Cultural Exchanges
“Thank God they made it,” was all Bannon could say at the moment. “We’ve finally got help.”
With a portal open, the rest of Team Yankee’s battalion could finally get through, and with that supplies. What was even better for Bannon was that he finally had a way home; he wasn’t able to go there yet, but still it was there.
With the rest of Equestria safe for the time being, Team Yankee was allowed to go and meet up with the rest of the battalion. The battalion was composed of three other companies; Team Bravo, another armor-heavy company, and companies C and D, which were made up of infantry. Personally, Bannon felt they would be better off without Company C, as their commander, and by extension the troops, were incompetent, disrespectful, and overall inefficient. Unfortunately, Colonel had to bring along his little pet of a company commander, the one Bannon was presently sitting next to in the small tent that would be used for the briefing.
Bannon was actually more scared than anything else; Colonel Sawyer already let him know he was not going to take this lightly. The old man had a real General Patton mood on all day every day, minus Patton’s tactical genius. He was just thankful the Princesses were both here to speak on his behalf.
“Hey, Bannon,” the staff S-3, Major Jordan, nudged, “the old man’s here.”
Looking outside, Bannon saw a command jeep driving down the road. The four antennas attached to it flung about wildly, never being tied down. The most identifiable marking was a large black ‘6’ superimposed on the blue license plate, thoroughly violating every security measure the Army had.
The jeep came to a halt in front of the tent, an older Lieutenant Colonel stepping out. Walking into the tent, all of the men stood to salute him. The colonel returned the salute and the men returned to their seats as he took his own at the end of the table.
“Captain Bannon,” he began. “Where the hell have you been and what the hell have you been doing?”
“We’ve been stuck here when the war back home broke out and we’ve been fighting ever since.”
“Just what in that thick skull of yours made you think that was a good idea?”
Bannon lost it at that. He hadn’t planned on this to happen; he didn’t even think it was possible. What made this guy think he even wanted to be here when his family back home was in danger?
“What do you mean? You think I planned this? Like I had some secret to escape to a land of pretty ponies and drag my whole company with me while everyone back home died?” Bannon asked, standing up angrily. “That’s just damned stupid!”
“Calm down, captain! Otherwise the only thing waiting at home for you will be a court-martialing!”
Bannon sat back down and relaxed. He kept telling himself that he couldn’t have outbursts like this. There was always something no one could control that happened to him; not enough of this, too much of that, this guy’s got a disease, this guy got his foot blown off, the men on the flanks are retreating, the rear HQ is getting shelled. And, of course, you and your men are transported to an entirely different dimension. It really got to him when stuff that people can control happened, especially when it happened because of mindless idiocy like Garger’s at first. This just felt insulting.
“Captain, I understand you had no intention for this to happen,” Reynolds explained. “What I meant was why did you think it was a good idea to intervene in this war?”
“Well, it looked like they were in some serious trouble, sir. I did think it would be within our ideals to help protect them from a dictator.”
Reynolds rubbed his head.
“Even if it is, captain, we’re already in a war. Do you know how bad things are in Germany? NORTHAG is getting crushed and the Russians are nearly at the Dutch border. We need everyone and everything there, and we can’t afford to piss off another country that we have to fight. Our hands are just too full.”
“I understand, sir, but we kicked them out of this country rather easily, and their leader is coming to meet with us today to talk about peace.”
“We think that’s what he’ll want to do, Bannon,” Reynolds replied. “He might just be coming to declare war on us.”
“If I may, Colonel,” Celestia interrupted. “I do believe my nation owes your Captain here a debt for rescuing us. Even if you have made new enemies, you have also made some allies.”
Reynolds raised his eyebrows.
“Would you kindly not talk in riddles, ma’am.”
“Since your Captain aided us with our war, I am willing to offer my assistance to yours.”
Bannon was surprised at this; he didn’t think they would be so willing to help. Even if their magic was useless against vehicles, it could still help in other ways; and he was pretty sure the Russians didn’t have flying horses. Maybe there was something important hidden in there.
