//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: School of the Soldier // Story: Elements of Independence // by Paintbrush235 //------------------------------// Big Macintosh's POV "SHOULDER YOUR FIRELOCKS! Big Mac quickly grabbed his musket, which had been at the position of order, and brought it up to his shoulder, placing his left hand underneath the butt stock and bringing his right hand down to his right side in one quick motion. As he did so, so did 86 other members of his company. It had been a week and a half since Big Mac and his friends had arrived in the camp of the Continental Army and volunteered for service, and he was already starting to get the hang of soldiering. He had been assigned to the 3rd company of the 2nd Continental Infantry Regiment. Their company commander was Captain Harris Beckley, who Big Mac found out was a former carpenter from the colony of New York. Captain Beckley was a man of medium build and height, with a head of black hair and a pair of bright blue eyes on his lean face. At this point in time, he was standing off to the side of the company as he watched the man who was actually giving orders; Sergeant James McLanley. Big Mac had instantly felt intimidated when he first met the tough and tall sergeant from rural New York. The man exceeded his height by two inches and on his worn face was a scar under his left eye that the rest of the soldiers in the company said was from a tavern brawl over a woman. He was also a burly man and he used his strength in drill by shoving men into line when they were out of ranks and violently adjusting their muskets if the did the drill incorrectly. Despite this, Big Mac had grown to respect Sergeant McLanley over time. He recognized that he had to be stern and tough with the men in order to get things done. Big Mac had the made the mistake of messing up on the drill in front of McLanley, and received a loud and stern shout from the sergeant with plenty of profanities thrown in. After that, Big Macintosh never forgot to prime the pan when loading the musket. "FIX YOUR BAYONETS!" McLanely bellowed again, flecks of saliva flying out his mouth along with his commands. Big Mac and the rest of the company responded by bringing the musket down to their left side and then grabbed the steal socket bayonet from it's scabbard. They then brought the bayonets up to the muzzles of the muskets and locked them in place. When that was all done, Big Mac and the company came to a position of attention. "SHOULDER YOUR FIRELOCKS!" Soon the company had their muskets upon their left shoulders. "CHARGE YOUR BAYONETS!" And with that, Big Macintosh and the rest of the company brought their muskets down and pointed the long blades on the ends to their front. "SHOULDER YOUR FIRELOCKS!"/b] Back to the shoulder. "ORDER YOUR FIRELOCKS!" Down on the ground. "Alright you lazy lot, stand at ease!" Sergeant McLanley then walked over to Captain Beckley and brought his right hand up to his head in a salute, which the Captain returned. "The company is yours sir." McLanely said. "Thank you Sergeant." Beckley replied. "You may dismiss the men. That's enough for today." "Very well sir." McLanely saluted again and then turned around to face the line of men. "Company! Dismissed!" He shouted, and with that, the men broke their line formation and made their way back to their tents. Big Macintosh groaned to himself as he brought the heavy musket off of his aching shoulder. The drill wasn't easy, but Big Mac had somehow quickly picked up on the movements, much to the surprise of the officers of the regiment. He had been told that Captain Beckley had said that he was one of his best soldiers. Big Mac didn't think that was true though. He thought there were plenty of others in the regiment that were better soldiers than he was. From what he had heard, most of the men in the regiment had already experienced combat against the British Regulars, as Big Mac had been told was what they called the enemy. These men had had a great deal more experience, while his claim to combat experience was the crossing 2 weeks ago. If Big Mac was one thing, he was humble, and he realized he still had a lot to learn. "Hey Mac!" Big Mac turned around to the source of the voice. Standing behind him was his new friend, Oliver O'Toole, a plucky and skinny young teenager from Green Haven. The little red headed boy had been the first man that had spoken to Big Macintosh outside of drill when he arrived in the regiment. They had bonded through the fact that they were both farmers and they shared their stories of hard times, cold winters, that led to warm springs and bountiful crops. Needless to say, the two had become fast friends. Now the cheery young farmer walked up to Big Mac with a bright smile on his face. "Harris an' Corporal Carter found a goose while on patrol." He said with elation. "They're cookin' it up now. C'mon, let's get a piece!" Big Mac smiled and the two made their way over to the fire on the other side of the camp. Big Macintosh never thought that he would've been happy to eat a goose, much less any kind of meat, before he and his friends came here. Being a pony, or at least a former pony, he had never had meat in his life. Now, however, with the fact that the only food he had had recently was a kind of bread that the men called "fire cake", he felt that he could eat anything. He didn't feel that guilty after Twilight had explained to him and the rest of his friends that humans were an omnivorous species. Big Mac knew that this