[Unknown Location - Earlier]

Andrew felt himself being nudged and stirred awake. He woke up to see thick branches with a blue sky peeking through them. He could also make out the sound of birds and felt a breeze blowing on him. He then heard a voice. “Thank God you’re alive. That fall looked rough.”

Andrew turned his head to see Stacy standing over him. He then shot up alarmed. “Wait! Where’s the cave? Where's Howard? Where are your tanks?!”

“Calm down Andrew, I hate to tell you this, but we’re home,” she said sadly.

“Haven City? But I don’t think-”

“No Andrew, Home as in Earth.”

Andrew then looked around frantically and then noticed a railroad crossing behind him that was now activating. He then saw a train passing by them. His answer was confirmed as he read the side of the engine’s tender. Strasburg Railroad. After a few moments of the last car passing, Andrew shouted, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“Calm down, we just need to-”

“Calm down? Calm down?! Calm is what we had! Calm is what cost us our home and now Howard is no doubt gonna hunt and capture Twilight again and God knows what's going to happen to Rainbow Dash!”

Stacy remained calm. “It's not that bad. We still have the power towers in that forest, remember?”

“And how are we going to activate them? We need Equestrian magic which we do not have here. Don’t you remember? When Howard found the portal he placed a door stop so we could build the power towers and tracks but now the door stop is gone, making the towers useless!” Suddenly there was a strange sound from behind Andrew then suddenly something struck him in the back of the head. “Ow!” Andrew looked back to see a portal closing. Confused, he picked up what hit him. It looked like a journal. He opened it to see pictures of horses. “What the heck are these?”

Stacy took the journals and looked it over. “Gregory’s fingerprints,” she said.

Andrew looked at his friend bewildered. “What makes you so sure?”

“I got a good eye despite my poor eyesight. Plus I can feel the ice on this,” she explained as she opened the book. “We may have sold our homes but we still have Earth money. We can use it to rest at the Red Caboose Motel for a while, Still have your cards?”

“Yeah, strange why I never bothered to throw them away,” Andrew said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

After a long hike up the old railroad line they found the motel that was made of old railroad cabooses. Andrew spent the rest of the day sitting near a fence near the line watching the tourist trains roll by. His mind was going a mile a minute. He was thinking about his friends, including Golden Spike, Jason, Gregory, Connie and especially Rainbow Dash. A tear went down his face as he asked himself the obvious question. Where did it all go so wrong?

He looked back at the hotel and saw that one of the cabooses had its lights on. Stacy is obviously reading the strange journal. He then turned to the railroad tracks and started to hike up the line.

By the time he stopped he saw the multiple high speed lines for the Acela trains. He then saw a road bridge that spanned across the lines. After a bit of climbing up a hill he walked on to the bridge and sat on the ledge. He took a breath and sighed. “I know it's been a while since we talked, and I’m sorry about that,” he said to the sky. “But well…if you don't want to talk you could just listen. Trixie said if I one day come back here and just talk to you, I could heal more and it might help me I guess. That's right, I went to Equestria, along with Stacy and Robbie.” He then let out a chuckle. “It was cool to some extent. Not every detail is the same but the ponies we know are still there. Sorry to say this but your waifu was already claimed by another guy. Maybe if you were still here she would’ve loved to meet you. I also met Dashie and we clicked pretty well despite her being a fly girl and me being a railboy.”

He paused as he saw a train coming around the bend. It rushed by in a blur and disappeared. “I don’t blame you for leaving us like that. Hell, at some point I blamed myself and then Jason for what happened. I’ll never agree to cruel and unusual punishment but I guess that's something we’ll always agree to disagree with. But still it was nice of him to remove the punishments. All we had to do was just be there.”

He then got up and off the ledge and looked to the sky one last time. “Goodbye old friend. I’ll do what I can to make Equestria a slice of heaven,” he said as he began his trek back to the motel. “And that's a promise.”

After another long walk, he found the motel and walked in to see Stacy drinking coffee. “Where have you been?”

“Out,” he simply replied. “Have you discovered something useful?”

