Birds of a Feather

Chapters

Chapter 1: Takeoff
Chapter 2: Facing Reality
Chapter 3: Fighting Wars
Chapter 4: Finding Truth
Chapter 5: Allies
Chapter 6: Distrust
Chapter 7: Necessity

Chapter 1: Takeoff

-USS Abraham Lincoln barracks-

"Get you shit in gear Ivan" I said kicking my friend in the side

"You're not my fucking mother." Ivan said rolling over onto his side

I landed another kick in Ivan's side.

"Get your flight suit on! We were supposed to by on the flight deck five minutes ago." I said again with a scared expression on my face

"Shit!" Ivan said hopping up and struggling into his suit

We ran off into the aircraft carrier's hallway. Ivan struggled to keep up behind me, still trying to get his pants up.

-USS Abraham Lincoln flight deck-

Ivan and I opened the hatch on the far side of the control tower and stumbled out gasping for breath. I gave another half hearted attempt to shamble over to the commander next to a helicopter.

"This *cough* is Major Laney reporting for duty, sir!" I said bent over, catching my breath in front of the officer

Ivan finally zipped up his flight suit and ran to my side and saluted the officer.

"This is Specialist Dementiev reporting!" Ivan said in a weak voice

"Good morning gentlemen, we have a special assignment for you today," the officer turned and pointed to a black helicopter sitting on the deck "This is a new helicopter that runs entirely on electricity. You will be testing it today." The officer walked to the helicopter and motioned for us to follow him. After the pilots caught up with the officer, the climbed into the cockpit "As you can see, it has the exact same lay out to a regular blackhawk but with the benefit of running completely on DC current." the officer then hopped out of the helicopter and pointed to the aircraft itself "The skin of the aircraft itself is the generator of electricity. It charges on solar power. you can get anywhere from 6-8 hours of flight time on a single charge. Questions?"

(A picture if I didn't describe it well enough)

I had many questions but figured it would be best not to test the officer's patience. We climbed into the cockpit and took our positions and familiarized ourselves with the dials and gauges. After the adjustments were set I put on my helmet and looked at Ivan

"Sometimes I hate you, you lazy motherfucker. We could have been assigned to goddam lunch duty if the officer wanted." I said scolding my co-pilot.

After chewing my flight partner out, I raised the control tower on the radio

"This is Redhawk 3-1 requesting takeoff."

"This is command, you are clear for takeoff, over." the radio called out with a hiss of static

I flipped the ignition and raised the RPMs of the helicopter's blades halfway. I could feel the wheels leave the flight deck as I got used to the controls. I then pulled on the joystick as we gradually gained altitude. 'Ok' he thought 'just make your way to the coordinates and back. Simple.'. I then press the joystick forward slightly and the helicopter pushed forward. We met an airspeed of 100mph as we left the flight deck. As I left the flight deck he saw the ever expanding ocean in front of me, the soft ripples of the current the only distinguishing characteristic of the ever expansive ocean. At the far edge of the horizon was my destination, a thunderstorm.

-Unknown location in the Gulf of Mexico-

Me and my co-pilot we still sore from the rude awakening but I hoped Ivan wasn't still angry with me. We had been silent for almost an hour. I lifted the RPM of the rotors as we neared the thunderstorm. our mission was to test the hazardous conditions on the new helicopter since it was electric. We neared the electrical storm and stopped just before entering it. I turned my head to Ivan's and said

"Going where no one has gone before" as i pushed the joystick forwards and saw the storm approach at a steadily increasing pace

We entered the storm and the gauges began to spaz out. The altimeter was giving impossible readings, the speedometer was saying we were doing somewhere around the speed of sound, and the radio kicked on to some annoying song. i turned the radio off and continued to go deeper into the story flying off my instincts. The way ahead began to get darker and darker as we flew deeper and deeper into the storm. I hit the external lights switch on the console and the outside of our helicopter light up like a Christmas tree. The head lights came on only to light up dark grey clouds.

Suddenly I head a crack of thunder and felt my control on the helicopter slacken. I then saw a crack of light brighten up the sky and the warning lights come on. The helicopter then began to spiral as the tail end spun out due to lack of power to the helicopter's main rotor. The main warning light came on over the charge counter as it read 3%.An unrelenting warning siren came over the dashboard. Ivan uttered a curse to himself and grabbed the radio

"This is Redhawk, mayday, mayday! We have had a lighting strike and have lost power!" He said in a calm yet panicked voice

No response.

"This is Redhawk, FUCKING MAYDAY!" he yelled.

We continued to lose speed and altitude at an unprecedented rate. We preceded toward the ground in a 45* angle at 45mph. I as we approach the ground I noticed a forest to the left and a field to the right. I pushed with all my might to the right and the helicopter responded with a sickly sidestep. We landed with a thud as rubber met dirt and we kept moving forward at 45mph. A tree line was steadily approach. With the sound of shattering glass and screaming men we came to a halt as my head slammed of the dash and I sank into a cold blackness.

Author's note: This chapter is so short but This is just the beginning. The chapters will get longer later.

-The Sanguinor, Exemplar of the Host

Chapter 2: Facing Reality

-Vinyl Scratch's house, Ponyville (Third person)-

"This is Redhawk, mayday, mayday.-" the radio let out before cutting to static and then back to music

Vinyl Scratch heard the radio but though it was just music. She continued to clean up around her house putting the interference out of her mind. She heard a knock at the door and set down what she was doing and walked over to it. She opened to the do to find Rainbow dash obviously looking panicked.

"What's wrong Dash?" she asked in a soft voice

"Did you see it?" Dash asked in a hurried voice

"See what?" Vinyl asked thinking her friend was just playing a joke on her

"A big black thing fell from the sky and landed in a field!" Dash exclaimed

Suddenly the radio turned to static and the crackly voice came over it again sounding panicked

"This is Redhawk, FUCKING MAYDAY!-" the radio cried before catching some static and returning to the music

The two ponies looked at each other worryingly.

-----Crash site, location unknown (Back to Ryan's point of view)------

"Son of a bitch!" I said removing my helmet whose visor cracked down the middle.

My thoughts turned to the radio i turned to grab it. I snatched it up before realizing I had lost power. I turned the power switch off and saw the charge meter go to 1%. At least that was working. I opened the door and fell out, landing on my hands and knees, still dazed by what just happened. I climbed to my feet and checked myself. Other than whiplash, I was fine. I walked to the the front of the helicopter to check the damage.

As my eyes adjusted I couldn't see what my helicopter had connected with. I looked up and saw a tree branch going through the co-pilot's window. 'Oh god!' my thought ran to in worry for my partner. I ran to the passenger side door and swung it open revealing the emergency kit's contents scattered through out the compartment. I would deal with that later. I walked into swung my head around the wall hiding the co-pilot from the passenger compartment.