“We’ll see about that when things are cleaned up here,” Reynolds replied. “Now when’s this guys supposed to show up?”
“Now, actually, he’s flying down right now.”
“Flying, what’s-”
He was interrupted as a large dark brown pegasus strode angrily into the tent.
“Oh right, wings,” Reynolds sighed. “So are you Leon-”
The Pegasus walked right by him and up to Bannon, getting into his face.
“You! You are the one responsible for this!” he snarled. “How dare you intervene in my liberation of this country!”
Bannon didn’t take lightly to this, standing up and making the most of his superior height.
“First of all, can the ‘liberation’ crap,” he shot back. “I’ve heard that line back on my world a million times by people like you, so you can drop the ‘man-of-the-peasants’ gig, you power-hungry maniac.”
The pegasus’ face grew bright red in anger, searching for a response.
“It doesn’t matter, you and your men will pay the full price in your vain attempt at rescuing this monarch!” he growled.
“Are you threating the guys that just kicked you out?” Bannon asked. “You really are delusional, huh?”
“I will have my vengeance on you, and when this world is united, yours is next!”
All of the humans seemed stunned by this response.
“Is that a declaration of war?” Reynolds asked. “I don’t take threats against my men and country lightly.”
“I will have my revenge on you, all of you!” he said. “And you, and your ‘Yankees’ will be first!”
The pegasus walked back out and took off into the skies, flanked by some guards.
“Peace, huh Bannon?” Reynolds asked. “Well, I suppose we’d better get out of this hole you’ve dug us all into.”
This had been the first time the team had actually been able to stop and interact with the town and its residents. Many were still a little too afraid to come out and interact directly, even if these humans had just rescued their town. The men didn’t mind, though; they were going to relish their break as much as they could.
Most of them did one activity or another to pass the time. Avery and Garger spent a good deal of time sitting on the back of the 41 tank, eating and catching up for the first time in a long time. Pinkie had been the most welcoming at first, with the men willing to buy food from the bakery to get a break from the rations they always ate; there was some problems with the currency at first before she decided to just give them away as a thank you present. Blackfoot fashioned a makeshift pillow out of his rucksack and took a nap on a bench next to his track.
The thing that struck the ponies most of all were the activities themselves; many were talking like normal ponies would, but it was what they were talking about that was different. Their world apparently had far more issues than Equestria.
“And Reagan just looks straight into the camera and says ‘We begin bombing in five minutes’,” McAlister said, gaining some hearty laughs from his crew, as well as Weiss’. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard that, Weiss; he said that back in ’84!”
Apparently, Rainbow thought this would be a good time to start a conversation.
“Who’s Reagan?”
“He’s our president,” McAlister replied, “the leader of our country.”
“What was he talking about?”
“He was making a joke about passing a law to outlaw the Russians.”
Rainbow tilted her head sideways with a confused look.
“Uh…how was he planning on doing that?”
“By bombing them,” McAlister replied with a chuckle.
“What?” Rainbow asked, surprised. “And you guys are wondering why you’re at war with them; you’re leader is nuts.”
“Wondering, no; we’ve been at each other’s throats for decades,” Weiss explained, stunning Rainbow even more. “Be honest, we’re all tired of living in fear of it. It was bound to happen at some point, and now it has; might as well have a laugh or two over it.”
“Unlike with IC,” McAlister’s driver added. “Man, he messed up with that.”
“IC?” Rainbow asked.
“Iran-Contra,” McAlister said, turning back to his driver. “All the same, his defense spending is part of the reason we aren’t driving Pattons anymore.”
“He gets a lot more crap than I think he should,” the loader added. “They keep complaining about his physical fitness; why does it matter?”
As that conversation deteriorated, Rainbow diverted her attention to Weiss and his crew.
“Damn it, you spoiled the ending!”
“Yea, and when Marty gets home his family is actually pretty good,” Weiss said. “Like his father is an author and his mom is really hot and everything.”
