As the sun rose over Equestria that day, the Caribou thought that it was just going to be another ordinary day, but oh how wrong they were. From outside of Ponyville, they suddenly became aware of loud rumbling noises, as well as loud whirring sounds, and the sounds of roaring. Some thought that it was an earthquake, while others thought that it was a Dragon attack, but then they heard it, the unmistakable sound of music, but what made it unnerving was that it was a song that the Caribou had never heard before, and it was coming from the sky.

Just then, from over the horizon, the Caribou suddenly began to make out a series of dark shapes in the sky. Some of them were moving faster than others, but all of them were coming straight towards Ponyville. All too soon, the fastest of the shapes, which seemed to be like metal birds suddenly began to fire missiles into Caribou defensive positions, and strafe them with gunfire. Then, while they moved on to target nearby Caribou airships, other metal birds began to move in to attack the Caribou positions, and these birds began to make an ungodly sound.

Soon, the Caribou were thrown into disarray, many of them were screaming, and even more of them were dying. The Ponies had been given a warning sent to them in their dreams by Princess Luna the previous night, so they knew to take cover, but the Caribou had no such warning. Then the terrifying screaming birds were joined by even larger birds that circled overhead, raining down death and destruction on the Caribou in and around Ponyville, and on Caribou reinforcements trying to come to the aid of the Caribou in Ponyville. Soon after this, artillery and mortar shells came raining down from the sky, and smaller metal birds with spinning metal rotors began to come in, some raining down death, while others were dropping in what seemed to be some kind of soldiers. And then, just when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse for the Caribou, from over the hills surrounding Ponyville came a great stream of soldiers and vehicles, all of them heading straight for the town.

Many Caribou surrendered at the sight of them, and were quickly taken into custody by the strange soldiers, most of whom had skin(?) as white as snow, and some didn't even have faces at all. In less than an hour, Ponyville was secured, Captain Erich, the Caribou in charge of Ponyville, and Lieutenant Alston's boss was in custody, all of the Mares and Fillies were freed, the Stallions and the Colts were no longer under the Caribou's control, and the Pegasai mares had their wing coverings removed, and the Unicorn Mares had their horns reattached. Princess Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were all so thankful to be freed, Big Mac apologized to his Sister profusely for what he did while corrupted by the Caribou, and they all thanked Luna, Austin, and their forces profusely, though Twilight still mourned Spike's death.

"He was so brave for what he did." Austin said quietly when he heard about Spike's sacrifice. "He knew that he was already dead because of his injuries, and yet even in death, he went out with a bang, taking many Caribou with him. I know that he was given a special reward in Heaven for his sacrifice."

Twilight and the other Element Bearers agreed, and with Ponyville now free, Austin began to direct his forces to fortify Ponyville to thwart any potential Caribou counterattacks, and to prepare to march on other towns and cities in Equestria. The war to liberate Equestria had just begun, and it was going to be a bloodbath for the Caribou.

After Ponyville had been fortified, the AVWMF (American Vietnam War Museum Force) quickly began to move on their next targets. While F-4 Phantoms, A-10's, B-52's, and AC-130's conducted massive air raids on cities like Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Van Hoover, and Las Pegasus to divert the Caribou's attention, ground forces, backed up by artillery, mortars, and helicopter and fixed-wing air support made their move on Appaloosa and Dodge City (both of which had been rebuilt during the Caribou occupation), freeing both towns, and their inhabitants, as well as the native Buffalo Tribe, all of whom pledged to fight against the Caribou, which was done a few days later when Baltimare came under ground attack, while air forces screamed overhead. The Caribou couldn't even hope to stand up to this kind of assault, especially not when they were facing a military force more technologically advanced than they were, and aided by Princess Luna, and the 6 Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. (Rainbow Dash had been freed from Cloudsdale by a team of mannequin Commandos while a diversionary air raid was conducted on Canterlot).

It was the same when AVWM Forces reached Fillydelphia and Manehattan. The attack would begin with a massive air assault to throw the Caribou into disarray, and hit their forces hard, followed simultaneously by artillery and mortar strikes on key positions to take out vital Caribou military infrastructure, and then this was followed by a ground assault, supported from the air by the choppers, A-10's, and AC-130's, as well as artillery and mortar support when needed. It was so efficient, and so frighteningly ruthless in its success that the Caribou forces seldom lasted more than a few days at most.