I couldn't describe what I saw. I found what had stopped the helicopter from receiving to much damage. Ivan had been killed on impact with the branch by impaling him in the chest. I muttered a prayer to a god I didn't believe in and removed the tree branch from his chest with a sickening wet squish-like noise. I tossed the branch out the window with my hands covered in the man's blood who was very much alive a few hours ago. I took off Ivan's helmet and and saw a look of horror on his face. To think that the last thing I said was an insult to the man hurt me deeply. I put my hand on his face an slid it down closing his eyes and grabbed his dog tags. It was the least I could do. I grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him into the passenger's compartment.

I laid his corpse in the center of the compartment and grabbed a nearby cloth and covered him up. I then snagged his handgun and ammo and muttered another prayer. I grabbed a flare gun from the scattered contents of the emergency kit and check the barrel, empty. I check around the compartment and found a flare round under a nearby seat. I looked back at my friend and stared for a moment thinking that that could have been me. I hopped out of the door which I had left open and looked back at my friend and said

"I'll make sure to bury you somewhere nice." I said as I held his dog tags in my hand

I looked out at the environment. Last thing I remember was flying over the Gulf of Mexico and entering a storm. I wasn't anywhere near land! Even I I had made it to land, it would have either been an island or Florida and this land looked like neither. There was a forest to north, about 200ft ahead of the helicopter. I looked right and could see a large meadow with fireflies beginning to appear. This wasn't even close to the tropic, this looked the the american midwest, like where I was from. This wasn't important now.

I walked back to the helicopter and search the emergency kit. I found what I was looking for; an emergency radio. I pressed the on switch and listen to static for a moment. I then pressed the call button and said in a calm and sober voice

"This is Major Ryan Laney, call sign 'Redhawk'. If anyone can hear this; I have crashed and my co-pilot is dead. I have no idea where I am. It should be dark soon, so I am going to send a flare up at 10:00pm sharp, so keep your eyes to the sky. This is Major Ryan Laney, over and out."

I walked back to the passenger door and sat down. I set the radio down and ran my fingers through my hair. I checked my watch; 9:36pm.

-----Vinyl's house, Ponyville (Third person)-----

Rainbow ran into the house and grabbed the radio, a device entirely of Vinyl's design. She heard a voice start to talk on the radio, a different one than before

Dash looked at the radio for a second, puzzled. 'What's a flare?' she thought. She turned to Vinyl and asked "What time is it?!" frantically.

Vinyl thought for a moment and said "About 9:40ish." she said.

Dash blew past her and flew up in the sky about Ponyville, taking in all of the nearby horizon. She flew in place for about ten minutes diligently searching before she heard a 'Whoosh' followed by a red gleam of light to the northeast. She, the fastest flyer in all of Ponyville, set off as fast as she could in the direction of the light.

-----Crash site, location unknown (First person- Ryan)-----

I walked back to the helicopter and sat down on the floor again. Luckily, the helicopter is still operational. I climb up into the passenger compartment and I tossed the flare gun into the front left hand corner of the compartment. I turned back to Ivan's corpse and knelt beside it. I grab his hand and just held the position for a moment.

"I'm sorry it turned out like this." I said holding Ivan's lifeless hand

I can hear something outside the hull of the helicopter but for all intensive purposes, I'm in my own world.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I hear a female's voice call out.

"This is Redhawk." I said "Glad to see someone made it to the party."

I tucked Ivan's hand back under the cover and turn to face the open window. I don't see anyone, just the empty door. I walk to the door frame and look around. Nothing but the wind.

"Hello?!" I yell out the side of the helicopter.

Nothing. I walk out to the door and slide it shut. I turn to see the corpse still on the ground.

"I'll find somewhere nice for you tomorrow."

I turned away from the body and walked to the cockpit again I took a seat in the pilot's chair and checked the read out again. 15%. 'That was enough for a short trip, right?' I asked myself 'No, I'll set off in the morning.' I figured I would put on my helmet and looked down on the ground. I found it resting at my feet and bent down to retrieve it. As I returned to my seat, I cleared the dust from the inside of the helmet and put it on.

As I returned my vision to the front window, I could see a pair of eyes watching me as they lowered from the roof of the aircraft.

"Ugh... hello?" I call out to it

As I said this the creature flew down onto the nose of the chopper. It was a light blue with a shade of purple for eyes I wasn't familiar with. The creature looked a lot like a pony from a farm down the road from where I was raised, although the creature had one distinct feature other that being light blue; it had wings.

My mind immediately turned to think it was just an animal but something about the way it looked at me counteracted the feeling. I raised my hand and waved. The creature waved back.

I was about to say hello when it said "Were you the one that called for help?"

Chapter 3: Fighting Wars

-----Crash Site, location unknown-----

Did that seriously just happen? Did a flying pony just ask me a question? I looked at it dead in the eyes and tried to struggle out words but I could find none to justify the situation. I sat there for a minute and closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.

-----Ryan’s Dreamscape----

As I opened my eyes I could see just white emptiness and a screen in the distance. As I seemed to float in the vast emptiness, I could feel a timid presence in my mind. I tried to walk over to the screen and touch it but something was preventing me. I felt a voice come into my head, one that wasn’t mine.

“Just will yourself over there.” It said, calming my nerves

I tried to swim my way over there like I was in a pool but to no success. ‘Will myself?’ I thought. I closed my eyes and thought hard about getting closer to the screen. When I opened my eyes the screen closer to me and began to show a film. Then the title came up on the screen

‘Ryan Fighting in Iraq, 2009’

This was going to be good. As I floated there, the memory started to play.

“This is Delta team! We need fire support on the building in sector 7, over!” A voice yelled through the radio while gunfire was in the background.

“This is Echo 1-3 inbound to your position.” I said on the screen

This was exactly what had happened! I remember it so clearly now. The helicopter I was piloting was an old Huey form Vietnam with m134 miniguns on each side. I watched the screen as the presence in my head became curious. The helicopter took a sharp right over a mid-day desert town in the Middle East, the kind with mud hut construction. As the helicopter turned left with furious thuds from the helicopter blades, the barrels started to turn on the miniguns.

“This is Delta, happy hunting.”

“The party has arrived.” I said as the helicopter turned to the designated building. It was an old two story mud hut home, probably abandoned and repurposed. I dropped my altitude to that of the second story and opened up fire from the m134s. The building was being torn apart by the miniguns’ relatively small caliber rounds.

As the screen showed me manically laughing as the thunderous roar of the miniguns continued, I could feel the presence in my head becoming steadily more and more afraid of me. I shot a sharp mental grin as the fighting on screen continued.

