Bullets and Blades

Bullets and Blades

Chapter 4: First Meetings

Written by: The Solitary Man and Smexy Sombra

Edited by: Smexy Sombra and The Solitary Man

Isabella panted heavily as she lowered her plasma cutter, staring at the dead rat that had the misfortune of waking her from a nightmare. She shivered as she remembered the horrifying voices and the monstrous faces. The woman dropped the gun and brought her hands behind her head, tears threatened to spill from her eyes again. Alexander’s vision was constantly switching between the smoldering corpse of the rat and the terrified woman next to him.

He stopped gazing at the rat as he saw her anxious and horrified expression. The knight raised a hand a moment before gently patting her back. “There... There... Nothing worry about. Just a rat. A dead... Burnt... Rat.” He muttered uncomfortably.

Isabella shook herself out of her stupor, ignoring Alexander’s movements. She dragged her engineering suit over and began to repair what she could, occasionally flinching when the smallest sound echoed through the cave. As he placed his hand back down, he watched Isabella work a moment.

“If I may inquire, what hath made you so skittish?” He asked as he grabbed his helm from the ground and replaced it onto his head. The woman’s head snapped to him for a moment, her eyes scanned him for a moment but she said nothing. “Okay. Silence then.”

Isabella went back to her work, adjusting the heating coils and banging a few dents out of the helmet. Alexander could only watch on as she worked on her odd set of armor. While several questions still brewed in his mind, only one left his lips. “What is that glowing tube across your spine? Is it a container for drink?”

“Resource Integration Gear. It manages my health, augments my strength and assists in dangerous environments.” Isabella replied almost mechanically. “At the moment, it indicates I am in need of medical attention.” Before Alexander could move, Isabella pushed a button on the rig and the bar of light went from yellow to blue. She sighed for a moment. “I hate that feeling.”

After she had administered a health pack, she went back to her work on the suit. When she had finished, she slipped her legs into the leg portion of the suit. Then slid her arms into the sleeves, the torso portion of the suit locked around her and sealed. Finally the helmet closed around her head, the light that had once been blue was now red. It bathed the cave with three eerie lines of light.

“Impressive. A bit flashy, but if it serves its purpose who am I to judge.” Alexander chuckled out, a bit nervous at the sudden change of appearance. Standing up, he checked his equipment before looking outside the cave. “Shall we adjourn and make our way to a more comfortable location?”

“Yes.” Isabella replied, her modulated voice echoing through the cave. She held her plasma cutter in one hand, the rotary cuff turned and locked with a satisfying click. “Lets.” She pushed her way past Alexander, her boots made resonating bangs in the cave. Alexander pulled the sword from his back and rolled his shoulders a moment, walking after her.

“I believe the best solution would be to find the rulers of this land. They will be the best source for answers. For both of us.” Alexander stated as he walked into the snow, gazing around the forest.

“Yes, because I need answers.” Isabella shot back. “I already know I’ve died and been sent to hell, how else could any of this shit happen.” She punched a tree, it shook and several pine cones fell from its branches. “How the fuck else would an alien planet have earth like plants and animals?” Alexander raised his free hand and began to speak. “If you say magic, I’m going to kill you.” His hand fell back to his side as an annoyed sigh escaped his lips. Isabella and Alexander walked for a few more minutes before a tree limb snapped. Instantly, everything went silent. The two froze in place, Isabella switched from her plasma cutter to the bullpup rifle she had in her RIG. “There’s something out there.”

Alexander turned in place, tightening his grip on his sword, and began to scan the area around them. “Whoever it is obviously doesn’t want to be seen. Mayhap we should run?”

“No.” Isabella said sternly. “I’m not running anymore.” She shouldered her weapon and pointed it at the tree line. “COME OUT YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!” Alexander cautiously took his shield from his back and readied himself. He knew the type of state his companion was in, having seen it before. No amount of words would stop her, forcing him to go along lest one of them perish from a mistake.

For several moments there was silence, then several dozen small horses stepped out of the trees. Most of them wore golden armor, they had swords held in their mouths. Alexander’s guard dropped a moment as he glanced around.

“This is what we are being attacked by? I have killed rats bigger than these equines!” Alexander spoke out, almost laughing aloud as he spoke.

“Then it shouldn’t be too hard to kill these.” Isabella said darkly, placing her sights on one of the small horses that wasn’t wearing armor. It was the lavender one that had approached her the night before, she noticed now that it and two of its companions had wings and horns. While some only had one, the other, or none at all.

“Dl tlhu fvb uv ohyt.” The large white one said, trying to sound diplomatic. Isabella responded by shifting her aim to the largest one, the armored horses tensed. Alexander took a step forward a small growl escaping his lips, preparing to take a large swipe at the nearest horse if it came into violence. “Wslhzl! Dl kvu'a dhua av ohyt fvb!” It almost pleaded, Isabella’s finger found its way to the trigger. “Svdly fvby dlhwvuz! KV PA!” The creature shouted to the armored horses, they blinked for a moment before sheathing their swords.

