When The Eagles Go Marching

by Wanderer101

Way Back Home

Planet Earth
Former United States of America
Denver, Colorado

Phil frowned as he watched the glob of blood mix in with his drink. Damn it. He had tried so very hard to hold that cough in but the damn rad poisoning was getting worse every day. He should consider himself lucky. Some people looked like walking skeletons. He’d rather cough up some blood now and again than go through that. The bartender gave him a sympathetic look and slid a new glass of liquor his way.

“On the house.” the bartender said simply before walking to the other side of the bar.

‘That was nice of him.’ Phil thought before downing the glass in one gulp. Despite people barely clinging on to life it was still quite common to see human kindness. That was probably due to Denver being more civilized than most places. Outside this small settled part of the ruined city you were likely to get shot for whatever that person might want. It could be the food you’re carrying or the clothes on your back. Outside the city you had Road Gangs, War Lords, and all manner of disreputable types who wanted to carve their own personal fiefdom out of the irradiated ruins of the US.

He finished the rest of his drink and made his way out of the bar. Outside he was greeted with the familiar sight of the ‘town square’. A collection of hastily repaired shops around what used to be a park. All of the trees were long since cut down for firewood. There places taken by a variety of makeshift stalls where people sold goods scavenged from the ruins of Denver. This sight always depressed him since he could remember what this place used to look like. He began to walk back to his home now that he finished his after work drink.

He made money by doing manual labor for the Police Chief who was the de facto leader of their little settlement. Plenty of rubble needed to be cleared so they could expand the walls of the town. More people were arriving to their little bastion of civilization every day so space was starting to become a premium. They either had to expand or start turning people away which would only make enemies in the long run. He walked up the stairs of his townhouse and knocked on the front door. After a few moments the door swung open.

“Hey pa.” mumbled his youngest son as he held the door open.

“Joseph.” he said, giving his son a nod and pat on the shoulder. Ever since the war his son had been completely down in the dumps. He had lost all of his friends. He had lost his older brother to the Army. He had lost all chances of a normal future. This was a lot to put on the shoulders of a 16 year old.

He walked further into the relatively clean house quietly passing the living room where his wife was teaching a class. She used to be a teacher at the local elementary school so she spent her days teaching the children of the settlement. He walked to his study and pulled a book off his bookshelf. He was one of the few people in the settlement that still had books with most having used theirs as kindling in the days after the war. It made for great entertainment in this new age where there were no TVs, movies, or other forms of entertainment. Every other day one of his friends would come by to either borrow or return one of his books. Guess that made him the town librarian in a way.

The moment he sat down in his armchair there was a knock at the door. It was quite a frantic one at that. That better not be the Chief coming to conscript him to move some more rubble. Doctor said he had to stay out of rad hotspots for a while. He got up and went to the front door ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind. When he opened it he saw it was one of the Chief’s deputies. The man looked excited about something.

“Look I told the Chief-” he started before the young man interrupted him.

“Mr. Stevens! They’re back! They’re back!” the deputy said excitedly

“Whose back?” he asked

“The Government! Look!” the deputy said, pointing across the way.

There on the other side of the square was a collection of vehicles which was a rarity nowadays. Not only that but these were military vehicles. There were humvees, jeeps, trucks, and APCs. All brand new by the looks of it. Not only that but there were soldiers. Real honest to god soldiers! Not the 'Deserters' who wielded poorly maintained mismatched equipment and went from town to town 'requisitioning' supplies.

The government tried to keep order after the war but they all disappeared after a call on the radio told all US military personnel and any civilians that were able to head to NORAD. He wanted to take his family up that way but his wife was sick with radiation poisoning. By the time she got better visitors to the town said that NORAD was deserted and the mountain complex was locked up tight. Since then no more government messages were heard on the radio. It was believed that the government simply gave up and hid in their bunker with enough supplies to last them for decades.

“It’s a conspiracy, man!” said a hippie fellow who hung around in the bar after work. Guy was a big conspiracy theorist. Get a few drinks in him and he’d complain about the government. “First the government ruins the place then they abandon us when things get too hard! They have a giant underground city beneath NORAD where they’re living like kings!”

That kind of thinking was fairly common around. Even people he knew to be rabid patriots were less than pleased at the government's lack of help. Now he couldn’t help but notice a few of them in the growing crowd forming in the square. Better late than never is what they probably thought. He and his family went and joined the crowd since this looked to be big. He could see the normally foul tempered Police Chief conversing excitedly with what looked to be an officer. After giving the Chief a handshake the officer climbed on top of an APC with a megaphone.

“Folks” he said “I am Colonel Thomas Hill of the United States Army. I won’t bore you with a long speech so here are the major points. The US Government is alive and well. The US is also back on its feet somewhat. We have enough food, water, and shelter for everyone. We also developed medicine to treat radiation poisoning no matter how serious.”

