Two Days Later
Blackburn felt his left eye twitched involuntarily. This happened two more times before he finally opened his eyes to see who the culprit was. When he sat up in his shelter half tent and looked around, he could see no pony that would be close enough to have done the deed. After a few moments however, Blackburn began to feel a tickling on his nose. Looking forward at his snout, he saw that a sunflower yellow butterfly was standing right upon it fluttering it's wings. The butterfly apparently took notice that Blackburn had noticed him and turned to face the marine. Blackburn stared right back at the beautiful creature that he had not seen since he had first stepped foot into the trenches in France, for their was never anything so beautiful and full of life in the miles of death that had surrounded them before. As Blackburn looked at the butterfly's face, he could've sworn he saw it smile at him.
Suddenly the butterfly flapped it's delicate yellow wings and took off from his snout and out of the tent. Blackburn stood and followed it out into the open and watched it fly away into the distance. After it disappeared from his sight, he looked around at the camp, which was just beginning to stir awake as well. He couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by how tranquil everything was here. His own world was almost always experiencing some sort of conflict, always fighting over land, or for just their own reputations. It was a stark contrast to this world which seemed to radiate with peace and tolerance that people had dreamed of back on Earth during the war. He admired these ponies ability to live in harmony with each other and all other creatures and wanted to learn more.
It was that reason that had him excited for today. During the party yesterday, Twilight Sparkle had show interest in learning more about the human culture and specifically about his home country, the United States. He had agreed to do so and had also asked if she could teach him more about the culture and history of Equestria. Blackburn had returned to the camp with his squad after the party and had immediately requested a pass from Captain Edson.
Remembering that they had agreed to meet at 8:00 that morning, Blackburn returned to his tent and grabbed his green service jacket, which now was without his ribbons and badges. He slipped it on, (the rest of the marines had been shown how to get dressed without hands) and then grabbed his overseas cap and placed it on his head. He then began to make his way towards the main gate of the farm.
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Blackburn's trip to Twilight's castle was brief as he was now quite familiar with the route. When he arrived at the grand entrance, he found the same guards from the previous day, however instead of stopping to see who he was, they simply nodded, opened to door and simply said "The Princess is expecting you." Blackburn had thanked them and entered the castle expecting to see Twilight waiting to meet him in the foyer, but instead he found Spike standing there at the foot of the grand staircase that led to the upper floors of the complex.
"Hello Spike." Blackburn greeted. "Where's Twilight? She and I were supposed to meet today."
"She's in her library right now." Spike explained. "She wanted to make sure she had all of the proper books and journals for your session today. I can show you where the library is."
"Sure. Lead the way." Blackburn smiled. And with that, the green and purple dragon turned up the staircase and was followed by Blackburn up the steps to the second floor.
Upon reaching the second level, Spike turned to the left down a long hallway until the had reached a large purple wooden door that was two doors down on the right from the staircase.
"She's in there." Spike pointed to the door.
"Aren't you coming in as well?" Blackburn asked.
"Nope." Spike replied. "I love Twilight, but when she gets into student mode, she tends to get a little, lets say excited."
Blackburn nodded understandingly. "Well then I guess I'll see you later Spike. If you ever want to talk man to man, or I guess I should say stallion to Drake." He chuckled.
Spike smiled. "Sure thing, See you around." And with that, he went further down the hall towards a door that had a white sign with black letters that said SPIKE'S ROOM. He soon disappeared behind the door.
Blackburn smiled. He then knocked on the door three times with his hoof to announce his arrival.
"Come in." Came the reply. In response, Blackburn pushed down on the door handle with his hoof and pushed the door open. Stepping inside, he found himself in a room where the walls were gigantic bookshelves packed to the brim with books. They reached to the ceiling from which a large glass chandelier hung and illuminated the room with light. The shelves were not the only places Blackburn could find books in the room. They were also piled up in stacks on the floor and a couple of brown wooden chairs in the room. In the center of the room was a large oval chestnut brown wooden table, also covered in books. Sitting at the table in one of the two empty wooden chairs in the room was Twilight, who had apparently been writing in a leather-bound journal with a white feather quill. She smiled when she saw Blackburn.
"Oh hello Nathan!" She said excitedly. "I'm so glad that you could come!"
"Thank you for inviting me Miss Twilight." Blackburn replied with a smile. "The pleasure is all mine."
"Thanks." Twilight said. "And by the way, just call me Twilight, please?"
Blackburn nodded. "Alright then Twilight. What shall we do first?"
"Well, you already have given me a good overview of your country and government, so can you tell me some more about yourself?"
Blackburn paused for a moment. He hadn't really expected to be talking about his personal life during this visit. He had expected Twilight to have more academic questions for him. He cleared his throat before finally speaking. "Um well. What would you like to know?"
"Well, could you tell me a little more about the marines and why you joined?" Twilight asked.
Blackburn took a seat at the table while Twilight turned to a blank page in her journal and brought up her quill to start writing.
"Well, the marines have been around ever since America began." Blackburn started. "We have been involved in every United States conflict in history, from the revolution to today."
"Has your country been to war often?" Twilight asked. Blackburn could see that she had a concerned look in her eyes as if she was fearing the answer. He was fearing the answer as well, at least her reaction to the answer.
"Um well. Yes we have. Our country alone has been involved in at least five major wars since it's founding and this recent war in Europe would make it six."
Twilight's eyes widened as big as dinner plates and her jaw dropped. In one of the few moments it ever happened in her life, she found herself at a loss for words. "H-how? Why?" She finally managed to stammer out. "Why would your kind fight each other so much? What gain could come from such a terrible thing as war?"