“Aw, c’mon, LT,” the driver moaned. “I haven’t seen it yet; you can’t stop talking about it for just a minute?”
“No,” Weiss chuckled.
“So they made a time machine out of a DMC-12?” the loader asked.
“Yea, something about the specific design allowing it to travel through the…something.”
After listening to that, Rainbow decided it wouldn’t make much sense, either.
One of the other sources of attention was a makeshift football game between some of the tankers and the Mech platoon. The crowd of ponies sat next to the humans on the sidelines, watching the game with them and getting startled whenever the men started cheering. They did have a similar game in Equestria with a similar ball, but since they had hooves instead of fingers, some of the rules and moves were radically different.
Another, smaller spot of attention was a throwing match between Hebrock of 24 tank and Rhoads from 22. They gained a small crowd by tossing another football between each other, the catch being that they had to stay on each other’s tanks. Finally, Rhoads threw a higher pass and Hebrock reached out to catch it. He accomplished this, but also fell off the back of the tank and into the grass which blessedly enough was rather soft. He groaned and got back up, stretching out a bit to make sure he was ok.
Of all the ponies in town, Lyra was the most sociable with the troops. For some strange reasons, she felt a strange attachment to them; even to the point of stopping and talking with each tank crew. They were, in turn, happy to see someone from the town willing to be so sociable with what were basically aliens.
The last track she wanted to visit was Uleski’s 55 tank, which was parked a ways away from it. Trotting over towards it, she noticed that the four crewmen seemed to be working on their vehicle. Coming closer, she also heard a strange sound emanating from its direction.
“Ok, Newman, hand me the spare antenna!” gunner Gwent called to 55’s loader over the song, who handed him the tank’s spare radio antenna to replace the shredded one.
“Gwent, how’s the antenna replacement coming?” Uleski asked.
“Nearly done, sir!”
“Good,” Uleski replied, turning to driver Lorriet, who was on the ground inspecting the wheels, track, and sprockets. “Lorriet, how’s everything looking down there?”
The driver gave a thumb up as he continued looking closely for any loose or damaged parts.
“Hey!”
Uleski turned around from his position on the front near the barrel to see the pony walking up to his vehicle. He motioned for Gwent to kill the portable stereo resting on the back of the tank next to him as he jumped down. He always loved to see the faces of people who saw that and asked ‘how the hell did you get that?’ But, be it this or that can of coke; he’d mastered the art of acquiring items others couldn’t.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. “1st Lieutenant Uleski, at your service miss…”
“Lyra, and…what was the sound coming out of that? Was that music?”
“Hm? Oh, yea; the boom box. Yep, that’s our music.”
“How does that thing make music? I’ve never seen anything make music like that?”
“So you’re a musician, huh?” Uleski asked. “Well it doesn’t really ‘make’ the music; it just plays it from a recorded cassette.”
He jumped back onto the tank before she could ask anything else.
“You want to hear some more?” he asked from the cupola.
“Yea, it sounds great!”
“Ok, let me take a look at my little collection,” he said, going into the tank and popping back out with another cassette tape. “Perfect! Hey Gwent, stick this in and hand Boston back to me.”
“Ah, good choice, sir!” he said, putting the tape into the machine and turning up the volume.
“Not too bad, huh?” Uleski asked to Lyra, who had been dancing in her own world through most of the song.
“Huh? O-oh yea, it was pretty good,” she said, blushing a bit from her act.
“Hey, don’t feel embarrassed; good music does that to its listeners. You didn’t hear me singing along badly to it?”
“I couldn’t hear, honestly.”
“Well trust me, you didn’t want to,” he chuckled. “I’d hate to make you sick of our music because of my voice.”
Lyra laughed surprisingly hard at this.
“You want to listen to some more?”
“Yea!”
“Alright, let’s see if I can find something a little different. Hm…ah, here we go; this’ll be fun!” he said, handing Gwent yet another tape.
