The Gramophone

Dempsey closed his eyes and leaned back, resting his body on a large boulder. A sigh escaped his throat. Around him, his allies inspected their equipment thoroughly. Nikolai scrubbed at the surface of The Afterburner, his unfocused eyes glazed as he went through the repetitive task. Takeo wiped the neon green blood from his katana, the blade shining faintly. Richtofen however just stared uneasily at their company. The six mares had sent there rainbow maned friend off to the east. She returned shortly after bearing a smug look on her face. The German doctor simply glared, distrust and paranoia present on his features. The pegasus gave him a  wary expression, before turning quickly and racing back to her group. The yellow pegasus sobbed behind the other mares, while they just tried to keep as far away from the brutal carnage as possible. A sadistic smile split Richthofen's lips. The fear they felt was empowering to him. Ten minutes later, the distant sound of flapping wings caused Dempsey to open his eyes. Flying towards them at high speeds, six figures, silhouetted by the shining brilliance of the sun. His fingers grasped the handle of the Magna Collider. His allies came to attention as well, holding their respective weapons cautiously. The six ponies landed a few feet in front of them, eyeing the horrible bloodshed around them, grimaces crossing the faces. This ended swiftly as the directed their attention to the four survivors. Two of the ponies had snow white coats and were draped in some kind of primitive golden armor. The other two seemed to be the opposite. Dark grey, with light blue armor. the similarities ended there however. While the white ones had the normal wings they had seen on the two pegasi, the grey ones had bat wings and stilted, reptilian eyes. These four steeped in front of the last pair, which were tall and regal. The alabster one had a flowing rainbow mane and tail. Atop her head sat a gold crown with a violet gem embedded into it. Her hooves were tipped with golden shoes, elaborate and expensive looking. A shining sun adorned her flanks. She also had a horn and wings. Dempsey's eye brows raised at this. "Leaders perhaps?" The smaller stood beside her, a stoic expression on her face. Her mane and tail, dark blue lined by a lighter shade,  sparkling like a starry night. Her coat a dark blue. Her flank tattoo was a crescent moon, framed by splotches of onyx. A necklace with the same mark was wrapped around her neck. The marine assumed the other four were these twos guards. Dempsey tensed and raised the large machine gun as the guards raised spears. Beside him he heard his "friends" raise their respective weapons. "Well first contact couldn't have gone better" He thought sarcastically, smirking. The silent standoff, filled the air with tension.

Richtofen eyed the colorful congregation before him with a trained eye. Years of observing the psychology of people had made him rather adept at reading emotions. A drop of sweat slid down one of the armored guards, while the two Alicorns just watched, emotionless. This was the break in visage he needed. Grinning manically, he took a quick step forward. The guards flinched, holding the spears tighter with their wings, and jerking them forward. " They are afraid of us." Richtofen called to his team, grinning the whole time.

"Seems that way. Dammit how do we handle this, they don't speak our language!" Nikolai grunted angrily. the German looked over him allies. They were tense and paranoid, the hell they had went through feeding into their minds. Richtofen had an idea.

"Lower your weapons." He yelled to his comrades. They tensed, never taking their eyes of the group in front of them.

"Doctor..." Takeo growled, dangerously close to rushing the ponies. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to slice up the dishonorable beasts in front of him. It was only through sheer will power alone that he kept himself planted where he was.

"We wont get anyvere just sitting here pointing our weapons at each other" The doctor reasoned. Dempsey glanced at him suspiciously. This was unlike the bloodthirsty German, however he did have a point. He glanced ahead of the tall leaders, noticing how the six mares from before had gained the courage to move up a bit. They were now sitting behind the two Alicorns, staring uneasily at the blood soaked humans. Growling, the marine hesitantly lowered his gun. Nikolai following his example. Takeo however continued to hold his blade out threateningly

"Just fucking do it Takeo!" Nikolai shouted. Slowly the samurai complied, holding the sword at his side. The four guards relaxed at this. The two Alicorns talked quietly for a moment before nodding. The group of humans had to resist the urge to aim and shoot as the Alicorns horns began to glow brightly. The tense moment ended quickly and the air smelt of burned rubber. The ponies jumped as Richtofen screamed.

