November 10th, 1964 11:40 PM
The Crystal Empire, Equestria, Equuis

Screaming, she heard nothing but screaming, screams rang in her ears, and several explosions thudded off to the side as she tried to move as fast as a seven-year-old filly can move. Her mother was in front, trying to lead the group, while two of their family friends were carrying her father in the back. He mumbled incoherent thoughts as he tried to struggle against his bearers.

All around her, young Crystal could see spires falling, soldiers flying from explosions before crashing to the ground in a thunderous ‘thud.’ Children bleeding, and mothers crying, but she tried her best to keep her focus on her mom, the only shining beacon of stability right now.

“Over there! We’ll be safe over there, come on, Crystal, we need to get to safety!”

Crystal shot in after her mother bucked down the door,followed by her father and their two friends. She and their friends quickly scrambled to pile up all the furniture they could find: bookshelves, coffee tables, chairs, anything. Crystal’s mother yelled, “Tie him up to something, hurry!” The mares did as they were told, and soon Crystal’s father was tied up against one of the crystal poles.

One of their friends, a lime-green, brown-maned earth pony anxiously paced around. “What’ll we do, what’ll we do!?” She exclaimed, “The Caribou are right on top of us! What are we going to do!?”

Crystal’s mother galloped straight towards the lime mare and punched her in the face. “Get ahold of yourself! The quicker we can calm down, the quicker we can figure something out! We’ve been in worse danger than this.”

“We as in you and your husband, Dusty!” A yellow-coated, green-maned mare retorted. “Most of us were sane enough to live calm, normal lives that didn’t involve monster invasions every week!”

“We don’t have time for this right now! We have to move!” Crystal’s mother said.

“Go where!? If you hadn’t noticed, WE CAN’T GO ANYWHERE AT THE MOMENT!”

Dusty opened her mouth to respond, when suddenly, a pony crashed right into the wall next to her. Dusty turned her focus to her husband, who was being tackled by the lime-green mare she had just been talking to, only to be thrown from his back. He turned to face his wife, his eyes widened in a daze, his irises, once a beautiful shade of blue, had switched to a shade of fuschia. He was panting, and screaming, and grunting as he tried to struggle against his binds.

“D-Dusty, it’s no use! Go now! I don’t want to hurt you!”

“But Trail-”

“Go! Before I- uurk!” It was too late, the khaki stallion fell to the ground, and within minutes, stood up a changed pony. “Must, capture, mare, for empire!!!” Trailblazer charged his wife and bucked her, knocking her unconscious before she could raise her forelocks to defend herself. He turned to face Crystal, the poor young filly trembled with fear. The stallion started, before he went into a pounce. Suddenly, Crystal was violently thrown around, as the filly’s vision exploded into white.

January 6th, 1973 0500 Hours (5:00 AM)
Bà Triệu Air Force Base Perimeter, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equuis

Crystal jolted awake as she was rattled by violent movement from her seat. Her heart stopped briefly as she found herself in a small, enclosed space. As she looked around, though, her heartbeat slowed down at the green paint surrounding her, and the men in green seated around her. Most of them were dosed off; how they managed to sleep through turbulent movement, she would never know. She relaxed from the sense of safety, and once again tried to close her eyes in an attempt to get the last few dregs of sleep.

Unfortunately, the constant rocking of the APC, combined with the fading memories of her nightmares kept her from trying to get any more sleep. She decided to look around in the compartment surrounding her. Again, most of the men in green around her were asleep, their gear clanging against the walls of the metal box. To her right, she could make out the green legs of Captain An, who she figured was tiredly talking with the armored officer of how much further they were going to travel. And finally, she turned to her right and found the source of her warmth inside the already hot and crowded box. She smiled fondly as she watched Daleering sleeping against her side.

For the last five years, Daleering had been one of the few friends she had made during her time in captivity. She seemed to know everything. She knew what their masters wanted, how they acted, how they felt (predictably horny). Yet at the same time, it wasn’t as if she was vocal with her knowledge. She found many a time when Daleering had kept away from the crowds, or hid in them if they didn’t attract attention. Had they not been kept in the same pen, and had Crystal not asked a certain anxious Caribou cow whether or not the sleeping space next to her was taken, she doubted she would’ve ever noticed Daleering. But here they were, she had made the first move, and they were inseparable ever since.

