//------------------------------// // Run through the Jungle // Story: Team Yankee // by Eagle //------------------------------// “But I’m a princess now! Why can’t I know what’s going on!?” Twilight was in the middle of an argument with her brother when the three guards came in, deeply frightened. “Sir, we saw it! It was one of those armors, only it looked different!” one yelled. “Calm down and tell me exactly what you saw,” Shining replied. “We were going towards the Everfree when we were shot at with guns. We noticed there were dozens of them, so we retreated. Steadfast tried to fight back even though it wouldn't work; he was killed.” “You said dozens?” Shining asked. “Yes sir.” “They can’t have invaded this far without us knowing, could they?” he asked himself. “Invaded? That’s it! Shining, tell me what’s going on and what happened to Rainbow!” Twilight yelled. “If we’ve come under attack, I should know about it!” “I-I suppose you’re right,” Shining relented. “Gather up the rest of the Elements and I’ll explain.” The two stepped outside to get the others, but something caught their eyes. To the east, there was a large amount of black smoke, getting larger and larger by the minute. Thinking of what it could be, Twilight remembered how long Rainbow had been slacking off on raining the Everfree. “Oh no,” she said. “No no no! Forest fire!” That tree that the unicorn’s blast had hit was as dry as a desert, as was the rest of the forest. The instant it caught fire, there was no stopping it. By instinct, Bannon and the rest of the team battened down the hatches and prepared to move. “YANKEE ACTUAL-YOU THINKING WHAT I’M THINKING-OVER?” Uleski called over the net. “YEA, WE CAN’T GO INTO THAT VILLAGE, SO WE’LL GO BACK THE WAY WE CAME-ALL TRACKS BUTTON UP THIGHT AND HOLD YOU’RE BREATH-FALL IN BEHIND ACTUAL AND PREPARE TO MOVE FAST-WE’RE GETTING OUT OF HERE-OVER AND OUT.” Bannon didn’t have time to wait for replies. “DRIVER, GET US MOVING AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND DON’T STOP FOR ANYTHING.” “ALREADY ON IT.” The tank turned around and proceeded down the road as fast as the sharp turns would allow it, followed by the rest of the company. Since the fire had started from behind the team’s position, it was already in the way and spreading at a quick rate. Every now and then 66 would bounce a bit as it ran through a burning log or limb. There were several strange animals that were scattered about, but they seemed more scared of the tanks, so they stayed clear of the road. Flames licked at the 66 and the rest of the team as they sped along the way. It was getting pretty hot inside. Bannon started to wonder if they would make it out in time; they didn’t really teach you how to deal with a forest fire in tank school. He started to worry about how many of the team’s vehicles were ok. He instinctively reached for the radio, but decided against it, thinking it would distract some of the crews from their tasks. “DRIVER, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FURTHER?” “I THINK WE’RE ALMOST OUT, IF MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, SIR.” “LET’S HOPE IT DOES.” Sure enough, through the smoke and flames, Bannon spotted the exit. After a final turn, 66 had a clear shot at safety. Ortelli gunned the tank’s Honeywell AGT 1500 engine and shot forward, blasting through the exit in a cloud of smoke and flames. One by one, the other tracks came out in the same manner. Bannon counted up. All the men and machines had made it through the fiery gauntlet. Now he just had to figure out what to do now that he was back where he started. The pegasi had already started moving rain clouds to fight the fire, but the damage was done. Most of the forest had burned to the ground. All the elements and Shining could do was watch. “Oh, this is just awful!” Fluttershy cried. “Rainbow was with them when it happened,” Twilight said, turning to her brother. “Do you- do you think she’s-I mean-” “No, it’s not likely,” Shining replied. “It takes more than that to stop those machines, unless they just decided to leave Rainbow in the forest, and there’s no real reason to do that.” “Where do you think they went to?” “Back east, no doubt.” “Then we’re going after them!” “Alright, just-wait what!?” “Yea, we can’t just leave poor Dashie with those mean machine thingies!” Pinkie said, cutting him off. “Hold on, girls,” Twilight said. “Twilight don’t! You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into! I still haven’t explained things!” Before Shining could stop them, the five were gone in a bright flash. 