Worldly Sentinelby Flutter-SparksChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2PrologueChapter One (John Fairmore's POV) The patrol consisted of three vehicles with one squad of four in each. My squad was the third vehicle in the back. When we reached the town center we were stopped by the lead vehicle. When we got out and looked around I saw two men from the first squad walking over to the fountain, I walk over to my sergeant. “What’s going on”, I asked. Pointing to a pile of debris next to the fountain he said “We’ve got a suspected IED, first squad’s going to look at it. When I looked back at them neither of them were wearing any protective gear. "They're getting lazy." I thought, and I didn’t blame them. Every suspected IED we came across was either a dud or we've eliminated the detonator. A few seconds later one of the men gave a signal that it was a confirmed IED, as one of them got up and took a few steps towards his vehicle to get his EOD gear the IED went off. I stepped back in shock and looked around and saw figures forming on the roofs of nearby buildings. As I ran back to my jeep to get my gun I heard someone yell “CONTACT!” and then I heard shots being fired. "Shit, ambush!" I thought to myself as I grabbed my M16 from my seat and ran for a nearby fruit stand as civilians fled the scene. I look over the stand and spotted two men with AK-47s on a roof across the street. I aimed my gun and fired ten rounds and saw them fall. As I look around I spotted the man who was still at the bomb when it went off. It was hard to notice but I saw his chest moving up and down. “He’s still alive” I muttered to myself. I looked around and spotted two of our men behind a low wall; I took the risk and made a run for them. When I reached them they just looked at me with a worried expression on their faces. This was obviously their first actual firefight, as I saw that they were PFCs. “It’s going to be fine” I told them, “I need you two to provide cover fire for me when I say”. “Why?” one of them asked. “Our man over there is still breathing, I’m going to get him but I need you two to cover me, got it?” I explained. They just nodded. I waited a few seconds and then began to count down from my fingers 3, 2, 1, after one I yelled at the top of my lungs “COVERING FIRE!” and hopped over the wall while the other two got up and began shooting. As I crossed the street I could hear the bullets of the insurgents whistle past. I neared the first vehicle and heard from my left someone yell “RPG!” that’s when I looked to my right and saw the projectile cross me and impact the first jeep next to me sending me back a few feet and on to my back. I laid there for a few seconds while my head was ringing from the explosion. After that stopped got up and gathered my thoughts, and began to make my way towards the fallen soldier. When I got to him I noticed that half of his right arm was missing. I carefully picked him up and threw him over my shoulder and ran behind the second jeep while dodging more bullets from enemy guns. I made it behind the jeep and I was met by two men from second squad, but I ignored them and set my gun down to tend to the wounded. After further inspection all that seemed to be wrong was his missing arm and a couple bruises, I tore part of his sleeve and then tied it around the wound to try and stop the bleeding as best I could, I then looked at the other two next to me. “Get this man somewhere safe” I told them as I handed him over to one. He picked him up and ran back into an alley while his partner followed him close behind. When they were out of sight I decided to help out in the fight now. I go to look over the hood of the jeep but I’m then back behind it as bullets ricochet off of it. I tried again and was able to spot one man on a roof down the street, I lifted my weapon and aimed at them man then fired off three shots. I grinned in my mind as I saw him grab his chest and fall to the street below. As I looked for more targets the gun fire seemed to die down. After a few minutes of silence me and a few other men stood up and began to walk to our squads. I found my sergeant over by the rest of my squad; I got the usual greeting from Greg when I walked up to them. "That's going to make one hell of a video." then gestured to the camera mounted on my helmet. I simply smiled and looked over at the Sergeant. “You ask’n for a death wish corporal? That was one hell of a stunt you pulled.” Sarg greeted me. I just looked at him with a smirk on my face. He chuckled and looked at Greg, “So... any other casualties?” “Two more sir, one of the men from 1st squad was wounded by shrapnel from the RPG and the other was shot three times in the leg. Only the private in 1st squad was left untouched, he’s a lucky one. We’ve already called for med-evac.” He replied. After the wounded were loaded onto the chopper the private hopped into our jeep. I looked at him and he seemed worried, I leaned over and put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look that seemed to calm him. I smiled and leaned back hoping to catch a few Zs. A few hours later when we got to the base Greg woke me up with a flick to my forehead, I opened my eyes and gave him a blank look that made him frown. When I wore my sunglasses, it was fun to mess with the others since they never could really fiqure out the look I gave them. I chuckled and got out of the jeep. I looked up at the sun though it didn’t faze me since I was wearing my sunglasses, then Sarg walked up behind me. “Do you ever take those things off, sometimes it’s hard to look at you and know if you looking back or staring at the sky and daydreaming.” I just shrugged and looked ahead. “Anyways…” he started, “meet in the briefing room in 30 we got a special mission tomorrow night.” I nodded in reply and he gave me a pat on the shoulder. After putting my gear back in the barracks by my bunk, I used the time I had to clean my rifle and check my equipment. While doing so, I couldn't help but wonder what are mission was. We've never gone on a mission at night, so I was quite curious to find out. After about 25 minutes, I made my way to the briefing room. I walked in and sat next to Romeo, he looked at me and just smiled then looked forward at the board. "Does this guy ever talk?" I thought, I don’t think I’ve heard Romeo talk except for the time he introduced himself, and when he gave the occasional yes, no, maybe, and so on. Later the Sergeant and Greg walked in and sat next to me, I asked Greg what he thought the mission was about but he just shrugged, which didn't help at all. For the next hour or so, we were told that we were going to join a SEAL team and infiltrate a Russian compound 10 miles north. At first it was just an abandoned town but now it’s been seeing more activity over the past month. Satellites have shown pictures of Russian vehicles in the town, transporting what appeared to be computer hardware. So our job was to join up with the seal team and extract any information from the database there. The seal team will sabotage and distract the Russians so we could get in and get out. After the briefing was over I walked up to the sergeant with a question that’s been bugging me. “So why were we picked for this mission?” “Command got word of you did earlier during the ambush and thought having you and your fast feet would be good for the mission.” He said with a smirk on his face. “If you had paid a little more attention to the briefing, you’re the one who’s going to retrieve the info. So if we get into a tight situation, we’ll cover you and you can make a mad dash to the evac site.” I frowned at the fact that I'll be the one getting shot at the most. He saw that and laughed as he patted me on the back and left. We prepared the next afternoon for the mission; we were given NVGs and suppressors for our M16s, as well as suppressors for our M9s. And like earlier, I was tasked with retrieving the info and was given a laptop to download the files to it; I needed the software on it to hack the terminal in the base. I placed the laptop in my backpack with my other stuff and place metal plate in front of it so it wouldn’t get shot, I had plenty of room in my bag so I didn’t need to take anything out. A few hours later, at about 2030 hours, we loaded up into a Blackhawk and took off. After about 45 minutes we were dropped off a mile from the compound, we then took a 15 minute walk the rest of the way. We stopped a few hundred meters from the base and waited for the signal from the SEALs. While we waited, I looked at the town. The walls surrounding it were about 15 feet tall, but didn't look very sturdy. There were no towers, witch would make getting in easier, and no guards posted outside the front entrance. It was only a few minutes later that we got the signal from the SEALs. "Foxtrot 2-4, you are a go." With that we made our way to the East wall, as it wasn't as heavily guarded, and found a weak spot. We bashed a hole in the wall, and made our way into the base. When Greg got through he turned to me as made my way through the hole. “Why are you wearing your glasses this late at night, can you even see?” he asked in a low whisper, and he had a good point, it was dark out and I was wearing sunglasses under my NVGs. The reason I wore them was because they were like my good luck charm, I only took them off when I met with my superiors. I was about to