There was murmuring throughout the crowd. This sounded far too good to be true. A return to some measure of normality? That was a dream that few had continued believing in. The Colonel went on to say that the government would remain in Denver to take people to NORAD where their new homes apparently lay. He discussed the issue with his wife that night. They both decided to go solely because of the supposed Rad Poisoning Cure the government supposedly had. After packing up some irreplaceable possessions like family photos and heirlooms they climbed into one of the many trucks on its way to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

It was a long trip even by truck. It was a distance of nearly 100 miles and while they didn’t have to worry about traffic they did have to worry about miles of old rusty cars blocking the roads. There were no bandits thankfully. The soldier driving the truck said they learned the hard way not to attack military convoys.

When they arrived at Cheyenne Mountain the area was abuzz with activity. Trucks were leaving and arriving, helicopters were flying overhead, and there were people everywhere. Not just soldiers but civilians also being dropped off by the numerous trucks. The first thing the Government did was treat them all to a meal. There were numerous vegetable, bread, and fish dishes. No other kinds of meat he privately noted. Once they had finished eating, doctors went over everyone. Those with severe injuries or illness were taken to get those treated. Everyone was also given pills that would help deal with the radiation poisoning.

Once all that was done they were taken to a large building that had been set up as some kind of auditorium. There was a stage with red curtains to the sides and a screen above it. Once everyone was seated a man in a dark blue suit walked on stage. He stepped up to the microphone and said “Everyone I am Director Franklin Hart of the Office of New World Reconstruction. The duties of the NWR were to rebuild America in our new home. Now since that goal is largely complete our focus has shifted to help those left behind in our old home: you. Now I can hear you all wondering just where this new home is. Well let me show you.”

The lights dimmed and the screen came on. The words “Project Window” were on the screen in large black letters.

“I won’t go into detail since much of it is still classified but the main thing that you should know is that Project Window was a US military project to open a portal to another world.” said Director Hart

There was a lot of murmuring around the room. Another world? Was that where the government has been these past few years? A couple of seats over was that hippie fellow from Denver. He was close enough he could hear the hippie mutter ‘I knew it’ while scowling.

“This world is called Equus by the native inhabitants.” the Director explained causing more muttering.

Natives? Did that mean they had met actual aliens!? The Director looked to the side of the stage and nodded. They could hear clopping sounds upon the wooden floor. From out behind the curtain emerged a horse. No wait, that wasn’t a horse. It was a bit too small to be a horse with it being around the same height as the Director. That meant it was a pony maybe. He had never seen a pony with light blue fur, large blue eyes, and wearing a shirt before.

“Hello everyp- one. My name is Sugar Star. I'm here to give you a quick rundown of native species, some local history, and everything that's happened since you humans first arrived."

The screen changed over to pictures of multicolored ponies. While most of them appeared to be 'normal' some had wings and others had horns. Some of the young girls in the audience cooed with wonder drawing a small smile from him. Living in a land of talking ponies was a dream come true for most girls.

"First up are ponies. Ponies are divided into three distinct races-"

---

Even in another world, government buildings never changed. He and his family were standing in line waiting to receive the address to their new home. They had crossed over not too long ago after spending a week at Cheyenne doing orientation and receiving anti-rad medication. They were now away from the nuclear wasteland that used to be America. Though that didn't mean they were completely safe.

This world was apparently on the edge of having its own version of World War Two. Right next door was a nation of Griffons that seemed to be a near copy of Fascist Italy with its own version of Mussolini. The US recently came out of a war with a nation that was a dead ringer for Big Brother's Oceania. Seeing photos of the things those Proles went through made him glad the Army went in and gave those MARESOC bastards a good licking.

Speaking of the army there was a chance his oldest son might still be alive. The government people said that most military personnel that were either in the US or a part of the Evacuation of South America were here when they first came over. The last letter he got from him before the mail stopped said he was being sent down south so he had some hope that his son might be here. The government said they would look into it which raised his spirits. Soon their family would be whole again.

His wife Martha was in good spirits since her rad sickness was gone and she had got a job at the local elementary school. While Joseph was still down in the dumps he was getting a little better. He just needed time to adjust. Once he went back to school and made some friends he should be right as rain.

Through the glass windows he could hear the hustle and bustle of New Washington. Cars, trucks, airplanes, and other sounds he thought were gone forever. The sounds of a nation recovered. The line continued shortening until it was his family’s turn. The one at the desk was an Earth Pony with a white coat and bluish mane. Her purple eyes were looking over the large stacks of paperwork that clogged her desk. Though he couldn’t quite see behind the desk it looked like this mare didn’t have a ‘cutie mark’ which surprised him. Orientation said that those ‘cutie marks’ were really important to ponies telling them what their passion in life was.

