Rearranging Perspectives

by The Dimension Traveler

Welcome to the Jungle

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Jungle

__________________________________________

Ponies had been gathered from the four corners of Equestria, all congregating with a single purpose. As the sun rose on the first day of Boot Camp, Sam looked out over all the mares and stallions of every assortment of color imaginable, he had to stop himself from whistling a few bars from The Star Spangled Banner. There was just something undeniably patriotic about it all.

Both Princesses were present for the opening ceremony, of course. Prince Blueblood would have been there as well, but he was currently in the hospital recovering from a near fatal case of hoof-in-the-mouth disease. He really should have known better than to insult Sam’s mother while he was practicing with Solaris.

In any event, the time was drawing nigh when Celestia would make her speech and then Sam would lay out how the next few weeks would work. Sam was chosen because he was more eye-grabbing than the other six generals were and he was most comfortable playing the hard core military general.

“My faithful subjects,” Celestia began, “Today, we are gathered here against a threat the likes of which we have never faced before. Dark clouds loom on our horizon, threatening to blot us out forever. However, we have one thing that the enemy can never hope to overcome: The magic of friendship. We will pull together and preserve this nation! Together, we will protect our homes and loved ones! I thank each and every one of you for your contribution to the cause! Now, I will give the floor to General Sam, who will brief you on the immediate future.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” Sam said and then turned to the assembled ponies, “Greetings greenhooves! On behalf of my fellow generals, and myself I welcome you to your first day of Boot Camp! For the next three weeks, you will be put through your own personal Hell. Starting today, you will begin your training with what I like to call ‘Royal Guard Training: Crash Course Edition’. As such, your first three weeks of training will be handled primarily by the commanding officers in the Royal Guard using training guides we generals have constructed and have been approved by the Princesses. Once those three weeks are over, those of you who have survived will be individually evaluated and placed under the command of one of the generals for more specialized training. If any of you have questions, do not be afraid to ask a commanding officer or one of us generals. We’d much rather listen to insipid questions all day than save your ignorant plot on the battlefield. I think that’s everything you need to know, so I’ve only got one thing left to say: Welcome to the Jungle!”

#################################

“Well this should be fun, with him as a commanding officer,” Vinyl Scratch remarked to the pony standing beside her

“If he doesn’t kill us all in a fit of insanity first,” Octavia quipped

“Oh ye of little faith, would Princesses Celestia and Luna place a raving lunatic in a general position?” Asked a Unicorn stallion with a red coat and cobalt blue mane and a crossed wrench and screwdriver Cutie Mark named Fixup.

“You don’t know Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” Both mares replied at the same time

“Is this something I need to know?” Fixup asked nervously

“Survive Boot Camp and you’ll find out,” Vinyl answered as the group started moving to their first exercise.

“You’re not instilling a lot of confidence!” Fixup cried and Octavia answered with

“Oh ye of little faith.”

#####################################

“Are you sure about this Lyra? You’re a musician and I’m a candy maker! What business do we have being in the army?!” Bon-Bon cried

“Oh come on Bon-Bon, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Besides, you could do with a little ‘training’,” Lyra smirked as she poked her friend’s slightly soft tummy.

“Once-in-a-lifetime going to war; or once-in-a-lifetime getting into General Sam’s division?” Bon-Bon asked, clearly not amused

“Um…can we talk about this later?”

##################################

“The General wasn’t kidding when he said ‘if we survive’,” A green coated, yellow mane pegasus stallion panted. His Cutie Mark was four clouds covering a sun and his name was Overcast.

“Well you didn’t expect a walk in the park did ya?” Asked a muscular Earth Pony stallion with a white coat and steel gray mane; his Cutie Mark was a plate of metal and his name was Iron Sides.

“No, but I didn’t expect it to be so much more demanding than weather working back home in Cloudsdale,” Overcast responded

“Well look at it this way, when this is all over and you get back home, the weather work will be no problem for you!” Iron Sides remarked

“I repeat, ‘if we survive’.”

##########################################

Two Earth Pony stallions stared at each other. Both had chestnut brown coats and darker brown manes both had blue eyes, and both had an hourglass for a Cutie Mark. The only thing different was one was wearing a tie and the other had a bowtie. Also, both were about to eat lunch when they noticed each other.

“Hello hansom!” The one with the tie broke the silence first

“Who the hay are you?! Why do you look like me?!” The one with the bowtie shouted

“Oh, I’m nopony special. You can call me The Doctor, if you like,” The one with the tie said

“OK…Doctor…I’m Time Turner,” The one with the bowtie returned and they shook hooves.

“Doctor?! Where are you Doctor?!” Shouted a Pegasus mare with a gray coat and yellow mane and bubbles for a Cutie Mark, then she spotted the two Earth Ponies. “Oh my, is the TARDIS broken again?”

“Not this time Ms. Hooves! This fine fellow is named Time Turner!” The Doctor seemed to be getting a kick out of this new development.

“I thought one was bad enough, what did I do to deserve two?”

#######################################

“I don’t know what I expected, but it sure wasn’t this,” Groaned a Unicorn mare with a dark blue coat and teal mane and a crescent moon with a smiley face for a Cutie Mark named Sweet Dreams. She was collapsed in the top bunk of her assigned bunk bed, waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep to drag her away from her exhausted body.