At this Alexander lowered his guard a moment as he looked around. He waited a moment before a thought hit him. In a moment he slumped and stabbed his blade into the ground, beginning to rummage through the satchels on his hips. “Where is it? By the light, please say I saved that blasted thing.” He muttered as he searched through his bags.

“What? What’re you looking for?” Isabella asked without taking her weapon off of the

“A ring.” He spoke as he looked to the horses around him, making sure he wasn’t going to be attacked. Isabella lowered her weapon and turned her head to face him in a ‘seriously’ motion.

“A ring?” She asked, clearly annoyed. “Why?”

“A gift from a friend. He said should I ever meet someone I couldn’t understand that it may help. Forgot about it until now.” He informed as he rummaged around through his bags.

“You forgot- How could you forget!?” Isabella asked, angry now. One of the horses moved and she brought her weapon back up again.

“Well I am sorry, but my memory isn’t what it used to be. After the first hundred years I just began to forget things.” He stated, Isabella stared at him for a moment. Then she shook her head.

“Fuck it. Just get the ring, I don’t care anymore.” As she finished talking he pulled out a small brass ring, intricate designs and symbols littering its surface. Pulling off his gauntlet, he placed the ring onto his middle finger and replaced the gauntlet onto his hand. Taking his sword from the ground he turned to the large white horse and walked forward stopping in front of her. Taking in a deep breath he began to speak.

(^*^)

Celestia held a stoic expression as the armored creature approached her and Twilight. It stopped in front of her, the blade on its shoulder gleaming in the light. She felt herself give a small gulp of nervousness as she heard it take a deep breath.

“Can.. .You understand me, strange creatures?” A deep male voice spoke, coming from the mask of the alien before them. Twilight went rigid, then fell over. “Oh my... Is that normal?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.” Celestia replied, looking at her passed out student before looking at the creature. “Greetings, strange being. I am Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

“I am Sir Alexander of Astora. Former knight. It is a pleasure to actually speak with you.” Alexander stated, holding out a gloved hand. After a moment he realised his mistake and retracted his hand. “Oh my apologies.” In turn he bowed respectfully before turning to face his compionan. “Dear, friend! The ring works!”

“Bmfy'x ny xfdnsl?” Asked the other creature, its glowing helmet scanning over the others.

“She is the Princess of this land. Odd that she is here and not the king, but I will not question it.” Alexander spoke.

“Who is she?” Asked Celestia, looking at the other creature.

“She is Isabella. I do not know much of her. Talks very little. But screams a lot.” He stated with a mild chuckle, his armor jingling with his laughter. Celestia eyed his sword nervously, the massive killing object was stained with blood.

“Would you mind lowering your sword, I find it extremely unsettling.” She asked politely. Alexander shifted his head to stare at the blade a moment before looking back at her.

“Of course, your majesty.” He stated, sheathing the massive blade onto his back and turning back to Isabella. “Isabella, please lower your arms. They do not mean us harm.” Isabella lowered her weapon, but it was clear she was ready to kill at a moments notice. “Now what is it you require of us that needed the aid of twenty guards?”

“We discovered the crashed ship relatively easily, and judging by the blood we thought you may be in danger.” Celestia said, trying to hide the true nature of the search. To find them and detain them until they could determine if they were safe. Alexander gave a smile behind his mask and nodded.

“That is very welcoming of you. We are both quite alright, though I had no part of this ship’s crash. If you would not mind, I would like to ask a few questions as to where we are. My companion and I are quite lost you see.” He stated warmly.

“Of course, if you would follow us we can see to it that you are well taken care off.” Celestia replied with equal warmth.

“Thank you that is very kind.” He said before glancing back at Isabella and taking a small step towards Celestia, until the tip of his helm met her nose. “But I swear unto thee, Celestia, Princess of this land. If this is a trap or lie that forces me to lose a friend, I will not let myself stagger or weave from the path to personally take your head and wear it through the streets of your kingdom as a trophy. And no matter how many times my life is taken, no matter how many times I fail, I will continue until you have met your demise. Are my words clear?” He whispered to her, his tone dark and stern. Celestia could feel a weight in his words, she nodded slowly to the imposing figure. Alexander smiled behind his mask once more and stood up properly.

“Well then! Let us adjourn! No point in freezing our tails off is there?” Alexander spoke, clapping his metal gloves together. Celestia nodded and turned to her guards, lifting the unconscious Twilight Sparkle onto her back.

“Okay, everypony. Let’s get going.” The group turned and began to head towards the exit of the forest, Isabella and Alexander following them cautiously through the forest. Celestia could only gaze at them in wonder, wanting to know what brought them here and why. Hopefully, all the questions in her mind would be answered when they arrived at the castle.