It took the AVWM Forces and their allies a scant 2 days to take Baltimare, Manehattan fell in 4 days, and Fillydelphia fell in a day and a half. But the all time record for the fastest capture had been the 1 hour for Ponyville, followed by 45(ish) minutes for Appaloosa and Dodge City, but this was broken by the capture of Rainbow Falls (15 minutes), and then by Starlight's village, which lasted a total of 30 seconds. All it took was the first few mortar and artillery shells to fall before the Caribou surrendered, and immediately began to beg for their lives. They were quickly taken into custody, and the Eastern half of Equestria was now secured.

"And it only took about a week and a few days, and while we've inflicted maximum damage on the Caribou, we've only taken minimal losses. Some Ponies and other creatures have perished, but we've only lost a handful of mannequins, as they can't really die. If they lose a limb, torso, or head, we can just replace them. The only way they can be killed is by being burnt, or blown apart."

"And how are they even alive again?" Twilight asked, still unnerved by the living, yet also not-living mannequin soldiers.

Austin shrugged. "To this day, I'm still not sure, Twilight. I only know that they're infused with the spirit of a fallen Vietnam War Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or Coast Guardsman. Even the mannequins themselves don't know."

Twilight jotted a few notes, but at the moment, there was little time to ponder this, as the Western half of Equestria still needed to be liberated, as did Cloudsdale, the Crystal Empire, and of course, Canterlot.

The fall of Las Pegasus to the AVWM and Equestrian Forces went smoothly enough, and while it was happening, Special Forces mannequins were dropped into the Crystal Empire to see what could be done there. Shining Armor welcomed the help that the mannequin Special Forces soldiers brought, and when the Crystal Cock was destroyed, and replaced with the Crystal Heart, which was retrieved from its hiding place, the Crystal Imperial Army, aided by the Special Forces mannequins, and some reinforcements from the AVWMF Marines, were quickly able to take back the Crystal Empire, purge it of all corruption, restore Princess Cadence to her former glory, fully free Shining Armor from the Caribou's corruption, and of course, put up a protective shield to keep the Empire safe from any further Caribou attacks.

Meanwhile, Caribou Forces were putting up quite a struggle in Van Hoover, and this required the use of AVWM river patrol boats, and river monitors, since Van Hoover was surrounded by various inland waterways. The river craft prevented the Caribou from escaping by water, but the Equestrians needed a way to break the stalemate they were experiencing here. Austin reluctantly put forth an idea, but it was a terrible one. There was a lot of debate around the idea, during which time air raids on Cloudsdale had begun, but in the end, it was decided to go ahead with Austin's idea.

To the West of Van Hoover, a corridor was left open, seemingly by accident as the AVWM Forces were preparing for a move on either Canterlot or Cloudsdale (the Caribou weren't sure), but they decided to use it to attempt a breakout from the city. The Caribou pushed at the corridor with everything they had, seemingly pushing the mannequin forces away, and they broke out with most of their forces, weapons, and equipment, and soon reached open ground, little knowing that they had just walked right into a horrible trap. From above, several B-52's opened their bomb bays, and began to rain cluster bombs down on the Caribou, trapping them in a gauntlet of carpet-bombing. This was followed shortly afterwards by aircraft dropping napalm, agent orange, white phosphorus, and other highly flammable chemicals to finish the job.

When all was said and done, barely any traces of the Caribou who had broken out from Van Hoover could be found, even bones. The area burned for several days, and had to be quarantined for decontamination because of how "hot" it was testing. Following this horrific display, all Caribou left within Van Hoover either surrendered immediately, or committed suicide to avoid such a horrible fate.

Many Caribou in Cloudsdale simply jumped off of the edge of the city to their deaths far below, and the floating city was retaken with relative ease. And what of the 3 traitorous stallions who sold out the city for their own personal gain? Their deaths were grizzly, horrendous, and painfully slow. For their treachery, they were stripped, beaten with sticks, and then were flayed alive, had their skins dipped in agent orange, and then sewn back onto their bodies, but without being set alight. Their screams were so extreme that they shattered their own vocal cords, and then they were doused in magnesium, and white phosphorus, before being set alight. Their bodies burned away into almost nothing, and they were still alive until almost the very end, feeling everything, but unable to scream.

