to sleep and tried to channel my mind to return to that place? If I could get there by accident or by the intercession of whomever had spoken to me, surely my own dreams could get me there, right?

So, I began to make my way back across the tent. The noise of drilling and marching soldiers had largely subsided into the undergrowth, now replaced by soldiers sat casually round fireplaces and maintaining their gear or swapping stories about the war or the recent situation.

I then walked round the side of the camp to focus on what else might be needed to be done in order to survive in this place. Resting was all well and good, but they had me up early in the morning for basically nothing if all I was going to do was mooch around here and wait for something to happen. Might as well try and connect with the infinity of the cosmos and attempt to fit in with the region, as well as get some clues as to where I may need to go. I wandered around a bit more before finally finding the tent and slipping inside.

I closed the tent flap to secure myself in place, and then lay down on the mat on the floor before willing my mind to rest and gradually remove me from the region. And just as suddenly it was all over and down.

I have no clue how long I was out for, but suddenly I heard shouting outside the tent.

"ON YOUR FEET, MATE! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE ON THE DOUBLE!"

I shook my head and began to try to get up. "Ughhh... how long was I out for?"

"YOU GOT COTTON IN YOUR EARS? I SAID ON YOUR FEET, MATE! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE ON THE DOUBLE!"

I pulled myself up and ran out of the tent as soon as I had opened up the tent flap. "Uhh, what's the problem, sir?"

The soldier looked at me. "Get your helmet and flak jacket on and get to the choppers. We're needed to reinforce part of the line!"

I nodded, before dipping back inside to slip them on. I'd taken them off to sleep as it'd be pretty uncomfortable, and I doubted we were at any risk of being attacked.

Once they were on I got moving, shifting my movement to compensate for the sudden change in weight. The choppers in the distance were spooling up, their engines starting to whine and thunder whilst the blades started to whirr as they span. I got into position.

An older, grizzled soldier was addressing the others. "We're being deployed right into the city, boys," he said. "And girls- don't worry, I didn't forget the mares- as well. We got a distress call from the ZBS building, some commandos stormed the place and are laying siege. Amongst those we need to rescue is Princess Pipp Petals, so we need to go in there and get them out!"

ZBS Building? That sounded familiar. It was one of the targets and-

Misty! Misty was in there! She was in danger!

"Now then, load up! Prepare your gear for movement! We'll be fastroping down the side of the building, so ensure all your kit is secure! I do not want to have to go and dig out your stuff because you dropped it in a fountain! DOUBLE TIME!"

In an instant, we all headed for the choppers. The older soldier pointed to one specific chopper for me, so I hopped onboard and secured myself in position.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" said the soldier next to me. "And a smallbrain, too! We must be desperate if we need soldiers like this!"

"I can fight on my own!" I said, as we waited for the go. "Besides, a close friend of mine is in danger there, and I need to save her."

The soldier looked in surprise. "You have a crush on the Princess?"

"Nope, the unicorn," I replied.

The soldier shrugged. "Well, I've heard weirder, to be honest. But if that floats your boat."

The comms fired up. "We're lifting off now! Might wanna hold onto something!"

The choppers gradually lifted off the ground, and began to fly in the direction of the city.

Looks like I'd just joined an ACAV unit. And like the Valkyries of old we were flying in to the rescue.

Author's Note

Heh... we're almost there now to finishing this week's leg for of Sprout. :3