respond but I was cut off by the Sarg, “you two quiet down, we don’t want to get noticed.” I just nodded and followed him throw the hole. When we reached the end of the alley Sarg gave us a signal to stop, he peeked around the corner and looked back at us. “So. What do you see?” I ask in a low tone. “3 man patrols and an LMG on the top floor down the street.” He responded. “We’ll wait for the SEALs to create the diversion and then we’ll take out that LMG and move to the target building.” We all nodded. A few minutes passed then we heard a large explosion, “that’s it” the Sarg said. We waited till the patrols moved to the diversion then Sarg looked around the corner and aimed his gun I heard the *pft** pft* of the suppressed gun, then Sarg gave us the signal to move up. We met no resistance while moving up the street. The seals did a good job, but I still kept a close eye on the alleys and roofs. When we reached the target building me and Greg went to the left entrance while Sarg and Romeo went to the right entrance. Sarg gave us the go over the radio and me and Greg burst into the room from one side while the Sarg and Romeo entered from the other. There were 3 enemies I shot the one going for the pistol on the table while Sarg and Romeo shot the other two. When the room was clear I ran over to a terminal and took the laptop out and plugged it in. I began to download files and information ranging from weapon blueprints to times and dates. One file caught my eye; it looked like some kind of portal the Russians were working on, and that was the last file I downloaded. As I began to unplug the laptop and put it back I heard voices coming from outside. “Hurry John!” the Sarg yelled over his shoulder. I zipped up the bag and gave him a thumbs up signaling I’m good. When I turned around four men came barging through the main door but, with the others in a defensive position, were taken out before I could pull up my weapon. I ran to the Sergeant and patted him on the shoulder. We left through the main doors, to meet a group of ten armed men. We made a run for it with them chasing us and yelling “ostanovis'!” We were able to run into a nearby house and waited till they passed. When we thought the coast was clear the wall between us blew up bringing down the center of the roof separating me from the rest of the squad. As the dust cleared Sarg spoke up. “Is everyone okay? Corporal where are you?” “Over here Sarg, I’m okay, but I’m separated from you guys.” I responded. Greg and Romeo walked up to the ruble and tried to clear some of it, only to have more of the roof fall. “Wait, you're going to bring the rest of the roof down on us. I’ll look for another way out, you guys get out and I’ll see if I can meet up with the seal team.” “Alright, but be careful John, I don’t want to deal with a soldier gone MIA that has intel on the enemy.” “I will, but if you get no response from me or seals in five mikes then go ahead and leave.” The Sergeant was about to interject but was interrupted by gun fire coming from outside. I waved my hands in a shooing motion at them, they nodded and left. When I exited the building onto the street I looked to my right and saw a Russian T-90 and more men heading my may “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I mumbled. Then one of them pointed in my direction and yelled “Vot on!” and began shooting. I ran down the street as the tank and men followed. I was about to make a turn into an alley but a bullet hit me in my right shin, going clean through as I felt it exit and making me stumble past the alley. I tried to ignore the pain as I began to limp at a fast rate. I was coming to a building under construction when I heard the tank behind me fire a shell and blow up a pile of 2x4s a few feet from me. A few seconds later I felt a deep stinging pain in my side but shook it off as getting shot again. I saw a stack of barrels and used them to get to the roofs of the buildings. I finished climbing and began rooftop jumping trying to get away from the T-90. One man came out of a hatch in front of me on one roof and began to shoot a Draganov SVD at me. He was a horrible shot as I came up to him and threw a right hook at his jaw and grabbed his weapon with the other, hoping it would come in handy. That’s when I heard the tank fire another round at me and I could hear it wiz past me. “Just won’t leave me alone will you, huh fucker!” I yelled. When I look back in front of me I saw that I was running out of roofs to run on, but I kept going. As I got to the last roof the tank fired one more shell but missed as I jumped off and, in mid air, a blue portal that seemed to spit out electricity opened right in front of me, and I fell right into it. "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" Author's Note My first story, so constructive criticism is welcome. Ok, so I cut this chapter down, and am going to put John arriving in Equestria in the next chapter, and I went ahead and put a little more detail into this chapter. I'm changing up the beginning of the story a bit, just because I wasn't happy with what I had. Chapter 1Chapter 1 "-iiiiiit!" The portal caught me of guard as I began to fumble with my footing when I came out. I eventually tripped over my right leg, which sent a wave a pain through it , and fell to my side and slid a couple feet. When I was done sliding, I groaned as I sat up to see where is was, figuring since a portal would bring you to another location. I was blinded for a second since I was wearing my NVGs, so I promptly lifted them from my eyes and finally got a look at my surroundings. I appeared to be in a grassy field with some small hills surrounding me, it was day, as thought it would be, since the sun was up , and there appeared to be no sign of civilization around. I became worried, I had no idea as to where I could be. Giving my surroundings another look, I spotted a tree on top of one of the hills. I could use it to get a better look at the landscape. I picked myself up, but winced as I felt the stinging pain in my side again. I looked down to find that I wasn't shot, I was stabbed by a piece of wood. I then remembered back to when the tank blew up the 2x4s, luckily it didn't seem very deep. In a quick effort I grabbed and pulled the piece of wood out and let out a small yell in pain in response. I threw the piece of wood to the grass below, and put my hand to the wound. I brought my hand back up to my face, my blood stained my glove but I didn't see as much blood as I had expected, and was relieved to no it wasn't bleeding heavily, though I knew I would have to treat it properly. With my injuries at mind, I knelt down on my left leg and lifted up my right pants leg. I saw the hole the bullet had made in my leg, and that it was bleeding badly. Since I wasn't a corpsman, I had to improvise on bandaging. So I tore my left sleeve off, and tied it around my leg, it was the best I could do for now. After that was finished, I pick up the Draganov from its spot on the ground and made my walk to the hilltop. I reached the top of the hill and set my bag against the tree. The shade along with a small breeze, felt amazing. I was starting to get hot when I came through the portal, I'm guessing it had to be summer where I was. After standing for a moment with my eyes closed to savor the cool breeze, I re-opened them to look around; see if I could find anything of use. I looked to my right and saw a forest bordering the field of small hills I was in. I brought my head back so I was looking straight ahead, and saw more hills spread about. Turning to look to my left, something caught my eye over the hill tops. It was something kind of yellow and light brown that didn't seem to fit the green fields. It was too far for me to see it clearly, so I brought the Draganov up and looked through the mounted scope. What I saw looked like grass and straw roofs with wooden beams, my heart gave a leap of joy at the sight knowing there was some kind of civilization. I lowered the gun with a smile on my face and moved to my bag. When I picked it up, I turned around, ready to head out, but then I heard a howl come from behind the hills I looked at earlier. It sounded fairly close, so I waited a few more seconds to see if anything would happen. As if on cue, I heard a scream. But not from an animal, it sounded like someone in danger. By instinct, I took off in that same direction to go help whoever it was. I may not know what I may be getting myself into, but my job as a Marine meant for me to help and protect the innocent. When I finally made it up the hill, I didn't know what I was looking at. There was what looked like some kind of horse that had human characteristics. It had two legs with hooves for feet, and had arms with hands, it had a short muzzle with unusually large eyes. What really got me was that it had wings, its fur coat was a butter yellow, and had long pink hair and matching tail. It wore clothes like a human; a green, long-sleeved, turtle neck sweatshirt and some blue skinny jeans. It was currently on its behind and it looked like it was bleeding from its right arm. It was looking to the right at something, obviously terrified. When I turned my head to the right, I saw what the problem was. There were three wolves made of what looked like sticks and twigs, advancing on the wing horse, snarling and baring their teeth. Now this may seem like the most