“Yes and you may not believe this but, we might have been visited by ponies before.”

“What?” Andrew asked with a raised brow. “Okay, I think either you need to ease off the coffee or you’re missing your hubby too much.”

“No, I'm serious. Look at these pictures and these journal entries,” she said as she lifted the book to him showing him its contents. “In fact, not too long ago I heard of an incident that occurred in Ponyville long before Cheerilee became the school teacher. The teacher around that time was one day spouting nonsense of ponies being sent to another world to serve its military and for them to one day come back as giants wearing the armor of machines,” she explained. “Not many believed him because of how much of a nutjob he sounded like and then one day he was sent to a mental asylum and would die of old age there.”

“Okay…that sounds utterly impossible but go on.”

“If we can find these ponies, it could not only be our ticket back to Gaia but it might be the weapon we need to take down Howard and Grogar.”

Andrew scoffed. “Please mister Omni Man played by Gregory will stop them in two seconds flat.”

“We saw him disappear, remember? And even if by some miracle he got back, he will not be strong enough. Even demigods are no match for Grogar,” Stacy said with a frown.

Andrew looked through the journal noting the machines. “Even if these sleeping war ponies are in our world and not Gregory and Jason's, how do we even find them?”

“Apparently the old teacher gave strange coordinates on a strange map. I looked through the class roster and...let's just say it's convenient I found HIS name.”

“Whose name?” Andrew asked as Stacy spawned a tank into existence. A German Maus that looked like something was struggling from inside.

“You had him with you the whole time?!”

“I know, weird right? Better stay back.” She said as she opened the turret and the Zombie Thunderlane leapt out in chains attempting to attack. “GROGAR WILL SHOW YOU NO MERCY!”

“Hey! Behave!” Stacy said as she held a taser in front of him. Thunderlane immediately stopped and got down.

“What is this, a zombie?!” Andrew asked.

“Kind of,” Stacy said.

“And you’re training him?” he asked as he looked down at Thunderlane who was attempting to gnaw at his chained restraints. “Wow, I never thought zombies could exist and here you are carrying one around like a pomeranian.”

Thunderlane stopped gnawing and turned to Andrew. “You want a throw down monkeyboy?”

Stacy got down to his level and placed a hand on his head. “Hey,” she said soothingly. “I’m sorry I trapped you and bashed your back. But right now all of us are far from home. If you can help us we can help your brother. Didn’t you once say Grogar would hurt him?”

Thunderlane actually got less angry and looked down. He then saw the opened journal. “Hey I know these pictures. My old teacher once showed them,” he said as he looked closer at a picture of an old fighter plane. “Where in Tartarus did you find these photos?”

Andrew picked up two pictures of warhorses. “You know these guys?”

“Yeah, War Ponies pal,” Thunderlane replied. “Oldest of the old in the military. Legend has it they were reborn in a new world as a horse in different time periods. The legend says after they die their souls inhabit alien war machines until they are reawakened by a spell. The teacher also showed us a weird looking map with locations on where they are.”

Stacy went through the journal. “I don’t see any map in here.”

“You don’t need to, if I had a map that was shaped like that weirdly shaped country I can pinpoint it.”

“Weird country…” Andrew thought as he quickly went to a drawer and pulled out something. It was an outline of the United States. “You mean this?”

“Yeah, where did you get this?”

“My little zombie, you are on one of the planet Earths with this same exact country,” Andrew said. “Start pointing.”

Thunderlane nodded and his hoof became sharp as a pin and started dotting areas in the map. “Closest one is here in this state,” Andrew said, pointing to the closest dot in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.

After a day of traveling the two humans found themselves standing outside the museum that had a tank displayed outside. “Darn it. It's locked,” Stacy said as she tried to open the door. “Must be closed today.”

“Ahem, let me try,” Andrew said as he placed his hands on the door and within seconds the glass and metal door became plastic and cardboard. He then punched right through it. “After you.”

“Some days I forget you can do that,” Stacy said as she stepped through carrying a huge duffel bag. The two sneaked through and were glad no security was around. Andrew then saw a camera. “We better work fast. I don’t think we can stay on this planet for another day.”