Bannon spent most of the remaining time talking over supplies with the rest of the staff. The biggest shortage was actually the radio antennas of the tanks; the HE rounds that did explode on their sides tended to shred them and he had to actually get up in his cupola and yell to the others which way to go. Though the spares on each track were being used to replace them, they had no reserves of these left. Unfortunately, there was only enough left in the battalion’s supply to augment half the team.
Most of the personal care issues were being fixed, despite the battalion being unable to do it. The town had been very willing to help with what they could. The men of the team treated themselves to a nice bath in the Spa, the owners of which also offered to help clean the laundry. Even if it did get crowded, the troops weren’t looking for an all-around treatment, just enough to make them smell human again. Not to mention the tips they left were rather generous, or would be once the currency issue was straightened out.
Many of the ponies offered to let the troops sleep in their homes on whatever bed was available, right down to the couches; this was probably the biggest blessing to the tired men. Most of the food they ate at the time was also cooked by Ponyville’s residents, giving them a break from the cold and rubbery food they usually acquired.
Thankfully, fuel, ammo, and the most serious requirements were being met well. Spare parts and fresh shells were being loaded onto the tanks and any armored plates that were too damaged were being replaced by the mechanics.
The last and most important issue was on the replacements for those lost. That, too, was being solved, in both men and material. And the deceased, of course, were returned to the States.
That left Bannon where he was now, sitting in the library late at night, trying to think of what to write to the families of the deceased. It certainly was not the best part of the job as the dozens of ideas flew through his head became more and more angry.
“Your son passed away while bravely defending innocent…ponies?”
“No,” Bannon said to himself. “It’s got to sound more serious.”
But just how serious was this whole thing, anyways?
“Your son passed away defending a bunch of alien horses that no one knew about in a war no one cared about. Unfortunately, those efforts were not enough as we are still currently at war with them; thanks for your cooperation.”
“Damn all,” Bannon sighed. “How the hell do I explain this? These people lost friends, sons, husbands; all for what?”
His soul-searching was interrupted by Twilight.
“Captain, do you mind if I ask a few questions about your world now?”
“I’m busy,” he replied sharply.
“Why not? I’ve been waiting patiently for you to finish working; you can’t stop writing a letter for five minutes?”
“No, it’s too important.”
“Well, maybe I can help write it,” she suggested. “I’ve written dozens to Princess Celestia-”
“You know how to tell this mother that her son was killed fighting your war?”
Twilight stared at this.
“Oh, I’m…I’m really sorry; I-I didn’t know it was that kind of letter.”
“It’s alright,” Bannon replied, still starring at the blank sheet on the desk. “It’s just…hard is all; I just don’t know what to say.”
“Well, I’ll let you…take care of that. Maybe…uh. Actually, I’ll just go to bed; I’m sorry for interrupting you, Captain.”
“It’s ok, you didn’t know; sleep well.”
“Oh, and captain; could you thank his family for what he did?” she asked.
Bannon wasn’t really expecting this, but understood.
“Of course, you sleep well.”
As she trotted upstairs, her request finally gave Bannon an idea of what to say.
‘Your son for many reasons, even if he didn’t know it; he died protecting a world from aggression, he died fighting for his friends next to him, and he died doing what he believed was the right thing to do. I am proud to have had him as a soldier in my company. The innocents he was defending, as well as myself, wish to thank you and him for your service during these difficult times. And please remember that no matter what happens, no matter how long this war lasts or it's outcome, we will always remember his sacrifice. Please take care.
Sincerely-
Captain Sean Bannon, Company Y commander.’
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- lockheed · 209k words · 177 50 · 7.8k views
- Eagle · 50k words · 279 15 · 7.3k views
- Eternal Aviator · 9.6k words · 102 19 · 3.1k views
- An A10 Warthog · 7.6k words · 316 31 · 6.7k views
- Merchent343 · 0 words · 403 36 · 0 views
- boredhooman · 11k words · 203 9 · 7k views
- Eagle · 25k words · 133 5 · 3.6k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.16 seconds
Total duration
1,077 users online
1,438,972 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This chapter... it gave feels. Well worth the wait.