random idea, but I had to get the wolves' attention somehow. So I began to run down the hill at the wolves, yelling at the top of my lungs. "AAAAAAAHHH!" The wolves all brought their heads up looking around in confusion as I hoped. When they finally figured out what was going on and saw me coming, I was only five feet away. I picked the closest one and ran right into it with my shoulder, I knocked onto its side with me on top. I delivered three blows to its head with the butt of the Draganov, it howled in pain before it just fell apart. I got up and back away startled at what happened, I mean it just fell apart instead of becoming unconscious or bleed like any living thing would. Well now that I think of it, it was made of twigs and sticks. I was brought out of my thought as I heard growling, I looked up and saw the other two snarling and slowly making their way to me. I began to slowly back away with the gun pointed at the wolves, ready if either made a move. And one did just that. The wolf pounced at me but jerked back as I shot it dead in the head. It fell at my feet and just disassembled like the other one. The other one used this as an opportunity and jumped on top of me. It's beady green eyes just a few inches from mine. It was a sight I thought I would never see in all my life. The next thing the wolf did was reel its head back ready to sink its teeth into my face, but I saw this coming and brought the Draganov up for it to be clamped down on by the wolf. It was a battle of strength from there on, me trying to keep it at bay and the wolf trying to pull the gun away so it could finish me. And in my weakened state, I knew it wouldn't last long, so I had to do something fast. Then I remembered, I still had my knife and M9 on me. It was a risk worth taking and I had to be fast. I let go of the gun with my right hand and grabbed the M9 strapped to the side of leg. In doing so, the wolf was able to throw my gun off to the side and was about to bite my face off until I fired five shots into its stomach, making it reel back with a pained yelp. As soon as it was completely off of me, brought up my sidearm, aimed down the sights and fired three more shots into its head, finally ending it. I was panting as my adrenaline rush subsided, and in return I could start to feel my would begin to throb. I holstered my M9 and grabbed my side as I began to stand up. But I began to sway a bit, and my vision blurred for a few seconds. I needed to get help soon are else I would... Well, die. I looked over and saw the bipedal horse that the wolves were initially after, and made my over. As I got closer, I could see more of the being in front of me. One thing I just then noticed was that it was female from... Obvious features, and in in my opinion, she was kind of cute. As I walked up to her, she hid behind her long pink mane, shaking. I couldn't scare her any more than she already is. She could be my only chance to getting to a hospital to treat my wounds and hers. I stopped next to her and knelt down to her right. "Are you alright?" I asked, though the scratch on her arm was obvious. Her response was: "P-please don't h-hurt me." she said from behind her pink hair. Her voice was soft and sweet, like a just audible whisper. "Hey, you're safe now, I'm not going to hurt you." I said with a reassuring smile. She looked out from behind her hair, I could see the fear and a hint of curiosity in those unnaturally large, blue eyes of hers. They made me smile even bigger, they looked like they could change the coldest of hearts; they looked just so peaceful and innocent. I turned my attention to the wound on her arm, the sweater surrounding the spot was torn and stained with blood. I couldn't see much of the scratch its self, and to know how bad it was I would need to roll up her sleeve. "May I?" I asked, gesturing to the torn fabric. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually nodded. With her approval, I began to roll up her sleeve earning a hiss of pain now and then. Once her sleeve was up, I observed the injury. The surrounding fur was all matted with dried blood; the scratch itself didn't seem too deep, but enough to cause a fair amount of blood to escape. Reaching behind me I grabbed my canteen, having just remembered it, and brought it up, opened it and began to poor the water on the wound to clean it. I earned another hiss of pain as I rubbed the areas of dried blood to remove it, and apologized it. "Oh - um, i-it's alright." I looked to her to find her staring off in the direction of the dead wolves, then her eyes went wide. Curios as to why, I turn my head in the same direction, only to see the sticks and twigs of the wooden beasts become surrounded with a green force and began to float around. I really hope they weren't doing what I think they were, "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" I breathed, as they were, to my disbelief and fear, that they began to piece themselves together again. I mean, that shouldn't be possible, once something's dead it's dead. But this obviously wasn't the case. Not wanting to fight these things again, I looked back to my "patient", and placed one arm under her legs and one under her shoulders, and lifted her up with me, she was surprisingly lighter than I thought, and that earned me a little 'eep'. All I said was "Hold on." and I was sprinting-limping as fast as I could in the opposite direction. After a minute or two of running, my body was screaming at me to stop, I had done a lot today/tonight. I complied as I slowed to a stop. Panting, I set her down so she was standing, and took a step back to give us some room. I was exhausted, I had ran from a tank, fought off a bunch of 'immortal', wooden wolves, and now just ran while carrying another... 'person'. All in my current condition. While catching my breath, I heard a faint voice in front of me, "Um, are you alright, i-if you don't mind me asking?" I didn't bother to think about the question and blankly answered "Yeah, I'm good." which was an obvious lie. "No. No you're not!" this took me by surprise, she had bit of seriousness in her voice when she said that. I looked up to her, she was staring back at me. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by her again, "You just saved me from those Timber Wolves (so that's what they were), and are horribly injured! You need help!" I just stared at her. Her eyes then seemed to shrink as she hid behind her hair once again saying, "I'm so sorry talking that way, please don't hate me." I sighed "No you're right, you're right. I should get some help, I've been through a lot today." she smiled at this and returned the smile with my own. Even though I appear to be in a different world, it doesn't seem like it will be so bad until I can find a way back... if there is one. I spent another minute catching my breath before we would start walking. When I was good, I asked, "So, is there a hospital close by that we can get to?" "There's one in Ponyville. I can take you there, if that's okay with you?" "I wou-... I would li-" that's when began to feel light headed, and started to sway. I could see the concern on her face as I tried to keep my balance. "Um, a-are you alright?" her voice was faint but, I could still hear it. I didn't have any chance to respond as I fell to my knees, then my side, and blacked out. Author's Note If you're wondering about the sudden change to Night Vision Goggles, I just realized they would be given NVGs instead of IVNs (I was thinking of Battlefield 3 at the time) In other news, this took so long because of needing to keep my grades up and finding time to write when possible. But other than that, hear you go, the next chapter. Chapter 2Chapter 2 I awoke with a start as I shot my eyes open and tried to sit up, I instantly leaned back again as pain coursed through my body at the moment. I looked around and noticed I was in a small, white room. I could hear a faint beeping and looked to my right and saw a heart rate monitor, then I looked to my left and saw a dangling IV with the tube leading to my arm. I pieced this together and figured I was in a hospital. I continued to look around and noticed my camies on a table in the corner of the room, all neatly folded. My sunglasses and helmet sat atop them as well. But then I noticed none of my other gear wasn't in the room. Figured, I showed up armed wouldn't be a surprise that my gear was taken. Yet, what then made me think was what happened just before I passed out. Like what I saw, a bipedal... pony, I guess is what I can call her, with wings. Then there were those... Timberwolves, I think is what they were called, that began to rebuild after I was sure I had "killed". I wasn't sure if I was just dreaming. But the pain and everything just felt so real. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard walking from just outside the door and stop. I could hear someone talking, but all I could make out was "check" and "princess". Then the door gave a click as it opened to reveal another one of those bipedal ponies, female I can tell, probably a nurse since she wore a white blouse and skirt, and had a white cap with a red cross on it. Her fur was white like her outfit and her hair was a light pink done up in a bun. She only took a couple steps in when she stopped dead in her tracks, looking at me. she just stood there and we shared an awkward silence for a couple minutes. That silence was broken when I heard a voice come from the hallway. "Nurse Readheart, are you alright?" the voice sounded feminine. No sooner did another pony walk in, but she was deferent than the last two I've met. She wore a purple vest over a white blouse, she wore a purple skirt that came just above her knees. Her fur was lavender and her hair was a dark purple with a pink stripe running down in. Now the things that made her stand out was that she had wings, and a horn. A fucking horn. And to top it off, she had a crown atop her head with a purple, six pointed star. She stopped and looked at me, eyes widening with what looked like excitement. Then she spoke again. "You-you're awake." "Yes I can see that, and I fine just a little sore." I calmly replied. "That's good..." she looked to the nurse and she gave a nod in reply and walked out. It was probably another few minutes of awkward silence till she spoke again. "I apologize, I suppose introductions are in order. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and your name is John F. I presume?" "Yes," I gave a quick nod "how did you know that?" "Oh, that metal necklace you had, it see quite convenient at the time." My dog tags, that's what she was talking about. Then I realized I wasn't wearing them or that they were not over on the table. "Those would be my dog tags. Speaking of, do you know where they are?" "Oh, yes. My friend Rarity to it apon herself to fix your clothing, and I think she still has your... dog tags." I gave a quick nod, and opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted by her speaking again. "In fact, that reminds me. Some of my friends have been waiting the to meet you. I'll be right back." And with that she walked out the door. Leaving myself to my thoughts. Now I knew I definitely wasn't on Earth, and that it looks like the ruling species are bipedal, talking equines of sorts. My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and in walked Twilight and five other ponies, I noticed all of them were female. One of them I already recognized as the one I rescued out in the field. When al of them were in, there the other four I didn't recognize. One had orange fur and had long blonde hair done up in a pony tail. She wore a plaid, red shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, over a white shirt; tank top or tee, I wasn't sure. She also had on a pair of blue jeans and had cowboy hat atop her head. The next one had blue fur and her hair was literally a fucking rainbow like in a cartoon; she also sported a pair of wings like Twilight and the yellow one. She looked like she came from the gym as she wore a tank top that was a darker shade of her fur, and some gym shorts. Next one had white fur and her hair was purple and curled at the ends in and elegant fashion, she had a horn as well. She wore a white, button up blouse and a skirt that came down to just below her knees. I had a feeling she was Rarity. And the last one had pink fur with pink, poofy hair... so much pink. She wore a bright blue t-shirt with the words "Party Pony" on it, and some blue jeans. She was jumping up and down in place and had a huge grin. It kind of scared me. Twilight stepped forward and began to introduce the others. "These are my friends, girls go ahead and introduce yourselves." First was the orange pony, "Howdy, Ah'm Applejack, I run Sweet Apple Acres with ma family, nice ta meet ya." she gave a tip of her hat. Next was the rainbow haired one, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria." Oh really, just wait till you see one of our jets. Next was "Rarity" I presume, "I am Rarity, I run the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville." I was right. Then the yellow one I helped, "I'm, um, Fluttershy. T-thank you for saving me." Cute name. She then just looked down and traced her.. hoof across the floor. Then there was the pink "Party Pony"... wait where did she go? Next thing I knew, my vision was assaulted by a said pony, who began to bable on at a speed I could, surprisingly, still understand. "Hi I'm pinkie Pie, and I just want to thank you for saving Fluttershy. Ooo, that reminds me, I need to start planning your 'Welcome to Ponyville/Thank you for saving Fluttershy Party!" And with that, she just seemed to disappear, leaving a cloud of dust that looked like her. I'm going to need to keep an eye on her. I mentally noted. "Anyone care to tell me what that was all about?" I asked, hoping for an answer. "That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. I wouldn't try to think about, you'll just hurt yourself." was what I got from Twilight. I just raised an eyebrow with a simple "Oookaaay" It was probably a few more seconds of silence until Twilight broke the silence... again. "So, I guess now that that's out of the way, do you mind if I ask you a few questions." "Well I'm not goin' anywhere." "Great!" then her horn began to glow a light purple, then a piece of paper and a quill appeared. I sat there wide eyed at what just happened. She just materialized a solid object out of thin air! Yet, as fast as I was surprised, I just went to like nothing happened, and waited for Twilight to continue. "Ok, first question: who are you? Sorry I just want to make sure." See how I haven't properly introduced myself to the others I decided it would hurt. "I am Corporal John Fairmore of the United States Marine Corp." "So you're a guard?" I heard Rarity ask. "A soldier to be precise." She wrote thi on the paper. "Ok, next question: what are you?" "A human, or Homo Sapien in scientific terms." And again, she wrote this. "Alright, ne-" she was interrupted when the door to the rom opened to reveal another pony, but he was male this time. He had brown fur and his hair was a darker shade of brown. He wore the typical clothing a doctor, A white coat over there clothing of choice. This was apparently sky blue button up shirt with brown slacks. he looked up from a clipboard he was holding, "Good, I'm glad to see you're awake. Now if you don't mind if I ask you a couple questions?" he looked over and saw Twilight with a bit of an annoyed look. "Sorry, princess. But its just a couple questions, and then I'll be out of here." she gave a nod, and he continued. "Alright, what are you?" I inwardly groaned. "A human, or Homo Sapien in scientific terms." he wrote it down on his clipboard. "Next, how did you get your leg injury?" I thought about the question, I couldn't tell them about my mission, but I guess it could hurt if I told them what injured me. "I was shot. shot by an AK-47, I think." "An AK-what-now?" they all seemed to ask at the same time. "An AK-47. Do you know what a firearm is?" they all shook their heads. "Well a fire arm is a projectile weapon, its kinda complicated on how it works, but the simple way to explain it is they shot project pieced of metal at hi speeds to ensure the intended target is eliminated. An example would be that rifle I had when got here, you know, the long black piece of metal." When I finished, they were all looking at me with horrified looks, except for Rainbow Dash. She had her winds spread and got in a stance like she was about to pounce. Which she did. She flew right at me, and I didn't have enough time to react, and I was pinned against the back of my bed with one of her arms and the other raised in a fist. "Is that why you're here, is to kill us?" she yelled. "What! No! Why would just go around harming the innocent for no reason? I'm a Marine, I protect the innocent! I fight so those who can't defend themselves don't have to! I fight keep my country safe, so the men, women, and children back hope can go about there day, not having to worry about those who wish to destroy their home! I fight knowing every day could be my last! I fight so others don't have to go through I had to!" I closed my eyes and looked down as a tears began to well up, bad memories coming up. I began to lightly sob. I felt a pair of arm wrap around my torso, and I was pulled into a hug; I looked up. It was Fluttershy, her soft fur felt so soft against my bare skin. I hesitantly stretched my arms out and snaked them around her, and returned the hug. My sobbing reduced to a few sniffles, I felt so safe, so warm. I haven't felt like that ever I since I left for the Marines. "There, there. Its alright, you don't need to tell us about it. It's alright." her soft voice came, you could say it sounded like an angel. We sat there for a few moments until I let go "Thank you" was all I could say as I gave a weak smile. She returned it with a smile of her own. We heard an someone clear there throat and we looked at the doctor. "Well, that was interesting and all, but sorry princess, I think it's time to go. It's getting late, and he needs his rest." I looked out the nearby window and saw the orange glow of the setting sun. I looked back and saw Twilight and the others nod there heads, even Pinkie Pie... wait, how did I not notice come in? They gave me one last, apologetic look and left. I sat there thinking of what happened, and what's going to happen. I'm in a world of colorful, talking, bipedal ponies. I sighed and closed my letting sleep cloud my mind. Author's Note Hey, next chapter is here and I'm sorry it took a while. I got a lot sidetracked a lot, and what like a lot of others on this site, I have finals next week. but other than that, enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome.
