This was her big chance. A new area, some new sights –even though she was told Pony Gulch One wasn't much for looks- to take in, and a whole new Red Team which meant a whole new batch of team mates. The Command drop ship had dropped her off to the side of her new Red Base since she refused to fly a small distance over a "dangerous battle field". Never the less, she was here, and she was more then ready to make a great first impression.

The pegasus heard some chatter on the top of the Red Base, so she moved her way up the ramp and saw two others standing off to the side. The two failed to notice her presence, completely consumed in their riveting conversation. "I'm just saying it seems a little weird to me," Spike said to Big Mac, leaning on his usual spot.

"I don't know Spike. Why would we even have dragons in an army in the firs' place?" Big Mac asked back.

"My point exactly. I'm the only dragon here. And that's pretty suspicious if you ask me. I mean, if they're going to keep a dragon around, they could at least keep one female dragon around for—"

"E-Excuse me?" the new pegasus softly called for attention.

Given how meek and soft she called, it was a wonder how Spike and Big Mac noticed she was behind them. Spike immediately went red in the face, cursing his would-be-words when he saw not only a new face but a female one at that. Big Mac on the other hand moved closer and bowed his head to her graciously. "Welcome, little lady. Ya' need somethin'?"

"Oh, yes. I was told to report here at Red Base in Pony Gulch One and speak to your leader… if that's alright with you?" she said even meeker then before.

"Well then sorry little filly," Big Mac chuckled a little bit, "The sergeant is out at Command gettin' orders. Ain't no pony is charge right now."

"Yeah," Spike smiled and walked over to the others, "No pony is in charge. But Applejack said I could handle anything that happens at the base while she's gone."

"Wait, what?" Big Mac stammered, "My sis left you in charge? But-but—"

"Sorry, she said you could be in charge next time we get a new recruit," Spike added, both knowing full well that they wouldn't be getting a new recruit anytime soon. "So, let's get down to it. Tell us about yourself rookie."

The new recruit scrambled to a salute, nearly leaving a bruise on her forehead with the force she used. "Private Fluttershy reporting for duty sirs," putting on her best war-face which wasn't too far from a kitten staring down it's own reflection, she added, "I'm ready to do my duty."

Big Mac seemed very pleased with the introduction while Spike was trying to halt a laugh from the use of the word 'duty'. "Ignore 'im. Mind if I ask you a few things?" Big Mac questioned, receiving a simple shake of Fluttershy's head as a response, "First, yer' lookin' a bit… small… to be on the battle field. And ya' might need a change in armor."

Fluttershy looked over herself, taking note of the red armor coating her torso and upper limbs. "W-what's wrong with it? Isn't this the slandered issue?"

"Sure is… for recruits and officers," the large stallion informed her, "and seein' how yer' not wearing a cowpony hat, yer' not an officer," joking, Spike and Big Mac both chuckled a little.

"Oh… well, then why is he wearing red?" Fluttershy said while pointing a hoof at Spike.

"This? No, this is maroon armor… huge difference," Spike pointed out with a flick of one of his claws to the plating.

"I see… so how do I get a different color?"

"Lot's of ways," Spike put a claw on Fluttershy's side and smiled, "you could—"

…

Over on the other side of the clearing, completely ignoring their new recruit in favor of the massive tank that was stationed before them, the Blue Team admired their new toy.

"So I say to the fella' 'this thing is mighty large, how ya' gonna get it down to the surface?' Then he said, 'just drop it from the drop ship, these tanks are built to last.' Well that just surprised me right there, so I said 't'aint gonna be fair when we use this filly to mow us down some enemies'!" the new recruit, Private Breaburn, laughed away in his cheerful mood.

"New guy," Twilight called out without looking away from her tank.

"Yes ma'am?"

"You're ruining my moment here."

"Sorry, I'll zip it up now."

A sharp grin grew across Twilight's face as she ran a hoof against the metal exterior of the tank. "You want to know something? I could blow the whole bucking world with this beautiful thing…"

…

This new girl seemed really nice, but comparing her to the silent Zecora and headstrong Applejack the bar had already been set pretty low. But, tradition was tradition, and it was time for Spike to start it up. "Fluttershy, could you do us a huge favor?"

A smile crossed Big Mac's face, knowing well enough it was time for the traditional initiation gag. "Eeyup, we need you to do us a favor."