meant that now that he was a human, he had to eat meat to survive. He didn't like it entirely but it was what it was. Soon, Big Mac and Oliver arrived at the cook's tent of the 2nd Regiment, where they found the regiment's cook, Ivan Dorris and his assistant, Big Macintosh's friend, Pinkie Pie. When Pinkie Pie had told the Continentals that she was a baker back home, they had immediately asked for her services in preparing food for the soldiers. And just like back home, she perplexed and confounded them in every way imaginable. Though she lacked adequate ingredients and knowledge of the local recipes, the former party pony had been able to conjure up meals that the soldiers described as outstanding. But hey, that's just what Pinkie Pie does. She aims to please. "You got that right!" "Huh? What'd you say Pinkie?" Big Mac asked, confused as to just who the perky girl was talking to. "The big talking man Big Mac." Pinkie Pie replied. Big Mac was about to ask just who she was talking about when suddenly he was tugged away from the tent and toward the campfire. There, most of the men from his company were gathered around an iron pot with boiling water bubbling away inside. One of the men, Corporal Carter, was stirring the pot and eying it carefully as he tended to it. As Big Mac and Oliver approached, two of the soldiers, Private Fisher and Private White turned to them and made room for them to sit down. "Have a seat lads." Fisher smiled, "We got an early Christmas feast here." "Yeah c'mon boys." White piped up. "The Corporal here knows just how to fix it up." Big Mac and Oliver sat down between the two men and warmed themselves with the fire. Big Mac was starving, and was ready for a meal that consisted of something other than hardtack and water. Though while Big Mac and the rest of his company sat by the warm fire, out in the cold and wild Jersey woodlands, one of his friends was in a very different position. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash's POV Rainbow Dash walked as slowly as he could through the dense and dead underbrush, his footsteps muffled by the light snow on the ground. In his right hand, he held a pistol, loaded and half-cocked. His left hand held onto the scabbard of a small sword, still in it's place, so as not to let it rattle. He quickly looked behind him, and saw two other men who were with him, Private Woodward, or "Woody" as they called him, and Corporal Reilly. All three of them moved slowly through the woods, led by another man who was about two yards in front of Rainbow. The man's name was James, Sergeant James, a burly man in his late thirties, who carried a Pennsylvania rifle in his hands, and hanging from his belt was a long knife and a hatchet. These men belonged to the 5th Continental Regiment, to whom Rainbow Dash had been assigned to. The group was on a scouting mission, and the mission was simple enough on paper. Make your way southeast to the banks of the Delaware river and observe any enemy activity that presents itself. Getting to the river wasn't so simple however. They had to do their best to remain unseen by any locals, as they had now way of knowing who was a friend, or who was a Tory. Tories! When that had been explained to Rainbow Dash, it had made his blood boil. Being the embodiment of the Element of Loyalty, the idea that the former friends and neighbors of these patriots would turn against them really struck a chord with him. He would never abandon his friends! Never! The group had been slowly trekking through the trees for about an hour now, and according to Sergeant James, they were nearing the river bank. Soon, Rainbow and the others began to hear the sounds of rushing water and soon enough, they had reached the edge of the woods were it met the Delaware. The group then set up a short line in the brush and tall grass just before the banks. Rainbow Dash shuddered slightly when he looked at the river. Memories came rushing back to when he and his friends had first crossed the river with the Continentals, and back to when Rainbow Dash killed someone for the first time. He quickly shook these thoughts out of his head. He had had no choice. The redcoat he had killed was trying to kill him and his friends. He had been protecting them, just as he was now. "Dash." Rainbow turned his head toward the whisper and saw Sergeant James gesturing for him to approach. He made his way over to him and when he got to the sergeant, he was handed a spyglass. "Take a look o'er there Dash." The burly man from Pennsylvania said, pointing across the river. "Tell me what ya see lad." Dash glanced at the sergeant before placing the spyglass to his eye and looking across the expanse of water. He saw what appeared to be a small village, smaller than Ponyville even. There were also men milling about the village, but Rainbow Dash didn't recognize the uniforms. They were blue, like the Continentals, but their hats were tall and pointed. Also a lot of them wore large mustaches, which Rainbow had yet to see on the Continentals' faces. One thing was clear, and that was that they were soldiers. "I see soldiers Sergeant." He said, looking away from the spyglass. "Aye, ye be right Dash." Sergeant James nodded. "They be soldiers alright. But not just any soldiers. They be Hessians." "Hessians?" "Aye. Murderous bastards the lot of 'em." James continued. "Wonder what they're doin' here though?" Rainbow Dash was about to reply when suddenly a sound reached their ears from behind. It was the sound of a horse neighing, and it was