On the Road to '63

by niBBoi

The Goodwill Ride

There was a splash as a wheel suddenly plunged into a pothole filled halfway with muddy water. A few passengers were briefly startled until the car's engines roared, and before long, they were back firmly on the dirt road.

Lieutenant Black Shine puffed a cigar as he lounged lazily on the back of a staff car with his fellow changelings cheerfully singing and whistling a lovely tune.

So far, the ride was going smoothly or at least as smoothly as snaking through worn out service roads in war-torn western Equestria was. Shine didn't mind, however. He was used to it by then, and besides, it was better to be out there than to sit around filing papers and being glorified police officers back in Vesalipolis.

Black Shine took a long drag then absentmindedly twirled his cigar around. He noted how much better the cigars from Equestria were compared to the local stuff though he'd be damned if they didn't cost half his pay.

Much had happened since the end of the Great War. Changelingia was occupied by the Equestrians and then forced to demilitarize. Thorax was officially crowned the new leader of the changelings. He then married Queen Velvet which bound Changelingia and Olenia together in a union. After a year or so, the Equestrians wanted to establish friendly relations with Changelingia and so started by rearming the Changeling military and doing exercises, maneuvers, and other stuff with them.

Thus Black Shine and hundreds of Changelingian and Equestrian soldiers were told to drive a large convoy of trucks and staff cars around western Equestria, so they could show off Equestria and Changelingia's brand new friendship to the whole world. They called it the "Goodwill Ride", and it really wasn't a bad idea.

Other than providing the public a sneak peek of the blooming post-war political and military friendship and cooperation happening between Equestria and Changelingia, it was also a useful way of stress testing joint Equestrian-Changelingian logistical capabilities especially since the start of the Changeling rearmament efforts done by Equestria. After all, The Olenian-Changelingian Commonwealth was a founding member of the newly made Harmonic Alliance and Equestria wanted to make sure that her key allies were able to meet the demands of being such an important member.

Black Shine adjusted his coat and puffed his cigar once more. While he didn't fully embrace Equestria's undeniable presence in Changelingia, he did welcome the changes it had brought so far. There was a reason he had been a Thoraxian even before the war, and he wasn't going to deny his Harmonist leanings.

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, however. There were rumors about some "Arcturian Order" being overrun by an undead army, and many were speculating that perhaps Changelingia's remilitarization was at least in part caused by those rumors. In any case, Black Shine didn't really care much for it. The lieutenant had accepted whatever the future had in store, and after the Great War, he doubted much could manage to disturb him at that point.

Black Shine took yet another a good, long drag on his cigar, then gazed at the beautiful Equestrian countryside they were currently driving through. Rolling hills and little hamlets with a grey, cloudy sky though the fact that it wasn't raining in their vicinity yet meant that the pegasi were doing their job. The lieutenant sighed and closed his eyes to take a nap.

Such a peaceful land...

Author's Note:

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/equestriaatwar/comments/1509i00/the_goodwill_ride/