PrologueChapter One (John Fairmore's POV) The patrol consisted of three vehicles with one squad of four in each. My squad was the third vehicle in the back. When we reached the town center we were stopped by the lead vehicle. When we got out and looked around I saw two men from the first squad walking over to the fountain, I walk over to my sergeant. “What’s going on”, I asked. Pointing to a pile of debris next to the fountain he said “We’ve got a suspected IED, first squad’s going to look at it. When I looked back at them neither of them were wearing any protective gear. "They're getting lazy." I thought, and I didn’t blame them. Every suspected IED we came across was either a dud or we've eliminated the detonator. A few seconds later one of the men gave a signal that it was a confirmed IED, as one of them got up and took a few steps towards his vehicle to get his EOD gear the IED went off. I stepped back in shock and looked around and saw figures forming on the roofs of nearby buildings. As I ran back to my jeep to get my gun I heard someone yell “CONTACT!” and then I heard shots being fired. "Shit, ambush!" I thought to myself as I grabbed my M16 from my seat and ran for a nearby fruit stand as civilians fled the scene. I look over the stand and spotted two men with AK-47s on a roof across the street. I aimed my gun and fired ten rounds and saw them fall. As I look around I spotted the man who was still at the bomb when it went off. It was hard to notice but I saw his chest moving up and down. “He’s still alive” I muttered to myself. I looked around and spotted two of our men behind a low wall; I took the risk and made a run for them. When I reached them they just looked at me with a worried expression on their faces. This was obviously their first actual firefight, as I saw that they were PFCs. “It’s going to be fine” I told them, “I need you two to provide cover fire for me when I say”. “Why?” one of them asked. “Our man over there is still breathing, I’m going to get him but I need you two to cover me, got it?” I explained. They just nodded. I waited a few seconds and then began to count down from my fingers 3, 2, 1, after one I yelled at the top of my lungs “COVERING FIRE!” and hopped over the wall while the other two got up and began shooting. As I crossed the street I could hear the bullets of the insurgents whistle past. I neared the first vehicle and heard from my left someone yell “RPG!” that’s when I looked to my right and saw the projectile cross me and impact the first jeep next to me sending me back a few feet and on to my back. I laid there for a few seconds while my head was ringing from the explosion. After that stopped got up and gathered my thoughts, and began to make my way towards the fallen soldier. When I got to him I noticed that half of his right arm was missing. I carefully picked him up and threw him over my shoulder and ran behind the second jeep while dodging more bullets from enemy guns. I made it behind the jeep and I was met by two men from second squad, but I ignored them and set my gun down to tend to the wounded. After further inspection all that seemed to be wrong was his missing arm and a couple bruises, I tore part of his sleeve and then tied it around the wound to try and stop the bleeding as best I could, I then looked at the other two next to me. “Get this man somewhere safe” I told them as I handed him over to one. He picked him up and ran back into an alley while his partner followed him close behind. When they were out of sight I decided to help out in the fight now. I go to look over the hood of the jeep but I’m then back behind it as bullets ricochet off of it. I tried again and was able to spot one man on a roof down the street, I lifted my weapon and aimed at them man then fired off three shots. I grinned in my mind as I saw him grab his chest and fall to the street below. As I looked for more targets the gun fire seemed to die down. After a few minutes of silence me and a few other men stood up and began to walk to our squads. I found my sergeant over by the rest of my squad; I got the usual greeting from Greg when I walked up to them. "That's going to make one hell of a video." then gestured to the camera mounted on my helmet. I simply smiled and looked over at the Sergeant. “You ask’n for a death wish corporal? That was one hell of a stunt you pulled.” Sarg greeted me. I just looked at him with a smirk on my face. He chuckled and looked at Greg, “So... any other casualties?” “Two more sir, one of the men from 1st squad was wounded by shrapnel from the RPG and the other was shot three times in the leg. Only the private in 1st squad was left untouched, he’s a lucky one. We’ve already called for med-evac.” He replied. After the wounded were loaded onto the chopper the private hopped into our jeep. I looked at him and he seemed worried, I leaned over and put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look that seemed to calm him. I smiled and leaned back hoping to catch a few Zs. A few hours later when we got to the base Greg woke me up with a flick to my forehead, I opened my eyes and gave him a blank look that made him frown. When I wore my sunglasses, it was fun to mess with the others since they never could really fiqure out the look I gave them. I chuckled and got out of the jeep. I looked up at the sun though it didn’t faze me since I was wearing my sunglasses, then Sarg walked up behind me. “Do you ever take those things off, sometimes it’s hard to look at you and know if you looking back or staring at the sky and daydreaming.” I just shrugged and looked ahead. “Anyways…” he started, “meet in the briefing room in 30 we got a special mission tomorrow night.” I nodded in reply and he gave me a pat on the shoulder. After putting my gear back in the barracks by my bunk, I used the time I had to clean my rifle and check my equipment. While doing so, I couldn't help but wonder what are mission was. We've never gone on a mission at night, so I was quite curious to find out. After about 25 minutes, I made my way to the briefing room. I walked in and sat next to Romeo, he looked at me and just smiled then looked forward at the board. "Does this guy ever talk?" I thought, I don’t think I’ve heard Romeo talk except for the time he introduced himself, and when he gave the occasional yes, no, maybe, and so on. Later the Sergeant and Greg walked in and sat next to me, I asked Greg what he thought the mission was about but he just shrugged, which didn't help at all. For the next hour or so, we were told that we were going to join a SEAL team and infiltrate a Russian compound 10 miles north. At first it was just an abandoned town but now it’s been seeing more activity over the past month. Satellites have shown pictures of Russian vehicles in the town, transporting what appeared to be computer hardware. So our job was to join up with the seal team and extract any information from the database there. The seal team will sabotage and distract the Russians so we could get in and get out. After the briefing was over I walked up to the sergeant with a question that’s been bugging me. “So why were we picked for this mission?” “Command got word of you did earlier during the ambush and thought having you and your fast feet would be good for the mission.” He said with a smirk on his face. “If you had paid a little more attention to the briefing, you’re the one who’s going to retrieve the info. So if we get into a tight situation, we’ll cover you and you can make a mad dash to the evac site.” I frowned at the fact that I'll be the one getting shot at the most. He saw that and laughed as he patted me on the back and left. We prepared the next afternoon for the mission; we were given NVGs and suppressors for our M16s, as well as suppressors for our M9s. And like earlier, I was tasked with retrieving the info and was given a laptop to download the files to it; I needed the software on it to hack the terminal in the base. I placed the laptop in my backpack with my other stuff and place metal plate in front of it so it wouldn’t get shot, I had plenty of room in my bag so I didn’t need to take anything out. A few hours later, at about 2030 hours, we loaded up into a Blackhawk and took off. After about 45 minutes we were dropped off a mile from the compound, we then took a 15 minute walk the rest of the way. We stopped a few hundred meters from the base and waited for the signal from the SEALs. While we waited, I looked at the town. The walls surrounding it were about 15 feet tall, but didn't look very sturdy. There were no towers, witch would make getting in easier, and no guards posted outside the front entrance. It was only a few minutes later that we got the signal from the SEALs. "Foxtrot 2-4, you are a go." With that we made our way to the East wall, as it wasn't as heavily guarded, and found a weak spot. We bashed a hole in the wall, and made our way into the base. When Greg got through he turned to me as made my way through the hole. “Why are you wearing your glasses this late at night, can you even see?” he asked in a low whisper, and he had a good point, it was dark out and I was wearing sunglasses under my NVGs. The reason I wore them was because they were like my good luck charm, I only took them off when I met with my superiors. I was about to respond but I was cut off by the Sarg, “you two quiet down, we