The learning curve

POV Lance.Corperal Ben Beal

Ben felt like shit. Ben felt worse than shit. He felt like he just got shot by ten guys with rifles.

Oh wait.

It was like one of those mornings when you had been absolutely knackered the day before, and you wake up the next morning feeling like you had been run over...twice...like, with a truck. He was so damn tired that he couldn't even be arsed to open his eyes yet. He remembered being shot by a bunch of guys after his 'adventure'.

Wait, am I dead?

He didn't feel dead by any standards. His whole body was still in one piece. At least, he thought he was. He felt whole. He tried to move his limbs and succeeded triumphantly. He instantly regretted it however as the feeling of ache spread through his body. Ben groaned and lifted his hands to his face.

If I'm not dead, then considering my situation before being gunned down, I soon will be.

He had been shot by about ten guys so he really was surprised that he was still alive at this point. His legs did take most of the bullets, so that probably helped. But he took like, 15 bullets. So how are his legs still movable and not just little shreds of flesh. Why did he get shot in the legs anyway? Out of all the places to shoot, they chose his legs. Right... Maybe they were trying to use non lethal force, but fired so many bullets that it killed him.

But then how am I still alive? Jesus.H.Christ. Maybe I really am dead and I'm in heaven! Or hell... Probably hell. I mean, when have i ever given the best of myself to anyone. But then again, has anyone ever deserved the best of me? No, they haven't.

"Urgh..."

Ben let his arms fall to his sides and slowly opened his eyes to take a look at where he was. The first thing he saw was a thatched roof.

At least its not a military jail.

Turning his head to the side he realised he was lying in a sofa in someone's living room. Confused, he sat up and looked around. The room was filled with bright but natural colours like yellow and green. A carpet was laid out across the floor at the foot of the sofa, and the place smelt a little bit like animals. On the subject of animals, there were what appeared to be pet food bowls scattered evenly about the place and there was a small white rabbit lying down in the corner. About as far away as it could possibly be without being out of sight. Ben took the time to note that he was still wearing all of his stuff except for his rifle. He was still wearing his MTP uniform and newly 'acquired' armour. Ben smiled. Oh yes, his little adventure. His new m9 was holstered at his right hip and his bayonet was sheathed at his left. All the heavy as fuck ammo was still attached to him, but where the hell was his l85 ? Looking to his right, he saw a small table with the rifle lying on it. Picking it up and inspecting it for damage, he could not fid any. Whoever took it of him had moved it carefully.

Where am I?

Ben hauled himself to his feet. He was NOT in the mood for getting up and walking around first thing in the morning but hey-ho. Can't be a lazy fatass in the cadets ! Exploring the room he was in, he found he was in a cottage. Not too unlike the really old thatched houses he had seen on a school trip once, but nicer. There were pretty looking flowers and plants every now any again, scattered about the room and they seemed to compliment its natural look.

"Hmm, nice place..."

Ben took a walk around. The air seemed unbelievably fresh and crisp. Like the the early Spring times. Heading over to the door, he tried on th-

Who the fuck makes a handle like that?

The top of the door handle was basically just a large indentation, like the user had to push down on the door handle, rather than twist it down. It was locked, anyways. It was at this point something shiny caught his eye. A silver photo frame stood on a small table at the side of the room. It was faxing away from him so he couldn't see it. Naturally, he went and picked it up. He then turned it round to see the photo.

"Bwa-hahahahaha! Awwww, how cute."

Ok, now this is getting interesting.

"Oh boy, this is bloody menta-oh, shit..."

In his laugh attack, Ben had almost dropped the very delicate frame. It would have broken if not for his pro skills.

"Hahahaa! This gets better by the minute!"

He lay the frame down on the table, but before he could turn to look out of a window. He froze solid as female voices came within audible range. Accompanied by the sound of...'trotting'? Ben looked back at the portrait photo in the frame and then back at the door.

Ok, I'm officially fucking insane...

"Are you sure this 'creature' isn't dangerous, Fluttershy? I mean, from the description it sound a little bit... Dodgy. And those strange contraptions you told me about make it seem a bit strange to me."

What the hell kind of a name is Fluttershy?

"We'll, um. I don't know. I decided to ask for your help because of you're skills in magic. And because you're a princess, maybe he'll listen to you if not to me."

Magic? Princess? Huh.

As the sound of a key unlocking the door was heard, Ben drew his bayonet. The hadle of the door turned and Ben prepared himself for some weird shit to happen.

...

One of the ponies stopped mid stride in the doorway. It must have noticed his absence from the sofa where she had left him.

" Umm, Twilight, I think it woke up. It's not on the sofa anymore. Can erm, can you go first? Please? "

Well I think I know why that one is called Flutter'shy'.

" Of course Fluttershy. "

As the cream yellow foreleg stepped back, a deep purple one stepped forward. It walked carefully through the door and into the room before turning to its right to look around the room. It didn't have to look for long, it found him standing alone in the middle of the room. His stare met hers and there was a long awkward

moment between them.

"Um... Hello?"

Ben could sense the nervousness in her voice.

"Hi."

His simple response seemed to calm the pony's anxiety. At this point the cream pony walked in. It's yellow coat harmonised perfectly with the surroundings while the long pink mane drooped well past the bottom jaw and hung rather nicely with a little curve at the end. It seemed timid and shy, connecting with the name. The purple pony's mane was a dark violet, almost blue. With a purple and pink stripe running down on a third of its width. It didn't hang but rather sat instead like a smart schoolgirl. Then he noticed the even stranger parts. The purple pony he now saw was a unicorn-pegasus, while the yellow one was a just a Pegasus. They both had tattoos on their hips. The purple 'pega-corn' had a bunch of small pink stars around a larger white one. Whil the Pegasus had the blue and also pink butterflies.

