Chapter 6

Matt shifted uncomfortably as the eyes of the ponies snapped to him.

“It was an accident,” he said quietly. “I thought she was a kraut.”

“Ah what?” The one with a hat asked.

“Why did you attack our friend?” The purple one demanded.

“I already told you!” Matt threw up his arms in desperation. “I thought she was a bad guy.”

“Why would you think that silly?” The pink one apparently had realised that the humans weren't hostile. The same couldn't be said for the others.

“What are you.” the purple one remained persistent. “Tell me why you are here and what your intentions in Equestria are.”

Patton wasn't in the mood for a pointless conversation.

“We are soldiers of the Third Army of the United States of America. We are lost in your nation and require assistance from your kind.” He stepped forward and stood intimidatingly in front of the ponies who cowered back. “I am General George S. Patton and unless you want to make me and my men your enemies I suggest standing down and listening to us!”

The pink pony took “stand down” seriously and layed down on the grass. The yellow one squeaked in fear and hid behind the one with a hat.

“The wounding of your friend here was an accident. Through our actions we saved her life. The reason why she is unconscious is from the medication we gave her to help with the pain. If you think that we mean you intentional harm then you are gravely mistaken. We could have killed you all many times since your arrival. As a sign of our peacefulness I propose a trade of names to help show you that we mean no harm.”

He pointed to each of the tankers and they gave their names one by one.

“Ian Collins.”

“Zachariah Marshall.”

“Matthew Novak. But just call me Matt.”

Bill groaned and crossed his arms, refusing to give his name.

“Say your name soldier,” Patton growled quietly. “That is an order.”

“Bill Harper,” he hissed at the ponies.

“Jefferson Fisher.”

“But we all have nicknames.” Matt smiled warmly. “I am called Shelly, he is Zeus, Bill... doesn't have a nickname, Jeff is called Fishy.”

Ian glared murderously at Matt but the loader continued. “And our wonderful lieutenant is named Momma or Mother. We have lots of names for the General but-”

The hateful looks from his crewmates finally silenced Matt.

“Now tell us your names.” Patton motioned for them to proceed. “Please.”

Unsurprisingly the pink one spoke first.

“I am Pinkie Pie!” She jumped up, and much to the surprise of the humans, confetti flew in different directions. “It is spectacular to meet you!”

“Where in Sam hell did confetti come from?” Bill, unlike his companions, was liking the ponies less and less.

“Likewise.” Patton smiled at the pink pony’s antics.

“I am Twilight Sparkle.” The unicorn said flatly. The humans could clearly see the distrust lingering in her eyes.

“Ah’m Applejack,” the orange pony said proudly, removing her hat and taking a bow. “And thank yeh for helping our friend here. I can spot a liar ah mile away and ya didn't look like you were lyin’ when ya said that ya didn't mean to hurt Rainbow Dash.”

Matt smiled a goofy grin, happy that somebody wasn't being mean to him

“Ah like that pony,” Jeff whispered to Zeus. The gunner nodded in return, unsurprised that a man with a southern accent would like a pony that spoke the same way.

“I am Rarity, and I must say before we continue any further with this conversation that your uniform is magnificent Mr. Patton. So shiny and clean.”

“Thank you miss,” Patton replied with a wide smile.

Only one pony remained that had yet to say her name. After some expectant glances from the humans and other ponies she finally edged forward and said her name in a voice not audible to everyone else.

“Did she say Fuck a Guy?” Matt questioned.

“Shut up Matt,” Ian sighed.

“I said my name is Fluttershy,” the yellow pony squeaked a little louder.

“Oh,” Matt laughed.

“What a lovely name,” Patton smiled kindly to which Fluttershy forced one in return. The General always knew he was good with horses, who would have guessed that he would be good with talking ones too. “So now that we have introduced ourselves let us get down to business.”

Twilight nodded in agreement.

“I presume that you are wondering why we are here and how we got here?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied. The mistrust in her eyes slowly dissolving into curiosity.

“The truth is we have no idea how we got here. We were trying to get back to our army in our tank.” Patton pointed to the vehicle behind him. “We would be very thankful if you helped us return. I am the General of said army and without my leadership their ability to fight Germans will be greatly hampered.”

Patton smiled craftily. “I also want to be the first to Berlin and I can't beat those damn Russians to the punch if I am stuck here.”

Twilight thought for a moment then smiled. “We would be happy to help you. Follow us back to Ponyville.”

She noticed the sudden depressed looks on several of the humans’ faces. Twilight was about to question why they were sad but the answer was quickly realised when Ian turned and patted the tank softly.

“Goodbye Lucky,” he whispered. “I will come back for you.”

The other humans except Matt and Patton gave their farewells to the tank. Jeff retrieved the small backpack radio that Matt had stolen from a supply tent back when they were still fighting Germans in western France. When they had finished Patton spoke again.

“We shall follow you to your town. From there will we be able to radio or telephone the outside world?” Patton asked.

“Radio?” Asked Twilight.

“What’s ah telemephone?” Applejack scratched her head in confusion. “you mean teleport?”

“I guess I could teleport your machine to Apple Jacks farm,” Twilight continued.

“Teleport?” Ian asked.

“The act of instantly moving an object or pony over a long distance using magic. You never heard of teleportation?”

Bill groaned angrily.

