As the birds began to sing with the dawn, the CMC blinked their eyes open and looked at Sergeant Redford, who was also rousing himself.

"Morning." he said.

"Morning." the three fillies replied. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, I suppose." Redford said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "Let's go get some grub."

As the four of them exited the tent and headed for the mess, Redford managed to scrounge up some food for the three of them.

"Eat up." Redford said. "It's probably the best you'll get for a while."

The three fillies nodded, and as they ate, Sweetie Belle gave a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Redford asked.

"I'm worried about my sister back home…" she said. "I don't even want to know what the Caribou are doing to her…"

"Hey, it'll be fine." Redford said, reassuring her. "I'm worried, too. I'm worried I might not make it home to see my girl. I'm worried I'll make a bad call and lose good men."

"Then how do you deal with it?" Sweetie Belle replied.

"I deal with it one day at a time." Redford smiled. "You know, when I enlisted in 1941, a lot of people thought I was insane. Two weeks later, we get attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. I knew war was coming, I just didn't know it'd be like this."

"Wow." Scootaloo said. "By the way, you got any more funny stories?"

"Oh, plenty." Redford smiled. "Let me tell you about the time Drake got on the wrong side of some motor oil and a tank engine…"

====

The White House
War Correspondence Office

The secretary took one look at the telegram from General Eisenhower and immediately dashed for the Oval Office at breakneck speed. As he dashed past the Secret Service, he stopped breathless at the desk of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"What is it?" he asked.

"General Eisenhower just sent a telegram." the secretary replied. "Says it's for your eyes only, and it's something big. It took three sheets of paper to get all of it."

Roosevelt raised his eyebrows. General Eisenhower was rather short and pointed with telegrams in most cases. As he read through the three pages, his eyes widened with each sentence.

"Is this real?" he murmured. "Goddamnit, Get my Cabinet in here as soon as possible!"

====

"Mr. President, are you sure that it's real?"

"I am sure." Roosevelt replied to Secretary of War Henry Stinson. "Have you read it yourself, Mr. Stinson?"

"If it is real, this is probably history in the making." Vice President Truman said. "The Brits and the Russians, Hell, everyone would freak out knowing there are aliens in France under US Army custody."

"General Eisenhower has photos incoming from France." Roosevelt continued. "And though I agree this will open a large can of worms that will most likely be very messy, we need to deal with this diplomatically."

"How?" a General said. "You've told us that they're just children! How are they going to react…"

"They'll deal with it when the time comes." Roosevelt said. "This is the first time in human history we've had...visitors, and I do NOT want this situation going south because we were paranoid! Am I clear?"

There were nods of assent.

"Now, Eisenhower says that he'll bring them here in two to three weeks." Roosevelt said. "I want the National Guard on standby in case of trouble. Alert the radio and newspapers that I'll be giving an address at that time, along with these beings. Furthermore, I want that photo in my desk and only in my desk when it arrives. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mr. President." the Generals and Cabinet replied.

"Good." Roosevelt said. "Make arrangements for lodging. I'll deal with whatever skewed words come my way regarding this. Especially from Congress."

====

Two Weeks Later, near Washington DC.

===

"There it is." Sergeant Redford said as the fillies peaked over the railing of the ship. "The United States of America."

It had been quite a time for the three fillies. Once General Eisenhower received word that the President had received his telegram, he had made arrangements for a passage to DC, under heavy escort. Before that, the fillies had secretly been moved into London and onto a battleship under the cover of darkness. Though the Fillies had expressed they wanted to see the city, they had been told there'd be another time.

Now, Badger Team and Sergeant Redford were their escorts to America, and their journey was almost over.

"So, what can we expect when we arrive?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The President, First Lady, and Vice President should be waiting for us." Eisenhower said, as Redford saluted. "Then, it's off to the White House to prepare for the public reveal."

"We will have to speak?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Possibly." Eisenhower replied. "It's not ruled out, but it might help your cause."

The three of them nodded as the ship came to a stop. As they disembarked, two men and a woman were waiting for them. One of them men was waiting in a wheelchair.

