Lost in translation

Umbra

"So you're telling me that we're in a world of magical, talking technicolor ponies, we have to meet their leaders, and we have no definitive way home? This is turning out just fantastically Umbra! This is EXACTLY how I wanted to spend the rest of my life!" Hamus shouted sarcastically. About half way through my explanation he started pacing about the living room. All of the ponies, save Twilight, watched Hamus cautiously as he got angrier. I stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders before throwing him on the couch.

"Stow it! I never asked for this either but you don't see me ranting and raving about it. getting pissed and panicking won't do anyone any good." I said as I sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. I felt him relax under my hand and let out a long sigh.

"I know...This is all so...Fucked." He said in a defeated tone. I looked to the ponies and saw them looking awkwardly around.

"So what do you guys do for fun around here?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well we usually go on some sort of adventure. You could always go to Sugarcube Corner or the local pond. I usually just nap though." Rainbow Dash said as she looked out the window, no doubt thinking about napping.

"What do you two normally do for fun?" Pinkie asked in a singsong voice that gave me a slight headache.

"Fun? Us? We never had much time for fun." Hamus said trying to suppress a laugh. I wasn't as strong and let a few chuckles escape my lips.

"Well, usually we can get away with a game of cards. I always fancied singing and playing the guitar. Hamus always liked water, art, and sailing." I said as I controlled my chuckling and relaxed a bit.

"You sing?" Rarity asked incredulously. I shrugged and looked to Hamus who gave me an amused glance.

"Not well and it's usually only simple songs and a few shanties Hamus taught me."

"Would you mind singing one? I'd love to hear it." Twilight said as she walked back to her seat on the couch. She looked a lot...Calmer.

"Uhh...I guess not. You ok? You seemed a bit...Crazy a few hours ago." I said carefully. The last thing I wanted was to set her off again.

"Yes. Everything is going to be fine now." She said a bit cryptically. I casted a glance around the room and saw the ponies waiting patiently. Looking at Hamus, he nodded and cleared his throat. I looked back to the ponies and started to sing.

I thought I heard the Old Man say:
"Leave her, Johnny, leave her."
Tomorrow ye will get your pay,
and its time for us to leave her.

The ponies seemed transfixed by the two man show in front of them. Hamus’ gravelly voice mixed perfectly with mine as we got farther into the song.

Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

Oh, the wind was foul and the sea ran high
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
She shipped it green and none went by.
And it's time for us to leave her.

Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

I hate to sail on this rotten tub.
"Leave her, Johnny, leave her!"
No grog allowed and rotten grub.
And it's time for us to leave her.

Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

We swear by rote for want of more.
"Leave her, Johnny, leave her!"
But now were through so we'll go on shore.
And it's time for us to leave her.

Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her.

As we finished the last words I looked at the ponies and saw some with tears in their eyes and some looking confused.

"Uhh...What's it about? And who's Johnny?" Rainbow Dash asked confusedly. I snickered before answering.

"It's about a ship. And Johnny was the captain." I said as I thought back to the meaning of the shanty. It's actually quite a sad song.

"That's kinda lame." She said dismissively.

"Lame huh? If you want to get deep into it, It's about a ship who docked for the final time after being used in service. To have some understanding, a captain and his crew would love a ship for all she's worth. If you had to live on it constantly you'd understand why. It would be the best place in the world for sailors. To have a ship docked one last time is a very sad occurrence. It was also a song the crew used to file grievances to the captain and saying that they were leaving the crew." Hamus said. He surprised me with his knowledge of sea shanties but I guess with him loving ships it makes sense.

"When you put it like that it actually is kind of saddening." Rarity said with a grimace, confusion still lingering on her face.

"I never said they were happy songs. They just always helped me work better and lightened peoples moods." I said with a shrug.

"Didn't you say you also played the guitar?" Twilight asked with a smirk. Oh no...

"Uhh, yeah?"

"How about you play us a song then?"

"I don't have any in mind and I don't have a guitar."