Lately though, since they’d been freed and since they started working for the Vietnamese, Crystal began to notice one major change. In the past, Crystal didn’t do a single thing without Daleering by her side. She knew this and she knew this well, they ate together, they drank (water) together, they’d even (platonically) slept together. As of now, nothing had changed, the only things that had changed were her emotions. She noticed since coming onto the base that she had begun to feel flustered whenever she was close to Daleering. When she was on her own, even when she was facing people such as the ARVN officers, she felt brave and confident.

When she was with Daleering she felt nervous and awkward, maybe a little warm. She couldn’t explain it, some of her dreams, while terrifying, were sometimes peppered with happy dreams, dreams of living a normal life with Daleering, where they shared a house, they travelled around and saw new sites, strolled down the streets of Saigon (based on what An told her), or walked the desert sands of Saddle Arabia, or climbed the tall trees of the eastern jungle. She dreamed of a happy life with her, she felt comfortable with her.

She was scared of her.

While it was true that she had dreams of them doing...certain things, and while it was true she had often expressed them through prolonged touches and poor attempts of flirting whenever she was sure she was away from the prying ears of any ARVN soldier, even An, she always danced around the subject.

She had grown up in the camp where her masters expressed their undying love by shoving several dicks into her holes. It was where any favor could be paid for with a simple hoof or blow job, where the only future in her life was to serve her masters, with no hopes of freedom for herself, and for those that come after her. She grew up with that ideal for five years, and she couldn’t help but occasionally make flattering remarks about Daleering’s antlers or her flank, but the truth of the matter was certain.

She had no idea what was true, and what was part of her hormones. And she had no idea what to do.

A groan broke through her train of thought as she felt that same bundle of warmth squirm next to her. Crystal sat there and watched quietly as the caribou’s eyes fluttered open. Daleering let out a soft bellow in her yawn, followed by a blush of embarrassment. She turned to face Crystal, and gave a small smile. Crystal’s heart fluttered as she took in her friend’s disheveled morning look, it took all of her willpower not to sound too enthusiastic to talk to her, “Morning, Daleering.”

“Morning.” Daleering looked around the APC. “Have we arrived yet?”

“I’m not sure, An hasn’t talked to us yet.” Just as she said that though, the aforementioned captain was climbing into the APC, and crawling to them.

“Good morning, did you have a good sleep?”

They both nodded, and Crystal broke the silence, “Daleering was just asking if we were at the base yet.”

An nodded. “As a matter of fact, we are. We’re almost near the main checkpoint, from there, we can get off, stow away our gear, and go do whatever you guys want.” He sighed in exhaustion. “As for me, I’ll have to attend a debriefing, write a few reports, clean out my pistol, stow away my gear, take a shower, and anything that might involve our new guests and allies.”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to help you?”

An shook his head and raised his hands up, “I’m sure, this is a matter of national security, I’m pretty sure the higher-ups won’t be pleased if they found out some locals have access to potentially top secret works. Besides I don’t want to burden you.”

“You’re not a burden to us, An. You gave us a new home, and plenty of food to eat, what can be better?”

An nodded, “It’s still a tiring trip, I wouldn’t want to add anything unnecessary. Speaking of which, Princess Flurry Heart might need a translator if she wants to talk with our officers, I made a recommendation that you should be the translator, Crystal. The choice is up to you, but this can really help with Vietnamese and Equestrian relations.”

Crystal’s face scrunched up in a weird sort of way as her muzzle curled up and her eyes squinted in concentration. An was right, it was a long journey, and as a growing mare, she did need more sleep than the minutes she put in in between patrols in the APC. But she had to have done something right if An had recommended her to translate for royalty. With finality, her face regressed back to its normal state, then she smiled as she said, “I’ll do it.”

An’s lips curved into a smile and he nodded, “Alright, get yourself cleaned up, then meet me at the Joint General Staff headquarters building, it has the flags flying from all the nations involved in this conflict, you can’t miss it. I’ll see you over there.” An said as he began to walk over to the regimental headquarters to be debriefed.

Crystal nodded, and turned to walk to the showers, but not before she turned to Daleering and offered a hoof. “Want to take a shower? It’s been a few days.” Daleering silently nodded, and accepted her hoof, the both walked closely together off to the showers.

She’d just have to take things one step at a time.