"Of course. I'd be happy to help out," Fluttershy eagerly accepted.

"Great, we need you to the store and pick up some Elbow Grease. About two holds should do it," Spike explained, trying his best not to laugh.

"While yer' at it, pick up some Headlight Fluid for the Bucker, too." Big Mac quickly added.

The recruit pegasus looked confused at that one, "The Bucker?"

"He means the Draconequus; our truck," Spike corrected.

"You know the way to the store, right rookie?" Big Mac pressed.

"Oh, of course. I saw it on my way in," Fluttershy bluffed, both knowing that there wasn't a store within miles of this clearing.

"Then don't let us hold you up. Go on," at Spike's words Fluttershy took off down one of the ramps and started running off in one direction.

"Other way!" Big Mac got one last jab of fun it with a shout to their scrambling recruit.

Fluttershy almost tripped over her own legs when she turned around and started off into another direction. "I-I knew that. I just wanted to go the long way around, that's all." She called back, trying to cover her embarrassingly red face while disappearing over the rolling hills.

"…Why didn't she fly?" Spike asked once he was sure she was far enough away to talk.

"No clue. Maybe she's one of them 'Earth pegasus'. Has wings but doesn't use 'em." Big Mac tried to assume.

"Oh well, doesn't matter. She has wings and the rest of us don't, that gives us more of an edge now…" for a few moments, the two boys fell into a silence. "…How long do you think it'll take her to make it back?"

"Give her an hour… three tops."

…

Halfway through the clearing, Fluttershy came to a stop and sat herself down for a breather. With a soft smile she leaned back into the grassy field. "Elbow Grease? It's so silly it must be some sort of rite of passage for new ponies…" with a wipe of sweat from her brow, she sat up, "fake or not, I still better hurry so I can get that Headlight Fluid…"

…

Finally getting her own chance to marvel at the tank, Rainbow Dash gave a nod. "You know? Buck what I said. Colts love tanks! We already scored one in under ten seconds. We could probably score two or three at a time with this baby."

"Rainbow, what could we do with two colts at a time… much less three," Twilight asked with a groan.

"Oh please. Stallions are like Harmony: you can never get too much of it inside you."

"Dash! That's disgusting!" Twilight gagged while Rainbow Dash continued to stroke and admire her new colt magnate.

…

"You think that was a little mean?" Spike thought out loud back at Red Base.

"Nnnnope… It's tradition. She'll make it back before supper. I mean, honestly. What could go wrong 'round here?"

…

Huffing a little bit from her trek, Fluttershy made it up the final mound and looked off over at the stone structure. "I made it… now to get that headlight fluid… Oh! They sell tanks here? This store has everything!"

…

Blue Base had started to calm down and Twilight opted to introduce Breaburn to Rainbow Dash, who was more then happy to accept a male into their numbers. They had gathered around their tank and decided to just take in a moment of peace for once. "Team… I'll let you all in on a little secret," Twilight stretched and put her front legs behind her head in relaxation, "I've got somepony back home… a special somepony." She said in an almost dreamy fashion.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash scoffed, a wicked smile crossing her face, "boyfriend or husband?"

"Uh…" Twilight hesitated on her answer, "let's not get into specifications… bottom line; we got engaged, I get shipped out to Blue Base here, we haven't seen each other since."

"Seems a bit off," Breaburn shrugged casually, "back home, the fillies stay home and cook up the grub while the colts go out and provide."

"…Are you saying I should be a stay-at-home-mare?" Twilight cocked a brow, irritation heavy in her voice.

"No, I think he's calling you too wimpy to be a soldier," Rainbow Dash interjected with a mischievous smirk.

"You know what? Doesn't matter. See, I could relax here and let you bad mouth me all day, but it turns out I have some jobs for you to do."

Breaburn saluted excitedly at this. "What's it, boss?"

"First, don't call me boss… Second, we have this big time general that comes by time to time. So I'm going to have you wait inside the base for the general at the flag. Make sure to stand at attention so it doesn't look like your slacking off. That makes us all look bad. Do you want us to look bad?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Then get to it," Twilight dismissed.

"Wait… When'll this general be around?"

"We never know," Twilight said in a fake mystic voice, "could be today, could be tomorrow, it could even be next month."

"Hold it. Ya' want me to stand at attention by a flag for a month without end?" Breaburn said with surprise.