"Oh that's no problem." She said as she floated out a beautiful acoustic guitar. How the ponies played guitar was lost on me but I didn't care all that much.

"That's...That's beautiful! Where did you get that?" I asked out of pure joy. I grabbed the guitar and gave it a few testing strums finding it perfectly tuned.

"I had it sitting around my house and once I heard you played I teleported it here." She said happily. I smiled at her gratefully and leaned back in my seat trying to think of something to play. I sat for a few moments until I had an idea for a song and began to play a song I heard long, long ago. As I let my body slip into a calm from the soothing motions of my playing, I noticed a few ponies closing their eyes and swaying to the music. Some looked like they were about to cry, and some were watching me in awe. Not a single one looked bored or not attentive. My fingers glided smoothly over the strings as I switched my chords to and fro. My strumming never broke the rhythm.

After a few minutes my song came to an end. I placed the guitar flat in my lap and looked at my audience. They were completely silent, they never moved, they could have passed for being dead. And then, all in one loud cacophony and blurs of movement, They cheered.

"That was AWESOME!"

"That was marvelous dear!"

"WOWIE! You can really play!" Were the only things I could make out over the noises and complements of the others. I sat there with a small smile on my face before turning to Hamus.

"Alright, that was enough excitement for one day. Don't ya think?" I asked him as I started to stretch and yawn. I glanced at my watch and saw it read 22:00.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go find someplace to sleep. Night y'all!” Hamus called out to the group before we stood and walked toward the door.

"Wait! You don't have anywhere to stay." Twilight called out. He simply looked back at her and shrugged.

"We can stay in the forest. It'll be just like old times." I said as I opened the door and let Hamus through. I noticed he was eyeing the forest warily.

"Best get your weapon ready. Those things are still out there." Hamus whispered to me as he passed. I grabbed his shoulder and doffed my pack. I pulled out a compact block before flipping the top half forward and locking it in place. I handed the rifle to him along with some ammo for it. He thanked me before loading and cocking it. He walked out front to keep watch while I got ready.

"We'll be fine. See y'all in the morning." I say as a donned my pack once more and checked my RFB. It brought comfort to see her still cocked and locked. I flicked the safety off before walking out into the cool, rainless night.

XxX

Twilight

As I watched the two men walk off to the forest I couldn't help but notice they seemed to be in an aggressive stance the whole way. I looked away with one last glance, seeing them entering the forest.

"All right girls, I think I'm gonna head back to the farm." AJ said as she let out a long yawn. I was about to agree and head home as well when Fluttershy surprised all of us.

"You're all more than welcome to spend the night here...If you want, that is."

"We couldn't possibly impose something like that deary." Rarity said from the side as she started trotting to the door.

"Oh it wouldn't be a problem at all. I would love to have you here." Fluttershy said happily. A small smile working it's way onto her face.

"Well...If you're sure it won't be a problem..." I said a bit warily.

"None at all."

"Well then I can't see a problem with it." I said happily. I trotted over to the couch and sat down before seeing everypony else join me.

"Woohoo! this is going to be so much FUN!" Pinkie shouted enthusiastically.

"Sorry Pinkie, I'm pretty beat. I think I'll just hit the hay." Aj said from the comfortable position she was laying in. She let out a yawn and started to drift off. I nodded and laid down as well. Glancing at my friends, I noticed that they were all laying down for a good nights sleep.

"Good night everypony." I heard Rainbow say from my left. Everyone said their goodnights and then all was still and quiet.

XxX

Umbra

"Alright, this should be good." I said as I stared at the large oak tree in front of us. Looking at it's branches I noticed how easy it would be to make a platform to sleep on.

"All right. I'll go find some logs for our bed." He said with a wince. Tonight would suck...

"Yeah, I'll climb up and find some way to get them up there." I said as I grabbed hold of some gnarled nubs on the trunk and started climbing. I've never been much of a climber but the way this tree was set up, I looked like a pro.