January 6th, 1973 0700 Hours (7:00 AM)
Bà Triệu Air Force Base, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equuis

“Woah… it’s so huge.” Scootaloo exclaimed. She looked around with Freiheit as Truc drove the “MUTT” through security checkpoints around the base. Moving through the fields were several of the boxy vehicles with large “guns” that she saw at the battle, rumbling through the hills as they did some training maneuvers. Further in, she saw MUTT’s, transport trucks, and strange little vehicles speed around as their traffic interconnected with that of the aircraft.

There were different flying machines of all shapes and sizes. The strange, dragonfly-like vehicles which were hovering and flying, the propellered aircraft rumbling through the air and across the tarmac. But what struck Scootaloo most of all in awe were the jet aircraft. Her jaw dropped as she saw sleek, propellerless aircraft, and shorter, wider variants roar across the skies in blistering roars, reaching speeds that she only remembered Rainbow was able to reach. And the way they moved, they were quick and graceful, as if they were swans with rocket boosters attached to them.

Scootaloo lunged forward as the MUTT came to a complete halt. In front of her was a large, rectangular building with a facade of some sort dotted with holes it, in front of the building two ARVN MP’s guarded the doorway, and out in front of the building, five banners flew majestically in the sky. Around the doorway, many men and women in green were rushing around carrying files and papers. She turned to look behind her to find another MUTT parking behind them. She smiled in delight when she saw who stepped out.

Crystal and her Caribou friend stepped out, as An shut off the engine and followed. An quickly stood at attention and saluted as Truc stepped out of the MUTT. “Reporting for duty, sir!” An shouted.

Truc returned the salute, and said, “At ease.”

An lowered his hand and stood relaxed. “Sir, I’ve brought Crystal, just as you requested.”

“Very good, Captain.” Truc turned to face Scootaloo as Freiheit stepped out from the passenger’s seat, “We’re going to go into the Joint General staff building now, don’t worry, Crystal here will translate what you say, I’m assured by the captain here that she is rather talented when it comes to languages.” Scootaloo nodded, and together, the group entered the Joint General Staff building.

As Scootaloo entered the building, she felt a surge of warm air fly into her her face. The room was stuffy, even with the windows open. Around her, more men and women in uniform were rushing around, some carrying papers, others carrying trays of coffee, even more men and women were at the typewriters furiously typing away, the clattering filling the air and intermingling with other soldiers talking, and telephones ringing. They passed another room, where there were several large maps of Equestria, with areas they occupied marked with blue pins, and enemy positions marked with red pins. Another room had a similar map, but was filled with men wearing strange devices which looked like earmuffs over their ears, they were speaking rapid-fire Vietnamese and Equish (English? She wasn’t sure what to use).

Eventually they passed enough crowded corridors and climbed enough stairs that they reached an office. Above the doorway was a placard labelled, “Gen. *Ngô Quang Trưởng, *Sĩ Quan Chỉ Huy.” Crystal faced Scootaloo and whispered, “We’re going to meet with the commanding officer of the allied forces, don’t worry about anything, alright?” Scootaloo nodded, and she looked around the hallway.

Colonel Truc knocked on the door, while Freiheit was shuffling his hooves and looking around the hallway. An was standing as straight as a rod, as was the colonel. The door opened, and both An and Truc saluted. “At ease. You may come in” A voice called from the doorway. An and Truc lowered their hands and walked in. Scootaloo slowly walked in, her stomach fluttering from butterflies at not only meeting a stranger, but the leader of the forces which might change her life forever.

She was met with a jovial man. His face was pinched, his nose small, and he had smile wrinkles around his mouth. His head was huge compared to his body, he looked to be only 5 foot 7. He had little specks of grey hair, his chest was adorned with a cloth patch with a black design of wings. A smoking cigarette hung from his lips.

“You may be seated.” Scootaloo did as she was told, following Freiheit and Crystal’s example, and soon after the general sat down with them. The general picked up a file and opened it up, briefly scanning its contents before he looked up, “So Freiheit, you’ve been in service with the Caribou Empire since your birth, is that correct?” Crystal nodded, and turned to repeat what Ngô said in Equish.

Freiheit nodded, “I had belonged to one of the higher echelons of Caribou society, we weren’t too rich, per se, but our family had a long line of soldiers.” Crystal repeated what he said in Vietnamese to the general, to which he nodded.