"Vhat ze fuck vas zat!" The doctor's eyes narrowed and his hand touched the holster on his side. A feminine voice answered him.

"Magic. My sister and i-" She was cut off as the doctor screamed indignantly.

"Magic doesn't exist svine! Science...science." He muttered before lowering his head. The alabaster Alicorn was about to speak but the German spoke first. "Science!"He finally bellowed, not noticing the ponies slowly backing away from him. He trembled and his eye twitched. "Magic is a fairy tale!'

"Uh...doc." Dempsey spoke seriously. however the ranting German paid him no heed, continuing to mutter.

"I vill have to find the source of that. Maybe the horn channels ze energy. I vill need to obtain one." The unicorns shuddered at this statement.

"Richtofen." Dempsey once again tried to grab the doctors attention, only to once again fail to break the German's trance. Richtofen's voice began to tremble.

"Just a quick snap and one of them will be mine"The doctor giggled madly and everyone shivered.

"Richtofen!" Dempsey shouted angrily, annoyed at how the German was ignoring him. " Notice how we can fucking understand them now?" Dempsey seethed. Richtofen blinked stupidly.

"Oh ya ve can." The doctor said in high pitched voice. Dempsey sighed before turning to the group of equines. The two Alicorns eyed him with an amused expression. The marine shook his head, grumbling and the two Alicorns laughed, the heavenly sound filling the air. The six mares seemed to relax as their princess's handled the situation, with the exception of Fluttershy who was sobbing softly in Dash's hooves, her friend patting her back.

"What are your names?" Celestia asked, a soft smile on her lips. Meeting with an unknown species didn't happen everyday. Dempsey hesitated, unsure if he should be  giving out his name to, what were basically, aliens. Although he didn't want to accept it, he needed their help. Him and the rest of his team had no idea how this world worked.

"Corporal Tank Dempsey." He answered after a pause. He didn't miss the smug smile that crossed the guards faces. "Higher-up motherfuckers. We could kill you ten times over bitch" The marine thought angrily.

"Sergeant Nikolai Belinski, the red menace" He gave a quick grin before sipping his vodka, the alcohol burning his throat. Takeo stepped forward, slipping his sword into it's sheath.

"Captain Takeo Masaki" The samurai gave a quick bow. Richtofen grunted as he walked over

"Doctor Edward Richtofen, the butcher" The German allowed a sadistic grin to split his lips. The six mares once again looked nervous. Celestia noticed and gave them a reassuring look. "And who would you be?"

"Princess Celestia, raiser of the sun." The humans quirked their eye brows at that.

"Raiser of the sun? What the fuck?" The Alicorn beside her adopted her stoic expression.

"Princess Luna, sister to Celestia and raiser of the moon. Charmed" The humans nodded. The purple mare stepped up beside the two princess's. And gave a strained smile at the four.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle. I do have to thank you for..." She looked at the bloodstained ground, shuddering heavily."...dealing with the changelings. Who knows what could have happened?" The purple unicorn took a deep breath. "These are my friends, Rainbow Dash" The cyan pegasus struck a pose, though the humans could clearly see the discomfort on her face." Rarity" The unicorn flipped her mane and batted her eyelashes. "Pinkie Pie" In less than a second, zoomed up to the humans before speaking impossibly fast. " Hi I'm Pinkie pie are you an alien because I've never met an alien before and now I can throw a party for one!" An orange pony grabbed The mares tail in her teeth and yanked her back.

"Sorry about that, hi i'm Applejack, pleasure to meet you" the stetson wearing pony spoke in a thick southern drawl. The mare over there is Fluttershy. The pony in question tried to hide behind her long, flowing mane. Celestia spoke, voice authoritative

"Now, I believe there is much to talk about. We should go somewhere less...' She trailed off as she surveyed the bloodshed around them."...macabre. However is there anything you need  before we go?

Nikolai looked her dead in the eye, and said completely serious "Vodka."