Once at the branches I worked my way over and sat down before carefully sliding my pack off beside me. I dug through some of the pockets until I found some rope. It wasn't nearly enough but it was something. I looked around for anything to make it longer when I saw some vines a few branches up. I put my pack back on and tied the rope around our soon to be platform and climbed.

It wasn't particularly hard but it was a bit of a pain. My pack kept getting stuck on my way up and my rifle threatened to fall multiple times, but I kept climbing. I reached the vines and brought out my knife. I cut a large section of them before giving them a yank. They fell down to me easily and landed in a heap on my legs. I grabbed one of the vines by two points and pulled. I tried to break it, but was quite happy when it didn't break. Gathering them up, I climbed back down until I got to my rope.

Tying the vines to the end of the rope, I threw it down and waited for Hamus. I waited a few minutes before hearing the sound of something walking through brush. I picked up my rifle and aimed at the source of the sound. I nearly fell out of the tree when I saw one of those wolf things looking around the area. I looked to the front of my rifle and checked the suppressor on it. Giving a satisfied smirk, I lined up the sights and slowed my breathing. I was just about to shoot the thing when I noticed movement from the right of it...Slow, deliberate movement. I focused on it and saw Hamus sneaking up to the thing, knife in hand.

I watched as he got within a meter of it and got ready to strike...Then, I saw movement. I looked at it and noticed it was moving toward Hamus very, very quickly.

"Shit...Hamus. Get out of there. You got another one on your six." I said through the throat mic. Thankful I completely forgot we had these...I watched Hamus lock up and glance to his rear. Watching what happened next was like something out of a movie. The wolf leaped on Hamus before getting a knife to the neck. It writhed in pain but didn't stop attacking. I lined up the sight with it but Hamus was in the way. I watched as he slashed and stabbed at the wolf scoring multiple hits along it's face.

He would have won until the other wolf pounced. I lined up my sights and shot a bullet straight at the wolfs head. I heard the crack of the impact and the wolf fell to the side. I racked the charging handle back once more and watched as Hamus rolled out of the way of the other wolf. Taking the opening, I shot once more and hit the wolf squarely in the chest. I watching it stumble backwards and threaten to fall until Hamus shot clean through the side of it's head. I winced at the report of the rifle echoing through the trees.

"He ain't goin' no where now." I heard Hamus say through the static of our mics.

"We better get this thing done. Something was bound to hear that." I said as I grabbed a hold of the rope and watched as Hamus tied a branch to the other end. We used our makeshift pulley system to get all the thick branches up and placed. Hamus joined me up on the platform and looked around. He gave a few bounces and found it held better than he thought it would.

"This is actually pretty nice." Hamus said as he laid down and tried to get comfortable. I watched him set an alarm on his watch and pass out. I soon joined him.

XxX

Twilight

I awoke to the sound of a thunderclap. I glanced around and found I wasn't the only one.

"Rainbow, is there a storm scheduled for today?" I asked in confusion.

"No. There isn't supposed to be one for a few more days." Rainbow said while shaking her head. I could have sworn that sounded just like...

"Rainbow, wake the girls! I think those two are in trouble!" I said as I jumped up and started running for the nearest window. I looked out over the treeline but didn't see anything. I heard Rainbow waking the rest of the girls and telling them what's going on and within a few minutes everypony was ready to go.

"Alright Twi. Where'd it come from?" Rainbow asked as she stretched her wings.

"This way! Come on!" I yelled as I charged out the backdoor, towards the forest.

Umbra

I woke up to the sound of crunching leaves and snapping sticks. Sitting up slowly, I raised my rifle and peered over the edge of the platform. I watched for any signs of movement but didn't see anything. Once I brought myself back away from the edge I heard the sounds again. I looked once more and still didn't see anything. I sighed in irritation and brought my head back once more. I gave a slight kick to Hamus and felt him snap awake.