“No,” Ian said sarcastically. “And I would be very happy to see this magic at work.”

“Okay,” Twilight stepped forward as the humans moved out of the way and stood passively by a thick bush. She placed her horn against the hull and concentrated. Soon a purple arora surrounded the tank and a moment later it disappeared in a flash. She turned to the humans but the shocked and awestruck looks on their faces caused her to think that she did something wrong.

“Holy Mary mother of God!” Ian said after a long pause.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Bill demanded.

“Magic,” Twilight replied nervously.

“Wow,” Matt said slowly.

Zeus and Ian stepped forward to where the tank had been and started feeling around with their feet for any sign of a trap door or anything else that would prove to him that magic hadn't happened.

“What are you looking for?” Twilight’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“It has to be a trick,” Ian said, a little upset that he didn't find anything. “How did you make my tank disappear?”

“I just told you.” The unicorn was starting to get annoyed at the disbelieving attitude of the humans. “I used magic.”

“Right,” Ian laughed. “And I am Saint Patrick and I can banish snakes.”

“I thought you said your name was Ian?” Pinkie Pie stated. “And you can banish snakes? Thats amazing!”

“It was sarcasm Pinkie,” Twilight groaned. “Does magic not exist where you come from?”

“Nope,” Ian replied flatly.

“Interesting.” Twilight thought for a moment. “We should be on our way.”

“Agreed,” replied Patton.

“Fishy,” Ian ordered. “You will carry Rainbow.”

The Texan nodded and proceeded with carefully picking up the sleeping pony. They then started off the way they came walking in silence, none of them knew what kind of conversation to make with a pony or a human. After several hours of trekking through the unnaturally silent woods they crossed a small road that cut through the trees. As they crossed it Ian noticed something that made his heart stop. A pair of wide tracks stuck out plainly in the dry dirt of the road.

“Fuck,” he hissed loudly.

“Ya humans swear ah lot,” Applejack said disapprovingly.

Ian and the other humans gave her no heed as they stared darkly at the trail.

“What are you guys looking-”

“Shut up!” Ian growled, cutting Twilight’s question short. He bent down and put his ear to the ground and listened. he could clearly hear the deep rumble of a large tank moving down the road.

“Follow me men and get your guns ready” he said with a twisted smile. “We are going to stalk a tiger. General, do you want to come too?”

“I wouldn't miss the opportunity for a good fight for all the money in the world.”

Fishy laid Dash onto the ground and they took off down the road. Twilight turned to her friends.

“Pinkie and Fluttershy stay here with Rainbow Dash,” she ordered. “Applejack and Rarity come with me.”

The ponies quickly followed the humans who were now disappearing into the bushes on either side of the road.

Frederic stood in the hatch of his tank, glaring at the passing countryside. Felix stood in the hatch next to him, the same unhappy look on his face.

“None of this looks familiar,” the Commander eventually said. “Those mountains, this forest... nothing.”

There was a crackle in their headphones and the voice of their driver echoed in their ears.

“The engine isnt responding very well sir. I think we are running out of fuel.”

“Just keep going Martin until we can't go anymore.”

“Yes sir.”

As it turned out they had enough fuel for another two miles until the large V-12 Maybach engine died. Immediately after the tank grounded to a halt the crew climbed out and set up a perimeter while the driver Martin Fuhrmann and Benjamin Kuefer, the radio operator, set explosives to prevent the tank from falling into enemy hands. But before they could finish the preparations, a loud American voice thundered from the nearby woods.

Patton watched as the German tank rumbled to a halt and the crew leap quickly out into the open. He could see the barely visible hand movements of Ian telling him that the American tankers were in place.

“You German bastards are surrounded and outnumbered! Drop your weapons and you will be taken as prisoners of war and treated fairly!”

Frederic grimaced and looked around at the surrounding trees. He had studied English in college so he replied.

“Fery vell Americans. Ve vill surrender.”

He motioned for his men to lay down their weapons as he did the same. Moments later five American soldiers in tanker uniforms emerged from the trees followed closely by an ecstatic Patton.

“It is un honor, General Patton,” Frederic said with a smirk. “To be captured by one of such a high standing as you.”

“And it is and honor,” Patton replied with a wide smile as he reached the German Commander. “To have captured you.”

Ian was happy that everything seemed to be going so well as he headed towards one of the German’s. But the flow of the situation was disrupted as Zeus reached Felix Brandt. The German Gunner suddenly shot out his arm and knocked the American’s gun aside. In one fluid motion he elbowed Zeus in the ribs and grabbed his Lugar from the dirt. In the sudden flash of confusion the rest of the Germans, except for Frederic, grabbed their guns and aimed them threateningly at the Americans who aimed back.

“Order your men to put their guns down or I will kill you,” Patton growled. The German Commander smiled defiantly back.

“Please stop!” Came a scream from the edge of the nearby woods.

Every eye shifted to the three ponies staring wide eyed and terrified of the scene before them. Their guns suddenly became wrapped in a purple aurora and were yanked from their hands. They floated over to Twilight who continued to look at them fearfully.

“Vat is zis? Vat is going on?”

Matt smiled quickly at the German commander then turned his attention back to the shocked German standing in front of him.

“It appears Toto,” the American gunner laughed. “That we aren't in Kansas anymore!”

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I do not own MLP:FiM.
Next chapter... shit starts to get real!