3439975
I've been working on other titles, as you can see. Sorry it took so long.
3440012
No worries, I can wait if it means the chapter will be a good one.
I was wondering if Bannon was taken/based on the Bannon from WiC. love the game, trying to get the book.
3440618
The name of Bannon and his position as a tanker was taken from the book (written in '87), but the book Bannon was far more competent. The character of Col. Sawyer and his attitude was probably directly based on Lt. Col. Reynolds from the novel.
When I heard the name Sawyer, I was like 'WiC crossover? Again? I guess I'm not the only one who's made one.' Then when I read the author's note, and I was sad. Oh well, great chapter.
3440757
Well, like I said: a lot of WiC is based on this book, such as the names.
I've read your story, and it's not too bad at all. You should feel proud for being the only one to do something no one else has thought of, rather than just capitalize on CoD's popularity.
3440782
Eh, I decided to do it out of the blue: Made my account and published the first chapter, all within a three hour span. It's grown.
As for CoD: I hate it anyway. WiC being based off of the book make sense.
3440819
Hey, that's how I did my first story.
And as for games, have you seen the Wargame series? It's spectacular, but I don't have any brony friends on there.
3440638 good to know!
HOW WOULD THEY REPAIR REACTIVE ARMOR?!?!?!?!
3440846
I have both of them. They'd make for a terrible crossover, but they're good game.
DMC-12 is the GMC De-Loren. Isn't it.
bon jovi, could you make this story any more badass? you get all of my best pony waifu.
3441388
I'd think that any plate that's damaged must be cut out and replaced with a fresh one.
3441467
Well, find me on AirLand Battle; name's the same.
3448520
Where would they get the reactive armor plates then?
3448619
From the portal that just opened to their world that everyone and everything else came from...
Remember that WW3 is going down on Earth, and they've been waiting a while for it; so rest assured the supplies are stocked up and plenty more is coming from the states.
3448520
That's correct on the reactive armor fix. A Maintenance Contact Team comes in and repairs or replaces any of the mounting brackets that get damaged when the block detonates, then the crew bolts on a new block. Barring hull or turret damage, it's an hour or two to fix.
Still looking good on the story, btw. Keep it up.
3529202
Thanks
3555360 LOL
Good Pun
3448656
What we need is something from Equestria to invade Earth, basically cutting any chance of WWIII short and banding humanity together against the threat. Maybe these guys can provoke that...
3732984
You know I'm not going to be able to read every single one of these, right?
Just read through the whole thing and do one post, if you can.
3768051
That's the improved M1A1 Abrams and it's descendants that bear the 120s; the original M1 Abrams design used a 105mm M68, a variant of the Royal Ordinance L7.
3768068
Ah, thanks for clarifying. I did not know that the first M1 Abrams variant mounted the Patton's gun.
3968974
At some point, yes.
3971215 so,was the M68 the Vietnam-era main battle tank,that used the hydrolics?
4112858
Yes. It was basically a gun that served through that time period.
4113526 thanks for clarification :)
Hmm... I like this. Being AF, the closest I get to armour is the Leopard 2A6M CAN when we load up at Trenton, but they are mighty impressive. This is a very enjoyable fic. Keep it up.
I check this story, every so often, hoping for an update. Tonight, I saw your blogposts regarding Man in Black, Rainbow 6, and Brothers in Arms (and, even if I haven't commented on those, I've read and enjoyed them).. I fully understand that you have priorities, and I agree with them - if meatspace requirements conflict, then ya gotta take care of the meatspace requirements, end of discussion. And if your muse is speaking to MiB, BiA, and R6, then run with it, before your muse gets away. Do as you think best.