"What's up?" I heard Hamus whisper. I pointed over the edge and saw him give me a strange look. I mouthed 'wait and listen' and saw him nod. I backed away from the edge and the crunching and snapping continued yet again. Hamus grew a look of confusion before peering over the edge. I joined him in looking only to find nothing disturbed or out of the ordinary.

I felt a tap on my side and glanced at Hamus. I saw him point to a spot in the brush. Staring intently at the spot, I noticed two things were wrong. First, I don't remember that brush being so thick. Second, There were two dark green eyes staring at me. It was no wonder I couldn't see them, they blended seamlessly with the brush.

Both Hamus and I raised our weapons to the spot...

"Come out with slowly, with your hands up! We WILL fire on you if you do not cooperate!" I bellowed out in an authoritative tone. We racked our rifles simultaneously letting the sound of metal on metal echo through the forest. Our rifles, already being loaded, kicked out live rounds and chambered new ones.

We watched as the figure stood still in the brush. A minute went by and the figure never moved.

"Last warning! If you don't show yourself we WILL fire on you!" I shouted out once more. I glanced to Hamus and saw him steady his aim and slow his breathing. I did the same and then, with a tap of a boot...All hell broke loose.

XxX

We were taking yet another turn in the forest when it erupted in a deafening staccato of thunderclaps. We dropped to the ground and covered our ears as the thunder kept coming. After a few seconds the noise ended. My head throbbed as I stood and I staggered to the side. I had a deafening ringing going throughout my ears and that was throwing my balance off. I looked to my friends and saw them rising from the ground with terrified looks on their faces.

I looked down the path and ran the way the sound came from. It was hard to tell exactly but I got a rough estimate. After a few minutes I came across a large oak tree, little yellow objects on the ground, and a destroyed patch of brush with something solid and red in it. I looked around once more before I heard a voice I wasn't expecting.

"On the ground! We WILL fire on you if you do not comply!" Umbra shouted from...Above me? I looked up and saw Umbra and Hamus aiming their weapons over the edge of a platform made of tree branches. I would have marveled at the thought of them building something that far up by themselves but my thoughts were interrupted. The ground exploded right in front of me along with another, even louder thunderclap. I fell to the ground, the pain flaring in my ears. I heard the sounds of movement, It sounded like I was trying to listen through water. The ringing returned stronger than ever.

I felt something roll me over and when I opened my eyes I saw Umbra and Hamus looking over us. I saw Umbra mouthing something but couldn't hear him. The sound of water had since been replaced with nothing at all. I pawed at my ears but found that it did nothing. I saw Umbras face fall and he turned to Hamus. I guess he told him something seeing as Hamus sprinted over to us and looked at my ears. I felt him run a finger through my ear and when he pulled it out it was covered in a red liquid.

My face fell when I realized what that liquid was...Blood. I started freaking out only to have Umbra force me down. I saw Rainbow fly over and try to attack Umbra only to get punched by Hamus. I gasped at the sight and felt a little strange when I didn't hear myself. I looked to Umbra and saw him giving Hamus a hateful look. I watched him turn to me,'I'm sorry' He said, over enunciating the words so I'd understand.

Umbra picked me up and took off running on the trail to the cottage. I looked behind him and saw Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack keeping pace with him. I saw Applejack mouth something and Umbra changed course. I glanced ahead of us and saw that we were on our way to Ponyville. I started feeling lightheaded and my vision started to distort, a blackness creeping on the edge of my vision. Then I passed out.

XxX

Umbra

As I looked over the destroyed shrubbery below us I saw the tell tale color of blood. I Stared at the area for a few moments until I heard rapid thumping coming from the side of us. I lunged to the side and Hamus did the same. We sat and watched the movement come up to our platform.

"On the ground! We WILL fire on you if you do not comply!" I shouted at the figures. I saw no change in their poster so I fired a warning shot. In the flash I saw something that made my heart jump. Twilight fell back with a scream as the shot exploded in front of her. Me and Hamus jumped off of our platform and hit the ground...Hard. I was sprawled out on my face from the impact. I got on my feet and tried to run over to Twilight. My ankle gave a pop and I fell in pain. I let out a grunt but stood again. This time my ankle didn’t try and kill me. I ran over to Twilight and watched as she opened her eyes.

