Will Ye No Come Back Again?

by Judge Holden

Saving Private Stone

"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories."

-Sun Tzu

---

There was an explosion and my eyes shot open with a gasp. I was on two feet, packed into a barge with a hundred other men.

Next to me, a man left his lunch on the back of another.

I heard another explosion, and was soaked by a wave. Looking over my shoulder, I saw it. Mongoose. It was accompanied by a BAR- Browning Assault Rifle.

"Three minutes," barked an Officer. Ahead of me, I saw one man turn around to face us. Hartman? I eyed the silver upon his helmet. Ah, he'd made captain! Good for him.

"I want to see plenty of beach between men," he shouted. "Five men is a juicy opportunity. One man's a waste of ammo."

There was another explosion just shy of us on the starboard side- I whipped my head around to look at it, then looked ahead at what we were getting into.

First of all, we were not the only barge. I saw a barge every fifty feet or so, and on each side of us, they continued down to the horizon.

Why do you dream?

I gasped a breath, and felt my neck, where I'd been shot. I grew puzzled, however, because there was no sign of my injury.

"One minute!" shouted the Officer. All around me, I heard the soft uttering of the Lord's prayer.

There was another explosion next to us. This time, I saw, it was the next barge. They hit a mine.

I saw a helmet fly overhead, but I didn't hear it splash down in the water. There was another explosion.

"Twenty seconds!"

The shore line ahead of us was rapidly coming into view. I could see large bunkers at the top of the beach looking down on us. Machine gun nests were encamped within. I suppressed a gulp.

The machine gunners were holding fire, though. The barges were bullet resistant on the outside. No sense in wasting ammunition when they'd be opening soon anyway.

"God be with you all," shouted Captain Hartman.

The barges opened nearly simultaneously, and all hell broke loose.

The machine gunners started firing constantly. I saw everyone in the front of the barge get cut down, save for Captain Hartman- he took a graze to the shoulder. My training kicked in, and I hopped over the side of the barge.

With a splash, I was in the drink, and in an instant, I was the horse again.

Strange enough, I could breathe. Bullets were cutting through the water and I saw a few others who dove into the water sink. Most of them, however, managed to get back to the surface after shedding some extra weight.

Most of them.

When my head broke the surface, I was me again. The BAR on my back was like an anchor. Especially in the army, though, I was built like a brick shithouse. Though I could do little more than tread water, a wave threw me onto shore behind a tank trap.

Not a moment too soon, because a mortar caught the water just behind me.

When I looked back to see my comrades, I was the horse again. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes shot up to the bunkers in fear, and I let out a shout of terror. I felt a distinct force leave me through my horn, and it seemed to knock a few rounds fired in my direction back. I got to my feet, and when I blinked, I was me again.

I got off my hands and knees and pulled the Mongoose. The tank trap was proving to be decent cover. I risked a few shots at the Krauts, but I hit only the bunkers.

The near constant gunfire was horrendous. All around me lay the bodies of our soldiers, some literally in pieces. The water itself had already been stained red, but only towards the shore.

"Private Stone! You need to move; they have this entire beach targeted for mortars!"

I have no idea where Hartman was yelling from, but he never steered me wrong before, so in spite of great fear, I started running up the beach.

This is no dream for such a young filly.

There was the distinct boom of a mortar near me, which packed enough force to knock me off my feet, but I was otherwise uninjured. Amazingly, my hearing was functioning just fine. I'd squeezed my eyes shut to avoid sand harassing them.

When I re-opened them, I was me again. My horn seemed to respond to the ever present danger, and it spared me the wrath of another mortar. Another force the color of my fur spread around me, dispelling the mortar and a few rounds fired towards me. I started running again, and as I was now, I could move far faster. All around me I saw men falling and others still running. I could no longer see Hartman.

When I finally managed to dive at the foot of the bunker, I was the human again.

I scrambled for the BAR, took aim at the first Kraut I could, and...

Enough of this.

The entire warzone seemed to dissolve, and in its place was a picture of serenity.

No longer did I hear the explosions, gunfire, and shouting of the other humans. Now I heard only the sound of birds chirping, and gentle waves crashing. Before me was an endless expanse of forest, and behind me a beach and a beautiful blue ocean. Next to me was the big dark blue horse. The look on her face was only one of worry. I looked down at my hooves. I was me again.

Wasn't I? No, this couldn't be right. It couldn't!

"What are you, little one?" asked the purple horse. I looked up at her, and after a pause, answered truthfully:

"I don't know."

I felt something drape over my shoulder and pull me towards her. A wing.

"Such dreams should not be yours to suffer."

"It was so real," I whispered. I felt the purple one nod.