As the miniguns stopped firing, revealing glowing red hot barrels and smoke, my voice started up on the radio “This is Echo 1-3 to Delta, have fun trying to find out what piece belongs to who. This is Echo 1-3 returning to base, over.”

I watched the screen as the huey rose in altitude and banked left and the voice in my head was truly petrified. I started to clap as the screen was covered by red curtains that came out of nowhere. I then began to fell light headed and closed my eyes.

----Crash Site, Location unknown----

“That was fuckin’ awesome” I said rubbing my head as I awoke.

“You’re a monster.” Said an unknown female voice

I looked up and could see the night skybox above me with some of the brightest stars I’ve ever seen. I tried to sit up when what felt like a pole slammed into my chest and held me down. I lifted my head to see a pony’s orange-ish hoof on my chest.

“What the fuck did I do?!” I said grimacing in pain

“What’d ya see Twi?” A feminine Texan accent said

“Nice to see you too.” I said with a thick coating of sarcastic anger

“H-he… I don’t know what he did.” I heard another scared voice say.

“What did I do?!” I said still under the orange hoof.

“What did you do to those ponies?” She said still with a tone of sorrow

‘Ponies?’ Surely she meant people right? Was she the presence in my dream? She had to be and if her friend doesn’t get off of me, there will be hell to pay.

“Was that you in my dream?” I said

“Yes, now what did you do?!” she said

“My mission goddammit! I’m a soldier if you couldn’t tell.” I said like it was matter-of-fact

“What’s a soldier?” I hear another voice pipe up

“Military? Guards of a country?” I said as if asking.

“Like Celestia’s guards?” the frightened voice asked

“Who the hell is that, and if whoever is on me doesn’t take their foot off me, I can promise I’ll make it so they can never walk again!” I shouted at the top of my lungs

I immediately felt the hoof retracted and gasps erupt in the crowd that had gathered. I sat up and was met with several
brightly colored eyes, one of which I was familiar with already. I could see the blue pony from earlier and two others that I had yet to meet. One was purple with a horn, just like the unicorns of legend. The other was the orange one that was holding me down. It had a long golden mane and a cowboy hat, so I guess that was the one with the Texan accent.

As I got to my feet I realized I towered over these creatures. I wasn’t a beast at 5’11 and 200 pounds but they couldn’t be more that 4’ and 125 pounds. I reach up and removed my helmet revealing my scarred face and black hair. I could see my helicopter in the distance and some ponies in heavy armor behind me. I wasn’t going to escape without a fight.

I looked back down at the terrified creatures and said “My name is Ryan Laney and I am a United States marine pilot. You are?”

The ponies seemed too terrified to answer me.

“I don’t bite.” I said jokingly.

The one with the Stetson hat stepped forward “Ma name’s Applejack.”

This pony seemed to set the stage for the others as the purple one stepped forward too “My name is Twilight.”

Then the blue, rainbow maned one stepped forward and said “I’m Rainbow dash.”

I turned to the right and began to walk around the ponies when the one named Dash stepped in front of me “Where do you
think you’re going” She said in an angry voice.

I dropped my eyes to hers and said “To bury my friend.” I walked past her and the guards continued to follow me. I jumped into the cabin of the helicopter and grabbed an entrenching tool from the hull. I then grabbed Ivan’s collar and dragged him out of the cabin.

Was I dragged Ivan’s body to the middle of the field I could feel prying eyes digging into the back of my head. ‘I don’t need their fucking sympathy.’ I thought to myself as I began to dig a hole. As I took the tiny shovel and continued to dig, could sense something walking up behind me.

“It’s not your fault.” I heard Dash say behind me, trying to show some empathy.

This only made me dig even harder in anger. I continued to dig until I had dug about 3ft deep. I reach over and dragged Ivan’s body into the crude grave and walked back to the helicopter, leaving Dash and the others as the grave site. I retrieved a small flag from the passenger cabin and walked back to the grave.

As I returned to the grave, the prying eyes were starting to unravel me. I started to shovel the dirt back onto Ivan’s grave, muttering comments of anger to myself. After Ivan was covered up I took the small 8x6 inch flag and planted it on to the center of the grave.

Chapter 4: Finding Truth

----Crash Site----

I stared at the grave for a moment, watching the wind blow the flag around. I turned to see the three ponies from earlier coming closer, probably to try and console me. I wasn’t having it. My attention immediately turned to the guards. I could see only two guards and they were right behind Twilight. It’s time to make my move.

I drew my handgun and ran as fast as I could in the direction of the helicopter. I could sense the guards gaining on me. As I reached the door to the cockpit I turned and fired three more rounds wildly at the guards. They immediately dropped and took cover. I then flipped the ignition and felt the blades begin to spin. I then turned my attention to the power readout. The read out gave me a resounding 30% power. I pulled up on the throttle and felt the wheels lift off. I turned the helicopter in the direction of the guards and could see the Pegasus trying to take off but failing due to the gale force winds.

As the engines warmed up, I wanted to leave an impression on the group and taped down the button on the loud speaker. I cranked the volume as high as it could go and said

“Not today!”

I then search my vest and found my IPhone and placed it next to the loud speaker and pressed play. The first song was “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. I then pushed the altitude to as high as it would go and gained around one thousand feet of distance to the ground. I push forward on the joystick and set out in an unknown direction. They were not going to catch me if I have anything to say about it. I reach an airspeed of 200mph and flew away.

I knew they weren’t going to let me go that easily. I turned to see Rainbow Dash flying with all of her strength at me. I then turned tail and bolted. I could see her in the rear view mirror steadily gaining ground on me. Fine if we’re going to play this game, I’m going to play dirty. I redirected my speed from going forward, to instead go straight up. I sealed the cabin door and continued to climb. I reached two thousand feet and the air grew much thinner I held my position and waited. There was no way she could handle this little oxygen and keep chasing me.

I pressed the joystick forward and got a sickly response due to the thin air. I reach about 75mph and the engine was struggling for that. I could see the power gauge steadily dropping on the dashboard. It had reached 10% by this point. I had to put the helicopter down before I ran out of power. I could see a clearing five miles out and figured it would be perfect. I checked my surrounding for any sign of ponies and proceeded to drop altitude.

I was within a few hundred feet of the ground when the song stopped and I cut off the sound system. I touched down and cut off the engine. I then walked into the passenger cabin and searched for the camo netting. The ground was still covered in Ivan’s blood. I walked to the opposite end of the cabin and opened the large storage compartment. There was a service rifle, enough ammo for a small platoon, and the camo netting. I snagged the camo and lifted it onto my shoulder. I slid open the door to find an empty field surrounded with trees about 50ft out in all directions.

