Legends of Equestria: The Long Road Back

by JimmyHook19

A Legend of the Field

It had been many years since James Mattis had retired from the military, and he had honestly expected things to be fairly quiet. The highly respected general had gone into civilian work eventually, and had later been recruited as Secretary of Defense for the Trump Administration, which had mostly consisted of keeping Trump's more crazy suggestions under control and trying to keep things sane, instead of 'crazytown', as his colleague John Kelly had described it. He had eventually resigned from his post, tired of the mayhem in the White House, and had watched in horror as the country collapsed into chaos- chaos that Trump had helped to ferment and spread.

He looked out of his window. It had been a tough few years, but things in America could finally get back on track with Joe Biden in charge. Whilst not a part of the transition process himself, he knew of people who could help.

He was suddenly distracted by a knock at the door, and went to it. On the other side was a US Marines Officer. "General Mattis?" he asked.

"The same," Mattis replied. "I wasn't expecting to see a Marine outside my door."

"I bring a message from the President," the officer replied, handing him a letter. "A hostile force has taken over Montgomery, Alabama, and the President has requested that you come out of retirement to lead the Marines."

"What would he want with an old war horse like me?" Mattis asked. "I retired years ago."

"Sir, your experience and skill in command are second to none," the officer replied. "The letter will give you further details on the situation at hand. Good day, sir."

Mattis nodded, and quickly read the letter. It brought him up to speed on the situation at hand, and it was upon reading of the dire threat that he made his decision.

He picked up his phone, and dialed the White House number.

"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Oval Office, to whom am I speaking?"

"Mr. President, this is Mad Dog. I accept your offer and am proceeding to Maxwell Air Force Base as ordered, over."

There was a pause. "It's good to have you back, Mattis."

---

Elsewhere, in another part of the country, several weary travelers awoke in Hayseed Swamp, with much groaning and yawning as they did so.

"What time is it?" asked Stygian, the first to awaken as the others slowly got to their feet.

"I can only assume it's fairly early, based on the furious accordion playing out there," Rockhoof sighed. "I'm fairly used to that sound, you know. I've woken up to it most days since I arrived here."

"Don't forget the fiddle!" called Stygian. "A crucial instrument in any group of the type."

"Did ya know we built our own accordions durin' the war?" Meadowbrook commented. "Parts dried up from overseas, so we figured out how ta build our own. We still make some in that buildin' on the opposite side of the swamp."

"Whilst this is all very interesting," Starswirl groaned, rubbing his forehead," this is also giving me a headache. Music is nice, but constant music making is quite a racket."

"Reminds me of the time when somepony started playing the yovidaphone," Rockhoof groaned. "Give me bagpipes any day."

"What is this yovidaphone?" asked Somnambula.

"You're better off not knowing," Mistmane replied. "I've had enough run ins with that blasted instrument to last me a lifetime."

Flash collected up his armour, seemingly the only one who wasn't tired. "Who's ready to go?" he asked.

"Ah've got somethin' ta give ya first, apart from breakfast," Meadowbrook said, and she handed a vile of some strange green liquid. "Take this. It should help with yer wings."

Flash popped the cork off and eyed the liquid with suspicion, before drinking it. A moment of glowing and shuddering later, and his wings suddenly flared out, good and proper. "This did help! Thanks, Meadowbrook!"

"Ah figured you'd need them fer the battle ahead. After all, a pegasus is at his weakest when on the ground," Meadowbrook pointed out.

"It looks ready to me!" Stygian called, and they decamped to the table where they started handing food around. "What is this?" Starswirl asked.

"Morning grits with a dash of lemon and some cheese," Rockhoof replied. "Trust me, it really gets you going in the morning. I'd also get you muffaletas if we had the time, but sadly, we don't."

Once they were done eating and had collected their things, it was time for them to head on their way.

---

They started their long journey with Meadowbrook leading them to the northwest (passing a sign with a rather amusing typo that declared they were leaving 'New Orlneas' in the process), through even more swamp. None of them minded, however, and after long enough they were turned in a direction that faced towards the right. Not long after exiting the swamp and being on surprisingly flat and solid ground, they turned left, followed by another left and then a right. They continued straight until they joined a road somewhere, and then took a right on this road. After another while of walking, they took a slight left.

Stygian wandered along at the back, struggling to keep up. "Remind me never to complain about walking long distances again!" he said. "You must be all incredibly fit if you have been doing this for the last few weeks!"

They joined another road, and walked past a yard full of more of the metal things. A pair of the blue creatures rattled out on their way, making strange shouts as they did so. Onwards they went, crossing a swing bridge as they did so, and as they left the boundaries of this city behind them, they continued on their way, passing over a river three times before passing a new marker board to find themselves somewhere else.

"Ah'll admit it's been a while since Ah last crossed into Mississippi," Meadowbrook said. "Though it's pretty quiet, from what Ah remember."

"The road up ahead would suggest otherwise!" Rockhoof said. Up ahead was a large convoy of military traffic on the move. "Do you think they're going to Maxwell too?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if they were," Flash commented. "Everypony and their dog is going there right now."

"We also missed our turning," Mistmane said. "Stop and back up!"

They backed up and turned right, before crossing a bridge over a bay and heading onwards until they continued along the side of a beach, which was very sandy and quite quiet. Not a typo to be found, either. The crew stopped at the side of a lighthouse that suddenly popped into existence before them and decided to have lunch there, as it was a relatively nice spot to eat. After enjoying something that Meadowbrook had prepared, they set off on their way once more across this hot, humid land, and crossed another mighty bridge. Rockhoof couldn't help but complement the incredible engineering that humans were capable of, and after crossing another river stopped at a lighthouse once more. From there, they continued on their way and crossed into another place, Alabama.

"It's not far now," Starswirl said. "Be ready, friends. The Evil One could be anywhere."

They crossed another river, and turned left. As they stopped in front of their resting place for the night, they could hear what sounded like thunder in the distance. The chains of explosions suggested otherwise.

"Project 722 is brazenly shelling anything that gets in its way," Mistmane said grimly. "This is why we must stop them and their lackeys."

"I'm with you on that," Flash growled, holding his spear. "They all deserve to die."

"But should we rest first?" Somnambula asked. "There is no point in recklessly charging into battle with no plan."

"And I can't even draw up a plan without even knowing what sort of hostilities to expect," Stygian admitted.

"And we have work to do tomorrow," Mistmane added. "Come, let us rest."

Author's Note:

For those wondering who James Mattis is, here's what he looks like:

Anyways...... first chapter for of 2022! :D

And man.... what a chapter though as The Pillars of Old Equestria (plus Stygian =3) finally arrive in the Heart of Dixie State known as.... Alabama! A state that I know so well when one considers that I lived in it from 2000 to 2012. :)

The group will be in this state for now though....