And yet, I'm sorry that Team Yankee hasn't been updated for a while now (probably because I identify with tankers, be they doggie or jarhead!).I'll admit I've been out of it for a while and it's been a few since I've read Maj. Coyle's book, but... If there's anything I can say or do to help you jumpstart this fic, let me know - be it consulting on tech details, or insights into life in a tank company, or whatever, PM me, and I'll do what I can.
Interesting variation that may spark something (remember that I haven't read either version in several years): If you recall, I mentioned that there was a graphic novel adaptation of Maj. Coyle's novel, scripted by David Drake. Early on, there was a scene when Yankee was rejoining with 2/78 Infantry after their near-disastrous advance when Yankee was cut off and defending key terrain alone. They were eventually relieved by friendlies, and they drive back to an assembly area. They pull up next to a gaggle of troopers, sitting at a checkpoint, smokin' and jokin', and Bannon asks, "What unit is this?" The trooper sasses him.
In Coyle's novel, Bannon flies out of the commander's cupola of his tank turret and snarls, "On your feet, you sorry excuse for a soldier!" and spends several; minutes discussing the trooper's failings in military courtesy and decorum, behavior on a combat checkpoint, ancestry, origins, and probable destiny, but eventually gets the trooper to admit that he's Charlie Company., 2/78, and to give Bannon directions to the Bn TOC.
In Drake's adaptation, Bannon dismounted before asking, "What unit is this?" The trooper asks, "Who the hell wants to know?" Bannon, in a murderous silence (remember, in both versions, he's just had to effectively bury his driver, as well as much of his company), draws his pistol, racks the slide, and places the muzzle between the troopers eyes, as the rest of Yankee watches, ready, willing, and downright eager to slaughter anyone who challenges their captain,,,,
"You get ONE more chance, trooper... WHAT UNIT IS THIS?!?"
"S-s-sir! Charlie Company, Fightin' F-first of the Seventy-Eighth!" (Probably artistic license on Drake's part, since the trooper misidentified his battalion as First rather than Second - or failing memory on my part, since, as I've said, it's been a while...)
All of Team Yankee dissolves into jeering laughter. "Bannon smiles like a wolf and lowers his pistol. "Well, trooper, you can tell 'em that Team Yankee is back from the dead...."
Drake does "Grimmer than Hell" better than any other author I can recall reading, but it may not fit the story you want to tell. Still, I'm putting it out there, in the holes that it may spark something...
4292432
The same mood can be applied to all my work, its just easiest to do three instead of one blog post per story. Though your offer is wonderful all the same. Thanks.
I cannot find the book , but I recognize the names in the story. Wow! a year now, hope you return to the story & finish it.
Good story so far
*checks his watch* Hmmm....
When will the next chapter b out this story is good
damn i hope this awesome story isn't dead
Is this story dead because it has been about three years since the last chapter.
6828691
I'd have to say more or less, kind of. Since I've grown in skill I'm not a fan of my older work, and I'm more interested in my later work. Stuff like NtE and R6 and future stuff is what I want to work on. I mean if i got really bored and got a sudden urge I'd probably write for it again (same with other stories, hence why I leave them on hiatus) but the chance for this one in particular is rather low. I'm real sorry, I hate having my stuff unfinished, too.
If it's any consolation, I did make out the basic plot for the full story, as I do with most of my stuff. If you want I can PM you what I had planned, so it's not a total stop.
7044266
The M1A1 uses a 120mm. The vanilla M1 has just a 105.
The fact that the tank commander is named Bannon wouldn't happen to be a "World in Conflict" reference, would it?
7342760 yea I just realized he wasn't talking about the m1a1 that was my bad
6855559 HOORAH!!
7426329
Beautiful,
Absolutely beautiful.
And now I will wait. For years if I must.
7819912 co-ax gun anti infantry machine gun that puts none of your guys at extreme risk.
8272386
I may be remembering wrong, but wasn't a she turned out at the time it was fired ?
9526412
Bit late to the party there, ain't ya?
its your leader is nuts not you’re leader is nuts