“What are you talkin’ about? Today was awesome!” Cried a voice from the bottom bunk.

“Help, I’m trapped with a mad pony and I’m too tired to run for my life,” Sweet Dreams moaned

“I’m not that bad,” Sweet Dream’s bunk mate’s head popped up over the side of her bed. She was a cyan blue coat, yellow mane Pegasus by the name of Lightning Dust.

“Yes you are. Rumors around Camp say only General Rainbow Dash is worse than you,” Sweet Dreams grumbled

“Really?! That’s awesome!” Lightning Dust’s response elicited another groan from Sweet Dreams

“This is gonna be a long night.”

#####################################

“Trixie does not understand something,” Trixie Lulamoon said in the middle of one of her classes.

“Yes, Private Lulamoon?” Replied Sergeant Spear Head, a Pegasus stallion with a gold coat, sky blue mane, and two spears crossed for a Cutie Mark.

“What, exactly, are the Sun Eaters?” Trixie asked

“Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of information in that regard. Insofar as we have been able to gather, they are simultaneously solid and ethereal beings. Also, they seem to have a primitive intelligence. Finally, a special spell has been cast on all weapons in order to deal any damage and regular magic only works at 75% against Sun Eaters,” Spear Head answered

“Thank you, Trixie understands.”

#####################################

“Private Big Macintosh, according to these reports submitted by your CO, you’ve recorded some of the highest numbers in the strength test. Further, it says you’re pretty handy with your hooves,” General Sam remarked

“Eeyup,” Big Mac answered

“Anything else you’d like to say before we decide where you go?” General Twilight Sparkle asked

“Nope,” Big Mac replied

“Alright then, General Pinkie Pie, how’s your quota for Earth Ponies looking?” General Sam asked

“I can always use another strong stallion on canon duty!” General Pinkie Pie chirped

“Is everyone else in agreement?” General Twilight Sparkle asked and all the generals nodded their heads. “Then it is decided that you will be placed under the command of General Pinkie Pie. Send in the next pony on your way out.”

##################################

“These times you clocked on the weighted flight are impressive,” General Rainbow Dash observed. Water Spout, a Pegasus mare with an aquamarine coat, blue mane, and five drops of water for a Cutie Mark blushed slightly.

“They’re nothing that special,” She said modestly

“General Rainbow Dash is right, I think the best place for you is in the Air Force,” General Twilight Sparkle remarked

“If you think so,” Water Spout replied

“Does everyone think so?” General Rainbow Dash asked and they all agreed, “Welcome to the Air Force.”

#################################

“General Sam! Princesses Celestia and Luna are requesting your presence, something about a very important mission!” Sam looked up from his papers to see a panting Royal Guard.

“Very well, you’re dismissed,” Sam told the guard as he finished his last sentence. Once he did that, he made his way to the audience chamber. His fellow generals were all there before him.

“Now that you’re all here, we can begin. Before I can get to the mission itself, I need to give you a history lesson,” Princess Celestia informed them and then levitated a crystal before the generals. “Long ago, there was a place called the Crystal Empire. It had a very powerful magic that was fueled by the love and friendship of the Crystal Ponies-” At this point, she cast a beam of light into the crystal and it glowed the colors of the rainbow, “-however, when there was strife and hate, the magic turned against itself.” Celestia then blasted the crystal with what could only be described as Dark Magic. Dark, evil looking crystals sprouted from the ground. A few moments later, Celestia banished them.

“A little more than a thousand years ago, this happened and a dark king rose to power. His name was Sombra and his heart was blacker than coal. He enslaved all the Crystal Ponies. Eventually, he was defeated and his body was reduced to a black smoke. Sombra was then locked away in the arctic ice, but not before he could cast one final spell. That spell caused the Crystal Empire to vanish. Now it has returned and you must protect it from Sombra,” Luna informed them

“We also have unconfirmed reports of Sun Eaters in the area,” Celestia added, “We cannot allow them to take the power of the Crystal Empire. I know this is probably the most inopportune moment for this to happen, but we need the seven of you there.”

“Further, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are already there waiting for you. Prepare your things, you leave in the morning.” Luna dismissed them. None of the generals got much sleep that night.

Author's Note:

Next stop Crystal Empire version 2.0! Also, I have decided that C'thulhu will indeed be making an appearance. This is gonna be fun!

Comments

[LunarPrince]

I've read many stories and yours is by far the most interesting. I'm not dicing other authors, but there there are too few who don't like taking the stories in a warlike train of thought I like that in a story. I may be wrong, but I have not found too many stories like that. Keep up the good work

[The Dimension Traveler]

2882572

If you like this, then you might also like 'A Novice Swordsman in the Canterlot Court'. It has a war as well, against the Griffon nation no less.

[The outcast]

2882599 it was VERY good

on another note I like this story

[The Dimension Traveler]

2899479

I'm glad I could help you discover two enjoyable ways with which you can spend your time.

[The outcast]

2900513 oh, I already read it... I was just giving my input

[CaptnPenguin]

With that author's note, I am excited.