“You appear to have a lengthy career, Colonel. According to your military records in Las Pegasus, you had enlisted as a private, turning down favoritism from your father’s name, then slowly climbed up the ranks to lieutenant protecting the empire’s borders. You were then recalled back to the capital to quell civil unrest.” Freiheit flinched as the general mentioned his involvement in the civil unrest. Truc turned to glance at Freiheit in concern, but returned his gaze to the general

“You partook in the coups d'etats to overthrow the monarchy, and was promptly promoted to captain for your involvement. You then led a platoon in the campaigns for annexation of several states, and shot through the ranks eventually reaching lieutenant colonel during the war with Equestria. Five years later you became governor of Las Pegasus, and here you are.” The general laid down the dossier and put his cigarette into the ashtray. “Vietnamese intelligence said that from what they gathered, you may be a valuable asset, could you clarify for me what you can do for us?”

Freiheit nodded, “I’ve known the latest troop movements from reports within the empire, and where they’re all stationed.”

“We can get those from the papers we’ve seized in the nexus.”

“I understand that, I also know of several key government officials within the Caribou Magistrate which may want to try to negotiate peace, or have the same desire as I do to end this empire once and for all. We were just waiting for the right time, and this appears to be it.”

Truc nodded. “That is important, we’d want to limit the amount of blood spilled liberating this land. But why? Why defect now, and with us out of all the factions in Equestria?”

“General, my spymaster had given me an assessment of the resistance groups within Equestria, the Equestrian Alliance to restore the Diarchy is struggling with supplies and manpower as it is, the Equalist guerrillas had also faced severe beatings in their numbers, and from what I had understood from Colonel Truc, they are as bad as your ‘Viet Cong’, they murder, they assassinate, they rape, and they take no prisoners.”

Freiheit paused for a little bit, turning to face the view of the surrounding mountains and fire bases in the area. “The Yaks are still recovering from the war after their defeat nine years ago, even then, they might not be able to stand a chance to fight against the empire on their own. From what I have seen from your defense of my city, general, you are the only faction capable of possibly standing a chance against the Caribou Empire. You’re the only ones who have any chance in restoring sanity. I’d rather have you help us, Colonel, you’re our only hope.”

“And you’re so certain that you’d bet your life on it?”

Freiheit paused, and took in the view before him. The silence blared on for several minutes. Neither the ponies nor the soldier had any idea what Freiheit thought as he stared out the windows through blinds. He turned and said, “Many have made the promise that they could save everyone, you’re the only one I feel confident that could follow that promise.”

Crystal repeated what Freiheit said in Vietnamese. General Ngô sat in silence, pondering. His faced pinched in even further in contemplation as he chewed his cigar. He then pulled the brown deathstick from his smiling lips, and offered out his right hand, “It is clear where your heart is, governor. Congratulations, you will be allowed to go through repatriation and then if successful, be given commission within the Army of the Republic of Viet Nam or any branch of your choosing.”

Freiheit raised his right hoof, and laid it on Ngô‘s hand in acceptance. “Thank you, General, I will do my best to serve the Republic of Vietnam, and to be an exemplary soldier.”

Ngô swatted his hand, “No need for formalities, Freiheit, though this is only the beginning. As a member of the repatriation program, you will be taught skills to prosper in Vietnamese society, that will mean language courses and lessons in things which may seem strange.”

“I understand, General, and I thank you nevertheless.”

Ngô nodded, he then turned to Flurry Heart. “You must by the princess my subordinates have been talking about.”

Flurry Heart dipped in a small curtsy. “I am, greetings, general. I am Princess Flurry Heart, Daughter of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, niece of Princess Twilight, and relative to Princes Celestia, and Princess Luna of the Equestrian Diarchy.” Crystal made a move to translate, before Flurry raised her hoof, “I don’t mean any offense Crystal, but it is clear that the general knows Equish, save your energy for when it’s needed.” Crystal nodded.

Ngô nodded. “It is an honor to meet you, your majesty. As the leader of an ally to the Republic of Vietnam, we are willing to help you in any way we can.” the general turned to the officers and the remaining ponies, “Captain An, you are good to go, just fill out the needed paperwork. Truc, you’re needed here for a little while more. The rest of the ponies, except for Freiheit and Crystal, are cleared to go as well. Dismissed.” An saluted, and he, Scootaloo, and Daleering walked out of the office. Scootaloo looked up to the Captain.

“What now?”

An thought for a moment and then replied, “I’ll show you around the base, is there anywhere that you want to go?”

Scootaloo smiled and nodded, “I know just the place I want to go.”

Scootaloo hovered in awe as she saw the various planes take off and land. Many different planes, in many different shapes and sizes, going at their own paces. Some were even circling around their airspace, practicing dives and maneuvers. They all made some loud noise, granted, but all it did was show the power of these flying machines.

