Hi. Um, my name is Chalkboard. I'm a Canterlot school teacher-or at least I used to be one. Taught for three years in history. Just around a few months ago my sister, Dartboard, and I joined the Canterlot Military Academy. I was drafted in-Dartboard joined voluntarily. Dartboard always did wanted to get into one of those tanks-she had posters of them all over her room. Me, I'm somewhat nervous about the concept of being in a tank crew. Maybe it had something to do with my slight claustrophobia, or the fact that tanks are almost always the first ones to head right into danger's way.
Anyway, we took a qualification exam to see which role we would fit the best. This included a background check and an assessment on our natural talents. Dartboard's is marksponyship, mine is teaching. We both qualified for commander positions, but Dartboard also qualified for secondary training as a gunner. We were assigned to different crews. I have to say, they were a curious bunch.
There was Far Shot, a yellow maned blue earth pony stallion with a slight anger issue; Carry All, a young brown maned tan unicorn stallion who apparently was really inept at magic; Merry Melody, a poofy orange maned yellow earth pony mare who love to talk and sing; and Trail Blazer, a blue maned grey pegasus mare that seems to always have a problem with superiors.
There were some slight problems on our first day of crew training-Far Shot would yell at me for telling him what targets to hit and Blaze (that's what Trail Blazer insists on us calling her) would sometimes drive from location to location a bit too aggressively, plowing down a good few trees and bushes along the way. She usually ignored the road and just drove through the shortest way posible to the next location. Carry All was pretty compliant-he loaded the tank rounds exactly when I call for him to load one, and he worked quick at swapping shell types. Merry Melody surprisingly remained quiet while we were at a firing ranges-she started singing traveling songs while we were driving between ranges. Carry All would sometimes sing along, Far Shot would just bob his head to the beat. Me, I just read a tanker's manual for our tank, a M4A3E8, while we are transitioning between ranges since Blaze won't take orders from me anyways.
Granted, that was just the first day. The two problem members of our crew gotten better over time. True, it wasn't fast, but a few conversations in our bunks helped lighten things up a little bit. As we spent more time together, I learned more about each of my crew.
Far Shot was from a family with a distinguished history in military service. He said that his dad, Arc Shot, always kept a PIAT under his bed-I don't know whether he was joking or not. Most of the members in his family are crack shots-it seemed like marksponyship ran in the family. He's not any different-I saw him hit a target six hundred and eighty meters away, center of mass. That was with a Lee-Enfield. From what I've read, that's outside the rifle's effective range (but not maximum range). With the Sherman's 76 millimeter gun, he can see and hit a target before I can properly identify it and call the shot. Heck, he sometimes idly points out targets and land features that I could only barely see with my binoculars. . He also has a sister at home that he cares deeply about.
Carry All's father was in the military, and still is today. He's a requisitions officer, but then again his name is Packall and his natural talent was storing things. As I guessed, he's not that good at magic. Sure, lifting and manipulating light objects like a pencil or a cup he can do, but he can't lift a tank shell with his magic-he has to do it manually like how a Earth pony or Pegasus does it. He also seemed a little nervous handling firearms at the infantry firing ranges. Admittedly, I did too.
Trail Blazer had a job before joining the military, like me. She was a airborne navigator and guide for travellers and aircraft. I guess that her navigational confidence comes from her profession. Hey, she hasn't gotten us lost before. She says her sister is also in the military-but as a pilot. Her sister said it was because she wanted to fly just like her-Blaze's sister was an earth pony, and thus flightless through natural means. I asked her what kind of plane her sister flew-she said it was a de Havilland Mosquito. I remember seeing a few of those before. It's a unique aircraft in that it's airframe was made out of plywood. Despite the cheapness of the material, it flew fast and can hit hard. On days where we drove outside of the Canterlot training grounds, she would tell me to take the wheel while she flew up above to look at the terrain. It's a good thing I read the manual.
Merry Melody was also from a military family, although it was only on her dad's side. On her mom's side there were many carefree ponies. If she were to believed, one of her ancestors was the Element of Laughter. I guess she inherited a little of both sides of the family. She also said she had a cousin in Ponyville. She joined the Academy so that she can follow her brother's footsteps. Her hair sorta...deflated when I asked her where he is now. She says she doesn't know. She hasn't gotten a letter from him for two months so far. So I then asked if there was something that reminded her of her brother. She said there was a old song by an Ancient named Vera Lynn that her brother played on a gramophone the day he left for Canterlot. She left the gramophone and vinyl record at home when she went to Canterlot. I promised her I'll find it-her hair poofed up a little, if only slightly.
I took a little guess at what the song was, and went to purchase a record of it in Canterlot during one of our off-duty days.The rest of the crew also gave me the money to buy it. That night, I gotten the crew together and started playing the song on a gramophone that I brought from home-it was a short walk from there to the academy. The song was calming-it had such a cheerful feel yet it also had a somewhat sad tone to it. I looked at Merry Melody-she had tears in her eyes. She then hugged me tightly, saying "Thank you." After a while, she finally let go. Her hair was all poofy again. By then the finale chorus of the song had begun. We all sang to it.