"Twilight? Are you ok?" I asked her. She looked confused and scratched at her ears. My heart fell and I called out to Hamus immediately.

"Hamus! Hamus, get over here! I think Twilight's deaf!" I shouted over the span of dirt between us. I watched his face contort and sprint over to us. He ran a finger on the inside of her ear and pulled it out before letting out a sigh. Looking over I saw his glove had blood all over a finger from her ear. Twilight started to kick and wiggle out of my grip. I forced her to the ground And looked to Hamus.

Hearing an angry scream from beside us I turned to see a Rainbow blur fly through the night towards us. I was prepped to get rammed by the cyan pony before a loud crack and a scream rang through the forest. Glancing up I saw Hamus standing over an unconscious Rainbow Dash.

"The fuck Hamus! Grab her and follow us!" I screamed at Hamus before picking up Twilight and running down the path. "Applejack, how do we get to the hospital?" I asked in a rush.

"Take the next left and follow it through the field!" She yelled from behind me. I could hear the anger in her voice but filled that away under ‘Shit for later’. Turning down the next path I sprinted through the field. I could hear the thumping of hooves and boots behind me. I glanced down at Twilight and found her unconscious. Cursing my luck, I sprinted across the field.

"Right! Go right!" I heard Applejack yell from behind me. Turning right I found myself sprinting through a small town. My lungs burned, my legs ached and I was blacking out from lack of oxygen but I kept sprinting. I made it over a small hill and found a large building marked 'Hospital' and turned towards it. I ran full speed and barreled through the door, scaring the receptionist.

"I need a doctor! NOW!" I shouted at her. I watched as she shook out of her stupor and ran to get a doctor. I glanced behind me to see the rest of the group arrive. I noticed that Rainbow was bleeding quite badly. That is definitely a broken nose. Hearing the rapid clip-clopping of hooves coming down a hallway I turned towards the sound. I saw a scraggly brown doctor running beside some nurses and a gurney.

"What happened here?" He asked in an alarmed tone.

"She has two blown eardrums and passed out from blood loss. The other one got hit in the face, she appears to have a broken nose and possibly a concussion." I said hurriedly as I strapped Twilight on the gurney. I watched some nurses run over and grab Rainbow before running down the hall. I watched the doctor and Twilight's friends rush down the same hallway, leaving me and Hamus alone.

"What...the...FUCK were you thinking!?" I shouted at him, getting in his face. "We have one rule! ONE RULE! NEVER hurt civilians! How can you fail at that!?"

"She was going to attack us! I'm not going to stand around and get beaten by a blue, flying HORSE!" Hamus yelled as he pushed me backwards. Something in me snapped; I started laughing. Not a happy laugh, but one of pure anger.

"You wanna push me? You really want to do this now?" I said calmly as I got back in his face. I gave him a cheeky smile before bumping foreheads with him. "Then let's go."

I cocked back a hand and placed it firmly in his ribs. I felt him roll with the blow and line up a left hook. I ducked down low and got behind him. I grabbed him by his throat and whipped him over my hip. I watched him hit the floor face first with an audible thump. I walked up and rolled him with my foot. I looked over his bloody face and busted nose before I got a boot to the crotch for my troubles. I bent over in pain from the steel toed boots driving into me and saw my vision swirl from the immediate uppercut to my face.

I was about to pounce on top of him and end this when I felt...Something swirl around me.

"What is going on here!?" I heard an angry, but contained voice demand. Turning my head I saw two new ponies. They both had horns and wings, were taller than the rest and were very, very angry.

"I take it you're the princesses. I was just teaching my "Friend" here some respect." I spat out at Hamus and struggled against my binds. I felt myself go weightless before slamming into one of the waiting chairs hard enough to splinter some wood. Looking to my left I saw Hamus receive the same fate.