“The control tower technicians said it may be a good idea if you looked over there.” An said as he pointed to an empty field in the distance, littered with targets.

“What are they going to do?”

“Look up, you’ll see.”

Scootaloo did as she was told, looking out to the desolate field, simply marked with a target. An corrected her gaze, tilting her head upward. Scootaloo’s eyes widened in awe at what was laid out in front of her.

A single boxy, propellered plane had just done an aileron roll and now dove down at an angle. Two strange barrel-like canisters full of holes lit up as streaks of orange light roared toward the ground, littering the ground with explosions. The propellor plane continued its onslaught as it dropped its load of bombs, lighting up the ground in a flurry of fire as the plane recovered from its dive and flew off.

Scootaloo was in awe, she had heard of the dragon attacks during the war, even seen some of it when her home was attacked. But the steady breath of fire seemed like nothing compared to the large explosions created from such a small, slow thing.

An turned back to face Scootaloo, her face was still stuck in a look of shock and awe at the power, “The colonel noticed you had a fascination with flying, you know there are a lot of things you could do in the South Vietnamese armed forces when you grow up, right?”

Scootaloo quickly shook her head and turned back to the Captain, “Like what?”

“Well, we have the airborne, they’re soldiers who jump out of aircraft, you get a dose of the land and the air with them. But I’ve got a feeling you’re more fascinated with the air force?”

Scootaloo nodded, “You seem to be so powerful.”

An shook his head, “Not necessarily.”

“What do you mean? With the amount of explosions you were creating, surely you would’ve won your war back home to come fighting for us.”

An’s face sank, he sighed. “If only things were that easy?”

Scootaloo landed, and tilted her head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“The war we’ve been through has been going on for nearly twenty years now. We are the strongest power in the region back home, but it hasn’t been without sacrifice. When we started, we were just an army leftover from when we were conquered ourselves.”

Scootaloo’s mouth dropped in shock, “You...were conquered?”

An nodded, “I’ve explained most of this to Crystal, but we used to be under the control of another nation called France, we were just becoming independent from them when our war started. Even then, most of the weapons we got were handed down to us from the last world war we were in. They were out of date. That plane you saw bomb the targets, that’s been fighting since the last war America had fought in twenty years ago, in a nation called Korea. Since then we have used some newer weapons, but still...”

“Then how were you able to be the strongest nation in you region?”

“Well, our enemies, the communists, they nearly defeated us many times, but most of the time, they thought one thing. We were weak, we were puppet soldiers, that our nation hated us, that the people we’d protect, and maybe a few of our fellow men, would turn and fight for them. They didn’t take one thing into account: loyalty. Most of our men were willing to fight, to defend their country to the bitter end. We had our cases of cowardice, but in the end, we managed to put up a good fight to kick out the communists both times they tried to invade us. We had help, but the last one was reduced to some air support from our allies, the Americans. They have a stronger air force than us.”

“Stronger than you?”

An nodded. “Either way, from what I’ve heard, the Americans have bombed our enemy so badly, they’re bound to give up any day now.” An sighed, “From there we can focus on rebuilding. At home at least. Most of us are tired of fighting as well, and a lot of us are tired of some of the corruption that goes on once in a while in the government. But what can you do when you’re a nation that’s fighting a war with a struggling economy?”

Scootaloo looked down and shuffled her hooves. “Captain?"

“Yes”

She looked up and hesitated, before asking, “Do you regret coming to help us?”

An simply turned back and looked out towards the mountain range. The silence pressed on for a few minutes, with nothing but the sound of aircraft, clacking typewriters, and quick, high pitched chatter of the VNAF air traffic control. Scootaloo frowned, and began to turn to leave before a voice broke the silence “No.” She turned back, “I don’t regret what we’re doing here.”

“But why?”

An turned to look at Scootaloo again. “Every nation has the right to defend itself. By doing this, we are upholding our right to defend ourselves.” His gaze focused a little more on the teenaged mare. “And then I look at ponies like you. Fillies growing up in this war. During my time out in the jungles, I’ve seen children like you: scared and tired of war. People with little sense of hope that there’s something decent in the war. Being a soldier means defending the people who can’t defend themselves. I have little doubt in my mind that people will eventually hear your plight, and we will get more help. As a famous man from our world once said, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Scootaloo turned and looked back out towards the airfield. “Captain?”

“Yes Scootaloo?”