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It's been two weeks. Merry Melody is now in a cheerful mood almost all the time now. It could have something to do with the song I played for her, but she also started getting mail from her brother again. His platoon was operating in the far north and got stuck in a huge snowstorm. They were cut off from long range communication, but local griffons and changelings were friendly enough to help them through their predicament. From what he wrote in the letters, he became friends with a female griffon and a male Moscow changeling.
The griffons of the north were cold like their environment, but they can open up to new companions although rather slowly. The Moscow changelings are rather...eccentric about the culture that they've adopted. Apparently their hive is located in an old ruin of the Ancients that contained much history within. One night we even got a letter by dragon fire that had a photo of a group of them doing the "Cossack Dance." In it appears that they were singing. I wonder what song it was.
-30 Minutes Before-
"Oy polnym polna mоya korobushka
Yest' i sitets i parcha.
Pozhaley, dusha-zaznobushka,
Molodetskogo plecha.
Vyydu, vyydu v rozh' vysokuyu,
Tam do nochki pogozhu,
Kak zavizhu chernookuyu,
Vse tovary razlozhu.
Tseny sam platil nemalyye,
Ne torguysya, ne skupis',
Podstavlyay-ka gubki alyye,
Blizhe k molodtsu sadis'.
Vot uzh pala noch' tumannaya,
Zhdyot udalyy molodets.
Chu, idyot! – prishla zhelannaya,
Prodayot tovar kupets."
"An odd bunch, aren't they?" Sharp Turn commented.
"Indeed, but they do have talent, you can't argue with that," Clear Canvas replied. "They're singing Korobeiniki almost just like the Ancients did in the films and records."
Steel Lance, the brother of Merry Melody, took a picture of the group of dancing Changelings while his crew was discussing about the curious occurrence taking place.
"Hey, Lance! You want to hear a version of this song that the Brits created?" one of the Changelings in the group shouted.
"Sure, why not." Steel Lance replied.
"Alright friends, new song! The History of the Soviet Union!"
The group of Changelings stopped singing their song. The band that was accompanying them had stopped too, and some swapped out their orchestral instruments for ones more of the jazz variety. One of the changelings in the band pulled out an accordion and started singing.
"To Moscow I came seeking fortune
But they’re making me work til I’m dead
The bourgeoisie have it so easy
The Tsar’s putting gold on his bread
The people of Moscow are hungry
But think what a feast there could be
If we could create a socialist state
That cared for the people like me: "
The rest joined in. The melody was similar to their previous one.
"I am the man who arranges the blocks
That descend upon me from up above.
They come down and I spin them around
Til they fit in the ground like hand in glove.
Sometimes it seems that to move blocks is fine
And the lines will be formed as they fall -
Then I see that I have misjudged it!
I should not have nudged it after all.
Can I have a long one please?
Why must these infernal blocks tease?
I am the man who arranges the blocks
That continue to fall from up above.
Come Muscovite! Let the workers unite!
A collective regime of peace and love.
I work so hard in arranging the blocks
But the landlord and taxman bleed me dry
But the workers will rise! We will not compromise!
For we know that the old regime must die!
Long live Lenin, kill the tsar!
We salute the sickle and star!"
"Talent, huh?" Sharp Turn remarked, "I guess you're right, Canvas, they do have it. Ooh, I think I might've just gotten this one stuck in my head."
-Present-
I was wondering what kind of songs the Moscow changelings would sing, and while I was at that Merry Melody wrote a letter to her brother asking for a vinyl record of the song. She received a package about a week later.
Maybe I should have seen this coming, but she basically sang a song version of the history of the Soviet Union (one of the former regimes of the Ancients that ruled the area that the Moscow Hive now occupy) for the rest of the day. She was still humming it the day after. Admittedly, it was pretty catchy. Though maybe it also had something to do with me being more appreciative of history due to my former occupation as a history teacher.
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Eight months at the Academy, and we're already being shipped out. We're being assigned to the 20th Equestria Royal Armor Division, M company. They're stationed in Ponyville. I'll admit, it's nice to finally see something other than the bustling city that is Canterlot. And it will be certainly interesting to meet Merry Melody's cousin and Far Shot's family. We are to take the train, and then head to the small military base there. From what I've heard, it's pretty relaxed. Also, as part of being assigned there, we're going to get our own tank to have-a M4A3E2. It's like the E8 we've been training in, but slower and better protected.
We went to train station laden down with luggage. At the station was Mom, Dad, Dartboard and one of her friends, Loudmouth. Dartboard told me she's now a commander of a VK3001H. Her friend is the commander of a Jagdpanzer IV. He actually joined the military a year earlier-saw some action in a StuG III. Both of their crews were also carrying some heavy cargo with them. Loudmouth is a rather nice guy...it's just that he tends to shout a lot, but I don't really mind that.