I hopped down from the ledge of the passenger cabin to the ground. I took each end of the netting and anchored it down on the front left and right of the helicopter. I then took the netting and tossed it over the helicopter covering the majority of the hull. I walked the rest of the netting to the back end of the helicopter and anchored it down. From a distance, now my helicopter just looked like a hill.

If they were going to catch me, they were going to have to try harder.

----Twilight’s house (third person)----
“Why would he run off like that?!” Dash asked in a frustrated voice

Dash had been walking in circles for hours, mentally beating herself for losing “Ryan”. Twilight had tried to make her stop but as soon as Dash sat down, she got back up and continued.

“How did you even find him?” Twilight asked Dash

“I saw a flash of light and then that black machine fall from the sky. After that, I ran to Vinyl’s house since she was the closest and asked her if she saw it. After telling me no, one of her machines picked up a message from Ryan. Why is this such a big deal?” Dash said trying to piece everything together.

“When I went into his memories, I saw horrible thing the man had done and he was laughing at them.” She said as she shuddered at the memory of Ryan’s face when he was laughing.

“Maybe he’s still hurt about his friend?” Dash asked to no one directly

“Wait, I have an idea. Let’s see if we can barrow Vinyl’s machine to see if he left us a message!” Twilight said with renewed vigor.

Dash and Twilight ran to the door and opened it. They ran as fast as they could to Vinyl’s house on the opposite side of town. After reaching the door to her house, they banged on the door as hard as they could. Vinyl walked up and answered the door, obviously tired.

“*yawn* what do you guys need?” she asked, rubbing her eyes with her hoof.

“We need to see the machine that you heard the man on earlier! Quickly!” Dash said barging into Vinyl’s house.

Dash ran over to the table where they had left the machine and turned it on. For a few moments they received static but surely enough, Ryan’s voice appeared.

“This is Redhawk 1-3. My co-pilot is down and I am on the run from enemy forces. I have never seen anything like them. They don’t seem to be very well equipped and don’t seem to have radar or they would have found me already. On the off chance this is being listen too, I will be at the location where I first crashed two days from now. This is Redhawk, over and out.”

The ponies looked at each other and Twilight said “We need to alert the Princess!”

----Ryan’s camp, location unknown (Ryan’s point of view)----

“…This is Redhawk, over and out.” I said letting go of the radio.

I looked at the camo netting on the helicopter and grabbed my knife from my boot strap. I went to an area with some excess and cut it off. I then tied it to myself, creating a makeshift gillie suit. I slid open the door to the passenger cabin and opened up the storage compartment. I grabbed the rifle, binoculars, and an extra radio.

After grabbing some rations, I took a long look at the stars and noticed that the northern star wasn’t there. That was very odd. I then pulled out my compass and found the direction from which I had flown in from and began to walk.

----Crash site, day one (Ryan’s point of view)----

I walked up the grave that still had the flag waving over it proudly. I check my surrounding and saw that there wasn’t even a guard posted there. This was going to be easier that I first thought. I walked up to the grave and set down the radio. I then retreated to a hill 500ft to the northwest, giving me the advantage of high ground. On the hill was various trees and shrubbery scattered about. The moon hung high overhead and I took a position in a nearby tree.

The position gave me a nice overview of the field where I first crashed and I could see the radio clearly. I grabbed my canteen and took a long drink. I had to rely on my survival training here. I took careful observations of the field looked at my watch. I had twelve hours to kill.

Now we play the waiting game.

Chapter 5: Allies

Author's note: Sorry this took so long. Enjoy

~The Sanguinor

-Ryan's overwatch position-

The sun climbed slowly over the horizon as I peered through the binoculars. The field remained empty for hours. the boredom was unfucking bearable. You try sitting in a tree for hours on end. I set my binoculars on the branch and reached into my pack, retrieving a small granola bar. I pulled back the wrapper and took a loud bite. The sense of honey and Peanuts was a great change from emergency rations. A steak would have been awesome.

I sat in the branch and leaned against the tree and slung the rifle onto my elbow as I continued to snack on the granola. I studied the field for a few minutes, taking in all the variables of the land. In boot camp, they told us that everything from the wind to gravity affected the bullet as it traveled and the further it traveled, the more the variables affected the trajectory. I grabbed my binoculars and searched for any sign of movement.

Three familiar figures and two unfamiliar, walked into the field. I grabbed the radio that was attached to my vest and watched as they approached the crash site. As they rounded into the impact crater, another figure, pulled in a chariot. In the chariot stood a white eh... something. The creature had a horn like a unicorn and the wings of a pegasus. I studied the other two ponies that had followed the others and could see a pink pony and another white one with a horn and a purple mane.

I watched as the group of ponies wandered around the crash site looking for me. I could see the pegasus/unicorn was getting testy. Did they seriously think I was going to sit in the middle of the field? I watched as the white pegasus/unicorn neared Ivan's grave. I pressed the button on the side of my radio and took a deep breath.

"Good day ladies and gents," I said "lets get this show on the road. You see the device that is making the noise? Pick it up. Press the button to speak and let go to listen."

The group of ponies seemed shocked at first, due to my voice coming from a small device. I watched as the white VIP (I assume due to the fancy arrival) levitated, that's right, levitated the device in front of her.

I pressed the button again "Yes, you can't see me but I assure that I can see you all just fine at the end of my rifle. Shall we get down to it? Why isn't there a rescue team?"

A polished and well refined voice came over the radio "My name is Princess Celestia and you are?"

I smiled and pushed the button "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Major Ryan Laney of the United States marines. You can call me Ryan or Redhawk, doesn't matter to me."

I watched as the ponies gathered round the "Princess" and listened intently.

The voice came over the radio again "Why did you run? We mean you no harm."

"A multitude of reasons, lets list them shall we? First my helicopter was struck by lighting, my comrade is dead, of which your standing on his grave, I had my dreams invaded I believe, and was awoken to a comfortable foot- I mean hoove to the chests. Oh, and lets not forget being chased by a flying fucking pony that talks! Where I come from, they don't do either! Good fucking times!" I said. As I let go of the button, I could sense the anger in my tone.

I watched as the ponies argued among themselves. After a minute or two, the "Princess" calmed them down and returned to the radio.

"My student says that she saw you used some flying machine to kill your own kind and was laughing about it. Is that true?"

I was halted in my own thoughts. What would I tell her? 'Yes I killed the enemy and felt good about it.' didn't seem like a good idea. Looks like I have to wing it.

"I am part of the military of my country. I was at war and war will do strange thing to anyone. Nothing but good times." I said as I immediately regretted my choice of words.

"War?" The Princess asked as if puzzled by the word.

"You kidding me right?"

I watched as Twilgiht snatched the radio and said "Show the Princess respect, please."

I pressed the button and laughed a bit "Respect is earned, not given. Moving along; I just want to get back home. This is pointless. I'm leaving."