“I hope I can join you someday.”

An smiled back, “I hope so, too.”

January 6th, 1973 1100 Hours (11:00 AM)
Bà Triệu Air Force Base, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equuis

“You want me to do what?!” An shouted.

General Ngô scowled at the yelling insubordinate. Colonel Truc replied calmly for the general. “After what we’ve talked about with Crystal Heart, and what President Thieu has given us, the world wants to see the results of our involvement. We want you to select a group of Equestrians, as well as some of your best men in your platoon, and escort them to Saigon so they can be interviewed in the National Assembly.”

“I know that, but… but…”

Truc sighed, “I know… we didn’t expect that President Nixon would be visiting to meet with our new Equestrian allies.”

“It just… seems to sudden.”

“I know that. We’ll assign some men to work out some of the paperwork. The only thing you’ll need to worry about is paperwork for who will be going with you.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Any questions?”

Silence rang out in the office.

“Good, dismissed.”

An saluted, turned about face, And was about to leave when-

“Oh, and Captain?”

An turned to face the colonel, eyes squinted in an insane glare, complete with eye twitches, and a smile which left one of the nearby passing aides in a petrified horror, as if Madusa herself decided to possess the ARVN captain. “Yes?”

Truc frowned and replied with concerned eyes, “Try to get something to eat, it’s nearly lunchtime.”

“Yes sir, I will, sir.” An again turned, and left. So much for downtime, he thought to himself depressingly.

January 6th, 1973 1100 Hours (11:00 AM)
Refugee Housing Block A, Bà Triệu Airbase, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equus

“Really? You want me to come with you?” Crystal asked. Daleering sat next to her, seemingly unfazed by the news.

An nodded, “You have a basic understanding of Vietnamese, and enough English to answer some of the questions the press will have.”

“Will I be alone?”

“No, Corporal Nim, Sergeant Trần, and Corporal Diem will be with us.”

Crystal frowned, and turned towards Daleering, “C-Could I take Daleering with me?”

An nodded, “Of course, she’s your best friend, I think you’ll need the support.”

Crystal sighed in relief and turned to hug Daleering closely, “Oh I can’t wait, we’re going to see An’s home world, Daleering! Oh I can’t wait, the sights, the sounds...”

“The insane Saigon traffic.”

“The-hey!” Crystal glared jokingly at An as he laughed, bent over and gasping. She smiled and sighed. “I’ll do it, I’ll go to Saigon.”

“Hey, don’t forget about me!” Another voice yelled, Scootaloo rushed out of the door, “I want to come, too!”

“Don’t worry.” Freiheit said, approaching the group, “Truc is coming along with them, so you can go, too. I’ll be going with you as well.”

Scootaloo smiled, “Oh yeah? That’s awesome!!!” She shrieked as she took off and flew a little circle in the air.

An stood there, crossed his arms, and sighed, “Well, this is going to be a long week.”

January 6th, 1973 2300 Hours (11:00 PM)
Hanoi, Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Hanoi was in ruins, it was simple as that. And in more ways than one. After Ho Chi Minh died, his successor, Tôn Đức Thắng, was appointed as president, but the politburo was the true power in charge of North Vietnam, and even then the politburo was full of its own politics. Lê Duẩn was Ho’s true successor, and was an influential figure within the North Vietnamese Politburo. He was walking through the cratered streets, “And that’s what we’ve got from some of our sources?”

“Yes, sir.” An aide replied, “The South Vietnamese are real keen on building an alliance with this new land, and intend to rally the west to fight along with them.”

“Then we have an opportunity.” Duẩn muttered. “If we can drag out that war, it will weaken South Vietnam even further, and open the land up for us to once again liberate our brothers and sisters in the south.”

“In the shape we’re in? I don’t want to doubt it sir, but we’re in no position to fight, we’ve just lost many of our sons to them a few months ago, we can’t do another attack on them. The Soviets are considering pulling out their support for us.”

“Ah, but you can see, we still have some sympathizers in the south, our comrades in the National Liberation Front. They have enough manpower to perhaps conduct a few more guerilla attacks, and an assassination attempt on the Equestrian Delegation. With them out of the picture, there will be even less support coming in from South Vietnam’s allies, and the South will eventually choke on its own commitments, leaving them open for us to attack.” Duẩn replied back calmly.

“We still have the others to worry about, *Trường Chinh is considering rallying the Chinese to help.”