Whats with all the pink? This is gonna kill my eyes.

" Ok let's start with the obvious. Who are you? And where am I?"

His questions made the pega-corn smile for a brief second.

"I am princess Twilight Sparkle. My friend here is Fluttershy. And you are in the land of Equestria. Welcome."

Ha! Ponies living in a place called Equestria. This takes bad puns to whole new level.

"Now, stranger. Who might you be?"

"I am Ben Beal. Rank: Lance Corporal, British Army cadets. But you can just call me Ben. Pleased to meet you. "

"Interesting. Tell me, 'Ben'. What are you doing here?"

"To be honest, I know about as much as you do. Your guess is as good as mine. Although the last thing I remember before waking up here, is being killed."

Fluttershy seemed to look sad at this comment.

"H-h-how did you die? If you don't mind me asking."

"I was shot to death by soldiers. Fifteen times I think, somewhere around that mark."

"Why would they do that?"

Ben didn't think he would go into details about his personal adventure back home. It wouldn't be wise to cause panic at this point.

"I don't think they meant to kill me. I took pretty much every shot in my legs. They must have tried to take me down non lethally, but shot me so many times that I died by mistake."

"Makes sense. But that still doesn't answer my question."

"Listen, 'Princess'. I don't want to go into detail about what I was doing before I died. I don't think now is the time, nor' the place. I'll tell you later when I'm feeling a bit more socialised."

"Hmm, fair enough. Tell me, what are the metallic objects you have with you?"

"This is a knife..."

He said, raising the blade to show them.

"... Sharp, short bladed object. No need to explain what this does. This, slung around my torso, is an Assualt Rifle. It fires small metal projectiles at high velocity. This model is called the l85a2. It fires at around 775 rounds per minute and is accurate up to 600m. This weapon at my right hip is a pistol. It's semi automatic which means it fires as fast as you can pull the trigger. It fires a slightly wider but shorter round than the l85, and at slower velocity. This means it is less accurate and less powerful. It is usually used as a back-up weapon, or as a self defence weapon. This model is called the m9. These green balls with the levers on them are called grenades. The grenade is held so that the lever is held down in the hand, or by the fingers. The pin at the top is removed which primes a fuse. And when the grenade is thrown, the lever is released which starts burning the fuse. And after approximately 3-5 seconds the grenade explodes. Anyone or anything nearby gets filled full of small burning bits of metal from the grenades shell."

The two ponies sat and stared. Mouths agape and eyes locked forward on him. He sheathed the bayonet and pushed the rifle around his back. He realised that these ponies must be much less technologically advanced, and much more peaceful than humans. They were probably scared shitless by all these weapons.

Well...shit. Change the subject.

"Let's change subject, shall we?"

The princess nodded slowly.

"Are you the soul leader of Equestria?"

"No. The rulers of Equestria are the sisters; princesses Celestia, and Luna. I am just sort of an important figure rather then a ruler. My Brother is married to princess Cadence, who rule over the Crystal Empire together."

" I guess the Crystal Empire is not nearby?"

"Definitely not."

"What do you do around here then?"

"I basically make sure all the minor royal events go to plan and stuff. That sorta thing."

"What about you Fluttershy? You haven't said anything yet."

Fluttershy was cowering behind the side of the sofa. She was acting like she want there at all. But she was making herself incredibly obvious in the process. Ben smiled and switched to his gentle voice.

"Fluttershy, come on. I have no plans on hurting anyone. I'd actually be glad to get all this stuff off. It's incredibly uncomfortable, wearing this for long periods of time."

"D-do you promise not to hurt me?"

"I promise. You trust me?"

Ben unslung his rifle and laid it up against the table. He also removed his blade and m9 before putting them out of reach. Fluttershy peeked out and crawled slowly toward him. He felt a little sorry for her. An armed, unknown creature in her house. He'd be scared too if some random guy popped up with weapons in his house.

"I take care of woodland animals around Ponyville."

"That's nice of you. Am I in Ponyville now?"

"This is my cottage, just outside of Ponyville."

"It's very nice here. So you make sure that animals who need it are fed and healthy?"

"Yes. I found you against a tree down the road. I had to get some friends to help get you here."

"Thanks for making sure I was safe Fluttershy. You know, I haven't talked to anyone this nicely for a long time. You're on my good side, you two. Can I meet your friends ?"

"Maybe. Most are probably busy but we may be able to catch a few."

When can we set off?"

The princess decided to take over Fluttershys role.

"Now, If you like. But I'm not having you bringing all that weaponry with you. I won't allow it."

"Sure thing. Should I just leave them here? Do you mind Fluttershy ?"

"Oh no, not at all. Just make sure my little Angel can't hurt himself on them, um... Please."

Fluttershy gestured over to the rabbit licking its paws in the corner.

Ben began to pull out the magazines of each gun and eject the chambered bullets.

"What are you doing?"

Twilight said cautiously.

"Unloading the rifle and the pistol. I'm leaving the knife sheathed so the rabbit can't cut himself on it."

When he had finished tidily laying everything out and covering the pins on his grenades, he stood back up.

"You not taking that off?"

"I'd rather keep my armour on. Never know what might happen."

"Fair enough. Lets go!"

They all walked out of the door and Fluttershy locked the door behind them.

And this begins the most interesting day of my life...