"Please don't go!" I heard the radio speak up.

"You'll hear from me soon. This is Redhawk, over and out." I said as I turned off the radio.

I watched as the ponies frantically talked back and forth. They seemed to be worried about something. I packed away the binocular and dropped from the tree. As my feet connected with solid ground. I turned and looked in the direction of the ponies and watched for a moment as they argued. I could see the "Princess" trying to calm them. I turned back to the forest and made my way back to my campsite.

-Ryan's campsite-

My walk to the helicopter was uneventful. I thought they would at least send out search parties. I lifted the camo canvas from the helicopter and slipped under. I pulled the latch on the door and slid it to the side. I pulled my self into the passenger cabin and removed my gillie suit. I stepped back out of the helicopter and pulled the camo off the helicopter. I could see that the sun was on its way down. I climbed into the cockpit and turned on the radio. The radio spit static at me.

I grabbed my helmet from the co-pilot seat and slipped it on. I buckled myself in and hit the ignition. I watched the gauges spring to life, max out, and drop back to normal levels. I hit increased the RPM of the rotors and heard the engine kick to life. The power had been charging for almost 24 hours at this point and even with the camo covering it up, the gauge read 100%. I pulled on the joystick and felt the wheels lift off the ground. I continued to rise until I cleared the tree canopy.

The radio kicked to life "Redhawk," said a familiar voice "please calm down and meet us at the Ponyville library."

It was Twilight. Had they been calling out to me over the radio all day?

I grabbed the receiver and said "This is Redhawk, I need a heading."

I heard a cheer over the radio followed by Twilight.

"I am assuming you are over the forest, correct?"

I spoke again, not even second guessing my actions "Correct. The sun will be down soon. I need a guide."

"I will send one your way." she said before the radio dark again.

Something in my mind screamed at me for the stupidity of giving myself up but i didn't care. I just didn't want to spend another night alone in the god forsaken forest.

Chapter 6: Distrust

I pressed the throttle forward and began to fly with ever increasing speed. I watched as the tree canopy passed beneath helo and the clouds gave way to the winds that my rotors were throwing out. I didn’t see this guide Twilight told me about. I continued to head on a northwest heading toward the original crash site. I turned my head to my right and was met with a steady wind from the hole in the window. The wind wasn’t an unwelcomed guest at this point due to the inside of the helo being somewhere in the 90s.

The trees continued to thin out until I saw the crater beneath me. I pulled the joystick back and felt the remaining momentum dissipate as the helo leaned backwards. I hovered over the impact crater and looked down. I could see where I had initially landed and the makeshift grave for Ivan. I lowered my altitude to around 200ft and waited.

Not far from the horizon, I could see a rainbow approach me. I waited for a minute as the rainbow continued to get closer and closer until it was no more than 50ft from the helo’s nose. The rainbow suddenly stopped and dissipated until I could see the rainbow maned pony form earlier. I watched as she struggled with the wind of the helo and flapped her wings with ever increasing diligence. She motioned with a hoove to follow. I dipped the nose of the helo as if it was a nod.

Dash turned with her back facing me and shot me a look as she prepared herself. It was one of the “Try to keep up” looks. She immediately took off as a rainbow followed in her trail. I pushed the joystick forward and maxed out speed at 200mph. She continued to get farther and farther away until all I could see was a trail of rainbows. ‘How the fuck does she do that?’ I asked myself, but soon realized that I am asking that in a world where unicorns and pegasui exist.

I watched the ground below the helicopter become more and more tame as I assumed the settlement was ahead. I watched as a town that looked like it was out of a fairy tale came into view. I could see what looked like a tree farm or something of that nature passed under me. I looked at the dashboard for a moment and saw that I had around 60% power remaining. I turned my attention to the horizon and saw that the sun was almost gone. I had lost Dash by this point, but the message was clear; we had arrived.

I circled the town once and tried to find a clear landing zone. If I chose a bad one, I could risk damaging the rotor blades severely or breaking off the tail. I watched as brightly colored houses and businesses passed under the helo. From what I could tell, the houses seemed to be tailor made to each of the owners specifically. I passed house that looked like it was made out of candy for instance.

I figured finding a landing zone in town was pointless, probably due to no one ever thought something the size of my helicopter would try to land in it. I jerked the joystick to the right and started to make my way to the farm I had found earlier. I moved away from the town and noticed that the sun was now down at this point. I flipped the external light switch and watched as the various indicator lights and headlight came to life. The farm was not in view and I could see a fence surrounding a few barns and a small farm house. The house looked like a scaled down version of an old style American ranch house. I hovered over the center of the farm and searched for a suitable landing zone. After a few moments, I found a clear area near the back end of the land. I pushed the joystick forward and noticed a small red figure emerge from a nearby barn. As I turned my attention to the landing zone, I could see that the zone was surrounded by trees on all sides. I carefully positioned my helo over the area and lowered the throttle slightly. I felt the helo continue to lower slowly into the area. The trees began to lose branches and leaves and the wind picked up on the ground. The wheels finally made contact with the ground with the familiar thud, meaning I had made a safe landing. I dropped the throttle and hit the kill switch. The rotors slowly came to a stop and I walked into the passenger cabin. I grabbed my rifle and pulled back the charging rod. I pulled my handgun out and pulled back the slide. I returned the handgun to the holster at my side and grabbed as much ammo as I could carry. I felt like I was ready for anything.

I left my helmet on and slid the cabin door open. I watched as the tree began to return to their normal state and the moon rise overhead. I readied my rifle and jumped to the ground. My boots connected with soft, brown dirt. I turned on the flashlight on my rifle and clicked the safety off. I turned as slid the door closed and locked it. I raised my rifle and decided the make my way to the farm house I saw. I walked cautiously as it was almost impossible to navigate in the darkness.

I heard a bush rustle behind me and I raised my rifle at it. The flashlight revealed a small figure in the bush, maybe no bigger than a baby german shepard.

“I’ve had a bad day so let’s make this simple; come out and you will not be harmed.” I said with as much authority I could muster.

I saw the figure cower in the bush for a moment before I heard “Help!”

Out of nowhere, I heard heavy footsteps approaching rapidly. I turned to find out what it was and felt something connect with my midriff. I was pushed back a few feet and landed on my back. I saw a little pony with white fur, red hair, and a bow run away from me, yelling all the while. I turned my attention to my attacker and saw the red figure from earlier standing over me. I try to say something but felt a hoove connect with my nose, breaking it. That small amount of pain ran through me. Whatever had attacked me, had unleashed my anger.

I tossed my rifle to the side and said “Is this how you treat all your guests?!”