Stacy nodded and unzipped the bag and Thunderlane popped out. He gasped for air. “Damn, it smelled like an outhouse in there.”

“Be a good little pony and start seeking,” Stacy commanded as she pointed to a room. Thunderlane galloped in while the other two followed. Inside were numerous war machines on display.

Thunderlane wandered through the maze of machines. Occasionally he would stop and his eyes would dart. Eventually, Stacy noticed his eyes were now focused on one machine in the corner. “He knows something! They just added this from another museum!”

“This truck?” Andrew asked.

They were now standing in front of a Diamond T4 covered truck in Camo green. Thunderlane marveled at it. “Here she is. My teacher told me this one is a legend like the chair mare of the board. Recite the spell and watch the magic happen.”

Stacy took out the journal and opened it to a page and took a deep breath. “Awake, awake, creature of war, your aid we need at last. Now it is time for one more score. Unleash your power amassed. From fire and war you once stood tall, Your aid we need anew. One last time, answer to our call. And see this battle through!”

As she finished, sparks flew out of many sides of the truck and the headlights flickered. It then stopped and the vehicle remained motionless. “Is that it? Is something supposed to jump out the driver door?” Andrew asked as he, Thunderlane and Stacy walked closer to inspect it. Nothing much changed until Andrew took a peek and noticed something under the vehicle. “Shit…We’ve awakened a giant!”

“A giant?” Stacy asked. “Behind the jeep now!”

Suddenly, the vehicle began changing. Furry pony legs and hoofs emerged from underneath the truck and began pushing the truck off the ground. The cover on the back folded back revealing a flank and a tail springing out the back. The hood on the truck popped open revealing a mare’s head. Brown with a white streak running along the middle.

The strange giant pony stood tall as it let out a groan. “Who dares awaken me from my slumber?” She asked as she began stumbling around. “Reveal yourself to the mighty Sergeant Reckless!” She barked as she stumbled and bumped into a wall. “Ow… Curse these human structures!” She yelled as she rammed her body into the wall making a huge dent.

“Yeah, this girl did not age well,” Thunderlane said as the giant armored pony slammed her body against the wall again this time breaking through.

The small group ran after her through it. “The museum is gonna be really pissed! We gotta catch that truck!” The large pony just wandered aimlessly through the field behind the museum. “Hey wait!” Shouted Andrew. “Stop! We just want to talk!”

“I don’t have time to talk! I’m on a mission! Wait a minute. What time period is this?”

“You’re in the year twenty twenty five,” Stacy replied.

“Twenty five? You think you humans would give into desire and deforest the whole planet,” the pony said as she knelt down and saw the journal. “Hey, is that my journal? You got that from Gaia right? Is there a conflict happening there? Whose winning?”

“The bad guys are,” Andrew replied.

“Dammit,” she groaned. “Is that why you woke me up?”

“Well this journal bashed me in the head after popping through a portal after we fell through it, so we assumed so. Look, we have a lot to catch you up on.”

And so the two humans spoke to the giant pony about the brief history of events. From the trial of Jason to the arrival of Gregory to their arrival and finally to their more recent problems. Reckless listened intently until she let out a sigh. “I knew it, I told Styx her plans would never work but she hardly listens to me.”

“Whose Styx?” Andrew asked.

“She was my best friend from when I was a filly. She and I both noticed the flaws and follies of our society at the time. I wanted to try and resolve problems peacefully despite me being a warrior. But she and her brother Stygian took a dark path. They both became the Pony of Shadows.”

“Wait, so you knew Stygian and the Pillars?” Andrew asked with a raised brow.

“Yes, Star Swirl the Bearded was my grandfather,” Reckless replied. “He went down a xenophobic path just to save his own skin and took his friends with him. After I lost them all I received an offer from the recently throned Princess Celestia. That's where me and my team came from. She heard a distant plea for help in another world and she sent us even though she didn’t know who in the far regions of space was calling for help.”

“So you came here with the full knowledge you would never go back?” Thunderlane asked.