Once the attention was turned to Canterlot, many of the remaining Caribou fled the city, surrendering en-mass to the Equestrian Forces, as they were terrified beyond belief at the AVWM Forces, and their nightmarish ways of conducting warfare. King Danin committed suicide to avoid being captured, and with the liberation of Canterlot, and the restoration of Princess Celestia, the war was finally over. Equestria was free from the Caribou, and the Ponies could begin to rebuild what was lost.

In the aftermath of the war, the Equestrians began to modernize their military, and their attitudes towards shying away from violence when push came to shove changed forever. Now they were a nation that while peaceful, and was always willing to lend a helping hand to those who asked, would fight tooth and nail to defend their homeland if need be, and were not above using extreme measures, as seen during the war.

After the war though, the AVWM Forces were disbanded, and they returned to the museum from whence they'd come from. The majority returned to the basement, where after cleaning up themselves, their uniforms, their weapons, and their vehicles, they put their vehicles into cold storage once again, and then the mannequins themselves formed back up into their military formations, and became motionless once more. The basement lights were then turned off, and the mannequins returned to their slumber, but were ready to be awoken again at a moment's notice should the need arise.

Meanwhile upstairs, all of the mannequins, weapons, and vehicles that had been on display were returned to their proper places, and after saying their goodbyes for the time being, all of the mannequins, statues, and toys all resumed their positions, and became silent, and still. They were now once again just museum exhibits, but like before, they were always watching for any signs of trouble.

And following the war, a lot of Ponies, and other creatures made the trip out to see the Austin, and the Vietnam War Museum, and all of the vehicles, weapons, and other items that had made the Caribou suffer so much, and they learned so much about the Vietnam War in the process. A new wing of the museum was built to commemorate the Equestrian-Caribou War, and it too was very much loved by the general public, as were the "Ghosts of Vietnam" Statues out behind the museum, which were eventually incorporated into a fully-fledged memorial garden.

And what became of Captain Erich, and Lieutenant Alston after the war? After the war ended, many Caribou were put on trial for war crimes, and while some were executed, others, including Captain Erich were given lengthy prison sentences in various mines and quarries in Equestria, while the rest of the Caribou were deported back to their homeland, to be joined by their imprisoned brethren once their prison sentences were served.

And Alston? He was never the same after the war. Found to be mentally unfit to stand trial, he was placed in a mental hospital where he lived out the rest of his days, forever plagued by the nightmares, and other horrible memories of what he experienced at the Vietnam War Museum. He never really spoke, and any mannequins or statues had to be kept out of his line of sight, lest he go into a frenzied state. Austin would visit him from time to time, but Alston always refused to talk to him, the man who he called "The Jungle Devil". To his dying day, Alston firmly believed that Austin was a devil sent from Tartarus to punish the Caribou.

And what of Austin himself? He would continue to curate the Vietnam War Museum, and serve as a museum guide for many more years before he finally retired, and he would continue to have a very close relationship with Princess Luna for the rest of his life. To his dying day though, Austin too never forgot the events of that night in the Vietnam War Museum, nor the war that followed it, and he was glad that he could have given the Equestrians such a big helping hand in the war, and beefing up their military afterwards.

"It wasn't much, but it was honest work." He said later. "It was bloody, it was violent, it was brutal, but it was war. And now the war is over, and the Equestrians can finally have peace again. I'm very thankful that God put me here to help the Equestrians have their peace. It's something I'll never forget."

For many years to come, Ponies, and other creatures across Equus would whisper about Austin, and how the Ponies owed their freedom to him, and his Vietnam War Museum full of angry mannequins and statues.

THE END

Author's Note

And, that was the Epilogue. So now the Caribou have been defeated, Equestria is safe, and now Ponies are finally appreciating Austin, and the Vietnam War Museum, with both of them having been forever cemented in Equestrian History for their roles in liberating Equestria from the Caribou. So what did you all think of this story? Was it everything you were hoping for? I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed it, as I put a lot of time and effort into writing it, knowing that you all wanted it so much, so I hope I did a good job.

In the meantime though, as always, Comments, Questions, Feedback, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again soon!

ScarFox out for now!