"So you're the three visitors I've heard so much about." the man in the wheelchair said, smiling. "I'm Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States. My wife Eleanor, and Vice President Harry Truman."

As greetings went around, three black cars approached, marked with the Presidential Seal. As they were ushered inside, Sergeant Redford sat with the Fillies, while his men took a pair of Jeeps.

"So, Sergeant Redford…" Roosevelt said. "I am pleased to report that Dr. Breighner has nearly finished plans for the Rift Gate project. I've also contacted several experts to assist him."

"I'm happy to hear it." Sergeant Redford said. "They going to spill the beans?"

"Considering that I made it clear, face to face, that it was top-secret, no." Roosevelt smiled.

"That's a relief, sir." Redford said. "May I ask a question?"

"Shoot."

"How are we going to...you know, introduce them?" Redford asked. "It's not like we can just have another Fireside Chat with them."

"Why not, Sergeant?" Roosevelt replied. "The people of the US trust my voice, and I'm sure they'll trust them."

"If you say so." Redford said as they approached the White House. As they entered, a small dog came up to the three fillies and began to wag its tail.

"Hello, Fala." Roosevelt said. "How'd you sleep?"

Fala barked in response.

"I take it that's an affirmative." Truman said. "Let's go over to Capitol Hill."

====
That Night
6:00 PM, Joint Emergency Session of Congress
====

"We all set?" Roosevelt asked Truman, who nodded.

"National Guard is out on the streets, and we've got all major broadcasters here." Truman said. "We're waiting on you."

"Let's not keep them waiting any longer, then."

As Roosevelt entered the chamber, the three fillies secured behind him, Congress rose to applause.

"I thank you, gentlemen and women of this Congress for meeting on such short notice." Roosevelt said. "I'm sure many of you are concerned about the war in Europe. However, there is a new concern that emcompasses humanity itself, one that has come to our world in their desperate hour."

As the three fillies came into full view, the entire Congress gasped as one.

"As you can see, everyone, we are no longer alone." Roosevelt said. "I'll let them introduce themselves, and state their cause now."

As the fillies spoke their names, the tension across the nation tightened like a drawn bowstring.

"We came here because we need your help." Sweetie Belle said. "Equestria was once peaceful, until the Caribou came."

"They destroyed our cities, burned our homes, and sold every female into slavery." Applebloom said. "We had to listen to one of our Princesses being raped as we ran away."

"We ended up in France, and we met the US Army when they came to pick us up." Scootaloo said. "They've taken good care of us, but our home is still in danger."

"We couldn't fight the Caribou." Sweetie Belle said. "We couldn't do anything as we were forced into slavery. But you...you can."

"We're not diplomats, nor generals, or great statesmen." Apple Bloom said. "But you are."

"We're begging you, save Equestria, save our home." Scootaloo finished. "Thank you."

As they departed, Roosevelt spoke once more.

"We have already begun developing a device to transport armed forces to their world, thanks to blueprints captured from the Germans. And once this device is rendered operational, we will go to Equestria and show these Caribou our strength, our power."

"However, now is not the time. Our own conflicts continue to divide us. Until the tyranny of the Nazis and Imperial Japan are toppled, we cannot fight this war. But it will be fought, in time."

As Roosevelt continued to speak, the fillies headed over to Sergeant Redford.

"So, you're not leaving immediately?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, we'll leave for Equestria as soon as the Nazis and the Japanese are defeated." Redford said. "Rest assured, though. We'll be going over as soon as it's done."

As the fillies watched Roosevelt conclude his speech, there was silence.

Then, the loudest roar of applause anyone had ever heard. As cheers and whoops of readiness echoed around them, Redford smiled.

"Seems we're right behind you." he said. "As it should be."

Soon, the fillies had countless interviews, countless photographs, and countless small speeches. They knew that Equestria would be freed…

If only they could endure the wait.

Author's Notes:

Update!

Next time-Two Years pass, and under President Truman, the US Military ships out from Colorado, through the Rift Gate to Equestria.

And their first target? Ponyville.