Reckless stomped her hoof making all three of them fall backwards. “I’ve lost all my family and friends! Don’t judge me!” she bellowed.

“Okay! Okay! Let's all calm down. Look, we think you may be the key to helping Gaia and getting us back there? You think you can help us? We may have something that can get us to Gaia,” Stacy explained.

Reckless was silent for a moment before she knelt down further and her pony parts started to cover themselves up until she looked like a truck again. “Hop in and point the way.”

The sun was rising over the rural roads of Pennsylvania. The group had been traveling under the cover of darkness. They were lucky so far even when getting food. As Andrew picked up another fry to eat from the bag the radio began to emit a static noise as Reckless’s voice sounded. “Calling all war ponies. Calling all war ponies.”

“What are you-?” But Andrew was cut off as he heard the sound of a helicopter. He looked up and indeed there was a chopper, a UH-1H. It hovered over them as they rolled.

They were soon on a dirt road. As they passed a clearing they saw a giant white stallion also wearing armor in the field. It smiled when it saw the truck. “Booyah! She’s back! She’s alive!” He then pointed some cannons mounted on his side in the air and started firing. “Sergeant Reckless is here!”

In the distance, a white mare with a blonde mane watched the truck in the far distance with a warm smile. “At last, there is hope after all these years.”

Reckless continued driving until they reached an area that had train tracks and two tall metal structures. A few giant ponies in armor were there waiting. A light brown stallion beamed at the truck. “Well, if it ain't lady liberty of the Korean mountains. Honor you’ve made it. I never doubted you.”

The helicopter suddenly turned into a giant mare and landed on her hooves. Her propellers became swords to her saddle. “We got your message the moment you awakened.”

The humans and zombie got out and then Reckless transformed into her pony form. “The humans were once our commanders and now our chain of command has changed again.”

“Are we really doing this?” the white mare in blue armor asked.

“Yes Laili, we are returning home,” Reckless said, smiling at her.

“There might be some complications,” Andrew said, getting the attention of the ponies. “You see, nearly a year ago, maybe slightly more, a strange phenomenon happened on this planet where strange lights were seen from the International Space Station. It turns out these lights were portals to other worlds. Howard, our old leader, found the one leading to Gaia and managed to keep the portal open with some objects making it like a doorstop,” Andrew explained before pointing to the towers that stood near the side of a rocky mountain wall with tracks running right into it. “Those towers were just more than enough to keep our connection to this world stable, but when we used them the power in them drained completely and the connection was cut. We might be able to reactivate the towers but we need Equestrian magic. Are there any unicorns present?”

The war ponies all looked at each other. Eventually one spoke up. “Sorry, but we’re on all earth pony platoon.”

There was silence until Andrew facepalm. “You’re joking right?”

“Who says we can't be magical? You yourself are magical,” Reckless said.

“Yeah, in matter manipulation,” Andrew retorted.

Reckless sighed and knelt down to Andrew. “What defines a gifted mage is not the skills he has but the heart he carries and the determination to use his magic to make his world better.”

“Who told you that? Your grandfather?” Andrew asked

“The other Pillars,” she replied. “Despite my Grandfather favoring my siblings and cousins. The other Pillars taught me many things. They too became my family. Them and my troops.” She said turning to the other war ponies who saluted.

Andrew took all this information in and nodded. “How are we supposed to activate our portal then?”

Reckless stood up and placed a hoof on one of the towers. “I can still feel the presence of magic.”

Suddenly, as if by magic, clouds started forming around them. They started to look like storm clouds. Suddenly lightning struck both towers and soon they started sending bolts of electricity to each other. The electricity between them intensified until a swirling vortex started forming. Everyone stared at the portal forming. Andrew then looked back to the many giant ponies. “You mares and stallions gave so much to our world and no man has the right to ask any more of you. But now I’m asking, are you ready to come home and fight one more battle?” Every single pony stood tall and saluted. Andrew beamed. “Then in the words of my favorite hero: ponies, roll out!”

Author's Note

Merry Christmas to my followers and readers. The warponies are indeed based off of real war horses. Many art pieces of them can be found on Derpibooru.