The mare looked up at them with a smile. “Hello, my name is Berry Swirl. How can I hel-”

She trailed off, staring at them in shock with her mouth open slightly.

“Miss?” he asked wondering what caused this reaction “Is there something wrong?"

---

Later That Day

Erik was glad that he was allowed to become a reservist after the war with MARESOC. The country was sitting on the fence when it came to the military. On one side were those that wanted to massively expand the military. Rebuild the air force, navy, the whole nine yards. There were even a few that wanted to build a couple of nukes. Their reasoning was sound. The world was headed straight to a war that would be just as devastating as WW2. The US had to be ready to defend freedom not just at home but abroad.

On the other side of the fence were those that believed the United States should become a pacifist disarmed nation. What used to be a position held on by peaceniks or hippies had become very popular. After the horror that was World War 3 Americans were starting to lose their appetite for war.

Congress after a rather intense debate decided to continue the remilitarization . While the US wanted peace it was unlikely the world would let them. Wingbardy was no doubt planning to invade at some point. The Archon was ruthlessly expanding the Griffonian Empire. The Second Aquileian Revolution had failed. The King maintained rule over his nation with an iron claw and was no doubt miffed at the US refusing his offer for vassalage. And that was the conflicts the US could possibly get into by itself.

The State Department despite having been recently reformed was not idle. They were cultivating new alliances all across the planet. Across the sea there were the Soviets, the Union of Free Beings, Equestria, the Crystal Empire, and Olenians. Closer to home there was the Griffonian Republic and Republic of Griffonstone. Both nations were relatively new democracies and were naturally drawn to the US who in addition to being new like them were also an old stable republic. There was talk of reforming NATO or the United Nations though that was still in the early stages.

As he lay on the couch watching TV he was startled when the door to the apartment quickly swung open. Standing in the door frame was his roommate and friend Berry Swirl. He regularly visited her at the holding camp for proles like he promised. When the ‘Prole Pal’ program was started Berry asked if she could be his prole pal. The purpose of the program was to help deprogram the proles by having them live with American families. They would be retaught all the things MARESOC had wanted them to forget like how to think for themselves.

Honestly he didn’t really have to do much with Berry. Back at the camp the doctors were astounded at how readily she picked everything up making one of the first to be considered rehabilitated enough to leave. Berry got a job with the Office of New World Reconstruction which in addition to trying to rebuild the shattered remains of Marelandia was also going back to Earth to rescue people. Despite not having a cutie mark Berry had a knack for paperwork.

“Berry!? What’s wrong!?” he asked the pony who was catching her breath. Did she run all the way here!?

‘Erik! I just met your parents!” she said pointing a hoof at the family photo, his most prized possession, sitting on a table.

---

Novum Europa
Union of European Nations
The Drunken Bulldog Pub

“Is that what I think it is!? Jesus Christ man, you trying to get us all killed!?”

“Give me some credit, Sean. I was one of her majesty’s premier agents. The day one of those Europe First Gestapo wannabes get the best of me is the day hell freezes over.”

“”Whatever you say, Bishop. Can your contact in Equestria make sure this gets to the Americans?”

“Most certainly. Word on the grapevine is that relations between the Americans and Equestrians have warmed considerably. My contact has put us in touch with the Royal Equestrian Intelligence Agency, American CIA, and Soviet KGB. They are willing to equip us with weapons, ammunition, and the like.”

“Is that so? I have more than a few IRA buddies itching for a fight.”

“And I know a few members of the British Army along with a few French & German chaps who have some grievances with the current government.”

“Think we have enough to stage an uprising?”

“No. Nowhere near enough. The fascist bastards running the council are covering all their bases. Any uprising we try to stage would be swiftly crushed.”

“Then what the hell are we collecting all these guns for!?”

“The borders are locked down tight but not tight enough. We gather up our friends, families, and allies along with any ponies held in these prison camps here and here. We blow through the checkpoint and cross the border into Equestria.”

“So we’re gonna blow this joint then? As good a plan as any. When do we do it?”

“One week from now.”

Comments

[Velvet-Fresh]

its obvious Starlight Glimmer is 'Big Sister' who instead of killing herself take another cowardly option, erasing her memories. Becoming a new pony essentially

[Wanderer101]

10983788
It's not Starlight. Starlight is the one in charge of the Equestrian Communist Party and is petitioning the crown to recognize Stalliongrad as an independent nation. She has also been collaborating with the KGB to get Stalliongrad to accept some Soviet-style Harmonic Reforms through her numerous contacts in the Communist country.

I'll touch upon Big Sister a little bit more in the next chapter since a section of it is about her backstory.

[Wanderer101]

10984969
How so?

They completely ignored the line of succession, executed those that threatened their power, put America under indefinite martial law, and just about everyone blames them for World War 3 getting as bad as it did.

[reeboiiiii]

less goooo Modern Warfare time!

glad to see bishop here.