The figure seemed confused for a moment before I landed a blow to its face. The figure stumbled back, allowing me to get to my feet. I could see that the figure was that of the ponies form earlier. It had red fur and a picture of a green apple on his backside. I ran a few combat scenarios in my head and figured that shooting it wouldn’t go down well with the locals. The red pony kicked some dirt with his front right hoove. He charged me with great speed. I jumped to the side, barely avoiding him. He turned and tried again. As he ran toward me, I found my chance. I sidestepped and grabbed his head as he passed. He gave a suppressed gasp and I tackled him to the ground. I repeatedly punched him until I heard footsteps running towards me. I looked up and found a familiar shade of orange approach me. I climbed to my feet and collected my rifle. I brought it to the red pony and leveled it with his head.

“Stand down motherfucker!” I commanded with my remaining strength.

I heard a gasp from Applejack “What did you do to ma’ brother?!”

I looked down at the beaten pony and saw that he had been bruised and bloodied, but nothing that couldn’t heal in time. I took the flashlight off the rifle, slung the rifle on my back and took off my helmet and put it under my arm.

I raised my flashlight to my face revealing my broken nose and bloody face “He charged me and broke my nose. I retaliated ma’am.”

“I understand,” she began “you looked like you were going to attack Applebloom.”

“Applebloom? You mean that little pony that ran off when I looked at her?”

“Tha’ be her. Let’s go get ya nose fixed.”

I raised my hand, signaling the ‘no, wait.’ response. I got a strange look from Applejack and I raised my hands to my nose. I placed my hands on each side and jerked it into place with a loud crack, followed by pain.

I let out a small yelp and said “That won’t be necessary. I need to meet Twilight first.”

She gave me a strange look followed by a nod of compliance. I unslung my rifle and slid my flashlight back on it. I began to walk toward her and stopped by the red pony and flipped him off. He gave me a strange look, obviously not getting the gesture.

-outskirts of the town-

I had been walking side by side with Applejack in sullen silence for the past 20mins. I could feel blood running on my face from my fight earlier and my nose throbbing in pain. The moon was in full swing by the time I reached the center of town. Applejack signaled me to follow her. She led me through a small courtyard.

While standing in the courtyard, Applejack pointed to a tree house and said “There’s her place. I need to head back to ma’ farm. Can you making it from here?”

I nodded in response and she walked off into the night. I unslung my rifle and rested it in front of me. My nose by this point had begun to swell and become discolored, causing me an immense amount of pain. I grunted and mentally told myself that I was just going to shoot first and ask questions later.

I made it to the door and I rested my rifle on my shoulder, freeing one of my hands. I pounded on the door a few times and waited. No response. My head had begun to pound at this point and I wasn’t having it. I dropped my rifle into my hands and beat it into the door. I noticed a light come on in the upstairs window, followed by what sounded like footsteps. I rested my rifle into my hands again and waited.

The door opened to reveal a recently awoken Twilight “You know what time it is?” she said obviously not realizing who it was.

“I thought you’d be more excited to see me.” I said trying to cover up the displeasure in my voice.

Twilight suddenly recognized my voice and her eyes light up. She looked and me and immediately jumped back.

“What happened to you?!” she said worryingly.

“The welcoming party was a little on the rough side.” I said with a sarcastic overtone “Don’t worry, I returned the favor.”

Twilight immediately motioned for me to come inside and sit on the floor. Blood had soaked into my flight suit at this point and I began to leave a blood drops in the floor. She came back to me with a damp rag and I snatched it. I pressed the damp rag to my face and was relieved almost instantaneously. I rubbed my face into the rag and brought it away from my face. The rag was almost completely bloodied. I brought my attention to my surroundings and saw shelves upon shelves of books. I took my rifle from my lap and set it against a wall.

“What happened?” she asked again in a stern voice.

“Why do you want to know?” I shot back.

“Because I care, that’s why.”

I dropped the rag into my lap and looked her dead in the eye. In all my life, no one cared where I lived or died, why would they suddenly start now? I ran through possible things to say to her and came up with nothing.

I sighed and said “Long or short version?”

“The short will do.” She said

“I landed on Applejack’s farm around sun down,” I began “I walked through her crops before I heard something rustling in the bushes. I went to check on it and was attack by some big red fucker. He broke my nose, so I fought back full force. He didn’t die but he won’t be working anytime soon.”

Twilight seemed to be sympathetic to my story and put a hoove on my shoulder. I pushed it off.

“I don’t need sympathy. That red pony is lucky I didn’t end him.”

She gave me a sad look as if she had lost a battle. I turned and grabbed my rifle. I pulled back the charging handle and retrieved the bullet in the chamber. I held it out in my hand. Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment and the bullet left my hand.

“What’s this?” she asked quizzically.

“That was the bullet that almost ended your friend’s life. That is your token from me. I do not like debt; no one does anything for free. You hold on to that and you can redeem it for a favor later.”

I got back to my feet and slung my rifle onto my shoulder, now one bullet lighter. I turned and walked to the door.

“I’m heading back to my helicopter for some shut eye. You need me, just knock.”

I opened the door and walked out of it. I stopped a few feet from it and looked back. I could see Twilight standing at the door. I shook my head and told myself to keep moving.

Chapter 7: Necessity

-Ryan’s helo, early morning-

THUMP…

My eyes flickered back to life, surveying the inside of the helo. The helo seemed to be the way I left it when I passed out. I grabbed my rifle from my lap climbed to my feet.

THUMP…

‘What the hell is that?’ I thought to myself. I pulled the charging rod back on my rifle and let a round slam into the chamber. I grabbed my helmet from the floor and put it on, letting the visor darken the world around me.

THUMP…

Looked at my watch and saw that the time was around 8am. I grabbed the latch on the passenger cabin’s door and slid it open. The sun flew high overhead as the birds flew gracefully in the morning sky. I had a fleeting thought that I was back in Ohio before I saw an unfamiliar Pegasus fly near the birds. I cursed that pony for a moment for ruining my false sense of home.

I looked down at my suit and found that my chest was covered in dried blood and dirt. I turned back to the emergency kit and retrieved some spare combat fatigues.

THUMP…

That was getting on my nerves. My head was still throbbing in pain from the previous night. Not from a headache but from the injuries I had received from the fight. I adjusted my new fatigues and found they were of a woodland camo. I fitted myself with some ammo and other necessities and climbed out of the helo. I felt my feet connect with the damp, morning dirt. I turned and slid the door shut and locked it. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and rested my hand on my pistol, which was still in the holster.

THUMP…

I felt my stomach give a heavy rumble in protest. With my rations low, I needed to either go hunting or shopping. Considering the fact that I didn’t have any money, I figured that would limit my choices. I turned my attention to the forest and began my early morning trek into the woods.