don’t want to get noticed.” I just nodded and followed him throw the hole. When we reached the end of the alley Sarg gave us a signal to stop, he peeked around the corner and looked back at us. “So. What do you see?” I ask in a low tone. “3 man patrols and an LMG on the top floor down the street.” He responded. “We’ll wait for the SEALs to create the diversion and then we’ll take out that LMG and move to the target building.” We all nodded. A few minutes passed then we heard a large explosion, “that’s it” the Sarg said. We waited till the patrols moved to the diversion then Sarg looked around the corner and aimed his gun I heard the *pft** pft* of the suppressed gun, then Sarg gave us the signal to move up. We met no resistance while moving up the street. The seals did a good job, but I still kept a close eye on the alleys and roofs. When we reached the target building me and Greg went to the left entrance while Sarg and Romeo went to the right entrance. Sarg gave us the go over the radio and me and Greg burst into the room from one side while the Sarg and Romeo entered from the other. There were 3 enemies I shot the one going for the pistol on the table while Sarg and Romeo shot the other two. When the room was clear I ran over to a terminal and took the laptop out and plugged it in. I began to download files and information ranging from weapon blueprints to times and dates. One file caught my eye; it looked like some kind of portal the Russians were working on, and that was the last file I downloaded. As I began to unplug the laptop and put it back I heard voices coming from outside. “Hurry John!” the Sarg yelled over his shoulder. I zipped up the bag and gave him a thumbs up signaling I’m good. When I turned around four men came barging through the main door but, with the others in a defensive position, were taken out before I could pull up my weapon. I ran to the Sergeant and patted him on the shoulder. We left through the main doors, to meet a group of ten armed men. We made a run for it with them chasing us and yelling “ostanovis'!” We were able to run into a nearby house and waited till they passed. When we thought the coast was clear the wall between us blew up bringing down the center of the roof separating me from the rest of the squad. As the dust cleared Sarg spoke up. “Is everyone okay? Corporal where are you?” “Over here Sarg, I’m okay, but I’m separated from you guys.” I responded. Greg and Romeo walked up to the ruble and tried to clear some of it, only to have more of the roof fall. “Wait, you're going to bring the rest of the roof down on us. I’ll look for another way out, you guys get out and I’ll see if I can meet up with the seal team.” “Alright, but be careful John, I don’t want to deal with a soldier gone MIA that has intel on the enemy.” “I will, but if you get no response from me or seals in five mikes then go ahead and leave.” The Sergeant was about to interject but was interrupted by gun fire coming from outside. I waved my hands in a shooing motion at them, they nodded and left. When I exited the building onto the street I looked to my right and saw a Russian T-90 and more men heading my may “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I mumbled. Then one of them pointed in my direction and yelled “Vot on!” and began shooting. I ran down the street as the tank and men followed. I was about to make a turn into an alley but a bullet hit me in my right shin, going clean through as I felt it exit and making me stumble past the alley. I tried to ignore the pain as I began to limp at a fast rate. I was coming to a building under construction when I heard the tank behind me fire a shell and blow up a pile of 2x4s a few feet from me. A few seconds later I felt a deep stinging pain in my side but shook it off as getting shot again. I saw a stack of barrels and used them to get to the roofs of the buildings. I finished climbing and began rooftop jumping trying to get away from the T-90. One man came out of a hatch in front of me on one roof and began to shoot a Draganov SVD at me. He was a horrible shot as I came up to him and threw a right hook at his jaw and grabbed his weapon with the other, hoping it would come in handy. That’s when I heard the tank fire another round at me and I could hear it wiz past me. “Just won’t leave me alone will you, huh fucker!” I yelled. When I look back in front of me I saw that I was running out of roofs to run on, but I kept going. As I got to the last roof the tank fired one more shell but missed as I jumped off and, in mid air, a blue portal that seemed to spit out electricity opened right in front of me, and I fell right into it. "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" Author's Note My first story, so constructive criticism is welcome. Ok, so I cut this chapter down, and am going to put John arriving in Equestria in the next chapter, and I went ahead and put a little more detail into this chapter. I'm changing up the beginning of the story a bit, just because I wasn't happy with what I had.
Chapter 1Chapter 1 "-iiiiiit!" The portal caught me of guard as I began to fumble with my footing when I came out. I eventually tripped over my right leg, which sent a wave a pain through it , and fell to my side and slid a couple feet. When I was done sliding, I groaned as I sat up to see where is was, figuring since a portal would bring you to another location. I was blinded for a second since I was wearing my NVGs, so I promptly lifted them from my eyes and finally got a look at my surroundings. I appeared to be in a grassy field with some small hills surrounding me, it was day, as thought it would be, since the sun was up , and there appeared to be no sign of civilization around. I became worried, I had no idea as to where I could be. Giving my surroundings another look, I spotted a tree on top of one of the hills. I could use it to get a better look at the landscape. I picked myself up, but winced as I felt the stinging pain in my side again. I looked down to find that I wasn't shot, I was stabbed by a piece of wood. I then remembered back to when the tank blew up the 2x4s, luckily it didn't seem very deep. In a quick effort I grabbed and pulled the piece of wood out and let out a small yell in pain in response. I threw the piece of wood to the grass below, and put my hand to the wound. I brought my hand back up to my face, my blood stained my glove but I didn't see as much blood as I had expected, and was relieved to no it wasn't bleeding heavily, though I knew I would have to treat it properly. With my injuries at mind, I knelt down on my left leg and lifted up my right pants leg. I saw the hole the bullet had made in my leg, and that it was bleeding badly. Since I wasn't a corpsman, I had to improvise on bandaging. So I tore my left sleeve off, and tied it around my leg, it was the best I could do for now. After that was finished, I pick up the Draganov from its spot on the ground and made my walk to the hilltop. I reached the top of the hill and set my bag against the tree. The shade along with a small breeze, felt amazing. I was starting to get hot when I came through the portal, I'm guessing it had to be summer where I was. After standing for a moment with my eyes closed to savor the cool breeze, I re-opened them to look around; see if I could find anything of use. I looked to my right and saw a forest bordering the field of small hills I was in. I brought my head back so I was looking straight ahead, and saw more hills spread about. Turning to look to my left, something caught my eye over the hill tops. It was something kind of yellow and light brown that didn't seem to fit the green fields. It was too far for me to see it clearly, so I brought the Draganov up and looked through the mounted scope. What I saw looked like grass and straw roofs with wooden beams, my heart gave a leap of joy at the sight knowing there was some kind of civilization. I lowered the gun with a smile on my face and moved to my bag. When I picked it up, I turned around, ready to head out, but then I heard a howl come from behind the hills I looked at earlier. It sounded fairly close, so I waited a few more seconds to see if anything would happen. As if on cue, I heard a scream. But not from an animal, it sounded like someone in danger. By instinct, I took off in that same direction to go help whoever it was. I may not know what I may be getting myself into, but my job as a Marine meant for me to help and protect the innocent. When I finally made it up the hill, I didn't know what I was looking at. There was what looked like some kind of horse that had human characteristics. It had two legs with hooves for feet, and had arms with hands, it had a short muzzle with unusually large eyes. What really got me was that it had wings, its fur coat was a butter yellow, and had long pink hair and matching tail. It wore clothes like a human; a green, long-sleeved, turtle neck sweatshirt and some blue skinny jeans. It was currently on its behind and it looked like it was bleeding from its right arm. It was looking to the right at something, obviously terrified. When I turned my head to the right, I saw what the problem was. There were three wolves made of what looked like sticks and twigs, advancing on the wing horse, snarling and baring their teeth. Now this may seem like the most random idea, but I had to get the wolves' attention somehow. So