"Prophetic, in a way. I can hear the cries. That world is warring."

I looked up at her, poking my head from under her wing.

"Can you send me back to them? Surely every person counts."

She eyed me, puzzled. "Yet you are not a person."

I was silent.

"Remain calm. This place is tailored to your emotions. I'm only doing what I can to hold it together."

"Who are you?" I asked. She smiled down at me.

"Princess of the Night. Luna."

Her eyes wandered to the sky above.

"And speaking of night, it is time for it to end."

She lowered her head to mine and gave me a kiss below the horn.

"Be good. I will see you again should the demons return."

The last thing I saw in that paradise was her horn glowing.

---

I awoke with a start and a squeak. The sun was up.

"What's happening to me?" I whispered. I got to my feet again and turned to the fountain, intent on rinsing my face.

There was another styrofoam container above me, along with another cup of hot chocolate. This time, however, both were still steaming. I must have just missed whoever left it here.

There was nothing written on the container this time.

Time to test my theory. I wandered away from the food until I found a stallion standing by a cart.

"Excuse me? Have you seen Rainbow Dash?"

He blinked. "Dash? Last I heard she was in Cloudsdale."

Now it was my turn to blink. "Uh-huh. And... where are we?"

The stallion eyed me. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Where are we?" I practically demanded. He was silent for a moment, fixing me with one of those "how-do-you-not-know-this" stares.

"...Ponyville."

So, I just walked away. I didn't even say goodbye. I found my way back to the container, and felt guilt. I always hated taking handouts, yet here I was, homeless and being taken care of by some real generous fellow.

Why did I even suspect Dash? Because she acknowledged the food? What the hell is going on with me? I couldn't even die correctly! Part of me wanted to go find the Krauts operating that Panzer and demand they give it another go and kill me properly this time.

I stuck a fork full of egg into my mouth. At least the food here was more or less the same as at home. I saw a few ads for something called a hayburger, though, and it just sounds positively revolting.

I could actually feel my pupils shrink, and I looked down at my hoof. Did I just use a fork?

As if on cue, it fell out of my grip. I growled, and rested my head against my other arm. Why didn't this thing come with a manual?

I felt a strange pressure in my head, and rolled my eyes disinterestedly to my horn. I saw a spark the color of my fur fly off and onto the fountain. It then fizzled out.

I felt nothing though. What did I get myself into here?

With a sigh, I looked at my hoof again, trying to will it into a hand so I could eat. Today, I was left some french toast with scrambled eggs.

Like yesterday, I ended up eating like a freak. A few passersby gave me strange looks, but I still didn't particularly care. I wasn't exactly working with something I used my whole life.

At least, I didn't think I was.

My dream the night before haunted me that morning. It felt so real. I recall myself, as well, and how my sense of self ended up seeming to change during. To be honest, it scared me.

It scared me so much that I ended up accidentally gulping down some still very hot chocolate, which led to me dropping the remainder onto what was left of my breakfast. It happens to the best of us, I guess.

I put my head down against the fountain again. Why me?

"...then see what Applejack needs before the rain comes."

My ears twitched in the direction of the voice, but I otherwise didn't respond. With one arm I reached for the cup (which was now almost empty on account of spilling), and I finished the job by knocking it into the fountain. Oh, and also the remainder of my food. If I'm going to make a mess I'm going to finish the job.

"Do you think we can see Rarity too? Or is she still away?"

I felt myself let out a growl, and I slammed the fountain with a hoof.

"Stupid Krauts," I muttered.

"Excuse me?"

My ear twitched toward the voice, but I otherwise did not move.

"Hello? Anypony in there?"

I felt a knock on my head.

"Please leave me be."

"What's the matter? Maybe I can help?"

I shook my head, still not bothering to look up. I heard something get set down next to me, and then felt a pat on the head.

"Hey, I'm sorry you aren't feeling so good right now."

"Thanks," I said through my arm. The voice was female. So far, I'd seen just one stallion to tons of mares.

"You going to be alright on your own?"

I've been on my own since I got here, I thought bitterly. Instead of voicing my thoughts, I simply nodded into my arm. Whoever was talking at me rubbed my back gently.

"Whatever happened, I want you to know that it's going to be okay. Just have faith."

I said nothing else. The hoof trying to provide me comfort came off my back, and I heard footfalls away from me.

I didn't move for probably around twenty minutes. When I finally did, I looked at the remains of my food.

My unexpected companion had fished the foam container out of the fountain. Additionally, she left me two large gold coins. Third, there was a small piece of paper with an address on it along with a single phrase:

Stop by if you feel up to it later -Twilight

I had nothing to carry the coins or the note in, so I left them in the pillow case and hoped nobody would find them.

