>>Vietnam
>>You're out on your first patrol with 4 fluffy G.I.s
>>You spent the last 8 weeks training these little bastards to eat bullets and shit nails
>>It's an experimental unit, the laughingstock of the military, implemented only to coincide with the recent granting of fluffy suffrage
>>Sometimes the job feels like a punishment
>>Other units snicker whenever you go by
>>But no one fucks with you, they know how fuckin tough you are
>>And that's how tough you made these goddamn fluffies
>>Over time these dumb bastards became your closest friends
>>You gave 'em nicknames - Munsta, Big BooBoo, Smarty Friend, and Bad Poopies
>>They call you "Fwuffy Mumma", much to your chagrin
>>These guys are your whole world now, and now that training's over, it's time for them to prove themselves
>>Now you're in the jungles, patrolling for Vietcong
"Smawty fwiend, take point. Bad Poopies, cover our six with the SAW."
>>Goddammit, you even talk like them now
>>You notice a clearing up ahead
>>A lone fluffy pony is lying in the center
>>It is waving a hoof
>>Weeks of training collapse immediately
>>Munsta is the first to go, running out for "hugsies"
"PWIVATE! Get back here, NOW!"
>>Bad Poopies drops the SAW and runs out into the clearing. "Fwen! Hewwo! Give hugsies!"
>>You keep shouting, to no avail
>>Munsta reaches the lone pony and begins hugging it. "Pway! Pway!"
>>The pony simply continues to wave; it does not move otherwise
>>This is more than enough for Big BooBoo, who now runs out to join the rest
>>The only one who remains behind is Smarty Friend
>>You got it right when you named him
>>He looks like he's about to bolt forward though
"Don't you fucking move, private. Hold your position."
>>You smack him on the helmet for emphasis. >>"Owies! Ok! No move, sawge!"
>>You watch as the other three ponies huddle around the waving body
>>You know its dead
>>Sweat runs down your face
>>There is a loud bang
>>Blood blossoms from BooBoo's backside
>>He goes down, screaming. "OWIES!! Hewp! Hewp! Fwuffie huwt!"
>>You throw your arm in front of Smarty Friend, holding him back
"All of you, GET BACK HERE!"
>>Munsta and Bad Poopies huddle around the wailing BooBoo, trying to hug him
>>They don't understand what happened
>>You were able to desensitize them to gunfire, but they never understood where bullets actually came from
>>There is another loud bang
>>Munsta's left front leg is blown clean off
>>He flips on his back, screaming in agony
>>Bad Poopies looks down at him, dumbfounded. "What happen to fwen legsie?"
>>A bullet slams into his head, blowing out his left eye
>>Blood sprays out his nose and mouth as he falls
>>Bad Poopies is dead
>>You realize now that the sniper isn't trying to draw the fluffies out
>>He's trying to draw YOU out
>>This fucker is going down
>>You know he's shooting from a knot of conifers up ahead
>>You also know that once he knows you know where he is, he's going to bolt
>>Not happening
"Stay here, Smawty. Don't move, unless you want to end up wike Bad Poopies."
>>"No wan to be bad poopies..."
>>You leave him, heading into the trees
>>Munsta was the team sniper
>>All you have is an SMG
>>It'll have to do
>>Staying out of sight, you make for the sniper's nest
>>You catch a flash of him - he's covered in moss and grass, fixated on the kill zone, where Munstah and BooBoo are bleeding out
>>They call out to you
>>"Fwuffie Mumma hewp fwuffie! Pwese! Fwuffie scared!"
>>You duck behind a tree
>>Swallow nervously
>>You can't afford to get spotted
>>Suddenly, your eye catches a flash of movement
>>It's Smarty Friend, advancing past you
>>You didn't even hear him
>>Sonuva bitch remembered his stealth training
>>You signal at him frantically, but he doesn't see it
>>You watch him go
>>You see the trap before he does
"SMAWTY FWIEND! NOO!"
>>Leaf and stick cover on the ground break away into a pitfall. Smarty Friend falls in. You hear a sickening thud.
>>Just then, the sniper runs out, pistol in hand
>>He thinks he caught you
>>In that instant, you recognize his face
>>It's Cheng Nyet Vu, an elite Vietcong sniper who's been ravaging units in the region
>>Command has placed a high bounty on his head
>>But you don't give a shit
>>This fuck killed your friends
>>He lifts his gun
>>You don't even give him a chance
>>The SMG kicks violently, spraying bullets
>>Nyet Vu is torn to shreds
>>He falls to the ground, dead
>>You rush out to the killzone
>>BooBoo is dead, and Munsta is fading fast. He looks up at you, eyes glassy
>>"Mumma... mumma..."
"You're going to be just fine, pwivate. Hold on."
>>You try to stop the bleeding, but it's too late. Munsta dies.
>>You check the decoy pony
>>A wire was tied to its hoof
>>Grief stricken, you return to Nyet Vu's body
>>You get down on your knees and peer into the pitfall
>>Smarty Friend is inside
>>He's impaled on a wooden stake
>>He's still breathing
>>You radio for immediate evac
>>When you return home, you are hailed as a hero
>>Fluffy ponies in the military become a hot button media issue
>>Hippies and peaceniks label them as "tools of the corporate warmachine", while communists call them "imperialist shills"
>>They are targeted nationwide as enemies of the peace, and become scapegoats of the war
>>The military, for its part, vaunts the bravery of fluffy ponies, hailing them as "brave defenders of democracy
>>Tens of thousands conscripted
>>In the first month of deployment, 95% casualty rate, 0 confirmed kills
>>The project is scrapped, and survivors are quietly committed to Agent Orange testing
>>Meanwhile, you receive an honorable discharge and a sizable sum of cash for your deeds
>>You retire to a farm in the midwest
>>The air is clean, peaceful
>>Smarty Friend hobbles around on an artificial limb
>>He is your best friend, and you give him all the hugsies and pway he wants
>>Once a year, you set the table for 5
>>Spaghetti, of course