“And let him do it, if and when he messes up, we can blame him for being a Chinese sympathizer and let the crowd kill him.” Duẩn replied in turn, “For now, we’ll wait for the South to starve.”

“What about Nixon? We barely survived the last American bombing, if we try to liberate the South again, we will be destroyed for sure.”

“For now, we can only hope for the best.”

January 6th, 1973 2300 Hours (11:00 PM)
Regional Headquarters, Bà Triệu Airbase, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equus

An groaned as he walked from the set of desks, “First I had to clean my carbine, then I had to store my gear, then I had to write my report, and then I had to deal with the paperwork with the upcoming delegation to Saigon. Why did I…” An trailed off when he heard some scuffling. Right behind him, he spotted Crystal, leaning against the wall, asleep. The captain tiredly smiled, “Looks like they worked you to the ground too. Having you translate for both the Equestrian and the Vietnamese representatives.”

Crystal snored back.

The Captain chuckled and walked over to the filly. He forked his arms under her barrel and grunted as he lifted her up, “Alright let’s get you home.”

January 6th, 1973 2345 Hours (11:45 PM)
Joint General Staff War Room, Regional Headquarters,
Bà Triệu Airbase, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equus

Flurry Heart scanned the well-lit room in front of her, listening to the calm rhythm of the typewriters as ARVN personnel worked around the clock in the war room. Alongside her was Scootaloo, watching in awe as she saw her second adoptive father stride around the room to other cubicles, talking with his subordinates and then walking over to his superior to talk more before he walked over to the war room map and relayed some orders, moving markers, and moving back to talk with his subordinates.

“How can he do that so quickly?” Scootaloo asked, “Rainbow Dash would’ve just torn up the room if she went just as fast.”

“He’s really within his element.” Flurry replied. The silence dragged on between the newly-minted royal and her older friend. Her left forehoof scuffled the linoleum floor.

“Everything alright, Flurry Heart?” Scootaloo asked, concerned.

The royal sighed, “I-It’s just that, this will be the first time I will be following my mother’s footsteps. And it will be in front of an audience of aliens. And I’ll be in a strange new land, even more amazing than what we have seen so far. You’ve see what they can do if we are on the wrong side. What if I mess up?”

“What are you saying? Of course you’ll do great, you did great presenting your essays… the amount of graphs and charts you showed and the way you used note cards for everything kinda reminds me of your aunt.”

“But that was just between you, me, and the private tutor, Scootaloo, this will be in front of a lot of people that I’ve never known before, and the stakes are much higher.” Flurry Heart turned to face Scootaloo, “You hung out with my aunt when you were younger, what was she like?”

“She was insanely neurotic, that’s for sure.” Scootaloo giggled, and Flurry soon followed. “In all seriousness though, your aunt was wise, and helpful. She helped tutor me, Sweetie, and Applebloom. She managed to fight off so many monsters and evils before the Caribou came, and even though she never ruled a country, she was spectacular at being the leader in friendship.”

Silence fell on the two mares as they looked back to the war room and continued listening to the rhythm of typewriters, telephone rings, and fast talking.

Flurry broke the silence by voicing a thought, “What do you suppose Saigon is like?”

“From what Colonel Truc said, it’s like Las Pegasus, but larger, and a lot more crowded.”

“There’s bound to be so many wonders to see, I’m glad that you’ll be coming along with me, it’d be worse if I had to do something like this alone.”

Scootaloo nodded, “Hey, you’re family at this point until we can find Twilight. We have to stick together.” Scootaloo looked back to her adoptive father, “Colonel Truc is going to take me to see his family, he says he has seven children.”

“He must have quite the responsibility.” Flurry heart looked back to Scootaloo, “Do you think I can tag along?”

“Aren’t you going with Freiheit?”

“He has some other business to deal with.”

Scootaloo laid her head on the railing before she muttered her reply, “I’ll see if Truc will let you tag along.”

“Alright.” Silence blanketed the duo again for several minutes.

“Scootaloo?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, for everything.”

Scootaloo smiled, “You too Flurry, you too.”

January 7th, 1973 0900 Hours (9:00 AM)
Bà Triệu Air Force Base, Undiscovered West, Equestria, Equuis

The sight in front of her was astounding.

She had grown up in her mother’s castle before the war, but the sheer size of the building in front of her trumped that. Blocking it was a solid steel door, and surrounding the building itself was a bunker made out of a thick layer of concrete, and even then, from what Flurry could see the place was heavily guarded by men in green, in towers, behind barricades, behind strange ‘machine gun’ turrets, their ugly, black barrels thrusted out of their shielding portholes intimidatingly.