"Woah, you don't sound too happy about this. This is a pivotal job for the entire base. You'll be in charge of our image and our flag. Who could ask for more?"

Scratching the back of his hat wearing head, Breaburn nervously frowned. "What's so great 'bout a flag?"

"Jeez, don't they teach you recruits anything these days?" Rainbow Dash joined in, starting to get tired of this guy herself.

"Nothin' 'bout no flag. What's so great about it?"

"Well… you know…" Twilight began to fumble on her own words as she tried to think, "It's…the flag… Rainbow, explain it to him."

Rainbow looked to Twilight surprised, but quickly took hold of what to do, "It's complicated, alright?" She said flatly, "the flag is blue, we're blue."

"It's important, got it? Just trust me on this. The general will come by, and the first thing he'll want to do is make sure the flag is up to code or something… so get to it." Twilight tried to dismiss Breaburn again.

Breaburn sighed but knew that if the mission was important, he should get it done. So, he turned towards the base but stopped with a look back to his team. "So I know… how will I know it's the commander?"

"The Commander will be wearing armor like us… who else would be dressed like that?" Rainbow Dash informed.

"Now get going. And don't dare come out until it's done!" Twilight shouted, sending Breaburn into a quick bolt into the base without a sound. "I swear, this guy is more annoying then you, Dash."

"No, what you mean is more annoying then you." Rainbow quipped back.

"Bravo. That was the greatest comeback ever…"

Breaburn, poking his head out from the base, put on a sheepish smile. "Uh, Twilight, ma'am?"

"Oh… my… god…" Twilight started to seethe with red hot rage, "WHAT?"

"I didn't mean ta' call ya' wimpy—"

"For the sake of God! Shut up, Rookie! JUST SHUT UP AND GET BACK IN THE BASE! YOU'RE DRIVING ME UP A BUCKING WALL!" Twilight screamed, straining every fiber of her throat. Rainbow Dash snickered for a second before getting the brunt of Twilight's sharp eyes. "Dash, are you laughing at me?"

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you. Honest," Rainbow Dash promised.

With a sigh, Twilight started to defuse. "I swear… if that rookie comes back one more time… I can't be held responsible of what I may or may not do to him!"

Her winged partner gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "No biggie. Just chill out and relax. Here, I think this tank has some sort of radio or something. Let's crank up some tunes and forget all this," Rainbow Dash attempted to reason, slipping one leg into the cockpit and flipping the radio on to blaring loud music.

As the two began to sink into their music and relaxing by their tank, Fluttershy came up from one of the hills and looked her surrounds over. ""Hmmmm… oh!" she looked over at the two blue soldiers and gave a soft look, "they seem busy… I'll just go inside and let them be…"

With a quick scurry as quiet as she could, Fluttershy slipped into the base and was faced with Breaburn standing with his arm pressed to his forehead. "Yer' here a lot sooner then I thought… and a lot more feminine," Breaburn admitted.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" whimpered Fluttershy.

"N-No, it's fine! Ya' need somethin'?"

"Yes, thank you. Could I have some headlight fluid?"

"Sorry," Breaburn looked around and gave a disappointed look, "Don't think we got any of that…"

"Oh darn it… I'm going to look so silly coming back with nothing to show for the trip…" Fluttershy pouted.

Breaburn bit his lip, starting to feel like he did something wrong; until he looked at his team flag. "Here. Take this with ya'," taking the shaft of the flag into his mouth he slid the bottom of it into a slot on Fluttershy's armor, "that should cover fer' any trouble."

"Thank you very much," Fluttershy brightened up and quickly skipped out of the base and into the rolling field.

…

Back outside, Twilight strokes the head of her new tank's cannon while Rainbow Dash turned the radio off. "I think we've had enough time to ogle this baby… let's start her up, Rainbow."

"Huh? Me? I can't drive a tank!"

"Wait, you're not Armor Certified?"

"I don't even know how to use a bucking sniper! Don't you know how to use the tank?"

"Not even close!" Twilight snapped, rubbing her hooves to her temple, "Honestly, who's running this army?"

"The same crackpots that think Blue is a good army name…"

Just then Breaburn came bounding out from the base with a broad smile. "Twiligh' ma'am. The general just stopped by and picked up our flag! Just thought I'd let y'all know."

Mumbling her returning loathing, Twilight took a sharp look back. "Thanks! Whatever. Again, why would they give us a tank we have no hope of—wait… what did he just say?"