Oh, did I mention he's the son of Jack Foremast? He's a very renown captain in the Equestrian Royal Navy, famous for leading the evacuation efforts during the Battle of Hippocampus Bay. He's also credited with apprehending about 20 pirate crews, at least 5 of them were armed with contemporary equipment and ships. There was even one time where his crew had successfully subdued the pirate crew of the Ark Royal II. As in THE Ark Royal II, Invincible-class. It was all over the newspapers-the technology in the hulking aircraft carrier was at least a good half century ahead of our own. Too bad much of the components had been cannibalized for a while now. I'm surprised that Loudmouth isn't having problems with having to live up to his father's fame.
That might be justified though-his crew seems to perform pretty well at their roles despite some disadvantages (the gunner had a tendency to fall asleep, the loader always has cooking grease on his hooves, and the driver keeps on getting the marbles annoyed out of her from the engine breaking down). Before we got on the train, Dartboard and I said goodbye to our parents and promised to write letters to them regularly.
All three crews had seats in the same car. While the train was leaving Canterlot, Dartboard and I exchanged stories of what happened over the eight months we were in the Academy. Her crew seemed to get in trouble a little bit-one time the driver accidentally set the gear to reverse and crashed the training tank into the rear of the garage. Another time the gunner accidentally knocked off the instructor riding on the tank. She also mentioned an incident in which the tank wounded up being completely covered in tree sap. As in tree sap all over the gun, the viewports, the suspension, the hatches, everything. It took them days to clean it off. You're probably wondering how did that happen. I did too. Dartboard says that I really don't want to know. I'll take her word for it.
I looked over behind my seat. Merry Melody was talking with Loudmouth. Something about singing. Evidently they had a few friends in Ponyville that want to do a little get together. Next to our seat, Blaze and Loudmouth's driver, Stingy Wheel, were having a conversation on maintaining tank engines. From what I remember Blaze telling me, she only handled plane engines before. Then again, some plane engines are also used in tanks, so she might not necessarily have no knowledge at all about tank engines. The rest of the train ride was mostly uneventful. I just kept to reading books-some of them novels, some history books, others are tank manuals I decided to pick up and look at in case we get any new tanks to use. Dartboard just tapped her right forehoof on the foreleg rest for most of the time.
When the train arrived at Ponyville, we gathered our belongings and exited the car. A few of us had to stretch a little due to sitting for so long. Today must've been a pretty busy day-there were ponies moving back and forth on the platform everywhere. I heard a very loud gasp and then saw a pink blur tackle Merry Melody. The tackler in question was a pink pony with a poofy pink mane and tail. The two looked so similar-this must be her cousin that she was talking about.
"Pinkie!" Merry Melody exclaimed.
"Merry!" the pink mare exclaimed back.
"How's my favorite cousin doing?"
"I'm doing great! I'm super duper excited that you came to Ponyville. Oh we could do so much together!"
I rubbed my eyes. It was as if I was looking at two Merry Melodies at the same time. If she wasn't wearing dual ponytails on her mane, the only difference between the two would be color and cutie mark (Merry's is a radio with a music note, Pinkie's is three balloons). I saw the other crew members meet up with whatever friends or relatives they had in Ponyville. Dartboard and I didn't have any in this town, so we just watched. Blaze was with her parents, a pegasus stallion and a earth pony mare. Farshot was talking with his mom and sister. Carry All was talking to his older sister and a stallion around his age whom I assume is his friend. I noticed that along with Pinkie was a purple maned white unicorn mare. Her hair was all curly.
We all started picking up our possessions. While the others had ponies to help them, Dartboard and I just decided to bear the weight of our luggage by ourselves. Right then the white unicorn noticed all the things I was carrying and walked over.
"I can carry some of your belongings," she said.
"Ah, no thanks. We can do it by ourselves," Dartboard replied.
"Nonsense, darlings. You two look like you might collapse!" the unicorn insisted.
She took a few of our luggage using her magic. I'll admit it-I didn't feel like I was going to tip over now that some of the weight has been taken off.
"Uh, thanks," I said.
"Oh no problem, dear," the unicorn replied.
"By the way, my name's Chalkboard. And here's my sister, Dartboard. What's yours?"
"My name's Rarity. Quite nice to meet you."
"Same here."
"I can see your friend over there has become acquainted with Pinkie Pie."
"Yeah, it's as if I'm seeing two of them. They're so similar."
"I've noticed."
We all walked outside. The weather was slightly dreary-the sky was gray and there was a slight drizzle. Granted, it was not too bad. I noticed that most of the houses here used thatched roofs and were made mostly of wood. Sort of gives a village kind of atmosphere, but that's why the called it Ponyville, right? We proceeded towards the military base near the town square. I tried not slipping on the paved road. While Rarity did take some of the weight off of me, it was still a little difficult trying to keep upright in such conditions.
Maybe I shouldn't have bothered, because what happened next knocked me over anyways.
"Watch out!" someone yelled.
I turned my head towards the direction of the speaker. All I saw was a rainbow streak before I got bowled over, launching me right into a mud puddle. My belongings were luckily in waterproofed bags. Unfortunately I didn't bring a raincoat. I was covered in mud. I'm going to need to clean my uniform after this.
"Whoops, heh heh. Uh, sorry," said the rainbow maned pegasus that crashed into me.
This town won't be boring, at least.