As I walked, I could see the town coming to life in the distance. The pegasui were lifting off and shops were opening. I turned my head to my other side and could see that Applejack was kicking some of her trees. As she landed a firm kick, the apples fell from the tree and into the surrounding baskets. With the red pony from last night was probably still out of commission, so I assumed Applejack had to start earlier in the day to pull up the slack. I thought about helping for a moment before remembering that she landed a hoove on my chest the first time I saw her. I turned my attention to the woods and walked in.

The woods seemed to be unnaturally dark. The tree canopy cut off almost the entire sky box. I had this thought that by the end of the night I could have some fresh deer or rabbit. As I walked deeper and deeper into the forest, I began to see some alien plant life. I could see some flowers that glowed blue in the dark, followed by a patch of purple moss. I tried my hardest to avoid the plant life for fear of unknown effects or poisons.

After a few minutes of walking, I came to a clearing in the woods. I found what looked like a large circular path with what I estimated to be a 100ft diameter. In the center of path was a single large tree. I jogged up to the tree and tried to estimate whether or not it would hold my weight. The tree seemed to be around 30ft tall and 5ft thick. I shrugged and grabbed the nearest branch. I used my upper arm strength to pull me up. I planted a boot on the branch and climbed to the center of the tree trunk. The vantage point was comfy enough, if lacking in scenery. I hunkered down on a nearby limb and leaned my back against the trunk. I grabbed my rifle and brought it to my lap.

I sat it the tree for a minute and gauged my surroundings. The path seemed to be used often due to the lack of vegetation. I watched as some birds flew overhead and some small creature jumped around in the distance. I reached into my vest pocket and retrieved my radio. If they wanted me, they would call me.

I turned the radio on and was met with a soft hiss of static. I attached the radio to my chest and kept vigilant. This could take a while.

I have been sitting in the tree for almost 2 hours at this point and it was getting old. My father used to tell me that I was impatient and impulsive. He would take me on hunting trips when I was young and would make me sit in a tree stand for hours with nothing but a shotgun and my wits to keep me company. After I fought my way through high school, I joined the marines and was taught the meaning of patience and discipline. Being in the marines was nothing like the movies or games. Sure you fought once in a while, but most of your time was spent either staring at a wall or training. It still amazes me how much I miss it here.

I sat in the tree thriving off of nostalgia when a small pegasus flew overhead. The Pegasus was yellow with a long pink mane and tail. She didn’t seem to notice me as she landed on the ground below me. I could hear her humming a small song that I didn’t know. She stopped humming and started to search the area for something. I could hear her talking but it was so quiet that I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

After a few minutes of this I saw a few rabbits and a deer approaching. The creatures surrounded the Pegasus and I leveled my rifle with the deer. I tried to get a line of sight on the deer but the Pegasus kept blocking my shot. I cursed and kept the deer in my sights. My mind tried to find a reasonable explanation for the fact that the Pegasus was talking to a deer, yet the deer wasn’t running.

After a few moments, the Pegasus sat down and the deer stood over her. I was mentally screaming at this point for the Pegasus to leave. I watched for almost 10 minutes as the Pegasus talked with the small woodland creatures. Soon enough, the Pegasus flapped her wings and flew above the tree canopy. The deer lifted a leg and was… waving? Seriously? This place is fucked up. I sighted in the deer and locked on to the kill-zone. I placed my finger on the trigger and slowly squeezed. I watched at the deer dropped its leg back to the ground and stand there, unaware of its impending doom. I pulled the trigger back and felt the rifle spit out a round. There was a loud crack followed by the deer dropping to the ground.

I gave a little cheer and slung the rifle back onto my shoulder. I really hoped the Pegasus didn’t hear the shot. I climbed back down the tree and let my boots land on the earth below me. I watched as the sun reached its highest point in the sky, shining light in the dark recesses of the forest. I walked up to the dead deer and knelt down. I pulled my knife from my boot and went to work.

I left the remains under a tree and put my spoils of war into a dark plastic bag. My hands and wrists were covered in blood. I turned back to the direction of the farm and began walking. As I walked I could hear the sounds of the forest emanate around me. All the sounds seemed alien to me. I could hear something trudging around deep in the forest and decided not to investigate without support.

I wasn’t far out when I heard the sound of rushing water nearby. I turned to my right and tried to locate the sound. I pushed aside some branches with my sleeve and saw a small creek. I stepped off the path and ran to the stream. I shoved my hands and sleeves into the water, watching as the water carried away the blood from my hands. I tried to scrub the blood out of my fatigues and was met with mild success. Most of the blood came out but the green around the sleeve was stained a bit darker than the rest of the outfit.

After filling my canteen, I stepped back on the trail and continued to head back to the farm. Not long after, I saw the farm come into view. I checked my watch and found out that is was nearing 4pm. I could see that most of the farm had been taken care of, save a few trees here and there. Impressive work for a pony that was half my size. I walked past a barn and could see the side of my helicopter in the distance. I turned my head and could see the red pony from earlier resting on a bench near the farm house. I shook my head and made a mental note to ask what that dam pony’s name was.

I was about 10ft from my helicopter when I heard voices from the other side. I set down my bag of deer meat and walked around to the other side. I could hear crying at this point and figured that this wasn’t good. Why can’t these dam creatures take a hint? I turned the corner and saw that yellow Pegasus from earlier, followed by Dash and Applejack. I took a seat on a nearby log and laid down my rifle with gunpowder residue still clinging to the barrel.

“What is it now?” I asked coldly.

The sobs from the yellow Pegasus increased in volume. I shrugged and walked into my helicopter and retrieved a magnesium rod. I stuffed the small rod into my pocket and took my place on the log again.

“I’m gona ask again,” I said in the same voice “what is wrong?”

The sobs died down and I received looks of disgust from Applejack and Dash. The sobbing Pegasus tried to speak but was cut off by Dash.

“What did you do in the forest?! She has been like this for hours!” she yelled at me.

I held my hands up and said “Looks like we got a badass over here.”

Dash flew up to me and grabbed my collar.

I smiled at her and said “Can’t we be civil?”

I watched as her anger levels in her eyes reach a boiling point.

“Go ahead hit me. I didn’t do any-“

THWACK!

My head bounced back as a hoove connected with my face. I felt my nose nearly snap again as blood ran down my face. Dash let go of my collar and retreated. I leaned forward and let the blood fall onto the ground. I started mumbling incoherent curses.

“That for making her cry.” She said with a tone of anger.

“You realize that I beat the shit out of Applejack’s brother last night and only sheer civility is holding me back.”

I watched as Dash drew away from me in fear of retaliation. I didn’t want to fight today but I didn’t want any friends. The bleeding stopped relatively quickly, so I decided to try again.

“Last time, what did I do?” the resentment in my voice was becoming apparent.