The people- err, horses here seemed to be mostly kind, though. I'd not heard so much as a cuss since I got here, other than those uttered by me. I felt oddly safe.

Now that I think about it, I probably wouldn't have slept in the middle of town for two nights in a row if I didn't feel secure here. What was this place called again?

Ponyville. Seriously? They couldn't think of a better name?

I almost bumped into a pink mare with a frizzy mane. Before I could say excuse me, she let out a gasp, leapt and ran away from me faster than anything I'd seen so far.

With a sigh, I decided to go see Rares as promised. Wasn't like I had much else to do, after all. After everything that's happened so far, I wasn't about to touch being fled from like that with a ten foot pole.

Call it what you will: combat fatigue, shellshock, depression, anxiety, or paranoia, but I could swear I've had eyes on me since I got to this town. I don't mean just horses seeing me in passing, either. I mean stalker eyes.

Whenever I tried to find who I thought was looking at me, though, I found nothing.

No matter how many times I looked, it seemed like things were in order. Or at least as much so as could be, given my current circumstances.

I was born in 1925 (wasn't I?), so a world with ever building tension was not new to me. A world as seemingly at peace as this one was, however, felt alien. I suppose my paranoia was coming from some kind of culture shock?

Or maybe I was right and there was some whacko watching me.

I swear, I don't know how much more of this I can take.

How long has Rares been walking beside me? She started giggling like mad when I finally noticed. She brought a smile to my face for the first time that day.

"Took you long enough, Sam I Am! How hard is it to notice little old me?"

"Hard not to notice you if you aren't completely oblivious," I replied. She smiled more.

"How was your night?"

My night was shit, but I wasn't about to say that out loud. I forced myself to not visibly droop and gave a satisfied nod.

"Good, and yours?"

"Great! I had a dream that Princess Celestia was kidnapped and I had to search castle after castle until I found her. When I did, she gave me an autograph, and then there was this dancing banana..."

I sort of tuned her out without even meaning to. I'd only then noticed something different: the town seemed to be preparing for some sort of festivities. There were ornaments decorating near every home, and I swear they weren't there last night.

"...but it's okay, all I needed was a speak and spell and seven pounds of mashed potatoes..."

How could this town seriously be so happy all the time? Even the buildings looked happy. Think about that. Where I'm from, perpetual happiness is a mental illness. I suppose it's normal here, considering I've so far seen flying horses of different colors, as well as unicorns. I couldn't very well deny anything, considering I myself was now a unicorn.

"...so, then I took the churro, and who was there for the bank heist? The legend herself, Vinyl Scratch! So, I was like..."

There was a boom, and I could feel my pupils shrink.

Suddenly, I was back on the battlefield I dreamt of last night, with the BAR in my hooves- hands and a Kraut machine gunner in my sights. A grenade fell just next to me, and I eyed it for a moment before leaping up and scrambling into a foxhole. Shrapnel rained over me and pelted my body, but though I took no injury, I felt as though I were wet with blood.

When I came to again, Rares was at my side, poking and prodding at me. I was curled up against the side of a building and shaking. Several other horses were staring at me silently. I looked up at the sky- the rain had begun to fall.

"Thunder?" I squeaked.

"Yeah- it was a doozy. I don't think I've ever seen this bad of a reaction to it, though. You're that scared of thunderstorms?"

If only you knew.

My heart was pounding in my ears. Rares' horn glowed the same color as her mane, and I felt myself actually float to my feet.

"You okay?" she asked. I could feel the concern in her voice. My eyes were wide, as if I'd seen a ghost, and the other horses that stopped to stare had slowly begun to disperse.

"I... I..."

I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes. They wouldn't be noted, however, on account of the rain.

"Sam?"

"I need to go!" I shouted, and I turned away and ran off. I didn't even stop at the fountain. I just kept running until I was out of town. I didn't even stop to marvel at the fact that I was running once more.

When I finally did stop, I was beneath a few trees. I know that's not the best place to hide during a thunderstorm, but I just didn't care at that point.

I began to sob for the umpteenth time since my arrival.

Celestia, help me.

End of Chapter

Author's Note:

I'm well aware Sam's death occurred before D-Day. Just throwing that out there. Next chapter is a shorty returning back to planet Earth for a bit. The story, that is. Not Sam himself.

One more thing: What color is Luna? It's a color I don't get so good.

Comments

[Silent Echo]

Luna are midnight blue.

[Butcher eye]

7909332 grammar man grammar.

[unknowncape7377]

8166493
Are you one of those grammar Nazis!?!?