Blackburn looked down at his hooves in shame. "I don't know why for most of them Twilight. A lot of human wars have been fought for very petty reasons." He then looked back up Twilight. "Some of the wars the United States has fought were petty as well, but I like to believe that we have for the most part fought for noble reasons."
"What reasons could those be?" Twilight asked.
"Our first war was a fight for our freedom from oppression. We earned our freedom in blood from the country of Britain in the late 1700s. Our country was founded in that war."
"Was war really necessary though?" Twilight questioned. "Couldn't your ancestors have talked with their leaders?"
"From what I have been taught and learned myself, our founders felt as if they had no other choice. It was join or die." Blackburn explained.
Twilight wrote some notes down on her pad and paused before speaking again. "What other noble causes has your country had to go to war for?"
Blackburn spent the next half hour explaining to Twilight the history of his country up to the current point they had left their world in. From the writing of the Constitution through the war between the states up to what many around the world had called the war to end all wars. The entire time Twilight continued to scribble down notes in her pad and to ask follow up questions on certain points that caught her attention such as George Washington, the term "manifest destiny", and the current president, Woodrow Wilson. From time to time however, Blackburn would catch glimpses of Twilight showing a pained expression on her face, particularly when he talked about the subject of slavery in the Civil War and the subject of war itself. He decided that she needed some sort of reassurance that he was different than those from the past.
"Look." He sighed. "I know that our country's past is not all that honorable. No country's past is. But I like to think that for the most part, many from my country have done what they have done for the benefit of others."
Twilight looked at Blackburn and smiled. "I understand Nathan. I can tell that you all are different from your ancestors. You yourself seem like the kind of pony that would do things for the benefit of others."
Blackburn looked down at his hooves abashed. "Well I'm not to sure about that." He then looked back at Twilight. "So is there anything else you would like to know about my world?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about yourself."
Blackburn's eyebrows seem to rise a full two inches higher in surprise. "Um more about myself?"
"Yes." Twilight smiled. "I'd like to know a little more about you so I can get to know you better as a friend."
Blackburn suddenly found himself praying that he wasn't blushing. He had noticed before that Twilight was definitely pretty in both the physical and personality areas, so to hear that she had an interest in him, even if just as a friend, gave him quite a positive feeling. However, he wasn't entirely comfortable talking about his past with individuals, but he trusted Twilight enough to tell her a few points.
"Alright. What do you want to know?"
"Well to start off, what made you decide to join your nation's armed forces?" Twilight asked as she set her pad and quill aside.
"Well I was initially on track to study law, but then I decided that I wanted to get a better understanding of the world and it's many walks of life. I figured that the marines would be the best opportunity to do so. I enlisted in 1910 when I was 19. After I completed my training I was sent to marine barracks in Panama. I was then sent to a small country called Haiti in 1914 to help fight "Cacos" rebels. By then I was a corporal. I was given the rank of sergeant when my unit was involved in a firefight and my squad leader was hit by rifle fire."
"Oh my gosh!" Twilight gasped. "Was he alright?"
Blackburn sighed to himself at the young mare's innocence. "He didn't die, but he was sent home afterwards and I replaced him as squad leader. Not too long after that we were sent back to our barracks in Panama. In 1917 we were called back to the states due to our entrance into the war in Europe and sent to Parris Island to train new recruits. We eventually arrived in France in June and were sent to the front lines that next year. We remained in combat until the armistice that November."
"What exactly happened to you all in France?" Twilight asked.
Blackburn looked away towards the shelves of books on the wall. Twilight could see a pained expression spread across his face, as if he was recalling a bad memory. Meanwhile Blackburn started to see flashing images of a bombed out church and the altar inside. After a few moments, he turned back to face her.
"If you don't mind Twilight, I'd rather not talk about it."
An 20 second long awkward silence fell upon the room, eventually broken by Twilight clearing her throat. "Alright then. That's okay."
"Thank you." Blackburn sighed. "Now how about you tell me a little more about yourself?"
Twilight smiled brightly. She then proceeded to go into detail about her adventures from her entrance into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns to the battle with Nightmare Moon, to Discord, her brother's wedding, finally culminating with her recent coronation and her battle with Tirek. By the end of the story, Blackburn was in awe of the mare. He could hardly believe that she had been through so much at such a young age.
"Wow Twilight." He said. "You've had quite the adventure filled life."
Twilight blushed at the comment. "Oh it was nothing, and I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends."
Blackburn smiled and chuckled to himself at Twilight's modesty. He then glanced up at the wall and saw a large wooden clock that read 2:30. His eyes widened as he realized that his pass ran out at 3:00.
"I'm really sorry Twilight but I have to go now." He said as he got up from his seat. "I have to be back at camp at 1500."
Twilight's eyes widened as well when she realized how long they had been going. "Oh I'm sorry Nathan! I didn't mean to keep you here too long!" She then followed Blackburn down to the front door of the castle. "Do you think I will be able to see you again sometime?"
"Probably. Actually, the senior officers are allowing us to hold a celebration in our camp to celebrate the armistice, and they have decided to allow citizens from Ponyville attend. If you want you should come."
Twilight smiled at the invitation. "Oh absolutely! I'll be sure to bring my friends along as well!"
"Alright. Well I hope you can make it. It's this Saturday. See you there."
"Alright. Bye Nathan!" Twilight called out as she watched the stallion exit and close the door behind him.