//------------------------------// // Windows to the past // Story: No mare left behind // by Aqua_Breeze //------------------------------// "I can only imagine they weren't too happy with that," Shining Amor said. "No, they weren't," Twilight confirmed, "In fact, when I was fit again, I go a taste of the roughest workout I've ever had to participate". "It couldn't possibly have been too bad," Rainbow Dash said. "You try doing about a hundred push ups, a three mile run and then twenty five wing ups the day after your get out of the infirmary and tell me it's not difficult," Twilight said, a hint of anger in her voice. "Point taken," Rainbow Dash said. "And my brothers suffered right there with me," Twilight said, "But they had to keep going until I was able to finish each exercise". "Makes sense," Shining Armor said, "You all suffer, some more than others, so that you don't do anything you're not supposed to next time". "Anyway, I wasn't even going to mention that incident yet," Twilight said, "I actually wanted to show you something first". "That being?" Celestia asked. "These," Twilight said as she levitated a few pieces of paper onto the table. "So this is what a human looks like," Luna said as she examined one of the pieces of paper, "Very interesting". "That's me and Nick just after I was promoted to Sergeant," Twilight said. "He looks friendly enough," Celestia said. "When he's not in combat, he's about as threatening as a breezie," Twilight said, "That day was also the first time they saw me transmute something". "What did you make?" Luna asked. "Their cameras can only take pictures in black and white, and they weren't very portable," Twilight said, "So I turned one of their cameras into a camera like one you'd see a tourist carrying here in Equestria". "So you turned a camera into a camera?" Rainbow Dash asked. "A better one at that," Twilight said, "And it wasn't that easy, either. With my weakened magic, I about caused myself to pass out to give them a color film camera". "I doubt you regret it, though," Luna said before picking up another picture, "And who are all these humans?". "That's my whole platoon," Twilight said, "The one standing to the right is captain Dreadson". "Well, he actually looks a little terrifying," Luna said. "He IS terrifying," Twilight said, "But he's one of the best leaders I know... discounting you two". "And judging by this picture, I assume these humans are about eye level with my sister," Luna said, "Am I right?". "There are some like that, and others not," Twilight said, "I do believe I met a human once who was actually eye level with me. Oh, and he was an adult as well". "What's the point of this moment?" Shining Armor asked, levitating a picture over to Twilight. "That's me, Nick, and a couple more marines raising an American flag after the struggle to take an island known as Iwo Jima," Twilight explained, "But I'll talk more about that when I get to that point". "And what's going on in this picture?" Applejack asked, pushing over a picture of Twilight with another human. "That's my first meeting with the President of the United States," Twilight said, "When he got word of my being in his country's military, he wanted to meet me in person". "How did he react when he saw you for the first time?" Celestia asked. "He was very professional," Twilight said, "In fact, he reminded me of you". "How so?" Celestia asked. "He's a strong leader. Firm, but fair," Twilight said, "And he didn't try to alienate me in any way. He wanted me to feel welcome, wanted me to feel like I belonged, and to know that I could trust him just like I trust you". "Well, it certainly makes me happy to know there's someone like that in that world," Celestia said. "What in Equestria is THAT thing?" Rainbow Dash asked, holding up a picture of a rather large ship. "That's the USS Enterprise, an aircraft carrier," Twilight said, "After I became a lieutenant, and got my own squad, I was stationed on her for the remainder of the war. Took me a little over a week to get used to living on a ship like that, but I eventually came to take pride in it... like the rest of her crew". "Ship? You trying to tell me that thing is able to float?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I was amazed as well, and I still don't fully understand how she can stay afloat, but she can," Twilight said. "And ya called it an aircraft carrier... but what does that really mean?" Applejack asked, "Ya make this ship sound too special ta be just a simple transport". "An aircraft carrier is the most important ship on a fleet," Twilight explained, "Not only do they house a nice, large crew, but they also carry planes towards the enemy. Without them, we'd never get our planes overseas". "Ok, but can they fight at all?" Applejack asked. "They do have anti-aircraft guns and the planes they carry to defend from aerial threats," Twilight explained, "But they rely mostly on the cruisers and destroyers to defend them from enemy ships. They do have some specialized planes to help deal with enemy ships, but they carry mostly fighters to deal with aerial threats". "I just wanna know why you keep calling a ship a 'she'," Rarity said. "It's how humans talk about stuff like that," Twilight said sheepishly, "I kinda adopted the habit myself". "Tell me, Twilight, what would you say if I could find a way to allow you to visit this world any time you want?" Celestia asked. "Well... I would like to go back from time to time, if only to visit my friends there," Twilight said. "Would we be able to go as well?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't see that as a problem," Celestia stated, "Do you, Twilight?". "I don't see it causing any issues," Twilight said. "Well, in that case, I'll take a visit to the royal library when I get back," Celestia said. "And if it's not too much to ask, would it be ok for me to bring my human friends here?" Twilight asked. "I don't see why not," Celestia said, "But only a couple at a time". "Twilight, we got a visitor!" called out a voice from the doorway. As Twilight turned to see who the visitor was, her eyes fell upon a very familiar form. Standing in the doorway was a pink alicorn with a purple, pink, and tan mane. It took Twilight a few seconds to register who it was, but, when she remembered, she couldn't contain her excitement. "Cadence!" Twilight called out as she ran over. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!" The two chanted as they went through the motions of their ritual greeting. "I'm so happy to see you're alright," Cadence said, "Though, if you don't mind me asking, where have you been?". "Fighting a war in another world," Twilight said. "I'm sorry, what?" Cadence asked, unsure of what she just heard. "I'll catch you up in a bit," Twilight said, "For now, why you join the rest of us? I was actually sharing some of my better memories with the others". "Um... alright," Cadence said.