"Respect? How do you plan on instilling respect by beating him?" The white one said in a near yell. I could feel myself shiver under the tone of the voice.

"Maybe if I punch him enough he'll get enough sense in his head to follow the rules." I said as I once again tried to break my binds and get to Hamus.

"And just what, pray tell, are those rules?" The dark blue one asked. She looked no happier that the white one.

"Our number one and only rule is that under NO circumstances are we to hurt civilians. The only time it's allowed is when the civilian displays malicious intent and thus, becomes a hostile. Charging to defend a friend is NOT malicious intent Hamus!" I spat out once more. I watched as a deep glare of hatred crossed his face before it falls to one of sadness.

"I wasn't thinking man. I saw the blood, and the screaming, then the blue one charged me and I...I fell back on instinct." He said as he hung his head. I looked up to the princesses and saw a conflicted look from them.

"You wanted to see us. Looks like you picked the perfect time to see us at our lowest." I said as I chuckled. It slowly turned into a small laugh. I heard Hamus laughing with me; I raised my hand to try and fist bump him but couldn't move my hand.

"Your species is quite...Barbaric." The blue one sayid carefully, as if she was trying not to offend us. We looked to each other before looking at them both. A scared look passed over the princesses as we stared at her. Our stares were boring into her very being. And all that switched to shock and confusion as we burst out in guttural laughter.

"Barbaric? Oh lady, barbaric to us is like saying death is no more than a daisy." I said as I burst out in fresh laughter.

"Yeah, you really need to think up some better words to describe us!" Hamus said before joining me in more laughter.

"Why do you berate your species so badly?" The white one asked, the shocked look never leaving her face.

"Berate? We aren't berating. What would you say about a species that's managed to wipe out a world superpower, kill millions of their own citizens, and then go to war with the survivors? I think it's been what? Sixty? Sixty one? years of constant war. I'm not berating anyone." I said as I start laughing again. I kept laughing, even when my sides hurt, when my vision blurred, when my lungs burned for air. Because I was honestly afraid of what would happen if I stopped. All the thoughts and memories, the responsibility. None of it mattered anymore, not here.

I managed to calm myself enough to drop to a chuckle and look up to the princesses. I saw a mixed look of sadness, shock, and fear written over their faces. I looked to Hamus and saw him looking at me with a small, sad smile. I was about to turn back to the princesses when I felt a sharp stinging across my cheek. I looked around quickly before finding Hamus laughing his ass off on the floor. I chuckled and kicked him in the shin, my steel toes doing more damage than I expected. Hamus stopped his laughter and cried out in pain before shooting a glare my way.

The princesses looked ready to separate us again as our glares bored into each other. Then they snapped back in surprise when we started laughing again. I extended a hand to Hamus and pulled him to his feet. I looked over him to make sure he was alright before I came to a realization.

"Hey Hamus. I gave you a new rifle before we left. What happened to your old one?" I said as I look over his gear. The small, narrow rifle looking very out of place.

"Those Timberwolves managed to rip it in half. I have no clue how you lived through a bite like that." He said with a sad shake of his head. The offhand comment seemed to catch the princesses attention.

"Thou got bitten by a Timberwolf!?" The blue one shrieked out, her head jerking back in shock and her wings unfurling. I left out a small laugh and took off my vest. Letting the heavy apparel fall to the floor I stood still with my bandages showing for all to see. Six large red spots ran down my sides. I drew my knife from the sheath and cut the bandages off, watching as they fell to the ground in a heap. I heard a few gasps and looked over my wounds. I started to feel lightheaded and the room started spinning. The last thing I remembered was Hamus saying.

"Are bites like that supposed to be black?"

Author's Note

So this is the last chapter I had pre-written. I'm going to try and go for a chapter a week if not 2 chapters. Thanks to you guys for encouraging me to continue this story!