Next to her, Freiheit, Scootaloo, Crystal, and Daleering stood in equal amazement at the sheer size of the building, and the large amount of light emanating from it as the steel door was slowly lowered. In front of them were Captain An, Lieutenant-Colonel Truc, Corporal Nim Sergeant Trần, and Corporal Diem, if she had remembered correctly from the introductions to her security detail, and leading the group was General Ngo.

Closely guarding the group, and the doorway to the portal, were two ornately dressed members of the military guard (If that was what the QC meant on their helmets). They were dressed with white belts and coils, and their hands were covered in white gloves, their eyes covered by sunglasses, perhaps to hide their identity, or simply to make the short guards more intimidating. Scootaloo broke the silence, causing Flurry to turn her head towards her. “This is where you came from?”

Truc turned to face the teenage pegasus. “Yes, it is. This is also what we’ll use to get to Saigon.”

The general nodded, “Keep in mind, when you get to the other side, you will see things that are astounding, things you have never comprehended or experienced before. But please keep in mind, we are still fighting a war over there, keep close to your escorts. Also, you will arrive at an air base in a nearby city called Bin Hoa. Once you arrive, be careful for any more vehicles, they are a lot busier than we are. Understood?” Flurry shakily nodded for the group. “You have my blessing,” He turned to Colonel Truc, “Good luck colonel, let us hope this will better our chances in this war.”

Truc nodded back.

“They’re cleared to go, sir!” Yelled one of the VNAF technicians.

Ngô nodded with a grunt, “Godspeed, colonel.” Truc nodded again, and soon they began to walk through the portal. Flurry clenched her jaw. Freiheit had given her Twilight’s memoirs regarding her experiences from the portal, but still, the idea of being hurled through time, space, and dimension unnerved her. She turned to look at Daleering and Crystal; Crystal had unconsciously wrapped her hoof around Daleering’s, perhaps equally as frightened about this as she was, and Truc did the same with Scootaloo to reassure her. Pretty soon, she and Freiheit were the only ones left to go though. She held her breath, and tepidly walked on through.

All around her were various bright colors, swirling around her spinning head, she cried out as she felt her body being stretched from the high G forces that rushed through her. She closed her eyes in terror, and tried hard to keep herself from breathing too fast, then she felt everything become still, absolutely still.

Author's Notes:

I'M BACK MOTHER BUCKERS!!!!! Kidding aside, sorry for the long wait, I am currently in the final stretch of high school, and I'm trying to keep my chances of graduating alive.

Anyway, our heroes now are going to see the human world, what will they think of Saigon, and how will they deal with the probable espionage showdown. Find out next time in Saigon; Beauty and Intrigue. In the meantime, see ya in-country.

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Fast Facts:

Ngô Quang Trưởng was one of the best generals in the ARVN during the war. He started his career with the French army, then served briefly in the transitional Vietnamese National army, before he finally continued his career in the ARVN. He was an airborne officer, and took command through the Battle of Saigon in 1955, when the government cracked down on criminal elements supported by the French, the Buddhist crisis, and the Tét offensive, before he assumed command of the 1st ARVN divisionand eventually I Corps in 1972 after the Easter Offensive. His leadership capabilities, tactical brilliance, and his imperviousness to corruption, and the fact that he molded the 1st division into a crack unit earned him the respect of his American peers, to the point where Abrams was quoted in saying he would’ve trusted him to lead an American unit. He sadly died in Falls Church, Virginia in 2007. Sĩ Quan Chỉ Huy = Commanding Officer Politics in North Vietnam took a huge blow after Ho Chi Minh’s death. Though there was a successor in Tôn Đức Thắng as president, it was all in name, the politburo were the ones truly in charge, namely two people: Lê Duẩn, who was the most powerful man in the North, saw an aggressive stance in dealing with South Vietnam, And was infamously know to be overly ambitious and optimistic in his plans; and Trường Chinh, first in power in front of Lê Duẩn, a political theoretician and president of the National Assembly who sided with the Chinese in the Sino-Soviet split. Nixon’s bombing after the Easter Offensive and the magnitude in which it wrecked Hanoi, in addition to his mining of important ports proved him to be unpredictable to the North. He frightened the politburo to the point where they were actually hesitant to try another full offensive for the remaining time he was in office.