66’s charge out of the forest left it a ways ahead of the others. While the rest of the team gathered up, Bannon kept an eye out for anything unusual. He also noticed that their prisoner was still sleeping contently on the floor. “Who the hell sleeps through all that,” Bannon said to himself. “Not to mention for that long.” Bannon returned his gaze to the field. It was good that he did, because something appeared over a small knoll heading in their direction. It looked like another tank. “GUNNER IDENTIFY-YOU KNOW WHOSE TRACK THAT IS?” “NO IDEA, SIR-IT DOESN’T EVEN LOOK LIKE AN ABRAMS.” Bannon looked closer and noticed what Folk was talking about. The tank’s body was a bit smoother and the turret was rounded. There was no doubt in his mind; it was a T-55. “THAT’S A T-55-ARE THE RUSSIANS HERE, TOO!?” “ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET READY FOR WHATEVER THEY’VE GOT PLANNED.” “WHAT IF THEY’RE IN THE SAME SITUATION AS WE ARE?” Before Bannon could answer, a there was a bright flash over to his left. He checked and noticed that, on a nearby knoll, the purple and orange horses had appeared, along with some of their friends. Things just got considerably worse. “THAT GROUP OF HORSES IS BACK-TO OUR LEFT-9 O'CLOCK-ON THAT SMALL HILL,” Bannon observed. “I GOT ‘EM,” Folk answered. “There it is!” Twilight said, spotting the tank. “That’s the thing that kidnapped Rainbow?” Rarity asked. “It looks rather…outlandish.” “Looks like he’s got a friend this time,” Applejack said angrily, spotting the second tank. “Yea, but it looks different,” Twilight noticed. “I wonder why it’s like that.” Almost as if one queue, the T-55 pointed its gun in the hill’s directing and fired. The shot hit the bottom of the hill and threw the ponies to the ground. They were shocked and scared from the massive force of the explosion. “HEADS UP, SIR-THE T-55 IS FIRING ON THE GROUP,” Folk said. “I CAN SEE THAT," Bannon retorted. “WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?” Bannon thought on this for a moment. Surely, this would be a decisive turn in their adventure here. He could either join the T-55 in shooting at the horses that had attempted to attack and kill him and his crew; doing this might make them friends with the other tank, who might know a way home. On the other hand, those horses might hold the key to that. Decisions, decisions. “OK, CREW PREPARE TO ENGAGE!” “AYE SIR, GUN READY!” “ROUNDS READY TO BE LOADED, SIR!” “READY TO MOVE OUT IF WE NEED TO, SIR!” Unfortunately for Bannon, Rainbow took this opportunity to wake up and break the thin rope that was holding her. “You’re going to pay for tying me up!” she said, moving up to Bannon and trying to hit him. “Nopony ties up Rainbow Dash!” Her punches hurt but not that much. To Bannon, it felt more like a muscular ten year old trying to hit him, especially with all the equipment and gear in the way. Still, he couldn’t focus on his job like this. Not to mention she was getting pretty annoying with all the talk. “And I swear, if you hurt any of my friends, I’ll-” Before she could finish, Bannon shoved her hard onto the metal floor. “Just sit down and shut up, kid!” Bannon yelled. Rainbow was taken aback by this, but she did nothing but watch as the team go to work. “LOADER-BATTLE CARRY SABOT.” “YES SIR” Kelp began the process of loading the round. “DRIVER, MOVE OUT-DON’T MAKE US A SITTING TARGET.” “COPY” Ortelli moved the tank forward once again. “GUNNER IDENTIFY-TARGET-T-55 TANK.” “IDENTIFIED” “SABOT UP” Bannon was about to find out if the crew’s year of training and the five million dollar tank could do what they were supposed to do: close in and destroy the enemy. “FIRE!” “ON THE WAAAY!” The tank’s main gun shot back with the recoil. The SABOT round sped out and flew to its target. Folk was rewarded with a hit right in the center of the T-55’s left side. Immediately, the tank stopped and shuddered. It then quickly caught fire and the ammo inside began to cook off. Twilight and her friends watched in awe from the small hill. The machine that they thought was their enemy had just killed what looked like their one of their own. And that one had been shooting at them, so it only meant one thing. “Did that thing just save us?” Pinkie asked. “I guess so,” Twilight answered, “but, why?” The M1 then rolled up close to their hill. For a minute, the elements thought they would be next, but they were surprised when the hatch on top opened. They were even more surprised when Rainbow popped out of it. “Hey guys, you gotta come check this out!”