“Fluttershy said that she hear a loud bang,” Dash began while Applejack tried to console Fluttershy “and when she returned, you were cutting up a deer.”

It immediately clicked in my head. Ponies were strict vegans. Great.

I raised my voice and said “I’m sorry for being human, I’m a goddam omnivore! I don’t like handouts, so I went hunting! It was just a dam deer.”

I saw a look of anger come over the group of ponies and Applejack said in a low voice “Get off ma’ farm.”

I threw my hands up and walked to the other side of the helo. I retrieved the bag of meat and got into the pilot’s seat. I checked the power gauges and hit the ignition button. I felt the rotors come to life and begin their acceleration. I jumped out of the helo and grabbed my rifle which was still against the log. I gave a half-assed salute and a smile to the ponies and climbed into the helo. I pushed up on the throttle. The rotors responded by lifting the helo in the air. I watched as the ponies struggled in the wind for a moment before Dash and Applejack looked up to me. I mouthed a ‘fuck you too.’ and gave the helo as much altitude as possible.

I watched as the figures on the ground became smaller and smaller. I gained about 700ft before I pressed on to the opposite side of town. I heard the radio flicker to life.

“Ryan, what happened?!” I heard Twilights voice call out.

I looked at the radio and turned it off. They had their chance. I pressed on into the open field on the opposite side of town. I reached 200mph and watched as the town became a speck in my rear view mirror.

After a few hours of flying north, the power gauge read 10%. I could see what looked like a castle in the distance. That would be my destination for later. I turned my attention to the matter of a landing zone. I could see that most of the land below me was mostly green fields like those back in Kansas. I could see a small patch of trees in the distance and figured that I would land near them.

I pulled the helo near the trees and landed. I hit the kill switch and waited as the propellers slowly died down. I grabbed the rifle from my side and jumped out of the helo and slammed the door. I slung my rifle and bashed my fist against the side of the helicopter until my hand was bleeding. I turned my back to the helicopter and leaned against it. I watched as the sun go down and the moon replaced it. The night was brisk but bearable.

I turned to the forest and gathered some wood from nearby trees. I was thankful that this land was unwatched; branches seemed to litter the ground at every step. After gathering an arm load of wood, I walked back to the helo and set the wood near it. I piled the wood 10ft from the helo and grabbed the magnesium stick from my pocket. I cursed and babbled incoherently in anger as I striked with magnesium rod with my knife. The magnesium stick kicked sparks into the wood and caught fire.

I sat there on the ledge of the helicopter and was met with a slew of different emotions. I had anger kicking as screaming in my head while at the same time loneliness over took me. I asked myself if I would ever see another human. Considering the past events, not likely.

I grabbed the meat from the passenger cabin and skewered it on a stick. I took my ‘meal’ and started to cook it over the fire like a s’more. I heard something rustle in the trees in front of me. I looked up and saw nothing. I knew something was there but at this point, the darkness encompassed everything. I set the meat on the floor of the helo and grabbed my rifle from the cabin. I flicked on the light and pointed it toward the forest. I saw something rustle in the wood before darting back. Whatever it was, it seemed to be more curious than anything. I propped the rifle against the side of the helo, within arm’s reach.

“Ya know, whoever you are, you need to try harder.” I said as I went back to cooking.

The meat had become browned by this point, but not quite ready to be eaten. When you are starving for days, anything ‘home made’ looks 5 stars. I watched as the Princess from the radio encounter walked out of the forest.

“I would offer you some but your kind doesn’t take kindly to carnivores.” I said before taking a bite of the deer.

From my point of view, the deer seemed like the best thing I had ever eaten. I slowly savored the first bite and let it go down ever so slowly. I watched as, Celestia I think her name was, approached me with a graceful stride.

“You realize,” she began “that they care for you right?”

I looked at her with an eye brow cocked and said “Bullshit.”

She gave me a distasteful look, most likely due to either my choice of food or language. She turned and walked to my side, stopping about 3ft away from me. She looked at the helicopter with the royal equivalent of awe.

“She’s a beaut’ isn’t she?” I said as I took another bite. I swallowed and continued “Still haven’t given her a name.”

She shrugged of my measly attempt at small talk and said “I heard about what happened. Why did you run?”

I dropped my meal to the ground and felt anger begin to build within me. It felt like a primal animal wanted to burst from my chest.

I got up and threw a finger in her face “Back where I came from, no one cared for me! The only reason the military did was because they wanted to protect their investment! My mother abandon me when I was twelve! She left right in front of me!” my hand dropped to my side “My father died soon after of a broken heart. They say it was a sickness, but I knew better. He gave up. Not long after that, I left school as soon as I finished and walked into the recruitment office and signed my name. For the first time after my father died, I felt like I belonged somewhere. I fought in wars, I killed people, but nothing could compare to the idea of being totally alone in this god forsaken place!”

After finishing my rant, I sat back down on the ledge of the passenger cabin floor. I felt my face land in my hands. I felt a hoove on my shoulder and this time, I didn’t brush it off.

“When I returned to the landing site after hunting,” I said with a small amount of sadness in my tone “I was met with crying and a punch to the face. They wouldn’t want me back anyway.” I grabbed my handgun from my holster and set in my lap “Give me a dam reason why I shouldn’t put this gun to my head and end it here. I’ve come to terms with the fact I’ll never see my world again.”

I sat there for a moment and waited for a response. I got nothing. I looked at her and she looked like she was about to shed a tear.

“Just as I thought.”

I climbed to my feet and jumped into the pilot’s seat. I sat there for a moment before I felt a soft mane brushed the side of my face. I turned and saw Celestia standing in the door way to the cabin.

“Turn on your radio.” She said before walking away.

I sat in the seat and watched as she jumped out of the passenger cabin and flew away into the night. I sat there for a moment before I noticed the gun still in my hand. I thought about ending it right there but something held me back. My curiosity wanted to at least her Celestia out. I laughed a bit and hit the radio switch.

The radio spit static at me. ‘I knew she was full of it.’ I thought. I waited for a moment while the static flowed through the cabin. Out of nowhere, a few voices broke the silence of the static. They sounded familiar and my mind wanted me to switch the radio off. I waited as a small bit of the call made it through.

“We’re… *zzzzzzzzzzz*. Please come… *zzzzzzzzzz*.” the radio said in an unrecognizable voice.

The radio was out of range but the message was clear. I still didn’t trust them but at least I could give them a shot. I jumped into the passenger cabin and grabbed my rifle from the open door. The fire was still going on the ground. I sat down in the door way and put my feet up. I holstered the handgun and pulled my rifle to my chest.

The power was too low to travel tonight, so I figured that I would leave later tomorrow. I had no idea what the ponies had in store for me but I had a feeling that it would be better than living alone.