The map on the card table in front of Vance hadn’t been touched in twenty minutes, except by an errant finger as he reached over for one of his tools. A dozen circles marking where the Search and Rescue teams had been deployed stared back up at him as he worked, some of them exed-off already.

Vance grimaced. This was the part he always hated: the waiting. His men had received their orders, the sandbags were dug, the weapons had been cleaned and loaded, and the recon teams were scouring the area for enemy contacts (though they were a bit short-handed now with so many of the specially-trained squads on the search for the missing pilot) while everyone else trained up and stayed sharp for that moment when the recon teams came running back to camp. Until that moment, however, he could only stare at the little circles and dots on his map, repeatedly disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling his sidearm to keep the tension at bay.

Yes, Vance was no stranger to the tension that came with the waiting. There had been plenty of both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and each time he grew to hate it just a little bit more. It was waiting for the bombs to go off, or the bullets to start flying, or for a squad to burst from the woods carrying a teammate covered in blood. It was sitting in one place, waiting for all hell to break loose.

“Captain?” Lieutenant Parker stepped into the tent with a quick salute.

“How goes the search, Lieutenant?” Vance asked, remaining focused on the disassembled pistol in front of him.

“We found the chopper, sir: it was demolished. We don’t know how much of the damage was done by whatever downed her and how much was the initial crash, but there ain’t much worth salvaging. We know that…”

“Didja find our pilot?” Vance asked, locking the pistol’s slide back into place.

“No, sir.”

“Then keep looking. I want that pilot back in friendly hands before whatever’s supposed to happen here happens.”

“Yes, sir,” the Lieutenant turned to leave, but suddenly thought better and stepped tentatively back into the tent, waiting there for his Captain to acknowledge him. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Lieutenant?” Vance still didn’t look up from the half-assembled pistol.

“Sir, with all due respect,” Parker breathed slowly before continuing: “This search has our forces scattered all to hell. If the enemy shows up, or if one of our guys makes unauthorized contact with the native populace…”

“Our men are professional soldiers who know how to handle unwarranted contact with civilian populations, the appearance of enemy forces will almost certainly be preceded by that rather spectacular light show the rift’s opening tends to show off, and I am NOT writing a letter telling a distraught mother how I lost her son to a nasty storm before the fighting even started. Not if I can help it.” Vance slammed the pistol’s magazine home and worked the slide, taking great satisfaction in the little telltale click informing him of a job well done.

“Is that understood, Lieutenant?”

“Sir! Yes, sir!”

“Then get back to work. Don’t return until you have either a helicopter pilot with an interesting story to tell, or a body.”

Without another word, Parker saluted and left the tent. Vance glared down at the map, pistol in hand. A group of circles with X’s over them stared back up at him, kinda like the eyes of dead people in those old cartoons he used to watch…

Sighing, he pulled the pistol’s magazine out and worked the slide to empty the chamber, catching the bullet as it sprang out at him so he could start the cleaning process all over again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Celestia, Luna, Discord, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon." Uris repeated, sighing.

"Good, good," Twilight said, marking off another check on her clipboard, "Now, who are they?"

"For the fifth time, and in order: the Princess of Day, the Princess of Night, the god of chaos, the queen of the changelings, and the corrupted form of Luna who reigned over the moon for a thousand years."

"Perfect. Good to know my readings on your cognitive abilities were correct."

"Good to know I'm your lab rat," Uris replied snidely. "So, what are you, the resident egghead or something?"

"Um...the what now?"

"You know: the scientist. Always thinking about math an' shit. Always got your nose buried in a book. That sorta deal."

"Well, I don't really know much about math. Or...shit.” Twilight replied, her speech stumbling over the strange word, “But I do believe a well-rounded individual should be able to devote a few hours every night to the written word."

"Mmh-hmm," Uris leaned back in his bed, the mattress squeaking beneath his body while a confident grin spread across his face. "Spoken like a true egghead."

Twilight just arched an eyebrow quizzically at him. "You seem to be adjusting fairly well for a bipedal sentient being in a
world of ponies."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I'd probably be freaking the hell out if I didn’t know where I was. We really weren't supposed to make contact with the local populace."

"WE!?" Rainbow Dash burst into the room, leaving her friends in the hallway.

"Oh, figured you'd be listening in on us." Uris grinned.

"There's more of you!? Why!? What do you want in Equestria!?"

Uris just sighed, "I'm really not supposed to go any deeper than..."

"WHAT ARE YOU HIDING!?" She screamed, grabbing Uris by the front of his uniform and shaking him for all she was worth.

"Rainbow! You'll open up his wounds!" Fluttershy gasped, galloping in right behind her hot-headed friend.

The teal pegasus snorted in Uris's face, but obeyed, releasing him from her hooves' grip while muttering how "Lucky he is that Fluttershy's here."

"Sorry about Rainbow," Fluttershy sighed. "She's...spirited."

"On my planet, we just called it 'being a bitch.'"

"I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT, YOU UGLY..."

"RAINBOW!" Rarity poked her head in, peering at her friend sternly. "Applejack and I need your help setting up dinner out here!" Still grumbling, Rainbow Dash floated out, shooting a nasty look over her shoulder every few seconds until she was out the door.

"Again, sorry." Fluttershy said.

"No need to apologize, ma'am. We can't always control what our friends do."

"You mentioned another world," Twilght said, finally reentering the conversation. "Care to tell us about that?"

Uris bit his lip, finally looking just a bit unsure of himself. "I really shouldn't."

"Alright then, Mr. Mysterious," Twilight said. "What are you doing here?"

"Again, you're not even supposed to know what we're..."

"You used 'we' again."

"Fuck!” He smacked himself in the forehead. “Please forget I did."

"Look," Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes as she set her clipboard down. "It's obvious you didn't come here alone. So, what are you all after? Why are the others here? You at least owe us that much for saving your butt."

Uris shook his head, "I'm sorry, I really wasn't..."

Then Fluttershy placed a hoof on his hand, staring up at him with two, massive blue pools, her mane cast over one eye in a perfectly cute fashion. "Please?"

“Dammit, why do you all have to be so mind-numbingly adorable?” He grumbled, turning over to face the window away from the pair of ponies. “We’re here to protect you. That’s all.”

“Protect us? From what?” Twilight asked.

“My head hurts.” Uris replied, resting his head on his pillow. Twilight sighed, it was obvious that she wouldn’t be getting anything else out of this guy, especially with Fluttershy nudging her towards the door, insisting the “little dear needs his sleep.”

Once the door shut behind him, Uris shifted on his bed, staring out the window. A small bluebird perched upon a leaf whistled a neat little tune and took off from one of the tree’s numerous pink branches, shaking some magic dust loose which drifted to the ground as a cloud of sparkles. A few minutes later, a large peppermint candy sprouted up where the dust had landed.

“Oh for God’s sake,” he grumbled. He’d had to put up with this crap when his little sister had gone through that Care Bears phase, and now he was living it! There had to be something non-cute here: a drive-by, a drug deal. Was there such a thing as pony heroin?

He was about to turn back over when a deep boom resounded somewhere in the skies over him, rattling the window in its pane. His eyes widened in terror. Throwing off the covers, Uris scrambled across the room, threw the window open and peeked outside, scanning the skies wildly. After a few minutes, he spotted it: a small green glint somewhere high over him, with a tiny black speck in its center. He didn’t need a spyglass to know what it was. Being a helicopter pilot, he knew a rotor-suspended craft when he saw one.

“Oh my God, they’re here.” He whimpered, a cold fist clenching in his stomach.