I began to run down the hill at the wolves, yelling at the top of my lungs. "AAAAAAAHHH!" The wolves all brought their heads up looking around in confusion as I hoped. When they finally figured out what was going on and saw me coming, I was only five feet away. I picked the closest one and ran right into it with my shoulder, I knocked onto its side with me on top. I delivered three blows to its head with the butt of the Draganov, it howled in pain before it just fell apart. I got up and back away startled at what happened, I mean it just fell apart instead of becoming unconscious or bleed like any living thing would. Well now that I think of it, it was made of twigs and sticks. I was brought out of my thought as I heard growling, I looked up and saw the other two snarling and slowly making their way to me. I began to slowly back away with the gun pointed at the wolves, ready if either made a move. And one did just that. The wolf pounced at me but jerked back as I shot it dead in the head. It fell at my feet and just disassembled like the other one. The other one used this as an opportunity and jumped on top of me. It's beady green eyes just a few inches from mine. It was a sight I thought I would never see in all my life. The next thing the wolf did was reel its head back ready to sink its teeth into my face, but I saw this coming and brought the Draganov up for it to be clamped down on by the wolf. It was a battle of strength from there on, me trying to keep it at bay and the wolf trying to pull the gun away so it could finish me. And in my weakened state, I knew it wouldn't last long, so I had to do something fast. Then I remembered, I still had my knife and M9 on me. It was a risk worth taking and I had to be fast. I let go of the gun with my right hand and grabbed the M9 strapped to the side of leg. In doing so, the wolf was able to throw my gun off to the side and was about to bite my face off until I fired five shots into its stomach, making it reel back with a pained yelp. As soon as it was completely off of me, brought up my sidearm, aimed down the sights and fired three more shots into its head, finally ending it. I was panting as my adrenaline rush subsided, and in return I could start to feel my would begin to throb. I holstered my M9 and grabbed my side as I began to stand up. But I began to sway a bit, and my vision blurred for a few seconds. I needed to get help soon are else I would... Well, die. I looked over and saw the bipedal horse that the wolves were initially after, and made my over. As I got closer, I could see more of the being in front of me. One thing I just then noticed was that it was female from... Obvious features, and in in my opinion, she was kind of cute. As I walked up to her, she hid behind her long pink mane, shaking. I couldn't scare her any more than she already is. She could be my only chance to getting to a hospital to treat my wounds and hers. I stopped next to her and knelt down to her right. "Are you alright?" I asked, though the scratch on her arm was obvious. Her response was: "P-please don't h-hurt me." she said from behind her pink hair. Her voice was soft and sweet, like a just audible whisper. "Hey, you're safe now, I'm not going to hurt you." I said with a reassuring smile. She looked out from behind her hair, I could see the fear and a hint of curiosity in those unnaturally large, blue eyes of hers. They made me smile even bigger, they looked like they could change the coldest of hearts; they looked just so peaceful and innocent. I turned my attention to the wound on her arm, the sweater surrounding the spot was torn and stained with blood. I couldn't see much of the scratch its self, and to know how bad it was I would need to roll up her sleeve. "May I?" I asked, gesturing to the torn fabric. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually nodded. With her approval, I began to roll up her sleeve earning a hiss of pain now and then. Once her sleeve was up, I observed the injury. The surrounding fur was all matted with dried blood; the scratch itself didn't seem too deep, but enough to cause a fair amount of blood to escape. Reaching behind me I grabbed my canteen, having just remembered it, and brought it up, opened it and began to poor the water on the wound to clean it. I earned another hiss of pain as I rubbed the areas of dried blood to remove it, and apologized it. "Oh - um, i-it's alright." I looked to her to find her staring off in the direction of the dead wolves, then her eyes went wide. Curios as to why, I turn my head in the same direction, only to see the sticks and twigs of the wooden beasts become surrounded with a green force and began to float around. I really hope they weren't doing what I think they were, "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" I breathed, as they were, to my disbelief and fear, that they began to piece themselves together again. I mean, that shouldn't be possible, once something's dead it's dead. But this obviously wasn't the case. Not wanting to fight these things again, I looked back to my "patient", and placed one arm under her legs and one under her shoulders, and lifted her up with me, she was surprisingly lighter than I thought, and that earned me a little 'eep'. All I said was "Hold on." and I was sprinting-limping as fast as I could in the opposite direction. After a minute or two of running, my body was screaming at me to stop, I had done a lot today/tonight. I complied as I slowed to a stop. Panting, I set her down so she was standing, and took a step back to give us some room. I was exhausted, I had ran from a tank, fought off a bunch of 'immortal', wooden wolves, and now just ran while carrying another... 'person'. All in my current condition. While catching my breath, I heard a faint voice in front of me, "Um, are you alright, i-if you don't mind me asking?" I didn't bother to think about the question and blankly answered "Yeah, I'm good." which was an obvious lie. "No. No you're not!" this took me by surprise, she had bit of seriousness in her voice when she said that. I looked up to her, she was staring back at me. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by her again, "You just saved me from those Timber Wolves (so that's what they were), and are horribly injured! You need help!" I just stared at her. Her eyes then seemed to shrink as she hid behind her hair once again saying, "I'm so sorry talking that way, please don't hate me." I sighed "No you're right, you're right. I should get some help, I've been through a lot today." she smiled at this and returned the smile with my own. Even though I appear to be in a different world, it doesn't seem like it will be so bad until I can find a way back... if there is one. I spent another minute catching my breath before we would start walking. When I was good, I asked, "So, is there a hospital close by that we can get to?" "There's one in Ponyville. I can take you there, if that's okay with you?" "I wou-... I would li-" that's when began to feel light headed, and started to sway. I could see the concern on her face as I tried to keep my balance. "Um, a-are you alright?" her voice was faint but, I could still hear it. I didn't have any chance to respond as I fell to my knees, then my side, and blacked out. Author's Note If you're wondering about the sudden change to Night Vision Goggles, I just realized they would be given NVGs instead of IVNs (I was thinking of Battlefield 3 at the time) In other news, this took so long because of needing to keep my grades up and finding time to write when possible. But other than that, hear you go, the next chapter.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 I awoke with a start as I shot my eyes open and tried to sit up, I instantly leaned back again as pain coursed through my body at the moment. I looked around and noticed I was in a small, white room. I could hear a faint beeping and looked to my right and saw a heart rate monitor, then I looked to my left and saw a dangling IV with the tube leading to my arm. I pieced this together and figured I was in a hospital. I continued to look around and noticed my camies on a table in the corner of the room, all neatly folded. My sunglasses and helmet sat atop them as well. But then I noticed none of my other gear wasn't in the room. Figured, I showed up armed wouldn't be a surprise that my gear was taken. Yet, what then made me think was what happened just before I passed out. Like what I saw, a bipedal... pony, I guess is what I can call her, with wings. Then there were those... Timberwolves, I think is what they were called, that began to rebuild after I was sure I had "killed". I wasn't sure if I was just dreaming. But the pain and everything just felt so real. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard walking from just outside the door and stop. I could hear someone talking, but all I could make out was "check" and "princess". Then the door gave a click as it opened to reveal another one of those bipedal ponies, female I can tell, probably a nurse since she wore a white blouse and skirt, and had a white cap with a red cross on it. Her fur was white like her outfit and her hair was a light pink done up in a bun. She only took a couple steps in when she stopped dead in her tracks, looking at me. she just stood there and we shared an awkward silence for a couple minutes. That silence was broken when I heard a voice come from the hallway. "Nurse Readheart, are you alright?" the voice sounded feminine. No sooner did another pony walk in, but she was deferent than the last two I've met. She wore a purple vest over a white blouse, she wore a purple skirt that came just above her knees. Her fur was lavender and her hair was a dark purple with a pink stripe running down in. Now the things that made her stand out was that she had wings, and a horn. A fucking horn. And to top it off, she had a crown atop her head with a purple, six pointed star. She stopped and looked at me, eyes widening with what looked like excitement. Then she spoke again. "You-you're awake." "Yes I can see that, and I fine just a little sore." I calmly replied. "That's good..." she looked to the nurse and she gave a nod in reply and walked out. It was probably another few minutes of awkward silence till she spoke again. "I apologize, I suppose introductions are in order. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and your name is John F. I presume?" "Yes," I gave a quick nod "how did you know that?" "Oh, that metal necklace you had, it see quite convenient at the time." My dog tags, that's what she was talking about. Then I realized I wasn't wearing them or that they were not over on the table. "Those would be my dog tags. Speaking of, do you know where they are?" "Oh, yes. My friend Rarity to it apon herself to fix your clothing, and I think she still has your... dog tags." I gave a quick nod, and opened my mouth to say something but I was interrupted by her speaking again. "In fact, that reminds me. Some of my friends have been waiting the to meet you. I'll be right back." And with that she walked out the door. Leaving myself to my thoughts. Now I knew I definitely wasn't on Earth, and that it looks like the ruling species are bipedal, talking equines of sorts. My thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and in walked Twilight and five other ponies, I noticed all of them were female. One of them I already recognized as the one I rescued out in the field. When al of them were in, there the other four I didn't recognize. One had orange fur and had long blonde hair done up in a pony tail. She wore a plaid, red shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, over a white shirt; tank top or tee, I wasn't sure. She also had on a pair of blue jeans and had cowboy hat atop her head. The next one had blue fur and her hair was literally a fucking rainbow like in a cartoon; she also sported a pair of wings like Twilight and the yellow one. She looked like she came from the gym as she wore a tank top that was a darker shade of her fur, and some gym shorts. Next one had white fur and her hair was purple and curled at the ends in and elegant fashion, she had a horn as well. She wore a white, button up blouse and a skirt that came down to just below her knees. I had a feeling she was Rarity. And the last one had pink fur with pink, poofy hair... so much pink. She wore a bright blue t-shirt with the words "Party Pony" on it, and some blue jeans. She was jumping up and down in place and had a huge grin. It kind of scared me. Twilight stepped forward and began to introduce the others. "These are my friends, girls go ahead and introduce yourselves." First was the orange pony, "Howdy, Ah'm Applejack, I run Sweet Apple Acres with ma family, nice ta meet ya." she gave a tip of her hat. Next was the rainbow haired one, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria." Oh really, just wait till you see one of our jets. Next was "Rarity" I presume, "I am Rarity, I run the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville." I was right. Then the yellow one I helped, "I'm, um, Fluttershy. T-thank you for saving me." Cute name. She then just looked down and traced her.. hoof across the floor. Then there was the pink "Party Pony"... wait where did she go? Next thing I knew, my vision was assaulted by a said pony, who began to bable on at a speed I could, surprisingly, still understand. "Hi I'm pinkie Pie, and I just want to thank you for saving Fluttershy. Ooo, that reminds me, I need to start planning your 'Welcome to Ponyville/Thank you for saving Fluttershy Party!" And with that, she just seemed to disappear, leaving a cloud of dust that looked like her. I'm going to need to keep an eye on her. I mentally noted. "Anyone care to tell me what that was all about?" I asked, hoping for an answer. "That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. I wouldn't try to think about, you'll just hurt yourself." was what I got from Twilight. I just raised an eyebrow with a simple "Oookaaay" It was probably a few more seconds of silence until Twilight broke the silence... again. "So, I guess now that that's out of the way, do you mind if I ask you a few questions." "Well I'm not goin' anywhere." "Great!" then her horn began to glow a light purple, then a piece of paper and a quill appeared. I sat there wide eyed at what just happened. She just materialized a solid object out of thin air! Yet, as fast as I was surprised, I just went to like nothing happened, and waited for Twilight to continue. "Ok, first question: who are you? Sorry I just want to make sure." See how I haven't properly introduced myself to the others I decided it would hurt. "I am Corporal John Fairmore of the United States Marine Corp." "So you're a guard?" I heard Rarity ask. "A soldier to be precise." She wrote thi on the paper. "Ok, next question: what are you?" "A human, or Homo Sapien in scientific terms." And again, she wrote this. "Alright, ne-" she was interrupted when the door to the rom opened to reveal another pony, but he was male this time. He had brown fur and his hair was a darker shade of brown. He wore the typical clothing a doctor, A white coat over there clothing of choice. This was apparently sky blue button up shirt with brown slacks. he looked up from a clipboard he was holding, "Good, I'm glad to see you're awake. Now if you don't mind if I ask you a couple questions?" he looked over and saw Twilight with a bit of an annoyed look. "Sorry, princess. But its just a couple questions, and then I'll be out of here." she gave a nod, and he continued. "Alright, what are you?" I inwardly groaned. "A human, or Homo Sapien in scientific terms." he wrote it down on his clipboard. "Next, how did you get your leg injury?" I thought about the question, I couldn't tell them about my mission, but I guess it could hurt if I told them what injured me. "I was shot. shot by an AK-47, I think." "An AK-what-now?" they all seemed to ask at the same time. "An AK-47. Do you know what a firearm is?" they all shook their heads. "Well a fire arm is a projectile weapon, its kinda complicated on how it works, but the simple way to explain it is they shot project pieced of metal at hi speeds to ensure the intended target is eliminated. An example would be that rifle I had when got here, you know, the long black piece of metal." When I finished, they were all looking at me with horrified looks, except for Rainbow Dash. She had her winds spread and got in a stance like she was about to pounce. Which she did. She flew right at me, and I didn't have enough time to react, and I was pinned against the back of my bed with one of her arms and the other raised in a fist. "Is that why you're here, is to kill us?" she yelled. "What! No! Why would just go around harming the innocent for no reason? I'm a Marine, I protect the innocent! I fight so those who can't defend themselves don't have to! I fight keep my country safe, so the men, women, and children back hope can go about there day, not having to worry about those who wish to destroy their home! I fight knowing every day could be my last! I fight so others don't have to go through I had to!" I closed my eyes and looked down as a tears began to well up, bad memories coming up. I began to lightly sob. I felt a pair of arm wrap around my torso, and I was pulled into a hug; I looked up. It was Fluttershy, her soft fur felt so soft against my bare skin. I hesitantly stretched my arms out and snaked them around her, and returned the hug. My sobbing reduced to a few sniffles, I felt so safe, so warm. I haven't felt like that ever I since I left for the Marines. "There, there. Its alright, you don't need to tell us about it. It's alright." her soft voice came, you could say it sounded like an angel. We sat there for a few moments until I let go "Thank you" was all I could say as I gave a weak smile. She returned it with a smile of her own. We heard an someone clear there throat and we looked at the doctor. "Well, that was interesting and all, but sorry princess, I think it's time to go. It's getting late, and he needs his rest." I looked out the nearby window and saw the orange glow of the setting sun. I looked back and saw Twilight and the others nod there heads, even Pinkie Pie... wait, how did I not notice come in? They gave me one last, apologetic look and left. I sat there thinking of what happened, and what's going to happen. I'm in a world of colorful, talking, bipedal ponies. I sighed and closed my letting sleep cloud my mind. Author's Note Hey, next chapter is here and I'm sorry it took a while. I got a lot sidetracked a lot, and what like a lot of others on this site, I have finals next week. but other than that, enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome.