coming from the road they had left a while back. Sergeant James immediately got up and with a quick gesture for the rest to follow, which they did, he made his way back into the woods and towards the road, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the patrol following. Soon, they reached the road, and when they did, Sergeant James had Rainbow Dash and Woody take a place on the far side of the road while he and Corporal Reilly stayed on the other side. They were told that when the rider appeared, they would come out of the trees onto the road and stop him. Rainbow Dash was told that no matter what, he was not to let the rider pass. Rainbow Dash remembered this as he readied his pistol. A few moments passed and nothing happened, but then suddenly the rider appeared, on the back of a black horse. He was dressed in civilian clothes and had a haversack slung over his shoulder. He was approaching fast. Just then, Rainbow Dash saw Sergeant James and Corporal Reilly spring out of the bushes. He and Woody joined them and pointed their weapons at the rider. "HALT!!" Sergeant James called out. The rider still kept coming. "HALT OR WE WILL SHOOT!!" Rainbow Dash cocked the hammer of his pistol all the way back. The rider still kept coming. "HALT!!!" Finally, just as Rainbow Dash figured he was going to have to shoot the rider, he pulled on the reins and stopped his horse right in front of the patrol. Rainbow kept his pistol trained on the man as Sergeant James walked up to him, his rifle in his hands. "Pray tell good man, why in God's name have you stopped me?" The rider asked. "I was just about to ask you what you were doin' out here in the woods in this weather?" Sergeant James questioned. "And what have you got in that there sack?" The man clutched the sack closer to his side. "Just some letters." He said, agitatedly. "Well I guess ye won't mind if'n we take a look fer ourselves would ya?" Sergeant James growled. "Woody! Dash!" "Yes Sergeant?" The two men called out replied. "Keep yer guns on him. If he makes a move at all, shoot him." Rainbow Dash and Woody nodded and pointed their pistols at the rider, who sighed inwardly. Sergeant James then gestured to Corporal Reilly to search the bag, which he began to do. He soon pulled out the papers that were stuffed inside. Looking at them over he soon looked at the rider in disbelief and slight anger. He then showed the papers to Sergeant James, who read them carefully. "Well look at what we ave here." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Twilight's POV Twilight sat at a small wooded desk in the study of Washington's headquarters. She was writing in the journal that she had brought with her to document her findings on human behavior and culture. She had just finished scribbling down with her quill what she had learned from a sit down with Captain Hamilton, who had been telling her of his experiences as a child in a collection of islands known as The West Indies. Twilight was fascinated by the wide variety of cultures that seemed to exist on this world. Such a vast quantity of knowledge and information, she almost couldn't fathom. It was sad that she wouldn't be able to visit these exotic places this time around. Still, she couldn't really complain. General Washington had been very kind to her. He had put her up in one of the bedrooms of the headquarters and had assigned a group of soldiers to care for her. She had tried to decline the offer, insisting that she was fine on her own. But Washington had insisted right back that it was his privilege. Seeing that he would not be moved, Twilight reluctantly agreed to be quartered in the headquarters. Just as Twilight was finishing up the last entry in her journal, there came a knock on the door. Twilight turned towards the door. "Who is it?" "Colonel Knox madame." Came the reply. Twilight smiled. She had met Colonel Henry Knox a few days ago when she saw him talking with General Washington in the hallway. They had become good friends over time due to their love of books. Knox had even offered one of his books for her to read. The book was a collection of stories written by a man named William Shakespeare. "Coming Mr. Knox." She called, and got up and headed to the door. Upon opening it, she found Colonel Knox standing in the doorway with a book in his hand. It was one of Twilight's books on Equestria's history. She had lent it to Knox as a trade for the Shakespeare book. Colonel Knox dipped his head in greeting when Twilight opened the door. "Good afternoon madame." He said with a smile. "I trust that you are staying warm?" "Oh, yes. Thank you Colonel Knox." Twilight replied. "I see you are still reading the book I gave you." She pointed to the book in his hand. "Are you enjoying it?" "Oh yes ma'am. Quite so." Knox answered. "I must say that your species have a most diverse and colorful culture." "Thank you Colonel Knox." Twilight smiled. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" "Oh um actually there is another reason I am here." Knox answered. "General Washington would like to speak with you. He is waiting in his study." Twilight's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Oh, well, of course. I'll be along in a moment. Let me just get my journal and quills." She quickly went back to her desk and grabbed the journal she had been working in and her other note taking materials, and then returned to the door with a smile. "Lead the way Colonel Knox." "Of course madame." Colonel Knox nodded, and then turned down the hall to the private study that served as General Washington's office. Upon reaching it, Knox made a move to knock on the door, but Twilight waved him away, telling him she could see herself in. Knox simply nodded and then promised that he would return the borrowed book as soon as he was finished with it. He then left to tend to matters concerning the army's artillery supplies. Twilight walked up to the wooden door and knocked on it three times. "Yes?" Came the reply. "It's me General. You wanted to see me?" Twilight answered back. The sound of footsteps came from behind the door and soon it swung open to reveal the tall general. Twilight could see slight signs of bags forming underneath the man's eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept for a long while. "General Washington, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. Washington rubbed underneath his right eye before replying. "Uh yes yes. I am fine." He said sighing slightly. "Please Miss Twilight, do come in and sit down." He gestured to the green sofa near the window of the room. "Thank you very much General." Twilight smiled and made her way over to the sofa. After she had taken her seat, Washington sat down at his desk next to her. The desk was piled with maps and various parchments of what Twilight could only guess was military matters. "How are you faring Miss Twilight?" Washington asked. "Oh quite alright General." Twilight replied. "How about yourself?" "Oh I keep myself occupied." Washington sighed inwardly. "Trudging along despite current circumstances." His expression soon looked grim as he looked back at the maps and papers upon his desk. "Which seem to have no sign of improving at any time." Twilight frowned and looked down at her journal. She felt slightly guilty that she had been planning to spend her time in this world studying these humans. She couldn't do that now, not when they were suffering like this. "Is there anything that I may do that can help General?" She asked. Washington looked up from his desk. "Miss Twilight, you are a guest here, and although I am quite confident in your intelligence, I doubt that there is anything that you could do for me." He said politely. "No it must fall to me, and by God so long as I command a corporals guard I will make some endeavor." Just then a knock came from the door. "Yes?" Washington called. "Captain Williams sir." "Enter." The door creaked open and a young officer stepped through. After nodding in greeting towards Twilight, the captain went up to Washington, producing a sealed paper from a haversack he carried. "A rider just brought this for you sir." He said with a frown. Washington took the letter, broke the seal and began to read. As he read the letter, his expression grew angrier and angrier and angrier until suddenly he slammed his fist down onto his desk, making Twilight and the young captain jump. "Damn that man!" Washington exclaimed. "The nerve of him to just sit there while we stand on the brink of total destruction!" He suddenly stood up from his desk and began to pace about the room as Twilight and the captain looked on in silence. After a few moments of pacing, Washington stopped, shook his head and sighed. He then sat down at his desk and grabbed a clean sheet of parchment and a quill. "I am done asking that man!" He decreed as he dipped the quill in an inkwell. "Now I will order General Lee to bring his army here!" He then furiously scribbled a short letter which he signed and had sealed. He then handed it to the captain standing behind him. "Make sure that this goes out at once to General Lee." He said. "Yes sir." Captain Williams nodded. He turned around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Washington sighed deeply before rubbing his face again. "We must bring our forces together at once if we are to have any hope of surviving the New Year." He groaned. "And unless some desperate action is taken to restore faith in this conflict, we will lose our army by that time." Twilight was just about to offer her sympathies and help again, when another knock came from the door. "Yes?" Washington called. "It's Hugh sir." "The door is open." The door creaked open to reveal a dark haired man dressed in the uniform of a brigadier general. Twilight recognized him as Hugh Mercer. She had met him earlier while touring the camp. She had found him at the hospital tent set up for the sick and wounded Continentals. Upon arriving, she had offered any help she could and had been directed to the young general. They had afterwards struck up a conversation and had become good friends. Twilight had been particularly fascinated with Mercer's knowledge of medicine and had taken many notes during their following conversations. "Good afternoon Miss Twilight." Mercer greeted as he entered the room. He walked up to Washington and whispered into his ear. Washington looked at the man for a moment before getting up from his seat. "Please forgive us Miss Twilight," He said before leaving. "But their is an urgent matter of military importance that I must attend to right now. Please do join my staff and I for dinner later this evening, will you?" "Of course General." Twilight smiled. "It would be a pleasure." Washington smiled, nodded respectfully, then turned to leave with Mercer, who did the same before leaving as well. Twilight sighed. She wanted to help these humans so badly. It just seemed that her skills would be of no use to anyone here. She returned to her room, determined to find a way to assist the Continental cause.